Hong Kong: Reshaping history with art tech Blending art and technology, the Hong Kong Palace Museum features a total of 53 multimedia projects with projection mapping installations, interactive and digital exhibits, soundscape experiences and video installations to provide unique experiences for visitors to appreciate traditional Chinese art and culture. There are nine galleries at the museum. Seven of them will host thematic exhibitions and the remaining two are devoted to special exhibitions. Among them is the largest Gallery 2 From Dawn to Dusk: Life in the Forbidden City, where visitors step back in time to experience court life in the Qing dynasty. Poetry in motion One of the multimedia projects showcases the annual tea parties held by Emperor Qianlong in the Palace of Double Brilliance, where he composed poems with his officials to maintain a harmonious relationship with them. Visitors can listen to the poems at this exhibit. Qing dynasty rulers also appreciated art and calligraphy. Emperor Qianlong was a big fan of the work of calligrapher Wang Xizhi and visitors can try their hand at copying the emperors calligraphy through the interactive exhibits. At the end of the gallery visitors can watch a projection of Emperor Qianlongs poem Dream on the ceiling, which he wrote after the death of his wife, Empress Xiaoxian Chun. Devastated by his loss, the emperor composed more than 100 poems dedicated to her and Dream is one of them. Inspired by the poem, Baptist University Academy of Visual Arts Chair Professor Prof Jeffrey Shaw and artist Sarah Kenderdine created the multimedia installation Dreamscape. It features a dragon representing the emperor, a phoenix for the empress and two butterflies symbolising the two lovers. The artists had also filmed contemporary calligrapher Wang Dongling writing all the characters of the poem. Jeffrey Shaw said: Without art tech, you would present the poem possibly just as a document. I can take these historical objects and give them a new contemporary digital art tech identity. And in the process of that appreciation, I want people also to return to viewing the original objects with new eyes, with a new understanding. Another Jeffrey Shaw exhibit in Gallery 4 Encountering the Majestic: Portraits of Qing Emperors & Empresses gives visitors the chance to experience the ancestral ritual used to venerate ancestor portraits. Before leaving, they can pick a costume and create their own imperial portrait. Protected pieces The museums nine galleries contain 914 treasures on loan from the Palace Museum in Beijing, with 166 of them being grade-one national treasures. A special environment for the storage of various cultural relics has been set up as they are very fragile and easily affected by temperature, humidity and light. Hong Kong Palace Museum Conservator Lyu Zhichao, who is responsible for the 2D objects, explained that the glass of the display cases prevents UV rays from damaging the objects. There is also a control system to regulate the environment inside the case. Different paintings have different conditions. If the humidity is too high, it may cause more mould. But if the humidity is too low, sometimes the paper may crack. Hong Kong Palace Museum Conservator Jessie Liang added that the conservators can check real-time data using an app on their mobile phones. We have a mobile phone app which tells us the live condition inside (the showcases). We also have set up (an) alarm. If the environment changes out of range, it will alert us. The museum opens its doors on July 2 and will be open from 10am to 6pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. On Fridays, Saturdays and public holidays it will be open until 8pm. General admission tickets for adults are priced at $50, while it is $120 for a special exhibition ticket. This story has been published on: 2022-06-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. RTHK: Russia quits 'strategically important' Snake Island Russian troops have abandoned their positions on a captured Ukrainian island, a major setback to their occupation effort that weakens their blockade of Ukraine's ports, defence officials said on Thursday. The news from the Black Sea came as Nato leaders wrapped up their summit in Madrid, intent on demonstrating their unity and determination to back up Kyiv with advanced weapons in the face of Moscow's assault. Snake Island became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance in the first days of the war, when the rocky outcrop's defenders defied a Russian warship that called on them to surrender, an incident that spurred a defiant meme. It was also a strategic target, sitting aside shipping lanes near Ukraine's port of Odessa. Russia had attempted to install missile and air defence batteries while under fire from drones. Now, however, Ukraine has begun to receive longer range missiles and military gear from its Western backers, and the Russian position on Snake Island seems to have become untenable. "In the end, it will prove impossible for (President Vladimir) Putin to hold down a country that will not accept his rule," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, stressing that any eventual peace deal would be on Ukraine's terms. "We've seen what Ukraine can do to drive the Russians back. We've seen what they did around Kyiv and Kharkiv, now on Snake Island." The Russian defence ministry statement described the retreat as "a gesture of goodwill" meant to demonstrate that Moscow will not interfere with UN efforts to organise protected grain exports from Ukraine. But Kyiv claimed it as a win. "They always downplay their defeats this way," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter. "I thank the defenders of Odessa region who took maximum measures to liberate a strategically important part of our territory," Valeriy Zaluzhny, the Ukraine military's commander-in-chief, said on Telegram. In peace-time, Ukraine is a major agricultural exporter, but Russia's assault has damaged farmland and seen Ukraine's ports seized, razed or blockaded threatening grain importers in Africa with famine. Western powers have accused Putin of using the trapped harvest as a weapon to increase pressure on the international community, and Russia has been accused of stealing grain. On Thursday, a ship carrying 7,000 tonnes of grain sailed from Ukraine's occupied port of Berdyansk, said the regional leader appointed by the Russian occupation forces. Evgeny Balitsky, the head of the pro-Moscow administration, said Russia's Black Sea ships "are ensuring the security" of the journey he said, adding that the port had been de-mined. Separately, the Russian defence ministry said its forces are holding more than 6,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war who have been captured since the February 24 operation. The conflict in Ukraine has dominated the Nato summit in Madrid, where the leaders said Russia "is the most significant and direct threat to allies' security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area". This came as Nato officially invited Sweden and Finland to join the alliance, and US President Joe Biden announced new deployments of US troops, ships and planes to Europe. Biden said the US move was exactly what Russian President Putin "didn't want" and Moscow, facing fierce resistance from Ukrainian forces equipped with Western arms, reacted with predictable fury. Putin accused the alliance of seeking to assert its "supremacy", telling journalists in the Turkmenistan capital of Ashgabat that Ukraine and its people are "a means" for Nato to "defend their own interests." "The Nato countries' leaders wish to... assert their supremacy, their imperial ambitions," Putin added. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed Putin's comments as "ridiculous" and said the Russian leader "has made imperialism the goal of his politics". Nato leaders have funnelled billions of dollars of arms to Ukraine and faced a renewed appeal from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for more long-range artillery. "Ukraine can count on us for as long as it takes," Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said at the summit, which ends on Thursday, as he announced a new strategic overview that focuses on the Moscow threat. The document, updated for the first time since 2010, warned the alliance "cannot discount the possibility" of an attack on its members. Kuleba welcomed Nato's "clear-eyed stance on Russia". Russian missiles continued to rain down across Ukraine. In the southern city of Mykolaiv rescuers found the bodies of six slain civilians in the rubble of a destroyed building, emergency services said. The city of Lysychansk in the eastern Donbas region the current focus of Russia's offensive is also facing sustained bombardment. "The Russians are throwing almost all of their resources at capturing Lysychansk," Sergiy Gaiday, regional governor of Lugansk, which includes the city, said on Telegram. "It's hard to find a safe spot in the city." The United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine said on Thursday 16 million Ukrainians were in need of humanitarian aid. Moscow's assault triggered massive economic sanctions and a wave of support for Zelenskyy's government, including deliveries of advanced weapons, as well as the reinforcement of Europe's defences. Washington has announced it will shift the headquarters of its 5th Army Corps to Poland. An army brigade will head to Romania and two squadrons of F-35 fighters to Britain, air defence systems will be sent to Germany and Italy, and the fleet of US Navy destroyers in Spain will grow from four to six. Britain also pledged another US$1.2 billion in military aid for Ukraine on Wednesday, including air defence systems and drones. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2022-06-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. In the wake of the 2002 Gujarat riots, Sreekumar questioned the Narendra Modi administrations claims of peace and exposed the apparent collaboration between law enforcement agencies and rioters. Muhammed Nihad PV | TwoCircles.net Support TwoCircles NEW DELHI After the Supreme Court rejected a petition by Zakia Jafri challenging the Special Investigation Teams (SIT) clean chit to Narendra Modi in the 2002 Gujarat riots case, the Gujarat police on Saturday detained former Director General of Police RB Sreekumar. Based on a complaint made by a representative of the Ahmedabad crime branch, who said they had planned to falsely accuse innocent persons, he was detained along with social activist Teesta Setalvad. The arrest took place hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticised the role of a police official in the case against Modi in an interview with ANI. The FIR also names Sanjiv Bhatt, a former IPS officer who is now in prison facing other allegations. Who is RB Sreekumar? Sreekumar, a former DIG, began his career in the Indian Police Service in 1971 and left in 2007. During the 2002 Gujarat riots, Sreekumar was the additional director general of police in command of the armed section. Sreekumar, who is from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, was chosen by Modi to be the Additional DGP (Intelligence) in April 2002. After the Godhra train burning incident on February 27, communal tension had already spread throughout the state at that point. When a report he submitted to then-Chief Election Commissioner J M Lyngdoh stated that 154 of Gujarats 182 constituencies had been affected by the riots and that more than one lakh individuals had lost their right to vote due to displacement, that was when he had his first face-off with the state government. The governments assertions that the atmosphere was calm enough for assembly elections were refuted by his claims. Apart from that, he submitted multiple affidavits before the Gujarat governments Justice (retired) GT Nanavati and Justice (retired) Akshay Mehta Commission, while he was in service. Through the reports, he claimed to have revealed the alleged cooperation of government agencies with rioters. He claimed that police and order agencies had a hand in inflaming the situation and that the officials had tutored him into saying particular things. The evidence provided by Sreekumar, fellow IPS officers Rahul Sharma and Sanjiv Bhatt, and others were rejected by the Nanavati-Mehta Commission because it was deemed to be false, baseless, or not credible. These claims were later dismissed by the Supreme Court of India too. While Bhatt was fired from his job and is currently in jail in connection with a 1996 drug case, Sharma retired voluntarily from the police force and is now an attorney in the Gujarat High Court. Sreekumar was replaced in 2005 after submitting his affidavits and going through cross-examination before the Nanavati-Mehta Commission in 2004. As a result, he missed the opportunity to become DGP while still in service. Later, he moved to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) challenging the governments decision. His petition included a secret diary documenting illegal directives he allegedly received while serving as the states top intelligence official. Sreekumar received a departmental charge sheet from the Gujarat government in 2005 for keeping a private diary and making it official, recording a meeting with a government official, and leaking intelligence reports to the media. The charge sheet was suspended by the Supreme Court in 2015. Although the CAT ruled in favour of his promotion on the day of his retirement in 2007, the state government challenged it before the High Court and then the Supreme Court. In 2008, Sreekumar received a promotion to DGP rank with ex post facto effect after the Supreme Court rejected the governments appeal. He decided to stay in Gujarat even after his retirement in order to, in his words, help riot victims. Sreekumar graduated from Kerala University with a masters in history, and he also possesses masters degrees in criminology, English literature, and Gandhian philosophy (LLM). He published a book on the 2002 Gujarat riots, titled Gujarat Behind the Curtain, in 2015. In the book, he even describes how he promised to testify about the establishments involvement in the riots and claimed to be willing to submit to narco analysis and brain fingerprinting tests. But none of his requests was heeded. Muhammad Nihad PV is a sociology student at the University of Hyderabad. He tweets at @nihadbinnisar LOS ANGELES (AP) The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to return ownership of prime California beachfront property to descendants of a Black couple who built a resort for African Americans but were stripped of the land in the 1920s. The board voted 5-0 on a motion to complete the transfer of parcels in an area once known as Bruce's Beach in the fashionable city of Manhattan Beach that is now the site of the county's lifeguard training headquarters and its parking lot. Board chair Holly J. Mitchell, co-author of the motion, immediately signed the documents which allow the county to lease back the property with an option to purchase it for millions of dollars. The land was purchased in 1912 by Willa and Charles Bruce, who built the first West Coast resort for Black people at a time when many beaches were segregated. They suffered racist harassment from white neighbors and in the 1920s the Manhattan Beach City Council took the land through eminent domain. The city did nothing with the property and it was transferred to the state of California in 1948. In 1995, the state transferred it to the county, with restrictions on further transfers. Supervisor Janice Hahn launched the complex process of returning the property to heirs of the Bruces in April 2021. A key hurdle was overcome when the state Legislature passed a bill removing the restriction on transfer of the property. Last month, the county completed the process of confirming that Marcus and Derrick Bruce, great-grandsons of Willa and Charles Bruce, are the legal heirs. "We can't change the past and we will never be able to make up for the injustice that was done to Willa and Charles Bruce a century ago, but this is a start," an emotional Hahn said before the vote. Hahn said returning the property will allow the heirs "the opportunity to start rebuilding the generational wealth that was denied them for decades." Anthony Bruce, a family spokesman, said in a statement that the return means the world to them but it is also bittersweet. "My great-great-grandparents, Willa and Charles Bruce sacrificed to open a business that gave Black people a place to gather and socialize, and Manhattan Beach took it from them because of the color of their skin," he said. "It destroyed them financially. It destroyed their chance at the American Dream." The transfer includes an agreement for the property to be leased back to the county for 24 months, with an annual rent of $413,000 plus all operation and maintenance costs, and the county's right to purchase the land for up to $20 million. "This may be the first land return of its kind, but it cannot be the last," Hahn said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Omaha police have reclassified a shooting that occurred almost nine years ago as a homicide after the recent death of a man who was shot on his front porch. Lonnie Williams, 29, recently died because of complications from a gunshot wound he sustained on July 21, 2013, Omaha police said Wednesday. Williams was 20 years old at the time of the shooting, which occurred before 6 p.m. that day. He was taken by ambulance to the Nebraska Medical Center in critical condition. Police said the person who shot Williams ran behind the house where Williams was shot. They said at the time that they were looking for a red Dodge Magnum that was seen pulling out of the alley after the shooting. Police officials said the case has been cleared because the person suspected of shooting Williams died in October 2013. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 OMAHA A day after getting two years probation, community service and a $25,000 fine for lying to federal agents investigating foreign campaign contributions, former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry filed notice he will appeal his convictions and his sentence. Appealing his convictions wasnt a surprise Fortenberry, 61, has been adamant that he did nothing wrong. The same couldnt be said for the appeal of a sentence in which Fortenberry received no prison time. The Republican from Lincoln could have received up to 15 years in prison, but Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. ruled that Fortenberrys conduct was an aberration from his normally upright character. Technically, if the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld Fortenberrys conviction but remanded his case for resentencing, Blumenfeld could impose a stiffer sentence. Such a result wouldnt be likely but is a bit of a risk. In one case where the Nebraska Supreme Court overturned a sentence in which a judge improperly quoted the Bible during the sentencing hearing, a new judge gave the defendant more prison time at resentencing. Fortenberry had 14 days to file notice that he would appeal. It took his attorneys 24 hours. Wednesdays filing was just a boilerplate form both sides will file legal briefs on the matter in coming months. The crux of Fortenberrys appeal: He may have unwittingly misled federal officials investigating the crime, but any misstatements were not material or of substance to the feds investigation. Prosecutors have rejected that notion, noting that the jury considered the question of materiality and swiftly convicted Fortenberry after an eight-day trial in March. Prosecutors also pointed out that Fortenberry lied repeatedly in an interview in his Lincoln home and in a follow-up interview in Washington in 2019. Although initially unaware, Fortenberry eventually was told that $30,000 in foreign cash was funneled to him at a suburban Los Angeles fundraiser in February 2016. The $30,000 was supplied by a controversial Nigerian billionaire, Gilbert Chagoury, as a reward for Fortenberrys support of In Defense of Christians, a group formed to protect Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East. Prosecutors had cited Fortenberrys lack of remorse in asking Blumenfeld to reconsider and impose a prison sentence. Blumenfeld declined. As the hearing wrapped up Tuesday, Fortenberrys attorney, John Littrell, urged the judge to reduce two parts of the sentence: his probation (from two years to one) and his fine. Littrell suggested that $25,000 was too steep for Fortenberry after his fall from grace. But prosecutors mocked any suggestion that Fortenberry is destitute. Even after his convictions, they say, Fortenberry now works a job that pays him $144,000 a year. A court official preparing a presentence report placed his net worth at more than $1.1 million. And it doesnt appear hell lose his federal pension, prosecutors say. As he left the courthouse in Los Angeles on Tuesday, a reporter asked Fortenberry if he would admit he made campaign mistakes. This is an ongoing part, Fortenberry said. And I have a right as a citizen to continue my appeal. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Nebraska Public Service Commission will conduct a reverse auction to fund $13 million of broadband expansion in certain areas of the state. Broadband companies can apply to take part in the auction through July 15, with the reverse auction set to take place Aug. 8. In the reverse auction, each census block will receive a starting price, and through successive rounds, companies will lower their bid until a winner is determined. Winners will be required to demonstrate they can provide broadband speeds of 100 Mbps download and upload to a certain number of areas within the census block. The funds to pay for expanding high-speed internet access come from redistribution of the Nebraska Universal Service Fund. The targeted areas are mainly in south-central and northeast Nebraska. "We see this as another tool along with other NUSF programs and the Nebraska Broadband Bridge Grant Program to get broadband into our rural areas," said Commission Chairman Dan Watermeier. The Public Service Commission approved the process for the reverse auction in March. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. GIBBON Trevor Reeder knew he wanted to bring a restaurant to Gibbon, but he wanted to find the right person to run the business. Reeder is the owner of Lucky Duck Bar and Lounge in Gibbon, with nearly 18 years of experience working in the industry. He has worked with food in the past, but it wasnt his passion. I love the bar part, and so thats why when I opened the Lucky Duck I didnt do any food. But I thought there was a need in town here for food, and I also knew that a restaurant here would complement the bar and the bar will complement the restaurant. So its like I need to find somebody that thats their thing, Reeder explained. Reeder was scrolling through Facebook when he saw he had mutual friends with Todd Heater, who had attended the Culinary Institute of Arts in Colorado before diving into the restaurant industry. He has cooked at Lucky Strike in Denver, Buffalo Point Steakhouse in Sidney, Kearney Country Club, Sozo, Angus Burgers and Shakes, and Joys Table. Reeder reached out to Heater last July about his desire to open a restaurant in Gibbon. As the two began talking about their ideas, they realized they shared a vision for the diner. Weve been pretty much like two peas in a pod on almost everything, Heater said. With Heater on board as the general manager, they started working with the buildings owner, Kyle Bond, to make it a reality. The trio along with Kyles dad, Dwight, and Reeders parents, Brian and Jo poured countless hours into turning the blank space into a restaurant. The Bond family, car lovers, but they gave Reeder the freedom to do whatever he liked with the space. The highway is right here. The railroad tracks are right here. So lets go with trains and cars and the highway and the railroad because thats what made all these little towns here, Reeder said. Black and white photographs of trains cover the walls, as well as automobile memorabilia and historic photographs of Gibbon. Each booths table top was made by Kyle and is unique with pictures commemorating Gibbons history and other local pieces beneath a clear surface. The diners name, Railside Highway Diner, fits right in with the theme. As it started coming together, Reeder and Heater hoped to have a soft opening in October. But they were hit with numerous delays. We had some issues with getting equipment and furniture. Everything was delayed, Reeder said. Plumbers, electricians, all those kinds of people, theyre backed up with things. So they were running behind schedule, sometimes weeks or months. The diner opened May 3, and people have come from around the region to try their fare. When building the menu, Heater wanted to provide an array of burgers, sandwiches, salads and entrees that remind customers of traditional diner meals. He often adds his own twist, whether its the way he cooks the meat to adding a unique sauce or topping. Heater focuses on providing fresh, high-quality meals including certified Angus beef to house-cut French fries. The Rio Grande is one of the top-selling burgers featuring cream cheese, in-house jalapeno raspberry jam, roasted jalapeno slices, cheese bites, bacon, roasted jalapeno mayonnaise and shredded lettuce. There are plenty of options for patrons looking for traditional fare including chicken fried steaks, hot beef sandwiches and patty melts. In the future, they are considering having nightly specials with pasta, steak or prime rib. Customers can indulge their sweet tooth with cheesecake or the molten chocolate smores cake. Along with quality, Reeder and Heater want to make sure customers are served quickly. Servers use a hand-held device to take customers orders, and customers get their own drinks. Thatll free up time for the servers to be able to get to more people and pay more attention to the customers needs, explained Reeder. Online ordering will be available soon through the Toast app. If people are enjoying a drink at the Lucky Duck next door, they can order food at Railside Highway and a server will bring their meal straight to them. The diner has been busy since day one, Heater said. Having similar ideas has helped Reeder and Heater work well as a team. Part of the success here is first, having the right people here. Second, is quality of food and service. And third, is being open to new ideas and being flexible, Reeder said. If you get stuck in a rut of the past or a certain way when it needs to be changed and some ways or old ideas are great still but were not afraid to look at new ideas, and that makes this work. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 MOUNT PLEASANT Another of the nine suspects accused of being involved in a reported fraud ring, which allegedly defrauded Mount Pleasant-based Educators Credit Union out of more than $30,000, has been arrested and charged. In a criminal complaint publicly filed Thursday, Araceli Vazquez, a 22-year-old from Greenfield reported to be the ex-girlfriend of the alleged ringleader, 22-year-old Devontae Leon Cash, was charged with felony fraud against a financial institution as a party to a crime. Cashs address is also listed in Greenfield. All but two of the nine suspects are residents of Milwaukee County, with one being from Zion, Illinois, and another from Racine. All of them are aged 20-24 except one, who is 30. Online court records indicate that a complaint was filed and a summons ordered against Vazquez on May 16, and that she did not appear in court on June 2. An arrest warrant was issued June 6, and she made her first court appearance while in custody Thursday. A signature bond was set at $5,000 during Thursdays hearing. The complaint against Vazquez states that Interestingly, (the detective) noted during his investigation that Vazquez both assisted in the fraudulent scheme, as well as fell victim to the scheme herself. According to criminal complaints, Cash had acquired unfilled-out checkbooks from unwitting bank account holders, then would acquire online log-in information from numerous people for Educators Credit Union accounts, then would make electronic deposits to those accounts using checks from those checkbooks, and then would immediately make withdrawals from the accounts before ECU realized the checks were fraudulent. This practice is known as card cracking, which the American Bankers Association defines as a form of fraud where consumers respond to an online solicitation for easy money and provide a debit card for withdrawal of fake check deposits. In Thursdays criminal complaint, an unnamed individuals account allegedly had two fraudulent checks for $1,250 each submitted into her account on Jan. 19 and Jan. 20, 2021. Across those two days, six ATM withdrawals for $2,000 in total were drawn from the account. Prior messages from Vazquezs Snapchat social messaging application account, the complaint states, show Vazquez providing that individuals bank account information to Cash, with Cash promising Vazquez payments of $375 and $300. Other suspects Cash has been charged with: Nineteen counts of felony fraud against a financial institution (between $500 and $10,000) Two counts misdemeanor fraud against a financial institution (less than $500) Seven counts of conspiracy to commit fraud against a financial institution Twenty-eight counts of misdemeanor bail jumping Twenty-four counts of felony bail jumping One count of being the organizer of financial crimes, a felony Seven others named as co-defendants are: Lauryn I. Mason, 21, of Milwaukee, identified as a recruiter, accused of one felony count of fraud against a financial institution, due in court June 23 Demetrius Q. Wilson, 22, of Milwaukee, accused of one felony count of fraud against a financial institution, due in court June 22 Deanterrio T. King, 21, of Milwaukee, accused of one felony count of fraud against a financial institution Ashley N. Kruszwicki, 24, of West Allis, identified as a recruiter, accused of two felony counts of fraud against a financial institution Alfred B. Williams, 21, of Milwaukee, accused of one felony count of fraud against a financial institution Abraham J. Scott, 20, of Zion, Illinois, accused of one felony count of fraud against a financial institution Kameron J. Simpson, 30, of the 1100 block of Marquette Street, Racine, accused of one felony count of fraud against a financial institution Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 NORTH BAY Two Racine teenagers were charged for allegedly having 175 grams of marijuana as well as fentanyl and guns in a car. Baby-Joe A. Rodriguez, 19, of the 3800 block of Cheyenne Court, was charged with felony counts of possession with intent to deliver narcotics and possession with intent to deliver/distribute/manufacture less than or equal to 200 grams of marijuana, two misdemeanor counts of carrying a concealed weapon and a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia. Allen K. Agnew, 17, of the 1600 block of Austin Avenue, was charged with misdemeanor counts of carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18. According to a criminal complaint: At 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, an officer conducted a traffic stop on Erie Street for a vehicle that was speeding. The driver was identified as Rodriguez and the passenger was identified as Agnew. Rodriguez told the officer there might be three marijuana joints in the vehicle. The two were detained and the vehicle was searched. Inside, the officer found: A Bob Marley 420 vape pen. Brass knuckles. A large amount of plastic baggies in a backpack. Sandwich bags containing marijuana. A grocery bag with marijuana in it. Two handguns. Several small buds of marijuana in an ashtray. A hunting style knife in the trunk. In total, there was 175 grams of marijuana (nearly two-fifths of a pound) found as well as 18.7 grams of marijuana that was mixed with fentanyl. Rodriguez was given a $15,000 cash bond and Agnew was given a $2,000 cash bond in Racine County Circuit Court on Tuesday. Rodriguez has a preliminary hearing on July 7 and Agnew has a status conference on Aug. 29, both at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave., online court records show. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 3 Wisconsinites are likely to travel more than they have on Independence Day weekend this year than they have in any Fourth of July weekend since 2000. Thats according to AAAs recently published Independence Day Travel Forecast for Wisconsin, estimating from June 30-July 4. AAA is predicting this year that 1,046,221 Wisconsinites will be traveling over the weekend, with 95% of them traveling via automobile. Gas prices are also the highest they have ever been during Independence Day weekend, with AAA recording the Wisconsin average being $4.67 as of June 29. In Racine County, the average as of June 29 is $4.78, among the highest prices in the state. AAA also recently conducted a survey of 400 drivers in Wisconsin. Those 400 drivers, when asked How, if at all, have you changed your driving behaviors due to the recent increase in gas prices? 55% replied that they drove less often. The same response was selected by 70% of Wisconsinites surveyed when asked What if gas prices reach $5.00 per gallon? How, if at all, will you change your driving behaviors? Drove less often was the only response to surpass 50% on both questions. According to an article published by AAA on June 27 Gas prices tumble, but how low will they go? the global price of oil has fallen since last week, leading to the average gas price in the U.S. falling for the second week in a row, down to $4.89 a gallon. Wisconsin is among the ten states that have seen the highest drop in gas prices, decreasing by 13 cents in the last week; the current average now being $4.78 for the state. Across the Midwest, sharply rising gasoline prices since January 2021 do not appear to have kept drivers off the road, by and large. Federal Energy Information Administration data show that the amount of crude oil and petroleum being used in the Midwest since President Joe Biden was sworn in is actually higher than it was since the pandemic began, although gasoline use still remains below pre-pandemic averages. According to federal data: In the Midwest in the 13 months from March 2020-March 2021 an average of 137.5 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum were supplied to the Midwest per month; one barrel is equal to 42 gallons, or enough to completely fill up a 1999 Honda Civics gas tank almost 3 times. In just the 13 months from March 2021-March 2022 (the most recent cumulative data available), the average was 150.4 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum supplied to the Midwest monthly. From March 2020-March 2022 (i.e. the duration of the COVID-19 pandemics significant presence in the U.S. so far), the average has been 144 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum supplied to the Midwest. During Donald Trumps presidency prior to March 2020, an average of 155.4 million barrels were provided to the Midwest monthly. From January 2002-February 2020, the Midwests average supply of crude oil and petroleum was 152.0 million barrels. The price of gas really started shooting up in January 2021. Since then, an average of 147.5 million barrels have been supplied to the Midwest per month. Thats about 10 million gallons more per month than during the first 13 months of the pandemic and about 4.5 million gallons less than the average of the 18 years prior. The data is muddied, however, due to the early days of the pandemic when there was an unprecedented little amount of driving in modern America a symptom of lockdowns and COVID-19 fears. The price increase is the result of multiple factors, among them: The lack of U.S. energy independence, a major talking point for Republicans. Energy companies fearing that new drilling projects could be shut down by the Biden as his administration pushes the U.S. toward a greener future. Possibly some price gouging, which gas companies say they arent doing but Democrats have aimed to call out and curb; Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers issued an anti-gas price gouging order on June 21, and gas prices statewide have decreased since, according to GasBuddy.com, although most gas prices in the country have fallen since that day with other governors not making such an order. The war in Ukraine and resultant European embargoes against one of the continents primary oil providers: Russia. Gass costliness is not just a U.S. problem. According to a report based on June 7 prices tracked by GlobalPetrolPrices.com, gasoline prices in the U.S. are near the middle of the road. At the time, U.S. gas was averaging $4.79 per gallon, compared to $9.05 in Sweden, $2.35 in Saudi Arabia, $4.85 in Japan, $7.78 in Italy, $8.24 in Israel, $6.49 in Canada and $8.06 in France. 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. Alex Rodriguez Reporter Raised just outside of Mchenry, Illinois, Alex is a business reporter and a photographer for The Journal Times. He considers himself a Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen all-in-one. Alex is a graduate of SIUC in Carbondale, Illinois. Twitter:@arodatjt Follow Alex Rodriguez Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today RACINE Noudeum and Phaylakhone Pophannouvog came to this country in the 1980s with a dream. In the last two years, that dream has dimmed. Racinians are now trying to keep it alive. A long journey In their home country of Laos, Noudeum was a pilot and Phaylakhone was a teacher. Noudeum served alongside American troops during the Vietnam War from 1966 to 1975. A pilot, he flew the North American T-28 Trojan aircraft. I have uncles that were in Vietnam and Korean wars and a lot of people dont want to consider those wars, they are considered a conflict but those were wars, and we have to take care of our veterans, said Audrey Langenfeld, a frequent patron and supporter of Krung Thai. She added: Noudeum has the best food out here. In this country, the two have run and worked in several different restaurants around Wisconsin, including their current restaurant Krung Thai, 515 Sixth St. Krung Thai used to have reservation books full for days on end, with the restaurant being full of people and take-out orders every night. Now, they are barely getting by. The couple had previously owned two restaurants, both called Hong Thai, in West Allis and Hales Corners, before going into business for themselves, Noudeum worked as a cook for The King and I, a Thai restaurant in Milwaukee. COVID-19 shutdowns caused many local businesses to falter financially, and Krung Thai is among one of those businesses that has had a slow start to getting back to normal. What was once a restaurant that would easily fill up every night with hungry customers is now struggling to have more than a few customers sit down to eat in a night. Due to the lack of business and staffing, the Pophannouvogs have been nearly losing Krung Thai altogether and being kicked out of their building. While the City of Racine has offered several grants to local businesses to help relieve, the Pophannouvogs missed out on the first round of them due to not hearing about them. Langenfeld, owner of Gold Diamond & Design, 402 Main St., stepped up and helped the elderly couple get additional grants offered. Additionally, Langenfeld has taken the initiative to help out the owners of Krung Thai by setting up a GoFundMe online fundraiser (gofund.me/a27ddb95) to assist in getting the additional funds to keep the business strong; more than $1,500 has been raised so far. As well as the fundraiser, Langenfeld also urges the community to stop in and order food from the Pophannouvogs directly. In a post sharing the link to GoFundMe on Facebook, the nonprofit Downtown Racine Corp. wrote Krung Thai owners Noudeum Pophannouvong and wife, Phaylakhone Alounlangs are at risk of eviction! They have not recovered well from the Pandemic both forced closing and actually getting COVID. Please consider eating there or donating in the next few days. Krung Thai has also had a staffing issue for some time, like many businesses affected by COVID-19. While the efforts of Langenfeld have helped boost business for Krung Thai, Noudeum and Phaylakhone are often the only two working at a time, making it hard to wait on multiple tables at once for the two of them. Langenfeld likes to offer her services as waitstaff for the two, a request Noudeum often denies from her. Krung Thai is known for bringing Thai flavor to the City of Racine. According to Noudeum, the two most popular items people order at Krung Thai are the fresh spring rolls and the volcano chicken. The fresh spring rolls as filled with fresh veggies and tofu wrapped in a fresh rice paper wrapper. The volcano chicken is a spicy chicken that has a specialty oil, something Noudeum developed himself, poured onto it causing a sizzling effect. The eruption from the volcano chicken is quite a sight to see, Langenfeld said. Thai food is just packed full of flavor, Langenfeld said. I think once people try his food, his fresh spring rolls and crab rangoons, his volcano shrimp and chicken and steak and duck, they will decide Oh my gosh I will never go back to Chinese food. ... If you want your taste buds to be on a dance floor, this is the place to come. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 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. 1. Yes. It could give residents a reason to travel downtown and help revitalize the area. 2. Yes. It is, but only if the city commits to bringing in nearby restaurants and shops. 3. No. The city would be better served moving the annex to a more accessible part of town. 4. No. The proposed downtown location is in a blighted area. Consider other options. 5. Unsure. Its hard to say. It depends on what the city, county and architect come up with. Vote View Results Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 KEARNEY - The public's help is needed to find the suspect wanted in a string of vehicle thefts in north Kearney. During the overnight hours Monday, a male suspect broke into 13 vehicles in the Glenwood Estates subdivision. The suspect rummaged through the vehicles, taking property from seven. Residents also reported finding random property in their yards that is believed to have been taken from vehicles, but later discarded, said Bob Anderson, Buffalo County Sheriff captain. Items taken from the vehicles include a handgun, electronics and cash, said Brandon Brueggemann, a sheriff's office investigator. In each instance the vehicles were either parked on the street or in private driveways, and were unlocked. At least one male is belived to be involved in the thefts. Residental video surveillance captured the man breaking in to at least one vehicle. "There's people we're looking at," Brueggemann said. Deputies are providing extra patrol in the subdivision, but Anderson and Brueggemann said the public needs to be diligent in locking their vehicles. Anyone with information about the man, or to report a theft, contact the BCSO at 308-236-8555, Crimestoppers at 308-237-3424 or on the See It, Say It, Send It app. The Viroqua School Board approved a bid at its meeting June 20 to add equipment and more than double the poured rubber surface at the elementary school playground. Board members accepted Minnesota Wisconsin Playgrounds bid of $124,989.84. Pat Olbert, elementary principal, said this new equipment and expanded poured rubber surface is Phase 2 of the playground project. Phase 1 was completed in 2014. Olbert said the expanded poured rubber surface allows for more accessibility. This will add more recess options for the elementary school students and begin to move the majority of equipment behind the school building for safety and better supervision over the next few years as recommended by the Facilities Planning Study. There are three slides of different heights and a rock climber among the various features. He said it is possible the work could be done before the snow falls. Minnesota Wisconsin Playground is the same company that did the first phase. The board accepted the resignations of Ericka Arenz, fourth-grade teacher, and Amanda Hennessy, high school special education teacher. They approved the following appointments: Stephanie Ivey, .5 Laurel High School teacher; and Matthew Schoch, special education teacher. Mike Brendel, director of business services, gave an update on Bigley Pool. He said the La Crosse YMCA is pleased with how everything is going since the pool opened June 1. More than 180 monthly memberships have been purchased, which includes 141 family, nine youth and 32 adult. He said the YMCA is surprised by the number of day passes being purchased. Ryan Abing, summer school principal, gave an update on summer school. He said it didnt take students long to learn how to navigate the middle school building. He said the average summer school attendance over the past decade (not including summer 2020) was 337 students; this year there were 380 students. Summer school ends July 1. Board members also received an update on the summer food service meal program. Brendel said 175 lunches are being served and 150 breakfasts. Angela Cina can be reached at angie.cina@lee.net. 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. Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said that residents who may be seeking an abortion should look to their doctors for advice as state officials clarify if the states 1849 ban on most abortions is in effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Evers was in La Crosse on Thursday promoting pandemic relief for small businesses, just a day after he and Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit challenging the ban, saying abortion in the state was currently up in the air. Wisconsinites and medical professionals are now in limbo, unsure of exactly what is and isnt legal in the state. But as governor, Evers didnt yet have clear guidance for those seeking an abortion, saying this period of time would be dicey. The 1849 law bans almost all abortions in the state except when performed to save the life of the mother. It criminalizes the doctors who perform them, not the people receiving them. After the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling last week removing federal protections for abortion, decisions on abortion then fell to the states. In Wisconsin, most clinics halted abortions almost immediately after the ruling was issued. Evers has said hes confident the lawsuit will be successful, but in the meantime, its murky territory for those who may be seeking an abortion. My advice is to make sure that people are connecting with their doctors, and they can give them the best advice. They may suggest they go across state lines to Minnesota or to Illinois. But at present moment, it is up in the air, Evers said. He gave the same advice to the medical community. He said that the state was trying to keep people informed with the latest guidance, acknowledging how often reproductive health care is needed. Evers has already offered clemency to doctors who are prosecuted for performing abortions, and several district attorneys and law enforcement officials around the state have commited to not investigate or try cases of abortion. Before the Supreme Courts official ruling on abortion, La Crosse Countys District Attorney Tim Gruenke said that he would enforce the state ban if it was again law. Evers hopes the lawsuit will provide clarity that will allow them to offer better guidance for Wisconsinites soon. Bad news for appointees In addition to abortion, Evers expressed frustration with the Wisconsin Supreme Courts decision Wednesday to allow a member of the states Natural Resource Board to continue serving indefinitely if the Legislature didnt approve an appointed predecessor. Evers described that ruling as setting a precedent that will have a widespread impact to about every place where the governor appoints positions. This includes the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents, where nine of Evers 11 appointees still await approval from the Legislature that is unlikely to come. If for some odd reason a Republican is in my position in a couple months, all those people will be gone. All at once. Theyre going to take them out and put people in. He said that will impact UW-La Crosse and other UW schools in all sorts of ways. Additionally, La Crosse may see an impact from this ruling as it continues to face the widespread PFAS contamination on French Island. PFAS are a toxic forever chemical that dont break down over time. Theyve been found around the state, including in more than 500 private wells on the island. Earlier this year, the Natural Resources Board ignored the recommendations by scientists and refused to set standards for PFAS in groundwater and weakened the standards for the chemicals in public drinking water. The term of Fred Prehn, who was appointed to the board by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker, had already expired when he voted to reject and weaken the PFAS regulations. Residents on French Island, many of whom are currently relying on bottled water, have taken issue with the state standards for PFAS because it prevents them from receiving more assistance. Evers said the whole situation is wrong. I have a high level of frustration with all of this, he said. He added, Its not good for the state, its not good for democracy. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. July 1 marks 25 years since Britain handed over control of Hong Kong to China. When it did so, the city was promised 50 years of self-government. The city was told it could keep the freedoms of speech, assembly and press that were not permitted on the Communist-ruled Chinese mainland. But those promises have grown weaker. The future of the city of 7.4 million people remains unclear, driven by forces beyond its control. Before the change of power, many in Hong Kong worried that life would change when China took over. Thousands looked for residency elsewhere and some moved to other countries. But for about the first 10 years, the city appeared to keep its freedoms, and the economy was strong. In recent years, however, Beijing has been expanding its power and control. Those moves appeared to quicken after mass pro-democracy protests in 2014 and 2019. Now, schools must provide lessons on patriotism and national security. Some new textbooks deny Hong Kong was ever a British colony. Changes to election rules have led to a lack of opposition lawmakers in the city's legislature. Lawmakers must be considered patriots" by China. China has named John Lee, a longtime security official, the next chief executive. Freedom of the press also has come under attack. Pro-democracy newspapers that were critical of the government, like Apple Daily, have been forced to close. Its publisher Jimmy Lai has been jailed. The city's tourism and businesses are struggling from Chinas zero-COVID policy. Alex Siu was born in Hong Kong and left in 2020. His parents had made sure that he would have the choice to leave if he wanted to. They got him a British National overseas passport years earlier. Siu moved to Britain with his girlfriend because of anger with Hong Kongs work environment and the political situation. He misses the food, friends and family, but is not planning to go back. I believe there is no hope because the government holds absolute power, Siu said. Kurt Tong is the former U.S. consul general to Hong Kong. He is currently with The Asia Group, an advisory firm. He said the reforms represent the growing dissatisfaction of the government in Beijing with Hong Kong. The things that China found irritating about Hong Kong started to become more prominent, and the things that it found attractive about Hong Kong started to be less prominent, and friction built up over time, he said. Beginning in 2020, officials started passing measures limiting political dissent. Officials started arresting many activists and imprisoning them for illegal assembly. The arrests continued although the citys constitution, called the Basic Law, guarantees freedom for such gatherings. John Burns is a professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong. He was doubtful that China would ever give Hong Kong full democracy or universal voting rights. These were goals in the Basic Law at the time of the 1997 handover. Were in a kind of hellish place. Hong Kong is not part of the system and therefore it cant bargain that way, (but at the same time) we are not free. We are in this hybrid middle ground," Burns said. Chan Po-ying is a 66-year-old pro-democracy activist. Her partner, also an activist, is serving a nearly two-year prison sentence on national-security related charges. But Chan said she is not giving up the fight for democracy. In May, during an election for Hong Kongs new chief executive, Chan and several others held a small protest to demand full voting rights. And on June 4 this year, Chan with two others stood on a street in silent protest. June 4 is the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square attack on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing. Hong Kong has banned yearly protests marking the deadly attack. Chan hoped to protest Fridays ceremonies marking the 25th anniversary of the British handover to Chinese rule. But she and fellow activists were forced to talk with state security police. Afterwards they decided on that day, we cannot conduct any sort of protest activity," Chan said. Im Dan Novak. Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press _______________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story assembly n. a group of people who have gathered together residency n. legal permission to live in a place tourism n. the industry of providing goods and services for visitors to a place consul n. a diplomatic official whose job it is to live in a foreign country and provide services and protection for citizens of his or her own country irritating adj. making someone angry, upset or impatient prominent adj. important or well-known friction n. disagreement or tension hellish adj. very bad, unpleasant or shocking bargain n. an agreement in which people or groups say they will do or give something in exchange for something else hybrid adj. something that is formed by combining two or more things A well-organized financing effort is providing private money and equipment to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia. The donations are being raised through crowdfunding activities. Crowdfunding is when money is raised from a large number of people who each give smaller amounts to a cause. The efforts are generally publicized and operated through the internet. The financing system is helping to support Ukrainian resistance as Russia continues its military offensive in Ukraine. Russian forces invaded the country on February 24. The Ukrainian side has heavily depended on financial aid and military assistance from Western nations during the conflict. But the crowdfunding efforts demonstrate how Ukraine is also getting help from large networks of private donors and volunteers. Technology and strong organization are helping drive Ukraines crowdfunding activities. The fundraising systems can turn millions of dollars in donations into fast deliveries of war equipment directly to the battlefield. The crowdfunding efforts use websites to seek needed materials. The system is supported by online payment systems. Volunteers can also get involved and donate their skills and experience in areas such as buying and delivering military equipment. Among the materials received through crowdfunding are drones -- equipment designed to help troops see on the battlefield and vehicles. Last week, a Ukrainian television star and politician Serhiy Prytula appealed to the public for $15 million in donations to buy three Turkish-made military drones. His request went viral online. Prytula later announced that the appeal had raised $20 million in under three days. That amount was enough to buy four of the military drones. Prytula is head of an organization that is raising money for Ukraines military effort and for humanitarian aid. The group is currently one of Ukraines biggest crowdfunding efforts for the war. On the other side, some Russians are also donating supplies to support their own countrys troops. But the Russian efforts are not nearly as organized or widespread as the crowdfunding activities in support of Ukraine. Experts say one reason for this is because Russia has been downplaying the size, reach and cost of its invasion. Russian officials have repeatedly called the invasion a "special military operation." The West sees the war in Ukraine as an unjustified act of aggression by Russia. The conflict has killed thousands, displaced millions and destroyed cities. It has also affected world exports of important goods such as food and energy supplies. A Russian government-supported crowdfunding campaign was started in early June. A group called the United Peoples Front launched the campaign. The Russian government created the organization to seek public support. The group has made appeals for military equipment and medicines. Mikhail Kuznetsov helps lead the United Peoples Front. In an appeal for the organization, he said, The guys on the front line who are dying for the right to be Russians, who are fighting for our common freedom, will greatly appreciate any help you can offer. Kuznetsov added: They will win in any case, but they will win faster and with smaller casualties if we help them. Im Bryan Lynn. The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. __________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story deliver v. to transport things from one place to another drone n. a self-piloted vehicle downplay v. to make something seem less important or bad than it really is appreciate v. to enjoy and recognize the full worth of something casualties n. people who are injured or killed in an accident or war Major U.S. technology companies have expressed support for employees affected by the Supreme Courts recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. But some activists and lawmakers fear the business activities of those companies could result in legal action against people suspected of violating federal or state laws. Last week, the high court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. That ruling recognized a womans constitutional right to have an abortion. An abortion is a medical procedure that ends a pregnancy. The Guttmacher Institute, an organization that supports abortion rights, says 26 American states are likely to ban abortion without Roe v. Wade. Some states, including Texas, Oklahoma and Idaho, have laws that permit private citizens to bring legal actions against anyone who assists a woman seeking an abortion. Technology companies including Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft reacted to the decision by offering benefits aimed at supporting their employees. All of these companies have announced they will cover costs for workers who need to travel to other areas to legally receive abortion services. Concerns over privacy But concerns have been raised that these technology companies might not protect private user data that could be used to identify and possibly prosecute people seeking ways to get an abortion. Clear examples from the past have demonstrated that whenever personal data is tracked or stored, there is always a risk that the information could be misused or abused. Privacy groups and some lawmakers have warned that different forms of personal data could be provided to law enforcement and used in legal cases linked to new state abortion laws. This could include location tracking data, text messages, emails and internet search histories collected by technology companies. Cynthia Conti-Cook is a technology specialist with the nonprofit Ford Foundation. She told Reuters news agency, "It is very likely that theres going to be requests made to those tech companies for information related to search histories and websites visited." Such data could also be used against individuals who assist the people seeking an abortion. And activist groups fear private data on users could also be bought by people who might be paid to go after people seeking or assisting with abortions. Alexandra Reeve Givens heads the Washington-based Center for Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit privacy group. She told The Associated Press she thinks the Supreme Courts ruling opens the door for law enforcement and other people and groups to seek massive amounts of private data from citizens. Calls for privacy safeguard In a statement, Givens called on technology companies to take steps to safeguard such information. In this new environment, tech companies must step up and play a crucial role in protecting womens digital privacy and access to online information, she said. Last week, four Democratic lawmakers accused Apple and Google of misleading millions of mobile phone users by permitting the collection and sale of their personal data to third parties. They called on federal agencies to investigate the matter. In their letter, the lawmakers said, Individuals seeking abortions and other reproductive healthcare will become particularly vulnerable to privacy harms. The letter added that groups were already selling, licensing and sharing the location information of people that visit abortion providers to anyone with a credit card. Apple and Google had no immediate comment on the letter. Other major technology companies have also not provided specific plans for how they plan to deal with official requests from governments or law enforcement agencies for private user data. In general, technology companies have suggested they will obey abortion-related data requests unless they see them as too wide ranging, the AP reports. Meta, for example, has pointed to its online transparency report. It states that the company fulfills government requests for user information only where we have a good-faith belief that the law requires us to do so. Privacy rights activists say that kind of policy does not go far enough. They say technology companies need to work to strengthen and expand the use of privacy-protecting encryption to securely protect user data. Privacy groups have also called on companies to limit the collection, sharing and sale of information that can identify a womans pregnancy situation. They have also urged the industry to stop using technology tools that aim to guess whether users are likely to be pregnant. Im Dorothy Gundy. And I'm Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from The Associated Press and Reuters. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. Quiz - Technology-related Privacy Concerns Surround US Abortion Ruling Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz ____________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story benefit n. things that a company provide employees, such as health care and money to cover certain costs prosecute v. to officially accuse someone of a crime in a court of law track v. to record the progress of development of something location n. a place or position crucial adj. extremely important or necessary access n. a way of getting at, near or to something vulnerable adj. able to be hurt or at risk of being harmed license v. to give someone official permission to do or have something transparent adj. honest and open; not secretive encryption n. the changing of information from one form to another, especially to hide its meaning Columbus woman Savannah Slusarski loves everything vintage, specifically old Hollywood glamour think Marilyn Monroe. It's being sexy without showing everything you got. I feel like it's very empowering to do that kind of modeling, Slusarski said. It's the fun hair and the dark red lips and being flirty and fun without literally showing everything that you have. There's a little mystery with it and I really like that. Slusarski is now one of many women taking part in the 2022 Maxim Cover Girl Competition. The winner of the competition will be featured on the cover of Maxim, an international mens magazine. I do pin-up modeling, which is like the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s style, Slusarski said, noting she started in 2019. That was kind of the photos (submitted for the contest) from some past photoshoots I had done. I wasn't sure if that would be something they would consider cool for Maxim or not, but they accepted it. Slusarski, who works as a hairstylist and makeup artist, said she learned of the contest online and filled out the application. She learned on May 26 that she has been accepted into the contest. The competition is in its first round until Thursday night, and the top 20 in each group will go on to the next round. There will be several rounds until the finals in August. Slusarski is currently second in her group, and there are several groups involved in the competition. Those wanting to vote for her can do so at bit.ly/3biWKOG. There is a free daily voting, which requires verification to prevent spamming. There are also special warrior votes that benefit the Homes for Wounded Warriors, which helps build and remodel handicap-accessible homes for disabled veterans. The warrior votes allow someone to pay for extra votes, with proceeds benefiting the organization. In addition to being the cover girl, the winner will also receive $25,000 and a trip to Paris for a photo shoot. Slusarski said if she won, she would give some of those funds to a local nonprofit. Her voting page states she would also take her family on a vacation. I have been so blessed to be a part of my community and work with so many people that work with Center for Survivors here in Columbus, she said. I've personally known some people who have gone through some really rough times and they have certainly helped them immensely. Braeden Tyma, a Kearney-based photographer specializing in cars and pin-ups, said hes known Slusarski for a couple of years, having met her through a mutual friend. She considers the whole concept of a photo shoot. So for shooting with a car, she thinks to the area of the car, the style of the car and how that relates to her hair, her makeup, her wardrobe, Tyma said. She connects the whole concept, everything that's going to be in the photo, which is what makes the photos stand out. Tyma noted hes known others competing for a chance to work with magazines like Maxim and Inked, and he enjoys seeing people from small areas trying their hand at the field. I always love to see people who are not from the coasts or not from Texas or somewhere big that are out here trying to compete and do things and use their photos beyond just like pegging them on the wall, Tyma said. She's really pushing for that. Her skill level as a model is so above and beyond that. She would deserve and fit in with models that are being hired by that magazine. The pin-up community, Slusarski said, is body positive, something she appreciates and strives for. She noted shes always been interested in modeling and acting but has heard her fair share of negative comments. When it came to modeling, I was always told you're not tall enough, you're not skinny enough. When you get told that your whole life, you really do believe it, Slusarski said. I feel like if I could win this, it would be proof that you don't have to be 6 feet tall and a size zero to be to make it on a big cover, to be on the face of the magazine. I love to be the face of a not normal girl that you see on the magazine. Slusarski said throughout her career as a hairstylist and makeup artist, shes spent her time making women feel as beautiful on the outside as they are on the inside whether it be family photos, headshots, senior pictures, school dances or weddings. I have spent so much time behind the scenes because I know what it's like to feel not enough to be in front of the camera. My goal in life and in this experience is to encourage others, it doesn't matter what the naysayers think, you don't have to be ideal you just have to believe in yourself, she said. If this is all the further I make it in the competition, it's perfectly fine because I've been able to experience all this love and support from my community and I'm so proud to be a Columbus native. 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United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Rom-coms are one of the most popular genres in all of film, and there is no shortage of great ones out there to discover over and again. Stack Roselines Cafe, on the corner of East Wilson and South Blair streets Downtown where Madisons infamous hairball intersection is torn up, needs a little love. To make matters worse, the sidewalk on the west, leading to the restaurant, in front of the Essen Haus and the Come Back In, says closed, but its certainly navigable. Construction on the intersection at John Nolen Drive, South Blair Street, East Wilson and Williamson streets is expected to be completed by late fall, but accompanying work on East Washington Avenue will stretch into October 2023. Roselines, inside the Hotel Ruby Marie, is worth supporting during the construction and beyond for its great omelets, inexpensive sandwiches and its secluded, four-table urban patio, accessible through the striking, old-fashioned dining room with its elegant tiled floor. There was no construction noise around noon on my two visits, just lots of bird song. Its our secret spot, said Joshua Paffel, the hotels managing innkeeper. The cafes main function is serving free breakfast to guests of the 15-room hotel Monday through Friday. Paffel said when the hotel is hopping, it serves 20 to 30 people a day. On weekends, guests get a voucher to order off the menu at the Come Back In. The Denver omelet ($8) with ham, red and green bell pepper, and onions, was perfect, as was the long, thin breakfast burrito ($8) with the same veggies, scrambled eggs and a choice of chorizo, bacon or sausage. Grill marks signaled a trip through the panini press. I later noticed on the menu that the omelet should have come with toast, but it didnt. The turkey club sandwich ($7) was thick with turkey pastrami, crunchy bacon, leaf lettuce, red onion, tomato and mayo. The bread, also panini-pressed, was left uncut instead of quartered, as a club usually is. It was a tall, distinctive and impressive sandwich. A chicken salad wrap ($7) was full of big chunks of well-dressed chicken and crisp with vegetables. The veggie wrap ($7) featured mushrooms, red and green peppers, onions, shredded cheese and mixed greens. Chipotle ranch dressing gave it a pleasant kick. Both wraps benefited from the panini press. Franks RedHot and Tabasco are available on the top shelf of the cooler where the beverages are stored. The cafe is extremely generous with its sides, which are cheap to begin with. The potato salad ($1.50) featured soft potato chunks with a hint of sweetness and tang. The bow tie or farfalle pasta salad ($1.50) had carrot, red pepper and onion, but a stunning amount of oil pooled at the bottom of the bowl. A cranberry orange muffin ($1.50) was small, simple and not too sweet or oily. Cranberries gave it a nice, sour note and walnuts were a surprise bonus. The oatmeal raisin ($1.50) and chocolate chip cookies ($1.50) tasted like ones you might make at home. On my second visit, I hoped to try a banana nut muffin, but the employee who worked the register and made all the food himself while listening to The Larry Meiller Show on Wisconsin Public Radio, said there had been a full house for breakfast and he ran out of muffins. Paffel said the bakery has been scaled back due to the construction and slowdown in business, but what it has is baked in Roselines kitchen. The fruit salad looked good, but was covered up in the case and not listed on the menu, so I didnt see it until I was leaving. By then I didnt feel like putting in a new order. Roselines Cafe is named for Roseline Peck, the wife of the first tavernkeeper in Madison, Eben Peck. In 1837, she was one of the first female European settlers in the area. She and Eben built a log cabin on South Webster Street near King Street. Paffel said the building dates to 1873 and the name was changed from Lakeview Bakery and Deli about a year ago when they took the opportunity during the pandemic to do a little revamp. Were trying to embrace more of the history of the neighborhood, he said. The room with the counter is a little shabby, but the dining area makes up for that. It has a museum element, with an antique scale, a cabinet with sculptures, and a bookshelf that includes a set of encyclopedias and Madison history books. Bob Worm owns all the businesses on the block, including the hotel, the cafe, the Essen Haus, the Come Back In and the Up North bar. Paffel said the hotel is doing OK, but business at Roselines is down. This is quite an unfortunate time, especially following up on the pandemic, he said. It has dwindled our clientele considerably due to just being able to access the block generally, he said. And a lot of people, even if they do know were open, not everybody wants to cross a construction zone to get lunch. Diner's scorecard Restaurant: Roseline's Cafe Location: 524 E. Wilson St. Phone: 608-250-2380 Website: roselinescafe.com Hours: Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Prices: Breakfast $8, sandwiches and wraps $7, sides $1.50, side salad $3 Noise level: Low Credit cards: Accepted Accessibility: One step to get in, stairs also lead to dining room Outdoor dining: Yes, on a secluded urban patio Delivery: No Drinks: Can accommodate for alcohol Gluten-free: Omelets, potato salad, side salad Vegetarian offerings: One omelet and one wrap choice Kids menu: No Reservations: Only for large parties Parking: Lot behind hotel, accessible during the construction through Railroad Street Service: Great Bottom line: This renamed Downtown cafe has a secret urban patio perfect for a weekday breakfast or lunch. Read restaurant news at go.madison.com/restaurantnews Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in 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. A 37-year-old Tomah man convicted of beating to death a 3-year-old boy will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of release. Marcus Wayne Anderson received a life sentence from Monroe County Circuit Judge Mark Goodman during a sentencing hearing Wednesday in Sparta. Anderson is accused of inflicting multiple injuries that caused the death of Kyson Rice at a Jodi Circle residence in Tomah on May 3, 2019. Goodman said the case was a "extremely vicious homicide" and that "the last moments of Kyson's life were horrible." "The blood of Kyson Rice will never come off your hands," Goodman said. Anderson was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide and several other crimes, including child abuse, drug possession and four counts of bail jumping. Prosecutors said Anderson inflicted a sustained beating on the 36-pound toddler and called four other people before finally calling 911. He lied about the circumstances that caused Kyson's injuries and drove away under the influence of narcotics after telling police he would meet Kyson at a local hospital. He later tested positive for four different banned substances. An autopsy concluded that Kyson suffered nearly 200 bruises. Kyson's uncle, John Glynn, pounded the lectern 186 times during a victim impact statement to illustrate how many times Anderson struck the child. Glynn asked for a life sentence without the possibility of parole. "Please protect society from this evil," Glynn said. "No parole. Ever." Witnesses and prosecutors described Anderson as a remorseless killer with no redeeming qualities. Assistant District Attorney Sarah Skiles said Anderson has spent much of his adult life in prison and has a thin employment history. "There are absolutely no positive characteristics to Marcus Anderson," she said. "If someone wrote the story about his life, it would say this: Marcus Anderson is a selfish, violent predator who takes advantage of and manipulates people weaker than him and is someone who blames the consequences of all of his actions on other people." She called Anderson a "real-life monster." "Marcus Anderson murdered Kyson in an excruciating and brutal manner," Skiles said. "I don't use the term monster lightly. It's not a word I've used in court before. It's a word I hope I never have to use again." She said Anderson left behind a long list of victims, including family members, hospital employees and first responders who witnessed Kyson's injuries. Two Tomah police officers were among those who gave victim impact statements. "He caused every first responder to live this day over and over," said Tomah Police Department Sgt. Wilbert Steinborn. Kyson's mother, Jessica Rice, asked Skiles to read her victim impact statement. Rice and Anderson were living together prior to Kyson's death with Rice holding a full-time job and Anderson assuming primary daycare responsibilities. "You had no right to take (Kyson) away in such a cruel way," she said. Rice said Kyson's death has left her distrustful of people. "I don't think I can ever have a healthy relationship again," she said. Anderson has maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings and took the case to a jury, which handed down guilty verdicts on the most serious charges April 12. The jury acquitted Anderson on five of the nine bail jumping charges. Defense attorney Patrick Flanagan asked the court to leave open the possibility of parole. He said every defendant should be given "hope that they can change." Flanagan said Anderson conducted himself with decorum during the trial. "He kept his composure when he believed he was innocent and everybody else says he's monster," Flanagan said. He pushed back against arguments that Anderson didn't accept responsibility for his actions. "Mr. Anderson has a right to a trial," Flanagan said. "There should be no punishment whatsoever for his decision to take this to trial." Anderson spoke briefly before his sentence was handed down. He said he asks "God every day for forgiveness" but that he didn't intend to kill Kyson. "I never wanted Kyson to die," Anderson said. "Who in their right mind wants a child to die?" Goodman said his sentencing decision was influenced by the age of the victim, the widespread wounds to "nearly every inch" of Kyson's body and Anderson's criminal history, which included six years in an Arizona prison for armed robbery and convictions for false imprisonment and battery in La Crosse County. Anderson was sentenced to four years probation in the La Crosse County case. The victim testified during the homicide trial that Anderson physically abused her and her infant child while the three lived together in La Crosse. La Crosse Tribune reporter Steve Rundio can be reached at steve.rundio@lee.net. Police have arrested a 38-year-old Brooklyn man in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash earlier this month in the town of Oregon. Timothy W. Pritchett was being held in the Dane County Jail Thursday on suspicion of vehicular homicide and felony hit-and-run causing death. According to the Dane County Sheriffs Office, Pritchett was driving a Chevrolet G1500 van when he struck and killed 30-year-old Logan Gueths on Highway MM in the town of Oregon. A truck driver spotted Gueths body around 5 p.m. on June 8. According to his family, the Green Bay native and UW-La Crosse graduate was out for a jog when he was killed. The Sheriffs Office said interviews with area residents and tips from the public led investigators to Pritchett, who was arrested Thursday after police questioned him and searched his van. According to court records, Pritchett was sentenced last year to a year in jail in Dodge County in a case in which he was accused of driving more than 120 mph while fleeing police after a traffic stop. 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. A Merrill man was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison for using a child to produce pornography, authorities reported. Jason D. Ridolfi, 42, also was sentenced Wednesday by Judge William M. Conley to 20 years of supervised release after his prison term ends. Ridolfi pleaded guilty on March 21 to a charge of using a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Timothy OShea said in a statement. In November 2020, the state Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that sexually explicit images of children had been uploaded to Google a month earlier. Agents executed a search warrant at Ridolfis home and found more than 25,000 images of child pornography on his devices, including some he produced, OShea said. Conley said at sentencing that Ridolfi needed to address his alcoholism and mental health needs to ensure he did not offend again, OShea said. The charge against Ridolfi was the result of an investigation conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, Lincoln County Sheriffs Office, and the Kenosha Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman prosecuted this case. 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 Shorewood Hills Police Department is seeking information on vandalism of Shorewood Hills Elementary School overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. A swastika and a hooded KKK figure were found spray-painted on the exterior wall of the school on Wednesday morning. In a Facebook post, Shorewood Hills police asked residents who live around the school and have surveillance cameras to check footage between 7 p.m. Tuesday and 7 a.m. Wednesday. Police ask that anyone with information about the incident contact them at 608-255-2345. Tipsters may remain anonymous by contacting Madison Area Crime Stoppers at 608-266-6014 or P3Tips.com. Individuals contacting Crime Stoppers can receive a reward of up to $1,000 for tips that lead to an arrest. 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. Environmental advocates slammed Thursdays Supreme Court decision stripping the Environmental Protection Agencys authority to regulate heat-trapping gasses emitted from power plants, while Wisconsins business lobby hailed it as a win. Local leaders vowed to redouble efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions, while the states largest utility company says it still plans to stop burning coal by 2035. Heres a selection of reactions from Wisconsin organizations: The Court chose to side with the narrow, self-serving interests of the dying coal industry rather than allow states to use a variety of smart, economical tools to reduce power plant pollution. Katie Nekola, general counsel for Clean Wisconsin States, as well as Congress, will need to step up and act more strongly to protect our environment and public health while the Supreme Court installs roadblocks to federal agency actions. Howard Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center Our most vulnerable populations will suffer the most from the ongoing climate crisis. ... This is not just a matter of climatethis is a matter of justice. John Greenler, executive director of 350 Wisconsin We have already announced plans to exit coal by 2035 and we do not expect todays ruling to change that. Brendan Conway, spokesperson for WEC Energy Group, Wisconsins largest utility company Alliant Energy is focused on executing a long-term strategy to deliver reliable and affordable energy with lower carbon dioxide emissions, independent of changing policies and political landscape. We remain committed to these plans. Tony Palese, spokesperson for Alliant Energy Todays ruling is a major win for the rule of law, and it ensures that decisions with massive impact on the economy can only be made by officials who answer directly to the voters and not unelected bureaucrats. Environmental regulations must not only be based in science, but also balance the economic impact they will have. Scott Manley, executive vice president of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce Todays decision means that cities must redouble our efforts to fight climate change. Meeting the scope and scale of the climate crisis will require actions at every level of government and we hope this decision inspires Congress to act swiftly to pass vital climate legislation. Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway Dane County remains fully committed to doing everything we can to address climate change. It is beyond disappointing to see the Supreme Court take actions that could negate our actions by empowering polluters in other parts of the country. Dane County Executive Joe Parisi 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. Five Democratic candidates will face off Aug. 9 for the Assembly seat that has been held by departing Rep. Gary Hebl, D-Sun Prairie, for the last two decades. Those running are Sun Prairie City Council member Mike Jacobs, Dane County Sup. Analiese Eicher, Dane County Sup. and Cottage Grove Village Board member Melissa Ratcliff, Madison Ald. Syed Abbas and former Assembly aide Andrew Hysell. The winner of the primary will face GOP candidate Andrew McKinney in the Nov. 8 election. New maps adopted earlier this year give the district a more than 30-point Democratic lean, meaning the winner of the primary will likely secure the seat in November. The district includes Cottage Grove, Sun Prairie and parts of Madisons East Side. But while Wisconsins legislative maps benefit Democratic candidates in the 46th Assembly District, statewide maps largely favor Republicans, meaning the next representative to hold Hebls seat will almost certainly join a chamber with a strong GOP majority. The five candidates seeking to join the Assemblys minority party have differing views on how they would approach the job at a time when political divisiveness seems to be at a fever pitch. Ratcliff and Eicher said they would be fighting for policies involving reproductive health, gun control, environmental issues and education spending. Some of those topics, including increased firearm regulations or repealing the states 1849 abortion ban following the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court, have been largely nonstarters for Republicans in the Legislature. Unfortunately, we, as a party and as Assembly Democrats, are going to be in a position of having to defend and protect the very things that we hold dear here in Wisconsin and that are core to our Democratic values, Eicher said. We have to be prepared to defend that, and my experience as a public servant in county government and as an advocate ... I think sets me up incredibly well to contribute to protecting those things. Ratcliff said she would focus on supporting and fighting for the shared values of this district, but Im not going to compromise on those. Im not going to be afraid to propose and support good bills that may not pass, but must be heard because education and advocacy of issues is really important, Ratcliff added. Additionally, I will be open to issues on which we can find agreement with Republicans, such as expanding access to broadband. Hysell said his focus will be to fight for our democracy, citing the ongoing GOP-ordered review of the 2020 election headed by former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, which was launched following pressure from former President Donald Trump, who continues to make unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud. I think folks around here are used to working with likeminded people to find commonsense solutions, Hysell said of the 46th District. The state Capitol may be 10 miles away, but it may as well be 10,000 miles away because that is not how it works there. There is no working with the Trump Republican leadership. They dont care about inclusion or collaboration or any kind of compromise, and to have any sort of illusion that that would be on the table is incredibly unrealistic. Jacobs, on the other hand, said he would try to work across the aisle with Republicans to find common goals, primarily in areas of education. Democrats in the minority, any of us can tear off our sleeves and howl at the moon, but thats not going to get anything done, Jacobs said. Ill be able to, at least in committees, speak on education, and the other side is going to have to listen to what I say. They may not go the way I want them to, but at least Ill be a voice at the table that they cant ignore. Abbas described himself as a mover and shaker and a candidate who really wants to find common ground and work with people to move forward on issues, including increased funding to local communities to address water quality concerns. These people are suffering regardless of if theyre white, Black, brown, Republican, Democrat, independent it doesnt matter, its a public health issue, Abbas said. That is the priority for my district and for the state of Wisconsin, to really work across the aisle ... and make sure small communities get that their fair share of money. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SHERIDAN, Ore. (AP) Oregons federal public defender says dozens of people inside the states only federal prison have been on a hunger strike protesting conditions inside the facility. We heard last week that some incarcerated people had started a hunger strike, and the government confirmed (Monday) that about 80 people are now participating, Lisa Hay, the federal public defender, told Oregon Public Broadcasting in a statement. Oregons U.S. Attorneys Office would not confirm a hunger strike in the detention center at the Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan to OPB. The institution houses people who have been charged but not convicted of crimes. The Bureau of Prisons this week confirmed some people inside the detention center did not accept their meals. Numerous inmates assigned to the detention center at Federal Correctional Institution Sheridan did not accept meals prepared by the Bureau of Prisons for several days, BOP spokesperson Benjamin OCone wrote in a statement. However, during this time, these inmates had access to purchased goods from the commissary for consumption. OCone also said the men in custody are currently accepting their meals. Hay has filed dozens of petitions seeking peoples release from the prison over concerns about poor medical care and inmates sometimes spending weekends locked in their cells. During the past two years, Hays court filings have documented troubling reports shes received from people inside, including cancer patients who have not received treatment for months and inmates who say theyve attempted suicide and haven't received medication or requested mental health treatment. At least six inmates have died at Sheridan since March 2020. None of the deaths were from COVID-19. "We had hoped that the existence of these lawsuits would spur reforms within the Bureau of Prisons, but any progress over these last two years has been frustratingly slow, Hay said in her Monday statement. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Dozens of people experiencing homelessness in Alaska's largest city will now camp at a city-owned site where bears recently tumbled through belongings, as a major local shelter closes. The Sullivan Arena, which provided shelter for hundreds of people nightly for more than two years, is closing Thursday. The use of Anchorage's Centennial Campground as a place for people to stay is seen as a stopgap measure with indoor shelters full and Mayor Dave Bronson's administration clearing illegal campsites, citing fire danger, the Anchorage Daily News reported. On Wednesday, the sound of an air horn blasted through the campground as a black bear and two cubs sauntered into the site. Individuals who were camping there and local health department workers tried to scare the bears off with the horn, shouts and claps. Jimmie Hartley said he plans to string cans filled with gravel on a fishing line around his site to warn him of approaching bears. Many of those who were arriving at the campground from Sullivan Arena had minimal gear. At the campground office Wednesday, local Parks and Recreation Director Mike Braniff and campsite staff discussed the issues they face as the campground shifts from hosting recreational campers to providing a place to stay for those with few supplies, limited camping experience and some with mental and physical health challenges and substance abuse issues. One major question is determining how many people the campground can safely accommodate, along with site rules, Braniff said. "Right now, were not allowing any fires here, he said. Food safety and bear safety is at the top of our list. Alaska Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist Dave Battle warned campground workers and Braniff that they would face further bear encounters without strict enforcement of safety measures. The city is planning to have bear-safe food storage bins but it wasn't clear when they would arrive or how they would be shared. Some of those at the campground arrived from illegal campsites cleared by police and city workers. Some came after hearing they could stay there legally with access to water and bathrooms. People can stay at the campground for 14 days on a city voucher. It's unclear what happens then. City officials have said they are working on a plan. Construction of a planned shelter will not be complete until later this year. Arthur Smith, who arrived Wednesday from a recently cleared encampment, said he would stay "as long as I can. Ive been camping for five or six years. I want housing. For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, Anchorage Daily News. The state of Oklahoma made use of the death penalty for the first time in nearly seven years on Oct. 28, 2021, with the execution of John Mari Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. We learned from the Jan. 6 hearings that U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, tried to pass Vice President Mike Pence a list of fake electors from Wisconsin. It's clear now that Johnson was ready to toss out of the will of people of Wisconsin to help Donald Trump illegitimately win the election. Thankfully, Pence rebuffed Johnson's effort to undermine our democracy. Many air travelers this summer have already run into delays and cancellations, and there's no sign of disruptions letting up anytime soon. Delta Air Lines expects customer volumes that it has "not seen since before the pandemic" over July 4, and the airline has issued a waiver for the holiday period allowing travelers to change their tickets for free. The carrier has already trimmed about 100 daily flights this summer to "minimize disruptions." United Airlines, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines have also trimmed their summer schedules. The moves come as traveler volumes rise. The number of passengers screened at US airports hit a fresh pandemic-era high on Sunday, June 26. The Transportation Security Administration says 2,462,097 people passed through its checkpoints that day, the most since February 2020, before travel demand cratered during the pandemic. "It's a wise decision that the airlines cut back," says Kathleen Bangs, a former airline pilot and spokesperson for flight tracking site FlightAware. She cited many factors causing an increased number of delays and cancellations -- among them shortages of pilots and air traffic controllers and overall airline staffing shortages. And it's happening around the world. Ryanair staff at airports across Europe just had a weekend of strikes with more coming, and British Airways workers have voted to strike over pay concerns. If British Airways goes ahead, the move could cause more big problems for travelers this summer. For the air traveler in the summer of 2022, this all means more strategic planning. Here are some tips to up your chances of getting where you want to go this summer. Go early, with a buffer Fly early. Taking a flight that departs early in the day helps to avoid the cascading effect of delays and cancellations, says Bangs. Bad weather is also more likely to affect later flights. And leave plenty of time at the airport. Bangs had a 7 a.m. departure last week out of Houston Intercontinental that had her leaving her hotel at 4:30 a.m. "And I was a bit surprised that even at that early hour, the two hours I had between arrival at the airport and departure were ALMOST not enough," Bangs said in an email. The typical recommended two-hour buffer for domestic flights might not be enough right now. "Three hours might be more in order at large airports." Opt for nonstop, frequent service. Choosing a nonstop flight offered several times a day on major carriers ups your odds of getting rebooked on the same itinerary in a timely manner, said Willis Orlando, senior product operations specialist at airfare deals site Scott's Cheap Flights. If you have connections, leave a buffer. Book with two hours minimum between connecting flights, Bangs advises. Tight connections could leave you stranded. Leave cushion time for can't-miss events. Don't travel on the day of an important event such as a wedding. Plan to arrive at least one day early. Pack strategically and make a back-up plan Use a carry-on for essentials. Pack anything you'll need within one or two days in your carry-on. Don't check prescription medications or other essentials. Or consider traveling only with carry-on luggage. A rolling suitcase plus a "personal item," which Bangs notes can be much larger than a typical purse, can often suffice even on longer trips. "Ladies, don't use a purse as your second carry-on. Get a big second carry-on that FITS your purse inside," Bangs advises. To be really safe, book a backup flight. Bangs often books a refundable or reusable second ticket. "The odds of two different carriers, a couple hours apart, both getting canceled are still fairly slim," Bangs noted, unless there's a widespread weather event. Or consider other back-up transportation. "Having a back-up rental car is a good idea for shorter flights," Bangs said. "Most rental agencies won't charge if you cancel." Think about driving. "Consider driving one leg of your trip and flying back home, if you're traveling for a big event. In some cases, this is cheaper than the round trip cost," said Lousson Smith, product operations specialist at Scott's Cheap Flights. "If the destination is within 7 hours, it might be worth it to drive." Get your travel tools in order Check your departure airport's website and Twitter feed. They often share useful information about construction projects impacting operations and long security lines. Check your airline's website for travel waivers. Sometimes you can easily change your flight when delays and cancellations are likely, Bangs said. Case in point: Delta's waivers for Memorial Day and July 4 travelers. Check your credit card's travel coverage. Premium card holders often have insurance that could cover expenses such as meals and accommodation in the event of a delay or cancellation. Make sure you have airline apps. If your flight is canceled, reschedule your travel on the airline's app, Bangs advises. You're likely to be able to rebook faster and you'll have access to seats that would probably be filling up as you waited on the phone. If you have to rebook, do your research and be considerate Do your research and work with airline agents. If you have a carrier preference or a route you prefer, speak up. "Work with them to see if they can put you on a different carrier, or route you through a different city than what they're offering," Bangs advises. She recently got rerouted through Phoenix rather than Salt Lake City at her request because she preferred to be on a mainline airline rather than a regional carrier and she felt she'd have more options from Phoenix if she got stuck there. Ask for a hotel voucher or a frequent flier miles credit. If you can't get on a flight the same day, it's worth asking for meal and/or hotel vouchers. In many cases, such as weather events, airlines aren't required to provide them, but it's worth asking. Bangs negotiated a miles credit recently and she has already used it to book a flight this fall. Stay considerate. Don't take your frustration out on customer service employees. They aren't making the operations decisions. ___ CNN's Samantha Tapfumaneyi, Livvy Doherty, Gregory Wallace, Ross Levitt and Pete Muntean contributed to this report. Top image: People move through the terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport at the start of the Memorial Day weekend on May 27, 2022, in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) KIMBERLY Standing in Todd Ballards farm field, more than 50 people watched how management decisions can change how water moves through the soil. A soil sample with low disturbance and a cover crop resulted in limited water flowing over the surface and completely saturated soil. The water collected from the no cover and high disturbance sample, however, looked a bit different. Its looking like chocolate milk, said Shawn Nield, an Idaho soil scientist with the Natural Resource Conservation Service. The water carried high amounts of sediment as it moved across the soil. The soil that had a cover crop without tillage was able to withstand the force of raindrops, which can reach 20 mph. You are losing money in nutrients and potentially creating issues for the neighbor or the conservation district, Nield said. Once the pan of dirt was flipped over, instead of showing water infiltration, the bottom of the conventional soil was dry as the desert. I think these examples speak for themselves, Nield said to the attendees of the Magic Valley Soil Health Field day, hosted Wednesday by The Nature Conservancy. The event featured three stations to show producers how practices such as no-till farming and the use of cover crops change the soil. First people compared two soil pits, then learned about soil health assessments and finally learned about the impact of active carbon. One of those producers was Lance Griff, who farms wheat, corn, alfalfa and barley south of Twin Falls. We have been implementing soil health practices on our own farm, so its always good to get together with other people that share the same interests and learn some things, Griff said. He transitioned to management practices focused on soil health in 2013 after doing his own research. We felt like we could improve the soil health a lot which then would, in turn, improve our crops and use less fertilizer, be better stewards of the land and economically be better as well, he said. Although there can be costs upfront to change and a fair learning curve, Griff said he has seen all the benefits he was looking for. The field day provided him with important reminders like 50% of soil is materials and 50% is pore space. Porosity is important because it facilitates the movement of air or water. During the soil health pit demonstration, Nield and two soil scientists from the NRCS, showed the pit in the field using the soil health principles had the needed pH, biological activity and infiltration rate. NRCS agronomist Nick Sirovtka led producers through a soil health assessment worksheet. The assessment looks at a wide variety of indicators including infiltration, compaction, organic matter, erosion and plant growth. In the field with limited soil health practices, Sirovtka noticed some soil crusting. Physical crusting occurs when rain separates the soil particles which then cement into a hard layer after rapid drying. It creates an issue, he said. If we have a soil crust thats too thick that shoot as its coming out of that seed and working only off of energy reserves found in that seed, cant force its way up and through a crust that forms too soon. Keeping the soil covered protects it from raindrops, this can be done through no-till or leaving crop residue on the ground. Another solution includes increasing organic matter at the very top of the soil. At the final field day station, University of Idaho Extension specialist Linda Schott talked about her partnership with Amalgamated Sugar Co., looking at active carbon as an indicator of soil health. Active carbon is the small pool of carbon that is available for microbes to use which drives crop production. Microbes are the unsung heroes of soil but you just cant see them, Schott said. The 2021 data from her research showed that while active carbon wasnt correlated with a higher yield or more sugar content, fields with reduced tillage, manure application and more residue had a higher concentration of active carbon. Why does that matter to farmers? Some buyers want to prove to customers the sustainability of their agricultural practices. Other metrics of sustainability dont work as well in the Magic Valley because of the soil type, she said. Active carbon measurements can be used as an indicator to show soil health. If you are doing a management practice, you are more sustainable; there is a metric that shows that, she said. If interested in attending a future field day, contact any of the soil and water conservation districts for more information. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) A federal appeals court on Wednesday threw out the 2020 conspiracy and bribery convictions of a major political donor in North Carolina and his associate, declaring that the trial judge erred in his jury instructions. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, vacated the convictions and ordered new trials for Greg E. Lindberg and John D. Gray, a Lindberg consultant. The two were among four people accused of trying to give $1.5 million to Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey's election campaign in exchange for the removal of an insurance official who would be in charge of regulating Lindberg's company. A jury convicted Lindberg and Gray of bribery and conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud when a person through a bribe seeks to deprive citizens of their right to honest services by a government official. They both received prison sentences. But the appeals court ruled that the trial judge gave jurors misleading instructions before they began deliberations. U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn made a mistake when he said that removing a senior department official was an official act," a key element in reaching a conviction on honest services fraud. Cogburn also erred when he prevented the defense from presenting evidence to show the deputy's reassignment was not official, the appeals court said. We find that the district court impermissibly took an element of the crime out of the hands of the jury and violated the defendants Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights," Chief Judge Roger Gregory wrote in the prevailing opinion. We cannot conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the jury verdict would have been the same absent the error. The bribery conviction also should be tossed, Gregory wrote, because Cogburn's erroneous instruction effortlessly bled into the jury's consideration" of the bribery count. Senior Judges William Traxler and Henry Floyd agreed with the opinion. Lindberg, 51, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison. He's been serving his time at an Alabama prison, with an estimated December 2026 release, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. It wasn't clear if a release was imminent, I am grateful to the Court of Appeals for recognizing this injustice, Lindberg said in a news release that also discussed his 20 months in prison. I look forward to returning to my life with my family, friends and community. Federal prosecutors didnt immediately provide a comment on Wednesdays ruling following an email request. Gray received a 2 1/2-year sentence. A bureau listing for John D. Gray, 72, says he's currently located at a halfway house in North Carolina. Gray's lawyer also didn't respond to an email request seeking comment. Lindberg, whose Global Growth Holdings company contains many companies under his control, has given more than $5 million since 2016 to North Carolina candidate and party committees and independent expenditure groups. It was a Lindberg insurance company called Global Bankers that prosecutors said would have benefited by Lindbergs actions in seeking a new regulator in Causeys office. Causey wasnt accused of wrongdoing. He alerted authorities and recorded conversations that served as the basis of the 2019 indictments against Lindberg and Gray. Another person charged was former U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes, who at the time of the alleged crimes was chairman of the state Republican Party. Hayes accepted a plea deal and was sentenced by Cogburn to probation. The federal government said that Hayes had agreed to help funnel money going to the state GOP to Causeys 2020 reelection campaign. President Donald Trump later pardoned Hayes. A fourth person indicted was acquitted at trial. Lindberg has faced other recent legal troubles. A state judge last month ruled that Lindberg was failing to follow through on a 2019 agreement that orders him to give up control of insurers and other companies within his business empire. Copyright 2022 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 MOSCOW (AP) The lower house of Russia's parliament on Wednesday approved the critical second reading of a proposed law that would allow the banning of foreign news media in response to other countries taking actions against Russian news outlets. The proposal must still pass a third reading in the Duma and secure the upper house's approval before going to President Vladimir Putin to be signed into law. But the Duma's approval on second reading, when a proposal still can undergo substantial changes, almost always prefigures a law's enactment. Russia has repeatedly complained in recent months that Western countries were improperly restricting Russian media by banning their operation or denying visas to their journalists. In early June, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called in representatives of American media, including The Associated Press, to warn that they could be denied renewal of their visas and accreditation. The draft law also calls for allowing Russia's prosecutor general to cancel the registration of media outlets for disseminating illegal, dangerous, unreliable publicly significant information or information expressing clear disrespect for society, the state, the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as aimed at discrediting the Russian armed forces, state news agency RIA-Novosti reported. Many foreign news organizations suspended or curtailed their operations in Russia following the passage in March of a law calling for up to 15 years in prison for reports seen as discrediting the Russian military. The foreign ministry in May ordered the closure of the Moscow bureau pf the state-funded Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in response to Canadas ban on RT, a Russian state-controlled broadcaster. In February, as Russia built up troops along Ukraines border, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle was ordered to close in Moscow after Germany banned the broadcast of RTs German-language programs. Before the vote on the second reading, Vladimir Solovev, the head of the Russian Journalists' Union, told the committee preparing the draft that the measure was justified by an "information war unprecedented in history against Russia. Russia in recent years has persistently clamped down on independent journalism. Following the start of the Ukraine conflict, many significant independent news media shut down or suspended operations. Those included the Ekho Moskvy radio station and the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, whose editor, Dmitry Muratov, was last year's co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Copyright 2022 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 WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) The parents of a teenager wounded during a mass shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan are suing the shop that sold the handgun used to kill four students and injure six other people. The complaint filed Tuesday in federal court in Detroit on behalf of Matthew and Mary Mueller accuses Acme Shooting Goods LLC of negligently or unlawfully supplying the gun through a straw sale. Authorities have said James Crumbley bought the 9 mm semiautomatic handgun used in the Nov. 30 shooting as an early Christmas gift for his son, Ethan, who was 15 at the time. The lawsuit says Ethan accompanied his father to Acme Shooting Goods several days before the shooting and engaged in behavior or made one or more statements while in the store which further indicated that the Acme gun was intended for Ethan. Acme Shooting Goods was obligated to train, supervise and monitor employees to identify and prevent so-called straw purchases, according to the lawsuit. A straw purchase is when a person buys a gun to sell or give to someone prohibited from having one. An employee at the gun shop in Oxford declined to comment on the lawsuit Wednesday. The Muellers' son suffered gunshot wounds to a hand and his face. He was one of six students and one teacher wounded in the shooting at the school, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Detroit. Ethan Crumbley, now 16, has been charged as an adult with murder and terrorism and faces trial in January. James Crumbley and his wife, Jennifer, are accused of providing their son with access to the gun and are awaiting trial for involuntary manslaughter. Gun dealers, when they enter the business of selling guns, assume a duty to comply with all standards of reasonable care and all relevant state and/or federal firearms laws in order to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, juveniles and dangerous parties likely to misuse firearms, the Muellers' lawsuit says. A gun shop in Connecticut was named in a lawsuit against gunmaker Remington following the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, that killed 26 people, mostly children. Nancy Lanza bought the assault-style rifle used by her son, Adam Lanza, in the shooting. The shop later was dropped from the lawsuit when a judge dismissed the complaint against Remington in 2016. The judge cited a federal law that shields gun-makers from liability in most cases. The Connecticut Supreme Court later reinstated the lawsuit against Remington on the issue of whether it should be held liable for how it marketed the Bushmaster rifle. In February, Remington and the Sandy Hook families agreed to a $73 million settlement of the case. Remington, one of the nations oldest gun makers founded in 1816, filed for bankruptcy for a second time in 2020 and its assets were later sold off to several companies. The manufacturer was weighed down by lawsuits and retail sales restrictions following the school shooting. The Muellers' lawsuit does not include a dollar amount for damages. It also names the Oxford Community School District, its former superintendent and other officials. Other multimillion-dollar lawsuits filed after the shooting have said the violence was preventable. The morning of the shooting, school officials met with Ethan Crumbley and his parents at the school after a teacher found a drawing of a gun, a bullet and a person who appeared to have been shot, along with messages stating, My life is useless and The world is dead. The Crumbleys declined to take their son home and Ethan was allowed to remain in school. The gun was in his backpack, which was not searched. We are bringing this suit so that the failures both in the sale of this gun and at our school which allowed this to happen can never happen again, Matthew and Mary Mueller said in a statement. "No family or community needs to experience this pain and no child should have to live with it for the rest of their life. This story has been corrected to show that Acme Shooting Goods is located in Oxford. Copyright 2022 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 Millions of Americans and thousands of Idaho women are now, by law, second class citizens. Before long, they could be relegated to third-class status. Thats unless the United State Supreme Court takes aim at LGBTQ Americans or African-American/Latino/Asian-Americans first. I cant imagine any of those people feel safe in Idaho right now. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last week, it was not just merely a judicial decision. It was a cultural and historical shift toward minority rule in this country. Aside from supporting forced-births in half of our states including Idaho the decision foreshadowed even darker days ahead where birth control, gay marriage and even inter-racial marriage may be on the chopping block. If you take this line of reasoning to its logical conclusion, your jobs and your livelihood may also be on the line right here in Idaho. Whats to stop them from taking away your healthcare by invalidating Obamacare and Medicaid Expansion? Whats to stop them from taking away your minimum wage? Whats to stop them from declaring your religion a cult? I understand its easy to blame the Supreme Court and the Right Wing Party for this anti-American state of affairs, but we all know thats not the case. Democrats are to blame for what just happened in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes. However, given our Electoral College system, she actually lost the election by less than 80,000 votes spread over Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Why? Because Democrats, Independents and actual Republicans didnt show up to vote in that election. The idea was she couldnt possibly lose, so why even bother voting. Well, she did. And now, tens of millions of Americans may be in danger. Theres an old political saying that, Democrats fall in love. Republicans fall in line. As a former lifetime Republican, I understand that. If you want to effect change in this country you have to win first. Winning requires loyal soldiers who not only go to the polls every time theres an election, but also knock-on doors, raise money and phone-bank. Democrats, in Idaho and throughout the country, do this when they feel inspired. Right Wing Party members do it as a matter of course. They dont need to be motivated. They just want to win. Say what you will about the political morality of such a system, but they just got Roe v. Wade overturned after half a century of precedent. Had Hillary Clinton become President, three of the justices who overturned Wade would still be on some Circuit Court. Im sorry Democrats that you didnt fall in love with Senator Clinton, but if only 80,000 more of you would have voted back in 2016, we wouldnt be here. This casual attitude among Democrats has infected Idaho for years. Ive written about it numerous times. We have plenty of Idaho Democrats who will attend a rally, but not phone-bank. We have Idaho Democrats who will knock on doors in safe, liberal districts, but wont try to flip Right Wing districts. We have Idaho Democrats who will put a Juneteenth banner on their Instagram page, but wont sign a petition to increase education funding in our state. Thats why we lose. Now more than ever, this state and this country needs your maximum effort to prevent a return to apartheid in America, where the majority of the country is relegated to second-class status or no status at all. Its not a matter of talent or resources. There are plenty of good Democratic candidates in Idaho and across the country. Democrats and Independents also have the money and numbers to support those quality candidates. What too many Democrats lack is the work-ethic, motivation and single-minded determination to win. Thats why Roe v. Wade got overturned. In July, the Idaho Right Wing Party Convention takes place in Twin Falls. I will bet you dollars to doughnuts their platform will include a provision that gives Idaho the option to secede. As crazy as that may sound, they may actually have the votes to do it. While Idaho Democrats are waiting to fall in love again, Right Wingers are falling in line. If that doesnt motivate you to act, I dont know what will. Jeremy J. Gugino is a Democratic communications volunteer. Love 0 Funny 5 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Henry County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) approved this week a special use permit to allow for the construction of a large scale solar energy facility in Ridgeway. The Board met in the Summerlin Meeting Room at the County Administration Building where a public hearing was held on an application from Shifting Sands Solar, LLC to develop an 18.8 megawatt facility on approximately 268 acres on the east and west side of Old Sand Road, approximately 0.4 miles south of its intersection with Eggleston Falls Road. Eliana Ginis, senior analyst of project development for Shifting Sands presented the matter to the Board and only one person, Brenda Sessor, spoke in opposition to the proposal. Sessor said she was concerned with the view from the Marrowbone Heights Subdivision and complained that many people on her street were not notified by the company of their intentions. In response to Sessors complaint, the Board conditioned their approval with a requirement that extra evergreens be planted to obstruct the view of the solar panels from the road. In addition, the Board also required the company to maintain the site in compliance with all federal, state and local laws; preserve existing mature tree growth and natural land forms to the maximum extent possible; exercise the permit within five years of approval and restrict construction of the facility between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The BZA has both approved and denied previous requests for solar farm construction in Henry County in the past. According to a survey by Virginia Energy, the growth of large, ground-mounted solar facilities in Virginia has been more concentrated in the rural localities where large land areas are available to support development. At the end of 2021, there were 51 operational utility-scale solar facilities greater than five megawatts in capacity in 35 different localities in Virginia and one of them straddles the Henry County-Pittsylvania County line, the survey shows. Six other operational facilities are either in, or touch a portion of Pittsylvania County while none are currently operating in neighboring Patrick or Franklin counties, according to the survey. Based on self-reported data from the 51 localities that indicated that they had reviewed at least one application, 44 of those localities have approved a large-scale solar application and 40 have approved at least one utility-scale solar facility that is five megawatts or larger in capacity. One megawatt equals one million watts or 1,000 kilowatts, rough enough to electricity to serve anywhere from 400 to 1,000 homes, depending upon demands, power company officials have said. Collectively, the responding localities in the Virginia Energy survey have reviewed a total of 279 applications for large-scale solar facilities and a majority (80 percent) of the applications that have been reviewed have been approved. Generally, the regions in the southern and eastern parts of Virginia have reviewed far more applications for large-scale solar, the survey stated. Localities in Southside and Central Virginia specifically have reviewed the most local applications for new solar facilities. Bill Wyatt is a reporter for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at 276-638-8801, Ext. 2360. Follow him @billdwyatt. 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. FALLS CHURCH A pair of lawsuits that for years has plagued Virginia's largest school system with allegations that it ignored students' accusations of sex assaults are back in front of federal judges. One of the lawsuits includes allegations of horrific abuse suffered by a student at a Fairfax County middle school and was the basis for a 2014 federal investigation. The lawsuits attracted low-level attention when they were filed before the pandemic and became caught up in appeals. Now, both cases are moving forward again at a time when schools' responses to alleged sex assaults are receiving more intense scrutiny, as evidenced by the national attention in neighboring Loudoun County. The middle schooler filed an amended complaint earlier this month after the school board's efforts to block her suit were rejected. Her ordeal began in October 2011, according to the lawsuit, when she was a seventh grader at Rachel Carson Middle School in Reston. A classmate started telling others that he'd engaged in sexual activity with the girl, identified only by her initials in the lawsuit. As rumors spread, she started to face harassment and name-calling at her locker in hallways. Then, she alleges, a boy at the school began routinely sexually assaulting her - sometimes with others joining the assault - and threatening her to remain silent. The assaults occurred over a period of months, according to the lawsuit. The girl was evaluated by a nurse who confirmed scarring consistent with anal rape, but a police detective - the former school resource officer at Rachel Carson - dismissed the activity as consensual. School officials continued to downplay and minimize the alleged assaults as consensual, even though the girl was 12 and was pleading with administrators and counselors for protection while the supposedly consensual relationship was ongoing. She also alleges that on school grounds, a group of boys forced her into a closet and sexually assaulted her. Eventually, in 2012, the girl's mother filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights. After a two-year investigation, the school system entered a voluntary resolution agreement in which it admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to improve its tracking and responses to allegations of sexual assaults. The lawsuit was filed in 2019. It has been hung up until now because the school system objected to her filing under a pseudonym. The school system appealed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, which unanimously ruled in the girl's favor. In a statement, Fairfax County Public Schools says it cooperated fully with the investigation and noted that police and prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges. The school system also said the girl's allegations in the most recent complaint are more severe than what she first reported to school officials. "We continue to believe the senior staff acted appropriately and lawfully in addressing this family's concerns 11 years ago," the school system said in the statement. The other lawsuit involves a girl at Oakton High School who said she was sexually assaulted by a boy on a bus during a school band trip. That case went to trial in 2019. A jury found in the school system's favor, ruling that the girl had been assaulted but did not give the school system proper notice of what had happened to her. On appeal, though, the 4th Circuit ruled 9-6 in favor of the girl and sent the case back to Alexandria for a new trial. The appellate ruling has turned a case that seemingly hinged at trial on a he-said-she-said question of whether the girl was assaulted into a case that could significantly alter the scope of Title IX, the 50-year old law that bars discrimination based on sex in education. The dissenting justices said school systems shouldn't be held liable for a sexual assault unless they had some reason to know beforehand that the perpetrator posed a risk. Judges who ruled in favor of the Oakton student said the school system should not be entitled to "one free rape" before it can be held liable for its policies and procedures. Alexandra Brodsky, a lawyer with Public Justice, which is representing the Oakton student, said she's especially concerned that a purportedly progressive school board in Fairfax County authorized pursuit of a legal strategy that, while it could help it win its case against the Oakton student, could set a dangerous precedent that weakens students' protections from abuse. "Fairfax County is asking the Supreme Court to gut Title IX protections for sexual assault survivors," Brodsky said. Brodsky said there is now greater public awareness of schools' failure to support students who report sexual assaults and sexual harassment, particularly in Fairfax County, the nation's 10th largest school system. Students at high schools across the county staged walkouts protesting administrative inaction to student claims. Two school principals have been charged criminally with failing to report alleged sex crimes to police, as required by law. Much of that scrutiny has been driven by conservative political activists. In Loudoun County, the school system faced intense backlash over its handling of alleged sex assaults, which became a national rallying point on conservative news outlets in part because the perpetrator in two of those cases was a boy wearing a skirt. Brodsky said that while transphobia drove some of the attention to the issue in Loudoun, "I don't think that means that there isn't good faith, bipartisan concern about these issues. ... Protecting students from sexual abuse should be a nonpartisan issue." Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. JONAS RIDGE A community is mourning the loss of a man they say is a hero and a woman who was loved by all who knew her after a shooting claimed their lives Monday afternoon. The domestic-related shooting on Rhododendron Run in Jonas Ridge claimed the lives of three people, including 56-year-old Polly Ann Keller, 32-year-old Jeremy Dean Clark and 33-year-old Anthony Simon Franklin, according to information previously released by the Burke County Sheriffs Office. Information released by authorities left some blanks in how the tragedy unfolded, but court documents filed at the Avery County Courthouse indicated one of Kellers daughters had sought an emergency protective order against Franklin in April, but withdrew it the same day. A Facebook post from The Ridge Christian Church in Elk Park, where Keller attended services, called Clark a hero. Please join us in covering (Kellers) daughters and family in prayer, the Facebook post from The Ridge Christian Church said about Keller. The family would like to recognize, Jeremy Clark, for his heroism. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in this tragedy. The News Herald spoke to Wanda Ledbetter, Clarks mother, who said it was her understanding Franklin had shot Keller, then her son shot Franklin. Clark was dating Kellers daughter, who had filed and withdrawn the protective order against Franklin, Ledbetter said. She said Clark loved his girlfriend and her daughter, with all his heart. He was a very loving person, Ledbetter said. He would do anything for anybody. Teriann Stapleton, who had been friends with Keller for about 17 years, said Keller was one of a kind. Stapleton, a cosmetologist, said she and Keller were introduced by one of Kellers daughters when she was looking to get her hair done. She was fierce and fiery, but gentle all at the same time, Stapleton. She loved her family and her late husband, who just passed away in December, barely six months ago, more than anyone could love anything. Keller had a landscaping business, and Stapleton said she could make anything absolutely gleam with beauty. She always had a smile and a way of looking at the bright side anytime you came to her for advice, Stapleton said. Her strength throughout her life, as long as I had known her, has been a beautiful thing to witness, and Im so glad that she was able to be a part of my journey in my life. A GoFund Me has been started to help cover funeral arrangements for Clark. Visit www.gofundme.com/f/jeremy-gerb-clarks-family for more information. 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. Singapore-based Olam Agri, the food, feed and fiber operating group of Olam Group, has secured a $745 million financing facility from the UAE banks to refinance existing loans for general corporate purposes, Zawya reports. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Standard Chartered Bank are the senior mandated lead arrangers for the facility, while Emirates NBD Bank is the mandated lead arranger and FAB the facility agent, the online outlet notes. Olam Agris successful inaugural AED term facility builds upon its increasing activity in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, and further diversifies our funding mix, said N Muthukumar, Group CFO of Olam Group and CEO of Operations at Olam Agri. In March, The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund, PIF, invested $1.24 billion for an estimated 35.4% stake in Olam Agri. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Italy have signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up a business council between the two countries. Saudi and Italian representatives from the private sector, reports say, discussed investment opportunities in the fields of finance, infrastructure and mobility, tourism and culture, and renewable energy during the Saudi-Italian Investment Forum. The General Confederation of Italian Industry also reportedly signed a MoU with the Federation of Saudi Chambers of Commerce with the aim of boosting bilateral business relations. In a separate deal, Saudi Arabias advanced technology solutions provider WE ENERGY and Italys Officine Nicola Galperti e Figlio agreed to cooperate in the field of forging and flange manufacturing. Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and visiting Egyptian leader Abdelfattah al-Sisi signed Wednesday a group of Memorandum of understanding (MoU) covering several areas including technology and investment. Al-Sisi travelled to the Gulf country to attend the inauguration of the new passenger terminal at the Bahrain International Airport. The agreements cover economic cooperation and collaboration in the fields of technology and investment, the Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported. Both leaders also agreed deals in legal and judicial cooperation, export development, fairs organization, environmental protection, education, and air and marine shipping. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Vital Kamerhe, the former Chief of staff of President Felix Tshisekedi, met with the Head of State on Tuesday 29 June. He was received for nearly two hours in the evening at the presidential palace. Partnership was discussed. The president of the National Union for Congo (UNC), Vital Kamerhe, intends to continue to play a role. Sentenced in the first instance to 20 years in prison for corruption and embezzlement, he was acquitted just six days ago. The two men had not met for two years, since Vital Kamerhe was arrested in April 2020 and convicted of embezzlement of public funds under the so-called Hundred Days programme. The former chief of staff and ally of President Tshisekedi, who had just been acquitted, was received by him. Asked about the content of this meeting, Vital Kamerhe said it was about partnership which the two men intend to strengthen, he said through their respective parties, the UNC and the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS). The Senegalese authorities have banned an anti-government demonstration planned for Wednesday in Dakar, risking further anger from the opposition in a climate of growing pre-election tensions. On 17 June, a previous demonstration, also banned, had caused clashes. Three people died and more than 200 people were arrested, including two MPs, according to the opposition. One was sentenced on Monday to six months in prison, the other was released, like the 82 other defendants in Dakar. To justify this new ban, an order from the Dakar prefect cited real threats to public order, real risks of infiltration by ill-intentioned individuals, serious threats of attacks on public buildings and real risks of hindering the free movement of people and goods. He also spoke of a violation of the electoral code and its article L.61, which prohibits any disguised propaganda in the 30 days preceding the opening of the electoral campaign. The campaign is due to open on 10 July for the legislative elections on 31 July. Tension is growing after the Constitutional Council invalidated a national list of candidates of the opposition coalition Yewwi Askan Wi. This invalidation eliminates from the race the leader of the opposition Ousmane Sonko and a number of opponents of President Macky Sall. The opposition denounces a ploy by the presidency to remove its opponents. Mr. Sonko, third in the 2019 presidential elections and declared candidate for the 2024 elections, and other leaders have threatened to prevent the elections from being held if Yewwi Askan Wi does not participate. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion, access to birth control has taken on new urgency. By moving the decision about abortion access to states, the fall of Roe v. Wade means that it will be even more important for people to be able to prevent an unwanted or mistimed pregnancy. Given the health risks of having a rapid repeat pregnancy, avoiding pregnancy is especially critical for those who have recently given birth. But not all health care providers offer birth control to their patients. Over the past two decades, the number of Catholic hospitals in the U.S. has risen dramatically. But it might come as a surprise to many people to learn that Catholic hospitals are not allowed to provide health care that is considered by their religious leaders to be "intrinsically immoral." The Catholic religion holds that life begins at conception and that sex should take place only for the purposes of procreation. Because of this, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has published ethical and religious directives, last updated in 2018, that prohibit Catholic hospitals from providing birth control, abortion and infertility treatments. There are no exceptions, even if the care is needed to protect a person's life or health. As a result, many people who want birth control before they leave the hospital after childbirth may not receive it. One of the most effective methods of preventing pregnancy is female sterilization, which is used by 18% of women in the U.S.. This permanent method of birth control usually consists of tubal ligation, a surgical procedure in which the fallopian tubes are cut or sealed. Catholic hospitals are not permitted to perform this procedure. However, many people are not even aware that they are choosing a Catholic hospital when they decide where they will deliver. Others do not have an option or may not realize that where they give birth might affect the reproductive treatment options available to them. As a sexual and reproductive health epidemiologist, I have carried out research on contraception and abortion in countries throughout the world, including in the U.S., over the past 20 years. Much of my research involves studying disparities in people's use of birth control. As U.S. hospitals are struggling, more and more are merging with Catholic institutions. Avoiding a Catholic hospital can be difficult As a result of hospital mergers and acquisitions, between 2001 and 2016 the number of Catholic acute care hospitals grew by 22%. Overall, about 17% of acute care hospital beds in the U.S. belong to Catholic hospitals. Some people attend a Catholic hospital because they have limited choices. There are 46 Catholic hospitals in the U.S. that are the sole providers of short-term acute hospital care in their geographic area, including in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Grand Junction, Colorado; and Bellingham, Washington. Others might be limited in where their health insurance will cover their care. Some people are not even aware that they are attending a Catholic hospital. A 2018 national survey asked adult women of reproductive age where they go for their reproductive care; 16% named a Catholic hospital. However, over one-third of the women who named a Catholic hospital did not know that their hospital was Catholic. Furthermore, those who were wrong about their hospital's Catholic status described themselves as being "sure" or "very sure" about their incorrect response. In some cases, people might be unaware of their hospital's status because its name does not sound religious. Also, people might not know that a Catholic network purchased their secular hospital and that their hospital is now required to follow its ethical and religious directives. A 20172018 review of hospital websites found that 21% of Catholic hospitals did not explicitly disclose their Catholic status on their website. Even if people know that their hospital is Catholic, they might not know that attending a Catholic hospital could restrict the scope of care that they are able to receive. A large survey of women found that most did not expect restrictions on care at Catholic hospitals, especially for services viewed as less taboo than abortion. Respondents did not realize that Catholic hospitals are restricted in providing birth control, including female sterilization methods such as tubal ligation. The need for birth control after childbirth Using birth control after childbirth is critical, because people's fertility returns quickly. Having at least 18 months of spacing between childbirth and a new pregnancy is important to protect the pregnant person and the infant's health. Short birth spacing increases the risks of adverse outcomes such as preeclampsia, preterm birth and health problems for the newborn infant. Because of the health risks, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recognized birth spacing as a high priority in the 2030 Healthy People Objectives. For people who do not want to have more pregnancies, immediately after delivery can be the most convenient time to have a tubal ligation. For this reason, about half of all tubal ligations are performed after delivery. About 6.2% of deliveries in the U.S. are followed by a tubal ligation. Failing to receive a desired postpartum tubal ligation increases the risk of having a rapid repeat pregnancy. A tubal ligation seals off the fallopian tubes, which carry eggs to a persons womb, in order to prevent pregnancy. Birth control use following delivery at Catholic hospitals Our team decided to investigate whether women who recently delivered at a Catholic hospital were less likely to be using birth control during the postpartum period compared to women who delivered at a non-Catholic hospital. Even if ethical and religious directives state that Catholic hospitals are not allowed to provide birth control, it is plausible that some hospitals might fail to enforce the rules or providers might find ways to work around them. For example, providers at Catholic hospitals might place an intrauterine device, or IUD, in a patient who desires one by justifying its use for non-contraceptive purposes. Or providers might perform an elective cesarean delivery in order to surreptitiously perform a tubal ligation. My colleagues and I used survey data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System from five statesAlaska, Illinois, Maine, Oregon and Wisconsinover the period of 2015 to 2018. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments annually conduct this survey of women who gave birth in the last two to six months. We linked this survey data to birth certificates to know whether women had delivered at a Catholic or non-Catholic hospital. Our study found that at two to six months postpartum, women who had delivered at a Catholic hospital were about half as likely to have had female sterilization as women who delivered at another type of hospital. This difference remained statistically significant after we adjusted for women's age, race or ethnicity, education, insurance status and parity. Pregnancy carries health risks Legal abortion is much safer than childbirth in the U.S. Because people are 14 times more likely to die from pregnancy than from a legal abortion, it is important that they are able to avoid an unintended pregnancy. These studies illustrate the need for people to have access to the birth control method of their choicea choice that is all the more important now that people have lost their constitutional right to an abortion. Explore further Tubal ligation half as likely for moms who deliver at Catholic hospitals This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain New results from one of the largest real-world evidence studies of chronic kidney disease (CKD) reveal the high burden of the disease on patients and healthcare systems, with an estimated disease prevalence of 10% of the adult population. Results from the CArdioREnal and MEtabolic (CaReMe) CKD study were published today in The Lancet Regional HealthEurope. The multinational study of 2.4 million CKD patients across 9 countries in Europe, plus Israel and Canada, estimates the prevalence, outcomes and cost of CKD. While CKD is estimated to be one of the most common diseases affecting one in ten adults, it was found that two out of three patients identified to have CKD in the study were not diagnosed, putting them at high risk of morbidity and mortality and constituting a significant burden on healthcare providers and systems. Professor Navdeep Tangri, MD Ph.D., Department of Medicine and Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, said, "To date, estimates of the prevalence, impact and costs of CKD varied widely due to limited studies of the disease. The CaReMe CKD study is one of the largest, longest and broadest studies assessing this chronic disease and adding to the body of evidence for CKD. The results highlight the considerable public health impact of CKD and the importance of early detection and disease management to improve patients' lives and reduce healthcare costs." Alexander de Giorgio-Miller, Senior Vice President, Global Medical, AstraZeneca, said, "We know there remains significant unmet need in chronic kidney disease, with millions more patients yet to be diagnosed. Real world evidence studies like this are critical to build our understanding of the gaps in diagnosis and clinical care pathways, and to set ambitious quality standards to give patients better access to medicines with the potential to prevent disease progression, disability and premature death." CKD is a growing global health burden with increasing contribution to total mortality, and substantial financial costs and impact on healthcare providers. The study found that between 69% of patients with CKD die each year, and the leading cause of hospital visits and healthcare costs were CKD events and comorbidities such as heart failure (HF). The impact of CKD is expected to rise in the years ahead, with both the total number of CKD cases and costs for managing CKD projected to increase even further. Explore further Kidney disease patients have higher out-of-pocket costs than stroke and cancer patients More information: Johan Sundstrom et al, Prevalence, outcomes, and cost of chronic kidney disease in a contemporary population of 24 million patients from 11 countries: The CaReMe CKD study, The Lancet Regional HealthEurope (2022). Johan Sundstrom et al, Prevalence, outcomes, and cost of chronic kidney disease in a contemporary population of 24 million patients from 11 countries: The CaReMe CKD study,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2022.100438 Provided by AstraZeneca Salmonella bacteria, in pink, a common cause of foodborne disease, invade a human epithelial cell. Credit: NIAID Every year, almost 1 in 6 Americans gets a foodborne illness, and about 3,000 people die from it, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. Picnics and parties where food sits out for hours are a common source, but heat waves and power outages are another silently growing threat. As global temperatures rise, the risk of foods going bad during blackouts in homes or stores or during transit in hot weather rises with them. Elena Naumova, an epidemiologist and data scientist at Tufts University, explains the risk and what you need to know to stay safe. What does climate change have to do with foodborne illness? The link between foodborne illness and climate change is quite straightforward: The pathogens that cause many foodborne infections are sensitive to temperature. That's because warm, wet weather conditions stimulate bacterial growth. Three main factors govern the spread of foodborne illness: 1) the abundance, growth, range and survival of pathogens in crops, livestock and the environment; 2) the transfer of these pathogens to food; and 3) human exposure to the pathogens. Safety measures like warning labels and product recalls can help slow the spread of harmful bacteria and parasites, but these measures don't always evolve rapidly enough to keep pace with the changing risk. One growing problem is that heat waves, wildfires and severe storms are increasingly triggering power outages, which in turn affect food storage and food handling practices in stores, production and distribution sites and homes. A review of federal data in 2022 found that major U.S. power outages linked to severe weather had doubled over the previous two decades. California often experiences smaller-scale outages during heat waves and periods of high wildfire risk. This can happen on the hottest and, in some areas, most humid days, creating ideal conditions for bacteria to grow. Which causes of foodborne illness are increasing with the heat? Nationwide, many types of foodborne infection peak in warm summer months. Cyclospora, a tiny parasite that causes intestinal infections and is transmitted through food or water contaminated with feces, often on imported vegetables and fruits, peaks in early June. The bacteria Campylobacter, a common cause of diarrhea that's often linked to undercooked meat; Vibrio, linked to eating raw or undercooked shellfish; Salmonella, which causes diarrhea and is linked to animal feces; and STEC, a common type of E. coli, peak in mid-July. And the parasite Cyptosporidium, germ Listeria and bacteria Shigella peak in mid-August. Many of these infections cause upset stomach, but they can also lead to severe diarrhea, dehydration, vomiting and even longer-term illnesses, such as meningitis and multiple organ failures. In our studies, my colleagues and I have also found that food recalls increase during summer months. Typically, the U.S. sees about 70 foodborne outbreaks per month, with about two of them resulting in a food recall. In summer, the number of outbreaks can exceed 100 per month, and the number of recall-related outbreaks goes up to six per month, increasing from 3% to 6% of all reported and investigated outbreaks nationwide. The rate of individual infections can also easily double or triple the annual average during summer months. Precisely estimating infection numbers is very challenging because the vast majority of foodborne illness outbreaksan estimated 80% of illnesses and 56% of hospitalizationsare not attributed to known pathogens due to insufficient testing, and many foodborne illnesses are not even reported to the health authorities. What types of food should people worry about? Watch out for perishable products, including meat, poultry, fish, dairy and eggs, along with anything labeled as requiring refrigeration. How warm a food item can get before becoming risky varies, so the simplest rule for keeping food safe is to follow food labels and instructions. The CDC website emphasizes four basic rules to prevent food poisoning at home: clean, separate, cook and chill. It also offers some guidelines for when the power goes out, starting with keeping refrigerator and freezer doors closed. "A full freezer will keep food safe for 48 hours (24 hours if half-full) without power if you don't open the door. Your refrigerator will keep food safe for up to four hours without power if you don't open the door," it says. After four hours without power or a cooling source, the CDC recommends that most meat, dairy, leftovers and cut fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator be thrown out. Unfortunately, you cannot see, smell or taste many harmful pathogens that cause foodborne illness, so it's better to be safe than sorry. Rule of thumb: When in doubt, throw it out. What's the best response if a person gets sick from food? If you do get sick, it can be hard to pinpoint the culprit. Harmful bacteria can take anywhere from a few hours to several days to make you sick. And people respond in different ways, so the same food might not make everyone ill. Check with your doctor if you think you have food poisoning. Get tested so your case will be reported. That helps public health authorities get a better sense of the extent of infections. The full extent of infections is typically vastly underreported. I recommend checking health department websites, like Washington state's, for more advice, and check on food recalls during the hot months. Explore further Pregnancy is no picnic when it comes to listeria This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Patients and doctors expect drug regulators to provide an unbiased, rigorous assessment of new medicines before they hit the market. But an investigation published by The BMJ today finds that industry money permeates the globe's leading regulators, raising questions about their independence, especially in the wake of a string of drug and device scandals. Over the past decades, regulatory agencies have seen large proportions of their budgets funded by the industry they are sworn to regulate, explains investigative journalist Maryanne Demasi. Industry fees to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have increased 30 foldfrom around $29m in 1993 to $884m in 2016, while in Europe, industry fees now fund 89% of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), up from 20% in 1995. In 2005, the UK House of Commons' health committee evaluated the influence of the drug industry on health policy. But nearly two decades on, little has changed, and industry funding of drug regulators has become the international norm. The BMJ asked six leading regulators, in Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, the UK, and US, a series of questions about their funding, transparency in their decision making (and of data), and the rate at which new drugs are approved. Of these, Australia had the highest proportion of budget from industry fees (96%) and in 2020-2021 approved more than nine of every 10 drug company applications. Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) firmly denies that its almost exclusive reliance on pharmaceutical industry funding is a conflict of interest (COI). But in Australia, experts have called for a complete overhaul of the TGA's structure and function, arguing that the agency has become too close to industry. Sociologist Donald W Light of Rowan University in New Jersey, US, who has spent decades studying drug regulation, says, "Like the FDA,the TGA was founded to be an independent institute. However, being largely funded by fees from the companies whose products it is charged to evaluate is a fundamental conflict of interest and a prime example of institutional corruption." Concern over COIs is not just directed at those who work for the regulators but extends to the advisory panels intended to provide regulators with independent expert advice, notes Demasi. Of the regulators approached by The BMJ, only Canada's did not routinely seek advice from an independent committee and its evaluation team was the only one completely free of financial COIs. European, Japanese, and UK regulators publish a list of members with their full declarations online for public access, while the FDA judges COIs on a meeting-by-meeting basis and can grant waivers allowing participation of members. Joel Lexchin, a drug policy researcher at York University in Toronto, says, "People should know about any financial COIs that those giving advice have so that they can evaluate whether those COIs have influenced the advice they are hearing. People need to be able to trust what they hear from public health officials and a lack of transparency erodes trust." Demasi acknowledges that there have been improvements in the transparency and accessibility of trial data, but points out that most regulatory agencies do not undertake their own assessment of individual patient data, but rather rely on summaries prepared by the drug sponsor. Industry fees are also used to help speed up approval of new treatments, she adds. Today, all major regulators offer "expedited pathways" but there is concern that quicker approval decisions have resulted in new drugs that were more likely to be withdrawn for safety reasons, more likely to carry a subsequent black box warning, and more likely to have one or more dosage forms voluntarily discontinued by the manufacturer. Critics also point to a regulator-industry "revolving door" that has seen many agency officials end up working or consulting for the same companies they regulated. Experts say that both small and large structural changes are necessary to help restore regulators' ability to carry out independent decision making, free of industry influence. Donald Light argues that regulators now need their own watchdog and is calling for a drug and vaccine safety board, independent of the drug regulator, with the authority, staffing, and funds to investigate incidents of patient harm. "Countries have independent safety boards for airlines and their passengers. Why not for drugs and patients too?" he says. Explore further Researchers find medical industry funded studies more likely to find new treatments cost effective More information: From FDA to MHRA: are drug regulators for hire?, The BMJ (2022). Journal information: British Medical Journal (BMJ) From FDA to MHRA: are drug regulators for hire?,(2022). DOI: 10.1136/bmj.o1538 Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Some public venues may need better ventilation to prevent the spread of COVID-19 following growing evidence of the potential for 'long distance' airborne transmission of the disease, suggests research published by The BMJ today. A review of 18 existing studies indicates that airborne transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from an infectious individual to others located more than two meters away can happen in different indoor non-healthcare settings. However, the researchers stress that the evidence from these studies was deemed to be of very low certainty, and say continued investigation into the potential for long distance airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is needed. Since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and so-called 'superspreader' events, there has been growing evidence suggesting that airborne transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in places with poor ventilation has helped to spread infection. It is generally accepted that short range transmission (less than two meters distance) can occur through both droplets and aerosols in the air, but there is a lack of agreement about the importance of long distance (more than two meters) airborne transmission in indoor settings such as hospitality venues, leisure facilities, workplaces, or apartment blocks. A team of researchers from the UK Health Security Agency and the University of Bristol therefore set out to evaluate the potential for long distance airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in indoor community settings and to investigate factors that might influence transmission. They reviewed studies on the subject published between January 2020 and January 2022, focusing on 18 observational studies of COVID outbreaks in countries across Asia, Europe, Oceania and the U.S.. These outbreaks happened within various community settings including flats in apartment blocks, quarantine hotels, restaurants, buses, a food processing factory, a courtroom, a fitness facility, and during singing events. The review authors concluded that long distance airborne transmission was likely to have occurred for some or all transmission events in 16 out of 18 studies. It was unclear in the other two studies. In the 16 studies, one or more factors were likely to have increased the odds of long distance airborne transmission, particularly insufficient air replacement, directional air flow, and activities associated with increased emission of aerosols, such as singing or speaking loudly. In 13 studies, the individuals who were likely to be the source of infection were reported as being asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic, or just starting to have symptoms at the time of transmission. The review has some limitations, for example it only looked at epidemiological observational studies of real world human-to-human transmission events and did not include wider evidence from environmental or experimental studies. In addition, most of the outbreaks occurred before vaccine rollouts and it is unclear how these results apply to populations with a high level of immunity to infection, either naturally acquired or vaccine mediated. Nevertheless, the review critically assessed the likelihood of long distance airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 using a range of evidence from epidemiological data, genomic analysis and video surveillance to analysis of seating arrangements and environmental hypothesis testing. As such, the authors conclude: This rapid systematic review demonstrates the existing evidence that long distance airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 can occur in indoor settings such as restaurants, workplaces, and venues for choirs, and identified factors such as insufficient air replacement that can contribute to transmission. "These results support the role of mitigation measures in indoor settings, such as adequate ventilation," Now is the time for an indoor air revolution, argues Stephanie Dancer, Consultant Microbiologist at Edinburgh Napier University, in a linked editorial. She also points to some study limitations, but says "the evidence presented in this review, tenuous as it is, validates the premise that tiny respiratory particles containing SARS-CoV-2 freely transmit throughout inadequately ventilated environments. "It is hoped that public health leaders will develop practical guidance and "tilt" people and places closer to safety," she concludes. Explore further Study demonstrates active SARS-CoV-2 in air More information: Long distance airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2: rapid systematic review, The BMJ (2022). Journal information: British Medical Journal (BMJ) Long distance airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2: rapid systematic review,(2022). DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2021-068743 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it has asked vaccine makers to update their COVID-19 booster shots to target the omicron subvariants known as BA.4 and BA.5. The two highly contagious subvariants now account for more than half of all new COVID cases in the United States. "As we move into the fall and winter, it is critical that we have safe and effective vaccine boosters that can provide protection against circulating and emerging variants to prevent the most severe consequences of COVID-19," Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in an agency news release. "Vaccine manufacturers have already reported data from clinical trials with modified vaccines containing an omicron BA.1 component and we have advised them that they should submit these data to the FDA for our evaluation prior to any potential authorization of a modified vaccine containing an omicron BA.4/5 component," Marks added. "Manufacturers will also be asked to begin clinical trials with modified vaccines containing an omicron BA.4/5 component, as these data will be of use as the pandemic further evolves." The agency's decision mirrors the recommendation made Tuesday by its vaccine advisory panel that updated COVID-19 booster shots used this fall should protect against omicron and its highly contagious subvariants. Pfizer and Moderna are expected to start producing reformulated doses this summer, The New York Times reported. During the expert panel meeting, Pfizer said a shot aimed at the subvariants could be ready for use in early October, while Moderna said it would be able to offer a similar shot in late October or early November. The vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna typically take about three months to produce doses of any reformulated shots, the Times said. Given how fast the virus changes, lengthy human trials may have to be abandoned in favor of more laboratory tests and animal tests, the Times added. That's because human trials can take up to five months, which can make the vaccine obsolete before it's ever released to the public. Both Pfizer and Moderna have been testing updated booster shots that target the omicron variant, with early trial results showing the tweaked shots boost protection against omicron. But since then, BA.4 and BA.5 have surfaced and are spreading. "Omicron is clearly in the rearview mirror," Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccine expert with Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told the Times. An omicron booster isn't necessary unless it works against the newest omicron subvariants, but "I haven't seen evidence of that," he said. Even the FDA said in a briefing document prepared for the advisory committee meeting that the bivalent booster targeting the original virus and omicron is "already somewhat outdated." But Dr. Kelly Moore, president of Immunize.org, a nonprofit that works to increase vaccine rates, told the Times that an accelerated process is already used to update the flu vaccine each year. Although this is the first time the process would be used with COVID vaccines, they have been safely given to hundreds of millions of people, she noted. Updating them might call for "very well-educated guesswork," she said, that is "appropriate for the circumstances." Still, the chance exists that the virus will change again and make the updated vaccines ineffective. Dr. John Beigel, a clinical research director at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, told the Times, "They [the new vaccines] may be old news by the time the fall comes." In any event, a broad swath of the population will be offered booster shots, said Dr. Arnold Monto. He's a public health professor at the University of Michigan who chairs the FDA advisory panel. "We know there's waning. We have to boost, and it's better to boost with something more relevant" than the existing vaccines, Monto told the Times. But Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of the FDA vaccine advisory panel, countered that idea. "Hospitalizations are down. Deaths are way down because we are protected against serious illness. That's what matters," Offit told the Times. Only those over 70, and those over 50 with serious underlying conditions will likely need a fall booster shot, because COVID can have serious consequences for these people, Offit added. Explore further FDA panel to weigh improved booster shots from Moderna, Pfizer More information: Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on COVID vaccines 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved. This stylistic diagram shows a gene in relation to the double helix structure of DNA and to a chromosome (right). The chromosome is X-shaped because it is dividing. Introns are regions often found in eukaryote genes that are removed in the splicing process (after the DNA is transcribed into RNA): Only the exons encode the protein. The diagram labels a region of only 55 or so bases as a gene. In reality, most genes are hundreds of times longer. Credit: Thomas Splettstoesser/Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 4.0 Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and the most common cause of dementia, affecting more than 5.8 million individuals in the U.S. Scientists have discovered some genetic variants that increase the risk for developing Alzheimer's; the most well-known of these for people over the age of 65 is the APOE 4 allele. Approximately 60 percent of people from European ancestry with Alzheimer's carry this genetic variant, compared to just 26 percent of the general population, implying that other genes contribute to the genetic makeup of the disease. In a new study published this week in Alzheimer's Disease & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, researchers at the University of Chicago and Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified a new gene called MGMT that increases the risk of Alzheimer's in women. The researchers conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for Alzheimer's in two independent datasets using different methods. One approach focused on dementia in a large extended family of Hutterites, a founder population of central European ancestry who settled in the mid-west region of the country. Hutterites are often studied for genetic determinants of disease because they have a relatively small gene pool due to their isolated, insular culture. In this study, the individuals with Alzheimer's were all women. The second approach, predicated on evidence suggesting a link between Alzheimer's and breast cancer, analyzed genetic data from a national group of 10,340 women who lacked APOE 4. In both datasets, MGMT was significantly associated with developing AD. "This is one of a few and perhaps the strongest associations of a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's that is specific to women," said Lindsay Farrer, Ph.D., chief of biomedical genetics at BUSM and a senior author of the study. "This finding is particularly robust because it was discovered independently in two distinct populations using different approaches. While the finding in the large dataset was most pronounced in women who don't have APOE 4, the Hutterite sample was too small to evaluate this pattern with any certainty." The researchers then further evaluated MGMT using multiple types of molecular data and other AD-related traits derived from human brain tissue. After thorough analysis, they found that that epigenetically regulated gene expression (i.e., one of the ways cells control gene activity without changing the DNA sequence) of MGMT, which has a role in repairing DNA damage, is significantly associated with the development of the hallmark AD proteins, amyloid- and tau, especially in women. "This study highlighted the value of founder populations for genetic mapping studies of diseases like Alzheimer's," said Carole Ober, Ph.D., Chair of Human Genetics at UChicago and a senior author of the study. "The relatively uniform environment and reduced genetic variation in Hutterites increases our power to find associations in smaller sample sizes than required for studies in the general population. The validation of our findings in the larger dataset used by the Boston University group was enormously gratifying and ultimately led to supportive epigenetic mechanisms that connected both sets of GWAS results to the MGMT gene." According to the researchers, this study demonstrates the importance of searching for genetic risk factors for AD that may be specific to one gender. Further studies are needed to understand why MGMT influences AD risk greater in women than men. More information: Genome-wide association and multi-omics studies identify MGMT as a novel risk gene for Alzheimer's disease among women, Alzheimer's Disease & Dementia (2022). A therapy that uses a virus to kill tumor cells can be safely given to children with a rare, incurable form of brain cancer, an early study has found. The studypublished June 30 in the New England Journal of Medicineinvolved just 12 children with the disease, called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). But experts said it demonstrates the feasibility of directly delivering the viral therapy to the cancer, which forms in the brain stem. Whether the approach can ultimately extend children's lives, however, remains to be seen. DIPG is rare, affecting between 200 and 400 U.S. children each year. There is no cure, in large part because of the nature of the cancer: It arises in a part of the brain stem called the pons, which controls bodily functions as critical as breathing and heart rate. Complicating matters, the tumors are thread-like and interweave with normal brain tissuemaking it impossible to surgically remove the cancer. So right now, radiation is the primary therapy for DIPG. "In the majority of patients, but not all, the cancer will initially respond to radiation," said Dr. Susan Chi, deputy director of pediatric neuro-oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Boston Children's Hospital. Unfortunately, she explained, that only buys time, as the cancer almost invariably progresses again. Many children diagnosed with DIPG die within a year, and fewless than 10%survive for two years, studies show. "This is probably the worst tumor diagnosis we give to families," said Chi, who was not involved in the new study. For the trial, researchers in Spain, the Netherlands and United States turned to oncolytic virus therapy, an approach that has been under study for certain cancers, including other brain tumors. The premise is based on the fact that some viruses can infect and kill tumor cells. Virus therapy involves viruses that have been modified in the lab to infect and reproduce efficiently inside cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone. One such therapya genetically modified herpesvirusis approved in the U.S. for treating melanoma. Here, the researchers used a modified cold virus, called DNX-2401, which has been shown to kill DIPG cells in lab animals. Using a specially designed cannula (a thin tube), the researchers slowly infused the viral therapy into the tumors of 12 children and teens newly diagnosed with DIPG. The patients then received standard radiation. The main goal was to assess the safety of the procedure, according to the researchers, who were led by Dr. Jaime Gallego Perez-Larraya of the Health Research Institute of Navarra in Spain. And overall, the most common side effects were headache, nausea, vomiting and fatigue. Two children did develop significant limb weakness (temporary in one case), which is one of the concerns with "going into the pons," Chi said. Unfortunately, most of the children eventually succumbed to their disease, but the median survivalat almost 18 monthswas higher than typically seen in DIPG. Median means half lived longer, half for a shorter time. Chi cautioned, however, that "it's too soon to draw conclusions." Some children with DIPG do live that long, she noted, and it's not clear that the viral therapy itselfas opposed to the radiation therapyextended some kids' lives. On the other hand, Chi pointed out, two children were still alive past the 30-month mark. That included one child who was progression-free after 38 months. Dr. Evanthia Galanis, an oncologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., who studies oncolytic virus therapy, called the early findings "encouraging." "The approach was well-tolerated, and the virus went where it was supposed to," said Galanis, who wrote an editorial published with the study. Like Chi, she said the survival findings should be interpreted with caution, since the trial was primarily designed to assess safety. According to Galanis, researchers initially believed oncolytic viruses might work by directly killing tumor cellsreplicating within them until the cells burst. But over the years, studies have shown that the process may also trigger an immune response to the cancer. "I think it's part direct kill, and part immunotherapy," Galanis said. Normally, she explained, the immune response to DIPG, and other types of gliomas, is suppressedby both the cancer and standard treatments for it. When tumor cells are infected with oncolytic viruses, though, they send out signals that can draw an immune response. Both doctors pointed to some key questions for the future: Can virus therapy can be combined with other types of treatments to improve DIPG survival? And are certain patients more likely than others to benefit from any one oncolytic virus? Of the two children in this trial with the longest survival times, one had a tumor with a gene mutation that has been linked to relatively better survival, the researchers pointed out. Chi said the virus therapy was "obviously not a home run" in this early trial. But, she added, that is the general way of progress in cancer researchincremental steps forward. Explore further Researchers find new way to target deadly childhood cancer More information: The DIPG/DMG Resource Network has more on The DIPG/DMG Resource Network has more on DIPG Jaime Gallego Perez-Larraya et al, Oncolytic DNX-2401 Virus for Pediatric Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, New England Journal of Medicine (2022). DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2202028 Evanthia Galanis, Virotherapy for Brain TumorsDefining the Path to Success, New England Journal of Medicine (2022). DOI: 10.1056/NEJMe2205032 Journal information: New England Journal of Medicine Copyright 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Newly-established businesses in H1 exceed 70,000 for first time There were 76,233 newly-registered enterprises in the first six months of this year, an increase of 13.6 per cent compared to last year. Workers make garment products of Apparel Far Eastern Vietnam Co. in Binh Duong Province. VNA/VNS Photo This is the first time that the number of newly-established enterprises in the first six months has exceeded 70,000. Data from the Business Registration Management Agency, Ministry of Planning and Investment, showed that 116,900 enterprises were entering or re-entering the market in the first six months. In terms of capital, although it declined by 6.4 per cent over the same period last year, with a value of VN882.1 trillion (US$38.4 billion), it was still 1.2 times higher than the average for 2017-2021. Hanoi and HCM City continued to record a significant increase in newly-established enterprises. Accordingly, Hanoi has 14,628 newly-established enterprises, up 9.8 per cent yearly. HCM City has 22,469 newly established enterprises, a year-on-year increase of 11.5 per cent. Meanwhile, the number of enterprises returning to operation in the first six months of this year was 40,667, an increase of 55.6 per cent over the same period last year and 1.9 times higher than the average in 2017-2021. In the opposite direction, 83,570 businesses withdrew from the market in the first six months of this year, a year-on-year growth of 19 per cent. Enterprises withdrawing from the market are mainly temporarily suspending their businesses, with 50,909 enterprises, accounting for 60.9 per cent. Enterprises temporarily suspending business were mainly in the fields of wholesale, retail, car and motorbike repairing (18,417 enterprises, accounting for 36.2 per cent), construction (7,206 enterprises, 14.2 per cent) and processing and manufacturing industry (5,948 enterprises, 11.7 per cent). Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain A majoritymore than 75 percentof New Jersey parents of middle and high school students recognize the benefits of screening and early detection of depression risk in adolescents but many express concerns about potential unintended consequences of screening, according to a survey of New Jersey parents and guardians of children ages 12 to 18. The statewide survey, which was fielded by the Rutgers Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling in March 2022 on behalf of Project ASPEN, assessed parents' views regarding a recent state law (formerly bill A970), the Mental Health Screening in Schools Grant Program within the Department of Education, that will provide funding and resources to school districts to implement evidence-based depression screening programs to identify students in grades 7 through 12 at risk of depression. "Rates of psychological distress among young people, including symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders have significantly increased in recent years and are further exacerbated due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet rates of adolescent depression screening remain extremely low despite knowing early detection is effective in preventing long-term effects," said Itzhak Yanovitzky, a co-author of the research and professor of communication at Rutgers University. "Communication between parents and school professionals is crucial to enabling future success of this important initiative." Among the findings: About half of all parents of middle and high school students are very or moderately concerned about their child's risk for depression and about one-third about their child's risk for suicide. A majority of parents said they agree or strongly agree that depression screening is beneficial to preventing serious mental health-related risks. However, nearly half of all parents are concerned about the administration of depression screening in schools. Parents cited potential undesirable outcomes such as some students believing that something is wrong with them, too many students being prescribed antidepressant medications, and administration of screening increasing the financial burden on schools and taking up valuable class time. Parents were asked to indicate their likelihood of giving school permission to screen their child for depression if asked to do so. About one-third (32.4 percent) said they are very likely to do so, 33.5 percent said they are likely, 7.1 percent said they are unlikely, and 12.3 percent said they are very unlikely to do so. About 15 percent said they are not sure. Answers differed sharply by region: A greater percentage of parents from shore communities (29.9 percent) and the south (22.8 percent) said they are unlikely to consent to school screenings compared to parents from urban (9.2 percent), suburban (16.9 percent) and exurban or rural (20.6 percent) regions. About one-third of parents expressed concern about not knowing what to do if they receive a notification from their child's school about a positive screening result. Forty-two percent of parents are concerned about being able to afford the cost of additional evaluation and diagnosis. These concerns are particularly acute among Black parents (47.9 percent) and Hispanic parents (52.2 percent). About 55 percent of Hispanic parents surveyed said they are concerned about their child's risk for depression compared with 52.3 percent of white parents, 48.6 percent of Black parents and 51.4 percent of parents from another race. Hispanic parents were most concerned about risk for suicide (41.9 percent), followed by Black parents (36.1 percent), white parents (27.9 percent) and parents from another race (22.4 percent). Cindy Blitz, lead author of the research brief and executive director of Rutgers Graduate School of Education Center for Effective School Practices, said the findings point to the urgency of communicating more effectively with Black and Hispanic parents of teenagers about how to follow up with a professional diagnosis and mental health care if screening detects potential risk for depression or suicidality. "It is reassuring to see that more than 75 percent of parents recognize the importance of early screening," said Meredith Blount, executive director of National Alliance on Mental Illness of New Jersey. "However, we need to better educate parents in what this screening means, and what the follow up steps are. It is not enough to simply identify the problemwe need to support parents and the community in providing affordable, accessible treatment and services for the children once identified." Project ASPEN is a collaboration between a team of researchers from Rutgers and the National Alliance on Mental Illness New Jersey to improve access for policy decision-makers to credible and timely research evidence regarding different aspects of formulating and implementing sound youth mental health policies. Explore further Parental depression screening beyond the postpartum period has the potential to identify families needing support Credit: CC0 Public Domain Risk for maternal illness (morbidity) and death is unevenly distributed in the U.S., with some populations bearing substantially greater risk, including Medicaid-insured individuals, rural residents and Black and Indigenous patients. Researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health (SPH) looked at how these risks differed for people giving birth who were insured by Medicaid compared to those with private insurance, as well as comparing by rural and urban geography, race and ethnicity. The research was published in Women's Health Issues. "Examining the intersection of people's identities, rather than only looking at isolated segments, tells us so much more about how structural factors such as racism and urbanism, socioeconomic status and other social determinants of health have an impact on and compound the risk for negative health outcomes," said lead researcher Julia Interrante, an SPH doctoral candidate and graduate research assistant in the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center. The study found: Rates of severe negative maternal health outcomes were greater for Medicaid-funded births compared to privately-insured births for both rural and urban residents and for all race and ethnicities Rural Indigenous Medicaid beneficiaries had the highest rate of severe maternal morbidity and mortality, compared to urban, white privately insured births 40% of morbidity and mortality cases among Indigenous rural residents were due to the interaction of insurance type, race and rurality Among Black and Hispanic births, significant negative maternal outcomes due to the interaction of race and ethnicity with insurance type was largely among urban, rather than rural, residents "These results suggest that if the excess risk for negative maternal health outcomes among Medicaid beneficiaries could be reduced to the level of risk among those privately insured, it would make a significant difference," said Interrante. "That reduction could not only prevent the 23 cases per 10,000 births that occur among white urban residents, but also an additional 98 cases per 10,000 births among Indigenous rural residents, 41 cases per 10,000 births among Black urban residents, and 38 cases per 10,000 births among Hispanic urban residents." The findings on the intersectionality of severe maternal morbidity and mortality risk imply that Medicaid policy changes to improve maternal health must account for the particular challenges posed by rural locations and by racism. The findings suggest that policies that lower risk among Medicaid patients could have additional benefits in reducing racial and ethnic, as well as rural and urban, disparities. As the primary payer for a large portion of births in the U.S., state Medicaid programs have an opportunity to contribute to efforts to improve maternal health and reduce severe maternal morbidity and mortality through reimbursement and coverage policies. Clinical care bundles, which are sets of evidence-based practices and policies that are collectively implemented, can help address the disproportionate risk among Medicaid beneficiaries as a whole, and among particular groups of beneficiaries that experience heightened risks, including Black, Indigenous and rural residents. Explore further Rural women at higher risk of life-threatening pregnancy complications More information: Julia D. Interrante et al, Severe Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Risk at the Intersection of Rurality, Race and Ethnicity, and Medicaid, Women's Health Issues (2022). Julia D. Interrante et al, Severe Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Risk at the Intersection of Rurality, Race and Ethnicity, and Medicaid,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.whi.2022.05.003 Current statistics and research show that things are heading in the wrong direction among youth, says NTNU's Professor Steinar Krogstad. Credit: Shutterstock, NTB In the age of smartphones and social media, the number of adolescents and young adults in Norway with depression and anxiety has doubled. Researchers believe politicians and technology giants need to take more responsibility. "The last ten years have been a sad development for young people. So far, politicians have refused to acknowledge any responsibility," says Steinar Krokstad, who is a professor of social medicine at NTNU. "All the statistics and all the research show that things are heading in the wrong direction among youth," says Krokstad. He can hardly make his point more clearly. He and a team of researchers recently published a major study, which confirms the same long-term trend for young people as has been documented by other researchers, namely that: anxiety and depression are seeing a marked increase quality of life is worsening chronic diseases are increasing use of painkillers is on the rise self-perceived health is worse happiness and contentment are declining. Curve starts going in awry in 2010 The documentation from NTNU is solid. As part of the HUNT Study, more than 150,000 young women and men in Norway answered questions about their mental health from 1995 to 2019. The survey shows that depression and anxiety among young people in Norway has doubled in that span of time. It also shows that 44% of teenage girls in Norway now struggle with stress and oppressive thoughts. Young women are more vulnerable than young men. One year stands out. 2010 is a clear turning point in the wrong direction. So what happened in 2010? The researchers point to three reasons why developments in the last ten years have veered in the wrong direction. The most important reason is this: Apple launched its first tablet in 2010. That same year, Instagram is launched and challenges Facebook's presence. The App store reaches a historic milestone with billions of app downloads. The following year, Snapchat sees the light of day. The world hasn't looked back since. Tech companies with a lot of power Between 2010 and today, the number of hours young people spend sitting still in front of a screen has increased dramatically. "We've simply replaced activities that promoted good health with activities that weaken our health," says Krokstad. He emphasizes that the smartphone and social media did not arise in a vacuum. "The political ideology that has dominated Western societies for the past ten years is economic growth and that the market will solve the challenges society faces. This policy has meant that international technology companies have become gigantic forces that greatly affect young people's lives. Billionaires, economists and technologists quite simply are the ones who control young people's behavior for several hours every day," says Krokstad. He points out that social media has a lot of positive aspects, but politicians need to take responsibility for limiting its negative impacts. Holding digital platforms accountable "Due to a lack of legislation, companies have been allowed to regulate themselves. It's a unique and dangerous situation when private interests having extreme power and large fortunes decide what will be published in society," says Krokstad. He believes that we need laws to regulate digital platforms, so that if they lead to documented health damage, the company must be held liable. "An example could be chat platforms where we know that young girls might meet sexual abusers," Krokstad says. He believes companies that create this kind of platform should be held accountable. Many digital platforms and social media are based on the business model that the more time users spend on the platform, the more money companies make, because users are exposed to more advertising and influence. Addictive elements Companies have a lot to gain from addictive algorithms. "We have to be able to expect that people who run private businesses also contribute to society through ethical and responsible activities. Letting private business circumvent social responsibility aims too low. Politicians need to take action to give young people a society that promotes good health. We have to intervene in business models and look at how addictive and other elements are being used," says Krokstad. He believes there is good documentation that public health policies work. "WHO has identified controls on price and availability as two documented measures that work. This has been well documented in Norway when it comes to alcohol and tobacco. The decline in disease, such as cardiovascular disease, is due to precisely these mechanisms. Politicians could also have looked at this approach in regards to screen time and social media. For example, perhaps an higher age limit could be introduced for social media in Norway so that children would be better able to handle its use," Krokstad said. The NTNU researchers identified screen-based media as an important reason for the decline in adolescent and young adult mental health. Many young people worried about the future The study names two other factors in the long-term decline in mental health. One is that young people are worried about the future and the pressure to perform. "Young people today have a lot of uncertainty about the future when it comes to work and finances are concerned. They're growing up in a time where until now we've had faith in economic growth. Now we're seeing that humans and nature are both struggling due to this economic growth. It's time to write a new story about the future that young people can believe in," says Krokstad. Several studies have shown that young people are more concerned than before about social relationships, health, their bodies and exercise. However, these factors are not as dominant as their concern for the future and screen use. The survey shows that while young people are struggling, older people are better off. Both women and men in their 60s and 70s are doing very well. "These are completely opposite developments for the two age groups," says Krokstad. What can you do? set your mobile phone or tablet aside take a walk with friendswithout tracking it do something physical with others figure out what is meaningful for you help someone else set a goal for yourself to learn something do something that feels good Explore further Cheaper chocolate and alcohol are a public health setback More information: Steinar Krokstad et al, Divergent decennial trends in mental health according to age reveal poorer mental health for young people: repeated cross-sectional population-based surveys from the HUNT Study, Norway, BMJ Open (2022). Journal information: BMJ Open Steinar Krokstad et al, Divergent decennial trends in mental health according to age reveal poorer mental health for young people: repeated cross-sectional population-based surveys from the HUNT Study, Norway,(2022). DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-057654 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain A deep neural network can be used to classify coronary artery disease from clinical heart disease features, according to new work published in the International Journal of Dynamical Systems and Differential Equations. D. Rajeswari and K. Thangavel of the Department of Computer Science at Periyar University in Salem, India, explain that coronary artery disease is a major cause of death across the globe. Early detection of the disease, however, can allow timely interventions that can lower the patient's risk of heart failure. To this end, the team has developed a prediction model that uses a neural network to process non-invasive clinical data. The network trained on many known cases can then identify the pertinent characteristics when presented with data from a new patient and offer a prognosis that would otherwise remain hidden without major invasive, investigative work. Patients with coronary artery disease present with various symptoms including the expected chest pain, but also fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness, and pain in the shoulders. A definitive clinical diagnosis is complicated and usually requires electrocardiography, biomedical lab tests, patient stress and treadmill tests. A simpler approach that could be used to assess patients quickly is warranted. The researchers have tested their system against the Z-Alizadeh Sani data set held in a repository at the University of California Irvine. The results show that their classifier improves prediction accuracy significantly and is at almost 76% when compared to a well-known classifier method K-nearest neighbor. The result combined with other readily available clinical data or follow-up for a patient could be used to obtain an early diagnosis and so potentially save many lives. Explore further PET/CT artificial intelligence model ideal for predicting risk of future heart attack More information: D. Rajeswari et al, Coronary artery disease classification from clinical heart disease features using deep neural network, International Journal of Dynamical Systems and Differential Equations (2022). D. Rajeswari et al, Coronary artery disease classification from clinical heart disease features using deep neural network,(2022). DOI: 10.1504/IJDSDE.2022.123413 Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain New research led by UNSW Sydney reveals traffic-related fatalities and injuries are the biggest killers of young people worldwidecausing more deaths than communicable and non-communicable diseases or self-harm. The findings are published today in The Lancet Public Health in the first global analysis of transport and unintended injury-related morbidity and mortality of young people aged 10-24. Using the latest data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 Study, the researchers analyzed deaths and Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) from transport and unintentional injuries in adolescents across 204 countries in the past three decades. They found that despite transport injury death rates falling by a third since 1990, the number of deaths attributed to road fatalities for adolescents still increased in some countries. "We've seen a high increase in the absolute number of injury-related deaths and DALYs, specifically in low and low-middle income countries. It indicates neglect for a growing population at risk of injury," says lead author Dr. Amy Peden, research fellow with the School of Population Health at UNSW Medicine & Health. Prevention progress stalling According to the research, reductions in transport injury and death rates in high-income countries have slowed in the most recent decade. They dropped just 1.7 percent a year between 2010 and 2019 compared to the fall of 2.4 percent a year between 1990 and 2010. "In high-income countries like Australia, there's been a real decline in progress. In the past 10 years, we've seen reductions in rates of road transport injury essentially stall, showing a lack of attention to the issue," Dr. Peden says. Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to injury risk due to increasing independence and risk-taking tendencies. However, there has been little research to date that has examined injury patterns in this vulnerable age group. As other causes of mortality in young adults get more focus, Dr. Peden says the lack of progress in reducing transport injury deaths only becomes more apparent. "Despite being the leading cause of death in adolescents globally, it's been relatively neglected when you consider the strong action on other non-injury causes of death among adolescents," Dr. Peden says. There is also a growing burden of transport injuries in low-income countries, where the proportion of deaths almost doubled from 28 percent in 1990 (74,713 of 271,772) to 47 percent in 2019 (100,102 of 214,337). Dr. Peden says the shift in the burden of transport injury toward lower-income countries needs urgent assistance from the global community. "Low socio-demographic index (SDI) countries are dealing with the challenges that come with rapid urbanization, and as such, young people are at a greater risk of road traffic and other types of injury," Dr. Peden says. Global action on road safety Making roads safer doesn't necessarily require radical solutions, Dr. Peden says. It just needs a stronger commitment globally to promote safety behaviors. "The prevention of road traffic injury is still not very well resourced compared to other causes of death of adolescents. So, the findings show a lack of investment in the issue from the global health community," Dr. Peden says. Graduated driver licensing, minimum drinking age laws, lower blood alcohol content levels for novice drivers, seat belt and helmet laws, and school zones have all shown to be effective in reducing injury-related harms when imposed. All-age interventions such as speed enforcement and drink driving enforcement are also effective in reducing road traffic deaths and should have increased focus, Dr. Peden says. The research also recommends promoting active transport infrastructure to prioritize alternative travel options and designing streets with the road safety needs of children and adolescents at the forefront of the planning. "There are simple, affordable and proven interventions to reduce road traffic injuries that are not being applied or enforced," Dr. Peden says. "Now is the time to step up global action on road safety and renew our efforts to safeguard adolescents from preventable injury." The United Nations General Assembly is convening a high-level meeting on improving global road safety this month, focusing on investment in road safety. "We have ambitious but necessary targets set out in the Decade for Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 to prevent at least 50 percent of road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030," says Professor Rebecca Ivers, Head of UNSW School of Population Health and co-author of the paper. "What we need now is the political will for change, backed by measurable action, financial support and the right mechanisms to implement solutions, especially in communities where the burden of road traffic injuries is greatest. This week's high-level meeting is an important step to give road safety the attention that's needed so we can save lives," Professor Ivers says. "This entirely preventable public health issue does not occur in siloshaving safe transport systems is also directly linked to the kind of inter-sectoral action that can lead to sustainable cities and communities and to mitigate the impact of the climate crisis." The next stage of the research will investigate the economic case for governments to invest in injury prevention interventions for adolescents and policy change worldwide, Dr. Peden says. The study was co-authored by Dr. Patricia Cullen, Dr. Holger Moller and Professor Rebecca Ivers from the School of Population Health and forms part of the injury workstream of the NHMRC Center of Research Excellence: Driving Global Investment in Adolescent Health. Explore further Best urban design for reducing road injuries More information: Progress toward reducing adolescent transport and unintentional injuries: a systematic analysis using the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019, The Lancet Public Health (2022). Journal information: The Lancet Public Health Progress toward reducing adolescent transport and unintentional injuries: a systematic analysis using the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00134-7 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Telehealth consultations with a pediatric infectious disease specialist at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio reduced the number of newborns receiving antibiotics by 32% in eight geographically distant nurseries that serve rural and medically underserved areas of South Texas, a recent study shows. Decreasing antibiotic usage in infants is vital because in addition to treating or preventing infections, antibiotics also kill good bacteria that babies need to ward off gut problems, asthma, eczema and food allergies. Newborns obtain these beneficial bacteria during delivery, through breastfeeding and while being held by both parents. "With unnecessary or prolonged antibiotics, the normal, healthy bacteria of babies is disrupted," said pediatrician Joseph Cantey, MD, MPH, first author and consulting specialist for the study from the health science center, also referred to as UT Health San Antonio. Even a couple of doses matter "Ten to 15 years ago, we treated all babies with the slightest risk of infection just to be safe," Dr. Cantey said. "Then we started to understand the protection afforded by these normal bacteria. Now we are trying to be much more select with who needs to be exposed to antibiotics. Even a couple of doses at birth matter." The three-year study was published online April 12 in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. To understand whether telehealth consultations could improve stewardship of antibiotics in newborns, Dr. Cantey and colleagues first looked at nurseries' existing rates of usage for 15 months, then phased in centers one at a time over a nine-month period to begin telehealth consults when questions arose. After this, usage rates were studied for 12 months with all centers having the consults available to them 24/7. Meeting a demonstrated need "A lot of centers, especially rural centers or centers that are in medically underserved areas, don't have access to the resources that they need to do stewardship the way they would want to do it for their babies," Dr. Cantey said. "Texas is a big state with a significant percentage of the population clustered on the Interstate 35 corridor and in the Houston region," he added. "Outside of those areas, there is a lot of square footage that is considered medically underserved or rural by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Many counties do not have any medical providers. So, Texas is a wonderful state in which to test telehealth for enhancing newborn antibiotic stewardship." The centers are not identified in the study report but include hospitals in Cuero, Fredericksburg, Carrizo Springs, Laredo and Del Rio, Dr. Cantey said. Telehealth crucial to babies, parents during pandemic The study began in 2018 before the COVID-19 pandemic and proved to be very helpful to the distant nurseries as they navigated coronavirus concerns related to newborns. "In the pandemic setting, a lot of the questions that were coming through the teleconsultation portal were questions about COVID," Dr. Cantey said. "What do we do for moms who have the virus? Do we need to separate the babies from the moms? Can the babies breastfeed? Even though nurseries did not necessarily have pediatric infectious disease experts in their towns, they could still reach out and get the support they needed." Other consult topics included E. coli and other bacterial infections that babies contract in the delivery process, congenital syphilis, botulism, tetanus, Chagas disease and tuberculosis. "The questions of these providers trying to hold the fort in rural settings were amazingly varied," Dr. Cantey said. "And every week with COVID, there was a new guideline." 'In awe of these hospitals' The eight nurseries cared for 9,277 babies over the course of the three-year study. The hospitals made a significant commitment to serve these infants and their families by participating. "I am in awe of these hospitals," Dr. Cantey said. "These centers in rural or medically underserved areas do such an amazing job of providing the best care that they can for their patients. It was so impressive to see the above and beyond effort that the centers went through to increase the quality of care that they were able to give their newborns. I admire how thoughtful and how committed the nurses and physicians and administrators were to taking care of their communities." More information: Joseph B. Cantey et al, Remote Stewardship for Medically Underserved Nurseries: A Stepped-Wedge, Cluster Randomized Study, Pediatrics (2022). Journal information: Pediatrics Joseph B. Cantey et al, Remote Stewardship for Medically Underserved Nurseries: A Stepped-Wedge, Cluster Randomized Study,(2022). DOI: 10.1542/peds.2021-055686 Investigators assessed mosquito behavioral response by a two-port olfactometer assay (Left to right Dr. Hong Zhang, Dr. Yibin Zhu, Prof. Gong Cheng). Credit: Xuan Guo Zika and dengue fever viruses alter the scent of mice and humans they infect, researchers report in the 30 June issue of Cell. The altered scent attracts mosquitoes, which bite the host, drink their infected blood and then carry the virus to its next victim. Dengue is spread by mosquitoes in tropical areas around the world, and occasionally in subtropical areas such as the southeastern US. It causes fever, rash, and painful aches, and sometimes hemorrhage and death. More than 50 million dengue cases occur every year, and about 20,000 deaths, most of them in children, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease. Zika is another mosquito-spread viral disease in the same family as dengue. Although it is uncommon for Zika to cause serious disease in adults, a recent outbreak in South America caused serious birth defects in the unborn children of infected pregnant women. Yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and West Nile are also members of this virus family. These viruses require ongoing infections in animal hosts as well as mosquitoes in order to spread. If either of these are missingif all the susceptible hosts clear the virus, or all the mosquitoes diethe virus disappears. For example, during the yellow fever outbreak in Philadelphia in 1793, the coming of the fall frosts killed the local mosquitoes, and the outbreak ended. In tropical climates without killing frosts, there are always mosquitoes; the virus just needs one to bite an infected host animal in order to spread. Zika and dengue viruses seem to have developed a sneaky way of increasing the odds. A team of researchers from UConn Health, Tsinghua University in Beijing, the Institute of Infectious Diseases in Shenzhen, the Ruili Hospital of Chinese Medicine and Dai Medicine, the Yunnan Tropical and Subtropical Animal Virus Disease Laboratory, and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, suspected that dengue and Zika might be manipulating the hosts in some way to attract mosquitoes. Both malaria and general inflammation can change people's scent. Viral infection by dengue and Zika, they thought, might do the same thing. First the team tested whether mosquitoes showed a preference for infected mice. And indeed, when mosquitoes were offered a choice of healthy mice or mice sick with dengue, the mosquitoes were more attracted to the dengue-infected mice. Then they analyzed the smelly molecules on the skin of infected and healthy mice. They identified several molecules that were more common on infected animals, and tested them individually. They applied them both to clean mice, and to the hands of human volunteers, and found that one odoriferous molecule, acetophenone, was especially attractive to mosquitoes. Skin odorants collected from human dengue patients showed the same thing: more attractive to mosquitoes and more acetophenone production. Acetophenone is made by some Bacillus bacteria that grow on human (and mouse) skin. Normally skin produces an antimicrobial peptide that keeps Bacillus populations in check. But it turns out that when mice are infected with dengue and Zika, they don't produce as much of the antimicrobial peptide, and the Bacillus grows faster. "The virus can manipulate the hosts' skin microbiome to attract more mosquitoes to spread faster!" says Penghua Wang, an immunologist at UConn Health and one of the study authors. The findings could explain how mosquito viruses manage to persist for such a long time. Wang and his coauthors also tested a potential preventative. They gave mice with dengue fever a type of vitamin A derivative, isotretinoin, known to increase the production of the skin's antimicrobial peptide. The isotretinoin-treated mice gave off less acetophenone, reducing their attractiveness to mosquitoes and potentially reducing the risk of infecting others with the virus. Wang says the next step is to analyze more human patients with dengue and Zika to see if the skin odor-microbiome connection is generally true in real world conditions, and to see if isotretinoin reduces acetophenone production in sick humans as well as it does in sick mice. Explore further Targeting mosquito spit to halt yellow fever, dengue and Zika More information: Gong Cheng, A volatile from the skin microbiota of flavivirus-infected hosts promotes mosquito attractiveness, Cell (2022). www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(22)00641-9 Journal information: Cell Gong Cheng, A volatile from the skin microbiota of flavivirus-infected hosts promotes mosquito attractiveness,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.05.016 Positive representations of higher-weight women exercising can counter the idealization of thin bodies that is common on social media, while cultivating health-promoting exercise behaviour. Credit: Shutterstock "Fitspiration" is a popular social media trend that depicts images of thin women posing in exercise clothing or engaged in fitness pursuits. Research has found that this trend, which is intended to inspire viewers to engage in health-promoting exercise, often sexualizes and objectifies women's bodies. Fitspiration may reinforce narrowoften unrealistic or unattainablebody ideals under a veil of health and fitness promotion. Researchers have consistently found negative psychological effects of exposure to this type of content. The success of fitspiration to inspire people to exercise is less clear. In the few published studies on this topic, there is no evidence for the claim that viewing fitspiration increases exercise. In fact, some evidence shows a decrease in exercise after viewing fitspiration. And even if fitspiration could inspire people to exercise, exercising for the main purpose of changing appearance can have deleterious effects on mental health. Weight-inclusive representations of exercisers Social media content that positively represents body size, shape and weight diversity may help to address issues with fitspiration. Posts of "fat"a term that has been reclaimed as a neutral descriptor of body size in response to negative connotations and historical oppression against fatnessor higher-weight women engaging positively in fitness pursuits may promote positive mental health and exercise outcomes. Featuring positive representations of higher-weight exercisers can counteract the harms of anti-fat bias in exercise images. In a recent research study conducted in the Body Image and Health Lab at Western University, we tested whether weight-inclusive social media content could elicit more "psychologically adaptive" motives to exercise compared to traditional fitspiration. Psychologically adaptive exercise motivation is rooted in the pursuit of health and enjoyment, and promotes psychological well-being, whereas exercise motivation that is rooted in guilt, social pressure or desires to alter the body can impair psychological well-being. Weight-inclusive content We enrolled over 1,000 young women to view either positive representations of higher-weight women exercising or typical fitspiration content on social media, and measured changes in a range of psychological outcomes, including exercise motivation. We found that women who engaged with weight-inclusive social media content were more motivated to exercise and reported more psychologically adaptive and sustainable exercise motivation. In contrast, women who viewed typical fitspiration images did not report higher intentions to exercise. They also reported more dysfunctional motives for exercise, such as losing weight or improving their appearance. While our study confirms that fitspiration may have harmful consequences for women's body image and health behavior, it also suggests that weight-inclusive content could be a psychologically adaptive alternative. Positive representations of higher-weight women exercising can counter the idealization of thin bodies that is common on social media, while cultivating health-promoting exercise. Weight-inclusive social media content has the potential to combat anti-fat stigma and promote inclusivity in fitness spaces. Explore further Women deflated by #Fitspiration images This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Changes in the way that humans live and eat have resulted in tremendous alterations in the gut microbiome, especially over the past few decades. These changes have been linked to increased rates of asthma, allergies, diseases of the digestive system, type 2 diabetes, and other conditions. In an opinion article published June 30 in the journal Trends in Molecular Medicine, a team from Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) proposes that we can combat these trends by having individuals bank samples of their own gut microbiota when they are young and healthy for potential use later in life in an autologous fecal microbiota transplant (FMT). "The idea of 'rewilding' the human microbiome has taken off in recent years and has been hotly debated from medical, ethical, and evolutionary perspectives," says corresponding author Yang-Yu Liu, an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard and an Associate Scientist in the Channing Division of Network Medicine at BWH. "It is still unknown if people in industrialized societies can gain some health benefit by restoring their microbiome to an ancestral state. In this paper, we proposed a way to rejuvenate the human gut microbiome." FMTs using donor stool have shown benefit for treating some conditions, primarily infections with Clostridioides difficile (C. diff), which affect about half a million people and kill about 29,000 in the United States every year. However, one limitation of using donor stool is variability in the host's response, likely due to genetic and environmental differences between the donor and host. Efforts in Yang's lab focus on understanding the ecological dynamics and organizational principles of the human microbiome to inform the design of microbiome-based therapeutics. OpenBiome, a nonprofit stool bank based in Somerville, Massachusetts, is the first stool bank to offer an option for individuals to bank their own stool for future treatment of C. diff infection. Yang and his colleagues looked at whether this approach might be feasible on a large scale for many other diseases. "Conceptually, the idea of stool banking for autologous FMT is similar to when parents bank their baby's cord blood for possible future use," says Yang. "However, there is greater potential for stool banking, and we anticipate that the chance of using stool samples is much higher than for cord blood." "But there are many practical issues to implementing this idea," says Yang. The article takes a closer look at some of those issues, including optimal storage methods, how much stool should be banked, and what the costs might be. "Autologous transplants would naturally avoid or at least mitigate donor-recipient compatibility issues, but a major disadvantage of autologous transplants is the need for long-term cryopreservation of stool samples, typically requiring liquid nitrogen storage," says co-author Shanlin Ke, a postdoctoral research fellow in Yang's lab. "The long-term safe storage and subsequent resuscitation and cultivation of stool samples is a fundamental research question by itself. To inform practical guidelines for stool banking, further research is needed to systematically test longer storage times and preservation, resuscitation, and cultivation procedures." Yang acknowledges that widespread banking could lead to a system in which those with more financial resources are more likely to have banked stool for future use. "We do not anticipate that all individuals in our society are willing or able to pay the cost associated with the service of 'rejuvenating' their gut microbiome, in the same way that not all parents pay the cost of cord blood banking for their newborns," he says. "But as scientists our job is to provide a scientific solution that may eventually benefit human well-being. Developing a reasonable business model and pricing strategy so that the solution is affordable to everyone would require the joint force of entrepreneurs, scientists, and perhaps governments." "Autologous FMTs have the potential to treat autoimmune diseases like asthma, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, obesity, and even heart disease and aging," says co-author Scott T. Weiss, a Professor of Medicine at Harvard and Associate Director of the Channing Division of Network Medicine at BWH. "We hope this paper will prompt some long-term trials of autologous FMTs to prevent disease." Explore further Donor fecal microbiota transplant effective for C. difficile infection Bike on road. Credit: Niklas Jeromin A new series published in The Lancet today highlights the growing problem of road traffic injuries and lays out some opportunities for preventing injuries and saving lives. The series comes at the same time as the United Nations General Assembly launches a high-level meeting on global road safety June 30-July 1 in New York. The series offers a comprehensive analysis of this rising public health threat. An estimated 1.35 million people lose their lives and more than 50 million are injured or disabled as a result of road traffic injuries every year. "The death toll from traffic injuries around the world is far too high," Adnan Hyder, professor of global health at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, said. "Despite a United Nations goal to reduce this heavy burden, people everywhere continue to be at great risk of injury and death unless current road traffic strategies are changed to put protections in place." Hyder, who is Senior Associate Dean for Research and also the Director of the Center on Commercial Determinants of Health at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health, serves as the lead author of an analytic commentary and is the senior author on two other papers published as part of the three-part series.The analytic commentary reviews events that occurred from 1999 to the present and describes ten challenges that provide an opportunity to make faster progress on road safety. Two other papers in the series address the issue of road safety around the world. In the first, Junaid Razzak at the Weill Cornell Medical Center, Hyder and their colleagues looked at trauma care for road injuries. They found that approximately 200,000 lives per year could be saved with improved trauma systems in low and middle income countries. In the second paper, Hyder, Nino Paichadze from GW, Andres Vecino-Ortiz at the Johns Hopkins University and their colleagues studied four road safety risk factorsspeed, drunk driving, helmet and seatbelt use. They found that full implementation of already proven road safety interventions targeting those four main areas could save up to 540,000 lives around the world. In the United States, a total of about 43,000 lives could be saved by focusing on those four road safety areas, including more than 22,000 lives saved by restricting speed and more than 5100 with interventions on drunk driving. Another 14,000 and 2400 lives could be saved with better use of seatbelts and helmets, respectively. In the analytic commentary, Hyder and his colleagues outline some of the pitfalls that must be overcome to make the roadways safer. They point out that road safety involves many sectors, including health, transportation and other areas; and suggest addressing commercial determinants of road safety. To address road safety the roles of each sector must be clear and one sector should take the lead on developing a strategy, Hyder said. Finally, the authors recommend reframing road safety so that the issue resonates with the public and political leaders. At the same time, there must be the political will to put enough resources toward this problem to address it, Hyder said. The Lancet Road Safety 2022 series, which includes all three papers and an editorial will be published June 29, 2022 and can be accessed here. Explore further Expert calls for strong, sustainable action to make world roadways safer Solar rooftop at SM City North EDSA CLIMATE CHANGE is one of the most pressing and defining global issues today and it has become imperative... One big thread ties Missoula artists Julia Galloway and Stephanie Frostads works together: risk. In a joint exhibition at Radius Gallery, the twos show combines Galloways ceramic art and Frostads paintings to explore themes surrounding the natural world, human rights, gender, politics, animal extinction, time and the interrelatedness of it all. If you go Stephanie Frostad and Julia Galloway's exhibition, "the risk it took to blossom," is on view at Radius Gallery through July 23. The shows title, the risk it took to blossom comes from a short poem by Anais Nin: And then the day came, / when the risk / to remain tight / in a bud / was more painful / than the risk / it took / to blossom. Much of Galloways work centers around animals, with human-sized urns depicting endangered species at risk of going extinct, part of a larger ongoing project she has embarked on in which she will create urns for the 2,000-some endangered species in the U.S. and Canada. Also included in the show are smaller pieces with dripping clocks representing the loss of time, or time running out. It represents the anxiety of time, she said. Im very concerned with the condition of our relationship with the natural world." All the research she has done to inform her project comes from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website or other nonpartisan sources. In her research, she said she was surprised at how, sometimes, species that end up on the endangered species list go off the list as well. I thought it was a one-way trip, but its not, she said. Nonetheless, the list is quickly growing. She said she was inspired by the AIDS memorial quilt in Washington, D.C., which had nearly 2,000 panels for people who died of AIDS. It gave a visual representation for something that often goes unseen. She hopes the urns inspire hope. Thats the thing I say about it the urns are empty, she said. Galloways work also celebrates the intimate and joyful. On one wall, 144 house-shaped cups line up to make up a recreation of Richard Diebenkorns Coffee, a richly-colored oil painting depicting a person drinking coffee. Nothing touches your lips as often as a cup, she said. So theres a real intimacy about cups. In Frostads paintings, one wall of Radius depicts another type of hope women rising. A series of eight paintings show a woman, from the back, walking up a hill in different seasons, with birds in the sky in each one. The birds are a symbol of freedom and rising, and theyre not the only animals that appear in her work. In one painting, a rabbit is in the foreground of the painting, while humans are in the background. The human drama unfolds in the presence of other creatures, she said. Her work is also about social causes and rural life. During the pandemic, she said she began to think deeply about essential workers, immigrant workers and how she could talk about her concerns as a middle-class white woman. In one half of a diptych, a romantic landscape depicting land, sky, and a barn. In the other half, workers are bent over in fields. Women make up the bulk of the characters in Frostads work. You can make it, but you cant make it powerful in its relevance if it isnt natural to you, she said. After risk, one element present in both Galloway and Frostads work is beauty, as well as craftsmanship and quality. Beauty draws them in, but allows them to stay there longer, she said. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 THURSDAY, June 30, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Traffic accidents kill about 1.35 million people around the world each year. As the United Nations convenes a meeting on global road safety, new research suggests that if nations focused on key safety measures, about 540,000 lives a year could be saved. "The death toll from traffic injuries around the world is far too high," said study author Dr. Adnan Hyder, a professor at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. "Despite a United Nations goal to reduce this heavy burden, people everywhere continue to be at great risk of injury and death unless current road traffic strategies are changed to put protections in place," he said in a university news release. In papers and a commentary published June 29 in The Lancet, the researchers examined road safety around the world, including risk factors and ways to speed up improvements. In the commentary, Hyder outlined 10 opportunities to make faster progress on safety measures. In another paper, Hyder and his colleagues, including Dr. Junaid Razzak of Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City, estimated that improved trauma systems in low- and middle-income countries could save about 200,000 lives a year. A third paper studied speed, drunken driving and use of seat belts and helmets. Co-authors included Dr. Nino Paichadze of George Washington University and Dr. Andres Vecino-Ortiz of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Fully using these proven strategies could save up to 540,000 lives worldwide, the authors said, including an estimated 43,000 in the United States. Lowering speed limits would save more than 22,000 U.S. lives; better use of seat belts would save 14,000; interventions on drunken driving would save more than 5,100, and 2,400 would be saved with better use of helmets. But, researchers noted, road safety involves many sectors, including health and transportation. The roles of each must be clear and one should take the lead on developing a strategy, Hyder said. The authors said more resources will need to be directed to the problem to solve it and they suggest reframing the issue to make it more meaningful to politicians and the public. The U.N. General Assembly is meeting on global road safety June 30 and July 1 in New York City. More information The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on transportation safety. SOURCE: George Washington University, news release, June 29, 2022 You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. THURSDAY, June 30, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- While kids in a classroom are likely to be familiar with all their classmates after a short time, the children they are assigned to sit near are likely to become their closer friends, a new study suggests. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University found that after seat assignments changed, students were more likely to become friends with newly near-seated classmates, than with those who became seated farther away or those who had never sat close to them. "The students in our study spent most of every day with the same 15 or so classmates. By the middle of the school year, there were no unfamiliar peers," said co-author Brett Laursen, a professor of psychology. "Yet when seat assignments changed, new seatmates were apt to become new friends, consistent with claims that exposure alone is not a sufficient condition for friendship," he said in a university news release. "Apparently, proximity transcends familiarity by providing new opportunities for the kind of exchanges that form the basis of a friendship." The study included 235 students in grades three to five, with 129 boys and 106 girls about ages 8 to 11. All attended a public primary school in South Florida. Teacher seating charts were used to calculate three forms of proximity for each pair of students in a classroom. The first was neighbor proximity, or classmates seated directly beside one another in a row or at a table, as well as those seated directly across from one another at a table. Group proximity was defined as neighbors and "near neighbors." The near neighbors were either one seat away in the same row or diagonal to one another at the same table. The third was classroom proximity. "Of course, students were not glued to their seats; interactions with far-seated peers undoubtedly occurred during lunch, recess and [in some classes] free time activities," Laursen said. "The fact that new friends tended to emerge among the newly near-seated -- despite opportunities for engagement with other classmates -- underscores the power of proximity in friendship formation." Friendships play a critical role in a child's development. Classroom proximity has outsized importance because in elementary school there are fewer opportunities to engage with other kids at school. Companionship is central to friendship, and it has been established that most children report that most of their friends are in the same classroom, the authors said. In most elementary school classrooms, teachers decide where the kids sit and, thereby, who interacts with them. "Taken together, our findings highlight the enormous influence that teachers wield over the interpersonal lives of children. With great power comes great responsibility," Laursen said. "We urge teachers to exercise their power judiciously. Unintended social consequences have been known to arise when adults meddle in the social lives of children." The findings were published recently in the journal Frontiers in Psychology. More information The Yale Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning has more on classroom seating assignments. SOURCE: Florida Atlantic University, news release, June 28, 2022 You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. THURSDAY, June 30, 2022 (HealthDay News) In a ruling that will curb efforts to fight climate change, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday limited the Environmental Protection Agencys ability to regulate carbon emissions from power plants. The 6-3 decision comes as scientists are warning about the growing threat posed by global warming. It could potentially extend to other actions taken by administrative agencies, the New York Times reported. As with several recent high court rulings, the ruling came with the three liberal justices dissenting. They said the decision strips the EPA of the power to respond to the most pressing environmental challenge of our time. In her dissent, Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the court had substituted its own policy judgment for that of Congress. "Whatever else this court may know about, it does not have a clue about how to address climate change," she wrote. "And let's say the obvious: The stakes here are high. Yet the court today prevents congressionally authorized agency action to curb power plants' carbon dioxide emissions." The case -- West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 20-1530 -- asked justices to decide whether the Clean Air Act allowed the EPA to issue sweeping regulations across the power sector and whether Congress must speak with particular clarity when it allows agencies to address major political and economic questions. The Times said it appears the ruling would limit the EPAs ability to regulate the energy sector beyond controlling emissions at individual power plants. It may also put an end to controls such as the cap-and-trade system, unless Congress acts. The issue dates to the Trump Administrations Affordable Clean Energy Rule, which was struck down by a federal appeals court on the last full day of his presidency. That rule would have relaxed restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the rule was based on a fundamental misconstruction of the relevant law, prompted by a tortured series of misreadings. The E.P.A. has ample discretion in carrying out its mandate, the decision concluded. But it may not shirk its responsibility by imagining new limitations that the plain language of the statute does not clearly require. At that time, the panel did not reinstate the 2015 Obama-era regulation known as the Clean Power Plan, which would have required utilities to move away from coal toward renewable energy, while instructing states to draft plans to eliminate carbon emissions, the Times said. The Supreme Court blocked that plan in 2016 while lawsuits from the coal industry and conservative states were heard. That ruling had also cleared the way for the Biden administration to issue stronger restrictions, the Times noted. Thursdays Supreme Court ruling could extend beyond environmental policy and limit power at other administrative agencies, the Times added. The court had previously ruled that two federal agencies could not impose certain rules during the pandemic. For example, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could not impose a moratorium on evictions and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration could not require large employers to have their workers vaccinated or undergo testing, the Times noted. As the ruling was announced, the president of the American Medical Association (AMA) reaffirmed the group's support for policies that reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions aimed at carbon neutrality by 2050. "As physicians and leaders in medicine, we recognize the urgency of supporting environmental sustainability efforts to help halt global climate change and the devastating health harms that it is sure to bring," Dr. Jack Resnick Jr. said in a statement. "Despite this ruling, we will continue to do our part to protect public health and improve health outcomes for our patients across the nation," he added. More information The United Nations has more on climate change. SOURCE: The New York Times, June 30, 2022; U.S. Supreme Court, June 30, 2022; American Medical Association, news release, June 30, 2022 You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. THURSDAY, June 30, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Getting a COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy can help protect both mother and baby. But does it matter which vaccine or at what stage of pregnancy a woman receives her shots? New research suggests it does, and that getting immunized earlier in pregnancy may be better. In their study, investigators focused on maternal immune responses to the vaccine and the transfer of COVID antibodies to the fetus through the placenta. "Our goal was to compare maternal antibody responses and transplacental transfer of antibody to the neonate with vaccination across all three trimesters of pregnancy, and across different vaccine platforms [Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson]," said study co-senior author Dr. Andrea Edlow, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an assistant professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School. "We hope to use this information to better counsel patients wondering about vaccination in the first versus the second or third trimester," Edlow said in a hospital news release. The researchers studied the antibody responses in 158 pregnant women who used Janssen's adenovirus-based vaccine, Moderna's mRNA vaccine and Pfizer's mRNA vaccine. They also evaluated maternal and umbilical cord blood in 175 maternal-neonatal pairs. The team found lower-functioning antibodies in women who received the adenovirus-based vaccine than in those who received the mRNA vaccines. It also found subtle advantages in antibody levels and function in women who received the Moderna vaccine over the Pfizer vaccine. The mRNA vaccine-induced antibodies had higher levels and functions against the Alpha, Beta, Delta and Gamma variants, as well as vaccine-induced antibodies with neutralizing activity against Omicron. Getting vaccinated in the first or third trimesters lead to more maternal immune responses relative to second-trimester vaccination. However, the transfer of antibodies to the fetus through the placenta was most efficient with first and second trimester vaccination. "These data support the initial vaccine series early in pregnancy if it has not yet been administered, with possible boosting later in pregnancy if eligible, to optimize protective antibody titers for both mother and neonate," said co-senior study author Galit Alter, a core member at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. The authors called for further research. "Additional studies are needed to understand how to optimize maternal and neonatal immunity induced by vaccines in general during pregnancy," said co-senior study author Dr. Kathryn Gray, an associate obstetrician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and an assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School. The findings were published in Nature Communications. More information The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on COVID-19 and pregnancy SOURCE: Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Womens Hospital, news release, June 28, 2022 You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. THURSDAY, June 30, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Banking samples of your own poop in your youth and then transplanting them back when you're old might be a key to healthy aging, scientists suggest. Stool samples frozen and stored when a person is vital and healthy could potentially rejuvenate bacteria in the gut that's become damaged due to aging, disease or antibiotic use, according to an opinion piece published June 30 in the journal Trends in Molecular Medicine. Fecal transplants already are used to treat C. difficile, an opportunistic bug that causes severe diarrhea in people whose gut bacteria has been wiped out by antibiotic use, said senior opinion author Yang-Yu Liu, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. Damaged or aging gut bacteria also have been linked to increased rates of health problems like asthma, allergies, gastrointestinal diseases and type 2 diabetes. By storing healthy poop when you're younger and then donating it back to yourself -- a process they call autologous fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) -- you might be able to ward off some of these diseases associated with aging, the scientists said. "We expect that autologous FMT [stool samples collected from the host at a younger and healthier age] may be a more powerful therapeutic approach to promote healthy aging of the host than heterologous FMT [stool samples collected from an unrelated young and healthy donor]," Liu added. Many stool banks already have opened worldwide, primarily to store healthy fecal samples so they can be available to patients with C. difficile, researchers noted. About half a million people in the United States come down with C. difficile each year, and about 29,000 die from the bug. However, these facilities gather samples taken from donors and passes them along to others in need; they dont typically store individual samples for that donor's own future use. The new paper envisions a future where everyone stores away their own fecal samples in anticipation of "rewilding" their gut bacteria when they are older. This would be particularly beneficial because your younger bacteria wouldn't have been exposed repeatedly to antibiotics, and so would not have had a chance to become infested with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the researchers wrote. But there are a lot of hurdles that will need to be cleared before such stool banking becomes reality, the researchers added. First off, there are major safety concerns -- could some bacteria in your younger GI tract actually pose a threat to an older version of yourself? Doctors will need "to identify opportunistic pathogens that are benign for young adults with a strong immune system but harmful to the elderly with a weakened immune system," Liu said. There's also a question of whether a fecal transplant would actually rejuvenate an aging gut microbiome, said Dr. Sahil Khanna, a gastroenterologist with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "When you transplant gut bacteria from a younger version of yourself to an older version of yourself, do the bacteria make you younger, or do the bacteria themselves become older to fit in with your existing microbiome?" said Khanna, who was not involved with the opinion piece. "We don't know if that has been proven to reverse the aging bacteria or not." The idea also raises a lot of logistical issues. Storing stool samples for decades would require expensive freezers that could get as cold as -214 degrees Fahrenheit, Liu predicts -- not something available to the average Joe. "It's a funny thing to think about, every person having a poop bank in their basement freezer, but that wouldnt be the right thing to do," Khanna said. "Stool banking is not a DIY proposition." Stool banks also would need a lot of freezer space, and would require a lot of energy to run those freezers, Liu added. It's going to be an expensive proposition. "We do not anticipate that all individuals in our society are willing to pay the cost," Liu said. "Developing a reasonable business model and marketing strategy would certainly require the joint force of entrepreneurs and scientists." Further, it's not known how much poop you'd have to store for each person. C. difficile can be treated with a single fecal transplant, Khanna said, but more complex problems, like inflammatory bowel disease, probably would require multiple transplants. Future research will be needed to figure out all these problems, and also to help identify specific people who might be at high risk for a disease that could be treated through fecal transplant, Khanna said. "This is very futuristic," Khanna said of the paper. We're probably not quite there as yet, but that's where we need to be." More information OpenBiome has more information on stool banking. SOURCES: Yang-Yu Liu, PhD, associate professor, Harvard Medical School, Boston; Sahil Khanna, MBBS, gastroenterologist, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.; Trends in Molecular Medicine, June 30, 2022 You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. A state audit report found that Montanas Office of Public Instruction is at risk of mishandling federal money in four different programs due to a lack of internal controls and monitoring within the agency. A bulk of the issues in the report surrounded federal COVID relief funds for schools (ESSER), but there were also problems with child nutrition programs, support for low income students (Title I) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Another internal issue identified in the report was the high rate of turnover among OPI staff, as about half of positions at the agency were vacant or turned over during the audit period. The Legislative Audit Division stated in its report that staff often did not understand what they were being asked to do and did not fulfill information requests. The volume of recommendations combined with difficulties we experienced getting timely information during the audit led us to consider OPIs overall internal control structure, the report stated. A lot of different guidance has come from the federal government regarding anything dealing with ESSER I, ESSER II, ESSER III, so it has been challenging to try and navigate that understanding of the allowable uses," Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen said at a meeting on Wednesday. "But everything that we do, we communicate quite frequently with all of our (schools) and our after-school programs. The Legislative Audit Division acknowledged that the COVID pandemic posed challenges for OPI as it adjusted to work-from-home and new responsibilities from the federal government to distribute COVID relief funds. In total, the report posed 13 recommendations for the OPI based on the review of the two fiscal years that ended June 30, 2021. OPI agreed with all but one recommendation, and has already made progress on implementing at least nine recommendations related to federal compliance. Some of the recommendations highlighted in the most recent report with OPI were similar issues identified in the prior audit, according to Jessica Curtis, a financial compliance audit supervisor for the Legislative Audit Division. Sen. Mary McNally considered OPIs initial written response to the report to be inadequate, pretty general, vague. OPI presented an updated response to committee members ahead of Wednesdays meeting with more details about progress it has made toward compliance. I was very concerned with some of the internal control issues and they seem to be chronic, McNally said. "I mean, I know its exacerbated by everything that happened during COVID, but they also were there before COVID." She also requested an update about staff vacancies at OPI. Jay Phillips, the Chief Financial Officer at OPI, indicated that some progress had been made on filling vacancies, but they are still having some challenges. He cited issues such as record low unemployment rates in Montana, and the competitive job market as some fast-food restaurants are offering wages far above their usual rates. I mean, trying to be competitive at the state level at time for some positions is challenging, but absolutely, weve been having great efforts in recruitment, Phillips said. The most recent audit period proved challenging for a majority of state agencies, and OPI was no exception. In fiscal years 2020 and 2021, OPI received a total of $184.2 million and $239.3 million respectively from federal resources. During their review, auditors found that 16 of the 60 requests they made were unsupported because they did not contain enough detail on whether schools were spending COVID relief funds on allowed items. The audit identified $460,154 in questioned costs related to federal COVID relief funds, but auditors believe that amount could be higher. We encourage OPI to strengthen internal controls, especially to document all internal controls because we cant give the office credit for something we cant see, Curtis said. Rep. Denise Hayman, the chair of the Legislative Audit Committee, asked Curtis if auditors were contacted by any schools that may not have received funding. She replied that she was not aware of any situation through the fraud hotline and that the Legislative Audit Division does not survey schools during the auditing process. Phillips assured the committee that federal funds have not been withheld from schools. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 16 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 Missoula Public Safety, Health and Operations Committee tabled a vote on entheogenic plant use in the city which includes psychoactive mushrooms during a meeting Wednesday. The city now has six months to pick the item up off the table or the resolutions sponsor will need to come forward with a new proposal. Ward 3 Council Member Daniel Carlino moved to table the resolution after numerous committee members raised concerns. The resolution would have directed Missoula Police to avoid arresting people in Missoula for entheogenic plant use, to furnish a copy of the resolution to the County Attorney and to make entheogenic plant use a priority for city lobbyists at the state level. Knowing the health benefits of entheogenic plants, why should we as a government turn people into criminals for plant practices? Carlino asked the committee as he urged his fellow council members to support the resolution. Despite support from Carlino, Council Member Kristen Jordan in Ward 2 and Council Member Sandra Vasecka in Ward 6, most of the committee expressed hesitancy about the resolution. Concerns swirled around the efficacy of the proposal and the unintended consequences it might have on Missoulas youth. I guess, to me, Im just really not sure what this accomplishes, said Ward 1 Councilor Jennifer Savage. Savage said she supports entheogenic plant use in clinical settings, but she was skeptical about the effect of this specific resolution. Savages fellow Ward 1 Council Member, Heidi West, shared Savages reservations. It (the resolution) also actually doesnt change any policy or get rid of any policy, West said. So I dont have any idea how this would functionally work. Mike Nugent, representing Ward 4, questioned the lack of arrests in the city due to entheogenic plant use. In a previous meeting, Missoula Police Chief Jaeson White said the city had made only three arrests from Jan. 1, 2020 to April 21, 2022 that solely involved entheogenic plant use. Nugent said that figure doesnt really seem like a statistically significant number to draw conclusions from. To speak to the lack of arrests, that just shows this is going to be a really easy resolution for the police department to implement, contended Carlino, the resolutions sponsor. But the resolution faced further resistance from council members and experts who worried about the effect the resolution could have on youth in the community. We dont know what the unintended consequences of passing this resolution will be, warned Ward 2 Council Member Mirtha Becerra. Leah Fritch-Brody with the Missoula City-County Health Department said decriminalizing entheogens could follow the same path as decriminalizing marijuana, which ultimately led to marijuana legalization in Montana. Subsequent to the substances legalization, Fritch-Brody explained, Missoula County saw a 22% increase in regular marijuana use among high schoolers, according to the annual Youth Risk Behavior Survey. What does this (resolution) mean for our youth? Fritch-Brody wondered. Faith Price with All Nations Health Center added her concerns over the possibility of decriminalizing entheogens in Missoula. The current scientific conclusions are theres not enough research and I think this resolution is getting ahead of that, she said. A public commenter, Mitch Hall, challenged Prices conclusions. The science may not be to the level of the NIH or FDA approval, but its very well on the way, he said. Halls view wasnt enough to sway the committee, which voted 10-1 to table the resolution with only Ward 5 Council Member John Contos opposed. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 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. The House Jan. 6 committee has now heard dramatic testimony from former White House aides and others about Donald Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election. It's also heard of his encouragement to supporters before they marched to the Capitol and violently broke in. But its still far from clear whether any of Trumps actions were criminal, or whether he will be charged. Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson provided explosive testimony to the committee that opened up new legal issues about Trumps role in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection including testimony that he knew protesters were armed and he wanted to go to the Capitol with them. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) A Florida judge said Thursday that he will temporarily block a 15-week ban on abortions in his state, but his bench ruling won't take effect before the ban becomes law Friday an issue that could cause confusion for patients as well as abortion providers. Meanwhile, a Kentucky judge temporarily blocked that state's near-total ban on abortions, allowing the procedures to resume after they were abruptly stopped when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last week. The state quickly appealed the judge's order. The cases in Florida and Kentucky reflect battles being waged in courts across the country after the Supreme Court said abortion was no longer protected under the federal constitution. The high court left it up to states to decide whether abortion is legal within their borders forcing attorneys on both sides of the debate to turn to their state constitutions. Some of the legal disputes involve trigger laws like Kentuckys and Floridas that were specifically designed to take effect if Roe were to fall. Some involve bans that have been on the books, unenforced, for generations. Others entail prohibitions on abortion that were held up pending the ruling on Roe and are now moving forward. The legal wrangling is creating chaos for patients, including some in Kentucky who were turned away from clinics and rescheduled appointments in neighboring states. The owner of North Dakotas only abortion clinic which is operating until July 28 said one patient wrote on a form: Will I be prosecuted for having an abortion today? In Florida, Judge John C. Cooper said Thursday that he will temporarily block the 15-week abortion ban from taking effect after reproductive health providers argued the state constitution guarantees a right to the procedure. Cooper said Florida's ban was unconstitutional in that it violates the privacy provision of the Florida Constitution." Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state would appeal. Coopers decision, issued from the bench, will not be binding until he signs a written order which appeared would not happen before Tuesday. That means the 15-week ban will take effect Friday, as scheduled, and the gap in timing raises questions about whether some patients will be affected. Floridas current law allows abortion up to 24 weeks. Laura Goodhue, executive director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, said clinics were still seeing patients and would operate under the law but the situation was challenging for doctors. Its a lot of unnecessary delays and patients are at the whims of the legal system right now, she said. The back-and-forth court activity has caused confusion in other states as well. The Texas attorney general filed an emergency appeal Thursday with the state Supreme Court, after a lower-court judge temporarily blocked enforcement of a decades-old law banning virtually all abortions. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the old law prohibiting abortions unless necessary to save the life of the mother remains on the books. Texas already bans most abortions after about six weeks before many women know they are pregnant with no exception in cases of rape or incest. A separate trigger law that would prohibit virtually all abortions in the state is set to take effect in coming months. In Louisiana, where an abortion ban is temporarily blocked, doctors at a clinic in New Orleans were performing procedures Thursday in spite of a letter from the attorney general that warned providers could lose their liberty and medical license," said Amy Irvin, a spokeswoman for Womens Health Care Center. And in West Virginia, Gov. Jim Justice said Thursday that he will call a special legislative session to address the abortion law there. West Virginia bans abortions after 20 weeks, but the state also has a law dating to the mid-1800s that calls for anyone seeking an abortion to be charged with a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is challenging it. In Kentucky, clinics were planning to resume abortion services after they were abruptly halted last week. The two clinics in Louisville began scheduling appointments. Amber Duke, interim executive director of the ACLU of Kentucky, said EMW Women's Surgical Center in Louisville would resume abortion services Friday. She said that, since the Supreme Court ruling, EMW turned away 199 patients with scheduled appointments including 14 who were at the clinic when the Supreme Court issued its ruling. She said denying them care was devastating. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican running for governor, said Thursdays ruling had no basis in the state constitution. He asked the state Court of Appeals to block the lower court's ruling, saying every day that the laws are suspended means more unborn lives will be lost. Reproductive health providers challenged the Florida law based on a 1980 state constitutional amendment guaranteeing a broad right to privacy, which has been interpreted by the state Supreme Court to include abortion. The state said the right to privacy doesnt include abortion rights, arguing that the state has an interest in safeguarding health and protecting potential life. In a statement, DeSantis said the Florida Supreme Court previously misinterpreted Floridas right to privacy because the Florida Constitution does not include and has never included a right to kill an innocent unborn child. Elsewhere, the owner of North Dakota's only abortion clinic said she is working in an unpredictable environment. Tammi Kromenaker, owner and operator of Red River Womens Clinic in Fargo, said her clinic is still providing procedures but was told it must stop by July 28. Then, she'll move the clinic across state lines to neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota. The most important thing I need to get out is that we are still here, we are still seeing patients, Kromenaker said. Patients shouldnt be facing these fears and confusion just for what used to be constitutionally protected medical care. Forliti reported from Minneapolis. Schreiner reported from Louisville, Kentucky. Reporters from across the U.S. contributed to this report. For APs full coverage of the Supreme Court ruling on abortion, go to https://apnews.com/hub/abortion. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Its no secret that Montana has long struggled with gaps in educational opportunities across its rural and urban schools, but recent innovations from the Montana Digital Academy are striving to close them. Established in 2009 by the state legislature, MTDA partners with K-12 public schools across Montana to provide online options to students to supplement their local schoolwork. Using online learning software like Open LMS and EdReady, the institution offers both credit recovery classes for failing students and original credit courses. When the COVID-19 pandemic required everyone to shift to remote learning, the digital academy experienced an influx of new interest. It was a huge increase, said Andy Braden, a representative for Open LMS. Our usage almost doubled in a month as the shutdowns really started happening. The academys focus initially was on credit recovery, but as time went on they found more schools were signing up for their original course offerings. As a result, these options are now 60% larger than the academy's credit recovery options. Now, more students from Eureka to Stanford to Roberts have access to dual-credit classes and advanced placement courses and electives like astronomy and oceanography. Thats really where were at now is about providing the ability to access the same course work to any student regardless of where they are, Braden said. There are classes with six students with access to advanced placement courses now that they may have never had access to before. Along with increased accessibility, the offerings provide students with the flexibility to start and stop coursework at their own pace while interactive content and automation personalizes coursework to the student. The result is a tailored approach based on individual needs. We have learned over time that struggling students cant just be given a list of links to read, said MTDA Executive Director Jason Neiffer. They need way more guidance from the online environment to be successful. Previous online tools used by the academy were limited to text materials to be reviewed and tested. It has since shifted to presenting, reviewing and mastering material individually before moving on and getting assessed. And that sounds simple, but that change has allowed students to prove mastery [of the material] and not feel overwhelmed if they have large parts of the class they need to re-take, Neiffer said. Where the digital academy also differs from purely online course work is the presence of public school teachers from across Montana monitoring each class. Where the program determines the curriculum and classwork, the teachers are there to assist students. Feedback is a big part of my job, said Casey Visser, a U.S. History teacher at the Billings Career Center who also teaches MTDA courses part-time during the summer. The students will "submit whatever project and, like my physical class, Ill say Hey good job, but have you thought about this, this and this? Visser said. Because of the physical distance between them and the students, teachers like Visser stay in touch with students through emails, texts and phone calls and recent feedback indicates this approach has been successful. Since the start of the pandemic, data gathered by the digital academy has shown successes in both academic results and student approval. A recent study reported that 65% of students enrolled in the program earned back credits they had previously failed while around 90% of students reported to be satisfied or very satisfied with their online courses. Since he began instructing courses in 2016, Vissers noticed the shift away from strictly learning to pass exams as being one of the reasons students not only succeed but respond positively to the course work. It sounds cheesy, but good teaching is good teaching, he said. Be flexible, be adaptable, be approachable. Thats true in the classroom and thats true here as well. Although MTDA is largely subsidized by the state, they adopted a cost-share system with each school involved to determine which courses they want to provide that they're willing to pay for. This approach ensures that the courses are provided to students at no charge. Despite both bigger and smaller schools alike being on the hook for some expenses, Neifer says most schools have found a way to make it work. Obviously in the last year there have been additional monies made available from the federal government thats distributed by the state, Neiffer said. But weve also found the districts have been very creative to make sure that they can offer what they intend to offer their students, whether its access to community foundations to help pay for those costs or other curriculum monies that they would have utilized in another way. The biggest hurdle now for rural Montana is increased access in broadband infrastructure. Neiffer said the biggest revelation was how many people in rural Montana live in areas with one or no broadband options. Weve heard a lot of stories of students that worked pretty mightily to find internet access to complete their studies, he said. I do think we need more work to either entice businesses to come in to develop additional avenues for broadband or assist these communities to answer these questions themselves. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The public may find it harder to participate in proceedings affecting utility bills, as Montanas Public Service Commission pursues new rules to limit citizen involvement. For more than a year, commissioners have talked about, as President Jim Brown has previously put it, tightening up participation in cases before the commission. Particularly, Brown and Commissioner Jennifer Fielder havent been comfortable with how easy its been for the public to get involved. This week, commissioners put the public on notice that there will be about a month to comment on changing the rules for intervention, Aug. 8 being the deadline. The explanation offered for limiting intervention was to get rid of parties with redundant positions, or parties the commission concludes it doesnt have time for because of deadlines. The purpose of the new rule is not to keep parties out necessarily, but to allow the commission to most effectively and efficiently manage its proceedings commensurate with the requirements of due process and law. Brown said. Although PSC staff suggested the new rule would rarely be used, Fielder has previously indicated the problem is much larger, saying there's been "so much abuse of parties coming in and clogging up the wheels of justice with a number of people that really don't have standing making a long stretch that they do have standing." There are negatives to limiting participation in cases, say people who are frequently involved. The more, the merrier is the case here, said Chuck Magraw, of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Complicated cases concerning how much Montana customers are billed for electricity or natural gas, or whos responsible when a power plant fails, or how much long-term debt customers shoulder for utility projects, cost a lot of money to be involved in. When multiple parties are involved in a case, those cost are spread out as each intervenor takes up a specific argument. The point is, intervention costs a lot of money, because you have to hire lawyers and, if you want your participation to be meaningful, you have to hire experts, Magraw said. Expert witnesses like economists, or professionals familiar with utility regulation, are a normal part of proceedings. Washington state, recognizing the importance of intervenors in utility cases, recently agreed to pick up some of the costs those intervenors face. There is another issue, Magraw said, that underscores the need for intervening parties. There is a long battle over whether the staff of the PSC should have the ability to request data from the utilities who bring cases. There is no question about whether intervenors can request information. Michael Uda, who represents several renewable energy companies before the PSC, said the thing to remember about the cost of cases before the commission is that the utilities are billing their customers for those proceedings, setting up a house money scenario that intervenors dont have. There have been cases involving, for example, rates and contracts for the solar energy projects, that Uda was glad to have another party intervene. The costs of the cases were simply too much to be shouldered by one party. Several PSC decisions disadvantaging renewable energy developers have been later overturned by state courts, and the Montana Supreme Court. Thats expensive, Uda said. I would say that this is a cost-plus ratemaking system. The utility's costs are covered no matter what sort of crazy thing they do. And, the commissions costs are covered, too, Uda said. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 4 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. As a lifelong angler and hunter, fifth-generation Montanan, and immediate past chairman of Montanas Fish Wildlife and Parks Commission I can assure you that the wildlife in Montana and our nation are facing an unprecedented crisis. Nationwide, one-third of wildlife species are at heightened risk of extinction. Here in Montana, our wildlife agency has identified 47 species at critical need of conservation. Ive seen first-hand the decline of frogs, terns, and sharp-tailed grouse in the central and eastern parts of Montana. The primary reason for these population declines is habitat loss. This loss of habitat is no secret to any of us who have been out on our public lands and waters recently. Drought, wildfires, impacts from climate change, and human development have degraded habitat and disrupted wildlife migration. The National Wildlife Federation recently released a report that showed that game species lost 6.5 million acres of vital habitat over the last two decades. This report squares completely with what I learned about loss of habitat in my 12 years serving as a Commissioner. This habitat loss has serious implications for all of us who enjoy Montanas storied wildlife heritage. Fortunately, the U.S. House of Representatives just approved a bipartisan bill that would give state and Tribal wildlife agencies the funding they need to restore wildlife habitat so that wildlife can survive and thrive. Its called the Recovering Americas Wildlife Act and it will give $1.3 billion to state fish and wildlife agencies to implement congressionally-mandated wildlife action plans. These plans use the best available science, along with public input, to ensure that our wildlife recover and survive. There are other common-sense economic reasons to support this legislation. Improving wildlife populations before a species becomes endangered and has to undergo a costly Endangered Species Act listing saves us all money. Reversing declining populations of pollinators can provide priceless benefits to Americas farmers. Restoring grassland and forest habitat can help safeguard drinking water supplies and make communities more resilient to drought. And helping fish, big game, and other wildlife species recover can expand opportunities for hunting, fishing, bird watching, and other outdoor recreation. Montanas outdoor recreation economy generates $7 billion in consumer spending and almost $300 million in state and local taxes. Apart from the profound economic benefits to recovering our wildlife populations, its the right thing to do, and the right time to do it. All Americans are yearning for a functional and cooperative Congress, especially on issues that unite us. As Montanans, we are defined by our sweeping landscapes, blue-ribbon trout streams, our iconic wildlife and our Western way of life. All of that is at risk when our wildlife is at risk. Conservation of wildlife unites all of us, from all walks of life and all political backgrounds. The Recovering Americas Wildlife Act is the best chance we have to win the race against the wildlife crisis. The U.S. Senate is expected to take up this legislation later this summer. I hope that Sen. Daines will join Sen. Tester and 16 Republican colleagues in supporting this historic legislation. The Recovering Americas Wildlife Act will conserve Montanas wildlife, restore our lands and waters, and safeguard our sporting traditions so they can survive and thrive for future generations. Shane Colton is a Billings attorney, an avid outdoorsman and immediate past chair of the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 MARSHALL - Earlier this month, the Madison planning board tabled a vote on the 2030 County Comprehensive Plan, as members told Development Services Director Brad Guth and Planning and Zoning Director Terrey Dolan that they needed to hear more input from county residents on the plan. Instead, the planning board voted to make demographic changes to the county's 2010 plan by updating the latest census data so as to avoid state intervention due to a lack of reasonable maintenance of the plan. In its June 28 meeting at Madison County Center - North Carolina Cooperative Extension in Marshall, the Madison County Board of Commissioners made their own "maintenance enhancement" by also approving the updated 2010 plan. Gloria Sundquist has lived in Madison County for 27 years. Sundquist pointed to Section 3.2 of the plan, Future Vision for Madison County. Section 3.2. of the plan: The things people love about their communities in Madison County include: "We don't want Asheville here," Sundquist said. "It's so important to me. I moved here 27 years ago. I did not try to make a change from where I came from. I'm a New Yorker, from Long Island, and can't go back home. I can't go back home because of what's happened to Long Island. I don't want to see that happen to Madison County. I really don't." On the Comprehensive Plan 2030 website, Guth, Dolan and the planning team sought input from community members and listed a "community survey" and "citizen survey" for residents to voice their opinions on what they'd like to see the county focus on. Story continues According to Guth, 284 residents responded to the survey listed on the website. Board Chair Mark Snelson said he thought the number of respondents was low. "It's not carved in stone, it's just a work in progress," Snelson said. "Me and Michael (Garrison) had this discussion before the meeting: we didn't want this to become Asheville. So that's why we're not going to let it become Asheville." Tony Ponder spoke during public comments to express his concern about the potential for the plan to lead to an increase in development, such as high-rise apartments. "If you want to see high-rises, go to Weaverville and look behind Walmart on the hill," Ponder said. "Is that what we're after? I don't think so." Snelson rejected the notion that the county would aim to seek out that type of real estate development. "That's not for Madison County," Snelson said. Guth and Dolan held numerous public input meetings on the plan, in communities such as Spring Creek, Ebbs Chapel, Marshall, Mars Hill and Hot Springs. Still, as with the planning board members, some commissioners felt the information received from the public was not complete enough to vote on the 2030 Comprehensive Plan. "I have not been, personally, and my constituents have not been in favor of the draft, recommendations and goals, but at the same time, Brad (Guth) has made it very clear that the only maintenance that's being considered here is demographic/geographic-type information, and the wording that goes to it from the census," Garrison said. "Everything else is as it has been since 2010. I also believe that there's room in our Comprehensive Plan to make some enhancements and improvements, and in the months ahead we're going to need to that. I believe the current information that we have solicited and received from the community is incomplete, and that it lacks a lot of different partners' input, whether it be professions, or people, or communities." Interim County Manager Norris Gentry reiterated the board's approval of the updated 2010 Plan is simply a formality to avoid the state ruling that the county did not adequately maintain its comprehensive plan. "The whole process is still underway," Gentry said. "This is a living, living document. But as (county attorney) Donny (Laws) has informed us, under the statues of 160D, we are mandated to maintain a Comprehensive Plan. It's part of the statutes of the state of North Carolina. What is proposed tonight is that maintenance. This is the same plan that was there in 2010, with updated statistics from the census. That's what is proposed tonight, which will maintain us legally, and give us the opportunity to continue to work on the living document." Commissioner Craig Goforth said he hoped it was clear that the board "had to do something" to avoid state intervention. "This is the 2010 plan with updated stats, that's it," Goforth said. "Passing this tonight, this maintenance, does not mean we can't go back and look and see what we are. I, too, don't want to have Asheville here in my back door. I think we agree with that. This (plan) does not make that happen. It just means we have to go forward with something tonight, and then do a control and update, and get what we really want out of it. It's going to take a lot of work to do that." Commissioner Matt Wechtel encouraged residents to offer their input on the plan, which offers goals and objectives in land use, economic development, natural/cultural resources and housing. "If you like the current plan, do the survey and participate in the program," Wechtel said. "If you don't like the current plan, do the survey. Participate, and take your opportunity to make your voice heard, whether it be community meetings, online, or whatever the situation is. Do it in a construction way. Make your opinions heard. We want the zoning and planning boards, we want the economic development board, and we want everyone to have a say in this program, to have the opportunity to add their expertise, their points of focus to the plan. The only way it's going to be done is if you get involved. "Out of 22,000 residents, we had 280-some people. I don't think (1%) should rule anybody. Get involved. Pay attention to what's going on in your community." The Madison County Board of Commissioners will meet July 12 at 7 p.m. at the Madison County Center - North Carolina Cooperative Extension, located at 258 Carolina Lane in Marshall. Visit the Madison County 2030 Comprehensive Plan website at www.planmc.org, or by clicking here. This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Commissioners approve Comp Plan; Won't 'let Madison become Asheville' HICKORY Investigators seized nearly 5 pounds of methamphetamine and more than 800 oxycodone tablets during a search of a home Tuesday, according to a release from the Burke County Sheriffs Office. Henry Dwayne Autrey, 50, of 9530 View Drive, Hickory, was charged with felony trafficking methamphetamine level three, possession with intent to sell or deliver methamphetamine, trafficking opiates level three, possession of methamphetamine, maintaining a dwelling for controlled substance, possession of a firearm by a felon and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the release. Also charged was Oren Lee Spencer III, 54, of Taylorsville, who was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, the release said. The charges came after probation and parole officers requested assistance from BCSO narcotics investigators when a small amount of methamphetamine was found during a warrantless search of Autreys home Tuesday, the release said. Narcotics investigators searched the home and ended up seizing 4.73 pounds of methamphetamine, 842 oxycodone tablets, 10 guns, body armor, drug paraphernalia and cash in Autreys possession. The guns seized included handguns, rifles and shotguns, the release said. Deputies also seized a gun from Spencer, who is a felon. Autrey currently is on probation, the release said, and records on the North Carolina Department of Public Safety website indicate hes on probation for a November conviction of felony receiving a stolen vehicle. Autreys other previous convictions include charges of receiving stolen goods, larceny after breaking and entering, larceny over $200 and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to records on the NCDPS website. He was locked up under a $155,000 secured bond, the release said. Autrey posted bond sometime between his arrest Tuesday and Thursday, according to the jails list of inmates. Spencer, who has previous convictions of common law robbery, second-degree kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon, was issued a $25,000 secured bond. He was still in custody Thursday, according to the county jail website. LONG VIEW -- The town of Long View is announcing the promotion of Justin Reid to the position of major/deputy police chief of the Long View Police Department. Reid will serve as second in command to Chief T.J. Bates and assist with operations oversight within the organization. Reid also will oversee training, staffing needs and compliance with legislative mandates. He brings more than 12 years of law enforcement experience with a combined six years of supervisory experience to the position. Reid has been employed by the Long View Police Department for two years, serving in a supervisory role, primary field training officer, training coordinator and as a K-9 Handler (K-9 Luca). He also is a general law enforcement instructor, Taser instructor, Glock Advanced Armor and AR-15 Armor. His prior law enforcement service includes 10 years of service at the Lenoir Police Department. During Reid's tenure with Lenoir Police, he served as a primary field training officer and served in a supervisory role for five years. Additionally, Reid served on the Special Response Team (SRT) for five years and served as a K-9 Handler for approximately eight years. He has an Associate Degree of Science in Biology from Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute. Additionally, Reid was awarded the Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate from the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education Training Standards Commission. "I look forward to Major Reid's continued leadership within our organization, Bates said. His leadership skills, knowledge, and communication skills are well regarded by all members of the organization. I am confident Major Reid will continue to positively impact our community and law enforcement organization in his new leadership role." Reid said he was honored to be appointed to the position. I look forward to my continued work with the citizens of Long View, the employees of the Town, and the amazing officers of the police department, Reid said. I will continue to do my part to ensure Long View is a safe and enjoyable community for all of its residents and visitors." The Western Piedmont Council of Governments (WPCOG) assisted the town of Long View with the search process. The WPCOG received 16 applications for the position. The WPCOG is a regional planning, service, and economic development agency that is owned by and serves the 28 local governments in Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba counties. CHARLOTTE A Hickory man was sentenced in federal court Wednesday to 20 years in prison for drug trafficking and firearm offenses. Koby Dale Tevepaugh, 32, of Hickory, will also serve five years of supervised release after he is released on his sentence, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. According to filed documents and court proceedings, between September and November 2021, Tevepaugh trafficked large amounts of methamphetamine in and around Catawba County. On Nov. 10, 2021, Tevepaugh shot a firearm at a neighbor and proceeded to barricade himself in his home, according to a release from Kings office. Court records show that Tevepaugh eventually surrendered to law enforcement, who seized four kilograms of methamphetamine, $189,270 in cash and five firearms from Tevepaughs home. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized an additional $22,465 in drug proceeds, the release said. Tevepaugh has multiple prior convictions for breaking and entering, first-degree burglary and felony drug offenses, which resulted in an increased sentence. Tevepaugh previously pleaded guilty to three counts of distribution of, and possession with intent to distribute, methamphetamine and possession of firearms by a convicted felon, the U.S. Attorneys Office release said. He will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility, it said. The case is the result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation which has led to the federal prosecution of more than 60 people for drug trafficking. Law enforcement have also seized more than 27 kilograms of cocaine, 3.5 kilograms of heroin, 29 kilograms of fentanyl, 49 kilograms of methamphetamine, 70 firearms, more than $385,000 in cash and more than $800,000 in other property, according to the release. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF, the release said. King commended the Homeland Security Investigations; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations; the Catawba County Sheriffs Office; Burke County Sheriffs Office; the Hickory Police Department; the Morganton Department of Public Safety; the Longview Police Department; the Huntersville Police Department and the Gastonia Police Department for their coordination and investigation of the case. Assistant United States Attorney Steven Kaufman, of the U.S. Attorneys Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case and U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell presided over the case and sentenced Tevepaugh, the release said. Fourteen smaller environmental justice organizations from around the United States have begun to receive money under the Justice40 initiative. The initiative is to improve the environment in disadvantaged communities and help them prepare for climate change. The Biden administration committed to funneling 40% of all investments in climate and environment to communities that live with the highest environmental burdens diesel soot, lead water pipes, lack of access to green spaces to name a few. But navigating the federal system is a barrier for some groups most in touch with those communities. A business incubator has bridged the gap and and several million dollars for renewable energy, climate resilience and access to healthy foods has begun to flow. Adam Meier is resigning as the head of Montanas Department of Public Health and Human Services due to "an ongoing family health issue," Gov. Greg Gianfortes office announced Thursday, and will be succeeded by Meiers chief of staff. Charlie Brereton will take over as department director after Meier leaves office on Aug. 12, according to a Thursday morning press release from the governors office. I am grateful to Gov. Gianforte for the opportunity to lead an amazing team of dedicated public servants working to improve service to Montanas most vulnerable populations, Meier said in a press release Thursday morning. Despite navigating many challenges, I am proud of what weve accomplished during the first 18 months of the Gianforte administration. DPHHS is well-positioned to continue addressing issues that have long plagued the health and human services ecosystem here in Montana. While this is an unexpected turn in my tenure as director, I have the utmost confidence that our progress will continue under Charlies leadership. Meier assumed the role of director in February 2021, and was confirmed by the state Legislature the following month. His annual salary is $165,000. DPHHS is by far the largest department in state government, with an annual budget of more than $3 billion. It oversees the states Medicaid program as well as agencies and programs ranging from foster care and child protective services to nutrition services and the state hospital system. It also continues to manage the states response to the coronavirus pandemic. Meier, an attorney, came into the job with prior experience as the top health official in Kentucky. Brereton appears to have little administrative experience as he prepares to take the helm of a department with more than 2,700 full-time-equivalent staff positions, according to a recent audit report. The George Washington University graduate was a health policy advisor to Gianforte before becoming the DPHHS chief of staff in December, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before that, he worked as a health policy advisor to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who was then chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Following internships from 2014 through 2016, he joined law firm Squire Patton Boggs as a public policy intern in 2017, then worked there for about two years as a policy associate and advisor. During his time there he was registered to lobby on behalf of clients that included hospitals, universities and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. "Charlie will make an exceptional director of our states largest agency, Gianforte said in the press release. Charlie has a knack for leadership and a superior ability to develop relationships, building consensus on complex issues. I look forward to continuing to benefit from his expertise, counsel, and hard work in this new role. In an email, Gianforte spokesperson Brooke Stroyke added that the governor was "not at all" concerned about the incoming director's lack of administrative experience and that "he has full confidence in Charlie." Meiers departure comes after the recent hire of the new state Medicaid director, Mike Randol. Randol was questioned recently during an interim legislative hearing about his past work in states that have moved to managed care for their Medicaid programs, meaning a third-party contractor does the management of the program. Randol told lawmakers he wasnt brought in to move toward managed care. Montana has a troubled past with managed care for mental health services. In 1993 during a special legislative session, lawmakers passed a bill that allowed for the exploration of managed care and subsequent legislation in 1995 allowed for managed care to start in the state for mental health services. Montanas Medicaid also faces a major effort expected later this year to go through the process of determining the eligibility of everyone covered by many of its programs, a process put on hold during the pandemic. Some have said the effort will be one of the most significant changes to health care coverage in the U.S. since the Affordable Care Act first went into place. Meiers departure also comes as the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs remains under intense scrutiny from federal officials and lawmakers. Last year the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services pulled reimbursement funding following repeated failures to meet health and safety standards. Those failures resulted in deaths that would have been otherwise preventable, according to a CMS report released in February. In April, the department announced it was replacing the state hospital administrator, who had been identified as a key driver of a staff exodus at the hospital. The governors office lauded Meiers leadership since his appointment, noting that he oversaw expanding substance use disorder and mental health treatment services, kicking off a long overdue assessment and overhaul of state-run facilities, comprehensively assessing provider rates to address significant gaps in Montanas continuum of care, implementing reforms to better support DPHHS workforce, and bringing a culture of customer service to the agency. Gianfortes office also praised his implementation of House Bill 702, Montanas controversial law to prohibit vaccine discrimination by prohibiting both public and private workplaces from requiring vaccinations as a condition of employment. Public health experts largely opposed the bill, but Republicans who supported the measure argue its a critical tool to protect the rights of Montanans who remain skeptical of the COVID-19. The law applies broadly to all vaccines, however, with some carve-outs for schools and nursing homes. Its currently being challenged in court, and was partially blocked by a judge earlier this year. Under Meier's tenure, the state also lost the $2 million annual federal grant for Title X, or family planning, services. For the first time, a nonprofit in Bozeman applied and got the funding, spurred by a law passed in 2021 that would have prohibited the department from entering into a contract with any organization that provided non-federally qualified abortions. In a Thursday email sent to DPHHS staff, Meier elaborated on the reason for his departure, saying that an immediate member of his family "faced unexpected health issues that require specialty care unavailable in Montana." He added that he will work from the office through July 22, and then work "intermittently to assist with the transition" through Aug. 12. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Sam Wilson State Bureau Reporter Follow Sam Wilson Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today In early April, NorthWestern Energy announced it was cutting flows from Hebgen Dam to conserve water for release during the summer to cool the Madison River, an internationally renowned fly-fishing stream. The forecast was for a dry spring and summer, coming off a drought in 2021, so water conservation was top of mind. The Butte-based energy company cut releases into the Madison to 350 cubic feet per second in an attempt to raise the lake level. Under its federal operating license, NorthWestern is required to maintain minimal flows in the Madison River while also raising Hebgen high enough for lake concessionaires to operate docks and boat launches that supplement lodging and camping vendors. Then everything changed. Stormy weather During four days, June 11-15, warm weather and almost 3 inches of rain boosted spring runoff from 2,020 cfs on June 10 to 5,360 cfs on June 13, according to documents NorthWestern Energy provided to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees its license. This is the same storm that struck Yellowstone National Park, Red Lodge, Fromberg and communities along the Beartooth Front causing damaging floods and record-high river levels. That was quite the change this year, said Clayton Jordan of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the agency that oversees management of Canyon Ferry and Bighorn reservoirs, to name a few. Due to the unpredicted increase in moisture, Hebgen Reservoir is now only a half-a-foot from being full. The Madison River, just downstream from the dam, spiked to a flow of 4,000 cfs as dam releases were increased to keep Hebgen from overflowing. NorthWesterns management of the significant increased flows into Hebgen Reservoir helped to alleviate the magnitude of flood flows downstream in the Madison River Valley during the onset of this event, the company said in its explanation to FERC. Calculations after this event show that Hebgen Reservoir helped to reduce Madison River flows at Madison Dam by approximately 3,000 cfs on June 13, 2022. Potential impacts to Project resources including river habitats, infrastructure, and private property were minimized during this event from the flood control capacity at Hebgen Reservoir. In comparison At the end of last year, Hebgen Reservoir concessionaires filed a complaint with FERC regarding the management of the reservoir by NorthWestern Energy for letting the lake get so low. Yvonne Douglas, manager at Kirkwood Marina at Hebgens northwest end, said her company lost water-based business by August 15 last year, whereas it typically runs until the end of September. So before the lake started filling up, the marina was dredged along with a route out to the lake. When Douglas arrived on May 1, the lake was 12 feet down, below where docks could be floated. By June 1, the water rose enough to float Kirkwoods docks, but the forecast was still for below-average runoff. Then the storm hit and the lake was rising an inch to 2 inches every day, Douglas said. Were in much better shape than we were, she said, and the concessionaires hope the lake levels can be maintained through the summer. Reservations are looking good, Douglas added. The flooding in Yellowstone is confusing some people who think it affected us too. Benefits Hebgen isnt the only reservoir to benefit. Canyon Ferry Reservoir, outside Helena, also saw a sharp rise following the unprecedented wet spring rains that fell on snow. The lake is now almost 97% full, with its water level climbing about 17 feet in less than a month. In April, things looked pretty poor, Jordan said. Canyon Ferry was projected to be 7 feet from full after runoff. Even by the June plan we werent projecting it to fill. To the south, Bighorn Reservoir along the Montana-Wyoming border is 99% full, with releases into the famous stretch of Bighorn River fly-fishing fame rising to 7,260 cfs. Thanks to the fuller reservoirs, water releases into the rivers downstream should be maintained at higher levels than what was predicted. Last year, Canyon Ferry was releasing around 3,000 cfs, whereas this year it should be able to maintain 4,100 cfs, Jorda said. Likewise, the Bighorn River should see releases around 2,500 cfs to 3,000 cfs, compared to about 1,750 cfs last summer, he added. A historic high flow down the upper Yellowstone River peaked far below the record near Sidney at about 75,000 cfs. Yet that was enough water to boost the level at Lake Sakakawea, just over the Montana border in North Dakota. The popular walleye fishery is now 100% full, as are three reservoirs downstream from it along the Missouri River. Meanwhile, Fort Peck Reservoir saw little gain from runoff since the water flowing down the Missouri was backed up by other dams. As a result, Fort Pecks dropping water level has slowed only slightly as its elevation hovers around 2,222 feet, about 10 feet lower than it was at this time last year. Inflows to the large Eastern Montana reservoir at 11,000 cfs are barely keeping pace with releases of 7,500 cfs. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Nearly a dozen Montana counties are reportedly at high risk this month for spreading COVID-19, according to an article in the Billings Gazette. Of course, we all have COVID-19 fatigue, and for that reason, maybe you skipped over the risk assessment. Weve been in COVID-mode since early 2020, and the pandemic is still with us. Now, though, is an especially important time to look to its more fundamental origins and the incubators of future variants. We dont want to be thrown back into the depths of the pandemic without effective treatments and vaccines against the virus. Theres one particularly significant, looming zoonotic disease threat: mink farms. I happen to know a lot about them, having spent much of my youth on farms where these animals were raised. Every known variant thats come from a nonhuman source has come from mink farms five of them in the U.S. and in Europe. No other nonhuman species contracts and spreads the virus on this scale. Life on the farm My grandfather raised mink on his farm in Franklin, Idaho. Our nearest neighbor was in the business too, and was the top producer in the state. I was raised on a small family farm with horses and cattle that roamed on open, spacious pastures, and it was my job from a young age to fix the fences, irrigate the fields, stack hay, and care for the animals. I participated in 4-H as a youngster with my pet rabbits and goats, and in high school was active in Future Farmers of America, raising and showing beef steers and dairy heifers. Even as a very young boy, I saw that the way we raised our farm animals was very different from the realities of the mink farms. Mink are wild, solitary carnivores who spend most of their time in water hunting for fish, frogs, and rodents. To keep such a creature in cramped and barren factory farms violates everything I was taught about responsible animal husbandry. Thats why mink farming is so undeniably inhumane. I saw firsthand every morning the dead or maimed mink who hours before had been in vicious fights with their pen mates. The animals were highly aggressive toward their human handlers and spent their time pacing relentlessly back and forth in their tiny cages. They are also proven escape artists, which does not bode well for containing new variants inside the farm. Mink and the coronavirus One-third of U.S. mink farms have had coronavirus outbreaks, including at operations in Oregon, Wisconsin, Utah and Michigan. But that high rate of viral outbreaks may be a serious underreporting because our Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USDA, and state agriculture agencies have ignored or downplayed this zoonotic disease threat, with spotty investigations done only when invited. CDC field teams have so far investigated only eight out of dozens of farms, which makes me wonder how many cases are not being detected. By contrast, European nations with mink farms took immediate, decisive action to shut down their mink farm industries once the zoonotic threat was identified. Jim Keen, a veterinarian who studied infectious diseases in farm settings for the USDA for more than two decades, says that mink farming is both an urgent and a moral public health risk thats not to be ignored. Public safety, not politics Comprehending the interspecies trajectories of the coronavirus is like chasing a moving target, but eliminating mink farming would help solve a major piece of the puzzle. Montanas senators both Jon Tester and Steve Daines got it wrong and voted to urge the full Senate to reject a ban on mink farming that recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives in the form of an amendment to the America COMPETES Act. Growing up in agriculture, I understand the instinct to circle the wagons when there is a regulatory and legislative attempt to restrict production. But breeding wild mink for fur is not agriculture it is not food or fiber that we need as individuals or as a nation. Americans no longer buy or wear fur, so the mink pelts produced in the U.S. are being exported to provide luxury fashion garments to wealthy Chinese elites. Thats a great deal for the wealthy in China, where the virus originated, but it has deadly ramifications for Americans. Scott Beckstead grew up in Idaho and lives in Sutherlin, Oregon. He is director of campaigns for the Center for a Humane Economy and teaches animal law, wildlife law, and Endangered Species Act at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 MUSCATINE Last year, Muscatine residents had the chance to enjoy a nights worth of amazing ballet performances. After receiving such a warm welcome previously, it has since been decided that these amazing performers will be returning to the downtown riverfront. On Sunday, July 31 at 7 p.m., Ballet Des Moines will be performing its latest show, Of Gravity and Light, on Muscatines riverfront as part of its Gravity on Tour series. This will be a free performance and will feature several other activities that guests can enjoy prior to the show. When planning the tour, Muscatine was at the top of our list, Ballet Des Moines CEO Blaire Massa said. We were lucky to come to Muscatine last year during our first state-wide tour in partnership with Hancher Auditorium and the University of Iowa, and we were blown away by our reception there. The community is just so enthusiastic about the arts and its a beautiful location for an outdoor performance, so we were excited for the opportunity to come back. Alongside the shows titular piece, a STEM themed piece called Of Gravity and Light, this performance will also feature a pas de deux (or dance for two people) from the show Swan Lake and a joy-filled contemporary piece entitled Flight. For this years tour, Ballet Des Moines will be collaborating with groups such as the NASA Iowa Space Grant Consortium and the Science Center of Iowa, in the hopes of combining art and science as a means to exemplify how music and movement can be applied to more abstract concepts such as gravity and other sciences. Education and outreach is an enormous part of our mission at Ballet Des Moines, and personally I hold extremely strong and deep convictions around arts education and access to arts education, Massa said. Having seen it first-hand, Massa emphasized the importance of providing access to both the arts and interdisciplinary programming and the positive impact this access can have, often increasing the interest in certain subjects - interest that some students might not have had otherwise. To prompt this interest, each tour stop will also feature exciting and hands-on STEM components. Theres a bunch of really fantastic scientists and educators who are part of what weve been doing this season, and they will be helping us to explore with our communities what the crossroads of the arts and the sciences looks like, Massa continued. Starting at 5 p.m., guests will have the chance to enjoy several different STEM related experiences and activities set up at Pearl City Station prior to that evenings performance. This includes a FLEx Virtual Reality Lab, a mobile planetarium, a straw rocket launcher and even an opportunity to write a postcard that will then get sent up into space before being mailed back to Earth. Its going to be a very interactive and engaging afternoon and evening, so I hope that everybody comes back down to the Riverfront to see us, Massa said. Other stops on the Gravity on Tour series include Waterloo, Clear Lake, Algona, Chariton and Des Moines. For more information on the tour or on Ballet Des Moines itself, residents can visit www.balletdesmoines.org/summer-tour. 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. MUSCATINE Throughout the Midwest, many schools have been able to establish various agricultural education and FFA programs in the hopes of encouraging their students to take an interest in these fields. These classes and programs, however, arent possible without a lot of support from these schools administrators. This support is what was celebrated this week. On Tuesday, June 28, the Iowa Association of Agricultural Educators (IAAE) held its annual Agricultural Education Banquet, which was held during the Agricultural Education Summer Conference. During this banquet, the IAAE presented its Outstanding Administrator of the Year award to Muscatine High School's principal, Terry Hogenson. Hogenson was nominated by all four of Muscatine High Schools agricultural educators Ashley Wiebe, Sam Paul, Dave Tometich and Josh Day and was chosen for the immense support that he has given the agricultural and FFA programs at Muscatine. (Hogenson) has been with the district for 28 years as a principal, Paul said. He has been supportive at the middle school and also at the high school. He shares the vision of career and tech education, and he is always open to new ideas and ways to support students. During the award ceremony, Wiebe also shared why she thought Hogenson deserved to be nominated, emphasizing Hogensons history with the program as someone who had been there since the start of the middle school ag program as well as his positive interactions with the ag department and his encouragement of growth within the department. When asked for his reaction to winning, Hogenson admitted that he had been caught off-guard by it and hadnt even known that he had been nominated. I was very humbled and surprised all at the same time, he said. Both my parents have passed, but I grew up on a small farm and I think of all the recognitions that Ive been fortunate to have in my career, my mom and dad would be most proud of the fact that I was selected for this award. While his personal history already provided him with a connection to local Ag. programs, Hogensons support for these programs also comes from his knowledge of how much of a difference they can make for both students and the community as a whole. Agriculture is a foundational piece of our states economy, and there are just so many jobs and opportunities that exist around the heading of agriculture. So I think the more we promote our students in that area and the more they have experience in the FFA to hone skills and gain confidence in their abilities, all of those things will provided them with the skill sets for success in the future. Hogenson also took a moment to thank the four Muscatine teachers who nominated him for this honor, as well as for pushing their own efforts in improving and developing the communitys ag. and FFA programs. Im extremely humbled and feel very fortunate to have been surrounded by the individuals in the ag department and around this school who have helped make it successful. Its not a one-person job by any means, its a team effort, he said. 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. Supreme Court limits EPA in curbing power plant emissions WASHINGTON (AP) In a blow to the fight against climate change, the Supreme Court has limited how the nations main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. By a 6-3 vote Thursday, with conservatives in the majority, the court said that the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency broad authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming. The decision, environmental advocates, dissenting liberal justices and President Joe Biden said, was a major step in the wrong direction at a time of increasing environmental damage attributable to climate change amid dire warnings about the future. Biden notched gains at summit; returns to turmoil at home MADRID (AP) The dissonant realities of President Joe Bidens second year in office were on display Thursday as he wound up a five-day trip to Europe that highlighted both the key U.S. role in mounting a strong allied response to Vladimir Putins aggression and the domestic turmoil that is dragging Biden down at home. Biden appeared to welcome the time away from Washington as a respite from his domestic predicament, insisting that despite turmoil at home from inflation to gun violence, world leaders still valued Americas and his leadership. Biden's success abroad drew rare praise from GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, who said, Here we have a bipartisan delegation and a president who have a common goal. Back home, maybe not quite as much.'" US official: Migrants who died cleared inland checkpoint SAN ANTONIO (AP) A U.S. official says the tractor-trailer at the center of a disastrous human-smuggling attempt that left 53 people dead had passed through an inland U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint with migrants inside earlier in its journey. The truck went through the checkpoint on Interstate 35 northeast of the border city of Laredo, Texas. The official spoke to The Associated Press Thursday on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. Also Thursday, Hector Zamorano Jr., a U.S. citizen, made his initial court appearance as the alleged driver. And the Texas Department of Public Safety announced new inland vehicle checkpoints. China's Xi swears in new Hong Kong leader John Lee HONG KONG (AP) Chinese President Xi Jinping officiated the swearing-in ceremony of Hong Kongs new leader John Lee as the city marked the 25th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule after being pulled in recent years under much tighter Communist Party control. Lee, a former security official who oversaw the crackdown on dissent in the city since 2019 pro-democracy protests, pledged to uphold the citys mini-constitution, the Basic Law, and bear allegiance to Hong Kong. He also pledged to be accountable to the central government in Beijing. His inauguration followed a morning flag-raising ceremony attended by Lee, outgoing city leader Carrie Lam and several hundred other people. Trump's vulnerabilities for 2024 mount after new testimony SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (AP) Stunning new revelations about former President Donald Trump's fight to overturn the 2020 election have exposed growing political vulnerabilities just as he eyes another presidential bid. A former White House aide this week described Trump as an unhinged leader with no regard for the safety of elected officials in either party as he clung to power on Jan. 6, 2021. Republican voters and Trumps would-be rivals in the 2024 presidential race took notice. In Iowa several voters signaled Thursday they were open to another presidential candidate. Aides for multiple GOP presidential prospects have indicated they felt increasingly emboldened to challenge Trump in 2024 following the explosive new testimony. Jackson sworn in, becomes 1st Black woman on Supreme Court WASHINGTON (AP) Ketanji Brown Jackson has been sworn in to the Supreme Court, shattering a glass ceiling as the first Black woman on the nations highest court. The 51-year-old Jackson is the courts 116th justice and took the place Thursday of the justice she once worked for. Justice Stephen Breyers retirement took effect at noon. Moments later, joined by her family, Jackson recited the two oaths required of Supreme Court justices, one administered by Breyer and the other by Chief Justice John Roberts. Jackson says she's truly grateful to be part of the promise of our great Nation and extends thanks to her new colleagues for their gracious welcome. McConnell warns Dems of fallout for reviving Biden bill WASHINGTON (AP) Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is threatening to derail a bill designed to boost semiconductor manufacturing in the United States if Democrats revive their stalled package of energy and economic initiatives. The possible rejuvenation of the reconciliation package remains a work in progress and is far from certain. But McConnell seems worried enough that he decided to complicate Democratic lawmakers efforts to get a semiconductor bill over the finish line before members break for their August recess. The White House says McConnell is holding hostage a bipartisan package that would lower the cost of countless products that rely on semiconductors. Wisconsin's conservative high court hands GOP another weapon MADISON, Wis. (AP) Wisconsins conservative-controlled Supreme Court handed Republicans their newest weapon to weaken any Democratic governors in the battleground state. The court ruled this week that political appointees dont have to leave their posts until the Senate confirms their successor. The courts decision came in the case of a conservative who refused to step down from an environmental policy board for more than a year after his term expired. It marks another loss for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers as he faces reelection in November. It effectively hands Republicans the ability to strategically block appointees simply by declining to hold a nomination vote. They've been working to reduce Evers' power since even before he took office. EXPLAINER: How will R. Kelly sentence impact other trials? CHICAGO (AP) R. Kelly could be in his 80s before the singer is free again, based on a 30-year prison term imposed this week by a New York federal judge for sexually abusing young fans. And if the 55-year-old loses at three related trials in coming months, he could be staring at yet more time. The next trial he faces is set for Aug. 15 in federal court in Chicago, Kelly's hometown. Steve Greenberg is a longtime Kelly lawyer and represents Kelly in a separate state case in Illinois. Greenberg says he suspects there have been discussions about a plea deal between Kellys federal trial-team lawyers and federal prosecutors in Chicago. Last-minute deal averts casino strike in Atlantic City ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) The main union for Atlantic City casino workers has reached agreements on new contracts with four casinos, avoiding a threatened strike. Thursday's deal provides what the union president calls the best contract we've ever had. It also provides labor peace that will avoid a strike on Fourth of July weekend, one of the casinos busiest weekends of the year. Local 54 of the Unite Here union reached tentative agreements with the Borgata, which is owned by MGM Resorts International, and three Caesars Entertainment casinos: Caesars, Harrahs and the Tropicana. The new pacts appear to greatly increase the likelihood of a deal getting done with Hard Rock as well. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SAN ANTONIO (AP) In the chaotic minutes after dozens of migrants were found dead inside a tractor-trailer sweltering under the Texas sun, the driver tried to slip away by pretending to be one of the survivors, a Mexican immigration official said Wednesday. The American truck driver, along with another U.S. citizen and two other men, remained in custody as the investigation continued into the tragedy that killed 53 people in the nations deadliest smuggling episode on the U.S.-Mexico border. Federal prosecutors said two of the suspects, including the driver, face charges that carry a potential sentence of life in prison or the death penalty if convicted. Two more people died Wednesday as the death toll slowly climbed since the discovery of 46 bodies Monday at the scene near auto salvage yards on the edge of San Antonio. The truck had been packed with 67 people, and the dead included 27 from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala and two from El Salvador, said Francisco Garduno, chief of Mexicos National Immigration Institute. Officials had potential identifications on 37 of the victims as of Wednesday, pending verification with authorities in other countries, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiners Office. Forty of the victims were male, it said. Identifying the dead has been challenging because some were found without identification documents and in one case a stolen ID. Remote villages where some of the migrants came from in Mexico and Central America have no phone service to reach family members and fingerprint data has to be shared and matched by the governments involved. Javier Flores Lopez's family was waiting to find out whether he was on the truck. He had returned home to see his wife and three small children in southern Mexico and was going back to Ohio where his father and a brother live and he worked in construction. He is now among the missing and his cousin, Jose Luis Vasquez Guzman, is hospitalized in San Antonio, the family said. The tragedy occurred at a time when huge numbers of migrants have been coming to the U.S., many of them taking perilous risks to cross swift rivers and canals and scorching desert landscapes. Migrants were stopped nearly 240,000 times in May, up by one-third from a year ago. While its not clear when or where the migrants boarded the truck bound for San Antonio, Homeland Security investigators believe it was on U.S. soil, near or in Laredo, Texas, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar told The Associated Press. The truck went through a Border Patrol checkpoint northeast of Laredo on Interstate 35 on Monday, Cuellar and Mexican officials confirmed. It was registered in Alamo, Texas, but had fake plates and logos, Garduno said. Officials in Mexico also released a surveillance photo showing the driver smiling at the checkpoint during the more than two-hour trip to San Antonio. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that state troopers would set up additional truck checkpoints on highways, but he did not say how many. In April, Abbott gridlocked the 1,200-mile Texas border for a week by requiring every truck entering the state to underdo additional inspections as part of his ongoing fight with the Biden administration over immigration policy. Authorities were looking into whether the truck had mechanical problems when it was left next to a railroad track. The driver was apprehended after trying to disguise himself as one of the migrants, Garduno said. Federal prosecutors identified the driver as Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, who was charged with smuggling resulting in death. Zamorano lives in suburban Houston and is originally from the Texas border city of Brownsville, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Antonio. He faces the most serious charges along with Christian Martinez, 28, who is accused of conspiracy and allegedly communicated with Zamorano about transporting the migrants. Martinez was arrested in East Texas and will be transported to San Antonio. Zamorano was scheduled to have his first court appearance Thursday. It was not immediately known if either suspect had an attorney. Two other men who are not U.S. citizens were also arrested on charges of illegal weapons possession. Prosecutors say investigators found the men at a San Antonio address where the truck was registered. Some of the more than a dozen people transported to hospitals were found suffering from brain damage and internal bleeding, according to Ruben Minutti, the Mexico consul general in San Antonio. Migrants typically pay $8,000 to $10,000 to be taken across the border, loaded into a tractor-trailer and driven to San Antonio, where they transfer to smaller vehicles for their final destinations across the United States, said Craig Larrabee, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio. The death count from Monday's tragedy in San Antonio was the highest ever from a smuggling attempt in the U.S., he said. Four years ago, 10 died in 2017 after being trapped inside a truck parked at a San Antonio Walmart. In 2003, the bodies of 19 migrants were found in a sweltering truck southeast of the city. Temperatures in San Antonio on Monday approached 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), and those taken to the hospital were hot to the touch and dehydrated, authorities said. It wouldnt have taken long for the temperature inside the truck to become deadly, said Jennifer Vanos, an assistant professor at Arizona State University who has researched child deaths in hot vehicles. The tractor-trailer likely would have been hot even before anyone got inside and because of the high humidity, lack of air flow and so many people inside, their sweat couldnt evaporate to cool their bodies and they would have dehydrated quickly, she said. With little information about the victims, desperate families from Mexico and Central America frantically sought word of their loved ones. Felicitos Garcia, who owns a grocery store in the remote community of San Miguel Huautla in Mexicos southern state of Oaxaca, said the mother of Vasquez Guzman, who was hospitalized in Texas, had gone to the state capital to learn more about her sons condition and the whereabouts of his cousin, who is missing. Life is tough here, Garcia said. People survive by growing their own crops like corn, beans and wheat. Sometimes the land gives and sometimes it doesnt when the rains arrive late. There is nothing in place for people to have other resources. People live one day to the next. Identifying the victims was painstaking because among the pitfalls were fake or stolen documents. Mexicos foreign affairs secretary identified two people Tuesday who were hospitalized in San Antonio. But it turned out one of the identification cards he shared on Twitter had been stolen last year in the southern state of Chiapas. Haneydi Antonio Guzman, 23, was safe in a mountain community more than 1,300 miles (2,092 kilometers) away from San Antonio when she began receiving messages from family and friends anxious over her fate. Thats me on the ID, but I am not the person that was in the trailer and they say is hospitalized, Antonio Guzman said. My relatives were contacting me worried, asking where I was." In some regions of Mexico, attempting to cross into the United States is a tradition that most youths in heavily migrant towns at least consider. All of the young people start to think about going (to the U.S.) as soon as they turn 18, said migrant activist Carmelo Castaneda, who works with the nonprofit Casa del Migrante. If there arent more visas, our people are going to keep dying. Verza and Sanchez reported from Mexico City. Associated Press Writers Paul J. Weber in Austin, Texas; Elliot Spagat and Julie Watson in San Diego; Tammy Webber in Fenton, Michigan; Edgar H. Clemente in Villa Comaltitlan, Mexico; Sonia D. Perez in Guatemala City and Marlon Gonzalez in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 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 Antowan Nothling, one of South Africas best-known voice artists and radio personalities, is back on the radio with a new drive-time show on Pretoria FM. Pretoria FM, formerly Radio Pretoria, is an Afrikaans community-based radio station that broadcasts 24 hours per day in stereo on 104.2 FM. Various other transmitters in South Africa broadcast the stations content further afield, while the station is also available on Sentechs digital satellite platform. Nothling will anchor the afternoon drive show between 14:00 and 17:00. Antowan Nothling has over two decades of local and international broadcasting experience. He started his radio career in 1994 at Rippel 90.5, known as Groot FM today. He moved to Tuks FM during his university years. After graduating, Nothling worked at commercial satellite radio station Kosmos Digitaal on the WorldSpace service. He then moved to Kosmos Radio, and in 2001 joined Jacaranda FM in 2001 where he spent most of his broadcasting career. At Jacaranda FM, he anchored many shows and became a favourite in the mornings and afternoons because of his excellent traffic coverage. He is also one of South Africas top voice artists who have represented the worlds biggest brands on radio and television. Nothling worked on many film productions as a voice actor, including Khumba, Die Sneeukoningin, and Maya Die By Die Movie. After a hiatus where he focussed on his voice work, Nothling will join Pretoria FM on 1 July. Nothling is well-known as one of MyBroadbands most popular community members. He joined MyBroadband in November 2003, shortly after the platform was launched. He served as a moderator for many years and continues to be an active community member. Nothling told MyBroadband he plans to bring as many people as possible together with music and fresh content that changes lives. Each week, we will bring you numerous experts and celebrities who will share their knowledge with our listeners, Nothling said. My show fits in well with Pretoria FM that keep listeners informed and makes sense of the big changes in the world. Listeners of my show can expect adventure, nostalgia, insights, great music, and a search for things that makes a difference. To listen to Antowans show, visit: Pretoria FM. The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a civil enforcement action in which it charged Mirror Trading International (MTI) and its CEO Johann Steynberg with fraud. This action is the largest fraudulent scheme involving Bitcoin charged in any CFTC case, the regulator stated. MTI was a Bitcoin-based network marketing scam that began in South Africa and drew in members worldwide. It promised to grow members Bitcoin with yields averaging 10% per month. Members could also obtain substantial bonuses by recruiting more people into the scheme. MTI made headlines in September 2020 when a group calling itself Anonymous ZA exploited vulnerabilities in its poorly-coded website. Together with a MyBroadband journalist and community members, the group exposed the inner workings of MTI. South Africas Financial Sector Conduct Authority executed a simultaneous dawn raid on three MTI-linked locations on 26 October 2020. By November 2020, reports started surfacing of people who struggled to get their money out of the scheme. In mid-December, Steynberg disappeared while travelling in Brazil and MTI collapsed. Liquidation proceedings were instituted shortly after that. At its height, MTI claimed to have over 160,000 members. Sources with knowledge of MTIs liquidation have told MyBroadband that over 46,000 bitcoin flowed through the scheme. Chainalysis named MTI the biggest cryptocurrency scam of 2020. The CFTC filed its enforcement action in the Western District of Texas. In addition to fraud, it charged Mirror Trading International and Johann Steynberg with registration violations. According to the CFTCs complaint, MTI and Steynberg as its principal agent accepted at least 29,421 Bitcoin from at least 23,000 individuals from the United States. The CFTC said that over the relevant period, the Bitcoin was worth over $1,733,838,372 (R28 billion). It is interesting to note that the CFTC is using an average price of $58,932 per Bitcoin. When MTI collapsed on 22 December 2020, Bitcoin had set a new all-time high price of around $24,000 per Bitcoin. However, the CFTC complaint asserts that Steynbergs activities continued beyond MTIs apparent collapse to end-March 2021. This is significant, as Bitcoins price hit over $61,000 in mid-March. The complaint charges that from approximately 18 May 2018 through approximately 30 March 2021, Steynberg, individually and as the controlling person of MTI, engaged in an international fraudulent multilevel marketing scheme, the CFTC stated. In its continuing litigation, the CFTC seeks full restitution to defrauded investors, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, permanent registration and trading bans, and a permanent injunction against future violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC Regulations. The CFTC cautioned victims that restitution orders might not recover lost money because the wrongdoers may not have sufficient funds or assets. However, liquidators of the MTI estate in South Africa have thus far recovered 1,281 Bitcoin that MTIs former brokerage, FXChoice, had frozen. They liquidated the assets immediately after repatriating them and fortunately received a relatively favourable rate, selling the Bitcoin for over a billion rand. Steynberg was arrested in Brazil on 29 December 2021 almost exactly a year after he first went missing. He allegedly presented a fake ID when officers approached him in the city of Goiania, the capital of the Brazilian state of Goias. Brazilian federal police apparently identified Steynberg as an international fugitive thanks to an Interpol Red Diffusion notice. He is currently detained in Brazil and awaiting an extradition hearing. In its application for the Interpol Red Diffusion, South Africa included the following charges against Steynberg: Conducting financial services without a licence Conducting a derivatives business unlicensed Trading in financial products without a license Fraud Theft Money laundering Steynberg argued to be released from custody and be placed under house arrest while he waits for his extradition hearing. However, Brazilian supreme court justice Andre Mendonca was unconvinced that Steynberg wasnt a flight risk and ordered he be kept under arrest. Steynberg could not be reached for comment. Eskoms Koeberg power station could soon add 920MW to the grid as its Unit 2 generators start-up is now in progress, the power utility has told MyBroadband. However, the unit would not be added to the grid by the end of June as planned, and it is unclear whether Eskom will be able to return the full 2,500MW it promised. The current Koeberg Unit 2 Outage has progressed safely, and the planned work has been completed, with the start-up of the unit now in progress, the power utility told MyBroadband. The unit is currently expected to return to service by mid-July and will require about ten days to reach full power. This work included a massive scope of maintenance work as well as a number of plant refurbishment modifications required for Koebergs life extension, it added. Eskom explained that it achieved a significant step during the planned outage replacing Unit 2s reactor pressure vessel cover. It said replacing the cover was a prerequisite for Koebergs life extension. In addition, following the deferral of the Steam Generator Replacement project, a full suite of steam generator inspections were required to be performed to confirm the operability of the existing steam generators, Eskom said. The power utility explained that several factors increased the duration of the outage. The international nuclear experts for this work required a month to mobilise, and these inspections have impacted on the overall outage duration, it said. During the plant commissioning and start-up phase, a number of defects emerged which had to be attended to and directly impacted the outage duration as each needs to be resolved before the plan can continue. Eskom explained that this is done to ensure that the unit runs safely and reliably when it goes back online. It added that, as a result, the commissioning phase is taking longer than expected and remains susceptible to further defects during start-up. During its State of the System update in May 2022, Eskom said it planned to bring three big generating units two at Kusile and one at Koeberg, together representing 2,500MW back to the grid by the end of June. It took one of the Kusile units offline to modify and correct design defects, while the other required repairs to its flue gas desulphurisation system. The power utility announced it was taking Koebergs Unit 2 generator offline in mid-January 2022, saying it would take five months for refuelling and scheduled maintenance. Eskom expected to return Koeberg Unit 2 to service in mid-June after replacing its three heat exchangers. However, Eskom had not completed the necessary containment building, so it postponed these modifications. Koeberg is South Africas only nuclear power station and contributes significant amounts of electricity to the grid, with each of its two generators producing 921MW. With the current power situation in South Africa, adding Koebergs Unit 2 to the grid could go a long way to help reduce power cuts in the country. Eskom increased rotational power cuts to Stage 6 on Tuesday, 28 June 2022. The power utility was forced to increase the level of load-shedding due to a lack of generating capacity and ongoing protest action at its power stations. Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said it is unfair to blame him for the electricity crisis, but he signed a document where he took responsibility for it. Mantashe told News24 it was unfair to blame him or the government for the electricity problems as they have gone the extra mile to alleviate the troubles at Eskom. Its unfair to place blame on myself or the government. What should I do with Eskom as mineral resources and energy minister? he asked. He blamed Eskoms problems on minister Pravin Gordhan, saying the power utility falls under the Department of Public Enterprises. These comments came amidst a cabinet committee meeting on Wednesday to discuss the Eskom crisis and the worst load-shedding South Africa has ever seen. Despite Mantashes claim that he was not to blame for the crisis, many experts highlighted that he is at the centre of South Africas electricity shortage. Kevin Mileham, the DAs shadow minister of mineral resources and energy, said in April that Mantashes risk mitigation independent power producer procurement programme (RMIPPP) had been delayed three times. The signing of power purchase agreements by preferred bidders for the 2,000MW RMPIPP has once again been postponed due to outstanding matters and conditions with Eskom,' he said. This is the third postponement since the last deadline extension in January 2022. These multiple delays are two wasted years by Mantashe that will keep South Africa trapped in an electricity crisis for an extended period, Mileham said. Independent analysts estimate that, had South Africa pursued new solar or wind energy projects during the RMIPPP period, these projects would have been ready for commissioning by now. South Africa is going through an economically destructive energy crisis and is in urgent need of immediate workable solutions, but it seems lost on Mantashe, said Mileham. Gwede Mantashe signed an agreement taking responsibility Commenting on Mantashes claim that he is not to blame, energy expert Chris Yelland pointed out that the minister signed an agreement where he accepted responsibility for the electricity supply. The details are contained in the Performance agreement between the President of the Republic of South Africa and the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy. The period of the agreement is from June 2019 to April 2024. Mantashe has been the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy of South Africa since 27 February 2018. The agreement, signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister Gwede Mantashe, has the points below as a key responsibility for the minister. Improve energy availability factor to ensure a constant supply of electricity. Create maintenance space for Eskom by augmenting supply with 2000 MW of emergency power, additional power from IPPs and generation for own use in line with IRP 2019. Implement the Integrated Resource Plan 2019. The energy availability factor must be above 80% by 2024. Mantashe is also responsible for increasing the reserve margin to counter load shedding to improve the energy availability factor. Although the 2024 deadline has not arrived, the energy availability factor has plummeted under his leadership, and the process of getting additional power from IPPs has been delayed numerous times. Therefore, Mantashes claim that he should not be blamed for the electricity crisis is misguided. He has signed a document agreeing to be held responsible for the constant supply of electricity. The increased load-shedding since he took office in February 2018 shows that he is failing to ensure an improvement in the energy availability factor as agreed with The President. Performance agreement between the President of the Republic of South Africa and the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has ordered Internet service providers to reverse corporate transactions they entered into over five years ago. This was revealed by the Internet Service Providers Association of SA (Ispa), which has called for the industry regulator to grant amnesty for existing transactions that changed ISPs ownership structures. Ispa also called on the regulator to clarify industry confusion relating to licensees entering into transactions which affect their ownership structure. Transactions that caused a change in control over an electronic communications network licence required Icasas permission. Other transactions only required them to notify Icasa seven days before the change. However, according to Ispa, it wasnt always clear when companies required the regulators permission. According to the association, Icasas failure to take a clear position is at the heart of this confusion. The difference between these two processes is massive, Ispa stated. It explained that an application for prior approval requires payment of a non-refundable application fee of R69,409 per licence and can take anything from 815 months for Icasa to process. A notification has no cost, and no further action is required from Icasa other than to update its records. Weve had a decade of disarray because many licensees have used the wrong process, said Ispa regulatory advisor Dominic Cull. Icasa is now notwithstanding its persistent silence on the matter ordering that licensees reverse transactions entered into more than five years ago. As a result, Ispa has requested that Icasa implement an amnesty and take immediate steps to clarify its position on what constitutes a change of control over a licence. Ispa is seeking an amnesty allowing affected licensees to approach Icasa to regularise their position without any sanction being imposed. Icasa would still receive and evaluate applications for approvals of transfers, Cull said. Ispa noted recent proposals to introduce a new process under which licensees would make a preliminary submission to Icasa. The regulator would then decide which process needs to be followed. Icasa implemented regulations in April 2021 that forces ISPs to be 30% black-owned. As part of these regulations, ISPs must notify Icasa of any transactions that would dilute the shareholdings of historically disadvantaged groups and black owners. In March 2022, Icasa published draft regulations for public comment that would require Internet providers to apply for permission before making any changes to their shareholding. However, Ispa said Icasa has failed to offer any insight into how it determines whether a transaction involves a change of control over a licence. Ispa said its call for clarity echoes its calls for Icasa to limit red tape by reducing the amount of regulation with which small-to-medium licensees must comply. The association said this would align Icasa with President Cyril Ramaphosas undertaking in his 2022 State of the Nation Address. There are too many regulations in this country that are unduly complicated, costly and difficult to comply with. This prevents companies from growing and creating jobs, Ramaphosa stated. Ramaphosa undertook to implement far-reaching measures to unleash the potential of small businesses, micro businesses, and informal businesses. For years, they were impossible to miss the images of the doleful, sad-eyed children seemingly hanging everywhere, from museums to discount stores. Though art critics were unimpressed, Americans rushed to cash registers to buy the artwork. But there was a backstory to it all a nasty divorce, a courtroom paint-off and a Tim Burton movie that plumbed the story of Margaret Keane, the artist who labored in near anonymity in a basement while her husband took credit for the kitschy, wildly popular paintings she created. Vindicated as the creator of the big-eye paintings, Keane continued to paint and sell her artwork until her death Sunday at her home in Napa, the Keane Eyes Gallery in San Francisco confirmed. She was 94. Keane's first big-eye paintings emerged in the late 1950s in San Francisco's North Beach, then a lively bohemian haven. Though received more as curiosities than serious contemporary art, there was something arresting about the images of the children, their eyes filled less with wonderment than panic, if not outright fear, that resonated with viewers. As the paintings sold eventually by the millions Keane's husband Walter stepped forward and took credit for the art. A former real estate agent with a big personality and a gift for showmanship, he appeared on television shows, made the rounds at galleries from New York to L.A. and dutifully signed each painting with a simple "Keane." If anyone bothered to ask, he described his wife as a struggling amateur. Requests for personalized big-eye paintings rolled in from the celebrity world as well and portraits were done from photos of Natalie Wood, Caroline Kennedy, Liberace, Kim Novak and many more. Though the paintings sold for as little as $40 at the time, they now often go for thousands. After a drawn-out and acrimonious divorce, Keane confided in a reporter in 1970 that her ex-husband had painted none of the wide-eye waifs and offered to prove it in a public demonstration in San Francisco's Union Square. She showed up with her easel and quickly produced a classic big-eye child. Walter Keane didn't bother to show up, though he continued to take credit for the artwork. Keane filed a defamation suit against her former husband for claiming credit for her work and her attorney arranged a paint-off while jurors looked on. In less than an hour, she dashed off a perfectly executed child with baleful eyes. Walter Keane, complaining that he had a sore shoulder, didn't lift his brush. She was awarded $4 million in damages, though he died in 2000 before paying the judgment. Years later, Burton whose wife was acquainted with Keane spun her story into the life-is-stranger-than-fiction film "Big Eyes," with Amy Adams as Keane and Christoph Waltz as her conniving ex-husband. Keane thanked him by painting a portrait of his wife, complete with big eyes. During a retrospective of her work at the Laguna Art Museum in 2000, she spoke with The Times about the deception and the abuse she said she suffered at the hands of her husband. "I had to keep the paint-room door locked to keep the cleaning woman and my daughter and anyone else from coming in," she said of the basement where she painted. "I was painting my own deepest inner feelings, and I was searching for answers," she said. "The eyes were always asking 'Why, why is there suffering? What is the purpose of life?'" This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Medical care in California is a patchwork of federal, state and local government services, plus those financed by employers and rarely individual people. Its also, by far, the largest single component of Californias $3.4 trillion economy with upwards of 2 million workers and at least $450 billion in spending from all sources, an average of more than $11,000 per Californian. Virtually every facet of the system is subject to some form of governmental oversight not surprisingly since the federal government pays half of the costs, and state and local governments kick in another 30%. Given the huge amounts of money involved in medical care and its impact on the lives of nearly 40 million Californians, its also not surprising that it draws enormous attention from Californias 120 legislators. However, it should be surprising that those lawmakers, only a handful of whom have direct professional medical training and experience, exercise minute control over who can perform what medical procedures on which part of the human anatomy. They do so most directly by defining the scope of practice of each professional licensee, and the Capitol has seen bitter turf battles over those definitions, often pitting one medical specialty against a rival faction. A prime example was the years-long conflict between podiatrists and orthopedic surgeons over who had the legal right to perform surgery on the ankle, a battle that the podiatrists eventually won. One would think that scope of practice should hinge on training and other professional factors, rather than campaign contributions, lobbyist influence and other features of raw politics, but thats not the way it is. Scope of practice, however, is just one narrow issue that draws legislative attention. Another is decreeing which maladies must be covered by health insurers, with advocates for victims of specific illnesses jousting with insurers over their inclusion or exclusion. One aspect of the insurance coverage issue is the perennial conflict between insurers and medical care providers physicians, especially over prior authorization. Its the requirement imposed by health care plans on doctors to get permission before ordering certain diagnostic or treatment procedures, and its the subject of an intense political duel this year. Health insurers contend that prior authorization saves money by limiting procedures to only those necessary for a positive outcome and avoiding duplication. Doctors argue that having non-physician insurer employees make those decisions undermines their professional judgement about whats best for patients. Sen. Richard Pan, a Sacramento Democrat who is also a doctor, is carrying a bill that would loosen up prior authorization rules for doctors who have low levels of having treatment requests denied. The California Medical Association is the measures prime sponsor, joined by other physician organizations. The California Association of Health Plans is leading the opposition, which also includes some physician group practices. Pan and his backers argue that loosening prior authorization requirements would give doctors the necessary freedom to maximize positive outcomes for their patients while insurers, in a recent circular, brand Senate Bill 250 a one-size-fits-all bill that will decrease health care transparency, raise premiums and potentially worsen healthcare outcomes for patients. Both sides are probably correct to some degree, but its impossible for anyone without deep knowledge of medical procedures and insurance underwriting to say which makes the better argument and that includes legislators who despite their ignorance will eventually pass or defeat the bill. So far, Pan and the California Medical Association are winning the political conflict. His bill has passed the Senate and is now pending in the Assembly. CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how Californias state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary. Starting with the simple idea of rescuing and caring for abandoned animals in Napa County, in 2014 Monica Stevens and her husband, David, launched Jameson Animal Rescue. Today, the original name and mission have changed. Now known as Jameson Humane, the organizations goals still include animal advocacy, care and support, but it also now operates an animal sanctuary, manages dedicated rescue and veterinary mobile units, conducts regional neuter-and-spay programs, promotes climate change advocacy, recognizes and rewards philanthropic organizations, initiates mental-health programs, and provides an army of volunteers with the means to provide humane treatment and care to animals. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. Weve changed the name to Jameson Humane in light of our expanded mission, but our overall goals remain the same, Stevens said. Guided by the connection among animals, humans and the environment, we seek to improve animal welfare through global collaborations and education for the benefit of all life. To support those efforts, Jameson Humane holds a yearly gathering known as WineaPAWlooza. The event, noted by Wine Spectator as one of the top 10 wine events in the country, offers the chance to rub elbows with the wine-world elite while at the same time covering 80% of the organizations annual operating expenses. This years extravaganza involved more than 300 attendees, 61 local vintners and nearly 100 volunteers. The two-day event last week included panel discussions on Friday in St. Helena that explored topics ranging from cruelty-free food alternatives to electric tractors and culminated in a lively auction Saturday in Rutherford that raised over $2.2 million a record for the event. The affair included a grand tasting of more than 60 of the valleys most sought-after wines; an animal parade that featured pigs, goats, dogs and horses; and a vegan dinner. World-renowned auctioneer Fritz Hatton conducted the star-studded live auction that followed at the Beckstoffer Farm Center, and Christie Brinkley made a guest appearance. Addressing a growing mental-health crisis In the past, each auction concluded with a fund-a-need request for various special projects, which have included fire-rescue programs and a sanctuary acquisition. This years event, however, focused on addressing the growing mental-health crisis with a program Stevens calls Animal Assisted Healing. (We can) respond to the staggering mental-health crisis in this region, state, and nation through animal-assisted healing, Stevens said. The solution of AAH is profoundly beautiful because Jameson is home to over 80 animals who are ready to help the human healing process begin. Participants in the audience raised their paddles to the tune of $450,000 for this request alone. Connecting animal welfare, human health and climate change A general theme of this years WineaPAWlooza was to highlight the connection between the mistreatment of animals, human suffering and the climate crisis. Our region has witnessed devastating climate change in the form of wildfires and drought which have affected our communities and our animals directly, Stevens said. Our wine country community is now leading the way in sustainable practices and continues to be good stewards of the planet which is directly aligned with Jamesons mission. According to Erin Gort, social media manager at Miyokos Creamery and one of the events panelists at the Montagna estate, making plant-based cheeses produces 98% fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional dairy counterparts. Whereas it takes more than 160 gallons of water to produce just 1 gallon of animal milk, the Miyokos method of cheesemaking requires only naturally falling rainwater. Additionally, she pointed out, 1 acre of land yields 6,000 pounds of plant-milk cheese but only 182 pounds of animal dairy cheese. Miyokos Creamery is the natural evolution of cheese and dairy, she said. Cheese has always been categorized by the type of milk used, whether it be sheep, goat, cow etc. We believe the next on the plate should be plant milk. Switching to plant-milk-based cheese and incorporating more vegan food options, Gort argues, would mean significant positive changes for our planet, animals and people, and it doesnt have to mean sacrificing an enjoyment of cheese and butter. As a part of this alignment of ideas, one of the special guests was the vintner and climate entrepreneur Carlo Mondavi, winemaker and co-owner of RAEN Winery. Jameson Humane does incredible work, and were so honored to be part of this event every year, Mondavi said. Our connection as humans with animals and all living things is part of protecting and caring for the planet we live on, which is what we strive for with everything we do. Beyond making wine, Mondavi has recently co-founded a new company, Monarch, that makes and sells self-driving electric tractors. Monarch is more than just an all-electric, driver-optional tractor, he said. Its a movement that is going to totally revolutionize how we farm. It's the bridge that allows us as farmers to migrate away from expensive fuel by being all-electric and away from dangerous, expensive chemicals by being autonomous. It helps save farmers a significant amount of money while also protecting our planet's soils, waterways, farmers' health and elevating our food ecosystem. Another panelist, Maia Keerie, media and communications manager for The Good Food Institute, said environmentalists, public health experts, activists and others have often attempted to convey usually through alarming statistics the impact of our food choices on the climate. Animal protein production is often highlighted as an area that is a particular threat, and yet meat consumption continues to soar, with estimates that it will double by 2050. Keerie talked about the nearly 80 Northern California alternative protein companies that are attempting to find solutions to the worlds growing appetite for animal protein. Beyond the need for alternatives, she also encouraged the participants to begin reframing the entire question of animal welfare as directly linked to the climate crisis. The new generation of alternative proteins are delicious and require no sacrifice, she said. Consumers can now have their meat and eat it, too. This new way of making meat gives people everything they love about meat but with an added environmental halo. Flipping wine auctions on their heads Up until the recent past, the focus of wine auctions was to promote wine consumption and tourism through marketing, but Jameson Humane has flipped that model on its head. Wine has been transformed from the sole focus of such events into what now amounts to an enabler for broader discussions of what it means to be a human living on this planet. And I believe this is why the WineaPAWlooza event has become so popular. Yes, the event is fun, exciting and includes excellent wine, but instead of leaning toward a hedonistic display of wealth and privilege, this single event allows its participants to transform what they love (wine, animals and the Napa Valley) into a means for a better outcome for all. Yes, other wine auctions will take your money and disperse it to needed causes, but often those feel like middleman transactions. Jameson Humane is using the funds and support it garners to build new, innovative programs, encourage forward-thinking alternatives and help make the world a kinder, gentler place all of which the world is desperately in need. Tom Gamble has hired Philippe Melka and Maayan Koschitzky of Atelier Melka as winemakers, effective June 1. Jim Close, who has served as founding winemaker since Gambles first vintage in 2005, will collaborate with the Melka team to help transition the winemaking duties. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. I am very proud of the wines and the winemaking and cellar team we have built at Gamble Family Vineyards over the last 17 years," Close said. "I look forward to continuing to act as a resource for Atelier Melka, Tom and our in-house winemaking team." He added, I believe that the intrinsic quality of the wines will improve under new stewardship, as the best of the old and the best of the new team are assimilated." Melka has more than 25 years of winemaking experience in the Napa Valley. After learning from such notable wine professionals as Jean Delmas and Jean-Philippe Masclef from Haut-Brion, Christian Moueix and Jean-Claude Berrouet from Petrus, Paul Draper from Ridge, Daniel Baron from Silver Oak, and the globetrotting wine consultant Michel Rolland, Melka settled in Napa in 1994, and has since worked as a winemaking consultant under his company Atelier Melka, which he founded in 1995. Koschitzky was born and raised in Israel where he served in the army as a paratrooper. After his military service, Koschitzky became interested in wine as he traveled around the world. He worked at wineries in Israel, including Margalit Winery, before moving to Napa in 2011. Koschitzky worked at wineries including Screaming Eagle and Dalla Vale before joining Atelier Melka as director of winemaking. Gamble plans to release a new AVA-specific tier of wines based on his sustainably farmed estate-vineyards in Oakville, Mount Veeder and Rutherford. As we have and continue to replant our vineyard properties, we do so with the mindset of elevating quality and sustainability," Gamble said. "Coupled with these intense viticulture endeavors, Im certain that the Melka teams expertise will continue to elevate wines of Gamble Family Vineyards in years to come. Friday Nights at Far Niente Far Niente Winery is introducing the Cabernet Grill, a monthly, after-hours gathering where guests will taste new and special releases, paired with small bites. Each event highlights a specific brand in the Far Niente portfolio. The schedule is: -- July 1: Bella Union and Barbecue with winemaker Brooke Bobyak Price -- July 8: Pinot and Pizza with winemaker Michael Accurso -- Aug. 12: Oysters and Chardonnay with winemaker Nicole Marchesi -- Aug. 19: Dolces Sweet Summer Soiree Tickets are $100 per person. All events are 5 to 8 p.m. at Far Niente Winery, 1350 Acacia Drive, Napa. For more information and reservations, visit farnientefamily.farniente.com/events/friday-nights-at-far-niente. New from The Prisoner The Prisoner Wine Company has a program of new lunchtime food and wine experiences from chef Brett Young, inspired by global cuisines. -- SALDO Wine + Culinary Experience. Try SALDO, The Prisoner Wine Companys newest standalone brand, with food pairings outdoors in a private cabana. The varieties include Chenin Blanc, Zinfandel and Red Blend. It's available on Thursdays and Fridays at 11:30 a.m., for $125 per person. -- The Prisoner Wine + Dim Sum Culinary Experience: Taste five wines from The Prisoner wines with shui mai, shrimp toast, green papaya salad, sticky pork ribs and jasmine rice while watching the culinary team work in the open-concept kitchen. All courses are served family-style. $150 per person, Saturdays at noon. Wine + House DJ: Taste three wines from The Prisoner on the winerys outdoor patio while eating Detroit-style pizza and listening to the DJ in residence. $75 per person, Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. All experiences can be booked at ThePrisonerWineCompany.com. Shafrir promoted at Miner Family Winery After almost five years as assistant winemaker, Michelle Shafrir has been promoted to head winemaker at Miner Family Winery in Oakville. After graduating from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry, Shafrir earned her masters in environmental studies from Tel Aviv University. Prior to joining the Miner team as the assistant winemaker in August 2017, she was the enologist at V. Sattui and Castello di Amorosa as well as Hall Wines. She also held harvest internship positions at Martinelli, Arista and Cuvaison. I really appreciate working for Dave Miner," Shafrir said. "He's hands-on with a focused vision to make balanced wines from great vineyard sites that can appeal to a broad range of people. For as small a winery as we are, we have a diverse portfolio, and I'm excited to take on the challenge and responsibility to express the nuance and elegance of each varietal, New officers for the Wine Institute Rick Tigner, president and CEO of Jackson Family Wines in Santa Rosa, was elected Wine Institute Board chairman for the 2022-23 fiscal year at the organizations 88th annual membership meeting. Other officers elected were Randall Lange of LangeTwins Family Winery and Vineyards in Acampo, first vice chairman; Matt Gallo of E. & J. Gallo Winery in Modesto, second vice chairman; Robin Baggett of Alpha Omega Winery in St. Helena and Tolosa Winery in San Luis Obispo, treasurer; and Alex Ryan of The Duckhorn Portfolio in St. Helena, secretary. Bobby Koch is president and CEO of Wine Institute. Suzanne Groth, president and CEO of Groth Vineyards & Winery in Oakville, is the outgoing chairman and becomes an ex officio board member. Wine Institutes membership also elected new district and at-large directors and alternates including: Napa: Mike Reynolds, HALL Wines; alternate Chris Hall, Long Meadow Ranch Winery Dennis Cakebread, Cakebread Cellars; alternate Delia Viader, Viader Vineyards Robin Baggett, Alpha Omega; alternate Karen Fontanella, Fontanella Family Winery Amelia Moran Ceja, Ceja Vineyards; alternate Michael Baldacci, Baldacci Family Vineyards Paul Leary, Palmaz Vineyards; alternate Scott Meadows, Silenus Winery Sonoma: Alan Ramey, Ramey Wine Cellars; alternate Christopher Lloyd Strieter, Senses Wines Julie Pedroncelli St. John, Pedroncelli Winery; alternate Jim Perry, Brown-Forman Corporation Katie Wetzel Murphy, Alexander Valley Vineyards; alternate Louis M. Foppiano, Foppiano Vineyards Steven MacRostie, MacRostie Winery & Vineyards; alternate Tobin Ginter, Rodney Strong Vineyards Northern: Kaj Ahlmann, Six Sigma Winery; alternate John Kane, Fetzer Vineyards Turkey and Israel start talks on flights of Israeli companies ARARAT Cherry: Bright facets of classic brandy in new product of ARARAT flavors range Azerbaijan attempts to deceive Russia authorities Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkey FMs to hold joint meeting Bloomberg: Iran forced to lower oil price to compete with Russia in China Armenian Green Church of Artsakhs Shushi is destroyed by Azerbaijanis Cavusoglu says 'grain corridor' implementation largely depends on Russia Vanadzor family of 5, including 3 children, hospitalized due to mushroom poisoning Iran and Azerbaijan FMs discuss regional situation 18 people killed during riots in Karakalpakstan 174 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia past 1 week Opposition movement ends demonstration outside EU office in Armenia Copper price fluctuates Fly Arnas inaugural flight takes off from Yerevan to Hurghada 3 killed in Copenhagen shooting Opposition MP: Constitutional justice is in serious crisis in Armenia Canada: Man injures 5 people Uzbekistan legislature decides to maintain sovereign status of Karakalpakstan Ararat Mirzoyan and Sanjay Verma meet in Yerevan Armenia opposition movement participants marching towards EU office Armenia opposition lawmaker gives up parliamentary seat Gold prices are rising Armenia PM to US President: Our cooperation is yielding tangible results Oil prices are on rise Death toll from India floods, landslides reaches 179 Armenia opposition movement holding spontaneous protest near parliament building MOD: Armenian side did not open fire Azerbaijan FM heads for Iran on official visit Armenia president congratulates Biden on US Independence Day anniversary Nigeria police free 77 people being held in basement by religious organization members Massive forest fire rages in Greece Google develops keyboard mode for owners of foldable phones Armenia opposition MP: It's just terrible what police have done Japan PM says marginal price of Russian oil will be halved Czech fighters to guard Slovakian airspace General Milli: US is watching China very closely over Taiwan situation Egypt closes Red Sea beaches after shark attack Peskov: Kyiv will have to agree to the conditions of Russia Protests continue in Sudan against military rule in the country Shoigu briefs Putin about taking control of Luhansk territory Two people killed in Texas: 3 police officers wounded Iranian MFA: Any Turkish military operation in Syria will lead to instability in region Passenger bus plunges into ravine in Pakistan, killing 19 North Korea to further strengthen its military potential due to military cooperation between US, South Korea and Japan Hungary to accelerate its defense development program Bloomberg: Russia's redistribution of ownership of Sakhalin-2 will push Japan to compete with Europe Migrants stage shootout on Serbian and Hungarian border: 1 killed, several people injured German State Minister urges to maintain openness towards culture of Russia Ryanair airline head predicts rise in airfare over next 5 years European countries to help Greece in fight against forest fires The Sun: Chaos reigns at London Heathrow Airport Russia lifts entry ban for 47,000 citizens of Kyrgyzstan Armenian protester released on bail of AMD 2.5 million Paris airport workers set to go on strike again Missing private helicopter Robinson found in Russia: Pilot is alive Boris Johnson at focus amid another sex scandal around UK Conservatives Protests break out in Uzbekistan autonomous region over constitution reform plan Azerbaijan FM to visit Tehran Germany fears complete stoppage of Russia natural gas deliveries Armenian National Committee of America presents findings from fact-finding mission in Artsakh Bordachev: Russias surrounding area, where Armenia is also present, will be part of general conflict space Ministry aims to combine establishment of stable economy in Armenia with building of green economy Timofei Bordachev: Russia, Armenia are linked by one of worlds closest relations Political scientist: If Armenian authorities had goal to keep Berdzor they would have found way to keep it Mikhail Gorbachev hospitalized US, South Korea discuss Russia oil price cap New York state tightens rules for carrying weapons in public places Syria accuses Israel of rocket attack on Tartus Governorate Bulgaria President commissions finance minister to form new government 5 dead, 19 injured after two quakes jolt Iran in one day Libya protesters storm parliament, set part of building on fire Newspaper: What disrupted show planned in legislature by Armenia authorities? Newspaper: Even Armenia ex-President Sargsyan is used in having opposition MP join fellow opposition Albania in talks with NATO to build naval base Firefighters contain forest fire near Machu Picchu after 3 days US hypersonic missile system flight test fails WB approves creation of fund to combat pandemics Resistance Movement to have march on Armenian Constitution Day Australia and France announce new start in relationship Taliban supreme leader urges world to stop telling how to govern Afghanistan Indonesia and UAE sign free trade agreement Norway pledges 1 billion euros to help Ukraine for defense Armenian resistance movement holding march Erdogan: Turkey can re-export grain products from the Black Sea Armenian PM and Tashir group head discuss investments programs BREAKING digest: Armenian opposition MPs announce mass resignations Armenian opposition holding rally in Yerevan Armenia and Turkey agree to ensure possibility of crossing the land border as soon as possible Czech Republic takes over EU Presidency Armenian and Turkish representatives meet in Vienna Armenia National Assembly to convene special session on July 6 Russian billionaires lose almost $36 billion since 2022 Bloomberg: Kyiv is obliged to pay $1.4 billion of public debt by September Armenia Supreme Judicial Council acting head resigns Another opposition legislator resigns from position of deputy chair of parliament committee Turkey closes access to Deutsche Welle and Voice of America Another Armenia opposition MP resigns from post of parliament committee vice-chair Dollar, euro rise after long fall in Armenia Russia company head expresses hope that interesting projects will be implemented with Armenia Armenia opposition lawmaker resigns from position of National Assembly standing committee deputy chair YEREVAN. The Annual Security Review Conference (ASRC) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was held on Tuesday and Wednesday, during which Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahe Gevorgyan delivered an address, the foreign ministry of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. Reflecting on the security challenges in the OSCE region, the deputy FM noted that the use of force or the threat of using force, violations of arms control, and the use of foreign terrorist fighters and mercenaries in armed conflicts have called into question the OSCE's ability to ensure comprehensive security in the region of its responsibility. It was noted that Azerbaijan's violations of the ceasefire established by the November 9, 2020 trilateral statement, steps to provoke a humanitarian crisis in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in March, and obstruction of the activities of the OSCE format for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict show that effective cooperation between OSCE countries and reaffirmation of OSCE fundamental principles and commitments is necessary to meet security challenges in the OSCE area. Expressing support for the format of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the Armenian deputy FM highlighted the latter's activities aimed at ensuring the fulfillment of the right of the people of Artsakh to decide their own future as a key goal of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The OSCE engagement in humanitarian issues was also highlightedincluding the release of all Armenian prisoners of war and hostages in Azerbaijan, protection of Armenian cultural heritage, and addressing cases of forcibly disappearances and missing persons. Within the framework of the ASRC, Armenian deputy FM Vahe Gevorgyan met also with OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid, during which matters of common interest were discussed. The UK government will allocate an additional 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion) for military assistance to Ukraine, according to the office of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. British weapons, equipment and training are transforming the defense of Ukraine, Johnson was quoted as saying in the office document. The prime minister also pledged to completely support the Ukrainian people to ensure that Russia will be defeated in Ukraine. The new assistance package will include integrated air defense systems, unmanned aerial vehicles and innovative electronic warfare equipment. The document says that the British initiative will not only help Kyiv, but also support the thriving defense industry of the United Kingdom. Thus, the British company will receive an order for the production of drones for Kyiv in the amount of 100 million pounds ($120 million). The total amount of British military assistance to Ukraine has now reached 2.3 billion pounds ($2.8 billion). A group of relatives of the fallen servicemen are staging a protest in front of the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia. They want to meet with Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan. Their demand is that the criminal case filed with the Investigative Committeeand under the Criminal Code article on "abuse of official power, which has caused serious consequences"be transferred to the National Security Service. Also, they demand that this criminal case be investigated under the Criminal Code article on "apparent high treason," and that PM Nikol Pashinyan be summoned for questioning under this article. A representative of the Prosecutor General's Office approached these protesters and said that two of the parents of the fallen soldiers could meet with Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan. "At least eight to ten people have to go up so that there will be everyone's opinion. We can to nothing to anyone with ten people in this building. Or Artur Davtyan should come down," said one of the parents of the fallen servicemen. We have been discussing issues related to Berdzor [(Lachin)] and Aghavno [villages] with our colleagues in Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] since November 9. Secretary of the Security Council, Armen Grigoryan, announced this Thursday at the press briefing after the Cabinet meeting of the government of Armenia. "The Artsakh authorities are working on this part; they have talked about this in public, too. We still have time to find solutions for the [Lachin] road and for the residents [of the aforesaid villages]. We have about 1.5 years, we will work with the Artsakh government and find solutions," he said. The Security Council chief said that when they had tried to advance the peace agenda, they had talked about possible respective problems as well. "It's not like when we talked about the peace agenda, we thought that everything would be very easy; we know about its difficulties. But, also, we realize that in order to be able to ensure long-term security in our region, its possible option is the peace agenda; we will continue to work in this direction. But, also, we realize that it does not depend only on Armenia; this is also the reason why we work with all international partners to advance the peace agenda," Armen Grigoryan stated. NATO must stop slandering China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a briefing on Thursday, commenting on the alliance's new strategic concept. According to the diplomat, NATO's new strategic concept ignores facts, passing off black as white, denigrates China's foreign policy, makes irresponsible remarks about China's normal military development and national defense policy, and encourages confrontation and Cold War mentality and ideological bias. China is seriously concerned about this and strongly opposes it, Zhao Lijian said. NATO, in its new strategic concept, argues that China's policy is contrary to the interests and values of the organization. The new NATO strategic concept for the period up to 2030 was approved at the summit in Madrid. The NATO Strategic Concept is the key document of the alliance. It reaffirms NATO's values, the goals of the organization, and provides a collective assessment of the security situation. According to NATO, China uses a set of political, economic and military measures to strengthen its presence in the world. The alliance indicated that China's intentions and goals of its military strengthening remain vague. Ten of the fallen servicemens parents, who are protesting in front of the building of the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia, have entered the building for the expected meeting with Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan. Earlier, the Prosecutor General's Office proposed that only two of them enter the building for this talk, but the parents rejected this proposal, and demanded the presence of at least eight parents. Later, the Prosecutor General's Office stated that ten parents could enter the buildingbut without the presence of the media and smartphones. According to the Armenian News-NEWS.am reporter at the scene, these parents have entered the building of the Prosecutor General's Office without smartphones, but demanded the presence of the media. As reported earlier, a group of relatives of the fallen servicemen are staging a protest in front of the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia. They want to meet with Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan. Their demand is that the criminal case filed with the Investigative Committeeand under the Criminal Code article on "abuse of official power, which has caused serious consequences"be transferred to the National Security Service. Also, they demand that this criminal case be investigated under the Criminal Code article on "apparent high treason," and that PM Nikol Pashinyan be summoned for questioning under this article. Armenia has been very constructive ever since the beginning of the process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations. National Assembly (NA) deputy speaker Ruben Rubinyan, who is also Armenias special representative in the aforesaid process, stated this Thursday at a briefing with reporters in the NA of Armenia. "Armenia has political will [to normalize these relations], and it has shown that political will to achieve a quick normalization. The success of the process depends on the corresponding constructiveness and political will of Turkey. [But] as you can see, there is no particularly great progress so far [in this regard]; this is visible," Rubinyan said. He noted that a matter of re-delimitation of the Armenia-Turkey border is not being discussed, and there is no such matter in the discussions. According to the Armenian MP, the most important thing in such processes is the political will; and if it exists, then the meeting venue becomes just a technical matter. "Besides, the proposal made by Turkey to hold a meeting [of the special representatives of the two countries] in Yerevan suggests that our Turkish colleagues want to see the process as a truly bilateral process. But in this context, the statements of various Turkish officials that they are coordinating or agreeing the process [of Armenian-Turkish rapprochement] with Azerbaijan are a bit strange. But I repeat: the most important thing in these processes is the political will; if there is that will, the rest are very easy matters to be resolved, "Rubinyan said. And reflecting on Turkish authorities statements on a "Zangezur corridor," he stressed that such statement do not contribute in any way, and perhaps even hinder, the process of normalizing Armenia-Turkey relations. "There is no Zangezur corridor on our agenda. Armenia has not discussed, does not discuss, and will not discuss any project, any phenomenon of corridor logic. Besides, there is no territorial unit called 'Zangezur' in Armenia," Ruben Rubinyan said. Stepanakert has given its consent to the alternative route connecting Armenia to Artsakh. Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) President Arayik Harutyunyan stated this in the Artsakh National Assembly, and noted that there were several options, but this one was chosen. Referring to the concerns that in case of launching that route, Berdzor (Lachin) town and Aghavno villagewhere hundreds of Armenians livewill pass under Azerbaijan, Harutyunyan said. "Negotiations are underway now, we will see what opportunities there are. As far as I know, the residents of Berdzor town and Sus [village] have received their compensation under our social programs. Regardless of everything, we need to bypass Berdzor, and I consider the chance for our compatriots to live in Berdzor settlement in the future to be very small. As for Aghavno, we will continue our negotiations, our struggle." Arayik Harutyunyan noted that they had had several proposals related to that routeand both from Azerbaijan and Russia. "All the proposals were rejected. The proposed highway has been discussed several times at the [Artsakh] Security Council, which was attended by all the political forces present in the [Artsakh] National Assembly. We have chosen, in our opinion, the best option. There are secrets that I do not want to voice here. Why did we choose that option? Based on our future security concern. After finishing the road, we will have the opportunity to say our opinion. Does it qualitatively correspond to the conditions we want? Will it be safe? And, in my opinion, it will be much safer," the Artsakh President said. As for Armenians leaving those settlements, he stated that this matter was not discussed today. "It is mainly about Aghavno settlement. That issue has not been discussed yet, we are negotiating. It is not about Berdzor, as according to the corresponding point of the [trilateral] statement [of November 9, 2020], we are obligated to leave [Berdzor]. [But] we have things to do ion connection with Aghavno, the negotiations in that regard are continuing, we have not told anyone to 'get out of Berdzor,'" the Artsakh President said. German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck suspects that Russia may not resume natural gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline after repairs scheduled for July, complicating forecasts for this winter, Reuters reports. In June, Russia cut gas supplies to Germany, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia as EU countries struggle to replenish storage with fuel used to generate electricity. Gazprom said that the reason for the reduction in gas flow through Nord Stream 1 was a technical problem. The company said equipment being repaired in Canada was stuck there due to Western sanctions. German leaders dismissed this explanation and called the cuts a political move. Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, who is also Germany's economy and climate minister in charge of energy, said a "blockade" of the pipeline is possible from July 11, when regular repairs are due to begin. Last summer, the work entailed a closure of about 10 days, he said. A week ago, Habeck activated the second phase of Germany's three-phase emergency plan for natural gas supplies, warning that Europe's largest economy was facing a crisis and winter gas storage targets were in jeopardy. Spain is urging its NATO allies to consider a greater role for the alliance in North Africa and the Sahel at the Madrid summit, AP reports. NATO has little interest in this, diplomats say, but as the alliance undertakes its biggest buildup in the east since the Cold War, allies such as Spain and Italy fear threats on the southern border could be ignored. 30 NATO leaders held their final summit on the south on Thursday morning after nearly two days of talks dominated by the war in Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the focus would be on addressing problems, including the causes of instability, and strengthening the fight against terrorism. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said he would not rule out NATO intervention in Mali if necessary, after a summit statement listed terrorism as a hybrid threat that hostile powers could use to undermine its stability. NATO military officials are backtracking on the Secretary General's announcement earlier this week that 300,000 troops would be put on high alert across the alliance. They now say the number is a "concept" that the alliance aims to have in place by mid-2023. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that the alliance would increase the strength of the high-readiness force to more than 300,000. This announcement implies a sevenfold increase from the 40,000 NATO troops currently on high alert. Two NATO officials told CNN that the number took defense chiefs of many NATO countries by surprise. For example, it was not clear to them which troops from each Member State would be required to participate in this new high readiness force. It was a moment of obvious confusion and disunity in a well-orchestrated display of Allied unity. Two senior NATO officials told reporters at a briefing that the new high readiness model will eventually replace the NATO Response Force model, but that it is still under development. Officials have noted that under the new model, many troops will remain in their home countries rather than come under NATO Allied Operations Command. But they will be quickly available to NATO if a security crisis arises, for example if Russia attacks a member country. Asked what would be the impetus for putting these forces on high alert under NATO command, one official said only that it would include signs and warnings of a potential attack. Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the digest of top news of protests in Yerevan as of 30.06.22: Turkey, Sweden and Finland signed a trilateral memorandum on Tuesday on the Nordic countries NATO membership process after an important meeting in Madrid in which Ankara has got the concrete steps it was awaiting especially in the field of terrorism. Finland and Sweden declared their intention to join the 30-member Western defensive alliance in May, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Turkey initially threatened to veto their application but after four hours of talks at the Nato summit in Madrid the three countries reached a compromise. NATO leaders are expected to officially invite Finland and Sweden to become members before the end of the meeting. Turkey says it will now be pushing for the extradition of 33 "terror" suspects from Finland and Sweden, under a deal that lifted Ankara's objections to the two Nordic states' bids to join Nato. Turkey would ask them to "fulfill their promises", the justice minister said. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden thanked Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the deal with Finland and Sweden that paved the way for the two Scandinavian countries to become NATO members. Biden, in a brief speech before their meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid, also thanked Erdogan for Ankara's efforts to help get grain out of Ukraine. Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan and USAID Chief of Mission John Allelo signed a five-year cooperation agreement on development cooperation between Armenia and the U.S. under which Armenia will receive a $120 million grant. The agreement aims to strengthen democratic values and ensure economic stability. On behalf of the Armenian government and himself, Grigoryan thanked the U.S. side for its assistance. For his part, Allelo expressed gratitude to all of the government partners who participated in drafting the agreement. Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly announced today an expansion of Canada's diplomatic presence and capacity in Central and Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. The Canadian Foreign Ministry said that the diplomatic expansion will help guide Canada's response to emerging security threats, strengthen political and economic cooperation to support European allies, as well as counter the effects of war in Ukraine and support Armenia in its democratic development. The Armenian prisoner died Tuesday at the intensive care unit of a Yerevan medical center, shamshyan.com reports. He was taken to this hospital from Sevan Penitentiary and was on a hunger strike. The police are preparing materials on the incident. Fly Arna, the national air carrier of Armenia has announced a contract with Cross Technics to provide Fly Arna's planes with all necessary line maintenance at Yerevan Zvartnots International Airport. services: Cross Technics LLC is a Part-145 line maintenance company based in Armenia, which aims to provide high-quality services to airlines in Yerevan, the company informs Armenian News-NEWS.am. As part of a partnership between Fly Arna and Cross Technics, Cross Technics has hired 18 highly qualified new engineers to service Fly Arna's Airbus A320. FlyArna flight tickets are already on sale Customers can book them through the official Fly Arna website (www.flyarna.com), call center (+374 41 38 00 83) or travel agencies. The first flights will be operated from Zvartnots International Airport to Hurghada Sharm el-Sheikh from July 3, 2022. The FlyArna team is working hard to expand the geography of flights and will announce new destinations soon. For more than 10 years, Emory students have had the option to designate their preferred name through the universitys official student information system, the Online Pathway to University Students (OPUS). Now, thanks to modifications within OPUS and a policy change effective this June, during PRIDE month, students will soon be able for the first time to designate their pronouns. Students will be able to make the change in OPUS prior to the start of the fall semester. This change was really driven by Emory students and their desire to help us be a better community, says Christa Acampora, deputy provost for academic affairs. A large group of people at Emory including staff, administrators, faculty, and students worked to shape the policy change and enable the systems to support its implementation. Im truly grateful for all of those efforts. Pronoun options include: He/Him/His, She/Her/Hers, They/Them/Theirs, Xie/Hir/Hirs and Ze/Zir/Zirs. If a students pronouns are missing from this list, the pronoun menu also offers the choice of Pronouns not listed, providing students the opportunity to enter the correct pronouns. Additionally, students can opt out of designating their pronouns altogether. Once a selection has been made, the pronouns, like chosen names, will populate in locations such as class rosters. In keeping with best practices, the policy change comes after requests from students and the universitys desire to make campus more welcoming to students of all genders. Respect is also part of the equation for Dona Yarbrough, assistant vice president of Campus Life and a consultant to the Designated Pronouns implementation team. Our names and pronouns are essential to our identities, the most common ways we refer to one another, she says. When we call a person by the wrong name or pronoun, we risk causing them to feel disrespected. The traditional pronouns she/her/hers and he/him/his represent the traditional gender binary. We must update our language to reflect our appreciation of the range of gender identities and our respect for all people. While students appreciate the culture of sharing their pronouns in other parts of campus, students and staff have advocated for years for a more centralized way of sharing this information, says Danielle M. Bruce-Steele, director of the Office of LGBT Life and the Office of Belonging and Community Justice. I look forward to the resulting conversations from this change and how they will push the university forward to even greater inclusion of our LGBTQ community members. According to Eric Weeks, associate vice provost for faculty affairs and director of the Center for Faculty Development and Excellence (CFDE), the modification to OPUS is a welcome one not only will it allow faculty to get to know their students better, but it will also create a more inclusive classroom. CFDE has been helping instructors learn inclusive teaching practices for many years, including using pronouns appropriately for everybody in the room, Weeks says. In the coming weeks, CFDE will make new guidance regarding proper usage of pronouns available for faculty and staff. The introduction of pronoun selection is part of a larger move on behalf of the university to further understand student identity. Later this summer, the Student Characteristics project will launch, providing options within OPUS to share data about gender and sexuality, first-generation status, military-affiliated status, religious/spiritual identity and ethnicity. More information about this project and related functions within OPUS will be shared in the coming month. I had no idea. I knew some of this history. What do we do next? These are some of the responses of more than 225 community members during 18 listening sessions 16 in-person and two virtual conducted during spring semester by Baskervill, the firm guiding Emorys community-engagement and design process in association with the Twin Memorials Working Group. President Gregory L. Fenves charged the working group co-chaired by Oxford College Dean Douglas A. Hicks and Gregory C. Ellison II 99C, associate professor of pastoral care and counseling at Candler School of Theology with designing and constructing twin memorials to honor the enslaved individuals and their descendants who lived and worked on Emorys original campus, which is now Oxford College, as well as others whose labor has not been fully acknowledged by the university. Having two memorials is a means of articulating and interconnecting the shared histories of the Atlanta and Oxford campuses. Participants included descendants, students, faculty, administrators, staff, alumni and community partners who met on the Atlanta and Oxford campuses as well as at Atlanta and Covington churches. They came not only to learn more about the universitys history but also to address a central question what messages should the memorials convey? An unforgettable history lesson The 90-minute sessions covered considerable ground, both intellectual and emotional. Each one kicked off with a history lesson that the Rev. Dr. Avis Williams 78Ox 98C 08T 18T is uniquely qualified to deliver. Born and raised in Covington, Williams is a descendant of enslaved forebears who lived and worked in Oxford and Covington as well as one of the earliest African American graduates of Oxford College. In addition to being a member of the Twin Memorials Working Group, she also serves as the community liaison to Baskervill. Burt Pinnock, principal at Baskervill and the primary design consultant working with Emory, says, Because what Rev. Dr. Williams delivers is a clear-eyed, factual account of Emorys history regarding the contributions of enslaved individuals, it is emotional for many people to hear. From the time she started talking in a given session, participants were fully present and responding. To conclude her presentation, Williams reads the names of all those known to have been part of the enslaved and descendant community as well as their ties to Emory. Alexa Taylor, an Emory student pursuing an MPH/MSN, says of Williams, Her speech brought me to tears because I felt all of the pain and sacrifice of my ancestors as well as the humble feeling of being so appreciative for the life my family has created for me. Had her schedule allowed, says Taylor, I would have attended every meeting just to feel the way I felt that day learning more about my history and ancestors, and proud that there are people in this world who truly want to better it and do things the right way. DMarquis Allen, who is pursuing an MDiv/MBA at Emory, commented on the sessions heaviness, saying, For a list of no more than 15 to 20 people, it felt like an hour had passed once she read the final name on the list. I struggled to form a sentence when called upon to respond. The heaviness is worth it, though, for the overdue recognition we are paying to those enslaved persons and for Emorys pursuit of justice and equity. Memorials elsewhere and what they teach Pinnocks team shared images of memorials across the world, created for a variety of purposes. Some were monuments that Baskervill designed to honor the enslaved, including William & Mary Universitys Memorial to the Enslaved as well as the Richmond Slave Trail and Reconciliation Plaza. The firm has also been involved in the University of Richmonds Burying Ground Memorialization. The Wenchuan Earthquake Memorial honors the nearly 100,000 victims of Chinas 2008 earthquake by recreating striking images of cracked Earth. From the First Amendment Monument erected in Charlottesville to the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, participants got a sense for the myriad ways memorialization can take place. Given that Emory will design twin memorials, participants saw the three Reconciliation Triangle sculptures that speak to the slave trades effect on the peoples of Africa, the Americas and Europe and are, for that reason, located in the Republic of Benin; Liverpool, England; and Richmond, Virginia. Baskervill emphasized that creating a memorial is not always about the act of building or, in the case of Confederate monuments, removing. In summer 2020, following the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and as the Black Lives Matter movement crested, the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond was reclaimed by projecting images on it of Black leaders. According to Pinnock, We tried to open up thought as much as possible with these examples. We challenged participants to see the memorials as not capturing a static moment but instead expressing where people are in the present moment and where they might be in the future. Jonathan Butler, a 1996 Emory College graduate, is drawn to a memorial that could grow, change and evolve over time, honoring history and recognizing that we are still working to create a more perfect union. As former president of the Emory Black Student Alliance, former chair of the Caucus of Emory Black Alumni and former Emory Alumni Board president, Butler feels a responsibility to the Black community and the entire Emory community to participate in constructive efforts to acknowledge our shared history in hopes that it may contribute to an environment in which all members feel a sense of place and belonging. The road ahead Going forward, there will be some changes to the leadership of the Twin Memorials Working Group. Dean Hicks recently was named president of Davidson College, where he will begin on Aug. 1. I am pleased to announce that Molly McGehee and Carol Henderson have agreed to join Professor Gregory Ellison in co-chairing the Twin Memorials Working Group. Drs. Henderson and McGehee are outstanding leaders who are well prepared to shape this next phase for the working group, inviting the community to respond to proposed design concepts along with planning for construction on both campuses, says President Gregory L. Fenves. McGehee received her doctorate from Emory in 2007 and is associate dean for faculty development; director of the Oxford Center for Teaching and Scholarship; and associate professor of English and American studies. Henderson is vice provost for diversity, equity and inclusion; chief diversity officer; and a special adviser to the president. In late summer, Baskervill will provide design concepts to Emory. In the fall, the team will host eight community-wide sessions to solicit input on the concepts on the Oxford and Atlanta campuses. Baskervill then will narrow the field to final concepts for the two campuses and hold final design presentations. The upcoming schedule is bittersweet for Hicks. Ive been inspired to work with colleagues across Emory and with the Baskervill team to move this project closer to reality. I cannot wait to see what the Emory community creates, he notes. If the strong engagement to date is an augur, the Baskervill designs will attract much interest. As Butler noted, Telling our history in these sessions is difficult but also necessary. Embracing discomfort can lead to transformational outcomes. Emory University has named Todd E. Golde, MD, PhD, the new director of the Emory Center for Neurodegenerative Disease (CND) in the Goizueta Institute @ Emory Brain Health. Golde will also be appointed a Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Eminent Scholar in Neuroscience, with a primary faculty appointment in Emorys Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology and a secondary appointment in the Department of Neurology. An international expert in the scientific understanding of Alzheimers disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, Golde will expand Emorys translational research for the development of new therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases, while facilitating interdisciplinary research in neuroinflammation, bridging the neuroscience and immunology communities. Dr. Golde is a world leader in neuroscience research and together at Emory, with our extraordinary faculty in this field, we will be able to make breakthroughs to serve patients and families in innovative ways, says President Gregory L. Fenves. I am grateful to the Georgia Research Alliance for their visionary investment in Dr. Golde and for their commitment to bringing peerless scientists to Georgia. Goldes recruitment to Emory builds on decades of research program development for neurological diseases, including the Emory CND and the Goizueta Alzheimers Disease Research Center (GADRC). The Emory CND was established 20 years ago as an inter-departmental translational research program to support faculty members, high-impact team science, core facilities and unique training and professional development opportunities. We are delighted to announce Dr. Goldes new role at Emory as director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease in the Goizeuta Institute @ Emory Brain Health, says Allan Levey, MD, PhD, founding director of the Goizueta Institute and director of the Emory GADRC. His expertise and leadership in the study of Alzheimers disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, his innovative science and commitment to training and career development make him a perfect choice to help us bridge the areas of neuroscience, immunology and pharmacology. This is a vital part of our efforts to accelerate and broaden the team-based science urgently needed to advance treatments for devastating brain diseases. Georgia is fortunate to recruit an enterprising scientist of the caliber of Todd Golde, says Susan Shows. president of the Georgia Research Alliance. His career is marked not only by pioneering work in neuroscience but also by an entrepreneurial drive and a proven ability to collaborate within and across institutions. He will be an excellent addition to Emory and to the Academy of GRA Scholars. Golde has been a professor of neuroscience and neurology at the University of Florida and director of the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute, Golde was also a founding director of the 1Florida Alzheimers Disease Research Center, a consortium of leading Florida institutions supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Goldes research laboratory has produced 310 publications cited approximately 43,000 times and has been awarded more than $65 million in NIH grants since 2000. Golde is an inventor on over 15 patents and patent applications and is a co-founder of two biotech companies. Dr. Goldes remarkable accomplishments and strong interest in advancing novel therapeutic strategies to address the challenging Alzheimers disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, align perfectly well with our departments shared vision for therapeutic innovation. We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Golde to Emory, says Haian Fu, PhD, professor and chair, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Emory University School of Medicine. Goldes Alzheimers disease research helped lay the foundation for the amyloid hypothesis and has made major contributions to the understanding of amyloid and tau pathologies, as well as the immune systems role in the disease. In an effort to develop innovative new therapies to combat Alzheimers disease, Goldes laboratory is exploring a large number of proteins that accumulate alongside amyloid; investigating the use of antibodies to target psychological stress pathways, thought to contribute to AD and many other diseases; and evaluating ways in which the immune system might be harnessed for beneficial effects in AD. Established in 1990, the Georgia Research Alliance is a public-private partnership that supports the recruitment of top scientists to Georgia universities, fueling both new discoveries and economic growth. Currently, there are 14 GRA Eminent Scholars and 3 Distinguished Investigators at Emory. Golde will begin at Emory on Aug. 1, 2022. Japan's June flames out with record heat Temperatures of nearly 40 Celsius were marked in some parts of greater Tokyo, home to 37 million people. Photo: AP Japan's electricity grid creaked on Thursday under the strain of Tokyo's hottest June since records began, but a power crunch that could have deprived tens of millions of electricity was narrowly averted and authorities prepared to lift warnings. Temperatures of nearly 40 Celsius were marked in some parts of greater Tokyo, home to 37 million people, on the sixth day of a heatwave that began after the earliest end to the capital's rainy season in decades. Maximum highs are not forecast to drop to 30C before Tuesday. But power outages were averted, despite the loss of output from a 600-megawatt plant even as generators feeding Tokyo worked up to carry their load with only about 3 percent reserve capacity, the level below which blackouts can occur. Authorities said they would lift a warning of short power supplies that had been in effect for four straight days. Some 105 people were taken to hospital with heatstroke on Thursday, the Tokyo Fire Department said. A man in his 50s died and a woman in her 50s was in critical condition. Temperatures this month have been the highest since record-keeping began in 1875. The temperature in central Tokyo was 36.4C at 1.00pm, while the town of Hatoyama, north of the capital, sweltered at 39.7C. Some firms, such as auto parts maker Yorozu, are scaling back shifts to save power while others, like retailer Seven & i Holdings and tech giant Sony, have asked employees to save power by turning off lights and other devices. Automaker Nissan Motor said it was operating generators at its Tochigi plant north of Tokyo from Wednesday to Friday, while calling on offices and factories to save energy. SoftBank said it was easing up on air-conditioning, letting the temperature in its facilities rise to 26C from 25C. (Reuters) Joanne Dewar has been promoted to Vice Chair and will focus on the groups growth and global profile Kevin Schultz has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and will focus on strategy and execution Both the new Vice Chair and CEO will work closely with the Chair, Gene Lockhart, in a newly formed Office of the Chair LONDON -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Global Processing Services (GPS), a leading global payment technology platform, has today announced the promotion of Joanne Dewar to Vice Chair. Kevin Schultz has also been appointed as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Joanne will maintain her position on the GPS board, where she will focus on the groups growth and global profile, and continue to work alongside Chair, Gene Lockhart, in a newly created Office of the Chair. Joanne had been CEO at GPS for over four years and was instrumental in scaling the company and securing investment from arguably the most impressive consortium in the payments industry. Kevin brings a wealth of executive leadership experience in the payments and digital banking industry to his new role as CEO, where he will primarily focus on strategy and execution. Most recently, Kevin served as Fiservs Group President of the Digital Banking. Prior to Fiserv, Kevin served as President, Global Financial Services at First Data, following nearly 16 years at Visa, where he built out the debit processing business, Visa DPS. Gene Lockhart, Chair, GPS, said: We are hugely grateful for the great work that Joanne has done at GPS. Under Joannes stewardship, the company has gone from strength to strength and successfully transitioned through a major new investment round, the building of a new management team and a significant transformation. In her new role as Vice Chair, she will continue to play a pivotal role in GPS future. With Kevin on board, our leadership team now has a unique and powerful blend of industry, market and leadership experience which will help us to accelerate the companys growth. Joanne Dewar, Vice Chair, GPS, said: I am extremely proud of what has been achieved so far and I am very excited about my new role, which should enable me to help expand the business footprint through raising the profile and building the global network. I am also delighted to welcome Kevin, whose impressive track record and experience will be a huge asset to the GPS business and our customers. Together with Gene, I am convinced that we have a winning combination which will accelerate the ability of GPS to reach its true potential. Kevin Schultz, Chief Executive Officer, GPS, said: It has been a transformational period for the company, and I could not be more excited to lead the company through the next phase of its development. With the experience of our leadership team and support of our investors, I am convinced that GPS will continue to deliver market leading technology and provide our customers with ever more innovative payments solutions. *** View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220629005511/en/ CONTACT: Louisa Bartoszek Marcom@globalprocessing.com Coordinated by the Saskatchewan Educational Leadership Unit and the Language Centre, the month-long program included instruction in English as a Second Language pedagogy training, time spent observing primary and secondary classrooms in Saskatoon and area K-12 schools, and intensive English-language instruction and participation in cultural activities around Saskatoon. We started coordinating the visit in 2019, and to see it finally delivered is incredibly rewarding, said Patty Corkal, international special programs coordinator with the Language Centre. Dr. Andrew Philominraj, professor with UCM, was instrumental to the program development and accompanied the teachers to USask. It was his work and the work of Jorge Burgos at UCM to bring this project forward to USask. The project was led by UCM but funded by the government of Maule to train teachers from both urban and rural areas to increase their ESL teaching skills and enhance their pedagogy and methodology, shared Corkal. At a farewell lunch and certificate presentation at the end of May, Interim Provost Teaching Learning and Student Experience Dr. Jay Wilson (PhD), offered his congratulations to the students and spoke of the benefits the partnership brings. What you do here will benefit your students, it will provide you with the opportunity to open up new perspectives, said Wilson. We are really proud of the relationships we have with Chile, there is a significant Chilean community here in Saskatoon and this program is one way of honouring those relationships. For the elementary and secondary teachers that journeyed to USask, it was an excellent learning opportunity that will improve their classroom teaching in Chile. Each educator that participated applied and was successful in receiving a scholarship from the Gobierno Regional del Maule (Maules Regional Government) to participate. Educator Martin Fuenzalida teaches grades 4 to 8 at a rural school and is eager to return to the classroom. This scholarship is a great opportunity not only for us, but for our students. They are going to feel the new energy and the new ideas, how innovative we are going to get when we get back to Chile, said Martin. Im looking forward to being [back in my class] to share all the experiences and methodologies that I got here. With the success of the visit, USask and UCM are continuing the partnership and have plans for another group of teachers from Chile to come to campus in November. The Odisha government has received investment intents worth more than Rs 21,000 crore with employment potential for 19,000 people in different sectors during Odisha Investors' Meet held in Dubai on Wednesday, officials said. Riding on the last two years of a high level of investments approved by the Odisha government, amounting to over $50 billion since 2021, the state government is attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in sectors such as Metals and Metal downstream, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Textiles and Apparel including Technical Textiles, Food processing including Seafood processing, ESDM, Logistics and Clean Energy. In this regard, the Odisha Investors Meet was held in Dubai under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik, along with a delegation of senior officials from the government of Odisha. The Investors Meet was jointly organised with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Embassy of India in UAE. It was attended by more than 150 companies based out of the UAE and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region from sectors comprising minerals and metals processing, petrochemicals, chemicals, plastics, heavy industries, clean energy, food processing including sea food processing, electrical equipment and electronics manufacturing, logistics and warehousing, real estate, and hospitality. Leading industry associations from the region including Indian Business and Professional Council (IBPC) also participated in the event. During the Investors Meet, highlighting the various advantages of Odisha state, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik addressed the gathering underlining Odisha's Mineral advantage; Odisha's human resource advantage; the state's use of enabling technology in delivering efficient and effective investment facilitation and Odisha's progressive policy and governance advantage. "Odisha holds the lion's share of India's mineral reserves with 96 per cent of the country's chromite reserves, 92 per cent nickel, 53 per cent bauxite, 45 per cent manganese, 35 per cent iron-ore, and 23 per cent coal reserves of India. This has made Odisha the largest producer of Steel, Stainless Steel, Ferro Alloys, Alumina, and Aluminium in India. Odisha also has 11 per cent of India's water resources. The state has a 480-km long coastline making it a natural choice for setting up ports, and for international trade," he said. The State is home to a large and highly skilled workforce. Highlighting Odisha's human resource advantage, Patnaik said: "We have made good investments in setting up technical and professional institutes at all skill levels - ITIs, Polytechnics, and engineering and management colleges. Eleven of India's top 100 Industrial training institutes are in Odisha. With the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Institute of Technical Education Services (ITEES), Singapore, the Government of Odisha has recently established the World Skill Centre in Bhubaneswar to prepare the Odia workforce for modern and new age industry." On Odisha's use of enabling technology in delivering efficient and effective investment facilitation, he said, the state's single window portal for investors, GO SWIFT has transformed the B2G interface with its user-friendly features which provide time-bound clearances for over 50 G2B services. Odisha is also home to over 1200 start-ups, many of which are in the technology space. Patnaik also announced that the state would be conducting the third edition of its flagship Global Investors Meet - "Make In Odisha 2022" during November 30- December 04, 2022 at the state capital Bhubaneswar, India. The Chief Minister extended the invitation to businesses in the MENA region to attend the Make In Odisha 2022 Investor Meet and witness the opportunities the State offers. UAE based multinational retail conglomerate, Lulu Group International signs MoU worth Rs 1,500 crore to explore investment opportunities in Odisha to set up Hypermarkets, shopping malls and Agri & Seafood sourcing and processing hubs in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Rourkela. This was announced by Lulu Group Executive Director Ashraf Ali MA during the meeting Patnaik in Dubai. The team Odisha also conducted one-on-one B2G meetings with major companies of the region such as LuLu Group, NBTC Group, Sharaf Group, Twenty Fourteen Holding and Tablez Group, ERAM Group, Sobha Group, Arab and India Spices LLC, Tabreed, etc. The State Government invited them to explore Odisha in their future expansions and apprised them of the huge Indian and sub-continent market. The government also assured all the companies of unmatched facilitation and support. --IANS shaneer/pgh ( 716 Words) 2022-06-29-23:14:03 (IANS) Accordingly, the existing eligible foreign entity (EFE) route, which required actual exposure to Indian physical commodities, has been discontinued. Any foreign investor desirous of participating in Indian exchange-traded commodity derivatives, with or without actual exposure to Indian physical commodities, can do now so through foreign portfolio investment route. Effective date for the same will be notified vide a Circular, it said. "FPIs will be allowed to trade in all non-agricultural commodity derivatives and select non-agricultural benchmark indices. To begin with, FPIs will be allowed only in cash-settled contract," the regulator said in the statement. FPIs will, however, be allowed to participate in Indian exchange trade commodity derivatives, subject to certain risk management measures. A Working Group comprising of representatives from SEBI and market participants has also been constituted to review/examine whether any additional risk management measures, are required to be prescribed for FPIs. The participation of FPIs in exchange trade commodity derivatives is expected to enhance liquidity and market depth as well as promote efficient price discovery. SEBI has already allowed institutional investors such as Category III Alternate Investment Funds, Portfolio Management Services and Mutual Funds to participate in such derivatives. (ANI) Johannesburg [South Africa], June 30 (ANI/PRNewswire): Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) in Africa has reached a landmark milestone with 100 employees now based in the South Africa office to support GLI customers in Africa and across the globe. In the last 12 months alone, GLI Africa has hired a further 58 employees to keep up with customer demand for testing and certification from GLI's team of experts. The quickly expanding team has also resulted in the physical extension of GLI's state-of-the-art laboratory and office, which opened in Midrand, Johannesburg in 2017. The additional 400 square meters were needed to make room for all the new employees and increase the capacity within the laboratory to ensure GLI can continue to deliver to customers' expectations. Devon Dalbock, General Manager of GLI Africa, said, "GLI was the first gaming test lab to set up in South Africa with just a handful of employees in 1996. Since then, we have continued to invest in the South Africa operation, and reaching this important milestone is a real success story for us. Like many places, Johannesburg was hit hard by the pandemic with rising unemployment levels. We are proud of the fact we retained all staff during the pandemic and have been able to create new job opportunities for so many talented individuals to work on projects not only in Africa but in jurisdictions across the world." "It's also great news for our customers in Africa that they have access to local experts who understand the complexities and challenges of the market here, but also have a global team working with them who can offer insights and expertise about markets in Europe, Latin America, Asia, Australia, and the USA." When Kailin Hank joined GLI Africa as a Maths Analyst, she had no idea that she would become an important part of GLI Africa's history by becoming the 100th employee. Kailin joined the team, having worked part-time as a mathematics tutor at underprivileged schools in Johannesburg, aiming to inspire young people. She explains why she decided to join GLI, "When I first learned about GLI, I was attracted to how much the company strives with work ethics and their global commitment to give back to communities. I was also excited to see how I could use the skills and experience I obtained as a graduate and integrate that with GLI's vision. What I enjoy most about my job is the fact that every day is different and an opportunity to learn and grow, not forgetting the amazing office environment. Everyone is extremely friendly and welcoming, and I am glad to be a part of the GLI family." Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) in Africa was also recently awarded a certificate of recognition from the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) for maintaining its continuous accreditation for more than 20 years. The GLI Africa Story so far: 1996 - GLI establishes a third international lab located in Pretoria, South Africa, in conjunction with its then joint-venture partner, the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS). 2001 - Awarded ISO 17025 accreditation by the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) 2007 - GLI Africa (Pty) Ltd is incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of GLI 2017 - GLI Africa opens a new state-of-the-art 1,800 m/2 laboratory in Midrand 2021 - GLI Africa hires a further 58 employees and establishes a team of Math Analysts to keep up with customer demand 2021 - Achieves 20 years of continuous ISO 17025 accreditation 2022 - Expands office premises by an extra 400 m/2 2022 - Reach a milestone of 100 employees in GLI Africa Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) is committed to delivering the highest quality land-based, lottery, and iGaming testing and assessment services worldwide. GLI provides suppliers, operators, and regulators with expert guidance for navigating the future of gaming and ensuring gaming innovations meet regulatory standards with confidence. Since 1989, GLI has certified nearly 2 million items and has tested equipment for more than 480 jurisdictions. GLI has a global network of laboratory locations across six continents, with U.S. and international accreditations for compliance with ISO/IEC standards for technical competence in the gaming, wagering and lottery industries. GLI has been named "Gaming Laboratory of the Year" at SiGMA Americas Awards, "Best Laboratory" in the SAGSE Awards, "Best Test Lab in the Baltics," and "Best Test Lab in the Nordics" in the Baltic and Scandinavian Gaming Awards. For more information, visit gaminglabs.com. This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire) New Delhi [India], June 30 (ANI/PNN): Bonanza Wealth Management Research has given a Buy call on BSE listed Radhika Jeweltech Ltd, a renowned retail jewelry Company dealing in high-end Legacy jewelry, including fine gold jewelry and diamond-studded jewelry operating through a retail store in Rajkot, Gujarat with a target price of Rs 203 on the stock. It believes that with increasing consumerism and awareness, demand for branded and certified jewellery products is on the rise. "Growing urbanisation, product innovations, designer products, and technological advances in product development are further enabling the growth of the Indian gems and jewellery market, which will be key growth drivers for the company," it added. However, the brokerage highlighted Covid-19-induced lockdown, delay in execution of the new showroom and highly competitive market with many retailers as key risks to the company. For the financial year 2021-22, Radhika Jeweltech clocked a net profit of Rs 27.07 crore, with total revenue of Rs 232.78 crore. The company has a market cap of less than Rs 400 crore but is almost debt-free. Earlier, following its results, Mumbai-based brokerage Khambatta Securities had also initiated coverage on the stock, with a buy rating and a target price of Rs 295, hinting at a more than 65 per cent rise in the counter. "It has delivered an overall strong performance in FY22, marked by robust growth in sales and profits. With a history of over three decades in Rajkot, the Radhika brand has gained considerable goodwill among customers." The most important driver for its growth in the near-to-medium term is the planned new showroom that is expected to start operating by Q2FY23, pushing the revenues to a significantly higher trajectory, it added. The company operates a 2,500 sq feet showroom in the heart of Rajkot's jewellery market. Radhika Jeweltech generates 85 per cent of its revenue from the pure-gold jewellery business, while the remainder comes from diamond and platinum jewellery items. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN) New Delhi [India], June 30 (ANI/PNN): Offering living space to today's working and learning professionals, Pg On Palm announces using UV cleaners for microbial disinfection of the rooms. After the pandemic, hygiene has been on the priority list of the customers; with this thought in their mind, Pg on Palm takes special care of the cleanliness. They focus on providing a healthy environment for their customers so they can rent a space that does not cost their health. Situated in Delhi, Pg on Palm provides a wide range of services to students, working people, and other businesses. They have hostels for girls and boys at a very affordable price, including hot meals, wifi, gym, and housekeeping. Through these services, they keep ensuring that students and working people can concentrate on their studies and work while getting things done. They plan to open more accommodations in Gurugram for working people this year. And will be launching deep cleaning services around Diwali this year itself. Pg on Palm provides renting space to students and working professional even also help other businesses with catering and cleaning. Under the visionary leadership of Anubhav Giri, Founder and CEO, and Vrinda Rajput, Co-founder and COO, Pg on Palm has been a second home to many individuals far away from their homes. They are known for providing the best and most hygienic food at reasonable rates and also work towards sustainability. They have ACs, and other essential devices rated five stars in their respective category. To promote an eco-friendly and sustainable environment, they plan to incorporate solar panels to save more and more electricity. With so much under their services, they don't compromise on the quality and offer comfortable furniture and amenities. Sharing about their venture, Founder Anubhav Giri, alumni of DU, SPJIMR and EBS University, Germany, shared, "Since I was also a student and faced a lot of challenges during my studies. I had to look for a room, then a cook, then a maid, and wifi provider, which consumed most of my time, and if a cook was not good, it was a fresh start again. Hence, I created a platform to make all these services available to students at affordable rates. Along with Vrinda, I incepted this platform; we believe students need to have overall exposure to things going around as the world is changing rapidly, and many career options are available that we don't know about. We give a platform to students to come and share their experiences, connect with like-minded people, and discuss and improve their skills. Also, we have expertise in working B2B as well as B2C, and in the future, we envision expanding our businesses in multiple cities to help businesses, students, and working professionals." With such incredible services under one roof, Pg On Plam is undoubtedly the best place to rent a space that would fit every individual's budget. And all the credits for creating such a commendable living space go to the highly motivated and creative people on their team. Pg On Palm's main motive is to keep their community happy, and, for the same, their team also works for stray animals and homeless people, contributing to a novel cause. So if you are the one who is looking to rent a space with all the amenities, then visit Pg On Palm website for further details. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN) New Delhi [India], June 30 (ANI/PNN): K.P. Mustafa, Managing Director of Silvan Tiles has been awarded the best YouTube Influencer award from Hon. Revenue Minister Advt. K Rajan. Mustafa received the award at the celebration of Malayali Media brand award 2022 held at Thrissur Hyatt Regency on 08/05/2022 in connection with the fifth anniversary of Malayali Media. Watch the award ceremony at https://youtu.be/z_RDvcozjto He launched a YouTube channel, named the "Book N Paper Musthu" from Kerala in the field of tile and sanitary ware. Through his channel, he gives complete knowledge about the section of tiles and sanitary ware to the common people. He has gained over 100000 subscribers in a short span of time and has over one and a half crore viewers so far. KP Mustafa deserving the award based on his brilliant achievement and knowledge he imparted through the channel. He used social media as a key tool for expanding the venture with his opportunistic ability and short time experience to sustain the industrial sector in times of crisis, mainly the covid-19 pandemic time. Through this, the area of tiles and sanitary ware was introduced to common man by inviting personal ideas to the society. Malayalam Media is an organization that has been working in the field of media for more than five years with an emphasis on the industrial sectors of each individual through social media. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN) London [UK]/ New Delhi [India], June 30 (ANI/BusinessWire India): Day Three of UK-India Week 2022, organised by the UK-headquartered India Global Forum (IGF), was geared towards The Forum: Reimagine@75 - a two-day power-packed series of discussions and deliberations around the central theme of Reimagine@75. The strategic dialogue series is designed to cover virtually every sphere of UK-India relations - from the Startup Ecosystem, Geopolitics, Digital Economy and Investments to Social Impact. To coincide with UK-India Week, the UK Government announced 75 fully-funded scholarships for Indian students to study in the UK from September as part of a partnership between the British Government and leading Indian and global companies, including HSBC India, Pearson India, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Sons and Duolingo. Alex Ellis, the British High Commissioner to India, said: "In India's 75th year, this is a great milestone together." "Thanks to the exceptional support from our partners in the industry, I am delighted to announce 75 scholarships for Indian students to experience the best of the UK. Nearly 30 per cent of Chevening scholars in India come from smaller cities or are first generation students, making this an increasingly diverse programme." The programmes on offer include Chevening scholarships for a one-year Master'sprogramme, with the opportunity to study any subject at any recognised UK university. The British Council in India is offering at least 18 scholarships for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) - covering over 12,000 courses across more than 150 UK universities. Along with these, the British Council is also offering six English scholarships. The IGF's first of a two-day Reimagine@75 Forum kicked off with a conversation on India's start-up ecosystem and how greater synergies can be built with the UK in the sector. The in-depth discussion threw up a host of ideas and concepts to fully leverage the rich startup opportunities on offer. Prashant Prakash, Partner, Accel, said: "It's a dramatic shift in India. We are on track, as a country, to do a billion transactions a day in 2-3 years. This is starting from zero. That's an amazing journey." "There's still a lot of work to be done to build generationally resilient companies in India. The current financial environment will help towards some real company building." Sharing his thoughts during a conversation with Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Former UK Foreign Secretary, Ashok Malik, Policy Advisor, Indian Ministry of External Affairs, said: "The Free Trade Agreement we are negotiating with the UK will help us address some of the global crises we face." "The UK has the expertise and India has the scale - there's a lot we can achieve together with collaboration." Besides, the Forum saw renowned captains of industry address the audience on various facets of UK-India relations, the use of Digital for Social and Economic Impact and the idea of investing in India and exporting from India. A fascinating in-conversation session involving Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-Founder & CEO, OLA, and another with Alex Ellis, the British High Commissioner to India, were among some of the other highlights. The Forum concluded with a stimulating debate on the Idea of Great Britain with the inimitable Indian parliamentarian and author Dr Shashi Tharoor, Baroness Usha Prashar, V&A Museum Director Dr Tristram Hunt and Lord Jonathan Marland, Chairman, Commonwealth Enterprise & Investment Council. Prof. Manoj Ladwa, Founder and CEO of IGF, said: "Reimagine@75 provides the best possible platform to rethink, away from the blurred lens of history, the crucial future relations between our two great nations." "IGF continues to spearhead the UK-India dialogue and as we navigate deeply challenging geopolitical scenarios and economic headwinds, a strong UK-India relationship is imperative not just for the UK and India but for the global order." Day Three of UK-India Week opened with an exclusive UK-India Women in Leadership event to celebrate the myriad contributions of women leaders within the UK-India corridor. It brought together some of the most prominent voices working towards strengthening this winning partnership, including Tech Entrepreneur & Angel Investor Priyanka Gill, Founder & CEO of tech impact forum MaanchDarshita Gillies, Taj London Area Director MehrnavazAvari, Co-Founder of cultural platform Manch UK Meera Kaushik, among a host of other women leaders working across different sectors. *Follow the action @IGFupdates #UKIndiaWeek Day One of UK-India Week 2022 (June 27) covered the Creative Industries and Cultural Economy Seminar at Nehru Centre, London, to explore the cultural partnership potential of the bilateral relationship. Day Two (June 28) covered the pressing topic of climate action with the Climate Finance and Technology Summit. The UK-India Week is organised by IGF annually as a celebration of the myriad facets of this important bilateral relationship. The 2022 edition (27 June to 1 July) comes packed with a high-powered agenda, covering trade and economic exchanges, climate action, healthcare, technology, innovation and much more. *The Programme for UK-India Week 2022 is here. Just some of the high-profile speakers confirmed over the course of the week include: Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, UK Government Dr S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, Government of India Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, UK Government Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Government of India Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Education and Minister of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India Bhupender Yadav, Minister of Labour& Employment, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India Dr Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Electronics and IT, Government of India Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for External Affairs of India Alok Sharma, President, COP 26 *The full list of speakers is here. This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India) New Delhi [India], June 30 (ANI/NewsVoir): ThinkAg along with CropLife India, the leading voice of the plant science industry in India; organized an Industry Round table "AgLab" - Connecting Innovators with Corporates - Drone Applications in Agriculture & Crop Protection - bringing together all stakeholders of the Agriculture Drone ecosystem with a 'focused platform for partnerships' for the start-ups and stressed on the need of fast tracking and large scale adoption of drone technology for agrochemical spraying in the country. Shomita Biswas, Joint Secretary (M&T), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, Government of India; said, "It is time to make drones accessible for farmers. There are 200+ start-ups, engaged in manufacturing and providing drone services in agriculture, who would play a pivotal role. Empaneling with the State Governments and becoming custom hiring centres themselves; are the critical next steps for start-ups. The Government of India has added another intervention of involving the rural youth. Just with Bachelor in Science - agriculture degree, he/she can open a custom hiring centre, own a drone, and be an entrepreneur; employing others. Youth will be the ambassadors of Drone technology and hence we must leverage this segment. Start-ups in this sector can engage with the youth and other partners at village level and helping the growth of agricultural economy." Asitava Sen, Chief Executive Officer, CropLife India, anchored the webinar shared, "CropLife India is committed to help develop a conducive ecosystem and quick adoption of Kisan Drones in India. Collaborations between innovators and agrochemical companies would play an imminent role in flattening the learning curve." Sen added, "The purpose of the webinar is to offer a 'Focused and Neutral Platform for partnerships' between the start-ups and Agrochemical/Agriculture input companies for knowledge sharing. Partnerships amongst stakeholders is critical to overcome the challenges and leverage the opportunities that this new technology offers." Hemendra Mathur, Co-founder, ThinkAg in his introductory remarks said, "Drone applications including spraying, crop health monitoring and data collection will be transformative for Indian agriculture." He mentioned that there is merit in building an "open source platform" of the images captured through drone cameras. The image analytics can help build specific APIs as well as public dashboards on crop health, sowing area, potential yields etc. This will need collaboration amongst drone players and a mechanism to store, share and analyse images on a common platform. Prem Kumar Vislawath, Founder & Chief Innovator, Marut Drones said, "The technological aspect of Drones hasn't been picked up in agriculture. Farmers still rely on manual farming but drones is set to change the perspective, as drones with AI technology quantify distinctive features like plant count, plant height etc. From sowing to harvest, we help farmers with data by developing a crop-wise calendar." Amandeep Panwar, Executive Director & CEO, BharatRohan Airborne Innovations said, "We provide farmers with end-to-end solutions- from the sowing of seeds to the sale of produce and we offer a complete dashboard to each and every stakeholders. Our major USP is that we work on hyper-spectral Imaging for crop monitoring where we identify a crop issue even before visual symptoms appear." Pradeep Palelli, Co-founder & CEO, Thanos Technologies said, "All agrochemical companies are required to adhere to SOPs and we have been working with a few of them on a pilot basis apart from working with Flytech Aviation Academy. We have partnered with National Skill Training Institute (NSTI), Hyderabad; run by the Directorate General of Training (DGT), Government of India, to help in creating a talent pool." Raja Raman, Chief Business Officer & Board Member, Dhaksha Unmanned Systems said, "We devised petrol engine-based drones instead of battery-pack drones to reduce the operational cost of Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 2.5-2.8 lakh. They cover 30-35 acres a day with 8-hour usage per day and roughly 650 ml petrol usage each day. We offer a complete solution, training technicians, dealers-distributors across India." Prayas Saxena, Founder & CEO, Skylane Dronetech said, "We are working with farmers, service partners and agri-input companies. We have developed training modules and have started imparting training in agricultural institutes. We feel that collaboration would provide more network to companies and access to remote places apart from ensuring precision and adding value." Saurabh Srivastava, General Manager - Sales, IoTechWorld Avigation said, "We started in the year 2017 with just 4 drones but right now we are focused on agricultural drones with our manufacturing facility in Gurgaon. Our "Agribot", a portable bot which can be transported via a 2 wheeler and has a Flight time of 20 min; one spray cycle of 7 minutes approx. in an hour; covering 4-5 acres with optimum coverage of 30 Acres per day; with a minimum of 6 battery sets." A huge opportunity, as well as challenges, lie ahead for the start-ups to scale up adoption of Drone applications in Agriculture by way of collaboration with the Agri input companies. ThinkAg, a Not-for-profit organization, is India's first Food & Ag Tech platform bringing together Innovators, Corporates, Incubators/Accelerators, Investors, FPOs, and other stakeholders of the ecosystem to improve the outcomes in Indian Food & Agriculture. The Vision is to enable rapid scale up of AgTech, FoodTech & FinTech; by building a multi-stakeholder network, nurturing partnerships and creating knowledge that will accelerate investments and adoption of technology in the sector. Esteemed organizations like Rabo Foundation, ADB Ventures, Govt. of New South Wales (Australia), Netherlands Embassy in India, Beanstalk, Bayer CropScience, Godrej Agrovet, Netafim India, PI Industries, Crystal, Sulphur Mills, FIL Industries, Dayal Group, Shivashakti Group, Netafim Agricultural Financing Agency (NAFA), Dvara Holdings, Samunnati, Star Agriwarehousing & Collateral Management, Agriwise, AgriBazaar, Srinivasa Farms, CropIn, SatSure, iConcept, etc. are some of the partners and members of ThinkAg platform and this base is growing fast. CropLife India is committed to advancing sustainable agriculture and it is an association of 16 R&D driven member companies in crop protection. We jointly represent ~ 70% of the market and are responsible for 95% of the molecules introduced in the country. Our member companies have annual global R & D spend of 6 billion USD and are firmly committed to engaging with the farming community to enable Safe, Secure Food Supply. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) Call for investigation into deaths of five Vietnamese in Jordan gas blast Authorities in Vietnam have called for investigations into the deaths of five Vietnamese at a toxic gas explosion at Jordan's Aqaba Port on June 27. Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son speaks on the phone with the Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ayman Al-Safadi, on June 29 Speaking on the phone with the Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ayman Al-Safadi, on June 29, Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son sent his condolence to Jordan over the deaths. He urged Jordanian authorities to quickly investigate the cause of the explosion, and provide guidance on handling post-mortem procedures for the deceased victims. Son also asked Jordan to support the Vietnamese Embassy in the process of protecting and assisting Vietnamese citizens in need. According to the Vietnamese Embassy in Saudi Arabia concurrently with Jordan, toxic chlorine gas escaped on the dockside in the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba on June 27, leaving 251 people injured, and 13 others dead including five Vietnamese. The Vietnamese victims were crew members working on the Forest 6 vessel registered in Hong Kong. Earlier, Jordanian officials said that the incident at the port of Aqaba occurred when a crane was loading tanks of toxic chlorine gas onto a cargo ship to be transported to Djibouti. A tank containing 25 tons of chlorine fell from the crane and was damaged, causing toxic gas to spread around. Vietnamese citizens in need of support can call the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on (+84) 981848484, or the Vietnamese Embassy in Saudi Arabia at (+966) 583.245. 255. Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 30 (ANI/NewsVoir): APL Apollo Tubes Limited (APL Apollo), one of the leading branded steel tube manufacturers, unveiled its yet another exciting brand 'Apollo Navrang' in a mega event held in Ahmedabad in Gujarat. APL Apollo has come out with a wide range of colour coated coils and sheets for PEB Purlins under the brand umbrella of 'Navrang'. The colour coated steel range promoted under 'Apollo Navrang' has its target market across construction industry - especially pre-engineered building structures, solar industry, appliance, automotive, road crash barriers and many more across the country. The main attraction of this new development is that all these industries will immediately get rid of their manual in-house paint shops. All major steel components where post painting is required will be replaced with pre-painted steel by APL Apollo and this leads to cost & time saving. Launching the product in the presence of who's who of the city, Anubhav Gupta, Chief Strategy Officer, APL Apollo said, "Innovation is a way of life at APL Apollo - and this perception keeps it active on new findings and new ideas. We are happy to launch 'Apollo Navrang', Apollo's youngest project as on date and it also marks our entry in flat steel products - especially colour coated products, bare galvanised, bare galvalume (Glitz), CRCA and many more." The well-attended event organised at 'The Taj Skyline', Ahmedabad, Gujarat also saw presentation on the product by Anil Mittal, Chief Executive Officer, Apollo Build. Speaking on the occasion, he said, "Apollo Navrang is yet another breakthrough in the world of building materials from the pioneers of manufacturing and development of structural steel solutions in India. It's also Apollo's initiative to save the earth with the GO green concept that aims at the replacement of wood with steel sections." The exciting productline has been manufactured at APL Apollo's one of the largest Greenfield projects built over 500 acres of land in Chhatisgarh - the heart of India and an upcoming steel hub. The uniqueness of the brand 'Apollo Navrang' is that it encompasses never before range of colour coated products in width between 300-750 MM & thickness between 0.3-3.00 mm. It can immediately replace many applications from their conventional method of using bare galvanised to colour coated steel with many tangible and intangible benefits like better shelf life, an appealing aesthetics, better anti-corrosion properties and many more to create a win-win scenario for all. For more information, please visit: www.aplapollo.com. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) The prosecutors said it will deploy 140 investigators from the Hessen State Police, Frankfurt Prosecutors and Luxembourg investigation authorities to obtain evidence, communication data, software, and design documents along with the European Justice Organization (Eurojust). According to the prosecutors, Hyundai Motor, Kia, and its parts partner Borgwarner Group allegedly manipulated the diesel emissions. The prosecutors accused them of fraud and air pollution. The companies have distributed more than 210,000 units of diesel vehicles with manipulated diesel emissions devices by 2020, the prosecution said. Due to the manipulated device, the exhaust gas purifiers of the vehicle were not properly working, emitting more nitrogen oxide than permitted, the prosecution explained. Prosecutors said that the companies did not notify customers that the vehicles did not meet the Euro 5 or Euro 6 standards, the European environmental standards. Customers might have damaged due to Hyundai Motor and Kia's deception, the prosecution added. The vehicles caught are all models of Hyundai and Kia equipped with 1.1L, 1.4L, 1.6L, 1.7L, 2.0L and 2.2L diesel engines. The engine control software was allegedly produced by Bosch and Delphi, a parts subsidiary of Borgwarner Group, the prosecution said. (ANI/Global Economic) New Delhi [India] June 30 (ANI/BusinessWire India): Following its market re-entry last year, iconic windproof lighter brand Zippo goes live with its first landmark brand campaign in India. A digital film made by Ogilvy India is a statement about pursuing opportunity in life and showing resilience, and how one should not let anybody, or anything, dampen their inner fire. Commenting on the launch, Lucas Johnson, Associate Vice President, Zippo Global Marketing said, "I am very pleased to see our vision come to life with this brand film. We want to showcase the power within each of us, through the metaphor of burning away insecurities. Our philosophy as Zippo has always been that the consumer sees us as an extension of their personality, taste and style. Zippo has moved beyond the realm of being just a utility product to being a personal fashion accessory that can be passed down from one generation to another. The film beautifully captures our unique lighter design capabilities and the trademark 'click' sound the lighter makes when opened." The campaign depicts the journey of people who have been criticized for who they are, what they are, and how they have risen above it all. It celebrates their fiery courage and determination in the face of adversity. The thought-provoking and emotionally engaging film showcase instances from a new mother who the world thinks can't handle a corporate job, to a young girl whose weight is a problem for everyone except herself. In this context, Zippo's premium windproof lighter becomes the tool that allows them to vanquish preconceived notions and stereotypes, with characters who resolve to act on their dreams, aspirations and emerge as their authentic selves. Research revealed that there is a unique way in which Indians see confidence. Confidence is not a state of being, it is not passive. In India, confidence is extremely active and is equated to readiness. Opportunities are few and far between and confidence is what fuels Indians to grab and make the most of every opportunity. Ritu Sharda, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy India, further added, "Zippo is one of the most iconic brands in the world. It comes with great legacy and the opportunity to create this film was certainly exciting. Their first-ever campaign in India ignites a flame that inspires people to be their true selves, to be courageous, and live with confidence." The film has been conceived keeping in mind the Indian consumer's aspirations and sentiments, the idea was to find a sliver which speaks directly to the Indian audience in the age group of 25-35 years. It all comes together seamlessly as Arneeta Vasudeva, National Head, PR & Influence, Ogilvy India, puts it, "In this vignette film, we see people leaving everything that holds one back and getting ready to go out to follow their passion with no fear of failure or judgement. The film strongly portrays a message of telling the world no matter who you are, you should always live with confidence." Link to the campaign: YouTube Master Film - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLYjKejgWRI YouTube 15 seconder 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Ib_PLC14E YouTube 15 seconder 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHA1hgaOjMU YouTube 15 seconder 3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OUlYTBsxQg YouTube 15 seconder 4 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj0cAWMfqHY YouTube 15 seconder 5 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9fzd0EtbhY Facebook Master Film- https://fb.watch/dVcAFp_oT9/ Facebook 15 Seconder Edits -https://fb.watch/dVcxSwEQgh/ https://fb.watch/dVcyDRMhbB/ https://fb.watch/dVcze6lBuQ/ https://fb.watch/dVczLG2uJ2/ https://fb.watch/dVcA4cFP73/ The film will be seen on Zippo's social media platforms globally across YouTube, Instagram and Facebook and across other e-commerce and digital platforms such as Tata Cliq Luxury, Amazon.in and Zippo.in. Film Credits: Creative Agency - Ogilvy India and Production House - Colonial Films. Creative Agency - Ogilvy - Ritu Sharda, Chief Creative Officer - Murtaza Said, Senior Creative Director - Londhen Thupten, Creative Director - Reynold Anthony, Creative Director - Soumya Mukhopadhyay, Creative Supervisor Production House - Colonial Films - GuneetRekhi, Producer - Ayush Arora, Director This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India) Zendaya's boyfriend, Tom Holland, recently made sure to show his support for the actor's stunning social media images from the latest cover of 'Vogue Italia'. According to Fox News, in the pics, Zendaya was dressed in a sparkling silver Valentino dress. She described it was "such a dream shooting this cover" with famed photographer Elizaveta Porodina, and her 'Spider-Man' co-star commented with a row of heart-eyed emojis. Apart from Holland, Hailey Bieber also commented on one stunning black and white image. "Sheesh," Bieber wrote. Jodie Turner-Smith added, "wowwwwwww angel this is just so incredibly stunning." Zendaya and Holland have mostly kept their relationship out of the public eye through the years. They first began working together in 2016 in Marvel's 'Spider-Man: Homecoming', which was released the following year. The pair also starred together in the MCU flick 'Far From Home' and the most recent Spider-Man installment, 'No Way Home'. Previously during an interview with a magazine, Holland spoke out about the lack of privacy celebrities have when it comes to dating. "One of the downsides of our fame is that privacy isn't really in our control anymore, and a moment that you think is between two people that love each other very much is now a moment that is shared with the entire world," he said in November. Zendaya, who grew up in Northern California, admitted she lives a "pretty normal life" despite her status as one of Hollywood's most coveted stars and praised her fans for "understanding" her need for living with some sense of normalcy. The former Disney channel star became the youngest Best Actress Emmy Award winner in 2020 for her role as Rue on the HBO drama "Euphoria," and admitted she feels "incredibly grateful," as per Fox News. (ANI) American media personality and reality star Kim Kardashian's launch of her new SKKN skincare brand has hit a rough patch as she has been sued for alleged trademark infringement over its name. According to E! News, she has been sued by New York businesswoman and esthetician Cydnie Lunsford Michael Rhodes, Kardashian's lawyer, denied any wrongdoing by his client and has vowed to fight the case in court. In a statement to the outlet, he said, "We think the case is less about the law of trademarks and more about trying to leverage a settlement by threatening to harm Ms. Kardashian's name and reputation. That's not going to work and we look forward to presenting our case in court." Lunsford in her June 28 lawsuit stated that her company, Beauty Concepts, has "conducted business continuously under the SKKN+ brand in Washington, DC and/or New York, New York, since at least August 2018." She noted that the group has "used the SKKN+ Marks" in connection with offering high-end salon services as well as products sold in a physical retail store and online. The domain www.skknplus.com and the company's Instagram page were also started in 2018, with the first post containing its SKKN+ logo and advertising skincare services, reported the outlet. "Beauty Concepts actively seeks to advertise, market to, and serve clients of all genders, races, and ethnicities, specializing in corrective skincare for all skin types. Notably, Beauty Concepts is a Black-owned business and seeks to ensure its services specifically serve Black women and other women of color, who have been historically underserved, excluded, and diminished by the beauty industry," the lawsuit stated. However, as Kardashian's lawyer told E! News, "We applaud Ms. Lunsford for being a small business owner and following her dreams. But that doesn't give her the right to wrongfully claim that we've done something wrong." When Kardashian refused to drop the Skkn branding for her own line, the statement claims, Beauty Concepts challenged the star's application directly with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, according to Page Six. The lawyer claims Kardashian's camp reached out "several times" to "[try] to find a sensible path to coexistence," but that Beauty Concepts "didn't really engage with us beyond demanding a lot of money." He concluded by calling the case "less about the law of trademarks and more about trying to leverage a settlement by threatening to harm Ms. Kardashian's name and reputation," adding, "That's not going to work." As per Page Six, it's not the first time Kardashian's latest venture has landed her in hot water; earlier this month, social media critics called out the similarities between Skkn by Kim and Skn by LH, Lori Harvey's skincare brand launched in 2021. (ANI) Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut, on Thursday, via social media shared her reaction to Uddhav Thackeray's recent resignation from the post of Maharashtra Chief Minister. The 'Queen' actor took to her Instagram handle and shared a minute-long video along with the caption, "When evil takes over, destruction is imminent. After that, there is creation. The lotus of life blooms." In the video, she discussed the re-birth of democracy and stated that the current time is the most pivotal in the history of Indian democracy since 1975. Kangana further referred to her two-year-old statement regarding Uddhav Thackeray-led state government. In Hindi, the actor said, "In 2020, I had said that democracy is a belief system. And those who destroy this belief system because of greed for power are doomed. Their arrogance will be demolished. This shows a person's character." "Hanuman ji is considered the 12th avatar of Lord Shiva. And when Shiv Sena itself bans Hanuman Chalisa, even Shiva himself can't save them. Har Har Mahadev. Jai Hind, Jai Maharashtra," she added. Uddhav Thackeray submitted his resignation to state Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in Raj Bhavan on Wednesday. The Governor accepted the resignation and asked Uddhav Thackeray to continue as CM until an alternate arrangement is made. Thackeray had made the announcement about his resignation minutes after the Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed floor test in the Maharashtra assembly on Thursday. "I am resigning as the Chief Minister," he announced. He also announced his resignation as MLC. Meanwhile, on the work front, Kangana will be next seen in 'Tejas', where she portrays the role of an Indian Airforce Officer. The film will release later this year. She will also be seen in 'Emergency', which is based on the life of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. (ANI) It was confirmed a long time back that Pakistani actor, Fawad Khan, is going to be a part of the Hollywood web series 'Ms. Marvel' which is currently streaming on Disney+ Hotstar, a glimpse from the latest episode swamped the social media with fans' predictions that the actor might be a part of Episode 5 of the series. A throwback monochrome picture got viral on social media from 'Ms. Marvel's' Episode 4, in which an old man with a beard could be seen holding her daughter's hand and according to fan's theory, the man shown in the picture is none other than the 'Kapoor and Sons' actor himself. This was a blink-and-miss appearance and fans are now predicting that the 'Khoobsurat' actor will be going to be part of the next episode of the Marvel series as Kamala Khan's (the lead character) grandfather. "Ms. Marvel gave a tiny glimpse of Fawad Khan... Are we about to see Dastaan era Fawad in the next episodes?? I am so ready" a user wrote on Twitter. Another user wrote, "like y'all won't understand how exciting it was to see Farhan Akhtar in Ms. Marvel and how exciting it will be to see Fawad Khan in the next episode". 'Ms. Marvel' is an action series about a young teenage girl and is the first-ever Asian superhero character from the Hollywood production house, Marvel. Disney+ Hotstar streams new episodes of the series once a week, every Wednesday. Along with Fawad Khan, the MCU's series also casts Indian actor Farhan Akhtar in a prominent role, and it is the second time an Indian celebrity is a part of a Marvel film after actor Irrfan Khan in 'The Amazing Spider-Man" in 2012. (ANI) The world premiere of 'Matilda the Musical' is set to open at the 66th BFI London Film Festival. The Netflix adaptation stars Emma Thompson, Lashana Lynch, Stephen Graham, Andrea Riseborough and Sindhu Vee and introduces Alisha Weir as Matilda, as per Variety. Screenwriter Dennis Kelly adapted the Tony and Olivier Award-winning Royal Shakespeare Company stage production for the big screen, with original music and lyrics by Tim Minchin. Directed by Tony award-winning director Matthew Warchus, who was also behind the development and direction of the stage show for London's West End and Broadway, 'Matilda the Musical' is produced by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner for Working Title, and Jon Finn and Luke Kelly for The Roald Dahl Story Company. Matilda Wormwood (Weir) is a little girl with big curiosity whose parents (Graham and Riseborough) content themselves with trashy TV and dodgy money-making schemes. On meeting her inspirational teacher, Miss Honey (Lynch), Matilda is encouraged and begins conjuring her own fantastical tales. Excited to attend Crunchem Hall, Matilda is surprised to find the school is an ominous and oppressive place led by the villainous Miss Trunchbull (Thompson), as per Variety. Director Warchus said, "What a delight to be opening this tremendous film festival with singing, dancing, green hair and chocolate cake. It's a real honour to be sharing this joyful and empowering tale of a little girl's courage and compassion at such a prestigious event." Tricia Tuttle, director of BFI London Film Festival, added: "Like so many people who have been lucky enough to see it, I am a massive fan of this original stage musical, with Tim Minchin's infectiously brilliant songs bringing new depth to a classic of children's literature. With screenwriter Dennis Kelly, Matthew Warchus has smartly adapted his own production for the screen with absolute verve and gusto. And what a cast: Alisha Weir is a revelation as Matilda; Emma Thompson is a chillingly nasty Trunchbull and Lashana Lynch's Miss Honey will melt your heart." While the film will be released by Sony Pictures U.K. and TriStar Pictures across the United Kingdom and Ireland in cinemas on December 2, Netflix is set to release the film across the world (excluding the U.K. and Ireland) this holiday season. The 66th BFI London Film Festival in association with American Express will take place from October 5 to 16. The full program will be announced on September 1. The festival format, developed over the past two years, will continue in 2022 and will reach audiences across the United Kingdom. Along with flagship venue BFI Southbank, the festival will continue its partnership with the Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre. (ANI) All eyes are on Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor ever since the lovebirds announced their pregnancy. From fans to members of the film industry, almost everyone is currently talking about Alia and Ranbir's child. During the shoot of one of the episodes of 'Dance Deewane Juniors', the show's whole team decided to surprise Neetu Kapoor. In the promo video shared by Colors TV, host Karan Kundrra is seen congratulating the 'dadi-to-be' Neetu Kapoor. Elated Neetu Kapoor thanked everyone for their wishes. She also said that this is the happiest and best news that she could have got. Guest Farah Khan is also seen in the clip. 'Chintu ji wapas aarahe hai (Rishi Kapoor is coming back)," Farah said in the promo. At this, an emotional Neetu Kapoor responded with a big 'haan'. Alia and Ranbir tied their knot on April 14, 2022, after dating for many years, at Ranbir's Mumbai residence in an intimate ceremony. Just after two months of their marriage, the couple, on Monday, announced that they are all set to embrace parenthood. "Our baby ..... coming soon," Alia wrote on Instagram, adding a picture from her ultrasound appointment. She also posted a picture which features two lions and a lion cub. A day after announcing her pregnancy, Alia thanked everyone for their wishes. "Overwhelmed with all the love. I have tried to read everyone's messages and good wishes and all I want to say is, it truly feels so special to celebrate such a big moment of our lives with all the love and blessings. Thank you to every single one of you," she posted on Instagram. She also called out reports that claimed that the former has planned her pregnancy in such a way that her film commitments are not affected. The reports also stated that Ranbir would be flying down to the UK "to pick up" Alia. Expressing disappointment over misogynistic coverage of her pregnancy news, Alia took to Instagram Story and wrote, "Meanwhile we still live in some people's heads we still live in some patriarchal world.. FYI. Nothing has gotten delayed!!!! No one needs to PICK anyone up. I am a woman, not a parcel!!!!! I do not need to REST at all but good to know you'll have a doctors certification as well :) This is 2022. Can we pls get out of this archaic way of thinking! Now if you would excuse me.. my shot is ready." Alia is currently in the UK for the shoot of her Hollywood debut 'Heart of Stone' . (ANI) The consignment was handed over to the Indira Gandhi Children Hospital, Kabul, an official statement said. In view of the urgent appeals made by the United Nations to assist the Afghan people, India has, so far, supplied 20 tons of medical assistance in seven batches, which includes essential life-saving medicines, anti-TB medicines, 500,000 doses of Covid vaccine, etc. These medical consignments have been handed over to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Indira Gandhi Children Hospital, Kabul. In order to ensure food security in Afghanistan, India has provided food assistance of 35,000 MTs of wheat. Moreover, in the wake of the recent tragic earthquake, India, as the first responder, supplied almost 28 tons of earthquake relief assistance in two relief flights. These relief consignments were handed over to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the UN World Food Programme (WFP), and the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS). Furthermore, India is in the process to ship more medical and wheat assistance to Afghanistan in coordination with the UN agencies on the ground. --IANS jw/vd ( 220 Words) 2022-06-30-22:28:04 (IANS) In view of the national executive meeting of the BJP beginning here on July 2, Cyberabad police have prohibited flying of remotely controlled drones, para-gliders and remotely controlled micro-light aircraft around Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), the venue of the two-day meet. Cyberabad police have also imposed prohibitory orders from July 1 to 4. The orders under section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code prohibit any assembly of more than five persons. Cyberabad Police Commissioner M. Stephen Raveendra on Wednesday issued two separate notifications in this regard. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, several union ministers, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, BJP national president J.P. Nadda and other top leaders will be attending the executive meet. Drones, para-gliders and micro-light aircraft will not be allowed over 5 km radius from HICC within the jurisdiction of Cyberabad Police Commissionerate limits. The restrictions will be in force from 6 a.m. on June 30 to 6 p.m. on July 4. Cyberabad Commissioner issued a notification under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code. According to the notification, any person found violating the order shall be punishable under section 188, 121, 121(a), 287, 336, 337, 338 etc, of the Indian Penal Code. The possibility of attacks by terrorist/anti-social elements by the use of para-gliders, remote controlled drones, remote controlled micro-light aircraft etc, may endanger peace and public tranquility, reads the notification. The notification cited a memorandum issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, ISI Division/VIP Security, Government of India which brought to the notice that terrorist/anti-social elements may organize attacks through Para Gliders, Remote Controlled Drones, Remote Controlled Micro Light Aircraft etc, and that there is an increasing trend to use remote controlled drones for getting aerial views for live telecasts and photography of various events. The memorandum prescribes that State/UT Police under various sections of State Police Acts and IPC will prohibit flying of such aerial platforms over the area bounded by a circle of five km radius from the State Secretariat Complex in state capitals and two km around strategic vital installations. --IANS ms/skp/ ( 355 Words) 2022-06-29-20:38:03 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday said that it has arrested a deputy CGM and Regional Manager (North) of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) along with five others in connection with a bribery case of Rs 91,000. A CBI official said that a case was registered against Kirti Bala Malik, the depot manager, Shakil Ahmed Khan, the deputy CGM of DTC posted at Sector 3 Rohini, his former PA Sunil, a retired official of DTC, Mahender, a retired Assistant Traffic Inspector (ATI) Saffuzzama and another DTC official, Jeetu. The accused were indulging in bribes in the matter of appointment to the post of Consultant in the DTC. "During investigation, the CGM and depot manager were caught while accepting a bribe of Rs 91,000 for appointment of two candidates as Consultant in DTC. Five other accused including the bribe giver were also caught," said the CBI official. The CBI also conducted searches at the premises of the accused including Delhi, Gurugram, Sonipat. Rs 40 lakh in cash was recovered from the premises of the CGM and depot manager. All the arrested persons were produced before the Designated Court at Delhi. --IANS atk/bg ( 209 Words) 2022-06-29-20:42:03 (IANS) The Congress in Goa demanded setting up a committee under a sitting High Court judge to investigate how assembly records from 1963 to 2000 got destroyed. Amarnath Panjikar, Congress Media Cell Chairperson, on Wednesday addressed a press conference here and said that the speaker of Goa assembly should lodge a police complaint in this regard. "We demand the Chief Minister immediately conduct an inquiry of the matter by the sitting Judge of the High Court and investigate the serious lapse on part of the Government for the loss of the important documents. Government cannot turn a blind eye on this blunder and must dare to fix responsibility," Panjikar said. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday had said that assembly records of post liberation had got destroyed, while shifting the old secretariat from age-old Adil Shah Palace in Panaji to new assembly complex at Porvorim in 2000. "When I became the speaker of Goa assembly, I came to know that these records were destroyed. I wanted to preserve them. But they were destroyed. I am sorry, this should not happen. Now since 2000, we are preserving and digitisation of the same is done," Sawant had said. Panjikar said that the BJP government in the country is all out to manipulate history and destroy records of historic importance to create an impression that everything happened in the country only after 2014. "They started with the 'Parivartan' agenda in 2012 and eventually transformed it into 'Modification'. It is shocking that the most irresponsible Chief Minister Pramod Sawant revealed it almost after five years, since he became the Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly, that the important records of the speeches of tallest leader of the Bahujan Samaj and first Chief Minister of Goa Late Dayanand a.k.a Bahusaheb Bandodkar and other senior leaders are lost," Panjikar said. "Goa Assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar must file an FIR immediately to investigate the lost records as claimed by the Chief Minister and should make the Chief Minister one of the accused," Congress spokesperson Adv. Shrinivas Khalap said. --IANS sanjay/pgh ( 355 Words) 2022-06-29-20:46:02 (IANS) The AIADMK's K. Palaniswami (EPS) faction, which has gained an upper hand, is trying to convince the other section, led by former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam (OPS), on single leadership for the party, but the latter is not accepting the demand. Sources in the AIADMK told IANS that senior leaders, including former ministers S.P. Velumani, P. Thangamani, and CVe Shanmugham, met Panneerselvam at his daughter's residence here but the senior leader did not relent. The AIADMK General Council meeting will be held again on July 11 after the Madras High Court's division bench had ordered that no change must be made in the resolutions adopted at the June 23 meeting. This had upset the move of the EPS faction to get the General Council pass a new resolution making him the single General Secretary of the party. The OPS faction has already appealed to the Election Commission against the appointment of A. Tamilmagan Hussain as the Presidium Chairman of the party and argued that no General Council meeting could be held under his chairmanship. The EPS faction has moved the Supreme Court against the Madras High Court judgment, and while the AIADMK politics turning murkier, expelled interim General Secretary has commenced a state-wide tour touching to drum up support. Both Sasikala and Panneerselvam belong to the powerful Thevar community, which is a major vote bank of the AIADMK in south Tamil Nadu, and it is playing the mediatory role between the two. Meanwhile, AMMK General Secretary and Sasikala's nephew T.T.V. Dhinakaran has alleged that crores of rupees were being spent by an individual to drum up support from AIADMK office-bearers to take control of the party. He also said that this individual was "behaving like a demon" to take over the top post and June 23, when the General Council meeting was held, was a "black day" in the annals of the AIADMK. Dhinakaran also lauded the boldness shown by Panneerselvam and AIADMK Deputy Secretary R. Vatihalingam, during the June 23 General Council meeting and walking out. The statement of Dhinakaran is seen as a major move of the political alliance between Sasikala and Panneerselvam to take charge of the AIADMK. --IANS aal/vd ( 377 Words) 2022-06-29-20:50:05 (IANS) Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday said time has come for Meghalaya to oust the NPP (National People's Party) from power, which according to him is a proxy government run by the BJP. After inaugurating the Meghalaya Trinamool Congress in Shillong AITC, the party launched a pan-state membership drive in the presence of Banerjee, who urged the people of the state to support the party in its endeavour to oust the NPP government which was a "proxy government run by the BJP". He said: "Trinamool Congress is the only party that knows how to take the BJP head-on. We are the only ones who know how to show Amit Shah (Union Home Minister) his place. And that's why we have come here, to defeat divisive forces." Elaborating on the 'Be The Change' membership campaign wherein the people of Meghalaya can call on a phone number and extend their support, Banerjee said: "Time has come for another independence in Meghalaya. The people here will not compromise on their self respect and be at the mercy of other states." Slamming Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, the Trinamool Congress leader said: "Have you seen the body language of the CM when he meets BJP top brass in Delhi ? He is an elected Chief Minister representing 35 lakh Meghalayans, carrying their hopes and aspirations. Should he bow down to BJP leaders? Is this why Meghalaya voted for him? If the answer is no, please support Trinamool Congress." "Trinamool Congress' only aim is to save Meghalaya from the divisive politics of the proxy BJP government. Our only goal is also to empower the people, uphold the different ethnic cultures and celebrate the sacred land of Meghalaya."Hitting out at the BJP led government at the Centre as well as the state, Banerjee said: "Under the false narrative of double engine government, they are doing double heist and double robbery. We elected Conrad K Sangma with hope but he has become Con-Man Sangma." Asserting that the Trinamool Congress is a national party, he said: "The Opposition will try to brand us as Bengali, but I promise that Meghalaya will be run by the people of Meghalaya and not by Bengalis. Can the BJP put this on record that none of their governments will be run by Gujarat or Delhi ?" When asked about NDA's Presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu, the he said: "Trinamool Congress does not believe in token representation. If you (BJP) want to address the issues faced by SC or tribal communities, you have to end atrocities against them. We had a Dalit President earlier, but did things actually become better for the Dalit community ?" "Each one of you has to make a commitment to yourself that in 2023, Meghalaya will show the world its power, capability, and strength. Be it 2023 or 2024, a democratic sun should rise in the East." Trinamool's Meghalaya state president Charles Pyngrope, legislature party leader and former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma and the party's Meghalaya in-charge Manas Ranjan Bhunia among others were present in the gathering. The Trinamool Congress is trying hard to extend its political base in Assam, Tripura besides Meghalaya. --IANS sc/pgh ( 540 Words) 2022-06-29-20:56:05 (IANS) Conjoined twins Veena and Vani defied all odds to clear Class 12 board exams in first class and they now want to become chartered accountants. While Veena scored 712, Vani got 707 in the Intermediate Public Examination (IPE) conducted by the Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TSBIE). The 18-year-olds aspire to become chartered accountants. They expressed their aspiration before Education Minister P. Sabitha Indra Reddy and Minister for Women and Child Welfare Satyavathi Rathod when they called on the twins on Wednesday to congratulate them on their success. The ministers assured Veena and Vani all support for their higher studies. "I am so proud of Vani and Veena. God has a special place in his heart for special children like you. I wish you the very best," Sabitha Indra Reddy tweeted after meeting the twins. The conjoined twins had also done well in Class 10 board exams. Veena scored 9.3 GPA while Vani got 9.2 GPA. In the Intermediate exams held last month, the twins had told the authorities that they don't want any special privileges. They also refused to avail of the extra time offered to them. This was despite the Covid-19 pandemic affecting their studies. Satyavathi said the twins excelled in the exams though the classes were conducted for only five months. Veena and Vani were born to a poor couple in Telangana's Warangal district on October 15, 2003. The couple, both daily wage labourers, abandoned the girls saying they have no resources to take care of them. Since then, the state government has been taking care of the two. Doctors could not separate the twins as they shared critical blood vessels. Initially raised in a government-run hospital, they were later shifted to Shishu Vihar, the child care centre run by the Department of Women and Child Welfare. --IANS ms/arm ( 315 Words) 2022-06-29-22:36:03 (IANS) A hybrid terrorist of the LeT was arrested from Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora in a joint operation by security forces on Wednesday, police said. Police said that acting on specific input, police, along with army and the CRPF, held the hybrid terrorist at a joint checkpoint established at Papchan area of Bandipora, and seized a Chinese grenade which he had kept inside the boot of his two-wheeler. He has been identified as Mehboob-ul-Inam, alias Farhaan, son of Inam-ul-Haq Shah and resident of Nadihal, Bandipora. "During interrogation/questioning, he disclosed that on the directions of proscribed terror outfit LeT, he has made a hideout inside his shop at Nadihal Market where LeT terrorists namely Hyder alias Abu Muslim, Abu Ismail alias Faisal, Abu Hamza Okasha and Gulzar alias Faizan used to stay," police said. "Furthermore, he also confessed that they had kept arms and ammunition inside the said hideout, which they were planning to provide to new recruits from north Kashmir, particularly youths from Bandipora to strengthen the LeT cadre and to enhance terrorist related activities." Police said subsequent to the disclosure, the said hideout was busted and huge cache of arms and ammunition including three AK-47 rifles, 10 AK Magazines, 380 AK live rounds, three pouches, two YSMS Set, two boxes of detonators, 26 chargeable pencil cells, one chargeable adaptor, two bottles of penetrating oil (Sprayed Lubricant), a Matric sheet, two Pak-made nylon threads, 36 boxes of high carbon steel bombs, five wire sets for IED, two kgs (appx) of IED explosive (RDX), two Quechua bags, etc. were recovered. A case under relevant sections of law has been registered and further investigation is in progress. --IANS zi/vd ( 288 Words) 2022-06-29-23:16:02 (IANS) A terrorist associate of proscribed terror outfit LeT was arrested from Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam on Wednesday in connection with a case pertaining to the busting of a narco-terror funding module, police said. He has been identified as Showkat Ahmed Ganie alias R.K., resident of Shiekhpora Wathoora, Chadoora.A Police said during the investigation, it came to fore that the arrested terrorist associate was also involved in providing logistic support to proscribed terror outfit LeT by distributing proceeds of narcotics to active terrorists and terror operatives of the outfit. --IANS zi/vd ( 99 Words) 2022-06-29-23:20:08 (IANS) Karnataka will launch the redesigned web portal 'Skill Connect' of the Skill Development Department on July 15. According to Skill Development Minister CN Ashwath Narayan, the portal would enable bringing both job aspirants and employers onto a single platform. "This portal would enable assessment of skill gap by providing access to job opportunities. This would also facilitate filling the shortage of human resources required for industries. The portal which existed earlier has now been redesigned to make it more effective," he explained. The Minister said the government has collaborated with companies with the objective of imparting skills to students and that there should not be a mismatch between industry demands and skills acquired by students. The technology is being effectively made use of to bring about transformation in the system, he stated. Under National Education Policy (NEP 2020), learning Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, and Cyber Security has been made mandatory. The State of Karnataka is the first in the country to enter into an MoU with NASSCOM with the objective of imparting skills to students. Likewise, the government has entered into a pact with Infosys SpringBoard, which has 5,000 add-on courses, Minister explained. There are about 1,200 ITIs across the state wherein 1.5 lakh students can be accommodated on long-term courses and 1 lakh students on short-term courses. The admissions in Polytechnics have risen from 30,000 students to 75,000 and there are GTTCs in 31 districts across the state. Except for Medical Course, there is no shortage of seats in any other course, stated Narayan. (ANI) The arrested accused have been identified as Vivek Langayan, Senior Divisional Signal and Telecommunication Engineer (IRSSE: 2010 Batch) and Praween Kumar, Chief Office Superintendent. Both were posted in the office of DRM in Ambala Cantt. They were accused of demanding and accepting bribe of Rs 1.80 lakh from the complainant. CBI said that a case was registered on a complaint against the accused on the allegations of demanding bribe. It was alleged that the complainant (a contractor of Railways in Punjab and Haryana) was awarded two contracts through an open tender of Rs 92 lakh and Rs 1.15 crore, and after completion of the project, he had submitted revised estimates. It was further alleged that Chief Office Superintendent demanded a bribe in lieu of approval of revised estimates which was two per cent of the gross contract value on behalf of the Senior Divisional Signal and Telecommunication Engineer. CBI laid a trap and caught the accused while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs. 1.8 lakh from the complainant. Searches at residential and office premises of both accused in Ambala were conducted which led to the recovery of incriminating documents. Both the arrested accused were produced on Wednesday in the competent court at Panchkula. (ANI) The stage is set for the return of a BJP-led government in Maharasthra with Uddhav Thackeray resigning as chief minister shortly after the Supreme Court declined to stay the floor test called by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in a special Assembly session on Thursday. The BJP which is the single-largest party in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly with 106 MLAs, is likely to stake claim to form the government. As Leader of the Opposition, Devendra Fadnavis is set to stake claim to the Chief Minister''s post for the third time. Fadnavis, who met the party''s top brass twice in a week in Delhi, said that the future course of action will be announced today. Thackeray took to social media yesterday to address the people of the state in which he announced his decision to step down as chief minister and as a Member of the Legislative Council. The announcement brought an end to the political crisis that erupted in the state for over a week with a faction of Shiv Sena MLAs revolting against him for joining hands with NCP and Congress to form the government. In his address, Thackeray said, "I am resigning as the Chief Minister and also as an MLC." The statement was followed by a celebration in the Shinde faction which had been camping in first Surat, then Guwahati and had landed in Goa on Wednesday night. The BJP, on the other hand, is likely to hold a series of meetings to deliberate on the formation of government in the state along with the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs. The BJP would approach the Governor to stake claim to form the government, which the Shinde faction would back with their 39 Shiv Sena MLAs and other independents. Last night, a number of MLAs flocked to the residence of former chief minister Fadnavis and exchanged greetings and sweets after the Thackeray government fell. The BJP has asked all its MLAs to be present in Mumbai. Meanwhile, party''s state unit chief Chandrakant Patil said that Eknath Shinde, who led the faction of rebel MLAs and had been staying in Guwahati since June 22, along with Fadnavis will decide the next course of action. FAdnavis was chief minister in 2014 and in 2019 was CM for just 3 days. Earlier on Wednesday, the Supreme Court gave its go-ahead for a floor test in Maharashtra Assembly today as it refused to stay the state Governor''s decision which was challenged by Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu. "We are not staying tomorrow''s floor test," the Supreme Court bench said. The court also issued notice on Shiv Sena Chief Whip Sunil Prabhu''s plea and said that tomorrow''s floor test will be subject to the outcome of the present petition. The court will hear his plea on July 11. A vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and J B Pardiwala had earlier in the day reserved the decision on the plea filed by Sunil Prabhu challenging Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari''s direction to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to hold the floor test on June 30 (Thursday). Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had asked the Uddhav Thackeray government in the state to prove a majority on the floor of the House on June 30 stating that the "present political scenario" unfolding in the state paints a "very disturbing picture." Maharashtra assembly secretary Rajendra Bhagwat has informed all MLAs of the Maharashtra Assembly that as per orders of Governor there is no need of a Floor Test now and today''s special session is not being convened. (ANI) Maharashtra Assembly Secretary Rajendra Bhagwat has informed all state MLAs that as per the Governor's orders the special session that was scheduled on Thursday will now not be convened. The special Assembly was scheduled today with the only agenda of a Trust Vote against the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray Minister who resigned as chief minister late Wednesday evening. In a circular, Rajendra Bhagwat, Principal Secretary, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, informed all state MLAs that as per the Governor's orders, there's no need for a floor test now, so today's special session will not be convened. The Floor Test that was convened by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was challenged in the Supreme Court by the Shiv Sena. The apex court, however, declined to stay the Floor Test and in its observation said that the floor of the House was the only way to settle these issues of democracy. Minutes after the order by the top court, Thackeray addressed the people of the state via social media in which he announced his decision to step down as chief minister and as a Member of the Legislative Council. The announcement brought an end to the political crisis that erupted in the state for over a week with a faction of Shiv Sena MLAs revolting against him for joining hands with NCP and Congress to form the government. Meanwhile, the stage is set for the return of a BJP-led government in the state with the party, which is the single-largest party in the Maharashtra Assembly with 106 MLAs, likely to stake claim to form the government. As Leader of the Opposition, Devendra Fadnavis is set to stake claim to the Chief Minister's post for the third time. Fadnavis, who met the party's top brass twice in a week in Delhi, said that the future course of action will be announced today. The BJP, on the other hand, is likely to hold a series of meetings to deliberate on the formation of government in the state along with the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde, which had been camping in first Surat, then Guwahati and had landed in Goa on Wednesday night. The BJP will approach the Governor to stake claim to form the government, which the Shinde faction would back with their 39 Shiv Sena MLAs and other independents. (ANI) Speaking to ANI, Sinha said today the first Puja was completed and devotees from all over the country have come for the Amarnath Yatra. "I have full faith that by the grace of Mahadev and Baba Amarnath, the journey will be successful. I wish devotees have good 'Darshan' and hope that they go back home safely," he said. Earlier this week, Sinha reviewed the security arrangements and preparations for Amarnath Yatra in Jammu. He also chaired a review meeting with Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Ramesh Kumar, Deputy Commissioner Jammu Avny Lavasa, ADGP Jammu Mukesh Singh and other officials. Meanwhile, the first batch of Amarnath pilgrims, who started from Jammu on Wednesday morning reached Nunwan Pahalgam base camp in the Anantnag district of South Kashmir. The Yatra began yesterday from Jammu amid tight security arrangements made by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) along with the army and the local police. The Amarnath shrine pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine of Lord Shiva, located in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, is held from the twin routes of Pahalgam and Baltal. The Jammu and Kashmir government had cancelled the annual Amarnath pilgrimage due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation in 2020 and 2021 after a discussion with Amarnathji Shrine Board members. Security has been tightened in Jammu and Kashmir with special emphasis on the use of over 130 sniffer dogs on the vehicle routes heading towards the shrine to ensure safe pilgrimage amid heightened terror threats. A top government official, requesting anonymity, told ANI that this is the first time when the security forces have been using a maximum number of sniffer dogs to check the use of explosives by terrorists to disrupt the 43-day annual pilgrimage beginning on June 30. (ANI) Clearing the air around the distribution of portfolio with the BJP, Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde on Thursday said that there has been no discussion with the latter, however, adding that the talks will happen soon. The leader also asked not to believe the ministerial lists and the rumours surrounding them. "There has been no discussion with the BJP about the distribution of ministerial seats which and how many ministerial posts, it will happen soon. Until then, please don't believe the ministerial lists and rumours about it," he tweeted. Shinde further said that the party's focus is to follow the idea of Hindutva as per Balasaheb Thackeray, the founder of Shiv Sena. "Venerable Hindu Heart Emperor Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray's idea of Hindutva, Dharmaveer Anand Dighe Saheb's teachings, overall development of Maharashtra and development works in the constituency of MLAs is our focus," he tweeted. The Floor Test that was convened by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was challenged in the Supreme Court by the Shiv Sena. The apex court, however, declined to stay the Floor Test and in its observation said that the floor of the House was the only way to settle these issues of democracy. Minutes after the order by the top court, Thackeray addressed the people of the state via social media in which he announced his decision to step down as chief minister and as a Member of the Legislative Council. The announcement brought an end to the political crisis that erupted in the state for over a week with a faction of Shiv Sena MLAs revolting against him for joining hands with NCP and Congress to form the government. Meanwhile, the stage is set for the return of a BJP-led government in the state with the party, which is the single-largest party in the Maharashtra Assembly with 106 MLAs, likely to stake claim to form the government. As Leader of the Opposition, Devendra Fadnavis is set to stake claim to the Chief Minister's post for the third time. Fadnavis, who met the party's top brass twice in a week in Delhi, said that the future course of action will be announced today. The BJP, on the other hand, is likely to hold a series of meetings to deliberate on the formation of government in the state along with the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde, which had been camping in first Surat, then Guwahati and had landed in Goa on Wednesday night. The BJP will approach the Governor to stake claim to form the government, which the Shinde faction would back with their 39 Shiv Sena MLAs and other independents. (ANI) Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said that he would appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office tomorrow after the investigating agency declined his request to provide some extra time for his appearance in connection with a money laundering case. The ED had sent him a second summons to appear before July 1, after he failed to appear in his first summon on Monday due to the then political crisis in Maharashtra. Notably, Raut is being probed in connection with the re-development of Mumbai's Patra Chawl. His lawyer had sought 13-14 days time to present the documents in front of the probe agency, however, the request was declined by the Agency. "I will be going to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office tomorrow," said the Shiv Sena leader while speaking to the media here. Referring to Uddhav Thackeray's resignation from the post of the Chief Minister on Wednesday evening, he said that Shiv Sena will work and come to power "on our own once again". "Shiv Sena is not born for power, power is born for Shiv Sena. This has always been Balasaheb Thackeray's mantra. We will work & come to power on our own once again," he said. Raut said that Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar have trust in Uddhav Thackeray. "We got emotional yesterday when Uddhav Thackeray resigned as Chief Minister. Everyone has faith in Uddhav Thackeray; people of every caste and religion support him. Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar trust him," he said. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Assembly Secretary Rajendra Bhagwat has informed all state MLAs that as per the Governor's orders the special session that was scheduled on Thursday will now not be convened. The Floor Test that was convened by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was challenged in the Supreme Court by the Shiv Sena. The apex court, however, declined to stay the Floor Test and in its observation said that the floor of the House was the only way to settle these issues of democracy. Minutes after the order by the top court, Thackeray addressed the people of the state via social media in which he announced his decision to step down as chief minister and as a Member of the Legislative Council. The announcement brought an end to the political crisis that erupted in the state for over a week with a faction of Shiv Sena MLAs revolting against him for joining hands with NCP and Congress to form the government. Meanwhile, the stage is set for the return of a BJP-led government in the state with the party, which is the single-largest party in the Maharashtra Assembly with 106 MLAs, likely to stake claim to form the government. As Leader of the Opposition, Devendra Fadnavis is set to stake claim to the Chief Minister's post for the third time. Fadnavis, who met the party's top brass twice in a week in Delhi, said that the future course of action will be announced today. (ANI) Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday appealed to the people to help maintain law and order in the state and assured that no criminal will be spared irrespective of any religion or community. His remarks come after tension in the state over the murder of a tailor on June 28 by two men in Udaipur. The Chief Minister termed the incident as very unfortunate and assured that the state government is working diligently to maintain law and order. "Rajasthan is known for communal cordiality and harmony. The example of brotherhood and unity here is given all over the country. A youth has been brutally murdered in Udaipur on June 28, 2022, which is very unfortunate. The state government is working diligently to maintain law and order," Gehlot said. He further said that the local police have registered the case under Sections 16, 18 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act-1967 (UAPA) and Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code read Section 153 A, 153 B, 295 A 452 and 35. "Simultaneously, a SIT was formed for a detailed investigation of the incident. Quick arrest of both the main accused has been done with the promptness of the police. In the preliminary investigation, it has come to the fore that the accused are related to foreign organizations. Hence this incident is being investigated by the NIA. State's Anti-Terrorist Squad and Special Operation Group (ATS & SOG) have been directed to extend full cooperation in the investigation being conducted by NIA," he added. "I want to assure the people of the state that no matter how big the criminal may be and of any religion or community, he will not be spared under any circumstances. We are committed to maintaining peace, communal harmony and brotherhood in the state," the Chief Minister said. He also urged religious leaders, public representatives of the people and social activists to appeal to people to ensure peace in the society. "The people of the state should not be misled by the anti-social elements who create unrest and spoil the atmosphere. In order not to create an atmosphere of fear and unrest in society, do not broadcast any such material and video on other platforms including social media. I humbly appeal to the people of the state that everyone should fulfill their responsibility in maintaining law and order and peace and if you have any information or information about disturbing peace and harmony, then definitely inform it by calling on 100/101," he added. Rajasthan Police on Wednesday had said that the main accused involved in the killing of the tailor in Udaipur were in touch with Pakistan-based organisation Dawat-e-Islami and one of them had also gone to Karachi in Pakistan in 2014 to visit the organisation. Kanhaiya Lal a tailor was hacked to death inside his shop in Udaipur by two men in broad daylight on June 28 for allegedly posting content in support of suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma. The beheading had sparked public outrage across the country. Upon the direction of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday took over the investigation of the murder, officials said. The anti-terror agency has also filed a First Information Report (FIR) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act as well as various sections of the Indian Penal Code, a senior NIA official told ANI requesting anonymity. A four-member NIA team under the supervision of an Inspector General and a Deputy Inspector General (DIG)-rank officers reached Udaipur last night and began its investigation. The incident took place in Udaipur's Maldas area on June 28. Soon after committing the crime, the two accused posted a video on social media boasting about the "beheading" and threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi's life as well, police said. The two accused were arrested within hours of the incident. The assailants identified themselves in the video as Riyaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad. In the video, Riyaz was seen attacking 47-year-old Kanhaiya Lal with a sharp-edged weapon while the other, Ghouse, recorded the crime on his mobile phone. Notably, Kanhaiya had also filed a complaint with the police about receiving threats. The victim reportedly had recently shared a social media post in support of Nupur Sharma-- former BJP spokesperson who had made controversial remarks against Prophet Mohammad. Section 144 has also been imposed for a month in Udaipur. A state-wide alert has also been issued to all Superintendents of Police and Inspector Generals in the state to increase the mobility of forces and to maintain officers on the ground. (ANI) Dhankar Dhankhar wrote to the chief minister on Wednesday evening after receiving a complaint from the state BJP. "A 10-member BJP delegation led by Hon'ble Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, in a representation, enclosed hereto, has sought constitutional intervention for your June 28 Asansol statement 'Declaring 21 July, 2022 as "A day of 'jihad" against the BJP'," the West Bengal Governor said in his letter. "The statement, revealed in the video, is most unfortunate and indicates constitutional anarchy. It defies logic and reason as to how one under the Oath of Constitution and holding the position of Chief Minister could make such pernicious declaration of `jihad' against a political party. This is death-knell of democracy and rule of law. Nothing can be more authoritarian and undemocratic," Dhankar further wrote. Dhankhar urged Mamata to withdraw the statement. "I cannot but take strongest possible exception to your statement. To subserve democratic values and constitutionalism, you are urged to forthwith withdraw this most unconstitutional declaration of 'jihad' against the BJP on 21 July, 2022," the West Bengal Governor wrote. Notably, the TMC organises a rally every year on July 21 as 'Shaheed Diwas' to commemorate those killed in the 1993 firing incident in Kolkata. (ANI) The Delhi High court on Wednesday granted bail to a 77-year-old woman who was arrested in a cheating case. She was arrested on return from Canada and has been in judicial custody since May 31, 2022. The case is connected with the alleged cheating of Rs 37 lakhs in the Agreement to sale of property for Rs 3.80 crores. A vacation bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula granted bail to Bhagwati Sharma on the condition of furnishing a bond of Rs 50,000 and security of solvent property. The bench observed, "Keeping in view the clean antecedents and period for which she has already been in jail, this Court is inclined to allow the instant petition seeking regular bail." The counsel for the accused submitted that the petitioner is a 77-year-old widow who has been in judicial custody since May 31, 2022. It was argued by the counsel that a dispute of civil nature has been given a criminal colour and the accused herein who was in Canada with her daughter was arrested on her arrival in India. The petitioner was abroad in Toronto, Canada from 2017 onwards and did not have any notice or knowledge about the present FIR and consequent proceedings. This case pertains to the FIR which was registered on a complaint by Krishan Kumar Narang. It is alleged that the complainant entered into an Agreement to Sell dated October 18, 2016 (ATS) with the applicant for Rs. 3.80 Crores whereunder advance sale consideration of Rs. 37 lakhs was paid to the applicant. Thereafter, the transaction fell apart. It is alleged that the applicant has cheated the complainant regarding non-fulfilment of the obligations envisaged under the ATS and then by executing a Sale Deed on May 15, 2017 for the same property, in favour of Sukhdev Malhotra, Vibha Jain and Purnima Sharma, who are co-accused in the case. (ANI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday said that the state government won't tolerate religious frenzy in the state after violence erupted in parts of Rajasthan over Udaipur beheading case. Home Department, administration and police have been instructed to take strict action in this regard, including special action on social media if any activity affecting religious sentiments will be circulated. "Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that the state govt won't tolerate religious frenzy in the state. Home Dept, admin and police have been instructed to take strict action in this regard, including special action on social media if any activity affects religious sentiments," Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said. On Wednesday, Uttarakhand Director General of Police Ashok Kumar said that vigil is being maintained in the state and all the superintendents of police in the districts have been instructed to remain alert. Regarding the Udaipur incident, DGP Uttarakhand said that whatever the incident of Udaipur, it is a very heinous incident. "In view of this, we have issued an alert in all the districts of Uttarakhand since yesterday. No person is allowed to disturb the peace in any case. We will maintain law and order in the entire state," he said. A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was on Tuesday sent to Rajasthan's Udaipur after a man was beheaded by two men in broad daylight. The NIA team includes a Deputy Inspector General (DIG)-rank officer, a source told ANI, adding the move comes following an order issued from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The incident took place in Udaipur's Maldas area. Soon after committing the crime, the two accused posted a video on social media boasting about the beheading and threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi's life as well, police said. The accused were arrested within hours of the incident. One of the assailants, who was identified as Riyaz Akhtar, attacked Kanhaiya Lal with a sharp-edged weapon while the other, Ghos Mohammad, recorded the crime on his mobile phone, police said. Following the murder, local markets in the area were shut as the traders demanded justice for the victim. BJP had suspended Nupur Sharma over her controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad.A statewide alert has been issued to all Superintendents of Police and Inspector Generals in Rajasthan to increase the mobility of forces and to maintain officers on the ground. (ANI) Police on Thursday seized a huge quantity of contraband drugs worth Rs 5-8 crore in Guwahati and arrested four members of an international drug network. According to the police, the arrested persons were identified as Md. Islam Uddin, Md. Aboi, Md. Sakir Ahmed and hail from Manipur. The fourth accused is identified as Md. Abbad Ali from Bihar. Based on secret information, a team of Guwahati city police led by Partha Sarathi Mahanta, Joint Commissioner of Police had launched an operation in the Gorchuk area in the city and intercepted a dumper truck. "During the investigation, we found one lakh Yaba tablets from the dumper truck. The market value of the seized drugs is estimated around Rs 5-8 crore," Mahanta said. He further said that police also arrested four members of an international drug network including three from Manipur and seized the dumper truck. The consignment was targeted to deliver to Bangladesh, the police officer further said. (ANI) Dr MORI Masafumi, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of Japan co-chaired the meeting from the Japanese side, according to an official statement by Railway Ministry. During the meeting, a presentation, and a video film were shown regarding the progress of the project. Further, issues related to funding, contracts and execution were discussed for mutual resolution and targeted commissioning of the project, the statement read. Joint Committee meeting between the Government of India and the Government of Japan is the highest consultative body for taking ahead projects of mutual interests and benefits. The Japanese Government is committed to funding the MAHSR projects with a soft loan and technical and financial cooperation. The meeting was fruitful and productive and finalized strategic issues for the early completion of the project. Both sides agreed to work to Hon'ble PM's view of One Project- One team in the overall interest of the project, it added. (ANI) At least seven persons were killed and 13 others injured, after a massive landslide struck near a railway construction camp in Manipur's Noney district, officials said on Thursday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said rescue operations are underway with National Disaster Response Force personnel at the site of the incident which took place on Wednesday midnight when the landslide hit the construction camp. The North East Frontier Railway CPRO said the landslide triggered by incessant rains caused damage to Tupul station building of ongoing Jiribam - Imphal new line project. "Landslide also stuck the track formation, camps of construction workers and a rescue operations is in progress," the NF Railway CPRO said. So far, 19 people have been rescued and are being treated at Noney Army Medical unit. Evacuation of critically injured in progress but bad weather and fresh landslides are hampering rescue operations, the CPRO said. Shah also spoke to Chief Minister N Biren Singh and Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. He said that two more teams of NDRF are on their way to Tupul. "Spoke to CM @NBirenSingh and @AshwiniVaishnaw in the wake of a landslide near the Tupul railway station in Manipur. Rescue operations are in full swing. A team of NDRF has already reached the spot and joined the rescue operations. 2 more teams are on their way to Tupul," Shah tweeted. The incident took place on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday near the company location of 107 Territorial Army of Indian Army deployed near Tupul Railway Station in Noney district for protection of the under-construction railway line from Jiribam to Imphal. According to an official statement, full-scale rescue operations are in progress by columns of the Indian Army and Assam Rifles. "The available engineer plant equipment on site has been pressed into the rescue efforts," officials said. The injured individuals are being treated at Noney Army Medical unit. "Evacuation of the critically injured personnel is in progress. The flow of Ijai river has been affected due to the landslide," said officials. Meanwhile, Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh has convened an emergency meeting to monitor the situation. (ANI) Maharashtra CM-designate Eknath Shinde on Thursday said the decision taken is committed to Balasaheb's Hindutva and for development work in the constituencies of the 50 MLAs supporting him. Shinde will take oath as the Maharashtra Chief Minister, a day after Uddhav Thackeray announced his resignation from the top post bringing an end to the 31-month-old Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. He said that the oath-taking ceremony of Shinde as Maharashtra CM will be held at 7.30 pm today. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis made the announcement on Thursday after meeting Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari to stake a claim to form the government in the state. "A total of 50 MLAs are with us, including 40 MLAs from Shiv Sena...We have fought this battle so far with their help...I will not let even a scratch mar the trust that these 50 people have placed in me - let alone break that trust," Shinde told media persons in a joint conference with Fadnavis here. He said, "The decision that we have taken is committed to Balasaheb's Hindutva and for the development work in the constituencies of our MLAs. We have 50 MLAs with us." Maharashtra CM-designate Shinde further said that though BJP has 120 MLAs, but Fadnavis did not take up the post of Chief Minister. "BJP has 120 MLAs but despite that Devendra Fadnavis didn't take the post of CM. I express my gratitude to him along with PM Modi, Amit Shah and other BJP leaders that they showed generosity and made Balasaheb's Sainik (party-worker) the CM of the state," he said. Shinde asserted that the rebel Shiv Sena leaders already advised former CM Thackeray on the need for improvement in the development work, hence, demanded a natural alliance with BJP. "We went to former CM Thackeray with our constituency's grievances and development work and advised him on the need for improvement as we started realizing that it would be difficult for us to win the next elections. We demanded a natural alliance with BJP," he said. Meanwhile, Fadnavis said that Shiv Sena and BJP together had required numbers in Assembly elections, however, the party chose to get into an alliance with Congress and NCP. Fadnavis said, "In 2019, BJP and Shiv Sena had an alliance and we got the required numbers in Assembly elections. We hoped to form the government but Shiv Sena chose to get into an alliance with those against whom Balasaheb protested throughout his life. Shiv Sena insulted the mandate of the people." "Shiv Sena MLAs were demanding that the alliance with Congress and NCP should be ended but Uddhav Thackeray ignored these MLAs and gave priority to MVA alliance partners, that's why these MLAs intensified their voices," Fadnavis added. Fadnavis also decided that he will stay out of the government. "After the swearing-in ceremony today, we will have a cabinet expansion and Shiv Sena and BJP leaders will take the oath. I will stay out of the government," he added. Thackeray became Chief Minister after Shiv Sena joined hands with Nationalist Congress Party and Congress to form the government in Maharashtra following the 2019 Assembly elections. Shiv Sena leadership had differences with its pre-poll ally BJP and wanted the post of Chief Minister. (ANI) Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde will take oath as the Maharashtra Chief Minister, a day after Uddhav Thackeray announced his resignation from the top post bringing to an end the 31-month-old Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis made the announcement on Thursday after meeting Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari to stake a claim to form the government in the state. He said that the oath-taking ceremony of Shinde as Maharashtra CM will be held at 7.30 pm today. "Eknath Shinde to be the Maharashtra Chief Minister, oath ceremony to be held at 7.30 pm today," Fadnavis told media persons in a press conference here. At present, the BJP has 106 MLAs in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly and Shinde is leading 39 rebel Shiv Sena legislators and some Independents. After the death of a Shiv Sena MLA recently, the current strength of the Assembly is reduced to 287, thus the majority mark is 144. Shinde, who has been leading a rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray following the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls, met Fadnavis at the latter's residence today. Earlier today, a spokesperson of the Shinde camp, Deepak Kesarkar said that rebels have given Shinde full authority to take a decision on the cabinet berth-sharing in the government. He said that they did not revolt for the cabinet berths, but for the development of the state. Clearing the air around the distribution of portfolios with the BJP, Shinde had said that there has been no discussion, but talks will happen soon. Maharashtra Assembly Secretary Rajendra Bhagwat has informed all state MLAs that as per the Governor's orders the special session that was scheduled on Thursday will now not be convened. In a circular, Rajendra Bhagwat, Principal Secretary, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, informed all state MLAs that as per the Governor's orders, there's no need for a floor test now, so today's special session will not be convened. The Floor Test that was convened by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was challenged in the Supreme Court by the Shiv Sena. The apex court, however, declined to stay the Floor Test and in its observation said that the floor of the House was the only way to settle these issues of democracy. Minutes after the order by the top court on Wednesday, Thackeray addressed the people of the state via social media in which he announced his decision to step down as chief minister and as a Member of the Legislative Council. Thackeray, whose party's internal revolt brought down the MVA government, said he came to power in "an unexpected manner" and was "going out in a similar fashion". "I had come (to power) in an unexpected manner and I am going out in a similar fashion. I am not going away forever, I will be here, and I will once again sit in Shiv Sena Bhavan. I will gather all my people. I am resigning as the CM and as an MLC," he said. Thackeray became Chief Minister after Shiv Sena joined hands with Nationalist Congress Party and Congress to form the government in Maharashtra following the 2019 Assembly elections. Shiv Sena leadership had differences with its pre-poll ally BJP and wanted the post of Chief Minister. (ANI) The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned for July 13 the hearing of the plea filed by alleged 'conman' Sukesh Chandrashekhar and his wife Leena Paulose seeking transfer from Tihar jail to any other prison outside Delhi on the ground of a threat to his life. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala adjourned the hearing saying there is no urgency in the case. The apex court adjourned the matter after noting that the affidavit filed by Chandrashekhar and his wife in response to the affidavit of the Enforcement Directorate is not yet on record. The bench also said that after June 13 order, no harm will be caused to Chandrashekhar in Tihar jail. "Nobody will touch you (Chandrashekhar)," told Justice Kant to the petitioner's lawyer. Last week the Central government told the top court that Chandrashekhar and his wife who are currently lodged in Tihar Jail could be shifted to another jail -- Mandoli Jail in Delhi. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju representing the Centre had told the bench that Chandrashekhar could be transferred to Mandoli Jail in Delhi and the prison is guarded by paramilitary forces. As a senior advocate, R Basant, appearing for Chandrashekhar, objected to shifting him to Mandoli Jail, the apex court had asked him to file a statement in response to the Centre's proposal to transfer him to Mandoli prison. ASG Raju had told the bench that shifting Chandrashekhar from Tihar Jail was unwarranted. While being lodged in jail, he was involved in all illegal activities and he had also called up some judges impersonating the Law Minister asking them to pass orders in his favor, the ASG had argued. Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sought prosecution of Chandrashekhar for perjury claiming that he has falsely stated in his affidavit about a physical assault in Tihar Jail and deliberately omitted the report of the doctors who ruled out any physical injury to him. The investigating agency had opposed his plea before the top court to transfer him and his wife from Tihar Jail to any other prison outside Delhi on the ground of a threat to his life. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for ED, had said that Chandrashekhar used to call models and celebrities to his jail in collusion with prison staff, who have been suspended and an inquiry has been ordered against them. ED had told the top court that Chandrashekhar indulged in money laundering, extortion, and impersonation of public officials including that of those holding constitutional posts, and had opposed his plea for prison transfer outside Delhi. Director General (Prisons), Delhi Prisons in an affidavit had stated that the contentions of Chandrashekhar that he was assaulted in jail are vehemently denied as totally and wholly false and "fabricated for the ulterior motive of seeking transfer to another prison in order to repeat his misdemeanors and offenses." Chandrashekhar's counsel had told the bench that his client continuously faces threats to his life from the jail staff and protection money is being sought from him. The Supreme Court on June 13 said that it would be appropriate to transfer Chandrashekhar and his wife to some other jail so to allay the apprehension of all concerned and asked the Centre to take a decision on the appropriate jail to which he can be transferred. Chandrashekhar is lodged in Tihar jail on charges of money laundering and duping several persons and claimed a threat to his life in the prison. Chandrashekhar along with his wife had moved the top court seeking his transfer from Tihar Jail to another prison. He said that since he has leveled allegations against jail officials, he faces a threat to his life. He had alleged that the Tihar prison authorities have extorted around Rs 12.5 crore from him in the last two years. He is charged with many multi-crore fraud cases and is also accused of extorting Rs 200 crore from the family of former Fortis Healthcare and Ranbaxy Lab promoters Shivinder and Malvinder Singh from the premises of the prison. He was also arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to the 2017 Election Commission bribery instance allegedly involving former AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran and others. A number of women Bollywood actors and models have been questioned by the ED for their alleged links to Chandrashekhar. (ANI) The event will take place on the eve of National Doctors' Day, which is celebrated on July 1 every year. Different activities take place during this day in medical colleges all over the country. According to the official sources, the Union Health Minister will be hosting the top rank holders' dinner at home in the evening today. This is the first time when a Union Health Minister will be interacting with top rankers from Master of Dental Surgery (MDS), Master of Science (MS) courses, Doctor of Medicine (MD) A total of 50 medical students will interact with the minister. The Union Health Minister will also be felicitating doctors at Lady Hardinge College in New Delhi on July 1. National Doctors' Day is celebrated every year in the memory of Dr BC Roy, who also served as the chief minister of West Bengal. Last year addressing an event organized by Indian Medical Association on National Doctors' Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the doctors on behalf of 130 crore Indians for their services during the difficult times of the COVID pandemic. Acknowledging the doctor's contribution, the Prime Minister recalled their heroic efforts during the pandemic and paid homage to those who laid down their lives in the service of humanity. (ANI) After meeting the family members of Kanhaiya Lal, who was killed by two men on June 28 in Udaipur, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday held a meeting with officials of the state pertaining to law and order situation in the state. The chief minister spoke to the family members and relatives of the Udaipur incident victim. He further urged National Investigative Agency (NIA) to punish the guilty within a month. "Our police did a good job; arrested the accused and found international links, which is why NIA came into the picture... We'll appeal to take this case via fast track. We want NIA to be time-bound and punish the guilty within a month. We'll cooperate with them," the Chief Minister told media persons. Yash, son of Kanhaiya Lal, said that Chief Minister Gehlot has provided financial support to the family and also assured him of a government job. "I have spoken with the CM. He has provided us with financial help too. He has also assured me of a government job. He is cooperating with us, and we are ready to cooperate too," said Yash. He also said that the family has demanded security from the chief minister. "We have demanded security. My father was not provided security but we should be provided. We have been assured of the same. The culprits should not be given anything less than a death sentence," Yash added. Earlier in the day, Gehlot appealed to the people to help maintain law and order in the state and assured that no criminal will be spared irrespective of any religion or community. "Rajasthan is known for communal cordiality and harmony. The example of brotherhood and unity here is given all over the country. A youth has been brutally murdered in Udaipur on June 28, 2022, which is very unfortunate. The state government is working diligently to maintain law and order," Gehlot said. He further said that the local police have registered the case under Sections 16, 18 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act-1967 (UAPA) and Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code read Section 153 A, 153 B, 295 A 452 and 35. Kanhaiya Lal a tailor was hacked to death inside his shop in Udaipur by two men in broad daylight on June 28 for allegedly posting content in support of suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma. The beheading had sparked public outrage across the country. The incident took place in Udaipur's Maldas area on June 28. Soon after committing the crime, the two accused posted a video on social media boasting about the "beheading" and threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi's life as well, police said. The two accused were arrested within hours of the incident. The assailants identified themselves in the video as Riyaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad. A four-member NIA team under the supervision of an Inspector General and a Deputy Inspector General (DIG)-rank officers reached Udaipur last night and began its investigation. Rajasthan Police on Wednesday had said that the main accused involved in the killing of the tailor in Udaipur were in touch with Pakistan-based organisation Dawat-e-Islami and one of them had also gone to Karachi in Pakistan in 2014 to visit the organisation. Notably, Kanhaiya had also filed a complaint with the police about receiving threats. The victim reportedly had recently shared a social media post in support of Nupur Sharma-- former BJP spokesperson who had made controversial remarks against Prophet Mohammad. (ANI) Sinha is slated to meet Stalin and elected representatives at the DMK office around 5 pm. He arrived at Chennai International Airport from Trivandrum in Kerala. He was received by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi and Tamil Nadu ministers Ma. Subramanian and PK Sekar Babu. Sinha is slated to go to Raipur on July 1. Voting for presidential elections will take place on July 18 and votes will be counted on July 21. Yashwant Sinha filed his nomination papers on Monday. Sinha was named as the common Opposition candidate for the presidential election on June 21. Sinha was earlier with the BJP but he left the party in 2018. Opposition parties have formed an 11-member campaign committee to steer the nationwide campaign of their presidential poll candidate Yashwant Sinha. Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay on Tuesday said that party MPs will cast their vote in the presidential election on July 18 in the West Bengal legislative assembly instead of the facilities created in Parliament. "All TMC MPs will vote for Yashwant Sinha in the presidential election to be held on July 18 in West Bengal instead of Lok Sabha," Sudip Bandyopadhyay told ANI.. "Election Commission has given the option to all MPs that they can vote for the presidential candidate either in the Parliament or in their states," he said, noting that this option has been there in the past also. (ANI) Backed by rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday met Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari to stake a claim to form the government, a day after Uddhav Thackeray announced resignation as chief minister bringing to an end the 31-month-old Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. At present, the BJP has 106 MLAs in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly and Shinde is leading 39 rebel Shiv Sena legislators and some Independents. After the death of a Shiv Sena MLA recently, the current strength of the Assembly is reduced to 287, thus the majority mark is 144. Shinde, who has been leading a rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray following the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls, met Fadnavis at the latter's residence today. Earlier today, a spokesperson of the Shinde camp, Deepak Kesarkar said that rebels have given Shinde full authority to take a decision on the cabinet berth-sharing in the government. He said that they did not revolt for the cabinet berths, but for the development of the state. Clearing the air around the distribution of portfolios with the BJP, Shinde had said that there has been no discussion, but talks will happen soon. Maharashtra Assembly Secretary Rajendra Bhagwat has informed all state MLAs that as per the Governor's orders the special session that was scheduled on Thursday will now not be convened. In a circular, Rajendra Bhagwat, Principal Secretary, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, informed all state MLAs that as per the Governor's orders, there's no need for a floor test now, so today's special session will not be convened. The Floor Test that was convened by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was challenged in the Supreme Court by the Shiv Sena. The apex court, however, declined to stay the Floor Test and in its observation said that the floor of the House was the only way to settle these issues of democracy. Minutes after the order by the top court on Wednesday, Thackeray addressed the people of the state via social media in which he announced his decision to step down as chief minister and as a Member of the Legislative Council. Thackeray, whose party's internal revolt brought down the MVA government, said he came to power in "an unexpected manner" and was "going out in a similar fashion". "I had come (to power) in an unexpected manner and I am going out in a similar fashion. I am not going away forever, I will be here, and I will once again sit in Shiv Sena Bhavan. I will gather all my people. I am resigning as the CM and as an MLC," he said. Thackeray became Chief Minister after Shiv Sena joined hands with Nationalist Congress Party and Congress to form the government in Maharashtra following the 2019 Assembly elections. Shiv Sena leadership had differences with its pre-poll ally BJP and wanted the post of Chief Minister. (ANI) Meanwhile, the Delhi Police team was seen leaving the Bengaluru residence of Zubair. He has moved Delhi HC challenging the police remand granted by Patiala House Court to the Delhi Police Special Cell. Earlier on Tuesday, Delhi Police got a 4-day remand of Zubair who was arrested in connection with an "objectionable" tweet. He was arrested on June 27 in Delhi for allegedly hurting religious sentiments, through a social media post. The FIR against Zubair was lodged on June 20 based on the complaint filed by the Duty Officer of the IFSO unit of the Delhi Police Special Cell which tackles cyber crimes. Zubair was booked under Sections 153A (promotion of enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language) and 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Delhi Police said. (ANI) Appreciating Bosch for its technological excellence and innovations, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai today exhorted the Germany-based company to set up the greatest technological support system in Bengaluru. The Chief Minister was speaking at 'Bosch Smart Campus' which was virtually inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared the next 25 years as the 'Amrit Kaal' for India to make rapid strides in education, health, manufacturing and innovation sectors as part of the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrations. Bosch should take a lead in technological advancement, Bommai said. Bosch is not just a manufacturing or software company. "It has evolved into a culture. It has been made possible by its commitment and hard work. It is a dream company for young engineers to work with, said Bommai while speaking at the inauguration." "I too had dreamt of working in companies like Bosch and Tata. Its excellence and achievements speak for its 100 years of existence. Bosch had identified India's potential much before India attained its independence and set up its unit here," Bommai added. The Chief Minister Bengaluru has emerged as a global hub of technology and innovation. "From Genetics to aerospace, the city is home to over 400 top-notch R & D centres, and about 400 of the 500 Fortune companies have their presence here." "Karnataka is at the forefront of Ethanol production. It is taking the lead in the production of Hydrogen as a green energy source. An MoU has been signed for the production of Ammonia from the seawater," he said while talking about Ethanol production. The Chief Minister wanted Bosch to establish its best research centre of global standards in Bengaluru and assured full cooperation from the State government in this regard. (ANI) The Chinar Corps of the Indian Army, has eliminated two terrorists during Operation 'Kataran' in the Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, said police on Thursday. Police said that the joint operation 'Kataran' was launched on Wednesday and the area was cordoned off. One AK rifle, one pistol and war-like stores were recovered. "Op Kataran, #Kulgam. Jt op was launched on 29 Jun 22. Area cordoned and contact established. Firefight ensued and 02 terrorists eliminated. 01xAK Rifle, 01xPistol and war like stores recovered. Jt op over. #Kashmir@adgpi @NorthernComd_IA @JmuKmrPolice @KashmirPolice," Chinar Corps tweeted. Earlier on Wednesday, two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists were neutralized during an encounter that broke out in Kulgam. The encounter site was very close to the pilgrimage route of the Amarnath yatra. Both the terrorists killed in the encounter were identified and categorized as local terrorists of the proscribed terror outfit LeT. "Both the killed #terrorists have been identified as #categorised local terrorists of proscribed #terror outfit LeT. Again an important #encounter as the operation site was very close to NHW (#Yatra route)," Tweeted the Jammu and Kashmir. The encounter was started in the Nowpora, Mir Bazar area in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam on Wednesday. The security was tightened in Jammu and Kashmir with special emphasis on the use of over 130 sniffer dogs on the vehicle routes heading towards the shrine to ensure safe pilgrimage amid heightened terror threats. A top government official, requesting anonymity, told ANI that this is the first time when the security forces have been using a maximum number of sniffer dogs to check the use of explosives by terrorists to disrupt the 43-day annual pilgrimage beginning on June 30. Amid the latest threats inputs regarding the use of grenades, sticky bombs, and Improvised Explosive Device; the security forces have been using sniffer dogs to avert any eventuality during the pilgrimage, which is being organised after a gap of two years. (ANI) The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear on July 11 plea of activist and poet Dr P Varavara Rao, an accused in 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence case, seeking permanent bail on medical grounds. Senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for Rao, mentioned the plea for a hearing before a vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala. "He is 83 years old. I am asking is that the plea be listed on reopening of the court," Grover told the bench. Grover said Rao was granted medical bail and he is to surrender in July. The apex court agreed to list the matter on July 11. Rao has challenged on April 13 judgment of the Bombay High Court which had rejected his plea for permanent bail. The High Court, however, had extended the time for Rao to surrender before the Taloja prison authorities by three months, to enable him to undergo cataract surgery. It had also rejected Rao's application to stay in Hyderabad instead of Mumbai, while out on bail. In his appeal, Rao has said that he has undergone over two years of incarceration as an under-trial, and is currently enlarged on bail on medical grounds by the Bombay High Court. "Any further incarceration would ring the death knell for him as advancing age and deteriorating health are a fatal combination," stated the plea. Rao has challenged the High Court order as he was not granted an extension of bail, despite his advanced age and precarious and deteriorating health condition, and has been denied the prayer to shift to Hyderabad. He was arrested on August 28, 2018, from his home in Hyderabad and is an under-trial in the Bhima Koregaon case for which FIR was lodged by the Pune Police at Vishrambagh Police Station on January 8, 2018, under various sections of IPC and several provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Rao, who was initially put under house arrest pursuant to the order of the top court, was ultimately taken into police custody on November 17, 2018, and later shifted to Taloja Jail. Rao in his appeal said that in the totality of circumstances, the trial will take not less than 10 years. In fact, one of the accused in the case, Father Stan Swamy, who was suffering from similar ailments as the Petitioner, passed away even before the trial could start, his appeal added. In February 2021, the Bombay High Court granted him interim bail on medical grounds and was released from jail on March 6, 2021. (ANI) West Bengal unit of the BJP has announced its new steering committee for the state panchayat polls of 2023 keeping out the party's former state president and the current vice-president Dilip Ghosh out of it. Actress turned-politician and the party MP from Hooghly Lok Sabha constituency, Locket Chatterjee, known as a close confidant of Dilip Ghosh, has also not been given any berth in the steering committee. The decision has taken many political observers in the state by surprise since in the 2018 West Bengal panchayat polls, BJP under the leadership of Ghosh as the-then state president did quite well and established itself as the principal opposition party in West Bengal replacing Left Front for the first time. However, top BJP leaders including Ghosh and the party's current state president, Sukanta Majumdar have refused to make any comment on the formation of the steering committee. However, a member of the state committee, on strict condition of anonymity that since as a national vice-president Dilip Ghosh has been burdened with so many national level responsibilities so he has been relieved of responsibilities relating to panchayat polls. BJP's Lok Sabha member from Raiganj in North Dinajpur district, Debasree Chaudhuri had been made in-charge of the said steering committee. Two other Lok Sabha members from West Bengal namely Jagannath Sarkar from Ranaghat in Nadia district and Saumitra Khan from Bishnupur in Bankura district have been made the co-in-charge of the committee. Party state general secretary and MLA from Falakata assembly constituency in Alipurduar district, Dipak Barman has been made the convener of the committee. It is learnt that West Bengal will be under special focus in the BJP's National Executive Committee meeting at Hyderabad. "Following the return of BJP leaders back to Trinamool Congress, especially the party's heavyweight MP from Barrackpore Lok Sabha, Arjun Singh, a debate has erupted in the state committee on how much the party can depend on turncoats who joined BJP from Trinamool. This matter is expected to be raised in the National Executive Committee meeting," confirmed a state committee member. --IANS src/skp/ ( 361 Words) 2022-06-30-19:30:03 (IANS) In another dramatic turn of events in Maharashtra, former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is set to become Deputy Chief Minister in the government headed by Shiv Sena faction leader Eknath Shinde, which is set to be sworn it shortly on Thursday. BJP President J.P. Nadda said that he has requested that Fadnavis be part of the new government. In a series of tweets, Nadda said that his BJP had shown it did not hanker for power and the Chief Ministership in 2019 but it was Uddhav Thackeray who became the Chief Minister due to his "greed for the post" and formed a government with opposition parties, "despite mandate being in favour of (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji and Fadnavis". He said that the BJP, showing its generosity and in the interests of the people of Maharashtra, has decided to make Shinde the Chief Minister and Fadnavis had also decided to join the government for the sake of service to the people of the state. Home Minister Amit Shah also, in a tweet, announced that Fadnavis had accepted Nadda's request to join the government "in the interests of the state and its people". Earlier, announcing that Shinde would be the next Chief Minister, Fadnavis had said: "I will remain out of the government, but I shall do everything possible to make the new government a success on all fronts, and resume the developmental activities that had stopped in the past two and a half years." --IANS miz/vd ( 256 Words) 2022-06-30-19:32:05 (IANS) AIR established an FM transmission facility and studio facility at Baltal where daily broadcast for Yatra will be aired for 16 hours daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. This broadcast will be available for the yatris on NewsonAir app of AIR wherein a special platform for the Amarnath Yatra Broadcast has been created. The broadcast on this app will be available globally. It is available on FM 103.7 Mghz & on DTH also where it is available on AIR Urdu Service. The broadcast facility has been created under the supervision of Deputy Director General of AIR, Nillai Nayagam whereas the programme content is being supervised by the Programme Head Rabia Rasool. Programme Executive Talha Jahangir is the producer in-charge for this special transmission. This daily broadcast will be available till the Raksha Bandhan festival. Field reports from Yatra from Jammu up to Amarnath Shrine on Baltal and Pahalgam routes are being broadcast for latest updates to the pilgrims. Hourly weather updates and other requisite advisories and guidelines are being put on air at regular intervals throughout the transmission. --IANS sq/pgh ( 208 Words) 2022-06-30-20:16:03 (IANS) Ahead of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) national executive meeting in Hyderabad, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) working president KT Rama Rao on Thursday said the time has come to say "bye-bye" to the Modi government at the Centre. KTR hit out at BJP and said that the people of Telangana should question BJP leaders on what Modi has given to Telangana. Addressing a party meeting here, the Telangana Industry and Commerce Minister said people should question BJP leaders about what the central government has done for the state of Telangana. "The BJP will have a two-day circus. Whatever BJP is telling is all lies. One BJP leader will come to each constituency. Let them come. They should see the 24-hour electricity in Telangana. Let us talk about Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima. Let them see the water connections at every house. Explain all our schemes to the BJP leaders coming to the villages. They should salute the people of Telangana for their contribution to the nation," said KTR. He further said that BJP leaders will visit all the 119 assembly constituencies of Telangana and people should ask the BJP leaders to implement the flagship schemes of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's government like free electricity to farmers and others in the entire country. "Ask them what did the Modi government do for Telangana. The Modi government only speaks but does not work. The time has come to say bye-bye to Modi," Rao stated. KTR assured people that he will take up the responsibility of irrigating 38,000 acres in Kalvakurthi. He said the state government will soon grant new pensions to all those eligible. He said that KCR was the only Chief Minister in the country who had deposited Rs 58,000 crore in the accounts of farmers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also scheduled to visit Hyderabad to attend the party's national executive and to address a public meeting in Secunderabad. The BJP is holding its national executive meeting at HICC Novotel on July 2-3 and the Prime Minister is scheduled to address a rally at the parade grounds on the culmination of the meeting. BJP OBC Morcha National President Dr. K Laxman said, "On July 2 and 3, our National Executive meeting is going to be held. In this meeting, BJP National President JP Naada, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Ministers of 19 states and other BJP senior leaders will be participating in this historic meeting." Earlier, the BJP had held its national executive meeting in the city in 2004 when the party promised to carve out a separate state of Telangana without delay if it came to power. (ANI) A Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Thursday sent Riaz Akhtari and Ghaus Mohammed, the two prime accused who killed a tailor Kanhaiya Lal, to 14 days judicial custody. Both the accused were produced before the special court amid tight security. The court after hearing the contention sent them to judicial custody. The sources in the agency said that they received crucial input that both can be attacked by different organisations and hence they decided to produce them before Udaipur court. "There are many more involved in the incident. It was a larger conspiracy which was executed in a well planned manner. The people who are involved in this are yet to be caught. And we don't want any untoward incident, as we have input that accused might be attacked, hence we have postponed the plan to take them to Delhi," said the source. The source said that both had been keeping an eye on the accused for a long time. Ghaus, in 2014 went to Karachi where he came in contact with the Dawat-e-Islami organization. Since then he was in touch with them. Both the accused after hacking Kanhaiya Lal to death recorded the video saying they were taking revenge on insult to Islam. Later they posted the video on social media. In the viral video, one of the two accused could be heard saying, "I will make the video viral when I accomplish my goal to teach a lesson to the accused who has shown disrespect to our God." The incident sent panic waves across the country and Rajasthan Government immediately shut down internet service for a day to avoid untoward incident. --IANS atk/skp/ ( 291 Words) 2022-06-30-21:18:03 (IANS) A BJP insider said that the political relation between BJP and JD-U turned sour during Agnipath agitation when BJP state chief Sanjay Jaiswal and other leaders like Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi blamed the Nitish Kumar government of not firmly tackling the largescale violence. Meanwhile, JD-U leaders like its national President Rajiv Ranjan Singh and Upendra Kushwaha have asked the Centre to rethink on that scheme. Following the tussle, the top BJP leadership had sent Pradhan to Patna to meet Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. After their meeting, Pradhan announced that Nitish Kumar will be the Chief Minister till 2025. Following the meeting with Nitish Kumar, Pradhan took a close door meeting of state BJP leaders and asked them to consult with BJP General Secretary Bhikhu Bhai Dalsania before giving any statement on the NDA government led by Nitish Kumar in Bihar. --IANS ajk/vd ( 190 Words) 2022-06-30-21:22:03 (IANS) Liz Cheney, Republican and Vice-Chair of the Senate committee probing the January 6 Capitol Hill riots, has called upon Republicans to get "Rid of Trump" as she said he is a "clear and present threat to both the GOP and to American democracy at large". She reiterated ex-president Donald Trump was a "dangerous and irrational man" to whom Republicans have played willing hostages as they cannot distinguish between loyalty to Trump and the constitution. She said on Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan library at Simi Valley, California, according to USA today. Condemning Trump's seeming encouragement of rioters who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, Cheney also chided unnamed Republican leaders "who have made themselves willing hostages to this dangerous and irrational man". Speaking to a friendly crowd - organizers of the event expressed concern about hecklers - Cheney also told fellow Republicans that they stand at "the edge of an abyss" and "we must pull back." She termed the January 6 Capitol attack a "conspiracy" and that the threat was "ongoing". She went to the extent of saying Trump is "clearly unfit" for future office, citing his refusal to stop the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill by his supporters to disrupt the announcement of the 2020 verdict electing democrat Joe Bide as President. Cheney's attacks on Trump echoed those she had made months before, including during her work on the special congressional committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. The Wyoming congressperson, who has been ousted by her own Wyoming republican party at the behest of Trump, now faces maximum political peril serving on the senate committee and criticizing the ex-president. Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, faces a Republican primary challenge in August from Harriet Hageman, a well-funded attorney who has Trump's backing. Hageman called Cheney's speech ironic, saying she "is the last one who should be giving lectures about the future of the Republican Party when she is single-handedly trying to burn it to the ground". The incumbent "is using Wyoming's only House seat to further her own personal war on President Trump, while helping Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats achieve their own political goals at the same time," Hageman said in a written statement she tweeted after the speech. During a Tuesday committee hearing, Cheney led the questioning of Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide who testified that Trump was aware that some of his supporters had weapons on January 6, even as he urged them to march on the US Capitol to protest the election. Trump -- who reportedly vowed revenge on impeachment supporters -- has frequently attacked both Cheney and her father, former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney. During a rally in Wyoming in May, Trump said "the Cheney's are die-hard globalists and warmongers who have been plunging us into new conflicts for decades, spilling American blood and spending American treasure all over the world." Toward the end of her remarks, Cheney praised the young women leaders she has met, and joked about their future challenges. Said Cheney: "These days, for the most part, men are running the world - and it is really not going that well." "The reality that we face today as Republicans, as we think about the choice in front of us, we have to choose because Republicans cannot both be loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution," she said. --IANS ashok/pgh ( 583 Words) 2022-06-30-22:10:02 (IANS) The incident was caught on CCTV where a bike-borne man was seen hurling a bomb at CPI (M) headquarters, AKG Center in the city. The man fled after throwing the bomb. CPI (M) workers gathered outside the party headquarters after the incident. Kerala Police have started an investigation into the matter. "We have started the probe. It is at the preliminary stage," G Sparjan Kumar, Police Commissioner told ANI. Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal condemned the attack and called the incident an organised attempt to disrupt the law and order situation in the state. "It is an organised attempt to create a stir in Kerala. We hope the police will book the miscreants involved. We request the people of Kerala to peacefully protest against it," Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal told ANI. CPI(M) Polit Bureau member MA Baby appealed to party workers to stay calm. "We appeal to party workers to remain calm and resort to only peaceful demonstrations. Police will be probing the incident. As and when they get evidence, we hope Police apprehend those behind it," MA Baby told ANI. "The Assembly session is on. Congress and UDF do not want democratic discussions, they want chaos. We hope Congress leadership would ask the state leadership to refrain from such an undemocratic attitude," he added. CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan accused the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) which is the Opposition in the state. "With this attack at AKG Center, UDF is trying to provoke. We will take out a peaceful protest against it," said Balakrishnan. "CPI(M) headquarters, AKG centre was attacked by Congress criminals. They threw a bomb at the office. I condemn this attack and appeal to our cadre to hold a peaceful protest against it," said AA Rahim, State Committee member of CPI (M) Kerala and President of the Democratic Youth Federation of India. (ANI) Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday warned Finland and Sweden that if they welcome NATO troops and military infrastructure onto their territory, Moscow will respond in kind. While addressing a news conference in Turkmenistan, Putin said, "Only we must clearly and precisely understand -- while there was no threat before, in the case of military contingents and military infrastructure being deployed there, we will have to respond symmetrically and raise the same threats in those territories from where threats have arisen for us," Russian President said as quoted by CNN. He also said that Russia is not bothered if Sweden and Finland join NATO. "There is nothing that could bother us about Sweden and Finland joining NATO. If they want to join, please," Putin added. Sweden and Finland are all set to formally end the decades of neutrality and join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in a historic breakthrough for the alliance that deals a blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The last major hurdle to the two nations' entry to the bloc was removed when Turkey dropped its opposition on Tuesday, according to CNN. That breakthrough came during a NATO summit in Madrid that has already become one of the most consequential meetings in the history of the military alliance. After turkey lifted its opposition, US President Joe Biden on Wednesday thanked his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the start of a meeting. "I want to particularly thank you for what you did, putting together the situation with regard to Finland and Sweden, and all the incredible work you're going to try to get the grain out of ... Ukraine," Biden told Erdogan during the NATO summit in Madrid. "You're doing a great job," Biden added. Turkey has been in discussions with Russia about exporting grain from Ukraine. Erdogan said he hopes diplomacy will help to get grain out of Ukraine, CNN reported. "I pray that we'll be able to re-establish the balance through diplomacy in order to cultivate positive results, especially with regards to the grain," Erdogan told Biden. Meanwhile, the NATO summit began in Madrid on Tuesday, allowing the western military alliance to show a joint front against Moscow, and start the process of Finland and Sweden's inclusion in the alliance. This summit comes as Turkey lifted its veto over Finland and Sweden's bid to join NATO, ending a dispute that tested the unity of the alliance amid the Ukraine conflict. This deal signals a significant shift in security dynamics in Europe as the Nordic countries abandon their decades-long neutrality to enter the military alliance. (ANI) Amid the fuel shortage in the country, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is expected to visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the coming weeks to procure the fuel. While addressing a news conference on Tuesday, Sri Lankan PM Mahindananda Aluthgamage said that the Russian Ambassador to Sri Lanka had initiated the discussion to facilitate the telephonic conversation between President Rajapaksa and Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach an agreement for the procurement of fuel. The MP said the government had formulated a comprehensive mechanism to ensure continuous fuel supply after July 10. Aluthgamage said the President was constantly in contact with the Indian Prime Minister, Petroleum Resources Minister and Foreign Minister to procure fuel from India. He said the President had a discussion with the seven fuel importers to Sri Lanka and took steps to resolve issues concerning fuel supply. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's postal department decided to open post and sub ports offices three days a week considering transport and travelling difficulties. Accordingly, the services by the main and sub-offices will be available on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, Daily Mirror Online reported. Earlier, the Indian Oil subsidiary in Sri Lanka, Lanka IOC (Indian Oil Corporation) announced to restrict the sale of petrol to a maximum of Rs 7,000 for four-wheelers, with immediate effect. "Lanka IOC with immediate effect restricts sales of Petrol as follows:: 2 Wheelers: Rs.1500/- 3 Wheelers: Rs.2500/- 4 Wheelers: Rs.7000/- Inconvenience caused is deeply regretted," tweeted Lanka IOC PLC. Lanka IOC is the only private oil company that operates retail petrol and diesel stations in Sri Lanka. Considering the rapid decline in fuel supply, the Sri Lanka government restricted issuing fuel to private vehicles and announced providing fuel only for essential services with effect from Monday night, Daily Mirror reported. Sri Lanka's Cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunawardena said, "The fuel crisis in the country was discussed at length at the Cabinet meeting held yesterday and it was decided to issue fuel only for essential services. It was decided to provide fuel to essential series, such as ports, health sector, distribution of essential food items, and transportation of agricultural products, until July 10." He also assured that a mechanism to provide a continuous supply of LP gas and fuel would be in place after the 10th of July. "Inter-provincial transport services will be halted due to limited stocks of fuel. Filling stations will not issue fuel to private vehicles during this period. The supply of fuel for essential services is done at SLTB depots and tri-forces manning filling stations," Daily Mirror quoted the minister as saying. Notably, Sri Lanka has been facing the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, leading to an acute shortage of essential items like food, medicine, cooking gas and fuel across the island nation. The nearly-bankrupt country, with an acute foreign currency crisis that resulted in foreign debt default, had announced in April that it is suspending nearly USD 7 billion foreign debt repayment due for this year out of about USD 25 billion due through 2026. Sri Lanka's total foreign debt. The economic crisis has particularly impacted food security, agriculture, livelihoods, and access to health services. Food production in the last harvest season was 40 - 50 per cent lower than last year, and the current agricultural season is at risk, with seeds, fertilizers, fuel and credit shortages. Sri Lanka is one of the few nations named by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which is expected to go without food due to the global food shortage expected this year. (ANI) The Taliban official Amir Khan Muttaqi, along with his delegation, left for Qatar on Wednesday to discuss with the US officials the release of withheld Afghan assets worth USD 9 billion amid country's struggles with famine and poverty. The delegation team will meet the US Special Representative for Afghanistan, and officials from the Treasury Department, Thomas West, Khaama Press reported citing Ahmad Wali Haqmal, the spokesperson for the Taliban forces. This is the first meeting since West pushed Muttaqi to lift restrictions on girl students' access to education on May 21. Under the Taliban administration, girls are not allowed to continue their education past the sixth grade. At the same time, US sources claimed that Joe Biden's administration was working with the Taliban on a mechanism that would provide Afghanistan access to the monetary reserves of the central bank, reported Khaama Press citing The Washington Post. After the Taliban seized the nation by force last year, the US froze Afghan reserves. The militants-turned-politicians are currently working to restore the nation's economy which has been ravaged by sanctions imposed and isolation. This comes as a strong earthquake that struck the country last week also caused over 1,500 injuries and approximately 1,000 fatalities. Earlier, the US said that they would provide nearly USD 55 million in immediate humanitarian assistance to the people impacted by the devastating earthquake in Afghanistan's southeastern part. The funds will be used to deliver the essential food items, clothing, cooking utensils, blankets, jerry cans, and sanitation supplies to prevent waterborne diseases in the disaster-hit areas, Voice of America reported. According to the publication, the US has been the largest humanitarian donor to Afghanistan and over USD 774 million in humanitarian assistance over the past year "The United States has an enduring commitment to the people of Afghanistan, and we welcome and encourage support from our international partners in this time of great need," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Tuesday. The U.S. announcement came only a day after the United Nations appealed for USD 110.3 million in urgent humanitarian response to some 360,000 Afghans impacted by the earthquake, reported Voice of America. The UN and the Afghan government have been largely involved in the operations to save civilians. However, the United Nations said it does not have heavy machines and equipment and relies on the Afghan authorities to provide it. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator stated that the UN has released USD 10 million from UNCERF for the affected people of Afghanistan to help with the immediate response. (ANI) Pakistan and China pledged to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation on Wednesday during the meeting between Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi, who is on a two-day visit to Islamabad. The meeting comes amid the faltering economy of Pakistan with China assuring its ally of a rollover of over USD 2 billion at a much-reduced rate. Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said Pakistan is China's "ironclad" friend and reliable brother. No matter how the international situation changes, the mutual trust and friendship between the two countries are rock solid, reported Xinhua. During his visit, Yang also met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa. "China has always prioritized Pakistan in developing its relations with neighbouring countries and is ready to further strengthen policy communication and development strategy alignment with Pakistan, carry on the traditional friendship, enhance mutual strategic trust, deepen pragmatic cooperation, jointly build the high-quality China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in a safe and smooth manner, and forge an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era," said Yang, who is also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee. Noting that China is willing to push for close coordination with Pakistan on multilateral affairs and safeguard the common interests of the developing countries, Yang said China appreciates Pakistan's support for its Global Development Initiative (GDI) and Global Security Initiative (GSI), reported Xinhua. For his part, Sharif said developing relations with china is the cornerstone of his country's foreign policy. Pakistan firmly adheres to the one-China policy and supports China in safeguarding its core interests and its positions on major concerns, he said, adding that the Pakistani government and people appreciate China for its long-term selfless assistance and are ready to learn from China's successful experience in economic development and fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, reported Xinhua. Both sides agreed to further strengthen cooperation in maintaining regional security and stability, promoting regional development and combating terrorism. Meanwhile, US on Tuesday (local time) blacklisted 36 companies, including those from China and Pakistan, for supporting Russia in the Ukraine conflict. US President Joe Biden's administration has added five companies in China to a trade blacklist for supporting Russia's military and defense industrial base. The agency also added another 31 entities to the blacklist from countries that include Russia, UAE, Lithuania, Pakistan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, according to the Federal Register entry. Of the 36 total companies added, 25 had China-based operations, reported Al Jazeera. The United States has set out with allies to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invasion, which Moscow calls a "special operation", by sanctioning a raft of Russian companies and oligarchs and adding others to a trade blacklist. While US officials had previously said that China was generally complying with the restrictions, Washington has vowed to closely monitor compliance and rigorously enforce the regulations. "We will not hesitate to act, regardless of where a party is located, if they are violating US law," Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Thea Rozman Kendler said in the same statement. (ANI) Amid the fuel shortage in the country, Sri Lanka's Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister Sagala Ratnayake stated that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has confirmed a Petrol shipment that is likely to arrive in the country on July 22. The remarks come as the country continues to struggle with its economic crisis. Sagala Ratnayake on Wednesday also mentioned that several discussions and attempts to secure a fuel shipment before the expected date are being carried out, the News Wire reported. The PM's chief of staff added that a shipment of Diesel of 38,000 MT is also expected to arrive in the country between the 11 and 15 of July. Ratnayake further claimed that while one Petrol shipment from India is expected to arrive in by July 22 and the CPC has been carrying out efforts to secure a Petrol shipment by July 10. A total of 11,000 MT of Diesel, 5,000 MT of Petrol, 30,000 MT of Furnace Oil, and 800 MT of Jet Fuel are currently available in the country, the News Wire reported citing Ratnayake. The current Diesel stocks in the country will only be used for essential service until the arrival of a new shipment. 33,000 MT of gas will arrive in the country in July, and a total of 100,000 MT of gas will be procured for the next four months, the local media reported. Shipments are due on 6th, 10th, 16th, 19th, 21st, and 31st July, it added. As per News Wire, the LP Gas will be purchased by Litro with assistance from the world bank, and the agreement will be signed on June 29 or June 30. Meanwhile, reports claim that several doctors and bankers in the country are protesting against the lack of fuel reserves. "This is an impossible situation, the government has to give us a solution," secretary of the All Island Nurses Union H.M. Mediwatta said. Notably, Sri Lanka has been facing the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, leading to an acute shortage of essential items like food, medicine, cooking gas and fuel across the island nation. The nearly-bankrupt country, with an acute foreign currency crisis that resulted in foreign debt default, had announced in April that it is suspending nearly USD 7 billion foreign debt repayment due for this year out of about USD 25 billion due through 2026. Sri Lanka's total foreign debt. The economic crisis has particularly impacted food security, agriculture, livelihoods, and access to health services. Food production in the last harvest season was 40 - 50 per cent lower than last year, and the current agricultural season is at risk, with seeds, fertilizers, fuel and credit shortages. Sri Lanka is one of the few nations named by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which is expected to go without food due to the global food shortage expected this year. (ANI) Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Hong Kong later this week to mark the 25th anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China, Beijing has barred journalists from leading international media organizations from covering official ceremonies. According to the Hong Kong Journalist Association (HKJA), at least 10 journalists working for local and international organizations had their applications to cover the events rejected for "security reasons", reported CNN. "With media unable to send journalists on the ground, the HKJA expresses utmost regret over the rigid reporting arrangements made by the authorities for such a major event," the press group said. In his first trip outside mainland China since the start of the pandemic, Xi is coming to Hong Kong to mark the 25th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule -- a highly symbolic event at a pivotal time for both the city, and Xi himself. The former British colony is midway through the 50-year promise of "a high degree of autonomy," given by Beijing under a framework known as "one country, two systems." It is also swearing in its newly appointed leader, hardline former police officer John Lee. Meanwhile, China has thrown a media shield around Xi's visit to Hong Kong and barred journalists from leading international media organizations, including Reuters and CNN from covering official ceremonies. Xi is only months away from finishing his first decade in power -- and is widely expected to seek an unprecedented third term at a key meeting of the ruling Communist Party this fall. The two-day trip is a timely declaration of political victory for Xi, who has brought Hong Kong to heel with a sweeping national security law following the 2019 anti-government protests. In just two years, critics say, the law has been used to crush the city's opposition movement, overhaul its electoral system, silence its outspoken media and cripple its once-vibrant civil society. Reuters, Agence France-Press (AFP), and the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post were among the outlets whose reporters were blocked from covering the ceremonies, according to the HKJA. Reuters reported that two of its journalists had been barred from covering the handover ceremony and inauguration of incoming Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee. Journalists who had their applications denied would not be able to cover the national flag raising ceremony and the swearing in of Lee, the city's new leader and former security chief, reported CNN. The government's Information Services Department issued invitations to news organizations on June 16, allowing only one journalist per outlet to cover each event. Each media representative was required to conduct daily PCR tests starting June 26 -- before official approval or rejections were issued on June 28 -- and to go into hotel quarantine on June 29 as part of coronavirus-related prevention measures. The Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) in Hong Kong said that it was "deeply concerned" about the reports that accreditation had been denied, reported CNN. "In the past, similar official events were open to media registration without invitation or vetting," the FCC said in a statement Wednesday. "The FCCHK views these restrictions -- enforced without detailed explanation -- as a serious deviation from that stated commitment to press freedom," it said. Hong Kong was once home to one of Asia's most vibrant media scenes, and a place that professed freedom of speech and freedom of the press. But over the last few years, it has lost almost all its home-grown independent news outlets. Beijing imposed a national security law on the city in the wake of anti-government protests in 2019. Since then, critics allege some of the freedoms China promised to protect at the handover 25 years ago have been curtailed. The Hong Kong government dismisses suggestions that press freedom has been undermined, but the future of local independent reporting looks bleak. Some of the city's biggest pro-democracy media outlets have been toppled after enormous government pressure, a series of arrests and police raids on their newsrooms. (ANI) The talks also discussed Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) including the 5G technology. Joint Secretary of Cyber Diplomacy Division, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Muanpuii Saiawi led the Indian delegation while the Japanese delegation was led by Yutaka Arima, Ambassador in charge of Cyber Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The Indian delegation consisted of senior officials from MEA, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Ministry of Defence (MoD), National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), Ministry of Electronics and Information technology (MEITY), Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC). The Japanese delegation comprised senior officials from the National Centre of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication (MIC), Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and MOFA. "Both sides discussed important areas of bilateral cyber cooperation and reviewed the progress achieved in the areas of cybersecurity and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) including 5G Technology. Both sides exchanged views on latest developments in the cyber domain and mutual cooperation during cyber consultations at the United Nations and other multilateral and regional fora," MEA statement said. Both sides agreed to hold the next India-Japan Cyber Dialogue in 2023 as per mutual convenience. In March, during Japanese PM Fumio Kishida's visit to India, both countries signed an agreement in the area of cyber security. (ANI) Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday annulled Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz's election. As per details, the LHC accepted Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI's) petitions against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N's) government in Punjab, reported The News International. A five-member LHC bench headed by Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan announced the verdict with 4-1 on pleas filed by PTI against Hamza's election as CM. The bench comprised Justice Shahid Jamil, Justice Shehram Sarwar, Justice Sajid Mehmood Sethi and Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh, with Sethi dissenting with his fellow judges. Hamza was elected as chief minister of Punjab in a ruckus-marred session of the Punjab Assembly on April 16, 2022. The PTI and PML-Q had challenged the election of Hamza Shahbaz in a chaotic session, reported The News International. Ahead of the vote, three PTI members of the Punjab Assembly were arrested for attacking Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari as the party boycotted the session to elect the new chief minister. Hamza was elected as the new chief minister with 197 votes. While his opponent, Pervez Elahi did not receive any votes as his party and PTI had boycotted the polls. The LHC order is likely to trigger a new crisis in the country's largest province as the PTI leaders have said that the CM election will be held again. According to a report, the same candidates, Hamza Shahbaz and Pervez Elahi, will run for the position again. For the vote of confidence, the new CM must receive 186 votes or half of the House's total strength, reported The News International. If the court restores the Punjab Assembly to the April 16 situation, the deputy speaker will oversee the CM election proceedings. If a no-confidence motion is filed against him, the proceedings will be presided over by a panel of chairmen. In light of the Supreme Court's decision, the Election Commission of Pakistan has deposed 25 PTI defectors. By-elections for the 20 vacant seats will be held on July 17, and the campaign is well underway. The provincial Election Commission has yet to notify two minority and three female members on the PTI's priority list of reserved seats. The opposition alliance will gain five more seats following the implementation of the apex court's order for notification of members on reserved At the time of the election for the CM's seat, 351 members will vote, with the remaining 20 members joining the assembly after the by-elections. At present, the government alliance enjoys the support of 177 MPAs, including 160 of the PML-N (160), four independents, one Rah-e-Haq Party and seven of the PPP. On the other hand, the PTI has 158 MPAs in the Punjab Assembly after 25 of its MPAs were de-seated. Hence, the results of the by-elections will decide the future of both alliances. (ANI) Israeli lawmakers on Thursday unanimously voted to dissolve the parliament, after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's coalition government lost its majority in the parliament, triggering an unprecedented fifth election in less than four years. A parliamentary spokesperson, in a statement, said the 120-member Knesset voted 92-0 to dissolve and to hold the next elections on November 1. Bennett is expected to hand power to Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, under the power-sharing deal they agreed upon following inconclusive elections in 2021. "Immediately after the vote in the Knesset I went to @yadvashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center. There I promised my late father that I will always keep Israel strong and capable of defending itself and protecting its children," Lapid tweeted. Lapid will officially become the caretaker prime minister on Friday and will hold the position until the next government is formed. Last week, Israel's parliament passed the bill to dissolve itself in a preliminary reading after the ruling coalition lost its majority. Bennett on Wednesday informed the members of his party that he has no plans to participate in the next parliamentary elections. "Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has informed members of the right-wing faction of his intention not to run in the next election. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will remain as alternate prime minister," Sputnik quoted his office as saying. Lapid's ascent to the top office comes ahead of US President Joe Biden's visit to Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia in mid-July. Analysts have predicted that Biden's visit may accompany an announcement about a warming of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, two countries that have never had a formal diplomatic relationship, The New York Times (NYT) reported. Mitchell Barak, a political analyst and pollster in Jerusalem, said Israelis are no longer surprised or even shaken by the rate at which they have gone to the polls. They are now grudgingly resigned to it, he said. "By this point, Israelis have pretty low expectations," Barak told NYT. Voters were shocked to return three times to the ballot box in 2019 and 2020. But by the fourth election in 2021, Barak added, "it felt like this is just how we do things here." (ANI) Ibrahima Soce Fall, WHO Assistant Director-General for Emergency Response said the health risks in the region are increasing while access to healthcare is deteriorating. "The cost of inaction is high. While the clear priority is to prevent people from starving, we must simultaneously strengthen our health response to prevent disease and save lives," Fall said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Fall was earlier this week in Nairobi where WHO convened a two-day meeting to plan its response across the seven countries affected by the health emergency -- Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda -- and coordinate with other UN agencies and partners. The UN health agency said its setting up a hub in Nairobi, from where it will coordinate the response and organize the delivery of life-saving medical supplies to where they are needed most. These supplies, it said, include medicines, vaccines, as well the medicines and equipment needed to treat children who are severely malnourished. WHO said the eastern African region faces acute food insecurity, the worst in 40 years, caused by conflict, extreme weather events induced by climate change, rising international food and fuel prices and the impact of the pandemic. The UN health agency said its emergency response is focused on ensuring affected populations can access essential health services, treating sick children with severe malnutrition, and preventing, detecting and responding to infectious disease outbreaks. WHO said it's also working with ministries of health in the affected countries to set up robust disease surveillance systems to be able to quickly detect and respond to disease outbreaks. (ANI/Xinhua) Chinese authorities recently sentenced a university student from Kardze's Shelian Township to three years in prison for contacting Tibetan exiles. Sources said that he has been incommunicado for six months after his arrest. "He was sentenced on June 5 to three years in prison for allegedly disseminating state secrets, but the Chinese authorities have shared no details of what kind of state secrets Nyima has exposed," a Tibetan source living inside Tibet told Radio Free Asia (RFA). The student of Sichuan's Gehoe National University, Nyima was arrested in January on charges of spying, activists told RFA. Nyima who was concentrating his studies on Tibetan culture was fluent in Tibetan, Chinese and English. Prior to his arrest in January, he had always been around tourists and visitors, sharing Tibet's unique language and culture, Radio Free Asia reported. "He could be seen sharing Tibet's history and authentic Tibetan culture with the tourists, so I think that may be the reason for his arrest. His family has no idea where he is imprisoned at the moment," said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons. Nyima's arrest is very similar to the arrests of other influential Tibetans, Pema Gyal, a researcher at the London-based Tibet Watch advocacy group told RFA's Tibetan Service. "There have been a growing number of cases of arrests of Tibetan intellectuals inside Tibet by the Chinese government, and we have learned that in case of Nyima, he was arrested for communicating with the outside exile community, and also for his commitment to preserve Tibetan language and culture," Pema Gyal said. Notably, Cultural liberty in Tibet is a myth as Tibetans under the Chinese administration are strictly forbidden to follow their religion. In Tibet, those who are found practising their own religion, get arrested, beaten up and tortured brutally. While many of the arrested Tibetans were released after a deterioration in their health, Tibet Press reported, adding that the nuns and the monks are the targeted people of the Chinese. According to Radio Free Asia sources in the region, Chinese authorities have long sought to restrict the size and influence of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, traditionally a focus of Tibetan cultural and national identity. Recently, US State Secretary Antony Blinken spoke at the release of the 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom at the State Department. He mentioned that China prosecute religious followers and called it contradicting the CCP's doctrine for destructing religious places and discriminating against Tibetan Buddhists. Rashad Hussain, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom also spoke at the State Department and expressed that many governments use unfair laws to prosecute religious practitioners. He stressed that China is still cracking down on Tibetan Buddhists. Authorities have been arresting, torturing and using other abuses against Tibetans who promote their language and culture, keeps pictures and writings of the Dalai Lama or practise their religion at Buddhist monasteries. The Report released is divided into four parts. They are categorized as Religious Demography, Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom, Status of Societal Respect for Religious Freedom and US government Policy and Engagement. Since their illegal occupation in Tibet, China has assaulted the rights of the Tibetan people to practise their own religion, language, tradition and culture. The Chinese authorities, in order to accomplish their sinicization mission, have attacked their cultural identity by making their language, Mandarin, the medium of instruction in the schools in Tibet from the primary level, The Singapore Post reported. Chinese troops occupied Tibet in 1950 and later annexed it. The 1959 Tibetan uprising saw violent clashes between Tibetan residents and Chinese forces. The 14th Dalai Lama fled to neighbouring India after the failed uprising against Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama, the supreme Tibetan Buddhist leader, established a government-in-exile in India. (ANI) Experts, politicians and victims have jointly raised concerns over the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s alleged involvement in the forced Organ Harvesting Trade. They were sharing their experiences at a conference on "Forced Organ Harvesting Trade: the scandal of CCP that continues to Shock the World" in Brussels held on Wednesday. Various journalists and human rights activists heard the recounts of victims and first-hand evidence from one former "prisoner" with personal experience of the organ trade. The meeting was opened by Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Tomas Zdechovsky and others dignitaries present during the conference. They include -- Nico Bijnens, President of Falun Gong Belgium, Carlos Iglesias, Head of the legal team of NGO Doctors against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH), Jiang Yan Hua, A Falun Gong practitioner who was imprisoned for seven years in China and Willy Fautre, Founder and Director of Brussels-based Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF). MEP Tomas Zdechovsky stated that China's state supported organ harvesting and trade policy is totally unacceptable. He stated that during his visit to Taiwan, he personally met the victims of forced organ harvesting, whose organs were extracted forcibly and who had gone through this harrowing experience. Zdechovsky stated that it is absolutely clear that China targets Falun Gong practitioners, Tibetans and Christians for organ harvesting. "The EU member states will never accept this kind of behaviour by China", he said while dismissing Chinese claims of propaganda as the European External Action Service (EEAS), UN Special Reporters and China Tribunal have the evidence of forced organ trade against Chinese authorities. He warned China that it has to put an end to this practice if it has to do business with Europe. Nico Bijnens from Falun Gong stated that by the end of 1990's more than 100 million Chinese had become Falun Gong practitioners. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) conceived it as a threat to their own ideology of communism as their cult believed in compassion, tolerance and truthfulness which are in the teaching of Buddhism and Confucius which are part of 5000-year-old Chinese ancient history. He further stated how Falun Gong practitioners were used as living data bank organ donors because of their better health in the multi-million-dollar industry of transplants. He introduced chilling video evidence of the targeting of young Falun Gong practitioners, whose healthy lifestyle makes them targets for the organ harvesting industry while showing a video clip of 10 minutes duration where the "World Organization to Investigate Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG)" conducted an investigation on Li Guowei, a kidney transplant surgeon at Xi Jing Hospital affiliated to Air Force Medical University. The video contained phone recordings from January 10, 2020, to January 12, 2020, to the Kidney transplant department. The phone calls revealed how young prisoners with healthy bodies were used for organ harvesting. These surgeries had started in 1990's and millions of Falun Gong practitioners and others have been persecuted for organ trade. Nico also told that this conference will spread awareness about this evil practice that is happening with full state support in China. Jiang Yan Hua told how practicing Falun Gong immensely benefited her body but when Chinese authorities imposed a crackdown on Falun Gong practitioners in late 1990's, she was illegally kidnapped and jailed for seven years where she was subjected to inhuman torture by the Chinese Authorities like stripping her naked in cold winters of -20 degrees celsius temperature, co-prisoners were asked to beat her senseless and was threatened that her organs will be extracted for organ harvesting. Carlos Iglesias discussed a draft legal text (not complete yet and has been kept under wraps) that could be used as a template for governments to combat organ harvesting. He said that he has been working as a human rights defender against human rights violations in China for the last 20 years. He thanked the European Parliament for passing resolutions against organ harvesting since 2013 but he admitted that these have not had any positive impact on the human rights situation in China and had no effect on organ harvesting and organ trafficking from China. He stated that killing people and extracting their organs on a massive scale has been happening in China for the last 20 years. But the International Community is neither preventing nor punishing these crimes. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is running this organised inhuman crime as a criminal organization. The Chinese regime is a serial killer on a big scale. He appealed to the international community to stop and put an end to this practice in China by putting pressure. Willy Fautre discussed the current situation regarding human rights in general in China at present and stated that Xi Jinping is acting like a dictator as he is the General Secretary of CCP, Chairman of Central Military Commission and Chinese President. He has been supporting this inhuman practice that has been going on in China for more than 20 years now. (ANI) A Congolese woman was kidnapped by militants in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), repeatedly raped and forced to cook and eat human flesh, a Congolese rights group told the UN Security Council (UNSC). Addressing a UN debate on Wednesday, Julienne Lusenge, President of Female Solidarity for Integrated Peace and Development (SOFEPADI) spoke of a tragedy that has gone on "much too long" and a "siege" that continues to threaten civilians daily. Lusenge cited gruesome details of armed attacks, which included a woman having to cook and eat human flesh and the trauma that often results from such abuses. "They pulled out his entrails and they asked me to cook them. They brought me two water containers to prepare the rest of the meal. They then fed all of the prisoners human flesh," Lusenge told UNSC. She said the woman was later released but while trying to return home was kidnapped by another militia group whose members also repeatedly raped her. According to a UN Special Representative, the resurgence of the M23 armed group has "broad repercussions" for the security, human rights and humanitarian situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and for the wider region. Bintou Keita, who also heads the UN's Stabilization Mission in DRC (MONUSCO), said peacekeepers under her command were "determined to protect civilians and help tackle drivers of conflict and violence." However, she added that "unity of purpose within the Council and among troop and police contributing countries, remains essential for the Mission to deliver on its core mandated responsibilities". As MONUSCO along with the national security forces, known as the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC), have redeployed military to the "Petit Nord" to respond to M23 threats, armed groups have sought to take advantage of the resulting security vacuum. According to UN News, the M23 militia began as a renegade force of army mutineers in 2012, committing atrocities and war crimes. The current offensive against Government forces is reportedly the biggest in a decade. Increased assaults by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militants in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, as well as attacks and reprisals by the Cooperative for Development of the Congo (CODECO) and others militia, have taken a heavy toll on the civilian population, the senior UN official said, noting that between May 28 and June 17, more than 150 civilians had been killed. Meanwhile, rising regional tensions have coincided with a deeply worrying increase in hate speech and incitement to violence, Keita continued, highlighting at least eight cases of hate speech between May and June that specifically targeted Rwandophones. She said that while each met the Rabat threshold - a six-part test to assess if a particular statement reaches the level of incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence - at least three came from Congolese military and police authorities. "The United Nations has been clear in its condemnation of these reprehensible attempts to fuel inter-communal tensions," she added. Keita said it was incumbent upon the Security Council to fully support regional efforts to defuse the current diplomatic and security tensions between neighbouring States and "put an end to the scourge of armed groups". "Should the M23 continue its well-coordinated attacks against FARDC and MONUSCO with increasing conventional capabilities, the mission may find itself confronted by a threat that goes beyond its current capabilities," said Keita. She also cautioned that ongoing militia activities in eastern DRC threaten to reverse hard-won progress in security throughout the country and the region. (ANI) The proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has stated that it would not budge from its demand for the reversal of the merger of Pakistan's erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) with the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In an interview published on YouTube, the chief of the outlawed group Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud said that negotiations between the TTP and the Pakistani government were in progress but no major breakthrough had been made. This remark comes on the heels of the meeting between TTP and a delegation of tribal elders in Kabul to negotiate an extension of a truce with the Pakistani Taliban. The outlawed group are a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban, who grabbed power in Kabul last August, after the US drawdown. "Our demands are clear and especially the reversal of Fata merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is our primary demand which the group cannot back down from," Mehsud was quoted as saying by Dawn in the video interview. "The talks have yet to reach a conclusion," said Noor Wali. The head of the outlawed group confirmed the Afghan Taliban were facilitating the negotiations, adding that if the Pakistani government showed "seriousness", then a breakthrough in talks would be possible. Notably, Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had recently ruled out the reversal of the FATA merger with Khyber which was done through a constitutional amendment in 2018. Earlier, TTP had on June 2 announced an "indefinite ceasefire" in view of the "substantial progress" made in talks with the Pakistani government during a round of meetings in Kabul. The announcement had after a 50-member Pakistani tribal jirga -- including a federal minister, representatives from the KP government and tribal elders -- joined the peace talks. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, Pakistan has increasingly complained of attacks across the border from Afghanistan, an issue that has become a source of diplomatic tension. Regional experts say the rise of TTP enabled by the Afghan Taliban's steadfast support will expand the threat of terrorist attacks in Pakistan, including against civilian targets. Since its founding in 2007, the TTP has emerged as the most influential and violent anti-Pakistan terrorist outfit in South Asia. Unlike its Afghan namesake, the TTP does not enjoy favourable relations with Islamabad. Despite the organization's pledges to the contrary, international observers have expressed concerns that the Taliban could once again transform Afghanistan into a safe haven for international terrorist organizations, as had been the case prior to the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. (ANI) Analysts think that China sends an increasing number of warplanes into Taiwan's air defence zone to send a message to the US rather than threaten the island itself as the US is in favour of a democratic, independent Taiwan. According to the Voice of America, a senior fellow at the East-West Center think tank in Hawaii, Denny Roy said, "The dominant narrative inside China is that the USA is increasingly promoting Taiwan independence as a way to contain China." "The Chinese are now watching for evidence that would confirm this. Lacking a creative new approach, Beijing has doubled down on what has become its standard form of hostile military signalling," he added. Since mid-2020, the People's Liberation Army-Air Force has flown a small number of fighters and bombers over part of the Taiwanese air defence identification zone (ADIZ) almost daily, Voice of America reported. Last week, China sent 29 warplanes into Taiwan's air defence zone, marking the third-largest fly-by in the country this year. The warplanes, which include 17 fighter jets, six bombers and other supporting aircraft, entered the island's air defence identification zone on Tuesday from the southwest, the island's defence ministry said. Earlier that, a US Navy P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance plane flew over the Taiwan Strait. The flyover of a surveillance plane over the Taiwan Strait was a demonstration of the US "commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," amid recurrent Chinese incursion in Taiwan's ADIZ, US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement. On June 13, China's foreign ministry said Beijing has sovereignty over the Taiwan Strait, drawing a rebuttal from the United States four days later. The United States further called on China on June 17 to end its "provocative actions" and to "respect international law" in the adjacent South China Sea, the Voice of America reported. Washington considers the strait between Taiwan and China international waters that should be open to its Asia allies from Tokyo through Manila. The US government informally supports Taiwan, though the two lack formal diplomatic ties. Beijing separately claims most of the South China Sea, a resource-rich waterway disputed by Taiwan and four Southeast Asian countries, while Taiwan believes that China's claim of Sovereignty over the Taiwan Strait is false and the only waters over which any country has full sovereignty are its 12-nautical mile territorial waters, Voice of America reported. A week earlier, Washington had approved plans to sell warship parts and related technical support to Taiwan worth USD 120 million. Last month, US President Joe Biden said the US would defend Taiwan if China attacked. "Originally, when the PLA airplanes or fighters and the like started visiting the ADIZ, it was for a different reason, but nowadays the frequency has increased for a recent reason," said Lin Chong-pin, a retired strategic studies professor in Taiwan. Taiwan and mainland China have been governed separately since the defeated Nationalists retreated to the island at the end of the Chinese civil war of the 1940s. But China's ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) views the self-ruled island as part of its territory -- despite having never controlled it. Beijing says it will use force, if needed, to unite the two sides. The issue of Taiwan has been at the forefront of US-China relations in recent months. Tensions between Washington, which is committed to supporting the island's self-defence, and Beijing over Taiwan were in the open earlier this month when their respective defence chiefs met at the Shangri-La Dialogue defence conference in Singapore. (ANI) The warship made a port call at Manama, Bahrain from June 27 to 29 this year. During her stay in the harbour, the ship participated in bilateral meetings and activities to enhance interoperability with multi-national forces deployed in the region. The ship's crew visited the 'Ship in a Box' facility at NSA, Bahrain for VBSS operations and USS Dextrous for an insight into the USN's MCM operations. The Commanding Officer called on the Ambassador of India in Bahrain and briefed him on the ship's deployment and activities. In addition to that, he also made a courtesy call on Rear Admiral Salah M Jassim, Deputy Commander RBNF and discussed ways of enhancing cooperation between the two navies and the conduct of joint training. (ANI) Moscow [Russia], June 30 (ANI/Sputnik): Russia has no restrictions on the export of fertilizers or food products, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo, on Thursday. During their meeting in Kremlin, Widodo raised the issue of food security and the situation in the fertilizer market, while expressing the hope that Russia "will not extend the ban on grain exports." "The issues you have raised are extremely important. I want to note right away that we have no restrictions on the export of fertilizers," Putin responded. As a matter of priority, Russia provides for its own needs for fertilizers, but its production volumes allow the country to supply them to foreign markets without any restrictions, the Russian leader said. "The same applies to food," Putin noted. At the same time, he stressed that sanctions against Russian seaports had created difficulties for the food and fertilizer markets. The Russian leader also told Widodo that the ongoing increase in gas prices, which had led to disruptions in fertilizer supplies, was caused by the misguided energy policy of Western countries, and not by Russia's special operation in Ukraine. In addition, the Russian president pledged to inform his Indonesian counterpart about the situation in Ukraine, given that Widodo had expressed interest in resolving the situation. In particular, Putin stressed that Russia was not preventing the export of Ukrainian grain from ports. "The Ukrainian military authorities have mined roads to their ports, no one is preventing them from clearing mines and withdrawing ships with grain from there. We guarantee security. In addition, there are other export options: through Romania, the Danube and the subsequent movement along the Black Sea, through Poland, through Belarus, through ports of the Azov Sea," the Russian president said. Moreover, Moscow is maintaining close contact with the relevant UN department to resolve the issue of Ukrainian grain, Putin added. (ANI/Sputnik) Ahead of the 20th national congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the Chinese Ministry of Public Security has launched a "100-day crackdown on crimes". The National Congress is taking place later this year and it may herald leadership changes. The move follows the appointment of President Xi Jinping's close ally Wang Xiaohong as the new Minister of Public Security. In a bid to maintain its so-called social stability and ensure people's safety, the Chinese Ministry's move to improve public security is being made to meet the needs of the people, according to the ministry on last Saturday, China Daily reported. The ministry urged public security organs to launch fast, targeted and severe crackdowns on crimes that infringe on the rights and interests of women, children, the elderly, the disabled, and primary and secondary school students. The ongoing crackdown on gang-related crimes should be further strengthened, and "zero tolerance "should be maintained for such crimes, it said, adding that officials who shelter gangs should be severely punished, as per China Daily. Public security organs should maximize police presence on the streets or in communities and mobilize mass organizations to enhance the capacity for public security, it said. They should strengthen night patrols in key places with security risks over the summer, and strengthen the management and control of explosive materials to eliminate potential safety hazards, it added. The ministry said front-line police should be guided to form good working habits to improve the quality and credibility of law enforcement, and to ensure enforcement is carried out in an effective and pragmatic way, taking into consideration all factors involved. During a video conference for public security organs across the province on Saturday afternoon, the Hebei Provincial Department of Public Security called for comprehensive deployment on carrying out the 100-day campaign launched by the ministry, the Chinese media outlet said. Meanwhile, a video of the beating of women by several men at a barbecue restaurant in Tangshan went viral online on June 10 and provoked public outrage across the nation. (ANI) UAE investors have signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) worth USD 2.76 billion with India's state Odisha, after meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Dubai. Odisha Government led by Honourable Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik met key UAE business groups as part of an investment roadshow aimed at promoting investment in the state's industrial sector. The Investors' Meet held on Wednesday was jointly organized with industry body FICCI and the Embassy of India in UAE. It was attended by more than 150 companies based out of the UAE and the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. The announcement comes after the state approved more than 250 large-scale industrial and infrastructure project proposals collectively worth USD 50 billion in sectors such as Metals and Metal downstream, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Textiles and Apparel including Technical Textiles, Food processing including Seafood processing, ESDM, Logistics and Clean Energy in the last two years. Inviting the UAE investors to Odisha State, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik addressed the gathering underlining Odisha's four key advantages including Mineral, Human Resources, Technology in delivering efficient and effective investment facilitation, Progressive policy and governance. "Odisha offers great opportunity to foreign investors and our Team is ready to extend any help to facilitate investment to the UAE investors," he said in a statement. Highlighting the state's rich mineral resources, he said, Odisha holds the lion's share of India's mineral reserves with 96 percent of the country's chromite reserves, 92 per cent nickel, 53 per cent bauxite, 45 per cent manganese, 35 per cent iron-ore, and 23 per cent coal reserves of India. This has made Odisha the largest producer of Steel, Stainless Steel, Ferro Alloys, Alumina, and Aluminium in India. Odisha also has 11 per cent of India's water resources. The state has a 480-km long coastline making it a natural choice for setting up ports, and for international trade. Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, Chief Secretary of Odisha state and Hemant Sharma, Principal Secretary for Industrial Development of Odisha state highlighted the economic opportunities in key sectors. The Investors Meet was addressed by the Indian Ambassador to the UAE, Sanjay Sudheer, who stressed on the significance of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), signed between the UAE and India - which reduces taxes and will help two-way trade and investment between India and the UAE to accelerate. CM Patnaik also announced that the State would be conducting the third edition of its flagship Global Investors Meet - "Make In Odisha 2022" during November 30 to Decemebr 4, this year at Bhubaneswar. (ANI) With the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Hong Kong will mark the 25th anniversary of the city's transfer of sovereignty from British to Chinese rule on Friday. While attending the event today, Xi said that the future of Hong Kong will surely be brighter if "one country, two systems" is firmly upheld and implemented. The former British colony is midway through the 50-year promise of "a high degree of autonomy," given by Beijing under a framework known as "one country, two systems." It is also swearing in its newly appointed leader, hardline former police officer John Lee. The city's authorities will celebrate with an official ceremony. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), this curated image belies the Hong Kong government's repression. Media reports say National Security police intimidated the League of Social Democrats, the territory's last active pro-democracy political party, into abandoning plans to protest. The security police even searched the homes of six members of the League of Social Democrats (LSD), one of the last pro-democracy groups still active in the city, the Hong Kong Free Press reported. "They also appear to be holding the group's chairman, Avery Ng, under arbitrary house arrest. Even the release of results from a public opinion survey about the handover is being postponed under police pressure. The government has barred some media from covering the ceremony, while police set up a labyrinth of barriers to make sure Xi will see no sign of dissent," the HRW said. When Beijing assumed sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, it promised to respect the city's freedoms - a guarantee enshrined in the territory's functional constitution - and rights protected in the Basic Law, and under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. But Beijing broke that promise. When the people of Hong Kong escalated protests to demand their rights, Beijing imposed a draconian National Security Law on the city, put top pro-democracy leaders behind bars, transformed the legislature into a rubber stamp, and dismantled the city's free press and civil society. On top of that, it appointed a policeman with an abusive past as the next chief executive. Yet Hong Kong people are still resisting, according to HRW. This week, after pro-Beijing groups draped public housing estates in a sea of Chinese flags, some residents risked arrest by covering them with white or black cloth signifying mourning, graffitiing them, or taking them down. They also posted sarcastic comments online. One showed a photo of the British Queen visiting Hong Kong surrounded by excited children and entitled it, "Hong Kong children brutally suppressed by the British Queen." Netizens commented on the photo, saying how "Hong Kong was so poor [during British times] we didn't even have ... metal barriers all over the place like now! Grateful for the Chinese Communist Party!" According to the rights group, concerned governments should avoid these official handover events and not risk legitimizing Beijing's insults to Hongkongers. Instead, they should publicly show their support for Hong Kong people's steadfast struggle for human rights. (ANI) Members of Pakistan's minority groups raised several issues related to state atrocities, human rights violations, and systematic discrimination in Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These concerns were raised during a seminar hosted by the World Sindhi Congress in Toronto, Canada. The representatives of the oppressed groups that participated in the seminar include Sindhi, Baloch, Pashtun, and Seraiki, the Balochistan Affairs reported. The seminar was attended by several writers, journalists, and poets who expressed their views on politics, the history of the Subcontinent, and the rising tide of Islamist extremism sponsored by the Pakistani state and its security apparatus, it added. Pakistan's policies were strongly criticized by the representatives and human rights defenders, and they claimed the country to be the state sponsor of terrorism, a destabiliser of peace and democratic societies in the region. The "Two Nation Theory" was also strongly criticized and the activists called it a disaster that destroyed South Asia's ancient Indus Valley Civilizations and peace. Rights experts say that Pakistan's military establishment is a colonial army that runs the state to subjugate minorities and deprive them of their natural wealth and resources. Sami Jan Mengal, Baloch Human Rights Council of Canada, said that the state structure in Pakistan is a tool of the colonial masters that is polished and designed to rule over the oppressed nations, conquered and subjugated as British subjects, it added. Mengal mentioned that the energy-rich Balochistan province lost its national sovereignty after being invaded by the Pakistan Army in 1948. The statements made by lawmakers, officials, and judges of the Islamabad High Court regarding the ethnic profiling of Baloch students by the state security forces also show that Human rights are not the same for everyone, the Baloch activist said adding that there has been a rise in Balochistan's enforced disappearances. According to the representative, Balochistan is not different from Ukraine, and like Ukraine, they demand the same support from the international community for the oppressed nations in South Asia and the Middle East. Nader Baloch said that colonialism, monarchy, military rule, and Shia extremism are some of the major issues faced by the Baloch in Iran and as a result, they played a major role in eliminating their national identity, culture, and self-determination over our land and resources. The Baloch activist also mentioned that every Baloch child born in western Balochistan is forced to choose a name from a list approved by Tehran, and the regime has not allowed them to promote Balochi as a language and as a medium of instruction in schools and universities. The previous and the present government has implemented a ban on Balochi publications, news, poetry, songs, and music and they face discrimination in education, economic development, and employment. (ANI) Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa attended a security exhibition this month in Paris while deliberately keeping a low profile to avoid any possible public backlash, owing to the diplomatic rift between the two countries. For this particular trip, there was no mention in the Pakistani media and no press release was issued by the military media wing. According to South Asian Press, Bajwa kept a very low profile and did not even attend official dinners by the French organizers of the exhibition. Moreover, Pakistan's mission, which lacks an ambassador due to poor Pak-French relations, was apparently not even involved in the visit. "General Bajwa probably kept a low profile in France so as not to upset the Islamist extremist groups back home, which consider France a blasphemous country," South Asain Press reported citing a reporter working in Paris for Pakistani media. At the forefront of such anti-French Islamist extremist groups that General Bajwa does not want to upset is TLP. TTP, known to have close links to the Pakistani military, is now a political party, in recent years has gained popularity in Pakistan after failed efforts by Pakistan's civilian leadership to ban the party on terror charges. TLP emerged as an Islamist pressure group opposing the 2016 hanging of Mumtaz Qadri for murdering former Punjab governor Salman Taseer who had criticized Pakistan's blasphemy laws. Blasphemy is a legal offence in the country. Following Qadri's execution, the TLP and affiliated groups organized nationwide protests, often resorting to destruction of property and street intimidation, an approach it has persisted with. In November 2017, the TLP held the capital hostage for weeks after amendments in the Electoral Reforms Bill, which had overlooked the mandatory anti-Ahmadi clause requiring the members of the constitutionally excommunicated community to declare themselves non-Muslims to participate in any election process. A month after the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government came to power in September 2018, the TLP launched protests against an anti-Islam cartoon competition organized by far-right Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders in the Netherlands. In October 2018, the TLP protested against the Supreme Court releasing Christian woman Asia Bibi establishing that she was falsely accused of blasphemy against Islam. Again, the TLP's pushback came in September 2020 after "Charlie Hebdo" decided to republish caricatures of Prophet Muhammad, coinciding with the trial of abettors of the 2015 jihadist attack on the publication. That same year, French President Emmanuel Macron came to the defence of free speech on religion after a schoolteacher, Samuel Paty, was decapitated by a radical Islamist for showing the French satirical publication's cartoons in class also irked the group. Given such history between the two countries, the South Asian Press report said Pakistan Army Chief may have kept a low profile during the Paris visit to avoid any attention to Pakistani Islamist groups, especially at a time when he is already facing backlash for the ouster of Imran Khan's government. (ANI) Shafi, who is absconding since the beginning of the case, was the central committee secretary of East Pakistan Nezam-e-Islam, a wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. He participated in the provincial assembly elections as its candidate, according to the case records. The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Md Shahinur Islam, found the other accused guilty of the charges brought against them for committing genocide, murders, rapes, abductions and tortures during the 1971 Liberation War in Lakhai. The three other accused in the case, Tajul Islam alias Forkan, Md Jahed Miah alias Jahid Miah, and Saleque Miah alias Sayek Miah, were sentenced imprisonment until death on the same charges. The special court, however, acquitted another accused, Sabbir Ahmed, of war crime charges. According to the verdict, Sabbir, who is also on the run, got acquitted as the prosecution failed to prove the charges brought against him. The tribunal withdrew an arrest warrant it had earlier issued against Sabbir. In 1971, Shafi took the stance against the Independence of Bangladesh and worked as a close associate and collaborator for the Pakistani Occupation Army. He was also known as a leader of the peace committee and Razakar Bahini of Lakhai' and worked as the auxiliary force of Pakistan Army, who committed genocide, rapes and killings. Tajul, Jahed and Saleque were members of the Razakar Bahini. The tribunal's investigating agency released the final report on March 21, 2016 against the five accused per sons. The trial in the case began on February 8, 2019 with the framing of charges against the accused. --IANS sumi/arm ( 311 Words) 2022-06-30-21:36:02 (IANS) The lone survivor of a crash that killed two teenagers and a 9-year-old child in Missouri is facing three counts of involuntary manslaughter, police said. The 13-year-old driver is now being held at the St. Louis County Family Courts on the three charges, according to a June 29 news release from the Florissant Police Department. An investigation into the deadly crash found the 13-year-old driver took a family members decommissioned police K9 vehicle without permission. The teen was driving a 9-year-old cousin and two other 13-year-old passengers who were not related, authorities said. The 2011 Ford Expedition crashed into a tree early Monday, June 27, and immediately caught fire, police said, engulfing the entire vehicle. Authorities say speed and inexperienced driving contributed to the fatal crash. A neighbor heard the commotion at about 2 a.m., according to KSDK. I heard a boom and I thought it was something in my house and maybe my son had done something, Dwayne Elliot told the TV station. I got about halfway down the driveway and the car just exploded. It just exploded and I heard a guy saying I think theres someone in the car. Police say the drivers family member legally purchased the SUV after the Hillsdale Police Department sold it to a tow company. The vehicle still had its K9 partition, which separates the back seat from the cargo area. The teenager is the only person facing charges, though the crash investigation is ongoing. This is a horrible tragedy for the families and everyone involved and we continue to offer our sincere condolences to the families of the victims during this extreme time of grief, police said. 13-year-old driver the lone survivor of crash that killed 3 kids, Missouri cops say Live-streaming teens crash stolen car, killing 1 and injuring 3, Texas cops say 16-year-old dies in stolen SUV after it crashes fleeing from police, Louisiana cops say An undated portrait of Emmett Louis Till, 14, whose weighted-down body was found in the Tallahatchie River near the Delta community of Money, Miss., on Aug. 31, 1955. (Associated Press) A team searching a Mississippi courthouse basement for evidence about the lynching of Black teenager Emmett Till has found the unserved warrant charging a white woman in his 1955 kidnapping, and relatives of the victim want authorities to finally arrest her nearly 70 years later. A warrant for the arrest of Carolyn Bryant Donham identified as Mrs. Roy Bryant on the document was discovered last week by searchers inside a file folder that had been placed in a box, Leflore County Circuit Clerk Elmus Stockstill told the Associated Press on Wednesday. Documents are kept inside boxes by decade, he said, but there was nothing else to indicate where the warrant, dated Aug. 29, 1955, might have been. They narrowed it down between the 50s and 60s and got lucky," said Stockstill, who certified the warrant as genuine. The search group included members of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation and two Till relatives: cousin Deborah Watts, head of the foundation; and her daughter, Teri Watts. Relatives want authorities to use the warrant to arrest Donham, who at the time of the slaying was married to one of two white men tried and acquitted just weeks after Till was abducted from a relative's home, killed and dumped into a river. Serve it and charge her, Teri Watts told the AP in an interview. Keith Beauchamp, whose documentary film The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till preceded a renewed Justice Department probe that ended without charges in 2007, was also part of the search. He said theres enough new evidence to prosecute Donham. Donham set off the case in August 1955 by accusing the 14-year-old Till of making improper advances at a family store in Money, Miss. A cousin of Till who was there has said Till whistled at the woman, an act that flew in the face of Mississippi's racist social codes of the era. Evidence indicates a woman, possibly Donham, identified Till to the men who later killed him. The arrest warrant against Donham was publicized at the time, but the Leflore County sheriff told reporters he did not want to bother the woman since she had two young children to care for. Story continues Now in her 80s and most recently living in North Carolina, Donham has not commented publicly on calls for her prosecution. But Teri Watts said the Till family believes the warrant accusing Donham of kidnapping amounts to new evidence. This is what the state of Mississippi needs to go ahead, she said. Dist. Atty. Dewayne Richardson, whose office would prosecute a case, declined comment on the warrant but cited a December report about the Till case from the Justice Department, which said no prosecution was possible. Contacted by the AP on Wednesday, Leflore County Sheriff Ricky Banks said: This is the first time I've known about a warrant. Banks, who was 7 years old when Till was killed, said nothing was said about a warrant when a former district attorney investigated the case five or six years ago. I will see if I can get a copy of the warrant and get with the DA and get their opinion on it, Banks said. If the warrant can still be served, Banks said, he would have to talk to law enforcement officers in the state where Donham resides. Arrest warrants can go stale due to the passage of time and changing circumstances, and one from 1955 almost certainly wouldn't pass muster before a court, even if a sheriff agreed to serve it, said Ronald J. Rychlak, a law professor at the University of Mississippi. But combined with any new evidence, the original arrest warrant absolutely could be an important stepping stone toward establishing probable cause for a new prosecution, he said. "If you went in front of a judge you could say, Once upon a time a judge determined there was probable cause, and much more information is available today," Rychlak said. Till, who was from Chicago, was visiting relatives in Mississippi when he entered the store where Donham, then 21, was working on Aug. 24, 1955. A Till relative who was there, Wheeler Parker, told AP that Till whistled at the woman. Donham testified in court that Till also grabbed her and made a lewd comment. Two nights later, Donhams then-husband, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, showed up armed at the rural Leflore County home of Tills great-uncle, Mose Wright, looking for the youth. Till's brutalized body, weighted down by a fan, was pulled from a river days later in another county. His mother's decision to open the casket so mourners in Chicago could see what had happened helped galvanize the building civil rights movement of the time. Bryant and Milam were acquitted of murder but later admitted the killing in a magazine interview. While both men were named in the same warrant that accused Donham of kidnapping, authorities did not pursue the case following their acquittal. Wright testified during the murder trial that a person with a voice lighter than a mans identified Till from inside a pickup truck and the abductors took him away. Other evidence in FBI files indicates that earlier that same night, Donham told her husband at least two other Black men were not the right person. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Two men could face the death penalty as part of a federal investigation into the deaths of 53 migrants who perished after being abandoned in a tractor-trailer in the sweltering San Antonio heat this week, the Justice Department said Wednesday, describing the deadliest human smuggling event in U.S. history. Texas native Homero Zamorano, the alleged truck driver, was arrested Wednesday on criminal charges connected to his alleged involvement in the deadly smuggling campaign. If convicted, the 45-year-old Pasadena resident faces up to life in prison, or the possibility of the death penalty, according to the DOJ's press release. When authorities responded to the scene on Monday, they spotted Zamorano hiding in the brush after attempting to flee the scene, according to the press release. He was then detained by San Antonio Police Department officers. Federal law enforcement traced Zamorano back to the abandoned truck using surveillance footage from U.S. Border Patrol that showed the tractor-trailer crossing through an immigration checkpoint in the Laredo sector. The driver in the video seen wearing a black shirt with stripes and a hat matched Zamorano's appearance, officials said. Christian Martinez, 28, was also charged after federal law enforcement officials executed a search warrant on a cell phone belonging to Zamorano. Investigators found communications between him and Martinez in which they discussed the smuggling attempt, according to the release. San Antonio police officers and federal law enforcement from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) a division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded to the scene of the suspected human smuggling event on Monday, after a municipal worker heard cries for help and encountered the trailer with its doors partially ajar. Police received multiple 911 calls from concerned citizens, according to the release. Authorities found 64 migrants suspected of entering the United States without authorization at the scene, including multiple victims still inside the tractor-trailer which investigators found was registered to a residence in San Antonio and in the nearby brush. Story continues The number of migrants who died as a result of being abandoned in the truck without air conditioning or water rose to 53 on Wednesday, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner. More than a dozen others including children were transported to local hospitals with heat-related injuries. As of Wednesday afternoon, 11 people remained hospitalized, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Craig Larrabee, an HSI special agent in charge in San Antonio investigating the incident, called it "eye-opening" and "horrific" in an interview. "This is the highest casualty event related to human smuggling in U.S. history," he told CBS News. Larrabee said his agency has recorded an increase in transnational smuggling networks using tractor-trailers to transport large groups of migrants who entered the country unlawfully. "You have organizations that simply do not care about the safety of the individuals they're transporting," he added. "It's a commodity." Earlier this week, Juan Claudio D'Luna-Mendez, 23, and Juan Francisco D'Luna-Bilbao, 48, both citizens of Mexico, were arrested on separate criminal charges of possession of firearms. Federal prosecutors have requested that both men be held without bond. The men each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines if convicted. The two made initial appearances before the U.S. Magistrate in San Antonio on Monday, and are expected back in court Friday morning, for their respective detention hearings. All four defendants remain in federal custody. Zamorano is slated to appear before the U.S. Magistrate in San Antonio on Thursday. No court dates have been set for Martinez, who was arrested Tuesday in Palestine and awaits transfer to the Western District of Texas. Dr. Celine Gounder on Omicron booster shot and monkeypox concerns CVS removes purchase limits on "Plan B" while other pharmacies keep three-pill order maximum R. Kelly sentenced to 30 years in prison on federal sex trafficking charges Missing Japanese porn actor Rina Arano was found dead and tied to a tree in an Ibaraki forest in Japan. The 23-year-old actor from Tokyos Bunko Ward was last seen alive on June 5 before her family reported her missing three days later. Arano was reportedly captured on CCTV outside a train station in Ibaraki Prefecture as she got into a car with Hiroyuki Sanpei, a 33-year-old man who had been texting her before she went missing. The police started searching for Arano on June 8. Fans of Arano reportedly found her partly-decomposed body on June 14 in a forest in Hitachiota, Ibaraki Prefecture, after the police released a description of her body. More from NextShark: OnlyFans couple wanted by Thai police for filming sex videos at popular resort surrender Rina Arano was tied to a tree without clothes and has been dead for almost two weeks. We are still trying to determine the cause of death, the police said in a statement. An autopsy determined her death resulted from a fractured hyoid bone, which is situated beneath the tongue and jaw. There is a possibility that Arano could have been strangled to death, according to the investigators. The police have arrested Hiroyuki Sanpei on suspicion of kidnapping and confining Arano. More from NextShark: 'It came out of nowhere': 'The Boys' star Karen Fukuhara says she was victim of hate crime attack The actors body was found a mile away from Sanpeis luxurious villa. While he denied the allegations, Sanpei said he took Arano to his villa where he handcuffed her briefly and later dropped her off at a nearby store. The police found a mattress in the basement of the villa along with items that indicated someone had been staying there. The mans phone, which allegedly had pictures of Arano in handcuffs, was seized as evidence. Sanpei claimed the pictures were taken with Aranos consent. Investigators also noted a drive recorder installed in the suspects car, which had captured photos of him driving along a forest road near the location where Aranos dead body was found. Story continues More from NextShark: China slams Japan human rights resolution as 'malicious slander,' 'gross interference' Sanpei has not been charged. Investigators have yet to conclude their investigation. Featured Image via ANNnewsCH More from NextShark: Dallas police now investigating Asian salon shooting as a hate crime An employee of a Stop and Shop in Abington will appear in court for threatening a mass shooting at the store, 25 Investigates has learned. As investigative reporter Ted Daniel uncovered, there was a delay in alerting law enforcement. According to the police report, management at the Centre Street stored waited more than five hours to notify police that a frustrated employee had threatened to get a gun and kill everyone on June 15th. The redacted police report does not include the employees name. But it says coworkers heard him say he was going to go home, get a gun and come back and kill everyone. The document goes on to say the employee was aggravated because he was having trouble punching in after lunch. Store management became aware of the threat at 11:30 a.m. according to the report. But the first call to police wasnt made until 4:55 p.m. William Flynn, a former deputy assistant for Infrastructure Protection at the Department of Homeland Security, says a delay of any kind is totally inexcusable. Flynn cofounded The Power of Preparedness, a company that provides active shooter training to the private sector. Unfortunately, in this society were living in the individuals involved with these things generally go in to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible, and certainly that may not have been the case here. But the threat was made and threat has to be dealt with seriously, Flynn said. According to the police report, the employee lives with his father, a legal gun owner. The father told police his firearms are locked away and his son did not have access to them. Police asked Stop and Shop about the reporting delays. A store manager stated, the matter was brought up to the companys corporate office and there were steps and protocols followed before the store was advised to alert police. A Stop and Shop spokesperson said in part in a statement: Stop & Shop takes these matter extremely seriously, and we have a zero-tolerance policy for this type of threat. This Associate is no longer employed at Stop & Shop. Our store team moved swiftly to manage the situation and to contact local law enforcement. Story continues There are no state or federal laws that require companies to report threats of workplace violence to law enforcement in a specific time. Employers do have a legal obligation to provide a safe workplace, according to OSHA. The employee will be summoned to court to determine if criminal charges are appropriate. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Three town councils marked down for arrears management in service and conservancy charges, according to an annual MND report. (PHOTO: Getty Images) SINGAPORE Three town councils were handed lower ratings for their performance in managing overdue Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC) in the latest Ministry of National Development (MND) annual report. The Town Council Management Report (TCMR) for FY2021, which covers April 2021 to March 2022, showed that Chua Chu Kang, Jurong-Clementi and Sengkang town councils received "amber" ratings, according to the reported released Wednesday (29 June). This is because these three town councils had 40 per cent to less than 60 per cent of the monthly collectible S&CC overdue, or had between four and less than six in 100 households that owed payment for three months or more. Assessments ratings are given using three colour bands green, amber and red (from best to worse). In contrast, the 14 remaining town councils that were banded green had less than 40 per cent of the towns monthly S&CC overdue, and less than four in 100 households in arrears for three months or more. Apart from management of S&CC payments, the operational report also assessed all 17 town councils on three other aspects: estate cleanliness, estate maintenance, and lift performance. All 17 town councils scored green for these three aspects. Cleanliness and maintenance For estate cleanliness and estate maintenance, the Housing Development Board made fewer than four counts of cleanliness and maintenance observations per block on average, during its inspection of the estate. Town cleanliness is rated based on observations such as presence of stain, litter, bulky refuse and graffiti, while town maintenance is judged based on whether there are obstructions in common areas, unauthorised fixtures and damaged pipes or walls, amongst other considerations. Story continues For lift performance, all the town councils scored "green" as there were fewer than two lift faults per 10 lifts each month, and less than an hour of downtime per lift each month. Lift faults were measured by the tele-monitoring system. This was the first report since the COVID-19 pandemic after a previous report for the April 2020 to March 2021 period was suspended due to the electoral boundary chances following the 2020 General Election and the circuit breaker period. According to MND, the performance of the town councils for this latest report has improved compared to FY2019 where three different town councils were marked for amber scores across estate maintenance and S&CC arrears management. The corporate governance indicator is absent from the latest operational report as it will be released under the TCMR Governance Report in November or December. Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore SAN DIEGO (AP) Four of five former U.S. naval officers were convicted Wednesday of conspiracy, bribery and fraud as part of the Fat Leonard corruption scandal. The five were the last of 34 defendants to stand trial on charges they were bought off by the Malaysian defense contractor Leonard Francis, who prosecutors said plied them with prostitutes, Cuban cigars and free hotel stays, among other things. A federal jury convicted former Capts. David Newland, James Dolan and David Lausman and former Cmdr. Mario Herrera of conspiracy to commit bribery, receiving bribes, and conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, the U.S. attorney's office announced. The jury deadlocked and reached no verdict on charges against a fifth defendant, former Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless. The case has centered around Francis, who admitted in 2015 to offering $500,000 in bribes to Navy officers. In exchange, the officers passed him classified information and even went so far as redirecting military vessels to ports that were lucrative for his Singapore-based ship servicing company. Prosecutors say Francis and his company overcharged the U.S. military by more than $35 million for its services. Francis, who is scheduled to be sentenced in July, has been cooperating with the U.S. Department of Justice since his arrest in 2013. UPDATE 07/02 12 P.M.: According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), Beard was found and arrested in Memphis by US Marshals. UPDATE: We are happy to share that Kylan D'Javion Beard was located in Memphis and was taken into custody by @USMarshalsHQ. pic.twitter.com/0Rw7mSCIBO Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (@TBInvestigation) July 2, 2022 ORIGINAL REPORT 06/30: Just a day after checking himself out of a Memphis hospital with a gunshot wound to his leg, a man has been added to the Tennessee Most Wanted list for killing an 18-year-old man and injuring two children under the age of 18, according to District Attorney Mark Davidson. Late Tuesday night, on June 28, Davidson said that 18-year-old Kylan Beard kicked open the door of a shack behind a house on Spivey Street in Ripley, Tennessee and opened fire. Beards bullets struck three people, killing 18-year-old Donell Barbee and injuring two children, according to Davidson. RELATED: 18-year-old dead, two children shot in burglary, DA says Donell Barbee, 18, died after four people were shot in Ripley, Tennessee on June 28, 2022. When authorities investigated the aftermath of the fatal burglary, Beard was also found nearby with a gunshot wound to his leg, the district attorney told FOX13. Beard was flown to Regional One Hospital in Memphis for treatment, at the time only known as a gunshot victim and not named a suspect. The investigation soon revealed that Beard fired the fatal bullet and warrants were issued for the 18-year-olds arrest, the district attorney said. However, while he was at Regional One and not named a suspect in the case, Beard checked himself out of the hospital. Now, the Ripley Police Department, the US Marshals and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are all looking for Beard, saying he should be considered armed and dangerous. Story continues Kylan Beard has been added to the Tennessee Most Wanted list. There's a $2,500 reward out for information leading to his arrest. A $2,500 reward has been offered for any information that leads to his arrest. Beard faces charges of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, especially aggravated robbery and possessing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. A release from the U.S. Marshals said: The U.S. Marshals Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force (Memphis & Jackson, TN) has issued an WANTED poster for Kylan DJavion BEARD. BEARD is Wanted by The Ripley Police Dept., US Marshals and TBI For First Degree Murder and Should Be Considered Armed and Dangerous. The US Marshals and TBI are offering up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of BEARD. You can contact The Ripley PD 731-635-1515, TBI 1-800-TBI-Find or US Marshals 202-307-9100 with any information regarding BEARDs whereabouts. Download the FOX13 Memphis app to receive alerts from breaking news in your neighborhood. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD Trending stories: Stephen Colbert asked Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez if she might run for president in 2024. "I don't know about all of that," Ocasio-Cortez responded while laughing. She said people need to "focus on keeping a democracy for anybody to be president." New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez evaded a question from late-night show host Stephen Colbert, who asked if she would run for president in 2024. During a segment of Tuesday's episode of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," Colbert quizzed Ocasio-Cortez on the possibility of her throwing her hat in the ring. "You know, I know somebody who is going to turn 35 about a month before the election in 2024, and they represent New York's 14th. Is that job appealing to you at all?" he asked as Ocasio-Cortez pretended to look around for the person he was referring to. "Listen, I think that we need to focus on keeping a democracy for anybody to be president in the next couple of years. And that's my central focus is helping the people of this country right now," Ocasio-Cortez replied. "So it's possible," Colbert continued, joking that his questions would "get her in trouble." "I don't know about all of that," Ocasio-Cortez said while laughing. During her appearance on Colbert's show, Ocasio-Cortez said that she thought House members who asked Trump for pardons should be expelled from office. "It was just stunning to understand and see the detail and the depth through which there was a conscientiousness of guilt," Ocasio-Cortez told Colbert. "They knew that what they were doing was wrong," she added. While speaking to CNN earlier this month, the congresswoman declined to say if she would support President Joe Biden for re-election in 2024. "I'm focused on winning this (House) majority right now and preserving a majority this year and 2022, so we'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Ocasio-Cortez told the outlet. "But I think if the president has a vision, that's something, certainly, we're all willing to entertain and examine when the time comes." Read the original article on Business Insider The American Red Cross is urging donors to give blood ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. The organization said it typically sees a 21 percent drop in blood donations during holiday weeks. >> Report: Fireworks-related injuries jumped around 25 percent in last 15 years Since Fourth of July fireworks are known to cause injuries, blood donations are needed. The Red Cross said blood does have a shelf life so consistent donations are always needed. You can find your local blood drives here. The explosion pierced the outer walls of the theater Read also: Satellite images show Russian invaders clearing rubble from bombed-out drama theater in Mariupol A Russian air strike destroyed the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theater in Mariupol, Ukraine, with a Russian tactical fighter aircraft most likely dropping two 500-kilogram bombs, Amnesty, the world's leading human rights organization, said in the report. The report, titled "'Children': The Attack on the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theater in Mariupol," details the evidence Amnesty has collected to demonstrate that the attack was a clear war crime. "The count is much smaller than previously reported" Amnesty International collected and analyzed a range of evidence related to the attack on the theater, including 53 first-hand testimonies from survivors and witnesses of the attack and its aftermath, 28 of whom were inside or adjacent to the theater at the time of the attack; satellite imagery from immediately before and shortly after the attack; radar data from before and after the attack; authenticated photographic and video material provided by survivors and witnesses; two sets of architectural plans; and open-source information. "After months of rigorous investigation, analysis of satellite imagery and interviews with dozens of witnesses, we concluded that the strike was a clear war crime committed by Russian forces," said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International's secretary general. Read also: Russian occupiers burn church library in Mariupol "Many people were injured and killed in this merciless attack. Their deaths were likely caused by Russian forces deliberately targeting Ukrainian civilians. The International Criminal Court, and all others with jurisdiction over crimes committed during this conflict, must investigate this attack as a war crime." It is unclear precisely how many people were killed, but it is likely that the count is much smaller than previously reported. In the immediate wake of the attack, the Mariupol City Council claimed that about 300 people were killed. A subsequent investigation by the Associated Press concluded that as many as 600 may have died. Story continues Evidence gathered by Amnesty International indicates that a large number of residents left the theater shortly before the attack, including on March 14 and 15, when the "green corridors" opened. And most of those who remained in the theater had the opportunity to stay in safer parts of the building, including in front of the theater and the basement, which were protected from direct explosion. On the other hand, a small number of people who were in the field kitchen outside and directly on the stage and in the front rows were likely to be seriously injured and killed. Read also: Captured Mariupol defenders alive, detention conditions unclear, says Presidents Office To quantify the explosive power of the ordnance likely used in the attack, Amnesty International asked a physicist to design a mathematical model of the detonation. Using a Jarret Curve analysis, a method routinely used in post-blast analyses, the expert's model found that "the minimum yield of the explosion ranges from about 400-800 kg TNT equivalent." To determine what aerial bombs in the Russian arsenal contained 400-800kg NEW, as determined in the mathematical model, Amnesty International conducted an open-source analysis of digital content and found that the vast majority of weapons employed by Russian tactical fighter aircraft during the war in Ukraine were 500kg bombs. Significantly, no evidence of the actual employment (that is, duds or identified fragments) of aerial bombs over 500kg was found, making it unlikely that a single larger weapon was used. In the current conflict, Russian has employed several varieties of 500kg aircraft bombs, including FAB-500 M54s (NEW of 220kg), FAB-500 M62s (NEW of 300kg), and OFAB-500s (NEW of 230kg). The weapons used in this case are most likely two 500kg bombs, a pair of the same model, which would yield a total NEW of 440600kg, within the scope of the mathematical model. The most likely Russian aircraft to have conducted the strike on the theater are multi-role fighters, such as the Su-25, Su-30, or Su-34, which are based at nearby Russian airfields and were frequently operating over southern Ukraine. Read also: Mariupol theater airstrike killed two time more people than estimated before, AP investigation says Amnesty International examined several alternative theories about who perpetrated the attack and which weapons were used. The investigation found no credible evidence to support other possible explanations, including an attack by Ukrainian forces using bombs or ballistic missiles, or by either party to the conflict using lighter weapons, such as rocket artillery. Moreover, the investigation found no convincing evidence to support the explanation put forward by the Russian Federation's Ministry of Defense that the attack was a "false flag" operation by the Ukrainian forces' Azov Regiment, which it claimed purposefully destroyed the building from within. The evidence strongly suggests that the drama theater was the intended target of the attack by Russian forces. I couldn't believe my eyes From the start of the war on Feb. 24 until it was destroyed, the theater served as a haven for civilians fleeing violence in other parts of the city; a hub for the distribution of food, water, and critical information about desperately awaited evacuation corridors; and a designated gathering point for the expected evacuations. The theater was a large distinctive building and a cultural landmark. It was also the lone large building in the center of a big park, surrounded by approximately 100m of green space that is encircled by a wide road. Local people had written the giant Cyrillic letters "Deti" (Russian for "children") on forecourts on either side of the building, which would have been clearly visible to Russian pilots and was also visible on satellite imagery. Nevertheless, Russian bombs struck the theater shortly after 10 a.m. on March 16, producing a large explosion which caused the roof and huge portions of two main walls to collapse. At the time of the attack, hundreds of civilians were in and around the theater. Read also: Surviving Azovstal defender shares his story about the last days of Mariupol The bombs destroyed the adjacent interior walls along the sides of the performance space, and then breached the exterior load-bearing walls, creating two main debris fields on the buildings north-eastern and south-western sides. Both debris fields are visible on satellite imagery taken minutes after the strike. "It all happened in front of our eyes. We were 200 or 300 meters away (when) the explosion happened I could hear a plane and the sound of bombs dropping. Then we saw the roof (of the theater) rise up," Igor Moroz, a 50-year-old architect who was nearby when the theater was hit, told Amnesty. "I was walking down the street leading to the drama theater I could hear the noise of a plane but at that time I didn't really pay attention because (planes) were constantly flying around I saw the roof of the building explode It jumped 20 meters and then collapsed then I saw a lot of smoke and rubble I couldn't believe my eyes because the theater was a sanctuary. There were two big 'children' signs," said Gregory Golovniov, a 51-year-old businessman. Vitaliy Kontarov, a 48-year-old lorry driver who was also close to the theater at the time of the attack, told Amnesty: "We heard planes I saw two missiles fire from one plane towards the theater." Everything changed in a second Interviewees provided Amnesty with the full names of four people who were killed: Mykhailo Hrebenstskii, Luba Sviridova, Yelena Kuznetsova and Igor Chystiakov. They also gave the first names of three other people they believe were killed. Several survivors and other witnesses reported seeing dead bodies they could not identify, and it is likely that many fatalities remain unreported. In addition, Amnesty conducted a comprehensive analysis of open source data, traditional media reported three victims, and three more were reported in posts on social networks. Thus, Amnesty gathered evidence of at least 12 deaths, although many bodies remain unidentified. A teenager who was sheltering in the basement with her boyfriend and her mother when the bombs struck, told Amnesty: "In a second, everything changed. Everything jumped up People started screaming. It was full of dust I saw people bleeding. We grabbed our documents and left Some people were not as lucky." Read also: Russia accused of spreading fake news to lure evacuated residents back to Mariupol Yehven Hrebenstskii, who found the body of his father Mykhailo inside the concert hall, told Amnesty: "There were many injured people There were police trying to pull people out of the rubble At first, I saw his (Mykhailo's) arm. First, I saw a familiar hand. You know the hand of your loved ones. His face was covered with blood. His body was covered with bricks I didn't want my mum to see." Dmytro Symonenko, who was with Luba Sviridova moments before she died from her injuries, told Amnesty: "She was severely injured. She managed to crawl from the rubble she asked us to remember her name, because she felt she was dying." Many other interviewees told Amnesty they had seen bloodied bodies and dismembered body parts in the rubble of the devastated building. Targeted attack on civilians A cardinal principle of International humanitarian law is that parties to the conflict must at all times distinguish between civilians and civilian objects on the one hand and members of the military and military objectives on the other hand. Military objectives can be targeted; it is illegal to target civilians or civilian objects. Prior to any attack, members of the military are required to take precautionary steps to ensure that they are reasonably certain they are not targeting civilians or civilian objects. Read also: Russian hold on Mariupol is temporary, says Zelensky "None of the 28 survivors of the attack interviewed by Amnesty International, or any of the other witnesses present at or around the theater on the day of the attack, provided any information indicating that the Ukrainian military was using the theater as a base of operations, a place to store weapons, or a place from which to launch attacks," the report says. "The evidently civilian character of the theater and the absence of any legitimate military objective in or near the theater (particularly one requiring such a large payload) indicate that Russian forces most likely intentionally targeted the theater knowing it was a civilian object." So, Russian forces most likely intentionally targeted the theater knowing it was a civilian object, which is a war crime, Amnesty said. "Many people were injured and killed in this merciless attack. Their deaths were likely caused by Russian forces deliberately targeting Ukrainian civilians," Callamard said. Read also: Russian attacks on Kharkiv Oblast kill two, injure nine civilians "Through the air and on the ground, Russian forces have been on a well-documented and deliberate killing spree of civilians in Ukraine. Thorough investigations are urgently needed in order to hold perpetrators accountable for the serious injury and loss of civilian life they caused, as well as for the extensive damage to civilian infrastructure." A nursing home in Marion, Ark., is battling a COVID-19 outbreak. Willowbend Healthcare and Rehabilitation holds 112 residents. FOX13 learned that a COVID threat inside the building resulted in some staff and residents testing positive for the virus. As COVID case data continues to show both dips and spikes regionally, in recent weeks numbers appear to be on the rise and nursing homes could be taking a hit. Just this week, Willowbend reported the outbreak at the Marion facility. Rachel Bunch, Executive Director of the Arkansas Care Association, told FOX13 shes seen a rise in COVID-19 cases across the state. According to the Arkansas Department of Health, as of June 26th there were 17 confirmed cases, including five staff members and 12 residents who were infected at Willowbend. We also reached out to Willowbend to confirm. Bunch told us the Willowbend facility had 29 positive COVID cases with 24 of those residents now listed as recovered, leaving only five active COVID-19 residents at the facility. According to Bunch, the original case was traced back to a visitor. We know this has been a long road, but the continuous rise in cases reaffirms that we cannot let our guard down when it comes to COVID and that goes for visitors as well, she said. Revised visitation recommendations from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), advise indoor visitation be allowed regardless of vaccination status. Bunchs statement continued: Visitation would be limited though, for unvaccinated residents, if the county positivity rate is greater than 10 percent and less than 70 percent of residents are vaccinated. Our staff is dedicated to maintaining the appropriate policies and procedures put in place by the CDC and CMS. According to CMS, based on data from the week of June 12th, more than 1 million cases were confirmed in residents at facilities across the nation. Over 2,400 staff COVID-related deaths were reported nationally, and over 150,000 resident deaths were reported. Story continues While great progress has been made in the fight against COVID, the elderly are still among the most vulnerable, said Bunch. Download the FOX13 Memphis app to receive alerts from breaking news in your neighborhood. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD Trending stories: A North Carolina attorney who sued the Charlotte-based federal public defenders office over sexual discrimination has won the right to continue her case despite limited workplace legal protections. Her lawyer, Jeannie Suk Gersen, called the move a crystal clear victory for judiciary employees constitutional rights, The Washington Post reported. In 2019, Caryn Strickland accused a supervising attorney of sexual harassment, saying hed flirted with her and insinuated that he could advance her career in return for sexual favors. Strickland says in her lawsuit she tried to use the courts internal dispute resolution process but was stonewalled by office leadership, prompting her to resign in 2019 and sue the office in 2020. The offices top court-appointed leader, Anthony Martinez, likened her relationship with the supervising attorney to a marriage requiring compromise, she alleged in the complaint, and eventually moved her to a position that required even more contact with the attorney shed accused. Martinez was replaced as federal defender for the district in March. The office didnt respond to The Charlotte Observers request for comment. Strickland also couldnt be reached for comment. But she testified before a U.S. House Judiciary Committee in March 2022 to weigh in on legislation that would strengthen protections for judiciary employees complaining of workplace harassment. Unlike other federal government employees, federal judicial workers dont have protections from workplace sexual harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. But in April, a three-judge panel agreed with Stricklands argument that judicial employees have a right to sue their employers. Their unanimous decision, which spanned 118 pages, limits Stricklands civil remedies but backs up her right to sue over sexual discrimination in the workplace. That ruling took effect last week. Now, the case is back before the court where Strickland originally complained. The office is free to negotiate directly with Strickland or argue in front of a local court, wholl now be directed by the panels judgment that Strickland has a case. Story continues Her allegations have also reverberated on a national scale. Lawmakers to whom she testified in the spring said that they consider the judgment a victory for federal judicial employees who, until now, havent had much room to fight against gendered and sexual discrimination in their offices. Theyre weighing more measures, including a separate oversight system, for future complaints. Congress must now step up to provide all judicial branch employees with the protections and remedies against sexual harassment and retaliation available to nearly every other public and private employee, Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) told The Washington Post. The committee had already passed some changes to the disciplinary process in 2019, but they didnt apply to Stricklands case as shed already resigned by that spring. The previous system had been informed by strict confidentiality policies, but Judge Merrick Garland announced in 2019 that those guidelines cant be applied to misconduct. Update: Atwater police are investigating the citys fourth homicide of the year and second within a week, after a man was shot and killed in a high school parking lot, according to authorities. Officers responded at about 11:40 p.m. Wednesday, after receiving a report of a shooting in the northwest parking lot of Buhach Colony High School, according to an Atwater Police Department news release. Arriving officers located the man lying in the parking lot suffering from gunshot wounds. Police said life-saving measures were attempted but unsuccessful and the man was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said officers located evidence of narcotics activity as a possible motive for the shooting. According to the release, officers are working to canvass the area in search of further evidence including possible video surveillance of the area a the time of the shooting. Police said they are looking for a black sedan occupied by two males who left the area of the incident. The victims identity has been released pending notification of next of kin. Authorities said there is no evidence that the homicide is connected to Buhach Colony High School other than it occurring at that location. This is the second recorded homicide in the city within the past week. Authorities said 20-year-old Kevin Arias was shot and killed in Atwater on Sunday, June 26. Officers located Arias lying in the road suffering from gunshot wounds near the intersection of Mitchell Avenue and Willow Street. Police have requested help from the public as it works to gather information related to both homicide cases. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Atwater Police Department at 209-357-6384 and ask for Detective-Sgt. Brum or Det. Vargas. Original Story: Atwater police are investigating the citys fourth homicide of the year and second within a week, after a man was shot and killed in a high school parking lot, according to authorities. Officers responded shortly after 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, to Buhach Colony High School located at 1800 N. Buhach Road, where they located man suffering from gunshot wounds. This is the second shooting homicide recorded in the city within one week. A man suffering from gunshot wounds was located in the street near the intersection of Mitchell Avenue and Willow Street on June 26. On June 30 at approximately 7:45 a.m., access to internet and mobile communications was cut in Sudan. This communications blackout comes as Sudanese citizens engage in demonstrations in support of democracy. The Carter Center condemns this internet shutdown, which restricts freedom of expression and access to information. Shutdowns violate the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and freedom of association under Articles 19, 21, and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Carter Center urges Sudanese authorities to restore full internet access and mobile communications so that citizens can fully enjoy their fundamental human rights. ### The Carter Center Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope. A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide. SYDNEY (Reuters) -Visiting the Malaysian city where she was born, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her story showed that Australia was part of Asia, as new data showed more than half of Australians were born overseas or had an immigrant parent. Wong visited Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah state, where she lived for eight years as a child before migrating to Australia, as part of an official visit to Malaysia. "One in two Australians are either born overseas or have parents who were born overseas so this is a very Australian experience," she told media on her first visit to Malaysia since a Labor government won office last month. "It matters that Australia speaks to South East Asia in a way that recognises that we are part of this region and our futures are shared," she said. Results of a census conducted every five years and released on Tuesday showed for the first time more than half of the Australian population (51.5%) were born overseas or had a migrant parent. "We are a multicultural and diverse nation ... It is one of the strengths of who Australia is and we should tell that story in the region more," she said. Wong recalled a day earlier in a speech that her grandmother, of Hakka Chinese descent, had raised her children alone in Sabah after most of the family died in World War Two. Wong's father won an Australian scholarship to study architecture at the University of Adelaide, which "meant he could climb out of the poverty he experienced as a child". He married an Australian woman, and the couple returned to raise a family in Kota Kinabalu. Wong's comments and official visit to Malaysia come two decades after a former Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, famously said Australia could not join an East Asian diplomatic group because "they are Europeans, they cannot be Asians". Mahathir later predicted in a 2019 newspaper interview that migration meant Australia would in future "be more Asian than European". Story continues In an emailed statement late on Friday, Mahathir told Reuters he was proud that a Malaysia-born Australian was the foreign minister and that all nations will be multiracial "because of ease of travel and porous borders." Britain, India, China, New Zealand and the Philippines were the biggest source nations for the almost one-third of Australian residents who were born overseas, the census showed, with Asian countries combined a bigger source than Britain and New Zealand. (Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; additional reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi in Kuala Lumpur; Editing by Robert Birsel) Luther Moody Trent, a Baltimore man who set fire to his ex-girlfriends home while she and two others were inside, pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to a charge of malicious property destruction. Trent admitted in federal court to pouring gasoline on the rowhouse at 1900 Linden Ave. on May 21, 2021, and lighting it. He again made headlines in January when he gave an interview to Fox45 in which he said he burned the Bolton Hill home out of infatuation for the ex-girlfriend. In my head, it was some Romeo and Juliet type of thing if I cant have you, no one can have you, at least in Baltimore, he told the TV station. Trent told U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Hollander that he suffers from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and has been previously institutionalized. He also said Thursday that he did not receive his daily medication for both conditions before being taken to court. Still, he testified he was in his right mind and Hollander let the proceedings continue. It is the second time Trent, 22, has pleaded guilty to setting the fire. He pleaded in Baltimore Circuit Court in December, making headlines because the deal released him from custody after having served less than six months in jail. The Baltimore States Attorneys Office originally charged him with 18 felonies, including three attempted-murder charges. That plea deal was thrown out after Baltimore States Attorney Marilyn Mosbys political opponents asked a Maryland appellate court to reconsider the agreement after it was revealed that not all the victims were able to share how the case impacted them before a sentence was handed down. Wearing a yellow jail uniform, Trent said little in federal court, save for answering Hollanders questions about his agreement. He faces a maximum of 20 years imprisonment under the federal charges. He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 11. Because his circuit court plea agreement was vacated, Trent faces charges there as well. His next hearing in state court is scheduled for Sept. 13. Story continues As part of his agreement with federal prosecutors, Trent cannot appeal any sentence Hollander levies against him, something she made sure to point out to him. He also is ordered to pay restitution to the owners of the rowhouses he torched. The amount of restitution seemed to catch Trent off guard. Prosecutors said the insurance companies have determined the damage to 1900 Linden Ave. and adjoining 1902 Linden Ave. to be more than $600,000. When Hollander asked him if he was aware of that, he said he was not. His attorney, Teresa Whalen, said the amount of damages announced in Baltimore Circuit Court were far lower. Police reports estimated the damage at around $40,000. UKRAINSKA PRAVDA THURSDAY, 30 JUNE 2022, 10:34 Belarus has started sending out mass summonses, ordering people to attend military enlistment offices and without specifying any reason. Source: Belarusian publication "Zerkalo" Details: Belarusians are complaining that summonses have been sent to those who work, and to those who are on unpaid leave, and even to those who are unfit for military service. The summonses do not specify the reason for attending the military enlistment office. However, failure to appear is a criminal offence. Those who go to the military enlistment offices are told that this is "just a training session to gather personnel for the formation of territorial defence in the event of a military threat." The notices to attend are sent not only to men, but also to women. The military enlistment offices reassure them, saying that "no-one is taking anyone to war." The reason for the gathering is given as "mobilisation exercises". In general, people eligible for military service have their credentials checked and are sent home. What happened before: Dr. Jay Singleton, an ophthalmologist and owner of Singleton Vision Center in New Bern, was denied his request to strike down N.C.'s "Certificate of Need" law on June 21. The doctor hoped to his expand his eye care service, and N.C. Court of Appeals rejected his petition citing the CON law was not unconstitutional with his situation. A New Bern eye doctor lost a lawsuit he filed against the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services claiming a medical law blocked him from expanding his eye surgery service. Dr. Jay Singleton, owner of Singleton Vision Center in New Bern, was denied his request to the North Carolina Court of Appeals on June 21 petitioning the state to abolish the "Certificate of Need" (CON) law, an opinion from the court reads. The law prohibits healthcare facilities from adding, acquiring, or replacing healthcare services or equipment without prior authorization by the NCDHHS, according to the N.C. Institute of Medicine. More: N.C. Court of Appeals: Craven County man denied retrial, no evidence of self-defense Follow us on Instagram Singleton was heard in front of a three-judge panel on March 22, and the trio decided last week the state's CON law doesn't violate the ophthalmologist's constitutional rights as applied to his situation, the opinion says. Lawsuit dismissed: Appeals Court declared "CON" law was constitutional On April 22, 2020, Singleton filed a lawsuit against NCDHHS and executive and legislative branch leaders claiming he was unable to expand his medical practice and provide less costly surgeries, according to the opinion. The New Bern doctor, who founded Singleton Vision Center in 2014, performs the majority of his outpatient surgeries at CarolinaEast Medical Center. CarolinaEast is the only licensed provider with an operating room certificate to assist Craven, Jones and Pamlico Counties. CarolinaEast representatives told Singleton they will disapprove any application he may submit for an additional operating room within the tri-county area, the opinion reads. More: From devastated to elated: Where Craven County stands after Supreme Court abortion ruling Singleton's lawsuit was dismissed on June 11, 2021 by Superior Court Judge Michael O'Foghludha. The judge agreed with state officials' attorneys who argued Singleton's requests to block enforcement of the CON law and declare it unconstitutional as it applies to him could not be granted by the court, the opinion states. Story continues Appeals Judge: 'Failed' to appeal lack of due process N.C. Court of Appeals Judge John Tyson said Singleton and his practice failed to appeal or attempt to appeal "statutory and administrative remedies available to them" that could be used as evidence to show he was deprived of procedural due process, according to the opinion. "The remedy [Singleton and his practice] admittedly and essentially seek is for a fact-finding administrative record and decision thereon to be cast aside and a CON to be summarily issued to them by the court," Tyson said in the opinion. "This we cannot do." Judges Toby Hampson and Jeffery Carpenter agreed with Tyson's decision, but Tyson added the ruling doesn't prevent other medical practices from challenging the CON law in the future, the opinion reads. According to the opinion, legislators declared that requiring authorization of health services based on need, cost of services and other considerations promotes the health and lives of people in North Carolina. Reporter Symone Graham covers local public safety for the Sun Journal. Have a story tip or idea? Send it her way at sgraham@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Sun Journal: N.C. Court of Appeals won't strike down medical law for New Bern eye doctor President Joe Biden may nominate a conservative, anti-abortion lawyer for a lifetime judgeship in Kentucky as part of a deal with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), The Louisville Courier-Journal reported Wednesday. While Kentucky doesnt currently have a judicial vacancy, the deal would see Chad Meredith, a member of the conservative Federalist Society, nominated when a sitting judge announces they are stepping down or retiring, the paper reported. The Courier-Journal added the deal would see McConnell agree not to hold up any future federal nominations by the Biden White House. Meredith previously served as Kentuckys solicitor general and as a deputy counsel to former Gov. Matt Bevin. He defended a 2017 Kentucky law that required doctors who perform abortions to perform ultrasounds and then describe the image to a patient before they could have the procedure. The law was upheld by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2019. The office of Kentucky Rep. John Yarmuth (D) told The Hill the White House informed the lawmaker of Bidens intent, saying the congressman was deeply opposed to Merediths appointment. Yarmuth added that the agreement, which comes on the heels of the Supreme Court decision that overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade, would see yet another extremist in a powerful judicial role. Given that a judicial position isnt currently open on the Eastern District Court, its clear that this is part of some larger deal on judicial nominations between the president and Mitch McConnell, Yarmuth elaborated to the Courier-Journal. I strongly oppose this deal and Meredith being nominated for the position. The last thing we need is another extremist on the bench. Kentucky, McConnells home state, was one of several states that had so-called trigger laws on the books that went into effect immediately after the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade, which protected Americans access to abortion. The Kentucky law makes exceptions to save the life of a mother or prevent a disabling injury. Story continues The Biden administration is under fierce pressure after the Supreme Court decision to address the rollback of abortion rights. Civil rights groups have announced a bevy of court fights in states that have quickly banned abortion, while prosecutors in some regions have said they wont enforce their states bans. McConnell has focused on judicial nominees as a key facet of his legacy, calling lifetime appointments to the bench arguably the most important thing lawmakers can work towards. Obviously, this is my top priority, the lawmaker told NPR in 2018. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... By Humeyra Pamuk and Andrea Shalal MADRID (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday the United States supports the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey and that he is confident the congressional approval needed for the sale can be obtained. Speaking at a news conference in Madrid at the end of a NATO summit, he rejected suggestions that Washington's support for the sale was in return for Turkey lifting its block to the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland. An 11th-hour deal struck on Tuesday between Turkey, Finland and Sweden after four hours of talks helped avert an impasse at the gathering of 30 NATO leaders that aimed to show resolve in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "I said back in December, as you'll recall, we should sell them the F-16 jets and modernize those jets as well," he said. "It's not in our interest not to do that." "And there was no quid pro quo with that. It was just that we should sell, but I need congressional approval to be able to do that. And I think we can get that." Turkey made a request in October to the United States to buy 40 Lockheed Martin Corp-made F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes. Sentiment toward Turkey in the U.S. Congress has turned sour over the past few years after Ankara acquired Russian-made defense missile systems, triggering U.S. sanctions as well as Turkey's removal from the F-35 fighter jet program. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told a news conference in Madrid said he believed Biden would make "sincere efforts" to ensure the support of U.S. Congress for the sale and that he would send a delegation of Turkish officials to the United States to help lobby for the deal. The two leaders met on Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid. On Wednesday, a senior Biden administration official also expressed support for the sale for the first time. Assistant secretary for defense Celeste Wallander told reporters that strong Turkish defense capabilities would reinforce NATO's defenses. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Andrea Shalal; Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ali Kucukgocmen in Ankara, Doina Chiacu and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Editing by Mark Porter, Jonathan Oatis and Angus MacSwan) Officers seized hundreds of dollars worth of fireworks that were illegally transported over state lines last Saturday night, according to police. Brockton Police say they responded to the Campello MBTA Station where they saw the sky light up and heard loud exploding sounds. With the help of members from the Brockton Fireworks Task Force, police were able to confiscated $500 worth of fireworks. Authorities say the fireworks were brought from New Hampshire to Brockton by a suspect who was wanted on an outstanding warrant out of Quincy. There was no further information available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Avelo Airlines started service on April 28 at Hollywood Burbank airport metropolitan Los Angeles. Low-cost carrier Avelo Airlines is opening a new base at Orlando International Airport Thursday, adding two new routes to its map and extra service to its existing hub in New Haven, Connecticut. "Were excited to make Orlando a big center of gravity," Andrew Levy, Avelo's CEO told USA TODAY in an interview. "Theres a lot of opportunity to add service in and out of Orlando to markets that are not being served either at all or adequately today. What Avelo's Orlando base means for travelers Avelo will start with three Boeing 737s in Orlando, with about 10 pilots and 15 flight attendants designated per plane. Levy said that having crews and equipment based there will make service to the airport more reliable and will allow the airline to serve more destinations from Florida starting this week. Its such a massively popular destination, Levy said. Its incredible the demand that there is to fly in and out of central Florida, and its really year-round. Cheap tickets, tiny airports, and no: What it's like to fly new budget airline Avelo Seasonal service between Orlando and Baltimore-Washington International Airport will start Thursday, with new service to Wilmington, North Carolina, slated to begin Friday, the airline said in a statement. Introductory fares to both cities start at $59 for a one-way ticket. Avelo's updated route map. Above all, Levy said, the new base will help make service between New Haven and Orlando more robust, with up to three flights per day on the new schedule for that route, with one-way fares starting at $69. Independence Day headaches: It's shaping up to be a tough holiday weekend for air travelers Orlando is going to be hugely important, but right now the biggest part of our business is far and away New Haven, he said. One of the airplanes in Orlando to begin with is doing nothing other than flying back and forth to Connecticut. Six of our nine airplanes are completely dedicated to Connecticut. Avelo's future plans The new base's opening is just the start of Avelo's plans for Orlando. Story continues Above and beyond that were going to be moving our pilot and flight attendant training into the Orlando region," Levy said. The airline currently holds its pilot training in Dallas and its flight attendant training in Miami, but plans to consolidate all courses to a new training center in central Florida starting this fall. Been a while since you traveled?: Here's a refresher on those basic economy plane tickets Avelo also plans to add more planes and crews to its Orlando base and ramp up service there in the coming years. In a statement, the airline said it plans to serve 15 destinations nonstop from Orlando within the next 12 months, and projects that number will increase to 50 destinations with 10 aircraft based at the airport within the next five years. "By 2027, we anticipate Avelo will annually fly more than 1 million visitors to (Orlando) from destinations primarily not served by other airlines," the statement said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Orlando Airport becomes Avelo Airlines' newest base By Tsvetelia Tsolova SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's outgoing prime minister on Thursday called on Russia to withdraw a diplomatic ultimatum sent after Sofia expelled 70 Russian diplomatic staff which included a threat to close Russia's embassy in the Balkan nation. Bulgaria, an EU and NATO member, said on Tuesday it was expelling 70 Russian diplomatic staff over espionage concerns and had set a cap on the size of Moscow's representation as tensions between the two once-close countries fractured over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The move, announced by the foreign ministry and Kiril Petkov, the outgoing prime minister, was the largest expulsion of Russian diplomats by Sofia in recent years and would more than half the size of Moscow's diplomatic footprint in Bulgaria if it goes ahead. In a diplomatic note seen by Reuters, the Russian embassy on Thursday told Sofia to reverse the expulsions decision by midday on Friday. If it did not, the embassy said it would ask Moscow to consider ending Russia's physical diplomatic presence in Bulgaria altogether. Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova, who has called the Bulgarian expulsions an "unprecedented hostile step," was not available for comment. Petkov in a statement urged Russia to keep diplomatic channels between Moscow and Sofia open despite the expulsions which he said would still leave Russia with 43 diplomatic staff versus only 12 for Bulgaria in Moscow. "We believe in the need for dialogue, for which diplomatic channels are key," Petkov said. "For this reason, we ask the Embassy of the Russian Federation to withdraw the note submitted today. For the sake of the past and for the sake of the future, we must be able to take steps forward with mutual respect," he said. Petkov, who last week lost a parliamentary no-confidence vote, has taken has taken an unusually strong stance over Ukraine against Russia for the leader of a country that enjoyed close ties with Moscow during the communist era. Story continues He sacked his defence minister for refusing to describe as a war what Russia calls its "special military operation" against Ukraine. He also backed EU sanctions against Moscow and agreed to Bulgaria repairing damaged Ukrainian military hardware. The expulsions angered Bulgaria's Socialists, allies in Petkov's outgoing coalition government, who on Wednesday said they would not back a new cabinet led by him, a move that could bring the country closer to holding elections in the autumn. (Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Angus MacSwan) Busy Philipps was arrested while protesting for abortion rights. On Thursday, Vice Media reported via Twitter that the Girls5eva actress was arrested in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. Protesters have taken to the court in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed federal protection for abortion, on June 24. Busy Philipps was arrested while protesting for abortion rights. (Photo: David Livingston/Getty Images) In Vice Medias video, Philipps was asked by an offscreen person why she came to the protest, to which she responded, For equality. .@BusyPhilipps was arrested at a protest in front of the Supreme Court today, and tells VICE News that she's getting arrested for "equality." pic.twitter.com/MOm6ZyY6Cl VICE News (@VICENews) June 30, 2022 The Freaks and Geeks alum has long been outspoken about abortion rights, and previously shared that she had the medical procedure as a teenager. She first shared her abortion story on her since-canceled talk show Busy Tonight in 2019 in the wake of Georgias six-week abortion ban, and, later that year, she took to Capitol Hill to share her story in front of a House Judiciary subcommittee discussing the threats to reproductive rights. I am so sad that we have to sit here in front of a row of politicians and give deeply personal statements because the why doesnt matter. It should not matter. I am a human being that deserves autonomy in this country that calls itself free, Philipps told the subcommittee. And choices that a human being makes about their own bodies should not be legislated by strangers who cant possibly know or understand each individuals circumstances or beliefs. Following the overturning of Roe, the mom of two used her social media platform to share reproductive rights resources, as well as videos and photos of her taking to the streets to protest. An Instagram photo of Philipps celebrating her 43rd birthday also alluded to her activism, thanks to her Bans Off Our Bodies pin. She captioned the post, I made a good wish. In an Instagram Story posted shortly before she was arrested, Philipps spoke to the camera, telling her followers, Im doing this for you guys. Im doing this for my kids. Im doing this for my mom. Im doing this for my grandma. Dozens of vibrantly coloured floating homes have for decades dotted the banks of the River Nile, rare havens of leafy seclusion in the Egyptian capital's hustle and bustle -- but maybe not for much longer. Residents of the 30 or so houseboats that remain moored on the banks of the Nile last week received eviction orders, giving them less than two weeks before their homes are taken away to be demolished. "Buying this houseboat was my dream," celebrated British-Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif told AFP. "I furnished it to accommodate my grandchildren and spend my last days here." The boats have long occupied a special place in the Egyptian collective consciousness, having been the centrepiece of conversations in Nobel Prize laureate Naguib Mahfouz's "Chitchat on the Nile", as well as various classics from the golden age of Egyptian cinema. But while many have campaigned to protect the houseboats for their historic value, the authorities have argued they are an eyesore standing in the way of the state's grand development plans. Residents have been offered no alternative accommodation or compensation, unlike others who previously faced evictions, and many have nowhere else to go. For Manar, a 35-year-old engineer who poured everything into buying her houseboat four years ago, it's a devastating blow. "I sold my apartment, my father sold his car, and we used my two retired parents' severance pay," said Manar, who did not wish to give her full name. "People from the slums have been rehoused, the state even moved graves when it built a road through a cemetery, but for us, nothing." - 'Uncivilised sight' - Barely a week after the eviction order, some boats have already been towed off and impounded in a state marina, despite petitions and campaigning, even by pro-government television pundits. Soon, the sight of these houses, perched on metal caissons along the banks of the working-class neighbourhood of Imbaba opposite the upscale island of Zamalek, will only remain a memory. Story continues The first warning came in 2020, when the governor of Cairo "suspended new houseboat parking authorisations". Residents had since received no news, until the eviction order came on June 20, leaving them "with no time to file an appeal", according to one resident. Adding to the pressures, authorities have been demanding parking and registration fees amounting to between 400,000 and one million pounds per residence ($21,000 to $53,000) -- about 20 times more than previous annual fees. Ayman Anwar, head of the state-affiliated Central Administration for the Protection of the Nile River in Cairo, said residents were given ample warning. "In 2020, the state banned the use of barges as dwellings, because they are an uncivilised sight and pollute the Nile," he said on a talk show this week. The process echoes previous forced evictions and demolitions in Cairo's central neighbourhoods, such as Bulaq and Maspero. But while it may have started in poor informal settlements, the steamroller of development has now made its way into more affluent neighbourhoods and homes. The only alternative appears to be to transform every houseboat into a commercial enterprise. "At my age, to become a cafe manager?" exclaimed Soueif, who is in her 70s. "It's forced eviction, no matter what you call it." - 'A lost cause' - The banks of the Nile were once among the few public spaces where residents of Cairo - a sprawling megalopolis of more than 20 million people - could escape the din. Dotted with cafes, visitors from across social strata would sip tea and juice by the water, for a modest price. On the opposite bank of the Nile, the development Mamsha Ahl Masr ("the Egyptian people's promenade" in Arabic) has drawn a lukewarm response. The promenade is heralded by the state as one of many "megaprojects" launched by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and executed by the army, the crowning jewel of which is a sparkling new capital, rising out of the sands 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Cairo. "It's a disaster," Soueif said. "Every square inch must be profitable. There is no more public space, people can no longer be outside without paying." But the promenade, with its restaurants, a planned marina and open-air theatre, will "guarantee public access to the Nile", the government insists. Awad, who has lived with his family on their houseboat for 25 years, says "a square metre of commercial space is worth 1,000 pounds, so of course they'd rather rent the space out to cafes than keep us". "It's tragic," said Awad, who also did not wish to give his last name. Now in his sixties, he laments the loss of "pieces of Cairo's heritage" dating back to the times of the late King Farouk as well as Umm Kalthoum and Mounira al-Mahdiyya, iconic divas of the 20th century. "It's a lost cause. We can't do anything, we are told that it's a decision from above," he said, cigarette in hand, gesturing towards the sky. sar-sbh/bha/jsa/hc A 30-year backlog of thousands of untested sexual assault kits in Orange County, California, has been cleared, leading to criminal charges in six cold cases, District Attorney Todd Spitzer announced this week. Spitzer's office used a $1.86 million grant from the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative to inventory 6,480 untested kits. More than half of those had never been tested and about 1,705 were still eligible to be tested by the Orange County Crime Lab. DNA from one of the sexual assault kits led to the conviction of Michael Ray Armijo, who the district attorney says raped a woman in 1993 while he posed as a police officer. GHISLAINE MAXWELL, JEFFREY EPSTEIN COHORT, HIT WITH 20 YEARS FOR SEX-TRAFFICKING TEEN GIRLS Analysis of the victim's sexual assault kit in 2019 led authorities to Armijo, who was convicted last year on two counts of kidnapping to commit robbery with enhancements for use of a firearm, but could not be charged with rape because the statute of limitations had expired. He was sentenced to 24 years to life in prison. FILE: A sexual assault evidence collection kit in a lab on January 27, 2016. Ann Hermes/The Christian Science Monitor via Getty Images Hundreds of new DNA profiles were also uploaded to law enforcement databases. "Every one of these untested sexual assault kits represents a victim who deserves justice," Spitzer said in a statement. "By clearing the backlog, we fulfilled a promise to every victim of sexual assault that the Orange County District Attorneys Office will never stop fighting for victims and we will never stop fighting for justice." Personal information for Californians who were granted or denied a concealed and carry weapons permit over a period of 10 years, as well as the personal information of people associated with several other gun dashboards, was disclosed online this week, the state's Department of Justice confirmed. DOJ said it is reaching out to those whose data was exposed and will provide credit monitoring services. Wherever you live in Bloomington, there is a Kroger location in your neighborhood. Within those glass sliding doors, Kroger workers are battling the company and working with their union to increase their paychecks and improve their benefits. All the while, other workplaces are offering higher wages and sign-on bonuses. Kroger workers voted down their latest contract. They're unhappy with what the company's and their union's negotiations have brought forth thus far. Negotiations will begin again on June 30. "It's just kind of like enraging for a lot of the folks that have been there forever," said Olivia Sears, former assistant manager at the northside Kroger. For subscribers: Local Kroger workers vote down "pennies and dimes" contract, say loyalty betrayed What's going on with negotiations? Local 700, which represents central Indiana, of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, is currently negotiating its new three-year contract with the corporation for the area's workers. Negotiations began in late April, and the union found a tentative agreement for the new contract May 24. Members of the local union ultimately rejected it in early June. Workers continue to work under the previous contract, which has been extended twice. "The biggest takeaway is it's still a work in progress," UFCW Local 700 representative Brigid Kelly said. What is the union? The UFCW represents about 835,000 Kroger workers and two-thirds of the Kroger stores across the country, including affiliated brands, including Jay C Food Stores and Pay Less Super Market. The country is split up into regions with unions negotiating individual contracts. The central Indiana branch represents more than 8,000 workers at 68 stores, including all five Bloomington Kroger locations, and stores in Indianapolis, Lafayette, Martinsville and Terre Haute. An entrance of College Mall Kroger is seen June 27. This location is one of five in Bloomington and its workers are unionized. "We know grocery workers have always been essential and should be treated that way," the UFCW website says. "We believe all Kroger workers deserve stable schedules, living wages, and safe workplaces." Story continues What was in the rejected contract? The new contract contains a number of changes, including hourly raises, full-time stipulations and insurance plans. Additionally, a no strike clause will continue. Most full-time employees would receive a $1.65 cent total hourly wage increase over the next three years. Many part-time employees would have a $1.65 to $2.75 raise over the same period. To stay at full-time status, employees have to work 36 hours a week. If someone works less than that, they will get dropped down to part-time, losing full-time pay and benefits. They then have to work full-time hours for 10 consecutive weeks to regain that status. The new contract would have made it more difficult by extending 10 weeks to a year instead. With ratification of the rejected contract, full-time employees would have received a one-time, taxed bonus of $2,500. Part-time employees working at the highest rate would have received $1,000. Workplace inclusivity: How one Indiana company's pronoun policy is driving employees away Kroger has received widespread backlash related to pay disputes. Kroger ended its "hero" hazard pay, which was an extra $2 per hour, in May 2020. Shortly after, the company announced a one-time "thank you" pay, which was $400 for qualified full-time associates and qualified part-time associates. Why are workers upset? Senior employees are the ones getting the least out of the new contract, Sears said. Especially compared to contracts other regions have received, she calls Kroger's offer "insulting." Many new workers will receive substantially more of a raise, despite being at the company for less time. Despite a higher raise, Sears said those workers are getting a preview of what to expect if they start a career at the grocery chain. More in Bloomington: Catalent workers to see 'disruptive' changes; about 200 temp jobs to be eliminated Additionally, bottom tier workers, like baggers, are classified differently, so raises and benefits don't apply to them. "It's one of the hardest jobs in the store," she said. "To not ever be able to get an increase, it really doesn't incentivize anybody in that position to really care about showing up and obviously all of those little things add up to the staffing shortages." She saw people leave their jobs years ago because other places were offering more money, and this hasn't changed. Am I crossing a picket line if I go to Kroger? There is currently no strike at any Kroger locations in central Indiana. Workers must still abide by the no strike clause of their last contract. When asked about the process to strike, Kelly said the question was premature because the union is working toward goals of higher pay, better healthcare and a safe workplace. However, some store workers say they do want to strike. They can't do so without their union. Cate Charron is an intern at The Herald-Times. You can reach her over email at ccharron@heraldt.com or on Twitter at @CateCharron. This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Central Indiana Kroger workers reject their new contract Charlotte Radiology said it experienced a data breach involving patient information back in December. Channel 9 received a letter from the health care provider Thursday that said they identified the security incident on Dec. 24 and notified law enforcement. During the investigation, they also learned that between Dec. 17 and Dec. 24, an unauthorized party gained access to their network and took copies of some of the documents on the system. The documents contained some patients information, including patient names, addresses, health insurance information, medical record number and more. Charlotte Radiology said some patients Social Security numbers in the documents involved in the breach. The health care provider said it is offering complimentary credit monitoring to those people. ALSO READ: SC joins $1.25M settlement over Carnival Cruise data breach, attorney general says Charlotte Radiology takes seriously the confidentiality and security of our patients information. We continue to implement enhancements to information security, systems, and monitoring capabilities, and are committed to providing the best care for our patients, the health care provider said. They said they were able to contain the incident within several days. Charlotte Radiology also manages Carolinas Imaging Services, which provides services in Charlotte, Rock Hill and Huntersville. In April, the health care provider also notified those patients that the data breach impacted them. Charlotte Radiology set up a dedicated call center to answer questions about this incident. Patients can contact the call center at 1-855-604-1852, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Time. Patients are advised to also review statements to check for charges for services they did not receive. (WATCH BELOW: Former Amazon employee convicted of stealing data from more than 100M people) Despite reports that Secret Service agents are disputing former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinsons claims about President Trumps behavior ahead of the Capitol riot, Republican Wyoming Senator Liz Cheney said she remains absolutely confident in the aides credibility. Hutchinson, who served as an aide to Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, testified Tuesday before the before the January 6 committee. She alleged Trump became irate after being told by his Secret Service detail that security concerns prohibited him from going to the Capitol following his January 6 speech. As the president was being driven back to the White House, Cassidy claims she was told that he lunged toward the steering wheel of the vehicle he was riding in and, when agent Bobby Engel restrained him, lunged toward Engels neck. Cassidy claims that head of White House security Tony Orenato, who was in the vehicle at the time of the incident, relayed the events to her shortly after they occurred in the presence of Engel, who did not dispute the account Orenato provided. The driver of the vehicle and Engel are prepared to testify under oath that neither man was physically attacked or assaulted by Trump and that the former president never lunged for the steering wheel of the vehicle, a source close to the Secret Service told CBS News and NBCs Peter Alexander. One current and one former law enforcement official speaking to the Washington Post said three Secret Service agents who were close to Trump on January 6 also disputed that he ever grabbed the wheel or lunged at Engel. Cheney, one of the anti-Trump Republicans on the January 6 committee, cast doubt on the anonymous sources, saying shes absolutely confident in the details of Hutchinsons testimony. I am absolutely confident in her credibility. Im confident in her testimony. The committee is not going to stand by and watch her character be assassinated by anonymous sources and by men who are claiming executive privilege, Cheney said in an interview with ABC News about the hearing, according to an advanced excerpt from Politico. Story continues The committee has spoken to Ornato and Engel as well as a number of individuals in the Secret Service, Cheney claimed in the interview. The committee welcomes any additional testimony under oath about the incident, she added. Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Services chief of communications, appeared to dispute Cheneys claims in a comment to Politico, saying no service personnel were contacted to appear before the committee after Hutchinsons testimony. [W]e were not asked to reappear before the Committee in response to yesterdays new information and we plan on formally responding on the record, he wrote in an email to the outlet. We have and will continue to make any member of the Secret Service available. Secret Service personnel were not asked to reappear or answer questions about Hutchinsons testimony in the ten days leading up to the hearing, Guglielmi added. More from National Review The Peacock chair is a design icon, but most people associate it with 1970s bohemian style instead of its true origins. Filipino-American designer Cheyenne Concepcion hopes to change that. She learned about the chairs history in the Philippines while performing research on the architecture of the 1915 Panama Pacific International exposition in San Francisco, and now shes sharing that heritage with the world, alongside her own elevated and modernized interpretation. Beautiful rattan furnishings featured in Philippine artist Cheyenne Concepcion's RECLAIM Collection. This is one of the most famous chairs in the world, and its so disconnected from its original heritage, Concepcion told Curbed. She learned that it originated at the Bilibid Prison in Manila in the early 1900s, where it was made by incarcerated people. I literally just stopped in my tracks. This was such a strong cultural symbol. How could I not know about its history? Rattan Peacock Chair by Kouboo. A graduate landscape architecture student at the time, Concepcion was seeking historical references from her own culture that she could incorporate into her designs. She found herself magnetically drawn to the classic woven rattan Peacock chair (seen here in a version by Kouboo) with its high, round back. Featured on dozens of album covers by artists like Al Green, James Brown, and Drake, the chair also famously appeared in a portrait of Black Panther Party co-founder Huey Newton. Old Philippine photographs trace the history of the iconic Peacock chair. To me, its about more than designing a collection; Im inventing a style, Concepcion says. Within Asian culture, there is a hierarchy of whose history gets recognized, who gets to have cultural heritage, and who gets to sponsor diplomatic engagement because of their cultural heritage. The Philippines has been left out of that. Because of colonization and assimilation, there has been a loss of direct connection between our Indigenous past and where we are today. My dream is to bring visibility to our story. The tale of exactly how the chair came to be designed and manufactured in a Philippine prison is a fascinating one. The country was already known for its long tradition of basketry made of rattan and bamboo, but the popularity of rattan furniture that first exploded in the early 20th century is a product of American colonialism. Furniture particularly chairs was not common in the Philippines, where floor-sitting was the norm. Story continues Woman holds up the sculptural Lolo mirror featured in Cheyenne Concepcion's RECLAIM furniture collection. Chinese and European colonists occupying the country at the time wanted chairs, and actually believed that getting prisoners to make them would help civilize them. The throne-like Peacock chair made its design debut at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition and quickly captured the public imagination. In the United States, people saw it as a symbol of exotic foreign royalty. It has remained a part of the cultural consciousness ever since, and helped drive a renewed interest in woven cane design in recent years. With her RECLAIM collection, Cheyenne Concepcion pays tribute to the Peacock chairs cultural history as well as the broader traditions of Philippine weaving. The beautiful four-piece collection includes the Dona Lounge Chair, the Coco nesting table set, the Lolo mirror, and the Anak Totem sculptures. Beautiful rattan furnishings featured in Philippine artist Cheyenne Concepcion's RECLAIM Collection. For the Dona, Concepcion lowered the height of the Peacock chair, gave it a more relaxed posture and brought in accents of wood, brass, and steel. The bronze-tinted smoked mirror has a tropical vibe with its loose strands of cane streaming out like fringe. The collection truly feels like a new paradigm for tropical Asian-Pacific design, and a lovely nod to the feminine art of weaving. The post Cheyenne Concepcion Reclaims the Philippine History of the Iconic Peacock Chair first appeared on Dornob. A Chicago woman who shot and killed her brother is facing only a low-level gun charge from the Cook County States Attorneys Office, confusing a judge who wasn't sure prosecutors were reading her the correct case. Denise Franklin, 28, has been charged with Class 4 aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in the shooting death of her 33-year-old brother, Patrick Holmes, over the weekend in Chicago. But the details of the case caused confusion for Judge Susana Ortiz, who interrupted prosecutors while they were presenting the allegations against Franklin to ask if they were reading the right case, according to reporting from CWB Chicago. Prosecutors presenting the case said Franklin and Holmes began arguing while riding as passengers in a car, when Holmes, who was in the back seat, began punching Franklin, who was seated in the front passenger seat, in the face. The altercation then spilled out of the vehicle, with Franklin pushed her brother up against a nearby fence. LORI LIGHTFOOT, KIM FOXX SLAMMED BY CHICAGO 911 DISPATCHER: 'CITY IS DONE' WITHOUT A LEADERSHIP CHANGE "State," Ortiz interrupted during the presentation, "which proffer are you giving me?" "Your honor, Im reading the proffer for Ms. Franklin," Assistant States Attorney Sean Kelly answered. "Alright. Im showing a Class 4 aggravated unlawful use of a weapon," Ortiz responded. "Is that not correct?" "No," Kelly confirmed, "thats 100% correct." CHICAGO STATE'S ATTORNEY KIM FOXX ALLEGEDLY SLAPPED HUSBAND DURING DOMESTIC DISPUTE: POLICE REPORT "OK. Alright. Go ahead," the judge answered. Kelly then said that Franklin went back to the vehicle while Holmes continued the altercation by banging on the window, at which point Franklin warned her brother that she was carrying a pistol. Franklin began loading the pistol with two rounds of ammunition shortly after, while Holmes challenged his sister to shoot him. Story continues Franklin then fired a warning shot towards her brother that went through the third-floor window of a nearby building before firing a second shot that hit Holmes in the chest, causing his death shortly after. When police arrived at the scene Franklin had already left with the gun, but she later turned herself into authorities and surrendered the gun. Kelly noted that Franklin did have a permit for the firearm but did not have a concealed carry permit. TEEN CHARGED WITH MURDER AFTER DEADLY SHOOTING AT CHICAGO TOURIST DESTINATION "I would note," Kelly said "that more serious charges in this case were rejected [by the states attorneys office.]" "More serious charges were rejected?" the judge asked. "Correct," Kelly said. The Cook County State's Attorney, Kimberly Foxx, has attracted controversy during her time in office, most notably during the case of actor Jussie Smollett, who saw 16 felony counts against him dropped by Foxx's office after he staged a fake racist assault. Foxx, a Democrat, has dropped nearly 30% of charges against felony defendants, a Chicago Tribune analysis showed, much higher than the 19.4% of dropped felonies under her predecessor. In the case of Franklin, Assistant Public Defender Suzin Farber said her client had no criminal record and "there may be an issue of self-defense", leading prosecutors to only pursue charges of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, the lowest-level felony gun violation in Illinois. "It obviously is certainly a very unique set of circumstances for a Class 4 aggravated unlawful use of a weapon," the judge said. "There appears not to be the likelihood of any greater charges here." Farber declined to comment on the case when reached by Fox News. "After a thorough review, we concluded that the evidence was insufficient to meet our burden of proof to file murder charges," Foxx's office told Fox News Thursday. "As prosecutors, we have both an ethical and legal obligation to make charging decisions based on the evidence, facts, and the law." Franklin is due back in court on July 6. The Daily Beast CNNRepublican Gov. Kristi Noem ducked and dodged Sunday morning when asked if South Dakota would force a raped 10-year-old to give birtheventually suggesting that tragic situation shouldnt change her states restrictive abortion laws. The law today is that abortions are illegal except to save the life of the mother, Noem told anchor Dana Bash on CNNs State of the Union.Bash had pressed Noem about the case of a 10-year-old girl in Ohio who was denied an abortion because she was three days Conflicts involving jihadists in the Sahel are causing more and more deaths each year, a huge number of them civilian casualties, statistics show. Since the beginning of 2022, 2,057 civilians have been killed in Mali as well as neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso, according to figures compiled by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a non-governmental organisation. That is already more than the 2,021 civilians killed in the three countries in the whole of last year. "Our families are dying by the hundreds, and it feels like no one is interested," a Malian from the northeastern Menaka region, a scene of recent bloodshed, told AFP in the capital. "When it happens in the north of Mali in the desert, there often isn't a press release from the state," he said, requesting to remain anonymous for his safety. "So we bury them and move on." Each month brings its share of attacks. Of those documented, this month, 132 people were killed at Diallassagou in central Mali and 86 villagers perished in Seytenga in Burkina Faso. In May, about 50 people lost their lives in Madjoari, in eastern Burkina Faso, according to the authorities. In March, the army massacred about 300 people by summary execution in Moura in central Mali, according to rights group Human Rights Watch. The government soldiers were accompanied by foreigners identified by several sources as Russians. The defence ministry in Bamako announced on April 1 that 203 "armed terrorists" were killed in Moura and 51 others arrested, with many weapons seized. - 'Indifference' - ACLED has registered 11,276 civilian deaths overall in the three countries since jihadist violence began in 2012. Between 2012 and 2017, civilian deaths in the Sahel were reported in the hundreds. The toll suddenly accelerated, it says, to exceed 1,000 deaths in 2018 and 2,000 in 2019. Mahamadou Abdourahamani, the coordinator in Niger of the African Security Sector Network (ASSN), says an increase in massacres has "doubled the number of victims in the last two years" in the Sahel. Story continues "Civilians are dying amid general indifference -- even though there are more and more of them," said a Malian human rights activist who asked not to be named. The geographic scope of the violence too is expanding. Attacks were confined to northern Mali at the start of the conflict, but then reached the centre and crossed over into Burkina Faso and Niger. Today, they are spreading to southern Mali, noted Bokar Sangare, editor of Malian news site Benbere. Coastal nations of the Gulf of Guinea are also at risk. Early in May, authorities in Togo acknowledged a first "official" jihadist attack that killed eight soldiers in the north, near the Burkinabe border. Observers consider the main players across the Sahel to be national armies, foreign troops and their foes in the nebula of Al-Qaeda associates and the so-called Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. The ISGS operates mainly in the border regions of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso and "has always held a strategy of violence against the population to establish its domination", Sangare said. Many observers attribute the recent Seytenga massacre in Burkina Faso to the jihadist group, although responsibility was still unclaimed as of Monday. They barged into homes to "execute people", survivors told AFP a few days later. "They shot those who tried to flee." - 'All-military strategy' - But killings attributed to the armed forces "started up again dramatically from the start of 2022", the Citizens' Coalition for the Sahel, a body of west African NGOs allied with mostly European partners, noted recently. Despite years of military intervention, participants including individual states, foreign armies and the United Nations have been unable to stop violence against civilians. Observers cite several reasons for concern, including an "all-military strategy" in response to jihadist expansion, and states finding it difficult to control vast rural areas where jihadists proliferate. Paris has meanwhile begun the withdrawal from Mali of Operation Barkhane, a French-led counterterrorism intervention launched in 2014. Relations between France and Mali soured fast after a military coup in Bamako in May 2021. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in early June warned that the departure of French forces would "probably create a vacuum in certain regions, which risks being exploited by armed terrorist groups" with "consequences on the protection of civilians". But the Centre for Strategic and International Studies has said it thinks it is "unlikely that France, or other key Western partners, will end their military presence or counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel and across West Africa." bur/amt/nb/ah Reuters Videos STORY: China's first typhoon of the year brought gales and rain to its southern shores on Saturday, as forecasters warned of record rainfall and high disaster risk in provinces including Guangdong, the country's most populous.Typhoon Chaba, the Thai name for the hibiscus flower, was moving northwest at 15 to 20 km (10 to 15 miles) per hour after the eye of the storm made landfall in Guangdong.In recent weeks, historic rainfall and flooding in southern China have destroyed property, paralysed traffic and disrupted the daily lives of millions in one of the country's most populous and economically key regions. Five officers are under investigation after a Connecticut man hit his head while handcuffed in a police van and was paralyzed last week, authorities said. City and police officials in New Haven pledged to make changes after the arrest of Richard Randy Cox, 36, saying officers did not treat him with dignity or provide him with safety after he was severely injured. Image: (New Haven Police via AP) Cox was arrested June 19 on charges of criminal possession of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a permit and other counts.A video released Wednesday by New Haven police showed that as he was being transported after his arrest, Cox slid across a bench in the back of a police van headfirst after the van suddenly stopped. The vans driver was trying to avoid hitting another vehicle with the sudden stop, NBC Connecticut reported. The city said there are no seat belts in its police vans. At a town meeting Tuesday, Mayor Justin Elicker apologized to Coxs mother and said the incident did not live up to the city's standards. No matter what someone did or didnt do doesnt make a difference," Elicker said. "Once theyre in police custody, we owe the person respect. We owe that person safety. And we did not accomplish that in this incident. In the video in the police van, Cox says after he hits his head: I cant move. Im in pain. I literally cant move. Shortly after, he appears to tell the driver he had seriously hurt himself. I think I broke my neck. I broke my neck. I cant move. Elicker said in a statement Thursday that Cox "alerted the officer driving that he was injured and could not move." "Upon learning of Mr. Coxs injury, the officer made a call for medical assistance and proceeded to drive Mr. Cox to the detention center, the statement said. Mr. Cox made his injury known to other officers upon arrival at the detention facility." Other video released by police showed officers placing Cox in a wheelchair at the detention center and then dragging his limp body into a jail cell. Story continues "The officers involved proceeded to put Mr. Cox in detention first attempting to do so by wheelchair and then physically moving him to detention," Elicker said in the statement. "From there, American Medical Response transported Mr. Cox to Yale New Haven Hospital where he underwent surgery. Sadly, Mr. Coxs injury may result in his paralysis and he remains in critical condition. Connecticut State Police are investigating, and New Haven police are fully cooperating, the statement said. Five officers are on paid administrative leave: the vans driver, three officers at the detention center and the detention facilitys supervisor, the city said. Elicker said in the statement he was concerned that the actions of the officers involved in this incident fell far short ... and do not reflect the high standards to which I know other police officers hold themselves to everyday as they put their lives on the line to protect and serve our residents and to keep us safe. During Tuesdays meeting, Assistant Police Chief Karl Jacobson, whom Elicker has tapped to be the next police chief, told a crowd that he had watched the video over and over and was not proud of what it showed. Were all disheartened by what happened, and I want justice for Randy, as well," he said. The good officers, which are most of them, are going to know that they can say: Hey, hey, hes hurt. Get him help. NBC Connecticut reported that LaToya Boomer, Coxs sister, was troubled because the video appeared to show police taking too long to get him proper medical care. You can see his head bobbing around. Police then are seen dragging him around, she said. She added: At any point in time, if someone is saying, Help. I think my neck is broken. I cant move, how many times do they need to say it? Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing the family, asked of Cox at Tuesdays meeting, Was he not worthy of humanity? Crump said Cox is immobile from the neck down and that he communicates by blinking and bobbing his head, NBC Connecticut reported. City officials said New Haven police vans have been taken out of service while the city installs seat belts. Officials said that, while state law does not require seat belts in police vans, the city will. Police are also reviewing and updating their procedures and training dealing with transporting anyone who has been arrested, authorities said. Connecticut has settled a $9 million lawsuit in the case of William Shehadi, a mentally ill man whose physical and psychological abuse, while he was a patient at the states maximum-security psychiatric hospital, were captured on video. The settlement, approved by a Connecticut judge and announced Thursday, is the largest ever to be paid to an individual by the state. The multi-million-dollar settlement, filed by Shehadis brother and conservator, Albert Shehadi, against the state, the State Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and its commissioner and 11 Whiting employees and administrators, was approved by Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis. In more than 50 incidents of abuse over 24 days, attorneys for Albert Shehadi say William Shehadi was hit, kicked, doused with liquids, forced to wear a diaper on his head and psychologically tortured by nurses and staff at Whiting Forensic Hospital, according to records. The state-run facility in Middletown specializes in inpatient services for individuals with mental health conditions who are involved in the criminal justice system, including those who are deemed not guilty by reason of insanity. Evidence of the regular abuse he endured led to the arrests of 10 Whiting staff members and the dismissal of more 35 employees, including the Whiting Chief of Patient Care Services whose employment was terminated for their role in the abuse. They also paid an additional undisclosed sum to Albert Shehadi in a settlement. Shehadis attorney, Antonio Ponvert III of the Bridgeport-based firm Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder, said that the goal of the lawsuit against the state and the staff was to hold abusers and State officials accountable for the torture of a profoundly vulnerable human being who depended upon them for treatment and care. No person is above the law, especially those who are responsible for our most helpless citizens, said Ponvert. Mark Cusson, a third-shift nurse who Shehadis attorneys office called the ringleader of the abuse, was found guilty by a jury in 2019 on multiple charges of intentional cruelty to persons and disorderly conduct in March 2017, according to court records. Story continues Cusson, of Southington, was captured on video repeatedly kicking Shehadi, who was 62 at the time, straddling him and placing his groin and butt in Shehadis face and repeatedly entering Shehadis room and pacing around his bed, pretending to lunge toward him, according to police records. Cusson is currently serving a five-year sentence at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield, according to the state Department of Correction. Albert Shehadi said in a statement released Thursday that the individuals responsible for abusing his brother were held accountable for their crimes and this weeks settlement holds the state accountable for the incredible level of systemic failure that allowed the abuse to occur. It is hard to comprehend the level of systemic failure that allowed someone so incapacitated to be so brutally abused so openly for so long, he said. During an emotional testimony before a legislative committee in 2017, Albert Shehadi said watching the videos of the abuse was a painful experience and described the scale of the abuse as incomprehensible. Warrants that were issued for other employees alleged abuse like forcing William Shehadi to wear a dirty diaper on his head and wrapping a sheet around his head and over his face, records show. Albert Shehadi said he hopes the outcome of his brothers case sends a message to state leaders about the need to dramatically improve the treatment of severely mentally ill individuals who are in the care of our State. In the settlement, the state also agreed to waive a more than $8 million bill owed by William Shehadi for his more than 30 years in custody and the State agreed to certain other terms, like 24/7 video monitoring for the rest of his stay at the hospital. This was a very difficult case, and the state and the parties can move forward now that it has been resolved, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in a statement on Thursday. William Shehadi was committed to the hospital in 1995 after being found not guilty by reason of insanity in the killing of his father in Greenwich. His court-ordered commitment to Whiting Forensic ended in 2005. His confinement, however, has been extended because of his mental illness, including delusions, compulsiveness and a range of autism-like symptoms. Another lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court against the nurses and treatment specialists who carried out the abuse, which claims assault, battery and the infliction of emotional distress, was also settled for an undisclosed amount, according to the statement from Shehadis law firm. Disability Rights Connecticut, the states designated advocate for people with disabilities, began its own investigation of Connecticut Valley Hospital and the Whiting Forensic Division in 2017 in the wake of Shehadis abuse scandal. The group found that some of the dismissed employees have won their jobs back through arbitration. Disability Rights Connecticut found that Whiting staff operate with an over-reliance on restraining patients and recommended more individualized care than standard hospital-wide practices for patients with a wide variety of needs. In an attempt at reform, Whiting became a separate hospital with new managers on the CVH grounds. The hospital has 91 high-security beds. Earlier this year, a state task force recommended sweeping changes to Whitings practices, including replacing the hospital with a more up-to-date facility. The task force reported that they toured the building and interviewed patients, staff and advocates who all indicated the building was in poor condition with numerous safety issues like vermin, lice, limited natural light and broken equipment. There was unanimous agreement that these aspects of the maximum-security facility are, in part, a reason for hopelessness on the part of patients and low morale on the part of staff, the report said. Ponvert said he hopes the case sets a precedent. Let this case be an example to all mental health workers in Connecticut and across the nation, Ponvert said. Our laws and our nations Constitution protect ill and vulnerable people, people in custody, the weakest among us. Violate your sacred duty toward your fellow human beings, and you will go to jail. You will forever be known as a sadistic monster. Pro-choice activists marching in Miami, Florida on 24 June In a win for pro-choice activists, a Florida judge has blocked a state law banning abortions after 15 weeks. The controversial law signed in April by Governor Ron DeSantis, was set to go into effect tomorrow, and made no exceptions in cases of rape or incest. The decision comes amid a flurry of state legal battles following the US Supreme Court decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion. The state is expected to appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. Florida is one of 11 US states that protect abortion access in their own state constitutions. On Thursday, Leon County circuit judge John Cooper granted a temporary injunction to the law, which was legally challenged earlier in June by a coalition of pro-choice groups and clinics. His ruling blocking the law, however, will not be binding until a written order is signed by him - which he said would not happen immediately. The law is set to go into effect at midnight. Florida, the third most populous state in the US, had for over 40 years protected the right to abortion through a privacy amendment in the state's constitution. In his ruling, the judge said that the law would violate those privacy protections. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs argued that the state's residents believe "that abortion is a fundamental right deserving of the strongest protection against government intrusion". The lawsuit added that the 15-week law - which was modelled after the Mississippi law at the centre of the Supreme Court's recent decision - represented a "brazen attempt to override the will of the Florida people". After approving the bill in April, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that the law was intended to "protect babies in the womb who have beating hearts, who can move, who can taste, who can see and who can feel pain". The law had been widely applauded by anti-abortion groups in the state, including the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops. According to data from the Centres of Disease Control, Florida has one of the highest rates of abortion in the US, behind only Illinois and New York. Polls also show that just over half of residents - 56% - believe abortions should be legal, making it the only state in the south-eastern US with a pro-choice majority. Governor DeSantis, however, has praised the recent Supreme Court ruling and vowed that Florida will work to restrict abortion access. "Florida will continue to defend its recently-enacted pro-life reforms against state court challenges, will work to expand pro-life protections and will stand for life by promoting adopting, foster care and child welfare," he said in a statement last week. Judges in both Louisiana, Kentucky and Utah have already blocked trigger laws in those states. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court ruled that Port Authoritys policy prohibiting its employees from wearing Black Lives Matter face masks was unconstitutional and violated their First Amendment rights. Sascha Craig, a 31-year veteran of Port Authority, now Pittsburgh Regional Transit, tells Channel 11 he believes he was fired from the company back in 2020 for wearing a Black Lives Matter face mask. Port Authority, over the years, have more or less strong-armed their employees. And at some point in your life you have to say enough is enough, said Craig. Then, Craig, other employees and the union that represents them, sued PRT over their uniform policy that banned BLM clothing, jewelry, and masks. Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Craig was let go for timesheet fraud. They said I stole five and a half hours of overtime and through three days of testimony, the truth actually came out, said Craig. Craig fought the termination, which was later found to be wrongful and illegal. Now, years later, Craig says he feels vindicated once again. I let the process run its course and we were very successful as far as the ruling, said Craig. According to our partners at the Tribune Review, on Wednesday, a federal appeals court ruled that PRTs uniform policy violated their employees right to free speech. The decision upholds a Pittsburgh judges ruling last year, who called the transit companys policy arbitrary and overbroad. In early 2020, PRT argued thief policy was necessary to prevent disruption among employees or with customers. On Wednesday, the three-judge panel disagreed. Port Authority, at the end of the day, they cant take my pension, my lifetime medical, so really what this was about was about a vendetta, said Craig. At the end of the day, Im going to stand up for what I believe is right. Pittsburgh Regional Transit Authoritys dress code has since been removed. Channel 11 asked the company for comment on the latest ruling, and the company replied saying they are withholding a comment at this time. Story continues Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Son of former Steeler allegedly hurt officer during arrest in Giant Eagle parking lot, had fentanyl First positive monkeypox test in Pittsburgh reported Victim in grave condition after shooting at Rankin apartment complex VIDEO: Local 3-year-old forgotten in school van, picked up by mother at hospital DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts The Dallas Police Fugitive Unit and patrol officers arrested a second suspect Thursday who is accused of stealing five Amazon delivery trucks, according to police. Michal Ford, 36, was booked into the Dallas County Jail and charged with four felony counts of theft of property, two counts of robbery and unlawful use of a motor vehicle, according to a news release. Ford and Nakemia Bryant, who was arrested in March, are accused of stealing the Amazon trucks this year. Police said they stole one in January, one in February, and three in March. Police also said that in one case the pair assaulted the driver. Police had searched for Ford since they arrested Bryant and confirmed him as a suspect. Police said they received a tip from Crime Stoppers that led them to Ford. While all the trucks were located, the packages valued at more than $15,000 were not. On March 25, police arrested Bryant, 42, on an outstanding warrant for driving while intoxicated in Balch Springs. She was interviewed by the Dallas Police Departments Financial Crimes Unit-Organized Retail Crime Squad and admitted to the thefts and provided them with Fords identity, police said. The next day, police searched Bryants home and found numerous opened Amazon boxes with different addresses. They drop the loads at designated houses. People at those houses would then go through all those packages, take what they need, leave everything else, consultant John Matthews told WFAA-TV in March. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez is seen at the House steps of the Capitol during votes on Friday, December 4, 2020. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas waited nearly a year to report a stock sale worth up to $15,000. Congress is debating whether to ban its lawmakers and their spouses from trading stocks. 65 members of Congress have been found to have violated the STOCK Act since 2021. Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas' 15th Congressional District appears to have violated a federal conflict-of-interest law by waiting nearly a year to disclose a stock trade, according to an Insider review a newly filed congressional financial disclosure. Gonzalez sold between $1,000 and $15,000 worth in stock in Freeport-McMoRan, a Phoenix-based mining company, on July 24, 2021, but waited to report it until June 27, 2022, his hand-written financial disclosure indicates. Members of Congress are required to report such trades no later than 45 days after making them, according to the federal Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012. Lawmakers are not required to provide the specific value of their trades, and instead, report them in broad ranges. Gonzalez's staff did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment. In recent months, Gonzalez has made mining an issue through his work as a federal lawmaker. In May, for example, he introduced legislation banning uranium imports from Russia. "The US has the resources and capacity to produce uranium here at home and should no longer rely on foreign dictators," Gonzalez said at the time. In April, Gonzalez introduced the "Rare Act" with the aim of developing a "reliable domestic supply of critical minerals, rare earth elements and to uncouple our supply lines and dependence on China for national security manufacturing raw materials." Freeport-McMoRan operates seven open-pit copper mines in the United States and has other mining operations in Chile, Peru, and Indonesia, according to its website. This photograph taken on August 16, 2013 shows a general view of the Freeport McMoRan's Grasberg mining complex, one of the world's biggest gold and copper mines located in Indonesia's remote eastern Papua province. Olivia Rondonuwu/AFP via Getty Images Members of Congress keep on violating the STOCK Act Since 2021, Insider's "Conflicted Congress" project and other publications have found 65 members of Congress, including Gonzalez, who have violated the STOCK Act by disclosing trades late. Insider additionally found that at least 182 senior congressional staffers also violated provisions of the STOCK Act, as well. Story continues Members of Congress currently have the right to purchase, sell, and hold individual stocks. But here's a growing movement from members from both the right and left sides of the aisle to ban or limit legislators, and potentially their spouses, from trading individual stocks. "Year after year, politicians somehow manage to outperform the market, buying and selling millions in stocks of companies they're supposed to be regulating. Wall Street and Big Tech work hand-in-hand with elected officials to enrich each other at the expense of the country," said GOP Sen. Josh Hawley, who introduced the Banning Insider Trading in Congress Act, in a press release. "Here's something we can do: ban all members of Congress from trading stocks and force those who do to pay their proceeds back to the American people. It's time to stop turning a blind eye to Washington profiteering." Delaney Marsco, senior legal counsel with the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, told Insider that violators of the STOCK Act who file late or incomplete disclosures ensure that "voters aren't getting information they have a right to. "Voters have a right to know what members of Congress' financial interests are in real-time, and Congress agrees with that, that's why they passed the STOCK Act," Marsco said. "That's why they require these disclosures because it's important for the public to know whether members of Congress are acting in the best interest of the public, or if they're acting in the best interest of their own personal bottom line." Marsco also said that the STOCK Act lacks enough "teeth," or enforcement. She said that most violators get away with simply a $200 fine, which is far too low of a slap on the wrist for members of Congress who trade millions in stocks. Insider found that the STOCK Act is inconsistently enforced. In Gonzalez's case, Marsco mentioned that "for someone who just failed to report $15,000, $200 is not a lot of money in comparison to that." Read the original article on Business Insider WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vermont U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, 81, will undergo emergency hip surgery after falling Wednesday night, depriving his fellow Democrats of any majority in the chamber until he returns. Leahy, who is third in line to the U.S. presidency given his role as Senate president pro tempore, broke his hip at his house in the northern Virginia suburbs outside Washington, his office said on Thursday, adding that he is expected to make a full recovery. "Having been born blind in one eye, the Senator has had a lifelong struggle with reduced depth perception. He has taken some remarkable dingers over the years but this one finally caught up with him," his office said in a statement. While Leahy has said he will not seek re-election in the Nov. 8 midterm elections, his vote is critical in the 50-50 split Senate where Democratic U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris holds the tie-breaking vote. Leahy also chairs the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, which oversees federal spending, at a time when President Joe Biden is still pressing his Build Back Better economic plan. Democrats are seeking to maintain their hold on the chamber in November, and the seat Leahy has held since 1974 is still seen as leaning Democratic. Despite his eyesight, the Vermont Democrat has also staked out territory in Hollywood, appearing in five "Batman" movies. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Hugh Lawson) Democrats are grappling with what may be the most immediate question of post-Roe politics: Is it even worth having more votes on abortion rights that aren't going anywhere? Over the past year-plus, Congress has sent several high-profile House-passed bills straight into a Senate GOP filibuster, from a bipartisan Jan. 6 commission to elections reform. Democrats aren't too eager to replicate that stalemate on abortion rights, aware that they can't pass much with their paltry majorities in Congress but that doesn't mean they won't vote on abortion at all. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are under intense pressure to use some of their legislative leverage on abortion this year before a November election where the GOP is set to romp. Pelosi telegraphed her caucus first steps on Monday, outlining a list of bills the House could take up in the coming weeks despite having no path to passage in the upper chamber. An approach that might go further is pushing abortion protections in Congress' must-pass bills this year, including the annual defense policy and government funding packages. Yet it's not clear how far the party will or can go on that strategy, given that any major moves would still run into a GOP roadblock. And a contingent on the left is mostly ready to dispense with show votes, homing in on the midterms. We've already voted on the codification bill, said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). And we don't have the votes. That's why I'm so focused on November. If we pick up two more senators, we can ditch the filibuster and make Roe the law of the land. The outcome she outlined requires keeping the House in Democratic hands next year, however, and that's a long shot at best. Congressional Democrats, aware of the tough task ahead of them, are trying to turn the demise of Roe v. Wade into a base-motivating issue for the fall and attempting to nudge the Biden administration for new federal action to improve abortion access. Story continues Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), whose schedule this week is packed with public events, said her main strategy for protecting abortion rights post-decision is to use the bully pulpit that I have. That may be the most important thing we can do right now ... to not let this go away, to not let this be a blip, Jayapal said. One of her messages to activists back home is the power of protest recalling how women in Iceland went on strike to flex their political muscles four decades ago. Its going to take the ballot box to change the Senate," she added. On the Hill, Democratic leaders have yet to formally announce a legislative strategy after the Supreme Court overturned a nationwide right to abortion last week. One senior aide said the party is also looking at "non-legislative options to help women impacted by the SCOTUS decision. Here are the potential steps Democrats could take to force a Roe debate this year, even as they lack the votes to pass anything right now: repeating a big swing The Senate held a big one of these last month on legislation that would codify Roe while banning states from enacting many types of abortion restrictions. Pelosi suggested in her Monday letter that the House could bring that bill up again, but Senate Democratic aides are privately skeptical about Schumer holding another vote on legislation thats already failed twice this year. The entire GOP conference, as well as Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), opposes that codification-and-access bill. Democrats and outside groups see an advantage to holding those kinds of messaging votes and argue that doing so will put Republicans in both chambers on the record painting a clear contrast ahead of the November midterms. But theres tangible risk in further highlighting the current limits Democrats face legislatively, and its not clear how much the broader public is paying attention to the House or Senate floor. a bipartisan approach Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) are working together on a proposal that seeks to codify Roe, though they have yet to release details about how it would work. A Kaine spokesperson said he is engaged in efforts to find bipartisan support to federally protect reproductive freedom." A vote on a Kaine-Collins bill, once it's complete, could demonstrate that a bipartisan majority of senators support protecting abortion rights Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) also has said she favors a simple Roe codification. A 52-vote showing for their measure would present a stark contrast to the Democratic bill that failed in May. "The codification of Roe does not have to be a partisan issue," Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), one of the House's vulnerable incumbents in this fall's midterms, said in an interview. "The reality of the filibuster means we need to continue to build coalitions beyond one party here, one party there." But abortion-rights groups and Democratic women senators have privately expressed concern about whether the Kaine-Collins proposal would be effective, according to aides who spoke on condition of anonymity. And as progressive Democrats see it, without weakening the filibuster there's little value in proving again that the Senate can't muster 60 votes to codify abortion rights. narrower proposals Shortly after POLITICO published a draft majority opinion that indicated Roe was in peril, some congressional Democrats discussed holding messaging votes on narrower bills, like carveouts from abortion restrictions for pregnancies as a result of rape and incest. But most Senate Republicans favor exceptions for abortion when it comes to rape, incest or life of the mother potentially complicating any Democratic attempt to use that issue as a wedge. Another potential area to vote on is contraception: While Democratic lawmakers want to focus on abortion in the immediate aftermath of the court's decision, some have expressed interest in voting on access to it, warning that the ruling could endanger other precedents. Pelosi indicated this week that Democrats are considering legislation to ensure an individuals right to travel to another state for an abortion, as well as address privacy concerns for women using reproductive health applications. Spanberger said she supports both of those moves. HEARINGS While they mull their voting strategy, Democrats also plan to press their abortion-rights message through congressional hearings. Both the Senate health and Judiciary Committees have hearings scheduled about the implications of overturning Roe for when the chamber returns to Washington in mid-July. I do think hearings help, said Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), recalling the powerful, painful testimony in the wake of last month's mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. I don't think votes on the floor help because people don't look at the votes. They only care about them when a bill passes and gets signed into law. More pressure on the administration Democrats are urging the Biden administration to take strong executive actions to address the overturn of Roe, including increasing access to abortion medication, covering expenses for federal employees traveling out of state for an abortion and opening federal lands like military bases for abortion services. But White House officials have expressed concerns about putting providers and women seeking abortions at risk. Administration aides have further suggested that using federal money to protect employees seeking an abortion could run into Congress' long-standing ban on federal dollars going toward abortion services, known as the Hyde Amendment. That response suggests, should the idea remain on the table, the White House may put the ball back in Congress' court. Burgess Everett contributed to this report. A Lakeland man whom deputies describe as a career felon was arrested in connection with the robbery of a Polk County bank last week. Deputies arrested 39-year-old Jason Cherry of Lakeland after getting a tip from a Polk County resident. Polk County Sheriff's Office detectives arrested 39-year-old Jason Cherry for Robbery of the SouthState Bank in Lakeland Read: These laws go into effect in Florida on Friday Investigators said that Cherry entered SouthState Bank at 4719 South Florida Avenue on June 24 and passed a note to the teller, which indicated that he had a weapon and demanded money. See map of location below: Deputies said that after taking the money, Cherry left the bank and drove off in a gray Honda Accord. Detectives caught a break in the case after posting a flyer of the robber on social media, asking for the communitys help in identifying him. Read: Florida woman accused of stealing nearly $15,000 worth of fireworks from her job After getting a tip, detectives identified Cherry as the robber and he was later arrested at a Lakeland motel without incident. See map of location below: Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd thanked the public for helping to identify the robber. I am grateful to the citizen who saw something and said something. Because of your willingness to act and the fast work of our detectives, this convicted felon is off the streets. Thankfully no one was hurt, and he will now answer for his crime, Judd said. Deputies said Cherry has a long criminal history, which includes 21 felonies and 10 misdemeanors. He has twice served time in state prison. Read: Woman critically injured in road-rage shooting near Oviedo Cherry is also considered a suspect in another bank robbery in the city of Lakeland, by the Lakeland Police Department. Cherry is currently being held in the Polk County Jail without bond. Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. A man was in critical condition late Wednesday night after being fired upon by Fort Worth police officers who had responded to a domestic disturbance call on the citys west side, officials said. Fort Worth police Sgt. Amy Heise, a spokeswoman for the department, said officers responded about 8:30 p.m. to the 3200 block of Olive Place after reports that a man was using a shotgun to try to take children from the home. The man left before police arrived, but officers had reason to believe he was coming back, Heise said. In a proactive move, officers blocked off the north and south ends of that block of Olive Place, an area just north of Camp Bowie Boulevard. The man did return, Heise said, and tried to get around the police roadblock. He crashed into police vehicles and presented our officers with a deadly force situation where they fired on his vehicle, she said. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition following the shooting. Police recovered a shotgun from the vehicle, according to Heise. Police did not say whether the man fired any shots, and did not take questions at Wednesday nights press conference. Heise said the information she released Wednesday was preliminary as the investigation continues. The Fort Worth Police Department would like to remind everybody that domestic violence situations are incredibly dangerous, not only for the civilians that go through them but also for the police officers who have to respond to them, and unfortunately thats what happened here today, she said. Police said their major case unit is conducting the investigation. Irving police also announced a shooting Wednesday night in which they said officers shot and killed an armed emergency room patient who fired at police at Baylor Scott & White hospital. #BREAKING: @FortWorthPolice: There's been an officer-involved shooting on Garland Avenue at Olive Place on the city's near west side. We have a crew headed to the scene. @CBSDFW Giles Hudson (@CBS11Giles) June 30, 2022 This is a developing story. For the latest updates, sign up for breaking news alerts. WASHINGTON Former president Donald Trump and his associates could be criminally interfering with the House Jan. 6 committee, according to legal experts. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) suggested at a hearing Tuesday that some witnesses have not testified as fully and forthrightly as others because of interference from Trumps inner circle, citing two statements from witnesses. What they said to me is, As long as I continue to be a team player, they know that Im on the team, Im doing the right thing, Im protecting who I need to protect, you know, Ill continue to stay in good graces in Trump World, a witness told the committee. The messages could constitute obstruction of justice or tampering with a witness in an official proceeding. Kevin OBrien, a former federal prosecutor, told HuffPost it would be illegal to try to affect witness testimony as the Jan. 6 committee investigates the Capitol riot. Anything that would deflect from that course, if undertaken intentionally, is probably a crime, said OBrien, now a partner at white collar law firm, Ford OBrien Landy LLP. Cheney stopped short of alleging a crime had been committed, instead saying that in the course of its interviews the committee had become aware of a particular practice that raised significant concern. The relevant part of the federal law against witness tampering calls for up to 20 years in prison for anyone who knowingly uses intimidation, threatens, or corruptly persuades another person, or attempts to do so, or engages in misleading conduct toward another person, with intent to influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of any person in an official proceeding. The statute also says it doesnt count as witness tampering if the conduct consisted solely of lawful conduct and that the defendants sole intention was to encourage, induce, or cause the other person to testify truthfully. The Justice Department has been investigating possible crimes by Trump associates, but Attorney General Merrick Garland has been coy about the departments plans. Federal agents recently seized materials from Jeffrey Clark, a former deputy attorney general who was loyal to Trump, and John Eastman, an attorney who advised Trump on how to steal the election. Its up to Garland, not a House committee, whether someone gets prosecuted. Story continues The bulk of Tuesdays hearing showcased shocking testimony from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who testified that Trump knew some of his supporters who came to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021 were armed and dangerous, that Trump had wanted to accompany them to the Capitol, and that Trump wasnt remotely upset as they mobbed the building. I dont f**ing care that they have weapons. Theyre not here to hurt me, Trump said, according to Hutchinson. The two statements to witnesses that Cheney shared on Tuesday did not include explicit threats. [A person] let me know you have your deposition tomorrow, someone close to Trump wrote in a partially redacted message to a witness. He wants me to let you know hes thinking about you. He knows youre loyal and youre going to do the right thing when you go in for your deposition. But even without a threat, if the message is coming from Trump or a close associate, a witness would probably remember that people whom Trump has singled out for disloyalty have been harassed and threatened by his supporters. If I know that, then I might really be afraid that if Trump is upset with me for not testifying the way that he perceives that I should testify, then not only am I likely to have some consequences to my employment, but there could be consequences to my safety or the safety of my family, Tamara Lave, a law professor at the University of Miami, said in an interview. Norm Eisen, a former White House Counsel under President Barack Obama, said on Twitter the messages the committee revealed will certainly lead to criminal investigation and maybe prosecution for witness tampering. Harry Litman, a former prosecutor, tweeted that the messages were a layup of an obstruction felony count. OBrien also said an investigation would be likely. They will look into this and pursue it because it goes to the heart of what the Justice Department does, he said. It cant bring cases properly if witnesses are allowed to be intimidated or corruptly persuaded. It wouldnt be the first time prosecutors looked at Trumps treatment of witnesses. During a special counsel investigation of Trumps effort to obstruct an investigation into his 2016 campaign, Trump undertook efforts in both public and private to encourage witnesses not to cooperate with the investigation, Special Counsel Robert Mueller wrote in his final report. Those efforts included dangling the prospect of federal pardons in front of witnesses.Mueller concluded that he couldnt clear Trump of having obstructed justice. I think most Americans know that attempting to influence witnesses to testify untruthfully presents very serious concerns, Cheney said at the hearing. We will be discussing these issues as a committee, carefully considering our next steps. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... V is for vaccine. Elmo got a COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday, according to Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street." In a public service announcement posted to YouTube, the beloved 3-year-old Sesame Street star talked with his dad, Louie, about what it was like to get the shot. There was a little pinch, but it was OK, Elmo said in the video. Elmos dad said he had a lot of questions for the pediatrician, who assured him that vaccinations are safe and effective for children. Was it safe? Was it the right decision? I talked to our pediatrician so I could make the right choice, Louie said in the PSA. I learned that Elmo getting vaccinated is the best way to keep himself, our friends, neighbors and everyone else healthy and enjoying the things they love. COVID-19 vaccinations for the youngest Americans started last week. That means U.S. kids 6 months to 5 years old roughly 18 million youngsters are eligible for the shots. U.S. regulators OK'd shots from Moderna and Pfizer. The Moderna vaccine is two doses and the Pfizer shot is three. Last November, Big Bird got vaccinated sparking criticism from some conservative politicians. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican, called it government propaganda. The CDC advises vaccination even for those who already had COVID-19 to protect against reinfection, and says it is OK to get other vaccines at the same time. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. An evidence hearing has been scheduled in the case against the man accused in accused in two Northern Colorado shootings from 2015. Christopher Parker, now 39, was arrested in March 2018 and faces charges of first-degree murder in the shooting death of 65-year-old William Connole and attempted first-degree murder related to shots fired at a motorcyclist, both in Loveland in 2015. Since Parker's arrest more than three years ago, police have not released why they suspect Parker in the shootings. His arrest documents remain sealed to the public. An evidence hearing scheduled in October will provide the first glimpse into this investigation since Parker's arrest. Attorneys for the defense and prosecution told Judge Susan Blanco during Wednesday's hearing they were unable to reach a plea agreement in the case and needed to move toward a jury trial. An evidence hearing was scheduled for Oct. 10 and half of Oct. 11. In that hearing, prosecutors will present some of the evidence they have and Blanco will decide if there is enough evidence to proceed to trial and to justify continuing to hold Parker in jail without bond. POLICE NEWS: Fort Collins police K9 Gunnar specially trained to keep summer events safe The hearing is set so far in advance to allow for the prosecution to coordinate with witnesses, many of whom have since retired or moved on from their positions in Larimer County's law enforcement, the prosecution told Blanco. Parker was found mentally competent to proceed in the case in June 2021. His case had been at a standstill for nearly two years while he received mental health treatment to restore his mental competency so he could stand trial. Parker was found incompetent to proceed four times in that time frame, including as recently as September 2020, according to online court records. Blanco first ordered Parker to undergo a mental competency evaluation in October 2018, and she ruled him incompetent to proceed in December 2018 after reading the doctors report. Prosecutors questioned the evaluations validity, saying the doctor spent only 90 minutes with Parker before reaching a determination. Story continues Blanco then ordered a second evaluation and asked for it to include a longer observation period and a consultation with staff members so they could get a better assessment of Parker's mental state. After reviewing a May 2019 report, she declared Parker incompetent to proceed in June of that year. Coloradoan and court records show he was also deemed incompetent to proceed in August 2020 and September 2020. 'Still waiting for Johnny's justice': Unsolved shooting haunts Northern Colorado 5 years later Shooting task force investigates spate of shootings Parker is accused of shooting and killing Connole, who was walking near the intersection of First Street and St. Louis Avenue in Loveland, as well as shooting at a motorcyclist in the same area. The shootings were part of a spate of unsolved shootings in 2015. Just prior to Connole's death, Colorado law enforcement agencies and the Federal Bureau of Investigation formed the Northern Colorado Shooting Task Force. The task force is investigating six shootings, but not all of them are linked to each other. The task force grouped them into three pairs, with each incident in a pair linked to each other with forensic evidence: In April 2015, 20-year-old Cori Romero was shot while she was driving onto Interstate 25 between Fort Collins and Windsor. Romero was seriously injured, but she survived the shooting. Then, less than one month later, Windsor resident John Jacoby was gunned down while riding his bicycle. Connole and a motorcyclist were shot in June 2015. Two buildings were shot at in September 2015. Investigators found no evidence linking the pairs of incidents to each other or to a single perpetrator. Sheriff's office spokesperson David Moore recently told the Coloradoan the Northern Colorado Shooting Task Force has not received any new tips in a while, but they continue to monitor reports of similar incidents across the country to see if they could be connected to the shootings in Northern Colorado. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. Arrests and charges are merely accusations by law enforcement until, and unless, a suspect is convicted of a crime. Sady Swanson covers public safety, criminal justice, Larimer County government and more throughout Northern Colorado. You can send your story ideas to her at sswanson@coloradoan.com or on Twitter at @sadyswan. Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today. This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: 2015 Northern Colorado shootings suspect to face evidence hearing (Corrects paragraph 15 to attribute testimony about Trump throwing a plate to Cassidy Hutchinson, not Kayleigh McEnaney; corrects name of judge in paragraph two to David Carter, not Andrew Carter) By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. congressional committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol has sought to build a case that then-President Donald Trump behaved illegally when he sought to overturn his 2020 electoral defeat, but what charges might prosecutors bring against Trump and how might he defend himself? Here are some ideas being floated now: OBSTRUCTING AN OFFICIAL PROCEEDING In a March 2 court filing, the committee detailed Trump's efforts to persuade then-Vice President Mike Pence to either reject slates of electors for Joe Biden, who won the election, or delay a congressional count of those votes.. The president's efforts likely violated a federal law making it illegal to "corruptly" obstruct any official proceeding, or attempt to do so, said David Carter, the California federal judge overseeing the case. Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, said Trump dismissed concerns that some supporters gathered for his fiery speech outside the White House that day carried AR-15-style rifles, instead asking security to stop screening attendees with magnetometers so the crowd would look larger. She testified Trump demanded to be taken to the Capitol to join supporters rioting ahead of Pence's expected certification of the vote and tried to grab the steering wheel when his security detail insisted on returning him to the White House. Hutchinson said the conversation was relayed to her by Tony Ornato, a senior Secret Service official who was Trump's deputy chief of staff for operations. Ilya Somin, professor of law at George Mason University, said the testimony could "bolster the chances of indicting and convicting Trump, especially insofar as some potential charges hinge on his motives and state of mind." Story continues Trump denied Hutchinson's account in a statement posted on Truth Social, his social media app, and called her story about him grabbing the steering wheel "fake" and "fraudulent." Trump has accused the committee of conducting a "sham investigation." The New York Times and NBC, citing sources in the Secret Service, said the head of Trump's security detail, Robert Engel, and the limousine driver were prepared to testify under oath that Trump never lunged for the steering wheel. CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD THE UNITED STATES In the March 2 filing, the committee said it was likely that Trump and others conspired to defraud the United States, which criminalizes any effort by two or more people to interfere with governmental functions "by deceit, craft or trickery." In addition to Trump's efforts to pressure Pence, the committee cited his attempts to convince state election officials, the public and members of Congress that the 2020 election was stolen, even though several of his allies told him there was no evidence of fraud. According to Hutchinson's testimony, Trump's White House press secretary at the time, Trump was so enraged by then-Attorney General Bill Barr's interview with the Associated Press saying there was no evidence of election fraud that Trump threw his lunch at the wall, breaking a porcelain dish and leaving ketchup dripping down the wall. SEDITIOUS CONSPIRACY? Prosecutors already have charged more than a dozen members of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers groups who were at the Jan. 6 riot with seditious conspiracy, a rarely used statute that makes it illegal to overthrow the U.S. government by force. To prove seditious conspiracy, prosecutors would need to show Trump conspired with others to use force, said Barbara McQuade, a law professor at the University of Michigan and a former federal prosecutor. "While her testimony is consistent with that theory, it does not alone establish it," McQuade said. OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE At the end of Hutchinson's testimony, Representative Liz Cheney, a Republican, presented possible evidence of witness tampering and obstruction of justice. Cheney showed messages to unidentified witnesses advising them that an unidentified person would be watching their testimony closely and expecting loyalty. If the committee has evidence that the people who sent the messages had a "tacit understanding" with Trump, prosecutors could use it to show there was a conspiracy to tamper with witnesses, said Daniel Medwed, a law professor at Northeastern University in Boston. "They were setting the table for witness tampering and likely have other witnesses coming in to nail that down," he said. The fact that Cheney did not identify the sender of the messages suggests it may be "more of a shot across the bow to get the person to knock it off," McQuade said. TRUMP'S DEFENSE? Trump has repeatedly denied doing anything illegal in connection with the Jan. 6 events. If the Justice Department brings charges, prosecutors' main challenge will be proving that Trump acted with corrupt intent, experts said. Trump could argue he sincerely believed that he won the election and that his well-documented efforts to pressure Pence and state election officials were not meant to obstruct Congress or defraud the United States, but to protect the election's integrity. Hutchinson's account could make it more difficult for Trump to assert this defense, Medwed said. "Prior to (Tuesday's) disclosures, the biggest hurdle to charging Trump related to mental state: to proving that he intended to obstruct an official proceeding or to agree with others to defraud the U.S. or foment rebellion," Medwed said. "(Tuesday's) testimony offered powerful circumstantial evidence that it was his intent to do those things." DOES THIS MEAN TRUMP WILL BE CRIMINALLY CHARGED? No. Neither Carter nor the committee can charge Trump with federal crimes. That decision must be made by the Justice Department, led by Attorney General Merrick Garland. The department is conducting its own sprawling investigation of the Jan. 6 events, but has not signaled whether it intends to indict Trump, a decision that could have enormous political consequences as Trump weighs another run for the presidency in 2024. The department did not respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Howard Goller) KYIV (Reuters) - The number of Russian missile strikes on Ukraine has more than doubled in the last two weeks and a Ukrainian brigadier general said on Thursday that Moscow was using inaccurate Soviet-era missiles for more than half of the attacks. Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, denies targeting civilians and says it hits only military infrastructure. Ukrainian Brigadier General Oleksii Hromov estimated that 68 civilian sites had been hit in the second half of this month. Here is an overview of some of the most prominent missile strikes in recent days. KREMENCHUK A Soviet-era Kh-22 missile fired by a Russian bomber hit a crowded shopping mall in the central city of Kremenchuk on Monday, far from frontlines, killing at least 18 people, Ukrainian authorities said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the strike a deliberate "terrorist" attack and Western leaders and the Pope joined him in condemning it. Russia rejected Ukraine's account, saying that the missile had struck a store of Western-supplied weapons next to the mall, causing it to catch fire. KYIV Missiles hit an apartment block and the grounds of a nursery in the centre of the Ukrainian capital on Sunday morning, killing one person and wounding six, local officials said. U.S. President Joe Biden called the attack "barbarism," while Russia said it had hit a rocket factory located near the apartment block. MYKOLAIV Local authorities said more than 10 missiles struck the southern city of Mykolaiv and its outskirts on Wednesday, including one that hit a five-storey apartment block, killing seven people and wounding six. KHARKIV Russian forces shelled central districts of Ukraine's second largest city Kharkiv on Monday, hitting apartment buildings and a primary school and killing five people and wounding 22, the regional governor said. CHERKASY Missiles hit a strategically-important rail bridge near the central city of Cherkasy across the major Dnipro river on Sunday, killing one person and wounding five, according to local officials. Presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said: "They are trying to limit the transfer of our (army) reserves and Western weapons to the east." The bridge is one of several rail crossings over the Dnipro, which cuts Ukraine in half. Story continues DNIPRO Russian missiles hit railway infrastructure and a tyre repair shop in Ukraine's eastern industrial city of Dnipro on Tuesday, killing two people, Ukrainian officials said. Russia said it had struck a vehicle repair point used by the Azov combat regiment. LYSYCHANSK A rocket loaded with cluster munitions hit a group of civilians queuing for water in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Lysychansk in the eastern Donbas region on Monday, killing eight people and wounding 21, Ukrainian officials said. YAVORIV Four missiles hit the area of a military training facility in Yavoriv, only 15 miles (25 km) from the Polish border in Ukraine's west, local officials said on Saturday. Four people were wounded, according to the regional governor. ZHYTOMYR Almost 30 missiles were fired at military premises in Zhytomyr, killing one soldier, the regional governor said. About 10 of the missiles were shot down en route by Ukrainian air defences, he said. (Reporting by Max Hunder; editing by Tom Balmforth and Mark Heinrich) The FBI announced Thursday that it has added Ruja Ignatova also known as "Cryptoqueen" to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Ignatova is accused of creating a fake Bulgarian-based cryptocurrency company and defrauding investors out of nearly $4 billion. According to the FBI, Ignatova is the just the 11th woman to be added to the list in the organization's 72-year-history. Authorities have now offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to her capture. "There are so many victims all over the world who were financially devastated by this," Investigating Special Agent Ronald Shimko said in statement Thursday. "We want to bring her to justice." According to the FBI, Ignatova and her partner created a cryptocurrency company called OneCoin in 2014, which they claimed would be a "bitcoin killer." Investigators said Ignatova promoted the company through a "multi-level marketing strategy" that encouraged initial investors to sell packages of OneCoin to friends and family. Ruja Ignatova's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives poster / Credit: FBI Shimko said that Ignatova used the excitement over cryptocurrency to lure in consumers who didn't fully understand how cryptocurrency worked. "OneCoin claimed to have a private blockchain," Shimko added. "This is in contrast to other virtual currencies, which have a decentralized and public blockchain. In this case, investors were just asked to trust OneCoin." Investigators believe that Ignatova may have been tipped off that she was under investigation by U.S authorities. She was charged on October 12, 2017, and traveled from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Athens, Greece, on October 25 but she hasn't been seen since. Months later, a superseding indictment charged her with one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and securities fraud. Ignatova is 42 years old and was described as having "brown eyes and dark brown to black hair," the FBI said, noting it's possible she may have changed her appearance. The FBI also said she may be traveling with armed guards. Story continues Ignatova speaks English, German, and Bulgarian. She may be traveling on a fraudulent passport and has known connections to Bulgaria, Germany, Russia, Greece, and the United Arab Emirates. Shimko noted that before she disappeared, Ignatova lived a lavish lifestyle. Crime Without Punishment: A look at drastic increase in unsolved murders, especially for Black, Hisp Liz Cheney tells Republicans to pick between Constitution or Trump These U.S. companies are paying for abortion travel By Michael Erman and Manas Mishra (Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday recommended COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers change the design of their booster shots beginning this fall to include components tailored to combat the currently dominant Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of the coronavirus. If authorized, the changes would mark the first major retooling of COVID vaccines, but also could slow their rollout as the FDA has recommended a design somewhat different from what the companies had already tested and started producing. The FDA will not require new studies testing the BA.4/BA.5 shots in humans to be completed for authorization, a top agency official told Reuters, similar to how annual changes to flu vaccines are handled. "In a sense, we are chasing the virus, just as we do with influenza, and how close we can get to the variants that are prominent at the time, we'll have to wait and see," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, adding that redesigned vaccines could provide better protection than current ones. The FDA said companies would not need to change the vaccine for the primary vaccination series, saying the coming year will be "a transitional period when this modified booster vaccine may be introduced." The new booster shots would be bivalent vaccines, targeting both the original virus as well as the Omicron subvariants. The decision follows a recommendation by the agency's outside advisers to change the vaccine design this fall to combat more prevalent versions of the coronavirus. BA.4 and BA.5 are estimated to account for more than 50% of U.S. infections, according the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and have also become dominant elsewhere. The FDA said on Thursday that it hoped the modified vaccines could be used in early to mid-fall. Scientists have suggested redesigned boosters could spur a broader range of immune responses that might also protect against future variants that may emerge. Story continues "Predicting the future with COVID-19 in particular is hazardous, because COVID has faked us out on a number of occasions," Schaffner said. DIFFERENT STRATEGIES FOR DIFFERENT COUNTRIES Regulators from other countries are seriously considering using new boosters based on the BA.1 Omicron variant that caused the massive surge in cases last winter, top FDA official Dr. Peter Marks said in an interview. "Some may want a vaccine more rapidly. That (vaccine) is going to be available more rapidly," Marks said, after a meeting of international regulators on Thursday. Advisers to the World Health Organization preferred BA.1-based boosters, arguing that the variant is more distinct and could generate a broader response than the more recently circulating subvariants. Pfizer Inc with partner BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc have been testing versions of their vaccines modified to combat the BA.1 Omicron variant. Although they have said those vaccines generated a good immune response against BA.1 and the more recently circulating variants, they did see a lower response against BA.4 and BA.5. The companies had already been manufacturing their BA.1 vaccines, and said on Tuesday switching to a BA.4/BA.5 design could delay their introduction. Pfizer/BioNTech, which on Wednesday announced a $3.2 billion contract to supply more COVID vaccine doses to the United States, said they would have a substantial amount of BA.4/BA.5 vaccine ready for distribution by the first week of October. Moderna said it would be late October or early November before its modified vaccine is ready. The FDA has directed manufacturers to launch clinical trials to study the BA.4/5 vaccines, but said they would evaluate data on their previous BA.1-based vaccines to support authorization of the retooled shots. Marks said data from the new trial will be important to gauge the continued effectiveness of the boosters against new variants that may arise. (Reporting by Michael Erman in New Jersey and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru, Additional Reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Bill Berkrot) Deanna Sykes, head of the Sacramento chapter of the Pink Pistols gun group, at a shooting meet-up in May 2022 (Io Dodds) Enge had been procrastinating about buying a gun. The soft-spoken 69-year-old grew up around firearms, and always wanted one to protect her household. But in her highly conservative region of inland California, most training courses were linked to the National Rifle Association (NRA), whose politics she hated. Then, in early 2021, she realised that she was transgender, and suddenly the situation was different. Not only did she feel unsafe presenting as a woman in her community, but she could see conservative rhetoric about trans people growing increasingly hostile across the US. "Transgender women like myself are currently considered by the right wing to be dangerous, so I have a heightened sense of insecurity, and feel I should be better able to deal with a situation if it came up," she tells The Independent as she slots bullets into a semi-automatic pistol magazine at a shooting range in Sacramento. "A chill went down my spine when I heard that QAnon was asserting [falsely] that the Texas shooter was a transgender paedophilic groomer... I really dont know where the threat to me will come from. It was only a few months after her revelation that Enge, who asked for her last name not to be used because she does not yet feel safe coming out publicly, discovered Pink Pistols, an LGBT+ gun group formed in the year 2000. Once alongside other queer people, she felt confident training regularly and eventually bought her own handgun. "The acceptance has been wonderful," she says. Over the past few years, the rising tide of attacks on LGBT+ people has sparked discussion in American queer communities about how they should defend themselves, and pushed some people to acquire or learn how to use firearms. Yet anyone attempting to persuade LGBT+ people to exercise their Second Amendment rights faces distinct barriers, including elevated rates of suicide among some LGBT groups and a widespread progressive suspicion of guns and gun culture, which traditionally leans towards the right. Story continues Erin Palette, Pink Pistols's national coordinator and the head of its parent group Operation Blazing Sword, says she has seen a steady increase in membership and inquiries since 2016, when 49 people were shot dead and 53 wounded at a gay nightclub called Pulse in Orlando, Florida. "That was in many ways our 9/11 moment," she tells The Independent. "We were in just as much danger on 10 September as we were on the 11th; the big difference was that on the 11th we now knew it. "That was the first growth spurt. And then in the fall of that year, Trump was elected... so yes, there has been an increase, not specifically only in the last two years just the past two years were basically pressing the nitrous oxide button on the racing car." Our enemies have guns, so wed better The pandemic and its aftermath have seen a sharp escalation in political, legal, and physical attacks on LGBT+ people in America. In 2020, murders of trans and gender non-conforming people reached their highest point in record. That same year was marked by a surge in far right movements and conspiracy theories hostile to LGBT+ people alongside then-president Donald Trump's increasingly aggressive attempts to stay in office. This year, extremist groups have stormed or shut down Pride Month events, while Republican politicians have declared homosexuality an abnormal lifestyle choice", sought to ban gender transition treatments for under-18s, and embraced the idea that teaching children about LGBT+ life is a form of "grooming". These events galvanised an ongoing and sometimes contentious discussion in queer communities about whether it is necessary or wise for LGBT+ people to take up arms. "If you are able to afford it, and if it is safe for you to do so, you should consider arming yourselves, then finding others to train with in teams and learn how to defend your community we may need these skills in the very near future," tweeted Chelsea Manning, the former US government whistleblower and a trans woman, on the day after news broke that the US Supreme Court was preparing to abolish the nationwide right to abortion. for those of you who are just catching up: if you are able to afford it, and if it is safe for you to do so, you should consider arming yourselves, then finding others to train with in teams and learn how to defend your communitywe may need these skills in the very near future Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) May 3, 2022 Mutual aid groups such as Defence Fund ATL in Atlanta, Secure the Bag Safety in New York City, and Trans Defence Fund Los Angeles have sprung up to teach self-defence skills to LGBT+ people of colour and distribute free non-lethal weapons. One group called Arm the Girls, founded in the San Francisco Bay Area, sent out designer bags holding stun guns, pocket knives, and pepper spray, as well as holding a photoshoot of trans people wielding firearms. "[Guns] are so normalized in our culture, but when you see a Black person with a gun, automatically theyre a criminal, and when you see a queer or trans person with a gun oh wait, you never see that," Arm the Girls co-founder Guerilla Davis told Mic last June, though the outlet noted that they do not advocate gun ownership. There has even been a swell of trans social media influencers devoted to teaching firearm skills, showing off modified assault rifles or explaining cleaning and camouflage procedures on Instagram and YouTube. Chloe Corrupt, a 36-year-old porn actor and trans woman who lives in the Bay Area but grew up in inner-city Cleveland, told The Independent that she will probably buy a revolver later this year due to fear of planned or opportunistic attacks by right-wing extremists. Despite having carried a gun daily in her youth, she has not done so since 2009, largely because she felt it unnecessary in the Bay Area. She asked to be identified by her stage name due to previous harassment and doxxing. "Cleveland is a place with a lot of gun violence," she says. "I grew up in extreme proximity to gang life; a close friend was murdered in front of me when I was 16. "Unlike a lot of transgender individuals who are speaking about this, I am not suburban. I did not grow up in some cul-de-sac, I grew up where gun violence is not an abstraction. So I do understand very well what some of the negative outcomes are when you've got a marginalised population with a lot of guns and a lot of desperation. "But much like [that] neighbourhood, I think the reality for trans people has gotten to the point where people want to kill us for who we are and where we're from. They've got guns, they know how to use them, so we'd better... we have the ability to protect ourselves. We're fools for not doing it." Indeed, gun sales in general skyrocketed during the pandemic, and not just among conservatives. Whereas previous election year spikes in sales were thought to be driven by gun enthusiasts concerned about new restrictions from Democratic presidents, gun shop owners and trade groups told The Los Angeles Times that large numbers of liberals, women, and Black Americans were buying their first firearms. Most said they wanted a gun for self-defence. The Trace, a non-partisan gun tracking group, estimated that sales had jumped 64 per cent in 2020 after staying flat for most of Trump's presidency. One Los Angeles councilman told The New York Times: "There was just as much a run on guns as on toilet paper in the beginning of the pandemic." While they cannot be certain of the reasons, LGBT+ gun groups likewise have seen increased interest from LGBT+ people. Three Pink Pistols chapter heads said they had had upticks in membership inquiries over the past year, though most new joiners did not mention anti-queer sentiment. Palette also says the average number of people reporting that they were trained by Operation Blazing Sword, which connects LGBT+ people with queer-friendly volunteer gun instructors, rose from one per week in 2018 to two per week in 2019 and 2021 probably an under-estimate, since not everyone reports their training session. Lucas Hubbard, national press secretary for the Socialist Rifle Association (SRA), which has a large number of LGBT+ people among its roughly 9,000 members and in its leadership, says: "More than ever marginalised groups are arming themselves, LGBTQ+ communities included. We see mass acceptance for getting armed nowadays far more than we have in the past." 'Putting the phobia back in homophobia' At a Pink Pistols meet-up in Sacramento, California last month, Enge and a small group of other LGBT+ people gathered in protective earmuffs and glasses to fire off short salvos of ammunition at paper targets and compare techniques. "The detonation of the first round is always shocking, so I keep doing this to try and desensitise myself a bit," says Enge, who still feels she has to re-learn to shoot every time she visits. "But I want to remain somewhat sensitised, because these are dangerous objects... I dont want a goofball with a gun. To me theyre strictly tools, like a black and decker drill a little more dangerous." Deanna Sykes, 59, a gay research scientist who founded and leads the Pistols' Sacramento chapter around 2002, gives an opening safety briefing, then explains how to efficiently pull back the slide on a Springfield 1911 pistol and fire off multiple shots without reducing their accuracy by flinching. "I have absolutely hated guns my entire life," says Aileen Lauer, a 59-year-old orthopaedic therapist and lesbian. "I thought, you know, I need to make friends with this thing that I dislike so much. So I came to a Pink pistols meeting... I realised that it's really nothing to be afraid of, and it turned into this sport that I love." During the pandemic she turned her van into a mobile home and travelled the country with just her dog, making her nervous about her safety, both as a gay woman and as a human being roaming the US almost alone. "It has been dangerous in my lifetime to be identified as anything in the LGBTQ community," she says. "I've walked out of a gay bar, minding my own business, and had a car drive by and throw rocks and eggs at me. I've been in a bar where guys came in with firearms scary... "People have strong feelings about who we are, and believe us to be wrong, and there's a certain amount of those people that want to take action towards our community. I want to be able to stand in the middle of who I am and meet the moment, if it ever comes." Deanna Sykes loads a magazine (Io Dodds) Joseph Giambo, a 32-year-old bisexual man from Rancho Cordova, California, says his goal is to convert as many LGBT+ people and allies to gun ownership as possible. "The LGBTQ community shifts a little left, and there's a lot more hesitancy," he says. "I like to joke that I want to put the 'phobia' back in homophobia." That echoes the original purpose of Pink Pistols, whose motto is "armed queers don't get bashed". The idea came from gay journalist Jonathan Rauch, inspired by a 1987 incident in which a gay teenager in Arkansas who was saved from potential murder by four armed homophobes when his companion fired a pistol shot over their heads. "If it became widely known that homosexuals carry guns and know how to use them, not many bullets would need to be fired," Rauch wrote in Salon in 2000. Libertarian activist Douglas Krick took up on idea and founded Pink Pistols, which by 2018 was estimated to have about 30,000 members. Palette, a longtime gun rights advocate and disaster prepper who started Blazing Sword the day after the Pulse shooting and immediately got an "avalanche" of inquiries, feels vindicated by the recent anti-LGBT+ backlash. "I am frequently asked if gun ownership is more important to me than queer rights," she says. "They're both very important to me, but if I had to pick one, I would pick gun ownership. "Queer rights are enforced by the government, and if the government suddenly decides that I no longer have those rights, there's nothing I can do about that. But if I have a firearm, and I genuinely fear that the government wants to kill me and I am not advocating for the overthrow of the US government or anything like that then I've still got a firearm, and I can use that to defend myself and to protect my queer life." As a trans woman, she also remembers how carrying a gun made her feel more confident the first time she went out in public as herself. More importantly, she found it forced her to calm her emotional response to verbal abuse and disrespect, since she was conscious that escalating any argument might lead to someone's death. "When you become a gun owner you have to set aside a lot of your ego and you have to let a lot of things slide," she says. "We catch a lot of crap over the way we live our lives... and I still get offended by that. But in most instances, I have to just take a deep breath and let it slide." However, she warns: "So many people think that the gun is a talisman 'I have the gun, and the gun makes everything better.' And that's not true. The gun is the tool, and tools do not operate by themselves. You have to have a will to use them. "This is why I do not believe that guns are right for everyone because there are a lot of people who, for whatever reason, believe that they are incapable of taking a life even in self-defence. I respect that, that's a personal choice, but in that case they should not have a firearm. "If you carry, you have to believe deep within yourself that if the situation calls for it, you can shoot another human being to defend yourself... I know that I have, deep within me, this core that will fight to the death to defend itself." LGBT+ gun advocates have an uphill climb Many LGBT+ gun owners talk about a widespread cultural cringe in queer communities that makes firearms sometimes feel taboo. LGBT+ Americans overwhelmingly lean towards Democrats, and left-leaning Americans are overwhelmingly more likely to support tighter gun laws. A 2018 report by the Williams Institute, part of the University of California Los Angeles, found that only 19 per cent of lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) adults have a gun at home versus 35 per cent of straight adults. LGBT+ people were also more likely to support gun control proposals and oppose making it easier to get a concealed carry permit. Another study in 2020 found a similar effect for queer men, but not queer women. The Pink Pistols meet-up in May came just four days after the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, underscoring why many LGBT+ people are uncomfortable with guns and leading Sykes to emphasise how to carry a weapon that is not in use without making bystanders "jumpy". Do such events make her question her stance? "It's tough, it's really tough," she says. "This last one in particular, I find myself thinking about it sand saying, 'oh my God, are they right? Do we need to just try to get rid of guns?'" She recalls how her father, who grew up "quite poor", had been taught to shoot around the age of 11 and taken a .22 rifle to school so he could shoot squirrels and woodchucks for his family's dinner. "Something's changed in the world that is causing the things that we're dealing with, and what's changed is not the accessibility of guns," says Sykes. "There might be more of them out there, but this country has had guns since its founding. "Is restricting them part of the solution? Maybe it is, but I hate to see that solution pursued to the exclusion of all these other things we probably need... and figuring out what the heck is the source of all of the divisiveness we have in our world right now." Lots of talk around trans women and femmes arming themselves and while I 100% understand the desire, TWO THIRDS of gun deaths in America are self-inflicted. If you have depression, you do not want a firearm in your house during your lowest moment. Stay alive Ari Drennen (@AriDrennen) August 18, 2020 LGBT+ people disagree on these questions. Enge believes the Second Amendment has been "badly misinterpreted" and supports stricter background checks, saying: "It was even too easy for me to get this weapon." Ari Drennen, a trans woman who monitors anti-LGBT+ hate movements at the progressive non-profit Media Matters for America, told The Independent she understands why some trans people are jumping into gun culture, but sounds a note of caution: "There are lots of ways to think about helping your community. Getting trained as an EMT is always valuable. We don't have to match the aesthetics of the fascists to be a resilient community that looks after and takes care of each other." Chloe Corrupt, meanwhile, is firmly against gun control, arguing that it has historically been enforced disproportionately on marginalised people. She recounts how her Black friends in Cleveland were regularly harassed by police in the name of, in one officer's words, "gun suppression". "The people who want to kill us for who we are are overwhelmingly white and suburban... and if gun control measures were taken and enforced against white suburban men more than other groups, it would be the first time in this country's history," she says. Some LGBT+ people have expressed concern that arming up, and stridently advocating gun use, will inspire backlash at a time of rising fears about political violence and even civil war. Others in the community have raised the issue of suicide, which is two to eight times more common among young LGBT+ people than their straight peers, according to the aforementioned Williams Institute report. Research consistently shows that guns are a major risk factor for suicide. The same may be true for domestic abuse, which LGBT+ people are also more likely to suffer. Corrupt says the answer is to know oneself, and that people who think they might be at risk of suicide might be better off unarmed. She is more concerned about the possibility that the law will not protect trans people who kill in self-defence so much so that she advocates buying guns "off the books" instead of submitting to the mercy of the courts. After the Pink Pistols shoot, Enge spends a while chatting with the staff behind the desk at the range's gun shop, stocking up on ammunition and considering various weapon models for her wife. For now, she doesn't carry her weapon around, but might do in future if she begins facing street harassment. "I want people to know that trans people may be armed, you know?" she says. "Be aware! Be aware that we're not all a bunch of marshmallows." The Independent is the official publishing partner of Pride in London 2022 and a proud sponsor of NYC Pride A bicyclist pedals past a ghost bike memorial in the 2400 block of West Logan Boulevard on June 29, 2022, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune) As Chicago contends with a series of recent pedestrian and cyclist deaths that have brought into focus the sometimes perilous nature of walking or biking city streets, plans are underway to boost the number of bike lanes protected by a concrete curb. Concrete curb-protected bike lanes have been a key ask of safety advocates. Now, the Chicago Department of Transportation has unveiled a roughly $7 million plan to convert all existing protected bike lanes to include concrete curbs by the end of 2023 and add 10 miles of new concrete-protected lanes. Advertisement Concrete curbs will become the standard for new protected bike lanes in the city moving forward, CDOT said. The city has about 35 miles of protected bike lanes, but the majority of those lanes do not include concrete, instead often featuring plastic posts separating cyclists from car traffic. By the end of this year, the city aims to convert 15 miles of those lanes to include a concrete curb, and another 13 miles are expected to undergo work next year. Advertisement When the work is complete, including the additional new lanes, about 45 of the citys nearly 400 miles of bikeways will be protected by a concrete curb. The work comes as recent traffic deaths have unleashed anger among community members and sparked calls for citywide infrastructure that prioritizes the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. Among the bicyclists recently killed when hit by a vehicle was 15-year-old Joshua Avina, according to the Cook County medical examiners office. The teen was struck by a delivery truck Friday afternoon as he was crossing South Austin Avenue on the citys Southwest Side, Chicago Police said. Earlier, on June 9, 3-year-old Lily Grace Shambrook was killed when a semitruck collided with the bicycle she was being carried on in the 1100 block of West Leland Avenue in Uptown, Chicago police said. A memorial sits where a toddler was killed June 9 in an accident involving a bicycle and a semitruck at the intersection of Winthrop and Leland avenues in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) Their deaths follow those of other cyclists and pedestrians this year, including bicyclist Nick Parlingayan, 22, who was hit and killed by a vehicle that fled the scene in the 3800 block of North Milwaukee Avenue on the citys Northwest Side. The stretch of road where Parlingayan was struck and killed is among those identified for concrete protections. Also identified were stretches of road elsewhere on the citys Northwest, West and South sides and in areas near downtown. Kyle Whitehead, spokesman for the Active Transportation Alliance, celebrated the additional concrete-protected bike lanes, saying they will prevent future crashes and help make bicyclists feel more comfortable, encouraging more people to ride on city streets. Theres still this problem that people will be riding bikes most often on streets where they wont have this protection and they will potentially be vulnerable, he said. But where these lanes are going in are popular biking routes today, and people riding those lanes will be more safe and more comfortable than they were before. Advertisement Concrete protections arent a natural fit for every street for example, they make more sense on major city roads than on smaller side streets, he said. But he considered the announcement particularly exciting because it involves upgrades across several neighborhoods at once. Bike lane design often happens block by block or ward by ward, leaving a patchwork of protections across neighborhoods. Still, more protections for pedestrians and bicyclists are needed, he said. A bicyclist pedals east in the 600 block of West Kinzie Street in Chicago on June 29, 2022. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune) City officials are touting plans for the new protected bike lanes as the largest bike lane upgrade in city history. In an email, CDOT spokeswoman Erica Schroeder said work on road safety would continue. CDOT continues to work with Aldermen and community stakeholders throughout Chicago to make additional safety improvements for all road users, she said. CDOT is committed to increasing the number of protected bike lane miles annually, expanding our network of low-stress routes, and implementing new designs at conflict points to increase comfort and safety. Work on the concrete curbs will begin this week along Kinzie Street between Milwaukee and Wells. Other bike lanes slated to get protections this year include: Lake Street from Pulaski to Damen; Logan Boulevard from Rockwell to Diversey; Milwaukee Avenue between Addison and Irving Park, Chicago and Division, and Kinzie and Ohio; Independence Boulevard from Douglas to Harrison; Douglas Boulevard from Independence to Sacramento; 119th Street from Ashland to Halsted and the Major Taylor Trail. The Chicago Tribunes Rosemary Sobol contributed. Advertisement sfreishtat@chicagotribune.com Kyrie Irving averaged 27.4 points, 5.8 assists and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 49.6% from the field and 41.8% from long range last season in 29 regular-season games. (John Minchillo / Associated Press) The opening minutes of NBA free agency began like an unkinked hose, transactions spraying everywhere as soon as the 3 p.m. PDT start Thursday arrived. While the Lakers would soon be involved, signing four new players to the team, rumors of reengaged trade talks with the Brooklyn Nets clearly became the dominant way the organization could be reshaped. Talks about trading for All-Star guard Kyrie Irving reignited Thursday, according to sources familiar with the matter not authorized to speak publicly. Irving opted into the final year of his deal Monday. Normal people keep the world going, but those who dare to be different lead us into tomorrow," Irving cryptically told The Athletic that day. "I've made my decision to opt in. See you in the fall. A11even." It became clear that any fall sightings probably wouldnt be with the Nets the Lakers in the commanding lead to acquire Irving should they choose to try to trade Russell Westbrook in a deal. Brooklyn star forward Kevin Durant informed team ownership that hed like to be traded, sources confirmed, signaling a disastrous end to an era that showed so much promise after Irving and Durant chose the Nets in free agency in 2019. The team, besieged by injuries and Irvings refusal to get vaccinated, never made it past the second round of the postseason despite adding James Harden during the 2020-21 season. The team was swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of this year's playoffs. The Lakers, despite some initial speculation, are not seen as a viable destination for Durant, who is sure to command a massive trade package. Durants desire to leave gave the Lakers a second chance to acquire Irving, a seven-time All-Star, with the teams two biggest stars in favor of the move. LeBron James has already won with Irving in Cleveland, and Anthony Davis, a tight James ally, is supportive, according to people familiar with the situation. Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving acknowledges fans after a game against the Orlando Magic in March. (Phelan M. Ebenhack / Associated Press) The Lakers, though, need to weigh what they consider is appropriate compensation for a player in the final year of a contract with reliability and durability issues. The team previously balked at adding future first-round draft picks in Irving discussions, and without much league-wide interest in Irving, its hard to know what his actual value is and how urgent the Lakers need to act. Story continues Its also unknown if and how the Lakers could pursue a third team to aid in the transaction should Brooklyn prefer not to acquire Westbrook. An easier decision Thursday, though, was to get younger and more athletic an obvious route after last season's older, plodding team failed to make the play-in tournament. The Lakers added a trio of former first-round draft picks in the first hour of free agency by getting deals done with Lonnie Walker IV, Troy Brown Jr. and Damian Jones on Thursday afternoonbefore snapping up Juan Toscano-Anderson from the NBA champion Warriors later in the day. Lonnie Walker IV averaged 12.1 points last season for the Spurs while shooting 40.7% from the field and 31.4% from three-point range in five attempts per game. (David Zalubowski / Associated Press) Walker will sign a one-year deal worth approximately $6.5 million, a person not authorized to speak publicly on the matter told The Times. Its the biggest free-agency deal the team could offer this season the taxpayer mid-level exception. The No. 18 pick in 2018, Walker is a 6-foot-4 guard who started 56 games in four seasons in San Antonio. He averaged 12.1 points while shooting 40.7% from the field and 31.4% from three-point range in five attempts per game. He turns 24 in December. Brown, who was the No. 15 pick in 2018 after starring at Oregon, will play for the Lakers on a minimum deal following stints in Washington and Chicago. He played 66 games last season, all but seven off the bench, and averaged 4.3 points in 16 minutes. Jones, the 30th pick in 2016 by Golden State, spent eight games with the Lakers in 2021, starting six. After his 10-day contracts expired with the team, he signed with Sacramento, where he played last season as well. Jones, who averaged 8.1 points and 4.4 rebounds last season, will sign a two-year minimum contract with a player option for next season. He turned 27 on Thursday. Toscano-Anderson was a part of the Golden State Warriors championship team, playing in 73 games last season. He averaged 4.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 13.6 minutes and shot 48.9% from the field and 32.2% from three-point range. At 29, he gives the Lakers more youth and hes known for his good defense, making him a 3-and-D player the team coveted. Former Lakers guard Malik Monk will sign a two-year contract with the Sacramento Kings, sources informed of the deal unauthorized to speak about it publicly said. The contract is expected to be worth nearly $20 million, more than the Lakers couldve offered under salary-cap rules. As of Thursday night, the Lakers have 13 players under contract, not counting a pair of two-way signees from draft night. Rosters cap at 15, though the Lakers could create a spot by releasing Wenyen Gabriel, whose deal isnt fully guaranteed. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A former Massachusetts lawmaker was in the right place at the right time after witnessing a car crash on Route 495 in Westford. Former senator Scott Brown was driving on 495 Wednesday morning when he noticed a car flipped over and had landed on its roof. Brown pulled over, along with a few other good samaritans including a registered nurse, and offered assistance. They were able to flip the car over and get the driver out safely. Brown said the driver was amazingly scratch-free. It was pretty surreal. And then fortunately the woman there was a registered nurse and she took over and made sure he was all right but it was truly amazing that he was not injured at all, Brown told Boston 25 news. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW In an op-ed article, Mick Mulvaney wrote Donald Trump could face claims of obstruction of justice. Per Mulvaney, such claims are the threat Trump should be most worried about. He also described a former White House aide's Tuesday testimony as "eminently credible." The former acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney wrote on Wednesday that in his view the real threat to former President Donald Trump was evidence that might lead to accusations of obstruction of justice. In an op-ed article for USA Today, Mulvaney weighed in on a former White House aide's bombshell testimony Tuesday before the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Mulvaney served as Trump's acting chief of staff for more than a year starting in early 2019. Cassidy Hutchinson, the former aide who testified, served under Mulvaney's successor, Mark Meadows. Mulvaney wrote that he had previously defended the former president against claims that he did "anything illegal or criminal" in relation to the Capitol riot. He said he was having difficulty maintaining that position, however, particularly after Hutchinson's testimony, which he said he found "eminently credible." "Because after some of the bombshells that got dropped in that hearing, my guess is that things could get very dark for the former president," Mulvaney wrote. Mulvaney also said, though, that Tuesday's hearing revealed one real threat to Trump that didn't hinge on Hutchinson's words or credibility. "It is the one that jumped out at me," he wrote. "And it is the one that should most worry the former president." He referred to the evidence presented by Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming toward the end of the hearing consisting of two messages that January 6 panel witnesses said they received before giving their depositions. The messages included allusions to being a "team player" to "stay in the good graces in Trump world" as well as a reminder that Trump read transcripts of interviews. Story continues Mulvaney said that the implication behind displaying the messages during the hearing was "crystal clear." "The Jan. 6 committee members believe they have evidence that people within the Trump operation attempted to intimidate witnesses," Mulvaney wrote. "And that, any way you slice it, is obstruction of justice." "Even if Donald Trump were as innocent as the virgin snow that Jan. 6, even if he didn't know about the guns, or didn't assault his agent, or had absolutely no clue what the Proud Boys were up to, if he obstructed justice related to the Jan. 6 hearings, then he could well become just the next politician to learn the hard lesson that it usually isn't the crime," he added. "It's the cover-up." Read the original article on Business Insider Four people have officially been charged for their roles in a deadly smuggling operation after allegedly leaving dozens of migrants to die in the back of a sweltering 18-wheeler in San Antonio earlier this week. Homero Zamorano Jr., the 45-year-old alleged driver of the truck, has been charged with one count of alien smuggling resulting in death, the US Attorneys Office for the Western District of Texas announced late Wednesday. Zamorano was found hiding in a bush near the truck and taken into custody by San Antonio officers, officials said. He was wearing the same clothes as the driver captured on surveillance footage at an immigration checkpoint. Christian Martinez, 28, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death and investigators found communications between him and Zamorano concerning the smuggling event, according to the Department of Justice. Two Mexican citizens, 23-year-old Juan Claudio DLuna-Mendez and 48-year-old Juan Francisco DLuna-Bilbao, 48, were charged with one count of possession of a weapon by an alien illegally in the U.S. Investigators staking out a San Antonio residence linked to the registration for the tractor trailer allegedly spotted both men leaving the house in separate trucks. During a traffic stop, officials found a gun in DLuna-Bilboas truck, according to the DOJ. More weapons were found at the house. Neither DLuna-Mendez nor DLuna-Bilbao have been formally accused of smuggling. Police responded to the scene Monday afternoon after 911 calls about an abandoned truck, according to the official report. There, they found bodies scattered, some still inside the truck, some outside on the road and in the bushes. Forty-eight people were declared dead at the scene, including 22 Mexican nationals, seven Guatemalan nationals and two Honduran nationals, and 16 were taken to local hospitals; five of those have since died. The truck had no working air conditioning and there were no signs of water for the migrants, San Antonio Police Chief William P. McManus said Tuesday. Temperatures Monday reached 103 degrees in San Antonio and many of the victims were reportedly hot to the touch. Identification has been slow as most if not all of the people in the truck were illegal immigrants. Gabby Petito in a screen grab from her YouTube v-log (YouTube) Brian Laundries parents will have to answer to claims they had prior knowledge of Gabby Petitos death after a judge denied their motion to dismiss a civil lawsuit brought by her parents. Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt are suing Chris and Roberta Laundrie in Floridas Sarasota County Circuit Court alleging they deliberately withheld information that their son had killed the vlogger before she was reported missing. At the centre of the Petitos case is a 16 September statement released by Laundrie attorney Steve Bertolino, as search parties combed the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming for Ms Petito. On behalf of the Laundrie family it is our hope that the search for Ms Petito is successful and that Ms Petito is reunited with her family, the statement read. Judge Hunter W Carroll denied a motion by the Laundries to dismiss the case in a ruling issued on Thursday morning, and first reported by NewsNations Brian Entin. Because the Laundries statement by their attorney in the context of the unique facts of this case is objectively outrageous, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs have stated causes of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress against the Laundries, the judge said. Ms Petitos parents appeared in court last week for the first hearing of a civil lawsuit in which they also allege the Laundries helped Brian evade capture and offering help to leave the country. Their lawyer Pat Reilly told the court the Laundries had deliberately put out a false statement when they knew she was not alive. Thats callous, its shameful, its outrageous, he said during the court hearing. Mr Petito and Ms Schmidt are seeking damages for the intentional infliction of emotional distress. NBC Overturning Roe Vs. Wade makes America an outlier among developed countries. In countries like Canada, Greenland, the majority of Europe, Australia, New Zealand and others, a person can get an abortion on request. There are varying limits on how far along the pregnancy is - but for the most part: if a person wants an abortion, they can get it. Then there are countries one might be more surprised to find in this group: in Cuba, Argentina, Turkey, Russia, China, and even North Korea abortion is available on reqest. In Egypt, Iraq, Madagascar, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and a few others, abortion is outright prohibited. America falls somewhere in the middle. Since the reversal of Roe VS. Wade, its tough to characterize the legal status of abortion in the U.S. because it now varies wildly by state. The right to an abortion no longer has blanket constitutional protection. Which means, women have rights in China and North Korea that they dont have in the United States of America. Cassidy Hutchinson, a top former aide to Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, testifies during the sixth hearing by the House Select Committee on the January 6th insurrection in the Cannon House Office Building on June 28, 2022 in Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images Kinzinger said Cassidy Hutchinson is a "hero" with "more courage than most" Republicans. Hutchinson offered explosive testimony to the January 6 committee this week. Trump has lashed out at Hutchinson, a former top aide to his chief of staff, over her testimony. GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois on Thursday applauded Cassidy Hutchinson for her testimony to the January 6 committee, saying the former top aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has "more courage" than most of his Republican colleagues. "Cassidy Hutchinson is a hero and a real patriot (not a faux 'patriot' that hates America so much they would attempt a coup.)," Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, said in a tweet. "Of course they will try to bully and intimidate her. But she isn't intimidated. More courage than most in GOP," Kinzinger added of Hutchinson. Hutchinson earlier this week offered explosive, damning testimony to the House committee investigating January 6, when former President Donald Trump's supporters violently stormed the Capitol as lawmakers met to certify President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory. She testified that Trump lunged at a Secret Service agent and tried to grab the wheel of an SUV while demanding to be taken to the Capitol. Trump was ultimately not taken down to the scene of the riot. Hutchinson in her testimony said that Tony Ornato, the White House deputy chief of staff, recalled the altercation to her right after it occurred. "I noticed the head of Mr. Trump's security detail sitting in a chair, looking somewhat discombobulated, a little lost," Hutchinson said. "I looked at Tony, he said, 'Did you effing hear what happened in the Beast?' I said, 'No, Tony, I just got back, what happened?'" "Tony proceeded to tell me that when the president got in the Beast, he was under the impression from Mr. Meadows that the off-the-record movement to the Capitol was still possible and likely to happen but that Bobby had more information," Hutchinson went on to say. "As the president had gotten into the vehicle with Bobby, he thought that they were going up to the Capitol. And when Bobby had relayed to him that we're not; we don't have the assets to do it; it's not secure; we're going back to the West Wing, the president had a very strong, very angry response to that." Story continues Trump then "said something to the effect of, 'I'm the effing president, take me up to the Capitol now,'" to which Bobby responded, "Sir, we have to go back to the West Wing," per Hutchinson's testimony. Hutchinson also testified that Trump was aware that some of his supporters who attended his speech near the White House on January 6 were armed, but didn't care. Trump was concerned about filling in the crowd space, according to her testimony, and suggested that metal detectors be taken away. Trump "wanted it full and he was angry that we weren't letting people through the mags with weapons," Hutchinson said, referencing metal detectors used by the Secret Service. "But when we were in the offstage tent, I was in the vicinity of a conversation where I overheard the president say something to the effect of, 'I don't effing care that they have weapons. They're not here to hurt me. Take the effing mags away. Let my people in, they can march to the Capitol from here. Let the people in. Take the effing mags away," Hutchinson added. In a speech prior to the fatal riot on January 6, Trump encouraged the rallygoers to march on the Capitol and "fight like hell." He was ultimately impeached for a second time over his role in fomenting the deadly insurrection at the Capitol, which was fueled by Trump's lies about the 2020 election. Trump lashed out at Hutchinson over her testimony, calling her a "total phony" and "third rate social climber." The former president's criticism of Hutchinson came in the form of online commentary, while her statements on January 6 were delivered under oath. Read the original article on Business Insider Don't miss CoinDesk's Consensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12. Grayscale Investments filed suit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) barely an hour after the regulatory agency rejected its application to convert its flagship Grayscale Bitcoin Trust product to an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The SEC rejected Grayscale's application earlier Wednesday, citing concerns about market manipulation, the role of Tether in the broader bitcoin ecosystem and the lack of a surveillance-sharing agreement between a "regulated market of significant size" and a regulated exchange, echoing concerns the regulator has expressed for years in rejecting other spot bitcoin ETF applications. A spot bitcoin ETF is comprised of bitcoin or assets related to bitcoin's price. Grayscale is a subsidiary of CoinDesk parent company Digital Currency Group. In the filing, Grayscale simply asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review the SEC's order. Read more: SEC Rejects Grayscales Spot Bitcoin ETF Application The investment firm announced earlier in 2022 it was prepared to sue the SEC in the event of a rejection, saying it would file a proceeding under the Administrative Procedures Act. To that end, Grayscale tapped former Solicitor General Don Verrilli, who has experience in APA proceedings. Grayscale supports and believes in the SECs mandate to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets and facilitate capital formation and we are deeply disappointed by and vehemently disagree with the SEC's decision to continue to deny spot bitcoin ETFs from coming to the U.S. market, Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein said in a statement Wednesday. Essentially, the company will argue that the SEC has to allow products that are like other products already trading, in this case bitcoin futures ETFs. Story continues Verrilli told reporters earlier in June that the SEC's approval of futures ETFs indicate the underlying market must be seen as reliable. "This is a place where common sense has a really important role to play. You've got a situation now in which you have certain kinds of exchange traded funds, one that is focused on bitcoin futures, and the SEC has approved that, the SEC is given it the seal of approval," he said. "In order to do so it had to make a determination that that giving this approval was consistent with the securities laws, and in particular, that that there wasn't a sufficient underlying risk of fraud and manipulation." To date, only a handful of bitcoin futures ETFs have been approved to trade. Spot bitcoin ETFs trade based on the price of bitcoin itself, while futures-based ETFs trade based on the price of CME's bitcoin futures product (which in turn is tied to an index). Bitcoin ETF proponents argue that the futures markets are still based on the underlying spot bitcoin price, while the SEC notes that CME's futures market is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a fellow federal agency. UPDATE (June 30, 2022, 02:15 UTC): Adds Grayscale's petition. CR tested 351 packages of ground meat and found dangerous bacteria in almost a third of the chicken samples we bought, deadly bacteria in ground beef, and worrisome gaps in the way meat is regulated in this country By Lisa L. Gill Americans love meatespecially ground meat. We shape it into burgers, meatballs, and meatloaf; stir it into chili and pasta sauce; and stuff it into peppers, lasagna, and tacos. Americans like it so much that in 2021 alone, we purchased more than $13 billion worth of ground beef, turkey, pork, and chicken. But our love of ground meat comes at a price: Its a leading cause of food poisoning. Since 2018, 11 outbreaks of illness have been traced back to raw meat, sickening a reported 1,264 peopleand at least eight of them involved ground meat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To assess the current state of the nations ground meat supply, Consumer Reports recently tested 351 packages of ground beef, pork, chicken, and turkey purchased at stores throughout the country. (Read more about how we tested (PDF).) What we found was alarming. Almost a third of the ground chicken packages we tested contained salmonella. We also found those bacteria in a few samples of ground beef, pork, and turkey. Particularly worrisome: Every single strain of salmonella was resistant to at least one antibiotic (see Why Superbugs Are in Your Meat, below). CR also found a strain of E. coli in a sample of ground beef that is so dangerous that we immediately alerted the Department of Agriculture to our findings, triggering a recall of more than 28,000 pounds of the meat from major grocery chains in seven Western states. That bacteria should not have been in the meat, period, says James E. Rogers, PhD, director of food safety research and testing at CR, and a former official at the USDA. There is a zero-tolerance policy for that bacteria, and for good reason: Its hard to treat, and can kill. Story continues Together, the findings highlight serious flaws in the way meat is produced in this country, and huge gaps in how the government ensures meat safety. Right now, preventing illness caused by contaminated meat falls too heavily on the shoulders of consumers, not on industry or regulators, Rogers says. It shouldnt be that way, and doesnt have to be." Risky Stuff Ground meat is more likely than whole cuts, such as steaks and chicken breasts, to make you sick for several reasons. It starts at the processing plant, where the meat from multiple animals is ground together. Even if the meat from just one animal is contaminated with harmful bacteria, such as E. coli or salmonella, it potentially can get distributed into many, many pounds of ground meat, Rogers says. Plus, when a steak or chicken breast is contaminated, the bacteria are usually on the surface, where they can be easily killed when cooked. But in ground meat the bacteria get mixed throughout. Serve up a medium-rare burger or an undercooked chicken meatball and you may put people at risk of becoming seriously ill. In addition, as you make a patty or roll a meatball, you may handle ground meat more than a whole cut, Rogers says. So there are more opportunities for bacteria to spread from your hands and prep surfaces to other foods." E. Coli in Beef CRs finding of E. coli in a package of Kroger-branded ground beef purchased at a grocery store in Seattle triggered a rapid recall of products sold at several chains across the West and Southwest. The action happened so quickly for one main reason: The particular strain CR foundE. coli O157:H7is one that the USDA takes very seriously. Thats because it produces a toxin, called shiga toxin, that can harm the intestines, often causing painful, bloody diarrhea and, in 5 to 10 percent of cases, potentially fatal kidney damage. The USDA has taken an aggressive approach toward that strain of E. coli in ground beef since the 1990s, after a notorious outbreak linked to undercooked hamburgers at Jack in the Box restaurants. More than 600 people became ill, and four children died, prompting the agency to declare O157:H7 and, later, six related strains of shiga toxin-producing E. coli as adulterants. As a result, ground beef (or products that contain it) with those bacteria cannot be legally sold, and manufacturers must recall meat that could be contaminated, even if no illnesses are clearly linked to it. As CRs tests found, dangerous E. coli strains still do sometimes show up in ground beef. The recall this year prompted by our tests was one of 23 such recalls since 2018. And some peopleabout 265,000 a yearcontinue to be sickened by the strains. Still, the agencys aggressive approach has helped, says Bill Marler, a Seattle attorney who focuses on food safety cases and represented consumers sickened in the Jack in the Box outbreak. Faced with the expense and bad publicity that comes with recalls, he says, ground meat producers invested heavily in improved testing and production methods. The result is that E. coli O157 cases essentially were cut in half, he says. Salmonella in Chicken While the USDA has taken a hard stance on shiga toxin-producing E. coli in ground beef, thats not the case for salmonella in chicken or turkey. Thats problematic, says Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at CR. The agency needs to treat those bacteria, especially in chicken, with a far greater sense of urgency. Salmonella is widespread in chickens, in part because of the often crowded and filthy conditions in which they are raised. Nearly 1.35 million people get sick from the bacteria every year, about five times as many as with harmful E. coli. About a fifth of those come from chicken and turkey, including ground versions. Reducing those numbers has been a stated public health goal for more than a decade. Yet the large number of people sickened by salmonella hasnt changed in years, says Mitzi Baum, CEO at Stop Foodborne Illness, a food safety advocacy group. And the USDA, far from declaring zero tolerance for the bacteria, actually allows poultry producers to sell meat that may be contaminated with the bacteria. The agency does require poultry processors to regularly test for salmonella. But a plant is allowed to have salmonella in up to 9.8 percent of whole birds it tests, 15.4 percent of parts, and 25 percent of ground chicken. And if producers exceed those levels, they are only given what amounts to a warning, not told to stop selling the meat. CR bought 75 packages of ground chicken at grocery stores across the country, including samples from Bell & Evans, Perdue, Tyson, and other major brands. Photo: The Kaplans CR found salmonella in 23 of the 75 samples we testedalmost a third of them. Nine of the 25 products from Perdue, a leading producer of ground chicken with the most samples in our tests, had salmonella. Samples from Trader Joes and Wholesome Pantry, which source their ground chicken from Perdue, also had positive samples, as did some from Isernios, Walmart, and Whole Foods. Overall, no single brand stood out as being statistically better or worse than another. There was even no difference between ground meat from organic chicken and meat from conventionally raised birds. The message: Salmonella in ground chicken is more common than it should be, says Rogers at CR. This is not an isolated or contained problem." Legal but Dangerous If salmonella in chicken is so dangerous and so common, why doesnt the USDA treat it as aggressively as it does shiga toxin-producing E. coli? For one thing, lawsuits brought by the meat industry have made it hard for the agency to declare salmonella an adulterant. And the argumentwhich courts have upheldsurprisingly centers on how Americans like their beef and chicken cooked. Congress has said that substances can be considered adulterants in food only if they would ordinarily cause a person injury. The courts have determined that it is perfectly ordinary for people to eat beef on the rare side, below the temperature that kills all the E. coliwhich means any of the bacteria in the meat are adulterants. By contrast, it is not typical to eat undercooked chicken. So in theory, anyway, salmonella would ordinarily be killed before people eat it. That may be why salmonella is not considered an adulterant in chicken. But that reasoning is flawed, Baum says, and puts the onus on people to handle chicken with extreme care in their kitchens, not on producers to safely raise and package meat. It makes the consumer the last safety check in the food, she says, and that is an unknown risk for the consumer." Fixing a Broken System CR shared our ground chicken test results with all the producers who had at least one sample test positive for salmonella, and asked what steps they take to reduce salmonella contamination. Perdue, which has partnered with CR and other food safety groups to push for a more rigorous approach to ensuring meat safety, says that in a recent spot check it did of 312 samples, only 17, or 5.4 percent, were positive for salmonella. Thats far lower than the 36 percent of Perdue samples with the bacteria in CRs tests. Perdue and several other producers say they are taking steps to reduce salmonella in their products. Tricia Moriarty, a spokesperson for Walmart, says the company began a salmonella interventions program in 2014. While no system will eliminate all salmonella bacteria, our program has significantly reduced the amount in the products it gets from suppliers, she says. Whole Foods says that it has a quality assurance team that assesses salmonella reports from the USDA and that if a processing plant is not meeting our expectations, we investigate to determine root cause and a corrective action plan. And Wholesome Pantry says the company holds our suppliers to strict industry standards. Tom Super, senior vice president of communications at the National Chicken Council, an industry group, says that such steps have helped improve meat safety and that some risk is inescapable. Any raw agricultural product, including fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, and poultry, is susceptible to naturally occurring bacteria, he says. No legislation or regulation can keep bacteria from existing. But independent food safety experts say larger, more systemic changes are needed. Lance Price, PhD, director of the Antibiotic Resistance Action Center at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., says the best solution would be to reduce the number of chickens that carry salmonella in the first place and for the agency to declare the bacteria to be adulterants. That would require companies to recall any product that tests positive for the bacteria, instead of waiting for outbreaks when people get sick, he says. But he also acknowledges that such steps are unlikely, at least in the short term. Instead, he, along with CRs Ronholm and other safety advocates, says the USDA should focus on sharply reducing the percentage of chicken samples allowed to test positive for salmonella. In addition, the agency should focus on the most problematic strains of salmonella. Last year CR, along with the Center for Science in the Public Interest and other food safety groups, petitioned the USDA, urging it to reduce the salmonella strains that pose the biggest threat to human health. The agency identified three strains to focus on: infantis, typhimurium, and enteritidis. In CRs test, 91 percent of the salmonella detected in ground chicken was from those three strains. The groups also say the USDA needs more authority to inspect facilities that breed and raise poultry and, when a plant is found to have high salmonella rates, to quickly shutter its operations. Sandra Eskin, deputy undersecretary for food safety at the USDA, says, The results of Consumer Reports sampling project underscores why [the agency] is rethinking our existing strategy so that it is more effective in reducing salmonella infections from poultry. She says the agency is gathering recommendations from independent food safety experts and working with industry to develop pilot projects to test-drive different control strategies. When it comes to shiga toxin-producing E. coli strains, Ronholm says they should be addressed aggressively wherever they are found. He says that those strains are now considered adulterants only in ground beef and mechanically tenderized beef. (Those are cuts of meat pierced by a machine to make them more tender, a process that can drive bacteria from the surface into the meat.) Handle With Care Until industry and the government take stronger steps to limit salmonella, E. coli, and other bacteria in meat, the best way to prevent foodborne illness remains practicing scrupulous kitchen hygiene. Here are some tips, from shopping to prep to storing leftovers. At the grocery store, keep raw meats in a disposable bag, separated from other foods. This can reduce the chance of a contaminated package coming into contact with other foods, especially uncooked foods that are consumed raw, such as fruits and salads. In the fridge, store raw meat in a bag or bowl. That keeps juices from leaking onto other surfaces or foods. Dont rely on how the meat looks or smells. You cant tell whether meat or poultry contain harmful bacteria. Use ground meat within two days of purchase. Or freeze it, either in its original package or repackaged. Either way, wrap it in foil or plastic wrap, or put it in a freezer bag or an airtight container. Thaw frozen meat in the refrigerator. Thats to keep meat cooled to below 40 F as it thaws, a temperature that impedes the growth of bacteria. Setting it out on the counter can accelerate that growth. Once the meat is thawed, use it within a day or two for ground meat or any type of poultry, and within three to five days for cuts of beef or pork. Keep burgers chilled. Dont take the meat out of the refrigerator until youre ready to make the patties, and then put the patties in the refrigerator until youre ready to cook them. That helps prevent any bacteria that may be in the meat from multiplyingand can help your patty hold together during cooking. Tip: When forming patties, make a slight indentation in the top of each with your thumb to keep shrinkage to a minimum. Dont rinse raw meat. Doing so is more likely to spread any bacteria around the sink or counter than it is to remove bacteria. If you like, pat the meat with a paper towel first instead. When preparing, wash, wash, wash. Wash your hands in hot soapy water before you start prepping, then after every time you touch raw meat, and again when youre finished. And wash any knives used on meat before cutting other foods. Use dedicated cutting boards. That means one for raw meat, and another for fruits and vegetables. Get a meat thermometer and use it. You cant gauge whether meat is fully cooked by how it looks. Instead, check the internal temperature with a thermometer. Ground beef and pork are safe when cooked to 160 F. Poultryground, whole, and partsshould be cooked to 165 F; beef roasts and steaks, and pork roasts and chops, to 145 F. Refrigerate leftovers promptly. Cooked food shouldnt be left out longer than 2 hours after its removed from the stove, oven, or grill. (One hour is the limit if youre outside and the temperature is 90 F or higher.) Editors Note: This article also appeared in the August 2022 issue of Consumer Reports magazine. More from Consumer Reports: Top pick tires for 2016 Best used cars for $25,000 and less 7 best mattresses for couples Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright 2022, Consumer Reports, Inc. Associated Press More witnesses are coming forward with new details on the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot following former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson's devastating testimony last week against former President Donald Trump, says a member of a House committee investigating the insurrection. The panel already has subpoenaed former White House counsel Pat Cipollone, who investigators remain hopeful will appear Wednesday for a deposition, and said it would also welcome follow-up details from Secret Service members with Trump that day. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., cited Hutchinson's testimony that Trump wanted to join an angry mob of his supporters who marched on Jan. 6, 2021, to the Capitol, where they rioted, as particularly valuable in inspiring more people to step forward as the committee gets set for at least two public hearings this month. People walk outside the James R. Thompson Center in the Loop Wednesday Dec. 15, 2021 in Chicago. Google is reportedly negotiating to purchase the state-owned building. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) Google is reportedly negotiating to purchase the state-owned James R. Thompson Center downtown. If true, such a deal could spark a turnaround for the struggling LaSalle Street corridor, where many longtime businesses have recently departed, leaving behind huge vacancies. The state talked for years about selling the 1.2-million-square-foot office center and seemed to reach that goal when Chicago developer Michael Reschke agreed to buy it in March for $70 million. Reschke said he planned to spend nearly $300 million to renovate the Helmut Jahn-designed center, best known for its futuristic exterior and vast atrium, possibly into a luxury hotel, and add modern office and retail space. Advertisement But Google entered the picture with its own offer to buy the Thompson Center, according to a report in CoStar News, although how much the company would pay and how it would impact Reschkes plan is not clear. Reschke dismissed the report. Like everyone else, we dont comment on false rumors, he said. I know of no discussions, and Im not trying to be cute with my words. The transaction we have with the state is unchanged, and were moving forward to buy the building in the next 30 days. Advertisement Pritzkers office said the state cant disclose details about ongoing contract negotiations, but added that the closing on (Reschkes deal) remains on schedule and is set for the summer of 2022. But the governors $70 million sale to Reschkes JRTC Holdings does call for the state to buy back about one-third of the building for $146 million after renovation, a net cost of $76 million. Thats a great deal for taxpayers, the governors office said in March. The state would gain refurbished office space and either avoid paying $325 million for urgently needed upgrades to the 17-story glass-and-steel building at 100 W. Randolph St., including $60 million to $80 million for new heating and air conditioning, or shelling out millions more for new downtown offices. The states purchase of a portion of the revived Thompson Center opens the possibility it could cut a deal with the tech giant separate from its deal with Reschke. Landing Google would also send an important signal about the future health of the Central Loop. The Mountain View, California-based firm helped transform Fulton Market from an industrial meatpacking district into a neighborhood of skyscrapers by establishing in 2015 its Midwest headquarters at 1KFulton, a 10-story former cold storage building, and later renting more space at nearby 210 N. Carpenter St. Filling Chicagos downtown core with even more Google workers could spark a similar revival. The historic LaSalle Street corridor fell on hard times even before the pandemic when several major financial firms signed deals for offices in gleaming new buildings rising along the Chicago River or in Fulton Market. BMO Financial will soon leave its offices in both 115 South LaSalle St. and 111 W. Monroe St. in favor of the new BMO Tower at 320 South Canal St., and Bank of America last year left 135 S. LaSalle St. for the 57-story Bank of America Tower at 110 N. Wacker Drive. The Central Loops vacancy rate hit 22.3% in the first quarter, a record and up from 16.6% a year earlier, according to commercial real estate firm Colliers International. Google is seeking to expand further, according to Paul Giannopulos, senior managing director of Chicago-based JLL, and still likely to sign a lease for about 200,000 square feet at developer Trammell Crows new life sciences building at 400 N. Aberdeen St. in Fulton Market Advertisement But like Pritzkers office, Google isnt sharing much information about possible further steps in the downtown office market. Chicago continues to be an important and growing hub for Google here in the Midwest, according to a company spokesperson. What started as a two-person outpost in River North has expanded to a two-building campus thats home to nearly 2,000 employees in Fulton Market. As Google grows in Chicago, well continue to explore opportunities to ensure our physical space meets the needs of local Googlers. Reschke is a big believer in LaSalle Street. Aside from his plans for the Thompson Center, he runs the Residence Inn Chicago Downtown/Loop, a luxury hotel at 11 S. LaSalle St. He is also in talks to buy both 115 S. LaSalle St. and 111 W. Monroe St., according to CoStar News. He would also roll out the welcome mat for Google at the Thompson Center. If Google is looking for office space downtown, we think we have a beautiful building in a great location and wed love to talk to them, he said. Jun. 29HEBRON The Town Center Project in Hebron will celebrate the 4th of July with a lot of love. The Town Center Project, a grassroots non-profit organization dedicated to highlighting the assets of the "downtown" area along Route 66/ Main Street, annually sponsors an Independence Day celebration in town. TTCP emphasizes the contributions of residents with their annual commemoration of the country's independence. Past celebrations have included poems and songs by local artists, re-enactments of speeches by historical figures and a giant map demonstrating from where in the world residents emigrated. This year, TTCP is asking for local residents to describe what they most love about their hometown. " Each year since 2017, TTCP has sponsored a townwide 4th of July celebration, and each year we have asked you, our community, to participate," said TTCP President Holly Habicht. "This year we are looking to our community to define, in a single word, what you love about Hebron." Boxes will be placed in public areas around town for residents to drop their entries, or the one-word description may be emailed to TTCP using the address ttcp@thetowncenterproject. org. "Plan to join us on the steps of Old Town Hall on Monday, July 4th and see what we've done with all those words," Habicht said. The 4th of July celebration will take place at 9 a.m. The Old Town Hall is located at 26 Main Street/Route 66. To view past editions of The Hills 12:30 Report, click here: https://bit.ly/30ARS1U To receive The Hills 12:30 Report in your inbox, please sign up here: https://bit.ly/3qmIoS9 > A midday take on whats happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.* *Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Habreaks down crying hysterically. NEWS THIS MORNING The EPA has to take a step back: The Supreme Court ruled to limit the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) ability to regulate climate change. The ruling: 6-3 The majority opinions reasoning: The justices determined that Congress did not authorize the EPA to induce a shift toward cleaner energy sources using the approach that an Obama-era regulation sought to. What this means, from The HillsRachel Frazin THE CASE IS A CRUCIAL MOMENT IN THE G.O.P. DRIVE TO TILT COURTS AGAINST CLIMATE ACTION.: From the New York Timess Coral Davenport But the court sided with Biden on immigration: The Supreme Court ruled for the Biden administration Thursday in a dispute over a Trump-era immigration policy that requires U.S. asylum-seekers at the southern border to wait in Mexico while their applications are processed. The ruling: 5-4 Back story: Former President Trumps Remain in Mexico policy, enacted in 2019, has remained in effect under President Biden despite his Department of Homeland Securitys (DHS) effort to end it. Lower courts, in response to a red-state legal challenge, have blocked DHSs two attempts to unwind the policy. Under Trump, more than 70,000 asylum-seekers were returned from the U.S. to Mexico. More context from The Hills John Kruzel HERES A LIST OF THE MAJOR SUPREME COURT DECISIONS THIS YEAR: From The New York Timess Adam Liptak and Jason Kao And we have a new Supreme Court justice: Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as a Supreme Court justice after Justice Stephen Breyer formally retired. Story continues Who administered the oath?: Chief Justice John Roberts Tidbit from ABCs Libby Cathey: Her joining the court also will make it the first time four women will sit on the high court bench at the same time. ITS THURSDAY BEFORE THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND! Im Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and whats coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here. In Madrid Filibuster, schmilibuster: President Biden held a press conference this morning to conclude the NATO summit in Madrid. On abortion rights: Biden called for an exception to the filibuster in order to codify federal abortion rights. In Bidens words: The most important thing to be clear about is I believe we have to codify Roe v. Wade in the law, and the way to do that is to make sure the Congress votes to do that. And if the filibuster gets in the way, its like voting rights, it should be we provide an exception for this, requiring an exception to the filibuster for this action to deal with the Supreme Court decision. Jan. 6 Stephen Bannon doesnt love the spotlight: Former Trump adviser Stephen Bannon has asked for his trial over contempt of Congress to be delayed because of all the attention the Jan. 6 hearings have gained. Timing: The trial is scheduled for July 18. Bannons lawyers are requesting it be moved to Oct. 25. From Bannons attorneys: Public impact is not limited to the hearings themselves, but to the media coverage that magnified the hearings. In Washington, DC, where trial will take place and where the acts alleged in the Indictment took place every major media outlet treated the hearings as a top news story. What we know The investigation is getting closer and closer to Trump: Via The Hills Rebecca Beitsch and Harper Neidig, The same-day searches of lawyers John Eastman and Jeffrey Clark indicate the Department of Justice (DOJ) is scrutinizing former President Trumps closest allies in his 2020 election schemes. Who is Eastman?: Eastman was a Trump campaign attorney who drafted memos suggesting former Vice President Mike Pence had the legal authority to buck his ceremonial duties to certify the election results. And what is Clarks role?: Trump was prepared to install Clark, a DOJ lawyer, to forward investigations into his baseless claims of election fraud. When were their houses raided?: The FBI raided Clarks home in Virginia on June 22, followed by a search of Eastmans home in New Mexico that same day. What we know about the raids TIDBIT ADAM KINZINGER IS NOT HAPPY WITH THE DOJ: Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), one of the two Republicans on the Jan. 6 committee, says he is frustrated with the pace of Justice Departments indictments of the Jan. 6 investigation. In the Supreme Court Where do Democrats stand on expanding the court?: The Supreme Courts ruling striking down Roe v. Wade, along with other decisions this term that infuriated Democrats, are fueling a fresh round of calls to reform the court. But Democratic lawmakers arent on board so far: Democratic lawmakers are largely steering clear of such talk for fear of looking radical ahead of a midterm election where the strategy is to paint Republicans as extremists. A small number of senators are pushing for expanding the court for example: Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), a leading Senate progressive, on Tuesday seized on the courts recent decisions to renew his call to expand the court. And his colleague from Massachusetts also wants court reforms: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Tuesday also called for the abolition of the Senate filibuster to make it easier to reform the court. Where other Democrats stand, via The Hills Alexander Bolton 2024 talk Murmur, murmur, mur-Hillary Clinton-mur, murmur: The overturning of Roe v. Wade by a Supreme Court that includes three judges nominated by Donald Trump, along with devastating Tuesday testimony to the Jan. 6 panel about the former presidents temper tantrums as a mob attacked the Capitol, have Clinton and her allies seeing new vindication in her 2016 warnings about the mistake of electing Trump. ^ Which leads some to wonder: If Clinton could run for a third time. From one former aide: This moment couldnt be better for her. Everything she warned us about has happened, just as she said. How this could play out, via The Hills Amie Parnes TIDBIT TRUMP ISNT OPPOSED TO RUNNING WITH RON DESANTIS: In an interview with Newsmax, former President Trump said he has a good relationship with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) when asked about the possibility of sharing a 2024 presidential ticket. In Trumps words: Well, I get along with him. I was very responsible for his success, because I endorsed him and he went up like a rocket ship. Where DeSantis stands: While DeSantis has played off speculation about a 2024 presidential bid as a false narrative, hes also declined on multiple occasions to rule out a run, even if Trump ultimately decides to launch a comeback campaign. The full story from The Hills Max Greenwood Latest with COVID BY THE NUMBERS Cases to date: 87.1 million Death toll: 1,012,166 Current hospitalizations: 27,346 Shots administered: 593 million Fully vaccinated: 66.9 percent of Americans CDC data here. Notable tweets Omg, this lunch looks vile: Presidential historian Michael Beschloss tweeted, Nixons last lunch at White House, 1974. Record shows that although he was leaving Presidency against his will, he did not throw this plate at the wall. Photo of Nixons last White House lunch On tap The House and Senate are out. President Biden is on his way back to Washington, D.C. Vice President Harris is in California. 4 a.m. : Biden attended a meeting of the North Atlantic Council Session No. 3. 9:40 a.m. : Biden left for Washington, D.C. 5:40 p.m. : Biden returns to the White House. 6:35 p.m. : Harris speaks at a Democratic National Committee (DNC) finance reception in Los Gatos, Calif. 9:15 p.m. : Harris speaks at a DNC reception in San Francisco. 10:20 p.m.: Harris flies to Los Angeles. All times Eastern. What to watch 8 a.m.: Biden held a press conference in Madrid, Spain. Livestream In lighter news Today is National Mai Tai Day! This sounds like the start to a Stranger Things plot: Via WPVI-TV, a vintage Burger King was found behind a wall at a mall in Wilmington, Del. How have others not seen it?: The relic is located on the first floor of the mall, and is only accessible via a key from a staffer. So, its not visible to those passing by. Footage of the old Burger King found behind a wall Photo of the old BK And to brighten your Thursday afternoon, heres a dog auditioning for Pixar. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. With a stream of federal funding due to the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to flow to schools, financial situations for local districts are in a good spot, at least in the short term. Federal funding has increased revenues for districts, allowing them to add additional student supports, provide enhanced summer school programming and avoid staffing and program reductions through the pandemic. That will continue through the 2022-23 fiscal year. Students at West Ottawa's Pine Creek Elementary on the first day of the 2021-22 school year. Given the one-time nature of the funding, though, district finance directors have cautioned boards that, despite currently positive outlooks, difficult times may loom ahead. More: Infusion of federal dollars shifts 2021-22 budget picture for local schools At Holland Public Schools, for example, Director of Finance Scott Powers informed the board that this years surplus is due to non-recurring funds. While the fund balance is growing, its primarily growing because of the federal COVID-related funding, he said. The district still does remain in a structural deficit position. Holland Public Schools will add to its fund balance this year, driven by one-time federal revenues. West Ottawa, while in a strong position financially, is looking toward 2024, when federal funding will decrease, when filling positions to make sure funding will still be available, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Jeff Malloch said. Public districts in Michigan are required to pass a budget by the end of June, although two key elements are not clear until later in the year. Districts use projections for enrollments which arent determined until Octobers Count Day and state funding, which also may not be finalized until September, when the states budget is due. Below is a snapshot of end-of-year amendments for the 2021-22 fiscal year and initial budgets for the 2022-23 year at local districts. West Ottawa West Ottawas final amendment for the 2021-22 fiscal year leaves the district with a $654,000 surplus. The district had $86,905,000 in revenues and $86,251,000 in expenditures. The end fund balance for the year is $20,300,622, 25.36 percent of expenditures. Story continues For the 2022-23 fiscal year, WOPS is assuming a flat enrollment despite being cautiously optimistic for a second straight enrollment increase and $9,150 per pupil from the state, an increase of $450. West Ottawa is projecting a balanced budget with $91,800,000 in both revenue and expenditures. With the increased expenditures, the fund balance will drop to 22.26 percent, but remain at the same dollar amount of $20,300,622. Untitled infographic Infogram Zeeland Zeeland is planning for a surplus of just over $500,000 for the 2021-22 fiscal year. The district will have $82,719,331 in revenue and $82,213,250 in expenditures. The surplus brings the ZPS fund balance to $12,942,292, 15.7 percent of expenditures. The proposed budget for 2022-23 uses a projected enrollment of 6,267 students and a per pupil allowance of $9,250 from the state. Revenues are projected at $85,431,265 with expenditures at $85,195,956. A surplus of $235,309 brings the district fund balance to $13,177,601, equal to 15.4 percent of expenditures. Zeeland West High School Monday, Jan. 3, 2022. Zeeland's proposed budget for 2022-23 uses projected revenues of $85,431,265 with expenditures of $85,195,956. Holland Hollands final 2021-22 budget will include a $609,400 surplus driven by federal revenues. The total revenue for the year was $47,218,300 with $46,608,900. Hollands end fund balance is $5,088,366, 10.9 percent of expenditures. The district is planning another surplus for 2022-23, with $47,627,500 in revenue and $47,170,700 in expenditures. The projected $456,800 surplus will bring the fund balance to $5,545,166, equal to 11.6 percent of expenditures. Assumptions used in the budget include an enrollment of 2,983 students and a $500 increase in per pupil funding. Hamilton Hamilton Community Schools approved its 2021-22 budget amendment and 2022-23 budget June 13. To close the 2021-22 budget, Hamilton will have $37,002,500 in revenues, $37,331,400 in expenditures and a deficit of $328,900. That brings the fund balance to $6,866,339 and 18.39 percent of expenditures. For the 2022-23 fiscal year, Hamilton is projecting a $435 per pupil increase from the state to $9,135 and a flat enrollment of 2,889 students. For the 2022-23 fiscal year, Hamilton is projecting a $435 per pupil increase from the state to $9,135 and a flat enrollment of 2,889 students. The district projects a small deficit of $46,000 with $37,751,000 in revenue and $37,797,000 in expenses. Hamiltons end fund balance is projected at $6,820,339 and 18.04 percent. Saugatuck Saugatuck will add $259,119 to its fund balance this year, with $11,084,977 in revenues against $10,825,858 in expenditures. The districts ending fund balance of $1,663,358 (15.36 percent of expenditures) represents the highest since 2013-14 for SPS. A classroom of students at Saugatuck's Douglas Elementary School during the 2021-22 school year. The district's fund balance at the end of the 2021-22 fiscal year will be the highest since 2013-14. For 2022-23, Saugatuck is projecting $11,134,695 in revenues and $11,091,755 in expenses, resulting in a $42,940 surplus. That would leave the end fund balance at $1,706,298, or 15.38 percent of expenditures. The district used a projected enrollment of 810 students, which would be down around 30 students from the fall 2021 enrollment. Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @SentinelMitch. This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Federal funding powers positive budgets for Holland-area schools Hong Kong homes Credit - Getty Images A long, meandering corridor guarded by stale pipes and wires lining the walls separate the 10 cubicles stacked on either side. Their occupantstheir faces covered in white masks amid the stifling heatare squeezed into their tiny, allotted spaces demarcated by utensils, clothes and other mundane personal effects in the neon-lit human pen punctuated with electric fans, leaking sinks, and slices of blocked windows offering a grim vista of the back alley outside. Here, twenty-odd folks share one toilet a privilege for which a few others next door would pay thrice their rent, just to halve the number of fellow users they have to share their own toilets with. This is the interior of a 400 square foot flat tucked away in the mezzanine of a dilapidated building in Sham Shui Poone of the poorest, yet also most rapidly gentrifying regions in Hong Kong, a city known for its sky-high property prices, extreme wealth inequality, free-wheeling capitalism, and more recently, anti-Beijing protests that have met with an even tighter control by China over the region it regained in 1997 from the British who ruled it for over 150 years. As the city marks 25 years of the handover, and finds itself in the center of a global power struggle between the U.S. and China, new concerns have been raised over the citys shrinking space for civil and political debate and participation. There is far less global outrage at an old problem: its stark inequality. The so-called cage homes, like this one in Sham Shui Po, are its most glaring manifestation. Roughly one in five Hongkongers lived under the poverty line, discounting for government welfare. With welfare support, the official figure is kept at around 8%, which is still more than half a million people. Over 220,000 people live in so-called subdivided flats, a dainty euphemism for the 4 by 4 by 6 ft spaces that the citys poor, downtrodden, disabled, and neglected are crammed into at night. Out of sight, out of mind. Story continues An occupant of a subdivided residential unit located inside a building in Hong Kong, on June 13, 2017. Paul Yeung/Bloomberg via Getty Yet, many of these tenants are by no means invisible at day. They are, in fact, ubiquitous, cleaning the citys streets and sewers, loading and unloading its merchandise, waiting on customers at the thousands of restaurants dotting the metro, and manning shop counters and offices. They constitute the army of workers who keep Asias financial hub buzzing, but are so poorly paid that they cant rent, let alone purchase, decently sized apartments. It shouldnt take $700 a month to pay for the primitive shelter they take refuge in but in a city where more than half of young adults make less than the median wage and it takes on average six years for a family to be allocated public housing, living with dignityor some semblance of itdoesnt come cheap. In the subconscious of some of the citys more privileged citizens lies the conception that cage homes and their residents belong to a fundamentally different Hong Kong, one that is both alien and non-existent. One that should be distanced from and pitied in equal parts as the news cycle lusts for flashier and more excitable narratives of the city: whether it be its status as a financial and commercial gateway for China, or its persisting symbolism as a geopolitical fault line between two competing ideologies. In the eyes of many who have long benefited from Hong Kongs excesses, radical poverty is a fait accompli. As it is for those who toil away at day and sleep in shoeboxes at night. It shouldnt be. Hong Kong has a housing crisisone that stems not from a dearth of supply per se but from a lack of affordable housing. It would take 23.2 years for someone earning the median gross household incomewith no expenditureto be able to afford a median-priced apartment. The consequences are dire: youths raised to see little to no prospects for social mobility, with their childhoods spent in suffocating space-lessness; retirees living on meager benefits dying alone, an issue compounded by the ongoing pandemic and lack of medical support for cage-home residents. I spent two months this year seeking to raise emergency funds and medical supplies for tenants in cage homes in Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chung, districts hit by the first mass lockdowns under the deadly fifth wave of the pandemic. The social support residents received was minimal at best. Read more: How Hong Kong Became Chinas Biggest COVID-19 Problem How did we get here? Theres no simple explanationneither those who attribute the crisis to speculative investors from the Chinese mainland with little to do with the unaffordability of the lower-end of the property market; nor those who trot out unbridled capitalism for everything, get it. To understand Hong Kongs present malaise, we must turn to history. In 1972, the British colonial administration sought to expand Hong Kong beyond the already highly urbanized regions of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. The New Territoriesthe vast swathe of rural, low-density land lying to the north of the citywas a natural site for development. In seeking to court Indigenous villagers, the administration implemented the Small House Policy, which would guarantee government funding and land provision for every indigenous male villager to build one house. Inherited by the post-handover Hong Kong government, this policy only served to constrict the supply of developable lands for non-indigenous residents. In 2017, the citys outgoing chief executive, Carrie Lam, called for a reasonable resolution to the issue. A new modus vivendi, balancing all parties interests, is very much the need of the hour. Residential units clustered tightly together in an apartment complex in the Quarry Bay area of Hong Kong. Alex Ogle/AFP via Getty Images Blame should not rest with indigenous villagers, who are as much part of the city as its other citizens. Instead, responsibility ought to remain with those who can and must resolve conflicts of interests through political acumen. Since Sir Haddon-Caves tenure as the citys financial secretary in the late 1970s, the citys administration had by and large adhered to positive non-interventionism as its guiding fiscal ethos. With its spectacular attractiveness for foreign capital and businesses propped up by its minimal taxes and robust legal infrastructure, successive governments, even after the 1997 handover, eschewed proactive designing of industrial policy in favor of the market. The policy has generated 10-20% of government revenue over the past decades directly from land sales by the government. The problem is structural, and should not be individualized through vilification of particular bureaucrats or officials. Nor, indeed, should it be reduced into Manichean lensesblaming property developers and the civil service for creating the crisis. The blame game may suit those with a political agenda, but does little in ameliorating the suffering of those who desperately need a ladder out of deeply entrenched poverty. Read more: One Country, Two Systems Is Still the Best Model for Hong Kong, But It Badly Needs Reform Much could be done. Long-term solutions aimed at improving supply of public housingwith the aim of empowering tenants to become home-owners eventually, have been extensively touted. In the short- to medium-term, constructing compact yet well-maintained, humane, and hygienic transitory housing and doubling down on rent controls and subsidies would also help. Empowering understaffed yet highly devoted community organizations and associations with financial wherewithal and resources could rekindle public-private partnerships in a city where trust in government has been gravely challenged in recent years. More fundamentally, we need a robust education and employment safety net designed to provide a viable ladder out of structural poverty for those who find themselves in the citys dark underbelly. As the city looks toward a new administration on the 25th anniversary of its handover, the time for transformative action to aid its poor has never been more ripe. There are few lies in Hong Kong that are older and sweeter than the one local proverb, If you work long and hard at it, youll get to own your own house. Thats the stuff of dreams, actually. As I think about those faces in the neon-lit, claustrophobic corridors I walked during the COVID-19 pandemic, I am reminded of two lines from Wilfred Owens Dulcet et Decorum Est: In all my dreams before my helpless sight/He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. Congressman David Cicilline, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and Congressman Ritchie Torres From left: U.S. Reps. Ritchie Torres, David Cicilline, and Pramila Jayapal Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday announced a resolution that would codify federal protections for transgender people. The lawmakers are calling the proposal the Transgender Bill of Rights. It would protect employees from gender discrimination by codifying the Supreme Courts Bostock v. Clayton County decision in 2020. The couer ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees against discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. It would also ensure that transgender and nonbinary people are not discriminated against or persecuted for their gender identity and expression, providing a comprehensive framework for protecting them. In the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court, Democratic lawmakers say, not only gutted many peoples right to choose abortion but also appears poised to attack other constitutional rights that have been hard-earned. The Transgender Bill of Rights would amend the Civil Rights Act to include the protection of gender identity and characteristics of sex, the prohibition of conversion therapy, and the expansion of gender-affirming health care services. As part of the proposal, the attorney general would be required to appoint a liaison to ensure that transgender peoples civil rights are protected and that community services are provided to prevent violence against them. With other prominent colleagues in Congress, Washington U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the senior whip of the Democratic Caucus and chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, is leading the fight. She also serves as a member of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus. Jayapal introduced the proposal with Reps. David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Marie Newman of Illinois, Mark Takano of California, and Ritchie Torres of New York. The Transgender Bill of Rights has more than 80 cosponsors. Story continues In an interview with The Advocate, Jayapal, who has a trans child, discussed the importance of Democrats standing with the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgender young people. When you look at the hundreds of bills that have been introduced in state legislatures targeting trans folks, when you look at the criminalization of parents of trans kids just to be able to provide support to our kids and provide gender-affirming care, she said, this feels like a very important moment to stand up and say, No, we are not going to just stand by and allow these attacks to happen. For transgender people across the country to achieve equality and opportunity, Jayapal believes a comprehensive roadmap is necessary. She says the Repuyblican Parts efforts to target LGBTQ+ kids and single out transgender children are clearly meant to harm the kids they claim they want to protect. Theres tremendous hypocrisy in what republicans are saying on multiple levels, Jayapal said. Theyre saying they care about children and are pro-family and even pro-life. But on multiple levels, they have shown that they are not. They dont vote for child care; they want to overturn contraception access; they want to traumatize children just for being who they are, the congresswoman said. There really is a deep trauma to a child who is not allowed to be who they are and who is told that their behavior is deviant or criminal or somehow not what they should be feeling. That is not the way to be supportive to our children. Cicilline, a gay man, told The Advocate he believes Republicans are using LGBTQ+ children to score political points without regard for the harm they are doing to them. This is a really important opportunity not only to condemn these efforts but also put forward a vision of what equality really looks like and to call on the government to explicitly prohibit gender identity discrimination in key areas of life, he said. He described attending a roundtable discussion last week during which he heard from transgender and nonbinary children and their parents affected by state laws prohibiting gender-affirming care and identity discussions for children. These [stories] were so heartbreaking. We had a mom from Arkansas who literally became a refugee in her own country and moved to D.C. because she was afraid that she wouldnt be able to access gender-affirming care for her child. Floridas dont say gay law, which goes into effect Friday, negatively affects a Florida moms sons ability to concentrate, Cicilline added. In January 2021, Torres, another cosponsor of the proposal, became one of the two first Black LGBTQ+ members of Congress.(with fellow New Yorker Mondaire Jones). He warned that LGBTQ+ Americans are being attacked by right-wingers. The Republican Party has been waging a ruthless campaign of naked fearmongering and scapegoating against the trans community to an extent never seen before in recent memory, Torres said. The right-wing crusade against the trans community is not only dangerous its deadly. Combating transphobia with the fierce urgency of now is a matter of life and death. Torres added, It is more critical than ever that we stand behind transgender Americans not with mere words but with a concrete legislative agenda. Jayapal and Cicilline agreed that even though the federal legislative process can be slow, Americans can now take steps to protect all their rights. There is work going on at the state and local level both to support and protect trans folks and LGBT folks, Jayapal said. There are multiple opportunities to get involved in pushing back on state legislatures that are trying to pass [anti-LGBTQ+] bills, or pushing state legislatures to codify rights if they arent already. One step the Senate can take to protect Americans rights is to eliminate the filibuster, says Jayapal. Under the filibuster rule, it takes the votes of 60 senators to end debate on a bill and move to a vote on the bill itself. If we only had a 51-vote threshold, we would have the Equality Act in law, she said, as the sweeping LGBTQ+ civil rights bill has been passed by the House but stalled in the Senate. Jayapal pointed out that the path to success requires just two more elected Democrats in Senate seats, who would vote to do away with the filibuster. As the midterm election nears, Cicilline has a message for LGBTQ+ voters. Members of our community should make sure that before they vote for anyone, they have confidence that that person is committed to our fight for full equality, Cicilline said. He noted that a commitment to supporting the Equality Act should be a litmus test for LGBTQ+ voters. We shouldnt vote for anyone who doesnt support our fight for full equality, he said. Story at a glance The Hoosier Abortion Access Study analyzed how Indianas abortion policies impact those in the state who seek out an abortion. It found cost was the most frequently mentioned barrier, with an abortion procedure costing on average about $562. One in four participants ended up traveling out-of-state for their abortion, with 70 percent going to neighboring Illinois. Indiana has some of the most restrictive abortion policies in the country, and a new study outlines exactly how those policies are influencing the lives of women and their families and it could become even tougher now that the Supreme Court has overturned the constitutional right to abortion. Currently, abortion is still legal in Indiana until 22 weeks after the last menstrual period, but patients must go through state-directed counseling and wait 18 hours before the procedure can be done. Health insurance plans in the state will only cover the procedure in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest. Medication abortion is also banned after 10 weeks of pregnancy and cannot be administered through telemedicine either. Those barriers have likely contributed to Indianas low abortion rate; in 2019 there were about 5.8 abortions per 1,000 Indiana residents among women aged 15 to 44 years old. Thats only half of the national abortion rate and substantially lower than other Midwestern states. America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news. However, thats something researchers at Indiana University and Ibis Reproductive Health dont want attributed to a fewer number of unintended pregnancies they found 49 percent of pregnancies in Indiana are considered unintended while the national rate is 45 percent. Through the Hoosier Abortion Access Study, which looked at nearly 500 Indiana residents between June 2021 and May 2022, researchers found getting an abortion is a burdensome process in Indiana. Story continues What we heard and what we saw in the study are the incredible barriers that had to be overcome to access abortion, said Tracey Wilkinson, assistant professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine and co-investigator of the study, who spoke to local media about the new study. People were saying the cost was making them have to choose between feeding their family, paying bills, or rent. Wilkinsons team found that the average cost of an abortion in Indiana is $562 and that cost was one of the most frequently mentioned barriers to accessing abortion care. Because of that cost, 10 percent of participants decided to self-manage their abortion herbs and medication abortion being the most common options mentioned. Eighty-three percent of participants who did receive their abortion said the price they paid affected their ability to pay rent and bills, buy food or pay for childcare. In a one-month follow-up, nearly one in four participants, about 24 percent, still hadnt gotten their wanted abortion. Many were still trying to find an abortion provider, had miscarried, given birth or resolved to give birth. Notably, researchers found 1 in 4 participants ended up traveling out-of-state to get their wanted abortion, citing that it was cheaper and/or they were able to get financial assistance from an out-of-state clinic. About 70 percent of the studys participants went to Illinois for their abortion a state that has been preparing for an influx of tens of thousands of new patients now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade. Abortion access could become further restricted in Indiana after Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) and other top Republican lawmakers have pledged to address abortion during a special legislative session that is scheduled to begin July 6. Many states have already enacted abortion restrictions or bans, including Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, Arkansas and more. That worries Wilkinson who noted that, in addition to the health risks, state abortion bans could influence the health care workforce, with healthcare workers choosing to practice in states that dont penalize the procedure or even medical residents choosing to study in states that wont put limits on their training. I know that a few years down the road theyll be like we didnt know that was going to happen, said Wilkinson. I just want to have in print that I said it we said that women were going to die, that people werent going to come here to train. We said it and you didnt listen. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Two men pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their role in international sweepstakes that were allegedly scams. Maurice Levy and Derrick Levy, 51 and 54, respectively, committed a series of sweepstake scams across the United States, preying on elderly and easily confused victims, federal prosecutors alleged. The two men, both Jamaican nationals, used a call center in Costa Rica and masked their location through fake U.S. calling codes, according to the Department of Justice. "Maurice Levy and Derrick Levy further admitted that they would call individuals in the United States, many of whom were elderly and vulnerable, and falsely claim that the individuals had won a sweepstakes prize but were required to pay fees prior to the delivery of the prize. In truth, no such prize existed," the DOJ said in a statement. ROMANCE SCAM LOSSES REACH 'RECORD HIGH' IN 2021 WITH $547M, UP 80% FROM PRIOR YEAR: FTC The courtyard of the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice building on April 1, 2022, in Washington. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images "Once a victim made an initial payment for the purported fees, Maurice Levy, Derrick Levy, and their co-conspirators would continue to call the victim, falsely representing that a mistake had been made and that the victim had actually won a prize of a greater amount, or an issue had occurred, and the victim needed to pay additional fees to claim the prize," the DOJ continued. "Many victims sent tens of thousands of dollars to Maurice Levy, Derrick Levy, and their co-conspirators in response to these calls." Levy and Levy were accused of taking in almost $10 million over the course of eight years. "During the scheme, Derrick Levy and Maurice Levy fraudulently obtained more than $9,400,000 from victims, which was used to continue operating the call centers and for the co-conspirators personal benefit," the DOJ concluded. The DOJ has been handling numerous COVID-19 relief fund scams perpetrated over the course of the pandemic. The department has prioritized cracking down on COVID-19 fraud since March, when it appointed prosecutor Kevin Chamers as director for COVID-19 fraud enforcement. The group's latest bust includes 21 individuals who ran schemes defrauding Americans out of $149 million and counting, the DOJ says . The fraudster's charges relate to "false billings to federal programs and theft from federally-funded pandemic assistance programs." A New Jersey State Police officer was charged Thursday with off-duty sexual misconduct with a teenager earlier this year at a State College hotel. David De Jesus, 45, was accused of groping the the breast of a teen in April at the Ramada Hotel & Conference Center. He also told her she could drink a beer in his room, borough police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause. De Jesus and the New Jersey teen were in Happy Valley for a wrestling tournament. A friend invited her to swim in the hotels pool, police wrote. She told investigators De Jesus was drunk and kept asking weird questions, including repeatedly asking how old she was. He kept insisting she was 18 and groped her, police wrote. De Jesus told the girl to leave the room a few minutes after he exited so nobody would think anything happened, police wrote. Messages were left with defense lawyer Steve Trialonas. A New Jersey State Police spokesperson declined immediate comment. De Jesus was charged with one felony count of unlawful contact with a minor, two misdemeanor counts of indecent assault and one misdemeanor count of furnishing alcohol to a minor. He was arraigned Thursday by District Judge Don Hahn, who released him on $27,500 unsecured bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. The world has watched in shock and horror at the bloody Russian invasion of Ukraine this year, but the conflict between the countries has been ongoing in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine since 2014, when the Revolution of Dignity sent former President Viktor Yanukovych into exile, and Russia invaded Crimea. During the past eight years, Ukrainian filmmakers have grappled with the war in the east, from Valentyn Vasyanovychs stunning dystopia Atlantis, to Maryna Er Gorbachs intense 2022 Sundance-award winning film Klondike. Marian Bushans film Sniper: The White Raven joins the ranks of Ukrainian films confronting the events of the past eight years, and though the tone is far more patriotic war movie than existential exegesis, it captures the determination and spirit that has given Ukrainian soldiers and thereby the country itself a fighting chance. Based on the true story of Mykola Voronin, Sniper: The White Raven follows one mans hellish transformation into a war hero. When we meet Mykola, played by the expressive-eyed actor, musician and photographer Aldoshyn Pavlo, hes living a hippie utopian life in the Donetsk region, teaching physics at the local high school and homesteading a ramshackle sod house on a piece of remote land with his ethereal wife Nastya (Maryna Koshkina). Theyre eco-pioneers of sorts, committed to their environmental ideals, though the community has yet to accept them. All they have, and need, is each other, and they have high hopes for their slice of the simple life, even as war looms. Advertisement Too soon, tragedy arrives at their doorstep, and Mykola, seeking revenge, place, and purpose, rapidly joins a volunteer battalion. Derided as a pacifist, he takes the moniker Raven (a reference to a creation myth his wife has told), and quickly volunteers for sniper training, proving he can assemble his rifle in 18 seconds blindfolded. His aptitude for physics and math, plus his determination, rockets him up in the ranks, much to the surprise of his peers and leaders, and the Raven becomes a kind of avenging angel. Sniper: The White Raven is gorgeously shot: cinematographer Kostiantyn Ponomarovs camera fluidly travels around the spaces Mykola traverses in his training, following or finding him. The light is gorgeous, the edit is swift, and though theres an overreliance on sweeping drone shots, its helpful to take in the full scope of the land. Ponomarov crafts surreal images of the natural landscape, so important to Ukraine that the gold and blue of the land and sky make up the flag. Fields of dead sunflowers droop their dried heads over the camouflaged snipers, covered in grass and dirt; soldiers creep through misty fields against a crimson sunrise. Advertisement The best moments come when Bushan slows down to examine the moment-to-moment experience of the sniper: silence and dials and observation; discernment and decision-making and extreme patience. Its a communion with the natural world, dependent on the breeze and the bugs, and Bushan captures the work of a sniper in poetic cinematic terms. The aesthetic tends toward the beautiful rather than the bleak, and in doing so, Bushan renders the Ukrainian volunteer battalion and their efforts, training, and mission a beautiful and noble one. There is not much subtlety or nuance in the storytelling, which sees violence as valor, a necessary evil to protect the home, hearth, and homeland. It is not necessarily pro-war but it is decidedly pro-soldier, and pacifist Mykola turns to the fight with a quickness that would induce whiplash. We witness the trauma and violence transform his face as he transforms himself in war, but he never questions his quest. All of the Russian soldiers are bullies and sadists; the forthright Ukrainians take up arms because they have to defend their families. The music soars, the blood spatters, the drones swoop. Its the kind of stirring, patriotic sentiment that no doubt motivates soldiers, or volunteers, and with the war in Ukraine continuing to rage, Sniper: The White Raven fits into the proud nationalism that has united the country to fight back against Russia. Bleak existentialism has no purchase here, and Sniper: The White Raven distills that uniquely Ukrainian sense of pride, glory and duty into this story of an unlikely soldier. Sniper: The White Raven 3 stars out of 4 (In Ukrainian and Russian with English subtitles) MPAA rating: R (for violence, bloody images, language and some sexuality/nudity) Running time: 1:51 Where to watch: In theaters and VOD July 1 Advertisement What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. Sign up for our Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here. Take our survey: We want to know what you think about our work. So weve put together these five questions. A large fire destroyed a dining hall at a Maryland summer camp Wednesday, a blaze that took over 100 firefighters three hours to control but caused no injuries. The fire destroyed the dining hall at Camp Airy, an overnight camp for Jewish boys established in northern Maryland almost a century ago, officials said. Camp Airy Director Marty Rochlin said the dining hall, known as the White House, is historic and known for its views overlooking a valley. Thankfully, its just a building, Rochlin said at a news conference. And so camp can continue, because camp is the people. The fire was reported to Frederick Countys emergency communications center around 7:27 a.m., county fire spokesperson Sarah Campbell said. A sheriffs school resource officer and a Maryland state trooper first on scene saw smoke from the second floor. A fire burns at the White House at Camp Airy in Thurmont, Md., on June 29, 2022. (Frederick County Fire & Rescue) Over 100 firefighters worked for around three hours to bring the fire under control, she said. The camp is in a rural area not far from the presidential retreat at Camp David. Firefighters used tankers and replenished water with a nearby pond, as well as two swimming pools, to battle the blaze, Deputy Fire Chief Kenny Poole said. Firefighters were extinguishing hot spots Wednesday so investigators can go in, Campbell said. The investigation is ongoing, and there was no information about the origin or cause of the fire, she said. Camp is in session and remains so. No campers or staff members were in the building when the fire began, and there were no injuries, Campbell said. The camp had short-term plans and was working on long-term solutions with the loss of the dining hall, Rochlin said. Camp Airy and its sister camp for girls, Camp Louise, together cover about 700 acres. They are around 40 and 60 miles northwest of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Camp Louise was established in 1922, followed by Camp Airy two years later, according to the camps website. The two camps will hold a joint centennial celebration in 2023, on the year between the 100-year mark for each camp. We hope that were able to do it for another 100 years, as well, Rochlin said. The camps were started by Lillie and Aaron Straus to give children in Baltimore a summer retreat, according to the camps. They are the only brother-sister Jewish overnight camps in the country, according to the camps. The state university systems Board of Governors on Thursday confirmed the appointment of Moez Limayem to serve as president of the University of North Florida. Limayem, dean of the University of South Floridas Muma College of Business since 2012, was selected in May by UNF trustees after a search. The appointment, however, remained subject to confirmation by the systems Board of Governors. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Limayems 5-year contract will take effect Aug. 1, with an initial base annual salary of $500,000, according to information presented to the Board of Governors. He also may be awarded $100,000 annual performance bonuses and will receive deferred compensation. Addressing the Board of Governors, Limayem described growing up in Tunisia and what he said was a passion for student success. Before moving to the University of South Florida, Limayem served as associate dean for research and graduate programs at the University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business. Read: Jacksonville Beach restaurant owner on life support after pool accident on Fathers Day The UNF Board of Trustees started a search after former President David Szymanski stepped down last year. The University of Florida, Florida International University and Florida Gulf Coast University also are searching for new presidents, and Florida Atlantic University President John Kelly announced last week he will step down. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., called former President Donald Trump a "domestic threat" Wednesday evening during a speech at the Reagan Library in Southern California. "We are confronting a domestic threat that we have never faced before and that is a former President who is attempting to unravel the foundations of our constitutional Republic," Cheney said. "And he is aided by Republican leaders and elected officials who have made themselves willing hostages to this dangerous and irrational man." She told the audience that Republicans "cannot both be loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution," to a round of applause after she recounted the allegations the Jan. 6 committee, of which she is a member, has brought against Trump surrounding his actions on that day in 2021. TRUMP-BACKED WYOMING GOP PRIMARY CHALLENGER HAGEMAN SLAMS REP. CHENEY FOR REPORTEDLY SEEKING DEMOCRATIC VOTES Cheney is one of two Republicans (Rep. Adam Kinzinger is the other) on the Jan. 6 panel and may face a steep challenge in her primary this August. The election has very little polling, but one paid for by a group supporting Trump-endorsed opponent Harriet Hageman has Cheney behind by 30 points. TRUMP-TARGETED CHENEY TOUTS CONSERVATIVE CREDENTIALS IN FIRST TV AD THIS YEAR IN RE-ELECTION BID Still, the congresswoman insisted, "No party and no people and no nation can defend and perpetuate a constitutional republic if they accept a leader who's gone to war with the rule of law, with the democratic process or with the peaceful transition of power with the constitution itself." Cheney also mentioned global threats like Russia and North Korea and blasted President Joe Biden for the economy, but she homed in on Trump. "The efforts Donald Trump oversaw and engaged in were even more chilling and more threatening than we could have imagined," she said, referring to testimony and other alleged revelations from the Jan. 6 hearings adding, his alleged actions are both "undeniable" and "painful" for Republicans to accept. Story continues LIZ CHENEY SAYS TRUMP HAS CAUSED PERSONALITY CULT AMONG REPUBLICANS She said she made her choice to no longer support Trump first as a mother because she wants her children and their children to live in a country where "the peaceful transfer of power is guaranteed." Next, she made it as an American and a person of faith, she told the crowd. Quoting former President Ronald Reagan, she said, "it is up to us in our time to choose and to choose wisely between the hard but necessary task of preserving peace and freedom and the temptation to ignore our duty and blindly hope for the best while the enemies of freedom grown stronger day by day." Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY). Drew Angerer/Getty Images Liz Cheney said she is "absolutely confident" in the credibility of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. Trump and his allies have torn into Hutchinson in the wake of her testimony before the January 6 committee. One issue is whether Trump tried to take the wheel of a presidential SUV on January 6. Republican Rep. Liz Cheney said she is "absolutely confident" in former top Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony before the House January 6 committee. "I am absolutely confident in her credibility. I'm confident in her testimony," Cheney told ABC News's Jonathan Karl in a portion of an interview that will air in full later this weekend. Cheney, who is the top Republican on the panel investigating the insurrection, added that Hutchinson displayed "an unbelievable example of bravery and of courage" in publicly testifying about what she observed as a top aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Hutchinson made a number of shocking claims, including that then-President Donald Trump expressed approval for rioters who chanted that they wanted to hang Vice President Mike Pence as they stormed the Capitol in an effort to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden's electoral votes. She also said Trump was not worried about attendees carrying weapons at his January 6, 2021, rally, and wanted the Secret Service to remove metal detectors at the venue. "I was in the vicinity of a conversation where I overheard the president say something to the effect of, 'I don't effing care that they have weapons. They're not here to hurt me. Take the effing mags away. Let my people in, they can march to the Capitol from here,'" Hutchinson told the January 6 committee. The former president has denied a litany of Hutchinson's claims, including that he was OK with people brandishing weapons at his rally. The most intense focus has been on Hutchinson's claim that Trump, in a furious final effort to go to the Capitol himself, lunged at the steering wheel of the presidential SUV he was riding in and grabbed at the throat of a Secret Service agent. Hutchinson said she was told this by deputy chief of staff Tony Ornato, a Secret Service agent who temporarily became a political aide in the Trump White House. Story continues Publicly, the Secret Service has said that agents are prepared to testify before the January 6 committee. Privately, former agents have also questioned whether Trump could have actually pulled this off. Unnamed sources have also told multiple news outlets that agents would dispute that the president lunged for the wheel and that he put his hands on an agent. Hutchinson's legal team has said that she stands by her testimony. "Ms. Hutchinson testified, under oath, and recounted what she was told," Jody Hunt, a former chief of staff to then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and now one of Hutchinson's lawyers, wrote on Twitter. "Those with knowledge of the episode also should testify under oath." In the meantime, Trump and his allies have continued to blast Hutchinson. In a post on Wednesday night, the former president called Hutchinson a "fake storyteller" who is now "totally discredited and marginalized." Cheney spoke to Karl in California, where she spoke at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. A frequent stop for future presidential aspirants, Cheney tore into the former president. "It is undeniable the Republican Party cannot be both loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution. We must choose," Cheney said during her speech. Read the original article on Business Insider Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said late Wednesday that former President Trump poses a domestic threat that the nation has never faced before. At this moment, we are confronting a domestic threat that we have never faced before. And that is a former president who is attempting to unravel the foundations of our Constitutional Republic, Cheney said during an address at the Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute. And he is aided by Republican leaders and elected officials who have made themselves willing hostages to this dangerous and irrational man. Cheney said that some in the GOP are embracing Trump and enabling his lies. Many others are urging that we not confront Donald Trump, that we look away. And that is certainly the easier path, she added. One need only look at the threats that are facing the witnesses whove come before the January 6th Committee to understand the nature and the magnitude of that threat. Cheney, one of the ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol, is one of two GOP members of the House select committee that is investigating the rioting. The panel earlier this week heard from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who testified about conversations between and interactions among White House officials on Jan. 6. Her superiors, men many years older, a number of them are hiding behind executive privilege, anonymity and intimidation, Cheney said during her speech in California, referring to Hutchinson. But her bravery and her patriotism yesterday were awesome to behold Cheney concluded in her remarks by saying no one can ignore the threat that Trump poses, adding we stand at the edge of an abyss and we must pull back. As the full picture is coming into view with the January 6 committee, it has become clear that the efforts Donald Trump oversaw and engaged in were even more chilling and threatening than we could have imagined, Cheney said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A father and son were found dead in a Los Angeles neighborhood Tuesday evening and authorities believe it could be a murder-suicide. Los Angeles police responded to a call in the Chatsworth neighborhood around 8:20 p.m. Tuesday night. Officers found the bodies of a man and a young boy outside a vehicle that was parked near William Tell Aggeler High School. The Los Angeles County coroners office later identified the man as 35-year-old Jose Romo Guerra and 10-year-old Michael Romo Sandoval, a father and son from Canoga Park. MURDER COLD CASE SUSPECT IDENTIFIED AS OHIO WOMAN'S HUSBAND AFTER REMAINS FOUND IN UTAH LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton reiterated after conflicting reports that the pair were found outside the vehicle and died at the scene. Hamilton told reporters that a murder-suicide was a "working theory." It remains unclear exactly how the pair died. No weapons were recovered at the scene and the case remains under investigation. One of two Alabama sheriffs deputies shot Wednesday has died, authorities said Thursday. A suspect in the shooting was arrested earlier in the day after a manhunt. Bibb County Deputy Brad Johnson. (Bibb County Sheriff) Bibb County Sheriffs Deputy Brad Johnson, who was an organ donor, was pronounced dead at 3:18 p.m., Sheriff Jody Wade said. He was an organ donor. Gov. Kay Ivey called Johnson a hero, and she said the 7-year veteran of the sheriffs office was engaged to be married. Our entire state is praying for his family, his fiance and fellow law enforcement officers, Ivey said in a statement. The second deputy who was shot, Chris Poole, was released from the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said. The deputies were shot as they chased a suspected stolen vehicle Wednesday, District Attorney Michael Jackson previously told NBC affiliate WVTM of Birmingham. The suspect in the shooting, Austin Patrick Hall, 26, was taken into custody about 7:30 a.m. Thursday by the U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force, the state law enforcement agency said. The shooting set off an intense manhunt. Hall was apprehended in Brierfield, which is a community in Bibb County, officials said. Johnson, 32, was hired by the sheriffs office in 2014 and was a K-9 handler, Wade said. Wade said earlier Thursday, before Johnson's death was announced, that the deputy was "going through the final processes to continue to save lives." He called Johnson a hero. More than a dozen local and federal law enforcement agencies had been searching for Hall. Hall was being held without bail, according to online jail records. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney. Jackson, the district attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday but he told WVTM that Hall is now expected to be charged with capital murder and attempted murder. (Bloomberg) -- Incoming Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., son of the nations ousted dictator, said he will focus on food sufficiency and pandemic recovery in an inaugural speech that paid tribute to his late father. Most Read from Bloomberg The role of agriculture cries for urgent attention, Marcos said in Manila on Thursday after taking his oath of office. An agriculture damaged and diminished by unfair competition will have a harder time, or will have no prospects at all of recovery. The new leader, whos appointed himself agriculture chief, said he would rebuild the nations economy to regain its position as a growth leader in the region. He pledged to fix shortcomings in pandemic response, and come up with plans to transform the economy and boost infrastructure. The former senator returns to the presidential palace where he spent his youth before his family fled in 1986, driven out by a popular uprising. His fathers two-decade rule was marred by thousands of killings by the military regime and by the clans accumulation of billions of dollars in ill-gotten wealth. Marcos Jr. won the presidency by a landslide with a campaign that promised unity and measures to spur the economy after the pandemic, even as opponents accused him of misportraying the dictatorship as a golden era for the Philippines. Marcos said he will draw inspiration from the leadership of his father. I once knew a man who saw what little had been achieved since independence, Marcos said. But he got it done, sometimes with the needed support, sometimes without. So will it be with his son. Other highlights from Marcoss inaugural address: Marcos said the Philippines will boost energy supply amid the war in Ukraine. Surely, a free world awash with oil can assure supplies or we will find a way. We are not far from oil and gas reserves that have already been developed, he said Theres a need to rethink the materials taught in schools, and Im not talking about history, he said, adding hes referring to basic education, sciences and language. Alongside the national language, there must be equal emphasis and facility in a global language, which we had and lost He also advocated giving migrant Filipino workers all the advantages needed for them to thrive. We are condemning the future of our race to menial occupations abroad, then they are exploited by traffickers The new president said he will seek partners to help those vulnerable to the impact of climate change, while pledging to also clean up the nations plastic wastes He said he will complete on schedule the infrastructure projects that have been started. I am not interested in taking credit, I want to build on success thats already happening, he said. Story continues How Dutertes Time in Power Shook Up the Philippines: QuickTake (Updates with detail from Marcos speech.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. Mariska Hargitay is honoring her late mother, Hollywood bombshell Jayne Mansfield, on the 55th anniversary of Mansfield's tragic death. The "Law & Order: SVU" star, 58, posted a black-and-white photo of Mansfield Wednesday on Instagram, captioning it, "We live to love you more each day." Hargitay was just 3 years old when her mother died in a car accident in 1967. Hargitay was in the back seat of the car at the time but suffered no serious injuries. She and her two brothers and three half siblings were raised by her late father, actor and former Mr. Universe bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay, and his third wife, Ellen. Mickey Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield pose with their children, including Mariska, as well as Jayne Marie, Mansfield's daughter from a previous marriage. (Getty Images) Mariska Hargitay opened up to Glamour in November 2021 about how the trauma of losing her mom in childhood taught her valuable lifelong lessons. I think I learned about crisis very young, and I learned very young that s--- happens and theres no guarantees, and we keep going. And then we transform it, she told the magazine. Thats been kind of my superpower, and the gift of having trauma early in life. Ive spent the last 50 how old am I? 57, so 54 years sort of trying to figure out what happened and why, and what am I supposed to do with it? she continued. The Emmy winner went on to say that she had been locked in a frozen place after her mothers death, one that found her trying to survive. My life has been a process of unpeeling the layers and trust and trusting again, she explained. The same month, Hargitay paid tribute to Mansfield, who often posed in pink gowns, when she wore a pink Valentino dress to Glamours Women of the Year Award ceremony. The pink does have great significance because Im bringing my mother with me tonight, and shes here. She was one of the most glamorous women in the world, and I just hope that I can do her justice, she revealed in Glamours Instagram story at the time. The actor, who shares three children with husband Peter Hermann, previously opened up about how shes coped with the loss of her mom in a March 2018 interview with People magazine. Story continues The way Ive lived with loss is to lean into it, said the star. Im not saying its easy, and it certainly hasnt been for me. Theres been a lot of darkness. But on the other side, things can be so bright. She added that although most people knew Mansfield from her sexy Hollywood image, she was far more complex in real life. People didnt know that she played the violin and had a 160 IQ and had five kids and loved dogs, she said. She was just so ahead of her time. She was an inspiration, she had this appetite for life, and I think I share that with her. Its the stuff of classical music legend. A venerable maestro falls ill at the last second, leaving his young assistant usually an early-career phenom to cover for him in the highest-stakes trial run imaginable. That scenario famously launched the career of 25-year-old Leonard Bernstein, stepping in for an infirm Bruno Walter with no rehearsal time. Advertisement Lina Gonzalez-Granados, whose contract as the Chicago Symphonys conducting apprentice has been extended through next year, needed no such springboard when she stepped in for Riccardo Muti on June 16. Gonzalez-Granados was recently named resident conductor of the Los Angeles Opera, where she will open the 2022-23 season and lead special programs. Born and raised in Cali, Colombia, Gonzalez-Granados already globe-trots for podium engagements, especially in Latin America, whose composers she programs with a special advocacy. Stateside, shes guest conducted ensembles like the Philadelphia Orchestra and Seattle Symphony, where she held similar conducting fellowships. Thats all to say: Its not Gonzalez-Granadoss first rodeo. As Solti Conducting Apprentice the positions formal title and CSOs closest answer to an assistant conductor, an equivalent position it has not filled since 2004 its her job to prepare for this months worst-case scenario. Youll find her at every Muti-led rehearsal, sitting a few rows from center with the scores in her lap. Advertisement And yes, thats scores, plural. I always bring two scores of each piece to rehearsals: one that Ive studied from, with my markings, and one of things (Muti) does he used his hand this way, or he did his cadence that way. Whatever he says, I write it, Gonzalez-Granados says. Its a humbling experience. He brings 80 years of experience in his brain, in his heart, in his hands. Even if I try to replicate him as much as possible, of course, Im not him. You have to step into someone elses preparation of a piece. Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducting apprentice Lina Gonzales-Granados in the box seat level of Symphony Center on June 21, 2022, in Chicago. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune) Each Solti Conducting Apprentice is contracted to conduct some Civic Orchestra and special programs, but the bulk of their role is just that: covering for Muti during his 10 weeks of subscription performances. That worst-case scenario already happened once this season, when Muti was sidelined with COVID-19 in April. Gonzalez-Granados split leadership duties with pianist Leif Ove Andsnes for those concerts, conducting the overtures to Don Giovanni and The Barber of Seville; shed been fresh from leading a Dallas Opera production of the latter. That past one, there was time to change the repertoire, so I did other pieces, she explains. With just a $30,000 stipend for that prep work, apprentices seek guest engagements elsewhere, meaning theyre not on call for non-Muti programs. That hypothetical has also been tested this season, when the CSO flew out Boston Symphony assistant conductor Anna Rakitina to fill in for Edo de Waart in March. But this months ordeal was a special nail-biter. Halfway through an open rehearsal on June 16, Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association president Jeff Alexander announced onstage that Muti had tested positive for COVID-19 during the rehearsal break, meaning he had unwittingly led the rehearsals first half of Brahms Symphony No. 1, a 50-minute-long staple of the repertoire while ill. For four harrowing days, the positive result appeared to jeopardize his season finale performances of Verdis Un ballo in maschera, for which the orchestra had raised a whopping $930,000 from donors for the occasion. (Muti ultimately led the performances as planned, testing negative starting on June 18 and returning to piano rehearsals with Ballo soloists June 19.) Backstage protocols require winds, brass, conductors and guest artists to self-test daily before participation in a rehearsal or performance. According to a CSO spokesperson, Mutis arrival at Symphony Center on June 16 was interrupted by an important call and he ran out of time to test before taking the podium. Just one minute remained in the break when a CSO administrator called Gonzalez-Granados backstage and broke the news about Mutis positive result. With the remaining rehearsal time, she could only run through the Beethoven Violin Concerto with soloist Anne-Sophie Mutter; prior to that, Gonzalez-Granados and Mutter had only briefly shared a stage for a soundcheck of John Williamss Violin Concerto in Philadelphia, during Gonzalez-Granadoss fellowship there. That left the Brahms symphony unrehearsed until that evenings show. Advertisement Sound scary? Sure. But Gonzalez-Granados prefers to focus on the positives. I wasnt expecting it, but somehow, I took more notes than usual on the Brahms that day, she says. That in itself tells you a little something about why the CSO hired her and wants to keep her cool head around for another season as Solti Apprentice. But this time, an abbreviated five-week contract covering Mutis May and June residencies with the CSO will accommodate her busier-than-ever schedule rather than the other way around. On June 16, they asked me if I was ready to conduct at least that day and Friday, and I said yes, she says. After that, we just climbed the stairs and went for it. Hannah Edgar is a freelance writer. Advertisement The Rubin Institute for Music Criticism helps fund our classical music coverage. The Chicago Tribune maintains complete editorial control over assignments and content. The recreational diver who went missing in Mukilteo, Washington, earlier this month has been identified as beloved Seattle chef Hans Korompis. The Mukilteo police and fire departments received a diver-in-distress call near Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo at around 9:15 a.m. on June 17. Nathan Fabia, a spokesperson for the Mukilteo police, said two divers had entered the water during the morning of the call, but only one of them a 33-year-old Everett man was found uninjured on the shore. Several members of multiple groups, including the Coast Guard, the sheriffs office dive team and the Washington State Ferries, conducted a search after the other diver, later identified as Korompis, 33, remained missing. Authorities halted rescue operations later that afternoon amid poor weather conditions and low visibility before continuing their search the following day. Over a week since he was reported missing, Korompis' body has yet to be found. More from NextShark: Indianapolis Community Remembers the 8 Victims of FedEx Shooting Hans has left a huge, empty void in our hearts, and we'll probably forever be that way," Shubert Ho, a restaurateur in Edmonds, Washington, who serves as a spokesperson for Korompis family, told King 5 News. I was absolutely devastated and sad. I kept hoping for the best that they would find him He worked his way up, and he's basically someone we put in charge of an entire brand. He was very special." Korompis, who came to the United States from Singapore at the age of 20, began his career as a chef under renowned Seattle chef Tom Douglas. He then worked for Hos Feedme Hospitality Restaurant Group in 2015 and later became the director of Hos restaurant Market, which now has four locations. Ho told The Seattle Times that Korompis was the most calm and collected and quiet guy under any circumstance; especially when it came to the daily rush and getting things done. More from NextShark: New Mexico Official Blames 'Asians' for COVID-19 in Snapchat Post People really looked up to him. He had a knack for taking those who hadnt cooked before and training them up to be really great, Ho added. Story continues Alex Marek, the person who hired Korompis to work at Hos Salt and Iron in Edmonds, said it was one of the best hires he has ever made. He clearly had a way of being in the kitchen that inspired everyone around him, Marek told Eater Seattle. We all still try to work like Hans. It was just a really admirable thing. More from NextShark: Chinese Canadian activist criticizes release of his attacker with no jail time: 'This isn't justice' Korompis has left a legacy through the dishes he served at Market, which Ho built for the late chef in 2018. One of his most notable dishes is his internet-famous lobster roll served at the Seattle Art Museum. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help Korompis family cover legal matters (probate), mortgage payments, possible relocation, and any other unforeseeable costs. The campaign has raised $22,392 of its $27,000 goal as of this writing. Feed Me Hospitality and Restaurant Group has also set up a memorial web page for the late chef. More from NextShark: Man Who Threw Rocks at Asian Mother and Child in Fullerton Charged With Hate Crime Featured Image via @hanzocooksandeats Mitch McConnell's threat to hold up a bill boosting the semiconductor chip industry seems designed to give moderate Senate Democrats second thoughts about a new budget reconciliation bill. (Photo: Brandon Bell via Getty Images) Mitch McConnell's threat to hold up a bill boosting the semiconductor chip industry seems designed to give moderate Senate Democrats second thoughts about a new budget reconciliation bill. (Photo: Brandon Bell via Getty Images) WASHINGTON Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wont support a bipartisan domestic manufacturing bill if Democrats try to lower prescription drug prices and tax the rich, the Kentucky Republican announced Thursday. Bipartisan negotiators from the House and Senate have been hammering out a compromise of a bill boosting the semiconductor chip industry after each chamber passed its own version. The Senates bill was called the United States Innovation and Competitiveness Act, or USICA. Let me be perfectly clear: there will be no bipartisan USICA as long as Democrats are pursuing a partisan reconciliation bill, McConnell tweeted on Thursday. McConnells threat comes just as Democrats have made progress on a new budget reconciliation bill to replace the stalled Big Back Better Act. The centerpiece of the legislation would be a provision giving Medicare more power to negotiate with pharmaceutical manufacturers for lower prescription drug prices. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) have nearly finalized a prescription drug agreement, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. NBC News first reported the details of the plan on Thursday. But prescription drugs would be just part of the bill the other major components under consideration would address climate change and partially undo tax cuts for the wealthy that Republicans enacted in 2017. Democrats have dropped a number of social policies in Build Back Better that Manchin opposed. The tax piece will be difficult for Democrats, since they need all 50 members of their caucus to agree, and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) has said she wont support higher tax rates. Its not clear what the chips bill has to do with the reconciliation bill; McConnell appears to be making a raw power move something hes known to do from time to time. Just a week ago, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the federal right to an abortion. The court wouldnt have delivered the decision if McConnell had not engineered its 6-3 Republican majority by refusing to allow President Barack Obama to appoint a justice in an election year, then rushing to confirm a Donald Trump nominee shortly before the 2020 election. Story continues McConnell isnt part of the reconciliation talks, but his threat to hold up the chips bill seems designed to give moderate Senate Democrats second thoughts about reconciliation. The Senate passed its version of the semiconductor bill by a vote of 68-32, with 18 Republicans in support, including McConnell. Its not clear if the 17 other Republicans who voted yes would join McConnell in changing their positions. The centerpiece of both the Senate and House bills is $50 billion for a semiconductor incentive program and advanced microelectronics research. The House bill, which had little Republican support, included an extension of special unemployment benefits for workers who lose their jobs due to foreign trade. Lawmakers from the House and Senate have been meeting in a formal conference committee in order to come up with a compromise version of the legislation. McConnell and Schumer have been having big four meetings about the measure with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). The core idea of both bills had been to make American manufacturers more competitive with China. Justin Goodman, a spokesperson for Schumer, blasted McConnells announcement in an email. Sen. McConnell is holding American jobs in key US industries hostage to help China and protect his friends in big pharma allowing them to keep screwing over Americans with outrageously high Rx drug prices, Goodman wrote. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Story at a glance The Supreme Court Thursday sided with plaintiffs in a case that claimed certain powers under the Clean Air Act should be under Congress jurisdiction instead of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Environmental groups decried the decision, saying it will hamper President Bidens climate goals. Likely voters polled earlier this month cited concerns over curbing the EPAs regulatory power. In a Supreme Court ruling issued Thursday, the justices limited the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) power by imposing limits on the agencys ability to curb power plant emissions. In West Virginia v. EPA, justices ruled, Congress did not grant EPA in Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act the authority to devise emissions caps based on the generation shifting approach the Agency took in the Clean Power Plan. Polling carried out by the progressive organizations Data For Progress and Evergreen Action earlier in June showed many American voters concerned with such a decision curbing the EPAs power. According to a survey among 1,320 likely voters June 10-14, 63 percent of respondents said they were concerned about the court removing protections established by the Clean Air Act, first introduced in 1970. The polling results were published nine days before the court released its decision. Plaintiffs in the case included 19 mostly Republican attorneys general and coal companies who argued these powers should fall on Congress rather than the EPA. America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news. Among those polled, 74 percent reported they were concerned with air and water pollution in their communities a total that consists of 79 percent Independents and 57 percent Republicans. Another large sum of voters agreed the EPA should be able to regulate air pollution that contributed to climate change, with an overwhelming majority of this total identifying as Democrats. Story continues West Virginia v. EPA is the culmination of a years-long effort by the fossil fuel industry and right wing activists to turn back the clock on decades of legal and administrative precedent to put more power in the hands of corporations, said Evergreen Action in a statement issued before the ruling. This extreme step would defy legal precedent and the will of the American people, and would further erode the legitimacy of an already historically controversial court. Harmful emissions from power plants contribute to respiratory problems, cancer and immune system damage, while minority and underserved populations bear a disproportionate health burden from these pollutants. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A "mystery rocket body" that crashed into the moon is baffling NASA. According to NASA, astronomers discovered a rocket body heading toward a lunar collision late last year. Impact occurred on March 4, and NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spotted the crash site on the moon's surface shortly after. New images shared on June 24 by NASA show a snapshot of the site. The crash landing left behind a "double crater" more than 90 feet wide, the space administration reported in a news release. According to the space administration, two large masses on each end of the rocket may have caused the craters, but it noted that the impact marks are highly unusual. Typically, a spent rocket mass is concentrated at the motor end; the rest of the rocket stage mainly consists of an empty fuel tank, NASA said in the news release. "Since the origin of the rocket body remains uncertain, the double nature of the crater may indicate its identity," NASA wrote. According to NASA, astronomers discovered a rocket body heading toward a lunar collision late last year. Impact occurred March 4, 2022 and NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spotted the crash site on the Moon's surface shortly after. NASA search: 'Needle-in-a-haystack' search finds possible phantom-like black hole roaming the Milky Way Alien life? Giant 'Sky Eye' telescope may have picked up alien signals, Chinese researchers say NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter found a new rocket impact site on the Moon! Learn more: https://t.co/VOd7tmwsT9 pic.twitter.com/ZV7OBaBZOR NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) June 24, 2022 After a rocket body impacted the Moon last year, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter was able to snap a surprising view of the impact site. Unexpectedly, the crater is actually two craters and may indicate that the rocket body had large masses at each end: https://t.co/WtMAFrNkUw pic.twitter.com/hcoYPxlm8z NASA 360 (@NASA360) June 27, 2022 No space-exploring nations have claimed responsibility for the projectile, which leaves scientists baffled about who was behind its launch, the Houston Chronicle reported. Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASA baffled by 'mystery rocket' with unknown origin after moon crash TVLine.com Yellowstones Beth Dutton is not someone whose st list you want to be on, much less top a fact that Summer Higgins learned the hard way after she slept with the human tornados daddy in Season 4. So as Season 5 rolls around, the activist might feel like shes safer behind bars than anywhere [] This report was made possible through a grant from The Pulitzer Center to the North Carolina News Collaborative, a coalition of 23 news organizations across the state. Lawmakers have pushed in recent years to eliminate differences in the requirements to become a sheriff deputy or police officer. But one major distinction will persist until next summer. For decades, newly hired deputies have been granted the power to arrest before completing basic law enforcement training. Police, though, cant carry a badge and gun until they graduate, according to state codes and interviews with the officials who enforce them. The training spans four months and students must log 640 hours in classes covering everything from motor vehicle laws to proper arresting techniques. Graduates pass a test at the end of the training. In North Carolina, sheriffs have their own commission overseeing the training and certification of deputies. A separate commission handles the same for police and state-wide law enforcement. At a meeting In June, the sheriffs commission voted to require basic law enforcement completion before being sworn in starting next summer. North Carolina is the only state in the country that allows sheriffs to police their own, according to the North Carolina Department of Justice website. In other states, a single commission sets training standards and certifications for all law enforcement, according to members of both commissions. Legislators have pushed for more consistency between the commissions in recent years. As part of a massive criminal justice reform package passed last year, lawmakers ordered the two law enforcement commissions to square away any differences in their minimum standards to enter the law enforcement profession. For much of the last year, members of the two commissions revised their rules to make them consistent. Among the changes: sheriffs and chiefs can now hire anyone age 20 and above. Deputies now have more days to report to the commission if they are charged with a crime. Story continues Law enforcement officers train in shooting fundamentals during a SWAT training class at the North Carolina Justice Academy in Salemburg Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. Currently, state code requires deputies to complete basic law enforcement training within one year of being hired and sworn in. Other law enforcement officers must graduate from the training before being sworn in. The sheriffs commission does not know how many sworn deputies are currently working without their basic law enforcement training complete, according to commission members. Sheriff Shelton White of Perquimans County, a member of the sheriffs commission, said in his office, he requires a training officer to supervise deputies hired and sworn in before they complete basic law enforcement training. Northampton County Sheriff Jack Smith also sometimes allows deputies to work before they complete their basic training. Smith, a former highway patrolman, said he suspects the provision exists to accommodate a reality. Sheriffs are elected every four years. Once elected, they sometimes face a massive walkout of deputies. A sheriff cannot protect residents unless hires can happen quickly, he said. Counties often span vast territories which can make coverage gaps dire, he said. A city is easier to patrol, he said. Randy Byrd, a former North Carolina Police Benevolent Association official, said allowing anyone to work in law enforcement without basic training was insane. Basic law enforcement training teaches prospective law enforcement officers everything from how to detain a suspect to dispersing a crowd. Seasoned officers like Byrd call the training critical. A trans immigrant community organizer, Jennicet Gutierrez, declines President Bidens invitation to the annual Pride Month celebration event, in order to protest the mistreatment of LGBTQ+ asylum seekers in ICE detention. Video Transcript - It's the end of June, another Pride Month in the books. As part of this year's celebration, President Biden signed an executive order that takes steps aimed at shoring up equality for the LGBTQ community in the US. JOE BIDEN: My order will use the full force of the federal government to prevent inhumane practices of conversion therapy. - But for some of the activists invited, like Jennicet Gutierrez, there was something missing in the White House celebration. JENNICET GUTIERREZ: We just felt such an empty invitation that didn't really mean anything. And right away, my instant reaction was, no. How can they join a celebration when you have been in power for way too long, even before you became president, and you haven't done enough for LGBTQ people. You haven't done enough for women's rights issues. You haven't done enough for racial justice. I was actually at the similar reception in 2015 under President Obama, and Vice President Biden at the time was there too. And when I was in that space, I went with the mission, right, to challenge the Obama administration. BARACK OBAMA: Over the year, we've gathered to celebrate Pride Month. And I've told you that I'm so hopeful about what we can accomplish. JENNICET GUTIERREZ: President Obama-- BARACK OBAMA: Yeah, hold on there. JENNICET GUTIERREZ: Release all LGBTQ detention centers. - Gutierrez is the co-director of Familia, an organization that advocates on behalf of transgender and gender non-conforming immigrants. JENNICET GUTIERREZ: No one should be dying while seeking protection, while seeking asylum in this country, right? The country that wants to scream to the world that they respect democracy and human rights. - The hardships of trans people in ICE prisons have been well documented since the Obama administration. A 2013 government report shows that nearly one in four substantiated cases of sexual assault in ICE detention involve a trans victim with multiple cases of trans women being abused by guards. Story continues JENNICET GUTIERREZ: I hope that he listens to the demands of the community, which are very clear. It's to release trans people, to release people living with HIV or any medical condition because there is evidence that trans women have died in custody. And we list the names we're still seeking for justice-- Roxana Hernandez, Victoria Ariano, and Joanna Medina. - Data shows that trans detainees are routinely placed in solitary confinement, sometimes for weeks or months on end for, quote unquote, "their own protection." In recent years, two trans women who had HIV died from being denied medical care. JENNICET GUTIERREZ: I couldn't be listening to the president and pretending that this reality that he's ignoring doesn't exist because that's what I feel people who chose to attend. But to me, it's just like, you're being complicit in some way when you know people have been speaking up and saying all these injustices that are taking place. And you're still choosing to go and take selfies with the president. - That's why Gutierrez, a proud trans immigrant community organizer, born and raised in Jalisco, Mexico, says Pride Month should be more than just celebrating and hopes her message to President Biden is clear. JENNICET GUTIERREZ: The priority is to support organizations who are providing critical services that the government should be providing, or at least injecting money, funds to sustain the program, to sustain the support to different communities that desperately need it. And to me, that makes more sense than to get in front of the mic and say, I see you. I'm here with you, and I will fight with you. President Biden threw his support behind a carveout of the Senate filibuster to codify abortion rights, a moment some Democrats have been waiting for since May. And if the filibuster gets in the way its like voting rights it should be we provide an exception for this, requiring an exception to the filibuster for this action to deal with the Supreme Court decision, Biden said Thursday at the NATO summit in Spain. It was a moment a lot of people have been craving, Democratic strategist Doug Gordon told NotedDC, describing it as a sort of bold leadership. Senate Democrats attempted to codify federal abortion rights in May following the publication of the courts leaked draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, but they couldnt reach the 60 votes needed to pass. Abolishing the filibuster would require 50 senators to agree to it, setting up Vice President Harris to cast a tie-breaking vote. But those votes havent materialized. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) refused to abolish the filibuster to advance the voting rights bills in January, and the pair have signaled they wouldnt abolish it for abortion rights, either. GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) are Democrats best chances of potential pickups across the aisle, given both are pro-abortion rights, though Murkowski said in a January speech she would not support any carveouts. While Bidens opinion hasnt carried much weight in the past, his outward support of abortion which he has a complicated history with is a sign to Democrats that hes willing to act. You cant bring a knife to a gunfight and it seems thats been the White Houses approach, Gordon said. [Biden] is finally coming around to the realization many people have already come around to that the institutions are failing. Story continues If Bidens comments dont move the needle, Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist and partner at ROKK Solutions, said it reinforces the idea that Democrats cant get anything done. It shows that hes trying to do something on the issue [abortion] but again, if its all talk and no action, then its just another failed attempt by Biden to get something done, Bonjean said. Welcome to NotedDC: Your guide to politics, policy and people of consequence in D.C. Send tips to Kelsey Carolan and encourage others to sign up: thehill.com/noted. How abolishing the filibuster could backfire For Democrats opposed to nixing the Senate filibuster, a primary concern remains: How would Republicans use it themselves in the future? Remember: Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) justified abolishing the filibuster for confirming Supreme Court nominees in 2017 after then-Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) abolished it for judicial nominees in 2013 allowing Republicans to get three justices on the court. Its a really dangerous and slippery slope, Bonjean told NotedDC. It sounds great to do but in reality, its going to be bad and end up working against the party. (Sinema and Manchin have echoed that argument.) A GOP Senate aide said abolishing the filibuster would have implications when either side has a majority but played down the possibility of enough senators getting on board with scrapping it. The aide noted that the vote to codify abortion rights didnt even reach 50 votes in May, when Manchin joined Republicans in voting against the bill. But Gordon thinks Democrats should go for it anyways, saying they are kidding themselves if they think Republicans are going to follow the rules if they gain control of Congress in November. Theres no question they are going to get rid of the filibuster, Gordon said. Republicans know how to use their power and its time for Democrats to use their power. MORE TROUBLE FOR SENATE DEMOCRATS Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the third in line to the presidency, underwent emergency surgery Thursday after he fell and broke his hip at his home in northern Virginia. This could affect the confirmation of some Biden nominees, The Hills Alex Bolton notes. If Leahy takes some days off, Democrats are down to just 49 votes. Is Bidens unpopularity Hillarys opportunity? Whispers of Hillary Clinton making a third bid for president are becoming louder. The Hills Amie Parnes writes that the former secretary of State is having her biggest I-told-you-so moment to date after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on top of the ongoing Jan. 6 committee hearings. What insiders told Parnes: This moment couldnt be better for her, said one former aide. Everything she warned us about has happened, just as she said. If he [Biden] chose not to run, I imagine attention would focus on a number of potential candidates including Vice President Harris, of course, but also Secretary Clinton, among others, a longtime adviser said. Worth noting: Parnes wrote that there were no discussions of a potential presidential run when Clintons former aides recently gathered at a northern Virginia bar to celebrate the anniversary of her 2016 nomination. Supreme Courts season finale The Supreme Court dealt another blow to the Biden administrations agenda on Thursday by limiting the federal governments powers to act on climate change. However, the court also delivered a win for President Biden over scrapping a key Trump-era policy dealing with migrants at the southern border. Heres what changed: EPA powers curtailed In a loss for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it can no longer regulate power plants on a system-wide basis to transition from coal to renewable energies. The Hills Rachel Frazin reports: The decision could have implications for other administrative agencies, with the newly emboldened conservative wing indicating it would be skeptical of any broad interpretations of regulatory authority delegated by Congress. Remain in Mexico scrapped In a victory for the Biden administration, federal officials can officially end the Trump-era Remain in Mexico policy that required asylum-seekers at the southern border to wait in Mexico while their applications were processed. From our colleague John Kruzel: Immigration advocates had long pleaded with both Trump and Biden to scrap the policy, noting that vulnerable migrants, who are not from Mexico and may not even be Spanish speakers, faced dangerous conditions as they waited months on end for any movement in their cases. BREAKING THE GLASS CEILING Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court when she was sworn in Thursday. More from The Hills John Kruzel Holiday activities around the District Theres no better place to celebrate the Fourth of July than the nations capital, which isnt lacking in festivities. Heres where you can get your red, white and blue on: Firetrucks, military units and marching bands will make their way down Constitution Avenue for the National Independence Day Parade beginning at 11:45 a.m. on Monday. If you want to stay around the Hill, there will be a neighborhood parade beginning at 10 a.m., led by the Marine Corps Drum and Bugle Corps. Bring your lawn chairs to the Capitols West Lawn on Monday to watch the star-studded annual concert A Capitol Fourth live at 8 p.m. Country star Mickey Guyton will host alongside performers like Yolanda Adams and Gloria Gaynor. Head to the National Mall to watch fireworks launched from the Lincoln Memorial beginning around 9 p.m. Stay with TheHill.com for the latest and recommend NotedDC to others: thehill.com/noted. See you next week! VIEW FULL VERSION HERE For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Paris Hilton has revealed that she turned down a request to DJ an event for President Joe Biden so she wouldnt miss Britney Spears wedding. The Paris In Love star, 41, discussed the scheduling conflict during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! where she spoke with guest host Chelsea Handler about having to turn down the presidents invitation to the Summit of Americas dinner to attend Spears wedding to Sam Asghari earlier this month. I was asked by President Biden and their team to go DJ for that summit dinner with all the leaders of the world, but it was the same night as Britneys wedding, Hilton explained, adding that she told the world leader no. And Im like: No, Im not going to miss that. According to Hilton, the president wasnt that easily dissuaded, however, as she told Handler that the White House then offered to send her a helicopter, so that she could easily travel back and forth from the summit to Spears at-home wedding. They were like: We can send a helicopter, [you can] fly back and forth, and Im like: Im not going to be the one, like, landing in and out of Britneys wedding in a helicopter. Cmon! the heiress continued. So I had to cancel on the president. As Handler and the crowd laughed at Hiltons admission, the reality star added: Sorry. The story prompted Handler to question whether Hilton told the president why she couldnt DJ the event, to which Hilton revealed that she had. Yeah, its Britney, b**ch! Cmon, she said. As for whether she made the right choice, Hilton told Handler that Spears 9 June wedding was one of the most iconic nights of [her] life. According to Hilton, the wedding made her especially emotional because she felt like Spears was getting her fairytale ending. Just seeing her walk the aisle, just like an angel who has just had the most horrible time these past 13 years, to finally have her freedom and be able to do what she wants, and have that happy fairytale ending, was just beautiful, Hilton said, appearing to reference the end of Spears 13-year conservatorship in November. Story continues During the interview, the DJ then reflected on her lengthy friendship with the pop star, with Hilton revealing that she and Spears have been friends for over two decades. According to Hilton, while she doesnt remember how they met, one of the first photos she has of the two of them together was taken at her grandfathers estate, where the pair were hanging out. Weve been close ever since, she said. Hilton also celebrated Spears and Asgharis nuptials on Instagram, where she shared multiple photos of the star-studded event. She captioned one album of photos of herself taken during the night: Fairytales do exist while another photo showed Hilton and Spears posing with other celebrity guests, including Madonna, Selena Gomez, Drew Barrymore and Donatella Versace. #Icons only. Had the most incredible time celebrating the fairytale couple. What a beautiful night! Hilton captioned the photo. Back for a second season and a second crime to solve the success of Hulus cozy-funny-mournful whodunit Only Murders in the Building rests primarily on the shoulders of its three leads. Their blend of ruminative youth (Selena Gomez) and questionable life experience (Martin Short and Steve Martin) comes together once again to unravel yet another mystery. But the draw this time out, for me at least, is the rich storyline of a side character named Bunny Folger. A cranky old so-and-so with white hair and big round glasses, she is the most hated person in the Arconia, the glorious abode where they all reside on Manhattans Upper West Side. She is also the latest murder in the building. Advertisement The discovery of Bunnys death-by-knitting needle was the cliffhanger that closed out Season 1, putting the crime-busting trio of Mabel (Gomez), Oliver (Short) and Charles (Martin) in the crosshairs of the police and in the crosshairs of the real killer, for that matter. Season 2 picks up in the aftermath, when our amateur sleuths become persons of interest. After a brief interrogation, they exit the police station to a phalanx of media. Oh my God! Mabel and Charles say, appalled. Oh my God! Oliver says, thrilled. From left: Oliver (Martin Short), Mabel (Selena Gomez) and Charles (Steve Martin) are back on the case, this time investigating the death of Bunny Folger. (Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu) And so its back to the Arconia, where they ramp up their true crime podcast for a new season. As possible suspects, theyre also the subjects of a competing podcast, the Serial-esque show with the insufferably smug host (Tina Fey) who goes full muckraker: Oliver Putnam, the derelict theater director who almost killed 12 people with his last Broadway outing, has a long paper trail of Bunny hatred over the years, she intones. Tune in weekly as our investigation unfolds in real time. Advertisement The pop culture satire extends to Charles old cop show, the one that once made him famous (and now a has-been) which is being rebooted. The catch: Hes been relegated to a supporting player. But at least there are actual writers on the job this time, not just some executive producer high on cocaine screaming dialogue into a tape recorder. (Mabel may get fewer opportunities for humor, but Gomez makes them count with a wonderfully deadpan way of delivering a line.) An aspirational real estate fantasia those massive apartments with all that wonderful wallpaper! Only Murders in the Building mashes up high comedy and carefully observed human moments and Season 2 is a continuation, and deepening, of that. All three leads are aces at this, and the show is directed with a particular appreciation for Shorts symphony of facial expressions. But the heart of this new season is the ecosystem of the building itself and Bunny is at the center of that. (The actual building the Arconia is based on, called the Belnord, has its own strange and fascinating history.) Oliver (Martin Short), Mabel and Charles become persons of interest in the latest murder in their building. (Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu) Bunnys not just a plot device or an easy target for jokes, but a person with her own story, told in flashback in Episode 3 titled: The Last Day of Bunny Folger. She may be crabby but shes also vulnerable. And pretty great, actually. Shes the kind of person who scolds the doorman and then tells him she hopes his wifes knee feels better. The granddaughter of the Arconias architect, shes probably its longest resident, which means she knows all about the buildings secret elevators and back passageways. A true creature of New York, she may not be nice but shes kind a distinction with a difference. Its such a brilliant performance from Tony winner Jayne Houdyshell, and its one I found unexpectedly moving. After her death, her elderly mother Leonora arrives to take possession of a valuable painting hanging in Bunnys bedroom, but its gone missing. The painting is described as porny in subject matter and of course Oliver is curious for more details: Are we thinking full-frontal? Bondage? Penetrata? As it happens, the painting features none other than Charles father. How this information plays into the mystery of Bunnys murder is a thread left dangling for much of the 10-episode season, which is as Byzantine in plot as those inner passageways that wind through the building itself. Did I mention Leonora is played by Shirley MacLaine? Like her daughter, shes barbed in temperament, with the same big round glasses and flair for eccentricity. Its strange returning to a place where you have so much history, she says to Charles in a contemplative moment. What was once a place of joy is now haunted or maybe it only appears haunted, you just cant see the ghosts until youre close to being one yourself. So much of the writing on this show gets you in the gut. There are other familiar faces that make brief appearances Amy Schumer (as herself), Michael Rapaport (as a police detective), Cara Delevingne (as an art world somebody) but they are more distracting than additive. Its the less starry names, from Houdyshells Bunny to Michael Cyril Creightons nerdy cat-loving neighbor, who are putting in the work, whereas the star drop-ins come across as little more than the stunt casting. Which is why Im hoping showrunner John Hoffman was kidding when he said his dream casting for Season 3 included Harry Styles. The show doesnt need the tacky, desperate-seeming inclusion of celebrity cameos because it gets so many other details right. Like the small jokes about high-rise life (the existence of the good luggage cart and the one with the wonky wheel), or the wonderful score from composer Siddhartha Khosla, whose glorious theme song twirls and twirls like a spinning top. Advertisement There may be death on Only Murders in the Building, but there is also birth. Literal babies, Im saying. If the circle of life sounds a tad sentimental, well, the show is that too. In all the right ways. Only Murders in the Building 3 stars (out of 4) Where to watch: Hulu Shirley MacLaine guest stars on Season 2 of "Only Murders in the Building." (Barbara Nitke/Hulu) Nina Metz is a Tribune critic nmetz@chicagotribune.com What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. Sign up for our Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here. Advertisement Take our survey: We want to know what you think about our work. So weve put together these five questions. Patrice Lumumba's remains have been buried in a specially built mausoleum The gold-crowned tooth of Democratic Republic of Congo independence hero Patrice Lumumba has been buried more than 60 years after he was assassinated. It is the only part of his body that exists after his remains were dissolved in acid. The Belgian policeman who oversaw the disposal took the tooth as a trophy. It was returned to the family last week and has toured several parts of DR Congo in a coffin. People have been able to pay their respects ahead of the funeral that took place in the capital, Kinshasa, on a road named in his honour. President Felix Tshisekedi, Lumumba's family and other dignitaries were at the private service which took place before the coffin was transferred to a specially built mausoleum. "May the land of our ancestors be sweet and mild to you," said the president. Lumumba was the country's first prime minister and one of the leaders of the struggle for independence. He was also seen as one of the most prominent voices in Africa's anti-colonial movement. Thursday marks 62 years since the former colonial power Belgium relinquished control of the vast country. But it viewed Lumumba as a barrier to its efforts to maintain influence as well as hold on to important economic interests. In a famous speech on independence day in 1960, in front of Belgian dignitaries including King Baudouin, Lumumba, aged 34, castigated Belgium saying that the Congolese had been held in "humiliating slavery". The Belgians were stunned as a black African had never dared speak like this in front of Europeans. Lumumba was toppled as prime minister just over two months later. Then in January 1961, with the tacit backing of Belgium, he was shot by a firing squad, along with two allies. Belgian policeman Gerard Soete kept the tooth in a padded box in his home in Belgium Other Western powers were also suspicious of him, fearing that he was sympathetic to the USSR during the Cold War and some, including the US, plotted to assassinate him. A Belgian policeman, Gerard Soete, was given the job of getting rid of the evidence. It was during that process that he pocketed the tooth and took it back with him to Belgium. Story continues It was decades later that he revealed that he still had the tooth and only two years ago that a Belgian court ruled that it should be returned to the family. The Covid pandemic delayed the process but last week it was handed over in Brussels. Additional reporting by the BBC's Emery Makumeno in Kinshasa SEOUL The Philippine Defence Department has awarded a contract to Hyundai Heavy Industries to build six 2400-ton offshore patrol vessels, the South Korean company announced June 27, as well as a deal for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of two frigates that the shipbuilder previously delivered. Under the 744.9 billion won (U.S. $573.8 million) contract, HHIs Ulsan shipyard in South Korea is charged with delivering six Wonhae vessels to the Philippine Navy by 2028. They will measure 94.4 meters long and 14.3 meters wide, and have a maximum speed of 22 knots (25 mph) and a cruising speed of 15 knots (58 mph). Their cruising range reaches to 5,500 nautical miles (6329 miles). Each OPV will be armed with one 76mm gun and two 30mm guns. They also feature a deck from which helicopters or UAVs can operate. Earlier this month, South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his Philippine counterpart Delfin Lorenzana talked on the phone to discuss the direction of bilateral defense cooperation and South Korean-made offshore patrol vessels. In addition to Lorenzana, those attending the recent signing ceremony included Sam-hyeon Ga, vice chairman of HHI subsidiary Korea Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering; Sang-Hoon Nam, who leads an HHI shipbuilding division; In-cheol Kim, ambassador to the Philippines; and Philippine Navy Adm. Bernard Valencia. In 2016, HHI delivered two frigates to the Philippines, and last year it signed a contract to build two corvettes for the country. The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (PSEC) has ordered the shutdown of news site Rappler, according to CEO and founder Maria Ressa. Ressa, the Filipino American journalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said the PSEC had revoked Rapplers operating license in a statement during the East-West Centers International Media Conference in Honolulu on Tuesday. The PSEC will uphold its January 2018 ruling of revoking Rapplers registration for allegedly violating foreign ownership rules. Rappler, which is well known for its work in countering disinformation, has continued to operate despite the order. An investment by the Omidyar Network, which was created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, violated the restrictions on foreign ownership of domestic media, according to PSEC. The Philippine Constitution prohibits foreign ownership of mass media companies. More from NextShark: Andrew Yang Opens Up About Coronavirus Racism Against Asian Americans However, Rappler has previously denied foreign ownership. They argued that Omidyars investment was not the same as owning shares, and it did not give Omidyar Network control over Rappler. Ressa has appealed multiple times before the Court of Appeals but has lost every time. She will reportedly continue to appeal the decision because the proceedings were highly irregular. What does this mean? We have existing legal remedies all the way up to the highest court of the land, Ressa reportedly wrote in an internal statement to her staff. It is business as usual for us since in our view, this is not immediately executory without court approval. More from NextShark: Karaoke Bar Waitress Sues NYPD Officer for Pointing a Gun at Her Head While Drunk Francis Lim, a lawyer representing Rappler, said the PSEC cannot execute the decision without court approval. He plans to file a motion to the Court of Appeals for reconsideration and to take the case to the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Phil Robertson, the deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said the case was a government vendetta against Ressa and Rappler. Story continues The bottom line is this is an effort to shut up Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa, and shut down Rappler, by hook or by crook, Robertson told The New York Times. More from NextShark: Maskless Woman Goes on a Racist, Homophobic Rant on Asian Mom and Daughter in California This is intimidation. These are political tactics. We refuse to succumb to them, Ressa said in a news conference on Wednesday. Were not going to voluntarily give up our rights. And we really shouldnt. I continue to appeal for that because when you give up your rights, youre never going to get them back. Ressa, a vocal critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Dutertes administration, has faced legal threats due to Rapplers critical reports on Dutertes war on drugs. The government has filed seven criminal cases against her relating to tax evasion, cyber libel and violation of foreign ownership rules. On Monday, President Duterte admitted to using his presidential powers in 2020 to shut down former broadcast giant ABS-CBN. Critics believe that Duterte targeted media outlets that closely documented his drug war and have been critical of his leadership. More from NextShark: Major Brands Around the World Share #StopAsianHate in Solidarity The PSECs order came a day before Duterte leaves office and Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son of the ousted dictator, is scheduled to be inaugurated as president on June 30. Ressa told Axios that the timing of the order is not a good sign. Who knows what the new administration will do, Ressa said. If the rule of law wins, these cases [against me and Rappler] will be thrown out. I look forward to a new administration and their upgrading of the rule of law. Featured Image via GETTY IMAGES WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland on Thursday accused the Belarusian authorities of creating an "atmosphere of acquiescence" to acts of vandalism against Polish graves and demanded authorities punish perpetrators, adding to tensions between Warsaw and Minsk. Tensions have been running high between the neighbouring states over a migrant crisis that the European Union and Poland say was engineered by Belarus, a charge Minsk denies. The EU also accuses Minsk of supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Poland's foreign ministry said unknown perpetrators had recently damaged Polish tombstones and commemorations in several locations, mainly in Western Belarus, which used to be part of Poland before World War Two and where many Polish soldiers are buried. "We strongly condemn creating by the local authorities an atmosphere of acquiescence to such practices," Polish foreign ministry spokesman Lukasz Jasina said in a statement. "We appeal to the Belarusian authorities to immediately put an end to acts of vandalism in cemeteries and to reveal and account for the perpetrators. Poland firmly demands respect for the graves and commemoration of the deceased," he added. The Belarusian foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Anna Koper; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) IRVING, Texas (AP) Officers fatally shot a patient at a Dallas-area hospital who had a gun in an emergency room, authorities said. A nurse called police Wednesday night after she saw that the 34-year-old patient had a gun at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Irving, said city police spokesman Robert Reeves. A hospital officer and an Irving police officer confronted the man, who opened fire, Reeves said. The officers fired back, killing him. No one else was hurt. Authorities didnt immediately release the man's name. They haven't said why he was at the hospital or why he might have opened fire. The Daily Beast Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Getty/APHes been called the Mormon Manson, but polygamist Ervil LeBaron and his Mexican-based family managed to make Charlie and his gang look almost tame by comparison. A 68 white supremacist and religious fundamentalist who loved to seduce underage girls, LeBaron trained women to kill for him and ordered hits on rival polygamists and apostates from his church. And kill they did: Members of LeBarons family were responsible for as many as 50 murders, In a couple of weeks, President Joe Biden plans a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia with two main aims: warm up ties between the oil-rich kingdom and an oil-distressed United States, and help pave the way for an expected Saudi recognition of Israel. Yet the warm-up has required more than official diplomacy and a difficult recalculation of shared interests between the two countries. Just as important have been breakthroughs in religious ties between the birthplace of Islam and American Jews. In a June visit to the Saudi capital of Riyadh, for example, a group of 13 Jewish leaders from New York met with Saudi leaders in an interfaith dialogue on the similarities and differences between Judaism and Islam. The goal of the trip, as expressed by our hosts: We need to learn about you, and you need to learn about us, said Eric Goldstein, a prominent Jewish leader in New York. In particular, the two sides discussed the Charter of Makkah, a declaration on religious tolerance adopted in 2019 by Muslim leaders from 139 countries. The documents first principle reads: All people, regardless of their different ethnicities, races, and nationalities, are equal under God. The new Saudi openness to both American and Israeli Jews reflects a profound move to shed the countrys past antisemitism, curtail its harsh teachings of Islam, and transform itself for a post-oil, Western-leaning future. Saudi textbooks, for instance, have been expunged of antisemitic tropes. Saudi Arabias de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, says he wants his country to be open to the world and tolerant of other faiths. Normalizing ties with Jews must go beyond governments, especially when youre dealing with a sentiment thats been embedded, says Deborah Lipstadt, U.S. special envoy for combating and monitoring antisemitism. In May, the Saudi regime hosted the first multifaith conference inside the country. Titled Common Values Among the Followers of Religions, the gathering included a large Jewish delegation. If Mr. Bidens trip is a success, it may be due in large part to a new search for a common command for love and equality that binds the worlds main religions. Story continues Read this story at csmonitor.com Become a part of the Monitor community By Tarek Amara and Angus McDowall TUNIS (Reuters) -Tunisia's president published a planned new constitution on Thursday that he will put to a referendum next month, expanding his own powers and limiting the role of parliament in a vote most political parties have already rejected. Kais Saied has ruled by decree since last summer, when he brushed aside the parliament and the democratic 2014 constitution in a step his foes called a coup, moving towards one-man rule and vowing to remake the political system. His intervention last summer has thrust Tunisia into its biggest political crisis since the 2011 revolution that ousted former autocrat Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and introduced democracy. Voters will be asked to approve the new constitution in a July 25 referendum for which there is no minimum level of participation. With most of the political establishment opposed to his moves and urging their supporters to boycott the vote, analysts say the measure is likely to pass, but with only limited public involvement. None of the major parties, including the Islamist Ennahda which is the biggest in parliament and has played a major role in successive coalition governments since the revolution, issued immediate comment on the draft constitution. Meanwhile, many Tunisians are far more focused on a growing economic crisis and threats to public finances that have caused salary delays and the risk of shortages of key subsidised goods. An online 'consultation' Saied held from January-March in preparation for drafting the constitution received scant attention from Tunisians, with very few taking part. POWER The draft constitution published in the official gazette late on Thursday would bring most political power under Saied, give him ultimate authority over the government and judiciary. Previously, political power was more directly exercised by the parliament, which took the lead role in appointing the government and approving legislation. Story continues Under the new constitution, the government would answer to the president and not to parliament, though the chamber could withdraw confidence from the government with a two-thirds majority. Saied would be allowed to present draft laws, have sole responsibility for proposing treaties and drafting state budgets, appoint or sack government ministers and appoint judges, the gazette said. He could serve two terms of five years each, but extend them if he felt there was an imminent danger to the state, and would have the right to dissolve parliament while no clause allows for the removal of a president. The constitution would allow Saied to continue to rule by decree until the creation of a new parliament through an election expected in December. It would also create a new 'Council of Regions' as a second chamber of parliament, but it gives few details on how it would be elected or what powers it would have. Saied, a political independent, has promised a new electoral law. Though he has not yet published it, he has indicated that voters would only choose candidates as individuals, not as members of political parties. Meanwhile, although Islam will no longer be the state religion, Tunisia will be regarded as part of the wider Islamic nation and the state should work to achieve Islamic goals. The president must be Muslim. However, Saied has maintained most parts of the 2014 constitution that enumerated rights and liberties, including freedom of speech, the right to organise in unions and the right to peaceful gatherings. However, judges, police, army and customs officials would not have a right to go on strike. Judges have recently been on strike for weeks in protest at Saied's moves to curtail judicial independence. (Reporting by Tarek Amara and Angus McDowall, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien, Alistair Bell and Deepa Babington) COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Tiger King star Bhagavan Doc Antle has been charged with buying or selling endangered lemurs, cheetahs, and a chimpanzee without the proper paperwork, federal prosecutors in South Carolina said Thursday. The latest charges are on top of money laundering counts, where authorities said Antle tried to hide more than half a million dollars made in an operation to smuggle people across the Mexican border into the U.S. Antle is featured prominently in Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, a 2020 Netflix documentary miniseries that focused on tiger breeders and private zoo operators in the U.S. The series focused heavily on Oklahoma zoo operator Joe Exotic, who also was targeted for animal mistreatment and was convicted in a plot to kill a rival, Carole Baskin. The U.S. Endangered Species Act requires permission to buy or move any endangered species in captivity and prosecutors said Antle, two of his employees and owners of safari tours in Texas and California all broke the law. Charles Sammut, the operator of Vision Quest Ranch in Salians, California, exchanged two red ruffed lemurs with Antle in June 2018, federal prosecutors said. The allegations in the indictments are littered with misinformation," Sammut told The Associated Press by phone Thursday. Sammut said he wouldn't specify what was wrong because he had a criminal case now pending, but added he felt the problems would be cleared up soon. Antle was also charged with exchanging a chimpanzee with Franklin Drive Through Safari in Franklin, Texas. Owner Jason Clay didn't return a phone message and a lawyer was not listed in court records. Sammut, 61, and Clay, 42, are each charged with wildlife trafficking and violating the Endangered Species Act. If convicted, they face up to five years in prison. Court documents said Antle, 62, and Myrtle Beach Safari employee Meredith Bybee also bought or sold two young cheetahs, although details about who else was involved in the alleged transaction were not in the federal indictments. Story continues Antle's lawyers did not respond to an email Thursday and court records didn't list a lawyer for Bybee, 51. Antle and another employee, Andrew Jon Sawyer, 52, were charged earlier in June with money laundering. Prosecutors said the men wrote $505,000 worth of checks that were supposed to be for construction work at Myrtle Beach Safari but in reality were payments to help smuggle people from Mexico into the United States. Antle tried to hide the scheme by inflating tourist numbers at his 50-acre (20-hectare) wildlife tropical preserve, prosecutors said. Prosecutors also said he had previously used bulk cash receipts to purchase animals for which he could not use checks. Animal rights advocates long have accused Antle of mistreating lions and other wildlife. He was indicted in Virginia in 2020 on animal cruelty and wildlife trafficking charges. In Virginia, Antle is facing two felony counts of wildlife trafficking and conspiracy to wildlife trafficking charges, as well as 13 misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act and animal cruelty charges tied to trafficking lion cubs. Those charges are scheduled to go to trial next month. Antle has a history of recorded violations, going as far back as 1989, when he was fined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for abandoning deer and peacocks at his zoo in Virginia. Over the years, he has more than 35 USDA violations for mistreating animals. ___ Follow Jeffrey Collins on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP. It was about 2 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021. Mark Meadows sat on a couch in his West Wing office, alone, scrolling through his cellphone. Across Washington from the White House, supporters of President Donald Trump were approaching the Capitol, protesting the certification of Joe Bidens Electoral College victory. Are you watching the TV, chief? Cassidy Hutchinson, a top aide to Meadows, the White House chief of staff, recalled asking him. The rioters are getting really close. Have you talked to the president? Advertisement No, Meadows replied, his eyes fixed on his phone. Trump, he went on, wants to be alone right now. Hutchinsons account of a chief of staff who was at best disengaged and at worst overwhelmed by the events around him was a key part of her public appearance Tuesday at a hastily scheduled hearing by the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot, and what led to it. Advertisement Another aide to Meadows, Ben Williamson, provided a different assessment, saying in testimony to the House committee that Meadows was responsive when Williamson said there was a problem. Any suggestion he didnt care is ludicrous, Williamson said in a statement Wednesday. Lawyers for Hutchinson said Wednesday that she stood by her testimony. Yet even without Hutchinsons recollections, a number of Meadows former colleagues and people who were interacting with him as the riot unfolded painted a portrait of an ineffective chief of staff as a violent scene developed at the Capitol. When he hired Meadows in March 2020, Trump gleefully told allies that he had found his James A. Baker III, a White House chief of staff under President Ronald Reagan and the person many successors have tried to emulate as the gold standard for running the West Wing. Yet within months, as the coronavirus pandemic raged and the economy that Trump prided himself on cratered, Meadows became known among many of his colleagues as someone who spoke out of both sides of his mouth. He encouraged Trumps disgust with calling for increased mandates for masks, mocked the scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and, according to former colleagues, waged petty fights internally with aides he believed were not following his authority. But instead of playing the role of gatekeeper and bringing order to a chaotic West Wing, Meadows was often criticized by associates as terrified of Trumps temper and eager to please him. After the election, Meadows played a key role in encouraging House Republicans to look at ways to subvert Bidens victory. Meadows called or texted Georgias secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, 18 times to arrange a call with Trump, and he made a trip to the state to look at the inspection of voting machines up close. He was in frequent contact with Trump supporters urging him to fight the outcome, including Virginia Thomas, the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas. Over the course of his tenure, Meadows helped create a rift between Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, according to a handful of former White House officials, by inserting himself into tasks that the vice president would historically perform. Among other things, Meadows injected himself into a trip to the Capitol with Amy Coney Barrett when she was a Supreme Court nominee, a visit Pence had been expected to play a prominent role in leading, a former White House aide recalled. Advertisement I think that Mark would often say to me that he was working to try and get the president to concede and accept the results of the election, Marc Short, Pences former chief of staff, told CBS News Face the Nation recently. And at the same time, it was clear he was bringing in lots of other people into the White House that were feeding the president different conspiracy theories, Short said. I think that Mark was telling different audiences all sorts of different stories. On election night, as Trumps personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, wanted to encourage the president to declare victory long before all the votes had been counted, Meadows and three other aides rejected the idea as stupid. But within days, Meadows began exchanging messages with his former House colleagues. I love it, Meadows replied to a suggestion from Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., on Nov. 5, 2020, about a plan to push legislatures in key states that Trump had lost to appoint so-called alternate electors to send to Congress. Within weeks of that text exchange, Meadows reassured Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, that, despite his repeated public statements that the election was stolen from him, Trump would eventually concede the election. At the same time, Meadows continued to allow people into the White House who were encouraging Trump to take actions that could undermine the results of the election. And he forwarded conspiracy theories about the election to senior administration officials to check out. Advertisement Yet on Dec. 18, 2020, Meadows was among the Trump advisers who opposed a band of outside Trump supporters including Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser who urged Trump to authorize the government seizure of voting machines to search for election fraud. Finally, Meadows continued to look to Jan. 6, 2021, as the last option for Trump. Yet as the events of that day unfolded, his colleagues said at the time, Meadows seemed completely overwhelmed, at times to the point of paralysis. He reached out to Ivanka Trump to come downstairs from her office to try to implore her father to ask the rioters to stop, which she did, but it took hours for her to succeed in getting him to do so. Hutchinson described Meadows as aware that the situation that day as Donald Trump planned for a rally that he tweeted would be wild could get bad, among the most damning pieces of her testimony about her former boss. She also said Meadows had sought a pardon for himself at one point, something that a current aide to Meadows denied. At another point during her appearance on Capitol Hill, Hutchinson described a moment that seemed to capture Meadows willingness to give in to Trumps wishes. She recalled picking up Meadows ringing phone on Jan. 6 after Meadows had left his office and gone to see Trump. It was Rep. Jim Jordan calling, and she brought the phone with her to connect the Ohio Republican to Meadows, she recounted. He took it, then joined her back at his office with the White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, and possibly another lawyer, Eric Herschmann. Advertisement I remember Pat saying something to the effect of, Mark, we need to do something more, she said, noting that the crowd was chanting for Pence to be hanged. Meadows, she said, responded to the effect of, You heard him, Pat. He thinks Mike deserves it, referring to Trumps feelings about Pence. He doesnt think theyre doing anything wrong. c.2022 The New York Times Company Reuters Three people were killed and several more were wounded in a shooting at a shopping centre in Copenhagen on Sunday, Danish police said, adding they had arrested a 22-year-old Danish man and charged him with manslaughter. The attack rocked Denmark at the end of an otherwise joyful week, just after it hosted the first three stages of the Tour de France cycle race. Copenhagen police said armed officers were sent to Field's mall in the capital late on Sunday afternoon after reports of a shooting, and had told people inside to stay put and await assistance. BEIRUT (AP) Qatar has donated $60 million to the Lebanese army, hard hit by the Mediterranean nation's unprecedented economic meltdown, Qatar News Agency reported Thursday. The announcement came shortly after Qatar's Foreign Minister Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani arrived in Beirut, where he is expected to meet senior Lebanese officials. Lebanon's nearly three-year crisis has put unprecedented pressure on the U.S.-backed armys operational abilities, wiping out soldiers salaries and wrecking morale. The overall deterioration puts at risk one of the few forces unifying Lebanon the military. Over the past years, the army has been receiving assistance, including food supplies, from friendly countries. Al Thani, who is also Qatars deputy prime minister, is in Lebanon to attend the Arab Foreign Ministers Consultative Meeting, the report said. Since the crisis erupted in October 2019, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 90% of its value, tens of thousands have become jobless and three quarters of the population of 6 million, including 1 million Syrian refugees, now lives in poverty. The economic crisis is rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement by the ruling class, which has been running the country since the end of the 1975-90 civil war. The report said Qatar announced in July last year that the Gulf Arab sheikhdom would support the Lebanese army with 70 tons of food every month for a year. For weeks, the worlds attention has been fixed on the battle for Ukraines east, where Russian forces have been pressing a painstaking advance. But in the south, recent developments suggest Russias hold on territory it seized there may be increasingly fragile. Moscow's troops withdrew from a key strategic outpost off Ukraines southern Black Sea coast Thursday, the latest blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the area. It comes amid a nascent Ukrainian counteroffensive around Kherson as well as growing signs of partisan activity and the Kremlin straining to exert control: The south may be flying under the radar for now, but analysts say it could ultimately prove decisive in the struggle for Ukraines future. Russia has controlled large chunks of Ukraines south including the entire Kherson region since the early days of the war. Since late May, however, the Ukrainian army has been reporting counteroffensive operations against Russian forces, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying last week his military was gradually liberating the region. It has left observers wondering if Ukraine is laying the groundwork for a major counteroffensive in the south to open a new front and potentially tip the war in its favor. Kherson is really the gateway to Ukraines success, said Neil Melvin, director of international security studies at the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank in London. If Ukrainians can push through Kherson, then that raises the prospect that they can begin to turn the tables on the Russian invasion in a much bigger sense. Kherson is a strategically important city of almost 300,000 that serves as a gateway to broader control of the south. It was the first major city captured by Russia after the invasion four months ago. Located at the confluence of the Dnieper River and the Black Sea, just a two-hour drive from Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, it is critical to establishing a land corridor from Russian-controlled areas in the east all the way to Odesa in Ukraines southwest which analysts have said may be one of the goals of the Kremlins invasion. Story continues The Kherson region has been under the control of Russian forces since the early days of the invasion. (AP) While Ukraines gains are moderate at the moment, they serve an important purpose, Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst at the Kyiv-based Penta Center think tank, said. They, at least partially, divert Russias attention and resources from the Donbas, he said, referring to the industrial region in Ukraines east which has seen the most intense fighting in recent months. They also allow Kyiv to create footholds for a future counteroffensive there. The ultimate objective of such an offensive would be the recapture of Kherson, said Michael A. Horowitz, a geopolitical and security analyst and the head of intelligence at the consultancy Le Beck. The city sits on the west bank of the Dnieper River, in an area thats critical to the Ukrainian economy. In the longer run, pushing Russian forces out of southern Ukraine, and off the coast of the Black Sea, is far more critical to Kyiv than the battle in the east, he added. More than 130 miles southwest of Kherson in the Black Sea, Ukraine claimed a victory Thursday after Russia pulled out from a key strategic outpost that became symbolic of Ukrainian resistance early in the war. Moscow said its forces withdrew from Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island as a goodwill gesture. Ukraine, however, said the Russians hastily evacuated after successful missile and artillery strikes, and Kyiv thanked its Western partners for their assistance after a flurry of recent heavy weapons shipments. Image: UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT (Maxar Technologies / AFP - Getty Images) The island sits off Odesa, the crucial port that is one of many shipping routes the United States and others have accused Moscow of blockading in order to cut off grain exports and worsen the growing global food crisis. Russia has denied the accusation and said its withdrawal was evidence it didnt want to hamper agricultural shipments. After Ukraine has defeated Russian invaders at the Snake Island, they present their retreat as a gesture of good will. They always downplay their defeats this way. Partners should not be wary of providing Ukraine with more heavy weapons so that we liberate more of our lands. Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) June 30, 2022 For now, Russia is still dictating the pace of the war and where battles are waged, Horowitz said. But as we enter a longer war of attrition, an economically significant region like Kherson might become far more important, and so is Ukraines ability to challenge Russia in the Black Sea and bypass the Russian blockade, he said, adding that the Snake Island retreat was evidence of this. While Ukraine is threatening Russias hold on the south with conventional military forces, Kherson is also becoming a center for partisan warfare, Melvin said. Last week, a senior official in the Russian-installed administration was killed in an apparent assassination, Reuters reported. Ukraines military also reported last week that two Russian soldiers had been killed when a gunman opened fire at a waterside cafe in Kherson. NBC News could not independently verify either report. People gather for a ceremony to mark Unity Day in Kherson, Ukraine, on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022. (Brendan Hoffman/The New York Times) (Brendan Hoffman / The New York Times / Redux) Despite occupying Kherson for months, Russia has been struggling to find enough collaborators to comfortably establish full administrative control over the area, Fesenko said. The citys elected mayor, Igor Kolykhaev, has refused to work with the Russians since they took control. He was arrested Tuesday, according to his adviser, Galina Lyashevskaya, who told NBC News they had not heard from Kolykhaev since his detention and she was concerned for his life. Meanwhile, Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the new administration, said Wednesday that the region is preparing for a referendum to join Russia. The possibility of a sham vote has raised fears the area might be turned into a peoples republic, akin to the eastern breakaway territories Russia already controls, or even annexed directly. But Russias military is relatively thinly deployed in the area at the moment, Melvin said, while it focuses on the Donbas another reason why Ukraine is looking to push through. The question then is can Ukraine turn the momentum that they are building up in the south into something bigger? Melvin said. This is what we are going to see play out over the summer months. MAZURENKO ALONA THURSDAY, 30 JUNE 2022, 17:50 The Russian occupiers are withdrawing weapons and military equipment from storage in the most remote regions of Russia such as Kaliningrad Oblast and Sakhalin Island. Source: Oleksandr Motuzianyk, spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence, at a briefing, "Interfax-Ukraina" Quote: "In order to cover current losses in equipment, the Russians are withdrawing the necessary weapons and military equipment from storage. The Directorate General of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine has learned that, since April of this year, military equipment has been withdrawn from storage throughout Russia, including the most remote regions such as the Kaliningrad region and Sakhalin Island. The weapons and equipment are being repaired and prepared for transportation to operational areas for further use by the Russian military forces." Background: Crowds watch Nova Twins perform in the Greenpeace Field at Glastonbury 2022 (Getty Images) The roots of the rave tree have stretched far out across the vale of Avalon. On the Pyramid Stage, Greta Thunberg is the guest of honour. At the Other Stage, climate change awareness films screen between acts. But the hub and heart of Glastonburys activist mindset remains the Greenpeace Field, where unity and awareness over the worlds most urgent threats go hand in hand with all-day party vibes. Theres so much anxiety about whats coming and whats happening in the world, its important to remember that we need to come together and celebrate the good things that have happened, says Greenpeace spokesperson Pat Venditti, holed up in the fields Bowie-soundtracked backstage bar. The rave around the fields thirty-foot techno tree is hotting up outside at 1pm. Thats what we try to do with the field, to celebrate activism and celebrate movements that have created a lot of change. Established in 1991, the Greenpeace Field campaigns hard and parties harder. Besides the regular attractions of the vertical slide, skate park, Sunset Lounge cocktail bar and blossom-dappled rave tree, where Mel C spins Spice Girls hits and Don Letts roams the crowd recording voices to loop into his Chant Dub Live, the stage here is becoming a go-to destination in its own right. Friday sees a He.She.They takeover and a full bill of female or non-binary acts to recognise the value of all the voices in the movement to have a healthy planet, Venditti says featuring such cutting edge names as Nova Twins, Dream Nails and Billy Nomates. Self Esteem plays a secret set on Saturday, alongside Katy J Pearson and Tim Burgess, and the odd homegrown Hollywood superstar stops by. My first Glastonbury was 35 years ago, says Simon Pegg, settled backstage with Burgess, discussing their attempts to watch Wet Leg and the glory days of 87. I saw Taj Mahal, Crazyhead, Gaye Bikers On Acid I saw them, Burgess grins, and the Poppies as well. Yeah, I saw the Poppies, and Dr And The Medics, Pegg continues. I was seventeen, I went from college. It was all lawless then, there were no police here, so for the drug dealers it was like a Saturday market. I was this seventeen-year-old kid from Gloucester and theres all these people shouting out hash! Weed! They would sell their wares like they were selling apples. Story continues Pegg is here as an ambassador of Greenpeace, but hes no armchair activist. He recently hit the English Channel himself on a little rib boat as part of the Ocean Witness mission to chase away supertrawlers dredging the ocean bed. Its really damaging for the marine environment, he explains, so we went out and we chased off a bunch of these ships, it was really exciting. We got mooned by a French fisherman, that was fun. I think its important to do something. The Greenpeace rave tree in 2019 (Getty Images) Its worse than ever, isnt it? says Burgess. I used to blame my parents generation and obviously were gonna be blamed by future generations. My kid blames me, Pegg jokes, but hes well aware of the seriousness of humanitys situation. A thousand days, apparently, is all we have left before we reach the tipping point, and thats a terrifying statistic. Greenpeace are at the frontline of making people understand that. Though the Greenpeace Field sets out to celebrate activism in all its forms, from Black Lives Matter to Roe v Wade, the climate crisis understandably dominates conversation. On Friday in Beam the fields striking wooden maze that opens onto an idyllic central screening area Billie Eilishs mum Maggie Baird arrives to introduce a screening of her new documentary Overheated. The film features Billie, Emily Eavis, Vivienne Westwood and others talking about the impending dangers of climate change and the anxiety it imposes on new generations. I think it makes it relatable for young people and something you can stick with, because you see the devastation but then you shift to people who are feeling the same way youre feeling, she says. You get a little bit of each, so you dont get too overwhelmed at any one place. Overheated is an offshoot of Bairds Support + Feed campaign, which gives plant-based meals to people in need. Both emerged as the result of the Eilish familys deep-rooted environmental concerns, which are now spearheading real change to make the music industry more plant-friendly. The music industry has this potential to [have] major influence unlike any other art in a way, Baird explains, because they encounter such a large fan base and artists have very devoted fan bases. It has an opportunity to cast a very wide climate shadow and make a big impact. Crowds for Nova Twins (Getty Images) Six years ago when I started working with Billie on this, or five years ago when she started touring, I would ask about things and I always got the answer well, thats just how its done, the music industry is hard and its just how we do it. Thats not the answer we get anymore. People are excited to tell us about the changes theyre making. At the O2 they were excited to make sure it was all vegan food in the arena, not just in our catering. They were excited to show us what they were doing with water bottles. If you look at the history books in the future and you look back, you will go these people living this moment, what did they do? Did they rise to the occasion, or did they fail miserably? So its exciting to see the people who are really rising. Glastonbury, and the Greenpeace Field in particular, seemed the perfect fit for Overheated, Baird says. That was just a no brainer: Billie is going to headline, they have a Greenpeace area, its a perfect connection. Baird got her first taste of the spirit of the place when Billie played here in 2019. There was this magic to it, because you could see people for miles it seemed, and I loved the flags because in the distance it looked like Braveheart or something. Is the Glastonbury mindset something everyone needs to adopt to effect change? Absolutely. Three years ago we were here and I was very impressed at the time wow, they dont have plastic water bottles three years ago, that was ahead of its time, most festivals were not doing that. So they definitely have a much better mindset. The film focuses on individual changes we can all make, but is it governmental shifts that will really make the difference? I think its really both, Baird argues, because grassroots change leads to corporate and governmental change. We know that governments and corporations many times are only responding to financial reward and whats popular, so I think all the grassroots changes are crucial, but they dont in any way let off the hook the major industries that are the major part of the problem. But as individuals make changes in their lifestyles, they create interest and markets and attention - what they want to see, what they want to hear, what they want to read about, what they want to purchase, how they want to live their lives. That ultimately will influence the larger entities but of course, we cant forget that the larger entities, the government or corporations do need to be making the biggest changes. [But] what gives me hope is what gives a lot of people hope - at least now there is a momentum. On Sunday, everyman troubadour Beans On Toast lulls the Greenpeace crowd with an afternoon of Sunday love songs. A relaxing end to a weekend in the field that, perhaps more than any other, can lay claim to being the beating, and beat-heavy heart of Glastonbury. The field out to save the world one rave up at a time. DAKAR (Reuters) - Senegal's main opposition coalition called off planned protests on Wednesday to avoid disrupting end-of-school exams and preparations for the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday early next month, one of its leaders Ousmane Sonko said. There were fears Wednesday's banned protest would mirror similar nationwide demonstrations that turned violent on June 17 as police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds. Three people were killed during the protest. Some social media users had voiced concern about repercussions of more unrest on the upcoming holiday, locally known as "Tabaski", when families traditionally slaughter a pricey ram for a feast and have new clothes made. The protest could also have disrupted plans by those preparing to travel for the annual Hajj Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, which many in the Muslim-majority country join each year. "We have to listen to the people," Sonko told a news conference in the capital Dakar hours before protests were meant to kick off. "We have received messages and calls, so taking into account pilgrimages (to Mecca), exams, and Tabaski, we are postponing the demonstration," he said. Another member of the Yewwi Askan Wi coalition, Aida Mbodj, said the postponement would benefit tailors and other businesses that see an uptick in business ahead of Tabaski. Tensions have run high in Senegal since major protests broke out last year after Sonko was arrested on rape charges, which he denied. Many accuse Sall, who came to power in 2012, of trying to eliminate his competition and clearing the field to run for a third term, which he has neither confirmed nor denied. Anger flared again after Yewwi Askan Wi's proportional national candidate list was disqualified from a July 31 legislative election on technical grounds. During the past week, Sonko supporters responded to calls for a different kind of protest: banging post and pans together at 8 p.m. from windows and balconies. Story continues The opposition leader invited the public to join another 30-minute "mass saucepan concert" on Thursday. "The Senegalese (people) have a chance to end debates around the third term without any deaths," he said. "We need the people to vote massively against Macky Sall on July 31." (Reporting by Ngouda Dione and Diadie Ba; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Bate Felix and Alex Richardson) When Grace DeWitt recalled the robbery of her daughters and nieces lemonade stand on Norpoint Way, she said it was like something from a movie. We had a customer right behind him, and were all just kind of in shock, she told The News Tribune on Monday afternoon. We all just couldnt believe he did it because he, like, did it with a smile on his face. On Sunday, DeWitt reported to the Tacoma Police Department that a young man reached behind the stands cash register and stole about $80 late that afternoon. The stand is a ready-to-assemble, white counter space with nine green compartments and a yellow-and-white-striped overhang that says, Lemonade. It was a Christmas gift for the four girls running it: 13-year-old Leah Sleeper, 10-year-old Zaylani Juarez and 6-year-olds Layla DeWitt and Gabriela Sleeper. Sunday was only the second time they had used their gift to sell refreshments to neighbors. According to Grace DeWitt, the suspected robber stopped by once before the robbery and told the girls he forgot to bring cash. When he came back, he asked for a cup of lemonade. He said he wanted change for something for 25 cents, and he wanted change for $5, Grace DeWitt said. Then he was like, Oh, Im going to buy one more thing. Instead of picking out one of the assorted food items laid out on the stand, Dewitt said, the man reached over the counter and grabbed a stack of $5, $10 and $20 bills from the open cash register. The man then ran across the street and entered a blue SUV with three other people, according to Grace Dewitt. We were just like in shock, said Zaylani, who is one of Grace DeWitts nieces. We werent prepared for it at all. Scroll down to continue reading More news from KIRO 7 Story continues DOWNLOAD OUR FREE NEWS APP According to Tacoma police spokesperson Wendy Haddow, the department has not yet identified a suspect. In addition to filing a report with the police, Grace DeWitt detailed the incident in a NextDoor post. After the post, she said the girls received overwhelming community support. They totally made back their money, she said. They made enough to buy a snow cone machine, so theyre going to have snow cones, it comes on Wednesday. Grace DeWitt and her younger relatives feel some unease about the robbery. On Monday afternoon, as they set up the stand for another session, she took precautions to protect her daughters from being robbed again. Sorry, its gotta be in the yard, said Grace DeWitt after Zaylani asked to move the stand closer to a neighbors wooden fence. I know its hard, but its gotta be in the yard. Despite their newly heightened awareness, the girls will continue to sell refreshments throughout the summer. They plan to set up the stand two-to-three times a week until they go back to school. Bad things can happen, Leah said. But sometimes good karma can come back, like people who gave us the money back to be kind. It was really helpful, and now were back. This story was originally published by The News Tribune. Sara Cathey Sara Cathey Last year, when two-year-old Natalyn Mann was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease that resulted in the removal of both her kidneys, her whole family took tests to find out who might be a kidney match. Her aunt, Sara Cathey, turned out to be a perfect match. There was just one problem: Sara's weight. At 270 pounds, the South Carolina paramedic wasn't physically fit enough to make the donation. "I save complete strangers on a daily basis," Sara told WSAV. "There was nothing that was going to stand in my way." So, she started trying to lose weight. "It was all the motivation I needed. I had a great support team, my family 110% stood behind me," the Beaufort EMS worker told the local news station. "My co-workers, they are eating salads with me. The fire department is eating salads with me. The ER department is hiding the snacks so I don't eat them when I come in." Natalyn even FaceTimed Sara from the hospital to cheer her on during workouts. In just over a year, Sara shed 125 pounds. Recently, doctors cleared her for the surgery that will save her niece's life. The operation is scheduled for next week. "She's going to be good," Sara told WSAV. "She's got her second chance and we are doing it. We are doing it." They both feel so optimistic, in fact, that they're already making plans for after surgery. "She keeps saying, 'Nope I don't need to eat,'" Sara shared. "'Not until Aunt Sara gives me her kidney. When I get Aunt Sara's kidney, I can have my macaroni.' "That's all she wants is some macaroni and chocolate and she's going to get it. And I am going to eat some mac and cheese with her," she continued. "I think I've earned some mac and cheese." You can help with the family's medical expenses here. Good luck Sara and Natalyn, our hearts are with you. The state unit investigating two recent Baltimore County Police shootings that left civilians dead released video footage Thursday from both incidents, as the probes continue. Body camera from officers at the May 4 shooting in Essex shows 39-year-old Ralph Picarello III holding a knife and carving fork, stepping quickly toward officers before one deploys a Taser and two shoot their firearms at him. The other footage shows Joseph Robert Henry Thompson, 66, answer a Towson apartment door June 5 brandishing a handgun and pointing it at police, then appearing to fire it. Both Picarello and Thompson were shot and killed by police, prompting investigations by the state Attorney Generals Offices Independent Investigations Division. The unit is charged under state law with reviewing police encounters that lead to civilian deaths, including shootings, in-custody deaths and fatal pursuits. In the Towson shooting, one officer was shot in the hand and a woman was found inside the apartment suffering from gunshot wounds. No one but Picarello was injured in the Essex shooting. The May and June fatal police shootings mark the third and fourth Baltimore County fatalities to be investigated since the unit started work Oct. 1. Baltimore County prosecutors declined to bring charges in the first two incidents, one of which was a shooting by a Baltimore County Police lieutenant and the other a fatal vehicle pursuit by Maryland Transportation Authority Police. In the Essex incident, officers arrive at a home on Boundbrook Way for a report of a physical domestic disturbance. The footage released Thursday shows Picarello standing in a kitchen asking a woman in the home for money and a ride. Picarello says he will go into defense mode if anyone touches him, as officers collect information. Minutes later, one officer suggests Picarello let police take him to a hospital and the man refuses. The officer replies that unfortunately theyll have to go there. Story continues No, were not. No, were not. Im telling you right now, said Picarello, bending down to grab a knife and carving fork from the ground. Officers shout for him to drop the knife, but he does not do so. Picarello then moves quickly from behind the kitchen table toward the officers, and they fire shots at him, striking him. A Taser also can be heard. In the footage, officers can be seen putting handcuffs on Picarello as he is apparently unconscious, then starting first aid. Picarello died on the scene, investigators from the Independent Investigations Division have said. The unit identified the officers who fired weapons on scene as D. Manning and E. Pellegrino, which a salary database identifies as Derrick Manning and Eric Pellegrino. The officer who deployed a Taser has not been identified. In the June 4 Towson shooting, the newly released camera footage shows one responding officer outside the front doors of the Virginia Towers apartment building when shots can be heard from inside. It sounds like gunfire, says one bystander, before the officer enters the building. Investigators have said police went to the apartment where unknown trouble was initially reported. At least five officers can be seen on video footage in the hallway, approaching one apartment door and knocking. When it opens and Thompson appears in the doorway, officers call out, Let me see your hands, and Hands, hands, hands, before he raises his weapon. The video appears to show a muzzle flash from Thompsons handgun. Several more shots ring out and Thompson falls to the ground. The exact number of gunshots cant be determined in the video footage. Investigators say three Baltimore County officers fired their weapons, along with Thompson, who died on the scene. The officer who was shot runs to the end of the hallway and alerts the others of his injury. Two other officers can be seen standing by Thompsons body. Officials previously identified the Baltimore County Police employees who fired weapons as officers S. Johnson, C. Klapka and R. Fitzgerald. A county employee salary database lists officers Scott Johnson, Cody Klapka and Robert Fitzgerald, all of whose tenures with the agency correspond with the investigative units information. Information provided at the start of the video released Thursday states that the injured officer was shot in the finger and was not one of the officers who fired weapons. The wounded officer, who has not been identified, has since been released from the hospital. The Independent Investigations Division also said a woman was inside the apartment suffering from gunshot wounds and was hospitalized. It has not identified her or specified who shot her. Baltimore County Police Chief Melissa Hyatt at the time praised officers response in the Towson shooting to what they believed was gunfire, calling it in line with training. And she called the shooting incredibly frightening. I could very easily be coming out here to talk about a very different outcome for our police officers, Hyatt said the night of the shooting. Dave Folderauer, president of the Fraternal Order of Police lodge representing Baltimore County Police, said Thursday that he was disappointed the video didnt include lifesaving efforts by police for the woman inside the apartment. They went beyond their training in an attempt to save her life, Folderauer said. These are the things that our cops are doing every single day, but rarely get noticed for it. The Independent Investigations Divisions protocols call for the agency to generally release such footage within 14 days. Situations that could require a delay include technical delays to prevent civilian witness identification, the need to complete witness interviews or the need to allow family members to view footage, according to the division. Baltimore County Police also shot and seriously injured a 19-year-old driver in April. That shooting was investigated by the agency and prosecutors presented it to a grand jury that determined it was justified. Officials have said Shane Radomski, the person shot by police, was not one of the homicide suspects police were attempting to arrest that afternoon. Radomski was accused of hitting an officers vehicle. The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a case that could dramatically change the way elections for Congress and the presidency are conducted, handing more power to state legislatures and blocking state courts from reviewing challenges to the procedures and results. The justices will consider whether state courts, finding violations of their state constitutions, can order changes to federal elections and the once-a-decade redrawing of congressional districts. The case probably will be argued in the fall. Advertisement This case could profoundly alter the balance of power in states and prevent state courts and agencies from providing protections for peoples right to vote, said Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine. Theres a wide range of ways the court could rule on this. Taken to its extreme, it would be a radical reworking of our system of running elections. In the most extreme example, attorneys said, if the court rules no entity besides state legislatures can set rules regarding federal elections, that could stop a governor from vetoing election bills, or a state court from blocking rules that set up different voting hours in urban and rural precincts. Advertisement The case, an appeal from North Carolina Republicans, challenges a state court ruling throwing out the congressional districts drawn by the states General Assembly that made GOP candidates likely victors in 10 of the states 14 congressional districts. The Supreme Court has never invoked what is known as the independent state legislature doctrine, but four of the courts conservative justices have expressed interest in taking on the subject. One of them, Justice Clarence Thomas, was among three justices who advanced it in the Bush v. Gore case that settled the 2000 presidential election. It only takes four of the nine justices to agree to hear a case. A majority of five is needed for an eventual decision. The issue has arisen repeatedly in cases from North Carolina and Pennsylvania, where Democratic majorities on the states highest courts have invoked voting protections in their state constitutions to frustrate the plans of Republican-dominated legislatures. The case comes as state courts have become increasingly involved in redistricting, the consequence of a 2019 decision in which the Supreme Court said federal courts could no longer handle claims of illegal partisan gerrymandering. Initially, in cases in states like North Carolina and Pennsylvania, that hurt Republicans and helped Democrats. But courts in Democratic-dominated states like Maryland and especially New York then threw out maps as Democratic gerrymanders, leaving Republicans with a slight edge at the end of the once-a-decade congressional redistricting process. The high court already has another significant redistricting case on its to-do list for the fall, a reconsideration of how the Voting Rights Act requires majority-minority districts to be drawn to ensure marginalized groups have a chance at electing their preferred representatives. But the North Carolina case has implications far beyond the arcane realm of redistricting, The independent state legislative doctrine could also hold that state courts cannot stop legislatures from imposing any restrictions they want on congressional voting, or even the selection of electors who choose the president of the United States. North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore, who filed the appeal to the high court, cheered the news that the case will be heard. This case is not only critical to election integrity in North Carolina, but has implications for the security of elections nationwide, Moore, a Republican, said in a statement. Advertisement Voting rights groups were furious. In a radical power grab, self-serving politicians want to defy our states highest court and impose illegal voting districts upon the people of North Carolina, said Bob Phillips of Common Cause, North Carolina, which brought the lawsuit that overturned the GOP-drawn maps. We will continue to stand up for the people of our state and nation as this case goes to the U.S. Supreme Court. We must stop this dangerous attack on our freedom to vote. Associated Press writer Gary Robertson in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report. Activists in Sudan have called for mass rallies Thursday to demand the reversal of an October military coup that prompted foreign governments to slash aid, deepening a chronic economic crisis. The protests come on the anniversary of a previous coup in 1989, which toppled the country's last elected civilian government and ushered in three decades of iron-fisted rule by Islamist-backed general Omar al-Bashir. They also come on the anniversary of 2019 protests demanding that the generals, who had ousted Bashir in a palace coup earlier that year, cede power to civilians. Those protests led to the formation of the mixed civilian-military transitional government which was toppled in last year's coup. Security was tight in the capital Khartoum on Thursday despite the recent lifting of a state of emergency imposed after the coup. An AFP correspondent said internet and phone lines had been disrupted since the early hours, a measure the Sudanese authorities often impose to prevent mass gatherings. Sudan has been roiled by near-weekly protests as the country's economic woes have deepened since army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power last year. More than 100 people have been killed in protest-related violence, according to UN figures, as the military ahs cracked down on the anti-coup movement. "June 30 is our way to bring down the coup and block the path of any fake alternatives," said the Forces for Freedom and Change, an alliance of civilian groups whose leaders were ousted in the coup. Activists have called for "million-strong" rallies to mark the "earthquake of June 30". Small-scale demonstrations took place in the run-up to call for a huge turnout on Thursday. UN special representative Volker Perthes called on the security forces to exercise restraint. "Violence against protesters will not tolerated," he said in a statement, adding that nobody should "give any opportunity to spoilers who want to escalate tensions in Sudan". The foreign ministry criticised the UN envoy's comments, saying they were built on "assumptions" and "contradict his role as facilitator" in troubled talks on ending the political crisis. Story continues Alongside the African Union and east African bloc IGAD, the United Nations has been attempting to broker talks between the generals and civilians, but they have been boycotted by all the main civilian factions. The UN has warned that the deepening economic and political crisis threatens to push one third of the country's population of more than 40 million towards life-threatening food shortages. ab-mz/kir/dv (Bloomberg) -- A deeply divided US Supreme Court dealt a major blow to President Joe Bidens climate-change agenda, restricting the Environmental Protection Agencys ability to curb power-plant emissions and saying Congress would have to act to give the agency more authority. Most Read from Bloomberg The 6-3 ruling interpreting the US Clean Air Act will keep the administration from imposing the type of wide-ranging emissions-cutting plan the EPA tried to put in place when Barack Obama was president. It limits the agencys available tools amid increasing evidence that climate change is causing rising sea levels and more extreme weather patterns. The ruling could have a broad impact and affect other regulatory agencies. The majority said that, while the EPA can regulate power plant emissions, the agency cant try to shift power generation away from fossil-fuel plants to cleaner sources, as Obamas Clean Power Plan sought to do. Writing for the court, Chief Justice John Roberts said Congress needs to speak more explicitly to give an agency that much power. A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body, Roberts wrote. The courts three Democratic-appointed justices -- Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan -- blasted the ruling. The court appoints itself -- instead of Congress or the expert agency -- the decisionmaker on climate policy, Kagan wrote for the three dissenters. I cannot think of many things more frightening. The ruling casts fresh doubt on Bidens pledge to reduce US emissions in half by the end of the decade and his goal of a carbon-free electric grid by 2035. Hitting those targets will be impossible without regulations to stifle greenhouse gases from oil wells, automobiles and power plants, as well as tax incentives designed to spur clean energy, according to several analyses. Story continues Biden said in a statement the ruling is another devastating decision that aims to take our country backwards and risks damaging our nations ability to keep our air clean and combat climate change. He vowed to work with the EPA and other affected agencies to review the opinion and find ways to legally continue protecting people from pollution and tackle the climate crisis. He also said the administration would work with states and cities and push for congressional action. The Supreme Courts decision does not mean the end of President Bidens climate agenda, but the administration will now have to quickly assess which regulatory actions it can still move forward on and which actions it must rethink or abandon, said Kevin Minoli, formerly a senior official in the EPAs Office of General Counsel. Key Doctrine Roberts pointed to the so-called major questions doctrine, saying we presume that Congress intends to make major policy decisions itself, not leave those decisions to agencies. The courts reasoning could spur challenges to other federal regulations, from EPA automobile emissions curbs to vaccine mandates from the Centers for Disease Control, particularly when issues of congressional authorization are involved. The big thing that this case makes clear is that there is now this major questions doctrine that agencies will have to grapple with, said Tom Lorenzen, of Crowell & Moring, a former assistant chief of the Justice Departments environmental division. You can expect opponents of federal regulations to be raising that in litigation challenging a host of EPA and other regulations, including automobile emissions. Under the Clean Power Plan, states were encouraged to shift electricity generation from higher-emitting sources, such as coal, and toward lower-emitting options, such as renewable power. The Clean Power Plan never took effect, and when Donald Trump became president, the EPA rescinded the rule and adopted a narrower approach. The Supreme Court case grew out of a group of legal challenges to the Trump rule. A federal appeals court in Washington said the Trump plan was based on an overly restrictive read of the EPAs authority. That prompted backers of the Trump rule -- companies including Westmoreland Mining Holdings, and 19 Republican-led states led by West Virginia -- to turn to the nations highest court. Their appeal said the lower court ruling would let the EPA remake the US electric system, going well beyond what Congress intended when it enacted the Clean Air Act in 1970. The Biden administration said the text of the Clean Air Act doesnt preclude efforts to shift power generation to cleaner sources. The White House drew support in the case from a mix of industries, including technology companies and electric utilities, as well as environmental organizations. The case centered on a Clean Air Act provision that requires the EPA to identify the best system of emission reduction for existing pollution sources and then tasks states to come up with implementation plans. The cases are West Virginia v. EPA, 20-1530; North American Coal Co. v. EPA, 20-1531; Westmoreland Mining Holdings v. EPA, 20-1778; and North Dakota v. EPA, 20-1780. (Updates with Biden statement starting in eighth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. Members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' Science and Security Board, Robert Rosner and Suzet McKinney, reveal the 2021 setting of the Doomsday Clock: It is still 100 seconds to midnight. To encourage us to think about the unthinkable, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists sets a Doomsday Clock, showing how close humanity is (in metaphorical seconds) to the midnight of apocalypse. California now needs an Independence Clock, showing how close we are to that seemingly unthinkable moment when our state might depart the U.S., and become an independent nation. Last week, that prospect drew closer, courtesy of the U.S. Supreme Court. First, justices overturned a century of legal precedent that had allowed California communities to limit public gun possession endangering laws that have saved lives. Then, the court reversed Roe v. Wade and eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion a right enshrined in our state constitution and supported by majorities of Californians of every political party, region, and demographic group. These decisions were like earthquakes unsettling but unsurprising. They were enacted by a far-right court majority that exists because Americas anti-democratic constitution gives less representation and less voting power to Californians, both in choosing a president (who nominates justices) and in electing a Senate (which confirms them). The two decisions follow a fusillade of federal failings that have harmed Californians These include a pandemic response that cost nearly 100,000 Californian lives; a generation-long war on terror that killed more soldiers from California than from any other state; attacks on our efforts to end the drug war and police abuses; attempts to cancel our environmental laws; denial and delay of disaster aid; accusations that our elections are fraudulent; and the violation of the rights of our immigrants and their families. To cope, California has had to behave more like a separate nation than a state. We have adopted our own immigration policy, signed our own environmental treaties with other countries, funded our own research on subjects from guns to stem cells, and successfully pressured corporations to privilege our state regulations over national ones. Story continues But how much more can a state handle, governmentally, economically, emotionally? The Supreme Court made clear last week that we can expect no future respite. I say this not just because Clarence Thomas declared that the courts should cancel the rights to contraception and same-sex marriage. I say this because the courts method of decision-making does not account for Californians lives or preferences. Both the guns and abortion decisions rely on peculiar readings of history focused on American and English practices of the 18th and earlier centuries, generations before womens suffrage, before slaverys end, before California was even a state. The decisions employ a mode of historical analogy that lacks the rigor of palm reading, much less serious constitutional analysis. The troubles will persist beyond this court. Given our disenfranchisement, what is to stop a future Congress and president from canceling our protections for women or gay people or minorities or immigrants, our climate laws, or even our commitment to making it easier for our people to vote? As an optimist, Ive previously argued that democratic reforms in California and elsewhere could solve this American crisis. With more and better participatory tools from citizens assemblies to national referenda the U.S. could re-constitute itself as a modern democracy. But the open hostility to democracy of this court suggests that such reforms do not stand a chance. Thats why, as fanciful as California secession might sound, the Independence Clock is ticking closer to midnight. Last year, a University of Virginia poll found 41% support among Biden voters and 52% support among Trump voters for their own states forming their own separate nations. Is it time for California to go? Probably not. But its not too early to pack a bag. We badly need an open statewide conversation, including major media and our elected leaders, about independence. Joe Mathews writes the Connecting California column for Zocalo Public Square. This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: After Supreme Court decisions, California may need an Independence Clock Smoke pours from a coal power plant outside Pittsburgh in 2013. The Supreme Court ruled today in favor of a number of coal interests against the EPA (Getty Images) The US Supreme Court has delivered a severe blow today to the federal governments ability to tackle the climate crisis. Hours before breaking for summer recess, the justices announced a 6-3 ruling from its conservative majority in favour of the plaintiffs in the case, West Virginia v EPA. It is a significant win for the plaintiffs, nearly two dozen Republican-leaning states and fossil fuel interests led by West Virginia, who argued for limits to government power in regulating greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants. The decision caps off a near decade-long legal battle that started under the Obama administration and could kneecap President Joe Bidens ambitious plans to slash domestic emissions, which he has pledged to cut in half by 2030. This is a breaking story, more to follow The Supreme Court on Thursday limited the Environmental Protection Agencys ability to curb power plant emissions, delivering a blow to the Biden administration efforts to combat climate change. In one of the final opinions of the courts 2021-22 term, the six conservative justices ruled that Congress had not clearly given the agency the authority to broadly regulate carbon emissions from power plants. Capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible solution to the crisis of the day, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority decision. But it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme . A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body. Republicans hailed the ruling as a victory against administrative bureaucracy while Democrats and environmentalists warned that it would have dire environmental and public health implications. President Joe Biden called the ruling another devastating decision that aims to take our country backwards, adding: While this decision risks damaging our nations ability to keep our air clean and combat climate change, I will not relent in using my lawful authorities to protect public health and tackle the climate crisis. Heres a rundown of some reactions: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY): The consequences of this decision will ripple across the entire federal government, from the regulation of food and drugs to our nations health care system, all of which will put American lives at risk, making it all the more imperative that Democrats soon pass meaningful legislation to address the climate crisis. Mr. Schumer declared in a statement. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): [T]he Court has undone illegal regulations issued by the EPA without any clear congressional authorization and confirmed that only the peoples representatives in Congress not unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats may write our nations laws. The ruling also pushes back against the overbearing administrative state, which Democrats have expanded dramatically in recent years. The Constitution states clearly that the lawmaking process lies with the people and their elected representatives, not with opaque federal agencies. I am glad the Supreme Court affirmed this fact and hope other overeager bureaucrats take notice. Story continues Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee: Todays decision makes a mockery of the clear separation of powers outlined in our Constitution and subverts decades of settled law. The Clean Air Act is emphatically clear that EPA has both the authority and the obligation to protect public health and regulate dangerous air pollution like greenhouse gases. The Supreme Courts blatant dismissal of the will of Congress is an alarming display of hubris, the consequences of which will be felt far beyond this case. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee: If Congress had intended to give EPA such sweeping authority to transform an entire sector of our economy, Congress would have done so explicitly. Todays decision by the Supreme Court is welcome news and further proves that EPA overstepped its authority by imposing enormously burdensome regulations on states to reconfigure our electric grid despite Congresss rejection. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), chair of the Senate Finance Committee: The Republicans on the Supreme Court are not going to allow any meaningful administration efforts to combat climate change. Its crystal clear. The only way to tackle this problem is through congressional action, which is why its so important that Congress pas our clean energy tax credit package. The bottom line: The Supreme Courts ruling inevitably pushes the EPA to get creative, but the likely effect will be to push even more responsibility for cutting emissions to the states where most of the action has been, Bloomberg columnist Liam Denning writes. Some states are doing yeomans work, but a fragmented approach means higher costs and slower progress. Like what you're reading? Sign up for our free newsletter. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case about Republican lawmakers wanting to draw partisan election maps without interference from state high courts. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) The Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear a major election case and decide whether North Carolina's Republican lawmakers have the power to draw a partisan election map without interference from state judges. At issue is a potentially far-reaching shift in election law, one that could affect congressional and presidential elections. In the wake of President Trump's loss in the 2020 election, Republican lawmakers in several states flirted with the idea that they had the power to ignore the vote tally in favor of Joe Biden and instead choose their own slate of electors, who would vote to reelect Trump. The case of Moore vs. Harper does not go that far, but it asks the court to uphold the notion that the state legislators have the sole and "independent" authority to set the rules for federal elections in their states, without interference or oversight by the governor or state judges. This is referred to as the "independent state legislature" doctrine. Its basis, according to GOP lawyers, is the provision in the Constitution that says the "manner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof." In the past, it has been understood that while legislators set the rules for elections including drawing the map of congressional districts the governor, state supreme court and voters can also play a role. The U.S. high court adopted that broader view in 2015, but it was a 5-4 decision. The majority ruled against Arizona's Republican-controlled Legislature and upheld a ballot measure approved by the voters that created an independent commission to draw the election districts. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the court's opinion, which was joined by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, while Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented. In March, Thomas and Alito called for revisiting the issue in the North Carolina case, and they were joined this time by Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh. Story continues Last year, the North Carolina Legislature drew a new map of congressional districts that is widely expected to elect a Republican in 10 of 14 districts, even if the voters statewide split about evenly between Republicans and Democrats. The North Carolina Supreme Court rejected the map as unconstitutional in February. Its justices, a majority of whom were Democrats, said the General Assembly does not have "unlimited power to draw electoral maps that keep themselves and our members of Congress in office as long as they want, regardless of the will of the people, by making some votes more powerful than others. ... We hold that our constitutions Declaration of Rights guarantees the equal power of each persons voice in our government through voting in elections that matter." It ordered a redrawn map that is expected to give Democratic candidates a good chance of winning six of the 14 seats. In March, the Supreme Court turned down a GOP appeal seeking to block the use of the revised map in this year's elections because it was too late to make additional changes before this year's election. But Kavanaugh said at the time that it was important for the justices to hear arguments on the issue in the fall and decide early next year whether state legislators have the sole authority to set the rules for federal elections in their states. It's not clear how the chief justice will view the issue now. Three years ago, he wrote a 5-4 decision that threw out a federal court ruling that struck down an earlier highly partisan election map for North Carolina. It gave GOP candidates a clear edge in 10 of 13 congressional districts. Roberts said federal judges had no authority to decide when an election map was too partisan and that such disputes could be brought in state courts. That in turn helped trigger the litigation that led to the state supreme court ruling that is now being challenged. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Climate change. Get the latest. The Supreme Court limited the Environmental Protection Agencys ability to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants in a 6-3 ruling handed down Tuesday that will have far-reaching implications on the federal governments ability to fight climate change. The courts conservative majority held in West Virginia v. EPA that the Trump-era EPA did not violate the Clean Air Act by significantly softening planned limits on carbon emissions from power plants, signaling to future administrations that the pollution causing climate change can go effectively unregulated, and leaving the job of passing binding emissions restrictions to Congress. The court further agreed with a collection of Republican-led states and coal industry groups that the EPA, because its head is a political appointee, cannot accelerate the power sectors transition from fossil fuels to clean energy because that goes beyond the powers granted to the EPA under the Clean Air Act. Supreme Court building on June 20 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible solution to the crisis of the day, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, quoting from a previous court ruling. But it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme. President Joe Biden voiced his bitter opposition to the ruling in a statement Thursday. "The Supreme Courts ruling in West Virginia vs. EPA is another devastating decision that aims to take our country backwards," he said in the statement. "While this decision risks damaging our nations ability to keep our air clean and combat climate change, I will not relent in using my lawful authorities to protect public health and tackle the climate crisis." When the EPA unveiled the Clean Power Plan, in 2015, it did not merely require new pollution control technology, as has typically been the approach taken to limiting conventional pollutants. Instead, the rule set limits for the emissions of a states entire electricity portfolio that could be met through other approaches, including switching from coal to solar and wind power or reducing demand for electricity at peak hours through pricing shifts. Experts refer to these kinds of measures as outside the fence line of the source of pollution, in this case a power plant. Story continues In 2017, under then-President Donald Trump, the EPA revoked the rule, arguing that the agency lacked the power to use the outside the fence line approach. Petitioners such as the American Lung Association sued to get the rule reinstated, arguing that the Clean Power Plan was legally valid and the Trump-era replacement known as the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, which did not require anything except modest gains in efficiency from coal-fired plants, was too weak to meet the EPAs legal obligation to regulate carbon dioxide. (In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Massachusetts v. EPA that the EPA is required to regulate carbon dioxide because it causes climate change, and the Clean Air Act mandates that the agency regulate any air pollutant that can reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.) EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images) Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with the public health groups and overturned the Trump-era rule, finding that the ACE Rule and its embedded repeal of the Clean Power Plan rested critically on a mistaken reading of the Clean Air Act. The court sided with West Virginia et al., which had challenged that lower court ruling against the ACE rule. The majority, including three justices appointed by Trump, held that the Trump-era rule was valid and met the agencys legal obligation. This decision will allow future administrations opposed to action against climate change to avoid implementing meaningful regulation of carbon emissions. The three justices appointed by Democratic presidents dissented, in an opinion written by Justice Elena Kagan. They agreed with the lower court that the Trump-era EPA misinterpreted the Clean Air Act and violated the law when they scrapped the Clean Power Plan and replaced it with the ACE rule. Today, the Court strips the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the power Congress gave it to respond to the most pressing environmental challenge of our time, Kagan wrote, referring to another precedent. The bottom line for the Biden administration is that a new rule governing power plant emissions, which the EPA will soon propose, cannot require emissions reductions that are achievable only by moving away from coal. EPA Administrator Michael Regan has previously said the agency is waiting for this ruling to write its forthcoming regulation, so that it knows what is permissible. Now, as a result of the ruling, the next Clean Power rule can only require emissions limits that are achieved through pollution control technology. Coal that will be burned to generate electricity moves down a conveyor belt at the American Electric Power coal-fired John E. Amos Power Plant in Winfield, W.V., on July 18, 2018. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images) After the February oral arguments in West Virginia v. EPA, environmental law experts predicted that a ruling such as this would limit the ability of federal regulations to combat climate change. Its a significant constraint on EPAs ability to regulate the greenhouse gas emissions of existing power plants, Richard Revesz, a professor at New York University School of Law, told Yahoo News in April Youre taking an important tool out of the EPAs toolkit. It might ultimately affect the stringency of the rule, and if it doesnt affect the stringency of the rule, it might end up being more costly. This decision follows a string of rulings limiting environmental regulations. In April, the Supreme Court upheld a Trump-era rule limiting state and tribal authority to veto projects such as pipelines that could pollute their waters. _____ Global temperatures are on the rise and have been for decades. Step inside the data and see the magnitude of climate change. In yet another historic reversal of long-standing precedent, the US Supreme Court on Thursday ruled 6-3 along ideological lines to severely limit the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency in regulating carbon emissions from power plants, further hamstringing the Biden administration's ability to combat global warming. The case, West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 20-1530, centered both on whether the Clean Air Act gives the EPA the power to issue regulations for the power industry and whether Congress must "speak with particular clarity when it authorizes executive agencies to address major political and economic questions," a theory the court refers to as the major questions doctrine. In short, the court holds that only Congress, not the EPA, has the power to regulate emissions. Capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible solution to the crisis of the day, Chief Justice Roberts wrote in the majority opinion. But it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme [...] A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body. Hard on the heels of snatching away fundamental liberties, the right-wing activist court just curtailed vital climate action,Jason Rylander, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversitys Climate Law Institute, responded in a statement Thursday. Its a bad decision and an unnecessary one, but the EPA can still limit greenhouse gases at the source under Section 111 and more broadly through other Clean Air Act provisions. In the wake of this ruling, EPA must use its remaining authority to the fullest. The EPA case grew out of the Trump administration's efforts to relax carbon emission regulations from power plants, what it called the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, arguing that the Clean Air Act limited the EPA's authority to enact measures "that can be put into operation at a building, structure, facility or installation." A divided three-judge appeals court struck down the rule on Trump's last full day as president, noting that it was based on a "fundamental misconstruction" of the CAA and gleaned only through a tortured series of misreadings. Story continues Had it gone into effect, the Affordable Clean Energy Rule would have replaced the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan of 2015, which would have forced the energy industry further away from coal power. The CPP never went into effect as the Supreme Court also blocked that in 2016, deciding that individual states didn't have to adhere to the rule until the EPA fielded a litany of frivolous lawsuits from conservative states and the coal industry (the single-circle Venn diagram of which being West Virginia). The E.P.A. has ample discretion in carrying out its mandate, the appeals court stated. But it may not shirk its responsibility by imagining new limitations that the plain language of the statute does not clearly require. This decision doesn't just impact the EPA's ability to do its job, from limiting emissions from specific power plants to operating the existing cap-and-trade carbon offset policy, it also hints at what other regressive steps the court's conservative majority may be planning to take. During the pandemic, the court already blocked eviction moratoriums enacted by the CDC and told OSHA that it couldn't mandate vaccination requirements for large companies. More recently, the court declared states incapable of regulating their own gun laws but absolutely good-to-go on regulating women's bodily autonomy, gutted our Miranda Rights, and further stripped Native American tribes of their sovereignty. Today, the court strips the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the power Congress gave it to respond to the most pressing environmental challenge of our time, Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the minority. Kagan was joined by Justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor in her dissent. The story of the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, is one of the most notorious serial bomber and terrorist cases in history, and now a new Apple Original podcast Project Unabom, with original reporting from host Eric Benson, takes you inside the story of Ted Kaczynski like youve never heard before. He is someone who had a really defined ideology, and so defined that he coerced these newspapers into publishing his manifesto, Benson told Yahoo Canada. I thought, that's really interesting, what's the relationship between ideas and violence and terrorism and murder. What really was going on? What was going on in those 18 years? How much of it was fuelled by these ideas? How much of it was fuelled by other things, other more personal grievances? That sort of set me off on a course to try to figure out who Ted Kaczynski was. Its the Unabombers manifesto that largely continues to fascinate people, keying into fears and concerns around the accelerated progress of technological advancements. "Ted's ideas, which is this really kind of angry attack on all technology dating back a long time, seemed to really resonate with people from the minute it was published," Benson said. "There aren't a lot of terrorist manifestos that would be considered in the opinion pages of newspapers and this one was from the start, and I think it's continued to kind of fascinate people." [As] technology has continued to progress and accelerate, as it always does, there's a strain of people are really fascinated by all of this new technology, it makes our lives easier and richer in a lot of ways, but there's downsides that people notice. When they get really frustrated, I noticed friends of mine who would sort of say, 'I gotta give it all up.' This technology is leading us to bad things, it's making us feel alienated, it's dividing us, it's destroying our world, and those are a lot of ideas that the Unabomber expressed.Eric Benson, host of 'Project Unabom' Project Unabom starts off with Benson explaining that he is at the Special Collections Research Center at the University of Michigan, which has the collected written works of the Unabomber. Even though Benson did reach out to Kaczynski and did not hear back, the podcast host highlighted that after accessing the information at the archive, he realized he didnt actually need that one-on-one conversation. "It's his journals dating back to the early 1970s and you get some really intimate portraits of what his life was like,...the nice things about his life and then the kind of intense frustrations and anger that would come up," he said. "He wrote two quite robust autobiographies at different points in his life that really go into a lot of detail about his development and his path to radicalization, and his path to violence. So having all that at my disposal, it just made me feel like I could tell this story with a lot more depth. Project Unabom will premiere June 27, 2022 on Apple Podcasts. Dungeons & Dragons suspects A significant part of the information that Eric Benson reveals in Project Unabom is the story of a group of original suspects in the case, Dungeons & Dragons players from the Chicago area, who remained suspects, essentially, up until Ted Kaczynski was arrested in 1996. I didn't know if I was going to be able to penetrate it because most FBI agents will not really talk about the suspects that didn't pan out," Benson said. "We knew that Ted Kaczynski was suspect 2,416 for the FBI and so it was a question of, who were the 2,415 suspects there, and I knew the Dungeons & Dragons group was there. I thought that story just needs to be told, it's a totally fascinating part of this case and the fact that they remained suspects for so long, just shows how hard it was to narrow in on Ted Kaczynski. The story of how this group became suspects started with quite a crazy coincidence in the summer of 1978. Greg (his last name not used in the podcast) was a student of engineering professor E.J, Smith at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, but took an incomplete in that class to get to his summer job, going back to his family home in a suburb of Chicago to work for the citys forestry department. A bomb had been placed in a mailing envelope, found at the University of Illinois, addressed to Professor Smith, and the return address was for a professor at Northwestern University named Buckley Crist. Crist happened to be one of the professors that Gregs mother was a secretary for at the university. Thats how Greg initially became a suspect in the Unabomber case, extending to a local group that Greg played Dungeons & Dragons with in Chicago. In Project Unabomer, we hear from Greg and two other members of this friend group, Jeff Ward, who became a main suspect, and Dave White. Jeff opened up all these parts of the story,...Jeff began to tell me that this wasn't just a story about the FBI pursuing these Dungeons & Dragons suspects, this was a story about this close knit friend group that ended up kind of turning against each other and breaking up under the pressure of this FBI investigation, Benson said. For White, he really thought, and actually still believes to this day, that Ward was involved in the early bombings. But for Greg, being involved in this case was particularly difficult for him, indicating in the podcast that he is still traumatized by the years of FBI interrogations. He lost out on opportunities by being a suspect in a federal terrorism investigation, Benson said. He ended up moving away from Chicago, at least in part because of these suspicions, and he's really kind of moved on with his life. It took a bunch of conversations, and of course offering him a bit of privacy and that we don't say his last name or some of the other details about his life, for him to agree to participate, but up to this point, I think he's been happy that his voice is in there, and I am too because it all starts with him. The mother of Unabomb suspect Ted Kazcynski, Wanda Kazcynski (L, centre), walks out with defense team member Gary Sowards (L) at the federal courthouse in Sacramento, January 20. Kazcynski's brother David Kazcynski (R) walks out with Denise De LaRue (R, centre), a member of the defense team. An unidentified person is seen at rear, centre. A psychiatrist has found Kaczynski mentally competent to stand trial, and lawyers for both sides said January 20 the case could get back on track. UNABOMBER 'David is the heart of the show' On Monday, July 4, the fourth episode of Project Unabom will be released, an episode that Eric Benson is particularly proud of, which dives deeper into David and Ted Kaczynski as brothers. David Kaczynski actually initially declined to participate in the podcast, but ultimately agreed to share details about his relationship with his brother. David is the heart of the show, Benson said. We started making the show unsure if David was going to participate, but at this point, looking back, I have no idea what this show would have been like if David had stayed with his initial position and said no. Youll likely recall the Unabomber's brother is credited with putting an end to the 18 year hunt for the infamous terrorist, after recognizing his brothers writing when the manifesto was published by The New York Times and The Washington Post, and going to the FBI. In the podcast, David talks about how his brother was his role model and hero growing up, embodying a level of education and intellect that he aspired towards, but Project Unabom also takes us inside the moments when those feelings started to shift for David. He, like Ted, I think has a real instinct towards privacy, Benson said. Both David and Ted lived for years in basically total solitude and isolation. He's the most essential voice to this project and I think was able to help me do everything I wanted to do with the show. New episodes of Project Unabom will debut weekly on Mondays on Apple Podcasts and via RSS Ke'Sean Banks Donte Thompkins was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison Thursday on a murder charge stemming from when he was just 15. In September 2019, Thompkins, now 17, opened fire in the middle of the large fight nearly three years ago, prosecutors said. The shooting left another 15-year-old, Ke'Sean Banks, dead and wounded an adult, Tommy Glover. After about two hours of deliberation, a jury found Thompkins guilty of murder and three counts of felonious assault in May. Thompkins' lawyers argued he should receive the minimum sentence of 18 years to life in prison. In court filings, the defense said Thompkins had a very rough childhood and that the shooting of Ke'Sean and Glover should be considered a single event so the sentences should run concurrently, not one after the other. The prosecution called for a maximum sentence of 25 to 29 years to life in prison. They argued that Thompkins took a gun to the fight that day with the intent to use it and continued down that path even after someone tried to stop him. Ohio law states that juveniles sentenced as adults must be given a chance for parole after 25 years in prison regardless of the sentence. Even considering that law, Thompkins will not be eligible for parole until he's about 40 years old. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Teen convicted in Avondale killing sentenced to 27 years in prison Ill man and son receive support A poor man and his son who are both suffering from health problems have just received VND62 million (USD2,696) from the public after their story was published on Dantri/Dtinews. Representatives from Dantri/Dtinews visited Hoang and his son and gave the donations on June 29. Hoang Xuan Ha, 48, suffers from various diseases including diabetes, heart problems and a stroke. He weighs only 28 kilos. His nine-year-old son also weighs only 20 kilos due to malnutrition. Ha and his son live in a seriously deteriorating house in Village 2 in Hai Phong City's Kien Thuy District after his wife left with their small daughter to live with her parents. Representatives from Dantri/Dtinews visited Hoang and his son and gave the donations on June 29. Expressing his sincere thanks to the kind donors, Ha said that after his story was shared in the newspaper, he received many phone calls and gifts from people in and out of the country. "I've never received so much care and sympathy from so many people who I don't know," the man said. "Some people from Japan called me to express their sympathy and sent some gifts to my son. I'm feeling much better and are more optimistic about life. Thank you so much." The man said that he has just opened a bank account as many donors wanted to send him some money to help him build a new house. Speaking about Ha's family, head of Village 2, Nguyen Thi Lan, said that this was the most difficult case in the village. "Due to weak health, Ha doesn't have a stable job while his son is also not well," the official said. "They are living on support from local authorities, relatives and neighbours. Well also help him build a proper house first as his current house is collapsing." A 6-year-old boy was in good condition early Thursday after being pushed out of a third-story window by a family member in what was being classified as an accident, according to Chicago police. Officers and paramedics were called to the 1200 block of South Kildare Avenue on the West Side around 11 p.m. Wednesday, according to an online media statement from police. The child fell approximately 30 feet to the ground below and suffered only a broken ankle, officials said. Advertisement The boy was allegedly pushed out of the third-floor window by a family member, according to the police statement. He was taken to Stroger Hospital where he had been listed in good condition. Advertisement Police initially provided information on the case under the heading battery. However, a police spokeswoman said as of Thursday morning the case had been classified as noncriminal accidental injury. Detectives are expected to continue looking into the case to determine what led up to the childs injury. A 1-year-old fell from a third-story window in Englewood earlier this month. The unrelated case also was classified as accidental, but the victim in that case suffered critical injuries in the fall, officials said. Tesla (TSLA) has made a habit of beating Street expectations in recent quarters, but with the EV leader set to announce 2Q22 deliveries and production figures this weekend, Deutsche Banks Emmanuel Rosner thinks a surprise to the downside is on the way. Reflecting the extended Covid-19-related shutdowns and logistical challenges in the Shanghai plant, Rosner now expects Tesla to deliver 245,000 units, compared to 310,000 beforehand. This amounts to a 22% year-over-year uptick but a 21% sequential drop and also below Wall Streets forecast of 287,000 units. On the Q1 earnings call, CEO Elon Musk called for sequentially flat deliveries, however, given the subsequent worsening of the situation in China, which only got better in early June, Rosner thinks that kind of performance is unlikely. As a result, Rosner has also reduced estimates for Q2. His revenue forecast drops from $19.2 billion to $15.5 billion, and due to the late impact of the prolonged Shanghai shutdown as well as new factory cost ramp in the quarter, automotive gross margin is lowered from 28.7% to 26.4%. This leads to the EPS estimate going from the prior $2.71 to $1.66. The Street has higher expectations, calling for revenue of $17.7 billion and EPS of $2.04, but Rosner is of the mind the recent conditions in China have yet to be properly factored in. Its not all doom and gloom, though. Beyond the quarter, says Rosner, we remain impressed with Teslas pricing power and operational execution in the face of large industry supply-chain challenges and note that Q2 should be the trough of the year. Even though the Shanghai facility will for the most part be closed in July for ~2 weeks of upgrades, this is ultimately done so the company will be able to hit the ambitious weekly production target of 22,000 units (amounting to an annual run-rate of 1.1 million units). Additionally, 2H volume should get a boost from the start of deliveries at the Berlin and Texas facilities. Story continues All in all, Rosner rates Tesla shares a Buy, while slightly reducing the price target from $1,250 to $1,125. Whats in it now for investors? 64% upside potential from current levels. (To watch Rosners track record, click here) Tesla elicits a wide spectrum of opinions on Wall Street; based on 16 Buys, 8 Holds and 6 Sells, the analyst consensus rates this stock a Moderate Buy. Considering the average price target currently stands at $899.86, the shares are expected to add ~31% in the year ahead. (See Tesla stock forecast on TipRanks) To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment. spawns / Getty Images/iStockphoto The Biden administration recently said it will cancel federal student loan debts of about 200,000 borrowers who claimed to be defrauded by their schools. More than $6 billion in student loan debt reportedly could be erased in this case. Take Our Poll: Do You Think Student Loan Debt Should Be Forgiven? President Biden also is weighing a broader plan to forgive student loan debt for millions of borrowers. He reportedly is leaning toward a cancellation plan of $10,000 per borrower. According to Forbes, that would eliminate debt for 13 million people. Progressives want the debt relief to be $50,000 per person, which would eliminate debt for 36 million borrowers, per Forbes. Bidens plan is expected to be revealed by the end of August, when the pause on student loan repayment, collections and interest will expire. The president already has canceled $25 billion in student debt, per The Hill mostly for recipients defrauded by their schools, borrowers with disabilities and people who qualified for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF). Do You Think Student Loan Debt Should Be Forgiven? This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Do You Think Student Loan Debt Should Be Forgiven? Take Our Poll In her testimony to the House select committee on the US Capitol riot, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified that former president Donald Trump lunged at a Secret Service agent and tried to take control of the steering wheel of the vehicle after he was told he would not be joining his supporters at the Capitol. But in interviews with Insider, former Secret Service agents had a hard time imagining the episode. Trumps not a little guy, right? And the space to actually be able to lunge towards the wheel is not that big, one former agent told Insider. I dont mean to sound disparaging to the former president, but just his girth would prevent him from actually getting to the steering wheel. Ms Hutchinson was not in the vehicle when Mr Trump allegedly tried to grab the steering wheel and lunged at special agent Bobby Engel, but testified that she heard an account of the incident from White House deputy chief of staff for operations Tony Ornato shortly after it happened. The agents, speaking with knowledge of the SUV the president often rides in known as The Beast, cast doubt on the logistics of the alleged attack. Mr Trump, who is now 76-years-old, is 63 and reportedly weighed more than 240 pounds while he was in the White House. He strongly denied Ms Hutchinsons claim that he attempted to assault Mr Engel and grab the steering wheel of the vehicle in anger. He added that Ms Hutchinson is living in fantasyland and is a social climber. This lady yesterday, is something wrong with her? Is there something wrong? Mr Trump said in an interview. Ms Hutchinson, who was praised for her composure during her testimony, was an aide to Sen Ted Cruz of Texas and Rep Steve Scalise of Louisiana before joining the White House and served as a top aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. She described Mr Meadows as ineffectual as the events of January 6 transpired. In a statement, Ms Hutchinsons attornies said she stands by all of the testimony she provided yesterday, under oath, to the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. Secret Service agents interviewed by Insider largely stopped short of calling Ms Hutchinsons account of Mr Trumps behavior in an impossibility. Still, they were clear about their skepticism. You have to slightly be a contortionist to get from the back cabin to the front cabin and the presidents not a contortionist, Bill Pickle, a former deputy assistant director of the Secret Service, said. The Tuscaloosa City Council has revoked the business license for the hotel that once operated as Motel 6, seen here on June 16 with no signs indicating the brand, after finding that it was a "public nuisance and dangerous to the public safety, health and welfare. A unanimous Tuscaloosa City Council has revoked the business license of a McFarland Boulevard motel over crime and safety concerns. City leaders chose to close the hotel that once operated as Motel 6 the right to use the franchise name was revoked in November over the pleas of Tuscaloosa attorney Cam Parsons, who asked the council for patience and understanding. Were asking for a second chance, said Parsons, who is representing KPG Hotel Management of New Jersey, which purchased what was then Tuscaloosas only Motel 6 in mid-2019. But after hearing the findings of a fire marshal, public health official and building inspector who, under questioning from Deputy City Attorney Jimbo Woodson, told of multiple violations failing balconies, unsafe room conditions, deficient smoke detectors and the unpermitted conversion of one room to a permanent living space, among them the citys elected leaders were unmoved by Parsons request. Parsons said he and his client are weighing an appeal in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court. The most compelling reason behind the councils decision was the criminal activity. MOTEL 6: A haven for crime? Why a Tuscaloosa motel could lose its license RIVER RESCUE: University of Alabama police officer honored for saving woman Well armed Tuscaloosa Police officers stand ready at the Motel 6 on McFarland Blvd. East where a pair of armed men broke into a hotel room early Monday morning, Aug. 9, 2021. One suspect is in custody, the other is in the room, refusing to surrender. A dog was shot during the invasion according to police. [Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.] Tuscaloosa police officers responded to 695 total calls to the motel between May 2019, the month KPG Hotel Management purchased the property, and February 2022. This far exceeded the activity of similar hotels nearby, such as the Super 8 by Wyndham less than a mile north on McFarland Boulevard, the EconoLodge Inn & Suites to the south of the Super 8, and the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson located across McFarland Boulevard from the Motel 6. Combined, these three hotels saw a total of 458 police calls in the same May 2019-February 2022 time frame during which the motel required 695 responses including 44 drug-related calls, 43 disturbances, 30 assaults, 27 thefts, and 33 domestic disturbance calls, among others from police. Story continues These calls included a June 2021 response to investigate the shooting of a two men over what investigators termed involvement with narcotics at the motel. This led to the arrest of a Tuscaloosa man on charges of second-degree assault and a firearm possession violation. And in August of that year, a four-hour standoff between a barricaded suspect and Tuscaloosa police ended peacefully but resulted in the shooting death of a dog and the arrest of a father and son on charges of first-degree burglary. That location is terrible, said Tuscaloosa Police Chief Brent Blankley. Its a hindrance to society. Were spending day after day at that location. Were respectively asking you to close it down. Parsons attempted to sway the council by noting the amount of investment that KPG Hotel Management had made in the location since acquiring it. According to the attorneys calculations, the hotel company has sunk about $3 million in the property since acquiring it, including almost $140,000 on replacing the flooring in all the rooms, $172,000 on new room furnishings, $28,000 on new lighting and $22,000 on new bed packages. He also noted, and officials with the Tuscaloosa County Health Department concurred, that a follow-up inspection revealed all of the health code violations had been corrected since they first were documented earlier this year. Its not like they havent done anything, Parsons said. This is a problem they inherited. You really need to think about what kind of message youre sending to out-of-town investors who are willing to come here and spend some money. But first-term Councilman Cassius Lanier, who represents this area as part of District 7 and said his campaigned on promising to clean up the district, said he knew what message he was sending owners of this motel. What were telling them is you cant come and be a slumlord and leave blight and think you can run a business, Lanier said. Were not having it. Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com. This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: McFarland Boulevard Motel 6: Tuscaloosa City Council revoke license SWAT teams are being called to the homes of streamers as a dangerous prank. Onfokus/Getty Images Twitch streamer Nick Frags was making tacos when armed police showed up to his house. It was a dangerous prank that's becoming common towards internet creators and it can be fatal. Streamers now consider swatting almost inevitable, as more and more smaller creators are hit. Nick Frags was in the middle of livestreaming himself making tacos for his family when one of his rescue pit bulls started to behave strangely. Ringo, who is blind, is very in tune with his surroundings, Frags told Insider, so when he started to wander around the living room, Frags knew something was up. "I looked outside and I just saw a police officer in his car and he pointed at his eyes and pointed at me," Frags said. "And I was just like, all right, I've seen enough of this I know what happens." Frags, 38, has been on the streaming platform Twitch for eight years, where he streams videos of himself cooking under the name HeyItsMeSalty. His time on the platform meant he knew immediately that he was a victim of swatting when a viewer will call law enforcement with a made-up threat at a streamer's address, such as saying they are selling drugs, have a gun, or have hurt their family, so that armed police show up. Shortly after Frags noticed his dog pacing around, he said he was met with a group of about 12 police officers with their guns drawn. Frags said he made hand gestures to the officers that he could see and hear them, and they responded by telling him to come out with his hands up. He kept the stream going, and told his viewers what was happening. The whole time, he kept thinking about his dogs, and pleaded with officers not to hurt them. Horry County and Myrtle County police departments did not return Insider's request for comment. On the stream, an officer in what appears to be body armor can be seen walking past the camera holding a rifle before a voice off camera announces "Horry County police." Frags went outside and was handcuffed, he said, and he was told what he had been accused of. He realized the police had come over expecting "a shootout." Story continues "This caller, according to the police, said that I shot everybody in the house," Frags said. "This person's intent was to get me shot and killed." Swatting is intended to cause harm to streamers and can be a serious crime Swatting is an issue that has threatened livestreamers for years, and often has links to the far-right and misogynist online communities. Streamers who express opinions that receive backlash from their audience or who get into feuds with other creators tend to be common targets for swatting. The term refers to Special Weapons and Tactics, or SWAT, teams of law enforcement that will forcefully respond to what they believe are crimes in progress. Increasingly, swatting seems to happen for no reason at all. In February, Twitch streamer Alliestrasza had her home raided while she was livestreaming, and was visibly shaken by the experience of having armed police search her home while she was handcuffed. Last year, Felix "xQc" Lengyel said he had to move houses after getting swatted almost every day. Popular YouTuber Ethan Klein has been swatted so many times he says that cops call his cell phone whenever they get a report. Sometimes innocent bystanders are also caught up in swatting attacks. In 2018, a 28-year-old man named Andrew Finch was shot and killed by a SWAT team on his porch after a streamer, involved in an online dispute, gave out a false address that was actually Finch's. Frags couldn't think of a single reason why he was targeted. While he sometimes plays the open-world survival game DayZ which has been accused of having a "toxic" community the majority of the time he simply cooks on his channel where he has 32,000 followers. "I'm not a streamer of that size, I'm a retired chef that's back in college getting his marketing degree," Frags said. "I don't understand what people get out of that. I guess there's some people that just aren't wired like the rest of us." Full Squad Gaming (@fullsquadgaming) June 22, 2022 Swatting is a continuation of the sexism that has plagued the streaming world for a long time Christine Tran, whose research focuses on platforms and livestreaming at the University of Toronto in the Faculty of Information, told Insider audiences can feel a sense of entitlement over the creators they watch. Livestreaming is usually embedded right into creators' homes, Tran said, which "really does sell this sense of not just intimacy, but shared placement and shared time." Swatting also cannot be separated from the racist and sexist harassment that has plagued streaming, particularly the gaming community, long before the rise of Twitch, Tran said. They said it could be seen as a continuation of targeting anyone that's "other" and "justifying various forms of technical and social tactics to push them out of their home." "It certainly hit a certain note that he was attacked during an activity that we often view as feminine, like cooking in your home," said Tran. In the paper "Death by Swat: The Three Elements of Swatting," published in the academic book "Video Games, Crime and Next-Gen Deviance: Reorienting the Debate," criminologist John Bahadur Lamb described swatting as a "deviant behavior" which "blurs the line between the prank, criminal activity designed to harm an individual and social policing effort." "This is partially due to the motivations of the individual who triggers a swatting and partially because the outcome of swatting cannot be predicted in the same way that the outcome of most traditional pranks can," he wrote. The reasons for swatting are numerous, he added, and include "the perpetrator seeking humor, revenge, to discredit the victim, or potentially to create a fake incident which serves a politically violent purpose." Creators consider swatting almost inevitable if they reach a certain size Tran said in their research, the risk of swatting and doxxing are concerns even among small creators. The anxiety is so intense, creators are careful not to even show anything outside of their windows in case viewers spot clues about their whereabouts. They are also changing the way they stream and how they share, which is a challenge when being an influencer relies so much on familiarity and relatability. Frags, although shocked when the police appeared, also felt it was something of an inevitability it would happen to him. He said he was just glad he was home alone when it happened, as his girlfriend, her children, and her mom were out. But everyone in the private gated community they live in saw the police cars and sirens. A lot of retirees were "on their front porch watching," he said. Once the police were happy there was no threat, Frags said he invited them back for food any time they wanted because they did a "really good job." A couple of the officers were aware of what swatting was, which helped deescalate the situation, Frags said. But the situation was still terrifying, Frags said, because so much could have gone wrong. After taking a break for a few days, Frags is back to streaming, and making it up to his neighbors by cooking them dinner. "Today I'm making Ooni pizzas," he said. Read the original article on Insider By Andrew Chung WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a Republican-backed appeal that could give state legislatures far more power over federal elections by limiting the ability of state courts to review their actions, taking up a North Carolina case that could have broad implications for the 2024 elections and beyond. The justices took up the appeal by Republican state lawmakers of a February decision by North Carolina's top court to throw out a map delineating the state's 14 U.S. House of Representatives districts approved last year by the Republican-controlled state legislature. The North Carolina Supreme Court determined that the boundaries for the districts were drawn by the legislature in a manner that boosted the electoral chances of Republicans at the expense of Democrats. It rejected Republican arguments seeking to shield legislature-drawn maps from legal attack in state courts. North Carolina House Speaker Timothy Moore, a Republican, hailed the high court's decision to hear the appeal. "This case is not only critical to election integrity in North Carolina, but has implications for the security of elections nationwide," Moore said. Voting rights advocates disagreed. "In a radical power grab, self-serving politicians want to defy our state's highest court and impose illegal voting districts upon the people of North Carolina," said Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause, a voting rights group that is among the plaintiffs challenging the legislature's map. In March, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a Republican request to put on hold the lower court rulings that adopted the court-drawn map, a decision seen as boosting Democratic hopes of retaining their slim House majority in the November midterm elections. Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch dissented from that decision. The Republican lawmakers said the state court impermissibly imposed its own policy determination for how much partisanship can go into crafting congressional lines. They acknowledged that the case would have an impact beyond redistricting, extending to "the whole waterfront of voting issues, from absentee voting deadlines to witness requirements, voter ID to curbside voting." Story continues The U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case in its next term, which begins in October, with a decision due by June 2023. The ruling is not expected to come before this November's elections but could apply to 2024 elections including the presidential race. Two groups of plaintiffs, including Democratic voters and an environmental group, sued after North Carolina's legislature passed its version of the congressional map last November. The plaintiffs argued that the map violated the North Carolina state constitution's provisions concerning free elections and freedom of assembly, among others. The North Carolina Supreme Court struck down the map on Feb. 4, concluding that the way the districts were crafted was intentionally biased against Democrats, diluting their "fundamental right to equal voting power." A lower state court on Feb. 23 rejected a redrawn map submitted by the legislature and instead adopted a new map drawn by a bipartisan group of experts. According to some redistricting analysts, the new map includes seven Republican districts likely to be won by Republicans, six likely to be won by Democrats and one competitive seat. NUMEROUS LEGAL BATTLES The dispute is one of numerous legal battles in the United States over the composition of electoral districts, which are redrawn each decade to reflect population changes measured in a national census, last taken in 2020. In most states, such redistricting is done by the party in power, which can lead to map manipulation for partisan gain. The Supreme Court in 2019 barred federal judges from curbing the practice, called partisan gerrymandering. Critics have said that such gerrymandering warps democracy. The North Carolina Republicans' defense of the legislature's map relies on a contentious legal theory called the "independent state legislature doctrine" that is gaining traction in conservative legal circles and, if accepted, would vastly increase politicians' control over how elections are conducted. Under that doctrine, the U.S. Constitution gives legislatures, not state courts or other entities, authority over election rules including the drawing of electoral districts. The doctrine is based in part on language in the Constitution stating that the "times, places and manner" of federal elections "shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof." In their appeal to the Supreme Court, the Republican lawmakers decried the "state supreme court's usurpation of that authority." The state's Department of Justice said in a legal filing that, contrary to the Republican lawmakers' assertions, North Carolina state law specifically authorizes state courts to review redistricting efforts. (Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham) By Daniel Wiessner (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday turned away Alaska Airlines Inc's challenge to being bound by the employment laws of states where their workers are based, the central issue in its legal battle with California-based flight attendants. The justices declined to hear an appeal by Alaska Airlines of a lower court's ruling that Virgin America, which it acquired in 2018, had to give these flight attendants meal and rest breaks required by California law. Industry groups have said the lower court's decision will lead to canceled flights and higher ticket prices. The court also turned away a separate case by trade group Airlines for America challenging the state of Washington's ability to enforce state employment laws against airlines. In a statement, Alaska Airlines said it was evaluating how it could comply with California's strict meal and rest break laws while also following federal guidelines requiring airline crew to perform specific duties. Airlines for America said in a statement "the lack of a definitive answer from the court does not resolve the conflict between state and federal law ... and will result in a patchwork of costly and conflicting state regulations, as at least 19 states have some form of meal and rest break laws." Charles Cooper, a lawyer for a group of flight attendants who sued, said the Supreme Court's action confirms that a lower court ruling against Virgin was correct. A federal law bars states from adopting measures that affect the prices, routes and services offered by airlines. But the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year decided that state wage laws that generally apply to all workers also cover airline employees because they have only an indirect impact on airline services. The 9th Circuit threw out the Washington state lawsuit a few days later, citing its ruling in Virgin's case. Alaska Airlines in its petition to the Supreme Court to hear its appeal said federal law was designed to impose a uniform nationwide standard for airlines to follow. Forcing airlines to give California-based flight attendants breaks while in the air would interfere with takeoffs and landings, "leaving planes stranded on runways at unpredictable times and causing cascading delays at airports nationwide," the airline said. Story continues The Virgin flight attendants accused the airline of various violations of California law in a 2015 lawsuit. Airlines for America told the Supreme Court in a brief last year that imposing state requirements on the industry would increases labor costs, leading to reduced services and higher prices for flights. Alaska Airlines was also backed in its appeal by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest U.S. business lobby, and 19 Republican-led states. The case is Virgin America Inc v. Bernstein, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 21-260. (Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Will Dunham) In the last few years, wake boats have skyrocketed in popularity. These boats are designed to create bigger waves than a typical motor boat and are often used for sports such as wake surfing, where someone can surf behind the boat on the wake alone. Wake boats, however, may be subject to regulations soon. The boats also leave a significant impact to other recreators, animals and the lakes themselves. This is what one group argues in their petition to introduce regulations on wake boats. On March 9, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation received a petition from an organization called "Responsible Wakes for Vermont Lakes" according to DEC environmental analyst Laura Dlugolecki. The 94-page petition calls for regulations to be added to the Use of Public Water Rules. These proposed regulations include the extension of the "no-wake Shoreline safety zone" to 1,000 feet, the allowance of wake sports only in 20 feet and greater depth, and a required "a minimum 60-contiguous acre area for a Wake Sport Zone," according to the petition. Boats at North Hero Marina are sheltered at moorings and slips in Pelots Bay in Lake Champlain in this undated aerial photo. The department is taking public input on the petition to regulate wake boats on Vermont waters. No current regulation There currently are no rules or regulations regarding the use of wake boats in Vermont ponds and lakes, according to Dlugolecki. However, some Vermonters want to see that changed. Daniel Sharpe is a member of the group "Responsible Wakes for Vermont Lakes." He, among other group members, noticed the impact of wake boats on small Vermont lakes. "The waves from these wake boats, which can be three or four feet, erode the shoreline. Thats the first thing we notice about them, in terms of the ecosystem," Sharpe said. The organization formed in March 2021 after noticing the effects of wake boats on the lakes they knew and lived on in Vermont. The original plan was to propose regulations to protect user, wildlife, and shorelines of these particular Vermont lakes, such as Lake Iroquois in Hinesburg, and Lake Raponda in Wilmington. Story continues However, as the group continued, they adapted to a petition that would orient towards a statewide plan. Sharpe emphasizes that "Responsible Wakes for Vermont Lakes" does not seek to eliminate wake boats from Vermont waters. "Our proposal doesnt ban wake boats at all," said Sharpe. "It identifies venues, we call them wake-sport zones in our proposal, and there would be maybe as many as 20 lakes in Vermont where there would be a wake-sport zone." Public comments on the petition will not influence any regulations, but rather offer opportunity for input as the DEC decides whether to move forward with rule-making. Past regulations on personal watercraft This is not the first time the DEC has received a petition of this nature. In 1995, they received a petition to regulate the use of personal watercrafts such as Jet Skis, Dlugolecki said. The petition ended up creating the now state regulation that personal water crafts are not allowed on lakes smaller than 300 acres. However, the process from petition to rule-making is not linear, or guaranteed. "So, we received this petition, and the petition is for us to make a rule about the use of wake boats. And before we decide whether or not were going to go forward with rule-making, we want to take public comment," Dlugolecki said. After the public comment period, the DEC will "review the petition, review the science and the data and the public comments, and make a response to the public comments," Dlugolecki said. It is after this that the department will make a recommendation whether to start a formal rule-making process. If they do decide to initiate rule-making, it may not be exactly what the group has proposed either. How to comment The first public meeting on the petition was Wednesday, June 29. The second meeting will be on July 7 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at the Manchester Community Library. The meeting is open to attendance via Microsoft Teams as well. More information can be found here: Public Meeting for Use of Public Waters Rules | Department of Environmental Conservation (vermont.gov). People may send comments to the DEC on the petition and wake boats in Vermont by email to laura.dlugolecki@vermont.gov or through mail: Attn: Laura DlugoleckiVermont Department of Environmental ConservationWatershed Management Division1 National Life Drive, Davis 3Montpelier, VT 05620-3522 Kate O'Farrell is a reporter for the Burlington Free Press. You can contact her at KOFarrell@freepressmedia.com. This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont looks into regulating wake boats on lakes Kelly Convirs-Fowler Kelly Convirs-Fowler, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, has come out as bisexual. Convirs-Fowler made her announcement Sunday from the stage of a Pride celebration in Virginia Beach, the city she represents, The Virginian-Pilot reports. Im bisexual, she said. I just never felt like I could say that out loud. Convirs-Fowler, a 41-year-old Democrat, has been in the House since 2018. Later, she told the paper that she was out to her friends and family but felt it was important to make a public statement. She has three young daughters, and I want them to be themselves, said Convirs-Fowler, who has been married to David Fowler for 14 years. So if Im in the LGBTQ community, why would I act like Im just an ally? I wanted to speak my truth, and it just felt right in the moment to say it, she added. I hope it helps others; that is my goal because saying it out loud can be difficult, but I want them to be able to speak their truths you should be able to love who you want to love. She also felt it was important to speak out, given that LGBTQ+ rights are threatened after the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, therefore allowing states to ban or restrict abortion. Justice Clarence Thomas has said hed like to go after marriage equality and other rights. Its all very worrisome, she said. Cat Porterfield, a friend of the legislator and mother of a bisexual daughter, praised Convirs-Fowler for coming out. I think its important because people need to see themselves in their representatives, Porterfield, who witnessed the announcement, told The Virginian-Pilot. You are representing the people of your district, and the people of your district are not all cisgender straight people. Convirs-Fowlers coming-out increases the diversity of the Virginia House. Del. Mark Sickles is gay, Del. Dawn Adams is a lesbian, and Del. Danica Roem is transgender. Roem, the first out trans person seated in any state legislature, tweeted in support of Convirs-Fowler. She wrote, I couldnt be more proud of her declaration of Pride. Follow More Advocate News on Pride Today Below The United States on Thursday blocked a US-based company worth more than $1 billion linked to Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, saying the ally of President Vladimir Putin used it to funnel and invest shadowy funds. The Treasury Department said that Kerimov, a billionaire active in Russian politics, secretly managed the Delaware-based Heritage Trust which put its money into a number of large public companies. Heritage Trust, set up in 2017, brought money into the United States through shell companies and under-the-radar foundations established in Europe, Treasury Department officials said. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen vowed that the United States would keep taking action "even as Russian elites hide behind proxies and complex legal arrangements." The United States will "actively implement the multilaterally coordinated sanctions imposed on those who fund and benefit from Russia's war against Ukraine," she said in a statement. The action comes weeks after Fiji handed to the United States a $300 million superyacht linked to Kerimov, who has been under US sanctions since 2018 over alleged money laundering and his role in the Russian government. The United States and European nations have stepped up a crackdown on Russian oligarchs following Putin's February 24 invasion of Ukraine, which triggered a slew of Western sanctions. Kerimov, originally from the Russian republic of Dagestan in the Caucasus, rose to become one of the world's richest people after the fall of the Soviet Union. His family controls major gold producer Polyus. The Group of Seven industrial democracies on Sunday agreed on a ban on gold exports from Russia. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, in newly updated figures, ranked him as the world's 127th richest person with a worth of $13.3 billion. Kerimov triggered an international incident in 2017 when he was arrested by French authorities upon flying to Nice, over allegations of tax fraud and the suspicious purchases of five luxury villas. Story continues Russia summoned a French envoy to protest and the charges were eventually dismissed but French prosecutors reopened an investigation in 2019. BBC News in April said it had seen leaked documents showing Kerimov's elaborate efforts to hide his wealth, which allegedly included putting a Swiss tattoo artist in charge of a company that transferred more than $300 million. sct/dw City Council members in West Hollywood, California, are defending their votes to cut law enforcement funding amid skyrocketing crime in Los Angeles. Multiple City Council members told Fox News Digital this week that the 3-2 vote Monday for a budget that reduces the number of Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies will increase public safety because funding and staffing will be added for unarmed security ambassadors known as "block by block patrols." "There was a lot of discussion about defunding public safety, which [is] exactly what we didnt do," said council member John D'Amico, who voted for the budget that will leave West Hollywood with up to five fewer deputies on patrol. "This increase in public safety services is not a cut," DAmico added. "Its a rebalance of a lopsided system focused on arrests instead of safety. Giving the sheriffs more time during their days to fight and work on crime while our security ambassadors help our homeless population, provide assistance and security at a more personal level." CALIFORNIA MOM ATTACKED IN HIT-AND-RUN JOINS GASCON RECALL EFFORT: HE'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS DISASTER D'Amico added, "In my mind this is an increase of safety services with 60 addl (sic) eyes on the street working directly with the residents and the sheriff and code compliance and our social services providers and two fewer deputies this fall." Mayor Pro Tempore Sepi Shyne, also rejected the idea that fewer armed officers on the streets means less safety. "The safety of our residents and businesses has always been a top priority for my colleagues and I," Shyne told Fox News Digital. "Monday night, we took action to redistribute our public safety funds in a way that makes sense for our community's needs and in fact adds over 26 new positions to our re-imagined public safety team plus full supplemental reserve funding for LASD." GEORGE GASCON RIPPED BY MURDER VICTIM'S MOTHER FOR CLAIMING HE MADE LA COUNTY SAFER: THIS IS 'ON YOUR BACK' Story continues Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva speaks during a news conference at the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles. Christina House/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Shyne added that she is "disappointed to see members of this council and some in the community trying to paint this as something it is not." The third council member to vote for the new budget, Lindsey Horvath, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The two council members who voted against the budget, Mayor Lauren Meister and John Erickson, also explained their votes to Fox News Digital. "I am all for increasing foot patrols, however, unarmed security ambassadors can only supplement, not replace, sworn police officers," Meister said. "Most of the residents and businesses I have heard from are opposed to cutting the sheriffs budget," Meister said earlier in the week. "They are outraged that people and organizations from outside our city are dictating to council how to run our city. The narrative that we can have either sheriff's or social services,' or 'either sheriff's or unarmed security teams' is false." LOS ANGELES DA GEORGE GASCON DEFENDS RECORD ON CRIME: 'I KNOW HOW TO KEEP COMMUNITIES SAFE' Erickson told Fox News Digital that he voted against the proposal due to concerns about the ability to hire the additional security ambassadors on the timeline stated in the budget. "I am a big supporter of the block by block security ambassador program," Erickson said, explaining that he supports efforts to "reimagine" community safety in West Hollywood. "But what I did not see before me was a timeline that I could support." In a statement, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office told Fox News Digital they are disappointed in the vote to cut their staff. "Along with the West Hollywood Community, we are disappointed that as part of the approved city budget, four deputies will be cut in the upcoming months," the statement said. "We would like to thank all the residents who were opposed to this vote and responded in its opposition. It appears outside activists had more weight than the residents of West Hollywood." Despite the reduction in law enforcement funds, the council also voted to give $14,000 more to a Russian Arts festival, amounting to a total of $50,000 in a move that received criticism on social media. Last month, Fox News Digital reported that violent crimes are up 6.7% so far this year in Los Angeles to go along with a 1.6% increase in homicides and a 1.5% increase in shootings. In West Hollywood, LA Magazine reported in March that crime is up 137% since last year and the town has developed a reputation of being "plagued by pickpockets." What's in a Mai Tai? The original creator of the tiki drink says it shouldn't be overly sweet. (Photo: Trader Vic's Worldwide) One of the world's most popular cocktails also happens to be one of the most misunderstood. With a spirited history that dates back to the early 20th century, the Mai Tai is not the sugary, overly-sweet cocktail it so often is interpreted as. Instead, it's a well-balanced boozy sip straight from the tiki era. Beverage industry innovator Victor Jules Bergeron Jr., known more commonly as "Trader Vic," entered the bar business using a $500 loan. He would go on to become a groundbreaking fixture in the service industry, known for ushering in the tiki bar, a celebrated space that embraces tropical aesthetics with cinematic levels of theming and expertly-crafted drinks. Going on to found Trader Vic's, a chain of Polynesian-themed restaurants that bear his nickname, Bergeron's greatest contribution may just be the Mai Tai. Victor Bergeron, known as "Trader Vic," broke into the bar business with a $500 loan. Later, he'd go on to create the Mai Tai and pilot a vast chain of tiki bars throughout the world. (Photo: Carly Caramanna) What exactly is a Mai Tai? The name Mai Tai is familiar to many, but what is it? Bergeron was experiencing a wave of success thanks to his rum concoctions that were served in wonderfully-detailed ceramic mugs. His next masterpiece would be the Mai Tai a unique combination of just five ingredients, including aged rum. In 1944, Bergeron was toying around the bar at his Oakland, Calif. restaurant when he began experimenting with a bottle of 17-year-old Jamaican J. Wray Nephew Rum. He combined the rum with fresh lime, orange curacao and a dash of rock candy before shaking the mixture by hand. He finished it off with fresh mint and lime and presented it to friends visiting from Tahiti. The story goes, according to Trader Vic's Worldwide, that after one sip they responded, "Mai Tai Roa Ae," which means, "Out of this world the best," in Tahitian. The resulting beverage is booze-forward but wonderfully balanced with notes of spice, sweetness and earthy freshness and a far cry from those cocktails you're used to drinking at a beachside bar. A key ingredient in a Trader Vic's Mai Tai? Crushed ice, which enhances the flavors and aromas of the cocktail. (Photo: Carly Caramanna) "After he created it in 1944, it started a worldwide phenomenon of a drink," shares Trader Vic's Worldwide chief executive officer, Rhett Rosen. "If there was a Mount Rushmore of cocktails, I always say that the Mai Tai is at least in the running of the top four. It now has taken on a life of its own." Story continues Craft cocktails are a staple of the beverage industry in modern times, but back then sourcing ingredients was complicated and oftentimes, impossible. "You can imagine in 1944 it wasn't that easy," Rosen tells Yahoo Life. "How far ahead of his time [Bergeron was], not only with these drinks and others but also with the foods they were making." In addition to the Mai Tai and other mainstay cocktails of the tiki genre, Bergeron is credited with inventing crab rangoon and is said to have been vital in introducing the American palate to Asian fusion. What should a real Mai Tai look like? The Mai Tai is not brightly-hued nor does it come adorned with a cute pink umbrella. So, where did it all go wrong? Rosen says the misunderstanding of the drink can be traced to when the Mai Tai said "aloha" to Hawaii. In 1953, Bergeron was hired to create the food and beverage program for a cruise line that voyaged to the Pacific. "When that ship got to Hawaii, all of the drinks took off and the Mai Tai is still the drink of Hawaii," shares Rosen. "It gave people a little liberty to do something else with it, but because of the success of the Mai Tai and how well known it was, people just basically started to call anything that they put into a cup with rum a 'Mai Tai.'" Versions were introduced that included other flavors like the beloved Hawaiian fruit pineapple and these variations exploded all over the islands. "It's a double-edged sword," says Rosen. "We want people to try the real thing. We want people to know what it really is. We want people to understand that it's not a fruity, super-sweet drink that it really was a creation." Bergeron is also said to have created crab rangoon, and is credited with adding American flavors to Asian fusion. (Photo: Carly Caramamna) During the 50s and 60s, Trader Vic's restaurants held over two dozen locations and proved to be the first successful chain of themed restaurants. "Because of the Mai Tai and because of his innovations with foods, we were able to not only expand domestically, but started internationally 60 years ago with Japan and London," shares Rosen. "It really exposed people all over the world to these tropical-style drinks and food." Stepping inside a Trader Vic's location is like walking into a bygone era thanks to incredible detailing. Their version of escapism tells a fantastical story while being utterly authentic in its own way. "He wanted to educate people on cultures that they may not ever get to see," Rosen shares. "He wanted to support those cultures." Every piece of memorabilia that lines the walls is 100% authentic, purchased from tribes all over the world. The chain continues to support some of the early vendors that Bergeron worked with, including families from Tunga, a city in the province of Leyte, Philippines. When the tiki craze died down during the rise of disco, many historic establishments shuttered. But tiki culture has been experiencing a bit of a renaissance over the last decade: Something that could largely be attributed to the very same reason it exploded in popular culture of the mid-20th century people have a desire to escape from the complications of the world. What happened to Trader Vic? While Bergeron may have passed away in 1984, his legacy lives on in both the Mai Tai and his iconic restaurant brand. "People just love the drink," adds Rosen. "They love the balance. It really resonates with people everywhere." Today, the historic drink has finally received the respect it has long deserved and can be found on the menus of bars worldwide from casual spots to Michelin-rated restaurants. With demand for escapism, the iconic brand of Trader Vic's is in the process of expansion, including a new location at the Mineta San Jose International Airport in San Jose, Calif., and a current Trader Vic's Mai Tai Pop-Up Lounge at the Capital Hilton hotel in Washington, D.C. I recently Trader Vic's Emeryville, Calif. location to try the famous Mai Tai for myself. It did not disappoint. (Photo: Carly Caramanna) "Literally you walk into a Trader Vic's or other well-known tiki bars and it's almost impossible to be in a bad mood," shares Rosen. Want to try an original Bergeron Mai Tai at home? Shake away your blues from the comforts of your own bar cart with the Trader Vic's Worldwide recipe for the original Mai Tai. Trader Vic's Original Mai Tai Courtesy of Trader Vic's Worldwide (Photo: Trader Vic's Worldwide) Ingredients: 2 ounces Trader Vic's Royal Amber Rum (Suggested rum in the absence of 17-year-old J. Wray Nephew Jamaican Rum) 1/2 ounce orange Curacao 1 ounce fresh lime juice 1/2 ounce orgeat syrup 1/4 ounce simple syrup Instructions: Shake well with crushed ice Pour into a double old-fashioned glass Garnish with a mint sprig and spent lime shell (a hollowed-out half lime) Tips from Trader Vic's: Use crushed ice, use crushed ice, use crushed ice! We consider ice an actual integral ingredient rather than just a cooling component. Don't believe us? Try making one with crushed ice and one with cubed ice for yourself: You'll notice that the crushed ice helps to round out the flavors and brings out different nuances that cubed ice just can not achieve. Use fresh ripe limes for maximum flavor and the perfect amount of oil that naturally comes when squeezing a wedge of lime (the entire lime from rind to center lends their own unique flavors that you don't want to miss). Bottled lime juice can't always compare, especially if it's been modified with additives and sugars. You can squeeze and bottle your own lime juice that should hold for two to three days. If you're making more than one Mai Tai or are having a party, line up your glasses and measure each ingredient over each glass to build your cocktails. You can then hold these pre-measured cocktails and add crushed ice and shake as needed. Don't skimp on the mint: It's not just a garnish, it's an ingredient as well, because much of our flavor senses come from scent. Look for full, fresh and vibrant green mint sprigs and give them a gentle smack before garnishing. Make sure to place your straw on the opposite side of the mint so that when one takes a sip, they get to enjoy the refreshing aroma that perfectly complements the cooling sensation the Mai Tai is known for. Want lifestyle and wellness news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Lifes newsletter. Gubernatorial candidate Ammon Bundy and a close associate, Diego Rodriguez, have not cooperated with a defamation lawsuit filed against them by St. Lukes Health System, according to court documents. Lawyers for St. Lukes have been unable to locate Rodriguez and serve him, while Bundy has been served but has not responded to the lawsuit, according to the documents. And despite the litigation, both Rodriguez and Bundy have continued to make the kind of accusations the hospital system sued over, and which it asked an Ada County Court to require the two men to cease doing. In May, St. Lukes sued alleging that Rodriguez and Bundy orchestrated a coordinated campaign to mislead followers about the circumstances of a child welfare case during an effort to get back custody of Rodriguezs grandson. The state took custody of the young child after authorities said they believed the childs weight-loss could be life-threatening. The family disputed that, which led Rodriguez and Bundy to embark on a sustained publicity blitz, attacking the hospital where the baby was briefly held for medical treatment for child trafficking and other alleged crimes. The lawsuit vehemently denied the claims, calling the accusations a knowingly dishonest and baseless smear campaign aimed at furthering both of their political careers and earning money. Bundy, who is running as an independent candidate and is known for far-right armed standoffs with law enforcement, sent out mass messages to his group of activists, called the Peoples Rights Network. Multiple protests were held outside of the hospital in Boise. On March 11, the night that local police took custody of Rodriguezs grandson, Bundy was arrested at the St. Lukes Meridian hospital for misdemeanor trespassing. Protesters went to the homes of government officials involved in the case and published information about those involved online. On May 12, a process server gave legal papers to Bundy and a campaign staffer in Emmett, where Bundy lives. Since then, neither Bundy nor any lawyer on his behalf has filed responses in court. Story continues Bundy did not respond to a text message request from the Idaho Statesman for comment. The lawsuit accuses Bundy, his campaign, the Peoples Rights Network, Rodriguez and associated entities of defamation, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, trespass, unfair business practices, violating of the Idaho Charitable Solicitation Act and civil conspiracy to commit defamation. St. Lukes also told the court it quickly needed information about organizations linked to the two men: the Peoples Rights Network and Freedom Man PAC, a political action committee controlled by Rodriguez. Ada County District Judge Lynn Norton granted the health systems request on June 3, ordering Bundy to respond to the questions within 14 days, according to court documents. That did not happen. On June 24, an attorney for the hospital, Erik Stidham, of the firm Holland & Hart, said in a filing that Bundy had not responded to the courts order in any way, a document said. The attorney asked the court to sanction Bundy and to require him to sit for a deposition or hold him in contempt. Bundy has spoken about the lawsuit in the press, stating in an interview that the lawsuit is an opportunity to further expose them because they are pretty wicked, Stidhams filing said. An amended summons, filed by the Ada County clerk, said that the court could enter judgment against Bundy and the Peoples Rights Network if the parties fail to respond to the lawsuit. The latest filings were first reported by the Idaho Capital Sun. Ammon Bundy, the far-right candidate for governor of Idaho, has not responded to St. Lukes lawsuit against him. The health system has asked a court to sanction him. Rodriguez also hasnt responded A process server attempted to serve Rodriguez with the lawsuit at four addresses in Meridian but could not locate him. The server also conducted surveillance at Bundy campaign fundraising event in Meridian in an attempt to locate Rodriguez. He was not there. In an affidavit, Stidham said that It appears that Mr. Rodriguez may no longer reside in Idaho. The attorney also noted that the state has filed a significant tax lien against Rodriguez, which the attorney said creates concern that Mr. Rodriguez has left the state to avoid legal proceedings. A record of the lien, secured by the Idaho State Tax Commission and filed on Nov. 30, shows it amounted to $138,393. Since the lawsuit was filed, Rodriguez has written posts on his website about the activity, saying the health system is suing for his efforts at exposing the hospital and its very wicked hands. Its not that hes not aware of (the lawsuit), hes just purposefully trying to avoid engaging with the process, Stidham told the Statesman by phone. In a text message, Rodriguez told the Statesman that he is living in another country, and he accused the hospital and law firm representing them of corruption and lying. I have been out of the country and I am now a resident of another country where I will be for any future hearings, he said. But I am both happy and willing to participate in all court hearings via Zoom. Rodriguez did not say what country he has moved to. He previously told the Statesman he was moving to Florida. He accused the Holland & Hart firm of untold numbers of corrupt actions against the citizens of Idaho, for actions related to work done for current and prior government officials. He also said he has not made any false statements about the actions of the hospital or others involved in his grandsons child welfare case, but he believes he will lose in court. With the odds stacked against me, it will not matter what evidence is presented at this court trial I will lose. I accept that, he said. In an email, Stidham said it is time for Rodriguez to participate in the legal proceedings. While dodging the legal process, Mr. Rodriguez continues to manufacture baseless, incoherent conspiracy theories about the hospital, the state government, and law firms, he said. The time has come for Mr. Rodriguez to stop running away from accountability. St. Lukes has filed a motion asking for service by publication, which would mean publishing a summons to Rodriguez in a local newspaper. A hearing on that motion, as well as the request to sanction Bundy, is scheduled to be held on July 12. Yes, you too can now dress like Ryan Gosling: The actors viral Doctor Who shirt, which he wore on the set of Barbie and features Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa on it, can now be bought online. Earlier this week, Gatwa shared an image of the 41-year-old actor on his Instagram story. He and Gosling have been working together on Greta Gerwigs upcoming film. In the since-expired post, shared via Variety, Gosling could be seen in a black t-shirt shirt featuring Gatwa as the Doctor on it. Dolls supporting doctors, Gatwa wrote in the caption. Yass king. As if I couldnt love him anymore. In May, it was announced that Gatwa will be staring as the Fourteenth Doctor in Doctor Who. Gatwa will replace Jodie Whittaker in the role, as shell be leaving the series at the end of 2022. The shirt, which can be bought on RedBubble, was designed by a fan and artist named Matthew Purchase. On Instagram, Purchase expressed how excited he was to see Gosling in a shirt that he designed. Well this is a bit nuts! The Ryan Gosling wearing a fake t-shirt with my artwork in front of Ncuti Gatwa on set of Barbie, he wrote in the caption. Its incredible, ridiculous and mildly annoying all at the same time. As Purchase announced on Twitter that his artwork was up for sale on RedBubble, he also acknowledged that he didnt entirely own the image in his design. As worn by Ryan Gosling! Sold by the artist! I've added my Ncuti Gatwa piece to Redubble, with watermark as worn by Ryan. As I don't own everything in the image approximately 50% of the proceeds I will make will go to The Goboka Rwanda Trust.https://t.co/Yx3nYQlno0 pic.twitter.com/tDjGeYXZIX Matthew Purchase (@TheCyberdevil) June 28, 2022 As worn by Ryan Gosling! Sold by the artist!, he wrote on Twiter. Ive added my Ncuti Gatwa piece to Redubble, with watermark as worn by Ryan. As I dont own everything in the image, approximately 50 per cent of the proceeds I will make will go to The Goboka Rwanda Trust. Story continues According to its official website, The Goboka Rwanada Trust is a small UK register charity that supports and delivers projects to help the Rwanda peopple, their families and communites. The charity is also run by volunteers and is capable of doing its work because of the continued support of its partners in the UK and in Rawanda. After Goslings outfit made headlines, Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies pointed out that the shirt wasnt official merchandise and made a joke about suing The Notebook star. This is, genuinely, Ryan Gosling wearing a t-shirt of Ncuti Gatwa as Doctor Who, Davies wrote in an Instagram post. Were suing him, of course. Illegal merch. Days later, Davies shared another Instagram post dedicated to Gosling. The post featured the notable photo of the La La Land star in the shirt with a joke from the screenwriter about how he contacted his lawyers. UPDATE: my Cease & Desist order against Mr Ryan Gosling reaches the High Court today at 12pm, presiding judge Mr Justice Abernathy, he jokingly wrote. My lawyers claim piracy; Mr Goslings lawyers claim he once met me in curious circumstances in the Levant. Further updates to follow. The County of Los Angeles host a media event kicking off COVID-19 vaccinations for children ages 5-11 in Los Angeles County. Nicole Fahey, of Altadena, six months pregnant, receives a Pfizer vaccination booster shot from RN Veronique (cq) Vida (cq) at Eugene A. Obregon Park on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA. Credit - Gary CoronadoLos Angeles Times/Getty Images COVID-19 poses health risks during pregnancy for everyone involved. Pregnant people are at higher risk for severe disease, and the chances of negative outcomes for mother and babysuch as preeclampsia, preterm birth, and stillbirthincrease with infection. However, pregnant people were excluded from the original vaccine trials, so when the vaccines first became available, many soon-to-be-mothers were unsure about taking them. Thousands of pregnant people have now been vaccinated in the U.S., and an abundance of data show that getting vaccinated during pregnancy is safe and protective for both mothers and babies, giving babies anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and, according to a study published in June, a 69% lower chance of being hospitalized with the disease in their first 6 months of life. Now, research published in the journal Nature Communications on June 28 shows that getting the COVID-19 vaccine during any of the three trimesters of pregnancy confers measurable benefits to the mother and child, and there may be ways to optimize protection based on when the shots are given. Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Womens Hospital analyzed the anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies of 158 women who were vaccinated during their pregnancies. Most received either Pfizer-BioNTechs or Modernas vaccine, which both generated a superior immune response compared to Johnson & Johnson-Janssens shot. Those who were vaccinated with an mRNA vaccine during either the first or third trimesters had the strongest immune responses to vaccination. Antibody levels generated during second-trimester vaccination were somewhat weaker, which may be because pregnant peoples immune systems are more active during the first and third trimesters, and therefore may generate a greater response to the vaccine, says Dr. Andrea Edlow, a maternal fetal medicine specialist and physician scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, who co-authored the study. Story continues The researchers also tested the levels of antibodies in womens umbilical cords at birth, a measure that suggests how well mothers are able to transfer protection to their fetuses. They found that the transfer of antibodies from mother to baby was most efficient during the first and third trimesters, which suggests that babies whose mothers are vaccinated early in their pregnancies receive vaccine-derived COVID-19 antibodies right away. However, the absolute number of antibodies transferred was highest if the mother was vaccinated during the second or third trimester, which may mean that babies whose mothers were vaccinated later in pregnancy were offered more protectionlikely because mothers COVID-19 immunity waned over time. Overall, this evidence points to the third trimester as the optimal time to get a COVID-19 booster, Edlow says. (The third trimester is also when the CDC recommends pregnant people get the Tdap vaccine for whooping cough in order to give babies the highest levels of protection after birth.) Edlow says that while its important for unvaccinated women to get vaccinated as soon as possible, the study shows how to maximize the benefits for both mother and fetus. If I were an unvaccinated pregnant person, I would definitely get vaccinated in the first trimester. But I would also probably use the opportunity then to be boosted in the third trimester, says Edlow. (However, she emphasizes that during the pandemic, the priority is getting vaccinated as soon as possible, no matter what trimester youre in.) The study was kept small so that scientists could use in-depth methods to analyze the quality of the antibody production, but its size means that it cant give a complete picture of how vaccines work in pregnant women, Edlow says. However, now that scientists have accumulated a wealth of data showing that vaccination is safe and effective in pregnant people, studies like this can help scientists fine-tune their understanding of how COVID-19 antibodies and immunity work during pregnancy. In the long term, this research may inform future recommendations for COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy. We can say with confidence to pregnant individuals at this point, its safe to be vaccinated in pregnancy, it doesnt cause an increased risk of miscarriage, it doesnt cause birth defects, says Edlow. It does protect the mother against severe disease and death, and it does protect against pregnancy complications. The results of this study do not directly apply to pregnant people who are already fully vaccinated and boosted, as they were not included in the study. The CDC also does not currently recommend a second booster shot to most people who are pregnant, unless they are immunocompromised. But Edlow said that she suspects the guidance will change over time, as periodic boosting for COVID-19 is expected to become more routine. Vaccination rates among pregnant people have increased over time since the shots first became available, as more data showing the benefits have been published. As the charts below show, the vaccine gap between pregnant and non-pregnant people has closed over the last year. However, women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant are less likely to have received a booster shot than other women. If they choose to get boosted during their pregnancy, says Edlow, these women might have an opportunity to further protect themselves and their babies during the first months of life. (More research is needed to know for sure; the study did not include people who had received booster shots.) The CDC recommends that pregnant people get a booster shot when they are eligible, and Edlow says that doing so after 20 weeks of pregnancy may maximize protection for the baby. However, Edlow adds that mothers should also weigh their individual risk of severe illness when deciding whether to get a booster soonersince a mothers health is a top priority during pregnancy. The important message for pregnant people is: by protecting yourself, youre doing the best thing that you can do to protect your baby, she says. A 59-year-old Wellington woman on Wednesday was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for joining notorious drug treatment operator Kenny Chatman in a multimillion-dollar scheme to exploit people struggling with addiction. Marthe Hippolyte, who operated five Turning Point sober homes in Delray Beach, Parkland and Deerfield Beach, received roughly $254,0000 in bribes and kickbacks from Chatman so she would send residents to his phony Reflections treatment center, federal prosecutors said. Kenneth Chatman walks to the Reflections Treatment Center in Margate on Dec. 10, 2015. To boost insurance money fueling the illegal operation, Hippolyte would require Turning Point residents to travel to Reflections multiple times a week for bogus treatment and unnecessary urine tests, prosecutors said. The urine screens were liquid gold to unscrupulous drug treatment operators because insurers paid top dollar in reimbursements for the tests. Hippolyte also recruited patients from out of state, another boon for Chatman's booming empire, prosecutors said. Insurance companies bilked for millions, according to court In all, Hippolyte helped Chatman bilk insurance companies out of $4.5 million, according to court records. That was a fraction of Chatmans haul. The 52-year-old suburban Boynton Beach man raked in more than $16.2 million from the scheme that thrived with the help of doctors, laboratories and other sober home owners. Chatman, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence, was ordered to reimburse insurers the entire amount. Hippolyte, in contrast, agreed to pay $254,000 in restitution, court records show. 2019: Woman sentenced for role in Kenny Chatman drug treatment fraud Boca doctor headed to prison in health care fraud scheme Her arrest came in January, five years after Chatmans operation was shut down by federal, state and county investigators who joined forces to crush South Florida's burgeoning, and lucrative, sober home industry. Attorney Howard Sohn, who represents Hippolyte, declined to comment on how or why she became involved with Chatman. According to her LinkedIn page, she spent 17 years as a case manager at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Story continues Shortly after her arrest, she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the federal Travel Act. Passed by Congress in 1961 to crack down on organized crime, it is increasingly used by federal prosecutors to charge people in health care scams. Federal officials raid a sober home at 1501 N. Federal Hwy., Lake Worth, on Dec. 21, 2016. Officials charged owner Kenny Chatman and five others with health-care fraud in an ongoing crackdown on sober homes in Palm Beach County. Chatman has been the subject of Palm Beach Post investigative stories detailing fraud in the sober home industry. Other Palm Beach County residents involved Hippolyte is among a long list of county residents, including Chatmans wife, a former Miami Marlins pitcher and a handful of doctors, who have been sent to prison and required to repay millions in connection with their roles in Chatmans scheme. All agreed to cooperate with prosecutors to identify others involved in the operation. Some have gotten their sentences reduced by turning on their former partners. When Chatman was sentenced in May 2017, prosecutors said his illicit operation wasnt the biggest in South Florida. But, they said, it was the most dangerous. Doctor in $31.3M sober-home fraud scheme receives 8-year sentence, taken immediately to prison He forced women who were seeking sobriety to work as prostitutes and to have sex with him. He allowed men to pay to rape residents, some who were just teens. Grieving family members blamed him for their loved ones' overdose deaths. "This man ran an addiction brothel," the father of one of Chatman's clients said. "He's worse than a pedophile." Jane Musgrave covers federal and civil courts and occasionally ventures into criminal trials in state court. Contact her at jmusgrave@pbpost.com. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Woman sentenced for role in Kenny Chatman's sober-home crimes The Lynchburg facility of KDC/One, a global manufacturer of personal beauty and home care items, will close in about 18 months at the end of 2023. Michael Salzillo, vice president of communications, said the closure of the site, at 1000 Robins Road, will be a staged process that will see operations slow as production gradually is shifted to other locations. In the normal course of business, we conduct regular strategic reviews of our operations across the network, he said Wednesday. During our recent review and analysis, it became clear that we needed to make the difficult business decision to wind down operations in KDC/One Lynchburg, and complete a full shutdown of the site in late 2023. KDC/One took over the 31,000-square-foot Tri Tech Laboratories building in 2007. The facility has between 650 and 675 full-time and part-time employees, who were told of the news a few weeks ago, Salzillo said. We have a pretty comprehensive program in place for the employees. Theyre our number one priority in all this, he said. Salzillo said the company, which has 39 sites around the world, is focused on innovation and is a contract manufacturer for many of its customers. He said there wasnt one particular factor behind the closure; it was just in the normal course of business to make this decision. We do these strategic reviews for all other sites, and we just measure production capabilities and it became clear that it was just no longer competitive in the marketplace and thats why we made the decision to shut down, he said. The company still will be conducting business over the next 18 months but there is an incentivization plan to ensure that employees are retained. Theres different bonus structures for retention and were also implementing programs to help build skills and training and placement services to ensure that people are ready to take the next step, he said, adding the company has severance programs for all employees and is engaging city and state resources to help employees. He said the company wanted to give employees as much notice as possible and is doing everything it can to make sure employees are prepared for the next steps in their careers. We want to make sure that we do this in the most respectful way possible, he said. Traci Blido, executive director of Virginia Career Works, said the organization is working closely with the company, along with state and regional partners such as the Virginia Employment Commission, Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance and its own career navigators to assist employees when they gradually transition into new employment in the region. 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. RUSTBURG A Lynch Station man convicted of fatally shooting a man near Altavista and throwing his body in a pond was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison plus three years for first-degree murder. A jury in October also found Codi Shawn Dunbar, 27, guilty of using a firearm in commission of a felony. The charges are connected with a November 2019 shooting that led law enforcement to Dunbar and, after a series of interviews, discovered hed taken the body of Christopher James Tench to a pond in Pittsylvania County, according to evidence in the case. Dunbar, Tristin Landreth and their respective girlfriends were partying at a house on Riverbend Road near Altavista the weekend of Nov. 24 for Landreths birthday and were taking methamphetamine and acid, Landreth testified at trial. The two men also were hunting, using rifles and targets Landreth had brought. Landreth testified at trial that meth they expected to find at the residence which Dunbar had gotten on credit was missing. Prosecutors presented evidence Dunbar suspected Tench had stolen the meth, and Landreth said Dunbar asked him to invite Tench over Nov. 24. Landreth said he and Tench had known each other for years and considered themselves brothers; Tench and Dunbar were similarly close but Landreth had only known Dunbar for a month or two. According to testimony from an investigator in the case, Dunbar said hed gotten in a fight with Tench about 10 days prior and was prepared to fight him with a broken glass bottle. Once Tench arrived the afternoon of Nov. 24, Landreth said, hed barely greeted Tench when a shot rang out, followed by a gargling noise and Tench hitting the ground, according to evidence at trial. Tench had been struck in the head, causing gruesome injuries to his eyes. Landreth said he assumed Tench had been killed and began panicking and making sure the women were secure in the residence before reemerging and seeing Tench struggling to his feet, bleeding profusely. Testifying through sobs, Landreth said he then saw Dunbar come down the hill from a barn on the property, where prosecutors said Dunbar had been hiding out while waiting for Tench. Landreth watched as Dunbar switched out one rifle for another before pushing Tench back to the ground and shooting him in the back of the head, according to his testimony at trial. In shock and fearing for his life, Landreth said, he did more drugs and saw Dunbar going in and out of the residence, at one point getting cleaning fluid. Other evidence presented at trial indicated Tenchs body had temporarily been put in a horse trough behind the residence. Prosecutors said Dunbar admitted during interviews with law enforcement to pointing a rifle at Tench but claimed it went off inadvertently. He also admitted to disposing of Tenchs body in the pond. Dunbars attorney, Scott De Bruin, insisted at trial the shooting wasnt intentional and asked the jury to find him guilty of involuntary manslaughter, a lesser charge. Deputy Commonwealths Attorney Jason Todd said Tenchs family was in the courtroom Wednesday but it was too difficult for them to testify. He asked Judge John T. Cook to uphold the jurys recommendation of life in prison plus an additional three years. ...Theres no number we can come with up that will fill the void for his family, Todd said. Todd added of the life sentence: Judge, when you look at this case and the facts, thats the only thing to do here. De Bruin said the case is a difficult one and Dunbar grew up in a situation where he was exposed to drug abuse and later became addicted to meth. He is truly remorseful for what happened, De Bruin said. He knew him. There were friends, best friends. De Bruin said unfortunately Dunbar was under the influence of mind-altering substances when the incident occurred. Throughout the case, De Bruin said, no one in Dunbars family ever reached out through him to check on him and throughout his life its been like hes a throwaway person. But he is a person, De Bruin told the judge. Quite frankly, I am tired of having individuals just thrown away to prison. Todd argued Dunbar was adopted and had people in his life who cared about him. He said the defendant brutally murdered a person and should spend the rest of his life in prison. Christopher Tenchs last moments on this earth were a complete nightmare, Todd said. Dunbar said in court he is sorry for the family and referred to Tench as his best friend. Cook said the defense requested a jury-recommended sentence and he sees no reason to change it. Cook also ordered Dunbar pay close to $2,200 in restitution to the Virginia Victims Fund. De Bruin said Dunbar intends to appeal the ruling. Dunbar asked for another lawyer to handle the appeal process, to which Cook replied he would soon appoint one. 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. Refugees walk from their tents across a flooded camp. The flood water is mixed with contaminants, including sewage, which can affect the limited supply of clean water to the camp. (Photo by Salah Al Ayoubi) The destruction caused by war is evident both in its toll to human life and its impact on infrastructure. Those who are lucky enough to escape violence face many challenges, from finding a safe place to live to securing employment, but another threat could further jeopardize their ability to survive an increased risk of illness. University of Georgia Assistant Professor Issmat Kassem recently led an authoritative study that examined how refugee populations are affected by infectious diseases. Collaborating with colleagues Marwan Osman and Kevin J. Cummings from Cornell University and Khaled El Omari from the North Lebanon Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, the study included COVID-19, antimicrobial-resistant pathogens, and the impact that susceptibility has on refugee health and the health of the global community at large. Kassem, who specializes in studying the effects of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), called the prevalence of AMR in refugee camps dramatic, to say the least, adding that refugee children and the elderly are most at risk. The study also showed that refugees are at high risk of susceptibility and/or exposure to life-threatening infectious diseases such as COVID-19, tuberculosis, hepatitis A, measles and cholera. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the organizationss dedicated refugee agency, 82.4 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced between 1990 and 2020. This statistic does not include the number of Ukrainian refugees displaced due to the war with Russia, which is estimated at 6.5 million. The high number of refugees around the world represents a heavy burden for countries receiving refugees, and many are not adequately equipped to handle the inpouring of those displaced. Host countries want to do the right thing by taking in refugees, but sometimes they have limited resources and may be unprepared to handle a large influx of people. This results in whole families living in tents, often in camps with limited or no infrastructure, Kassem said. Crowding and poor living conditions lead to the spread of known diseases, and researchers have seen new illnesses emerge in these environments. Additional factors, such as pollution and limited medical care, create an imminent threat to refugees and, because refugees are highly mobile populations, there is an increased risk of spreading illnesses in refugee camps, according to Kassem. The problem does not stop at the edge of camp or at the host nations border. Because refugee camps are often located in rural, agricultural areas, this proximity means that waste generated from the camps can more easily contaminate the food supply or natural water sources, potentially spreading illness to the local population and beyond, Kassem said. When looking at conflicts such as the one in Ukraine, he said that it is foolish to think that displacement will be short. We are all connected. It is better to be prepared and provide sustainable solutions to a problem than allow it to spread, Kassem added. A global health response is needed to implement comprehensive effective policies and intervention strategies to tackle the scourge of AMR in major locations and camps that host the refugees, the studys authors urged. Stakeholders should seek to create sanitary accommodations for refugees that include clean water, some form of sewage and WASH (water sanitation and hygiene) systems, as well as access to safe food and medication, according to Kassem. He said this approach would help protect vulnerable refugees, calling it a humanitarian effort that would benefit both the local hosting communities and the world at large. Science has a large role to play during crises and the protection of vulnerable populations, said Kassem, referring to the scientific and humanitarian contribution that UGA's Center for Food Safety has provided via support for his research on refugees, disease and AMR abroad. The paper, Catch-22: War, Refugees, COVID-19, and the Scourge of Antimicrobial Resistance is out now in Frontiers in Medicine. Omaha Police are asking for help solving a murder that occurred at 11:37 p.m. on June 3 at 2931 T St. in Omaha. The OPD Homicide Unit continues to investigate the June 3 murder of Pierre Hightower, according to a press release. Officers who responded to the incident located four victims suffering various gunshot wounds. Victim Pierre Hightower, 31, was deceased at the scene. Victims Paris Hightower, 30; Kaveh Ranson, 32; and Ryan Prince, 19, were transported to Nebraska Medicine with non-life-threatening injuries. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about this crime is urged to contact the OPD Homicide Unit at 402-444-5656 or Omaha Crime Stoppers at 402-444-STOP, at www.omahacrimestoppers.org or on the P3 Tips mobile app. Tips leading to an arrest in a homicide are eligible for a $25,000 reward. 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. OMAHA Photographer Karen Kader walked right by the bird at first, thinking it was a great blue heron. Then it dawned on me that it had spots, she said. What Kader actually discovered last week at a wetlands mitigation pond in Chalco Hills Recreation Area near Gretna was a limpkin, a bird never before seen in Nebraska. Another limpkin was spotted for the first time the same day in Iowa. The tropical shorebirds typical range is in south Florida and central America. It has a long bill, is brown with white spots, has a wing span of 39 to 42 inches and has a haunting cry. I was shaking from excitement, Kader said. I thought, This bird is so far from home. She immediately contacted Joel Jorgensen, the nongame bird program manager from Nebraska Game and Parks. He got in touch with Mark Brogie, the records committee chairperson for the Nebraska Ornithologists Union. Brogie, who lives in Creighton, and his brother Ed, who lives in Wayne, drove that afternoon to see the bird for themselves. This is pretty unprecedented, Mark Brogie said. It becomes the 467th state record verified in Nebraska, and people are flocking to see it. Kader said birders were hugging her and thanking her for sharing the news about the limpkin. Ive never seen so much traffic there after I found it, she said Kader said it wasnt raising young, so she thought it would be OK to disclose its location. But shes hoping people will be careful of the green herons nesting there. Jorgensen went out the next day to see it. He said two or three years ago it would have been crazy to see a limpkin in Nebraska. Last year, it was seen in Texas, Minnesota and Kansas. Its range and population have expanded as people have dumped its primary source of food, the giant apple snail, from aquariums into the countrys waterways. He said its feeding in Nebraska on another invasive species, the Chinese mystery snail, which can be found in abundance at the pond. The species is undergoing some amazing changes in population and range, Jorgensen said. You dont see bird ranges change this quickly. It was the 423rd bird species that Brogie has seen in Nebraska. He said Jorgensen is right behind him at 417. Kader said she doesnt keep a list; its just a recreational pursuit. But to now own a state record is pretty cool. It makes me sad because he is all alone, she said. But he may not be the only one in Nebraska. Yoga enthusiasts are invited to Gogh with the flow weekend mornings throughout July as the Beyond Van Gogh exhibit at Mid-America Center holds classes among the Dutch painters famous artwork. Instructors from Omaha yoga studios Lotus House and One Tree Yoga will host hour-long yoga sessions Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. beginning July 9. The guided experience promises to elevate the mind-body connection and create a dreamy and mystical journey through the visual experiences and sounds of the exhibition, according to the press release. Yoga practitioners are asked to provide their own mats, towels and water. Tickets for yoga classes are $59.99, and can be purchased at tickets.vangoghomaha.com/event/beyond-van-gogh-yoga-omaha. Beyond Van Gogh features more than 300 of Van Goghs paintings brought to colorful, swirling life through high resolution digital projections in a multimedia narrative of the painters life. The exhibition will be at MAC through Aug. 14. The doors are open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets can be purchased online at tickets.vangoghomaha.com/event/beyond-van-gogh-omaha. 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. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Morocco supports the global efforts seeking to protect the oceans, preserve biodiversity and mitigate climate change, said Moroccan minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development & Water Mohamed Sadiki. Addressing the 2022 UN Conference on Ocean convened in Lisbon from June 27 to July 1, Sadiki said Moroccos commitment to Ocean protection is confirmed by the Kingdoms ratification of legal instruments relevant to the marine environment and its constant efforts to strengthen joint international actions to protect the ocean which covers 70 pc of the Earths surface and is home to up to 80 pc of all life in the world. Building on its successful Halieutis strategy and advanced oceanographic research allowing better ocean and fisheries monitoring, Morocco looks forward to developing an inclusive blue economy based on an ecosystem associating all maritime sectoral strategies in line with the countrys advanced regionalization policy. Moroccos coastal areas account for more than half of the Kingdoms GDP and employment, while greater potential remains untapped in established and emerging blue industries, such as aquaculture, seaweed farming and marine renewable energy. The UN Ocean Conference comes at a critical time as the world is seeking to address the socioeconomic problems prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic and which will require major structural transformations and innovative solutions. The conference agenda includes presentations by experts and debates on how to address the threats to health, ecology, economy and governance of the ocean acidification, marine pollution, illegal fishing, and the loss of biodiversity. Seven Sudanese rebel groups, including former Janjaweed forces fighting on the side of warlord Khalifa Haftar, have agreed to leave Libya, reports say. The groups, Libya Observer reports citing London-based Middle East Eye (MEE), made the decision early this month during a meeting held in Niger on June 11-12. The meeting, MEE reported, took place at the invitation of a French organization and was attended by representatives from the United Nations (UN), the United States, the European Union, Norway, Turkey and Egypt. The meeting reportedly discussed practical ways to disarm the rebel groups and how they might be reintegrated into the national army. About 30,000 mercenaries are fighting in the ranks of the Libyan eastern strong mans army. The UN has been asking foreign countries vying for influence in Libya to withdraw their mercenaries. MEE also indicated that the meeting was the second in kind. In February similar gatherings discussed Sudanese armed groups in Libya as part of a broader push by regional and international powers to withdraw all mercenaries. Rebels and representatives from the governments of Sudan, Chad, Niger, and Libya were in attendance. Lincoln County Sheriffs Office deputies made 260 traffic stops during Nebraskaland Days, resulting in 80 citations. The agency received an overtime grant for the event, funded through the Nebraska Department of Highway Safety to allow more deputies to be on patrol. Two individuals were arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence, and three others for methamphetamine possession. Twenty-five citations were issued for a minor in possession as well as for speeding, and 19 for expired registration. Five citations were issued for possession of drug paraphernalia, three for possession of marijuana and two for driving under suspension. In addition, there were multiple citations for an open container of alcohol, as well as for no proof of insurance or a drivers license. Two individuals were cited for driving under suspension. Deputies also assisted an additional 10 motorists during the event. Two teenagers sustained minor injuries after they reportedly drove into a Nebraska Public Power District canal Wednesday night. The empty vehicle was located early Thursday morning submerged and not visible in the canal about 200 yards north of North Maloney Drive, according to a Lincoln County Sheriffs Office media release. Deputies later located the female driver and male passenger. The driver will be issued a citation for various violations, according to the release, which noted that alcohol clearly was a factor in the accident. According to the release, a Lake Maloney resident made a 911 call about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. The individual said two injured and intoxicated teenagers came to his door and told him they had driven their vehicle into the canal somewhere near the outlet camping area. The homeowner said the teens left the residence after they were told law enforcement had been contacted. Deputies searched the area for the vehicle and the teens through the night. Nebraska Game and Parks Conversation officers and members of the Lincoln County dive team assisted in the search Thursday when the vehicle was ultimately found and removed from the canal. 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. Theres a feedlot right before our farm and they were frantically trying to get all their livestock out and get all their furniture out of the house, one farmer said. Photo: AJH Films A large swath of America learned who Alex Holder was last week after it was reported that footage the British filmmaker shot for a documentary about the Trump family had been subpoenaed by the House committee investigating January 6. His film Unprecedented documents the months before and after the 2020 election, including the attack on the Capitol, with particular focus on the dynamic between Donald Trump and his adult children. Holder was granted unusual access to the family, and clips from the film particularly one in which Ivanka Trump appears to contradict her recent testimony have circulated widely online ahead of its release on Discovery+ this summer. Holder has also testified behind closed doors. I spoke with him about Trumps responsibility for the insurrection, Cassidy Hutchinsons bombshell testimony, and why it took so long for his footage to emerge. How did you meet the Trump family, and why did they seem to trust you implicitly, given that an unfiltered documentary seems like something of a high-risk proposition? I was introduced by somebody who had worked for them privately and then at a certain point in the White House. [Ed.s note: The person has been identified by the New York Times as Jason D. Greenblatt, a former Trump Organization lawyer and Trump administration envoy to the Middle East.] Theyd been complaining for a very long time that they werent given a fair shot by the media, the media were biased, etcetera. So my approach was to say, Im here to listen to you. And this obviously coincided with the election campaign, so that was obviously going to be a major part of the project. They absolutely believed they were going to win it was going to be a repeat of 2016, the polls were all wrong. I wasnt part of the media fabric in the U.S. I was an unknown quantity, in a sense. So I think an aspect of their thinking was definitely, Heres a guy whos going to film us win. And I joke that maybe my British charm helped. But there was no secrecy here. Theyre big boys and girls. They came, they sat down and answered the questions they wanted to answer, and if they didnt want to, that was their prerogative. Last week, people in the Trump camp were saying that they didnt know about us. At one stage, Michael, the director of photography, was onstage filming Ivanka. And CNN called one of the staffers on the campaign and said, Who is this dude interfering with the live shot? Can you get him off? And this idea that we were making some sort of promotional piece for them it was just never in the cards. Its ludicrous. You told The Hollywood Reporter that the violence on January 6 was inevitable and that it didnt happen in isolation. On January 5, you even predicted that people would march on the Capitol the next day. When Cassidy Hutchinson testified on Tuesday, she echoed that sense of foreboding, saying Mark Meadows told her that things might get real, real bad on January 6 at the Capitol, and the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers came up in conversations. To what extent does your film make clear that people around Trump knew what was about to go down? The perspective Cassie had is obviously incredibly unique and powerful and more authoritative with respect to intent and planning. My perspective was very much a result of having witnessed the campaign rallies and the rallies that took place after the election. With the rhetoric being espoused by the president and his family, this was an inevitable result. I dont disagree, but there was a lot of semi-coded language coming from Trump. What we learned more this week is about the lack of surprise from some of the people around him about what happened. In fact, theyd discussed this very possibility in the run-up we didnt know the extent to which they were doing that. I wondered if you captured any of that in the film. No, no, no. Our film is focused entirely on the three eldest children, Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric, and the president. Did you encounter Hutchinson at all in the making of the movie? I did know who she was. I dont recall meeting her. I met a lot of people there I certainly dont imply that what Im saying gives any credence to the presidents position that he didnt know who she was. You interviewed Trump three times, two of them after January 6. Youve said that you believed in his heart of hearts that he thought he actually won the election. This aligns with everything we know about Trump, but did anyone else around him construct that same force field, or were they just trying to please him? In my interactions off-camera with people around him, there were a few different positions. There were those that didnt really think that he would be successful in his attempts but were hoping that he would be. Then there were those who thought it was a very bad idea and he should not be doing it. Then there were those who were somewhat indifferent. There was a sense of people feeling a bit scared of him. But were any of them true believers like he was? I dont really recall in terms of specific interactions that anyone absolutely bought into what he was saying. They wanted to, perhaps. But he really did believe. Based on my interactions with him I dont claim to be a psychologist or psychiatrist, but in those moments, the position he gave to me is someone who was utterly irrational, someone living in an alternate reality, and that there was no way to have a coherent, rational conversation with him. Its very scary when people start to believe in their own lies, and when you cant have a rational conversation with them thats when things become very dangerous. And weve seen that play out in history, when very dangerous people start to believe in their own rhetoric and are able to get their supporters to believe. The Trumps did not have editorial control. Full stop. pic.twitter.com/gMWnGY83Dz Alex Holder (@alexjholder) June 23, 2022 You shot all this a long time ago. What was the impetus for sitting on it, given all the newsworthy stuff you captured? We didnt it just took a really long time for us to make. We were filming and editing simultaneously. I would say the series is really good, and I put that down to someone I work with named Marcos Azevedo, who is a master in every way. What we wanted to do was make it a very clear chronicle of events, as well as include this portrait of a very complicated, fascinating, and controversial family interweaving those narratives. Ive mentioned theres a Succession-style vibe in the story. So which Logan Roy offspring corresponds to which Trump offspring? You have to wait until the series comes out. Thats a big spoiler. Obviously Trump didnt feel any remorse for what happened on January 6. Your movie, as you said, focuses largely on his children did you get the sense that any of them seemed rattled, or was the default response to tend to their fathers grievances? My experience with the three children was that they were always there to support their father, which isnt surprising. What is surprising is when that doesnt happen, which is quite rare. The closest version of that that I can recall of there being a clear divorce between one of his children and him was the testimony of Ivanka Trump at the committee hearing. My interactions with them when there were questions pertaining to their father, they always wanted to help and support him however they could. You were filming at the Capitol on January 6, and youve said the footage could be some of the most dramatic weve seen yet. It feels like weve been privy to every possible angle from that day. What can you share about what you shot that we may not have seen before? There are specific moments in that footage which are horrific, and I believe have not been seen before. I dont want to go into too much detail for varying reasons, but I think they will be the defining illustrations of that terrible day. People who have been injured as the police tried to regain control, blood all over their faces it looked like a war zone. Its masterfully captured by Michael, who shot it. But there are moments in there that are very difficult to watch. You were subpoenaed and appeared before the January 6 committee, though not in public. What can you tell me about that experience? Did Liz Cheney personally interview you? It was the attorneys, and various other people on-camera, and members of the committee were present throughout. I dont want to go into too much detail about who spoke and the interactions. Ill say they were very professional and very clear. Ive made clear that well comply with any lawfully served subpoena. I was subpoenaed yesterday by Fulton County. Im collecting subpoenas these days. Do you expect to be called to testify publicly in the near future? After the last eight, nine days of my life, I have absolutely zero expectations for anything. Like I said, Ill do whatever I need to do. Youve had to retain private security; is that right? Yes, and its ongoing. Its just a bizarre situation. Getting home and having somebody go in and sweep the house its such a surreal experience. Its unfortunate that this is the case, but here we are. Have you ever dealt with anything like this before? No, no, no. To be honest, I think even for people who have had experience with the media, this is just extraordinary. Its been wall-to-wall coverage for a week. But it all just sort of coincided. We only recently finished the project, and then the investigation started, and then public hearings, and things became totally crazy thereafter. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Sign Up for the Intelligencer Newsletter Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. First exchange-traded equity instrument for institutional investors to access Bitcoin in Europe Largest exchange to list a Bitcoin spot ETF globally First primary listing of a Crypto fund in the Netherlands LONDON, June 30, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In a first for Europe, Jacobi Asset Management (Jacobi) announces the launch of the Jacobi Bitcoin ETF (the "ETF") (BCOIN, ISIN: GG00BMTPK874) which will be listing on Euronext Amsterdam, part of Euronext, the leading pan-European marketplace from July. The Jacobi Bitcoin ETF, which received regulatory approval from the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) in October 2021, will begin trading in July on the Euronext Amsterdam Exchange under the ticker BCOIN. Custodial services will be provided by Fidelity Digital AssetsSM with Flow Traders and DRW facilitating trading as market makers. CEO Jamie Khurshid said: "The Jacobi Bitcoin ETF will enable investors to access the underlying performance of this exciting asset class via a well-established and trusted investment structure. Our goal at Jacobi is to make digital asset investments simpler and more familiar for institutional and professional investors. We are delighted to be working with all our premier partners including Fidelity Digital Assets and Flow Traders who have supported us from inception and are an integral part of this European first as we list on Euronext Amsterdam". He added: "This is a significant step forward for Jacobi Asset Management. We have an ambitious vision and look forward to bringing an innovative product pipeline to the market very soon." "We are excited to be acting as lead market maker for Europes first Bitcoin ETF, which is another milestone in the development of the institutional digital assets space. This is also aligned with the growing demand from institutional investors who are looking to diversify their portfolios by adding Bitcoin and other digital assets. Flow Traders has been a longstanding supporter of enabling exposure in digital assets and we are delighted to be working with Jacobi Asset Management on this launch." commented Edd Carlton, Institutional Digital Asset Trader at Flow Traders. Story continues Legal support through the regulatory and listing process was facilitated by independent Dutch law firm Kennedy Van der Laan. Emanuel van Praag, Attorney from Kennedy Van der Laan commented: "The first listed crypto ETF in the EU is indeed a proud achievement and we are happy that we were able to assist Jacobi Asset Management to achieve this goal." Jacobi Asset Management will provide European institutional and professional investors with access to the Jacobi Bitcoin ETF via a simple investment vehicle for a 1.5% annual management fee. For further information, visit Jacobiam.com - Ends - About Jacobi Asset Management Launched in May 2021 to shape the future of digital asset management, Jacobi is spearheaded by CEO Jamie Khurshid, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker and pioneer of regulatory transparency in financial markets. Jacobi brings together a diverse team of blockchain, technology, investment and regulatory experts, deep-rooted in capital markets with a compelling pedigree in distributed ledger technology and digital asset management. Important Disclosure and Disclaimer Information Jacobi Asset Management offers its services to institutional, professional and sophisticated clients only. Any investment comes with risks and the value of an investment can decrease as well as increase. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220629005801/en/ Contacts Geneva Loader Jacobi Asset Management Tel: +44 (0)3330 165 232 Email: Geneva@jacobiam.com Media enquiries: The Realization Group on behalf of Jacobi Asset Management Helen Disney helen.disney@therealizationgroup.com M: +44 7792 376546 Instead of a coin toss to break a tie, the Alabama Republican Candidate Committee is holding another hearing to determine how many votes each candidate has in the State Senate District 27 election and whether a coin toss is necessary after all. At the first hearing, on Saturday in Birmingham, the committee decided to accept a provisional vote that had been previously rejected. That meant that incumbent Tom Whatley suddenly had the same number of votes as Jay Hovey, the Auburn City Councilman who had been leading by four votes after results from polling places were tallied on May 24 and by a single vote after provisional votes were counted a week later. According to Alabama code, the tie would be broken by lot, using a quick game of chance such as a coin toss, high card or rock-paper-scissors. On Saturday after the committees decision, Hovey filed a motion for a re-hearing, and that motion was accepted by the committee on Wednesday. The Alabama Republican Party sent out the order granting the motion for re-hearing on Thursday morning, identifying Hovey as the contestee and Whatley as the contestant. After considering contestees motion for re-Hearing and contestants opposition to motion to re-hearing, the hearing officer for the above-styled contests hereby grants contestees motion, the document stated. Hoveys lead counsel, Al Agricola of Opelika, said the second hearing is scheduled for Friday at 10:10 a.m. by conference call. Agricola said each side will have 10 minutes to present its case to the committee regarding a statement from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency that was released on Sunday. After hearing both sides, the committee could declare that the provisional ballot that was counted after the first hearing was an illegal vote and name Hovey the official winner, or the committee could rule that their original ruling stands and schedule the coin-toss tie-breaker. Heres what happened between Saturdays declaration of a tie and Thursdays announcement of a re-hearing: On Sunday, ALEA released its statement to the press questioning the validity of the provisional ballot that was counted. According to the statement, the voter, Patsy Kenney of Tallapoosa County, applied for an Alabama drivers license but did not complete the process, was not issued the license and did not sign the required voter declaration. According to Hovey, ALGOP Chairman John Wahl told Hovey on Sunday that he understood that the coin toss, if there was one, would take place after the Fourth of July holiday. Early Wednesday morning, Whatley through a spokesman said that the coin toss was going to be later that day and that each candidate would be represented but would not be present. Later that morning, Hovey said that nobody had told him about a coin toss that day. On Wednesday afternoon, Hovey said that the Alabama Republican Party had received his request for a re-hearing and that there is certainly no plans for a coin toss anytime soon. Hovey contends that the statement from ALEA that was sent out to the media the day after the hearing confirms that his position is correct. My only wish is that my party, the Republican Party, stands by their long-standing pledge to fight for voter and election integrity and revise their decision to accept an illegal vote, he said on Wednesday. I would hope that with ALEAs confirmation that it is indeed an illegal vote that they would stand by their pledge. He said he was requesting that the party consider ALEAs confirmation as new evidence. Of his opponents announcement of a coin toss, Hovey wrote in an email, Whatleys sudden change of schedule is in no doubt directly related to the public unraveling of the legitimacy of his additional provisional vote. In a statement Wednesday morning, Whatley called Kenneys provisional vote the most scrutinized ballot in Alabama this year. I appreciate the Republican Steering Committee and I respect their decisions as I stated through my attorneys on the 25th, Whatley wrote. I felt it extremely important to have Mrs. Kenneys vote go through the process. The winner of this race will run against Democrat candidate Sherri Reese of Opelika in the general election in November. The coin flip to break the tie between Jay Hovey and incumbent Tom Whatley in the State Senate District 27 race hasnt occurred yet, and if Hovey gets his wish, it wont happen at all. Early Wednesday morning, a spokesman for Whatley released a statement from the incumbent saying that the coin toss was set for later that day in Birmingham, and that it would not be attended by either candidate but that each would be represented there. Later that morning, Hovey told the Opelika-Auburn News that any talk of a coin toss that day was news to him. He also said that when he last spoke with ALGOP Chairman John Wahl on Sunday it was his understanding that the coin toss, if there ended up being one, would be scheduled after the Fourth of July holiday. Whatleys sudden change of schedule is in no doubt directly related to the public unraveling of the legitimacy of his additional provisional vote, Hovey wrote in an email. He said he has asked ALGOP for a second hearing, contending that, based on a statement from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, that a last-minute provisional votewhich took the race from a one-point lead for him to a tieis illegal. Late Wednesday afternoon, Hovey said the Alabama Republican Party had received his request. There is certainly no plans for a coin toss anytime soon, he told the O-A News. Provisional vote Whatley, in a statement provided at 6 a.m. Wednesday by consultant Heather Wilson, explained his side of ALGOPs Candidate Committees decision to grant him that provisional vote during its Saturday hearing. That vote for Whatley, which was originally rejected, was cast by Patsy Kenney in Tallapoosa County. In his statement Wednesday morning, Whatley said that Kenney was deposed and cross-examined by his attorney Joel Blankenship from Blankenship Law in Birmingham and Hoveys attorney Bert Jordan from Wallace Jordan in Birmingham. Her deposition was played to the committee, and then Whatleys team and Hoveys team gave their arguments about the ballot. I appreciate the Republican Steering Committee and I respect their decisions as I stated through my attorneys on the 25th, Whatley wrote. I felt it extremely important to have Mrs. Kenneys vote go through the process. Whatley called this ballot the most scrutinized ballot in Alabama this year. He stated that he believes the decision to count Kenneys ballot was the right decision, and said that whether he wins or loses he was glad to serve a constituent by making sure her vote was counted. Hovey said he and his team told the committee that the provisional ballot in consideration for being counted was cast by an unregistered voter and is an illegal vote. The party felt compelled to go with their feelings instead of the facts, and the facts were substantiated by ALEA a day later, Hovey said. He was referring to ALEAs release on Sunday of statement to the press questioning the validity of the provisional ballot that was counted. According to the statement, ALEA discovered that the voter still has a driver license issued by the State of Georgia. She did visit the ALEA Driver License Office in Opelika to apply for an Alabama Drivers License, but did not complete an issuance transaction and was never issued an Alabama Driver License. Voter registration information from ALEAs Driver License Division is only sent after the credential is issued and the customer signs the required voter declaration, which did not occur in this specific incident, the release said. Voter registration information is filed nightly by ALEAs Driver License Division to the Secretary of States Office to ensure each citizens voter registration is up to date. Hovey said this release from ALEA that was sent out to the media the day after the hearing confirms that his position is correct. My only wish is that my party, the Republican Party, stands by their long-standing pledge to fight for voter and election integrity and revise their decision to accept an illegal vote, Hovey said. I would hope that with ALEAs confirmation that it is indeed an illegal vote that they would stand by their pledge. In the motion he filed with the state party, it requests the party to consider ALEAs confirmation as new evidence and consider that Hoveys argument was factual. Hoveys document to the party requesting the re-hearing stated that Kenney, admitted that the credential, her Alabama Driver License, was not issued to her on April 28, 2022, and would not be issued unless and until her eye doctor submitted the report of her eye examination. Finally, Mrs. Kenney admitted that she did not sign the required voter registration declaration on April 28, 2022. Hoveys legal team also stated in the document that new evidence explains why Kenneys husband David, who applied for his Alabama Driver License at the same time, was registered to vote in Tallapoosa County on primary election day. David Kenney received his Alabama Driver License when he applied on April 28, 2022. As a result, Mr. Kenneys name was sent to the Alabama Secretary of States Office for his change in voter registration under the procedure ALEA outlined in its Press Statement, the document stated. On Wednesday afternoon around 4 p.m., Hovey said that the party had received his motion, and there is certainly no plans for a coin toss anytime soon. Next steps The proper procedure is for them to present it to the opposition, which is Whatleys camp, Hovey said of his motion to the party. Whatleys camp naturally opposed it, which we expected, and that now allows for the party to make their decision. So its moving along as it should, and we anticipate an answer sometime soon. Hovey and Whatley now wait to see if the party will accept the motion for a re-hearing. If the party decides to accept it, a hearing will be scheduled and they will go before the ALGOP candidate committee again. If the party decides to deny the motion, a date for the coin toss tie breaker will likely be scheduled. Were being patient with their procedures and were waiting to see if they will accept a new hearing, Hovey said. The winner of this race will run against Democrat candidate Sherri Reese of Opelika in the general election in November. news Ouachitas Dr. Jason Doroga gives presentation at University of Wisconsin-Madison Dr. Jason Doroga, assistant professor of Spanish at Ouachita Baptist University, presented his paper Negative Analogy: A New Direction for Analogical Change as part of the Linguistics Friday Seminar Series at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in April. The paper analyzes the cycles of analogy and changing patterns of language use in the speech community, exploring the role of analogy in explaining changes in the form of Spanish-language past participles. With papers to grade and projects to mentor, leaving campus toward the end of the semester is never ideal timing, Doroga said, who earned a Ph.D. in romance languages at UW. As an alum, it was professionally and personally rewarding to be invited to present in this years lecture series. He added that the panel of speakers included scholars researching a variety of languages, including Basque, Portuguese and American Sign Language. Despite our different specializations, he said, we are all interested in gleaning the truth behind the wonder and miracle of human language. Applied to the study of language, analogy changes word forms. Typically, it makes irregular forms of words regular. The interesting thing in Spanish is that sometimes regular forms in the language become irregular, Doroga explained. For example, the past participle rompido is now roto (broken). Changes in language follow certain universal principles, even though it can appear to be haphazard chaos. Jennifer Pittman, acting chair of the Department of Language & Literature and director of the Speer Writing Center at Ouachita, said,Dr. Dorogas work in linguistics is fascinating; he shared a portion of this paper with us at a faculty colloquium, and Im not at all surprised he was invited to present it in Madison. Since his arrival at Ouachita in 2020, Dr. Doroga continues to provide an engaging classroom experience for our Spanish majors by teaching seminars with topics related to linguistics, such as phonetics and methodologies of teaching Spanish, she added. He has also brought his love of linguistics to the campus body by recently co-teaching an Honors seminar on etymologies. I appreciate his research for what it brings to our department as well as to Ouachitas students. For more information about the Spanish program at Ouachita, contact Jennifer Pittman at (870) 245-5553 or at pittmanj@obu.edu. Decrease Font Size Font Size Increase Font Size Article body Five Auburn University graduate students are part of the 2022-23 class of Albert Schweitzer Fellows, the largest cohort to date for the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabama. The class of 20 students, representing fields of medicine, pharmacy, nursing, nutrition science, public health, dentistry and counseling at Auburn and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will spend 13 months immersed in community public health projects. Their projects will improve the health and social well-being of their populations of choice throughout the state while simultaneously strengthening their leadership skills. In doing so, they will continue the legacy of the fellowships namesake, the famed physician-humanitarian Dr. Albert Schweitzer. Auburns fellows are Chelsea Gayre, College of Nursing; Chigozie Joi Chinakwe, Micah Grey and German Andres Tovar, Harrison College of Pharmacy; and Jou-Chun Renee Pan, College of Education. We share in the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabamas commitment to meeting the current and future needs of underserved communities through the training of the next generation of medical professionals, said Hollie C. Cost, assistant vice president for University Outreach and Public Service at Auburn. We are particularly excited about the unique opportunity this provides our graduate students to develop and implement field-based projects that positively impact these Alabama populations, perpetuating AU Outreachs commitment to equity. Growing up in the small, rural community of Carrollton, Ohio, Gayre developed an interest in rural communities and health care access. Her fellowship project involves implementing telehealth services within primary care offices. The goal is to identify disparities in care, identify best practices and implement those for the purpose of testing feasibility of long-term success within the community health centers, she said. We hope to close gaps in social determinants of health for those residing in rural communities who are unable to travel for specialty care. I will work with the telehealth platform Vital Engine LLC. and partners at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Gayre currently holds a part-time registered nurse position in the cardiac catheterization lab at Wellstar Health System in Georgia. She received an associate degree and a bachelors degree in nursing from Kent State University in Ohio before coming to Auburn for her masters degree in nursing. Pan, a first-year masters student in the clinical rehabilitation counseling program, has a passion for working with youth and emerging adults with disabilities to help them improve their quality of life and support their willingness to break the stigma against disabilities in society. Her project involves working with young adults with disabilities, including their caregivers, at the BraveHeart Center for Place and Purpose in Auburn to address their special needs by using assistive technology to improve their quality of life. In addition to enhancing youths time management, medication management, nutritional awareness and social interaction skills, this health and wellness project aims to support each student in achievin their specific goals for the next chapter of their lives by using a holistic and person-centered approach. Pan says the ultimate goal will not only encourage a higher level of independence as they transition into a working environment or continue their education, but also provide a channel for the participants to establish self-advocacy, self-determination and empowerment skills. Chinakwe and Grey, members of the pharmacy Class of 2025, are partners in their project, Junior Healthcare Leaders of Alabama, which focuses on providing health literacy and health equity to underserved communities in Macon County, Alabama. Being able to give back to Alabamas underserved communities like those that reflect Macon County, Marengo County and Dallas County has been a passion of mine since attending Tuskegee University, said Chinakwe. Being able to carry Dr. Schweitzers legacy, teachings and generosity to areas of Alabama where I have not only witnessed but experienced those hardships is so fulfilling. To address this issue, Chinakwe and Grey will provide an after-school course to teach students how to manage disease states, prevent negative health outcomes and prepare them for health events that commonly impact Alabamians on a day-to-day basis. This fellowship will equip me with the tools needed to successfully plan and run a community service project, geared toward improving health disparities, as well as health literacy in these counties, said Grey. For Tovar, a member of the pharmacy Class of 2024, his project, Substance Use Disorder and its Impact on Adolescent Brain Development, involves addressing how adolescence is characterized by numerous neurologic changes and increased hormonal production, both impacting behaviors. Though trends of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use among adolescents are decreasing nationwide, Tovar notes that trends in Alabama are higher than national averages, making it vital to educate teenagers and prevent the development of substance abuse disorder. I found that, by empowering our youths agency through knowledge and connection, it will enable them to make better choices with the ultimate goal of improving lives and improving society, he said. I feel inspired by the example of past and current fellows and hope that I can add to success of the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship as they have done. Schweitzer Fellows work closely under the guidance of community site partners and academic mentors throughout the project period. Gayre is mentored by nursing Professor Linda Gibson-Young. Pan is mentored by Jinhee Park, assistant professor and Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling Program coordinator. Chinakwe and Grey are mentored by Lawanda Gray, coordinator of school health services with Macon County Public Schools, and Pamela Stamm, associate professor in the Harrison College of Pharmacys Department of Pharmacy Practice. Tovar is mentored by Lindsey Hohmann, assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice. The selection of new fellows each year is always a highlight, but this year held special significance due to the over 40 percent growth in the size of our 2022-23 cohort, said Kristin Boggs, executive director of the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabama. As vulnerable populations in our communities face significant obstacles to health and improved quality of life, it is encouraging to see more students rise to the challenge of tackling these issues head-on. We are excited to come alongside these students, along with our academic and community-site partners, to channel their ideals and grow their commitment to using their knowledge to aect change for under-resourced communities. Upon completion of their fellowship year, the 20 Alabama Schweitzer Fellows and approximately 200 other 2022-23 Schweitzer Fellows from across the United States will become Schweitzer Fellows for Life, joining an active network of Schweitzer alumni continuing their commitment to improving the public health of underserved communities throughout their careers. Neal Reid, Matt Crouch and Latha Bhavnani contributed to this story. Thats scary! Ive already had to have a colonoscopy and have to go back for another one in the fall and people dont realize how common complications are. Wishing him a speedy recovery. Reply Thread Link I've always thought that it would be easy for doctors to accidentally make a wrong turn with their camera while it's in someone's butt, especially if it's a junior doctor with not a lot of experience. Reply Parent Thread Link Oops, didn't mean to post this as a response to the first comment in this post, jfc. Reply Parent Thread Link oh god, this is horrifying! (I had one last summer and didn't realize that could have happened) Reply Parent Thread Link I'm due to have my first one and your comment is scaring me. :( Reply Parent Thread Expand Link My mom had a colonoscopy and they punctured the wall. They took her to surgery then she had to wear an ileostomy bag for a few months until it it healed and they could reverse it. The whole changing the bag/changing the bandages after it was reversed was fucking gnarly. Staring into the hole in her stomach was Edited at 2022-06-30 12:26 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Ive had a colonoscopy and I had no fucking idea complications were a thing until I saw this post!!! Reply Parent Thread Link I hope he'll be okay. I'm supposed to get a mammogram done because my doctor found a lump, but it's likely just a cyst since I've had it since I was a teen I think. I just haven't had the time to book an appointment. Reply Thread Link i got a mammogram done last year for the first time bc i found a lump during a self-exam. it took foreverrrr. waiting and prepping and waiting and then finally the actual mammogram. turns out, it was just a clogged milk duct from my short attempt at breast feeding lol i'm sure everything's fine; better safe than sorry! my only rec is to bring a book! Reply Parent Thread Link I heard clogged milk ducts hurt! Glad it wasn't anything serious. I know, I really should book. My mom has a lump too so she's supposed to get a mammogram and she's 61. My grandmother passed from ovarian cancer and my dad might have colon cancer, so I'm kinda like ahhhh wtf is this because we never worried about cancer ever in my family until the last few years. :| Reply Parent Thread Expand Link hope everything goes well with your mammogram when you're able to do it! i had one a couple of years ago and it turned out to just be a lump of fat? the doctor was like "yeah it just turns out you have lumpy boobs, take some vitamin e and it might help" lmao Reply Parent Thread Link I had a mammogram last year because I had swelling in my right underarm and my family has a history of cancer (breast, ovarian, pancreatic.) The technician and staff at the imaging center were AWFUL. They openly questioned why I was getting a mammogram because I didn't have any of the "traditional" symptoms and the technician was rough with me during the exam. At one point, she grabbed my head because I wasn't positioning it correctly and I'm happy I kept my mask on because she didn't and her breath smelled gross. I also had an ultrasound at the same time and the technician was way nicer and understanding of why I was getting a mammogram. I hope yours goes smoothly and you can get in quickly. Reply Parent Thread Link Had pancreatitis during my last DKA. Ain't fun. I see the doc so often during the pregnancy. I have a regular Ob, specialized one, plus my endo. Like almost every week I have at least one appointment. Mostly maintenance since I'm hitting all targets. I had omnicron in the first two months, so we're being extra careful. Reply Thread Link Best of luck to him. One of my family members had acute pancreatitis and it's insanely painful and can have lifelong effects. Reply Thread Link op's note reminds me i need to make a dentist appt so baddd. my last scheduled one was April 2020, and that one got canceled of course. i never re-scheduled oop Reply Thread Link The amount of visits I forgot to reschedule and then when finally bothered I've been put on an interminable queue.. Ugh I had to go private for my heart or I would have had to wait forever Edited at 2022-06-29 10:50 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link same... i'm overdue for dentist and so much else tbh Reply Parent Thread Link I haven't even *picked* a dentist since I moved up here. Last time I saw a dentist was February 2020 so yeah...Not really in a hurry to be unmasked and have fingers in my mouth Reply Parent Thread Link I went to the dentist this month and I didn't like the attitude of the hygienist when she saw me put my mask back on after she was done with the cleaning. Reply Parent Thread Link What I can say is between that time and now you can see the waves of people finally coming in for routine checkups. Most places are booked up 2 months in advance. Even for physical therapy. It's crazy. Worst colonoscopy experience: the anesthetist knocked out the Propofol line, so I woke up during the last third of my last one. I let them know I was awake; you could see him trying to mess with the dials to get me back out. Nope. Awake the whole rest of the time. Thankfully I think I have hit the "every three years" colonoscopy part of remission. Get a camera up your jacksie. Ultrasound your bits. Go in for your routine checkups. Reply Thread Link Yep! And half the doctors in my area just straight up aren't seeing new patients anymore because they're so backlogged. They're also scheduling outpatient scans at the weirdest times. Like CT scans on saturdays or a thursday night at 8pm after the clinic itself is closed. Reply Parent Thread Link I put off as much healthcare as possible during the first year of the pandemic but during 2021, I ended up having to see a bunch of doctors all around the same time (I had a weird lump so I went for my first mammogram, my sister was diagnosed with colon cancer so I had to have my first ever colonoscopy, I had another weird lump so I had to go to the dermatologist to have it removed, I was due for a pap smear so I had to see my primary care physician, and I had to see my ophthalmologist because I couldn't order any more contacts unless I came for an exam). I got super lucky and was able to make appointments and not wait months. And since it was after vaccines came out, all of the offices required proof of vaccination AND masks. I need to make another appointment and I'm worried that it's going to take ages to get in to see the doctor. I hope the office still has some COVID protocols in place. Reply Parent Thread Link The ultrasound I had about 3 weeks ago was at 6:00pm which was nice for me because I got right in and done. Reply Parent Thread Link My fucking neuro cant see me until January (and I made the appt in May). So many specialists are booked solid and its so hard to get care. Just to see my pcp its a 3 week wait most of the time. Reply Parent Thread Link Every place is so backed up now, it's wild. I bet the lung doctors are so fucked. My grandma was hospitalized for 4 days in Nov for COVID (she's medically fragile so they gave her the antibodies) and they wanted her to see a lung doctor within like a week of leaving the hospital. We didn't get in to see one until March, and that was after me calling around to different offices looking for appointments sooner and my doctor's office stepping in and finding one sooner. Reply Parent Thread Link I'm supposed to get an endoscopy to see how damaged my throat is from acid reflux, and check for signs of cancer. Had my appointment with the gastro doctor to discuss it with him last month, then he referred me to call about scheduling the endoscopy. I got an appointment, but not until October. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link My husband started seeing an endocrinologist in March 2020 so every appointment he's had was virtual (the office calls my husband a few minutes before the scheduled time to make sure he's ready and then he has a zoom meeting with the doctor). He still has to go get his bloodwork done, but he doesn't have to go to the endo's office to discuss the results. I'm so glad that two years later, the doctor is still doing virtual appointments because it's way easier. I wish my appointments could be virtual too but I've had to go in person for exams. Reply Parent Thread Link I got really lucky with my GP not being too busy. I was having a lot of bloating and digestive issues and got right in, he's like there's something there lets get you scanned. Got an ultrasound and CT like 2 days later. Told me I need to see a surgeon and my doc got the appointment hurried. So three weeks ago I had a 9lb non cancerous cyst removed from my abdomen and a total hysterectomy (perfect timing on that). My surgeon took a picture of it because no one can believe something so big came out of me. So basically even if you think it's nothing, get stuff checked out. Reply Parent Thread Link I hope he got well soon. I have a condition since last year that still don't get diagnose properly yet because I could only get phone consultation. I finally got an in-office meeting with a doctor and will have some more tests done. At least it's not something urgent like the beginning of cancer. I put off going to the dentist for 2 years until a filling broke off and got stuck between two teeth. I couldn't stand the discomfort after 3 months and finally went to the dentist. For years, I was building up the courage to seek out a psychiatrist and the pandemic doesn't help with my courage at all. Seeking out a psychiatrist seems difficult. I want to try prescription medication so I can't seek out psychologists Reply Thread Link scheduling with a psych is super intimidating and hard to work yourself up to. could someone else (friend, family?) make the actual call and set the appointment for you? thats what i did and it really helped. Reply Parent Thread Link Thank you for your thought and suggestion. My family don't talk about these things at all. My next obstacle is finding a psychiatrist that can properly diagnose me. This month, I look up nearby psychiatrists, the well known ones work for hospital. My next challenge for this year is reading through reviews and finding one that has external clinic and accept new patient with face to face meeting. Reply Parent Thread Link Most primary care doctors can start common antidepressants initially. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I hope hes okay, thats so scary. I had an unknown chronic illness flare up right at the start of COVID so I have long been tired of doctors appointments in these times. It took me a full year of testing until my diagnosis (which was just over a year ago) so now Im finally like uh no thanks to routine appointments eek its so bad Reply Thread Link I hope hes okay. I know how awful digestive pain can be, and pancreatitis is even worse than what Ive got. Ive got ibs and have been having a flare up for the past couple of weeks. I lost over five pounds in a week and was just so tired. The worst was that I had to work through it (new job - Im not very good at it, though Im getting better). I kept getting lectured about being slow, but I wasnt comfortable saying why I was so slow. The symptoms are better, but Im unfortunately still struggling. Like, Ill be eating and then all of a sudden I have to spit it out, even though I like how it tastes. And I still cant eat any fruit, vegetables, or dairy. I dont eat at lunch, cause I dont wanna deal with the symptoms at work. I really hate it. Especially cause I get no sympathy from my stepdad who thinks its all in my head and that I need to stop hogging the bathroom. Im not. Im tired of being in pain and taking so long and not being able to eat anything. It sucks. Reply Thread Link I am way past due for dentist, breast screening (I started in my 40s because of family history of breast and ovarian cancer), and glasses, but Im loathe to go anywhere other than work at the moment because its winter here and theres so much Covid and flu around. No one is wearing masks anymore (though I assume those places probably still do), and everyones getting sick but we are all just pretending Covid isnt a thing anymore, I guess. So yeah, I cant see properly and my teeth are probably gonna fall out of my head, but whatevs. I really do need to get that boob squish done in the next couple of months though. *sigh* Reply Thread Link He'll be fine with his access to care and money, etc. I will say though, in hindsight, kind of odd priorities. Starts feeling immense pain then immediately tweets that? Wouldn't be my first move but idk. Reply Thread Link i got dicked down pretty hard by a coworker on a cold-run "lets be casual~" thing for like 6 hours (he kept waking me up) and 2 days later it felt like i got a yeast infection??? (even though i kept peeing!!) anyways i scheduled an ob-gyn appt about 12 days later which MAY have been too early to get tested for the STDs i wanted to be tested for it ended up i got a prescription for bacterial vaginosis, but honestly cleared up on its own by the time of my appointment. and that was when i learned that penises are acidic!!! (some more than others!) and my vagina's pH balance was u p s e t the moral of the story is, penis is acid, embrace sapphism Reply Thread Link The first time i ever had sex with my partner without a condom i got BV...can confirm, penises are not good for you Reply Parent Thread Link Some penis has fucked with my vag so much and others are no problem, I take the former as my body telling me he ain't good for me! Reply Parent Thread Link I could have been worse. It could have hurt with burning feeling whenever you pee. Edited at 2022-06-30 03:53 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link For some reason I can't really explain I hate going to the doctor but I have long covid so I've been going to my doc a little more than I used to. Still don't like it tho lol Reply Thread Link Hope he has speedy recovery. My doctors are in a shambles at the moment, they still aren't properly seeing face to face patients. I was referred to ENT in August 2021, finally got appointments, had my hearing test today and back with the specialist on Saturday. And my Mom has a telephone referral to the breathing clinic. Which makes LOADS of sense I've tried to book a dentist appointment, but told me since I hadn't been in 3 years I'd been removed from their books. Even though we couldn't actually get appointments in 2020 or 2021 unless it was a complete emergency. It's BS, they're not opening to new patients now until 2023. So what started as a slight discolouration in Jan 2020, is now a half brown tooth, that they won't even see me for because I'm not in pain. Reply Thread Link Have you tried looking for a new dentist? My city has so many dentists. There's even a referral problem that award people with gifcard when they book with a dentist using that program for the first time. Of course, it always cost more at first when you visit a new dentist since they want to take x-ray of the teeth. Reply Parent Thread Link im going on my third year without smell or taste, i dont think its ever coming back. i wish id eaten more strawberries. Reply Thread Link I lost my smell taste for a month and it was hell, I cant imagine years. Hope you get it back bb Reply Parent Thread Link Isnt it trippy to lose all those smell related memories, perfumes and stuff. Just have an extra slice of something for me bb! Reply Parent Thread Link I am so sorry Reply Parent Thread Expand Link This is one of many reasons why I never jumped on the Tiktok train. Reply Thread Link That's what I'm going to tell people, but really it's because I'm old. Reply Parent Thread Link it's both for me lol Reply Parent Thread Expand Link same Reply Parent Thread Link Same. But then again I use a xiaomi phone, so... they already have my data lol Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Wouldn't that be something. Reply Thread Link Lmfao your comments are always my favorites Reply Parent Thread Link OT- I am reading one of Betty's autobio's on my kindle, and I was waiting for my lunch in a sandwich shop- sniffling/wiping tears from happy-tearjerker Betty stories. Reply Parent Thread Link Didn't we already know this? Reply Thread Link There's been reports of privacy issues ever since it came out, but I guess people either don't know or care? Reply Parent Thread Link Lots of people thought it was just published as an anti-China scheme as if that excused their actions. Reply Parent Thread Link When the facial recognition stuff came out, I made a decision that I'd never join that shit. This is the 3rd time in my life I made the right decision!! Reply Thread Link 3rd time? Tell me about the first two times u made the right decision. Reply Parent Thread Link I honestly stopped caring about this. Every other app does shit like this and privacy is an abstract concept nowadays, so at least I should have fun while having it smashed. Reply Thread Link Seriously. Everyone has all of our shit. Unless you live completely off the grid, its over. I just cant care anymore. Reply Parent Thread Link mte i gave up the idea of having control over any of my data, but did send this link to a friend who is always raving about how tiktok is the best social media app Reply Parent Thread Link Yeah, I get bent out of shape about "TikTok steals your data!!!!" but here I am with a Google phone that has all of my information, my calendar, and intuitively adds things to my calendar that its pretty sure I'm into (and it's always right), soooo. Lol. Reply Parent Thread Link and i hate how they don't state what "user data" even means. i read the source (wild) and it didn't say, so i had to go to another source they linked to and it said "birthdays and phone numbers." which i'm not saying isn't bad for someone else to have bc idk, but i feel like that info is probably in a ton of different places? but again idk what that means bc the sources don't talk about why it's bad or what that can be used for, just that they have access to it. i'm trying to understand this stuff more now that people are concerned with digital privacy re: abortion, but i get so frustrated bc some of these articles are so vague. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Yeah honestly I was kind of thinking that when everyone on LJ was getting all up in arms about a Russian company owning LJ now. Around the time when you had to tick on agreement to keep using this platform there was sooo much outrage over what they might possibly be doing with our data and this is the final straw to leave for Dreamwidth, as if American apps like Facebook and Instagram arent tracking your data all the time Edited at 2022-06-30 03:04 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Google will literally be like "you're at so-and-so restaurant, leave a review!" im not going to get mad over titkok having my birthdate when every streamer app i have also has that. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I mean Facebook/Meta does all the data theft IN ADDITION to breaking western democracy and facilitating a couple genocides, but they have a sleazy conservative with good connections on their board so no one's screaming about how they should be removed from the app stores. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link it was recently revealed that a couple of big chain stores use facial recognition tech here so like... we're fucked anyway Reply Parent Thread Link Good. Get rid of it Reply Thread Link Good, destroy it. Reply Thread Link IT WAS DON complaining about this so I just thought it was his xenophobia shining tru Reply Thread Link Facebook/Meta too please next Reply Thread Link SERIOUSLY. Just take it out to pasture already! Reply Parent Thread Link Can you imagine Reply Parent Thread Link I take it back, where else will I get my fix of minion memes??!!!! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link i really don't want the metaverse future that zuckerberg proposes to become a reality Reply Parent Thread Link I was so relieved when they removed the facial recognition for tagging photos on facebook. My mom and I weren't even connected as friends and she'd posted a pic of me on my birthday years ago and I got an email telling me about it, shit was so fucking creepy. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I hope they do it for real this time, I don't care to hear another "it's not that bad" argument Reply Thread Link I mean, I thought they all did that Reply Thread Link They do this is just the xenophobia special. If they really cared more wouldve come about after those Facebook hearings. Reply Parent Thread Link Social media algorithms single-handedly decided for a large percentage of the population that a victim of domestic abuse was a liar despite all evidence. It cannot be in the interest of any government to allow a foreign, actually hostile power this sort of sway. Yeah, yeah but what about Facebook... Zuckerberg sucks but he is not on the brink of trying to invade a close American ally. Equating China with Meta is a false equivalence. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I mean duh. Wheres the but your phone already spies on you?? Gang? Just because we give up some privacy and data by simply being connected doesnt mean we have to invite the data miners into our proverbial homes. Reply Thread Link Look above lol Reply Parent Thread Link This white ass statement lmao I like Friends, but Living Single is the show that should've gotten 10 seasons and the popularity Reply Thread Link My mom always preferred Living Single and Girlfriends over Friends And according to her ancestry dna thing, shes literally the most Caucasian woman you will ever meet. Reply Parent Thread Link I will forever thank Living Single for "Lesbians! NEAT!" because the delivery of it makes me lose my shit every time. Reply Parent Thread Link Even down to the theme song it's better and holds up today - the ONLY dated thing about it is it specifically says "in a 90's kinda world..." Reply Parent Thread Link yesssss. i say this every time there's competing marathons on tv. i love the max-kyle relationship. Reply Parent Thread Link Pay off some student loans. Pay for black students NYC rent. Reply Thread Link If shes willing to do more like shes offering then we should let her know theres all these opportunities to help too tbh! Reply Parent Thread Link When I first started reading it I thought the 4 million was for a scholarship fund. Which is more useful, IMHO. Reply Parent Thread Link Frfr, I know that syndication and merch money gotta be loooooong Reply Parent Thread Link Or Brandeis rent. Waltham is getting super expensive. Reply Parent Thread Link I mean, that's nice I guess but surely she could have donated more? 4 mil for an endowed chair is not a lot tbh. Roxane Gay just got an endowed chair position at Rutgers and is making 250k/year (for 3 years) from it. If it's comparable at Brandeis (idk how much their endowed chairs usually make), 4 mil is nothing Reply Thread Link Considering how much Friends made (dunno how much she made), it seems small. Also, there's no guarantee this endowed chair will go to a Black person. Reply Parent Thread Link 'I've learned a lot in the last 20 years' is killing me. It sounds like she went on a Mehhh, a nice gesture but maybe that could have been used for bipoc community programs around NYC or a direct scholarship ride for a few students?'I've learned a lot in the last 20 years' is killing me. It sounds like she went on a #eatpraylove journey as to why the criticism against the show were indeed bad lol Reply Thread Link I've learned a lot in the last 20 years it's giving Reply Parent Thread Link now admit that it's just a living single ripoff Reply Thread Link What's bizarre is that Drew Carey was accused of ripping off Friends. Reply Parent Thread Link For the Drew Carey Show??? What?? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link yeah i see how one could confuse six trendy 20-somethings renting half an nyc building on starbucks tips with a gang of 9-5 and blue collar -hipsters struggling in cleveland lol Reply Parent Thread Link lmaooo maybe in another 20 years <3 Reply Parent Thread Link This feels very bare minimum and a bit too late since this has been a topic for YEARS. But its a cute gesture tho I guess. But never forget: Living Single >>>>> Friends Reply Thread Link I'm assuming this post will be a list of all the (other) things she could've done instead lol I don't care about this woman either way but I suppose donations are always nice. Also, if someone told me 15 years ago that people would be this fucking obsessed about Friends (for better or worse) in the year of 2022, I'd think they were tripping on acid. The show 100% does not deserve the love & hate it gets. Reply Thread Link Blandly familiar and cozy. Turn it on in the background stuff. Edited at 2022-06-30 09:32 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Turn it on in the background stuff. Yesss. i can't hate it because i don't care enough to be bothered i just hate the over-fawning of it bc it's just... there. Reply Parent Thread Link Wow are people still obsessed with it?? I thought like that show was out of style now like listening to Taylor Swift or eating gluten free for no good reason Reply Parent Thread Link These types of statements are nearly always worded badly. There's an effort to take accountability but then they do it by hand-wringing and centering themselves in a narrative of "I just didn't see! Woe is me!" and while it's nice to see someone recognize that internalization, it's also very annoying when they self-flagellate. Reply Thread Link So looking up what an endowed chair is...she paid 4m$ to be a black person's salary in academia, which is notoriously racist. Ok, well, I hope that person has good support. She can still donate money to other funds (cough) Reply Thread Link Veep nailed it: there is no guarantee this chair will be held by a black person, either.Veep nailed it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A-McYLUkDw Reply Parent Thread Link Congrats on your tax write off, Karen *That one downvote is amazing lmao Edited at 2022-07-02 01:08 am (UTC) *That one downvote is amazing lmao Reply Thread Link Im watching friends for the first time in my life and like it feels like they made more of an effort to NOT include any diversity. Except for Julia but now Ross is with Rachel so back to a fully white cast and white secondary characters and white extras. Also the show is fine, Chandler and Phoebe are the most annoying. Monica is dating her childhood doctor and somehow thats Gucci for everyone. Reply Thread Link In a later season, Ross dates another POC and that's about it for the diversity of the show. I read an interview some time in the last year where someone said that the reason Ross had these two non-white girlfriends was because David Schwimmer specifically asked for non-white actresses to be cast in these roles. I don't know how true it is, but the one other love interest on the show who I remember not being white was a guy who worked with Monica at the diner (but he ended up being a jerk and he was only in one episode). There are a few random one-off characters who are not white (there's an episode about Ross and Joey at the museum and there is a Black woman and an Asian man who have lines in the same scene), but it's so rare that I always noticed when it happened. Reply Parent Thread Link Interesting if true about David schwimmer Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Im watching friends for the first time in my life and like it feels like they made more of an effort to NOT include any diversity. Except for Julia but now Ross is with Rachel so back to a fully white cast and white secondary characters and white extras. And it's set in NYC too. Like they couldn't have some of Ross's or Chandler's coworkers be POC? Or a few neighbors? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link idk, as an academic I do have a lot of feelings about the role of the chair and the continued stratification system that operates within the education/academic institution and how some chairs can be very, very, very useless (see: my department's chair) and are often just a puppet for those who do hold power in the institution (the dean, the provost, etc.). however, I and a handful of people in my system have been campaigning for the last year to get my department to hire an african/african-diaspora academic in our department because it is so crusty white and focused on centuries old research that doesn't feel relevant anymore in the current contemporary context of the world/environment we're living in. I do appreciate that it is a gesture, and while I'd love for other more supportive measures (i.e., tuition, scholarship jumpstart, a resource center, etc.), I think it's a nice start. I often feel very cornered and pessimistic about academia and its role, but I'll take these small gestures as fragmentary cracks at the overall institution. don't have much to say about Friends so I'll leave it there, sorry lol. Reply Thread Link hiring someone in that academic area is not guaranteed to change the crusty whiteness of your department tho. Too many white academics are in African studies to begin with. Reply Parent Thread Link that's definitely an issue, and I've encountered it in my own research field as an indigenous Latina scholar. do I like that there are white academics in spaces that belong to Black, Brown, Indigenous, and other POC-centered fields? not at all. I should have mentioned that the individual that we are pursuing is a Black woman, and our department is shifting to more community-engaged "academia" vs. peer-reviewed, conference, lecture-structured academia. Reply Parent Thread Link Yep. I know plenty of white academics who are studying racially marginalized people and yet refuse to include at least one academic of the race they're studying on their research teams. There's always an excuse, even when they're doing studies that are BIPOC and not specific to one race. Reply Parent Thread Link I have a very smart af and pessimistic queer sibling in academia (hit a ceiling with chair route. Theyre tenured and looking elsewhere atm) You mentioned: tuition, scholarship jumpstart, a resource center, etc. Really interested in your view re how this kind of endowment/ money can best be spent in academia to benefit POC, if youd like to expand on this Im the one member of the family who is not college educated and do not have the insight you or my sibling have Edited at 2022-07-01 05:20 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Watch a white academic snatch this chair and salary right up. I read the Black population at Brandeis is less than 5%. Reply Thread Link im not following the logic from lack of black people and people of color on friends the show to funding an academic chair rather than funds for black writers, directors, producers and the realm of the arts/film, but if it makes her feel better and flex as an alum. Reply Thread Link im not american or new yorkers but in the 90s do a group white pp/friends usually have minorities or just their own race? my uni experience many years ago is no were friendly with each other but not close like friends Friends. everyone usually stick to their circle/race some dated. Reply Thread Link I mean even if that were the case, the other issue is that their New York was almost entirely populated by white people. Reply Parent Thread Link Even the extras and guest stars were glaringly white Reply Parent Thread Link The charge that Friends wasn't diverse is such a misplaced critique. Not only did the writers NOT have the range to write for characters of color, it would've been so embarrassing for all of the background characters to be POC serving these weird white people. I have posted this in other Friends posts, but nearly 75 percent of white people don't have any non-white friends: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/08/25/three-quarters-of-whites-dont-have-any-non-white-friends/ The charge that Friends wasn't diverse is such a misplaced critique. Not only did the writers NOT have the range to write for characters of color, it would've been so embarrassing for all of the background characters to be POC serving these weird white people. Reply Parent Thread Link The description of her sounds like she did her job? It reads like a self written performance review, regardless I hope she gets her $$ if he owes her Reply Thread Link Yes, the part about the prominent litigator defending him and the allegations never seeing the light of day was all up to her amazing management and advising skills and I guess not the lawyer? Reply Parent Thread Link Right? Its a weird argument to make and if she knows about him being abusive her using it as leverage to get $ is not a good look at all Reply Parent Thread Link Career ending allegations? Now let's talk about that Reply Thread Link There was an article this week about the Menudo boys being sexually assaulted (not by Ricky), cheated, overworked, etc. Makes you wonder... Edited at 2022-06-30 09:32 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link off topic but I just found out a few months ago that he told his former girlfriend (beard) that he was gay, and she had a miscarriage a month later. Reply Parent Thread Link what!!? do you have a link? Reply Parent Thread Link What I've heard from the LA gays is that if Ricky has an interest in you, he'll fly you out to wherever he is/goes, gets you tested and makes you sign an NDA before meeting him and his partner. Idk. It could just be the gays talking for attention, but I always thought it was odd but kinda not cause he's a celeb? But now reading this news, makes you wonder. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Omg celebrities ffs Pay your damn taxes These rich people can afford to. Don't be an Emma Watson. Edited at 2022-06-30 06:48 pm (UTC) Omg celebrities ffsPay your damn taxes These rich people can afford to. Don't be an Emma Watson. Reply Thread Link "Potentially Career-Ending Allegation" Share with the class pls. Share with the class pls. Reply Thread Link She says there is tea and where it is? Just her wanting money and not to expose him on whatever sh*t he did. Not a fan of this threatening. Reply Thread Link She could happily have described crisis management and helping stave off lawsuits without referencing some big covered up allegation against him, but now she has so people will talk about it and there's this great big implied threat hanging over his head about what will be revealed if he doesn't cough up. (Though if it's really as bad as she's implying... she ain't shit for covering it up either) Like, if he owes her he owes her, and if he's done something awful I have no problem with him being exposed, but she's still playing a shitty game here. Edited at 2022-06-30 07:00 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link Yeah if he did something fucked up and she should say it and let him deal with the consequences or else it sounds like she's blackmailing him. Reply Parent Thread Link I guess he really was living la vida loca, good lord. Reply Thread Link Yeah, she's lying. I say this not out of any love for Martin but because if she wanted these so called unpaid commissions, she could have gotten them as part of signing an NDA. This smells of bullcrap. Reply Thread Link Drucker did her job "not only because she was his manager, but also because she thought that Martin was her dear friend." This doesn't pass the smell test. Reply Thread Link Sorry to go OT but what happened to that Austin Butler/Ezra Miller post? Shit got cray. Reply Thread Link Were people being transphobic again? Reply Parent Thread Link I was the OP and I deleted it because it was unconfirmed and I felt bad about publishing it when Variety just published a new story that has two women talking about the violent experiences they had with Ezra. one of the women interviewed is the woman being choked in the video from Iceland in 2020. I felt like I was feeding into the sensationalism of something that was most likely false and I hope someone else makes a post about the new Variety article as that centers the stories of two of his victims instead Edited at 2022-06-30 07:40 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link ahh! i see. it was a wild story so it would be completely bonkers if it was true. Reply Parent Thread Link whaaaaaaaat Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Does oral contract have any credibility? Unless you have a witness, but otherwise no right? Anyways, now I'm curious about the career ending allegations Edited at 2022-06-30 07:38 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link it can be harder to prove in court but oral contracts are contracts Reply Parent Thread Link Oral contracts are as legally binding as any, it's just a practical problem of proving it existed and what the detailed terms were. (Memories of conversations can naturally differ a lot even without either of you being dishonest, which makes it a real headache to litigate). Reply Parent Thread Link In the Menudo documentary, Ricky Martin did not participate. Probably because members during his tenure spoke about his arrogance and incessant bullying. They mentioned how the usual bad behavior reserved for new members seemed to skip Ricky when he joined the group. He abused his "special" status by making other members carry luggage, get worse hotel rooms - generally being an all round dick. He joined the group as a young kid, though. Maybe some people don't grow out of their arrogant habits. Reply Thread Link In all fairness he wasn't the only one who did that. A lot of the "elders" in Menudo got financial perks and other things; I still remember that blonde guy (forgot his name) talking about how he made $15k a show versus the $1500/show the younger newer kids made, plus they got better rooms, food, etc. There definitely was a hierarchy and their manager encouraged it. Reply Parent Thread Link The way these managers in Hollywood brag about getting their hands dirty for their POS clients smh You did an outstanding job in getting away with whatever shit they did, i guess you deserve to be compensated Reply Thread Link it's just nuts to me that celebs can never leave well enough alone Reply Thread Link The OPEC+ meeting ended in a relatively quick fashion on Thursday, agreeing to boost production by 648,000 bpd in August, according to Energy Intels Chief OPEC Correspondent, Amena Bakr. The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting (JMMC), which began at 13:00 Vienna time (7:30 a.m. ET), was followed by the full OPEC+ ministerial meeting. The latter was not expected to offer any surprise, with the majority of analysts predicting that the group would rubberstamp the quota increase that it had previously set for August of 648,000 bpd. At that increase, the quotaset two years agowould be completely rolled back. This would free up some of its members that have spare capacity to boost production in September if they choose, although the lack of compliance with the current quotas suggests that any ramp-up in production to meet Augusts quotaand beyondis doubtful. While its clear that the production cuts will officially be completely rolled back as of August, the OPEC+ group has signaled that it intends to stick together to provide support to the market, with consistent signals coming from the group over the last couple of months that the alliance with Russia would continue. Four OPEC+ delegates told Reuters, however, that todays meeting would not include discussions about Septembers production plans. Two others said that the topic of September production could come up. OPEC is set to hold its next meeting on August 3, which will determine September production plans, Bakr said in a tweet following the meeting. The groups first in-person meeting since the pandemic is scheduled for the first week of December. Oil prices were slightly higher on Thursday minutes after the meeting, with Brent crude trading at $116.00 (-0.22%). By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the European Union has had to reconsider its stance regarding fossil fuels as it struggles to secure energy. Two years ago, the French government asked Engie, the power utility major, not to rush into signing an LNG delivery deal with U.S. energy giant NextDecade, with unnamed sources telling Reuters at the time that the government felt the deal was not aligned with Frances environmental project and environmental vision. Fast forward two years, and Engie is suddenly eager to sign a deal with NextDecade for deliveries of some 1.75 million tons of liquefied natural gasthat same gas that the French government had misgivings about two years ago. And this is only the beginning. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February this year, the European Union has experienced a major priority rearrangement in the energy department that culminated this week with the G7 declaring their support for investments in new LNG production after earlier committing to halting all public spending on such investments, as well as investments in fossil fuels in line with their net-zero plans. Investment in this sector is necessary in response to the current crisis, the leaders of the worlds seven biggest economies said in a statement, as cited by Bloomberg, noting that this is temporary and the projects would need to be aligned with climate objectives to gain their support. However many hedges the G7 include, this is still a U-turn of the sharper variety. Just months ago, at the COP26 gathering, the G7 leaders and their fellow leaders in Europe were racing to make the most ambitious climate commitment. Now, the race is on to secure enough oil and gas to last the winter. It is easier said than done, however, because new LNG capacitynot to mention new gas exploration before productiontakes time to build. Take Germany, for example. The European Unions largest economy suddenly developed a taste for liquefied natural gas after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and started talking about building import terminals. Related: China To Subsidize Refiners If Oil Prices Exceed $130 To date, construction has yet to start despite the sense of urgency the German government has been demonstrating since March. As a result, plans to have at least two operating LNG import terminals by the end of the year might not materialize because the final investment decisions on them have yet to be made, according to the countrys gas industry association. Meanwhile, however, Germany is discussing more LNG deliveries, this time not from the United States but from Canada. Canada has yet to build its first LNG export facility after a couple of false starts that ended with cancellations, but Germany is already negotiating future deliveries. By the way, these future LNG projects are highly doubtful to materialize, too, because environmentalist opposition to new fossil fuel projects is strong in Canada, and especially in British Columbia, where the new hypothetical terminals would need to be. There is a bigger problem, however. Governments have a way of making the projects they favor happen, especially if the energy supply situation is tight and the projects approval is urgent. That leaves the much bigger question of where the gas will come from. Of course, both Canada and the United States are quite big gas producers, especially the United States. Still, more export/import capacity is being built in anticipation of a substantial increase in demand. Investments in new gas production, meanwhile, have lagged behind the demand curve. And this means that this renewed love for LNG will likely cause a sustained rally in natural gas prices. The G7 may try and make all the hedges it likes. The truth is that support for investment in new gas supply cannot be temporary in the sense of a few years. LNG export terminals are facilities that cost billions to build. Their operators seek long-term commitments to motivate the investment decision. So does Qatar, which is expanding its own LNG export capacity substantially. Even though the G7 leaders pretend long-term contracts are not a thing, or that they can pass for temporary, they very much are a thing, and thats some serious compromise on climate goals as is already being detected by the media. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: On June 30, by a six to three vote, the US Supreme Court issued its long awaited ruling for West Virginia vs the Environmental Protection Agency. Lawsuits filed mainly by US coal companies challenging the EPAs regulatory authority were consolidated into this one case. The narrow legal issue here, simply stated, is whether the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA ) had the authority to regulate carbon emissions from so-called stationary sources, such as coal fired power plants, or whether this regulation constituted an excessive and inappropriately broad grant of power from Congress to a federal regulatory body. The court made the latter interpretation. Justice Roberts writing for the majority stated that A decision (like power plant pollution standards and their remediation) of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body. In terms of precedent, in 2007 the US Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts vs the Environmental Protection Agency that carbon pollution is subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act and that the EPS was required to act if this pollution endangered public health and welfare. The Clean Air Act was first signed into law by President Nixon in 1970 and reauthorized by President Bush in 1990. In 2012, the Obama administration issued its Clean Power Plan to regulate power plant carbon emissions and the Supreme Court voted to stay these new regulations. What was at issue before the court technically was an obscure paragraph (7411d) in the Clean Air Act which broadly authorized the EPA to issue pollution limiting rules (including those affecting CO2 emissions) so long as the agency also took into account cost, nonair impacts, and energy requirements. This ambiguous phrase was first interpreted broadly by the Democratic Carter administration and then narrowly under Republican President Reagan in a manner far more favorable to polluters. Environmental groups sued for more vigorous enforcement and the Supreme Court issued what has become known as the Chevron deference which states that the courts should defer to federal agencies in this particular case President Reagans EPA. The Supreme Courts decision today effectively overturns the courts prior policy of judicial restraint under the Chevron deference. Using what is called the nondelegation doctrine the court found a way to effectively eliminate the Chevron deference. The so-called nondelegation doctrine permits the high court to invalidate federal regulatory decisions which lack explicit Congressional mandates. The potential scope of this Supreme Court ruling utilizing the nondelegation doctrine is potentially breathtaking in that virtually all major federal laws include some delegation of often imprecise (and sometimes contradictory) rulemaking powers to federal agencies. One might quickly respond that a motivated Congress simply has to rewrite precise laws that will pass muster. However, given the realities of the filibuster and a highly politically polarized Congress, this would be literally impossible. Every major piece of federal legislation granting any regulatory authority whatsoever will now be scrutinized under a new, harsher light of potentially aggressive court review. At a minimum, this severely weakens the federal governments regulatory authority in the near term and produces a potential schism among different states that will have to fill in the administrative void created by the courts. We expect at a minimum cases involving workers rights, consumer protection, the environment, and healthcare to receive similar close scrutiny by a newly emboldened Supreme Court. It would not be a stretch to suggest that the OSHA, regulating workplace health and safety under the Department of Labor, might be found invalid. In a related comment last week Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that, in addition to reviewing laws regarding contraception and same sex marriage, that laws restricting child labor were in need of review. We believe the scope of this courts radical departure from precedent will not be fully known or understood for several years. And for a simple reason: most people simply wont believe it. Related: EU Imports More U.S. LNG Than Russian Pipeline Gas For The First Time Ever Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett was a law professor at the University of Notre Dame. Along with her co-author Professor John Copeland Nagle, they published the following in a 2016 article titled Congressional Originalism which appeared in the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law: They wrote that Adherence to originalism arguably requires the dismantling of the administrative state, the invalidation of paper money, and the reversal of Brown vs Board of Education. What is also striking is that this originalist position is virtually identical to the end-all-federal-government-agencies stance adopted by the Libertarian Party. We should quickly add that oil billionaire David Koch was that partys vice presidential candidate in 1980. So whether the courts conservative justices are motivated by pure originalism or simply warmed over Libertarianism, the end result is the samea dramatically weakened federal bureaucracy. Is this decision a throwback to nineteenth century regulatory policies that trace back to ancient times in which legislature or king sets precise prices and policies? Legislatures tried that in the UK and USA in the nineteenth century and it did not work. The legislators could not keep up with changing times. Companies eagerly embraced nonpolitical regulation by expert agencies to protect themselves from arbitrary, overly political or corrupt legislatures. The agencies still had to satisfy the courts, which, in the USA, adhered to a set of supposedly constitutional but wholly unrealistic standards, skewered by Justice Brandeis in his Southwestern Bell dissent (1923). The matter was finally settled in the Hope case (1943), with the decision written by Brandeis successor, William O. Douglas. That decision gave regulatory commissions wide discretion, as long as they reach reasonable results. Much of the world has adopted our system of regulatory discretion within broad rules. Hope, though, was decided almost 80 years ago, when justices had real world experience and before they switched from fountain pens back to goose quills. We are uncertain why businesses think they will be better off depending on legislatures to make decisions. Populists, historically, dislike big businesses. If the Supreme Court continues to act on so-called originalist principles it will undermine the constitutional authority of every federal administrative body created in the twentieth century including for example the FDA, the Federal Reserve, not to mention the entire administrative legacy of the New Deal. Regulatory power, or whats left of it, will quickly devolve to fifty individual states to use or not as they see fit. The narrow takeaway from todays ruling is that the Supreme Court has made it extremely difficult for the federal government to regulate CO2 emissions. And we would expect similar prohibitions for other climate related issues. However, the implications of this ruling are likely to be felt for years across the entire federal government. This case is not really about pollution or the environment. Using the nondelegation doctrine as justification, the court has opened the door for a dramatic challenge to the authority of every federal administrative agency. Like the announcer said, Bold move, Cotton. By Leonard Hyman and William Tilles for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Outages are already happening in some parts of the U.S., and utilities are working hard to build out spare energy inventory. Heatwaves are causing a spike in demand while droughts are reducing hydropower generation, putting the U.S. energy grid under stress. As extreme weather events become more frequent and supply chain problems persist, several U.S. states face elevated risks of blackouts. Parts of the Western and Midwestern U.S. states are at elevated risk of blackouts this summer as utilities struggle with supply-chain problems and extreme weather events become more frequent. Blackouts have already occurred in the Midwest at the start of the summer, while the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) asked consumers to conserve energy in May during an early heat wave at the beginning of the month. System operators have been warning in recent weeks that the electric grid reliability could be at risk amid high summer demand and possible supply reductions. In addition, utilities face supply-chain hurdles to procure the equipment and materials for repairs in case of outages or damages to power lines or transformers in case of heat waves, severe storms, or hurricanes. Extreme weather, strained grids, and insufficient readily available transformers and other equipment spell trouble for utilities and system operators from California to Ohio this summer, when people are cranking up air conditioning in the heat. Power generation availability is also strained amid droughts in the Western states hampering hydropower electric generation, while unexpected tripping of solar PV resources could also pose issues to reliability. Extreme Weather Heightens Reliability Risks This Summer As early as in the middle of May, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) warned that extreme weather heightens reliability risks this summer. Several parts of North America are either at elevated or high risk of energy shortfalls this summer due to expected above-normal temperatures and drought conditions over the western half of the United States and Canada, NERC said in its 2022 Summer Reliability Assessment. NERCs risk scenario analysis shows adequate resources and energy for much of North America. However, the Western Interconnection, Texas, Southwest Power Pool (SPP), and Saskatchewan are at elevated risk of energy emergencies during extreme conditions. In the Midwest, Midcontinent ISO (MISO) is in the high risk category, facing capacity shortfalls in its north and central areas during both normal and extreme conditions due to generator retirements and increased demand, NERC said in May. Drought conditions could create wide-area heat events on the one hand, and affect output from thermal generators that use rivers for cooling on the other hand. Drought could also reduce generation from hydropower. Low water levels in the Missouri River can impact generators with once-through cooling and lead to reduced output capacity, NERC warned in its report. In another key finding, NERC said that unexpected tripping of solar photovoltaic (PV) resources during grid disturbances continues to be a reliability concern. Moreover, supply chain issues and commissioning challenges on new resource and transmission projects are a concern in areas where completion is needed for reliability during summer peak periods, NERC noted. Related: China To Subsidize Refiners If Oil Prices Exceed $130 Expectations of higher electricity demand this summer and possible supply reductions have raised concerns that the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) balancing authority could face tight reserve margins during peak summer demand. MISO, the balancing authority of 15 central U.S. states, expects, in theory, enough available power generating capacity for the summer months. Yet, planned and forced outages could reduce the capacity available. In May, grid operators from a growing number of U.S. states started warning about electricity shortages as grids cannot cope with the imbalance between demand and supply heading into summer. California, for example, has warned that it would need to produce more electricity than it is currently producing to avoid blackouts. ERCOT asked consumers in early May to conserve energy after six power plants went down unexpectedly. In June, MISO, which operates the grid providing power to 42 million residents, asked utilities to prepare emergency resources and delay any discretionary equipment maintenance. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) initiated in mid-June two rulemakings aimed at improving the reliability of the bulk power system against the threats of extreme weather. Increasingly frequent cold snaps, heat waves, drought, and major storms continue to challenge the ability of our nations electric infrastructure to deliver reliable affordable energy to consumers, FERC Chairman Rich Glick said. Outages Already Happening A heat wave and a high-wind storm in Ohio in the middle of June already led to outages in the Columbus area. Summer heat waves, droughts in the West, low levels in the Missouri River, and the approaching hurricane season will test grid operators capability to maintain the reliability of power supply to Americans this summer. Grid resilience will also have to take into account the growing share of renewable energy in the mix as solar and wind resources have increased at the expense of coal-fired power as coal capacity continues to retire in the United States. All these factors add to the supply-chain struggles of utilities across America. They are keeping spare inventories for the worst of the storms and heat waves. You dont want to deplete your inventory because you dont know when that storm is coming, but you know its coming, Ralph Izzo, chief executive at New Jerseys Public Service Enterprise Group, told Reuters. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: For the first time ever, the European Union has imported in June more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States than gas via pipeline from Russia, as Moscow slashed supply to Europe earlier this month, Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said on Thursday. Russias recent steep cuts in natural gas flows to the EU mean this is the 1st month in history in which the EU has imported more gas via LNG from the US than via pipeline from Russia, Birol tweeted today, sharing an analysis from the IEA. The drop in Russian supply calls for efforts to reduce EU demand to prepare for a tough winter, the head of the Paris-based agency added. The significantly lower supply from Russia since the middle of June and the upcoming annual maintenance at Nord Stream that will completely halt deliveries through the pipeline for two weeks in July have left Europe scrambling to fill gas storage sites to adequate levels before the winter. The EU has been importing record volumes of American LNG in recent months, although analysts say LNG imports alone cannot replace Russian pipeline gas. The European Union and the UK saw a record high level of LNG imports in April, as higher spot prices in Europe compared to Asia attracted suppliers with destination flexibility to ship LNG to Europe. Those suppliers were mostly from the United States, the EIA said earlier this month. In April 2022 alone, five European countriesFrance, Spain, the UK, the Netherlands, and Polandaccounted for 54.1% of total U.S. LNG exports, data from the U.S. Energy Department showed earlier this month. Despite the record intake of American, and other, LNG, Europe still faces supply troubles this winter if it doesnt take measures to conserve energy, analysts and the IEA say. Europe faces a red alert for gas supply next winter, Birol said earlier in June. Recent disruptions to natural gas supplies, notably Russia steeply cutting flows to EU countries, is set to remove around 35 billion cubic metres of gas from the market this year, posing big challenges to efforts to refill storage. This is a red alert for the EU for next winter, Birol tweeted in mid-June. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Biden said in a Thursday press conference that Americans would suffer high gasoline prices for as long as it takes for Russia to be defeated. New York Times Jim Tankersley asked the President on the final day of the NATO summit in Madrid how long American drivers would have to pay a premium for gasoline. The war has pushed prices upthey could go as high as $200 per barrel, some analysts think. How long is it fair to expect American drivers and drivers around the world to pay that premium for this war? Tankersley asked. As long as it takes so Russia cannot, in fact, defeat Ukraine, President Biden replied. If we do these thingsand its estimated we could bring down tomorrow, if theyif Congress agreed and the states agreed, we could bring down the price of oil about $1 a gallon at the pumpin that range. And so we could have immediate relief in terms of the reduction of theof the elimination oftemporary elimination of the gas tax. And so, I think theres a lot of things we can do, and we will do, but the bottom line is, ultimately, the reason why gas prices are up is because of Russia. Russia, Russia, Russia, President Biden added. The Biden Administration has been under extreme pressure to bring down the prices at the pump for Americans. Gasoline prices began to rise early in 2021 as post-pandemic demand began to come back online. U.S. refiners are now running at 95% of capacity, and there are no new refineries due to come online in the United States. Gasoline prices spiked even higher as crude oil prices rose in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: For his first trip abroad since he sent his countrys armed forces into Ukraine in February, Russian President Vladimir Putin chose Tajikistan. And few are entirely certain why. The official agenda for Putins June 28 working visit sounded mostly unexceptional. The Kremlin said in a pre-trip statement that talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon would dwell on the strategic alliance between Moscow and Dushanbe and on the situation in Afghanistan. No details were provided. Yury Ushakov, an advisor to Putin on foreign affairs, said that Russia would again try to make the case for Tajikistan to join the Moscow-led Eurasia Economic Union trading bloc. That too is nothing new, however. RFE/RLs Tajik service, Radioi Ozodi, speculated that some other, more delicate, topics might be discussed. The broadcaster noted that Putin and Rahmon were to meet one-on-one, a format suggesting the discussion would wade into sensitive areas. These hypothetical agenda items included the internal situation in Tajikistan, possible assistance Dushanbe could offer Moscow in avoiding the full impact of Western sanctions, the need for Rahmon to come to terms with Taliban rule in neighboring Afghanistan, and the fraught question of the succession process. Those explanations certainly feel more intriguing and compelling, seeing as Tajikistan is a relatively second-tier partner for Russia in most other respects. Nevertheless, the presidents did try to sell a story about booming relations. Bilateral trade in the first five months of 2022 saw a 46.2 percent year-on-year increase compared to the same period in 2021, they noted. An investment forum scheduled to take place in Dushanbe in September should build on that, Rahmons office said. Russia is expanding its presence in other ways too, through the building of schools. Five new Russian-language schools built with funding from Moscow are set to open in September. But the specter of a rapid collapse in Russian prosperity caused by the sanctions threatens both the economic and cultural angles of this relationship. The World Bank estimates that remittances sent home by Tajik migrant laborers, the vast bulk of whom usually go to Russia for work, may plunge by 40 percent in 2022. This may cause the Tajik economy to contract by 2 percent, the bank says. Russia-sourced remittances have long been a lifeline for Tajikistans wildly corrupt and inept rulers as they enable the population to just about keep their heads above water. One of the many downsides to this model, though, is that it gives Russia powerful leverage to influence domestic affairs in Tajikistan, since the Kremlin always reserves the right to close its borders to Tajik laborers. It has often made veiled threats to follow through on that possibility. Moscow casts itself as the indispensable partner in other ways. Russias 201st military base in Tajikistan, spread across the cities of Dushanbe and Bokhtar, is the largest it has anywhere outside its own borders. Regular joint military exercises with Tajik forces are intended to drive home the message that if push comes to shove and dangerous elements from the south decide to pour across the border, Russian forces will hold them back. And yet, events in Ukraine have dangerously strained this narrative. The powerful Russian army has proven something of a paper tiger prone to relying on atrocities when fighting mobile and highly motivated opponents. The United States is trying to position itself as a viable alternative to Russia as a security guarantor a fact underscored by a visit to Tajikistan last week from U.S. Army General Michael Kurilla, who was appointed head of U.S. Central Command in April. Our security assistance [in Tajikistan] focuses primarily on providing the training, equipment, and infrastructure to defend the border. Over the past four years, CENTCOMs [assistance] include[d] ground sensors for the Tajik border guards. Weve also provided all communication equipment used along the border, to include 4,800 radios. Weve given Tajikistan more than 400 patrol vehicles, Kurilla told reporters while in Tajikistan. This assistance will continue. I am committed to Tajik sovereignty. The U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe will soon also oversee work on new Tajik-Afghan border outpost. This is just one example of security-sector assistance to Tajikistan, Kurilla said. Heres another: CENTCOM provided all of the communication equipment used by Tajik security forces along the Afghan border. What is more, Washington has no expectations that Tajikistan will take a conciliatory position to Afghanistan in its current form. Russia, meanwhile, is inching toward granting the Taliban regime something akin to recognition. Tajikistan is the strongest holdout against the Taliban among Russias close allies in Central Asia and has spoken harshly against the Talibans perceived hostility to ethnic minority groups, most notably the Tajiks. Putin tried to offer Rahmon some reassurance on this front by assuring him that any dialogue with the Taliban government would require it to acknowledge Afghanistans ethnic diversity. We are attempting to build relations with the political forces that control the situation, Putin was quoted as saying by The Associated Press. We are working from the premise that all ethnic groups in Afghanistan, as was already said, must properly participate in running the country. Security and economic stability may be secondary concerns to the Rahmon regime, however. Many observers believe that the priority for the portly 69-year-old Tajik president is to see his kleptocratic family retain power, and the wealth that comes with it, and for this to happen by means of his 34-year-old son, Rustam Emomali, taking over the reins. That process neared completion in April 2020, when Emomali was elected speaker of the upper house of parliament, in effect placing him in pole position to take over from his father, who has run the country since the early 1990s. In taking over that job, he displaced Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloev, a veteran associate of Rahmon long known to have been a favorite of the Russian government. There was speculation Emomali might even run in the October 2020 election, but that notion was scotched when his father confirmed that he was standing one more time. It is a widely held article of faith that such is the residual influence of Russia, any handover would, in any event, need the blessing of the Kremlin. If Putin has granted that sought-after approval, a changeover in Tajikistan may be imminent and the sense of this otherwise uneventful trip may become clearer. By Eurasianet.org More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Student learn to write the Chinese characters during a lesson at a school in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb 10, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua] Learning of nation's language a major contributor to international exchanges China has promoted the high-quality development of global Chinese language learning in the past decade, assisting foreigners in learning standard Chinese and enhancing international communication, officials and experts said. In the past 10 years, the nation has developed and released the first standard to evaluate international learners' Chinese language proficiency. It has published different editions in eight languages and aligned with more than 20 language education institutions, said Tian Lixin, director of the department for language application and information management of the Ministry of Education. She introduced the accomplishments in Chinese language education over the past decade at a news conference on Tuesday. "We have set up a global Chinese learning platform and attracted more than 6 million users from 182 countries and regions," she said, adding that the total number of visits to the online platform has exceeded 100 million. Launched in 2019, the Global Chinese Learning Platform has developed a mobile app that supports six languages: Chinese, English, Russian, Japanese, Korean and Thai. "We also established Mandarin testing stations abroad and built the Chinese Proficiency Test into a well-known brandHSKamong learners," Tian said. By the end of last year, more than 180 countries and regions have offered Chinese language education and 76 countries have incorporated Chinese into their national education system. There are more than 25 million Chinese learners abroad and the total number of foreigners learning and using Chinese is reaching nearly 200 million. The sector has also assisted in international communication and served the State's strategic needs. A communication project has been implemented to compile and interpret more than 1,000 ideological and cultural terms that reflect the core and essence of the discourse system in Chinese language. A series of books to introduce and explain Chinese ideology and culture have been published in different languages and are mainly being used in countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative to boost international communication, Tian said. Beijing Language and Culture University has focused on enhancing the international influence of the Chinese language, including setting up Confucius schools and classes and other overseas Chinese language education centers, said Liu Li, president of BLCU. "In the past decade, the university has trained more than 100,000 international students from over 180 countries and regions. Those students not only know the Chinese language, but also understand the culture," he said. After years of indecision, Armenia appears to be preparing the way to resume the development of the controversial Amulsar gold mine project. On June 18, new amendments in the countrys mining code went into force. Among other things, they allow companies to carry out mining with environmental impact assessments more than a year old, as long as the delay was caused by reasons that include civil disobedience. Development of the Amulsar mine was suspended in 2018 following large protests against the projects potential environmental damage. Since then its prospects have fallen and risen as the government appeared unable to reconcile the need for investment and jobs in the country with the serious environmental consequences that the mine threatened, and the resulting popular opposition to the project. The government has not said formally whether it intends to restart the mine project. But activists monitoring it say that all signs point in that direction. After parliament passed the law earlier this year, a group of activist organizations appealed to the government to revoke it. This legislative change is, in fact, a restriction on the constitutional right to hold public meetings, rallies, marches, demonstrations, as well as the right to participate in decision-making, the February 10 letter read. It is obvious that the legislative change is primarily related to [the] Amulsar gold quartzite mine development project. The activist organizations appealed to President Vahagn Khachaturyan to not sign the law but he did on June 18, saying that experts consulted by his office confirmed that the law was constitutional. Amulsar is one of the largest foreign investments in Armenia. The company that operates it, Lydian International, says that it has already invested $300 million in the project and claims that the mine would contribute $488 million to the state budget through taxes and royalties over its 11-year operation, amounting to 1.4 percent of the countrys gross domestic product. But many experts and environmentalists believe that the mining process in Amulsar, close to the resort town of Jermuk, will harm the local ecology and could even pollute Lake Sevan, Armenias largest source of fresh water. As an opposition politician, Nikol Pashinyan also opposed the project, the contract for which had been signed in 2007. When Pashinyan became prime minister following 2018s Velvet Revolution, activists, encouraged by the rise to power of someone they saw as an ally, rallied for a new wave of protests against the mine that summer. The prosecutor generals office launched a criminal case in August 2018 against the operator of the mine, Lydian Armenia, accusing it of damaging the environment by unauthorized mining operations. The government commissioned a new audit of the project, arguing that the initial environmental impact assessments were tainted by the close association with Lydian Armenia of the experts who carried them out. When the new audit was released, in August 2019, it largely supported the previous assessments, though it did identify some additional risks. Pashinyan initially said the new audit was positive enough to go ahead with the project, but a public backlash forced the government to backtrack and promise that it would produce yet another environmental impact assessment. Lydian responded by threatening to sue for damages of up to $2 billion if the government pulled out of the project. Demonstrations began again to gather steam, with clashes between police and protesters in August 2020. A month later, however, the war with Azerbaijan started and the issue largely dropped off the public agenda. The criminal case, meanwhile, was terminated in December 2021. No new environmental impact assessment was ever carried out, and the new law means that Amulsar can move forward using the most recent assessment. Sources in the current and former governments have told Eurasianet, on condition of anonymity, that economic needs in the post-war period have meant the likelihood of the mine reopening has significantly increased. Western embassies, in particular the British and American, have long supported the project. United States Ambassador Lynne Tracy visited the mine site in April and encouraged an expeditious and transparent resolution of outstanding disputes around the project, the embassy said in a statement. She also welcomed Lydians commitment to upholding the highest international labor and environmental standards and noted the potential for the project to serve as a significant driver of growth for Armenias economy. Environmental activists disagree. [T]here is abundant evidence of serious violations of a wide range of rights in the development of the Amulsar gold mine, from substantive and procedural environmental rights to social, economic and political rights of affected individuals and communities, wrote CEE Bankwatch Network, an organization monitoring projects in the region funded by international financial institutions, in a new report. It recommended that the Armenian government revoke all licenses to operate the mine, initiate an independent expert assessment of the costs and benefits of the project, then take this assessment into account to ensure that negative impacts are duly identified and prevented and that local populations and communities may directly benefit from the project if it is finally pursued. By Eurasianet.org More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Electricity prices in Europe are soaring again as the market starts to fear that energy shortages this winter would be much larger than expected a few weeks ago. The German power prices for next year, a benchmark in the European electricity market, have surged by 12 percent so far this week and were rising by 2 percent early on Thursday, according to Bloomberg estimates. Europe is grappling with filling gas storage in time for the winter, after Russia slashed supply to major EU consumers, including Germany and Italy, citing technical reasons. Germany and Italy dismissed Gazproms reasons for the lower flows and said the move was politically motivated. At any rate, the low Russian gas deliveries and the two-week maintenance on Nord Stream which will halt supply via the pipeline in July are making European governments and electricity market traders and participants nervous about gas and power supply. In addition, France has been experiencing outages at its nuclear reactors in recent months, which has slashed power generation from nuclear power plants. Frances nuclear power generation accounts for around 70 percent of its electricity mix, and in normal operations of reactors, it is a net exporter of electricity to other European countries. Prolonged maintenance at several nuclear reactors this year, however, means that Franceand the rest of Europehave less nuclear-generated power supply now. As a result of all these factors, power prices in Germany, France, and the rest of Europe renewed their rise in recent weeks. It seems like the market is starting to price in a more pessimistic scenario for the winter, Rystad Energy analyst Carlos Torres Diaz told Bloomberg. Europe has elevated the level of alert for energy supply after Russia slashed gas supply two weeks ago and no one is ruling out now a complete halt of Russian gas deliveries to the EU. Last week, Germany even triggered the second phase of its three-phase gas emergency plan as it braces for the possibility of a complete halt of gas supplies from Russia via Nord Stream. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The Biden Administration could restrict all future federal offshore oil and gas drilling auctions to the Gulf of Mexico area, according to two anonymous Reuters sources, after the U.S. Department of the Interior recommended the exclusion of all other areas. The Biden Administration has until today, June 30, to submit its five-year offshore development planalthough the areas that might be included look like they could be slimmed down to the Gulf of Mexico. Previously federal oil and gas leases for drilling have also included Alaska. Other more sensitive areas have been proposed under previous administrations, but were blocked by environmental challenges. The Department of the Interior is set to release its draft plan for offshore development later today, but it is unlikely to be finalized for months after the period allowing public comments. Without this plan in place, however, the DoI will be unable to hold any offshore auctions. The last offshore auction, held in November, was vacated by court order, citing that the Department of the Interior had failed to account for the sales climate change impact. According to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, cited by Reuters, the Gulf of Mexico accounts for 15% of all U.S. oil production. In April, after campaigning against holding oil and gas drilling on federal lands, President Biden removed the administrations moratorium on oil and gas drilling on federal lands, putting 144,000 acres up for leasing. How we manage our public lands and waters says everything about what we value as a nation. For too long, the federal oil and gas leasing programs have prioritized the wants of extractive industries above local communities, the natural environment, the impact on our air and water, the needs of Tribal Nations, and, moreover, other uses of our shared public lands, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said at the time. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Saudi Arabia may hike its official selling price for crude oil sent to Asia for the second month in a row to take advantage of strong premiums for Middle Eastern oil grades and record-high distillate margins, Reuters has reported. The price for the Kingdom's flagship grade, Arab Light, could cost $2.40 per barrel more in August, according to sources from the refining industry that Reuters polled this week. "Refining margins are very solid and we expect demand to stay robust in the near term," the sources said. Saudi Arabia raised its official selling price for July deliveries as China began to reopen after the latest series of Covid-related lockdowns amid strong demand for middle distillates that pushed refiners' margins to a record high. The price hike for the flagship Saudi grade for July deliveries to Asia was $2.10 per barrel, bringing the total premium of Arab Light to $6.50 per barrel over the Oman/Dubai benchmarks. Meanwhile, supply on a global level remains tight and is getting even tighter. Libya just announced it would be suspending exports from a key oil terminal as its political crisis continues raging, and Ecuador said earlier this week it might have to suspend all oil production amid anti-government protests. Meanwhile, it has emerged that the UAE and Saudi Arabiathe OPEC members thought to have the most spare oil production capacitymay actually be much closer to the maximum they can produce than previously believed. Saudi Arabia will likely announce its official selling prices for August after today's OPEC+ meeting. Changes in the policy of the extended cartel are not likely after last month the members agreed to increase their monthly additions to total output from about 430,000 bpd to 648,000 bpd in both July and August. However, OPEC so far continues to be incapable of adding even the initial 430,000 bpd. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: German energy giant Uniper, one of the largest customers of Russias Gazprom, has initiated talks with the German government on possible measures to stabilize its finances amid low Russian gas deliveries and soaring gas prices. Uniper entered into discussions with the German government on possible stabilization measures for which a number of instruments could be considered, such as guarantees and collateral, increasing the current not yet drawn KfW credit facility, and equity investments, the company said in a statement. Uniper also withdrew its outlook for the financial year 2022 with regard to adjusted EBIT and adjusted net income, and expects those two metrics to be significantly below in the second half of 2022 compared to the respective prior-year figures due to low gas supply from Russia. Moscow drastically cut supply to Germany via Nord Stream in the middle of June, sparking a new gas price surge in Europe and renewed concerns about how the continent would cope with gas and power supply this winter. Since 16 June 2022, Uniper has received only 40% of the contractually committed gas volumes from Gazprom. Uniper uses flexibilities in its portfolio as well as substitution of volumes to ensure security of supply for its customers. However, Uniper currently procures substitution volumes at significantly higher prices, the company said. Uniper cannot pass those additional costs to customers, and it is registering significant financial losses. There are also major uncertainties regarding the geopolitical situation, as well as the duration and scope of Russian gas supply restrictions. Against this background, gas price developments are also difficult to assess at present, said the German energy firm. Earlier this month, Germany saved a former Gazprom unit it had expropriated in April with a multi-billion-euro loan to ensure the security of supply. Gazprom Germania GmbH was the German unit of Gazprom until a few months ago, before the German government placed Gazprom Germania under the trusteeship of the German energy regulator to ensure the security of supply after Russia invaded Ukraine. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) The California Department of Justice on Wednesday acknowledged the agency wrongly made public the personal information of perhaps hundreds of thousands of gun owners in up to six state-operated databases, a broader exposure than the agency initially disclosed a day earlier. Rob Bonta, the Democrat who heads the agency and is running for reelection in November, said he was deeply disturbed and angered by the failure to protect the information his department is entrusted to keep. He ordered an investigation and promised to fix any problems. This unauthorized release of personal information is unacceptable and falls far short of my expectations for this department, he said. The California Rifle and Pistol Association noted that the release came days after the U.S. Supreme Court threw out New Yorks requirement that those seeking to carry concealed weapons provide a reason. That also derailed Californias similar requirement, though state lawmakers and Bonta are working to impose new requirements. The association said the unconscionable release included information on law enforcement officials including judges, as well as others who had sought permits like rape and domestic violence victims. Names, dates of birth, gender, race, drivers license numbers, addresses and criminal histories were exposed for people who were granted or denied permits to carry concealed weapons between 2011 and 2021, the department said. Social Security numbers and financial information were not disclosed. In addition, the states Assault Weapon Registry, Handguns Certified for Sale, Dealer Record of Sale, Firearm Certificate Safety and Gun Violence Restraining Order dashboards were affected, the department said. Officials said were investigating the extent to which personal information was exposed in those databases. The information on concealed carry permits was publicly available on a spreadsheet for less than 24 hours, officials said, from the time the department updated its Firearms Dashboard Portal on Monday afternoon until it shut down the website Tuesday morning. It is infuriating that people who have been complying with the law have been put at risk by this breach, said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea, president of the California State Sheriffs Association. He said sheriffs are concerned about the risk it poses to permit holders. Bontas office could not immediately say how many individuals are in each database, whether the data was downloaded and how often, and when the public website would be restored. California officials issued about 40,000 conceal and carry permits last year, down from more than 100,000 during the peak year of 2016, according to information on the state Department of Justices website. Republican state Sen. Brian Dahle, who is running for governor against Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, said many of the women who seek to carry concealed weapons do so because they fear for their lives and safety. Consequently, those women will now have to worry that the person they least wanted to see again may have just been given their address by this careless act of bureaucratic idiocy. Bonta said he immediately began an investigation into how the release occurred and will take strong corrective measures where necessary. He said he is aware of the stress the release may cause, and the department will notify people whose information was exposed. It will also provide credit monitoring services for those individuals. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. DETROIT (AP) A judge on Thursday set Aug. 9 for a second trial for two men charged with plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. A jury in April acquitted two other men but couldn't reach a unanimous verdict for Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. They were described as leaders of a wild scheme to kidnap the Democratic governor at her vacation home ahead of the 2020 election, trigger a civil war and prevent Joe Biden from winning the presidency. U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker set a trial date after turning down requests to clear Fox and Croft on conspiracy and weapons charges. It was a long shot: An acquittal would fit only if Jonker believed the evidence was insufficient to convict the pair. "We don't know what the jury was thinking. ... There's enough here to say that a rational jury could still go against Mr. Fox, go against Mr. Croft, even considering the outcome with respect for Mr. Harris and Mr. Caserta, Jonker said. He was referring to Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta, who were acquitted. The August trial would occur a week after the Republican primary when voters choose Whitmer's GOP opponent in the Nov. 8 election. Prosecutors said the group was steeped in anti-government extremism and furious over Whitmers COVID-19 restrictions. There was evidence of a crudely built shoot house to practice going in and out of her vacation home, and a night ride by Croft, Fox and undercover agents to check the property. Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks both pleaded guilty and testified for the government. Defense lawyers portrayed the men as weekend warriors, often stoned on marijuana and prone to big, wild talk. They said agents and informants cajoled the men into targeting the governor in a sting operation. Croft is from Bear, Delaware, while the others are from Michigan. Find APs full coverage of the Whitmer kidnap plot trial at: https://apnews.com/hub/whitmer-kidnap-plot-trial Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has praised his fathers legacy and glossed over its violent past as he was sworn in as Philippine president. His rise to power comes 36 years after an army-backed People Power revolt booted his namesake dictator father from office. In his inaugural speech, Marcos Jr. said his father accomplished many things and built better roads that had not been done since the countrys independence. Activists and survivors of the martial law era say the stunning election victory was pulled off by whitewashing the Marcos familys image. Protests took place at the same time as Marcos Jr. took oath at the steps of the National Museum in Manila. He called for unity and avoided the mention of abuses under his father's rule. German carmaker Audi's China joint venture has laid the cornerstone of a new electric car vehicle plant in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province. Construction is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024. The new plant will be the first in China to exclusively produce fully electric models by Audi. The plant is designed to produce 150,000 vehicles a year. All cars are based on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) technology platform that was developed jointly with Porsche. "The start of construction on our new plant in Changchun is an important milestone for Audi in China," said Markus Duesmann, chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG and responsible for the China business. Audi holds a majority stake in its China joint venture Audi FAW NEV Company. It has invested 2.6 billion euros (2.7 billion U.S. dollars) in the company and the new plant. Once completely finished, the plant will cover the entire value chain of automotive production, including a press shop, a vehicle assembly line and a battery assembly facility. "We are combining the best of two worlds," said Helmut Stettner, chief executive officer (CEO) of Audi FAW NEV Company. The project would bring together the "know-how from over a century of automotive history and the comprehensive expertise of our long-standing Chinese partner FAW." Two in three battery electric vehicles (BEVs) sold worldwide in the first quarter of 2022 went to customers in China, making it the world's largest market for electric cars, according to auditing and consulting services company PwC Strategy& (Germany). China also became the biggest single market for German carmakers and accounted for 39 percent of the industry's total vehicle sales in the first quarter, according to consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY). (1 euro = 1.05 U.S. dollars) A Nevada tech company owner allegedly defrauded more than 10,000 investors out of $45 million, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska. Neil Chandran, who was arrested in Los Angeles on Wednesday, faces up to 80 years in federal prison on five charges related to wire fraud and criminal transactions, according to the indictment. The indictment alleges that Chandran operated a group of tech companies under the umbrella name ViRSE, which he claimed were about to be acquired by a group of wealthy buyers. Chandran also claimed to potential investors that investors funds would be used for normal expenses to keep the companies operating until they were bought and that prominent business figures, including two billionaires, were involved with the deal. Chandran is accused of telling this to a then-resident of Lincoln, who passed the information on to a resident of Palm City, Florida. The person from Palm City then marketed the investment opportunity to thousands of potential investors through email updates and conference calls under the name CoinDeal, according to court documents. Both people repeated Chandrans materially false and misleading claims to other potential investors, according to the indictment. In total, Chandran defrauded more than 10,000 individuals out of $45 million. The investors transferred their funds to Chandran via credit cards, wire transfers and cryptocurrency payments to accounts in the name of AEO Publishing, Inc., Banner Co-Op, Inc. and BannersGo, LLC. Chandran misappropriated the investors money into other businesses and also used the money to purchase luxury real estate and vehicles, according to the indictment. The indictment lists more than 100 assets as proceeds of the fraud that will be forfeited pending resolution of the criminal case. The assets include California and Nevada real estate properties and dozens of vehicles, including 39 Teslas. The U.S. Attorneys Office has requested that the trial be held in Lincoln, according to the indictment. 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. Two teenagers have been arrested and charged with murder in the March 2021 slaying of an Omaha man. Wednesday, the Omaha Police Departments Homicide Unit obtained arrest warrants for 16-year-old Dech Gach and 15-year-old Gatluak Jiel in connection with the fatal shooting of 59-year-old Larry Thompson. Thompson was killed March 12, 2021, near 28th Avenue and Spencer Street. Gach and Jiel were taken into custody with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Services Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force and the U.S. Marshals Arizona WANTED Violent Offender Task Force. Gach was arrested in Iowa and Jiel was arrested in Arizona, Omaha police said Thursday. Gach and Jiel each has been charged with first-degree murder, use of a weapon to commit a felony and criminal conspiracy. Another teen, Christopher A. Trejo, now 16, was charged last year in Thompsons slaying. He faces the same charges that Gach and Jiel face. In a June 2021 court hearing, a prosecutor said Trejo borrowed his fathers Chevrolet Cruze on March 12 and, between 3 and 4 p.m., picked up some associates in Sioux City, Iowa. The group returned about 5:30 p.m. to the area near 30th and Spencer Streets. Law enforcement officials determined that Trejo and the people he was with had sent numerous text messages stating that they intended to hunt for people in the projects of North Omaha on March 12, the prosecutor said. The group returned to the area near 30th and Spencer around 8 p.m. Data from cellphone towers suggests that they turned their phones off. Thompson was sitting on his porch near 28th and Spencer when he was shot, officials have said. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. Seven shell casings were found at the shooting scene. Reports indicated that a vehicle matching the one registered to Trejos father was seen in the area around the time of the shooting. A search of the vehicle turned up a disposable nitrile glove that had DNA from Trejo and one of his associates on it as well as gunshot residue. 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. Fifty-five local nonprofits will receive a combined $15 million in grants from the City of Omahas allotment of federal American Rescue Plan Act money for pandemic recovery. The grants, ranging in size from $50,000 for the 100 Black Men of Omaha to over $700,000 for Siena Francis House, will go to a wide variety of organizations that provide a host of human services, according to a list announced Wednesday by Mayor Jean Stothert and officials of the Omaha Community Foundation and United Way of the Midlands. The city contracted with the two nonprofits to manage the distribution of the money. The selected organizations should begin receiving the grants in July. The money comes out of the City of Omahas $112 million allotment from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, an economic recovery initiative of President Joe Bidens that Congress passed in 2021. The grant program represents the single largest investment of funding the City of Omaha has ever made in the nonprofit community, the Mayors Office said. Stothert called it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity Wednesday. The city allotted $10 million to the Omaha Community Foundation to distribute to nonprofits for programs including gang prevention and intervention, mental health, crisis response and assistance to unemployed workers, including workforce readiness training, certification and employment services. United Way of the Midlands received $5 million to give to organizations that address such basic needs as access to food, shelter and health care, as well as behavioral and mental health services, health promotion and education, financial literacy, family support and services for people experiencing homelessness. The agencies sought to expand or enhance existing programs with the ability to sustain themselves beyond this infusion of one-time funding, officials said Wednesday. Nonprofits applied for grants through the United Way of the Midlands and Omaha Community Foundation. Some of the larger amounts are $637,560 to Heartland Family Services, $610,000 to OneWorld Community Health Centers and $600,000 to Heartland Workforce Solutions. The Charles Drew Health Center will receive $600,000 for community-based crisis intervention, and Completely Kids will receive a combined $560,000 for three programs: out of school time for vulnerable youth, weekend food and mental health services for youths and families. A complete list of grant recipients is on the City of Omaha website. Leaders at United Way of the Midlands and the Omaha Community Foundation said they received many more applications than could be funded. The pandemic brought new challenges and it also revealed barriers to opportunity and widened gaps for many families, said Shawna Forsberg, president and CEO of United Way of the Midlands. The ARPA dollars target high-need populations, agencies that have demonstrated specific and compelling uses of funding that respond to COVID and assist with recovery throughout the community. Stephen Jackson, chief operating officer of North Omaha Area Health, said the nonprofit will be able to expand mental health support for people seeking services at its free clinic. He said the grants will help meet community needs that have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Jackson said he was thankful to Biden, Congress and the city. They did acknowledge this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Jackson said. However, the needs arent once in a lifetime. The needs are ongoing. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. LINCOLN Like thousands of students across the country, Abby Steffen was unsure of how she was going to pay for a college education. The sophomore-to-be at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln said she didnt qualify for a Pell Grant when she first submitted her Free Application for Financial Student Aid, known as FAFSA, the document used to determine how much help she would be eligible to receive. The oldest of eight children from a farm family that lives near Crofton, Steffen was assigned a high expected family contribution, meaning shed have to find other ways to pay tuition and other costs. I was really considering dropping out for a year and working because I wasnt sure how I would be able to afford everything, said Steffen, who worked a second job during the school year, and took on a handful of others this summer. But when she asked the Office of Federal Student Aid at the U.S. Education Department to reconsider, citing special circumstances, Steffen learned that she would, in fact, be eligible to receive a Pell Grant. The Pell Grant, which celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this month, offers up to $6,895 in financial aid to students who demonstrate need, in order for them to pursue a college degree. The money does not have to be paid back. Steffen said learning she was eligible for a Pell Grant altered her future: College is very stressful as it is, and I know a lot of students are very grateful for the Pell Grant. According to data collected by the Education Department and published through the College Scorecard, roughly 36% of students attending Nebraskas public and private colleges and universities received a Pell Grant in the 2019-20 school year. At UNL, the number of recipients increased from 4,046 in 2010-11 to a high of 4,757 in 2017-18, before leveling off at 4,481 in 2020-21, the office of Institutional Effectiveness and Analytics reported. For first-time, full-time students, the number of Pell Grant recipients jumped from 966 to 1,208 in the decade from 2010 to 2020. As the number of students who receive Pell Grants has increased, so too has the average amount awarded, by a little more than $500, according to UNL. In 2010-11, undergraduate students at UNL received an average grant of $3,813; the average rose to $4,489, while the average Pell Grant to first-time, full-time students increased from $3,728 to $4,489 over the same time period. Other schools, including other campuses across the NU system, the Nebraska State College System, and community colleges across the state, as well as private colleges and universities, have also seen success among students who qualify for federal assistance. At the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Nebraska at Kearney, for example, roughly 34% and 36% of the student body received a Pell Grant in the 2019-20 school year, according to the College Scorecard. NU President Ted Carter, who knew Sen. Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island for whom the grant is named Pell wrote Carters nomination letter to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1977 said the award, when combined with a competitive tuition rate and support from private donors, adds up to a story of unbeatable success. About one-third of students who attend state college campuses in Peru, Wayne and Chadron used a Pell Grant to pay part of their way, most of whom are first-generation college students, Chancellor Paul Turman said. Thats up slightly over the numbers from a decade ago. The current funding of the Pell Grant about $5,600 per semester pays the full tuition rate for state colleges, and would cover additional costs of those students. The vision for those Pell Grants, when that program was first put in place, is how do we find opportunities for the students to continue their education? he said. If you look at all of our aid collectively, Pell is probably the biggest bucket our families draw from. UNL Chancellor Ronnie Green said the support offered by the Pell Grant has played an important role for the 1 out of every 5 students who receive financial help from the federal government to go to college. The Pell Grant is often first-dollar aid, reducing the $25,000 cost of attendance at UNL by $4,500 on average before other aid is applied. When you look at the level of support those students need in order to not go to school with a lot of debt, thats significant, Green said. Pell becomes the foundation on which we stack all of the other aid to try and minimize the cost for these students. That has helped UNL keep the average debt students graduate with at roughly $24,500, according to the Institute for College Access and Success, which is below both the state average of $30,500 and the national average of $32,700. Green is a direct beneficiary of the Pell Grant program. As a first-generation student at Virginia Tech University in 1979 who would have qualified for Nebraska Promise, Green received federal assistance. Stacked with other scholarships, the grant helped Green graduate with no college debt he acknowledges the difference in cost some four decades later but says Pell helped him in ways similar to how it helps students now. I didnt work a lot when I was in college I worked some as a student worker but I was able to go full-time as a student and not have to worry about 20-30 hours of workload a week, he said. I was able to finish in 3 years instead of 5 or 6 years. Reducing the need to work several jobs in addition to taking a full slate of classes is something more recent college students have experienced as well. For Sadid Carrillo, who graduated from UNL in 2013 with a degree in finance and accounting, the Pell Grant allowed him to not only attend UNL, but also to take part in opportunities he otherwise wouldnt have been able to pursue. The core of it, in my opinion, is that it just helped me focus on school, said Carrillo. For me, I wouldnt have had the confidence or the overall ability to stay in school if not for the Pell Grant. The oldest of five children, Carrillo said his parents couldnt cover the full cost of attendance at UNL. Under the Pell Grant program, however, the Schuyler native qualified for the maximum amount, roughly $5,000 a semester at the time. When he considered dropping out and following his parents to work at Cargill it was for school reasons and not financial, he said Carrillo said he surveyed the wide assortment of help he had been offered and decided to stay. That led to a college degree and, eventually, a job as a bank examiner at the Omaha office of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. If it wasnt for the Pell Grant, I dont think I would have stayed in school, he said. All of those resources definitely made the picture of going to college much more realistic and more possible. Supreme Court limits EPA in curbing power plant emissions WASHINGTON (AP) In a blow to the fight against climate change, the Supreme Court has limited how the nations main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. By a 6-3 vote Thursday, with conservatives in the majority, the court said that the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency broad authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming. The decision, environmental advocates, dissenting liberal justices and President Joe Biden said, was a major step in the wrong direction at a time of increasing environmental damage attributable to climate change amid dire warnings about the future. Biden notched gains at summit; returns to turmoil at home MADRID (AP) The dissonant realities of President Joe Bidens second year in office were on display Thursday as he wound up a five-day trip to Europe that highlighted both the key U.S. role in mounting a strong allied response to Vladimir Putins aggression and the domestic turmoil that is dragging Biden down at home. Biden appeared to welcome the time away from Washington as a respite from his domestic predicament, insisting that despite turmoil at home from inflation to gun violence, world leaders still valued Americas and his leadership. Biden's success abroad drew rare praise from GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, who said, Here we have a bipartisan delegation and a president who have a common goal. Back home, maybe not quite as much.'" US official: Migrants who died cleared inland checkpoint SAN ANTONIO (AP) A U.S. official says the tractor-trailer at the center of a disastrous human-smuggling attempt that left 53 people dead had passed through an inland U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint with migrants inside earlier in its journey. The truck went through the checkpoint on Interstate 35 northeast of the border city of Laredo, Texas. The official spoke to The Associated Press Thursday on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. Also Thursday, Hector Zamorano Jr., a U.S. citizen, made his initial court appearance as the alleged driver. And the Texas Department of Public Safety announced new inland vehicle checkpoints. China's Xi swears in new Hong Kong leader John Lee HONG KONG (AP) Chinese President Xi Jinping officiated the swearing-in ceremony of Hong Kongs new leader John Lee as the city marked the 25th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule after being pulled in recent years under much tighter Communist Party control. Lee, a former security official who oversaw the crackdown on dissent in the city since 2019 pro-democracy protests, pledged to uphold the citys mini-constitution, the Basic Law, and bear allegiance to Hong Kong. He also pledged to be accountable to the central government in Beijing. His inauguration followed a morning flag-raising ceremony attended by Lee, outgoing city leader Carrie Lam and several hundred other people. Trump's vulnerabilities for 2024 mount after new testimony SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (AP) Stunning new revelations about former President Donald Trump's fight to overturn the 2020 election have exposed growing political vulnerabilities just as he eyes another presidential bid. A former White House aide this week described Trump as an unhinged leader with no regard for the safety of elected officials in either party as he clung to power on Jan. 6, 2021. Republican voters and Trumps would-be rivals in the 2024 presidential race took notice. In Iowa several voters signaled Thursday they were open to another presidential candidate. Aides for multiple GOP presidential prospects have indicated they felt increasingly emboldened to challenge Trump in 2024 following the explosive new testimony. Jackson sworn in, becomes 1st Black woman on Supreme Court WASHINGTON (AP) Ketanji Brown Jackson has been sworn in to the Supreme Court, shattering a glass ceiling as the first Black woman on the nations highest court. The 51-year-old Jackson is the courts 116th justice and took the place Thursday of the justice she once worked for. Justice Stephen Breyers retirement took effect at noon. Moments later, joined by her family, Jackson recited the two oaths required of Supreme Court justices, one administered by Breyer and the other by Chief Justice John Roberts. Jackson says she's truly grateful to be part of the promise of our great Nation and extends thanks to her new colleagues for their gracious welcome. McConnell warns Dems of fallout for reviving Biden bill WASHINGTON (AP) Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is threatening to derail a bill designed to boost semiconductor manufacturing in the United States if Democrats revive their stalled package of energy and economic initiatives. The possible rejuvenation of the reconciliation package remains a work in progress and is far from certain. But McConnell seems worried enough that he decided to complicate Democratic lawmakers efforts to get a semiconductor bill over the finish line before members break for their August recess. The White House says McConnell is holding hostage a bipartisan package that would lower the cost of countless products that rely on semiconductors. Wisconsin's conservative high court hands GOP another weapon MADISON, Wis. (AP) Wisconsins conservative-controlled Supreme Court handed Republicans their newest weapon to weaken any Democratic governors in the battleground state. The court ruled this week that political appointees dont have to leave their posts until the Senate confirms their successor. The courts decision came in the case of a conservative who refused to step down from an environmental policy board for more than a year after his term expired. It marks another loss for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers as he faces reelection in November. It effectively hands Republicans the ability to strategically block appointees simply by declining to hold a nomination vote. They've been working to reduce Evers' power since even before he took office. EXPLAINER: How will R. Kelly sentence impact other trials? CHICAGO (AP) R. Kelly could be in his 80s before the singer is free again, based on a 30-year prison term imposed this week by a New York federal judge for sexually abusing young fans. And if the 55-year-old loses at three related trials in coming months, he could be staring at yet more time. The next trial he faces is set for Aug. 15 in federal court in Chicago, Kelly's hometown. Steve Greenberg is a longtime Kelly lawyer and represents Kelly in a separate state case in Illinois. Greenberg says he suspects there have been discussions about a plea deal between Kellys federal trial-team lawyers and federal prosecutors in Chicago. Last-minute deal averts casino strike in Atlantic City ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) The main union for Atlantic City casino workers has reached agreements on new contracts with four casinos, avoiding a threatened strike. Thursday's deal provides what the union president calls the best contract we've ever had. It also provides labor peace that will avoid a strike on Fourth of July weekend, one of the casinos busiest weekends of the year. Local 54 of the Unite Here union reached tentative agreements with the Borgata, which is owned by MGM Resorts International, and three Caesars Entertainment casinos: Caesars, Harrahs and the Tropicana. The new pacts appear to greatly increase the likelihood of a deal getting done with Hard Rock as well. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. NEW DELHI (AP) Sri Lanka's strategic location has attracted outsized interest in the small island nation from regional giants China and India for more than a decade, with Beijing and its free-flowing loans and infrastructure investments widely seen as having gained the upper hand in the quest for influence. But Sri Lanka's economic collapse has proved an opportunity for India to swing the pendulum back, with New Delhi stepping in with massive financial and material assistance to its neighbor. There is no such thing as charity in international politics, said Sreeram Chaulia, who heads the School of International Affairs at O.P. Jindal University in Sonipat, India. The intent is to drive China away from Indias backyard and restore the balance in New Delhis favor. Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million, sits off the southern coast of India on the Indian Ocean shipping lanes through which China receives the vast majority of its imported oil from the Middle East. As part of Chinese President Xi Jinpings Belt and Road Initiative to pump money into infrastructure projects across Asia and Africa, former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa took on many loans, including $1.1 billion to build a port in his home region of Hambantota despite the plan having been rejected by an expert panel. When the deep-water port failed to generate the foreign revenue needed to pay China back, Sri Lanka in 2017 was forced to hand the facility and thousands of acres of land around it to Beijing for 99 years giving China a key foothold directly opposite regional rival Indias coastline. That stoked India's ongoing concerns about Chinas growing influence in South Asia, particularly in smaller countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal and Maldives. Concerns over China's increasing regional assertiveness deepened in 2020 when Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed in deadly skirmishes on the disputed Himalayan Ladakh border. In its maritime approach, Beijing's military focus is currently more on the South China Sea and the Pacific, while its interest in Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean appears to be more economically motivated, said Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, a London-based analyst with the International Institute for Strategic Studies. On the security side for China it's not a priority, but it is an emerging opportunity for China to bolster its influence in South Asia and ... to counter India's influence, he said. Caught in between is Sri Lanka itself which, like many others in the region, needs both China and India, whose combined population is nearly 3 billion people, Roy-Chaudhury said. It's not black and white, he said. The leaders of these countries have to be pro-India and pro-China at the same time. Sajith Premadasa, the current Sri Lankan opposition leader, emphasized that while the country is extremely grateful for India's help in the current crisis, the government needs to ensure that Sri Lanka's sovereignty and political independence are not impacted by the situation. What Sri Lanka should do always is to ensure our own national interests in order to maximize our own national interests, he told The Associated Press. We should work with everyone in international society, irrespective of which power group or power bloc anybody belongs to. Sri Lanka has been rocked by protests since April after its foreign currency reserves ran dry, leading to widespread food and fuel shortages and power cuts, with demonstrators calling for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the brother of Mahinda Rajapaksa who was elected in 2019. In May, Mahinda, who had been appointed prime minister, himself resigned, but Gotabaya has clung to power. Gotabaya inherited an economy already in a slump after a series of attacks in early 2019 by Islamic extremists caused a dramatic drop-off in tourism, a major source of income, and enormous foreign debt from infrastructure projects, many bankrolled by Chinese money and commissioned by brother Mahinda. But a series of unwise economic decisions made the situation worse, and it was further exacerbated by the global coronavirus hitting the tourism sector again, while the war in Ukraine has driven up food and fuel costs. The government now owes $51 billion and is unable to make interest payments. It has suspended repayment of $7 billion in foreign debt due this year out of $25 billion to be repaid by 2026, pending the outcome of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund on a rescue package. China, Sri Lanka's third largest creditor after Japan and the Asian Development Bank, accounts for about 10% of its debt. China has offered to lend more on favorable terms but has balked at forgiving some of Sri Lanka's debt, possibly over concerns it would prompt other borrowers across Asia and Africa to demand the same relief. But Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took office after Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned, has said that Sri Lanka has not been able to access $1.5 billion in loans offered by China, because Beijing has made the money contingent on the country having enough foreign reserves for three months. Beijing has also promised to play a positive role in Sri Lanka's talks with the IMF and is providing some 500 million yuan, about $75 million, in humanitarian aid, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijan. Meanwhile, India has stepped in with millions of dollars worth of rice, milk powder, medicine and other humanitarian aid, as well as diesel fuel and gasoline. India has also extended Sri Lanka a $4 billion credit line on favorable terms that has been widely credited with helping the country's crisis from worsening, even as Wickremesinghe last week declared the economy had completely collapsed. Wickremesinghe, who has served as prime minister several times before, is seen as pro-India, though he has limited leverage in his current role with Gotabaya Rajapaksa remaining president. While the Rajapaksa family is considered pro-China, and with the general perception that China has been partially responsible for the country's problems, the political winds seem to be shifting in India's favor, Chaulia said. India has not been actively promoting the perception that Chinese loans contributed to the crisis in Sri Lanka, but it also has not fought it, seeing the idea of a Chinese debt trap as an advantageous narrative for it regionally. India is not worried if this message comes across, Roy-Chaudhury said. New Delhi has recently succeeded in wresting away some of Beijings important projects in Sri Lanka, which is also a major destination for Indian exports. In March, Sri Lanka finalized a joint venture with India to develop a solar power plant in the island nation. That same month, Colombo also terminated a contract with a Chinese company to build a $12 million wind farm in the country and offered it to an Indian rival. While India is trying to maintain its strategic footprint in Sri Lanka, its main aim appears to be to minimize Chinese hold in the country, said K C Singh, a former Indian foreign secretary and a strategic affairs expert. Coming to Sri Lanka's aid also fits neatly into Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Neighborhood First foreign policy initiative, which focuses on cultivating and sustaining relations with nearby countries, and it is also in Indias self interest not to have a neighboring country like Sri Lanka collapse into chaos, Roy-Chaudhury said. But at the same time India does not want to find itself in a position where it is stuck alone with an economic bailout, so it has been pushing Sri Lanka to turn to the IMF and asking for other countries to help. In security terms, yes, it would want to be a preferred security partner, Roy-Chaudhury said. In economic terms, I think it would want to be one of a number of countries providing economic reassurance or support. Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press journalists Krutika Pathi in New Delhi, Joe McDonald in Beijing, and Krishan Francis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. MADRID (AP) The dissonant realities of President Joe Bidens second year in office were on display Thursday as he wound up a five-day trip to Europe that highlighted both the key U.S. role in mounting a strong allied response to Vladimir Putins aggression and the domestic turmoil that is dragging Biden down at home. Huddling with the leaders of Group of Seven advanced economies in the Bavarian Alps and with NATO allies in Madrid, Biden was greeted warmly by colleagues and notched significant policy accomplishments on modernizing the trans-Atlantic alliance to adapt to new threats from Russia and China. At home, though, the U.S. was grappling with fallout from last week's Supreme Court decision ending the constitutional right to abortion, which Biden condemned Thursday as destabilizing. Biden faces both the lowest approval ratings of his presidency and rising pessimism about the direction of the country. Biden appeared to welcome the time away from Washington as a respite from his domestic predicament, insisting that despite turmoil at home on matters from inflation to gun violence, world leaders still valued America's and his leadership. I have not seen anyone come up to me and ... say anything other than Thank you for Americas leadership, Biden said in high-spirited remarks during a press conference at the end of what he called a historic summit. America is better positioned to lead the world than we ever have been. The three-day NATO meeting included the Biden administration announcing plans to permanently bolster the U.S. military presence in Europe, an agreement between Turkey, Finland and Sweden championed by Biden to pave the way for the accession of the Nordic nations into NATO, and the alliance updating its strategic concept to reflect that Chinas coercive policies are a challenge to the Western blocs interests. Biden noted that the last time NATO updated what is essentially its mission statement was 12 years ago, when Russia was characterized as a partner and the document didnt even mention China. The new concept document fulfills a years-long effort by American presidents to reorient the alliance to address challenges from China. The world has changed, changed a great deal since then, Biden said. He added: This summit was about strengthening our alliance, meeting the challenges of our world as it is today, and the threats were going to face in the future." Bidens efforts drew praise from across the aisle, with GOP North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, who led a delegation to the Madrid summit with Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and met with Biden Thursday morning, saying, I think that the administration has played a key part in whats made this summit a success. It was a far cry from the rancor that permeates Washington, where even positive developments become political cudgels. Here we have a bipartisan delegation and a president who have a common goal. Back home, maybe not quite as much, Tillis said. Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, a Republican, added that Biden should apply some of his approaches to successful diplomacy abroad to Washington as well. I think it would only be helpful for the president if he would reach out to us in our country as well as here," she said. At home, Biden has been burdened with the ongoing reckoning over the Capitol insurrection and former President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and with his own weakened political posture. That has stoked concern among allies about who may follow Biden into the White House and whether his successor would reverse Biden's efforts to rebuild the trans-Atlantic alliance. Soaring inflation a global problem is especially acute for Americans as they get on the road for the July 4 holiday. And his legislative agenda has been largely stalled, but for a modest gun control measure that passed after a pair of horrific mass shootings. Added to the mix just 24 hours before Biden departed for Europe was the abortion ruling. "One thing that has been destabilizing is the outrageous behavior of the Supreme Court of United States in overruling not only Roe v. Wade, but essentially challenging the right to privacy," Biden said, Weve been a leader in the world in terms of personal rights and privacy rights." And just minutes after he departed Madrid on Air Force One to return home, Biden suffered another judicial blow to his agenda, as the Supreme Court dramatically scaled back the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. Kathleen McInnis, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a president's influence tends to go far further overseas than at home. The American presidency has its own weight and gravitas that cant be discounted, she said. That was evident as Biden helped cajole Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to drop his opposition to Finland and Sweden joining the NATO alliance. As he parried reporters' questions with a microphone in hand, Biden also highlighted announcements at the G-7 meeting for more economic and military assistance to Ukraine as it aims to beat back Russias four-month-long invasion and announcements on tougher sanctions meant to punish Moscow. We are going to stick with Ukraine and all of the alliance is going to stick with Ukraine as long as it takes, Biden said. I dont know ... how its going to end, but it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine. Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat and Biden confidant, called the week a significant accomplishment for the Biden administration and for diplomacy. The view was more measured in some corners. "Coming back from years of anti-European and anti-NATO rhetoric and policies is a pretty low bar when you look at it," said Leah Scheunemann, deputy director of the Transatlantic Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council. Even so, she said, The Biden administration has done a lot of good in terms of rebuilding the reputation of NATO in America, and explaining the value of NATO as an alliance built on the values of democracy and what that brings to U.S. security." As for Biden's domestic challenges, Scheunemann said, "I dont know how much to place at the doorstep of Biden versus the doorstep of obstructionist Republicans. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. You are here: Business Photo taken on June 28, 2022 shows a Hongqi E-HS9 pure electric SUV in a showroom for China's luxury sedan brand Hongqi in central Israeli city of Tel Aviv. [Photo/Xinhua] Israeli car dealership Samelet Group on Tuesday opened the first showroom for China's limousine brand Hongqi in the central Israeli city of Tel Aviv. Hongqi, meaning "red flag" in the Chinese language, has grown to be China's iconic marque since its establishment in 1958 through years of limo services for national ceremonial events. This April, the brand entered the Israeli market by launching the flagship model E-HS9, a pure-electric luxury SUV with a length of 5.209 meters and a wheelbase of 3.11 meters. At the opening ceremony of the showroom, Samelet CEO Shay Feldman said the brand is "now achieving another significant milestone with an official flagship showroom." "Opening Hongqi's first showroom in Israel reflects an additional and highly significant step for the brand's operation in Israel," he said. Feldman said his company considers Hongqi's manufacturer, Chinese automaker First Automobile Works Group (FAW), "a strategic partner to our vision to develop the automotive market in Israel in various fields." "The current model is just the first of a series that Samelet will import to Israel in the upcoming years," he noted. Yang Dayong, managing director of overseas business department of FAW Group, delivered a speech via video links, hoping Hongqi will bring the ultimate experience of "Oriental Limousine" to the Israeli customers soon. Chinese Ambassador to Israel Cai Run attended the opening ceremony and experienced the Hongqi E-HS9 model. FAW Group is one of China's oldest and largest automotive manufacturers. It was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in China's northern city of Changchun, Jilin Province. LISBON, Portugal (AP) French President Emmanuel Macron urged other world leaders Thursday to better protect the planet's oceans by adopting an international agreement modeled on the legally binding Paris climate accords. Macron traveled to Portugal after attending a NATO summit in neighboring Spain to make a speech at the U.N. Ocean Conference in Lisbon. Macron acknowledged the failure of world leaders to update an international treaty, known as the Convention on the Law of the Sea, High Seas, to include a mechanism that addresses ocean conservation and the sustainability of marine life. Weve been discussing that text for seven years, Macron said. Its now time to achieve it quickly. Oceans cover some 70% of the Earths surface and provide food and livelihoods for billions of people. Scientists estimate that 50% to 80% of all life on the planet resides under the surface of oceans and at least 50% of the oxygen on the planet comes from the oceans, the majority produced by plankton. Despite a fourth round of negotiations three months ago, a deal on the proposed treaty instrument is still not within sight. A fifth round is scheduled for August in New York. Together, we must set ambitious goals for biodiversity and especially for oceans, like we did with the Paris (climate) Agreement," Macron said, referring to the 2015 treaty that set temperature targets for curbing global warming. Participants at the five-day Lisbon conference are expected to adopt a non-binding declaration that could help facilitate the protection and conservation of oceans and their resources, according to the U.N.. The declaration was set to be endorsed Friday. France and Costa Rica are co-chairing an intergovernmental environmental group launched in 2019, the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, which now includes 102 countries, Macron said. Together, we are defending the principle of a framework that will enable us to protect at least 30% of land and sea by 2030, he said. Follow AP's coverage of climate issues at https://apnews.com/hub/climate Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The Supreme Court says that a high school football coach who knelt and prayed on the field after games is protected by the Constitution. It's a decision that opponents say will open the door to much more coercive prayer in public schools. The court ruled 6-3 for the coach with the courts conservative justices in the majority and its liberals in dissent. The justices in the majority emphasized that the coachs prayer happened after the game was over. The liberal justices in the minority said there was evidence that the coachs prayer at the 50-yard-line had a coercive effect and it let him incorporate his personal religious beliefs into a school event. A new poll shows an overwhelming and growing majority of Americans say the U.S. is heading in the wrong direction, including nearly 8 in 10 Democrats. The poll, by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, finds that deep pessimism about the economy continues to plague President Joe Biden. Eighty-five percent of U.S. adults polled say the country is on the wrong track. Seventy-nine percent describe the economy as poor. The findings suggest Biden faces fundamental challenges as he tries to motivate voters to cast ballots for Democrats in Novembers midterm elections. The poll shows only 39% of Americans approve of Bidens leadership overall, while 60% disapprove. President Joe Biden says the U.S. is enhancing its military presence in Europe for the long haul to bolster regional security after Russias invasion of Ukraine. Biden outlined the plan during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the alliance's annual leaders' summit in Madrid. Biden says NATO is strong and united." He says steps taken at the summit will augment its collective strength. Biden says the U.S. will establish a permanent headquarters in Poland and send two additional F-35 fighter jet squadrons to the United Kingdom. The U.S. is also sending more air defense and other capabilities to Germany and Italy. The only surviving attacker from the 2015 terrorist massacre at the Bataclan theater and other sites in Paris has been convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. That is the most severe sentence possible in France, and very rare. Salah Abdeslam was the chief suspect in an exceptional trial over the attacks, which killed 130 people and were claimed by the Islamic State group. A jury of seven men and five women have been sworn in for the penalty trial of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz. Cruz pleaded guilty in October to murdering 17 people at Parklands Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, meaning the expected four-month trial will only decide if he receives a penalty of death or life in prison without parole. European Union countries have reached a deal to eliminate carbon emissions from new cars by 2035 following hard-fought talks that dragged into the early hours of Wednesday. The 27 EU members found a common agreement on draft legislation aimed at slashing EU greenhouse gases by at least 55% by 2030 compared with 1990 rather than by a previously agreed 40%. The FBI has opened a widening investigation into sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in New Orleans, looking specifically at whether priests took children across state lines to molest them. That's according to law enforcement officials and others familiar with the inquiry who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Two of Congress staunchest conservatives repelled more centrist challengers to lock up Republican nominations on Tuesday. That happened even as the partys voters chose to turn out a six-term incumbent in Mississippi. Illinois Republican Rep. Mary Miller, who called the Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade a historic victory for white life during a weekend rally with former President Donald Trump her spokesperson said she misspoke defeated fellow GOP incumbent Rodney Davis. Another Trump ally, Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, one of Congress most polarizing members, easily beat back a challenge from a more mainstream Republican. Mississippi Republican Rep. Steven Palazzo, a six-term incumbent, lost to Sheriff Mike Ezell. The U.S. economy shrank at a 1.6% annual pace in the first three months of the year even though consumers and businesses kept spending at a healthy pace, the government reported Wednesday in a slight downgrade from its previous estimate for January-March quarter. Police say a Virginia toddler left in a vehicle for hours died and his father was found dead in an apparent suicide at their home. Chesterfield County Police say the department received a call late Tuesday morning reporting that an 18-month-old boy may have been left in a vehicle for several hours. Police soon received information indicating the childs father was at his home and was making suicidal statements. U.S. health officials are expanding the group of people recommended to get vaccinated against the monkeypox virus. They also say they are providing more monkeypox vaccine, working to expand testing, and taking other steps to try to get ahead of the outbreak. New York sued 10 ghost gun dealers for selling parts online. New Yorks recreational marijuana market is beginning to sprout, literally. Thin-leafed plants are stretching toward the sun in farms around the state. In a novel move, New York gave 203 CBD hemp growers first shot at cultivating marijuana destined for legal sales, which could start by the end of the year. Big indoor growers are expected to join later. JUBA, South Sudan (AP) The head of the United Nations mission in South Sudan urged the East African country's transitional government Thursday to set a date for elections as time passes. Nicholas Haysom told journalists in the capital, Juba that with barely eight months remaining in the transitional period agreed by political parties, "I am urging south Sudanese leaders to do everything necessary to move the country out of transition and conduct free, fair, creditable and peaceful elections. A 2018 peace deal that binds President Salva Kiir and his deputy Riek Machar in a unity government encourages authorities to hold elections before February 2023. The international community has long hoped a vote would usher in a democratically elected government in the worlds youngest country. A timetable for the polls must be availed in advance for the international community to support the process well, Haysom said, adding that without a date nobody will really commit to supporting the elections and the South Sudanese will not get into the frame of mind which is necessary for elections. The government has yet to reconstitute an electoral commission and implement key judicial reforms and Kiir and Machar are known to have different opinions on the matter. Kiir, South Sudan's president since independence from Sudan in 2011, says general elections will take place as planned in 2023 despite delays in implementing the roadmap. Machar insists elections cannot be free and fair unless key provisions in the 2018 deal are fully implemented. Another opposition figure, Lam Akol, has voiced skepticism about the chances of a fair vote in a country plagued by sporadic violence. But Haysom said Thursday that elections can still happen if authorities create the right circumstances. Its not only technical arrangements and logistical planning thats necessary for elections to take place. What is also required is a free and open political environment, he said. There were high hopes for peace and stability once South Sudan gained its long-fought independence from Sudan. But it slid into ethnic violence in December 2013 when forces loyal to Kiir, a Dinka, started battling those loyal to Machar, a Nuer. Numerous attempts at a durable peace failed. The civil war killed nearly 400,000 people and displaced millions. Intense international pressure followed the 2018 deal, and in February 2020 a coalition government led by Kiir, with Machar as his deputy, was formed. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. That didnt take long. A day after getting two years probation, community service and a $25,000 fine for lying to federal agents investigating foreign campaign contributions, former Nebraska Rep. Jeff Fortenberry filed notice he will appeal his convictions and his sentence. Appealing his convictions wasnt a surprise Fortenberry, 61, has been adamant that he did nothing wrong. The same couldnt be said for the appeal of a sentence in which Fortenberry received no prison time. The Republican from Lincoln could have received up to 15 years in prison, but Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. ruled that Fortenberrys conduct was an aberration from his normally upright character. Technically, if the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld Fortenberrys conviction but remanded his case for resentencing, Blumenfeld could impose a stiffer sentence. Such a result wouldnt be likely but is a longshot risk. In one case where the Nebraska Supreme Court overturned a sentence in which a judge improperly quoted the Bible during the sentencing hearing, a new judge gave the defendant more prison time at resentencing. Fortenberry had 14 days to file notice that he would appeal. It took his attorneys 24 hours. Wednesdays filing was just a boilerplate form both sides will file legal briefs on the matter in coming months. The crux of Fortenberrys appeal: He may have unwittingly misled federal officials investigating the crime, but any misstatements were not material or of substance to the feds investigation. Prosecutors have rejected that notion, noting that the jury considered the question of materiality and swiftly convicted Fortenberry after an eight-day trial in March. Prosecutors also pointed out that Fortenberry lied repeatedly in an interview in his Lincoln home and in a follow-up interview in Washington, D.C., in 2019. Although initially unaware, Fortenberry eventually was told that $30,000 in foreign cash was funneled to him at a suburban Los Angeles fundraiser in February 2016. The $30,000 was supplied by a controversial Nigerian billionaire, Gilbert Chagoury, as a reward for Fortenberrys support of In Defense of Christians, a group formed to protect Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East. Prosecutors had cited Fortenberrys lack of remorse in asking Blumenfeld to reconsider and impose a prison sentence. Blumenfeld declined. As the hearing wrapped up Tuesday, Fortenberrys attorney, John Littrell, urged the judge to reduce two parts of the sentence: his probation (from two years to one) and his fine. Littrell suggested that $25,000 was too steep for Fortenberry after his fall from grace. But prosecutors mocked any suggestion that Fortenberry is destitute. Even after his convictions, they say, Fortenberry now works a job that pays him $144,000 a year. A court official preparing a presentence report placed his net worth at more than $1.1 million. And it doesnt appear hell lose his federal pension, prosecutors say. As he left the courthouse in Los Angeles Tuesday, a reporter asked Fortenberry if he would admit he made campaign mistakes. This is an ongoing part, Fortenberry said. And I have a right as a citizen to continue my appeal. 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. U.S. Steel is planning to slash steelmaking jobs in Illinois as it looks to expand its domestic iron ore supply by investing in a pellet facility in Minnesota and reaching a deal with SunCoke Energy to make pig iron at blast furnaces at Granite City Works near St. Louis. The company is looking to reduce employment from about 1,500 to about 550 at the Illinois steel mill because of the shift in strategy to focus more on iron ore production and electric arc furnaces, or EAFs. "U.S. Steel has established a trend in recent years of shutting down operations, as it has done at the Great Lakes facility in Detroit, Lone Star Steel in Texas, tubular operations in Ohio, and the company abandoned a previously announced major capital improvement project at the Mon Valley Works and announced the closing of its West Coast operations at UPI in California," United Steelworkers Union International President Thomas Conway said. "The company continues to invest heavily in its non-union operations at Big River Steel in Arkansas, and management continues to point to their transition to EAF-produced steel as the pathway to success while they shutter operations." U.S. Steel spokesperson Amanda Malkowski said it would be the end of the steelmaking operations at Granite City Works as both remaining blast furnaces would be converted to pig iron production. All that would remain would be finishing lines, supplied by another U.S. Steel mill, potentially Gary Works. Displaced workers would be able to apply for a job at SunCoke or transfer to another U.S. Steel facility, Malkowski said. Those who are not placed somewhere will get severance packages. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker, one of the largest industrial concerns in the Calumet Region, recently announced it would invest $60 million in a pig iron caster at Gary Works that would produce up to 500,000 tons of pig iron for Big River Steel in Arkansas. That operation should go online next year, contributing $30 million a year to run-rate enterprise EBITDA and a return rate of more than 30%. This fall, the steelmaker will build a DR-grate pellet facility at either its Keetac or Minntac iron ore mine in Minnesota. One of the two plants will start making DR-grade pellets for electric arc furnaces as well as blast furnace-grade pellets for blast finances like those at Gary Works. The expected investment is about $150 million. U.S. Steel will have the option to sell the pellets to third-party suppliers or feed them to a direct reduced iron or hot briquetted facility of its own in the future. It immediately plans to use the pellets for a new product line. "Our conviction remains that steel mined, melted, and made in America is vital to our national and economic security," U.S. Steel President and CEO David Burritt said. "We are strategically investing in our raw materials that will feed the advanced steel mills of today and tomorrow, making us increasingly self-sufficient. Its another way that were supporting domestic manufacturing, simplifying complex global supply chains, addressing the sustainability demands of our customers, and ultimately creating profitable steel solutions for people and the planet." U.S. Steel has signed an agreement that would allow SunCoke to acquire the two blast furnaces at Granite City Works in Illinois. The company plans to build a 2 million ton granulated pig iron production facility, supplying U.S. Steel with 100% of the pig iron it produces for 10 years. The project would take about two years to build. U.S. Steel would use the pig iron to supply its fleet of electric arc furnaces with iron ore from its own mines, realizing a significant cost advantage. It would also result in the loss of about 1,000 steelworker jobs mostly represented by the USW. "The USW and U.S. Steel concluded a successful startup of an EAF operation in Birmingham, Alabama, at the Fairfield Works, and that's where the company should have continued to place additional EAF investments," Conway said. "Instead, they chose to double down their investment in their Arkansas facility," Conway said. "In its announcement regarding Granite City's future, the company callously failed to mention a word about the massive job loss or impact the decision will have on a skilled and loyal workforce, their families or their community." The USW said it was just the latest in a string of closures, including the indefinitely idled East Chicago Tin Mill U.S. Steel acquired from National Steel. "It is another tale in a long string of betrayals by the company, which now has permanently closed nearly two thirds of the assets it acquired from National Steel along with other acquisitions," Conway said. "The summer is coming and bringing with it the termination of the labor agreement between the parties. We will undoubtedly be talking about investment in our plants. The company should prepare itself for those discussions. We understand the vital importance of investment in our USW plants and the obligations to our members and their communities, even if the management at U.S. Steel doesn't. We have no intention of becoming the primary pig iron suppliers to their non-union operations." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 NORMAL Climate scientists and activists in Bloomington-Normal expressed frustration Thursday, following a Supreme Court ruling that will limit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys ability to regulate carbon emissions. As a climate change scientist, this is a deep disappointment, said Catherine OReilly, a professor in Illinois State Universitys geography, geology and environment department. By a 6-3 vote, with conservatives in the majority, the Supreme Court said the Clean Air Act does not give the EPA broad authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming. "Capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible 'solution to the crisis of the day,'" Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his opinion for the court. But Roberts wrote the Clean Air Act doesn't give EPA the authority to do so and Congress must speak clearly on this subject. "A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body," he wrote. In a statement Thursday, Michael Brown, executive director of the Ecology Action Center in Normal, called the ruling yet another significant setback to U.S. efforts to address climate change in a meaningful way. The liberal justices who dissented from the courts majority opinion agreed. Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the decision strips the EPA of the power Congress gave it to respond to "the most pressing environmental challenge of our time." Kagan said the stakes in the case are high. She said, "The Court appoints itself instead of Congress or the expert agency the decision maker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening." Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a statement, saying, "Climate change is a real and present danger to our communities, and the EPA must have the ability to combat it by effectively regulating the emission of greenhouse gases. I am disappointed with todays decision, but I will continue to fight to protect the environment and the health of Illinois residents. OReilly, whose expertise is in the impacts of climate change on lakes and rivers, said the Clean Air Act gives the EPA authority to regulate tailpipe carbon emissions, so why cant we regulate a larger source for the same pollutant? She said the EPAs primary task is preventing pollution by regulating the release of pollutants into the environment partly because its so hard to clean up after pollutants get out into the environment. The majority of adults in the U.S. support the regulation of carbon emissions, are concerned about the impacts of climate change and believe corporations should do more, she said. Regulations are one way of making sure corporations do more. ... By not helping motivate companies, power plants and humans to change their behavior and help us wean us off fossil fuels, were just enabling a situation. This is going to exacerbate the future impacts of climate change," she said. OReilly said among global climate goals, the U.S. is behind compared to other countries. Because were so not on track, we really need to be throwing everything we can at the problem, she said. The technologys there; its totally possible. Weve been successful at regulating other pollutants with lots of different solutions, and there havent been major economic consequences of regulating other pollutants. Theres no reason to think this would be different for CO2. It's just deeply disappointing to see this happen at a point where we really need to be focused on helping motivate change. Brown said the courts ruling and the repeated failure at the national level to address climate change in a meaningful way demonstrates that local, state, and regional efforts are even more critical than ever. He noted Illinois has been a leader in climate action, including the passing of the Clean Energy Jobs Act, that among other things is seeking to move the electricity generation industry in Illinois to 100% renewable energy by 2050, Brown said, calling it one of the most aggressive pieces of legislation passed in the effort to reduce the impact of climate change. The unfortunate part is thats not happening in every state. That's why we need a national strategy. Thats why we need the EPA to be involved, he told The Pantagraph. Despite state efforts, this ruling could affect one of Illinois key industries: agriculture. According to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, it is highly likely that within the next 20 years average temperatures will reach a high of 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit ... over pre-industrial levels, further increasing the frequency of natural disasters such as extreme heat events, tornados, flooding, hurricanes and drought, Brown said. Illinois could see more warming, more intense storms that delay planting and more length dry periods that affect crop yields, O'Reilly said. "These are preventable problems. We have solutions in place, she said. We have all the technology we need to move toward a fossil-fuel free economy. Doing that would not have negative consequences for our economy. Climate change (initiatives) need to be a lot more than people changing light bulbs in their house. In order for us to really adapt and reduce the future impacts of climate change, we need to have some top-down regulations and thats basically what the EPAs job is. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Kelsey Watznauer at (309) 820-3254. Follow her on Twitter: @kwatznauer. 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. BLOOMINGTON A Bloomington man remains jailed on armed robbery and aggravated battery charges in connection with a violent robbery in May at a Bloomington pawn shop. Antoine L. Williams, 29, was the second of two suspects in the armed robbery May 18 at McLean County Exchange, 2016 Ireland Grove Road, Bloomington. Williams is charged with one count each of armed robbery (Class X felony) and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm (Class 3 felony). He remains jailed in lieu of posting $50,035. Terrance T. Jones, 34, of Chicago, was arrested June 6 for his alleged role in the holdup. He is charged with armed robbery, aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, and two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon (Class 2 and 3 felonies). He remains jailed in lieu of posting $75,035. Court documents said Williams struck the pawn shop owner in the head, causing a skull fracture. The pawn shop owner also said in a previous interview with The Pantagraph that he suffered a concussion and was hospitalized for about four days. Bloomington police responded about 2:40 p.m. May 18 to the business for a holdup alarm. Officers located evidence of a shooting two bullet holes in the shops ceiling and a bullet in a backroom that trickled out of a gun when it jammed, authorities said. Williams and Jones also stole property from McLean County Exchange, court documents allege. Williams was ordered Wednesday to have no contact with McLean County Exchange and its owner. Jones had previously been given the same bond conditions. An arraignment is scheduled for July 22 for Williams, while Jones is due in court Friday for an arraignment. 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. BLOOMINGTON Miller Park Zoo will receive $25,825 in American Rescue Plan Act funds from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The funds are a part of ARPA funds in 2021, where Congress appropriated $30 million to reimburse expenses related to the care of captive species listed under the Endangered Species Act, as well as rescued and confiscated wildlife at risk of extinction. The Miller Park Zoo is grateful to receive this funding for our work with Red Wolves, Eastern Box Turtles, and Puerto Rican Crested Toads," zoo superintendent Jay Tetzloff said in a news release. The work to save these species did not stop due to the pandemic. This is the second wave of awards a total of over $9 million under the Endangered Species COVID-19 Relief program, funded by the American Rescue Plan. The first wave of reimbursements over $1.6 million was released in April. For more information about the Endangered Species COVID-10 Relief program, visit the Association of Zoos and Aquarium's website at www.aza.org/endangered-species-COVID-funding. 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. The acquisition ceremony was held online in China's Beijing and Hangzhou and Italy's Milan on June 28, 2022. [Photo provided to China.org.cn] Duofu International Holding Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Duofu Group) acquired the Italian company Fama Helicopters, with the transfer and signing ceremony held online in China's Beijing and Hangzhou and Italy's Milan on June 28. Chairman of Duofu Group Hu Xingrong and Fama's Legal Representative Antonino Fama attended the ceremony. This acquisition involved the whole-chain purchase of departments relating to research and development, production, sale, and intellectual property rights, making it the first of its kind among domestic private general aviation enterprises. The Special Plan for General Aviation Development during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period pointed out that diverse and emerging consumer needs should be met so as to promote the development of general aviation. In the field of general aviation, helicopters are of great significance. The Aviation Industry Development Research Center of China predicted that, by 2027, China would have more than 3,500 civil helicopters in total, and the market capacity of helicopter production and sales alone would reach $14.4 billion. As a leading private group in China, Duofu Group has expanded to emerging industries and established Wenzhou Duofu Aviation Industry Group (hereinafter referred to as Duofu Aviation), which is committed to the development of the whole-industrial general aviation chain. That includes industrial strategy research, investment and financing, and mergers and acquisitions, as well as production and development of helicopters, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL), and engines. Fama Helicopters is an advanced light helicopter manufacturer in Italy. The company's key portfolio is its self-developed Kiss series, including light single-engine and twin-engine, multi-purpose helicopters as well as turboshaft engines. Liao Yunwu, vice chairman of Duofu Group and head of Duofu Aviation, noted that Fama's advanced technologies could meet the strategic requirements of Duofu Group. Duofu Aviation expects to greatly reduce the costs and prices of helicopters by taking advantage of advanced technologies and lower manufacturing costs in Wenzhou, Liao added. Through the acquisition, Duofu Group can help narrow the gap between China's general aviation industry and the advanced capacities of developers abroad, which will facilitate economic development and international dialogue. Following the acquisition, Duofo Group will also set up European helicopter and engine design and R&D centers and develop more advanced turboshaft engines, electric helicopters, twin-engine helicopters with four to five seats, eVTOL aircraft, drones, and other products based on the original product line. In addition, they'll continue to expand the production capacity of the existing helicopters. Duofu Aviation will also establish a domestic research and development center and complete production lines for helicopters and engines. It will invest five billion yuan to build a complete aviation industrial chain consisting of R&D, manufacturing, sales, and operations. This will encourage the formation of other major sectors, including aircraft leasing and management as well as aviation insurance, training bases, clubs, logistics, and high-tech innovation. Finally, it will help local governments upgrade the structure of emerging industries and create local jobs. DECATUR Michael Slover Sr., the patriarch of a family of murderers who killed and dismembered their ex-daughter-in-law, has died in prison while serving a 65 year sentence. The Illinois Department of Corrections confirmed his death to the Herald & Review Wednesday. Slover, understood to be aged about 76, was listed as having a date with the parole board in 2032 and a possible discharge date of 2035. The individual in custody that you inquired about was serving his sentence at Pontiac Correctional Center, said Department of Corrections spokesperson, Naomi Puzzello. At this point, wed only be able to confirm his death. Puzzello did not respond to further questions about the timing, exact place, circumstances and cause of Slovers death. He had received his sentence in Macon County Circuit Court in May of 2002. Slover Sr. had been part of an elaborate scheme to shoot 23-year-old Karyn Hearn Slover to death and dump her body parts in Lake Shelbyville. Convicted along with Slover Sr. was his wife, Jeannette Slover, and their son and the victims former husband Michael Slover, Jr. Slover Jr., who has just turned 52, had also received a 65 year sentence and is currently incarcerated in the Illinois River Correctional Center. Jeannette Slover, 74, is serving her 60 year sentence in the Decatur Correctional Center. She is due for parole in 2029 and release in 2032; her son has the same projected parole and release dates. Their victim had last been seen alive leaving the former Herald & Review offices on East William Street, where she worked in advertising, on the evening of Sept. 27, 1996. She had been going to pick up her son, Kolten, who was being babysat by her former in-laws. Detectives would later determine that the motive for her killing was that the Slover family wanted 3-year-old Kolten and would do anything to prevent his mother taking him with her when she planned to move out of state to take a modeling job. The boy had been adopted by Mary Slover, a maternal aunt, after his mothers murder and that provoked a 17-month custody battle with Karyn Hearn Slovers parents, Larry and Donna Hearn, which they won in October of 2003. Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid 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. It tells you a lot about the U.S. Supreme Court, and the state of the country, that only one of its nine justices appears to have given the possibility of compromise on abortion more than a moments thought. Chief Justice John Roberts voted with the majority in Fridays decision to allow Mississippis law prohibiting abortions after 15 weeks, setting aside the fetal viability standard of Roe v. Wade. But he explained in his concurrence that this could and should have been done without scrapping Roe completely, which the court chose to do. The pragmatic, prudential case for doing as Roberts proposed is overwhelming. His argument also makes far better sense than both the majority opinion and the dissent in terms of its narrow legal reasoning. Yet he might as well have been talking to himself. The tone of the post-ruling commentary was telling. Roberts position was viewed as almost pathetic. See the poor chief justice, desperately yet futilely trying to avoid controversy by splitting the difference. The majority dismisses his argument brusquely and almost contemptuously, saying it fails to provide any principled basis for its approach. The dissenting minority is so busy hyperventilating that it barely notices his intervention, treating it parenthetically on the second-to-last page of its opinion. Hence the legal pundits prevailing sentiment: This is no longer the Roberts Court, if it ever was. You can only feel sorry for the guy. As the consequences of Dobbs unravel, however, historys verdict is likely to be different. Roberts may well be vindicated. Roberts explains that Roe established that a woman has the right to terminate a pregnancy the right to choose but that this right is qualified: Given certain conditions, the state can override it to protect fetal life. (Roes most ardent supporters prefer to ignore this second part.) But the main criterion the decision proposed for any such overruling, says Roberts, was flawed. Viability is not the right test, because the womans right to choose can be effectively exercised well within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. A 15-week limit which most Americans would probably see as reasonable, and which is closer, by the way, to the legal standard prevailing in much of Europe would not seriously infringe the right to choose. On that ground, says Roberts, the Mississippi law should stand. There was no need to erase the right altogether. In addition, Roberts writes, respect for precedent and the principle of judicial restraint necessary features of any stable legal order argue that any reinterpretation of the Constitution should generally be as limited as possible. The courts decision is a serious jolt to the legal system, he writes. The majoritys response to these arguments is both cursory and bizarre. First, the majority finds it revealing that neither of the parties represented in the case recommended it. Sorry, what exactly does this reveal? Do the parties to a legal dispute typically recommend compromise to the court, as opposed to advancing their own positions while conceding nothing? As Roberts points out, no rule confines the court to deciding the case solely on the grounds advanced by the parties. The majority also says compromise would only prolong the turmoil created by Roe. If the court ducks the main issue whether the Constitution does in fact recognize the right to choose it will continue to be confronted by cases posing that question. By saying, once and for all, that the Constitution does not recognize that right, that its a matter for the states to decide, the court can draw a line under the controversy and move on. Are they serious? As states grapple with the implications of this ruling, there will be a surge of litigation. Many of these disputes will find their way to the highest court. And its safe to expect an increase in political turmoil. In the short term, this will be driven by the rage unleashed among the most zealous pro-choice advocates; later, by the unfolding damage inflicted by harsh restrictive laws in the states that adopt them, consequences that the majority opinion all but ignores. The idea that this radical judicial act settles anything is delusional. Clive Crook is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A maiden three-day Ghana Trade Road show organized by the AfreximBank and Oakwood Green Africa, to promote in Afreximbanks mandate in Ghana, as well as foster deeper understanding of the banks products to the banking and business communities is under way in Accra. The maiden Ghana RoadShow is under the Theme Supporting the Africa Trade Agenda-Ensuring the Last Mile. The event would be used to consolidate various discussions initiated with the Central Bank of Ghana following the successful launch of the Pan African Payments and Settlements System (PAPSS) earlier this year in Accra. The Roadshow would also hold series of forum to introduce to the Ghanaian market various funding initiatives being undertaken by Afreximbank, the AfCFTA and its partners in their bid to transform Africas trade, and the role Ghana could play in this endeavor. It is being oganised in collaboration with the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, the Ghana Free Zones Authority, AfCFTA Secretariat, GCB and CBG, for banks and non-bank financial Institutions, as well as the business community in Ghana in efforts to boost intra-Africa trade facilitation capacity. Issues to being discussed for the three days include Afreximbanks mandate and strategic initiatives, the programmes and facilities of the Pan African Payments and Settlements System (PAPSS)the MANSA KYC Repository (MANSA)and the implementation of the AfCFTA, strategic policies and using Ghana as the hub for the realisation of its drive for the development of value chains across various selected sectors. The Deputy Minister for Trade and Industries Herbert Krapa, speaking at the opening ceremony, said Africas dependence on everyone else for everything good would soon be a thing of the past because it has the answer to all challenges comforting the continent. Africa, he said is a is a continent of plenty yet our share of global trade stands at not so handsome3%interAfrica trade is some17%compared to 68%for zeroand59%forAsiaandour annualinfrastructuredeficitstandsatover100billion United States dollars.. Mr. Krarper, said Africas political and economic integration would advance equitable development for all of Africas if mini challenges of small fragmented markets, value adding to the continents abundant natural resources are harnessed to promote economic diversification and industrialization. Thankfully, Afreximbank, he said has towered above the challenge and embraced it much to the satisfaction of stakeholders, the private sector, member states, and the banks partnership with Oakwood Green Africa because if the AfCFTA succeeds the continent benefits as strategic partnerships have become inevitable. The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Mr. Yofi Grant, urged participants to take advantage of the opportunities created and be part be part of the AfCFTA history making process. Mr. Wamkele Meme, Secretary General of AfCFTA URGED African countries to focus on industrialization in other to promote the economic development of the continent. The Managing Partner Oakwood Green Africa Limited Gabriel Edger urged African countries to unite and embrace regional trade to boost the economies of the continent. Overall, the road show is expected to afford businesses in Ghana the opportunity to take advantage of Afreximbanks trade finance and intra-Africa trade facilitation capacity, and will focus on the following key areas with an in-depth presentation on each area by the respective subject area expert: Afreximbank is the foremost pan-African multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting intra and inter-African trade. Established in October 1993, the bank is a product of African governments, under a charter with its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. The bank offers a range of financing programmes, solutions and advisory services to support the expansion, diversification, promotion and development of intra-African trade and trade development project. The services provided by Afreximbank are the main prerequisite for vital investment that can really translate into sound economic growth. It is worth noting that, trade and project financing initiatives positively impact trade and project financing initiatives, trade and economic development across the African continent. Oakwood Green Africa (Oakwood Green) is a growing Pan-African institution fueled by a passion to enable greatness across Africa. It has strategic investments in intra-Africa trade, capital and finance, knowledge capital, productivity enhancement and business. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video QNET is aware of some reports by adomfmonline and Class FM on the arrest of some 20 Togolese nationals for unlawful assembly at Hohoe in the Volta Region. Though the report suggests that 20 persons were involved in QNET business, the company is taking action to verify if wrongdoing occurred. Authorities are investigating the substance of the matter, and QNET will cooperate as usual to provide all information needed. As a law-abiding corporate organization, QNET encourages transparency, ethical marketing, and respect for the law. QNET, for more than 23 years, has successfully developed unique products and services to meet the evolving needs of its customers worldwide. The company's direct selling business model allows existing customers who have enjoyed QNET's products to market them by registering as Independent Representatives (IRs) and promoting them to earn commissions on successful sales. Each year, more people buy QNET products and sign up for the company's direct selling business as independent representatives (IRs). Thousands of young Africans have found their entrepreneurial passion through QNET and transformed their lives for the better. QNET commits to and trains on ethical marketing through the QNET PRO initiative, a global education programme on direct selling. QNET empowers its independent representatives with the correct and rightful information, values and best practices, to enable them to build a long-lasting business. In the past years, QNET has trained more than 25,000 people in more than 20 cities covering 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on leadership building, marketing, compliance, ethics, and mentorship. QNET has always been open and transparent in communicating with the media as well as the authorities to address any concerns. Please visit our website www.qnet.net to have a better understanding of the business and its products and services. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Ministry of Food and Agricultural has denied receiving monies from the Finance Ministry to settle debts owed to Fertilizer Suppliers under Government flagship Program, Planting for Food and Job. A close source from the ministry told Despite Media's Sampson Kwame Nyamekye that no funds has been received from the Finance Ministry and they are looking forward to receiving such an amount since the pressure from the contractors is too much. The failure of the government to pay fertilizer suppliers has made the majority of these contractors face bankruptcy forcing their banks to chase them for their monies. The Minister, on the floor of Parliament, when asked about the issue of Financial Clearance to MOFA to clear the large debt owed partners and suppliers, revealed that his ministry has released money to clear outstanding debts Mr. Speaker at the end of 2021 an amount of GHC 86.31 million was outstanding, under PFJ Programme. This amount has now been released to MOFA for payment. This year, MOFA has requested an amount of GHC 485.90 million for payment under PFJ programme. An amount of GHC 278.57 million has subsequently been released to MOFA, Hon Ken OforiAtta has added. According to one of these contractors, he said the Minister for Finance is trying every means to cover the debts by creating pressure between the implementing Ministry and the contractors. We are very sure MOFA would have attended to us if the Finance Ministry had paid the money like the sector Minister claimed, he added. Suppliers said, their respective Banks have been chasing them after the Ministers presentation on the floor of Parliament because these banks think; they (Suppliers) have diverted the payment to different accounts. Despite Media Sampson Kwame Nyamekye in an earlier report last month interviewed a number of Fertilizer suppliers who confirmed that government still owes them with monies after supplying farmers under PFJ with fertilizers. Peasant farmers had also in a separate story expressed worry over how the scarcity of fertilizers has been affecting their farming businesses since suppliers are reluctant to supply them with fertilizers. Planting for Food and Jobs is a flagship agricultural Campaign of the Government, with five (5) implementation modules. The first module PFJ (Crops) aims to promote food security and immediate availability of selected food crops on the market and also provide jobs. Source: Sampson Nyamekye/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has joined in the chorus of condemnation after at least 23 migrants died as Moroccan security forces tried to stop them from crossing into the Spanish enclave of Melilla last week. In a statement issued on Twitter, he said he was "shocked by the violence". "The use of excessive force is unacceptable, and the human rights and dignity of people on the move must be prioritized by countries," he added. I am shocked by the violence on the Nador-Melilla border on Friday which resulted in the deaths of dozens of migrants & asylum seekers. The use of excessive force is unacceptable, and the human rights and dignity of people on the move must be prioritized by countries. Antonio Guterres (@antonioguterres) June 29, 2022 Between 1,500 and 2,000 migrants who had been camping in the Moroccan mountains surrounding Melilla descended on the city's border last Friday, a number of them carrying sticks, hoping to scale the border fences and therefore reach Spanish territory. In the chaos that followed, many of them were crushed between the six-metre-high fences and Moroccan border guards, who used tear gas and batons on the migrants. On Sunday, the head of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, expressed his "shock and concern at the violent and degrading treatment of African migrants". 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 Angolas immediate former president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, is in an induced coma in a hospital in Barcelona, a Portuguese news agency is reporting. Jose Eduardo dos Santos is hospitalized in a clinic in Barcelona and is in a coma following a [relapse], after recovering from Covid-19, said Portugals state-owned Lusa News Agency, which extensively covers developments in Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa. There has been increased speculation about Mr Dos Santos health, with Portuguese Expresso Newspaper describing his medical condition as irreversible. Meanwhile, the former presidents daughter, Tchize dos Santos, has criticized those preparing his funeral. She also accused Angolas President Joao Lourenco of politicizing his fathers situation. Jose Eduardo dos Santos served as the president of Angola from 1979 to 2017. 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 There have been bomb blasts in four separate places in Ethiopia's northern city of Bahir Dar, police have said, indicating a further deterioration of security in Amhara, the country's second largest region. The explosions occurred in selected "strategic" places in the city, which is the regional capital, and were aimed at terrorising the public", according to a police spokeswoman. She did not disclose whether there were any casualties, but confirmed that six suspects were apprehended in relation to the incidents. Tensions have escalated in the region after the authorities launched what they called a "law enforcement operation" that has seen the arrest of thousands of individuals in the region. There have been a number of anti-government protests in recent days following a massacre of ethnic Amharas in neighbouring Oromia region. More than 250 village farmers were killed in the incident. Residents have told the BBC that the city was calm on Wednesday. However, the latest developments indicate that there are simmering tensions that could pose significant challenges to a country blighted by widespread conflicts. 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 President, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in accordance with the advice of the governing board of the Forestry Commission, given in consultation with the Public Services Commission, has appointed seasoned professional forester Hugh C.A. Brown as Executive Director of the Forest Services Division (FSD) of the Forestry Commission, Ghana, following a competitive interview supervised by the Public Services Commission to fill the vacant position. Mr. Brown, with almost three decades of experience in tropical forest management, protection and development prior to the appointment was the Director of Operations responsible for forest plantations, a position he held for 10 years. A letter signed by Ing. Mrs. Mabel Amoako-Atta, Secretary of the Public Services Commission noted that his appointment took effect from June 14, 2022 and charged Mr. Brown to help provide strategic vision and direction for the achievement of the strategic and business objectives and goals of the FSD and the Forestry Commission. Profile of Mr. Hugh C.A Brown Hugh is a certified forester with over 28 years work experience in tropical forest management, protection and development. Hugh holds a BSc. in Natural Resources Management and an MBA from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, and Masters in Forestry (MF) from Yale University, U.S.A. His professional affiliations include Ghana Institute of Foresters (member, 1994); Society of American Foresters (Certified Forester, 2010); and Society for Ecological Restoration (member, 2010; Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner, 2018). He currently represents Africa on the steering committee of TEAKNET, an international network of institutions, companies and individuals involved in the cultivation, research, harvesting, processing and marketing of teak timber. He was instrumental in helping Ghana win the bid to host the upcoming World Teak Conference (WTC 2022) in September this year. Under his able leadership as Director of Operations (Plantations), FSD, over 450,000 hectares of degraded forest land is currently under restoration nationwide employing various landscape restoration interventions. He also recently coordinated the planting of an estimated 7 million tree seedlings and 25 million tree seedlings under the Presidents flagship programme dubbed Green Ghana 2021 and 2022 respectively which aims at restoring our degraded landscapes and contributing to the global fight against climate change. He has co-authored publications in Forest Ecology and Management, and IUFRO World Series journals. He was the lead editor of the book Ghana Forest Plantation Strategy: 2016 2040 which provides a blueprint for forest landscape restoration in Ghana. In 2020 he was awarded the Prospect Street Award for environmental leadership by Yale University, the first person of African descent to win this prestigious global award. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has reaffirmed the commitment of the government to reconstruct and model Apiate Community within one year as promised. He said, the Masterplan for the reconstruction of the Appiatse rural model community is ready and in a matter of weeks, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on behalf of the President of the Republic will cut sod to commence construction of the core community which will consist of 124 housing units. He said "by the Grace of God within one year we will deliver these houses" while indicating that all components of the model Apiate housing units comprising 1-7 bedrooms are fit for purpose. The visit by the Minister was to among others access the conditions and well-being of the residents after their relocation from the tents into the temporary structures in May. He also used the occasion to debunk some assertion from the public that Funds meant for the rebuilding of the community are being used for the construction of the National cathedral. He maintained that "The Apiate project is non-partisan, without colorization and called on the inhabitants in Apiate and environs to dismiss such propaganda and untrue statements. He also employed the opportunity to call on Ghanaians to support the Apiate Reconstruction project by donating to the support fund, stressing that the funds will be disbursed transparently and usefully. The Minister as part of his visit also symbolically decommissioned the tents which previously housed the residents to end the era of living in tents. Mr Jinapor highly commended the Chairman, Benito Owusu-Bio, members of the Apiate Reconstruction Implementation Team and the Municipal Chief Executives for a great work done. "I am very impressed with the work of the ARIT team headed by my Deputy Minister in charge of Lands and Forestry. They have done very well and have shown that they are a true example of the Ghanaian tradition of public service," he said. Addressing the residents, Mr Jinapor called on them to come together and support the government to deliver the houses, adding that their collective effort is needed during this critical time for the houses to be delivered to them. The Lands Minister also donated assorted food items including bags of rice, sugar and gallons of oil to the residents estimated at GHC10,000. Benito Owusu-Bio, Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and Chairman of the Reconstruction Implementation Team said plans are far advanced to ensure that electricity, water and other basic amenities are made available to the community. He added that designs, survey works, and plotting of the sites are all being completed to enable the actual reconstruction works to begin next month. On behalf of the Nana Kojo Bremibi Chief of Apiate, Kyiame Kwame Ofori expressed gratitude to the Minister and the reconstruction team, saying that the efforts of the Minister demonstrate true leadership and wished him and his team well as they embark on the rebuilding journey. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Two cargo trains loaded with goods departed on Thursday from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality and Chengdu, capital of the neighboring Sichuan Province, for Germany's Duisburg and Poland's Lodz. It marked that the number of China-Europe freight trains handled by the two cities has topped 20,000 since Chongqing and Chengdu launched the service in March 2011 and April 2013, respectively, according to local authorities. More than 1,000 kinds of goods, including electronics, machinery, automobiles, auto parts, as well as medicines and medical instruments, have been transported via the service. In 2021 alone, Chongqing and Chengdu handled over 4,800 China-Europe cargo trains, accounting for 30 percent of the national total, with the transported goods worth over 200 billion yuan (about 29.8 billion U.S. dollars). Chongqing and Chengdu are among the earliest cities in China to start the China-Europe freight train service. As a significant measure in constructing the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, the two cities have cooperated since 2021 to improve the service. The Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle is another important regional development strategy, following the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Mr Hayford Attah Krufi, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) has entreated employers to set up provident fund schemes to augment Tier One and Tier Two contributions to employees retirement benefits. ''Even if you start with a one percent contribution, then the worker will top up because retirement income security is not so much about Tier One and Tier Two, but mostly is about Tier Three'', he said. Mr Krufi gave the advice at a breakfast meeting organised by the Sunyani Zonal Office of the NPRA on the theme ''Making Pensions Accessible to All'' and participated by close to 70 participants that included human resource managers, trade unionists, trustees of pension schemes, informal sector workers and the media in Sunyani. A provident fund is an investment fund that is voluntarily established by employers and employees to serve as long-term savings to support employees retirement. Mr Krufi explained Tier One and Tier Two contributions offer 18.5 percent of contributions, while Tier Three gives an additional 16.5 percent or whatever percentage the worker can contribute to Tier Three. He said provision had been made under section 112, sub-section Two of the National Pensions Act 2008, Act 766 which stipulated that if a worker contributed up to 35 percent to a pension payment, his/her income must not be taxed. Mr. Krufi said NPRA was making efforts to ensure employees who decided to contribute to Tier Three would have tax-free income. Mr William Ohene-Adjei, the Sunyani Zonal Head of NPRA told participants he would continue to engage and educate workers to be well-informed about issues of their retirement. He, therefore, asked workers to visit the office anytime to inquire about issues affecting their retirement. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Alhaji Suallah Abdallah Quandah, the Bono Regional Executive Secretary, National Peace Council (NPC), has appealed to the Ghana Education Service (GES) to help instill the concept of peace and its dividends into the minds of school children. It is very important that young people and school children appreciate and understand the concept of peace so that they will grow with it into adulthood, he stated. Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of a peace seminar held at the Sunyani Senior High School (SHS), Alhaji Quandah said school children must learn the values of tolerance, peaceful co-existence and respect for diversity from the scratch. The Regional Secretariat of the NPC organized the seminar on non-violence responses to conflict, as part of the Councils efforts to sensitize young people on the need for them to appreciate conflict as a natural phenomenon. As people from different ethnic, religious and socio-cultural backgrounds, Alhaji Quandah said the GES ought to ensure that school children were mindful of their diversity in addition to appreciating and respecting themselves. The fact that students are from different backgrounds alone is a source of disagreement and misunderstanding, and the best way we can help them to deal with this is inculcating in them the concept of peace, tolerance and forbearance. One of the issues of conflicts in our communities is our appreciation and management of diversities, therefore if young ones are sensitized, it becomes part of them and conflicts will not necessarily degenerate into violence, he added. Ahaji Quandah said building the capacity of school children, as peace actors remained essential to strengthening democratic governance, saying students like youth will be part of future local development and assume important roles in the resolution of conflicts. He indicated the lives and experiences of young people were more complex than generally portrayed, saying the youth can play many roles within the fragile and conflict settings when they are well-empowered in conflict prevention and peace-building. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A ceremony is being held in the Democratic Republic of Congo to bury the gold-crowned tooth of independence hero Patrice Lumumba more than 60 years after he was assassinated. It is the only part of his body that exists after his remains were dissolved in acid. The Belgian policeman who oversaw the disposal took the tooth as a trophy. It was returned to the family last week and has toured several parts of DR Congo in a coffin. People have been able to pay their respects ahead of the funeral that is taking place in the capital, Kinshasa. President Felix Tshisekedi, Lumumba's family and other dignitaries are at the service which is taking place before the coffin is transferred to a specially built mausoleum. Lumumba was the country's first prime minister and one of the leaders of the struggle for independence. He was also seen as one of the most prominent voices in Africa's anti-colonial movement. Thursday marks 62 years since the former colonial power Belgium relinquished control of the vast country. But it viewed Lumumba as a barrier to its efforts to maintain influence as well as hold on to important economic interests. In a famous speech on independence day in 1960, in front of Belgian dignitaries including King Baudouin, Lumumba castigated Belgium saying that the Congolese had been held in "humiliating slavery". The Belgians were stunned as a black African had never dared speak like this in front of Europeans. Lumumba was toppled as prime minister just over two months later. Then in January 1961, with the tacit backing of Belgium, he was shot by a firing squad, along with two allies. 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 violent attacks on the police by protesters of Arise Ghana on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, has confirmed an earlier security intelligence that there is an attempt to destabilise the country. The Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, made the assertion in an interview on Metro TV, in reaction to the clash between the police and protestors at the Obra Spot, Kwame Nkrumah Circle. "There is an obvious attempt to create instability in our country, and we don't need to mince words about it. "And there is a trajectory, first there was a group that wanted to demonstrate with weapons, then there was this group that said they wanted to demonstrate throughout the night till the morning and the Police raised obvious questions," Mr Oppong Nkrumah said. The Minister said those trajectory of actions should not be ignored by well-meaning Ghanaians in view of the recent terrorist attacks in neighbouring countries. He, therefore, commended the police for their professionalism and good temperament in the face of provocation by the protestors. The Minister asserted that the violent attacks on the police was pre-meditated because some protestors had brought car tyres, and petrol to the Obra Spot with a clear intention to cause trouble and should be condemned by all. "My heart goes to the police men and women who sustained various degree of injuries. In fact, the Interior Minister and I visited them at the Police Hospital and I saw some police women, with the good intention to serve their nation, who were injured," Mr Oppong Nkrumah lamented. The protesters hurled stones at the police and necessitating the firing of tear gas and rubber bullets by the police, resulting in injuries to both the police and the protesters. Arise Ghana protesters had wanted to use a particular route for the demonstration but the Police secured a court order to resist that move. The court order also prevented the protest from going into the night, which created a stand-off between the Police and the leadership of Arise Ghana. The group wanted to use a route at the ring road to the Jubilee House, the seat of government, to present a petition to the Presidency on the economic hardship in the country. A statement issued by Chief Superintendent Grace Ansah-Akrofi, Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, in Accra, said 29 protesters had been arrested so far, and that the Police were reviewing a footage to make more arrests. The protest resulted in injuries and damages to police vehicles and other property. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video " " While the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan shared some key elements, the differences mainly revolved around large- and small-state issues, such as representation in Congress. HowStuffWorks Sometimes we talk about the Constitution of the United States the document that lays out the law of the land for Americans as if it were forged by gods on Mount Olympus and drifted down from the heavens, fully formed into George Washington's own hands, a flawless and sublime document. The truth about the making of the Constitution is that it was a total mess like, a "Real Housewives"-franchise-level mess. It took an unbelievable amount of heavy lifting to get it into working order, and since it became the supreme law of the land in 1789, it's been amended 27 times, with one amendment (the 21st) repealing a previous amendment (the 18th). And we're still squabbling over whether an 18th-century document can meet the needs of 21st-century people. But flawed as it may be, the Constitution is pretty impressive, considering its creation was required to fix the major weaknesses of its predecessor, the Articles of Confederation. Advertisement A Terrible First Stab at Government "The United States' first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, was fatally flawed from the moment it was adopted," says Stephen Phillips, a professor of political science at Clemson University. "It created a national government with very little power that was essentially impossible to change, and that consisted of only a legislature no independent executive or judiciary." The government set up under the Articles of Confederation was so bad it only lasted a decade. And it wasn't so much a government as a "firm league of friendship" between the 13 original states, which could all vote on issues that affected the collective, but decisions were only made when at least nine of the states voted the same way. It was a dicey time in American history. "Economic and security crises mounted throughout the 1780s, showing the national government was simply unable to act to protect the national interest," says Phillips. "Political leaders recognized that the country needed a stronger national government, which meant a revised constitution. Amid the background of political crisis, the Confederation Congress authorized a convention of delegates from the states to debate amendments to the Articles of Confederation to create a stronger national government with greater power. The important question for the delegates is what this government would look like and what powers would it have." Advertisement The Virginia (Large-State) Plan Enter the Constitutional Convention of 1787, wherein 55 delegates from each state met in Philadelphia to address the problems with the Articles but ended up completely overhauling the U.S. government instead. It started with James Madison, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, introducing the Virginia Plan, which proposed a much more powerful national government with three branches: a legislature, executive and judiciary. "A key part of the Virginia Plan was a legislature with two different chambers, a lower house and upper house where the number of representatives each state had would be determined by its population or wealth the larger the population, the greater the representation it would have," says Phillips. The key components of the Virginia Plan: Two houses of Congress (a bicameral legislature) Representation based on population National government with three branches: legislative, executive and judiciary Stronger national government; Congress has power to tax and provide for the national defense Advertisement The New Jersey (Small-State) Plan Of course, states with smaller populations were not keen on the idea of a legislature where representation in both houses would be based on population, as it would threaten their independence and power. In response to the Virginia Plan, the small states proposed the New Jersey Plan. The New Jersey Plan, written primarily by William Paterson, voted to keep the single-house legislature with equal state representation from the Articles of Confederation, while adding a national executive and a judiciary, and expanding the power of the national government. The key components of the New Jersey Plan: One house of Congress (a unicameral legislature) Each state has equal representation, regardless of population National government with three branches: legislative, executive and judiciary Congress has power to tax and regulate interstate commerce Advertisement Large States vs. Small States In this way, the Constitutional Convention of 1787 turned into a grudge match between the large states and the small states. After a few days of debate, the New Jersey Plan was rejected even a few people who helped Paterson write the plan voted against it. But the small states were so unhappy with the failure of the New Jersey Plan and the legislature offered by the Virginia Plan that there was a real possibility they would leave the Constitutional Convention. At this point, it became clear that a compromise on representation was needed between the large and small states. After much debate, delegates agreed to the Connecticut Compromise, introduced by Connecticut's Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth. "The Connecticut Compromise proposed a national legislature wherein the lower house representation would be based on population and the upper house states would have an equal vote. The Connecticut Compromise struck a middle ground that was able to win support from both large and small states," says Phillips. Advertisement The Constitution Evolves However, the Virginia Plan remained influential at the Constitutional Convention and beyond and is still considered the blueprint for the Constitution. But James Madison didn't write the Constitution alone. The main parts of his Virginia Plan were adopted: a much stronger national government with the power to tax and provide for the national defense, and a legislature with two houses, a national executive and a judiciary that share power. After the Connecticut Compromise, there was much debate at the Constitutional Convention surrounding what these individual parts would look like. There was a lot to hammer out around how we would elect the president, the independence of the judiciary, states' rights and representation in the legislature, and a lot of lesser-known delegates won on some critical issues. "There's a reason why equal state representation in the Senate an idea Madison fought for tooth and nail became not only the convention's greatest compromise but now the only permanent, unamendable part of the Constitution," says Phillips. "The Constitution was written through collaboration and compromise. No delegate achieved everything they wanted, but that did not stop them from working hard to create a more perfect union." Now That's Interesting The government under the Articles of Confederation was weak for a lot of reasons, but mainly because it couldn't collect taxes, which meant the new government couldn't pay off its war debt, leaving it to the states. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence have sparked interest from governments that would like to use these tools for predictive policing to deter crime. Early efforts at crime prediction have been controversial, however, because they do not account for systemic biases in police enforcement and its complex relationship with crime and society. Data and social scientists from the University of Chicago have developed a new algorithm that forecasts crime by learning patterns in time and geographic locations from public data on violent and property crimes. The model can predict future crimes one week in advance with about 90% accuracy. In a separate model, the research team also studied the police response to crime by analyzing the number of arrests following incidents and comparing those rates among neighborhoods with different socioeconomic status. They saw that crime in wealthier areas resulted in more arrests, while arrests in disadvantaged neighborhoods dropped. Crime in poor neighborhoods didn't lead to more arrests, however, suggesting bias in police response and enforcement. "What we're seeing is that when you stress the system, it requires more resources to arrest more people in response to crime in a wealthy area and draws police resources away from lower socioeconomic status areas," said Ishanu Chattopadhyay, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine at UChicago and senior author of the new study, which was published this week in Nature Human Behavior. The tool was tested and validated using historical data from the City of Chicago around two broad categories of reported events: violent crimes (homicides, assaults, and batteries) and property crimes (burglaries, thefts, and motor vehicle thefts). These data were used because they were most likely to be reported to police in urban areas where there is historical distrust and lack of cooperation with law enforcement. Such crimes are also less prone to enforcement bias, as is the case with drug crimes, traffic stops, and other misdemeanor infractions. Previous efforts at crime prediction often use an epidemic or seismic approach, where crime is depicted as emerging in "hotspots" that spread to surrounding areas. These tools miss out on the complex social environment of cities, however, and don't consider the relationship between crime and the effects of police enforcement. "Spatial models ignore the natural topology of the city," said sociologist and co-author James Evans, Ph.D., Max Palevsky Professor at UChicago and the Santa Fe Institute. "Transportation networks respect streets, walkways, train and bus lines. Communication networks respect areas of similar socio-economic background. Our model enables discovery of these connections." The new model isolates crime by looking at the time and spatial coordinates of discrete events and detecting patterns to predict future events. It divides the city into spatial tiles roughly 1,000 feet across and predicts crime within these areas instead of relying on traditional neighborhood or political boundaries, which are also subject to bias. The model performed just as well with data from seven other U.S. cities: Atlanta, Austin, Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Portland, and San Francisco. "We demonstrate the importance of discovering city-specific patterns for the prediction of reported crime, which generates a fresh view on neighborhoods in the city, allows us to ask novel questions, and lets us evaluate police action in new ways," Evans said. Chattopadhyay is careful to note that the tool's accuracy does not mean that it should be used to direct law enforcement, with police departments using it to swarm neighborhoods proactively to prevent crime. Instead, it should be added to a toolbox of urban policies and policing strategies to address crime. "We created a digital twin of urban environments. If you feed it data from happened in the past, it will tell you what's going to happen in future. It's not magical, there are limitations, but we validated it and it works really well," Chattopadhyay said. "Now you can use this as a simulation tool to see what happens if crime goes up in one area of the city, or there is increased enforcement in another area. If you apply all these different variables, you can see how the systems evolves in response." The study is titled "Event-level Prediction of Urban Crime Reveals Signature of Enforcement Bias in U.S. Cities." Additional authors include Victor Rotaru, Yi Huang, and Timmy Li from the University of Chicago. More information: Ishanu Chattopadhyay, Event-level prediction of urban crime reveals a signature of enforcement bias in US cities, Nature Human Behaviour (2022). www.nature.com/articles/s41562-022-01372-0 Journal information: Nature Human Behaviour Ishanu Chattopadhyay, Event-level prediction of urban crime reveals a signature of enforcement bias in US cities,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01372-0 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain New genetic research from remote islands in the Pacific offers fresh insights into the ancestry and culture of the world's earliest seafarers, including family structure, social customs, and the ancestral populations of the people living there today. The work, described in the journal Science, reveals five previously undocumented migrations into a subregion of this area and suggests that about 2,500 to 3,500 years ago early inhabitants of these Pacific islandsincluding Guam in the northern region and Vanuatu in the southwesthad matrilocal population structures where women almost always remained in their communities after marriage while men more often moved out of their mothers' community to live with that of their wives'. The practice is different from that of patrilocal societies where women are overwhelming the ones to leave their own community. These findings support the idea that the world's earliest seafarers were organized through female lineages. The results come from a genome-wide analysis on 164 ancient individuals from 2,800 to 300 years ago as well 112 modern individuals. It was published by a team of researchers co-led by Harvard geneticists David Reich and Yue-Chen Liu, Ron Pinhasi at the University of Vienna, and Rosalind Hunter-Anderson, an independent researcher working in Albuqueque New Mexico. Ms. Alyssa Taitano talks about her experience as a young scientist and CHamoru woman participating in the Micronesian ancient DNA project published July 1, 2022. Credit: Rosalind Hunter-Anderson, Ph.D., National Geographic Society grantee "It's an unexpected gift to be able to learn about cultural patterns from genetic data," said David Reich, a professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology and a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School. "Today, traditional communities in the Pacific have both patrilocal and matrilocal population structures and there was a debate about what the common practice was in the ancestral populations. These results suggest that in the earliest seafarers, matrilocality was the rule. The genetic analysis compared early seafarers from Guam, Vanuatu, and Tongaliving about 2500 to 3,000 years agorevealing that their mitochondrial DNA sequences, which humans only inherit from their biological mother, differed almost completely while sharing much more of the rest of their DNA. The only way this can happen is if migrants who left their communities to marry into new ones were almost always males. "Females certainly moved to new islands, but when they did so they were part of joint movements of both females and males" explains Reich. "This pattern of leaving the community must have been nearly unique to males in order to explain why genetic differentiation is so much higher in mitochondrial DNA than in the rest of the genome." The new study from an interdisciplinary team of geneticists and archeologists quintuples the body of ancient DNA data from the vast Pacific region called Remote Oceania, the last habitable place on earth to be peopled. It also provides surprising insights into the extraordinarily complex peopling of one of Remote Oceania's major subregions. Humans arrived and spread through Australia, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, and the Solomon Islands beginning 50,000 years ago, but it wasn't until after 3,500 years ago that humans began living in Remote Oceania for the first time after developing the technology to cross open water in unique long-distance canoes. This expansion included the region called Micronesia: about two thousand small islands north of the Equator including Guam, the Marshall Islands, the Caroline Islands, Palau, and the Northern Mariana Islands. It's long been a mystery what the routes people took to arrive in the region. The revealing of five streams of migration into Micronesia helps bring clarity to this mystery and the origins of the people there today. "These migrations we document with ancient DNA are the key events shaping this region's unique history," said Liu, a post-doctoral fellow in Reich's lab and the study's lead author. "Some of the findings were very surprising." Of the five detected migrations, three were from East Asia, one from Polynesia, and a Papuan ancestry coming from the northern fringes of mainland New Guinea. The indigenous ancestry from New Guinea was a major surprise as a different stream of this migrationone from New Britain, an island chain to the east of New Guinea was the source of the Papuan ancestry in the southwest Pacific and in Central Micronesia. The researchers also found that present-day Indigenous people of the Mariana Islands in Micronesia, including Guam and Saipan, derive nearly all their pre-European-contact ancestry from two of the East Asian-associated migrations the researchers detected. It makes them the "only people of the open Pacific who lack ancestry from the New Guinea region," Liu said. The researchers consulted with several Indigenous communities in Micronesia for the study. This is the fourth publication of original ancient DNA data from remote Pacific islands by Reich's group. "It's important that when we do ancient DNA work, we don't just write a paper about the population history of a region and then move on," Reich said. "Each paper raises as many new questions as it answers, and this requires long term commitment to follow up the initial findings. In the Pacific islands there are so many open questions, so many surprises still to be discovered." Explore further Ancient DNA sheds light on the peopling of the Mariana Islands More information: Yue-Chen Liu et al, Ancient DNA reveals five streams of migration into Micronesia and matrilocality in early Pacific seafarers, Science (2022). www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm6536 Journal information: Science Yue-Chen Liu et al, Ancient DNA reveals five streams of migration into Micronesia and matrilocality in early Pacific seafarers,(2022). DOI: 10.1126/science.abm6536 MNHN PPI 229 Scaphokogia cochlearis holotype skull in lateral left (a), lateral right (b) and dorsal (c) views, highlighting the shark bite marks and the consecutive numbering of these. Credit: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2022). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0774 A small team of researchers from Switzerland, the U.S., Italy and Peru reports evidence that suggests ancestors of modern sperm whales were used as fat sources by ancient sharks. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group describes their study of physeteroid fossil bones dated to the late Miocene and found in Peru, and what it showed them about the feeding habits of ancient sharks. The fossilized physeteroid skulls, from an ancient ancestor of modern sperm whales, were dated to approximately 7 million years ago. In their work, the researchers focused on the upper parts of the skulls housing the nasal passages. Modern sperm whales (and their ancient cousins) have large heads with a huge snout (often making up a third of its body length) and enlarged nasal organs. The whales use the organs for sound production, and they are chock full of fat. In this new effort, the researchers were interested in the bite marks found on all six of the skulls they studied. Study of the marks showed that they were created by sharksand they were progressive. The researchers found that large sharks (possibly megalodons) attacked first. Next up came waves of smaller and smaller shark attacks. Study of the bite marks showed that the whales tended to survive such attacks and that the sharks focused mainly on the part of the head housing the nasal organs. The researchers suggest this indicates that the sharks were going for the fat that surrounded them, giving the sharks a high-energy meal. The researchers note that physeteroids were a widely diverse group during the Miocene, including whales of variable size. But all of them had the characteristic overly large head with the nasal organs that helped them communicate over long distances. They note that bite marks on cranial bones can only happen if the sharks were pulling out the tissue and fat covering them. They also note that similar bite marks have been observed on physeteroids from sites around the globe, suggesting that sharks actively sought them out, likely as a good source of fat. Explore further Giant ancient shark may have gone extinct due to extinction of its small prey More information: Aldo Benites-Palomino et al, Sperm whales (Physeteroidea) from the Pisco Formation, Peru, and their trophic role as fat sources for late Miocene sharks, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2022). Journal information: Proceedings of the Royal Society B Aldo Benites-Palomino et al, Sperm whales (Physeteroidea) from the Pisco Formation, Peru, and their trophic role as fat sources for late Miocene sharks,(2022). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0774 2022 Science X Network Part of the Field Museum's underground "bunker" of reptile specimens. Credit: Field Museum Two levels underground, Chicago's Field Museum has a secret bunker. The sub-basement Collections Resource Center houses millions of biological specimens for scientists around the world to use in their research, including countless bottles and jars containing pickled fish, lizards, and snakes, arranged like a library. Many of these specimens are decades or even centuries old, near-perfectly preserved by a combination of formalin and alcohol. But the process that preserves tissues often destroys or at least makes acquiring DNA for modern studies very difficult, which is bad news for scientists who study genetic relationships between organisms. A new study in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, however, reveals new approaches for getting and maximizing usable DNA from decades-old pickled specimens, and uses these techniques to solve a long-standing mystery about a small snake from the island of Borneo. "As a true crime aficionado, it reminds me of how people didn't take DNA samples when a crime was committed in the 1960s, because nobody could have predicted that one day DNA samples would let you pinpoint who committed a crime," says Sara Ruane, assistant curator of herpetology at the Field Museum and the study's senior author. "These older museum specimens are sometimes the only available examples of a species, but they weren't preserved with DNA in mind this paper is about how we can squeeze every bit of information possible out of them." The project was born of the dissertation research of Justin Bernstein when he was Ruane's student at Rutgers University-Newark. "My primary study is on a group of snakes, called homalopsids or mud snakes, that live in South and Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Australia," says Bernstein, the paper's lead author. "They're really fascinating; they live in muddy, aquatic environments, and there are 56 species of them. We use DNA to study their evolutionary history, to try to describe new species, and to learn what happened to these groups over tens of millions of years that led to the diversity we see today." Alcohol-preserved specimens of Hydrablabes periops in the Field Museum's collections. Credit: Josh Mata, Field Museum For this paper, there was one animal in particular that Bernstein and Ruane were trying to place into a family group, a two-foot-long greenish-brown snake called Hydrablabes periops, aka the olive small-eyed snake. It's found on Borneo, a large island east of mainland Malaysia and northwest from Australia that contains parts of Malaysia and Indonesia and the entire nation of Brunei. Based on its appearance, scientists had suggested two different families that it might be a part of. Analyzing its DNA could reveal its closest relatives and thus, its family, but that was easier said than done. "About half of mud snake diversity and all Hydrablabes vouchers are known from older specimens that were chemically treated, and this chemical treatment breaks down the DNA," says Bernstein. Part of the process of preserving an animal in alcohol is "fixing" it with a substance called formalin, a solution of formaldehyde gas and water, that makes its tissues rubbery and rigid. Unfortunately, the DNA in its cells gets altered as well. "It does something called crosslinking, which binds up the DNA," says Ruane. "If you want to study its DNA, you need to undo or try to force the DNA out from those crosslinks." Studying the olive small-eyed snake meant taking small samples of liver tissue from some of the few specimens in the United States, both from the Field Museum's collections. One from 1964, and the other from a 1993 collecting trip by the Field's then-curator Robert Inger and his wife Tan Fui Lian. Lead author Justin Bernstein visiting the Field Museum's reptile collections. Credit: Sara Ruane, Field Museum Such old specimens required new lab techniques. Normally, getting DNA out of a tissue sample involves adding digestive enzymes that break apart the tissue, leaving the DNA behind, and heating it to 130 for several hours. "We had to modify the way we got the DNA out by making it hotter for longer and using more of these digestive enzymes," says Ruane. These more extreme preparation methods have been effective for other snakes in previous studies, but the resulting genetic analysis still contained lots of gaps for Borneo's Hydrablabes snake specimen. Lead author Justin Bernstein working with snake specimens at University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum, taking morphological data to examine homalopsid snake diversity. Credit: Justin Bernstein "The chemicals used to preserve the snakes sheared their DNA into shorter pieces of code, which made them hard to compare with longer, more complete genes from other specimens," says Bernstein. "The first software that I used made it hard to understand how much fragmented DNA there was across the study specimens, but switching to a different software that visualized the pieces of genetic code made it easier to see where there were problems." And even the smaller, more fragmented pieces of code could be added to larger, published datasets to help build an evolutionary tree. An important aspect of this paper for Bernstein was being transparent about the difficulties of using older specimens and the troubleshooting required to study them. "I wanted to show scientists that you can still do work with these specimens, it just requires a bit of finagling," he says. "On a broader level, the study is really showing how to leverage the data you do obtain and how you can combine it with previously published datasets to investigate some really cool hypotheses." One of the decades-old snake specimens from the Field Museum used in this study. Credit: Sara Ruane, Field Museum As for the Bornean snake at the heart of the study, the researchers were able to determine that it's a member of the family Natricidae, which contains distant relatives such as the North American garter snakes. Which might not seem like a big deal, but "knowing that a particular species is part of a certain group can tell us a lot about biogeography and about how life on Earth has changed over time," says Ruane. And beyond the study of snakes, she notes that overall, "this project underscores the importance of museum collections, because you never know what you'll be able to learn from specimens in the future." Explore further Scientists discover a way to sequence DNA of rare animals More information: Maximizing molecular data from low-quality fluid-preserved specimens in natural history collections, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (2022). Journal information: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution Maximizing molecular data from low-quality fluid-preserved specimens in natural history collections,(2022). DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.893088 Credit: Shutterstock The COVID pandemic slowed mining operations across the Pacific. But as economic activity returns, an Australia-based company is poised to pursue what would be the largest mine in Papua New Guinea's history. The vast gold and copper project, known as the Frieda River mine, would also include a hydroelectric plant and a dam with a storage capacity for around 4.6 billion tons of mine tailings and waste rock. The project is awaiting approval by the PNG government. However, locals, conservationists and experts say it could cause catastrophic harm to one of the world's most important river systems and should not proceed as proposed. Australia is PNG's largest development partner. As resource extraction expands across the Pacific, the new Labor government is well placed to help our neighbors ensure mining activity doesn't harm people or the environment. Remote, unstable terrain The Frieda River mine is proposed by Brisbane-based, Chinese-owned company Pan Aust. The project centers on the Frieda River copper-gold deposit located in the tropical mountain ranges of northwest PNG. The river flows into the Sepik River Basin, one of the world's great river systems. It's the largest unpolluted freshwater system in New Guinea and among the largest freshwater basins in the Asia-Pacific. The Frieda River deposit was discovered in the 1960s. It lies in extremely remote terrain, along the Pacific Ring of Fire which is prone to seismic activity. The mine would produce tailings (or waste materials) containing sulfide, which turns into sulfuric acid when exposed to oxygen. For this reason, the tailings must be permanently covered by water. The project threatens catastrophic harm to one of the worlds most important river systems, and the people who depend on it. Credit: Shutterstock The proposed mine's location, high in the mountains, means a tailings accident could devastate the entire Sepik River Basin. About 430,000 people depend on the Sepik River and nearby forests for their livelihood. The proposal has galvanized massive opposition from both locals and others. Downplaying the risks In 2020, ten independent experts including myself, were commissioned by PNG's Center for Environmental Law and Community Rights to individually review the project's "environmental impact statement". The work was undertaken pro bono. I'm an experienced gold exploration geologist and environmental scientist. In my review, I found the statement downplayed or obscured the proposal's extraordinary level of risk. First, it omitted a report by design engineers that analyzed the extreme consequences of dam failure. Second, the main report failed to mention the dam would need an intensive inspection and maintenance regime "in perpetuity." In other words, a potentially toxic dam in a remote part of a very poor country requires highly skilled and experienced professionals to maintain it not just for the 33-year life of the mine, but forever. Our reports prompted a group of UN Special Rapporteurs to write letters of concern to the governments of PNG, Australia, China and Canada, where companies involved in the joint venture have ties. The letters said the mine's development appeared to "disregard the human rights of those affected given the nature of the project it could undermine the rights of Sepik children to life, health, culture, and a healthy environment, including the rights of unborn generations." The Conversation contacted Pan Aust for a response to these claims. In a statement, the company said it was "respectfully engaged in the Government of Papua New Guinea's approvals process" and as such, it was inappropriate to provide a public comment. Villagers travelling along PNGs Fly River which is choked by tailings from the Ok Tedi mine. Author provided New safeguards are needed Inadequate consideration of a mine's social and environmental impact is rife cross the Pacific. And PNG provides many examples of the catastrophes that can result. Tailings from BHP's ill-fated Ok-Tedi mine, located in the same mountain range as the proposed Frieda River mine, severely damaged nearby rivers. And environmental damage from the Panguna copper mine was a key factor in community unrest and the Bougainville civil war. Recent research into governance of mining in PNG found government agencies were under-resourced, leaving "companies as effectively self-regulating." Proponents of mining in PNG frequently cite its contribution to economic development. But for the benefits to be realized, resources must be extracted in a way that is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. New laws are needed to ensure resource extraction projects in PNG don't cause long-lasting social and environmental damage. This should include mandatory, transparent and independent reviews of projects. Australia has extensive experience with environmental regulation of mining projects and can assist in this regard. Such assistance should be delivered in a way that strengthens relations between Australia and PNG, and empowers and equips the smaller nation. Sustainable development for our Pacific neighbors is in Australia's strategic interests. Australian companies often benefit significantly from resource extraction in PNG, creating an extra responsibility to ensure better outcomes. Explore further Mining pollution limits access to clean water in Papua New Guinea This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Vietnam, UK to step up educational cooperation Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son and British Secretary of State for Education Nadhim Zahawi agreed to enhance the countries educational cooperation during a meeting in London on June 29. Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son (R) presents a gift to British Secretary of State for Education Nadhim Zahawi on June 29. (Photo: VNA) The two officials discussed many cooperation areas, including digital transformation in tertiary and general education, environmental education, English language training, examination, student exchange, and postgraduate training. Minister Son, who is accompanying National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue in an official visit to the UK, said bilateral cooperation in education has been growing in width, and that Vietnam wishes to further develop it in depth. He expressed his hope that the UK Government and the British Council will further help Vietnam in English language training, enhance teachers capacity, and improve educational quality and the capacity of educational quality verification. Son also called on the UK Government to assist with the teaching and learning for ethnic minority children in mountainous areas which face shortages of teachers as well as teaching and learning tools, especially for online learning. The official also suggested British universities invest more in Vietnam, particularly in the majors the UK is strong at such as finance, banking, and information technology, adding that he hopes they will open branches in Vietnam, carry out joint programmes, and exchange students. For his part, Zahawi shared the view that the two sides can further promote educational cooperation, especially in digital transformation which is important to both the UK and Vietnam as it will generate considerable benefits. The UK is ready to boost collaboration with Vietnam to improve educational quality, teacher training, English language teaching, and educational quality verification capacity, he added. Concluding the meeting, the two sides agreed to intensify bilateral educational cooperation in both depth and width, especially in the areas matching Vietnams demand and the UKs strength. The same day, a roundtable on economics and education cooperation between Vietnam and Scotland took place at Londons Scotland House on June 29 (local time), also as part of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hues ongoing official visit to the UK. John Swinney, Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Cabinet Secretary for COVID Recovery, who attended the event remotely, said the roundtable provides an opportunity for the two sides to discuss in depth issues tabled at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) last November. Vietnam and Scotland have acknowledged clear opportunities for the further development of the bilateral ties in higher education and renewable energy, their two priorities, he said. Scotland wants to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam in addressing global challenges, he said, adding that Vietnam is among partners that have received financial support from the European research and innovation programme and the Newton Fund of the UK government. He went on to highlight Scotlands advantages in various areas, including informatics, AI, data science, biology, clinical research, physics, environment, aerospace and satellites, industrial biotechnology and circular economy. He expected the event will open up new opportunities for experience sharing and cooperation between the two sides. Vu Dai Thang, Secretary of the Party Committee of Quang Nam, said as Vietnam has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 at COP26, the country has been accelerating energy transition through projects promoting shift from fossil fuels to clean, green and environmentally friendly energy. To achieve the goal, Vietnam needs cooperation from agencies and governments across the globe, especially the UK and Scotland, Thang said. During the event, representatives from participating universities introduced potential for bilateral cooperation in higher education. The two sides also discussed how to develop offshore wind power in Vietnam. The orbiter and rover of China's Tianwen-1 probe have both completed the targeted scientific exploration missions, announced the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Wednesday. As of Wednesday, the orbiter of Tianwen-1 has been operating normally for 706 days. It has acquired the medium-resolution image data covering the whole globe of Mars, with all of its scientific payloads realizing global survey, said the CNSA. By now, the orbiter has circled Mars 1,344 times. For future missions, it will continue to conduct the whole-globe remote sensing survey and expand tech experiments, said the CNSA. The Tianwen-1 probe consists of an orbiter, a lander and a rover Zhurong. On May 15, 2021, it touched down at its pre-selected landing area in Utopia Planitia, a vast Martian plain, marking the first time that China has landed a probe on the planet. The rover Zhurong started patrolling Mars on May 22, 2021. As of Aug. 15, 2021, Zhurong had finished the designed 90-Martian-day mission and continued to work for further exploration. Having traveled around 1,921.5 meters on the surface of Mars, Zhurong, on May 18 this year, switched to the dormant mode due to the chilly winter and dusty weather on the red planet. It will resume operation around this December when the working conditions are getting better. After two years of flight and exploration, the rover and orbiter have acquired 1,040 gigabytes of raw scientific data with their 13 onboard scientific payloads. Being received and processed on Earth, the data will be formed into standard scientific data products. They will then be delivered to scientists for further analysis and interpreted monthly. Related results have been published in renowned journals at home and abroad. These scientific data will be opened to scientists worldwide. China welcomes global scientists to apply for related research and jointly push forward the exploration of the universe, said the administration. In line with the spirit of openness and sharing, the CNSA will actively push forward cooperation with all countries' space agencies and scientific communities, the administration added. The CNSA has shared with NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) the data of the Mars orbiters and cooperated with them in collision forecast. Zhurong and the ESA's Mars Express spacecraft performed an in-orbit relay communication test. Around the transit of Mars, the CNSA carried out the observation of solar occultation and solar wind together with observatories in Russia, Germany, Italy, Australia, South Africa and other countries, by using orbiters of the Tianwen-1 probe and the Mars Express. All these global cooperations have achieved great fruits, enriched the knowledge of humankind, and contributed to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind in the domain of science, said the CNSA. The common bacteria streptomyces which makes the cyclopropane-containing molecules. Credit: Pablo Morales-Cruz Aircrafts transport people, ship goods, and perform military operations, but the petroleum-based fuels that power them are in short supply. In research publishing on June 30 in the journal Joule, researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley Lab have found a way to generate an alternative jet fuel by harvesting an unusual carbon molecule produced by the metabolic process of bacteria commonly found in soil. "In chemistry, everything that requires energy to make will release energy when it's broken," says lead author Pablo Cruz-Morales, a microbiologist at DTU Biosustain, part of the Technical University of Denmark. When petroleum jet fuel is ignited, it releases a tremendous amount of energy, and the scientists at the Keasling Lab at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory thought there must be a way to replicate this without waiting millions of years for new fossil fuels to form. Jay Keasling, a chemical engineer at University of California, Berkeley, approached Cruz-Morales, who was a postdoc in his lab at the time, to see if he could synthesize a tricky molecule that has the potential to produce a lot of energy. "Keasling told me: it's gonna be an explosive idea," says Cruz-Morales. The molecule that Keasling wanted to recreate was called Jawsamycin, named after the movie "Jaws" because of its bite-like indentations, and is created by the common bacteria streptomyces, an organism that Cruz-Morales had worked with in the past. "The recipe already exists in nature," says Cruz-Morales. The jagged molecule is produced by native metabolism of the bacteria as they munch away on glucose. "As they eat sugar or amino acids, they break them down and convert them into building blocks for carbon-to-carbon bonds," he says. "You make fat in your body in the same way, with the same chemistry, but this bacterial process has some very interesting twists." Extract containing Jawsamycin. Credit: Pablo Morales-Cruz These twists, which give the molecules their explosive properties, are the incorporation of cyclopropane rings rings of three carbon atoms arranged in a triangular shape. "If you have bonds that are at a normal angle, an open chain of carbons, the carbons can be flexible and they get comfortable," explains Cruz-Morales. "Let's say you make them into a ring of six carbonsthey can still move and dance a little bit. But the triangle shape makes the bonds bend, and that tension requires energy to make." After careful analysis, the team determined that the enzymes that were responsible for the construction of these high-energy cyclopropane molecules were polyketide synthases. "Polyketide synthases are the ultimate biological tool to make organic chemistry," says Cruz-Morales. Cruz-Morales explains that the fuel produced by the bacteria would work a lot like biodiesel. It would need to be treated so that it could ignite at a lower temperature than the temperature needed to burn a fatty acid, but when ignited, it would be powerful enough to send a rocket into space. "If we can make this fuel with biology there's no excuses to make it with oil," says Cruz-Morales. "It opens the possibility of making it sustainable." In the future, Cruz-Morales hopes that he and the team of Department of Energy researchers who worked on the project will be able to scale up this process so that their alternative fuel could actually be used in aircrafts. "The problem right now is that fossil fuels are subsidized," says Cruz-Morales. "This is something that is not only related to the technology, but the geopolitical and socio-political constitution of the of the planet right now. You can see this as a preparation for the moment because we are going to run out of fossil fuels, and there's going to be a point, not far from now, when we will need alternative solutions." More information: Jay D. Keasling, Biosynthesis of polycyclopropanated high energy biofuels, Joule (2022). www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(22)00238-0 Journal information: Joule Jay D. Keasling, Biosynthesis of polycyclopropanated high energy biofuels,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2022.05.011 A leopard is seen walking across a ridge in Aarey colony near Sanjay Gandhi National Park overlooking Mumbai city, India, May, 12, 2018. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: Nikit Surve, Wildlife Conservation Society India/ Sanjay Gandhi National Park via AP Los Angeles and Mumbai, India, share many superlatives as pinnacles of cinema, fashion, and traffic congestion. But another similarity lurks in the shadows, most often seen at night walking silently on four paws. These metropolises are the world's only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felinesmountain lions in one, leopards in the otherthrive by breeding, hunting and maintaining territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside themlessons that may be applicable to more places in coming decades. "In the future, there's going to be more cities like this, as urban areas further encroach on natural habitats," said biologist Audra Huffmeyer, who studies mountain lions at the University of California, Los Angeles. "If we want to keep these large carnivores around on the planet, we have to learn to live with them." FREEWAYS AND FRAGMENTED HABITAT Twenty years ago, scientists in Los Angeles placed a tracking collar on their first cat, a large male mountain lion dubbed P1, that defended a wide swath of the Santa Monica Mountains, a coastal range that lies within and adjacent to the city. "P1 was as big as they get in southern California, about 150 pounds," said Seth Riley, a National Park Service ecologist who was part of the effort. "These dominant males are the ones that breedthey won't tolerate other adult males in their territory." A warning signboard stands in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, which prohibits visitors and daily walkers from walking in the forest after 6 PM, a time considered most active for leopards, in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool With GPS tracking and camera traps, the scientists followed the rise and fall of P1's dynasty for seven years, through multiple mates and litters of kittens. "2009 was the last time we knew anything about P1," said Riley. "There must have been a fight. We found his collar, blood on a rock. And never saw him again. He was reasonably old." Since then, Riley has helped collar around 100 more mountain lions in Los Angeles, building a vast database of lion behavior that's contributed to understanding how much territory the cats need, what they eat (mostly deer), how often they cross paths with people and what may imperil their future. As with medieval European kings, the biggest threat turned out to be inbreeding. Living in small territories separated by highways has caused some males to mate with daughters and granddaughters, who weren't able to naturally disperse farther away. That's led to genetic problems such as fertility issues and kinked tails. A paw mark of a cub is seen on a brick at Aarey Colony, which borders the south end of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, in Mumbai, India, Saturday, March 12, 2022. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade "Based on genetic analysis, we know that P1 mated with P6, his daughterthat was the first case we documented of this very close inbreeding," said Riley. LEOPARDS IN URBAN LANDSCAPE In Mumbai, one of the world's most densely populated cities, the leopards are packed in, too: about 50 have adapted to a space ideally suited for 20. And yet the nocturnal cats also keep mostly out of sight. "Because these animals are so secretive, you don't know much about them. You can't just observe them," said Vidya Athreya, director of Wildlife Conservation Society in India and part of a research team that recently fitted five leopards with tracking collars. The leopards' core range is centered around Sanjay Gandhi National Park, a protected area boxed on three sides by an urbanized landscape, including a neighborhood that's home to 100,000 people and nearly a dozen leopards. A leopard cub sits on a tree in Aarey colony, which borders the south end of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, in Mumbai, India, Thursday, April 7, 2022. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool Researchers tackled specific questions from park managers, such as how the cats cross busy roads near the park. To get the answer, they collared a big male dubbed Maharaja. They found that it walked mostly at night and traversed over 60 kilometers (37 miles) in about a week, from the park in Mumbai to another nearby. The leopard crossed a busy state highway, using the same spot to pass, on three occasions. It also crossed a railway track. The path chosen by Maharaja is nearby a new highway and a freight corridor under construction. Researchers said that knowing the big cats' highway crossing habits can help policy makers make informed decisions about where to build animal underpasses to reduce accidents. LIVING ALONGSIDE BIG CATS In Los Angeles, long-term mountain lion research showing the harm of fragmented habitat helped fuel a successful campaign to build a wildlife crossing bridge over U.S. Route 101, one of the city's busiest freeways. Construction began on April 22. A mountain lion eats a kill at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area near Malibu Creek State Park on March 24, 2014. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: National Park Service via AP When it's finished in three years, the bridge will be covered in native plants and include special sound walls to minimize light and noise disturbances for nocturnal animals. It will connect Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills, enlarging the dating pool for resident mountain lions. But learning to live alongside cats is not only a matter of infrastructure decisions, but also human choices and education. When Athreya first started advocating for co-existence with Mumbai's leopards, she was met with skepticism and pushback from other biologists and policy makers. They thought it would be impossible for big cats to live alongside people without significant friction, or worse. "The dominant narrative was about conflict," she said. But she helped push the conversation to be about "negotiations, improving the situation for both wildlife and people." A leopard is seen walking away with its kill a dog from Aarey colony near Sanjay Gandhi National Park over looking Mumbai city, India, May, 26, 2017. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: Nikit Surve, Wildlife Conservation Society India/ Sanjay Gandhi National Park via AP That is not to say living alongside a big predator is without perils. In Mumbai, Purvi Lote saw her first leopard when she was 5, on the porch of a relative's home. Terrified, she ran back inside to her mother. But now the 9-year-old says she isn't as afraid of the big cats. Like other children, she doesn't step outdoors alone after dark. Children and even adults travel in groups at night, while blaring music from their telephones to ensure that leopards aren't surprised. But the most fundamental rule, according to the youngster: "When you see a leopard, don't bother it." AVOIDING DEADLY CONFLICTS Leopards in Mumbai adapted to mainly hunt feral dogs that frequent garbage dumps outside the forest and mostly attacked people when cornered or attacked. But in 2010, 20 people in Mumbai died in leopard attacks, said Jagannath Kamble, an official at Mumbai's protected forest. The Mumbai skyline is seen from Aarey Colony, which borders the south end of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool The turning point was the realization that the understaffed forest department couldn't just keep reacting to individual attacks by capturing and transporting leopards to forests since they returned. Instead, it decided to focus on trying to get people to coexist with the predators. Officials roped in volunteers, nongovernmental groups and the media for a public education program in 2011. Since then, fatalities have dropped steadily and no one has been killed in an attack since 2017. The last known victim was Muttu Veli's 4-year-old daughter Darshini. Veli, an office worker who came to Mumbai in 1996, said Darshini was playing outside their home in a slum at the edge of the forest and she just didn't return home. Eventually, her mauled body was recovered. "My daughter is gone. She won't come back," he said. Adult male mountain lion P-64 walks out of a tunnel at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area on May 22, 2018. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: National Park Service via AP A mountain lion sits in an outhouse at the Chatsworth Reservoir at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area on Dec. 4, 2013. After clearing the area and making space, the biologist was able to flush the lion into the adjoining open space without incident. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: National Park Service via AP Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area National Park Service biologists Joanne Moriarty and Jeff Sikich measure P-22's incisors during his capture on March 27, 2014. He was treated for mange, a parasitic disease of the hair and skin. Blood tests later showed exposure to anti-coagulant rodenticides, commonly known as rat poison. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: National Park Service via AP Satish Kumar shows the scars on the neck of his son Darshan Kumar from a leopard attack in Aarey Colony, which borders the south end of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, in Mumbai, India, Monday, April 4, 2022. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool A wall painting of leopords is seen on the wall of a house in Aarey Colony, which borders the south end of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, in Mumbai, India, Monday, April 4, 2022.. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool A screen with footage from a CCTV camera is seen at a local dairy farm in Aarey Colony, which borders the south end of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool Women return home after relieving themselves in the open in Aarey Colony, which borders the south end of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool A team of Sanjay Gandhi National Park forest rangers conduct a demonstration of their rescue and conservation methods to visiting forest officials from across the country in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool Kiran Lote combs the hair of her daughter Purvi Rohid as she prepares to leave for school in Aarey Colony, which borders the south end of Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai, India, Thursday, April 7, 2022. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool A Waghoba temple is seen at Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. Tribals worship Waghoba, a deity in the form of leopards and tigers, in the belief that they protect them and their livestock from evil. They also consider them to be the guardian of the forest. Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool A dog barks outside a house in Aarey Colony, which borders the south end of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool Forest guards patrol Aarey colony, which borders the south end of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool A view of the slum seen in the Aarey Colony which borders the south end of Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool People try to sight a leopard cub in Aarey colony which borders the south end of Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai, India, Thursday, April 8, 2022. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool Traffic moves over Corriganville Tunnel, occasionally used by wildlife such as the mountain lion known as P-3, located under the 118 Freeway, near the Rocky Peak exit, on January 12, 2017. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: National Park Service via AP This uncollared adult female mountain lion is seen "cheek-rubbing," leaving her scent on a log in the Verdugo Mountains with Glendale and the skyscrapers of downtown Los Angeles. in the background on March 21, 2016. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: National Park Service via AP Mountain lion P-23 crosses a road in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area on July 10, 2013. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. (National Park Service via AP)109 Satish Lote, a resident of Aarey colony, checks camera trap which borders the south end of Sanjay Gandhi National Parkin Mumbai, Thursday, April 7, 2022. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool A male mountain lion known as P-21 is captured in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area on June 4, 2011. Los Angeles and Mumbai, India are the worlds only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines breed, hunt and maintain territory within urban boundaries. Long-term studies in both cities have examined how the big cats prowl through their urban jungles, and how people can best live alongside them. Credit: National Park Service via AP In Los Angeles, there have been no human deaths attributed to mountain lions, but one nonfatal attack on a child occurred in 2021. Both cities have learned that trying to capture, kill or relocate the cats isn't the answer. "Relocation and killing makes conflict worse," said Beth Pratt, California regional director at National Wildlife Federation. "It's better to have a stable population, than one where hierarchies and territories are disrupted." Avoidance is the safest strategy, she said. "These big cats are shythey tend to avoid human contact as much as they can. They're really extreme introverts of the animal kingdom." Explore further Mountain lion P-54 is killed by vehicle four years after her mother died on the same road 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. A sustainable and scalable gas fermentation technology transforms CO2 from industrial emissions into a single cell protein for animal nutrition. Credit: Valdis Skudre, Shutterstock Having a big idea may not be enough to change the worldinnovation is a commercial process as well as scientific inspiration. Turning research into marketable products is partly a business challenge. It's common knowledge that proteins, a key component of human nutrition, are also essential for making animal feeds. Less well known is the uncomfortable fact that much of the protein we feed animals in Europe leads to deforestation and overfishing worldwide. Biotechnology start-up Deep Branch have designed a biochemical transformation process that turns carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into a protein-rich powder for animals to eat. The Deep Branch process converts carbon dioxide into a powder, called Proton, which has around 70% protein content. This is much higher than natural soy, which has around 40%. British-Dutch company Deep Branch is the brainchild of Peter Rowe, a Ph.D. graduate in molecular biology of Nottingham University in the U.K. For him, the idea to convert CO 2 into protein just kept popping up. "We looked at the field and wondered 'Why the hell isn't anyone doing this?'" said Rowe. Fish meals Raising livestock and fish farming requires foods with high protein densities. Around 80% of the world's soy crop is used to raise beef and dairy, with demand for these products increasing with the growing population. Aquaculture depends on fishmeal production, which is partly reliant on harvesting fish from the wild. Soy agriculture drives deforestation, global warming and habitat loss while overfishing endangers ecosystems and affects the balance of life in the oceans. Overall, food production has a huge role to play in the climate and biodiversity crises. There's also the issue of food security. "Europe is almost completely reliant on South America for the protein we use to feed our animals," said Rowe. "There's a high risk of extreme events, geopolitics or even weather, disrupting that." Proton powder The carbon dioxide can come from many sources. In the pilot, Deep Branch used gas coming from a bioenergy plant that burns waste wood. "We culture these microbes in a bioreactor," said Rowe. "This is the same technology used to make enzymes in biotechnology, or even brew beer." The carbon dioxide is put into a fermentation tank as a gas, with hydrogen added to serve as an energy source. After the cellular process is complete, the protein is then dried into a powder to be used as an ingredient in a sustainable animal feed. Real impact It's the type of idea that could make a circular, sustainable economy grow. Deep Branch emerged with Rowe's biotech qualification. However, he wasn't necessarily interested in a career in academics. "I never saw myself as a career academic, but a Ph.D. is a good choice for a career in biotechnology," he said. On the other hand, "I like the idea that my research has real, short-term impacts in the world," he said. According to Rowe, speculative research is always necessary, and universities are ideal places to pursue that. But bridging the gap from academia to the private sector presents its own challenges. "Some technologies would never have been invented in the private sector," said Rowe. "Sometimes you need fundamental scientific breakthroughs. But afterwards there needs to be a transition to the market." Risk takers Universities will need to improve their policies around spin-off businesses for this process to work better, argues Rowe. As it stands, when technology is developed at an institution, universities and even individual academics take a share of the value in a spin-off company. The problem is, sometimes this share becomes too high. When this happens it potentially impacts the further growth of the company by disincentivising private investment. "The university or academic who gets the equity doesn't get any risk," said Rowe. "The Ph.D.-students or postdocs who founded the company take all the risk." By taking an equity stake that is too large, institutions could potentially affect the development of the business. "We need to ensure that young researchers can go out and take risks," said Rowe. In the meantime, Deep Branch seems to be a good example of how the transition from academia to private industry can work well. With a growing team, the business is seeking further investment to develop their next facility. "We're keeping busy," said Rowe, smiling. Explore further Exploiting a vulnerability in an aggressive leukemia affecting babies Scientists explore current research on antibiotic resistance genes in bioaerosols with a focus on the sources, detection strategies, and future research direction. Credit: National Korea Maritime & Ocean University Bioaerosols, or airborne biological particles containing viruses, fungal spores, bacteria, and pollen, play a key role in public health. Antibiotic resistance (AR), caused by antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), could potentially cause global public health crises owing to horizontal gene transfer between same or similar bacterial bioaerosols. AR in microbes in soil and water environments have been extensively studied using the latest molecular and biotechnological methods; however, studies investigating antibiotic-resistant bioaerosols in aerial ecosystems are limited. The key problem in studying AR in bioaerosols is the difficulty in obtaining sufficient quantities of bioaerosols for analyses. To shed more light on the subject, Assistant Professor Dr. Keunje Yoo and his colleagues at Korea Maritime and Ocean University have collated existing knowledge on ARG in bioaerosols in a comprehensive review published in Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology. Explaining the motivation behind this article, Dr. Yoo says "we wanted to understand the driving force behind ARG in bioaerosols. We extensively reviewed data on the potential risk factors associated with AR in bioaerosols, their impact on human health, appropriate methodologies, and the latest technologies and advances in bioaerosol monitoring." So, what did they learn? Antibiotic-resistant bioaerosols are produced from several sources, categorized into either indoor or outdoor environments. Indoor environments include hospitals, healthcare facilities, laboratory buildings, and downtown facilities like offices, markets, universities, and kindergartens. The best way to detect these bioaerosols is through impaction, impingement, and filtration. Molecular and biotechnological methods including quantitative real time PCR (qPCR), high throughput qPCR, and high throughput sequencing techniques are also employed to evaluate the prevalence and levels of ARG in samples. The World Health Organization has announced that the spread of AR is among the top ten global public health concerns facing humanity. It becomes essential to analyze the relationship between human, animal, and environmental microbiomes to counter the spread of AR. Dr. Yoo concludes that "by identifying which bacteria generate and transfer AR and by understanding the interaction between host cells, environment, tissues, and pathogens at a molecular level, we move a step closer to finding targets in managing AR in the environment." Explore further Replacing your furnace filter could help protect from COVID-19 More information: Gihan Lee et al, A review of the emergence of antibiotic resistance in bioaerosols and its monitoring methods, Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology (2022). Gihan Lee et al, A review of the emergence of antibiotic resistance in bioaerosols and its monitoring methods,(2022). DOI: 10.1007/s11157-022-09622-3 Provided by National Korea Maritime and Ocean University A sow nursing its piglets. Credit: from Pixabay Using nutrient-rich coconut water to artificially inseminate female pigs could improve breeding and meat quality, a project carried out in Uganda has found. Uganda has the highest demand for pork in East Africa at 3.4 kilograms per capita per year and a population of 3.6 million pigs providing livelihoods to over 1.1 million households, according to the International Livestock Research Institute. Researchers conceived the community action project after realizing that most smallholder pig farmers keep poor breeds resulting in low growth rates, few piglets produced, and poor quality pork with little lean meat and high-fat content. "Artificial insemination facilitates the collection of boar semen from superior boars to improve the genotypes, and subsequently higher productivity is achieved," said Elly Ndyomugyenyi, the project's lead researcher and senior lecturer at the department of animal production at Uganda's Gulu University. Farmers take fresh coconut water from five-month-old fruit known to be rich in nutrients such as sodium and potassium, he added. The water is used to aid insertion and delivery of the semen into the female pig's reproductive canal. "High concentration of sodium and potassium in the green coconuts are factors which help in sperm motility and longevity," Ndyomugyenyi explained. "Coconut fruits are readily available in the local markets. They are sold like other local fruits." Extraction is done by opening the fruit with a sanitized blade, after which the water is poured into a clean beaker before it is transferred using a cotton cloth. The project, which is an initiative of Uganda-based Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), started in 2017 and has engaged nearly 1,000 smallholders in Uganda, Ndyomugyenyi said. Farmers under the project have been trained in better husbandry and are now organized into a pig farmers' associationsomething that never previously existed in the areaadded Anthony Egeru, who heads the community project at RUFORUM. Natural mating using boar (male pigs) comes with a myriad of risks including disease transmission and inbreeding that leads to poor quality offspring, he explained. It exposes pigs to the deadly African swine fever virus because of the movement of boars from one place to another. In many instances, a whole village can use one or two boars to mate sow, increasing the risk of transmitting diseases. Joab Malanda, a pig production expert at the department of animal science at Egerton University, Kenya, said that, as well as aiding the insemination process, coconut water helps increase the number of viable live spermatozoa cells and extends their life. "Outside a boar's body, the spermatozoa will live for about four hours, after which they start to die due to starvation and temperature change, but when it is added to coconut water, they will live for up to 96 hours, allowing insemination at the appropriate time," he toldSciDev.Net. Malanda said that coconut water also allows multiplication, as an average of 200 milliliters of semen harvested from a boar can be divided up to ten times, meaning that a single "ejaculation" can inseminate ten sows as opposed to one in natural mating. But for farmers to do the insemination, they have to be trained in the extraction of the semen [and] its preservation, Malanda explained. According to Ndyomugyenyi, there is a ready market for pigs and pork in Uganda, meaning farmers will pay for the service knowing that they will not make any loss. "Artificial insemination can be adopted sustainably and scaled up anywhere else, especially among smallholder farmers," said Ndyomugyenyi. "This is mainly because coconut fruit is in almost every part of the African continent." Explore further Italy to kill 1,000 pigs in swine fever outbreak Provided by SciDev.Net Professional divers assisted researchers by searching for mineral overgrowths in Mallorca, Spain cave systems. Credit: University of South Florida The early 1900s were an exciting time across the world, with rapid advances in the steel, electric and automobile industries. The industrial changes also mark an inflection point in our climate. According to an international team of researchers led by the University of South Florida (USF), the sea level has risen 18 centimeters since the start of the 20th century. The study, featured on the cover of the July 1 issue of Science Advances, works to identify preindustrial sea levels and examines the impact of modern greenhouse warming on sea-level rise. The team, which includes USF graduate students, traveled to Mallorca, Spainhome to more than 1,000 cave systems, some of which have deposits that formed millions of years ago. For this study, they focused on analyzing deposits from 4,000 years ago to present day. The team found evidence of a previously unknown 20 centimeter sea-level rise that occurred nearly 3,200 years ago when ice caps melted naturally over the course of 400 years at a rate of 0.5 millimeters per year. Otherwise, despite major climatic events like Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age, the sea level remained exceptionally stable until 1900. "The results reported in our study are alarming," said lead author Bogdan P. Onac, geology professor at USF. "The sea-level rise since the 1900s is unprecedented when compared to the natural change in ice volumes over the last 4,000 years. This implies that if global temperatures continue to rise, sea levels could eventually reach higher levels than scientists previously estimated." Mineral overgrowths from Vallgornera Cave in Spain. Credit: University of South Florida To create the timeline, the team gathered 13 samples from eight caves along the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. The deposits are rareonly forming near the coastline in cave passages that were repeatedly flooded by sea water, making them accurate markers of sea-level changes overtime. Each deposit holds valuable insight into both the past and future, helping researchers determine how quickly the sea level will rise in the coming decades and centuries. The samples were taken to the University of New Mexico and University of Bern in Switzerland, where special instruments were used to determine their age by uranium-series method. Over time, uranium decays into other elements such as thorium and lead, allowing researchers to create a timeline of the sea level documented in each deposit. A complex software at Harvard University helped generate predictions using various ice models and Earth's parameters to showcase an accurate history of the sea level. These predictions are essential because they allow researchers to estimate past global mean sea level, which is key in addressing future sea-level rise. "If humans continue to be the main driver and the temperature increases 1.5 degrees in the near future, there will be irreversible damage," Onac said. "There will be no turning back from that point on." USF Geology Professor Bogdan P. Onac exploring Varques cave to examine preindustrial mineral overgrowths. Credit: University of South Florida Based on ice mass loss from the Antarctic and Greenland, the average sea-level rise since 2008 is 1.43 millimeters per year. Permanent flooding from the rising sea level won't happen overnight, but Onac says it will be seen more and more during storm surges and hurricanes. With nearly 40 percent of the world's population living within 62 miles of a coast, the rising sea level could be catastrophic with substantial societal and economic impacts. "Even if we stop right now, sea level will continue to rise for at least a couple of decades, if not centuries, simply because the system is warmed up." Explore further Geoscientists reconstruct 6.5 million years of sea level stands More information: Bogdan P. Onac et al, Exceptionally stable preindustrial sea level inferred from the western Mediterranean Sea, Science Advances (2022). Journal information: Science Advances Bogdan P. Onac et al, Exceptionally stable preindustrial sea level inferred from the western Mediterranean Sea,(2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abm6185 In 2015, a nasal bacteria wiped out more than half of the worlds Saiga antelope population, but after a recent population boom Kazakh authorities are considering a cull. Kazakhstan is considering culls of its endangered saiga antelope, the ecology ministry told AFP Thursday, after citing scientific advice about the threat posed to agriculture since the population rebounded. Conservation efforts that included a crackdown on poaching have seen the saiga's numbers in Kazakhstan soar from under 200,000 following a die-off in 2015 to 1.3 million ahead of this year's spring calving season, officials said. "We have a scientific recommendation to regulate the population of saigas," a spokeswoman said. "We are studying it, but no final decision has been taken," she added, without offering any deadline for the decision, set to affect some 80,000 animals. The former Soviet country's vast steppe is home to a majority of the world's Saiga, known for its distinctive bulbous nose and the horns whose status in Chinese medicine fuelled the poaching. Russia's Kalmykia region and Mongolia host smaller numbers of the animal. A ban on hunting introduced in the late 1990s is set to run out in 2023 and Kazakhstan's ecology minister Serikkali Brekeshev suggested Wednesday that the ministry had "made a decision" about regularly culling up to 10 percent of the Ural saiga population in western Kazakhstanthe largest of three saiga population groups in the Central Asian nation. "Today...saigas cross over not only into pasture land, but also farm land. It's a definite problem," Brekeshev was quoted as saying by local media. But the ministry spokeswoman told AFP that any decision would need to be approved by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and that the "position of society" would be taken into account. Kazakhstan's leaders intensified their crackdown on illegal hunting in 2019, after two state rangers were killed by poachers, causing popular anger. Kazakhstan's 2015 saiga antelope die-off saw more than half the global population at the time wiped out by what scientists later determined was a nasal bacterium that spread in unusually warm and humid conditions. Explore further Rare saiga antelope population now over a million in Kazakhstan 2022 AFP (A) Thermogel application to monitor electrical potential signals from plants with hairy stems (Luo et al., 2021). (B) Printed conductive polymers enabled impedance spectroscopy to detect ozone damage (Kim et al., 2020). (C) Detection of plant VOCs using smartphone-integrated chemical sensor arrays (Li et al., 2019). (D) Differential colorimetic response of sensor arrays upon exposure to tomato plants infected with Pseudomonas infestans (Li et al., 2019). (E) Principal Component Analysis (PCA) plot to distinguish pathogenic infections on tomato plants based on chemical sensor arrays (Li et al., 2019). Credit: Frontiers in Plant Science (2022). DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.884454 Researchers from the Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP) Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) at the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT's research enterprise in Singapore, and their local collaborators from the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) as well as the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE), National University of Singapore (NUS) have published a review that discusses the recent advances in non-destructive plant health monitoring, ranging from electrochemical-based arrays to nanosensors and electronic noses, and why tracking plant health is an attractive and sustainable strategy that can be used to optimize crop growth practices. The review aims to inspire future developments of non-destructive technologies for plant health diagnosis. To meet the pressing need for global food security and pave the way for sustainable agriculture, the advancement and adoption of agricultural technology are critical in alleviating the conditions of 193 million people in the world who are acutely food insecure. However, sustainable practices need to be implemented to minimize environmental destruction when improving crop yields and productivity. Traditionally, farmers will often only be able to notice signs of their crops' health deteriorating at a stage where reparative measures are limited. Additionally, the current testing via chromatography-based analytical techniques is destructive as it requires, punching out leaf samples that would cause wounding and tissue breakdown. These methods are also laborious, including lab-based extraction and processing of multiple plant samples for every data point. Thus, scientists have been advancing the field of precision agriculture, developing novel sensors and analytical tools to help farmers guide farm-management decisions. The use of non-destructive or minimally invasive sensors for plant metabolites has emerged as an essential analytical tool for real-time monitoring of plant signaling pathways and plant response to external conditions that indicate overall plant health. These sensors could be incorporated into future farming practices and implemented in high-tech urban farms that use precision, predictive and environmentally controllable farming. "In light of the increasing demand for food due to the growing global population and concern over food security, developing innovative and sustainable technologies and tools to improve crop yield and quality is timely and essential. Non-destructive plant health monitoring stands as one of the key strategies for improving crop growth practices, complementing current agricultural techniques such as crop rotation, intercropping and genetic modification," said Dr. Gajendra Pratap Singh, Principal Investigator and Senior Scientific Director at DiSTAP. The team explained their research in the review article titled "Non-destructive Technologies for Plant Health Diagnosis", published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science. The findings showed that the sensors could be broadly categorized into those that detect internal (in vivo sensors) and external (plant surface and airborne) signaling molecules. In vivo sensors are based on either electrochemical sensors or plant nano-bionic sensors. Recent nanotechnology advances have enabled electrochemical and plant nano-bionic sensors to exhibit higher sensitivity and selectivity by utilizing unique electrochemical and optical properties. Besides internal signaling molecules, plants also emit signals at the surfaces of their organs as well as through airborne metabolites such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for inter-plant communication. Detection of internal and external cues, such as surface and airborne compounds, allows for the non-invasive and real-time diagnosis of plant diseases. Furthermore, the sensors convert plant signals into digital signals to establish direct communication between plants and growers. "By tapping into plants' physiological events in real-time, non-destructive sensors enable prompt adjustment of environmental conditions to augment crop productivity while minimizing resource use," added Dr. Tedrick Thomas Salim Lew, Scientist at A*STAR's IMRE and Adjunct Assistant Professor at NUS ChBE, who was the corresponding author of the article. "The review gave insights into sensors which are versatile and have been successful in extracting spatiotemporal information from a variety of agriculturally important plant species. The sensors will open the possibility of real-time feedback control schemes that can aid in the precise application of fertilizers and plant growth regulators to maximize growth, as well as facilitate timely intervention to minimize yield loss from plant stress," said Mervin Ang, Research Scientist at DiSTAP and first author of the article. To address profound challenges in food production in Singapore and the world, DiSTAP has, over the years, introduced novel analytical tools that are rapid, non-destructive and have the ability to detect and provide information from living plants in real-time. This latest review seeks to advance technologies which can be applied to study agriculturally relevant crops in the field, bridging the knowledge gap between model plants commonly used in plant biology and economically important crops. Explore further Researchers design sensors to rapidly detect plant hormones More information: Mervin Chun-Yi Ang et al, Non-destructive Technologies for Plant Health Diagnosis, Frontiers in Plant Science (2022). Journal information: Frontiers in Plant Science Mervin Chun-Yi Ang et al, Non-destructive Technologies for Plant Health Diagnosis,(2022). DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.884454 Lead author Alison Towner with the carcass of a Great White Shark, washed up on shore following an Orca attack. Credit: Marine Dynamics/ Dyer Island Conservation Trust. Image by Hennie Otto A pair of Orca (Killer Whales) that have been terrorizing and killing Great White Sharks off the coast of South Africa since 2017 has managed to drive large numbers of the sharks from their natural aggregation site. A new study, published today in the peer-reviewed African Journal of Marine Science, uses long-term sightings and tagging data to show that the Great Whites have been avoiding certain regions of the Gansbaai coastterritories which they have dominated over many yearsever since for fear of being hunted by Orca. Since 2017 eight Great White Sharks have washed up on shore following an Orca attack. Seven of them had their livers removed, some their hearts too. Their wounds are distinctively made by the same pair of Orcas, who are likely to have killed more (which haven't washed up on shore). It is widely understood that other Orcas are also capable of such attacks. The findings add further weight to an argument that suggests sharks use their 'flight' sense of fear to trigger a rapid, long-term emigration en masse when their marine predator is nearby. In this latest research, carried out over five-and-a-half years, 14 sharks have been tracked fleeing the areas when the Orcas are present and visual sightings have dropped dramatically in certain Western Cape Bays. Located approximately 100 km east of Cape Town, Gansbaai was a world-renowned place for spotting this legendary shark, with tourists across the globe visiting and partaking in cage diving. Reporting on the findings, lead author Alison Towner, a Senior White Shark Biologist, at the Dyer Island Conservation Trust, says: "Initially, following an Orca attack in Gansbaai, individual Great White Sharks did not appear for weeks or months. What we seem to be witnessing though is a large-scale avoidance (rather than a fine-scale) strategy, mirroring what we see used by wild dogs in the Serengeti in Tanzania, in response to increased lion presence. The more the Orcas frequent these sites, the longer the Great White Sharks stay away. "The research is particularly important, as by determining how large marine predators respond to risk, we can understand the dynamics of coexistence with other predator communities; and these dynamics may also dictate the interactions between competitors or intra-guild predator/prey relationship." Alison, from Lancashire in the UK, is a Ph.D. candidate at the Rhodes University in Makhanda, Eastern Cape. She lives in Gansbaai and has studied Great White Sharks for the last 15 years, learning about their movement patterns through tagging data. Regularly found on a boat and having witnessed many huge Great White Sharks, she has previously described the area as "simply special, in terms of marine lifefew places compare to this truly diverse and beautiful area". Prior to these predations on the Great White Sharks, there were only two instances since data collection began in Gansbaai where they were absent for a week or more: one week in 2007, and 3 weeks in 2016. So, what Alison, and other colleagues at institutions she represents such as Marine Dynamics Academy, have recently witnessed first-hand (by physically retrieving the carcasses of attacked sharksas pictured) is this new absence is unprecedented for the area. And, she explains, it is changing the sea's very ecosystem: "It has triggered the emergence of a new mesopredator to the area, the Bronze Whaler Sharkwhich is known to be eaten by the Great White Sharkand these Bronze Whalers are also being attacked by the Orcas too, who are indicating a level of experience and skill in hunting large sharks. "However, balance is crucial in marine ecosystems, for example, with no Great White Sharks restricting Cape Fur seal behavior, the seals can predate on critically endangered African Penguins, or compete for the small pelagic fish they eat. That's a top -down impact, we also have 'bottom up' trophic pressures from extensive removal of Abalone, which graze the kelp forests these species are all connected through. "To put it simply, although this is a hypothesis for now, there is only so much pressure an ecosystem can take, and the impacts of Orcas removing sharks, are likely far wider-reaching." But, what drew the pair of Orcas, easily recognizable by their distinctive collapsed dorsal fins, to this new territory? Other, yet-to-be-published data, suggests the Orcas' presence is increasing in coastal regions of South Africa and this pair might be members of a rare shark-eating morphotype, known to hunt at least three shark species as a prime source of nutrition in South Africa. "This change in both top predators' behavior could," Alison says, "be related to a decline in prey populations, including fishes and sharks, causing changes in their distribution pattern. "We know that Great White Sharks face their highest targeted mortality in the anti-shark bather protection nets in KwaZulu Natal, they simply cannot afford additional pressure now from Orca, killer whale predation." What it means for populations of the Great White could be more pronounced and it is "unclear" what the pressure may do, Alison states. "The Orcas are targeting subadult Great White Sharks, which can further impact an already vulnerable shark population owing to their slow growth and late-maturing life-history strategy. Increased vigilance using citizen science (e.g. fishers' reports, tourism vessels), as well as continued tracking studies, will aid in collecting more information on how these predations may impact the long-term ecological balance in these complex coastal seascapes." As with all studies, alternative explanations for the findings should be considered. The authors suggest that sea surface temperature can have an impact on the Great White's recent absence, "however, the immediate and abrupt decline in sightings at the beginning of 2017 and the extended and increasing periods of absence cannot be explained" by this. "Other potential explanations for a decline at Gansbaai," they say, "could be direct fishing of Great White Sharks or the indirect effect of fishery-induced declines in potential prey". However, they state that while this could "potentially contribute to an overall decline in numbers of Great Whites in South Africa, they are unlikely to explain the sudden localized decline". Explore further Orcas blamed for disappearance of S.Africa great white sharks More information: Fear at the top: killer whale predation drives white shark absence at South Africa's largest aggregation site, African Journal of Marine Science (2022). Fear at the top: killer whale predation drives white shark absence at South Africa's largest aggregation site,(2022). DOI: 10.2989/1814232X.2022.2066723 Unusual colour variation of the larva of a tree frog (Polypedates macrotis). The function of the conspicuous stippling is unknown. Credit: Alexander Haas Important, yet often neglected, tadpoles play a critical role in the ecology of aquatic habitats. On 279 pages, a new book presents descriptions for 99 species from the southeast Asian island of Borneo, covering all species commonly found, as well as representatives of the more cryptic ones. LIB-scientist Alexander Haas and his team of international collaborators worked over 20 years on its completion and just released "A Guide to the Tadpoles of Borneo." "The morphological and ecological diversity of tadpoles is remarkable, although comprehensive inventories and descriptions of the tadpole fauna are unavailable for most regions of the world," says Prof. Dr. Alexander Haas, Head of Department Herpetology and Scientific Infrastructure at the the Leibniz-Institut for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB). The book is aimed at a broad audience, providing easy access to the tadpole fauna of Borneo. The team behind it wants to increase awareness of these life stages, document their diversity, and provide insights into their fascinating biology. Haas started the inventory of Borneo's tadpoles in 2001 together with Malaysian collaborator Prof. Dr. Indraneil Das (Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, UNIMAS). Two years later, the team received funding from the Volkswagen Foundation to continue fieldwork in the states of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia as well as support from Dr. Stefan S. Hertwig of the Natural History Museum Bern. In many expeditions since then, the team collected a wealth of original data on Borneo's tadpoles and the associated frog species. A substantial number of Malaysian, German, and Swiss students took part in the field trips and contributed to the success of the project with their Bachelor and Master theses. "Finding tadpoles in the lush rainforests of Borneo under harsh climatic conditions was a challenge. Because of the scarce information that had been available for at least some species, little was known about habitat and microhabitat preferences of the tadpoles," says Alexander Haas. "Our team had to start from scratch and develop our own strategies, skills, tools, and techniques to locate, capture, and document tadpoles." This intensive work led to many discoveries: Several tadpoles, that had not been described scientifically before were collected and studied. Along the lines of this international collaborative project, and in addition to data on larvae, a series of new frog species were discovered and new phylogenetic hypotheses formulated. This work allowed new insights into the ecology and morphology of certain species, both in the tadpole and adult life stages. The results have been published in a series of scientific papers by the three investigators and their students. Books on tadpoles are scarce globally, says Haas. "Compilations and documentation exist for only few countries or geographical regions. Therefore, it was our firm determination right from the beginning of the project that once enough data accumulated, a book project should be launched." By pursuing the book project, their intention was to reflect the experience of almost two decades of field expeditions. Technological progress, and specifically the advent of digital photography, which reached mainstream markets in the early 2000s, allowed them to collect more images of better quality. They developed standards on how to scientifically photograph living tadpoles under field conditions. For example, small photo-stage aquaria had to be custom-built and carried to even the most challenging field destinations deep in the jungle. Over the years, the meticulous compilation of high-quality imagery was the basis on which the book project could eventually be built. Haas invited Prof. Reinhard Schulz-Schaeffer (University of Applied Sciences, HAW), a leading expert in informative illustration and scientific illustration, to join the project as co-author and to collaborate in the search for innovative approaches of handling scientific information. Graphics designer Pia Bublies completed the team. "Reinhard's and Pia's expertise allowed us to develop our own concept of dealing with information in the book. We discussed intensively what function visual and text information should have, how they work together, and what style emerges from that. Clearly, we had to break with some traditions of the genre," says Haas. Information for each species is provided in the book through color images, silhouette vector graphics, and associated text blocks. "We want the readers to find pertinent information quickly in a non-linear information seeking process," Haas says. Explore further Tadpoles undergo surprising number of vision changes when becoming frogs Provided by Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitatswandels The People's Daily overseas edition published a report introducing Luohu Future School on June 28. The following are excerpts of the report. Luohu decided to build a school in 2017 to explore new models of education to cultivate innovative talents, and the education in the school is expected to face the future, have international standards as its benchmark, and respond to the requirements of a smart society. The Luohu Future School opened in 2021. It offers nine years of education, and aims to produce lifetime learners and innovative pioneers. It applies advanced education methods and encourages students to be innovative and critical. The school was built at the foot of Bijia Hill, and its state-of-the-art structure not only uses numerous cutting-edge technologies and environmentally friendly materials but also stresses a harmonious co-existence between humans and nature. The school also attaches great significance to cooperating with higher-education institutions, such as Tsinghua University and Beijing Normal University. It will also participate in some joint experiment programs with companies such as Lenovo and Huawei. Dr. Kristin Brzeski and Dr. Joey Hinton secure a collared Cameron Parish, Louisiana marsh coyote in a kennel before removing his muzzle and releasing. Credit: Karin Saucedo A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in the U.S. reports a high percentage of red wolf genes in the genomes of coyote hybrids living in some parts of southwest Louisiana and eastern Texas. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes the find as a possible means of saving red wolves from extinction. The red wolf is native to many parts of the southeastern United States. It is a subspecies of the gray wolf and is slightly larger than a coyote. The red wolf population has been declining due to human encroachment for many years, and is very nearly extinct todaycurrently, only 200 exist in captivity and just 20 of them are believed to be living in the wild. In this new effort, the researchers investigated the genomes of coyotes currently living in parts of Louisiana and Texas that once were home to large numbers of red wolves. Prior research has shown that it was common for red wolves to mate with coyotes back when both shared the same habitats. Coyotes have proven to be more resilient and are not considered to be endangered. Dr. Kristin Brzeski, Principal Investigator, discusses the objectives of the Gulf Coast Canine Project study and why understanding the genetics of Gulf Coast coyotes with Red Wolf ancestry is so important. Credit: Amy Shutt The researchers obtained tissue samples from 31 coyotes living in southwestern Louisiana and studied their genomes. Most specifically, they compared the genomes of the coyotes to the genomes of the red wolf, looking for commonalities. They found that 3862% of the coyote genome comprised red wolf genes. They also found that the higher the percentage of wolf genes in the coyote hybrids, the closer the coyote was in size to a red wolf. They also noted that coyotes with higher percentages of red wolf genes looked more like red wolves and behaved like them, as well. They suggest that those with the highest percentages should not be called coyotes at all. Dr. Kristin Brzeski holds a vial of blood taken from one of the Louisiana coyotes. It will be sent to Dr. Bridgett vonHoldt at Princeton for sequencing. Credit: Karin Saucedo The researchers believe that such large amounts of genetic material in coyote-wolf hybrids could represent a new way to save the wolf from going extinct. They suggest that in the future, when captive bred wolves are released into the wild, it be done where high-percentage coyote hybrids are living. They also suggest that the genetic material in some of the hybrids could be collected and stored to clone new animals. Explore further Should the gray wolf keep its endangered species protection? New genomic research provides the scientific answer More information: Bridgett M. vonHoldt et al, Reviving ghost alleles: Genetically admixed coyotes along the American Gulf Coast are critical for saving the endangered red wolf, Science Advances (2022). Journal information: Science Advances Bridgett M. vonHoldt et al, Reviving ghost alleles: Genetically admixed coyotes along the American Gulf Coast are critical for saving the endangered red wolf,(2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn7731 2022 Science X Network Methane-climate feedback sensitivities and projected annual mean climate-feedback-contributions. Sensitivities are expressed in ppb C1 (a, b) or ppb yr1 C1 (c, d) vs time (ac), latitudes (a), or just C (d). For (e), the projected annual mean C CH4 , climate /t curves are fitted based on values with both positive contributions and positive GMST. The projected thick lines are based on extrapolation of global level sensitivities (d), and the thin lines are extrapolated similarly but based on a 10% higher calibration factor . Solid and dashed lines are based on sensitivity trends since 01/2012 and 07/1985, respectively. The two open red circles represent preliminary estimates of C CH4 /t between 2020 and 2019, and between 2020 and 2018, based on a 75% of imbalance (referring to the in Supplementary Table 1). The respective error margins are based on two standard deviations across 12 months of the year. The filled red circle is based on 100% of imbalance between 2020 Dec and 2019 Dec. The 100% assumption is based on the reduced fossil fuel emissions which suggest the observed increase in C CH4 could be all driven by climate factors. Credit: Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31345-w Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have shown that recent record-breaking increases in the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gas methane can be explained by year-on-year changes in the climate. They show that climate change is a stronger driver of increasing atmospheric methane than expected, causing the Earth to heat up more and faster than anticipated. Using data gathered over the last four decades to study the effects of temperature changes and rain on the atmospheric concentration of methane, the NTU Singapore team concluded that the Earth could be both delivering more, and removing less, methane into the air than previously estimated, with the result that more heat is being trapped in the atmosphere. The study, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications on 23 June, addresses the large uncertainty about the impact of climate change on atmospheric methane. The study finds that this impact could be four times greater than that estimated in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. The NTU scientists suggest that their findings could explain why the amount of methane in the atmosphere continues to reach historic highs, even when man-made methane emissions decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The findings also underline the pressing need to cut down methane emissions, the second-biggest greenhouse gas contributor to Earth's warming, and one that is 25 times more potent at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. Cheng Chin-Hsien, first author of the study and a researcher at the NTU Asian School of the Environment, said: "Through looking at four decades worth of data, we found that nature could be producing more and consuming less methane than was previously realized. We put this down to delayed effects from nature's interactions with methane emissions. This means that the recent sudden surge in methane emissions and the increase in warming could be a result of climate change years or even decades ago. Similarly, the full effect of rising temperatures today on the atmospheric methane concentration may only become more apparent in the decades to come." Professor Simon Redfern, lead author of the study and Dean of NTU's College of Science, said: "Our results show that the links between methane and climate change have been underestimated. We still have so much to learn about the complex interactions that drive climate change. The message from this study is clear and echoes what scientists have been calling for in recent yearsthat we need to cut back methane, as well as carbon emissions, to fight climate change." Improving methane climate feedback estimates The latest figures from the United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) show that the amount of methane in the atmosphere reached historic highs in 2020 and 2021 and is currently increasing at its fastest recorded rate. In general, a warmer environment leads to an increase in the amount of methane generated by microbes. This leads to further warming due to more heat trapped in the atmosphere. Eventually this atmospheric methane is removed when it undergoes oxidation, reacting to form atmospheric carbon dioxide and water. But there are other events or factors that could introduce uncertainties into the net effect of increased temperatures on atmospheric methane concentrations. For instance, a hotter climate may also lead to an increase in wildfires, inhibiting atmospheric methane removal. Using data from the NOAA and the World Data Center for Greenhouse Gases, the NTU team analyzed changes in the climate to identify the effects of temperature and rain on methane concentrations in the atmosphere over the last four decades, accounting for various processes in which rising temperatures amplify or slow down the rise in atmospheric methane on various time scales. They found that a hotter year with higher methane emissions can be followed by a cooler year with slower methane removal. So, even though lower temperatures are expected to result in lower methane supply from microbes, the reduction in removal can still result in a net increase in methane concentration in the atmosphere. In particular, this phenomenon might occur following a hot year that saw severe wildfires. Based on their calculations, the NTU scientists estimate that for every degree increase in global mean surface air temperature, the Earth will absorb an additional 0.08 watts of energy per square meter of surface due to net additional methane emissions. This is four times the estimate given by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), suggesting that the Earth could be on course to warm up more and faster than anticipated. Said Prof. Redfern: "The findings show that there are many more contributing factors and consequences resulting from our activities that affect the complex global climate system, sometimes in ways that we have not yet considered. They underscore the increasing urgency of addressing global warming and the need for humans to step up their efforts to tackle climate change." Explore further Increase in atmospheric methane set new record in 2021: NOAA More information: Chin-Hsien Cheng et al, Impact of interannual and multidecadal trends on methane-climate feedbacks and sensitivity, Nature Communications (2022). Journal information: Nature Communications Chin-Hsien Cheng et al, Impact of interannual and multidecadal trends on methane-climate feedbacks and sensitivity,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31345-w At the onset of the pandemic, the number of calls into hotlines went down. But that didnt mean that suddenly domestic violence was declining. It meant that the opportunities to have a safe space to call or ask for help were limited, said Marianna Yang. Credit: Kris Snibbe/Harvard University Violence against women increased to record levels around the world following lockdowns to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The United Nations called the situation a "shadow pandemic" in a 2021 report about domestic violence in 13 nations in Africa, Asia, South America, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans. In the United States, the American Journal of Emergency Medicine reported alarming trends in U.S. domestic violence, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline (The Hotline) received more than 74,000 calls, chats, and texts in February, the highest monthly contact volume of its 25-year history. The Gazette spoke with Marianna Yang, lecturer on law and clinical instructor at the Family and Domestic Violence Law Clinic at WilmerHale Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School, about the crisis. The interview was edited for clarity and length. Q&A: Marianna Yang GAZETTE: The most recent statistics about domestic violence during the pandemic are worrisome. What do those numbers mean? YANG: In 2021, the United Nations published the report "Measuring the Shadow Pandemic: Violence Against Women During COVID-19." It said that since the pandemic, violence against women has increased to unprecedented levels. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine said that domestic violence cases increased by 25 to 33 percent globally. The National Commission on COVID-19 and criminal justice shows an increase in the U.S. by a little over 8 percent, following the imposition of lockdown orders during 2020. I don't have anything more specific for Massachusetts, but there is no reason to believe that we are any different from the rest. Domestic violence is prevalent everywhere. According to all statistics I have seen from 20202021, domestic violence and intimate partner violence during the pandemic has increased because the risk factors have increased with lockdowns and pandemic restrictions. GAZETTE: What role did the pandemic play in the rise of risk factors for domestic violence? YANG: The increase in numbers really shows that there are unintended consequences to some of the lockdowns recommended by global health experts to address the pandemic. There are good reasons for lockdowns to protect public health, but we have to recognize the collateral and unintended impacts as well. That's not to say that we should not have lockdowns, but there must be more focus on the resources to address those secondary impacts as well. A lockdown increases the risk factors for domestic violence in multiple ways: there are more financial stressors because of income loss due to unemployment; there is also the loss of the ability to have breathing spaces for people who are in risky relationships. When people are working outside the home, interactions with their partner are limited to certain hours of the day, and the potential time for conflict is also limited. In a lockdown, not only do you take away those breathing spaces, but you also increase the dynamics where domestic violence can occur. Also, beyond that, during a lockdown, the ability to get help is limited because you don't have the private space to call somebody; you're isolated from your support system as a victim/survivor, and you can't access your family and friends, the people that you rely on. In all those facets and all those ways, the risk goes up for violence. GAZETTE: How did the reporting of domestic violence incidents fluctuate during the pandemic? YANG: I do know that at the very beginning of the pandemic, the number of calls into hotlines were showing a decrease, but that didn't mean that suddenly domestic violence was declining. It meant that the opportunities to have a safe space to call or ask for help were limited. As the restrictions were relaxed a bit, we saw an increase in the calls for help, but they could also mean that the situation might have escalated to a point where it would push someone to make calls they otherwise would not have before the pandemic. Generally speaking, domestic violence and intimate partner violence are underreported, and that was before and during the pandemic. There are plenty of folks who, for many good reasons, do not reach out for help. Before the pandemic, there were two hashtags#WhyIStayed, #WhyILeftwhich helped facilitate discussions around many of the reasons why people decide to stay or leave. GAZETTE: In which other ways were domestic violence victims affected by the pandemic? YANG: I don't have direct access to information about shelters during the pandemic. I'm sure they remained open for the current residents, but I don't know whether they were accepting new residents. What I do know is that judges were less likely to grant motions like Motions to Vacate the Marital Home due to the pandemic restrictions. Although this didn't happen in any of my cases, there were anecdotes about judges being much less willing to consider those motions because of the inability of anyone to leave the house and go somewhere else. But in situations where there is clear violence, and the plaintiff can show imminent physical safety issues, judges must first and foremost consider the safety aspects of the plaintiff seeking a protective order. Judges handled restraining orders during the pandemic as emergency petitions, and the courts were open for those, but everything had to be remote and remote on a dime. There were situations where it was more difficult to provide evidence because documents or affidavits were usually filed with the court and had to be filed in person. There were gaps in the court's systems during the pandemic, and understandably so, but that doesn't lessen the impact and hardships that the victims had to endure. GAZETTE: How did the pandemic impact the services provided by the Family Law and Domestic Violence Clinic at HLS? YANG: By the time domestic violence victims get to us, it's several steps removed. The clinic has a partnership with the Passageway program at Brigham and Women's Hospital, which provides services directly to domestic violence clients, including safety planning. My understanding is that they've faced an increased number of clients seeking their assistance. Those who needed to seek restraining orders and address issues through the probate and family courts were referred to us to the extent that we could access the courts. Because of the court's closures, we provided increased levels of consultation and education around the law for when the clients could make a legal move. Now that the courts are open again, what we're noticing, especially in the courts that we're practicing in, is that things are getting delayed a lot longer than they used to. Even if people can go to court, getting motions in a divorce case or getting custody and child support issues heard in front of a judge has taken months longer. Before the pandemic, it took about 30 days for motion to be heard. These days, it takes two weeks or more just to get motions docketed and then another 30 or 60 days, if not more, after that. We're seeing a lot of chaos in terms of the workings of some of the courts; there are files that go missing and pro se litigants [those representing themselves] needing to get in front of the judges can't get through the bureaucracy of the courts. The biggest hurdle has been the bureaucratic aspects of getting in front of a judge. Minimizing that delay is now a much bigger part of our advocacy. We also need more legal aid and pro bono lawyers who understand that people who are in domestic violence situations are going through trauma. One of the best ways to support victims of domestic violence is to offer trauma-informed lawyering, which is another way to holistically support a client going through a difficult situation. This story is published courtesy of the Harvard Gazette, Harvard University's official newspaper. For additional university news, visit Harvard.edu. Ear-EEG tech close up. Credit: Lars Kruse / Aarhus University Sleep is important for our health and well-being, and bad sleep can negatively impact our attention span, memory, decision-making skills, creativity and judgment. Astronauts living in zero gravity with an artificial day-night cycle have trouble maintaining a natural circadian rhythm and normal sleep patterns. In fact, sleep is what astronauts complain about the most. To avoid the negative short- and long-term side effects of poor sleep, Aarhus University's Centre for Ear-EEG has developed a technology that can monitor an astronaut's sleep in a non-invasive and discreet manner via so-called "ear-EEG" (ear-ElectroEncephaloGraphy). The technology, along with Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen, will travel to the International Space Station ISS to examine the differences between human sleep patterns on earth and in space. The project is called "Sleep in Orbit." "Sleep is a kind of biomarker for our health and well-being. In fact, a great many diseases also impact the way we sleep, including a wide range of psychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. In general, however, there is no clear correlation between experienced sleep quality and physiological sleep. But physiological sleep is what's crucial to our cognitive functions," says Professor Preben Kidmose, head of Aarhus University's Center for Ear-EEG. He continues, "These days, we know a bit about how astronauts experience sleep in space, but we don't know much about how space affects their sleep physiologically. That's one of the things that we're going to measure as part of this project. And it's also our job to analyze sleep patterns and find the differences between how an astronaut sleeps on Earth and how they sleep in space." The ear-EEG is a small apparatus that is placed in the ear to measure electrical activity in the brain. Ear-EEG measures extremely small voltage changes on the surface of the skin inside the ear caused by electrical activity in the brain's neurons. Aarhus University's Center for Ear-EEG has developed a technology that can read the brain's electrical activity and map our sleep patterns, so-called ear-EEG. The tech is set to follow astronaut Andreas Mogensen on his next space mission. Credit: Lars Kruse / Aarhus University Sleep stages are, by definition, related to brain states, and these can be assessed based on the brain's electrical signals. "We've been working on developing ear-EEG technology for more than 15 years as a way of measuring electrical activity from the brain outside a laboratory. And it turns out that ear-EEG is extremely good at characterizing our sleep. This technology gives us a unique opportunity to conduct long-term measurements of brain activity. And that means we can begin to study things that we otherwise wouldn't be able to measure. For example, we don't really know much about how our sleep varies over time, and how it's affected by our surroundings," says Preben Kidmose. The shielded and discreet placement of the device makes the method more attractive than traditional EEG measurements that use electrodes placed on top of the head. Thus, ear-EEG is far gentler and less obtrusive than traditional sleep measurements, and this makes the technology ideal for long-term monitoring of sleep patterns without disrupting a person's sleep. "This project is important because in the future, we'll probably be in space a lot more often, and have to stay there for longer. And it's important to understand how it affects our sleep. And being able to make a precise physiological characterization of the sleep will also help us find out how we can help astronauts get a better night's sleep in space. Professor Kidmose's technology is a classic example of how technical sciences develop solutions that help people. I really look forward to following the progress of the project," says Eskild Holm Nielsen, dean of the Aarhus University Faculty of Technical Sciences. The project, "Sleep in Orbit," will examine the differences between sleep patterns on earth and in space by using ear-EEG-based sleep monitoring to ensure the best possible living and working conditions for astronauts. Aarhus University will provide the project with the measuring equipment used to measure ear-EEG, as well as the algorithms that will be used to calculate sleep stages. The actual data analysis will be conducted at Aarhus University. Explore further Do all animals sleep? Emissions spew from a the coal-fired Brandon Shores Power Plant in Baltimore, Maryland. The US Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the government's key environmental agency cannot issue broad limits on greenhouse gases, sharply curtailing the power of President Joe Biden's administration to battle climate change. By a majority of 6-3, the high court found that the Environmental Protection Agency did not have the power to set sweeping caps on emissions from coal-fired power plants, which produce nearly 20 percent of the electricity consumed in the United States. The decision sets back Biden's hopes of using the EPA to bring down emissions to meet global climate goals, set in 2015 under the Paris Agreement on climate change. It was a significant victory for the coal mining and coal power industry, which was targeted that same year for tough limits by the administration of then-president Barack Obama in an effort to slash carbon pollution. It also marked a victory for conservatives fighting government regulation of industry, with the court's majority including three right-wing justices named by former president Donald Trump, who had sought to weaken the EPA. Biden called it "another devastating decision that aims to take our country backwards." "We cannot and will not ignore the danger to public health and existential threat the climate crisis poses." Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said it was "a setback in our fight against climate change." Caps 'may be sensible but ...' In the case pitting West Virginia and other coal-mining states against the government, the court said that while EPA had the power to regulate individual plants, Congress had not given it such expansive powers to set limits covering all electricity generating units. The majority justices said they recognized that putting caps on carbon dioxide emissions to move away from coal power "may be a sensible solution" to global warming. But they said the case involved a "major question" of US governance with broad consequences, and that the EPA would have to be specifically delegated such powers by the legislature. The three-member liberal minority of the court castigated the majority for overruling powers they said EPA did in fact have to address "the most pressing environmental challenge of our time." "The stakes here are high," Justice Elena Kagan wrote. "Whatever else this court may know about, it does not have a clue about how to address climate change." Excessive regulation Conservatives applauded the decision as a strike against overregulation. The US Supreme Court, protected from protestors by temporary fencing. "The Court has undone illegal regulations issued by the EPA without any clear congressional authorization and confirmed that only the people's representatives in Congress not unelected, unaccountable bureaucratsmay write our nation's laws," wrote Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who represents Kentucky, a state with a significant coal mining industry. Michelle Bloodworth, president of America's Power, a coal industry lobby, cheered the ruling. "We are pleased the court agreed with us that EPA does not have unlimited authority to do anything it wants to do," she said in a statement. "Coal-fired power plants provide affordable and reliable electricity," she added. But House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called it a "radical" decision by "pro-pollution justices." "By restricting the EPA's authority, the Republican supermajority on the court has bowed to the dirty energy special interests who seek to poison the air our children breathe and the water they drink with impunity," she said in a statement. Environmental groups called on the Democratic-controlled Congress to take more action on climate change, with more investments in things like clean energy and public transit. "This means Congress has an even stronger imperative to act boldlyand fast," the Sierra Club said. Court conservatives show muscle Thursday's decision capped a term for the court in which the new conservative majority flexed its muscles in ways that will have profound effects on American society. Two similar 6-3 decisions last week shook the country. One expanded the rights of gun owners to wear their guns wherever they go, with few limitations. The second ended a half-century-old constitutional right to abortion, setting off a chain reaction in which more than half of the 50 states are moving to ban or severely restrict the practice. The EPA ruling, too, could have profound impacts. Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote separately that the decision was a statement that no government agency can make policies with far-reaching effect without express empowerment by Congress. "When an agency claims the power to regulate vast swaths of American life, it not only risks intruding on Congress's power, it also risks intruding on powers reserved to the States," Gorsuch wrote. But critics said that ignores the deep divisions in Congress that have stifled important policy debates. "By insisting instead that an agency can promulgate an important and significant climate rule only by showing 'clear congressional authorization' at a time when the court knows that Congress is effectively dysfunctional, the court threatens to upend the national government's ability to safeguard the public health and welfare," said Richard Lazarus, a professor at Harvard law school. Explore further US Supreme Court hears climate case as UN issues stark warning 2022 AFP LAKE GEORGE Adirondack Trust Company officials recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce in celebration of the banks new branch at 350 Canada St. in Lake George. Adirondack Trust has 14 locations, including its main office in Saratoga Springs. It is an independent, locally owned and operated community bank that offers banking, trust, insurance, and investment management services, and originates real estate mortgages, both residential and commercial, and commercial business loans. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 GLENS FALLS The proposed redrawn ward boundaries for the city could be changing following the tabling of a resolution by the Common Council during its meeting on Tuesday night. The resolution would have approved the local law pending the approval of a public referendum, which would take place on Election Day. Mayor Bill Collins said that John Caffry, the same attorney who had initially informed council members last October that they were not in compliance with the principle of one person, one vote, indicated the new maps would still fall short of compliance. (Caffry) believes that what they meant to say was that there should be no more than a 10% difference from the biggest ward in the city to the smallest, Collins said. The Independent Redistricting Task Force took the citys total population according to the 2020 census and divided that number by five, since there are five wards. The citys population was 14,830, and the number the force came up with was 2,966. While each ward falls within 10% of 2,966 there is a 14.25% difference between Ward 1 and Ward 4, the largest and smallest proposed ward populations. Bob Curtis, former city clerk and chairman of the task force, said that he spoke with Collins and Karen Judd, the citys attorney, on Tuesday afternoon about Caffrys concern. Curtis said that after the discussion it was mutually agreed that having the task force take another look at the maps was the best action to take. He thanked Caffry for his opinion and input, but he said that there is a lot of room for interpretation in terms of what is constitutional in this case. The task force is not up to debating that topic, Curtis said in an email on Wednesday. We have a job to do as previously requested by the Common Council. We will merely attempt to do what is necessary to do the right thing for our citizens. Ben Lapham, Fourth Ward councilman, suggested that an addendum be added to the proposed local law redrawing the maps to cover specific criteria for the task force. The addendum states that the resolution would allow the force to consider criteria such as was listed in an approved resolution from the councils April 12 meeting. The topics covered in the resolution included eligibility for the task force, whether each ward should continue to have a slice of the downtown business district included and whether communities of interest will be preserved. Robin Barkenhagen, owner of 42 Degrees and member of the task force, said that communities of interest was a compelling term. I think Glens Falls, in a small area, we all have the same community interests, he said. Lapham said that it was a term used for districting, and deals with things like churches, parks, schools and grocery stores. He said that these are things that people may utilize to identify their communities. Collins said that the addendum would give the next administration the option to look at those specifics for criteria when looking at the ward boundaries in the future. The proposed law states that within 12 months of the census numbers being released, the council shall review the population for the five wards to ensure the city is in compliance with the one person, one vote principal. What Ben is saying is when they choose to look at this again in 10 years when we have a new census, they could consider (communities of interest) to be a determining factor, Collins said. The Independent Redistricting Task Force will hold its next meeting on July 7 on the second floor of City Hall starting at 6 p.m. Jay Mullen is a reporter for The Post-Star covering the city of Glens Falls, Warren County and crime and courts. You can reach him at 518-742-3224 or jmullen@poststar.com. 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. ALBANY A former Gansevoort man has pleaded guilty in federal court to engaging in a money laundering conspiracy to conceal proceeds from a multi-state unemployment insurance fraud scheme. Christopher L. Vandermark, 57, admitted in U.S. District Court in Albany on Tuesday that he had been corresponding through online text messages for over a year with a person who represented herself to be a woman living in North Carolina. The woman told Vandermark to open accounts at multiple financial institutions and directed him to provide her with routing information for his existing accounts, according to a news release. From June 2020 through early April 2021, Vandermarks accounts received transfers of more than $88,000 in fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits from six states. Vandermark purchased of hundreds of gift cards from local retailers using the money, photographed the identifying numbers on the cards and sent them to the woman. Then, the numbers could be used to sell the gift cards online to conceal the original source of the funds, authorities said. Vandermark admitted to continuing these activities even after receiving multiple warnings from financial institutions that he was participating in a fraudulent scheme. On April 15, 2021, a federal law enforcement agent and a state investigator interviewed Vandermark at his residence regarding approximately $37,000 in fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits transferred to his account at a local bank. He had denied holding the account and receiving the funds. Those statements were determined to be false. Afterward, authorities said Vandermark opened an account with a different institution and received another $13,734 in benefits from three states, which were deposited into two accounts and used to purchase more gift cards. He has agreed to pay restitution to the affected states. Vandermark could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000 when sentenced on Oct. 27. The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security-Office of the Inspector General, with assistance from the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General and the Office of the New York State Comptroller. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Chisholm. Summer is finally here, and that calls for a musical celebration. The Glens Falls Symphony will celebrate Independence Day with a concert at Crandall Park on Sunday. But first, music students will showcase their talents at the Luzerne Chamber Music Festival on Friday. Also, the Fridays at the Lake summer concert series continues Friday evening at Shepard Park in Lake George, featuring Soul Session with opening act Yellow Dog. West Mountain in Queensbury will host a Music on the Mountain Summer Concert Series on Saturday evening. The Strand Theatre will host the Strand Summer Slam on Saturday and Sunday at the festival commons at Charles R. Wood Park in Lake George. The Sembrich will host international concert pianist Simon Mulligan on Saturday in Bolton Landing. Glens Falls Symphony Summer Pops Concert GLENS FALLS The Glens Falls Symphony will celebrate Independence Day with its popular Summer Pops Concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Crandall Park on Upper Glen Street. Admission is free for the family-friendly event. The public is invited to come early, set up blankets and chairs, and enjoy food and beverages from a variety of vendors and an antique car show. The concert of patriotic and family favorites, including selections from West Side Story, marches by John Philip Sousa, and fun arrangements of music from Justice League will conclude with a display of fireworks at dusk, set to John Williams Summon the Heroes. The new Youth Arts Experience will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. Local arts organizations like the World Awareness Childrens Museum, The Chapman Museum, The Hyde Collection, Crandall Public Library, the Charles R. Wood Theater and We Are Instrumental will offer art activities for children of all ages. Parking is available on surrounding streets. No parking is allowed inside Crandall Park with the exception of handicapped parking with permits in the access road parking lot from Glen Street near the war memorial. The Summer Pops Concert is made possible by sponsorships from the Adirondack Trust Company, Ames Goldsmith, Al and Mary Jane Gilet, the city of Glens Falls, Glens Falls Hospital, Glens Falls National Bank, Glens Falls Rotary Club, Tom and Sally Hoy, the town of Queensbury and Warren County Tourism. For more information, go to https://theglensfallssymphony.org. Music on the Mountain QUEENSBURY West Mountain will host a Music on the Mountain Summer Concert Series featuring Joe DeFelice from 4 to 6:30 p.m. and Ten Most Wanted from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday. The event will feature fireworks, vendors and activities from 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday. Tickets cost $20 for ages 20 and up; $15 for ages 13-19; $10 for ages 7-12; and free for anyone 6 and younger. All guests must purchase in advance a Music on the Mountain admission ticket. Tickets are available at https://shop.westmountain.com/. Grease at Fort Salem Theater SALEM The Fort Salem Theater will host Grease at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at the 11 East Broadway theater. With a hip-shaking rock n roll score featuring hits like Summer Nights, Greased Lightnin, and We Go Together, Grease celebrates Rydell Highs class of 1959 in all their duck-tailed, bobby-soxed, gum-snapping glory. This production includes hits from the movie, used with special permission. Tickets cost $15-$36 and are available at www.fortsalem.com or at https://ci.ovationtix.com/35567/production/1086647. Luzerne Chamber Music Festival: Student Showcase LAKE LUZERNE Students will showcase their musical talents at the Luzerne Chamber Music Festival at 3:30 p.m. Friday at the Luzerne Music Center, 203 Lake Tour Road. All student concerts at the Luzerne Music Center are free and open to the public. For more information, go to www.luzernemusic.org. Cannon and Coffee at Fort Ticonderoga TICONDEROGA Explore Fort Ticonderogas world-class collection of 18th century artillery from 8 to 10 a.m. Friday at 102 Fort Ti Road. Join curator Dr. Matthew Keagle for a special tour across the guns of Ticonderoga and learn the surprising histories of the museums artillery collection, spanning the Atlantic Ocean from the American, French and Haitian revolutions all the way to the Spanish-American War and World War I. Learn how historians read these pieces and discover military history, technology, art and more. Fresh coffee provided and a unique Fort Ticonderoga coffee mug is included. General admission tickets cost $36. Advance reservations are required. For more information, call 518-585-2821 or email info@fort-ticonderoga.org or go to www.fortticonderoga.org. Fridays at the Lake: Soul Session with Yellow Dog LAKE GEORGE The Fridays at the Lake summer concert series continues at 6 p.m. Friday at Shepard Park, 271 Canada St., featuring headline act Soul Session with opening act Yellow Dog. The concerts take place from 6 to 9:30 p.m. every Friday through Sept. 2. Soul Session, featuring band leader and lead vocalist Garland Nelson, presents high energy funk and R&B renditions of hit songs. In 2019, Garland won the Eddies Award for Best R&B Vocalist and Soul Session won Best Band in the Capital Region. Soul Session will take the stage from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Opening the show from 6 to 7:10 p.m. is duo Yellow Dog, featuring John Repko and Jason Young. All Fridays at the Lake are free to the public, and there will be vendors selling food and beverages. Strand Summer Slam at the Charles R. Wood Park LAKE GEORGE The Strand Theatre will host the Strand Summer Slam from 3 to 11 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday at Charles R. Wood Park, 19 West Brook Road. This is the inaugural Strand Summer Slam, a free music and arts festival with live bands, food, cash bars, arts vendors, inflatables, raffles and more. Admission is free, but all donations will benefit the Strand Theatre in Hudson Falls. These concerts are partially sponsored by grants from the town and village of Lake George. Sponsors also include Vintage Village Craftsman, Mary Ellen Barlow and Mark Abodeely. For more information, go to www.mystrandtheater.org. An Englishmans 4th BOLTON The Marcella Sembrich Memorial Association will host international concert pianist Simon Mulligan at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at The Sembrich, 4800 Lake Shore Drive. Mulligan pays tribute to both sides of the Atlantic in this Independence Day celebration featuring classics from both Europe and America. Tickets cost $40. For more information or tickets, go to www.thesembrich.org. Gretta Hochsprung writes features and hometown news. She can be reached at 518-742-3206 or ghochsprung@poststar.com. 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. EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP Mixed among Egg Harbor Township High Schools 584 graduates will be 12 military-bound students who will be wearing distinguishing color-coded honor cords each representing a branch of the military they will be joining in addition to their traditional caps and gowns at the commencement ceremony. Red cords represent the Marines, green cords represent the Army and Army National Guard, and orange cords represent the U.S. Coast Guard. Following is a list of the graduates and the military branch in which they are enlisted: Christian Alvarez (Marines), Jason Bordonaro (U.S. Coast Guard), Kailey Fatcher (Army), Maria Gonzalez Santiago (Marines), Jeremy Liriano Veras (Marines), Nicholas Marin (Marines), Alexander McCorry (Marines), Sierra Ortiz (U.S. Coast Guard), Ruben Rodriguez (NJ Army National Guard), Charles Sanchez (Marines), Daisy Lou Terrone (Army), and Colby Voss (Army). The program is led annually by EHTHS Guidance Counselor Jennifer Leonetti, who also acts as the high schools military coordinator. She maintains contact with local military recruiters throughout the year and is responsible for scheduling the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test, a timed, multi-aptitude exam developed by the Department of Defense for students interested in joining the military. It is important for our students to be recognized and congratulated for their preparation both mentally and physically, as they embark on their future careers in our Armed Services, said Leonetti. For more information, please contact Leonetti at 609-653-0100, ext. 1627, or via email at leonettij@eht.k12.nj.us. Speakers: Guo Lanfeng, member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Leadership Group of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Wang Jianfan, director general of the Budget Department of the Ministry of Finance Wang Xin, director general of the Research Bureau of the People's Bank of China (PBC) Zhang Hu, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and executive vice governor of the People's Government of Guangdong Province Guo Yonghang, deputy secretary of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee and mayor of the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government Chairperson: Xing Huina, deputy director general of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and SCIO spokesperson Date: June 24, 2022 Xing Huina: Friends from the media, good afternoon. Welcome to this press conference held by the SCIO. Recently, the State Council issued the Master Plan of Guangzhou Nansha on Deepening Comprehensive Cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao with Global Perspective. This press conference will brief you on the document and take your questions. In addition to the main venue here in Beijing, today's press conference is also being held live in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. Joining us today in Beijing are Mr. Guo Lanfeng, member of the CPC Leadership Group of the NDRC; Mr. Wang Jianfan, director general of the Budget Department of the Ministry of Finance; and Mr. Wang Xin, director general of the Research Bureau of the PBC. We are also being joined live by local officials in Guangzhou, including Mr. Zhang Hu, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and executive vice governor of the People's Government of Guangdong Province; and Mr. Guo Yonghang, deputy secretary of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee and mayor of the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government. Now, I'll give the floor to Mr. Guo Lanfeng for his brief introduction. Guo Lanfeng: Ladies and gentlemen, friends, good afternoon. Thank you for your interest in and support for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and especially the major cooperation platform in Guangzhou's Nansha district. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to friends from all walks of life for their interest and support in the construction of the GBA. Nansha district enjoys great geographic advantages, enormous development potential and a strong industrial foundation. As Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macao have strong willingness for cooperation, Nansha bears unique advantages in promoting their comprehensive cooperation. In September 2012, the State Council approved the Development Plan for the Nansha New District of Guangzhou, requiring Nanshan to roll out construction and deepen comprehensive cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao. In February 2019, the Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area further specified Nansha's role in promoting cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, joining hands with Hong Kong and Macao to build a portal for high-level opening-up, jointly building a demonstration zone for innovative development, establishing a major platform for financial services, and creating a high-quality living environment. In recent years, in accordance with the decisions made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council and the arrangements of the central leading group for the construction of the GBA, we have worked with Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao and relevant government bodies to draw up the Master Plan of Guangzhou Nansha on Deepening Comprehensive Cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao with Global Perspective, and submitted it to the State Council for publication and implementation. The Nansha plan was published a few days ago. The Nansha plan, consisting of seven sections and 26 articles, is a fundamental document to promote Nansha's development. It involves the following aspects: It has phased objectives for 2025 and 2035, respectively. The plan proposes main targets in the fields of sci-tech innovation systems and institutional arrangements, public service capacity and business environment, to name a few. It also stipulates five major tasks. First, industrial cooperation bases for sci-tech innovation will be built in Nansha. The master plan stresses strengthening collaboration in sci-tech innovation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, building major sci-tech innovation platforms, developing high-tech industries and pooling high-level international talents. Second, cooperation platforms for startups and youth employment will be established in Nansha. The master plan requires coordinated measures in promoting youth innovation and entrepreneurship, and calls for efforts to improve support for internships and employment and strengthen people-to-people exchanges among the youth. Third, joint efforts will be made to build Nansha into a portal for high-level opening-up. The master plan stipulates that a comprehensive service base for Chinese enterprises going global will be built in Nansha. Measures will also be taken to enhance Nansha's role as an international shipping and logistics hub, strengthen global economic cooperation and build Nansha into a new platform for international communication. Fourth, a mechanism for aligning rules and regulations will be established in Nansha. The master plan notes that a world-class business environment will be built in Nansha, with efforts promoting connectivity in its financial markets in an orderly manner and improving the coordination between public services and social management. Fifth, Nansha will also be built into a model for high-quality urban development. The master plan stresses increasing cooperation in urban planning and development, steadily promoting smart cities, steadily advancing educational cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, facilitating medical treatment and elderly care for Hong Kong and Macao residents and intensifying joint efforts in ecological protection and treatment. The plan also stresses boosting support from four aspects: strengthening Party leadership in a comprehensive manner, increasing policy support such as for funding and other factors, creating new models for cooperation, and intensifying organization and implementation efforts. The Nansha plan will help inject new vitality into an old city like Guangzhou, make new progress in the city's comprehensive urban functions, cultural capacity, modern service industry and its modern and global business environment, and enhance the city's role as the core and engine for the development of the GBA. The master plan will help improve Nansha's urban services in the areas of shipping, trade, finance and international communication, helping Nansha join hands with Hong Kong and Macao to build a high-level opening-up portal, and allowing it to play a bigger part in promoting and building the new development paradigm. The plan also helps create a major strategic platform for the comprehensive cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, enriches the practice of "one country, two systems," and supports Hong Kong and Macao's engagement in the country's overall development. Going forward, we will earnestly implement the decisions made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council and follow the arrangements of the central leading group for the construction of the GBA. We will work with relevant government bodies to increase communication and coordination, keep track of the progress and spare no efforts to support Guangdong province and Guangzhou city in carrying out the Nansha plan, in a bid to put Nansha's high-quality development on a steady and sustained course. Thank you. MAYS LANDING A judge on Wednesday ordered the continued detainment of three men accused of assaulting 19-year-old Irving Mayren-Guzman outside Centerfolds Cabaret in Pleasantville before he died in a nearby marsh, citing the videotaped pummeling of the victim, as well as concerns for the community where the attack occurred. Defense attorneys appeared in court to argue for the release of brothers John and Garnell Hands, of Pleasantville, and Jamaul Timberlake, of Atlantic City. They called for a new hearing after an autopsy they obtained last week indicated that Mayren-Guzman had died of drowning and hypothermia while acutely intoxicated. Superior Court Judge Nancy Ridgway denied the defense requests for the release of all three. They will remain detained pending trial for aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault. Ridgway said the autopsy indicated the three men had been pummeling Mayren-Guzman. While the injuries Mayren-Guzman sustained to his arms, legs and face were not serious, she said the sheer number of them evinced an intent to cause serious bodily injury on the part of the three defendants. She based her ruling on her concerns that the men remain a risk to the community, citing the defendants criminal records and questioning their impulse control. Ridgway also asserted that the defendants were a threat to witnesses because they appeared to know workers at Centerfolds. Ridgway said video showed the attack as well as the aftermath, in which the men went back into the club and gleefully reenacted the assault to Centerfolds employees. Dozens of people gathered outside the county courthouse for at least five hours in support of the Mayren-Guzman family. They carried signs demanding Justicia para Irving and blaming the three defendants for the teenagers death. There was food available for those who came in support, but the gathering took on a solemn atmosphere. There was a mixture of American and Mexican flags, signs with the late Mayren-Guzmans image and flags bearing the image of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. At one point the group prayed. Mayren-Guzmans mother, Zara Mayren, told the crowd to demand justice for her son. Cristian Moreno-Rodriguez, an immigrant-rights activist who has been supporting the family, outlined what the family would consider justice. Right now, its the familys position that no matter what happens, second-degree assault charges are not justice for the family, Moreno-Rodriguez said. A jail sentence of five to 10 years is not justice for the family, it will never be justice for the family, nor for the community. Moreno-Rodriguez said that, despite the autopsy results, he expected the state to prosecute the case to the fullest extent of the law. An attorney representing the family of Mayren-Guzman in a civil case around the teenagers death declined to comment after the hearings were completed. Durann Neil, an attorney for Garnell Hands, argued that video evidence demonstrates his client had only struck Mayren-Guzman with an open-hand slap. He insisted it did not rise to the level of aggravated assault owing to the lack of intent to cause severe bodily injury and said there was no reason to keep his client detained. He added the altercation happened too quickly and there was no time for his client to have entered into a conspiracy to assault Mayren-Guzman. Harlee Stein, an attorney for the state, argued the video shows Garnell Hands hit Mayren-Guzman with a closed fist. We respect the judges decision, Neil said after Garnell Hands hearing. However, we fundamentally disagree when it comes to my client. Neil said he was looking forward to taking the case to trial on behalf of his client. Matthew Portella, an attorney for John Hands, argued his client was in a different situation than the other two co-defendants. He said John Hands had only intervened after his brother had gotten into a fight and struck Mayren-Guzman only three times. He also noted that John Hands did not have an extensive criminal history, only one loitering conviction, and that he had a job. Portella said he intended to appeal the detention ruling. He said he was hopeful people would be able to separate emotion from what actually happened. In the case of Timberlake, the last to have his hearing, Ridgway cited his extensive juvenile record, which included charges of aggravated sexual assault and carjacking as well as surveillance video the judge has viewed that she said showed the defendants intended to cause serious harm to Mayren-Guzman, whom she described as an outnumbered 19-year-old in the fight. Timberlakes attorney argued his clients juvenile history stemmed from incidents that occurred 17 years ago, and that his client did not have a criminal history since then. Mayren-Guzman went missing following a Jan. 23 fight and was found dead the morning of Jan. 25 in a marsh near the Delilah Road strip club. The autopsy did not show evidence that he had sustained a traumatic brain injury near the time of his death. Since Mayren-Guzmans death, his family, friends and the Latino community in Pleasantville have rallied together demanding justice and transparency in the teenagers case. After a month of protests, Pleasantville City Council voted to revoke the mercantile licenses of Centerfolds on Feb. 23. His family also has filed a lawsuit against the club, the three suspects and others in connection to his death. ATLANTIC CITY The $235 million city budget for 2022 will be voted on during a special meeting Thursday night. The budget as introduced raises $38.6 million from local taxpayers, down 3.7% from the $40 million collected from property taxes last year, resulting in a 2.9% tax rate decrease. City Council is expected to pass the budget after asking for more details and having four council members meet with department heads to get questions addressed. The department heads answered all the questions we had, said Councilwoman Stephanie Marshall. I support the budget. They assured us the state reviewed the budget as well several times before it even got to council. Councilman Bruce Weekes, also at the meeting, said he was concerned that council had so little role in budget decisions, which he said is in opposition to training he has received from the state about councils role. The administration said we cant make changes, Weekes said, that the meeting was just for clarification. He said those restrictions are probably due to the 2016 Municipal Stabilization and Recovery Act that allowed the state takeover of the citys finances and operations. Weekes said he would have asked for more police to be hired under the 2022 budget. Atlantic City Council finally gets detailed budget figures ATLANTIC CITY City Council finally received a detailed 2022 city budget that includes how Some takeaways: Insurance (liability, workers comp and employee group health) at $38.8 million and debt service at $38.3 million are the two biggest expenses this year. The next biggest chunks are two public safety divisions, police at $28 million and fire at $20.8 million. Statutory expenditures are about $20.4 million for payments into the Public Employees Retirement System, Social Security system, police and fire pensions, Unemployment Insurance, lifeguard pension fund, Defined Contribution Program and the Pension Increase Act. Mayor Marty Small Sr. is one of the best paid people in city employment, with a 2022 salary of $147,512, but he isnt the highest paid. That honor goes to the head of the Atlantic City Police Department, interim Officer-in-Charge James Sarkos, whose salary for 2022 is listed at $193,568. Fire Chief Scott Evans comes in at $165,000, and the seven deputy fire chiefs each make $157,309. Several department heads make just under the mayors salary. Business Administrator Anthony Swans salary is $147,124; Chief Financial Officer Toro Aboderins salary is $140,353; and Tax Assessor Novelette Robinson makes $140,912. The budget uses $15 million in surplus to increase spending on city employee salaries by 10% and on debt service by 7%, even as the state will provide $5.7 million less in aid. The municipal tax rate will fall roughly 5 cents, from $1.6480 to $1.5997 per $100 of assessed property value, Chief Financial Officer Toro Aboderin has said. For the average household with a $125,000 assessment, thats a decrease of the local tax of $60.43, Aboderin has said. Below are some of the highlights of departmental spending from the itemized budget provided to council about two weeks ago. It includes each division or departments two highest salaries. All city workers receive a 2022 raise of $4,500 starting July 1, with another $3,000 raise to start Jan. 1. CITY COUNCIL Municipal attorney: $55,951.59 Salaries for each council member: $30,300 (Council President George Tibbitt gets a bit more at $32,855.88) Biggest other expense: $2,400 for education Total spending: $343,722 (down about $30,000 from 2021 budget) Council may lease Carnegie Library to nonprofit for $1 per year ATLANTIC CITY City Council will consider at a special meeting Thursday an ordinance to lea CITY CLERK Municipal clerk salary: $116,272.10 Assistant municipal clerk salary: $77,256.69 Biggest other expense: $21,812 for elections and special purchases Total spending: $392,404.00 (down about $8,000 from 2021 budget) ADMINISTRATION MAYORS OFFICE Mayors salary: $147,512 Atlantic City Council pushes for higher wages for casino workers to avert strike ATLANTIC CITY City Council passed a resolution in support of casino workers in their quest Confidential aide to mayor: $107,186.36 Biggest other expense: $127,950 for professional consultants Total spending: $716,450 (up about $9,000) BUSINESS ADMINISTRATORS OFFICE Business administrator salary: $147,124 Public information officer: $85,000 Biggest other expense: $379,000 for professional consultants Total spending: $825,010 (up about $175,000 over 2021 budget) Atlantic City brings back recreation, senior programs with grants this summer ATLANTIC CITY The city will run free summer camps and other programs for youth, seniors, t SOLICITORS OFFICE Municipal attorney: $130,000 Assistant municipal attorney: $110,335 Biggest other expense: $874,800 for legal services Total spending: $1.89 million (up about $90,000) PROSECUTORS OFFICE Municipal prosecutor salary: $112,642 Assistant municipal prosecutor: $87,247 Uncertainty over PILOT lawsuit dominates Atlantic City budget hearing ATLANTIC CITY Uncertainty about the outcome of a county lawsuit against the state over the Biggest other expense: $15,000 for legal services Total spending: $328,310 (down about $3,000 from 2021 budget) PUBLIC DEFENDERS OFFICE Public defender: $112,895 Paralegal: $60,285 Biggest other expense: $73,800 for legal services Total spending: $293,400 (up about $55,000 from 2021 budget) INSURANCE General liability insurance: $5.36 million Workers Compensation insurance: $5.27 million Employee group health: $28 million Total spending: $38.6 million (up about $7 million) MUNICIPAL COURT Municipal Court judge: $139,641 Municipal Court judge: $132,559 Biggest other expense: $13,000 each for printing and binding and professional consultants Total spending: $1.29 million (up about $100,000 from 2021 budget) TAX ASSESSORS OFFICE Tax assessor salary: $140,912 Deputy tax assessor: $75,690 Biggest other expense: $385,000 for professional consultants Total spending: $685,000 (an increase of about $73,000 over 2021 budget MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM DIVISION Director of data processing salary: $114,700 Network administrator 1 salary: $62,186 Biggest other expense: $1.08 million for professional consultants Total spending: $2.5 million (up about $400,000 over 2021 budget) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (CDBG) Assistant director of community development: $102,250 Principal community organizational specialist: $68,978 Biggest other expense: None listed Total spending: $107,612 after subtracting $165,000 in grant funding (up about $7,000 from 2021 budget) SPECIAL EVENTS Program coordinator salary: $59,170 Office supervisor: $52,250 Biggest other expense: $25,000 toward special events Total spending: $231,000 (up about $75,000 over 2021 budget) HUMAN SERVICES Personnel director salary: $116,944 Assistant personnel director: $103,751 Biggest other expense: $132,950 for data processing services Total spending: $1.06 million (up about $400,000 from 2021 budget) PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT Department head: $137,752 Assistant director of redevelopment: $104,250 Biggest other expense: $235,000 for professional consultants (for both director and department as a whole) Total spending: about $870,000 for both director and department (up about $120,000 from 2021 budget) REVENUE AND FINANCE COMPTROLLERS OFFICE Chief financial officer: $140,353 Comptroller: $110,000 Biggest other expense: $223,610 for payroll services Total spending: $1.55 million (up about $250,000 from 2021 budget, but office merged with Directors Office in 2022) TAX COLLECTORS OFFICE Tax collector: $86,489 Assistant municipal tax collector: $64,395 Biggest other expense: $60,900 for data processing services Total spending: $452,144 (down about $44,000) PURCHASING Purchasing agent salary: $84,596 Assistant purchasing agent: $62,792 Biggest other expense: $10,400 for data processing services Total spending: $336,190 PUBLIC SAFETY POLICE DIVISION (not including civilian or communications divisions) Officer in charge: $193,588 Deputy police chief: $171,997 Biggest other expense: $392,000 for vehicles Total spending: $28.1 million FIRE DIVISION (does not include Fire Civilian Division or Uniform Safety Division) Chief: $165,000 Deputy chiefs (7): $157,309 each Biggest other expense: $124,000 for uniforms Total spending: $20.78 million (up about $1.5 million from 2021 budget) PUBLIC WORKS Director of public works salary: $122,985 Assistant director: $111,860 Directors Office: $2.6 million (about the same since 2021 budget) Electrical Bureau: $519,000 (up about $120,000) Parks: $555,000 (up about $160,000) Beach and Boardwalk: $991,000 (up about $180,000) Vehicle maintenance: $2.4 million (up about $100,000) Facilities: $653,000 (up about $220,000) Sanitation: $3.9 million (up about $200,000) Street repairs: $521,000 (down about $90,000) Paint and Sign: $100,000 (down about $20,000) Building maintenance: $1.2 million (about the same) Engineering: $1.9 million (down about $100,000) Gardners Basin/Aquarium: $1.1 million (up about $250,000) HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Chief Reg Environmental Health Spec: $112,600 Director salary: $110,000 Directors Office: $1.28 million (about the same) Health Administration: $845,000 (up about $180,000) Environmental Services: N/A Vital Statistics: N/A Recreation and Cultural Affairs: $1.3 million (up about $450,000) Animal Control: $43,000 (about the same) LICENSING AND INSPECTION Construction official: $123,617 Department head salary: $116,944 Directors Office: $228,000 (decrease of $16,000) Code enforcement: $1.1 million (increase of $300,000) Landlord Tenant: N/A Mercantile: $603,000 (up about $63,000) Construction Office: $1.6 million (up about $120,000) REPORTER: Michelle Brunetti Post 609-841-2895 mpost@pressofac.com 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. WEST LONG BRANCH More than half of Americans want states to determine who can carry concealed handguns, a recent Monmouth University Poll found. A June 23 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a law against concealed carry of firearms in New York, saying it violated rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Both the Supreme Court and the American public are bitterly divided on the question of gun access. The big difference, though, is a majority of the public comes down on the opposite side of the issue from a majority of the court, said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute. The courts decision is expected to affect similar laws in New Jersey and five other states that require people to show a serious need for obtaining a concealed carry permit before issuing one. People living in those six states California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York were even more supportive of states rights to limit guns, the poll found. Public support remains high for comprehensive background checks, red flag laws and a national gun registry. But most Americans (55%) agree with gun advocates that the nations mental health crisis is a bigger contributor to mass shootings than the ease of obtaining firearms (33%), according to the poll. Other countries with similar public mental health challenges experience far less gun violence than the U.S. These results may indicate that gun advocates messaging about mental health being at the root of these mass shootings has been fairly effective with the American public. This new gun safety law, and its focus on mental health remedies, reinforces that message, Murray said. NJ Assembly advances bill raising firearm purchase age to 21 New Jersey would change the age for purchasing rifles and shotguns from 18 to 21 under legislation an Assembly committee has advanced. The Assembly Judiciary Committee passed bills Wednesday aimed at tightening the states already strict gun laws. The measure comes after fatal shootings in Texas and New York in which authorities identified the shooters as 18-year-olds. The fate of the age bill is uncertain because the state Senate has not so far taken up the measure. Under current law, New Jersey requires residents to be 21 to purchase a handgun. The new measure would raise the age threshold to 21 for those seeking to purchase rifles and shotguns. About a week ago, President Joe Biden signed federal law to toughen background checks for the youngest gun buyers, keep firearms from more domestic violence offenders and help states put in place red flag laws that make it easier for authorities to take weapons from people deemed to be dangerous. Most of the legislations $13 billion cost will help bolster mental health programs and aid schools, in the wake of the recent massacre of 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Concerning concealed carry of a handgun, 56% of Americans say individual states should be allowed to limit it by requiring permit applicants to demonstrate that they need the weapon for their work or for protection. Another 42% side with the courts recent decision and say states should not be able to restrict concealed carry of licensed weapons. Just 30% of Americans see the Second Amendment as offering an absolute right to bear arms, while 54% say the right is important but should have restrictions, and 15% say it would be better for the country to end the right to bear arms. Among current gun owners, 49% view the Second Amendment as an absolute right while 47% say the right to bear arms should have some restrictions. Other findings: 83% supported a comprehensive background check requirement for all gun purchasers. This includes 76% of current gun owners. 75%, including 60% of gun owners, support a federal red flag law that would allow police to temporarily take away the guns of someone who poses a threat to themselves or others. 60% support establishing a national gun ownership database. Currently, 35% of American adults say they own a gun, pistol or rifle. By gender, that includes 49% of men and 21% of women. The top reasons for owning a gun are personal safety (71%) and to protect property (62%). Just under half say a major reason for having a gun is to go hunting (47%) or target shooting (43%). The Monmouth University Poll was conducted by telephone from June 23 to 27 with 978 adults in the United States, according to the polling center. The question results in this release have a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points. REPORTER: Michelle Brunetti Post 609-841-2895 mpost@pressofac.com 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. New Jersey state government apparently doesnt have the billions in extra money to spend from collecting more taxes and getting lots of federal funds, not if it pays its bills. Turns out the state has been running up debt at a record pace, far in excess of its so-called surplus. This was made clear in an audit of state debt and obligations for fiscal year 2021, the one before this fiscal year that will end June 30 and the most recent to be audited. The audit delivered a shock -- total state debt increased $44 billion from the year before. In keeping with the familiar government practice of trying to bury bad news, the Murphy administration released the audit report just ahead of Memorial Day weekend, ensuring the least coverage. New Jersey has long been one of the nations most indebted states. As of a year ago, it had borrowed and promised to pay a combined $248.6 billion, ensuring that its crushing burden on taxpayers continues far into the future. Some of this debt increase is left from panicked borrowing during the pandemic by the Murphy administration and Democrats in the Legislature. They feared that shutting down the state economy would reduce their tax haul from businesses, but when the state reopened they got an offsetting windfall. They havent paid it all back yet. The lions share of the debt went to former state workers. The audit showed a $36 billion year-over-year increase in what the state calls other post-employment benefits. Prominent among these are the very generous health benefits that retired New Jersey employees get in addition to their outsized pensions. Typical working families dont get any retirement health benefit from their employers. Some of this increase stems from unexpectedly higher cost of medical claims made by retired state workers and greater Medicare Advantage costs, according to NJ Spotlight. Earlier last month before the release of the audit, officials appearing at budget hearings told state senators that the Murphy administration has substantially reduced our debt load while securing real savings for taxpayers. That prompted Republican complaints that Gov. Phil Murphy and Democrats were being less than honest about New Jerseys fiscal condition. Sen. Michael Testa, R-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, said in a letter to the chairman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, Democrat Paul Sarlo of Bergen County, that the audit made a mockery of the administrations claims. Testa urged Sarlo to bring Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio before the committee to explain this gross misrepresentation of the states long-term debt. The Legislature and Murphy are required by law to agree on a budget for the next fiscal year before it starts on Friday, July 1, a deadline theyre meeting. But instead of another spending spree and increased funding for lavish pensions for those in government, they should have used much of their extra several billion dollars to reduce the unexpected $40 billion addition to the debt burden on taxpayers are carrying. HAMPTON, Ill. The Hampton School District is sticking to its guns as schools across the nation weigh new safety measures in the wake of mass shootings. The school district has stationed armed guards at the schoolhouse doors for a decade. After Columbine back in 1999, school security became a big issue," said Tom Berg, the former superintendent. "After that, schools started safety drills, locking doors and running codes red, blue, etc. "After Sandy Hook and reading reports of what happened there, I realized they did all of that and the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun, intent on doing harm, is a good guy with a gun. Berg met with the Hampton School Board and local law enforcement to discuss employing armed guards shortly after the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012. We didnt want security people, we wanted (former) law enforcement. We wanted people who had to qualify annually in order to use a weapon. We also wanted people with arresting powers, Berg said. Hiring someone qualified was a big thing for me, so we got together and talked through these issues. Berg said the process took time, as the district had to review property and liability insurance policies. After Berg sorted out details with law enforcement, insurance and the school board, he said the plan was well-received. The school board was behind me all the way, Berg said. I sent out a letter about the guards to the community and expected a little opposition, but it was quite the opposite. People would stick their heads in my office and go, Hey, thanks for doing that.' Mike Johnson, a retired East Moline Police Officer of 21 years, was one of the first Hampton guards hired. Hes worked there for seven years now. I get there before the kids, and I leave when most are gone. After the bell rings at 8:30, the first thing I do is go around and make sure all doors are locked, Johnson said. I set up a computer with the surveillance cameras so I can watch those and the entrance at all times. Johnson said guards monitor sign-ins for parents and visitors entering the school and keep track of any orders of protection served on parents or guardians of Hampton students. Johnson also said he joins the students for lunch and recess, which helps to form meaningful relationships with the students. After seven years of working on-site, theres usually not any problems, he said. We really develop a relationship with the kids." Berg was clear in stating that, other than lunch and recess monitoring, the guards' sole responsibility is protecting the entrance, unlike school resource officers (SROS), who also investigate and enforce criminal offenses within schools on top of security and monitoring duties. We take a soft approach, Johnson said. We wear regular clothes and its concealed carry. I'd say most kids dont even know were armed. Not being or looking like an SRO, most think were playground monitors or something. Its really passive, but were always on alert. Though some criticize placing more guns on school campuses, Berg feels past school shootings warrant the employment of armed guards at school entrances. In nearly all of them, you have someone from the outside coming in with a weapon. That person has to be stopped, and theres only one way to do that, he said. There's been students that did the shooting, but nobody thats shot people in schools was there lawfully, with a weapon. There needs to be someone thats legally trained and allowed to have a weapon to stop those people. Johnson seconds Bergs opinions; he feels the relationships hes fostered with Hampton students further justifies armed guards. Thats where it gets me. In certain situations, like the most recent in Uvalde, officers werent going into the classrooms after the shooter. How can that happen when kids you know and care for are in there? I cant wrap my head around it, he said. Berg cited other institutions, like banks and courthouses, having armed guards at the entrances and said schools should follow suit. If more schools employ armed guards, Johnson hopes they remain a safe place for all kids. Although I agree schools need armed guards, I dont agree with some who want a military-looking guard holding a rifle. Schools need to be safe, but they dont need to look like a prison, he said. Kids cant learn if they dont feel safe. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The iconic Hotel Ottumwa, which has been for sale for almost two years, may have finally found a prospective buyer. The hotel announced on its Facebook page that it had entered a purchase agreement with Bush Construction of Davenport, pending the firm's approval for state historical tax credits, as well as Iowa Workforce Development tax credits. The building, which was built in 1916, has been owned by the Schwartz family since 1982, but two years ago the family told the Courier that family members' ages, plus the economic crunch caused by the pandemic, were the main reasons for putting the hotel up for sale. "City staff have been in touch with Bush Construction since February about a possible project at Hotel Ottumwa. The hotel has been for sale for some time, and we see a lot of community value in keeping the building active and occupied," Ottumwa director of community development Zach Simonson said in an email to the Courier Wednesday. "To see a project come together with a qualified developer is encouraging for protecting the progress we've made downtown." Simonson said the agreement would come before a future city council meeting, but wasn't sure when. "There are still a lot of pieces that have to come together to make the project work, but we're very excited to see a developer come forward with a project that aligns with our goals preserving the historic building, developing needed, high-quality housing and building a vibrant downtown district." The building is on the National Register of Historic Places, and was set to see a significant renovation before COVID-19 occurred. "We have certainly struggled with our business [in the pandemic]. It became apparent for us that to invest $4.5, $4.2 million, it wasn't a good idea for us to spend that much money," Tim Schwartz, one of three co-owners, told the Courier in December 2020. The construction company should know within 12 months if it is able to receive the tax credits to purchase the property. In the meantime, changes will be made to the food and beverage departments at the hotel, but those are yet to be determined, the hotel said in its Facebook post. Further updates on the status of the property and its services will be posted on the page. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Dine and Drink Visit Quad-Cities has launched a new program for people who take coffee seriously. The QC Coffee Trail spotlights an incredible collection of local coffee shops and cafes while putting a fun and interactive spin on sipping. The trail uses a mobile-based code for check-ins, special offers and a fun game-like feature to engage participants. Coffee lovers can register at www.QCcoffeetrail.com. Once registered, the mobile-friendly QC Coffee Trail will be delivered to a smartphone via text and email. Check in at each new location to track progress. Participants who visit five places earn a coaster for a vehicle cup holder and after 15 locations a fleece blanket is the reward. Complete all the locations for an insulated flask and a place on the trail's Caffeinated Wall of Fame. Just For Fun This week art lovers can join the Quad City Arts' Metro Arts program in celebrating the poetry and art works of students in the paid apprentice programs. This year apprentices worked on film, graphic design, mural painting and poetry. Poetry program apprentices will be featured in a open-mic style final poetry showcase 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 6 at The Lincoln Center, 318 E. 7th St., Davenport. There also will be a final art showcase 6-7 p.m. Thursday, July 7 at Arts Alley (weather permitting), adjacent to Quad City Arts' Gallery, 1715 2nd Ave., Rock Island. Metro Arts brings together creative young adults, 15-21 years, and provides them with paid apprenticeships in the arts. Participants work on group projects under the supervision of a professional artist. For more information, visit www.quadcityarts.com/metro-arts. On A Date Big River Brass Band will open the 2022 season with a concert Friday at Veteran's Memorial Park in Bettendorf. Beginning at 7:30 p.m. the concert by this dedicated group of 40 brass and percussion players from the Quad-Cities will feature a variety of both classical and contemporary music. With the Family Coal Valley Days will kick off at the Coal Valley Municipal Park on Friday with the new Worlds of Wonders Circus attraction and fireworks. The 36th year of this two-day celebration also will feature performances by Nuclear Plowboys and Funktastic 5, a car show, parade, petting zoo, bounce houses, craft show, Doggie Dash and a wide variety of food including carnival foods, ribs, caramelized cashews, almonds and more. A $15 all-weekend access pass includes admission for Friday and Saturday or a $10 for a one-day pass is available. Separate tickets for the circus are $5 adults, $3 kids younger than 10 years. Wristbands also are available for unlimited play in the kids' area. Everyone needs a ticket or wristband for the circus. For a complete schedule of the weekend festivities, visit www.coalvalleydays.org. In Real Time Housed in a custom-built Winnebago, "Iowa History 101: Iowa's People and Places," explores 13,000 years of Iowa history with 56 artifacts from the State Historical Museum of Iowa. Quad-City residents will have a chance to experience the exhibit from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday-Monday, July 3-4 in the Freight House parking lot along the downtown Davenport riverfront. Guests will see iconic artifacts that reflect the role of Iowans in state, national and international events, including a Meskwaki cradleboard representing the past and continued presence of Native nations in Iowa. There also will be women's suffrage materials from the early 1900s and the pen used by Iowa Governor William Harding to sign Iowa's resolution in support of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 When one enters Coffee Apothecary, next to Mio Russo on 53rd Avenue in Bettendorf, they are greeted by an expansive wall covered in photo-realist floral wallpaper bursting with color. Owner Lindsey Schmidt bought this wallpaper as a mural from an Etsy seller from Germany. She wanted to incorporate a floral design to emulate the use of plants and herbs at old apothecaries. In fact, when her mother approached her about opening a coffee shop, Schmidt, a Davenport native, decided she wanted vintage apothecary to be her shops entire aesthetic. She had been an avid coffee-drinker all of her life, and was looking to combine the highest-quality coffee with a welcoming, cozy environment and a vintage aesthetic one cant find anywhere else in the Quad-Cities. And thus, her pharmaceutical-themed coffee shop, Coffee Apothecary, was born. I think its really fascinating to see how far psychology has come, and dispensing herbs and drugs went really well with dispensing coffee, Schmidt said. The coffee shop celebrated its one-year anniversary on June 2. With a successful first year under their belt, Schmidt and her staff want to bring a new way of drinking coffee to the Bettendorf community, with a unique and positive energy, unconventional flavor combinations, and a sustainability focus that might just save the coffee industry. A Carefully Curated Concoction Schmidt has a strange affinity for old medical textbooks. She loves looking back to see how medicine has advanced through the yearsespecially psychology, which she has a degree in, along with business management, from St. Ambrose University. A shelf located on the flowered wall holds Schmidts personal collection of old medical text books. Visitors can sit on authentic vintage lab tables adorned with old school lab beakers as they sip their concoctions, or lounge on one of two 20th century couches. Much of the decor came from West End Salvage in Des Moines or Industrial Artifacts in DeKalb. She loves vintage stuff. Shes always getting clothes from the 80s and stuff like that. Vintage stuff is really her thing, said General Manager Hannah Swenson. The decor pulls together to create a light and colorful space, with area space to gather with loved ones and a relic from the past to investigate at every turn. The baristas behind the counter invite you up with a smile and are prepared to dispense whatever coffee knowledge you request. The welcoming spirit of both her staff and her space has helped Coffee Apothecary to cultivate close relationships with regulars in a short period of time. One customer brought old pharmacy antiques to fill an authentic apothecary cabinet. Another gave Schmidt a photocopy of her grandfathers Certificate of Pharmacy from 1894. Intentionality influences every decision Schmidt makes. From the names of the drinks on her menu to the staff she hires, every choice behind her business drives her toward her goal of Coffee Apothecary becoming one of the most unique places in the Quad-Cities with an emphasis on contributing to a greater societal good. Finding Their Why After curating her vintage interior, Schmidt shifted her focus to find vendors producing craft coffee and ingredients to create her menu. Onyx Coffee Lab, a coffee roaster out of Arkansas, caught her eye. Onyx is all about sustainability, Swenson said. They purchase from small, family-owned farms and make as many adjustments as needed through solar energy to produce a rich, dynamic, fresh coffee flavor. Schmidt and Swenson have focused attention on sustainability as they come upon their first anniversary. Recently, they chose to use sesame milk instead of almond milk, citing their sesame milk distributor Hope and Sesame that 30% of bees die when theyre trying to pollinate almonds and it takes 95% less water to make sesame milk. In fact, Hope and Sesame asked Schmidt to be a part of their new barista board, a group of baristas who gather to discuss sustainability ideas within the coffee industry. Onyx Coffee Lab strives to operate in both an environmentally and socially sustainable way, with eco-friendly, recyclable mailers and packaging and carbon neutral roasting processes. They also prioritize transparency in their sourcing and pricing, displaying exactly where their coffee seeds came from and how much the farmer was paid for their product, ensuring its a living wage. This fair treatment of coffee farmers is imperative to keeping the coffee industry from collapsing. From what I learned at my training, when commodity coffee that uses lower quality beans is purchased, the price of buying coffee goes way down. So its not enough to pay the farmers, Schmidt explained. These farmers who have had these coffee farms their whole lives, thats all they know. So they dont know that they could be getting more money. The children of these coffee farmers then realize that these farms arent worth it, and decide not to continue the family business. Harvesting coffee is an arduous process, and the industry cant afford to lose farms. If we dont care about the sustainability of coffee and where it comes from and what were using, coffee is not going to be around 100 years from now, Schmidt said. A New Flavor Palate Sourcing their ingredients from small, ethically-minded businesses helps Schmidt and Swenson not only make decisions they feel will make a positive impact, but also create high-quality craft beverage that are hard to find anywhere else in the Quad-Cities. The coffee shop purchases craft syrup from pink House Alchemy, a woman-owned business located in an all-pink house in Arkansas that creates its own syrups, bitters, and shrubs. They offer an array of interesting flavorslike sarsaparilla, Mexican chile, and pumpkin butternut spicecreated by their small team of in-house alchemists. Schmidt and Swenson often experiment with these flavors to create new and unusual concoctions, often taking a few tries before landing on something magical. They each find inspiration in places one might not normally look. Ive looked at lotions and thought, OK, these lotions have these smells. I wonder if that one tastes good as an actual pairing? Schmidt said. The Tamagotchi Effect (drink), which is pistachio, orange, and white chocolate, was a lotion that I had been using for my hands. Swenson relies, again, on intentionality when searching for new drink ideas. When they decided to partner with M.A.D. Therapy in Bettendorf for an event, Swenson stayed true to the theme. I actually went and researched what fruits or foods are supposed to help with depression or any of that kind of stuff. Chocolate was recommended, or different fruits and nuts, she said. Fighting Off Imposter Syndrome Imposter Syndrome is one of the most adventurous drinks on Coffee Apothecarys menu. Schmidt said people are often nervous to try the drink, which includes espresso, cream, sparkling water, and sarsaparilla, but that its one of her personal favorites. Its namesake is also something shes acquainted with. Schmidt doesnt always give herself the credit shes due as a woman owning her own business. Shes also a young business owner, at age 33, and opened her first business in the middle of a pandemic. I worry people are going to think its a cliche when we say women-owned, and that its going to be just an eye roll from them. Schmidt explained. But thats something that deserves to be talked about. I have a lot of imposter syndrome. We collaborate with women-owned businesses all day long and I love to talk about it, but I dont give that same credit to myself. Whether she sings her own praises or not, Schmidts presence in her shop influences her employees greatly. It being woman-owned is one of the reasons I wanted to work here, Swenson said. The biggest impact that I see is with our coworkers. Were people who are very accommodating and understanding. After establishing themselves this year in Bettendorf, Schmidt hopes to continue building off the positivity and upbeat energy that abounds inside Coffee Apothecary. They hope to provide educational opportunities, events with other local businesses, and, of course, keep providing thoughtfully crafted coffee. Were trying to redefine what craft coffee is. I think when people think craft, they think of espresso shots and latte art. Were trying to put a spin on it and make it more fun and enjoyable so that its not the same traditional thing every time. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 As the Bettendorf Rotarians arrive for their meeting at the Tanglewood Hills Pavilion, you can palpably feel the excitement vibrating through the air. The parking lot is nearly full fifteen-minutes before the noon meeting is set to begin. Hi there! rings through the air amid handshakes and embraces all around the room. A line forms at the back of the ballroom where the staff has situated a lunch buffet, which is provided every meeting. You hear nothing but bright voices, asking each other how the event they planned at work went or what the kids will be up to this summer. A stranger walking into a building might think this is a group that hadnt come together in months with how excited they are to see one another, but actually, this is the positive energy that abounds at the Bettendorf Rotary Club meeting every Wednesday. Mark Carlson, Sergeant-at-Arms of the Moline Rotary Club, visits the Bettendorf Rotarians occasionally. This club is very well-run, Carlson said. I love to visit and see what we can emulate in our own club. The Bettendorf Rotary Club is certainly doing something right. Among nearly 34,000 Rotary Clubs throughout the world, the average club size is 37; there are over 100 Bettendorf Rotarians. The club serves citizens and organizations around the Quad-Cities through service projects and fundraisers. Their connection, friendship, and engagement with one another is both the seed that grows their mission to support healthy communities through strong friendships and active engagement, and also the fuel that keeps that fire burning. Friendship at the Forefront Scott Naumann has been a member of the Bettendorf Rotary Club since 2006. Hes a past president and the membership co-chair, as well as a board member for the Rotary District 6000. He thinks of the Bettendorf Rotary Club as a magnet. Think about a magnet. How strong is the draw? Were always trying to be a better magnet, he said. To Naumann, the relationships among the Bettendorf Rotarians is what keeps drawing people into the club and keeping them there. Theres a discernible sense of camaraderie in the air the second you walk through the door and the minute you sit down next to, say, a CEO of a major local business or a government official. Each meeting begins with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a round of singing, ranging from the patriotic America the Beautiful to comical old Irish drinking songs. The group holds a moment of silence for any person or group they know thats struggling. Members also offer what they call happy bucks, where they donate money in honor of a positive event in their life. Positivity underlies every moment shared among the Rotarians. Whether youve been with the club from the beginning, or are attending your first meeting to see what its like, the group invites you in with open arms. New members are invited to find their place within that club, whether that be contributing to social media or leading a new fundraiser. You don't have to wait as a new member to get involved and start shaping the club. Because rotary needs young people who are willing to say, hey, you know what, I have a lot to give, Naumann said. Cultivating a warm, loving environment, where members constantly support one another (while also engaging in some good-natured teasing), is crucial to the work the Rotarians have set out to do. These relationships develop really quickly, Naumann said. You can put Rotarians in a room and they should be following the four way test to try to be respectful and helpful. So those relationships are founded on trust and integrity. So then when you're doing charity, or philanthropic activities or volunteering to help someone, you're probably doing it for the right reason. Putting Words into Action Dedication to service also requires a dedication to raising funds and donating time and supplies all year long. One of the groups largest fundraisers has also developed into one of the most fun and anticipated events every year: Lobsterfest. The Bettendorf Rotary Club first held Lobsterfest in 2006. They wanted a different type of fundraiser, and decided to emulate a lobster cookout held in Peoria, Illinois. It was organically done with all of the folks from the Rotary pitching in. We would get corn for the corn boil and actually be out there husking it, Naumann said. Culinary students from Scott Community College prepared the food for the first few years, but now the club partners with Hy-Vee for the meal. TBK Bank and Abbey Carpet Gallery are the two title sponsors. At a recent Wednesday meeting, club president Larry Thein finished up his announcements by asking for Lobsterfest volunteers. He then gazed intently into the crowd, searching for a specific face. Im looking forIm not sure where hes atoh THERE he is! Louie da Lobster Mobster, also known as Scott Naumann, burst into the room. Donning a pinstripe suit, fedora, and giant lobster claws and antennae, he asked the crowd in the loudest, thickest New Jersey accent he could muster: ARE YOU GUYS READY TO RAISE SOME MONEY THIS WEEKEND?!? Naumanns Louie da Lobster Mobster character makes an appearance at the Lobsterfest every year. The audience chuckled as Louie teased a few of the members, all in good fun to encourage participation with the fundraiser. The character, and Lobsterfest as a whole, epitomizes the charity philosophy that allows this Rotary Club to thrive: having fun while helping others. The energy the Rotarians bring to fundraising at the Lobsterfest has created a legacy in the Bettendorf community. The 2022 Lobsterfest, held on June 11th at the Tanglewood Hills Pavilion, sold out in record time this year with 420 attendees their previous attendance record was just under 400. The funds raised from the Lobsterfest help support the Rotarys scholarship and grant funds, as well as local projects such as the dictionary distribution to local 4th graders. It was absolutely UNBELIEVABLE, said Thein. We had a little bit of rain but it didnt dampen anybodys spirit. We had Decker Ploehn and Scott Naumann on the micwhat a dynamic duo they are. They keep the energy and momentum going. Four of our live item auctions sold twice. It was simply outstanding. Service Above Self The Bettendorf Rotarians repeat their motto Service Above Self frequently, but those words are always materialized with action. Carol Foster is the Chief Administration Officer at the Handicapped Development Center (HDC), an organization in the Quad Cities that supports and advocates for people with disabilities. She is a past president and current member of the Bettendorf Rotary Club, so shes been on both sides of charity. Charitable organizations like the Rotary Club play a vital role in helping organizations like HDC survive. [HDC has] gotten all kind of different grants from Rotary. One year, we got some money for some ear thermometers, and another they helped us purchase a van, Foster said. Theyre willing to look at projects that might not seem too exciting, but there is definitely a need. Rotary goes where they are needed, and theyve made their impact in the Bettendorf Community. One Rotarian set a goal to collect 700 blankets, which equals an acre of warmth, to donate to community members in need; they collected nearly 1,800 blankets, reaching over two and a half acres. Theyve built a gazebo at Leach Park, theyve helped with yard work for those unable to complete it themselves, and they helped establish the musical walking path at Fayes Field. There always will be a need in our community, and theres all kinds of good people in our community. So when those two things can marry, we can help people with all kinds of issues and help out in so many different ways, Foster said. The support reaches beyond just our own community. Were part of a global service organization. We spend a great amount of time and energy and money addressing needs at home, but the needs in Bettendorf are much different than our brothers and sisters around the globe, said Bettendorf Rotary Club Chair of International Projects Tim Lane. The clubs international projects have largely focused on clean water and sanitation. Theyre currently helping to provide clean water to a school in the Philippines, as well as expanding the number of clean toilets the students have access to. Theyve provided clean water to a village in Haiti and partnered with engineering students from the University of Iowa to build a bridge in a village in Nicaragua so locals could transport goods and water easier. They partner with GoServ Global and Sukup Manufacturing to provide homes able to withstand earthquakes and hurricanes in developing areasLobsterfest raised enough money to pay for up to six of these homes. Were providing them with options that we here take for granted every day, Lane said. A Family with Open Arms When you sit down and look around a Bettendorf Rotary Club meeting, youll see people from all industries and all walks of life. Its a testament to the organization that so many different types of people are able to gather towards one goal: they are there to serve others. Over the last 50 years, we have gotten good people who have community connections in the room together, said Naumann Then you have the capacity to set bigger goals and believe that collectively, you can accomplish those goals. Members of the Bettendorf Rotary Club are not expected to give anything in particular; they are just simply expected to give. This is a freedom that allows members to dive deep into their pools of talent so they can provide their best in service to the club. Were just a bunch of people that roll up our sleeves and help out. It could be as simple as yard work, Naumann said. Weve got nearly 140 members in our club that are like-minded, service-minded, and willing to serve others before themselves, echoed Lane. The Bettendorf Rotary Club wants to be the club that everyone wants to be a part of. As they move forward in maintaining their service-based legacy, theyre hoping to continue finding new ways to attract even broader membership. It goes back to, how do we become that magnet? Naumann asked. Just because you have a club doesnt mean people will want to be a member. We want to make our meeting every Wednesday the place to be. We, the collective, we want everyone. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Voter turnout was steady and, for the most part, uneventful in Rock Island County on primary election day Tuesday. County Clerk Karen Kinney said 17,110 voters cast ballots out of 86,256 registered voters, comprising a 19.8% turnout, similar to the 2018 primary election day. "There were some minor problems, but we managed to get through the day without any major problems" Kinney said. "I thought it went very smoothly. There were problems with an election judge or two, but you have that when you work with that many people. "It was very hot, so there were some problems with the lack of air conditioning in some voting centers," she said. "We are not used to a June primary, so this presented a new problem for us. The primary is usually in March. A June primary also made it difficult with election judges being on vacation." Kinney said the primary was held in June because of recent redistricting but is expected to move back to March for future elections. Kinney said some results could change as mail-in ballots arrive in the clerk's office. There are a total of 246 unreturned vote-by-mail ballots, of which 198 are Democrat ballots and 48 are Republican. Mail in ballots had to be postmarked by midnight on election day. "They're coming in every day, but in two weeks we will certify the election results," Kinney said. "Two election judges a Democrat and a Republican will go through all the mail-in ballots on July 13 and decide which ones have acceptable postmarks." Chief Deputy Clerk Nick Camlin said they do not expect everyone who requested a mail-in ballot to return it. "In every election, there are about 100 ballots that do not get returned," Camlin said. "There are also a fair amount of people who get ballots sent to them and decide to vote in person on election day and surrender their ballots at their voting center." 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. DES MOINES Rick Stewart, the Libertarian candidate for Iowa governor, is resuming his campaign after taking time off following his arrest at a non-violent protest in Virginia. Stewart, of Cedar Rapids, was arrested May 18 in Arlington while protesting at the federal Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters in support of allowing terminally ill cancer patients to use psilocybin, the hallucinogenic ingredient in certain mushrooms, under the Right to Try act. In a news release, the Stewart campaign said a friend of Stewart's, a patient diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer, had been prescribed psilocybin assisted therapy by her doctor. Under the 2018 Right To Try law, supported by both Iowa Sens. Chuck Grassley, a sponsor, and Joni Ernst, the prescription is legally allowed. The DEA, however, denied her request and is refusing to speak with the patient, Stewart said. In 2020, John Hopkins Center released the results of a study that showed promising results of psilocybin in the mental health of terminal cancer patients. Video taken at the May protest shows Stewart passively resisting while being handcuffed and taken to a paddy wagon. It is outrageous that drug warriors in the DEA would thwart the will of Congress so blatantly, Stewart said in the news release. If the laws of the land do not apply to government officials, what kind of a republic do we live in? I feel it is my moral responsibility to stand against this rogue government agency, and I am confident Sens. Grassley and Ernst have my back, he added. The drug war has clearly been lost in America, and it is time to gracefully retire the DEA agents who are still fighting it. Stewart's trial for trespassing is scheduled for Aug. 10 in Washington, D.C., his campaign said. Stewart is running for governor against Republican incumbent Kim Reynolds and Democratic challenger Deidre DeJear. SCHIFF TO FUNDRAISE WITH IOWA DEMOCRATS: California Democrat Adam Schiff, a member of the bipartisan panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, will attend Iowa fundraisers next weekend with U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, and Eastern Iowa congressional candidate Liz Mathis. Schiff will attend a fundraiser with Axne on July 9 at Fox Brewing in West Des Moines, according to an event flyer published in a news release from the Republican Party of Iowa. Schiff will attend a fundraiser with Mathis on July 10, according to an event notice on the Iowa Democratic Partys website. Axne is running for a third term in the U.S. House in Central Iowas 3rd District against Republican challenger Zach Nunn, a state legislator from Altoona. Mathis is challenging incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson in Eastern Iowas new 2nd District. GUN SAFETY GROUP ENDORSES MATHIS: Giffords PAC, the gun safety advocacy organization founded by former congresswoman and shooting victim Gabrielle Giffords, has endorsed Democrat Liz Mathis in Iowas new 2nd Congressional District campaign. Mathis, a state legislator and nonprofit leader from Hiawatha, is running against incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson. Having grown up on the farm, I respect the rights of hunters and responsible gun owners and support the Second Amendment, Mathis said in a campaign news release. I also know that its well past time for members of Congress to put partisan politics and gun lobby donors aside and pass legislation to keep our children and communities safe. LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS ENDORSE HINSON: U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinsons campaign announced more than 50 endorsements from law enforcement members and first responders. The Marion Republican is running for re-election in Iowas new 2nd Congressional District against Democratic state Sen. Liz Mathis of Hiawatha. Hinson currently represents Iowas 1st U.S. House district. These heroes put their lives on the line for us every single day, and I will continue fighting to make sure they have the resources necessary to keep our families safe, Hinson said in a statement. Law enforcement officers always have our back, and I will always have theirs in Congress. Hinson launched a law enforcement advisory committee in 2020 to hear about public safety issues in Iowa. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Some advocates for Medicaid expansion in South Dakota are concerned that two ballot measures with different language and separate backers but the same goals may confuse or diffuse voters, reducing the chances of success in the November election. The ACA in 2010 expanded Medicaid to include nearly all adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level, which currently translates to an annual salary of about $18,000 for an individual (or $36,500 for a family of four). But the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that states could reject the expansion and still get federal funding for traditional Medicaid costs, which all states currently receive. South Dakota is one of just 12 states that hasnt expanded Medicaid, making it an outlier even among neighboring Republican-led states such as North Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska. But expansion proponents are optimistic after seeing voters reject Amendment C which would have made ballot measures involving state spending more difficult to pass in the primary election June 7 with 67% of the vote. Constitutional Amendment D, which is sponsored by South Dakotans Decide Healthcare and will appear on the November ballot, seeks to expand Medicaid by changing the state constitution, viewed traditionally as a more iron-clad method of initiating new policies. Amendment D is supported by the states major healthcare systems and the Fairness Project, a national advocacy group that assists in ballot measure campaigns. The second Medicaid ballot measure, Initiated Measure 28, is spearheaded by former Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rick Weiland, a frequent supporter of ballot measures who successfully campaigned to increase South Dakotas minimum wage in 2014. Weilands group, Dakotans for Health, initially presented its measure as a way to give voters another option in case the 60% voting threshold was passed into law by the June primary vote. Historically, initiated measures have fared better than constitutional amendments, said Weiland. There are groups of voters who just dont like to mess with the constitution and could see Medicaid expansion as more appropriately accomplished by statutory measure. Since Amendment D had a later filing deadline to the Secretary of States office, the fiscal note from the Legislative Research Council includes additional offsets extended by the Biden Administration as part of the American Rescue Plan, showing the states share over the first five years of Medicaid expansion to be a total of $3.8 million. That information is not reflected in IM 28s fiscal note, nor does that measure specify an implementation date. These differences plus the significant financial backing of South Dakotas big three health systems: Sanford, Avera and Monument led state Sen. Reynold Nesiba, a Sioux Falls Democrat who supports Amendment D, to call for Weiland to pull Initiated Measure 28 off the Nov. 8 ballot to create a unified statewide effort. Rick Weiland and the people bringing the initiated measure need to withdraw it, Nesiba told News Watch. Its got an inferior fiscal note attached to it, it doesnt have an implementation date, and the constitutional amendment will have a more definitive impact. Weiland, whose efforts to coordinate a petition-led campaign to pass Medicaid expansion date back to 2019, chuckled when informed of Nesibas remarks. Give me a break, said Weiland, who served as an advisor to former U.S. Senator Tom Daschle. The language in both these initiatives accomplish the same thing, and the implementation date is written into state law. As for voters being confused, there are only three measures on the ballot (the two Medicaid proposals and IM 27, which would legalize recreational marijuana). I dont think thats going to be too overwhelming for people. If both ballot measures pass and have the same intent, state law dictates that the initiated measure or amendment receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes at the election shall be given effect. That provision could be construed as the measures competing against each other, though their aim is the same. The deadline to voluntarily remove a ballot measure is 120 days before the election (July 12 in this case), but so far both groups are holding firm. We are fully focused on campaigning for and passing a constitutional amendment that will expand Medicaid in South Dakota, said Zach Marcus, a spokesperson for South Dakotans Decide Healthcare. General agreement on intent One thing the factions agree on is that chronically underfunded Indian Health Service facilities and rural health clinics and nursing homes will receive a boost from federal Medicaid reimbursements if more low-income patients are covered. In addition to the 90% federal matching rate, states that implement expansion also see an increase in funding for traditional Medicaid populations under COVID-related American Rescue Plan provisions. In South Dakota, the total cost of expansion over the first five years would amount to about $1.5 billion, of which the states share would be $166.2 million, according to the Legislative Research Council. Since total savings to the general fund from federal matching and incentive funds and fewer reimbursement payments to hospitals for treating uninsured patients is estimated at $162.4 million over that five-year period, the states net financial obligation would be $3.8 million. It will cost us less to expand Medicaid than it cost to buy the governor a new airplane, said Nesiba, referring to the states $4.5 million purchase of a 2015 Beechcraft King Air 350 last year. The failure of South Dakota to take this step is one of the most short-sighted economic decisions we have ever made. Under South Dakotas current (non-expanded) Medicaid system, two-thirds of the roughly 130,000 enrollees are children who meet poverty level guidelines, while eligible adults include pregnant women, elderly or disabled individuals and parents of minor children up to 52% of the poverty level (for a household with three people, that means an annual salary of about $11,300). Childless adults without a disability are ineligible for Medicaid coverage in South Dakota regardless of income level, and many dont qualify for ACA subsidies to help obtain private coverage unless their income is at least 100% of the poverty level. The number of these residents who fall through the cracks of health insurance coverage is estimated at 42,500 in South Dakota, just under 5% of the total population. Nearly 40% of them are estimated to be Native American, according to Georgetown Universitys Health Policy Institute, compared with about 9% of the general population that is Native American. The federal government pays 58% of the cost of standard Medicaid coverage, with slight increases made during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under Medicaid expansion, the federal government share increases sharply, especially with incentives added as part of the American Rescue Plan. A study of state budgets from 2014-2017 by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit that supports research on health policy reform, found that Medicaid expansion was associated with a 4.4% to 4.7% reduction in state spending on traditional Medicaid while also reducing the cost of uncompensated care, such as when the state reimburses hospitals for services provided to uninsured individuals. Deb Fischer-Clemens, Avera Health senior vice president for public policy and a supporter of Amendment D, said that expanding coverage to uninsured residents helps not just those individuals or families but also entities that might incur those costs down the line, including state or county government, non-profit health systems or taxpayers. Theres a lack of preventative care when you dont have insurance, said Fischer-Clemens, a former state legislator who also serves as president of the South Dakota Nurses Association. When you dont have a lot of money, youre using it all to pay for rent or groceries or gas, meaning youre not getting that preventative colonoscopy. And when you find out theres something wrong with you, instead of a couple thousand dollars, its tens of thousands of dollars, and a lot of time away from work and a lot of debt. The big picture of this is taking care of individuals who dont have the resources to access care at the appropriate time. Medicaid expansion opponents, including GOP Gov. Kristi Noem and Republican Senate President Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck, counter that able-bodied individuals, such as currently uncovered childless adults, should be able to work and are not entitled to free health care. They also point to uncertainty about the states share of expenses once COVID-related incentives from the Biden administration phase out and the nations public health emergency expires, which is expected later this year. Schoenbeck, who declined an interview request, made his position clear when asked about Medicaid expansion during a Senate primary event in May. I dont happen to support more welfare, he said. Expansion talks fizzle in state government In 2016, two years after being re-elected as South Dakota governor with more than 70% of the vote, Dennis Daugaard undertook an effort to expand Medicaid despite lingering rancor toward Obamacare among most of his fellow Republicans. The fiscally conservative Daugaard saw it as a good deal for South Dakota, since the state was already paying in part for Native American residents who couldnt receive care at reservation IHS facilities because of lack of services or availability. The U.S. Health and Human Services Department agreed to an arrangement where those treated outside IHS facilities would be covered by federal Medicaid matching funds. The problems Daugaard faced were not procedural but political, as state Republicans balked at expanding the ACA, the outgoing Obamas signature achievement, and voiced their concerns about government handouts for adults who were able to work and fend for themselves. The governor convened a Health Care Solutions Coalition, which produced a 2016 report that found the state spent $182 million on health care for Native Americans in fiscal year 2015, about $97 million of which was federal funds and $85 million was state funds. The report noted that $85 million is more than enough to cover state costs for expansion. With legislative action stalled, Daugaard tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a work requirement provision with the federal government. Donald Trumps victory in 2016 along with Trumps proclaimed goal to repeal the ACA ended what little momentum had occurred, especially after Daugaard met with then-Vice President Mike Pence and discussed the new administrations repeal strategy, which ultimately failed in Congress. Fischer-Clemens, who served on Daugaards coalition, joined with other hospital officials and health associations to consider a new course, especially after Noem took office following the 2018 election and declared her opposition to Medicaid expansion. Advocacy groups in states such as Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, Utah and Idaho had found success by taking the issue straight to voters with petition-fueled ballot measures, and that became the strategy. After seeing so many bills fail in committee over the years, we knew we couldnt do it with legislative movement, said Fischer-Clemens. The philosophy in the Legislature is basically, Weve done enough with Medicaid, and if the federal government takes dollars away, then its going to lead to higher taxes. There was nowhere else to go. Taking issues straight to ballot There were some early discussions with Weiland, who was well-versed in the ballot measure process and knew of its pitfalls. After his successful effort to raise the states minimum wage in 2014, state legislators voted to exempt workers under age 18 from the required wage, so Weiland and other Democrats referred the law back to voters and won with 71% of the vote. Two years later, Weiland spearheaded an electoral victory for IM 22, which revised lobbying and campaign finance laws while establishing a state ethics commission. But Republican legislators sought a preliminary injunction and later repealed the measure with an emergency clause that ensured it could not be sent back to voters. Those South Dakota efforts against initiated measures, and delays in Nebraska as Gov. Pete Ricketts sought to restrict the implementation of voter-approved Medicaid expansion for several years, convinced South Dakotans Decide Healthcare and the Fairness Project that a constitutional amendment was the most logical course. They used paid petition circulators to speed the process and submitted 47,000 signatures last November with the Secretary of States office, announcing in January that the proposal had qualified for the November 2022 ballot officially as Amendment D. We had seen some of the things that the legislature does with initiated measures, said Fischer-Clemens. Then some of us watched what was happening in Nebraska and basically said, We dont want to go through that were not going to live that long. In the end we were more confident that we could reach our goal with a constitutional amendment. Weiland, however, points to Amendment A, the South Dakota recreational marijuana effort that passed with 54% of the vote in 2020. Noems administration challenged the measure, saying it violated the states requirement that constitutional amendments deal with just one subject, and won a 4-1 decision at the South Dakota Supreme Court that prevented legalization from taking place. That single-subject clause had been a response to IM 22, meant to discourage sweeping voter-based changes to state law. When it became clear that Medicaid expansion would be on the ballot in 2022, Sen. Schoenbeck tried to orchestrate a preemptive strike with Amendment C, which was backed by the Koch Brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity and would have required a 60% vote for ballot measures that raise taxes or spend $10 million in general funds in their first five years. The resounding failure of Amendment C was viewed by some as a message from voters to lay off the petition process, which Weiland interpreted as a potential buffer for initiated measures as well. He noted that state Sen. Wayne Steinhauer, R-Hartford, who chairs the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, led an effort during the 2022 legislative session to endorse or prepare for Medicaid expansion, a proposal that fell short but indicated a desire to get out in front of voter-backed measures. Steinhauer did not respond to an interview request. I think state legislators realize that theyre on thin ice when it comes to messing around with the will of voters, said Weiland, whose groups measure was certified June 9 by the Secretary of States office with 17,249 valid signatures (the threshold is 16,961). We have a chance to hold their feet to the fire, because they mis-stepped on minimum wage, they mis-stepped on corruption, they mis-stepped on cannabis and theyre getting tired of mis-stepping. This whole notion that the only way to get things done is through constitutional amendment is not really the case anymore. I hope they both pass. Were encouraging people to vote for both. Finding support for Native populations One of the most persuasive arguments for expanding Medicaid is its ability to address long-standing health care concerns that plague tribal communities in South Dakota, which has the fourth-highest percentage of Native American residents in the country. A 2021 study by the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown found several predominantly Native counties (Buffalo, Oglala Lakota, Todd) with at least four times the national average of uninsured non-elderly adults. Remi Bald Eagle, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe who is part of the Dakotans for Health group, pointed to the limitations of IHS services on reservations and noted how Medicaid expansion could improve the level of care. Some Native residents dont live close to an IHS facility, or they require services that arent provided. Expanding Medicaid would allow those patients to be referred to other hospitals or clinics, which would then be reimbursed. Currently, referrals are determined by a triage system, meaning cases are prioritized by level of medical severity. IHS facilities have a capped budget they operate under, said Bald Eagle, a former Democratic candidate for public utilities commissioner. If a persons condition is not seen as high priority, that person might not get referred. He added that third-party billing through Medicaid expansion could potentially help IHS facilities expand services or upgrade medical personnel. Among Native Americans with IHS access, Medicaid enrollment increased by 45% in expansion states and 25% in non-expansion states from 2010 to 2018, according to the IHS Tribal Self-Governance Advisory Committee. Montana, which approved Medicaid expansion in 2016, saw more than 15,000 tribal members newly enrolled in Medicaid in the first two years, according to the state Department of Public Health and Human Services. The tribal and IHS facilities on the Blackfeet Reservation in northern Montana saw an additional $13.6 million for services reimbursed by the federal government during that time. Bald Eagle supports the initiated measure but said both proposals are encouraging to many in South Dakota not as government handouts, but as ways to address problems that low-income residents and health providers have faced for a long time. Its unfortunate that this life-saving issue has turned into a political bogeyman that people can use as a scare tool, he said. The more people you have using these services, the more it helps everyone, not just Indian Country, but South Dakota as a whole. This article was produced by South Dakota News Watch, a non-profit news organization online at sdnewswatch.org. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The former owner of Thirsty's restaurant in downtown Rapid City was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals Thursday morning to start his 13-month prison sentence for tax fraud. Chief U.S. District Judge Roberto Lange sentenced Frank Morrison, 72, to 13 months in Yankton with good time credit to equate to 11 months. Morrison was also ordered to pay $684,927.56 in restitution to the IRS, a $200,000 fine, a $100 special assessment fee and will have two years of supervised release. Lange said if Morrison cannot pay the full amount, he will be required to pay restitution in monthly installments of $10,000, which may require liquidation of assets, 30 days following his release. The sentence is about half of the minimum guideline amount for similar crimes, which could have been 24-30 months, after Lange granted a downward variance request. Morrison pleaded guilty in April to failing to withhold and pay $699,123 in taxes between 2008 and 2020. Morrison and his attorney Ellery Grey said the motive for the tax evasion was connected to what Morrison felt was a racial injustice on the Ellsworth Air Force Base in the 1980s. "What the government did was traumatic to me and my family," he said. Morrison told the Journal in a March 28 interview that as a Native American, he earned a minority business contract to paint a hangar on Ellsworth Air Force Base. He said each time he and his crew made progress, he was told the paint wasn't the right quality and had to start over despite the paint being tested. He said officers also used racial slurs against him and another minority business owner. Morrison said in court Thursday that it destroyed his business. He said he knows it's not an excuse, but not paying federal taxes was his way of fighting back against a government that failed him after he served in the military. "It was wrong, I'm sorry," he said. Asst. U.S. Attorney Ben Patterson requested 24 months of sentencing followed by supervised release. He said the nature of the crime is serious and it is important to deter other business owners from doing the same. He said he did not think Morrison was at risk of committing the same crime. Lange said under different circumstances, he believes he would have enjoyed sitting down with Morrison and having a conversation. He said aside from his crime, he seems like a well-liked individual who is involved in his community. About 30 people appeared in the courtroom for Morrison's sentencing. Contact Siandhara Bonnet at siandhara.bonnet@rapidcityjournal.com You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 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. One hundred nineteen people from 41 countries were welcomed as United States citizens at a naturalization ceremony at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Amphitheater Wednesday morning. A performance from the Dakota Choral Union welcomed applicants and spectators into the amphitheater, followed by the presentation of the United States flag by the Ellsworth Air Force Base Honor Guard and the Pledge of Allegiance. Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, Roberto Lange delivered welcoming remarks, emphasizing the United States as a country of immigrants he himself was born in Spain. Each of the four great presidents sculpted into this mountainside are descended from people who came to America looking for a better life, Lange said. He spoke of the American dream, and the United States motto: E Pluribus Unum, Latin for out of many, one. Many different peoples, he said, forming one nation. He spoke of new citizens bringing their talents, interests, experiences and cultures to enrich and strengthen the United States. Lange also encouraged the new citizens to become involved in their democracy, register to vote and participate in making the country better. Michelle Wheatley, Mount Rushmore National Memorial superintendent, welcomed the new citizens to the national parks, and invited them to enjoy and participate in the stewardship of the parks throughout the country. National Parks are places where we as Americans tell our story, she said. U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann administered the Oath of Allegiance. One hundred nineteen applicants rose, raised their right hands, and swore to support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States, as they were proclaimed U.S. citizens. All 119 newly-minted citizens marched across the stage, one by one, to receive their certificates, announce their name and their country of origin. Teary-eyed citizens crossed the stage as their friends and family erupted with pride from the amphitheater seats. Some wore American flag-themed bowties, while others attire represented their countries of origin. Others added sentiments of God Bless America and thank you for making our day so special. Im so happy because I can finally proclaim myself an American, a man from Mexico said. A man from Liberia said he was happy to be a proud American citizen. Michael Valverde, associate director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Aaron Galloway, president of the Mount Rushmore Society, offered closing remarks. Valverde said a vital American tradition is to grow from immigration. We ingest new ideas, we get more skills, we absorb new talents, he said. When we grow, we grow stronger. When we work together, we can do more. Galloway spoke of the new citizens getting to celebrate their first Fourth of July, and adding their voices to the American tune, all sung together. Thank you for wanting to be a part of the fabric of this nation, he said. Working and wanting it for yourselves, your family, and now all of your fellow citizens. We are happy, we are humbled and most of all excited to be here with you. What the day meant to its new citizens ranged from meaningful to speechless. I really cannot describe how meaningful it is, said Duong Tran, from Vietnam. This is my honor to be a U.S. citizen. Tran had been in the country for 10 years, saying she saw both good sides and bad sides, but more good. For Stefanie Shkinder, love brought her to the United States. Her husband Paul was already a citizen, and she was eager to join him and their children in citizenship. She first met her husband six years ago, when she came to the United States to visit her aunt. Vanessa Garcia came to the United States from Belize, calling Wednesdays words very special. Its a very special day to me, Garcia said, joined by her husband and little sister. She came into the country as a fiancee six years ago, now experiencing her new citizenship with her husband. She said the ceremony made her feel less alone being surrounded by 118 other new citizens, she saw people going through the same experience, all representing their own countries as new U.S. citizens. For Andrew Wilson, his home country of Ukraine was a place of sad faces, a place where much of his family still lives. Coming to the United States was a starting point, he said a place to settle. To start building a house, building a family, and a career, Wilson said. He said he wanted to settle in the United States because of the people. Its actually the most friendly people out over the world, he said. "A place of smiles." While Wilson continues to worry about his family, he's glad to be able to tell them hes in a country where he can achieve his goals. Contact Laura Heckmann at lheckmann@rapidcityjournal.com You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 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. A contingent of South Dakota Republican lawmakers on Wednesday formally announced they were forming a group billed the South Dakota Freedom Caucus" as they try to drive politics further to the right in a Statehouse where the GOP holds every statewide office and 90% of the Legislature. In its first official statement, the caucus called for an immediate special legislative session to address the state's abortion laws. The state already has a trigger law that banned abortion last week when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, but the GOP is pushing to bolster that prohibition. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem and legislative leaders are already planning a special session, but have not said when it will be or what specific legislation will be considered. The formalization of the Freedom Caucus threatens to drive a further wedge among GOP lawmakers in Pierre. Republican House lawmakers have fought with the governor and establishment Republicans who control the Senate in recent years over issues like COVID-19 vaccine exemptions, transgender athletes, tax cuts and commercial surrogacy, with hardline conservatives pushing the Legislature to take more aggressive positions. A score of the most socially conservative House Republicans has informally rallied on those issues, referring to themselves by monikers like the conservative caucus or basement caucus. They have often taken a contrarian stand and showed a willingness to defy Noem. Republican Rep. Tony Randolph, who is the Freedom Caucus vice-chair, declined to say how many lawmakers are part of the group outside its three officers. He said they were looking to recruit members, but insisted they were not splitting from the Republican caucus. We are not trying to create a new party, Randolph said. We are still Republicans nothing has changed. But Randolph charged that the Republican Party has been infiltrated recently by Democrats-turned-Republican who do not hold to the party's platform. He added that the new caucus would look to halt the expansion of state government while promoting gun rights and life. We believe that life begins at conception and ends at natural death period, Randolph said. House Republican leaders Reps. Kent Peterson and Chris Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Freedom Caucus. Senate Republican leader Sen. Gary Cammack said he had recently learned about the caucus and declined to comment further on it. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 2 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 5 South Dakota's interim attorney general on his first day in office Tuesday dismissed two of former Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg's top appointees who were involved in the aftermath of Ravnsborg's 2020 fatal car crash. Ravnsborg was removed from office last week after the Senate convicted him on impeachment charges for his conduct surrounding the crash. Gov. Kristi Noem appointed the lead prosecutor in the Senate impeachment trial, Pennington County State's Attorney Mark Vargo, as interim attorney general. Vargo quickly dismissed Ravnsborg's chief of staff, Tim Bormann, and the Director of the Division of Criminal Investigation, David Natvig, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported. Both Bormann and Natvig had earlier this year testified to a House committee weighing impeachment charges. They had also texted with Ravnsborg after the crash. Bormann accompanied Ravnsborg to the crash site the morning after the crash, when Ravnsborg says he discovered the body of the man he struck for the first time. Vargo did not give a reason for their dismissal. The attorney general's office on Wednesday issued a news release saying that Vargo praised the rest of the staff in a meeting and told them he plans no large-scale changes for the rest of his five-month tenure. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Native of Tajikistan sentenced to 9 years in Russia for abetting terrorism ROSTOV-ON-DON, June 30 (RAPSI) The Southern District Military Court has sentenced a native of Tajikistan Fayzali Khalimkhonov to 9 years in high-security penal colony for facilitating terrorist activity, the courts press service has told RAPSI. Residing in Volgograd the defendant using a mobile application has transferred 3,000 rubles (about $60) from his banking account to an account of a member of the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in Russia. Khalimkhonov has been charged with aiding and abetting terrorism for his actions. Earlier, the same court sentenced a resident of the Rostov region who transferred 10,000 rubles (about $200) to terrorists in 2015 to 5.5 years behind bars. Moscow court sentences Major General Melnikov to 7 years in prison for bribery MOSCOW, June 30 (RAPSI) The Moscow Khamovnichesky District Court sentenced Major General Alexander Melnikov, a senior officer of the Central Chief Directorate of the Interior Ministry, to 7 years in a strict regime colony in a case over attempted bribery on an especially large scale, RAPSI learned in the court on Thursday. Additionally, Melnikov was fined 30 million rubles (about $571,000 at the current exchange rate), the RAPSI source said. The general was found guilty of committing a crime defined by the national Criminal Code as an attempt to receive a bribe on an especially large scale. Three other defendants in the case were given punishments ranging from 7.5 to 8 years in prison. It follows from the case file that Melnikov was trying to get 30 million rubles for closing a criminal case against a certain Moscow businessperson. Its hard to believe that theres any unclaimed land left on the planet, however, there is a piece of land along the Danube River that is not part of any country. This is due to a boundary dispute between Croatia and Serbia that has its origin in the former Austro-Hungarian empire. The Croatian-Hungarian Agreement of 1868 demarcated various parts of the empire. The border between Croatia, a province of the empire and Serbia, a province of the Ottoman Empire, was the Danube River. After World War I, both Serbia and Croatia became part of the newly formed Yugoslavia. Except for a brief occupation by the German army during World War II, Yugoslavia held together as a country until it broke apart in 1991. By the mid 1990s, Serbia and Croatia had become independent countries. Theoretically, the Danube was still the border between the two countries. However, in the intervening decades, as rivers often do, the path of the Danube had changed. Several chunks of land that had formerly lain to the west of the Danube (and hence within Croatia) were now to the east of the river (and within Serbia). Only a small area, formerly within Serbia, was now in Croatia. It is this tiny parcel that is claimed by no country. Why? Because Croatia still contends that several sections of land now to the east of the Danube belongs to it. Naturally, Serbia disputes this assertion. From Serbias standpoint, the border is still the Danube River as it is today (not how it looked in the 1860s). Therefore, the unclaimed piece of land to the west of the river is rightfully a part of Croatia. But Croatia doesnt claim it because if it ever did, that would mean that Croats recognize the Danube River (as it exists today) as the border between them and Serbia. Doing this would mean forfeiting all of their claims to the much more valuable lands to the east of the river. This Serbian-Croatian border dispute is a longue duree phenomenon (literally meaning 'long duration'), a term introduced by French historian Fernand Braudel. The dispute first arose in 1947, but was left unresolved during the existence of Yugoslavia. In April 2015, Vit Jedlicka, of the Czech Party of Free Citizens, proclaimed Liberland on the land unclaimed by either Croatia and Serbia. The Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has rejected this claim, stating that the differing border claims between Serbia and Croatia do not involve terra nullius (Latin for no man's land) and therefore cannot be occupied by a third party. However, the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in May 2015 that while Serbia does not consider "Liberland" to be an important matter, the "new state" does not have a material impact on the Serbian border, which Serbia maintains is delineated by the Danube River. Compare this dispute with a similar situation between Illinois and Missouri. Kaskaskia was the capital of the Illinois Territory until Illinois became a state in 1818. After the Great Flood of 1844, the Mississippi River shifted, leaving the former capitol now west of the Mississippi River. Even so, the town and its people were (and still are) legally part of Illinois, and continue to vote in Illinois elections, though they have Missouri addresses and the only access is from the Missouri side. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 As the Fourth of July weekend approaches, local law enforcement agencies and the Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) are encouraging Montanans to plan for a sober ride home before they celebrate. The Fourth of July is one of the deadliest holidays in Montana, so MHP will be increasing patrols across the state and making DUI arrests to ensure every Montanan gets home safely. MHP and the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) are committed to reducing fatalities and serious injuries on Montanas roadways during busy holiday weekends. According to MDT, if drivers have a BAC (blood alcohol content) of .08 or higher, they could receive a DUI charge and other serious consequences, including having their drivers license revoked, being required to take mandatory classes, and receiving possible jail time and up to $10,000 in fines and legal fees. If youre drinking this holiday weekend, be sure to make a plan for a safe ride home said MHP Sergeant Scott Bennett. The important thing to know is how youre getting home even before you go out. There are lots of ways to plan for a sober ride. Designate one of your friends as a sober driver, arrange for a rideshare service, cab, public transportation, or call a friend or family member. If you see your friends have had too much to drink, have their back and help them get home safely too. Why is MHP on high alert during the holiday weekend? These are Montanas sobering statistics: Montana has the highest share of alcohol-related traffic deaths at 45% (2020) In 2020, 66% of all fatalities were the result of impaired driving (up from 58% during 2019) 1,227 people were killed in crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver from 20112020 By making a plan before you go out, youll help keep our roads safer for everyone and protect our great state, said MHP Colonel Steve Lavin. Make sure you celebrate responsibly as you gather with friends and family on the Fourth. Together we can keep our community safe. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) Womans Choice, the sign proclaims in bold pink letters. But despite promising abortion information and free pregnancy testing, the facility in Charleston, West Virginia, is designed to steer women facing an unwanted pregnancy away from choosing an abortion. That will become much easier now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states like West Virginia can make abortion illegal. It's one of hundreds of so-called crisis pregnancy centers nationwide whose aim is to discourage women from seeking abortions. The facilities, which have been accused repeatedly of deceiving women about their true purpose, are expected to wield even more influence in states where the dwindling number of clinics are now canceling abortion appointments. Often religiously affiliated, the anti-abortion centers are not licensed medical facilities and do not provide medical services such as pre- or post-natal care or other health care for uninsured women, unlike clinics that offer abortions which are subject to strict government regulations and patient privacy laws. They do sometimes have nurses on staff or as volunteers. Basically, these centers are looking around and saying, Our services are going to be needed now more than ever because theres going to be so many pregnant people who need support during their pregnancy particularly unintended pregnancies, said Andrea Swartzendruber, a University of Georgia public health professor who has helped map center locations nationwide. Shortly after Friday's Supreme Court decision, West Virginia's only abortion clinic announced it was suspending abortion services, but continuing to provide birth control, STI treatment and other services. The Charleston anti-abortion center, which calls itself the Womans Choice Pregnancy Resource Center, has been located next to the abortion clinic for years. The people who run it say their work won't change. They will continue to offer parenting and health classes, counseling for women who regret a past decision to abort and wish to find comfort from guilt and sadness" and provide facts about abortion risks both physical and psychological," they said in an email to The Associated Press. The board also said staff must complete training emphasizing the importance of clients' right to be respected regardless of their decision. At the clinic next door, called the Women's Health Center of West Virginia, executive director Katie Quinonez has her doubts about such statements. She has repeatedly seen patients seeking to end their pregnancies lured into the anti-abortion center and bombarded with warnings about abortion risks. Some who found their way to her office have shared pamphlets declaring that abortion causes new problems that can haunt a woman for the rest of her life. One titled Abortion Living Without Regret shows a woman crying on the cover and lists abortion risks, including suicidal feelings, death and cervical incompetence. Quinonez said she worries about the dozens of patients whose abortion appointments were cancelled after the Supreme Court decision came down. Im incredibly concerned," she said. Its possible that they could think maybe there is another provider and state thats doing abortions. 'How about I call A Womans Choice, located in Charleston?' and then they make an appointment and go there because theyve been lied to by a fake clinic that says Yes, we can provide you with care.'" While the anti-abortion centers are mostly mum about their plans now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, experts say they're likely to redouble efforts to persuade women not to end their pregnancies. The logistics work in their favor, since many women wont have the legal option of abortion without leaving their state. The centers have been expanding in every state with support from wealthy conservative donors, powerful state lawmakers and religious institutions. They've also received tens of millions of tax dollars funneled to them by conservative state leaders. Left-leaning states have shown more willingness to regulate how the centers advertise their services. Last year Connecticut banned them from using deceptive advertising about the services they provide. Connecticut had 18 health clinics that provided abortions as of 2018; there are also around 20 pregnancy crisis centers. As we head into this new world and into this next phase, I think its more important than ever for women to be able to access medically accurate information, said Democratic Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, who sponsored the Connecticut legislation. The last thing we want is for women to be at what they believe to be a health clinic only to receive misinformation about their options." Nationally, crisis pregnancy centers outnumber abortion clinics more than 3 to 1, but in Republican-led states the numbers can be far higher, according to a 2021 report from The Alliance: State Advocates for Womens Rights and Gender Equality. Some 2,500 centers are located across the country, while there are fewer than 800 abortion clinics. In Missouri, which has just one abortion clinic, Swartzendruber and her colleagues identified nearly 70 anti-abortion centers in 2021. The situation is similar in North Dakota, where at least seven centers operated last year and the states lone abortion clinic is relocating now that Roe v. Wade was overturned. In Mississippi, there are 30 centers, while the Jackson Womens Health Organization a plaintiff in the legal battle that came before the Supreme Court was the lone provider offering abortion services. Those three states are among 13 with so-called trigger laws that banned most abortions after Roe was overturned. West Virginia doesnt have a trigger law, but does have an old statute on the books that had been shelved while Roe was in place. As abortion clinics shutter across the country, some anti-abortion centers have expressed concern they will be targeted amid protests against the Supreme Court's ruling, although historically such incidents have been rare. Meanwhile, abortion clinics have been the targets of attacks for decades. Earlier this month, anti-abortion leaders called on churches to support their local crisis pregnancy centers. We have an opportunity like never before," said Dean Nelson, vice president of government relations for Human Coalition, a national anti-abortion group that frequently directs pregnant women seeking information online to the centers and operates a handful of its own. Some centers offer financial counseling, free diapers and food pantries for mothers after theyve given birth. By expanding and strengthening the network of centers, anti-abortion advocates hope women will see they have resources and options. That concerns reproductive rights advocates, who worry that without licensed abortion providers, women who become unexpectedly pregnant and desperate for help will wind up in places intent on deceiving them. Earlier this year, the Center for Countering Digital Hate, an internet watchdog group, released a report that found 1 in 10 Google searches for abortion services in states with trigger laws led people to the centers. Amanda Furdge says that happened to her while searching for information about Mississippi's only abortion clinic in 2014. Instead, she found a listing for what turned out to be a crisis pregnancy center in Jackson. I went for an appointment, and they kept me there all day, traumatized me. They gave me a pregnancy test and they told me, We are not going to be able to recommend any abortion services for you," she said. I was clear: I dont want to carry this pregnancy. I want to terminate it.' By the time she found the abortion clinic, she said she decided on her own she was too far along to have the procedure. She is now happily raising her 7-year-old son. In West Virginia, the Charleston abortion clinic has rows of hedges blocking view of the building next door to reduce confusion. In front a sign reads WARNING: The building behind this sign is an ANTI-CHOICE, ANTI-BIRTH CONTROL Crisis Pregnancy Center. It is not affiliated with the Women's Health Center." You shouldnt be able to pose as a medical facility and just straight up lie to patients, director Quinonez said. Kruesi reported from Nashville, Tennessee. Associated Press writer Emily Wagster Pettus contributed from Jackson, Mississippi. - For APs full coverage of the Supreme Court ruling on abortion, go to https://apnews.com/hub/abortion The Chesterfield Board of Supervisors unanimously appointed Tara Carroll to fill the Midlothian seat Wednesday night. Carroll, a longtime Chesterfield resident from a politically active family, was the former chair of the Chesterfield County Republican Committee from 2018 to 2020. This means Dale District Supervisor Jim Holland remains as the boards lone Democrat. Carroll will serve as the districts interim supervisor until the Nov. 8 special election. The winner will serve the remainder of Leslie Haleys term, which expires Dec. 31, 2023. After holding the position for almost seven years, Haley announced June 3 a career move to the Virginia attorney generals office as the deputy AG for government operations and transaction. She previously sought the Republican nomination in the AG race in 2021. Chris Winslow, Clover Hill District supervisor, said of the eight people who applied, six were qualified, per the eligibility requirements set by the board. The minimum prerequisites include residing in the Midlothian District; serving on other boards or commissions; identifying potential conflicts of economic interests; and not having a felony conviction. Wednesday nights vote was brief and occurred without any discussion on the decision-making process behind the supervisors selection. Virginia law allows public bodies to discuss, consider or interview potential candidates for appointments in a closed meeting. Carroll will be sworn in at 9 a.m. Thursday in the countys public meeting room at 10001 Iron Bridge Road. Charges stemming from the 2020 civil unrest were dismissed Thursday against two Richmond police officers after they participated in a restorative justice process that Commonwealths Attorney Colette McEachin said fostered collaborative, collective understanding on both sides. Officers Mark Janowski and Christopher Brown were accused of assaulting three young women, ages 17 to 19, with O.C. fogger, a chemical irritant, at about 3:45 a.m. on May 31, 2020. It was the second night of unrest following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. The three women were in a car stopped at a light on Belvidere Street yelling at the officers, who crossed two lanes of traffic and sprayed the irritant into the open window of the car hitting the victims in their faces, according to court documents. Henrico police seek driver who fled scene after cyclist ejected The car that fled was described as a possible 2010 maroon sedan with a dirty appearance. Only one of the three women participated in the restorative justice meetings with the officers and unidentified members of the community, according to McEachin. The other two were unavailable, she said, but wouldnt elaborate further. McEachin said a series of meetings were facilitated by the Virginia Center for Restorative Justice, but said they were confidential so she couldnt go into details about what was discussed, how many meetings occurred, or who attended them. What Im hoping this shows is that there can be conversations between community members and police in a neutral and safe place to build back that trust, McEachin said after Thursdays hearing. She heard directly from the officers information she didnt know before, and they heard directly from her. In court, McEachin said the young women apologized to the officers, and that she requested that their positions with the department be fully restored. But both officers remain on administrative leave, as they have since they were first charged in October 2020, according to RPD spokesperson Tracey Walker. An internal investigation, which examines whether an officer broke police procedure or policy, doesnt typically begin until after criminal charges are resolved. In this case, internal affairs detectives brought the incident to the attention of prosecutors while reviewing body-worn camera footage from the protests, but still Walker said Thursday the internal investigation will now begin. In April, Janowski filed a grievance against the city for imposing a one-day suspension and remedial training for violating the departments code of conduct and unsatisfactory performance on May 31, 2020, during the unrest, according to court records. It is unclear if this is related to this same incident or another; the department did not immediately respond to questions. Detective Janowski is relieved that these charges have been dismissed, his attorney, Peter B. Baruch, said in an email. Browns attorney did not respond to a request for comment. He is looking forward to returning to active duty to serve the City. Detective Janowski and his fellow officers were faced with unprecedented circumstances on May 30-31, 2020. After Thursdays hearing, McEachin said that Janowski and Brown also apologized. They also completed 100 hours of community service, she said. The hearing comes more than seven months after an agreement had been reached in the case, but details were not made public at the time. Because the charges were dismissed Thursday, the officers attorneys, Jacqueline M. Reiner, Edward K. Nickel and Baruch, asked that the documents be sealed and eligible for expungement. Richmond Circuit Court Judge Phillip L. Hairston granted the requests. If the case had gone to trial, prosecutors intended to argue that the officers acted outside of police training and violated the departments policy, which states that O.C. Fogger should not be directed at a persons face. It goes on to say that the chemical irritant can be very hazardous in confined areas and should only be considered as an option under the most extreme circumstances, after the officers have carefully considered all other options, including disengagement. The defense attorneys intended to argue that the officers actions were reasonably necessary to disperse and quell the riot, and thus immune from criminal prosecution, according to motions filed in the case and earlier arguments made. Prosecutors have said their actions exceeded both legal and administrative authority because the young women were neither rioting nor unlawfully assembled at the time. Although Virginias abortion laws have not changed, elected commonwealths attorneys in Richmond and Henrico County preemptively have pledged not to prosecute anyone who receives an abortion or provides a woman with the procedure in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Courts decision last week to overturn Roe v. Wade. Richmond Commonwealths Attorney Colette McEachin and Henrico Commonwealths Attorney Shannon Taylor have joined 88 elected chief prosecutors, district attorneys and state attorneys general from 28 states nine in Virginia who signed a pledge that promises not to use our offices resources to criminalize reproductive health decisions. Enforcing abortion bans runs counter to the obligations and interests we are sworn to uphold, according to the language of the pledge included in a three-page letter crafted by the organization Fair and Just Prosecution. Not all of us agree on a personal or moral level on the issue of abortion, said the prosecutors who jointly signed the pledge. But we stand together in our firm belief that prosecutors have a responsibility to refrain from using limited criminal legal system resources to criminalize personal medical decisions. The nonprofit group, which includes elected prosecutors from across the U.S., is committed to promoting a justice system grounded in fairness, equity, compassion, and fiscal responsibility and advocates for criminal justice reform, among other issues. The Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that had provided a constitutional right to abortion, is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half of states. Virginia has moderately permissive abortion laws that make the procedure legal until the beginning of the third trimester, or 26 weeks. Abortions can be legally obtained after that period if continuing the pregnancy is likely to result in the death of the woman or substantially and irremediably impair the mental or physical health of the woman. With the Roe ruling, Gov. Glenn Youngkin has outlined a plan to protect the life of unborn children with legislation that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks. Republican legislators have indicated their support for such a change in state law. Asked to elaborate on her position, McEachin, a Democrat elected as Richmonds chief prosecutor, said the letter disseminated by Fair and Justice Prosecution speaks for itself. But the bottom line is, I just cannot conceive of this office prosecuting a woman for making a decision about whether or not to bear a child, McEachin said in a phone interview. And I also cant see this office spending our scarce resources given the volume of violent crime and drug use in the city of Richmond on prosecuting a provider to a woman who is in that situation. Asked if her office would also decline to prosecute if she became aware of violations under Virginias existing abortion law, McEachin said, You can never say never about anything. Im old enough to know that. But having been a prosecutor in this office for 25 years, theres never been a case come through where someone said, Would you consider prosecuting this? Likewise, McEachin said shes not aware of anyone in the medical field urging the prosecution of physicians providing abortion. I dont believe anything like that has ever crossed any commonwealths attorneys desk in the city of Richmond in the past 25 years that Ive been here, she said. I just dont think its something that has ever come up. But I will say that it is not something that I think that the Commonwealth with scarce and confining financial resources should be focused on. Taylor, as Henricos chief prosecutor, said her job is to keep residents and their communities safe, and that abortion is not a public safety issue. A core principle of American jurisprudence and justice is prosecutorial discretion, Taylor, a Democrat, said in an email. Therefore, I will continue to focus my limited resources on making sure Henricoans are safe in their homes, in their schools, in their workplaces and everywhere else. State Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, who the governor selected along with state Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico, to assist in the drafting of new abortion legislation, was critical of those commonwealths attorneys who pledged not to prosecute. The law of Virginia is not optional and nearly every Commonwealths Attorney understands the basic rule of law, Newman said in an email. Each of Virginias elected prosecutors swear an oath of fidelity to the commonwealth, and the majority take their oath seriously, he said. A very few commonwealths attorneys have consistently been more interested in politics instead of the law, Newman added. They mistakenly believe they can pick and choose what laws they prosecute in their communities. Interestingly enough, its those communities where we are seeing the most dramatic spikes in crime. Newman said political prosecutors who do not keep their oath will have no effect on the legislation now being drafted. The draft bills likely will rely on the current enforcement process, which is the medical license of the person providing the abortion and the liability of the abortion facility. To my knowledge and in my lifetime, we have not seen a mother prosecuted under these same Code sections, Newman said. I dont see that changing in any new legislation. Dunnavant, the General Assemblys only physician, could not immediately be reached for comment. A spokesperson said she was seeing clients Thursday at her medical practice. There are 120 elected commonwealths attorneys in Virginia. In addition to McEachin and Taylor, the chief prosecutors for Loudoun County, Arlington County/Falls Church, Fairfax County, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Charlottesville and Alexandria have signed the no prosecution pledge. Asked whether there are hazards for prosecutors who publicly declare they wont support certain laws, Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor, said Virginias commonwealths attorneys are elected by the people and are supposed to exercise discretion in deciding what to prosecute. If they believe that anti-abortion or other laws are too strict, the prosecutors can exercise that discretion and not prosecute, Tobias said. If the public disagrees with this exercise of discretion, the public can elect someone else to that office. Following a speedy and unanimous vote Wednesday night, the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors on Thursday swore in Tara Carroll to represent Midlothian until the Nov. 8 special election. With the boards approval, Carroll will also join PlanRVA, which provides planning assistance to localities and is comprised of people from nine Richmond-area counties and towns. Previous Midlothian supervisor Leslie Haley stepped down in early June for a job in the Virginia Attorney Generals Office. It is a great honor and privilege to be appointed by the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors to serve the community I have called home since 1982 as their interim supervisor, Carroll said in a statement. As a parent in Midlothian, I am excited to work with the members of the board to continue to make our county the best place in the commonwealth to live, work and raise a family. Midlothians newest supervisor was the chair of Chesterfield Countys Republican Committee from 2018 to 2020 and is a member of the Young Republican Federation of Virginia and the Huguenot Republican Womens Club. The county Republican committee symbolically ousted state Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Midlothian, from the party in 2019 after Chase alleged that Sheriff Karl Leonard supported so-called sanctuary cities, or when a locality limits its cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Local police complying with requests from federal officers to detain undocumented immigrants is voluntary. In a letter to Chase on Sept. 27, 2019, as chair, Carroll wrote: We are disappointed that you have chosen not to take the required remedial actions outlined in our letter sent last Friday, Sept. 27, which notified you of the provisions of the Party Plan that trigger the automatic loss of your membership unless you disavowed the use of your name in support of, and ceased your in-kind contribution to, a candidate running against our Republican nominee for sheriff. Carroll has also served as a representative of the 7th Congressional District, which has been held by Democrat Rep. Abigail Spanberger since 2019, in the State Central Committee. On the committee, Carroll now represents Virginias 1st Congressional District, which is served by Republican Rep. Rob Wittman, whose redrawn district includes parts of Chesterfield and Henrico counties. During Wednesday nights public comment period, Chesterfield resident Mike Uzel pointed to what he called a lack of transparency from the board. Uzel cited how, in 2006, supervisors held a special meeting before appointing an interim seat where they listed the names of the applicants and gave each candidate an opportunity to share why they were seeking to be a representative. The names and qualifications of candidates are important to the public, Uzel said. And we have the right to know who youre considering. In a Thursday morning email to the board and county administrator Joe Casey after the swearing in ceremony, Uzel wrote that the only real candidate was the one the board members chose preselected by the board, and possibly by the outgoing Midlothian board member. Just as in national politics, until the Public gets outraged about what is happening, this will continue to happen, Uzel continued. In fact, it continues to get worse. Virginia law allows public bodies to discuss, consider or interview potential candidates for appointments in a closed meeting. The other four supervisors have not yet commented publicly on Carrolls appointment as of Thursday afternoon. Lakeisha Williams has two big reasons to celebrate the $165 billion state budget that takes effect on Friday. As a preschool teacher for Richmond Public Schools, Williams will get a 5% raise in the new fiscal year and the next one under the budget, which also increases pay for state employees and state-supported local employees by 10% over two years to attract and keep workers in a labor shortage. As the mother of four children at her home in South Richmond, she also expects to save on her income taxes through a budget provision that for the first time will allow Virginians who offset a portion of their state taxes with the federal Earned Income Tax Credit to receive a refund of the unused value of the credit. Every little bit counts, said Williams, who also runs a private tutoring business with members of her family for children in kindergarten through second grade. The refundable Earned Income Tax Credit represents a political breakthrough for Democrats as Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the first Republican to hold the office in eight years, celebrates the adoption of $4 billion in cuts to Virginia income and sales taxes in a budget flush with billions in new state revenues. On June 22, Youngkin signed the budgets for the fiscal year that ended on Thursday and the two-year cycle that begins on Friday. It really is a big and exciting win for the people of Virginia, said Ashley Kenneth, president of the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, which has been advocating for a refundable Earned Income Tax Credit for more than a decade as a way to help working parents of low to moderate means. Tax cuts Passage of the refundable credit was central to a budget tradeoff that enabled House Republicans to deliver a $1.6 billion tax cut by increasing the standard deduction for state income tax filers by almost 80%. The budget raises the deduction from $4,500 to $8,000 for individual taxpayers and from $9,000 to $16,000 for couples filing jointly. The higher standard deduction is expected to save $399 for a family of four earning between $50,000 and $100,000 a year. The increase is part of a larger tax package that includes one-time rebates of $250 for individual taxpayers and $500 for families to reflect a $2.6 billion surplus in the fiscal year than ended on June 30, 2021, as well as another big surplus expected in the fiscal year that ended on Thursday night. Taxpayers who filed their returns before July 1 will get their refunds no later than Oct. 17. Youngkin estimates that a family of four will save $209 a year from the elimination of the states 1.5% sales tax on groceries, even though the General Assembly preserved the 1% portion of the tax that goes directly to local governments to fund public services. Altogether, the new governor expects his tax package to save the typical Virginia family about $1,100 this year, not including an income tax exemption of up to $10,000 in military retirement income for veterans 55 and older. The exemption will grow to $20,000 next tax year, $30,000 in 2024 and $40,000 in 2025. We enacted historic tax cuts, eliminated the tax on the first $40,000 in military retirement pay, made record investments in education and public safety, we stood for greater accountability and transparency in government, Youngkin said Wednesday. And together, we are building an opportunity society, where Virginians can find the jobs they are looking for right here in the commonwealth. Democrats are quick to remind the governor that his Democratic predecessor, then-Gov. Ralph Northam, included a big chunk of the tax cuts and much of the new spending on public education, employee salaries and economic development in the two-year budget he proposed in December before leaving office a month later. The budget is largely Ralph Northams, said Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax, one of six delegates who helped to negotiate the final compromise on the spending plan with eight senators on the budget conference committee. K-12 education The budget includes $2.9 billion in new spending on K-12 education, including a big increase for school divisions with high numbers of at-risk students from low-income families, although the assembly substantially reduced what Northam had proposed. For the first time, 3-year-olds from at-risk households will be able to participate along with 4-year-olds in the Virginia Preschool Initiative. It also takes the first major step since the Great Recession to partially restore state funding for school support personnel counselors, social workers and others that local school divisions have been paying by themselves. The budget carves out a new state role for helping localities replace or repair outdated school buildings accounting for more than half of the public school buildings in Virginia by creating a school modernization fund for making grants or low-cost loans for local school divisions, while bolstering the ability of the state Literary Fund to help them with construction. The spending plan includes $100 million in seed money for lab schools. It also boosts funding for school resource officers, an issue Youngkin and some lawmakers emphasized after a gunman killed 19 schoolchildren and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, in May. I-64 gap The spending compromise also pledges $470 million in state funds to complete the widening of Interstate 64 between Richmond and Williamsburg, a top transportation priority for the Youngkin administration and New Kent County, through which most of the 29-mile stretch of unwidened interstate runs. The Central Virginia Transportation Authority confirmed on June 17 the same day that the assembly acted on the governors budget amendments to pledge up to $100 million in regional funds for the $750 million project, which also will rely on federal grants and help from the regional transportation compact in Hampton Roads. It means the world to me because it has been an ongoing fight for the widening, said New Kent County Supervisor Patricia Paige, who has been outspoken about the need for financial support from the nine localities in the regional authority for the Richmond area. Paige had just attended Thursdays groundbreaking for a $185 million auto parts distribution center that AutoZone is building in New Kent in an industrial park that depends on I-64 access. Youngkin spoke at the groundbreaking, touting our core infrastructure, like I-64, that were going to finish all the way to Richmond. State workers But the heart of the budget along with tax cuts is increased spending on compensation for public employees, as well as those who provide care for elderly, poor and disabled Virginians under the states Medicaid safety net. All of their employers are struggling to find and keep qualified workers despite a generational shift in the workforce because of the COVID-19 pandemic that began 28 months ago. Workers are hard to find, so public employers are competing with fast-food restaurants and convenience stores paying $15 an hour, as well as a gradual increase in the state minimum wage from $7.25 to $11 an hour, and $12 on Jan. 1. The market rate has been driven up beyond the minimum wage, said Tonya Milling, executive director of the Arc of Virginia, which represents families of people with disabilities who struggle to find people to care for their loved ones, even though Medicaid reimbursement rates for providers rose in the budget. Its almost as if $15 [an hour] is the de facto minimum wage. In addition to teachers, the new budget includes raises of 10% over two years for state employees, state-supported local employees, and employees and faculty at public higher education institutions. The first of those raises will come in Aug. 1 paychecks for the pay period that begins on July 10. Those employees also will receive a one-time, $1,000 bonus on Dec. 1. (Federal aid under the American Rescue Plan Act will pay for teacher bonuses.) The budget includes targeted pay increases as well as salary adjustments based on years of service for state police, sheriffs deputies, correctional and juvenile justice officers, regional jail officers, Capitol Police, magistrates, and clerks staff at circuit and district courts. Mental health Compensation also will play a major role in attempting to stabilize Virginias understaffed and overcrowded mental hospitals. The budget includes almost $55 million to raise pay for nurses, aides and other direct-care staff from the 10th to the 50th percentile, although the Senate had sought to raise it to the 75th percentile. This funding is a critical step towards making our state hospitals more competitive with other industries and the private sector, and importantly, making sure our state hospitals are staffed at a level that is safe for both patients and staff, said Lauren Cunningham, spokesperson at the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. The budget also includes funding for the final three steps of the STEP-VA program to provide equal access across Virginia to community-based behavioral health services, as well as money for a 12.5% increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates for home and community-based services and other initiatives. We believe these efforts will help our system provide better care and services for Virginians that hopefully create better outcomes, Cunningham said. The private providers who deliver the services feel very good about the budget actions, said Jennifer Fidura, executive director of the Virginia Network of Private Providers. But Fidura said she does not know whether money will be enough to solve the labor shortage that has made it hard for providers to find people for the jobs that are open. It will matter in the lives of people who are very vulnerable, she said. I just dont want to convey that this is going to solve the workforce crisis. It is just a different culture and a different time. Medicaid waivers The budget includes $377 million in additional spending on services for Virginians who are under Medicaid waivers that allow them to get care in their homes or other settings outside of institutions. Those services include group homes and day support programs for people with disabilities. Currently, about 14,000 Virginians are waiting for waiver slots, including about 3,000 in the highest-priority category. Northam had proposed funding for an additional 1,200 waiver slots, but the assembly cut that to 600 because the behavioral health agency had not used hundreds of slots approved last year because it wanted to review eligibility. The budget also includes about $86 million to give a 7% increase in reimbursement rates to pay for personal care attendants for the elderly and disabled. The increase was the third since the COVID-19 pandemic began for people on the front line of providing care, who also received two hazard pay bonuses. But advocates say the increase isnt enough for home care agencies and consumers who hire their own staff to keep up with the minimum wage and market wage rates that have made it harder to attract workers. Because of how bad the workforce crisis is, it isnt enough of an investment to make sure we can overcome where we are, said Milling at the Arc. Where we are, the reality is providers are closing because they dont have staff. Christina Nuckols, spokesperson for Virginias Medicaid agency, said Youngkin and the assembly recognize the critical role our health care providers play in ensuring access to high-quality health care for one in five Virginians. Adjustments in rates for dentists and a continuum of providers supporting Medicaid members with developmental disabilities will help to ensure that these essential services are available to Virginians and their families across the commonwealth, said Nuckols of the Department of Medical Assistance Services. For example, the budget includes almost $85 million to boost reimbursement rates by 30% for dentists who treat patients under Medicaid, which has provided dental benefits to children and pregnant women since 2006 and expanded to include adults last year. Currently, almost 2,000 dentists participate in Medicaid out of more than 6,000 dentists in the state, so with the higher reimbursement rate the attractiveness of the program has been raised, said Ryan Dunn, CEO of the Virginia Dental Association, which represents 4,000 dentists. It definitely is going to help. Sickles, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, said, It was our number one priority to get our reimbursements up. We compete for the same labor pool as the general economy. A new state budget with tax rebates of $250 per person and $500 per family gets much of the attention, but hundreds of other new state laws take effect Friday. Heres a look at some other new state laws of note: Animal cruelty: Animals ordinarily defined as companion animals such as the beagles at Envigo maintain that status and are covered by certain legal protections unless actively involved in bona fide medical or scientific experimentation. Arrest quotas: State and local law enforcement agencies may not establish formal or informal quotas requiring officers to make a specific number of arrests or issue a set number of summonses. Bicycles: People who ride bicycles, motorized skateboards or scooters two abreast must move into single file formation as soon as practicable when being overtaken from the rear by a faster-moving vehicle. Casinos: A new law creates a mixed-beverage license for alcoholic beverages to be consumed at casinos. Cocktails to go: Some licensees can continue to sell mixed beverages to be consumed off-premises. A new law extends the sunset on the provision from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2024. Commercial drivers licenses: New measures seek to streamline the process for people seeking such licenses by expanding the number of testing providers, removing wait time for retests, removing the $2 reexamination fee and making CDL road skills test certification valid for six months, up from 60 days. That is meant to give people more time to get the CDL at the Department of Motor Vehicles after they complete the knowledge and skills tests. Elections: Registrars must report absentee ballot totals by precinct. Evictions: An employer may not fire or take other punitive action against an employee who misses work for an eviction proceeding as long as the worker has given reasonable notice of the proceeding. Executive orders: An executive order a governor issues under emergency and disaster provisions is limited to 45 days unless legislators take action in the interim. The measure is a response to COVID-19 rules. Facial recognition technology: Local law enforcement, campus police and state police may use such technology for certain authorized uses. In 2021, Virginia lawmakers had barred local law enforcement from using facial recognition technology. Gaming: Gaming businesses may not use the phrase Virginia is for Bettors in advertisements. A violation is subject to a civil penalty of up to $50,000. Governors schools: A new law bars discrimination in the admissions process on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. Guardianship: A new law makes several changes to the provisions of adult guardianships and conservatorships. For example, a guardian ad litem appointed to represent someone in a guardianship proceeding must notify the court as soon as practicable if the respondent requests counsel. Hazing: Colleges must provide hazing prevention training. The measure is named Adams Law after Adam Oakes, a VCU freshman who died of alcohol poisoning after an off-campus fraternity event. Hunting: People will be allowed to hunt Sundays on public or private land as long as it is more than 200 yards from a place of worship. Insurance: Family leave insurance becomes a class of insurance, which means companies will have the option of offering insurance plans that cover family leave benefits. Medical cannabis: The law removes the Board of Pharmacy patient registration requirement for buying medical cannabis. Patients still must obtain written certification from a health care provider for medical cannabis. NIL: A new law sets parameters for how student-athletes are compensated and represented regarding the use of the students name, image or likeness. It bars schools from prohibiting a student-athlete from earning compensation for use of their name, image or likeness, except in certain circumstances. Parking: The driver of a non-electric car who parks in a space clearly reserved for charging electric vehicles is subject to a civil penalty of up to $25. Parole Board: Individual votes of members of the Parole Board are public records and subject to Virginias Freedom of Information Act. School offenses: Principals must report certain offenses that might be misdemeanors to law enforcement and must notify the parents of any minor student who is subject to such an act that it has been reported to law enforcement. Sexually explicit content: The Department of Education and local school boards must develop policies to ensure parental notification of instructional material with sexually explicit content. The Virginia State Police will increase patrols over the upcoming July 4th weekend. The increased presence will start on 12:01 Friday morning and continue until midnight Monday. The effort is in hopes of cutting down on last years statistics over July 4th that included 12 traffic deaths and the arrest of 61 drivers operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs. There were also 4,025 speeders and 1,434 reckless drivers as well as 510 citations for failing to wear a seat belt. Colonel Gary T. Settle, the superintendent of the Virginia State Police, is asking for increased driver safety. With fatal traffic crashes on pace this year to mimic last years record number, I urge all Virginians to buckle up, eliminate distractions and never drive buzzed, drunk or under the influence, he said. Together, we can make this Independence Day the safest on record! As online scams become more rampant within the country, scammers, too, are constantly updating their tactics to swindle unsuspecting victims. The most popular mode these days appears to the phishing scams by getting victims to install malicious apps from external sources. In a bid to raise public awareness, an app developer recently shared a demonstration of how dangerous it can be to download unverified apps outside of official sources such as the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, and Huawei AppGallery. Shared on his Facebook page, Tan Aik Keong who is also the founder of Agmo Studio, an enterprise mobility solution provider in Malaysia demonstrated how these phishing scams work, from the beginning and where users would fall victim. In his demonstration, these scams begin with an SMS from an unknown number, informing potential victims that they have won a prize. To claim the reward, the victim is asked to download a mobile app through a link provided within the message. As you may expect, the link is not from an official source, and instead will download an Android Package (APK) file. If you do end up installing this app, it will prompt you for permission to send and view your SMSes. Tan explained that this is a major red flag as allowing the app to do so enables the scammers to access transaction authorisation codes (TACs) which are usually sent to you via SMSes to validate sensitive transactions. Once you have provided permission, you will then be directed to a page that features the prize that you have allegedly won. But before you can claim it there is a catch! You may be required to first purchase an item (for instance, you may need to purchase a phone to get the prize). If you terminate the process at this point, then you are technically still safe. But if you do proceed with the purchase of the item, you will be led to a bogus website that mimics an actual banks site. As shown in Tans video, clicking on the payment button leads to a fake Maybank website, which looks remarkably similar to the real Maybank website. Upon keying in your username and password, Tan said an error message will usually pop out. For instance, you may be informed that the server is busy. At that point, you may think that your login is unsuccessful due to Internet connection or server issues, but in reality, this is all part of the scheme to capture your login details in the backend system. Now that the scammers already have your login details, all that is left is for them to log in to your bank account (through the real banks website, of course), and proceed to perform transactions. It is also possible for them to obtain the TAC required to approve these transactions as you have authorised the app to read your SMSes. As shown by Tan, it is quite easy for online scammers to trick us these days if we are not careful enough. Maybank, as well as other banks and governing bodies, have issued alerts to warn Malaysians of phishing scams that operate similarly. We have also reported similar phishing tactics that lure victims to download apps from unverified sources. If you ever receive any suspicious SMSes that sound too good to be true, it most likely is. Be sure to avoid clicking on links in these text messages, and you should also always avoid installing apps from unknown sources. You can watch the full demonstration here: (Source: Tan Aik Keong (Facebook)) 5 1 vote Article Rating SHARE Following local and national incidents of gun violence involving school children, the Roanoke Valleys two largest public school systems are using the summer break to focus on substantial security upgrades. Among a variety of safety proposals, both school systems are considering the addition of in-house security personnel such as school resources officers and spending the money from their budgets to do so. Roanoke citys school system is asking community members to comment on a series of proposals to enhance safety within its buildings. School board members will discuss implementing some of those measures later this month, with more than $660,000 already earmarked to fund them. Last week, the Roanoke County School Board passed a measure to provide $180,000 for additional student resource officers to watch over the countys elementary schools. The additional county funding would increase the number of deputies from two to eight to cover the school systems 16 elementary schools, according to a presentation by Superintendent Ken Nicely. In Roanoke city, where in recent months guns were found at two schools and a bullet pierced a school bus tire, hiring full-time resource officers for all schools is on the table. Roanoke School Board members extensively discussed that option in addition to a series of other safety measures during a retreat last month, including hiring more school administrative staff to address student behavior and well-being. County school board members endorsed hiring additional security officers, although Vinton District representative Tim Greenway said the school board ultimately wants an SRO in every school in the county, something he said is overdue. Lets be clear, we did ask for this funding four years ago, Greenway said. We didnt get the funding then, and were not going away this time. We want the funding to get this done for an SRO in every school. Its public safety, and it should be done. The countys police department currently provides six resource officers, one in each of the districts five high schools and one at a middle school, Roanoke County spokeswoman Amy Whittaker wrote in an email. Those at the high schools will also provide coverage for the middle schools. Ideally, they would have an SRO in every middle school as well but staffing shortages have prevented that, she wrote. Whittaker also stated the police department is assessing if additional SROs can be added for the upcoming school year. The Vinton Police Department also regularly patrols the RCPS schools located in the town, according to school officials. At the county Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, County Administrator Richard Caywood presented a plan which would aid the school system in funding the additional deputies slated to patrol the elementary schools. With the school board asking the county to reimburse the $180,000 as it considers the matter to be a public safety issue, Caywood said the county would supply the six vehicles for the additional SROs, while also exploring a grant opportunity from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. The VDCJS recently issued a supplemental grant application availability for school resource officers consistent with the recently approved Commonwealth budget, which provided substantial additional funding for SROs, Caywood told the supervisors. The application for the grant is due July 15, and staff will present a formal proposal to the board for that grant at its July 12 meeting. Caywood suggested the board hold off on any additional funding until the grant award recipients are announced. In Roanoke city, the school board approved a budget for the coming academic year that includes substantial new funding for school security. How to apportion the money is a question thats being initially posed to the public. Currently, a letter from Superintendent Verletta White addressing school security is front and center on the systems website. Her message details a list of recommendations made to the school board. In addition to adding school security personnel and behavioral specialists, the list includes measures such as adding a 24-hour tip line and requiring ID lanyard badges for students. Also listed are changes such as more security cameras, metal detection at school entries, ready access to panic alarms, clear bag requirements for students, increased use of search dogs, structural changes to doors and classrooms and more emphasis on using community mental health resources. White told school board members at a meeting on Tuesday that a request for comment on the proposals has already generated public responses indicating strong feelings in favor and against the proposals. The questionnaire will be active on the city schools website www.rcps.info until Tuesday, White said, and a discussion on school security is scheduled for the school boards meeting on July 12 with decisions on how to apportion resources for safety enhancements to follow. Roanoke citys school administration is also seeking board approval to devote time and resources in an active advocacy campaign for legislative changes toward increasing accountability of parents or guardians whose children are involved in school security crises. Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly 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. You are here: World Flash Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday addressed a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit via a video link, urging more defense and financial assistance for Ukraine, the presidential press service reported. In his speech, Zelensky said that Ukraine needs modern missile and air defense systems to protect its cities, and artillery to stand against Russia on the battlefields. Financial support for Ukraine is no less important than aid with weapons, Zelensky said, noting that his country needs nearly 5 billion U.S. dollars per month for defense and protection. The Ukrainian leader also called on the NATO member states to continue sanctions against Russia and provide Ukraine with security guarantees. "We need security guarantees, and you have to find a place for Ukraine in the common security space," Zelensky stressed. The three-day NATO summit kicked off in Madrid of Spain on June 28. A $2.2 million repair job is underway to reopen a damaged section of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Roanoke in October. A heavy equipment operator on Wednesday scooped out dirt and rock where 150 feet of road gave way in a 2020 landslide, leading to an immediate suspension of vehicular traffic. Stacked nearby were metal cages and rolls of sturdy plastic netting to hold in place new gravel on which new pavement will go. After the rebuilding of the failed section, complete with grass, the parkway will reopen between U.S. 220 in Clearbrook and the Adney Gap entrance in Bent Mountain, parkway officials said. Gates have closed the roughly 15-mile segment to traffic for about 25 months. It includes an overlook of the Roanoke Valley. Two fall color seasons have come and gone with motorists required to detour around the area. The stretch of road, in place since before 1967, failed because of groundwater action, an official said. Bryants Land and Development Industries Inc. of Burnsville, North Carolina, is the contractor. Roanoke experienced its rainiest year on record in 2020, with 62.65 inches total, including more than 9 inches in a five-day stretch in May that year, when the landslide occurred. Meanwhile, motorists will regain access any day to another, long-closed section of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Roanoke the stretch with the spectacular bridge over the Roanoke River near Explore Park. That reopening could happen this week, a spokeswoman said. Officials closed that section in May 2021 to repaint the horizontal metal beams of the bridge. Thats done and the bridge also has new pavement. 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. Gov. Glenn Youngkin demanded the board overseeing Virginias community colleges welcome his administration into the search for a new leader or resign Thursday, leading the board to relent and drawing accusations from Democrats that hes bypassing the states layered governance structure. For the past three months, Youngkin has tried to inject his presence into the hiring of a new chancellor to lead the states 23 community colleges. Current chancellor Glenn DuBois is retiring Thursday. In a letter sent two weeks ago, Youngkin told the 15 members of the Virginia Community College System board to work with the administration or else. If for any reason you feel like you cannot commit to this mission, I will accept your resignation by June 30 with gratitude for your service, Youngkin wrote. Thursday is the end of the states fiscal year. Youngkins message apparently hit its mark. On Wednesday, the board said it will welcome a representative of the administration as a nonvoting member of the search committee. Youngkin said in a brief telephone interview that he holds high expectations for the 23 colleges possibly higher than the boards own expectations and that he wants its members to share his vision for improving academic and workforce opportunities. If members of the board are eager to lead and serve with that vision, then great, Youngkin said. And if folks arent excited about that, nows a great time for them to step down. But Democrats in the state legislature said the governor is attempting to short-circuit the organizational chart of higher education. The governor nominates board members each year, and the boards oversee the community college system and four-year colleges. This is not how we run schools in Virginia. This isnt Carlyle, said Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, referring to the private equity firm where Youngkin was co-CEO before winning public office. This isnt a corporate takeover. The governor doesnt run schools. The boards do. Youngkin first voiced concern with the states community colleges in March, pointing out their significant decline in enrollment and the jobs that have been unfilled since the economy began its recovery. One candidate for the job was Anne Holton, a former Virginia first lady, secretary of education and interim president at George Mason University who removed her name from consideration. Youngkin asked the board to restart its hiring process and appoint an interim chancellor. In an act of defiance, the board continued its search and two weeks later named a Michigan community college president, Russell A. Kavalhuna, as the new chancellor. But Kavalhuna never took the job. Last month, he began negotiating with his school to remain in Michigan, and he declined to say why. The Virginia community college board named an interim chancellor, Sharon Morrissey. When Kavalhuna met the governor, Youngkin voiced disappointment with how the would-be chancellor was selected, saying the two had a lot of ground to cover and werent starting in a good place. Youngkin said he never asked Kavalhuna not to accept the job. But Youngkin is glad the search team has a clean slate. I think this is a great chance for us, given that he has chosen not to come, to restart a search and find somebody who can lead community colleges consistent with the vision I outlined, Youngkin said. The development was a victory for Youngkin, who had successfully intervened in the hiring of a new chancellor. Now, hes renewing his request to help find a permanent one. While I know that the final decision rests with the VCCS board, our team is excited and eager to work with you to find this exceptional leader as soon as possible, Youngkin wrote. The governor already laid the groundwork to fire the current board. In March, he said the boards decision to exclude the administration from the search process demonstrates misfeasance, an offense a governor can use to fire a board member. Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, a former community college administrator, said it would be an unprecedented decision never has a Virginia governor forced the hiring of a college president or chancellor. Democrats asked for clarification on Youngkins plans for Thursday and whether he will fire them if they dont capitulate. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the board said it would allow a Youngkin representative on the search team. We are committed to working with the governor and his team on the search for the new chancellor who will lead Virginias community colleges in the coming years, and we will work to ensure that our programs remain affordable to all Virginians, said Douglas Garcia, incoming chair of the board and head of the search committee. Of the 15 board members, three will leave as early as Thursday because their terms are up Nathaniel Bishop, Adnan Bokhari and Eleanor Saslaw. Others have terms that are ending but can be renewed. Should the governor fire the board and appoint new members, Democrats in the Senate could refuse to confirm his appointees, said Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria. Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, a high school teacher, said Youngkin is needlessly forcing a political agenda into higher education. At the end of the day, hell insert culture-war politics in our community college system like hes done with K-12, VanValkenburg said. Democrats in the legislature acknowledged that the states community college system needs help. Enrollment is down by a quarter in the past 10 years, and some schools have seen their number of students chopped in half. But the woes arent limited to Virginia theyre being felt across the country, where total college enrollment is down. Community colleges are working to fix themselves and to train future employees, Hashmi said. Last year, then-Gov. Ralph Northam signed into law the G3 program Get skilled, get a job, get ahead which pays a students entire tuition and fees if he or she comes from a low- or middle-income family and is enrolled in a high-demand field such as nursing or information technology. Though the numbers are small, programs that cater to G3 students are growing. Democrats agree change is needed, and thats why G3 was implemented, VanValkenburg said. Virginia community college board names new chancellor, defying Youngkin's call to restart hiring process The State Board for Community Colleges named a new leader on Thursday, defying Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who one day earlier called for the board to restart the hiring process and appoint an interim chancellor. Youngkin concerned about Virginia Community College System's search for new leader The Virginia Community College System is hiring a new chancellor. Gov. Youngkin says his office has been excluded from the search. CALmatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters. Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. FLORENCE, S.C. First Bank Foundation donated a total of $26,250 to Pee Dee communities in June. John Long, executive vice president of First Bank, said the bank is proud to give back to the Pee Dee. For over 20 years, the First Bank Foundation has given back to the communities we serve, Long said. The money we are able to donate to these charities to support their missions, is a direct reflection of the increased value of our stock. Thank you to our loyal customers who have supported us over the years which has allowed us to give back and support these programs that make such a huge impact locally. It is truly an honor to be able to do so. First Bank is proud to be a local community bank that gives back to the communities they serve, he said. The nonprofit groups that received donations include Mcarn Community Ministry, Cheraw Rescue Squad, Chesterfield Fire Department, Girl Scout Council of the Pee Dee Area, Northeastern Technical College, Pee Dee Area Against Domestic & Sexual Assault, St Davids Cemetery Association, Wallace Rescue Squad, Town of Cheraw Jazz Fest, Pathfinders United, Pee Dee Land Trust, United Way of Chesterfield County, Brocks Mill Fire Department, Patrick Fire Department, Cash Fire Department, Chesterfield Animal Shelter, Florence County Disabilities Foundation, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Greater Florence Habitat for Humanity, United Way of Florence County, House of Hope, Boys and Girls Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, SNAC, Lighthouse Ministries, All 4 Autism, Help 4 Kids, Mercy Medicine Clinic, Junior League of Florence, Care House of the Pee Dee, Tenacious Grace, Miracle League, Florence Humane Society, Lydias Nest and the Senior Citizens Association. First Bank is headquartered in Southern Pines, North Carolina, and has $10.7 billion in assets with 108 branch locations in North Carolina and South Carolina. First Bank serves the South Carolina market with branches in Cheraw, Florence, Dillon and Latta. DARLINGTON, S.C. Just over an hour into Thursdays blood drive at Darlington Raceway there was the possibility of collecting 20 pints two walk-in donations and 18 scheduled appointments. Jordan Taylor, account representative for the Red Cross, said the pace needed to pick up for the organization to meet its goal. The Red Cross came prepared for a crowd with its bus outside the Jim Hunter Media Center and four beds set up inside the media center. We do need more. This is not above average, this is below average, Taylor said. The tracks annual blood drive has a history of great turnout, she said as she worked to check in donors. Each summer school is out and there are people during the holidays who go on vacation and with the pandemic changes there has been a higher need (for blood) this year, she said. And historically, while the blood supply drops in the summer the need for blood increases with people out more for vacations. Donors at Darlington have an extra incentive to donate. The VIP Experience at the Cookout Southern 500, Taylor said. One donor will receive that. We also have vouchers for three free laps on Aug. 6. Every donor gets that, Taylor said. She was referring to the tracks charity laps program. Also get Red Cross tote bag. The reason we put incentives on drives is so people have a reason to come out and donate other than to save a life. It does bring people in, Taylor said. Taylor said that while the need for blood is high this time of the year, the organization was especially eager to get Type O donors. O negative is the most common blood type used for transfusions when the blood type is unknown. This is why it is used most often in cases of trauma, emergency, surgery and any situation where blood type is unknown. O negative is the universal blood type, according to the Red Cross blood donation website. Type O positive blood is given to patients more than any other blood type, which is why its considered the most needed blood type, according to the site. Thirty-eight percent of the population has O positive blood, making it the most common blood type. LAKE CITY, S.C. Roger Kirby narrowly beat Cezar McKnight in Tuesdays House of Representatives District 101 runoff election. Unofficial results had Kirby winning with 2,463 votes, or 50.37 percent, and McKnight had 2,427 votes, or 49.63 percent. Kirby said it was a little nerve-wracking as the lead kept switching all night long. He watched the results from the Green Frog Social House in downtown Lake City. It was a nail biter for sure going back and forth all night, he said. We were real excited when we got the final number. According to Chris Whitmire, the public information officer for the South Carolina Election Commission, a recount was necessary because the unofficial results showed the difference between the two candidates as being less than one percent. The State Elections Commission will meet at 3 p.m. Friday to certify the statewide results including House of Representative District 101 race. If the results are still less than one percent, the Election Commission will tentatively plan to order a recount to begin at 3:15 p.m. Friday This recount will be conducted by the county boards in Florence, Berkeley and Williamsburg. When they are done recounting the ballots, their boards will certify the votes in their counties and transmit the results to the State Elections Board. The board will reconvene to certify the results of the recount sometime Friday. Kirby said he spread his message of unity and moving forward, and it resonated well with the people. I am so appreciative of all the hard work that went into this win, Kirby said. He said this new district is very large geographically, and he wants to begin right away meeting with the leaders of Williamsburg, Berkeley and Florence counties where he will represent the people of District 101. I want to find out what their visions and goals are, he said. I hope to start on that in the next couple of weeks. I want thank the people for their support and look forward to moving House District 101 forward together, he said. 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 plane drops fire retardant on a brush and grass fire that burned close to a home and burned almost 100 acres north of Geronimo on Thursday, June 30, 2022 near Branch Road in Guadalupe County. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Many Alabamians have been waiting to get the COVID vaccine until one is approved by U.S. regulators. Pfizer won approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday. Does that change your mind on getting the vaccine? You voted: R Kelly given 30-year federal prison sentence for multiple racketeering and sex trafficking offenses | Main | Lots and lots of note in big SCOTUS order list at close of Term for the ages June 30, 2022 Reviewing and reflecting on what criminalization of abortion could and will mean In this recent post, I flagged some news articles discussing how the overruling of Roe allowing for the broad criminalization of abortion has brought attention to whether, when and how prosecutors might charge persons for abortion-related activities. I have now seen a few more recent pieces exploring more broadly what abortion criminalization could and will mean: From the Atlantic, "Roe Is the New Prohibition: The pro-life movement needs to know that such culture wars result not in outright victory for one side but in reaction and compromise." From the New York Times, "In States Banning Abortion, a Growing Rift Over Enforcement: A reluctance by some liberal district attorneys to bring criminal charges against abortion providers is already complicating the legal landscape in some states." From the New York Times, "When Brazil Banned Abortion Pills, Women Turned to Drug Traffickers: With Roe v. Wade overturned, states banning abortion are looking to prevent the distribution of abortion medication. Brazil shows the possible consequences." From Salon, "The right's war on abortion will become the new War on Drugs: The drug war has been a colossal, expensive disaster. Now the right can build a police state to pursue a new enemy" From the Texas Tribune, "Abortion funds languish in legal turmoil, their leaders fearing jail time if they help Texans: Its unclear whether Texas tangled web of abortion laws would make it a crime to pay for a Texan to leave the state to get an abortion, but the threat has compelled the funds to cease services." A few prior related posts: June 30, 2022 at 10:05 AM | Permalink Comments Nothing but speculation and fear-mongering by people who don't like the decision and who want to whip up the next Nicholas Roske. Posted by: Bill Otis | Jun 30, 2022 10:56:34 AM Mr. Otis, you are whistling past the graveyard. Posted by: anon1 | Jun 30, 2022 1:05:02 PM Bill, why you think it "speculation and fear-mongering" to expect that laws criminalizing abortion will be applied to all sorts of abortion-related activities? Are you predicting --- or even hoping --- police and prosecutors will routinely refuse to enforce these laws? Or are you predicting than nobody in the criminalized jurisdictions will be involved in any abortion-related activities? I do expect all sorts of unexpected developments in the application of all the new (and old) laws criminalizing abortion (as we have seen with the war on drugs). But I do not think it either speculation or fear-mongering to expect that laws criminalizing abortion will be applied to all sorts of abortion-related activities. Can you explain what you mean? Posted by: Doug B. | Jun 30, 2022 1:29:07 PM anon1 -- "Mr. Otis, you are whistling past the graveyard." Well at least Justice Kavanaugh isn't in the graveyard, yet, despite the hopes of your ally Mr. Roske. Will another attempt be in the offing? Posted by: Bill Otis | Jun 30, 2022 1:44:09 PM Doug -- "Are you predicting --- or even hoping --- police and prosecutors will routinely refuse to enforce these laws?" I'm predicting that, to paraphrase one of your banshee commenters, that if an 11 year-old gets pregnant by being raped by her uncle, no one anywhere will think of charging her with any crime, nor the doctor who performs the abortion. I'm also predicting that if a 30 year-old has a partial birth abortion to sell the body parts for a pretty penny, she'll get prosecuted to the hilt, as in any sane world she should be, along with her disgusting doctor. In other words, I'm predicting that the circumstances of the case will heavily influence the prosecutor's use of discretion, which has been true ever since there have been prosecutors and has zip to do with this particular area of law. "I do expect all sorts of unexpected developments in the application of all the new (and old) laws criminalizing abortion (as we have seen with the war on drugs)." We all have our expectations, don't we? My own preference is to wait for specific laws and specific cases, if and when they show up. A lot of this in terrorum stuff is going to just peter out. But it makes good PR, and is certainly better for the losing side in Dobbs to hype rather than talking about the lovely Mr. Roske. Posted by: Bill Otis | Jun 30, 2022 1:59:34 PM Bill, 99.99% of abortion-related activities take place between the extremes you describe. To focus this inquiry, do you expect we will see prosecution in 2% of all cases? 10% 50%? 80%? If you expect or want only the "worst" 2% of illegal abortion related activity to be prosecuted, then I can see where concerns about the criminalization of abortion may seem overstated. But if one expected even just 50% of abortion related activity to be prosecuted, it strikes me as quite reasonable to be concerned about just what criminalization in this area could me. Posted by: Doug B. | Jun 30, 2022 2:11:38 PM Doug -- I have no earthly clue. With murder up over the country and fentanyl being a big part of our record 100,000+ overdose deaths, those things have to be the priorities. My pure guess is that you'll see abortion-related prosecutions where normal people would regard the particular case as disgusting (organ harvesting, very late term, sex selection, Down's Syndrome, retaliation at the man, etc.) and seldom in other cases. But it's useless to guess; we'll have to see what comes in the door. Posted by: Bill Otis | Jun 30, 2022 4:53:46 PM I think both sides, the pro-choice and pro-life folks on these threads are avoiding focusing on the real questions. For the pro-choice side, the reality is that very few abortion cases will be filed. The laws effect will be to stop most surgical abortions in red states from happening. No abortion clinic is going to remain open (most have already shut down) in states with a strict anti-abortion law. There may still be some secret back-room abortions from doctors who do not publicly acknowledge that they perform abortions but most will have a colorable claim of medical necessity. Most abortions in red states will be medical abortions involving the mailing of the relevant pills in brown packages that do not indicate their content. From the pro-life side, we are already seeing Republican politicians trying to minimize what conduct is actually criminalized by the laws now in effect. The plain language of these bills (and thus their proper interpretation) go well beyond what these politicians believe that their voters will tolerate if strictly enforced so they are trying to pretend that these laws are much narrower than they really are. Yes, I doubt that most prosecutors are going to vigorously investigate and pursue women trying to get medical abortions. The probable cause standard for getting a search warrant to intercept a package is simply too high to meet in most cases. But there will be some that will try. But the reality of prosecutions matter less than the sword hanging over people's head. The threat that a person could be prosecuted is enough. Posted by: tmm | Jun 30, 2022 5:13:19 PM tmm -- I recall that you were a prosecutor at one time, so this will not come as news to you. The prosecutor has the luxury of simply walking away from a possible case if it doesn't feel right. Almost no one criticizes you for "excess leniency" (unless you're Boudin or Gascon or Krasner, or a true ideological flamer in that mold). So you take the temperature around the office and measure what your senior colleagues think. This tends to bring your prosecutions toward the center of community thinking, which is where they should be. Posted by: Bill Otis | Jun 30, 2022 5:28:07 PM tmm's point that the threat of prosecution matters -- a lot -- is why it is not "useless to guess" about prosecutorial policies and plans. Just as I think it valuable for voters and other community members to hear about prosecutorial policies and plans in prosecuting the drug war and elsewhere, it is important for voters and other community members to hear about prosecutorial policies and plans in prosecuting abortion-related activities. This is not about "fear mongering" but also trying to come to terms a post-Roe world in which abortion is criminalized (though, notably, not actually treated like murder). Posted by: Doug B. | Jun 30, 2022 5:39:10 PM Yes, Bill. But criminal law serves two functions -- punishing those who commit crimes and deterring people from committing crimes. With the new abortion statutes, the big impact is not who gets prosecuted or how often but the deterrent effect. How many medical professionals are going to be willing to risk their licenses and face significant prison time even if the risk of prosecution is slim? I live in one of those states with a pretty strict anti-abortion law, and I can tell you that the local hospitals are desperately trying to figure out what is covered by the new laws because they don't want even the slightest risk of criminal charges even if I doubt that any of the offices, including my own, with the authority to file charges are likely to pursue that many cases under the law. Posted by: tmm | Jun 30, 2022 5:41:22 PM Doug and tmm -- It's actually easy to avoid problems with the law, as all three of us have done our whole lives: Don't get close to the line. If something is even questionable, stand down. And there's little to no health risk to this commonsense strategy. Abortion will remain very widely legally available, through pills and travel to the two or three dozen permissive states. So if I'm the general counsel of a hospital, I'm going to have a memo out tomorrow saying A, B, and C are still OK; X,Y, and Z are out; L,M, and N are dicey, so don't do them and refer the patient out of state until we have some cases and I'll be able to tell you more. What people are forgetting is that mid- to late-term abortions have been illegal for years under the pre-Dobbs regime. It's not like there were no prohibitions. There were lots of prohibitions. People adapted to them then and they will adapt to more numerous prohibitions now. Learning new law is a task but not a crisis. We all do it and have been doing it for a very long time. Posted by: Bill Otis | Jun 30, 2022 8:46:23 PM Bill, in Ohio it is now a felony for a person to "knowingly and purposefully perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman before determining ... whether the unborn human individual the pregnant woman is carrying has a detectable heartbeat." Can you advise me as to whether I can lawfully help a woman in Ohio who thinks she might be pregnant obtain abortion pills? Could I lawfully have a supply of these pills in my office to make them available to any of my students who would like to have them? Posted by: Doug B. | Jun 30, 2022 9:16:49 PM Doug -- "Bill, in Ohio it is now a felony for a person to "knowingly and purposefully perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman before determining ... whether the unborn human individual the pregnant woman is carrying has a detectable heartbeat." Can you advise me as to whether I can lawfully help a woman in Ohio who thinks she might be pregnant obtain abortion pills?" No I couldn't advise you, since I'm not licensed to practice law in Ohio. If I were licensed, I'd tell you to talk to someone with experience in that area, just as if you wanted to write a will or set up a trust, I'd tell you to talk to a specialist, not to me. But if hypothetically I were to advise you, I'd tell you to tell the woman that what she needs to do is find out if the fetus has a detectable heartbeat. That is ALL the law you quote requires. So far as I can see in the part you provide, it does not criminalize the woman or someone helping her obtaining an abortion. It only criminalizes that behavior if she has not first determined whether there is a heartbeat. "Could I lawfully have a supply of these pills in my office to make them available to any of my students who would like to have them?" I wouldn't if I were you, since you could be liable to the charge of practicing medicine without a license -- a charge that would just as available the day before Dobbs as the day after. P.S. I tend to become friendly with my students, but none of them has sought to discuss pregnancy with me. Substantive due process, yes. Pregnancy, no. Posted by: Bill Otis | Jun 30, 2022 9:38:22 PM For the sake of convenience, Bill, I left out the details of how Ohio calls for determining a heartbeat because the crux of my hypo was meant to turn on the fact the woman was not sure she was pregnant. And, under Ohio law, a person acts knowingly when behavior "will PROBABLY be of a certain nature." I am wondering if Ohio law gives women incentives to seek abortion pills before confirming that they are actually pregnant and whether doctors, other medical professionals and folks eager to support women seeking to avoid pregnancy would likewise now be on legally sound ground if they helped women obtain abortion pills before they know whether they are pregnant. You are right that I should not be giving out prescription medications without a license, but the article above discussing Brazil's flags the possibility of an illicit market in abortion drugs emerging. And while these issues may seem just matters for hypothetical debate, they are already real issues for many in the dozen+ states with early abortion bans. With criminalization already an on-the-ground reality, I do not think it mere speculation and fear mongering for folks to try to start working through the array of legal, policy and practical issues even before there are arrests and prosecutions. Posted by: Doug B. | Jun 30, 2022 11:17:50 PM Bill, in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, this might not seem like a big deal to figure out what is legal, but some of the state laws in red stated go very, very far. In my state, the definition of abortion includes medical abortions. So the big issue for hospitals and doctors is what pills constitute an abortion. Yes. doctors can take a broad view of what the law prohibits and avoid being prosecuted -- which is why I do not anticipate much in the way of prosecution. But for the patients, what they used to be able to get as far as birth control and "morning after" pills is now in question. For now, even Republican prosecutors are saying that they will take a narrow view of that provision, but that is just a discretionary call by prosecutors that could change at any time. I think we will get lots of referrals to out-of-state doctors, but what happens when pharmacies from other states start sending pills through the mail. Is the doctor who did the referral guilty as an accomplice? In border areas, doctors might just move their office across state lines and have the patients come to the doctor's ofice to take their pills, but in the center part of the state, how much doctors are willing to go into the grey area will determine what health care is available to women. Which is why my position is that it's not the prosecutions that matter, it is what the laws prohibit. And in some states, what the laws prohibit is quite a lot more than you might think that they do. Posted by: tmm | Jul 1, 2022 9:46:15 AM tmm -- "But for the patients, what they used to be able to get as far as birth control and 'morning after' pills is now in question." I am forced to confess that at my age, pregnancy is not something that crosses my mind a lot. Indeed, there are those who say that nothing does either. Posted by: Bill Otis | Jul 1, 2022 11:46:17 PM Post a comment Flash Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte agreed on Wednesday to further promote bilateral relations and advance cooperation between their two countries in various fields. At a meeting with the outgoing Philippine president, Wang said under the guidance of the two countries' leaders, the relations between China and the Philippines have achieved a complete turnaround over the past six years. The two sides have redefined their relationship as comprehensive strategic cooperation, enhanced good-neighborly friendship and cooperation, properly managed differences, and jointly worked for common development, which have ushered in a new era for furthering cooperation in various fields, Wang said. Noting that both sides have dovetailed the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with the Philippines' "Build, Build, Build" infrastructure development program, he said bilateral trade has doubled and China has also quadrupled its investment in the Philippines during the past six years. The two countries have been supporting each other to tide over difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic, Wang said. By taking into consideration the overall situation of maintaining regional stability, he said both sides have sticked to dialogue and consultation to properly manage maritime disputes so that the China-Philippine ties are moving forward in the right direction. The two sides have maintained sound communication and coordination on multilateral international affairs, and worked together to safeguard genuine multilateralism and the interests of developing countries, he said. Wang hoped that President Duterte will continue to support the development of China-Philippine ties and play an important role in carrying forward the China-Philippine friendship. Under the guidance of the leaders of the two countries, Duterte said, the Philippine-China relations have been further consolidated, with fruitful results achieved in various areas of cooperation. He expressed appreciation to Chinese leaders and the Chinese government for their sincere help to the Philippine government and people, noting that he is ready to continue to make his contributions to the Philippine-China friendship and cooperation. On the same day, Wang also met with Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, who was sworn into office on June 19. He said that over the past six years, the two countries, focusing on development and people's livelihood, have carried out numerous beneficial cooperation projects, including the construction of the Davao City-Samal Island connector bridge, and have seen fruitful results. China is willing to work with the Philippines to further cultivate and expand new areas of cooperation on people's livelihood, and deepen cooperation on education to help the Philippines better enhance its talent competitiveness, he added. China, Wang said, will also continue to promote sub-national cooperation between the two countries to foster people-to-people ties and consolidate the foundation of public support for the China-Philippine friendship. For her part, Duterte-Carpio said the new Philippine government will adhere to the foreign policy of good-neighborliness and friendship with China, and looks forward to deepening cooperation with China in various fields, drawing on China's successful experience to boost the socio-economic development of the Philippines, and pushing the relationship between the Philippines and China to a higher level. As Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative, Wang will attend the Philippine presidential inauguration of Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos on Thursday. Lots and lots of note in big SCOTUS order list at close of Term for the ages | Main | Two different criminal justice reforms now effective in two southern states June 30, 2022 US Supreme Court officially swaps one former US Sentencing Commissioner for another There is, of course, much more to say about today's historic transition in Supreme Court personnel than what I have flagged in my post title. But, as one ever keen to keep a focus on sentencing issues, I kind of like my framing of this afternoon's SCOTUS news: Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn as an associate justice of the Supreme Court on Thursday, officially taking her place in history as the first Black woman to serve on the nation's highest court. "We're here today to administer the oaths of office to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to become an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States," Chief Justice John Roberts said at the start of the ceremony, acknowledging the oaths will allow Jackson to begin her work "without any further delay." In a brief ceremony at the Supreme Court that was broadcast live, Jackson first took the constitutional oath, administered by Roberts, followed by the judicial oath, administered by now-retired Justice Stephen Breyer. Breyer's retirement from the high court was made official at noon on Thursday, paving the way for Jackson, his former clerk, to fill his seat. "On behalf of all of the members of the court, I am pleased to welcome Justice Jackson to the court and to our common calling," Roberts said, as applause broke out. Jackson took the oaths with her hand on two Bibles held by her husband, Patrick: a family Bible, and the "Harlan" Bible, which Justice John Marshall Harlan donated to the court in 1906. In attendance for the swearing in were most of Jackson's new colleagues: Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, as well as former Justice Anthony Kennedy. In a statement distributed by the court, Jackson, 51, thanked Roberts and Breyer, calling him a "personal friend and mentor" for 20 years. She said she is "well-positioned to serve the American people." "With a full heart, I accept the solemn responsibility of supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States and administering justice without fear or favor, so help me God," she said. "I am truly grateful to be part of the promise of our great nation. I extend my sincerest thanks to all of my new colleagues for their warm and gracious welcome." Breyer extended congratulations to the newest justice. "I am glad today for Ketanji. Her hard work, integrity, and intelligence have earned her a place on this court. I am glad for my fellow justices. They gain a colleague who is empathetic, thoughtful, and collegial. I am glad for America," he said in a statement. "Ketanji will interpret the law wisely and fairly, helping that law to work better for the American people, whom it serves." June 30, 2022 at 01:16 PM | Permalink Comments I'm sorry to see Breyer go. Good guy, modest, friendly, never pulled rank, has a wicked sense of humor. But I have to note that, with his departure, the Court has now lost its last member who thought, and was willing to say publicly, that the DP is impermissible in all circumstances. I suspect Jackson and Sotomayor think pretty much the same thing, but have never said so that I know about. Posted by: Bill Otis | Jun 30, 2022 1:39:01 PM Breyer did affirmative harm to criminal defendants and KBJ did mostly nothing to help. Institutionalists. Posted by: whatever | Jul 1, 2022 11:23:43 AM Bill, And Breyer knows what a woman is, so there is that. Posted by: TarlsQtr | Jul 1, 2022 2:46:32 PM TarlsQtr -- Since Dobbs came down, EVERYBODY seems to know what a woman is. Posted by: Bill Otis | Jul 1, 2022 5:49:19 PM And Breyer knows what a woman is, so there is that. Posted by: Costumes | Jul 2, 2022 8:43:55 AM Post a comment Singapore football great Fandi Ahmad. (FILE PHOTO: Yahoo News Singapore) SINGAPORE A month after he celebrated his 60th birthday, Fandi Ahmad has stepped down from his role as Football Association of Singapore's (FAS) head of elite youth upon completion of his contract on Thursday (30 June). The Singapore football great said in a media release that his departure from FAS was mutually agreed upon, as he had expressed his intention to spend more time with his family. "Having turned 60 recently, I feel it is an opportune time for me to spend more time with my family and explore other challenges," he said in the media release. "I am grateful that FAS has respected my decision. I will be leaving the organisation with a heavy heart, as I have made countless good memories and forged friendships with many colleagues here. Coaching tenure with Young Lions, LionsXII, senior team Fandi's stepping down thus ends a long coaching tenure at FAS over two spells. He took charge of the Young Lions for two seasons of the then S-League in 2005 and 2006, guiding the Under-23 side to their best-ever finish of third place in 2006. He returned to the FAS in 2014, when he was appointed as head coach of the LionsXII team that competed in the Malaysian Super League from 2012 to 2015. In his two seasons in charge, Fandi guided the team to lift the Malaysia FA Cup in 2015, beating Kelantan 3-1 in the final. After the LionsXII disbanded, Fandi remained in FAS, where he was appointed as head coach (youth) in 2016. He took charge of the Young Lions for the start of the 2018 Singapore Premier League season, but was subsequently appointed as interim men's senior national team head coach in May, following the departure of previous head coach V. Sundram Moorthy. He led the Lions at the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup, where they exited in the group stage. In his final coaching assignment, Fandi led the U-22s at the 2019 SEA Games in Manila, where they were also eliminated in the group stage. Instrumental in identifying, developing young talents: FAS FAS said in the media release that Fandi has been instrumental in identifying and developing youth talent by giving opportunities to the likes of Jacob Mahler, Naqiuddin Eunos, Nur Adam Abdullah, Saifullah Akbar and Zulqarnaen Suzliman during his tenure. Story continues "We would like to place on record our utmost thanks to Fandi for his various contributions and service to the organisation," said FAS general secretary Yazeen Buhari. "I have had the privilege of working with him, and have seen first-hand how he inspired and uplifted both his colleagues and players under his tutelage. We are all grateful for his hard work, and I am pretty confident Fandi will continue to be involved with our football in some way, after his much-deserved break. Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore 100%-130% 200% 15 6988.95 37.1 480 619.39 8300.2995 819101.11078 45.01 6.03 4.5 5.4 ADS12% 0.13% 19% H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Chronograph UNDEFEATED 45.01 15.43 ETF5% #10# 20% 840 Breitling Superocean Automatic Baume & Mercier Baume Ocean II Montblanc Star Legacy Exo Tourbillon Skeleton The Ascent Limited Edition 8 Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Chronograph Calendar 1.6%2% SPAC SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) The California Assembly on Thursday approved a controversial bill allowing Los Angeles, Oakland and San Francisco to set up places where opioid users could legally inject drugs in supervised settings. The move follows more than a year of legislative consideration, with proponents saying it would save lives and detractors saying it would enable drug addiction. The Assembly's approval sends the bill back to the state Senate for final consideration in August, after lawmakers return from a monthlong summer recess. Senators approved a slightly different version more than a year ago, with no votes to spare. The idea is to give people who would use drugs anyway a location to inject them while trained staff are available to help if they suffer accidental overdoses. The move comes amid a national opioid crisis and spike in overdose deaths particularly if users inadvertently ingest drugs spiked with fentanyl. New York City in December opened the first two publicly recognized overdose prevention sites in the United States, intervening in more than 150 overdoses, although its operation does not have federal approval to operate. Rhode Island approved testing such centers for two years. The U.S. Justice Department under the Biden administration recently signaled it might be open to allowing the sites with appropriate guardrails, a turnaround from the Trump administration that won a lawsuit blocking a safe consumption site in Philadelphia. The measure passed the Assembly on a 42-28 vote, one more vote than needed. But it had bipartisan opposition amid a sometimes personal debate. Two members, Carlos Villapudua and Freddie Rodriguez, disclosed that their brothers had each died of complications from drug abuse, and they were among Democrats who spoke against the proposal. This is not the one thing that is going to stop the fentanyl or opioid epidemic in our state, but it will help. It will help, and it will save lives, said Democratic Assemblyman Matt Haney, a former San Francisco supervisor who represented the troubled Tenderloin neighborhood and carried the bill in the Assembly. But some members of each party said the sites only make things worse, as lawmakers cited dueling statistics from locations in other nations. Sending our kids the message that Hey, were going to help you manage your drug addiction is not the answer, said GOP Assemblyman Kelly Seyarto. About 700 San Franciscans died of accidental drug overdoses in 2020, a record. Those deaths far exceeded the number of individuals who died of COVID-19 in 2020, when 261 deaths from the coronavirus were recorded, San Francisco Mayor London Breed noted. She cited skyrocketing drug overdose rates in her declaration of an emergency in the Tenderloin neighborhood. Los Angeles County was on pace to have 1,000 opioid deaths last year, though not all such deaths come from injections. Across the nation, drug overdose deaths exceeded 100,000 from April 2020 to April 2021, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including about 10,000 Californians. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. DOVER, Del. (AP) Jurors began deliberations Thursday in the criminal corruption trial of Delaware State Auditor Kathy McGuiness after hearing closing arguments from attorneys. Jurors deliberated for about two hours Thursday and will reconvene Friday. McGuiness, a Democrat, is responsible as state auditor for rooting out government fraud, waste and abuse. She faces felony counts of theft and witness intimidation, and misdemeanor charges of official misconduct, conflict of interest and noncompliance with procurement laws. McGuiness, the first statewide elected official in Delaware to be prosecuted while in office, faces up to 13 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Prosecutor Mark Denney told jurors McGuiness used and abused her position to hire her daughter and give her special privileges unavailable to other part-time workers. He also said she stole money from the state by paying Elizabeth Saylar McGuiness and having access to their joint bank account. Denney also said McGuiness ruled "with an iron fist, harassing and intimidating employees who she suspected might be cooperating in an investigation of her office. In addition to hiring her daughter when other part-time workers were leaving because of a lack of work during the coronavirus pandemic, prosecutors say McGuiness orchestrated a no-bid communications services contract for a consulting firm she had used in a 2016 campaign for lieutenant governor, then kept the payments under $5,000 to avoid having to get them approved by the Division of Accounting. "Kathy McGuiness knew just how to play the system, and she did, Denney said. Defense attorney Steve Wood told jurors the prosecution's investigation was incomplete, incompetent and biased from the very beginning. This was not an investigation designed to ferret out the truth, he said. Wood noted that chief investigator Franklin Robinson repeatedly made false statements in a search warrant affidavit and grand jury testimony, despite seeing documents with contradicting information. That search warrant was reviewed by a special team of investigators and lawyers, and they still got it horribly wrong, Wood said. Can you trust that special team of investigators and lawyers to get it right now? He also refuted allegations that Saylar McGuiness, 20, never sent any work-related emails after she left for college while remaining on the payroll. Wood also noted that investigators failed to interview five other part-time workers to determine whether Saylar McGuiness got special treatment. He also reminded jurors that Robinson admitted there was zero evidence Kathy McGuiness ever received any money from the joint bank account that had been set up for her daughter when she was a child. Wood acknowledged that there was a lot of tension in the auditors office as McGuiness tried to make changes after her predecessor's 30-year tenure. McGuiness monitoring of her employees emails, which is allowed, may sound creepy but is not evidence of a crime, he added. Wood said there were justifiable reasons for one employee receiving a performance improvement plan and two others being reprimanded. Those actions do not amount to witness intimidation, he argued. To convict McGuiness of intimidation, prosecutors must prove she knew that a person was a witness, knew her conduct was intended to prevent or dissuade that person from cooperating with authorities, and acted with malice. Wood also took aim at allegations regarding the contract with My Campaign Group and payments made to Christie Gross, owner of the consulting firm. Robinson said in a sworn affidavit that payments to My Campaign Group were split in August and September 2020 to keep them under $5,000, the threshold requiring approval from the Division of Accounting. In fact, he and prosecutors had seen a Division of Accounting spreadsheet several weeks earlier indicating that Gross received only one payment each month, both above $5,000 and both approved by the Division of Accounting. Wood reminded jurors of emails among McGuiness, former chief of staff Thomas Van Horn, and administrative officer Shequanna Cousin about a My Campaign Group invoice for $11,250 that had been sent back by the Division of Accounting because the purchase order for the contract had a remaining balance of only $4,350. McGuiness asked if they could pay $4,900 of the $6,900 excess as a direct claim voucher outside the purchase order. Such payments are allowed if a change order or after-the-fact waiver request is submitted. Cousin, who was responsible for payments and waiver requests, said she could pay the $4,350 under the purchase order and $4,900 as a direct claim, and a new voucher for $9,250 was submitted to, and mistakenly approved by the Division of Accounting. Wood said Van Horn and McGuiness assumed that Cousin would submit the required waiver after returning from vacation, but they didnt know Cousin had decided to quit and would not be returning. The waiver never got submitted. Wood also told jurors that Robinson never interviewed Cousins replacement, Tracey Rogers, regarding a credit card receipt for the final payment under the My Campaign Group contract. Rogers testified that she mistakenly attributed the receipt to Innovate Consulting, another policy consulting firm that had been formed by Gross and which had been awarded a competitive bid for a second professional services contract. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. A Florida judge says he will temporarily block the state's 15-week abortion ban. The judge said Thursday that ban violates the states constitution and he will issue an order blocking it, but not before it is scheduled to take effect Friday. In Kentucky, a judge has temporarily blocked that states near-total ban on the procedure triggered by the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. The cases reflect battles being waged in courts across the country after the Supreme Court left it up to the states to decide whether abortion is legal within their borders. SIOUX CITY -- Grammy Award-winning Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience have been added to Saturday in the Park's Main Stage lineup. Known for hypnotic New Orleans funk reggae blended with blues world music music, Terence Simien and the Zydeco Experience was a last-minute SITP replacement for the indie rock group Daisy the Great, headed by musicians Mina Walker and Kelley Nicole Dugan. The group announced they had to cancel due to Dugan's positive COVID-19 test. New York-based Daisy the Great was slated to appear at Grandview Park's Main Stage at 3 p.m. Saturday. "We aren't able to travel to Iowa to play this weekend," Daisy the Great said in a post, added to Saturday in the Park's website Wednesday night. Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience will take Daisy the Great's time slot at 3 p.m. Saturday. The rest of the Main Stage shows will remain unchanged, SITP organizer Dave Bernstein said. 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. ELK POINT, S.D. -- As her flowers take root across the driveway, Christy Heckathorn stands inside a small building and speaks reverently of the family that put down roots in this corner of Union County more than a century ago. A big, modern building housing husband Chad's seed business dominates this former homestead, but a small, historic structure near Fleurish Flower Farm's entrance off of South Dakota Highway 50 in rural Elk Point immediately draws attention. More than 100 years old, Thelma Kalstad's old summer kitchen has become a centerpiece of Heckathorn's blooming business, a nod to the past much like the classic flower hybrids she grows. A lover of history, Heckathorn said the attractive old building fits perfectly with her young business. "The flower farm is new, but this is old, and I wanted to tie the two together. It just made sense to incorporate the two together," she said. In the days before air conditioning, farm wives cooked meals in small outbuildings known as summer kitchens so the house wouldn't get as hot from the kitchen stove. When the Heckathorns bought the property in 2015, the farmhouse and barn were beyond saving, but the summer kitchen still stood strong. As Heckathorn cooked up her plans for a flower farm, the summer kitchen became a main ingredient. "I really felt if I did a flower farm here I had to include the summer kitchen. They had to be together," she said. It didn't hurt that vines likely planted by Kalstad more than 100 years ago still climb on the porch and the peonies and iris she planted still bloom each year, long since she moved off the land in 1989. The vines and flowers remain in tribute to Kalstad, who died in 1999, and the kitchen figures prominently in the farm's logo. At the time she and Chad bought the property, the idea for a flower farm had yet to fully sprout in Heckathorn's mind. The Sanborn, Minnesota, native had lived in Elk Point since marrying Chad, a local boy, after the two met while attending South Dakota State University. Heckathorn worked at the flower shop inside Pioneer Drug (which also housed Edgar's Old Fashioned Soda Fountain) and learned how to arrange flowers from Barb Wurtz. After the business closed, Heckathorn kept doing flower arrangements for weddings part-time, but was looking to do something more. She took an online class from Floret, a Washington flower farm, in 2020 to learn more about growing flowers, and, in her words, "it literally just blossomed after that." Heckathorn tilled half an acre of rich soil where a cattle lot once was and last spring planted more than 60 varieties of flowers, all from seeds she started indoors in February and March and grown organically without chemicals. She raises flowers that usually aren't available from commercial florists or wholesalers, a lot of varieties you'd recognize from your grandmother's flower bed: zinnias, bachelor buttons, black-eyed Susans, snapdragons, dahlias, strawflowers, amaranth, cosmos and more. "I try and plant a lot of colors that are unique or different," Heckathorn said. It's a niche business not seen much around here, a change of pace from the corn and soybeans -- and a large pumpkin patch -- the Heckathorns also plant. Heckathorn has supplied flowers for enough weddings that word is spreading, and flower lovers are finding the farm, located six miles east of the Vermillion exit off of Interstate 29. "I love that I can share my love of flowers with people," Heckathorn said. On July 17, Heckathorn will begin hosting U-pick events on Tuesday and Sunday evenings. A week earlier, she'll host an opening night party with music and food. The summer kitchen is a perfect place for vendors to set up amidst the rustic decorations and furnishings. Heckathorn saved the doors from the barn before it was torn down and uses them as backdrops at events. Again, a dose of the old to go with a new endeavor. "I love using these things that were part of the past," Heckathorn said. As for the future, Heckathorn has no current expansion plans. She now can grow thousands of flowers, as many as she needs. The summer kitchen needs a little work, and Heckathorn hopes to create a display about Kalstad so visitors can learn more about the woman who, though she has passed, still very much lives on in spirit here. "I don't want this to go away," Heckathorn said while standing in the middle of the summer kitchen. Like Kalstad's vines and peonies, it's not going anywhere -- its role on the farm likely to grow right along with the flowers. Love 3 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. The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of Stanley Liggins for killing Jennifer Lewis, 9, in 1990. Lewis went missing after buying a pack of gum for Liggins at a liquor store near her Rock Island home. Her body was found on Sept. 17, 1990. It was burning in a field near Davenport's Jefferson Elementary School. The opinion was posted Thursday. "I am obviously very glad to see that and hope that that concludes the case of Mr. Liggins," Scott County Attorney Mike Walton said Thursday morning of the Supreme Court's decision. Liggins has been tried four times for the killing. The first two resulted in convictions later overturned, and the third ended with a hung jury. The Supreme Court ruling is related to the fourth trial, which was in 2019 and resulted in a sentence of life without parole. The Iowa Supreme Court heard arguments in September 2021. Liggins' arguments for a new trial or dismissal included that there were evidentiary errors, violations of due process and juror misconduct, but justices rejected those arguments and affirmed his conviction, according to the Supreme Court opinion. The entire opinion is available online and a link is provided with the web version of this article. Walton said Thursday that if Liggins wanted the case revisited, he still had options the post-conviction relief process. "The legal proceedings will probably go on forever," Walton said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SIOUX CITY -- A 43-year-old Sioux City man could potentially see a life sentence after pleading guilty on Tuesday to conspiring to distribute more than a pound of methamphetamine in the Sioux City area. According to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa, Jesse Chavez pled guilty to the first count while also entering a guilty plea on the charge of possession with intent to distribute meth. "On December 14, 2021, Sioux City Police officers observed suspicious conduct by Chavez in the Walgreens parking lot and inside the store. Officers confronted Chavez, obtained consent to search his vehicle, and seized three ounces of methamphetamine," the release stated. From there, the release explains Chavez would receive severe ounces of meth from his suppliers and then parcel out the drug to others. Sentencing in the case still needs to be set but Chavez faces numerous years in prison. According to the release, the first count Chavez pled guilty to comes with a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison while the second count involves a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. "Chavez faces a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $28,000,000 fine, and at least ten years of supervised release following any imprisonment," the release explained. Previously, in 2015, Chavez was convicted of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance in Iowa District Court. 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. Flash A visitor was gored by a bull bison in Yellowstone National Park, one of the largest and best-known national parks in the United States, park officials said Wednesday. The 34-year-old male from Colorado Springs, Colorado, was gored by the bison near Giant Geyser at Old Faithful, one of Yellowstone National Park's most iconic attractions, according to a news release on the park's Facebook page. "The male was walking with his family on a boardwalk when a bull bison charged the group. Family members did not leave the area, and the bull bison continued to charge and gored the male," said park officials, adding that the visitor sustained an injury to his arm and was transported by ambulance to a local hospital. "Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park are wild and can be dangerous when approached! When an animal is near a campsite, trail, boardwalk, parking lot, or in a developed area, give it space," said the officials, noting that bison are unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans. They urged visitors to stay more than 23 meters away from all large animals, including bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and coyotes, and at least 91 meters away from bears and wolves. It's the second reported incident so far this year of a visitor getting too close to the animal and the bison responding to the perceived threat by goring the individual. A 25-year-old female from Ohio was gored and tossed over three meters into the air on May 30, and sustained a puncture wound and other injuries. Yellowstone closed for more than a week earlier this month and partially reopened last week after an unprecedented flooding that caused severe damage to roads and other critical park infrastructure. Summer is usually the busiest season in Yellowstone. The 8,991-square-km wilderness recreation area, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho, attracted approximately 4.86 million visitors last year. SIOUX CITY -- Sioux City police are seeking the public's help in locating a man wanted in connection with a north side robbery and a subsequent shots fired incident on Monday. The suspect, who is considered armed and dangerous, is described as a black male with a lighter skin tone. He is 6 feet tall with a slender build and has a goatee, according to a statement from the Sioux City Police Department. At 5 p.m. Monday, police responded to a report of a robbery at a gas station in the 4100 block of Floyd Boulevard. According to the statement, the victim of the robbery reported that she was putting gas in her car when a light-blue Toyota Camry pulled up beside her. A man got out of the passenger side of the Toyota, approached the woman and demanded her belongings while displaying a gun. The woman initially struggled with the suspect until he started to become more aggressive. The statement said the suspect then got back into the Toyota and the car fled north on Floyd Boulevard. The woman was not injured during the altercation. A short time later, a report of shots being fired in the 5300 block of North Cleveland Street was received. A Sioux City police officer responded and assisted the Plymouth County Sheriff's Office with the investigation. Officers determined that the suspect in the Toyota pulled onto private property and discarded some of the items that were taken during the robbery. When the property owner confronted the subjects in the Toyota, the statement said the man in the passenger seat shot at him. The property owner was also armed and shot back. No one was injured. Plymouth County deputies located the Toyota, which was unoccupied, over an hour after the shots fired call in the area of C80 and Highway 75. They determined that a man and woman abandoned the car and got into a mid-2000's silver Cadillac with a black top. Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to contact the Sioux City Police Department or the Plymouth County Sheriff's Office. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 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. SIOUX CITY Woodbury County jailers will receive an 8 percent wage increase, with the county designating a portion of its COVID recovery funds to cover the increased cost of $285,000. The jail head administrator's pay will also increase by more than $11,000. The board of supervisors approved the wage increase on Tuesday in an effort to retain and recruit jail employees, especially for the new jail facility estimated to be complete in late 2023. Supervisors Matthew Ung and Jeremy Taylor proposed the wage increases, based on a recommendation from human resources, after the topic was brought forward by Sheriff Chad Sheehan in the budget process. The wage increase is on top of a previously approved 2.75 percent pay increase for the Civilian Officers union. The board and human resources will craft a memorandum of understanding between the county and deputies union for the wage increases approved Tuesday. The new rates will be: $12.33 an hour for 3rd class officers; $24.28 an hour for 2nd class; $25.26 an hour for 1st class; $28 an hour for senior; $31.26 an hour for master and $34.57 an hour for sergeant. Melissa Thomas, the county's human resources director, compared wages to counties in close proximity and those with comparable sized jails. In nearby Dakota, Sioux, Cherokee, Union and Plymouth counties, average county jailer wages range from $19.54 to $22.47 per hour. In the larger Iowa counties of Dallas, Pottawattamie, Story and Blackhawk, wages range from $24.05 to $31.38 per hour. Capt. Todd Harlows salary will rise to $102,781 after the board approved an approved $11,218.54 base wage increase for the jail's top administrator. The jail currently has around 70 personnel, which includes correctional officers and administrative staff. In January, the board gave Sheehan the go-ahead to start hiring 18 new staff, including 15 correctional officers, as the department transitioned to the new Law Enforcement Center, under construction on the northeast side of Sioux City. Six new correctional officers were hired earlier this year. Six more are scheduled to be hired in March and April 2023, and the remaining three are set to be hired in June 2023, as part of the fiscal year budget that begins Friday. Adding the staff is estimated to cost at around $1.3 million, raising the total personnel costs to around $4.6 million per year. When a $50 million bond issue for the Law Enforcement Center was pitched to voters prior to the March 2020 special election, supporters noted the larger jail would not require additional staff to operate. County officials said the outside jail planners initially did not take into consideration the decision to stack the cell pods, rather than putting them side by side. Supervisors pointed out that stacking the cells will reduce project costs by about $1 million. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. 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 The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors and Sheriff Chad Sheehan continue to disagree on who can authorize supplemental pay for his department's employees. Sheehan previously told the board he is paying out supplemental pay for his percentage deputies for a total of $49,600 out of his fiscal 2022 budget without board approval. Sheehan said he directed Auditor Pat Gill to sign the checks. The supervisors and Sheehan disagreed on who was allowed to grant supplemental pay at the prior meeting on June 21. Sheehan said he is able to do with the money in his budget as he sees fit and there is a precedent set for such action. The supervisors and Assistant County Attorney Joshua Widman previously said they believe it is the boards responsibility to approve supplemental pay. Board chair Keith Radig brought a vote forward to deny the sheriffs claim to pay out the supplements on Tuesday. He said this action would clarify the position of the board. Sheehan did not ask for approval, but Radig said the board needs to state their opinion and that opinion would guide how Gill moves forward. The board voted 4-1 to deny the claim. Supervisor Rocky De Witt cast the lone dissenting vote. During Tuesday's meeting, Gill said if the board denied the claim, he would request permission at the next meeting to seek outside legal counsel for guidance. He said he cannot make a payment without board approval. The supplemental pay would be for the extra time the five individuals have spent on the new Law Enforcement Center project, and on radio and IT work, Sheehan said. Two lieutenants would receive $8,800 each, two captains would receive $10,000 each and one chief deputy would receive $12,000. While the board believes it is their responsibility to approve supplemental pay, Sheehan and Gill believe there has been a precedent set to allow Sheehan to move forward. Under the state code, the board of supervisors approves a recommendation for annual base salaries. Base salary is defined as basic compensation excluding overtime pay, longevity pay, shift differential or other supplemental pay and fringe benefits. In 2014, Gill approached the board to get support for paying longevity pay to his employees. Gill said he had brought the item forward for transparency, and at the time it was agreed he did not need approval for longevity pay. He said it was a non-binding resolution, and the attorney at the time said it was the responsibility of the elected official to set compensations excluded from base salary. Each year, Gill said the elected officials send a letter to the auditors office authorizing the payment of longevity pay. County Attorney Patrick Jennings sent a classified legal opinion to the board Tuesday afternoon. Sheehan said the opinion was based on a deeper review than Widmans legal opinion. Supervisor Jeremy Taylor read a section of Jennings opinion, stating the law is silent as to specifically whom between the board of supervisors and the sheriff has the ultimate authority to approve supplemental pay. Based on the prior position taken by this office and the board of supervisors it is my belief the authority lies with the sheriff. Widman said on Tuesday any legal opinion given by Jennings is the opinion of the office and is the final say in the offices advice. He said his legal opinion in March was regarding whether or not supplemental pay is allowable and who sets the items above base pay. Sheehan previously said that after consulting outside legal counsel Douglas Phillips of the Klass Law Firm, he was moving forward to paying out the money without board approval, and directed Gill to sign and send the checks. Sheehan said his fiscal 2022 budget, which ends Thursday, will have around $200,000 in extra money. Part of the extra money is due to turnover in personnel. Other extra funds are from the jail budget funds, transportation funds and administration funds. The supplemental pay would be pulled from the extra money that would normally be returned to the county, he said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. EMMETSBURG, IOWA -- For the next five years, an Iowa Lakes Community College program, intended to assist high school students, can count on funding from the federal government. On Wednesday morning, the college announced the U.S. Department of Education would provide $1.48 million over the next half-decade for the "TRIO Upward Bound" program which serves students in Emmetsburg, Estherville and Spencer and recently added in North Union. Per the release, the "Upward Bound program is part of the U.S. Department of Education TRIO programs, a group of federal grant-funded college opportunity programs that support nontraditional, at-risk, and underrepresented students pursuing college educations." The Iowa Lakes program itself is estimated to serve 60 students in grades 9 through 12. TRIO Upward Bound Manager Nicole Heng added: "We are excited to continue to serve our current students and add North Union students to the program. The TRIO Upward Bound program is designed to help students be successful in high school, build lifelong friendships and give students the tools needed to obtain a college education." The program itself allows for a six-week "residential Summer Academy on the Emmetsburg campus of Iowa Lakes" which offers classes related to reading, writing, science, math, Spanish and more. 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. SIOUX CITY -- The Sioux City Police Department is offering guidance to all-terrain vehicle and utility terrain vehicle operators in advance of a new state law that goes into effect Friday. Iowa House File 2130 legalizes the use of ATVs and UTVs on a limited number of roadways. Cities are allowed to regulate operation of such vehicles on two-lane primary and secondary road extensions. ATVs and UTVs cannot be used on highways greater than two lanes, regardless of location in the city or county. The city currently has no ordinances that either restrict or allow ATV/UTV usage on city streets beyond what is indicated in the new state law. The following roads are the only roads in Sioux City where ATV and UTV usage is legal based on the amended laws: K29 Old Lakeport Road, south of Derocher Path D18 Correctionville Road, east of Camp High Hopes D25 Old Hwy 141, southeast of the entrance to the cemetery ATV and UTV operation on other streets is not permitted. A violation carries a fine of $70. Individuals who choose to operate ATVs or UTVs on approved roadways must also comply with the following restrictions: The driver of the ATV/UTV must be at least 18 and have financial liability coverage in effect for the vehicle and carry proof of such insurance. The ATV/UTV must display lighted headlamps at all times while the vehicle is operated on the highway. 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. CENTREVILLE, Ala. (AP) An Alabama deputy sheriff died Thursday, a day after after being shot by a fleeing suspect, authorities said. Deputy Brad Johnson, 32, was pronounced dead Thursday afternoon, District Attorney Michael Jackson said. Its been said that a coward dies a thousand deaths, but a hero but one. Brad Johnson was a hero, Bibb County Sheriff Jody Wade told reporters at a news conference. Law enforcement officials said Johnsons family is donating his organs. Wade said Johnson will continue to save lives. The shooting happened Wednesday afternoon in Bibb County. Two deputies were chasing a suspect in a stolen vehicle when the man fired at the deputies, shooting both and critically wounding Johnson, Jackson had said earlier. Authorities said the other wounded deputy had since been released from a hospital. The suspect in the shooting, Austin Hall, 26, was captured Thursday morning after he was found hiding inside a tent, Jackson said. Hall will be charged with two counts of capital murder one for Johnson's death and another for shooting into a vehicle resulting in a death and one count of attempted murder for the shooting of the other deputy, Jackson said. It was not immediately known if Hall has an attorney who could speak on his behalf. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey called Johnson a hero. Today, all of Alabama grieves the loss of one of our heroes in blue, Bibb County Deputy Brad Johnson. At only 32 years old, he served in law enforcement for several years and was engaged to be married," Ivey said in a statement. Copyright 2022 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 Supreme Court limits EPA in curbing power plant emissions WASHINGTON (AP) In a blow to the fight against climate change, the Supreme Court on Thursday limited how the nations main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. By a 6-3 vote, with conservatives in the majority, the court said that the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency broad authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming. The decision, said environmental advocates and dissenting liberal justices, was a major step in the wrong direction a gut punch, one prominent meteorologist said at a time of increasing environmental damage attributable to climate change amid dire warnings about the future. The courts ruling could complicate the administrations plans to combat climate change. Its detailed proposal to regulate power plant emissions is expected by the end of the year. Though the decision was specific to the EPA, it was in line with the conservative majoritys skepticism of the power of regulatory agencies and it sent a message on possible future effects beyond climate change and air pollution. The decision put an exclamation point on a court term in which a conservative majority, bolstered by three appointees of former President Donald Trump, also overturned the nearly 50-year-old nationwide right to abortion, expanded gun rights and issued major religious rights rulings, all over liberal dissents. Biden notched gains at summit; returns to turmoil at home MADRID (AP) The dissonant realities of President Joe Bidens second year in office were on display Thursday as he wound up a five-day trip to Europe that highlighted both the key U.S. role in mounting a strong allied response to Vladimir Putins aggression and the domestic turmoil that is dragging Biden down at home. Huddling with the leaders of Group of Seven advanced economies in the Bavarian Alps and with NATO allies in Madrid, Biden was greeted warmly by colleagues and notched significant policy accomplishments on modernizing the trans-Atlantic alliance to adapt to new threats from Russia and China. At home, though, the U.S. was grappling with fallout from last week's Supreme Court decision ending the constitutional right to abortion, which Biden condemned Thursday as destabilizing. Biden faces both the lowest approval ratings of his presidency and rising pessimism about the direction of the country. Biden appeared to welcome the time away from Washington as a respite from his domestic predicament, insisting that despite turmoil at home on matters from inflation to gun violence, world leaders still valued America's and his leadership. I have not seen anyone come up to me and ... say anything other than Thank you for Americas leadership, Biden said in high-spirited remarks during a press conference at the end of what he called a historic summit. America is better positioned to lead the world than we ever have been. US official: Migrants who died cleared inland checkpoint SAN ANTONIO (AP) The tractor-trailer at the center of a human-smuggling attempt that left 53 people dead had passed through an inland U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint with migrants inside the sweltering rig earlier in its journey, a U.S. official said Thursday. The truck went through the checkpoint on Interstate 35 located 26 miles (42 kilometers) northeast of the border city of Laredo, Texas. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said there were 73 people in the truck when it was discovered Monday in San Antonio, including the 53 who died. It was unclear if agents stopped the driver for questioning at the inland checkpoint or if the truck went through unimpeded. The disclosure brings new attention to an old policy question of whether the roughly 110 inland highway checkpoints along the Mexican and Canadian borders are sufficiently effective at spotting people in cars and trucks who enter the United States illegally. They are generally located up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the border. Texas state police also announced they would operate their own inland checkpoints for tractor-trailers on the orders of Gov. Greg Abbott, who considers the Biden administration's efforts insufficient. It was unclear how many trucks they would be stopping. Jackson sworn in, becomes 1st Black woman on Supreme Court WASHINGTON (AP) Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in to the Supreme Court on Thursday, shattering a glass ceiling as the first Black woman on the nations highest court. The 51-year-old Jackson is the courts 116th justice, and she took the place of the justice she once worked for. Justice Stephen Breyers retirement was effective at noon. Moments later, joined by her family, Jackson recited the two oaths required of Supreme Court justices, one administered by Breyer and the other by Chief Justice John Roberts. With a full heart, I accept the solemn responsibility of supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States and administering justice without fear or favor, so help me God, Jackson said in a statement issued by the court. I am truly grateful to be part of the promise of our great Nation. I extend my sincerest thanks to all of my new colleagues for their warm and gracious welcome. Roberts welcomed Jackson to the court and our common calling. The ceremony was streamed live on the court's website. All the justices except for Neil Gorsuch attended the swearing-in, the court said. There was no immediate explanation for Gorsuchs absence. McConnell warns Dems of fallout for reviving Biden bill WASHINGTON (AP) Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell threatened Thursday to derail a bill designed to boost semiconductor manufacturing in the United States if Democrats revive their stalled package of energy and economic initiatives. The rejuvenation of the Democratic reconciliation package, central to President Joe Biden's agenda is far from certain. But with some signs of progress in the negotiations, McConnell is moving to complicate Democratic plans. He's warning that Republicans would react by stopping separate semiconductor legislation from moving over the finish line in the coming weeks, despite its bipartisan support. Let me be perfectly clear: there will be no bipartisan USICA as long as Democrats are pursuing a partisan reconciliation bill," McConnell tweeted, referring to the shorthand name for the computer chips bill that passed the Senate last year. Both chambers of Congress have passed their versions of the legislation, which would include $52 billion in incentives for companies to locate chip manufacturing plants in the U.S. Lawmakers are now trying to reconcile the considerable differences between the two bills, but at a pace that has many supporters worried the job won't get done before lawmakers break for their August recess. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said McConnell was holding hostage" a bipartisan package that would lower the cost of countless products that rely on semiconductors and would yield hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs. NATO vows to guard 'every inch of territory' as Russia fumes MADRID (AP) An unstable world could get even more dangerous if NATO does not remain strong and united, the head of the alliance said Thursday at the end of a summit where Western leaders labeled Russia a direct threat to the security of their nations. During their three-day meeting in Madrid, NATO members confronted a geopolitical landscape marked by big-power competition and myriad threats, from cyberattacks to climate change. The leaders cast their sights around the world - drawing a rebuke after accusing China of posing serious challenges to global stability. But Russia's invasion of Ukraine dominated the summit. We live in a more dangerous world and we live in a more unpredictable world, and we live in a world where we have a hot war going on in Europe," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. At the same time, we also know that this can get worse. That is why the Western military alliance has a core responsibility to keep the war in Ukraine from spilling into other countries while making clear to Moscow that it would protect every inch of NATO territory, Stoltenberg said. That territory is set to grow. At the summit, NATO leaders formally invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance, after striking an agreement to end opposition from Turkey. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he could still block the Nordic countries membership, if the Nordic pair do not keep their promises. Supreme Court: Biden can end Trump-era asylum policy WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court said Thursday the Biden administration can scrap a Trump-era immigration policy to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration courts, a victory for a White House that still must address the growing number of people seeking refuge at America's southern border. The ruling will have little immediate impact because the policy has been seldom applied under President Joe Biden, who reinstated it under a court order in December. It was his predecessor, Donald Trump, who launched the Remain in Mexico policy and fully embraced it. Two conservative justices joined their three liberal colleagues in siding with the White House. Under Trump, the program enrolled about 70,000 people after it was launched in 2019. Biden suspended the policy, formally known as Migrant Protection Protocols on his first day in office in January 2021. But lower courts ordered it reinstated in response to a lawsuit from Republican-led Texas and Missouri. Dynamics at the border have changed considerably since Remain in Mexico was a centerpiece of Trump's border policies. California sets nation's toughest plastics reduction rules SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Companies selling shampoo, food and other products wrapped in plastic have a decade to cut down on their use of the polluting material if they want their wares on California store shelves. Major legislation passed and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday aims to significantly reduce single-use plastic packaging in the state and drastically boost recycling rates for what remains. It sets the nation's most stringent requirements for the use of plastic packaging, with lawmakers saying they hope it sets a precedent for other states to follow. Were ruining the planet and weve got to change it," Sen. Bob Hertzberg, a Democrat, said before voting on the bill. Under the bill, plastic producers would have to reduce plastics in single-use products 10% by 2027, increasing to 25% by 2032. That reduction in plastic packaging can be met through a combination of reducing package sizing, switching to a different material or making the product easily reusable or refillable. Also by 2032, plastic would have to be recycled at a rate of 65%, a massive jump from todays rates. It wouldnt apply to plastic beverage bottles, which have their own recycling rules. Efforts to limit plastic packaging have failed in the Legislature for years, but the threat of a similar ballot measure going before voters in November prompted business groups to come to the negotiating table. The measure's three main backers withdrew it from the ballot after the bill passed, though they expressed concern the plastics industry will try to weaken the requirements. Big Ten votes to add USC, UCLA as members starting in 2024 In a surprising and seismic shift in college athletics, the Big Ten voted Thursday to add Southern California and UCLA as conference members beginning in 2024. The expansion to 16 teams will happen after the Pac-12s current media rights contracts with Fox and ESPN expire and make the Big Ten the first conference to stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The announcement, which caught the Pac-12 off-guard, came almost a year after Oklahoma and Texas formally accepted invitations to join the Southeastern Conference in July 2025. Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said USC and UCLA, both members of the Pac-12 and its previous iterations for nearly a century, submitted applications for membership and the league's Council of Presidents and Chancellors voted unanimously to add the Los Angeles schools. Ultimately, the Big Ten is the best home for USC and Trojan athletics as we move into the new world of collegiate sports, USC athletic director Mike Bohn said. We are excited that our values align with the leagues member institutions. We also will benefit from the stability and strength of the conference; the athletic caliber of Big Ten institutions; the increased visibility, exposure, and resources the conference will bring our student-athletes and programs; and the ability to expand engagement with our passionate alumni nationwide. Jokic, Beal cash in quickly as NBA free agency begins The NBA generated more basketball-related income than ever this past season, the total number coming up just short of $9 billion. Business is good. The first night of free agency underscored how good. Nikola Jokic and Bradley Beal both quickly agreed to deals that will be worth more than a quarter of a billion dollars by the time they expire, highlighting the moves made Thursday when the NBAs annual free-agent negotiating window opened. Jokic agreed to a supermax extension to remain with the Denver Nuggets, the two-time reigning MVP guaranteeing himself at least $264 million over five seasons starting with the 2023-24 campaign. The final number may go up slightly depending on what the leagues salary cap is going into the 23-24 season and if it exceeds current projections. Beal will make $251 million over the next five seasons after re-signing with Washington, one day after turning down $37 million for this coming season from the team with whom hes spent the entirety of his 10-year career. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Flash Indirect talks between Iran and the United States held in the Qatari capital of Doha have not yet ended, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Wednesday. Another meeting between Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani and Enrique Mora, the EU chief coordinator for the Iran nuclear talks, will be held Wednesday evening, said Nasser Kanani. "The talks in Doha have, from the beginning, been scheduled for two days. The two-day Doha talks are being held in a professional and serious climate," he added. Earlier in the day, Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that the Doha talks, which started Tuesday, ended without breaking the deadlock in the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal as Washington declined to offer "guarantees for Iran's economic benefits." The talks in Doha followed several rounds of talks held in the Austrian capital since April 2021 between Iran and the remaining parties to revive the landmark deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Iran signed the nuclear deal with world powers in July 2015 and agreed to put some curbs on its nuclear program in return for the removal of U.S.-led sanctions. But former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran. MADISON, Wis. (AP) The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the conviction of a Milwaukee man who was arrested by officers responding to a report from gunshot location technology, ruling that the officers had reasonable suspicion to stop him beyond just the gunshot technology. The court ruled unanimously against Avan Rondell Nimmer, who was taken into police custody in 2019 after officers observed him walking about 100 feet from the site of a ShotSpotter report near his home in Milwaukee. Nimmer argued that officers had no reason to stop him, contending that ShotSpotter detects gunshots but doesn't identify shooters and he was just out looking for his girlfriend. A state appeals court agreed with him, but the Supreme Court reversed that ruling. Justice Rebecca Bradley wrote for the majority that officers had reasonable suspicion to detain Nimmer in part because ShotSpotter is reliable, he was in the area minutes after the technology detected gunfire and he appeared to be hiding a weapon. Nimmers appellate attorney, Mark Rosen, disagreed with the decision. I think they got it wrong, so Im just going to leave it at that, he said. The use of ShotSpotter technology in policing has been attacked by some as problematic and potentially misleading. ShotSpotter, a network of surveillance microphones used to detect gunshots, is powered by an algorithm guarded by its creators as a trade secret. An AP investigation earlier this year identified serious flaws in using ShotSpotter as evidentiary support for prosecutors. APs investigation found the system can miss live gunfire right under its microphones, or misclassify the sounds of fireworks or cars backfiring as gunshots. Forensic reports prepared by ShotSpotters employees have been used in court to improperly claim that a defendant shot at police, or provide questionable counts of the number of shots allegedly fired by defendants. Judges in a number of cases have thrown out the evidence. ShotSpotter says its technology is accurate and has been successfully admitted in more than 200 court cases nationwide. When Milwaukee officers responded to the alert outside Nimmer's residence in June 2019, Nimmer was the only person in sight less than a minute after four gunshots were reported, according to court records. Officers approached Nimmer after noticing that he was walking quickly away from their squad car. In response to their approach, Nimmer reached for his left side and turned his body away from the officers. One of the arresting officers testified that he believed Nimmer's behavior suggested he was hiding a weapon. Upon stopping and searching Nimmer, he revealed to officers that he had a handgun tucked in his waistband, saying, The gun's on my waistline, bro. Because of a previous felony conviction for possession of THC with intent to deliver, Nimmer was prohibited from possessing a gun. Nimmer said in court that he was in the street to look for his girlfriend, who had left his house moments before he heard gunshots outside. His trial attorney sought to suppress the handgun evidence, arguing officers had neither reasonable suspicion nor probable cause to stop and search Nimmer. The motion was denied, and Nimmer was sentenced to two years in prison and two years extended supervision for possession of a firearm by a felon. The trial court ruled that timing was the key to officers' reasonable suspicion, stating that anyone they encountered within a minute or two of receiving the alert should have been investigated if they were within in a couple of blocks of the alleged shots fired. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals reversed the trial courts decision, citing multiple cases as precedent for their opinion that Nimmers presence in an area where criminal activity wasn't enough to detain him. The appeals court also ruled that Nimmer's behavior on the scene was insufficient for reasonable suspicion. Justice Rebecca Dallet, joined by two other justices, wrote a concurrence that agreed police had reasonable suspicion to stop Nimmer but argued that the majority opinion relied too heavily on the ShotSpotter alert. No matter how accurate ShotSpotter is or how quickly officers respond to a ShotSpotter alert, it cannot be used as a dragnet to justify warrantless searches of everyone the police find near a recently reported gunshot, Dallet wrote. Harm Venhuizen 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. Follow Harm on Twitter. This story was first published on June 23, 2022. It was updated on June 30, 2022, to add a statement from ShotSpotter about its technology. Copyright 2022 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 MADRID (AP) The dissonant realities of President Joe Bidens second year in office were on display Thursday as he wound up a five-day trip to Europe that highlighted both the key U.S. role in mounting a strong allied response to Vladimir Putins aggression and the domestic turmoil that is dragging Biden down at home. Huddling with the leaders of Group of Seven advanced economies in the Bavarian Alps and with NATO allies in Madrid, Biden was greeted warmly by colleagues and notched significant policy accomplishments on modernizing the trans-Atlantic alliance to adapt to new threats from Russia and China. At home, though, the U.S. was grappling with fallout from last week's Supreme Court decision ending the constitutional right to abortion, which Biden condemned Thursday as destabilizing. Biden faces both the lowest approval ratings of his presidency and rising pessimism about the direction of the country. Biden appeared to welcome the time away from Washington as a respite from his domestic predicament, insisting that despite turmoil at home on matters from inflation to gun violence, world leaders still valued America's and his leadership. I have not seen anyone come up to me and ... say anything other than Thank you for Americas leadership, Biden said in high-spirited remarks during a press conference at the end of what he called a historic summit. America is better positioned to lead the world than we ever have been. The three-day NATO meeting included the Biden administration announcing plans to permanently bolster the U.S. military presence in Europe, an agreement between Turkey, Finland and Sweden championed by Biden to pave the way for the accession of the Nordic nations into NATO, and the alliance updating its strategic concept to reflect that Chinas coercive policies are a challenge to the Western blocs interests. Biden noted that the last time NATO updated what is essentially its mission statement was 12 years ago, when Russia was characterized as a partner and the document didnt even mention China. The new concept document fulfills a years-long effort by American presidents to reorient the alliance to address challenges from China. The world has changed, changed a great deal since then, Biden said. He added: This summit was about strengthening our alliance, meeting the challenges of our world as it is today, and the threats were going to face in the future." Bidens efforts drew praise from across the aisle, with GOP North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, who led a delegation to the Madrid summit with Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and met with Biden Thursday morning, saying, I think that the administration has played a key part in whats made this summit a success. It was a far cry from the rancor that permeates Washington, where even positive developments become political cudgels. Here we have a bipartisan delegation and a president who have a common goal. Back home, maybe not quite as much, Tillis said. Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, a Republican, added that Biden should apply some of his approaches to successful diplomacy abroad to Washington as well. I think it would only be helpful for the president if he would reach out to us in our country as well as here," she said. At home, Biden has been burdened with the ongoing reckoning over the Capitol insurrection and former President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and with his own weakened political posture. That has stoked concern among allies about who may follow Biden into the White House and whether his successor would reverse Biden's efforts to rebuild the trans-Atlantic alliance. Soaring inflation a global problem is especially acute for Americans as they get on the road for the July 4 holiday. And his legislative agenda has been largely stalled, but for a modest gun control measure that passed after a pair of horrific mass shootings. Added to the mix just 24 hours before Biden departed for Europe was the abortion ruling. "One thing that has been destabilizing is the outrageous behavior of the Supreme Court of United States in overruling not only Roe v. Wade, but essentially challenging the right to privacy," Biden said, Weve been a leader in the world in terms of personal rights and privacy rights." And just minutes after he departed Madrid on Air Force One to return home, Biden suffered another judicial blow to his agenda, as the Supreme Court dramatically scaled back the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. Kathleen McInnis, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a president's influence tends to go far further overseas than at home. The American presidency has its own weight and gravitas that cant be discounted, she said. That was evident as Biden helped cajole Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to drop his opposition to Finland and Sweden joining the NATO alliance. As he parried reporters' questions with a microphone in hand, Biden also highlighted announcements at the G-7 meeting for more economic and military assistance to Ukraine as it aims to beat back Russias four-month-long invasion and announcements on tougher sanctions meant to punish Moscow. We are going to stick with Ukraine and all of the alliance is going to stick with Ukraine as long as it takes, Biden said. I dont know ... how its going to end, but it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine. Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat and Biden confidant, called the week a significant accomplishment for the Biden administration and for diplomacy. The view was more measured in some corners. "Coming back from years of anti-European and anti-NATO rhetoric and policies is a pretty low bar when you look at it," said Leah Scheunemann, deputy director of the Transatlantic Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council. Even so, she said, The Biden administration has done a lot of good in terms of rebuilding the reputation of NATO in America, and explaining the value of NATO as an alliance built on the values of democracy and what that brings to U.S. security." As for Biden's domestic challenges, Scheunemann said, "I dont know how much to place at the doorstep of Biden versus the doorstep of obstructionist Republicans. Copyright 2022 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 ISTANBUL (AP) Just two days after agreeing to lift deal-breaking objections to Sweden and Finlands NATO accession, Turkeys leader warned Thursday that Ankara could still block the process if the two countries fail to fully meet his expectations. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the close of the alliances summit in Madrid that the 10-article agreement with the Nordic pair was a victory for Ankara and addressed all its sensitivities. He particularly stressed the satisfying of Turkeys demand for Sweden and Finland to extradite terror suspects with links to outlawed Kurdish groups or the network of an exiled cleric accused of a failed 2016 coup in Turkey. But Erdogan added that if the two Nordic states renege on their promises, Turkeys Parliament could refuse to ratify the deal reached Tuesday. NATO accession must be formally approved by all 30 member states, which gives each a blocking right. This business will not work if we dont pass this in our parliament, Erdogan said. First, Sweden and Finland must fulfill their duties and those are already in the text. ... But if they dont fulfill these, then of course there is no way we would send it to our parliament. Erdogan claimed that Sweden had promised to extradite 73 terrorists to Turkey and crack down on the financing and recruitment activities of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK listed as a terrorist group by the U.S. and the European Union and linked groups. Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, an extension of the PKK. The text of the memorandum sets no specific number of extraditions. It says Finland and Sweden will address Turkeys pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects expeditiously and thoroughly, taking into account information, evidence and intelligence provided by Turkey in accordance with the European Convention on Extradition. On Wednesday, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said Sweden and Finlands justice ministries have files from Turkey on 33 people with alleged links to PKK and the network of U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen. Journalists repeatedly pressed Erdogan on Thursday about the extraditions and whether Sweden had actually promised the number he cited. He said the number of extradition requests previously stood at 60 but was updated to 73. Of course, what we understand is important from our meetings and talks, Erdogan said. Sweden promised to give us these 73 people with this text. They may or they may not, we will follow that through the text and we will make our decision. There was no immediate response to requests for comments from the Swedish delegation at the summit in Madrid. The Swedish government has sought to allay concerns that the deal would lead to extraditions to Turkey without due process. I know there are some people who are worried that were going to start to hunt people and extradite them, and I think its important to say that we always follow Swedish laws and international conventions, and we never extradite Swedish citizens, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told public broadcaster SVT on Wednesday. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto stressed that Helsinki pointed out that the memorandum does not list the names of individuals. In the case of extraditions, we will adhere to our own legislation and international agreements. Ultimately, extradition is a legal discretion which politicians have no right to influence, Niinisto said. With the joint memorandum signed, NATO moved ahead with inviting the Nordic countries to the military alliance that seeks to enlarge and strengthen in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The most time consuming part of gaining NATO membership is the ratification of the applicants accession protocols by the alliances 30 member countries. Its a process that involves national parliaments and could take months. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country would launch launch the process of ratifying the planned NATO membership of Sweden and Finland this week and conclude it very quickly. Aritz Parra in Madrid and Karl Ritter in Berlin contributed. Follow AP's coverage of the NATO summit at https://apnews.com/hub/nato Copyright 2022 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 JERUSALEM (AP) Israels parliament voted Thursday to dissolve itself, triggering the country's fifth election in just over three years and thrusting veteran politician Yair Lapid into the role of interim prime minister as he tries to persuade a deeply polarized nation to embrace his centrist vision. Polls indicate it will be a difficult road for Lapid to defeat his main rival, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a divisive figure who is at the heart of Israels protracted political crisis. The election is set for Nov. 1. Lapid, a former author, newspaper columnist and TV host, was the architect of the outgoing coalition government an alliance of eight diverse parties spanning the Israeli political spectrum that was bonded largely by their shared antipathy toward Netanyahu. The coalition ended the 12-year reign of Netanyahu, who was Israel's longest-serving prime minister. As with the previous four elections, the upcoming vote promises to be another referendum on Netanyahu, who is adored with cult-like reverence by his admirers and reviled with equal strength by his opponents. The elections focused on his fitness to lead at a time when he is facing criminal charges of accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust. He has denied any wrongdoing. The current government collapsed just over a year after it was formed due to infighting and a string of defections. As part of their power-sharing deal, the current prime minister, Naftali Bennett, will step aside for Lapid, who officially takes office Friday. Bennett will not run in November. In Israeli politics, no party has ever singlehandedly captured the 61-seat parliamentary majority in parliament required to form a government. Instead, the leader of the party who can cobble together a majority coalition with other parties becomes prime minister. That sets up a de facto battle between Netanyahu, whose Likud party is projected to be the largest party, and Lapid, whose party is expected to be the second-largest but may be better positioned to form a coalition. Both men are charismatic and gifted orators with a rare talent for connecting with both large audiences as well as smaller groups. Yet they offer vastly different world views. Lapid, a secular and cosmopolitan resident of an upscale Tel Aviv neighborhood, burst onto the political scene in 2012 by forming his Yesh Atid, or There is a Future, party catering to the countrys moderate and struggling middle class. Since those early days as an upstart, he has transformed himself into a feisty opposition leader and finally a savvy operator who ousted Netanyahu. He has criticized the outsized influence of ultra-Orthodox parties and plans on courting Arab voters, if not for Yesh Atid then at least for partners that might join a future coalition. In fact, the outgoing coalition he helped build made history by being the first to include an Arab party. Lapid also will be the first Israeli prime minister since 2009 to support a two-state solution with the Palestinians, though he will not be able to launch any major initiatives during his caretaker term. On the campaign trail, he will market himself as a unifier, while portraying Netanyahu as a divider. Netanyahu will likely paint his rival as inexperienced and dangerous. Lapid did not speak publicly following Thursdays vote, instead huddling for meetings and paying a visit to Yad Vashem, Israels national Holocaust memorial. Lapids late father, the former journalist and Cabinet minister Joseph Lapid, was a Holocaust survivor and a major influence on his son. Immediately after the vote, I went to Yad Vashem to promise my father that I will always keep Israel strong, able to defend itself and ensure peace for its children, he said. Netanyahu, meanwhile, is a fervent nationalist who has aligned himself with religious and ultranationalist parties that oppose Palestinian statehood and support the West Bank settler movement, which is widely seen internationally as illegal and an obstruction to peace. He thrives on dividing and conquering his opponents, and frequently uses incendiary language against Israel's Arab minority. They promised change, they spoke about healing, they tried an experiment, and the experiment failed, Netanyahu said in an address to parliament ahead of Thursdays vote as he railed against the outgoing government. We are the only alternative: a strong, stable, responsible nationalist government. He kicked off his campaign immediately after the vote with a stop at a Jerusalem mall, where he promised cheering supporters that he would tackle rising prices. Facing a country that has known little else but Netanyahu for well over a decade, Lapids task in the coming months will be to convince the public that he is prime minister material. He has used the last year as Israels foreign minister to build up a roster of international contacts, deepening ties with new Arab allies and lobbying on the sidelines of negotiations over Irans nuclear program. And his new office, even in the role of caretaker, will give him a powerful platform to further that goal. In two weeks, he will host U.S. President Joe Biden, providing important facetime as well as repeated photo opportunities. Lapid will hold news conferences and lead Cabinet meetings and security briefings discussing the countrys most important issues, and should get an opportunity to address the U.N. General Assembly in the fall. Those moments could help him solidify the statesmanlike image he has sought to build. This week in the Knesset, the parliament, he appeared calm, collected and pensive. In private, he strikes a warmer note, and is known to break the ice with self-deprecating humor. Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, an Israeli think tank, said that Lapids gambit could pay off. Despite the deep divisions between Israels religious and secular Jews, its dovish left wing and nationalist right wing and its Jewish and Arab communities, Plesner said there is a broad swath of the population that holds centrist views on issues like seeking an accommodation with the Palestinians. A swing of just a handful of parliamentary seats could determine the outcome of the vote. The center exists, and Lapid no doubt is the leader of this constituency, he said. Polls by Israeli media show Netanyahu and his allies are projected to gain seats, although it is unclear whether they would have enough to form a majority outright. If neither he nor anyone else succeeds in doing so, Israel could go to elections yet again, a scenario that could leave Lapid in charge for months to come. Copyright 2022 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) A state court on Thursday permanently blocked Gov. Tom Wolfs plan to toll as many as nine major bridges on interstates in Pennsylvania, siding with three Pittsburgh-area municipalities that argued that his administration had violated procedures in getting to the advanced stage of considering the idea. A panel of Commonwealth Court judges granted the municipalities' request to effectively declare the plan dead because Wolf's Department of Transportation had not followed the law. One key element on which the court agreed with the municipalities is the claim that PennDOT was required to propose specific bridges to toll when it asked the Public-Private Transportation Partnership Board in 2020 for permission to move forward with a bridge-tolling plan. PennDOT did not, however, identify specific bridges it wanted to toll until months after the board approved a bridge-tolling plan. As a result, parties potentially affected by a tolling project such as a municipality had no opportunity to meaningfully give input to the process before the board's decision, the court said. Republican lawmakers hailed the decision, while Wolf's administration would not immediately say whether it will appeal it to the state Supreme Court. A lawyer for the municipalities Bridgeville Borough, Collier Township and South Fayette Township said he saw no basis for the administration to appeal, saying that it had tried to get the lawsuit dismissed on a technicality. They almost admitted they didn't follow the statute, lawyer John M. Smith said. The loss for Wolf's administration was the second in a row: A Commonwealth Court judge in a separate case in May had imposed a temporary injunction on the tolling projects. PennDOT has said that it was holding hearings and giving opportunities for local input on each proposed bridge tolling project. Wolfs push for tolling comes as states increasingly look to user fees to make up for declining gas tax revenue that is not keeping up with the demands of fixing highways and bridges. It also comes amid rising gas prices and spurred opposition from some communities. Wolf could try to start the process over, but he has less than seven months left in office, and neither of his potential successors in Novembers election support it. PennDOT has said the bridge-tolling money is necessary to fund badly needed upgrades at a time when the states current highway and bridge budget for construction and maintenance is less than half of the $15 billion that is needed to keep Pennsylvanias highways and bridges in good condition and ease major traffic bottlenecks. Wolf, a Democrat, last year called for phasing out the gas tax, and empaneled a commission that produced recommendations to replace the money, leaning heavily on shifting to a vehicle-miles-traveled fee that numerous states are exploring. In a statement, Wolf's administration said lawmakers have failed to offer any solutions beyond passing a 2012 law that created the Public-Private Transportation Partnership Board to help streamline the approval, funding and contracting for major projects. In recent months, Republican lawmakers have argued that the Wolf administration could instead use federal infrastructure aid or borrow the money from the federal government. But PennDOT has said neither helps fix a long-term gap of billions of dollars in highway construction and maintenance funding. Senate Republican leaders insisted Thursday in a statement that they are ready to "discuss how we should fund our road and bridge projects moving forward. Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/timelywriter. Copyright 2022 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 WARSAW, Poland (AP) A year after migrants started crossing into the European Union from Belarus to Poland, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and top security officials visited the border area on Thursday to mark the completion of a new steel wall. On Friday, Polish authorities will also lift a state of emergency along the border that has blocked journalists, rights workers and others from witnessing a human rights crisis. At the very least, 20 migrants have died in the area's freezing forests and bogs. The Polish government characterizes the wall as part of the fight against Russia; human rights defenders see it as representing a huge double standard, with groups of white Christian refugees from Ukraine made up mostly of women welcomed but predominantly male Muslims from Syria and other countries rejected and mistreated. The first sign of the war in Ukraine was (Belarus President) Alexander Lukashenko's attack on the Polish border with Belarus, Morawiecki told a news conference. It was thanks to (our) political foresight and the anticipation of what may happen that we may focus now on helping Ukraine, which is fighting to protect its sovereignty, Morawiecki said. As Poland opened its gates to millions of Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion, work was well underway to build the 5.5-meter (18-foot) high wall along 186 kilometers (115 miles) of its northern frontier with Belarus. It still needs electronic surveillance systems to be installed. It's meant to keep out asylum seekers of a different type: those fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa, who were encouraged to try their luck by Belarus authoritarian regime a close ally of Russia as part of a feud with the EU. One of the asylum-seekers was 32-year-old Ali, who left Syria late last year after reading on social media that the easiest way into the EU was to fly to Belarus and walk into Poland. Ali, from a village outside Hama in western Syria, flew to the Belarusian capital, Minsk, and set out to find an unguarded spot in the forest where he could sneak over into the EU. I was looking for a place where I can live in safety, away from the oppression and hopelessness back home, he said in an interview this week with The Associated Press in Berlin. Ali, who didn't give his last name, fearing repercussions for his family, was not prepared for the violence and sub-zero temperatures that awaited him in the vast forests and swamps. There were nights when I went to sleep on the bare ground in the woods thinking I would not wake up again, Ali said. If you give a lift to a refugee at the Ukrainian border you are a hero. If you do it at the Belarus border you are a smuggler and could end up in jail for eight years, said Natalia Gebert, founder and CEO of Dom Otwarty, or Open House, a Polish NGO that helps refugees. Belarus had never before been a key migration route into the EU until its President Alexander Lukashenko began encouraging would-be asylum-seekers in the Middle East to travel to Minsk. Soon, people from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and African countries flocked to the EU's eastern edge, entering Poland and neighboring Lithuania and Latvia. EU leaders accused Lukashenko of waging hybrid warfare in revenge for the bloc's sanctions over the regime's treatment of dissidents. Polands government says Russia is complicit, given Lukashenkos alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Though migration slowed in the winter, people continued to try to enter the EU through Poland, a route seen as less dangerous than crossing the Mediterranean Sea, where many have drowned in past years, Gebert said. Ali, whose small makeup business in Syria was destroyed when Sunni extremists learned he belonged to the Alawite religious minority, says he got pushed back six times by Polish border guards. But Belarusian guards beat him, stole his money and forced him to take off all his clothes in the middle of the winter. He wanted to give up and return to Minsk, but the guards wouldn't let him. They made him and others lie on the cold ground, screamed at them, approached closely with a snarling dog and kicked Ali repeatedly in the chest. Polish border patrol officers broke his phones SIM card, he said. He went without water and food for days, lost in the swamps. A Human Rights Watch report this month said Poland unlawfully, and sometimes violently, summarily pushes migrants and asylum-seekers back to Belarus, where they face serious abuses, including beatings and rape by border guards and other security forces. Amnesty International has also detailed serious human rights abuses. While some Poles support the governments tough stance, many border region residents have throughout the winter and spring sought to help migrants trapped in the forest, several requiring medical help. A play that premiered in Warsaw this week, "Responsibility," asks how Poland can accept millions of Ukrainians while withholding help to thousands of others. One character asks: Why does the Polish state demand that a child from Aleppo sits in a bog in sub-zero temperatures and withhold the aid it gives the child from Mariupol? Ali spent 16 days in the forests, before he and others used pliers to open a hole in a border fence. Some villagers gave him food and water, but soon he was apprehended by police and taken to a detention center. Over the next three months, he was moved through several closed camps. Guards carried batons and stun guns, he said, and every time before they moved him to a different camp they made him and other detainees strip naked in public. Nobody addressed him by his name, but by an identification number. In March, he was handed his papers and taken to the Debak center for foreigners in Otrebusy southwest of Warsaw, where he was told: Go away, go to Germany. Ali arrived in Berlin in April and applied for asylum. Rights activists and psychologists have documented his account and also those of other asylum-seekers who say they suffered abuse by both Belarusian and Polish border guards. I feel better here. People call me by my name again, Ali said. But I'm worried all the time that the Germans will send me back to Poland. Grieshaber reported from Berlin. Follow APs migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration Copyright 2022 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 PHOENIX (AP) Development attorney Karrin Taylor Robson called for leaving behind the 2020 election and focusing on the future while former news anchor Kari Lake doubled down on the lie that former President Donald Trump lost because of fraud as the Republican candidates for governor squared off in a raucous debate Wednesday. Robson gave a nod to the widespread belief among Republican primary voters that something was amiss in 2020 and refused to say whether she would have certified the results, but she stopped short of saying the election was fraudulent. She said Democrats are focused on the future, and Republicans should be too. I believe the elections werent fair, Robson said. She accused liberal judges of changing the rules late in the cycle and the media and big tech of suppressing conservative voices. But I am focused on 2022 because the left is 10 steps ahead of us, she said. I will do everything I can to ensure Arizona is in Republican hands for the 2024 election when we can take back the White House. Lake, who was endorsed by Trump and has focused much of her campaign on the lie that the 2020 election was marred by fraud, said she would not have certified what she called a corrupt election. President Joe Biden "lost the election and he shouldnt be in the White House, Lake said. Lesser-known candidates Scott Neely and Paola Tulliani Zen agreed with Lake that the election was corrupt. Federal and state election officials and Trumps own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the election was tainted. The former presidents allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed. The race is taking clearer shape with one week to go before early voting begins. Polling has shown Lake leading for the entirety of the campaign, but former U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon's decision Tuesday to drop out could shake things up and give Robson a boost in a one-on-one race against Lake. Salmon threw his support to Robson hours before the debate on Wednesday. All four contenders began throwing barbs almost immediately and continued throughout the hourlong debate. The candidates talked over and constantly interrupted one another. We need a leader with a record of accomplishment, not a career talker with the teleprompter, Robson began, taking a dig at Lake's 27-year career in television news. She repeatedly called her leading rival Fake Lake. We do need someone whos a grownup, and someone who calls names is not a grownup, Lake said later. Under repeated questioning from debate moderator Ted Simons of Arizona PBS, Robson agreed that she does not represent a radical change from outgoing Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. She said Arizona has posted a strong recovery from the economic downturn brought on by the pandemic and spoke supportively of his COVID-19 policies. In hindsight, when you see that he angered as many people on the left as the right, he probably got it about right, Robson said. Lake, by contrast, said Ducey kept businesses closed for far too long and should not have allowed local governments to require masks. Eventually we realized that this is destroying our economy, hurting people and we didnt need to have those masks, Lake said. Salmon dropped out this week after determining he had no chance of pulling out a victory in the GOP primary, and said he did not want to drain votes from Robson. I'm going to work my tail off to get Karrin Taylor Robson elected as governor of Arizona because I actually believe that with all the challenges that we have as a state ... we can't afford to get it wrong," he said on KTAR radios Mike Broomhead show. Salmon ticked off major campaign issues such as border security, K-12 education and water supplies that he said were incredibly existential issues to us as a state. "And I believe that we've got to have somebody that actually has a track record of getting things done," Salmon said. And somebody we can trust as a real true conservative like Karrin Taylor Robson. Term limits bar Ducey from running again in 2022. Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and former Nogales Mayor Marco Lopez are seeking the Democratic nomination. This story has been updated to correct the last name of debate moderator Ted Simons. Copyright 2022 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 MOSCOW (AP) The lower house of Russias parliament gave final approval Thursday to a bill that would allow the banning of foreign news media in response to other countries' actions against Russian news outlets. The Kremlin-controlled State Duma approved the bill on its final, third reading. The equally pliant upper house of parliament is set to quickly rubber-stamp the measure before Russian President Vladimir Putin signs it into law. Russia has repeatedly complained in recent months that Western countries were improperly restricting Russian media by banning their operation or denying visas to their journalists. In early June, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called in representatives of American media, including The Associated Press, to warn that they could be denied renewal of their visas and accreditation. The new bill also allows Russias prosecutor general to cancel the registration of media outlets for disseminating illegal, dangerous, unreliable publicly significant information or information expressing clear disrespect for society, the state, the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as aimed at discrediting the Russian armed forces. Many foreign news organizations suspended or curtailed their operations in Russia following the passage in March of a law calling for up to 15 years in prison for reports seen as discrediting the Russian military. The Russian Foreign Ministry in May ordered the closure of the Moscow bureau pf the state-funded Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in response to Canadas ban on RT, a Russian state-controlled broadcaster. In February, as Russia built up troops along Ukraines border, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle was ordered to close in Moscow after Germany banned the broadcast of RTs German-language programs. Russia in recent years has persistently clamped down on independent journalism. Following the start of the Ukraine conflict, many significant independent news media shut down or suspended operations. They included the Ekho Moskvy radio station and the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, whose editor, Dmitry Muratov, was last years co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Copyright 2022 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 Flash An online activity was held on June 28 for youth from China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for them to share their ideas and promote youth exchanges between the two sides via short videos. Government officials, academics, social media experts, influencers, and students from China and the UAE attended the event, hosted by China Arab TV and co-organized by Chinese Embassy in the UAE and UAE Embassy in Beijing. "Both China and the UAE treasure innovation, and young people from both countries uphold lofty ideals and aspirations," said Zhang Yiming, Chinese ambassador to the UAE. He hoped that the youth of the two countries could work to better understand the two peoples and create more quality short videos reflecting the China-UAE friendship. "In the past, one would have to travel long distances to gain first-hand knowledge and understanding of different cultures and peoples. Today's youth are lucky to communicate with each other through social media platforms of short videos and other digital platforms," noted Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, UAE ambassador to China. "It is clear that the future of the UAE-China relationship will be secure in the hands of the next innovative and talented generation." Yang Wei, director-general of China Arab TV, believed that TV dramas, short videos, and other audiovisual materials are one of the best channels for people, especially young people, to understand and learn about each other's languages and cultures, adding that China Arab TV has always been committed to introducing the two countries to each other through audiovisual products. Other guests, including Yan Ni, deputy head of the international cooperation department with China's National Radio and Television Administration, and Liu Zhen, vice president of Kuaishou Technology, also delivered remarks. Following the speeches, students from Beijing International Studies University, United Arab Emirates University, and Abu Dhabi University, as well as social media influencers, shared their ideas on short videos. The event culminated with the official launch of the UAE-China Youth Audio-Visual Communication Programme. OAKLAND, Calif. Sonny Barger, the famous founding member of the Hells Angels who rode the country by motorcycle, wrote bestselling books, fought the law and won on several occasions, and advocated against smoking after his throat cancer diagnosis, has died at 83. The announcement of Bargers death came on his official Facebook page with a post containing a farewell message written by Barger. If you are reading this message, youll know that Im gone. Ive asked that this note be posted immediately after my passing, the post says. Ive lived a long and good life filled with adventure. And Ive had the privilege to be part of an amazing club. Barger died of cancer, according to the post, which says he was surrounded by his wife, Zorana, and other loved ones. Born Ralph Hubert Barger, the Modesto, Calif., native moved to Oakland as a child, enlisted in the U.S. Army as a teen, and gravitated toward motorcycle clubs at a young age. In his autobiography, Barger wrote that the Hells Angels were a small San Francisco club that fizzled before he joined. He and other bikers picked up the name and started the Oakland Hells Angels, which is now known as the clubs most significant charter. Hed go on to become the clubs national president in the late 1950s and is credited with helping build the Hells Angels into an international organization. As a street tough, I looked the part. I wore my Levis jeans with one-inch-wide cuffs at the bottom, smoked Camelshad the attitude, and rode a motorcycle, Barger wrote in his autobiography, describing his formative years in Oakland before joining the Hells Angels. He wrote that he was influenced by the film The Wild One starring Marlon Brando and gravitated toward the image of an outlaw on the open road. Though Barger disputed what authorities have long maintained that the Hells Angels are a criminal enterprise held together by violence and funded by illegal cash cows he unapologetically defended the club in the face of its biggest controversies, including the notorious fatal stabbing of a fan at the Altamont Free Concert in 1969, during a Rolling Stones performance, by a Hells Angel working security who was later acquitted on self-defense grounds. Barger was a frequent target of law enforcement throughout his life, and though he spent lengthy periods in prison, he was also known for beating serious charges that would have led to lifelong incarceration. In 1972, he and three others were acquitted of murdering a Texas drug dealer in Oakland and setting a residence on fire as part of the killing. In 1980, after an eight-month trial, he beat racketeering charges in a split verdict that saw nine others convicted. Barger would later write that the case came to symbolize what he saw as the federal governments oppression of the Hells Angels, writing he refused to take a plea deal because it would have required admitting the club was a gang. In the early 1980s, Barger was diagnosed with throat cancer and required the removal of his vocal chords. After surviving that health scare, Barger began to publicly advocate against smoking, tailoring his message with the Hells Angels textbook anti-establishment attitude: Want to be a rebel? Dont smoke as the rest of the world. Barger moved to Arizona in the late 1990s for health reasons, but returned to Alameda County in 2016. In his final years, he largely kept a low profile, though his 81st birthday in 2019 perhaps owing to the numbers 8 and 1 referring to the H and A in the alphabet was a major event, hosted at the Oakland clubhouse. His farewell message says he died peacefully and, despite his public persona, valued time with his family and friends the most. Keep your head up high, stay loyal, remain free, and always value honor, Barger wrote. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 RENO, Nev. (AP) A candidate for Nevada governor who lost this month's Republican primary election by just over 11 percentage points, or nearly 26,000 votes, will pay for a statewide recount after he objected to the outcome and made numerous unproven claims about the election process. Nevadas Secretary of State told county clerks Wednesday to begin conducting a recount this week, at a cost of $190,960 to Reno attorney Joey Gilbert. Gilbert had 26.7% of the vote on June 14, trailing Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, who won 38.4% in a crowded primary field for the Republican governor nomination on June 14. Gilbert has not conceded and will pay $190,960 for the recount. Gilbert, who was present outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, has repeatedly challenged the primary election results, alleging workers did not properly verify signatures or monitor ballots, among many other claims. Gilbert's team has not offered any proof for the claims and his team did not respond to emailed questions from The Associated Press on Wednesday. County clerks and officials across the state have said that the election was conducted fairly. Across the state on Wednesday, election officials submitted estimates for how much each recount would cost. In Washoe County, the states second largest county, it will cost Gilbert just over $84,000. Several other local Republican candidates joined Gilbert in filing for a recount but ultimately rescinded their filings, spokesperson Bethany Drysdale said. Washoe County will have a team work 12-hour shifts until the recount is complete, Drysdale said. A representative from Dominion Voting Systems will be present and there will also be a certification board. In rural Nye County, with a population just over 50,000, it will cost $600 for two staff members to come in. All 17 counties have five days to complete the recount. We were all preparing for it, said Sam Merlino, Nye Countys clerk. We all had a feeling theres going to be an election contest or recount. During his campaign, Gilbert had repeated false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. And in a Facebook video posted to his page two days after the election, Gilbert urged his supporters to submit affidavits that they voted for him. He said it was not about his loss but election integrity overall, an issue that was central to his campaign. I just think right now, based on what Ive seen, this is a mess, Gilbert said in the video. These elections, the way theyve been run, its like Swiss cheese. Theres too many holes. For Republicans, Gilberts apparent rejection of the results reflect growing challenges two years after many in the party embraced disproven claims of election fraud. Party leaders wants to encourage voting while also appealing to the tens of thousands who backed Gilbert and distrust elections. The day after the election, state GOP chair Michael McDonald who rejected the results of the 2020 election rebuked Gilbert and said it was time to unite behind Lombardo in a rare instance of criticism of the far-right within the state party. The election is over. Its been called. Joe Lombardo has won. We need to come together and unite, he said, calling Gilberts reaction emotional. In the two weeks since, Gilbert has talked about filing a lawsuit. In a Facebook Live video posted Tuesday, he offered a reward to anyone who could provide smoking gun evidence to prove corruption. Lombard, who is endorsed by Trump, will face Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak in what is projected to be a toss-up race. Every legitimate news outlet has called this race for Sheriff Joe Lombardo, and its clear that the people of Nevada have spoken, Lombardo spokesperson Elizabeth Ray said in a statement the week after the primary. Like Sheriff Lombardo said, no matter who you voted for last week, hes ready to listen to you, work for you, and fight for you as your Republican nominee. Despite contesting the results of his own race, Gilbert congratulated Republican senate candidate Adam Laxalt and Republican secretary of state candidate Jim Marchant for their Republican primary victories on the same ballot. Laxalt co-chaired Trumps reelection campaign in Nevada and led failed court challenges to overturn the states 2020 election results based on false election fraud claims. In February, Marchant told voters at a candidates forum that their vote hasnt counted in decades. Lombardo led Gilbert in statewide polls leading up to the primary. Dozens of angry voters last week urged county commissioners in Clark and Washoe counties to vote against certifying the tallies, describing their own experiences at the polls and repeating conspiracy theories that nearly derailedcertification in New Mexico earlier this month. Last week, two county commissioners in Esmeralda County conducted a hand count of all 317 ballots cast after the commission delayed the initial certification by one day. All county commissions certified the vote by the Friday deadline. The most famous recount in modern Nevada history came in 1998 when Sen. Harry Reid won reelection by 428 votes against Republican Rep. John Ensign in a recount that lasted for six weeks in Washoe County. The election night results there had Reid winning by 459 votes, but a recount and a series of challenges made Reid the official winner by 428 votes. AP writer Scott Sonner contributed to this report. Stern 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. Follow Stern on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gabestern326. Copyright 2022 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 SAN ANTONIO (AP) The tractor-trailer at the center of a human-smuggling attempt that left 53 people dead had passed through an inland U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint with migrants inside the sweltering rig earlier in its journey, a U.S. official said Thursday. The truck went through the checkpoint on Interstate 35 located 26 miles (42 kilometers) northeast of the border city of Laredo, Texas. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said there were 73 people in the truck when it was discovered Monday in San Antonio, including the 53 who died. It was unclear if agents stopped the driver for questioning at the inland checkpoint or if the truck went through unimpeded. The disclosure brings new attention to an old policy question of whether the roughly 110 inland highway checkpoints along the Mexican and Canadian borders are sufficiently effective at spotting people in cars and trucks who enter the United States illegally. They are generally located up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the border. Texas state police also announced they would operate their own inland checkpoints for tractor-trailers on the orders of Gov. Greg Abbott, who considers the Biden administration's efforts insufficient. It was unclear how many trucks they would be stopping. Also Thursday, Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, the alleged driver of the tractor-trailer, made his initial appearance in San Antonio federal court. During a hearing that lasted about five minutes, Zamorano, wearing a white T-shirt and gray sweatpants, said very little, giving yes and no answers to questions from U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Chestney about his rights and the charges against him. The judge appointed a federal public defender for Zamorano as well as a second attorney since the smuggling charge he faces carries a possible death sentence. She scheduled a hearing next week to determine if he is eligible for bail. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1976 that Border Patrol agents may stop vehicles at inland checkpoints for brief questioning without a warrant, even if there is no reason to believe that they are carrying people in the country illegally. Still, the practice has galvanized immigration advocates and civil libertarians who consider checkpoints ripe for racial profiling and abuse of authority. Some motorists post videos to social media accusing agents of heavy-handed, inappropriate questioning. The Laredo-area checkpoint is on one of the busiest highways along the border, particularly for trucks, raising the possibility of choking commerce and creating havoc if every motorist is stopped and questioned. Border Patrol officials call the checkpoints an imperfect but effective second line of defense after the border, acknowledging that agents must balance law enforcement interests with disrupting legitimate commerce and travel. Volume and configuration vary widely among checkpoints, but agents generally have five to seven seconds to decide whether to question a driver, said Roy Villareal, former chief of the Border Patrol's Tucson, Arizona, sector. Ultimately, it's very difficult to ascertain with crime in general. It's hard to say whether you're 100% effective, 50%, 10%." U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, who drives through the checkpoint almost weekly, said investigators believe the migrants boarded the truck in or around Laredo, though that is unconfirmed. That would be consistent with smuggling patterns: migrants cross the border on foot and hide in a house or in shrubbery on U.S. soil before getting picked up and taken to the nearest major city. Even if the truck were empty, it would raise questions about the checkpoints. Migrants often perish trying to circumvent them, getting dropped off before reaching them with plans to get picked up on the other side. In Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings, migrants walk through sweltering ranches to avoid a checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) north of the border. The Government Accountability Office reported this month that agents at inland checkpoints detained about 35,700 people believed to be in the U.S. illegally from the 2016 to 2020 fiscal years, only about 2% of all Border Patrol arrests. Agents seized drugs nearly 18,000 times during that period with more than nine of 10 arrests involving U.S. citizens. They have been a trap for U.S. citizens carrying even small bags of marijuana. About 40% of pot seizures at Border Patrol checkpoints from fiscal years 2013 to 2016 were an ounce (28 grams) or less from U.S. citizens, according to an earlier GAO report. Abbott did not provide details on the extent of Texas' new inland inspections announced Thursday. Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said troopers would take a more aggressive stance. Asked if that meant stopping every truck, Olivarez said he did not know and that it would partly depend on staffing. Its going to be inspecting more than what we usually inspect, Olivarez said. In April, Abbott gridlocked Texas border for a week after issuing orders that troopers inspect every tractor-trailer entering from Mexico as part of his ongoing fight with the Biden administration over immigration policy. Those inspections, which were mechanical and safety inspections, did not turn up any migrants or drugs. Spagat reported from San Diego. Paul Weber contributed from Austin, Texas. Copyright 2022 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 Yankton Press & Dakotan. June 27, 2022. Editorial: Abortion Ruling Wont End Abortion Fight One sliver of consensus emerged from Fridays momentous Supreme Court ruling on the Roe v. Wade abortion law: It was a historic day for America. After that, opinions diverged strongly, which was no surprise given the contentious emotional gravity of the issue. The decision which scuttled the constitutional right of women to have an abortion and instead referred the matter to the states hammered an American raw nerve, even though this outcome had been telegraphed several weeks ago when a draft opinion indicating this direction was leaked to the public. The court decision was many things on many fronts, but there was one thing that it wasnt: the end of the abortion issue. Far from it. First and foremost, abortions will not go away. Some states will opt to offer them and others will not, thus creating a checkerboard across the land. And those women who cannot afford to travel to a pro-choice state may seek out other, more dangerous means to do the procedure. The courts decision will be political dynamite, and it will be intriguing to see how this develops. National polls have consistently shown that a majority of Americans favor at least limited access to abortion in specific circumstances such as health matters or instances of rape or incest. How this decision will play with that majority will be important to watch. South Dakota is one such case. Gov. Kristi Noem celebrated Fridays court decision and is planning to call a special session to outlaw abortion in this state, apparently without provisions for rape or incest cases. The states voters rejected extremely restrictive abortion laws twice in the 2000s, but that doesnt seem to be a factor in whatever plans are being drawn up in Pierre today. (Perhaps any proposed limitations or bans should be put before voters so they can have a say in what the state wants.) Also, there has been talk of emboldened conservatives targeting other issues they oppose, such as same-sex marriage, contraception and LGBTQ rights issues that, again, all enjoy majority support (in some cases, by sizable margins) among Americans. In fact, Justice Clarence Thomass opinion Friday virtually invited groups to do just that, suggesting those efforts may find some sympathetic ears on the court. As extraordinary as the abortion decision is, striking at these other issues would not only further polarize the nation but it would also potentially call into question the spirit of a court inclined to take away rights from more and more Americans. This is a stormy age in U.S. history, and the seas have just gotten even rougher. In terms of abortion, nothing is settled, and the stakes may be getting higher in the days to come. END Copyright 2022 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 On July 4, we will celebrate the birthday of our nation, a nation which was, as Abraham Lincoln so eloquently put it in his Gettysburg Address, conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. When Lincoln delivered his address on a battlefield where the fate of our nation was decided, it was a time of great uncertainty. A time of crisis in which a bloody civil war threatened the future of the nation. A time when Lincoln expressed the fervent hope that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. Domestic violence ruins too many lives in Iowa to shrug it off without acting Legislation doesnt need to have definitive answers for every tragedy, but policies can effect change cumulatively to avert one tragedy here and another there. When a man shot his ex-girlfriend and her friend to death and then killed himself in Ames this month, the only thing out of the ordinary was where he found the victims in a church parking lot. Had a fatal attack occurred at, say, the home of one of the women, attention probably would have lasted a few days before the case fell out of public consciousness and showed up in a tally of domestic violence deaths. That kind of grim, implicit acceptance shouldnt be so. We ought to be at least as discomfited hearing about the murders of any intimate partner and any bystander as we are learning that lives were cut short just outside a worship service in a crowded auditorium. Iowa recorded 106 homicides in 2020; 18 of them were linked to domestic violence, according to the state attorney generals office. Last year, there were 20 such deaths. Tens of thousands more Iowans, predominantly adult women, receive services after suffering domestic abuse every year. Governments at all levels have tools to protect adults and children from domestic violence, even though they cant identify in advance every single person who is a threat to partners or former partners. Governments can help social service agencies make temporary and permanent shelter easier to find. They can help survivors achieve economic independence and remove that motivation for returning to an abuser. They can craft narrowly targeted restrictions on firearms, a primary implement of domestic violence deaths. Survivors tell us time and again, if they can access the practical foundations of living, they have the ability to be safer, said Lindsay Pingel, director of community engagement for the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, in a written statement. In Iowa, these tools are used too little. The most recent legislative session took us backward, highlighted by a reduction in how long Iowans can receive unemployment benefits in most circumstances. That revision was counterproductive in other respects, but its easy to imagine scenarios where tension in a family spikes earlier, or where a person leaves an abuser, loses benefits and is buried in debt months earlier than under previous law. Of course, any present debate involving economic independence or gun violence must acknowledge a one-two punch of devastating U.S. Supreme Court rulings at the end of last week. On Thursday, justices dismissed the relevance of contemporary considerations in assessing gun laws, and on Friday, they threw out 49 years of jurisprudence protecting womens right to choose whether to end a pregnancy. When it comes to guns, the problem is less the specific New York state law that six justices invalidated and more their justification for doing so. In 14 years since another landmark Second Amendment decision, the court ruled, most courts have wrongly assessed whether regulations are an appropriate means to achieve an important public interest. Instead, the only thing that matters is looking back to the adoption of the Second Amendment right to bear arms. Put another way, even the gun-friendly standard that Iowa Republicans are trying to add to the state constitution might actually be less permissive than the U.S. Constitution now requires. Congress, for its part, passed substantive restrictions on gun access for the first time in decades late last week. The law will give states incentives to enact red flag laws that let judges order weapons taken away from people deemed to be threats to others or themselves. And it closes the so-called boyfriend loophole, which barred domestic violence offenders from buying guns only if theyd been married to or had children with their victims. The laws provisions arent so obviously on point to the Ames case that they would clearly save lives in a similar case. Allegations against Johnathan Whitlatch over the course of at least six years suggest, in hindsight, a pattern of mistreating women. But that history wasnt taken into account in setting bond, when, two days before he killed the women, Whitlatch was arrested, the Ames Tribunes Phillip Sitter reported. Whitlatch was suspected of harassing one of the women, his former girlfriend Eden Montang. A friend told Sitter that Whitlatch had sometimes discussed suicide; court records also mention a suicide concern in 2017. Maybe a judge, under a red-flag provision with more teeth than current Iowa law, could have been persuaded to order Whitlatch to give up his weapons. Maybe that would have made it harder to kill Montang and Vivian Flores. Maybe enacting new laws to make housing and child care more affordable would help keep another survivor out of a would-be killers orbit. Legislation doesnt need to have definitive answers for every tragedy, but policies can effect change cumulatively to avert one tragedy here and another there. The question is what our state values most. Do we most value attempting to preserve life, and improving environments for survivors and children through investments in social safety nets and an equitable economy? Or do we most value removing every inconvenience associated with buying and carrying guns and enshrining the lowest possible tax rates for the privileged? Copyright 2022 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 When Elizabeth Weils New York magazine cover story, titled Canceled at 17, dropped, the internet immediately lit up. It tackled a thorny subject (canceled!). It involved teens (juicy!). And it was dazzlingly written. (This nightmare began sweetly. I mean!) The piece centers on Diego (a pseudonym, as all the names in the piece are), who showed a nude picture of his girlfriend to other kids, and then is subsequently ostracized by his peersthat is the canceling that occurred. The online debate about the piece immediately zeroed in on the question of whether we really need a piece of journalism that centered a canceled protagonist who actually did do something like sharing a nude of a teenage girl, when so many teens suffer severe ostracization for, say, wearing weird clothes, and do not benefit from generous framing that taps into the current zeitgeist. Personally, I was not a fan of a piece that centered Diegos experience in all of this, and how hard it has been on him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But others of my colleagues disagreedthe piece was impressively reported, for one thing, but maybe more importantly, it placed Diegos story in a larger trend. Another girl at the same school was cast out for years for blurting out a racist comment as a sophomore that she instantly regretted. Some boys were being named and shamed for doing apparently nothing bad at all. And, maybe this obsession with ostracizationOK, cancellationexisted outside of just this one high school. Maybe it was a problem everywhere. As the piece itself said, this could have been in any American city this past January, on any bus. Some writers questioned the universality of the high school cancellation narrative presented here (yes, it really felt like everyone in this narrow world was talking about the piece). And then Tarpley Hitt, at Gawker, published a classic little Gawker scoop: Elizabeth Weil had had a kid at the very school shed been writing about. The debate pivoted into a new spiralWeils editors had known about her connection but had determined that it hadnt affected her reporting and didnt bias her, and so they had declined to disclose the connection in the interest of preserving the anonymity of the school and the storys characters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ethically, this is confusing territory. It is not forbidden for Weil to have covered this story, especially if she really truly didnt have any connections to the many kids she talked to for it. Its true, as New York magazines statement on the matter points out, that writers find stories via their extended social networks all the time. (This is a big reason why the diversification of newsrooms is so urgent.) But it still feels a little inherently weird to have a writer cover their own childs high school without sharing with the reader that thats what theyre doing. While the high school cancellation narrative does not seem to be an isolated incidentWeil lists a handful of examples of boy-shaming run amok at various schoolsis the dynamic really so typical?* Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I emailed Weil, who confirmed that her kid had indeed overlapped with Diego, but noted that that overlap happened well before these events unfurled. Weil also said: I didnt know any of the subjects personally and I havent had a kid in the school in years. There was no personal conflict. This is not a personal story. Gawker is being Gawker. Advertisement Advertisement To unpack this further, we asked Heather Schwedel, a staff writer at Slate, and Rebecca Onion, a senior editor, to discuss the piece, and the conflict, on our chat show on gender, The Waves. (We invited Elizabeth Weil on, but she declined.) You can listen to that here: For my part, I found Heather Schwedel and Rebecca Onions discussion to be nuanced, and they made me see more value in the piece that I initially did. I hope you give it a listen. Advertisement Advertisement But I still cant help but think about all the schools in America where the kids are not taking up the social justice language that they may have seen operating in their specific communities. All the schools in America where it is not the boys that we have to worry forbut still the girls. I wonder if this storyabout perhaps too much and too zealous and even too cruel justicecould have been more of an anomaly that it first seems. Because it wasnt any school in America. It was Weils. When Robert G. Heft was 17, he made a flag. In March 1959, Heft was a high school junior in Lancaster, Ohio, and the standard United States flag still had 48 stars: Alaska had only recently joined the union, and Hawaiis admission was several months away. As an assignment for his American history class, Heft decided to make a new U.S. flag with 50 stars, which he cut out of mending fabric, ironed onto a rectangle of blue cloth, and attached to the stripes of a flag that belonged to his grandparents. It received a B-minus. As his teacher, Stanley Pratt, recalled decades later, I gave him a grade that he didnt like much, so I told him to get the thing approved in Washington, and maybe Id change the grade. Advertisement Bob Heft took his teacher at his word. His next move was to send his flagon which he had arranged the 50 stars in alternating rows of six and fiveto Michael DiSalle, the governor of Ohio. After DiSalle arranged to display it at the state Capitol and governors mansion, Heft brought it to his congressman, Walter H. Moeller, who lived in Lancaster. Heft later told Marc Leepson, the author of Flag: An American Biography, I said [Moeller] could put it in a file cabinet or closet or whatever and if there was ever a need for a 50-star flag, if there was a contestI didnt know how they went about it thenthis was my concept of what it should look like. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After Heft graduated from high school the following year, he took a job as a draftsman at Diamond Power Specialty, a company that made parts for energy plants and boilers. One morning, Heft said, he was telephoned at work and told that he would hear shortly from the president of the United States. As he described it many times afterward, when the call came, the other employees listened on a speakerphone as Dwight D. Eisenhower informed Heft that his design had been officially chosen as the new 50-star flag. Heft is credited as the flags designer in a prominent position on Wikipedia, in numerous books, and on the website of the Smithsonian Institution. According to Heft, he was told that thousands of designs had been submitted by the public, and five had been singled out for submission to Eisenhower, who selected the flag that had been made for Pratts class. During their call, Eisenhower invited him to attend a ceremony at the White House, where the new flag would be formally displayed for the first time on Independence Day. Heft immediately put the president on hold to ask his boss for time off. As soon as he confirmed that he could go, he turned back to the phone and said, Dwight, are you still there? Advertisement Advertisement On July 4, 1960, Heft remembered, he found himself seated between Eisenhower and Moeller on a viewing stand in Washington, watching as the flag was raised. When Moeller encouraged him to talk to the president, Heft only managed to ask, How do you like your job? Heft claimed that throughout the ceremony, the same thought kept running through his mind: He needed to get home to ask Stanley Pratt to change his grade. As soon as the event was over, Heft recalled, he left Washington and drove all night back to Lancaster. Early the next morning, he emerged from his house, which was surrounded by news vans from all three networks, and headed to the school, along with a crowd of reporters. Finding the startled Pratt in a classroom, he reminded his old teacher of their deal. Pratt opened his grade book, produced a red pen, and changed the B-minus to an A. I guess if its good enough for Washington, Pratt conceded, its good enough for me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The incident became famous. Heft is credited as the flags designer in a prominent position on Wikipedia, in numerous books, and on the website of the Smithsonian Institution. Versions of the story can be found on such media outlets as CNN, Fox News, Time, NPR, the Washington Post, Snopes.com, and Slate. A 2006 episode of Jeopardy! included the clue, In the late 50s junior high student Bob Heft designed a new arrangement of these, now known to every American. When none of the contestants got it, host Alex Trebek revealed the correct response: Stars on the U.S. flag. He added, See, we learn. Heft was frequently called the modern-day Betsy Ross. Although he disliked the nickname, it testifies to the power of the legends that Americans tell about the origins of their national symbols. The Betsy Ross myth has been largely debunkedthe claim that she made the first United States flag is supported nowhere in the historical recordbut it satisfies a craving for patriotic figures who fulfill a certain need. Advertisement Hefts story, while very different on the surface, has similar qualities. And its problems are more troubling than nearly anyone has known up until now. I first heard about Heft through the Today I Learned community on Reddit, which is devoted to sharing surprising facts. Hefts story has appeared there so often that it was initially tagged as a frequent repost, but the latest submission received more than 21,000 upvotes. After reading it, I was skeptical enough to run a search for Hefts name on Newspapers.com, which archives millions of scanned newspaper pages. Within five minutes, I found an article from the June 14, 1962, issue of the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. The headline was Lancastrian Prizes 50-Star American Flag He Made Here. Its account of how Heft made his flag closely resembled the standard story, but instead of any assertion that it became the basis for the official design, it merely said that it was considered Lancasters first. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This claim was already far more modest than the notion that Heft was credited as the flags designer, but the most damning sentence came in the third paragraph: As it later turned out, this was the arrangement that the U.S. government used when they started manufacturing the flag. In other words, less than two years after his alleged triumph, his own hometown paper said nothing about Heft designing the flag, let alone his dramatic meeting with Eisenhower. After looking deeper, I was unable to avoid the obvious conclusion. Hefts storywhich many reputable sources cite as a historical factis false. While he did make a 50-star flag for his history class, and Pratt may even have agreed to change the grade if it were accepted by the government, everything else in the usual account is a lie that Heft embellished for nearly half a century. If the origin story of the nations most recognizable symbol is untrue, it illustrates how misinformation about the American past can be deliberately invented and uncritically perpetuated. The real question is how and why Heft did itand why so many people wanted to believe that it was the truth. Advertisement Robert Galen Heft was born in Saginaw, Michigan, on Jan. 19, 1942. His parents, Maynard G. Heft and Viola C. Weaver, separated when he was a baby. Maynard Heft ran into trouble with the lawhe was charged with stealing chickens as a teenager, and for the theft of 75 pigeonsand served time in the Michigan state reformatory. Viola eventually remarried, and neither would play a significant role in their sons childhood. When Heft was 1 year old, he went to live with Sheldon and Gladys Schromme in Lancaster. While he spoke of the Schrommes as his grandparents, their exact relationship is unclearGladys may have been a great-aunt on his fathers sideand Heft remembered them both as strict disciplinarians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lancaster was a small city of around 25,000 people, about 30 miles southeast of Columbus, informally known by its residents as the whitest town in America, which made it a favorable region for the Ku Klux Klan. (One of Bob Hefts nephews, Maynard, told me that Heft privately claimed that his grandfather had been the grand dragon of the klan in Ohio.) As a boy, Heft attended Calvary Lutheran Church and enrolled in the Cub Scouts. At Lancaster High School, he joined the library club and student council, but he was socially awkwarda large kid with thick glassesand he never went on dates or attended dances. Heft always said that designing the flag in Stanley Pratts American history class was the turning point of his life, and he precisely dated the beginning of the project to Friday, April 18, 1958. This is inconsistent with the assertionwhich appeared equally often in his recollectionsthat he was 17 and a high school junior at the time. The chronology also conflicts with his claim to have contacted Gov. Michael DiSalle and Congressman Walter Moeller, neither of whom was in office until the following year. To make his story more impressive, it seems likely that Heft consciously revised the timeline in his favor. Advertisement In fact, the actual date was probably sometime in March 1959. Heft said on multiple occasions that his project was inspired by a newspaper filler item on Alaska, as well as by a local middle schooler who received a letter from the mayor after making a 49-star flag. This may reflect a photograph that ran in the Eagle-Gazette on Feb. 19, 1959, showing an elementary school student lowering a flag made by his mother, Mrs. Alvin Eckhart, which was believed to be the first new flag [with 49 stars] to be flown by a Lancaster family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 18, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Hawaii Admission Act. Six days later, a photo of Bob Hefts 50-star flag was published for the first time in the Eagle-Gazette. A caption said, In teacher Stanley Pratts American history class an observant visitor might have blinked his eyes if he stopped to count the stars on the American flag. There were 50 stars on the flag. Bob Heft, a student, replaced the blue field with a new one containing the 50 stars. This flag, which will be the official design for the 50 states, has alternating rows of six and five stars each. Advertisement It seems safe to conclude that Heft made his flag shortly before this item appeared, which is consistent with his supposed age and grade. (His transcript confirms that he was enrolled in American history that year as a junior, earning a B for the class.) Equally notable was the assertion that the flag will be the official design, which doesnt suggest that Heft himself was regarded as the designer. At that point, the final design was already favored by the government, although not formally announced, and the need for a new flag with 50 stars would have been evident to anyone. (The real origins of the flag remain unclear. Photographs of flags with the modern arrangement of 50 stars were widely circulated as early as 1952. Of all the people who took credit for spearheading the design, perhaps the most convincing was William R. Furlong, a retired rear admiral in the U.S. Navy, who was the first official known to have discussed the flag with Eisenhower. In a 1953 letter held by the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Furlong told the president, There are many possible arrangements of 49 stars and of 50 stars. Some are shown on drawings enclosed herewith. Although the drawings have not been preserved, they probably included the design that became the final pattern, which had been previously studied by the Office of the Quartermaster General.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Feb. 2, 1960, Hefts flag was mentioned again in an article on the high school library club: It was revealed at the meeting that one of the members, Robert Heft, is scheduled to appear on the Garry Moore show, Ive Got a Secret, sometime in March. Mr. Heft has received letters from President Eisenhower and Gov. DiSalle stating that the new 50-star flag he made was the first 50-star flag owned and flown by an individual in the United States. Even if we assume that these letters existed, the article didnt identify Heft as the designer of the flag itself, and his unsubstantiated claim about Ive Got a Secret would recur frequently in the future. As a senior, Heft was active in student politicshe had met Congressman Moeller on a field trip the previous falland organized a Young Democrats club for Fairfield County. After his graduation in June, he began working in the drafting and design division of Diamond Power Specialty. It was at this point that Heft later stated that he received his fateful call from Eisenhower, and it also marks the moment that his story falls completely apart. Heft consistently said that he witnessed the debut of the 50-star flag in Washington on July 4, 1960, in the company of the president. All three elements of this narrative are demonstrably false. An item in the Eagle-Gazette reveals that Heft actually spent that Independence Day at a family reunion in Ohio with his grandparents. Eisenhower himself was at his farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and he only returned to the White House in the evening. The ceremonial hoisting of the first 50-star flag didnt even take place in Washington, but at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, where it was raised many hours earlier, at one minute after midnight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even if Hefts homemade flag appeared in D.C., it would have been far from unique. On July 4, a total of 5,200 50-star flags were displayed over the Capitol. Any senator or representative could ask for a flag to be flownthey were often used as gifts for constituentsand a record number of requests was received that day. Furthermore, Hefts flag may not have been there at all. At least one early article on his career says that it was flying at the time over the state Capitol in Ohio. If neither Heft, Eisenhower, nor the debut of the flag itself was in Washington on Independence Dayor even if just one piece in his story can be ruled outthen the entire account is likely a fabrication. Needless to say, no evidence survives of Hefts triumphant return to Lancaster, which he said was covered by television cameras and dozens of print and radio reporters. In reality, when Heft was mentioned again in the local paper in November, he was identified merely as the creator of the first 50-star handmade flag to fly over the Capitol building, the United Nations building, and other Washington government buildings, although the article still asserted that he was scheduled to be featured on Ive Got a Secret. Hefts flag went unmentioned until June 14, 1962, in the Eagle-Gazette article that originally aroused my suspicions. It said that Heft had made the flag considered Lancasters first three months before Hawaii was admitted to the union, which is consistent with the spring of 1959. There was nothing about Eisenhower or Hefts status as the official designer. Instead, it stated only that his handmade flag had flown over the U.S. Capitol and the capitols of all 50 states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The following year, at 21, Heft ran unsuccessfully for the Lancaster City Council. He often spoke in public, but his flag appeared in none of the articles on his campaign, which would have been the obvious place to mention it. After his defeat, he began working at a real estate appraisal firm associated with the county auditors office, and he headed a district youth committee for former astronaut John Glenns first run for the Senate. A June 1964 article in the Eagle-Gazette implied that he still expected to appear on Ive Got a Secret, and he said that he was sending his flagbelieved to be one of the first madeto embassies overseas. A month later, Heft was described as the flags designer for the first time. The Baltimore Evening Sun reported on a visit by Heft to Maryland, where he was invited to fly his flag at Baltimores Star-Spangled Banner Flag House. Heft was falsely credited with running Glenns senatorial campaign in Southern Ohio, and he said that he made the flag three months before Alaska became a state, pushing the date back to 1958. According to the article, Mr. Heft figured that if the annexation of predominantly Democratic Alaska was imminent, the annexation of predominantly Republican Hawaii was sure to follow soon to keep political peace and balance. Hefts implication that no one else had anticipated the admission of Hawaiiwhich had usually been mentioned in the same breath as discussions of Alaskan statehoodwas ludicrous, as was the notion that he made his flag while other flag designers were still fooling around with 49-star patterns. There was no mention of Eisenhower, but the other pieces of the myth were falling into place, and Heft evidently felt more comfortable telling the story in Maryland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Ohio, where he was employed as a deputy county auditor, he often gave talks to local organizations. Heft said that his flag had covered 3.5 million miles on its travels to different embassiesan unlikely achievement, since the Earth is less than 25,000 miles in circumferenceand showed off other designs with 51, 52, and 53 stars. While press coverage referred to his handmade original as Americas most valuable flag, he did not claim to be its designer, at least not at home. As Heft took his act on the roadhe reportedly spoke in seven other stateshe grew bolder. Before he delivered a speech in Zanesville, Ohio, he was identified in the paper as the man who designed the official 50-star United States flag. Back in Lancaster, he said that his flag had flown over the American Embassy in Saigon on the day before it was bombed, in an apparent reference to the car bombing that occurred there on March 30, 1965. (In his earliest versions of the story, Heft said that the flag was returned to him unscathed, but in later accounts, he would point to a patch in one corner that he said was a mark of the attack.) His claim about Vietnam was a reflection of the national mood. Over the next few years, the flag itself would become a symbol of political division. While supporters of the war displayed flag pins, patches, and decals, protesters used it for their own iconic images, whether by burning it or, in the case of Abbie Hoffman, being arrested for defiling it by wearing it as a shirt. Hefts own views were closer to the latter group, as he revealed a few years later: I am critical about the war in Vietnam. I dont think we should be there at all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As many Americans longed for a return to the simpler patriotic narratives of the past, however, Heft was ready to use this to his advantage. In an Eagle-Gazette article on May 16, 1966, he was finally identified in his hometown as the 24-year-old Lancaster man who designed the 50-star arrangement in the U.S. flag. He may never have made the television appearance that he so often claimed, but there was no question that Bob Heft had a secret. Hefts lie slowly grew over time, and his exaggerations frequently took the form of large numbers. In a 1967 talk in Kansas City, Missouri, for instance, he said that his design had been chosen over 90,000 identical entries because his flagwhich he now backdated to 1958had arrived a year and a half before the others. (The real number of public submissions was more like 3,000, many of them from elementary school students, and while the Eisenhower Presidential Library possesses at least two proposals with the same arrangement, there was never a formal competition.) He also claimed to have turned down an offer from the Smithsonian to purchase the flag, which he said elsewhere had been insured by Lloyds of London for $250,000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After working for various schools as an art and drafting teacher, Heft took a position as an audio-visual director and industrial arts instructor at the Fairfield School for Boys, a minimum-security juvenile correction facility in Lancaster. He proudly displayed his flag in a trailer painted in patriotic colors, and he continued to present himself as its designer in paid talks, including one for hundreds of Girl Scouts who contributed nickels out of their own pockets. In 1972, Heft moved to Napoleon, Ohio, a farming town of around 8,000, where he managed two movie houses for the Armstrong Theatres chain. His political ambitions had never gone away, and three years later, he ran for mayor, winning with 56.6 percent of the vote. He was the first Democrat to occupy the office in two decades, and the election coverage said that he received national attention in 1960 as the youth credited with designing the 50-star flag. He wore a shirt and tie emblazoned in flag colors, owned a red, white, and blue telephone, and drove a car with the license plate 50FLAG . The victory emboldened him further. At a Kiwanis Club talk a few years earlier, Heft had confined himself to saying that he received a letter from Eisenhower crediting him with the flags design. Now he began to spin the story in its full form, complete with the call from the president, his trip to Washington, and the grade that was changed thanks to an act of Congress. (Heft went on to often claim that he met every sitting president since Eisenhower, butwhile he did present a key to the city of Napoleon to Ronald Reagan before Reagan was elected to the Oval Officeno photographs of any such meetings have survived.) A few years into his tenure as mayorwhich was characterized largely in news reports by his hostility to the mostly immigrant workers who picked tomatoes on nearby farmsHeft made a failed run for the Ohio House of Representatives, and he tried again in 1984. Sen. John Glenn, who later credited Heft with the design of the flag in a speech in the Senate, hailed him as the greatest mayor the city of Napoleon ever had, but Heft was soundly defeated. After his loss, he settled back into town, where he ran a real estate brokerage and taught business classes as an instructor at Northwest Technical College in nearby Archbold. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1985, he was interviewed by a reporter from the Associated Press, who wrote that the flag story had brought Heft a good living. Heft said that he spoke to scouting groups and small organizations for free, while charging $1,500 plus expenses for others, which accounted for half of his earnings. He wore a shirt and tie emblazoned in flag colors; owned a red, white, and blue telephone; and drove a car with the license plate 50FLAG. After six terms as mayor, Heft lost in 1987 to a 25-year-old Republican challenger. A profile in the Dayton Daily News caught Heft sporting a flag pin on his lapel, driving a red Firebird, and listening to a cassette tape of Lee Greenwoods God Bless the U.S.A. Heft said that he still made a pretty good income from his talks, but another Napoleon resident observed, I think his story about getting a call from Ike and putting him on hold is getting a bit old. Although the former mayor had clearly benefited from his story for political purposes, when George H.W. Bush seized on the American flag as a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, Heft expressed annoyance: It sort of gets me when a candidate for president or any candidate for public office tries to wrap themselves in the flag, almost saying it is exclusively theirs or their party. Heft spoke out against the Supreme Court decision that ruled that burning the flag was a form of protected speech, but his profile gradually diminished, and he moved back to Michigan, where he worked as an education manager for Junior Achievement in Saginaw County. In 2003, an Ohio Historical Society marker was unveiled at Hefts old high school in Lancaster, which was identified as the birthplace of the 50-star flag. Two years later, Heft made headlines when he tried to sell his original flag on eBay, along with various photos and letters, including one from Bill Clinton. The minimum bid was set at $250,000. Heft claimed that a New York museum had once offered him half a million dollars for the flag, which he was selling now to establish a college fund for his nephew Edwards children. (When we spoke by phone, Edward said that he had been personally close to his uncle, whose story he supports.) It failed to attract any bids, and a listing on Hefts personal website was equally unsuccessful. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although Heft said afterward that he received interest in the flag from Ross Perot and Bill Gates, he had trouble convincing serious buyers. A prominent vexillologistor flag expertnamed James Ferrigan looked into it on behalf of the Smithsonian and a private collector. Ferrigan was unable to verify the claim, but he told me that he was struck by Hefts air of sincerity: He was a great salesman. Thats what I would have reported back, Ferrigan said. He believes that story. At events, Heft autographed flags for sale, which was technically a violation of the United States Flag Code, but he reassured attendees that he was the only person authorized to do so by the government. Although he said that he traveled 100,000 miles annually to give hundreds of speeches, the available evidence points to a much less expansive itinerary, confined largely to Michigan and Ohio. He also stated that he had toured with Bob Hope and appeared three times on The Tonight Show. (Photos do exist of him with Hope and Johnny Carson, but Heft is wearing an identical suit and lapel pin in all the pictures, and he may have met them both at the Ohio State Fair, where they performed while he was displaying his flag in 1968.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heft claimed to pay a visit every year on Sept. 11 to the site of the World Trade Center, where he signed flags that he sold for $20 each. Since 9/11, a lot of people have become patriotic, Heft observed, even though they werent before. He lived long enough to see another shift in the political climate. Late in life, he endorsed Bill Johnson, a Navy veteran who ran unsuccessfully from the far right in a Senate primary in Kentucky. Heft rarely expressed specific political opinions in publicit was hardly in his interest to do soand he may have simply found himself caught up in the changing politics of the flag itself. On Dec. 12, 2009, at the age of 67, Heft died of a heart attack at Covenant Medical Center in Saginaw. Despite his failing health, he had continued to make appearances to the very end. In his obituary by the Associated Press, he was called the man credited with designing and sewing the first 50-star American flag. Darrell Zolton, the lawyer appointed to his estate, was ordered by a probate judge to sell the flag to establish a trust for Hefts great niece and nephews, but no buyer could be found who was willing to pay the desired price. To cover legal fees, it was turned over to Zoltons law office in Saginaw, where it is kept in a locked safe to this day. In the years since he died, Hefts tale has gone largely unquestioneda recent TikTok video, This Boy Made History Just to Prove His Teacher Wrong, has racked up millions of viewsbut there have been a few dissenting voices. When I asked Peter Ansoff, the president of the North American Vexillological Association, whether the questions about Hefts flag were an open secret among vexillologists, he said, Yes, I think sothats a fair statement. On the talk page for Hefts Wikipedia article, which has since been deleted, an editor noted that the text referred to his story as a widespread myth, but the entry on the flag itself attributed its design to Heft: As such, we have one article directly contradicting another; which means that one or the other must change. As I write this, Heft is still credited near the top of the article Flag of the United States, with citations to sources in the Washington Examiner and the Baltimore Sun. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The tale of a student from Lancaster, Ohio who triumphed over the experts is the sort of legend that many Americans want to believe. While Hefts reasons for his fabrications might never be clear, he may have managed to deceive even himself. His lie grew in a feedback loop, and it isnt hard to imagine him tailoring his story to his listeners, responding to their laughter or praise, until it evolved into something that he could no longer control. When I spoke to Marc Leepson, the scholar who included Hefts account in his book about the flag, he compared it to the stolen valor of individuals who make dishonest claims of military service: They tell the story for so long that it isnt uncommon for them to really believe itthat they did do all this stuff. Zolton, the lawyer for the estate, told me, If you heard Bob Heft talk, he was an extremely believable person. I just find it hard to believe that his entire story was false. If nothing else, it eased his loneliness. Heft never graduated from college, married, or had children. Even if it was all based on a lie, the framed flag that he carriedwhich looked suspiciously better than it did in its earliest known photo from 1959gave him a measure of the respect that he wanted. A few years before his death, he told a reporter, That piece of cloth Thats me. At Holy Cross Lutheran Cemetery in Saginaw, he is buried with a granite headstone shaped like the flag. Robert Heft designed the 50-star American flag as a school project. He got a B- until Eisenhower selected his design https://t.co/q1KoMzKmDg pic.twitter.com/BG0QMgoI5B Find a Grave (@FindaGrave) December 12, 2016 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yet he wouldnt have succeeded at all if the story hadnt also served the needs of others. Legends about the flag tend to reflect the national mood, and they become especially powerful during periods of reaction. The Ross myth was popularized in part by opponents of the suffrage movement, who reframed its sentimental picture of the patriotic value of domestic womans work as a rebuke to feminism. A few decades later, it was embraced by nativist groups, and it played a similar role in organizations that opposed socialism and communism, including the American Legion, which sponsored many of Hefts talks. In Hefts case, the tale of a student from Lancaster, Ohio, who triumphed over the experts, including his teacher, is the sort of legend that many Americans want to believe. It can happen to anyone, Heft said. It doesnt matter if you come from a small town. This aspect of his story partially explains why so many trustworthy sources have presented it as an entertaining slice of history, but the truth about achievement in this country is far less reassuring. Lancaster itself has suffered grievously in recent decades from drugs, declining schools, and the devastation of local industry by private equity. Meanwhile, the basic elements of Hefts mythnostalgia, a distrust of elites, a yearning for a supposedly less complicated version of Americahave been distorted in ways that its creator never imagined. Bob Hefts true story can feel like a parable in itself, and it hints at how insidiously a false narrative can take hold when personal motives are amplified by larger forces. Heft seemed to lie out of a longing for attention, embellishing his credentials and inflating the numbers to appeal to his available audience. As he sold patriotic merchandise with his name on it and gained a modest amount of political power, it was hard to pin down his actual beliefs, apart from his hostility toward immigrants. If he had been luckier or more charismatic, he might have done it on a larger scale. Heft took his lie as far as it could carry him. Others have made it much further. Theres a new meme going around: A creepy, famous couple holds a sign up that says, We will adopt your baby. Often, the figures are pulled from a Tim Burton movie, dead-eyed and spooky. The image that spawned this meme is a photograph of a couple, standing in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday amid protesters, holding a sign that says, We Will Adopt Your Baby, cheesing for the camera with huge grins. Their message was simple: They see adoption as an alternative to abortion. Advertisement Its not. The proposal of adoption as an alternative to abortion still undermines a womans right to choose, and ignores the matter of pregnancy complications or the emotional trauma of carrying a baby to term and then giving it away. The meme itself takes aim at this false equivalency. But the actual individuals in the photo arent anonymous pro-lifers. They are members of a network of influential anti-abortion lobbying groups. Until a little over a year ago, one of them was associated with the most powerful anti-LGBTQ law firm in America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The couple, Neydy Casillas and Sebastian Schuff, are both lawyers who have dedicated much of their careers to conservative Christian legal fights. (Neither responded to a request for interview or comment.) Schuff, the president of a group called the Global Center for Human Rights, is originally from Argentina, where he worked for years in academia and government, and as a public defender, according to his Linkedin profile. His work bio indicates that much of his career has been spent in service of human rights related to life, religious freedom, and family rights. Advertisement Advertisement Casillas, who is also associated with Schuffs organization, is the one tied to the powerful anti-LGBTQ law firm, Alliance Defending Freedom, which has been pushing to transform the U.S. into a more Christian-values nation (with remarkable success). Casillas, who is originally from Mexico, currently works for an organization called Concerned Women for America, an evangelical advocacy group that was founded in the late 1970s in opposition to the feminist movement and Betty Friedans National Organization for Women. The group advocated against the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1980s and has since fought against abortion, gay marriage, secular education, and other issues important to the Christian right. It takes its fights to legislatures and the courts. For example, it entered an amicus brief for Dobbs. Advertisement Sign Up for the Surge The most important political nonsense of the week, delivered to your inbox every Saturday. 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. Casillas and Schuff currently live in Washington, D.C., but Casillas works on international affairs for CWA. Before she joined the organization a little over two years ago, she spent over a decade with the international offshoot of the Alliance Defending Freedom. The Alliance Defending Freedom is best known for defending the Christian cake shop owners who fought for the right to discriminate against gay customers in the 2018 Masterpiece Cakeshop Supreme Court case, but the legal group has been involved in a number of other high-profile religious freedom cases, including as one of the key parties in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. The CEO of the organization, Michael Farris, got his start in the Christian home-schooling movement, which he single-handedly transformed into a cultural and legal powerhouse. ADF is deeply entwined with the parental rights movement, and is a huge force pushing anti-CRT legislation and anti-trans bills that are going through state houses. According to the New York Times, Farris also played a critical behind-the-scenes role in drafting the lawsuit Republican state attorneys filed to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The international offshoot of ADF may deal with institutions and courts abroad instead of those in the United States, but its rooted in the same values and takes on similar cultural fights. One of the most prominent lawsuits it joined involved a Finnish politicianwhom ADF supportedwho was acquitted of criminal hate speech charges for speaking out against Pride events. The case drew attention in international conservative media for months. Other ongoing and recent cases involve the morning after pill, worship practices during COVID lockdowns, and, of course, abortion. The couple may genuinely be aware of the difficulty of adoption, and may indeed be willing or ready to adopt. But its worth noting that these elated-looking people who spawned a meme have built their careers off a movement to strip abortion rights from womenand the web of conservative issues that movement is connected to. When it comes to organizing from the Christian right, things are often not as organic as they first seem. No single day has better captured the current state of the Supreme Court than Thursday. At 10 a.m., the court issued a devastating assault on the Biden administrations ability to regulate greenhouse gases in a 63 ruling joined by all of the courts reactionary block. Ten minutes later, it issued a 54 opinion that just barely confirmed that the president, rather than a rogue judge in Texas, has authority over border policy, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh lending the lone votes preventing an absolutely insane outcome. Shortly thereafter, the court issued a bombshell orders list that tees up, for next term, one of the most important and dangerous democracy cases in American history, which asks whether state legislatures have near-unlimited authority over election laws. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sign Up for the Surge The most important political nonsense of the week, delivered to your inbox every Saturday. 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. The courts most immediately lethal decision remains Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade. But do not let Dobbs distract from the onslaught that followed it. If anyone still doubted that the Supreme Court served as the nations chief policymaking institution after Dobbs, Thursday should put that to rest. The court is ruthlessly efficient, putting our gridlocked Congress to shame with its speedy and definitive resolution of the most pressing issues facing the country today. It does not require hourslong hearings or endless negotiations to operate. The six-justice conservative majority chooses which conflicts to prioritize, takes up cases that present them, then picks a winner, nearly always for the benefit of the conservative movement and the Republican Party. Advertisement Consider the issues that SCOTUS has resolved this termthe first full term with a 63 conservative supermajority. The constitutional right to abortion: gone. States ability to limit guns in public: gone. Tribal sovereignty against state intrusion: gone. Effective constraints around separation of church and state: gone. The bar on prayer in public schools: gone. Effective enforcement of Miranda warnings: gone. The ability to sue violent border agents: gone. The Environmental Protection Agencys authority to regulate greenhouse gases at power plants: gone. Vast areas of the law, established over the course of decades, washed away by a court over a few months. Advertisement There is no serious risk of another branch overriding these decisions. The squabbling among our elected representatives is, increasingly, a sideshow, with the court nudging along the decline of voters ability to shape their democracy. One-third of the court was appointed by a president who lost the popular vote, yet the majority evinces not a shred of caution about overriding the democratic branches or its own predecessors on the bench. It imposes Republican policies far more effectively than the Republican Party ever could. Real power in this country no longer lies in the people. It resides at the Supreme Court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Few cases illustrate this fact better than West Virginia v. EPA. There is no live dispute: West Virginia is a challenge to the Obama administrations Clean Power Plan, which attempted to regulate carbon emissions at coal-fired power plants, and does not actually exist anymore. SCOTUS halted the plan in 2016 by a 54 vote, and the Trump administration later repealed it. Bidens EPA wants to issue a new and different regulation targeting these emissions. But the Supreme Courts conservative justices did not want to wait for that regulation, so they decided to strike down the Clean Power Plan nowpreemptively hobbling any climate regulations that Bidens EPA might want to issue in the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The major questions doctrine is calibrated to preserve a maximum amount of leverage for the Supreme Court to simply veto any regulation it dislikes. Chief Justice John Roberts 63 opinion in West Virginia performs grisly surgery on the Clean Air Act to mutilate one of its key provisions. That law allows the EPA to impose emissions caps using the best system of emission reduction. Obamas EPA believed that the best system included shifting power generation away from coal toward cleaner sources, like natural gas or renewables. Bidens EPA probably would have deployed a similar approach if it had the chance. But it wont, because Roberts imposed a new limitation on the Clean Air Act: A system, he wrote, encompasses only technology at the regulated source to make it operate more cleanly, like scrubbers on smokestacks. A broader system that shifts power generation from dirty to clean energy does not count. Advertisement But why? There is no such limitation in the text of the law, which grants the EPA extremely wide latitude to determine the most effective system for reducing emissions. So Roberts imposed this extratextual restriction by invoking the major questions doctrine, which bars agencies from exercising a highly consequential power beyond what Congress could reasonably be understood to have granted. How consequential must that power be? Roberts didnt say. He merely declared that the Clean Power Plan fits this definition, because Congress had conspicuously and repeatedly declined to enact such a regulation, and never made a peep suggesting it could be done under existing law. Advertisement Advertisement This guidanceif you can even call it thatis calibrated to preserve a maximum amount of leverage for the Supreme Court to simply veto any regulation it dislikes by whispering the magic words major question. It is less of a doctrine than a talisman that can ward off agency action that the court dislikes. The majority can wield it with the knowledge that our dysfunctional Congress will likely never pass a legislative solution to judicial vetoes. As Justice Elena Kagan noted in dissent, this principle is a repudiation of textualism, the theory that courts must apply the words of a statute as written. Some years ago, she wrote, I remarked that [w]ere all textualists now. It seems I was wrong. The current Court is textualist only when being so suits it. When that method would frustrate broader goals, special canons like the major questions doctrine magically appear as get-out-of-text-free cards. Advertisement The chief justice, as he is wont to do, gave the impression of splitting the baby on Thursday, following up West Virginia with an opinion in Biden v. Texas, which looks like a victory for the president. And it is, but only in the sense that five justices took one small step back from the abyss of total judicial lawlessness. This lawsuit asked the federal courts to wrest authority over border policy from the president and turn it over to a lone Trump judge in Texas, Matthew J. Kacsmaryk. Republicans cooked it up to stop Biden from rescinding Trumps Remain in Mexico policy. Remain in Mexico forced refugees and asylum-seekers to live in violent tent cities on the Mexican side of the border while awaiting a hearing to determine if they qualified to stay in the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before Remain in Mexico, the government typically let migrants reside in the United States while awaiting their hearings. In 2021, Biden tried to restore the old status quo by revoking Trumps policy, but Kacsmaryk stopped him. He declared that border agents had two options when processing migrants at the border: send them back to Mexico or detain them, taking away the option of release inside the United States. (If he were correct, every president since Bill Clinton violated immigration law each day of their terms.) Of course, there are not anywhere close to enough facilities to detain every migrant. So Kacsmaryks decision forced the Biden administration to send them back to Mexico. Advertisement Advertisement To do that, the administration needed approval from the Mexican government, which it did not have. Kacsmaryk thus ordered administration officials to restart diplomatic negotiations with Mexican diplomats, threatening to sanction government lawyers if the talks failed. The 5th U.S. Court of Appeals upheld his order. Advertisement By a 54 vote, the Supreme Court overruled Kacsmaryk on Thursday. Roberts majority opinion, joined by Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the liberals, constitutes the bare minimum that SCOTUS could do to rein in an out-of-control judge. The thrust of his opinion is that Congress could not have possibly forced border authorities to undertake the impossible task of detaining or deporting any migrant. Roberts noted that federal law instead gives the executive branch discretion to decide how to address migrants. He also reminded the lower courts that the Constitution directs the president to engage in direct diplomacy with foreign countries, not the judiciary. There is an alarmingly real chance that five justices will set aside originalism to reach a result that aligns with their political preferences at the expense of our democracy. Its nice to know that five justices still believe Biden is, in fact, the head of state. Its outrageous, however, that it took Roberts and Kavanaugh this long to say so (and that their more reactionary colleagues disagree). The Supreme Court had an opportunity to halt Kacsmaryks power grab in August. By a 63 vote, it declined. Its course of action sends a message to the Biden administration that it does not get to do anything until SCOTUS says so. Even when juristocrats revive Trumps zombie policies, the Biden administration cannot expect the kind of immediate relief that the court provided to Trump. A Democratic president can only exercise his constitutional duties after he has prostrated himself before SCOTUS, asking permission from the real guys in charge. Advertisement We barely had time to recover from West Virginia and Texas before the Supreme Court dropped the judicial equivalent of an atomic bomb. In its final orders list before Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson joined the court, it announced that it will hear Moore v. Harper next term. It is impossible to overstate the threat that Moore poses to American democracy. The case asks the court to adopt the independent state legislature theory, which holds that state legislatures have near-limitless power over their states election law. State courts are shut out, as are election boards and maybe even the governor. State constitutional limits on voter suppression, including gerrymandering, are void. Independent commissions tasked with redistricting are illegitimate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Taken to its extreme, this theory allows state legislatures to nullify the will of the voters and assign presidential electors to the losing candidate. Thats what Trump urged swing state lawmakers to do in 2020; it formed the heart of his failed coup. Its also what Ginni Thomas encouraged legislators to do while she facilitated that coup. Her husband, Justice Clarence Thomas, is a strong proponent of the theory. Advertisement Harper specifically asks whether the North Carolina Supreme Court can place limits on the state legislatures radical gerrymanders under the state constitution. The Supreme Courts conservative majority blessed this exact approach in 2019s Rucho v. Common Cause. But no one should trust this court to uphold its promises. Four justicesThomas and Kavanaugh, plus Sam Alito and Neil Gorsuchhave already endorsed this theory. It is wrong from top to bottom, an egregious affront to originalism that defies historical practice as well as the constitutional authority of states to structure their own governments. But it also benefits Republicans, who hold disproportionate control of state legislatures due to the very partisan gerrymandering practices at issue in the case. There is an alarmingly real chance that five justices will set aside originalism, just as they set aside textualism in West Virginia, to reach a result that aligns with their political preferences at the expense of our democracy. At the end of her West Virginia dissent, Kagan wrote that the court appoints itselfinstead of Congress or the expert agencythe decisionmaker on climate policy. She added: I cannot think of many things more frightening. The limits of Kagans imagination, though, are no match for this supermajority. The Supreme Court will give us many, many more reasons to fear it in the coming years. In one sense, this term marked the culmination of multiple decadeslong crusades against liberal precedent. But this was not the grand finale of the conservative revolution. It was the opening act. Vietnam hands over more remains of US soldiers missing in action The Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP) handed over remains of American soldiers missing in action during the war in Vietnam to the US in a ceremony held at Da Nang International Airport on June 30. A handover of remains of missing US soldiers is held in Da Nang in September 2019. (Photo: VNA) The US side included representatives from the US Embassy in Hanoi and the US Missing in Action (MIA) Office in Hanoi (DET2). The two sets of remains returned to the US side this time were the results of the two countries 146th and 147th joint searches from February to June. Examined by both Vietnamese and American forensic specialists in Da Nang, they were found to potentially link to missing US servicemen in Vietnam. They will be sent to Hawaii for further examination. The search for missing US soldiers' remains from the war in Vietnam has been an ongoing humanitarian activity jointly conducted by the Vietnamese and US Governments. This was the 158th handover since 1973. The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear Moore v. Harper, an independent state legislature theory case from North Carolina. This case has the potential to fundamentally rework the relationship between state legislatures and state courts in protecting voting rights in federal elections. It also could provide the path for election subversion in congressional and presidential elections. The issue presented in this case has been a recurring one in recent years. Two parts of the ConstitutionArticle I, Section 4 as to congressional elections and Article II as to presidential electionsgive state legislatures the power to set certain rules (in the Article I, Section 4 context, subject to congressional override). In cases such as Smiley v. Holm, the Supreme Court has long understood the use of the term legislature here to broadly encompass a states legislative process, such as the need for a governors signature on legislative action (or veto override) about congressional elections. As recently as 2015, in Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission v. Arizona Legislature, the Supreme Court held that the voters in Arizona could use the initiative process to create an independent redistricting commission to draw congressional districts even when the state legislature objected. The majority saw voters passing legislation via initiative as part of that legislative process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sign Up for the Surge The most important political nonsense of the week, delivered to your inbox every Saturday. 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. But that latter case was 54 with a strong dissent by Chief Justice John Roberts, who believed the legislature could not be cut out of the process. Most of the justices in the majority in that case are now off the court. Theres a more radical version of the idea that the legislature has power, standing on its own as a body and not part of the general structure of state government, in the independent state legislature theory. Take the facts of the Moore case. The North Carolina Supreme Court, interpreting a provision of the state constitution protecting the right to vote, held that partisan gerrymandering violated the state constitution and required drawing fairer lines, including in congressional districts. That state court is majority Democrat, and the North Carolina General Assembly is majority Republican. The Republican legislature argued that this holding usurped its sole and plenary power to choose the manner for drawing congressional districts. Advertisement Advertisement Pause on that for a moment: The theory in this extreme form is that the state constitution as interpreted by the state supreme court is not a limit on legislative power. This position would essentially neuter the development of any laws protecting voters more broadly than the federal Constitution based on voting rights provisions in state constitutions. It also goes against what Roberts wrote for the conservative majority of the court as recently as in the 2019 redistricting case Rucho v. Common Cause, when he explicitly said that provisions in state statutes and state constitutions can provide standards and guidance for state courts to apply regarding redistricting. As Roberts wrote, the courts have a role to play in redistricting fights: Advertisement Advertisement Our conclusion does not condone excessive partisan gerrymandering. Nor does our conclusion condemn complaints about districting to echo into a void. The States, for example, are actively addressing the issue on a number of fronts. In 2015, the Supreme Court of Florida struck down that States congressional districting plan as a violation of the Fair Districts Amendment to the Florida Constitution. Advertisement Advertisement A state supreme courtalbeit a Democratic-controlled onemaking a judgment about what a state constitution allows in terms of redistricting is also what happened in North Carolina. Of course, the composition of the Supreme Court has changed in the intervening years since Rucho. Whats worse, this theory might not just restrain state supreme courts; it can also potentially restrain state and local agencies and governors implementing rules for running elections. Advertisement Advertisement And this kind of argument shows how the ISL theory, if taken to its extreme, could help foment election subversion. How so? Suppose a state court or agency interprets state rules to allow for the counting of certain ballots, and doing so favors one candidate. If the leaders of the legislature are from the other party, and they say that the interpretation does not follow the views of the legislature, its impermissible and the results need to flip. (This is essentially the argument that Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas accepted in their concurrence in the 2000 Bush v. Gore case, ending the 2000 presidential election and handing it to Bush.) Advertisement Advertisement Now there may be many responses to such arguments, including arguments like lachesyou cant start raising these arguments after an election when things dont go your way. Advertisement This was in fact the theory that Trump allies tried to raise after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court extended the time to receive absentee ballots in the 2020 elections because of the COVID pandemic, relying on voter-protective provisions in the state constitution. Trump allies argued this usurped the power of the state legislature to set deadlines, and Justice Samuel Alito at the time put the counting of such ballots on hold. There were ultimately only about 10,000 such ballots, far fewer than the 80,000-vote margin of victory of Biden in the state. But if it had been closer, a radical reading of ISL could have led to a flipping of results. Advertisement Now there may be more limited ways of reading the ISL theory, such as to apply only when a state court or agency decision very strongly deviates from legislative language about how to run federal elections. Advertisement There are also good reasons for the North Carolina legislature to lose even under a strong version of the ISL theory, as I explained earlier in Slate: Advertisement An even stronger reason for believing that the North Carolina argument is weak in this case is that it was the state legislature itself that proposed the provision in the 1970 constitution guaranteeing these voting rights for North Carolina voters, which have now been interpreted by the state supreme court to ban partisan gerrymandering. As North Carolina elections guru Gerry Cohen explained, Unlike the North Carolina Constitutions of 1776 and 1868 which were promulgated by independent conventions, the 1970 state constitution was enacted by the General Assembly. How can the state supreme court have usurped the legislatures power when the legislature itself brought this provision into the state constitution, knowing full well that the state constitution is interpreted by the state Supreme Court? There are also strong originalist arguments that might persuade some of the justices not to adopt such a radical reading of these constitutional provisions. But buckle up! An extreme decision here could fundamentally alter the balance of power in setting election rules in the states and provide a path for great threats to elections. A version of this post originally appeared on Election Law Blog. As a conservative majority of the Supreme Court roguishly departs from nearly 50 years of precedent by reversing two landmark decisions that affirmed a womans right to choose, its worth commemorating a time 50 years ago when the courts actions, while still deeply imperfect, were more consistent with its purported conviction to the sanctity of life. In 1972, a year before Roe v. Wade was decided, the Legal Defense Fund secured the first and only moratorium on the imposition of the death penalty in the history of the United States in Furman v. Georgia. For five years following the decision, no person was put to death by any state or federal agency. More than 600 death sentences were vacated, sparing just as many lives. Advertisement The reason for the cessation of a practice that was, at the time, an accepted form of punishment across the globe for the most egregious transgressions, was that it violated key provisions of the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, the arbitrary and discriminatory manner in which the death penalty was imposed against people of color, especially Black defendants, and poor persons constituted cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment and violated the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The courts one-page per curium order was followed by five separate concurring opinions and four separate dissentstotaling more than 200 pages altogether. Justice William Brennan, Jr. and Justice Thurgood Marshall, LDFs founder and the first Black associate justice of the Supreme Court, favored abolition. The other three justices in the majority made clear that they would preserve the possibility of reinstating the death penaltyif states implemented reforms to ensure that it was limited, nondiscriminatory, and not employed in an arbitrary manner. Advertisement Advertisement Differences about the possible acceptability of capital punishment aside, the Furman decision was commendable: a majority of an ideologically diverse court had agreed on taking action that actually recognized the sanctity of life. What came next, however, should remind us that when it concerns the right to bodily autonomy and the guarantees of the U.S. Constitution, returning the issue to the states is not only an abdication of judicial responsibility, it is morally bankrupt. In 1976, a reconstituted Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in Gregg v. Georgia, on the theory that newly revised state statutes would eradicate the discriminatory and arbitrary use of state-sanctioned killing. Many states failed to keep this promise. Indeed, since 1973, nearly 200 people who had been sentenced to death were wrongly convicted and have since been exonerated; 54 percent of those exonerees are Black people. Advertisement Fast forward 50 years and the courts hypocrisy is starker than ever. Although the United States sadistic use of state-sanctioned killing already renders it an outlier among western nations, a majority of this court, in the Dobbs opinion, has now gone further, brushing aside the fundamental tenet of judicial restraint in order to remove bodily autonomy from another group of persons. It has done so despite the certainty that some of those persons, disproportionately Black, Brown, or low-income, will dieor suffer great physical, emotional, or economic injuryas a result of its decision. Advertisement Advertisement The courts alleged respect for life, though, cannot be reconciled with its patent disregard for death at the will of the state. And through such cruel indifference, this majority adds the credibility of the court itself to its list of victims. Advertisement Advertisement LDF continues to fight for the abolition of the death penalty, as it advocates for the reproductive autonomy of all persons. We do this, in part, because both quests reflect an institutional reverence for the life, freedom, and self-determination of people in this country to live free of discrimination and bias. Fifty years ago, the Supreme Court provided a fleeting example of a similar commitment. In this dark moment in which the court increasingly appears captured, let us remember how close we came to ending capital punishment in Furman and work towards a world where our courts, especially the Supreme Court, truly value the lives of all people. Russias retreat from Snake Island, a tiny clump of rocks in the Black Sea, has been reported as a major victory for the Ukrainian military, causing significant losses for Moscowbut is it really? Better to cut the adjectives and call it a step forward for Ukraine,a step back for Russia. In other words, its not nothing, but nor does it mark a shift in this plodding, gruesome war. A speck of land just 0.06 square miles in size, Snake Island nonetheless has some strategic value, in that its positioned in the Black Sea, where Russian ships have been blocking Ukraines ability to export grain. Russians also installed radar and other military electronics on the island to detect and ward off air and ground attacks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The re-taking of Snake Island helps Ukraine resist the blockade across a narrow lane of traffic and deprives Russia of a site for their air-defense radar. But the Russians retain control over the rest of the Black Sea, including the ports of Crimea and Odessa. Their control is not absolute. In April, Ukrainian missiles sunk the Moskva, the flagship of Russias Black Sea Fleet, and just last week, they sunk a Russian tug boat that was delivering military supplies to Snake Island. Still, Russia has about 20 military vessels in the Black Sea, including seven submarines, most of which operate out of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014 and still holds without any active resistance. As Steve Rosenberg, Russia editor for the BBC put it, Snake Island may be in a highly strategic part of the Black Seabut ultimately it is still a very small rock. Advertisement Advertisement Recapturing the rock also holds some symbolic significance. In a globally famous incident early on in the war, an officer on a Russian warship ordered a Ukrainian border guard on Snake Island to abandon his post, to which the guard replied, Russian warship, go fuck yourself. Reports differ on whether the guard was killed or taken prisoner, but either way, recapturing the island is playing as a moral victory for Ukraine. Russias retreat of the island has also become fodder for the information war being waged between the two neighboring countries. Spokesmen in Kyiv said Russians were forced off the island by Ukrainian artillery and missiles. The Russian defense ministry announced that the troops were voluntarily withdrawing from the island as a gesture of goodwill to allow the resumption of international trade, including the export of Ukrainian grain. Advertisement Satellite imagery, showing large burn marks on the island, tend to support the Ukrainian side of the storyas does the fact that the Russians have extended no other goodwill gestures in the four months of this war. A test of their sincerity will be whether they continue the blockadesomething they could still do with their naval forces in the region, though slightly less easily than when they still had Snake Island. Advertisement Advertisement In any case, we can all draw a lesson from the Battle for Snake Island and the way its been depicted by both combatants and the worldwide media. The war has boiled down to a contest of attrition. Neither sides army has the resources to make bold thrusts or extravagant maneuvers. Each side will each bomb, shell, and shove the other side for the gain or loss of a few miles here, a few miles there. Spokesmen for the side that gains will present the feat as a major victory. Dont believe it. This war will drag on with its senseless killing for a while to come. In yet another major blow to democratic constitutionalism, the Supreme Court ruled in West Virginia v. EPA that the Clean Air Act does not give EPA authority to regulate the power grid as a whole. The decision will likely limit the EPAs authority to address climate change across the board. But the issue is even broader. The opinion undermines the federal regulatory state that Congress has establishedwith the courts blessingover the past 200 years. Using a legal rule of its own invention that defies the intent of Congress, the court has struck at the heart of government agencies ability to protect the public. Advertisement Together with the courts elimination of the constitutional right to abortion, restriction of gun regulations, and expansion of religious authority, a clear picture is emerging: The people have less power now to create a safe and healthy society. Instead, the court has consolidated power in its own hands to the benefit of factional economic and cultural interests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sign Up for the Surge The most important political nonsense of the week, delivered to your inbox every Saturday. 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. West Virginia v. EPA strips the EPA of significant authority to address climate change. The Supreme Court itself practically required the EPA to take action against climate change during the second Bush administration. Years later, the Obama administrations EPA issued a groundbreaking Clean Power Plan to do so. The CPP required states to submit plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a combination of burning coal more cleanly, shifting from coal to natural gas, and shifting power generation from fossil fuels like coal and natural gas to renewable sources like wind and solar. Thus, it provided for both regulations at particular power plants and at the level of the electric grid as a whole. Advertisement Advertisement West Virginiaa coal-producing stateand other parties sued to stop the rule from going into effect. In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court stayed the rule while appeals were pending toward the end of the Obama administration. The Trump administrations EPA then replaced the Clean Power Plan with its Affordable Clean Energy rule. ACE was extremely weak by design: It did away with CPPs grid-level improvements, claiming that the Clean Air Act did not permit them. The American Lung Association and other parties challenged this rule, and the D.C. Circuit struck it down. Advertisement West Virginia v. EPA emerged as an appeal from these challenges. At the outset, the court should never have taken this case. Thats because there is no live case or controversy, as the Constitution requires before the judiciary can intervene. The CPP never went into effect, and it couldnt spring back into effect now, because the deadlines it set have already passed. The court in other recent cases has taken a very narrow view of private parties standing to get access to federal courtrooms. But here it takes a breathtakingly broad view of West Virginias interest in the case. It is impossible to escape the conclusion that there is a needles-eye-size standing rule for the beneficiaries of progressive causes, and a Los-Angeles-freeway-size rule for conservatives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the merits, the court held that the EPA lacked authority to regulate the grid because this was a major regulatory action that Congress did not expressly authorize the EPA to take. The major questions doctrine is a relatively recent invention of judicial interpretation. It is a one-way deregulatory ratchet that rejects broad assertions of regulatory power but does not question failures to vigorously enforce the law. And it has expanded over time. The court first relied on it in 1999 to conclude that Congress did not give the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate nicotine products such as cigarettes. Its been applied in a handful of cases ranging from physician-assisted suicide to the Affordable Care Act. Early on, commentators understood it to be an exception to the general Chevron doctrine, which provides that courts should accept agencies interpretations of statutes as long as they are reasonable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the doctrine has grown beyond these more humble beginnings. Taking its cue from then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the court has explained that Congress must very clearly delegate to agencies the authority to decide matters of vast economic and political significance. Major questions reared its head again in the shadow docket over the past couple of years to limit the federal governments response to COVID-19. The court first used it to block the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions moratorium on residential evictions, intended to reduce the spread of the virus. Moving even more boldly, the court relied on it again to stop the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from imposing a vaccine-or-test mandate on large employers. Despite very broad statutory language, the court concluded that the statute did not expressly authorize the agency to impose such a requirement. The unsigned opinion infamously reasoned that COVID was not an occupational hazard in most workplaces. Advertisement Advertisement West Virginia v. EPAs reasoning is similarly problematic. Chief Justice John Roberts makes no serious effort to defend his assertion that EPA exercised a power beyond what Congress could reasonably be understood to have granted. Congress, in fact, designed the Clean Air Act to be an economically transformative statute that would force the development of new technologies to address air pollution. When Congress gave the EPA authority to establish the best system of emission reduction for stationary sources of pollution like power plants, it presumably included the word system for a reason. It was looking for big, structural change, and the Obama EPA obliged. Roberts response boils down to his intuitive judgment that EPAs action raises an eyebrow. Despite the crystal-clear textual authority, he maintains that Congress could not possibly have meant EPA to address such a comprehensive kind of system. Advertisement But the court has also fashioned a new rule that agency actions that dont have exact historical precedents are suspect. This anti-novelty principle runs contrary to the whole purpose of the regulatory state Congress has written into law, and contrary to a Constitution which, in Justice John Marshalls famous words, was intended to endure for ages to come. Novel problemslike pandemics, climate change, and mortgage market crisesroutinely arise. And novel, systems-level solutions are often required. Moreover, when Congress wrote the Administrative Procedure Actthe fundamental charter for our regulatory statelegislators repeatedly stated that agencies could decide important decisions, so long as they did so through fair procedures. Thats what the EPA did in this case, not only by going through the public comment process but also by holding extensive public hearings and by giving states a significant role in how to implement the CPPs provisions. The court evinces a lack of interest in Congress considered judgments to give agencies major powers, all the while pretending to act as the legislatures faithful servant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the constitutional crisis we are entering, the court combines all three powerslegislative, executive, and judicialto limit the scope of federal power. It exercises legislative power by rewriting statutes to remove authorities and structures it doesnt like. It exercises executive power by interfering in the executive branchs administrative process before final action is ripe for review. And it exercises judicial power by freeing private parties from government health and safety regulations. As James Madison, French philosopher Montesquieu, and even Roberts himself have noted, such a combination of powers creates the risk of tyranny. It enables an unelected body to exercise arbitrary and unaccountable power. The real threat to republican government today is not the administrative state. It is the court. Alexis Spence created her first Instagram profile when she was only 11 years old. Her parents were not aware that she circumvented the devices parental controls, created multiple secret Instagram accounts, and hid Instagram on her device by changing the apps icon. Today she is 20 and, she says, suffers from addiction, anxiety, depression, self-harm, eating disorders, and suicidal ideation. On June 6, with the help of the Social Media Victims Law Center, Spence filed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms (formerly known as Facebook), as the parent company of Instagram, alleging that Instagrams design caused these mental and physical harms. Similar lawsuits have failed in the past, mostly because social media platforms claim immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. However, Spences lawsuit is differentand Meta should be worried. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First, Spences lawsuit follows Frances Haugens disclosure of Facebooks internal research, known as the Facebook Papers, that shows Meta knew its social media products are highly addicted and harmful to teenage girls. Second, this is one of the first lawsuits to allege design defects: that certain product features and capabilities built into Instagram are fundamentally defective, and these defects caused Spences mental and physical injuries. Third, instead of alleging injuries attributable to the content uploaded to the platform by its users, it targets Instagrams features and capabilities in a way that is content-neutral. In late 2021, Haugen received international attention as the Facebook whistleblower. The Facebook Papers, which she shared with journalists and during her testimony before Congress, suggested that the company believed the use of its social media products could lead to serious mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. In fact, Facebook named the harms as Suicide and Self-Injury, or SSI. For instance, one of the slides released in the Facebook Papers was titled, But, We Make Body Image Issues Worse for 1 in 3 Teen Girls. Advertisement Advertisement While some experts have challenged the research as inconclusive, in Haugens testimony, she detailed how Facebook knew of its products potential dangers, especially to preteen and teen girls. She also discussed the Facebook Papers overarching theme: Instagrams success and growth depends on the acquisition and retention of tweens and teenagers. Despite Metas policy that all users must be at least 13 years of age to create an Instagram account, the Facebook Papers revealed that the company deliberately studied 10- to 12-year-olds and how they used the platform. Advertisement And most importantly to Spences lawsuit, the Facebook Papers also revealed that Facebook conducted a study of its Likes feature called Project Daisy. In the study, the control Group A kept the publicly displayed like counter, but for Group B, Facebook hid the number of likes from the user. In the end, Facebook concluded, Likes, comments, and Direct Messages are all very important to teens. Teens seem very sensitive to receiving interactions and their emotions are directly correlated to the type and [number] of interactions they receive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spences suit claims Meta is liable under a products liability theory. In general, a products liability claim can take three forms: manufacturing defect, design defect, and marketing defect. A manufacturing defect may occur when, during the manufacturing process, the product deviates from the intended design, leading to harm or injury to the consumer. A design defect may occur when the design of the product itself causes harm or injury to the consumer. A marketing defect may occur when the manufacturer fails to provide proper instructions or warnings regarding the product. Other lawsuits against the social media company have attempted to hold it liable under products liability claims. In 2021, in a consolidated ruling, the Texas Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of three lawsuits against Facebook that primarily alleged marketing defects. In those cases, victims of sex trafficking alleged that they became entangled with their abusers through Facebook and said that the company should be held liable for failing to warn and prevent sex trafficking. Facebook moved to dismiss these claims pursuant to Section 230. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Section 230 generally protects online platforms from legal liability for transmitting, removing, labeling, or hiding problematic third-party content. Courts have interpreted its immunity broadly, but recently, Section 230 has faced tremendous criticism from scholars, politicians, and regulators on both sides of the aisle. In the Texas cases, the state Supreme Court said Section 230 barred the claims because they were rooted in the content posted on the platform by malicious users. The lawsuits sought to impose liability on Facebook for its failure to combat or remove third-party content, which is specifically barred by Section 230. Defenders of Section 230s broad interpretation have been critical of these products liability claims. For instance, the Cato Institute argued that the use of products liability claims improperly circumvents Section 230s protections. From Catos perspective, Section 230s primary beneficiary is the internet user, not the platform, because Section 230s purpose is to protect users free speech rights under the First Amendment. And if plaintiffs were to prevail with their products liability claims, it would frustrate Section 230s purpose. Advertisement Advertisement However, not everyone has been critical of products liability claims. Professor (and occasional Slate contributor) Danielle Citron, who has written extensively on Section 230, argues that its protections should not extend to activity that has little or nothing to do with free speech, such as the distribution of a dangerous product. And at least one court appears to agree. In 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that Section 230 does not shield Snapchat from liability for an alleged design defect related to its speed filter. In Lemmon v. Snap Inc., the appellate court concluded that Snap could be held liable for foreseeable injuries resulting from the use of its speed filter because the existence of this filter does not rest on any third-party content. Advertisement Advertisement One case that might be instructive in Spences claims against Meta is Herrick v. Grindr LLC, which sought to hold the dating app for gay men liable under a products liability claim. In that case, Matthew Herrick met J.C. on the app, and after their relationship ended, J.C. created a fake profile imitating Herrick. Using the fake profile, J.C. invited other men to Herricks home for violent sex. Herrick reported the fake profile to Grindr and local law enforcement, but his complaints went unaddressed. So he sued Grindr and asserted that it failed to incorporate common safety features or warn of how Grindr can be used as a stalking weapon. The federal district court dismissed Herricks complaint on Section 230 grounds. On appeal, he argued that Section 230 did not bar his claims because they concerned the apps design, not J.C.s speech on the app. But in 2019, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal because, as it concluded, Herricks alleged injuries were caused by the content submitted to the app by J.C., not the apps design. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The causation analysis put forth in Herrick v. Grindr LLC may be the most important part for Spences lawsuit. In fact, both the Texas cases and Herrick illustrate a dispositive issue in lawsuits alleging products liability claims: whether or not the platform itself actually caused the harms or injuries alleged by a plaintiff. But for J.C.s speech on Grindr, Herrick would not have experienced the alleged harassment and stalking. J.C.s unlawful acts (speech) were the actual cause of Herricks alleged injuries, not Grindrs acts or omissions. In the Texas cases, but for the predators actions, the victims would not have become entangled in sex trafficking. Advertisement Advertisement Spences lawsuit against Meta, by contrast, focuses on Instagrams Feed + Profile and Explore, Friend Recommendations, and Likes, with the latter likely being the strongest claim. Her claims can be reframed as: Regardless of the content posted on Instagram by its users, these product features and capabilities caused the injuries alleged. Advertisement In Lemmon v. Snap Inc., the availability and use of the speed filter did not depend on a third partys content. In Spences case, Instagrams feed, explore, and likes features similarly do not depend on any third partys content. However, unlike in the Texas cases, where the content of the sex traffickers played a significant role in entangling the victims, in Spences case, Instagrams core features entangled her in the mental and physical injuries. Regardless of the content she posted or other users posted to Instagram, it was the Likes feature caused the anxiety, depression, and addiction alleged. And as Project Daisy illustrated, per the Facebook Papers, but for the Likes feature, tweens and teens would not have experienced the anxiety, depression, and addiction. Advertisement Further, in Herrick, J.C.s content ultimately caused the harassment and stalking against Herrick. But in Spences case, regardless of whatever content Instagram showed her, the Feed + Profile and Explores design (e.g., endless scrolling) elicits the emotional response that drives the apparent addiction among tweens and teens. As Spence alleges, Metas use of psychological manipulation techniquessometimes referred to as persuasive designcaused the well-established hallmarks of clinical addiction. Advertisement Advertisement But for Metas failure to conduct a reasonable age verification, Spence would not have been exposed to Instagrams features and design. But for the likes feature, Spence would not have experienced the anxiety and depression that stem from the number of likes collected. But for the endless feed and explore features, Spence would not have experienced the clinical addiction that these features were designed to promote. Advertisement While Spences case is not a slam-dunk, its focus on content-neutral features as the actual cause of Spences mental and physical injuries stand the greatest chance of finding Meta liable. Even though Meta will likely argue that all of Spences claims are barred by Section 230, only some of her claimsthe claims that rely or depend on the content posted by third-partiesshould be barred. However, her claims that rely on content-neutral features should survive. And with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Californiawhere Spences case is filedhaving a greater understanding of technology than other courts, the suit may survive Metas motion to dismiss, but only if the district court applies a proper causation analysis. Advertisement And its important that Spences content-neutral claims are allowed to proceed. As Ive generally argued in the past, social media platforms will not change their behavior, including how they design their platforms, unless the incentive structure changes. Under the status quo, social media platforms are incentivized to maximize user engagement because it increases advertising revenues. Section 230 allows platforms to maximize user engagement without regard to any mental or physical injury that the platforms may cause their users. Advertisement Advertisement Further, setting aside whether Section 230 defenders interpretation is correct or proper, the reasons for Section 230 immunity fall flat with respect to Spences lawsuit. Here, there is no speech to protect. And if the primary beneficiary of Section 230 protection is the internet user, then it follows that platforms should not be allowed to use Section 230 immunity for the harms the platforms directly cause their users. Simply put, if platforms are exposed to legal liability (e.g., damages), then the calculus changesprotecting the mental health or physical safety of their users may suddenly align with maximizing profits or, at the very least, avoiding excess costs. This, after all, is what products liability lawsuits are intended to protect: the users or consumers safety. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. One year ago, just before the rush of the Fourth of July weekend, the National Park Service posted a somewhat sarcastic PSA on Instagram about not feeding the most vicious animal at the Grand Canyon National Park: Otospermophilus variegatus. Not the razor-toothed mountain lion, nor the 700-pound bull elk, and not even one of the Canyons five species of rattlesnake no, they were talking about the rock squirrel. Grand Canyon park rangers have regularly told visitors that squirrels are the most dangerous animals in the park. Advertisement Now, Ive never been bitten by a squirrel. But I was once bitten by a very grumpy rabbit, and I imagine its a similar experienceexcept that, unlike ground squirrels in the American West, my sisters pet bunny was not a reservoir for plague. (Thats rightplague! Its not just for prairie dogs!) Leading up to one of the Grand Canyons busiest weekends of the year, I wanted to know how risky these creatures really are (read: how worried should we be about, you know, the plague). So I reached out to someone on the frontlines of The Squirrel Problem: Jay Bawcom, a nurse practitioner at the Grand Canyon clinic. And to my surprise, he seems to think the squirrels are getting an undeserved bad rap. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first thing he made clear was that rock squirrels earned their most dangerous animal title through quantity, not quality, of bites. Injurious interactions with squirrels occur with exponentially higher frequency than injuries from any other animals in the park; even so, he said, on a typical weekend his clinic only sees two to three bites per day. Park rangers may treat more in the fieldin fact, busy weekends might see as many as 30 bitesbut usually, the bites are nothing to worry about. The danger is real, but its not very big. Bawcom also told me that my fear of squirrel-transmitted plague was likely blown out of proportion. Its possible, he admitted, but it would require more contact with a squirrel than a quick bite-and-run. Thats because the squirrel itself wouldnt give you the plague, its fleas would. And while a flea might jump from the infected squirrel during an encounter, Bawcom himself had never dealt with plague in his five years at the clinic. Similarly, he was unconcerned with the possibility of rabies, saying that to the best of his knowledge there had never been a documented case in Arizona of a squirrel with rabies, nor had the CDC documented a squirrel transmitting rabies to a human. (The unfortunate reason for this is that most squirrels dont come away alive from an attack by another rabid animal.) He noted that the vast majority of legitimate public health sources say that squirrel bites are not particularly concerning, and that most of the cautionary information online comes from exterminators and animal control companies websites. Advertisement Advertisement So, when a bite victim comes into his clinic, Bawcoms first thought is not to swab for deadly diseases. Instead, treating a squirrel bite means following basically the same procedure as treating a papercut: clean the wound, slap a Band-Aid on it, and call it good. Bites almost never require stitches, although because squirrels are generally biting fingers (thats where theyre used to finding food), they can bleed heavily. Bawcom recalled the drama of treating an infant who was covered in bloodthe source wound was only a 3-millimeter bite on the childs finger. Certainly scary for both child and parent, but not exactly life-threatening. Advertisement Advertisement While feeding the wildlife has always been a problem at national parksand, indeed, is illegalsmartphones and social media have likely exacerbated the temptation to get up close and personal with seemingly tame animals. I feel obligated to share this endearingly low-budget video that the Grand Canyon National Park created about taking selfies with squirrels. (No, really, watch the video!) Bawcom mentioned that he sees a lot of visitors from cities and urban areas where the opportunity to interact with wildlife is limited, and a cute little squirrel that appears friendly seems like a great photo op. But hand-feeding a wild animal will probably end in tears, not likes. (The National Park Service includes internet/media fame for a very undesirable reason in its list of risks from feeding wildlife, right beside infectious diseases such as rabies, Bubonic plague, or Hantavirus.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When I asked Bawcom what he wanted to say to park visitors to prevent further bites, he had two words: Be attentive. He estimates half the bites he sees come from people deliberately feeding the squirrels, and thats one thing. But the other half come from people who are not paying attention, and he sees them as victimized by the first half. A bystander enjoying their lunch dangles their hand to the side of the bench andwham! Suddenly and without warning, squirrel teeth sink into flesh, all because the squirrels have been conditioned to see hands as food sources. From the squirrels perspective, any limp hand is impersonating a food source, even if it doesnt have an actual Clif Bar or anything. Advertisement For what its worth, Bawcom believes there could be a solution. When the park was closed in 2020 due to the pandemic, he took a walk on the trails and noticed a suspicious lack of squirrels. Although he would normally be nervous about taking off his backpack on the trails, since squirrels know we tend to keep our lunches in there, his pack remained untouched by their little paws. At that point, the park had been empty of visitors for a few weeks, and the squirrels werent frequenting the trails either. Squirrels, it seems, can be reconditioned to stop seeing humans as a food source. Advertisement While thats certainly good news for hikers and national park enthusiasts, even city dwellers would do well to take note. As climate change forces wild animals out of their natural habitats, we have already begun to interact with them in potentially dangerous waysdangerous for them and for us. As a Californian, I am acutely aware of the misinformation spread every wildfire season to leave out food and water for animals fleeing the blaze. Between natural disasters and good ol urban expansion, were all going to need to learn how to interact safely with displaced animalsand not just hungry squirrels. In the end, Bawcom said, while a squirrel bite isnt fun for a human, its even worse for the squirrel. Wildlife shouldnt be dependent on human food in the first place, and squirrels cant digest many human foods. As the National Park Service explained in this informative post, feeding the furry creatures has led to several squirrel fatalities. So, if youre taking a trip to the Grand Canyon, zip up your backpack, pay attention to your surroundings, and keep your hands to yourself. Otherwise, you may face their wrath. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. Slovakia's court will make a decision on the rights of couples married abroad. News: Receive notifications about new articles by email. Try the new feature and turn on the subscription. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Slovakia's Constitutional Court will decide on same sex couples who were married abroad. The court announced that it accepted the motion filed by former ombudswoman Maria Patakyova and will make a decision on the rights of same-sex couples in Slovakia. Before wrapping up her term in March, the ombudswoman asked the court to look into the legal provisions on permanent residence for third-country (non-EU) nationals married to Slovak citizens. Patakyova asked the court to make a ruling on same-sex couples who have lived in a non-EU country and were married there. For now, Slovak authorities do not recognise these same-sex marriages. When the spouse of a Slovak citizen requests permanent residence on the grounds of marriage, the law requires proof of marriage as understood by the Slovak law in a family - between a man and a woman. Related article Related article FAQ: Non-EU citizens - dealing with immigration authorities Read more As a consequence of our current situation, third-country nationals in same-sex relationships with Slovak citizens are not objectively able to meet the conditions the challenged law requires of them, Patakyova stated in her motion, as quoted by the TASR newswire. At the same time, the sexual orientation of these couples is the only reason why they cannot meet the legal requirements, while discrimination based on sexual orientation is banned. "I have failed to identify any legitimate reason for this unequal treatment based on banned grounds for discrimination," the ombudswoman wrote. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement During her term Patakyova consistently advocated for the rights of LGBTI people. She earned criticism from some politicians for displaying the rainbow flag on her building during Rainbow Pride. With reference to her office, among other things, OLaNO MP Gyorgy Gyimesi recently proposed a draft law to ban the display of rainbow flags on official government buildings. Related article Winner of the Via Bona award in the Responsible Large Corporation category Swiss Re Slovakia participates in several projects in Bratislava. (Source: Courtesy of Swiss Re Slovakia) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled People and companies are challenged by natural disasters, climate change as well as an aging population. Swiss Re Slovakia, striving to make the world and local communities more resilient to external influences, is looking for ways to cope with the consequences of the coming changes. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Swiss Re, one of the worlds leading providers of reinsurance, insurance and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer, has been operating in Slovakia since 2006. Today it employs almost 2,000 people in its Bratislava branch, including its largest group of data scientists. They co-created a model that can use various data and satellites to estimate the impact of climate change or soil fertility. Insurance can thus be adapted to suit individual farmers. We are a company whose main mission is to contribute to the resilience of the world and we share the same principle towards employees, clients, suppliers or the community in which we operate," said Jana Riecanska, spokesperson of Swiss Re Slovakia. The company focuses on three key pillars of sustainability - climate risk mitigation and progress in energy transformation, building social resilience and promoting affordable digital insurance. The company was awarded the Via Bona Slovakia award in the Responsible Large Corporation category by The Pontis Foundation, which recognises companies for their responsible and fair business practices. Focus on the environment IT company Deutsche Telekom IT Solutions Slovakia won the Via Bona award in the Socially Innovative Company category. News: Receive notifications about new articles by email. Try the new feature and turn on the subscription. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled The use of virtual reality in the treatment of psychiatric patients; the development of future skills as well as digital workplaces for schools; or the use of augmented and virtual reality in presenting and restoring cultural heritage were the themes behind the projects that companies submitted for the Via Bona award in the 2021 category of Socially Innovative Company. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Social innovation is still a relatively new topic for the business sector in Slovakia. As it is not easy to find companies that have incorporated social innovation into the subject of their business. The existing cases are all the more valuable, noted Zuzana Polackova, a researcher at the Center for Social and Psychological Sciences of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and ambassador of this category. Lately, such examples are beginning to especially appear in the IT sector, where artificial intelligence is starting to be used in the addressing of various societal challenges, Polackova told The Slovak Spectator. She added that excellent cases also appear among companies dedicated to environmental issues, such as the transition to a low-carbon economy or adaptation to climate change. The service sector is also worth mentioning. The award, granted at the ceremony in Bratislava on June 29, went to the company Deutsche Telekom IT Solutions Slovakia (DT ITS SK). Virtual reality helps psychiatric patients The mobile operator O2 Slovakia won its second Via Bona award in the Fair Market Player category. News: Receive notifications about new articles by email. Try the new feature and turn on the subscription. In the video, the presenter talked about the futility of wearing face masks and vaccination. (Source: Courtesy of O2 Slovakia) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Six years ago, the mobile operator O2 Slovakia reminded its customers that freedom and democracy were not a matter of course under the former regime. Before 1989, crossing the state border was a criminal offense, the operator pointed out in SMS messages it sent to customers who crossed the Slovak state border on November 17, 2016. Similar information was displayed to customers when visiting foreign websites. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The company won several advertising awards, including the Via Bona award in the Fair Market Player category, for this campaign and its courage to broach sensitive social topics. The mobile operator repeated its success in the same category with another awareness campaign this year, this time with a campaign on misinformation it launched in May last year. O2 Slovakia received the Via Bona award in the Fair Market Player category at the ceremony in Bratislava on June 29. In addition to the controversial topic that divides Slovak society to this day, it was the fact that O2 Slovakia acknowledged and focused on the weaknesses of the business in which it operates that won the award, according to the ambassador of this category, Zuzana Petkova, from the Stop Corruption Foundation. The jury, which decided on this years nominations in the Fair Player category, was also interested in the ecological project of a family farm near Partizanske, an online conference connecting IT with industry from Deutsche Telekom IT Solutions Slovakia, and the LGBT + campaign from Dedoles. Deepfake video with Zlatica Puskarova O2 Slovakia, which feels co-responsibility for how people use mobile data, says that it perceives the need to combat misinformation and hate speech in the online space sensitively and has been working on this for several years. We are aware of the shadowy aspects of our business, which is why we have strategically focused for a long time on the development of critical thinking and media literacy, said Natalia Tomekova, company manager for communication and corporate social responsibility at O2 Slovakia. The company creates its own projects as well as cooperates with organisations and educational institutions. The mobile operator ran for the Via Bona award for the year 2021 with the Zdielaj s Rozumom (Share with Sense) campaign, which builds on projects already implemented in the past. The project started with a fake video starring actress and presenter Kristina Tormova, who with the help of artificial intelligence, transformed into the TV news anchor Zlatica Svajdova Puskarova. In the video, she talked about the futility of wearing face masks and vaccination. The video became the most viral short in the companys history when two million people saw it. Return of sense The operator claims that it is attempting to communicate the topic of misinformation in a friendly and clear manner. As part of the project, it launched a media literacy quiz, to which it attached advice and instructions on how to verify messages. We wanted to teach people simple procedures and tell stories that will show them that the shame is not being tricked, but not learning from it, said Tomekova. Via Bona 2021 awards granted. News: Receive notifications about new articles by email. Try the new feature and turn on the subscription. The Via Bona Slovakia awards, granted to companies for their responsible and fair business, were granted for teh 22nd time. (Source: Courtesy of the Pontis Foundation ) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Helping victims of domestic violence. The development of a new method of psychotherapy using virtual reality. The systematic preparation of children and young people for their digital future. These are some of the most inspiring examples of responsible businesses that have won the 2021 Via Bona Slovakia award. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Altogether 48 projects from 38 small, medium-sized and large companies competed in seven categories of the Via Bona Slovakia awards; 19 were shortlisted. The awards ceremony took place on June 29. Despite the challenging time, this year also showed us that the business sector in Slovakia is developing and is aware of its responsibility, said Michal Kissa, CEO of the Pontis Foundation. The year provided examples of companies that behave fairly to the environment, employees and suppliers, create more modern and educated communities, support digital skills or help prevent misinformation. Compared to previous years, there were fewer applications when the Pontis Foundation attributed this to the war in Ukraine. At a time when companies could have worked on their nominations, war came, said Kissa. So it's understandable that most gave priority to helping people who had to flee their homes. Winners of the 2021 Via Bona Responsible Large Corporation: Swiss Re Slovakia This company active in the insurance sector is striving to make the world and local communities more resilient to external influences. It looks for ways to cope with the consequences of coming changes. Responsible Small/Medium-Sized Company: GoodRequest The IT company has pursued the values of a responsible business since its launch in 2013. It believes that being a responsible company in Slovakia should be a normal part of business and a way to think about things. It focuses on education, life in the community in which it operates, and gender equality. Green Company: Mobilonline The company mates consumer electronics with an environmentally friendly approach. It collects used mobile phones, tablets, smart watches and laptops, refurbishes them, and finds them new owners. Outstanding Employer: IKEA Bratislava The furniture producer Ikea focuses on tackling domestic violence. It offers the necessary help to gain the courage to overcome difficult times. In addition to psychological and financial support, employees get up to 10 additional days of vacation and the company will apply measures to increase safety at the workplace, such as changing working hours, the place of work or scope of employment. Good Partner of the Community: Slovak Telekom The telecom company has won this prize for the second time. Now it was awarded for its initiative focusing on digital skills. The goal of the Enter programme launched in 2020 is to teach children and students not only to consume digital technologies but to create new things with them. Social Innovative Company: Deutsche Telekom IT Solutions Slovakia The IT company targets mental health and psychiatric treatment with its winning project, an application using virtual reality. It enables patients to train cognitive functions in a playful way without realising it. Fair Market Player - O2 Slovakia This technological company sensitively perceives the need to combat disinformation and mitigate hate speech on the internet. Its Zdielaj s Rozumom campaign helped those interested in finding advice and instructions on what to search for when verifying news and how to identify false information. Slovak scientists develop treatment for deadly dog disease, water shortages in several districts. Learn more in today's digest. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Good evening. Here is the Thursday, June 30 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Public service broadcaster gets new chief Lubos Machaj, the new head of the public service broadcaster RTVS. (Source: SITA) After a turbulent time under outgoing chief Jaroslav Reznik during which several reporters quit, public-service broadcaster RTVS has a new general director. Lubos Machaj, whose career in the media stretches over more than 40 years, will take up the post on August 1. Machaj was elected to the position after securing the backing of 89 of 122 MPs present for a parliamentary vote today. Reznik had been supported by opposition parties despite an expert commission not recommending him. Among the issues Machaj has said he wants to address are some viewers' concerns about an incomplete archive at the broadcaster and a lack of original content in podcasts. Find out more about Lubos Machaj here. More stories on Spectator.sk If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription. Thank you. Feature story for today Babesiosis, a potentially life-threatening disease in dogs, has been on the rise in recent years in Slovakia, where it is more commonly known as "bloody peeing" after one of its symptoms of dark red urine. Now, scientists from the Institute of Parasitology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Kosice have developed a new treatment that is effective against a more severe, chronic, form of the disease. Find out more here. New cure for potentially deadly canine disease comes from Slovakia Read more Picture of the day On June 30, children all over Slovakia received their year-end report cards. However, some of these children saw their teachers for the last time because they are quitting their jobs. The picture shows Vladimir Crmoman, head of the Chamber of Teachers of Slovakia, handing in a letter at the Government Office with the names of teachers that have left or are leaving schools. Slovakia is struggling to replace disaffected teachers leaving the profession, while thousands took to the streets in mid-June demanding higher salaries. Vladimir Crmoman, head of the Chamber of Teachers of Slovakia. (Source: TASR) In other news On June 29, the maximum temperature reached 37,2 degrees Celsius in the village of Somotor, the Kosice Region , setting a new record for the day in Slovakia. High temperatures are expected on Thursday and Friday too. If you're in Bratislava, here is a list of places where you can cool off. , setting a new record for the day in Slovakia. High temperatures are expected on Thursday and Friday too. If you're in Bratislava, here is a list of places where you can cool off. On Thursday, several monitoring stations reported temperatures exceeding 38 degrees Celsius. At the time of writing, the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute expected that the record for the highest June temperature of 38.2 degrees Celsius, set in 2012, will be broken. At the time of writing, the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute expected that the record for the highest June temperature of 38.2 degrees Celsius, set in 2012, will be broken. Weather forecast for Friday and the weekend according to the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute . Friday will be sunny, daily maximum temperatures will be between 32 to 37 degrees Celsius. Saturday will be partially cloudy with a mild drop in daily maximum temperatures to between 25 to 30 degrees expected. Sunday will also be partially cloudy, with temperatures around 30 degrees. . Friday will be sunny, daily maximum temperatures will be between 32 to 37 degrees Celsius. Saturday will be partially cloudy with a mild drop in daily maximum temperatures to between 25 to 30 degrees expected. Sunday will also be partially cloudy, with temperatures around 30 degrees. From July 1, public transport will operate on a summer schedule. The same applies to regional buses. Options for bicycle transport will be expanded on selected lines. More info in Slovak can be found here. The same applies to regional buses. Options for bicycle transport will be expanded on selected lines. More info in Slovak can be found here. Columns of passenger cars are forming at the Ubla - Maly Berezny and Vysne Nemecke - Uzhhorod border crossings between Slovakia and Ukraine . At the former, drivers are facing a wait of about a half an hour when entering Slovakia, but 30 hours in the other direction. At the latter, the situation is similar. In May, Ukrainians with cars they bought abroad clogged the crossing at Ubla, waiting in some cases for days to be allowed to cross. Ukrainian authorities removed customs and taxes on imported vehicles in a move designed to make it easier for both the Ukrainian army and citizens to replace destroyed vehicles. . At the former, drivers are facing a wait of about a half an hour when entering Slovakia, but 30 hours in the other direction. At the latter, the situation is similar. In May, Ukrainians with cars they bought abroad clogged the crossing at Ubla, waiting in some cases for days to be allowed to cross. Ukrainian authorities removed customs and taxes on imported vehicles in a move designed to make it easier for both the Ukrainian army and citizens to replace destroyed vehicles. Vitali Klitschko, the Mayor of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, thanked Slovakia for its help to his war-torn country and people , Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad said as the pair met during a NATO summit in Madrid. Slovakia has sent its S-300 air defence system, several Zuzana howitzers, and helicopters to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion. It also supported Ukraine's accession to the European Union. , Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad said as the pair met during a NATO summit in Madrid. Slovakia has sent its S-300 air defence system, several Zuzana howitzers, and helicopters to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion. It also supported Ukraine's accession to the European Union. On July 1, Slovakia will begin its presidency of the Visegrad Group. If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk. Gulf Shores and Pleaseletmeknow were both wire-to-wire winners in last weeks MGM Grand Messenger Stakes eliminations and something will have to give in the final as only one can get the front in the $261,730 final at Yonkers Raceway on Friday night (July 1). The Messenger is one of four six-figure stakes on the 11-race card, sharing the spotlight with the $280,904 MGM Yonkers Trot (Race 9), $104,790 Park MGM Pace (Race 6) and the $126,165 New York New York Mile Trot (Race 7). With a post edge of four versus seven, Gulf Shores was installed as the 5-2 morning-line favourite over Pleaseletmeknow at 4-1 in the eighth race Messenger. While both horses set identical half-mile times of :57 while winning their eliminations, the pace figures to be faster, especially if they leave off the gate at high speed in tandem. It was nice to get the front and go slow fractions after being first-over in his first two starts, said trainer Brian Brown, who conditions Gulf Shores. [Driver] Yannick [Gingras] said he was waiting on the other horses. His dad [Downbytheseaside] did the same thing, just enough to win. In the end, the winning margin by Gulf Shores was a head over Captain Cowboy (Post 3, 3-1) in 1:52.4. While Brown said he was pleased with the effort, he added that there could be more in the tank. I think he can be better. That was his first start with the eye hood back on and I think maybe he just needs to be woken up a bit, said Brown. While Captain Cowboy was unable to get to Gulf Shores before the wire in his elimination, the race represented a step in the right direction for the Ake Svanstedt co-owned and trained colt after a fourth-place finish in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes action on June 8 at Harrahs Philadelphia. He was better, said Svanstedt about the elimination mile. The race before, he hit his knees and was bad. But now he was good again. Hes an OK horse. There are good horses here, but he has a good post, so I hope he maybe has a chance to win, or finish [top four]. It depends on the trip he gets. Hes been getting better and better. Pleaseletmeknow was perhaps the more impressive elimination winner as he paced away to a 2-3/4-length victory over Hammering Hank in a 1:52 mile while Matt Kakaley sat motionless in the bike. I think [Gulf Shores] will go for it but my horse will keep coming, said trainer Travis Alexander about Pleaseletmeknow in the final. Hell race first-up or on the front. Hes done it both ways as a two- and three-year-old. Hes very handy and hes coming into the race in great shape. Eligible yet absent from the final is Hammering Hank. Trainer Brett Pelling decided to skip the Messenger, the first leg of the Pacing Triple Crown, after not being 100 per cent happy with his elimination performance. Pelling said hell look to get the horse right and aim for the Meadowlands Pace eliminations on July 9. Trainer Tony Alagna is well-represented in the field with Nautical Hanover (Post 1) and Atlas Hanover (Post 5). Both horses finished third from post two in their eliminations while driven by Todd McCarthy and he elected to stick with the Nautical Hanover while Scott Zeron gets the drive on Atlas Hanover. Completing the Messenger field are Huntanover (Post 2), Boston (Post 6) and PJ Lou (Post 8). Racing at Yonkers gets underway at 6:55 p.m. on Friday. (Yonkers Raceway) Despite a stormy Wednesday, June 22, and an overcast Thursday, June 23, officials said attendance at this years Orange County Fair came close to last years record-breaking numbers. We were well over 10,000 people, counting all the nights, Fair Association Vice President Tony Rogers said. I was out in the parking lot parking cars and I saw plates from Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Quebec, Maine, New York we saw tags from all over. This years debuted shows, including a wild west show and a horse-mounted shooting competition, faired especially well. Cowboy mounted shooting was early in the morning on Saturday, so we were a little concerned that people wouldnt come out but we had a good turnout of people just coming to see that, said fair association secretary Sarah Altman. That was well-attended; that will be back next year. Altman adds that they also hope to bring back the wild west show to next years fair, though it is subject to scheduling. Everyone seemed to really like the wild west show, said Rogers. [Andy Rotz] did everything from the top of his trailer so everyone could see it. It was pretty cool; a lot of fire, a lot of booms and noises so people liked that. Rogers also mentioned Grayson Matchetts hypnotist show and the demolition derby as particularly successful fair features this year that drew large crowds. The dirt drag added ATVs and dirt bikes to its drag racing circuit, resulting in another of the fairs most popular events. Friday night for the dirt drag, that was phenomenal. They raced until almost 2 a.m., said Altman. Next year, were going to turn that into a two-night event. While weather may have thwarted attendance on the fairs opening days, fair officials said they were more than pleased with the turnout on Friday and Saturday. Wednesday was our free night, so we were hoping to get people in the gates because it was free, but we had some really bad storms so that was just a wash. Thursday it just stayed overcast and looked like it wanted to rain so I think that kind of put a damper on things, said Altman. We had great weather Friday and Saturday and obviously it shows, you know, the turnout was great. One of the fairs longstanding highlights is the annual 4-H auction. Its success can be measured in numbers as it grossed over $162,000 nearly $40,000 more than last years $125,000 according to Orange County Extension Agent Kaci Daniel. Were really grateful for the communitys support to make that happen, said Daniel. Topping the list at the 4-H livestock auction was a 226-pound hog selling at $19 a pound and a 63-pound goat going for $44 a pound. The kids just did a wonderful job of pitching in. They were hard working and ready to help out, so it was a really good fair, said Daniel. The auction went extremely well. Daniel noted how the 4-H program has grown over the years and now has 42 Cloverbuds (4-H youth members within the ages of 5 to 8). They had a new pavilion built for them this year and then we still had to use a tent as well because there was just so many of them, which is a great problem to have, said Daniel. She said the fairs 4-H turnout couldnt be done without the communitys helping hand. Whether it was letting us use equipment, being sponsors for awards or participating in the auction it seems like whenever we put out the call the community responds, said Daniel. I just want to make sure people know how grateful we are for that support. Both Rogers and Altman noted the support of volunteers at the fair this year. We did have a few people come up to us and offer to volunteer time out there. They liked what they were seeing and what was going on there and wanted to volunteer some time. said Rogers. If we get more volunteersgreat. The more the better. Elected officials, conservationists, historians and business boosters are pleased as punch by this months green-lighting of the Culpeper Battlefields State Park, destined to open in 2024. Virginia historian Clark B. Hall, who has worked tirelessly to preserve Culpepers Civil War sites since the 1980s, is perhaps the person most delighted by the accomplishment. Hall, who lives in Culpeper, gave fulsome credit for Virginia leaders approval of the park to the American Battlefield Trust, which group he noted began life years ago in Fredericksburg. The national nonprofit will turn over 1,700 acres it saved at the countys Brandy Station and Cedar Mountain battlefields, plus a Union encampment near Stevensburg, for the state preserve. Thanks to the leadership of the trust, its distinguished board members, the president and staffin particular its director of policy and communications, Jim Campiwe will now have a state park, Hall said in an interview. As one who has been involved in the fray from the beginning, I could not be more happy, gratified and appreciative of the thousands of people who have supported this preservation effort, he said. Now, thanks to their efforts, theyll have a Virginia state park. State Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Mount Solon, said he hopes the park will include bridle trails for horse riders, depending on the outcome of the master planning process to be undertaken by state agencies and the local community. Im hopeful we can showcase some equine activities there at the park, in addition to Civil War heritage, Hanger said in an interview. It was, of course, a cavalry engagement that was fought there. Where its situated, closer to Northern Virginia and with that U.S. 29 corridor, I really feel like its going to become an extremely popular park for us, the senator said. Hanger, who many consider the go-to legislator for securing improvements to Virginias state parks, said the COVID-19 pandemic greatly increased peoples interest in outdoor recreation and the state park system. Many of our parks now are oversubscribed, he said. Its hard to get a campsite, its hard to get a cabin. Bill Sellers, president and CEO of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area, said the multi-state heritage-tourism consortium is excited that Gov. Glenn Youngkin authorized the creation of Culpeper Battlefields State Park. The battlefields within Culpeper County are part of a much larger story, and the creation of this park helps fill in a missing chapter of that story for people wanting to learn about the Civil War, a time when we were divided like no other, Sellers said. We look forward to bringing students and visitors to Culpeper on equal footing with our partner parks at Gettysburg, Antietam, Monocacy, Harpers Ferry, Manassas and other places that help define who we are as Americans. Virginian historian Greg Mertz Mertz, a board member of the Brandy Station Foundation in Culpeper County, said people are absolutely thrilled by the actions of Youngkin and the Virginia General Assembly. From the very start, thats been our hope and dream, Mertz said. Having the state park means we now will have the means to better preserve and historically interpret this land that has been saved. The American Battlefield Trust has never been in the business of giving tours or making land like this ready for visitors, he added. Their whole goal is to hand over the land to another entity to manage and do something with it. So now the state will take over, and thats just fantastic. Del. Alfonso Lopez, D-Arlington, thanked the many individuals who have worked for years to make this effort a reality. As a strong and longtime supporter of battlefield preservation, I am very excited about the prospect of finally making Brandy Station and Cedar Mountain Virginia state parks, Lopez said. This is significant not only in terms of preserving the sites of two important Civil War battlesincluding the site of the largest cavalry battle ever fought in North Americabut also for land conservation, recreational options, clean air and water protection, and increasing economic development from tourism. State Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania, said Virginians will benefit from any chance we have to save some green space, especially space that has such historical significance as the Culpeper Battlefields State Park. A Republican who represents Culpeper County, he has championed the park since it was first proposed years ago. In an interview, Reeves said he envisions the park will be a relatively low-cost project for the state to plan and develop. This isnt going to be where they built a bunch of yurts and swimming pools and all those things, he said. ... There will be trails and markers depicting significant historical events. It will provide a good opportunity for people to get outdoors. I think Virginians, and Americans, will like that. Reeves said preserving Civil War sites in Culpeper also holds other meanings for him, as a former U.S. Army officer. He is a descendant of Confederate soldiers who fought in the nations deadliest conflict. I think Americans have a healthy respect for those individuals who have fallen, and want to honor them, he said, referring to the Union and Confederate dead who still rest in Culpepers soil. Not all the (soldiers) remains have been recovered from these places, and I deem it hallowed ground. ... We owe them a measure of respect. It also gives us a reference point during a very tumultuous time in our nations history where we had Americans fighting Americans and the country was divided, Reeves added. These sites can help teach us how we returned to civility and came back together, stronger than ever. Paige Read, the town of Culpepers director of economic development and tourism, said the park will present an opportunity to have a new starting line as state officials labor to design and build it. In a couple years, Culpeper will have this state park, Read told a gathering of Culpeper residents. It promises to bring more access to recreational assets to our citizens. It will tell stories of the American Civil War, the Cedar Mountain and Brandy Station battlefields, and soldiers devotion to service. Read met recently with Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears and state-agency leaders and said they are very excited about creating the park, in concert with the American Battlefield Trust. 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. There was recently a momentous victory for life when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision on June 24, 2022. This marked an amazing day for our nation and a huge victory for the pro-life movement. In a 6-3 ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, the Court upheld a Mississippi state law that prohibits abortions after 15 weeks of gestation except in certain cases. The court also affirmed that there is no constitutional right to abortion. Both conservative and liberal legal scholars have long questioned the legal reasoning in Roe v. Wade. Following the justices ruling, policy-making decisions on the issue of abortion will be returned to state lawmakers. For my entire life and throughout my time in public service, I have supported pro-life policies that show compassion for women and their unborn children. In 2010, when I represented District 43 in the Nebraska Legislature, we enacted a bill that banned abortions after 20 weeks. At the time, this was the point at which science showed unborn babies could feel pain. The bill passed 44-5. Pro-life, pro-choice, Republican, and Democrat senators voted for it. Nebraska was the first state to enact legislation of this kind, and it is our state law today. For decades, Americas federal policies on abortion have been radically out of step with the rest of the world. Ninety percent of countries worldwide limit abortion at 15 weeks or earlier. But the U.S. does not. We are one of only four countries, including China and North Korea, where certain states allow abortions up to the day of birth. Forty-seven out of 50 countries in Europe have limits on abortion prior to 15 weeks. A lot has changed since the Supreme Courts ruling in the Roe case and even since Nebraska enacted its 20-week law. Fifty years ago, ultrasounds and sonograms werent widely available. Today, these technologies are a key element of prenatal care. At the time of the Roe decision, babies born before or around 28 weeks were not expected to survive. Now, scientific advancements have allowed babies born much earlier to not only survive, but go on to live full and happy lives. Our laws must reflect this incredible progress. When we think about demonstrating our compassion for women and babies, I think its important to raise awareness of the resources out there to provide support. In Nebraska, we have more than 20 pregnancy centers across the state. There are also non-profits like Birth Mother Assistance Nebraska and Nebraskans Embracing Life that offer information, resources, and help. At the federal level, we have the Healthy Start program for women, infants and children, which improves health outcomes before, during and after pregnancy. Theres also the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program that supports pregnant women and parents in communities that face greater risks. In 2017, my paid family leave program was enacted. It was the first-ever U.S. nationwide paid family leave policy. Through this program, Americans can take maternity or paternity leave to bond with a biological or adopted newborn. I have also long supported the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) program and the National School Lunch program. Additionally, I recently supported extending flexibility for summer and school lunch programs. These are important programs for our kids and families. I look forward working with my colleagues on pro-life legislation in Congress. I also think its important to remember that this is a complex issue and its going to take good-faith and empathy to address it. I am grateful for our Supreme Court Justices who showed courage in making this landmark decision. Im very optimistic about the future of this country and the future of the pro-life movement. I pray that God grants the citizens of this nation wisdom, grace, and civility in the wake of this monumental ruling. Thank you for participating in the democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week. The Upper Niobrara White Natural Resources District (UNWNRD) held the third annual Amateur Photo Contest, in search of natural resources related photos from residents within the District encompassing Box Butte, Dawes, Sheridan and Sioux counties. The UNWNRD received over 60 photos this year of all aspects of natural resources including agriculture, recreation, wildlife, nature and much more. The UNWNRD Board of Directors chose winners for first, second and third places with cash prizes awarded to the winners. The first-place photo will be made into a canvas print and displayed in the UNWNRD office for the next year, after that time the print will be returned to the winner when a new winner is selected. The 2021 winner was Ruthe Meter of Alliance with her winning photo of a mother goose and her goslings titled Peek-a-Boo taken in Alliance. This adorable photo is currently displayed in the UNWNRD Office until the 2022 winning photo arrives, after that it will be Ms. Meters print to keep. The 2022 Winners are: 1st Place: Lynn Kreitman of Gordon with her photo titled Bailing in the USA 2nd Place: Brittany King of Hemingford with her photo titled Legacy 3rd Place: Ruthe Meter of Alliance with her photo titled Cam-Owl-Flage Baby Each year has brought more and more wonderful photos of the beauty in Northwest Nebraska, commented Al Rasmussen, UNWNRD Director, it is refreshing to see so many District residents getting outside to enjoy the beauty so close to home. The UNWNRD will continue to host the photo contest in years to come and will hope to receive even more breathtaking photos as this contest continues. Please look for more information on the NRD website www.unwnrd.org or stop by the office at 430 East 2nd Street to see the 2022 winning photo. The Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation (NSHSF) announced Tuesday the grant recipients of the 2022 Statewide Grants Program, which included three organizations in the Panhandle. Recipients from 27 communities across the state will receive grant funding totaling $25,000. Locally, the Crawford Historical Museum, Kimball Public Library and Chadron Public Library received financial support. Sue Quambusch, the special projects coordinator for NSHSF, said the grant program is in its second year. They received 88 grant applications requesting $147,000 to fulfill needs such as conservation of collections, public programming, outreach, exhibits, promotion of the facility and services, promotion of tourism and visitation, school programs and resources for the classroom, and management of collections. Those applicants were narrowed down to 30 from across the state. Last year, we had 98 applications requesting support for $3.1 million, Quambusch said. It was difficult to weed them down, so this year we changed the criteria. The main focus for grant distributions will assist local historic efforts on the part of historical societies, museums, archives, libraries and they should be for core educational, preservation and interpretative purposes. Quambusch said Kimball Public Library was the first organization to submit a grant application about a project the foundation hopes is successful and can be replicated at other libraries. This was the first application we got and I knew no matter what, I was all in on this one because I do believe this has a possibility of scale, Quambusch said. The Kimball library requested $1,000 to purchase a designated computer and scanners for a searchable database to contain all of the historical records currently in file cabinets. Kimball Public Library Director Amber Sweetland said the idea came from a conversation with Floyd Smith, who works at the West Nebraska Family Research and History Center in Scottsbluff. Hes in the library community and hes a friend of ours, she said. Its his website. He completely built the website from scratch. Smith offered adding a secondary database connected to his for the Kimball library to use. There is a one-time $500 fee. After learning the library was awarded the grant, Sweetland said she was excited. Our goal is to have the paper files that we have currently in our library scanned in and searchable for patrons, she said. Its internet accessible, so they dont necessarily have to come into the library to be able to access the information. The equipment arrived Wednesday and volunteers will complete training on July 13. However, Sweetland said this project will take time to transfer six file cabinets of information into the system. The public can contact the library with any historical information to inquire about adding it to the database. NSHSF fully funded the $1,000 project. Ive talked to Amber quite a bit and I told her to stay in touch with us on this project. Im very excited about this one, Quambusch said. Chadron Public Library requested $1,200 for support to host its ninth annual Trading Stories Film Festival. The total funds needed for the project is $4,728. The festival is held in October at the library and showcases documentaries, films, speakers and food related to the Native American heritage and culture. Chadron Library Director Rossella Pesch said the financial support is appreciated. I was very happy because the more support we have, the better the movie festival is going to be, Pesch said. We put our heart and soul into the movie festival. With the grant, Pesch said they will be able to offer more programming to the public. The foundation awarded the library $1,000. We were excited to be able to partner with the Chadron Public Library on this project, Quambusch said. I would like to go. The Crawford Historical Museum submitted a $400 grant request to help purchase a male and female mannequin along with three box fans. We chose to fund the box fans and we gave them $200, Quambusch said. The Crawford Museum did not return a request for comment by press time. All of this years grant recipients have the opportunity to be featured on the 2023 WanderNebraska program that NSHSF launched to promote travel to museums, libraries, parks and other historical points across the state. We are thrilled to be a trusted partner, helping these local organizations preserve the history of their communities, said Gail DeBuse Potter, NSHSF President. Reading through all the applications and seeing the broad need for these grants just reinforces our determination to grow the program in order to fund more of these efforts. The statewide grants program was developed in July 2020, with the guidance of Michael J. Smith, former CEO of Nebraska State Historical Society, now called History Nebraska, to fulfill a funding need for local historical and educational organizations in Nebraska. An initial donation from the D F Dillon Foundation as well as donations from numerous individuals allowed NSHSF to award $25,000 for these second-year grants. The goal for 2023 is to award $50,000. The grant process opens in late January 2023 and closes in April. We continue to strengthen our relationship with local historical organizations through our WanderNebraska and Statewide Grants Program, said Leslie Fattig, executive director at NSHSF. Many of these organizations do not receive government support from counties or municipalities so they are left searching locally for funds to serve school classes, prepare exhibits, process and preserve artifacts, and undertake activities such as lectures and museum festivals. Were thrilled to be able to help these invaluable organizations achieve their goals and we are excited to continue the statewide grants program into the future. The money has already been distributed and as organizations begin to implement their programs and additional services, Quambusch said she has two hopes moving forward. A lot of these people are handwriting these grant requests. These are people who arent used to filling out grant requests, so I hope this not only gives them confidence about this process, but also to go on to applying for grants from major donors. On the WanderNebraska side, she hopes more people start coming to the organizations. The full list of recipients can be seen by visiting tinyurl.com/NEgrants Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly 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. Earlier this year, I made it clear that my number one priority in the Legislature was to pass a permitless concealed carry bill. I believe that our laws should allow Nebraskans to exercise their right to keep and bear arms without asking permission, paying a fee, or jumping through other bureaucratic hoops. Civil rights should not come with a price tag from the state. My permitless carry bill, LB 773, was supported by the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, and the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association. After winning the first two votes on the floor of the Legislature, on the third round, we failed to get the 33 votes necessary to overcome the filibuster by senators who support gun control. When the bill stalled, I pledged that I would introduce a new version of the bill as soon as we convene the Legislature for the 2023 regular session. Four states joined the growing list of permitless carry states in 2022, bringing the national count to twenty-five states with constitutional carry. Opponents of the right to keep and bear arms have been fighting back. They jumped on tragic criminal acts in New York and Texas as opportunities to promote more wrong-headed gun control laws. The United States Congress has passed a new package of gun control legislation now waiting on the Presidents signature. I do not think that violent crimes should be used as a sales pitch for victim disarmament laws. I wish someone in that New York grocery store had been able to fight back with a gun. I wish that even one teacher or staffer in that Texas elementary school had been prepared to defend those innocent children from a mad man set on making them his victims. It is likely the recent Supreme Court decision will make some of the provisions in this bill unconstitutional the moment the president signs it. More gun control laws are utterly pointless. Their only effect is to deprive law-abiding citizens of their civil rights. It turns out that the Supreme Court of the United States agrees that violent crimes are not a good reason for giving up on the Second Amendment. In the Courts latest case, the issue was whether or not New Yorks almost total ban on public carrying of firearms violated the Constitution. The New York law requires people to show some extraordinary reason why they face unusual risks that necessitate carrying a firearm. Justice Clarence Thomas and a majority of his fellow justices made it clear that New Yorks harsh law restricting public carry in this way is unconstitutional. Americans should not have to prove to the government that they deserve their civil rights. The Courts written decision also puts five other states and the District of Columbia on notice that their own handgun restrictions are also unconstitutional. The Court makes it clear that if a permit program exists, it cannot act as a ban on bearing arms for most people. Most importantly, the Court explained the reasoning that lower courts should use in the future to analyze the constitutionality of gun laws. I welcome this new development from our federal Supreme Court, but let me be clear: this new decision establishes the bare minimum for a constitutional passing grade. I believe that Nebraska can do better than the bare minimum. We should join the half of our sister states that have enacted permitless concealed carry. Next January, we will resume the fight to make that happen. Please contact my office with any comments, questions, or concerns. Email me at tbrewer@leg.ne.gov, mail a letter to Sen. Tom Brewer, Room #1423, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509, or call us at 402-471-2628. Mooresville firefighters rescued a cat from a burning home early Wednesday morning and performed lifesaving measures on the pet. The cat was taken to a veterinary hospital, where it is being treated for burns and smoke inhalation, according to a news release from Mooresville Fire-Rescue. The release indicated that around 5:02 a.m. Wednesday, firefighters responded to a report of a manufactured home on fire on Ashe Street. Mooresville Fire-Rescue Engine 1 was first to arrive to locate a singlewide mobile home with heavy smoke coming from the residence. Engine 1s crew was able to make entry and extinguished the fire. While Engine 1s crew was extinguishing the fire, Engine 5s crew made entry to assist with search and fire control. During the search, Engine 5s crew located a cat and removed it from the home and immediately performed lifesaving measure. With the assistance of Iredell County Animal Control and the Mooresville Fire Marshals Office, the injured cat was transported to Randall Veterinary Hospital in Mooresville, where it is currently being treated for burns and smoke inhalation. No other occupants were injured from the fire. Red Cross was contacted and is helping the residents with their needs. The cause of the fire has been determined to be accidental. As always, the MFD said it was glad that no one was injured from the fire, and expressed best wishes for the cat that was injured. As a reminder, check smoke alarms and ensure they are working and have a good battery. Smoke alarms help alert occupants when there is a fire and help provide enough time for everyone to evacuate safely. Also, once you are out, stay out. For any additional information regarding smoke alarms, contact the Mooresville Fire Marshals Office at 704-664-1338. Tourism drives $63 million into Statesville, but Cindy Sutton and the Statesville Convention & Visitors Bureau believe the city can bring in even more as it looks into the future. Were getting that number by accident, Sutton said. Once we hit the ground running as we relaunch tourism in Statesville, were looking to substantially grow that. Sutton said the Statesville Tourism Summit was the first time in more than a decade that tourism in the city was focused on, and thats something the SCVB looks to continue. The summit gathered city and county stakeholders that are working to add to the $1.4 million in occupancy taxes that tourism brings to Statesville. Locations like Fort Dobbs, Lake Norman State Park, and Southern Distilling Co., among others, are seen as some of the ways people can be invited to stay while in Statesville. Events like Balloonfest are also seen as ways to turn Statesville into a weekend destination for tourists. Perhaps which is why Bourbon, Balloons & Battles was chosen as the name of a weekend last year where travel writers were invited to see just what Statesville had to offer through the event organized by the Statesville Convention & Visitors Bureau. Capitalizing on the assets like those that are already here, as well as fostering the growth of new experiences in Statesville and Iredell County, Sutton said the SCVB looks to build on the brand that is Statesville, expand current opportunities, and build a long-term plan for success. Weve laid the groundwork for many of these initiatives, Sutton said. And while some of those things may be years down the road, a tangible change comes in the form of bicycles for rent in downtown Statesville. Those bikes are but a small step toward making Statesville more open to ways of travel that dont involve individuals driving their own vehicles. Partnering with groups outside Statesville, whether businesses, government organizations, or anyone else, advertising the city and county to the rest of the world is key. Brooks Luquire, whose namesake company Luquire is a marketing partner with VisitNC, explained how that can be done. Luquire explained how his company, which works with VisitNC, partners with print, digital, and other outlets to advertise the states tourism industry, including Statesville. Finding the ways to effectively and efficiently target potential visitors is a goal of the SCVB, which it would look to work with local businesses to put that research to good use. He said the company has found many visitors to North Carolina end up being repeat visitors, which means more taxes in the coffers of the state. Follow Ben Gibson on Facebook and Twitter at @BenGibsonSRL 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. Alvare Tejeda Galvan is headed to prison for 15 years for his role in a drug operation throughout Floyd County and southwest Virginia. The 50-year-old Mexican national was arrested in 2019 after law enforcement and investigators discovered more than $115,000 in cash and 35 pounds of metamphtemine and cocaine in homes grouped together in the county. Galvan is the last of those facing charges regarding the operation to be sentenced. The ring leader, Sandro Bermuda Gaston, was convicted by a Floyd County jury in February 2020 and given two life sentences for possession of a firearm by an illegal immigrant. Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Ryan Hupp said June 28 the drug ring stored drugs in hidden compartments in pickup truck tool boxes and other parts of the vehicles and sold them throughout the county and southwest Virginia. Galvan pleaded guilty to possession of schedule II drugs with intent to distribute. He has been incarcerated at the New River Valley regional jail since his arrest on Sept. 26, 2019. A former county Drug Court participant was convicted June 28 after failing to appear and complete other parts of the program that could have kept a felony off his record. Phillip Matthew Crump of Radford was sentenced to two years in prison for possession of a Schedule I or II drug, after offering apologies to family, friends and the Drug Court. In other matters before the Court on June 28: David Michael Demarcey of Floyd pleaded to felony shoplifting from Food Lion in 2019 and was given a two-year suspended sentence. Carl Edward Smith of Floyd pleaded guilty to a third DWI. He will spend three months in jail and pay a $1,500 fine. Alton Lee Allen Jr. was given a deferred disposition on a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. If he keeps out of trouble, the charge could be dismissed. Jimmie Lee Sigmon of Christiansburg faces a show cause order and potential jail time after he missed his court hearing June 28 and an earlier one. With abortion now or soon to be illegal in over a dozen states and severely restricted in many more, Big Tech companies that collect personal details of their users are facing new calls to limit that tracking and surveillance. One fear is that law enforcement or vigilantes could use those data troves against people seeking ways to end unwanted pregnancies. History has repeatedly demonstrated that whenever people's personal data is tracked and stored, there's always a risk that it could be misused or abused. With the Supreme Court's Friday overruling of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion, collected location data, text messages, search histories, emails and seemingly innocuous period and ovulation-tracking apps could be used to prosecute people who seek an abortion or medical care for a miscarriage as well as those who assist them. In the digital age, this decision opens the door to law enforcement and private bounty hunters seeking vast amounts of private data from ordinary Americans, said Alexandra Reeve Givens, the president and CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a Washington-based digital rights nonprofit. IT'S ALREADY HAPPENING Until this past May, anyone could buy a weekly trove of data on clients at more than 600 Planned Parenthood sites around the country for as little as $160, according to a recent Vice investigation. The files included approximate patient addresses derived from where their cellphones sleep at night income brackets, time spent at the clinic, and the top places people visited before and afterward. Its all possible because federal law specifically, HIPAA, the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act protects the privacy of medical files at your doctors office, but not any information that third-party apps or tech companies collect about you. This is also true if an app that collects your data shares it with a third party that might abuse it. In 2017, a Black woman in Mississippi named Latice Fisher was charged with second-degree murder after she sought medical care for a pregnancy loss. While receiving care from medical staff, she was also immediately treated with suspicion of committing a crime," civil rights attorney and Ford Foundation fellow Cynthia Conti-Cook wrote in her 2020 paper, Surveilling the Digital Abortion Diary. Fisher's "statements to nurses, the medical records, and the autopsy records of her fetus were turned over to the local police to investigate whether she intentionally killed her fetus, she wrote. Fisher was indicted on a second-degree murder charge in 2018; conviction could have led to life in prison. The murder charge was later dismissed. Evidence against her, though included her online search history, which included queries on how to induce a miscarriage and how to buy abortion pills online. "Her digital data gave prosecutors a window into (her) soul to substantiate their general theory that she did not want the fetus to survive, Conti-Cook wrote. Fisher is not alone. In 2019, prosecutors presented a young Ohio mothers browsing history during a trial in which she stood accused of killing and burying her newborn baby. Defense attorneys for Brooke Skylar Richardson, who was ultimately acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges, said the baby was stillborn. But prosecutors argued shed killed her daughter, pointing in part to Richardsons internet search history, which included a query for how to get rid of a baby. She was later acquitted. INDUSTRY RESPONSE Technology companies have by and large tried to sidestep the issue of abortion where their users are concerned. They haven't said how they might cooperate with law enforcement or government agencies trying to prosecute people seeking an abortion where it is illegal or who are helping someone do so. Last week, four Democratic lawmakers asked federal regulators to investigate Apple and Google for allegedly deceiving millions of mobile phone users by enabling the collection and sale of their personal data to third parties. Individuals seeking abortions and other reproductive healthcare will become particularly vulnerable to privacy harms, including through the collection and sharing of their location data, the lawmakers said in the letter. Data brokers are already selling, licensing and sharing the location information of people that visit abortion providers to anyone with a credit card. Apple and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Governments and law enforcement can subpoena companies for data on their users. Generally, Big Tech policies suggest the companies will comply with abortion-related data requests unless they see them as overly broad. Meta, for instance, pointed to its online transparency report, which says we comply with government requests for user information only where we have a good-faith belief that the law requires us to do so. Online rights advocates say that's not enough. In this new environment, tech companies must step up and play a crucial role in protecting womens digital privacy and access to online information, said Givens of the Center for Democracy and Technology. For instance, they could strengthen and expand the use of privacy-protecting encryption; limit the collection, sharing and sale of information that can reveal pregnancy status; and refrain from using artificial intelligence tools that could also infer which users are likely to be pregnant. WHAT ABOUT PERIOD APPS? After Friday's Supreme Court ruling, some period-tracking apps tried to assure users that their data was safe. But it helps to read the fine print of the apps' privacy policies. Flo Health, the company behind a widely-used period tracking app, tweeted Friday that it would soon launch an Anonymous Mode intended to remove personal identity from user accounts and pledged not to sell personal data of its users. Clue, which also has a period tracking app, said it keeps users health data particularly related to pregnancies, pregnancy loss or abortion private and safe with data encryption. It also said it uses auditing software for regulatory compliance and removes user identities before their data is analyzed by the scientific researchers the company works with. At the same time, the company acknowledged that it employs some carefully selected service providers to process data on our behalf. For those purposes, it said, we share as little data as possible in the safest way possible. But Clue offered no further details. BURDEN ON THE USER Unless all of your data is securely encrypted, theres always a chance that someone, somewhere can access it. So abortion rights activists suggest that people in states where abortion is outlawed should limit the creation of such data in the first place. For instance, they urge turning off phone location services or just leaving your phone at home when seeking reproductive health care. To be safe, they say, it's good to read the privacy policies of any health apps in use. The Electronic Frontier Foundation suggests using more privacy-conscious web browsers such as Brave, Firefox and DuckDuckGo but also recommends double-checking their privacy settings. There are also ways to turn off ad identifiers on both Apple and Android phones that stop advertisers from being able to track you. This is generally a good idea in any case. Apple will ask you if you want to be tracked each time you download a new app. For apps you already have, the tracking can be turned off manually. Associated Press Writers Amanda Seitz and Marcy Gordon contributed to this story. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The current sheriff, a Woodland police sergeant and a man who is facing possible conviction for felony assault and drug charges are vying to be the next Cowlitz County sheriff. Three names will appear under the sheriff position on Cowlitz County Aug. 2 primary ballots: first-term Sheriff Brad Thurman, Woodland Patrol Sgt. Rob Gibbs and accused offender Ronald James Lundine. The two candidates with the most votes will go on to the November General Election. Thurman and Gibbs filed in preference of the Republican Party, while Lundine did not specify an affiliated party for the four-year partisan position. Each candidate paid the filing fee of $1,235.77, which is 1% of the annual salary of $123,577. Primary ballots are scheduled to be mailed on July 15 and are ballots are due by 8 p.m. Aug. 2 by mail or dropped off at ballot boxes. A mailed ballot does not require a stamp. Thurman Thurman was elected to the four-year position in 2018 when he ran against former sheriff Mark Nelson in Thurman's first elected role. The Kelso-area resident said this October marks his 35th year in law enforcement, all with the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office, working positions such as a patrol deputy, detective sergeant and drug investigator. Thurman, 58, said several new deputy positions were created during his tenure. The R.A. Long graduate said 11 total positions were hired since August, and the sheriff's office has 65 employees and more than 100 volunteers. He said staffing under his tenure has been restored "to the same level we last had in 2008." "This is remarkable when compared to law enforcement agencies nationwide that are struggling to fill openings," he said. Recruiting new hires is among his greatest achievements as sheriff, Thurman said, as well as thinking outside the box to add more deputies on the street. For example, he said four deputies were moved to patrol when contracted security replaced the deputies on building coverage. Primary calendar July 15: Ballots mailed. July 25: Online and mailed voter registration due by 5 p.m. Aug. 2: Register or update address in person at Cowlitz County Elections Office by 8 p.m., which is the same time ballots are due. Thurman said the sheriff's office "will soon have" four mental health and substance abuse counselors to work with deputies to reduce repeat offenders and help people seek treatment as opposed to going through the justice system. Gibbs Gibbs, 42, said he has served seven years at the Woodland Police Department and is currently a patrol sergeant. The Kelso High School graduate also served seven years in the U.S. Army, in which he led soldiers during deployments in Iraq and achieved the rank of staff sergeant. Gibbs was elected to the Kelso School Board in November 2015 when he ran unopposed for position 3. If elected as sheriff, Gibbs said his goal would be to "place the jail under the authority of the sheriff's office," because "the accused need to know there are consequences for their crimes and they will be held accountable." The Cowlitz County Jail is operated by the county, said Cowlitz County Corrections Director Marin Fox. She said "the Cowlitz County Jail has been a separate department (not part of the sheriff's office) since 1991." Gibbs said the county needs leadership and trust in law enforcement restored. "As sheriff, I will selflessly serve our county with integrity, accountability and honesty," he wrote in his candidate statement in the Cowlitz County online voters' guide. Lundine Lundine, 72, of Toutle did not return emails from The Daily News requesting an interview. The person who answered the phone to the number listed under his candidate filing information said it was the wrong number. Messages Lundine left on The Daily News voicemail could not be understood. Lundine's statement in the Cowlitz County online voters' guide is also difficult to understand and includes fragmented thoughts such as "Army 68 to 71," "Butte College," "rancher," and "I learn to farm." Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office Chief Criminal Deputy Troy Brightbill said department staff has had numerous interactions with Lundine, including some where he was the reporting party, as well as the incident in which he is facing resolution where he allegedly assaulted a neighbor. Cowlitz County deputies arrested Lundine on Feb. 11, 2021, after he hit his neighbor in the head with a pistol, according to police records. Lundine is charged in Cowlitz County Superior Court with two felonies third-degree assault for creating bodily harm with a weapon and possession of a controlled substance as well as three counts of the misdemeanor of the use or possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle. Lundine was released from jail on a $2,500 bond filed Feb. 12, 2021. His next hearing is scheduled for Thursday. Love 1 Funny 16 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CLARK COUNTY The Clark County Council is considering a resolution that supports an Interstate 5 replacement bridge but also "opposes every light rail project in Clark County unless it is first supported by a majority of the voters in a countywide advisory vote of the people." Instead, the council would support C-TRAN's bus rapid transit as the best alternative, according to the resolution. The council reviewed the proposal at its meeting Wednesday but won't take a vote to adopt or reject the resolution until a later date. The resolution would have limited impact, since Clark County is not included among the regional partner agencies involved in the bridge replacement effort. Councilor Temple Lentz said she only had time to skim the resolution and a related white paper because they were not made available until late Tuesday. She said she needed more time to review both documents thoroughly. The Interstate Bridge Replacement Program has been circulating its locally preferred alternative to local jurisdictions for support before it can move on to the next project phase. Included in the design is the expansion of light rail from Portland, an idea that has drawn a mix of support and opposition. "The different surveys that have been taken over time, and in particular the one the IBR team reported, that 78 percent of Washington residents have as their top priority reducing traffic congestion and saving time," Council Chair Karen Bowerman said. Bowerman said, to her knowledge, only Washington has allocated funds for the I-5 replacement bridge and that neither Oregon nor the federal agencies involved have indicated how much they will contribute, if any. "The locally preferred alternative that has been modified and is contained in IBR's materials ... is very relevant for us understanding what is proposed," Bowerman added. She said the white paper takes the position that C-TRAN's bus service would be the ideal choice, especially when compared with TriMet's light rail. Bowerman said part of the opposition to light rail stems from the $1.3 billion to $1.8 billion in additional costs associated with extending existing service into Clark County. She said additional tax revenues would be needed to fund the expansion, where C-TRAN's costs for bus service would be far less. Lentz, who represents the county on the Regional Transportation Council's board of directors, said the need for tax revenues was true for the Columbia River Crossing project but not the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program. "It's one of the key things that is different about this process than the last one, and especially C-TRAN heard much of the opposition the last time around and is standing very firm on a few points," Lentz said. Lentz said C-TRAN has been consistent that Clark County residents will not be asked to pay for the light rail portion of the project, adding she expects to see that in writing before the C-Tran board in the next few weeks. Lentz also noted that the city of Vancouver, which she said would be most impacted by the project, has already announced its support for bringing light rail into downtown and hoped the county council would follow suit. "I would love to see a rework ... so that instead of opposing light rail that we adjusted some of the language to say that if at any time this project requires Clark County or C-Tran money for light rail, then it would require a vote of the people," Lentz said. Another point of opposition, Bowerman said, was that travel times across the bridge could be as much as 30 minutes longer once the bridge is completed. To address this, the resolution calls for a fourth travel lane to be added to the design, as well as a truck-only lane. Councilor Gary Medvigy said he fully supported the resolution. "This is all about an old bridge that doesn't meet engineering standards and there's no practical way to retrofit it to be seismically fit by today's standards," Medvigy said. "At some point, maintenance becomes more costly, ultimately, than replacing it and putting in a brand new bridge." While he agrees with the need for a new bridge, he isn't happy with some of the decisions made by the IBR committee. "I don't understand how this is morphing the way it is," Medvigy said. "All of a sudden we're talking about tolling, Oregon's talking about value pricing on top it, and we've suddenly added light rail. We're doing nothing to increase freight mobility. We're doing nothing to relieve congestion." Medvigy said the only way to achieve all of those goals is adding another travel corridor, bridge or tunnel with light rail and heavy rail separate from the design. "You get redundancy and resiliency by having additional mechanisms," he said. Greg Johnson, IBR program administrator, said the project team welcomes feedback from the many users and stakeholders with an interest in the bridge project. Johnson said that feedback helps ensure the varied needs and perspectives of the community are heard and understood. Johnson said the IBR team has been working in collaboration with local partners to identify the key elements of the locally preferred alternative. "This work has included many considerations, including technical work and extensive community engagement, to identify a solution that best balances the bistate needs and priorities of the communities on both sides of the river," Johnson said, adding the locally preferred alternative is not the final design but a key milestone "that identifies the foundational elements regional partners agree should be further evaluated and tested through the environmental review process." Johnson said the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program will continue to invite that feedback as the project moves into the state environmental impact study process and other phases. "We understand the vital link the bridge plays in connecting the region and are committed to a multimodal solution that will improve our transportation system, now and in the future," Johnson said. The council will again review the resolution at its next meeting at 9 a.m. July 6. The complete resolution and white paper are available on the county website by clicking on the county council meetings and agendas link. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CLARK COUNTY The U.S. Coast Guard wants 178 feet of clearance for boats under the next Interstate 5 Bridge, much more than the current 116-foot clearance that bridge project leaders propose. The Coast Guards request was expected by the Interstate 5 Bridge Replacement Programs leaders, who plan to press on with a 116-foot clearance and collaborate with the Coast Guard to find the best answer. Greg Johnson, program administrator for the bridge project, said building a bridge with 178 feet of clearance would impose problems on the bridge design. The roadway grade would be too steep; the bridge would pass over Hayden Island; and it would reach into restricted airspace of nearby airports. The Coast Guards 178-foot proposal, as tall as the current drawbridge when its fully lifted, is based on a mandate from Congress to maintain freedom of navigation on the navigable waters of the U.S. and to prevent impairment to U.S. navigable waterways, according to a June 17 letter from B.J. Harris, chief of waterways management branch to project officials. Harris letter acknowledged that the preliminary determination does not constitute an approval or final agency determination. A final agency determination will be made in accordance with all applicable regulations after IBR submits a complete bridge permit application. Executive panel includes Wash. leaders Agencies involved in the Interstate Bridge Replacement Project are beginning to formally approve the bridge plans, which are called the Locally Preferred Alternative. Those agencies include TriMet, which endorsed the plans (with the 116-foot clearance). The Vancouver City Council is expected to endorse the plan on July 11. However, the Clark County Council raised objections to the plan on Wednesday, including inclusion of a light rail line. On July 21, Interstate Bridge Replacement Program leaders expect to gain formal approval of the bridge plan from the Executive Steering Group and the Bi-state Legislative Committee. The Executive Steering Group includes several Washington leaders: Roger Millar, secretary of the Washington State Department of Transportation. Shawn Donaghy, CEO of C-Tran. Matt Ransom, executive director of the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council. Anne McEnerny-Ogle, Vancouver mayor. Julianna Marler, CEO of Port of Vancouver USA. Lynn Valenter, community advisory group co-chair. Another drawbridge? Building a new drawbridge could satisfy all height requirements. But Johnson said eight agencies that are part of the Executive Steering Group agree that the best way to meet the multimodal transportation needs of the program is to not build a lift span. There are three companies that would be limited by a 116-foot clearance bridge upriver of the I-5 Bridge, and Johnson said that the bridge project team can mitigate at a much lower price their losses, compared with costs of operating a moving-parts bridge over the course of the new bridges 100-year lifespan. In 2013, the Columbia River Crossing program agreed to pay $86.4 million in mitigation costs to those companies for a bridge with 116 feet of clearance. Because the project was not funded, the mitigation payment was not made. With a 116-foot clearance, the bridge grade would be slightly less than 4 percent, which still is within tolerance for freeway conditions for interstate travel, Johnson said. The Fremont (Interstate 405) and Marquam (Interstate 5) bridges near downtown Portland both have steeper grades, he said. Johnson said hes mindful of heavy trucks and the climb theyd need to make getting on the bridge, and the 4 percent grade would be suitable. Were confident we can find a solution that satisfies the (Coast Guards) needs and the needs of the users, Johnson said. In the next few months, we will complete a written assessment to analyze the tradeoffs of a higher navigation clearance. While our hope is to avoid a lift span bridge option, we will continue to closely coordinate with the Coast Guard to discuss the trade-offs and mitigation to accommodate river navigation, highway and air needs, along with the needs of all multimodal travelers crossing the Columbia River. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Oregon has failed to make key changes intended to reduce improper opioid prescriptions, the Secretary of States office said Wednesday in a follow-up report to a 2018 audit that identified a host of problems with the states use of a database tracking prescriptions of addictive medications. Only four of auditors 12 recommendations have been fully implemented, according to the report. The Oregon Health Authority, which oversees the states drug monitoring program, told auditors most of the changes required legislative action. Governor Kate Browns 2019 to 2021 state budget said the health authority supported the recommendations and would await further guidance from the legislature. Our follow-up work indicates Oregon could do more to promote and enhance the use of [the prescription drug database] as a tool to help combat drug epidemics, the office said. However, Legislative changes are needed to fully implement outstanding recommendations. The opioid epidemic was initially fueled by prescription painkillers, originally billed as safe, yet found to be highly addictive. That has led to todays heroin and fentanyl epidemic. Secretary of State Shemia Fagan drew a straight line from the problems it wants fixed to the opioid epidemic that, according to the health authority, kills five Oregonians a week. These are not statistics, these are not just numbers, Fagan said at a news briefing Wednesday. These are people. As awareness grew about opioid abuse, government agencies cracked down on pain pill prescriptions and took the companies making and selling them to court. Nationally and in Oregon, opioid prescriptions have fallen. Unintentional prescription drug overdoses in the state have fallen in the last six years, even as overdoses from other opioids, such as heroin and fentanyl, have climbed dramatically. But Oregon is an outlier nationally, with the highest reported rate of prescription pain killer abuse of any state, according to the most recent federal recent data. One component of the multi-pronged effort nationally to cut down on inappropriate opioid prescriptions has been the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, a database that is meant to track every prescription of medicines that can be abused. But that system only works if everyone who prescribes the medicines uses the database. Oregon is one of less than 10 states that does not require all prescribers to check the database for suspicious activity, such as doctor shopping, before writing a prescription, according to the 2018 audit. Since late 2021, providers have had to check the database before prescribing drugs to Medicaid patients. That was one of a dozen shortcomings the Secretary of State identified in its 2018 audit of the program. Since then, the state has acted on some of the original audits recommendations, including putting together report cards analyzing prescription trends among prescribers and clinics and helping clinics become more familiar with the prescription drug database. But the state has not taken the bulk of the most important actions, including mandating that all prescribers actually use the database, pursuing changes in the law that would force prescribers to register with the drug monitoring program and penalizing pharmacies that input incorrect information. Most of the outstanding changes require legislative action, the auditors said the health authority told them. The health authority is actively using appropriate channels to recommend legislative changes, auditors wrote of the recommendation that all prescribers be required to use the database. The health authority supported the changes, according to the governors 2019 to 2021 budget. OHA agrees that routine use of the [prescription database] by providers and pharmacists is important for reducing opioid prescribing, the agencys audit response report said. The agency will await direction from the Oregon legislature regarding this recommendation and support decision making with data and evidence-based practice. Two years later, the governors budget described a close working relationship between the agency and the legislature and a willingness on OHAs part to help lawmakers change the law. If requested, the governors 2021 to 2023 budget reads, the Oregon Health Authority is prepared to provide information and evidence to the legislature to support altering the Oregon law to require mandatory use of the [prescription database] under certain circumstances. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 You can use UPI to withdraw cash from ATMs. Yes, there is no need to use debit or credit card for the same. check details here. You require a credit or debit card in order to withdraw cash from ATMs. But, now UPI will help you get cash from ATMs. Customers will be able to withdraw money from bank ATMs via Unified Payment Interface (UPI). Currently, cardless cash withdrawals through ATMs is being offered by a few banks for their customers at their own ATMs. Banks that offer the cardless cash withdrawal through ATMs include State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), HDFC Bank, among others. It can be noted that cardless cash withdrawal can help in containing frauds like skimming, card cloning, device tampering, among others. For the uninitiated, UPI is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing and merchant payments. It also caters to the Peer to Peer collect request which can be scheduled and paid as per requirement and convenience, according to NPCI. People are already using UPI payment making applications like Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, among others to make online cash transactions. All you need to have is a bank account, any of the UPI payment making applications installed in your smartphone, and a valid phone number. Also, it needs to be noted that the central bank will not stop issuing the credit card or debit card as these cards have many other utilities other than cash withdrawals. Slice has issued a statement clarifying recent Google Play Protect warning that the apps puts your device at risk. "Google Play has not officially termed slice as a harmful app via an official statement to the public," the app said. Recently Google had warned against fintech company Slice app saying that it is trying to spy on users' personal data and had recommended users' to delete app from their phones. Later Slice released a clarification on the same. "Google Play has not officially termed slice as a harmful app via an official statement to the public," the app said. "On June 23, Slices Android users who had updated their app to the 10.0.7.1 version were alerted by Google Play Protect that the app was harmful and made attempt to access its users personal data," Slice said in the clarification statement. "First of all, this version of the app was meant to sync phone and SMS permissions for waitlisted users to verify and match the SIM as per UPI guidelines. Upon receiving this alert, the slice team worked closely with the Google Play Store team to identify the issue," Slice app added. Also Read: Apple iPhone SE 3 after 3 MONTHS: So wrong yet SO right! As per the instructions given by Google Play Store team, the issue incurred due to the following reason - The prominent disclosures for Location, Contact, SMS need to be expanded to disclose the type of data, features and scenarios referenced and relevant to the slice app. While updating the UPI phone and SMS permissions for waitlisted users, the Slice's team missed updating the UPI use case on the permission screen. The app further informed that the permission screen is in the app from the beginning, and user consent is taken to proceed. The lack of specifications regarding the prominent disclosures led to the momentary alert from Google Play Protect. However, there is no material change in the app. Also Read: ISRO to launch PSLV-C53 today; Know when and where to watch it LIVE online "The issue was identified and resolved within 4 hours of being notified of this alert and all users were instructed to update/ reinstall the app with the version titled, 10.0.7.3 immediately. Later after this, Google Play Store has removed the alert after reviewing the updated information on the permission screen. Even for users who are with the version titled, 10.0.7.1, the harmful alert wont come up by re-scan the app," Slice said. "Here is the link to the first statement that went out on 24th June and subsequently on 25th June, relaying the details of why this alert was issued by Google Play. slice, as always, reiterates its true commitment towards protecting the privacy of the users data. slice does not access or violate the privacy of the personal data of its users which include call logs, audio recordings and photos. slice seeks limited permissions that users consent to, for availing a slice card and the efficient usage of its services which recently included UPI," the app added. Slice said, "Further, this is to reiterate that Google Play has not officially termed slice as a harmful app via an official statement to the public." On July 12, the first photos from NASA James Webb Space Telescope will be revealed. Among them will be the deepest image of our universe ever taken which will show us the earliest objects in space, almost near the Big Bang. The excitement and anticipation around the NASA James Webb Space Telescope is building up as the entire astronomical community is waiting for July 12, 2022. That is the date scheduled by the American space agency when the first photos taken by the Webb Space Telescope will be revealed to the public. And according to NASA administrator Bill Nelson, it will also include the deepest image of our universe that has ever been taken. This also means that the objects in this image would capture the earliest objects in the universe and give scientists a better understanding of how the Big Bang event actually took place that created our Universe. While details were not shared around the celestial bodies the image will focus on, Nelson has added a layer of excitement by suggesting that these would be the oldest objects in the universe ever. He added, This is farther than humanity has ever looked before, and we're only beginning to understand what Webb can and will do, reported Space.com. NASA James Webb Space Telescope to showcase the earliest objects in space Due to more modern technology and bigger mirrors, the capabilities of James Webb Space Telescope far exceeds that of the Hubble Space Telescope. And considering that Hubble was already able to take pictures of galaxies that were formed just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, the expectations are high from Webb. The latest telescope of NASA could take us closer to the point of Big Bang than we have ever been. Looking back into past It might be confusing to those who are not aware that the space telescope can take pictures of the past. It happens because the speed of light, although extremely fast, is finite. That means it takes light a certain period of time before reaching the eye. For example, light takes about 8 minutes and 20 seconds to travel from the Sun to the Earth. So, if you took an image of the Sun now, it will show you how it looked 8 minutes ago. Extending the same logic to objects which are situated one light year away would imply that we are looking at how the objects looked one year ago. And this is how by looking farther into the universe, scientists are able to map out objects that happened close to the Big Bang, around 13.7 million years ago. BYJU's job cuts have been announced and as many as 600 employees are set to get the sack- 300 from Toppr and 300 from WhiteHat Jr. Check details here. In a massive layoff, BYJU's has cut at least 600 jobs across its learning platform Topper and coding platform WhiteHat Jr. According to a report by IANS, "online learning giant BYJU's has cut at least 600 jobs -- asking 300 employees at its Toppr learning platform and another 300 at coding platform WhiteHat Jr to go." According to the report for the layoff at Toppr which it acquired last year for USD150 million, BYJU's confirmed the development, saying it has completed "the integration of Toppr and has absorbed almost 80 percent of its talented workforce into the BYJU'S ecosystem". B\YJU's job cuts have come as a surprise considering it is hunting for further takeovers and that too in the US. It can be noted that employees from the sales and marketing division were retained in Toppr, after the acquisition was completed. While employees in other departments were asked to go. "We are optimising teams to recalibrate business priorities and accelerate our long-term growth," the company's spokesperson said on what will be the next step of the company, as quoted by IANS. Also Read: ISRO to launch PSLV-C53 today; Know when and where to watch it LIVE online Earlier, WhiteHat Jr, acquired by BYJU's for USD300 million, laid off around 300 employees, after more than 1,000 of its employees resigned after being asked to return to office in April-May. However, this time, most of the fired employees belonged to the code-teaching and sales teams at the platform and some of them worked in Brazil. In a statement, the company said that "to realign with our business priorities, we are optimising our team to accelerate results and best position the business for long-term growth". It can be known that the layoffs at BYJU's came amid reports saying that the company has delayed payments to the stakeholders as part of its USD 1 billion acquisition of Aakash Educational Services, to which the company said that the acquisition process "is on track and is expected to be completed by August". Mayflower Autonomous Ship floats next to the replica of the original Mayflower, Thursday, June 30, 2022, in Plymouth, Mass. The crewless robotic boat retraced the 1620 sea voyage of the Mayflower. Credit: AP Photo/Charles Krupa A crewless robotic boat retracing the 1620 sea voyage of the Mayflower has landed near Plymouth Rock. The sleek Mayflower Autonomous Ship met with an escort boat as it approached the Massachusetts shoreline Thursday, more than 400 years after its namesake's historic journey from England. It was towed into Plymouth Harborper U.S. Coast Guard rules for crewless vesselsand docked near a replica of the original Mayflower that brought the Pilgrims to America. Piloted by artificial intelligence technology, the 50-foot (15-meter) trimaran didn't have a captain, navigator or any humans on board. The solar-powered ship's first attempt to cross the Atlantic in 2021 was beset with technical problems, forcing it back to its home port of Plymouth, Englandthe same place the Pilgrim settlers sailed from in 1620. It set off from the southwest English coast again in April but mechanical difficulties diverted it to Portugal's Azores islands and then to Canada. "When you don't have anybody onboard, you obviously can't do the mechanical, physical fixes that are needed," said Rob High, a software executive at IBM helping to work on the project. "That's also part of the learning process." Brett Phaneuf, co-director of the Mayflower Autonomous Ship project, at left, stands on the deck of a tow boat as the Mayflower Autonomous Ship is guided next to the replica of the original Mayflower, Thursday, June 30, 2022, in Plymouth, Mass. The crewless robotic boat retraced the 1620 sea voyage of the Mayflower. Credit: AP Photo/Charles Krupa Brett Phaneuf, co-director of the Mayflower Autonomous Ship project, at left, stands on the deck of a tow boat as the Mayflower Autonomous Ship is guided next to the replica of the original Mayflower, Thursday, June 30, 2022, in Plymouth, Mass. The crewless robotic boat retraced the 1620 sea voyage of the Mayflower. Credit: AP Photo/Charles Krupa Brett Phaneuf, co-director of the Mayflower Autonomous Ship project, flashes a thumb up after greeting the Mayflower Autonomous Ship , Thursday, June 30, 2022, off the coast of Plymouth, Mass., after a crew-less journey from Plymouth, England. Credit: AP Photo/Charles Krupa Brett Phaneuf, co-director of the Mayflower Autonomous Ship project, at left, holds bow line as the Mayflower Autonomous Ship docks next to the replica of the original Mayflower, Thursday, June 30, 2022, in Plymouth, Mass. The crewless robotic boat retraced the 1620 sea voyage of the Mayflower. Credit: AP Photo/Charles Krupa Mayflower Autonomous Ship motors freely, Thursday, June 30, 2022, about twenty miles off the coast of Plymouth, Mass., after a crew-less journey from Plymouth, England. Credit: AP Photo/Charles Krupa Brett Phaneuf, co-director of the Mayflower Autonomous Ship project, waves to the sport team over streaming cameras aboard the Mayflower Autonomous Ship , Thursday, June 30, 2022, off the coast of Plymouth, Mass., after a crew-less journey from Plymouth, England. Credit: AP Photo/Charles Krupa A tow boat approaches the Mayflower Autonomous Ship, Thursday, June 30, 2022, about twenty miles off the coast of Plymouth, Mass., after a crew-less journey from Plymouth, England. Credit: AP Photo/Charles Krupa Sea Tow captain Ethan Maass, left, hooks the bow line of the Mayflower Autonomous Ship as Brett Phaneuf, co-director of the Mayflower Autonomous Ship project, looks on, Thursday, June 30, 2022, off the coast of Plymouth, Mass., after a crew-less journey from Plymouth, England. Credit: AP Photo/Charles Krupa On Monday, it departed Halifax, Nova Scotia for a successful 4-day journey to Plymouth Harbor. Nonprofit marine research organization ProMare worked with IBM to build the ship and has been using it to collect data about whales, microplastics pollution and for other scientific research. Small autonomous experimental vessels have crossed the Atlantic before but researchers describe it as the first ship of its size to do so. The voyage's completion "means we can start analyzing data from the ship's journey" and dig into the AI system's performance, High said. He said the prospect of such crewless vessels navigating the seas on a continuous basis will make it easier to collect "all the kinds of things that marine scientists care about." Explore further Autonomous Mayflower reaches American shoresin Canada 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A cyberattack temporarily knocked out public and private websites in Norway in the past 24 hours, Norwegian authorities said Wednesday. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre said that to his knowledge the attack "has not caused any significant damage." The distributed-denial-of-service (DDOS) attack targeted a secure national data network forcing the temporary suspension of online services for several hours, the Norwegian National Security Authority said. A criminal pro-Russian group seems to be behind the attacks, NSM head Sofie Nystrm said. She added that the attacks "give the impression that we are a piece in the current political situation in Europe." Norwegian media reported that the country's ambassador to Moscow was summoned to the Foreign Ministry Wednesday for a complaint over Russian supplies being prevented from transiting via Norway to an Arctic Russian coal-mining settlement. The Barentsburg settlement is in the Svalbard archipelago, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of the Norwegian mainland. The European Union has slapped sanctions on several Russian goods due to the war in Ukraine. Norway is not a member of the EU but mirrors its line on most topics. Under a 1920 treaty, Norway has sovereignty over the Svalbard archipelago, but other signatory countries have rights to exploit its natural resources. Wednesday's cyberattack on Norway came two days after a similar attack temporarily knocked out public and private websites in Lithuania with a pro-Moscow hacker group reportedly claiming responsibility. That incident came a week after Russian officials threatened to retaliate because Lithuania restricted the transit of steel and ferrous metals sanctioned by the EU through its territory to Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad. Explore further Norway accuses Russia of cyberattack 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Five-time All-Star Mookie Betts has been out of action since June 15 due to a right rib fracture, but it appears that his return is not too far off. Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the media on Wednesday that hes very optimistic Betts will return from the Injured List before the All-Star break (the MLB All-Star Game is on July 19). However, Betts is likely to be a designated hitter initially as he eases his way back into action and gets to full health. The throwing has been more of an issue for Betts than the hitting. Dave Roberts said he is very optimistic Mookie Betts will be back before the All-Star break Sounds like he will return initially in more of a DH role, because throwing has been more bothersome for him than swinging Jack Harris (@Jack_A_Harris) June 29, 2022 The Dodgers will certainly take Betts contributions any way they can get the help. On Monday night, for example, they were shut out at hitters paradise Coors Field by Chad Kuhl. The Los Angeles lineup while stil very good just doesnt have the same power and on-base (and baserunning) skills without their $365 million in the lineup. But theyre definitely missing Betts defense in the outfield too. The five-time Gold Glove award winner has been worth a strong five defensive runs saved (DRS) in right field this season. So, the Dodgers will hope to get the full-use Betts in the next month or two, but they should at least get his .884 OPS bat back over the next 2-3 weeks. The Dodgers entered Wednesday nights game against the Rockies with a 45-28 record, the best mark in the NL West (one game ahead of the San Diego Padres). Related: Dodgers lose key reliever to season-ending injury The Bryan Fire Department responded to a large grass fire on Old Reliance Road near Austins Colony Parkway, close to Rudder High School, on Wednesday afternoon. Deputy Fire Marshal Lt. Ethan Ballard said the cause was not known, but it is possible the fire began after someone threw a cigarette out of a car window. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Three storm systems are brewing in the Atlantic, one of which is likely to become Tropical Storm Bonnie at any time in the southeastern Caribbean and another could become a short-lived tropical depression near Texas, forecasters said Wednesday. A third disturbance in the central Atlantic, which originated earlier this week off Africas west coast, is forecast to interact with a tropical wave and to approach the boundary between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea this weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center. It is forecast to move west-northwest in the Atlantic and head in the general direction of South Florida. However, it could hit storm-shredding wind shear and dissipate once it reaches the Caribbean, according to AccuWeather senior meteorologist Paul Walker. Walker said conditions, for now, generally work against systems heading toward South Florida. I think it continues to be a case where these things continue to plow westward to the southern portion of the main development region (in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico) and toward the south Caribbean and South American coast, at least for a while here, he said. As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, its odds of developing had risen slightly to 30% over the next five days, up from 20% previously. Meanwhile, the system in the northern Gulf of Mexico is expected to approach the Texas coast or northeast Mexico by early Thursday. Its possible it could become a tropical depression, but it would quickly lose that status once it moves over inland Texas or Mexico, the hurricane center said. It has been given a 40% chance of developing in the next two to five days. An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter airplane is investigating the disturbance. The big thing with this system ... is its going to be bringing heavy rain to portions of Texas, Louisiana and up into Oklahoma and Arkansas, Walker said. Meanwhile, the system expected to become Bonnie, currently known as Potential Tropical Cyclone Two, was located off Venezuelas northern coast Wednesday and moving west. Forecasters said the system could become Tropical Storm Bonnie at any time today. The system is moving west at 24 mph and is located 85 miles southeast of Curacao with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. On the current forecast track, it will pass near Colombia early Thursday, then over the southwestern Caribbean Thursday and Friday. By Friday night, it is expected to be near or over Nicaragua, then will cross over Central America into the Pacific Ocean this weekend. It is possible that its maximum sustained winds could reach up to 70 mph next week, according to the NHC, which would put at near-hurricane strength near northern Central America. Its maximum wind speeds are expected to drop sharply thereafter. Walker said AccuWeathers hurricane season outlook still seems on target for an above-average season even though theres only been one named storm so far. WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed a former state trooper to sue Texas over his claim that he was forced out of his job when he returned from Army service in Iraq. The justices ruled for Army veteran Le Roy Torres under a federal law that was enacted in 1994 in the wake of the Persian Gulf war to strengthen job protections for returning service members. By a 5-4 vote, the high court rejected Texas' claim that it is shielded from such lawsuits. Text, history, and precedent show that the States, in coming together to form a Union, agreed to sacrifice their sovereign immunity for the good of the common defense, Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the court. Breyer, in a separate letter to President Joe Biden, announced his retirement would commence at noon Thursday. Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by three other conservative justices, dissented, arguing that when the States ratified the Constitution, they did not implicitly consent to private damages actions filed in their own courts whether authorized by Congress war powers or any other Article I power. Article I refers to the part of the Constitution that spells out Congress' power. Torres says he suffered lung damage from exposure to open burn pits on his base in Iraq. He spent a year in Iraq and was discharged as a captain after nearly 19 years in the U.S. Army Reserve. Separately, Congress is nearing final passage of a sweeping expansion of health care and disability benefits for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who were exposed to the open pits that were set ablaze with jet fuel to dispose of tires, batteries, medical waste and other materials. The state and Torres dispute what happened when he returned to Texas, unable to resume his job as a state trooper because of the damage to his lungs. He eventually resigned and later filed his lawsuit. A state appellate court dismissed it, and the justices stepped in. Congress first allowed returning service members to sue states to keep their jobs in 1974, recognizing discrimination because of opposition to the Vietnam War. Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett joined Thomas in dissenting. SAN ANTONIO The tractor-trailer at the center of a human-smuggling attempt that left 53 people dead had passed through an inland U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint with migrants inside the sweltering rig earlier in its journey, a U.S. official said Thursday. The truck went through the checkpoint on Interstate 35 located 26 miles northeast of the border city of Laredo. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said there were 73 people in the truck when it was discovered Monday in San Antonio, including the 53 who died. It was unclear if agents stopped the driver for questioning at the inland checkpoint or if the truck went through unimpeded. The disclosure brings new attention to an old policy question of whether the roughly 110 inland highway checkpoints along the Mexican and Canadian borders are sufficiently effective at spotting people in cars and trucks who enter the United States illegally. They are generally located up to 100 miles from the border. Texas state police also announced they would operate their own inland checkpoints for tractor-trailers on the orders of Gov. Greg Abbott, who considers the Biden administrations efforts insufficient. It was unclear how many trucks they would be stopping. Also Thursday, Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, the alleged driver of the tractor-trailer, made his initial appearance in San Antonio federal court. During a hearing that lasted about five minutes, Zamorano, wearing a white T-shirt and gray sweatpants, said very little, giving yes and no answers to questions from U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Chestney about his rights and the charges against him. The judge appointed a federal public defender for Zamorano as well as a second attorney since the smuggling charge he faces carries a possible death sentence. She scheduled a hearing next week to determine if he is eligible for bail. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1976 that Border Patrol agents may stop vehicles at inland checkpoints for brief questioning without a warrant, even if there is no reason to believe that they are carrying people in the country illegally. Still, the practice has galvanized immigration advocates and civil libertarians who consider checkpoints ripe for racial profiling and abuse of authority. Some motorists post videos to social media accusing agents of heavy-handed, inappropriate questioning. The Laredo-area checkpoint is on one of the busiest highways along the border, particularly for trucks, raising the possibility of choking commerce and creating havoc if every motorist is stopped and questioned. Border Patrol officials call the checkpoints an imperfect but effective second line of defense after the border, acknowledging that agents must balance law enforcement interests with disrupting legitimate commerce and travel. Volume and configuration vary widely among checkpoints but agents generally have five to seven seconds to decide whether to question a driver, said Roy Villareal, former chief of the Border Patrols Tucson, Arizona, sector. U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, who drives through the checkpoint almost weekly, said investigators believe the migrants boarded the truck in or around Laredo, though that is unconfirmed. That would be consistent with smuggling patterns: migrants cross the border on foot and hide in a house or in shrubbery on U.S. soil before getting picked up and taken to the nearest major city. Even if the truck were empty, it would raise questions about the checkpoints. Migrants often perish trying to circumvent them, getting dropped off before reaching them with plans to get picked up on the other side. In Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings, migrants walk through sweltering ranches to avoid a checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas, about 70 miles north of the border. The Government Accountability Office reported this month that agents at inland checkpoints detained about 35,700 people believed to be in the U.S. illegally from the 2016 to 2020 fiscal years, only about 2% of all Border Patrol arrests. Agents seized drugs nearly 18,000 times during that period with more than nine of 10 arrests involving U.S. citizens. They have been a trap for U.S. citizens carrying even small bags of marijuana. About 40% of pot seizures at Border Patrol checkpoints from fiscal years 2013 to 2016 were an ounce (28 grams) or less from U.S. citizens, according to an earlier GAO report. Abbott did not provide details on the extent of Texas new inland inspections announced Thursday. Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said troopers would take a more aggressive stance. Asked if that meant stopping every truck, Oliverez said he did not know and that it would partly depend on staffing. Its going to be inspecting more than what we usually inspect, Olivarez said. In April, Abbott gridlocked Texas border for a week after issuing orders that troopers inspect every tractor-trailer entering from Mexico as part of his ongoing fight with the Biden administration over immigration policy. Those inspections, which were mechanical and safety inspections, did not turn up any migrants or drugs. Four migrants died Thursday and three other people were injured in a highway crash in Texas that authorities described as another fatal human smuggling attempt during a tragic week near the border. The crash happened in Encinal on Thursday, when a Jeep carrying seven people being pursued by Border Patrol agents crashed into the back of a tractor-trailer on the interstate, Olivarez said. The driver was hospitalized in critical condition along with two others who were also injured, Olivarez said. He said it was the second deadly smuggling attempt in 24 hours in South Texas after two migrants died in a car that was being pursued by authorities near the border city of La Joya. MADRID NATO declared Russia the most significant and direct threat to its members peace and security on Wednesday and vowed to strengthen support for Ukraine, even as that countrys leader chided the alliance for not doing more to help it defeat Moscow. The military organizations condemnation was not wholly surprising: Its chief earlier said Russias war in Ukraine had created Europes biggest security crisis since World War II. But it was a sobering about-face for an alliance that a decade ago called Moscow a strategic partner. NATO also issued a warning about China, accusing it of bullying its neighbors and forming a strategic partnership with Moscow that poses a challenge to the West. Set up some 70 years ago to counter the Soviet Union, NATO held its summit in Madrid in a world transformed by Russias invasion of its neighbor. The war drove the alliance to pour troops and weapons into eastern Europe on a scale unseen in decades and pushed Sweden and Finland to seek the safety of NATO membership. The two formerly nonaligned nations were formally invited to join on Wednesday, as Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the war had brought the biggest overhaul of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lamented that NATOs open-door policy to new members did not appear to apply to his country. The open-door policy of NATO shouldnt resemble the old turnstiles on Kyivs subway, which stay open but close when you approach them until you pay, Zelenskyy said by video link. Hasnt Ukraine paid enough? He also asked for more modern artillery systems and other weapons and warned the leaders they either had to provide Kyiv with the help it needed or face a delayed war between Russia and yourself. The question is, whos next? Moldova? Or the Baltics? Or Poland? The answer is: all of them, he said. Zelenskyy has acknowledged that NATO membership is a distant prospect. Under NATO treaties, an attack on any of the 30 members would trigger a military response by the entire alliance, so it is trying to strike a delicate balance, letting its nations arm Ukraine without sparking a direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia. At the same time NATO has moved quickly to ensure that its members are protected, dramatically scaling up military forces along its eastern flank, where countries from Romania to the Baltic states worry about Russias future plans. It plans to increase almost eightfold the size of the alliances rapid reaction force, from 40,000 to 300,000 troops, by next year. The troops will be based in their home nations but dedicated to specific countries in the east, where the alliance plans to build up stocks of equipment and ammunition. President Joe Biden, whose country provides the bulk of NATOs military power, vowed the summit would send an unmistakable message ... that NATO is strong and united. Were stepping up. Were proving that NATO is more needed now than it ever has been, Biden said. He announced a hefty boost in Americas military presence in Europe, including a permanent U.S. base in Poland, two more Navy destroyers based in Rota, Spain, and two more F35 squadrons to the U.K. Still, strains among NATO allies have emerged as the cost of energy and other essential goods has skyrocketed, partly because of the the war and tough Western sanctions on Russia. There also are tensions over how the war will end and what, if any, concessions Ukraine should make. Money remains a sensitive issue just nine of NATOs 30 members currently meet the organizations target of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose country does hit the target, urged NATO allies to dig deep to restore deterrence and ensure defense in the decade ahead. At the summit, the leaders published NATOs new Strategic Concept, its once-a-decade set of priorities and goals. The last such document, in 2010, called Russia a strategic partner. At the time, the idea of Russia waging a land war on NATOs borders would have sounded far-fetched. Now, NATO accused Russia of using coercion, subversion, aggression and annexation to extend its reach. The document also set out NATOs approach on issues from cybersecurity to climate change and the growing economic and military reach of China. For the first time, the leaders of Japan, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand attended the summit as guests, a reflection of the growing importance of Asia and the Pacific region and NATOs desire to counterbalance China. China is not our adversary, but we must be clear-eyed about the serious challenges it represents, Stoltenberg said. We see a deepening strategic partnership between Moscow and Beijing, and Chinas growing assertiveness and its coercive policies have consequences for the security of our allies and our partners. The alliance said, however, that it remained open to constructive engagement with Beijing. NATO also stressed the need to address political instability in Africas Sahel region and the Middle East aggravated by climate change, fragile institutions, health emergencies and food insecurity that is driving large numbers of migrants toward Europe. Host Spain and other European countries pushed for this new focus. The summit, which ends Thursday, opened with one problem solved, after Turkey agreed Tuesday to lift its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO. NATO operates by consensus, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had threatened to block the Nordic pair, insisting they change their stance on Kurdish rebel groups that Turkey considers terrorists. After talks with leaders of the three countries, Stoltenberg said the impasse had been cleared. The two countries accession has to be ratified by all nations, but Stoltenberg said he was absolutely confident Finland and Sweden would become members quickly. Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said his country was eager to get out of the gray zone of having applied for membership but not yet fully covered by NATOs collective defense guarantee. Our aim is that that period should be as short as possible, he said. Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) on Thursday disclosed it had acted to block as many as 36 malicious domains operated by hack-for-hire groups from India, Russia, and the U.A.E. In a manner analogous to the surveillanceware ecosystem, hack-for-hire firms equip their clients with capabilities to enable targeted attacks aimed at corporates as well as activists, journalists, politicians, and other high-risk users. Where the two stand apart is that while customers purchase the spyware from commercial vendors and then deploy it themselves, the operators behind hack-for-hire attacks are known to conduct the intrusions on their clients' behalf in order to obscure their role. "The hack-for-hire landscape is fluid, both in how the attackers organize themselves and in the wide range of targets they pursue in a single campaign at the behest of disparate clients," Shane Huntley, director of Google TAG, said in a report. "Some hack-for-hire attackers openly advertise their products and services to anyone willing to pay, while others operate more discreetly selling to a limited audience." A recent campaign mounted by an Indian hack-for-hire operator is said to have targeted an IT company in Cyprus, an education institution in Nigeria, a fintech company in the Balkans, and a shopping company in Israel, indicating the breadth of victims. The Indian outfit, which Google TAG said it's been tracking since 2012, has been linked to a string of credential phishing attacks with the goal of harvesting login information associated with government agencies, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Gmail accounts. The campaign involves sending spear-phishing emails containing a rogue link that, when clicked, launches an attacker-controlled phishing page designed to siphon credentials entered by unsuspecting users. Targets included government, healthcare, and telecom sectors in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. Google TAG attributed the Indian hack-for-hire actors to a firm called Rebsec, which, according to its dormant Twitter account, is short for "Rebellion Securities" and is based in the city of Amritsar. The company's website, down for "maintenance" as of writing, also claims to offer corporate espionage services. A similar set of credential theft attacks targeting journalists, European politicians, and non-profits has been linked to a Russian actor dubbed Void Balaur, a cyber mercenary group first documented by Trend Micro in November 2021. Over the past five years, the collective is believed to have singled out accounts at major webmail providers like Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo! and regional webmail providers like abv.bg, mail.ru, inbox.lv, and UKR.net. Lastly, TAG also detailed the activities of a group based in the U.A.E. and has connections to the original developers of a remote access trojan called njRAT (aka H-Worm or Houdini). The phishing attacks, as previously uncovered by Amnesty International in 2018, entail using password reset lures to steal credentials from targets in government, education, and political organizations in the Middle East and North Africa. Following the account compromise, both the threat actors have a pattern of maintaining persistence by granting an OAuth token to a legitimate email application like Thunderbird, generating an App Password to access the account via IMAP, or linking the victim's Gmail account to an adversary-owned account on a third-party mail provider. The findings come a week after Google TAG revealed details of an Italian spyware company named RCS Lab, whose "Hermit" hacking tool was used to target Android and iOS users in Italy and Kazakhstan. The notorious North Korea-backed hacking collective Lazarus Group is suspected to be behind the recent $100 million altcoin theft from Harmony Horizon Bridge, citing similarities to the Ronin bridge attack in March 2022. The finding comes as Harmony confirmed that its Horizon Bridge, a platform that allows users to move cryptocurrency across different blockchains, had been breached last week. The incident involved the exploiter carrying out multiple transactions on June 23 that extracted tokens stored in the bridge and subsequently making away with about $100 million in cryptocurrency. "The stolen crypto assets included Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and BNB," blockchain analytics company Elliptic said in a new report. "The thief immediately used Uniswap a decentralized exchange (DEX) to convert much of these assets into a total of 85,837 ETH." Days later, on June 27, the culprit is said to have begun moving funds amounting to $39 million through the Tornado Cash mixer service in an attempt to obfuscate the ill-gotten gains and make it difficult to trace the transaction trail back to the original theft. Elliptic, which was able to "demix" the transactions, said it was in a position to further track the stolen funds funneled through the service to a number of new Ethereum wallets. The company's attribution to the Lazarus Group stems from the threat actor's history of carrying out cryptocurrency thefts, including those targeting cross-chain bridges earlier this year, and the manner in which the funds were stolen and subsequently laundered. "The theft was perpetrated by compromising the cryptographic keys of a multi-signature wallet likely through a social engineering attack on Harmony team members," it said. "Such techniques have frequently been used by the Lazarus Group." "The relatively short periods during which the stolen funds stop being moved out of Tornado cash are consistent with [Asia-Pacific] nighttime hours," Elliptic added. "Although no single factor proves the involvement of Lazarus, in combination they suggest the group's involvement." Harmony has since notified all cryptocurrency exchanges and involved law enforcement and blockchain forensic firms to help in the recovery of stolen assets. It's also offering "one final opportunity" for the cyber thieves to send the funds back with anonymity and "retain $10 million and return the remaining amount" by July 4, 2022, 11 p.m. GMT. On top of that, it has promised a $10 million reward for any information that leads to the return of plundered virtual currencies. The Horizon Bridge digital heist also arrives against the backdrop of a "crypto winter" that has witnessed a steep decline in cryptocurrency markets, sending prices of Bitcoin down below $20,000 and potentially risking a key source of income for the sanctions-hit North Korea. In a related development, Sky Mavis, developers of the popular non-fungible token (NFT) video game Axie Infinity, announced this week the official restart of the Ronin Bridge following three different audits. What's more, the European Parliament and Council reached a landmark agreement on Wednesday to force crypto platforms to provide identifying information on the originators and the beneficiaries in a bid to enforce transparency of crypto asset transfers. "This is what payment service providers currently do for wire transfers," the Council said in a press statement. "This will ensure traceability of crypto asset transfers in order to be able to better identify possible suspicious transactions and block them." Grand Island celebrates its sesquicentennial this year. To kickoff this historic anniversary, a special event is being held at Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer on Monday. Entry into Stuhr will be free all day thanks to a donation from the Grand Island Community Foundation. During a GITV broadcast from City Hall Wednesday morning, Mayor Roger Steele and Museum Executive Director Chris Hochstetler detailed the important anniversary. It was 150 years ago that Grand Island was formed. Back then, in 1872, we were known as the Town of Grand Island, a city of the second class, said Steele. Stuhr will offer a slate of activities Monday, said Hochstetler. Gates open at 9 a.m. At 10 a.m., a traditional German-language service at Evangelical Lutheran Historical Church on the south side of Stuhr Museum grounds will be hosted by Hall County Historical Society. The first 35 settlers who came to Grand Island and Hall County actually arrived here on July 4th in 1857, and they established the underpinnings of our community on the Island of Grand, which was named by the French fur traders who hung out at the conflux of the Wood River and Platt River, said Hochstetler. Thats where our community really began. Festivities through day will include games for children, a historical band concert at 2 p.m. at Railroadtown, a parade with Steele giving remarks and historical programming on the Grand Islands origins. This history is important, said Hochstetler. It is because of those settlers and their travails that he is able to enjoy Grand Island and its many offerings: getting a drink at Starbucks, picking up items at Menards, borrowing a book from the library and enjoying a feature at Grand Theatre. Some of those things seem a little mundane to us now, but were it not for those original folks who came here and settled this wonderful community, I wouldnt be have been able to do any of that, he said. I wouldnt be able to come to Stuhr Museum and celebrate, in grand fashion, were it not for those original settlers. Steele told The Independent that it is an honor to be serving as Grand Islands mayor at the time of its 150-year anniversary. I think of all the mayors who came before me and how Grand Island has grown over the years, and its a great honor to think that Im a successor to the footsteps of others who have served in this role, he said. I hope to be worthy of that, and its a heartwarming thing to think about, that I get to be mayor on the 150th anniversary of the incorporation of the city. Its a mark of how much progress weve made. It is a privilege for Stuhr Museum to host the anniversary kickoff event, Hochstetler told The Independent. I cant think of a better place to kick off the 150th year celebration, he said. Were a Hall County museum, but certainly you wouldnt have Stuhr Museum without Grand Island, and its an amazing thing to have this celebration start at Stuhr. For more information about the sesquicentennial kickoff, go to stuhrmuseum.org. 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 Grand Island Chamber of Commerces Harvest of Harmony Parade is set to celebrate its 80th year of filling downtown Grand Island with the sights and sounds of Nebraskas high school marching bands and floats on Saturday, Oct. 1. The theme, Marching Through the Decades was chosen to represent Nebraska through the decades, including the past 80 years of the Harvest of Harmony parade, as well as the community of Grand Islands 150th birthday. The Nebraska tradition dates back to 1938 when the first parade stepped off with 13 floats and eight bands. The parade grew over the years, claiming the title of highest number of bands marching in a parade in the 1996 Guinness Book of World Records with 130 bands. Aside from a hiatus from 1942 to 1945 because of World War II and in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the parade has marched on for 80 years. This historic parade will be led by Grand Marshal Judi Nelson, who has been involved with the Harvest of Harmony Alumni Band for more than 25 years, and marched in her final parade as the Alumni Band Director in 2021. Going forward, Nelson plans to pass the director title to another member of the Alumni Band while still assisting with practices and preparations in the weeks leading up to the event. The Harvest of Harmony committee chose to select Nelson to be the Grand Marshal as a way of recognizing and thanking her for many years of service to the parade. It was an easy decision to select Judi Nelson as the Grand Marshal. She has been such a key member of the Harvest of Harmony Alumni Band and we are lucky to have had her as the director for so many years, said Grand Island Chamber of Commerce President Cindy Johnson. Judi embodies the energy and enthusiasm so pronounced during the Harvest of Harmony parade and associated activities. The 80th Harvest of Harmony, sponsored by Century 21 Real Estate, will take place on Saturday, Oct. 1. The parade is set to step off at 8:15 a.m., starting at Fourth and Elm Streets, continuing through the Eddy Street underpass, and then proceeding through the route (approximately .6 miles) down Third Street. Area communities, businesses, clubs, service organizations and individuals are invited to participate in the parade by entering a float. A variety of float types are welcome in the Harvest of Harmony Parade: walking units, single vehicle and towed decorated floats. Though not required, it is encouraged to decorate the floats in relation to the parades theme. Applications for floats open in August. A Save the Date with float entry details can be viewed on the Harvest of Harmony webpage. Information regarding the judging of floats will be released in the coming months. The Alumni Band is also recruiting more participants to march in the parade. The band is open to anyone interested, and practices three weekends before the day of the parade. Contact Karissa Schmidt at 308-646-0795 or kschmidt@gichamber.com for more information. When Super Thunder Fireworks opened for business on Tuesday, some of the customers asked where Jason Lawhorne was. One patron, for instance, said, Oh, big boss mans not here today? Jessica Hansen and Elizabeth Platt had to explain that Lawhorne passed away in September. Lawhorne, who was 51, operated Super Thunder Fireworks for about 15 years. Hansen, who is Lawhornes daughter, and Platt, his stepdaughter, are keeping the fireworks stand going without him. The two women felt his absence. It was an empty stand without him here, thats for sure, Hansen said. Carrying on without him Tuesday was rough, Platt said. For 11 years, Lawhorne set up his stand in the parking lot of Super Bowl. This is the third year Super Thunder Fireworks has been in the parking lot of BAC Roofing, Siding, Gutters and Windows, which is at the intersection of Oklahoma and South Locust streets. But this is the first year Hansen and Platt havent sold fireworks with Lawhorne. They started working with him in their mid-teens. Platt is now 33, and Hansen 27. They changed the name of the business to Js Super Thunder Fireworks, in honor of Lawhorne. A small sign on the stands exterior says, In memory of Jason Lawhorne. Lawhorne was just somebody who was really nice to be around, Platt said. Lawhorne, who had his own construction company, looked forward to the Fourth of July every year. He loved fireworks. He didnt necessarily love to shoot them off, but he loved to watch them and wanted to make sure everybody enjoyed the holiday, Hansen said. Sometimes, he even gave fireworks away to make sure kids were not left without, Platt said. Lawhorne impacted so many people, she said, adding that he was nice to everybody. Scraping enough money together to sell fireworks every year was a struggle, especially after a break-in of his stand in the Super Bowl lot in 2019. He also had health problems the last few years. The women are continuing the business because they love to help people out and we love to give kids and adults a good Fourth of July, Hansen said. But they also want to carry on their fathers legacy. If Lawhorne wanted to keep selling fireworks, we can do it when hes not here, Hansen said. The former Jessica Lawhorne lives in Central City with her husband, Dakota, and their four kids. Dakota built the new fireworks stand. Platt, the mother of two, lives in Omaha. So does their mother, Deanna Platt, Lawhornes ex-wife. In addition to Grand Island, Super Thunder Fireworks operated in the past in Wood River and Central City. Lawhorne was a graduate of Central City High School. The two women keep an urn containing some of Lawhornes ashes next to their cash register. They also have a couple of souvenirs, including a candle, emblazoned with his image. The 2019 break-in of his fireworks stand was a big blow to Lawhorne. But Kermits and Kracklin Kirks in Doniphan were our saviors that year, Hansen said. Those stands helped Lawhorne out with fireworks at reduced prices or no price at all. Lawhorne suffered from cellulitis in his legs last year. He had an infection in his blood, and had been battling cirrhosis of the liver for four years. They gave him four to six years, and he lasted four years, Hansen said. People should never take tomorrow for granted, she said. BAC Roofing, Siding, Gutters and Windows is letting the women use its parking lot at 802 S. Locust at no charge. Owner Brad Arends is even providing electricity for free. Hes pretty cool, Platt said. All the BAC people ask is they take a few fireworks for their kids to watch on the Fourth, and thats it, she said. The spirit of generosity is not limited to Christmas. 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. Mena Sprague has a yellow T-shirt that reads, I am pro-choice, and I vote! She bought it in the early 1970s while fighting for her rights and the rights of all women. She said she never thought shed have to wear it again. That changed Friday, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade, leaving abortion policy to the states. Sprague donned her time-worn T-shirt and joined dozens of other women Wednesday in a protest held on Second Street, outside of Republican Sen. Adrian Smiths Grand Island office. Sprague is a member of Central Nebraska Peace Workers, and coordinated the event in response to Fridays decision, finding herself having to fight once more to make abortions legal and safe. There will always be abortions, she told The Independent. Im old enough to remember when it wasnt legal. Women died. They did self-induced abortions. They got sepsis. They went to back alley abortionists. The only thing Roe did was make abortions safe and legal, and now thats been taken away from us. With tears, Sprague could only describe what happened Friday as terrible. You just feel like, its something weve always worked for. Were each supposed to be free, arent we? she said. They want people to be free to carry guns. They want people to be free to pray on school grounds. But I cant have control of my own body? Thats not freedom. Sprague wasnt alone in her feelings or in protest. Dressed as Lady Justice, Teresa Green raised a banner reading We wont go back! to fight for the rights of her daughters, calling Fridays decision a travesty. Its over half a century, and now were back to square one. My daughters shouldnt have to worry about their health care. Politicians should stay out of it. Theyre not doctors. It just tears my heart apart. Whats next? Are they going to control whether my daughters have contraceptives? I worry about that for the future. She added, What made it happen, right now, that its so important that these women cant have abortions? They treat us like criminals. Jen Sims, one of many young adults at the protest, was joined by friends. She mentioned a fear of what the courts decision will mean for the future. I am extremely disappointed, Sims said. I think this is just going to be a slow descent into worse things. I think it will take away all of the LGBTQ rights. I think it will ruin access to contraceptives, potentially cause more racism in the world. Its just going to cause many things. Womens rights is just the beginning. In his concurring opinion with the majority, Justice Clarence Thomas said the justices should reconsider all of this Courts substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell, referring to cases that further established due process, privacy and equal protection rights that legalized same-sex relationships, same-sex marriage and access to contraceptives. Sims said she does not intend to be idle. I will fight as much as I can, she said. Maybe not physically, but if it means standing out here in 96 degree weather, on a very windy day, thats what I will do. She added, I will be a voice for those who cant be heard. Lynn Zeleski of Hastings organized a pro-choice protest at Adams County Courthouse Friday in response to the U.S. Supreme Court striking down Roe v. Wade that morning. Zeleski, joining Wednesdays protest, shared how an abortion saved her life. In 1982, at 20 weeks pregnant, Zeleski had a molar pregnancy and a triploid fetus, which was nonviable and threatened her life. Finding help with the termination was a challenge, though, as most hospitals were under the banner of a religious organization. They had a policy, because it was illegal for them to flat out ban abortions, that you can only have one to save the life of a mother, you have to have two specialists, and the head of all the medical staff at the time, who was a dentist, she said. The specialists agreed, and she had the support of her husband, but the dentist was unwilling to sign, because he knew too little about gynecology. My husband talked to him for several days and finally convinced him, she said. The situation outraged Zeleski and, though she was already pro-choice, she has been an activist ever since. I dont want other women to have to die because biology does not always work out well, she said. How do you plead for your life and have it turn on deaf ears? Because they just dont hear women. If youre pregnant, they dont hear you at all. My husband would repeat verbatim what I said. Then they could hear it! Zeleski is not the only woman whose life has been saved by an abortion. Virginia Fahnestock, who served as a U.S. Army computer specialist for 12 years, starting in 1985, had an ectopic pregnancy 30 years ago. An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside the main cavity of the uterus, according to the Mayo Clinic. An ectopic pregnancy most often occurs in a fallopian tube, which carries eggs from the ovaries to the uterus. The condition leaves the fetus unviable and threatens the life of the mother. according to the clinic. Theyre not making those exceptions now. Theyre just saying, Its Gods will! she said of fears that abortion bans in some states would not make an exception for an ectopic pregnancy. They want me to be less of a person. I dont feel like Im equal at this point. I fought a lot of fights. I joined the Army when they didnt know what to do with us. Now, after 50 years, were going back. Sen. Adrian Smith issued a statement Friday in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe V. Wade. It reads, in part, Life is a miracle that begins at conception. While todays decision is a win for the pro-life movement, our work does not end here. We must ensure states, which are now rightfully tasked with authority over abortion, have the resources needed to restore a culture that respects and values life by supporting at-risk mothers, fathers and children. The Nebraska Legislature is expected to hold a special session to discuss an abortion law. A pair of bills failed to pass during the regular session. What is required now, said Sprague, is for women to make their voices heard by their elected officials and to vote. If they arent going to vote for us and take care of us, vote them out, she said, just as Willie Nelson says. 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. YORK John Lyons, the former York County attorney who was terminated from his position by the York County Commissioners several weeks ago, has filed an appeal regarding the federal court ruling that allowed them to do so. York County Commissioner Chairman Randy Obermier said Lyons filed the appeal late Monday afternoon, which was within the 30-day response timeframe. It was May 27 when the federal court of Nebraska ruled in favor of the York County Commissioners, lifting an injunction and dismissing a claim from Lyons that the county board had no legal ability to fire him. A few days later, the county board voted unanimously to remove him from his office. Lyons was earlier appointed to the position to fill a vacancy and was informed at the time that he was required to devote time solely to the York County duties. But a few months later, he told the county board he was going to sign a contract with Clay County to also be their county attorney. At that point, the county commissioners voted unanimously to deny that action, saying he was not allowed thanks to a years-old resolution that barred such activity by the county attorney. The next day, Lyons signed the contract with Clay County and began working as such. The York County Commissioners set a hearing to consider his termination, after there were concerns about not only Lyons actions but also him utilizing York County staff to do Clay County work. But the afternoon before the hearing, Lyons was granted an injunction by a District 5 judge who stopped the county commissioners from doing so. He also filed a lawsuit against the commissioners, arguing they could not fire him and he deserved financial compensation for his legal counsel. Later, the county commissioners asked for and were granted the ability to have the case moved to federal court. It was in federal court where they got the green light to terminate Lyons. Lyons continues to be the Clay County attorney and the county commissioners have since appointed Gary Olson to fulfill the county attorney position here. President Joe Biden has decided to ban Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia's economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. The United States generally imports about 100,000 barrels a day from Russia, only about 5% of Russia's crude oil exports, according to Rystad Energy. Last year, roughly 8% of U.S. imports of oil and petroleum products came from Russia. Gas prices have been rising for weeks due to the conflict and in anticipation of potential sanctions on the Russian energy sector. The U.S. national average for a gallon of gasoline soared 45 cents a gallon in the past week and topped $4.06 on Monday, according to auto club AAA. Should the US ban Russian oil imports over Ukraine war? You voted: Kent Zimmer of WOOZ-FM, New County z-100, believes one of artist Clay Walkers tunes is the epitome of country music. He has a song called, If I Could Make a Living Out of Loving You, Zimmer said. It doesnt get any more country than that. Walker, a best-selling country artist and member of the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, will be in concert July 8 at the Marion Cultural and Civic Center. For people like me who grew up on 90s country, its going to be a trip down memory lane, but they are also going to get a guy who knows how to entertain and interact with a crowd, Zimmer explained. Zimmer said many country music fans will recognize many of Walkers songs including Whats It to You, Live Until I Die, Dreaming with My Eyes Open, and Hypnotize the Moon. Clay Walker is a big deal, said concert promoter Cody Dunbar. Hes had something like 20 songs in the Top 20. When I started putting together advertising for his show, I was like, Oh, I didnt know that was him, I didnt know that song was his, and it went on and on. His latest single, Need A Bar Sometimes, has racked up more than 20 million on-demand and video streams. Four of his albums have gone platinum. The Teddy LaMaster Band will be opening for Walker. Teddy is coming down from Mount Vernon, Dunbar added. This was another opportunity to get a local act on a bigger stage. Theyve had some success and are really excited to open for Clay Walker. Dunbar said the event should be a great post-Independence day event. People can come in, have a cool Friday night and have a great night of music with Clay Walker and his entire band. Its going to be a big production; the full show. Dunbar said he is excited about hearing Walker. Ive been seeing some of his recent set lists. Hes playing all of his hits. It should be a really exciting night, Dunbar added. Tickets for Clay Walker start at $39.99 and are available at www.marionccc.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Claflin University launched a new educational program on Tuesday known as The Institute of Teaching and Nursing. TITAN is an educational institute that is a part of the South Carolina Institutes of Innovation and Information. SCIII is a nonprofit organization that offers support, resources, exposure and aid in the educational development of all seven historically Black colleges and universities in South Carolina. Through the leadership and vision of state Sen. John L. Scott, the South Carolina General Assembly appropriated over $18 million in 2021 towards the development of the educational institutes of the seven HBCUs. There are specific focuses and disciplines united to increase opportunities and exposure for their student bodies, on campus, and the surrounding communities in the area, SCIII Executive Director Dr. Gwynth Nelson said. The TITAN institute will primarily focus on providing opportunities in the areas of teaching and nursing, according to Claflin President Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack. Theres a critical need for employees in those fields locally, regionally and nationally, he said. The TITAN institute will focus on education for students who are pursuing teaching and nursing careers and I know that this will be transformative, a true game changer for Claflin University and the community, Nelson said. Nelson said corporate partnerships will help students find scholarships, internships, jobs after graduation and other opportunities. SCIII provides the perfect conduit for partnerships between South Carolina HBCUs and states, business and industry, improving the overall workforce in South Carolina. We know you are great and SCIII is excited to experience the expansions in the greatness of Claflin and TITAN, Nelson said. Dr. Shannon B. Smith, chair of Claflins Department of Nursing, was a key factor in pushing for the TITAN institute and helping implement TITAN programs at Claflin. Nursing took on a new look with COVID-19 and we have great opportunities to help eliminate health disparities across the African American population and TITAN is an opportunity to enhance what we do in nursing, Smith said. Smith plans to tackle and eliminate health disparities, not only across South Carolina, but also within the African American population through exposing high school students to exceptional opportunities and experiences through a summer institute. One of the things I have noticed as a longtime educator in nursing is that many students who want to enter nursing are not well prepared. They dont get what they need in high school so they come to a nursing program ill prepared and not completing the programs, she said. Through our summer institute with nursing, we want to engage high school students first to help them understand what college is about. We want to help them get acclimated as well as help them develop study habits and also understand what nursing is. We want to give them experiences where they can chat with nurses and actually see what happens in that field or course, and from that we hope that they will end up in our BSN program and ultimately in that masters program as well, Smith said. Claflin University will also be able to acquire new state-of-the-art equipment through TITAN that will help students gain real-world experience and skills. Through an academic practice partnership with the Family Health Centers, we are exposing our family nurse practitioner students to the real world in the rural settings of South Carolina. Statistics tell us when patients see providers who look like them, they have better outcomes and so this is a big piece of what we will do with TITAN, Smith said. Smith also has plans to incorporate educational summits into the TITAN institute so that students can become equipped and qualified candidates when looking for jobs in the industry. What we want to do is find out those key areas in the clinical environment where providers need students to be prepared so that we can in turn prepare them so that they are the best-qualified candidates for those jobs in the industry, Smith said. Dr. Anthony A. Pittman, dean of Claflins School of Education, also played an important role and shared visions of how TITAN will be administered at Claflin University. Where teacher education is concerned, common among our challenges are requisite licensure examinations. The impact of program entrance assessments on aspiring teachers and teachers of color leaves no doubt that TITAN is not only essential, but critical to efforts in South Carolina to sustain and to develop a diverse set of educators for all of South Carolinas K-12 learners, Pittman said. One of TITANs goals is to strategically and systematically prepare students for tests. Pittman plans to arrange opportunities for aspiring teachers to learn various skillsets that will help with the taking of standardized tests and that will help in the classroom. We intend to engage in experiential observations that will center classroom management and the development of positive classroom climates that are conducive to learning and accomplishing academic achievement for K-12 students, Pittman said. Periodic workshops will be held and keynote speakers will be able to share knowledge about their efforts to aid underperforming schools. Among the anticipated outcomes are to strengthen the nexus between high schools and our institutes of innovation and information, particularly around teaching and nursing, Pittman said. Claflin University and TITAN hope to bring in more students who are interested in teaching and nursing and give them cutting-edge experiences and opportunities that can better help the campus, the student body and the community as a whole. Sen. Scott, a Columbia Democrat, said, Weve got to introduce more young people to teaching and nursing. Our young people are shifting to larger areas to go to school and are missing out on a great experience when they leave their area and dont participate in HBCUs. Lauren Pringle, a 2022 Claflin University mass communications graduate, is reporting for The Times and Democrat as a Lee Enterprises-sponsored summer intern. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office A 37-year-old Orangeburg man is facing one count of attempted murder after he allegedly shot at his son-in-law. Casey Gene Hutto, of 790 Macedonia Road, was taken into custody on Thursday. The incident allegedly occurred on June 12 at a location on Neeses Highway in the Orangeburg area. A warrant accuses Hutto of saying, I got my gun, Im going to shoot this mother f - - - - - before pointing the weapon toward his son-in-laws head and firing. The bullet didnt hit the son-in-law. After firing the gun, Hutto allegedly struck his son-in-law in the head with it. The injured mans 16-year-old brother-in-law then allegedly punched him in the face. The injured mans wife attempted to intervene, but her 16-year-old brother allegedly grabbed her by the neck with both hands and began choking her, the incident report states. The report claims her brother also body-slammed her to the ground about 10 times. While the woman was on the ground, the teen allegedly punched and kneed her on the face multiple times. She briefly lost consciousness and vomited blood, the report states. Orangeburg County EMS transported her to the Regional Medical Center where medical staff reported that she suffered hemorrhaging in her subjacent frontal sinus and a mildly depressed fracture of the left front sinus bone. Deputies spoke with Hutto and the teen at the scene. Both denied theyd assaulted anyone. Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office spokesperson Richard Walker said the 16-year-old will be charged in the family court system. His pending charges include assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and third-degree assault and battery. If Hutto is convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison. Contact the writer: mbrown@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5545. Follow on Twitter: @MRBrownTandD Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 1 Sad 2 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. Local officials and statewide data indicate that voter turnout was very low for Tuesdays primary runoffs. Even though it is typical for runoffs to have lower turnout, participation in Tuesdays runoffs was a little lower than normal, Orangeburg County Voter Registration and Elections Director Aurora Smalls said. Smalls said many voters did not know about the runoff and were unfamiliar with the candidates and races. She also said that early voting first offered during the June 14 primaries had low turnout in the runoffs as well. We still had a lot of voters who didnt know about voting, Smalls said. Early voting was not as big as it should have been. We didnt have a single day where it was crowded or steady. Two races were on the ballot in the three counties: Republican candidate for state Superintendent of Education and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. There were no local races in the runoff. From the June 14 primary to the June 28 runoffs, voter turnout in the superintendent and senate races combined fell by 57% statewide. Turnout in Bamberg County fell by 80%, in Calhoun County by 69% and in Orangeburg County by 73%, according to data from SCVotes.gov. Overall participation among registered voters was in the single digits for the three local counties: 5% in Calhoun, and 4% in Bamberg and Orangeburg. Statewide participation was 6.75%. Ellen Weaver won the Republican runoff race for superintendent, carrying the state with 64% of the vote. She also won Bamberg, Calhoun and Orangeburg counties, winning from 63% to 70% of the vote in the three counties. Weaver will face Democrat Lisa Ellis in Novembers general election. State Rep. Krystle Matthews, D-Berkeley, won the Democratic primary runoff for the U.S. Senate candidate race. She will face Republican Sen. Tim Scott in November. Matthews received 56% of the vote statewide. Support for Matthews was stronger locally she received 67% of the vote in both Bamberg and Calhoun counties and posted her best results in the state in Orangeburg County, where she won with 82%. Smalls said election officials struggled to find poll workers during the primaries and runoffs as it conflicted with summer vacations. This is usually a challenge for summer elections, according to Smalls. The office will continue to recruit and will hopefully have more workers in November, she said. Smalls also said officials will try to do more to promote early voting before the general election to increase turnout. We try to get the voters informed and hope to have better turnout in November, Smalls said. Runoff results State Superintendent of Education, Republican South Carolina: Kathy Maness 62,940; Ellen Weaver 111,452 Bamberg: Kathy Maness 35; Ellen Weaver 59 Calhoun: Kathy Maness 119; Ellen Weaver, 282 Orangeburg: Kathy Maness 273; Ellen Weaver 523 U.S. Senate, Democrat South Carolina: Catherine Fleming Bruce 20,003; Krystle Matthews 25,234 Bamberg: Catherine Fleming Bruce 80; Krystle Matthews 160 Calhoun: Catherine Fleming Bruce 44; Krystle Matthews 88 Orangeburg: Catherine Fleming Bruce 286; Krystle Matthews 1,263 Caleb Bozard is a news intern at The Times and Democrat through the sponsorship of the South Carolina Press Association Foundation. He is a student at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Orangeburg County School District trustee board gave unanimous approval to a $130.8 million budget during a special called board meeting on Tuesday. The budget includes a $2,000 salary increase for teachers and a one-time, $1,000 stipend for all employees. The balanced budget does not require a tax increase. The new fiscal year starts July 1. Trustees had previously given third reading to a preliminary $128.4 million budget, but came together Tuesday to look at the numbers again following the General Assemblys approval of the state budget. The state spending plan increased the minimum salary for teachers from $36,000 to $40,000. Lawmakers also put $275 million more into the states education funding formula, according to the Associated Press. Districts can use the money however they like, but a number of lawmakers had suggested a $4,000 salary increase for all teachers. Two budgets were presented during the OCSD boards special meeting. One included a $4,000 salary increase for teachers, while the other had a $2,000 salary increase for teachers. Foster said the district was proposing a budget which included the $2,000 salary increase and the $1,000 stipend. A $4,000 teacher salary increase with a $200, one-time stipend for all employees would have increased the budget to $132.8 million. That would have required a 10-mill tax increase. District Assistant Superintendent of Finance Gail Sanders said the district was not required to give a $4,000 increase, but still worked to make sure that teachers were given an increase, while also providing a one-time stipend, all without a tax increase. If you give them the $2,000, plus the step increase and then give them a one-time stipend, it would be closely going towards that $4,000, she said. Trustees previously agreed to an experience-based STEP increase for teachers of up to 19%. OCSD Superintendent Dr. Shawn Foster said, Both of these proposals put us in line with the state law because one allows us to maintain our local supplement plus $2,000, which would still put us $4,000 above the state minimum salary scale in every single step. Sanders said the recommended budget does not require a millage increase. The operating millage would be 219 and debt service millage would be 42. In addition to the teacher salary increase mandate, the state is also mandating an experience-based pay increase for all employees; an increase for bus drivers; an increase in retirement employer cost; and an increase in health insurance employer cost. Trustee Dr. William O'Quinn said while he had initially been in favor of a millage increase to fund a $4,000 teacher pay raise, I think 10 mills would be too much. Trustee Betty J. Pelzer said constituents do not want their taxes increased and long-term effects had to be considered. We already know they dont want a tax increase. We dont want to push the school district into the red, but we also want to make sure that were being as fair as possible with our staff members, she said. Pelzer continued, If you cant afford to do it, then were going to have to do something different. I also would like for us (board members) to have some meaningful conversations with our constituents so well be able to give them substance when we start trying to answer their questions. Trustee Mary B. Ulmer said having a legislative liaison for the board would be helpful in that process. We could have these people come in to get legislative issues to our constituents. So as a board we need to look at that policy, she said. Trustee Peggy J. Tyler said, I dont want my taxes to go up, and I know my constituents dont want their taxes to go up. You talk about people leaving. Yes, theyre leaving, but theyre not only leaving because of what were paying. Some of them are going to districts paying less than what were paying and its because of the treatment that theyre getting. Weve got to look at that as well, she said. The budget includes $74.6 million for salaries, including the $2,000 increase for all positions on the professional salary schedule, along with a 68-cent hourly rate increase for bus drivers, an experience-based pay increase for eligible employees and $2 million for the one-time stipend of $1,000 for all employees. There is also $31 million for employee benefits, to include an 18.1% employer health increase and a 1% employer retirement increase. Additional expenditures include: purchase services, $13.6 million; supplies, $6.5 million; equipment, $1 million; other, $696,000, and transfers in the amount of $848,000. Over the last two years, the districts revenues have exceeded expenditures. Contact the writer: dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5534. Follow "Good News with Gleaton" on Twitter at @DionneTandD Love 6 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. The European Union approved a plan to end the sale of vehicles with combustion engines by 2035 in Europe, the 27-member bloc announced early Wednesday, in a bid to reduce CO2 emissions to zero. The measure, first proposed in July 2021, will mean a de facto halt to sales of petrol and diesel cars as well as light commercial vehicles and a complete shift to electric engines in the European Union from 2035. The plan is intended to help achieve the continent's climate objectives, in particular, carbon neutrality by 2050. At the request of countries including Germany and Italy, the EU-27 also agreed to consider a future green light for the use of alternative technologies such as synthetic fuels or plug-in hybrids. While approval would be tied to achieving the complete elimination of greenhouse gas emissions, the technologies have been contested by environmental NGOs. Environment ministers meeting in Luxembourg also approved a five-year extension of the exemption from CO2 obligations granted to so-called "niche" manufacturers, or those producing fewer than 10,000 vehicles per year, until the end of 2035. The clause, sometimes referred to as the "Ferrari amendment", will benefit luxury brands in particular. These measures must now be negotiated with members of the European Parliament. "This is a big challenge for our automotive industry," acknowledged French Minister of Ecological Transition Agnes Pannier-Runacher, who chaired Tuesday night's meeting. But she said it was a "necessity" in the face of competition from China and the United States, which have bet heavily on electric vehicles seen as the future of the industry. These decisions will "allow a planned and accompanied transition", the minister said. Openness to synthetic fuels Europe's automotive industry, which is already investing heavily in the move to electric vehicles, fears the social impact of a too-rapid transition. "The overwhelming majority of car manufacturers have chosen electric cars," said Frans Timmermans, the EU Commission Vice President in charge of the European Green Deal, at a press conference. He affirmed the EU body's willingness to be open-minded to other technologies -- like synthetic fuels, which are also referred to as e-fuels. "We are technology neutral. What we want are zero-emission cars," he explained. "At the moment, e-fuels do not seem a realistic solution, but if manufacturers can prove otherwise in the future, we will be open." The technology of synthetic fuels, currently under study, consists of producing fuel from CO2 from industrial activities using low-carbon electricity, in a circular economy approach. Like the oil industry, the automotive sector has high hopes for these new fuels, which would extend the use of internal combustion engines now threatened by the emergence of completely electric vehicles. But environmental organisations object to the use of this technology in cars, as it is considered both expensive and energy-consuming. The synthetic-fuelled engines also emit as much nitrogen oxide (NOx) as their fossil fuel equivalents, they say. Cars are the main mode of transport for Europeans and account for just under 15 percent of total CO2 emissions in the EU. It is also one of the main gases responsible for global warming. In response to manufacturers' concerns about insufficient consumer demand for 100 percent electric cars, the Commission has recommended a major expansion of charging stations. "Along the main roads in Europe, there must be charging points every 60 kilometres (37 miles)," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last year. Manufacturers regularly complain about the lack of such infrastructure, especially in southern and eastern European countries. In light of the recent events in the United States, a new TikTok trend has emerged that once more highlights the solidarity and support the female population has shown since the federal abortion rights have been revoked in the US. But before we get to that part of this article, we have to get real for a moment. Abortions are a serious topic and in light of what is happening, chances are that women will die due to the decision of the US Supreme Court. In case you missed it, last Friday, the US Supreme Court officially reversed Roe v. Wade in a historic and honestly scandalous decision. This means that abortions are no longer part of the federal rights and that they are now regulated by each state. This was of course THE opportunity for many red states to abolish abortion and take away women's right to choose what is happening to her own body. It took the state of Missouri a staggering 6 minutes before another white man started the official process of banning abortion. And all this in light of the pro-life movement, based in old-fashioned Christian morals and beliefs that thou shalt not kill a blob of cells, that is still far away from being something viable. Sorry not sorry, but science is telling us a different story here. And I respect people's faith and beliefs but I cannot and will not respect this decision because let's face this immense ugly truth: This is not about pro life, this is about control. If you wish to not terminate a pregnancy, by all means. But how dare you push your beliefs onto other people? How dare you? Are you that afraid that someone else is doing the same thing to you, so you just start doing it yourself? How dare men claiming that a woman should not have absolute right of their own body? How about we start reversing this claim. How quickly would men start whining about their rights and that women can't take them away? Unsplash I'm pretty sure somewhere in the bible it says something along the lines of "In everything [..] do to others as you would have them do to you". Let's start by taking away men's favourite blood-enhancing drug because let's be real: If God wanted you to engage in any more sexual relations it would work naturally. You take away our Plan B, so we should take yours as well. The hypocrisy is mind-blowing. Apparently the conservative and famously pro-life Ivanka Trump had an abortion. Yes, THE Ivanka Trump who did an incredible job of consulting her father Donald Trump about this very issue. Guess Ivanka was allowed to make her choice. Everyone cares so much about this blob of cells, but why do they stop caring as soon as the cells turn into a viable human being? Where is the logic and where is the free health care? Where is the certainty that the kid will survive going to school without being shot by guns, which now, surprise, have more rights than a woman! Another amazing decision the US of A nation has recently taken. No Plan B, no safe abortion and no future, not for the mother, nor for the child. At the end everyone loses here. This is not pro-life, it is far from it. But this very dark moment in history has one very light side. It's the women and men, let's not forget our fellow male supporters, that are fighting this decision. Many world leaders stand in solidarity with the women whose rights to a safe abortion have been stripped away and given support. Because ban abortions all you want, they won't just disappear. They will still happen, only more dangerous and unsafe (which is of course again very much in line with the claim of being pro-life). Unsplash Sit-ins have been happened, Tweets have been written, resolutions in support have been passed, and France even wants to make sure abortion rights will be cemented in their constitution. On a greater level, this is amazing and important, but very unattainable for the millions of American women currently stuck in the wrong state. As already mentioned above I came across a new TikTok trend that embodies the solidarity women have towards each other. And while incredibly sad, this made me incredibly happy. Under the hashtags #wegodowntogether you'll find a collection of videos of women offering help towards other women in need of an abortion. They use codes like "camping", "knitting-club" or are simply offering a sight-seeing trip and a couch to surf on. They want to show that they are open to welcome anyone in their homes and help them through the process of getting an abortion. But it's not just women. The occasional men here and there offer a ride or a place to stay as well. It's people from states like California, where abortions remain legal, to places in Canada and Mexico that are only hours away from the border to young girls in Europe. As a woman, living in a country where I am the master of my own body and where I can get a safe and legal abortion, I find this truly inspiring. You'll never know if you'll be the one in need of an abortion, may it be due to sickness, a sexual assault or your own wish. The thought of pregnancy is already scary enough and to think that I would be forced to complete one if I didn't want to is very traumatic to say the least. This one goes out to all my fellow people with uteruses, may it forever be your choice and no one else's. And for everyone else who thinks that this is not a woman's choice, take a look at the musical performance from Olivia Rodrigo at Glastonbury festival with Lily Allen. She has said it all. A dozen environmental groups filed two separate lawsuits on Wednesday challenging the federal oil and gas lease sale underway in Wyoming. The sale is the states first under President Joe Biden. Both lawsuits were filed less than a day after the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) finalized its offerings: roughly 170 parcels spanning about 144,000 acres across the West, with the bulk of the prospective leases 123 parcels and close to 120,000 acres located in Wyoming. The BLM removed a handful of tracts from the sale, including the only one that would have been available in Utah, in response to concerns raised during the public protest period, but stuck otherwise to the shortlist it released in April. It dismissed many environmental groups objections to its environmental analysis altogether. Once they told us theyre rejecting our arguments for addressing our concerns, theres really nothing left to do but move to court, said Mike Freeman, a senior attorney for Earthjustice, which sued over Wyomings lease sale on behalf of the Wilderness Society and Friends of the Earth. The lawsuit argues that the BLM failed to address the effects the leases would have on Wyomings wildlife and groundwater or on the climate, violating multiple federal laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act. For every one of the other sales that (the BLM is) holding this month, it is offering just a very limited number of oil and gas leases, Freeman said. The Wyoming lease sale is particularly egregious. These groups are trying to conjure up a legal precedent to support their agenda of absolutely no oil and natural gas leasing and development anywhere, Kathleen Sgamma, president of oil and gas industry group Western Energy Alliance, said in a statement. Public lands are managed in a balanced manner, Sgamma added. Balance is a word these groups dont understand. But the 10 environmental groups concerned chiefly about the lease sales contribution to climate change, which sued the BLM over every lease up for auction, have a different concept of balance. Global climate change is the greatest threat that humanity has ever faced, the lawsuit reads. It argues that the Biden administration can no longer justify its finding that new oil and gas leasing on federal lands would have no significant impact on the environment. Even if they just offered one lease, we would be very disappointed, and in no way would we say that thats acceptable, said Jeremy Nichols, director of the climate and energy program for WildEarth Guardians, one of the plaintiffs. Ryan McConnaughey, director of communications for the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, said in an emailed statement that the lawsuit was another attempt by anti-energy development activists to shut down oil and natural gas drilling and take down Wyoming communities with it. WildEarth Guardians has successfully challenged thousands of federal oil and gas leases issued in Wyoming and other Western states, often on the grounds of climate change. In mid-June, joined by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Western Environmental Law Center, both also parties in Wednesdays filing, WildEarth Guardians sued over the environmental analysis underpinning more than 3,500 drilling permits issued in Wyoming and New Mexico since Biden took office. Removing production from federal lands will do nothing to reduce demand for petroleum products, but rather force production to basins with less regulatory oversight, McConnaughey said, exacerbating the very impacts the plaintiffs seek to avoid. WildEarth Guardians doesnt want all permitting on federal lands to cease yet. We are still heavily dependent on oil and gas, and we acknowledge that the reality is theres going to be some oil and gas production that has to happen, Nichols said. The group wants any new permits issued by the BLM to promote production in developed oil and gas fields and discourage exploratory drilling. Were not talking about turning off the tap, today or tomorrow, Nichols said. But were talking about taking very deliberate and intentional steps forward to help our nation and our world transition away from fossil fuels. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 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. Broken glass lay on the floor. Soot covered the ceiling. A layer of ash obscured the buckled wood floorboards. Melted square light fixtures stood against the walls. The air smelled of smoke. Christie Burkhart stood among boxes of equipment and office supplies that had survived the fire damage, wearing a red t-shirt, shorts and sneakers stained with soot. Shes a founding board member of Wellspring Health Access and sister of the nonprofits founder, Julie Burkhart. News broke in April about plans to open the Wellspring Health Access abortion clinic in Casper this month. The clinic was set to be the only other in the state that offers abortion services. One other clinic, the Womens Health & Family Care Clinic in Jackson, offers medication abortion services. But the clinics opening was delayed following a suspected arson at the building last month. A woman wearing a black hoodie and face mask, carrying a gas can, entered the building in the early hours of May 25. Shortly after, a fire ignited in the building. Police believe the fire was intentionally set. Photos of abortion clinic arson suspect released, ATF offering $5,000 reward The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to the suspect's arrest. When we saw the video and saw it was a female, it was a gut-wrenching punch, Christie said. Then the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade on Friday. Julie said in a press conference the same morning that she is looking into a potential lawsuit over the trigger abortion ban that Wyoming passed earlier this year. A lawsuit could delay the bans implementation. The clinic team is working with legal counsel to explore that avenue. Providers say Roe decision is 'heartbreaking' The founder of a planned Casper abortion clinic says she is looking into the possibility of a lawsuit over Wyoming's trigger law ban. Burkhart had come all the way from Wichita, Kansas to see the clinic and take care of business. Wednesday was the first time she had visited the clinic since the Roe reversal and since it was damaged in the fire. Im glad that no one was with me when I first entered, she said. I was a wreck. Surfaces throughout the entire building were gray with ash. Boards covered a broken window in the front foyer. An exam bed and recovery recliner sat, charred and mottled, in the room where the fire had started. A charred path marked the hallway floor in front of the room. Christie said they had just installed the new floorboards the week before the suspected arson. Furniture and equipment that didnt survive the fire sat in the procedure room, waiting to be thrown out. Burkhart approximated they had lost about $4,500 in equipment and materials. Overall, she estimated, the repairs will cost more than $100,000. Down the hall in the recovery area, the afternoon light came in through the windows and illuminated the dusty air. Burkhart said that the damage will take upwards of two months to repair; about half of the buildings inside will have to be gutted. It will take more time to get everything else at the clinic ready. Altogether, the delay in opening the clinic will be about four to six months, she said. Even amid the suspected arson, the U.S. Supreme Courts reversal of Roe v. Wade and other uncertainties, Burkhart said the plan at this point is to continue forward with the clinic; even if Wyomings abortion trigger ban goes into effect, there are still other services that the clinic plans to provide. I think us as an organization, we just feel like we have started this, weve promised this, and as an organization, were going to do everything we possibly can to exhaust all avenues, she said. I want it enough that Im not going to stop. Star-Tribune staff writer Ellen Gerst contributed to this story. 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. JACKSON Three wildland fires have been reported in the Jackson Hole area, all in the past few days. As crews move to contain those fires, federal managers have increased the fire danger to moderate for the Bridger-Teton National Forest and National Elk Refuge as well as Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Moderate danger means fires can start accidentally, including from unattended campfires and brush fires that have the potential to escape, especially on windy days in dry, open areas. There are no fire restrictions in place, but with the July Fourth holiday approaching, land managers stressed that fireworks are not allowed in Sublette or Teton counties. Campfires, land managers said, should always be attended and cold to the touch before abandoning. Extinguishing a campfire requires several gallons of water, soaking the campfire, stirring the ashes, feeling for heat and repeating the process until no heat remains. Teton Interagency Fire has reported 10 abandoned campfires so far this season. A 15-acre fire dubbed the Sandy Fire is burning in the Big Piney Ranger District of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, roughly 6 miles west of Bondurant. The Bridger-Teton reported that fire Tuesday evening, after receiving a report of the blaze around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. Forest officials have deployed a Type 3 helicopter, two engines and firefighters from Jackson, Pinedale and Kemmerer to fight the blaze. Type 3 helicopters can carry nearly 300 gallons of water in each bucket drop and support firefighters on the ground by dousing spot fires that sprout up ahead of the main fire or in hot spots within the fire areas. Interagency hotshot crews and initial attack hand crews were requested as well and were expected to arrive Wednesday and today. No cause has been reported for the Sandy Fire. The Teton Interagency website said the fire is in the Cliff Creek drainage near Monument Ridge and is burning timber. Smoke from the Sandy Fire may be visible from U.S. Highway 189/191, which runs between Hoback and Bondurant, the northernmost town in Sublette County. The blaze is spotting into continuous fuels, the press release reported, and a number of crews are responding. Spotting occurs when fires produce sparks or embers that are carried by the wind and start new fires beyond the zone of direct ignition by the main fire, according to the Forest Service. No road or trail closures are in effect because of the Sandy Fire, though the Bridger-Teton encouraged visitors near Sandy and Marshall Creeks to use caution, especially near Forest Service Trailhead 139. Grand Teton also reported Wednesday that a Tuesday night storm started a fire in the park that is visible from Highway 191 southwest of Glacier View Turnout. The park did not say how many acres the fire was, but said crews were moving to suppress it Wednesday morning because of its proximity to development and sagebrush habitat. A third, 0.1-acre lightning-caused fire, dubbed the Upper Green Fire, is burning in the Pinedale Ranger District of the Bridger-Teton. Teton Interagency Fires webpage says crews responded to that fire late Tuesday and were able to complete a containment line around its perimeter to keep it from spreading. That fire is smoldering and crews were working it Wednesday. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 ENERGY Minister Stuart Young told a conference in Suriname last week that Trinidad and Tobago will be able to increase its production of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) and fertilisers if the United States were to ease its sanctions on Venezuela. Speaking at the second Suriname Energy, Oil and Gas Summit & Exhibition (SEOGS) in Paramaribo on Tuesday, Young did not mention either the US or Venezuela by name, but he was clearly referring to the Dragon field between that is located in Venezuelan waters to the north of Trinidad. The office of the Attorney General gave advice to the police during the criminal investigation into the Christian Chandler matter without any involvement, input or consultation with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). This was confirmed by DPP Roger Gaspard, SC, in an affidavit dated June 28, 2022, which was submitted to the High Court in a case arising out of an application for information from the DPP on this matter filed by social activist Ravi Balgobin Maharaj, who was represented by former AG Anand Ramlogan, SC. No Covid-19 deaths were recorded yesterday, while 55 additional positive cases were reported. The 55 new cases push the overall infections since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 to 167,495. The countrys Covid-19 death toll remains at 4,013. Tobago recorded three positive cases with one death on Saturday. The deceased, according to the Division of Health, Wellness and Social Protection, was unvaccinated. Xi inspects Wuhan, stresses sci-tech innovation, COVID-19 control, community management Xinhua) 07:59, June 30, 2022 Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, communicates with residents at a residential community in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, June 28, 2022. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) * Xi urged efforts to strengthen technological research and development and called for speeding up the realization of the country's scientific and technological self-reliance. * Xi said Wuhan's swift control of several COVID-19 cluster infections shows that the epidemic response measures laid out by the CPC Central Committee are correct and effective, and must be upheld unwaveringly. * If China had adopted the "herd immunity" policy or a hands-off approach, given its large population, the country would have faced unimaginable consequences, Xi said. WUHAN, June 29 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping has stressed building up China's strength in the science and technology sector, sticking to the dynamic zero-COVID policy and improving community management. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during his inspection in Wuhan, capital city of central China's Hubei Province, on Tuesday. Xi underscored the need to foster more advanced technologies and sectors, blaze new spheres of economic development, and create new advantages in international competition. While inspecting HGLaser Engineering Co., Ltd., a laser equipment company based in Wuhan, Xi noted that optoelectronic information is a high-tech industry in which China has the conditions to take the lead in achieving breakthroughs. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a workshop of HGLaser Engineering Co., Ltd. in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, June 28, 2022. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) He urged efforts to strengthen the relevant technological research and development, master more core technologies with independent intellectual property rights, expand innovation chains, and improve industrial chains. Breaking through bottlenecks in core technologies in key fields has been a pressing task, Xi said, calling for speeding up the realization of the country's scientific and technological self-reliance. High-end manufacturing is an important pillar of high-quality economic development, Xi said. Xi had cordial conversations with the employees of the company. Noting that China is the world's second-largest economy but still has some weak links, Xi said further development must be based on innovation. He then visited a residential community named Zhiyuan in the Wuhan East Lake High-tech Development Zone. Xi said that Wuhan has swiftly controlled several COVID-19 cluster infections over the past two years since the city won the battle against the outbreak in 2020. This shows that the epidemic response measures laid out by the CPC Central Committee are correct and effective, and must be upheld unwaveringly, Xi noted. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a residential community in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, June 28, 2022. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) Communities play a very important role, whether in emergency epidemic response or in routine epidemic prevention and control, said Xi. Highlighting the importance of early detection and swift response, as well as the unity of the general public, he noted that communities are the foundation of the fight against COVID-19. Urging improvements in community-based COVID-19 prevention and control on a regular basis, Xi underscored carrying out decisive, science-based and strict measures at the community level when new infections are detected. Communities are the basic units of a city's governance system, Xi noted. One advantage of China's state governance system is the strong primary-level communities across the country's urban and rural areas, he said, calling for efforts to strengthen Party organizations, IT application, emergency response capabilities and services at the community level. Speaking to community residents, Xi said that the people in the heroic city of Wuhan have always been close to his heart, praising the contribution of community workers who have been on the front line of the fight against COVID-19 since early 2020 and extended his greetings to all community workers across the country. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, communicates with residents at a residential community in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, June 28, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Tao) Speaking about the country's overall fight against COVID-19, Xi said China's response measures and anti-epidemic policy have protected people's lives and health to the greatest extent. If China had adopted the "herd immunity" policy or a hands-off approach, given its large population, the country would have faced unimaginable consequences, Xi said. China's dynamic zero-COVID policy was formulated by the CPC Central Committee based on the Party's nature and purpose, as well as the country's national conditions, Xi noted. "Even if there are some temporary impacts on the economy, we will not put people's lives and health in harm's way, and we must protect the elderly and the children in particular," Xi said. "If we make an overall evaluation, our COVID-19 response measures are the most economical and effective," he said. With the leadership of the Party and the grassroots foundation formed by communities, China has the capability and strength to implement the dynamic zero-COVID policy until the final victory is secured, Xi said. Noting that the pandemic is not yet over, Xi warned against any tendency to lower the guard, grow weary of the fight, or slacken prevention and control efforts. The utmost efforts must be made to promote steady and sound economic development, Xi said, urging Party committees and governments at all levels to help address people's difficulties and reduce the impact on the economy and the work and lives of the people. "We are confident in our ability to strike a balance between COVID-19 response and economic and social development, and strive for a relatively good performance in this year's economic development," Xi said. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) The Prime Ministers shutdown of journalist Darren Bahaw at Saturdays news conference was misguided, based on factual errors, intemperate and unbefitting the leader of a democratic country. In a scene straight out of the Trump playbook for handling challenging media questions, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley shouted down the journalist as he attempted to question him about his due diligence prior to appointing Reginald Armour as Attorney General, saying I advise you, dont go any further. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) A cyberattack on a software company has disrupted unemployment benefits and job seeking assistance for thousands of people in several states. In Tennessee, the website for unemployment benefits remained down Thursday morning after the vendor, Geographic Solutions Inc., told the state Sunday that service would be interrupted. Some 12,000 Tennesseans rely on the unemployment program, and for now, they're not getting their payments. The company said that it expects Tennessee's system to be back online before July 4. With a recession looming, it is unacceptable that Tennesseans cannot receive the unemployment benefits they deserve," said state Republican Sen. Paul Bailey, commerce and labor committee chairman. In a statement dated Wednesday evening, Geographic Solutions' president said initial investigation findings indicate that no personal data was accessed and no data was removed from its network operations center. The president, Paul Toomey, said his company identified anomalous activity on its network and immediately took the Tennessee system offline to halt the activity. With the help of third-party specialists, we are conducting a full investigation to determine the cause and scope of the incident, Toomey said. That investigation is still ongoing, and we are taking steps to help prevent this from happening again. Unemployment websites in several other states were affected too. In Louisiana, people seeking to file unemployment online are directed instead to use a call center instead. The website to file claims in Nebraska was taken offline and the state said it did not have an exact timeline for when it would be back up. Individuals cannot file for unemployment until the system is back online," Nebraska Department of Labor spokeswoman Grace Johnson said in an email. Its still unclear if it was a ransomware attack or some other type of cyber incident that affected Geographic Solutions. Nor it is clear how many states are affected. Geographic Solutions' website was not working Thursday morning. The Florida-based company has said its clients include more than 35 states and territories. Some state-run job seeking sites were also taken offline because of the attack, including Tennessee's. Florida said it was temporarily waiving a job search requirement for those receiving unemployment payments. Texas created a new website for its job seekers with links to popular work search sites such as LinkedIn. Nebraska said Geographic Solutions indicated that no users personal data was compromised. Florida said there were no indications any of its state systems were breached. Bailey, the Tennessee lawmaker, said the states labor department needs a back-up plan, so they are not completely dependent on a system proven to be unreliable. He said the state should do whatever it takes to get people their unemployment benefits now and streamline the process to update the system with money set aside by state lawmakers. The length of the potential outage is unknown. Texas said it anticipates its job-search sites to remain offline until early next week. State governments, as well as their contractors, are often targets of cyber criminals. Nigerian online scam artists were particularly active in stealing increased unemployment aide at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. Ransomware attacks, in which criminals encrypt victims data and demand payment to return them to normal, continue to cause havoc on digital systems that provide critical government services. A recent ransomware attack on Costa Rica's government caused teachers to go unpaid and caused chaos in the country's health care system. Last year, cybercriminals launched ransomware attacks in the U.S. that forced the shutdown of an oil pipeline that supplies the East Coast, halted production of the worlds largest meat-processing company and compromised a major software company that has thousands of customers around the world. Despite prioritizing the problem, the U.S. government has had little luck holding major ransomware actors accountable. Many operate in or near Russia with impunity. Allan Liska, an intelligence analyst at the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, said an attack affecting those who have lost their jobs from obtaining unemployment benefits is a stark reminder of the huge effects cybercrime can have. The people who will be most adversely hurt by this are those with the fewest resources, he said. Suderman reported from Richmond, Virginia. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. PHOENIX Three of the four Republicans who hope to replace Doug Ducey as governor lashed out at him and some of the things he did, including how he handled COVID, promising something radically different if they are elected. I think Doug Duceys done some great things, said former TV anchor Kari Lake. But she said he failed to act like the CEO of the ice cream company he used to run. Unfortunately, during COVID, he shut our businesses down, he shut our churches down, and he shut our schools down, Lake said. And he put masks on our children. And I find that unacceptable. Business owner Paola Tullani-Zen said she was OK with Duceys original mask mandate when the virus was first on the scene. We all panicked the first three, four months, she said. And we all did what they told us to do, Tulliani-Zen continued. But you know, after that, when science comes out, we should have had a choice, saying Ducey didnt have the backbone to repeal the mask mandates before he eventually did. Scott Neely, also a business owner, went a step farther, saying all Duceys COVID policies did is help the oligarchs, closing small business while allowing major retailers like Walmart, Home Depot and Amazon to prosper. It was intentional, absolutely intentional, he said. That left only Karrin Taylor Robson, a former member of the Board of Regents a position she was appointed to by Ducey to defend his record, at least indirectly. We now have the lowest flat tax in the nation, courtesy of the Republican majority in the House and Senate, she said. And Robson said she understands the important of that and lower regulation because I am a small business owner. Youre husbands a billionaire, shot back Neely, noting her marriage to Ed Robson who owns Robson Resort Communities. Wednesdays event sponsored by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission and aired on KAET-TV, the Phoenix PBS affiliate, is the only one where all GOP candidates attended. It also comes only about a week before early ballots go out for the Aug. 2 primary and right after former Congressman Matt Salmon quit the race, endorsing Robson and giving her a chance to catch up to Lake who has been leading in many polls. Each of the contenders took advantage of the televised opportunity to lob charges at others. Lake charged that Robson, as a regent, had the opportunity to exempt students out of the masks as temperatures reached 115 degrees. That is a lie, Robson responded, uttering the phrase Fake Lake the first of several times during the hour-long debate, though she acknowledged she did not vote on it. I will not vote on anything I didnt read, she said. Im not going to be called Fake Lake when Im telling the truth, Lake said. The candidates also discussed the fact that the state budget has ballooned since Ducey became governor, from $9.1 billion in 2015 to the $18 billion plan he just signed. Tulliani-Zen said its hard to say all that was justified, saying theres been a lack of transparency. Everythings hidden, she said. And Neely called the new budget bloated, though he said that Ducey shares the blame for that with the Republican-controlled legislature. Now theyre spending money like drunken RINO sailors, a reference to the charge that some politicians are Republicans in name only. And then there was the question of who really is a Republican. Lake has never denied being a Democrat at one time and even voting for Barack Obama. She has defended the move, saying that she became disenchanted with the party just like former Democrats Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump. Shes no Ronald Reagan, responded Robson. She found God, guns and the GOP about a day and a half before she decided to run for governor. Neely said that switching political positions is not a bad thing if youre honest about it. That enabled him to bring up the question of whether Lake, who attacked drag shows where kids are present, was dishonest by initially denying that her daughter was at a show by Rick Stevens, who performs in drag as Barbra Seville. She has since acknowledged attending a party where Stevens was an impersonator but said that is different than a drag show. And she denied Stevens has been to her home. There also was some division on the results of the 2020 election and how much Arizonans were interested in revisiting that issue. We had a corrupt, stolen election, said Lake, who repeatedly mentioned she has been endorsed by Trump, turning the question on Robson. Im not going to play your stunts, she responded. Lake was no more impressed by comments from Ted Simons, who hosted the debate, that multiple courts have reviewed the results and confirmed that Joe Biden won. The courts havent looked at the evidence, Lake said. We have evidence. Then turn it in, Robson said, refusing to take a position on whether, as governor, she would have certified the results. I did not have the evidence in front of me, Lake said. Tulliani, however, suggested that Republicans were paying far too much attention to the 2020 race. We are beating a dead horse, she said. Were still stuck on this, Tulliani continued, saying the focus should be on ensuring the next election is fair. I think most people want to move forward, said Neely. Robson appeared to agree. Republican voters now are worried about putting food on their table and gas in their gas tank, she said. But Robson said she believes the elections werent fair. You look at what liberal judges did across this country to usher in new rules and new laws the days and weeks and months before the election, she said, referring to decisions, mainly in other states, to alter rules to accommodate for the restrictions caused by the pandemic. You look at the media suppressing the news, Robson continued, saying they have not paid attention to allegations that Hunter Biden, the presidents son, was involved in criminal financial dealings and that Big Tech was suppressing conservative voices. But on the question of looking forward, only Robson made a clear statement that she will accept the results of the primary. Were going to see what happens, said Neely. And he said the primary hasnt been fair, saying that GOP Chair Kelli Ward has been an unabashed backer of Lake. We dont have fair elections, Lake responded to the same question of accepting the results. And Tulliani Zen said I want definite proof of everything. There were some areas of agreement. All four pronounced themselves opposed to abortion, declaring that life begins at conception, though Tulliani-Zen said there might be reason to provide exceptions in cases of rape or incest. And they all made at least brief comments about securing the border, with Neely, who is in construction, saying, I know where the steel is. Replays of the debate can be seen on the KAET-TV website, azpbs.org. Howard Fischer is a veteran journalist who has been reporting since 1970 and covering state politics and the Legislature since 1982. Follow him on Twitter at @azcapmedia or email azcapmedia@gmail.com . Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. If you're looking to run, jog or just take a nature walk, here are some spots where you can enjoy desert views while getting your steps in. Be sure to bring water, sun protection and check weather conditions before you head out. PHOENIX The question of whether some or all abortions are currently legal in Arizona and for how long remains unresolved as the issue goes to judges here. On Wednesday, Attorney General Mark Brnovich said he will ask Pima County Superior Court to dissolve a 49-year-old injunction it issued in 1973 blocking Arizona from enforcing its existing laws making it a crime to perform an abortion. He said that was effectively overruled by last Fridays ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the historic Roe v. Wade decision. But in saying he wants to vacate the injunction of ARS 13-3603 the states pre-1973 law outlawing abortion except to save the life of the mother Brnovich appears to be acknowledging that the court-ordered bar against the state enforcing the law remains in place unless, and until, the court acts. So far, though, Planned Parenthood Arizona has chosen not to resume abortions, which it halted the morning of the Supreme Court decision. We are not going to put our patients, staff and communities at risk, Brittany Fonteno, the organizations president, told Capitol Media Services. Instead, Fonteno said, Planned Parenthood wants actual clarity from a court of law. The organization plans to be involved when Brnovich finally does move to dissolve the injunction, Fonteno said. And we are hopeful that we will soon be able to block this law in court, she said. Whether Pima County Attorney Laura Conover will be part of the litigation and whose side she will be on remains unclear. The original case about the legality of the abortion ban was heard in Pima County Superior Court. And at that time the county attorneys office sided with the state and against what at the time was Planned Parenthood of Tucson. Spokesman C.T. Revere said Wednesday that his boss was still looking at the issue. Given the gravity of the situation, attorneys across the state are working to decipher what happened 50 years ago, he said. But Conover has taken a stance on what she thinks about outlawing abortion, vowing even before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that she would do what she can to ensure that no person seeking or assisting in abortion will spend a night in jail. Separately, the Supreme Court on Thursday vacated a stay that had been ordered against enforcing a separate 2021 law. It makes it a crime for medical providers to perform an abortion if they know that the reason the woman is seeking the procedure is solely due to a genetic abnormality. That law carries a penalty of up to a year in prison for doctors and others. There is no punishment on the woman. U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Rayes said the law imposes an undue burden on women. And he said that outweighs any interest the state claims in promoting the law. In a Twitter post, Brnovich declared the ban is now in effect. In the order, though, the justices directed the case to go back to Rayes for further consideration of his injunction based on Fridays ruling overturning Roe. Rayes has not set a date for such a hearing. But Cathi Herrod, president of the anti-abortion Center for Arizona Policy that helped craft the 2021 law, said she agrees with Brnovich. Action by the trial judge or not, Arizona now has an enforceable law against abortions based on genetic defects, she said. When you have the U.S. Supreme Court vacate an order that rules something unconstitutional, it means that orders no longer in effect, she said. Brnovich also has sided with abortion foes and against Gov. Doug Ducey on what will be the law on abortion in Arizona on Sept. 24. Thats when Arizonas SB 1164 takes effect. It outlaws abortions after 15 weeks of gestation. And it was crafted to mirror the Mississippi statute that was before the Supreme Court just in case the justices would have decided to uphold that law, but leave Roe undisturbed. With Roe overturned, however, proponents of that new law, including Herrod, contend that new statute is effectively irrelevant as the more restrictive and prior existing pre-Roe law takes precedence. But Ducey has argued that the 15-week ban, which he signed, becomes the enforceable and only law on when women in Arizona can get an abortion. His position is that the most recent law supersedes the older one, regardless of the fact that the new law has specific language saying it does not affect the pre-1973 law that remained on the books following the Roe ruling. Brnovich said that language controls and that the governor is wrong. Our office has concluded the Arizona Legislature has made its intentions clear regarding abortion laws, he said in a Twitter post. ARS 13-3603 is back in effect and will not be repealed in 90 days by SB 1164. Ducey, speaking Thursday on KVOI in Tucson, said he acknowledges that Brnovich, as the attorney general, is the chief legal adviser to the state. But that, he said, doesnt make it the last word. It seems that there is some challenge to whats happening here, the governor said. And, likely, itll have to be settled in the courts. Howard Fischer is a veteran journalist who has been reporting since 1970 and covering state politics and the Legislature since 1982. Follow him on Twitter at @azcapmedia or email azcapmedia@gmail.com . Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. In this house at Tucsons eastern edge, they found peace. Paul and Linda McCartney bought the long-vacant two-story ranch house and 151 acres of arid solitude on East Redington Road in 1979. The frenetic world that demanded so much of them was far, far away. Few knew of their homes existence. Shrouded in desert glory, their four children grew up here, visiting in the spring and fall months until 56-year-old Linda Louise McCartney lost her battle with breast cancer here under a velvet, starry night in the spring of 1998. Paul McCartneys connection with Tucson was through his wife, the former Linda Eastman. She attended the University of Arizona, where she began her prolific photography career. Linda was enamored with the desert beauty and tranquility. Former Tucsonan Tom Tompkins, who now lives in Colorado, knows more about the Redington Road ranch house than perhaps the McCartneys. Tompkins was the remodeling contractor McCartney hired to restore the old house. Interestingly, the Pima County records on the property owners are still officially sealed to the public. This is Tom Tompkins story. It was 1982 when Pauls Tucson attorney S. Leonard Scheff drove me out to the edge of the Tucson valley. This would be my first look at renovating the old adobe and pole-frame ranch house that had belonged to the Ellinwoods, a pioneering Tucson newspaper family. (The Ellinwoods owned the Arizona Daily Star for 35 years.) Up to the Y where Redington Road veered from Tanque Verde, the attorney pounded me on the need for security. I would have to keep every worker in the dark while I staged the remodeling project. When attorney Scheff, who is now retired, turned onto Redington Road, he suddenly gushed, I cant keep a secret like this! The job is for Paul McCartney! (Scheff had been the attorney for Linda McCartneys Tucson divorce in June 1965.) The secret was safe with me. Paul visited when I started remodeling the ranch house. I remember how he loved the weathered door on the west side of the house. The sun, wind, and rain had eroded furrows a quarter-inch deep in the wood. The same weekend Paul visited, the well-meaning caretaker belt sanded the door. Paul was a little upset, while everyone around him was hugely upset for Paul. The style we were striving for was Early Cowboy. What one architect had envisioned as a $2 million-dollar Swiss chalet came in at $125,000, according to my good faith estimate, and we kept the job under the budget. We made the back porch rail out of galvanized pipes embedded in concrete and all-put-together with elbows and tees. Bunkhouse treatment went best with the old ranch. Paul made a point of meeting with me, not to discuss the job, but to talk about life. The attorney told me Pauls father had been a working man and that Paul admired people who did things with their hands. Paul was as relaxed as I was nervous when he approached me in the front yard fenced with Oleander. I asked Paul if he had trouble with people invading his privacy. He thought for a minute, and then he said, Well, there is one man who lives up the road which shows up sometimes. But he needs love like everyone. There was a problem with one person in the jobs chain of command who was supposed to get the building permit and hadnt. Paul was returning with Linda and the family in early March when the smell of the cactus flower was on the breeze. We still had trenches saw cut in the floors for new plumbing by mid-February, and most of the walls were torn open for new electrical, none of which could be covered without a building inspection. This was my first job after getting my general contractors license. While Tucson was the wild west and people often did things without permits, I was loathe to try to get the new electrical service connected without a green tag. Everything would devolve from that failure, and I would be banned from the business. I needed sleep, but couldnt. It wasnt Paul doing it to me, but it is what happens when you work for the rich and famous. Overwhelmed with indignation, I complained to the attorney. And he responded, The hammers gonna fall. We felt the yank all down the chain. But by the time we could call for an inspection, Paul was already on his way. The cacti were in full bloom. Paul offered a suggestion: Why dont we rent a house in the neighborhood? Houses on Redington Road were a half-mile apart in 1983. I was invited to the rental house for a meeting that never materialized. Just as I walked through the front door, Pauls four-year-old son took a trampoline bounce off the couch and landed on a glass coffee table thankfully with safety glass an inch-and-a-half thick. The nanny looked too jetlagged to give the boy one more shocked look. The kids ran circles around her. Linda McCartney imperiously wagged her pointer finger up and down in my direction. Hey, Jerry, Jim, Carl, whatever your name is her playful self-parody expanded my consciousness they called and said the meetings off. I was relieved. I liked Linda and wanted to bounce on the couch and laugh. I had never met such a high-energy family. Paul and Linda were getting ready to take their Jeep to the supermarket. One supermarket sighting and all the security I enforced with my crew would be blown. The link in the chain that was responsible for picking the light fixtures never did. To get the final inspection passed, we put cheap porcelain bulb holders with oversized light bulbs on every electrical box in the house which was genuinely Early Cowboy. A year later, I returned to the job site to match a kind of paisley stucco texture in the kitchen that the plaster crew had never mastered, and I realized nobody had bothered to change out the light fixtures. Paul was pleased with my job and was pleased with simplicity for which Ive always respected him. I later heard from Pauls attorney that somebody down the road went past the no-trespassing signs at the locked gate right up to Pauls front door and knocked. Paul said, I wish you would not just come to my door like this. Did you see the signs? I just want to rap about sound systems, the guy replied. No, I think you should want to go. Not compare notes? Well, look, Im just very busy getting my family moved in. You dont seem like a bad fellow, but you do understand, dont you? At this point in the telling, I felt the stranger must have exhausted Pauls patience. Then Paul brightened and said, You know, they wired speakers in every room, and now I have my console here I need to hook it all up. Can you help? Oh, man, Id love to. Come on inside, Paul graciously replied. Photos: Paul McCartney through the years Award-winning writer Jerry Wilkerson lives in SaddleBrooke. He was press secretary for two U.S. Congressmen and a WBBM Chicago CBS Newsradio and Chicago Daily News correspondent. He is a retired police commissioner and U.S. Navy veteran. Email: franchise@att.net The old ranch's history Tom Tomkins admits he was shocked when he found out he would be remodeling Paul McCartney's home in Tucson back in 1983. "I stepped out of attorney Leonard Scheff's car and faced the deserted house. My heart sank as I thought I would have to lay off my two best friends, a hippie musician, and a meditating veteran, because they wouldn't be nearly professional enough considering their new apprenticeship. I have never lived this down." Tomkins says that "the building's pole structure on the west end must have been initially a carriage house. That could indicate the adobe house was built in the 1890s during horse-and-buggy times. The carriage house conversion to a living room probably took place mid-century in the 1900"s, judging by the coral-colored bath tile of the 1950s. The working, original fireplace set the tone for our Early Cowboy decor." According to Tomkins, "The original adobe house was less than 1,000 square feet. The carriage house converted to a living room added another 400 square feet. The sleeping loft we made in the attic above the living room added 200 more square feet. If the east porch got enclosed, that would be another 150 square feet, but I think we just re-screened it." The Tucson attorney representing the McCartney family, Leonard Scheff, still lives in the Old Pueblo and is retired. When asked about Paul and Linda's purchase of the home, his response was, "What house on Redington Road? I can't comment on the sale of the house, but I do remember it was vacant for many years." Paul McCartney's company still pays the taxes on the property, and a caretaker maintains the buildings, including a horse barn, and swimming pool. The gate on Redington Road remains locked. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Supreme Court limits EPA in curbing power plant emissions WASHINGTON (AP) In a blow to the fight against climate change, the Supreme Court has limited how the nations main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. By a 6-3 vote Thursday, with conservatives in the majority, the court said that the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency broad authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming. The decision, environmental advocates, dissenting liberal justices and President Joe Biden said, was a major step in the wrong direction at a time of increasing environmental damage attributable to climate change amid dire warnings about the future. Biden notched gains at summit; returns to turmoil at home MADRID (AP) The dissonant realities of President Joe Bidens second year in office were on display Thursday as he wound up a five-day trip to Europe that highlighted both the key U.S. role in mounting a strong allied response to Vladimir Putins aggression and the domestic turmoil that is dragging Biden down at home. Biden appeared to welcome the time away from Washington as a respite from his domestic predicament, insisting that despite turmoil at home from inflation to gun violence, world leaders still valued Americas and his leadership. Biden's success abroad drew rare praise from GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, who said, Here we have a bipartisan delegation and a president who have a common goal. Back home, maybe not quite as much.'" US official: Migrants who died cleared inland checkpoint SAN ANTONIO (AP) A U.S. official says the tractor-trailer at the center of a disastrous human-smuggling attempt that left 53 people dead had passed through an inland U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint with migrants inside earlier in its journey. The truck went through the checkpoint on Interstate 35 northeast of the border city of Laredo, Texas. The official spoke to The Associated Press Thursday on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. Also Thursday, Hector Zamorano Jr., a U.S. citizen, made his initial court appearance as the alleged driver. And the Texas Department of Public Safety announced new inland vehicle checkpoints. China's Xi swears in new Hong Kong leader John Lee HONG KONG (AP) Chinese President Xi Jinping officiated the swearing-in ceremony of Hong Kongs new leader John Lee as the city marked the 25th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule after being pulled in recent years under much tighter Communist Party control. Lee, a former security official who oversaw the crackdown on dissent in the city since 2019 pro-democracy protests, pledged to uphold the citys mini-constitution, the Basic Law, and bear allegiance to Hong Kong. He also pledged to be accountable to the central government in Beijing. His inauguration followed a morning flag-raising ceremony attended by Lee, outgoing city leader Carrie Lam and several hundred other people. Trump's vulnerabilities for 2024 mount after new testimony SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (AP) Stunning new revelations about former President Donald Trump's fight to overturn the 2020 election have exposed growing political vulnerabilities just as he eyes another presidential bid. A former White House aide this week described Trump as an unhinged leader with no regard for the safety of elected officials in either party as he clung to power on Jan. 6, 2021. Republican voters and Trumps would-be rivals in the 2024 presidential race took notice. In Iowa several voters signaled Thursday they were open to another presidential candidate. Aides for multiple GOP presidential prospects have indicated they felt increasingly emboldened to challenge Trump in 2024 following the explosive new testimony. Jackson sworn in, becomes 1st Black woman on Supreme Court WASHINGTON (AP) Ketanji Brown Jackson has been sworn in to the Supreme Court, shattering a glass ceiling as the first Black woman on the nations highest court. The 51-year-old Jackson is the courts 116th justice and took the place Thursday of the justice she once worked for. Justice Stephen Breyers retirement took effect at noon. Moments later, joined by her family, Jackson recited the two oaths required of Supreme Court justices, one administered by Breyer and the other by Chief Justice John Roberts. Jackson says she's truly grateful to be part of the promise of our great Nation and extends thanks to her new colleagues for their gracious welcome. McConnell warns Dems of fallout for reviving Biden bill WASHINGTON (AP) Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is threatening to derail a bill designed to boost semiconductor manufacturing in the United States if Democrats revive their stalled package of energy and economic initiatives. The possible rejuvenation of the reconciliation package remains a work in progress and is far from certain. But McConnell seems worried enough that he decided to complicate Democratic lawmakers efforts to get a semiconductor bill over the finish line before members break for their August recess. The White House says McConnell is holding hostage a bipartisan package that would lower the cost of countless products that rely on semiconductors. Wisconsin's conservative high court hands GOP another weapon MADISON, Wis. (AP) Wisconsins conservative-controlled Supreme Court handed Republicans their newest weapon to weaken any Democratic governors in the battleground state. The court ruled this week that political appointees dont have to leave their posts until the Senate confirms their successor. The courts decision came in the case of a conservative who refused to step down from an environmental policy board for more than a year after his term expired. It marks another loss for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers as he faces reelection in November. It effectively hands Republicans the ability to strategically block appointees simply by declining to hold a nomination vote. They've been working to reduce Evers' power since even before he took office. EXPLAINER: How will R. Kelly sentence impact other trials? CHICAGO (AP) R. Kelly could be in his 80s before the singer is free again, based on a 30-year prison term imposed this week by a New York federal judge for sexually abusing young fans. And if the 55-year-old loses at three related trials in coming months, he could be staring at yet more time. The next trial he faces is set for Aug. 15 in federal court in Chicago, Kelly's hometown. Steve Greenberg is a longtime Kelly lawyer and represents Kelly in a separate state case in Illinois. Greenberg says he suspects there have been discussions about a plea deal between Kellys federal trial-team lawyers and federal prosecutors in Chicago. Last-minute deal averts casino strike in Atlantic City ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) The main union for Atlantic City casino workers has reached agreements on new contracts with four casinos, avoiding a threatened strike. Thursday's deal provides what the union president calls the best contract we've ever had. It also provides labor peace that will avoid a strike on Fourth of July weekend, one of the casinos busiest weekends of the year. Local 54 of the Unite Here union reached tentative agreements with the Borgata, which is owned by MGM Resorts International, and three Caesars Entertainment casinos: Caesars, Harrahs and the Tropicana. The new pacts appear to greatly increase the likelihood of a deal getting done with Hard Rock as well. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. DETROIT (AP) Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder invoked his right against self-incrimination Thursday and declined to answer questions at a civil trial arising from lead contamination in Flint's water in 2014-15. Snyder was called as a witness in federal court in Ann Arbor, two days after the Michigan Supreme Court in a separate case said criminal indictments against him and eight other people were invalid. Snyder's appearance was already planned. Lawyers and the judge knew he would formally decline to answer questions while any criminal case was pending. Your honor, based on the advice of counsel, I would exercise my Fifth Amendment rights, Snyder told U.S. District Judge Judith Levy. He repeated the statement twice to lawyers. Jurors on Wednesday watched a recorded deposition of Snyder, a formal interview with lawyers conducted in 2020. I wish this never would have happened, Snyder said of the Flint water mess. In May, Levy said Snyder had waived his right to remain silent by participating in the deposition before he was charged in 2021. Her decision is under appeal. Flint managers appointed by Snyder, a Republican, switched the citys water to the Flint River in 2014 without properly treating it. Lead leached from old pipes for more than a year, a disastrous result. A handful of Flint families are suing Veolia North America and Lockwood, Andrews & Newman, known as LAN, claiming the engineering firms bear some responsibility because they performed work at the city's water plant. They deny liability. Veolia and LAN are not part of the $626 million settlement between Flint residents and the state of Michigan, Flint and other parties. Snyder was charged with two misdemeanor counts of willful neglect of duty. The charges haven't been formally dismissed yet following the state Supreme Court decision and could be revived in a new case. Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwritez Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. SLOVIANSK, Ukraine (AP) Russia on Thursday pulled back its forces from a strategically placed Black Sea island where they have faced relentless Ukrainian attacks, but kept up its push to encircle the last bulwark of Ukraine's resistance in the eastern province of Luhansk. Russias Defense Ministry said it withdrew its forces from the Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island off Ukraines Black Sea port of Odesa in what it described as a goodwill gesture. Ukraine's military said the Russians fled the island in two speedboats following a barrage of Ukrainian artillery and missile strikes. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov insisted that the withdrawal was intended to demonstrate that the Russian Federation wasnt hampering the United Nations efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor for taking agricultural products from the territory of Ukraine. Ukraine and the West have accused Russian of blockading Ukrainian ports to prevent the exports of grain, contributing to the global food crisis. Russia has denied the accusations and charged that Ukraine needs to remove sea mines from the Black Sea to allow safe navigation. Turkey has sought to broker a deal on unblocking grain exports from Ukraine, but the talks have dragged on without any sign of quick progress with Kyiv voicing concern that Russia could use the deal to launch an attack on Odesa. Russia took control of the island that sits on a busy shipping lane in the opening days of the war in an apparent hope to use it to control the area and use it as a staging ground for an attack on Odesa. The island came to epitomize the Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion, when Ukrainian troops there received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or face bombardment. Russian warship, the answer came back, go (expletive) yourself. The Ukrainian defenders of the island were captured by the Russians but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange. Since the island was taken, the Ukrainian military has relentlessly bombarded a small Russian garrison and air defense assets stationed there. In the east of Ukraine on Thursday, Moscow kept up its push to take control of the entire Donbas region. It is focused on the city of Lysychansk, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the Luhansk province. Russian troops and their separatist allies control 95% of Luhansk and about half of Donetsk, the two provinces that make up the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas. The Ukrainian General Staff said that the Russian troops were shelling Lysychansk and clashing with Ukrainian defenders around an oil refinery on the edge of the city. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said that Russian reconaissance units tried to enter Lysychansk Wednesday, but were repelled by the Ukrainian forces. He said the Russians were trying to block a highway used to deliver supplies and fully encircle the city. The Russians have thrown practically all their forces to seize the city, Haidai said. Speaking on a visit to Turkmenistan early Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his goals in Ukraine haven't changed since the start of the war. He said they were the liberation of the Donbas, the protection of these people and the creation of conditions that would guarantee the security of Russia itself. He made no mention of his original stated goals to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine. He denied Russia had adjusted its strategy after failing to take Kyiv in the early stage of the conflict. As you can see, the troops are moving and reaching the marks that were set for them for a certain stage of this combat work. Everything is going according to plan, Putin said at a news conference in Turkmenistan. In central Ukraine, funerals were to be held Thursday for some of the 18 people confirmed killed by Monday's Russian missile strike on a busy shopping mall in Kremenchuk. Crews continued to search through the rubble in search of another 20 people who remain missing. Ukrainian State Emergency Services press officer Svitlana Rybalko told The Associated Press that along with the 18 bodies, investigators found fragments of eight more bodies. It was not immediately clear whether that meant there were more victims. A number of survivors suffered severed limbs. After the attack on the mall, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of becoming a terrorist state. On Wednesday, he reproached NATO for not embracing or equipping his embattled country more fully. He asked for more modern artillery systems and other weapons and warned the NATO leaders they either had to provide Ukraine with the help it needed to defeat Russia or face a delayed war between Russia and yourself. In southern Ukraine, the death toll from Wednesday's Russian missile strike on an apartment building in Mykolaiv rose to six, according to Gov. Vitaliy Kim. Another six people were wounded. Mykolaiv is a major port and seizing it as well as Odesa farther west would be key to Russias objective of cutting off Ukraine from its Black Sea coast. Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Here's a look at trending topics for today, June 29: Justice Stephen Breyer Justice Stephen Breyer has notified the White House that his retirement will be effective Thursday, June 30, at noon ET. In a letter to President Joe Biden, Breyer said it had been his "great honor" to participate as a judge in the "effort to maintain our Constitution and the Rule of Law." He said that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is prepared to "take the prescribed oaths" to begin her service as the 116th member of the court. The fact that the court will issue final opinions and orders on the same day reflects a more expedited timeline than past terms. Read more about it here: Kathy Hochul, Lee Zeldin Nine months after she stepped into the job of New York governor as a relative unknown, Democrat Kathy Hochul easily locked up her party's nomination Tuesday, setting her on an expected glide path to win the office in November. Hochul was serving as an under-the-radar lieutenant governor under the shadow of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo until last year, when he resigned amid sexual harassment allegations, catapulting her into office. Hochul beat back primary challenges Tuesday from New York Citys elected public advocate, Jumaane Williams, and U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, a moderate from Long Island. Find out more here: Deborah James Deborah James, a British broadcaster who raised millions for cancer research and was recognized by Prince William for her work, has died. She was 40. James hosted a BBC podcast called You, Me and The Big C" in which she spoke in a no-nonsense approach about living with bowel cancer. Her candid social media posts about her diagnosis and treatment, including videos of her dancing, garnered praise from the public. She was diagnosed in 2016 and revealed in May that she was receiving end-of-life care at her parents' home in Woking in southern England. She died Tuesday surrounded by her family, including her husband and their two children, according to a family statement posted on Instagram. Read more about it here: *** Get more from today's trending topics here: NATO Travis Barker R. Kelly Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. PHOENIX The Biden administration is free to scrap the Trump-era Remain in Mexico policy for asylum seekers, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, said the section of federal law about returning those who seek asylum to the nearest country if there is no room in federal detention facilities actually gives the administration discretion whether to follow it. And the key, he said, is that the statute uses the word may. This court has repeatedly observed that the word may clearly constitutes discretion, Roberts wrote for himself and four other justices. The use of the word may in (the statute) thus makes clear that continguous-territory return is a tool that the Secretary (of Homeland Security) has the authority but not the duty to use. The ruling drew a stinging dissent from Justice Samuel Alito, writing for himself and three other justices. He said the law at issue here is clear: If someone is not clearly eligible for asylum he or she must be detained except for urgent humanitarian reasons or a significant public benefit. Due to the huge numbers of aliens who attempt to enter illegally from Mexico, the Department of Homeland Security does not have the capacity to detain all inadmissible aliens encountered at the border, Alito acknowledged. And no one suggests that DHS must do the impossible. But he said the agency, rather than using the option of returning asylum seekers to Mexico would simply release into this country untold numbers of aliens who are very likely to be removed if they show up for their removal hearings. This practice violates the clear terms of the law, but the court looks the other way, Alito wrote of his colleagues. The ruling is a defeat for Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich who had been among state prosecutors who sought to void the Biden administration action. Brnovich, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, argued that allowing the president to permit those seeking asylum to remain in the United States would incentivize people to come here illegally. We are disappointed with the courts decision in this matter, he said in a prepared statement. The Biden administration has completely abandoned the rule of law at the border, and officials must be held accountable. Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels said he respects the opinion of the court on the interpretation of the federal law. But he said that still leaves the problem of a border that has been overrun by migrants. Where do we go from here? he asked. Dannels said that the federal government needs to be engaged on the issue. And right now thats not happening with this president when it comes to sheriffs and even our mayors and beyond, he said. We have to have Congress engaged, we have to have this administration engaged. Gov. Doug Ducey, a frequent critic of Biden, used the ruling as another opportunity to take a verbal swipe as what he called the far and away the worst president on the border. For that administration to have lifted the remain in Mexico policy just demonstrates another failed border policy by the White House, he said in an interview with KVOI in Tucson. And Ducey said the deaths of more than 50 migrants in a sealed trailer in Texas are on the hands of the administration. Its a result of them telling desperate people in other countries that our borders are open while they are not, he said. At the heart of the legal battle was the decision by Trump in 2018 to implement the Migrant Protection Protocols. The intent was force Homeland Security to either lock up asylum seekers from countries other than Mexico or Canada, as the law requires, or send them to Mexico to await their hearings as the law allows. He got the Mexican government to agree to accept these non-Mexican citizens. By the end of 2020, the agency had enrolled more than 68,000 in the program. On Jan. 20, 2021, the day Biden was sworn into office, the agency suspended the program. Five months later it was terminated, with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas saying the program does not adequately or sustainably enhance border management in such a way as to justify the programs extensive operational burdens and other shortfalls. And Mayorkas said that the program drew significant attention away from other more central elements of this countrys relationship with Mexico and was diverting attention from more productive efforts to fight transnational criminal and smuggling networks and address the root causes of migration. A federal trial judge in Texas declared that ending the program leads to systematic violation of the law as aliens are released into the United States. That decision was upheld by an appellate court and the Biden administration resumed the program while awaiting Supreme Court review. Roberts did not dispute the law says the government will lock up those whose asylum claims are not obvious. But he said the mandatory nature of that requirement which was not before the court does not overrule the discretionary part about deporting migrants to Mexico. If Congress had intended (the law) to operate as a mandatory cure of any non-compliance with the governments detention obligations, it would not have conveyed that intention through an unspoken inference in conflict with the unambiguous, express term may, Roberts wrote. May return the alien means may return the alien, he continued. And he said none of that is changed by the desire to seek relief for the governments failure to follow the law about locking up those waiting for asylum hearings. Roberts also noted that the program applies exclusively to non-Mexican nationals who arrive in the United States. Yet the president cannot, on his own, simply deport migrants from various countries to Mexico. He said that the protocols interfere with the presidents constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations. And Roberets said thats why courts have declined to run interference in the delicate field of international relations without the affirmative intention of the Congress clearly expressed. This isnt the first time a federal court has rejected Brnovichs efforts to force the Biden administration to follow Trump-era immigration policies. Earlier this year a federal judge tossed out a bid by Brnovich to use environmental laws to immediately force the administration to resume construction of the border wall. In that case the judge said arguments by Brnovich linking border wall construction and illegal immigration are both legally and factually flawed. That case is on appeal. Howard Fischer is a veteran journalist who has been reporting since 1970 and covering state politics and the Legislature since 1982. Follow him on Twitter at @azcapmedia or email azcapmedia@gmail.com . Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. PRYOR Plans by electric vehicle start-up Canoo to build a production plant at Mid-America Industrial Park may be delayed by unfavorable economic conditions, the head of the park said Thursday. Canoo said a year ago that it intended to provide at least 1,500 jobs by building a factory with 3-million-plus square feet of space at MAIP. Company CEO Tony Aquila said earlier this year that a plant capable of producing 300,000 vehicles annually could be operational in Pryor by 2024. It is in delay mode, but thats for a number of reasons, MAIP Chief Administrative Officer David Stewart said Thursday before a regular meeting of the Oklahoma Ordnance Works Authority, which operates the industrial park. The whole EV market has taken a significant hit. The stock market is challenged at best, he continued. Supply-chain issues are big, as they are with all companies, but especially with a start-up that has a new product. Canoos goal is to have this 100% made in the U.S., so that is also delaying the project. Finally, construction costs are through the roof. So the right financial decision is to wait until these supply-chain issues and construction costs go down and the construction labor market builds. Stewart said hes had light conversations about these issues with Canoo. Theres nothing that tells me that Canoo is not going to survive all this, he said Thursday. But last month, Canoo reported first-quarter losses of $125.4 million, casting substantial doubt on its ability to move forward as a company in Oklahoma and Arkansas. Aquila has said the state of Oklahoma has committed about $300 million in nondiluted financial incentives to support the proposed Oklahoma facility, for which some ground has been cleared for construction. Canoo set up its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, where it wants to build an advanced manufacturing facility that could be operational late this year or early in 2023. If you give the construction and supply-chain issues six to nine months, I would say thats reasonable in my estimation, Stewart said. If your goal is to be 100%-American and you cant get American parts, thats kind of hard to fill that goal. Its understandable. It makes sense in my mind from a business point of view that there will be a delay in production. My understanding is that the cars are still being built, and Bentonville is still underway. So we are the tail end of the process for building the car in mass production. Because of our position in that cycle, its understandable that we would feel the effect of all of those issues compounded. Stewart said Thursday that he also believes MAIP remains in contention for Project Ocean, widely reported to be an at least $3 billion electric battery plant for which Panasonic is seeking new operations in either Kansas or Oklahoma. It is unclear when Panasonic will make a decision. We are not assuming they are not coming, Stewart said. We are going to go full force and do what we do to show Ocean that this is a great place to be. Court challenges were filed this week protesting the legal sufficiency of a referendum petition that asked that a $300 million tax increment financing district go to a vote of the people. Approved by Mayes County commissioners in April, the 12-year TIF would encompass 588 acres inside MAIP to back initiatives such as Project Ocean. The challenges could be heard in mid-July, though a court date hasnt been set, an assistant district attorney said. If the petition survives the challenges, it could be placed on the November ballot. The fact that we have a couple of thousand people that want to take this to a vote does not mean that the public does not want it, and it doesnt mean its not what the communities want, Stewart said. Its democracy at its finest. They are following the process. But we are not letting this slow us down in our effort to follow the path that weve been following. And that is getting the communities ready, getting the workforce ready and getting the land ready. In addition to the proposed Mayes County incentive, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill this spring to provide the firm with up to $698 million in rebates based on capital investment and job creation. Subscribe to Daily Headlines Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. 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. The steady, powerful whine of the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 jet engines has a decibel level that requires earplugs. From roughly 50 yards away, the sound is like a million teapots with boiling water steaming, right before they whistle Shhhhhhhhhh ... The planes are lined up, side by side, engines flowing, outside indicator lights flashing, flaps moving up and down, and mirror-like targeting system appendages rotating, then stopping, underneath the pilot canopies. Systems are checked and rechecked for several adrenaline-pumping minutes. Then the planes move forward and turn, one by one, and roll down the taxiway. The whine gradually subsides as the jets move to the edge of the runway and out of hearing range. Then comes the thunderous, streaking, high-pitched roar a sound that trails each jet as it takes off with more than 29,000 pounds of thrust pushing the pilot into the seat with five to six times normal gravity into a near-vertical climb at a dizzying speed. Welcome to the 138th Fighter Wing of the Oklahoma Air National Guard, where the Tulsa Vipers put F-16s through their paces. Its a huge rush, every time you go out flying, said Capt. Mike Hondo, 26, one of about 40 pilots in the unit, based on the north side of Tulsa International Airport. Its definitely the best office view you can have. The 138th flies and maintains 21 of the General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons. The plane is a multi-role, single-engine aircraft that can fly at more than twice the speed of sound and is designed for both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat. About twice a week, pilots train in various simulated combat situations, usually at sites near Salina, Kansas, and Fort Smith, Arkansas. The setup could involve two aircraft versus one, four versus two, or other situations involving both enemy fighters and simulated ground targets. Pilots usually have at least a day after being briefed on a particular scenario in which they will be participating. Some are designated the red, or bad guys, while others are designated the good guys, they said. The flight exercises themselves may last as little as 20 minutes to more than two hours, depending on specifics and whether air refueling tankers are involved, pilots said. But they also involve several hours of preparation before the exercise and several hours of debriefing after in which the exercise is analyzed based on computer-generated flight and other data and pilots can learn what they did well and where they could improve. The coordination gets everybody on the same page. Then you go out there and execute it, and then you come back and just talk about, Hey, what could we have done better? Hondo said. Despite its age the F-16 was first flown in 1974 the airplane has undergone many significant upgrades in radar, weapons targeting, communications and other systems that continue to make it a very capable aircraft, pilots said. The coolest thing is it just being a multi-role fighter jet, in my opinion, said Lt. Burt Reynolds, 27, of Owasso, another 138th pilot. So we can do any mission that the Air Force has to offer, whether thats air to air, air to ground, and it keeps things fresh, Hondo said. We use a building block approach like a crawl-walk-run kind of format. So well do like basic skills first, and then well get more and more complex to lead to some pretty big scenarios, and so its pretty cool in that regard, Hondo said. Hondo, originally from northern Illinois, said that about a year ago, he was involved in a training exercise in which F-16s went up against the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, considered by many to be the best fighter aircraft ever built. But he said the F-16 held its own. You have to know what their capabilities are and what your capabilities are and use your capabilities to your advantage, he said. Honestly, a lot of the fights ended neutral. Some of our guys were killing the Raptors; some of the Raptors were killing us, but most of them (simulated dogfights) were ending up neutral. Hondo and Reynolds acknowledged aircraft capability is also extended to pilots as much as possible for advanced Russian and Chinese fighters, should conflict with those aircraft ever become a possibility. Last year, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., the senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, tried unsuccessfully to have the 138ths F-16s replaced by the newer Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft. Instead, the National Defense Authorization Act included provisions for continued upgrades to the 138ths F-16s, which an Inhofe staffer described as the best and most advanced in the military. I have been glad to work with my colleagues in the Senate and the folks at the 138th wing in Tulsa throughout the years to ensure they are well-equipped to complete their missions and do their jobs well and they now have some of the best aircraft available, Inhofe said in a statement to the Tulsa World in a request for this story. Tulsa is my home, and I am continually proud of the Oklahoma National Guards progress and achievements to ensure Oklahoma and the nation are safe, Inhofe said. Guaranteeing the Oklahoma National Guard is well taken care of always has and will continue to be a priority for me. Most of the 138ths F-16s were built in 1989, with some built in 1988 and 1990, said Staff Sgt. Ceira Howze, 24, who schedules regular maintenance for the aircraft. Theyve had tons of upgrades, and were actually getting more upgrades as we speak, because we are extending the life of these jets, she said. Theyre doing these modifications so we can keep these aircraft flying and use them longer. Maintenance crew members speculated that depending on what repairs are needed, the jets could require up to 30 hours of maintenance for every hour of flight time, but sometimes much less. Much of the maintenance is done at the base, but specialists are sometimes called in to assist, given the complexity of the aircraft and a multitude of systems on board, including hydraulics, computer-aided displays, radar and other avionics, and even explosives contained in the ejection seats. Staff Sgt. Joseph Bridgers, 25, a maintenance crew chief, said one of the trickiest systems is hydraulics on the plane. Its not so much that its challenging, its just complex, he said. The hydraulic system, subsystem and components control most everything on the aircraft landing gear, flight controls, you name it. When one things wrong, you have to chase it, and sometimes theyre tough to troubleshoot. Theyre messy. You can get hydraulic fluid all over the place. Its just a system that can either be a real easy fix or it can be a headache, he said. In addition to maintaining the aircraft, maintenance crews also play a key role in making sure systems on the plane are working properly before a pilot takes off. Many who are not officers have the authority to ground planes that they deem to have a potential problem. When it comes to them trusting us, they normally listen pretty easily, Bridgers said of pilots. Its nice to know how much trust it is. Youre the last person they lock eyes with you shake hands with before they get into that airplane. Theyre putting their full trust in you, making sure youve got your job done right. Reynolds and Hondo also lauded maintenance personnel on the base, saying they trust their assessments of potential problems. They can see things we cant, Reynolds said. If theres something that could go wrong, we really rely on them. ... Its a $40 million dollar aircraft. ... If we didnt have them, we wouldnt be able to fly. With the release of the movie Top Gun: Maverick, pilots Hondo and Reynolds said they were looking forward to seeing the film. They both said the original Top Gun had its flaws the main being the bitter rivalries portrayed among the pilots. One thing they did about it (the original) right was the culture, Reynolds said. How fighter pilots are always striving to get better and better and better. Established in 1957, the 138th has more than 1,000 personnel, including about 300 who work on the base full-time. The mission of the unit is to defend the southern U.S. from New Orleans to Tucson, Arizona, at a moments notice, it states in a welcome package for visitors. The 138th has participated in many combat missions, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its a dream to both serve the community and the country, Reynolds said. 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. Lang Thang realizes why some people might feel a bit uncertain about what to expect when he greets them at his familys restaurant. I get funny looks sometimes, Thang said. The restaurant is called Louisiana Seafood, but then they see me. Im Asian. Im from Myanmar. So they maybe think the food isnt authentic. But once they taste it, he said, smiling broadly, they know we are doing things right. The shops full name is Louisiana Seafood & Po Boys, which Thang operates with his uncle, Lun Mang, and mother-in-law, Niang No. Mang and No oversee the kitchen, while Thang handles the front of the house. Thang said his family moved from Myanmar while he was in high school, settling first in Louisiana. He said many of his family members had experience working in restaurants in their native country, and they quickly found jobs in the industry here, including restaurants specializing in Louisiana food. Thang moved to Tulsa in 2014, because he had family in the citys vibrant Myanmar community. And when he thought about starting a restaurant of his own, he considered one that would serve Myanmar cuisine. But there is another restaurant (Kai Burmese Cuisine) that does very good Myanmar food, and we did not want to compete with them, he said. My uncle has learned how to make real Louisiana food, so we decide to bring the real taste of Louisiana to Tulsa. That effort to bring the real taste of Louisiana to Tulsa includes importing most of its ingredients from the fish and shellfish to the bread for the po boy sandwiches from the Pelican State. True aficionados of po boys the oversized sandwich that is usually filled with fried seafood or fish, a signature Louisiana creation are often extremely particular about the bread used. For them, an authentic po boy can only be served in a certain type of French bread, with a light, thin crust and soft but sturdy interior. Louisiana Seafood gets its bread from Gambinos Bakery, a New Orleans establishment that is one of two bakeries whose products are considered essential for a true po boy. We tried the shrimp po boy ($11.99) during a recent visit and can attest that the texture and flavor of the bread met all the requirements. Our sandwich had spent a few minutes on a grill or under a panini press, which added a few char lines to the surface and gave the crust a touch more crispness. It was also of quite substantial size, with a generous amount of fried shrimp, and dressed with lettuce, tomato, pickle, mayonnaise and ketchup. Thang said some people are surprised by the addition of that last condiment, but said when people try it, they like the flavor. Po boys are also available with fried oysters, catfish, alligator and soft-shell crab, crawfish, roast beef, hot sausage, smoked sausage, ham and turkey. We also tried the medium catfish and shrimp plate ($14.99), which included six large fried shrimp and two good-sized catfish filets, along with a helping of fries and a salad of iceberg lettuce, a thick slice of Roma tomato and ranch dressing. The catfish, as is most of the proteins here, was cooked to order and arrived to the table ripping hot. The fish itself was moist, flaky and remarkably clean tasting, without the muddiness or fishiness that catfish can have (and, granted, that some people enjoy). The crust was light on the cornmeal, so that it had the crunch without the graininess. We also sampled the gumbo ($6.99), which comes with a full serving of white rice on the side. The broth was richly colored and flavorful, although more mildly seasoned than I expected. Louisiana-style hot sauce and sriracha are on the table for those wanting to amp up the spice level. The method of presenting rice and soup separately is more in line with Myanmar cuisine, Thang said. We have fried rice on our menu, and it is traditional when you have rice to serve it with a soup, he said. That is why we also have pho (the Vietnamese soup) on our menu as well, because our Myanmar customers can order that to go with the fried rice. Another cross-cultural offering is the crawfish egg roll ($1.99), a large bundle of cabbage, carrot and finely minced crawfish in the thin wrapper. The space Louisiana Seafood & Po Boys occupies has been home to a number of other eateries, most notably Asian Kitchen. Thang said he originally looked for a spot in the vicinity of Woodland Hills Mall, which is close to where he lives, but found what was available either too expensive, or not fitted out for restaurant use. That was a good thing about this place we did not have to do a lot of things to get it ready, he said. I did get new booths, tables and chairs, because the old stuff was in bad shape. Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in 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. A state trial court abused its discretion when it determined that the arrest of a now-former Tulsa police officer on misdemeanor alcohol-related charges violated state law, a state appellate court ruled Thursday. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, in a published opinion, overturned a district court ruling that found that the Tulsa Police Departments arrest of Clay Ballenger, then a Tulsa police lieutenant, violated state law regarding misdemeanor arrests. The State presented sufficient evidence to show probable cause existed to arrest Ballenger for actual physical control of a motor vehicle while intoxicated, according to the 4-1 opinion written by Court of Criminal Appeals Vice Presiding Judge Robert Hudson. The District Courts order quashing Ballengers arrest and suppressing the evidence derived from it is reversed and this case is remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion. The ruling reaffirms the ability under state law for law enforcement to arrest individuals for an alcohol-related offense while in a vehicle in their own private residential driveway. Jason Edge, Ballengers attorney, blasted the ruling in an email to the Tulsa World. Edge said Ballenger was in his own driveway with the vehicles engine turned off, the drivers door open, the keys not in the ignition and police officers unable to locate them for about five minutes until they were found under the seat. The trial judge heard the facts and applied the law to them, and in fact even showed restraint, Edge wrote. He did NOT even dismiss the case. He simply excluded a little bit of evidence after an illegal arrest. And from all that next we get the higher court re-deciding the case on its own different grounds. Now all Oklahomans should know that as the dissenting Judge points out the next time you have a few drinks inside your own home and decide you want to go sit in your car in your own driveway and listen to music; or you need to go to your car in your driveway and retrieve something from your car you are committing a crime, Edge wrote. Such a ruling certainly doesnt make me feel any safer. Ballenger was arrested at his Tulsa home on Aug. 27, 2020, after witnesses called 911 to report that a pickup had driven off the roadway several times before striking a parked police vehicle in a residential driveway about 9:30 p.m., according to court records. Responding officers found Ballenger unconscious in the drivers seat of his Ford F-150, according to court records. The drivers door was open, and one of Ballengers feet was resting on the driveway at his residence, documents show. The pickup was in park, the engine was turned off and the keys were under the front seat, according to court testimony quoted in the courts ruling. According to the appellate court ruling, which also quoted other officers at the scene, Ballenger smelled of alcohol and had slowed speech when he was first shaken awake by responding officers. He was unsteady on his feet when he got out of the pickup and needed help to stand, according to court records. Ballenger was arrested after he failed to respond to an officers questions about providing a sample to test for blood alcohol content, according to court records. Tulsa County District Court prosecutors charged Ballenger on May 11, 2021, with one count of driving under the influence of alcohol. Ballenger argued to Tulsa County Special Judge Anthony Miller that his DUI arrest was invalid because it was a misdemeanor committed outside the presence of police officers, according to court records. He also challenged his arrest due to the fact that he was in his driveway at the time. The state of Oklahoma, in its appeal of the district court ruling, said the warrantless misdemeanor arrest was proper under state law because Ballenger was in actual physical control of his vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in the presence of law enforcement. While the appellate court ruling determined that it was proper to arrest Ballenger on a complaint of actual physical control, Kevin Keller, Criminal Division chief in the Tulsa County District Attorneys Office, said it doesnt serve as a barrier to later being charged with driving under the influence. He said a DUI charge will still be pursued against Ballenger. The elements of DUI can be made through any part of competent evidence, Keller said. You can say, This guy was driving the car, these kids saw him weaving, then police showed up and saw these signs of intoxication in the same vehicle he was sitting, that sort of thing. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals agreed that Ballengers arrest was legally justified based on the observations of officers at the scene. Contrary to the trial courts findings, Ballengers misdemeanor arrest was based on more than the information provided by third parties or mere suspicion, the appellate court wrote. Rather, the facts and circumstances within the officers knowledge were sufficient to warrant a prudent man in believing that Ballenger was in the commission of APC. The crime of actual physical control is committed when an intoxicated person has direct influence, i.e., control, over the vehicle even if that person is unconscious, the court opinion states. The officers observations at the scene that night amounted to probable cause to arrest Ballenger for APC. The court also ruled that police could arrest Ballenger on an actual physical control complaint despite his being in his own driveway at the time. Cited was a 2020 decision in which the same court found, under Oklahoma law, that driveways were to be treated like private roads and were subject to traffic laws. In his dissent, appeals court Judge David Lewis wrote that he would not have granted the states appeal, in part, because the state provided no evidence that it was prevented from trying the case without the excluded evidence. Lewis wrote that he also continued to oppose the courts 2020 decision that factored in this case. In the 2020 ruling, the appeals court had determined that a person could be charged with actual physical control while in a car in their own private driveway, citing a 2004 change in state law that added private roads to the list of locations where one could be subject to arrest. Ballenger was hired in 1998 and retired from the Tulsa Police Department on Nov. 30, 2021, according to a department spokesman. He was president of the local Fraternal Order of Police from 2012 to 2016. Featured video: Airbnb no parties rule made permanent 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. Federal funding has been approved for seven Oklahoma counties after storm damage in early May following 14 tornadoes. The White House announced the response Thursday to Gov. Kevin Stitts request for assistance after the May 2-8 storms. The largest tornado, an EF2, spanned over 21 miles from Maud in Pottawatomie County to Seminole in Seminole County. The federal disaster assistance was approved for damage from tornadoes and flooding suffered by individuals and business owners in Adair, Cherokee, Muskogee, Okmulgee, Pottawatomie, Seminole, and Tulsa counties. Disaster aid requires a FEMA Individual Assistance disaster declaration, according to a news release. Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security found 594 homes damaged, including 259 with major damage and 20 destroyed. At least 26 people were injured as a result of the storms and flooding, the release states. The assistance may include help with housing repairs or temporary housing, U.S. Small Business Administration low-interest loans for individuals and businesses to repair or replace damaged property, and grants for disaster expenses not met by other programs. To apply, call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or go to disasterassistance.gov. Other counties could be added to the declaration in the future, according to the release. 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. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. BRIDGEPORT, Calif. (AP) Improving weather helped firefighters stop the spread of a Sierra Nevada wildfire that forced evacuation of several hundred people from their homes and injured 13 firefighters and a civilian, authorities said Thursday. The Rices Fire remained at 904 acres while containment increased to 20%, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. Firefighters were aided by cooler weather and an increase in humidity, Cal Fire said. Injuries from the fire were heat-related problems, such as dehydration, fire officials said. The wildfire began with a building fire Tuesday in Nevada County near the Yuba River. It burned that structure and three nearby outbuildings, fire officials said. Some evacuation orders were lifted Thursday as firefighters made progress but Cal Fire said 250 homes and other structures in small nearby communities remained under threat. The fire burned down to the Yuba River but did not cross over into neighboring Yuba County. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. In a ruling that greatly limits how the U.S. Supreme Courts 2020 McGirt ruling can be applied, the high court ruled Wednesday that the state of Oklahoma can prosecute non-tribal citizens who are accused of committing crimes against tribal citizens on reservation land. The courts 5-4 ruling, which clarifies its McGirt decision, is a victory for Oklahoma Attorney Gen. John OConnor, state prosecutors and Gov. Kevin Stitt, who had argued against a state appellate court ruling that said otherwise. The Supreme Court ruling overturns a decision by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals that determined that the state of Oklahoma did not have jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed by non-tribal members against tribal members on tribal land. The decision, authored by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, overturns an April 2021 Court of Criminal Appeals ruling that vacated the Tulsa County conviction and sentence of Victor Manuel Castro-Huerta. We conclude that the Federal Government and the State have concurrent jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed by non-Indians against Indians in Indian country, Justice Kavanaugh wrote in the opinion. We therefore reverse the judgment of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals and remand the case for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion. The jurisdictional question became an issue after the Supreme Court issued its ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma in July 2020, determining that the Muscogee Nation reservation had never been disestablished by Congress. Under federal law, that meant only the federal and tribal governments had the jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed by tribal citizens on that reservation, which includes much of Tulsa. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals later expanded the ruling to include five other tribes reservations, which combined with the Muscogee reservation cover most of eastern Oklahoma. Prior to Wednesdays ruling, crimes involving tribal citizens on tribal land whether the tribal citizens were the victims or the alleged perpetrators were prosecuted either in tribal or federal court, depending on the facts of the case. The state of Oklahoma appealed the appellate court decision and several others in criminal cases like it where a non-tribal member was accused of victimizing a tribal member within the reservations boundaries. Stitt, who backed the states appeal, called fallout from the McGirt ruling the most pressing issue for the state of Oklahoma. Attorneys for the state have claimed in court filings that no other decision by the U.S. Supreme Court has had a more immediate and destabilizing effect on life in an American state than the McGirt ruling. Wednesdays ruling follows a Jan. 21 Supreme Court decision to reject the states request to overturn its McGirt decision entirely. The Supreme Court did agree at that time, though, to take up a portion of the states appeal in Castro-Huertas case and others that dealt with whether the state shares criminal jurisdiction with federal prosecutors in cases where the suspect is not a tribal member and the victim is a tribal citizen. Wednesdays opinion was joined by Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett and Chief Justice John Roberts. Justice Neil Gorsuch, who authored the McGirt opinion, wrote the dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Today the Court rules for Oklahoma, Gorsuch wrote in his dissenting opinion. In doing so, the Court announces that, when it comes to crimes by non-Indians against tribal members within tribal reservations, Oklahoma may exercise jurisdiction. But this declaration comes as if by oracle, without any sense of the history recounted above and unattached to any colorable legal authority. Truly, a more ahistorical and mistaken statement of Indian law would be hard to fathom. A Tulsa County jury convicted Castro-Huerta of child neglect in 2017. He was serving a 35-year prison term for the conviction when the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals overturned his judgment, citing the McGirt ruling. Since the case was overturned, Castro-Huerta, who is not a tribal citizen, has already pleaded guilty to similar charges in federal court, where he awaits sentencing. Castro-Huerta was initially charged in state court after his then-5-year-old stepdaughter, who had cerebral palsy and was legally blind, was admitted in 2015 to a Tulsa hospital emergency room in critical condition. The child, a member of a federally recognized tribe, weighed just 19 pounds, was dehydrated and emaciated, and was covered in lice and excrement, according to court records. State of Oklahoma officials contended that the state needed jurisdiction so it could prosecute cases like Castro-Huertas that involved non-tribal members who were accused of victimizing tribal members on reservation. But unlike other cases where the statute of limitations might have prevented prosecution in another jurisdiction, federal prosecutors were able to charge Castro-Huerta. Justice has been delayed and denied to thousands of Native victims in our state for no reason other than their race, Stitt said in a statement Wednesday. Now Oklahoma law enforcement can help uphold and enforce the law equally, as we have done for over a century. This is a pivotal moment. For two years, as a fourth-generation Oklahoman, member of the Cherokees, and Governor of the state of Oklahoma, I have been fighting for equal protection under the law for all citizens. Today our efforts proved worthwhile and the Court upheld that Indian country is part of a State, not separate from it. Mayor G.T. Bynum said the decision offers clarity for Tulsans. The City entered an amicus brief in this case out of a desire to share the practical experience of the Tulsa Police Department and to better understand the Courts interpretation of the McGirt decision, which impacts our role in protecting victims of crime. I want to thank the Court for providing greater clarity on this specific question, which will allow us to better serve all Tulsans, Bynum said in a statement. We remain committed to working with the State of Oklahoma and the sovereign tribal nations who are our partners in building a safe city of opportunity for future generations. The Court has also reaffirmed that McGirt is the law of the land, and as governments existing to serve the people we have a responsibility to work together in developing new frameworks for collaboration that honor this reality. The U.S. attorneys who represent the three federal judicial districts in the state issued a joint statement following the Supreme Court ruling Wednesday. Todays decision does not diminish the United States trust responsibility to our tribal partners, said U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Wilson, Clinton J. Johnson and Robert J. Troester. The United States Attorneys Offices in the Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma will continue to enforce federal law in Indian Country. We will also continue to coordinate and cooperate with our state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners as well as state and tribal prosecutors to promote public safety and provide justice to all Oklahomans in Indian Country. The acknowledged tribal reservations covered by the McGirt ruling are those of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee, Quapaw and Seminole nations. The state appellate court ruled earlier that the McGirt ruling did not apply to inmates seeking post-conviction relief after their original appeals had been exhausted. 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. After supporters collected more than 17,000 signatures to keep a Veterans Affairs hospital open in Muskogee, a U.S. Senate committee has rejected plans to close it, officials confirmed Wednesday. In a bipartisan statement from the Veterans Affairs Committee, senators set aside cost-saving recommendations to close several VA facilities nationwide, including the Jack C. Montgomery Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Muskogee. The recommendations would put veterans in both rural and urban areas at a disadvantage, which is why we are announcing that this process does not have our support and will not move forward, the panel said. Nonetheless, a Save the VA Rally rally will go ahead as scheduled at 5:30 p.m. Friday near the Muskogee Civic Center. But instead of a protest, the rally will become a celebration, said Don Nichols, a retired VA employee and Vietnam veteran who spearheaded the campaign to save the hospital. We want to say thank you to all the people who helped us and to folks all across eastern Oklahoma who came to our aid, Nichols said. Its been just an amazing outpouring of support from literally every county in eastern Oklahoma. The petition drive began in March after a reorganization study recommended closing the facility in Muskogee when a new VA hospital opens in downtown Tulsa a few years from now. Muskogee offers a more central location for rural patients across much of the state, Nichols said. Its a great day for us, he said. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs didnt comment directly on the Senates move but renewed calls to increase spending on infrastructure. Nationwide, the median age of the VAs hospitals is nearly 60 years old, said Melissa Bryant, the departments acting assistant secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. President Biden has insisted that our veterans in the 21st century should not be forced to receive care in early 20th century buildings, Bryant said, noting that the administration requested nearly $20 billion in new VA infrastructure spending last year. From October 2021: A groundbreaking for the Veterans Hospital in Tulsa Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Tuesdays primary elections left some work undone. The races for U.S. Senate and House seats, four state offices, 11 legislative seats and the Republican nomination for Oklahoma County district attorney are all headed to Aug. 23 runoff elections which means surviving candidates must find ways to keep voters attention for two more months. Also on the Aug. 23 ballot for some area residents will be a Republican runoff between Bob Jack and Kelly Dunkerley for Tulsa County Commission District 3. Other area runoffs will include the Republican nominations in House District 66 and Senate District 2. The highest-profile runoffs figure to be for state superintendent of public instruction, U.S. Senate and the 2nd Congressional District. State Education Secretary Ryan Walters, Gov. Kevin Stitts choice in the state superintendents race, and Shawnee Public Schools Superintendent April Grace are the Republican contestants for the common education chief. Walters has the backing of school choice advocates, including former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. He received 41.5% of the GOP primary vote. Grace is supported by many state education professionals and received 30.5% in the primary. The runoff is likely to be decided by the 24% who voted for Peggs Superintendent John Cox and a fourth candidate, William Crozier. The winner will face Democrat Jena Nelson, Oklahomas 2020 Teacher of the Year, in the Nov. 8 general election. Second District Congressman Markwayne Mullin, who not unexpectedly did well in the eastern half of the state, takes an 26-point lead over T.W. Shannon into the Republican runoff for the unexpired term of Jim Inhofe in the U.S. Senate. For Shannon to have any chance, it would seem hed need to soak up a sizeable share of the roughly 20% third-place finisher Nathan Dahm attracted in the Tulsa metro area. The only Democratic runoff is for the other Senate seat, the one now held by Republican James Lankford. That runoff features newcomers Madison Horn and Jason Bollinger. In CD 2, state Rep. Avery Frix will be looking to consolidate Muskogee County Republicans, who split among Frix and two other local candidates in the primary, while former state Sen. Josh Brecheen will try to build on his base in southeastern Oklahoma, much of which he once represented in the Legislature. Frix and Brecheen combined accounted for less than 30% of the primary vote, so both will have to do a lot of persuading in the coming weeks. Tuesdays election produced few true surprises but did see three incumbents ousted: Sen. Jake Merrick, R-Oklahoma City, Rep. Wendi Stearman, R-Collinsville, and Rep. Logan Phillips, R-Mounds. Merrick and Stearman were beaten by challengers generally considered more moderate, while Phillips lost in a greatly altered district by an opponent, Chris Banning, who had considerable resources at his disposal. Phillips was also one of several candidates targeted by school choice/voucher proponents. The others all won, although House Common Education Committee Chairwoman Rhonda Baker, R-Yukon, survived by only 72 votes. The GOP primaries produced solid if not overwhelming turnout, with roughly 31.5% of the 1.14 million registered Republicans casting ballots in the gubernatorial primary, which was won easily by incumbent Kevin Stitt. Democratic turnout is more difficult to calculate because an unknown number of independents voted in that primary and because the Democrats had fewer and generally less interesting races than the Republicans. That said, the 167,674 ballots cast in the gubernatorial primary between Joy Hofmeister and Connie Johnson would be a much lower percentage turnout than for the Republicans, however it is figured. Through May, Oklahoma had 694,842 registered Democrats and 395,096 independents. Figuring turnout is further complicated by the fact that while more ballots were cast in the gubernatorial primaries than any other, an unknown number of ballots that did not include a choice for governor, like those for Libertarians, were cast. Thus, the actual number of ballots cast is higher than the number in any one race. Tulsa World Opinion podcast: In primary voting, is it about the party or the person? Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Both Gov. Kevin Stitt and State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister are requesting new responses to allegations of self-dealing and misappropriation of taxpayer funds at the school land office. Wednesday morning, Hofmeister requested a law enforcement investigation and called for the resignation of Elliot Chambers, the Stitt-appointed secretary of the state agency called Commissioners of the Land Office, which oversees $2.7 billion in real estate and other investments to support public education. Also Wednesday, State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrds office said it received a formal request for a financial and operational audit of the CLO from Stitt. But Trey Davis, spokesman for Byrds office, said: We are unable to honor the request because the State Auditor is a Commissioner of the Land Office, which creates a conflict of interest and independence issue due to government auditing standards. The CLO has a financial statement audit conducted annually which is available on the State Auditors website at bit.ly/landofficeaudits. In early June, a Tulsa World investigation revealed that an internal auditor at CLO had been sacked less than a week after looking into conflict of interest concerns raised by another top employee about their boss, CLO Secretary Chambers. Hofmeister, who is one of five members of the commission, said in a press release Wednesday morning that a second whistleblower has come forward and that Chambers should resign immediately. A CLO spokesman said Chambers had no comment Wednesday. As I have said recently, the concerns raised by the former internal auditor at the Commissioners of the Land Office are alarming and need to be fully investigated, Hofmeister said in a written press statement. Since that time, additional information has been presented that leaves me without confidence in the direction of the agency under Secretary Chambers. As a result, I believe it is in Oklahomas best interest that Secretary Chambers immediately resign and respectfully call on him to do so. Hofmeister also wrote to Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater on Wednesday, requesting a law enforcement investigation into the operations and finances of the school land office. According to Praters response a short time later, which the Tulsa World received through a request to Hofmeisters office, the matter is under consideration. I appreciate you bringing this matter to my attention, Prater wrote in response to Hofmeister. I will determine how to best investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the matter and take appropriate action if warranted. The Commissioners of the Land Office have a special meeting set for Thursday afternoon to make up for Junes regularly scheduled monthly meeting that had been canceled by agency staff. Hofmeister told the Tulsa World she personally requested the scheduled executive session to discuss former internal auditor Erin Morgans exit from the agency, which was initially a termination she challenged. The matter was ultimately resolved when Chambers and Morgan signed off on a settlement agreement labeled confidential, forbidding either party from disparaging the other, and Morgan was reinstated on administrative leave for about two months so she could become fully vested in her state retirement account and then was allowed to resign. After her termination and before the settlement, Morgan took the conflict of interest concerns she had documented from CLOs director of commercial real estate holdings directly to two statewide elected officials who are members of the commission that oversees the CLO: Hofmeister and Byrd. The primary concern reported to Morgan in early December concerned a company called Victorum Capital, which was being paid by the CLO as a consultant on investments. Morgan reported being told that CLO Secretary Chambers had a personal investment relationship with Victorum that had never been disclosed to the five commissioners of the Land Office. Morgan was fired in January. The CLO board is chaired by Gov. Kevin Stitt, and Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell and Agriculture Secretary Blayne Arthur also serve as members. Hofmeister, who won the Democratic primary for governor on Tuesday, is challenging Stitt in his reelection bid. The governor won his Republican primary on Tuesday, and the pair will appear on the November general election ballot. According to data requested from the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services, the CLO has seen the turnover of 56% of its 57 full-time employees since Chambers was appointed CLO secretary by Stitt in July 2020. A week ago, Oklahoma attorney general candidate Gentner Drummond also called for Chambers resignation, saying: It is clear to me that Secretary Chambers has an untenable personal conflict and should immediately resign from his position as secretary of the Commissioners of the Land Office. Featured video: Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Andrea Eger Staff Writer I'm a projects reporter, examining key education topics and other local issues. Since joining the Tulsa World in 1999, I have been a three-time winner of Oklahomas top award for investigative reporting by an individual. Phone: 918-581-8470 Follow Andrea Eger Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Vietnams agricultural, forestry, and fishery exports in the first half of this year reached nearly US$28 billion, a remarkable rise from a year earlier, with the U.S. being the biggest importer, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. In a recent report, the ministry said the total export value of the three categories amounted to about $27.88 billion in the year to June, registering a 13.9 percent increase from the same period last year, with the U.S. topping the list of major purchasers, followed by China and Japan. In bringing into play this encouraging export recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency has set a goal to earn a total export turnover of $55 billion for the whole 2022, translating to a $5 billion excess over the years target set by the government. The export value of this years first half included some $11.37 billion from agricultural commodities (up 8.8 percent year on year), $9.1 billion from forest products (up three percent), $5.8 billion from aquatic items (up 40.8 percent), $176 million from livestock production (down 15.9 percent), and $1.42 billion from input materials for production (up 64.8 percent). Thanks to the recent expansion of export markets, nine export items saw their turnover higher than the same period last year, earning more than $1 billion each, including coffee, rubber, cashew nuts, vegetables, rice, tra fish, shrimp, wood products, and input materials for production. Among these commodities, rubber, coffee, rice, cassava, and cassava products increased in both export volume and value, the ministry reported. Along with the U.S., China, and Japan, South Korea was also among the biggest importers of Vietnams agro-forestry and fishery products. The export earnings from the U.S., the largest importer of agro-forestry-fishery products from Vietnam, reached $7.61 billion in the years first half, up 7.9 percent from a year earlier and accounting for 27.3 percent of Vietnams total export revenue from such commodities. Wood and wooden products represented 66.8 percent of the imports to the U.S. from Vietnam, the ministry said. China came second with about $4.97 billion spent on imports from Vietnam, up 5.9 percent year on year and making up 17.8 percent of the Southeast Asian countrys export turnover. In order to achieve the aforementioned revenue goal of $55 billion, the ministry said it would take steps to boost the export earnings from key commodities as well as potential products to make up for other items that may see export values lag behind the set targets. This ambitious amount is expected to include $25 billion from farm produce, $17 billion from forestry products and wooden items, $10 billion from seafood, and the rest from other commodities, the ministry elaborated. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Although the summer holiday has just started, travel firms and agents have already completed 60-70 percent of their business plan while air carriers have also increased their flights to meet high travel demand. However, travel firms and agents are facing new difficulties: increasing tour prices because of rising fuel prices and a shortage of human resources. Millions of tourists ready for their trips Tran Quoc Bao, deputy director of Saigontourist Travel Company, said the company has expected to serve more than 280,000 tourists this summer. The number of tourists will be higher as tourist demand at home and abroad is surging. Three-to-eight-day domestic tours offered by Saigontourist are available nationwide. The most popular ones are tours of beaches, tours of northeastern and northwestern regions, 'green' tours, and community tours. As summer is the peak season, we have prepared financial and human resources to diversify and better our services to meet market demand," Bao said. It is forecast that around 160 full-package tourism products are developed to follow new trends and meet demand for relaxing tours and tours of experiencing nature, culture, history, and cuisine." Vietravel, a leading tour operator in the Southeast Asian country, has tours departing every day. According to Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang, vice-director of Vietravel, the market has seen not only an explosion in the amount of travel but also the unexpected behavior of consumers. It is surprising that most families spend money on luxury tours that meet their strict requirements for lodging and catering services," said Hoang. Since late May, bookings for tours with stays in five-to-four-star hotels on Phu Quoc Island, in Da Lat City, and in northern provinces and cities like Sa Pa have been full. A representative of Vietluxtour, a brand of Fiditour Company, said the summer travel season entered its peak time in early June. Tours of beaches and the Central Highlands are bestselling," said Tran Thi Bao, marketing and communication manager of Fiditour. Tourists have to book tours of Phu Quoc and Con Don Islands as soon as possible to save their seats and get the best prices. More bookings, higher prices Because of the surging fuel prices, prices of domestic flight tickets are rising every day during the peak season. Cheap flight tickets have run out. A survey showed that from late June to August, air routes from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Hue, Quy Nhon, and Da Lat are favored by most tourists. Prices of flight tickets are four times higher than those two years ago. Ngoc Huynh in Da Nang said his family of five people wants to travel to Phu Quoc in mid-July. Because of the rising prices of flight tickets and hotel room rates in three- and four-star hotels, he has to spend VND30-35 million (US$1,289-1,504) on the trip, excluding meals. Huynh said the lowest price of a round-trip ticket between Da Nang and Phu Quoc offered by Vietjet Air is more than VND3.7 million ($159). So, tickets for five people cost nearly VND19 million ($817). In the same period years ago, flight tickets were only VND9-12 million ($387-516). I have to book tickets in the early morning or late night to get the best prices. Buy soon or prices will be higher in the next few days, Huynh said. According to some flight ticket agents, it is hard to find promotion tickets during summer. If any, there will be only one or two tickets but their prices will be up to millions of dong comprising taxes and costs. Hai Hoang, who is running an air ticket agent in Ho Chi Minh Citys Tan Binh District, said carriers will not lower their ticket rates because of rising fuel prices. The ticket prices will be higher if customers book tickets close to their departure date. They should book tickets as soon as possible to get the best prices. According to aviation firms, this summer witnessed an unprecedented increase in demand for travel by air after three years of COVID-19 hibernation. Groups of tourists are seen at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Cong Trung / Tuoi Tre Talking to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, a representative of Vietjet Air said the number of domestic flight ticket bookings this summer is higher than in the national holiday of Reunification Day (April 30). The frequency of both domestic and international flights in mid-July is 450 flights per day, instead of an average of 200-300 flights per day as usual. Dang Anh Tuan, head of the Vietnam Airlines communication department, said summer is the 'salvation' of the aviation sector, and the flag carrier is prepared to serve passengers. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Vietnam welcomed 365,300 visitors in the first five months, 4.5 times higher than the same period of last year, and served 48.6 million domestic tourists, with revenue expected at VND211 trillion ($9.09 billion). Outbound market heats up again Since early June, the outbound market has been bustling. This summer, the market is shared by both outbound and inbound tours as European countries and Northeast Asian countries are welcoming visitors again. Outbound tours are available in more than 25 countries and territories such as the U.S., France, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands, England - Scotland, Australia, Dubai - Abu Dhabi, Turkey, the Maldives, Greece, South Africa, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Cambodia. Such tours last four to 11 days. Bui The Duy, executive director of Lua Viet Tourist, said the hottest tours are to Europe. The Europe visa application schedule is always full while tours of Thailand have been also fully booked until the end of June. The company is waiting for directions from South Korea to offer tours of the country. Tourism sector vs. fuel prices According to travel firms, although they have recovered, they are facing fuel price increases that in turn push up tour prices. Duy, of Lua Viet Tourist, said the fuel price is more than VND32,000 ($1.37) per liter, making input costs 10-30 percent higher. Additionally, supply and demand in the market is partly the reason for the tour price hike. Prices of tours favored by many tourists are always higher than the others, such as tours of Con Dao and Phu Quoc Islands. That is why travel firms advise customers to consider tours of less-popular destinations like Phan Thiet and Nha Trang, Duy said. Explosion of MICE tours The explosion of Meetings-Incentives-Conferences-Events (MICE) tours makes this years summer travel season differ from the previous years. In May only, Saigontourist Travel Service Company served more than 45,000 MICE guests nationwide. It is forecast that the company will service over 150,000 MICE guests this summer. Vietravel, TST Tourist, and Vietluxtour also see the recovery of MICE tours, at least 15-20 percent higher than the same period of the previous years before the pandemic. Guests often choose MICE tours of Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Can Tho, Vung Tau, Phu Quoc and Ha Noi, which meet infrastructure requirements. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Check out the news you should not miss today: Society -- A blaze broke out on Wednesday night at the headquarters of the Peoples Committee of Tra Tap Ward, Quang Nam Province, destroying a lot of properties and documents at the venue, with no casualties reported. -- Police in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang on Wednesday arrested a 32-year-old man for strangling his wife to death with a rope over a nuptial conflict last week. -- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport has said it will ban traffic on numerous streets in the city center from Thursday to Saturday this week for the organization of the 46th anniversary of the city changing its name from Saigon-Gia Dinh to Ho Chi Minh. -- The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Wednesday night that five Vietnamese were among 13 people killed by a poisonous gas leak at Jordan's southern port of Aqaba two days earlier. -- Two children drowned as they were swept away by strong waves while swimming at a beach in the central province of Quang Tri on Wednesday. Lifestyle -- Thousands of tourists flocked to the Hue citadel in Thua Thien-Hue Province on Wednesday night, the first night of free admission to the Hue Festival 2022, to take part in major art activities. -- A ceremony was held in Paris, France on Wednesday to officially rename a square in District 16 after the Vietnamese pilot Do Huu Vi, according to the Vietnam News Agency. Sports -- One hundred and fifty-five Vietnamese athlete with disabilities will compete in the 2022 ASEAN Para Games, which will be held in Indonesia from July 26 to August 7, the General Department of Physical Education and Sports said on Wednesday. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A tropical depression in the East Vietnam Sea developed into a storm on Thursday morning, marking the first tropical storm to hit the Southeast Asian country this year. The storm, named Chaba, was located 400 kilometers east of Vietnam's Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago at 10:00 am on Thursday, according to the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting. The average wind speed was recorded at 62-74km per hour, and gusts were up to 100km an hour. Storm Chaba is expected to travel northwest in the next 48 hours. As of 10:00 am on Saturday, the storm will be situated 120 kilometers northeast of Chinas Hainan Island, packing winds at 62-88km per hour. Due to the influence of the storm, rough seas, strong winds, and waves as high as three to five meters will occur in the northern part of the East Vietnam Sea. The border guard command reported on Thursday morning that it had warned nearly 60,000 ships of the storm. The National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control has asked authorities in the coastal localities from northern Quang Ninh Province to south-central Binh Dinh Province to make necessary preparations. The committee warned that the storm will become more powerful over the next few days, adding that its development will be complicated. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Ho Chi Minh City health authorities have requested that 10 districts prepare to reactivate their COVID-19 treatment facilities as cases are predicted to soar if the Omicron BA.5 sub-variant appears in the city. Three Omicron subvariants BA.2, BA.4, and BA.5 are currently dominant across the world, Tang Chi Thuong, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, quoted statistics of the World Health Organization as saying during a meeting on Wednesday. The Ministry of Health recently announced that the BA.5 sub-variant had entered Vietnam, Thuong continued, adding that the number of COVID-19 cases in the country may rise in the coming time. Vaccination is currently the most effective prevention measure, the official stressed. Ho Chi Minh City still has about 490,000 vaccine doses left, he elaborated, adding that the number of people who have received the fourth shot, or the second booster jab, is still low. If the BA.5 sub-variant appears in the metropolis, cases are forecast to soar in Binh Tan District, Binh Chanh District, Binh Thanh District, District 12, Tan Phu District, Nha Be District, Go Vap District, District 4, District 6, and Thu Duc City -- a district-level city. These ten locales currently have the lowest vaccination rates in terms of booster shots. The health sector thus recommends that authorities in the districts prepare to reactivate COVID-19 treatment facilities if the BA.5 sub-variant rages, Thuong stated. As of Wednesday, health workers in the city of nine million had administered about 21.4 million vaccine doses, according to the citys COVID-19 portal. Regarding the dengue fever outbreak, Thuong stated that he was very worried that the epidemic would become much more serious in the coming time. A total of 42 fatalities have been recorded in southern Vietnam this year, 10 of which were documented in Ho Chi Minh City, he elaborated. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnam officially launched the Southeast Asia Flash Flood Guidance System (SEAFFGS) on Tuesday and assumed the leading role in forecasting landslides and flash floods in the region. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Vietnam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration (VNMHA) held a conference on the same day to announce the SEAFFGS operation. The project aims to provide forecasts and early warnings for member countries in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand, with a fund of US$1.3 million from the Canadian government. The SEAFFGS uses a new and modern technology model, designed by the WMO, with the participation of countries such as the United States, Canada, and Southeast Asian states. It is the first flash flood warning system that uses extremely-short forecast data and integrates many different data sources from Southeast Asian countries. In the system, Vietnam provides and shares data from 10 radars, 1,500 automatic rain-observing stations, administrative maps of districts and communes, and ultra-short forecast products to forecast rainfall for countries in the region. In addition, the SEAFFGS was integrated with a landslide warning module in March. This is an extremely important function to warn of one of the disasters that often occur in the mountains and midlands of Southeast Asian countries, which are located in the monsoon tropics climate zone, general director of the VNMHA Tran Hong Thai said during the conference. Hwirin Kim, head of the WMOs Hydrological and Water Resources Service Division, stressed that Southeast Asia is a region heavily affected by flash floods and landslides in the rainy season. The WMO selected Vietnam as the host of the SEAFFGS with an aim to help the region better forecast flash floods and landslides, thereby minimizing the harmful effects of these disasters, Kim noted. So Im Monichot, deputy director of the Cambodian Meteorological Agency, said the system is believed to be very important for warning flash floods and landslides in Cambodia. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Thousands of tourists flocked to the Hue Citadel in Thua Thien-Hue Province on Wednesday night, the first night of free admission to the Hue Festival 2022, to take part in major art activities. Within the framework of 2022 Hue Festival, the Hue Monuments Conservation Center is offering free entrance to the Imperial City within the Hue Citadel in the city's namesake till Thursday. Visitors gather at the Imperial City to enjoy a performance within the framework of the 2022 Hue Festival in Thua Thien- Hue Province, Vietnam, June 29, 2022. Photo: Nhat Linh / Tuoi Tre On Wednesday, one of the key programs of Hue Festival 2022, an art performance was staged in front of the yard of Thai Hoa Palace. In the space of the historic Nguyen Dynasty Royal Palace, this art program has combined tradition and modernity. Hue Citadel was adorned with more multicolored lights to welcome travelers at night, creating a sparkling scene. Actors wearing costumes perform on the stage at the Imperial City within the framework of the 2022 Hue Festival in Thua Thien-Hue Province, Vietnam, June 29, 2022. Photo: Nhat Linh / Tuoi Tre Nguyen Tuan Anh, a tourist from the capital city of Hanoi, stated that he was truly astonished by the Imperial City's breathtaking beauty. "It's fantastic to be photographed in the royal palace's nighttime backdrop with such sparkling illumination," Anh said. "After this event, hopefully Hue will keep the citadel open at night so that travelers from all over the country can visit. Actors wearing traditional costumes perform on the stage at the Imperial City within the framework of the 2022 Hue Festival in Thua Thien-Hue Province, Vietnam, June 29, 2022. Photo: Nhat Linh / Tuoi Tre Visitors tour an exhibition of the Nguyen Dynastys royal seal at the Imperial City within the framework of the 2022 Hue Festival in Thua Thien-Hue Province, Vietnam, June 29, 2022. Photo: Nhat Linh / Tuoi Tre Visitors crowd the Imperial City within the framework of the 2022 Hue Festival in Thua Thien- Hue Province, Vietnam, June 29, 2022. Photo: Nhat Linh / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! 10 has confirmed a premiere date for its new reality series, Hunted as Sunday July 17. Based on a UK format, the series sees 18 ordinary Australians on the run from a team of expert Hunters. The Fugitives must go to great lengths to evade capture for 21 days. July 17 is also the date Nine has confirmed for Beauty & the Geeks return, albeit with a 30 minute jump on 10. Flying under the radar to avoid detection from the Hunters is no easy feat, with some of the countrys top experts working to track their every move. As the Fugitives criss-cross the state of Victoria, the Hunters net will tighten around them. Those who manage to outsmart the Hunters and make it to a final Extraction Point will win a share of the $100,000 prize money. This gripping series provides access-all-areas to both sides of the pursuit that plays out like a real-life thriller. Hunted is produced by Endemol Shine Australia for Network 10. 7:30pm Sunday July 17 on 10. 4 part documentary series Off Country premieres next week on NITVs NAIDOC Week, following the lives of seven Indigenous students over a year at the prestigious Geelong Grammar School. Produced by Brown Cabs Productions, Letterbox Films, and Goodthing Productions this sees students grappling with family tragedy, mental health, and identity issues. As students move between boarding life and home life, the series creates a historic record of one of Australias key Indigenous education pathways, told entirely in their own words. Tanya Denning-Orman, a proud Birri and Guugu Yimidhirr woman and Director of Indigenous Content at SBS, said: NITV is committed to developing First Nations stories and presenting premium unscripted content. We are thrilled to bring Off Country to audiences across Australia next week. This important documentary series tackles important questions around identity and belonging, and its an honour to share these compelling stories with all Australians. I look forward to the premiere next week on NITV during NAIDOC Week 2022. Screen Australias Head of Documentary, Alex West, said: Were proud to support this compelling documentary from talented filmmakers John Harvey and Rhian Skirving that provides valuable insight into the lives of these students, allowing viewers to hear from them directly as they experience the highs and lows of living across two worlds throughout an undeniably challenging year. This documentary is set to spark conversations of national significance around education, the importance of culture and community and we cant wait to see it on NITV. Directors Rhian Skirving (GoodThing Productions) and John Harvey (Brown Cabs Productions), said: As filming progressed, it became clear that these young people not only walked proud in the path set out by their Elders, but were also navigating the impacts of colonial policies across generations. Each family story highlighted the impact of one or more government policy, be it stolen generation, forced removal from country, the mission system and intergenerational trauma. The impacts from these policies are present in the childrens lives before they enter the school gate, and, as we discovered in the making of the film, for many it ultimately affects their ability to make the most of the education opportunity before them. CEO of VicScreen, Caroline Pitcher, said: Off Country is an emotionally striking series that is set to ignite conversations around the nation. We are always proud to back meaningful and diverse storytelling, and recognise the importance of supporting this piece of history to be recorded. Episode One: As the 2020 school year starts, Indigenous students travel thousands of kilometres interstate, leaving their families and home, to attend the prestigious Geelong Grammar School. *Off Country will be subtitled in Arabic, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean on SBS On Demand. Off Country will also air on SBS later this year. Thursday, 7 July at 8.00pm on NITV. This week it was reported that US production giant Blumhouse (Paranormal Activity, Insidious, The Purge) has struck a deal with News Corp for a TV adaptation based on the hit true crime podcast, The Teachers Pet. The details emerged during the court case as series creator Hedley Thomas was pressed on trying to woo witnesses with promises of walking the red carpet amid speculation around names such as Hugh Jackman and Joel Edgerton. The defences case accuses Thomas of corrupting witnesses against Chris Dawson, who has pleaded not guilty to killing Lynette Dawson in 1982. Have you offered any parts to any of the people [who] gave evidence in this court? Dawsons barrister Pauline David asked. Thomas: I have no parts to offer, no. He said he did not have deals but there was a publishing agreement and the proposed miniseries. Thomas argued the conversations was just banter, with interviews for his podcast happening long before any contract came about and that witnesses were intelligent people with their own independent minds. Source: Sydney Morning Herald, Nine News UK civil rights anthology Small Axe, which has previously screened on Foxtel, will now have an ABC broadcast. The acclaimed 5 part telemovies feature John Boyega, Letitia Wright & Shaun Parkes. The first television project from director Steve McQueen, this series of films for television is based on the real-life experiences of Londons West Indian community. Set between 1969 and 1982, these standalone stories celebrate courage and community. From a group of activists taking on a seemingly hopeless battle against police persecution, to a teenager experiencing a blues party full of dance, danger and romance, theyre a powerful reminder of how brave individuals can spark change. Small Axe delivers a message our divided world needs to hear: even the most marginalised voices can challenge the most powerful. Mangrove 9:30pm Sunday July 3 The film, which opened the London Film Festival, centres on Frank Crichlow (Shaun Parkes), the owner of Notting Hills Caribbean restaurant Mangrove, a lively community base for locals, intellectuals and activists. In a reign of racist terror, the local police raid Mangrove time after time, making Frank and the local community take to the streets in peaceful protest in 1970. When nine men and women, including Frank and leader of the British Black Panther Movement Altheia Jones-LeCointe (Letitia Wright) and activist Darcus Howe (Malachi Kirby) are wrongly arrested and charged with incitement to riot, a highly publicised trial ensues, leading to hard-fought win for those fighting against discrimination. Letitia Wright (Black Panther), Shaun Parkes (Lost In Space), and Malachi Kirby (Curfew) star alongside Rochenda Sandall (Line Of Duty), Jack Lowden (The Long Song), Sam Spruell (Snow White And The Huntsmen), Gershwyn Eustache (The Gentleman), Nathaniel Martello-White (Collateral), Richie Campbell (Liar), Jumayn Hunter (Les Miserables), and Gary Beadle (Summer Of Rockets). Mangrove was co-written by Alastair Siddons and Steve McQueen. Lovers Rock 9:30pm Sunday July 10 Lovers Rock tells a fictional story of young love at a Blues party in 1980. The film is an ode to the romantic reggae genre, Lovers Rock, and to the Black youth who found freedom and love in its sound in London house parties when they were unwelcome in white nightclubs. Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn makes her screen debut opposite the Baftas 2020 Rising Star award recipient Micheal Ward (Top Boy). Shaniqua Okwok (Boys), Kedar Williams-Stirling (Sex Education), Ellis George (Dr Who), Alexander James-Blake (Top Boy), and Kadeem Ramsay (Blue Story) also star, as well as Francis Lovehall and Daniel Francis-Swaby who make their screen debuts. Lovers Rock was co-written by Courttia Newland and Steve McQueen. Red, White and Blue 9:30pm Sunday July 17 Red, White and Blue tells the true story of Leroy Logan, a young forensic scientist with a yearning to do more than his solitary laboratory work. When he sees his father assaulted by two policemen, he finds himself driven to revisiting a childhood ambition to become a police officer an ambition borne from the naive hope of wanting to change racist attitudes from within. First, Leroy has to face the consequences of his fathers disapproval, never mind the blatant racism he finds in his new role as a despised yet exemplary Constable in the Metropolitan Police Force. John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Steve Toussaint (Prince Of Persia) star with talented newcomers Tyrone Huntley, Nathan Vidal and Jaden Oshenye. Red, White and Blue was co-written by Courttia Newland and Steve McQueen. Alex Wheatle 9:30pm Sunday July 24 Alex Wheatle follows the true story of award-winning writer, Alex Wheatle (Sheyi Cole), from a young boy through his early adult years. Having spent his childhood in a mostly white institutional care home with no love or family, he finally finds not only a sense of community for the first time in Brixton, but his identity and opportunity to grow his passion for music and DJing. When he is thrown in prison during the Brixton Uprising of 1981, he confronts his past and sees a path to healing. Sheyi Cole stars opposite Jonathan Jules. Alex Wheatle was co-written by Alastair Siddons and Steve McQueen. Education 9:30pm Sunday July 31 Education the coming of age story of 12 year-old Kingsley (Kenyah Sandy) with a fascination for astronauts and rockets. When Kingsley is pulled to the Headmasters office for being disruptive in class, he discovers hes being sent to school for those with special needs Distracted by working two jobs, his parents (Sharlene Whyte, Daniel Francis) are unaware of what was the unofficial segregation policy at play that is preventing many Black children from having the education they deserve until a group of West Indian women take matters into their own hands. Bafta-award winning Naomi Ackie (End of the F***ing World) also stars. Education was co-written by Alastair Siddons and Steve McQueen. FILE - Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry talks to reporters outside the Supreme Court on Jan. 7, 2022, in Washington. Landry on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, warned doctors against performing abortions, despite a judges order blocking the state from enforcing its ban on the procedure. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) NEW ORLEANS (AP) Arizonas attorney general says a total abortion ban that has been on the books since before statehood can be enforced and Louisiana's attorney general is warning doctors against performing abortions even while a ban there is temporarily blocked, as states grapple with long-halted laws in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The high court decision less than a week ago has set off legal battles in multiple states where lawmakers have sought to ban or restrict abortion. In Arizona, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey has said a law he signed in March banning abortions after 15 weeks took precedence over a total ban in place since at least 1901, 11 years before Arizona statehood. But Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a fellow Republican, said he was reveiwing the 1901 law in the wake of Roe and and providers immediately stopped performing the procedure out of fear of prosecution. Brnovich on Wednesday sided with those who pointed to a specific provision in the new law that said it did not override the earlier one, which has been blocked since 1973. Brnovich says hell seek to have it unblocked. Our office has concluded the Legislature has made its intentions clear with regards to abortion laws, Brmovich said on Twitter. ARS 13-3603 (the pre-statehood law) is back in effect and will not be repealed when the new law takes effect. Ducey spokesman C.J. Karamargin the governors office was reviewing Brnovichs decision and had no immediate comment. Earlier Wednesday, Louisianas attorney general issued a warning to doctors against performing abortions, despite a judges order blocking the state from enforcing its ban on the procedure. In a letter to the Louisiana State Medical Society, Attorney General Jeff Landry said the state judges Monday order blocking enforcement has limited reach and abortion has been a crime since Fridays high court decision. It is incumbent on this office to advise you that any medical provider who would perform or has performed an elective abortion after the Supreme Courts decision in Dobbs is jeopardizing his or her liberty and medical license, Landry wrote, referencing the Friday decision. Story continues Landrys spokesman did not immediately respond to a message asking whether his office would seek to prosecute doctors who perform abortions while the judges order is in effect. The three abortion clinics in the state have said they will continue operations while the order is in effect. Kentuckys two abortion clinics meanwhile asked a judge to issue a temporary restraining order to block a state law that took effect after the Supreme Court ruling. Attorneys for a Louisville clinic argued that Kentuckys constitution allows for abortion, adding one clinic has turned away about 200 potential patients since the Friday ruling. A judge said he would rule on the request this week. Louisiana and Kentucky are among states that had trigger laws designed to ban abortion, with few exceptions, in anticipation of a decision to overturn Roe. In Ohio, lawyers abortion providers asked that states Supreme Court on Wednesday to use its powers to overturn a ban on abortions once cardiac activity is detectable. The American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and others argued the law violates the Ohio Constitutions broad protections of individual liberty. A challenge to West Virginias abortion ban also was announced Wednesday by the ACLU of that state. The ACLU says the state ban dates back to the 1800s and has been superseded by numerous laws passed since, including a 20-week abortion ban that was passed in 2015 and acknowledges a patients right to an abortion. ___ Associated Press reporters Bob Christie in Phoenix, Julie Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, and Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this story. ___ For APs full coverage of the Supreme Court ruling on abortion, go to https://apnews.com/hub/abortion. ___ This story has corrected the spelling of Kanawha County. PARIS (Reuters) - A criminal court on Wednesday imposed a lifetime prison sentence without any possibility of parole on Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving member of the group that killed 130 in Paris in a gun-and-bomb assault on Nov. 13, 2015. The sentence is the most rigorous in France, where the death penalty was abolished in 1981. It means that Abdeslam, 32, will spend the rest of his life in jail. During a hearing in September, the Belgium-born Frenchman told the Paris court: "I gave up my job to become an Islamic State soldier." (Reporting by Tangi Salaun, writing by Tassilo Hummel, editing by Ingrid Melander) Mr Greene said the Conservatives had made a very explicit commitment to include trans people in the ban A Scottish Conservative MSP has criticised the UK Government for excluding transgender people from the proposed ban on conversion therapy, branding the move as indefensible. Speaking at a PinkNews reception at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh on Wednesday evening, Jamie Greene MSP for West Scotland hit out at comments made by Boris Johnson towards trans women. Mr Greene said: Im not a member of the UK Government first of all I want to make that clear and its not my job to defend the indefensible. He said the Conservatives had made a very explicit commitment to include trans people in the ban, adding: We made a commitment to the LGBTQ+ community that we would ban conversion therapy. We should fulfil that promise and the Scottish Government should do exactly the same. We should do it here, we should do it in Westminster, we should do it in Wales, we should do it in Northern Ireland. HeraldScotland: Jamie Greene MSP Mr Greene also hit out at the lack of reform to the Gender Recognition Act by the UK government. He said: I hope the UK Government reflects on commitments that theyve made. I think commitments are important to people. The MSP is one of the most senior LGBTQ+ Conservatives to speak out against the UK Governments U-turn on both the reform of the Act and the exclusion of transgender people from the proposed conversion therapy ban. He added: I will not fail to hold the Government to account. I dont think I could look myself in the mirror if I didnt. Supreme Court. Nathan Howard/Getty Images The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled 5-4 to allow Oklahoma state authorities to prosecute non-Native Americans who commit crimes against Native Americans on tribal lands, The Associated Press and New York Times report. Wednesday's decision limited in scope a related ruling from 2020 McGirt v. Oklahoma that declared much of eastern Oklahoma an American Indian reservation and restricted the state from prosecuting Native Americans accused of crimes on said lands, which include "much of the city of Tulsa," the Times writes. Rather, offenders are to be prosecuted in tribal or federal court. A state court then later ruled that, per the high court's decision, the state is unable to "prosecute anyone for crimes committed on tribal land if either the victim or perpetrator is Native American," AP summarizes. But the 5-4 decision, written by conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh, ruled in favor of Oklahoma in its bid to prosecute "Victor Castro-Huerta, a non-Native American convicted of child neglect in a crime committed against a Native American child - his 5-year-old stepdaughter - on the Cherokee Nation reservation," Reuters reports. Per the new ruling, the state can intervene when victims are tribal members. "The State's interest in protecting crime victims includes both Indian and non-Indian victims," Kavanaugh wrote for the majority. In the dissent, however, Justice Neil Gorsuch joined by the court's three liberal members argued that the decision "allows Oklahoma to intrude on a feature of tribal sovereignty recognized since the founding." Castro-Huerta has already pleaded guilty to child neglect in federal court, though he has not yet been formally sentenced. You may also like Trump, Secret Service agent confirmed main elements of bombshell Jan. 6 fight over driving to Capitol Former Trump aides vouch for credibility of bombshell Jan. 6 witness: 'I don't think she's lying' SCOTUS backs Oklahoma in case regarding crimes on tribal lands Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has risked escalating Western tensions with China by calling on allies to provide greater support for Taiwan so it can defend itself against any aggression from Beijing. Speaking ahead of the final day of the Nato leaders summit in Madrid on Thursday, Ms Truss warned of the threat China posed to the security of the West. On Wednesday the Nato summit, which has been attended by Indo Pacific partners including Australia, Japan and South Korea, agreed to toughen its language on China, recognising the challenge Beijing poses to the Wests security and institutions. But Ms Truss went even further on Thursday, saying allies needed to learn the lessons from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and provide greater support for Taiwan now. She told Times Radio: We are more focused on being a global Nato because we dont just face the immediate threat from Russia there is also longer term concerns about the impact of China particularly on economic coercion and they are building up their military capabilities. We need to learn the lessons from Ukraine. Ukraine wasnt in a good enough position to defend itself, that made it a target for Russia. And that is what we as a free world need to do is make sure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself that we continue to maintain peace in the Taiwan strait. Tensions have been growing between the US and China over the island state in recent months with Washington fearing that Beijing could be preparing to launch an invasion to reclaim a territory it views as a breakaway province. Ms Truss added: The lesson is we need to make sure sovereign nations are in a position to defend themselves. There are different ways of doing that...but ultimately it is making sure those countries have the capabilities they need. The woman whose photograph of her burnt and screaming in pain became the image of the Vietnam War has had her final skin treatment, 50 years after an American bombing raid changed her life forever. In 1972, a photojournalist captured the moment the then 9-year-old Kim Phuc Phan Ti was seen running down a road, with her body scalded, her clothes torched from her body, following a napalm strike. The picture won a Pulitzer Prize for Associated Press photographer Nick Ut. It also earned her the nickname "Napalm Girl" and now 59, Ms Phan Ti has received her final skin treatment after decades of pain from the intense scarring on her torso. Her wounds were so severe that immediately following the attack doctors thought she would not survive, but after more than a year of treatment, her condition stabilised. She eventually recovered from her injuries and lived in Vietnam until 1992 before moving to Canada with her husband, where she still lives. However, she continued to suffer from pain and began specialised treatments with Dr Jill Zwaibel in Miami several years ago, work which the surgeon agreed to perform free of charge. "Now 50 years later, I am no longer a victim of war, I am not the Napalm girl, now I am a friend, am a helper, I'm a grandmother and now I am a survivor calling out for peace," Phan Ti told CBS recently, as she marked 50 years since the day she was injured. 'I look up I saw the airplane and four bombs' In the interview with the US network, Ms Phan Ti recalled that she was playing with other children when Vietnamese soldiers told her to run. "And I look up I saw the airplane and four bombs landing like that," she said. "Too hot! Too hot!" she screamed while running away from her burning village. "I still remember what I thought that moment - 'Oh my goodness, I got burned, then I will be ugly, then people will see me a different way." Mr Ut's image was featured on the front page of The New York Times the following day and he still keeps in touch with Ms Phan Ti. Story continues The 71-year-old has retired but joined her in Miami this week to mark the 50th anniversary and the end of her treatment. "Even the doctor said she will die, no way she still alive," he told CBS. "I tell them three-time and they said no, then I hold my media pass and I said: 'If she dies, my picture on every front page on every newspaper.' And they worry when I say that and took her right away inside." Read more: 'Napalm girl' wins Dresden Prize for peace work Ivan Luca Denies Wiktor Malinowski His Third Super MILLION$ Title June 29 2022 Matthew Pitt Editor Ivan Luca spoiled Wiktor Malinowski's comeback party by defeating the Polish high-stakes cash game guru when heads-up in the GGPoker Super MILLION$. Malinowski navigated his way from seventh-place at the start of the final table to heads-up, but the night belonged to Luca, who won his first Super MILLION$ title at his first such final table. Super MILLION$ Season 2 Episode 47 Final Table Results Place Player Country Prize 1 Ivan Luca Russia $247,727 2 Wiktor Malinowski Macau $193,464 3 Chunlei Zhou Hong Kong $151,088 4 Konstantin Maslak Russia $117,993 5 Vlad Martynenko Ukraine $92,148 6 Yen-Liang "yao_poker" Yao Taiwan $71,963 7 Michael Addamo Hong Kong $56,200 8 Markus Prinz Austria $43,890 10 Lucio "WizardOfAz" Lima Brazil $34,276 Lucio "WizardOfAz" Lima sat down at the final table with the shortest stack and was the first of the nine finalists to bow out. Lima's tournament ended when he open-shoved for 360,748 chips from the small blind, and Malinowski called the 10.5 big blind shove from the big blind. Lima showed ace-five, Malinowski the queen-jack, and the latter turned a straight to reduce the player count by one. Ninth place weighed in at $34,276. Eighth place was decided a short time later and it was Malinowski who claimed the scalp. Malinowski min-raised to 70,000 from under the gun with pocket jacks, Markus Prinz three-bet to 175,000 from the next seat along, doing so with an inferior pair of tens in the hole. Malinowski four-bet enough to put Prinz in for his last 272,745, and Prinz called. An ace-high board sent Prinz to the rail with $43,890 to show for his efforts. Michael Addamo in happier times Michael Addamo, a five-time winner of the Super MILLION$, was the next player eliminated. The aggressive Australian almost all his stack when Konstantin Maslak opened from middle position with pocket kings to 73,500, Addamo three-bet to 192,500 with pocket jacks, and then called when Maslak ripped it in for 1,162,442. Maslak's king remained true and Addamo was left nursing a 204,059 stack with the blinds at 17,500/35,000/4,500a. Those chips went into the middle on the very next hand with pocket sevens, which lost to the pocket queens of fellow short stack Vlad Martynenko. Addamo bowed out in seventh for $56,200. Sixth place and $71,963 went to Taiwan's Yen-Liang "yao_poker" Yao. Malinowski opted to min-raise to 100,000 with the lowly ten-deuce of spades, and only Yao called, from the big blind with king-jack. A nine-jack-queen flop saw Yao check-call a 182,700 continuation bet from his Polish opponent. The turn was a king, improving Yao to two pair but Malinowski to a straight. Yao initially checked but then check-raised all-in for 724,210 when Malinowski tested the waters with a 160,000 bet. Malinowski instantly called, his hand held, and Yao fell by the wayside. The final five became four with the elimination of Martynenko; the Ukrainian banked $92,148 for this deep run. Martynenko min-raised to 100,000 with ace-queen from under the gun, only for Luca to three-bet to 250,000 on the button with a pair of kings in the hole. Martynenko jammed all in for 1,059,335, and Luca made one of the easier calls of his career. The board ran out nine-high, and Martynenko was gone. Konstantin Maslak Maslak busted in fourth and collected $117,993. The Russian was down to around 12 big blinds when his internet connection cut out, and not for the first time. Malinowski asked his table mates to wait a while, but Maslak never reconnected. He was eventually all-in from the small blind with seven-six and lost to the ace-ten of Luca. Three-handed play lasted more than 90-minutes and ended when Chunlei Zhou open-shoved for 20 big blinds from the small blind with ace-trey. Malinowski, never one to turn down a coinflip, called with pocket fours. The fours held on a king-high board, and Zhou headed to the cashier's desk to collect $151,088. Malinowski took a commanding 7,762,232 to 3,637,768 chip lead into the heads-up battle against Luca. The stacks drew level before Luca claimed the chip lead for himself after Malinowski got a little frisky bluffing and then missing a draw. Luca never looked back from that point on. The final hand saw Malinowski limp on the button with eight-four, and Luca check with the jack-five of hearts. A flop reading queen-six-ace with two hearts saw Luca check-call a 250,000 continuation bet. Luca checked again when an offsuit nine landed on the turn. Malinowski, who had no timebank left at this stage, bet 1,050,000 into the 1,060,000 pot with nothing but air. Luca called. A five on the river was greeted by another check from Luca. Malinowski emptied the clip and pushed all in for 2,161,444, only for Luca to tank-call with his pair of fives, busting Malinowski in second place for $193,464 and claiming the $247,727 top prize for himself. After four days of play, Team Leonard comprised of Patrick Leonard and Espen Jrstad have won Event #55: $1,000 Tag Team for $148,067 after topping a field of 913 teams. The popular format once again created a buzz around the new home of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) at Paris and Bally's Las Vegas, with the final day played under the lights on the PokerGO live stream. A rapid-fire start culminated in a rollercoaster heads-up against the team of Jamie Kerstetter and Corey Paggeot, who had come into the day as the chip leaders, with the chip lead trading hands on multiple occasions. The final four players were all looking for their first bracelets, but it was Leonard and Jrstad who came out on top after overcoming an almost 6:1 heads-up chip advantage. Event #55: $1,000 Tag Team Final Table Results Place Team Country Payout (USD) 1 Patrick Leonard & Espen Jrstad United Kingdom / Norway $148,067 2 Jamie Kerstetter & Corey Paggeot United States $91,513 3 Yutaro Tsugaru & Taichi Ichikawa Japan $65,059 4 Franco Spitale & Martin Pochat Argentina $46,904 5 Mackenzie Kraemer & Jon Schiller United States $34,299 Jamie Kerstetter - Corey Paggeot Winner's Reaction It was an Instagram post that led to both Leonard and Jrstad becoming Tag Team partners, and after Jrstad played all of Day 1 Leonard said that he had a lot of confidence in his partner. Jrstad meanwhile had only praise for his partner after a series of "absurd" plays midway through the tournament. "He was just making some absurd adjustments," said Jrstad. "Folding tens to a three-bet and the opponent shows aces. Folding jacks and the guy shows queens. Just absurd plays. And I was like 'Ok, we're winning this.'" Leonard said that the biggest advantage both he and Jrstad had was their freshness, dividing the time at the table over the past few days in order to capitalize on it at the final table. Patrick Leonard "A lot of people had played solo for the last few days," said Leonard. "Some had played four days by themselves, whereas we've probably played about 50:50. We were fresh and taking hours in, hours out, and when I was out I was studying and I knew what to do coming in, so that was our biggest advantage." "We were prepared for a really hard grind," said Jrstad. "We had two coolers in our favor in the beginning and that got us up pretty good." A pivotal hand where Jrstad five-bet shoved ace-jack saw them open a large heads-up chip lead before immediately tagging in Leonard to close out the victory. What a shove by @UhlenPoker in the $1K Tag Team!! PokerGO (@PokerGO) Despite watching the final hand from the sidelines, Jrstad said that he himself felt all in watching Leonard in action. "I felt 100% of the all in," said Jrstad. "It was against the team we wanted to get heads-up against as well. Jamie is obviously very popular in the community, everyone loves her - Corey as well - it felt really nice getting heads-up with them and winning in the end." That was so much fun, @CoreyPaggeot was an awesome tag team partner Jamie Kerstetter (@JamieKerstetter) Espen Jorstad - Patrick Leonard Day 4 Recap The opening exchanges on the final day were cagey, with no team wanting to be the first to bust on the PokerGO live stream. Team Paggeot held the overnight chip lead and extended it during the opening exchanges that included Team Kraemer running nines into jacks to bust to Kerstetter. Leonard secured a vital double a few minutes later in an action-packed start, before Franco Spitale was sent to the rail, again by Kerstetter. Team Leonard and Team Tsugaru were battling it out behind Team Paggeot, and it was Tsugaru who blinked first. Paggeot sent them to the payouts desk after rivering a pair. That saw Team Kerstetter hold a huge heads-up chip lead over Team Leonard, but the tables flipped after two doubles for Jrstad through Paggeot. Despite the rising blinds, the lead would change hands on numerous occasions before Jrstad opened up a sizeable chip lead. He tagged in Leonard who closed it out for his and Jrstad's first WSOP bracelets. That does it for PokerNews coverage from Event #55: $1,000 Tag Team but there are still plenty of tournaments at the 2022 WSOP. Click here to see what other events PokerNews is reporting now. Only five players remain in Event #60: $10,000 Short Deck No-Limit Holdem. Shota Nakanishi leads the remaining bracelet hopefuls in this only Short Deck event of the summer here at the World Series of Poker at Ballys and Paris Las Vegas. Nakanishi (2,562,000) is a Short Deck specialist out of Japan who has played many hours of the variant online. He was also in this same event at last year's WSOP. He has already surpassed last year's result and looks to turn his chip lead into his maiden gold bracelet. Final Day Seat Assignments Seat Player Country Chip Count Antes 1 Sean Winter United States 553,000 69 2 Stephen Chidwick United Kingdom 1,423,000 178 3 Brian Rast United States 855,000 107 4 Ben Lamb United States 1,207,000 151 5 Shota Nakanishi Japan 2,562,000 320 Action was fast and wild in the early parts of Day 2. The day started with 49 entries; eliminations came quickly at the beginning of the day. Some early casualties included Phil Ivey, Chance Kornuth, Daniel Zack, David Williams, and Sam Soverel. Players blew right past the bubble, only going to hand-for-hand play for a few hands. It was Michael Watson who left just shy of the money when he ran his ace-king into the pocket kings of Sean Winter. One player that was happy to find a cash, albeit not as deep a run as he would have liked, was Daniel Negreanu. He placed 15th after his combo draw ran into the flopped trips of Nakanishi. He was in good spirits all night and showed off some Korean and Japanese language skills to the delight of his tablemates who spoke the languages. Once play reached the final table, Robert Wilke was the first to bow out. He flopped top and bottom two pair against the pair and straight draw of Stephen Chidwick. Chidwick made running trips on the turn and river to send Wilke home. The final elimination of the night was of Bristol, Tennesse native Scott Smile. A home game lover, Smile wore that namesake smile all night and enjoyed his deep run in the event. Family and friends were following along with his run. In addition to his poker playing, Smile mentioned that he's involved with music production and his son is in the band "The Buddz." Scott Smile Final Table Results and Remaining Payouts Place Winner Country Prize (in USD) 1st $277,212 2nd $171,331 3rd $121,718 4th $88,168 5th $65,143 6th Scott Smile United States $49,113 7th Robert Wilke Germany $37,800 The final five will return tomorrow to play down to a winner. Action will resume at 1 p.m. local time in Ballys Event Center. Tune in right here at PokerNews to get your fix of short deck action as we close out this event and crown a new champion. Volkswagen's factory is seen in Sao Bernardo do Campo SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Volkswagen Group workers at its Taubate plant, in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, approved on Wednesday an agreement allowing an investment of 1 billion reais ($192.97 million) for the production of a new model starting in 2025, the local metalworkers' union said in a statement. The plant, which currently produces the Gol and Voyage models, employs around 3,200 workers and is starting a new production cycle after the implementation of Volkswagen's "MQB" modular design strategy. The first car to be produced under the platform will be the Polo Track model, which will be launched next year, the union said. Volkswagen did not immediately reply to requests to comment on the matter. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed by the union. Last week, workers at Volkswagen's main Brazil plant in Great Sao Paulo's Sao Bernardo do Campo, accepted a wage decrease and a cut in working hours starting in July due to the lack of auto parts and electronic components. ($1 = 5.1822 reais) (Reporting by Alberto Alerigi Jr.; Writing by Peter Frontini; Editing by Chris Reese) The Ukraine war will be the focus of a NATO summit in Madrid its secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, deemed "pivotal" for the alliance's future on Wednesday. Finland and Sweden will be formally invited to join the alliance after Turkey dropped its opposition on Tuesday. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments. All times are Paris time, GMT+2. 8:55am: Russia poses a direct threat to NATO security, says Stoltenberg NATO leaders meeting in Madrid Wednesday are set to label Russia a menace to their security as they overhaul the alliance's defences in response to the war on Ukraine, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said. "We'll state clearly that Russia poses a direct threat to our security," Stoltenberg said ahead of the unveiling of NATO's strategic blueprint. 8:15am: NATO to invite Finland, Sweden to join after Turkey lifts objections NATO leaders will formally invite Finland and Sweden to join the alliance Wednesday after the two Nordic countries reached an agreement with Turkey, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday. FRANCE 24's Joseph Keen reports: 7:40am: At least three killed in Russian missile strike in Mykolaiv At least three people were killed and five wounded by a Russian missile strike on a residential building in Ukraines southern city of Mykolaiv on Wednesday, said local authorities who have launched a rescue effort for survivors. Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said eight missiles had hit the city and urged residents to evacuate. He said the building appeared to have been hit by a Russian X-55 cruise missile. 7:15am: Madrid summit pivotal for alliance's future, says NATO chief More than 40 leaders will gather for what NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg called a "pivotal summit" for the alliance's future. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been invited to participate and will speak twice via videolink, as Kyiv pushes for accelerated weapons deliveries from its allies. NATO countries, which have already committed billions of dollars in military assistance to Kyiv, will agree on a "comprehensive assistance package to Ukraine, to help them uphold the right for self-defence", said Stoltenberg. (FRANCE 24 with AFP, REUTERS) Undated handout photo issued by the Metropolitan Police of Zara Aleena, detectives said they believed she was attacked by a stranger while walking along Cranbrook Road in the direction of Gants Hill station in the early hours of Sunday. Issue date: Monday June 27, 2022. (PA Media) A 29-year-old man has been charged with the murder of 35-year-old Zara Aleena in east London. Jordan McSweeney, of no fixed address, has also been charged with attempted rape and robbery, the Metropolitan Police said. McSweeney will appear in custody at Thames Magistrates Court later on Wednesday. #CHARGE | A man will appear in court later today charged with the murder of 35-yr-old Zara Aleena in #Ilford #Redbridge. Zara was found with head injuries in Cranbrook Rd in the early hours of Sun 26 June. Read more https://t.co/nggWfAlMJK Redbridge MPS (@MPSRedbridge) June 29, 2022 Ms Aleena was attacked as she walked home from a night out along Cranbrook Road in Ilford, towards Gants Hill station, in the early hours of Sunday morning. Police said Ms Aleena suffered serious head injuries, which was confirmed in a post-mortem examination. No weapons are thought to have been used. In a tribute released after her death, Ms Aleenas family said the law graduate believed that a woman should be able to walk home, adding: Women should be safe on our streets. She was in the heart of her community, 10 minutes from home. The statement said Ms Aleena had wanted to be a lawyer since the age of five, and described her as a carefree spirit, with the most caring heart. Zara was happy and at a point in her life when her joy was radiating and blossoming, her family said. Zara Aleena was allegedly murdered while walking home from a night out (Luke OReilly/PA) (PA Wire) She was ready to make a family of her own. Her sense of justice and fairness led her to a life of giving and caring for others supporting refugees fleeing violence, giving voice to those who had less power. Story continues She had that special habit of noticing others in need and always put their needs on her agenda. Our loss is irreparable and the void feels insurmountable, the statement added. The University of Westminster said Ms Aleena was a law graduate who last year gained a postgraduate diploma in legal practice. A spokeswoman said: We are shocked and deeply saddened by the news that our former law school student and graduate Zara Aleena has lost her life in such a tragic way. Our thoughts are with Zaras family and loved ones at this dreadful time. Zara was awarded the LLB with honours in 2011 and the postgraduate diploma in legal practice in 2021. She is remembered clearly and fondly by all who taught her. She was a warm, gentle and open young woman, popular with both staff and fellow students. She would often go out of her way to help others. We have pastoral support available for our students and colleagues affected by the tragic news. According to reports, Ms Aleena was working as an administrative officer at the Royal Courts of Justice. Policemen in uniform stand guard at a checkpoint in Herat city, Afghanistan, June 29, 2022. (Photo by Mashal/Xinhua) HERAT, Afghanistan, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Policemen in uniform have been deployed in checkpoints in Afghanistan's Herat city, the capital of western Herat province, to ensure law and order, provincial police spokesman Mohmoud Shah Rasouli said Wednesday. Calling for cooperation from the locals, Rasouli said that the policemen would go under training to become disciplined and friendly to people Welcoming the move, the locals said that wearing the uniform can differentiate a policeman from an ordinary man and criminal elements in the city. Policemen are largely not in uniform in checkpoints and highways in Afghanistan. However, the Taliban-run administration's interior ministry has announced recently to distribute uniforms to policemen in Kabul and Kandahar in the first phase and then to other provinces. Policemen in uniform stand guard at a checkpoint in Herat city, Afghanistan, June 29, 2022. (Photo by Mashal/Xinhua) Policemen in uniform stand guard at a checkpoint in Herat city, Afghanistan, June 29, 2022. (Photo by Mashal/Xinhua) QUANG NINH A fugitive wanted by police in Viet Nam for the past 13 years is back behind bars, after she was identified at a COVID-19 quarantine centre. A warrant was issued for the arrest of Vu Thi Hong Lien in 2007 in connection with running a prostitution racket. The 27-year-old evaded the authorities at the time and vanished without a trace for more than a decade. Now she has been apprehended, after she was repatriated from China and registered at a quarantine centre in the northern Mong Cai City's Tra Co Ward. When she arrived at the facility, she gave the authorities a false name and could not provide any identification papers. After her finger prints were taken, it was discovered she was wanted in connection with the historic crime. She has now been handed over to police in her home city of Hai Phong. VNS The global pandemic has impacted every inch of society and will forever remain a period that brought about significant challenges for us all. From a global educational perspective, it has challenged the delivery of lessons, examination procedures, physical attendance, and the connections that are formed between all community members within a school environment. In the time of COVID-19, education systems worldwide were forced to find alternatives to traditional face-to-face instructions. Online learning and virtual schools are becoming increasingly familiar terms. The shift to virtual schooling during the times when schools are closed poses numerous challenges for teachers, students and parents from all around the world. What if that word challenge was seen as an opportunity for growth and reflection, instead of the negative connotations we sometimes associate with this word? Has this period provided us with a catalyst to spring forward into the future, at perhaps a slightly faster pace? Yes, they have for now, and for the future. The virtual school experience challenged us as educators to be more agile and enabled us to provide more flexible learning opportunities, said Ms Stephanie Miller, Deputy Head of Secondary at the British International School (BIS) Hanoi. An online lesson at BIS Hanoi (Photo by BIS Hanoi) "Its important that we continue to think about how to evolve education and combine it with the learning opportunities available to us through our global family of 76 schools in Nord Anglia Education to provide the best possible educational provision for our students, Ms Miller added. Making technology the centrepiece of a Virtual School enables students to develop skills they may not have previously been afforded. Virtual Learning emphasises our responsibilities and time-management skills as students, and especially in a world where technology is becoming more advanced, virtual learning can prepare us for the digital skills required in the future, said Phuong Anh, Year 13 student at BIS Hanoi. The virtual school at BIS Hanoi is a personalised experience (Photo by BIS Hanoi) The efficiency of the technological platforms at BIS Hanoi enables teachers to provide instant feedback to students via written form, voice and video recordings which can be replayed many times, or even automatically. This enables teachers to provide students with clear feedback about any gaps in their knowledge. This system supersedes the written feedback parents and teachers are familiar with seeing in paper workbooks. Now, students can be digitally assigned activities to their personalised notebooks, which are unique to the knowledge deficit they may have and that may look different for each student in the class. This learning, feedback, and reflection cycle can now be fast-paced, so that teachers can gather a forensic amount of detail about the knowledge and recall capabilities of each student, making the educational offering even more personalised and of higher quality. The virtual school provision at BIS Hanoi supports their mission of preparing students for the next stage of their learning journey by providing an infrastructure that focuses on cognitive ability, personalised learning and developing skills for jobs of the future. With an emphasis on social and emotional learning, their teachers leverage technology to create a more flexible and tailored approach for every student. One of the most frequently asked questions by parents regarding the virtual school is how do we know that this model works. For BIS Hanoi, the answer is to turn to the 2021 IBDP outcomes which show an increasing value-added score for students, given their starting points, over the last three years. Their Class of 2021 was impacted immensely, to date, by the pandemic. They spent significant time both in the first year of their programme and the second, in virtual school. Sungwoo (right), BIS Hanoi Class of 2021, obtained a perfect score of 45/45 in the IB examination (Photo by BIS Hanoi) These students went on to obtain our highest set of IBDP results this summer, achieving an average of 38.2 points with students going off to study at world-class universities such as King's College London, New York University, University of Amsterdam, University of Hong Kong and the National University of Singapore. For more information about BIS Hanoi, please visit the school website at www.bishanoi.com. HA NOI Vietnamese enterprises should be cautious before transporting agricultural products to Lao Cai's Kim Thanh II border gate for export to minimise losses although Chinese authorities are piloting the re-import of these products, according to Ha uc Thuan, deputy head of Lao Cai Border Gate Management Board. He advised local businesses who engage in importing and exporting goods to discuss and reach an agreement with their Chinese partners relating to the delivery and receipt process. Goods should be transported to the border gate for customs clearance only after Chinese businesses complete customs declarations and they are approved by a competent agency, Thuan said. Chinese authorities on June 27 piloted the clearance of Vietnamese agricultural products through Kim Thanh II international border gate in the northern province of Lao Cai. Dragon fruit, lychee and mango are the items chosen for the pilot process. According to Thuan, due to China's strict policy relating to the import and export of goods during the COVID-19 pandemic, the customs clearance for all agricultural products at Kim Thanh border gate was temporarily suspended on February 17. All goods imported from Viet Nam are subject to examination and rapid antigen tests to prevent COVID-19, he said, adding that the above-mentioned pilot scheme was the result of exchanges between border management forces of the two sides. Two trucks transporting dragon fruit and lychee from Viet Nam were cleared for export to China on June 27. If the goods meet the requirements for COVID-19 prevention, the Chinese side will officially resume the clearance of Viet Nam's agricultural products through Lao Cai border gate. Lao Cai border gate management board is in talks with the Chinese side to tackle obstacles to facilitate the export of Vietnamese agricultural products, he said. VNS Sabeco's beer production line. The beverage producer is not on the divestment list of SCIC this year. Photo courtesy of Sabeco HA NOI In 2022, State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) is expected to divest from 101 member companies. In the list of divestments this year, large enterprises such as Tien Phong JSC, Bao Viet Group, Sabeco, Vinatex and FPT Corporation, are not mentioned. However, it does include many notable companies, including Hai Phong Thermal Power JSC, Binh Minh Plastic JSC, Vinaplast Corporation, Seaprodex, EVN TPC Quang Ninh, Viettronics Corporation, CoTraco Quang Ninh, Vinacontrol, FICO, Thang Long JSC, VIWASEEN, and Licogi. Recently, SCIC divested from Vinh Long Real Estate JSC, Saigon Machinery Spare Parts JSC, Thang Long JSC, and Ben Tre Construction Material JSC. Of which, the auction of Thang Long JSCs shares could not take place due to a lack of investors. Promoting auctions of companies SCIC will auction a lot with a volume of more than 2 million VXB shares of Ben Tre Construction Material with a total value of VN138.1 billion (US$5.9 million). That is equivalent to about VN68,557 a share, 334 per cent higher than its market price. The auction will be on July 19. At the end of 2021, the company had four major shareholders, including SCIC owning 49.76 per cent of charter capital, equal to over 2 million VXB shares. Thereby, SCIC plans to divest all VXB shares in this auction. Ben Tre Construction Material was established in 1978 and is a state-owned enterprise. In 2014, it changed to a joint stock company model with charter capital of VN15 billion and has officially been listed on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) since 2010. The company operates in fields of manufacturing, trading building materials and interior decoration products; river sand mining, construction and ground filling; freight; and construction of infrastructure for civil and industrial works. In the first quarter of 2022, Ben Tre Construction Material recorded a cumulative loss of nearly VN26 billion, equal to 64.2 per cent of its charter capital, and total assets of VN165.69 billion. SCIC will also auction a lot of nearly 1.94 million shares of Vinh Long Real Estate, equivalent to a total value of VN75.3 billion, about VN38,851 per share. The auction is scheduled to take place on July 18. Vinh Long Real Estate is located in Vinh Long Province with charter capital of VN26.54 billion. Its main activities are in the field of building houses of all kinds and construction of public works. It is estimated that SCIC will auction 73 per cent of Vinh Long Real Estates charter capital. Vinh Long Real Estate, formerly known as Vinh Long House Trading Company, was established in 1993 and is owned by the state. In 2004, the company equitised and changed to its current name. Cancelled auction SCIC plans to sell all 10.5 million TTL shares of Thang Long JSC with a starting price of VN195 billion, corresponding to the minimum asking price of about VN18,530 a share on HNX. The auction was due on June 21. However, at the end of the registration period, there were no investors attending the auction, so it was cancelled. Thang Long JSC, formerly known as Thang Long Bridge Complex Company, was established in July 1973, with the first task of building the Thang Long Bridge (1973-1985) - the largest bridge at that time. In 2018, the company's shares were traded on HNX. The company mainly works in the field of construction of traffic infrastructure, industrial park infrastructure; warehouse, office and factory rental services; production of concrete and cement products. By the end of 2021, the shareholder structure of Thang Long JSC included one major shareholder, the state, owning 25.1 per cent of its charter capital, while the remaining 74.9 per cent belongs to other groups of shareholders. VNS HCM CITY Energy Observer the worlds first hydrogen-powered, zero-emission vessel that is self-sufficient in energy continues its journey in Southeast Asia, with the 73rd stopover of its round-the-world Odyssey being in HCM City, Viet Nam. Arriving in the Vietnamese southern hub on June 22, the crew plans to present the ship's autonomous zero-emission system to several hundred visitors, decision-makers, students and school children in collaboration with the French Consulate in the city. Setting sail from its port of registry of Saint Malo in 2017, Energy Observer has already covered over 50,000 nautical miles, made 72 stopovers, 16 of which have been with its travelling pedagogical village, and visited over 40 countries. Born out of a legendary catamaran whose many accolades include being the fastest sailboat around the world with Sir Peter Blake, Energy Observer is a laboratory for ecological transition designed to push the envelope concerning zero-emission technologies. From hydrogen to sun, wind, and tidal power, all solutions have been experimented with, tested, and optimised to make clean energies a practical reality accessible to all. The main missions of the Energy Observer expedition consist of accelerating transition through innovation by demonstrating how well the onboard technologies and energy mix work in extreme environments and how they can be duplicated on a wider scale both on land and at sea. In February 2021, the Vietnamese government released a draft of the country's national power development plan for 2021 to 2030. The plan expands current wind and solar capacity and prioritises enhancing grid infrastructure to ensure stable operation with a higher share of renewables. Currently, more than half of the country's electricity generation comes from coal, and about 20 per cent from hydroelectric generation. Other renewable sources account for 5 per cent of Viet Nams electricity. This share of non-hydro renewables is expected to reach 25 per cent by 2030, and up to 42 per cent by 2045. VNS Le Huong & Minh Phuong When listening to him talk for hours and hours about the objects he found by chance on trips to different mountainous regions, it is easy to see Mark Rapoport's passion for the ethnic groups of Viet Nam. Mark has years living in Ha Noi with his wife, where they have been collecting utensils from ethnic minority groups. Earlier this month, he donated 500 objects from his collection to the Vietnamese Womens Museum. In the summer of 1969, Mark was in his final year of medical school, when the American War in Viet Nam dominated the headlines. He was strongly against the war, protesting, signing petitions and contributing money. The American Medical Association each year sent 100 doctors to Viet Nam to work in hospitals caring for Vietnamese civilians. As he was not yet a qualified doctor, he was assigned to do a research paper in Viet Nam. He joined in setting up a tuberculosis vaccination programme at a leper colony outside a Nang, while caring for patients in a Nang Hospital and flying out in a helicopter to provide medical care to ethnic minority villages in Quang Nam Province. As we walked into the village, my interpreter said that the people in the village were willing to sell anything I wanted to buy, he recalled. My eye fell on a lovely basket for holding cooked rice. The woman using the basket saw me and before I could say a word, she put the rice into another basket, offered me the one that I had gazed at and asked me for money. I gave her 2 dollars and claimed my treasure. Mark's second object was another basket a three-part backpack basket usually used by men. This is how he began collecting from tribal groups. During this process, he chatted with locals and learned a lot about their cultures. What I like most is when I see something actually being used - a man using a hammer to make jewellery, a woman cooking or someone coming in from the rice fields with a rice cutter. We have all of those things in the donation, he told Viet Nam News. Because they're a part of people's lives and I can actually see them being used and maybe take a picture of the man or the woman using it. That's the most fun here. In 1994, as his wife Jane Hughes had a business trip to Viet Nam, Mark and their children accompanied her. Then they found jobs in Ha Noi and have stayed here ever since. Mark said if he saw something he had never seen before, he would always buy it. It's a mystery, I like mysteries. I'll talk to a lot of people, I'll go on the internet and try to find out what it's made from and what it is used for. And that finding of new knowledge I also love. We have some romantic things from the Nung people. They are a group but no one, as far as I know, had ever researched these romantic things before. So I feel like I'm contributing knowledge as well as some of the objects, he added. Realising that he is getting old and his children cannot keep all of his collection, he has given many objects to museums in Viet Nam. He has given a number of talks about Viet Nam and donated objects to museums in the US, including Brown University, where his son studied, as well as Harvard and many others. I also gave some things to a group that was supporting my hospital during the American War, it was it was bombed and needed to be rebuilt in part, he said. I donated objects to a group in New York, who sold them at an auction and sent the money they got back to help my hospital. According to Nguyen Thi Tuyet, deputy director of the museum, the objects that Mark donated to the museum are very valuable, as it may be hard to find out the same things now. We have invited experts in ethnology and archaeology to examine the objects and they all said the objects are beautiful and valuable, she said. We are proud to be trusted by him so much. We hope to further introduce the objects and cultural values. Tuyet said Mark is an enthusiastic person that has been very helpful to the museum. Since 2010, he has donated many objects to the museum, which is meaningful in the context that the museum has a limited budget for collecting things. His way of working is quite professional, she said. He loves Vietnamese cultures a lot. Hes also very smart and witty. Whenever we need him, he will come over in time. Giving back to locals Mark recalled a funny memory of a village in a northern mountainous area when he saw an elderly lady trying to focus on her embroidery work. He knew that she needed a pair of glasses as she could not see things very clearly. He gave her his glasses and she could see very well. Some other women came, but I only had one pair left. My wife's vision is good, she gave her pair too. However, there were still more women who need them, he said. So, he started to get more and more. He found a place in New York City that sold pairs of glasses for one US dollar. He bought 100 pairs to give away. Then he opened a gallery on 33 Hang Bun in Ha Noi. Many foreigners would come to the gallery before they went to Sa Pa or other places. He suggested they give something back to the village. He gave them 10 or 12 pairs of glasses and taught them how to assess how strong a pair of glasses people need. Over two decades, Mark and his wife have donated 9,000 pairs of glasses to those in need. That's something I'm proud of, and I'm sure that they have helped a lot of people. I use them myself. They only cost $1. Later on, I got them for 50 cents. But they're wonderful, and they're good, he said. Robert Rapoport, his son, appreciates his fathers passion for the culture of Viet Nam. His mission is to spread awareness and knowledge about these wonderful traditions in Viet Nam, he said. His gallery was called 54 Traditions. Im happy to continue working with museums, both in Viet Nam and America. Its a part of increasing cultural exchange between Viet Nam and America, which we need. Now, Viet Nam and the US are very good friends. Mark said the very Vietnamese people have made him and his wife decided to settle down in Viet Nam. He said the country is wonderful, humane and fascinating. VNS The Philippines' Davao City wants Chinese investors to take advantage of the bright business climate and the myriad business opportunities offered by the city, especially in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors. To attract more Chinese investors, April Marie Dayap, director of the Davao City Investment Promotion Center, told Xinhua that the southern Philippine city has offered preferential policies for investors to do business in sectors such as agriculture and food processing, manufacturing, and tourism. Dayap said China is the largest investment partner of Davao City. "We export a lot of agricultural products to China, and many Chinese businesses are being established in Davao City," she added. Under the incoming administration, Dayap said Davao City would like to focus more on investment promotion targeting the Chinese market. "We would like to invite more Chinese people to come here to discover what we can offer and what they can do," she told Xinhua. Dayap said the area's abundant supply of agricultural products, availability of raw materials, and low labor cost make investments in agribusiness, food production, and other agri-industrial processing viable. In recent years, Davao City and the Chinese side have achieved fruitful cooperation in the fields of people-to-people and cultural exchanges, agricultural cooperation, infrastructure investment, fighting COVID-19, and aboriginal poverty alleviation, bringing tangible benefits to the people of both sides. According to Li Lin, the Chinese Consul General in Davao City, the young coconuts, avocados, and tuna products from Davao City have already been on the table of the Chinese people, and durian is also expected to be exported to China this year. "We are also helping locals grow bananas locally, providing them with start-up capital, banana seedlings, fertilizers, pesticides, and technical guidance. Moreover, we are supporting aboriginal women to learn and improve the production skills of ethnic costumes and characteristic handicrafts to increase their income and pass on their culture," said Li. On June 13, the Philippines and China exchanged the agreements to finance the cross-sea bridge connecting Davao City and Samal Island in the southern Philippines. Once completed, the bridge will provide a resilient and reliable transportation link between Davao City and Samal Island, improving transportation efficiency, promoting internal mobility, and stimulating tourism potential. In addition, the project will create thousands of jobs, contributing to local economic recovery and people's livelihood. Sebastian Duterte, who took oath to become Davao City's new mayor on Monday, earlier thanked China for its "generous support" to Davao during the COVID-19 pandemic and expressed his optimism about the future of Davao's deepening cooperation with China. Noting that Davao City has abundant and highly skilled workers, he said, "The two sides can increase cooperation in agriculture, manufacturing, and other fields in the future." Produced by Xinhua Global Service Le Huong Belarusian Iryna Yang, who also goes by her Vietnamese name as Tuong Vy, is a popular face on the modelling scene in Viet Nam. With a BA in Intercultural Communication from Minsk State Linguistic University, Iryna first came to Viet Nam five years ago for an educational exchange. She studied at Ha Noi University for a semester. I enjoyed studying and living in Ha Noi, so I decided to move here after my graduation, she told Viet Nam News. It wasnt very difficult for me to adapt to living here, she said. I think partially it is because I am pretty easy-going and open to trying new things. However, I also received enormous support from my Vietnamese friends who helped me to settle in here. Iryna said the most challenging part was getting used to Ha Noi's weather, particularly in the summer and winter. I was surprised that in the winter it feels as cold as in Belarus, although the temperate never drops below zero, she revealed. In general, her lifestyle here is much more relaxed. I could slow down here and enjoy doing simple things, like going out for a morning coffee or taking care of my dog. One more thing I like about living in Viet Nam is that it gives me many opportunities to travel around the country, she said. Iryna said Viet Nams landscape is very varied, so there are a lot of beautiful places to visit. I often think that Ive already visited quite a few, but then I keep discovering new and new places. Moreover, travelling around Viet Nam isnt very expensive, so it is possible to explore lots of nice locations on a relatively small budget. Iryna said she has been to a number of places like a Nang, a Lat, Hoi An, Sa Pa, Buon Ma Thuot, Ho Chi Minh City and Ha Long Bay. Yet her absolute favourite is Phu Yen. To me, it is a place where I can emotionally recharge and take a good rest from the big city life, she said. It is a peaceful place with scenic beaches and tasty seafood. I was also pleasantly surprised by how welcoming and friendly people in Phu Yen are. Iryna said her life in Viet Nam has been very eventful. One of the most interesting things she has done so far is being a guest on a travel show. I participated in the programme called Ban o Am Thuc Viet Nam, she said. Our episode was shot in Can Tho, a lovely city in the Mekong Delta. We went to a nice farm and had a chance to try famous local food. I also got to make some Belarusian dishes. It was a fun and memorable experience. Fond of cuisine, Iryna said Viet Nam is a paradise of tasty dishes to her. She thinks Vietnamese food is well balanced and good for her health. She likes popular dishes like bun au mam tom (vermicelli with fried tofu dipped in shrimp paste), pho (beef noodle), xoi ca ro ong (steamed sticky rice with perca fish) and nem nuong Nha Trang (grilled fermented pork roll). She can eat steamed sticky rice the whole day. Iryna has studied the Vietnamese language to ease her life here. She said learning Vietnamese is very difficult. I always admire foreigners who managed to master speaking Vietnamese. The most challenging part for me is pronouncing the tones correctly because it seems I dont have an ear for tones, she said. Iryna said its always adorable to see peoples reactions when they find out she can speak some Vietnamese. Im really tall, so whenever I go in a lift with a group of people, they will be surprised about my height and start guessing it, she said. So I usually just listen to the conversation and then suddenly reply in Vietnamese. Usually, they are genuinely shocked, but after that, we will laugh it off and have a small talk in Vietnamese. Iryna said she works as a model and English language teacher. She is also currently developing her social media channels. She usually teaches in the evening and at the weekend, so mostly I have free time in the daytime. Every day is different and I am happy to have the freedom to build my day the way I want, she said. In my free time, I enjoy travelling, working out and doing pilates, watching movies and training my dog. Her younger sister, Palina Yang, a professional model, has just come to Viet Nam to stay with her. Palina has performed for some noted brand names like Giorgio Armani and Christophe Josse. She has worked in Italy, France and China for some years. Mentioning her plan, Iryna said she likes to travel to some places in Viet Nam that she hasnt visited yet, like Con ao and Nha Trang, with her sister. I also want to keep developing my social media and create content about my experience living and travelling in Viet Nam, she said. Iryna said Viet Nam to her is fun, tasty and unpredictable (but in a good way)." The fashion industry in Viet Nam is developing pretty fast. I remember that even a couple of years ago there werent as many brands and fashion events as there are now, she said. I think its possible to develop your career as a model here, as long as you meet the industry standards. VNS Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus in Viet Nam Uladzimir Baravikou writes for Viet Nam News on Belarus National Day (July 3) Belarus and Viet Nam have long-standing warm relations. Viet Nam is one of our key partners in South-East Asia. We have seen significant progress in your country in recent times. The economy is gradually recovering from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. GDP is growing. Political contacts, as well as the role of Viet Nam in the international arena, are expanding. We express congratulations on the successful hosting of the Southeast Asian Games. All this is the exceptional merit of the Vietnamese people under the leadership of the Communist Party. Our countries have a lot in common. The Vietnamese people, like the Belarusian people, have learned to survive and resist aggression throughout their history. The architectural complex at the Railway Station Square in Minsk. Photo courtesy of the embassy On July 3, we celebrate a national holiday the Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus. On this day in 1944, the capital of our country, the city of Minsk, was liberated from Nazi invaders. During the Second World War, a real genocide was applied to the Belarusian people every third Belarusian, more than three million people died. More than 200 cities and settlements were destroyed and burned. But we survived and restored the country. We cherish the memory of that war, which for us will forever remain the Great and Patriotic War! Belarus is once again denied the right to an equal and mutually respectful dialogue and the right to live on its own land according to its own Law. We are not listened to! Labels are hung on us, and countless and baseless sanctions are imposed. Our friends and partners are under unprecedented pressure. Belarus has never been a friend against or to the detriment of anyone. It has always proceeded from the need to ensure mutual benefit and consider the interests of partners, even when they have taken unfriendly steps. We have always taken responsibility; we have been a donor of security and stability in Europe. That is what our State has done, is doing, and will do its best to resolve the conflict in Ukraine peacefully. We highly value friendly ties with Viet Nam and strive to bring our relations to the level of strategic partnership. In confirmation of this, in May this year, we opened the Consulate General in HCM City. This year is significant. Belarus and Viet Nam established diplomatic relations 30 years ago! But the history of friendship and mutual sympathy between our peoples is much more profound. Thousands of Vietnamese citizens studied and worked in our republic during the years of the Soviet Union. Belarusians helped the formation of an independent Vietnamese state. We managed to maintain sincerity, mutual sympathy and a deep trust in each other. Belarus is interested in restoring the pre-COVID level and the dynamics of contacts with Viet Nam at a high level. We hope that this year it will be possible to organise the visit of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus to Viet Nam. In 2021, the trade turnover between the countries reached more than US$200 million. However, the potential in this area is far from exhausted. BELAZ mining dump trucks, MAZ trucks, and Belarus tractors have been known in Viet Nam for many decades. By the way, it is the Belarusian tractor that is depicted on the banknote of 200 Vietnamese ong. Many people also remember the legendary motorcycle the "Minsk," known since the days of the USSR. In turn, the Belarusian consumer is well acquainted with such traditional Vietnamese goods as silk, seafood, tea and coffee, etc. Recently, Vietnamese microcircuits and electronic equipment under the brand "Made in Viet Nam" have become widely known. Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War. Photo courtesy of the embassy Belarusians know and like the resorts of Viet Nam well. They prefer the local weather, the availability of services and many other advantages compared to other countries. We will be glad if Vietnamese citizens visit Belarusian sanatoriums, nature reserves, and places of military glory and plunge into the atmosphere of the centuries-old traditions of the Belarusian people. The only thing missing is direct flights. But we are working on it: we are working on the launch of charter flights, and in the future, possibly regular ones. In the relations between our countries, the folk wisdom A friend in need is a friend indeed has a special meaning. In December last year, Belarus delivered humanitarian cargo to Viet Nam with a total weight of more than 15 tonnes, containing medical and personal protective equipment. In response, the Vietnamese side handed over tests to Belarus to determine the coronavirus infection. Even though we are separated by more than 7,000 kilometres, I am convinced that our peoples' long-term strong and sincere friendship will adequately respond to emerging challenges and bring cooperation between our countries to a higher level. VNS HA NOI Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son has asked Jordan to support the Embassy of Viet Nam in citizen protection and providing relief for Vietnamese survivors of a toxic gas leak at the port of Aqaba, during a phone call with Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Al-Safadi on June 29. Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Al-Safadi offered condolences to Son and the families of the Vietnamese victims, saying Jordanian authorities will do their best to assist the Embassy of Viet Nam in citizen protection and handling the remains of Vietnamese nationals killed in the accident. On behalf of the Government of Viet Nam and the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Son also extended his deepest sympathy to Jordans losses caused by the accident. He thanked the Jordanian foreign ministry and authorities for promptly reporting on the five Vietnamese people killed in the incident and for providing medical help for those injured. He asked Jordanian authorities to step up the investigation into the cause of the gas explosion and provide instructions on handling the remains of the dead. According to the Embassy of Viet Nam in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, a poisonous gas explosion at Jordans southern port of Aqaba on June 27 killed 13 people and injured 251 others. An initial report shows that the accident claimed the life of five Vietnamese citizens and injured seven others, all of who were crewmembers of the Hong Kong (China)-flagged vessel Forest 6. Needy Vietnamese citizens can contact the Citizen Protection Hotline: (+84) 981.84.84.84 or that of the Vietnamese Embassy in Saudi Arabia: (+966) 583.245.255 for help. VNS *Vu Thanh Ca In late 2019 and early 2020, China announced its 'Four-Sha' sovereignty claims over the East Sea in two diplomatic notes sent to the UN Secretary-General, aiming to replace the so-called 'nine-dash line' that had been previously rejected by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). It claimed in the notes that it holds undeniable sovereignty over the Dongsha (Pratas Islands), Xisha (Viet Nams Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago), Nansha (Viet Nams Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago), and Zhongsha (Macclesfield Bank) Archipelagos. China said those are archipelagos so it can use the straight baselines to define baselines and waters, adding that these groups of islands have archipelagic waters, territorial waters, 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zones, and continental shelves calculated from the straight baselines. Contrary to UNCLOS Let us consider China's claim based on the provisions of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). UNCLOS specifies that only "archipelagic states", made up entirely of one or more archipelagos, can use straight baselines to connect the outer points of the outermost islands and coral reefs of an archipelago with some outstanding conditions as follows: 1. An archipelagic state may draw straight archipelagic baselines joining the outermost points of the outermost islands and drying reefs of the archipelago provided that within such baselines are included the main islands and an area in which the ratio of the area of the water to the area of the land, including atolls, is between 1 to 1 and 9 to 1. 2. The length of such baselines shall not exceed 100 nautical miles, except that up to 3 per cent of the total number of baselines enclosing any archipelago may exceed that length, up to a maximum length of 125 nautical miles. In addition, UNCLOS states that: "Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf. We can take a look at the legal regime of the islands cited by China to clearly see the errors in China's claim. Clearly, China is not an archipelagic state "made up entirely of one or more archipelagoes", so the baseline straightening the archipelago to connect the islands outside the 'Four Shas' is completely contrary to the provisions of UNCLOS. First, consider Zhong Sha (Macclesfield Bank), a reef with a depth of at least 9.2m. Per UNCLOS, it is not a subject for territorial claims. According to Chatham Academy scholar and journalist Bill Hayton, because there was absolutely no knowledge of the reefs in the South China Sea, in the past, when translating the names of a series of reefs from English into Chinese, the words "bank" or "shoal" were mistakenly translated into island or sandbank. It was this mistake that led China to name Macclesfield Bank as the 'Nansha Archipelago,' and then had its name changed to 'Zhongsha Archipelago' in 1947. China recently included several shoals, such as Scarborough Shoal and St. Esprit Shoal, into the so-called Zhongsha, he said, stressing that the expansion is not persuasive as these shoals are located quite far from the Macclesfield Bank. The 2016 PCA ruling clarified UNCLOSs fit for living concept and stated islands in the Spratly Archipelago are only rock islands, meaning they have no exclusive economic zones or continental shelves. Similarly, the Paracel and the Pratas Islands are rock islands without exclusive economic zones or continental shelves. Attempt to rewrite UNCLOS By making the 'Four Sha' claims (Dongsha, Xisha, Nansha, and Zhongsha), China attempted to take advantage of UNCLOSs terms to rewrite the convention. Comparing the court's arguments against the islands in the Paracel Islands (under Vietnamese sovereignty), it can be seen these islands with their natural conditions have never before had a stable population community considering it as home; meanwhile, economic activities are purely natural resources exploitation activities; the ratio of land area and water in the archipelago area is much smaller than the ratio of 1:9. Therefore, the islands of the Paracel Islands are only rocky islands and cannot use straight baselines to connect the islands on this archipelago to form archipelagic waters. The last 'Sha' in the 'Four Shas' - Pratas Islands - is currently controlled by Taiwan (China), and is actually a collection of coral reefs that only protrude from the water surface during ebb tide, except for one coral rock. As such, this cannot be considered an archipelago but only a rock, without an exclusive economic zone or continental shelf. By using this tactic, China attempted to rewrite UNCLOS. Combined with using its military power to harass and its economic power to bribe countries both inside and outside of the East Sea, China wishes to turn its illogical arguments into reality to monopolise the waters. Such claims were rejected by Viet Nam in its own diplomatic note sent to the UN Secretary-General, in which it affirmed its sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction, and other legitimate rights in the East Sea. Viet Nam also asserted UNCLOS is the only legal basis with comprehensive and thorough regulations on the territorial rights of waters between Viet Nam and China.--VNS * Vu Thanh Ca is the former Director of the Vietnam Institute for Sea and Island Research. A Vietnam ese soldier guarding on Sinh Ton ong island - VNA Photo HA NOI- Many countries in the world have showed serious concerns over Chinas recent deployment of over 200 ships around Sinh Ton island cluster in Viet Nams Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago and requested the country to immediately bring these vessels out of the area and end all provocations. In a regular press conference, the Vietnamese Foreign Ministrys Spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said that the operation of the Chinese ships within the territorial waters of Sinh Ton ong island in the Truong Sa archipelago violated Vietnams sovereignty and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)s regulations on the operation of foreign vessels in the territorial waters of coastal nations, run counter to the spirit and content of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and complicated the situation, which is unfavourable for the process of negotiations between ASEAN and China on a Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC). The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a diplomatic protest that the swarming and threatening presence of the Chinese ships creates an atmosphere of instability and shows that China is ignoring its commitments to promoting peace and stability in the region. At a reception for Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto on March 30, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga voiced his concern over Chinas activities in the waters, including the enforcement of its Coast Guard Law which allows patrol ships to use weapons. Both sides spoke highly of the importance of maintaining free and open navigation based on international law. Meanwhile, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko tweeted that the South China Sea (called the East Sea in Viet Nam) issues are directly related to peace and stability and concern for all parties. Japan strongly opposes any action that heightens tensions. We support the enforcement of the Rule of Law in the sea and work with the international community to protect the free, open, and peaceful seas, he stressed on his Twitter account. Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Steven Robinson tweeted that Australia supports an Indo-Pacific region which is secure open and inclusive. The South China Sea a crucial international waterway is governed by international rules and norms, particularly UNCLOS. We remain concerned about destabilising actions that could provoke escalation. Responding to Chinas statement that the vessels operating around the Sinh Ton island cluster are fishing ships and they were just taking shelter from rough seas, Jay Batongbacal, Director of the University of the Philippiness Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said that a reconnaissance flight by the Philippine Air Force showed that around 200 vessels have been there for weeks. Satellite photos also show that the decks of these vessels are very, very clean. It's as if they're brand new, he said, adding that One big worry, of course, is that they might be preparing to occupy the reef in order to construct another artificial island. Gregory B. Poling, who is Director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that Chinas acts are suspicious as the boats, tied up with military precision beside each other, are not fishing, they're parked. Collin Koh, a Research Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies under Singapores Nanyang Technological University, stated that Chinas activities are escalating tensions in the East Sea. It can be said that Chinas recent activities in the East Sea have continued challenging international law and violating the sovereignty and sovereign rights of other countries. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague issued a ruling rejecting all Chinas illegal sovereignty claims in the East Sea. VNA/VNS HA NOI Viet Nam officially launched the Southeast Asia Flash Flood Guidance System (SEAFFGS) on Tuesday morning and assumed the role of being a regional hub in forecasting landslides and flash floods. Speaking at the launch event, Director General of the Viet Nam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration Tran Hong Thai said the system is part of the Flash Flood Guidance System with Global Coverage, run by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). The system in south-east Asia is expected to create a connection and cooperation between the regional forecasting centres and other forecasting centres in the world, he said. Thanks to the recognition and trust from the Secretariat of the WMO and the member countries of the system in the region, Viet Nam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration has been selected as the regional flash flood warning support centre, he said. "I am very proud to confirm that the Southeast Asian community has a very comprehensive system for flash flood and landslide warning that I believe will save many lives and significantly reduce damage to the region, he said. The system has been integrated into many different data sources from satellites, radars, automatic weather stations and topographic measurements to assist forecasting activities, he added. Viet Nam will manage two servers located at the administration to provide data for local hydro-meteorological Centres in Southeast Asia, he said. Viet Nam is responsible for coordinating with other regional countries in exploiting and using data of the flash flood warning system to improve the forecasting capacity of flash floods and landslides, he said. Hwirin Kim, Head of Hydrological and Water Resources Services Division at WMO, said Southeast Asia is a region that is heavily affected by flash floods and landslides in the rainy season. That is the reason Southeast Asia was chosen to build the system, she said. The system will help Southeast Asian countries to improve their capacity to warn of flash floods and landslides, thereby contributing to minimising the harmful effects of the natural disasters, she said. So Im Monichot, of Cambodias Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, said the system in Southeast Asia is believed to be very important for warning flash floods and landslides in Cambodia. It will provide timely warning of flash floods and landslides, so we could timely evacuate people living in high-risk areas, he said. SEAFFGS uses a new and modern technology model, designed by WMO, with the participation of countries such as the United States, Canada and Southeast Asian countries. It is the first flash flood warning system that uses extremely-short forecast data and integrates many different data sources from Southeast Asian countries. In the system, Viet Nam provides and shares data from 10 radars, 1,500 automatic rain-observing stations, administrative maps of districts, communes, and ultra-short forecast products to forecast rainfall for countries in the region. In addition, SEAFFGS was integrated with a landslide warning module in March 2022. VNS By Luong Thu Huong While many painters seem to exhibit their work on a fairly regular basis, 90-year-old Mong Bich held her very first solo exhibition just recently. Thirty of her works - sketches, watercolours, and silk paintings - from six decades of creative output were displayed at the recent i Giua Hai The Ky (Between Two Centuries) exhibition at the French Cultural Centre, LEspace, in Ha Noi. Her works have retained their artistic and historical value over the years, taking the audience back to days long gone. Born in Ha Noi in 1931, Bich graduated from the Ha Noi College of Fine Arts (now the Viet Nam University of Fine Arts) in 1970 and was a student of celebrated painters such as Tran Van Can, Nguyen o Cung and Hoang Lap Ngon, who endowed her not only with knowledge but also with a love of painting. She then worked at the Viet Nam oc Lap (Independent Viet Nam) newspaper. Her busy schedule as the only illustration and layout artist at the paper meant little in the way of free time, so she used every available minute to sketch on paper, which she would then return to and complete in silk when she was able. Some sketches sat idle for years before becoming silk paintings, while others never made the transition at all. The common themes in her works are old women or daily activities she comes across in life. Highlights of her collection include portraits of an old woman beggar she encountered one time, a favourite teacher, master painter Tran Van Can, and an ethnic Cham village at sunset. What I see or feel inspires me to draw, she said. I like old Vietnamese women as subjects. I live in the countryside, where old women contributed so much to Viet Nams resistance wars. I can understand their hardships just by looking at their hands and feet. My paintings are not that popular. I like to paint portraits of old women in the countryside or old women beggars, but who would want to buy them? It may actually be quite fortunate, though. If I just kept chasing money, I may have forgotten the art. Her paintings dont catch the eye with bright colours but time can be seen in the details. For example, Ba Gia (The Old Lady) is of an old woman beggar, with a gaunt face, a scarf over her head, and layers of shirts or blouses, which was a common way for old women in northern Viet Nam to dress in the old days. The silk painting won first prize at an exhibition held by the Viet Nam Fine Arts Association in 1993. Bich is also one of only a few female artists of her generation to have won major awards, including for her painting Me va Con (Mother and Child), which picked up first prize at an exhibition held by the Viet Bac Interzone Department of Culture in 1961, and a consolation prize at the National Arts Exhibition for her portrait of Peoples Artist Quach Thi Ho. The latter is now preserved at the Viet Nam Fine Arts Museum. Master painter Can once commented that "Bichs works are created from instinct and emotion". Professor Nora A Taylor from the Chicago Fine Arts Academy, meanwhile, said Bich embodies the changes to Vietnamese art and history over the past century. I won my first art award when I was 27, for Me va Con (Mother and Child), which captures a mother feeding her baby, she said. That was a difficult journey, because I was away on business when the contest was held. And when I arrived at the exhibition, I found that the painting was not going to be displayed because of 'censorship'. Fortunately, painter Can and an arts specialist from the Polish Institute of Fine Arts happened to see it and said it had to win first prize. So, I think the win involved a bit of luck. Her field trips to many different parts of Viet Nam gave Bich all the inspiration shes ever needed as well as a lifetime of memories. Once I went to Hai Duong Province and visited a local family, she remembered. I was told that their 16-year-old son had put stones in his pockets so he weighed enough to join the army. When he died on the battlefield, they asked me to help because they didnt have any pictures of him. So I drew his portrait, based on their descriptions. I never knew for sure if it looked like him or not, but the mother said it did. I believe it was the image of her son that she had in her head. She invited me for a meal of crab soup she had just cooked, which was quite moving. While shes dedicated her life to art, an exhibition has never come her way before because of financial constraints and the imperatives of life and family. With support from the French Embassy in Viet Nam, Bich was finally able to realise her dream: having her works introduced to the public in a solo exhibition. Retirement for many is a time to relax, but Bich is actually more dedicated to art than ever and paints more often. She sketches wherever she may be, and still creates silk paintings at home. The passion of her youth has followed her into old age. I have one piece of advice for young artists: read books, she offered. It helps expand your mind and improve your aesthetics. VNS A Waco federal judge this week sentenced a Killeen man to more than 35 years in prison for carjacking and armed robbery. A federal jury convicted Darius King, 29, in March on charges including felon in possession of a firearm, carjacking, three counts brandishing a firearm while committing a violent crime and two counts of robbery. U.S. District Judge Alan Albright sentenced King on Wednesday to 427 months in prison. Kings co-defendant, Corey Labon Jackson, 51, of Killeen, pleaded guilty in February to one count of robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during a violent crime and received a 12-year sentence in May. Both men have been in federal custody since their arrests in January 2020. Arrest affidavits for King and Jackson state that in January 2020 King drove Jackson to a 7-Eleven and a Family Dollar in Killeen and provided him a firearm while Jackson robbed the stores at gunpoint. Court documents and evidence presented at trial also showed that King took a vehicle at gunpoint from an acquaintance on Jan. 3, 2020. The Waco Division of the United States Attorneys Office for the Western District of Texas prosecuted the defendants. The Waco resident agency of the FBI division in San Antonio and the Killeen and Temple police departments conducted the investigations. Those who perpetrate violence among us forfeit their freedom, Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristy Callahan said in a statement Wednesday. Mr. Kings prison sentence reflects that very notion and is appropriate given his crimes. Callahan said she commended law enforcement partners for acting quickly to protect communities. FBI San Antonio Division Special Agent in Charge Oliver Rich Jr. said his agency is committed to working with federal, state and local partners to address violent crime in local communities. Todays sentencing sends a clear message that violent criminal acts will not be tolerated, Rich said in a Wednesday statement. The cases were prosecuted under a federal, state and local collaborative effort called Project Safe Neighborhoods, according to a press release. 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. Select homeowners in Woodway will receive an increased homestead exemption following a city council vote Monday. The Woodway City Council members present at a special called meeting unanimously passed an ordinance that increases the citys homestead property tax exemption for homeowners 65 or older, from $10,000 to $20,000. The ordinance also creates a new classification of local exemption for qualifying disabled homeowners, which is set at $20,000. The exemptions will go into effect for the city budget that begins Oct. 1. The city of Woodway does not have a general homestead exemption applicable to all homeowners, City Secretary Donna Barkley said by email Wednesday. All school districts in the state, however, are required to provide a $40,000 general homestead exemption. Homestead exemptions reduce the assessed value, also known as taxable value, of an owners primary residence compared to the propertys appraised value. A Q&A about disability homestead exemptions on the Texas Comptrollers website says, You are eligible if you qualify to receive disability benefits under the Federal Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Program administered by the Social Security Administration. Disability benefits from any other program do not automatically qualify you. Woodway City Manager Shawn Oubre said the city council asked the staff to look into ways to provide taxpayers with relief, considering the economy is going through a difficult period. Oubre said the council might be able to reduce the Woodway property tax rate from what it is now, 47 cents per $100 in taxable property value, to 43 cents during the budget process coming up later this summer. A tax rate cut of about four cents would be possible because of increased home values in the most recent appraisals from the McLennan County Appraisal District. Oubre said home values increased an average of 15% citywide in Woodway. Council deliberations on next years budget have not been scheduled yet, Barkley said. Woodways doubling of its 65-and-over homestead exemption and addition of the disability homestead exemption follow similar action by the city of Waco. Voters statewide also approved a measure in May that increases the required general school district homestead exemption from $25,000 to $40,000. Last week, the Waco City Council voted to increase Wacos general homestead exemption from 10% to 15%; increase its 65-and-over homestead exemption from $5,000 to $50,000; and create a new $50,000 disability homestead exemption. As with all homestead exemptions, properties that are not the owners primary residence, including apartments and other businesses, do not qualify for the exemptions and take on a greater share of an entitys tax base. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Christopher De Los Santos Christopher De Los Santos is a U.S. Army veteran with a masters degree in journalism from The University of Texas. He previously worked at the Williamson County Sun in Georgetown. Follow Christopher De Los Santos Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today The combination of heat and humidity would have quickly created life-threatening conditions inside the packed, un-air-conditioned tractor-trailer where dozens of migrants were found dead, an expert said. Although its unclear how long the people had been inside the trailer, it likely would only take an hour or less for temperatures to climb as high as 125 degrees Fahrenheit (51 Celsius) or hotter, said Jennifer Vanos, an assistant professor in climate and health at Arizona State University who has studied child deaths in cars. WHAT MADE THE SITUATION SO DANGEROUS? The tractor-trailer likely would have been hot perhaps 105-110 degrees when people got in because the outdoor heat and humidity already were high, Vanos said. Once inside, their bodies would have created even more heat and humidity, and because there was no air flow, their sweat could not evaporate to cool their bodies and they would dehydrate quickly. The migrants did not have water. All those things together are going to drive a quicker heat death, Vanos said. It can take less than one hour for a car left in the sun to heat up from air-conditioned temperatures to 125 degrees, partly because windows create a greenhouse effect, said Vanos. Though the tractor-trailer was windowless, the temperature inside could have reached 125-130 degrees fairly quickly because of the number of people and because the trailer would have continued absorbing heat from the sun, she said. It's unclear when or where the migrants boarded the truck, but Homeland Security investigators believe they got on near or in Laredo, on U.S. soil, about two hours from San Antonio, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar told The Associated Press Wednesday. It's also unclear how long the trailer was sitting in San Antonio. HOW LONG COULD THEY HAVE SURVIVED? That depends on their health and other factors, including age, medications and their clothing, Vanos said. Heatstroke can set in when body temperature exceeds 104 degrees, and organs can begin to fail when the body's core temperature reaches a critical high of 107-108 degrees, Vanos said. But cardiovascular failure could happen at a lower body temperature if someone has a pre-existing heart or cardiovascular disease. Some people also might have died of renal collapse, especially if they had existing kidney disease, because the lack of water led to dehydration, she said. Some of the more than a dozen people transported to hospitals were suffering from injuries such as brain damage and internal bleeding, according to Ruben Minutti, the Mexico consul general in San Antonio. Several people died at the hospital. Vanos said that indicates their body couldn't regulate its temperature and the organs were already failing. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Turkey changed its position and agreed to support Sweden and Finland's NATO membership applications on Tuesday during the ongoing NATO Summit in Madrid, while conflicts within the military bloc still remain. After an extended meeting among leaders from the three countries together with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday afternoon, a trilateral memorandum addressing Turkey's security concerns was agreed and signed, paving the way for the two Nordic states' NATO membership applications. "I am pleased to announce that we now have an agreement that enables Sweden and Finland's membership in NATO," said Stoltenberg at a press conference on Tuesday night, explaining that the deal includes agreements on arms exports and a joint fight against terrorism. "This will strengthen NATO, and it will also strengthen Sweden and Finland", said Stoltenberg, adding that now is the time for the 30 different parliaments to make a decision. According to NATO, all 30 members must approve a country's bid for it to be accepted into the alliance. Although several NATO countries have already approved the two Nordic states' bid in mid-May to join the military alliance, the process has proven not to be as straightforward, as Turkey soon raised objections, citing Swedish and Finnish ties with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Syria's Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) Turkey labels as terrorist groups. Ankara has also voiced dissatisfaction with the Swedish arms embargo on Turkey. Rounds of talks have been held in the past weeks at both Ankara and NATO headquarters in Brussels which aimed to resolve differences among the two Nordic states and Turkey. Despite Turkey's green light on Tuesday, the NATO head admitted that conflicts within the military bloc still remain. "There will still be conflicts within the defense alliance, but we have shown the strength of our alliance ..." Stoltenberg concluded. Produced by Xinhua Global Service As students head toward the end of their secondary education, it can be difficult to decide what comes next. Some may choose to attend a traditional four-year college, while others prefer to promptly enter the workforce. To help students find out what is right for them, Southeast Community College offers high school students the opportunity to enroll in the Southeast Nebraska Career Academy Partnership, also known as SENCAP. Low-cost college and career prep SENCAP allows high school juniors and seniors to explore a career field of their interest through college-level coursework and hands-on experiences. Students can earn college credits and credentials while also getting a chance to build bridges with future employers through job shadowing, field trips and presentations by professional speakers. Putting together a resume, writing cover letters and practicing interview skills are also part of the program. Currently, all public schools in SCCs 15-county service area, as well as many parochial schools, participate in SENCAP. To support SENCAP students while they prepare for their future career or postsecondary education, the college waives half of the tuition and fees. The other half is either covered by the student or their K-12 school district, where funding is available. With the cost of college tuition on the rise everywhere, this can make a huge difference financially for students and their families. SENCAP students can choose a pathway from a variety of industries such as agriculture, automotive technology, business, health sciences, manufacturing in energy and welding and many others. These pathways can count toward one to two semesters of a students college curriculum. This gives students the freedom to either graduate early, prepare to enter the workforce, or even take lighter course loads each semester, leaving time for extracurricular activities or work opportunities. New pathways coming fall 2022 One of the new and expanded pathways coming in the fall semester of the 2022 Fall Semester is Academic Transfer. We recommend it for all of our students who dont intend to continue on at SCC. If they decide to go to a four-year school, they can take eight classes and it would shave off 20% of their bachelors degree, says Dr. Brian Stark, senior administrative director at SENCAP. They are all general education courses, and they transfer to any school in the state of Nebraska. This allows them to jump into some of the courses for their chosen discipline right away at the college level. Another exciting new pathway coming this fall is practical nursing. Practical nursing is a big part of our smaller communities that we service, says Stark. The core classes for LPN would shave off one semester so a student would only need one more year at SCC to graduate. For those students who plan to begin their career when they graduate high school, SENCAP offers courses that earn credentials and certificates to give them a leg up when job hunting. We recently realigned some of our pathways so we are now offering eight college credentials for high school students. For example, with the business pathway they can get a general business certificate, says Stark. Our goal is to help support students so if they decide they dont want to continue on to college they have some credentials when they graduate high school. If they do decide to go on, these credentials are stackable with our associate degrees. Future leaders start here SENCAP looks to the Perkins V Needs Assessment for each of the counties in its service area to ensure they are offering pathways that will equate to high-wage, high-demand jobs for students upon graduation. We are doing CDL certificates, which might scare some folks that a high school senior the course is for seniors only might be behind a big rig, but it is actually the number one most in-demand job in Lancaster County as well as our 15-county region, says Stark. The goal of SENCAP is to create an educated workforce that is ready to start long-term careers sooner. By helping high school students prepare for college and improve their career prospects, Southeast Community College is building a brighter tomorrow. Its a wonderful opportunity to support our local communities and our future leaders, says Stark. For more information, visit southeast.edu/sencap. This content was produced by Brand Ave. Studios. The news and editorial departments had no role in its creation or display. Brand Ave. Studios connects advertisers with a targeted audience through compelling content programs, from concept to production and distribution. For more information contact sales@brandavestudios.com. Contemporary college students are looking for convenient and affordable ways to learn. Designed to accommodate lifelong education through in-person, virtual and distance platforms, Southeast Community College maintains learning centers in six locations across a 15-county southeastern Nebraska region Falls City, Hebron, Nebraska City, Plattsmouth, Wahoo and York, each located so that students never need to drive more than 35 miles to access their classes. The learning centers serve a purpose within their communities by allowing students access to education at any age to further their lifelong career and goals, said Cinda Konken, Southeast Community Colleges dean of extended learning. The learning centers were established as part of SCCs 2015-2019 Strategic Plan. After the learning centers were officially established, they opened one at a time across a span of several years, with varying building sizes and class offerings tailored to each individual location. For example, the Falls City Learning Center features a health simulation lab and welding lab to help address a shortage of workers in that community, while the Nebraska City location features a dedicated construction lab. It all goes back to our mission statement, which is to empower and transform the diverse learners and communities throughout southeast Nebraska through accessible lifelong learning opportunities, said Konken. We offer dynamic and responsive pathways that include career and technical, academic transfer and continuing education programs that contribute to personal, community and workforce development within the learning center locations. The Learning Centers each have their own Advisory Committees which meet once a year and discuss ongoing needs in each community to determine the most suitable classes to be provided at each center, looking closely at local business and industry needs. We offer classes for any individual from youth to adults, everything from high school dual-credit and college-credit classes to summer youth classes, leisure learning and workforce development opportunities, Konken explained. When you think about our mission, the learning centers are a true representation because they offer lifelong learning to anyone regardless of age. Rates and fees for the learning center classes are the same as those on an SCC campus, allowing students access to many of the same programs closer to home. Each learning center is connected to a campus to access college services such as admissions, registration, tutoring, and career advising, said Konken. The centers can also offer testing and proctoring services. There are financial aid options, including GAP Assistance. The Southeast Nebraska Community Action (SENCA) also provides some financial assistance for qualifying students for short-term skills-enhancing training and classes. Although the majority of students utilize the SCC learning centers for non-credit classes and continuing education, some are able to fully earn their degree from these locations without ever needing to set foot on a campus. December 2021 was the first time two students were able to graduate from SCC exclusively through the learning centers, Konken said. As non-traditional-age students, they were a bit intimidated about going back to school. With the help of the learning centers, they were able to stay within their own communities, save money on their transportation costs and enjoy flexible scheduling. Through three main campuses and six learning centers, Southeast Community College offers nearly 60 career/technical and transfer programs and awards associate degrees, diplomas and certificates, as well as continuing education program options. For more information, visit southeast.edu. This content was produced by Brand Ave. Studios. The news and editorial departments had no role in its creation or display. Brand Ave. Studios connects advertisers with a targeted audience through compelling content programs, from concept to production and distribution. For more information contact sales@brandavestudios.com. WATERLOO A Waterloo man whose brother is accused of killing a man during a 2020 holdup has been sentenced to prison in connection with the robbery. On Monday, Ralpheal Rashee Williams, 31, of Waterloo, was sentenced to up to 25 years in prison on a count of first-degree robbery. Under the sentence, Williams will have to serve at least 17 years and six months before he will be eligible for parole. Authorities allege Ralpheal Williams and his brother, Robert Lee Williams Jr., had planned to rob a drug dealer on Dearborn Avenue on Aug. 15, 2020. After the two approached the house, their attention was diverted to a neighboring garage on Adrian Street where Vincent Hemenway and others were working on a motorcycle. The two briefly talked to the men in the garage, and Robert Williams Jr. then pulled out a pistol. A short struggle followed, and Hemenway was shot in the chest and later died. Police responding to the shooting found Ralpheal Williams walking in the area wearing shoes that matched prints near the scene. Robert Williams Jr., 33, was charged with first-degree murder. He is awaiting trial. Ralpheal Williams was convicted of robbery during an April trial. Others arrested in the case include Ana Berinobis-McLemore and Tonkeya Jackson. Berinobis was killed in an unrelated shooting on May 22 while out on bond. Jackson is awaiting trial. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 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 The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld the verdict of a Black Hawk County jury that found a man guilty of killing a 9-year-old girl in Davenport in 1990. The court affirmed the first-degree murder conviction of Stanley Liggins in a decision handed down Thursday. Liggins was accused of abducting Jennifer Lewis, whose family he had befriended, from Rock Island, Ill., in September 1990. Her body was found on fire behind Jefferson Elementary School in Davenport hours after she disappeared. Charged with murder, Liggins underwent jury trials in the 1990s in Scott and Dubuque counties, where the guilty verdicts were overturned and appeals were granted. Venue was changed to Black Hawk County for a 2018 trial that ended in a hung jury. A fourth trial, also in Black Hawk County, resulted in a guilty verdict in April 2019. In his latest trial, Liggins appeal attorneys argued for a new trial alleging juror misconduct. During deliberations in the fourth trial, court officials learned that a juror had told others on the panel that her sons friend had served on an earlier jury in the case and that it ended with a hung jury. Liggins trial attorney declined to ask for a mistrial. The defense also objected to the use of transcripts of prior testimony from witnesses who had died by the time of the fourth trial, including a woman who had testified she saw a gas can in the back of Liggins vehicle around the time of Jennifers disappearance. Also challenged in the appeal was the testimony of a woman who told jurors she saw a car with one tail light brighter than the other a characteristic of Liggins vehicle near the scene of the fire. The defense said the witness who had been a paid police informant on other matters prior to the murder initially told investigators nothing about seeing a vehicle and her testimony had evolved over time. 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. WATERLOO One person has been arrested in connection with gunfire in a Waterloo neighborhood in May. According to court records, officers were called to the 400 block of East Ninth Street around 4:25 p.m. May 27 for a report of gunshots. They found spent shell casings in the parking lot at Family Dollar and the intersection of East Ninth and Franklin streets. In addition, there was damage to a home struck by a bullet at 414 E. Ninth St. The Scott County Attorney's Office has decided that Davenport police officer Michael Catton's actions were justified during a June 8 encounter that left Jason James Morales, 45, of Davenport, dead. At 12:48 a.m. June 8, at least one uniformed officer responded to the Caseys Convenience Store, 1691 W. 53rd St., Davenport, to investigate a report of a suspicious person tampering with the air conditioning unit on the side of the building, according to an initial news release from the Davenport Police Department. Once at the Casey's, the officer found a man and determined he was wanted on warrants. A confrontation began, and both fired shots. The man was hit by gunfire and later pronounced dead at an area hospital. The officer was also injured but those injuries were not considered life threatening. The evidence in this case shows that the use of force by Officer Catton was justified and reasonable under the circumstances, Caleb Copley, the senior assistant county attorney, said during a Thursday morning news conference about the shooting. Davenport Police Chief Paul Sikorski was also present at the news conference. He said Catton was still on administrative leave in the wake of the shooting. Officer Catton is doing well, Sikorski said. Were looking after him as well as we can both emotionally and physically. Now that the county attorneys review was complete, the department was going to finish its own internal review, the chief said. Its a reminder of how dangerous this profession can be, Sikorski said of the June 8 incident. The Scott County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation handled the investigation of the incident then presented the evidence to the county attorney's office for review. The sheriff's office released the names of Catton and Morales in the days after the incident. Copley verbally went over the findings at the conference. The presentation included footage from Cattons body and squad cameras and a printed version of the narrative developed from the investigation. Copley declined to provide details of the arrest warrant or of Morales criminal past. Catton first met Morales in the Caseys parking lot and Morales was with a motorcycle, according to the account. Morales told the officer he was having mechanical problems and a friend was coming to get him. A short time later, a truck pulled into the lot and Morales confirmed that as his ride. Catton then told Morales there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Morales responded, No! No! No! Then he ran from Catton, according to the account. As he fled, he pulled a handgun from his waistband. Catton caught up with Morales and grabbed his forearm to prevent the gun from being pointed at him, the account states. The two struggled and during that struggle, Morales fired the gun. The initial gunshot fired by Morales can best be heard in the dash camera from Cattons squad, the report states. The body camera recorded the pursuit, but was knocked off during the struggle, the account states. It fell into leaves and after that only the audio available from that camera. During the struggle, Morales cursed at Catton and said he was not going, the report states. Catton told him to stop, then Morales in turn told him to stop. As they continued to fight, Catton had one hand on Morales gun and was able to draw his own pistol, the report states. He shot Morales four times, with the final shot striking Morales in the head. The first three shots did not stop Morales, who Catton said was still fighting him, but Morales fell to the ground after the fourth shot, the report states. After Morales fell, Catton said into his radio that there had been shots fired. An autopsy showed a gunshot wound to the head killed Morales, the report states. The other rounds did not hit any vital parts of his body. A Taurus 9mm pistol was found at the scene, the report states. A spent round was in the chamber and had jammed the pistol. There were also six rounds in the magazine, which meant the pistol was fully loaded. Morales was a felon and was therefore prohibited from having firearms. Cattons pistol, a Glock-17, also used 9mm bullets, the report states. It had been fired four times. The driver of the truck was later interviewed, the report states. She told officers she heard a loud disagreement between Catton and Morales, then saw Morales run. She told investigators she saw Morales lift his shirt and pull a handgun from his waistband with his right hand. She said Catton grabbed Morales, causing Morales to spin around and almost fall, the report states. As Morales turned, so did the pistol. Catton yelled, Dont! Then the pistol went off. She told investigators that she saw a muzzle flash. She lost sight of them in the dark, but could hear Morales yelling and Catton saying, Stop. Please dont make me do this. Please stop. The driver said she then heard two different sets of gunshots and then couldnt hear Morales anymore. The investigation also found evidence that Morales had made statements in the past about attempting to kill himself by suicide by cop should he ever be faced with a return to prison. Catton was not hit by gunfire but did suffer abrasions during the struggles, officials said during the conference. A detailed play-by-play from the footage of Catton's body and dash cameras is available in the online version of this article. This is a play-by-play of what can be seen and heard in the footage of Cattons body camera and dash camera that was shown at Thursdays conference. Catton arrives at the Caseys and encounters Morales in the parking lot. During the conversation Morales identifies himself and tells Catton he is there because of mechanical problems with his motorcycle. The motorcycle is visible in the footage. As the two talk, the pickup truck pulls into the lot and Morales confirms that is the person he called. During the conversation, Catton checks on Morales name and birthday. Catton informs Morales he has an outstanding warrant. Morales says,No! No! No! As he says this, he turns from Catton and runs away across the parking lot. Catton chases Morales. In the body camera video, Morales right hand does appear to reach to his waistband and lift as if removing something, but its not clear. A gun is not clearly visible and during the extent of the recording, Morales cannot be seen pointing a firearm at Catton. On the dash camera, Morales is visible running toward the walled enclosure with Catton right behind. They near the dark area behind a walled enclosure on the end of the parking lot and Catton reaches out to grab Morales, then they disappear from view. The truck that came for Morales is visible in the frame, with the drivers side window in a position for the driver to have seen the struggle. As this happens, Cattons police dog, in the squad, barks. As the dog stops barking there is a loud bang. There is a pause, then two more bangs, another pause, a fourth bang a final pause then a fifth. In the same moment on Cattons body camera, Morales reaches the dark area behind the walled enclosure with Catton on his heels. Then the footage gets very shaky, sometimes going dark. At one point Catton appears to be on the ground, then the camera goes dark and there is no further footage from the body camera. The initial loud bang heard on the dash camera after the dog barks is not heard on the body camera. The bodycam audio, however, continues. Morales curses at the officer. At another point he says, I dont want to do this. I am not going, dude. I am not F------ going. Catton tells Morales to stop and Morales says No! then curses again, then You stop, motherf--. Then there is a loud bang, a scream or groan, another bang, a second scream or groan, then a third bang. There is another scream or groan, then Morales gasps motherf--. Then there is a final bang. Then Catton can be heard gasping as he calls shots fired on his radio. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WATERLOO A teenager was injured in a shooting in Waterloo on Wednesday evening. Details werent available, but the 14-year-old suffered an injury to his lower leg and was taken to a local hospital by private vehicle, according to police. Authorities said his injuries arent life threatening. Officers said the teen was outside when the shots rang out in the 800 block of Grant Avenue around 8:05 p.m. Wednesday. Investigators found spent shell casings in the area. No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 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 An East High School parking lot will receive an asphalt overlay at a cost of $85,000 after signs of wear and tear have emerged. The lot is on the north side of the school. The project will be paid for through Waterloo Community Schools physical plant and equipment levy funds, which are used to repair and maintain school buildings, among other things. The Board of Education on Tuesday approved the quote from Macks Asphalt of Waterloo during a special meeting, the lowest of two bids. It includes removal of all speed bumps except one, removal of unstable materials from the existing lot, skim patching the entire lot to fill holes and low spots, and applying adhesive. Contractors will also machine lay three inches of hot mix asphalt and roll it for compaction. The project is scheduled to be completed this summer. In other business, the board approved: Joshua Payton as the interim principal at George Washington Carver Academy with an annual salary of $121,000.A change order for the Waterloo Career Center expansion project related to relocating the fire department connection at an additional cost of $7,514. Total construction costs for the project are $28.86 million. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WATERLOO Classroom and lab under-utilization data was one hot topic discussed Tuesday by Hawkeye Community Colleges board of trustees when introduced to its newly drafted, comprehensive master facilities plan. The assessment, developed by RDG Planning and Design, includes an outlook for the next 10 years. Hawkeye Community College president gets 3% raise The Board of Trustees approved President Todd Holcombs new salary of $262,135 on Tuesday night as part of a modification to his three-year rolling contract. The trustees learned Hawkeye could better utilize its classrooms and labs to increase efficiency and effectiveness after the firm dove into the hours theyre available in the fall 2021 semester versus the hours actually being used. All the classrooms on campus combined for 1,109 hours per week of usage. There was still a capacity of 2,219 hours per week, said architect Nick Schulz. He said the college should target about 80%, or 32 hours of the average work week. For perspective, Black Hawk Hall is 50% utilized while Bremer and Butler halls are used 44% and 45% of the time, respectively. About 60-70% is where a lot of institutions end up landing. The colleges station occupancy better put as butts in seats, or how many classroom seats are filled throughout the day stood, on average, at about 40%. Labs landed at about 50%. The goal is 68%. What that starts to tell us is you dont have the right-sized classrooms, Schulz said. You have classes that are 40 people or larger, and youre only putting 20 people in them. So how do we start to look at right-sizing those classrooms, so were creating spaces that are the right size for the number of students that are actually going to be in there. Station occupancy for Black Hawk, Bremer and Butler halls are 42%, 49% and 39%, respectively. Once you start getting the data, you have to analyze what your culture is and what your community desires are, Schulz said. Its not about spending a ton of money, its about spending it wisely, he added. Sturgis Falls, Cedar Basin festivals attract thousands from all places, of all ages Many attendees are appreciative of the wide array of music and food, the parades that each year attract hundreds, and the family-friendly activities in Overman Park. Moving to central scheduling of all education space to remove silos of ownership was one recommendation. Reductions in the number of classrooms for general education needs was another. The master plan is viewed as a road map for possible building projects that would help the college better meet the needs of students and the community. College leadership will need to determine its next steps at a later date. Also discussed during the nearly 90 minute period was how the bones of the existing facilities are in good shape, but that the various finishes, technology and systems (electric, HVAC, etc.) are outdated. Plans for other larger building projects, like a future Butler Hall remodeling and addition, as well as a new facility for Hawkeyes Iowa Law Enforcement Academy are among those being contemplated by the trustees, staff, and consultants. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly 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. CEDAR FALLS Rooted Carrot Co-op Market officials say they are looking at multiple potential sites for the planned $2.89 million brick-and-mortar store. A previous proposal to construct the building at the corner of Seventh and Main streets fell apart in March largely because of parking-related issues and some confusion about the newly adopted downtown zoning code. Rooted Carrot is a community-owned grocery store that seeks to enhance the health and well-being of the greater Cedar Valley, according to its mission statement. Its hard to say whether were close to finalizing plans for a new site, said Tom Wickersham, a board member and founder. Because weve been up and down this roller coaster before. The co-op continues to look for a site that can accommodate a 7,000-square-foot grocery store operation which has good access and visibility in or around downtown Cedar Falls, Wickersham said. Lots at West Fork Crossing in Cedar Falls could become available next summer CEDAR FALLS West Fork Crossing will soon have lots developed for single family homes north Starting a $3 million dollar business is not an easy task and there have been multiple obstacles but ones that weve seen other co-ops face, Wickersham said. This is one of the largest grassroots efforts ever seen in Cedar Falls, he added. Weve been astonished by the community support and buy-in, and were confident more than 25,000 volunteer hours will lead to a successful outcome. The potential for a co-op market in Cedar Falls was dreamt up about a decade ago after Roots Market closed on Main Street in 2012. It left a void in the community. And people felt it was time to capitalize on a successful business model, one that would suitably meet the communitys needs, Wickersham said. A total of 75 community members showed up to the first meeting about the possible venture that was first named the Cedar Falls Food Co-op and was incorporated in 2014, said Wickersham. Developer Brent Dahlstrom proposed constructing a new building at 123 W. Seventh St. That led to the demolition of the old First Baptist Church at the end of last year. If built, it would have housed the co-op and other tenants at the Main Street corner. The building on 7th and Main was a lost opportunity in part because of an unmet agreement that was pitched to the developer if underground parking was pursued and in part because of confusion regarding when the new downtown code would take effect for a project already submitted, said Kate Dunning, another board member, in a statement to The Courier. Dunning said the co-op asked if the new code would apply to a project submitted before the ordinance was adopted. But a response was not provided until after the plans were submitted and it indicated that the project would not be reviewed due to the code change. Rooted Carrot supports the new code and the research and work involved in implementation and were proud to be seeking roots in Cedar Falls and we continue to seek partnership with the city to add local grocery to the impressive lineup of all things Cedar Falls, Dunning said. In addition to the former parking requirements not being met, Karen Howard, city planning and community services manager, noted in a statement there were concerns from Community Main Street and other members of the public about the lack of parking in the plans. City staff offered several suggestions on how the project could be revised to meet the requirements. It was not until Oct. 25, 2021 when a revised plan was submitted to the city. New zoning rules were adopted on Nov. 1, 2021. The new code opened up new possibilities for development and city staff has offered to assist the developer in refining their plans for the site, Howard said. In a video update in March, the co-op said the real sticking point with the new code was that 80 percent of the lot lines fronting the three streets (Washington, 7th and Main) would need to be occupied by a physical building. That is to say parking or a driveway to parking could only front 20% of the linear feet along those lot lines. As a result, the building would need to be shaped like an extended U and parking would need to be on the interior of the lot, accessed by a driveway, according to the update. The simple fact is a grocery store needs to be rectangular or square in shape in order to be financially and operationally feasible. In the meantime, while searching for a new site, the team also is working to grow its owner-member base, recruit volunteers, negotiate bank loans, and update those interested in the venture on social media, Wickersham said. Hawkeye Community College president gets 3% raise The Board of Trustees approved President Todd Holcombs new salary of $262,135 on Tuesday night as part of a modification to his three-year rolling contract. He noted that the Rooted Carrot has raised about 45% of its $1.75 million capital campaign goal, between donations and interest-earning loans. The push for funds has been quiet since last summer, he said. And the campaign will not again go public until a new site is selected and its stakeholders feels confident about it. And while not publicly pushing to raise funds, it welcomes more owner-members and financial contributions. Wickersham said the co-op has about 1,200 member-owners, a majority of whom live in Black Hawk County and eight surrounding counties. While we do not have the brick-and-mortar store yet, member-owners already receive benefits ranging from business partner discounts to having a vote and say in how the store will be, according to its website. Your input could influence this community more than anything youve ever done before. The Rooted Carrot will be like most other food co-ops started in the last 20 years, said Wickersham, and will incorporate national models for efficiency and smart practices. But the team will look to develop some unique programs and services, possibly like a food truck. Once up and running, it will be operated by 13 employees, Wickersham said. And when fully matured in about seven years, he said it will employ 22 people. 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. Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan delivers a congratulatory letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping to Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos during their meeting in Manila, the Philippines, June 30, 2022. As Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative, Wang attended the Philippine presidential inauguration of Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos on Thursday at the invitation of the government of the Philippines. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling) MANILA, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan on Thursday put forward a four-point proposal on the development of relations between China and the Philippines. As Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative, Wang attended the inauguration of Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos as the 17th president of the Philippines. At a meeting with the new Philippine president, Wang said President Marcos and his family have made great contributions to enhancing the China-Philippines friendship. The Chinese side has always given priority to the Philippines in its neighborhood diplomacy, and is ready to work with the new Philippine government in carrying on their friendship, boosting mutual trust and deepening cooperation so as to usher in a new "golden age" in bilateral ties, he said. The Chinese vice president said that both sides should develop bilateral relations under the guidance of the two heads of state, who will steer the course of the development of bilateral ties. The two countries should dovetail their development strategies so as to foster new growth points of pragmatic cooperation in the new era. The two sides should properly resolve differences and jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the South China Sea, Wang said. He also said the two countries should uphold international equality and justice, and jointly promote peace and development in Asia, as well as the well-being of humanity. For his part, Marcos welcomed Wang's presence at his presidential inauguration ceremony. Marcos recalled his 1974 visit to China when accompanying his mother Imelda, and noted that the relationship between his country and China has a long history and the two peoples are close to each other. Describing China as the most powerful partner of the Philippines, Marcos stressed that good-neighborly friendship is in the fundamental interests of both peoples. The new Philippine government attaches utmost importance to the relations with China, and is willing to deepen its participation in the joint construction of the Belt and Road, join hands with China in coping with regional challenges, and elevate the bilateral ties to a higher level, Marcos added. Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan meets with Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos in Manila, the Philippines, June 30, 2022. As Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative, Wang attended the Philippine presidential inauguration of Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos on Thursday at the invitation of the government of the Philippines. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling) Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative and Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan meets with Imelda Marcos, mother of Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, in Manila, the Philippines, June 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling) DES MOINES Starting Friday, Iowans will see reduced unemployment benefits, child care providers will see relaxed regulations and schools will be banned from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations. Law enforcement can also start looking through your garbage without a search warrant. Gov. Kim Reynolds signed more than 150 bills into law this year passed by the Legislature. Many of those measures take effect Friday, the start of the states new fiscal year. The laws do everything from banning school districts and day care centers from requiring students and children be immunized against COVID-19 to allowing all-terrain vehicles to travel on more county and state highways. Here is a look at some of the bills and what that means for Iowans. Jobless benefits Unemployed workers in Iowa will receive 10 fewer weeks of state unemployment benefits. The new law reduces the length of benefits from 26 to 16 weeks. Iowa becomes just the fourth state to provide benefits of 16 weeks or less. Reynolds, in a statement, said this will modernize Iowas unemployment system and attract new workers to businesses. The new law also changes the requirements for taking a job that pays less than the unemployed Iowans previous job. The progressive advocacy group Progress Iowa issued a statement critical of the reduction, saying it will hurt laid-off workers, suppress wages, and make Iowa an unwelcoming state. Delivery services Third-party food delivery apps like DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats that use a restaurants logo or menu without permission will be subject to fines, starting at $1,000 and up to $10,000. The rise of third-party delivery services has caused issues for restaurants seeing their menus and images used online without permission and have become a growing source of consumer complaints, according to the Iowa Restaurant Association. Under the new law, third-party delivery services must enter into agreements with restaurants to arrange for delivery or pickup of orders. It also requires delivery services to adhere to food safety regulations including barring passengers, pets, smoking and vaping in the vehicle when delivering food and are liable for any harm or injury caused for failure to meet requirements. Delivery apps must also clearly provide a way for customers to raise concerns about an order, and cannot intentionally inflate or alter a restaurants pricing without its consent. Delivery services, however, may charge additional fees as long as theyre noted separately to the customer. Child care workers Child care workers who are 16 or 17 years old can be unsupervised. Care centers can operate with one worker for every seven 2-year-olds and one worker for every 10 3-year-olds. The new law was designed by Republican lawmakers to address child care worker shortages. Critics have said it does not go far enough and note it does not contain any provision to help address child care workers low wages or funding designed to entice the creation of more child care centers. School vaccinations Colleges, K-12 school districts and day care centers cannot require students and children to be immunized from COVID-19. Schools, by state law, require eight types of immunizations at age 5. COVID-19 will not be added to that list after the law passed the Legislature mostly on party-line votes, with Republicans supporting the proposal and Democrats opposing. Garbage searches Law enforcement officials will be able to search an individuals garbage placed at the curb without having to obtain a search warrant from the court. The new law states a person has no reasonable expectation of privacy for garbage placed outside the residence for collection in a publicly accessible area. Instead, it designates the garbage as abandoned property. The law was spurred by a 2021 Iowa Supreme Court decision in which a divided court banned police from searching peoples uncollected trash without a warrant. The case involved a Clear Lake man who successfully appealed a conviction and sentence for drug possession based on evidence obtained from a warrantless search of his trash. Supporters say it will make law enforcement investigations simpler and easier, and that the U.S. Supreme Court has held that warrantless garbage grabs do not violate the federal constitutional prohibition on unreasonable search and seizures. Pregnancy services The state budget includes $500,000 for nonprofit organizations that provide pregnancy support services and advocate against abortion. To receive funding under the new statewide program, organizations must have a primary mission of promoting healthy pregnancies and childbirth instead of abortion, according to the new law. Reynolds, in a statement, touted the program as a way to promote healthy pregnancies and meet the needs of new mothers in the wake of state and federal Supreme Court decisions paving the way for further abortion restrictions in the state. The new statewide program seeks to promote childbirth by providing information, counseling and support services that assist pregnant women or women who believe they may be pregnant to choose childbirth and to make informed decisions regarding the choice of adoption or parenting. ATVs on highways All-terrain and off-road utility vehicles can travel on more county and state highways, with few exceptions. ATVs and UTVs can now cross noninterstate two-lane highways statewide that serve as the most direct and accessible route between an ATV park or trail, a secondary road or city street on which such vehicles are authorized, and the operators home. The law requires users be at least 18 years old and mandates liability insurance coverage on the vehicles and a host of security requirements for the vehicles, including headlights and mirrors. Cities and counties could override the measure allowing for expanded operation on primary highways and secondary roads in cases of unsafe intersections. Mobile home tenants Landlords are required to provide an extra months notice of a rent increase or when canceling a lease for mobile home owners who rent their land. Advocates had sought stronger measures and said the new law does not go nearly far enough to add protections for mobile homeowners. Thus, they do little to address the recent proliferation of out-of-state companies that have purchased mobile home lots and parks, increasing rent and fees on tenants. The new law passed on mostly party-line votes, with Republicans supporting and Democrats largely opposing. The Iowa Attorney Generals Office had recommend the legislation include limits on how often a mobile home landowner can increase rent and fees, and require landowners to provide a legitimate reason for terminating a residency. None of those recommendations are in the new law. Suing nuisance bars Iowa cities can take bar owners to court to pull their liquor licenses for public safety concerns rather than relying on state regulators. City and county attorneys can now sue alcohol establishments for creating a serious threat to public safety and to seek a temporary injunction before trial, rather than relying on the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division to revoke a license. A serious threat to public safety would exist if an owner, employee or patron in or near an alcohol establishment would fire a gun, assault someone or participate in a riot in or near the alcohol establishment, including any parking lots or public rights of way adjacent to the licensed premises. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 DES MOINES Gov. Kim Reynolds is not planning to call a special legislative session to pass abortion restrictions, but she suggested she may consider it if her attempt to bring back enforcement of Iowas so-called fetal heartbeat bill fails in state courts. Reynolds, a Republican, on Tuesday announced plans to challenge a 2018 district court decision that halted enforcement of the bill, which would ban abortions after cardiac activity is detected in a fetus usually around six weeks. The announcement came after a U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed a federal right to an abortion, allowing states broad freedom to restrict abortion access. Shes also asking the Iowa Supreme Court to reconsider a recent ruling that overturned a previous ruling saying the state constitution guarantees the right to an abortion. While a win for Iowa Republicans, the ruling, which came before Fridays U.S. Supreme Court decision, still left room for courts to strike down some abortion restrictions under Planned Parenthood v. Caseys undue burden standard. Weve got two laws in place, and so were going to move forward with that and wait and see what the ruling is based on that, and then well reassess after that point, she said. Abortion is currently legal in Iowa until 20 weeks of pregnancy. Without a special session, the next time state lawmakers will meet in the Capitol is early January 2023. If Republicans keep a majority in the Legislature and Reynolds wins reelection, theyre expected to pass more laws restricting abortion. In a statement after the Supreme Court ruling on Friday, Reynolds said she would not rest until every unborn Iowan is protected and respected. She didnt indicate on Wednesday what her end goal is for abortion access in Iowa. We have the heartbeat bill on the books, and so lets lift the injunction and lets make that a law, she said on Wednesday. And so were going to start with that. On Friday, Republican Senate leader Jack Whitver, R-Ankeny, indicated Senate Republicans would seek abortion restrictions in response to the federal ruling. As a pro-life caucus, Senate Republicans have led on the protections of life and will continue to do so, he said in a statement. We look forward to continuing to advance the cause of the unborn. As for when the fetal heartbeat bills injunction may be lifted, Reynolds said the timeline is in the courts hands after she filed the request to review the cases. Legislative Democrats have decried Reynolds court challenges, saying Republicans are poised to roll back abortion access further. Iowa Republicans will not stop until they have completely banned abortions without exception, Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, said on Tuesday. This is an incredibly dangerous action that threatens the health, safety, and future of Iowa women. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 DES MOINES State regulators have scheduled another 13 public information meetings about a proposed carbon pipeline through Iowa. The meetings will be about the Navigator Heartland Greenway proposal, which calls for the company to build and operate a 1,300-mile pipeline across five Midwest states, including Iowa. Navigator announced earlier this month the pipeline no longer would go through Linn, Benton, Cedar, Poweshiek and Clinton counties as proposed last year. In eastern Iowa, the new route would go through Bremer, Fayette, Buchanan and Delaware counties. The scheduled of public meetings can be viewed on the Iowa Utilities Boards website at iub.iowa.gov. HEALTH CARE APPRENTICES: Eight Iowa school districts and education programs have received grants to introduce high school students to health care careers. Gov. Kim Reynolds said $2.5 million of federal pandemic relief funding will be distributed through Iowas Health Careers Registered Apprenticeship Program. The grants will introduce students to health care careers through virtual reality training and real-world experience with local nursing facilities and hospitals. The funding will support investment in virtual reality technology and training. According to the governors office, the grants will ultimately fund 450 apprentices in 22 school districts. One of the recipients is the Cedar Rapids-based Grant Wood Area Education Agency. The full list of recipients can be viewed at earnandlearniowa.gov/funding. SEXUAL ASSAULT TRAINING: Free training on sexual assault topics for Iowa medical providers is being offered by the Crime Victim Assistance Division of the Iowa Attorney Generals Office. The three-hour training, officials said, covers sexual assault laws in Iowa; sexual assault and trauma; sexual assault response teams; sexual assault nurse examiners; sexual assault exam and evidence collection; and the sexual assault evidence kit tracking system. Medical providers who take the course can be awarded three hours of continuing education credit. The course, also available to the public, can be accessed at the University of Iowas Continuing Medical Education website at medicine.uiowa.edu/cme. The Attorney Generals Office contact for the program is Sara Hulen at Sara.Hulen@ag.iowa.gov or (515) 281-5044. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In addition, 70 foreign vessels from 16 countries remain blocked in six Ukrainian ports (Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzhniy). The threat of shelling and high mine danger posed by official Kiev prevent vessels from entering the high seas unhindered. As a result of a series of measures taken by the Russian Navy, the Mariupol harbour continues being under mine clearance works, the port infrastructure is routinely under reconstruction. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have created the In addition, 70 foreign vessels from 16 countries remain blocked in six Ukrainian ports (Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzhniy). The threat of shelling and high mine danger posed by official Kiev prevent vessels from entering the high seas unhindered. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have created the necessary conditions for the operation of two maritime humanitarian corridors that constitute safe lanes for navigation: in the Black Sea (every day from 08:00 AM to 07:00 PM) to leave Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzhnyi ports towards south-west from Ukraines territorial sea, 139 miles long and 3 miles wide; in the Sea of Azov (uninterruptedly) to leave Mariupol port, 115 miles long and 2 miles wide, towards the Black Sea. Top News Today Russian Defence Ministry General of the Army Sergei Shoigu visits Central Military Clinical Hospital P. Mandryka to award servicemen distinguished during special military operation. 10th Mountain Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) suffered considerable losses during the offensive near the Lisichansk oil refinery. According to captured servicemen from this brigade, 108th Battalion has been completely defeated. Only 30 from 350 servicemen remain in this unit. High-precision attacks launched by Russian Aerospace Forces have resulted in the elimination of 4 command posts, including those of Kharkov-1 and Kharkov-2 Territorial Defence battalions near Kharkov, as well as a training base of mercenaries deployed near Nikolayev.The neutralised targets include: AFU manpower and military equipment in 32 areas, 1 AFU equipment reparation base near Lisichansk, 8 armament and munitions depots near Shevchenkovo (Kherson region), Spornoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic, Nikolayev and Ochakovo (Nikolayev region), as well as 1 fuel depot near Kulbakino (Nikolayev region). We continue to record the facts of criminal acts by the Kiev regime against the civilian population of Ukraine and the peoples republics of Donbas, as well as the use of civilian infrastructure by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and militants of Ukrainian nationalist groups for military purposes. In addition, 70 foreign vessels from 16 countries remain blocked in six Ukrainian ports (Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzhniy). The threat of shelling and high mine danger posed by official Kiev prevent vessels from entering the high seas unhindered. As a result of a series of measures taken by the Russian Navy, the Mariupol harbour continues being under mine clearance works, the port infrastructure is routinely under reconstruction. The Ministry of Defense continue to publish footage of Russian Armed Forces in combat action: Western MD army aviation Mi-35 multi-functional attack helicopter crews in combat action within special military operation; Krasukha-S4 electronic warfare system crew neutralises on-board radar of Ukrainian reconnaissance drone; of Western MD mechanised infantry unit in combat action within special military operation. This day, 381 tonnes of basic necessities, medicine and food are distributed in the Donetsk Peoples Republic, in Zaporozhye, Kharkov and Kherson regions. The Ministry of Defense published information of briefing dedicated to ARMY 2022 forum for Foreign military attaches attend in Patriot centre. #MoD #Russia #Ukraine #HumanitarianResponse #HumanitarianAid @mod_russia_en WtR Part 1 On June 30, as a goodwill gesture, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation finished fulfilling the assigned tasks in Snake Island and withdrew the garrison that had been operating there. The Russian Federation has demonstrated to the international society the absence of any obstacles for the efforts of UN to establish a humanitarian corridor for transporting agricultural products from Ukraine. This solution will prevent Kiev from speculating on an impending grocery crisis citing the inability to export grain due to total control of the northwestern part of the Black Sea by Russia. Now it is up to the Ukrainian side that is still not clearing the Black Sea coastline, including the harbour waters. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation in Ukraine. The enemy suffers considerable losses. On June 28, high-precision long-range sea-based weapons destroyed the command post of Khortitsa operational-strategic group near Dnepropetrovsk. Over the past 24 hours, high-precision attacks launched by Russian Aerospace Forces at the command post of 123rd Territorial Defence Brigade, the location of foreign mercenaries in Nikolayev, as well as the munitions depot of 79th Air Assault Brigade in Shevchenko (Nikolayev region) have resulted in the elimination of over 20 Ukrainian servicemen and over 80 foreign militants, 6 armoured and motor vehicles, over 1,000 artillery projectiles, 300 mortar projectiles and 100 MANPAD rounds. 2 provisional bases of 113th Territorial Defence Brigade with up to 140 accomodated servicemen have been destroyed in Kharkov. Neutralisation of the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) near Berestovoye and Avdeyevka (Donetsk Peoples Republic) has resulted in over 50% of mortal losses in the units of 14th Mechanised and 56th Mechanised Infantry brigades. These units have been withdrawn to the rear area for replenishing their combat capacities. Due to high losses and inadequate supply of 34th Battalion from 57th Mechanised Infantry Brigade, 13 servicemen, including officers, have abandoned their positions. #MoD #Russia #Ukraine @mod_russia_en Part 2 Russian Federation Armed Forces continue launching attacks at military facilities located in Ukraine. High-precision attacks launched by Russian Aerospace Forces have resulted in the elimination of 5 armament and munitions depots near Kharkov, Zelenodolsk (Dnepropetrovsk region), as well as near Seversk and Bakhmut (Donetsk Peoples Republic), AFU manpower and military equipment in 34 areas. Within the counter-battery warfare, high-precision attacks launched by Russian Aerospace Forces have resulted in the neutralisation of 2 Uragan and Grad MRLS plattoons near Svetlodarskoye and Avdeyevka, as well as 2 Giatsing-B artillery plattoons near Avdeyevka (Donetsk Peoples Republic). Operational-tactical and army aviation, missile troops and artillery have neutralised: 39 command posts, as well as manpower and military equipment in 218 areas. Operational-tactical aviation of Russian Aerospace Forces has shot down 2 Su-25 airplanes of Ukrainian Air Force near Shirokoye (Dnepropetrovsk region) and Arkhangelskoye (Kherson region), 1 Buk-M1 self-propelled air defence system at its firing position near Odessa and a radar of S-300 air defence system near Slavgorod (Dnepropetrovsk region). Russian air defence means have shot down 1 Su-27 airplane of Ukrainian Air Force near Sofiyevka (Donetsk Peoples Republic), as well as 9 Ukrainian UAVs near Berestovoye, Petrovenki (Donetsk Peoples Republic), Zhovtnevo, Bayrak, Getmanovka, Ivanchukovka, Peremoga (Kharkov region). 5 projectiles launched by a MRLS have been intercepted near Stakhanov (Lugansk Peoples Republic) and over Snake Island. In total, 224 airplanes and 134 helicopters, 1,400 unmanned aerial vehicles, 353 anti-aircraft missile systems, 3,859 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 698 combat vehicles equipped with multiple rocket-launching systems, 3,059 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 3,916 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation. Emergency statement by Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov Yesterday, on June 29, 144 servicemen were exchanged for 144. It had been organised and held according to the direct order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, as the lives, the health and the liberation of our servicemen, the fighters of the Donetsk and Lugansk peoples republics who constitute the majority of the returned individuals, are the most important task. Everything else is afterwards. Almost all of the liberated individuals are wounded or gravely wounded. They are already receiving all the medical care they need. The total number of captured or surrendered Ukrainian servicemen is more than 6,000 people. Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov #MoD #Russia #Ukraine @mod_russia_en WtR Around 80 homeowners met at the Johnson Lane Baptist Church in Minden today to discuss how the proposed opening of the painted rock mine could affect their neighborhood. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form CPC carries on mission to promote progress of humanity By Cao Desheng (China Daily) 08:17, June 30, 2022 A man takes photos of the decoration set up for the ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, July 3, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua] As some countries work to create division and confrontation in the world to maintain hegemony for their own interests, China, led by the Communist Party of China, is trying to steer the course of the giant ship of humanity toward peace and development. With promoting human progress being part of its founding mission, the century-old CPC is leading China in working with countries around the world to address the challenges today's world is facing by implementing the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, both proposed by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee. Friday marks the 101st anniversary of the founding of the CPC. As the world's largest ruling political party, the CPC has been growing as it pursues its mission to promote human progress while working to seek happiness for the Chinese people and realize national rejuvenation. By the end of 2021, the Party had around 96.71 million members, up over 3.43 million from the previous year, according to statistics released on Wednesday by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee. Wang Qiaorong, a researcher at the Institute of Contemporary China Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that over the past century, the CPC has been committed to upholding world peace and promoting common development. With a global vision, the CPC has paid great attention to human destiny over the past century, kept abreast of the trend of human development, adapted itself to changes in the international landscape and properly dealt with its relations with the rest of the world by coordinating the development of the domestic and international situations, Wang said. Pursuing peaceful development and promoting fairness, justice and win-win cooperation to advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind are underlying principles of the CPC's international strategy, Wang added. The CPC has made it clear that the strength of a powerful political party or a powerful country lies in its open mind, broad vision and great sense of responsibility, rather than its size and muscle. It also advocates that peace, cooperation, dialogue and openness, rather than war, hegemony, confrontation and seclusion, represent the correct and the only path to a better future for humanity. As the Party enters its next century with the mission of realizing national rejuvenation and building China into a modern socialist country, the world has once again arrived at a crossroads. Countries around the world face common challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine crisis, rising unilateralism and protectionism, slow economic recovery and setbacks in global development. "Where is the world headed: Peace or war? Progress or regression? Openness or isolation? Cooperation or confrontation? These are choices of the times that we are confronted with," Xi said when delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum on June 22. With the development of the international situation in mind, Xi proposed the Global Development Initiative at the United Nations General Assembly session in September. He called on all countries to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and establish a united, equal, balanced and inclusive global development partnership. As the Ukraine crisis loomed large, Xi proposed the Global Security Initiative in April, urging all countries to remain committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. Abhishek G. Bhaya, a journalist and international affairs commentator, said that in contrast to the US "Indo-Pacific" strategy that reeks of an archaic Cold War mentality, China's Global Security Initiative is for the public good as part of its long-stated vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind. It is clear that China is well-entrenched as a reliable economic and security partner in the Asia-Pacific region, while recent US policies are likely to foment trouble and security challenges in the region, Bhaya said. "Between the two competing visions for maintaining peace and security in the Asia-Pacific, the choice couldn't be more obvious." As development is getting increasingly marginalized on the international agenda amid the COVID-19 pandemic and regional conflicts, China hosted the High-level Dialogue on Global Development on Friday attended by leaders of 18 countries, which called on the international community to forge a stronger development partnership to expedite the achievement of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. While chairing the virtual dialogue meeting, Xi cited his experience as a farmer in a small village in Shaanxi province in the late 1960s and the dramatic changes experienced by the area's residents in the past decades, saying that only through continuous development can the people's desire for a better life and social stability be realized. China will take a series of concrete actions under the framework of the Global Development Initiative to support international development cooperation, including upgrading its South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund into the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, with an additional input of $1 billion on top of the existing $3 billion, according to the chairman's statement released after the meeting. Carlos Watson, representative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization to China, said that a closer look at the GDI indicates that it shares pillars similar to the SDGs as it focuses on the planet, people, prosperity, peace and partnerships. "The FAO welcomes the GDI because we are encouraging all member states to join hands on this final stretch of final sprint to reach our common goal." (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Photo taken on June 29, 2022 shows the Senate chamber in Zimbabwe's new parliament building on Mount Hampden Hill, Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe's new parliament building, constructed and fully funded by China as a gift to the southern African country, is now complete and ready for occupation. (Photo by Shaun Jusa/Xinhua) by Gretinah Machingura, Tafara Mugwara HARARE, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's new parliament building, constructed and fully funded by China as a gift to the southern African country, is now complete and ready for occupation. It took 42 months to complete the project, instead of the original 32-month timeframe due to COVID-19 disruptions. Construction began in November 2018. Sitting on the historical Mount Hampden Hill, about 18 km northwest of Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, the six-story building is a fine piece of magnificent architecture that fuses both Zimbabwean and Chinese characteristics. Shanghai Construction Group Company, the contractor, on Wednesday conducted a guided media tour of the building ahead of its official handover to the Zimbabwean government in the near future. SCG project manager Cai Libo said the completion of the project was a major milestone for the China-Zimbabwe friendship which continues to blossom. "There will be no doubt that the new parliament building will become a landmark building in Zimbabwe and even in the whole of southern Africa," Cai said. "The project commenced on Nov. 30, 2018, and was completed on May 27, 2022, and we spent 42 months completing this project. From 2020 we faced a lot of challenges due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. We were supposed to complete this project last year but we were delayed because of the COVID pandemic but now, we have come to the end and are waiting to hand over this building to the Zimbabwean government." The new parliament building was one of the most important projects in China-Africa cooperation, aimed at strengthening friendship and solidarity between the people of Zimbabwe and China while improving facilities in parliament for better service to Zimbabwean people, he said. "The project strongly supports democracy in Zimbabwe while boosting the country's image," Cai said. Completion of the new parliament building, which borrows heavily from the iconic Great Zimbabwe ruins, also heralds the start of a new capital city as the Zimbabwean government plans to put up off-site infrastructure such as residential areas, shopping centers and access roads to establish a self-contained new city to decongest the capital Harare. The government also plans to put up structures for two other arms of the state -- the executive and the judiciary in Mount Hampden. The imposing building has a combined floor space of 33,000 square meters, with two main sections -- a six-story office building and a four-story parliament building. The office building and parliament building are connected by three bridges on each floor. With the current parliament building having been built during the colonial era and now old and small to accommodate parliament business, the National Assembly at the new parliament building has more than enough space, with a capacity of 400 seats against the 270 House of Assembly members. The new Senate chamber has a capacity of 150 seats, against the current 80 Senate members. The new structure has extra facilities for conferencing, 15 committee rooms and adequate space for office staff and parking. The office building contains 600 rooms, including offices for VIP, Members of Parliament and parliament officials. In total, the building has the capacity to accommodate 1,000 people. Cai said skills sharing and transfer were one of the hallmarks of the project. "This building is a landmark building in Zimbabwe. This is a show of solid friendship between China and Zimbabwe. This is a gift from the Chinese government to the Zimbabwean government. It was funded by China Aid funds, it's a grant to Zimbabwe and not a loan so there is no payment to be made in the future. All Members of Parliament will use this building and parliamentarians serve the whole nation and therefore this is a gift to the whole nation," Cai said. A man walks past Zimbabwe's new parliament building on Mount Hampden Hill, Zimbabwe, on June 29, 2022. Zimbabwe's new parliament building, constructed and fully funded by China as a gift to the southern African country, is now complete and ready for occupation. (Photo by Shaun Jusa/Xinhua) En espanol Ada Bello, 88, has been at the forefront of the LGBTQ movement in the United States since the early 1960s. Born to a conservative Catholic middle-class family in Havana, Cuba, where she felt she could not openly live as a lesbian, Bello set her sights on moving north. She got a chemistry degree from Louisiana State University and, in 1962, headed to Philadelphia to work at the University of Pennsylvania. It was in Philadelphia that Bello would meet other women who, like herself, sought to live and love openly and equally. By 1967, Bello had helped launch the Philadelphia chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian rights organization in the United States. She was also participating in annual Fourth of July demonstrations in front of Philadelphias Independence Hall meant to underscore that LGBTQ rights are human rights protected by the U.S. Constitution. In addition to launching or supporting many other gay groups, Bello also helped organize From All Walks of Life, one of the first walkathon fundraisers for AIDS research. With the queer identity, of course, you find out that youre trans about, oh, 5 years old, usually. Your early growing up is torture youre trying to fit into a place where you dont fit in. And you start to believe theres no place for you. Especially trans kids, because thats a pretty minuscule minority. I think just being a queer kid is different. And you grow up differently, and your brothers treat you differently, because you have a different, I guess what you would call, style. My brothers were tough. But I will say this, having to fight my brothers really taught me how to fight. I really learned how to take care of myself on the street. I lived through those early years, just flopping around from school and being a disappointment to everybody, especially my teachers. My grades were really bad, but I did succeed in graduating high school. Eventually, I graduated L.A. City College and I went to Cal State. And then I went into the Army because the Vietnam War was going on. I came back from the war and I had to do something. So I went to law school I wanted to do what my dad did. I wanted to continue his legacy. He was a member of the NAACP. He was an ACLU lawyer. His ideal was to always do the most noble thing, and that was to work for the poor. I was a part of the anti-war movement because I was really guilt-ridden about what I had been a part of. I think I still am. So the anti-war movement was the first place I went to but the movement for racial and social justice was all around that. Eventually, I went to the public defenders office. I needed something to make me want to get up in the morning and needed a sense of purpose. And the work did that for me. Working for poor people in the criminal courts gave me a sense of purpose. I started going to therapy. I could finally afford therapy. The one thing I did learn being [male-to-female transgender] in therapy, was that it is really a very dangerous and risky journey. But once you realize there are other transgender people in the world, its an incredible incentive to stay alive. Just to be able to speak to another person and talk to them about the similarities and their experiences is incredibly cathartic relief. The decision to come out publicly [as trans] was made when I turned 60, and I realized I might die as a coward and a phony two things I hate in people. I hated myself even more because I was living in falsity and fear. There had never been a transgender trial lawyer anywhere, at least as far as I knew. Coming out transgender is more in-your-face than coming out as lesbian and gay, because youre going to look and groom yourself so much differently than before. When it happens in the trial courts, which are, by law, open to the public, then the transition is even more vividly public. Like most LGBT people, I had to consider and contemplate how I would be received by friends and family. But I also had to think about how my clients, colleagues, judges, juries and everyone else was going to react. I decided that I was willing to lose everything and everybody I had ever known in order to live my truth. It happened on my 60th birthday. I was playing music for a fundraising party for some progressive cause or other, when the people decided to surprise me with a birthday party. I had all these people trying to tell me what a great guy I was, and all I could feel was anger at myself for having deceived them all for so long. I decided then and there that I was coming out no more hiding, no more lies, no more fakery. I started coming out to people on that occasion. I was astonished at how people reacted. I wasnt prepared for the amount of love and support I received from my colleagues and friends. My family reacted very uncomfortably, but most of them are still trying to understand and accept me. TEHRAN, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the Islamic Republic and the EU will remain in contact as always over the next phase of the talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal as the two-day indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington ended in Doha. "As the talks on the removal of the sanctions continued, intense negotiations were held through the mediation of (EU coordinator) Enrique Mora in Doha," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani tweeted, adding that "Iran presented its views and proposals about the remaining issues and the other side voiced its concerns." After "two intense days of proximity talks in Doha," Mora wrote on Wednesday that the EU team have yet to achieve the progress they hoped for. "We will keep working with even greater urgency to bring back on track a key deal for non-proliferation and regional stability," he added. After a three-month pause, the resumption of the nuclear talks was announced on Saturday at a joint televised press conference held in Tehran by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and visiting EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with the world powers in July 2015, accepting to put some curbs on its nuclear program in return for the removal of the sanctions on Tehran. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed Washington's unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting Iran to reduce some of its nuclear commitments under the agreement in retaliation. The nuclear talks began in April 2021 in Vienna, but were suspended in March over political differences between Tehran and Washington. SPP Fully Underwritten and Operations Update Sydney, June 30, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Empire Energy Group Limited ( ASX:EEG ) ( OTCMKTS:EEGUF ) is pleased to announce that the Company's Share Purchase Plan ("SPP") to raise $2.5 million has been fully underwritten by Blue Ocean Equities Pty Limited.As previously advised, the SPP is scheduled to close at 5.00pm (AEST) on Tuesday, 12 July 2022, to give shareholders the opportunity to consider their investment in this period of market volatility.All other terms and conditions of the SPP (as set out in the Offer Booklet released to ASX on 14 June 2022) remain unchanged.Carpentaria-2H Fracture Stimulation UpdateWe are also pleased to advise shareholders that preparations for the commencement of the Carpentaria-2H ("C-2H") fracture stimulation are well advanced. Equipment and crew are being mobilised and multi-stage fracture stimulation is expected to commence in the first week of July.As C-2H is Empire's first horizontal well and will be only the fourth Velkerri Shale horizontal wellbore to be fracture stimulated and production tested in the Beetaloo Sub-basin, fracture stimulation and well completion practices are being refined. Continued refinement and development of Beetaloo Sub-basin specific drilling and fracture stimulation will benefit Empire's future horizontal wells.A period of flowback of hydraulic stimulation fluids is anticipated prior to gas production as each of the treated stages progressively cleans up.Toward the end of the C-2H production test and later in 2022, we will move on to drill the Carpentaria-4V well and drill and fracture stimulate the Carpentaria-3H well.Empire looks forward to updating shareholders on what is the most active work program in the Company's history.About Empire Energy Group Ltd Empire Energy (ASX:EEG) (OTCMKTS:EEGUF) holds over 14.5 million acres of highly prospective exploration tenements in the McArthur and Beetaloo Basins, Northern Territory. Work undertaken by the Company since 2010 demonstrates that the Eastern depositional Trough of the McArthur Basin, of which the Company holds 80% has very considerable conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon potential. The Beetaloo sub-Basin, in which Empire holds a substantial position, has independently assessed world class hydrocarbon volumes in place with a major ramp up in industry activity underway to appraise substantial discoveries already made by major Australian oil and gas operators. Empire Energy is an experienced conventional oil and gas producer with operations in the Appalachia region (New York and Pennsylvania). Empire has been successfully developing and producing oil and gas since 2006. When President Biden signed the most sweeping gun bill in decades on Saturday, he said lives will be saved. But will they? Really? Or is this another ceremony necessitated by politics and the urge to do something? We hope the former, but we fear the latter. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is supposed to toughen background checks for the youngest gun buyers; keep firearms from more domestic violence offenders; and help states put in place red-flag laws that make it easier for authorities to take weapons from people judged to be dangerous. Most of its $13 billion cost will help bolster mental health programs and aid schools. The federal legislation comes after decades of deadly mass shootings that have sparked reassessments of the role of the Second Amendment in 21st-century America. There was some promising bipartisanship in passage of the legislation. Fifteen Republican senators voted in support of the final bill. Our own U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a Democrat, deserves credit for helping hammer out the bipartisan compromise after weeks of closed-door talks. Still, all 34 nay votes in the 65-34 Senate roll call were cast by Republicans. In the House, the only Republican in N.M.s congressional delegation, Yvette Herrell of Alamogordo, voted against the measure. The president called the legislation a historic achievement. But beyond getting something passed, is it? The act expands background checks for prospective gun buyers aged between 18 and 21, but does not require them for all firearm transactions. It also does not impose longer waiting periods for most purchases so authorities have sufficient time to conduct background checks. It does close the so-called boyfriend loophole. Federal law already prevents people convicted of domestic abuse from owning a gun, but it applied only to people who are married to, living with, or have a child with, the victim. Yet, as any law enforcement officer or prosecutor will tell you, folks with a criminal record dont buy their guns from reputable establishments and, by the time they know an abuser has a gun, its too often too late. It provides incentives for states to create red-flag laws, but does not establish a federal one. New Mexicos Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order Act a red-flag law has been used only rarely since approval in 2020. The law that allows firearms to be temporarily taken away from those deemed a danger to themselves or others has resulted in just nine petitions in two years, only five of which resulted in one-year orders being approved. Thats hardly a dent since its passage, when many New Mexico sheriffs vowed not to enforce it. It gives states more funding for school safety and mental health resources, but how will that money be used in a data-driven, results-oriented manner? We do not need more government spending to little effect. And it does not address the role assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines have played in mass shootings, nor even raise the age to 21 to possess one. You cant buy alcohol, but an AR-15? Sure! And forget any requirements on responsible gun storage. The U.S. is the most heavily armed civilian population in the world by far with more than 393 million weapons in a country of fewer than 333 million people. Guns are a part of our culture, especially Western culture, and the right to keep and bear arms is woven into our state and federal constitutions. The challenge in reconciling that with unacceptable gun violence (Albuquerque is on another record-setting pace for homicides, at more than 60 so far this year after a record-setting 117 homicides within city limits last year) is why we get press conferences with politicians claiming they did something, no matter how ineffectual that something may be. We hope our lawmakers prove us wrong and can soon list numerous cases in which the act saved lives and kept guns out of the wrong hands, while finally addressing the underlying mental health issues that lead to gun violence. But we arent betting on it. This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers. An effort by two former top officials at the state Children, Youth and Families Department to award a no-bid multi-million dollar contract to a California firm didnt violate state law, in part because they didnt get a financial benefit in return, a state Ethics Commission hearing officer has concluded. The hearing officer made the finding in dismissing a complaint alleging wrongdoing by former CYFD Cabinet Secretary Brian Blalock and his deputy Terry Locke, who were accused of improperly steering work on a new $45 million CYFD child welfare information system to Binti Inc., based in Oakland, California. The ethics complaint was filed by Debra and Cliff Gilmore, two former top CYFD officials who were fired by Blalock in May 2021 after they say they raised concerns about the lack of a competitive process and questioned Blalocks ties to Binti. The investigation into the ethics complaint showed that Binti was among a group of tech companies Blalock had solicited help from in his prior job at a nonprofit in San Francisco. But commission hearing officer Alan Torgerson wrote that, There is no evidence to support the allegation that Blalock abused his office by advocating for Binti. In his capacity as Cabinet Secretary, Blalock had discretion to make choices. Binti initially supplied foster parent licensing and placement modules for CYFD, but was on tap to be awarded a $4.5 million contract to provide additional software licenses and services. That plan fizzled when Blalock resigned last August and the new CYFD administration opted to seek competitive bids for the project. The revamped procurement proposal has been awaiting approval at the federal level. Locke resigned last December. The Gilmores, who were recruited from Washington state to work for CYFD in late 2020, have filed a whistleblower protection lawsuit against CYFD alleging they were retaliated against for questioning the hiring of Binti without a competitive bid, among other issues. Cliff Gilmore had worked as CYFD public information officer. Debra Gilmore was director of CYFDs new Office of Childrens Rights. CYFD has denied any wrongdoing or retaliation. While that lawsuit is still pending, the investigation by the Ethics Commissions general counsel found insufficient evidence to support the Gilmores allegations that Blalock and Locke violated the Governmental Conduct Act and the state Procurement Code in directing the IT work go to Binti. General Counsel Walker Boyd in April asked a hearing officer be appointed to dismiss the complaint. Neither Locke nor Blalock, who is listed as a senior staff attorney at the San Francisco-based Youth Law Center, could be reached for comment Wednesday. Cliff Gilmore, a retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who previously worked for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Journal in an email: From the moment they knew they had a multi-million dollar project and pre-selected a vendor, they were circumventing state and federal procurement law. The dismissal rationale is the equivalent of saying they didnt break the law because they had a drivers license when the issue is they stole the car. An independent state audit report concluded in April that Blalock, shortly after his appointment to head CYFD, overrode state purchasing controls in focusing on Binti for the modernization of its 22-year-old child welfare information system. The audit report noted that even though valid procurement vehicles were ultimately used to hire Binti, there appears to be influence needing further review by oversight agencies. Before Blalocks appointment, CYFD in 2018 sought requests for information for the project, which is required by the federal Administration for Children and Families. The state received responses from 35 companies, including Binti. But Blalock took the project in a different direction. The Gilmores alleged in their complaint that Blalock at one point told another CYFD official that he was friends with Bintis owner, Felicia Curcuru. In a response to an interrogatory filed in the ethics case, Blalock wrote that he thought he first met Curcuru in 2016 at a conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, when he was director of the youth law practice at Bay Area Legal Aid. He stated that he met her again when he was working at a nonprofit in San Francisco, and had asked tech companies for help in brainstorming tech solutions to youth homelessness. Several companies provided free brainstorming meetings with our team. Binti was one of them. Blalock stated that neither he nor his wife or any family member has or had a financial interest in Binti. Hearing officer Torgersons dismissal states that it is not a per se violation of the Government Conduct Act for public officers or employees to have a personal relationship with a vendor who stands to benefit from a potential contract. He added that whats missing in this case is a quid pro quo agreement. As to the procurement, Torgerson noted that Boyd identified 33 different circumstances where the state may purchase goods or services without resorting to a competitive process. CYFDs Chief Procurement Officer Lucy Vigil-Rendon told Boyd she initially refused to approve the contract with Binti, according to a summary of her interview. So, she stated, they went in and got creative with their purchasing. CYFD issued several small purchase contracts to Binti and contacted a different firm already on a government price agreement to add Bintis products to its pre-approved list. That permitted CYFD to choose Binti without going to competitive bid. Vigil-Rendon told Boyd she felt her guidance was being ignored by CYFD project officials, and she felt constant pressure to approve the unusual procurement. She was a probationary employee at the time, and said she was concerned that her employment would be terminated if she continued to oppose the procurement. Torgerson noted, however, that Vigil-Rendon didnt see anything illegal in the procurement and never felt retaliated against for raising her concerns. The Albuquerque Poet Laureate program has seen five powerhouse poets since the inaugural poet in 2012. Ten years later, the page has turned and a new chapter begins with Anna C. Martinez. On Wednesday, Martinez was named the sixth Albuquerque poet laureate during a ceremony at the Albuquerque Museum. Wow, I want to thank every single one of you thats here today supporting me, supporting poetry, Martinez said after being introduced as the new poet laureate. She will serve a two-year term in the position beginning July 1 and will lead a community outreach project during that time. Martinez was born in Espanola, and is a mother and grandmother. Aside from poetry, shes a civil rights attorney and also works with the Legislature. Martinez follows in the footsteps of Hakim Bellamy, Jessica Helen Lopez, Manuel Gonzalez, Michelle Otero and Mary Oishi a group she has learned to know well over the course of her journey in poetry. Albuquerque is one of many cities including Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Santa Fe with poets laureate. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have a state-level poet laureate. Martinez will get a $5,000-a-year stipend for the position. Shelle Sanchez, the citys Arts & Culture director, praised the way the Poet Laureate Program works in Albuquerque. Its a great example of how community and government can and should work together, Sanchez said. For the past 12 years and two different mayors administrations, the mayors have said, Yes, we embrace this program. We support this poet laureate that has been chosen completely by the community, outside of city government. And then, the city steps in, lifts up the poet, their work and gives them a contract to do their community project. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal MARQUEZ WILDLIFE AREA Theresa Pasqual is eager to get reacquainted with the land east of Mount Taylor where her ancestors hunted and held traditional ceremonies. The Acoma Pueblo Historic Preservation director said she feels that a state project that has opened 54,000 acres of land to the public will allow more people to connect to a very special place. To know the land deeply and intimately requires time and patience, Pasqual said. As pueblo people, we are people of the land. Pueblo leaders, state officials and conservation groups gathered at Laguna Pueblo on Wednesday to commemorate New Mexicos acquisition of the L Bar Ranch properties. The group also toured the land that is now part of the New Mexico Game and Fish Marquez Wildlife Management Area now the states largest. Leaders tout the project as a monumental conservation victory that opens vast swaths of undeveloped and ecologically important land to the public. At the commemoration event, Laguna Middle School drummers performed songs in the Keres language. Laguna Pueblo Gov. Martin Kowemy Jr. said the project is a result of the states consultation with tribes. Acoma and Zuni governors, along with All Pueblo Council of Governors Chairman Mark Mitchell, also attended the event. It is a time for celebration, Kowemy said. The Trust for Public Land helped negotiate the sale from private ownership to the state. Ranch real estate firm Chas S. Middleton and Son sold the two ranches for $34.1 million. State Game and Fish money from hunting and fishing licenses, and equipment sales helped fund the majority of the purchase. Grants and loans from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Trust for Public Land pushed the sale over the finish line. Blooming with fresh greenery from recent rain, the expanded wildlife area boasts a dramatic, remote landscape. High mesas and volcanic cones tower over narrow canyons. Valleys of trees and grassland stretch for miles. The rocky cliffs above the sweeping landscape offer clear views of both Mount Taylor and the Sandias. Elk herds roam the land year-round, along with black bear, mountain lion and migratory birds. New Mexico Rep. Nathan Small remembers hunting turkey as a child with his grandfather near Mount Taylor. The Las Cruces Democrat, vice chair of the House Appropriations committee, advocated for state money to fund the L Bar purchase. He referred to the project as a locked door that has now forever been opened for outdoor recreation and tribes. Game and Fish is surveying the propertys wildlife, habitat and cultural sites. The inventory will help the agency craft a management plan for public access. As private land, the ranches were used for hunting and cattle grazing. Now, they will be open for such activities as hunting and hiking. The project gives equitable outdoor opportunities to communities that have had limited access for generations, said Jesse Deubel, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation. We now have access to this place to carry on traditions that have existed in New Mexico forever, he said. The newly public area connects to the Cibola National Forest and Laguna Pueblo, and borders a portion of the Continental Divide Trail. Game and Fish does not yet know when the full plan will be finalized. But wildlife management division chief Stewart Liley said the expanded state property could be open for hunting as soon as the fall of 2023. The Marquez has summer and winter ranges for the Mount Taylor elk herd. The state agency wants to restore the areas mosaic grassland habitat and boost elk numbers. One of the big things the department wants to work on, too, is restoration of the pronghorn population, Liley said. The ranches have water wells and drinking troughs used for cattle, and Game and Fish will likely adapt that water infrastructure for wildlife. Fencing on the propertys interior will be removed to promote unfragmented habitat. Our goal is how do we build in access that is compatible with ensuring we have healthy wildlife populations? Liley said. Game and Fish is hiring a full-time manager who will live at the site northwest of Albuquerque. About half the ranchland is within the Mount Taylor Traditional Cultural Property, and the area has significance for dozens of tribes and pueblos. The Trust for Public Land has secured the L Bar Ranch Property with help from the State of New Mexico, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, the local community and other partners. (Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico/Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal) A ranch house sits atop a cliff at the Marquez Wildlife Management Area, which recently expanded by 54,000 acres with the state purchase of the L Bar Ranch properties. (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal) The Laguna Youth Drummers and Laguna Pueblo council member John Herrera perform for guests during an event celebrating New Mexico's purchase of 54,000 acres of ranchland east of Mount Taylor. (Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico/Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal) Prev 1 of 3 Next Its really important to identify all the shrines and sites that are out here, Kowemy said. U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich is seeking federal funding for an ethnographic study of the new state land. The New Mexico Democrat knows the landscape well from his work as a hunting guide. He applauded conservation groups for accomplishing a project that many federal policymakers said couldnt be done. The land acquisition was more than a year in the making a relatively short time for a property that sprawls across three counties. If you look at the public land around Mount Taylor, this was kind of a hole in that, but now it really ties habitat together, from low-elevation winter and (elk) calving habitat all the way to the high elevation that sits on top of the mesa, Heinrich said during the property tour. It really completes a puzzle. Heinrich said the state is on the forefront of diverse public land projects that include tribal voices and traditional knowledge. It sort of sets a die for other communities around the country who are trying to figure this stuff out, he said. The L Bar project fits well into New Mexicos goals to conserve 30% of all lands by 2030. The states 3030 plan aims to preserve natural resources threatened by a changing climate. More land in public hands is also important for the states growing outdoor recreation economy, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said at the event. She added that tribal governments and local communities have valuable expertise in how to manage local natural resources. Its going to be the only project in the country that has this kind of partnership, and this kind of clear respect aimed at our sovereign nations, Lujan Grisham said. And they are absolute partners in making sure New Mexico continues to hold its heritage and protect these lands for future generations, and to do that forever. HAIKOU, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Chaba, the third typhoon of the year, is heading toward the island province of Hainan in southern China, according to the provincial meteorological authorities. The typhoon, which formed over the central and eastern areas of the South China Sea at 8 a.m. Thursday, was observed on waters 300 km southeast of Yongxing Island in Hainan's Sansha City, packing winds up to 65 km per hour. Meteorological authorities forecast that Chaba will move northward at a speed of 10 to 15 km per hour, with slowly increased intensity. It is expected to approach the coastal areas in Hainan and Guangdong provinces this weekend. Some areas in Hainan, Guangdong and Fujian provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region will see heavy rainfalls and severe convective weather such as thunderstorms and strong winds. Chaba will likely land in the western parts of Guangdong on July 3. Meteorologists have alerted relevant areas to take preventive measures and ensure fruit and vegetable supplies. The emergency management department of Hainan has warned that ferry services in the Qiongzhou Strait might be suspended due to the typhoon. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE State Rep. Georgene Louis has entered a no-contest plea to a charge of drunken driving and been ordered to complete 24 hours of community service. Louis, a Democrat who represents part of Albuquerques West Side, was arrested by Santa Fe police in the final days of a legislative session earlier this year and charged with aggravated drunken driving. Her plea deal is for DWI, not aggravated DWI, and other charges were dropped, too, after she provided proof of insurance and registration. All defendants with similar charges receive a similar offer, Santa Fe city spokesman David Herndon said. Court documents say Louis also must comply with drug and alcohol screening, attend an education program on DWI laws, and install an ignition interlock device in her vehicle. Louis is not seeking reelection this year. Following her arrest, she also agreed to pay $250 to the State Ethics Commission as part of a settlement. The commission had concluded Louis violated the state Governmental Conduct Act by seeking favorable treatment from officers during her arrest, when she mentioned her legislative office and displayed her legislative license plate. Two breathalyzer tests conducted on Louis, who later issued a statement taking responsibility for the incident, revealed a 0.17% blood alcohol content more than twice New Mexicos presumed level of intoxication, according to a criminal complaint. Under state law, aggravated drunken driving charges can be filed when a suspects blood alcohol content is 0.16% or higher, in cases where someone is injured or when an individual refuses to submit to testing. A no-contest plea means the defendant is not contesting the charge and the court treats it as a judgment of guilt for that proceeding only. Louis signed the plea in May. HONG KONG Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived Thursday in Hong Kong to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the British handover of a city that his rule has transformed from a global hub known for its political freedoms to one that is much more tightly controlled by the Communist Party. In a staged event carried live on Chinese TV, students and others lined the platform of a high-speed rail station and packed a red carpet to greet the leader making his first trip outside of mainland China in nearly 2 years a choice that underscored Hong Kongs ever-closer ties to the mainland. Waving small red Chinese and Hong Kong flags, the students chanted Welcome, welcome! Warm welcome! while city leader Carrie Lam greeted Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan. Under Xis leadership, China has reshaped Hong Kong, cracking down on protests, imposing a strict national security law used to silence dissent, introducing a more patriotic curriculum in schools, and revamping election laws to keep opposition politicians out of the citys Legislature. The changes have all but eliminated dissenting voices in a place once known for its vibrant political debate and have driven many to leave. In its view, Chinas ruling Communist Party has restored stability to a city that was wracked with pro-democracy protests in 2019. For many in the U.S., the U.K. and other democratic nations, Xi has undermined the freedoms and way of life that distinguished the city from mainland China and made it a international center for finance and trade. In an apparent reference to the 2019 protests, Xi told well-wishers on his arrival that Hong Kong has overcome many challenges over the years and had been reborn from the ashes with vigorous vitality. Later after meeting with Lam, he praised her for ending what he said was chaos that had gripped the city and for ensuring that only patriots would rule Hong Kong. As long as we stick to the one country, two systems framework, Hong Kong will certainly have a brighter future and will make new and bigger contributions to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people, he said in a speech at the Hong Kong West Kowloon train station. Since Britain returned the territory to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997, Hong Kong has been a special administrative region that, like nearby Macao, is governed separately from the rest of China. But Xi has steadily eroded that distinction, and critics say, undermined the policy of maintaining two systems. On Friday, he will celebrate the anniversary of the handover and officiate at the swearing in of John Lee, who will succeed Lam as city leader. It is Xis first time outside of mainland China since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and Beijing imposed a zero-COVID policy that includes severe restrictions on travel. Its also his first visit to Hong Kong since the massive protests that grew to include calls for broader democratic freedoms but only appeared to harden Beijings resolve to limit civil liberties in the territory. Local media reported that Xi and Peng planned to spend Thursday night in the Chinese city of Shenzhen 15 minutes away from Hong Kong by high-speed train and return to the city on Friday. Its not clear why thats the case but could reflect concerns about COVID-19 or security. The combination of Chinas COVID-19 policies and its crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong have dramatically changed the city in the past two years. Beijing has used the national security law to arrest over 150 pro-democracy activists and supporters. National security police have targeted the citys most outspoken pro-democracy media in Hong Kong, with raids that forced several outlets to shut down, including the citys last pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily. The changes to election laws reduced the number of lawmakers who are directly voted in, and a new committee now vets the applications of those planning to run for office, to ensure they are patriots loyal to Beijing. Many say that has turned the Legislature into a body that merely provides a rubber stamp for Beijings policies. Meanwhile, tough COVID-19 quarantine restrictions for incoming travelers have led to what observers call brain drain as tens of thousands left for cities like Singapore and Dubai that have resumed quarantine-free travel. As part of his carefully choreographed visit, Xi met Thursday with some 160 people from various sectors of Hong Kong, including businessmen, religious leaders and politicians. He then visited the Hong Kong Science Park to inspect Hong Kongs development of innovation and technology, according to a government statement. Earlier this week, thousands of guests for the July 1 events including top officials, lawmakers and diplomats checked in to quarantine hotels and have taken daily tests as part of coronavirus precautions. Police have also ramped up security, designating security zones and road closures as well as a no-fly zone for Friday. More than 10 journalists from local and international media outlets had their applications to cover the July 1 events rejected this week on security grounds. ___ Associated Press news assistant Caroline Chen in Beijing contributed to this report. SLOVIANSK, Ukraine Russian forces withdrew from a strategic Black Sea island Thursday, potentially easing the threat to the vital Ukrainian port city of Odesa, but kept up their push to encircle the last stronghold of resistance in the eastern province of Luhansk. The Kremlin portrayed the pullout from Snake Island as a goodwill gesture. But Ukraines military claimed it forced the Russians to flee in two small speedboats following a barrage of Ukrainian artillery and missile strikes. The exact number of troops was not disclosed. Unable to withstand the impact of our artillery, missile and aviation units, the Russian occupiers have left Snake Island. The Odesa region is completely liberated, the Ukrainian military said in its regular social media update Thursday evening. A senior Ukrainian military official, Oleksiy Gromov, earlier said Kyiv was planning to deploy troops to Snake Island, but did not specify a timeline. At the moment, we control (the island) with the help of our weapons: long-range artillery, rocket units and aviation, Gromov said. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the withdrawal was intended to demonstrate that Moscow isnt hampering U.N. efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor for exporting agricultural products from Ukraine. Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of blockading Ukrainian ports to prevent exports of grain, contributing to a global food crisis. Russia has denied that and said Ukraine needs to remove mines from the Black Sea to allow safe navigation. Turkey has sought to broker a deal to unblock grain exports. But the talks have dragged on, with Kyiv expressing fear that Russia will exploit the removal of the mines to attack Odesa. Snake Island sits along a busy shipping lane. Russia took control of it in the opening days of the war in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that although the pullout did not guarantee the Black Sea regions safety, it would significantly limit Russian activities there. Step by step, we will push (Russia) out of our sea, our land, our sky, he said in his nightly address. It was unclear if the evacuation of Snake Island meant a change in Moscows designs on Ukraines biggest port, which is crucial for shipping grain to Africa, the Middle East and other parts of the world. Its also the headquarters of the countrys navy. The island shrouded in myth since ancient times early on took on legendary significance for Ukraines resistance to the Russian invasion, when Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back, Go (expletive) yourself. Ukraine has celebrated the story with patriotic fervor, issuing a postage stamp in commemoration. The islands Ukrainian defenders were captured by the Russians but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange. After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there and its air defenses. At a NATO summit in Madrid, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson billed the Russian pullout as a sign that Ukraine will prevail in the war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the end it will prove impossible for Putin to hold down a country that will not accept occupation, Johnson said. Meanwhile, Moscow kept up its push to take control of the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. It is focused on the city of Lysychansk, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in Luhansk province. Russian troops and their separatist allies control 95% of Luhansk and about half of Donetsk, the two provinces that make up the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas. Ukraine said the Russians were shelling Lysychansk and clashing with Ukrainian defenders around an oil refinery on its edges. The Ukrainian military said Thursday evening that Russia had seen partial success that day around the plant, some 17 kilometers south-west of the city. They made no reference to claims that attacking forces had been able to cross the strategic Siverskiy Donets river and enter the city from the north. Zelenskyy said in his nightly address that the situation in the Donbas remained the toughest and extremely difficult. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian reconnaissance units trying to enter Lysychansk on Wednesday were repelled. He said the Russians were trying to block a highway used to deliver supplies, and fully encircle the city. The Russians have thrown practically all their forces to seize the city, Haidai said, but denied that Lysychansk had been encircled. Nevertheless, Haidai noted that as of Thursday evening, evacuations from the city were impossible due to heavy shelling and mined access roads. Earlier, the Ukrainian military said it was not planning a retreat from Lysychansk. A representative of Russia-backed separatists in Luhansk claimed that pro-Russian forces entered Lysychansk Thursday, after a perilous river crossing which, if true, would be a significant development. Military analysts previously told the AP that Russian forces had little chance of crossing the river without major losses due to the defenders elevated positions. It was impossible to immediately verify the accuracy of the statements by Andrey Marochko, who heads the armed forces of the self-proclaimed, unrecognized separatist territory, to Russias Interfax agency. There was no official confirmation from Moscow or Kyiv. In other developments: Ukraines president hailed the launch Thursday of Ukrainian electricity exports to E.U. member state Romania, which Zelenskyy called only the first stage of a process that may see a significant part of the Russian gas consumed by Europeans replaced by Ukrainian energy. U.S. President Joe Biden said his administration will send an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, including rockets and advanced air defense systems. In his nightly address, Zelenskyy thanked Biden for the move, saying that the equipment soon will go to the frontline to work for Ukraine, to defend freedom. Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who held talks with Putin on Thursday a day after visiting Ukraine, said he handed the Russian leader a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He did not elaborate. A senior Russian official warned that Moscow could consider Western sanctions as a cause for war. Under certain circumstances, such hostile measures could be perceived even as a casus belli, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy secretary of Russias Security Council, said in a speech at a legal forum. Speaking on a visit to Turkmenistan on Thursday, Putin said his goals in Ukraine havent changed since the start of the war. He said they were the liberation of the Donbas, the protection of these people and the creation of conditions that would guarantee the security of Russia itself. He made no mention of his original stated goals to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine. As you can see, the troops are moving and reaching the marks that were set for them for a certain stage of this combat work. Everything is going according to plan, Putin said. Funerals were scheduled Thursday for some of the 18 people confirmed killed in a Russian airstrike Monday on a busy shopping mall in the central city of Kremenchuk. Crews searched the rubble for 20 still missing. Sweden announced plans to send more military aid to Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons and mine-clearing equipment. Sweden was invited this week to join NATO, a process that could take months. Iranian state media said Thursday Iran has proposed expanding financial exchanges with Russia and cooperating in the energy field. Both countries are under heavy Western sanctions. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Putin met on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine. WARSAW, Poland A year after migrants started crossing into the European Union from Belarus to Poland, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and top security officials visited the border area on Thursday to mark the completion of a new steel wall. On Friday, Polish authorities will also lift a state of emergency along the border that has blocked journalists, rights workers and others from witnessing a human rights crisis. At the very least, 20 migrants have died in the areas freezing forests and bogs. The Polish government characterizes the wall as part of the fight against Russia; human rights defenders see it as representing a huge double standard, with groups of white Christian refugees from Ukraine made up mostly of women welcomed but predominantly male Muslims from Syria and other countries rejected and mistreated. The first sign of the war in Ukraine was (Belarus President) Alexander Lukashenkos attack on the Polish border with Belarus, Morawiecki told a news conference. It was thanks to (our) political foresight and the anticipation of what may happen that we may focus now on helping Ukraine, which is fighting to protect its sovereignty, Morawiecki said. As Poland opened its gates to millions of Ukrainians fleeing Russias invasion, work was well underway to build the 5.5-meter (18-foot) high wall along 186 kilometers (115 miles) of its northern frontier with Belarus. It still needs electronic surveillance systems to be installed. Its meant to keep out asylum seekers of a different type: those fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa, who were encouraged to try their luck by Belarus authoritarian regime a close ally of Russia as part of a feud with the EU. One of the asylum-seekers was 32-year-old Ali, who left Syria late last year after reading on social media that the easiest way into the EU was to fly to Belarus and walk into Poland. Ali, from a village outside Hama in western Syria, flew to the Belarusian capital, Minsk, and set out to find an unguarded spot in the forest where he could sneak over into the EU. I was looking for a place where I can live in safety, away from the oppression and hopelessness back home, he said in an interview this week with The Associated Press in Berlin. Ali, who didnt give his last name, fearing repercussions for his family, was not prepared for the violence and sub-zero temperatures that awaited him in the vast forests and swamps. There were nights when I went to sleep on the bare ground in the woods thinking I would not wake up again, Ali said. If you give a lift to a refugee at the Ukrainian border you are a hero. If you do it at the Belarus border you are a smuggler and could end up in jail for eight years, said Natalia Gebert, founder and CEO of Dom Otwarty, or Open House, a Polish NGO that helps refugees. Belarus had never before been a key migration route into the EU until its President Alexander Lukashenko began encouraging would-be asylum-seekers in the Middle East to travel to Minsk. Soon, people from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and African countries flocked to the EUs eastern edge, entering Poland and neighboring Lithuania and Latvia. EU leaders accused Lukashenko of waging hybrid warfare in revenge for the blocs sanctions over the regimes treatment of dissidents. Polands government says Russia is complicit, given Lukashenkos alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Though migration slowed in the winter, people continued to try to enter the EU through Poland, a route seen as less dangerous than crossing the Mediterranean Sea, where many have drowned in past years, Gebert said. Ali, whose small makeup business in Syria was destroyed when Sunni extremists learned he belonged to the Alawite religious minority, says he got pushed back six times by Polish border guards. But Belarusian guards beat him, stole his money and forced him to take off all his clothes in the middle of the winter. He wanted to give up and return to Minsk, but the guards wouldnt let him. They made him and others lie on the cold ground, screamed at them, approached closely with a snarling dog and kicked Ali repeatedly in the chest. Polish border patrol officers broke his phones SIM card, he said. He went without water and food for days, lost in the swamps. A Human Rights Watch report this month said Poland unlawfully, and sometimes violently, summarily pushes migrants and asylum-seekers back to Belarus, where they face serious abuses, including beatings and rape by border guards and other security forces. Amnesty International has also detailed serious human rights abuses. While some Poles support the governments tough stance, many border region residents have throughout the winter and spring sought to help migrants trapped in the forest, several requiring medical help. A play that premiered in Warsaw this week, Responsibility, asks how Poland can accept millions of Ukrainians while withholding help to thousands of others. One character asks: Why does the Polish state demand that a child from Aleppo sits in a bog in sub-zero temperatures and withhold the aid it gives the child from Mariupol? Ali spent 16 days in the forests, before he and others used pliers to open a hole in a border fence. Some villagers gave him food and water, but soon he was apprehended by police and taken to a detention center. Over the next three months, he was moved through several closed camps. Guards carried batons and stun guns, he said, and every time before they moved him to a different camp they made him and other detainees strip naked in public. Nobody addressed him by his name, but by an identification number. In March, he was handed his papers and taken to the Debak center for foreigners in Otrebusy southwest of Warsaw, where he was told: Go away, go to Germany. Ali arrived in Berlin in April and applied for asylum. Rights activists and psychologists have documented his account and also those of other asylum-seekers who say they suffered abuse by both Belarusian and Polish border guards. I feel better here. People call me by my name again, Ali said. But Im worried all the time that the Germans will send me back to Poland. ___ Grieshaber reported from Berlin. ___ Follow APs migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration NEW YORK Shares of Spirit Airlines rose Thursday after it postponed a vote for the second time on a proposed merger with Frontier Airlines, allowing for a bidding war over the budget airline between Frontier and JetBlue Airways to play out. The delay, announced hours before the scheduled vote, indicated that Spirit lacked support to approve the Frontier merger. JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes said Spirit shareholders gave their board a mandate to negotiate a sale to his airline. But JetBlue investors seemed underwhelmed by the prospect of the New York-based carrier buying Spirit. They sent shares of JetBlue down 6.6% on Thursday. Spirit rose 6.4%, while Frontier dipped 1.5%. Florida-based Spirit said the vote on a proposed tie-up with Frontier would be postponed until July 8. Leaders of all three airlines have been making their pitch to major Spirit shareholders for support in a vote that could reshape the market for travelers looking for the cheapest possible fare. Spirits board has stood by a February agreement with Frontier despite pressure from JetBlue. The vote on the Frontier deal was originally scheduled for June 10, but was postponed nearly three weeks in what analysts took as a sign that Spirit lacked support for the merger in the face of an all-cash offer from JetBlue. Both sides have sweetened their offers since early June. At current stock prices, the Frontier bid is worth about $22 per share, or $2.4 billion, while JetBlues hostile takeover bid is $33.50 per share, or $3.6 billion. Spirit and Frontier argue that antitrust regulators will prefer their combination of two similar budget airlines and wont let a bigger carrier like JetBlue buy Spirit. JetBlue says it can win government approval, and it has offered to divest some Spirit assets. Either deal would create the fifth-largest U.S. airline and a more powerful competitor to giants American, United, Delta and Southwest. MADRID An unstable world could get even more dangerous if NATO does not remain strong and united, the head of the alliance said Thursday at the end of a summit where Western leaders labeled Russia a direct threat to the security of their nations. During their three-day meeting in Madrid, NATO members confronted a geopolitical landscape marked by big-power competition and myriad threats, from cyberattacks to climate change. The leaders cast their sights around the world drawing a rebuke after accusing China of posing serious challenges to global stability. But Russias invasion of Ukraine dominated the summit. We live in a more dangerous world and we live in a more unpredictable world, and we live in a world where we have a hot war going on in Europe, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. At the same time, we also know that this can get worse. That is why the Western military alliance has a core responsibility to keep the war in Ukraine from spilling into other countries while making clear to Moscow that it would protect every inch of NATO territory, Stoltenberg said. That territory is set to grow. At the summit, NATO leaders formally invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance, after striking an agreement to end opposition from Turkey. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he could still block the Nordic countries membership, if the Nordic pair do not keep their promises. If the accession is approved by all 30 member nations, it will give NATO a new 800-mile (1,300 kilometer) border with Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned he would respond in kind if Sweden or Finland agreed to host NATO troops and military infrastructure. He said Russia would have to create the same threats for the territory from which threats against us are created. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said Putins threats were nothing new. Of course, we have to expect some kind of surprises from Putin, but I doubt that he is attacking Sweden or Finland directly, Kallas said. NATO leaders turned their gaze south for a final summit session Thursday focused on Africas Sahel region and the Middle East, where political instability aggravated by climate change and food insecurity sparked by the war in Ukraine is driving large numbers of migrants toward Europe. The U.S. and other Western nations also are seeking to counterbalance the growing influence of China and Russia in the developing world. Stoltenberg said Moscow and Beijing are using economic leverage, coercion and hybrid approaches to advance their interests in the region. The Beijing government called the alliance a Cold War remnant and accused it of maliciously attacking and smearing China by including it on NATOs list of global challenges. But Stoltenberg said it was Russias invasion of Ukraine that had brought the biggest overhaul of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War. In response, NATO has poured troops and weapons into Eastern Europe on a scale unseen in decades. The NATO leaders agreed at the Madrid summit to dramatically scale up military force along the alliances eastern flank, where countries from Romania to the Baltic states worry about Russias future plans. NATO announced plans to increase almost eightfold the size of the alliances rapid reaction force, from 40,000 to 300,000 troops, by next year though details of specific troop commitments remained vague. Most of the troops would be based in their home nations but dedicated to specific countries in the east, where the alliance plans to build up stocks of equipment and ammunition. Member nations have given Ukraine billions in military and civilian aid to strengthen its resistance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who addressed the summit by video link, asked for more. He urged NATO to send modern artillery systems and other weapons or face a delayed war between Russia and yourself. The question is, whos next? Moldova? Or the Baltics? Or Poland? The answer is: all of them, he said. U.S. President Joe Biden, whose country provides the bulk of NATOs firepower, announced a hefty boost in Americas military presence in Europe, including a permanent U.S. base in Poland, two more Navy destroyers based in Spain, and two more F35 squadrons in the U.K. Before the war started, I told Putin that if he invaded Ukraine, NATO would not only get stronger, but would get more united, Biden told reporters. And we would see democracies in the world stand up and oppose his aggression and defend the rules-based order. Thats exactly what were seeing today. Still, strains among NATO allies have emerged as the cost of energy and other essential goods has skyrocketed, partly because of the war and tough Western sanctions on Russia. There also are tensions over how the war will end and what, if any, concessions Ukraine should make. Money remains a sensitive issue just nine of NATOs 30 members currently meet the organizations target of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense. Britain, one of the nine, announced a further 1 billion pounds ($1.21 billion) in military support to Ukraine on Thursday. Prime MInister Boris Johnson said the U.K. it would increase military spending to 2.5% of GDP by the end of the decade. Host country Spain, one of the lowest spenders in the alliance, aims to hit the 2% target by 2029, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said. The summit also produced a new Strategic Concept, NATOs once-a-decade set of priorities and goals. The last such document, in 2010, called Russia a strategic partner. Now, NATO accuses Russia of using coercion, subversion, aggression and annexation to extend its reach. The 2010 document made no mention of China, but the new one flagged Beijings growing economic and military reach as a a challenge to NATOs members. NATO said that China strives to subvert the rules-based international order, including in the space, cyber and maritime domains and warned of its close ties with Moscow. China shot back that NATO was creating problems around the world. Since NATO positions China as a systemic challenge, we have to pay close attention and respond in a coordinated way. When it comes to acts that undermine Chinas interests, we will make firm and strong responses, a statement from Beijings mission to the European Union said. ___ Associated Press Writer Aritz Parra in Madrid contributed. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine. WASHINGTON Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in to the Supreme Court on Thursday, shattering a glass ceiling as the first Black woman on the nations highest court. The 51-year-old Jackson is the courts 116th justice, and she took the place of the justice she once worked for. Justice Stephen Breyers retirement was effective at noon. Moments later, joined by her family, Jackson recited the two oaths required of Supreme Court justices, one administered by Breyer and the other by Chief Justice John Roberts. With a full heart, I accept the solemn responsibility of supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States and administering justice without fear or favor, so help me God, Jackson said in a statement issued by the court. I am truly grateful to be part of the promise of our great Nation. I extend my sincerest thanks to all of my new colleagues for their warm and gracious welcome. Roberts welcomed Jackson to the court and our common calling. The ceremony was streamed live on the courts website. All the justices except for Neil Gorsuch attended the swearing-in, the court said. There was no immediate explanation for Gorsuchs absence. Jackson, a federal judge since 2013, is joining three other women Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett. Its the first time four women will serve together on the nine-member court. Her historic swearing in today represents a profound step forward for our nation, for all the young, Black girls who now see themselves reflected on our highest court, and for all of us as Americans, President Joe Biden said in a statement after he returned from a trip to Europe. He also thanked Breyer for his many years of exemplary service. Biden nominated Jackson in February, a month after Breyer, 83, announced he would retire at the end of the courts term, assuming his successor had been confirmed. Breyers earlier-than-usual announcement and the condition he attached was a recognition of the Democrats tenuous hold on the Senate in an era of hyper-partisanship, especially surrounding federal judgeships. The Senate confirmed Jacksons nomination in early April, by a 53-47 mostly party-line vote that included support from three Republicans. Jackson had been in a sort of judicial limbo since, remaining a judge on the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., but not hearing any cases. Biden elevated her to that court from the district judgeship to which she was appointed by President Barack Obama. Glynda Carr, president of Higher Heights for America, an organization that advocates for the growth of Black womens political power, said the timing of Jacksons swearing-in was bittersweet. Although we celebrate her today, one Black woman or a cohort of Black women cant save this democracy alone. We are a piece of it and we are doing our work, our part. Shes going to forever reshape and shape that court. But shes just a piece of the work that needs to happen moving forward, Carr said. Because of Jacksons appointment, Judith Browne Dianis, a Black lawyer in Washington, said she intends to end her protest against joining the Supreme Court Bar. She started it when Justice Clarence Thomas was confirmed in 1991. She said that even the series of conservative rulings from the court over the past week cannot take away from the significance of Thursdays ceremony. This is a momentous occasion and its still a beautiful moment, said Dianis, executive director of the civil rights group Advancement Project. But, Dianis added, shes joining the court at a time when conservatives are holding the line and trying to actually take us back, because they see the progress thats being made in our country. Its like the Civil War that never ended. Thats the court that shes joining. Jackson will be able to begin work immediately, but the court will have just finished the bulk of its work until the fall, apart from emergency appeals that occasionally arise. That will give her time to settle in and familiarize herself with the roughly two dozen cases the court already has agreed to hear starting in October as well as hundreds of appeals that will pile up over the summer. She helps form the most diverse court in its 232-year history and is the first former public defender to be a justice. The court that Jackson is joining is the most conservative that it has been since the 1930s. She is likely to be on the losing end of important cases, which could include examinations of the role of race in college admissions, congressional redistricting and voting rights that the court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, will take up next term. Todays court now is surrounded by fencing, and justices and their families have 24-hour protection by the U.S. Marshals, the result of a law passed days after a man carrying a gun, knife and zip ties was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaughs Maryland house after threatening to kill the justice. The bill was introduced in May shortly after the leak of a draft court opinion that would overrule Roe v. Wade and sharply curtail abortion rights in roughly half the states. The court issued final opinions earlier Thursday after a momentous and rancorous term that included overturning Roe v. Wades guarantee of the right to an abortion. One of Thursdays decisions limited how the Environmental Protection Agency can use the nations main anti-air pollution law to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, a blow to the fight against climate change. - Associated Press writer Aaron Morrison in New York contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday finalized rules that change how the federal agency manages the endangered Mexican wolf. The changes temporarily restrict who can relocate or lethally remove problem wolves or packs. Livestock owners and state game agencies can receive permits for removing wolves that attack livestock, elk or deer. Tracy Melbihess, Fish and Wildlifes Mexican wolf policy coordinator, said the agency will continue to issue those permits to ranchers on federal and non-federal lands, but only if the FWS has met its annual population targets. For example, in 2022 we have met our annual benchmark for nine released wolves surviving to breeding age, so we would continue to issue permits, Melbihess said. Every year those benchmarks increase by one to two wolves. The permit limits will expire when the agency reaches its new goal of 22 captive wolves surviving to breeding age in the wild by 2030. FWS Southwest Region Director Amy Lueders said the agency wants to consider more non-lethal ways to resolve conflicts between ranchers and wolves. In 2021, there were 79 confirmed livestock kills by New Mexico wolves. Fish and Wildlife will also remove a population limit that capped the number of wild wolves in New Mexico and Arizona at 325. We are focused on growth of the population and improving its genetics, Lueders said. There are at least 196 Mexican wolves in the wild south of Interstate 40 in the two states. The agency will now release more wolf pups from captivity into the wild. Melbihess said more wolves placed into wild dens will improve gene diversity and reduce the threat of inbreeding. Michael Robinson, a Center for Biological Diversity advocate, said he is disappointed that the changes dont greenlight the release of adult wolves into the wild. The group has long called for a total ban on the lethal removal program and speaks out against ranchers having access to wolf radio collar data. Livestock owners insist that those options are necessary to manage the reintroduction of an apex predator in cattle country. Basically it translates to more dead wolves and wolves that will be unable to find genetically-suitable mates, Robinson said. New Mexico Game and Fish and the state Agriculture Department have signed on as partners in the recovery efforts, as have at least nine New Mexico counties. Recent wildfires such as the Black Fire in the Gila National Forest have burned through core wolf habitat in New Mexico. But our initial reports show that wolves in the fires path have survived, and we do not expect population declines as a result, Lueders said. CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico Mexicos president said Thursday that the killing of a reporter in the northern border state of Tamaulipas the 12th so far this year in Mexico may be linked to local politics. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said federal prosecutors have taken over the investigation of the killing of reporter Antonio de la Cruz as a crime against freedom of expression. De la Cruzs daughter was critically wounded in the attack Wednesday in the Tamaulipas state capital and was fighting for her life at a local hospital. On Thursday, one of the reporters colleagues said De la Cruz had been asked, apparently by state authorities, to remove some of his tweets. On Twitter, Antonio criticized the state government a lot and criticized the government, said fellow reporter Carlos Manuel Juarez. He even told me at one point that they had asked him to take down some critical tweets that he put up. Juarez described the fear that reporters in Tamaulipas feel after the killing. The state has long been dominated by drug cartels. It is very dangerous not to know where the attack came from, and our colleagues feel very exposed. We dont know if it is simply a political matter, Juarez said at the presidents morning press briefing. Lopez Obrador said the decision to take over the case (by federal prosecutors) was made because it became known that there had been criticism of local authorities. De la Cruz, 47, was a reporter for the local newspaper Expreso for almost three decades. The newspaper issued a print edition Thursday in black, with De la Cruzs photo and the word Justice! on the front page. This is clearly an attack on freedom of expression, said Expresos director, Miguel Dominguez. We live in a state where there has been a wave of violence for more than a decade, and that has also affected the press, Dominguez said. Unfortunately, we have had to become used to working in these conditions and take extra precuations, and consider carefully whether we are going to publish something or not. Almost all of Tamaulipas recent governors have faced accusations of corruption, ranging from money laundering to aiding drug cartels. De la Cruzs death brought to 12 the number of journalists killed this year in the country, the deadliest for the Mexican press and the deadliest for any country outside a war zone. De la Cruz was shot in a car in front of his house in Ciudad Victoria, the state capital, by a man on a motorcycle. His daughter was in the vehicle with him and was wounded. Expreso covers all kinds of news in the city, including security issues. De la Cruz reported on rural and social topics such as water shortages. He also covered the Citizens Movement political party and its local deputy, Gustavo Cardenas Gutierrez, who condemned the killing. Expreso has been targeted over the years. In 2012, one of the worst years of drug cartel violence, a car bomb exploded in front of the newspapers building. In 2018, a cooler with a human head inside was left at the newspaper, with a warning not to report on violence in the city. Metro Phoenixs Maricopa County had among the biggest population growth in white, Black, American Indian and Hispanic residents last year, as well as the biggest increase overall of any U.S. county. Meanwhile, Riverside and San Bernardino counties in Californias Inland Empire also had some of the largest jumps in Hispanic and American Indian residents, according to population estimates released Thursday. Fort Bend County in metro Houston, Maricopa County and Tarrant County, home to Fort Worth, Texas, had the largest county-level growth in Black residents. Asian resident increases were largest in metro Dallas, Southern Californias Orange County and metro Seattles King County, according to 2021 estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Californias Riverside County; Lee County, Florida, home to Fort Myers; and Utah County, home to Provo, Utah; also had some of the largest growth in white residents last year. The biggest growth for Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders took place in metro Las Vegas Clark County and Californias Sacramento County. The bureau earlier this year released estimates showing where population growth and decline took place in the U.S. from July 1, 2020, to July 1, 2021, capturing the first full year of the coronavirus pandemic. The data released Thursday fill in the demographic details on these changes which saw growth in Sunbelt destinations at the expense of some of the nations biggest, most densely populated and costly metropolitan areas. Eight of the 10 largest cities in the U.S. lost population during the first year of the pandemic, with New York, Los Angeles and Chicago leading the way. The counties at the heart of those cities, Los Angeles, New York and Cook counties, also lost the most residents from mid-2020 to mid-2021, according to Thursdays estimates. The biggest decline in Black residents was in Kings County, New York, which has the same boundaries as Brooklyn. The biggest declines of white, Asian and Hispanic residents were in Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the U.S. with 9.8 million residents. The biggest American Indian declines were in Bronx County, New York, and Los Angeles County, while the biggest decline for Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders was in Honolulu. An analysis by the Census Bureau released Thursday said the reason for the declines in the central counties of large metro areas was due to the flight of young adults in their early 20s to mid-30s during the first year of the pandemic since they were able to work remotely in lower-cost areas with other quality of life improvements. These patterns indicate that although young working-age adults are leaving the central counties of these large metro areas, they are simply relocating to other areas in the country, said the analysis by Census Bureau demographer Catherine Doren. Maricopa Countys leading pace of growth last year extended its breakneck population gains, as Phoenix was the fastest-growing big city in the United States between 2010 and 2020, according to the 2020 census. The estimates released Thursday capture a time early in the pandemic and dont reflect changes since last summer. From mid-2020 to mid-2021, the U.S. grew by 392,665 residents, and the U.S. population now stands at 331.8 million residents. During that time, the white population declined by 79,836 people, the only race or ethnic group to do so, because of deaths outpacing births. It was even more pronounced for whites who arent Hispanic, with a 878,693-person dip. The Hispanic population grew by 767,907 people, with natural increase from births outpacing deaths being the main driver. The Black population increased by 326,893 people, the Asian population rose by 281,167 people, the American Indian population gained 74,291 people and the Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander population grew by almost 26,000 people, all primarily through natural increase. Immigration played a much smaller role than natural increase in U.S. population growth over the year, with almost 105,000 white immigrants, more than 89,500 Asian immigrants, more than 82,000 Hispanic immigrants and more than 53,000 Black immigrants. American Indians and Native Hawaiians each had less than 3,000 immigrants. Meanwhile, the median age in the U.S. reached 38.8, a gain of 0.3 years last year and a jump of 3.4 years in the past two decades. The baby boomers aging is what is causing that increase in median age, said Allison Plyer, chief demographer at The Data Center in New Orleans. ___ Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP. VIENTIANE, June 30 (Xinhua) -- General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith has called on state authorities to work with the Vientiane Logistics Park (VLP), set up at the Lao end of the China-Laos Railway, for the country to become a regional logistics hub. The leader made the suggestion on Wednesday during his visit to the park, the country's first-ever integrated logistics park on the outskirts of the Lao capital Vientiane. Thongloun called on relevant ministries to work with the park to facilitate its operation and formulate necessary legislation on logistics to better regulate the industry. Open for services since December 4, 2021, one day after the opening of the China-Laos Railway, the VLP and its dry port have provided cost-effective services for the shipment of products to regional markets and beyond, according to the local daily Vientiane Times. Since its inauguration, the park has recorded increasing shipments of freight between Thailand and China, thanks to facilitation offered by Laos-Thailand and China-Laos railways, which both connect to the park. It is estimated that about 5 million containers will be shifted through Laos each year until 2030, with 2 million containers a year to be moved through the park and railways. Based on this estimation, the park is projected to generate about 400 million U.S. dollars of direct revenue into the state budget. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal The Albuquerque Police Department hopes to more than double its unit devoted to helping solve violent crimes through online sleuthing. The three-person Digital Intelligence Team has approval to add four new digital forensic examiners. The team of civilians uses social media, phone data and more to help detectives solve crimes. Police Chief Harold Medina said it is now the equivalent of what used to be DNA fingerprinting. The three examiners Colette Bridgewater, Kara Mosley and Kate Rosoff all used to work in a similar unit at the 2nd Judicial District Attorneys Office and joined APD last July. At a news conference lauding the successes of the unit, Deputy Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock said the team was instrumental in the investigation into the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Trevonte Robbins last summer in Downtown. Four people have been charged in the case and police say the suspects had mistaken Robbins friend for someone else and shot at the pair, killing Robbins and injuring his friend. Hartsock said the case rested almost entirely on the digital evidence and little else had pointed to the suspects connection with the crime. Prior to the team, a lot of this work was left for the individual detectives, who had a wide array of training and background, and time and resources to really dive in and do this kind of work, he said. Here, at the Albuquerque Police Department, we now treat it just like the lab treats DNA, or shell casings or projectiles. It takes a near full-time specialist to go through these things and piece it together. In addition to being assigned cases as they come in, the team also looks through such social media apps as SnapChat and Facebook Messenger since thats where illicit drugs and guns are being traded. When we look at our murders that occur, we see a lot of these murders start right here, Hartsock said. They start with an advertisement for drugs, an advertisement for guns. The deal was set up to look much like a Craigslist deal that you would do to buy a car. But, instead, its for something illegal guns and aggressive intentions are involved and it turns into a shooting, which sometimes turns into a murder. Acknowledging that the department is short-staffed in terms of sworn officers, Chief Medina said funding for salaries has instead been put into civilian units. Its important that we have the leeway when were short officers to continue to make these quick decisions and get resources on board that are going to assist us in solving crime, as theyve done in the past year, Medina said. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE The attorneys who filed a last-ditch lawsuit on behalf of President Donald Trumps campaign in an attempt to stop New Mexicos 2020 election results from being finalized could face investigation and possible discipline, under a court petition filed Thursday with the state Supreme Court. The Supreme Court petition, filed on behalf of a group of six New Mexico attorneys, says a probe would also shed light on how New Mexico fit into a national Trump campaign scheme that has drawn scrutiny from a congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. That includes GOP electors certifying Trump as the winner of the 2020 election in some states including New Mexico that were actually won by Democrat Joe Biden. But the 31-page petition mostly focuses on whether the two attorneys who filed the December 2020 lawsuit in federal court in New Mexico on behalf of Trumps campaign should be disbarred or face other discipline. Those attorneys are Mark Caruso, an Albuquerque personal injury attorney, and Texas-based attorney Michael Smith. Purposeful evasion of exclusive provisions of New Mexicos election challenge and recount statutes and this Supreme Courts exclusive jurisdiction presents colorable grounds for an investigation into whether attorney discipline is needed, the petition says. The Supreme Court petition, which asks that a special counsel be appointed to lead the investigation and that all records be publicly released at the probes conclusion, was filed by John Wertheim, a lawyer and former state Democratic Party chairman. It was filed on behalf of a group of attorneys that includes former Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez. Previously, the New Mexico Supreme Courts Disciplinary Board declined a February 2021 request from some of the respondents to investigate the attorneys involved in the Trump campaign lawsuit. However, more details have surfaced since then, including a memo from former Vice President Mike Pences legal counsel Greg Jacob thats submitted as evidence in the new Supreme Court petition. In that memo, Jacob says Trump attorney John Eastman, a Santa Fe resident, proposed the vice president could delay reading the electoral certificates for fives states including New Mexico until legislators in those states could certify which of the competing slate of electors for each state was true and correct in their claims of victory. In all, New Mexico was one of seven states won by Biden in which designated GOP presidential electors convened to cast votes for Trump after the 2020 election. Unlike New Mexico, however, the six other states in which Republican electors convened to sign election certificates were all hotly contested swing states Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Prosecutors in several of those states, including New Mexico, have referred to federal law enforcement allegations that Republicans submitted a false document intended to deliver more electoral votes to Trump. But the GOP electors in New Mexico added a caveat saying they were only casting votes in the event legal challenges led to the elections outcome being overturned. While top state GOP officials have, in part for that reason, said New Mexicos five designated Republican presidential electors did nothing illegal or sinister, their pledged votes for Trump came despite Biden winning New Mexico and its five electoral votes by a comfortable margin of 11 percentage points or more than 99,000 votes. Meanwhile, Trump campaigns lawsuit was filed on Dec. 14, 2020, the same day the states five GOP electors certified Trump as the winner of that years election. While the lawsuit did not make any specific allegations of voting fraud or irregularities, it alleged Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver had overstepped her legal authority by authorizing use of the ballot drop boxes amid the coronavirus pandemic. While the lawsuit was eventually dropped, Wertheim said those involved with the Supreme Court petition feel strongly about the need for those who filed it to be investigated. My clients and myself, we believe lawyers as part of their oath pledge to protect the constitutional order of the republic, Wertheim told the Journal. If theres a case that might have violated that, it needs to be investigated. An attorney representing Caruso and Smith did not immediately respond Thursday to questions about the Supreme Court petition. On the occasion of National Doctors Day, DoctorsMatrimony.com, an exclusive matchmaking service for the medical professionals, from Matrimony.com, revealed in a report that over 52% women doctors have made the first move expressing their interest to a doctor, surgeon, dentist, healthcare professional or therapist. Each month, about 2 lakh interests are expressed by both women and male doctors. The report also said that thousands of doctors, both women and men, have been registering every week and profiles have grown 50% over the past six months. Reflecting the need for a companion who understands the strain of long hours at work after the pandemic, DoctorsMatrimony has seen steady increase in the number of doctors registering during the past year, with 53% of the total members being women doctors. The exclusive service was launched in January 2021 after Matrimony.com saw lakhs of doctor couples find each other through its services, over the last two decades. The company also found that shared values brought doctors together. On DoctorsMatrimony.com, doctors can choose matches not only by religion, city, education, but also by doctor specialisation. Most doctors feel the need for a companion who understands their profession and shares similar values. For doctors, thats very likely when the life partner is also a doctor. Through DoctorsMatrimony thousands of doctors have chosen another doctor as a life partner. Were trying to provide an exclusive platform to help them find their perfect match, says Murugavel Janakiraman, Founder and CEO, Matrimony.com. The report also revealed that due to the longer years of academic specialisation, significant number of doctors marry a little later than the rest of the population. 28% of male doctors and 16% of female doctors are in the age group 31 to 40. Interestingly, only 12% women and 4% men are seeking a life partner outside the country where they reside. Surprisingly, 53% members are women and 47% men. Doctors seem to be more active from 6 to 10 in the evenings and engage better on Sundays and Mondays. Within India, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad are among the top five cities by registrations. The top occupations listed on lakhs of profiles are doctor, surgeon, dentist, surgeon, psychologist, and healthcare professional. USA, UK, Canada, UAE and Australia contribute to nearly 50% of NRI Doctor Registrations. Ever wondered what your favourite cookie would taste like with the richness of four nuts, Hazelnut, Cashew, Pista and Almond, all at once? Britannia Good Day, Indias largest cookie brand launched the all-new Good Day Harmony, loaded with four, rich nuts in every bite. Now thats a #GoNuts indulgence at its best. Britannia launched the Good Day Harmony with a campaign conceptualized by McCann. The TVC features a girl biting into a cookie and the nutty fragrance inviting a scurry of squirrels to follow her around, with all eyes on her Good Day Harmony Pack. The TVC showcases the crunch-filled experience that Good Day Harmony offers, which makes one #GoNuts with every bite. Commenting on the launch of Britannia Good Day Harmony, Amit Doshi, Chief Marketing Officer, Britannia Industries Limited said, For decades, Britannia Good Day has been the most popular cookie in Indian households and as a brand it has always believed in offering the best cookie experience. We wanted to offer a cookie with a heightened sensorial experience that is nutty in both taste & bite. The brand new Good Day Harmony is packed with 4 different nuts in every cookie. The key task was to communicate this in a distinctive manner for our consumers. The TVC plays on the natural fitment of squirrels and nuts to drive the irresistibility quotient. Speaking on the TVC, Sambit Mohanty, Creative Head South, McCann said, New Good Day Harmony from Britannia is a cookie like never before. Because it comes with four different nuts hazelnut, cashew, pista and almond. And to highlight this, we thought of using the most apt and cutest brand ambassadors. Squirrels. This has been a CGI-intensive film and it was pertinent to get the squirrels, their mannerisms, and movements just right. This was quite challenging but also exciting and a fun campaign to bring to life. The new Good Day Harmony packs are already available across markets @ Rs.15 (60g) & Rs.30 (120g). The all-new Good Day Harmony is also available to purchase on Blinkit GENEVA, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), a new round of High-Level Meeting on the Libya Constitutional Track concluded here on Thursday. The negotiators reported limited progress but no breakthrough, the UN Information Office said. "The presidents of (Libya's) House of Representatives and High Council of State met in Geneva on June 28-29. They reviewed the outstanding provisions of the 2017 Libyan Draft Constitution, taking into account the agreement reached during the Cairo talks earlier this month," a statement by UN Special Adviser to the Secretary General Stephanie Williams said. Williams said that the two chambers reached unprecedented consensus on a number of long-standing issues, but disagreement persists on the eligibility requirements for the candidates in the first presidential elections. The agreements they have reached include the designation of the headquarters and distribution of seats for the two chambers of the legislative authority, the division of responsibilities among the president, the prime minister, the cabinet and the local government, and a revenue allocation mechanism for the different levels of government, the UN official said. "While the progress secured during three rounds of consultations in Cairo and this round in Geneva is significant, it remains insufficient as a basis to move forward towards comprehensive national elections, which is a genuine desire of the Libyan people," she added. Libya was expected to hold presidential elections on Dec. 24, 2021. However, the elections, part of a roadmap adopted by the UN-sponsored Libyan Political Dialogue Forum to regain stability in Libya following years of political division and insecurity, were postponed indefinitely due to technical and legal issues. GoDaddy, the company that empowers everyday entrepreneurs, today launched a new India marketing campaign focusing on the benefitsof creating an online presence to make business visible around the globe, irrespective of the size and the location. The campaign strives to inspire and empower more women entrepreneurs to go online and make opportunities more inclusive. In the new campaign, the female protagonist is seen exploring a busy, vibrant market street in Jaipur. Disappointed with the negligible state of the small businesses, she steps forward to educate owners towards growing their business by creating a website. Otherwise invisible to millions while being offline only, the campaign TVC focuses on the need of taking businesses online, highlighting how GoDaddy is a one-stop solution and a leading provider of online tools and solutions for small businesses. The campaign TVC further reiterates the GoDaddys mission to to give our customers the tools, insights and the people to transform their ideas and personal initiative into success. Speaking on the India marketing campaign, Nikhil Arora, V.P. & M.D, GoDaddy India, said, At GoDaddy, we aim to bring small, micro, and medium businesses across India, online. With rapid digitization, we encourage business owners to think about new avenues to be seen by consumers as they build a website and create an online presence for their business. The campaign is our way of raising awareness with Indias SMBs and MSMEs to make the most out of having an online presence. We want to encourage women entrepreneurs to take the plunge with entrepreneurship and make an impact in their local area and around the world. At GoDaddy we aim to uplift the spirits of entrepreneurship and helps them to create, grow and manage their businesses with the help of our online tools and services . The vibrant, light-hearted, and quirky ad has been shot in a Tier-3 town local market set up, resonating with small & medium businesses. Developed and conceptualized by Mumbai-based creative agency Tilt Brand Solutions, the campaign has been rolled out in seven local Indian languages including Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu, and will be showcased across media platforms such as TV, FOS, Display, OLV, Social & PR. GoDaddy offers an integrated suite of online products ranging from domain names, hosting, website building, email marketing, security protections, and an online store. GoDaddy offers 24/7 customer support, locally and in regional languages, to help guide customers in the growth of their venture, and to find the tools that best meet their needs. Dentsu Creative India ended Cannes Lions 2022 chapter on a high note, being declared Agency of the Year. This is the first time that any Indian agency has won this huge accolade at the advertising festival. Dentsu Creative Indias final metals tally at Cannes Lions 2022 includes 3 Grand Prix, 1 Titanium, 1 Gold, 4 Silver, 3 Bronze Lions. The agency had secured 24 shortlists. Dentsu Creatives work, titled The Unfiltered History Tour, done for VICE Media won three Grand Prix as well as a Titanium Lion along with other metals. The dentsu website describes The Unfiltered History Tour as a secret tour of the British Museums stolen artefacts via Augmented Reality. However, instead of adding dog ears to a selfie, the same technology was re-engineered to scan and identify life-sized 3D artefacts in differing light conditions throughout the day, to showcase first-ever visual depictions of scenes of colonial crime without the Museums knowledge. When visitors use their smartphones to scan the museums stolen artefacts, the relevant filter is activated via geolocation. They hear native experts narrate the true histories of how they were stolen, as first-ever visual depictions of scenes of crime form a contextual overlay over the artefact in real-time using Augmented Reality. While the British Museums narrative portrayed the colonies as helpless in the face of British aggression; AR in smartphones were used to tell history from the perspective of the colonies, as formidable foes who fought to save their cultural treasures. Also read: Ajay Gahlaut on the making of Cannes Lions winner The Unfiltered History Tour In an email interaction with Adgully, Amit Wadhwa, CEO, Dentsu Creative India, shares his excitement over the agencys stupendous performance at Cannes Lions 2022, his observation on the creative talent in India, and more. How has your entire experience of winning at Cannes Lions 2022 been? Were you expecting the wins? I absolutely cannot put into words the full experience. Perhaps I could use the term surreal, but it still doesnt come close to describing what we experienced during the festival. This sentiment was shared by everyone at dentsu, who were sitting right here in India, yet, were as ecstatic as we were in Cannes. Prior to this, we also had a very good haul at award shows like Spikes, The One Show, D&AD, Kyoorius, to mention a few. As a result, we were confident in our work and our wins. However, predicting that we would win three Grand Prix, a Titanium, and Agency of the Year title before we left, would be an exaggeration. India has had its best year ever at Cannes Lions this year? What are your observations on the creative work from India? Is the world finally warming up to the creative talent in India? As far as talent is concerned, undoubtedly, India has some of the best talents when you compare them to the world standard. I guess what India has started doing better is creating that fine balance between a great idea, execution, and seamlessly weaving technology into it. The boundaries amongst mediums are blurring, as seen in all the work that have won. What we need now is to ensure that this integration occurs even in day-to-day work, which I am confident will happen as we move along. How can India keep up this winning momentum? Do you think campaigns are becoming more about social responsibility, empathy and soft sell rather than carefully crafted brand push? We must focus on developing outstanding ideas for businesses while also bringing them to life seamlessly via the use of technology and digital. This balance, in my opinion, is essential for the modern-day creative agency, what we call Modern Creativity at dentsu. I am certain that if we keep doing it, we will continue to win. Regarding campaigns on social responsibility and empathy, I believe there was a decent combination of direct brand pushes and social responsibility initiatives, which is encouraging. Muthoot Finance - Indias largest gold loan NBFC has launched the new upgraded version of Muthoot Online ( https://online.muthootfinance.com/ ) web application, offering an extended array of features that promises an omni channel experience to its customers. There are a plethora of features loaded in the web application for all types of loan repayments- including repayment of Gold Loan, Home Loan, Personal Loan, and Vehicle Loans offered by Muthoot Finance. The launch event took place on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. at Muthoot Finance Headquarters in Kochi. It was inaugurated by Mr. George Alexander Muthoot, MD of the company and further presided over by other senior management. With the recent upgrade on the web front, the consumers can have a hassle-free user experience to avail these services at the touch of their fingertips from the comfort of their homes. Customers will have access to the following new features including: Quick repayments without any registration Security Assured Authentication Method Intuitive Loan Calculator Easy Link up of Bank Account & PAN card Easy appointment booking Payment of Utility Bills with Ease Buy Insurance & Renew Hospicash online Purchase Zero Interest Products Online Repayment of MGBC gold coin installments As a leader in the gold loan NBFC sector in the country, Muthoot Finance has always prioritized customer satisfaction and enhanced user experience. With the world accelerating towards digitization especially post pandemic, Muthoot Finance through its digital initiatives plans to take the whole financing experience to the next level and engage with consumers more closely with the help of interactive features. Recently the company also upgraded their iMuthoot app and launched their WhatsApp Gold Loan facility integrated with their AI-based chatbot, Mattu. These initiatives are in-line with the objective of emerging as a digital-first organization in the industry. Mr. George Alexander Muthoot, Managing Director, Muthoot Finance said, We, at Muthoot Finance, believe in consistently providing our customers with the finest phygital services, whether it is enhancing branch experience, providing our Loan@home service or revamping our digital solutions to aid the customers further. In a new era of technology-driven financial services, we are excited to launch innovations that are designed to engage, inspire, and immerse audiences across all generations. Customers can avail and repay Gold loan, Home loan, Personal loan and Vehicle Loan, buy Insurance & zero interest products online along with accessing host of other facilities 24*7 from the comfort of their home. The website assures high-tech security features to ensure customers data privacy. Our main goal is to create a one-stop diversified financial supermarket that offers varied financial services keeping customer-centricity as the prime focus. The company had also conducted a lucky draw contest for the customers who had transacted online for the period 27th Sept21 to 31st Mar22. Titled the Muthoot Wheel of Fortune'' program, the contest selected 35 lucky winners to win exciting gifts like smartphones, home theatre systems, smart bands, and bluetooth speakers. The winners will be announced on the social media handles of Muthoot Finance. Radio City, Indias leading radio network, geared itself to promote road safety awareness through its thought-provoking public service campaign PICHE WALE BABU HELMET LAGA LO. With new traffic laws in place, Radio City Mumbai has put forth a brilliant initiative to support the Mumbai Traffic Police in urging pillion bike riders to wear a helmet. As an endeavor to enhance road safety awareness and propagate the new rule, Radio City RJs including RJ Salil, RJ Archana, RJ Karan & RJ Palak conducted an on-ground activity in Mumbai suburb. The RJs along with Mumbai traffic cops were seen distributing helmets among pillion riders at Carter Road, Bandra on the first day of rule implementation. As an added incentive, influencer Sanaya Pithawalla was also present to show her support towards the cause. Through their respective on-air show, all Mumbai Radio City RJs have been advising their listeners to be responsible and abide by the rule of wearing a helmet whenever on a two-wheeler. Mumbai Traffic Police DCP Raj Tilak Roushan as well as Bollywood celebrities including Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Nushrratt Bharuccha, Rajpal Yadav, Jaideep Ahlawat and many others have lauded Radio City for their initiative and efforts. Commenting on the campaign, Mr. Kartik Kalla, Chief Creative Officer, Radio City said, Radio City understands the pulse of the city and as Mumbai Traffic Police ruled out a new law making it mandatory for the pillion rider to wear a helmet, we instantly sought to associate with the cause and showcase our support. For the campaign Piche Wale Babu Helmet Laga Lo, Radio City collaborated with the Mumbai Traffic Police to urge citizens to abide by the law and encourage the rider as well as pillion to wear a helmet. Our RJs distributed helmets to the pillion riders to boost awareness about the importance of taking safety precautions on the road. Through such social cause campaigns, our endeavor is to enhance the lives of our listeners and support a larger cause. Radio City set up this campaign in virtue of the circular passed by the Mumbai Traffic Police which stated that pillion bike riders without helmets will face action of Rs. 500/- with a driving license suspension for a period of three months. As Radio City believes in safeguarding the interest of its listeners, the radio station has been playing intriguing promos on-air as well as promoting the campaign on their social media handles. The course of action will culminate with a parody song and a fun video for digital awareness. StackNexus, one of the leading No Code Technology Services companies, recently acquired Vidruma Technologies Ltd, a UK based IT services company. With this acquisition StackNexus is set to expand its footprints in the European Market. StackNexus aims to become the organisations extended technology partner and add value through no code technology services in the European Market. Founded in 2017, StackNexus have primarily worked in the USA & Indian market, it is all set to expand its global footprint through this strategic acquisition. This is what Suman Akula, Founder & CEO of StackNexus had to say about this acquisition, It is an exciting time at StackNexus, being Global was in our DNA since inception, this is a strategic acquisition that will help us expand our No Code Technology Services in the European Market. In the coming year StackNexus has plans to expand in the Canadian and Australian market through partnership and acquisition opportunities. The power of Internet has really transformed the world and today, social media has become a very lively and dynamic platform for engagements. In the earlier days, we had the telephone followed by telex machines and then the fax machines, but today, the Internet has revolutionised the world of communication. Right from individuals to corporates, everyone today is very much present on social media to stay connected. Today, social media has become the most important way of engaging as it allows you to reach out to, nurture and engage with your audiences on the go. For brands today it has become the go-to medium to quickly spread their message to their target audiences. In fact, people use social media for an average of 144 minutes every single day. Because of its impact on society over the years, Social Media Day was born on June 30, 2010, and it has continued to grow in popularity year on year. The earlier notion of using social media to manage your brand reputation and drive traffic is no longer the only purpose. The present times show how social media is able to help in a two-way conversation. Customer engagement and with two-way conversation has always helped brands to deeply understand their customer well. With the introduction of social media chatbots, the response time and the close engagement with your stakeholders have further enhanced and brands are able to provide better service and value to their customers. Social media today can drive users through an effective campaign to generate leads and possible conversions which was always a challenge in the traditional media. With the growing influencer community across various categories, and with the use of powerful video and strong creative expressions, brands are able to close the sales loop faster with the customers today. But it is the strong and effective social media content that should be compelling for consumers to look at your brand to be part of their consideration set. The pandemic brought about a change in consumer expectations, which has also changed their behaviours and preferences. With the new generation glued to the small screen, constant reinvention in terms of social media strategy will keep emerging. Todays generation, that is, the Millennials and GenZ, are more comfortable to newer concepts such as the metaverse and will continue to spend an increasing amount of time online for socialising as well as for work. However, many brands today struggle in creating engaging content to reach their target audience. While the platform provides you targeted reach, it is the right and compelling content that will help you engage with your audience. Therefore, brands today will have to work extra hard to understand this new consumer and the shifts in behaviour and find out ways to closely engage with them with interesting content. We will notice new trends such as the metaverse, which is growing fast and will continue to evolve in the coming years with more knowledge and advancement on the technology front. Sharing his views, Karthik Srinivasan, communication strategy consultant and social media expert, said, After almost 15+ years of living with social media, I believe there is no dispute about its sheer power and impact. The impact is akin to giving every human a megaphone to shout out to the world. This makes social media enormously powerful in all ways, good and bad. He added, Powerful mediums in the past had gatekeepers (print, TV, radio, etc.), who protected their use. But, ironically, a medium more powerful than those mainstream media, is completely free of any gate-keeping. The other powerful media vehicles required people to learn their usage either formally (in colleges and schools), or professionally (as part of their work). But a media more powerful than mainstream media is available even to a child via a phone! This is what I believe will be the focus going forward. More calls for gatekeeping social media, and more structure around learning what to do, how to use it, and why. This would also perhaps include the next evolution of social media with the advent of virtual world. The first iteration of virtual worlds, pioneered by Second Life, didnt last long, but this time around, with the impending development of better VR gear, it seems more promising. Gaurav Mishra, Director Digital, Adfactors PR, observed that the dramatic growth in the adoption of social media platforms has indeed been a powerful driver of change in business and society. The social networking platforms have not been the unqualified force for good we once imagined them to be. Still, the ability of creators to build audiences on social media and monetize them has been transformative for thousands of careers. Governments and businesses now also have been building and protecting their reputation and creating opportunities for advocacy from employees and key opinion leaders (KOLs) on social media at the top of their change agenda. According to Mishra, The use of Hindi and Indian languages on social media has opened up a new world of possibilities for millions of Indians. In the future, both individuals and organisations will seek to become better at separating the signal from the noise on social media. Individuals will gravitate to social networks that help them stay connected with friends and family or explore opportunities for learning and growth, without being inundated with memes, self-promotion, and negativity from people they never followed. Organisations will use analytics to find the 100 considered opinions about them hidden in the firehose of 10,000 social media mentions and build relationships with key opinion leaders who can become advocates for them. Modern customers prefer to communicate through multiple channels and the pandemic has only heightened that need. Karan Bhandari, MD, Integrated Media Strategy, Weber Shandwick India, noted, As people clamour for convenience and refuse to change devices to access content, the success of a communications plan will depend on its ability to meet customers where they are in the customer journey, capture the platform they prefer, and seize their attention. Social media is one such channel that is ubiquitous, can rapidly disseminate and amplify the reach of content and can lead informal conversations, making it a powerful communication tool. As the Metaverse continues to evolve and mould itself into an all-encompassing extended reality, brands that want to be communication leaders are embracing early adoption to grab the opportunities that this next-level, web3 presents. The Metaverse presents brands with the opportunity to lay consumer foundations for an all-new digital revolution with the potential for big returns. Adding further, Bhandari said, With the Metaverse, every brand is invited to create its own interactive virtual space to reach new audiences, boost brand awareness, and increase brand loyalty, making it innate to every brands overall digital transformation strategy. Many brands currently exploring the Metaverse are looking to ease their transition with content types that are still relatively new, but not unknown. Augmented Reality (AR) is already being used by many brands and is a great starting point for your Metaverse marketing strategy. Arun Devanathan, Senior Director, Social Commerce, Myntra, pointed out that social media has clearly emerged as one of the most powerful ways for creators and brands to connect with their audience. There are many new age and emerging brands who have built their brands almost exclusively on social media with little use of traditional mass media. Given how deeply younger generations are engaging with social media, it is no longer an optional brand building channel, it is essential to brand building. At Myntra, to engage with this new and emerging community of consumers, we are leveraging the fusion of content and commerce with our M-Live and Myntra Studio propositions where leading influencers are driving engagement via interactive and shoppable content coupled with style hacks and tips on social media and more, he added. Devanathan further said, We believe companies which effectively use social media and social commerce will be the ones who are able to tell their stories better, deeply connect with their audiences, build communities and eventually create powerful brands. The most powerful contribution of social media is that it enabled us all to move people by spreading ideas across the world. According to Anish Dasgupta, Senior Director, Digital, BCW India Group, Today, social media is also a driving force for creating a sense of community and belonging in an increasingly fragmented world. In the last few years, there have been challenges as well, with misinformation, deep fake and other manipulations leading to a distrust in social medias power for good. But ultimately, I believe, social media, when used responsibly, gives us humans that much needed connect that we crave. The past two and a half years bear testimony to that. While most brands are fighting for engagement and reach, the more progressive ones go beyond marketing and use it to listen to what people are saying and leverage those learnings to tailor their products and services. Continuing further, Dasgupta said that traditional social media platforms enabled audiences to speak to each other and share their thoughts. The metaverse adds a new dimension to interaction by allowing them to do and be together and share a common experience. This immersive experience transforms communications from storytelling to storyliving. At BCW, we see that the key dimensions in which this comes alive are New Humans the avatars and digital humans to influence virtually, New Events to create and participate in metaverse events and emphasise community-driven digital relationships, and New Objects virtual possessions and digital goods, and experiment with NFTs, he added. Social media today has become much more than creating eye-catching content that make brands look more relevant and less antiquated. Malvika Sinha, Senior Vice President &Technology Practice Lead, Ruder Finn India, remarked, Social media has now become a channel for building brand advocacy. For example, a first-time mom starts following groups on social media for advice on the best skincare products for new-born babies. In other words, social media and the content on social media has become one of the most efficient growth hacks for marketers looking to bring new customers in their fold. With a proper framework and clear social media strategy, brands can demarcate the role of every channel and how it will cater to the brand messaging pillars. Adding further, Sinha pointed out that today metaverse is creating exciting new opportunities and dimensions for brands to engage and interact with their audiences. While it cant be predicted precisely which metaverses will reign supreme and which might fail, the rising competition and attention has started generating FOMO for brands, such that it has created a positive flywheel effect. With the metaverse experiences gaining popularity, many brands and businesses too have started incorporating metaverse in their social media marketing strategies. Khushaal Talreja, Head - Marketing, Mintoak Innovations Pvt Ltd said, "Context and creative drivers have become key in a social media age where the attention potential of individuals is questionable. Every brand wants to be seen and heard. And while social media has helped brands accelerate their marketing & communication efforts, it has put a lot more responsibility on brand marketers to make brands sound distinctive in a noisy landscape. Contextual marketing has never been this important! While there is value exchange during content distribution, driving consistency in brand messaging will continue to influence the long-term brand image. In the endless scroll world of social media, simple and targeted content can humanize the brand to build the trust factor as well. At Mintoak, we're creating an authentic and empowering brand that resonates with our community across financial institutions, business owners and the talent pool. We're leveraging social media to amplify campaign messages around #MintingTheFuture & #GoingBeyondPayments. This elevates the overall guiding principles behind what we want the Mintoak brand to represent and build more familiarity with our offerings." The central government has given Twitter India one last chance to comply with the countrys Information Technology Rules by July 4 or face losing its immunity as an intermediary, according to sources. The action by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) follows Twitters repeated failures to act on the content take-down notices sent under Section 69 A of the IT Act, as well as non-compliance notices issued for not taking the content down, according to officials in the know. The ministry stated in the letter received on Monday that the microblogging site failed to comply with notices sent on June 6 and June 9. Despite numerous warnings and chances to respond, Twitter continues to be in breach. As a result, necessary action is being taken against it, a senior official said, adding that all intermediates operating in India must obey the IT Rules in letter and spirit. According to MeitYs notification, which was sent to Twitters Chief Compliance Officer, if Twitter Inc. Continues to be in breach of these Directions and hence the IT Act, substantial repercussions under the IT Act shall prevail. This includes loss of immunity as provided (to) an intermediary under sub-section (1) of section 79 of the IT Act and (being) liable to penalty for offences as stipulated in the IT Act 2000. It was unclear, however, which specific content removal notices Twitter had not reacted to or acted on. The MeitY notification similarly made no mention of the matter. To be clear, this is not the first time the IT ministry has warned Twitter that it may lose its intermediary status due to noncompliance with IT Act restrictions. MeitY issued a similar warning to Twitter in May 2021, when the IT Rules 2021 went into effect, requesting it to create a resident grievance officer, a resident chief compliance officer, and a nodal contact person or risk losing the protection afforded to it under Section 79 of the IT Act. According to this regulation, an internet intermediary cannot be held legally or otherwise accountable for any third-party information, data, or communication connection that users host or make available on its platform. Following that, Twitter appointed executives in all relevant jobs and alerted the IT ministry of its compliance with the standards. Twitter has prohibited access to 80 pieces of material or user names in India during the last year in response to legal requests from the government, according to the intermediarys disclosures on Lumen Database, an internet collection of transparency reports issued by social media intermediaries. The microblogging platform bans access to a certain piece of material or handles only on obtaining a legitimate legal request from the countrys government, according to its laws on withholding content for a given geography. Twitters nation withholding policy reads: The withholdings are confined to the specific jurisdiction/country where the material is considered to be prohibited. URUMQI, June 30 (Xinhua) -- China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the Chinese embassy in Jordan held a video conference on Wednesday to show guests of Jordan the region's social and economic development. The guests included representatives of the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, think tanks, media, and university teachers and students. Xinjiang enjoys social stability and harmony, and its people live a peaceful and prosperous life, said Nuram Ismayilhan, vice chairman of the Xinjiang regional committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He added the Xinjiang people's longing for peace and stability has been fulfilled. Chinese Ambassador to Jordan Chen Chuandong said Xinjiang made remarkable progress in counterterrorism and deradicalization in recent years, ensuring the safety of people's lives, maintaining social stability, economic development, and harmony among people of all ethnic groups. "Foreign people from all walks of life are welcome to visit Xinjiang and learn more about the real Xinjiang," said Xu Guixiang, spokesperson for the regional government. PANAMA CITY, June 29 (Xinhua) -- A concert featuring performances by China's National Symphony Orchestra was held at Panama's National Theater Tuesday night, as part of celebrations marking the fifth anniversary of the establishment of China-Panama diplomatic relations. The two countries established diplomatic relations on June 13, 2017. The pre-recorded performances were projected onto a giant screen. Speaking with Xinhua at the packed theater, China's Ambassador to Panama Wei Qiang said the concert was aimed at underscoring the importance of continuous cultural, artistic and people-to-people exchange between the two countries. "Over these five years, exchanges in this cultural, educational and people-centered milieu, which constitute one of the fundamental pillars of the bilateral agenda, have achieved very gratifying results and covered a wide range of genres ... all types of dance, ballet, opera, the Beijing Opera, painting and film," the diplomat said. "As head of the mission in Panama, I feel totally satisfied and happy to have been a fortunate witness to the remarkable progress and deepening of our cooperation," Wei said. The ambassador noted that crises often lead to opportunities, referring to the fact that cooperation to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a strengthening of ties between Panama and China. The concert featured a classical repertoire of China's National Symphony Orchestra led by conductor Li Xincao. The orchestra performed the symphonic overture "Ode to the Red Flag" by Lu Qiming, "The Butterfly Lovers" by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang, and Symphony No. 5 in C minor by Ludwig van Beethoven. Wei pointed out that the three performances showcased took place during the pandemic, two of which were performed in front of an audience wearing face masks, and one was performed with no audience present. In the last performance, he said, the violin soloist and the orchestra were even taped separately in different places. "It is an example of human resilience in the face of these times of great adversity that the pandemic has brought us," he said. The diplomat expressed optimism about the development of bilateral cooperation and friendship over the next five years and beyond based on the two countries' shared principles of equality, mutual respect and win-win cooperation. The concert was attended by special guests and the general public, and was coordinated by the Chinese Embassy in Panama in collaboration with the National Theater of Panama and Panama's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Culture. Daniela Tassy visits the Great Wall in Beijing, capital of China, in 2018. (Daniela Tassy/Handout via Xinhua) by Luo Xin and E Wenxiu BEIJING, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Acting as a Brazilian astronaut in a Chinese film scheduled for next year -- "The Wandering Earth II" -- Daniela Tassy is approaching her acting dream thanks to China's large film market and the friendly relationship between China and Brazil. The-39-year-old Brazilian came to the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing in 2014 to learn Chinese with a wish to be a translator when going back to Brazil. Fascinated by Chinese culture, she decided to stay after studying for one year. Wearing Chinese costumes and watching traditional Chinese operas, Tassy filmed and posted what she saw and heard in Portuguese on social media to let more people in Brazil know about China. "I have my YouTube channel, and I show people a little bit of my daily life. I talk to friends, and we try Chinese food or go to a tourist attraction," Tassy said. Being an actress has been a dream for Tassy. She found that Chinese TV dramas were popular among Brazilian youth and more Brazilian actors came to China for their stage fever these years. "When talking about Chinese TV dramas, Brazilian people get very excited," Tassy said. "I shot a Chinese TV drama 'To Be With You' before. I played the role of a French real estate agent. I watched the whole drama. It was very interesting to know how they shot it," Tassy said. In 2019, her dreams of being an actress came true. "My role in 'The Wandering Earth II' was small, but I still felt it very rewarding to be part of this team," she said. "I hope my family and friends could see me on cinema screens or online platforms when the new film is on," she said. In her daily life, Tassy enjoys visiting Chinese places of interest such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, and she posts some video clips on her YouTube channel. "Wearing cheongsam and warriors' clothes with a sword, I felt a little bit Chinese." These pictures on her Youtube channel attract fans globally. When it comes to the just-concluded 14th BRICS Summit, Tassy shared her opinions about the cooperation between BRICS countries. "I can strongly feel a close and friendly relationship between China and Brazil," she said. Year after year, she has witnessed enormous progress in China's environmental protection. "The air pollution is getting lower and lower, with many anti-pollution measures taken such as planting bushes in the deserts and arid areas," Once she saw a documentary about how Chinese people are turning deserts into forests. "They're planting some bushes that can grow in an arid climate. Brazil is also a vast country, and we can learn from China since the country also has some arid regions," she said. "We could also cooperate in more aspects, not only bringing famous Brazilian actors to China but also bringing Chinese actors or even the production team to Brazil," Tassy said, expressing her wish to continue her dream of being an actress in China. Daniela Tassy has makeup applied before a commercial shooting in Beijing, capital of China, in 2017. (Daniela Tassy/Handout via Xinhua) A recent article in Inside Higher Ed reported on the growing momentum of a partnership between various nonprofit organizations and campus chapters of Hillel International, aimed at facilitating open and respectful dialogue among Jewish American college students concerning the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. As a faculty affiliate of an organization on my own campus that seeks to promote similar conversations on a wide range of controversial issues, I am heartened by this development, but I am also ambivalent about its timing. In a pending lawsuit before the U.S. District Court in Maryland, plaintiff Melissa Landa has alleged that the decision to discontinue her faculty appointment at the University of Maryland was driven by animus toward her public advocacy for the State of Israel and her celebration of Passover there, which ran contrary to the goals of the so-called Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. A key contention in Dr. Landas complaint is that such basis for the uuniversitys action would constitute unlawful religious discrimination against her. Landa would not be the first Jewish academic to find herself at odds with BDS by way of a sojourn to her ancestral homeland. Years ago, I had the privilege of serving as a member of the Teagle Foundations Working Group on Secularity and the Liberal Arts, which sought to promote religious pluralism on campus through interfaith dialogue, as opposed to suppression or compartmentalization of faith. In many respects, the goals of our project mirrored those of the initiative profiled in the recent Inside Higher Ed piece, albeit with a broader purpose of promoting mutual understanding across faith traditions. Through my work on this project, I had occasion to meet a campus rabbi who would subsequently gain national media attention by affirming her Zionist identity and standing by her decision not to participate in a national boycott of Israel, which was gaining support at her institution. What was noteworthy about her experience is that support for the BDS movement on her campus had come largely from Jewish students, a pattern consistent with the more recent report in Inside Higher Ed. This situation highlights the issue of how universities consider different segments of any given religious tradition in addressing matters of diversity on campus. For example, alignment of employee religious demographics with those of the corresponding labor pool could potentially be used by employers as an illusory defense against charges of religious discrimination, if no further distinctions were drawn within the Jewish population. If those engaged in allegedly biased action against a Jewish academic such as Landa also happened to identify as Jewish, the challenges facing Zionist plaintiffs would be magnified even further. Thus, despite all good intentions, the unitive message of recent campus programming could actually mask the significance of Jewish Americans disagreement over the conflict in the Middle East. This could in turn generate antipathy toward Zionists calls for protection against discrimination on that basis. The problem with generic characterizations of Judaism is that they fail to capture the scope of variation in what individual Americans even mean when they identify as Jewish. In recently reported data collected by the Pew Research Center, for example, a broad distinction is drawn between Jews by Religion (73%) and Jews of No Religion (27%), with further sorting across multiple denominations of religious Jews. The report on the survey also includes an entire chapter devoted to connections with and attitudes toward Israel, where the data on Jewish identity is further parsed. These more nuanced understandings of Judaism raise the potential for a shell game of sorts, with multiple places to hide religious bias and multiple ways to divert attention from it, for example by characterizing it as political. In the Jerusalem Posts coverage of Landas case, institutional officials at the University of Maryland highlighted its efforts to create a welcoming and supportive environment for Jewish faculty and students, including its sponsorship of the Gildenhorn Institute for Israel Studies and the Meyerhoff Jewish Studies Center. In response, Landa likened these claims to saying Some of my best friends are Jewish. How can anything I do be antisemitic? Depending on ones definition of terms, Im Jewish myself. How can anything I do be antisemitic? might serve as an even more insidious diversion. With due respect to those who identify as pro-Palestinian or non-religious Jews, their issues are not the same as those of Dr. Landa and others like her. The reason this should matter to all of us is because hostility toward traditional religion, or at least the perception of it, has been troublingly persistent in American higher education, as documented in our working groups white paper and more recently in anecdotal accounts reported by one of my current associates. Much of this apparent hostility seems to be related to political disagreements rooted in discordant worldviews. Our Constitution is structured to manage these differences and to protect the fundamental rights of all, including freedom of religion. Celebrating the cultures of other faith communities is a step toward religious pluralism, but respecting their theological and moral convictions, and the duties of democratic citizenship associated with them, is also necessary to the maintenance of a vibrant and religiously diverse society. Image: Ted Eytan It was the gasp heard round the world. "They could run Michelle Obama, and if they do ..." said Monica Crowley before the CPAC 2022 audience reeled audibly in shocked recognition, cutting her off in mid-sentence. Crowley had seen an early screener of my upcoming film and book of the same name, Michelle Obama 2024: Her Real Life Story and Plan for Power, which will be released on July 11. Crowley was not trying to make waves at CPAC. She was trying to send a warning. The CPAC crowd, and conservatives in general, have failed to realize that the ever present Michelle Obama was a potential Democrat presidential candidate. This is largely because Michelle Obama launched a cover story for her intense political activity back in 2008 that goes like this: "Michelle hates politics." The media have faithfully sustained the ruse when they discuss likely Democrat contenders in 2024, they typically leave Michelle off the list. The Obamas needed this cover story to undo the damage that the increasingly shrill Michelle was doing to her husband's campaign in 2008. In February of that year, when she told a crowd in Madison, Wisconsin, "For the first time in my adult lifetime I'm really proud of my country," Barack's advisers knew they had to reel her in. In the days following, the angry Chicago culture warrior mellowed into the amiable "Mom in Chief." For those who have monitored the Obamas closely, as I have, the plot to elect Michelle president has been obvious since at least 2016. Michelle has been following a formula scarily like the one that got Barack Obama elected president. Like her husband, Michelle served as the keynote speaker at a Democrat Convention. Barack's 2004 breakout speech introducing John Kerry made him a viable candidate four years later. Michelle's 2020 speech on behalf of Joe Biden established her as the favorite next nominee. Next, Barack Obama based his candidacy on his personal story, as captured in his 1995 autobiography, Dreams from My Father. Michelle is basing her candidacy on her wildly popular 2018 memoir, Becoming. Conservatives failed to notice that Michelle was selling out arenas around the country, ostensibly to promote the book, but in reality to solidify her political ambitions. There was scarcely a talk show she did not appear on, and, if that were not promotion enough, Netflix turned Michelle's life story into a movie. Finally, Barack started in politics by running a voter registration drive called "Project Vote." Michelle now aggressively runs "When We All Vote," a project designed to showcase Michelle's leadership and remind voters of her solid skills at reciting Democrat talking points. The showcasing has worked. Michelle Obama is a genuine pop culture phenomenon. Like Oprah or Madonna, she scarcely needs her last name anymore. She has more than 21 million Twitter followers, 48 million on Instagram, and 18 million on Facebook. The one thing that can stop Michelle's drive to the White House is the truth about Michelle herself. She is not who she pretends to be, and she knows it. As I show in Michelle Obama 2024, Michelle repeatedly refers to "imposter syndrome" in describing her own ascent to stardom, though she pulls short of detailing the ways she has deceived the nation and herself all these years. "After weeks of careful preparation," writes Michelle in Becoming of the 2008 Democrat National Convention, "I walked onstage at the Pepsi Center in Denver in late August and stood before an audience of some twenty thousand people and a TV audience of millions more, ready to articulate to the world who I really was." But who was Michelle, really? Did even she know? She claims to have spoken to America in her "own voice" and with her "own words," but if she really wanted help finding her own voice, she might have used her own words. Instead, she relied on a white twenty-seven-year-old speechwriter, Sarah Hurwitz, a Harvard Law grad and Judaism scholar. To soften the ground just prior to Michelle's convention speech, the Obama campaign displayed before the crowd a sweet short film, narrated by her mom, Marian Robinson, entitled "South Side Girl." Throughout the campaign, Michelle had used the "South Side" metaphor the way William Henry Harrison had used the log cabin in his 1840 presidential campaign. "She was very committed to the South Side of Chicago," Harvard prof Charles Ogletree said in the film. "She was very committed to using every bit of her skills and talents to lift others up." In truth, Michelle had been running from the South Side since she was old enough to attend kindergarten, and that included an illegal elementary school registration out of district to avoid lower-class Black kids. Michelle's convention speech was well crafted. She and Hurwitz laid out ample doses of Michelle's and Barack's working-class roots and Joe Biden's as well. To fit the larger Democrat narrative, Michelle reinvented her career to try to cancel her "first time proud of my country" faux pas. "In my own small way," she told the enthralled crowd, "I've tried to give back to this country that has given me so much. That's why I left a job at a law firm for a career in public service, working to empower young people to volunteer in their communities." In fact, I discovered, Michelle left her law firm job hoping to find less stressful legal work at the University of Chicago. When that cushy opening did not materialize, she took a job at City Hall helping White developers and their political friends clear poor Blacks out of valued real estate. Having proven her callousness toward the Black community, Michelle was promoted handsomely to perform a similar service for the White elite at the University of Chicago Med Center, literally steering poor Blacks away from the modern hospital E.R. and into dumpy storefront clinics. "Lifting people up" is a much less apt description of her work function than "selling people out," specifically those in Chicago's Black community. The trickiest part of Michelle's convention speech was to neutralize her self-inflicted image as "an angry Black woman who didn't love her country." This took some finessing. To begin, Michelle identified herself with a sundry assortment of people. These included the unlikely trio of Martin Luther King, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden, all of whom were allegedly "driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won't do that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be." Michelle's recognition of this fighting spirit was drum roll, please "why I love this country." The audience failed to recognize that Michelle pulled the "world as it should be" quote from Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals and repeated it five times in her speech. And Alinsky was the least worrisome of Michelle's radical affiliations. It was she who pushed her husband into the arms of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. And it was Michelle who worked with the Weather Underground terror group's Bernardine Dohrn at her law firm and got tight with her and hubby Bill Ayers. Michelle, in fact, recruited Dohrn as the first sponsor in her Public Allies program and recruited Ayers to speak at the University of Chicago. Until Barack's Senate run in 2004, the two couples had dined together weekly for years. And it was Bernardine Dohrn who schooled Michelle on "the politics of fear" that she recited almost verbatim on the 2008 campaign trail. In 2008, with an able assist from the media, Barack Obama was able to conceal his radical connections and sell himself to the nation as a racial healer. Michelle lacks the temperament to pull off that scam. But do the Democrats have a choice? Events of the past year and a half have made Michelle the most practical candidate. Her name recognition and popularity will put her atop the polls once her name is introduced, and even Republicans will be terrified of criticizing her. However, the truth can stop her. As Michelle Obama 2024: Her Real Life Story and Plan for Power becomes viewed and read around the country, Michelle will have to answer for selling out and exploiting the Black community she is now pretending to care about. That's a sales job not even the media can help Michelle overcome. Hollywood film director Joel Gilbert is president of Highway 61 Entertainment. Among his many films are political documentaries including The Trayvon Hoax: Unmasking the Witness Fraud that Divided America; Trump: The Art of the Insult; There's No Place Like Utopia; Dreams from My Real Father; Atomic Jihad; and Farewell Israel: Bush, Iran and the Revolt of Islam and the new film and book MICHELLE OBAMA 2024: Her Real Life Story and Plan for Power. Image via Amazon. I had a tough dialogue with a former friend concerning the Supreme Courts Dodd decision. We disagree on the fundamental aspects of the issue and the discussion has been eye-opening. As teenagers we were both raised in very conservative milieus. I had a loving home with loving parents. When my mother passed away, my father found a wonderful woman who has been a great stepmother. Unfortunately, I have no idea of my friends home life. Having a good home to grow up in, with a dedicated mother who chose to stay at home, resulted in my friend spending time at my house. They didnt always invite us over to their house. As we became adults, I strove to live up to the ideals our shared religion taught us. I waited till marriage for physical intimacy. I did struggle with pornography for a while, but sought counseling, repented, and while the temptation is still there, I have been sober for years. I know it is possible to live a life following traditional Christian morality because I live it. About five years ago, my wife had an ectopic pregnancy. It was the first pregnancy she had not miscarried in eight years. We didnt know it was ectopic until she woke up in the middle of the night experiencing the worst pain she had ever felt. I talked her into going to the ER. The doctor did ultrasounds and tests. She was two months pregnant. (She hadnt told me because I always got so excited about it, and she didnt want to have to tell me when there was a miscarriage.) The baby was healthy. We got to hear the healthy hoof-beats of our childs heartbeat. Then the doctor told us, Its implanted in the wrong place. As this baby continues to grow, it will rupture your ovary and you will bleed to death. The rupture could happen at any moment now. Thats why youre in so much pain. My wife was emotionally numb, wanted to hide in a cave and wait till it all went away. I made her go to her follow-up appointments, and in under three days, she had surgery. The organ had already ruptured, and we were lucky that my wifes blood had clotted and that the clot stayed in place for a few days. The doctor removed the damaged organ, which also contained our last chance at another child. It was heartbreaking. While the medical term for what happened is an oophorectomy, my wife continues to refer to it as an abortion. I wouldnt call it that, but I know that she is not the only person who would label such surgery an abortion. An overzealous pro-choice DA could try to prosecute us so the pro-choice crowd can point to our prosecution as to why all abortions must be legal. Unfortunately, the choice we had was losing her and the baby, or losing the baby. She refused to decide (she has struggled with suicidal thoughts in the past), and after much prayer and supplication to the Lord, I chose to save the life that could be saved. Had I not acted, I would be a widower right now, and my teenage daughter would not have had a mother to teach her about Aunt Flo. My wife and I do not support abortion, but we do believe it should be legal to save the life of the mother. I havent met any pro-lifers that have condemned our decision or our stance on the issue. With the Dobbs decision, our stance hasnt changed. I am glad to see that the states are now allowed to regulate abortion as their people see fit. My friend has described his adult life very differently. He has chosen not to have children or to get married. Hes convinced that no one lives the standards we were taught as children and has come to his own understanding of the universe that is heavily influenced by the religion he was raised in, along with many esoteric pagan and secularist beliefs. He believes that since the male body has evolved to require sex for optimal mental and physical health, that sex is a mans right. When I stated that sex was not a right and that no one can separate sex from reproduction, he went on a rant. He eventually told me that a long time ago, he got a girl pregnant. They did not want to be married, and he knows that had they stayed together, their lives would have been miserable. He told me, All pro-lifers cant imagine the fear and panic of an unwanted and unplanned child. They all wanted their children. He is correct. I cant imagine the fear and panic of creating life when I didnt want to. I have no idea if he forced her to abort or if she chose to abort, but that childs life was deemed so valueless by him that hed rather it be destroyed than adopted by parents who would nurture that life into something beautiful. This is the natural consequence of refusing traditional morality. His story was hidden by several layers of anger, hate, and intellectualism parading as virtue. He started the conversation talking about bodily autonomy. He then equated refusing the vaccine to terminating a pregnancy for any reason. He even claimed the violence against conservatives was justified. By refusing to condemn, but acknowledging that we were friends, and agreeing where we did agree, he eventually opened up about his experience with abortion. Learning of his experience and drawing conclusions from it, I could sum up his support for abortion thusly: Abortion should be legal, because men have a right to sex but should be allowed to refuse fatherhood. He cant bear to think that anything he has done or will do is morally wrong. If I were to restate this it to his face, he would immediately go back to bodily autonomy, condemn me for wanting to control others, and would state that I deserve violence. This saddens me, because my friend has rejected the only way to have a truly happy and fulfilling sex/family life. Now he lashes out at everyone who told him so or reminds him of it. Thats got to be a lousy way to live. Monroe Wesson is a nom de plume of an American that believes that if we could get past all the emotional bluster, that we'd realize there are a lot of things we Americans still agree on. Image: drsuparana Now, I know that libs are mighty upset about the recent Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Add to this the undeniable fact that liberals, led by the likes of Crusty Joe, Dumbo Harris, and Americas favorite bartender, Ms. Occasional-Cortex, are generally none too bright. But lets face it, libs, angry and stupid is no way to go through life. So as a public service to dummies all across the fruited plains, Ive put together a FAQ on the current state of abortion in the U.S. For added realism, imagine all the questions spoken in a whiny, petulant voice by some soft, lumpen incel like, say, Brian Stelter. So now, after this terrible, no-good, horrible Supreme Court ruling, abortion is illegal? No, women can still snuff their unborn babies at will. All the Supreme Court decision does is allow individual states to vote on laws determining the degree of baby-killing allowed in their state. Its called democracy. But what about states that might totally outlaw abortion? Should you live in such a state, the answer is clear. Just hop on a train or board a plane. There are plenty of Democrat-run states thatll be fine with butchering your unborn child, just buy a ticket to one. If you work for Disney, hell, theyll pay your way! Aside: Do you think Walt Disney ever, in his wildest nightmares, imagined his kid-centered empire one day offering to help snuff unborn babies? Morality aside, wouldnt that be killing your potential customers? Why should other people get to decide what happens to my body? Sorry to break this to you, cupcake, but theres lots of folks on the Left, like little Lord Fauci, who just love deciding what should happen to your body. See vaccinations, mandatory COVID-19. Given the chance, libs would also make you ride dangerous mass transit, dance around contaminated needles and poop on the sidewalk, wear a sweater in your cold house, and eat bugs. Heck, theyd love to mutilate your kids genitals without your permission! No one loves deciding what you should do with your body more than Democrats. Deal with it. But what about my Constitutional right to an abortion? The U.S. Constitution, should you ever read it, says precisely nothing about abortion. The so-called right to abortion was made up out of a penumbra. Whats a penumbra? The partially shaded outer region of a shadow cast by an opaque object, such as yourself. Pro tip: When your argument is based on shadows, youve lost. But all the polls say most Americans support abortion. Wont they simply vote for abortion up to and including kindergarten, when given the chance? First of all, polls are mostly fake news meant to support Democrats. I mean, according to polls, almost 20% of Americans think the economy is in great shape and nearly 40% of those polled think Crusty Joes doing a fabulous job. Doesnt get much faker than that. Secondly, now that weve discarded penumbras and fake-news polls, well find out exactly how America feels about ripping fully-formed humans (beginning of second trimester) out of a womans womb limb-by-limb. Hint: After voters have their say, expect even more psychotic hair-pulling, teeth-gnashing, and garment rending on Libs of TikTok. What about all the female protestors threatening to withhold sex if their ability to off inconvenient kids is abridged? Have you taken a good look at those protestors? Im sorry, but theres not enough Jack Daniels in the world to make anyone want to get down with them, much less have to lie there and listen to their infantile musings afterward. Thats one strike I think we can all support. But wont states having different abortion laws cause a serious rift in our country, possible even a civil war? The rifts already here, pal. As it worsens, people will have to decide whether they want to live in a Republican state or one that loves criminals, illegal aliens, dismembered fetuses, homeless encampments, welfare queens, COVID restrictions, sky-high taxes, and mostly-peaceful riots should a black person be shot by a cop anywhere, anytime, and for any reason. Tough choice, there. As for civil war, its simply not gonna happen. But if it does, Id put my money on the side that owns, maintains, and knows how to handle guns. Libs bearing arms are mainly a threat to cinematographers. Now that the Supreme Court has overturned one penumbra-based right, wont they come after other legally-shaky rulings liberal justices have pushed through over the years? You bet! Isnt this sea-change of ideas over abortion rights, all Donald J. Trumps fault? It is. You nailed it there, comrade. You should also blame Trump for the current Court rightfully ruling that concealed carry is necessary for self-defense, especially in wild-West Democrat hellholes; and that praying in public is a protected civil right, just like the BLMers right to block traffic, vandalize buildings, and burn cop cars in a mostly-peaceful manner. But wont this country be deeply and irreversibly changed if Trump is elected again in 24 (an audible shudder, followed by quiet weeping)? Mais oui! And I, for one, cant wait for the return of the Ultra-MAGA King. It will be nice to not have to dip into my retirement account to fill up my car. And for helping me with my FAQ, John Q. Liberal, heres a box of Krispy Kreme donuts, a little pamphlet on birth control, and some Kleenex tissues for your tears. Image: American Life League This is interesting. Maybe the "blues" are taking the "reds" seriously. Let's check out the states of Washington and Colorado: Less than a year ago, a GOP Senate victory in deep blue Washington state would have been unthinkable. But now, Democrats are spending millions on advertising in several once-reliable Democratic strongholds, including Washington, as Republicans build national momentum and push for new Senate pickups. There's a similar panic in Colorado, where Tuesday's GOP Senate primary has also drawn millions of dollars in Democratic-funded ads to boost a far-right candidate, a massive last-ditch campaign to keep a moderate Republican off the ballot this fall. Washington's Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, meanwhile, has spent more than $1 million on television ads in recent weeks, including two attacking her Republican opponent, Tiffany Smiley, in a state President Joe Biden won by nearly 20 points. So what's going on? In Washington and Colorado, the Democrats may be buying some insurance against a red wave. My guess is that the Democrats are hoping that Seattle and Denver will stop the wave and preserve their jobs. Of course, they have to get the blues to turn out in the city, and that's not guaranteed in this political environment. Also, the Democrats may be seeing what happened in South Texas, huge swings to the GOP, and realizing that the same thing could happen in their states. Remember New Jersey last November? Who saw that coming? You buy insurance to protect yourself against risks. In this case, the risk is the angry voter who may decide that "throwing the bums out" is just what the state needs. PS: Check out my videos and posts. Image: Openclipart. This would be hilarious if it were not so serious. From this blog comes the map below of omicron BA.5 incidence in Germany. The former East Germany is outlined in green, and you will note that it has a lower infection rate than the former West Germany which reflects the different vaccination rates of the two former German republics: The former East Germany has a lower vaccination rate than the former West Germany, and this has resulted in a lower incidence of the latest COVID variant. It seems, though the Berlin Wall fell more than 30 years ago, the former East Germans have a memory of distrusting government pronouncements and edicts, for self-preservation. This instinct has served them well at a time when the only reason governments bother to tell us anything is in order to lie to us. As well as making pronouncements and issuing edicts, government health officials can lead by example. The world's leading health bureaucrat, Anthony Fauci, has had four doses of spike protein (labeled as vaccinations) and is thus if Germany's experience is any guide more likely to be infected with COVID than if he had remained unvaccinated. He has duly contracted COVID, and it seems that it is not a mild case, because he elected to take a course of paxlovid. Paxlovid inhibits viral replication, but it also causes renal impairment, which is a more polite way of saying that it gives your kidneys a good whacking (and liver, too). So a course of tablets three tablets, twice a day should be taken for only five days before the kidney damage becomes more permanent. But paxlovid only inhibits COVID and doesn't necessarily clear it from the system. So Dr Fauci's COVID duly rebounded, and he has elected to take a second course of paxlovid, giving his kidneys another whacking in the process. Fauci has refused to retire, likely because of the royalties from drug companies he is getting, but a prolonged bout of COVID might finish off the little imp. No tears will be shed, because it was he, in the interregnum between the Obama and Trump regimes, who gave the green light to EcoHealth to go off to Wuhan and do the gain of function research that resulted in the biggest pestilence since the Plague in the 14th century. David Archibald is the author of The Anticancer Garden in Australia. Yesterday, the January 6 witch hunt committee had an "explosive" witness who appears to have just made up stuff about President Trump. She must have gone to the Adam Schiff school of lying. The entire hearing is a kangaroo court. They don't show any evidence for the other side. Here is an honest headline from Great Britain. Secret Service lead and presidential driver are prepared to testify under oath that Trump did NOT grab steering wheel or lunge at agents to drive himself to Capitol on January 6 Here are headlines and editorial pieces printed in the dishonest Washington Post rag a day after the Secret Service said the witness lied. If the witness lied about the incident in the vehicle, why would anyone believe anything else she said? Everyone should remember that most of the media are willing to spread the same misinformation that the WaPo is. The National Enquirer may be more honest. Trump sought to lead armed mob to Capitol on Jan. 6, aide says Cassidy Hutchinson's path from trusted insider to explosive witness Cassidy Hutchinson could read the ketchup on the wall Bombshell hearing raises a question: Why was Trump's lawyer terrified? An aide shatters the Trump White House's code of silence Jan. 6 testimony shows Trump is unhinged. Voters must listen. They are so dishonest. An honest headline would have been "Explosive Witness Lies as J-6 Witch Hunt Committee Spins a Political Narrative to Destroy Trump." Of course, the media didn't care about facts or corroborating witnesses; they just acted as if it were true. The media have a history of this garbage. Think back to: The Russian collusion. The fictional dossier paid for by Hillary and the DNC. White Christian boys being declared racists for wearing MAGA hats. What Trump said at Charlottesville. The fictional "hands up, don't shoot" narrative. Border guards whipping illegal border-crossers. That the Biden laptop was Russian disinformation (the media bury this story because it is true). The stories of Judge Kavanaugh. That white Duke University Lacrosse players raped a girl. That white cops routinely kill innocent black people. The Rolling Stone fictional story of white fraternity kids raping a girl. That the science is settled that humans and fossil fuels cause temperatures to rise and climate change. Computer model predictions are not facts. There is not one piece of scientific data from the last 150 years that shows a direct correlation between crude oil use and temperatures, which have fluctuated. The Jussie Smollett story, which was widely repeated when first reported. It was obviously made up. They rarely report on the crime and deaths at the border, but during Trump's term, they showed kids in cages from the Obama/Biden years and claimed they were Trump cages. They silenced anyone who disagreed with Fauci while acting as though everything he said was factual, no matter how many things he intentionally or unintentionally got wrong. The examples are endless. The media will destroy anyone whom they don't want in power while hiding the truth about people like the Clintons and the Bidens. All they care about is power for leftists and pushing their agenda to destroy America. They should be embarrassed. One target today is Florida's Gov. Ron DeSantis. Thank goodness he fights back like Trump instead of just taking it. A USA Today writer was canned for fabricating stories, but there are tons of reporters who spread the above fictional stories who remain on the job. They even get awards when they write some of this. It is no wonder that the media aren't trusted, since all they are is Democrat campaign workers. Image: Daniel X. O'Neil via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Both Democrats and Republicans can agree on one thing: protectionism is dead. Since Congress foolishly delegated its powers to negotiate tariff rates to the Executive Branch in the 1930s (in the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934), trade liberalism has become the norm. High-tariff Republicanism, which dates back to Lincoln, has been discarded. The very legitimate idea of protecting needy American industries, a fundamentally Hamiltonian belief, is now scoffed at by the Fundamentalist Church of Free Trade. Certain high-ranking clergymen like Karl Rove, George Will, Bill Kristol, and Newt Gingrich will often dismiss those on the right who speak favorably of tariff implementation as a way to facilitate a truly America-First economic agenda. Protectionist measures, they claim, are backward and "neo-isolationist." This is simply hogwash. Dogmatic trade liberals completely dismiss the adverse effects of free trade. The fact of the matter is that certain trade-liberalizing policies (think WTO and NAFTA) have slaughtered the Rust Belt. Many American cities that were once great epicenters of innovation and industrialization now look a lot like Aleppo. This, in turn, has led to the mass disenfranchisement of blue-collar workers, who are told to enroll in largely ineffective job-retraining programs. Those in the Fundamentalist Church of Free Trade won't admit that they are part of a religious cult, but they are. Image: Wellcome Images. TEHRAN, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian foreign minister described as "positive" the latest round of talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal in Doha, the foreign ministry said on its official website on Thursday. Iran is serious about reaching "a good, robust and lasting agreement," which is at hand "if the United States acts realistically," Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in a phone conversation on Wednesday evening. "We are determined to continue the negotiations until a realistic deal is reached," he added. Amir-Abdollahian also thanked Qatar for hosting the negotiations on Tuesday and Wednesday. For his part, the Qatari foreign minister called the latest EU-brokered indirect talks between Iran and the United States "constructive and positive," promising Doha's efforts to get all sides back to their commitments. Iran signed the JCPOA with the world powers in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions on the country. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact. The Iranian nuclear talks began in April 2021 in Vienna, but were suspended in March this year because of political differences between Tehran and Washington. American foreign policy elites and their counterparts in allied countries, especially in Europe, repeatedly instruct us that diplomatic and military power should be used to "uphold" the "rules-based international order," which has been defined as "a shared commitment to conduct international affairs in accordance with laws, principles and practices embodied in institutions such as the United Nations, regional security arrangements, trade agreements and multilateral financial institutions." The Biden administration's foreign policy seems wedded to defending such an order (secretary of state Antony Blinken mentions it quite frequently in his speeches, and State Department officials often refer to it in press briefings), but as Jacob Grygiel has pointed out in the Wall Street Journal, the "rules-based international order" is a myth. "An Earth-spanning security space governed by global rules or a few key powers," Grygiel writes, "doesn't exist." "There is also no 'global threat' facing all states equally," he continues. International relations and the foreign policies of states remain subject to varying regional political equilibriums and the global balance of power. Regional and global stability, however temporary, is the best outcome possible in a world of anarchic nation-states which is still the world in which we live. And it's a good thing that a "rules-based international order" does not exist because the nature of such an order depends on the nature of the powers that oversee that order. We can be certain that a Chinese-led "rules-based international order" would be very different from the current U.S.-led world order just ask the Tibetans, or the Uyghurs, or the citizens of Hong Kong. Those foreign policy elites who promote a "rules-based international order" consider themselves citizens of the world and govern that way. To them, "nationalism" is dangerous, "climate change" is the existential threat we face, disarmament is always good, sovereignty is old-fashioned, open borders are imperative, all problems are best solved multilaterally, and "America First" is parochial and, well, deplorable. But, as the late, great Angelo Codevilla pointed out in his last book, America's Rise and Fall among Nations, except for Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, every president since Theodore Roosevelt has either promoted or succumbed to the notion of a "rules-based international order," and American foreign policy has suffered as a result. That is why we haven't won a major war since World War II, and lost wars in Southeast Asia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. That is why George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton talked about a "peace dividend" as they scaled back our nuclear arsenal. That is why when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, President Obama and secretary of state Kerry were "shocked" that Putin would act like a 19th-century power. That is why every postCold War president, including Trump, expanded NATO mindlessly despite repeated Russian protests. And it is why we are about to expand NATO again and become more deeply involved in a regional war in Eastern Europe that at its origin impacted no vital national security interest of the United States. It used to be the case that American blood would be shed and America's treasure would be expended when the nation's vital interests were at stake. George Washington wisely advised us to refrain from forming sentimental attachments to any other nation. Secretary of state John Quincy Adams warned us against going abroad in search of monsters to destroy. Yet, very soon, this administration will pledge the blood of America's sons and daughters and the treasure of America's citizens to defend the independence of Finland and Sweden, just as past administrations have pledged America's blood and treasure to defend the independence of Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Romania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and 23 other nations in Europe. And now we may fight for an abstraction, a myth the "rules-based international order." If the Russia-Ukraine war escalates to a Russia-NATO/Ukraine war, who wants to be the person to tell a father or mother of a dead American soldier, sailor, or airman that his loved one died to "uphold the rules-based international order"? Image via Max Pixel. Global hacking threats and cyber-warfare are by no means a new phenomenon as the past several years have seen an explosion of attacks against America and other Western nations from countries like Russia and China. In 2021, major supply chain disruptions against American entities Colonial Pipeline and JBS Foods clearly defined the threats facing the U.S. and the rest of the world. Despite these dangers facing Western nations, American cyber-security, along with our neighbor Canada's and most of the Western world, are severely lacking in manpower. In America, a June report from the Washington Post claimed that the United States is either just as vulnerable to hacking attacks or even more vulnerable now than five years ago. The report cited a shortage of capable cyber-security professionals, which is occurring as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which is charged with overseeing the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), has been futile in its efforts, particularly in regard to the U.S.-Mexico border. Despite the dysfunction plaguing DHS, CISA, which has gone through a multitude of changes over the past year and a half, may actually have kept the U.S. safer from hacking attacks this year versus 2021. Among the changes at CISA contributing to what may possibly be better results, as 2022 still hasn't seen a major infrastructure or supply chain hack at the level of the JBS Foods or Colonial Pipeline, was the installation of Jen Easterly as director. Although the general public is obviously not aware of all attacks, as some may have been kept private by businesses, newly proposed regulations in both Canada and America are aimed toward installing mandatory reporting protocols for private-sector entities that find themselves victimized by hacks. Just this month, Canadian legislators proposed a bill that would force organizations in federally regulated industries to report hacks to the Canada's Cyber Centre. The bill hands the government authority to audit private businesses in an effort to ensure that they are complying with new laws. If an audited organization or individual should fail an audit, they face administrative penalties of up to $1 million for individuals and $15 million for organizations. Those that are found to not be in compliance may also face summary convictions or what is referred to as convictions on indictment. Additionally, organizations and individuals in these select industries would also be forced to establish new internal cyber-programs intended to detect incidents and protect critical cyber-systems. This move from the Canadian government comes in the wake of last month's big news of a Huawei ban on Canadian 5G networks. And the extra government-compelled scrutiny addresses industry claims that the global cyber-workforce needed to grow by 65% in 2022 to provide effective security. In addition to the Huawei ban, the Canadian Communications Security Establishment (CSE) announced earlier in this month that it will expand a Security Review Program for telecom equipment and services to apply more broadly to Canada's telecommunications networks and "consider risks from all key suppliers." Twenty twenty-two may have yet to produce a major headline-grabbing attack so far in either America or Canada, but the threat of one is real, as earlier this week the Killnet hacking group claimed responsibility for cutting off as much as 70% of Lithuanian internet infrastructure from the rest of the internet in retaliation for the blockade of trade between Kaliningrad and Russia. Although these "big-game" attacks are generally carried out by state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat Groups (APTs), the majority of cyber-attacks seen globally are still targeting individuals, as ransomware groups like the infamous STOP/DJVU family regularly produce new variants and have collected millions of dollars in ransoms from individual victims the past several years. Ultimately, both the U.S. and Canada must increase cyber-staffing, especially as cyber-power Russia, which has limited options for attacking Western nations conventionally, isolates itself from the rest of the world as a result an increasingly unpopular war. Julio Rivera is a business and political strategist, the editorial director for Reactionary Times, and a political commentator and columnist. His writing, which is focused on cyber-security and politics, has been published by numerous websites, and he is regularly seen on national and international news programming. Image via Pixnio. Today in history, Europe's heavily armored knights and Islam's jihadist light cavalry had their first major pitched battle, at Dorylauem, in Asia Minor. It had been two years since the First Crusade was called, and Europe's Christians, led by the Franks and Normans, were deep in Asia Minor. They had already achieved their first victory, by liberating Nicaea (where the Nicene Creed, which most Christians still profess today, was formulated in 325). The much more numerous Muslims, led by the Turks, were outraged at having lost the ancient city. Thus, once the Crusaders set off on the long road to Jerusalem, their foes lay in ambush for them. They got their chance at Dorylaeum, where the Crusader army divided its forces to better forage during the march. On July 1, 1097, one of the smaller contingents beheld some thirty thousand mounted Muslims flying toward them while "shrieking heaven knows what barbarisms in loud voices," writes a contemporary. Along with these hysterical cries of "Allahu akbar," which "seemed to rise to the skies," were the "clang of armor, the neighing of horses, the trumpet's blast," and "the awe-inspiring roll of the drum" all of which "struck terror to the hearts of the [Christian] legions, unaccustomed as they were to such a scene." Intent on annihilating the insolent infidels, the Turks let loose a torrent of arrows, killing hundreds. On getting closer, they targeted the weak and even "slaughtered mothers with their children." Bohemond, the Norman warlord heading this besieged contingent, instantly dispatched a quick rider to inform the other leaders that "what they want is now here: come quickly." Duke Godfrey of Bouillon and his men were first to the rescue; they "wondered where in the world such an infinite number of people had come from. Turks, Arabs, and Saracens stood out among the others." The duke and other leaders exhorted their men to fear only God, not "this pile of husks," whereupon "the Christians with unwonted energy made a furious attack upon the foe with swords." Even as they "pressed and pursued the Turkish battle line" and despite the "carnage" created among the Muslims "like the regenerating heads of the Hydra, where a few fell, countless others took their place." After much bloodshed on both sides, Christian heavy cavalry charges eventually "broke up the battle lines of the infidels and put them to flight with dreadful slaughter." It was a costly Crusader victory. In the gory aftermath, four thousand Christians were massacred. As for the Muslims, about three thousand were killed, "including Arabs, Turks, [and] Persians," before they retreated. Not only was Dorylaeum the first pitched battle between the Crusaders and Turks; it was also where the Europeans first truly experienced the Turkic way of war. Unlike their heavily armored Christian counterparts, the Turkish army consisted primarily of light cavalry. It would gallop around, always avoiding what the Crusaders sought and excelled at cavalry charges and close combat and let fly volley after volley of arrows (regularly described in both Muslim and Christian sources as blotting out the sun) that would kill or incapacitate their enemy. (Sources tell of Crusaders looking like "hedgehogs" or found dead with forty arrows protruding.) Finally, when the time was right, the Turkish horsemen would go for the kill that is, when their enemy's army was disunited. The chronicler William of Tyre (b. 1130) offers a succinct summary of the Turkish way of war, which dominated most encounters between Turks and Europeans, including before and after the First Crusade (e.g., Manzikert, 1071; Hattin, 1187). The Turks, he writes, would "let fly a shower of arrows which filled the air like hail[.] ... The first shower had barely ceased when another no less dense followed. From this no one who had haply escaped from the former attack emerged unscathed." Then, whenever the Crusaders charged, the Turks "purposely opened their ranks to avoid the clash, and the Christians, finding no one to oppose them, had to fall back deceived. Then ... the Turks again closed their lines and again sent forth showers of arrows like rain." After Dorylaeum, the Crusaders marched largely unopposed for three months. Rather than confront them again, the Turks turned to more ignoble tactics. "We have defeated the Christian armies and deprived them of all desire for combat," they told other Muslim-controlled fortresses on the Crusaders' route: "Therefore let us into your cities, and welcome gratefully those who go to such lengths to protect you." Once inside, they "stripped the churches," plundered whatever was valuable, and "abducted the sons of Christians as slaves, and consigned to the flames other things that were less useful, constantly in fear of our [men] coming up behind them." This article was abstracted from Raymond Ibrahim's new book, Defenders of the West: The Christian Heroes Who Stood against Islam. Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute. Image via Pexels. Bhutan, a small landlocked country sandwiched between India and China, barely attracts attention in the international arena. Its postage stamps, however, are the most sought after by philatelists. Among those most prized are stamps that are printed on silk and steel foil instead of paper, and the strangest yet are printed on miniature vinyl records that could be played on a record player. Vinyl record stamps of Bhutan. Bhutan did not have an organized postal system until the early 1960s. Domestic mail was carried by mail runners or the casual traveler, and foreign correspondence was routed through the Indian postal department. With the start of development programs in Bhutan and the end of its self-imposed isolation in the late 1950s and early 1960s, there was a sizeable increase in the number of mail items, forcing the government to establish a postal service. In 1962, the country issued its first postage stamp. One person who was instrumental in helping Bhutan launch postage stamps was the wealthy American businessman Burt Kerr Todd. While studying at Oxford University in the late 1940s, Todd met Ashi Kesang Choden-Dorfi, the future queen of Bhutan, who was the first person from her country to study in the West. Two years after graduation, in 1951, Todd received an invitation from the Bhutanese royal family to visit the tiny mountainous country. Todd had no idea how difficult it was to reach Bhutan until he reached India. There he learned that Bhutan had no air service and no roads into the country, and the only access was on foot or on the back of mules over wild mountain tracks. But Todd and is friends persevered and finally made it into the capital where they received a royal welcome. Circular coin stamps made of foil. Todd fell in love with Bhutan, its friendly, hospitable people and its traditional centuries-old customs. When he went back to America to get married, he brought his bride back to Bhutan for their honeymoon. Todd became close friends with the royal family, and because of his familys influence on the US industrial scene, Todd was asked to become an honorary financial advisor to the Bhutan government. In 1959, when the Bhutanese government decided to apply to the World Bank for a $10 million loan, Todd became a key advisor in shaping the application. But the bank refused the loan; the bank wanted to keep good terms with India with whom Bhutan was in a border dispute. An official suggested that Bhutan could try and raise money by issuing postage stamps, as some of the small states such as San Marino and Monaco did. Todd made some investigation and realized that issuing stamp was indeed a great way to raise money. The Bhutanese government was skeptical, but agreed to the project, and Todd set up the Bhutan Stamp Agency, a private company established in the Bahamas, which would produce the stamps and handle their sale on the international market. In 1962, Bhutan released the first stamps, a set of seven attractive designs featuring a postal runner, the Crest of Bhutan, an Archer, a Wild Yak, a Map of the Country, and the Maharaja fortress and monastery. Although the stamps were pretty, they failed to arouse interest among philatelist, largely because Bhutan was an unheard of country. More importantly, stamp collectors rely on a closed system of philatelic trade channels and on specialized journals, but Todd had no knowledge of these. Over time Todd sought and received the advice of insiders, and gradually he began to realize that in order sell stamps he needed to make them highly attractive. Todds first innovation was a circular stamp to mark the 40th anniversary of the accession of King Jigme Wangchuk to the Bhutanese throne, using a heraldic design embossed in gold on rainbow-colored paper. This was followed by a set of triangle-shaped stamps showing the Abominable Snowman. Serious philatelists dismissed them as gimmicks, but general collectors lapped them up. In 1967, Todd came up with the worlds first three-dimensional stamps on the theme of space exploration. The design showed spacemen and spacecraft printed on a laminated prismatic-ribbed plastic surface which gave them a convincing three dimensional effect. The 3D stamps set the philatelic world on fire, and hundreds of thousands of sets were sold. After the success of the 3D stamps, Burt released a slew of remarkable designs. The bas-relief stamps depicted famous sculptures and personalities in molded plastic. Then, there were the Religious Banner series in 1969 printed on silk. Three dimensional stamps. Bas-relief stamps. The same year Bhutan issued 12 stamps printed on hair-thin 0.001 inch steel foil to commemorate and emphasize the importance of steel industry. The most unusual of them all were the so-called talking stamps. Issued in 1973 in multiple colors, the talking stamps were miniature one-sided vinyl records with adhesive backs so that they could be affixed to letters, but also played on a standard turntable. The stamps featured audio recordings of folk songs, the national anthem, the history of Bhutan in Bhutanese and the history of Bhutan as narrated in English by Burt Kerr Todd himself. The talking stamps are the most sought after today, with a single piece selling for hundreds of euros. In 1974, two years after the death of the third King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, the contract with the Bhutan Stamp Agency was cancelled. The responsibility of designing, printing and marketing stamps was awarded to the Inter-Governmental Philatelic Corporation (IGPC), a New York-based company representing many small and developing countries. Since 1996, the Bhutan Post has been designing its own stamps and they continue to innovate. In 2008 Bhutan Post released CD-ROM postage stamps, another world first, as part of Bhutans commemoration of the 100th anniversary of its monarchy. The small-format disc contains video documentaries of events from Bhutans history: the anniversary of the monarchy, the coronation of the Fifth King, and the signing of the new Constitution. Stamps continue to generate a small income for Bhutan, even though the global philately market has been declining due to the use of alternative communication methods, such as email and text messages, but also due to the lack of enthusiasm of young collectors. In 2008, sale of stamps generated a profit of 8 million ngultrum (US$74,000). That figure in 2015 was already 13 million (US$196,000). CD-ROM stamps. References: # Little Ambassadors of the Country, Works That Work # Bhutan Postal Museum # Burt Todd and the Stamps of Bhutan, Philatelic Database UNITED NATIONS, June 30 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday urged the United States, as the party responsible for the Iranian nuclear crisis, to respond positively to the reasonable demands of Iran. "The United States should face up to its responsibility, correct its mistake once and for all, make a political decision as soon as possible, and take concrete measures to respond positively to the reasonable demands of Iran," Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said while addressing a Security Council briefing on the Iranian nuclear issue. Iran and the United States held indirect talks on Tuesday and Wednesday in the Qatari capital of Doha to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which started to fall apart after Washington's pullout from the deal in May 2018. "The previous U.S. administration, in disregard of objections from the international community, unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA, and launched a maximum pressure campaign against Iran. We must admit that is the root cause of the current Iranian nuclear crisis," Zhang said. He noted that the United States, while repeatedly stating its readiness to seek a return to compliance, is nevertheless escalating sanctions against Iran and third parties even during the process of resumed talks. "Doing so is obviously detrimental to any positive progress in the talks. The United States should live up to its words and lift all relevant unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction measures against Iran, so that Iran can fully partake of the economic dividends of the JCPOA," he said. Zhang stressed that to keep the resumed Iranian nuclear talks on the right track with a view to an early and positive outcome, double standards should be abandoned. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is the cornerstone of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime. All parties must strictly abide by the NPT, he said. However, Zhang pointed out, the cooperation between the United States, the UK and Australia on nuclear submarines is the first time since the NPT was concluded that a nuclear weapon state has openly transferred nuclear weapon materials to a non-nuclear weapon state. "Regardless of how the three countries may choose to name their nuclear submarine cooperation, the very essence of their nuclear proliferation behavior cannot be concealed, its negative impact on the political and diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue cannot be undone, the risk it poses to regional peace and stability is a reality that cannot be changed," he said. He emphasized that the practice of applying double standards to the detriment of the objectives and purposes of the NPT must be rectified in order to maintain the authority and effectiveness of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime. There is no better alternative to the JCPOA agreement, as dialogue and consultation is the only right way forward in the resolution of the Iranian nuclear crisis, Zhang noted. He said that China welcomes and supports all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of the crisis, welcomes the relaunch of indirect talks between the United States and Iran in Doha, and appreciates the recent good offices by the EU. He expressed hope that the EU, as the coordinator, will continue to play its unique role and work harder to encourage greater flexibility from the parties. The envoy also called for eliminating interference in the negotiation process. "As we approach the final hurdle, it is all the more important for all parties to firm up confidence, reject any and all interference, and preserve the hard-won results of the negotiations achieved to date," he said. In this context, all parties should be guided by reason, exercise restraint, and refrain from taking unconstructive steps that would cause a spiraling of tensions, he said. China objects politicizing the mandate of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as reflected in the Iran-related resolution recently forced through by some countries and adopted by the agency's Board of Governors, and supports settling outstanding issues through dialogue and cooperation between the IAEA and Iran, Zhang said. (ANSA) - ROME, JUN 30 - The government is not at risk and 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader and former premier Giuseppe Conte has "confirmed" the M5S will not be exiting the government for an external support over a row over a rumoured ouster request by his successor, Premier Mario Drag hi said Thursday. "I'm optimistic, the government is not at risk and it will not go on without the M5S, said Draghi, ruling out a reshuffle and saying that the success of the government's action was also due to the "generosity" of the broad national-unity majority backing it. Draghi denied, again, reports that he had asked M5S founder Beppe Grillo to oust Conte. "I never made the statements attributed to me about the M5S", he said. Draghi reportedly confirmed to President Sergio Mattarella his commitment to moving forward with the government in talks at the presidential palace Thursday, while ex-premier Conte reportedly told Mattarella Wednesday that his M5S would not exit the government to give only an external backing for it, sources said Thursday. Conte complained that he had heard that Draghi allegedly asked M5S founder and stand-up comic Grillo to oust the former premier from the movement, which Draghi denied saying he would clear the matter up with his predecessor as PM. Many M5S members reportedly exerted increasing pressure on Conte Thursday to pull out of the national unity coalition and instead lend external support. Draghi met President Sergio Mattarella on Thursday officially to report to the head of state on the situation regarding Italy's international commitments, sources said, but the alleged Conte case loomed large in the background. This week Draghi took part in G7 and NATO summits. The meeting between the PM and the president took place at a delicate time for Draghi's executive. Draghi returned to Rome from the NATO summit in Madrid early on Wednesday amid soaring tension with his predecessor Conte, the leader of the 5-Star Movement (M5S), a key part of the ruling coalition. Conte reacted with fury at reports that Draghi had contacted M5S founder Beppe Grillo to have him removed from the helm of the movement. The premier's office denied that Draghi had sought to have Conte ousted and said the reason for his early return from Madrid was in order to prepare for a cabinet meeting on Thursday with more measures to curtail sharp rises in energy bills. Conte had talks on Wednesday with Mattarella about the issue. Friction with the ruling coalition was already high after Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio recently quit the M5S to form his own group after a big row with Conte over military aid for Ukraine following the Russian invasion. Di Maio said Conte's calls for the government to stop sending weapons to Kyiv risking putting Italy out of synch with respect to its EU and NATO allies. (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, JUN 30 - A Paris appeals court has denied Italy's request for the extradition of 10 former leftist terrorists who have been living in France for decades. The 10 were arrested last year, a move that seemed to have ended the so-called Mitterrand Doctrine that shielded Italian former terrorists from Italian justice as long as they gave up the armed struggle, before being released under various forms of guarded liberty. Many of the formers terrorists were members of the Red Brigades, the group that abducted and murdered former Italian premier Aldo Moro in 1978. They also include Giorgio Pietrostefani, who has been convicted in Italy for conspiracy in helping order the 1972 murder of Milan police commissioner Luigi Calabresi in retaliation for the 1969 death of an innocent railway worker and anarchist bombing suspect, Giuseppe PInelli. Pinelli fell from a police station window in what late Nobel prizewinning playwright and leftist activist Dario Fo called, in his famed play, The Accidental Death of an Anarchist. Pietrostefani was a leading member of the hard-left group Lotta Continua, whose leader Adriano Sofri served much of a 22 year sentence for ordering the murder of Calabresi, who had been cleared of all responsibility in Pinelli's death after the Piazza Fontana bombing in Milan that killed 17 people and injured 88, sparking the Years of Lead of rightist and leftist terror. (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, JUN 30 - Premier Mario Draghi returned to Rome from the NATO summit in Madrid early on Wednesday amid soaring tension with his predecessor Giuseppe Conte, the leader of the 5-Star Movement (M5S), a key part of the ruling coalition. Conte reacted with fury at reports that Draghi had contacted M5S founder Beppe Grillo to have him removed from the helm of the movement. Conte had talks on Wednesday with President Sergio Mattarella about the issue. Friction with the ruling coalition was already high after Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio recently quit the M5S to form his own group after a big row with Conte over military aid for Ukraine following the Russian invasion. Di Maio said Conte's calls for the government to stop sending weapons to Kyiv risking putting Italy out of synch with respect to its EU and NATO allies. The premier's office denied that Draghi had sought to have Conte ousted and said the reason for his early return from Madrid was in order to prepare for a cabinet meeting on Thursday with measures to curtail sharp rises in energy bills. (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, JUN 30 - Premier Mario Draghi met President Sergio Mattarella on Thursday to report to the head of state on the situation regarding Italy's international commitments, sources said. This week Draghi took part in G7 and NATO summits. The meeting takes place at a delicate time for Draghi's executive. Draghi returned to Rome from the NATO summit in Madrid early on Wednesday amid soaring tension with his predecessor Giuseppe Conte, the leader of the 5-Star Movement (M5S), a key part of the ruling coalition. Conte reacted with fury at reports that Draghi had contacted M5S founder Beppe Grillo to have him removed from the helm of the movement. Conte had talks on Wednesday with Mattarella about the issue. Friction with the ruling coalition was already high after Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio recently quit the M5S to form his own group after a big row with Conte over military aid for Ukraine following the Russian invasion. Di Maio said Conte's calls for the government to stop sending weapons to Kyiv risking putting Italy out of synch with respect to its EU and NATO allies. The premier's office denied that Draghi had sought to have Conte ousted and said the reason for his early return from Madrid was in order to prepare for a cabinet meeting on Thursday with measures to curtail sharp rises in energy bills. (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, JUN 30 - The government is ready to approve emergency measures against the drought gripping Italy from Monday, Premier Mario Draghi said Thursday. (ANSA). (by Tullio Giannotti) PARIS - It is commonly referred to as "social execution" and such a sentence has only been handed out in France to four people, never a terrorist. Life sentence without parole, with no possibility of a term reduction or commutation: Salah Abdeslam, the tenth terrorist responsible for the jihadist attacks of November 13, 2015 in Paris, the only survivor, will spend the rest of his days in prison. Before the maxi-trial in which he was a defendant closed, he told the court that he had "committed mistakes" but had "never killed anyone". His lawyer said "terrorism" would be the winner if his client got life without parole. A French citizen of Moroccan origin, 32-year-old Salah spent six years in silence in a high-security prison. He started off by provoking the relatives of victims at the beginning of the trial, calling himself an ISIS soldier. Progressively, his attitute changed - from September until the end of June. He cried during a hearing in February and described himself as a minor actor who was unaware of what the leaders were planning for the attacks. Among the 19 defendants out of the 20 tried by the court is Mohamed Abrini, the 'man with the hat' of the Brussels attacks who was originally supposed to be a member of the Paris commando: he was sentenced to 22 years in a maximum-security prison. The trial started on September 6 last year in a bunker hall that was built on purpose to host up to 3,000 people. It included over 140 days of hearings attended by 14 defendants out of 20. The other six were tried in absentia, including five (ISIS leaders) who are believed to have died in the region between Iraq and Syria. Salah Abdeslam will never leave prison over Bataclan attack Life term without parole for 2015 Paris attacks (by Tullio Giannotti) (ANSAmed) - PARIS, 30 GIU - It is commonly referred to as "social execution" and such a sentence has only been handed out in France to four people, never a terrorist. Life sentence without parole, with no possibility of a term reduction or commutation: Salah Abdeslam, the tenth terrorist responsible for the jihadist attacks of November 13, 2015 in Paris, the only survivor, will spend the rest of his days in prison. Before the maxi-trial in which he was a defendant closed, he told the court that he had "committed mistakes" but had "never killed anyone". His lawyer said "terrorism" would be the winner if his client got life without parole. A French citizen of Moroccan origin, 32-year-old Salah spent six years in silence in a high-security prison. He started off by provoking the relatives of victims at the beginning of the trial, calling himself an ISIS soldier. Progressively, his attitute changed - from September until the end of June. He cried during a hearing in February and described himself as a minor actor who was unaware of what the leaders were planning for the attacks. Among the 19 defendants out of the 20 tried by the court is Mohamed Abrini, the 'man with the hat' of the Brussels attacks who was originally supposed to be a member of the Paris commando: he was sentenced to 22 years in a maximum-security prison. The trial started on September 6 last year in a bunker hall that was built on purpose to host up to 3,000 people. It included over 140 days of hearings attended by 14 defendants out of 20. The other six were tried in absentia, including five (ISIS leaders) who are believed to have died in the region between Iraq and Syria. (ANSAmed). Syria: aid mechanism from Turkey must be extended, UN So 4 mn refugees in north-west can still receive assistance (ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, 30 GIU - The special envoy of the UN secretary general for Syria, Geir Pedersen, has urged the Security Council to extend the authorization for cross-border humanitarian aid through Turkey, without the authorization of the central government of Damascus to guarantee to more than four million Syrians, ammassed for years in the north-west of the country in precarious humanitarian conditions, to continue receiving aid. For Pedersen, it is a "moral imperative" to renew the mechanism for "an additional 12 months", especially considering "the growing humanitarian needs which civilians desperately crave". The mechanism, which expires on July 10, has been in place since 2014, three years after the beginning of armed violence in Syria, and has been periodically renewed, each year and every six months, by members of the Security Council. In light of the war in Ukraine and tensions between Russia and western countries, Pedersen and the leaders of UN humanitarian agencies fear that Moscow will oppose with force the renewal of the UN mechanism. Russia and China, permanent members of the Security Council and close allies of the Syrian government, have granted over the past years the renewal for only six months, obtaining the reduction of border crossings for aid. The aim pursued by Moscow and Beijing is to push the western community to recognize the government of Bashar al Assad in Damascus as the only political interlocutor. (ANSAmed). China stands ready to work with SCO members in building closer community with shared future: Chinese FM Xinhua) 08:17, June 30, 2022 BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday said that China is willing to work with other Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members to carry forward the "Shanghai Spirit" and push to build a closer SCO community with a shared future. Wang made the remarks when attending and addressing a roundtable meeting of the SCO via video link, which is commemorating the 20th anniversary of the signing of the SCO Charter and the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Long-Term Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation of the SCO Member States. Wang said the SCO Charter clearly defined the objectives and tasks of promoting regional peace and development, established the important principles of mutual trust, mutual benefit and equal consultation, and marked the official entry of the SCO into the international arena as a new progressive force and injected positive energy into promoting the development of the international order in a more just and rational direction. The Treaty stipulates mutual respect for the development path chosen by each other, reaffirms the principles of non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-direction at the third party, endows the "Shanghai Spirit" with new connotations and has played a demonstration role for countries to live in harmony and pursue win-win cooperation, said Wang. Under the guidance of the Charter and the Treaty, the SCO has promoted the continuous upgrading of regional cooperation and made important contributions to building a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for humanity, Wang said. "China is willing to work with SCO members to vigorously carry forward the 'Shanghai Spirit,' and promote the building of a closer SCO community with a shared future," he said. Wang also called on SCO members to strengthen solidarity and coordination, jointly address risks and challenges, advance mutually beneficial cooperation and improve global governance. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) SANAA, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi group has sent a delegation to Jordan's capital Amman to resume the UN-sponsored truce talks with the Yemeni government, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported on Thursday. The delegation would discuss the violations of the ongoing truce and the opening of roads in Taiz, the report said. There was no comment yet from the Yemeni government. On Tuesday, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg urged the Houthi group, which controls large swathes of northern Yemen, to open the main roads to the besieged city of Taiz in southwestern Yemen in accordance with the terms of the ongoing truce. Grundberg made the appeal during his meeting with Mohammed Abdulsalam, Houthi's chief negotiator for the ongoing ceasefire, in Muscat, Oman's capital. "Opening roads is critical to ease the humanitarian suffering of Yemenis and build confidence," the envoy said in a tweet. Ending the Taiz siege is the last major term to be fulfilled under the agreement reached by the country's warring parties before starting the ceasefire in April. The government-controlled Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, has been under siege since the civil war erupted in Yemen in late 2014. Lifting the blockade would facilitate the movement of citizens and their access to humanitarian aid. Enditem| The British Army has launched a new recruitment drive featuring robots. The campaign called Nothing Can Do What A Soldier Can Do contains the message that while new technologies are being used by troops in battle, the future of UK defence will be underpinned by soldiers. A one-minute video advert, which will be shown in cinemas, on television and online, shows a dystopian future where a robotic soldier scouts the terrain of a conflict zone, made of more than 4,000 individual CGI elements and 2,000 sound design samples. The ending shows that while technology is important, only soldiers can make instinctive decisions on the ground in a conflict zone. As part of the drive, striking images of soldiers and robots will be displayed on billboards. The campaign is the sixth iteration of the This is Belonging series developed by Accenture Song together with Capita and the British Army. Colonel Nick Mackenzie, assistant director of recruiting, said: Like previous recruitment campaigns, Nothing Can Do What A Soldier Can Do aims to dispel one of the many myths that surround the British Army. This time, looking at the British Army of the future and the role of soldiers within it. We want to tell future recruits that, no matter what technological advancements we make, it is the judgment, intelligence and even the wit of our soldiers that is indispensable to the future of the Army. The latest recruitment advertising campaign featuring robots (British Army/PA) We hope the campaign will lead to potential applicants seeing the Army as an exciting place they can learn and grow, and be valued as an integral part in our future. Richard Holroyd, managing director of Capita Defence, Fire and Security, said: While we live more of our lives online and increasingly in augmented realities, its easy to believe that the future of any armed force is now about mass robotic units managed by unfeeling AI. As a former soldier, I know that will simply never be the case. Technology must work alongside the human ingenuity of soldiers and personnel the army of the future still needs you. The daughter of a British aid worker murdered by an Islamic State terror cell known as the Beatles has learned of her fathers final plea to his captors before being put to death. Bethany Haines said her father David had apparently asked ringleader Mohammed Emwazi, known as Jihadi John, to make it quick when he was led away to be murdered in 2014. She said her fathers final wish was recalled to her during a two-hour face-to-face meeting with Londoner Alexanda Kotey in Virginia, US, where he was jailed in April for his part in the torture and murder of western hostages. Ms Haines told ITV news: He (Kotey) told me that Jihadi John had been away to execute my father and my father knew what was coming, closed his eyes, and said: Can you make it quick? I can picture him saying that, in his orange jumpsuit, with his eyes closed. I can picture him saying: Please make it quick. His remains have never been discovered. David Haines, pictured in 2012 (Handout/PA) She said Kotey told her that he had been following her father for a couple of days before abducting him, and apologised to her for his role in the murder. Ms Haines said: I asked for an apology. I pressed on with it and eventually he did say I am sorry for he just used my words for it abducting and hurting your dad. Did he mean it? No. Ms Haines said Kotey also revealed that her fathers death was delayed to give his killers time to film from different angles for their gruesome propaganda video, which sent shockwaves around the world. Mr Haines, from Perth in Scotland, was captured by militants in Syria in March 2013 while delivering aid to the war-torn country. Kotey was handed a life sentence for his part in the plot to kill American hostages. He may yet be brought back to the UK to be charged with the deaths of other hostages, including Mr Haines. Koteys co-defendant, El Shafee Elsheikh, will be sentenced in August for his role in the plot. Jihadi John was killed in a drone strike in 2015, while Aine Davis was jailed in Turkey in 2017. The terror cell was dubbed the Beatles due to the core members English accents. Boris Johnson has promised a further 55 billion in defence spending over the rest of the decade in response to the threat posed by Vladimir Putins Russia. The Prime Minister committed Britain to increasing defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), a measure of the size of the economy, by the end of the decade and encouraged Nato allies to boost their own military budgets. Mr Johnson pledged the rise on Thursday after public lobbying from Cabinet ministers Ben Wallace and Liz Truss. It is understood the pledge could amount to an extra 55.1 billion cumulatively over the rest of the decade in order to reach the 2.5% goal in 2030, based on Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts of the size of the economy. Speaking as the Nato summit in Madrid drew to a close, Mr Johnson said: We need to invest for the long term in vital capabilities like future combat air whilst simultaneously adapting to a more dangerous and more competitive world. The logical conclusion of the investments on which we propose to embark, these decisions, is that well reach 2.5% of GDP on defence by the end of the decade. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised a further 55bn in defence spending over the rest of the decade in response to the threat posed by Russia (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Defence Secretary Mr Wallace, who was at the centre of a Cabinet spending row over his high-profile campaign for more cash, was said to be grateful for the announcement. A source close to the minister said: The Defence Secretary has always been clear that, as the threat changes, so should defence spending. In 2020 the Prime Minister reversed decades of under-investment in defence and he rightly responded to Russias danger by continuing to invest in defence, for which the Defence Secretary is very grateful. This is NOT the time to cut the Army by 10,000. My request to Government . And moving to 2.5% defence spend by 2030 is too little too late. pic.twitter.com/djHlPnrnfW Tobias Ellwood MP (@Tobias_Ellwood) June 30, 2022 But Tobias Ellwood, the Tory chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, said it is too little, too late. Mr Ellwood, who has called for 3% of GDP to be spent on defence, also condemned Mr Johnson for going ahead with planned cuts to the size of the Army. This is NOT the time to cut the Army by 10,000, he said on Twitter. And moving to 2.5% defence spend by 2030 is too little too late. Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the Nato summit in Madrid (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Conservative MP Julian Lewis, the chair of Parliaments Intelligence and Security Committee, described the spending increase as feeble, accusing the Prime Minister of an inability or unwillingness to face up to the gravity of the current crisis. Mr Johnson said the West needed to show Mr Putin it had the staying power to support the Ukrainians for the duration of the conflict. If you wanted evidence of the amazing ability of the Ukrainians to fight back, to overcome adversity, and to repel the Russians, then look at what has happened just today on Snake Island where Russia has to cede ground, he said. The UK has promised an extra 1 billion of military aid for Ukraine and Mr Johnson said Volodymyr Zelenskys country had to be supported to take back occupied territory. I think if Ukraine were to be crushed or forced into a bad peace, the consequences for freedom around the world would be appalling, he said. Ukraine has lobbied for Nato membership, something which would have guaranteed protection from the alliance when Mr Putin launched his invasion in February. Mr Johnson said membership of the alliance which is set to expand to include Finland and Sweden due to decisions made in Madrid was an argument for down the track. But as an interim position he said Ukraine should be fortified with Nato-grade weaponry, plus intelligence, plus training so that a future attack was inconceivable. The gathering in Madrid also saw Nato take a firmer view on China, saying it challenges Natos interests, security and values. Mr Johnson said: Its very important that we remember that we have a huge economic relationship with China but at the same time, weve got to understand that there are areas where we need to compete, contest and sometimes challenge what China is up to. There has to be a balanced approach and every country around that table can see that, but obviously one of the reasons why what is happening in Ukraine is so important is because there is a clear read-across to other theatres, and thats why were sticking up for the rules-based international system in the way that we are. Foreign Secretary Ms Truss has argued that the Russian invasion of Ukraine shows the need to ensure Taiwan has the arms it needs to deter a Chinese invasion. Almost half (49%) of university students and graduates aged 18 to 22 say the prospect of taking out a student loan made them think twice about attending university, a survey has found. A third (36%) of people surveyed predicted the situation would worsen and deter future students from attending university, according to the findings from credit reference agency Equifax. In April, it was announced that 10 years would be added to the repayment period for new entrants next year and the tuition fee cap would be frozen at 9,250 for a further two years up to and including the 2024 to 2025 academic year. Paula Roche, managing director of consumer solutions at Equifax, said: While student loan repayments might be a cause for worry for many people, it is important to remember that they dont appear on your credit score, and that repayments vary by income, so people are usually only paying back what they can afford. But prospective students should be aware that if they are using other forms of credit to supplement their student loan while at university this could affect their ability to get credit after they graduate. Equifaxs top five tips for freshers are: Pick your student account wisely as some may leave you with a massive overdraft, which will cause problems if you cannot pay it back after graduation. Live within your means at university and do not feel pressured into spending more than you can to fit into student culture. Remember to make repayments on time if you open a credit card or take out buy now, pay later loans. University life can be hectic with deadlines and exams, but make sure to pay your bills on time. Always reach out to a trusted friend or family member or organisation for help if trying to tackle finances at university. Research for the survey was conducted by business-to-business service Opinium among 3,035 UK adults aged between 18 and 40. Former Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has said he would take a bullet for Russian President Vladimir Putin and described him as a first-class person. The 91-year-old said the war in Ukraine was not intentional and could have been avoided by actions taken by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Mr Ecclestone said Mr Zelensky should have spoken to Mr Putin, who he said is a sensible man. Mr Ecclestone was asked on ITVs Good Morning Britain if he still regards Mr Putin as a friend, and he replied: Id still take a bullet for him. Id rather it didnt hurt, but if it does Id still take a bullet, because hes a first-class person. What hes doing is something that he believed was the right thing he was doing for Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin (Dmitry Azarov/Sputnik/Kremlin pool/AP) Unfortunately, hes like a lot of business people, certainly like me, we make mistakes from time to time. When youve made the mistake, you have to do the best you can to get out of it. I think if it had been conducted properly, I mean the other person in Ukraine (Mr Zelensky), I mean, his profession, I understand, he used to be a comedian. I think he seems as if he wants to continue that profession, because I think if hed have thought about things, he would have definitely made a big enough effort to speak to Mr Putin, who is a sensible person and would have listened to him and could have probably done something about it. Presenter Kate Garraway said to Mr Ecclestone: So just to understand you clearly, you think that President Zelensky should have done more to avert this war and it could have been avoided by Zelenskys actions, not by a change in Putins actions? Mr Ecclestone replied: Absolutely. It was put to Mr Ecclestone that he surely cannot justify the actions of Mr Putin and the deaths of thousands of people. I dont. It wasnt intentional, he replied. Mr Ecclestone again said the war in Ukraine was not intentional, adding: Im quite sure Ukraine, if theyd wanted to get out of it properly, could have done. Asked if he has had a chance to speak to Mr Putin about what a mess the situation is or urged him to rethink what he is doing, Mr Ecclestone said: No. Hes probably thought about that himself. He probably doesnt need reminding. Bernie Ecclestone thinks 'it's wrong to stop Russian athletes, including drivers, taking part in their sport'. The former Formula One CEO says 'if Ukraine had wanted to get out of [the war] properly, they could have done.' pic.twitter.com/mWZTrbg5pT Good Morning Britain (@GMB) June 30, 2022 Im absolutely sure he now wishes he hadnt started this whole business, but didnt start as a war. Mr Ecclestone was asked what he thinks of the Russian Grand Prix being removed from the Formula One calendar and the ban on Russian drivers. He said: Im not in the position now to have done anything about that. Im not sure I would have stopped that, and I certainly now wouldnt, and I think its wrong, to stop Russian athletes, including obviously drivers, in taking part in their sport. They didnt get involved in this in the first place. They shouldnt be punished. He also said Nelson Piquet, who apologised after using an offensive expression when discussing Sir Lewis Hamilton in an interview last year, would never go out of his way to say anything bad. Former Formula One world champion Piquet, 69, was reported to have used a racial slur towards Sir Lewis following the 2021 British Grand Prix. Mr Ecclestone told Good Morning Britain: I think what probably happened, knowing Nelson as I know him, as his daughter is the girlfriend of Max Verstappen, probably after seeing the accident he probably exploded then and sort of carried that forward. I know his feelings because I was alone, I exploded, didnt say anything obviously because there wouldnt have been any point because there was nobody here to hear my reaction to that. So thats probably what his problem was. He was upset with the accident, thinking it was wrong, and probably thinking it was Lewiss fault I did as well, as it happens but anyway, thats probably what he thought and he probably exploded about that. Nelson Piquet has apologised to Sir Lewis Hamilton (Bradley Collyer/PA) Brazilian Piquet, a three-time world champion, was reported to have been discussing a collision between Sir Lewis and rival Verstappen on the opening lap at Silverstone, which saw the Dutchman retire from the race. Piquet has apologised wholeheartedly but insists the word he used has been mistranslated. Mr Ecclestone has courted criticism in the past, saying Mr Putin should govern Europe and calling for women to be dressed in white like all other domestic appliances. He has also claimed that female racing drivers would not be taken seriously. Last month, Mr Ecclestone denied he was arrested for carrying a gun before boarding a flight in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He said the firearm, a LW Seecamp .32, was not loaded and had been packed in his luggage by accident. Mr Ecclestone said he spent several hours with local police reporting the incident, because the gun had not been registered. He said he had to pay 6,000 Brazilian reals (1,000), to the local authorities, and the gun was confiscated. Following Mr Ecclestones appearance on Good Morning Britain, a Formula One spokesman said: The comments made by Bernie Ecclestone are his personal views and are in very stark contrast to the position of the modern values of our sport. Nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists can now certify fit notes, as well as doctors. The Government said the move will cut the pressure on NHS doctors, particularly GPs. Fit notes provide evidence to employers about a persons absence and any relevant advice on how to support their employees to remain in or return to work. Disabilities minister Chloe Smith (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Updated guidance to healthcare professionals and their employers on these changes has been published, setting out how to support people to remain in work while managing a health condition. Ministers said the change which applies across England, Scotland and Wales and is being mirrored in Northern Ireland will make it easier to get advice certified by the most relevant healthcare professional. People will no longer have to be sent to a doctor to have a fit note signed when seeing and receiving treatment from an alternative professional for their health condition. Chloe Smith, Minister for Disabled People, said: Having a health condition doesnt have to take you out of a job. This change will make it easier for people and employers to get the advice they need so people can stay in work, whilst also reducing bureaucracy and freeing up doctors time. Too often we see people being faced with unnecessary challenges to get a fit note. More professionals being able to offer this vital service will speed up the process and support people to return to or remain in work. Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: Slashing unnecessary bureaucracy is key to ensuring more patients can see their GP quickly and get the care they need as we bust the Covid backlogs. Thats why we have introduced these powers to ensure certifying fit notes can be carried out by other healthcare professionals helping to relieve pressures on GPs so they can focus on patients and deliver an extra 50 million appointments a year by 2024. Wendy Preston, the Royal College of Nursings head of nursing practice, said: This is a positive step and is something the Royal College of Nursing was instrumental in bringing about. Nursing staff are often the first people patients see, particularly in primary care, and especially for those living with a long-term condition who may need time off to manage their condition at times. This will allow them to better serve the needs of their patients and reduce the need for further unnecessary appointments with other healthcare professionals. Nurses have the skills and knowledge to make challenging decisions and must not feel pressured to sign a fit note, much the same as our medical colleagues. There have been two distinct waves of tech layoffs amid COVID-19, Layoffs.fyi Creator Roger Lee told Yahoo Finance in an interview. The current wave of layoffs is being driven by the macroeconomic environment, particularly roiling companies that are vulnerable to rising interest rates a group that includes Coinbase (COIN), Tesla (TSLA), and Robinhood (HOOD). This marks a contrast to the previous wave of tech layoffs in 2020, which rattled companies such as Uber (UBER), TripAdvisor (TRIP), Yelp (YELP), and Airbnb (ABNB) that were impacted by shelter-in-place policies at the beginning of the pandemic. According to data from Layoffs.fyi, at least 22,800 tech employees across 155 different companies have been laid off since the start of 2022. People watch as the logo for Coinbase Global Inc, the biggest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, is displayed on the Nasdaq MarketSite jumbotron at Times Square in New York, U.S., April 14, 2021. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton And according to Lee, the layoffs are not that surprising: Theres a lot of uncertainty in the market right now and companies and startups are trying to be proactive about cutting costs." A recently-laid off Coinbase employee, who received a bachelors in computer science from a highly-ranked university and spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Yahoo Finance that they actively sought out a career in blockchain and joined Coinbase pre-pandemic with high hopes. "I had the best interview experience I'd ever had," they said. "Coinbase really did have a great culture before it went remote." The company's culture shifted after employees went remote amid the pandemic, this person claimed, and tensions escalated after CEO Brian Armstrong's comments to employees after a 46-year-old Black man, George Floyd, was murdered by a 44-year-old white police officer. The email that the former Coinbase employee received from the company notifying her she had been laid off. 'There are some similarities to the dot-com bust in 2001' Though some have worried that this moment in tech is a repeat of the turn-of-the-century dot-com bust, there are some key differences. There are some similarities to the dot-com bust in 2001, which culled the herd with the exit of Web 1.0 companies that were nothing more than a website with a promise, Dan Wang, associate professor of business at Columbia Business School, told Yahoo Finance. Investor expectations were tamed 20 years ago in a way thats similar to what were witnessing now. The big difference, however, was that we were in a pre-digital world 20 years ago. Today, for both consumers and businesses, their livelihoods are fully integrated into digital platforms, which will shorten a potential recovery period. The extent of layoffs across the industry remains difficult for those caught in the crossfire, emotionally and practically. In a time like this, when theres uncertainty about the future, employees who are laid off will be less inclined to take the risk of losing their own savings, or simply dont have the capital to exercise their stock options, EquityBee Co-Founder and CEO Oren Barzilai told Yahoo Finance, also estimating that there are about 6 million startup employees in the U.S. Barzilai added that there are so many stressed out employees whove been laid off, and they cant afford to keep their equity. Eventually they realize that the economy will turn back over into a bull market as the company they helped build goes public or gets acquired. They realize they could have been very wealthy today its happened many times before and because they couldnt take the risk or afford to exercise, they lost everything. In the South of Market district, the nexus of San Francisco's tech industry, rents are soaring and latte lines are lengthening, conjuring memories of the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith Ultimately, the flood of layoffs hitting the tech space signals a fundamental change across the industry, a shift from focusing on growth towards honing in on profitability. Make no mistake the tech sector is still bustling with innovation and growth opportunities, but I think at least as far as tech start-ups go, there will be less of a focus on growth and scaling as quickly as possible, Wang said. With a recession around the corner, investors both in the public markets and in venture capital are looking for more reasonable expectations, and this means rather than focus on growth, companies in the tech sector must turn their attention to achieving profitability as quickly as possible and sustaining it for as long as possible. To meet this urgency, layoffs are unfortunately part of the equation. Ines Ferre contributed to this report. Allie Garfinkle is a senior tech reporter at Yahoo Finance. Find her on twitter @agarfinks. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance. Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit. A furious groom has hit out at British Airways after the suitcase containing his wedding outfit was not loaded on to his flight from Heathrow to Italy. Farhad Ehtesham, 32, from Guildford, Surrey, faces a race against time to be reunited with his baggage before tying the knot in Tuscany on Saturday. The business development manager told the PA news agency the airline has failed to respond to his messages. He and his bride-to-be, Rachel, flew from Heathrows Terminal 5 to Romes Fiumicino airport on Wednesday night. They carried her dress as hand luggage but checked in a suitcase containing his wedding outfit, which consists of a green jacket with cream linen trousers and a gold-coloured tie. It also has other crucial items such as presents and decorations, plus clothes for their honeymoon. Mr Ehtesham said: The moment we landed, we got an email saying Your luggage is not there, please contact us. Thats when panic starts setting in. You might think for clothes you can just buy others and try to claim through insurance, but its not that simple. I cant replace a wedding outfit that was planned nine months ahead. Its just unbelievable. The couple were told by airport staff in Rome that the suitcase would be put on the next British Airways flight from Heathrow on Thursday morning, but that was cancelled, and they have been unable to get further updates. BAs website is really terrible because they dont respond to any messages, he said. Any phone lines just go dead. I tried to message them on Instagram, Facebook and so on but got no response. We dont know what to do. British Airways said in a statement: Were doing everything we can to reunite the customer with their luggage in time for their special day. We apologise for the delay and inconvenience caused. Asked how he felt about the situation, Mr Ehtesham replied: Im stressed, Im furious. I feel like I have no power to do anything about it when they dont respond to you in any way. Its one of those things you hear about, but you dont expect it to happen to you, especially before your wedding. I cant explain how infuriating it is. The baggage hall at Heathrow Terminal 2 earlier this month (Twitter/PA) Luggage belonging to thousands of passengers flying from Heathrow this month has not been loaded on to flights. Images have emerged of a huge pile-up of checked bags at Terminal 2. The airport said it ordered airlines to cancel 30 flights on Thursday morning because the expected number of passengers was more than it currently has capacity to serve. MADRID (AP) President Joe Biden said Thursday that the Supreme Court's decision ending a constitutional right to abortion is destabilizing and that he supports changing Senate rules to codify nationwide abortion protections. He maintained the ruling does not affect U.S. standing on the world stage as he took credit for modernizing the transatlantic alliance to adapt to new threats from Russia and China. Biden was speaking to reporters at the conclusion of a five-day foreign trip to huddle with NATO allies in Madrid and the leaders of the Group of Seven advanced democratic economies in the Bavarian Alps, which came as the nation was still grappling with the fallout from Friday's Supreme Court decision. America is better positioned to lead the world than we ever have been, Biden said. But one thing that has been destabilizing is the outrageous behavior of the Supreme Court of United States in overruling not only Roe v. Wade, but essentially challenging the right to privacy. He added: I could understand why the American people are frustrated because of what the Supreme Court did." Biden said he would support changing the Senate filibuster rules, which require 60 votes to pass most legislation, to allow bringing a bill extending nationwide abortion protections to pass by simple majority, but he said it would likely require voters to send additional Democratic Senators to Washington to get done. The three-day NATO summit included the Biden administration announcing plans to permanently bolster the U.S. military presence in Europe, an agreement between Turkey, Finland and Sweden to pave the way for the accession of Nordic nations into NATO, and the alliance updating its strategic concept reflect that Chinas coercive policies are a challenge the Western blocs interests. I think we can all agree that this has been a historic NATO Summit, Biden said. He noted the last time NATO updated what is essentially its mission statement was 12 years ago, when Russia was characterized as a partner, and the document didnt even mention China. The new document hammered out at the summit changes that. The world has changed, changed a great deal since then, Biden said. This summit was about strengthening our alliances, meeting the challenges of our world as it is a day, and the threats were going to face in the future, Biden said. Biden also highlighted announcements at the G-7 meeting, including more economic and military assistance to Ukraine as it aims to beat back Russia's four-month invasion, and announcements on tougher sanctions meant to punish Moscow. "We are going stick with Ukraine and all of the alliance is going to stick with Ukraine as long as it takes," Biden said. I dont know what it how its going to end, but it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine." GABORONE, June 29 (Xinhua) -- At least 73 business clients of Stanbic Bank Botswana from nine African markets have showcased their goods to over 200 Chinese importers gathered in Changsha, capital of China's Hunan Province, and eventually secured off-take agreements. This emerged Wednesday during a virtual business matchmaking session hosted by the bank and its equity partner, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), in collaboration with the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo. The event was coordinated from Gaborone, the capital of Botswana. Philip Myburgh, the head of Africa-China Banking at Stanbic Bank Botswana, said the bank and its partner the ICBC, have for over a decade collaborated in facilitating trade between Africa and China. "Part of this increasingly significant global trade capability includes assisting African exporters to find off-takers in China, Africa's largest trading partner," Myburgh said, adding that Stanbic Bank Botswana has to this end hosted quarterly Africa-China export matchmaking sessions, providing its business clients across Africa virtual and assisted access to the Chinese market. "The beauty of the virtual sessions is that Stanbic Bank Botswana clients, regardless of where they are in Africa, can interact directly with potentially hundreds of product off-takers in China, without having to leave their businesses or homes," he said. Hunan Province in central China is an important trade hub between African and Chinese companies, according to Myburgh. During the 8th ministerial conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in November last year, China announced that it will further increase the scope of products enjoying zero-tariff treatment for the least developed countries having diplomatic relations with China, in a bid to reach 300 billion U.S. dollars in total imports from Africa in the next three years. A 34-year-old man from Colorado Springs, Colo., was gored by a bull bison in Yellowstone National Park this week and suffered an arm injury, park officials said. (Matthew Brown / Associated Press) A 34-year-old Colorado man was gored by a charging bison this week as he was walking in Yellowstone National Park with his family, the park said in a statement. The man was in a group walking Monday along a boardwalk in the park near the Old Faithful geyser when a bull bison charged, park officials said. "Family members did not leave the area, and the bull bison continued to charge and gored the male," Yellowstone said in a statement. In video of the attack obtained by CNN, the bison can be seen running toward the group, which included two other adults and a child. The animal stopped at the boardwalk, shook its head and pawed the ground. It then jumped over the boardwalk and charged at the people, who began running. The man, who has not been identified, grabbed the child, who was in front of the charging bison. The massive mammal then struck the man with its head, lifting both man and child into the air. The two then jumped up and sprinted away from the bison, which eventually began walking in the opposite direction. The man's arm was injured in the attack, and he was transported to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, Yellowstone officials said. Monday's incident is the second goring by a bison in the park in the last month. On May 30, a 25-year-old woman from Ohio reportedly approached a bison, coming within 10 feet of it, the park said. The bison then gored her and tossed her 10 feet into the air. Yellowstone requires visitors to remain at least 25 yards away from bison at all times. The woman received a puncture wound and was transported to the same medical center as the man in Monday's attack. "Bison have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal," the park said in a statement. "They are unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) Religious leaders and others in Savannah, Georgia's oldest city, called Wednesday for the police chief's resignation and a federal investigation into local officer-involved shootings, including one last week that left a Black man dead. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said it is independently investigating Friday's fatal shooting of a man who officers spotted walking around midday in the middle of a street. The man, Saudi Arai Lee, 31, of Savannah, lived in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred. Family after family are crying because of sons or their daughters shot down by this police department and it must stop, Elder James Johnson, founder of the activist group Racial Justice Network, said at a news conference Wednesday. I dont know if its the training or a fear of a Black man, but seems like they shoot and ask questions later, and we cannot and will not tolerate this," he said. Video: Officer charged with murder in Lyoya shooting Officers approached Lee to speak with him, the GBI said. The agency said Lee immediately showed them his wallet, saying it contained his weapons permit, and then lifted his shirt and removed a weapon from a holster. Authorities said a short chase followed and that Lee was shot by Savannah Police Officer Ernest Ferguson, who is white. Officials said emergency medical aid was rendered but Lee was later pronounced dead at a hospital. This man had a legal concealed weapons permit and still was shot down. It should never be a death sentence (for) a Black man for carrying a weapon, Johnson said. The officer who shot Lee was placed on administrative leave, Savannah police spokeswoman Bianca Johnson said in an email, The Savannah Morning News reported. The paper said Ferguson has been with the department since March 2021. GBI agents said a handgun and a holster were recovered from the scene. Results of the GBI's investigation will be given to a local district attorneys office for review, the agency said. Lees killing was the fifth officer-involved death in Savannah this year, the newspaper said. Elder James Johnson called for Police Chief Roy Minters resignation and said a federal probe should be opened into the officer-involved shootings in the city. There will be a series of protests in front of this police department to demand that this police chief step down, he said, adding, we dont think that hes doing a good job in training his officers. The police spokeswoman, in an email to The Associated Press, said the department would not comment on the community call for a federal probe and for the chief's resignation. She reiterated the department's previous statement, confirming it had contacted the GBI to conduct a thorough and independent investigation into Friday's shooting. She also said the department's Internal Affairs Division had separately launched an investigation into the actions that occurred that day. Both investigations are ongoing independently of one another at this time. Once the GBI concludes its investigation, the case will be handed over to the DAs Office to make a final determination, the statement said. A federal judge sentenced a Columbia man to 12 years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to his role in a conspiracy to sell cocaine and crack cocaine, according to the South Carolina U.S. Attorneys Office. Norris L. Bond, who also pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in relation to drug trafficking, was responsible for supplying more than ten kilograms of cocaine and 750 grams of crack cocaine during a three year period, according to federal prosecutors. Bond, 42, was initially arrested by the Richland County Sheriffs Department in July 2019. Following a traffic stop, a search of his Audi uncovered drugs and a .9-mm pistol. Law enforcement officials also recovered over 90 grams of cocaine and crack cocaine from the back of the patrol car being used to transport Bond. United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Bond to 144 months imprisonment, followed by five years of supervision. He will not be eligible for parole. Employment in Dallas-Fort Worth has grown by more than 4% since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago, according to a recent Brookings Institution report. Compared with 52 of the countrys largest metros, DFW has experienced post-pandemic recovery fairly well. The metroplex ranked second highest in job growth, beating out major metropolitan areas New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia. Austin was the only metro in the country to report higher job growth, according to the report. This largely could be due to considerable growth that Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin saw during the first year of the pandemic. From February 2020 to the summer of 2021, 64,000 new residents relocated to Dallas-Fort Worth, while 48,000 relocated to Austin, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Fort Worth unemployment rates experienced a 35% decline since last year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. The city saw unemployment of 3.9% in May 2022, a rate lower than Texas as a whole. Last month, 4.2% of Texans were unemployed, a rate that has declined by nearly 65% since May 2020, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Over the past 12 months, major industries such as trade, transportation and utilities; professional and business services; and education and health services saw job growth by more than 6%. Meanwhile, the leisure and hospitality industry saw growth by more than 17%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Government employment was the only industry to see a slight decline. Dallas-Fort Worth has simultaneously seen real estate growth as more families move to the metroplex. Throughout the pandemic, DFW housing listing prices grew by more than 24% and multi-family rent grew by nearly 20%, data show. Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani listens to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a meeting last week in Tehran. (Vahid Salemi / Associated Press) Iran said Thursday it is ready for new indirect talks with the United States to overcome the last hurdles to revive its tattered 2015 nuclear deal with major powers amid a growing crisis over the country's atomic program. Irans U.N. Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi told the U.N. Security Council that the Iranian negotiating team is ready to engage constructively again to conclude and reach agreement. The ball is in U.S. court, and if the U.S. acts realistically and shows its serious intention to implement its obligations, the agreement is not out of reach, he added. Ravanchis remarks came a day after indirect negotiations between Iran and the U.S. ended in Qatar after failing to make significant progress. Yet Ravanchi described the Qatar talks as serious and positive. He said Iran will contact the European Union coordinators for the next stage of talks. During intensive consultations with EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Tehran last week Iran once again emphasized its willingness to provide creative solutions to the remaining issues in the hope of ending the deadlock, Ravanchi said. He spoke at a Security Council meeting on the U.N. resolution that endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal and its five permanent members the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France and Germany. In 2018, then-President Trump pulled America out of the agreement, known as the JCPOA, raising tensions across the wider Middle East and sparking a series of attacks and incidents. President Biden's administration has been working to renew the agreement, which placed curbs on Irans nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief, which Iran insists it has never received. The State Department said after this weeks talks in Doha that Iran raised issues wholly unrelated to the JCPOA and apparently is not ready to make a fundamental decision on whether it wants to revive the deal or bury it. Before Ravanchi spoke, U.S. deputy ambassador Richard Mills told the council that the United States remains committed to a mutual return to full implementation" of the JCPOA. Mills said the U.S. has been prepared for months to conclude a deal based on understandings negotiated in Vienna in March, but we can only conclude a deal, and implement it, if Iran drops its additional demands that are outside the scope of the JCPOA. The Vienna talks have been on pause since March. And since the deals collapse, Iran has been running advanced centrifuges and rapidly growing stockpiles of enriched uranium to 60% purity, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels. However, Tehran continues to suffer under intense economic sanctions while the West hopes to again curtail its nuclear program. Before the council meeting, France, Britain and Germany issued a joint statement saying Irans nuclear program is now more advanced than at any point in the past and its actions are rapidly unsettling the balance of the package we had negotiated over many months. The statement urged Iran to conclude the deal, while it is still possible and warned that its actions raise further obstacles to the IAEA's ability to provide assurance of the peaceful nature of Irans nuclear program. U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo expressed hope that Iran and the United States will continue to build on the momentum of the last few days of talks in Qatar to resolve the remaining issues. While the U.N. nuclear agency hasnt been able to verify Irans stockpile of enriched uranium, it estimates that the stockpile is more than 15 times the amount allowed under the JCPOA, including uranium enriched to 20% and 60% which is extremely worrying, she said. Also, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran has started to install additional advanced centrifuges at enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordo. EU Ambassador Olof Skoog said that in view of Iran's worrying nuclear trajectory" and new U.S. sanctions, it's vital that an agreement is concluded as soon as possible, stressing that the space for further significant changes has been exhausted." This is important for Europe, for Iran, the region but also the world as a whole that now more than ever needs more security and stability," Skoog said. Russias deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky, while critical of allegations against Iran, said Moscow wholeheartedly supports negotiations to revive the JCPOA and sees no insurmountable issues. Attempts to step up pressure on Iran through unwarranted fueling of tensions around the JCPOA could fully invalidate prospects for reviving the deal, he cautioned and urged all parties to focus on compromise. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Local health care providers and prosecutors are still discerning exactly what Missouris trigger ban on abortions will mean for access to reproductive health care in the state going forward. The Star is continuing to report on the laws effects, but we could use your help. If you are a health care worker in Kansas City or another part of Missouri and have heard about changing policies or processes around care at your hospital or clinic, we want to hear from you. You know whats happening in your hospital or clinic better than anyone. Confusion and concern about the trigger ban caused at least one local health system, Saint Lukes, to briefly stop providing emergency contraceptives on Tuesday due to potential legal risk. Saint Lukes later reversed their decision to not provide Plan B on Wednesday afternoon. The decision to reverse came after Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Gov. Mike Parson, both Republicans, affirmed that birth control is not banned in Missouri. Missouri law does not prohibit the use or provision of Plan B, or contraception, said Chris Nuelle, spokesperson for Schmitt. Although Missouri health care providers can offer emergency contraception and other birth control to patients, exactly how the states trigger ban on abortions will be enforced and how it will affect patient care going forward is still uncertain, and shifting by the day. The Star plans to continue reporting on how the abortion ban will affect health care, including how it could possibly directly affect reproductive health care, or indirectly affect other care. If you are a health care worker who knows of changes or has concerns about care being provided after the law went into effect, The Star wants to hear from you. You can fill out the form below. Any personal or contact information is so a reporter can follow up with you. We need it to be able to follow up on any information you share, and we promise to not publish your name or any personally identifying information without your explicit consent first. If you would rather, you can email The Star directly at kcq@kcstar.com. Ethan Crumbley attends a hearing at Oakland County circuit court in Pontiac, Mich., on Feb. 22, 2022. A judge on Thursday, June 23, 2022 postponed a murder trial until January in the case of the teenager accused of killing four fellow students and injuring others at a Michigan high school. Lawyers for Crumbley said a September trial date wouldn't leave enough time to go through evidence and prepare. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP, Pool) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) The parents of a teenager wounded during a mass shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan are suing the shop that sold the handgun used to kill four students and injure six other people. The complaint filed Tuesday in federal court in Detroit on behalf of Matthew and Mary Mueller accuses Acme Shooting Goods LLC of negligently or unlawfully supplying the gun through a straw sale. Authorities have said James Crumbley bought the 9 mm semiautomatic handgun used in the Nov. 30 shooting as an early Christmas gift for his son, Ethan, who was 15 at the time. The lawsuit says Ethan accompanied his father to Acme Shooting Goods several days before the shooting and engaged in behavior or made one or more statements while in the store which further indicated that the Acme gun was intended for Ethan. Acme Shooting Goods was obligated to train, supervise and monitor employees to identify and prevent so-called straw purchases, according to the lawsuit. A straw purchase is when a person buys a gun to sell or give to someone prohibited from having one. An employee at the gun shop in Oxford declined to comment on the lawsuit Wednesday. The Muellers' son suffered gunshot wounds to a hand and his face. He was one of six students and one teacher wounded in the shooting at the school, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Detroit. Ethan Crumbley, now 16, has been charged as an adult with murder and terrorism and faces trial in January. James Crumbley and his wife, Jennifer, are accused of providing their son with access to the gun and are awaiting trial for involuntary manslaughter. Gun dealers, when they enter the business of selling guns, assume a duty to comply with all standards of reasonable care and all relevant state and/or federal firearms laws in order to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, juveniles and dangerous parties likely to misuse firearms, the Muellers' lawsuit says. A gun shop in Connecticut was named in a lawsuit against gunmaker Remington following the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, that killed 26 people, mostly children. Nancy Lanza bought the assault-style rifle used by her son, Adam Lanza, in the shooting. The shop later was dropped from the lawsuit when a judge dismissed the complaint against Remington in 2016. The judge cited a federal law that shields gun-makers from liability in most cases. The Connecticut Supreme Court later reinstated the lawsuit against Remington on the issue of whether it should be held liable for how it marketed the Bushmaster rifle. In February, Remington and the Sandy Hook families agreed to a $73 million settlement of the case. Remington, one of the nations oldest gun makers founded in 1816, filed for bankruptcy for a second time in 2020 and its assets were later sold off to several companies. The manufacturer was weighed down by lawsuits and retail sales restrictions following the school shooting. The Muellers' lawsuit does not include a dollar amount for damages. It also names the Oxford Community School District, its former superintendent and other officials. Other multimillion-dollar lawsuits filed after the shooting have said the violence was preventable. The morning of the shooting, school officials met with Ethan Crumbley and his parents at the school after a teacher found a drawing of a gun, a bullet and a person who appeared to have been shot, along with messages stating, My life is useless and The world is dead. The Crumbleys declined to take their son home and Ethan was allowed to remain in school. The gun was in his backpack, which was not searched. We are bringing this suit so that the failures both in the sale of this gun and at our school which allowed this to happen can never happen again, Matthew and Mary Mueller said in a statement. "No family or community needs to experience this pain and no child should have to live with it for the rest of their life. ___ This story has been corrected to show that Acme Shooting Goods is located in Oxford. When Kansas City officials announced they would replace 84,000 old-fashioned cobra-head streetlights with energy-efficient LEDs last year, there was one big problem that got no mention. The city didnt have the $20 million-plus to pull off the job when the City Council voted 11-1 in January to move forward. The boxes in the accompanying fiscal note were blank. City Manager Brian Platt and Public Works Director Michael Shaw found a way to fill the gap that same month: Force someone else to pay for it. They met with leaders at the areas regional bus agency and let them know that, like it or not, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority would be paying for the project. Multiple local government sources with knowledge of the meeting described it to The Star, with some calling it a shakedown. And because the transit agencys longtime CEO and president, Robbie Makinen, fought the city money grab, he most likely will be losing his job after a special meeting this Thursday afternoon of the KCATAs board of commisssioners, those sources said. Get rid of Makinen, or we will find another contractor to provide bus service in Kansas City, Platt privately told the KCATA boards chairwoman and vice chairman recently, those sources said. City officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Wednesday. The hardball tactics are common knowledge among the areas tight-knit community of mass transit planners and supporters, who say that this is just another example of Kansas City taking transit money away from the KCATA. Lekatta English, right, and her children, Maraih Brand, center, and Malachi Brand, left, boarded a KCATA RideKC Bus, on Thursday, June 2, 2022, outside the Transit Center, 7501 Prospect Ave., in Kansas City. After the bus fares were eliminated, English said there are not as many bus routes on Sundays, which has made it more difficult to get around the city. Already the city diverts transit funds for street maintenance and other public works. The new contract that the city is negotiating with the transit agency would further cut into revenues by imposing penalties for late buses and missed stops. The ATA gets ever decreasing amounts of funding from that half-cent sales tax, said an official at another local government that is part of the RideKC system, who asked not to be named in this story. Our interest is in a strong partnership with the ATA and a strong, financially secure ATA thats able to provide the level of service that the Metro needs. So we would prefer that the ATA was getting 100% of the funding that theyre expecting to be able to provide those services. KCATA and City Hall The KCATA is not a city agency. City officials cant order it around. But Kansas City does have lots of leverage, as the public transit agency receives two thirds of its budget from the local governments it contracts with for bus service. About 90 percent of that more than $60 million comes from the revenue that two Kansas City transit sales taxes provide. Shaw, the public works director and husband of councilwoman Ryana Parks-Shaw, used that leverage to issue an ultimatum at that January meeting, according to several people who were at or had knowledge of what was said at the meeting but did not want to be identified by name. Either KCATA would pay for the streetlight project out of the federal funds the KCATA had been granted to shore up its finances during the pandemic. Or Kansas City would take the money from the transit sales tax revenue it had control of to finance that project and others. According to one person at that meeting: He said, I have already committed to LED streetlights, and I dont have the money to pay for them. So youre going to. Makinen contacted the head of the Federal Transit Administration in Washington, D.C., to see if the FTA could block the move. They couldnt. He also asked Sen. Barbara Washington to see if the Kansas City Democrat would try to pass a bill in the Missouri General Assembly that would prevent the city from using transit money for streetlights. But the bill Washington introduced on Feb. 23, SB 1172, did not get a hearing. So in March, the transportation authority board had little choice but to comply with the citys wishes, signing a cooperative agreement in which the KCATA agreed to pay Kansas City $22.5 million for the street-lighting project over the next two years, $6 million to help pay to extend the streetcar to the riverfront and $4 million for a Grand Boulevard bike and pedestrian bridge. Private meeting with KCATA board members At least partly because he sought help from the state and federal governments, Makinen will be fired or forced to resign after that special meeting Thursday afternoon of the KCATA board of commissioners, multiple sources said. According to those sources, Lucas was upset with Makinen for complaining to the FTA and trying to pass legislation thwarting the citys move in Jefferson City. Recently, Platt conveyed his demand that Makinen be fired to two members of the KCATA board at a private meeting. Those board members had hoped to quell increasing criticism from City Hall about bus service, which has suffered due to a shortage of drivers. Mayor Quinton Lucas and City Manager Brian Platt met with The Star to discuss Kansas Citys east side Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. They (the commissioners) said, Hey, why dont we have a meeting and work these things out, according to one elected official with knowledge of what was said at the meeting, and I understand the city manager said, If Robbie Makinen isnt fired, we will send out an RFP and we will find somebody else to handle our bus service in Kansas City. Two other people familiar with what happened at the meeting confirmed that account. The two KCATA representatives at the meeting were chair Melissa Bynum of Wyandotte County and vice chair and Cass County representative Reginald Townsend. Bynum did not respond to requests for comment, and Townsend could not be reached. Complaints about service While Platt and other city officials have yet to respond to requests for comment on the citys attempts to have Makinen removed, Lucas and others have in recent months publicly disparaged KCATA management for bad service since COVID-19 hit and diminished the number of available drivers. What are they doing with the tens of millions of dollars theyve received? Lucas told The Star recently for an article about bus service. To me, its not so much just a budgeting issue ... its an implementation issue. A passenger checks if a bus is approaching at the 12th Street and Grand Boulevard stop Monday, June 6, 2022. Around the time the cooperative agreement for the streetlight money was signed, Lucas appointed Shaw as one of the citys three representatives on the 10-member board. After a three-hour executive session last week, another city representative, former firefighters union leader Louie Wright, informed Makinen that a majority of commissioners would vote to accept his resignation or fire him at this weeks special meeting. Wright declined comment on Wednesday, as did Makinen. Transit money for streetlights Earlier in the week, Platt issued a written statement regarding the appropriateness of the city using transit money to upgrade the streetlight system, which would result in a savings to taxpayers in energy costs at a time when the city budget is pinched. The Public Mass Transit tax and KCATA sales tax funds are dedicated to both transit services and transit infrastructure improvements, he wrote. We are collaborating with KCATA leadership to better leverage those tax dollars generated within Kansas City, MO to help expedite and facilitate improvements to transit infrastructure in general within Kansas City, MO. This includes but is not limited to street resurfacing, bus stop seating and shelters, and street lights. Likewise, Shaw issued a written statement outlining how the streetlight project is being financed: RideKC leadership recommended the best way to handle and fund that project was for the City to administer the LED Conversion project and withhold an equal monthly amount for 24 months which will fund the project over the next two years. Per the agreement, the equal monthly amounts are being withheld from Public Mass transit funds. Those funds are in turn replacing streetlights in the public right-of-way. KCATA remains fully funded due to the use of federal relief funds issued them. In an interview Wednesday, Dick Jarrold, the transportation authoritys vice president for planning and development, said the first part of Shaws statement is incorrect. RideKC did not recommend spending the money on the streetlights. It only recommended that the least cumbersome way to handle the financing of the projects was to let the city deduct the money from sales tax funds rather than have KCATA cut the city checks. We were very careful to check with the Federal Transit Administration to understand the legalities of doing that because we knew that was not really the intent of the COVID funding to do things outside of transit, even if its indirect like that, Jarrold said. So we did check with FTA who had some concerns, but felt legally there wasnt anything they could do to say no to it. While fully funded for now, KCATA officials worry that over time their finances will suffer from the citys draw on their budget. Even before this project, the city has rarely provided the KCATA with all the sales tax money it collects for mass transit. While the the proceeds of the 3/8-cent tax go directly to KCATA, the original half-cent tax imposed 50 years ago goes to the city, which then passes most but not all of those dollars to KCATA. Several years ago, the council rescinded a promise to provide KCATA with 95 percent of that money. Makinen as KCATA leader Makinen has become a well-known and enthusiastic ambassador of the KCATA and public transit since becoming CEO in 2015. Blinded by a medical condition about a decade ago, he stood out at public events with his dark sunglasses, cane and engaging smile. His association with KCATA began in 2007, when then-Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders appointed him to be the countys representative on the KCATAs board of commissioners. Makinen had been one of Sanders right hands early in his administration, serving on a number of public boards and, thanks to his friendly, jovial nature, acting as the county executives liaison to the mayor and top officials of cities in eastern Jackson County. Its the same traits hed used to the advantage of his previous employer, where he was responsible for driving revenue by catering to the needs of high rollers at Harrahs Casino & Hotel in North Kansas City. Prior to that, he was director of the learning center and program development at Ozanam Childrens Services in Kansas City, according to his resume. Makinen eventually became more than just another board member at KCATA, rising to chairman. Along with co-chairman Steve Klicka, he saw the potential for elevating the stature and importance of the public transit agency. Together, they led the drive to create the $200,000-a-year CEO position that Makinen now fills. KCATA CEO Robbie Makinen gave masks away to bus riders at a stop at 31st Street and Prospect Avenue in late June. The city of Kansas City was the first jurisdiction in the area to make masks mandatory to curb the spread of COVID-19. CORONAVIRUSKC He replaced the original occupant of that job, Joe Reardon, the former Kansas City, Kansas mayor who left the bus agency less than a year after he started to head the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. Previous heads of the KCATA had for the most part come up through the mass transit field. To boost support for building a true regional transit system that bridged city and state boundaries, transit know-how was seen as less necessary than having someone in the job with a knack for public relations. Its unclear who will replace Makinen or whether the agencys direction will change. Prior to the pandemic in 2020, RideKC had been steadily adding routes and new services. For years, Makinen has hoped to eliminate fare in hopes of building ridership. He and his board did that for veterans and other groups before Kansas Citys council voted for a citywide zero fare policy shortly before COVID-19 hit. Lucas and Kansas City recently got an award for doing so from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Makinens leadership on the issue wasnt mentioned. Star reporter Kynala Phillips contributed to this story. A 33-year-old man faces prison time after he became erratic and tried to remove his clothes while on a flight to Charlotte, North Carolina, federal officials said. Adam Alexander Williams, of Auburn, Washington, pleaded guilty to interference with flight members and attendants, the United States Attorneys Office for the District of Montana said in a June 30 news release. An attorney for Williams did not immediately respond to McClatchy News request for comment. Williams was on an American Airlines flight from Seattle when he yelled out Where is Jamie Sanders? before he jumped over passengers in his row and landed on an in-service beverage cart, the release states. Once he got off the cart, he pushed a flight attendant into her seat and sent drinks and cups flying, according to the release. Then he ran down the aisle of the plane, prosecutors said. Flight attendants escorted Williams to his seat where he remained calm for about 10 minutes, according to the release. Then he screamed an obscenity and started to act up so several Marines, who were passengers, sat in the seats around him, the release states. After several more minutes, he got out of his seat again and tried to take his clothes off while screaming. The pilot then turned the plane around and landed in Billings, Montana, so Williams could be removed. Williams faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison as well as a $25,000 fine and three years of supervised release. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 20. The number of unruly passenger cases on U.S. airlines has increased dramatically since 2020, when the FAA investigated 183 cases. That grew to 1,099 in 2021. Many of the cases were sparked by passengers upset with mask mandates during the height of COVID-19, others were alcohol-related. So far this year, through June 28, there have been 1,562 reports of unruly passengers and of those, 520 warranted investigations, the FAA says. Sacramento woman running wild opens emergency exit on plane, NY officials say Airline not liable after passenger dubbed unruly dies of medical emergency, court says Winglet falls off plane during flight from South Carolina to Dallas-Fort Worth, FAA says WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) New Zealand's government has declared that American far-right groups the Proud Boys and The Base are terrorist organizations. The two groups join 18 others including Islamic State that have been given an official terrorist designation, making it illegal in New Zealand to fund, recruit or participate in the groups, and obligating authorities to take action against them. The U.S. groups are not known to be active in New Zealand, although the South Pacific nation has become more attuned to threats from the far right after a white supremacist shot and killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two Christchurch mosques in 2019. The New Zealand massacre inspired other white supremacists around the world, including a white gunman who killed 10 Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. In the U.S., the State Department only lists foreign groups as terrorist entities. But the Proud Boys were last year named a terrorist group in Canada, while The Base has previously been declared a terrorist group in Britain, Canada and Australia. In a 29-page explanation of the Proud Boys designation published Thursday, New Zealand authorities said the group's involvement in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021 amounted to an act of terrorism. New Zealand Police Minister Chris Hipkins during his press conference at Parliament, Wellington, New Zealand, Thursday, June 30, 2022. (Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald via AP) The statement said that while several militia groups were involved, it was the Proud Boys who incited crowds, coordinated attacks on law enforcement officers and led other rioters to where they could break into the building. The statement said there are unlinked but ideologically affiliated chapters of the Proud Boys operating in Canada and Australia. New Zealand authorities argued that before the Capitol attack, the Proud Boys had a history of using street rallies and social media to intimidate opponents and recruit young men through demonstrations of violence. It said the group had put up various smoke screens to hide its extremism. Earlier this month, the former leader of the Proud Boys, Henry Enrique Tarrio, and four others linked to the group were charged in the U.S. with seditious conspiracy for what federal prosecutors say was a coordinated attack on the Capitol. The indictment alleges that the Proud Boys conspired to forcibly oppose the lawful transfer of presidential power. The five are scheduled to stand trial in August in Washington, D.C.s federal court. Asked by media Thursday in New Zealand if the Proud Boys weren't better known for protest actions rather than extreme violence, New Zealand Police Minister Chris Hipkins said: Well, violent protests attempting to overthrow the government, clearly there is evidence of that. In making its case against The Base, New Zealand authorities said a key goal of the group was to train a cadre of extremists capable of accelerationist violence. The statement said founder Rinaldo Nazzaro has repetitively counselled members online about violence, the acquisition of weapons, and actions to accelerate the collapse of the U.S. government and survive the consequent period of chaos and violence." CAIRO, June 30 (Xinhua) -- China Cultural Center in Cairo on Thursday announced the start of the Chinese song singing contest "Egypt Sings 2022" or "WeSing" contest. Egyptians and foreigners living in Egypt are eligible to take part in the competition, and auditions will continue from June 30 to July 18 and from August 1 to August 20, said a statement on the center's Facebook page. The contest is divided into two stages, the audition and the finals, the statement said, adding that contestants have to choose from 25 designated Chinese songs. The jury will select eight contestants for the finals based on their singing, performance, and the popularity of their songs on the WeSing APP. The first winner will receive a scholarship from the Chinese government if certain requirements are met, or 20,000 Egyptian pounds (nearly 1,063 U.S. dollars). The second place will include two winners, each receiving 10,000 pounds, and the third place will include five winners, each receiving 6,000 pounds. Boris Johnson insisted there is no place like home as he prepared to return from a week-long foreign trip to plots to oust him from Downing Street. The Prime Minister said he is excited to head from Madrid to the UK on Thursday after being abroad for the double by-election defeat that triggered a Cabinet resignation. He has not ruled out an early general election but insisted a snap poll ahead of the next vote scheduled in 2024 hasnt occurred to me. (PA Graphics) Mr Johnsons authority was further damaged by the loss of the Tory stronghold of Tiverton and Honiton to the Liberal Democrats and Wakefield to Labour last week. Conservative rebels are considering a move to change the rules of the 1922 Committee of backbenchers to allow another vote of no confidence within the next year. Oliver Dowden resigned as Tory party co-chairman following the devastating by-election results that landed while Mr Johnson was 4,000 miles away in the Rwandan capital of Kigali for a Commonwealth summit. As MPs plotted, the Prime Minister flew on to Germany for the G7 summit and then to Spain for the Nato meeting. Asked if he is looking forward to returning to Britain after eight days away, he told a press conference: Yes, I cant tell you how much Im looking forward to get not that its been wonderful being here in Madrid, as Ive enjoyed being in Kigali and Germany. But theres no place like home so Im keen to get back. Prime Minister Boris Johnson talks to journalists (Stefan Rousseau/PA) The Prime Minister has claimed he has a new mandate at Westminster following his victory in the confidence vote, despite 41% of his own MPs deciding he should go, and was asked whether he would also seek a fresh mandate from the country. Mr Johnson, a former journalist, told reporters accompanying him on the trip to the Nato summit in Madrid: Do you know what, Ive realised where Ive been going wrong with all this. Ive got to recognise that years and years ago, I used to do the kind of jobs that you all do now, and it was a great, great life and a great privilege. What you are able to do is offer opinion, commentary, analysis, predictions about politics, about individuals and so on. I think Ive got to recognise Im no longer a member of that sacred guild. It would be a demarcation dispute for me to cross over and start talking about politics. Ive got to talk about my programme for government, about policy, and what Im doing to take the country forward. Asked whether he was ruling out an early election he said: Im just saying, I dont comment on those sorts of things. He added: The idea hadnt occurred to me, if you really want the truth, because Im focused on getting through the cost-of-living pressures, developing and improving, widening, our plan for a stronger economy, and making sure that we continue to offer leadership on some of the tough global issues the world faces. Asked if he was leaning towards a snap election he said: I am not offering commentary, what Im trying to get over to you is that Im here to comment on policy, on the agenda of government. His comments came as The Times reported that staff at Conservative Party headquarters had war-gamed the idea of calling a snap election if Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is forced to resign as a result of Durham Polices investigation into alleged breaches of coronavirus rules. Relations have never been as bad with UK government ministers, Irelands deputy premier has said. Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said he believes the UK is not being even handed when it comes to the Northern Ireland Protocol. MPs voted earlier this week to give the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill a second reading. The legislation is designed to override parts of the post-Brexit deal to allay concerns over its impact on the UK. It comes after the DUP said it will not nominate ministers to allow a new Stormont Executive to be formed until the UK takes actions on its concerns around the protocol. However the move by the UK has been branded as illegal and a clear breach of international law. Mr Varadkar said the UKs bid to unilaterally change the protocol was a strategic mistake. He told BBC Northern Irelands The View programme that the EU would not be threatened by the UKs approach to the ongoing stand-off. The British government had given commitments in the past that it would be even handed in its approach to Northern Ireland, he said. I dont think thats the case when it comes to this government, theyre siding with one of the three blocs of opinion that now exist in Northern Ireland. And I think thats a strategic mistake for people who want to preserve the union to continue to impose things that a clear majority of people dont want means more people will turn away from the union. Its a peculiar policy coming from a government that purports to want to defend the union. Mr Varadkar also said that in his political lifetime, he had never seen relations as bad with UK ministers. We have a British government that doesnt want to work hand in glove with the Irish government, its not even handed, its a government that wants to continue to have rows with the EU even though theyve left, he said. I think trust needs to be restored, the best way they can do that is by de-escalating this. Even if you have difficulties trusting someone, you still have to try to come to an agreement. If we cant with this government, then a future government. Mr Varadkar also claimed the people of Northern Ireland are not being listened to, referring to a letter against the bill signed by members of Sinn Fein, the SDLP and the Alliance Party. The thing that does bother me the most actually is that the people of Northern Ireland arent being listened to by their sovereign government in Westminster, he said. A letter was written, 52 MLAs out of 90 signed it. Its almost as if British ministers didnt read it or didnt care, and they set out very clearly that they did not want the protocol revoked and they did not accept this argument that the protocol undermined the Good Friday Agreement. Fifty-two out of 90s MLAs, and the British Government treats the views of majority of the elected representatives of Northern Ireland as irrelevant, and thats a fundamental problem. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received new Ambassador of Israel to Armenia Joel Lion (residence in Jerusalem), the PMs Office said. PM Pashinyan congratulated the Ambassador on assuming office, wishing a productive work for the benefit of the development of the Armenian-Israeli relations. The Ambassador considered the diplomatic service in Armenia an honor and assured that he will make all efforts to deepen the bilateral ties. The sides highlighted the presence of big potential in the bilateral partnership and attached importance to the programs directed to concrete outcomes. Views were exchanged also on actions to be taken to develop the bilateral agenda. YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. The issues connected with Berdzor and Aghavno have been discussed with the colleagues in Artsakh since November 9, Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan told reporters after the Cabinet meeting today. He said that the authorities of Artsakh are working on this part. We still have time to find solutions for both the road and the residents. We have about 1.5 years. We will work with the Artsakh government and will find solutions, he said. Talking about the peace agenda, Armen Grigoryan said not everything will happen easily. We know about the difficulties, but we also understand that the peace agenda is the possible option of ensuring long-term security in our region. We will continue to work in this direction, but we also understand that it doesnt depend on Armenia only, he said. ADDIS ABABA, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian government on Thursday disclosed that military measures are underway against outlawed forces that have committed the recent killings of innocent people in western Ethiopia. Legesse Tulu, the Ethiopian government spokesperson, said the joint forces of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), Federal Police and Oromia Special Force have taken military measures on members of the terrorist group that have committed "the heinous crimes." The joint forces are also presently hunting for those who have been hiding in forests after the law enforcement operation began, state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC) quoted Tulu as saying. The UN Human Rights Office in a statement last week said it had spoken to witnesses who reported that at around 9 a.m., local time, on June 18, a group of armed individuals descended on the village of Tole, with a predominantly Amhara population, and reportedly began shooting randomly, leaving hundreds dead and forcing at least 2,000 others to flee from their homes. Ethiopian government officials and survivors have accused the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) fighters of carrying out the attack, a charge the rebel group has denied. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) also said that an unspecified number of people are reported to have been abducted during the attack and their whereabouts remain unknown. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet urged Ethiopian authorities to promptly initiate and conduct transparent investigations into the recent killings of "hundreds of people" in western Ethiopia while calling on the Ethiopian authorities "to take all necessary and lawful measures to ensure those abducted regain their freedom." Amid increasing tensions and violence which has erupted in various regions of Ethiopia in recent weeks, the High Commissioner also urged the government to ensure and protect the right to life. The Ethiopian parliament had designated the OLA as a terrorist group in May 2021. YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. A consultation chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was held, during which issues related to land reforms were discussed, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister. In particular, the reduction of unused land plots of agricultural significance, the distribution of land plots, the expansion of irrigated areas, the main reasons for the land plots not being used, and some works carried out so far within the framework of land reforms were referred to. Issues related to land enlargement, implementation of a pilot program for land market development, development and application of proposed economic mechanisms for land cultivation and consolidation were discussed. Inventory of lands that are irrigated but not used, measures to be taken to increase the efficiency of land cultivation were highlighted. An exchange of views took place on the above-mentioned issues, various proposals and observations were submitted by the heads of the concerned departments. Prime Minister Pashinyan attached importance to the implemenation of land reforms and increase of the profitability of farms, including as a result of enlarging the cultivated lands. The Prime Minister instructed the officials in charge to form a relevant working group, which will develop a roadmap for action. The Prime Minister considered it necessary to implement a pilot program, which will help identify the problems and further implementing the reforms effectively. YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. Political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Serbia took place in Yerevan on June 30. The Armenian delegation was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan, the Serbian State Secretary Nemanja Starovic. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of MFA Armenia, recording the high-level political dialogue between Armenia and Serbia, the sides discussed the opportunities and the practical measures to deepen the friendly Armenian-Serbian relations and strengthen the interstate ties. A number of international and regional issues were touched upon during the consultations. Reference was made to Armenia's steps aimed at establishing peace and stability in the South Caucasus region. The Armenian side stressed the need to repatriate Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and other detainees in the context of humanitarian issues resulted by the 44-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan, as well as the preservation of Armenian cultural and religious heritage in Azerbaijani-held territories. At the end of the consultations, the Serbian delegation was received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan. Minister Mirzoyan highlighted the mutual visits and contacts at different levels, aimed at the continuous expansion of the political dialogue between the two countries and the outlining of new directions of mutually beneficial multifaceted cooperation. On the same day, the Serbian delegation visited the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, the Armenian Genocide Memorial, to pay tribute to the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide. YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Vahe Gevorgyan took part in the OSCE Annual Security Review Conference held on June 28-29, where he delivered a speech. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia, referring to the security challenges in the OSCE region, the Deputy Foreign Minister noted that the use of force or the threat of force, factual and ongoing violations of the arms control regime, and the use of foreign terrorist fighters and mercenaries in armed conflicts have called into question the OSCE's ability to ensure security in its zone of responsibility. "It was mentioned that continuing violations of the trilateral ceasefire established by the November 9, 2020 trilateral declaration, Azerbaijan's steps to provoke a humanitarian crisis in Artsakh in March this year, and the obstruction of the OSCE formats that were created for the resolution on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict demonstrate the need for effective cooperation of OSCE participating states and the reaffirmation of the fundamental principles and commitments of the OSCE," the statement said. Expressing support for the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the Deputy Foreign Minister highlighted the latter's activities aimed at ensuring the realization of the rights of the people of Artsakh, including the right to decide their own future, as a key goal in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. OSCE involvement in humanitarian issues, including the release of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages, protection of cultural heritage, and the addressing of cases of enforced disappearances were also highlighted. Within the framework of the conference, Deputy Minister Vahe Gevorgyan met with OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid. A wide range of issues of common interest were discussed. Elbit Systems announced on June 30 that it was awarded a contract valued at $548 million to supply military-wide multi-domain combat networked warfare capabilities to the armed forces of a country in Asia-Pacific. The contract will be implemented over a four-year period. Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link Torch-X Command and Control (Picture source: Elbit Systems) Under the contract, Elbit Systems will provide an integrated solution comprising of the Elbit Tiger-X networking middleware; a Torch-X-based suite of airborne, land and ship-borne Command and Control applications; as well as advanced waveforms and a wide range of E-LynX Software Defined Radio (SDR) systems including airborne, vehicular, handheld, and shipborne configurations. The program will include extensive co-development efforts and the transfer of know-how. These comprehensive combat networked capabilities are intended to improve operational effectiveness, decision making and interoperability across all domains of operation, platforms and systems. Elbit Systems is engaged in networked warfare programs in several countries, namely Switzerland, Israel, the UK, Sweden, and Canada. Bezhalel (Butzi) Machlis, Elbit Systems President & CEO, commented: We witness a growing recognition by Armed Forces of the essentiality of digitization and the capability to conduct interoperable multi-domain operations, especially in light of the lessons learned from recent conflicts. This significant contract award to execute a military-wide networked warfare program further validates the leading position we hold in the growing areas of C4ISRand multi-domain networked warfare. The celebrations began at the BJP office in Mumbai and Eknath Shindes rebel camp in Goa almost immediately after Thackeray resigned Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray submits his resignation from the post of Maharashtra Chief Minister to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai, Wednesday night, June 29, 2022. Maharashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray is also seen. (PTI) Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday resigned from his post virtually minutes after the Supreme Court directed that the floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly at 11 am on Thursday morning should go ahead as scheduled. Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had directed Mr Thackerays Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to hold a confidence vote on Thursday, but this will not be needed now. The celebrations began at the BJP office in Mumbai and Eknath Shindes rebel camp in Goa almost immediately after Mr Thackeray resigned. BJP leader Chandrakant Patil said his party will hold talks with Eknath Shinde and then decide their future course of action. However, Devendra Fadnavis, former CM and Leader of the Opposition, is expected to stake claim soon to forming the new government, maybe as early as Thursday morning. Mr Shinde is likely to be offered the post of deputy CM. Addressing the state virtually on Facebook Live, Mr Thackeray also said he was resigning as a member of the Legislative Council. In a democracy, heads are counted to show numbers. I am not interested in that. I dont want to play these games. Tomorrow, they will say that they have brought down Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackerays son, he said, while addressing the people of the state. I had come in an unexpected manner and I am going out in a similar fashion. I am not going away forever, I will be here and I will once again sit in Shiv Sena Bhavan. I will gather all my people. I am resigning as the CM and as an MLC, Mr Thackeray added. Mr Thackeray thanked Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar for being by the Shiv Senas side. In a sarcastic comment, the outgoing CM also thanked the governor for his commitment to securing democracy and calling a floor test within 24 hours of receiving a letter from some MLAs. He recalled that the governor has not taken a decision on the 12 names recommended for the MLC post for one and a half years. In his speech, Mr Thackeray also addressed rebel MLAs led by Eknath Shinde. I appealed to the rebels as well to speak openly about who they have problems with: Me? NCP? Or Congress? If the rebel MLAs had placed their demands directly before me and not gone to Surat or any other state, this could have been handled better, he said. Later, Mr Thackeray along with Anil Parab, Neelam Gorhe and Milind Narvekar reached Raj Bhavan to submit his resignation. Mr Shinde and the other rebel Shiv Sena MLAs have landed in Goa and are expected to reach Mumbai Thursday morning. After Mr Thackeray's resignation, Mr Shinde said: This is the victory of Balasaheb and Anand Dighe's ideals. Earlier, Mr Thackeray also delivered an emotional speech at the Cabinet meeting held at around 5 pm, in which decisions to rename Aurangabad and Osmanabad as Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv were taken. Mr Thackeray thanked his Cabinet ministers and bureaucrats for their support in the last two and a half years and also sought their forgiveness for any mistakes that he may have committed. Todays situation has arisen because my own people betrayed me, he said at the Cabinet meeting. The Shiv Sena had moved the Supreme Court challenging the governors order to hold the floor test on Thursday. However, the Supreme Court said a floor test was the only way to settle all issues that have entangled the politics of Maharashtra following a rebellion by Mr Shinde, leading to a political crisis. The court said the results of the floor test will be subject to the final outcome of Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhus petition against the governors decision and issued a notice on the plea. The impact of toxic hate speeches and hate crimes in recent years has gone deep into the gut of our society People pay their respects to slain Hindu tailor Kanhaiya Lal, who was allegedly killed by two Muslim men for supporting a former spokeswoman of the railing Bharatiya Janta Party for her remarks about the Prophet Mohammed, in Udaipur on June 30, 2022. (AFP) Dial down the hate. Now. One cannot say these words loud or often enough. They capture the greatest need of the hour in this country. As I write, comes the news of the barbaric hacking to death of Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor in picturesque Udaipur, Rajasthan. The savagery must be condemned unequivocally by everyone. The attackers, identified as Gaus Mohammad and Riyaz, have claimed that their act was in retaliation for the victims alleged support of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharmas remarks about Prophet Mohammed. The duo filmed the hacking and posted it online. Media reports claim that they threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well. Clearly, the intention of the two men is to rouse hatred and instigate violence. They have been arrested. The National Investigation Agency is probing the crime. At this point, the immediate priority must be to stop the spread of sectarian passions and sledgehammer the need to start the process of dialling down experiments in hate. The impact of toxic hate speeches and hate crimes in recent years has gone deep into the gut of our society. It cannot be eradicated overnight. But we must make a start. Faced with a deluge of half-truths, blatant lies, and mass-erasure of unpalatable truths, what options do we have? It is easy to give up, yield to despair and say the ordinary person -- who is neither a hero nor a villain -- can do little. But here is another truth. We owe it to ourselves to protect our minds and souls as much as our bodies. And we can if we try hard enough. We may not be able to control everything happening around us, but we can protect ourselves to a great extent by being aware that there is a battle of competing narratives and that we must not uncritically buy into anyone elses assumptions and truths. This means keeping eyes and ears open, developing our own propaganda detectors, recognising that there is an orchestrated attempt to drown us in half-truths and lies, both of which have been in abundant supply in recent times in our social media-saturated world. Out of the two, the half-truth is the more insidious and dangerous because it contains an element of truth but by being selective and leaving out critical bits, it twists the original. This is especially important in a hyper-polarised nation. A starting point can be resistance to stereotyping of any community. It is important to occasionally step back from the news of the day or week, to try and understand the process which is strengthening prejudices, otherising of communities and belittling their struggles, sorrows and despair. It is especially important not to come to sweeping conclusions about any community due to the misdeeds of some. As a member of the majority community, in a relatively privileged position, I try to imagine what it is to be like the other, for example, a Muslim. One of my earliest lessons in this direction was when I was commissioned by the late Asghar Ali Engineer, a legendary name in the world of academics, activism and human rights within and outside the country, to do a small, sample survey on marital practices and demographic patterns among Muslims, and how it is affected by family income and educational status of Muslim women. I carried out the sample survey in Delhi, speaking to people in 30 randomly-selected households. It was my first foray into discovering how half-truths can shape our thoughts, contribute to myth-making and strengthen prejudice. I spent two months in 1990 and 1991 doing the survey. It was published in 1992. A highly popular myth that was proved completely false by the survey was that the majority of Muslim men were polygamous. In the 30 households surveyed, across different income groups -- high, middle and low -- there was only one instance of a man with two wives. Another myth that proved to be false pivoted around the supposedly high frequency of divorce and remarriage among Muslims, both men and women. Of the 30 women that I spoke to at length, only two reported that their husbands had been married earlier and had divorced their first wives before marrying them. The correlation between the educational status of the women I spoke to and the number of children they had also became patently clear. Of the 30 women interviewed, 17 had more than three children. None of them had any formal education though six women could read some Urdu. Among the rest there were seven women who had been to middle school and beyond. What was interesting -- even illiterate women with smaller families were keen to send their children to school, just like people in the majority community. Equally clear was the correlation between family income and the number of children. The family size became smaller as the income went up. So how do you check out myths? By finding out for yourself, by questioning. In India, we do not question enough. We must. Only then will we become more aware of half-truths. Take the latest national family health survey (NFHS-5). One rabidly partisan publication says: Muslims in India have the highest fertility rate of any religion, whereas Buddhists have the lowest. There is related information the publication leaves out, but many others note -- NFHS-5 data also reveals a steep decline in the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of the Muslim community over nearly three decades. The battle to influence worldviews extends to textbooks. Consider the proposed changes to the history textbooks. As academic Anubhuti Maurya, who teaches history at Shiv Nadar University, pointed out in a recent commentary piece: The stories of Indias past are complex and diverse. It is unjust to fit it into simple accounts of golden and dark ages, of great and bad men, of remembered and imagined hurts. The proposed rewriting of the history textbook seeks to raise future generations of Indians on ahistorical ideas and a unity premised on falsehoods This new history makes villains of some communities and privileges a fragmented historical narrative which is subject to the demands of community sentiments. Once again, an ordinary person who is determined is not entirely helpless. Who can stop any youngster from reading widely, beyond prescribed textbooks, having discussions and coming to his/her own conclusions? Young or old, we must reclaim our minds and souls. We must reject violence, be it in the name of religion, holy shibboleths, language, or something else. We must equally reject tarring entire communities for the misdeeds of some. Fanatics and hatemongers do not come from any one community or location. by Melani Manel Perera Due to the situation, many Sri Lankans can no longer afford even one meal a day. Between 600 and 700 people show up at the community kitchen run by Rev Geeth Chamara De Silva. Talks for a credit line continue between Sri Lanka and the International Monetary Fund. Colombo (AsiaNews) Many people do bad things to quell their hunger, others commit suicide. Recently a father hanged himself because he had nothing to feed his children with while a mother threw her son into a river and then attempted suicide, said Rev Geeth Chamara De Silva, pastor of the Assemblies of God Church in Kadawatha, a suburb of the capital Colombo. "It is essential to provide food to the hungry, and even just one meal a day is a relief for those who suffer from hunger, he explained. Thanks to the support of many people, Rev Geeth Chamara De Silva set up a community kitchen a month ago at the Bethany Church and other churches in Rajagiriya, Negombo, Wattala, Matara, Ratnapura, Gampola, Batticaloa, Delft and Vavuniya. Between 600 and 700 people show up every day to receive a meal. Since I have to go even to distant places to serve God, I have spoken to people who are suffering because of the economic crisis. They tell me that they survive on some fruit and boiling raw papaya. I saw tears in the eyes of parents desperately trying to feed their children." The community kitchen was made possible by the Voice Foundation, led by Father Moses, himself an orphan, who decided to devote his life to children after his seminary studies. "Through the Voice Foundation we fight child abuse and meet the needs of the most vulnerable," Rev Geeth Chamara explained. "We provide mental care, medications and food in times of emergency, such as tsunamis and floods, he noted. The community kitchen is an extension of this to make up for the difficulties created by the economic crisis. All aid is welcome. Donations can be made via the foundations account number on WhatsApp and Facebook. One benefactor who preferred to remain anonymous told AsiaNews that "it was a great pleasure for me and my wife to be able to contribute" because food is man's first need". Sumithra, one of the women using the kitchen in Kadawatha, said that she had difficulty getting food after her daughter-in-law's death. "Our neighbours occasionally donate something, but when I heard about this opportunity I rushed to the place. It's a great blessing for people like us." Sri Lanka defaulted on its debt in mid-April, and is unable to import fuel and other necessities due to a lack of foreign currency. For months, people have been protesting against the cost of living calling for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan authorities and the International Monetary Fund are working on opening a credit line for the cash-strapped country. Imposed by the international community for Pyongyang's nuclear and missile activities. North Korean merchant ship bound for a Chinese port tracked. China obstructs monitoring operations carried out under UN auspices. Seoul (AsiaNews) - North Korea is reportedly smuggling coal to China by sea in violation of U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang for its nuclear and missile activities. This was revealed by an investigation by Nikkei Asia, which was able to track the movements of a North Korean merchant ship by cross-referencing satellite data and its automatic identification system. Kim Jong-un's regime is isolated from the international community (except China and to some extent Russia), subjected to punitive measures decided by the UN Security Council, of which Beijing is a permanent member. The country is grappling with a chronic economic crisis, aggravated by a recent spate of Covid-19 infections and a series of floods. Despite al of this, Pyongyang continues to pursue its military program: as suspected by many, it is most likely also financed by Chinese purchases. The coal delivery would show that Beijing is helping the North Koreans circumvent international sanctions. The facts examined by Nikkei Asia date back to August 2021. The Tae Phyong 2 departed the North Korean port of Nampo on the Yellow Sea on August 8 or 9 loaded with coal. It then docked at the Chinese port of Longkou (Shandong) on the 13th and departed empty on the 21st. Last March, a group of U.N. experts monitoring the implementation of sanctions on North Korea had called attention to the movements of the Tae Phyong 2. The Chinese defended themselves by claiming that the ship had entered the port of Longkou empty, then loaded up with fertilizer and other agricultural supplies. A satellite image taken by Airbus on April 4 shows another North Korean freighter reaching Shandong port from Nampo, detailing a dark substance being unloaded. According to data obtained by Nikkei Asia, 180 freighters suspected of violating the sanctions regime against North Korea have been identified from January 2021 to date. Of these, 37 have docked in Longkou for several days; another 20 have stopped at ports in Liaoning and Hebei that usually handle large volumes of coal. The investigation into the Tae Phyong 2 sheds new light on the interference of Chinese military fighter jets in the air operations of countries called upon to verify compliance with sanctions against Pyongyang. The latest case emerged earlier this month, when Global News reported that several times since late 2021 Beijing Air Force jets have flown extremely close to Canadian patrol aircraft near North Korea, jeopardizing U.N. monitoring efforts. by Gianni Criveller * Xi Jinping arrived in the former British colony to show that normalization has become a top priority. On July 1, 1997, Martin Lee and Margaret Ng from the balcony of Parliament were calling for freedom and democracy, while today they are reckoning with the consequences of the National Security Act. And Hong Kong is increasingly becoming a sad, depressed and fearful city. Milan (AsiaNews) July 1, 1997 - July 1, 2022: Hong Kong 25 years later. The date of July 1, the day Hong Kong celebrates the 'return' to the motherland after 156 years of British colonialism, is this year loaded with ponderous significance. Twenty-five years is a period of time celebrated with joy in the lives of individuals, couples or communities. Not so for Hong Kong: this year's celebration is certainly pharaonic, but it does not involve the people. The visit-all centered on exceptional security measures-of Xi Jinping, Beijing's strongman, president of the People's Republic of China and secretary of the Communist Party, will only add to the somber atmosphere that pervades the city. The management of the pandemic from Covid 19, increases the measures of distancing and isolation of guests coming down from Beijing. The Chinese leadership is quite drastic and even ruthless in imposing measures to stem the contagion, as seen in the tremendous lockdown imposed on the city of Shanghai in recent months. There is always the feeling that, at least in the case of Hong Kong, the drastic health measures are instrumental to the repressive political agenda. This trip to Hong Kong is Xi Jinping's first outside mainland China since the pandemic broke out in January 2020. Authoritarian leaders-obsessed with fear of getting sick-carefully avoid occasions that expose them to contagion. Yet for Xi, the normalization of Hong Kong has become a top priority, and his presence is intended to demonstrate this with unequivocal force and clarity. The Chinese leader will formally inaugurate the term of John Lee, the new chief executive of Hong Kong's "Special Administrative Zone," who was chosen last May 8 in the most undemocratic of ways, namely by 99 percent of the members of the Election Committee. John Lee was a police officer until he became head of the security department in 2017. It was under his orders that the police heavily suppressed the popular protests that began with the one million citizen march on June 9, 2019. It is certainly not a matter of satisfaction for us to know that the Chief Executive who will take power in Hong Kong claims to come from the Catholic world and that he allegedly acquired the principles that guide his political action in the Catholic school he attended. It seems to us that the Christian democratic leaders currently in prison, many of whom have explicitly described their social and political engagement as an application of gospel principles are far more faithful to the gospel. These 25 years are a significant turning point for Hong Kong. When the treaty between China and Great Britain about the future of the colony was signed in 1984 and the long process of writing the Basic Law, or Hong Kong's mini-constitution, began, Deng Xiaoping himself had indicated that for fifty years Hong Kong would continue to maintain its 'special' way of life: "The horses will continue to run, the shares in the bank will continue to pay off, and the dancers will continue to dance." With that very famous phrase Deng Xiaoping, who at least showed he knew his way around Hong Kong, wanted to reassure the people of the city and the international community, about Hong Kong's financial, economic, social and political future. Deng put it in black and white by inventing the highly original "one country-two systems" formula. And Hong Kong's exception was to last fifty years. In the meantime, it was also applied to Macau (1999), and in perspective it was supposed to reassure Taiwan as well, convincing the island's people not to fear reunification with mainland China. Meanwhile, Hong Kong, according to promises made, would gradually develop democratic mechanisms to increase citizen participation in public affairs until universal suffrage was achieved. Many have wondered why 50 years? There are various interpretations; I have been persuaded that the best explanation is that according to Deng it took China, which was on its way to modernization by leaps and bounds, 50 years to become similar to Hong Kong. So not Hong Kong like China, but its opposite, this at least in the intentions of Deng Xiaoping, the second Communist emperor after Mao Zedong. Therefore it is undoubtedly a matter of great disappointment, bitterness and sorrow for people to be robbed of this promise of freedom and democracy without even having passed the 25-year mark. Hong Kong was never democratic, but it was a free and cosmopolitan city. Now it is not. It is a sad, depressed, fearful and uncertain city. Many people are leaving it for good. A large exodus had occurred even before 1997, when many citizens did not trust Beijing's promises after the Tiananmen Square massacre. It was then an exodus of caution on the part of those who could afford it. But there were also positive signs: the number of international residents increased considerably when it seemed that the "one country two systems" formula was successful, to the point that some expatriates returned. Today, however, this is not the case: expatriates are leaving a city where they no longer feel at home and safe. Even many Chinese citizens, while not wealthy, have already left or intend to leave the city. Perhaps they had democratic sympathies and that is enough to fear for themselves and their children. It is a sad exodus. I remember July 1, 25 years ago: I was there in Hong Kong's central Statue Square, below the city's Parliament. At midnight, while in Wanchai, President Jiang Zemin and Prince Charles were sealing Hong Kong's return, Martin Lee took the floor from the Parliament balcony and delivered the famous "July 1 Declaration" calling for freedom and democracy. After him, advocate Margareth Ng took the floor. Both Democratic leaders were recently arrested and convicted: Margaret Ng is on bail; Martin Lee had his sentence 'suspended.' Bishop Stephen Chow recently wrote that the lives of people and believers in Hong Kong "are becoming more and more like an existence between the cracks. We used to enjoy a lot of space and freedom of expression." But, the bishop continued, "God's light is found in all things, even in the cracks. The tougher the condition, the more resilient the life. In some cases the cracks may even widen." Bishop Stephen concludes his heartfelt appeal with an invitation that makes me think of some passages in the diary of Etty Hillesum, the young Dutch woman who was killed in Auschwitz without ever losing faith in God and in the beauty of life: "Accepting the changing reality in which we find ourselves living does not mean approving of it. Safeguarding our inner space to discern is essential and beneficial." The Hong Kong affair is a story of promises and hopes betrayed. The arrest of Card Joseph Zen, bishop emeritus of the diocese and 'conscience of Hong Kong' has painfully reminded us of this: an invisible line that was thought insurmountable has been crossed. Christians do not lose hope: they know well that opposition by power to the gospel and its message of freedom is not an exception, it is rather an outcome to be courageously prepared for. Blessed Paul Manna reminded us: "Governments have objectives contrary to that of Christians because they fear freedom, and the gospel is synonymous with freedom." Let us follow Bishop Chow's invitation and face what is happening in the beloved and wonderful Hong Kong by preserving our freedom, including through the exercise of inner life. * PIME missionary and sinologist NAIROBI, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday it's intensifying its operations to the looming health crisis in eastern Africa amid acute food insecurity. Ibrahima Soce Fall, WHO Assistant Director-General for Emergency Response said the health risks in the region are increasing while access to healthcare is deteriorating. "The cost of inaction is high. While the clear priority is to prevent people from starving, we must simultaneously strengthen our health response to prevent disease and save lives," Fall said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Fall was earlier this week in Nairobi where WHO convened a two-day meeting to plan its response across the seven countries affected by the health emergency -- Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda -- and coordinate with other UN agencies and partners. The UN health agency said its setting up a hub in Nairobi, from where it will coordinate the response and organize the delivery of life-saving medical supplies to where they are needed most. These supplies, it said, include medicines, vaccines, as well the medicines and equipment needed to treat children who are severely malnourished. WHO said the eastern African region faces acute food insecurity, the worst in 40 years, caused by conflict, extreme weather events induced by climate change, rising international food and fuel prices and the impact of the pandemic. The UN health agency said its emergency response is focused on ensuring affected populations can access essential health services, treating sick children with severe malnutrition, and preventing, detecting and responding to infectious disease outbreaks. WHO said it's also working with ministries of health in the affected countries to set up robust disease surveillance systems to be able to quickly detect and respond to disease outbreaks. At a meeting held on the sidelines of the United Nations Conference on the Oceans, which ends tomorrow, Indigenous and Church representatives from Pacific Island countries discussed how to defend the seas from a Christian perspective. For the archbishop of Suva (Fiji), an anthropocentric paradigm should replace the economic one. Lisbon (AsiaNews) The United Nations Conference on the Oceans opened in Lisbon on 27 June and will end tomorrow. Archbishop Peter Loy Chong of Suva, capital of Fiji, who also chairs the Federation of Catholic Bishops' Conferences of Oceania, along with other Catholic leaders from Oceania, took part in the summit for the first time. On 28 June, representatives of Indigenous peoples, cardinals, missionaries from different congregations and members of the Laudato Si' Movement from the Pacific Island countries took part in a meeting held on the sidelines of the UN summit to give voice to vulnerable populations and present the Catholic perspective on the defence of the environment. We are human, we are complicated, we repeat our own mistakes because we are not robots. Change begins from the heart but to be achieved it needs a symbolic language, said Archbishop Chong. Indeed, for the prelate, academic and scientific language comes with limits. This is why we need a "language for God" and an anthropocentric paradigm" in lieu of the economic one. Often "we tend to romanticise Indigenous people, but tribal leaders who should be the guardians of the Earth very easily forget their role as soon as you put an envelope full of money in front of their eyes, the prelate lamented. The ecological crisis is also an internal crisis of man." The meeting was titled "Oceania Talanoa", participatory dialogue in the tradition of Fiji, where Tala means to speak and Noa to listen, said Amy Echeverria, a US missionary with the Society of Saint Columban who moderated the meeting. Fr Pedro Walpole, a Jesuit from the Philippines, coordinator of Ecojesuit and the ecclesial network River Above Asia, also highlighted the complex link between economy and ecology, emphasising the need for consumers to be aware of the interconnection between oceans and human beings. The waters of the seas absorb 90 per cent of the excess heat in the atmosphere. Let's think about it when we turn on the air conditioner, the clergyman said. Consumers must connect with this reality; otherwise, nothing will change. They must be connected with the heart, not with the pockets. Theresa Adler, who grew up in an Aboriginal fishing community, heads Gewagal Cultural Connections in Australia. She stressed the lack of representation of Indigenous peoples, although their ancestral knowledge can play a very important role in the defence of marine ecosystems. When you bring home a newborn from the hospital you immerse him in water like a baptism. In my tribe we believe we come from the sea and turn into humpback whales after death. Before coming here to Lisbon, the last sound I heard was the song of the whales. Fr Tevita Naikasowalu, coordinator of the Department of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban in Fiji, had similar experiences. The umbilical cord of newborns is thrown into the sea as a reminder that you come from there. The ocean is like a mother who nurses her children; it cradles us even when we pollute and exploit her. "It is important to be here to give voice to those who do not have it, said the clergyman, moved, when he spoke about Indigenous peoples, whether todays tribal peoples or the ancestors, those who fought, those who died in the name of faith and progress. "To the leaders of the world I would like to send a message of simplicity, Fr Tevita added. We don't need to grow more to make the world a better place; we need to be humbler by sharing the wealth we already have." Speaking about the climate emergency, Pelenatita Kara of Caritas Tonga noted that it is as if we were pointing a loaded gun at our head, the bullet hits us and we pass it on to our children and grandchildren. Finally, Sister Robyn Reynolds, a member of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart who teaches at the Yarra Theological Union, bemoaned the absence of women and young people, let alone Indigenous groups, at the main UN conference. Young people should not only be encouraged, but we need to learn from them. They are magnificent leaders, but where are they? They were not invited. The Church is missionary by nature. For her, being ecological is not an option; she already is. EU mediation allowed the two delegations to communicate with each other in the capital of Qatar. For the EU, negotiations will continue until the JCPOA, a key agreement, is revived. US blacklisting Irans Revolutionary Guards is a major stumbling block. Doha (AsiaNews) Indirect US-Iranian talks to save the 2015 agreement (JCPOA) about Irans nuclear programme, which was scrapped by Donald Trump three years later, ended in Doha (Qatar) without the progress "the EU team as coordinator had hoped-for," EU's envoy Enrique Mora said. "We will keep working with even greater urgency to bring back on track a key deal for non-proliferation and regional stability," Mora added. A US State Department spokesperson said in a statement that Iran "failed to respond positively to the EU's initiative and therefore ... no progress was made. The EU-mediated, indirect talks started on Tuesday with Mora as the coordinator, shuttling between Iran's Ali Bagheri Kani and Washington's special Iran envoy Rob Malley based in separate rooms in a hotel in Qatar's capital. Iran refuses to hold direct talks, resulting in "proximity" talks arrangement involving the EU. According to Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Naser Kanani stressed that Bagheri Kani and Mora will be in touch about continuing the path and the next stage of the talks. In March, a deal seemed to be within reach, but after 11 months of talks in Vienna between Iran and world powers, an agreement still seems far away. The main stumbling block is Irans demand that the US remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) from its Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) list. Iran raised issues wholly unrelated" to the nuclear agreement, the State Department spokesperson said. Tehran apparently is not ready to make a fundamental decision on whether it wants to revive the deal or bury it, the spokesperson added. Iran's Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the IRGC, blamed the Biden administration's weakness and its inability to make a final decision for lack of progress in the talks. What prevented these negotiations from coming to fruition is the U.S. insistence on its proposed draft text in Vienna that excludes any guarantees for Iran's economic benefit, the agency stated. Mohammad Marandi, an advisor to the Iranian negotiating team in Vienna, said that the Doha talks on remaining disputes over JCPOA have not failed and negotiations will continue. He noted that two days are not enough to discuss the many open questions. "We do not take US media statements as serious, Marandi said. Instead, "The Americans must provide the guarantees that Iran wants to make sure that they do not stab us in the back like in the past. "Sanctions must be lifted so that we can re-implement the nuclear deal. Negotiations in Doha did not fail and will continue," he added. During a meeting with a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Francis called for weeping, for helping others and for experiencing conversion ourselves at a time when our world is disrupted by a cruel and senseless war of aggression. Christian unity is an essential condition for peace. Vatican City (AsiaNews) Pope Francis met in audience with a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, currently in Rome to celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, an occurrence that has now become an established tradition. In his address, the pontiff said that conquests and nationalism have nothing to do with the kingdom Jesus proclaimed, a clear hint to the position taken by the Russian Orthodox Church vis-a-vis the war in Ukraine Quoting the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, a pioneer together with Paul VI in the ecumenical journey, Francis referred to the two branches of Christianity as Sister Churches, Brother Peoples. Reconciliation among separated Christians, as a means of contributing to peace between peoples in conflict, is a most timely consideration these days, as our world is disrupted by a cruel and senseless war of aggression in which many, many Christians are fighting one another. In light of this, pontiff called for weeping, for helping others and for experiencing conversion ourselves. [. . .] We need to weep for the victims and the overwhelming bloodshed, the deaths of so many innocent people. We must help those who fled their homes and country, like Jesus, present in the displaced, the poor and the wounded. [. . .] But we also need to experience conversion, and to recognize that armed conquest, expansionism and imperialism have nothing to do with the Kingdom that Jesus proclaimed. Such actions have Nothing to do with the risen Lord, who in Gethsemane told his disciples to reject violence, to put the sword back in its place, since those who live by the sword will die by the sword (Mt 26:52), and who, cutting short every objection, simply said: Enough! (cf. Lk 22:51). For Francis, Seeking Christian unity is not merely a question internal to the Churches, but also the path towards peace. Hence, he asks: What kind of world do we want to [see] emerge in the wake of this terrible outbreak of hostilities and conflict? And what contribution are we prepared to make even now towards a more fraternal humanity? As believers, we must necessarily find the answers to these questions in the Gospel [. . .] Let us help one another, dear brothers, not to yield to the temptation to muffle the explosive newness of the Gospel with the seductions of this world. And not to turn the Father of all [. . .] into the god of our own ideas and our own nations. Christ is our peace. Henceforth, Let us start anew from him, and recognize that it is no longer the time to order our ecclesial agendas in accordance with the worlds standards of power and expediency, but in accordance with the Gospels bold prophetic message of peace. With humility and much prayer, but also with courage and parrhesia. by Dario Salvi Bishop Bizzeti: the emergency related to immigration has "increased" in the last period and cannot fall "only on the shoulders of Ankara." The need to give birth to a true local Church, with Turkish clergy and religious. Commemorating Msgr. Padovese 12 years after his murder, to give new life to his mission. Milan (AsiaNews) - Concern for Christian refugees in Turkey who, unlike locals, "do not have meeting places, buildings for worship," cannot move "freely" or "participate in celebrations." Msgr. Paolo Bizzeti, vicar apostolic of Anatolia and president of Caritas Turkey, draws attention to a problem within a problem, that of Christian refugees embedded in an even larger emergency framework. The prelate explains in this interview with AsiaNews shortly before his return to Turkey, "the fate of millions of refugees cannot be entrusted to Ankara alone. From refugees to pastoral care to the remembrance of Msgr. Padovese, there are many elements of interest for the vicariate, a reality - according to 2020 estimates - composed of just over 3,000 faithful. It is based in Iskenderun (Alexandretta, until June 2000 it was in Mersin), where the Cathedral of the Annunciation is located; the territory is divided into six parishes, has 10 presbyters (including one fidei donum) and 8 religious (including five nuns). Below is the interview with Msgr. Bizzeti: Your Excellency, there is a lot of talk in recent weeks about a possible Turkish offensive in Syria and a new wave of refugees. What is the situation on the ground? The refugee emergency has increased in the last period. Turkey has been very generous in recent years in terms of reception, but the fate of millions of refugees cannot be entrusted to Ankara alone. This is a problem that affects everyone, and you cannot think of solving it by paying one nation to keep them; it is not honest or solving. One example: if Italy promised to take in Afghans who worked for our country before the Taliban, it cannot leave them parked in Turkey. Is the issue of refugee reception still relevant or is impatience mounting among the population? The Turkish people have been welcoming but in a climate of widspread economic crisis the presence of millions of people is seen as a threat in some sectors. The problem exists and is real, as there are at least four million refugees and displaced people on the ground. Many say Turkey cannot be used as a "depot"; moreover, many of the problems in the Middle East have been caused by the West, which first and foremost has a responsibility in this process. In this light, a new military operation in Syria is an element of concern.... Syria is a devastated and divided nation, from which the West wants to disentagle itself while maintaining some form of presence. The point is that the Syria problem is no longer even discussed internationally; the country has been conquered and forgotten depending on the moment and the years, supporting or opposing the intervention of one or another external actor or providing support to factions committed to overthrowing Bashar al-Assad, although today we find ourselves with the same power group. In this climate of tension and concern, what is the situation for Christians in Turkey? I want to clarify a point here: Turkish Catholics, although they are a minority, do not have major problems. On the other hand, there are elements of concern for Christian refugees, far outnumbering the natives, who do not have meeting places, buildings for worship, cannot move freely or participate in celebrations. This situation is a source of discomfort. Difficulties certainly exacerbated by Covid-19 and related restrictions, but we are in the presence of a long-standing problem: refugees have been in Turkey for a long time and are in danger of remaining there for a long time, we need to address this issue and guarantee them a decent life, including in terms of faith. They are Iraqis, Afghans, Syrians, Iranians ... some even from Africa. We need places of worship with pastors who can take care of them; we need Christians to be able to meet for formative, liturgical and festive moments without having to ask permission from the police each time to leave their city. Christian refugees are grateful to the government for its generous welcome, but now it is time to address the issue more systematically at the political and institutional level. The Catholic Church, having no legal personality in Turkey, is not an official interlocutor and cannot move independently even to purchase a meeting hall. Msgr. Bizzeti, what is the pastoral priority? There is a growing challenge to find new priests, empowering local Christians. The challenge that awaits the Church in Turkey is to nurture a local church, train the faithful in the Word of God and solid theology: a Christianity that is limited to liturgical celebrations and that is exhausted to the sphere of the sacred has no future here . 12 years have passed since Msgr. Padovese's murder: Is his figure still relevant today? We had organized an international meeting in 2020 on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of his death, but everything was called off because of the pandemic and we are considering how to reorganise it. However, his figure is still alive and through his memory we want to affirm the continuity of the Church of Anatolia also through the people who gave their lives for it. This is not a pure celebration of the person: we want to keep alive the memory of what was close to his heart, his mission. Of course it is important to remember the past, but always looking toward the future. WINDHOEK, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Namibia has approved a total allowable catch (TAC) for Cape fur seals to 60,000 pups and 8,000 bulls during the 2022 fishing season, according to the country's 10th Cabinet resolutions released Thursday. The seal harvesting season will commence on July 1, concluding on Nov. 15, read a statement from the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology. According to the ministry, the pups will be divided in the ratio of 70:30 for the northern and southern colonies and the bulls will also be divided in a 70:30 ratio across both colonies. Namibia harvests seals to control the population, as seals feed on fish species and challenge the availability of fish for export and local consumption, despite facing fierce criticism from international animal welfare organizations for the exercise. If you are the "happy" owner of a Nissan Pathfinder, you will probably receive an email about a recall made by the Japanese automaker. 7 photos kWh kW That is what our friends at Motor1 discovered from the Bimmerpost forum. A recent thread shared that the i3 will be made in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, to reach the U.S. The new i3 will sit on the Neue Klasse platform, which will be presented only in 2025.Codenamed NA0, the new i3 will be followed by its station wagon model, which got the code NA1. Thats fantastic news for fans of this body style, frequently disappointed by learning that the fine goods will be exclusive to China or Europe.Apart from the NA0 and NA1, BMW will also manufacture the iX3 side by side with the G45 in San Luis Potosi, the next generation of the combustion-engine X3, expected to debut in 2024. Curiously, the G45 will not use the Neue Klasse platform by a matter of months. If it is only an evolution of the Cluster Architecture (CLAR) that the current X3 uses, as we have heard it is, that may not be an issue.The European market will also get the NA0 and the NA1. Both vehicles will be built in Debrecen, Hungary. We still have no idea how much range they will offer, if they will work with 400V or 800V architectures, and how powerful they will be. The current i3 sold in China uses a 66.1-battery pack and has a single electric motor in the rear axle, which delivers 210(282 hp) and 400 Nm (295 pound-feet). Expect the new iteration to have a larger battery pack for more range. In the expanded new installment of the popular American Road Trip series, players will join a coast-to-coast US tour celebrating American car culture and the spirit of racing between late June and October 2022.More importantly, all CSR Racing 2 players will be awarded a free RAM 1500 TRX truck for their collection, which will help them race across the country in-game from California to New York, unlocking new cars for their collection as they go.The American Road Trip series takes players through historic cities like Philadelphia, Detroit, and Los Angeles as they compete in multiple races across 14 different events like the Indianapolis Trinity Cup or Phoenix Legendary Gold Cup. Also, the update adds four new stops as players race toward New York, including the famed Nevada Route 160 highway, Albuquerque, Wakita, and Nashville.American Road Trip 2 will bring our players a thrilling summer racing road trip across the country with exciting new vehicles to drive all without leaving home. The new series will showcase the fastest street car in America, Tom Baileys 69 Camaro SS, and we cant wait to bring this new adventure to mobile racing fans, said Julian Widdows, Senior Vice President of Racing at NaturalMotion.But wait, theres more! The new installment adds over ten new vehicles for players to collect and race, including the RAM 1500 TRX, the Ford Mustang Mach-E 1400, the Czinger 21C, the 2022 Hennessey Venom F5, the NASCAR Next Gen Ford Mustang, and the Chevrolet Sick Seconds 1.0 Camaro SS created by Tom Bailey.To embark on the American Road Trip 2, racing fans can download CSR Racing 2 for free on the App Store as well as on Google Play Store KAMPALA, June 30 (Xinhua) -- China and Uganda this year mark the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, a journey which started back in October 1962 when Uganda gained independence from British colonial rule. Nine days after Uganda gained her independence on October 9, 1962, China established diplomatic ties with the East African country. Zhang Lizhong, Chinese ambassador to Uganda, said at a recent press conference that over the past 60 years, the two countries have been journeying a path towards development and revitalization amid complex global challenges. To commemorate the anniversary, both China and Uganda have scheduled a series of events. An anniversary celebration logo competition was successfully held earlier this year in Uganda. The state-owned newspaper New Vision, together with the Chinese embassy, have launched the fifth My China Story Essay Competition, which opens up a platform for Ugandan public and diasporas in China to share their encounters visiting, living, studying and working in China, or experiences working or trading with Chinese companies or nationals in or outside Uganda. China and Uganda are preparing for a direct flight between the two countries. This will be another highlight for the 60th anniversary commemoration, according to Zhang. Since the two countries elevated their relations to the level of Comprehensive Cooperative Partnership in June 2019, they have witnessed pragmatic cooperation being deepened, according to Zhang. The trade volume between the two countries in 2021 amounted to 1.07 billion U.S. dollars, registering a 28.5 percent increase, against the shock waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Chinese embassy. By the end of 2020, the stock of China's direct investment in Uganda reached 710 million U.S. dollars, according to the embassy. Chinese investment is mainly concentrated in manufacturing, agriculture, mining, and logistics, among others. Zhang said Chinese investors have set up several industrial parks in the country in efforts to create employment for the youths. He cited the China-Uganda Mbale Industrial Park which has created more than 2,000 jobs for the local communities. Overtime, the job opportunities created by the park will increase to over 15,000 jobs. Zhang said the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in the country are progressing smoothly. China is financing the expansion of Uganda's Entebbe International Airport, the country's major gateway to the world. A Chinese financed Kampala Entebbe Expressway, linking the capital Kampala to the airport, is already in use. China also financed the construction of the 600 Megawatt Karuma Hydro Power Plant and the 183 Megawatt Isimba Hydro Power Plant. Economists argue that the power plants are critical in addressing the country's power demand to fast track development. Zhang said the funding gap for key energy and transport infrastructure projects in Uganda and Africa is still big. He argued that while the BRI has provided support, more effort is needed from the international community. Ambassador Zhang emphasized that Africa is not a place for rivalry, but place for cooperation for all countries. China welcomes other countries to cooperate with Africa, since that is what Africa needs. There have been fruitful results of BRI that have helped a lot in the development of Africa. Over the years, cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and Uganda have been growing. According to the embassy, by the end of 2021, China had provided scores of degree scholarships and over 5,000 short-term training opportunities covering fields like agriculture, medical care, public administration, computer science and infrastructure. Zhang said China under a tripartite agreement with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Uganda, will soon unveil the third phase of an agricultural projected aimed at boosting production in the country. The project, according to FAO will improve the lives and livelihoods of farmers and those who depend on them. The project will benefit 9,600 farmers, 30 percent of whom are women. It will also provide training for 200 technical officers in Uganda and China, according to FAO. Zhang said as a result of the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in November last year in Senegal, China is expanding support from traditional financing to livelihood projects that will have a direct impact on the populations. He said China is in talks with government on how the best livelihood programs can be supported. "We are going to put more resources in livelihood projects that will bring more benefits to local communities. We are working with government to have a pool of projects," Zhang said. One of the proposals to Uganda is the development of the bamboo industry in the East African country. Zhang said China has the expertise and technology in developing the bamboo industry while Uganda has got the labor and the land. Zhang also had in-depth exchanges with reporters on key international issues such as China's proposed Global Security Initiative (GSI) and the Global Development Initiative (GDI). Zhang argued that as the world faces unprecedented challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, Cold War mentality, power politics and emerging traditional and non-traditional security threats, there is need for a global platform on which these issues can be addressed. Back on track: We are proud to announce #BOSS is set to become the official Fashion Partner of the iconic @AstonMartinF1 Team! More at https://t.co/dDdXjNwtyH pic.twitter.com/A0ZSzVWfQF HUGO BOSS Corporate (@HUGOBOSS) June 30, 2022 Billionaire Lawrence Stroll, who serves as Executive Chairman for the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team (AMF1), says he sees the commitment and ambition shown by BOSS and its return to Grand Prix racing. Hes also excited about this opportunity because, in his opinion, it signals further validation for the work thats been done in the last couple of years at AMF1.The global fashion brand headquartered in Germany will design new formal apparel for the racing drivers and the engineers starting from 2023. Thats also when every member of the team will receive race and travel wear. But until thats all done, the Boss logo will be visible on the AMR22 F1 racing car starting with the British Grand Prix thats held at Silverstone this weekend.Hugo Boss CEO Daniel Grieder said the association with Aston Martin F1 fits perfectly with the fashion houses ambitions to always work with strong partners that match the brands defining values. We are excited to continue our long motorsports legacy with AMF1, and we are looking forward to the many shared experiences we will deliver to fans, with our joint brand power and passion for speed, said Grieder.Hugo Boss will also release a capsule collection for F1 fans that will feature modern performance wear. It will most likely come in the summer of 2023 after the apparel is first seen on the members of the AMF1.The fashion giant decided to reenter Formula 1 because it agrees with the direction the sport is heading towards. Hugo Boss' involvement in the famous motorsport began in 1981 and, after a slight four-year hiatus, it returns. The brand is looking forward to being once again at the center of attention. And what better way to make sure it happens than to enter F1 once again with a partner thats known for great design and power. Hugo Boss dropped Formula 1 for Formula E in 2018 because it was worried about the environmental impact of the sport. The fashion brand is well-known for its bold designs. In F1, however, the German entity is remembered thanks to its collaboration with Ayrton Senna. The famous racing driver wore multiple clothing pieces designed by Hugo Boss, including the racing overalls. Neste claims to be the worlds largest SAF producer. The MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel is supposed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80%, throughout an aircrafts lifecycle, compared to conventional jet fuel. Plus, its a drop-in fuel, which means that it can be used in existing aircraft engines without additional modifications, and its compatible with the current infrastructure at airports.The Finnish companys SAF played an important part in two recent record-setting events. The first one was a pioneering SAF-powered flight with passengers on board, carried out by Malaysia Airlines . The other one was the worlds first flight conducted by an aircraft with 100% SAF in both engines, not just in one of them.A Miami-based company is now gearing up to take the Neste fuel even further as an authorized branded distributor. World Fuel also has strong ties to the introduction of alternative fuels in the aviation industry. It was one of the first companies to provide blended SAF in the UK. It helped convert an Avgas tank into a SAF tank for Bremen Airports fuel storage facility. It also supplied SAF for Airbus engine testing at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport (LFBO) and to the Royal Air Force Brize Norton.World Fuel is expanding its supply points in UK, Germany, and France. LFPB is the first location where it will deliver the Neste fuel, while others will most likely follow. With Neste planning to increase its production capacity to 1.5 million tons per year by 2023, a wider network of supply points in Europe is a natural result. ADAS NHTSA Thats quite some progress considering what the American government had done until very recently. Critics often said that NTHSA did not have the technical skills to evaluate these systems nor the interest to do so. The tide seemed to turn when the agency named Missy Cummings as a senior advisor for safety. The Duke University professor is considered one of the leading specialists in autonomous driving tech.One of Cliffs first official acts was to release the results of the Standing General Order (SGO) related to crashes involving Level 2 advanced driver assistance systems () and Level 4 autonomous driving systems. Tesla had most of the accidents.Cliff told AP that Tesla may have presented bigger numbers than its competitors because half of the 830,000 vehicles it has on American roads use ADAS. He also stressed that the company presents nearly instantaneous wireless crash reports, although the data indicate that more serious collisions did not have that data readily available.Ironically, Cliff said that he believes NHTSA works well with Tesla, something the press and customers, unfortunately, do not share. For the safety regulator to create effective regulation for these systems, it has to understand what makes them helpful and what makes them dangerous.Theadministrator said he would emphasize automatic emergency braking systems and require them in all vehicles in the U.S. soon. Although Tesla offers this system, it presents what Tesla customers already named phantom braking, meaning the EVs brake for no apparent reason. NHTSA is investigating that.Cliff recognizes that the safety regulator has to be quick, but not so fast that it is more subject to mistakes. More than creating regulations for these systems to really help keep people alive, the NHTSA administrator wants to have objective measurement criteria to evaluate ADAS . Thats all safety specialists concerned with the move fast and break stuff philosophy wanted to hear. SUV The incident happened a few years ago, in 2016, just shortly after he moved into a new house. Thats certainly not the best impression after blocking an entire residential road and needing a fire brigade to rescue you.Grimshaw recalled the incident on his weekly podcast, Dish, which he hosts with Angela Hartnett. He explained that he did a deal with this car company where they said like, if you DJ for us and like, you do some stuff for us, we'll do some stuff for you."So, in return, the company lent Nick a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen as part of the deal. But he wrecked it not long after. "So, I had that and Id just moved house and I just moved in, and I think my neighbours were already having a cardiac arrest like, Oh God, look who's moved in next door'," he explained.Grimshaw continued that "it was in one of my first weeks of me moving in that I managed to flip it on its side. On a residential street. And I mean, on its side, blocking the entire road."He added that the accident was so shocking and it naturally made headlines. The story was so big that even British racing driver Lewis Hamilton contacted him, asking How did you do that?Based on what he told everyone at the time, he swerved to avoid a stray cat and the G-Class flipped on its side. But it was so heavy, that no one could lift it. They needed the fire brigade to come rescue him. He also did clarify that he wasn't speeding at the moment of the incident."One of the fire brigades knew a like car-saving company, so this man came with a huge truck, flicked it upon its side, put it on the back of his lorry. And like, drove it off," Nick said. The "funny" thing about that was that no one knew the man, and it took them weeks to find the. Needless to say, Nick "never heard from Mercedes ever again." He added: "And they used to invite me to like Silverstone. Never again.Luckily, no one was injured in the event and now it definitely makes for a story worth telling. Called HomeRun, it got only ten units: five in Frozen (matte) Red II and five in Frozen Dark Grey. The car also came with 20-inch light-alloy wheels with a double-spoke design, adaptive LED headlights, solar control glazing, an electrically-operated glass roof, and a fancy interior. BMW did not disclose how much it would cost, but this is obviously collectors material.The 250,000th unit produced moved along the assembly line with a big sign indicating it was the one and a big Danke (thank you) written both on the poster and in the rear glass. After bidding farewell to the folks that produced it for so long, the i3 will make room for the first electric Mini Countryman: it will also be manufactured in Leipzig starting in 2023.The German company states that Leipzig will be its first factory to make models both from Mini and BMW. Too bad that it is wrong about that: its Brazilian factory in Araquari also made the Mini Countryman and BMW models for a long time. Unless BMW does not consider what it does in Araquari manufacturing, it should apologize to its Brazilian team for the mistake.Apart from the new electric Mini Countryman , Leipzig will also produce components for electric vehicles. It is a pity that the production of the new i3 the electric BMW 3 Series is already set to happen in the Debrecen factory in Hungary in 2025, as we wrote a little earlier today. ?zmir'in Seferihisar ilcesi ac?klar?nda su alan ve bir bolumu batan yat icerisindeki 10 ki?i, Sahil Guvenlik ekipleri taraf?ndan kurtar?ld?. Tamamen batmak uzereyken kurtar?lan yat ise Gumuldur Bal?kc? Bar?na??'nda karaya oturtuldu. pic.twitter.com/izGCnqrKiM ?ZM?R'DE NE OLDU? (@izmirdenoldu) June 29, 2022 The incident took place off the coast of Seferihisar, in the western part of the country, local media reports. Available below is a video of the Coast Guard boat approaching the vessel, which, at this point, is more than halfway underwater. The causes of the incident are still under investigation.According to Boat International , the vessel seems to be a Custom Line Navetta 26 superyacht, with reports saying its called Kapky, but no official details are available as of the time of press. Superyacht Times reports that the captain called the Coast Guard right as he noticed the vessel was taking water at around 11am local time. Boats from the Coast Guard took the passengers to the shore before returning to rescue the vessel itself. Authorities were eventually able to drain some of the water out of the vessel before towing it to Gumuldur Fishermans Shelter.The Navetta 26 is an older superyacht model introduced by Ferrettis Custom Line in 2008. With a total length of 26.22 meters (86 feet), which gives it its name, it offers accommodation for up to 12 guests in five spacious cabins and features plenty of outdoor space, divided between lounge and tanning areas, as well as a hot tub and a spacious beach club. Powered by twin 900 hp MAN R6E engines, a Navetta 26 sells for upwards of 2.5 million, or roughly $2.6 million at the current exchange rate.In other words, while theres a happy ending to this accident in the fact that both passengers and the vessel were rescued by the Coast Guard, damages are most likely expensive. What happens after 2023 is anybodys guess. Gasly has been linked to various other teams, such as McLaren (if Ricciardo doesnt work out) and Alpine (if Alonso retires or if they move on from Ocon).Speaking to the media ahead of this weekends British Grand Prix, Gasly had this to say: Im looking forward to this weekend at Silverstone for many reasons, including the fact I know I can now look ahead to a further 18 months with this team, he stated. Im pleased its been confirmed early, so we now have time to plan a strategy of how to build and develop next years car.He then went on to say that hes convinced that by working well together over the course of this season, theres no reason why AlphaTauri couldnt have an excellent year in 2023,and that his goal is to help get the team to the top although how high a team like AlphaTauri can rise depends a lot on the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes.I have big ambitions for myself, and I always give my maximum to get the best results for the team. I will continue to push to get the best ever season this team has ever had next year.Gasly has yet to climb on the podium at Silverstone, but he did finish fourth in 2019, back when he was still racing for Red Bull.This year, the Frenchman is currently ranked 11th in the Driver Standings with 16 points, just 2 points behind Alpines Fernando Alonso and 1 point clear of Haas Kevin Magnussen and McLarens Daniel Ricciardo. Most drone delivery companies we hear about usually use their aircraft to deliver food items or medical supplies. But lately, weve also seen these flying machines being used for yet another purpose: to support the offshore energy sector by transporting spare parts to wind farms. German drone company Wingcopter is one such example, planning to deploy its flagship W198 dron e for such operations starting in 2024, through an agreement with German logistics and aviation company Zeitfracht Group and its subsidiary, German Airways.Now were also seeing RigiTech joining this growing trend. The Switzerland-based company announced that its largest drone, Eiger, recently performed its inaugural flight on a delivery route to the offshore substation of a wind turbine park off the coast of Denmark, which consists of more than 100 wind turbines. This was a test flight and is part of a partnership signed between RigiTech and energy company rsted, with Danish autonomous systems operator Holo and logistics company DSV also pitching in.RigiTechs drone took off from rsteds warehouse in Greena on Tuesday and landed on the offshore substation of the Anholt offshore wind farm in the Kattegat strait. It successfully delivered the spare parts and then flew back to the warehouse.The delivery route was operated entirely remotely from Holos office in Copenhagen, Denmark, via RigiTechs proprietary software, in what the latter describes as a worlds first operation.In addition to helping offshore and maritime industries become greener, deliveries by drone are also safer, more reliable, and more convenient. They dont require additional infrastructure, they are extremely accurate, they dont require any human operators to put their lives at risk, and most of them are capable of withstanding extreme weather conditions. Moreover, RigiTechs drones can carry out multiple flights during the same day in shorter delivery times.Eiger is solidly built, can access hard-to-reach areas, and can handle winds of up to 54 kph (over 33 mph). It has a payload capacity of up to 3 kg (6.6 lb) and offers ranges of up to more than 100 km (62 miles) on a battery charge. Dr. Otto Preiss, COO and Chief Technology Officer at Rolls-Royce Power Systems, describes green hydrogen as this fascinating technology, which is not a pipe dream but has great market potential. To achieve that potential, the brand has already started working on its own mtu electrolyzers. Future customers of these systems will be able to either store hydrogen as renewable energy or process it further and sell it.An electrolyzer helps produce green hydrogen by using water and electricity thats obtained from renewable sources, such as solar power and wind power. The main component of an electrolyzer is known as a stack, comprised of hundreds of cells stacked on top of each other. The cell is where the electrochemical reaction takes place.To make its mtu electrolyzers, Rolls-Royce will use the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) stacks developed by a German company called Hoeller Electrolyzer. Hoeller makes these stacks under the Prometheus brand, claiming that they are not only highly efficient but also cost-effective. Thats because the technologies they use help reduce the use of platinum and iridium as catalysts, which are known to be very expensive precious metals. Rolls-Royce is already working on the first mtu electrolyzer using an innovative stack from the German expert. Next year, it will go into operation at the Validation Center in Friedrichshafen, where it will demonstrate how electrolyzers can be integrated into microgrids.The first mtu electrolyzers to be launched will boast several MWs, and by combining multiple electrolyzers, Rolls-Royce is expecting a total output of more than 100 MW. Isaykin made it on the Forbes list of the 200 richest Russians in 2014, with an estimated fortune of over $500 million. He controls both the Volga-Dnepr Group in Russia, and the UK-registered Cargo Logic Holding, a parent company to CargoLogicAir (CLA) in the UK, and CargoLogic in Germany.Back in March, CargoLogic was forbidden to operate in the EU airspace, despite the operator stating that it was a German company managed by an independent German team. We are and remain a completely independent and German company, it was stated at the time. According to Air Cargo News , the small cargo operator has since then entered insolvency, being unable to function throughout this entire period.Its UK-based sister company reportedly hasnt been operating either, with one of its freighters stuck at the Frankfurt Hahn Airport and another one apparently stored at the Pinal Air Park in the U.S. The same media source reports that Isaykin has resigned as a director of CLA after having recently been included on the UKs sanctions list. Documents show that he is still the director of both Volga-Dnepr and Cargo Logic Holding.Even though the small air cargo operators in Germany and in the UK were the ones that suffered the consequences, Isakyns sanctions were mostly connected to the operations of Volga-Dnepr. According to an official statement of the British government, the Russian air cargo operator was used by Kremlin to create air bridges and transport essential goods despite the current airspace ban against Russia. Arguably the most notable change is a rule on the engine, with the FIA hoping to improve reliability. Until now, the teams from the grid were not allowed to make any changes on the car between the qualifying sessions and the race. However, now, in some cases, teams will be permitted to change the engine while still respecting the parc ferme rules.Another essential rule change is about the cooling of the fuel, a problem raised by Red Bull Racing and others. In a short period of time, all the teams from the grid will be allowed to cool their fuel to a temperature of twenty degrees Celsius during hotter races (like Miami or Brazil). They will use a reference temperature for this. In addition, supplementary changes will be made to the mirrors to improve rearward vision.The FIA is hoping to finalize all these engine regulations changes for 2026 before the World Motor Sport Council meeting, meaning it's pretty unlikely that these changes will be adopted over the summer as some team managers wanted.Furthermore, changes to the flexibility of rear and front wings in tests have been approved. Another difference in the tests relates to the tires. The FIA clarified that the tests run by teams with Pirelli (the official tire supplier of F1 ) are not permitted to "test parts, software, changes to parts or changes to the set-up that give the participant any kind of information not related to the tyre test," as FIA declared.All these talks will be finalized in the coming weeks to ensure the changes will be the best for all the parts involved. Its one of the largest pleasure craft in the world and one of the most luxurious the 290-foot (88 meters) Nirvana is a creation of the acclaimed Oceanco shipyard. Its amenities are described as comparable to those of seven-stars luxury resorts.For example, the counter-flow swimming pool is 25-foot-long (7.5 meters), and it can turns into a dance floor. The main salon, boasting a huge dinner table that can seat 18 people, also turns into a nightclub. A 3D cinema, spa amenities, and what Northrop & Johnsons calls a casino-style game room are also available. The massive yacht allegedly includes even two terrariums with exotic reptiles.Such a stunning floating mansion could only have an equally-impressive owner. Vladimir Potanin is considered the richest Russian oligarch. He certainly is the King of Nickel, as the main shareholder of Nornickel, claiming to be the largest producer of high-grade nickel and palladium in the world. This highly-strategic role in the global supply chains has allegedly protected Potanin from being hit with sanctions by the U.S. and the EU, despite his public ties to Vladimir Putin. Canada and Australia didnt spare him, however.To be on the safe side, the oligarch made sure to keep Nirvana away from prying hands. The mammoth yacht arrived in Dubai earlier this week, WHIO-TV reports, turning heads with its gigantic silhouette. Its definitely not alone, joining other famous oligarch-owned superyachts. But none are quite like this $300 million masterpiece.On the other hand, the U.S. is trying to convince its ally to stop supporting the Russians, who are trying to evade sanctions. After the official visit of the Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo to UAE last week, there were rumors that the country might be blacklisted if it continues to act as a safe haven for oligarchs. Westbrook is VinFasts chief service officer (CSO), and he was asked about that possibility at the event. His answer was very vague, and he just said that VinFast wants to serve the needs of the market. If the Vietnamese company rules thats what the market needs, the executive thinks it could offer an electric pickup truck. We are not sure why Reuters decided it was worth reporting that, mainly because he could have said the same about a hatchback, a sedan, a van, or a station wagon. Despite that, the news raises an interesting discussion that is worth bringing to you.In 2020, VinFast patented images for a pickup truck. The designer was Filippo Perini, the design director of Italdesign . So far, all production vehicles from the Vietnamese brand were designed by Pininfarina, making the pickup truck an exception.In the patent images, we can see that VinFast wanted this pickup truck to have a combustion engine. If the vehicle did not enter a development stage yet, that is something VinFast can change while preserving the patented design.Unfortunately, we have no idea how big this pickup truck would be nor if it would adopt a unibody construction or body on frames. If the goal is the American market, we bet the latter is the most likely choice.There are positive and negative aspects to consider in the possibility of an electric pickup truck from VinFast. Among the positives are the local production (avoiding the Chicken Tax ) and the chance to build a reputation with electric pickup trucks before the market is flooded with options.The negative is that VinFast is still unknown to most American buyers, especially the most traditional ones. It is not unlikely that the Vietnamese company can only develop and sell an electric pickup truck when GM and Stellantis already have their models to market. Ford will already be in the second-generation F-150 Lightning , and VinFasts only advantage is that the American carmaker cannot build enough to meet demand.Pickup trucks have a massive importance in the U.S. Anyone willing to be a big player in that market must sell something in that segment. Curiously, Volkswagen has been considering that for years and only announced concrete plans to do that with the Scout badge. VinFast may prove its swiftness by getting to this crucial market segment before the German brand, but we are not so sure at this point that it will. In fact, Waze has been rolling out special moods, car icons, and navigation voices for quite some time , but in a recent announcement, the Google-owned company promises something truly special.Waze has joined forces with Netflix to provide users with content inspired by The Sea Beast, the new Netflix movie that will go live in July.If youve been keeping track of the previous special-edition partnerships announced by Waze, you probably know already that they always include new moods that you can configure in the app, new car icons, and navigation voices to provide guidance while you navigate.First of all, youre getting three new moods that can be enabled from the Waze settings screen. They are called Blue, Red, and Yellow, and they are available only as long as The Sea Beast content is live in the application when the limited-time content is removed, your Waze settings return to the original configuration.Then, theres a new vehicle icon called Lifeboat, but keep in mind this is how your vehicle is displayed on the map, so its not visible to others.And last but not least, the partnership is bringing two navigation voices called Maisie and Blue, both of which will provide instructions on how to reach a defined destination. Needless to say, the navigation is only available in English, though the content can also be enabled worldwide however, if you want to use the navigation voice in a language other than English, this is not possible.Waze hasnt revealed the date when the content would be removed, but the company does emphasize it would only be available for a limited time. You can ask me at any point of the day what car I would buy (if it was available for the correct price), and the answer would almost always be the same. On the spot, I'd name only three brands - always. I am confident I would never get it wrong. BMW, Ford, and Rivian are the vehicles that would constitute the garage of my dreams. I would need nothing else. Three cars are already too much.Of course, I dream of a Ferrari from time to time. More specifically, the 488 Pista Spider in a Stormtrooper color combo is what often pops up in my mind. As with any other gearhead out there, there are some shapes and a couple of engines that simply make you daydream. It happened to almost anyone I know. For me, its not about the power. The shape of the car is what made me love it in great secrecy. And I keep this feeling buried deep inside my car enthusiast heart because its just incredibly expensive. Theres no scenario in which I end up owning one. The BMW, the Ford, and the Rivian are just fine, and theyd be more than enough.But lets get back to our little Mazda Being rigid about preferences never helped anyone. Its good to accept changes. From time to time, we all should allow ourselves some space for thoughts that could eventually lead to a shift in mentality. If Im being completely honest with you here, the MX-5 Miata would have never crossed my mind as a car that I could eventually own. I always thought that it was too small and low on power. Add the manual and the recipe just never sounded good to me.All these assumptions were completely deleted after having the car just for myself for a week. It was completely unexpected. I was surprised. Allow me to explain.I visited Europe just before everyone embarked on plane journeys and had planned out a relaxing trip through multiple countries. Because the universe has a sense of humor, I ended up taking a 2020 Mazda MX-5 RF (ND2) dressed in the Racing Orange color thats specific for the 30th-anniversary model. My first road from picking up the car and to the hotel meant I had to drive for over 370 mi (600 km). I was almost fuming. Not only was I bashing myself for agreeing to experience Europe in such a tiny, comically looking vehicle, but my significant other was also vocal about being displeased with the size of the Miata and its tiny trunk. It didnt look good.But we get on with our plans to drive for at least eight hours with the hope that cops wont single us out. I get in the drivers seat. Would you look at that! I fit comfortably even! The driving position is pretty good. The materials are nice enough. Theres enough technology here for driving safely in unknown territories The MX-5 already made a first good impression.I then started the car up and slowly but surely drove in the right direction. The road wasnt congested, the sky was clear, and the wind was barely noticeable. Thats when I decided it was time to take the top off and enjoy the open-air experience. The sky blessed us with a clear view of the Moon and some stars. We werent close to cities, so light pollution wasnt there to mess with the view.With each gear shift and every bit of acceleration, I was more and more starting to fall in love with the car that - up until those magical moments - I considered to be a joke. The MX-5 Miata was easy to drive, nothing felt forced or cramped, and the sheer joy that comes from being able to see everything around you at night is just inexplicably amazing. We were both enjoying the whole experience.Moreover, the fact that the exhaust note wasnt loud helped with keeping our presence unnoticed and allowed us to hear what was surrounding us. I stopped more than once to just soak in the places we were seeing for the first time.As we were approaching our destination, a storm was forming in the West. The sky remained clear for us, and right as we drove through some little villages, the Moon was shining almost above us, and the lightning was offering us a proper show. The Bose sound system completed the whole picture and almost transported us into a realm of unbeknown happiness. It turned out to be an uncanny experience.We arrived at the hotel with big smiles on our faces after a nine-hour drive and slept like babies until the Sun reclaimed its dominion back. I returned the car with almost 1,700 mi (2,730 km) more on the odometer. We loved every single minute spent with the tiny convertible Now Im looking forward to getting an MX-5 with a hard top for myself. And thats how I ended up being a fan of the Japanese roadster that knows how to blend simplicity with practicality and reliability. Its just a fun little car that deserves love, and you should try one out too. Its properly amazing for what it is. Dont hesitate and dont fall into the trap of preconceived ideas. The Miata is most likely going to serve you well.Thanks for tuning into the last day of Open Top Month here on autoevolution. ADDIS ABABA, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia has repatriated 43,061 nationals from Saudi Arabia in the past three months, an Ethiopian official said Thursday. Speaking to state media outlets, Minister of Ethiopia Government Communication Service Legesse Tulu said the large-scale repatriation process from Saudi Arabia was undertaken between March 30 to the end of June. Tulu, however, said the number of Ethiopian returnees from Saudi Arabia in the last three months is only 42 percent of the planned target for the stated period. He also said Ethiopia will in the coming months further beef up efforts to return Ethiopian nationals from Saudi Arabia. According to the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, more than 750,000 Ethiopians are living in Saudi Arabia, 450,000 of them without proper documents. Estimates suggest that thousands of Ethiopians are trafficked to the Arabian Peninsula via Djibouti and war-torn Yemen every year, risking imprisonment and killings along the way. In recent months, Ethiopia has stepped up efforts to take back its citizens stranded overseas, mainly in Saudi Arabia, as part of the government's "citizen-centered diplomacy." The government is also working to dismantle sophisticated human trafficking networks and create economic opportunities for nationals with low incomes. Arizonas Republican attorney general says a total abortion ban that has been on the books since before statehood can be enforced, putting him at odds with that state's Republican governor You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @_ishanidesai on Twitter. NAIROBI, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese technology firm, Huawei, said Thursday it will support Kenya to boost its cyber security amid growing threats of digital attacks. Maureen Mwaniki, the Vice-Director of Programs Management at Huawei Kenya told an internet forum in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that the COVID-19 pandemic caused a surge in the number of people who moved to the online space both for work and social reasons. "We have come up with measures that will keep people safe from cyberattacks as they go online," Mwaniki said during the 15th Kenya internet governance forum intended to generate dialogue towards the development of the ICT sector. She observed that its training programs incorporate cyber security to ensure digital citizens can protect their personal data from malicious attacks as well as reduce the risks associated with remote working. "Even our digital tools such as mobile devices and tablets also have enhanced measures to reduce vulnerability to cyber attacks," Mwaniki said. She revealed that increased online learning has heightened the risk of children toward cyber attacks. "Our products can help parents monitor what their children are watching so as to protect minors from harm," Mwaniki said. She noted that the Chinese firm also assists its local partners to undertake safety drills to check how prepared they are in case of actual attacks. Authorities in Texas have arrested and charged the man that was allegedly operating the abandoned truck where 53 migrants died in San Antonio, Texas. U.S. attorneys charged Homero Zamorano Jr. with transportation of illegal aliens resulting in death, a crime that comes with a sentence of up to life in prison or death. Three others have also been arrested and charged in connection with the case. According to a sworn affidavit filed by Homeland Security special agent Nestor Canales and obtained by Rolling Stone, upon arriving at the scene of a human smuggling event, Homeland Security agents found that 48 individuals were deceased and located inside or within the vicinity of the tractor trailer. The death count has risen to 53 since the affidavit was filed. [Homeland Security special agents] were advised at the scene by San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) officers that they arrived at the location of the tractor trailer after receiving 911 calls from concerned citizens, the affidavit states. At the scene, SAPD Officers discovered multiple individuals on the ground and in nearby brush, several of whom were deceased. Authorities were then led to the location of an individual that was observed hiding in the brush before running to abscond from responding citizens. San Antonio police officers on the scene detained Zamorano, who was escorted to a nearby hospital for medical evaluation. Surveillance footage provided by the Laredo Sector border patrol showed that a man matching Zamoranos appearance and wearing the same clothing was behind the wheel of the truck at an immigration checkpoint crossing. The San Antonio Express-News reports that Zamorano, a 45-year-old with addresses in Houston and the Rio Grande Valley, has a lengthy criminal history. A law enforcement source also told the newspaper that Zamorano was very high on meth when he was arrested nearby and had to be taken to the hospital. A lengthy criminal history in the U.S. for Homero Zamorano, the man Mexican authorities say drove the big rig where 53 migrants died. Among charges in records: reckless injury to elderly & multiple drug offenses. One of his prior arrests happened in Houston back in 2004. pic.twitter.com/4OP6byYJxj Marcelino Benito (@MarcelinoKHOU) June 29, 2022 The affidavit also detailed the nationalities but not the names of the deceased: 22 of the victims were Mexican nationals, seven were Guatemalan, two were Honduran and 17 were of unknown origin but suspected to be Undocumented Non-Citizens. Twelve adults and four children were also found alive at the scene and were hospitalized for heat exhaustion and heat stroke. San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood told reporters that the individuals found inside the trailer had no access to water. Temperatures in San Antonio topped 103 degrees Fahrenheit Monday. Were not supposed to open up a truck and see stacks of bodies in there, Hood said. None of us come to work imagining that. SAO PAULO (AP) The head of Brazilian state-run bank Caixa Economica Federal resigned Wednesday amid a sexual harassment investigation against him. The website Metropoles reported Tuesday that prosecutors were investigating accusations by at least five staffers against Pedro Guimaraes, who is a close ally of President Jair Bolsonaro. The case is sealed, according to Brazilian media. I have to step away at this moment so I don't weaken the collection of achievements that don't belong to me personally" at Caixa, Guimaraes said in a statement, adding he had Bolsonaro's support at every hour he held the job. Caixa is a key bank for Brazil since it pays many government handouts. The case is yet another blow for Bolsonaro, who trails former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in opinion poll as they head toward October's elections. (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Stanislav Budnitsky, Indiana University (THE CONVERSATION) Since the start of Russias war on Ukraine in late February 2022, Russian internet users have experienced what has been dubbed the descent of a digital iron curtain. Russian authorities blocked access to all major opposition news sites, as well as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Under the new draconian laws purporting to combat fake news about the Russian-Ukrainian war, internet users have faced administrative and criminal charges for allegedly spreading online disinformation about Russias actions in Ukraine. Most Western technology companies, from Airbnb to Apple, have stopped or limited their Russian operations as part of the broader corporate exodus from the country. Many Russians downloaded virtual private network software to try to access blocked sites and services in the first weeks of the war. By late April, 23% of Russian internet users reported using VPNs with varying regularity. The state media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, has been blocking VPNs to prevent people from bypassing government censorship and stepped up its efforts in June 2022. Although the speed and scale of the wartime internet crackdown are unprecedented, its legal, technical and rhetorical foundations were put in place during the preceding decade under the banner of digital sovereignty. Digital sovereignty for nations is the exercise of state power within national borders over digital processes like the flow of online data and content, surveillance and privacy, and the production of digital technologies. Under authoritarian regimes like todays Russia, digital sovereignty often serves as a veil for stymieing domestic dissent. Digital sovereignty pioneer Russia has advocated upholding state sovereignty over information and telecommunications since the early 1990s. In the aftermath of the Cold War, a weakened Russia could no longer compete with the U.S. economically, technologically or militarily. Instead, Russian leaders sought to curtail the emergent U.S. global dominance and hold on to Russias great power status. They did so by promoting the preeminence of state sovereignty as a foundational principle of international order. In the 2000s, seeking to project its great power resurgence, Moscow joined forces with Beijing to spearhead the global movement for internet sovereignty. Despite its decades-long advocacy of digital sovereignty on the world stage, the Kremlin didnt begin enforcing state power over its domestic cyberspace until the early 2010s. From late 2011 to mid-2012, Russia saw the largest series of anti-government rallies in its post-Soviet history to protest Vladimir Putins third presidential run and fraudulent parliamentary elections. As in the anti-authoritarian uprisings in the Middle East known as the Arab Spring, the internet served as a critical instrument in organizing and coordinating the Russian protests. Following Putins return to the presidency in March 2012, the Kremlin turned its attention to controlling Russian cyberspace. The so-called Blacklist Law established a framework for blocking websites under the guise of fighting child pornography, suicide, extremism and other widely acknowledged societal ills. However, the law has been regularly used to ban sites of opposition activists and media. The law widely known as the Bloggers Law then subjected all websites and social media accounts with over 3,000 daily users to traditional media regulations by requiring them to register with the state. The next pivotal moment in Moscows embrace of authoritarian digital sovereignty came after Russias invasion of eastern Ukraine in the Spring of 2014. Over the following five years, as Russias relations with the West worsened, the Russian government undertook a barrage of initiatives meant to tighten its control over the countrys increasingly networked public. The data localization law, for example, required foreign technology companies to keep Russian citizens data on servers located within the country and thus easily accessible to the authorities. Under the pretext of fighting terrorism, another law required telecom and internet companies to retain users communications for six months and their metadata for three years and hand them over to authorities upon request without a court order. The Kremlin has used these and other legal innovations to open criminal cases against thousands of internet users and jail hundreds for liking and sharing social media content critical of the government. The Sovereign Internet Law In April 2019, Russian authorities took their aspirations for digital sovereignty to another level with the so-called Sovereign Internet Law. The law opened the door for abuse of individual users and isolation of the internet community as a whole. The law requires all internet service providers to install state-mandated devices for counteracting threats to stability, security, and the functional integrity of the internet within Russian borders. The Russian government has interpreted threats broadly, including social media content. For example, the authorities have repeatedly used this law to throttle the performance of Twitter on mobile devices when Twitter has failed to comply with government requests to remove illegal content. Further, the law establishes protocols for rerouting all internet traffic through Russian territory and for a single command center to manage that traffic. Ironically, the Moscow-based center that now controls traffic and fights foreign circumvention tools, such as the Tor browser, requires Chinese and U.S. hardware and software to function in the absence of their Russian equivalents. Lastly, the law promises to establish a Russian national Domain Name System. DNS is the global internets core database that translates between web names such as theconversation.com and their internet addresses, in this case 151.101.2.133. DNS is operated by a California-based nonprofit, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. At the time of the laws passing, Putin justified the national DNS by arguing that it would allow the Russian internet segment to function even if ICANN disconnected Russia from the global internet in an act of hostility. In practice, when, days into Russias invasion in February 2022, Ukrainian authorities asked ICANN to disconnect Russia from the DNS, ICANN declined the request. ICANN officials said they wanted to avoid setting the precedent of disconnecting entire countries for political reasons. Splitting the global internet The Russian-Ukrainian war has undermined the integrity of the global internet, both by Russias actions and the actions of technology companies in the West. In an unprecedented move, social media platforms have blocked access to Russian state media. The internet is a global network of networks. Interoperability among these networks is the internets foundational principle. The ideal of a single internet, of course, has always run up against the reality of the worlds cultural and linguistic diversity: Unsurprisingly, most users dont clamor for content from faraway lands in unintelligible languages. Yet, politically motivated restrictions threaten to fragment the internet into increasingly disjointed networks. Though it may not be fought over on the battlefield, global interconnectivity has become one of the values at stake in the Russian-Ukrainian war. And as Russia has solidified its control over sections of eastern Ukraine, it has moved the digital Iron Curtain to those frontiers. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/kremlin-tightens-control-over-russians-online-lives-threatening-domestic-freedoms-and-the-global-internet-182020. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MEXICO CITY (AP) The two cousins returned to the tiny, hardscrabble hamlet they grew up in in southern Mexico about two weeks ago to say goodbye in what has become a rite of passage for generations of migrants from their remote, impoverished mountainous region in Oaxaca state. After the farewells in the community of Cerro Verde, Javier Flores Lopez and Jose Luis Vasquez Guzman began their trek north to the U.S-Mexico border and toward their final destination in Ohio, where construction jobs and other work awaited. Flores Lopez is now missing, his family said, while Vasquez Guzman is hospitalized in San Antonio after surviving stifling heat inside a tractor-trailer near the Texas city that killed at least 53 people in the deadliest smuggling episode ever in the U.S. The perilous trip for migrants who climbed into what would become a death chamber for many reflects the growing risks people face in fleeing abject poverty, violence and other desperate situations in Mexico and Central America to seek a better life. Cerro Verde is a community of about 60 people that has largely been abandoned by the young. Those who remain work earning meager livings weaving sun hats, mats, brooms and other items from palm leaves. Many live on as little as 30 pesos a day (less than $2). The truth is people leave here out of necessity, said Felicitos Garcia, who owns a small grocery store in nearby San Miguel Huautla, adding that he saw the two men about two weeks ago. Life is tough here. People survive by growing their own crops like corn, beans and wheat. Sometimes the land gives and sometimes it doesnt, when the rains arrive late. There is nothing in place for people to have other resources. People live one day to the next. It was not the first trip to the U.S.-Mexico border for Flores Lopez, now in his mid-30s, who left Cerro Verde years ago and went to Ohio, where his father and a brother live. He was back home to see his wife and three small children briefly, said a cousin, Francisco Lopez Hernandez. Vasquez Guzman, 32, decided to go with his cousin for his first trip across the border and hoped to reach his oldest brother who is in Ohio as well. While everyone knew the risks, countless people from Cerro Verde had made it safely across the U.S.-Mexico border with the help of smugglers, so it came as a shock, Lopez Hernandez said, to learn Vasquez Guzman was among 67 people packed into the trailer found abandoned Monday near auto salvage yards. The family believes Flores Lopez was, too, but they are still awaiting confirmation. The driver along with two other men from Mexico remained in custody as the investigation continues. Officials had potential identifications on 37 of the victims as of Wednesday morning, pending verification with authorities in other countries, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiners Office. The dead include 27 people from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala and two from El Salvador, said Francisco Garduno, chief of Mexicos National Immigration Institute. Identifying them has been challenging because some were found without identification documents and in one case carried a stolen ID. Remote villages, like Cerro Verde, have little to no phone service to reach family members and fingerprint data has to be shared and matched by the governments involved. Vasquez Guzmans mother, who is trying to get a visa to see her son in Texas, raised him and his three siblings alone after their father died when Vasquez Guzman was 10. She now is the only one of the family left in Cerro Verde. Vasquez Guzman left when he was 18 and joined the Mexican military. His oldest brother, Eloy, went to the United States just over a year ago and settled in Ohio, said Lopez Hernandez, who grew up on the neighboring ranch. I imagine that he commented to him about how the work situation was and everything and how to make more money, Lopez Hernandez said. I imagine he called him so that he would come over, too, to have a better life. Thats the draw for why he was going. Vasquez Guzman, who had been living in Mexico City the past six years, returned to Cerro Verde only to say goodbye to his mother, Lopez Hernandez said. He knew it was an expensive and risky trip. Lopez Hernandez said most people rely on those who have made it to the U.S. to send them money for the journey, which usually costs around $9,000. There are a lot of risks but for those who are lucky, the fortune is there, to be able to work, earn a living he said. With so many leaving and heading to the United States, it is easy to find a smuggler and until now the people have gotten across safely, Lopez Hernandez said. I dont know in this case if they changed or what happened, why they were abandoned, he said. Lopez Hernandez, who also has a brother living in Ohio, has thought about joining him. But he said family, work, school and other responsibilities have kept him in Mexico. This week, he asked his uncle if he had heard from Vasquez Guzman. He told him he was in Texas. I told him, How cool, thats hes trying hard and well see him on his return,' Lopez Hernandez replied before they lost their phone signal. He later learned from the Internet about the tragedy. ___ Watson reported from San Diego. CENTREVILLE, Ala. (AP) Law enforcement agencies were conducting a manhunt Wednesday evening after two deputies were shot and wounded, one of them critically, while chasing a suspect in Alabama, authorities said. District Attorney Michael Jackson said the shooting happened in Bibb County as two deputies were chasing a suspect in a stolen vehicle. The man fired at the deputies, shooting both, he said. One of the deputies was critically wounded. South Africa: Minister welcomes collaboration in biodiversity conservation Private reserves on the western boundary of the Kruger National Park and government have committed to working together on a number of areas, including tackling wildlife crime, enhancing transformation and improving the local economy. The cooperation with private reserves in the western boundary of the Kruger National Park is key to ensuring that communities live in harmony with nature, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy said on Wednesday. She made these remarks on the conclusion of her engagement with representatives of the Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR), community members and other stakeholders in Mpumalanga this week to discuss a range of problems that have arisen in recent years. These include wildlife crime and rhino poaching. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Forum (GKEPF) of which the APNR is a part, agreed to create three sub-committees to address rhino poaching and combatting wildlife crime, economic ecosystems and protected areas conservation. In addition, administrative blockages and governance will be discussed. Another important area of collaboration includes creating opportunities for beneficiation of communities living on the borders, or close to, to reserves and the Kruger National Park, and expansion of the protected areas estate. It was indeed an honour to meet with the Minister to discuss critical conservation efforts to sustain the Greater Kruger area. The positive engagements lay a firm foundation for collective action in the interest of biodiversity and sustainable development in this area, GKEPF CEO Sharon Hausmann said. Hausmann said the meeting had pledged their continued commitment to conservation efforts, and specifically the three identified areas of closer cooperation. The Minister invited all stakeholders to participate in the policy processes by submitting their written submissions on the draft White Paper on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in South Africa and the draft Game Meat Strategy. Cabinet recently approved it for public comment. The White Paper and Strategy are to be gazette for consultation in the near future. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-06-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. China removes mark for COVID-hit regions on visitors' travel code Xinhua) 08:18, June 30, 2022 A passenger shows his health QR code before entering a subway station in Beijing, capital of China, May 17, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin) BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhua) -- China has announced that starting Wednesday, the asterisk marking regions with COVID-19 infections will be removed from the online code tracking visitors' travel history. The new move has been made to implement the strategy of preventing inbound cases and domestic resurgences, as well as the dynamic zero-COVID policy, said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The decision is also aimed at supporting the efficient coordination of epidemic control and socio-economic development, and facilitating travel, said the ministry. Previously, the asterisk mark would appear on an individual's travel code, indicating that the person's travel history involved an area that was medium- or high-risk for COVID-19. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) ISLAMABAD, June 30 (Xinhua) -- At least one person was killed and 15 others injured after a passenger bus collided with a trailer on Wednesday night near Rahim Yar Khan city of Pakistan's eastern Punjab province, local media reported. According to the reports, the accident took place on Multan Motorway due to over-speeding of the bus, killing one person on the spot. The rescue teams reached the site and shifted the victims to the hospital, rescue workers told local media, adding that the death toll may rise further as most of the injured were in critical condition. The ill-fated bus was going from Sukkur city in the country's southern Sindh province to Punjab. Road accidents frequently happen in Pakistan, mainly due to poorly maintained vehicles, dilapidated roads as well as negligence of road safety measures. Orange County has lifted its burn ban ahead of the Fourth of July weekend. "Due to the recent rainfall and the updated weather forecast, Orange County Judge John Gothia is lifting the burn ban immediately for Orange County," a county alert said on Thursday morning. "Judge Gothia is still asking residents to exercise caution with any burning activity." Last week, Orange County was among several Texas counties to have implemented a burn ban due to drought conditions and several reported fires in the area. Burn bans are put in place by county judges or commissioners when drought conditions exist. Related: Orange County burn ban effective immediately Jefferson and Hardin counties are not currently under a burn ban. Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick previously said that fire chiefs and emergency service districts in his county did not wish to implement the burn ban at the time, in part due to the time it would take to respond to those violating such a ban. Hardin County Judge Wayne McDaniel previously said that although the county is not under a burn ban, county officials are asking residents to limit only burn outside when necessary. Related: Orange Co. burn ban persists amid drought "The fire chiefs say the outreach messages we are disseminating via the Hardin County Emergency Management Facebook page are helping and citizens are adhering to our requests," McDaniel said. "They have not been responding to more fires than usual and no fire chief has asked me to issue a burn ban at this time." From January to June 2022, rain totals have been 15 inches below normal. Only 12 inches of rainfall have fallen, compared to the nearly 36 inches that fell in the first six months of 2021. Olivia Malick and Courtney Pederson contributed to this article. meagan.ellsworth@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/megzmagpie Some 70% of Texas counties are under a burn ban -- but not Jefferson County. In fact, the only county in Southeast Texas under a burn ban is Orange, although but June 28 data from Texas A&M's Texas Weather Connection show the three counties are at the same risk for forest fires. Burn bans are put in place by county judges or commissioners when drought conditions exist. Orange County Judge John Gothia said the burn ban was put into effect on Friday and will continue until drought conditions improve. RELATED: Orange County burn ban effective immediately "We've just had several fires and our emergency services districts requested that we put one in place to kind of help control it," Gothia said. Gothia said the burn ban only prohibits brush and open fire burning. Fireworks, barbecuing and burning in a fire pit are still allowed. For Jefferson and Hardin counties, the county judges and emergency service districts are constantly monitoring drought conditions to determine whether a burn ban is needed. "I have had continuing discussions with the fire chiefs at the emergency services districts, none of them currently want a burn ban," Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick said. "They do not want a burn ban because it takes them a lot of time to respond to reports of outdoor burning, which they say takes more time than actually fighting fires." RELATED: Southeast Texas to see a 'cold front' Hardin County Judge Wayne McDaniel said although the county is not under a burn ban, county officials are asking residents to limit only burn outside when necessary. "The fire chiefs say the outreach messages we are disseminating via the Hardin County Emergency Management Facebook page are helping and citizens are adhering to our requests," McDaniel said. "They have not been responding to more fires than usual and no fire chief has asked me to issue a burn ban at this time." All three judges are optimistic that the rain forecast for this week with help improve drought conditions. "We are hopeful that the rain later this week will lay the issue to rest for a while," Branick said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Police have captured a wanted fugitive following the death of a Port Arthur child. Jaylin Jevon Lewis, 24, was arrested Wednesday. The Jefferson County Sheriffs Office and the Port Arthur Police Department confirmed 24-year-old resident has been arrested. Port Arthur police previously named Lewis as one of three suspects under investigation in connection with the death of 3-year-old King Dewey, who was found extremely emaciated inside of a dirty and insect-filled locked closet within his home on May 31. Related: Police give new info about fugitive wanted in Port Arthur child's death Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens said her deputies and officers took the horrible circumstances of the young childs death personally and arrested Lewis in Houston. The Sheriff's Felony Fugitive Warrant Division on Monday announced it was assisting the search for Lewis, who was wanted on two outstanding felony outstanding felony warrants for injury to a child. Stephens confirmed Lewis was already allegedly on probation for forgery. He is a piece to the puzzle, Stephens said. We dont know what happened. To piece together these horrific events and get that poor baby some justice, it was important to get him into custody. Officers previously arrested the child's mother, 43-year-old Tina Louise Louis, and sister, 21-year-old Kristen Alexia Nicole Louis who on Wednesday were each indicted with two counts of first degree felony injury to a child by a Jefferson County grand jury. According to court documents, the child was being cared for by his older sister whose mother informed her that the child had +autism. Police said Tina Louis told Dewey's sister that his "weight was normal due to his condition and to just feed him milk and vitamins," court documents said. Related: Photos: Community mourns Port Arthur child found dead in closet Court documents said the sister had trouble feeding the child, who would not eat at times or only drank 2% milk, over the counter children's vitamins and small bites of soft food. Police said the sister did not call police or EMS due to the fear or having her siblings, including the child, removed by Child Protective Services. PAPD confirmed other children were in the home, but no other charges have been filed at this time. Jefferson County jail records showed each woman was still being held on two counts of injury to a child with a $750,000 bond on each charge. Tina Louis has an additional charge for failure to identify, and Kristen Louis had a charge listed for failure to appear. meagan.ellsworth@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/megzmagpie Brandon Bell, Staff / Getty Images I am pleased that The Enterprise recently printed Another View from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (about sexual abuse by ministers). That editorial said, Another word of Jesus that the Southern Baptist Convention forgot, as Catholic bishops did before them, was, Whoso shall offend one of these little ones, which believe me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. From its moment of conception, when egg joined sperm, that God-created creature is endowed with a soul. It is not a mere lump of flesh. It is on its way to being a human being, first as a fertilized egg, then a fetus, a baby, a child, a teenager, and finally an adult. Adopting a cat can be one of the greatest decisions you ever make. It can even be life-changing. The little (or not so little) guy or gal you bring home just may end up being your best friend, your breakfast chit-chat companion, your most trusted confidant, and a tugger of heartstrings. Each cat has their own personality, some with more attitude than others, some with more energy, some with an endless need to be on your lap, and others who would prefer to keep a respectful distance at all times. You never really know what youre getting into when you walk in to adopt a cat from an adoption center, or when youre scanning online for your new best fur friend, but thats part of the joy of the journey getting to know your new cat. However, the decision to adopt a cat shouldnt be taken lightly. There are many factors to be taken into consideration when adopting a cat (or cats!). Youll need to think about how much time and energy you will have to dedicate to your cat, budget for emergencies in addition to the routine costs of caring for your pet, and you will also likely need patience and a certain tolerance for a bit of mess. We spoke to TikTok veterinarian Dr. Hunter Finn, as well as Kristie Buccella, Shelter Director of North Shore Animal League America about everything you need to know before adopting a cat. Adopting a cat: What to know If you have never adopted a cat before, you may be a bit overwhelmed, so starting with the basics, well look at where to adopt a cat and what youll need to prepare before you bring them home. Where to adopt a cat There are plenty of places to find your new furry family member, from shelters to agencies, to rescuing a cat directly from the street in your neighborhood, to Craigslist the options go on and on. However, as Buccella says, Theres no need to purchase a pet when so many homeless ones are patiently waiting in shelters. The more animals that are adopted, the more room a shelter has to rescue additional homeless animals. At North Shore Animal League America we like to say when you adopt, you save two lives: the animal you take home and the one who now has an open space to be rescued by us. The adopt dont shop motto holds up, with Dr. Finn adding that There is no shortage of cats who need homes in this world, unfortunately. So a solid first stop for adopting a pet would be heading to your local shelter. The only cons to adopting a cat from a shelter are that It may be months or years before you truly get to see the cat's personality and play styles, and that you really have limited information on their medical history, which can be tough at times especially if you are adopting an older animal. However, there will be a factor of the unknown regardless of where you bring your pet home. Another route would be to go through a pet adoption agency. Some pros about pet adoption agencies are that they really put in their due diligence to make sure that the pets they home dont end up back in the shelter or on the street. That means that every prospective pet parent is most likely going to be put through a rigorous application process in order to qualify. For this reason, Dr. Finn notes that when going through an agency, you can be denied for reasons outside of your control. They are in place to help make sure animals do not get returned to shelters or put in harmful situations but sometimes can be tough to get the animal you want if you dont meet certain criteria. A third option is to go through a foster program, which wont necessarily have a brick-and-mortar location, but Some of these groups do pop-up events at local pet stores, some do in-person appointments and facilitate one-on-one meetings between animals and potential adopters. There are a lot of good people working together to find animals the homes they deserve, says Buccela. What to buy for a new cat Before you make the final call to adopt a cat, youll need to make sure you have a few necessities before you sign any papers and bring him home. According to Buccela, those necessities are: Food and water bowls Dr. Finn says, Some cats enjoy drinking water from a fountain and I usually recommend these to my clients. Litter box You can splurge on a self-cleaning box, but theres really no need to get anything fancier than a simple pan. Litter Your cat may be picky about their litter, so you may have to try a few different kinds before you find the Goldilocks litter. There is clay litter, pellet litter, fancy smart cat litter that indicates potential health issues, and there are even toilet training kits if you are feeling brave. A comfortable bed A few toys There is no need to go overboard, just a few to tide them over until you figure out what kinds are your new cats favorite. Some like laser toys, some simple fake mice, some like the crinkly kind you never know! Buccela also says that Wand toys are always excellent choices as they mimic prey-like behavior creating a high energy, high-value play interactions. There are also a few things that youll want to eventually get for your new adopted cat, but dont need the minute you get home. Those things include: Pet insurance. Dr. Finn says, I absolutely recommend pet insurance, you just need to decide what your needs are. Personally, I think that emergency type insurance is the best insurance to have rather than insurance plans for wellness visits. You can always plan for wellness visit costs, but emergency situations happen unexpectedly and can become quite costly. Buccella recommends Fetch Pet Insurance. An emergency kit. Buccella says, You can purchase them pre-assembled or put together your own kit but they should include basic supplies: For more information about a First Aid Kit and Disaster Preparedness for your pets, please visit our site. Cleaning supplies. Dont underestimate the volume of shedding a new cat can bring into your home, so its definitely worth it to invest in cleaning products from Swiffers Heavy Duty pet line, suggests Dr. Finn. A sturdy scratching post. This is your best bet to both keep your cats claws from getting too long and uncomfortable (or even dangerous to their own health), and protect that couch you saved up for though that second part is not guaranteed. Cats will do what they please, after all! Enrichment. This type of play mimics a cats natural instinct to hunt as they would in the wild, which is often an overlooked basic need for your cat. Some cats like chasing while others like hunting and perching. Dr. Finn has laid out a step-by-step guide to keep your cats mind and body stimulated: Find a number of toys or objects that resemble birds. Examples include feathers, stuffed toys covered in feathers, objects suspended in air, and toys making chirping noises. Entice your cat to play by making each object move and fly through the air. Does your cat follow the object? Does he/she follow all of the objects or ignore most of them? Take note. Next, put those objects out of the kitty's sight, and try objects resembling mice, such as fur, stuffed animals, furry mice, and balls. How does your cat react when you make each of these objects move? Does kitty want to chase it? Or is he/she waiting for you to bring the feathers back out? Try both bird toys and mouse toys at the same time by alternating them about every 20 seconds. Which does the kitty prefer? Does he/she prefer some of each kind? Finally, put all of these toys away, and try toys resembling bugs. You can try a laser toy, a string with a knot on the end, and some dry food or treats tossed across the floor. How does your cat react? Try to alternate with the bird toys and mouse toys to see which prey is best. If your cat seems to enjoy feathers and/or objects in the air, choose toys resembling birds. If your cat prefers furry toys and/or toys moving on the ground, choose objects resembling mice. If your cat likes tiny objects with lots of movement, choose toys resembling bugs. What to buy for senior cats There arent many things that youll need for a senior cat that you wouldn't need for a younger cat. However, you may need an extra item here and there. A few things you might need down the line for an older cat: Pet staircase. So that they can cuddle with you even if they can no longer leap as they used to. Dental upkeep products. Our pets teeth need care too. You can find dental care in the form of solutions, treats, and little brushes Raised food bowls. As cats reach older age, it is more of a strain to perch so low to reach their food. Raised food bowls make for a more natural eating position which may be much more comfortable for an older cat Adopting a kitten: What to know Where to adopt a kitten While it may seem like a totally different process, the options for kitten adoption are pretty much the same. Buccela clarifies, At North Shore Animal League America the process is the same. No matter what animal you may intend to adopt, when you arrive at our Adoption Center youll meet with a member of our Adoptions Team who will work one-on-one with you to determine the kind of animal that is the best fit for you and your family to adopt. The same will be true at shelters, foster programs, and all of the rest. Another thing to consider when planning to adopt a kitten, is Kittens are adorable and exhausting. Kittens are a lot of work and you need to be prepared for their energy, their mischievousness, and their curiosity, says Buccella. Its for this reason that two kittens are often better than one. This is ideal as not only do they socialize with each other, they entertain each other and use up much of that kitten energy playing with one another. What to buy for a new kitten Same story for what youll need for a kitten, save for potentially needing to feed her kitten food rather than adult food, and maybe stocking up on some antibiotic cream for all of those inevitable, playful kitten scratches! All in all, youll have to be patient with your new family member. Dr. Finn reminds us, It may take months before you feel that bond and they feel comfortable with you, or it may be like that from day one. Buccella adds, Dont take it personally if your new cat is hiding and fearful at first. Plenty of playtime, treats, and a little TLC goes a long way in getting your cat to comfortable in his/her new home. If youre still struggling with your decision, North Shore Animal League has created a Get Pet Ready guide for anyone thinking about becoming a pet parent to help you assess whether this is the right time to adopt, as well as offering some tips to help alleviate the natural anxiety that comes with bringing home a new member of the family. Visit www.animalleague.org/getpetready for more info. Welcome to hell week: travel edition. By noon on Thursday, well over 2,000 flights had been canceled across the world (400 of which were flights within, into and out of the U.S.) and north of 16,000 were delayed (1,600 in the U.S.), according to FlightAware. This is coming off a whopping 23,045 delays (5,828 in the U.S.) and 2,471 cancellations (639 in the U.S) on Wednesday. We have no reason to believe that things are miraculously going to clear up going into the holiday weekend. At the time of writing, 1,000 flights have already been canceled for Friday (70 in the U.S.) and another 300 for Saturday (27 in the U.S.). In fact, Delta has even gone so far as to preemptively issue travel waivers for flights between July 1 and July 4. Delta people are working around the clock to rebuild Deltas operation while making it as resilient as possible to minimize the ripple effect of disruptions, the airline noted in a blog post. Even so, some operational challenges are expected this holiday weekend. This unique waiver is being issued to give Delta customers greater flexibility to plan around busy travel times, weather forecasts and other variables without worrying about a potential cost to do so. This is after Delta was allegedly forced to shell out tens of thousands of dollars to encourage volunteers on an oversold flight to bump themselves off the flight and onto a later service earlier this week, per a report from Paddle Your Own Kanoo. Which is why, dear reader, its important for you to know what youre entitled to when your flight is canceled, delayed or when youre bumped from a flight as we trudge onward into this air travel hellscape. A waiver is nice but a $10,000 Visa gift card is nicer. Below, everything you need to know before heading to the airport this weekend, per the Department of Transportation, as far as what you may, or may not, be entitled to: If your flight is canceled: Most airlines will rebook you for free on their next flight to your destination, as long as the flight has available seats. If you choose to scrap your trip altogether, youre entitled to a refund for the unused transportation even for non-refundable tickets. (That also includes a refund for any bag fee or any other extras you may have purchased.) You can ask your airline if they will transfer your ticket to another airline that has a flight with available seats to your destination. Airlines dont have to provide a hotel room, cab fare or a food voucher in the event of cancellation, but it doesnt hurt to ask. They are not required to reimburse you for expenses (cruise, honeymoon, concert, etc.) as a result of a cancellation. If you are issued a voucher, be sure to inquire about any restrictions that may apply (blackouts, expiration dates, etc.). If your flight is delayed: You arent entitled to money or other compensation when flights are delayed, though policies vary from airline to airline. Some may offer a hotel room or food voucher. That said, in the event of significant delays, you actually may be entitled to a refund (and, again, a refund for any bag fee or any other extras you may have purchased). You may be able to arrange another flight on your same airline. You can ask your original airline to transfer your ticket to an alternative airline. If youre bumped from a flight: If everyone shows up to a flight in which more tickets were sold than available seats, the first course of action is for them to call for volunteers. All volunteers are generally offered compensation in the form of money or vouchers for a later flight and, fortunately, many passengers do actually wind up volunteering. If you confirm your reservation, check in, arrive at the departure gate on time, dont volunteer and the airline fails to get you to your destination within one hour of your original arrival time, youre entitled to compensation. If youre subject to a one- to two-hour delay (or one to four for international flights), youre automatically entitled to as much as four times the cost of your fare one-way, even if youre rebooked. (Although, airlines may limit the compensation to $775 if 200% of the one-way fare is higher than $775.) If the delay is two hours or more (or upwards of four hours for an international flight), that figure increases to eight times the cost (but again, they may limit the compensation to $1,550 if 400% of the one-way fare is higher than $1,550). That said, theres no limit to the amount of money or vouchers that the airline is able to offer, meaning it is well within your right to negotiate. For more travel news, tips and inspo, sign up for InsideHook's weekly travel newsletter, The Journey. The post Canceled, Delayed or Bumped? Heres What Youre Entitled To. appeared first on InsideHook. Chase Fountain/ TPWD The 2022-23 hunting season for white-tailed deer is still months away. Whitetail junkies might be wondering how all the hot weather and lack of moisture across the state is impacting the deer. It aint good. Think of rainfall like fuel for the all-important habitat deer rely on to make a living. Things are good in years when moisture is plentiful and the woods are lush with summer goodies. Premium habitat promotes antler development on bucks, critical nutrition to help does produce milk for fawns and plenty of ground cover where the little ones can hide from predators. It also helps carry deer into the fall months fat and sassy. Its different in drought years. Prolonged dry spells paired with oppressive temperatures parch the landscape and rob deer of all sorts of valuable food sources. Antler development usually lags. Fawn survival typically takes a dive. And body weights of bucks and does are reduced. This is especially true on properties lacking in some sort of deer management effort. Thats the word from Alan Cain, the white-tailed deer program leader for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Cain recently released his whitetail forecast for the upcoming season. Citing a lack of rainfall across much of the state, the biologist says deer could be in for tough times if things dont turn around soon. As of early summer, the Texas deer population is facing some tough conditions throughout much of the state, and hunter expectations may be tempered a little for the 2022-23 hunting season, Cain said. Unbearable drought has gripped two-thirds of the state with no immediate relief in sight. Temperatures in May and early June have exceeded multiple 100-degree days in South and Central Texas. Plus, the wind has been relentless, robbing the soil of moisture and leaving much of the landscape in a tinge of brown. While current conditions are not yet as bad as 2011, Cain believes it is moving that way in a hurry. About 70 percent of the state is currently in extreme to severe drought and another 20 percent in drought or abnormally dry. The only bright spot right now is eastern Texas, where range conditions are still in decent shape thanks to timely rains in April and May, he said. Short of a tropical depression that results in immediate improvements in habitat conditions hunters should generally expect below average antler quality and body weights, but harvest opportunity is likely to be high as deer will likely frequent feeders this fall, Texas supports a robust deer herd. The estimated population in 2021 was about 5.4 million animals, but Cain says he wont be surprised to see a decline in 2022. The reason? Poor habitat conditions will likely spur below average fawn crops. The statewide five-year average fawn recruitment is approximately 38 percent, Cain said. It would not be a surprise to see the 2022 estimate dip below 30 percent. Texas has about 775,000 deer hunters. They shoot a lot of deer. Hunters last season shot nearly 828,000 deer, including nearly 450,000 bucks and 380,000 does resulting in a 62 percent success rate, according to the 2021 Big Game Harvest Survey. Cain is expecting similar numbers this fall. He predicts below average antler quality west of I-35, where rainfall has been lacking since last fall. In eastern Texas, timely spring rains should help bucks maximize antler growth. DHAKA, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The government of Bangladesh and the World Bank have signed a 515 million financing agreement to help 9 million people get access to reliable electricity supply while transforming to clean energy, the lender said Thursday. It said the Electricity Distribution Modernization Program will support the digitization and modernization of 25 rural electric cooperatives or Palli Bidyut Samitis in Dhaka and Mymensingh Division and reduce electricity system losses by over 2 percent. The program will increase Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board's (BREB) delivery of electricity by 6,790 GWh while improving the climate resilience of the electricity system. "The government of Bangladesh has prioritized access to electricity in the last decade and now the entire population have access to electricity. The installed generation capacity increased five-fold to 25 GW in the same period," said Dandan Chen, acting World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan. "Through this program, new and emerging technologies will further strengthen the efficiency and reliability of electric supply in the country to meet the need for faster economic growth," Chen said. Through the BREB, the bank said the program will support solar metering connections for over 100 customers, bringing 150 MW of new rooftop solar capacity onto the grid. It will improve and construct 31,000 km of distribution lines and deploy 200,000 advanced meters. In addition, according to the bank, the program will help strengthen Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and distributed renewable energy through preparation of roadmaps for deployment. This will lead to an annual reduction of carbon emissions by 41,400 metric tons. "The program is aligned with the government's Integrated Energy and Power Sector Masterplan, currently under preparation, which will help establish a low carbon energy system," said Fatima Yasmin, secretary of Bangladesh's Economic Relations Division. The agreement includes a 15 million U.S. dollars grant from the Clean Technology Fund to support BESS. Immigration enforcement officers detain suspected illegal migrant workers (second from left, second from right) from Indonesia during a crackdown on illegal migrant workers in Nilai, outside Kuala Lumpur, Sept. 1, 2013. Jakarta has urged Kuala Lumpur to speedily deport illegal Indonesian immigrants rather than detain them, after an NGO group claimed that hellish detention conditions led to 25 deaths in the eastern state of Sabah in the last 18 months. The groups report, based on interviews with deported Indonesians, shines a light on Malaysias secretive immigration depots, which house an unknown number of people in the country whose economy is a draw for and dependent on foreign labor. The spokesman for Indonesias Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Teuku Faizasyah, told BenarNews that 18 migrant workers died last year and another seven died this year at Sabah immigration depots. The main cause of the high number of deaths was delays in the repatriation of deportees due to travel restrictions during the pandemic, the ministry said in a statement. At a meeting with Malaysian authorities this week, the Indonesian government requested that repatriation be carried out immediately while risks of COVID-19 are low, the statement said, adding that officials also called on authorities to improve health care and sanitation at the detention centers. Interviews with deported Indonesian workers released last week by the Makassar-based Coalition of Sovereign Migrant Workers (KBMB) found a pattern of mistreatment, neglect and violence at the detention centers, said Abu Mufakir, head of the coalition. The detainees were treated very badly there the food was bad, the sleep quality was bad. If they were sick they were not treated, he said. A woman who spent 14 months at a detention center in Tawau, Sabah was quoted as saying in the KBMB report: What I never experienced outside, I endured all in the detention. Maybe it is what we call hell on earth. She added: All kinds of misery were there. Sometimes there was no water for several days. We had difficulty bathing, drinking and sleeping. When we complained of being sick, we were scolded at times. KBMB said in its report that Malaysia had deported nearly 2,200 undocumented Indonesian workers between March 2021 and June this year. Some of those detained were arrested by Malaysian authorities at the border while trying to return to Indonesia. Malaysias Home Affairs Minister Hamzah Zainuddin said the authorities would conduct major operations to ensure that migrant workers were registered and had travel documents from their home countries. We can arrest whoever violates the immigration act and when we arrest them, they will be put in detention centers and, do not blame the immigration [department] or the home ministry if anything happens to them, he said on Thursday. They were detained because they had committed an offense and that was the reason why they were put in detention centers. Torture Back in Jakarta, Anis Hidayah, founder of the labor advocacy group Migrant Care, said reports of detainees abuse should be taken seriously by the Indonesian government. Because what I know from research by Migrant Care and deportees from Malaysia, there have been cases of torture in immigration depots, Anis told BenarNews. Phil Robertson, Asia deputy director of Human Rights Watch, said that in Malaysia migrants are treated no better than animals, with poor quality food, lack of potable water, poor sanitation. So, its really no wonder that dozens of detained migrants have gotten seriously ill and died in such barbaric conditions of detention, he said. He slammed Home Minister Hamzahs defense of raids targeting undocumented migrant workers as outrageous and unacceptable. Zainudins failures to treat people with basic decency and dignity is a dark black stain on the international reputation of [Malaysian] PM [Ismail] Sabri [Yaakob]s government, and should be raised continuously by the international community until improvements in conditions of detention are made, he said. KBMBs report comes two months after six Rohingya refugees were killed, two of them children, as hundreds of the stateless Myanmar minority broke out of a cramped detention center in northern Malaysia in the midst of a riot. The six were killed by vehicles as they tried to cross a highway in the dark. Back then, Amnesty International Malaysia demanded the government fully and transparently investigate the events including the desperate circumstances within the Bakap immigration detention center that led to detainees trying to escape. Malaysias Human Rights Commission Suhakam should investigate how many temporary immigration detention centers are in existence across the country, Katrina Jorene Maliamauv, executive director of Amnesty International Malaysia, said in a statement. Conditions at these immigration detention centers should be documented, given past incidences of human rights violations in immigration depots in Malaysia, she had said. She called indefinite detention traumatizing. Indonesian labor activists and officials have also criticized as unjust a decision this month by Malaysias Federal Court to acquit and discharge a housewife accused of murdering her Indonesian maid four years ago. In April, Indonesia and Malaysia signed an agreement to provide greater protection to migrant workers in Malaysia, where about 3.1 million Indonesians work, mainly as labourers. Muzliza Mustafa in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report. Updated at 3:38 p.m. ET on 2022-07-01 Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo on Thursday said Russian leader Vladimir Putin had assured him he would provide secure food and fertilizer supplies from his country and Ukraine, to avert a global food crisis following Moscows invasion of the neighboring country. Jokowi, who met Putin in Moscow, also passed along a message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as he completed a round of shuttle diplomacy between Kyiv and Moscow and the first trip by an Asian leader to the war zone. Jokowi, the current G20 chairman, had met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Wednesday as part of his self-declared peace mission to end the hostilities between the two neighbors, which are among the worlds breadbaskets. I have conveyed President Zelenskyys message to President Putin and I conveyed my readiness to be a communication bridge between the two leaders, the Indonesian leader said in a statement after talks with Putin. Jokowi, who had said his trip was also aimed at averting a food crisis, expressed his appreciation for Putins reassurance on food and fertilizer. I really appreciate President Putin who said earlier that he would provide security guarantees for food and fertilizer supplies both from Russia and from Ukraine. This is good news then for the sake of humanity, Jokowi said. I also support the efforts of the United Nations for the reintegration of Russian food and fertilizer commodities and Ukrainian food commodities to enter the world supply chain. And specifically for the export route for Ukrainian food products, especially through the sea route, President Putin has already given his guarantee. Spirit of multilateralism Meanwhile, Putin reportedly said during the meeting with Jokowi that Russia has no restrictions on fertilizer and food exports, according to Russian state news agency TASS. I would like to note at once that we have no restrictions for fertilizer export. Early last year, we thought about supporting our own agriculture at first, but volumes of fertilizer production in Russia are such at present that we have no restrictions for supplies of these products to the international market. The same pertains to foods, Putin said, according to TASS. The ongoing food problems in the world, he said, are due to Western sanctions on Russian ports. The United States and other nations have slapped punishing sanctions on Russia in response to its four-month-old invasion of Ukraine. But since Russia invaded Ukraine, it has blocked all of the latters Black Sea ports and cut off access to almost all of Ukraine's exports, especially of grain, sparking real fears of a global food crisis. In its April report, the Global Crisis Response Group, set up by the United Nations secretary general, said Ukraine and Russia provide 30 percent of the worlds wheat and barley, a fifth of its maize and more than half of its sunflower oil. Russia is the worlds largest natural gas exporter and second largest oil exporter. Jokowi, this years rotating leader of the G20 group of major economies, is in a bind because Russia and its supporter China are members of the group, along with Western heavyweights such as the United States, France, Germany, Canada, and their Pacific allies such as Japan and Australia. In March, Indonesia voted for a U.N. General Assembly resolution condemning Russias military strike on Ukraine. Despite that vote, Indonesian government leaders have not criticized Russia directly. The United States has urged Indonesia to disinvite member-state Russia from the G20 summit, scheduled for November in Bali, but Jakarta so far has refused. In Germany, where Jokowi attended the G7 summit of industrial nations as a guest, he reportedly said that Putin would not attend the G20 summit in person. But the Kremlin said Thursday that Russia has an invitation and will decide later whether Putin attends. In March, U.S. President Joe Biden said Ukraine should be able to participate in the G20 summit if Russia was not expelled. Indonesia has since invited Zelenskyy to the summit as a guest. In Moscow on Thursday, Jokowi sought to dispel any notions that he was visiting with ulterior motives. Indonesia does not have any interest except that it wants to see that war can soon be ended, the supply chain of food, fertilizer and energy can be repaired immediately, because this involves the lives of hundreds of millions of people and even billions of people, he said. The Indonesian constitution mandates that Indonesia always try to contribute to the creation of world peace. It was in this context that I made visits to Kyiv and Moscow. He said that he emphasized to Putin that food and fertilizer were humanitarian issues and a disruption in their supply would hit developing countries hard. as I said in Kyiv, although the current situation is still very difficult, but it is important to continue to put forward a peace settlement and also that dialogue can be maintained, he said. I invite all world leaders to work together to revive the spirit of multilateralism and the spirit of cooperation. Demonstrators protest outside the Indonesian Parliament in Jakarta following passage of bills to create three new provinces in its underdeveloped region of Papua, June 30, 2022. The Indonesian parliament on Thursday approved the creation of three new provinces in the restive Papua region, despite opposition from many indigenous Papuans who fear an influx of outsiders, and criticism from rights groups that the move is a divide-and-rule strategy. The action paves the way for the formation of South Papua Province, Central Papua Province and Papua Highlands Province, in addition to the existing provinces of Papua and West Papua. The division is aimed at accelerating equitable development, the improvement of public services, peoples welfare and dignity, lawmaker Ahmad Doli Kurnia Tandjung said in parliament. The plans to carve up Papua have been widely opposed by indigenous people. Protests involving thousands of people against the plans have been held in Papuan cities including Jayapura, Wamena, Yahukimo, Timika, Nabire and Lanny Jaya. Ika Mulait, an activist with Papuan Peoples Petition, a group which organized rallies against the creation of new provinces, warned of worsening human rights violations with the presence of more security forces. Jakarta granted special autonomy for Papua in 2001 to mollify desires for independence, but Indonesian security forces have been accused of human rights abuses during anti-insurgency operations there. A special autonomy law for Papua, which was passed last year, allows Jakarta to create new administrative units in Papua without the approval of the provincial government and the Papuan Peoples Assembly (MRP). These three new provinces will certainly result in more many military personnel entering Papua and the Papuan people are already traumatized by the presence of the security forces, Ika told BenarNews. Activists and Papuans said the bills were drafted without consulting the indigenous people who are represented through the MRP and the Papuan Peoples Representative Council (DPRD). The government really has mastered the art of finding solutions to Papuan problems without listening to Papuans, Ligia Giay, a Papuan studying in Australia, told BenarNews. Legal challenge Veronica Koman, an activist with Amnesty International Australia, said the creation of a new provinces was a divide-and-rule tactic. New security bases and posts will be built in each new area, exacerbating conflicts and human rights violations through increased militarization, she said on Twitter. As an Indonesian, I am deeply ashamed that a new chapter of Jakartas settler-colonialism project in West Papua has been officially legalized by the Indonesian parliament today, she said. Edho Gobay, director of the Papua Legal Aid Institute, said his organization would challenge the bills at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta. We will mount a legal challenge because Papuans also have constitutional rights guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution, Gobay told BenarNews. Meanwhile, Sebby Sambom, spokesman for the West Papua National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the separatist movement, said the creation of new provinces was to serve only the interests of the elite. We never asked for special autonomy or new autonomous entities. Thats what Indonesia wants through the Papuan elite, Sambom told BenarNews . That is the nature of colonialism. Indonesia will impose its will on Papua using the hands of the indigenous Papuans, he said. Clashes between rebels and government forces have intensified since December 2018, after rebels killed 20 people who worked for a state-owned construction company building a road in Papua. Papua has been home to a separatist insurgency since the 1960s. In 1963, Indonesian forces invaded Papua like Indonesia, a former Dutch colony and annexed the region that makes up the western half of New Guinea Island. Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a United Nations-sponsored vote, which locals and activists said was a sham because it involved only about 1,000 people. However, the United Nations accepted the result, essentially endorsing Jakartas rule. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (seated) signs a document after being sworn in as Philippine president, as his family (right) and Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo (left) look on, in Manila, June 30, 2022. Announcing he is ready to lead the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took the presidential oath of office on Thursday before returning to his boyhood home, the Malacanang Palace. The son and namesake of the nations notorious dictator, Ferdinand E. Marcos, he campaigned on uniting the country. After being sworn in, the new president, who was 28 when his family exiled to Hawaii, spoke to millions of Filipinos who have not accepted his landslide victory in the May 9 election. We are here to repair a house divided, to make it whole and to stand strong again in a bayanihan way, expressive of our nature as Filipinos, he said during his inaugural address, referring to the Filipino practice of solving challenges together. I fully understand the gravity of the responsibility that youve put on my shoulders. I do not take it lightly, but Im ready for the task. In the months leading up to the vote, Marcos shunned public debates with other contenders and kept his distance from reporters, even as his main platform plank focused on unity. Throughout the campaign, critics said Marcos managed to whitewash the perception of his fathers brutal legacy by employing legions of social media posters to paint his father as the countrys best-ever president. Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and his family fled the Philippines in 1986 following a peoples power uprising. On Election Day, 31 million people voted for Marcos including many who bought into the unity call proving a message once delivered by his mother, Imelda Marcos: Perception is real and the truth is not. When my call for unity started to resonate with you, it did so because it echoed your yearning, mirrored your sentiments and expressed your hopes for your family, the country and a better future, he said in his inaugural address. One of his supporters, Ernesto Lomuntad said he expected Marcos rivals would soon reconcile with him. I think its divinely orchestrated. God has a plan for this, Lomuntad told BenarNews at the inauguration. I hope forgiveness among political rivals will come soon for the countrys benefit. On Thursday, some of those rivals were not ready to forgive and forget as thousands gathered in Manila to protest. A video posted on Twitter showed demonstrators in New Yorks Times Square as well. Also on Thursday, the chairman of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines issued a statement saying the inauguration and the diplomatic congratulations of some heads of states cannot mask the deeply flawed recent election process and the premonitions of deeper crisis for the Filipino people. Marcos Jr. is the dictators son who lived luxuriously while the Filipino people languished in poverty and repression back then. He has expressed zero remorse for the horrors of martial law but rather has spent millions to try to erase that record through paid dis- and misinformation, Peter Murphy said in a news release on the coalitions website. It is Marcos Jr. who has been co-sponsored into the presidency by the outgoing Duterte who has surpassed the crimes of Marcos Sr. and sanitized his image, Marcos Jr.s running mate, Vice President Sara Duterte, is the daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, the statement added. Earlier this week, the coalitions International Observer Mission issued its final report on the May 9 vote, concluding it failed to meet the international standard for a free, honest and fair election. Vote counting was neither transparent nor reliable because of the failure of so many VCMs [vote counting machines]. Nor was the declared vote count credible because of the unbelievable speed in the transmission of election returns, the extraordinary loss of almost 900,000 votes by the Bayan Muna Partylist, and the election of only one opposition Senate candidate, Risa Hontiveros, out of 12 Senate positions up for election, it said in the executive summary. Marcos victory avenged his loss to Leni Robredo in the 2016 race for vice president who finished a distant second and has been seen as the culmination of a three-decade effort by the family to regain political power. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and his wife, Imelda, pose for a family portrait with their children Ferdinand Jr., Irene and Imee in Manila, November 1969. [AP file photo] The senior Marcos instituted martial law as president before fleeing the country with about $10 billion from the nations coffers. Following his death in Hawaii in 1989, family members returned to the Philippines and began their political journey that led to Thursdays inauguration. Diary entry Marcos parents wanted him to follow in his fathers footsteps but expressed concerns, according to a diary entry 50 years ago. Bongbong is our principal worry. He is too carefree and lazy, Marcos Sr. wrote, using his sons nickname. [T]he boy must get character. The boy must realize his weakness the carefree wayward ways that may have been bred in him. As he campaigned, Marcos Jr. refused to apologize for alleged widespread abuses committed by his father and instead portrayed the elders reign as a golden age in Philippine history. The new president, who previously served as a local governor and in congress and the senate, did not graduate from college but has a special diploma in social studies from Oxford University. He also attended the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School of Business in the 1970s. Outgoing Sen. Leila de Lima, a leading opposition politician who lost her bid for re-election even though she was jailed, called Marcos victory a sign of bad things to come. This is bad for the country. There would be no good governance as we know it. Cronyism and dynasty will thrive, said de Lima, who has been jailed on what she calls trumped up charges that she received funds from illegal drug syndicates. Journalists also raised concerns about the incoming Marcos administration. All these restrictive actions undermine a critical and free press in an Asian bulwark of democracy and have sparked fears on how independent media would be treated under another possible Marcos presidency, the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines said following the vote. Ships from nations taking part in the 2022 RIMPAC exercises. (U.S. Navy) The worlds largest naval exercise, the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) is promoting maritime cooperation in a region being clouded by U.S.-China rivalry. The U.S.-led war games, joined by all members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or the Quad, sends a clear message to Beijing as tensions rise across the Taiwan Strait and the war in Ukraine drags on. China has been criticizing the Quad cooperation between the United States, India, Japan and Australia, as an attempt to create an Asia-Pacific version of NATO. About 26 nations with 38 surface ships, four submarines, nine national land forces, more than 170 aircraft and about 25,000 personnel are taking part in the biennial RIMPAC 2022, scheduled to run through Aug. 4, according to the U.S. Navy. Five countries bordering the South China Sea Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore are among the participants. Three of them have competing territorial claims in the South China Sea, where China declares historical rights over most of it. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise since 1971. Earlier this year, there were talks to include Taiwan, which China considers a province that needs to be reunified, into RIMPAC but the move was not realized. Beijing said that such inclusion would have a strong political implication. China was twice invited to participate in the RIMPAC in 2014 and 2016, but as bilateral relations have soured, Washington has kept Beijing out since 2018 in the context of Chinas militarization of the South China Sea. An MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the Royal Australian Navy prepares to land on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, June 24, 2022. [U.S. Navy] Sewage of the Cold War RIMPAC 2022s theme is Capable, Adaptive, Partners, and the main aim is to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, according to an announcement by the U.S. Navy. Participating forces will exercise a wide range of capabilities from disaster relief and maritime security operations to sea control and complex war fighting. The training program includes amphibious operations, gunnery, missile, anti-submarine and air defense exercises, as well as counter-piracy operations, mine clearance operations, explosive ordnance disposal, and diving and salvage operations. The drills will be conducted in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California region. U.S. partners and allies including NATO members Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark and France are taking part. China has been sneering at the presence of NATO countries in the region. The Chinese Permanent Representative to the U.N., Zhang Jun, said his country firmly opposes NATOs involvement in the Asia-Pacific region or the creation of an Asia-Pacific version of NATO. An editorial in the Chinese Communist Partys mouthpiece Global Times went further saying: The sewage of the Cold War cannot be allowed to flow into the Pacific Ocean. Analysts noted that the small Pacific island of Tonga is invited to RIMPAC for the second time. This years invitation came as China and the U.S. and allies are squaring off for influence in the Pacific. Beijing reached a security deal with the Solomon Islands in March but failed to sign a bigger, more ambitious agreement with 10 Pacific island nations. Reported by Radio Free Asia, an online affiliate of BenarNews. CANBERRA, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Australia is on track to set its highest number of influenza infections in recent years. According to the latest update from the Australian Influenza Surveillance Report, there had been 147,155 laboratory-confirmed influenza cases and 54 influenza-associated deaths as of June 19 this year. Almost 1,000 cases have required hospitalization for treatment, of which 6.1 percent were admitted to intensive care. "From mid-April 2022, the weekly number of notifications of laboratory-confirmed influenza reported in Australia has exceeded the 5-year average," said the report. In the latest report, the Department of Health identified children as the population most at risk of contracting influenza. "In 2022 to date, people aged 5-9 years, children aged younger than 5 years, and people aged 10-19 years have the highest notification rates," it said. Health authorities have repeatedly urged Australians to get their influenza vaccines to protect themselves and the hospital system from a double blow with COVID-19 in winter. Australia on Thursday reported more than 30,000 new COVID-19 infections and more than 50 deaths. There were 3,224 cases being treated in hospitals on Wednesday, including 108 in intensive care. In an opinion piece published on Wednesday, Health Minister Mark Butler warned Australia was facing "very real challenges" through winter. "There are currently tens of thousands of new COVID-19 cases reported every day, and thousands of Australians in hospital with the disease. Hundreds of Australians are dying every week," he said. "We also have the significant threat of influenza for the first time in years. To get through winter, we need to increase third and fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccinations." As of Wednesday afternoon, a total of 8,087,651 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Australia, including 9,837 deaths, and approximately 237,727 active cases, according to the latest figures from the Department of Health. If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif (R) meets with Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, June 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal) ISLAMABAD, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif met with visiting senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi here on Wednesday, with the two sides pledging to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation. Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said Pakistan is China's "ironclad" friend and reliable brother. No matter how the international situation changes, the mutual trust and friendship between the two countries are rock solid. China has always prioritized Pakistan in developing its relations with neighboring countries and is ready to further strengthen policy communication and development strategy alignment with Pakistan, carry on the traditional friendship, enhance mutual strategic trust, deepen pragmatic cooperation, jointly build the high-quality China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in a safe and smooth manner, and forge an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, said Yang, who is also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee. Noting that China is willing to push for close coordination with Pakistan on multilateral affairs and safeguard the common interests of the developing countries, Yang said China appreciates Pakistan's support for its Global Development Initiative (GDI) and Global Security Initiative (GSI) and is ready to work with Pakistan to implement the initiatives so as to make Asia and the world safer, more peaceful and prosperous. For his part, Sharif said developing relations with china is the cornerstone of his country's foreign policy. Pakistan firmly adheres to the one-China policy and supports China in safeguarding its core interests and its positions on major concerns, he said, adding that the Pakistani government and people appreciate China for its long-term selfless assistance and are ready to learn from China's successful experience in economic development and fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The prime minister stressed that China has bright prospects for development, and no force can hold back China's development and growth. Pakistan stands ready to work with China to deepen practical cooperation in all fields, speed up the construction of CPEC and push the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between the two sides to a new high, he added. The GDI and GSI meet the expectations of the international community, Sharif said, adding that the initiatives will surely play an important role in maintaining peace, stability and promoting development, prosperity in the region and the world at large. Both sides agreed to further strengthen cooperation in maintaining regional security and stability, promoting regional development and combating terrorism. During his visit, Yang also met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa. Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass. NORTH ADAMS A judge on Wednesday found a Pittsfield man guilty of charges related to an hours-long springtime standoff where he pointed a crossbow at officers, the Berkshire District Attorneys Office said. Timothy Tatro, 40, was found guilty by Judge William Rota of assault with a dangerous weapon and violating an abuse prevention order following a jury-waived bench trial in Northern Berkshire District Court, the DAs office said. Rota sentenced Tatro to five years in jail. According to authorities, Tatro refused to leave a Pine Valley mobile home park address in Cheshire when town police and state police went to serve him a restraining order on March 23. Two officers knocked on the door, then went to use a spare key from a neighbor to open the door. At this point, state police saw Tatro in the doorway pointing a crossbow at officers. Tatro refused to come out. State polices Tactical Unit entered the residence after six hours of negotiations and arrested Tatro, said Andy McKeever, a spokesman for the DAs office. DA Andrea Harrington thanked authorities for safely arresting Tatro. Domestic violence responses, in particular, present a significant threat to officer safety, and law enforcement handled this situation professionally and ensured everyones safety, she said in the statement. PITTSFIELD After two years, the First Church of Christ in Pittsfield is still on the market. Sellers hope a price drop could move the needle. The church, located at 27 East St., was listed for sale at $499,000 in 2020. The price is now $399,000. Barb Hassan, the agent managing the sale, said the price had been lowered to meet market realities and the figure was calculated by looking at the listed prices for other churches and similar properties. The church has seen more prospective buyers since the buildings price fell, she said. Hassan spoke on behalf of church leadership, who did not respond to requests for comment. Hassan said it is not uncommon for larger properties to remain on the market. She cited a delay in showings due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the difficulty in finding new approaches to using the space. Churches are one of those properties that become obsolete to other uses over time, Hassan said. While other area churches have been sold and converted into housing, Hassan said that kind of development wouldnt be likely with this property. The sanctuary just isnt constructed in a way that would be easy to convert to housing, Hassan said. There are also historical considerations. The church is on the state Register of Historic Places, and has several features that would need to remain intact after the sale. Among the most notable are stained-glass windows created by American artist Louis Comfort Tiffany. The building dates back to 1853, but the roots of the church go back further. References to the First Church of Christ in Pittsfield can be found as early as 1764, according to the churchs history page, when its founders used a small meetinghouse both as a space for prayer and for local government business. That small meetinghouse would be replaced by a larger structure in 1791 created by Charles Bulfinch, the renowned architect who would go on to contribute to the design of the U.S. Capitol and Massachusetts State House. When that Pittsfield meetinghouse caught fire in 1851, the stone church that still stands tall on Park Square was built in its stead, completed in 1853 and put together with materials from the nearby area. It was constructed by Leopold Eidlitz, who contributed to the design of the New York state capitol building, among other achievements. In the two years since the building was put up for sale, the congregation has continued meeting there for weekly services and splitting time at similar churches in the area, including South Congregational Church. Once it finally does change hands, parishioners will move on to another faith home. While the church might not be able to convert into something else, historian Martin Langeveld, who has written extensively about the First Church of Christ, said he could see someone finding a different use for it. He speculated that the space could be used as a performance venue, an art gallery or a meeting space of some kind. But these ideas were just his opinion, and hes curious to see what someone will eventually do with it. Its going to take an entrepreneurial approach to the whole thing, Langeveld said. Regardless, Langeveld hopes it goes to someone who will maintain it well. It would be good to find someone to recognize the importance of it not just as a church, but as a piece of architecture, Langeveld said. GREAT BARRINGTON Alarmed by accidents and near-misses in Main Street crosswalks over the years, town officials compromised on a plan to add flashers and refuge islands to beef up safety on what is also the busy state Route 7. The two Main Street crosswalks to be revamped are at Railroad Street and just north of Church Street at what is called Rotary Way. The Select Board voted unanimously to install three beacons and a raised refuge island in the Railroad Street crossing; the Rotary Way crosswalk will feature a smaller, painted island and two beacons. The work schedule for the project is uncertain. It still requires refinement and approvals from federal and state agencies, said Christopher Rembold, assistant town manager/town planner. The exact cost is unclear; voters this month approved the work as part of a $1.9 million package of street improvements around town. Officials are responding to what can be a harrowing crossing across four lanes of state highway in the busy downtown. The state revamped this section of Route 7 in 2015, but left town officials and residents with crosswalks that did not inspire confidence and created a false sense of safety. One of the most recent mishap happened earlier this month, when a motorist struck a pedestrian who police said was well established in the crosswalk. The pedestrian suffered minor injuries. Probation for woman who struck four in Great Barrington crosswalk GREAT BARRINGTON A Connecticut woman who plowed into four pedestrians including an 11-month-old baby as they crossed Main Street last Ma Sign-up for The Berkshire Eagle's free newsletters Sign up The project also calls for the crosswalks to get a coating of high visibility paint. Engineers from Beta Inc. also suggested a possible narrowing to one lane at the Rotary Way crossing to slow traffic, but some board members thought this would clog traffic unnecessarily. Board Vice Chair Leigh Davis was impassioned about slowing traffic by dropping a lane there. You know, these couple blocks, I mean, theres so many people traveling and walking on the streets we have kids, we have the elderly this has been an issue for so long, Davis said. People could always walk up to the more robust Railroad Street crossing should they feel wary at the other, said board member Eric Gabriel. Both Gabriel and Chair Stephen Bannon did not want to move to one lane to prevent a bottleneck that could dissuade visitors to the business district. Bannon said that no matter what is installed, people have to stop being distracted when they cross. Theyre oblivious, Bannon said. Theyre the people who are talking on the phone, drinking their coffee, holding their 4-year-old and not paying any attention. Just because you have the right of way, doesnt mean you just step out an hope they stop, he added. BEIJING, June 30 (Xinhua) -- This year's NATO summit is different from the previous versions as several non-NATO leaders were invited, and one of them is Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. It is well known that NATO summits do not involve Japan. Yet Kishida accepted the invitation and went. Being the first Japanese prime minister to do so, he has apparently ignored the feelings of neighboring countries, and betrayed Japan's post-war pacifism. Kishida's presence at the meeting can be taken as an epitome of Japan's collusion with the United States and NATO. For long, Japan has been acting as a pawn for Washington to boost its supremacy in the Asia-Pacific region. Tokyo has been actively cooperating with the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, taking an active part in the U.S.-led Quad mechanism, and dancing to the U.S. tune on China. In fact, it was not new for Japan to seek to establish contact with NATO. In the early 2000s, then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited NATO's Brussels headquarters. Now, Japan has more frequent interactions with NATO, such as staging joint military training, and has been trying to match NATO standards in military spending. Japan is an Asia-pacific country that is still haunted by militarism, while the U.S.-led NATO is the world's largest military organization. Their collusion will only create confrontation and division in Asia Pacific. As is known to all, Washington regards China as its biggest competitor and hardly hides its intention to contain China and seek everlasting hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region. As Washington's tool to pursue global predominance, NATO has stretched its tentacles to Asia Pacific with a focus on China. In recent years, NATO members continuously sent jets and warships for military exercises in China's surrounding waters, which heightened tensions in the region. Back in Japan, some politicians attempt to rebuild the country as an "Asian military and political power" by leveraging the strength of the United States and NATO. Thus Japan rushes to cooperate with NATO to stir up troubles in the Asia Pacific. In fact, Kishida was not content with just showing up at the summit, he took the initiative there to call on NATO to shift its attention to the Asia-Pacific region and put forward proposals to fundamentally strengthen Japan's defense capabilities, among other things, according to Japanese media reports. However, Japan, by acting as the "vanguard" of NATO out of its own ambition, will seriously threaten regional security and stability. And it will eventually pay the price. "Most of the ASEAN countries and islands of the Pacific are concerned about NATO's strategic push and are resisting the pressure to take sides as NATO/U.S. want," Anuradha Chenoy, an adjunct professor at India's Jindal Global University, said in an article published in May on the website of The Citizen. "Their overall view is that NATO's hyper activity in the region ... will lead to tensions and 'not benefit anyone' in the region," the expert added. In history, many Asian countries experienced colonial rule or oppression and slavery by major powers. People in this region cherish the hard-won environment for peaceful development, crave better lives, and firmly oppose words or deeds that might invite military blocs or provoke confrontation. What Japan and the United States are doing clearly run counter to the trend of the times. Japan is playing with fire by "inviting the wolf into the house." The country should draw lessons from history, especially in the military and security fields, and contribute to regional peace and stability, not sabotaging them. Earlier this week, a Pittsfield man pleaded guilty to attacking multiple law enforcement officers while participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot. Between the police assault and civil disorder charges, as well as a handful of related misdemeanors, Troy Sargent faces years in prison for his small but inexcusable role in a day of American infamy that dragged our highest democratic institutions to a dangerous brink. Pittsfield man bragged hed hit an officer Jan. 6. He now faces years in prison Troy E. Sargent of Pittsfield took to social media after the Jan. 6 uprising to say that hed twice struck a rookie cop. On Monday, after failing to get a judge to dismiss charges brought against him two months after the insurrection, Sargent pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement officers at the U.S. Capitol. But will justice ever come for those who played the biggest role in orchestrating the most devastating attack on the peaceful transfer of power in the nations history? To anyone who would still dispute former President Donald Trumps responsibility for the events of Jan. 6, some other news out of D.C. this week makes it clearer than ever. During Tuesdays House select committee hearing, Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson told Congress that the countrys then-commander in chief not only knew of the carnage ready to boil over in the capital but approved of it and even tried to join in. Ms. Hutchinson, who was assistant to Trump administration chief of staff Mark Meadows, testified that Mr. Trump and his inner circle were well aware of the high potential for violence stemming from his Stop the Steal rally, during which Mr. Trump platformed sore-loser falsehoods about the 2020 elections integrity even as Congress certified the electoral count down the street. Further, Ms. Hutchinson testified, Mr. Trump tried to loosen security measures even as some advisers begged him to turn down the temperature. He even attempted to join his supporters as they ransacked the Capitol and chanted for the assassination of his own vice president for the offense of not playing along with the inane and autocratic plot. While the bombshell revelations of Tuesdays hearing were far from the first signs of Mr. Trumps direct complicity in one of the darkest days in American history, Ms. Hutchinsons testimony fills in those contours with blood-red detail. When Mr. Trump learned on Jan. 6 that many of his supporters were being denied entry to the rally site because they were armed, he tried to have this basic part of presidential security put aside to feed his narcissism and make the crowd larger. He didnt fear violence because those armed were not here to hurt me, Ms. Hutchinson recounted the former president saying. Aide: Trump dismissed Jan. 6 threats, wanted to join crowd The latest testimony about the events surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has Donald Trump rebuffing his own securitys warnings about armed protesters in the crowd gathering for a rally near the White House. A former White House aide also tells the House committee investigating the attack that Trump desperately attempted to join his supporters as they marched to the Capitol. In her testimony Tuesday, Cassidy Hutchinson described an angry, defiant president who grabbed at the steering wheel of the presidential SUV when the Secret Service refused to allow him go to the Capitol. Trump has dismissed her as a total phony. Such blatant disregard for the potential of destruction, the fragility of democracy, and the lives of those in the Capitol and his supporters alike could only come from a pathologically unhinged person. That those words came from a sitting U.S. president and a figure whom millions still believe to be a viable leader is nothing short of existentially frightening. Mr. Trump issued wholesale, insult-laden denials of what Ms. Hutchinson related seeing and hearing first-hand. As usual, he did so behind a screen in the comfort of his social-media echo chamber. If the former presidents courage matched his bluster, he would testify publicly under oath as Ms. Hutchinson did to demonstrate that he takes seriously this critical fact-finding mission surrounding the dire events that unfolded that day. We wont hold our breath on that, but how long must an entire nation be forced to hold its breath on a full measure of justice that might meet the precarious moment conjured by Mr. Trump and his feckless enablers? Troy Sargent, of Pittsfield, is just one of more than 840 people who have been arrested in connection with their actions on in D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021. They are responsible for their own actions, and all who are convicted in a court of law should face steep consequences for those actions. It must be noted, though, that is impossible to imagine Mr. Sargent and countless others converging on and violently attacking the U.S. Capitol without a president abusing his bully pulpit in the worst possible way: filling their heads and hearts with fabrications and vitriol, aiming them toward the vulnerable heart of our democracy, and relishing the damage done. What consequences should that calamitous mendacity entail? If justice is to mean anything, it must not fall squarely on the pawns but apply to the king and his knights as well. It cant be ignored that the prospect of indicting a former president raises its own series of grave and novel issues that could further inflame the divisions of an already weary country. That Mr. Trump and his most fervent followers are not predisposed to such care for the health of our democracy ironically makes that clear-eyedconsideration all the more important for those seeking to hold the former president accountable. Given just how murky and uncharted these waters are, we simply do not know if indicting Mr. Trump is the best tack. There should be no such hesitation, however, about prosecuting to the full extent of the law all other Trump White House personnel who enabled and contributed to the chaos of Jan. 6. Meanwhile, even as these Jan. 6 hearings are likely being ignored by the people who truly need to see them, they are substantively making the case for Mr. Trumps culpability in an assault on the very foundations of our republic and Constitution. Hopefully their final findings will clarify the appropriate consequences that Mr. Trump, like his misled followers, must face. Whether that means legal charges, punishing political censures or some combination thereof, it will inevitably be a tough needle to thread. Still, it must be demonstrated that no official, even the president, is above responsibility for his or her actions especially actions as heinous and harmful as those in question. ULAN BATOR, June 30 (Xinhua) -- At least eight children have died and anther five seriously injured after falling from horse in Mongolia so far this year, local media reported Thursday, citing a statement by the country's National Police Agency. The statement came as issues related to rights and safety of child jockeys are being raised at a time when the Mongolian national holiday Naadam, which features horse racing, archery and wrestling, is approaching. Inscribed in UNESCO's List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the official holiday is celebrated from July 11-15. In 2018, the Mongolian government decided to ban horse races in winter. According to the Rules of the National Naadam Horse Racing, the minimum age of child jockeys is seven years old. However, this rule does not apply to all horse races organized throughout the year in the country. It is a common theme throughout the Bible that God has authority even over death. We read in 1 Corinthians a verse that specifically declares death has no victory. This verse sounds promising and inspires hope for many believers. In the book of Hosea, God promised He would deliver His people from death (see Hosea 13:14). It is this passage in Hosea that Paul alluded to in his letter to the Corinthians, establishing that indeed, Jesus was the fulfillment of Gods promise to save His people from death. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). Although this is a powerful verse that believers can trust, it may be difficult to fully understand what this verse means. The reality is that people Christians included die every day. According to Scripture, we are mortal beings with our days numbered (Psalm 139:16). Mortality was ushered in when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden tree. There is no contradiction, though, between this verse and the scope of Scripture. What this passage in 1 Corinthians 15 promises is that we have victory over sin and death through the resurrection of Jesus Christ! What Does It Mean Death Where Is Your Victory? When we look to the Gospels, we find a radical message from the very words of Jesus. What Jesus taught in Johns Gospel conveys a parallel message to that which was written to the church of Corinth. Jesus did not deny the reality of death that every person faces; He boldly preached that death does not have victory over those who believe in Him as their Lord and Savior. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live (John 11:25). Scripture acknowledges the fallen world in which we live. Sin and death are a result of Adam and Eves decision to disobey God. Yet death is not the end of humankinds story! The Good News is that those who believe in Jesus will enter into eternal life upon their death. Though we die, we who believe will live on. Death has no victory when believers have confidence that Jesus has prepared a place for us. Death has no victory because we will spend our eternity in heaven with the Lord! What Is the Context of This Verse? The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the church of Corinth. Corinth was a large, wealthy Greek city within the Roman empire and therefore it was under Roman rule. In this lengthy letter, Paul wrote to the Corinthians addressing their division, the seriousness of sexual immorality, marriage, food laws, and worship. Paul responded in this letter to many issues that the church in Corinth was facing at the time. He ended with a discussion about the resurrection. Our verse shows up near the end of the letter, where Paul wrote about Jesus resurrection, along with the resurrection of the bodies of believers when Jesus returns. Here Paul affirmed that not only will the souls of believers become immortal upon Christs return, but our bodies will also be made new and immortal. Paul connected this concept to the fact that Jesus whole being including His body resurrected from the dead. Jesus resurrection is a guarantee of the resurrection of all believers when Christ returns. Paul was likely responding to the mistaken belief that only the soul would be resurrected. In some cultures, the body was considered bad or separate from who humans really are. This ideology contradicts what Scripture teaches; our bodies are good because they are made by God, they are part of who we are, and they will also be made new when Christ returns. In fact, it was Jesus bodily resurrection that satisfied the debt of our sins. Jesus was the perfect lamb and atonement, and indeed, without His bodily resurrection, none could be saved. This particular verse follows Pauls affirmation of the bodily resurrection. Jesus, through His death and resurrection, has overcome deaths victory and the sting of death, which is sin. He has paid the ransom and ushered in forgiveness of sin. As believers, we can find great encouragement and hope from this message of victory over death. What Is the "Sting of Death?" According to this verse, the sting of death is sin. Here death is almost personified, perhaps alluding to the evil one, who uses sin as a way to hurt people and lead them away from God. Death uses sin to cause chaos and hurt in life. Sinfulness leads to much pain and strife in the world. If there were no sin, thered be no death. The Apostle Paul put it this way when he wrote to the church in Rome: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Sin leads someone away from Jesus and away from the free gift of eternal life in Jesus. Sin and death are intrinsically tied together. Jesus is life. His entire being is in complete opposition to sin and death. It was His death and resurrection that brought victory over sin and death. God satisfied His promise to deliver His people from death through sending Jesus to die and resurrect. Jesus sacrifice swallowed up any victory that death threatened to have over humanity. Jesus made it possible for all to come to believe and have eternal life in Him. If We All Die, Why Does Death No Longer Have Power over Us? It might seem difficult to understand what this verse is teaching when we face the reality every day that people die. It would seem, then, that death does have power over us. However, we know that Gods truth is without error, and it is consistent in this message. We can gain a better understanding and trust Gods truth in this matter. In another letter written by Paul, a similar idea is relayed which may help bring clarity to this teaching. And which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (1 Timothy 1:10). Through His death and resurrection, Jesus abolished death and ushered in eternal life for those who follow God. Though people die of old age, health issues, or other reasons, those who have put their faith in Jesus will live on in heaven for eternity. Death no longer has power over us because we are promised eternal life in Jesus Christ! In a world that seems ravaged by sin and death and the consequences of them, we find great hope throughout Gods word that Jesus has conquered the sting and victory that death would have over us! When we give our hearts and lives to Jesus, we are promised an eternal life truly, death has no victory over those who believe in Jesus. God made a promise that He would deliver His people from the victory of death. In the death and resurrection of Jesus, that promise was fulfilled. God is faithful. He cares for humanity in profound ways. Sending His Son to conquer sin and death came from Gods deep love for humanity and His desire to see none perish. Photo credit: Getty Images/PeopleImages Pamela Palmer is a writer, chaplain, and the founder of upheldlife.com, the platform on which she produces weekly devotionals and faith resource articles to inspire keeping faith at the center of it all. She lives and thrives on Jesus, coffee, and music. She is in pastoral ministry and gets to share in the emotional and spiritual lives of many people, being a small piece of each journey. Pamela married the perfect man for her and they have two beautiful kiddos. She has been published on herviewfromhome.com and you can follow her at upheldlife.com, or on Facebook.com/upheldlife. ST. MARIES, ID - The Idaho State Police continue to investigate a shooting that occurred in St. Maries, ID on Wednesday, June 29, 2022. The shooting resulted in the death of a 23-year-old male. The suspected shooter has been apprehended. The Idaho State Police are continuing to investigate a shooting that occurred at 11:00 a.m. at 1640 Washington Avenue, St. Maries, Benewah County, Idaho, on today's date. The Benewah County Sheriff's Office and St. Maries Police Department initially responded to a report of a shooting at 1640 Washington Avenue in St. Maries at around 11:00 a.m. Wednesday morning after witnesses reported a victim with a gunshot wound at that address. First arriving officers located a 23-year-old male with a suspected gunshot wound. The male was transported to a nearby hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. Witnesses on scene identified a suspect, 20-year-old, Lonnie James Layman as the shooter. Layman fled the scene. His vehicle was later located on the St. Joe River Road, near Calder, Idaho, in Shoshone County, Idaho, abandoned. The Kootenai County SWAT team, Benewah County Sheriff's office, Idaho State Police, Shoshone County Sheriff's Office, and the U.S. Marshall's searched the area for Layman, where he was located and apprehended. Next of kin has been notified and this investigation remains ongoing. First up, Joe Biden is thinking about dropping tariffs against China. But theres a spy in prison this morning that helps us understand why he shouldnt. Ill explain. Your second brief, If youre looking for a good paying job, you might consider being a CEO for a health insurance company. One executive made $142M dollars last year. Let's talk about that. And as always, Im keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put this one on your radar. Mexican cartels are grooming American kids online and paying them cash to traffic illegals or run drugs across the border. Ill share details. If you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief, remember to subscribe and listen daily at podfollow.com/pdb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices To provide end-to-end high-quality innovative products to accelerate drug discovery programmes in the China market Eurofins DiscoverX Products LLC, a global industry leader in products for small and large molecule drug discovery and QC lot release, has announced the official opening of its new China biotechnology office in Shanghai. The launch of Eurofins DiscoverX (Shanghai) Ltd. broadens its Asia-Pacific (APAC) operations directly into the China market. This expansion establishes an operational base positioned to effectively serve China's growing biopharmaceutical sector with high-quality innovative products that accelerate drug discovery programmes. With this fully operational Shanghai office, Eurofins DiscoverX can more readily provide its product menu cell lines, assay reagents, enzymes, and bioassay kits to the China market. The new operation will also provide an efficient supply chain, local technical support, and the convenience for clients to pay in the Chinese Yuan (RMB) currency. The summit will showcase an array of Agilents future-ready analytical solutions Agilent Technologies is hosting The Future Lab Summit in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on July 15, 2022. The theme of the event is Transformation of analytical laboratories to keep up with industry developments. The summit will be live-streamed, and more than a thousand scientists and researchers from commercial, scientific, and research communities worldwide are expected to attend. The Future Lab Summit aims to build a platform for the scientific community to share their views and suggest strategies about the Lab of the Future concept, where innovation meets sustainability, added Dr Samir Vyas, Country General Manager, Agilent India. The event will showcase Agilents latest platforms including, the new LC/MS and GC/MS quadrupole mass spectrometers among others, which represent the latest revolution in Agilents over half a century of history in mass spectrometry. The new LC/TQ and GC/TQ products are expected to offer built-in instrument intelligence that can simplify lab operations. The summit will also feature workshops for participants to discuss the ongoing and future regulatory challenges in pharma, food, and applied chemical industries with industry leaders and experts from the pharma and applied market organisations. The End Drug Shortages Alliance was launched in 2021 to bring together industry stakeholders Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Ahmedabad-based Zydus Lifesciences has joined a new coalition of diverse stakeholders to address drug shortages in the United States. The End Drug Shortages Alliance provides a forum for key stakeholders to take strategic aim at one of healthcare's more pressing and enduring issues, drug shortages that disrupt patient care. Speaking on the development, Dr. Sharvil Patel, Managing Director, Zydus Lifesciences Ltd., said, "Through our innovations and patient-centric approach, we have been committed to providing novel solutions to address unmet healthcare needs of the patients. Providing access to medicines is an important part of our core purpose which is to empower people with the freedom to live healthier and more fulfilled lives. Partnering with diverse stakeholders through this alliance takes us closer to this goal." The End Drug Shortages Alliance was launched in 2021 to bring together industry stakeholders, including healthcare providers, group purchasing organizations, manufacturers, distributors and other industry thought leaders and champions. The efforts of the alliance focus on improving access to medications through greater transparency across market participants, leading to improved quality manufacturing of medications and production of additional supply. MediSim develops virtual reality platforms designed to make comprehensive medical training accessible and affordable across the world MediSim VR, a med-tech company working in the field of healthcare simulation, has set up Indias first fully automated Virtual Reality (VR) lab in the Puducherry Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for MBBS students to enhance their key medical skills and train them for the future. MediSim VR recently closed a pre-series A round of funding. The company was also backed by funds from IIT Madras & Dept. of Science & Technology (DST) for R&D. Supported by AI-powered technical advancement, the medical field is expected to undergo radical transformation with benefits like expert medical advisory, digital diagnosis, wearable health monitors, and digital simulations. MediSim develops virtual reality platforms designed to make comprehensive medical training accessible and affordable across the world. Dr Adith Chinnaswami, Co-Founder, MediSim VR, said, With this product, our plans are directed toward the pre-final and final years of the MBBS degree. We also want to unveil new content for nursing and allied health professionals and are looking to partner with the right firm. We aim to expand to not just the medical fraternity but the entire healthcare fraternity. And of course, both regional and global expansion is next on the radar. HERAT, Afghanistan, June 30 (Xinhua) -- One people was killed and 10 others sustained injuries as a car collided with a mini-bus in western Afghanistan's Herat province, Aref Jalali, a medical doctor in Herat's civil hospital, said on Thursday. The accident, according to the doctor, took place on a road outside the provincial capital Herat city late Wednesday. A similar accident claimed four lives and injured eight others in neighboring Badghis province on Monday. Whether it's music, art, or food, it's often the case that a South African creation is appreciated beyond our shores before we South Africans sit up, take notice and believe it ourselves. Whisky is no different - after a flood of accolades, South Africans are finally beginning to believe we're home to world-class whiskies. James Sedgwick Distillery Our South African whisky has grown its value locally by 60% in the past two years and, while Scottish whiskys share of total whisky consumption has dropped by 3.53%, South African whisky has risen by 1.17%. It hasnt exactly been an overnight success, but then again, in the world of whisky, four decades is a heartbeat. Thats how long ago the James Sedgwick Distillery, the first commercial whisky distillery in Africa, was founded.In those early years, it wasnt just local whisky lovers who were sceptical many international connoisseurs dismissed the idea of producing world-class whisky in Africa. The mere notion of starting up a distillery on the continent took a healthy measure of disrespect after all, convention says whisky is made in misty highlands using methods whose origins are lost in the mists of time. South African whisky, on the other hand, breaks convention by creating our (instead of their) whisky in the southern hemisphere, in a climate 18 degrees warmer on average than Scotlands.On first inspection, Wellington in the Western Cape is not an environment that shouts whisky, yet the distillers of Three Ships Whisky took what was seemingly the most adverse factor the sun and turned it into their greatest ally. Undeterred by the challenges of the climate, they experimented and refined their process over time, discovering that the added sunshine gave their product a maturity beyond its years.Once their process was honed, the timing couldnt have been more perfect for South African whisky. Just as the local distillers were hitting their stride, whisky aficionados abroad were beginning to hunt out new-world whiskies, awakening possibilities offered by new entrants beyond the borders of traditional whisky nations.Three Ships Whisky hit their palates and a new appreciation for South African creativity was triggered. Since that first love affair with our local whisky, international judges at the Worlds Best Whisky Awards have bestowed golds and double golds on Three Ships Whisky, and Master Distiller Andy Watts has been inducted into the highly prestigious World Whisky Hall of Fame.In the wake of these successes, several excellent craft distillers have emerged, adding to the variety of South African whiskies available to palates thirsty for something new. Today, distilleries such as Draymans Brewery, Boplaas, Qualito Craft Distillery, Helden Distillery and Copper Republic, to name but a few, are all contributing collectively to the reputation of South African whisky.The spirit of innovation at the James Sedgwick Distillery that first gave impetus to their process has led to a string of achievements since. Their re-mastery and creativity (instead of ingenuity associated with TSW) continues to shine; most notably with the creation of Bains Whisky - crowned the Worlds Best Grain Whisky twice in the last decade, in 2013 and 2018, and related new innovations like the limited-release Bains Symphony. Symphony, a 7-year-old grain whisky, was produced in collaboration with multi-award-winning music sensation Tellaman and is South Africas first sonically matured whisky. At a specially designed sonic cellar at the distillery, soundwaves of Tellamans music vibrated through the barrels, enhancing the depth and flavour of the whisky through sound-transducing technology.Three Ships Mash Tun is another recent innovation thats been a sensational success. Its smooth flavours, lower alcohol content and easy-mixing qualities have drawn in new consumers to the whisky world.Besides these novel developments, Three Ships Whiskys Masters Collection special releases continue to excite true connoisseurs. Sales of the limited-release aged single malts and blends, matured in a variety of unusual casks such as ex-pinotage, generate great excitement in the whisky community, and often sell out within minutes. This year saw the release of Three Ships Whisky Millennium, the first 21-year-old single malt the distiller has ever produced.If there is such a thing as a golden age for South African whisky, we may just be entering it now. Were fortunate to have the expertise of wonderfully skilled and inventive master distillers, high-quality local natural ingredients, and ample sunlight to create a unique portfolio of whiskies. The accolades collected around the world will only serve to add to the confidence felt in the industry to continue developing new ideas.On the other side of the equation, South Africans have begun to feel more confident about buying South African whisky, too. Partly to do with the consistent recognition for South African whiskies abroad, and partly thanks to a worldwide trend of embracing locally produced goods. This can only be a good thing for local distillers, who are constantly creating exciting new whiskies: South African whiskies for a growing base of South African and international fans. Meet 30-year-old Zipho Makwabe, dairy enthusiast and agricultural economist at Amadlelo Agri, who is breaking new ground, shattering stereotypes and garnering much-deserved respect in the male-dominated agricultural sector. Source: Supplied | A young, black female, Makwabe has already conquered the scepticism of industry stalwarts and inspired her peers. Here, Makwabe tells us more about herself, what inspired her to take up a career in agriculture and the barriers she faced as a woman of colour in her industry.I am an agricultural economist at Amadlelo Agri, meaning I assist the companys leadership with reviewing and assessing potential new projects economic viability and then project implementation.The companys production manager and I also constantly look at and provide strategic direction of the companys financial performance which is key for Amadlelo Agri which operates five dairy farms and is a strategic investor in a macadamia farm, a piggery, and food manufacturing company Dairy Food Group. Amadlelo brings together the communities, the government and investors to unlock opportunities in communal land.I was born 30 years ago in a small township called Dimbaza in the Eastern Cape, about 11 km northwest of King William's Town. My family then moved to Port Elizabeth when I was slightly older.I have a degree in agricultural economics obtained from the University of Fort Hare in 2018.I also have a twin sister: Zovuyo Makwabe. Our parents enrolled us in an agricultural high school, but funny enough, I never studied any agricultural subjects. After completing grade 12, I registered to study financial accounting at the Durban University of Technology. But I soon found out that I didnt have a passion for accounting so I dropped out in the middle of my first year.My high school friends convinced me to study something to do with agriculture but not too far from my accounting studies. I have them to thank because they had actually applied for me to study agriculture at the University of Fort Hare. So, I opted for agricultural economics and I fell in love with the course although it was very, very challenging!I have twin boys aged five, and I enjoy taking them to my farm. It's really funny to see them running after cows and then cry when the cows chase them back.I have six siblings, four nieces, four nephews who I adore.I get my passion for animals from my parents. My mom had more than 15 cats at home. And at some point in time we had hamsters, tortoises as well as rabbits, and many, many dogs. So, I can safely say I have always been surrounded by animals.I never in a million years thought that I would pursue a career in agriculture. I was a top student in Geography and Life Sciences. And at one stage I thought I was either going to be a doctor or a geologist. But I come from a family of farmers that was very well known even back in the days.While I was at Fort Hare, I kept hearing about my great grandfather, who was also a well-known farmer. I realised that I had big shoes to fill and just how proud I am of I took pride in my heritage and so developed the drive to continue his legacy.I was discouraged at first because I was a city girl in a sector dominated by males within rural communities. I nonetheless persevered because it could see the value of theoretical studies come alive.I also used to watch my big brother, who is also an Agricultural Economist, doing research at home for seminars for his work. This became an additional inspirational force for me.Agriculture is still a male-dominated sector. Generally, womens views on operational issues are not taken seriously. This really got to me and I got discouraged from pursuing my dream of being a farmer. But I picked myself up, and consulted for Pineapple Farmers Association in Pedi area, on a voluntary basis.Although I was not getting paid, I interacted with mature and experienced farmers. I actively participated in their meetings, gathering information, improving my knowledge and enabling me to apply what I learned at University.As a woman and a young one at that - I stood out like a sore thumb but it did not deter me. Although I was only in my twenties, the farmers realised that I was adding value, saving them money and improving their produce. They began to listen and shared valuable information with me, bolstering my confidence.I realised that even though formal education is important as it opens doors for you, nothing beats on-field experience. Most of the experienced commercial farmers you come across are white males. I was expecting this and had found a way to deal with it. Fortunately, we also came across white but progressive farmers who were prepared to work with us and more importantly, open doors to access the market.However, the biggest barrier is ones own mindset. Many people believe that the agricultural sector will take forever to transform and therefore indirectly discourages you. So, you must be aware of the gender, racial and financial challenges ahead and decide up front that you will overcome them no matter what.I love water. Every opportunity I get to swim, I jump in headfirst. I also enjoy reading and have been practising my writing skills. Those around me say I am a natural writer and should consider writing a book. Perhaps one day when I have time I will write a book; maybe a novel.I see myself living on my own farm with cows, horses and goats. etc. I also see myself owning an abattoir and a butchery so that I can sell directly to the community. I am working with my twin sister on this project. So, far things are going so well. And you know what they say about twins, whatever, we touch we double!We are an entrepreneurial family. My twin sister and her business partners buy written-off and bank-repossessed vehicles and repairs them with her team of mechanics, panel beaters and auto electricians then resells them. We are considering integrating our businesses to have a fuel garage with a retail store that sells produce and meat from our farm.I have a few side hustles! I buy livestock such as cows, goats and pigs from other farmers and sell them in the marketplace. I offer agricultural consulting services to emerging farmers young and old. And I also have a livestock stokvel which I started with my friends. I have a belief that if there are stokvels for food and money, why cant we also have livestock one? I saw this gap because it is very challenging to raise money by yourself to buy livestock.So, we club together and save money. We buy heifers and goats, let them breed and sell them to nearby communities for funerals and traditional events then split the profits.The constant interaction with many different people fires me up! Some I learn a lot from and others benefit from what I do and the experience I've gained.One doesn't have to study and have a degree in order to become a successful farmer. You don't need to have a lot of money as well. You can just use what you have, especially communal land which many have in abundance, to get to whatever you want to achieve. You can start with the little resources you have e.g. a home garden to feed your family and sell the excess fresh produce to your neighbours.Then, always continue to aim higher and dream big; keep on knocking on every door and eventually, one door will open for you. Launched in 2017, Vodacom's #CodeLikeAGirl initiative has since trained thousands from across Africa. The telco recently held an event to showcase the impact of the programme to date and why it's focused on driving gender diversity in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths). Challenging gender norms From telco to techco Sharing in a passion for STEM During the two-week-long #CodeLikeAGirl course, students are trained in computer languages, robotics and development platforms. By the end of the programme, each participant is able to develop their own website and present their work to the rest of their coding class.Starting with just 20 participants in Tembisa, #CodeLikeAGirl now receives hundreds of applications each intake period. Vodacom aims to have reached 4,000 girls by the end of this financial year, equipping them with a STEM mindset and empowering them to become problem-solvers within their communities."One of the things that I really love about #CodeLikeAGirl and Vodacom's approach to it has been the fact that it really is a community initiative, so we're not getting people to sign and tie themselves down to Vodacom for the rest of their lives... It's about really understanding that we have a role in the community," said Njabulo Mashigo, HR director for Vodacom South Africa.According to a Unesco report , only 35% of STEM students in higher education globally are women. While the #CodeLikeAGirl programme aims to help address this gender gap, Mashigo said it is also having a broader societal impact, challenging gender norms and cultural stereotypes."Representation matters and it's so important when we are able to create spaces where people can see themselves, where young women can see themselves in the leaders that are in front of them. That, for me, is one of the by-products of a programme like this because it starts to challenge how people see the world, how people want to show up, and we continue to make this a priority for ourselves," said Mashigo.In the process of transitioning from being a telecommunications operator to a technology company, Vodacom has had to re-evaluate how it attracts, develops, and retains its talent pool in the face of a global tech skills shortage."We believe that planting a seed now, we are preparing our industry for a technology-ready future. Girls need encouragement because traditionally, they arent thought of as innovators. With the right skills and a confidence boost, girls will feel empowered to aim for the skies whether thats literally as pilots or astronauts, or as software developers, engineers, statisticians, or architects," Mashigo said.Winner of the 2021 #CodeLikeAGirl edition Zainaaz Hansa shared her experience of the programme: "Participating in #CodeLikeAGirl, I was able to see the diversity in all the participants yet see that we are also quite similar and bonded by our shared passion for STEM."Listening to other women who have progressed through their careers speak of their challenges in a male-dominated field helps to encourage girls like us to stay resilient and persevere and continue to take risks." Following the relatively light twenty year sentence Ghislaine Maxwell has received for sex trafficking underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein, prosecutors representing the victims have said that the next target should be British Royal Prince Andrew. The lawyers acting on behalf of those alleging abuse requested that the FBI continue investigating the Epstein case and look harder at Andrew and other individuals accused by the victims. Lets hope theyre the next target, Attorney Brad Edwards told reporters. Edwards represented Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who settled a sex abuse civil lawsuit out of court with Andrew, the Duke of York. Attorney Spencer Kuvin, representative of several other alleged victims of Epstein and Maxwell added Obviously, Andrew is one of the targets they will be looking into. He should definitely be concerned, but if he did nothing wrong, then come forward and tell the full story to the FBI, not the media. Los Angeles lawyer Lisa Bloom, who is representing several other alleged victims said We call upon the FBI to fully investigate Prince Andrew. Virginia Giuffres civil case should be just the beginning. Everyone associated with Epstein and Maxwell should be carefully investigated. Bloom previously told reporters that Prince Andrew should be quaking in his boots. As we previously reported, the British public have expressed concerns that the money for Andrews pay off to Virginia Roberts Giuffre, which will likely run into the millions, will be siphoned from taxpayers. The amount that Andrew will pay Giuffre, and a victims rights charity of her choice, has not been disclosed, however it is estimated to be in excess of 12 MILLION, and that wont even include legal fees. https://t.co/2xF6jNWTD6 It's not just an estimated 12 Million pay-out, its his and hers legal fees he will be paying, god knows how many millions that will add on to it! They have to make public who is paying for all this!!! Steve Robertson (@ScotsBear1973) February 16, 2022 While not admitting any guilt in the case, a statement read in court noted that Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffres character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks. The settlement came just days before Andrew would have been made to undergo a deposition, and be questioned under oath by Giuffres lawyers, reported the New York Times. No individuals other than Maxwell and Epstein have yet been named in court throughout the case. Maxwell will likely serve her sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, a low security 1000-inmate facility about 55 miles from New York City. The prison is said to be like Disneyland compared to the facility Maxwell has resided for the past two years. Follow on Twitter: Follow @PrisonPlanet Brand new merch now available! Get it at https://www.pjwshop.com/ ALERT! In the age of mass Silicon Valley censorship It is crucial that we stay in touch. We need you to sign up for our free newsletter here. Support our sponsor Turbo Force a supercharged boost of clean energy without the comedown. This article was funded by paid subscribers of The Dissenter Newsletter, a project of Shadowproof. Become a monthly subscriber to help us continue our independent journalism. The False Claims Act in the United States allows individuals with evidence of fraud against government agencies to bring lawsuits as qui tam whistleblowers. They can bring a case even if the US Justice Department has no interest in fighting the alleged corruption. But on June 21, Courthouse News reported that the US Supreme Court will determine whether the government has the authority to dismiss a whistleblower lawsuit brought under the False Claims Act when the government has declined to intervene in the case. In other words, the Supreme Court could help corporations shut down independent whistleblower lawsuits that the Justice Department does not want to pursue. Health care and pharmaceutical corporations, along with their lobbying networks, have ramped up pressure in recent years to stifle the effectiveness of the False Claims Act in holding their industry accountable and prevent the laws expansion. Under President Donald Trump, the National Whistleblower Center reported in 2018 that US government recoveries under the law hit a ten-year low. Nearly $2.9 billion was recovered, but only $767 million of that money was a result of lawsuits by the government. Whistleblower lawsuits, however, yielded over $2.1 billion. A network of dark money has transformed the Supreme Court into an illegitimate and partisan institution. The same court that overturned Roe v. Wadeending nearly 50 years of abortion rightscould gut one of the few laws available to private citizens to challenge corporate corruption. Pushing Complicit Government Agencies To Act President Abraham Lincoln signed the first False Claims Act in 1863 during the US Civil War. It became known as the Lincoln law. According to Tom Mueller, author of Crisis of Conscience: Whistleblowing In An Age of Fraud, the law was intended to stop army and navy contractors from stealing taxpayer dollars but also to push complacent or complicit government agencies to act. The US did not have a Justice Department, Mueller noted. What the Lincoln law did was empower individuals to prosecute fraud with or without the governments participation. Offending contractors could be fined $2,000 for each misrepresentation or false claims they made when requesting payment from the government. The law was gutted by Congress in 1943 because the Justice Department claimed it did not need the assistance of whistleblowers when prosecutors already knew about the fraud. As Republican Senator Chuck Grassley recalled, this led to absurd results that only hurt the taxpayer.Grassley, an advocate for the law, said it basically meant that all whistleblower cases were blocked, even cases where the government only knew about the fraud because of the whistleblower. In 1986, Grassley helped to ensure that amendments to the False Claims Act were passed to restore power to private citizens to bring whistleblower lawsuits. It ensured that whistleblowers would receive a reward in return for risking their career or legal jeopardy. However, in order to convince President Ronald Reagan to sign the amendments into law, Grassley and other senators had to overcome institutional opposition within the Justice Department. Jay Stephens and Stuart Schiffer, two senior DOJ officials, opposed restoring the False Claims Act. Stephens contended the Justice Department was doing a good enough job against defense contractor fraud and a stronger law would hamper their work, according to Mueller. The law, Stephens said, was an anachronism from a time when the United States had no central investigative force; now that the DOJ and the FBI existed, most qui tam whistleblowers were parasitic bounty hunters who interfered with legitimate law enforcers and ultimately provided little useful evidence of wrongdoing. The counter to Justice Department officials was that the restoration of the False Claims Act was necessary to protect whistleblowers from retaliation. The amendments were needed to prevent a complacent and complicit Justice Department from entering into sweetheart deals with powerful contractors. Devastating Threat To The Executives Constitutional Authority Justice Department officials remained opposed, even though Reagan declined to veto the amendments. In 1989, they argued to the US Supreme Court that the law was unconstitutional. Bill Barr, who later became attorney general under Trump, was the assistant attorney general. He contended the False Claims Act represented a devastating threat to the executives constitutional authority and to the doctrine of separation of powers. He objected to how Congress empowered citizens to help stimulate government action against fraud. There has been a massive upsurge in qui tam actionsover 150 suits have been filed, Barr cried. These actions have disrupted the civil and criminal enforcement activities of the Department. They have also undermined the executives ability to administer complex procurement contracts and, in some cases, have caused serious national security concerns. The 1986 Amendments have also spawned the formation of full-time bounty hunting groupsersatz departments of justicethat go about prosecuting civil fraud actions in the name of the United States. Barr was worried about groups representing whistleblowers, who could collect up to thirty percent of any recovery, because their effectiveness put the Justice Department to shame. He was ultimately unsuccessful in persuading the Supreme Court to neuter the False Claims Act. However, three decades later, Barr was at it again in his position as Trumps attorney general. The Justice Department dismissed an increased number of false claims cases for reasons that Grassley believed had nothing to do with the merits of the cases. It seemed prosecutors were intent to discourage whistleblowers and undermine efforts to root out serious fraud. Bloomberg Law reported that the Justice Department moved to dismiss at least 14 cases involving pharmaceuticals. Eleven of the cases were brought by the National HealthCare Analysis Group, which alleged violations of anti-kickback laws that prohibit improper marketing of drugs to medical professionals. They were viewed as a bounty hunting group. The National Whistleblower Center called attention to the fact that the Justice Department was attempting to dismiss a case against the pharmaceutical corporation known as Gilead Sciences. A whistleblower accused the corporation of manufacturing drugs with contaminated ingredients from China and unusually the Justice Department maintained it would be too costly to pursue the lawsuit. Grassley and a bipartisan group of senators tried in 2021 to correct the issue of dismissals by the Justice Department by creating a test. Prosecutors would be required to identify a valid government purpose and a rational relation between dismissal and accomplishment of that purpose. A whistleblower would then have the ability to challenge a dismissal by demonstrating that the dismissal is fraudulent, arbitrary and capricious, or illegal. But Big Pharma succeeded in blocking the amendments from inclusion in the 2021 infrastructure bill that passed. It was a major loss for whistleblowers. By raising false flags about these amendments and locking progress through complex and endless court cases, the National Whistleblower Center warned, an anti-whistleblower victorywhich could open the floodgates for future attacks on these highly successful whistleblower protectionswas secured by lobbyists. Record Settlements And Rewards Under The False Claims Act During the past five years, lawsuits against the False Claims Act that are backed by corporate interests have sought to amplify uncertainty around the Supreme Court and lower courts interpretation of provisions in the law. Each million spent on these efforts is intended to stall the progress of whistleblowers courageous enough to take a stand against corporate influence and power. GlaxoSmithKline, a major pharmaceutical corporation, was hit with a record $3 billion fine in 2012 after marketing their drugs for unauthorized uses and cheating the US governments Medicaid program. The result was a whistleblower reward of $250 million, which four individuals split. Faced with allegations it sold toxic mortgage-backed securities and other financial products in the run-up to the 2008 economic crash, Bank of America agreed to a record settlement with the US government of $16.65 billion in 2014. Three whistleblowers and one firm shared a $170 million reward. Pharmaceutical corporation Johnson & Johnson entered into a $2.2 billion settlement with the US government in 2012 to end a lawsuit involving allegations related to fraud and kickback schemes perpetrated to sell three drugs: Risperdal, Natrecor, and Invega. A whistleblower received a $167 million reward. These are just three examples of how private individuals with evidence and knowledge of fraud can pursue a modest level of accountability against corporations, whether Justice Department officials have the political appetite for such action or not. The Justice Departments history of opposition to the False Claims Act does not exactly inspire confidence that the corporate-captured Supreme Court will leave the law alone. If the Supreme Court yet again prioritizes corporations and upends a settled law, their ruling may greatly diminish a tool that whistleblowers have wielded for decades. Borsa Italiana non ha responsabilita per il contenuto del sito a cui sta per accedere e non ha responsabilita per le informazioni contenute. Accedendo a questo link, Borsa Italiana non intende sollecitare acquisti o offerte in alcun paese da parte di nessuno. Sarai automaticamente diretto al link in cinque secondi. Photo taken on June 28, 2022 shows the rubble of a house damaged in an earthquake in Paktika province, Afghanistan. Thousands of families have been left homeless following a devastating quake that struck the Gayan district of Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province on June 22. The quake victims are appealing for support to rebuilding their houses. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua) GAYAN, Afghanistan, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of families have been left homeless following a devastating quake that struck the Gayan district of Afghansitan's eastern Paktika province on June 22. The quake victims are appealing for support to rebuilding their houses. Gul Mohammad, 70, whose 17-year old son was killed in the quake and another member of his family was badly injured in the natural disaster, said that his family has been living in a tent after the earthquake destroyed his house. "My house was my only shelter and it is what I have worked for throughout my life. I had managed to build the house but it was destroyed within seconds," Mohammad told Xinhua at the site of his ruined house. "I need at least 4 million afghani (1 U.S. dollar equals 88 afghani) to rebuild my house and live along with the remaining of my family members under the same roof." The residents of Gayan have been living in mud houses without running water, gas and electricity. Living in the shattered Wachakai village of Gayan district, Gul Mohammad, who is the head of an 18-member family, said that the tremble had killed 32 people and destroyed around 200 houses in his village. Recalling the devastating quake, he said, "It was almost at midnight when we were waked up by shocks, and seconds later the roof of our house caved in." Eight hours after the quake, the villagers helped pull out the body of his son from the rubbles. At least 1,000 people have been confirmed dead and more than 1,500 others injuried in the quake. Gayan is a very poor area as there is no asphalted roads, schools and health centers to provide medical treatment to the injured victims or facilitate the families to take their injured ones to hospitals in neighboring provinces. Although humanitarian assistances including foodstuff, blankets, tents and medicines have been sent to the area, the affected families are in need of more support to recover. "We have received tents, but we need more assistance and above all we need support to rebuild our houses," another resident of Gayan district Mohammad Akram told Xinhua. Akram who was injured in the quake and is the head of a 53-member family said that scores of houses had been destroyed and all the affected families want to rebuild their houses. "All houses in our village were destroyed in the earthquake and we all need to rebuild our houses," another survivor of the tremble Rahim said. Responding to the plight of the quake victims, provincial head for Information and Culture Mohammad Amin Zaefi told Xinhua that the provincial government, with the support of national and international aid agencies, will do its best to help rebuild the houses of the affected families. Photo taken on June 28, 2022 shows the rubble of a house damaged in an earthquake in Paktika province, Afghanistan. Thousands of families have been left homeless following a devastating quake that struck the Gayan district of Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province on June 22. The quake victims are appealing for support to rebuilding their houses.(Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua) A man is seen near the rubble of a house damaged in an earthquake in Paktika province, Afghanistan on June 28, 2022. Thousands of families have been left homeless following a devastating quake that struck the Gayan district of Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province on June 22. The quake victims are appealing for support to rebuilding their houses.(Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua) A man stands by the rubble of a house damaged in an earthquake in Paktika province, Afghanistan on June 28, 2022. Thousands of families have been left homeless following a devastating quake that struck the Gayan district of Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province on June 22. The quake victims are appealing for support to rebuilding their houses.(Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua) A man is seen in the rubble of a house damaged in an earthquake in Paktika province, Afghanistan on June 28, 2022. Thousands of families have been left homeless following a devastating quake that struck the Gayan district of Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province on June 22. The quake victims are appealing for support to rebuilding their houses.(Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua) Photo taken on June 28, 2022 shows the rubble of houses damaged in an earthquake in Paktika province, Afghanistan. Thousands of families have been left homeless following a devastating quake that struck the Gayan district of Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province on June 22. The quake victims are appealing for support to rebuilding their houses. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua) Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, also ASEAN chair's special envoy on Myanmar, speaks during a handover ceremony in Yangon, Myanmar, June 30, 2022. China donated 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for Myanmar on Thursday. (Xinhua/Zhang Dongqiang) YANGON, June 30 (Xinhua) -- China donated 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for Myanmar on Thursday. Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai said it was in support of ASEAN's humanitarian assistance to Myanmar. At his residence in Yangon, the Chinese ambassador handed over the donation certificate to Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, the ASEAN chair's special envoy on Myanmar, and ASEAN's deputy secretary-general Ekkaphab Phanthavong. Sokhonn, who is also a deputy prime minister of Cambodia, was on his working visit to Myanmar. The donation fully reflected China's high regard for the centrality and the role of ASEAN, as well as China's firm position to support ASEAN's humanitarian assistance to Myanmar, the Chinese ambassador said. "Both China and ASEAN are friends of Myanmar, and Myanmar is an indispensable and important member of the ASEAN family," he added. The Chinese ambassador said China has provided more than 600 million doses of vaccines to ASEAN countries. China will provide much-needed help to Myanmar through various channels and work with ASEAN and other friendly partners to play a constructive role in restarting the democratic transition process in Myanmar, he added. Sokhonn expressed his appreciation to China for the donation, saying China's assistance has fulfilled its commitment to ASEAN's centrality. ASEAN's humanitarian assistance to Myanmar will be inclusive and "leave no one behind," he added. To date, China provided 51 million doses of COVID-19 doses of vaccines to Myanmar. ASEAN's deputy secretary-general Ekkaphab Phanthavong speaks during a handover ceremony in Yangon, Myanmar, June 30, 2022. China donated 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for Myanmar on Thursday. (Xinhua/Zhang Dongqiang) Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai speaks during a handover ceremony in Yangon, Myanmar, June 30, 2022. China donated 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for Myanmar on Thursday. (Xinhua/Zhang Dongqiang) Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai (R), Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn (C), also ASEAN chair's special envoy on Myanmar, and ASEAN's deputy secretary-general Ekkaphab Phanthavong, attend a handover ceremony in Yangon, Myanmar, June 30, 2022. China donated 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for Myanmar on Thursday. (Xinhua/Zhang Dongqiang) The Brandon School Division says it will use last weeks incident at Maryland Park School as a learning experience to cultivate spaces free of discrimination moving forward. Advertisement Advertise With Us FILE Maryland Park School. The Brandon School Division says it will use last weeks incident at Maryland Park School as a learning experience to cultivate spaces free of discrimination moving forward. Last week, posters around the school promoting a Pride day as part of a "spirit week" were edited to remove both the word "pride" and reference to the schools LGBTQ+ community. In a statement to the Sun last week, principal Barbara Miller said "Given the complexity of topics associated with a Pride Walk, the curricular connection to potentially sensitive content within the Health Curriculum, and to respect and support the many perspectives that people have, parents have been given the option to choose which learning activity is most appropriate for their child for that portion of the afternoon." A parent at the school told the Sun that it appeared there was a tug-of-war that parents opposed to Pride events had won, while Brandon Pride chairperson Kenneth Jackson expressed concern that this sent a negative message to LGBTQ+ students. The divisions statement issued Wednesday said the board of trustees and senior administration are affirming their commitment "to ensuring a learning environment that is free from discriminatory practices based on any individuals sexuality, gender identity or gender expression." Though the specifics of what happened and why the event was modified were not mentioned, the statement also reads: "We understand and recognize the concerns raised regarding inconsistency in the communication around recent activities at Maryland Park School; we will learn from this experience." Reached for comment on Wednesday, Jackson said he appreciated that the division had recognized its mistake and expressed hope that it would work on fostering a more welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ students. "Im glad that they have issued a statement," Jackson said. "I had hoped it might be a little quicker coming, but its still an important gesture I really do hope the school division follows through on implementing change. Unfortunately, the 2STLGBTQIA+ community have from time to time heard kind words, but its not always followed up by action or change." He also would have liked to have seen more of an explanation of what went wrong in this case, especially since there were people making negative comments toward the local queer community both on social media and through the Suns Sound Off section in the aftermath. "I think way too often we see negative comments come lack that where a whole of a story hasnt been told and I wonder if that would change peoples opinions," Jackson said. Going forward, Jackson said he would be glad to see BSD offer training on LGBTQ+ topics to staff in a similar model to truth and reconciliation training adopted in recent years. The Sun also received comment on the statement from the same parent of a child at Maryland Park School who expressed concern last week. They are not being named due to privacy concerns. "Its got a lot of nice statements but lacks any measurable outcomes or tangible items/events and a plan to ensure that they are following their own policies," the parent wrote. "No mention of further training for staff and admin." The Sun contacted the school division with followup questions regarding last weeks incident and the issued statement, but no representative was made available for comment. cslark@brandonsun.com Twitter: @ColinSlark HELSINKI, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Public health measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic are coming to an end at Finland's border crossing points, authorities said. As of Friday, travelers are no longer required to present a vaccination certificate, a negative test result or a proof of recovery from COVID-19 when entering the country, said the Finnish institute for health and welfare in a press release Thursday. The end of COVID-19 border health measures applies to travelers within the EU and beyond, it said. The Finnish Border Guard is expecting an increase in arrivals from non-EU countries, particularly Schengen visa holders who come to Finland for shopping and for transit to other Schengen countries, said Tuomas Laosmaa, head of the border inspections unit, in an interview with national radio Yle. He said the number of border crossings into Finland would reach half of the pre-COVID-19 level in a few months, but a complete return to the 2019 volume would take longer. The Brandon School Divisions top-paid employee of 2021 worked there for less than two months that year, according to a report. Advertisement Advertise With Us FILE Former Brandon School Division superintendent Marc Casavant was compensated with $225,336 in 2021. Thats more than he earned in 2019 and 2020, which was $192,565.35 and $192,570, respectively The Brandon School Divisions top-paid employee of 2021 worked there for less than two months that year, according to a report. On Monday, the Brandon School Division released its public sector compensation report for employees and elected trustees. At the top of the list for salaries was former superintendent Marc Casavant, who officially resigned on Feb. 25 the same year. The Sun reported at the time that Mathew Gustafson, who had been an assistant superintendent for the division, was officially appointed as acting superintendent at a board of trustees meeting on Jan. 25, 2021, though he had been acting in the role since Jan. 4. No reason for Casavants departure was given, except that he was to "pursue other opportunities." Casavant, who also resigned as chair of the Brandon Police Board around the same time, was compensated with $225,336 in 2021. Thats more than he earned in 2019 and 2020, which was $192,565.35 and $192,570, respectively. The chair of the BSDs board of trustees, Linda Ross, confirmed via phone that the information in the report is correct but said she could not comment any further because it is a personnel matter. For Gustafson, who was promoted from assistant superintendent to acting and then permanent superintendent, his compensation totalled $202,908 in 2021. The third-highest paid BSD employee was assistant superintendent Susan Gilleshammer, who earned $182,278. Fourth was secretary-treasurer Denis Labossiere, who earned $181,895. The school division is legally required to list all employees who earn more than $75,000 in a report every year. A total of 601 employees listed on the report earned a collective $59,819,388. Teachers are the most represented group on the list, making a collective $48,470,524. Principals made a collective $3,243,829, vice-principals made $2,319,625, social workers made $1,260,698 and speech language pathologists made $922,947. The average salary of the employees listed on the report was $99,368. Slightly higher was the median salary at $100,347. Members of the BSDs board of trustees earned a total of $148,446. Thats up from the 2020 total of $121,953, though there were vacant positions on the board for several months that year. In 2019, trustees took home $144,761. Ross earned the most at $20,241, followed by Sherilyn Bambridge at $16,705, Jason Gobeil at $16,014, Delvina Kejick at $16,014, Jim Murray and Blaine Foley at $15,892 and Calistus Ekenna, Kim Fallis and Lisa Letain at the bottom with compensation of $15,814. cslark@brandonsun.com Twitter: @ColinSlark A man accused of assaulting his partner twice was denied a shot at bail Monday morning. Advertisement Advertise With Us A man accused of assaulting his partner twice was denied a shot at bail Monday morning. The Sun is not naming the 40-year-old man to protect the identity of the complainant. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty and the charges have not been tested in court. On April 22, 2022, a security officer in a Westman First Nation reported to police the man had allegedly assaulted the woman at approximately 10:20 p.m., Crown attorney Melania Cannon told the court. When officers arrived, they found the accused "very agitated" in the house, she said. The woman alleged he put her in a headlock while she was in a chair and started to pull her backward. Police arrested the man, who reportedly continued to be agitated and yelling at them, she said. Once in the police cruiser, Cannon said the man was allegedly kicking and spitting in the back of the car on the ride back to the detachment. Then, on June 24 at 1:30 p.m., the woman reported the man again allegedly assaulted her. While the man was on court-ordered conditions not to live with her, he allegedly moved back in, Cannon told the court. The accused started acting erratically around lunchtime while they were outside and was reportedly trying to get her inside the house. He allegedly pushed her through the door and she fell down before reportedly standing over her and shouting threats, Cannon said. The man was allegedly again "disruptive" with police, she said. Cannon argued the man is "not interested" in following conditions and is allegedly in an active pattern of abusing the woman. She opposed him being released on bail. Defence lawyer Anthony Dawson suggested a bail plan where the man would have been banned from drinking or taking drugs and from contacting the woman. He also suggested a plan where the man would be living in Winnipeg, away from the complainant. Judge Patrick Sullivan said it wasnt an easy decision, but the man has reached the stage where he doesnt have confidence he would follow release conditions. Sullivan denied the mans release on bail, saying he had "grave concerns" about the safety of the woman. The man is next scheduled to appear in court in mid-July. dmay@brandonsun.com Twitter: @DrewMay_ Advertisement Advertise With Us COVID restrictions at health facilities relaxed Visitation principles in care homes, clinics and other care settings are being changed by the province due to lower COVID-19 transmission rates. Shared Health announced in a news release starting today, the number of designated caregivers involved in the day-to-day care of a patient will go from two to as many as four. Those designated caregivers will also no longer be required to wear eye protection during visits or while caring for their loved ones. Care homes will have more room for social visitors as well. Two caregivers are now permitted to take a patient into the emergency room instead of just one, depending on the discretion of the site and available space. Cancer patients can have someone accompany them to some types of appointments. Access to outpatient cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, will remain restricted. Other changes include newly admitted residents to personal care homes will be required to quarantine, instead of isolate, for 10 days. They are allowed to leave their room during this period of time as long as they wear a mask and/or physical distancing is maintained. Masks are no longer required for outdoor appointments but will still have to be worn inside. These changes come as evidence of lower transmission levels are being reflected by a decrease in staff sick time, a reduction in the number of in-facility outbreaks and a drop in COVID hospitalization rates, the release stated. The updated guidance can be found online at bit.ly/3u7xxgH. Man charged with theft A man was charged with theft Tuesday afternoon. At approximately 4 p.m., police responded to a report of a theft from a business on the 800 block of 18th Street. Officers allegedly arrested a man a short distance away. At the time, he was also wanted on a warrant for failing to attend court, according to police. He was charged with theft under $5,000 and is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 29. Police investigate break-in Police are investigating a business break-in reported Tuesday. Suspects reportedly broke into the business storage trailer on the 1500 block of Braecrest Drive sometime overnight and stole various power tools. This includes Dewalt power tools and a Migid Miter saw. Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Brandon Police Service at 204-729-2345 or brandon.ca/police-contact/police-contact. Police probe copper wire theft Police are investigating after thousands of dollars of copper wire was allegedly stolen from a business Tuesday. The theft of approximately $10,000 worth of copper wire was from a business on the 100 block of Industrial Drive, police say. The suspects used a ladder to scale a fence of the business compound. Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Brandon Police Service at 204-729-2345 or brandon.ca/police-contact/police-contact. Construction to reduce lanes on 18th Street Construction on the Daly Overpass will reduce a stretch of 18th Street to one lane in each direction between July 4-18. The lane reduction will start at 6 a.m. Monday on the street between Princess Avenue and Parker Boulevard. Vehicles travelling south on 18th Street will not be allowed to turn east onto Rosser Avenue, according to the province. They will instead need to follow a detour. Pacific Avenue is expected to remain closed until approximately December 2022, according to the province. The construction will see a new Daly Overpass built, which will have four lanes and a separate pedestrian and active transportation bridge. The new bridge design will also include new on and off ramps to connect 18th Street with Pacific Avenue, new pathways and sidewalk and pavement upgrades. The Brandon Sun OTTAWA - Police arrested four people in downtown Ottawa Thursday after a Canadian soldier charged for speaking out against COVID-19 vaccine requirements led a procession into the city and delivered a speech on "freedom" to a rapt crowd of about 1,200 supporters. Advertisement Advertise With Us Signs are pictured on Parliament Hill prior to Canada Day, in Ottawa on Monday, June 27, 2022. A Canadian soldier charged for speaking out against COVID-19 vaccine requirements will march through Ottawa today, kicking off what organizers are promising to be a new wave of protests through the summer. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA - Police arrested four people in downtown Ottawa Thursday after a Canadian soldier charged for speaking out against COVID-19 vaccine requirements led a procession into the city and delivered a speech on "freedom" to a rapt crowd of about 1,200 supporters. James Topp was charged in February with two counts of conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline for comments made while wearing his uniform and has since been leading a four-month march to the capital from Vancouver. His march has been supported by many of the same figures involved in the "Freedom Convoy" that snarled downtown Ottawa for weeks until police used force to end what they and the government described as an illegal occupation. Cheers and chants of "Freedom!" erupted as he arrived at the National War Memorial on Thursday evening. He knelt, weeping, with his hand on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before he spoke to the crowd, thanking them for their support and urging them not to give up. I have met thousands of people in my journey from Vancouver to Ottawa and a lot of them have lost hope. They feel lost. They're angry. They've lost faith in the system. We've already started something," he said. "Heed the call. Assemble. Organize yourselves. Plan. What's the answer? Non-violence. Peace." But not long after Topp's remarks, police said they were responding to a "situation" in the area and arrested four people over incidents including assaulting officers. Police later said the arrests happened after an interaction with officers "became confrontational and one officer was choked." In the immediate aftermath of the arrests, dozens of officers surrounded the war memorial, holding back the crowd. One officer poured water into his eyes as a woman nearby yelled about police using pepper spray. Others heckled police about their "taxpayer-funded" salaries and pensions. At the same time, however, most members of the crowd continued to mill about happily and peacefully and line up for photographs with Topp. Tourists and families were also wandering by the scene, appearing puzzled as they snapped pictures of the war memorial. As the sun began to set, fireworks could be heard in downtown Ottawa. Two young women set off firecrackers while officers looked on. Topps arrival in the capital and promises of a new round of protests starting Canada Day have set residents on edge. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and the city's interim police chief, Steve Bell, have promised to crack down on any illegal activity. Army reservist James Topp speaks to the crowd during a protest against COVID-19 health measures at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, Ont. on Thursday, June 30, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby Earlier Thursday, Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre joined the final leg of Topp's march. Poilievre walked alongside Topp west of downtown Ottawa, where hundreds of people had gathered to see the army reservist. Video of the meeting shows Poilievre expressing his opposition to vaccine mandates and citing to Topp a famous quote by then-prime minister John Diefenbaker about being a "free Canadian" when he signed the Canadian Bill of Rights in 1960. When Topp said he wanted reinstatement and reparations for anyone who lost their job because of vaccine mandates, Poilievre replied: "Everybody who lost their job simply because of a COVID mandate should be restored to their job, no question about it." The two also spoke about the divisions within Canada, with Poilievre saying: "People are desperate for hope I think its time to put this country back together, and heal the wounds and reunite our country." The two were then followed by about 200 supporters, many of them carrying Canadian flags and some sporting camouflaged backpacks and other gear, as they walked down the sidewalk of a major street for about half an hour before Poilievre left. A few hours later, hundreds of people gathered in a park south of downtown Ottawa for the final stretch to the National War Memorial. A long line of marchers, including at least one wearing a black armoured vest, snaked along the length of the park. At one point the crowd was treated to a speech by a man wearing a military beret and civilian clothes who denounced defence chief Gen. Wayne Eyres order that all Canadian Armed Forces members be fully vaccinated. Members of the crowd booed loudly. Poilievres appearance with Topp comes as the presumed Conservative leadership front-runner has been accused of unabashedly cozying up to anti-vaccine protesters and other groups associated with the Freedom Convoy. Tamara Lich, a leader of the convoy that gridlocked Ottawa in February, briefly appeared in court on Thursday after allegedly breaching one of her bail conditions. Lich, who faces multiple charges including mischief and obstructing police, will remain in custody until her bail hearing on Tuesday. Many marchers declined to be interviewed, saying they did not trust that their words would not be twisted. But Ottawa resident Richard Gervais, who was among the hundreds of people marching along the Rideau Canal to downtown Ottawa, called Topp an "inspiration to us all." "Here he is, the most peaceful, the nicest, the most decent human being you could possibly ever want to meet, and he's walking across Canada to make a point," he added. Gervais said his adult son was one of the hundreds of federal public servants forced to take leave without pay because he refused to get vaccinated. While the requirement has since been suspended, "we never know when they're going to come back," said Gervais. "And we know that it can come back in the flimsiest of excuses." He went on to accuse the World Economic Forum of trying to take away Canada's sovereignty while questioning the severity of COVID-19 and the efficacy of vaccines. All of these claims have figured prominently in the discourse surrounding the Freedom Convoy. Topp has said he has no plans to lead an occupation of the capital, and invited Ottawa police to work with him to facilitate his march through the city. However, an organizer for a group calling itself Veterans 4 Freedom said in a recent video posted to YouTube that it plans to set up a semi-permanent camp east of Ottawa called Camp Eagle and hold events in the city all summer. While police have since managed to prevent similar protests from taking over the city, stopping planned demonstrations from getting out of hand during Canada Day is likely to be complicated by the presence of thousands of people celebrating the holiday. The charges against Topp relate to two videos posted online in the winter in which the army reservist appears in uniform criticizing vaccine requirements for military personnel and other federal employees. Canadian Armed Forces members are severely restricted in the comments they can make while in uniform, particularly when it comes to criticizing government policies, in large part to protect the military from any perception of politicization. His lawyer has argued such restrictions should not apply to policies that affect Armed Forces members personally. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday said police are taking their responsibility to keep people safe during Canada Day celebrations "very seriously, while Ontario Premier Doug Ford called on those intending to protest in Ottawa to respect the law. More than two dozen Conservative MPs hosted Topp and other leading figures in the "Freedom Convoy" on Parliament Hill last week, posing for pictures, promising their support and listening to a lecture on the purported dangers of COVID-19 vaccines. Health Canada says only vaccines that meet strict safety, efficacy and quality standards are approved for use in the country, and the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines continue to outweigh the risks of the disease. About 85 per cent of Canadians have received at least one dose. Topp told the MPs that he was marching in part to get all vaccine mandates repealed, as well as to demand the reinstatement of anyone who lost their job because of such a requirement and compensation for wages lost. At the same time, he and the others raised the spectre of civil war in describing the state of the country. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2022. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size The work of acclaimed Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota has always been deeply personal, often drawn from memories, her childhood, and her dreams. But even her most personal pieces, from her early works on canvas to the large-scale fibre-based installations for which she is perhaps best known, have a universality as well, her finest trick being somehow transforming the intangible into something visible. Memory, loss, uncertainty and absence touch us all, perhaps more acutely than ever, post-pandemic. The Berlin-based artist is currently the subject of two Australian exhibitions - a survey show in Brisbane and a smaller show at Melbournes Anna Schwartz Gallery. The Soul Trembles, the largest exhibition of her work to date showing at Brisbanes Gallery of Modern Art, feels especially poignant right now for Shiota herself and for viewers. Shiota was preparing for the show in 2017 conceived by Mami Kataoka, director of Tokyos Mori Art Museum, where the exhibition was first staged when she received news that her ovarian cancer, which had been in remission, had returned. She was so happy, she says, to finally have a big show at Mori, but the day after plans had begun, the doctor told her the news. It came back after 12 years, and I was thinking about how can I survive, how can I make this show happen, she says. During the preparation for the show, I was thinking a lot about death and the soul. I was thinking about when I die, where will my feelings and thoughts go, and I was always thinking about the soul. Shiotas A Question of Perspective, commissioned by GOMA for The Soul Trembles. Shiota, sometimes referred to as a human spider, originally trained as a painter, and The Soul Trembles features some of her early paintings (even a flower portrait she painted at six years old), before she moved into performance work (which she began when she was studying at ANUs School of Art in Canberra in the early 1990s), video performance, sculptures, drawings, new works created in the wake of her diagnosis and the intricately woven thread installations that have become her signature. When she became disillusioned with painting, Shiota was inspired by the textile works of Polish sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz after seeing an exhibition of her work in Japan, and felt constrained by painting, instead wanting to make lines in the air. When in Canberra, she met an Australian student who was moving to Germany to work with Abakanowicz. I thought, I want to study with her too, she says. Advertisement So Shiota moved to Germany only to discover it wasnt Magdalene Abakanowicz, but rather the Serbian conceptual and performance artist Marina Abramovic. It was a huge change. She was not like a normal professor, Shiota says, with polite understatement, recalling the boot camps that Abramovic led students on, which included stints of fasting and not speaking for days on end. New work Rebirth and Passing is the first time Shiota has worked with glass. As Mami Kataoka, in Australia with Shiota, says, its a funny story, but her encounters with Abramovic changed Shiotas life. The extreme experiences under Marinas leadership changed and extracted an essential part of her being as an artist. Loading It was after Shiota moved to Berlin that she began working with different mediums and scales, and her first work with thread. In a video in the Brisbane exhibition, theres a scene in her former studio that shows her bed connected with thread. She says she moved so many times in Berlin nine times in three years because I had no money and was looking for cheap apartments that she wanted to fix herself to her own place, so started connecting her bed to her apartment. The GOMA show features several of Shiotas room-sized thread installations, each meticulously re-created for every exhibition by Shiota a team of volunteers. Each piece is different every time. The first work visitors to the show see is the mammoth, room-sized Uncertain Journey, a series of boat forms connected by a vast web of red thread, symbolising blood, or veins, the boats carrying us on our life journeys. Backlit by the gallerys huge windows, the work seems to change colour as the sun moves. Advertisement Light makes a different atmosphere, says Shiota. My studios are really in the museums, and I bring the materials and them here, so I never know how they will look. They are never the same twice. Shiota describes her work as a dialogue with my unveiled, naked soul. Credit:Simon Schluter In Silence, another large work in which a mass of black thread entangles a burnt piano and continues over a stand of empty chairs is drawn from a childhood memory. When her neighbours house burnt down, they moved their destroyed furniture onto the street, and Shiota was mesmerised by the still smoking, charred piano. It had no sound any more, but it was very beautiful, she says. Even more than before, and I made a concert with the string. The show includes a new commission, which will be permanently housed at GOMA, and which is inspired by her time in Australia. In A Question of Perspective, a writers desk is encircled by a rain-like shower of black thread. Above the desk are hundreds of suspended blank papers, which appear to be circling upwards, as if caught in a small tornado. As a student, Shiota travelled across the country by bus, no less: I know how big this country is now! and was inspired to make the work from her time seeing Uluru and the Central Desert, and contemplating the vastness of the universe. Other new works include Out of My Body, in which red net-like pieces of suspended leather hover above bronze body parts and Rebirth and Passing, sculptures of what appear to be organs encased in glass and featuring delicately blown glass threads echoing her fibre work, both made after her illness. At the end of the exhibition, which also features some of her set designs for theatre and opera not seen in Australia before, there is a series of video interviews she conducted with children, asking them questions about our souls, which offers, she says, a note of hope. When I was unwell, I started thinking about my daughter who was nine years old at the time. I was thinking, if I die, how will my daughter survive? Where is my soul, and what colour is my soul? So I wanted to ask children questions about the soul. Advertisement The ABC may be marking the grand age of 90, but the old girl doesnt do low-key celebrations like it used to. As Leigh Sales departs the broadcasters most high-profile anchor role this week, her send-off is accompanied by all the bells and whistles of modern TV celebrity: farewell interviews, a promotional campaign celebrating her years in the 7.30 chair, and a half-hour tribute special airing on Friday night. Kerry OBrien and Leigh Sales: Two 7.30 anchors, two very different farewells. Credit:YouTube; Supplied Its a sign of how the ABC has moved to find its modern home in the age of social media and celebrity-driven coverage, even of its news and current affairs anchors. And the once tradition-bound marketing minds at Aunty are not being shy about playing a game they once largely ceded to their commercial counterparts. Mystery Road: Origin The character of Indigenous cowboy detective Jay Swan, embodied so wholly by Aaron Pedersen, made the successful transition from big to small screen after Ivan Svens 2013 film and its 2016 sequel Goldstone, with a story that remained compelling across two acclaimed television series. Now Swan returns, but not as weve known him. Mystery Road: Origin rewinds Swans story to 1999, just as he earns his detective badge, and returns from the city to his fictional hometown of Jardine, a remote mining town in Western Australia, where his estranged father, Jack (Kelton Pell) and brother Sputty (Clarence Ryan) live. Mark Coles Smith as the young Jay Swan in Mystery Road: Origin. Credit:David Dare Parker This younger Swan is played by Mark Coles Smith (Pawno, Halifax: Retribution), who pulls off an uncanny likeness to a younger Pedersen, even without the double denim, brooding middle-distance stare and Akubra. Before Swan even pulls into town, where buildings regularly rattle and shake as explosions are detonated in the local gold mine (which may or may not still be yielding returns), hes inadvertently caught up in a robbery perpetrated by men wearing Ned Kelly masks (one of a series that continues throughout this season) and then mistaken for a criminal. As NSW authorities race to stop the deadly varroa mite from spreading across borders and wiping out the countrys European honey bees, Queensland has announced it will shut its borders to bees, hives and related equipment and products. Australia was one of the few countries without the mite, but the Varroa destructor, commonly called the varroa mite, was detected in surveillance bees at the Port of Newcastle last week. The mite affects European honey bees ability to fly, gather food, or emerge from their cells to be born. European honey bee populations across Newcastle and the Mid North Coast are being monitored after the deadly varroa mite was detected. Credit:Bloomberg On Thursday, Queensland Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and Minister for Rural Communities Mark Furner issued a movement control order restricting the movement of bees, bee hives and bee products, including honey, into the state. The control order has taken immediate effect. Biosecurity Queensland is taking this action to protect the states bee industry from varroa mites which pose a serious risk to honey production and pollination services, Furner said. NSW has taken swift action to restrict the spread of varroa mite, however if control measures fail and varroa mite enters Queensland, there are limited options for eradicating varroa mite. Former deputy premier John Barilaro has not sought any financial compensation from the NSW government after quitting a US trade posting amid public furore over the controversial appointment. Barilaro sensationally stepped down from his role late on Thursday after two weeks of intense scrutiny of his appointment to the role, which he created when he was trade minister. After Transport Minister David Elliott on Thursday said Barilaro should do the honourable thing and stand down from the appointment, Treasurer Matt Kean on Friday said he had been surprised he had been offered the job, and conceded it had been a distraction for the government. I was surprised that John got the job but again, I was told that it had gone through the proper process, thats what ld expect for anyone to apply for one of these government jobs. he said. Read more here. WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson says justice has been served after 28 years, following Thursdays court verdict over the 1994 National Crime Authority letter bombing. Domenic Perre was found guilty of carrying out the bombing in Adelaide in March 1994 that killed West Australian Detective Sergeant Geoffrey Bowen and criticall injured NCA lawyer Peter Wallis. Domenic Perre (centre) visiting several locations in Adelaide in 2021. Credit:AAP Our thoughts go out to the Wallis family Peter, sadly, has now passed away and to Geoff Bowens widows and his two sons, who are both serving WA Police officers, Commissioner Dawson said. This was an outrageous crime against justice in Australia. We do not ever forget, and we do not ever give up. China's major auto cluster in high gear on road to economic recovery Xinhua) 08:20, June 30, 2022 SHANGHAI, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Located in southeast Shanghai, U.S. carmaker Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory is bustling with production activity as it has returned to full production capacity by early June following a disruption due to COVID-19 resurgence. The Tesla factory's return to normalcy is not an isolated case in east China's Yangtze River Delta, consisting of Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui. Accounting for nearly a quarter of the country's GDP, the delta area plays an important role in sustaining China's steady economic growth. The Yangtze River Delta is a major automobile production cluster in China and its economic vitality, represented by the car manufacturing industry, is roaring back to normalcy. Shanghai-based SAIC Motor, China's largest automaker, said its daily production has reached 13,000 units in its three major branches, generally rebounding to the level before March when the weeks-long COVID-19 flare-up broke out. In neighbouring Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the output of major whole-vehicle production companies spiked 136 percent and over 55 percent in May over April. The rebound of automobile production is a result of the local governments' efforts to ensure smooth operation of the industrial chain. For example, Jiangsu has set up a mechanism for cross-department and cross-sector coordination in helping whole-vehicle and auto parts firms resume production. In addition to firms in the auto sector, major industrial enterprises, with annual business revenue totaling at least 20 million yuan (about 2.98 million U.S. dollars) in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, have achieved better-than-expected performances in production resumption, noted Xin Guobin, vice minister of industry and information technology. In May, the added value of major industrial firms in Anhui and Zhejiang reversed the downward trend by growing 5.2 percent and 1.5 percent year on year respectively. Peers in Shanghai and Jiangsu saw narrowing declines in added value. In tandem with the swift recovery of economic activities, logistics in the region are also picking up the rebound pace. The Yangtze River Delta saw 235 China-Europe freight train trips last month, up 12.4 percent over April. The container throughput of Ningbo-Zhoushan port in Zhejiang reached 3.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units in May, setting a new monthly record. Swift production resumption and smoothing logistics have resulted in imports and exports growth. In May, trade volume in the region climbed nearly 20 percent over a month earlier, according to the country's top customs watchdog. Foreign investment has also continued to flow into the region. Cargill, an agriculture and food company based in the United States, announced earlier this month that it will invest nearly 30 million U.S. dollars to build a flavor-syrup production base in Zhejiang's Pinghu City. Liu Jun, president of Cargill China, said that Cargill is establishing the base because it has full confidence in the Chinese market. "China will be one of the most attractive food ingredient markets in the world in the future," Liu said. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) PARIS, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Firefighters at two airports of the French capital, Roissy-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Orly, went on strike on Thursday to demand higher wages, the airport authority Paris Airports said. Paris Airports warned passengers to arrive at the airport at least three hours for an international long-haul flight and two hours before a domestic or medium-haul flight. Passengers should anticipate flight delays, the airport authority said. The French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) has requested airlines to reduce the number of flights scheduled to depart and arrive at CDG by 17 percent between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. local time. Meanwhile, airport workers are also calling for a second day of strikes in July, the French news channel BFMTV reported. Air France expects to maintain all of its long-haul and 90 percent of short and medium-haul flights. Workers at the two airports already staged a strike at the beginning of June. In phone calls he knew were being tapped by police, former Sydney teacher Chris Dawson claimed his first wife Lynette took off, and media reports about her disappearance were filled with lies. The NSW Supreme Court on Thursday heard further recordings, tendered by the defence, made by Dawson to others in the months before his arrest in December 2018. The 73-year-old has pleaded not guilty to murdering Lynette, who vanished from the northern beaches in January 1982. Chris Dawson leaving the NSW Supreme Court, where he is on trial accused of Lynettes murder, in a file picture. Credit:Edwina Pickles The Crown alleges Dawson was motivated by his desire to have an unfettered relationship with the couples babysitter and his former student, known as JC. The pair married in 1984 and split in 1990. In one call to a relative in August 2018, Dawson acknowledged the phones were being tapped. Sydneys commuters endured crowded, delayed and cancelled trains on Friday morning after the unions refusal to operate overseas-built trains forced transport authorities to use buses to replace rail services on scores of lines and put in place a significantly reduced rail timetable. The escalating dispute between the union and government came as Transport Minister David Elliott vowed he would stand by his promise to resign from the portfolio if he was unable to resolve the impasse. Crowds gather at Central Station as trains run on a reduced timetable. Credit:Janie Barrett I will resign from cabinet resign as Transport Minister if I dont fulfil my end of the bargain, he told 2GB on Friday. Elliott said he was very close to taking the Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) to the Fair Work Commission, after speaking to Premier Dominic Perrottet who had come to the conclusion that we are going to need to have some sort of circuit breaker. Queensland will expand its high-risk domestic and family violence police teams in a $32 million funding package, as the Womens Safety and Justice Taskforce is expected to hand down its report on Friday. Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman said the high-risk program, already operating in eight regions across Queensland, would expand to Townsville, which has one of the highest rates of domestic violence. The city is set to join the Gold Coast, Logan, Mt Isa, Cairns, Mackay, Caboolture, Ipswich and Beenleigh. Fentiman announced the funding a day ahead of the Womens Safety and Justice Taskforce report being handed down on Friday. A woman who smoked cannabis and then crashed her car, killing her sister and brother-in-law, has avoided jail after a judge found sending her to prison would be too detrimental to her daughter, who was also injured in the accident. Amberly Hendy, 31, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving on the Goulburn Valley Highway on September 6, 2019, after smoking cannabis with her sister, Eloise Rigby, 23, and Rigbys husband, Adam Boland, 39, that morning. Sending Amberly Hendy to jail would be inhumane to her daughter, the judge said. Credit:Facebook Rigby and Boland were killed in the crash, while Hendys four-year-old daughter was seriously injured, needed to be resuscitated at the scene and spent more than three months in hospital. Hendy, from Katunga, 45 kilometres north of Shepparton, appeared via videolink in the Melbourne County Court on Thursday and was sentenced to 400 unpaid hours of community work and a four-year community corrections order. Youre minding your own business in a big store lets say Bunnings or Kmart and a couple of burly security guards tap you on the shoulder. You are marched back towards the exit, with strangers and a family you know staring at the spectacle. Youre then turfed out and told not to come back. When you ask why, one of the guards says your face has been matched against a list of known shoplifters. Though youve never been accused, much less convicted, of stealing so much as a paperclip in your life, theres little you can do. Youre already in the carpark. Facial recognition systems are being used to identify shoppers but can the data they collect be misused? Credit:SHUTTERSTOCK The security guards shrug. Theres nothing they can do either. The companys computer matched your face against a database of people they dont want in the store. As soon as your face was matched, the security guards were instructed to remove you. Consumer advocacy group Choices recent investigation revealed how several big-brand companies use facial recognition on their customers. Electronics retailer the Good Guys this week responded to the consumer backlash by pausing its facial recognition program, pending clarification from the privacy regulator. The AUKUS case and the cancellation of the submarine contract became an obstacle in our decision, so we had some delays and we postponed some negotiating rounds, Dombrovskis said. Loading Now I would say things are broadly on track and, since the Australian and French governments seemed to settle the issue, hopefully we can say it is behind us. It certainly was a problem because the whole announcement came out very unexpectedly, there were no prior consultations with the EU on all those decisions. French President Emmanuel Macron branded former prime minister Scott Morrison a liar over the surprise AUKUS announcement and gained support from other EU member states who wanted to suspend talks on the Australian trade deal. A trade delegation led by the European Australian Business Council, including company directors as well as industry groups such as Meat and Livestock Australia, met government officials in Paris and Brussels this week. Some of those in the meetings said the message from the EU was that the new Australian governments climate policy and its resolution of the submarine dispute had smoothed the way for a trade pact. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emerged from a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Madrid on Wednesday to say he hoped for real progress by March. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Madrid on Thursday, June 30. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen But the New Zealand deal is much further advanced, partly because it covers a smaller economy, and could be agreed in principle when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern meets von der Leyen in Brussels on Thursday. Climate targets remain a crucial factor in the trade talks after Dombrovskis declared last week that trade partners in new deals would have to honour core provisions of global standards including emission cuts committed to under the Paris Agreement at the United Nations. While Albanese has improved the prospects for a trade deal by pledging a cut of 43 per cent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels, deeper than Morrisons target of 26 to 28 per cent by the same year, this nonetheless falls below the EU target of 55 per cent on 1990 levels by 2030. Loading In a positive sign for the Australian side, the EU trade boss did not urge a deeper target for 2030 and said the governments net zero target for 2050 was a key requirement. There are two important elements: one is respect of the Paris Agreement and the second, in the case of the G20 economies, we are seeking a commitment on carbon neutrality. And thats something the new Australian government has announced. But we cannot micromanage other countries adjustment path, so we cannot expect all countries to have exactly the same reduction pathway. So if its 43 or 55 by 2030, countries take their own decisions, he said. Even so, the central EU requirement will be that it could apply trade sanctions on Australia after a dispute settlement process if it believed Australia was not honouring its climate commitments to the United Nations. Loading The trade negotiations will also have to overcome concerns from members of the European Parliament, or MEPs, who believe trade liberalisation has failed to link climate action with the traditional approach of removing tariffs. The New Zealand government is very, very open and even goes further in some of the sustainability areas than the commercial ones, Greens MEP Anna Cavazzini said in an interview. If Australia basically would follow this line, and would also be open to a new model of trade agreements, or even push harder for other things that we dont probably have in mind yet, that would be excellent from a green perspective. We think sustainability and climate change is not reflected enough in trade agreements, so theyre very one-sided on liberalisation, Cavazzini said. Loading I think there should be a clear commitment with your CO2 emissions and when theyre broken, then this basically means that it is the same as if you would breach the liberalisation rules. It would become basically more enforceable up to including sanctions and the withdrawal of trade preferences. A delegation of MEPs will visit Australia in September and another round of formal negotiation will be held in October. The EU estimates total trade between Australia and the EU in 2020 was worth $94 billion; 36 billion ($54.6 billion) in goods, with services worth another 26 billion. The EU has a surplus on both: 24 billion in goods and 10 billion in services. Health Minister Mark Butler has ordered a snap inquiry into Australias COVID-19 vaccine supplies, future variant jabs and how the rollout was caught short at the height of the pandemic. The review, to be led by respected former Health Department chief Jane Halton, will also examine the deals struck by the former government to purchase vaccines and therapeutic treatments. Health Minister Mark Butler will announce an inquiry into vaccine procurement. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Butler said with 300 Australians losing their lives to COVID-19 each week and a rising number of cases of the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, the review would take place over weeks, not many months. Given the developments Ive talked about both in terms of the spread of these new subvariants but also the opportunity presented by new vaccine and treatment products, we need to make sure that we have the best information available to us sooner rather than later, he said. Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia: When a young Penny Wong would fly to Malaysia and her father Francis picked her up at the airport, they would invariably end up eating fishball congee at a cafe called Kuo Man. It was one of the few places in Kota Kinabalu, the unspoiled coastal city in the state of Sabah where she was born, that she found the dish just as delicious as her late grandmother used to make it. Penny Wong with her brother James, eating fishball congee on Thursday in Kota Kinabalu. Credit:Jeremiah Chan This is the first time Ive been here without my father actually, said Australias foreign minister on Thursday as she returned to her favourite eatery during the final leg of a three-day tour of Malaysia. Its a bit sad. Wongs father lives in Melbourne now but she retains long-standing ties to Sabah, where she spent her first eight years and where her younger brother James, his family and other relatives still live. Property prices are continuing to rise and the local market is performing very well, says a Perth mortgage broker. Brokerage Elite Finance Australia owner and senior broker Matthew Posselt (pictured) said he was working with many clients trying to secure a property. We have lots of customers trying to bid on properties, however many have been unsuccessful and are still looking, Posselt said. Right now, it is a good time to be selling a home in Perth. Posselt said his specialty was working with first home buyers. He said many people who rent have been told their landlord was selling up in the current high-priced market, so now was a good time for them to buy. There is now a shortage in rental supply as rental vacancies are at an all-time low, he said. However, the market does not seem to have peaked just yet so I would not say people are overpaying. Read more: Brokers beware: tax time is here The Perth broker said the city and outer suburbs were all experiencing price growth. In the city you find many high rises and apartment buildings, however the construction industry is terrible at the moment with all the delays in building materials and skyrocketing costs, he said. I used to do lots of construction finance, however with building costs rising, people are fearing the build process and switching to buying something established. Existing properties are still attractive for first home buyers as they can still be eligible for government assisted schemes to help them into their new home. Posselt said Perth residents preferred purchasing within a 10km radius of the CBD, however with prices continuing to climb, first home buyers in particular were expanding their location search. The price point is still competitive under the $1 million mark, however we have seen competitiveness has dropped above the $1 million mark. I have found it is taking a little longer for premium properties to sell. Posselt said interstate property buyers from areas such as Melbourne and Sydney were enjoying Perths house prices. We have seen interstate investors snapping up properties sight unseen as rental vacancies are so low and rent returns are so healthy. It is a lot more attractive for these people despite it being such a big commitment buying a property in an unfamiliar market. Read more: Finance leaders help raise over $9 million for charity Posselt said freestanding properties were overall most popular with his clients. I am finding my clients want control of their property without engaging strata, he said. Clients are also chasing land, so they are looking at older houses on larger parcels which provide options for renovations, extensions or developments. However, to chase more land, you need to widen your location scope further from the CBD. Posselts advice to other Western Australian brokers is that it is a big industry, a big market and theres lots of opportunity. My advice is to be active, talk to people, have a strong presence within your community and stand out from the competition by letting people know what you do. BERLIN, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Germany unemployment rose in June for the first time since the beginning of the year as the refugees from Ukraine are registering with the Federal Employment Agency (BA) in search of work. "The labor market as a whole remains stable," BA chief Detlef Scheele said. The increase was due to the fact that "Ukrainian refugees are now recorded in the job centers and thus visible in the labor market statistics." Just over 2.36 million people were registered without a job in Germany in June, 103,000 more than in May but still 251,000 less than a year ago, according to the BA. The country's unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage points month-on-month to 5.2 percent. As of June, refugees from Ukraine are no longer treated as asylum seekers in Germany, but as recognized refugees. Registered refugees from Ukraine have since been entitled to social benefits, such as unemployment benefits or child benefits. "The door to the labor market is open to people from Ukraine," Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Hubertus Heil said on Thursday. "Now we have to help them step over the threshold." Around 125,000 Ukrainians are currently listed as unemployed in the country, according to the BA. In May, before refugees from Ukraine could officially register as unemployed, the figure only stood at 14,000. The number of people in employment in Germany rose slightly to around 45.5 million in May, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Thursday. The figure first exceeded pre-pandemic levels back in March. Since the peak of the third COVID-19 wave in March 2021, the recovery of Germany's labor market was "largely unaffected" by further infection waves and the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Destatis noted. has opted for a four-year moratorium on the repayment of around Rs 3,000 crore of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues to the government. The company, however, has decided not to opt for a conversion of interest on the deferred dues into equity for the government. Last September, the Union Cabinet had announced a telecom reforms package providing a slew of benefits for ease of doing business and liquidity. were offered a four-year moratorium on their AGR dues spectrum dues up to FY17, in line with a order. Both Airtel and Vodafone Idea availed of the offer last October. About a fortnight ago, the (DoT) extended the benefit a second time and now offered a four-year moratorium for AGR dues up to FY19. While Vodafone Idea notified its decision last week to defer the repayment of dues worth Rs 8,837 crore, communicated its decision to the government on Thursday. With this, Airtel will be able to get a four-year moratorium on payments. Vodafone Idea had decided to convert interest with a net present value of Rs 16,000 crore into equity for the government in January. This would give the government a 33 per cent stake in the company. However, the actual allotment of shares has still to take place. Meanwhile, in a separate development, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Thursday approved Google's proposed acquisition of a minority stake in . The deal was cleared on the basis of modifications offered by the acquirer, according to an official release. International LLC and Airtel have entered into an investment agreement to buy a minority and non-controlling stake of 1.28 per cent of equity share capital in the telecom player. Along with the investment agreement, both have also entered into certain commercial deals through their affiliates. The parties also intend to enter into certain other commercial arrangements in future, according to a press statement. Deals beyond a certain threshold require the approval of the regulator, which keeps a tab on unfair business practices in the marketplace. International LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of LLC, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. Ankiti Bose, co-founder and former of Zilingo, has stepped down as director of the . She was ousted from the in May this year. "Given the current circumstances, and due to the opacity of information to me as a board member and a shareholder, I resign forthwith from all directorships I hold with Zilingos holding and any of its subsidiaries," she said in a post. too confirmed Bose' resignation. In an email statement they said: "The Company has accepted Ms Ankiti's resignation from her directorship positions, and is saddened to note that inaccurate claims have been made in the media of concealing relevant information from Zilingo's Directors. The company continues to evaluate and actively pursue all real and credible options for the business." Bose was fired from the Singapore-based B2B e-commerce startup company on May 20 on grounds of financial irregularities. According to media reports earlier this month, Bose and co-founder Dhruv Kapoor have come together for a management buyout. Bosch, the leading supplier of technology and services, is expanding its AIoT ( of things) activities in India. It is doing this by transforming its headquarters in Adugodi, Bengaluru, into a new smart campus called Spark.NXT. AIoT is the combination of (AI) technologies and the (IoT) infrastructure, where devices communicate with each other intelligently. Over the last five years, has invested Rs 800 crore in developing the campus, which has the capacity to potentially house 10,000 associates. The 76-acre site is Boschs first smart campus in India. It features multiple smart solutions based on sustainability, security, and user experience for associates, visitors, and facility management. Inaugurating the Smart Campus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that this campus will take lead in developing futuristic products and solutions for India and for the world. I urge to think of doing more in India and set goals for the next 25 years. Also Read: AI adoption to add $500 billion to India's GDP by 2025: Nasscom report During his inaugural address, Modi said that it is a special year for both India and Bosch India, as the nation celebrates 75 years of Independence and Bosch celebrates a century of its presence in India. 100 years ago, Bosch came to India as a German company and now it is as much Indian as German, said Modi. This is a great example of German engineering and Indian energy. As an AIoT company, leveraged its AI, IoT, automation, and digitalisation capabilities to develop its smart campus. To further enhance its research and development (R&D) capabilities for the new way of working, has also trained over 10,000 associates through a comprehensive reskilling initiative over the past two years. As a global player, Bosch brings together associates from more than 150 different countries, said Filiz Albrecht, member of the board of management and director of Industrial Relations at Robert Bosch GmbH with responsibility for India from July 1, 2022. This (campus) empowers us to remain an employer of choice while driving sustainability in everything we do. The company has invested Rs 50 crore (6 million euros) in the reduction of energy consumption at the new Adugodi campus over the long term. The campus will meet up to 85 per cent of its total energy needs with in-house solar panels and the purchase of green group captive power. Almost two-thirds of annual domestic water demand at Bosch in India is set to be met through rainwater harvesting projects. An enhanced green cover with 9-million-litre capacity underground tanks for rainwater harvesting reduces water demand by 60 per cent. Also Read: India's investments in AI to cross $880 mn by 2023: NASSCOM report Soumitra Bhattacharya, managing director of Bosch Limited and president of the Bosch Group, India, said the world is today looking at collaboration within and outside the organisations. He said the rate of transformation for change in businesses is unbelievable and agility and collaboration play a key role. The only certainty today is uncertainty, said Bhattacharya. This smart campus is an example of being ahead of its time with people at the centre. This includes empowering them to have collaborations within the organisation as well as suppliers and customers globally and creating solutions. With our new campus, the company continues to invest in smart and sustainable solutions which support the governments vision for an Atmanirbhar Bharat, said Bhattacharya. He also said that Bosch is looking at total gross hiring of about 6,000 people this year across its group . Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the State, primarily Bengaluru has been a technology hub and houses the largest number of R&D centres across the globe. This campus showcases R&D capabilities in both automotive and non-automotive products and services," said Bommai. Bosch said it has applied multiple smart, sustainable, and user-friendly solutions that move the campus towards the future of work. It has deployed an ambient air-quality monitoring solution to constantly monitor key noise and air pollutants. This data will be shared with associates in real-time to enhance their well-being. This campus is built only for 70 per cent of attendance, said Karsten Mueller, executive vice president, manufacturing and quality, . We encourage hybrid-working models. It is not about attendance, but performance. There is an AIoT-powered analytics platform for Industry 4.0 that provides smart energy and water management to bolster sustainability. It helps in optimising resources and managing utilities. While saving up to 6 per cent energy per annum, the platform also improves operational efficiency by 8 per cent. The firm has developed an intelligent air-conditioning and comfort assistant solution to improve employee comfort at the campus and reduce the latters carbon footprint. By optimising heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning operations (HVAC) based on occupancy and thermal preferences, the solution can reduce HVAC energy consumption by 30 to 50 per cent. There are solutions to maximise the security of people and premises. These discrete applications combine access control, intrusion detection, and intelligent surveillance with advanced video analytics featuring two-factor authentication. There is also a smart parking solution. It helps in 3-4 mins of lesser time for parking, resulting in annual savings of over 1500 man-days, 2500 litres of fuel, and 5000 kgs of CO2. This solution also reduces manual security efforts by 50 per cent. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has asked the government to relook at captive non-public network guidelines to provide a level-playing field between telecom and enterprises. Private networks at different locations under one licence by taking leased line connectivity to connect multiple locations should not be permitted. Cloud connectivity should be specifically barred, director general SP Kochhar said in a letter to the (DoT) on Thursday. The issue of private networks has pitted members such as Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio with the Broadband India Forum. In its guidelines on captive non-public networks, the government has allowed direct allotment of spectrum to enterprises. Company law tribunals have 14 days to admit or reject an insolvency case, but official data shows that not one application was admitted in this period. A discussion paper by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India lays down the time taken for admission of Section 9 applications (to start insolvency proceedings) in the last two financial years: The resolution professional (RP) in the insolvency case sought an urgent hearing of the matter, saying that it had been more than a year since a suit for recovery of Rs 1,200 crore loan was brought against the businessman. The National (NCLAT) has tried to address this issue. In the matter of JK Jute Mills Company, Limited versus Surendra Trading Company the NCLAT held that the objective of the 14-day period was to prevent delay in hearing cases. In the matter of RP of International Recreation and Amusement Limited (IRAL), a lender of the company approached NCLAT seeking it to direct the concerned National Company Law Tribunal(NCLT) to hear the case at the earliest after the Principal Bench of the NCLT Delhi had adjourned the matter as many as 18 times since 2019. NCLAT observed that there is a need to introduce a supervisory provision. Due to lack of supervisory jurisdiction, many aggrieved persons are compelled to file an appeal, it held. Similarly in State Bank of India versus Sanjay Singhal (Promoter of Bhushan Steels) the case was admitted after 14 days of the RP report, said Raj Bhalla, partner at MV Kini. To tackle the delay, the IBC was amended in 2019 and the NCLTs were required to record reasons in writing for delay in the admission of applications filed by lenders. The recent amendments to the Information Utility (IU) Regulations by the IBBI were also aimed at addressing delays in the insolvency process. Nirav Shah, partner at DSK Legal, said a lender could consider approaching the appellate authority for directions to pass orders within a specific time. A party may also consider filing a writ under Article 227 of the Constitution (which is the supervisory jurisdiction that the High Court exercises). However, in our view, the High Court is unlikely to interfere unless grave injustice or tremendous prejudice can be demonstrated, he said. Auto components major (SFL) plans to invest Rs 400 crore in fasteners and defence in the next two years. The company told its annual general meeting it will make an additional investment of Rs 300 crore in fasteners, where is it has a market share of 35-40 per cent. The company, in financial year 2021-22, doubled its exports of assembly wheel nuts for commercial vehicles in the United States. The company said that it has expanded its range in the wind segment fasteners and has also started exporting fasteners for the wind segment. In the defence sector, it is looking to invest over Rs 100 crore in the next two years. After two years of sluggishness, Indias automobile sector posted double-digit growth, supported by improving economic growth and personal incomes. During the financial year 2022-23, all segments in the automotive sector are expected to post a double-digit growth. Rupee depreciation is expected to provide further impetus to the growth in exports of the Company, said Suresh Krishna, chairman of SFL. Financial subsidies under the governments production linked incentive scheme augurs will be good for the automotive sector. The scheme proposes incentives to attract investments towards creation of large manufacturing capacities in the automotive manufacturing value chain. He said that the company is betting big on electric vehicles. The Company has been awarded contracts worth Rs 150 crore for EV products. The Companys Sricity Unit has commenced the supply of products for Hybrid / EV applications. Further, the Company also expects to sign contracts worth over Rs 200 crore for new EV products, Krishna said. Belgian agricultural engineer Francois Serneels speaks in an exclusive interview with Xinhua in Ath, Hainaut, Belgium, April 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) by Alex James Wright, Severine Perronnet, Pan Geping BRUSSELS, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Direction, or leadership, is the word that best describes the Communist Party of China (CPC), said Belgian agricultural engineer Francois Serneels in a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua. "Direction in French means two things. One is the line or the target you want to reach. Another is the management of the power you have on the group who is going to reach that target," said Serneels, who works for the Centre for Agronomy and Agro-Industry of the Province of Hainaut in Belgium (CARAH). Serneels has spent the past 20 years working with Chinese agronomists and farmers to prevent potato blight from killing potato crops. In 2018, he was rewarded by the Chinese government for his extensive collaboration with Chinese agronomists and named one of the 40 "Most Influential Foreign Experts During 40 Years of China's Reform and Opening-Up." Initiated in 1999 after Serneels' visit to China, CARAH's cooperation has transformed a local mildew disease prevention system into a large digital system accessible to millions of farmers. Serneels said that collaboration with China on potato crops over the last 20 years has helped cover millions of hectares, compared to CARAH's activity in Belgium which only covers a few thousand hectares. "Something I find very interesting in the Chinese strategy to make development is the pilot size of some projects. They develop pilot project at small size. They try it, a few years, and if it works, then they enlarge it. And this gives very good results," he said. Having closely followed the evolution of the CPC, he believes that the party has been "good and efficient." Serneels said the CPC gives "a quite clear direction," a clear target accepted by most people, which is absent in the Western countries. In his view, China has successfully reached "a noble target" and has lifted hundreds of millions people out of poverty, in stark contrast with the West's inability even to reach a precise target. "Where do we want to go, really? We do not agree. Some people want to go left, some people want to go right. We lose a lot of time for many decisions, and sometimes it makes us take wrong decision too," he said, referring to the internal divisions in Western societies. For 20 years, Serneels has been a close observer of the great tidal wave of change in cities and rural areas in China, and has been overwhelmed by the speed of development during the past over 40 years of reform and opening up. "In 2000, it took two days to go from Chongqing to Wuxi (in southwest China). We took a day's boat trip on the Yangtze. And then you had to take a jeep for several hours on mountain roads. Now it only takes six hours by highway," he said. Serneels and his colleagues at CARAH are planning to start a trilateral project involving Belgium, China, and South Africa. "We do not focus only on the yield of potatoes. We try to improve the yield, not to create problems for human health. Also, not to have an impact on biodiversity, and reduce the impact of climate change," he said. firm said on Thursday it has reached its first milestone in implementing a two-year ESOP ( stock ownership plan) programme. About 900 employees are eligible for this, according to sources. employees will this year have the option to receive of up to $23 million against their . The next round of will be in July 2023. Rewarding employees by creating wealth opportunities is one of our priorities at Swiggy, said Girish Menon, head of HR at Swiggy. We are happy seeing the wealth created for employees from the recent ESOP liquidity event. The Bengaluru-based company has around 5,000 employees. Swiggy announced a new programme called Build Your Own Dollar (BYOD) that allows all employees to invest in . The offer was limited to employees above a certain grade and/ or based on performance. Taking this further, we are delighted to now extend the opportunity to own Swiggy to all employees through our BYOD program, said Menon. We are committed to enabling every to potentially gain from our growth and success. Deepinder Goyal, co-founder and CEO of Swiggys Zomato, said in May he is donating all his ESOP proceeds worth Rs 700 crore ($90 million) to Future Foundation (ZFF), according to an internal communication he sent to his employees Goyal was granted some ESOPS by the investors and board basis on past performance, right before the company went public last year. Some of these ESOPs vested last month because there is a minimum 1-year vesting required as per law. In May this year, Fintech unicorn Razorpay said it has launched its fourth and largest ESOP sale for its 650 existing and former employees as part of a $75 million (Rs 578 Crore) transaction, irrespective of ranks. The Special Cell of on Thursday flew co-founder Mohammed Zubair to Bengaluru to recover his laptop which he used for uploading various contents on social media sites. According to police, he has allegedly formatted his electronic devices and is refusing to hand them over to police despite being repeatedly asked. "Zubair was deliberately using religion to outrage a religious group. He was doing this to gain popularity," the police has alleged. The Special Cell has said that he was evasive and not cooperating with the officials. After recovering the laptop, the police will try to access the hard disk memory to check the edited materials allegedly posted by him. The laptop will be sent for the forensic examinations at CFSL, Rohini. "My laptop and my phone storage are my personal things. They want my laptop only to harass me, only because I have been challenging what certain people have been saying, and some of those people are in power," Zubair had said through his counsel Vrinda Grover before a Delhi court. As per the FIR, accused Zubair had used a screengrab of an old Hindi movie which showed an image of a hotel, with its board reading 'Hanuman hotel' instead of 'Honeymoon hotel'. In his tweet, Zubair had written, "BEFORE 2014: Honeymoon Hotel. After 2014: Hanuman Hotel". The complainant tagging had written, "Linking our God Hanuman Ji with Honeymoon is a direct insult of Hindus because he is a brahmachari. Kindly take action against this." --IANS atk/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.) A four-member team on Thursday seized a laptop and hard disks belonging to co-founder Mohammed Zubair from his residence in Bengaluru, officials said. Zubair was arrested on Monday for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Hindus through an "objectionable" tweet he posted in 2018. On Tuesday, a Delhi court extended his custodial interrogation by four days. The team reached Zubair's residence at RT Nagar area in Bengaluru at around 11:30 am and collected electronic evidence, including his laptop and hard disks, a senior police officer said. Zubair has been brought back to Delhi where he will be further questioned about the case, he said. On Wednesday, the police had written to multiple banks seeking information about Zubair's account details and other financial transactions. The officer also said the mobile phone being used by the co-founder of the fact-checking website had been formatted and did not have information related to the case. According to police, Zubair said he had lost the phone which was allegedly used in posting the objectionable tweet. Meanwhile, the anonymous Twitter handle which flagged the tweet and raised a complaint, does not exist on the microblogging site anymore, sources in the said. Zubair has been booked under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, language etc.) and 295A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code, according to police. (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 CISF has apprehended four people and seized foreign currency worth Rs 59 lakh from them at the international airport. The interception of three passengers and an accompanying visitor at the terminal-3 of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport was done on June 28, a senior CISF officer said. A total of 2,19,740 Saudi Riyals and USD 15,200 worth about Rs 59 lakh was recovered from a tiffin box kept in the registered baggage of the passengers who were travelling to Dubai. The four were later handed over to customs officials for further investigation, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officer 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.) UN Secretary-General on Wednesday called for "full respect for all religions" in the aftermath of the killing of a Hindu man in Rajasthan's . "We call for the full respect for all religions and for ensuring throughout the world that different communities can live in harmony and peace," his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in reply to a question about "the resurgence of religious tensions" in India and Tuesday's killing on Kanhayia Lal, reportedly over a social media comment. Asked on Tuesday about the arrest of journalist Mohammed Zubair, who is charged with hurting religious sentiments, Dujarric had said: "In any place around the world, it is very important that people be allowed to express themselves freely, journalists be allowed to express themselves freely and without the threat of any harassment." He was asked on Wednesday to clarify if that applied to journalists' comments about all religions and if it squared with the call for respecting all religions. "We believe in the fundamental right of expression, of journalists to express themselves, and we also believe in the fundamental need for people to respect other communities and other religions," he said. "We believe those two statements are very much compatible," he added. Answering another question on the freedom of the media, he said: "Freedom of the press is freedom of the press, and it applies, for us, universally around the world, in 193 Member States. And those principles remain unchanged and unbowed." That question was regarding a video statement at the Security Council on Tuesday by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky that journalists who "justified the actions of the Russian Army" would be punished. Kanhaiya Lal was killed reportedly because of a social media post supporting Nupur Sharma, the suspended BJP spokesperson who had allegedly made comments considered by Muslims as derogatory to their prophet. Two persons, who allegedly posted a video claiming responsibility for the killing, have been arrested. Nupur Sharma also faces the same charges as Zubair of hurting religious sentiments, although concerning different faiths. India has repeatedly criticised what it said were double standards in reacting to "religiophobia". In the most recent statement on the subject, India's Permanent Representative T.S. Tirumurti told the General Assembly last week, "It's time that UN member states condemned hatred against non-Abrahamic religions as well and stop from being selective in combating religiophobias." (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis) --IANS al/pgh (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For this years in Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre is taking steps to ensure facilities for the pilgrims, including setting up of two 50-bed at Baltal and Chandwari halts on the way to the cave shrine. The has commenced on Thursday and will conclude on August 11. The Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) is setting these up using funds from the Union Ministry of Health. State governments have been informed about the required arrangements along with preparation, including services of specialist doctors, as well as General Duty Officers (GDMOs) to supplement the efforts of the Jammu & Kashmir government, particularly by those states from where large numbers of pilgrims arrive, the informed. Health professionals, including and paramedics, from 11 states and union territories will be deployed in batches for attending emergencies. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and the petroleum ministry will pay a total compensation of Rs 30 lakh to each of the families of the four people who died in a in the Arabian Sea earlier this week. "ONGC & @PetroleumMin have announced ex-gratia payment of Rs 15 lakh each (total Rs 30 lakh) to the families of the officials who lost their lives in an unfortunate #Helicopter incident in the #Arabian Sea on 28 June 2022," Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameswar Teli tweeted. In addition, ONGC has decided to pay Rs 1 lakh to each individual who suffered injuries in the chopper accident, he said after visiting the injured at a Mumbai hospital. "Additionally, all dues and compensation to the ONGC employees in various heads including EPF and post-retirement benefit scheme will be cleared within one week," he said. A brand new Pawan Hans chopper with nine people on board crashed into the Arabian Sea, about 50 nautical miles from the Mumbai coast on Tuesday, killing four people -- including three ONGC employees. The fourth person was employed by a contractor working for ONGC. In perhaps one of the fastest rescue operations, all the nine were pulled out of the helicopter before it sank. Four of those were unconscious and were declared dead when taken to hospital. The rescue was led by ONGC employees at Sagar Kiran rig, which was the destination of the helicopter. The Navy also assisted in the operations. "The rescue team deployed at Sagar Kiran rig showed extraordinary valour and promptly launched rescue operations. ONGC has decided to award a sum of Rs 50 thousand to every member of the crew," Teli said. Teli said he visited Nanavati hospital in Mumbai to meet ONGC officials injured during the accident. "I wish a speedy recovery for those undergoing treatment. I also offer my deepest condolences to the bereaved families of those who passed away in the unfortunate accident." Separately, ONGC in a statement said apart from the ex-gratia, one senior company executive each has been assigned to help the families of deceased employees. "The executives will be responsible for facilitating their logistics, boarding, lodging, counselling, interaction with police authorities, transportation of mortal remains, accompanying the families to their respective home station and any local support," it said. In order to extend all possible help to the survivors, a team of ONGC officers has also been associated with the survivors. The associated officers would facilitate in their logistics, boarding and accompany them to their hometowns. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The southwest monsoon is advancing in the country. Heavy to very heavy is expected in several parts of the country, according to a report by the said. Here is a breakdown of what each state can expect on the weather front today, June 30, 2022. Conditions are favourable for further advance of monsoon into remaining parts of Arabian Sea and Gujarat, some parts of Rajasthan, remaining parts Madhya Pradesh, entire Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh and some parts of Jammu and Kashmir, some parts of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, entire Delhi during next 24 hours. and thunderstorm Forecast & Warnings: As there is an east-west trough running from Punjab to west-central Bay of Bengal off south Odisha coast, following can happen for some states. Isolated heavy to very heavy likely over: Uttarakhand and Haryana-Chandigarh on 30 June and 1 July Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh during 30 June to 2nd July Punjab on 30 June Scattered rainfall with heavy falls likely over East Rajasthan during 30 June to 2 July West Rajasthan during 1-3 July. Isolated extremely heavy rainfall likely over East Uttar Pradesh on 30 July 2022. West Madhya Pradesh during 30 June to 2nd July East Madhya Pradesh on 30 June and 1st July Isolated heavy rainfall over Chhattisgarh during 30 June to 2 July; 2022 Isolated heavy rainfall likely over Odisha during 30 June to 4 July Jharkhand on 30 June Bihar during 30 June to 2nd July. Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall also likely over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim on 30 June, 2022. Under the influence of the off-shore trough at mean sea level from north Maharashtra coast to Karnataka coast and strong westerly/south westerly winds along the west coast in lower tropospheric levels: Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall likely over Konkan and Goa, Coastal Karnataka and Kerala and Mahe Scattered to fairly widespread rainfall activity over the following states during next 5 days India's urban population is estimated to stand at 675 million in 2035, the second highest behind China's one billion, the UN has said in a report, noting that after the COVID-19 pandemic, the global urban population is back on track to grow by another 2.2 billion by 2050. The United Nations-Habitat's World Cities Report 2022, released on Wednesday, said that rapid urbanisation was only temporarily delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The global urban population is back on track to grow by another 2.2 billion people by 2050, it said. India's urban population is projected to be 675,456,000 in 2035, growing from 483,099,000 in 2020 to 542,743,000 in 2025 and 607,342,000 in 2030, the report said. By 2035, the percentage of population in India at mid-year residing in urban area will be 43.2 per cent, it said. China's urban population in 2035 is projected at 1.05 billion while the urban population in Asia will be 2.99 billion in 2035 and that in South Asia 987,592,000, it said. The report said that very big economies like and India have a large share of the world's population and their development trajectories have greatly influenced global inequality. In Asia, in the last two decades, and India experienced rapid economic growth and urbanisation, which led to a massive reduction in the number of people living in poverty, it said. The report said that with existing urban populations continuing to grow naturally through rising birth rates, particularly in lower income countries, the urban population is forecast to grow from 56 per cent of the global total in 2021 to 68 per cent by 2050. The large-scale flight from major cities in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic to the perceived safety of the countryside or smaller towns was a short-term response that will not alter the course of global urbanisation. Despite greater incidence of the virus in urban areas and the economic difficulties created by the pandemic, cities are once again serving as beacons of opportunity to people in search of employment, education and training or taking refuge from conflict, it said. The report said that cities are here to stay, and the future of humanity is undoubtedly urban, though it says that levels of urbanisation are uneven, with growth slowing in many high-income countries. Urbanisation remains a powerful 21st century mega-trend, said Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat, which produced the report. That entails numerous challenges, which were further exposed and exacerbated by the pandemic. But there is a sense of optimism that COVID-19 has provided us with the opportunity to build back differently. With the right policies and the right commitment from governments, our children can inherit an urban future that is more inclusive, greener, safer and healthier. We must start by acknowledging that the status quo leading up to 2020 was in many ways an unsustainable model of urban development, and take the best practices learned in our responses to COVID-19 and the climate crisis, it said. The report said that urban poverty and inequality remain one of the most intractable and highly complex problems confronting cities. The notoriously overcrowded slums in Mumbai, India; Nairobi and Rio de Janeiro; chronic homelessness in London; and persistent concentrated poverty in Baltimore, US, all send one clear message to policymakers: tackling urban poverty and inequality is one of the key priorities for building inclusive and equitable urban futures, the report said. Noting the challenge of climate change, the report said that cities, especially those in warm climates or low-lying coastal areas, face existential threats due to the risks and impacts of climate change and extreme weather events such as increased heatwaves in Delhi, India, and the pervasive flooding in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Durban, South Africa. Further, in response to the pandemic, many governments worldwide imposed lockdowns and mobility restrictions, the result of which were major improvements in air and water quality. Many cities around the world, especially those in developing countries such as and India, reported unprecedented reductions in the level of airborne pollutants such as PM2.5, PM10, CO2, NO2 and SO2. Declines were significant in cities that imposed lockdowns given the dominance of road transportation and associated emissions in urban areas, the report said. Highlighting the implications of transportation trends during the COVID-19 pandemic, it said that in some countries like India, car dependency increased since the emergence of COVID-19, and people formerly interested in active and public transportation shifted towards private cars. These trends show that in the absence of safe, affordable and reliable public transportation systems, the future of urban mobility could continue to be dominated by private motorised vehicles. If this scenario emerges, it will have major implications for climate change mitigation and could exacerbate already challenging issues such as air pollution, congestion, and road safety, the report said. It further said that the future of effective multilevel governance must be attentive to the equitable representation of women. The most progressive forms of empowerment of women often come from civil society, such as the self-help organisation Kudumbashree, which has over 4 million female members and played an instrumental role in removing absolute poverty from the state of Kerala, India, it said. It also noted that urban extension has surpassed urban population growth globally and, due to that expansion, many cities have grown beyond the boundaries of their central municipality. Informal settlements on the edge of urban jurisdictions are vulnerable to eviction due to unclear regulatory frameworks, as was demonstrated by a recent large-scale eviction in India, it said. The report said that smart city has become a globally popular catchphrase and major policy paradigm for technology-driven urban innovation and development. Many municipal administrations choose to adopt a smart city agenda, to provide strategic and programmatic direction for urban development. They are often encouraged by national governments that use competitions to entice cities to invest in smart city programmes, as illustrated by India's 100 Smart Cities Mission and the Republic of Korea's Smart Challenge, the report 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.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the 'Udyami Bharat' programme at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi today. During the event, Prime Minister will launch the 'Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance' (RAMP) scheme, 'Capacity Building of First-Time MSME Exporters' (CBFTE) scheme and new features of the 'Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme' (PMEGP). president offered prayers at a temple in Mumbai after submitting his resignation as Maharashtra Chief Minister to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Wednesday night. was accompanied by sons Aaditya and Tejas Thackeray at the temple. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will inaugurate new train services and railway buildings in Odisha today. Russian President on Wednesday warned Finland and Sweden that if they welcome troops and military infrastructure onto their territory, Moscow will respond in kind. Amid the fuel shortage in the country, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is expected to visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the coming weeks to procure the fuel. Union Finance Minister will release the assessment report of the States and Union Territories under 'Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP), 2020' in the presence of Union Commerce Minister today. KIEV, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine began exporting electricity to Europe on Thursday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. "The long-awaited export of Ukrainian electricity to Europe has begun," Shmyhal wrote on Telegram. Shmyhal said the first flows of Ukraine's electricity went to Romania at an initial capacity of 100 megawatts. In the future, Ukraine aims to increase the capacity of electricity flows to Europe to 2.5 gigawatts, he said. According to Shmyhal, Ukraine has the potential to earn more than 70 billion hryvnyas (about 2.4 billion U.S. dollars) per year from electricity exports to European countries. In March, Ukraine's electricity grid was synchronized with the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity. Assembly Secretary Rajendra Bhagwat has informed all state MLAs that as per the Governor's orders the special session that was scheduled on Thursday will now not be convened. The special Assembly was scheduled today with the only agenda of a Trust Vote against the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray Minister who resigned as chief minister late Wednesday evening. In a circular, Rajendra Bhagwat, Principal Secretary, Legislative Assembly, informed all state MLAs that as per the Governor's orders, there's no need for a floor test now, so today's special session will not be convened. The Floor Test that was convened by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was challenged in the Supreme Court by the . The apex court, however, declined to stay the Floor Test and in its observation said that the floor of the House was the only way to settle these issues of democracy. Minutes after the order by the top court, Thackeray addressed the people of the state via social media in which he announced his decision to step down as chief minister and as a Member of the Legislative Council. The announcement brought an end to the political crisis that erupted in the state for over a week with a faction of MLAs revolting against him for joining hands with NCP and Congress to form the government. Meanwhile, the stage is set for the return of a BJP-led government in the state with the party, which is the single-largest party in the Assembly with 106 MLAs, likely to stake claim to form the government. As Leader of the Opposition, Devendra Fadnavis is set to stake claim to the Chief Minister's post for the third time. Fadnavis, who met the party's top brass twice in a week in Delhi, said that the future course of action will be announced today. The BJP, on the other hand, is likely to hold a series of meetings to deliberate on the formation of government in the state along with the rebel MLAs led by Eknath Shinde, which had been camping in first Surat, then Guwahati and had landed in Goa on Wednesday night. The BJP will approach the Governor to stake claim to form the government, which the Shinde faction would back with their 39 Shiv Sena MLAs and other independents. (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.) Rebel leader Eknath Shinde on Thursday left for Mumbai to meet Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. Sources said that he held a meeting with all rebel MLAs this morning before leaving for Mumbai with a 'support letter'. Shinde told the mediapersons that he was going to Mumbai to meet the Maharashtra Governor. "I am going to meet the Governor. Rest all MLAs are here in Goa. We will let you know our next decision and steps," Shinde said. He was escorted by a police force during his travel to the Dabolim airport. Tight security was seen at the airport also. The BJP seniors leaders from Goa also were holding meetings with Shinde and the rebel MLAs since Wednesday night. He and other MLAs had landed in Goa from Guwahati on Wednesday night. --IANS sanjay/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.) NDA's presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu will visit Lucknow on July 8 to muster electoral support from the country's largest state. According to sources, Draupadi Murmu will meet the MLAs and MPs of BJP as well as allies here. Apart from this, she will also seek support from non-BJP parties. Being the largest province of the country, will play a key role in the presidential election. The value of one vote of an MLA is 208 and that of one MP is 700. The value of votes of 273 MLAs of the BJP and its allies and 66 Lok Sabha and 25 Rajya Sabha MPs is about 1.21 lakhs. Uttar Pradesh, therefore, has 14.88 per cent of the total votes of 10,86,431 people's representatives across the country. Former Jharkhand Governor and tribal leader Draupadi Murmu has been nominated by the NDA. The opposition has nominated Yashwant Sinha, ex-Trinamool leader and former Union Minister. --IANS amita/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.) In a Cabinet meeting chaired by former Chief Minister of Uddhav Thackeray, demand was made to rename city as Sambhajinagar, and Osmanabad as Dharashiv. The Cabinet meeting took place in the state secretariat in south a day after Thackeray had taken away the portfolios of rebel ministers who were camping in Guwahati. On a renaming spree city in central will be renamed Sambhajinagar. The opposition BJP has been trying to corner the Shiv Sena, which heads the three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, over renaming the central city after Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji. Considered a polarising figure in Indian history, Mughal emperor Aurangazeb founded the city of in the Marathwada region of present-day Maharashtra. He had also ordered the execution of Chhatrapati Sambhaji, a personality revered by the . Chatrapati Sambhaji, the son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was tortured to death on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb's tomb is located in Aurangabad. Likewise, Osmanabad shall be rechristened as 'Dharashiv'. The Navi International Airport currently being constructed by the Adani Group in adjoining Raigad to decongest Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in shall be renamed after the late 'Dinkar Balu Patil', a prominent leader of the coastal Konkan belt, instead of the founder, the late Balasaheb Thackeray, as earlier contemplated. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Imtiyaz Jaleel criticised the Maharashtra government's decision to rename Aurangabad city as Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad as Dharashiv, and indicated that his party workers will take to the streets. "Aurangabad has its history and no one can erase it," he said and alleged that MVA leaders had used the name of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj for reaping political dividends. "The ball is now in the court of the Central government. We will explore all options against this decision and we may take to the streets also," he told reporters in the evening. Bhilai Steel Plant, the flagship arm of state-run (SAIL), has supplied more than 80,000 tonnes of steel for the MumbaiAhmedabad high-speed rail corridor project. The 508-km project, scheduled for completion in October 2028, will connect Mumbai and Ahmedabad with a high-speed rail track where trains will travel at a speed of 320 kms per hour. The bullet train will take just 2 hours and 7 minutes to travel the distance. The rail network will pass through Mumbai, Thane, and Palghar in Maharashtra; and Valsad, Navsari, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Kheda, and Ahmedabad in Gujarat. The National High Speed Rail Corporation is executing the project. The in Chhattisgarhs Durg district has manufactured TMT bars in 500 D grade in different dimensions for use in the project. The company has been producing high-strength TMT bars with earthquake and corrosion resistance for use in large national projects. In the first quarter of this fiscal year, SAIL-Bhilais Merchant Mill and the modern bar and Rod Mill together supplied more than 15,000 tonnes of TMT bars in 500 D grade of different dimensions, the company spokesperson said. Earlier, SAIL-BSP supplied over 65,000 tonnes of TMT bars in 500 D grade for the same project. SAIL-Bhilais TMT Bars are being used in construction of piers and girders of the high-speed rail corridor project that will support the load-bearing capacity of the steel bridges that are being fabricated for laying the bullet train rail corridor. The plants Merchant Mill also rolls out TMT bars both in Fe 500 D and Fe 550 D grades with earthquake-resistant properties. Additionally, HCR, or high-corrosion resistant properties, are provided to meet the needs of customers. Besides dams, thermal, hydro-electrical, and nuclear power projects, bridges, highways, flyovers, tunnels, and high-rise buildings all over the country, TMT bars from SAIL-Bhilai have been used in some landmark projects such as Bandra-Worli Sea Link Bridge, Statue of Unity, Agra Expressway, on which fighter planes have landed, and in several bridges and tunnels in north and north-east India. Apart from TMT bars and rods in Fe 500 D grade, Bar & Rod Mill also rolls out TMT products in Fe 550 grade and the SeQR grade, introduced by for retail customers for the construction of houses etc. The has also supplied SAE 1008 grade wire rods to Nepal. It is used by the wire-drawing units for making GI wires that are used for making of Gabion box installed for arresting landslides in hilly terrains. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Telangana are among the seven states categorised as top achievers in the ranking of states and Union Territories based on the implementation of the business reform action plan 2020, according to a report released by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday. Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab and Tamil Nadu are the other states on the list of top achievers. Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh have been categorised as Achievers in the ranking. The broader aim of the exercise is to boost investor confidence, foster a business-friendly climate and augment the across the country by introducing an element of healthy competition through a system of assessing states based on their performance in the implementation of Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP). The Aspires category too includes seven states, including Assam, Kerala and Goa. Other states in this section are Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Rajasthan and West Bengal. In the category of emerging business ecosystems, there are 11 states and UTs, including Delhi, Puducherry and Tripura. Andaman and Nicobar, Bihar, Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Tripura are the other states and UTs in this section. The commerce and industry ministry has this time changed the system of ranking by making it category-based - top achievers, achievers, aspires, and emerging business ecosystems - against the earlier practice of announcing ranks. Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Anurag Jain said the difference between various states/UTs was so little that it did not make sense to rank them but rather put them in various categories. The BRAP 2020 includes 301 reform points covering 15 business regulatory areas, such as access to information, single window system, labour and land administration. 118 new reforms were included to further augment the reform process. Sectoral reforms with 72 action points spread across nine sectors like trade license, healthcare, legal metrology, and cinema halls were introduced for the first time to expand the scope of the reform agenda. Speaking at the function, Sitharaman said that the nature of reforms had undergone change since 1991 and the reforms, which are now taking place, are responsive. "Unlike the reforms of 1991, which were given to us for implementation, there is no compulsion now. The objective is to see what will bring out improvement in systems and ensure better lives for us. An element of nudge has been brought into every layer of the government," she said. Nudging can not come only from the government and the industry has a big role to play there, the finance minister said. She also emphasised the need for capacity building at all levels so that efficiency can be further improved. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the assessment has evolved from evidence-based to 100 per cent feedback in a multilingual format. He said also that the purpose of this BRAP exercise is to infuse a culture of learning from each other's best practices and improve upon the business climate in each State/UT with a unified objective for India to emerge as the most favoured investment destination across the globe. "The process started in 2014 has started bearing fruit as we go along. Rather than being limited to a few areas, few cities and few businesses, we are seeing it being reflected across the country through the spirit of competitive federalism and also of collaboration," he added. The DPIIT, since 2014, has been assessing states/UTs based on their performance in the implementation of prescribed reforms in the BRAP exercise. So far, assessments of states/UTs have been released for the years 2015, 2016, 2017-18, 2019 and 2022. Jain also asked the states to identify minor provisions, which can be decriminalised to reduce the compliance burden. "We have requested states to look very closely at decriminalisation...Make it a civil penalty or compoundable for minor violations," he added. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A two-day special session of the legislature will be held from July 2. The decision was taken in the first cabinet meeting held after Eknath Shinde took over as the new chief minister of the state, officials said. On the first day of the session, election to the post of Assembly speaker will be held, they added. A trust vote was also likely to be held during the session, sources said, though there was no official communication in this regard. Shinde told officials in the meeting that development projects need to be expedited. Elected representatives and the administration need to work hand in hand, he was quoted as saying in the official statement. "We need to live up to the faith of the citizens," the CM said. Shinde also said that having an experienced hand like Deputy chief minister in the cabinet will help his administration. "Metro and Samruddhi expressway projects should be expedited," the chief minister said. Fadnavis asked the bureaucracy to expedite administrative decisions, the statement said. The chief minister and his deputy also took stock of the ongoing sowing operations 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.) Maharashtra's district has recorded 674 new cases of that raised the tally of infections to 7,27,356, a health official said on Thursday. With the addition of the latest infections detected on Wednesday, the district currently has 5,585 active cases, he said. The toll stood at 11,906, after one patient died of the infection, while the count of recoveries has reached 7,09,191, the official 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 account that alerted Delhi Police regarding co-founder Mohammed Zubair's 'objectionable' post no longer exists on the platform. According to the FIR copy of the case, accessed by IANS, the account, Hanuman Bhakt, bore the username @balajikijaiin. Zubair, 33, is currently in police custody and is being questioned over one of his objectionable tweets which he posted in 2018. After Zubair's tweet, his followers on amplified and created a series of debates and hate mongering in the thread. According to the FIR, Zubair had used a screengrab of an old Hindi movie which showed an image of a hotel, with its board reading 'Hanuman hotel' instead of 'Honeymoon hotel'. In his tweet, Zubair had written: "BEFORE 2014: Honeymoon Hotel. After 2014: Hanuman Hotel". The complainant -- user @balajikijaiin, tagging the Delhi Police had written: "Linking our God Hanuman Ji with Honeymoon is a direct insult of Hindus because he is a brahmchari. Kindly take action against this." Noting the complaint, the police in the FIR said that the words and pictures used by Zubair in the tweet against a particular community were highly provocative and more than sufficient to incite feelings of hatred among people which can be detrimental for maintenance of public tranquility in the society. Interestingly, it was the only tweet that was done from the said account which ultimately led to Zubair's arrest. The number of followers of the handle, which had flagged a 2018 tweet by Zubair against a Hindu deity, went past 1,200 in a night. The issue of the said Twitter account's veracity also surfaced during Zubair's hearing on Tuesday. His counsel Vrinda Grover said that if an anonymous Twitter handle chose to create mischief in the country, those reasons should be investigated. The prosecutor, in her reply, said that the said account user is just a mere informer. "He is not an anonymous complainant. His details are here. Without details, no one can get a Twitter account," the prosecutor replied. On June 20, a case against Zubair was registered under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, language etc.) and 295A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), KPS Malhotra, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations), had said. According to the DCP, Zubair was arrested in connection with one of his tweets that had a questionable image with a purpose to deliberately insult the god of a particular religion. Rajasthan Police on Wednesday said that the main accused involved in the killing of the tailor in were in touch with Pakistan-based organisation Dawat-e-Islami and one of them also went to Karachi in in 2014 to meet the organisation. Rajasthan Director General of Police (DGP) ML Lather said that besides the main accused police have also taken three other people into our custody, with whom they were in contact. "Two men are the main accused so far. Besides them, we have taken three others into our custody, with whom they were in contact," DGP Lather. He further said that the incident which happened in was an act of terror and the case has been transferred to National Investigation Agency (NIA) adding that the state police to assist in the probe. "Main accused were in touch with organisation Dawat-e-Islami. One of them also went to Karachi in in 2014 to meet the organisation. We are considering it (the beheading incident) an act of terror. Case transferred to NIA, state police to assist in probe," he added. DGP Lather said that Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Station House Officer (SHO) have been suspended as they did not take the required action to calm down the already polarised situation in the area of the victim before this incident happened. The beheading of tailor Kanhaiya Lal in by two men for allegedly posting content in support of suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma, had sparked public outrage across the country. Kanhaiya Lal was cremated on Wednesday in Udaipur in the presence of a large number of people who raised slogans demanding capital punishment for the accused. His last rites were performed amidst heavy police security. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday took over the investigation of the brutal of a tailor Kanhaiya Lal in Rajasthan's Udaipur who was hacked to death inside his shop by two men in broad daylight a day ago, officials said. The anti-terror agency has also filed a First Information Report (FIR) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act as well as various sections of the Indian Penal Code, a senior NIA official told ANI requesting anonymity. The move comes soon after the Ministry of Home Affairs directed the NIA to take over the investigation of the case that shocked people across the country. A four-member NIA team under the supervision of an Inspector General and a Deputy Inspector General (DIG)-rank officers have already taken details of the incident after reaching Udaipur last night. The NIA team has started investigating from all possible angles. The incident took place in Udaipur's Maldas area on Tuesday. Soon after committing the crime, the two accused posted a video on social media boasting about the "beheading" and threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi's life as well, police said. The two accused were arrested within hours of the incident. The assailants identified themselves in the video as Riyaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad. Riyaz and Ghouse, both residents of Udaipur, were arrested from Bhim in the Rajsamand district. In the video, Riyaz was seen attacking 47-year-old Kanhaiya Lal with a sharp-edged weapon while the other, Ghouse, recorded the crime on his mobile phone. Notably, Kanhaiya had also filed a complaint with the police about receiving threats. The victim reportedly had recently shared a social media post in support of Nupur Sharma-- former BJP spokesperson who had made controversial remarks against Prophet Mohammad. Following the murder, local markets in the area were shut as the traders demanded justice for the victim. A state-wide alert has also been issued to all SPs and IGs to increase the mobility of forces and to maintain officers on the ground. (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.) MOSCOW, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Thursday discussed the current situation in Ukraine and the supplies of grain and fertilizers amid a global food shortage. During a joint briefing after their talks in the Kremlin, Putin said that he informed Widodo in detail of the situation in Ukraine. Speaking about the imbalance in the global food market, Putin attributed the problem to many years of irresponsible macroeconomic policies in some Western countries. Russia exported more than 43 million tons of grain last year, of which there were 33 million tons of wheat, Putin said, adding that possible good harvests this year will allow Russia to sell more. Russia is also ready to deliver a sufficient amount of fertilizers and other materials to Indonesia and other friendly countries, he said. To this end, Putin stressed the "importance of restoring supply chains disrupted by the sanctions (on Russia)." Widodo, who paid a visit to Kiev before traveling to Moscow, underlined the significance of promoting a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. "I conveyed a message from (Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelensky to President Putin and expressed my readiness to establish communication between the two leaders," he said. Widodo appreciated that Putin promised the security of food and fertilizer supplies not only from Russia but also from Ukraine. Leaders of all political parties in Wednesday strongly condemned the of a tailor in Udaipur and appealed for peace and restraint, as Chief Minister chaired an all-party meeting on the incident, officials said. The chief minister also announced a financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh to the dependent family of the deceased. Calling the incident a "terrorist act", he said links of the accused in the case have been traced to international organisations involved in illegal activities, adding that the guilty will be given strict punishment without any delay. Two men with a cleaver murdered the tailor, Kanhaiya Lal, in Udaipur and posted videos online that said they were avenging an insult to Islam, triggering stray cases of violence in the city, a part of which was placed under curfew. The parties, including the BJP, unanimously said such acts have no place in a civilised society and demanded strict punishment for those involved in the crime, an official statement said. They also appealed to the people of the state to maintain peace and harmony and said acting with restraint in this situation is the right way. A resolution condemning the incident was also passed at the all-party meeting. Gehlot said leaders cutting across party lines had come forward to help the people during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. "There is no need for the general public to be afraid of criminals and threats. The state government is standing with them in every situation," he said. He said the case is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and that the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Police are coordinating with the NIA. The chief minister also condemned the assault of a policeman in Bheem town. The cop was slashed with a sword during a protest march in Rajsamand district's Bhim town, where police used tear gas to stop a stone-pelting mob from advancing towards a mosque. Stating that the entire state is standing with the family of Kanhaiya Lal, Gehlot announced financial aid of Rs 50 lakh to the kin. Rajasthan Assembly Speaker C P Joshi urged representatives of all parties to ask their booth-level workers to maintain peace. We all should set the example of Rajasthan in the country by maintaining peace, he said. He also suggested prevention of cyber crime, monitoring of content on social media and creating a strong cyber intelligence system. Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee chief Govind Singh Dotasra said it is the responsibility of all political parties not to do politics in such times and stand firm with the government. Minister of State for Home Rajendra Singh Yadav also appealed to the people of the state to maintain peace. Rashtriya Lok Dal leader and Rajasthan Technical Education Minister Subhash Garg said the incident should not be connected with any caste, religion or community. Lauding the state police for swift action in the case, Director General of Police M L Lather said both the criminals were arrested within four hours of the incident. Other criminals involved in the conspiracy have also been taken into custody and a case has been registered against them, he said. Those who attended the meeting include Arun Chaturvedi and Ramlal Sharma from the BJP, Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra, Rashtriya Lok Dal MLA Subhash Garg, RLP president Pukhraj. CPIM MLA Balwan Poonia, CPIM secretary Amraram, CPI secretary Narendra Acharya, Kisan Mahapanchayat leader Rampal Jat, independent MLA Rajkumar Gaur, and independent MLA Sanyam Lodha also attended the meeting. (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.) Nearly 70 members of right wing outfits and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) were detained by the on Wednesday for protesting without due permission at the Jantar Mantar against the gruesome murder of a tailor in on Tuesday, an official said. "Around 70 members of the and have been detained from Jantar Mantar who were protesting there without prior permission," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi), Amrutha Guguloth. She further said that no FIR has been registered in this incident. The members of and gathered at the Jantar Mantar and raised slogans against the barbarism and demanded justice for the deceased tailor. The members were seen holding placards that read 'give death sentence to Hindu killers', 'we won't let India turn into a Taliban state', among several others. In a gut-wrenching incident on Tuesday, a tailor was hacked to death in broad daylight inside his shop on a crowded street in for supporting now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on social media over her controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammed. --IANS uj/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.) The Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) on Wednesday demanded capital punishment for those who brutally killed a tailor in Rajasthan's Udaipur, calling them "terrorists and devils". In a statement, the RSS-linked outfit said the perpetrators of the "barbaric" incident have "disgraced" Islam and brought "disrepute and shame" to the "peaceful" Muslims in India and other parts of the world. "The Manch is deeply shocked by such a heinous murder, and strongly condemns it," the MRM said. Two men armed with a cleaver allegedly killed Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur's Dhan Mandi area on Tuesday and posted videos online that said they are avenging an "insult to Islam", triggering stray cases of violence in the Rajasthan city, a part of which was placed under curfew. In a video clip, one of the two assailants declared that they had beheaded the man and went on to threaten Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying their knife will get him as well. "The Manch demands that these terrorists and devils be given harshest punishment. They must be hanged till death for the barbaric crime that they have committed. The government should set up a fast track court for the trial of the accused in the case," the statement added. The police have arrested Riaz Akhtari, the man who allegedly hacked at the tailor's neck, and Ghouse Mohammad, who allegedly filmed the crime, and detained three others for their involvement in the case. (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.) Not many would have thought before the 2019 Assembly elections that Uddhav Thackeray, son of supremo Bal Thackeray, could snap ties with his party's all-weather ally BJP, and become chief minister to head an unlikely coalition with the NCP and Congress. Thackeray, considered a soft-spoken man vis-a-vis his aggressive father, took oath as the 18th chief minister under the tri-partite alliance in November 2019, the first in his family to hold a public office. His father, who founded the party, had never assumed any position in the government, but wielded the 'remote control' over the first Sena-BJP government during 1995-99. An ace photographer, the otherwise affable, mild-mannered politician, Uddhav had displayed combative traits of his father in dealing with the BJP on the demand for rotational chief ministership just after the 2019 Assembly poll results were announced. He himself said several times that although he was not keen on taking up the top post after the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was formed, it was NCP chief Sharad Pawar who insisted him to take on the mantle. But two-and-a-half years later, 61-year-old Thackeray's innings as chief minister came to an abrupt end on Wednesday after Eknath Shinde, a senior leader, rebelled against him and a majority of Sena MLAs joined the rebel camp. The youngest son of Bal Thackeray, Uddhav, also known as 'Digga', had started helping his father in the party affairs in the early 1990s. A soft-spoken politician, he was elevated to the post of executive party president in 2001 over his younger cousin Raj Thackeray, considered to be more charismatic and aggressive. This elevation led to splits in the party. Senior leader and former chief minister Narayan Rane quit in 2005, followed by Raj. But through these storms, the managed to win the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Thane Municipal Corporation elections in 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017. When Bal Thackeray died in 2012, many party critics predicted that this would be the end of the Sena. But proving those predictions wrong, managed to hold the party together, and also led its transformation into a mature political outfit from its earlier avatar as a party of street fighters. Known as an ace wildlife photographer, he also dabbled in aerial photography. Some pictures of forts in Maharashtra, taken by him, adorn the walls of the New Sadan in Delhi. In 2014, when the Shiv Sena and BJP parted ways to contest polls independently, Thackeray spearheaded his party's campaign to emerge as the second largest party in the state assembly after the BJP. But later the Shiv Sena again joined hands with the BJP as latter formed government. In 2019, the two parties split over the post of chief minister and the Shiv Sena joined hands with the Congress and the NCP. "Whatever I do, whether I desire it or not.... I do it with determination," Thackeray had said during his Facebook Live last week. This determination has been a constant all through his political career that saw Shiv Sena witnessing ups and downs since he first took over as the acting president and party chief after his father Bal Thackeray's death in 2012, after the rebellion within the party. His leadership during the worst phases of the coronavirus pandemic came in for praise. But a section of Shiv Sena leaders complained that he was inaccessible as party president and CM. Several Sena leaders were also uncomfortable with the party's alliance with arch-foes Congress and NCP, which eventually proved to be the alliance's undoing. The rebellion within the party fold, which many say was brewing since long, finally came to the fore after Shinde openly raised a banner of revolt with many party MLAs siding with him. The rebellion set off hectic political activities with Thackeray last week quitting his official residence and finally resigning from the post, a day before the scheduled floor test. However, he has now made it clear that although he has vacated the chief minister's chair, he will now be sitting at the Shiv Sena Bhavan, the party's headquarters, to meet the party leaders and workers. So it will now be interesting to see if Thackeray now succeeds in reviving the fortunes of his weakened party. (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 Ceylon Electricity Board, in a clarification to a Sri Lankan business daily, has said that the Indian government recommended Limited (AGEL) for constructing in the Mannar and Pooneryn regions of the country, according to a media report. Under the MoU signed with CEB, AGEL is conducting a feasibility study for projects, according to the report. Project construction will begin after a suitable tariff is negotiated with the company, it said. AGEL did not respond to an email questionnaire sent by Business Standard regarding the project. CEB officials were not immediately available for comment. In the clarification issued to Daily FT, a Sri Lankan business newspaper, CEB reportedly said: A proposal from the Ltd (AGEL), on the request and recommendation of the government of India, has been considered by the government, and has granted the policy clearance of the government for the Board of Investment (BOI) to proceed with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with AGEL (signed on March 11, 2022). The CEB clarification to Daily FT said that the MoU deals with the macro issues and has not offered 500 MW of in Mannar and Poonaryn areas to the said company at 7.55 cents per unit of electricity as claimed in your report. It further said that no tangible effort has been made by the CEB or Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) to attract prospective potential investors to generate electrical energy from the renewable energy resources available on or below the surface of the land or the air space of the land of those declared areas. The Sri Lankan government had recently denied claims made by then CEB chairman MMC Ferdinando before a parliamentary committee that President Gotabaya Rajpaksa had summoned him on November 24, 2021, and told him that he was under pressure from the Indian government to hand over a local wind project to the Adani group. Ferdinando had even named Prime Minister Narendra Modi while referring to the political pressure from India. Rajpaksas office denied issuing any authorization to award the project to any specific person or entity. His Twitter handle said the same. Ferdinando retracted the statement and resigned from the post soon after. By Nupur Anand MUMBAI (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings PLC plans to relaunch its India private banking business within a year, its India CEO told Reuters on Thursday, after the Asia-focused lender has identified the country as a key strategic market for growth. HSBC exited the Indian private banking business in 2015 as part of a group strategy. The lucrative but very competitive Indian market has few foreign players in a segment catering to high-net-worth individuals. The London-headquartered bank is preparing to relaunch the business in India at a time when its increasing its focus on Asia, which is the biggest region in terms of its profit generation with Greater China and India among its main markets. "We can see the amount of wealth creation in India and the growth in the number of millionaires ... so an in-principle decision has been made to re-introduce private banking in India," Hitendra Dave, CEO, said. "We are running through the process of internal approvals and it may take anywhere from six to 12 months and will include a full suite of private banking products," he said in an interview. Currently, HSBC focuses on catering to wealthy Indians from its global hubs in Singapore, London and the Middle East. Nuno Matos, HSBC global CEO of wealth and personal banking, which includes the private banking business, told Reuters in November last year that the bank was exploring whether to re-enter onshore private banking in India. HSBC earned just over half of its revenue and about two-thirds of reported pretax profit in 2021 from Asia. It has increased its focus on Asia by moving global executives and ploughing billions of dollars into the lucrative wealth management business. The bank also aims to as much as quadruple its customer base in India in different business segments over the next three to five years, Dave said, taking advantage of some foreign rivals shrinking their business and growing wealth in the country. HSBC India's profit before tax rose 9% to $1.11 billion in 2021 from $1.02 billion in 2020 led by a 42% growth in income from its commercial banking business, which includes medium and small enterprises. "Over the years the group has invested $4.5 billion into the country. In the last few years we have managed to grow without needing extra capital and that may continue in the foreseeable future also," said Dave. The lender last year agreed to buy the mutual fund arm of India's L&T Holdings for $425 million, and also plans to increase its stake in the insurance joint venture. "HSBC has identified India as one of its top strategic market and we have a huge potential for organic growth but we may also look at inorganic growth if an opportunity arises," said the India CEO. (Reporting by Nupur Anand; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and David Evans) (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) said on Thursday he would see Saudi Arabia's king and crown prince during a visit to the country next month but that the purpose of his trip was not to press them to increase oil output to curb soaring crude prices. Asked at a press conference in Spain if he would ask the Saudi leaders to increase oil production, Biden said "No." Instead, he would continue to make the case that all Gulf states should raise oil output, not just Saudi Arabia. "I've indicated to them that I thought they should be increasing oil production generically, not to the Saudis, particularly," Biden told reporters. The White House has sought to play down any direct talks between Biden and Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, casting the upcoming trip to Riyadh as a meeting with heads of Gulf nations. Weeks after taking office last year, Biden shifted U.S. policy on Saudi Arabia, adopting a tougher stance over the kingdom's human rights record and in particular the killing and dismembering of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. U.S. intelligence implicated the crown prince in the murder. The Saudi government has denied any involvement by him. As a presidential candidate, Biden said he wanted to make Saudi Arabia a "pariah". However, his struggle to reduce record high gasoline prices this year has complicated the situation with the Biden administration urging oil-producing nations to boost production to offset losses caused by Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China on Thursday voiced its opposition to India's reported plans to hold the next year's meeting of G-20 leaders in Jammu and Kashmir, echoing close ally Pakistan's objection, and underlined that relevant sides should avoid "politicising" the issue. "We have noted relevant information," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here on Thursday while replying to a question from the official media. "China's position on Kashmir is consistent and clear cut. It is a legacy issue between India and Pakistan. It should be properly resolved in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions and bilateral agreements," Zhao said. He said the "relevant parties should avoid complicating the situation with the unilateral move. We need to address the disputes through dialogue and consultation and jointly uphold peace and stability." Stating that G-20 is a premier forum for international economic cooperation, Zhao said "we call on relevant sides to focus on economic recovery and avoid politicising the relevant issue so as to make a positive contribution to improving the global economic governance". Asked whether China, a member of G-20, would attend the meeting, he said, "whether we attend the meeting, we will look into that." To another question that China is building the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in the disputed region in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and India's objections over it, Zhao said the two matters are completely different in nature. China has undertaken projects to help Pakistan to grow its economy and improve livelihoods." "Some of those projects are in the Kashmir part that is under the control of Pakistan. Relevant Chinese companies who run the projects do so with the aim of helping the local people to develop the economy and improve their livelihoods," he said. "That doesn't mean our position on Kashmir has changed," he said. On June 25, Pakistan said it rejected India's attempt to hold a meeting of G20 countries in Kashmir, hoping that members of the grouping will be fully cognisant of the imperatives of law and justice and would oppose the proposal outright. Jammu and Kashmir will be hosting the 2023 meetings of G-20, an influential grouping that brings together the world's major economies, with the union territory administration last Thursday setting up a five-member high-level committee for overall coordination. This will be the first major international summit expected to be held in Jammu and Kashmir after its special status guaranteed under Article 370 of the Constitution was withdrawn and the erstwhile state was divided into two union territories in August 2019. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said in a statement that Islamabad had taken note of news items appearing in the Indian media indicating that India might be contemplating to hold some G20-related meeting in Jammu and Kashmir. "Pakistan completely rejects any such attempt by India," Ahmad said. He said it was a well-known fact that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognised disputed territory between Pakistan and India, and has remained on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council for over seven decades. He hoped that in case of any such controversial proposal from India, the G20 members will be fully cognisant of the imperatives of law and justice and would reject it outright. (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 death toll of migrants found on Monday inside a sweltering 18-wheeler in San Antonio, a major city in the south-central U.S. state of Texas, has risen to 53 after two more migrants died, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office on Wednesday. Of the dead, 40 were male and 13 were female, the office said. Authorities said the tragedy saw the highest ever death count from near the U.S.-Mexico border. Francisco Garduno Yanez, the head of Mexico's National Immigration Institute, told a press conference on Wednesday that at least 27 victims were from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala and two from El Salvador. Three victims' nationalities remain unknown.The tractor-trailer with a fake plate was carrying 67 migrants, said Garduno. The driver of the vehicle, identified as Homero Zamorano, 45, has been taken in federal custody after he abandoned the vehicle in a desolate area and fled the scene, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Two other men, both Mexican citizens, were charged on Tuesday with possessing firearms while residing in the illegally, according to court documents and U.S. authorities. Police arrested them at an address in San Antonio listed on the tractor-trailer's registration. Republican Governor Greg Abbott told another press conference on Wednesday that the state will immediately start additional truck checkpoints to target trucks like the one found in San Antonio. The state will deploy two strike teams, each consisting of 20 troopers, to high-traffic crossing areas, said the governor. Hours after the migrants were found dead in the truck on Monday, Abbott blamed the deaths on what he called U.S. President Joe Biden's "deadly open border policies." "Exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful, as is political grandstanding around tragedy," Biden said in a statement on Tuesday. The president said initial reports showed that the tragedy was caused by smugglers or human traffickers. Death is a constant risk for undocumented migrants entering Texas, said a report by The Tribune, noting that in 1987, 2003 and 2017, groups of migrants died of heat and dehydration in after being trapped in stifling containers. According to the report, hundreds more die alone or in smaller groups as desperation drives them to take fatal risks. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it encountered a record number of 239,416 people along the U.S.-Mexico border in May. The latest tragedy is "another sign that America lacks a humane, sensible immigration policy," the Wall Street Journal has commented. (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.) Indirect negotiations between Iran and the US over Tehran's tattered deal with world powers ended Wednesday in after failing to make significant progress amid a growing crisis over the Islamic Republic's atomic program, diplomats said. The Doha talks broke up after two days without any sign of a breakthrough, months after talks in Vienna among all of the deal's parties went on pause." In the time since, Iran shut off surveillance cameras of inspectors and now has enough high-enriched uranium to potentially fashion into at least one bomb if it chose. And with Iran and the US blaming each other for the talks' failure, it remains unclear when or if there will be another round of negotiations. European Union mediator Enrique Mora on Twitter described as intense the two days of talks in Doha. "Unfortunately, not yet the progress the EU team as coordinator had hoped-for," Mora wrote. We will keep working with even greater urgency to bring back on track a key deal for non-proliferation and regional stability. Mora's comments came hours after the semiofficial Tasnim news agency, believed to be close to Iran's hard-line Revolutionary Guard, described the negotiations as finished hours before they ended and having no effect on breaking the deadlock in the talks. Tasnim claimed that the American position did not include a guarantee for Iran benefiting economically from the deal, quoting what it described as unnamed informed sources. Washington is seeking to revive the (deal) in order to limit Iran without economic achievement for our country, the Tasnim report claimed. A key sticking point has been American sanctions targeting the Guard. US Special Representative Rob Malley spoke to the Iranians through Mora during the talks. Mora then took messages to Iran's top negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani. After the Tasnim report, Foreign Minister spokesman Nasser Kanaani issued a statement describing the talks as being held in a professional and serious atmosphere. He later said that Iran and Mora will be in touch regarding the continuation of the route and the next stage of the talks. However, it remains unclear if there will be another round of talks on the deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The State Department said that Iran "raised issues wholly unrelated to the JCPOA and apparently is not ready to make a fundamental decision on whether it wants to revive the deal or bury it. Indirect discussions in Doha have concluded, and while we are very grateful to the EU for its efforts, we are disappointed that Iran has, yet again, failed to respond positively to the EU's initiative and therefore that no progress was made," the State Department said. Iran and world powers agreed in 2015 to the nuclear deal, which saw Tehran drastically limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord, raising tensions across the wider Middle East and sparking a series of attacks and incidents. Talks in Vienna about reviving the deal have been on a pause since March. Since the deal's collapse, Iran has been running advanced centrifuges and rapidly growing stockpiles of enriched uranium. However, Tehran continues to suffer under intense economic sanctions while the West hopes to again curtail Iran's nuclear program. The incentive for Washington and Tehran to keep the prospect of a deal alive is strong, even as the actual likelihood of achieving a compromise diminishes, said Henry Rome, an analyst with the Eurasia Group tracking the negotiations. For that reason, we would expect the sides to resume talks in Doha in the near future, although we are not optimistic about a breakthrough. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) by Peter Mertz DENVER, the United States, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Outcries have been triggered from coast to coast in the United States after a century-old New York state law restricting a citizen's ability to carry a concealed handgun was squashed by the Supreme Court. "On Thursday the Supreme Court struck down a century-old New York state law requiring gun owners to have probable cause in order to carry a concealed weapon," KOAA News of Southern Colorado said Monday. The ruling has moved the country toward conservative values not seen before, analysts say. Marketing executive Graydon Gordian wrote, "Roe. Miranda. Gun control. Church and State. All dismantled in a single week. The single worst week for civil rights and liberties in decades." Bloomberg's Noah Feldman said, "It's open season on fundamental rights." "Our country is in shambles, it was a week from hell," said Sandy Phillips, a nationally-renowned gun control advocate, who saw the Supreme Court's three justices appointed by former President Donald Trump reverse the country's direction on several pivotal issues, each against public opinion, according to polls. Phillips is the mother of Jessica Ghawi, who was 24 when murdered on July 20, 2012, at the notorious Aurora Theater massacre, where 12 people died and 70 others were injured, the first of a wave of mass murders that swept across America over the past decade. "We were extremely disappointed by it, but frankly not shocked," said Tom Mauser of Colorado Ceasefire, a gun violence prevention political action committee formed in 2000. "The national ruling said to justify a firearm regulation, the government must demonstrate that the ruling is consistent with the tradition of firearm regulation, a very broad statement -- but with New York, they ignored that," Mauser told KGNU radio on Monday. "They basically said, 'I don't want any form of gun regulation,'" he said of the high court's landmark ruling on June 23 that struck down a 100-year-old law allowing the State of New York to restrict the issuance of concealed-carry permits. After a mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado, last year that left 10 people dead, Colorado Ceasefire worked with the state legislature to create three gun control bills signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis, including the creation of an Office of Gun Violence Prevention. And in 2020, despite its slack concealed carry rules, Colorado passed a Red Flag bill allowing law enforcement officials to seize guns from citizens threatening people's lives, another modest gun-control measure hotly contested by Republicans beholden to the National Rifle Association (NRA), which opposes any form of gun control. In Colorado, the open carrying of firearms is regulated by local authorities, according to the Colorado Department of Public Safety. Residents aged 21 and older can apply for a permit to carry a concealed weapon through their local sheriff's department upon meeting specific requirements, like completing a handgun safety class. A new study finds concealed-carry laws boost gun crime by between 29 and 32 percent, primarily by triggering a surge in gun theft. The study, released Monday by professors at Standard Law School and Duke University, looked at data from 47 cities between 1979 and 2019, Marketwatch reported on Tuesday. "The most significant impact is that right to carry laws elevate gun theft by roughly 35 percent, introducing tens of thousands of guns into the hands of criminals or illegal gun markets each year," the study said. "Although Colorado's concealed carry laws differ from New York's, the legality of Colorado gun restrictions could now be up for debate," KOAA News reported Monday. Christian Samuelson, an attorney in Colorado Springs, said any gun law that can be considered too broad in restricting gun rights could now be questioned, said the report. In New York, state lawmakers had agreed on new legislation scheduled to pass this Thursday in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling overturning the state's concealed weapons law, Spectrum NY1 news channel reported. Under the new law, guns would be banned from hospitals, schools, government buildings, mass transit and places where alcohol is served, the report said, adding that other businesses would have to explicitly allow guns on their property. The new legislation would require anyone obtaining a pistol permit to have 15 to 20 hours of further training, pass more extensive background checks and safely store guns at home. In California, lawmakers on Tuesday also moved to limit where firearms may be carried and who can have them, while struggling to stay within the high court's ruling. Palestinian gunmen opened fire at Jewish worshipers on Thursday at a flashpoint holy site in the occupied West Bank, wounding an Israeli military officer and two civilians, the Israeli army said. The Palestinian official news agency Wafa said a Palestinian teenager was wounded by live fire and 16 by rubber bullets in clashes with Israeli forces at the site near the northern city of Nablus, a frequent point of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Some Jews believe the biblical Joseph is buried at the site, while Palestinians say it's the tomb of a Sheikh. Jewish worshipers escorted by the Israeli military often visit the shrine to pray. The Israeli military said Palestinian gunmen opened fired on hundreds of Jewish worshipers who came to the site overnight on Thursday. The commanding officer of the unit suffered slight injuries, and two civilians were wounded, the army said. Last month, a Palestinian teen was killed and at least 15 Palestinians were wounded in clashes with the military near the shrine, according to Wafa. In April, Palestinians set fire to the shrine before they were dispersed by Palestinian security forces, an incident that drew condemnation from Israeli leaders. Thursday's clash was the latest in a wave of violence that has persisted for months following a string of deadly attacks inside Israel, Israeli arrest raids across the West Bank, and the killing of a Palestinian-American Al Jazeera reporter. Israel captured the in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians seek the territory as the heartland of a future state. Almost 500,000 Israeli settlers live in over 130 settlements dotting the alongside nearly 3 million Palestinians living under Israeli military rule. (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.) Ahead of the religious scholars' grand gathering of Taliban, the deputy Prime Minister of the Taliban, Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi announced on Wednesday that the meeting will convene without the participation of women. Over 3,000 religious scholars, tribal elders, intellectuals, influential figures and national traders will attend the gathering at the Loya Jirga Hall in Kabul on Thursday without the participation of women, stated the deputy Prime Minister, Khaama Press reported. "The women are our mothers, sisters, we greatly respect them, when their sons are in the gathering it signifies that they are also involved, in a way, in the gathering," he added. On being asked whether women could become a part of the assembly, deputy minister Hanafi responded that male delegates would speak on their behalf. According to Khaama Press, the senior official stated that the assembly was called at the Ulema's request and the organized it so that they could talk over a variety of topics, like Islamic regime, national unity, and the improvement of economic and social affairs. However, civil societies have strongly condemned the decision and have called the gathering illegitimate in absence of women. It remains unclear what issues would be discussed under the gathering's agenda and whether the issue of reopening girls' schools and women's rights is considered an integral part of the talks, Khaama Press reported. has suspended the secondary education of girls and enforced a strict form of Hijab. They have also provided no opportunities for Afghan women to participate in political and public life, to fit the pattern of absolute gender segregation that is aimed at making women invisible in society. Afghan women had enjoyed unfettered freedom in the country for so many years but are now staring at a bleak future due to a number of restrictions imposed by the Taliban governing aspects of their lives within ten months of Afghanistan's takeover. Women employees in some banks have already stopped working. Even women police officers have received threats. Away from the urban areas, women and girls are not allowed to move out on the streets or travel without a male family member accompanying them. Women are being curtailed from wearing make-up as well as from their reproductive rights. Unrecognized by most of the community, the Taliban-led government has committed to disrespecting the human rights of women. The atrocities of the Taliban against Afghan women have been on an incessant surge since the organization seized power in in August last year, banning young girls and women of humanitarian rights. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Zealand's government has declared that American far-right groups the Proud Boys and The Base are terrorist organisations. The two groups join 18 including Islamic State that have been given an official terrorist designation, making it illegal in to fund, recruit or participate in the groups, and obligating authorities to take action against them. The US groups are not known to be active in New Zealand, although the South Pacific nation has become more attuned to threats from the far right after a white supremacist shot and killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two Christchurch mosques in 2019. The massacre inspired other white supremacists around the world, including a white gunman who killed 10 Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. In the US, the State Department only lists foreign groups as terrorist entities. But the Proud Boys were last year named a terrorist group in Canada, while The Base has previously been declared a terrorist group in Britain, Canada and Australia. In a 29-page explanation of the Proud Boys designation published Thursday, authorities said the group's involvement in the violent attack on the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021 amounted to an act of terrorism. The statement said that while several militia groups were involved, it was the Proud Boys who incited crowds, coordinated attacks on law enforcement officers and led other rioters to where they could break into the building. The statement said there are unlinked but ideologically affiliated chapters of the Proud Boys operating in Canada and Australia. New Zealand authorities argued that before the Capitol attack, the Proud Boys had a history of using street rallies and social media to intimidate opponents and recruit young men through demonstrations of violence. It said the group had put up various smoke screens to hide its extremism. Earlier this month, the former leader of the Proud Boys, Henry Enrique Tarrio, and four linked to the group were charged in the US with seditious conspiracy for what federal prosecutors say was a coordinated attack on the Capitol. The indictment alleges that the Proud Boys conspired to forcibly oppose the lawful transfer of presidential power. The five are scheduled to stand trial in August in Washington, DC's federal court. Asked by media Thursday in New Zealand if the Proud Boys weren't better known for protest actions rather than extreme violence, New Zealand Police Minister Chris Hipkins said: Well, violent protests attempting to overthrow the government, clearly there is evidence of that. In making its case against The Base, New Zealand authorities said a key goal of the group was to train a cadre of extremists capable of accelerationist violence. The statement said founder Rinaldo Nazzaro has repetitively counselled members online about violence, the acquisition of weapons, and actions to accelerate the collapse of the US government and survive the consequent period of chaos and violence. Oil prices edged higher on Thursday after dipping in early Asian trade, as concerns about global supply tightness outweighed a build in U.S. gasoline and distillate inventories. Brent crude futures for September, the more actively traded contract, rose 63 cents, or 0.6%, to $113.08 a barrel at 0250 GMT. The less liquidly traded August contract, which expires Thursday, was at $116.08, down 18 cents, or 0.2%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 49 cents, or 0.5%, to $110.27. "Crude oil pushed higher in early trading after a bullish inventory The drawdown was driven by refiners increasing their throughput amid historically high refining margins," ANZ analysts said in a note. Crude inventories fell by 2.8 million barrels in the week to June 24, far exceeding analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 569,000 barrel drop, U.S. Energy Information Administration data showed, even as U.S. gasoline and distillate stockpiles climbed. Fuel stocks rose as refiners ramped up activity, operating at 95% of capacity, the highest for this time of year in four years. But further disruptions to supply supported prices, the ANZ analysts said, amid the suspension of Libyan shipments from two key eastern ports, while Ecuador saw output fall due to ongoing protests. Exports of Ecuador's flagship Oriente crude remain suspended under a force majeure declaration as the spread of anti-government protests hurts oil output, state-run Petroecuador said on Wednesday. However, concerns over slowing economic growth continued to cap price gains. "Recently central banks' aggressive rate hikes and a slowdown in the global economic growth have been pressuring commodity . Bets of more release of the U.S. oil reserve and OPEC's increase of oil output also retrained the oil market's upside momentum," CMC analyst Tina Teng said. A stronger dollar also capped price gains as it makes oil more expensive for buyers using other currencies. Meanwhile, the OPEC+ group, which includes allies such as Russia, began two days of meetings on Wednesday, though sources said there was little prospect of pumping more oil. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A special French court on Wednesday found 20 men guilty of involvement in the Islamic State terrorist attacks on the Bataclan theater, Paris cafes and France's national stadium in 2015 that killed 130 people in the deadliest peacetime attacks in French history. The chief suspect and only survivor of the 10-member team of extremists, Salah Abdeslam, was found guilty of murder and attempted murder in relation with a terrorist enterprise, among other charges. He faces up to life in prison without parole, the toughest sentence in . Presiding judge Jean-Louis Peries read the verdicts in a courthouse surrounded by unprecedented security, wrapping up a nine-month trial. Of the defendants besides Abdeslam, 18 were handed various terrorism-related convictions, and one was convicted on a lesser fraud charge. The sentencing is expected later Wednesday. Over the course of the nine-month trial, Abdeslam proclaimed his radicalism, wept, apologized to victims and pleaded with judges to forgive his mistakes. For victims' families and survivors of the attacks, the trial has been excruciating yet crucial in their quest for justice and closure. For months, the packed main chamber and 12 overflow rooms in the 13th century Justice Palace heard the harrowing accounts by the victims, along with testimony from Abdeslam. The other defendants are largely accused of helping with logistics or transportation. At least one is accused of a direct role in the deadly March 2016 attacks in Brussels, which also was claimed by the Islamic State group. For survivors and those mourning loved ones, the trial was an opportunity to recount deeply personal accounts of the horrors inflicted that night and to listen to details of countless acts of bravery, humanity and compassion among strangers. Some hoped for justice, but most just wanted tell the accused directly that they have been left irreparably scarred, but not broken. The assassins, these terrorists, thought they were firing into the crowd, into a mass of people, said Dominique Kielemoes at the start of the trial in September 2021. Her son bled to death in one of the cafes. Hearing the testimony of victims was crucial to both their own healing and that of the nation, Kielemoes said. It wasn't a mass these were individuals who had a life, who loved, had hopes and expectations, she said. was changed in the wake of the attacks: Authorities declared a state of emergency and armed officers now constantly patrol public spaces. The violence sparked soul-searching among the French and Europeans, since most of the attackers were born and raised in or Belgium. And they transformed forever the lives of all those who suffered losses or bore witness. Presiding judge Jean-Louis Peries said at the trial's outset that it belongs to and national events of this century. France emerged from the state of emergency in 2017, after incorporating many of the harshest measures into law. Fourteen of the defendants have been in court, including Abdeslam, the only survivor of the 10-member attacking team that terrorized Paris that Friday night. All but one of the six absent men are presumed to have been killed in Syria or Iraq; the other is in prison in Turkey. Most of the suspects are accused of helping create false identities, transporting the attackers back to Europe from Syria or providing them with money, phones, explosives or weapons. Abdeslam, a 32-year-old Belgian with Moroccan roots, was the only defendant tried on several counts of murder and kidnapping as a member of a terrorist organization. The sentence sought for Abdeslam of life in prison without parole has only been pronounced four times in France for crimes related to rape and murder of minors. Prosecutors are seeking life sentences for nine other defendants. The remaining suspects were tried on lesser terrorism charges and face sentences ranging from five to 30 years. In closing arguments, prosecutors stressed that all 20 defendants, who had fanned out around the French capital, armed with semi-automatic rifles and explosives-packed vests to mount parallel attacks, are members of the Islamic State extremist group responsible for the massacres. Not everyone is a jihadi, but all of those you are judging accepted to take part in a terrorist group, either by conviction, cowardliness or greed, prosecutor Nicolas Braconnay told the court this month. Some defendants, including Abdeslam, said innocent civilians were targeted because of France's policies in the Middle East and hundreds of civilian deaths in Western airstrikes in Islamic State-controlled areas of Syria and Iraq. During his testimony, former President Franois Hollande dismissed claims that his government was at fault. The Islamic State, this pseudo-state, declared war with the weapons of war, Hollande said. The Paris attackers did not terrorize, shoot, kill, maim and traumatize civilians because of religion, he said, adding it was fanaticism and barbarism. During closing arguments Monday, Abdelslam's lawyer Olivia Ronen told a panel of judges that her client is the only one in the group of attackers who didn't set off explosives to kill that night. He can't be convicted for murder, she argued. If a life sentence without hope for ever experiencing freedom again is pronounced, I fear we have lost a sense of proportion, Ronan said. She emphasized through the trial that she is not providing legitimacy to the attacks by defending her client in court. Abdeslam apologized to the victims at his final court appearance Monday, saying his remorse and sorrow is heartfelt and sincere. Listening to victims' accounts of so much suffering changed him, he said. I have made mistakes, it's true, but I am not a murderer, I am not a killer, 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.) Russian forces battled Wednesday to surround the Ukrainian military's last stronghold in a long-contested eastern province, as shock reverberated from a Russian airstrike on a shopping mall that killed at least 18 in the centre of the country two days earlier. Moscow's battle to wrest the entire Donbas region from Ukraine saw Russian forces pushing toward two villages south of Lysychansk while Ukrainian troops fought to prevent their encirclement. Britain's defense ministry said Russian forces were making "incremental advances" in their offensive to capture Lysychansk, the last city in the Luhansk province under Ukrainian control following the retreat of Ukraine's forces from the neighbouring city of Sievierodonetsk. Russian troops and their separatist allies control 95% of Luhansk and about half of Donetsk, the two provinces that make up the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas. The latest assessment by the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said the Ukrainians were likely in a fighting withdrawal to seek more defensible positions while draining the Russian forces of manpower and resources. Avril Haines, the U.S. director of national intelligence, said Russia "may think time is on its side" due to the escalating costs borne by the West and fatigue as the war grows longer. The most likely scenario predicted by American intelligence, Haines said, is a "grinding struggle" in which Russia consolidates its hold over southern Ukraine by the fall. The US correctly predicted Russia would invade Ukraine in February, but was wrong in assessing that it would quickly seize Kyiv. Speaking at an event in Washington on Wednesday, Haines said Russian President "has effectively the same political goals that he had previously, which is to say that he wants to take most of Ukraine" and push it away from NATO. "We perceive a disconnect between Putin's near-term military objectives in this area and his military's capacity, a kind of mismatch between his ambitions and what the military is able to accomplish," Haines said. Meanwhile, crews continued to search through the rubble of the shopping mall in Kremenchuk where Ukrainian authorities say 20 people remain missing. Ukrainian State Emergency Services press officer Svitlana Rybalko told The Associated Press that along with the 18 people killed, investigators found fragments of eight more bodies. It was not immediately clear whether that meant there were more victims. A number of survivors suffered severed limbs. "The police cannot say for sure how many (victims) there are. So we are finding not the bodies but the fragments of bodies," Rybalko said. "Now we are clearing at the very epicentre of the blast. Here, we practically cannot find bodies as such." Several families stood by what was left of the Amstor shopping centre Wednesday morning in hope of finding missing loved ones. "This is pure genocide," local resident Tatiana Chernyshova said while going to lay flowers at the site. "Such things cannot happen in the 21st century." "We need to engage everyone to help stop the war, help us fight these scum these Russian aggressors," Chernyshova said. Psychologists working at the site with families said they were trying to help people come to terms with their loss. "We are trying to help them release their emotions now, as later it becomes harder and much more painful," said one psychologist, who did not give his name as he was not authorized to speak to the press. After the attack on the mall, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of becoming a "terrorist" state. On Wednesday, he reproached NATO for not embracing or equipping his embattled country more fully. "The open-door policy of NATO shouldn't resemble old turnstiles on Kyiv's subway, which stay open but close when you approach them until you pay," Zelenskyy told NATO leaders meeting in Madrid, speaking by video link. Hasn't Ukraine paid enough? Hasn't our contribution to defending Europe and the entire civilization been sufficient? He asked for more modern artillery systems and other weapons and warned the NATO leaders they either had to provide Ukraine with the help it needed to defeat Russia or "face a delayed war between Russia and yourself." Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Wednesday dismissed what she claimed was the Ukrainian government's "blatant provocation" in trying to blame the mall missile strike on Russia's military. Britain's defense ministry said there was a "realistic possibility" that the mall strike "was intended to hit a nearby infrastructure target." "Russian planners highly likely remain willing to accept a high level of collateral damage when they perceive military necessity in striking a target," the ministry said. "It is almost certain that Russia will continue to conduct strikes in an effort to interdict the resupplying of Ukrainian front-line forces." Russia's military also is experiencing a shortage of more modern precision strike weapons, which is compounding civilian casualties, the British ministry said. In southern Ukraine, a Russian missile strike on a multi-story apartment building Wednesday in Mykolaiv killed at least four people and injured five, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said. Russia's defense ministry said in a statement that the missile strike on Mykolaiv targeted a base for training "foreign mercenaries," as well as ammunition depots. (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 Russia-Ukraine conflict, US President on Thursday (local time) said that the decision of and to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would enhance the collective strength of the alliance and make it stronger and more secure. Taking to Twitter, Biden said, "The Alliance is proud to invite and to become members. Their decision to join this Alliance is going to make us stronger and more secure - it will bolster the steps we're taking during this summit to enhance our collective strength." As the summit began in Madrid amid the raging conflict in Ukraine, Biden, addressing the summit alongside secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg, declared new troop movements, equipment shipments and military installations. "The United States and our allies are stepping up and proving that NATO is needed now more than ever, and is as important as it ever has been," Biden was quoted as saying by CNN. Biden also said the US plans to establish a permanent headquarters for the Fifth Army Corps in Poland and maintain an additional rotational brigade of 3,000 troops in Romania. Besides this, Washington will also enhance rotational deployments to the Baltic States, send additional F-35 fighter jet squadrons to the UK and station additional air defence and other capabilities in Germany and Italy. "Together with our allies, we are going to make sure that NATO is ready to meet threats from all directions across every domain, land, air, and sea," Biden said, adding that the US is also going to enhance its rotational deployments in the Baltic states, as well as increase the number of destroyers based at the Rota naval base in Spain to six. Biden has also announced Washington's plan to build up air defence capabilities in Germany and Italy. The NATO summit began in Madrid on Tuesday, allowing the western military alliance to show a joint front against Moscow, and start the process of and Sweden's inclusion in the alliance. This summit comes as Turkey lifted its veto over Finland and Sweden's bid to join NATO, ending a dispute that tested the unity of the alliance. This deal signals a significant shift in security dynamics in Europe as the Nordic countries abandon their decades-long neutrality to enter the military alliance. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto on Tuesday said that Turkey has agreed to support Finland and Sweden's NATO membership bids, removing the main hurdle to the two countries joining the alliance. Niintso said that a joint memorandum on the matter was signed by Turkey, Finland and in Madrid. The joint memorandum underscores the commitment of Finland, Sweden and Turkey "to extend their full support against threats to each other's security," Niinisto said. Stoltenberg said he is "confident" that Finland and Sweden will be able to successfully join NATO after the signing of the trilateral memorandum of understanding. The ongoing NATO summit in Madrid has already become one of the most consequential meetings in the history of the military alliance. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A top Chinese official on Wednesday called on Pakistan Prime Minister and they discussed various matters of mutual interest. Yang Jiechi, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Director of the Central Committee on Foreign Affairs, arrived on a two-day visit to Pakistan. He is accompanied by vice ministers for foreign affairs and commerce, vice chairman of China Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), and deputy secretary general of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). Yang has a prominent role in China's foreign relations. He has previously served as China's Foreign Minister from 2007-13 and State Councilor from 2013-17. The top Chinese official met Prime Minister Shehbaz and discussed various matters of mutual interest, according to a statement by the PM Office. Separately, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari held delegation-level talks with Yang. The two sides discussed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, according to Radio Pakistan. Yang also met Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the GHQ in Rawalpindi and matters of mutual interest, defence collaboration, progress on the Economic Corridor and regional security were discussed during the meeting, according to a statement by the military's media wing. The army chief said Pakistan values China's role in global and regional affairs and we look forward to enhancing our strategic partnership. He reiterated that Pakistan remains committed to cooperating with its partners for peace and stability in the region. Yang thanked the COAS for special measures taken for the provision of a safe and secure environment for Chinese personnel employed on various projects in Pakistan and efforts towards regional stability, the statement said. Earlier, the Foreign Office said Yang's visit is part of the regular high-level exchanges between Pakistan and China. Recently, these interactions included a virtual meeting between the foreign ministers on May 11 and telephone call by Prime Minister Shehbaz with Premier Li Keqiang on May 16. Foreign Minister Bilawal also visited China on May 21-22. According to the Foreign Office statement, Director Yang's visit reflects the importance attached by Pakistan and China to further deepen their all-weather strategic cooperative partnership. (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 official Amir Khan Muttaqi, along with his delegation, left for Qatar on Wednesday to discuss with the US officials the release of withheld Afghan assets worth USD 9 billion amid country's struggles with famine and poverty. The delegation team will meet the US Special Representative for Afghanistan, and officials from the Treasury Department, Thomas West, Khaama Press reported citing Ahmad Wali Haqmal, the spokesperson for the forces. This is the first meeting since West pushed Muttaqi to lift restrictions on girl students' access to education on May 21. Under the administration, girls are not allowed to continue their education past the sixth grade. At the same time, US sources claimed that Joe Biden's administration was working with the Taliban on a mechanism that would provide access to the monetary reserves of the central bank, reported Khaama Press citing The Washington Post. After the Taliban seized the nation by force last year, the US froze Afghan reserves. The militants-turned-politicians are currently working to restore the nation's economy which has been ravaged by sanctions imposed and isolation. This comes as a strong earthquake that struck the country last week also caused over 1,500 injuries and approximately 1,000 fatalities. Earlier, the US said that they would provide nearly USD 55 million in immediate humanitarian assistance to the people impacted by the devastating earthquake in Afghanistan's southeastern part. The funds will be used to deliver the essential food items, clothing, cooking utensils, blankets, jerry cans, and sanitation supplies to prevent waterborne diseases in the disaster-hit areas, Voice of America reported. According to the publication, the US has been the largest humanitarian donor to and over USD 774 million in humanitarian assistance over the past year "The has an enduring commitment to the people of Afghanistan, and we welcome and encourage support from our partners in this time of great need," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Tuesday. The U.S. announcement came only a day after the United Nations appealed for USD 110.3 million in urgent humanitarian response to some 360,000 Afghans impacted by the earthquake, reported Voice of America. The UN and the Afghan government have been largely involved in the operations to save civilians. However, the United Nations said it does not have heavy machines and equipment and relies on the Afghan authorities to provide it. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator stated that the UN has released USD 10 million from UNCERF for the affected people of to help with the immediate response. (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 President on Thursday said the Supreme Court's decision ending a constitutional right to abortion is destabilising and that he supports changing Senate rules to codify nationwide abortion protections. He maintained the ruling does not affect US standing on the world stage as he took credit for modernising the transatlantic alliance to adapt to new threats from Russia and China. Biden was speaking to reporters at the conclusion of a five-day foreign trip to huddle with NATO allies in Madrid and the leaders of the Group of Seven advanced democratic economies in the Bavarian Alps, which came as the nation was still grappling with the fallout from Friday's Supreme Court decision. America is better positioned to lead the world than we ever have been, Biden said. But one thing that has been destabilising is the outrageous behaviour of the Supreme Court of the US in overruling not only Roe v. Wade, but essentially challenging the right to privacy. He added: I could understand why the American people are frustrated because of what the Supreme Court did." Biden said he would support changing the Senate filibuster rules, which require 60 votes to pass most legislation, to allow bringing a bill extending nationwide abortion protections to pass by simple majority, but he said it would likely require voters to send additional Democratic Senators to Washington to get done. The three-day NATO summit included the Biden administration announcing plans to permanently bolster the US military presence in Europe, an agreement between Turkey, Finland and Sweden to pave the way for the accession of Nordic nations into NATO, and the alliance updating its strategic concept reflect that China's coercive policies are a challenge the Western bloc's interests. I think we can all agree that this has been a historic NATO Summit, Biden said. He noted the last time NATO updated what is essentially its mission statement was 12 years ago, when Russia was characterised as a partner, and the document didn't even mention China. The new document hammered out at the summit changes that. The world has changed, changed a great deal since then, Biden said. This summit was about strengthening our alliances, meeting the challenges of our world as it is a day, and the threats we're going to face in the future, Biden said. Biden also highlighted announcements at the G-7 meeting, including more economic and military assistance to Ukraine as it aims to beat back Russia's four-month invasion, and announcements on tougher sanctions meant to punish Moscow. "We are going stick with Ukraine and all of the alliance is going to stick with Ukraine as long as it takes," Biden said. I don't know what it how it's going to end, but it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine. On the final day of the NATO summit here on Thursday, US President Joe Biden says his administration will soon provide another USD 800 million in security assistance for Ukraine to fight Russia's invasion. Biden said the new aid would include advanced air defense systems, counter battery radars, and additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, that the administration has already sent to Ukraine. Biden said the package will be formally detailed by his administration in the coming days. He spoke at a news conference at the end of the NATO summit in Madrid. The latest round of aid is part of the USD 40 billion package of security and economic assistance passed last month by the US Congress and signed into law by Biden. It is the 14th package of weapons and military equipment committed to Ukraine since the war began. With the latest tranche of assistance, the US has committed about USD 7 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since late February when invaded its neighbour. Biden also said Americans should expect to pay higher gas prices as long as it takes so cannot, in fact, defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine. Russia's invasion of its neighbour is blamed for driving up the oil price. This is a critical, critical position for the world, Biden said at a news conference on Thursday on the final day of the NATO summit in Madrid. Biden said Russia, Russia, is the reason people are spending more at the pump. He's talking with US allies about setting a cap on the price of Russian oil, limiting how much money that Moscow can make from its exports. Biden emphasised his long-term support for Ukraine as the war drags on, saying, We are going to stick with Ukraine. I don't know what it how it's going to end, but it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine, he said. Although gas prices remain a political challenge for Biden, he said that he wouldn't use his scheduled trip to Saudi Arabia next month to request more oil production. Biden said NATO had transformed itself by adapting to a rapidly changing security situation around the globe. Closing the military alliance's summit in Madrid on Thursday, Biden described the meeting as historic. The three-day summit included the Biden administration announcing plans to permanently bolster the US military presence in Europe, an agreement between Turkey, Finland and Sweden to pave the way for the accession of Nordic nations into NATO, and the alliance updating its strategic concept reflect that China's coercive policies are a challenge to the Western bloc's interests. Biden noted the last time NATO updated its strategic concept Russia was characterised as a partner and the document didn't even mention China. The world has changed, changed a great deal since then, Biden said told a press conference. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The on Thursday imposed limits on the federal government's authority to issue sweeping regulations to reduce from power plants in a ruling that will undermine President Joe Biden's plans to tackle climate change. The courts 6-3 ruling restricted the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing coal- and gas-fired power plants under the landmark Clean Air Act anti-pollution law. Bidens administration is currently working on new regulations. The courts six conservatives were in the majority, with the three liberals dissenting. The justices overturned a 2021 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that had struck down Republican former President Donald Trumps Affordable Clean Energy rule. That regulation would impose limits on a Clean Air Act provision called Section 111 that provides the EPA authority to regulate emissions from existing power plants. The Supreme Courts conservative majority has signaled ongoing skepticism toward expansive federal regulatory authority. The Biden administration wants the US power sector decarbonized by 2035. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Canara Robeco (MF) has stopped taking investments from investors in the (UAE) after the (FATF) added to the Grey List. Top MF executives said their fund houses have turned cautious when it comes to flows from the Gulf nation, but havent stopped accepting investments from the . Most said they will wait awhile before making a final decision. Canara Robeco MF on its website stated that, By virtue of adding to the Grey List, it has been decided to provisionally abstain from accepting investments, including existing systematic investment plan/systematic transfer plan from our investors from the UAE. We are internally reviewing the processes to establish enhanced due diligence for investment flows from the UAE and will revert shortly on the revised process. Senior executives in the MF industry say FAFT adding UAE to the Grey List is not a major concern as of now. If the Securities and Exchange Board of India or the government puts a mandatory ban on taking investments from the UAE, we might be forced to halt subscription. Its a big market for us and we cannot prevent them from investing in India, says a chief executive officer of a leading fund house. While the exact number of investments from the UAE into MFs is not known, it can be significant, given the large Indian diaspora there. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused in this regard and appeal to you to kindly bear with us. While assuring the best of our services, we request you to appreciate that the proposed measures are necessitated purely due to regulatory compulsions, stated Canara Robeco MF. Healthvista India Limited has filed preliminary papers with regulator Sebi to raise about Rs 1,000 crore through an initial public offering. The company is an out-of-hospital healthcare provider with brand Portea. The (Initial Public Offering) comprises fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 200 crore and an Offer For sale (OFS) of up to 56,252,644 shares by selling shareholders, according to the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP). Under the OFS, Accel Growth III Holdings (Mauritius) Limited; Accel India III (Mauritius) Limited, Ventureast Life Fund III LLC Limited, MEMG CDC Ventures; Qualcomm Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, Accel India V (Mauritius) and Sabre Partners Trust will offload shares. According to market sources, the is expected to fetch about Rs 1,000 crore. Proceeds from the fresh issue will be used towards funding working capital requirements of its subsidiary, Medybiz Pharma, payment of debt, purchase of medical equipment, marketing as well as brand building activities, inorganic growth initiatives and general corporate purposes. SBI Capital Markets, IIFL Securities and JM Financial are the book running Lead managers to the issue. The equity shares of the company are proposed to be listed on BSE and NSE. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A month after resuming inflows into its international funds, India (MF) has decided to stop fresh investments into its five international schemes since the house is close to exhausting its limit. The house has suspended lump-sum subscription, switch-ins, and fresh registration of systematic plan/systematic transfer plan under the five schemes that invest in international stocks. On June 22, the asset manager had notified it had resumed inflows into these schemes. The move followed directions issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) that fund houses with fresh legroom can resume subscription to their schemes that invest in overseas . On Wednesday, the fund house said it was once again suspending investments into India US Equity Opportunities Fund, India Japan Equity Fund, Nippon India Taiwan Equity Fund, Nippon India Multi Asset Fund, and Nippon India ETF Hang Seng BeES. After resumption of subscription to certain Nippon India MF schemes investing in overseas securities, there has been substantial utilisation of available overseas investment limits. Therefore, with a view to avoid breach of the overseas investment limit as of EOD of February 1, 2022, we propose to suspend lump-sum subscription, said a notice by the fund house. On January 31, directed fund houses to stop accepting fresh inflows into overseas schemes after the $7-billion industry-wide investment threshold got breached. After a gap of nearly five months, the embargo on fresh inflows was lifted only for fund houses where overseas investment limits got created on account of redemptions and consequent sale of overseas securities after February 1. Industry body Association of in India had clarified that the total utilisation of the overseas investment limit by each fund house should remain capped at the amount as of February 1. Data from Value Research shows the total assets under management (AUM) for international funds has declined from Rs 42,689 crore at the end of January to Rs 38,999 crore in May. has declined further as have seen a sharp fall this month. AU Small Finance Bank (SFB) said that CRISIL Ratings had reaffirmed its rating on the certificate of deposits programme of the bank at 'CRISIL A1+'. CRISIL has also upgraded its rating on long-term debt instruments of AU SFB to 'CRISIL AA/Stable' from 'CRISIL AA-/Positive'. CRISIL Ratings has further migrated its rating on the FD programme of the bank from 'FAA+/Positive' and simultaneously upgraded it to 'CRISIL AA+/Stable'. The credit rating agency said that the upgrade is driven by the sustenance in bank's overall performance and its demonstrated ability to meet the expectations around improvement in asset quality and earnings profile despite pandemic induced challenges. The bank's improving liability profile is also reflected in the rating. The bank has demonstrated its ability to manage its asset quality in the post-Covid scenario and maintain non-performing assets (NPAs) at a level which is lower than peers. Post Covid-19, the GNPAs peaked at 4.3% as of March 31, 2021 and remained at elevated levels on account of the pandemic's second wave's disruption. However, with gradual relaxation in lockdown restrictions and resumption in customer's cashflows led to improved collection efficiency, AU SFB's asset quality has revived strongly. As of March 31, 2022, the bank reported an improved GNPA of 2.0% whereas NNPA stood at 0.5% which is expected to be sustained in the medium term. Further, the bank has also maintained healthy profitability metrics, despite heightened provisioning requirement, as reflected in the return on assets (RoA) of 1.59% and 1.28%, respectively for fiscal 2020 and 2021 (adjusted for one-time sale proceeds realized from stake sale of Aavas Financiers). With operating profitability remaining stable and reduction in credit costs, the RoA for fiscal 2022 revived to 1.87% despite an increase in the bank's provision coverage ratio to ~75% from 45- 50% until H1 of fiscal 2022. There has also been a sustained improvement in the bank's overall liability profile marked by increasing share of deposits in the overall external liabilities and, continued ramp up in retail deposit franchise. This also factors in the gradual increase in the share of Current and Savings Accounts (CASA) as a share of total deposits and total liabilities, over the last 4 quarters. The ratings remain driven by AU SFB's adequate capitalisation, consistent ramp-up in deposit franchise, healthy reported asset quality, and adequate profitability. These strengths are partially offset by moderate, though improving, the scale of operations and geographic concentration in assets. AU SFB has an established market position in Rajasthan, and has expanded operations to Maharashtra, Gujarat, and other states over the years. AU SFB's main focus is retail asset-financing segment, primarily in the vehicle financing segment (around 36% of AUM) alongside small business loans to MSMEs (35%). Other segments include housing, gold loans, personal loans, overdraft, and commercial banking products. As on 31 March 2022, AU SFB had established operations across 919 banking touchpoints while serving customers in 18 States & 2 Union Territories. AU Small Finance Bank is a scheduled commercial bank. As on 31 March 2022, the bank had operations across 919 banking touchpoints, serving 27.5 lakh customers in 18 States & 2 Union Territories. On standalone basis, the bank reported 104.8% jump in net profit to Rs 346.07 crore on a 26.1% rise in total income to Rs 1,978.41 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21. The scrip shed 0.55% to currently trade at Rs 593 on the BSE. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) IDFC First Bank announced that CRISIL has re-affirmed its 'CRISIL AA / Stable' rating on the existing Tier II Bonds (Under Basel III) of IDFC FIRST Bank amounting to Rs. 5,000 crore, and have also re-affirmed 'CRISIL A1+' rating on the Bank's existing Certificate of Deposits amounting to Rs. 45,000 crore. CRISIL has also re-affirmed and withdrawn its 'FAAA/Stable' rating on the fixed deposit programme of the Bank at the request of the Bank. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CreditAccess Grameen (CA Grameen) said that India Ratings and Research has upgraded its rating on the debt instruments of the company to 'IND AA-'/ Stable. India Ratings said that the upgrade factors in CA Grameen's improved geographical diversification, the ability to manage asset quality as demonstrated during the pandemic and other systemic events in the past few years, and the tailwinds of a supportive regulatory environment. The rating also factors in the company's industry-leading franchise in the non-banking financial companies-micro finance institutions (NBFC-MFI) segment, the experienced management, healthy operating performance, and above average capital buffers. India Ratings notes that the company has adopted certain operating practices, which could provide a strong operational control and oversight and aid faster response on emerging issues. The agency considers the vulnerability of the sector to unexpected sporadic socio-political/idiosyncratic risks, getting accentuated due to higher geographic concentration, leading to sharp volatility in its performance, and as a result, NBFC-MFIs require above average capital and liquidity buffers to provide the cushion during these events. India Ratings also notes that the company is working on strengthening its technological infrastructure. CreditAccess Grameen offers collateral-free micro-loans to women from low-income households under the joint liability group model. It also offers retail finance products to support the evolving needs of its existing customers. The average ticket size for microfinance loans is about Rs 32,100, while that for retail finance is Rs 47,200. The promoter group, CreditAccess India N.V. held a 73.9% stake in the company at end-March 2022. The company reported 104.41% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 157.13 crore on a 13.50% increase in sales to Rs 821.89 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21. The scrip rose 0.60% to currently trade at Rs 1028.45 on the BSE. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Infosys: The IT major has agreed with The House Fund III, L.P., a Venture Capital (VC) fund based out of the US, for investment of $10 million. Infosys seeks to partner with such startups to complement its organic capabilities and jointly help its clients across the globe to transform their businesses. Indian Oil Corporation: The company's board has accorded investment approval for capacity expansion of Digboi Refinery in Assam from 0.65 MMTPA to 1 MMTPA alongwith associated facilities at an estimated cost of Rs.740.20 crore. The project is expected to be commissioned by October 2025. Sterlite Technologies (STL): The company has signed the definitive agreement to acquire balance 25% stake in Jiangsu Sterlite Tongguang Fiber Co. Ltd. (JSTFCL). STL's current shareholding in JSTFCL is 75%. Postacquisition of balance 25% stake, JSTFCL will become a wholly owned subsidiary of STL. Wonderla Holidays: The company has signed agreement with the Government of Odisha for leasing land about 50 acres towards development of amusement park project in Kumarbasta Village, Khorda District, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Minda Industries: The company has acquired 4,48,162 equity shares i.e. 5.24% stake in FRIWO AG, Germany, by investing Euro 14.99 million. FRIWO AG is engaged in the business of designing, development, manufacturing, inter alia, power supply, chargers, motor control units and other products for various sectors and geographies. Home First Finance Company India: Based on rating assessment undertaken by CARE Ratings Limited, the company's long term bank facilities have been upgraded from CARE A+ (Stable) to CARE AA- (Stable). Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) gained 2.73% to Rs 75.25 after the company's board approved investment proposal for capacity expansion of Digboi Refinery, Assam. The PSU company's board has accorded investment approval for capacity expansion of Digboi refinery from 0.65 million metric tonne per annum (MMTPA) to 1 MMTPA along with associated facilities at an estimated cost of Rs 740.20 crore. The company said that the project is expected to be commissioned by October 2025. The capacity expansion would improve the profitability of the Digboi Refinery. IOCL is an Indian government owned oil and gas explorer and producer. As of 31 March 2022, the Government of India held 51.50% stake in the company. The company reported 31.4% fall in standalone net profit to Rs 6021.88 crore despite a 43.2% increase in net sales to Rs 1,77,287.31 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday said the Bhagwant Mann-led government is committed to reduce Punjab's debt burden. Speaking in the Punjab assembly during a discussion on budget estimates, Cheema said the state has an annual borrowing limit of Rs 55,000 crore. "But we will not raise more than Rs 35,000 crore and we will also repay Rs 36,000 crore of debt, said Cheema during the ongoing assembly session. The minister said the is committed to reduce the debt burden of Punjab. "We will reduce the debt burden," asserted Cheema. He informed the House that in 2020-21, a sum of Rs 42,386 crore was borrowed and in 2021-21, Rs 41,083 crore was raised. Cheema said so far, the has raised Rs 8,000 crore and also repaid Rs 10,500 crore. After the opposition members of the House raised questions over the state excise policy, Cheema said the state government has targeted to generate Rs 9,600 crore as against Rs 6,200 crore in last fiscal from liquor. Taking on the previous governments, Cheema said liquor brought from Haryana was used to be sold in Punjab. "The days of those who used to run the liquor mafia are now over," said Cheema. On the issue of setting up a tax intelligence unit, the minister said it will not harass anyone but will trouble those who indulge in tax evasion. He informed the House that the tax intelligence unit is running successfully in Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Cheema in the budget had announced establishing the tax intelligence unit which will equip the finance department to improve tax compliances under GST through taxpayer facilitation and communication. Cheema, who took part in the GST council meeting here, informed the House that he had sought that the GST compensation should be extended for the next five years. He blamed the previous government for not making any effort for revenue mobilisation in the past five years. On the issues of the old pension scheme and giving pay scales as per the seventh pay commission, Cheema said the chief minister was considering these matters. Cheema said the AAP-government will take action against those who have indulged in corruption. Interrupting the minister, Leader of Opposition and Congress MLA Partap Singh Bajwa asked him to also act against corrupt officers. After Bajwa accused the AAP MLAs of daily reporting to a person who is sitting in the gallery, apparently refereing to AAP MP Raghav Chadha, the ruling legislators rose from their seats and objected to the statement. Heated exchanges took place between AAP MLA Aman Arora, Harpal Cheema and Bajwa. Though Bajwa did not take any names, Chadha was sitting in the gallery of the House to witness the proceedings. On the issue of conversion of Rs 31,000 crore of cash credit limit (CCL) gap into long term loan by then SAD-BJP regime, Cheema said the took up this issue with the Centre and has been able to reduce the rate of interest from 8.25 per cent to 7.35 per cent which would reduce interest burden by about Rs 3,000 crore. The CCL gap arose because of the mismatch between cash credit availed for procuring wheat and paddy and foodgrain stocks in the account books of the state procurement agencies since 2004. The Rs 31,000 crore included Rs 12,000 crore principal and around Rs 19,000 crore interest amount and Punjab has been paying Rs 3,240 crore interest per annum on it which it has to pay for 20 years. Meanwhile, the House passed the Punjab Appropriation Bill, 2022 amounting to about Rs 1,55,859 crore towards defraying several charges which will come in the course of payment to be made during the financial years 2022-23. The Bill was moved by Cheema in the House. Earlier, during Zero Hour, Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira protested in the House for not being allowed to speak. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after resigned as Maharashtra chief minister, all eyes are on Raj Bhavan to see when does Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari invite the to form the next government in the state. The process for the change of regime in the state, which began with the rebellion of around 40 of 55 Shiv Sena MLAs under Eknath Shinde's leadership, got a boost after leader Devendra Fadnavis met Koshyari on Tuesday night and asked him to order a floor test of the Thackeray government, claiming it had lost majority. Thackeray (62) resigned Wednesday night, minutes after Supreme Court refused to stay Governor Koshyari's direction to his government to take a floor test in the Assembly on Thursday. "I don't want to play these games. If those people who were brought up by Sena chief (Balasaheb Thackeray) want to rejoice the fact that they pulled his son down then it is my mistake that I put my faith in them. I don't want the blood of my Shiv Sainiks to spill on the streets and so I am stepping down from the CM's post as well as that of an MLC," said Thackeray in a televised address, that has garnered praise on the social media for his "grace and poise", as many described it. Thackeray said that he was happy he was able to fulfill his father's wish of renaming Aurangabad and Osmanabad. The Uddhav-led cabinet had cleared the proposal to rename the two cities on Wednesday. His resignation was greeted with jubilation by leaders who distributed sweets. BJP's Devendra Fadnavis, who is expected to make a comeback as chief minister after holding the post from 2014 to 2019, is scheduled to brief media later Thursday on the future course of action, which will include staking claim to form the next government. Rebel Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde, who are now in a luxury hotel in Goa after spending over a week at posh resorts in Surat and Guwahati, are expected to return to Mumbai soon. It is not yet clear if the Shinde-led group will merge with any party. Shinde Wednesday night reiterated that they are Shiv Sainiks and will remain in Shiv Sena. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Legislature Secretary Rajendra Bhagwat issued a statement saying there won't be a special session of the Assembly on Thursday as the purpose for which it was convened (floor test) does not exist anymore. Anticipating that the rebel Sena MLAs might start returning to Mumbai soon, police have beefed up security in the city, an official said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Maharashtra Congress leaders on Thursday met president at his residence 'Matoshree' in suburban Bandra a day after he resigned as chief minister. It was a courtesy call as they had worked with Thackeray as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government for the last two-and-half years, said Congress leader Nitin Raut. As to whether the MVA, an alliance of Sena, Congress and NCP, would continue, he said it was yet to be discussed. Congress would function as an opposition party, he said. State Congress chief Nana Patole said the party would contest the coming local body polls on its own, while the decision as to whether to continue the alliance for Assembly and Lok Sabha polls would be taken by the party leadership. The three parties would be together in raising issues concerning common people, Patole said. Besides Raut and Patole, Congress leaders Prithviraj Chavan, Balasaheb Thorat, Amit Deshmukh, Sunil Kedar and Yashomati Thakur met Thackeray. "We assured Thackeray that Congress is with him and we would fight the new government on the political as well as legal fronts as it is coming to power through corrupt means," Chavan told PTI. The Sena chief told them that he would not give up, Chavan added. From the Sena's side, Thackeray's son Aaditya, Sachin Ahir, Vinayak Raut, Bhaskar Jadhav, Diwakar Raote and Subhash Desai were present, sources said. Thackeray resigned as chief minister on Wednesday after the Supreme Court greenlighted a floor test following rebellion by Sena leader Eknath Shinde and majority of Sena MLAs. (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 an unexpected move, BJP leader on Thursday announced that Eknath Shinde will be the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra, ten days after the rebel Shiv Sena leader raised a banner of revolt that culminated in the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. The dramatic announcement by Fadnavis, who will not be a part of the new dispensation, defied expectations that he would return as chief minister with the support of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction for a third term. The Sena MLA from Kopri-Panchpakhadi in Thane city alone will take oath of office at 7.30 pm on Thursday, and a cabinet expansion will take place later, the BJP leader, who was flanked by Shinde, said at a press conference at Raj Bhavan premises after meeting Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. "I will not betray the faith Fadnavis has placed in me," Shinde (58) told the media. The BJP will extend support to Shinde's group, said Fadnavis, a former chief minister and the outgoing Leader of Opposition in the Assembly. The BJP is the single largest party in the Assembly with 106 seats. "I will be out of government but will ensure smooth functioning of the government which is coming as an alternative after Uddhav Thackeray resigned," Fadnavis said. Sena (rebels) as well as BJP MLAs and some independents will be sworn in as ministers during the expansion, he added. This was not a battle for power but for principles and Hindutva ideology, he said, adding the BJP was against imposing mid-term elections on the state at this juncture. The BJP leader said coming together of the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress to form the MVA government in November 2019 was an "insult" of the mandate of the 2019 Assembly polls. The three-party government, which collapsed on June 29 following the resignation of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, caused an unrest in Shiv Sena ranks, he maintained. "Uddhav Thackeray aligned with parties (Congress and NCP) whom (Sena founder) Bal Thackeray opposed all his life," Fadnavis claimed. The Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance was "corrupt" and two ministers of that government are in jail for corruption and money laundering charges, the BJP leader said. Shiv Sena MLAs were facing problems in their constituencies as the MVA allies were hurting their prospects, Fadnavis said. Speaking later, Shinde said he took the decision (to rebel against the MVA government) with support of 50 MLAs, most of the them of the Shiv Sena, for the development of the state and "there was no personal interest involved." "There were limitations to the functioning of the MVA," he said. Shinde, who was a senior minister in the Thackeray government, lauded Fadnavis for giving up the opportunity to become CM, saying the BJP leader showed large-heartedness in making "Balasaheb Thackeray's Shiv Sainik" the next CM. Earlier in the day, Shinde arrived in Mumbai from Goa and met Fadnavis at the latter's official residence in South Mumbai to discuss formation of the next government in . Shinde and Fadnavis held a brief meeting at the latter's residence before heading to the Raj Bhavan along with several BJP leaders. The BJP has claimed it has the support of 170 MLAs, including those from the Shinde faction, in a House of 288. The Mumbai police had made heavy security arrangements in view of Shinde's arrival in Mumbai. Roads were emptied so that Shinde's cavalcade faces no hindrance while going to 'Sagar', the official bungalow of Fadnavis located at Malabar Hill. Joint Commissioner of Police (law and order) Vishwas Nangre Patil led the cavalcade himself while other police officials stood guard throughout the route for quick movement and also to ensure that there were no protests by Shiv Sena supporters, an official said. "Shinde, who landed at the Mumbai airport by a chartered flight this afternoon, was escorted by the senior police officials from the airport to South Mumbai. Traffic on the route was stopped to facilitate the passage Shinde's convoy," officials said. Some Shiv Sena workers, who tried to hold a protest outside 'Sagar', were detained, they added. Shinde, who was camping in a Guwahati hotel along with rebel MLAs for more than a week after the rebellion, arrived in Goa on Wednesday night. Shinde and other rebel MLAs stayed at a resort at Dona Paula near Goa capital Panaji. While other MLAs continued to be at the resort, the rebel leader stepped out amid a tight police security around 12.20 pm. "I am going to Mumbai to meet the Governor. All other MLAs are staying in Goa at present," Shinde told reporters outside the resort. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said the rebels have chosen their way and there would be no hindrance from the party in the path of the dissidents to associate with the BJP. The Rajya Sabha MP said the Sena, which led the MVA government, will play the role of constructive opposition to the new government. Talking to reporters a day after Sena president Thackeray resigned as the CM, Raut said the dissident leaders will "regret" their decision to part ways with the Shiv Sena. "You (rebel leaders) will regret this. Eknath Shinde (the leader of the rebel MLAs) was a staunch Shiv Sainik and worked for the party for many years. Be it (MLAs) Gulabrao Patil, Sandipan Bhumre and many (who are in the Shinde camp) who worked for the party and struggled for itthey have chosen their path," Raut said. The Sena rebels have blamed Raut for his visceral statements for widening the gap between them and the party leadership. Responding to this, Raut said, "If I am responsible for making Shiv Sainik a minister then I own it." Meanwhile, Congress leaders met Sena president Thackeray at his residence 'Matoshree' in suburban Bandra a day after he resigned as chief minister. It was a courtesy call as they had worked with Thackeray as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government for the last two-and-half years, said Congress leader Nitin Raut. As to whether the MVA, an alliance of Sena, Congress and NCP, would continue, he said the issue was yet to be discussed. State Congress president Nana Patole said the party would contest the coming local body polls on its own, while the decision as to whether to continue the alliance for Assembly and Lok Sabha polls would be taken by the party leadership. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A delegation of leaders from poll-bound Gujarat, which was on a two-day inspection of the AAP government's " Model", found two and a school in a "poor condition" in Northeast on Wednesday. The 17-member delegation, including former ministers and legislators, visited two at Soniya Vihar and Chauhan Patti, both of which were not operational and a government school at Khajuri Khas, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders said. On Tuesday, the delegation had visited schools and in South Delhi and New Delhi. "The reality of what (Chief Minister) Arvind Kejriwal touts as his Delhi Model of governance is totally different from what he falsely claims. The mohalla clinics are showpieces while we have also noticed that schools are not up to the mark, let alone being of global standards as the AAP claims," one of the delegation members said. Northeast Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari, who accompanied the leaders, claimed that the mohalla clinics listed on the city government's website are "dysfunctional" without doctors or medicines. The delegation members also shot videos and interacted with the locals. "The water and power supply that Kejriwal says is free in Delhi is a big farce. Poor people either do not get any piped water or, if it is available, it is dirty and unfit for use. We also met people who have received huge electricity bills despite minimum consumption," another delegation member said. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is in power in Delhi and Punjab, has been trying to carve a space for itself in that goes to polls later this year, touting its "Delhi model". Several senior AAP leaders, including Kejriwal, have visited the state for meetings and roadshows in recent months. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had visited government schools in Bhavnagar, the constituency of Gujarat's education minister, in April and attacked the ruling for the "poor" condition of education in the state. The AAP is trying to expand its base in BJP-ruled and Himachal Pradesh that are scheduled to go to polls later this year. In the 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls, the AAP had failed to win any seat. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The on Thursday questioned the ruling party on sending a delegation to even as 'its own house was not in order'. State chief Jagdish Thakor cited Wednesday's protest by the school students in the Motimarad village of Rajkot district. Motimarad village is a part of the Dhoraji Assembly constituency from where Congress' Lalit Vasoya is the MLA. He said the building is in a depilated condition and 165 students of school number 3 were shifted to school number four. The new school building is approved and funds are also allocated, but work will commence only after the Assembly elections. As two polling booths are in school number 3, so the collector has stayed rebuilding till elections. Till then the students have no other option but to travel to nearby school. Vasoya said, "Why a few classrooms can't be constructed before the elections so that the students don't have to travel." The students and their parents from another village, Gamanpura village in Ahmedabad district. They locked the school, village panchayat building and even the post office. Gamanpura village's social worker Kanubhai Sameshara said that the state government has closed the village school and merged it with the Lakshmipura village. A total of 45 students in Class 1 to 5 and 27 students for Class 6 to 8 are affected by this. The villagers want the school to be restarted in the village only. party's senior leader Arjun Modhwadia alleged that in the last two years, the state government has closed 577 government-run primary schools in the name of mergers. The state government has decided to merge primary schools with less than 100 students with the nearest primary school and for transportation the state government arranges vehicles for students. --IANS haresh/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.) Odisha Chief Minister has said that direct flights will be operated between Bhubaneswar to Dubai very soon. Patnaik made this announcement while addressing the Odia diaspora in Dubai on Wednesday. Nearly one lakh people of Odisha live in the United Arab Emirates. Direct air connectivity between Dubai and Bhubaneswar has been their long-pending demand. The chief minister's private secretary VK Pandian, who is accompanying Patnaik in the foreign tour, said that the has already proceeded with a viability gap funding (VGF) plan for direct flight services between Dubai and Bhubaneswar. VGF is a grant provided to support infrastructure projects that are economically justified but fall short of financial viability. While attending the programme, Chief Secretary SC Mohapatra said that the will give subsidies to airlines willing to operate direct flights from Dubai to Bhubaneswar under the VGF scheme. In that arrangement, the government provides subsidies to flight operators for a period of three to six months for new destinations expecting that the operations would be financially viable within that period. Once the air route becomes economically viable, the government need not give subsidies to the airlines, Mohapatra said. The scheme was introduced for international flights from Bhubaneswar to Malaysia and Thailand two years ago. Later, it was extended to domestic flights, official sources 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.) Eknath Shinde on Thursday became the fourth chief minister of Maharashtra who hails from Satara district. NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who himself has roots in the western Maharashtra district, noted this in a tweet congratulating Shinde. While Shinde cut his teeth as a leader in Thane near Mumbai, he hails from Dare Tamb village, 60 km from Satara city. Before him, the state had three chief ministers from the district: Yashwantrao Chavan (the first CM of the state), Babasaheb Bhosale and Prithviraj Chavan. While Pawar, another former CM, is mainly associated with Baramati in Pune district, the NCP leader told reporters that his family has roots in Koregaon tehsil of Satara. "After late Yashwantrao Chavan, Shree Babasaheb Bhosale and Shree Pritiviraj Chavan, another Satara-kar has taken over as the Chief Minister," Pawar tweeted earlier in the day. Vijay Mandake, a senior journalist from the district, said leaders from Satara have always been influential in state . Ganesh Utekar, a leader from the district and resident of Shinde's native Dare village, said it was a pleasant shock for all of them when BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis announced Shinde as the next CM. "Everybody in the village is celebrating the development," he added. Shinde, who completed his primary education in a local school, visits the village regularly and does not miss the annual village fair, Utekar 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.) As India and prepare for a Free Trade Agreement, Israel's envoy to India has expressed his country's desire "to share" technology and know-how for the success of New Delhi's flagship programme Make in India', but at the same time expressed concerns over violation of norms. Naor Gilon, Israel's Ambassador to India, said here on Wednesday that we are all interested in Make in India' and we see an immense potential for cooperation with India. Gilon, at an event at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that he got three serious complaints from Israeli companies about IP problems in India. And this is my only recommendation for India - you want to do Make in India' and I think two-three weeks ago during our Defence Minister's visit to India during the meeting with Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, all we talked about was Make in India'. We are all interested in Make in India' and we see an immense potential for cooperation with India," he said. "The combination of Israeli technology and Indian technology and your capacity of manufacturing and your ability to do sales around the world in many more countries than we can do because you have much wider diplomatic relations around the world, especially in Muslim countries. The potential is huge. And is very much looking forward to Make in India'. "We are ready to share but I must say very clearly that this IP problem will be a problem," he said. In an indirect reference to China, the Israeli diplomat warned: "you should not get the reputation of your neighbours". "One has to maintain a solid reputation because Make in India' requires not only manufacturing but IPs. And if you want people to share their IPs, they have to feel confident... Our defence cooperation is in the most sensitive fields of intelligence gathering, a lot of things that we will not speak about here, and IP is also very important for the private sector," he emphasised. Addressing a delegation of 85 entrepreneurs and investors from JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation (JIFF), a part of the Jain International Trade Organisation, Gilon said that Israeli entrepreneurs, including Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, are very complimentary of Indian entrepreneurs and have shared with him how well Israelis and Indians get along together. Urging the young Jain entrepreneurs to work together to mark the "beginning of a relationship," he talked about planning the next 30 years of Indo- ties. "I think Jainism and Judaism are very similar, at least in the way that we are two relatively small religions and we put an emphasis on education and strive for excellence and prosperity for its believers," the envoy stressed. Asserting that the strategic partnership between India and Israel is not just in name, but also in content, Gilon credited Prime Minister Modi's historic visit to Israel in July 2017 as marking a big change in bilateral ties. "The big change in our relationship happened in 2017 and this is with the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Israel which was a historic visit. By the way, there were other high-level visits, including the Presidential, but this was a very unique visit... our relationship was defined then as a strategic partnership. "It is easy to give a name but the question is what is the content. I believe that this is a strategic partnership in reality and not only in name. This is very important. Today we cooperate in all fields, we are very transparent with each other and really cooperate in every field," the Israeli Ambassador emphasised. Stressing upon the special bond between the people of the two countries, Gilon noted the warm welcome he received when he joined the embassy in New Delhi about nine months ago. "I have served in seven countries as a diplomat... There is a different feeling when you come to India. There is popular support which is very strong towards Israel. This you don't find in the western world. In the US, you find enclaves, and islands, of great love and support for Israel but not something that is so widespread and it is a very special feeling for us. "Europeans are generally surprised to see what progress has been made in Israel but that is not the case with Indians. Israel has a very positive image in general in India. So we cooperate in many fields and our task is to see how we take forward this relationship in the next 30 years. How do we continue the momentum and your visit are very important in this context," the envoy said. In response to a question by the Head of the Jain delegation, Siddharth Jain, seeking a point of contact, Gilon said that the Israeli Commercial attaches and honorary consuls, besides the Heads of its three missions in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, would always be available to respond to the questions of Indian businessmen. As India and Israel celebrate 30 years of establishment of diplomatic relations this year, the envoy noted that initially the relationship was based on two legs - cooperation in defence and agriculture, but it has changed dramatically over the years. "We are working on the Free Trade Agreement... there are about ten thousand caregivers from India and now we are working on construction workers. We are working on different areas as to how we can cooperate. We are working on academic cooperation which I believe is very important," he said. Acknowledging Israel's limitations in terms of size and capacity, he said it has only nine universities, which are also not all that big, but Indian students are about 1,000 strong in Israel and are the biggest non-Israeli student community in Israel. "Most of them are in advanced courses because it is very hard to find undergraduate courses in English in Israel," he said. Touching upon the much-publicised I2U2 summit which is to take place during US President Joe Biden's visit to Israel in mid-July, Gilon said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be attending it virtually, as would be the King of UAE, and hopefully we would see some practical projects come out of it". I2U2, dubbed the Middle Eastern Quad by some, is an economic grouping floated primarily by the US in what some political analysts see as a move to counter China's growing footprints in the region. While I2 stands for India and Israel, U2 stands for the UAE and the US. The foreign ministers of the 'I2U2' had met virtually during the visit of the Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar to Israel in October last year. Discussions had then centered around improving trade ties, cooperating in the region's maritime security, synergising efforts for global public health, and joint infrastructure projects focused on transportation and technology. Gilon said that these smaller region-based groupings have emerged because large international organisations have proved themselves to be paralysed. Describing the JITO-JIFF visit to Israel as "mesmerising", Siddharth Jain extended an offer to make his organisation a part of the Israeli innovation ecosystem. "There was also a request that Israel has so many innovation authorities. Maybe JITO-JIFF can support us because we are so large... the JITO-JIFF Incubation Innovation Foundation accelerator, which has about 6000-7,000 square feet of office space in Mumbai, can also be a co-initiative with the Israel government and Israeli innovation authority, probably a nodal agency. We are very happy to boast you as a part of us and this relation can go from A to Z," Siddharth said. Narrating the overwhelming response from the JITO community to be a part of the delegation to Israel, he said that his team thought that some 50 members may show interest and they would be contented to have even 30 looking to join, some 250 members registered in a short time and they had immense difficulty shortlisting people. JITO is a community of about 15,000 families spread across 65 chapters, including 30 international chapters, Siddharth pointed out. The delegation leader also expressed his appreciation of how almost 90 per cent of the Israelis he met during his stay of some four days "had so much knowledge about India". In Israel on a five-day visit, the Jain entrepreneurs' delegation met leading Israeli companies and accelerators in the fields of defence and homeland security, food-tech, smart cities, and cyber security. Anat Bernstein-Reich, Chairperson of the Israel-India Chamber of Commerce, said in her address that "this huge delegation compensates for the lost two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the upcoming FTA and this amazing Jain business delegation and more like that, we can increase our bilateral trade two-fold and more." Ron Malka, the Director-General of the Ministry of Economy and a former Ambassador to India noted that "the big achievement in Israel-India relations is that within 30 years we grew from trade partners to strategic partners". Several other Israeli officials addressed the delegation during almost four hours of interaction at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Yaron Mayer, a Director at the ministry who has also served at Israel's embassy in New Delhi, described the first delegation of Jain entrepreneurs as a part of celebrations of 30 years of establishment of Indo-Israel diplomatic ties which creates further "opportunities to enhance cooperation". Special Jain food arrangements have been made for the delegation which landed in Israel on June 26 and will be leaving on Friday. It has also signed some cooperation agreements with OurCrowd and Ice Cure. Anup Mehta, a working committee member of JITO-JIFF who is in the real estate business in Mumbai, told PTI that the group facilitates the building of companies with strong products and services and helps them achieve a substantial market share in their respective fields. Most of the group members are investors in this venture, Mehta 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.) unveiled the G11 in February, and today, it released the Plus variant. According to GSM Arena, the 6.51" HD+ 90Hz screen of the G11 Plus has a notch for the 8MP front camera. A rectangular island with a 2MP auxiliary camera and LED flash connects to the 50MP main camera on the back. There is a fingerprint scanner for biometric authentication on the textured back panel. The G11 Plus's CPU isn't listed on Nokia's official website, but the firm claims it has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage that can be expanded to 512GB with a microSD card. Two years of Android OS upgrades and three years of monthly security updates are promised with the purchase of the G11 Plus. doesn't disclose the Android version that comes pre-installed on the G11 Plus, although it should be Android 12, as reported by GSM Arena. The Nokia G11 Plus's cost and availability are unknown. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi [India], June 30 (ANI/SRV): CapSavvy, India's leading modern business advisory firm has successfully achieved a milestone of empowering 100 users across various SMEs with its integrated CRM Software. Launched in 2021, the CRM software is an economical solution for small businesses and assists them in effectively achieving their goals. CapSavvy CRM software enables a centralized data-sharing point to ensure internal coordination, lead management, and customer retention. It is one the most affordable business automation tool specially made for SMEs, Solopreneurs and Professional, with loads of features, essential to carry out smooth business operations such as leads management, sales management, service management and team management. These features automate business operations and provide easy access of data to sales and support team, so that the SMEs get a better experience while dealing with their business operations. CapSavvy CRM has served various sectors viz. Real Estate, CA Firms, Healthcare, Financial Advisors, HVAC and Engineering. CapSavvy provides effective and customized business solutions to SMEs based on their organizational goals. Comprising a team of experts and advisors, CapSavvy specializes in various aspects of finance, technology, and education to provide a holistic approach to firms. The CRM software helps SMEs establish new opportunities that benefit their businesses. About a year back, CapSavvy launched its CRM software after interacting with more than 500 SMEs across India. During such interactions, CapSavvy observed key challenges, being faced by Small business while doing their day-to-day sales process, team management and other operations. The recent pandemic enhanced these challenges manifold. After accomplishing and doing diverse studies, following are demanding situations confronted with the aid of using CRM by SMEs and other enterprises: 1. Not proper data management 2. Low lead conversion rate 3. Poor customer interaction 4. High cost and expenses 5. Complicated and challenging to use 6. Post sales challenges Highlighting CapSavvy's milestone, (https://www.linkedin.com/in/anilbgoyal/?originalSubdomain=in) CA Anil Goyal, Founder, CapSavvy said, "Over the last few years, SMEs have emerged as a highly vibrant and dynamic sector in the Indian economy. They not only help in generating a large number of employment opportunities but also contributes to the socio-economic development of the country. Having a right CRM can make a huge difference in the success of small businesses, especially when it comes to things like cultivating leads, turning leads into customers, and turning customers into brand loyalists. As a business and financial advisory firm, CapSavvy gets projects from various business sectors, while understanding their business we noticed the common problem they faced while managing their business was with customer data management, lead nurturing and team productivity. That's when the idea of developing our own CRM came." CA Anil Goyal further added, "We take pride that our CRM Software is aligned with the Government's vision for SMEs digital growth and has assisted 100 users to date. With limited capital and investment funds, SMEs need solutions that are economical and help them in their growth journey. Our software is designed to improve customer satisfaction, increase connectivity and enhance sales effectively." CapSavvy began its remarkable journey in 2019, as it ventured into business strategic advisory, private equity, and debt syndication. Since then, it has been working with various start-ups and SMEs on their journey of growth, through a professional board and a great team. The board consists of Debashish Mallick (former MD, Exim Bank), renowned CAs, IITians, and Engineers, who have been delivering quality services with a focused vision and strategy, to help bring the right funding to their clients. CapSavvy also guides start-ups and SMEs as mentors, to help them make the right decisions for their business. In addition to this, CapSavvy also caters to the needs of firms that have crossed a certain threshold in terms of growth and profits. It helps them with a long-term vision, as well as a value proposition based on their products and services for further expansion. To know more about the CRM Software, visit - (https://www.capsavvycrm.com) CapSavvy CRM Demo: (https://calendly.com/capsavvy) This story is provided by SRV. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV) DISCLAIMER (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], June 30 (ANI/PNN): Over 50 prominent doctors from the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad in the Telangana state will be honored by Sravani Hospitals Madhapur on National Doctors' Day for the first time on July 1 at Hotel Avasa, Madhapur. "We take the privilege of felicitating the dedicated services of renowned doctors of twin cities and wishing them Happy Doctors Day on the occasion of the National Doctors' Day celebration on July 1," said Dr. Naveen Chettupalli, promoter and managing director of Sravani multi-speciality hospital. It is the first time that approximately 50 top-tier doctors will be felicitated and honored for their outstanding contributions to individual lives and communities." "We will launch Sravani Hospital's website ( www.sravanihospitals.com) with the help of our honored guest Padma Shri Dr Manjula Anagani, Dr Mahaboob khan in the presence of renowned doctors from across the twin cities." The Celebration is happening at Hotel Avasa on July 1, 2022. Dr Sathish Reddy G, Dr Krishna Prasad Vunnam, Dr VVS Chandrasekaram, Dr Ch Madhusudhan, Dr Aswini Annam, and Dr Talacheru Srinivasulu, Dr Satish Ghanta, Dr K. Pavan Kumar will attend the event as the guest of honor. National Doctors' Day is celebrated across the country in the memory of Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, a legendary physician and the second Chief Minister of West Bengal. Dr Bidhan was born on July 1, 1882, and died on the same date in 1962. According to Dr Chettupalli Naveen, Sravani Hospital is a 75-bed multi-speciality hospital coming up soon at Madhapur in Hyderabad. The 75-bed Sravani hospital, the brainchild of Dr Naveen Chettupalli and his wife, Sravani Chettupalli, a philanthropist and educationist, is spread across 25,000 square feet and offers more than ten specialities. The team includes eminent and senior consultants like Dr Ashwini Annam, Dr Talacheru Srinivasulu, Dr Prasad Neelam, and Dr Nikhil Reddy. The hospital has advanced cutting-edge equipment like 32 slice Siemens CT scan, GE Omnibeds Warmers Anesthesia Gas stations, Olympus Endoscopy and ERCP, Karl Storz 4K advanced Laparoscopy, and Philips Monitors. It specializes in Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, General Medicine, Pulmonology, Surgical Gastroenterology, Neurosurgery, Urology, Orthopedics, Critical and Trauma care, IVF, Radiology & Clinical Imaging, Endoscopy, Laparoscopy, Pediatric Surgery, and Plastic Surgery along with state of the art Cardiology Cath lab facility to provide the best health care facilities to patients. Sravani Chettupalli, CEO of Sravani Hospitals, said, "Sravani hospitals aims to bring the best and most advanced healthcare services in South India. We have a dedicated team of doctors to serve the patients in almost all the fields of medical sciences." Sravani Hospital will accept appointments at their premises: Plot 91-94 Guttala Begumpet, Cyber hills Madhapur Hyd 500033 post official launch. Contact : 9133501555 | website : www.sravanihospitals.com This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN) DISCLAIMER (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) . The goods and services tax collection was above 1 lakh crore mark for the 11th month running in May, offering a big reprieve to the central government which is in a tight spot due to external and internal headwinds. Rolled out on July 1, 2017, had subsumed 17 central and state levies. States now have indirect tax autonomy only on excise revenues which come from fuel and liquor and on stamp duties. And five years on, the regime is still evolving. The 47th Council meeting was held in Chandigarh, and it ended on Wednesday afternoon with Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressing the media. Giving a leg up to the unorganised sector, the Council agreed to waive mandatory registration for small online sellers. From January 1, 2023, online sellers with an annual turnover of Rs 40 lakh or Rs 20 lakh-- in case of small and select states-- will be exempt from mandatory registration under GST. The move is expected to benefit 120,000 small traders. Currently, small offline sellers are exempted from compulsory registration. While reports suggested that there could be a 28% GST on online gaming, casinos and horse racing, treating them on par with gambling, the council decided to further deliberate on the tax rate and the method of valuation of taxation on such services. *On the rationalisation of tax rates, the council has not taken up the issue and a ministerial panel has been given three months time to submit its report.* Let us now move on to the crucial subject of compensation to states. At the time of implementation of GST, the Centre had decided to compensate the states for any loss of revenue from the new tax for five years. The period ends on June 30. Several states, mostly ruled by opposition, have been demanding extension of GST compensation, citing two years of pandemic. However, the GST Council did not take any call on it. The proposal will likely be taken up again in the next meeting. Meanwhile, the council has also accepted the recommendation by the group of ministers on correcting the inverted duty structure. A host of items now attract higher GST. For instance, LED lamps, ink, knives, blades, power-driven pumps, and dairy machinery will attract 18% GST, higher than the existing 12%. Further, the GST rate on solar water heaters and finished leather was hiked from 5% to 12%. The GST council has proposed to withdraw tax exemptions for few items along with rate changes for few . Exemptions have also been removed on a variety of services including hotels with a rent below Rs 1,000 a day, hospital room rents (excluding ICU) above Rs 5,000 per day and services provided by RBI, Irdai and Sebi. The council also wants all post office services, other than postcards and inland letters, book post and envelopes weighing less than 10 gm, to be taxed. However, goods that are unpacked and unlabelled are still exempt from GST. The council has also reduced GST on some goods and services. It gave relief to the transport sector as it slashed rates on transport by ropeways and renting of truck/goods carriage where cost of fuel is included. On whether to bring movement of gold and precious stones under the e-way bill regime, the council has allowed states to decide on the threshold above which e-way bill can be generated. The ministerial panel has recommended a threshold of Rs 2 lakh and above. The GST council has also decided to set up a ministerial panel to address various concerns raised by the states on the GST appellate tribunal.* . . . Chinas first-ever F1 driver Zhou Guanyu was involved in a horror crash in a British Grand Prix race in Silverstone, U.K., on Sunday. Zhous Alfa Romeo skidded upside down for about 200 meters into the fence after colliding with Mercedes George Russell on the first lap of the race. The 23-year-old was taken away to a medical center but was reported to have no major injury after the crash Jul 04, 2022 04:25 PM China removes COVID infection risk marks in constant exploration for better balance of epidemic prevention, devt By Zhang Han and Liu Caiyu (Global Times) 08:22, June 30, 2022 China on Wednesday announced the nationwide travel tracking system will no longer mark cities having areas of COVID-19 infection risks to better balance epidemic prevention and economic and social development, the latest move which signaled China's continuous exploration to realize more scientific and precise epidemic prevention and control under the dynamic zero principle. The policy was announced after Tuesday's adjustmentthat halved collective quarantine for international arrivals and close contacts to seven days, plus three days of home health monitoring. It also came after Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed during his inspection in Central China's Wuhan on Tuesday that China has the capability and strength to implement the dynamic zero-COVID policy until the final victory is secured and China's COVID-19 response measures are the most economical and effective. During his inspection of Wuhan on Tuesday, Xi noted China's dynamic zero-COVID policy was formulated by the CPC Central Committee based on the Party's nature and purpose, as well as the country's national conditions. If China had adopted the "herd immunity" policy or a hands-off approach, given its large population, the country would have faced catastrophic consequences, Xi said. "Even if there are some temporary impacts on the economy, we will not put people's lives and health in harm's way, and we must protect the elderly and the children in particular," Xi said. "If we make an overall evaluation, our COVID-19 response measures are the most economical and effective." Before Wednesday, cities with an area of high or medium COVID infection risks were marked with an asterisk in the travel history checking system under the State Council's administration. Inter-city and inter-provincial travelers were usually asked to present tracking information upon arrival. The risk area is designated in the unit of communities while the asterisk was measured in unit of cities and municipalities meaning a city of a few million residents will be marked the same way as mega cities like Shanghai and Beijing if both have one community with COVID-19 infections. In practice, having an asterisk or not has been used by some places to up restrictions on travelers. A Beijing resident told the Global Times she had to give up a trip to a scenic spot in South China because Beijing was marked and she was required collective quarantine, even though the capital city of 20 million residents then had one medium-risk area and a few infections. Residents in Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing, whose travel history bears an asterisk, shared their excitement on social media over the latest news while online searches for air and train tickets spiked. The searches for air tickets on the platform grew by 60 percent in less than 30 minutes on travel portal qunar.com after the latest announcement. The searches for hotel rooms doubled, while searches for train tickets increased by 150 percent, the platform said. A senior expert from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) interpreted the "cancelation of asterisk marking" as a timely and wise step in China's overall control of the epidemic and can prevent some places from putting extra restrictions on travelers from low-risk areas citing their origin cities' "asterisk" status as an excuse. Lu Hongzhou, head of Shenzhen's anti-epidemic expert team and head of the Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen, told the Global Times on Wednesday nucleic acid testing can be taken as a pass card for people to travel no matter where they are from. China on Tuesday tweaked its COVID playbook, drawing a clear standard on what constitutes medium- and high-risk areas and what management people involved are subject to, and asking cities to arrange the frequency and scope of nucleic acid testing based on infection risks and transmission chains. In early June, the National Health Commission (NHC) urged local governments to avoid upping the ante of COVID-19 control, such as refusing to allow arrivals from low-risk areas. The expert told the Global Times that China has built up an effective system of normalized epidemic control. When people in areas of infection risks are managed in line with the relevant playbook, people outside controls should be able to move freely. If in some circumstances someone from a low-risk region is tested positive during a trip, the person can be quickly identified and relevant COVID-19 control measures will be imposed, the CDC expert said. "It should be prevented to impose escalated controls on all to tackle very few exceptions." The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which announced the new policy, stated the policy aims to "support an efficient coordination of epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, and facilitate the travel of users" while implementing the general principle of "dynamic zero-COVID," according to the ministry's website. Observers stressed the cancelation of travel history marking is not abandoning "dynamic-zero" but rather underscores the "dynamic" part of the control strategy. Under the principle, China has always been exploring an epidemic control package that suits the time and needs, retaining effective methods and discarding outdated ones, the CDC expert said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Dmitry Peskov Reuters Decision on President Putin's participation in G20 summit to be made in due time, says Kremlin spokesman MOSCOW (AA) Russia has no plans to continue its dialogue with the US on strategic stability, the Kremlin said on Thursday. No, unfortunately, there are no tangible plans in this regard yet, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to a question at a press conference in Moscow. On media reports that Myanmar has requested oil supply from Russia, Peskov said no visit by the countries leaders is planned. Concerning President Vladimir Putins participation in this years G20 summit, which has sparked heated debate, the spokesman said the matter is being evaluated and a decision will be made in due time. Earlier, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned against boycotting the summit if Putin attends, but said he was doubtful that the Russian leader would come to the event, scheduled for November in Indonesia. Johnson makes a lot of different statements, remarks successful, less successful, completely unsuccessful and monstrous in their content, Peskov said. About the exchange of war prisoners with Ukraine, Peskov said: The main thing for us is the return of our military personnel and all military personnel who are fighting for the right to life of people from the LPR and DPR (so-called Luhansk and Donetsk Peoples Republics). On the European Human Rights Courts ruling urging Donetsk to free captured British mercenaries, Peskov said Moscow is no longer obliged to follow its decisions. On June 9, a court in Donetsk sentenced British citizens Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner to death, along with Moroccan national Brahim Saadoun. Aslin was the first foreign fighter arrested and questioned by British authorities for his involvement with the YPG/PKK terror group on his return from Syria in 2017. He was held under the UKs Terrorism Act on suspicion of engaging in the preparation to fight against Daesh (ISIS), and possessing articles for terrorist purposes in Iraq/Syria. Moscow, Russia Getty West placing new Iron Curtain between itself and Russia, Belarus, say foreign ministers MOSCOW (AA) - Decisions made at the NATO summit in Madrid violate the Russia-NATO Founding Act, Russias foreign minister said on Thursday. One of the most striking violations is the agreement about the permanent deployment of military contingents in Europe, Sergey Lavrov said at a news conference in Minsk after a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Makei. He said the act remains in force as neither side has backed out so far. Lavrov said there were long and loud discussions in NATO about the need for a founding act or whether it would be better to abandon it. However, the alliance decided not to touch this topic, he added. Moscow is evaluating the outcomes of the NATO summit and will give a detailed assessment soon, according to Lavrov. Both Lavrov and Makei agreed that the West is placing a new Iron Curtain between itself and Russia and Belarus, citing the closures of airspace and ports as evidence of its intent. I would advise them to do it carefully and not to slam anything, Lavrov said. On sanctions, Lavrov said there was a disparity between the measures taken by the EU and US, with Washington protecting itself and not venturing into areas that would damage its own economy. The US feels the negative effects of its own sanctions, but Europe suffers much more, he said, adding that the reason the US is pushing for more sanctions is to weaken not only Russia, but also Europe as a competitor. Elena Teslova, AA MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian president on Thursday called "irreversible" the formation of a multipolar world, saying the domination of one country or a group of countries on the global stage is dangerous. Addressing the participants of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum, Vladimir Putin said: Russia supports this process, and its position is that this democratic, more just world order should be based on mutual respect, trust, and the generally accepted principles of international law and the UN Charter. A multipolar system of international relations is now being formed. It is an irreversible process; it is happening before our eyes and is objective in nature, Putin told this years plenary session, themed Law in a Multipolar World. He disagreed with the idea of the law's incapability to adequately respond to the problems and challenges of today. Crises happen not because the law is faulty, but because of attempts to replace the law with dictate, and international standards with the national jurisdiction of certain states or groups of states in a deliberate refusal to follow essential legal principles justice, conscientiousness, equality and humanity. These are not just legal ideals, but values that reflect the diversity of our civilization, he said. According to Putin, some states are not ready to accept losing their supremacy on the international stage and are striving to preserve the unjust unipolar model. Under the guise of what they call order based on rules, and other questionable concepts, they try to control and direct global processes at their own discretion, and hold to a course of creating closed blocs and coalitions that make decisions for the benefit of one country, the United States of America, he said. He added that "the natural rights of others" in international relations are being ignored, the fundamental principle of indivisibility of security is being used selectively, and unilateral, illegitimate sanctions reached an unprecedented scale. - Russia open to constructive dialogue Russia remains open to constructive dialogue, including on ensuring strategic stability, preserving agreements on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and improving the situation in arms control, he stressed. Crucial issues like the climate agenda, fighting famine, providing stability in food and energy markets, and fair rules in international trade and competition need joint efforts, he noted. All of these areas require appropriate and flexible legal regulation and meticulous cooperation. With this approach, we could avoid crises such as the current one in Donbas that is happening to protect its residents from genocide and there can be no other definition for the Kyiv regimes actions than a crime against humanity, he said. Putin promised that Russia will continue to create "a more democratic and just world where the rights of all peoples are guaranteed and mankinds cultural and civilizational diversity is preserved." "I am confident that by consistently following international law and joining our efforts, it is possible to resolve the most difficult problems that the world is facing and to provide for the stable, sustainable and progressive development of all states. Both practicing lawyers and jurists can and should bring a significant contribution to the recreation of the authority of law, strengthening its legal institutions and rebuilding trust in international relations," he said. Elena Teslova, AA Olaf Scholz Getty 'Pretty ridiculous' for Vladimir Putin to accuse NATO of imperialism, says Olaf Scholz BERLIN (AA) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday slammed Russias military aggression in Ukraine, saying it poses a threat to Europe and NATO. With its aggressive policy, Russia is again a threat to Europe, to the (NATO) alliance, Scholz said at a press conference at the end of the NATO summit in Madrid. However, he stressed that NATO is prepared for the challenges after its latest summit. He said the alliance has drawn the right conclusions amid the changing global situation and is strengthening its defense capabilities, especially with regards to the security of members along the eastern flank. We will face the challenges with unity and determination, he said. The German chancellor dismissed Russian President Vladimir Putins allegation that NATO is pursuing a policy of imperialism. To be honest, thats pretty ridiculous, he said. NATO is a defensive alliance that does not attack other countries and does not pose a threat to anyone in the neighborhood, according to Scholz. In fact, it is Putin who has made imperialism the goal and the object of his policies, Scholz asserted. Oliver Towfigh Nia/AA A few weeks after spotting them on local roads and the subsequent opening of order books that followed, we have our first indications as t... Chapek as CEO: The Good. Its been a rocky couple years since Chapek took the reins, but there have been extenuating circumstances. His arrival came just weeks before the companys theme parks and most of its production work were shut down by the Covid-19 pandemic, a development which could have been financially devastating. However, many credit the way Chapek integrated Disney+ into the global streaming ecosystem for the companys buoyancy during this time of adversity. His no-nonsense approach and heavy reliance on popular IPs helped the platform massively overshoot subscriber growth projections. Without that streaming success, Disney would have likely faced a far more difficult time during the pandemic. Chapek as CEO: The Bad. Chapeks biggest blunder so far, or at least the most public, was his response to Floridas Parental Rights in Education bill (more popularly referred to as the Dont Say Gay law). Employees from nearly all levels of Disneys hierarchy turned on Chapek when he initially tried to avoid addressing the situation at all. Eventually though, Chapek caved and paused all political donations in the state of Florida, issuing a mild apology to anyone who felt let down by his previous inactivity. Earlier in his tenure the executive also got dragged into a very public PR battle about pay with Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson. Most recently, controversy was stirred when Chapek fired the companys top tv content executive Peter Rice, viewed by many as a potential Chapek replacement if the CEO were to be unseated for any reason. Chapek as CEO: The Ugly. In speaking out against the Florida bill, Chapek kickstarted a feud with the states governor Ron DeSantis, who embarked on a weeks-long tirade against Chapek, Disney, and animation at large. Santis subsequently drafted a bill to have Disneys self-governing status in Florida, protected since 1967, removed. More concerning for the long term, Republicans have turned Disney into a political foil, something Iger managed to avoid with his slick statesman-like approach to running the company. What theyre saying. Chapek: Leading this great company is the honor of a lifetime, and I am grateful to the board for their support. I started at Disney almost 30 years ago, and today have the privilege of leading one of the worlds greatest, most dynamic companies, bringing joy to millions around the world. I am thrilled to work alongside the incredible storytellers, employees, and cast members who make magic every day. Susan Arnold, chairman of the board: July promises to be a banner month for animated features making their streaming debuts. Netflixs The Sea Beast headlines an exciting month of releases for the streamer, which will also debut Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, the first series in the franchise to feature original Po actor Jack Black; Farzar, an adult animation series from Paradise PD creators Roger Black and Waco OGuin; and the highly anticipated manga-to-series adaptation of Uncle From Another World. If The Sea Beast isnt enough high-seas adventure for you, we also recommend checking out Aardmans classic The Pirates! Band of Misfits, which will hit Prime Video on July 1. HBO Max will begin streaming The Bobs Burgers Movie starting July 12, and offers the premieres of season two of Genndy Tartakovskys Primal, and season threes of Harley Quinn and Tuca & Bertie. The Bobs Burgers Movie will be available to stream on Hulu as well, one day before the Disney-owned streamer launches season three of Solar Opposites on July 13. Photo: The Canadian Press Ketanji Brown Jackson has been sworn in to the U.S. Supreme Court, shattering a glass ceiling as the first Black woman on the nations highest court. The 51-year-old Jackson is the courts 116th justice and she took the place Thursday of the justice she once worked for. Justice Stephen Breyers retirement took effect at noon. Moments later, joined by her family, Jackson recited the two oaths required of Supreme Court justices, one administered by Breyer and the other by Chief Justice John Roberts. With a full heart, I accept the solemn responsibility of supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States and administering justice without fear or favor, so help me God, Jackson said in a statement issued by the court. I am truly grateful to be part of the promise of our great Nation. I extend my sincerest thanks to all of my new colleagues for their warm and gracious welcome. Roberts welcomed Jackson to the court and our common calling. The ceremony was streamed live on the court's website. Jackson, a federal judge since 2013, is joining three other women, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett the first time four women will serve together on the nine-member court. Biden nominated Jackson in February, a month after Breyer, 83, announced he would retire at the end of the court's term, assuming his successor had been confirmed. Breyer's earlier-than-usual announcement and the condition he attached was a recognition of the Democrats' tenuous hold on the Senate in an era of hyper-partisanship, especially surrounding federal judgeships. The Senate confirmed Jackson's nomination in early April, by a 53-47 mostly party-line vote that included support from three Republicans. Jackson had been in a sort of judicial limbo since, remaining a judge on the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., but not hearing any cases. Biden elevated her to that court from the district judgeship to which she was appointed by President Barack Obama. Jackson will be able to begin work immediately, but the court will have just finished the bulk of its work until the fall, apart from emergency appeals that occasionally arise. That will give her time to settle in and familiarize herself with the roughly two dozen cases the court already has agreed to hear starting in October as well as hundreds of appeals that will pile up over the summer. The court issued final opinions earlier Thursday after a momentous and rancorous term that included overturning Roe v. Wades guarantee of the right to an abortion. One of Thursdays decisions limited how the Environmental Protection Agency can use the nations main anti-air pollution law to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, a blow to the fight against climate change. Photo: Contributed A second round of water testing for Fort Nelson First Nation's geothermal power plan is expected by next week, ensuring groundwater in the region is commercially viable for geothermal electricity and heat production facilities. Owned by the Fort Nelson First Nation, the Tu Deh-Kah power plant will be B.C.s first geothermal electricity plant once completed, using 120-degree water sitting 2,000 to 2,500 metres below the earth's surface to generate power and heat year-round greenhouses. Project co-ordinator Jamie Capot-Blanc, a member of the Fort Nelson First Nation, is hopeful the tests will yield positive results, and excited for the possibilities of clean energy production and local food sustainability. Its exciting. There have been challenges, not necessarily from a technical standpoint. Ive got an oil and gas background, so going through the commissioning process and going through this type of development, this is kind of normal, he said. But when youre dealing with a first, theres a lot of eyeballs on it. As a former oil and gas plant operator, Capot-Blanc says much of the technology is similar and ultimately a matter of repurposing for the green project. We need to prove that we can pump this fluid for 30 days in order to go into commercial financing and develop the rest of the field, Capot-Blanc said. In our first round of well testing we pumped 10,000 cubes, which is 10 million litres over 50 hours, and we saw temperatures from 112 to 128 Celsius. There is a large of water down there. We proved that the rock is porous enough that it allows that water to flow. We proved that we are seeing commercial-grade temperatures, he said. If this goes according to plan, were one step closer to being a first commercial electrical generating facility in Canada. The geothermal wells in the former Clarke Lake gas field are expected to generate seven megawatts of electricity in their initial phase enough to power about 5,000 homes. There's potential to expand to 15MW. The federal government announced $40.5 million for the project in March 2021, with an additional $100,000 in provincial funding awarded this past January. We have a great opportunity here to revolutionize the North, and not only provide something for our people, but prosperity and unity. And thats what its really about, bringing everyone together, Fort Nelson First Nation Chief Sharleen Gale said during a blessing ceremony for the project last fall. Fort Nelson mayor Gary Foster penned a May 24 letter to Geothermal Project Manager John Ebell, expressing the municipality's support for the nation's application for funding assistance through the CleanBC Communities Fund We see in the proposed development an unparalleled opportunity to stimulate economic recovery and at the same time, contribute to B.C.s efforts to reduce carbon emissions, Foster said. While the project will be developed and implemented by the Nation, the integrated nature of our economy and infrastructure ensures that it would provide healthy employment and development prospects for everyone in the region, he added. Photo: The Canadian Press The Supreme Court will not hear an appeal from a British Columbia man convicted of trafficking 11 female victims, including underage girls, for sex. Reza Moazami, who was sentenced to 23 years in prison, had sought leave to appeal a September decision by the B.C. Court of Appeal. That court dismissed his appeals of his 2014 conviction on 30 prostitution-related offences, as well as a later conviction on an attempt to obstruct justice by attempting to influence the testimony of a witness. Moazami had sought those appeals on the grounds that the behaviour of a former Vancouver detective, Jim Fisher, who investigated his case may have interfered with his right to a fair trial. Fisher pleaded guilty in 2018 to breach of trust for kissing a 21-year-old victim in Moazami's case as well as sexual exploitation and breach of trust involving a 17-year-old girl who was a victim in a separate prostitution-related case. As is customary, the high court did not give reasons for its decision released today on Moazami's leave to appeal. Photo: The Canadian Press Federal health officials are bracing Canadians for another round of COVID-19 vaccines expected to roll out in the fall, and are urging those behind on their boosters to catch up now. Canada's chief public health officer Theresa Tam says circulating Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are even more transmissible and able to evade immunity than previous versions, making a rise in cases likely in coming weeks. She and Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos are stressing the importance of up-to-date vaccination status, noting 40 per cent of Canadians still have not received a booster following their primary two shots, putting us behind other G7 countries when it comes to three doses. Tam is also warning of a possible COVID-19 resurgence in the fall and winter, and says new guidance on a fall booster program should help reduce severe outcomes and ease potential strain on the health-care system. In a release Wednesday, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization advised jurisdictions to prepare to offer another round of shots to people at increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness, regardless of the number of booster doses they've already received. That includes people 65 years of age and older, residents of long-term care or living facilities, and those 12 years of age and older with an underlying medical condition that places them at high risk of severe COVID-19. Ontario premier Doug Ford said Thursday morning that a plan was in the works in Canada's most populous province, but released no details. "You'll hear further about our rollout in the next little while," Ford said. The NACI recommendation also prioritizes adults in Indigenous, racialized and marginalized communities, as well migrant workers, and those in shelters, correctional facilities and group homes. NACI also recommends that boosters be offered to all other individuals from 12 to 64 years of age regardless of the number of booster doses they have previously received. Matthew Tunis, executive secretary of NACI, said Thursday that there is still uncertainty over when individuals should receive their fall booster, and exactly what the formulation will be. Tam noted new vaccines tailored to Omicron are in development but have not yet been evaluated by Canada's drug regulator. She said officials are still waiting for data on what new protection the so-called bivalent vaccines could offer. In the meantime, she said there's no reason for Canadians to hesitate updating their shots. "As cases go up, like BA.4 for BA.5, as indicated in some areas of Canada, getting that booster, if you haven't had it, now would be quite important, in particular going into the fall," said Tam. In 2019, British Columbias logging industry generated $13 billion for the province, according to the B.C. Council of Forest Industries. In 2021, B.C.s largest lumber producersCanfor, West Fraser, Interfor, Tolko and Teal Jonesannounced the expansion of sawmills, businesses and purchases of forests, not at home but in U.S., to process the fast-growing yellow pine in warmer Texas and Louisiana. These out-of-province investments totaled $6 billion. That was $6 billion that could have been reinvested towards the cost of doing business in B.C.s forests, to rehabilitate 400,000 kilometres of logging roads, repair riparian and spawning habitat, restore flood controls and reforest after wildfires. (The money) could have been spent on wages for more loggers needed to select log rather than industrial clear-cut. Is logging in B.C. still all about the jobs? Selectively removing trees from intact forests largely reduces the need (and taxpayer costs) for environmentally damaging forestry practices of slash pile burning, glyphosate spraying, deciduous brushing, and monoculture reforestation with modified, nursery seedlings. The expansion into the U.S. is another step away from developing a sustainable logging industry in B.C., the result of treating local jobs as less important than the profits of a few. Like the mining towns of the last century, B.C.s logging communities are the new ghost towns. I suppose we should thank the B.C. logging cartels annual reports to shareholders for cementing the loss of their social license with B.C. taxpayers, no one really likes a braggart. Even government has lost faith in the B.C. logging industry. B.C. Investment Management Corporation invested government pension funds in a 772,000-acre tract of forested land in east Texas, betting on U.S. future values, not the home team. It is time this government invests in forestry reforms, takes back tenures and returns them to local communities, while creating overarching forestry legislation that protects ecological integrity and resilience under which all other land and resource use is subordinate. If we must endure the socialized costs from collateral damages of industrial clearcut logging, we need to keep the privatized profits from flooding south. Taryn Skalbania, Peachland Photo: The Canadian Press Sonny Barger, the leather-clad figurehead of the notorious Hells Angels motorcycle club, has died. He was 83. Barger's death was announced on his Facebook page late Wednesday. If you are reading this message, youll know that Im gone. Ive asked that this note be posted immediately after my passing, a posting said. Ive lived a long and good life filled with adventure. And Ive had the privilege to be part of an amazing club. The post said that I passed peacefully after a brief battle with cancer. Barger's former attorney, Fritz Clapp, told The Associated Press that Barger had liver cancer and died Wednesday night at home in Livermore, California. Barger composed the post placed on the Facebook page managed by Barger's wife, Zorana, he said. Ralph Sonny Barger was a founding member of the Oakland, California, chapter of the Hells Angels in 1957 and was present at its most infamous moment the 1969 Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Speedway during which bikers hired as security staff fatally stabbed a concertgoer who pulled a gun on one of their members. The Hells Angels were typically depicted by the media as the dark fringe of the 1960s counterculture, embracing freedom, drugs and rock music, but also crime and violence. But Barger, the unofficial spokesman for the Hells Angels, downplayed their outlaw reputation. They say we're organized crime, but if you took every Hells Angel on the face of the Earth and got rid of them you wouldnt drop the crime rate in the world one-tenth of one percent, he said in a 2000 interview for Heads magazine. Were a little drop in the bucket. Theres more cops committing crimes than Hells Angels. Bargers own arrest record included charges ranging from drunken driving to attempted murder. He served 13 years in various prisons, according to news reports. He claimed that one of his most satisfying experiences was his acquittal in 1980 on a count of racketeering, and the declaration of a mistrial on a charge of conspiracy to violate the racketeering law. But in 1988, a jury found Barger guilty of conspiracy to violate federal firearms and explosives laws in plots to kill members of a rival gang. He was sentenced to a six-year term at the Phoenix Federal Correctional Institution and was released in 1992. Barger capitalized on his notoriety. He wrote three books about his life and philosophy, including a best-selling autobiography, Hells Angel. A chapter title in one of his books was Nothing states your position more clearly than a punch in the face. He also wrote two novels. Sonny Barger Productions operates a website and sells clothing. A high school dropout at 16, Barger grew up in Oakland and joined the Army in 1955 with a forged birth certificate. He was kicked out with an honorable discharge after the forgery was discovered. He started the Hells Angels with friends and soon learned there were other Hells Angels clubs in California. Barger helped unify the clubs. He served as the main character in Hunter Thompsons 1966 expose Hells Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. Hes smart and hes crafty and he has a kind of wild animal cunning. He was clearly the most competent person around, Thompson wrote. Of the Altamont killing, Barger argued that the Hells Angels acted in self-defense. The club member charged in the incident was acquitted. The stabbing was captured by a camera crew filming the documentary Gimme Shelter. Barger underwent a laryngectomy in the early 1980s for throat cancer, which he attributed to a long, three-pack-a-day cigarette habit. Thereafter, he breathed through a plastic valve in his neck, and covered the vent to speak. Live your life the Sonny Barger way? I dont recommend it, he wrote in the opening lines to his 2005 book Freedom: Credos from the Road. Photo: The Canadian Press As B.C. enters its third summer since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, infections continue to fall, as they typically do during the summer months. While COVID-19 case counts are down across Canada, public health officials are concerned there could be a spike in certain Omicron variant infections, such as the BA.4 and BA.5, entering the fall flu season. Canadas chief public health officer is therefore urging all Canadians to get a third vaccine, as two doses offer less protection against Omicron strains. In its weekly update, for the period of June 19 to 25, the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) reports that there were 620 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C., 169 hospital admissions, and 17 deaths. Thats down from 642 new cases, 273 hospitalizations and 32 deaths for the previous reporting period of June 12 to 18, and down from 62 deaths reported for the week of June 5 to 11. Since switching to weekly reporting, the BCDC now provides COVID-19 data from the previous week. Hospitalization and death statistics are not necessarily an accurate reflection of illness and death caused specifically by the COVID-19 virus. Not all people admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are there because of COVID-19. Hospital data includes all people who test positive for COVID-19, even if they are admitted to hospital for other reasons, the BCCDC notes. Therefore, reported hospitalizations overestimate the true number of people who are hospitalized specifically due to COVID-19 infection, the BCCDC says. The BCCDC also initially reports all deaths where the patient tested positive for the virus within 30 dies prior to death. So even if someone tests positive, and later dies in a car crash or from a drug overdose, it is initially counted in the COVID-19 death statistics. This is why the BCCDC now reports COVID-19 deaths as all-cause mortality. The B.C. government's process is to include all COVID-19 positive deaths initially, and then have its Vital Statistics Agency determine which deaths were not COVID-19-related, and then remove them from the total. Testing reveals that more 99% of positive test cases in B.C. were for the Omicron variant. Photo: The Canadian Press This image provided by the Horry County Sheriff's Office in Conway, S.C., shows Bhagavan 'Doc' Antle, who was arrested by the FBI, Friday, June 3, 2022, on federal money laundering charges. Tiger King star Bhagavan Doc Antle has been charged with buying or selling endangered lemurs, cheetahs, and a chimpanzee without the proper paperwork, federal prosecutors in South Carolina said Thursday. The latest charges are on top of money laundering counts, where authorities said Antle tried to hide more than half a million dollars made in an operation to smuggle people across the Mexican border into the U.S. Antle is featured prominently in Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, a 2020 Netflix documentary miniseries that focused on tiger breeders and private zoo operators in the U.S. The series focused heavily on Oklahoma zoo operator Joe Exotic, who also was targeted for animal mistreatment and was convicted in a plot to kill a rival, Carole Baskin. The U.S. Endangered Species Act requires permission to buy or move any endangered species in captivity and prosecutors said Antle, two of his employees and owners of safari tours in Texas and California all broke the law. Charles Sammut, the operator of Vision Quest Ranch in Salians, California, exchanged two red ruffed lemurs with Antle in June 2018, federal prosecutors said. The allegations in the indictments are littered with misinformation," Sammut told The Associated Press by phone Thursday. Sammut said he wouldn't specify what was wrong because he had a criminal case now pending, but added he felt the problems would be cleared up soon. Antle was also charged with exchanging a chimpanzee with Franklin Drive Through Safari in Franklin, Texas. Owner Jason Clay didn't return a phone message and a lawyer was not listed in court records. Sammut, 61, and Clay, 42, are each charged with wildlife trafficking and violating the Endangered Species Act. If convicted, they face up to five years in prison. Court documents said Antle, 62, and Myrtle Beach Safari employee Meredith Bybee also bought or sold two young cheetahs, although details about who else was involved in the alleged transaction were not in the federal indictments. Antle's lawyers did not respond to an email Thursday and court records didn't list a lawyer for Bybee, 51. Antle and another employee, Andrew Jon Sawyer, 52, were charged earlier in June with money laundering. Prosecutors said the men wrote $505,000 worth of checks that were supposed to be for construction work at Myrtle Beach Safari but in reality were payments to help smuggle people from Mexico into the United States. Antle tried to hide the scheme by inflating tourist numbers at his 50-acre (20-hectare) wildlife tropical preserve, prosecutors said. Prosecutors also said he had previously used bulk cash receipts to purchase animals for which he could not use checks. Animal rights advocates long have accused Antle of mistreating lions and other wildlife. He was indicted in Virginia in 2020 on animal cruelty and wildlife trafficking charges. In Virginia, Antle is facing two felony counts of wildlife trafficking and conspiracy to wildlife trafficking charges, as well as 13 misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act and animal cruelty charges tied to trafficking lion cubs. Those charges are scheduled to go to trial next month. Antle has a history of recorded violations, going as far back as 1989, when he was fined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for abandoning deer and peacocks at his zoo in Virginia. Over the years, he has more than 35 USDA violations for mistreating animals. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday appealed to the people to help maintain law and order in the state and assured that no criminal will be spared irrespective of any religion or community. His remarks come after tension in the state over the murder of a tailor on June 28 by two men in Udaipur. The Chief Minister termed the incident as very unfortunate and assured that the state government is working diligently to maintain law and order. "Rajasthan is known for communal cordiality and harmony. The example of brotherhood and unity here is given all over the country. A youth has been brutally murdered in Udaipur on June 28, 2022, which is very unfortunate. The state government is working diligently to maintain law and order," Gehlot said. He further said that the local police have registered the case under Sections 16, 18 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act-1967 (UAPA) and Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code read Section 153 A, 153 B, 295 A 452 and 35. "Simultaneously, a SIT was formed for a detailed investigation of the incident. Quick arrest of both the main accused has been done with the promptness of the police. In the preliminary investigation, it has come to the fore that the accused are related to foreign organizations. Hence this incident is being investigated by the NIA. State's Anti-Terrorist Squad and Special Operation Group (ATS & SOG) have been directed to extend full cooperation in the investigation being conducted by NIA," he added. "I want to assure the people of the state that no matter how big the criminal may be and of any religion or community, he will not be spared under any circumstances. We are committed to maintaining peace, communal harmony and brotherhood in the state," the Chief Minister said. He also urged religious leaders, public representatives of the people and social activists to appeal to people to ensure peace in the society. "The people of the state should not be misled by the anti-social elements who create unrest and spoil the atmosphere. In order not to create an atmosphere of fear and unrest in society, do not broadcast any such material and video on other platforms including social media. I humbly appeal to the people of the state that everyone should fulfill their responsibility in maintaining law and order and peace and if you have any information or information about disturbing peace and harmony, then definitely inform it by calling on 100/101," he added. Rajasthan Police on Wednesday had said that the main accused involved in the killing of the tailor in Udaipur were in touch with Pakistan-based organisation Dawat-e-Islami and one of them had also gone to Karachi in Pakistan in 2014 to visit the organisation. Kanhaiya Lal a tailor was hacked to death inside his shop in Udaipur by two men in broad daylight on June 28 for allegedly posting content in support of suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma. The beheading had sparked public outrage across the country. Upon the direction of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday took over the investigation of the murder, officials said. The anti-terror agency has also filed a First Information Report (FIR) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act as well as various sections of the Indian Penal Code, a senior NIA official told ANI requesting anonymity. A four-member NIA team under the supervision of an Inspector General and a Deputy Inspector General (DIG)-rank officers reached Udaipur last night and began its investigation. The incident took place in Udaipur's Maldas area on June 28. Soon after committing the crime, the two accused posted a video on social media boasting about the "beheading" and threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi's life as well, police said. The two accused were arrested within hours of the incident. The assailants identified themselves in the video as Riyaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad. In the video, Riyaz was seen attacking 47-year-old Kanhaiya Lal with a sharp-edged weapon while the other, Ghouse, recorded the crime on his mobile phone. Notably, Kanhaiya had also filed a complaint with the police about receiving threats. The victim reportedly had recently shared a social media post in support of Nupur Sharma-- former BJP spokesperson who had made controversial remarks against Prophet Mohammad. Section 144 has also been imposed for a month in Udaipur. A state-wide alert has also been issued to all Superintendents of Police and Inspector Generals in the state to increase the mobility of forces and to maintain officers on the ground. (ANI) Also Read: Udaipur beheading: Main accused linked to Pak-based Dawat-e-Islami UltraTech Cement pays for Russian coal shipment in yuan ICR Newsroom By 30 June 2022 UltraTech Cement has reportedly paid for a shipment of Russian coal in Chinese yuan, raising questions over whether this will now become the norm. The cement producer is importing 157,000t of coal from Russian company SUEK at a value of CNY172.65m (US$25.8m). The coal was loaded onto the bulk carrier MV Mangas in the Russian port of Vanino and is currently at anchor near the port of Kandla, reports The Hindu. The news is being described by one Singapore-based trader as "significant" as it could be seen as helping to protect Russia from the effects of western sanctions imposed on the country. "This is basically circumventing the US dollar," the trade told the newspaper. Other companies have also reportedly placed orders for Russian coal using Chinese yuan, suggesting that India has retained it ties with Russian for commodities such as coal and oil, despite the restructions imposed by the west over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 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 You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close I grew up in the 60s and started a family in the early 70s. I was a Democrat back then because I was raised by a Democrat father who told me we would have to live in a tent and only have beans to eat if Republicans were elected. That was in the mid 50s and I was six years old. In 1968 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered and some of my Democrat friends cheered. I thought then that it was because Lyndon Baines Johnson didnt like black-skinned people so he devised plans to take the manhood away from the family and destroy the race. Planned Parenthood was right there in his corner and by 1973 they opened their first center. Since then, more than 63,000,000 babies in America have been denied their Constitutional rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Thats when I changed parties. Today I see elected Democrat leaders call one of the three branches of government illegitimate. This kind of nonsense started when Barack Hussein Obama disrespected our Supreme Court (Judicial Branch) in a State of the Union message in front of America. Then Nancy Patricia Pelosi disrespected the office of the President (Executive Branch) by ripping up her copy of President Trumps State of the Union address. Roe vs. Wade was never a Constitutional issue, regardless of how hard the Democrats have worked to make it so. NewsBreak reported this weekend that the Southern Christian Coalition if outraged because womens lives are now at risk. It has happened because we have allowed it to happen. We have allowed the woke to come up with, or twist, words to mean what they want them to mean. For instance, abortion, the act of killing the baby before birth, is now womens health reproductive rights. Giving a prepubescent boy a chemical castration because he may want to see what its like to wear a dress, is now okay. There are many more examples. The great American Earl Pitts would sign off his radio broadcast with Wake up America. Never has it been so important to wake up, before you are declared dead and buried. After all, the Democrat leadership has proven that it is what they want. J. Pat Williams * * * So, J. Pat admits yesterday's radical extremist Democrats have become today's radical extremist Republicans, who carried out a political party switch? Most of us have already come to that conclusion. Whomever your targeted audiences are, hopefully they're much smarter than you give them credit for. I'm a person of that era too when Dr. King was assassinated. I can remember a lot from that period too. Not all Democrats were against Dr. King nor the issues plaguing America of the time and not all Republicans were for him. J. It was only a short while ago, a year give or take, your side was openly and on some forums, even local ones, accusing Dr. King of being a "terrorist" who "divided America." Brenda Washington * * * J. Pat Williams and I are two ol' Brainerd boys from way back. He's a good man of integrity. But apparently, we're on opposite sides of abortion and the Roe V Wade issue. I read Pat's letter to the Chattanoogan and it begs a question I'm having trouble with. Theres a lot I dont understand. Especially with Tennessee's abortion "trigger laws" soon to go into effect. I can see where abortion isnt considered by many to be a constitutional issue but one thing I cant understand is if you look at the process for adopting a baby its very arduous and its very expensive. It gets even more so if the applicant is a single female who wants to adopt a baby. You have to be at least 18 years old and you have to prove on many levels how capable you are of being a responsible parent in all ways. You are highly scrutinized. Heres the information provided online for adopting a baby in Tennessee. This is taken from the internet. You have to undergo an in-home visit that consists of and considers these things you must provide: Reference letters for adoption Health examinations Verification of marital status Interviews with all members of the family residing in the household During the adoption home study interviews, you will likely discuss: Your motivation to adopt Your ability to provide for a child Your character, values and ethical standards Your physical and mental health The health and fire safety conditions of your home You will be asked to provide: Drivers licenses or identification Birth certificates Marriage licenses Proof of insurance Tax returns and recent paystubs Physician statements Adoption reference letters Previous adoption decrees (if applicable) Criminal background checks Child abuse and neglect registry clearances The state will check and make sure these things are in place: Functioning locks on all doors and windows Working smoke detectors and CO2 detectors Covered outlets Baby gates for stairways Dangerous substances and tools placed out of reach of children Emergency phone numbers and evacuation plans Fire extinguisher First-aid kit But then, if a woman gets pregnant with a child she doesnt want all qualifications for parenting that child are foregone and shes forced to have it whatever her age and situation. Under Tennessee law she could be prosecuted if she sought to abort, or terminate the pregnancy (or if it satiates your visceral impulse kill the baby), because shes feels shes unprepared or unqualified to parent a child for whatever reason. Can someone please explain this insane paradox? If you want to adopt a baby you have to undergo and satisfy the rigorous requirements above. If you dont want or shouldn't have a baby and youre pregnant all of the above doesnt matter. Youre either having that baby and, if you try to abort it, youre going to jail along with any doctor or person who tried to help you. So, if I understand this correctly, life is so precious you want to force innocent, helpless babies into the hands of people who dont want them. The baby has a right to life, regardless of how dismal that life may be, right? Further, you see nothing wrong with this picture. Okay, okay. Just one question and I truly dont mean to antagonize you. Its an honest question: Are all of you crazy? If youre answer to that question is no, please explain and reconcile this. I cant understand it. David Saluk * * * I too am an ol Brainerd High grad and know both J. Pat Williams and David Saluk. I know both to be good men and David was correct in stating that J. Pat is a man of integrity. He was even so even back in his days at Brainerd High. Ive read J. Pats letter several times and I fail to see where he said yesterdays radical extremist Democrats have become todays radical extremist Republicans or that all Democrats were against Dr. King, Jr., as stated by Brenda Washington. I think its a big leap because they are not his words, but maybe her thoughts. As for David Saluks reply, he brought up some really good points about adoption. It is hard to adopt a child and its because the state has an obligation to protect the child being adopted. We all read about child trafficking and both restrictions and due diligence are important. Regardless, the difficulty of adopting is not a reason to take the life of the unborn. Its like throwing the baby out with the bath water, right? My girls are now 36, and I have met their birth mother. I have thanked her long before I met her for having the courage to give her girls' life...even when her own life was wrought with so much pain. I feel qualified to say that as long as adoption and other forms of child caring are available, even the worse choice is better than abortion. I like what J. Pat said about the unborns right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I feel qualified to speak out because my husband and I have adopted two children ourselves. Its not easy and raising the children is not easy, even the ones I birthed myself. I know that J. Pats sister adopted two children. Thats four children who were given a chance at life. Thats compelling to me. David Saluk, if I havent thanked you for the work you have done in keeping our class together, thank you. J. Pat Williams, the fight to save children is difficult, and Im sure it wears on you--- but thank you for not giving up and taking the risk of having some go against you for doing so. Charlotte Riley, A former Tennessean but always a Volunteer A Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) student has placed fifth in thenation for Small Business Management Plan at a national competition. Aixa Rodriguez, who was born and raised in Chicago, was among three GNTC students whose placement in their competitions earlier this year at the Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) State Competition in Atlanta qualified them to compete in the PBL National Leadership Conference on June 24-27 in Chicago. Rodriguez was the only GNTC student competing in Chicago. Aixa did an outstanding job representingGeorgia Northwestern Technical College at thePhi Beta Lambda national competition in Chicago, said Dr. Heidi Popham, GNTCs president. PBL is dedicated to inspiring and developing the next generation of leaders. Over the last few days, Aixa demonstrated her knowledge in several categories and was recognized as one of the best in the nation. I am proud of her and her accomplishments and look forward to watching her growth as a leader.We are so proud of Aixa and the hard work she put into her small business plan, said Trish Wiggins, GNTCs director of Student Engagement. She represented GNTC and the State of Georgia very well at the national level.Because Rodriguez placed in three categories in the state competition earlier this year, she was eligible to compete in those same categories at the national competition. She earned first place in Small Business Management Plan, first place in Management Concepts and second place in Entrepreneurship Concepts.Aixa was excited about PBL from the first time I spoke with her, said Mark Upton, GNTCs Marketing Management program director and PBL coordinator. She stayed dedicated, worked hard and has continued to be a great student. In addition, she identified a competitive event topic that she was passionate about, worked hard on her business plan and presentation and finished fifth in the nation for PBL Small Business Plan. That is something to be proud of. I know Im proud of her.Ms. Rodriguez, who now lives in Rome and attends classes on the Floyd County Campus in Rome, expects to complete her associate degree in Marketing Management in spring 2023. She then plans to pursue her bachelors degree at Georgia State University in either Marketing or Management with a Business Analysis Concentration, she said. She is currently an intern at the Greater Rome Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB).Future Business Leaders of America - Phi Beta Lambda is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education association with a quarter million students preparing for careers in business and business-related fields. FBLA-PBL is headquartered in Reston, Va., and organized on local, state and national levels. The county is planning to pay $8 million for an elementary school site directly across Goodwin Road from East Brainerd Elementary School. Officials said East Brainerd and other elementaries in that area are at capacity. The property at the former Cigna headquarters includes 18.6 acres and the 100,000-square-foot Cigna office building as well as parking areas. Justin Witt of the county schools said it basically will require partitioning the large open space for classrooms and other school use. He said converting the office into a school is estimated at $15 million. Officials said that still is a bargain considering building a brand new school from the ground up and acquiring the land might be $55 million. The purchase will be from Empire Communities, which is buying the property from Cigna. The entire site is 98 acres. The remainder will be residential, including a senior living section. The school is expected to serve about 750 students. The manager of the Baymont by Wyndham, 7017 Shallowford Road, requested that officers ask a woman to leave the property. The manager said the woman was yelling and using profanity in the lobby while other guests were trying to eat breakfast. The woman told police she was upset because she was a guest of the hotel and her toilet was stopped up. The woman said she asked a maintenance person to assist her and he told her he would, but then never did. The woman was also upset she could not extend her stay due to the hotel being booked up. The woman wanted it documented that she was being asked to leave before checkout time and that she never got her toilet fixed and that she was not allowed to extend her stay. Management stated that the toilet was never taken care of because she never told management and whoever she talked to was not responsible for taking work orders. The woman agreed to leave and left the property without incident. * * * A stolen vehicle was recovered on Belle Vista Drive. The owner arrived on scene and with her consent police checked the vehicle and found the keys inside. She was able to take possession of the vehicle and it was removed from NCIC. * * * Police were called to the Mapco, 3709 Cummings Hwy., for a man who was refusing to leave. Police located the man standing outside. The man is known to police and business owners in the valley. It was getting time for the Mapco to open and they wanted him off the property before they opened their doors. The man was asked to leave. He left the area on foot. The man is trespassed from this property, but the owners do not want to enforce this, nor want him arrested. * * * An employee of Eureka Foundry, 1601 Reggie White Blvd., told police a counterfeit check cleared the company's First Horizon Bank account in the amount of $2,892 payable to a man who put his address as a residence on Malinta Lane in Chattanooga on the check. The employee said he could not make out a driver's license number on the check, but will email a copy of that check to police. * * * A man on Walnut Street told police that overnight someone opened his vehicle and rummaged through it, taking lose change that he had in his vehicle. He said that the person also opened mail that he had in his vehicle. The man said that the condo unit has video surveillance of the entrance of the garage. He told police that the video showed a young person slipping under the gate. The video is available from either the HOA president or the property management group, Innovative Management. * * * A woman on Old Ringgold Road told police she received a call from a man who said his name was James Ford, badge# 0129 with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Dept. She said the man told her she had gotten a summons and was supposed to appear in court. However, she did not receive a summons. She said he also told her she was being charged with failure to appear and contempt of court and she would need to send $2,255 to settle the charges. She said she then tried to do it through Zelle, but she couldn't get it to connect with her bank account. She said she also tried to send the money through Paypal, but they wouldnt let it go through and they let her know this was a scam attempt. At one point, the man said that he would arrange a Zoom call with Judge Leanna R. Wilson, who is actually a clerk, instead. There is no proof if any of the names they are using are real. * * * A woman told police that the valet service parked her 2015 Chevy Tahoe about 5:15 p.m. the afternoon before in the parking garage at the Convention Center. She said she returned that morning about 9:45 a.m. to find that someone had popped the plastic trim from around the driver's door lock to gain entry. She said the only items taken were about $5 in loose change, a small bottle of ibuprofen and a small bottle of Tylenol. She said she popped the plastic piece back on the door and it was not damaged. * * * A woman on Joyful Drive told police she received an email at 8:15 a.m. from someone she thought was a friend. The email said that the friend was travelling and she needed some money for her niece. The friend was asking for $400 through Apple Gift Card and she instructed the woman to take a photo of the card and Pin# and send the photo to her at a gmail address. The woman did not send the money and was suspicious of this request. She then sent her friend a message and she later confirmed that it was not her that had sent the email. Therefore, someone had hacked into her friends email account and was posing as her. * * * Police were called about a vehicle being parked in front an address on Duncan Avenue. The vehicle was not reported stolen, was parked legally and nothing suspicious was found around or inside (visible through the windows) the vehicle. * * * A man told police he left his bike locked up near EPB, 10 W. Martin Luther King Blvd. He said when he returned around 4:30 p.m., the bike was gone. He provided police with the serial number of the bike and a description - a silver and black mountain bike. Has a notch carved out near the center of the frame and a black cup holder on the handle bars. * * * A man on Stratton Place Drive told police his son found a magazine approximately two days ago and has been playing with it as a toy. The magazine had seven live rounds and was taken to Property. * * * A man on English Avenue told police he received an email the day before at 4:02 p.m. from someone who he thought was with the Best Buy Geek Squad, and they were asking him about renewing his subscription with them. He believed it was related to his wifes computer, which she had purchased from them recently. He then got on the phone with someone who claimed to be "Steve Hughes" with Best Buy, and he said "Steve" had an Indian accent as he was talking on the phone with him during the renewal process. While he was at the website he was directed to, he tried to put in $400 for the renewal fee, but he clicked it and it somehow went to $4,000. He then said that this somehow overcharged Best Buy $3,600 and he was told he would have to pay it back by using Greendot Gift Cards. "Steve" then instructed him to purchase the cards (seven total) and send a photo of the back of the cards through email. He was only able to get four cards for $500 each and he sent the info on them through email. He said he then realized this was a scam when he saw them manipulating his computer without his permission, so he said they must have hacked into it somehow. The email he was sent originally had a phone number and "Steve's" cell phone number, which he gave to police. * * * A man told police he left his phone unattended in the day room of the Community Kitchen, 727 E. 11th St., while he went to the restroom. He said when he returned, his phone was gone. He does not know the make of the phone, only that it is Android and was given to him by the government. He was unable to give an estimated value for the phone. * * * A man on Hickory Valley Road told police he has been having issues with his neighbors. He said that his neighbors in the apartment building have been harassing him, watching him as he walks around the apartment complex and have yelled slurs at him while he's in the area in the past. He said that they do other weird things when he tries to be polite to them like a normal neighbor, and it has worn on him and become frustrating. He said he wished for it to be documented in case more problems arise and things begin to escalate. He said that he has also spoken to the property managers about the issues. * * * The owner of a cleaning business told police she had a former employee who had not returned items belonging to the business. She said the employee had a Shark Lift away vacuum cleaner worth $199, a white cleaning caddy worth $7.99, a white Gorilla 3-step ladder worth $59 and an O-Ceder mop worth $34.99. She said the former employee was upset she did not receive her final paycheck of $225. She said she did not wish to press charges, but she wanted the matter resolved and would proceed with charges if necessary. Police called the former employee and arranged for her to bring the vacuum and the step ladder to the police service center exchange area at 3:30 p.m. The owner also agreed to Venmo the former employee the $225 once she had received her property. The former employee denied having the cleaning caddy and mop. The owner said if she returned the ladder and vacuum she would pay her and consider the matter resolved. Britney Spears married her longtime partner Sam Asghari in a fairytale-like ceremony in June 2022. But the wedding was nearly ruined when her ex-husband Jason Alexander showed up uninvited. Now, hes facing prison time for crashing his exs wedding. Britney Spears in July 2019 | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic Britney Spears and Jason Alexander were married for 72 hours Britney Spears and Jason Allen Alexander grew up together in Louisiana. The two got married in Las Vegas in 2004, but the marriage was annulled just 55 hours later. Spears lawyers told the court that she lacked understanding of her actions when marrying Alexander. But Britney didnt waste much time in moving on: she was married to the father of her children, Kevin Federline, by the end of that year. Jason Alexander is facing a felony stalking charge Spears marriage to Sam Asghari in June 2022 was kept under wraps and was attended by a small group of A-list celebrities. What Spears didnt know is that Alexander would make a surprise appearance too. Alexander went live on his Instagram and live-streamed himself breaking into Spears California home where the wedding was taking place. It was early in the day while the wedding was still being set up, but Alexander was able to freely walk around the property and even told workers that he was Spears ex-husband, there to crash the bulls*** wedding. Now, Alexander is facing potential prison time for the break-in. A California judge found that Alexander should stand trial for a felony stalking charge, along with misdemeanor counts of trespassing, vandalism, and battery. Hes pled not guilty to all charges. A security guard at the wedding whos since been fired testified that Alexander got all the way up to Spears bedroom door while she was inside, but the door was locked at the time. He also confirmed that Alexander had also tried to get onto the property in the days leading up to the wedding. Jason Alexander was at the Capitol on January 6th Jason Alexander made headlines in 2021 for his attendance at the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol. According to PinkNews, Alexander shared his excitement for the event in a since-deleted video posted on his Facebook. Where [are] all my patriots? he said. Im on the Trump train. What will you tell your grandkids? Dont be surprised if a civil war ensues, he later warned. If I ever meet this f***er [Biden] he is getting fed to the alligators, straight up. Alexanders Facebook page contained many conspiracy theories and memes, including claims that the Earth is flat and that the coronavirus (COVID-19) was a hoax. He was also staunchly anti-vaccination and argued that wearing a mask is tyrannical. I dont consent to the mark of the beast practices and I dont value material s*** and Im locked and loaded ready to kill anyone or thing that tries to make me, he said in a post. Now cowboy up, all you b****es. RELATED: Britney Spears Ex-Husband Attended the Violent Pro-Trump Protest At the US Capitol Jeff Bezos is building the worlds largest sailing yacht, and it comes with a price as hefty as the watercraft the Amazon founder has invested about $500 million in the project so far, and thats before the cost of upkeep and other expenses. There is also a considerable dispute over the yacht, as it may require dismantling a historic bridge in the Netherlands. Heres what we know about Bezos yacht and its surrounding controversy. Jeff Bezos | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic Jeff Bezos has invested about $500 million in a brand new yacht Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who has a net worth of $133.1 billion, has invested around $500 million in building the worlds largest sailing yacht. Bezos watercraft is called the Y721. It features three deck levels, a swimming pool, a helicopter landing pad, and a kinetic-propulsion system (per Off The Hook Yachts). It measures 417 feet in length and over 131 feet tall, and it can reach speeds of up to 20 knots (or about 23 mph). The Y721 can accommodate a crew of 40 people and 18 guests. Water toys and personal watercrafts, such as jet skis and smaller boats, will be housed on board. The superyacht will cost around $25 million each year to maintain. Its worth noting that three other famous tech billionaires are also commissioning boats, though none are as large as Bezos yacht. Many have said that this project is an opportunity for Bezos, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, and new People magazine owner Barry Diller to show off and compete with each other. Jeff Bezos yacht has stirred up controversy in the Netherlands The tech founders brand new megayacht is so big that its stirring up controversy in the Netherlands, where it is being built at the Oceanco shipyard. The boat is so large that part of the historic Koningshaven Bridge, which locals call De Hef, will have to be temporarily removed so the Y721 can pass the structures 130-foot clearance. Residents of Rotterdam united on Facebook to express outrage over dismantling the bridge. They promised to pelt Bezos megayacht with rotten eggs if the city followed through with plans to remove a portion of the Koningshaven Bridge to let the Y721 pass. 40-year-old Pablo Strormann shared an invitation on Facebook, encouraging locals to bring cases of rotten eggs with them if the yacht is allowed to pass through the bridge. Rotterdam was built from the rubble by Rotterdammers and we dont just take it apart for the phallus symbol of a megalomaniac billionaire, Strormann wrote (per the New York Post). Not without a fight. The Facebook event already has more than 3,000 people saying they will attend, while another 10,000 marked that they are interested. The city council previously promised residents that the bridge would not be tampered with after a renovation in 2017. But Bezos and Oceanco have pledged to pay for the bridges temporary dismantling. Oceanco claims that taking out a section of the bridge is the only way to get the yacht out to sea. As of February, the mayor of Rotterdam said a final decision had not yet been made about the landmark. Im a Rotterdammer and I think people with a lot of money should realize that you cant make everything go exactly your way, said Strormann when asked why he made the Facebook invitation. With this call we make our voice heard in a playful way. And I think that is going very well. He also acknowledged that the protest event is not too serious. Pier pressure? City to dismantle historic bridge to accommodate Jeff Bezos' new yacht https://t.co/Or2K7YDw18 pic.twitter.com/yn6g7fwTPn New York Post (@nypost) February 4, 2022 The billionaire tech founder is also building a second support yacht to accompany the Y721. Jeff Bezos new yacht is so big and fancy that it needs its own yacht. Besides the massive Y721, the Amazon founder has also commissioned a shadow vessel to support his new yacht. The second boat is called the YS 7512. It measures 246 feet in length and can accommodate up to 45 people, including guests and crew. Like the Y721, it features a helipad, meeting space, and storage room for water toys and equipment. According to Fernando Nicholson, a luxury yacht sales broker with the yachting company Camper & Nicholsons, shadow vessels are a growing phenomenon in the yacht industry. You see them more and more now as an add-on to a superyacht purchase, said Nicholson (per Architectural Digest). Theyve almost become a must. RELATED: Jeff Bezos and Elon Musks Feud for Space Is Getting Brutal The last few months have been especially eventful for Jill Dillard. The former reality TV star announced her pregnancy, sold her home, and moved into a new larger abode. The rest of the Dillard family is also going through major changes. Derick Dillard, Jills husband, passed the bar exam and took a job in Oklahoma. Now, all they have to do is wait for baby number three to arrive. Before that happens, Jill had a baby shower. While the pictures show a beautifully decorated event, Duggar family followers quickly noticed that key members of Jills family were not pictured at the event. Jessa Seewald and Joy-Anna Forsyth made it obvious that they werent in attendance. Jessa, the sibling closest to Jill in age, attended a completely different event while Jill Dillards baby shower was happening. Joy-Anna was out of town. Amy Duggar King hosted Jill Dillards baby shower at her home Jill is in the final stretch of her pregnancy, and it looks like she was showered with all the supplies she needs. Over the weekend, Jill took to her Facebook page to share photos from a baby shower thrown for her by family and friends. Jill Duggar | Jill M Dillard/Instagram The party seemed to take place at Amy Duggar Kings home but was planned with several important members of the Duggar and Dillard families. In her caption, Jill thanked her hosts, sister-in-law, Deena Dillard, her mother-in-law, Kathy Dillard Byrum, her cousin, Amy Duggar King, and her aunt, Deena Duggar. Jill, interestingly enough, did not mention any of her sisters in the caption, and none of them were pictured at the event. Jessa Seewald attended a completely different party The Duggar family has jumped back into events now that Josh Duggar has been transferred to federal prison. While Jill was enjoying her baby shower, Jessa made no qualms about letting her followers know she was out and about at an entirely different event. Jessa Duggar, Jinger Duggar, Jill Duggar, and Jana Duggar visit Extra | D Dipasupil/Getty Images for Extra While Jill was being showered with gifts for her new baby, Jessa Seewald showed her support to Sierra Dominguez. Jessa shared snapshots from a pottery event she attended instead of sharing pictures from Jills baby shower. Jessa shared the photos on Instagram over the weekend. Sierra Dominguez was a frequent guest on 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On. Dominguez, a member of the Duggar familys insular social circle, served as an event planner for several Duggar weddings. Her pottery is being featured at a local store, and she kicked off the installation with a special viewing. The entire Seewald clan appeared to attend. Jessa wasnt the only family member who didnt appear at Jill Dillards baby shower Jessa wasnt the only Duggar family member who seemed to have been a no-show at Jill Dillards baby shower. Jill didnt share pictures with any of her siblings and only thanked her cousin, aunt, sister-in-law, and mother-in-law. The same weekend Jill celebrated her new baby in Arkansas, Joy-Anna Forsyth was in Florida with her sister-in-law, Abbie Burnett, and two friends. Abbie married John David Duggar in 2018. She is currently expecting her second child. Joy-Anna and Jill once enjoyed a close relationship, and Jill made it a point to attend Joy-Annas events. The reverse doesnt appear to be happening, though. Kendra Duggar, Jessa Duggar, Joy-Anna Duggar, Abbie Duggar, Anna Duggar, and Lauren Duggar | TLC via YouTube Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar were no shows, as well. Amy and Deanna Duggar had a falling out with Jim Bob and Michelle following Josh Duggars arrest on child pornography charges. They have been largely estranged from Jill and Derick for several years. They werent even in the state when the baby shower happened. A Duggar family follower recently spotted Jim Bob, Michelle, and Jennifer Duggar in Illinois. While most Duggars dont appear to have attended Jill Dillards baby shower, Jill seemed happy enough with the turnout. Her new addition is set to arrive sometime in July. The upcoming baby will be Jill and Dericks third son. Their other children, Israel Dillard and Samuel Dillard, were born in 2015 and 2017, respectively. RELATED: Jill Dillard and Derick Dillard Announce Gender of Baby #3 Plenty has happened over the course of Stranger Things, but one thing viewers can count on is Will Byers struggles. His disappearance kickstarts the hit Netflix series, and he has struggled to find steady footing ever since, even as season 4 brings him to the West Coast alongside Eleven, Jonathan, and Joyce. But Wills traumas havent followed Noah Schnapp off-camera. The actor seems to be enjoying the fruits of his fame, including meeting his celebrity crush after revealing his feelings about the star. Will Byers plight is at the heart of Stranger Things Noah Schnapp in June 2022 | Brian Stukes/Getty Images At the beginning of Stranger Things, Will Byers was just a dorky kid running a Dungeons and Dragons campaign in the basement of Mikes house. But his chance at a normal life ended in the first episode. Theres plenty of trauma for the kids of Hawkins, Indiana. But while the rest of the characters have scenes or storylines where they get to enjoy their youth in ways resembling normalcy, the Upside Down robs Will of the basic ability to relax. He was the first victim of the Mind Flayers attacks, and even after he escaped the Upside Down at the end of season 1, his connection to the other dimension has remained with him, first literally and then figuratively after the Mind Flayers death. While the rest of his friend group develops new interests and begins to date, Will still just wants to play D&D with his boys all the time. Hes playing catch-up in every facet of his life. The latest installment of Stranger Things has more overt horror movie influences than any other season, but some of the most fraught scenes involve Will and Eleven floundering in their new environment. She faces constant bullying, and he seems lonelier than ever. By the end of season 4s first volume, Will reunites with Mike and looks set to see with the rest of the gang soon enough, but there are still some non-Vecna issues Will still has to work out. Noah Schnapp gushed about meeting his celebrity crush: She smelled great Noah Schnapp and Zendaya at the 2019 E! Peoples Choice Awards | Christopher Polk/E! Entertainment/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images At the 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards, Schnapp won the prize for Best Frightened Performance. Before starting his acceptance speech, he noticed a fellow young star in the audience and stammered, Hi, Zendaya. Hi. In a pre-show interview, Schnapp had said he loved the Spider-Man star. And though the two didnt meet at that awards show, Zendaya tweeted about Schnapps admission of love, calling it adorable. https://twitter.com/Zendaya/status/1008206150267858945 His adoration hasnt waned in the ensuing years. In 2020, Schnapp recalled finally meeting Zendaya at the 2019 E! Peoples Choice Awards. It was amazing. I just remember seeing her out of the corner of my eye and walking up to her. I was really, really nervous. And I was like, Oh, my God, its actually her. This is the first time Im meeting her,' he recalled on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She smelled great, and she was so cute. And she towered over me. And she bent down, and shes like, Hi, Noah, with her little squeaky voice. Yeah, I remember everything. Schnapp later joked hes ready to take over the role of Spider-Man and co-star with Zendaya whenever Tom Holland is ready to give up the mantle. That doesnt seem likely anytime soon, and the same goes for the idea of Holland and Zendaya breaking up. But Schnapps obsession is just on the right side of cute for now. Stranger Things 4 drops hints about Wills sexuality Wills discomfort in his own skin has taken on more layers in Stranger Things Season 4. The move to California has left him more disconnected from his life as he struggles to make friends and holds onto resentment that the old crew, particularly Mike, doesnt check in on him as much as hed like. Moving away from friends is always hard, especially for a teenager in the pre-internet age, but certain character moments have sparked fan theories about Wills sexuality. He flinches when a girl tries to play footsie with him in class, hes been working on a painting he wont let El see (but he took it to the airport when Mike finally visited), and he has a heart-to-heart with Mike about how worried he is to share his true feelings with the people he cares about. The set-up for a reveal is certainly there, but it could easily be a straight boy whos suffered a lot and doesnt want to admit he needs help. As of now, the showrunners and actors have refused to label what Will is going through. Well have to wait until July 1 when the fourth seasons second volume drops on Netflix to find out. But Noah Schnapp has a much easier time developing relationships. His friendships with co-stars such as Millie Bobby Brown and Sadie Sink have sparked rumors about his dating life, HITC reports. But Schnapp has shot down those rumors, keeping his personal life as private as he can. RELATED: Stranger Things Fans Threaten to Cancel Their Netflix Subscriptions if Steve Dies An international research team led by scientists at the University of Oldenburg has succeeded in manipulating the energy-level structure in an ultra-thin sample in such a way that this semiconductor, which normally has a low luminescence yield, began to emit light. Whether or not a solid can emit light, for instance as a light-emitting diode (LED), depends on the energy levels of the electrons in its crystalline lattice. An international team of researchers led by University of Oldenburg physicists Dr Hangyong Shan and Prof. Dr Christian Schneider has succeeded in manipulating the energy-level structure in an ultra-thin sample of the semiconductor tungsten diselenide in such a way that this material, which normally has a low luminescence yield, began to glow. The team has now published an article on its research in the journal Nature Communications. According to the researchers, their findings constitute a first step towards controlling the properties of matter through light fields. "The idea has been discussed for years, but had not yet been convincingly implemented," said Schneider. The light effect could be used to optimize the optical properties of semiconductors and thus contribute to the development of innovative LEDs, solar cells, optical components and other applications. In particular the optical properties of organic semiconductors plastics with semiconducting properties that are used in flexible displays and solar cells or as sensors in textiles could be enhanced in this way. Tungsten diselenide belongs to an unusual class of semiconductors consisting of a transition metal and one of the three elements sulphur, selenium or tellurium. For their experiments the researchers used a sample that consisted of a single crystalline layer of tungsten and selenium atoms with a sandwich-like structure. In physics, such materials, which are only a few atoms thick, are also known as two-dimensional (2D) materials. They often have unusual properties because the charge carriers they contain behave in a completely different manner to those in thicker solids, and are sometimes referred to as "quantum materials". The team led by Shan and Schneider placed the tungsten diselenide sample between two specially prepared mirrors and used a laser to excite the material. With this method they were able to create a coupling between light particles (photons) and excited electrons. "In our study, we demonstrate that via this coupling the structure of the electronic transitions can be rearranged such that a dark material effectively behaves like a bright one," Schneider explained. "The effect in our experiment is so strong that the lower state of tungsten diselenide becomes optically active." The team was also able to show that the experimental results matched the predictions of a theoretical model to a high degree. The current study is the result of a collaboration between the researchers at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg (Germany) and colleagues from Reykjavik University (Iceland), the University of Wurzburg (Germany), Friedrich Schiller University (Germany), Arizona State University (USA) and the National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba (Japan). Parts of the theory were developed by colleagues at ITMO University in St. Petersburg (Russia) before the universities terminated their collaboration. The position of star-forming molecular cloud Sgr B2 close to the central source of the Milky Way, Sgr A* (Background Image: GLOSTAR). The isomers propanol and iso-propanol were both detected in Sgr B2 using the ALMA telescope. An international group of researchers led by Arnaud Belloche (MPIfR, Bonn, Germany) reports the first identification iso-propanol in interstellar space, a substance which is used as a sanitizer on Earth. Iso-propanol is the largest alcohol detected so far, demonstrating the increasing complexity of members of one of the most abundant classes of molecule that can be found in space. The identification was made possible thanks to observations of the star forming region Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2) close to the centre of our Galaxy where many molecules have already been detected. It is the target of an extended investigation of its chemical composition with the ALMA telescope in Chile. The search for molecules in space has been going on for more than 50 years. To date, astronomers have identified 276 molecules in the interstellar medium. The Cologne Database for Molecular Spectroscopy (CDMS) provides spectroscopic data to detect these molecules, contributed by many research groups, and has been instrumental in their detection in many cases. The goal of the present work is to understand how organic molecules form in the interstellar medium, in particular in regions where new stars are born, and how complex these molecules can be. The underlying motivation is to establish connections to the chemical composition of bodies in the Solar system such as comets, as delivered for instance by the Rosetta mission to comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko a few years ago. An outstanding star forming region in our Galaxy where many molecules were detected in the past is Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2), which is located close to the famous source Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole in the centre of our Galaxy. Our group began to investigate the chemical composition of Sgr B2 more than 15 years ago with the IRAM 30-m telescope, says Arnaud Belloche from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Bonn/Germany, the leading author of the detection paper. These observations were successful and led in particular to the first interstellar detection of several organic molecules, among many other results. With the advent of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) ten years ago, it became possible to go beyond what could be achieved toward Sgr B2 with a single-dish telescope and a long-term study of the chemical composition of Sgr B2 was started that took advantage of the high angular resolution and sensitivity provided by ALMA. So far, the ALMA observations have led to the identification of three new organic molecules (iso-propyl cyanide, N-methylformamide, urea) since 2014. The latest result within this ALMA project is now the detection of propanol (C3H7OH). Propanol is an alcohol, and is now the largest in this class of molecules that has been detected in interstellar space. This molecule exists in two forms ("isomers"), depending on which carbon atom the hydroxyl (OH) functional group is attached to: 1) normal-propanol, with OH bound to a terminal carbon atom of the chain, and 2) iso-propanol, with OH bound to the central carbon atom in the chain. Iso-propanol is also well known as the key ingredient in hand sanitizers on Earth. Both isomers of propanol in Sgr B2 were identified in the ALMA data set. It is the first time that iso-propanol is detected in the interstellar medium, and the first time that normal-propanol is detected in a star forming region. The first interstellar detection of normal-propanol was obtained shortly before the ALMA detection by a Spanish research team with single-dish radio telescopes in a molecular cloud not far from Sgr B2. The detection of iso-propanol toward Sgr B2, however, was only possible with ALMA. The detection of both isomers of propanol is uniquely powerful in determining the formation mechanism of each. Because they resemble each other so much, they behave physically in very similar ways, meaning that the two molecules should be present in the same places at the same times, says Rob Garrod from the University of Virginia (Charlottesville/USA). The only open question is the exact amounts that are present - this makes their interstellar ratio far more precise than would be the case for other pairs of molecules. It also means that the chemical network can be tuned much more carefully to determine the mechanisms by which they form. The ALMA telescope network was essential for the detection of both isomers of propanol toward Sgr B2, thanks to its high sensitivity, its high angular resolution, and its broad frequency coverage. One difficulty in the identification of organic molecules in the spectra of star forming regions is the spectral confusion. Each molecule emits radiation at specific frequencies, its spectral "fingerprint", which is known from laboratory measurements. The bigger the molecule, the more spectral lines at different frequencies it produces. In a source like Sgr B2, there are so many molecules contributing to the observed radiation that their spectra overlap and it is difficult to disentangle their fingerprints and identify them individually, says Holger Muller from Cologne University where laboratory work especially on normal-propanol was performed. Thanks to ALMA's high angular resolution, it was possible to isolate parts of Sgr B2 that emit very narrow spectral lines, five times narrower than the lines detected on larger scales with the IRAM 30-m radio telescope! The narrowness of these lines reduces the spectral confusion, and this was key for the identification of both isomers of propanol in Sgr B2. The sensitivity of ALMA also played a key role: it would not have been possible to identify propanol in the collected data if the sensitivity had been just twice worse. This research is a long-standing effort to probe the chemical composition of sites in Sgr B2 where new stars are being formed, and thereby understand the chemical processes at work in the course of star formation. The goal is to determine the chemical composition of the star forming sites, and possibly identify new interstellar molecules. Propanol has long been on our list of molecules to search for, but it is only thanks to the recent work done in our laboratory to characterize its rotational spectrum that we could identify its two isomers in a robust way, says Oliver Zingsheim, also from Cologne University. Detecting closely related molecules that slightly differ in their structure (such as normal- and iso-propanol or, as was done in the past: normal- and iso-propyl cyanide) and measuring their abundance ratio allows the researchers to probe specific parts of the chemical reaction network that leads to their production in the interstellar medium. There are still many unidentified spectral lines in the ALMA spectrum of Sgr B2 which means that still a lot of work is left to decipher its chemical composition. In the near future, the expansion of the ALMA instrumentation down to lower frequencies will likely help us to reduce the spectral confusion even further and possibly allow the identification of additional organic molecules in this spectacular source, concludes Karl Menten, Director at the MPIfR and Head of its Millimeter and Submillimeter Astronomy research department. A vial of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is displayed on a counter at a pharmacy in Portland, Ore. on Dec. 27, 2021. U.S. health authorities are facing a critical decision: whether to offer COVID-19 booster shots this fall that better match the omicron variant even though the coronavirus already has spawned still more mutants. Moderna and Pfizer are testing updated booster candidates, and advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will debate Tuesday, June 28, 2022, if its time for a switch, setting the stage for similar moves by other countries. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File) On Monday, we celebrate our Independence Day. It is Americas birthday, when the nation recognizes the moment our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, announcing to the world that 13 colonies planned to be free from British rule forevermore. But of course, it did much more than that. As Martin Luther King, Jr. described it almost 200 years later, the Declaration of Independence was a promissory note to all future generations. It said that all men are created equal, that their rights come from the divine, not the noble, and that whatever government was to be formed by the new nation, it would hold at its core the principle that people are citizens, not subjects a government by the people, of the people, and for the people. It has been 246 years since those men signed that piece of parchment in Philadelphia, yet we continue to argue over what the words in that document truly mean and how best to live up to those lofty standards. Its been hard. In fact, its never been easy, not from the very beginning. The United States of America was by no means guaranteed when the Founders met in Philadelphia. In fact, as they signed the Declaration, the odds seemed very much against the new nation ever coming into being. If one were a betting man or woman in 1770s Colonial America, the wise wager would have been on the best military in the world putting an end to the colonists uprising sooner rather than later. There would be many defeats after the signing many moments when it seemed the actions of the Founders were destined to be remembered as the rantings of traitors. The war would create Loyalists and Patriots, neighbors and friends who became bitter enemies. Somehow, through it all, a new nation was born. Almost 90 years later, it looked as if the Founders dream of a United States would fail to live long enough to celebrate its 100th birthday. In early July of 1863, the country was in the midst of a horrific Civil War. Thousands had already died. Parts of the country lay in ruin. Gen. Robert E. Lees army representing the Confederate States of America had made its way north, into Pennsylvania, threatening to expand the war beyond the South. The voices urging an end to the conflict, the acknowledgment of the Confederacy, and the dissolution of the Union that had formed in Philadelphia less than a century prior, grew ever louder. However, on July 4, 1863, the country suddenly had something new to celebrate. Lees army had been turned back at Gettysburg the day before and the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg, Mississippi, had been broken by Union Gen. U.S. Grant after a prolonged siege. Many in the North could sense at the time what would be proven correct over the final two years of the war July 4 of 1863 was the turning point in restoring the country and ending slavery as an institution. Why look back now? To remind ourselves that the American experiment has seldom been seamless. It has often teetered on the edge. We have argued, bickered, even warred with each other ever since those first 13 colonies decided to announce to the world that they were free. It is easy to feel uneasy about America at the moment. There appears to be more that divides rather than binds us as a people, and many seem less willing now than ever before to accept their fellow Americans. But its important to remember that times have been much tougher, the disagreements much more heated and the threats to our way of life far more dangerous in the past than they are at the moment. If we could survive the birth pangs of forming a new nation and the deep wounds of a civil war, we can find a way to survive our current unrest if we want to. Crisis pregnancies have profound human costs. There are life-changing consequences for women who find themselves pregnant with a child they did not anticipate and may not feel equipped to care for. Roe v. Wade suggested one way to manage those costs. Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization suggested another way. In the aftermath of the Dobbs decision, my Twitter feed has been filled with partisans on both sides of the abortion debate expressing either outrage or jubilation at this transfer of costs. Opponents of abortion are delighted that, at least in many conservative states, the unborn child will no longer have to bear the cost of a crisis pregnancy. Defenders of a womans right to choose are outraged that women in these same states will now have to bear this cost to an even greater degree. Roe v. Wade was a landmark womens rights decision, they believe, and now that it has been rescinded, they are outraged. But perhaps neither Roe nor Dobbs represents a fully Christian way to distribute the human costs associated with crisis pregnancies. And therein lies a dilemma for Christians who want to preserve human life and are unhappy with the results of Roe as well as the likely results of Dobbs. The history of the pro-life movement sheds light on these perennial challenges. It also offers a rough guide for the future. Roe v. Wades transfer of costs to the unborn Roe v. Wadewhich was widely supported by liberal Protestants, Jews, and secular Americans was based on the premise that it was unjust and unconstitutional for the state to impose the costs of an unwanted pregnancy on the woman by forcing her to remain pregnant against her will. But, of course, there was still a cost associated with every crisis pregnancy. Who would bear this cost? The answer, in the case of pregnancies that ended in abortion, was the fetus. Roe included a lengthy explanation of why this transfer of cost was not a violation of the fetuss rights since, as the Supreme Courts decision declared, the pre-viable fetus was not a citizen with any constitutional rights. The pregnant woman, on the other hand, did have constitutional rights, and those rights included the right to terminate her pregnancy. To pro-choice feminists, this transfer of cost from the woman to the fetus seemed perfectly just. If women were full human beings, pro-choice feminists asked, why should their rights be ignored in favor of the rights of a fetus, whose personhood (especially in the first trimester of pregnancy) was doubtful at best? To do so was a grave violation of womens most basic rights, they thought. The more advocates of reproductive rights championed a womans right to equality and bodily autonomy, the more they tended to minimize the life of the fetus. After all, if the fetus was going to have to bear most of the cost of the unwanted pregnancy by being denied a chance to live, discussions of that cost were profoundly uncomfortable. They were much more comfortable talking about the rights of women. But when asked directly about the life of the fetus, abortion rights defenders in the 1970s tended to say the fetus was not a person and that, in any case, saving a potential child from being born into a situation where it was not wanted was actually an act of mercy. In other words, they minimized the human cost that permissive abortion policies imposed on the fetus. The pro-life movements early vision of social help for women The pro-life movement was founded on the principle that the fetus was a full human person. If that was the case, it was profoundly immoral and unjust to force the fetus to bear the cost of an unwanted pregnancy by paying with its life. Article continues below The abortion rights movements attempt to deny the personhood and constitutional rights of the fetus was analogous to the attempt of enslavers to deny the personhood and constitutional rights of Black people in the 19th century, many pro-lifers argued. In advocating for the rights of the fetus and the value of fetal life, the pro-life movement appealed to some of the same liberal human rights principles that the pro-choice movement did. But pro-lifers also faced an uncomfortable conflict with a principle that in the 1970s was becoming increasingly important to many liberals: womens equality. Pro-lifers who considered themselves feminists insisted that womens equality was not at stake in the abortion debate. Many pro-lifers of the early 1970s believed the burdens of unwanted pregnancy could be mitigated with expanded prenatal and maternal health care access, along with government-funded childcare and improved adoption policies. Pro-life activists at the time uniformly argued that women should never be punished for abortion, because they saw women who terminated their pregnancies not as aggressors but as victims of the abortion industry and the sexual revolution. Abortion was emotionally and physically costly to women, they believedfar costlier, in fact, than pregnancy (even unwanted pregnancy). In making this claim, they directly disputed the claims of the reproductive rights movement. But in their view, antiabortion activism protected the rights of both children and women. In the words of Jack Willke and his wife, Barbarasome of the most influential pro-life activists of the late 20th centuryit was a way to love them both. The pro-life movements alliance with political conservatism The pro-life vision of transferring the costs of crisis pregnancies to society rather than solely to individual women was stymied by the political alliances pro-lifers made with the Republican Party. Many of the early pro-life activists were Democrats, but when the Democratic Party became increasingly committed to protecting abortion rights during the late 1970s and 1980s, they turned to the GOP. Yet the Republican Party, while becoming increasingly open to the idea of restricting abortion, was opposed to expansions in the social safety net that would have helped lower-income women care for their children. Some pro-lifers of the mid-1970s, such as Sargent and Eunice Shriver, insisted that the best way to reduce abortion in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade was to offer economically disadvantaged women help to carry their pregnancies to term, so they would not be as likely to seek out abortion services. But the mainstream pro-life movement, led by organizations such as the National Right to Life Committee, rejected this approach and instead focused their entire effort on securing legal restrictions on abortion, even if this required an alliance with a party that rejected the type of help for women that the Shrivers envisioned. The politically liberal Catholics who led the pro-life movement in its early years did not foresee that their movement would be tied so closely to the politics of individualism, because their entire project was based on the premise of social responsibility for the less fortunate. But the individualistic politics of modern American conservatismwhich a majority of white evangelicals have endorsed, and which has very strong support in the Southresists this liberal social vision. Modern American conservatism has also resisted the feminist movements interest in gender equality and social equity. As a result, the abortion opponents who are poised to implement new restrictions on abortion in the next few weeks or months are not particularly bothered by the idea that pregnant women will need to bear the costs of unwanted pregnancies. Article continues below Indeed, some self-styled abortion abolitionists are calling for women who get illegal abortions to be punished directly as murderersan idea that the pro-life movement has opposed for the past half-century. Dobbs will give a green light to this political mindset. But despite all the dire predictions that abortion rights proponents have made, the decision will ratify existing trends more than change them. What the numbers say For the past four decadesand especially the past ten yearsabortions have become steadily more difficult to obtain in conservative states and more accessible (and publicly funded) in liberal regions. Before Dobbs, for instance, a woman earning $17,000 a year who was 11 weeks pregnant in Los Angeles or New York could obtain a publicly funded abortion in her own city without any mandatory waiting period. If the same woman were in San Antonio, by contrast, she would have had to drive 400 miles to Shreveport, Louisiana, wait 24 hours after an ultrasound at the clinic, go through an abortion counseling session, pay $500 in cash for the abortion (since there are no Medicaid subsidies for most abortions in either Texas or Louisiana), and then drive the 400 miles back to San Antonio. Now, because of Dobbs, shell have to drive an extra 300 miles to get to Albuquerque instead of Shreveport, since the abortion clinics in Louisiana have just closed. That, of course, is an additional inconveniencebut probably not enough of a change to deter most of the women willing to drive to Shreveport from driving the additional miles to Albuquerque. Thus, the overall effect of this new policy on the abortion rate will probably be very slight. Both before and after Dobbs, conservative states forced women facing crisis pregnancies to bear the cost of pregnancy terminations themselves. Dobbs has just made this more evident. The politically progressive pro-life activists of the early 1970s would not have objected to making abortion more difficult to obtain. In fact, they would have wanted to go much further by including in the law a clear declaration of the high value of fetal life. But if their statements about expanded social safety nets are any indication, they might have been dismayed to discover that the states now poised to outlaw abortion are also, in some cases, the states that offer the fewest health care benefits to low-income pregnant women. Both Texas and Mississippilike Alabama and several other conservative stateshave refused a federal Medicaid expansion that would provide health care coverage to women whose income is up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. So, when a woman in Texas earning only $10 an hour gives birth, shell likely have to bear the financial and emotional cost of that decision herself; the state will not help her transfer that cost elsewhere. The idea that women who are in the midst of difficult pregnancies are given no social assistance in choosing life for their children would have been deeply disappointing to many of the pro-life activists of a half-century ago. How should a pro-life Christian think about this? For those like myself who believe that human life has great value from the moment of conception, Roe v. Wades attempt to transfer the cost of an unwanted pregnancy onto the fetus was clearly unjust. But the current legal framework, which will force the most economically vulnerable and marginalized women to pay these costs instead, does not accord well with the Bibles hundreds of exhortations to seek justice for the poor. Article continues below Fifty percent of women seeking abortions today are living below the poverty line, and another 25 percent have low incomes that are barely above it. Sixty percent are already mothers of at least one child. They are often struggling to deal with unstable crisis situations that make it difficult for them to welcome another child into their homes without assistance. In the political climate that we face today, there is no state that is seriously considering a framework that would provide justice in these cases. Instead, we will be left with some state policies that attempt to keep the framework of Roe v. Wade by offering continued legal abortions and giving women the promise of transferring the cost of their crisis pregnancies onto the fetus. Other states will prohibit women from doing that, but at the same time, they will offer little help in bearing the costs these women will incur by giving birth to a child. No matter where we live, then, those of us who value both women and children will have to help bear these costs. Its more important now than ever to do what we can through both public policy and private charity to create a culture of life that will also empower women. Roe v. Wade did not do that. Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization did not really do that, either. But perhaps in the aftermath of this decision, those of us who care about human life can resurrect the approach of the early pro-lifers and insist that, when it comes to crisis pregnancies, children should not carry the costs, and neither should pregnant women be forced to bear those costs alone. Daniel K. Williams is a professor of history at the University of West Georgia and the author of Defenders of the Unborn: The Pro-Life Movement before Roe v. Wade. A longer version of this piece originally appeared at The Anxious Bench at Patheos. Republished with permission. Speaking Out is Christianity Todays guest opinion column and (unlike an editorial) does not necessarily represent the opinion of the publication. If Christian nationalism is something to be scared of, theyre lying to you, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told her supporters in June. And theyre lying to you on purpose because that is exactly the temperature change that is happening in America today, and they cant control it. Christian nationalism, once triumphant, will stop the school shootings, Greene claimed. It will lower crime rates, stop the sexual immorality, and guard childrens innocence and train them to want a traditional lifestyle. And its this wholesome movement of Christians, and people who love their country and want to take care of it that liars in the media are deriding. Greene is right on two counts: Christian nationalism is increasingly visible in American politics, and the movement has been much discussed in the press these past two years, particularly since journalists began to examine the Christian symbols and language used in the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The rest of Greenes account leaves more to be desired, but its emphasis on cultural dominance, political power, and protection of ones own tribeall topped with a flimsy veneer of Christianitywill be familiar to any reader of Paul D. Millers The Religion of American Greatness: Whats Wrong with Christian Nationalism. Miller is well suited to explain why Christian nationalism, though not something to be scared of, is certainly something Christians should reject. Hes a veteran of the US Army, the CIA, and the George W. Bush administrationno stranger to patriotic milieus. Hes also a scholar, currently serving as a professor of international relations at Georgetown Universitys prestigious School of Foreign Service, and an evangelicals evangelicala theological conservative who was baptized in a river, attended a Billy Graham crusade, and holds a special fondness for Chick-fil-A. Greene painted critiques of Christian nationalism as deception or jealousy of nationalists rising power, but The Religion of American Greatness is neither. Miller is unsparing in his evaluation of the movement but sympathetic to its grassroots adherents. He has penned a useful resource for his main audience of educated evangelicalspastors, church leaders, journalists, academics, and other professional Christianswhom he envisions using his work to fruitfully engage with their congregants, followers, and loved ones. In that primary goal, The Religion of American Greatness is an effective and compelling work, though Millers case for patriotic civil religion and Christian republicanism as the alternative to nationalism is not as convincing or well-developed. The case against Christian nationalism Is the marriage of Christianity with American nationalism, asks Miller, a forgivable quirk over an unimportant doctrinal matter, a lovable excess in patriotism and piety? Is it, in Greenes phrase, simply Christians and people who love their country and want to take care of it? The burden of this book, Miller writes, is to demonstrate Christian nationalism is not innocuous. Its to show that nationalism is incoherent in theory, illiberal in practice, and, I fear, often idolatrous in our hearts. In all three aims, he ably succeeds. The book begins with definitions and devils advocacy, delving into the nature of nationalism generally and its Christian, American, and (usually) white variant specifically. Christian nationalism is not a catch-all term for any kind of Christian political advocacy, Miller is careful to note. The unique feature of Christian nationalism is that it defines America as a Christian nation and it wants the government to promote a specific Anglo-Protestant cultural template as the official culture of the country. To play fair, he presents the case for Christian nationalism as represented by leading American and British thinkers of this ilk, including National Reviews Rich Lowry, First Thingss R. R. Reno (see CTs review of Renos nationalist treatise here), and the late clash of civilizations scholar Samuel Huntington. Article continues below This exploration of Christian nationalism in its ideal type, as articulated by its more serious advocates, will be helpful for readers who want to be able to steelman the movement, to identify its influence in the political scrum, and to articulate why this ideal type and Christianity are, in Millers words, separate, rival, mutually exclusive religions. They make fundamentally incommensurable claims on human loyalty. In its ideal type, you can either be a Christian nationalist, or you can be a Christian: you cannot be both. Yet, as Miller acknowledges, most Christian nationalists in America are not of the ideal type. The competition for their ultimate loyalty is far more muddled. Their nationalism is significantly a feeling, a deep and profound bond between church and nation that is experienced far more viscerally than it is intellectually or theologically, and their politics are likely an inconsistent mix of nationalism, conservatism, Christianity, republicanism, libertarianism, and more. For understanding that folk variant of Christian nationalism, Millers later chapters on the Religious Right and nationalisms engagement with Scripture may be the most important in the book. Theyre also the fieriest and most fascinating, particularly for readers like me, who encountered Christian nationalism for years without knowing its name. Reading this section felt like grouting tile: I had the bigger pieces, the book filled so many gapsby recounting of the historic use of key Bible verses in American politics; describing the elite-grassroots split in US evangelicalism; critiquing the hermeneutical moves that fund America-as-Israel theology; and characterizing our countrys Jacksonian subculture. But perhaps Millers single strongest argument, woven throughout much of the book, is his contention that Christian nationalism is actually a secular ideology. The thinkers he reviews speak of Protestantism without God and the adequacy of Americas ecumenical monotheism as the moral buttress for their cultural-political project. Their interest is in the inherited norms, values, and habits of Americas Christian heritage more than a living Christian faith. For the Christian nationalist, then, the main point of sanctification becomes safeguarding the nation, not honor[ing] God by emulating his character. And the nation, in turn, becomes the object of the nationalists worship. Though folk Christian nationalists may not believe themselves at risk of that idolatry, a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough (Gal. 5:9). If not Christian nationalism, then what? Early on, Miller writes that this is, hopefully, the first book in a trilogy on Christian nationalism, progressivism, and patriotic Christian republicanism. Despite those plans, he begins his apology for patriotism and republicanism as an alternative to nationalism in this initial work. Unfortunatelyand perhaps because it requires book-length treatmentthis portion is weaker than the rest. Ill highlight three points. Article continues below First, the line between Millers conception of patriotism (good) and nationalism (bad) isnt bright. At one point he says the difference between suitable Christian political engagement and Christian nationalism can be subtle, maybe even externally indistinguishable because the difference is a matter of our own inner motivation. In this vein, Miller pairs rejection of Christian nationalism with some lingering conception of the United States as a nation. For example, he argues that hiding away complicated historical figures like Thomas Jefferson is tantamount to saying that there is no story of great deeds that binds us together, no shared history, and thus no nation (emphasis mine). Its possible Miller is simply imprecise in his language, using nation as a synonym for country rather than sticking to his initial definition of it as a nationalist term, in which case this is a confusion of editing rather than thought. But Miller likewise promotes patriotic civil religionnot merely adherence to values like liberty and justice but cultural rituals to evoke emotional loyalty to our country like schmaltzy patriotism on the Fourth of July. And he does this while decrying the sacralization of the secular and denying that the U.S. government is competent to sustain, create, or orchestrate a common national cultural template for a nation of 320 million people. Miller contends we need this civil religion because we cannot live without some kind of group identity; because people must have something in which to take pride [and] if we deny them the ability to take pride in their nation, they will simply shift the locus of their loyalty to a subgroup, such as their ethnic or racial group; and because we cannot do without national stories. To beat nationalism, we need to tell a better story. But what Miller doesnt answer is why, in a book primarily for Christians, that story is not the gospel. Why is the solution a political storyand, if it must be political, why must it be on the national scale? Why is our group identity not the church? Why cant we fight nationalism with loyalty to our congregations or neighborhoods? Why is a national patriotism the antidote of choice? Second, Miller makes a persuasive argument that theres an inexorable relationship between nationalism, identity politics, and culture war. Nationalism, he writes, is the identity politics of the majority tribe; identity politics is the nationalism of small groups. In each case, groups of people defined by some shared identity trait look to the public square for status, spoils, recognition, and power. These groups land in an escalatory culture-war spiral as each seeks to determine who we are and what we believe and do. By contrast, Miller argues, in a republican model of politics the state should eliminate those spoils of war by engaging in cultural neutrality, not moral neutrality and state-sponsored secularism. But in distinguishing between kinds of neutrality, Miller leaves the biggest culture-war battles in play. Grounding his distinction in an assertion of natural lawwhich is unlikely to persuade those not already convinced of the theorys meritshe says the state cant be neutral regarding human personhood and human sexuality, and that here, the public square is a battleground of the gods, in which we can do no other than to advocate for our own fundamental beliefs. But surely for many Christian nationalists today, those issues are the whole ballgame. These limited carveouts from cultural neutrality are exactly the matters that motivate Christian nationalists to seek state power to dictate national culture. Article continues below Finally, though he details the illiberalism of Christian nationalism, Im not sure Miller realizes its present extentand what it means for the prospect of shifting nationalists toward classically liberal Christian republicanism. Ending the chapter on The Christian Rights Illiberalism, he writes: Which is more important: republican institutions, or Christian culture? Having a free and open society, or having public symbols of respect for Christianity? Christian principles, or Christian power? Political liberty, or political victory? Christian nationalists would reject the framing of these questions as a false choice because they say the two sides must go together, while Christian republicans would be far more comfortable advocating for republicanism with or without a Christianized culture. The notion that Christian nationalists would see this as a false choice may be true among some adherents of the ideal type, but at the folk level, I suspect, presented with these options, many Christian nationalists would simply choose victory and public respect. Consider their embrace of illiberal governance in Hungaryor recall Greenes expectation that a political triumph for Christian nationalism would change Americans sexual behavior and reshape childrens plans for their lives. American Christian nationalists like to talk about liberty, but I dont think theres much of a dilemma for them here, which means theyre further from republicanism than Miller may hope. Thats a small blemish in his argument, but a big recommendation of his book. Bonnie Kristian is a writer and CT columnist. She is the author of a forthcoming book, Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community. Last months presidential election in the Philippines was deemed its most divisive to date. As the country inaugurates its new leader this week, are evangelicals ready to move forward? The 2022 race in the 7,000-plus-island archipelago raised the typical election acrimony to new heights, including among Christians who championed the two leading candidates. Brethren dissolved their friendships over political debates, mutually condemning each other for supposedly casting the future of the nation into ruin by the choice of their preferred candidate. Churches reported how members left Bible study groups and even their local fellowships due to perceptions that their pastors or church officials endorsed presidentiablespresidential hopefulsthey opposed. With president-elect Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. formally taking his oath June 30, evangelicals have begun to come to a place of mutual understanding and have committed to pray for the new leader regardless of whether they voted for him. Pastors, for their part, are channeling the momentum around the election to missional efforts to bless the country. Theyve discouraged members from burning bridges over politics. The church, your community, is your family. It will always be there for you in a way that your candidate might not be, said Dennis Sy, senior pastor of Victory Makati, a location of one of the largest multisite churches in the Philippines. Now that the elections are over, we are going to journey together whether we voted for that candidate or not. Marcos, nicknamed Bongbong and known as BBM, has held various political offices, most recently a senatorial post. He is also the son and namesake of the famous Philippine strongman who ruled the country for more than 20 years before being toppled by the People Power Revolution in 1986. The senior Marcoss era has been synonymous with the loss of democratic freedoms, human rights violations, and massive graft and corruption. Filipino voters who opposed his run were concerned that the younger Marcos would bring back those dark days. Worse, he might erase or rewrite the history of martial law that saw thousands killed or imprisoned without legal due process. Meanwhile, supporters saw in him a return to the order and economic stability of his fathers term. Well aware of the shadow of controversy looming over his candidacy, Marcos asked voters to judge him not by my ancestors, but by my actions. While there were other presidential candidatesincluding world-renowned boxer and committed Christian Manny PacquiaoMarcoss main opponent was outgoing vice president Leni Robredo. Robredo was seen as an alternative to the traditional corrupt politician (or trapo, which means dirt rag in Filipino). Her supporters hailed her lack of affiliation with any political dynasty, scandal-free government record, and the 16-hour-a-day work ethic with which she served her constituents. Detractors pointed out her lack of government experience as well as a veneer of elitism that disconnected her from her financially struggling countrymen, almost a quarter of whom are mired in poverty, barely managing to eke out the $240 a month needed to feed a family of five. Many who supported Robredo saw her as the clear choice between a good and bad candidate. One Christian teacher who spoke to CT got engaged in a door-to-door campaign for Robredo, something outside her comfort zone. (She asked to remain unnamed out of fear of reprisal since her community rents land from the government.) She brought materials from the subdivisions to the shanties, discussing the issues with anyone who would listen. She said she wasnt afraid to share her position with acquaintances who were on the Marcos side as it was really done in the spirit of genuine love for them and the country. Meanwhile, Rem Pinero, an Overseas Filipino Worker based in the Middle East, disengaged from Robredo supporters who he thought would argue with him about his support for Marcos. Tensions were high during the campaign period, he looks back. Some Christians had forgotten what it was to become Christlike. Overseas workers like Pinero totaled over 1.5 million registered voters in the presidential election; they were able to cast their ballots in person in embassies and consulates or by mail. When political messages came up in the Bible study groups at his Filipino church in the United Arab Emirates, he advised participants to respond without anger. Respect for the individual and their choice was his perpetual refrain, even to fellow Marcos allies who questioned why his own two grown children were voting for Robredo. My kids asked me why I supported Marcos, and I said so without defending, apologizing, or being hostile, said Pinero, a widower. We just agreed to respect each others opinions and points of view. There were no arguments at home or anything breaking out of anger. Describing himself as a Marcos supporter, but not a fanatic, Pinero chose his candidate because he felt that he had the right mixture of discipline and positivity: Unlike others who just kept hyping the negative and criticizing the other candidates, he stayed above it all. That attitude can bring about the unity that our country needs. When people ask me why I could vote for him given his family history, I cannot judge the son or any child by the sins of the father or the parent. Relationships over politics Now that Marcos has won in a landslide victory, Pinero advises his friends on both sides of the political divide to reach out to each other. He also admonishes his pro-Marcos friends not to gloat. When I meet Christians who are Robredo supporters, I still treat them the same way, like nothing has changed, and that we are still friends and brethren, he said. Had Robredo won, I would have wanted them to extend the same courtesy to me. Sy at Victory Makati advocates relationships over politics. He sees the last elections as both practice and a challenge for the church to respond in the most biblical way and not burn bridges. The unity of the Christian leaders despite their political and theological differences is paramount for Bishop Dan Balais, national chairman of the Intercessors for the Philippines (IFP). Balais often coordinates with leaders at the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC) and the Philippines for Jesus Movement (PJM). He describes the three huge organizations as akin to the pillars of the Philippine Christian church: PCECs focus is on the pastoral and teaching ministries; PJM is apostolic; and IFP leans toward the prophetic and intercessory. Until the COVID-19 lockdowns, the bishops and their pastors had been meeting regularly every year since 2012 for the Palawan Leaders Summit. They wear covenant rings to remind us that no matter our differences, we will not allow [our relationship and the unity] to break, says Balais. The elections are over, we had different candidates, but we said that we will not separate from each other. According to Balais, many churches based in Mindanaothe third main island in the Philippinesvoted for Marcos. His running mate and vice-president-elect, Sara Duterte-Carpio, was the former mayor of the regions Davao City. Some Christian groups chose Pacquiao apparently because of his Christian faith. IFP, which is connected to 7,000 local churches, openly endorsed Robredo. So did Christ the Living Stone Fellowship (CLSF), a network of 500 churches, led by Balais as senior pastor. We dont have bloc voting, Balais clarifies, referring to one political exercise usually done by a homegrown religious organization in the Philippines, the Iglesia ni Cristo, where the main shepherd chooses the presidentiable that all members will unanimously vote for. Our members are still free to choose their candidate. IFPs endorsement of Robredo was more of a discernment. We have to make a choice and lead the people in making that choice, continues Balais. The ones we endorse were impressed to us by the Lord. They will not necessarily win. If they lose, it does not necessarily mean we are wrong. We are standing on the principle. IFPs and CLSFs backing of Robredo was a long and prayerful process that started with the two organizations developing leadership criteria to guide their voting flock for the 2022 elections. It culminated in their alliance with 1Sambayan, a broad coalition of democratic forces that offered a very similar voters guide. Praying for the president When the other evangelical groups who initially joined 1Sambayan eventually pulled out, IFP stayed because Balais believed that the Lord wanted them to honor their covenant. When 1Sambayanan supported Robredo, we had the same criteria: character, competence, and ability to lead, says Balais. But remove the covenant, which is our basis, and we will still look at her. As far as the traditional position that the church must remain neutral politically, Balais candidly states, IFP has crossed that line. Its ministries of intercession and prophecy are actively seeking what God is saying to the nation at a particular point in time, praying for it, and acting accordingly. Now in the election aftermath, one thing all sides can agree on is praying for the president-elect. Taking a page out of the hard lessons learned by Rehoboam, Pineros prayer for Marcos is very specific: That he be surrounded by just, honest, and excellent advisers who have a genuine love for the country. To date, most of Marcoss appointments of officials into his cabinet, especially the finance, central bank, public works and highways, and trade have been generally welcomed by the people, economists, the business community, and foreign think tanks. (At a recent IFP service, Balais admits that the appointments have been good. Prior to that, he told CT, What is God about to do? Can he use Marcos? We never know. We all agreed to pray for him.) Meanwhile, the Christian teacher who campaigned for Robredo says that she has a sincere desire and openness to be proven wrong about [Marcoss] capabilities. She continues to pray and fast for the new president and his family. Sy addresses the lingering fear of the return of martial law under Marcos, which he said was a speculative worry. Christians should know their role, the pastor said. Prayer is the primary response to every crisis and situation. Nation and kingdom building The election has also reinvigorated plans for evangelism, church growth, and the discipleship of a whole nation into righteousness in all spheres Christians inhabit, including the marketplace and governance. Based on prophecy, Balais holds that the Philippines must become a nation of Davidsmoral people who love righteousnessas a prerequisite for God to raise up an equally righteous, moral, and God-fearing president. How do you do that? Through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which is a major part of evangelism, he said. People enter the kingdom of God, are born again, are taught the Word of God, and their character is discipled. To Sy, transformation can also come about by fulfilling the churchs mission of being a light to the world. As a young pastor in San Juan years ago, he rallied his church to provide relief to victims of flooding while working with city hall. The majority of the volunteers were from the church, recalls Sy. The mayor and the vice mayor both saw this. That was an open door for us to minister to our local officials. They saw that we had no agenda. The experience and others like it have led him to conclude, Partnering with the local government is something that every church should do. The church cannot be partisan. If I start taking sides, will I have the position to minister the gospel to all, no matter what side they chose? Daniel worked under three administrations because he never went political. The Christian teacher recalls a food vendor who told her, Youre just here with us if there is a campaign. After the campaign, youre all the sameyoull just vanish. That exchange gave her a stronger resolve to work with her Christian community to pursue activities that will provide concrete relief for our less-fortunate countrymen, whether they voted for Robredo or not. The election aftermath just might have broken new ground for planting the seeds of the gospel and bringing social transformation. Christians who might have been disappointed by the presidential outcome are experiencing a wake-up call, particularly among young people, who compose more than 40 percent of the population. They went out to the streets to campaignnot so much for Robredo or for Marcos but because of their love for the nation, said Sy, whos 40. Victory Makati has a campus ministry in the public schools to reach a generation of young people and young leaders mostly living in poverty. Through that, you are affecting change already. At the same time, Sy concedes that Victorys effort in transforming the nation, which was started by the main church more than 30 years ago, is a long game. Balais, who helped birth IFP and CLSF also in the 1980s, equally foresees that the raising of a nation of Davids is for the long-term. The 69-year-old bishop adds, Hopefully, we shall still be alive when that happens. In the meantime, with a new president taking the helm, Balais advises his brethren, regardless of their electoral choice, Let us pray for Gods mercy, which triumphs over judgment. Let us preserve the unity of the Spirit. Make ourselves a prisoner of peace. Above all, have fervent love for each other, as love covers a multitude of sins. Christian Taliban: Rep. Adam Kinzinger slams Lauren Boeberts call for Church to direct government Christian Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois accused his colleague and sister in the faith Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., of advocating for "the Christian Taliban" after she suggested to members of a Colorado church Sunday that the First Amendment's Establishment Clause is "junk" and the Church should be directing the government. During her speech at Cornerstone Christian Center in Basalt on Sunday, Boebert declared that she is "tired of this separation of Church and state junk." "The Church is supposed to direct the government. The government is not supposed to direct the Church. That is not how our Founding Fathers intended it," the born-again, first-term congresswoman said. Boebert argued that the principle of separation of Church and state is not in the Constitution and was only in a letter that "means nothing like they say it does." Boebert was likely referencing an 1802 letter from President Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Church Association in Connecticut stating that the First Amendment has "a wall of separation between Church and State." The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution "prohibits the government from making any law respecting an establishment of religion" and "government actions that unduly favor one religion over another." It also prohibits the government from "unduly preferring religion over non-religion, or non-religion over religion." Boebert's comments have since triggered multiple news headlines. Kinzinger, a staunch critic of former President Donald Trump who is also a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, criticized Boebert's comments. "There is no difference between this and the Taliban," he tweeted, referring to the Islamic terrorist organization that has taken control of Afghanistan. "We must opposed the Christian Taliban. I say this as a Christian." Kinzinger suggested in subsequent tweets that since extremism in other religions like Islam is discouraged in America, the same standards should apply to Christianity. "It's interesting. When the Taliban rose, we kept saying the 'moderate Muslims' need to speak out (I'm sure you did too) I believe normal Christians need to call out Christian nationalism and the Christian Taliban," he said. "I can't find anywhere Jesus said that the Govt matters to him." As opponents often use the term "Christian Taliban" to demean conservative Christian policy stances, conservative radio host Larry O'Connor reminded Kinzinger that he, too, was once branded as "Christian Taliban" before he was elected to Congress in 2010. "All of us at Breitbart helped you win in 2010 when the protesters in the streets were calling YOU Christian Taliban and Nazi. Remember all the posters of you and Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin with swastikas?" O'Connor noted. "You've become the very people we fought against to help you get elected." Kinzinger insisted that times have changed. "You are incorrect Larry. Yes I was called a Nazi, and thank you for confirming that I wasn't. But in 2010 nobody could imagine the church would be abused to promote a man with traits we should abhor," he tweeted. "So it's VERY different now." Kinzinger, who serves on the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, announced last year that he will not seek reelection. He was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. Houston pastor was fatally shot after 10-second road rage argument, police say The late East Bethel Missionary Baptist Church pastor, Rev. Ronald K. Mouton, was fatally shot in the chest last Friday after an argument with another driver that lasted just 10 seconds along the Gulf Freeway in Houston, Texas, police revealed Wednesday. Investigators from the Houston Police Department said surveillance video from the incident shows the pastor, who was driving a BMW, and his suspected killer, who was driving a black Honda Accord, stopped along the freeway before the shooting, KPRC reported. Police say the two appeared to argue for about 10 seconds before the driver of the Honda shot the pastor in the chest and caused him to crash his vehicle. Mouton, 58, crashed shortly after 5 p.m. at 6400 Gulf Freeway near Gould Street along the southbound lanes police. The pastor leaves behind his wife, four children and 10 grandchildren. Police say surveillance video also shows several vehicles stopped behind the two cars. Investigators hope that someone may have seen the suspect or the suspects license plate. During a press conference held at East Bethel Missionary Baptist Church on Wednesday, faith leaders, elected officials and Moutons family members called on his killer to come forward and take responsibility for the murder. Authorities also announced that a reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspect had been increased from $5,000 to $25,000. Were not looking for revenge ... but I think there is something we are owed, and that is justice, the late pastors twin brother, Roland Mouton, who is a pastor in Louisiana, said at the press conference, according to The Houston Chronicle. If you got a heart, if you got a conscience, ease our hurt and help us take away our anger and give us the justice that we deserve. U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, who asked everyone at the press conference to face the pulpit and honor the late pastor with a moment of silence, said there were not enough words to express the magnitude of the loss felt by Moutons family and wider community as a result of his death. I want the community to know the magnitude of our loss. It is unspeakable. It cannot be defined. It cannot be crafted, it cannot be described and it cannot fit inside this room, Jackson Lee said. You killed a pastor, a person whose every (instinct) is to come to you in your time of need, she continued, aiming her comments at the unidentified killer. You have taken that away from the membership of the East Bethel Baptist Church. Crime Stoppers of Houston pledged a $15,000 reward for information leading to the shooters arrest. Billionaire businessman Tilman Fertitta also pledged an additional $10,000 towards the reward on Wednesday morning, HPD officials said. At 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 3, faith leaders, family members and other community members are expected to hold a prayer march for justice at Palm Center. A celebration of Moutons life will occur at Community of Faith Church on July 8, while East Bethel Missionary Baptist Church is expected to host another memorial service for Mouton on July 9. Anyone with information that can help with the arrest of the suspect is asked to call HPD or Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS (8477). Information can be submitted online or through the Crime Stoppers mobile app. For Middle East peace, US must ally with Iranian people President Biden is planning a trip to the Middle East in July. With hopes for reviving the 2015 nuclear deal fading, one of the main objectives of the trip is to alleviate the growing concerns of the US allies in the region regarding the growing threat posed by Irans theocracy. When Joe Biden arrives in the region, he is expected to reassure both Israel and the Gulf Arab states that he is sensitive to their concerns about growing Iranian threats. Better late than never, one might argue, but it will have short-term remedies. When it comes down to the long-term effect and a strategic solution, there are more questions than answers. At the end of the day, Iran under the ayatollahs has been the main source of chaos, terror, and mischief in the region since Ayatollahs reign began in this strategic and impactful country in 1979. And now, the looming prospect of the most active state-sponsor of terror, being armed with the nuclear bomb, leaves little room for vaccination and procrastination. The time for a strategic approach toward the Iranian regime is before us. And the solution might be where the West has paid the least attention to in the past three decades, i.e. the Iranian people. Actually, the ayatollahs are having growing major problems at home. While the repression has not subsided, anti-regime protests, with slogans like Down with Khamenei (the supreme leader) and Down with Raisi (the President) has become much more frequent and pervasive. Growing clever-mind politicians are now coming to the conviction that the Iranian people are the best allies of the U.S. in securing a peaceful and tranquil Middle East through a regime change by the Iranians. On June 23, former Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Albania to visit a community housing thousands of members of the main Iranian opposition group, the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). He articulated his logic by stressing that the resistance movement in Iran has never been stronger. It's been inspiring for me to learn today even more Resistance Units in Iran are the center of hope for the Iranian people. An engine for change from within during the uprisings and continued protests. And every day it's clear they're growing stronger while the regime grows weaker. Today, teachers, workers, and retirees are courageously taking to the streets. Protests that used to be isolated and sporadic quickly spread to multiple cities. The 48th vice president of the U.S., Mike Pence, debunked the notion that the world has no choice but to either deal with the ayatollahs or resort to a full-fledged war, none of which are appealing scenarios. Vice President Pence underscored that there has been a viable alternative for the ruling theocracy and due to a misguided policy, it was ignored for too long. He said, One of the biggest lies the ruling regime has sold the world is that theres no alternative to the status quo. But there is an alternative. A well-organized, fully prepared, perfectly qualified, and popularly supported alternative Resistance Units, commitment to democracy, human rights, and freedom for every citizen are a vision for a free Iran and an inspiration to the world. Maryam Rajavi's Ten Point Plan for the future of Iran will ensure the freedom of expression, the freedom of assembly, freedom for every Iranian to choose their elected leaders. The future of Iran is intertwined with the drive for freedom, democracy, and a pluralistic system a clear distinction from both the dictatorship of the Shah and the tyrannical rule of the ayatollahs. As Vice President Pence pointed out, The regime in Tehran wants to trick the world into believing that the Iranian protesters want to return to the dictatorship of the Shah as well. But I want to assure you, we're not confused by their lies. As the U.S. has grown more divided, Iran's policy has remained a showcase for broad agreement on core American values. The Biden administration should pay heed to VP Pences sound policy suggestion by immediately withdrawing from all nuclear negotiations with Tehran, voicing support for the organized opposition in Iran, and making it clear that America and our allies will never permit the regime in Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon. As the Iranian people are courageously coming into the streets to determine their fate and wrest their country from the despots ruling there, we have to build a strategic alliance with the Iranian people. It is morally correct and strategically sound. But as the hold of the ayatollahs in the country is showing cracks, the time to act is now. Slain American missionary John Chau to be honored on 'Day of the Christian Martyr' A prominent Christian persecution advocacy organization will honor the legacy and sacrifice of American missionary John Chau, who lost his life while taking the Gospel to a remote island in the Indian Ocean in 2018. On Wednesday, Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), a nonprofit, interdenominational missions organization serving persecuted Christians around the world, will add Chau's name to the 60-foot-long granite Martyr's Memorial at the ministry headquarters in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Chau was 26 years old when he was killed on Nov. 17, 2018, while on a mission to North Sentinel Island in the Andaman Islands, located in the Bay of Bengal about 600 miles from mainland India. Chau, a graduate of Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma, was killed by an indigenous tribe that lives in isolation from the rest of the world. June 29 marks the Day of the Christian Martyr and the anniversary of the Apostle Paul's beheading in Rome. Throughout Church history, Christians worldwide have commemorated the lives of countless believers who've given their lives for Christ. With the help of a fishing boat, Chau first made contact with the Sentinelese people considered by many to be the "most isolated tribe on the planet" on Nov. 15, 2018, according to VOM. Later that day, a Sentinelese boy shot an arrow at Chau that lodged in the Bible he was holding. In his journal that evening, Chau wrote: "God, I don't want to die WHO WILL TAKE MY PLACE IF I DO? Forgive [the boy who shot me] and any of the people on this island who try to kill me, and especially forgive them if they succeed." On the morning of Nov. 17, the fishermen who dropped Chau off on the island saw tribesmen burying his body on the beach. Indian authorities called Chau's efforts to evangelize the unreached Sentinelese tribe a "misplaced adventure" in a highly restricted area. His death, which received international media attention, inspired much scrutiny of mission organizations trying to reach unreached and uncontacted tribes. But Todd Nettleton, host of VOM Radio, told The Christian Post that a closer look at Chau's life and death reveal his Christ-like compassion, extensive training and preparation, and clear-headed conviction of his calling to the Sentinelese people. "We as the Church should recognize those who follow Christ's call to go into all the world regardless of the cost. And John Chau is certainly an outstanding example of that," Nettleton said. Far from being an impulsive adventurer, Nettleton says Chau first felt God's calling on his life after returning from his first mission trip as a teenager. Nettleton said Chau spent time praying and preparing to go wherever God would call him, researching different people groups until he came across info online about the Sentinelese people. "Every single decision he made was with an eye toward going to North Sentinel Island, meeting those people, learning their language, being able to share Christ with them," Nettleton said. Nine years before his trip, Nettleton says Chau began preparing physically and spiritually for his journey. Throughout college at Oral Roberts University, Chau took cold showers to prepare for life on the island, knowing he would be without hot water. He underwent laser eye surgery so he wouldn't have to worry about contact lenses. Nettleton said that Chau also went through a training process with the Kansas City-based missionary organization All Nations under its Church Planting Experience program for future missionaries. Chau took a linguistics training course sponsored by Wycliffe to pick up the Sentinelese language quickly. He earned a certification as a wilderness EMT with the idea of bringing medical assistance to the isolated island people. Dr. Mary Ho, the international executive leader of All Nations International, called Chau one of the "most prepared missionaries she has ever met," according to Nettleton. After Chau's death in 2018, Nettleton claimed there was a "lot of misinformation" floating around about the circumstances surrounding his death. While some of that may have been Chau's own design to protect anyone who might go after him, Nettleton added: "So much of the misinformation about John was that lack of preparation, like he woke up one morning and just decided to go to North Sentinel Island." "That is so far from the truth," Nettleton assured. While Chau believed in God's calling on his life, he wasn't shy about expressing doubt about sharing the Gospel with hostile and unpredictable people groups. In a video Chau made for a church supporting his mission, Nettleton said Chau was wondering whether he was truly called to the island after his first scouting trip to the area. As he took off from Port Blair, leaving to come back to the U.S., Nettleton says Chau glanced out the airplane window and saw the sight of an island he instantly recognized from photos he had up on the wall of his college dorm. Chau knew the island by name and knew where he was headed. "He said in that moment, it was like God just completely confirmed, 'You're the one I want, you're the one I'm calling, that's the place I'm calling you to, I want you to go there,'" Nettleton said. In his journal, the night before he went ashore for what would be the final time, Chau also expressed doubt. "I believe that the measure of success in the kingdom of God is obedience," Chau wrote. "I want my life to reflect obedience to Christ and to live in obedience to Him. I think that Jesus is worth it. He's worth everything." "He understood the value of the Gospel, he understood the eternal significance of sharing Christ with the Sentinelese people, and he considered [losing his life] a fair trade," said Nettleton. Chau's father, Patrick Chau, said he did not support his son's missionary zeal. While both graduated from charismatic evangelical Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma, Patrick Chau said he no longer considers himself a Christian but rather a follower of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. "John is gone because the Western ideology overpowered my [Confucian] influence," Chau was quoted as writing, adding that evangelical "extreme Christianity" was to blame for his son's life coming to a "not unexpected end." Christian critic JD Hall was abusing Xanax, church reveals after pastors removal Leaders of Fellowship Baptist Church in Sidney, Montana, revealed that their pastor, Jordan Daniel "J.D." Hall, has been abusing the prescription drug Xanax after news broke that the church had removed him from ministry. In a statement released Monday, church officials said that several days following a June 5 incident, "it came to the attention of church leadership ... that our lead pastor, Jordan Hall, had fallen into a dependency upon prescription alprazolam (Xanax), characterized by use that exceeded his prescribed dosage." Details of the June 5 incident were not shared. Xanax, the most prescribed psychiatric medication in the United States, is generally used to treat anxiety disorders and anxiety caused by depression. The drug is also "extremely addictive when used long-term," according to the Addiction Center. Church officials said once the discovery was made, "Pastor Hall tendered his resignation from the pastorate shortly thereafter on June 8th, under the assumption that he had become disqualified from eldership as detailed in 1 Timothy 3." Fellowship Baptist Church subsequently voted to accept his resignation. Hall, known for his scathing criticisms of Christian leaders on his now-defunct polemics website Pulpit & Pen and, more recently, Protestia, has also been axed from those ministries, Protestia announced in a statement on Sunday. Fellowship Baptist Church leaders made it clear in their statement Monday that they were unaware the pastor was struggling with a drug dependency when they rejected his offer to resign on May 14. Hall initially offered to resign after his arrest on DUI and weapons charges. In its statement at the time, the church suggested Hall was "potentially addicted to working." A report from the Sidney Police Department cited by The Sidney Herald said Hall, 40, was arrested on May 11 at approximately 11 p.m. on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon and multiple traffic violations while driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs. An incident report shows that when police approached Hall, he spoke slowly, his eyes were watery, closed slowly and deliberately and his speech was slurred and mumbled. He also stumbled, displayed poor balance and performed poorly on a field sobriety test. No alcohol, however, was found in his system when a blood alcohol test was administered. The report added that he also had a Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 Shield handgun, which was found under his coat in an inside-the-waistband holster during his arrest. "Due to the testimony of Pastor Hall regarding a known vitamin deficiency that he insisted was to blame for his lack of coordination, the church had voted unanimously to reject his resignation, believing that the situation did not disqualify him from the pastorate," Fellowship Baptist leaders said in their Monday statement. "The church decided, instead, to insist that Pastor Hall submit to a minimum 3-month sabbatical to address his physical health issues. The results of a toxicology screening requested by law enforcement were pending (the results of the screening are still outstanding at the time of this writing), and the church agreed to revisit his qualification if the report found problematic substances in his system, but no member vocalized any suspicion of drug abuse." "If the church had been aware at that point of Mr. Hall's prescription drug abuse, the decision regarding his tendered resignation would likely have been different," the statement continued. "However, we believe that we acted appropriately given the information we had at the time." Fellowship Baptist Church leaders are now ministering to Hall's family and have encouraged him to "seek professional treatment and work toward the restoration of his mind and body, and the reconciliation of his relationships with God and family." According to data from Barna, about 20% of pastors struggle with some form of addiction, including alcohol and prescription drug addiction. Joshua Hall, lead pastor of Selmore Baptist Church in Ozark, Missouri, who identified himself as "J.D. Hall's big brother," said his brother still has his support. "I will not defend all that he's said and done. I just want to publicly say I love him and stand by him," Joshua Hall tweeted Monday night. "To my fellow Christians, please consider Matthew 5:43-48 before you post. Thank you for your prayers. Blessings." Tzedakah Ministries, which describes itself as "a ministry that seeks to equip Christians and churches to reach the Jewish people with the truth of Messiah Jesus," also urged prayers for J.D. Hall. "All of us could be where he is now. This should be the message we take with us as we hurt for you all," the ministry replied to Joshua Hall's Twitter post. "Caution must be the word of the day. Prayer for all of us and concern for your brother's spiritual and mental well-being should be our priority. I wish him well. Truly." Former mob boss preaches at Greg Laurie's church, encourages healthy fear of eternal damnation Michael Franzese, an ex-mob boss-turned-outspoken Christian author and speaker, delivered a message at Pastor Greg Laurie's California-based megachurch Sunday and stressed the importance of possessing a "healthy" fear of Hell and eternal damnation. As a former second-generation member of the Colombo Italian-American Mafia crime family in New York, Franzese previously lived his life on the wrong side of the law. He once held a caporegime rank, an influential role that gave him control over a "crew of soldiers." Working alongside his father, Sonny Franzese, he stole money and engaged in other criminal activities. After being arrested on 18 different occasions, Franzese served eight years in prison before he was ultimately released in 1994. During his time behind bars, a prison guard gave him a Bible, enabling him to discover the good news of Jesus Christ. Speaking at Laurie's Harvest Christian Fellowship, the former Mafia "prince" shared how he developed a "healthy fear of Hell" as a former inmate in solitary confinement. "When I was in prison, I spent 29 months and seven days in solitary confinement [in a] six-by-eight cell, 24/7. Me and God. That's not easy. We weren't meant to be solo creatures. We were meant to be social. [When] those lights [went] out at night, a lot of guys did not do well; a lot of moaning and groaning," Franzese recounted. "I dove into my Bible. I prayed every day. It was my closest time with the Lord because I had no choice. That was it. And thank God, I turned to Him and nowhere else. But you know what happened in that hole? I developed a healthy fear of Hell." Franzese encouraged the crowd to envision the reality of Hell's existence. "I want you to stop for a minute and think of the worst thing that you've ever encountered in your life and realize that that worst thing will never go away. This is your constant thorn in your side forever. And now put yourself in Hell, which is a million times worse and will never end. That's Hell," Franzese preached. "[The] Bible is very descriptive. I'm not bringing you bad news. I'm just telling you the truth. The good news is we don't have to go there. There is a Heaven, and there is a Hell." He said that it is good to have a healthy fear of anything that can potentially be harmful to a person and shared how his sister died of a drug overdose at the age of 27 and how his brother struggled with drug addiction for 25 years. After seeing what happened to his siblings, Franzese developed a "healthy fear of drugs." "My father drummed into my head from the time I was a kid that drugs were bad," Franzese shared. "I've seen so many people die because of drugs. I'm afraid of drugs. I don't mind saying it. I never even smoked a joint because I'm afraid I'll like it. I don't want to be addicted, so I stay away from it. It's good to have a healthy fear of things that are no good for you. That's manly. That's a man's man that can resist that kind of stuff," he added. Although Franzese said it is "good" to recognize God's call to confess, repent, believe and evangelize, he stressed the importance of sharing the truth in a loving way. "Jesus was direct when He had to be, but He had a knack for communicating with gentleness," he contended. "Today, our culture seems to celebrate men who speak their mind and pull no punches as if being a bully is an admirable trait. On the contrary, Jesus Himself said, 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.'" Franzese emphasized the importance of "gentleness" when sharing difficult truths with non-believers, adding: "Every time I [share] my testimony, I always go into the back room and I pray and I say: 'Lord give me the right words. Let me be effective. Let me be passionate enough in delivering this message so that You can reach out and touch the hearts that You want to touch in this room.'" In concluding his sermon, Franzese urged audience members to consider giving their lives to Christ before it's too late. "We are living in crazy times," he reminded. "We don't know from one minute to the next what's going to happen in this life. We really don't. And I'm telling you, I've seen people that I love with me one day, gone the next. Shocking. We don't know. We're not guaranteed anything. And what are you waiting for? Why would you want to test it?" "Why would you even want to think that maybe I'm not ready to go to Heaven? Why? I told you what the benefit is of emulating Jesus Christ. It's a win-win situation. You can't lose. The only way you lose is if you don't confess your sins and accept Jesus as your Savior. But in every other way, you win." Chris Pratt clarifies affiliation with Hillsong Church, says he's really not a religious person Actor Chris Pratt has set the record straight about his relationship with Hillsong Church and distinguishes that his faith in God has less to do with man-made religion than his personal walk with the Lord. The "Jurassic World Dominion" star recently spoke with Men's Health for its July/August cover story. Even though many know him for being a Christian, he maintained that he is "not a religious person" and believes religion has been "oppressive." He clarified his affiliation with Hillsong Church as he has faced criticism for being associated with the Australia-based global megachurch that has been marred by various scandals in recent years. "I never went to Hillsong. I've never actually been to Hillsong. I don't know anyone from that church," the 43-year-old actor shared. In 2019, actress Ellen Page criticized Pratt for attending Hillsong Church in Los Angeles. Page, a biologically female trans-identified Hollywood star, now goes by the name Elliot. Page labeled Pratt "infamously anti-LGBTQ" for attending the church. At the time, Pratt clarified that he goes "to a church that opens their doors to absolutely everyone." The church he attended then and still does is Zoe Church, led by Pastor Chad Veach. Pratt told Men's Health that he doesn't attend Zoe Church exclusively and said his daughter was baptized in a Santa Monica Catholic church where his wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger, worshipped as a child. When the Hillsong rumor first began, Pratt chose not to respond to the claims of his Hillsong involvement because he said he did not want to "throw a church under the bus." "If it's like the Westboro Baptist Church, that's different," he said. The sometimes vulgar "Guardians of the Galaxy" actor labeled religion as "oppressive as f*** for a long time" and found it amazing that he became the "face of religion" in the mainstream media. "I didn't know that I would kind of become the face of religion when really I'm not a religious person," Pratt explained. "I think there's a distinction between being religious adhering to the customs created by man, oftentimes appropriating the awe reserved for who I believe is a very real God and using it to control people, to take money from people, to abuse children, to steal land, to justify hatred." The father of three said his relationship with God is more personal. "Whatever it is. The evil that's in the heart of every single man has glommed on to the back of religion and come along for the ride," he added. In discussing the negative backlash he has received online, he said people pegged him as the "worst Chris in Hollywood." "You don't ever wanna get caught complaining or anything, [because] I have so many blessings. I consider everything a blessing truly in my life. [But] why are they coming after me?" The actor has often shared his faith publicly. In 2018, he accepted the Generation Award at the MTV Movie and TV Awards and used the platform to share nine points of biblically-infused advice. After Pratt's divorce from Faris, he revealed that his pastor's books helped him keep his faith strong. "I read books by my Pastor, Chad Veach in Zoe Church LA," he said in a home video in 2017. "I find his book Faith Forward Future to be very helpful!" TMZ first reported that Pratt attended Veach's church after his very public split with his wife of eight years. The actor has also been seen taking his son, Jack, to the church at the Del Rey Theater in Los Angeles several times. Christians don't have to affirm transgenderism, but they cant express that view at work: tribunal A London-based employment tribunal has ruled that the British Equality Act protects Christians beliefs that do not affirm transgenderism, but they cannot express those beliefs in the workplace. The Employment Appeal Tribunal in London delivered the judgment Wednesday in a case concerning a Christian doctor whose work contract was terminated over his refusal to refer to a man as a woman. In July 2018, Dr. David Mackereth, an A&E doctor with 30 years of experience, was forced out of his job in the Department of Work and Pensions. He subsequently took his case to the tribunal which ruled that biblical beliefs on gender are incompatible with human dignity and not worthy of respect in a democratic society. The doctor then sought to challenge that ruling. Wednesdays judgment means that the belief that God created humans as male and female and not transgender is a protected belief under both the Equality Act and the Human Rights Act, said the British charity Christian Concern, whose legal arm, the Christian Legal Centre, represented the Christian doctor. Furthermore, it means that more narrow beliefs flowing from that core belief, such as that affirming a transgendered person in their gender identity belief is harmful, are also protected. The right not to believe in transgenderism is also protected, Christian Concern added. Justice Eady said in the ruling, The fact that a belief is likely to cause offense cannot, however, mean that it is automatically excluded from protection. However, the appeals tribunal also affirmed that while the belief, or lack of belief, in transgenderism was protected, its manifestation in the workplace was qualified. Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, called the judgment confusing and muddled. The way in which the judge has driven a wedge between holding a belief and manifesting it means these basic Christian beliefs are protected on paper but not in practice, Williams said. The freedom to hold a belief, but not be able to express it, is no freedom at all, he added. Mackereth said he was grateful to the court for at least recognizing that a belief that we are made by God, both male and female in His image is not incompatible with human dignity. However, he also said he will be taking the case to a higher court. Mackereth said everyone in the NHS should be able to say publicly without fear that a person cannot change sex, but instead we are being forced to accept a massive change to our concept of the medical reality of sex, with no scientific basis for that change. He continued: As Christians, we are not trying to be unkind to people in any way. As Christians we are called to love all people with Christian love. But we cannot love people truly when we live and disseminate a lie. If we are to tell patients that they need to follow the science, then we must not tell them that they can change sex. In 2018, Mackereth was terminated as a medical assessor after refusing to identify clients by their chosen gender identity. In 2019, he took his case to an Employment Tribunal in Birmingham, claiming harassment and discrimination based on his Christian beliefs. Mackereth said during proceedings that he was asked in a conversation by his line manager: If you have a man 6 foot tall with a beard who says he wants to be addressed as she and Mrs, would you do that? And Mackereth replied that in good conscience, he could not. His contract was subsequently terminated. But the tribunal ruled in October 2019 that the Department for Work and Pensions had not breached the Equality Act of 2010 by firing the physician, who now works as an NHS emergency doctor. The tribunals judgment was based on a legal precedent set in the 2010 case of Grainger PLC v. Nicholson which looked at what qualifies as a philosophical belief which is protected under the Equality Act. And the ruling had put Mackereths biblical beliefs on par with neo-Nazi beliefs and was believed to be the first time in the history of English law that a judge had ruled that free citizens must engage in compelled speech. Chaos, rage, firebombs: Is more violence against pregnancy centers on the way? Before the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision came down on June 24, numerous attacks had already unfolded against pro-life pregnancy centers and churches. With chaos and consternation abounding, the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade could spark increased chaos. What has unfolded thus far and what's to come? Christian Post reporter Ryan Foley joins "The Inside Story" to break it all down. Listen to the episode (and subscribe to the podcast): The Inside Story takes you behind the headlines of the biggest faith, culture, and political headlines of the week. In 15 minutes or less, Christian Post staff writers and editors will help you navigate and understand what's driving each story, the issues at play and why it all matters. Listen to more Christian podcasts today on the Edifi app and be sure to subscribe to The Inside Story on your favorite platforms: Edifi Anchor Breaker Google Podcasts Apple Podcasts Pocket Casts RadioPublic Spotify Matt Chandler says overturning of Roe gives Church opportunity to step into darkness, decay Matt Chandler, the pastor of Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas, weighed in on the overturning of Roe v. Wade in his sermon Sunday, stressing that it's the responsibility of the Church to support women in crisis instead of "throwing diapers" at the issue. In a June 27 sermon, the 48-year-old pastor declared that for more than a decade, his church has taken a pro-life stance. Since the recent overturning of the 1973 landmark decision Roe v. Wade, Chandler said the church's stance has been "refined" regarding the belief "that both the Bible, as well as science, proves that life begins at conception." "I celebrated on Friday the decision of the Supreme Court to reverse the ruling," he said. "I did so with a great deal of sobriety. My emotions have been sneaking up on me today." Chandler reflected on how "broken and hopeless the world is to some people." "This is a brutally difficult world to be in. And there's a kind of hopelessness that will rot a soul out," he said. "There was a young woman that drink bleach to try to kill the baby [inside her]. How hopeless do you have to be to do that? How alone? How? Nowhere to go. That's what we're talking about here." Chandler said it is "good and right to celebrate" the court's ruling giving power back to the states to determine abortion laws. Still, he said that the Church has been given the opportunity to "step up into a space where darkness can be pushed back and decay can be addressed." "Whether you like the decision or not, I don't care ... I think it was a good, right decision," he said. "I want to celebrate, but I want to celebrate with sobriety and with a call to action. So before you wave those pom-poms, you better understand what's at stake and the moment that we're in. This had better not be about legislation. This better be bigger than that for us as the Church." Chandler urged listeners to move their "whole self" into the Kingdom of God in light of the ruling. He cited Matthew 5, where Jesus says, "Blessed are those who mourn. For they will be comforted." "Blessed are you when you feel heartsick over your own sin, over the sin of the world. Blessed are you when you mourn, when you recognize your own brokenness and you look up and you see the brokenness of the day that you're in. You're going to be comforted [and] God is going to meet you in that mourning, as you see the brokenness around you and in yourself," Chandler said. When pro-life Christians hold conversations with those who support abortion, Chandler said they must exercise compassion, speak in truth and not succumb to the pro-choice stance. "This means that in all our conversations, if we vilify the other, we will hate the very people that Jesus would have us minister to in His Kingdom," he said. "This is why, for all the political ideologies and even this subject with all the hate and rage around it, if you give into the compulsion to vilify the other, you will harden your heart to the ways Jesus wants to use you to stop the decay, and to push back the darkness." The problem isn't fixed by "throwing diapers at it," Chandler said, adding that the solution isn't "easy or fast." "What does it look like? Because as this was given back to the states, it was also given back to the Church. We are far more powerful than we think we are," he asserted. "But I do think there needs to be a purging about where your loyalties actually lie." "We will not feed the hungry or care for the most marginalized tweeting or posturing," he emphasized. "We'll have to hurt, and we'll have to be willing to." Chandler reminded those who have had an abortion that God is merciful and graceful to forgive them. "You have not out-sinned the grace of God. Maybe for the first time ever, you need to finally do business with those places inside of you that are broken. Maybe you had an abortion or you've funded one or you pushed somebody to and it's just [clawed] away at you. Maybe nobody knows. You don't have to carry that," Chandler said. The Village Church has several ministries that help those personally impacted by abortion, from post-abortion support groups to pregnancy support groups. "We've got all sorts of opportunities [for you] to heal. That would be my encouragement. You don't need to run off and sign up to volunteer yet. We need to get that soul healthy. We need to get some hooks out of you and some truth into you. I want to encourage you that you will not be disparaged or hated here for your backstory," Chandler said. Nancy Pelosi reportedly received communion at Vatican despite abortion advocacy U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., whose Roman Catholic archbishop barred her from receiving communion due to her public advocacy for abortion, reportedly received communion at the Vatican on Wednesday after meeting with Pope Francis. As The New York Times reported Wednesday, an attendee claims Pelosi met privately with Pope Francis and received communion from a priest during a papal Mass at St. Peter's Basilica. The Vatican did not offer confirmation of the meeting, but it did release photos of Pelosi and her husband, Paul Pelosi, greeting Pope Francis at the basilica. The Vatican did not immediately respond to The Christian Post's request for comment. Last month, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone sent a letter to Pelosi, informing her that she had been warned to either "repudiate your advocacy for abortion 'rights'" or "refrain from referring to your Catholic faith in public and receiving Holy Communion." The archbishop quoted the Roman Catholic Church's Code of Canon Law, stating, "Those obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion." Pelosi has endorsed policies that advance abortion access, which conflicts with the Catholic Church's teachings on the issue. The church has "affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion" since the first century. Pope Francis said during Mass on Wednesday that church leaders must "continue to care for human life." He also told newly consecrated archbishops on the same day to be inclusive and not "remain pinned to some of our fruitless debates." "So many times we become a church with open doors, but only to send people away, to condemn them," he said. The pontiff issued a new apostolic letter about church liturgy, stating that celebrating mass belongs to "the totality of the faithful united in Christ." "The liturgy does not say 'I' but 'we,'" he wrote, "and any limitation on the breadth of this 'we' is always demonic." Last September, Pope Francis said that he has "never refused the Eucharist to anyone" but stressed he has never knowingly encountered a politician during communion who supports abortion. The comments came amid debates among bishops in the United States about whether President Joe Biden and other Catholic politicians that advocate for legalized abortion should be denied communion. While he did not take a direct stance on whether politicians who advocate for policies that violate church doctrine should be denied communion, he advised bishops to be "pastors, and not go condemning." According to Politico's Playbook, Pelosi reportedly took communion last month at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown. Two days after receiving communion at the Washington, D.C., Catholic church, Pelosi questioned her hometown archbishop's decision to forbid her from taking communion on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." She wondered why the archbishop had taken such a strong stance against her position on abortion but did not prevent other politicians who support other policies that violate church teachings, such as the death penalty, from receiving communion. "I wonder about the death penalty, which I am opposed to," Pelosi said. "So is the church, but they take no action against people who may not share their view." Last October, Cordileone released a statement calling on "all Catholics and others of goodwill" to fast and pray for Pelosi so that she would change her "heart" on abortion. The archbishop pointed to the House Speaker's five children, whom she reportedly "speaks fondly" of, claiming that Pelosi has a "maternal heart." The call for prayer came after the House of Representatives passed the Women's Health Protection Act, which Pelosi supported. The bill would have codified the right to abortion into federal law but failed to garner enough votes in the Senate. Cordileone called the WHPA "nothing short of child sacrifice" in a September 2021 statement. In May 2021 pastoral letter to Catholics who support abortion, the archbishop recommended that they not receive communion. "Your Catholic ideals inspire you in your work to help those who experience discrimination, violence, and injustice, and you deserve the gratitude of your fellow Catholics and our nation for this service. But we cannot empower the weak by crushing the weakest," he wrote. "If you find that you are unwilling or unable to abandon your advocacy for abortion, you should not come forward to receive Holy Communion. To publicly affirm the Catholic faith while at the same time publicly rejecting one of its most fundamental teachings is simply dishonest." 'Superspreader' film shares Sean Feucht's quest to bring revival to America during COVID-19 lockdowns Worship artist Sean Feucht, who became well-known for leading outdoor revivals nationwide, is gearing up for the release of a new documentary following his controversial crusade across America during the COVID-19 lockdown. Titled "Superspreader," the film follows the former Bethel Church worship leader as he led thousands in worship and details the cost of his boldness. The documentary is scheduled to hit theaters this summer. "The pandemic revealed the chains of depression, fear and control that were seizing our nation," Feucht said in a statement shared with The Christian Post. Feucht's "Let Us Worship" movement was birthed during the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns in response to state and local governments nationwide restricting in-person worship through policies aimed at mitigating the spread of the coronavirus. After coming in third place in his bid for U.S. Congress in 2020 as a Republican in California's 3rd Congressional District, Feucht became the center of several large health mandate-defying Christian revival gatherings in major U.S. cities. "Superspreader" will chronicle the before, after and behind the scenes of those gatherings. "I'm thrilled for audiences to gather together in movie theaters to witness God's hand in the #LetUsWorship movement. It's my prayer that this film shows an even greater number of people what can happen when we march into battle and call on the God of hope," the statement continued. Feucht told CP that the documentary is "a story about the power of the Gospel and the American spirit." "The freedom to worship was under assault by the big and powerful. It spawned a movement of thousands to fight for our God-given religious liberty," he said. "In the face of intense pressure from politicians, the mainstream media, and Antifa to stand down, we stood up to bring a message of hope and revival to America. And it's not over yet." Director Josh Franer said the film explores "the cost of courage." "My hope as a filmmaker is to inspire greater conversation versus further division through the exploration of Sean's bold stand against what he perceived to be tyranny," he said. Feucht believes Americans' rights and religious liberties were stripped away in the name of public health during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Since churches were restricted from holding large worship services in buildings, he held worship in the public squares where he also shared the Gospel. Feucht told CP that his quest for revival in these times has been challenging personally. "It is more controversial than I ever imagined," he stated. "Jesus was right when he warned the disciples, 'You will be hated by everyone because of me. But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved,' (Matthew 10:22).'" Feucht said he and his family have "endured the most intense resistance, hate, harassment and even death threats to our home and family that we've ever experienced." "But yet the glory has been incredible, and the testimony of breakthrough has sustained us," Feucht added. The minister has been accused of being too political with his Gospel approach, but he believes ministry, politics and everything overlap. "The Church needs to wake up!" he maintained. "Christ calls us to be salt and light. He wants us to [put] His Love and truth to every facet of our life, not just our families and church, but schools, work, and politics too!" "Superspreader" is scheduled for an Aug. 19 theatrical debut and will follow the launch of Feucht's book,BOLD: Moving Forward in Faith Not Fear on July 26. Nigeria: Terrorists kill 2 Catholic priests Unidentified terrorists have killed two Catholic priests in the Nigerian states of Kaduna and Edo, according to statements by their respective archdioceses which come a month after two other priests were slain in two other districts in the West African country. The victims have been identified as Fr. Vitus Borogo, a priest serving in the Archdiocese of Kaduna, and Fr. Christopher Odia from the Diocese of Auchi. Borogo was killed in a raid on a farm along Kaduna-Kachia Road Saturday, and Odia was kidnapped from his rectory at St. Michael Catholic Church in Edo States Ikabigbo area and then killed by his captors Sunday evening, Catholic News Agency reported, citing a statement by the chancellor of the Kaduna archdiocese. Borogo, 50, was a chaplain at Kaduna State Polytechnic, and 42-year-old Odia was the administrator of St. Michaels and principal of St. Philip Catholic Secondary School in Jattu area. Catholic News Agency also noted that more Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than in any other country worldwide at least 4,650 in 2021, and nearly 900 in the first three months of 2022 alone. In May, unidentified gunmen stormed a Catholic parish in northern Nigeria and abducted two priests, identified as Fr. Stephen Ojapa and Fr. Oliver Okpara from the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, and two unidentified boys from St. Patrick Catholic Church in Gidan Maikambo area of Katsina states Kafur Local Government Area, Vatican News reported at the time. In a separate incident the same month, radical Islamic militants affiliated with either the Islamic Fulani herdsmen or the Islamic State West Africa Province killed at least eight Christians, including children younger than 5, and wounded several others in an attack in Borno state. Also last month, the Islamic State terror group released a video showing the execution of about 20 Christian civilians in Borno State in revenge for the killing of their leader in Syria by the United States special forces in February. The video, released by an IS-linked news outlet, showed a masked militant executing a Christian civilian while saying it was revenge for the killing of their leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, an Iraqi Islamic terrorist and the second caliph of the Islamic State. Open Doors USA, which monitors persecution in over 60 countries, earlier reported that at least 4,650 Christians were killed between Oct. 1, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2021. That is an increase from 3,530 the previous year. Additionally, more than 2,500 Christians were kidnapped, up from 990 a year earlier. 'Imperialism of woke culture' is greatest threat to religious freedom worldwide: ADF president The head of a noted religious freedom advocacy organization cited the dominance of woke culture that thinks its OK to silence people who disagree as the greatest threat to religious freedom in the United States and around the world. Michael Farris, president and CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom, discussed the state of religious freedom at home and abroad in an interview with The Christian Post ahead of his moderation of a panel at the second annual International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C., Thursday. Explaining that many people, especially Christians, find themselves on the receiving end of efforts to silence them, to cause them to lose their careers and not have the ability to even get their opinions out in public society, Farris said the dominance of woke culture that thinks its OK to silence people who disagree is very dangerous in many respects for freedom of speech and freedom of religion in the U.S. Farris told CP that in some sectors of the world, the greatest threat to religious freedom is the same as the United States, specifically, the imperialism of woke culture. He maintained that the totalitarian mood behind woke culture extends to the dominant orthodoxies in other countries as well: In India, for example, Hindu nationalism operates on a very, very egregious basis and tries to close down people that are differing. I was in India just a few weeks ago and met with a young man who was beaten by the police for simply praying out loud on a neighborhood balcony of an apartment, he said. He was charged with a crime of forcible conversion. All he was doing was praying for his uncles healing. Farris cited the intolerance of Hindu nationalists in India as well as woke culture in the U.S. as examples of how were in a mood of the world where diversity of opinion is not being tolerated. Theres [pressure] to adhere to whatever the prevailing viewpoint is in a particular country, whether thats Hindu nationalism or left-wing cultural wokeism. Get in line or face the consequences is the mood in way too many places in the world, he said, stressing that its relatively a small, very vocal, very vicious minority that wants to silence people, especially in this country. I dont think that the majority of Americans support this, he added, noting that waking up the big middle of the country to whats happening is a necessary step in reversing the trend of intolerance because most Americans still believe in their heart that everybody should be able to say whatever they want and not suffer the consequences of being subjected to mob violence. Farris recalled that earlier this year, one of his colleagues, ADF General Counsel Kristen Waggoner, had a mob try to drown her out as she addressed students at Yale Law School. At the same time, he expressed hope that America can listen to its better angels and not listen to people who really want to pursue what I believe to be an un-American position of silencing those that you disagree with. Agreeing that Christians who hold biblical views on sexuality, gender and abortion are not being tolerated in the public square, Farris identified most college campuses or most public schools as the most hostile environments for those with such beliefs: It is very, very difficult to be able to communicate your views as a Christian and there is punishment being metered out. Now, the good news is were winning a number of those battles in court, but the culture is pretty oppressive right now, he added. Whereas, the ultimate victory in the courts is improving. Farris elaborated on his concerns with American education, noting that he had been litigating cases involving a tug of war between parents and schools and teachers over what is taught in public schools surrounding sex and gender for 40 years. There has been some level of this thats been going on at least that long, he asserted. Its gotten a lot worse. Its a material increase and probably the most significant fact is a lot of parents, millions of parents became far more aware of what was going on in public schools by watching what their kids were learning over the internet during the COVID shutdowns. That has resulted in a huge increase in parental awareness and parental involvement. I think that the changes that were going to see in education policy as a result of that are going to be pretty significant over time. Farris said one change in education policy that has already materialized is a doubling of the homeschool population in the last couple of years: It went from 5 percent of the school-aged population to about 10 percent. Theres a certain segment that will probably return, but the presence of critical theory, both critical race theory and critical gender theory, in the public schools has grown so rapidly that I think that the net trend is going to be more and more homeschooling, he predicted. This is a phenomenon thats here to stay, and as long as the public schools decide that they are more about indoctrination than they are academic excellence, homeschoolings going to continue to flourish. Farris attributed the ascendance of critical theory and other concerning curriculum in schools to the fact that school districts are organized in a way that the teachers union has an outsized influence in a number of ways. He also explained that the general education establishment, if youre starting with the teachers colleges in the country that control a lot of what happens downstream, [has] pretty much bought into the culturally woke agenda. Theyve accepted critical race theory as their framework, Farris added. Describing universities and the teachers unions as true believers in that ideology who have an outsized impact on education in the U.S., he cheered the emergence of more and more parents who are independent. He also emphasized that parents need to speak up and stand up for their kids. I just think that the education establishment needs to wake up and realize that their customer base, if you will, doesnt share their ideology. If they dont want to lose the whole power that they now possess entirely, they need to change course, Farris contended. Farris also said that public schools are to blame for causing a spike in culturally-induced transgender incidence by embracing the tenets of the culturally woke agenda and critical theory. Far too many kids are being told by their public school that because youre a white Christian kid, youre an oppressor and the only way out of being an oppressor and being labeled a villain is to become a sexual minority, he warned. Alliance Defending Freedom has represented parents in many cases involving parental rights: There have been so many incidents that weve been involved with where kids are momentarily confused, induced by a lot of this teaching. And then, once you get it away from them for a little bit, their head clears. They go, What was I thinking? That doesnt mean that there arent kids with genuine mental health issues arising out of sexual confusion. But people with mental health professions need to be helping parents with that. Farris insisted that the schools have no business intervening in this medical situation where that is legitimately an issue with a child, adding that the surge in the number of children with gender dysphoria is induced by the peer pressure and the faddishness thats going on. And so that is the issue, and the ability of parents to be able to make decisions for their kids and not lose control of that, because of the wokeness that has entered into the medical profession is, I think, an important component of parental rights as well. Most Americans oppose Dobbs decision, think companies shouldn't take position on abortion: polls Polls released since the U.S. Supreme Court granted states the authority to regulate abortion indicate that while a majority of Americans oppose the decision, most have nuanced views and think companies shouldn't take a stance on the divisive issue. Following the Supreme Courts decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization that reversed the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide, Marist College conducted a poll in conjunction with NPR and PBS NewsHour assessing Americans views on various political topics. The survey, based on responses from 941 adults and conducted from June 24-25, included several questions about abortion. When asked if they supported the overturning of Roe, 56% of respondents said they didn't approve of the Dobbs decision, while 40% expressed support for the ruling. Specifically, 28% of those surveyed strongly support the ruling, 12% support it, 11% oppose Dobbs and 45% strongly oppose it. Americans views on the Dobbs decision closely mirror their views on abortion overall. The poll found that 55% of those surveyed identified themselves as mostly supporting abortion rights and 36% characterized themselves as mostly opposing abortion rights. The survey also asked respondents for their views about the Supreme Court. Thirty-nine percent of those queried told pollsters that they had either a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the court compared to 58% who said they had not very much or no confidence at all in the institution. Nineteen percent expressed a great deal of confidence in the court and an additional 20% affirmed quite a lot of confidence in the body, while 25% maintained not very much confidence and 33% possessed no confidence at all. However, a majority of Americans remain opposed to the idea of adding more justices to the Supreme Court, which has been pushed by progressive politicians and would have the effect of diluting the voting power of the justices who formed the majority opinion in Dobbs. Thirty-four percent of adults favor the practice derided by critics as court packing, while 54% oppose the idea. Additionally, Americans expressed concern that the overturning of Roe v. Wade will be used by the Supreme Court to reconsider past rulings that protect contraception, same-sex relationships, and same-sex marriage. A plurality of Americans (42%) feel very concerned about the overruling of additional rulings, followed by 27% who are not concerned at all about the possibility and 14% who describe themselves as concerned and not very concerned about the possible overturning of other rulings. The concern about the potential reversal of Supreme Court decisions establishing rights to contraception, sodomy and same-sex marriage stems from a concurring opinion in the Dobbs case authored by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Thomas wrote that we should reconsider all of this courts substantive due process precedents, classifying them as demonstrably erroneous. Thomas suggested that the court had a duty to correct the error of previous decisions, citing the rulings granting rights to contraception, sodomy and same-sex marriage as examples of flawed legal analysis. However, the majority opinion in the Dobbs case, authored by Justice Samuel Alito, states that our decision concerns the constitutional right to abortion and no other right. A poll conducted by YouGov sampling the opinions of more than 1,000 adults from June 24-25 revealed plurality opposition to the Dobbs decision (47%). An additional 31% of respondents supported the ruling, followed by 14% who neither approve nor disapprove of the ruling, and 8% who said they were not sure how they felt about the overturning of Roe. The YouGov survey also illustrated more nuanced opinions on abortion from the American public. Twenty-seven percent of those surveyed called themselves pro-life and 34% placed themselves in the pro-choice category. An additional 25% hold both pro-life and pro-choice views, while 9% contended that they were neither, and 4% answered not sure in response to the question about their stance on abortion. Similarly, 27% of respondents believe abortions should be legal in all cases and 33% want to see the procedure legal in most cases. The poll measured support for making abortion illegal in most cases at 28% and approval of making abortion illegal in all cases at 13%. Another question in the survey asked, In general, should major companies take a public position on abortion? By a more than 2-1 margin, Americans believe that corporations should remain silent on the issue. Fifty-one percent of those questioned responded with a No while 23% replied Yes and the remaining 26% maintained that they were not sure. This question reflects the fact that ahead of the Dobbs ruling, several major companies, including Amazon and Citigroup, have vowed to reimburse their employees travel expenses if they had to travel out of state to have an abortion. At the same time, a plurality of participants in the survey (44%) told pollsters that they didn't think that large companies with operations in states that outlaw abortion should relocate to states where abortion is illegal. Meanwhile, 28% favored the idea of large businesses based in states that ban abortion relocating to another state. The Dobbs decision didn't outlaw abortion but rather determined that the Supreme Court lacked the authority to make national policy on the issue, thereby enabling each state to make its own laws on the legality of the procedure. The YouGov poll asked if abortion laws should be decided nationally or left to the states. A plurality of respondents (43%) expressed a desire for abortion laws to be decided nationally, while 35% thought the issue should be left to the states. Twenty-two percent of those surveyed were not sure. Like the Marist survey, the YouGov poll examined Americans feelings on the Supreme Court. A plurality of those surveyed strongly disapprove of the way the Supreme Court is handling its job, followed by 20% who somewhat approve, 16% who strongly approve and 15% who somewhat disapprove of its performance. Fifteen percent answered not sure when asked for their opinions on the Supreme Court. The Dobbs decision comes four-and-a-half months before the 2022 midterm elections that will determine which policy controls Congress for the next two years. Both polls sought to examine the potential impact of the ruling on this falls elections. According to the Marist poll, 61% of adults cited the Dobbs decision as making them more likely to vote in the midterms compared to just 3% who are now less likely to vote because of the ruling. More Democrats (78%) than Republicans (54%) regard themselves as more likely to vote in the fall following Dobbs. The YouGov poll presented slightly different findings, with 23% of respondents insisting that the Dobbs decision will have a great deal of influence on their vote in November and an additional 14% predicting that it will impact their vote a fair amount. Meanwhile, 17% responded not much when asked how much their vote in November will be affected by the courts decision. Another 23% see the Dobbs decision as not at all likely to influence which candidates they support in the upcoming elections. Like the Marist poll, the YouGov survey showed that more Democrats believe the Dobbs decision will play a role in their vote in the 2022 elections. Thirty-three percent of Democrats asserted that Dobbs will influence their vote in November a great deal and an additional 19% predicted that the overturning of Roe will have a great deal of impact on their vote. By contrast, only 18% of Republicans foresaw the Dobbs decision having a great deal of impact on their vote and 12% stated that it will have a fair amount of influence on their plans for Election Day. Only Marist asked Americans for their thoughts on President Joe Bidens job performance. While the president has a 40% approval rating and a 53% disapproval rating among the sample, more respondents plan to support a Democratic candidate for Congress (48%) than a Republican candidate (41%). This represents a slight increase in support for the Democratic candidate on the generic ballot from the last Marist Poll conducted in May 2022, which found Democrats beating Republicans 47% to 42%. Californians to vote on enshrining abortion rights in state constitution after Roe's reversal California voters will have a chance this fall to decide whether to codify abortion rights in the state constitution. The Democrat-led California legislature passed an amendment Monday that will put the issue to voters in November following last week's historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that made abortion a national right. Under Senate Constitutional Amendment 10, authored by Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins of San Diego, voters will decide if they should enshrine California's "reproductive rights." According to the amendment, "reproductive rights" "includes [the] fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and [the] fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives." Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California and NARAL Pro-Choice California are the primary co-sponsors of SCA 10, which passed both houses with a two-thirds majority vote, allowing the amendment to qualify for the November ballot. Shortly after SCA 10's passing, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order limiting the sharing of patient records and data by state agencies with other states seeking to take criminal or civil action against individuals for facilitating or receiving an abortion. "California will not back down from the fight to protect abortion rights as more than half the states in this country, enabled by the Supreme Court, ban or severely restrict access," Newsom said. "We are ensuring Californians will have the opportunity this November to enshrine the right to choose in our state constitution." Calling the Dobbs v. Jackson's Women's Health Organization decision a "dark day," Atkins said "abortion is health care, and should be a private discussion between a patient and their health care provider." "When politicians and judges force themselves into that room, safety goes out the window," Atkins asserted. Following the Supreme Court's decision last Friday, Newsom signed AB 1666, limiting California's exposure to civil liability for anyone in the state "providing, aiding, or receiving" an abortion. Newsom joined his counterparts in Washington and Oregon in a multi-state pact to make those states a "safe haven for all people seeking abortions and other reproductive health care services in these states." Under California law, the "state shall not deny or interfere with a woman's fundamental right to choose to bear a child or to choose to obtain an abortion" except when a physician believes "there is a reasonable likelihood of the fetus' sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures." A UCLA study released this month estimated that as many as 16,000 more Americans will travel to California specifically to receive abortion services after the Dobbs ruling triggered laws in several states banning the procedure. The study forecasts that white, college-educated Americans with "greater resources" are more likely to make the trip, as well as those aged 17 and under, particularly those hailing from states where parental consent is required by law. John Chau: A hero John Chaus murder by tribesmen on North Sentinel Island in 2018 drew worldwide media attention, most of it critical if not downright mocking. The young Christian missionary was called a fool, a colonialist and an adventure bro. He was mocked in memes and ridiculed by comedians for cheap laughs. And the criticism didnt come only from unbelievers. Christians piled on, too, passing on the memes and arguing that Johns approach to fulfilling the Great Commission was outmoded and wrong. Jim Elliott, who was killed in 1956 while trying to share the Gospel with members of the Huaorani people in Ecuador, famously said, He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. So John Chau was no fool. Nor was he a colonialist, adventure bro, or unprepared, amateurish missionary. John Chau was a hero. The funny thing is that the false story so many heard after his death was the one John wanted us to hear. He had left a breadcrumb trail on Instagram and other social media that led away from the truth of his dangerous mission. He wasnt out for credit and didnt worry about being misunderstood. He cared only about the mission to which God had called him taking the Gospel to the Sentinelese people. John had counted the cost and found it worthwhile. You guys might think Im crazy in all this, he wrote the night before his death, but I think its worth it to declare Jesus to these people. Trusting the promise of Revelation 7:910, John knew there would be Sentinelese people gathered around the throne of Christ for all eternity. If his mission were cut short by a Sentinelese arrow, disease, or anything else, he knew someone else would take up the call to share Christ with the Sentinelese. The Voice of the Martyrs is honoring Johns inspiring example on this years Day of the Christian Martyr. While writing an article about John for the June issue of VOMs magazine, I read many previous articles about his life, mission and death. I spoke with his friends and with leaders of the mission that commissioned and sent him to North Sentinel Island. I watched video of a memorial service for John as well as a video he had recorded for a supporting church just months before his death. I dont think the criticism would bother John. And he might find it humorous that the most sympathetic article appeared in GQ, a magazine in whose pages he probably never imagined his name and picture appearing. What would bother him, I think, is how quick Christians were to criticize. Many adopted the narrative that he was unprepared and foolhardy; he woke up one morning, got on a boat for North Sentinel Island, and got himself killed. What was he thinking? seemed as common a sentiment among Christians as non-Christians. John prepared for nine years to go to North Sentinel Island. Every decision he made was with the goal of reaching the island, learning the language, serving the Sentinelese, and eventually being able to tell them about Gods love for them in sending His Son to die on a cross for their sins. Johns story challenges Christians to look in a mirror and ask some uncomfortable questions. Was there an expiration date on Jesus call to go into all the world (Matthew 28:1820)? Is there some sort of exclusion clause for places governments dont want us to go or where the inhabitants have previously attacked and killed visitors? Does God still call people to dangerous places? Would He ever ask us to do something that might cost us our lives? And, if I call myself a follower of Christ, what part am I supposed to play in going into all the world? In Johns final hours, he wrote letters to his family and Christian friends. He encouraged them to forgive the Sentinelese if he were murdered and told them he wanted his body left on the island (it was). For the witnesses he knew would inevitably follow in his footsteps, he prayed that God would give them a double anointing and bless them mightily. He also left a challenge: I pray that you will never love anything in this world more than you love Christ. John Chaus life and death are proof that he lived up to that challenge. May his example inspire us to do likewise. Reflecting the abolitionist spirit after Dobbs There are myriad parallels to be drawn between the pro-life movement and the abolitionist movement in America. Both have undertaken the fight against injustices of unspeakable magnitude. Both have asserted the inviolable dignity of humans made in Gods image. Both have been powerful forces for unity around the truth while also facing immense opposition. One of the triumphant moments of the abolitionist struggle was the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. It represented an official recognition of what slaverys detractors had fought so hard to affirm that the evil of the slaves bondage could not persist in a nation dedicated to freedom and equality. The pro-life movement now faces its own moment of victory. Overturning Roe v. Wade as egregiously wrong, the Supreme Court has declared that the Constitution contains no protection for or mention of any right to an abortion, and that states have a legitimate interest in protecting unborn life. The ruling comes as an answer to countless prayers. It is a beacon of hope for advocates who have mourned the enshrinement of the killing of innocent children in our nations laws. It will surely prove instructive, then, to examine how abolitionists responded to the Emancipation Proclamation, as we seek to follow in their footsteps. Frederick Douglass spoke at the Cooper Institute in February of 1863, giving a speech entitled The Proclamation and a Negro Army. He said of the Emancipation Proclamation, It is a mighty event for the bondman, but it is a still mightier event for the nation at large, and mighty as it is for the both, the slave and the nation, it is still mightier when viewed in its relation to the cause of truth and justice throughout the world. It is in this last character that I prefer to consider it. There are certain great national acts, which by their relation to universal principles, properly belong to the whole human family, and Abraham Lincolns Proclamation of the 1st of January, 1863, is one of these acts It will stand with every distinguished event which marks any advance made by mankind from the thraldom and darkness of error to the glorious liberty of truth. Another prominent abolitionist of the day was William Lloyd Garrison, editor of The Liberator. In January of 1863, The Liberator published a message from the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, of which Garrison was a founder. It read, However effectual may be the Presidents Emancipation Proclamation in breaking the chains of the bondmen in such rebellious sections of the country as he has just designated and Heaven grant it may be as potent in operation as it is comprehensive in its scope; nevertheless, nothing at this hour is settled so surely as the continued enslavement of four millions of the inhabitants of the land; and while any of these remain to wear the yoke, the primary object and specific work of this Society will not have been accomplished. Slavery in the so-called loyal Border States is as inexcusable, as criminal, as revolting, as unendurable, as pregnant with evil and ruin, as in the rebellious Confederate States, and must be as vigorously and uncompromisingly assailed, until liberty is proclaimed throughout ALL the land, and to ALL the inhabitants thereof. The pro-life movement now requires a measure of both Douglasss celebration and Garrisons call to action. We must remember, as Douglass did, that the success of our cause is not a matter of mere political victory although millions of Americans have made their voices heard on behalf of the voiceless. Neither does Dobbs represent only a victory for the unborn although our prayer is that a multitude of lives might be saved from destruction. Rather, Dobbs is the kind of victory Douglass described a victory for truth and justice that resounds across the globe. To reduce this decision to a political spectacle or an example of good jurisprudence does a disservice to the momentousness of this occasion. Yet in 1863, the Civil War was still being fought. The drops of blood drawn by the lash were still being paid by those drawn with the sword. In most of the areas where slavery had prospered, the Emancipation Proclamation did not yet have the force of law. Garrison urged his readers to consider, even in the midst of their rejoicing, the many people who remained enslaved. Today, the legality of abortion is unquestioned in nearly half the states. Its scourge still poses a threat to justice and to the dignity of human life. We hope, as Garrison did, that the Courts decision may be potent in operation. But we must not forget to continue the fight until a childs right to life is proclaimed throughout ALL the land, and to ALL the inhabitants thereof. Originally published Juicy Ecumenism. Archie Battersbee's parents win appeal, granted new hearing to block removal of son's life support The parents of Archie Battersbee have won the right to a new hearing to determine whether their 12-year-old son can continue on life support after a judge ruled that a London hospital could discontinue the boy's care. Battersbee's parents, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, appeared before judges at the Court of Appeals in London Wednesday to argue for their son's care to continue. In a decision handed down in the Family Division of the High Court earlier this month, Justice Emma Arbuthnot ruled that medical professionals at Royal London Hospital could remove Archie Battersbee's life support. The boy has been unconscious since April due to a brain injury. Arbuthnot ruled that Battersbee, who was discovered unconscious at home with a ligature around his neck on April 7, is likely dead "on the balance of probabilities." She permitted the parents to appeal the decision. According to a statement released by the Christian Legal Centre, which has been supporting the family, a panel of three judges ruled there should be another hearing on Battersbee's case. The decision was made by the Master of the Rolls Sir Geoffrey Vos, President of the Family Division Sir Andrew McFarlane and Lady Justice King. The High Court will hear the case again on July 11, "with the understanding that Archie remains alive," according to the legal group. CLC Chief Executive Andrea Williams said in a statement that the ruling "shows the critical importance of never giving up." "In these difficult moments, nerves and principles are important," she said. "This judgment upholds life and will protect many more people from a slippery slope in which the legal definition of death is expanded." "Where there's life, there's hope. We keep praying that Archie will be able to recover, given more time," she concluded. Hollie Dance said that she is "delighted" by the decision. "We wanted another hearing and we've got everything we wanted," she said, according to The Daily Mail. Paul Battersbee expressed the same sentiment, stating that "It couldn't really have gone any better today." Edward Devereux QC, a barrister leading the parents' case, argued before the court that the case should be "remitted for consideration by a High Court judge who should considerer whether it is in Archie's best interests for life-sustaining treatment to continue." The new hearing will take place before a different judge, Justice Anthony Hayden, according to The Daily Mail. In the initial ruling, Arbuthnot concluded that Battersbee is effectively brain dead and should be disconnected from the ventilator. Lawyers representing Barts Health NHS Trust, the hospital's governing trust, asked the judge to make a decision in the child's best interests. "The evidence in my judgment shows a gradual deterioration from very early on in Archie's admission into hospital when he had already suffered a very severe brain injury when blood supply and oxygen were prevented from reaching his brain," Arbuthnot wrote. "It is clear from the anxious and careful scrutiny of all the evidence including from clinicians with different specialisms from five separate hospitals that tragically on the balance of probabilities, Archie is dead." The judge gave "permission to the medical professionals at the Royal London Hospital (1) to cease to ventilate mechanically Archie Battersbee; (2) to extubate Archie Battersbee; (3) to cease the administration of medication to Archie Battersbee and (4) not to attempt any cardio or pulmonary resuscitation on Archie Battersbee when cardiac output ceases or respiratory effort ceases." In a statement shared earlier this month by CLC, Dance refused to "give up on Archie." "Until it's God's way, I won't accept he should go. I know of miracles when people have come back from being brain dead," she stated. The parents maintain that their son has not been "given enough time." The case is also believed to be the first time an MRI test has been used to declare someone is "likely" to be dead, CLC claims. "From the beginning, I have always thought, 'why the rush?'" Dance asked. "His heart is still beating, he has gripped my hand, and as his mother, I know he is still in there." Vietnam floats new religion regulations to impose high fines, punishments for 'forbidden' activities HANOI, Vietnam When the Government of Vietnam posted two draft religion decrees the first week of June, even ranking staff members of the Government Bureau of Religious Affairs were taken by surprise and encouraged religious leaders to strongly object. The decrees with ancillary documents were posted online for input by government departments and the public. The document dump was 151 pages. One draft decree would take the place of Decree 162/2017, which provided implementation guidelines for the penultimate Law on Belief and Religion (LBR) that went into effect Jan. 1, 2018. After three years, the government authors of the draft decrees admit to shortcomings in the original implementation decree and offer this attempt to fix them. In practice the revisions would only tighten control. Most concerning is a draft decree stipulating remedies and punishments for administrative infractions of the existing LBR and other rules. It is already nicknamed the Punishment Degree. The original such draft decree floated three years ago received such a negative response that it was never passed or enforced. The current draft is hardly better. One Vietnamese analyst put it this way: If you start with something which is very bad at its core, any additions to it can only be bad too. He referred to Vietnams record on human rights, especially religious freedom, internationally known to be very deficient. Tinkering with the margins will not change the rotten core, the analyst concluded. In the draft punishment decree, each of the religion regulations and rules comes with an administrative punishment schedule ranging from warning to severe warning, then to graduated fines up to $1,300 (30 million VND) for an individual and $2,600 (60 million VND) for an organization. Beyond that, punishments range up to shutting down a religious organization entirely. Further, those accused of breaking religion rules are warned that they may also be violating criminal codes, putting them in double jeopardy. Article 8 of the punishment decree, for example, says that if someone disagrees with or disobeys their religious leader, they may also be charged with breaking civil laws such as violating social peace and order or fire safety codes, etc. There are extremely onerous reporting requirements. All local church activities must be reported and approved a year in advance. Every office address change and reassignment of church staff must be reported within short time limits, or churches would face fines. Mandatory study of Vietnams revolutionary history and Vietnamese law must be included in all training curriculum for clergy. Punishments include everything up to shutting down the training institutions. Foreigners are limited in their activities with Vietnamese co-religionists. The amount a foreigner puts into an offering plate at a worship service must be reported, as must all financial contributions from abroad. Current regulations, unchanged in the new draft decree on LBR implementation, call for religious organizations to submit detailed bios for all leadership candidates for government preapproval. Only then will the government grant permission to meet in the general assembly to vote. In a current case, the Evangelical Church of Vietnam-South (ECVN-S) submitted the names and bios of 257 eligible candidates for about 30 leadership positions to be democratically decided. The government declined to accept one pastor whom they identified as a troublemaker. The ECVN-S responded by asking the government not to interfere in the internal affairs of their legally recognized organization and advised authorities that if the said pastor were guilty of civil crimes they should go after him by legal means. This conflict now puts the ECVN-Ss long-planned July 2022 quadrennial General Assembly in jeopardy. Three entire chapters of the punishment decree have to do with the registration and legal recognition of religious organizations. In one of many head-scratchers, a religious organization that is not yet legally recognized may be fined if it uses its religious reputation to further its cause. Very concerning is Article 28 of the proposed replacement decree for Decree 162/2017. It extends all religion regulation to apply also to online meetings and activities, an entirely new phenomenon of the COVID-19 era. Hard to imagine the interference that could cause. Much ink is spilled about things that are forbidden. Most significant is the continued reference to nebulous crimes such as taking advantage of belief and religion or causing social division or violating public morality or disturbing social order. There are no definitions as to what these forbidden things actually mean, leaving them completely open to subjective interpretation. Under such forbiddens, it is hard to tell if not worshiping ones ancestors or venerating national heroes could lead to being classified as violating national morality or being labeled a cult. The forbiddens open the way to endless pretexts for accusing people. One Vietnamese leader said of the new draft punishment decree, It appears to be written with the purpose of encouraging the punishment of individuals and organizations. Its not even the money fines as much as how this whole wretched system looks under the advertisement of providing more freedom of religion. While a few egregious examples are highlighted here, the root problem is that Vietnam puts on full display its embarrassing dogma of having to control all aspects of religion because it is still interpreted as a threatening and dangerous social phenomenon. Clearly, the top level of Vietnams extensive security apparatus, which always manages to place its own personnel in key positions in the religion bureaucracy, is behind the proposed measures. Religion authorities in Hanoi invited leaders of non-recognized house churches in northern Vietnam to a June 12-14 seminar to propagandize the new regulations. The government invitation expressed the expectation that the guidance and propaganda provided by the seminar will win the hearts of house church leaders to complete all the necessary legal documents. For most house churches, the regulations on religion themselves have made it impossible to apply for legal recognition. Officials have denied or ignored some that have tried to apply. But most house church groups have been reluctant to seek legal recognition because they have observed how the onerous regulations have handicapped legally recognized groups. Said one knowledgeable Vietnamese observer, If these decrees are passed in their present form, both legally recognized and unrecognized religious organizations will be like a small candle facing a typhoon. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate DALLAS (AP) Airlines that have stumbled badly over the last two holidays face their biggest test yet of whether they can handle big crowds when July Fourth travelers mob the nation's airports this weekend. Problems were popping up well before the weekend, with some disruptions caused by thunderstorms that slowed air traffic. American Airlines canceled 8% of its flights on Tuesday and Wednesday, and United Airlines scrubbed 4% of its schedule both days, according to FlightAware. Holiday revelers planning to drive face their own set of challenges, including high gasoline prices. The nationwide average has eased since hitting a record $5.02 in mid-June to $4.86 a gallon on Thursday, according to AAA, which expects prices to continue to ease because of rising gasoline inventories. Americans are driving a bit less. Gas demand last week was down about 3% from the same week last June, according to government figures. In a Quinnipiac University poll in June, 40% of those surveyed said gas prices have caused them to change their summer vacation plans. Air travel in the U.S. is almost back to pre-pandemic levels. Since last Saturday, an average of nearly 2.3 million people a day have gone through airport checkpoints down just 8% from the same days in 2019. If that trend continues through weekend, records will be set for flying in the pandemic era. Airlines may not have enough planes and flights to carry all of them, especially if there are cancellations due to weather, crew shortages or any other reason. Airlines are learning the hard way that there is a severe price for over-optimism, said Joseph Schwieterman, a transportation expert at DePaul University. They are on the edge of a cliff this holiday. Schwieterman calculates that airlines have little cushion between the number of travelers expected to fly this weekend and the flights they plan to operate if all goes well. Any disruptions could cause chaos because planes are booked full there will be no empty seats on later flights to accommodate stranded travelers. Airlines have been caught short-staffed as they try to hire thousands of workers, including pilots, to replace those who they encouraged to quit when the pandemic caused air travel to plummet. Many of them, including Delta, Southwest and JetBlue, have trimmed summer schedules to reduce stress on their operations. They are using larger planes on average to carry more passengers with the same number of pilots. Those steps haven't been enough so far this summer. Delta Air Lines took the unusual step this week of warning travelers that there could be problems over the holiday weekend. The Atlanta-based airline said it expects the biggest crowds since 2019, and this will create some operational challenges. It is allowing passengers booked on flights between Friday and the Monday holiday to change their schedule at no cost, even if the new flight comes with a higher fare. Delta people are working around the clock to rebuild Deltas operation while making it as resilient as possible to minimize the ripple effect of disruptions, the airline said. Delta had by far the most canceled flights of any U.S. airline over the Memorial Day holiday stretch, when U.S. carriers scrubbed nearly 2,800 flights, and again last weekend, when it canceled 7% of its flights, according to FlightAware. The airlines are increasingly trying to blame delays on understaffing at the Federal Aviation Administration, which manages the nation's airspace and hires air traffic controllers. This year versus previous years, the biggest issue has been air traffic control, said Barry Biffle, the CEO of Frontier Airlines. We've made a lot of steps to avoid the Jacksonville center in our scheduling, and we have reduced some flying to accommodate that. The FAA has a major facility in Jacksonville, Florida, that handles many flights up and down the East Coast. After a meeting with airline representatives in May, the FAA promised to increase staffing at the center. Delta CEO Ed Bastian similarly blamed the FAA during an online meeting with employees Wednesday, trade publication Airline Weekly reported. Delta declined to comment. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg pushed back earlier this week when the head of the trade group Airlines for America blamed the FAA for delays. The majority of cancellations and the majority of delays have nothing to do with air traffic control staffing, Buttigieg told NBC Nightly News." Helane Becker, an airline analyst for investment firm Cowen, said there are many reasons for the disruptions including weather, FAA ground stops that last too long, and flight crews hitting their legal limit of working hours in a day. The airlines seem to fail when it comes down to daily operations, and the FAA didn't train enough new air traffic controllers a process that can take up to four years to offset retirements. We expect it to be a long, tiresome summer for everyone, she said. The loudest lawmakers mostly seem to blame the airlines for leaving passengers stranded. Some point out that Congress gave the industry $54 billion in pandemic relief. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., urged Buttigieg to require airlines to issue refunds for delays longer than an hour and fine them for delays longer than two hours and for scheduling flights that they can't staff. Sanders accused airlines of stranding passengers while charging outrageously high prices. Buttigieg has threatened fines if airlines don't fix their operations. Sens. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked 10 airline CEOs this week to take immediate action to reduce travel disruptions. The senators demanded information about how each airline decides which flights to cancel and the number of consumer refunds requested and granted. M&T Bank will launch a seven-week program this fall designed to help Connecticut multicultural entrepreneurs to improve the performance of their businesses. The Multicultural Small Business Innovation Lab will accept as many as 50 entrepreneurs, according to M&T officials. The bank is partnering with the University of Bridgeport Innovation Center to launch the program and classes will be held at the schools John J. Cox Student Center. The program will cover topics that include: creating a business plan, credit fundamentals, how to market a business, and how create a business as a legal entity. The program starts Sept. 21 and will conclude Nov. 2 with a pitch competition, with M&T awarding grants of up to $6,000. The announcement of the program launch comes nearly three months after Buffalo-based M&T entered the Connecticut retail banking market with the completion of its $8.3 billion acquisition of Peoples United Bank. The bank has previously launched versions of the program in its New York and Pennsylvania markets. But the program is being customized to address the needs of Connecticuts business community, according to M&T officials. We at M&T know that when diverse, local businesses thrive, the whole community is uplifted, David Femi, head of the banks Multicultural Banking & Diverse Market Strategy, said in a statement. The investment we make in these multicultural entrepreneurs is one of the most meaningful actions we can take to financially empower the communities we serve. M&T takes great pride in helping small businesses when they are given the proper resources and support, there is no limit on what they can achieve. Bridgeport political leaders praised M&Ts plan to launch the program. Diverse businesses are faced with unfair hurdles and unique challenges, State Sen. Marilyn Moore, D-Bridgeport, said. It is incumbent upon us to provide them with the tools they need. I will always fight for these businesses and I am heartened to see M&T making such critical investments. State Representative Antonio Felipe, D-Bridgeport, said M&Ts program will provide opportunities for our businesses to achieve real growth and sustainability. Bridgeport City Council President Aidee Nieves said the program will create wonderful opportunities for both employers and workers. Economic wealth for business owners enhances their quality of life and allows them employ local residents, Nieves said. To be eligible for the program, Connecticut entrepreneurs must be Black, Latino or Asian Americans and have a business that has been in operation for no more than three years. In addition, applicants must have businesses with an annual revenue of $150,000 or less. Entrepreneurs interested in participating in the program must complete an online application by August 5th. luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com Yet another Disney production has drawn the ire of conservative Americans for its depiction of personal hygiene and use of LGBTQ characters. This time, outrage has centered around scenes from "Baymax!" a spinoff series that premiered on the Disney+ platform Wednesday based on the beloved inflatable robot hero from the 2014 animated film "Big Hero 6." In the six-episode series, the attentive "personal healthcare companion" goes around San Fransokyo assisting others with their physical ailments while also helping them overcome emotional hurdles. In the third episode, a 12-year-old girl named Sofia heads into an all-gender restroom and is horrified to discover she's began her first period right before she's set to perform at the school talent show. Disney "I wasn't prepared for this!" Sofia shouts at Baymax, panicking. "And the dispenser's empty! And I don't even have a thing! A tampad. A pad-pon. A maxi-pad-pon with wings?" Eager to help, Baymax goes to a local supermarket to retrieve some period products. Overwhelmed with the variety of options, Baymax asks a woman which she would recommend. At first, the woman is taken aback, but notes the tampons she always uses. Other helpful customers in the aisle including a dad buying products for his daughter notice and also give Baymax their recommendations. Among them is a transgender man wearing a transgender flag shirt, who tells Baymax: "I always get the ones with wings." The huggable bot is then shown carrying multiple overflowing bags filled with different options down the school hallway. Despite the unnamed character appearing for only a few seconds, conservative writer Christopher T. Rufo criticized the idea that men can have periods, and tweeted that the show was "part of Disney's plan to re-engineer the discourse around kids and sexuality." The tweet went viral in conservative Twitter circles, garnering nearly 40,000 likes. Some said the clip would make still make their children feel "uncomfortable" even if it was only discussing women's cycles and didn't include the transgender character. "People are reading this and telling me I'm a bad parent because my 15 [year-old] boy isn't comfortable discussing a woman's cycle like it'd be a badge of honor for me if he did," one parent tweeted. "Sorry? Have you met 15 yros? Mine talks about computers, politics, food, & memes. And paintball. I love it." Other critics of the scene included Texas state Rep. Bryan Slaton (R-Mineola), who recently announced plans to introduce legislation to ban children from attending drag shows, tweeting: "This is so sick and weird. We have to protect kids from the sick adults who want to sexualize them and let them be kids." Disney In Episode Four, after Baymax helps a man named Mbita, he convinces him to go out on a date with another man named Yukio after noting their attraction toward each other out loud. "Your pulse and heartbeat have quickened," Baymax warns after Mbita asks Yukio out to dinner. "Your pituitary gland is secreting hormones," Baymax continues, before being cut off by an embarrassed Mbita. The episode ends with Mbita and Yukio walking off camera as they discuss different apples. "You are in good health," Baymax determines, as he watches them leave. Fans of the series were quick to defend the pillowy robot, praising him for being a helpful friend and "ally." Several pointed out that Baymax is just doing what he was programmed to do: help others. Many also expressed support for the show's representation of LGBTQ characters and for openly discussing periods. The outrage follows similar criticism aimed at Disney and Pixar for including a same-sex kiss in Lightyear, the Buzz Lightyear origin story that debuted in theaters earlier this month. Earlier this year, the Disney and Pixar's coming-of-age film "Turning Red" also drew ire from conservatives for depictions of puberty and menstruation. In the "Sofia" episode, Baymax himself addresses the idea of personal hygiene being considered a taboo subject of discussion in polite society. "It is common for people to feel embarrassed, fearful or uncomfortable with the subject of menstruation," Baymax says. "But it is just biology. It is nothing to be ashamed of." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate When Sadhana Singh saw President Barack Obama announce a new program for young undocumented people brought to the country as children, she felt a surge of hope. Singh, whose parents had left Guyana when she was young, was at the time a 26-year-old in Georgia, longing for education and a meaningful career but unable to work legally. But Obama's announcement 10 years ago offered a new chance. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program has allowed hundreds of thousands of eligible young people whose immigrant parents brought them to the United States to get benefits such as a Social Security card, driver's license and two-year work permit. It also opened the door for many to go to college. "I immediately understood it meant a kind of salvation for me," Singh recalled recently. Still, DACA's impact has always been tempered by uncertainty. Critics said it was created unlawfully and rewarded illegal immigration. It was threatened during the Trump administration, and new applications are suspended because of ongoing litigation. A Texas federal court last year ruled in favor of Republican officials who argued that the Obama administration had no authority to create the program. The Biden administration is appealing the decision, with a hearing scheduled for July. At Trinity Washington University in the nation's capital, where about 10% of full-time students are DACA beneficiaries, President Patricia McGuire said they are impressive, highly motivated students who have raised the school's graduation rate. "Unless the policy changes," she said, "all these fabulous graduates will be facing a dilemma." Singh, who graduated from Trinity with the support of a TheDream.Us scholarship, now works for the nonprofit and said nearly 2,500 of its scholarship recipients have graduated from college. Their impact has been inspiring, she said. At the same time, she hears their anxiety, the sense that "the ax could drop any time for them." Like many, Singh became exhausted by all the years of uncertainty. She and her husband moved to Canada and, after two years, they were granted permanent residency there - an enormous weight lifted, she said. "All of the anxieties are gone." Four DACA recipients look back on the impact of DACA over the past decade and consider its challenges for the future: - - - Indira Islas, 24, Washington, D.C. Indira Islas was 6 when her parents migrated from Mexico to Georgia to escape violence. Being physicians in rural Mexico made her mom and dad targets of the local gangs, Islas said. Leaving meant sacrificing their careers, but staying could have cost them their lives. One of her fondest memories of Mexico is playing with medical instruments at her parents' clinic. Watching them care for the community inspired Islas to want to be a doctor. "We had a clinic in our home, so I got a front-row seat to all of the work that they did," Islas, 24, said. "It stayed with me." But Islas said her road to higher education was one of the most challenging parts of being undocumented. Becoming a DACA recipient as a teenager gave her the freedom to work and get a driver's license, but it could not provide a path to affordable education. Islas's home state of Georgia bars dreamers, as DACA recipients are known, from paying in-state tuition and attending some of its top universities. Her parents, who traded lab coats in Mexico for poultry plant smocks in Georgia, could not cover the cost, especially with six other children. "As an undocumented student in high school, there were very limited resources," Islas said. "I would go to my counselors, and none of them could help me navigate the [college] process. I was on my own." Through her high school chapter of the Hispanic Organization Promoting Education, Islas learned about TheDream.US, which provides scholarships to DACA students. She was awarded a full scholarship to study biology at Delaware State University, a historically Black institution. There, Islas said she felt welcomed and wanted, something she never experienced in Georgia. She was struck by the parallels in the adversity she faced pursuing an education and the discrimination that made HBCUs necessary. "There were similarities in our stories," Islas said. "It was pretty special . . . a lot of the professors were people of color and understood why we were there." Islas went on to pursue a master of public health at George Washington University, graduating this spring. She is set to begin a public health fellowship with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in August, with plans to apply to medical school in the near future. As the oldest of her siblings, Islas became her family's college adviser, helping her two sisters apply for the same scholarship she received. They both scored the award and acceptance to Trinity Washington University. While one is a DACA recipient, the other's application is indefinitely on hold because of the ongoing court case. "It's heartbreaking to see my sister miss out on milestones like getting her license and struggle with this process," Islas said. "She is kind of the reason I became an advocate." Islas's advocacy work, talking to lawmakers and sharing her story, initially gave her parents pause. Both are contending with deportation orders and worried about bringing more attention to their family. They came around. "My parents made very big sacrifices so my siblings could have a better life," Islas said. "It's still uncertain for us, but we are thankful to be in this country, regardless of our current situation." - - - Esder Chong, 24, Cambridge, Mass. When Esder Chong's parents heard about DACA a decade ago, they were wary of the program, she recalls. Was it a ploy to draw out undocumented immigrants? How would the government use their information? What were the long-term implications? Chong's family migrated to New Jersey from South Korea on a temporary visa when she was 6. They remained in the country after their visas expired in 2008, the same year her mother lost her job. DACA offered Chong and her two sisters an opportunity to continue their education without the threat of deportation. Still, so many avenues were closed to them. "I didn't qualify for any federal aid - loans and grants, and at the time state financial aid wasn't open to us, either," said Chong, 24, who is the middle child. "A lot of scholarships were limited to citizens or legal permanent residents. Colleges didn't know what to do with us. They weren't as informed about DACA or undocumented students back in 2016 as they are now." Chong found a scholarship that allowed her to attend Rutgers University in New Jersey, where she studied philosophy. While there, she took advantage of internships and fellowships that would never have been possible without DACA, Chong said. Upon graduation, she was accepted as a Schwarzman Scholar to pursue a master's in international relations at Tsinghua University in China. But Chong could not leave the country and risk her immigration status. In a twist of fate, her entire cohort was grounded in the United States once the coronavirus struck, forcing them to complete their education online. This spring, Chong graduated with a second advanced degree: a master's in education policy from Harvard University. Despite her successes, her immigration status, specifically the need for recipients to renew DACA every two years, has left Chong in a perpetual state of insecurity. "When employers ask where do you see yourself in five years, I can't answer that, because I live in two-year increments," Chong said. "It's hard to plan my future when the only temporary status giving me any safety and security is under threat. This is my reality, and I'm becoming numb to it." Chong said these days she is most concerned about her parents and other undocumented immigrants who have no meaningful protection. The focus on a select group of immigrants is a disservice to the majority of undocumented people without DACA, she said. While a pathway to citizenship is a laudable goal, Chong said that a better pathway to permanent legal residency is critical to immigration reform. "We need a pathway to legalization and to focus on the people who are not included in the conversation" during this anniversary, Chong said. "If we do have a sense of urgency for immigration reform, the spotlight has to shift from DACA to the undocumented community at large." - - - Marisela Tobar, 26, Montgomery County, Md. What Marisela Tobar remembers of El Salvador are just fragments: Her pet chicken. The shape of the mountain outside their door. The smell of fish cooking. The feel of her grandmother, her presence. The wonder and confusion of sleeping outside for weeks, feeling the rumbling aftershocks of a massive earthquake in 2001. And the song that was on the car radio when she sat in the back seat as they drove through a market the morning her family fled to the United States. She was 5. Her parents wanted their children to get a good education. Growing up in Maryland, Tobar learned to love school. She also learned that her family could not travel like other families over spring break and summer vacation. She learned her father couldn't argue if he didn't get paid on time. She learned the words "raid," and "deportation." She learned the family might be separated at any time. "I was completely, always, worried," she said. She had a calling to become a teacher, she said, but knew she couldn't do that without a college education. "It was difficult to dream," she said, "because you couldn't find a way through to your dream." She thought she might be able to work her way through Montgomery College, slowly, as she saved enough money for tuition one class at a time. She was at Six Flags America with friends, an end-of-the-school-year trip when she was a junior, when her mom texted her about DACA. "It was a lot of words, and it felt so unreal," she said. But as she learned more, she knew, she said, "It was going to completely change my life." With DACA, she had the confidence to talk with counselors and admissions offices about teaching. She applied for a TheDream.US scholarship and to Trinity Washington University. "I suddenly had a plan, and I was going for it," she said. At college, she was constantly learning, she said, "learning my craft, learning what I wanted to do, learning about the world." "I loved it," she said. Then one day, a professor stopped class after hearing news. DACA had been paused; the future was unknown. Tobar and many classmates rushed to the White House, joining a spontaneous protest, shouting, "You're taking away everything!" "That was our way to grieve," she said. "I felt like something was lost. Like you lost someone." As DACA ping-ponged through courts, she has felt acutely aware that the government has all her information and that she is vulnerable. It has gone back and forth so many times, she said, that she has lost track. She's now teaching third grade in Montgomery County, grateful for the education and the experience. "I'm able to do what I love," she said, in a classroom with children every day. "I'm serving the community." But she's exhausted, too, by the uncertainty, and dreaming of a more permanent reality. DACA was amazing, she said. "It changed my life. Ultimately, I don't want my life to stay like this." - - - Eddie Ramirez, 30,Beaverton, Ore. Eddie Ramirez held his breath as he walked into a federal building in Oregon. He had been taught, over years of hiding, the conversations not to have, the places not to go. Now, looking for the immigration office, knowing he would have to get fingerprinted, he wondered: "What if this is the trap? What if I'm detained? What if all of a sudden I'm going to be deported?" His parents stayed in the car outside, frightened. They paid for three hours of parking. Ten minutes later, he walked out, with his life beginning to transform. "I don't even know how to put it into words," he said. "Such a big change happened so fast." When his DACA application was approved, he said, "For the first time in my life, I have something with my name on it, my picture on it, my date of birth, but also it said, 'United States of America' on it." His parents had brought him to the United States from Mexico when he was about a year old. From the time he was 8, he knew he wanted to be a dentist - something about the work he saw from helping his aunt, cleaning up blood, being in the office, seeing how patients responded to the dentist. He wasn't much older when kids at school told him his parents, who were working as a waitress and a truck driver, were "illegals." So even though he worked hard and was a top student at his high school, he knew that college - let alone years of dental school - would be difficult, likely impossible. He was accepted at Portland State University, but his mother told him there was no way they could afford it. Just before he withdrew, he got a call from his French teacher, a favorite in high school: Her family was going to give him money for tuition. At Portland State, he volunteered with the admissions office, helping to recruit first-generation Latino students and leading tours. With DACA, he was suddenly eligible to be paid, like all the other students, for the work he had been doing for the school. He was able to work as a waiter, too. Suddenly he had enough hope to apply to dental schools - and he got in, to the Oregon Health & Science University School of Dentistry. Still, he had no idea how to pay for it. And just before he withdrew - four years after he almost gave up on college - while at work, he learned he had gotten a scholarship. His mom, with some maternal sixth sense, called right at that moment. He cried, his mom cried, his boss cried. He told her, "Mom, your son is going to be a dentist." It was four years later, on a rotation in southern Oregon, when he learned DACA would be rescinded. It was salvaged but remains vulnerable. Now he's four years into his dental practice. He's grateful but still wary. He has learned, he said, to be resilient. "It's about turning these obstacles into blessings." He came to Washington this month to advocate with a nonprofit, Pre-Health Dreamers, for a more lasting solution. When he got to the U.S. Capitol to meet with members of Congress, he walked right in: He had conversations to have. He had places to go. WASHINGTON - "Wine is the possibility to put our message before the world. We want young women of Georgia to believe in themselves and know they can do their own thing and earn their freedom," says Gvantsa Abuladze, who makes wines with her sister, Baia, in the Imereti region of Georgia. "My winery is named Ses'fikile, which means 'We have arrived.' It speaks to the arrival of women in a space traditionally reserved for men," says Nondumiso Pikashe, a winemaker in the Paarl region of South Africa. "And also the arrival of the peoples of Africa. It's a sense that we can rewrite history, that we can walk the road less traveled." "Wine builds community," says Tara Gomez, a member of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians in Santa Barbara County, recognized by the California legislature as the first Native American winemaker in the Golden State. Gomez and her wife, Mireia Taribo, make wines under their Camins 2 Dreams label and mentor young women who are Black, Indigenous and people of color exploring careers in wine. "They see people like them making wine, and they feel anything is possible," Gomez says. These are just a few winemakers represented by a visionary new label called Go There Wines, launched in late June by Washington, D.C., restaurateur Rose Previte, her husband, former NPR host David Greene, and their friend, social impact entrepreneur Chandler Arnold. Go There Wines is an online venture designed to give a platform and a megaphone to winemakers who have had trouble being heard. This isn't about wine as fermented grape juice, Chateau This or Terroir That. It's about history, community and a belief that we can bring the world together through a common love of wine. In that way it's an extension of Previte's restaurants, Compass Rose and the Michelin-starred Maydan, two gastronomic celebrations of the power of food to create community across political and ethnic divides. It's a perspective Previte gained traveling across Russia, the Caucasus and the Middle East with Greene when he was the network's Moscow bureau chief from 2009 to 2012. Previte had the idea for this venture during the early weeks of the covid pandemic, when restaurants were shut down and scrambling to survive by selling off their wine inventories at deep discounts. Even then, she stuck to her ideal of wine, like food, as an agent of social impact. "We sold only Georgian and Lebanese wines," she says, "because I still wanted to help those winemakers." At the same time, the wine industry was being savaged for its lack of diversity in the context of the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements. Online wine sales rose from a trickle to a boomlet as consumers became accustomed to buying everything online. Previte saw an opportunity. "Look at the wine industry, and you'll see how it is still dominated by Western Europe and - no offense, Dave - White men," Previte explained during a phone call from Chicago, where she had attended the James Beard Foundation awards ceremony. Maydan was nominated this year for outstanding wine program. "Wine's politics and hierarchies, its geography and its wars are all European and male-centric," she continued. "So we reached out to marginalized winemakers - refugees, women of color, women all over the world who don't have access to the U.S. market." As Arnold told me a week later at a launch event at Maydan restaurant, Go There Wines aims to elevate "folks who have been left out of the conversation for too long," and who have been "undercapitalized and underrepresented." Profits from Go There Wines will be shared with the winemakers, who benefit from guaranteed sales and marketing by Go There. But this is not just a business to make profit. It also wants to make change. Previte and her partners want us to "go there" - not just by traveling to see the world, but also in conversation. How often do we hold back, saying "Don't go there"? These wines are meant to expand our conversation beyond our normal, limited horizons. And that's part of the attraction for their winemakers, who include Abdullah Richi, a Syrian refugee forced by war to make wine in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. The label on his pet-nat of pinot noir explains his dream: "I will make wine in Syria again." "This wine celebrates all matriarchs," Pikashe says on the label of her sparkling cinsault. "We fell in love making wine," Gomez and Taribo proclaim on their syrah from the Santa Rita Hills in Santa Barbara, Calif., as if every sip we take renews their vows and celebrates their union. "Winemaking is freedom; a value we never take for granted in our country," the Abuladze sisters state on their amber wine made from Georgia's indigenous krakhuna grape variety. The label on their light, refreshing red from the dzvelshavi variety is even more emphatic: "Men have been making wine in Georgia for 8,000 years. It's our turn." Do I even need to tell you these wines are delicious? This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BERLIN (AP) The rust-colored tower rising from an industrial site near the banks of Berlin's Spree river looks nothing like the sleek flasks Germans use for coffee, yet its purpose is similar: to provide some warmth throughout the day, especially when it's cold outside. With a height of 45 meters (almost 150 feet) and holding up to 56 million liters (14.8 million gallons) of hot water, utility company Vattenfall says the tower will help heat Berlin homes this winter even if Russian gas supplies dry up. It's a huge thermos that helps us to store the heat when we dont need it, said Tanja Wielgoss, who heads the Sweden-based company's heat unit in Germany. And then we can release it when we need to use it. While district heating systems fueled by coal, gas or waste have been around for more than a century, most aren't designed to store significant amounts of heat. Instead, they burn as much fossil fuel as needed, contributing to the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving global warming. By contrast, the new facility unveiled Thursday at Vattenfall's Reuter power station will hold water brought to almost boiling temperature using electricity from solar and wind power plants across Germany. During periods when renewable energy exceeds demand the facility effectively acts as a giant battery, though instead of storing electricity it stores heat. Sometimes you have an abundance of electricity in the grids that you cannot use anymore, and then you need to turn off the wind turbines, said Wielgoss. Where we are standing we can take in this electricity. The 50-million-euro ($52 million) facility will have a thermal capacity of 200 Megawatts enough to meet much of Berlin's hot water needs during the summer and about 10% of what it requires in the winter. The vast, insulated tank can keep water hot for up to 13 hours, helping bridge short periods when there's little wind or sun. It will also be able to use other sources of heat such as that extracted from wastewater, said Wielgoss. While it will be Europe's biggest heat storage facility when it's completed at the end of this year, an even bigger one is already being planned in the Netherlands. Berlin's top climate official, Bettina Jarasch, said the faster such heat storage systems are built, the better. Due to its geographic location the Berlin region is even more dependent on Russian fossil fuels than other parts of Germany," she told The Associated Press. "Thats why were really in a hurry here. The war in Ukraine and the energy crisis teach us that we need to be faster, said Jarasch. First of all to become climate neutral," she said. And secondly, to become independent (of energy imports). Figures released Thursday by Germany's utility industry association BDEW shows efforts to reduce natural gas use are having an effect. Consumption of gas dropped by 14.3% in the first five months of this year compared to the same period in 2021. Part of the decline was due to milder weather, but the industry group said even accounting for warmer temperatures there was a measurable drop that it attributed to bumpier economic conditions, appeals from the German government to save energy and individuals' personal efforts. Wielgoss said she was confident that Vattenfall's customers won't go cold this winter, despite the looming gas squeeze from Russia as Moscow retaliates for Western sanctions by reducing the gas flowing through key pipelines. Consumers in Germany are very well protected, she said. So they for sure will not suffer any shortages. But of course, we plead with everybody to really start saving energy. Each kilowatt hour we save is good for the country, she added. ___ Follow AP's climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate When Hansika Daggolus junior year of high school starts in the fall, shell be watching to see if a later first bell under a new California law means fewer classmates are heads-down on their desks for afternoon naps. The overall mood, she suspects, will lift as well if her classmates at Mission San Jose High School in Fremont aren't quite so sleepy. Im really excited and I am so happy this is happening, said Hansika, 15, who said she will no longer have to get out of bed before 7 a.m. to get to school by 8 a.m. Beginning this fall high schools in the nations most populous state cant start before 8:30 a.m. and middle schools cant start before 8 a.m. under a 2019 first-in-the-nation law forbidding earlier start times. Similar proposals are before lawmakers in New Jersey and Massachusetts. Advocates say teens do better on school work when they're more alert, and predict even broader effects: a reduction in suicides and teen car accidents and improved physical and mental health. We know that teenagers are the most sleep-deprived age group, and the cause is our own public policy, said Joy Wake, who helped lead the efforts of the Start School Later group in California. The average start time for the nation's high schools was 8 a.m. in 2017-18 but about 42% started before then, including 10% that began classes before 7:30 a.m., according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Middle school start times in 2011-12, the most recent available from NCES, were similar. That's too early for adolescents whose bodies are wired to stay up later than at other ages because of a later release of the sleep hormone melatonin, scientists say. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that middle and high schools start at 8:30 a.m. or later. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends eight10 hours of sleep per night for 13- to 18-year-olds. After finishing eighth grade and doing all of ninth grade remotely because of COVID-19 closures, Hansika said it was hard enough to transition from the shortened, less structured days to more challenging courses in a new school without also battling to stay alert. Remote learning allowed her to sleep until signing in for school in her robe and to take naps after classes ended around 12:30 p.m. That changed when schools reopened this past year. Being sleep deprived in some parts of the year was also a problem for me so theres a lot of factors that come together, she said. She doesn't anticipate staying up any later because of the shift next year. Opponents of changing start times often bring up logistical challenges like shifting bus routes and afterschool schedules and disrupting family routines built around existing school and work schedules. As California debated the change, Orange County Superintendent of Schools Al Mijares worried it would disproportionally hurt students from working class families and single-parent households. While it may be easy enough for some families with flexible schedules to adjust, in some communities, parents who are working just to make ends meet dont have the luxury of delaying the start of their workday, he wrote in a 2019 opinion piece for the nonprofit Cal Matters. Wake responds that it's impossible to start school at a time that fits everyone's work schedules, but you can pick a time that doctors say is healthier and safer for teenage kids. Bills related to school start times have been introduced in at least 22 U.S. states in recent years, according to Start School Later, though with limited success. Adolescents who do not get enough sleep are faced with several health risks including being overweight, drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, and using drugs, as well as poor academic performance, according to New Jersey legislation introduced in April by Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Sen. Vin Gopal, chair of the Education Committee. It calls for start times of 8:30 a.m. or later statewide. The New Jersey School Boards Association has opposed the effort in favor of letting local districts set their own schedules. When it comes to restoring abortion rights in red states after the fall of Roe v. Wade, Democrats don't have many options other than to urge people who support those rights to vote in November. They have passed a bill in the House protecting abortion rights, but Senate Republicans have blocked the legislation. And President Joe Biden can't do much on his own. Of codifying abortion rights into federal law, he said: "No executive action from the president can do that." On Wednesday Biden did say that he supported carving out an abortion exception to the filibuster; it's still an unlikely path. But is there anything he can do around the edges? This month, the White House met with abortion rights and reproductive rights groups to brainstorm possible actions the executive branch can take. Some possibilities that abortion rights supporters are floating include: - Enable abortions to be performed on federal land in red states: The legal consensus is that it's theoretically possible to set up an abortion clinic on a military base in, for example, Arkansas. (The Hyde Amendment does prohibits federal funding for most abortions, but it doesn't necessarily come into play here; the federal government could simply open up its land and invite private doctors to perform the procedures and administer the medication.) But doing this would be very difficult, and could put women or people who help them or the health care providers at legal risk, including jail time. That's not a risk the federal government wants to take, according to legal experts. The main sticking point is that state law can apply in the absence of federal law - and there is no federal law protecting abortion. That means that a woman who travels to a certain part of Arkansas to get an abortion could later be prosecuted for it by the federal government. (In this scenario, since states don't have jurisdiction over federal lands, it's the federal government that would prosecute the abortion seekers and providers for violating state law.) The Biden administration obviously wouldn't do this, but if a Republican administration takes over in 2025, women could retroactively face punishment for getting an abortion this way. "You can't do something unless you can promise doctors and patients that they are not going to face criminal liability," said Leah Litman, a law professor at the University of Michigan who supports abortion rights and is host of the Supreme Court podcast "Strict Scrutiny." There's no indication the White House is considering this option. Instead, they are focused on safeguarding a woman's right to travel from state to state - Mississippi to Michigan, for example - to get an abortion. They're also focused on ensuring access to federal government-approved pills for medicated abortion that a doctor can prescribe by telemedicine. (More on both those later.) - Declare a public health emergency: This could help government agencies prioritize research around abortion or help put together resources to help people seeking abortions - especially when paired with other authorities they have during emergencies and disasters, said Marya Torrez, the senior policy director at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "The White House also plays a critical role in framing the narrative and treating this like the public health emergency that it is," she said. "There is no magic bullet," said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra at a recent news conference. "But if there is something we can do, we will find it and we will do it." Becerra said he's already directing agencies he oversees to find more ways to protect patients' privacy, and for the federal government to take more of an active role in training doctors and other health-care providers to help women seek abortion care. - Make abortion medication easier to access: The federal government has already made it easier for women to get abortion pills by mail or prescribed by telemedicine. And the government doesn't require that women take them only in clinical settings. But only certain providers can prescribe mifepristone, one of two pills necessary for a medical abortion. The federal government could change the guidelines to allow any medical provider to write a prescription for this medication and could expand the pharmacies where it can be picked up, said Elizabeth Nash, an abortion law expert with the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit research organization that supports abortion rights. Mailed abortion pills became more popular even before the fall of Roe. As The Washington Post's Caroline Kitchener reports, an Austria-based group that mails abortion pills to all 50 U.S. states said orders from Texas increased by 1,000% when that state enacted its six-week ban in the fall. (Overseas pharmacies aren't beholden to U.S. law.) The Post reports that some abortion rights advocates are pushing the government to make abortion pills available over the counter, but that such a move is unlikely because in some cases, the pills can cause heavy bleeding that requires medical assistance. Currently, some states are considering banning these pills outright. And the Supreme Court could limit the federal government's ability to override those state bans, said Litman. Another problem is that medical abortions usually require several days to terminate a pregnancy. For many women in states that ban abortion, it's difficult-to-impossible for them to take that time off work, figure out child care and travel to another state where they can access the medication. - Help with travel to get an abortion: America will be starkly divided between red states that restrict or outlaw abortion and blue states that move to codify abortion protections. The Biden administration could provide grants to those needing an abortion so they can travel to a state where the procedure is legal, or they can help parents with child care. That cost is often a major impediment for women left with only out-of-state options. Already, the corporate world is considering this. Almost immediately after the Supreme Court announced its decision, Disney said it will cover the cost of employees traveling out of state to get abortions. But the Biden administration would have to ensure that any such travel grant didn't violate the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion. (The military provides abortions for pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or that would endanger the mother's life. On Friday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he was reviewing the decision and what it meant for military families stationed in states that restrict abortion rights even further.) - Help people understand abortion law in their states: The post-Roe landscape is confusing. State by state, the rules on where abortion is available and at what stage of a pregnancy are changing. The Biden administration has set up a website to help people navigate all this. But that's probably as far as the administration can go in helping people obtain abortions, Litman said. She thinks anything further would violate the Hyde Amendment. A reproductive rights activist - speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss conversations with the White House - said she has urged White House to do a full-court press on how women can access abortion care, like it did while giving advice on covid-19. "There is a huge amount of misinformation out there," she said, "and the federal government and executive branch can play a critical role in making sure people know how to access care." - Clarify existing law on when someone can get reported for having an abortion: Nash said that as more people try to perform abortions under the radar, more people may end up in emergency rooms. Federal law does not require medical providers to call police when a patient violates state law by attempting an abortion when it is banned. Health-care workers don't have to report that, she said, and the Biden administration could make that clear - to both health-care workers and women who might seek medical care after attempting an abortion. On the other end of the spectrum, the administration is considering warning Americans who use apps to track their menstrual cycles that their data can be used to determine when someone is in the early stages of pregnancy, the New York Times reports. - Consider ways to expand access to other reproductive health care: Specifically, Nash said, the federal government - and state governments - could find ways to expand access to contraception, pregnancy care and sex education, so that women in conservative states who aren't allowed to have an abortion have more resources. Here, there could be some room for bipartisan action. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who, like most Republicans, celebrated the fall of Roe, is introducing legislation focused on this. He said in a statement that the government needs to expand the child tax credit for working families. And he wants more federal support to help mothers carry a pregnancy to term: "Expectant mothers - especially those who are surprised by, and unprepared for, pregnancy - require additional support in the form of mentorship, counseling, medical care and more," he said. - Nominate federal judges who support abortion rights: Along with the confusing legal landscape will come lawsuits - lots of them - and abortion rights activists want judges that will lean their way. Already, you can see the legal debate over state laws bubbling up. In Florida, a judge just blocked the state's 15-week ban. In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, has asked the state's Supreme Court to invalidate a 1930s law banning abortion in the state. In Ohio, the state's Republican attorney general is working with the courts to try to reinstate a 2019 law banning abortion at six weeks of pregnancy; liberal groups are challenging it, report The Post's Annie Linskey and Colby Itkowitz. Biden doesn't have much room to maneuver with his appointments, though. There are only about 70 vacancies, most of them in district courts. KREMENCHUK, Ukraine (AP) How do you grieve when there is no body to be found? How do you move forward when the person you loved vanished into the dust in a matter of seconds? These are some of the unthinkable questions many in Kremenchuk are now grappling with after a Russian airstrike obliterated a busy shopping mall. Many hoped the war would not reach as far as their city. Since the invasion, checkpoints had been erected at the entrance to the town. Air raid sirens wailed occasionally. There had been two strikes, without casualties, on a oil refinery on the outskirts of town. But for the citizens of Kremenchuk, a breezy city on the banks of the Dnipro river in central Ukraine, hundreds of kilometers from the front lines, the town offered them a sense of relative safety. Then a Russian cruise missile crashed through the Amstor shopping mall, igniting a fierce blaze that burned through the building and those trapped inside within minutes. Some had just stopped by the mall on their way home from work, to fix their phone or shop for clothes. But before they could register what was happening, the building became a black, choking inferno, the fire inside so hot it melted the metal and glass. Survivors told the AP that at the time of impact there were hundreds of people inside the building. So far 18 people have been confirmed dead, at least 20 other people have been reported missing, while dozens are in intensive care. In the hours after the strike, local Telegram groups were filled with panicked messages asking for information about missing daughters, brothers, friends. Among those still searching for their relative is Oleksandr Baybuza, whose brother-in-law Kostiantyn Voznyi was working inside Amstor at the time of the attack. Baybuza told the AP that the family had no information about Voznyi's whereabouts. Everyone hopes he is alive, that he is injured somewhere. Nobody is losing hope. Everyone is waiting for good news. We are very worried said Baybuza, his face pale and exhausted. When the war started, Voznyi had sent his wife and children to safety abroad. He stayed in Kremenchuk, unable to leave the country due to martial law, and wound up working at an electronics store on the central aisle of the Amstor mall. Oleksandr says witnesses saw him working there that afternoon. The family has not been able to find him at any local hospitals. DNA samples have been taken from Voznyis children and his father. Now begins the terrible wait. Fourteen emergency service psychologists are currently working at the blast site with families like Voznyis and with survivors. The psychologists are up against a difficult task: The explosion was so powerful it is possible relatives may never find any trace of their loved ones. Svitlana Rybalko, a press officer for the State Emergency Services, told the AP that alongside the identified dead, investigators had found the fragments of 8 additional bodies. The police cannot say for sure how many (victims) there are. So we are finding not the bodies but the fragments of bodies. Now we are clearing at the very epicentre of the blast. Here we practically cannot find bodies, as such. The psychologists are working to help families come to terms with the idea that they may not ever find their relatives. The main thing is: we do not give them extra hope. We do not say that everything will be all right. That your loved ones will be taken out of the rubble alive after several days. If we say so, they will have false hope, false expectations says Yuliia Falieva, a State Emergency Service psychologist. Its important that they accept this reality as soon as possible said another psychologist, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. It's better to release the emotions now rather than store them up for later. Falieva says that the psychologists main job is to remain close to those who are suffering, to listen, to help them through this deeply traumatic period. She says that mostly people do not approach the psychologists to ask for help, so it is their job to identify who needs support. We visually select people who need help most of all. It could be a person who is too excited, is trembling, cries too much or behaves aggressively says Falieva, adding that she has helped people looking for their children, former mall employees concerned about colleagues and anxious citizens alike. On Wednesday morning, several people still hoping for news of their loved ones stood by the wreckage of the mall. A young woman sat cross-legged on the ground and wept, concealing her tears with dark sunglasses. Another woman was comforted by one of the psychologists. One, man who did not want to give his name, appeared distressed as he stood staring at the ruins. He had brought yellow flowers to lay at the nearby memorial. I was in there, I almost died he said I shouldnt have come here, it was a bad idea I cant even look at this I want to kill these Russian scumbags. Like many of the residents who now come to stare in silent disbelief at the wreckage of Amstor, Falieva, an experienced crisis psychologist, is still in shock. Ive been working for 20 years but this is the first experience of the kind. Before we had crisis situations connected with nature, road traffic collisions. ... Throughout these long days all of us are feeling this kind of shock, confusion, and anger. Kremenchuk, Ukrainian officials say, must serve as a reminder that while the country is at war, nowhere is safe. Iryna Venediktova, Ukraines Prosecutor General, who visited the blast site on Tuesday, said that all citizens should expect incoming missiles every minute and be ready. Psychologically it is difficult for many to accept the tragedy that struck their quiet, riverside town. One resident, Denys Ipatov, says, I still cant believe the war came to our city. ... Why do all that? To peaceful citizens, to a peaceful facility. I dont understand the sense of this war. What drives these barbarians?" This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate QUITO, Ecuador (AP) Ecuadors government and the countrys main Indigenous group reached an agreement Thursday to end 18 days of often-violent strikes that had virtually paralyzed the country and killed at least four people. The deal, which includes a decrease in the price of fuel and other concessions, was signed by Government Minister Francisco Jimenez, Indigenous leader Leonidas Iza and the head of the Episcopal Conference, Monsignor Luis Cabrera, who acted as mediator. The agreement sets out that gasoline prices will decrease 15 cents to $2.40 per gallon and diesel prices will also decline the same amount, from $1.90 per gallon to $1.75. The deal also sets limits to the expansion of oil exploration areas and prohibits mining activity in protected areas, national parks and water sources. The government now has 90 days to deliver solutions to the demands of the Indigenous groups. Social peace will only be able to be achieved, hopefully soon, through dialogue with particular attention paid to marginalized communities, but always respecting everyones rights, Cabrera said. He went on to warn that if state policies do not resolve the problem of the poor, then the people will rise up. We know we have a country with a lot of divisions, a lot of problems, with unresolved injustices, with important sectors of the population that are still marginalized, Jimenez said. The two sides had started negotiations on Monday and an agreement appeared to be within reach until an attack allegedly carried out by Indigenous people against a fuel convoy killed one military officer and left 12 others wounded, leading the government to abandon talks. Authorities have directly attributed four deaths to the 18-day strike. The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities had launched an indefinite national strike on June 13, demanding a decrease in the price of fuel and increase in the health and education budget as well as price controls on certain goods, among other demands. Amid increasing shortages of food and fuel and millions in losses for farmers and business leaders, the two sides agreed to start negotiations. The protests have been characterized by stringent road blockades that prevented the transportation of food, fuel and even ambulances. As a result, there has been a sharp increase in the price of the food that did manage to reach the cities, particularly in the Andean north, which has been one of the areas most affected by the strike. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ISTANBUL (AP) Just two days after agreeing to lift deal-breaking objections to Sweden and Finlands NATO accession, Turkeys leader warned Thursday that Ankara could still block the process if the two countries fail to fully meet his expectations. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the close of the alliances summit in Madrid that the 10-article agreement with the Nordic pair was a victory for Ankara and addressed all its sensitivities. He particularly stressed the satisfying of Turkeys demand for Sweden and Finland to extradite terror suspects with links to outlawed Kurdish groups or the network of an exiled cleric accused of a failed 2016 coup in Turkey. But Erdogan added that if the two Nordic states renege on their promises, Turkeys Parliament could refuse to ratify the deal reached Tuesday. NATO accession must be formally approved by all 30 member states, which gives each a blocking right. This business will not work if we dont pass this in our parliament, Erdogan said. First, Sweden and Finland must fulfill their duties and those are already in the text. ... But if they dont fulfill these, then of course there is no way we would send it to our parliament. Erdogan claimed that Sweden had promised to extradite 73 terrorists to Turkey and crack down on the financing and recruitment activities of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK listed as a terrorist group by the U.S. and the European Union and linked groups. Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, an extension of the PKK. The text of the memorandum sets no specific number of extraditions. It says Finland and Sweden will address Turkeys pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects expeditiously and thoroughly, taking into account information, evidence and intelligence provided by Turkey in accordance with the European Convention on Extradition. On Wednesday, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said Sweden and Finlands justice ministries have files from Turkey on 33 people with alleged links to PKK and the network of U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen. Journalists repeatedly pressed Erdogan on Thursday about the extraditions and whether Sweden had actually promised the number he cited. He said the number of extradition requests previously stood at 60 but was updated to 73. Of course, what we understand is important from our meetings and talks, Erdogan said. Sweden promised to give us these 73 people with this text. They may or they may not, we will follow that through the text and we will make our decision. There was no immediate response to requests for comments from the Swedish delegation at the summit in Madrid. The Swedish government has sought to allay concerns that the deal would lead to extraditions to Turkey without due process. I know there are some people who are worried that were going to start to hunt people and extradite them, and I think its important to say that we always follow Swedish laws and international conventions, and we never extradite Swedish citizens, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told public broadcaster SVT on Wednesday. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto stressed that Helsinki pointed out that the memorandum does not list the names of individuals. In the case of extraditions, we will adhere to our own legislation and international agreements. Ultimately, extradition is a legal discretion which politicians have no right to influence, Niinisto said. With the joint memorandum signed, NATO moved ahead with inviting the Nordic countries to the military alliance that seeks to enlarge and strengthen in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The most time consuming part of gaining NATO membership is the ratification of the applicants accession protocols by the alliances 30 member countries. Its a process that involves national parliaments and could take months. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country would launch launch the process of ratifying the planned NATO membership of Sweden and Finland this week and conclude it very quickly. ___ Aritz Parra in Madrid and Karl Ritter in Berlin contributed. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the NATO summit at https://apnews.com/hub/nato Interview: Chinese engagement propels Ethiopia's development of industrial parks Xinhua) 08:23, June 30, 2022 Sandokan Debebe, CEO of Ethiopia's Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC), speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on June 8, 2022. Ethiopia aspires to further strengthen cooperation with China in the development of industrial parks to realize its aspiration of becoming the manufacturing hub of Africa, Sandokan Debebe has said. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde) ADDIS ABABA, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia aspires to further strengthen cooperation with China in the development of industrial parks to realize its aspiration of becoming the manufacturing hub of Africa, an Ethiopian government official has said. Speaking to Xinhua recently, Sandokan Debebe, CEO of Ethiopia's Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC), said Chinese engagement in Ethiopia's industrial parks development endeavor is very significant. He said the Ethiopian government envisages further strengthening its cooperation with China to tap into the sector's huge potential in enabling the country's economic transformation. Debebe told Xinhua in a recent interview that despite the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other international phenomenon, Ethiopia anticipates to remain China's preferred destination in the African continent in the development of industrial parks and investments inside the parks. As the East African country envisions becoming the manufacturing hub of the African continent with extensive investments in the development of industrial parks, Debebe emphasized that Chinese engagement is powering Ethiopia's ambition. "They (Chinese partners) are going side by side, and it is definitely accelerating our journey of changing our economic structure from agriculture sector to industry-led economy," said Debebe. He said Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation with over 110 million total population, offers a conducive investment landscape as well as geographical advantage for Chinese investors to engage in Ethiopia's industrialization ambition. "This huge population is an accessible, trainable and also affordable workforce. So, we still expect that Chinese investors will be choosing the country as a prior destination for their investments in the sector," he said. According to Debebe, Chinese engagement was vital in Ethiopia's ambition towards the construction and commissioning of industrial parks to support the country's economic restructuring towards industrialization. "From the origin of the idea, the construction, the operation stage, in each phase and stage, the role of Chinese investors and the Chinese government is very significant," Debebe said. The IPDC chief emphasized that Ethiopia followed China's footsteps in the development of state-of-the-art facilities towards attracting potential export-oriented international companies. "Even before we established this corporation (the IPDC), the concept of building industrial parks or industrial zones was induced by Chinese investors. The Eastern Industry Zone was introduced before we even established the regulatory framework, and even before we exercised the concept of industrial parks in the country," he said. Located about 40-km south of Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, the Eastern Industrial Zone (EIZ), was built and operated by Chinese companies. The EIZ is widely viewed as the benchmark for the development of industrial parks in Ethiopia towards becoming the light manufacturing hub of Africa in the near future. "The success story and the achievements that we harnessed from this investment (EIC) led the government to decide on a bigger scale," Debebe said. According to Debebe, the Ethiopian government, as part of its commitment to devise the country's economic restructuring model, had initially assessed China's experience in the development of industrial parks and special economic zones. "The delegates that were assigned to make assessments were staying in China for a longer time to learn from the success stories -- the model, the infrastructure and so on. After our government assessed the impact, the possibility and the opportunities that we can harness from this tool, we embarked on the industrial park concept," he said. He said Chinese companies were the major players in realizing Ethiopia's ambition of building state-of-the-art industrial park infrastructures throughout the country. "Chinese companies were the ones who managed to build these facilities in nine months and so on. Once we started finalizing the construction and jumped into the operation phases, the first investors were also from China," Debebe said. "Not only as pioneer investors in the industrial parks, even as of today, majority of our investors are also from China," he added. Presently, the IPDC manages 13 industrial parks, majority of which were built by Chinese construction companies with Chinese technology and standards. Debebe said the Ethiopian government, working along with its Chinese partners, has successfully built trust among international investors to commit their capital and technology inside the industrial parks and manufacture their products targeting the export market. "It was not an easy task; but by now, we have learned from how we built, how we operate, and also the investors established the trust. This trust will be growing in the future," he said. The IPDC chief said Ethiopia and China have recently signed a cooperation agreement to revitalize the investment and trade attachment on the backdrop of the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, with particular emphasis on strengthening cooperation on industrial parks. He further said the Ethiopian government is currently working on different reforms to transform the country's industrial parks development and investment portfolio and ecosystem. "The reforms that we are doing (aimed to create) a more conducive environment for foreign and local investors. This includes the Chinese investors that have good experience, and stood up with us even in a difficult time; and we recognize that," the IPDC chief said. Sandokan Debebe, CEO of Ethiopia's Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC), speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on June 8, 2022. Ethiopia aspires to further strengthen cooperation with China in the development of industrial parks to realize its aspiration of becoming the manufacturing hub of Africa, Sandokan Debebe has said. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde) Sandokan Debebe, CEO of Ethiopia's Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC), speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on June 8, 2022. Ethiopia aspires to further strengthen cooperation with China in the development of industrial parks to realize its aspiration of becoming the manufacturing hub of Africa, Sandokan Debebe has said. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde) (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) HONOLULU (AP) A Hawaii public school teacher pleaded not guilty Thursday to distributing child pornography, which prosecutors say included videos of him having sex with a 13-year-old student. Alden Bunag participated in his arraignment by phone from the Honolulu Federal Detention Center, where he is being held. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate PHOENIX (AP) The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday allowed enforcement of a 2021 Arizona law that lets prosecutors bring felony charges against doctors who knowingly terminate pregnancies solely because the fetuses have a genetic abnormality such as Down syndrome. The decision comes in the wake of the high court's June 24 decision that said women have no constitutional right to obtain an abortion. It has no immediate effect because Arizona providers stopped all abortions following last Friday's Supreme Court ruling. Providers, including Planned Parenthood Arizona, stopped performing abortions immediately because they were worried about a pre-statehood law making it a crime to perform an abortion or assist in any way, unless the life of the mother is threatened. It was unclear if that law could be enforced, but Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich said Wednesday that it can be. That decision puts him at odds with GOP Gov. Doug Ducey, who has repeatedly said that a ban on abortions after 15 weeks' pregnancy that he signed in March takes precedence. His spokesman, C.J. Karamargin, said Wednesday night that the governor's office is reviewing that decision and had no immediate comment. The 2021 law specifically said it did not overturn the total abortion ban in place since at least 11 years before Arizona became a state in 1912. The Republican-controlled Legislature did remove another part of that law allowing women to be sentenced to one to five years in prison if convicted of having an abortion. Democrats and abortion rights advocates slammed Brnovich's decision. Mark Brnovich just took us back to 1901, Democratic attorney general candidate Kris Mayes said Thursday. And I think it should outrage everyone. It's way outside of where most Arizonans stand on this issue. "And it's also unconstitutional," she added. "I believe all of these laws violate Arizona's privacy clause." Mayes said she's unaware of anyone challenging abortion restrictions under that part of the state constitution. But she vowed never to prosecute women in Arizona for violating laws restricting abortion if she is elected in November. In Thursday's genetic abnormality ruling, the Supreme Court sent the case back to the federal judge in Phoenix who had blocked it last September. U.S. District Judge Douglas Rayes said in his ruling that the laws criminal provisions were likely unconstitutionally vague, explaining its unclear at what point in the process doctors can be deemed to be aware that fetal genetic abnormality exists. When the law was being debated last year, Republican state Sen. Nancy Barto said children with Down syndrome and other genetic abnormalities deserve to be protected and can live productive, wonderful lives. There are incredible numbers of people that appreciate those children that have come into the world with a genetic abnormality like Down (syndrome) or other serious issues that are genetic, said Barto, a Phoenix Republican who sponsored the bill. And once they were born, theyve meant so much to their families, to the world. Theyve gone on to live productive, wonderful lives. Thats what were protecting here. Dr. Jill Gibson, the medical director at Planned Parenthood Arizona, said in an interview Thursday that the law puts parents in a quandary. A woman may feel compelled to lie to her abortion provider about her reasons for obtaining the procedure, Gibson said. Anytime there is that breach in a patient's ability to speak openly and honestly with their physician, bad things are going to happen, she said. Really bad things are going to happen we're not going to be able to care for the patients the way that we need to care for them. And families caring for badly disabled children face Arizona's poorly funded social service programs, Gibson said. These fetuses that are born with major anomalies and abnormalities and require lifelong medical care, whos going to provide that care? Michigan's Aug. 2 primary election is roughly five weeks away, but election officials advise absentee ballots are available. Up in this year's election cycle are members from both branches of the Michigan Legislature which are the state House of Representatives (110 seats) and state Senate (38 seats). Whether you choose to vote absentee or in person, visit the Michigan Voter Information Center to view a sample ballot, verify voter registration information and track the status of absentee ballots. The absentee ballots for the Aug. 2 primary can be obtained at local clerk's offices or can be mailed to voters who have already applied to vote absentee, according to a Wednesday press release issued by Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. "Voters have numerous secure options for how to cast their ballots this August," Benson said in the release. "Whether they choose to vote from home, by mail, via secure drop box, in person by absentee ballot at their local clerk office or at their polling location on Election Day, Michigan voters can be confident their vote will be counted and their voice will be heard." Voters on the permanent absentee list have been mailed applications by their local clerk at the last address the clerk has on file. And some clerks may mail applications to all registered voters in their jurisdiction, according to Benson's office. Regardless of if they have received an application in the mail, voters can apply to vote absentee at Michigan.gov/Vote. Using the same website, voters who have already submitted their application can track that it has been received and track the mailing of their ballot. Political parties, candidates and partisan and nonpartisan organizations also frequently mail absentee applications directly to voters. Clerks only provide one absentee ballot to each voter, and only after verifying the signature on the application matches the voters signature the clerk has on file, according to Benson's office. Polls are open on Election Day, Aug. 2, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. As long as you are in line to vote by 8 p.m., you will be permitted to cast your ballot. If you are unsure which state legislative or local districts you vote in, in light of new maps drawn in 2021, you can enter your home address and obtain a sample ballot when you visit the Michigan Voter Information Center. The Michigan Secretary of State finalized its candidate list for the primary. Candidates for attorney general, secretary of state and education boards will be formally nominated by both parties after the primary. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SRINAGAR, India (AP) Thousands of Hindu devotees began an annual pilgrimage Thursday through mountain passes and meadows to an icy Himalayan cave in Indian-controlled Kashmir amid heavy security in the Muslim-majority region. Officials say pilgrims face heightened threat of attacks from rebels fighting against Indian rule and have for the first time tagged devotees with a wireless tracking system. They also have deployed drones for surveillance. The religious activity has been the target of past attacks by suspected Muslim rebels who accuse India of using it to reinforce its grip over the disputed region. This year's pilgrimage comes after two years of suspension because of the coronavirus pandemic. The worshippers began their arduous trek early Thursday through forested mountain passes with a view of snowy peaks. Some rode ponies or wooden litters carried by porters. Some chanted religious hymns on their way to pray at the hallowed mountain cave's Amarnath shrine, where Hindus worship Lingam, a naturally formed ice stalagmite inside the cave, as an incarnation of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction and regeneration. In massive security arrangements, tens of thousands of police and soldiers carrying automatic rifles and wearing flak jackets have been deployed to guard the pilgrimage. They have set up checkpoints, barricades and temporary camps along the routes leading to the cave. At a mountain base camp, a group of devotees said they were ecstatic to see elaborate arrangements and praised Indian soldiers for the security measures. It feels like Im walking in my village, said Pravin Kumawat, a pilgrim from northern Rajasthan state. Rajinder Sharma, a Hindu ascetic from central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh said he has been undertaking the pilgrimage for the last two decades. I prayed (the last time) that Article 370 must go, and it happened, Sharma said, referring to Indias constitutional provision that gave Kashmir semiautonomy, which was revoked by Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist government in 2019 amid total lockdown and communication blackout. Now I will also pray that our country becomes a Hindu nation. Muslim rebels fighting for decades against Indian rule in Kashmir accuse Hindu-majority India of using the pilgrimage as a political statement to bolster its claim on the disputed Himalayan region. In the past, the pilgrimage has been targeted by the rebels who have been fighting for Kashmirs independence from India or its merger with neighboring Pakistan since 1989. In 2017, gunmen sprayed bullets at a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims in the region, killing at least seven people and wounding 19 others while they were returning from the cave shrine. The Indian government blamed Muslim rebels for the attack. However, separatist leaders accused Indian intelligence agencies of carrying out such attacks to sabotage Muslims' struggle for self-determination. Many Kashmiri Muslims have long complained that the government curbs their religious freedom on the pretext of law and order while promoting and patronizing the Hindu pilgrimage. At least 50 pilgrims have been killed in three dozen attacks blamed on militants in past three decades. However, hundreds have died due to exhaustion and exposure in harsh weather during journeys in the icy mountains. Hundreds of thousands of Hindus from across India typically take part in the pilgrimage, which lasts up to 45 days. This year, officials expect nearly a million visitors after the two-year gap in the annual endeavor. Worshippers approach the Amarnath cave through two routes: a traditional one via southern hill resort of Pahalgam that takes three days, or a one-day-long travel through northeastern Baltal. Some also use helicopter services to pay quick obeisance. The cave, at 13,500 feet (4,115 meters) above sea level, is covered with snow most of the year except for a short period in summer when it is open for the pilgrims. The pilgrimage concludes on Aug. 11, a full-moon night that Hindus say commemorates Shiva revealing the secret of the creation of the universe. ___ Follow AP's Religion coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/religion This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) A Florida judge on Thursday said he would temporarily block a 15-week abortion ban, following a court challenge by reproductive health providers who say the state constitution guarantees a right to the procedure. Judge John C. Cooper made the oral ruling from the bench but his decision will not go into effect until he signs a written order, which Cooper said would likely happen next week. The law goes into effect Friday, meaning it will be in place for a few days before the order is signed. In his ruling, Cooper said Florida's law was unconstitutional in that it violates the privacy provision of the Florida Constitution. The move came days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, ending federal protections for abortions and reigniting fierce battles in state courts and legislatures over access to the procedure. Floridas 15-week abortion restriction was passed by the GOP-controlled statehouse and signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis this spring. DeSantis' office said it would appeal the ruling and he has pledged to expand pro-life protections in the future. The Florida Supreme Court previously misinterpreted Floridas right to privacy as including a right to an abortion," the governor's office said in a statement. We reject this interpretation because the Florida Constitution does not include and has never included a right to kill an innocent unborn child. The law would prohibit abortions after 15 weeks, with exceptions if the procedure is necessary to save the pregnant womans life, prevent serious injury or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. It does not allow for exemptions in cases where pregnancies were caused by rape, incest or human trafficking. Under current law, Florida allows abortions up to 24 weeks. Violators could face up to five years in prison. Physicians and other medical professionals could lose their licenses and face administrative fines of $10,000 for each violation. The legal challenge in Florida hinges on a 1980 amendment to the state constitution guaranteeing a broad right to privacy, which has been interpreted by the state Supreme Court to include abortion. Florida voters reaffirmed the right to privacy in 2012 by rejecting a ballot initiative that would have weakened its protections, plaintiffs said. Despite Floridas history of protecting the right to abortion, the Florida legislature recently engaged in a brazen attempt to override the will of the Florida people, the abortion providers said. The state argued in court papers that abortion providers dont have standing to make a claim of a personal right to privacy since they were acting as third parties on behalf of their patients. Attorneys for the state also maintained that the states constitutional right to privacy doesnt include the right to abortion, arguing that the state has an interest in safeguarding health and protecting potential life. During testimony this week, witnesses for the state focused primarily on the potential for fetal pain as well as health risks to women who receive abortions late in pregnancy. A witness for Planned Parenthood told the judge that the law would disproportionately affect poor women. The delay between the signing of an order temporarily blocking the law and the law's Friday implementation date creates an added layer of confusion, said Laura Goodhue, executive director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates. Its extremely challenging for doctors to work with this but they are, and the most important thing is that planned parenthood is still seeing people," she said. Its a lot of unnecessary delays and patients are at the whims of the legal system right now. Data shows the majority of abortions in Florida occur before 15 weeks. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report said about 2% of the nearly 72,000 abortions reported in Florida in 2019 were performed after 15 weeks. DOVER, Del. (AP) Jurors began deliberations Thursday in the criminal corruption trial of Delaware State Auditor Kathy McGuiness after hearing closing arguments from attorneys. Jurors deliberated for about two hours Thursday and will reconvene Friday. McGuiness, a Democrat, is responsible as state auditor for rooting out government fraud, waste and abuse. She faces felony counts of theft and witness intimidation, and misdemeanor charges of official misconduct, conflict of interest and noncompliance with procurement laws. McGuiness, the first statewide elected official in Delaware to be prosecuted while in office, faces up to 13 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Prosecutor Mark Denney told jurors McGuiness used and abused her position to hire her daughter and give her special privileges unavailable to other part-time workers. He also said she stole money from the state by paying Elizabeth Saylar McGuiness and having access to their joint bank account. Denney also said McGuiness ruled "with an iron fist, harassing and intimidating employees who she suspected might be cooperating in an investigation of her office. In addition to hiring her daughter when other part-time workers were leaving because of a lack of work during the coronavirus pandemic, prosecutors say McGuiness orchestrated a no-bid communications services contract for a consulting firm she had used in a 2016 campaign for lieutenant governor, then kept the payments under $5,000 to avoid having to get them approved by the Division of Accounting. "Kathy McGuiness knew just how to play the system, and she did, Denney said. Defense attorney Steve Wood told jurors the prosecution's investigation was incomplete, incompetent and biased from the very beginning. This was not an investigation designed to ferret out the truth, he said. Wood noted that chief investigator Franklin Robinson repeatedly made false statements in a search warrant affidavit and grand jury testimony, despite seeing documents with contradicting information. That search warrant was reviewed by a special team of investigators and lawyers, and they still got it horribly wrong, Wood said. Can you trust that special team of investigators and lawyers to get it right now? He also refuted allegations that Saylar McGuiness, 20, never sent any work-related emails after she left for college while remaining on the payroll. Wood also noted that investigators failed to interview five other part-time workers to determine whether Saylar McGuiness got special treatment. He also reminded jurors that Robinson admitted there was zero evidence Kathy McGuiness ever received any money from the joint bank account that had been set up for her daughter when she was a child. Wood acknowledged that there was a lot of tension in the auditors office as McGuiness tried to make changes after her predecessor's 30-year tenure. McGuiness monitoring of her employees emails, which is allowed, may sound creepy but is not evidence of a crime, he added. Wood said there were justifiable reasons for one employee receiving a performance improvement plan and two others being reprimanded. Those actions do not amount to witness intimidation, he argued. To convict McGuiness of intimidation, prosecutors must prove she knew that a person was a witness, knew her conduct was intended to prevent or dissuade that person from cooperating with authorities, and acted with malice. Wood also took aim at allegations regarding the contract with My Campaign Group and payments made to Christie Gross, owner of the consulting firm. Robinson said in a sworn affidavit that payments to My Campaign Group were split in August and September 2020 to keep them under $5,000, the threshold requiring approval from the Division of Accounting. In fact, he and prosecutors had seen a Division of Accounting spreadsheet several weeks earlier indicating that Gross received only one payment each month, both above $5,000 and both approved by the Division of Accounting. Wood reminded jurors of emails among McGuiness, former chief of staff Thomas Van Horn, and administrative officer Shequanna Cousin about a My Campaign Group invoice for $11,250 that had been sent back by the Division of Accounting because the purchase order for the contract had a remaining balance of only $4,350. McGuiness asked if they could pay $4,900 of the $6,900 excess as a direct claim voucher outside the purchase order. Such payments are allowed if a change order or after-the-fact waiver request is submitted. Cousin, who was responsible for payments and waiver requests, said she could pay the $4,350 under the purchase order and $4,900 as a direct claim, and a new voucher for $9,250 was submitted to, and mistakenly approved by the Division of Accounting. Wood said Van Horn and McGuiness assumed that Cousin would submit the required waiver after returning from vacation, but they didnt know Cousin had decided to quit and would not be returning. The waiver never got submitted. Wood also told jurors that Robinson never interviewed Cousins replacement, Tracey Rogers, regarding a credit card receipt for the final payment under the My Campaign Group contract. Rogers testified that she mistakenly attributed the receipt to Innovate Consulting, another policy consulting firm that had been formed by Gross and which had been awarded a competitive bid for a second professional services contract. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MADRID (AP) The Latest on the final day of the NATO summit in Madrid: ___ Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government will increase Canada's troop presence in Latvia as part of NATOs commitment to strengthen its deterrence measures along Russias border. Trudeau made the announcement at the close of the three-day NATO summit in Madrid. He did not give specific numbers. Canada leads NATOs battlegroup in Latvia of around 2,000 soldiers in total. Albania, the Czech Republic, Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain also provide troops to the group. We will be bolstering our military deployment in Latvia and work with other allies to be able to rapidly augment our current strength to our combat capable brigade when required, Trudeau said. Trudeau said his government also wants to send up to 39 armored combat support vehicles to Ukraine along with six additional drone cameras to help fight the Russian invasion. ___ US boosting military presence in Europe amid Russia threat NATO calls Russia its most significant and direct threat NATO pivots to highlight Chinese challenges for 1st time Explainer: How was Turkeys veto of Nordic NATO bid avoided? ___ OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: Turkeys president is hailing his countrys joint memorandum with Sweden and Finland over their NATO accession as a victory. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that all of Turkeys sensitivities had been included in the 10-article agreement. The deal signed Tuesday removed Turkeys objection to the Nordic countries NATO membership. But Erdogan added that if Sweden and Finland did not fulfill their promises, Turkey could still block their membership by not ratifying the deal in the Turkish parliament. Erdogan claimed after the NATO summit ended that Sweden had promised to extradite 73 terrorists to Turkey and crack down on the financing and recruitment activities of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, and its extensions. However, the Nordic countries only said they would address those requests in accordance with the European Convention on Extradition and gave no firm number in the written agreement. ___ French President Emmanuel Macron says France is ready to send more troops to Romania if needed as part of the NATO mission to bolster forces on its eastern flank following Russias invasion of Ukraine. France already has around 500 soldiers and an air defense system deployed in Romania. Macron said the assets can be reinforced at very short notice. Macron, speaking at a news conference Thursday following the NATO summit in Madrid, said Frances financial, humanitarian and military support for Ukraine will continue as long as needed. ___ U.S. President Joe Biden says his administration will soon provide another $800 million in security assistance for Ukraine to fight Russias invasion. Biden said the new aid would include advanced air defense systems, counter battery radars, and additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, that the administration has already sent to Ukraine. Biden said Thursday the package will be formally detailed by his administration in the coming days. He spoke at a news conference at the end of the NATO summit in Madrid. The latest round of aid is part of the $40 billion package of security and economic assistance passed last month by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by Biden. It is the 14th package of weapons and military equipment committed to Ukraine since the war began. With the latest tranche of assistance, the U.S. has committed about $7 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since late February when Russia invaded its neighbor. ___ President Joe Biden says Americans should expect to pay higher gas prices as long as it takes so Russia cannot, in fact, defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine. Russias invasion of its neighbor last February is blamed for driving up the oil price. This is a critical, critical position for the world, Biden said at a news conference Thursday on the final day of the NATO summit in Madrid. Biden said Russia, Russia, Russia is the reason people are spending more at the pump. Hes talking with U.S. allies about setting a cap on the price of Russian oil, limiting how much money that Moscow can make from its exports. Biden emphasized his long-term support for Ukraine as the war drags on, saying, We are going to stick with Ukraine. I dont know what it how its going to end, but it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine, he said. Although gas prices remain a political challenge for Biden, he said that he wouldnt use his scheduled trip to Saudi Arabia next month to request more oil production. ___ President Joe Biden says NATO has transformed itself by adapting to a rapidly changing security situation around the globe. Closing the military alliances summit in Madrid on Thursday, Biden described the meeting as historic. The three-day summit included the Biden administration announcing plans to permanently bolster the U.S. military presence in Europe, an agreement between Turkey, Finland and Sweden to pave the way for the accession of Nordic nations into NATO, and the alliance updating its strategic concept reflect that Chinas coercive policies are a challenge to the Western blocs interests. Biden noted the last time NATO updated its strategic concept Russia was characterized as a partner and the document didnt even mention China. The world has changed, changed a great deal since then, Biden said told a press conference. ___ Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez admits the war between Russia and Ukraine is going on longer than expected. Speaking Thursday at the end of a NATO summit hosted by Spain, Sanchez said the allies had all conveyed their wish to see peace talks. But he added: It must be Ukraine which decides its future. He added that Ukraine has the allies full backing until the last Russian soldier leaves its territory. Sanchez also expressed satisfaction that Spain had achieved its goal of getting NATO to place special attention to the threats it faces on its southern flank, particularly from terrorist and mercenary groups in the Sahel region of Africa where Russia has substantial influence. ___ Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany will launch the process of ratifying the planned NATO membership of Sweden and Finland this week and will conclude it very quickly. The two Nordic nations were formally invited on Wednesday to join the alliance. Scholz said Thursday that we stand ready to assure both countries of support already now as long as the accession process isnt formally concluded. Asked whether thats a political statement or if there are military plans for such support, Scholz replied that its simply part of the solidarity the countries owe each other. Scholz added that Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared more or less unfazed by NATOs decision to admit the two countries, so I think this is something where, despite the tricky situation, we can assume that it wont contribute to intensifying the tensions between NATO and Russia. He conceded that that outlook comes with uncertainty. ___ British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the withdrawal of Russian troops from Snake Island in the Black Sea is a sign that Ukraine will prevail in the war. Johnson said the pullout from the island where occupying Russian troops have faced relentless Ukrainian attacks shows that again Russia has had to cede ground. He said that in the end it will prove impossible for Putin to hold down a country that will not accept occupation. Johnson spoke at the end of a NATO summit in Madrid dominated by the consequences of Russias invasion of Ukraine. He said Russia must be driven off from all the territory it has occupied since it invaded in February and that at the moment there doesnt seem to be anything to talk about regarding a cease-fire. Johnson welcomed a commitment by many NATO members to increase defense spending and said the U.K. would raise its spending target from 2% of GDP to 2.5% by the end of the decade. ___ NATOs leader has closed a summit of the Western military alliance with a message to Moscow that the allies are prepared to protect every inch of NATO territory and fully back Ukraine in its battle against Russian forces. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that NATO has made sure that there is no misunderstanding in the minds of any adversary, that if they do anything like what Russia has done to Georgia in 2008 or Ukraine now, that will trigger the full response of the whole alliance. Stoltenberg said the three-day summit in Madrid featured several transformative decisions. Besides pledging more aid by NATO members for Kyiv, the allies agreed to boost their rapid response forces in Eastern Europe from 40,000 to 300,000, invited Sweden and Finland to join as new members, and approved a new list of top security priorities for the next decade, among other decisions. We face the most serious security situation in decades, but we are rising to the challenge with unity and resolve, Stoltenberg said. ___ Sweden plans to send additional military support to Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons, support weapons and demining equipment that it says Kyiv had requested. The hardware is worth approximately 500 million kronor ($49 million). It is important that the support to Ukraine from the democratic countries in Europe is continuous and long-term, Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist said, according to the Swedish news agency TT. He didnt say when and how the equipment would be delivered but said, It is in everyones interest that it is delivered as quickly as possible. Sweden was invited at a NATO summit this week to join the Western military alliance. ___ Italian Premier Mario Draghi is skipping the last day of the NATO summit in Madrid amid simmering tensions in his coalition government. Draghis office said the premier will attend a Cabinet meeting in the Italian capital on Thursday. Measures to bring relief for high consumer energy bills and government spending top the Cabinets agenda. Draghis abrupt departure came amid tension in his wide-ranging unity coalition, assembled during the COVID-19 pandemic. His predecessor, populist 5-Star Movement leader Giuseppe Conte, has been seething over issues including Draghis staunch support for more military aid for Ukraine. The 5-Stars are themselves in turmoil after Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio broke with the Movement last week, forming his own pro-Draghi political group, with an eye to national elections next year. Italian Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini is standing in for Draghi in Madrid. ___ Britain is sending 1 billion pounds ($1.21 billion) worth of military support to Ukraine, bringing its total military and economic support since the start of the war to 3.8 billion pounds. The government said the new money is for equipment including air defense systems, unmanned aerial vehicles and electronic warfare equipment. Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged allies at a NATO summit in Madrid on Thursday to dig deep in support of Ukraine. Britain is the second-largest contributor of military support to Ukraine, after the United States. It is also one of only nine of the 30 NATO members meeting the alliances target of spending 2% of GDP on defense. ___ NATO leaders are arriving at a conference center in Madrid for the third and final day of their annual summit. The 30-member alliance is due to wrap up its talks with a working session on security concerns for its southern flank, namely in unstable areas of North Africa and the Middle East. On Wednesday, NATO nations pledged their continued support for Ukraine in its efforts to resist Russias invasion. It also issued an updated Strategic Concept, the document which lays out its top security concerns for the coming decade, where it named Russia as its top threat and added China for the first time. NATO has also announced that it will boost its rapid response forces for Eastern Europe, increasing them from 40,000 to 300,000 troops ready to react to any attack by Russia against NATO territory. The alliance has also cleared the path for Sweden and Finland to become new members after overcoming Turkeys misgivings. ___ BRUSSELS China has reacted to NATO naming it as a security challenge by calling the Western military alliance a Cold War remnant that is smearing Beijings international reputation. On Wednesday, NATO issued its updated Strategic Concept, the document that lays out its top security threats for the coming decade. While Russia was named its top threat, NATO included China for the first time. It said that China strives to subvert the rules-based international order, including in the space, cyber and maritime domains and warned of its close ties with Moscow. A statement released by Chinas Mission to the European Union on Thursday responded: Since NATO positions China as a systemic challenge, we have to pay close attention and respond in a coordinated way. When it comes to acts that undermine Chinas interests, we will make firm and strong responses. China insisted that it promotes peace through its collaboration with the United Nations and its foreign development projects. It called the 30-nation alliance a source of instability. NATO claims itself to be a defensive organization that upholds the rules-based international order, but it has bypassed the U.N. Security Council and waged wars against sovereign states, creating huge casualties and leaving tens of millions displaced, it said. FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) A man was sentenced to life in prison in the 2018 fatal shooting of an undercover Fort Worth, Texas, police officer, prosecutors said. A jury on Wednesday gave Timothy Huff, 36, a life sentence without possibility of parole in the death of Garrett Hull, an officer who was promoted to corporal after his death. The Tarrant County jury found Huff guilty of capital murder Monday. BOSTON (AP) The Democrat-controlled Massachusetts House of Representatives approved a bill Wednesday that aims to protect abortion providers and people seeking abortions from actions taken by other states. The action is part of a wider effort by officials to build a firewall to guarantee access to the procedure in Massachusetts after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The bill states that access to reproductive health care services and gender-affirming health care services is recognized and declared to be a right secured by the constitution or laws of the commonwealth, adding that interference with this right is against the public policy of the commonwealth. The House approved the bill on a 136-17 vote. It now goes to the Senate. The bill also states that any act by a foreign jurisdiction authorizing any individual to bring civil action against a person or organization seeking or offering such care in Massachusetts shall be an interference with the exercise and enjoyment of the rights secured by the constitution and laws of the commonwealth. You see other states like Texas deputizing people to come in and arrest people in Massachusetts. Thats not going to be allowed, Democratic House Speaker Ronald Mariano said Tuesday. A Texas law banning most abortions after about six weeks is enforceable through lawsuits filed by private citizens against doctors or anyone who helps a woman obtain an abortion. The House bill echoes an executive order signed last week by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker barring state agencies from assisting another states investigation into people or businesses receiving or delivering reproductive health services that are legal in Massachusetts. The order also protects Massachusetts providers who deliver reproductive health care services from losing their professional licenses based on potential out-of-state charges. Both the House bill and Baker's executive order also prohibit the extradition of someone to another state to face charges of seeking reproductive health care in Massachusetts. The Democrat-controlled Massachusetts Senate has proposed similar language as an amendment to the state budget. The Senate amendment also includes $2 million in funding for improving reproductive health care access, infrastructure and security in Massachusetts. A portion of those funds would also be allocated in grants to several Massachusetts abortion funds. Supporters say it would mark the first time in Massachusetts history that the annual budget includes investments in abortion funds. KANKAKEE, Ill. (AP) Authorities were investigating after three men were found dead in a northern Illinois house, the citys police chief mayor said Wednesday. At approximately 2 p.m., police responded to a call of a gunshot victim inside of a residence, Kankakee Police Chief Robin Passwater said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Chiravut Rungjumrusrussamee Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Chiravut Rungjumrusrussamee/AP Show More Show Less 3 of 3 BANGKOK (AP) A Myanmar fighter jet crossed the border into Thailand's airspace on Thursday, prompting Thai air force jets to scramble and officials to order the evacuation of villages and classrooms, officials said. The Royal Thai Air Force said it dispatched two F-16 fighters to patrol the area after receiving a report of an aircraft that crossed into Thailand's airspace while carrying out an attack in Myanmar territory held by an ethnic minority group. It asked the military attache at the Thai Embassy in Myanmar to convey a warning to Myanmar authorities and work with them to avoid similar incidents in the future. LAS VEGAS (AP) An initiative offering Nevada voters open party primaries and ranked-choice voting appears headed for the November ballot, while the state Supreme Court turned down a case that could have put a constitutional amendment about a school vouchers program before the voters. In a third election-related ruling all issued Tuesday the state high court upheld a Nevada judges decision allowing a Las Vegas-area teachers union that qualified two tax-raising initiatives for a statewide vote to withdraw them from the 2022 ballot. In that case, involving measures backed by Nevadans for Fair Gaming Taxes and the political group Fund Our Schools PAC, Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske had refused to remove the measures. Cegavske, a Republican, oversees elections in Nevada. The union sought to increase state sales and casino taxes to fund education, but changed course after a deal with the Legislature last year increased school funding using mining tax revenues. Lawmakers feared a vote on the initiatives could affect midterm elections by raising voter concerns about education and taxes. The trio of rulings, each by a court majority, just ahead of a deadline for groups to submit the nearly 141,000 signatures to qualify initiatives for this years statewide ballot. Nevada Voters First, backers of the voting overhaul proposal, issued a statement Wednesday saying it turned in more than 266,000 signatures for verification. It said its constitutional amendment would give voters options to choose elected officials based on leadership skills and policy decisions rather than simply choosing between the lesser of two evils. If a majority of voters approve in 2022 and 2024, primaries would be open to all voters regardless of party registration and ballots would rank candidates by preference. Proponents note that nonpartisan voters, now nearly 29% of the states 1.8 million active voters, are unable to vote for partisan offices in primary elections. Democrats make up 33% of voters in Nevada, and Republicans almost 30%. The measure is opposed by top Nevada Democrats including Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak and U.S. Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto. Theyve argued ranked voting is confusing and time-consuming and would lead to votes being thrown out. An attorney for Education Freedom for Nevada, the group backing the education voucher initiative with the advocacy group Power2Parent, said the goal was to let funding follow the student," whether they attend public or private schools. But he faced tough questions during oral arguments less than two weeks ago from justices focused on whether the proposal violated state law against creating a law and then requiring the state Legislature to spend money to enact it a so-called unfunded mandate. By a 5-2 margin, the court upheld a state court judge's ruling that the measure used what the judge called sleight of hand to hide what he termed the enormous effect the program would have on the state budget. An attorney for initiative opponents headed by the philanthropic Rogers Foundation, which backs a policy organization called Educate Nevada Now, noted there were more than 493,000 public school students in Nevada in 2019 and the state spends an average of $10,000 per year per child. He suggested the amount at stake could rival Nevadas overall general fund budget, currently about $4.6 billion. ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York officials denied required air permit renewals Thursday to a bitcoin-mining power plant on the grounds that it was a threat to the state's climate goals. The permitting decision was another example of New York putting the brakes on a cryptocurrency bonanza that has alarmed environmentalists. It also comes at a time when cryptocurrency prices have plunged, wiping out fortunes, fueling skepticism and sparking calls for tighter scrutiny. The state's permitting decision involved Greenidge Generation, an old coal-fired plant by the shore of Seneca Lake which had once been shut down, but was converted from coal to natural gas several years ago and began bitcoin mining in earnest in 2020. A majority of the electricity produced by the plant is now used to run more than 15,000 computer servers for bitcoin mining, which guzzles massive amounts of electricity. In rejecting the renewals, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said the plants conversion to a cryptocurrency mining operation meant it was creating a significant new demand for energy "for a wholly new purpose unrelated to its original permit. Instead of helping to meet the current electricity needs of the state as originally described, the facility is operating primarily to meet its own significant new energy load," the agency said in its letter to the company. The company said it would continue operating under its current permit while it challenged the decision. It said there was no credible legal basis" for the denial. It is absurd for anyone to look at these facts and rationally claim that renewing this specific permit for a facility that makes up a small fraction of the states electricity generation capacity would impede New Yorks long term climate goals. It simply would not," the company said. Climate activists who see Greenidge as a test case had asked Gov. Kathy Hochuls administration to deny renewal of the plants air quality permit and to block similar projects. The decision comes as Hochul is deciding whether to sign into law a two-year moratorium on new and renewed air permits for fossil fuel power plants used for proof-of-work mining. Greenidge is not affected by the first-of-its-kind moratorium measure, which covers new applications. New York has attracted a number of companies that need inexpensive energy to run the huge computer arrays needed for energy-intensive proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining a term for the computational process that records and secures transactions in bitcoin and similar forms of digital money. Greenidge has said that even if the plant ran at full capacity, its potential emissions equate to 0.23% of the states greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for 2030. The company argued the plant is 100% carbon neutral, thanks to the purchase of carbon offsets, such as forestry programs and projects that capture methane from landfills. Environmentalists were pleased with the denial. Governor Hochul and the DEC stood with science and the people, and sent a message to outside speculators: New Yorks former fossil fuel-burning plants are not yours to re-open as gas-guzzling Bitcoin mining cancers on our communities, said Yvonne Taylor, vice president of the advocacy organization Seneca Lake Guardian. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The competition at the Virginia-Kentucky District Fair began innocently enough when a woman named Linda Skeens entered her many baked treats, canned goods and other items for the judged contest. Then she won - and she won huge. The fair posted a list of winners on Facebook showing that Skeens dominated the June 13 competition, winning more than 25 of 80 contest categories. That's when things took on a life of their own. Her online fans wanted to find her. Skeens swept the cake, pie, cookie, bread (both sweet and savory), brownie and candy categories. In addition to baked goods, Skeens's corn won best overall canned vegetable, and her peppers prevailed as the overall best non-cucumber pickled item. Skeens won best spaghetti sauce, best applesauce and best sauerkraut. Not only did she win best jelly with her grape jelly, but her peach-raspberry jam won best jam, too - among several other undefeated dishes she cooked up for the competition. Thousands of people responded on the Facebook post, most in awe of Skeens's culinary skills. But the questions were persistent online: Where is Linda Skeens? And who is she? Her rapidly growing fan base wanted to know, and as the days went on, it became a mystery intensifying with each meme posted on the page, as people asked, "Seriously, Linda?? Do you sleep?" "She showed up, showed everyone what a winner looks like, and left without a trace," posted a commenter. Some comments got 10,000 likes, and the hashtag #whereislindaskeens began circulating. Endless jokes rolled in: "Did you hear about the time there was a kitten stuck in a tree? Linda Skeens baked a French Baguette Ladder right there on the spot and rescued it." Some people invited Skeens to Thanksgiving dinner, while others asked for her hand in marriage. "We have found the lady who can take down Bobby Flay," said a commenter. Except they couldn't find her. Aside from her name, the Virginia-Kentucky District Fair - which has hosted the annual event in Wise, Va., by the Kentucky border, since 1913 - revealed no information about the woman who seemingly won it all. One woman named Linda Skeens, who lives in Blacksburg, Va., was bombarded with messages on Facebook, to the point where she felt compelled to make a public declaration, explaining that she is not, in fact, the Linda Skeens. "I AM NOT THE LINDA SKEENS BAKING PHENOM WHO WON ALL OF THE RIBBONS AT THE KENTUCKY VIRGINIA DISTRICT FAIR," she wrote. Skeens, 68, said her mistaken identity has actually been delightful, as she has had the unexpected opportunity to connect with kind strangers from around around the world in recent days. "I've heard from people from Indonesia, Australia, the U.K., Norway, all kinds of places," she said in a phone interview with The Washington Post. "I have honestly had the time of my life," she said. "I really hope and pray the real Linda Skeens has been made aware of all the appreciation she has received online for her baking skills, because she certainly deserves it." Skeens's loyal legion continued to look for their baking and canning hero on social media, or anywhere on the internet, for that matter. Several people made TikToks about her, including a man who performed "The Ballad of Linda Skeens." Radio personality Mason Moussette, who hosts a morning show in Dallas, was in on the quest. She is always looking for entertaining stories to share with her audience, she said, and when she stumbled upon the search for Skeens, she was intrigued. "I just found it fascinating," said Moussette, who also made a TikTok inquiring about Skeens's whereabouts, which has nearly 400,000 views. "I wanted to know the story of this woman. How did she do so well in so many categories?" "The entire internet is looking for this woman," Moussette said in her TikTok. As it turns out, the real Linda Skeens's granddaughter came across Moussette's video and got in touch. As her grandmother's name flew across social media, "my phone just started blowing up," said Franki Skeens, 33. While she and her family were stunned by Linda Skeens's sudden stardom, they weren't surprised by her many victories at the Virginia-Kentucky District Fair. "To us, it's nothing new because Mamaw has done it for years," said Franki Skeens. She has fond childhood memories of baking cookies and other treats with her grandmother to enter into the fair. "It's a big family tradition," said Franki Skeens, adding that her grandmother has participated as a contestant for several decades, and has taken home many blue ribbons, but perhaps none as many as this year. According to Franki Skeens, Linda Skeens lives in Russel County, Va., with her husband. She is in her late 60s, and she does not have any social media, an email address or even a cellphone. Her granddaughter said she is a doting mother and grandparent to three children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She is also an avid churchgoer, with a knack for arts and crafts - including embroidery, cross-stich and painting - and of course, cooking and baking. Within her family, she is most famous for her potato casserole, her strawberry fudge (which won best overall baked good at the fair) and homemade blackberry ice cream. The district fair judges awarded her top honors this year for her peach turnovers, chocolate cake, peanut butter cookies and buttermilk breakfast biscuits, among many other items. "If it can be made, she can make it," Franki Skeens said, adding that her grandmother declined a request for comment from The Washington Post, saying she is overwhelmed by the attention. "I don't know how she does it. There are never any leftovers." Aside from her clear culinary aptitude, "she is an exceptional woman," said Franki Skeens. "She's kind, she's sweet. She would either give you the shirt off her back, or she would make you a shirt, depending on what you wanted." Although her grandmother prefers to keep to herself, Linda Skeens is apparently thrilled about the public reaction to her triumph at the fair. While her family reads her comments that have come in from strangers on social media, "she just grins from ear to ear," Franki Skeens said. "She loves it." According to Jennifer Mullins, a member of the fair committee, Skeens was one of 40 contestants this year who entered the 80 contest categories at the fair, which ran from June 14 to 18. The food is judged by an anonymous four-person panel the day before the rest of the fair events begin. In addition to various exhibits, the fair also hosts other events, such as bull-riding, demolition derby and talent shows. Mullins confirmed that Linda Skeens has participated in the fair for many years, and she has clinched countless contests. "Linda has always won big," said Mullins. "She has always been very successful at the exhibits, but this year, she took on newfound success on social media as well." "How this story unfolded was a surprise, I think to everyone," she continued. "This is bringing joy right now when we need that." Next year's fair is scheduled for June 13-17, and the committee is anticipating a bigger crowd than ever, thanks to the legendary Linda Skeens. "If people are interested to meet Linda, they just need to go to the next local county fair," Franki Skeens said. SLIDELL, La. (AP) Five New Orleans teens are in custody after being found with an SUV stolen from an Uber driver who had been shot and left wounded by a New Orleans roadside, police in the suburb of Slidell said Thursday. The teens were arrested in Slidell late Tuesday morning, the same day as the carjacking, according to a police news release. The driver's condition is unknown, Slidell police said. "Investigators have reason to believe the teens were scouting the area in order to carjack another victim, according to the statement from police spokesman Daniel Seuzeneau. All five were arrested on charges accusing them of possessing the stolen vehicle, a 2022 Toyota Highlander, illegally carrying weapons and illegally possessing a drug. Two 18-year-olds and a 19-year-old were also charged with contributing to delinquency of two 16-year-old girls who were arrested as juveniles. New Orleans police notified Slidell police Tuesday that the SUV might be in the area and warned them that its occupants were considered to be armed and dangerous, the news release said. It said a detective saw the Highlander shortly before 11 a.m. Tuesday, and tactical officers took the teens into custody without incident, confiscating three firearms. Finding it quickly "quite possibly averted a serious crime from happening in our city, Slidell Police Chief Randy Fandal said. Three of the teens were arrested as adults a 19-year-old and two 18-year-olds and were being held in the St. Tammany Parish Jail and the 16-year-olds in the Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center, police said. Seuzeneau did not know whether any of the teens has an attorney who could speak for him or her. New Orleans police are investigating the carjacking and shooting. IRVING, Texas (AP) Officers fatally shot a patient at a Dallas-area hospital who had a gun in an emergency room, authorities said. A nurse called police Wednesday night after she saw that the 34-year-old patient had a gun at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Irving, said city police spokesman Robert Reeves. SPRINGFIELD, Va. (AP) A man wanted by police in northern Virginia has died after an officer shot him outside of a shopping mall, authorities said Thursday. Fairfax County Police said on Twitter on Thursday evening that the unidentified suspect died at the hospital. No police officers were hurt, according to 2nd Lt. James Curry, a police spokesman. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate KINSHASA, Congo (AP) The remains of Congos independence hero and first Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba were laid to rest in Kinshasa Thursday amid honors including a procession through the capital, military salutes and music in front of thousands of people. Congos President Felix Tshisikedi saluted Lumumba, calling him a humanist who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. Today, the Congolese people are able to understand how and why he fought the oppression of the time without fear or trembling, said Tshisikedi. Lumumba was interred in a Chinese-built mausoleum topped by a towering statue in a central square in Kinshasa. The ceremony was attended by diplomats and dignitaries including President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the neighboring Republic of Congo who mingled in the courtyard in front of the mausoleum. Lumumba was buried with a military salute and then his family was given time alone with him. The ceremony was held on Congos Independence Day, marking when the country became independent from Belgium in 1960. Lumumba is widely hailed as the nationalist activist who helped to end colonial rule. He became the countrys first prime minister and was assassinated within a year in 1961. The ceremony comes after Lumumba's remains a gold-capped tooth were returned from Belgium and taken around the country to allow citizens to pay their respects, including at his birthplace in Onalua village in Sankuru province. For many in Congo, Lumumba is a symbol of the positive developments the country could have achieved after its independence. Instead, it became mired in decades of dictatorship that drained its vast mineral riches. After agitating for an end to colonial rule, Lumumba became newly independent Congos first prime minister in 1960 and appeared to be one of Africa's most promising new leaders. But historians say he was a victim of the Cold War. Lumumba promoted leftist policies and when he reached out to the Soviet Union for help in putting down a secessionist movement in the mineral-rich Katanga region, he quickly fell out of favor with Belgium and the United States. A military coup toppled Lumumba who was arrested, jailed and later killed. Lumumbas assassination by separatists in January 1961 cleared the way for the rise to power of Mobutu Sese Seko who with support from Western powers ruled the country, which he later renamed Zaire, for decades until his death in 1997. Even though Lumumbas killers were Congolese, questions have persisted over the complicity of Belgium and the United States in his death because of his perceived Communist ties. Immediately after his killing, Lumumbas body was dismembered and dissolved with acid in an apparent effort to keep any grave from becoming a pilgrimage site. All that remained was a tooth that was kept by the Belgian police commissioner who oversaw the destruction of Lumumbas body. In 2016 the tooth was seized by Belgian officials from the police commissioners daughter. The relic of Lumumba was returned to Congo after the visit earlier this month of Belgiums King Philippe who expressed regrets for his nations abuses in Congo when it was a Belgian colony. The release of Top Gun: Maverick made me nostalgic for the Ronald Reagan era, a period of industrial and military strength that led to the rise of Silicon Valley and U.S. dominance in high-tech manufacturing. Perhaps its deja vu. When the original Top Gun was released, just as today, America and its allies faced daunting geopolitical and domestic threats. It may again be our capacity to use technology to defend and empower democracies to reverse course. It requires us to unleash the spirit of innovation and the dedication of our military and foreign policy specialists in a coordinated response. Heres the duality. There are corporate and bipartisan efforts under way that can enable us to regain equilibrium. A combination of diplomatic and strategic actions will demonstrate that America is ready to reassert its position as leader of the Free World in partnership with our friends. Despite ever-present concerns, I am reminded that by recovering American courage and conviction, we can mastermind a turnaround once again. Here are the steps I see as our four-throttle solution. CEO and Investor Engagement: Palantir CEO Alex Karps recent visit to Ukraine for a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky was a smart business and political move, which other CEOs should emulate. Palantirs public statement noted, With geopolitical tensions rising all over the world, enhancing security and protecting democratic institutions has never been more important. Global energy and food shortages provide a chance should they seize it for American CEOs to provide public assurances of support for Ukraine and all those affected by the Russian invasion. The message should include declarations to stand by those who need our products to feed their citizens and maintain businesses. A holistic industry sector approach to investment management also speaks volumes. For example, hundreds of biopharma CEOs and investors launched a petition to cease industry investment in Russia at the onset of the Ukraine-Russian war. Then they joined to set up a multi-million-dollar fund that provides medical aid to Ukraine. Tech diplomacy: Creating a critical technologies target list and a coordinated response to active measures sponsored by Russia and China provide a systematic path to protecting our commercial and military infrastructure. Tech diplomacy is an evolving field, and groups such as the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue have elevated the need and serve as catalysts for building partnerships and alliances to bridge the experience gaps between innovators and policymakers while ensuring that U.S. and like-minded nations understand the critical emerging technologies and make informed laws and policy decisions. Academic partnerships: Business schools ensure next-generation policy leaders learn the basics to support foreign policy goals. The SMU Cox School of Business Center for Commercial and Corporate Diplomacy brings together foreign policy experts to help them better understand how to help U.S. businesses compete overseas and leverage our technology to achieve policy objectives. The USC Marshall World Bachelor in Business explores the role of business in public-private partnerships and diplomacy, providing undergraduates with an understanding of an integrated response. At campuses across the United States, the Athenai Institute, a nonpartisan student-led movement, has worked with state governments to remove Chinese influence on American campuses. They call for disinvesting institutional dollars that indirectly support human rights atrocities against the Uighurs and intimidation of Chinese students and their families. Strategic American investment: As the Chinese invest in strategic technologies and expand their global presence, so must we. Regaining dominance in the semiconductor market becomes Job 1 again as CEOs increasingly raise attention to manufacturing shortages and dangers to our supply chain. Expanding not decreasing U.S. Navy ships would increase security and provide assurances to Asian economic allies in the face of growing Chinese naval power. When things are tough, we crave heroes whether in the form of a Hollywood fighter pilot or the unwavering resolve of Zelensky or Reagan. If one movie can re-ignite that inner spark, then grab another bucket of popcorn and settle in for the next showing. Houston and communities to the south are under a flood watch until Friday evening as rain showers and thunderstorms start to light up the weather radar Thursday morning. Heavy showers will dump three to six inches of rain across the southern portion of Greater Houston, including the metro, between now and Friday evening, according to meteorologists with the National Weather Service (NWS) in League City. The bulk of the rain remained offshore Thursday morning, but forecasters predict showers will move north overnight when most of the rain will pummel the area. Because of the forecast, NWS issued a flood watch for Harris, Galveston, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Chambers, Wharton and Matagorda counties until 7 p.m. Friday. Flash flood warnings could be issued as rain begins to fall if warranted. Authorities urge drivers to stay off roadways if they become flooded. While the center of the low-pressure tropical system is far southwest of Houston near Matagorda Bay, showers are developing to the northwest and are expected to spring up into Houston from the Gulf of Mexico. That is because Houston sits on the so-called dirty side of the system, which is spinning in a counterclockwise motion, pulling moisture from the Gulf waters inland, according to NWS meteorologists. The tropical disturbance, officially called Invest 95L, could develop into a tropical depression before it is predicted to make landfall some time Friday, according to meteorologists with the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami. Hurricane hunters, a specialized squadron of the Air Force Reserve that gathers data on potential tropical developments, flew into the disturbance Thursday afternoon and relayed information back to the NHC in Miami. Regardless of how it develops, the disturbance will for sure be a rainmaker, meteorologists said. Heavy rain will filter inland starting around 3 a.m. Friday into mid-morning, according to NWS. Computer models show the strongest storms will dump between two and three inches per hour across much of the flood watch zone, with widespread rainfall rates up to 0.5 inches per hour. Because the area has been under drought conditions for much of June, forecasters aren't predicting major flooding issues. "Low lying areas and areas of poor drainage could experience some minor flooding issues," NWS forecaster Jimmy Fowler said in a detailed weather discussion Thursday morning. While the flood watch currently ends Friday night, Houston still has a 70 percent chance of rain Saturday and a 30 percent chance Sunday. The Fourth of July holiday will likely mark the return of typical summer weather patterns in Houston, where daytime heating fuels a small chance of isolated thunderstorms during the hottest portions of the afternoon. Temperatures will be in the low- to mid-80s through Friday, then the low- to mid-90s through Wednesday. Country singer Dallas Smith returned to the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, Thursday night, for a night of high energy entertainment. The Canadian performer had a banner year in 2021 winning the Country Music Awards entertainer of the year, as well as the single of the year. The band is cu How American residents can work in Canada Canadian work permit options for job-seekers. Daniel Levy Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Most U.S. residents need a work permit in order to work in Canada. Work permits in Canada fall under two categories. The first category involves a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). Canadas federal government uses the LMIA to determine how the hiring of foreign workers may impact the wages and employment of workers in Canada. Some job offers require an LMIA, and hence, employers in Canada need to petition the federal government and obtain either a positive or neutral LMIA before bringing the foreign worker in. Schedule a Free Work Permit Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm The second category does not require an LMIA. Under this category, LMIAs are not required due to Canadas economic and social interests. U.S. citizens, for example, may be eligible for an LMIA-exempt work permit under the United States-Canada-Mexico-Agreement (USMCA). U.S. citizens have greater flexibility to work in Canada under the CUSMA if they have a job available through their current employer or a new one, or if they are going to engage in substantial investments or trade in Canada. The type of work permit you need depends on the type of work youll be doing. If you are just transferring within the same company to a branch office in Canada, you may be able to do so as an Intra-Company Transfer. Certain tech occupations, and companies, will allow you to move to Canada in about four weeks through the Global Talent Stream. The hiring process under this fast-track program involves meeting certain requirements, such as completing an LMIA, and commitment to certain salary requirements, among others. It is important to note that coming to Canada as a foreign worker provides an advantage if you wish to immigrate. Many of Canadas economic class immigration streams either provide more points or are designed for foreign nationals who have Canadian work experience. For instance, you can gain more points under Express Entry for work experience completed in Canada. Work without a work permit in Canada In many cases, business visitors to Canada do not require a Canadian work permit. A business visitor is a foreign national who comes to Canada to participate in international business activities, but who will not enter the Canadian labour market. Subject to the nature of the work, certain business visitors can enter the country to conduct business or trade activity without needing a work permit. Business visitors to Canada must demonstrate the following: they plan to stay for less than six months, they do not plan to enter the Canadian labour market, the main place of business, and source of income and profits, is outside Canada, they have documents that support their application and they meet Canadas basic entry requirements because they have a valid travel document, such as a passport; have enough money for their stay and to return home, plan to leave Canada at the end of their visit; and are not a criminal, security or health risk to Canadians. There are a number of reasons why one may come to Canada as a business visitor, including: Attending business meetings, conferences, conventions, fairs, etc; Buying Canadian goods or services on behalf of a foreign entity; Taking orders for goods or services; Providing after-sales service, excluding hands-on work in the construction trades; Being trained by a Canadian parent company for work outside of Canada; and Training employees of a Canadian subsidiary of a foreign company. Business visitors to Canada may require a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) or an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA). Schedule a Free Work Permit Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. Americans with at least one Canadian parent can gain Canadian citizenship by submitting a "Proof of Citizenship" application. How to become a Canadian citizen if you are an American How to become a Canadian citizen if you are an American Americans with at least one Canadian parent can gain Canadian citizenship by submitting a "Proof of Citizenship" application. How to become a Canadian citizen if you are an American Americans with at least one Canadian parent can gain Canadian citizenship by submitting a "Proof of Citizenship" application. How to become a Canadian citizen if you are an American Americans with at least one Canadian parent can gain Canadian citizenship by submitting a "Proof of Citizenship" application. Daniel Levy Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Canada allows citizenship by descent for Americans born to first generation Canadian citizens. Given the strong ties between the United States and Canada, it is quite common for Americans with at least one Canadian parent to go ahead and apply for Canadian citizenship. Americans can apply for Canadian citizenship even if their Canadian parent is deceased. Get a Free Legal Consultation on Applying for Proof of Canadian Citizenship The Canadian government fee is only $75 to submit what is called a Proof of Citizenship application. An experienced Canadian immigration lawyer can help you submit the application to ensure you meet all application requirements and obtain Canadian citizenship as quickly as possible. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) requires that Americans demonstrate their biological or legal parent was in fact a Canadian citizen when the Proof of Citizenship applicant was born. Applicants can provide evidence such as their parents birth certificate, Canadian citizenship card, or citizenship certificate. Once you submit the Proof of Citizenship application and government fee, you will receive what is called an acknowledgment of receipt from IRCC. IRCC will send you a Canadian citizenship certificate after it approves your application. IRCC may contact you if your application has complexities or if there is additional clarity required. Overall, the Proof of Citizenship process is fairly straightforward, but given the potential for complications and the strong demand to become a Canadian citizen, you may find it worthwhile having a trusted Canadian immigration lawyer by your side so that you can get peace of mind. Get a Free Legal Consultation on Applying for Proof of Canadian Citizenship CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. In Part 6 of CIC News' special interview series, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser talks about a new immigration program that will offer permanent residency pathways for temporary residents. Immigration minister discusses new PR pathway for temporary residents In Part 6 of CIC News' special interview series, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser talks about a new immigration program that will offer permanent residency pathways for temporary residents. Immigration minister discusses new PR pathway for temporary residents In Part 6 of CIC News' special interview series, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser talks about a new immigration program that will offer permanent residency pathways for temporary residents. Immigration minister discusses new PR pathway for temporary residents In Part 6 of CIC News' special interview series, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser talks about a new immigration program that will offer permanent residency pathways for temporary residents. Shelby Thevenot Kareem El-Assal Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Details are still scant on the new immigration pathway for temporary residents, however, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser updated CIC News on the current policy considerations. The challenge that Im wrestling with right now is that we have more people coming on a temporary basis than we may have spaces for in our immigration levels plan, Fraser said on June 21. We might have half a million people here temporarily studying but we have 400,000 or so [permanent residence] spaces. Fraser previously told CBC news the new program will not be identical to a similar program launched in 2021, the Temporary Residence to Permanent Residence (TR2PR) pathway. The TR2PR pathway was a one-time measure introduced to help Canada meet its immigration target amid border closures. The TR2PR pathway opened the door to allow 90,000 temporary residents working in Canada to become permanent residents. This measure was launched under the former minister of immigration, Marco Mendicino. Immigration minister discusses new PR pathway for temporary residents No Description Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Immigration Shortly after being appointed immigration minister, Fraser was mandated to expand pathways to permanent residence for international students and temporary foreign workers. As of May 11, the minister has 120 days to develop and release a strategy to achieve these goals, as dictated by a motion put forward by Randeep Sarai, the member of parliament for Surrey Centre, British Columbia. Over the next number of months we should be able to share some clarity as to what these pathways may look like and Im really looking for it, because I think its a huge opportunity for Canada, Fraser said. The minister dismissed the idea that temporary residents would be awarded extra points through the Express Entry system. Express Entry is Canadas application management system for three of its main immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. I worry about that because that doesnt necessarily give you the best and brightest under the Express Entry system, because we might be drawing from people who dont actually want to come, Fraser said. However, the minister said there were other factors as well. He said one of the concerns being addressed is the fact that some temporary residents are refused their temporary permits because the immigration officer is not satisfied that the foreign national will leave at the end of their authorized stay. This creates a conundrum for people who want to study or work in Canada and eventually become permanent residents. Theyre told they cant come temporarily because people think they might want to stay permanently, when in fact we all want them to stay permanently, Fraser said. Fraser has until September 8 to put forth a plan on the six points raised in the motion: giving more weight to in-Canada work experience under economic immigration programs and expanding eligible occupational categories; examining evidence from other federal immigration programs; incorporating data on labour market and skills shortages to base immigrant selection on persistent labour gaps; encouraging immigrant retention in smaller communities and Francophone immigration outside Quebec; identifying mechanisms to reach quicker to changes in labour market needs and regional economic priorities; and specifically consider occupations and essential services such as health services, caregivers, agriculture, manufacturing, service, trades, and transportation. For the time being, the minister says the program is still in the development phase. I dont want to project any final decisions on this because this is literally something were in the conversation and policy development phase right now, Fraser said. Special interview series with Minister Fraser CIC News sat down with the minister on June 21, 2022. Over the coming weeks, CIC News is releasing a special series of articles elaborating on the interview with Minister Fraser on topics including: Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Immigration CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. Data sovereignty. A simple notion, right? Not so fast. What may appear to be a relatively straightforward concept has instead become an extremely complicated situation due to the numerous regulations defined, countless re-purposed terms used, and the variety of technology capabilities offered. This reality has an impact downstream in the form of significant considerations and ramifications for public and private organizations alike. To begin to simplify this complexity, lets start with the definition of the parts that make up the whole of digital sovereignty. Defining digital sovereignty First, lets discuss data sovereignty and data residency. These two terms are often combined and intermingled into a single statement that can introduce confusion right off the bat. If no jurisdiction is involved, then data residency is the proper term as it is simply ensuring that the data and the processing of that data sits within an explicit geographical location. However, if the data is subject to exclusive legal protections within a particular jurisdiction of a nation, this is a matter of data sovereignty. Data sovereignty is the ability to maintain legal control and authority of the data within the defined nations jurisdictional boundaries. This includes data flows and subsequent processing of that data located within the jurisdictional boundary in question. This also includes any additional data and metadata created by the processing of the original data that falls under this same jurisdictional requirement. While it may come naturally to focus on the data and the technology that creates it the topic of data sovereignty extends well beyond the data and technology to encompass data privacy, human rights, national identity, national security, a nations digital capability, the value of data, the data economy and ultimately economic growth. The jurisdictional boundary can be extended across national borders to encompass the full scope of a legal entity. A prime example is the grouping of political territories such as the European Union (EU) and legal bodies within the EU such as the European Commission (EC) and the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU). Member states, such as Germany or France and their respective governments and judiciaries, would have their own jurisdictions in addition to that of the EU bodies. Data sovereignty is not the same as digital sovereignty. Rather, data sovereignty is merely a subset of the desire to achieve digital sovereignty. Beyond the data, digital sovereignty is about achieving digital autonomy across the entire end-to-end ecosystem and infrastructure, including the hardware, software, identities, access, data processing capabilities, the security of the data and the cyber resilience of the infrastructure. With this in mind, a sovereign cloud is one that supports the destination of digital sovereignty, but does not, itself, provide data sovereignty nor on its own deliver digital sovereignty. Rather, a sovereign cloud allows an organization to ensure they can offer data sovereignty on the platform without sacrificing any of the commercial benefits of cloud-at-scale such as the flexibility, agility, and visibility organizations have come to expect from a modern cloud environment. Complexity of the digital and data sovereignty landscape What is apparent as we consider the current global arena surrounding data privacy and the broader digital and data sovereignty considerations is that it is a space that while developing rapidly still has much interpretation and evolution to occur. Globally, between nations and regions, as well as within countries and regions, there have been and continue to be significant data privacy developments and in particular recognition of the importance of increased sovereign safeguards when it comes to better protecting mission critical and sensitive private and public organization data, and the data of the citizens and customers that those organizations hold. Similarly, there is global recognition of the significant challenges when it comes to the ongoing discussions and deliberations in this space, but there is also the realization of the success to be enjoyed in overcoming these challenges. This success will result in not only greater surety when it comes to individual, citizen, public and corporate data privacy, but also to significant social and economic benefits. These benefits will flow from not only securing these critical sovereign data assets, but also from ensuring that the core data is accessible to sovereign research and analysis and the subsequent tremendous value of the evolving data sets. At first glance, considerations of digital sovereignty appear to be a straightforward discussion, however hopefully we have demonstrated that it is a topic deeply impacting across a very broad ecosystem of highly interrelated and, at times, contentious and competing matters, and it is a topic worthy of attention and discourse. Taking control of your digital destiny with a sovereign cloud The idea of a sovereign cloud is not a new concept and, hopefully, there isnt much confusion surrounding its vital role in an organizations journey to achieve digital sovereignty. Even with countless ambiguities present in legal and compliance arenas and ongoing uncertainty in the global, national and regional data privacy landscape, the relevance of a sovereign cloud as part of the journey toward digital sovereignty is more significant now than ever before. A sovereign cloud should focus on one key element: to provide better infrastructure control so both public and private organizations can ensure they are following and applying the necessary data privacy, security and compliance measures to protect sensitive and regulated data and application workloads. As noted earlier, this infrastructure control extends beyond the data, applications, and systems; it also covers controls for data in transit, data workflows, data processing capabilities such as artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms and access to the data. Find a VMware Sovereign Cloud Provider, visit https://cloud.vmware.com/providers/sovereign-cloud Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access A specialist blended finance wholesaler for the UK social investment market should be created with 300m of government funding, according to a new report. New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) found continued government subsidy was needed for smaller charities to access blended finance, which is designed to make borrowing more affordable for voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs). NPC recommended that the government should fund blended finance provider Access to become a wholesale provider of grant subsidy and investment capital into blended finance. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) commissioned NPC to independently review the future of grant subsidy for blended finance to support the growth of charities and social enterprises. Blended finance combines grants and loans and aims to attract more money to invest in VCSEs. The report reviews the use and impact of blending grant funding with investment capital as a subsidy to support lending to civil society in England and reviews potential options for how to deliver it in the future. This included reviewing what would happen if the government were to stop subsidising blended finance. Impact of blended finance The current main source of blended finance in the UK is been Access: The Foundation for Social Investment. Founded in 2015, it has five key blended funds: Growth Fund, Local Access, Covid Emergency Lending, Flexible Finance for the Recovery and Enterprise Growth for Communities. The reports states that nearly half (46%) of blended finance funds have been given to organisations working in the 30% most deprived places in the UK. It also found that majority of deals (78%) have been with organisations under 1m of turnover, with over a quarter (28%) going to organisations under 100,000. Taking a sample of recipients from the Growth fund, the report found that 41% of organisations said that they intended to increase their number of beneficiaries with the funding, and 33% said it would allow them to produce a better quality intervention for the existing beneficiaries. Subsidies The report said that without subsidies the cost of a loan would be too expensive for smaller and growth stage VCSEs to take up the finance. It adds that there are few non-governmental sources of subsidy and interviewees believed that government subsidy was necessary for blended finance to grow or be maintained. Recommendation The report outlines four possible options for the future of blended finance, but recommends that a specialist blended finance wholesaler for the UK social investment market is established. This would work be reendowing Access so it becomes a permanent actor in the market, and capitalising it as a wholesale provider of both grant subsidy and investment capital into blended finance. However, we recognise that for this to work, it requires a significant capital outlay of at least 300m, exceeding what has been given to blended finance as grant subsidy to date, the report said. Access: Flexible finance for charities should be key government priority Seb Elsworth, chief executive of Access, said: This adds further weight to the growing evidence around blended finance. Demonstrating that it is an effective mechanism for driving positive change in some of our most underserved communities and getting finance to the places where it is needed most. Given the reports conclusion about the ongoing role for government in providing subsidy into blended finance, the potential to deliver something transformational for underserved places and communities is huge. Meeting the need for this sort of patient and flexible finance for trading charities and social enterprises precisely the sort of enterprise-centric finance recently called for in the Adebowale Commission on Social Investment is central to delivering the Levelling Up agenda and should be a key priority going into the consultation on the future of dormant assets this summer. Charity Finance is packed with practical articles and analysis of the latest financial trends, as well as in-depth briefings on technical and legal changes, and benchmarking surveys to help busy finance teams get value for money. Find more information here and subscribe today! is packed with practical articles and analysis of the latest financial trends, as well as in-depth briefings on technical and legal changes, and benchmarking surveys to help busy finance teams get value for money. Last Friday, the US Supreme Court handed down a decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 court case that had enshrined legal access to abortions in the United States. The decision was widely expected, thanks to a story that Politico published in May, based on a draft opinion that was leaked anonymously. In multiple states, abortion became illegal as soon as the official Supreme Court decision was released due to trigger laws, some of which were only recently passed, with other bans expected to take effect. Such laws have raised the potential for legal action against women who are seeking to terminate a pregnancy, as well as a fear that content shared via social-media platforms, web searches, and appsincluding those designed to help women track the progress of their menstrual cycle and their potential fertilitycould be used to incriminate them. This isnt an idle fear: In 2017, Latice Fisher, a Black woman, went to a hospital in Mississippi after losing a pregnancy at home in the thirty-sixth week. Because she admitted during a gynecological exam that she was pregnant but never returned for a followup visit, medical staff gave police her medical records, and they started an investigation. Since Fisher had also voluntarily given police her phone, Wired noted that prosecutors were able to access her search history on the device, including a web search she conducted for misoprostol, a medication that can be used to trigger an abortion. Although there was no evidence that Fisher had ever used the medication, the district attorneys office nevertheless used the search as evidence that she had killed her fetus, and she was charged with second-degree murder. (The case was eventually dropped.) Those seeking, offering, or facilitating abortion access must now assume that any data they provide online or offline could be sought by law enforcement, the Electronic Frontier Foundation wrote in a statement following the courts ruling nullifying Roe. The Washington Post noted that a Google search for a reproductive health clinic, online order for abortion pills, location ping at a doctors office and text message about considering ending a pregnancy could all become sources of evidence, and advised those searching for abortions to use encrypted private messaging apps such as Apples iMessage, WhatsApp, and Signal. (The latter was the most secure, the Post said, because Apple has a key that allows it to decrypt iMessages, so law enforcement could force it to do so, and WhatsApp shares data with its parent company, Meta.) The paper also recommended using web browsers in incognito mode, and leaving a phone at home when visiting clinics. New from CJR: A profile of Punchbowl Digital evidence has just revolutionized how criminal investigations are conducted in this country, Catherine Crump, a law professor and director of the Samuelson Law, Technology and Public Policy Clinic at UC-Berkeleys law school, told the Post. We live our lives online, we leave digital breadcrumbs of our prior activities, and of course those are going to be caught up in abortion investigations. Some of that comes from access to mobile devices and the records of activity stored on them: Cynthia Conti-Cook, a civil rights attorney and fellow at the Ford Foundation, told Mother Jones earlier this year that law enforcement can easily duplicate all data on a users phone into one convenient, searchable, thousands-of-pages-long file. (Conti-Cooks comment draws on research by the tech justice group UpTurn on mobile device forensic tools.) It remains to be seen how the major social-media platforms will handle requests for personal data from the courts or law enforcement. Dana Sussman, deputy executive director of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, told CNBC she expects that subpoenas will be sent to the major tech platforms looking for information on those seeking abortions in states where it is illegal. Corynne McSherry, legal director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told CNBC that if you create huge databases of information, what youre also creating is sort of a honeypot for law enforcement to come to you and try to get that information if they think its useful for prosecutions. Sign up for CJR 's daily email CNN recently asked all of the major social networks and platforms how they planned to handle requests for abortion-related data, but either received no response, a no comment, or a simple restatement of company policy from companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Twitter. A Twitter spokesperson told CNN that it takes a principled approach to government requests for information, as well as to law enforcement requests, in line with our established policies. Andy Stone, a spokesman for Facebook, told the Washington Post, We carefully scrutinize all government requests for user information and often push back, including in court. Crump said most tech companies will likely comply with state law and hand over information when it is the subject of a court order, but said they should be transparent with their users and the public when they do. Danielle Citron, a law professor at the University of Virginia, told CNN that she is concerned about brokers who sell location data from mobile devices to the highest bidder. Location data brokers are in the business of peddling our whereabouts including visits to doctors, Citron said. They are already providing access to law enforcement for a fee. No subpoena necessary. In May, Vice reported that a location data firm was selling information related to visits to clinics that provide abortions including Planned Parenthood facilities, showing where groups of people visiting the locations came from, how long they stayed there, and where they went afterwards. Last month, a report from Bloomberg found that Apple, Meta, Alphabet, and Twitter had also responded to fraudulent legal requests for user data that was then used to harass and extort women and underage users. Heres more on the platforms: Pill posts : Facebook and Instagram are removing posts that offer abortion pills to women who may not be able to legally obtain them, the Associated Press reported . On Monday, an AP reporter tested how the company would respond to a similar post on Facebook, writing: If you send me your address, I will mail you abortion pills. The post was removed within one minute, the wire service wrote. The Facebook account was immediately put on a warning status for the post, which Facebook said violated its standards on guns, animals and other regulated goods. Yet, when the AP reporter made the same exact post but swapped out the words abortion pills for a gun, the post remained untouched. A post with an offer to mail weed was also left up and not considered a violation, AP said. Lean right : After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade along ideological lines, right-leaning Facebook pages started celebrating the decision, Media Matters reported , and earned nearly 7.7 million interactions on about 2,400 posts on June 24, the day the decision was announced. That was more interactions than left-leaning and ideologically nonaligned pages combined, the group said. We found similar celebrations among users in right-wing groups, who also called for more restrictive laws, claimed there would be riots from the left in response to the decision, and mocked liberals and media figures upset with the decision, the group reported. Hands off: Free Press, a nonprofit group dedicated to media freedom and platform responsibility, said it has launched a campaign called Hands Off My Data, designed to stop companies from selling location data. Right now there is nothing stopping private companies from selling location data of people visiting abortion clinics to anti-abortion vigilantes and law enforcement, the group said in a statement. Based on their location data, people seeking abortion care could be doxxed, harassed, or even arrested and imprisoned. The group said it is working with lawmakers to pass data-privacy legislation and engaging in direct conversations with tech platforms to keep users data safe. Other notable stories: Substack, the newsletter-hosting company, laid off about fourteen percent of its staff on Wednesday, the New York Times reported . Substacks chief executive, Chris Best, told employees that the cuts affected staff members responsible for human resources and writer support functions, among others, the Times wrote. In a message posted to Twitter , Best apologized for the layoffs, which he said were necessary to make Substack robust even in the toughest market conditions. Best added that the macroeconomic outlook has become increasingly uncertain, and therefore the company felt it needed to be prepared for a period of challenging conditions that could last years. Journalists from multiple organizations, including Reuters, have been blocked from covering official ceremonies to mark the 25th anniversary of Hong Kongs handover from British to Chinese rule, which President Xi Jinping is expected to attend, Reuters reported . The Hong Kong Journalists Association said late on Tuesday that at least 10 journalists from seven or more local and overseas media were barred from ceremonies on Friday, the news site said. The organization named Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post , Hong Kong 01, Now TV and Ming Pao, and Agence France-Presse as among those barred. Six sources with direct knowledge of the matter have told Reuters that journalists with Bloomberg, public broadcaster RTHK, and state-backed Ta Kung Pao were also rejected. Journalists in Uvalde to cover the aftermath of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School are being stonewalled, hassled, and threatened with arrest, according to a report in the Washington Post . A phalanx of uniformed bikers confronted [ Houston Chronicle reporter Julian Gill] outside the cemetery gates, the paper wrote. They called themselves Guardians of the Children and claimed to be working with police officers who stood watch. When he accidentally bumped into a Guardian who claimed to be a paramedic, the bikers accused him of assault and battery. Over 360 newspapers in the United States have gone out of business since just before the start of the pandemic, according to a new report from Northwestern Universitys journalism school that was summarized by the New York Times . The papers closed at a rate of roughly two per week; the Times notes that the same pacewas occuring before the pandemic, and added that the closures had surprised some analysts who had expected worse. Maria Ressa, the Philippines-based media founder who won the Nobel Peace Prize, pledged on Wednesday to fight an order by the countrys corporate regulator to shut down her news site, Rappler, which is known for its critical reporting on President Rodrigo Duterte, Reuters reported . The ruling against Rappler, handed down by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, comes at a time when activists and journalists fear there will be no let up in challenges to press freedom under the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, who begins his term on Thursday, Reuters wrote. Ressa said, We will continue to do our jobs. Our reporters will continue to hold the line, will continue to report, and will continue to demand that access is there. The New York Times wrote about two young French men who have gained large audiences on social media by commenting on news events in a way that appeals to young viewers, many of whom have largely abandoned traditional media. With 1.6 million subscribers on his main channel on YouTube, 2 million followers on Instagram and 2.4 million on TikTok, HugoDecrypte has become a leading news source for young French people, the Times reported. Travers has interviewed Bill Gates, President Emmanuel Macron of France and 10 of the 12 candidates in the countrys presidential election this year. At the Nieman Journalism Lab, Josh Benton writes about how digital revenue is eclipsing print revenue for many newspapers, and the fact that this transition is happening not because digital advertising revenue is necessarily increasing, but because print revenue continues to decline so dramatically. The primary industry goal for the past two decades has been a transition to digital so that, when the time came, papers could shut down the presses but live on, Benton writes. It was a reasonable goal. The problem is that its 2022 and theyre still counting on print to pay the bills. ICYMI: Ukraine fatigue, and what the press canand cantdo about it Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Mathew Ingram is CJRs chief digital writer. Previously, he was a senior writer with Fortune magazine. He has written about the intersection between media and technology since the earliest days of the commercial internet. His writing has been published in the Washington Post and the Financial Times as well as by Reuters and Bloomberg. BERLIN (AP) Authorities in Austria declared a civil emergency Wednesday after some villages in the southern state of Carinthia were cut off by mudslides and flooding following heavy rainfall. One person was killed and another was reported missing. Residents of the villages of Treffen and Arriach were told to seek safety in the upper levels of their houses, public broadcaster ORF reported. The Austrian president appealed to residents in the affected areas to be cautious and thanked rescue teams for their help. The destruction is dramatic. I appeal to everyone: Take care of yourself & your fellow human beings, Alexander van der Bellen tweeted. Many thanks to the Austrian Armed Forces, Red Cross, mountain and water rescue, fire department and police for their efforts. Several people who were trapped in their homes had to be airlifted to safety by helicopter. The mayor of Treffen, Gerald Ebner, said 20 homes and farms could not be reached by rescue teams. We are trying to get the situation under control somehow, Ebner told Austrian news agency APA. Currently, we are waiting for heavy equipment from the Austrian Armed Forces, which we urgently need. The body of an 82-year-old man was found in a swollen creek on Wednesday afternoon, ORF reported. A car driver, who was swept away by masses of water, was still missing. Rescue teams with dogs were searching the area, ORF reported. A storm late Tuesday brought severe winds and heavy rain to the region and authorities warned that there was a high threat of further landslides amid normally small creeks that have turned into rushing streams by the rain. Markus Mueller from the Arriach volunteer fire department told ORF that a main road that runs through the Gegendtal valley to Arriach was also severely damaged. It is completely torn away in several places, Mueller said, adding that several districts in the flooded area had no electricity or drinking water, and that cell phone reception and landline connections were interrupted in some parts. Emergency services, residents and numerous volunteers have been busy since the early morning hours clearing mud from basements, garages and ground floors, ORF reported. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. MENDON, Mo. (AP) The chief elected official in the Missouri county where an Amtrak train slammed into a dump truck said Tuesday that residents and county leaders have been pushing for a safety upgrade at the railroad crossing for nearly three years. Meanwhile, the toll from the accident rose to four deaths and 150 injuries. A day after the deadly crash on Monday, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said people were taken to 10 hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to serious. By Tuesday afternoon, at least 15 people remained hospitalized. The dead three passengers and the truck driver have not been identified. Amtraks Southwest Chief was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago when it struck the rear of the truck. Two locomotives and eight cars derailed. Amtrak officials said about 275 passengers and 12 crew members were aboard. National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer L. Homendy said at a news conference that the truck was owned by MS Contracting of Brookfield, Missouri, and was transporting material to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project nearby. Homendy said investigators will download recorder information to determine the speed of the train, when the horn was blown and if the emergency brake was deployed. She said some of that information could be released as early as Wednesday. The speed limit at the crossing is 90 mph (145 kph). The crossing in a rural area near Mendon in western Missouri has no lights or other signals to warn of an approaching train. Chariton County Presiding Commissioner Evan Emmerich said in an email to The Associated Press that resident Mike Spencer first brought his concerns about the crossing to a Dec. 2, 2019, commission meeting. He was told to contact the Missouri Department of Transportations Railroad Safety division. A week later, commissioners spoke with officials from the state agency and were told it is on their plans to repair, Emmerich said. After that, Emmerich cited other efforts by the commission. They included a March 2021 meeting with a state Railroad Safety division engineer at the crossing site; an email sent to the Railroad Safety division on May 23 to address concerns about visibility at the crossing; and a May 31 call to BNSF Railway, which owns the track, to express our concerns with the visibility issue at the crossing. In January, the Missouri Department of Transportation submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration its State Freight & Rail Plan plan. It included a proposal to install lights and gates, along with roadway improvements. The project was estimated at $400,000. Typically, the federal government would pay 80% and the county 20%. MoDOT spokeswoman Linda Horn said that with limited funds available, it takes a while to get these prioritized. She said the project has received approval in a four-year plan that runs through fiscal year 2026. BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent declined comment on specific conversations about upgrades to the crossing, citing the NTSB investigation, however, I can tell you that BNSF has a proactive vegetation management program across our network, she said. Spencer told The Associated Press that he is among several people who have complained that the overgrowth of brush and the steep incline from the road to the tracks makes it hard to see oncoming trains from either direction. Spencer, who grows corn and soybeans on land surrounding the intersection, said the crossing is especially dangerous for those driving heavy, slow farm equipment. Spencer is on the board of a local levee district. He said the dump truck driver was hauling rock for a levee on a local creek, a project that had been ongoing for a couple of days. Earlier this month, Spencer posted a video on Facebook of the crossing that shows the steep gravel incline leading up to it. We have to cross this with farm equipment to get to several of our fields, Spencer wrote with the posting. We have been on the RR for several years about fixing the approach by building the road up, putting in signals, signal lights or just cutting the brush back. Homendy said passive crossings like the one near Mendon make up about half of all crossings in the U.S. She said there are 130,000 passive crossings nationwide and 3,500 in Missouri. The NTSB has for years recommended actions such as closing passive crossings or adding gates, bells and other upgrades at passive crossings, Homendy said. She said the agency also has recommended technology to alert drivers to the presence of an oncoming train at crossings such as the one at Mendon that are on an incline. Lives could be saved, she said. Kyle Bullard, a 21-year-old student at Lindenwood University in suburban St. Louis, was traveling from a friends home in Kansas City, Missouri, to Kalamazoo, Michigan, for a wedding. He fell 10 feet onto his back when his cab tipped over. Bullard and his friend escaped and returned to help others out of the train, but he said hes still bothered by the image of a woman buried in rubble. He said someone was holding her hand, and he realized he couldnt do anything to help her. We were grateful because we made it out alive, but were also sad because some people didnt. Were sorry for those families, Bullard said. Yeah, I survived the train crash and I helped people, but its like, I did also see someone die. So its just like, it is what it is. And Im gonna have to move on from it. But its just gonna be always in the back of my head. The incident in Missouri was among three fatal Amtrak accidents since Sunday. Three people in a car were killed Sunday afternoon when an Amtrak commuter train smashed into it in Northern California, authorities said. Also, on Monday in Detroit, two people died when their vehicle collided with an Amtrak train. Police Chief James White said officers were dispersing drag racers and one vehicle sped away and tried to beat the train. People have been injured or killed in at least six other accidents involving Amtrak trains since 2015. Last year, three people died and others were injured when an Amtrak derailed in north-central Montana as it traveled from Chicago to Seattle. Amtrak is a federally supported company that operates more than 300 passenger trains daily in nearly every contiguous U.S. state and parts of Canada. The Southwest Chief takes about two days to travel from Los Angeles to Chicago, picking up passengers at stops in between. Ballentine reported from Columbia, Missouri. Associated Press reporters Margaret Stafford in Kansas City, Missouri, and Jim Salter in OFallon, Missouri, contributed to this report. About the photo: An Amtrak train lies derailed after the train hit a truck at a crossing, Monday, June 27, 2022, near Mendon, Mo. (Jill Toyoshiba/The Kansas City Star via AP) Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Duck Creek Offering ODG Treatment Guidelines Duck Creek Technologies is integrating commercial treatment guidelines commonly used for workers compensation and auto claims into its claims management program. The Boston-based tech company said in a press release that it has formed a partnership with ODG by MCG, the firm that owns the Official Disability Guidelines that have been adopted by many state workers compensation systems. The partnership will allow insurance carriers to make educated decisions about the claims handling process and understand the expected cost and duration of an injury, Duck Creek said. The ODG product will be integrated with Duck Creeks Evidence Based Disability Accelerator product. The company said early engagement with appropriate activity modifications is vital for returning injured workers to their jobs. Duck Creek is a software as a service provider that offers claims processing software to insurers. Our technology is made up of one system that processes all workers comp claims, stated Andy Yohn, vice president of product management at Duck Creek Technologies. CSAA Launches Business Unit for Claims, Specialty Services CSAA, a California-based auto insurer and roadside assistance service, has launched a separate business unit that offers claims management, training and call center services. CSAA Specialized Services grew out of an employee innovation challenge stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Walnut Creek-based insurance carrier said in a press release. The company said it began working with numerous state and local governments to help them respond to the pandemic. Our initial goals were simply to help our communities while also ensuring jobs for our claims employees in the wake of sudden changes in driving patterns and reduced claims due to the pandemic, said Joey Daryanani, vice president of specialized services at CSAA Insurance Group. We challenged our employees to help us imagine an innovative approach that would address both issues and Specialized Services was born. CSAA Specialized Services will offer: Claims management services, including subrogation, total loss and salvage recovery and Medicare compliance. Training services with curriculums customized to meet an organizations learning objectives. Call center support, including community-related services such as contact tracing and vaccine scheduling and unemployment insurance claims filing. Daryanani has held numbers claims leadership positions during his 37 years with CSAA, the company said. He most recently led theClaims Central Services organization in addition to leading Specialized Services. Xactimate Integrating with IMGING Verisk said it is integrating its Xactimate and XactAnalyis products with the IMGING property inspection data platform developed by Loveland Innovations. The partnership will offer a full artificial intelligence and end-to-end property adjusting software solution that provides complete 3-D models and measurements of structures, keeping estimators safely off roofs, Verisk said in a press release. Loveland Innovations, based in Pleasant Grove, Utah, developed an inspection platform that combines a patented technology that creates precise 3-D models and automates drone flights to allow for consistent data capture, Verisk said. IMGING also organizes photos to custom specifications in the cloud, uses automated artificial intelligence to identify potential damage for review and simplifies data centralization, reporting, sharing and collaboration. Verisk is an insurance services software and data analytics provider based in Jersey City, New Jersey. Davies Acquires Claims Shop in Ireland Davies, an international claims management provider headquartered in London, has acquired ProAdjust Ltd., a specialist loss adjusting and claims management service provider in Dublin, Ireland. ProAdjust specializes in personal and commercial property claims and can deploy during claims surges, such as catastrophic events, Davies said in a press release. The company will become part of Davies Claims Solutions division for the United Kingdom and Ireland, headed by Chief Executive Officer Kath Mainon. Martin Carway will continue to lead the business, reporting to Davies Ireland CEO Peter Haran. All 40 ProAdjust employees will continue in their roles with Davies. The continued rise we have seen in catastrophic events across the UK and Ireland in recent years has emphasized why it is so essential for insurers to have a flexible network of experienced field adjusters that can be re-deployed quickly to impacted areas, stated Dan Saulter, Group CEO of Davies. VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh has topped the Business Reform Action Plan 2020 Rankings in the Ease of Doing Business. While the Centre announced the names of seven states being the top achievers, Andhra Pradesh stood first in the country followed by Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. Telangana is among the seven states categorized as top achievers in the ranking of states including Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab and Union Territories based on the implementation of the business reform action plan 2020. This is according to a report released by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday under Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP), 2020 in the presence of Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, in New Delhi. AP is on top in EODS with a 97.89 per cent score followed by Gujarat with 97.77 per cent score, Tamil Nadu with 96.97 per cent and Telangana with 94.86 per cent. The assessment of States/UTs based on the implementation of Business Reforms Action Plan for the year 2020 declared Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as the top achievers. Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh figure in the Achievers category. Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jharkhand, Kerala, Rajasthan and West Bengal have been placed in the Aspirers category. Andaman & Nicobar, Bihar, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Puducherry and Tripura have been clubbed under the Emerging Business Ecosystems category. The BRAP 2020 includes 301 reform points covering 15 business regulatory areas such as Access to Information, Single Window System, Labour, Environment, Land Administration & Transfer of Land and Property, Utility Permits etc. As many as 118 new reforms were included to further augment the reform process. Sectoral reforms with 72 action points spread across nine sectors namely Trade Licence, Healthcare, Legal Metrology, Cinema Halls, Hospitality, Fire NOC, Telecom, Movie Shooting and Tourism. These were introduced for the first time to expand the scope of the reform agenda. AP minister for industries Gudivada Amarnath said the Jagan-led AP government has shown its strength in EODB ranks. We are happy that Andhra Pradesh has once again stood at the number-one position. It is to the credit of Chief Minister Jagan that AP has got the first position. The CM is giving good encouragement to industries, he added. The minister said AP is suitable for industrial investments and the government provides full support to entrepreneurs. We took care of the industries during the Covid crisis too, which helped in the good performance in the industrial sector. Meanwhile, Daikin representatives in the presence of Andhra Pradesh state skill development agency MD and CEO Satyanarayana said the agreement with Daikin was aimed at creating employment for 75 per cent of the local youth. We met Satyanarayana and other officials of APSSDC here on Thursday and discussed the development plans, he said. Daikin representatives announced that they would create 500 jobs for students who completed their diploma in the 2020-2021 academic year, by providing them training and placement in their institute with an annual salary of Rs 1,99,000 per annum. Satyanarayana said students who have completed their diploma will be given jobs through job fairs. Hyderabad: Even as the Union government gears up to enforce a ban on single-use plastic from July 1, the GHMC is reluctant to adopt the policy due to a lack of alternatives, official sources said. Besides, ratifying the policy is yet to be discussed at the highest levels of the state government and lacks administrative and political will, according to a source. Official sources said that the state government could not take a policy decision as of June 30. GHMC, as a local body, can have its policy, but unlike other big Metros, the civic body is yet to take initiative. No more single-use plastic means huge quantities of jute or cotton bags would be needed, which means the corporation is not geared up for any of this right now, an official said. However, forest and environment minister A. Indrakaran Reddy, in a media statement, said that the government would be adopting a different mechanism to ban single-use plastic. He stated that the Telangana state pollution control board (TSPCB) will be taking appropriate measures in this direction. GHMC, which has been at the forefront of discouraging plastic use, is in a helpless situation as plastic industries located on the outskirts of the city, in Katedan and in other areas, have failed to cooperate. The last meeting with the plastic manufacturers association was held in the presence of former mayor Bonthu Rammohan. In 2018, MA&UD Minister, K. T. Rama Rao also unveiled grand plans to make Hyderabad a single-use plastic-free city by 2022. The official cited above said, Some sensitisation happened over plastic usage by encouraging more than 75 microns thickness of polythene covers for getting Swachh Survekshan ranking. Different approaches were adopted to eradicate (it) and even penalties were levied, but supplies could not be cut completely. More than 80 per cent of plastic smuggled into city One of the reasons GHMC is reluctant to crack down on manufacturers of low-quality plastic in the city is due to challenges posed due to sourcing materials from other states, such as Goa. It is believed that 80 per cent of the low-quality plastic comes from outside the state. This issue cropped up when the GHMC planned to implement a plastic ban, and officials eventually gave up the idea. A special task force committee for eliminating single-use plastic was formed in 2021 under the chairmanship of the chief secretary to the state government, but a standard policy could not be adopted. The nala works undertaken by GHMC have been going on for two months on Begumpet-Rasoolpura-Paradise route (DC file image) HYDERABAD: The nala works undertaken by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) on Begumpet-Rasoolpura-Paradise route some two months ago seem to be facing hurdles as the traffic police are not willing to issue permission to take up works on the left side of the nala. The police said they could not divert the traffic anymore as commuters were facing a lot of hardships and complaints were piling up about the delay in works. But the GHMC puts the blame on the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) for erecting a pier at the construction site, while the metro authorities argue that the project was planned much before the announcement of the Strategic Nala Development Plan (SNDP). The civic body also attributes the delay in nala works to the two-week strike by metal traders. The corporation officials also blame the traffic police for vehicle diversion for only 45 days though they specifically announced that the work would be completed only after 60 days. However, lack of coordination among departments is not only causing inconvenience to the commuters, but also going to affect the Prime Ministers convoy which will reach Parade Grounds via Begumpet and Rasoolpura on July 3, apart from others who throng the meeting spot. K. Kishan Rao, superintendent engineer from the SNDP projects wing said the nala works at Rasoolpura junction was delayed due to the presence of a pier erected by the HMRL authorities. He said the authorities had to redesign the nala without disturbing the structural stability of the pillar. Kishan Rao said utility shifting also consumed time besides strike by the metal dealers across Telangana for two weeks. However, the official said the culvert works on the right hand side was almost done and the work on the remaining side would be taken up soon. Once the works on the left side is complete, we will take up the nala works on the Minister Road side, he said. N. Prakash Reddy, DCP, traffic, said the GHMC sought permission only for 45 days and it was extended upon their request. He said the department would not accord permission to the civic body to take up nala works on the left side as the department was already facing public ire with the ongoing works. A senior HMRL official, requesting anonymity, said the civic body was blaming the department for the work which was executed a decade ago. He said the HMRL was generous to give permission to the GHMC to take up nala works though it might cause disturbance to existing pier. Large Holes On the Beach Are a Safety Hazard for All! Colorado Politics is published both in print and online. Our website features subscriber-only news stories daily, designed for public policy arena professionals. Member subscribers also receive the weekly print edition of our award-winning newspaper, containing outstanding features and news stories, in their mailboxes every Saturday. Offer a personal message of sympathy... By sharing a fond memory or writing a kind tribute, you will be providing a comforting keepsake to those in mourning. If you have an existing account with this site, you may log in with that below. Otherwise, you can create an account by clicking on the Log in button below, and then register to create your account. Hyderabad: Around 698 senior resident doctors working in 28 government hospitals in the state went on strike on Wednesday in protest against unpaid salary and outstanding stipend dues. The Telangana Senior Resident Doctors Association (TSRDA) decided to hold protests in a phased manner by boycotting elective services, both outpatient and wards, on Wednesday. They sent a strike notice to the Director of Medical Education on Tuesday. They have asked the government to respond positively, failing which they wont hesitate to boycott emergency services from July 1. According to the strike notice, senior resident doctors have been tirelessly providing patient care at various hospitals and medical schools even in the absence of appropriate housing, transportation, or even the most basic amenities. They emphasized the fact that many of them are married and have families to care for. Doctors were assigned to government medical colleges in Mancherial, Nizamabad, Jagtial, Ramagundam, Sangareddy, Siddipet, Warangal Urban, Mahabubabad, Mahabubnagar, Wanaparthy, Nagarkurnool, Nalgonda, Suryapet, Kothagudem, RIMS-Adilabad, and Gandhi Medical College and Hospital as part of their one-year mandatory service beginning November 2021. Similarly, doctors were posted at 11 hospitals under the Osmania Medical College, including Osmania General Hospital, Niloufer Hospital, MNJ Hospital, Chest Hospital, Institute of Mental Health (IMH), ENT Hospital, Fever Hospital, Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital (SDEH), Modern Government Maternity Hospital, Govt. Maternity Hospital in Nayapul (GMH), and King Koti District Hospital. Doctors claim that after completion of their post-graduation, they began their one-year mandatory duty in November 2021 in 18 medical colleges, including 11 hospitals under the Osmania Medical College. Many of them havent received their monthly stipends since they enlisted in the service seven months ago. Majority of the doctors havent received the stipend for the past three to five months. On Tuesday, 11 senior residents at Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital staged a protest over the issue. A similar protest was also held outside the Director of Medical Educations office to press for their demands. I've been a reporter and editor at Missouri community newspapers for 35 years and joined the Columbia Missourian in 2003. My emphasis at the Missourian is on local government and elections. You can reach me at swaffords@missouri.edu or at 573-884-5366. Follow this search Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form You must be logged in to participate in the Show Me the Errors contest. China to hand over completed new parliament building to Zimbabwe 08:33, June 30, 2022 By Gretinah Machingura, Tafara Mugwara ( Xinhua Photo taken on June 29, 2022 shows the Senate chamber in Zimbabwe's new parliament building on Mount Hampden Hill, Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe's new parliament building, constructed and fully funded by China as a gift to the southern African country, is now complete and ready for occupation. (Photo by Shaun Jusa/Xinhua) HARARE, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's new parliament building, constructed and fully funded by China as a gift to the southern African country, is now complete and ready for occupation. It took 42 months to complete the project, instead of the original 32-month timeframe due to COVID-19 disruptions. Construction began in November 2018. Sitting on the historical Mount Hampden Hill, about 18 km northwest of Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, the six-story building is a fine piece of magnificent architecture that fuses both Zimbabwean and Chinese characteristics. Shanghai Construction Group Company, the contractor, on Wednesday conducted a guided media tour of the building ahead of its official handover to the Zimbabwean government in the near future. SCG project manager Cai Libo said the completion of the project was a major milestone for the China-Zimbabwe friendship which continues to blossom. "There will be no doubt that the new parliament building will become a landmark building in Zimbabwe and even in the whole of southern Africa," Cai said. "The project commenced on Nov. 30, 2018, and was completed on May 27, 2022, and we spent 42 months completing this project. From 2020 we faced a lot of challenges due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. We were supposed to complete this project last year but we were delayed because of the COVID pandemic but now, we have come to the end and are waiting to hand over this building to the Zimbabwean government." The new parliament building was one of the most important projects in China-Africa cooperation, aimed at strengthening friendship and solidarity between the people of Zimbabwe and China while improving facilities in parliament for better service to Zimbabwean people, he said. "The project strongly supports democracy in Zimbabwe while boosting the country's image," Cai said. Completion of the new parliament building, which borrows heavily from the iconic Great Zimbabwe ruins, also heralds the start of a new capital city as the Zimbabwean government plans to put up off-site infrastructure such as residential areas, shopping centers and access roads to establish a self-contained new city to decongest the capital Harare. The government also plans to put up structures for two other arms of the state -- the executive and the judiciary in Mount Hampden. The imposing building has a combined floor space of 33,000 square meters, with two main sections -- a six-story office building and a four-story parliament building. The office building and parliament building are connected by three bridges on each floor. With the current parliament building having been built during the colonial era and now old and small to accommodate parliament business, the National Assembly at the new parliament building has more than enough space, with a capacity of 400 seats against the 270 House of Assembly members. The new Senate chamber has a capacity of 150 seats, against the current 80 Senate members. The new structure has extra facilities for conferencing, 15 committee rooms and adequate space for office staff and parking. The office building contains 600 rooms, including offices for VIP, Members of Parliament and parliament officials. In total, the building has the capacity to accommodate 1,000 people. Cai said skills sharing and transfer were one of the hallmarks of the project. "This building is a landmark building in Zimbabwe. This is a show of solid friendship between China and Zimbabwe. This is a gift from the Chinese government to the Zimbabwean government. It was funded by China Aid funds, it's a grant to Zimbabwe and not a loan so there is no payment to be made in the future. All Members of Parliament will use this building and parliamentarians serve the whole nation and therefore this is a gift to the whole nation," Cai said. A man walks past Zimbabwe's new parliament building on Mount Hampden Hill, Zimbabwe, on June 29, 2022. Zimbabwe's new parliament building, constructed and fully funded by China as a gift to the southern African country, is now complete and ready for occupation. (Photo by Shaun Jusa/Xinhua) (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) Mumbai: The BJPs move to make the Shiv Sena rebel leader, Eknath Shinde, as the new chief minister of Maharashtra has taken political circles aback in the state. The move is seen as a ploy to weaken the Shiv Sena, which was already reeling under mass desertions. Further, the BJP high command asking former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to work as a deputy CM under Mr Shindes leadership is seen as clipping the high-flying leaders wings. BJP sources said that while party president J.P. Nadda announced Mr Fadnavis would serve as deputy CM, the decision was actually taken by Union home minister Amit Shah. By making Mr Shinde CM, the BJP has tried to kill many birds with one stone. Political experts said the saffron party sent out a clear message that it was willing to sacrifice the top post for the sake of Hindutva. In addition to this, it has also given a befitting reply to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, who had challenged the BJP to offer the CMs post to a Shiv Sainik. With Mr Shinde becoming CM, it has managed to take the wind out of the sails of the Senas attack, a political observer said. The move also punctured the Shiv Senas claim that Mr Thackeray wanted Mr Shinde as the CM, but he lost the opportunity because the BJP refused to share the CMs post with the Shiv Sena. The Shiv Sena has claimed that Mr Thackeray accepted the CMs post only because NCP chief Sharad Pawar insisted that it was necessary for the MVA governments stability. The BJP is hoping that its bold move will further erode Mr Thackerays hold on his party. With more than two-thirds of party MLAs on his side, Mr Shinde has already made it clear that his faction would stake its claim to the partys name and symbol. Also, with Mr Shinde at the helm, more from the partys rank and file will be tempted to join his side. While Mr Shindes elevation to the chief ministers post was dramatic, even more dramatic was the BJP central leadership asking Mr Fadnavis to become deputy chief minister. In a couple of hours after announcing that he would not be a part of the Shinde-led ministry, Mr Fadnavis had to eat his own words and join the ministry as the deputy CM. The BJP central leadership executed Operation Lotus successfully in Maharashtra by stoking the rebellion in the Shiv Sena. But Mr Fadnavis was kept in the dark about the operation till the last moment. Sources said the BJP central leadership didnt want to make Mr Fadnavis more powerful in Maharashtra. The graph of Fadnavis success is rising not only in Maharashtra but also at the national level since he successfully executed his organisational responsibilities in the Assembly elections in Goa (2022) and Bihar (2020). Someone at the top didnt want to let Fadnavis control Maharashtra politics single-handedly, the sources said. The sources added that the details of Operation Lotus were planned by Mr Shah and Mr Shinde, and others were not kepy in the loop. Only Eknath Shindes son Shrikant Shinde knew that his father would be made CM and Fadnavis deputy CM if Operation Lotus was successful, the sources claimed. Singapore logs over 9,000 fresh Covid cases; death toll hits 1,411 Singapore has reported 9,392 fresh COVID infections, while the cumulative death toll has climbed to 1,411 with another fatality. The daily number of infections yesterday was a fall from the 11,504 cases reported on Tuesday, which was the highest in more than three months. As of Tuesday, 96 per cent of Singapore's eligible population have completed their full vaccination regimen under the national vaccination programme. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@nickmarsh6 Covid cases in Singapore tend to increase on Tuesdays, with Health Minister Ong Ye Kung previously referring to such a pattern, writing on Facebook in October 2021 that numbers would "always spike after the weekends". A total of 455 patients are in hospital, according to the latest infection statistics on the Ministry of Health's (MOH) website on Wednesday night. Forty-six patients require oxygen supplementation. Seven patients are in the intensive care unit. The week-on-week infection ratio rose to 1.65 from Tuesday's 1.62. This refers to the ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before, with a figure above 1 indicating that the number of new weekly COVID-19 cases is rising. The week-on-week infection ratio has been above 1 since June 14. Singapore's recent spike in COVID-19 cases comes after Ong said earlier this month to expect a next wave of infections, as people's antibodies from vaccinations and infections from the last Omicron wave start to wane. Among the local cases reported yesterday, 8,075 cases are tested using antigen rapid tests (ARTs) and have been assessed by doctors to have mild symptoms and are of low risk, said MOH. The remaining 714 local COVID-19 cases were confirmed via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. Of the imported cases, 568 were tested using ARTs and 35 using PCR tests. Singapore has recorded 1,434,563 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic. As of Tuesday, 96 per cent of Singapore's eligible population have completed their full vaccination regimen under the national vaccination programme. About 78 per cent of the total population have received their vaccine booster shots. Read more Singapore News and Covid-19 News here TS government on Wednesday returned the assigned lands, allegedly encroached by Jamuna Hatcheries owned by family members of Huzurabad BJP MLA Etala Rajender, to farmers of Atchampet and Hakimpet villages in Medak district. (file/facebook) Hyderabad: The state government on Wednesday returned the assigned lands, allegedly encroached by Jamuna Hatcheries owned by family members of Huzurabad BJP MLA Etala Rajender, to farmers of Atchampet and Hakimpet villages in Medak district. According to a survey by revenue officials, the poultry enterprise had encroached 85 acres of assigned lands belonging to 65 assignees in the Atchampet and Masaipet mandals of Medak. Further, the survey found that Jamuna Hatcheries had constructed sheds on these land parcels. Revenue officials handed over the ownership documents to assignees on Wednesday in the presence of a large police force. TRS Medak MP Kotha Prabhakar Reddy, TRS Narsapur MLA Ch. Madan Reddy were present when the ownership documents were handed over to the assignees. Prabhakar Reddy stated that the revenue department had so far identified 85 acres and 19 guntas of assigned land encroached by Jamuna Hatcheries. Masaipet MRO Malathi completed the Panchanama of assigned lands and handed over a copy of the Panchanama report to woman farmer Perika Shyamala. The Panchanama was conducted under the supervision of Medak and Narsapur Revenue Divisional Officers (RDOs). The issue sparked a political uproar in the state in May 2021, when Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao sacked Etala Rajender from his Cabinet over allegations that his family's poultry business had encroached on assigned lands. Etala quit the TRS party and tendered his resignation as MLA in June 2021. Subsequently, he ran for the BJP in the Huzurabad bypolls, and in November 2021, he had trounced the TRS with a good margin. Following this, the TRS and BJP had engaged in a contentious political debate that altered the political climate of the state and laid the groundwork for the 2023 Assembly elections. KREMENCHUK, Ukraine: Russian forces battled Wednesday to surround the Ukrainian militarys last stronghold in a long-contested eastern province, as shock reverberated from a Russian airstrike on a shopping mall that killed at least 18 in the center of the country two days earlier. Moscows battle to wrest the entire Donbas region from Ukraine saw Russian forces pushing toward two villages south of Lysychansk while Ukrainian troops fought to prevent their encirclement. Britains defense ministry said Russian forces were making incremental advances in their offensive to capture Lysychansk, the last city in the Luhansk province under Ukrainian control following the retreat of Ukraines forces from the neighboring city of Sievierodonetsk. Russian troops and their separatist allies control 95% of Luhansk and about half of Donetsk, the two provinces that make up the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas. The latest assessment by the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said the Ukrainians were likely in a fighting withdrawal to seek more defenible positions while draining the Russian forces of manpower and resources. Avril Haines, the U.S. director of national intelligence, said Russia may think time is on its side due to the escalating costs borne by the West and fatigue as the war grows longer. The most likely scenario predicted by American intelligence, Haines said, is a grinding struggle in which Russia consolidates its hold over southern Ukraine by the fall. The U.S. correctly predicted Russia would invade Ukraine in February, but was wrong in assessing that it would quickly seize Kyiv. Speaking at an event in Washington on Wednesday, Haines said Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively the same political goals that he had previously, which is to say that he wants to take most of Ukraine and push it away from NATO. We perceive a disconnect between Putins near-term military objectives in this area and his militarys capacity, a kind of mismatch between his ambitions and what the military is able to accomplish, Haines said. Putin also said his goals in Ukraine have not changed since the start of the war. He said they were the liberation of the Donbas, the protection of these people and the creation of conditions that would guarantee the security of Russia itself. He made no mention of his original stated goals to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine. He denied Russia adjusted its strategy after failing to take Kyiv. As you can see, the troops are moving and reaching the marks that were set for them for a certain stage of this combat work. Everything is going according to plan, Putin said at a news conference in Turkmenistan. Meanwhile, crews continued to search through the rubble of the shopping mall in Kremenchuk where Ukrainian authorities say 20 people remain missing. Ukrainian State Emergency Services press officer Svitlana Rybalko told The Associated Press that along with the 18 people killed, investigators found fragments of eight more bodies. It was not immediately clear whether that meant there were more victims. A number of survivors suffered severed limbs. The police cannot say for sure how many (victims) there are. So we are finding not the bodies but the fragments of bodies, Rybalko said. Now we are clearing at the very epicenter of the blast. Here, we practically cannot find bodies as such. Several families stood by what was left of the Amstor shopping center Wednesday morning in hope of finding missing loved ones. This is pure genocide, local resident Tatiana Chernyshova said while going to lay flowers at the site. Such things cannot happen in the 21st century. We need to engage everyone to help stop the war, help us fight these scum these Russian aggressors, Chernyshova said. Psychologists working at the site with families said they were trying to help people come to terms with their loss. We are trying to help them release their emotions now, as later it becomes harder and much more painful, said one psychologist, who did not give his name as he was not authorized to speak to the press. After the attack on the mall, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of becoming a terrorist state. On Wednesday, he reproached NATO for not embracing or equipping his embattled country more fully. The open-door policy of NATO shouldnt resemble old turnstiles on Kyivs subway, which stay open but close when you approach them until you pay, Zelenskyy told NATO leaders meeting in Madrid, speaking by video link. Hasnt Ukraine paid enough? Hasnt our contribution to defending Europe and the entire civilization been sufficient? He asked for more modern artillery systems and other weapons and warned the NATO leaders they either had to provide Ukraine with the help it needed to defeat Russia or face a delayed war between Russia and yourself. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Wednesday dismissed what she claimed was the Ukrainian governments blatant provocation in trying to blame the mall missile strike on Russias military. Britains defense ministry said there was a realistic possibility that the mall strike was intended to hit a nearby infrastructure target. Russian planners highly likely remain willing to accept a high level of collateral damage when they perceive military necessity in striking a target, the ministry said. It is almost certain that Russia will continue to conduct strikes in an effort to interdict the resupplying of Ukrainian front-line forces. Russias military also is experiencing a shortage of more modern precision strike weapons, which is compounding civilian casualties, the British ministry said. In southern Ukraine, a Russian missile strike on a multi-story apartment building Wednesday in the city of Mykolaiv killed at least four people and injured five, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said. Mykolaiv is a major port and seizing it as well as Odesa farther west would be key to Russias objective of cutting off Ukraine from its Black Sea coast. Russias defense ministry said in a statement that the missile strike on Mykolaiv targeted a base for training foreign mercenaries, as well as ammunition depots. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Once prominent and soon-to-be disbarred South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh has been indicted again, this time prosecutors saying his crimes extended to an eight-year money laundering and painkiller ring with a friend and former client charged with trying to help him commit suicide. Murdaugh wrote 437 checks worth $2.4 million that Curtis Eddie Smith cashed over eight years, keeping some of the money for himself and giving the rest for wide-ranging illegal activities, according to indictments handed up last week and unsealed Tuesday. That illegal activity included a "distribution network" for the painkiller oxycodone, according to prosecutors, who did not specify any of the other possible crimes. Both men were charged with possessing, manufacturing or distributing narcotics, but court records did not provide additional details. It's the 16th indictment against Murdaugh on charges ranging from lying to police and trying to arrange his own death to stealing money from clients to arranging a $4.3 million in wrongful death settlements for a housekeeper who died in a fall at his home, then not giving her family a dime. But still unsolved are the shooting deaths of Murdaugh's wife and younger son outside their home in June 2021. Their killings are not referenced in any of the new indictments and both Murdaugh and Smith have adamantly said they had nothing to do with them. Murdaugh and Smith started laundering more money and stopped taking precautions to avoid detection about three months before the killings, said Creighton Waters, the chief of the state Attorney General Office's State Grand Jury Division. Waters did not give any more details at Smith's bond hearing Tuesday. Murdaugh is also awaiting a formal order revoking his law license. He decided to not fight the state Supreme Court's decision last week, which ends the legal career of a member of a prominent family that has dominated the legal scene in tiny Hampton County for nearly a century. Murdaughs father, grandfather and great-grandfather were the areas elected prosecutors for 87 years straight. Murdaugh, 54, was charged in the latest indictments with criminal conspiracy and possessing, manufacturing or distributing narcotics. Most of the indictments were against Smith, who met Murdaugh when he needed a lawyer for a worker's compensation suit. After his law firm discovered he was stealing money, Smith is the man Murdaugh said he called when he wanted someone to kill him so his surviving son could collect a $10 million life insurance policy. Smith's shot only grazed Murdaugh's head on the side of a two-lane road last September, police said. Both men were charged last year in that incident. Smith, 61, now faces four counts of money laundering, three counts of forgery, possessing, manufacturing or distributing narcotics. trafficking in methamphetamine and other charges. Each money laundering charge on its own carries up to 20 years in prison. At his bond hearing Tuesday, Smith told the judge he was pulled into the scheme not by his own choice and he looked forward to clearing his name. His bond was set at $250,000. Smith's lawyer said he is not sure his client can afford it. "Were just going to have to wait and let more facts come out, Jarrett Bouchette said. As weve seen over the last year or so, things have changed over time that werent what they initially appeared to be. The indictments said Murdaugh wrote almost all the checks for Smith for under $10,000 to avoid federal requirements that banks report large transactions. Smith forged the names of both his daughter and his girlfriend over the eight years he handled Murdaugh's checks, prosecutors said. Smith is the third associate and friend of Murdaugh to face criminal charges. The state grand jury also has indicted another attorney and banker, saying they helped Murdaugh take money from clients. In 81 indictments against Murdaugh, prosecutors say he stole at least $8.4 million. He also faces a growing numbe r of civil lawsuits. Earlier this month, the anniversary of the June 7, 2021, deaths of Murdaughs wife, Maggie, 52, and son, Paul, 22, passed with no arrests and no additional information from the State Law Enforcement Division. Its agents have revealed little beyond the fact that the two were shot outside their Colleton County home and Murdaugh called 911, saying he discovered the bodies. Murdaugh has said he was visiting his mother and ailing father when his wife and son were killed. Murdaugh has been in jail since October on $7 million bond for the various financial charges. ___ Follow Jeffrey Collins on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate HONG KONG (AP) Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived Thursday in Hong Kong to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the British handover of a city that his rule has transformed from a global hub known for its political freedoms to one that is much more tightly controlled by the Communist Party. In a staged event carried live on Chinese TV, students and others lined the platform of a high-speed rail station and packed a red carpet to greet the leader making his first trip outside of mainland China in nearly 2 years a choice that underscored Hong Kong's ever-closer ties to the mainland. Waving small red Chinese and Hong Kong flags, the students chanted Welcome, welcome! Warm welcome! while city leader Carrie Lam greeted Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan. Under Xi's leadership, China has reshaped Hong Kong, cracking down on protests, imposing a strict national security law used to silence dissent, introducing a more "patriotic" curriculum in schools, and revamping election laws to keep opposition politicians out of the citys Legislature. The changes have all but eliminated dissenting voices in a place once known for its vibrant political debate and have driven many to leave. In its view, China's ruling Communist Party has restored stability to a city that was wracked with pro-democracy protests in 2019. For many in the U.S., the U.K. and other democratic nations, Xi has undermined the freedoms and way of life that distinguished the city from mainland China and made it a international center for finance and trade. In an apparent reference to the 2019 protests, Xi told well-wishers on his arrival that Hong Kong has overcome many challenges over the years and had been reborn from the ashes with vigorous vitality. Later after meeting with Lam, he praised her for ending what he said was chaos that had gripped the city and for ensuring that only patriots would rule Hong Kong. As long as we stick to the one country, two systems framework, Hong Kong will certainly have a brighter future and will make new and bigger contributions to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people, he said in a speech at the Hong Kong West Kowloon train station. Since Britain returned the territory to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997, Hong Kong has been a special administrative region that, like nearby Macao, is governed separately from the rest of China. But Xi has steadily eroded that distinction, and critics say, undermined the policy of maintaining two systems. On Friday, he will celebrate the anniversary of the handover and officiate at the swearing in of John Lee, who will succeed Lam as city leader. It is Xi's first time outside of mainland China since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and Beijing imposed a zero-COVID policy that includes severe restrictions on travel. Its also his first visit to Hong Kong since the massive protests that grew to include calls for broader democratic freedoms but only appeared to harden Beijings resolve to limit civil liberties in the territory. Local media reported that Xi and Peng planned to spend Thursday night in the Chinese city of Shenzhen 15 minutes away from Hong Kong by high-speed train and return to the city on Friday. Its not clear why thats the case but could reflect concerns about COVID-19 or security. The combination of China's COVID-19 policies and its crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong have dramatically changed the city in the past two years. Beijing has used the national security law to arrest over 150 pro-democracy activists and supporters. National security police have targeted the city's most outspoken pro-democracy media in Hong Kong, with raids that forced several outlets to shut down, including the city's last pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily. The changes to election laws reduced the number of lawmakers who are directly voted in, and a new committee now vets the applications of those planning to run for office, to ensure they are patriots loyal to Beijing. Many say that has turned the Legislature into a body that merely provides a rubber stamp for Beijing's policies. Meanwhile, tough COVID-19 quarantine restrictions for incoming travelers have led to what observers call brain drain as tens of thousands left for cities like Singapore and Dubai that have resumed quarantine-free travel. As part of his carefully choreographed visit, Xi met Thursday with some 160 people from various sectors of Hong Kong, including businessmen, religious leaders and politicians. He then visited the Hong Kong Science Park to inspect Hong Kongs development of innovation and technology, according to a government statement. Earlier this week, thousands of guests for the July 1 events including top officials, lawmakers and diplomats checked in to quarantine hotels and have taken daily tests as part of coronavirus precautions. Police have also ramped up security, designating security zones and road closures as well as a no-fly zone for Friday. More than 10 journalists from local and international media outlets had their applications to cover the July 1 events rejected this week on security grounds. ___ Associated Press news assistant Caroline Chen in Beijing contributed to this report. The most surprising part of the U.S. Supreme Courts reversal of federal protection of abortion rights is that the news caught anyone by surprise at all. Though a draft of the decision was leaked last month, many Americans seemed to hold out hope that a reversal of the law after 50 years wasnt really going to happen. Even after the final decision dropped on Friday, it was clear a lot of people still hadnt done their homework. Stamford Health President and CEO Kathleen Silard mentioned during a meeting with Gov. Ned Lamont Monday that she heard people over the weekend incorrectly believing there was now a federal ban on all abortions. The reality is that there will almost certainly be an increase in abortions performed in Connecticut. In the wake of the decision, Connecticut Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski released a statement that the Supreme Court ruling has absolutely no impact on Connecticut residents. Democrats in the state see it considerably differently, and have acted proactively to install shields. As Roe v. Wade has become shorthand for the abortion battle over the past half century, the most important letter is certainly the v. Its choice v. life. Its Democrat v. Republican. In Connecticut, its Lamont v. Stefanowski. State Rep. Matt Blumenthal, D-Stamford, son of U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (a former Connecticut attorney general) was certainly not among the people taken by surprise Friday. Matt Blumenthal authored a new law that would thwart efforts by other states from investigating abortions performed in Connecticut, protecting patients and officials. It would also enable anyone in Connecticut sued from out-of-state parties regarding abortions to counter sue for damages and fees. Though Stefanowski takes a nothing has changed in Connecticut tone in his public statements, he has dodged questions about whether he would veto the new laws if he was in the governors chair. So while Connecticut remains a firmly blue state, Democrats are preparing for potential showdowns with red states. From that perspective, Connecticut has been a national leader on the issue of initiating legal protections for those who cross state borders. Matt Blumenthal predicted other legislation to ward off attacks on health care providers licenses and malpractice insurance. In 2019, the most recent year with available data, 9,202 abortions were performed in Connecticut. The 3.6 percent that came from out-of-state was one of the lowest percentages in the nation. That latter figure will change. So will a lot of other things. At the Monday meeting, Lamont and health officials recognized opportunities the Supreme Court pivot could deliver to Connecticut. It could attract residents, obstetricians and gynecologists who feel safer living and working here. Its less likely to cause anyone to leave. All of this makes 2022 a significant year in defining what Connecticut represents. It doesnt mean shifts in political and cultural winds arent possible. Connecticut, after all, was the first state to prohibit abortions, starting in 1821 and lasting until 1973, the year of Roe v. Wade. Regardless of what happens next, current Connecticut leadership appears unlikely to be caught by surprise. A big opioid settlement and a COVID-19 vaccine slowdown dragged on third-quarter earnings for Walgreens, but the drugstore chain still topped expectations. Net income slid to $289 million in the quarter that ended May 31, the company said Thursday. Thats down from about $1.2 billion the previous year. Walgreens booked a $683 million charge from a settlement announced last month with the state of Florida to resolve claims tied to dispensing prescription opioids. Its U.S. pharmacies also slowed compared with last year, when a COVID-19 vaccination push was bringing more people to its stores. Walgreens administered 4.7 million COVID-19 vaccinations in the quarter, compared with more than 17 million last year. The quarter shows how much Walgreens' performance has relied on demand for vaccines and COVID-19 testing, which brought more customers into the chain's stores and led to other product purchases, GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders said in an email. "Now that vaccination and testing rates are falling, Walgreens performance is deteriorating." Saunders wrote. The company also saw a decline in its AllianceRx Walgreens business, which is a specialty and home delivery pharmacy for patients with rare, chronic and complex conditions. Walgreens posted adjusted earnings of 96 cents per share in the quarter. Total revenue slipped 4% to $32.6 billion. Analysts expected, on average, earnings of 84 cents per share on $32.06 billion in revenue, according to FactSet. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., based in Deerfield, Illinois, has a network of more than 13,000 stores. That includes nearly 9,000 locations in the U.S., Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands as well as nearly 2,300 Boots locations in the United Kingdom and some in Ireland and Thailand as well. The company announced on Tuesday that it had decided to keep its Boots business, which it acquired several years ago in a push to gain global clout. Walgreens CEO Rosalind Brewer told analysts in January that the company would explore strategic options for that business so it could focus more on U.S. health care. Brewer said then that Walgreens was creating an entity that does much more than just dispense pharmaceuticals. The company announced the creation of a Walgreens Health business segment last fall. It has been adding primary clinics to some of its stores and pushing more into the delivering of care and helping people stay healthy, like rival CVS Health Corp. and major U.S. health insurers. Selling the Boots business would have given Walgreens more financial flexibility and allowed its leaders to focus on these newer initiatives, Edward Jones analyst John Boylan said in an email. He added that keeping the Boots business could modestly complicate the process. Company shares slid nearly 4% to $39.27 after markets opened Thursday and broader indexes also sank. ___ Follow Tom Murphy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thpmurphy This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MADRID (AP) The dissonant realities of President Joe Bidens second year in office were on display Thursday as he wound up a five-day trip to Europe that highlighted both the key U.S. role in mounting a strong allied response to Vladimir Putins aggression and the domestic turmoil that is dragging Biden down at home. Huddling with the leaders of Group of Seven advanced economies in the Bavarian Alps and with NATO allies in Madrid, Biden was greeted warmly by colleagues and notched significant policy accomplishments on modernizing the trans-Atlantic alliance to adapt to new threats from Russia and China. At home, though, the U.S. was grappling with fallout from last week's Supreme Court decision ending the constitutional right to abortion, which Biden condemned Thursday as destabilizing. Biden faces both the lowest approval ratings of his presidency and rising pessimism about the direction of the country. Biden appeared to welcome the time away from Washington as a respite from his domestic predicament, insisting that despite turmoil at home on matters from inflation to gun violence, world leaders still valued America's and his leadership. I have not seen anyone come up to me and ... say anything other than Thank you for Americas leadership, Biden said in high-spirited remarks during a press conference at the end of what he called a historic summit. America is better positioned to lead the world than we ever have been. The three-day NATO meeting included the Biden administration announcing plans to permanently bolster the U.S. military presence in Europe, an agreement between Turkey, Finland and Sweden championed by Biden to pave the way for the accession of the Nordic nations into NATO, and the alliance updating its strategic concept to reflect that Chinas coercive policies are a challenge to the Western blocs interests. Biden noted that the last time NATO updated what is essentially its mission statement was 12 years ago, when Russia was characterized as a partner and the document didnt even mention China. The new concept document fulfills a years-long effort by American presidents to reorient the alliance to address challenges from China. The world has changed, changed a great deal since then, Biden said. He added: This summit was about strengthening our alliance, meeting the challenges of our world as it is today, and the threats were going to face in the future." Bidens efforts drew praise from across the aisle, with GOP North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, who led a delegation to the Madrid summit with Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and met with Biden Thursday morning, saying, I think that the administration has played a key part in whats made this summit a success. It was a far cry from the rancor that permeates Washington, where even positive developments become political cudgels. Here we have a bipartisan delegation and a president who have a common goal. Back home, maybe not quite as much, Tillis said. Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, a Republican, added that Biden should apply some of his approaches to successful diplomacy abroad to Washington as well. I think it would only be helpful for the president if he would reach out to us in our country as well as here," she said. At home, Biden has been burdened with the ongoing reckoning over the Capitol insurrection and former President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and with his own weakened political posture. That has stoked concern among allies about who may follow Biden into the White House and whether his successor would reverse Biden's efforts to rebuild the trans-Atlantic alliance. Soaring inflation a global problem is especially acute for Americans as they get on the road for the July 4 holiday. And his legislative agenda has been largely stalled, but for a modest gun control measure that passed after a pair of horrific mass shootings. Added to the mix just 24 hours before Biden departed for Europe was the abortion ruling. "One thing that has been destabilizing is the outrageous behavior of the Supreme Court of United States in overruling not only Roe v. Wade, but essentially challenging the right to privacy," Biden said, Weve been a leader in the world in terms of personal rights and privacy rights." And just minutes after he departed Madrid on Air Force One to return home, Biden suffered another judicial blow to his agenda, as the Supreme Court dramatically scaled back the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. Kathleen McInnis, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a president's influence tends to go far further overseas than at home. The American presidency has its own weight and gravitas that cant be discounted, she said. That was evident as Biden helped cajole Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to drop his opposition to Finland and Sweden joining the NATO alliance. As he parried reporters' questions with a microphone in hand, Biden also highlighted announcements at the G-7 meeting for more economic and military assistance to Ukraine as it aims to beat back Russias four-month-long invasion and announcements on tougher sanctions meant to punish Moscow. We are going to stick with Ukraine and all of the alliance is going to stick with Ukraine as long as it takes, Biden said. I dont know ... how its going to end, but it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine. Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat and Biden confidant, called the week a significant accomplishment for the Biden administration and for diplomacy. The view was more measured in some corners. "Coming back from years of anti-European and anti-NATO rhetoric and policies is a pretty low bar when you look at it," said Leah Scheunemann, deputy director of the Transatlantic Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council. Even so, she said, The Biden administration has done a lot of good in terms of rebuilding the reputation of NATO in America, and explaining the value of NATO as an alliance built on the values of democracy and what that brings to U.S. security." As for Biden's domestic challenges, Scheunemann said, "I dont know how much to place at the doorstep of Biden versus the doorstep of obstructionist Republicans. MILFORD A Shelton firefighter accused of sexually assaulting a woman with a Trumbull cop is due back in court next week. John Scollin, 34, appeared briefly in Superior Court Thursday before Judge Peter Brown, who continued the case to an evidentiary hearing scheduled for next Thursday. Senior Assistant States Attorney Marc Durso told the judge he handed over discovery evidence and discussed the case briefly with Scollins lawyer, Christian Young, who declined to comment after Thursdays appearance. Scollin has not yet formally entered a plea in the case. He was charged with first-degree sexual assault June 9 after police obtained an arrest warrant in connection with a September 2020 incident involving Scollin, Trumbull police Sgt. Matthew Perkowski, and a Shelton woman. Perkowski, also a volunteer Shelton firefighter, was arrested a day before Scollin. He pleaded not guilty last week and his lawyer said he intends to take the case to trial. The arrests came more than a year after the incident became public knowledge in a Hearst Connecticut Media report on the initial investigation, which concluded the pair could not be charged because the alleged victim told police she didnt want to pursue the case. Young has filed a notice of intent to sue the city of Shelton on Scollins behalf, saying the police should not have released an initial report in response to Hearst Connecticuts Freedom of Information request. Arrest warrants for Perkowski and Scollin stated that last March, the warrants said the woman called Detective Richard Bango, the investigating officer, extremely upset and crying because Scollin had told her about the newspaper article. On June 1, 2021, according to the warrant, Bango met with supervisors at the Shelton Police Department and it was determined that the allegations fall within family violence laws. Prosecutors and police have declined to discuss the specifics of the investigation. Shelton Police Chief Shawn Sequeira said earlier this month that the arrests were aboveboard. Both arrests were within the statute of limitations and reviewed by a states attorney and judge who both determined probable cause existed for the arrests, Sequeira said. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and we will respect the judicial process. According to the arrest warrant, the assault was allegedly initiated by Scollin after calling and texting her about 1 a.m. Sept. 6, 2020, drunkenly demanding to have sex, then showing up at her house, where he was very intoxicated and aggressive. The woman said Scollin had her drive to the Echo Hose firehouse, where she said Scollin assaulted her in her car outside the building. Eventually, the woman told police, she and Scollin went to Perkowskis Shelton home, where she said both men physically and sexually assaulted her. Both men were released following their arrests after posting bonds of $150,000. WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) A former police department employee in West Virginia has pleaded guilty to lying to a federal grand jury about a program that allowed people to pay with cash and gift cards to avoid criminal sanctions, a prosecutor's office said. Carolyn Taylor, 40, of St. Marys, pleaded guilty to perjury on Wednesday, U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld's office said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) Energy companies bid more than $22 million to secure drilling rights on about 110 square miles (285 square kilometers) of public lands in the western U.S. on Thursday, during the first onshore oil and natural gas lease sales since President Joe Biden took office. Leases on about 90 square miles (233 square kilometers) went unsold in the U.S. Bureau Land Management online auctions that included parcels of federal lands in seven states. Oil and gas produced from the leases will be subject to a royalty rate of 18.75%. That's up from 12.5% and the first royalty increase since the 1920s. About 200 square miles (518 square kilometers) of federal lands had been offered for lease in eight western states. Most of those sold were in Wyoming, where companies paid more than $13 million for parcels totaling about 105 square miles (272 square kilometers). A planned sale in Utah for a single, 160-acre (65-hectare) parcel did not happen and there was no immediate explanation from federal officials. The auctions came as federal officials try to balance efforts to fight climate change against pressure to bring down high gas prices. Biden faces calls from fellow Democrats to do more to curb fossil fuel emissions that are heating the planet, even as he's being pushed by Republicans to expand U.S. crude production. Critics of the leasing program pointed to unsold parcels in Wyoming, Colorado, Montana and Nevada as further evidence oil companies have enough leases and drilling permits already stockpiled to last them for years. It is apparent that the calls from oil and gas CEOs for more drilling on public lands were just a distraction as they aim to maximize their profits, said Pegah Jalali, an environmental policy analyst at the Colorado Fiscal Institute. But with several prior lease sales still tied up in court challenges from environmentalists, some companies had concerns going into the sale that they might not be able to drill on leases they acquired, said Ryan McConnaughey, vice president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming. Those worries could have dampened interest in the latest sale, he said. They still haven't issued leases from 2020, McConnaughey said. They paid upfront and if they can't get to those leases, they can't produce from them. That's a huge tie up of capital resources. Oil production increased in the U.S. in recent months, but its still well below pre-pandemic levels. Companies have been hesitant to expand drilling too quickly because of uncertainty over how long high prices will continue. Biden suspended new leasing just a week after taking office in January 2021. A federal judge in Louisiana ordered the sales to resume, saying Interior officials had offered no rational explanation for canceling them. The government held an offshore lease auction in the Gulf of Mexico in November. A court canceled that sale before the leases were issued. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MOSCOW (AP) A court in Moscow on Wednesday rejected a prominent Russian opposition figure's appeal of the 15-day jail sentence he received on charges of failing to obey police. The decision by the Moscow City Court, the capital's highest municipal judicial body, came one day after Ilya Yashin was sentenced. Yashin, who has publicly criticized Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, was detained late Monday in a Moscow park. Police said he grabbed an officer by his uniform and insulted police, which Yashin denied. In May, Yashin was ordered to pay 90,000 rubles ($1,700) on charges of discrediting the Russian military. Russia has cracked down on critics of its special military operation in Ukraine, A well-known dissident, Vladimir Kara-Murza, was arrested in April and remains jailed while awaiting trial on charges of spreading false information about the military. The offense carries a potential sentence of up to 15 years. Also Wednesday, a Moscow court ordered the attorney for a jailed former journalist held for two months. Dmitry Talantov, who was arrested this week, also was accused of spreading false information on social media about the Russian militarys actions in Ukraine. Talantov has defended Ivan Safronov, who has been jailed since July 2020 on charges of passing military secrets to Czech intelligence. Safronov insists on his innocence. He wrote about military and security issues for major Russian newspapers before becoming an adviser to the head of the Russian space agency. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court said Thursday that gun cases involving restrictions in Hawaii, California, New Jersey and Maryland deserve a new look following its major decision in a gun case last week. In light of last week's ruling which said that Americans have a right to carry a gun outside the home lower courts should take another look at several cases that had been awaiting action by the high court, the court said. Those cases include ones about high-capacity magazines, an assault weapons ban and a state law that limits who can carry a gun outside the home. The justices, in a 6-3 decision, last week struck down a New York law that required people to show proper cause, a specific need to carry a gun, if they wanted to carry a gun in public. Half a dozen states have similar laws that were called into question by the ruling. In the New York case, the court's conservative majority gave lower courts new guidance about how to evaluate gun restrictions. The justices rejected a two-step approach appeals courts had previously used as having one step too many. They said courts assessing modern firearms regulations should just ask whether they are consistent with the Second Amendments text and historical understanding. Sending other gun cases back to lower courts gives them the opportunity to apply that new guidance. One of the cases the justices sent back to a lower court Thursday involved a Hawaii statute similar to New York's. In that case, a panel of 11 judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled in 2021 that the right to keep and bear arms in the Constitution's Second Amendment does not guarantee an unfettered, general right to openly carry arms in public for individual self-defense. But the high court said in its latest gun case that the Constitution protects an individuals right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home. A lower court will now have to revisit the Hawaii ruling. The high court also told federal appeals courts to revisit cases involving laws in California and New Jersey that limit the number of bullets a gun magazine can hold. A 2018 New Jersey law limits most gun owners to magazines that hold up to 10 rounds of ammunition instead of the 15-round limit in place since 1990. A lower court upheld the law. California law also bans magazines holding more than 10 bullets. A panel of 11 judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 7-4 last year to uphold Californias ban. The justices also sent back for further review a case from Maryland that challenged the state's 2013 ban on 45 kinds of assault weapons. The high court had in 2017 turned away a previous challenge to the law. Hosting corporate headquarters is one of Connecticuts biggest business success stories. Were a small state, but an outsized share of large companies make their homes here. Its not hard to understand, what with the easy access to New York City in our southwestern corner. Though Connecticut lacks a major metropolis of our own, the state offers the quality of life and proximity to large cities that companies seek out. The Greenwich-to-Norwalk corridor, especially, has long been a prime landing spot for companies with a wide reach. Some businesses have a long history here. Sikorsky Aircraft, for instance, has been in Connecticut for nearly a century, supporting a workforce with thousands of people as it has moved between various owners. Had Igor Sikorsky found a different landing spot all those years ago, the Connecticut economy might today look very different. The company with the widest reach, though, might be Subway. What started as one sandwich shop in Bridgeport has turned into a fast-food franchise with tens of thousands of locations in dozens of countries. Long headquartered in Milford, Subway is a part of the Connecticut fabric, with its city even renaming its home street Sub Way. News, then, that Subway was moving could have set off shockwaves. When General Electric left its longtime home in Fairfield in 2016, it set off recriminations over the states supposed anti-business policies driving jobs away. (The fact that GE left for another highly taxed state in Massachusetts did little to quiet critics.) The Subway news, however, turns out to be not so troubling, after all. The company is apparently moving just a few miles away, to Shelton. Thats good news for Connecticut, certainly, but also for everyone who works at the headquarters and will be able to keep their jobs without moving. If theres a note of concern, its that the company is now listing Connecticut and Miami, where its CEO lives, as dual headquarters. The good news is that the bulk of top corporate jobs remain in Connecticut. Theres a concern that more of those positions could be headed south in years to come, but for now, investing in a new location in Shelton appears to be a positive sign for this state. It comes at a time when the lure of Connecticut continues to attract other multinational companies. Philip Morris International, which sells cigarettes overseas and is making a big push into noncombustible tobacco products, is moving to Stamford from its home in New York. At the same time, the financial sector remains a huge draw in Greenwich and Stamford, with a number of large companies calling those communities home. Connecticut leaders have long pressed for policies that would keep such companies happy, including improved train service into New York City. A faster ride on the rails would make a move into Fairfield County that much more appealing for companies based in New York, which is why such a goal remains atop state governments wish list. But even under current conditions, the evidence shows theres something Connecticut is doing right in attracting large companies. Theres more to be done (theres always more to be done), but corporate Americas embrace of our state is something worth building on. Like some dud bog-standard school, Britain's most important law-enforcers, the Metropolitan Police, find themselves humiliatingly condemned to 'special measures'. About time too. Now we have also learned that one in seven police forces is in special measures. Quite frankly, I'm not surprised. The howling, blatant failure of all Britain's police forces to do the job for which we pay them so much has been a scandal for years. It has been at its worst in the capital. Now, at last, even our political class has begun to notice. If we have the sense to seize it, the moment has come to replace our failed police, who have traded for decades on a reputation won by others many years ago. Normally the liberal elite, cocooned by money and power, have little idea of what is going on in this country. They seldom visit anywhere outside their privileged enclaves, and dismiss reports from the real Britain as 'moral panic'. For years they have not cared, as most of us have, that the police are too politically correct, and too absent, to be any use against crime and disorder. Now, it turns out that the police are not politically correct enough, either. Everyone thinks they are useless. Scotland Yard's fall comes after it was subjected to the leadership of Cressida Dick for years the liberal establishment's favourite police officer, groomed and polished so that she could finally step into the Commissioner's job. And then she turned out to be an utter flop on almost every measure known. Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick standing with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan What are the police for? Why do we put up with them? If your car won't go, or your hoover stops hoovering, or your fridge no longer keeps your food cold, you get rid of them and buy new ones. So what do you do when your police stop policing? And they have stopped. Their response to burglary and car theft is now such a national joke that even official statistics have begun to reflect it. Their interest in quelling the nasty disorder that infects so many of our streets is zero. As Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary said of the Metropolitan Police this week, they suffer from 'a barely adequate standard of crime recording accuracy, with an estimated 69,000 crimes going unrecorded each year, less than half of crime recorded within 24 hours, and almost no crimes recorded when victims report antisocial behaviour against them'. The flat phrase 'anti-social behaviour' does not begin to describe a huge and horrible problem. For many years, in the long-ago days when people still had some expectation of police support, I was often contacted by despairing men and women trapped in their homes by menacing louts, intolerable noise, screeching persecution or incessant thefts from their small businesses, from which they could not protect themselves. They knew that if they dared raise a hand in their own defence, the police protecting their monopoly of force would come for them. They, unlike their persecutors, were easy targets, not frightening, ready to co-operate with authority. The Metropolitan Police of Wayne Couzens who was jailed for the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard I remember a lawyer who wrote to me in a state of shock, having had his career ruined by the police after he grabbed a young vandal and tried to march him to the police station. He was the one who ended up in court. We all recall the horrible case of Fiona Pilkington, who killed her own severely disabled daughter Francecca and herself, after enduring ten years of unimaginable persecution from cruel neighbours in which the police were barely interested. We all remember Garry Newlove, kicked to death outside his home, after confronting a gang of youths he suspected of vandalising his wife's car. The area had suffered for years from uncontrolled disorder of this kind. But these events are not unique. They are among thousands of miserable episodes that never make the headlines, but which show the failure of the police to prevent this kind of thing. Well, that problem only affected ordinary people, so the authorities, the BBC and The Guardian newspaper paid little attention to it and learned no lesson from it. Sarah Everard, 33, was murdered by serving Met officer Wayne Couzens after she was abducted as she walked home in south London But the police reaction to the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer pitiful, lumbering and stupid probably turned the balance among our governing class. Here was something they could not ignore: a woman had been murdered by someone she should have been able to trust utterly. How had he been in a position to do this? One problem is that the police, as they now are, do not always attract the right sort of recruits, or retain the kind of men and women they really need. The killer, Wayne Couzens, was obviously totally unfit to be a police constable. He should never have been hired in the first place. His blatant lewd behaviour should have made sure that he was got rid of very quickly. Yet he stayed, and seems to have been too readily tolerated by some of his colleagues. Then came the lumpish, concrete-headed police treatment of a perfectly reasonable vigil in memory of Miss Everard. Once again, the questions began to form, in letters of fire, in the public mind: 'Whose side are the police really on? What actual use are they?' I could write a book about the crisis of the police. In fact, I have done. (It is called 'The Abolition of Liberty' and is still in print 19 years after it was first published.) I have pressed it into the hands of senior police officers and one Home Secretary, begging them to pay attention. Not one of them has even responded. Former prime minister and founder of the modern police force Sir Robert Peel The police, I have argued now for almost 20 years, are doing the wrong thing. Their problems have nothing to do with numbers (they used to do far more with many fewer officers). Their job is not to patrol Twitter, but to patrol the streets on foot, to prevent crime, to show that order and law will be upheld, to deter the first signs of bad behaviour so that it never gets out of hand. This method still works (it was used to great effect in New York City a few years ago) and it was what they were originally hired to do by the great Sir Robert Peel. Constables engaged in these simple, comforting activities do not need to get involved in politics or opinions. They rapidly become the friends of the law-abiding public, get to know their neighbourhoods, see trouble coming and pick up intelligence about all kinds of problems. This kind of policing came to an end thanks to a few decisions mainly taken by the arch-liberal Home Secretary Roy Jenkins in the 1960s. We were never asked about them. Jenkins killed off regular foot patrols, and destroyed dozens of local forces that knew their areas and were respected there, replacing them with vast distant bureaucracies. In Scotland, even more worryingly, local policing ended entirely with the creation of a nationwide organisation, which has unsurprisingly run into grave trouble since. It would be just as easy to reverse these decisions, to begin next week to recruit and establish new, small local constabularies dedicated to the old Peel principle of prevention above all. And once they were ready, we could close down the vast, failed, arrogant monster which our police have disastrously become. There is no longer any point in pretending that they have not failed. And when institutions fail, the best thing to do is to replace them from top to bottom. That would be a truly special measure. Some extraordinary figures about population growth were published on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics, though they attracted very little comment from the BBC or much of the mainstream media. Between 2011 and 2021, the population of England and Wales grew by a staggering 3.5 million, or about 6.6 per cent. Since during this period net migration was usually running at over 200,000 a year, and occasionally at more than 300,000, the main cause of the rapid expansion isn't hard to fathom. Most of the population growth took place in the South-East, parts of London (up 22.1 per cent in Tower Hamlets, though there was a 9.6 per cent decline in Kensington and Chelsea) and Eastern England, where it rose by a whopping 8.3 per cent. Imagine a city the size of Nottingham. Then one as big as Bristol. Add Birmingham. Then Manchester and Liverpool. Pop in Sheffield while you are at it. The combined population of these great cities roughly equates to the increase in the population of England and Wales that has taken place during a mere ten years. Is it any wonder that vast tracts of the country, particularly in the already congested South and East, are being built and Tarmac-ed over to accommodate a surge in population growth, most of it driven by immigration? The Government is very exercised about the number of asylum seekers crossing the Channel in small boats. The wonder, though, is that so much time and energy are spent debating about asylum seekers while few people have noticed the growing numbers of legal migrants that are arriving in this country Should we be surprised by the dire shortage of houses when, according to the excellent MigrationWatch whose forensic analysis is unparalleled, at least half the demand for new homes is accounted for by immigration? Nor need we look very far to explain the pressure on schools, hospitals and GP surgeries which millions of us have experienced first-hand in most parts of the country. The decade that saw a population increase of 6.6 per cent was also a decade of austerity and government cutbacks. Some people may say that I am referring to the pre-Brexit past. One of the main purposes of leaving the European Union was to get back control of our borders so that immigration could be regulated and controlled. Yes, we have indeed 'taken back control'. The Government is in charge of our borders. But although there are no authoritative up-to-date figures, partly due to the pandemic, it is possible, if not likely, that immigration is running at near record levels. In the year ending June 2021, net migration i.e. the difference between those leaving the country and those arriving was 239,000. That number was probably slightly limited by the effects of Covid. Nevertheless, it was still higher than the net migration figure for 2012 or 2013. We won't know the Office for National Statistics net migration figure for the 12 months ending June 2022 until later in the year, but it is a fair bet that it will be considerably higher than that of a year ago. According to separate Home Office statistics, visas were handed out in profusion in 2021 432,279 for students, 280,776 for family visas and 239,987 for work. Overall, EU migration has declined sharply as a proportion of the whole since Brexit, while non-EU migration has risen very significantly. What strikes me as odd is that there has been almost no public discussion about apparently soaring levels of legal immigration, given that before the EU referendum in 2016 there was so much agonising over the issue. By contrast, the Government is very exercised about the number of asylum seekers crossing the Channel in small boats, and plans to send some of them to Rwanda if it is able to face down the interfering European Court of Human Rights, and persuade our own judges that it is not inhumane to transport them. The Government is, of course, right to be concerned by cross-Channel migration. The numbers are by no means insignificant: 28,526 people are known to have crossed in small boats last year, and there could be as many as 50,000 this year. Meanwhile, our universities, some of which are extremely mediocre, are doing their utmost to attract as many foreign students as possible, more than a quarter of whom are Chinese Moreover, this is an evil trade orchestrated by ruthless people-smugglers who, by putting asylum seekers in unseaworthy boats, expose them to the risk of capsizing and drowning. So it is a big issue. The wonder, though, is that so much time and energy are spent debating about asylum seekers while few people have noticed the growing numbers of legal migrants that are arriving in this country. These are certain to put further pressure on our already crumbling public services, as well as housing, where the Government seems unlikely to meet its manifesto target of building an additional 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s. I naturally don't dispute that there are labour shortages which foreign, increasingly non-EU, workers are happy to fill. Despite some Remainer-inspired propaganda, under the Government's new points-based system it is easy for employers to recruit workers abroad for jobs that are relatively poorly paid. Meanwhile, our universities, some of which are extremely mediocre, are doing their utmost to attract as many foreign students as possible, more than a quarter of whom are Chinese. The business model of these reputed centres of learning relies on their attracting many thousands of students from abroad. Believe it or not, about 30 per cent of students at one university, namely Liverpool, are Chinese. But what may be good for businesses happy to recruit industrious foreign workers, or for universities dependent on students from abroad, is not necessarily in the best interests of our already overcrowded island. If net migration exceeds pre-Brexit levels over the next few years, as it seems on course to do, there may be hell to pay with voters In many parts of England, people are fed up with overstretched, underfunded public services, and they don't want to see further swathes of their neighbourhoods concreted over. In particular, the Government has seemingly given up on people who, while not officially categorised as being unemployed despite often receiving welfare payments, could be encouraged back into the labour market through a judicious combination of carrot and stick. There are reckoned to be several million of them. But it is much easier for employers to dip into the limitless pool of ambitious and industrious workers who will cheerfully cross the world for a decent, though not necessarily very well-paid, job than it is to attract the long-term underemployed. Four days after the June 2016 referendum, a prominent politician doubted in his newspaper column whether 'those who voted Leave were mainly driven by anxieties about immigration'. It was, of course, Boris Johnson. If he was attempting to play down the importance to many Leave voters of regaining control of our own borders, I fear that he was much mistaken, possibly fatally so. Would it be too cynical to suggest that the Government welcomes the kind of displacement that is taking place? People are encouraged to believe that it is grappling with the problem of the Channel crossings while it is, in fact, ignoring the more alarming wider picture. The Government may be able to get away with it for a while, but sooner or later what is really happening will begin to sink in. If net migration exceeds pre-Brexit levels over the next few years, as it seems on course to do, there may be hell to pay with voters. Many of them will reasonably ask: what was the point of taking back control if we end up with something worse than we had before? The first few months of being a new parent can be an anxious time, but there are plenty of ways to make staying on the right path that little bit easier. Here's Checklist's round up of tips and tricks to make sure you're looking after both yourself and your baby. Travel with a lightweight, fold-up cot When you become a parent you can be overwhelmed by all the gadgets and gizmos it takes to travel with a little one. So, packing smart is really critical. Gracos brand new, lightweight, pop-up travel cot is just one of those smart items that is function loaded, packs small and is super easy to use. It works both at home, for flexible play and sleep, and on trips away as a versatile item to keep baby safe. Renowned for delivering high-performance at a competitive price tag, Graco introduces the impressive FoldLite Travel Cot to its range. At just 6.78kg, it's 30 per-cent lighter than their traditional travel cots and is set to become a firm favourite for those looking to head out on a family getaway. Not only that, the cleverly designed dual-fold function ability enhances the overall parent experience. The Home Fold option is designed to be a quick up and down fold. It's super speedy and extra flat at only 26cm wide. The addition of two wheels provides easy manoeuvrability, which means it tucks into any space in your home in seconds and pops back up just as fast. The Travel Fold option is another big benefit as it collapses down even further to become incredibly compact, making it the perfect option for family trips away. The inclusion of a convenient carry bag only adds to the no-fuss travel and storage experience. Whether its used for a quiet nap, a safe place to place your child when you need both hands, or for playtime, the comfy mattress and easy-view mesh means your baby is always safe and secure. The info: Click here to make your next family trip a little easier with a lightweight travel cot. Get a good night's rest with a purpose-built pillow Every expectant mum knows that getting enough sleep can be a mission. It can be a stressful time which isn't very conducive to a good night's rest - not to mention the physical discomfort that's involved. Over at Kally Sleep, they've spent time developing a product that's been developed to help you get some shuteye. Their best-selling Kally U-Shaped Pregnancy Pillow was created to serve expectant mothers during second and third trimesters. The pillow is large and wraps around the entire body, supporting both your bump and back. Since sleeping on your side is encouraged during pregnancy, this pillow allows you to do exactly that and even prevents you from rolling onto your back. The unique design is firm enough to suit most comfort levels, yet still soft enough to cuddle up to comfortably. The hollowfibre inner filling and cotton blend outer cover prevent you from overheating and help keepsyou cool during the night. The pillow is also multipurpose, particularly as nursing pillow for feeding or for sitting up in bed to read or watch TV once your newborn has arrived. It comes in your choice of white or heathered grey and with an over 200 ecstatic 5-star reviews. And at under 60, it's also an affordable essential that can be a great help in those final few months before coming to term. The info: Click here to get an exclusive 20% off your pillow and free shipping with code 'MAIL20'. Use the latest tech to monitor your baby's movement The baby monitor is a small yet mighty gadget that comes to rule the roost during your first few weeks of parenthood. Finding the right one for you is important for your peace of mind when trying to get your 40 winks. For 25 years, the people over at Angelcare have been at the forefront of putting parents' minds at ease, setting a new standard for baby monitoring technology. Their mission is to help parents develop confidence to de-stress and savour every moment. One of their most advanced products is the AC327 Baby Movement Monitor with Video & Sound, which benefits from years of development and improvement. The advanced SensAsure technology in the Movement, Video and Sound Monitors tracks your baby's chest movements as it rises and falls, as well as every wiggle during the night. Angelcare take great pride in their non-contact monitoring, so the Movement Sensor pad is placed safely under the mattress when you set it up. That means your baby's sleep won't have to contend with itchy or intrusive equipment. A noise will sound off if no movement is detected for upwards of 20 seconds during the night, allowing you to relax a little knowing you'll be notified if anything's amiss. Consisting of the above-mentioned Movement Sensor Pad, a Parent Unit with colour video transmission and infrared night vision, and a Nursery Unit with digital zoom and wall-mount or tabletop nursery unit, the complete sat has all bases covered for complete reassurance. The info: Click here to discover advanced monitoring technology and save 10% with code 'Checklist10'. Bedtime stories, but with a personal touch Those moments spent huddled around a book before your children nod off to dreamland are precious. Not just an opportunity to help develop their reading skills, it's a time to create memories. Why not make those early evenings extra special with a book that's sure to make your child feel extraordinary? Over at Wonderbly, they create personalised storybooks created to help nurture your little one's imagination in a special way - putting children straight into the heart of all kinds of fantastical stories. Nothing can get your kids more engaged with their reading like seeing themselves in the pages of their very own story. From stomping with dinosaurs to saving mermaids (and even Humpty Dumpty), Wonderbly's magical books introduce them to a whole world of wonder made just for them. Their Bedtime for You book is a beautifully illustrated and written customised bedtime story in charming verse. The format of the story is a countdown to sleep from five to one, helping to make this time of the day a special moment to look forward to. With its comforting message of love and cast of cuddly cast of animals, the book is a firm favourite with their tiniest customers. Written with children up to four years old in mind, the Bedtime for You book does a wonderful job of lulling babies and toddlers to sleep with sweet, calming rhymes. Also, for small children, seeing themselves in the story getting ready for bed offers a comforting sense of familiarity to help them doze off. The info: Click here to put your little one in their own illustrated adventure and save 20% with code 'CHECKLIST20'. Keep track of everything, from naps to feeds Being the perfect parent is what all new mums and dads strive towards, but it can be hard to keep track of all your little one's milestones. Take the pressure off by recruiting a purpose-built app to help you stay in-tune with your child's development and progress. Onoco is an all-in-one parenting app which combines tracking tools, child development milestones and a shared calendar into one easy to use app. Driven by data and powered by parents, Onoco provides daily and weekly analysis of babys activities such as feeds, naps and physical growth to give families a deeper understanding of unique behaviours. The information on the app is also shareable - at no cost - with up to five additional family profiles and one professional caregiver such as a nanny or childminder, making it the perfect resource for working parents. It's also great for those with far-away families who still want to be involved in babys development progress. Launched in 2022, Onoco Premium provides even more personalisation for parents, including a custom routine planner, daily tips based on your babys development stage, data export for use with healthcare professionals, and first access to the AI powered next nap predictor. This tool will take babys sleep data and predict their next best nap time - helpful for new parents who may otherwise suffer from sleep deprivation. Starting at just 4 for Onoco Premium or free for Onoco Standard, its an affordable and accessible product for all. The info: Click here to download the app and enjoy an exclusive seven days of Ocono Premium for free with code 'USR00'. Organic baby food that helps protect the climate When out food shopping for your little one, it's important to be abreast of what's in the products you buy. Making sure they get all their nutrients, without any hidden nasties, is so important during their early development. For over 85 years, Holle have been manufacturing baby food that meets the highest terms of organic quality. As the first Demeter manufacturer of baby food, they take a holistic approach with well-being at the centre of all they do, always based on the latest scientific and technological research. Producing a range of allergy aware, gluten-free and dairy-free porridges, meals, pouches and snacks, Holle's products are tailor made for babies and toddlers. Available on Ulula, their three organic infant follow-on formula milks include a Biodynamic cow's milk range, Organic A2 cow's milk infant follow-on formula range (sourced from specially selected cows which produce only A2 beta-casein protein) and organic goat milk formula range. Holle are also conscious of their impact on the planet, choosing high-quality, biodynamic and organic raw materials from regenerative farming. Also, the Holle Infant Formula Milk ranges are all certified CO2 positive, and their porridges, junior mueslis and pouches are certified CO2 neutral. With a real understanding of true balanced nutrition, Holle go beyond the nutritional table on the product, from the raw ingredients to on-the-spoon at home. Holle helps you provide your young ones with proper, balanced nutrition to support their healthy development. The info: Click here to become part of the Ulula community and save 15% on your first order with code '15OFF'. Ditch the plastic tableware - go eco! When you're busy taking care of your family's new addition, it's easy to fall into bad habits. With plastic plates, pots and bowls being so easily accessible, you can soon find your kitchen cupboards filled with clutter that's destined to end up in a landfill. From the minds of two British mums comes eco rascals, a sustainable children's brand creating eco-friendly feeding and weaning products. Every product, each designed in house, has been created to help make parents' lives easier while still being entertaining and engaging for the little ones up to pre-school and beyond. Their range of bamboo tableware makes mealtime both fun and sustainable, and come with super suction bases to prevent big spills. Stylish and practical, their 11 designs range from cars to cute little snails. Designed to help serve up nutritionally balanced meals for fussy eaters, their section plates are helpful when helping them grow confidence to try new foods. So, why bamboo? The FSC certified organic bamboo is grown without the use of pesticides, requires less water than other wood varieties and releases a lot of oxygen as it grows. Once you've tried some of eco rascal's products, you'll be part of a growing community of parents who are keen to discuss recipe ideas and parenting tips and tricks across social media - from weaning and sleeping to tantrums and allergies. The info: Click here to get 15% off award-winning bamboo tableware with code 'Checklist15'. A stroller that can keep up, wherever the day takes you Even though you're looking after your little one, there's no need to stop doing the little things you enjoy. After all, happy parents often mean happy babies! With Baby Jogger, big plans start with just a small fold. Creating products for parents who want to continue pursuing their passions and purpose, their range of strollers are designed to keep up with you - specialising in strollers for travel or off-road adventures. As one of the most compact-folding 4-wheel modular strollers, the Baby Jogger City Sights Stroller is ready for wherever the day takes you. The one-hand fold on this lightweight stroller makes it easy to pack up and store, cutting down your get-out-the-door time so you can spend more of the day on new adventures. All-terrain wheels and suspension mean more paths and sidewalks to roam, while the reversible seat lets your child see everything, in any direction, along the way. The reclining toddler seat, adjustable calf support, and large UV 50+ canopy keep comfort levels high and spirits up. Vegan leather accents on the adjustable handlebar and included belly bar give it a luxe look and feel. The infant car seat, carrycot and glider board (sold separately) create 8 modes of useperfect for going even bigger. But don't just take our word for it, as the City Sights stroller received the 2022 Red Dot Design award for superior product design. Build your young one's confidence to explore their city, and make the transition into parenthood as seamless as possible. The info: Click here to shop strollers designed to take on the urban jungle. Try an online clinic that's dedicated to helping mums When it comes to seeking the healthcare support you require as a new or expectant mother, it can be hard to see the wood from the trees. Luckily, the UK has now welcomed its first online clinic dedicated to supporting pregnant and postnatal women. Naytal provides all of its services 100% online, so you can book 1-2-1 video consultations or get advice from their medical content library that is all delivered by womens health experts. Their services are available all day, every day and, most importantly, at an accessible price point. It's a simple service which comes with a host of benefits. Women looking for a little help or advice can instantly book a video consultation with a member of their team of experts when and where they need it. If you'd rather hear from your fellow mothers, regular group sessions with health experts are available and free to join. Powered by clinical experts, the service offers instant access to top women's health experts which include midwives, doulas, lactation consultants, pelvic health physios, psychologists and baby sleep experts. Every member of the team has been hand-picked and vetted, accredited to the highest level in their field and with extensive experience - including working within the NHS. Created for women, by women who have been there themselves, the Naytal virtual clinic has an impressive 4.8 score on TrustPilot*. Perhaps most importantly, their services are affordable (starting at just 19 for a 15-minute consultation) which means you can receive expert support without the hefty price tag. The info: Click here to explore their services and book support now. * Trustpilot - https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/naytal.uk Top up your little one's Omega 3 levels Specially formulated with little ones in mind, Efamol Omega 3 DHA Drops are a simple and effective way to top up your childs levels of Omega 3. Suitable for babies and children as they progress through school, a 1ml drop can help to support your childs normal brain function and vision. With no fishy taste, sugar free and a natural mild lemon flavour, they can be dropped straight in the mouth. If your young ones are a little fussy, they can also be easily hidden in food, making it easy to give your bundle of joy a healthy start. The Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) is reported to help support normal brain function and vision. Each 1ml drop daily contains 400mg of DHA, well over the minimum amount of 250mg needed to gain the beneficial effect. The supplement is suitable for any age above 6 months old, so even mum, dad and the older siblings can drop DHA into their morning cereal or yogurt too. When put to the test with the Home Tester Club panel, 85% of parents would recommend Efamol Kids DHA drops*. So, what are you waiting? Ensure both you and your kids get that Omega 3 goodness with a few drops of Efamol Omega 3 DHA. The info: Click here to discover more and save with code 'KIDS20'. *Independent product test reviews from the Home Tester Club, February 2020 with 198 reviewers. If you've enjoyed reading this article and are interested in more inspiration in everything from food and drink, health and wellbeing to family life, why not follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @ChecklistSocial, or sign up to the newsletter? Checklist is dedicated to providing the best free online competitions too discover amazing new services and products when you visit the website today. Everyone's a photographer these days thanks to camera phones, but sometimes the best pictures are a matter of impeccable timing, regardless of the equipment. From all over the world, lucky photographers have captured amazing optical illusions, shared by the trivia website Waco Jaco. One tourist managed to photograph a ray of lightning as it struck the Statue of Liberty's torch in New York City in a case of amazingly perfect timing. Meanwhile, a hilarious optical illusion made it look like a dog was shooting flames from his mouth while lying down beside a fire pit. From all over the world, lucky photographers have captured amazing optical illusions they spotted in their surroundings. The eye of the parrot in this snap perfectly aligns with the British woman whose shoulder he's perching on Making a splash! A lucky photographer captured the moment where a puddle on the side of the road brought the advert on the bus to life Diving right in! This picture was taken as the girls were about to enter the water, making it look like they are standing still on the surface The angle of this picture makes it look like the dog is the one doing the fishing by the pond and not his owner Puppy eyes! This picture, taken by a mother from Indiana, makes it look like this dog on the Valentine's is wearing baby dungarees Life imitating art? The dog owner captured their picture as they pet was yawning just like the dog in the frame behind them The perspective on this picture makes it look like the helicopter in the background is landing on the woman's leg And we have lift off! The perspective on this picture makes it look like the woman has butterfly wings Art coming to life! The man stood in the exact right position to make it seem like he had the legs of a cartoon character Horsing around! The optical illusion in this snap makes it look like the horse is wearing the blue jacket The butterfly effect! The spots on this butterfly wing perfectly matched this woman's face, so she took a humourous picture Putting on a leggy display! The reflection in this bar counter makes it look like the waiter is the one wearing the heels and the skirt This hilarious optical illusion made it look like a dog was shooting flames and lighting up the fire We don't know how this little girl feels about cows, but the photographer took a snap just as the animal was giving her a kiss Snow joke! Two people made it look like they turned the sun into a glowing snowball in this amazing picture taken on the slopes in Norway A banging picture! One person managed to photograph a ray of lightening as it struck the Statue of Liberty in New York City The Duchess of Cornwall's neighbours have been granted planning permission to build a holiday let accessed by the private road to her Wiltshire mansion. Camilla, 74, who has in the past complained three times about renovations on the property next door, now faces the prospect of having to rub shoulders with Airbnb-style tourists. The Duchess' Grade-II listed property, Ray Mill House, in Lacock, Wiltshire, has only one close neighbour, The Old Mill, owned by Phil Clayton. The two estates share a private lane. Camilla uses her historic property to get away from husband Prince Charles's Highgrove House estate, which is open to the public in the summer months and receives more than 40,000 visitors a year. But the 74-year-old has been at loggerheads with her only close neighbours, the Claytons, who have been renovating their estate for the last five years - much to the reported fury of locals. They both share the same private driveway and the Claytons have been allowed by Wiltshire Council to convert the first floor of a former garage into a one-bedroom flat for tourists. The Duchess of Cornwall 's neighbours have been granted planning permission to build a holiday let accessed by the private road to her Wiltshire mansion Camilla (pictured), 74, who has in the past complained three times about renovations on the property next door, now faces the prospect of having to rub shoulders with Airbnb-style tourists The plans brought about seven complaints, including Lacock Parish Council and local conservative chairman Peter Hickman, who shares the same private access road and said: 'There is no commercial right of way and we would not agree to such. Owner Trudy hit back at locals moaning about the holiday let, and wrote a letter to the council. It read: 'I find it very difficult to understand why people who are completely unaffected by the improvements we have carried out at The Old Mill put so much time and wasted energy, time and time again it is always the same group of people, objecting no matter what the planning application is for. 'I find it rather sad on their behalf. Their time and energy could be used for a much more worthy cause.' Although Camilla didnt complain about that particular planning application, she wasnt happy with the original proposal in 2017 to demolish the garage and replace it with a two-storey building, which the Claytons have now modified to include the holiday let. Grade-II listed Ray Mill House (pictured above) in Wiltshire was built in 1860 An aerial view of Ray Mill House, the Duchess of Cornwall's country estate in Wiltshire Highgroves Estate Manager Charlie Craven wrote on the royals behalf saying that he had concerns about flooding and the negative affect on the flow of water from the river during any periods of flooding. He was also worried about the garages design saying it is not conducive to a normal garage in that there are 3 large windows and a door. Revealed: How this isn't the Duchess's first run-in with a neighbour Mr Clayton bought The Old Mill from long-term owner Ralph Adams, who died in 2017. He was also involved in a spat with the Duchess - over an overgrown hedge of hers, in 2006. The bush was so out of control that bin men refused to reverse down the narrow private lane to collect the rubbish, and residents were told to drag their bins to the main road, which infuriated some. Mr Adams, a retired sand merchant, complained: 'Walking 400 yards is hard for me but she can get a flunky to do it. 'It might not be a problem for her, but I'm 83, with arthritis and collapsing discs. She needs to cut the hedge. 'It sticks out about three feet further than it should.' In the same year, it was revealed that the taxpayer was footing a 1.8 million security bill at the house. Advertisement In March 2018, the royal opposed the Claytons' plans twice to demolish another outbuilding to create a granny flat. Mr Craven remarked in his first letter about the issue of flooding again, saying: I have now been involved with Ray Mill House for six years within which time, the river has flooded numerous times. He added in a further objection: I am now also concerned that the proposed design appears to be larger and higher than the existing building, which clearly goes against the Design Statement that it would remain unchanged.' Despite the complaints, the Claytons' tweaked their plans and the granny flat was approved in December 2018. Camilla bought the property in 1996 for 850,000, with the proceeds of her divorce from Andrew Parker Bowles, and it is a welcome respite from Highgrove, which is only a 15-minute drive away. One source told Express columnist Adam Helliker: At Ray Mill she can sit down with a big G&T, kick of her shoes and watch Coronation Street, which Charles loathes. 'She also doesnt have to bother about how the place looks Charles is so fussy about tidiness, while she leaves her stuff all over the place. She doesnt need her cushions plumped all the time. But shes had to contend with the Claytons' renovations since he bought it from long-term owner Ralph Adams, who died in 2017 and was also involved in a spat with the duchess over an overgrown hedge in 2006. The bush was so out of control that binmen refused to reverse down the narrow private lane to collect the rubbish, and residents were told to drag their bins to the main road, which infuriated some. Mr Adams, a retired sand merchant, complained: Walking 400 yards is hard for me but she can get a flunkey to do it. Mr Clayton's Wiltshire home, The Old Mill, pictured, shares a lane with the Duchess's The garage previously pictured at The Old Mill. In March 2018, the royal opposed the Claytons' plans twice to demolish another outbuilding to create a granny flat 'It might not be a problem for her but I'm 83, with arthritis and collapsing discs. She needs to cut the hedge. It sticks out about three feet further than it should. In the same year, it was revealed that the taxpayer was footing a 1.8million security bill at the house, with the area being dubbed by the Daily Mail as Camillashire. In June last year, the Claytons applied for planning permission for a potting shed, with locals concerned that it was to be used as a summer house, with Dr Louise Heren stating: 'It is most irregular for a "potting shed" to require a veranda - what is the rationale for this. It received nine complaints, with the parish council adding that 'there is concern over the amount of ad hoc development that is taking place on this site.' Mr Hickman says: In trying to "dress-up" a Summer House as a Potting Shed the Consultants are insulting the intelligence of both the Planning Authority and neighbours.' Stella Tennant's friends and family have paid tribute to the model at a Service of Thanksgiving - 18 months after she took her own life. Taking to Instagram, Bay Garnett, a freelance stylist and one of Stella's closest friends, posted two photographs, including an order of service, with the caption: 'A celebration and thanksgiving indeed. So much love today'. The service was held in the Scottish Borders, near the model's home in Duns. The 50-year-old died on 22 December 2020, after splitting with husband David Lasnet in August 2020 after 21 years of marriage. The couple shared children Marcel, Cecily, Jasmin and Iris. The model's family said in a public statement at the start of 2021 that she died by suicide and that her 'creativity, intelligence and humour touched so many'. They added that she had been 'unwell for some time' and 'felt unable to go on.' Taking to Instagram, Bay Garnett, a freelance stylist and one of Stella's friends, posted a programme of the thanksgiving service which happened 18 months after the 50-year-old took her own life Stella died on December 22 2020. Her family had said in a public statement that she took her own life and had struggled with her mental health The family added that she had 'felt unable to go on' and had been 'unwell for some time' in the statement A family spokesperson told The Daily Telegraph: 'Stella had been unwell for some time. So, it is a matter of our deepest sorrow and despair that she felt unable to go on, despite the love of those closest to her. 'In grieving Stella's loss, her family renews a heartfelt request that respect for their privacy should continue.' The family source also told the paper that they felt it was 'important to raise awareness around mental health' which was too often misunderstood. Speaking to Vogue, Bay paid tribute to Stella in late 2020, describing her as 'an utterly vivid person-cultured, clever and curious.' Bay, pictured in 2021, had paid tribute to Stella in a Vogue article, describing her as an utterly vivid person who was cultured, clever and curious She added: 'You'd introduce her to someone and she would want to know everything about them. 'She was just no nonsense. At the same time, though, she was incredibly imaginative and articulate. It was an amazing combination.' Bay met Stella on a shoot and they became very good friends. She would go to Scotland to see her at her house on the Scottish orders and they used to go camping together. Describing her friend after her death, Bay said she 'seized the day' and wanted to make the most of everything. Bay also said that Stella wanted to 'seize the day' and remembered that the pair once spent New Years at the model's house as part of a big group and she wore an emerald green ball dress for the occasion The pair once spent New Years together at her house with as part of a big group and Stella wore a emerald green ball dress for the occasion. Stella was an aristocratic model, appearing in numerous advertising campaigns for brands including Calvin Klein, Chanel, Hermes and Burberry. The model was born in Scotland and was the granddaughter of Andrew Cavendish, the 11th Duke of Devonshire and Deborah Mitford, one of the well-known aristocratic siblings. Stella's first shoot made the cover of British Vogue in December 1993, which Mrs Tennant later said came about 'by accident', and at the end of that day's work she was asked to do a Versace campaign in Paris, which ended up as the cover of the Italian edition. Stella was an aristocratic model, appearing in numerous advertising campaigns for brands including Calvin Klein, Chanel, Hermes and Burberry During her heyday in the 1990s, Stella was known for her androgynous looks, soon becoming a muse for Karl Lagerfeld, which the fashion designer attributed to her resemblance to Coco Chanel. She retired in 1998 when she was pregnant with her first child and later returned to the runway, working on several campaigns behind the camera. Stella also maintained a strong interest in sculpture, and ran a luxury homewares brand with her sister Issy a studio at her home in Berwickshire. She had met David while at the height of her fame- he was working as an assistant for Mario Testino and was assigned to a New York shoot with her. After a high-profile society wedding, they lived together near her parents' sprawling 16th century estate in the Scottish Borders and went on to have four children. Mr Lasnet was later inspired to change his profession and became an osteopath after their son Marcel had whooping cough as a toddler. After Stella's death, there was an outpouring of grief from others in the fashion industry, with former Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman paying tribute to, 'one of the loveliest people to work with and an exceptional beauty. And devoted mother. ' After Stella's death, there was an outpouring of grief from others in the fashion industry, with British Vogue Editor-In-Chief Edward Enniful among those paying tribute to her And fashion designer Stella McCartney wrote: 'My darling Stella, I f****** love you and will miss you so, so terribly. What sad, horrific news to end this already shocking year! 'My heart goes out to your stunning family who must be in such undeserving pain. I am speechless... Rest in peace, you inspiring woman. 'Your soul and inner beauty exceeded the external perfection, Stella. May you ride high above us all on the most perfect horse, eternally in peace.' Elsewhere, British Vogue Editor-In-Chief Edward Enninful wrote: 'R.I.P kind and wonderful Stella. My thoughts and prayers are with your family.' For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details. Meghan Markle is 'certainly making the right noises' when it comes to a potential career in United States politics, according to royal expert, Russell Myers. Speaking on the 'Lorraine' show today, he discussed the comments Meghan, 40, made to Vogue over the weekend about the repealing of Roe v. Wade during a conversation with feminist author and activist Gloria Steinem, 88, and journalist Jessica Yellin. The Duchess of Sussex, who lives in Montecito, Calif., with her husband Prince Harry, 37, and their children Archie, three, and Lilibet, one, said all men need to join women in the fight to protect abortion rights, adding that Harry is a feminist, and he reacted with anger to the Supreme Court's decision. The conversation reignited rumors that the royal may be planning to enter politics, which Russell said he thought is likely. Meghan Markle, 40, pictured here with her husband, Prince Harry, at the Invictus Games in Holland in April, has reignited rumors that she might be considering a political career following her comments on abortion According to royal expert Russell Myers, the Duchess is 'certainly making the right noises' if she wants to pursue a political career 'Prince Harry and Megan have moved over to the United States. They've got their financial freedom. They've got their essential freedom from the royal family so they can speak on political issues,' Myers said. 'And certainly, Meghan was speaking to Vogue at the weekend, talking about Roe versus Wade, a very, very controversial abortion law that has been repealed in the US.' Meghan also hinted in their Vogue conversation that a trip to the political capital may be in the cards, suggesting that she and Gloria could be 'taking a trip to DC together soon.' Referring to this, Myers said: 'Now Meghan has said, you know, that [she] might be in Washington very soon. 'So does she have political ambitions? I do think she does. And she's certainly rubbing shoulders with the right people and making the right noises. Lorraine spoke to royal expert Russell Myers today about whether Meghan Markle has political ambitions 'So, you know, sometimes it might not seem so ludicrous that she might stand for office because she's certainly making the right noises.' During the conversation with Vogue, Meghan said that all men need to join women in the fight to protect abortion rights. 'Men need to be vocal in this moment and beyond because these are decisions that affect relationships, families, and communities at large,' she said. 'They may target women, but the consequences impact all of us. 'My husband and I talked about that a lot over the past few days. He's a feminist, too.' Meghan Markle and Gloria Steinem spoke to Vogue about the repeal of Roe v. Wade this weekend, prompting fresh rumors about Meghan's political ambitions Steinem, who was approached by Markle in 2020, when the Duchess realized she was sheltering during the pandemic near their California home, said she could confirm that Harry was deeply interested in women's rights. She called the pair 'chosen family.' 'His reaction last week was guttural, like mine,' Markle said. 'I know that for so many women right now, there is a sentiment of despair. But again, we have to band together and not wallow. We have to do the work.' The mother of two said it was important to 'normalize conversation about the things that affect our lives and bodies,' referencing her decision to speak out in November 2020 about her own miscarriage. 'This is about women's physical safety,' she said. Markle said that her husband, Prince Harry, was a feminist who reacted to the news of the repeal of Roe v. Wade in a 'guttural' way 'It's also about economic justice, individual autonomy, and who we are as a society. Nobody should be forced to make a decision they do not want to make, or is unsafe, or puts their own life in jeopardy.' Steinem told the story of her own abortion, performed in London, which she said allowed her to live the life she chose. 'Here you're talking to two women: one who chose to give birth happily, and one who chose not to give birth happily,' Markle said. 'And we're both prospering because we were able to make our own choices.' Meghan Markle (left) is facing backlash after she spoke out about the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade in the US and hinted she would travel to Washington D.C. to demonstrate. Pictured right: Rep. Buddy Carter who criticized the Duchess Meghan received some pushback from Republicans over her comments, with some saying they didn't want British royals having a say on US politics. Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) said: 'This is just another attempt from the ex-royals to insert their British drama in American politics. 'I dont think anyone on this side of the pond cares for Meghan Markles opinion on killing babies. However, I think her running for president would be a great episode for "The Crown." ' Meanwhile, Rep. Buddy Carter added: 'I think Americans made it pretty clear in 1776 that they dont want members of the British Royal Family making decisions for them.' Exes shared how they found out about their partner's other woman on Whisper Furious ex-girlfriends have shared the shocking stories of what happened when their partner's other woman contacted them. The confessions, shared to the secret-sharing Whisper app, include women who got together after learning of their partner's cheating - and 'plotted his demise' over a coffee. One woman, from Georgia, said her husband's mistress sent her photographs showing the couple in bed together as proof of his affair. Another said she was pregnant with her boyfriend's child when his wife texted her out of the blue - and he had been 'begging' her to keep the baby. Below, FEMAIL has gathered the most shocking confessions... This confession, from a woman in an unknown location, comes from someone who was able to join together with the other woman - and plot their ex-boyfriend's 'demise' One woman, from Georgia in the US, said her husband's mistress sent her photographs showing the couple in bed together as proof of his affair Another woman, from the US, admitted her boyfriend's 'side chick' is 'actually really nice' 'She's still with him': This woman, from Pennsylvania in the US, said she broke up with her partner - but the other woman did not 'Now she's his fiancee': A woman, from Georgia in the US, found out her boyfriend had been cheating for half of their relationship 'Can't wait for his reaction': This woman, from an unknown location, said she and the other woman swapped places for a date Catfished: This woman was contacted by her ex's wife - who was pretending to be her husband Another said she was pregnant with her boyfriend's child when his wife texted her out of the blue - and he had been 'begging' her to keep the baby 'How does she think I feel?' This woman, from Derbyshire, was told she had ruined someone else's 'chances of happiness' with her own husband Another, from Nebraska in the US, was told the other woman 'didn't know' they were together 'I don't even know what to do': This woman, from Florida, found out her husband has been cheating on her since two weeks after they married 'I had no idea': This anonymous woman said she had 'no idea' her boyfriend was married A size 26 roller coaster fan has shared her theme park experience of struggling to fit into different seats - as she said society 'isn't built' for plus-size people. Heather O'Neill, 26, from Kent, who is a size 24-26, had planned to go to Thorpe Park in Surrey, but said she was left petrified ahead of the event in case she was unable to fit into the rollercoasters. She then filmed herself trying the seats - and came to the conclusion that many rollercoasters are not made for over-sized people - before sharing the clips on TikTok, where she quickly went viral. The mental health nurse said she would like to see society become more accessible for those who are different than 'the norm', adding: 'Theme parks, aeroplanes, buses society isn't built for anyone who is outside of society's norm of straight, able bodied and slim.' Heather O'Neill, 26, from Kent, who is a size 24-26, has shared her theme park experience of struggling to fit into different seats - as she said society 'isn't built' for plus-size people The 26-year-old mental health nurse filmed her day out at Thorpe Park in Surrey testing seats of different rides Heather said she was left petrified ahead of the event in case she was unable to fit into the rollercoasters Heather, a mental health nurse, has said how she nearly didn't go on her trip due to worries over her size. She added her fears have increased since the death of Tyre Sampson, 14, in March. Tyre died at Florida's ICON park after being 96lbs over the weight safety limit and falling from a ride. Heather said: 'I was so nervous to go, I nearly cancelled out of fear that I wouldn't fit on the rides. The 26-year-old stepped into a number of different 'safety seats' before trying out the ride in order to make sure she could sit comfortably and safely The mental health nurse said a large factor in her enjoyment of the day was trying out the safety seats at the park before she got onto the ride itself 'The fact that I even have to think about if I will fit the rides is the first difference [in being a plus size customer]. 'The feeling nervous before going, the pushing the seat down trying to get it to close. Worrying about how safe the ride will be for me, after that poor man died on a ride in America. 'It's the same as flying worrying if the seat on the plane will be too small or I'll need a seat belt extender.' She added: 'I used all the test seats that I could find, which most people don't have to do. 'But rides aren't built for plus size/fat people, it's about accessibility and making spaces inclusive for all bodies and accessibility needs. Hannah confessed she 'used all the test seats she could find' during the day out to ensure she could ride safely (pictured, on the Saw Fit seat) Despite finding she could fit into a number of the seats in the park, and testing out the safety seats before hand, she confessed she felt it 'wasn't built for fat people' The Saw ride was among those Heather could ride comfortably with her friends (pictured on the ride) 'I feel like the staff did everything they could, were helpful and kind, but Thorpe Park is not built for fat people like me.' Heather decided to film her experience at the park, showing herself trying out the different test seats available. While she did fit in the majority of seats and could go on most rides, she found she did not fit into the Samurai ride test seat though still managed to ride the coaster and was also not able to ride the Colossus. After struggling with the test seat, Heather says: 'I tried to go on Colossus anyway didn't fit but staff were really nice and discreet and gave me a fast pass to another ride, so not bad.' In a TikTok video she shared online, Hannah tested out the different rollercoasters, including Quantum Despite not fitting in some seats, Heather didn't let it dampen her day and explained the staff were 'helpful and kind'. She decided to share the entire experience on her TikTok in a bid to ease other plus size rollercoaster fans' worries. The video racked up 29,000 likes and 354,000 views, with viewers flocking to the comments section to share their thoughts. One person said: 'You saved yourself from the concussion on Colossus, call it a blessing that ride HURTS.' Despite not fitting in some seats, Heather didn't let it dampen her day and explained the staff were 'helpful and kind' She decided to share the entire experience on her TikTok in a bid to ease other plus size rollercoaster fans' worries While she did fit in the majority of seats and could go on most rides, she found she did not fit into the Samurai ride test seat though still managed to ride the coaster 'Wish they could put test seats in a booth or something, not out in the open. I'd get so anxious having to do it in front of people,' commented another user. Someone else said: 'I'm so so grateful for this!! I would have NEVER gone to a theme park before but might just have to try now!' 'I'm glad they're starting to have test seats. I went to Alton Towers years ago and it was humiliating having to get off rides instead,' another viewer commented. One person added: 'First time I ever tried a test seat was Nemesis Inferno and I got stuck in it for about 20 minutes.' 'Thank you! I avoid theme parks like the plague because I don't wanna not fit you are a god send,' said another user. For Heather, it was important to share her experience with more nervous customers in order to help them know which rides they could and could not ride safely (left and right) Hannah said she struggled to get into the test seat for Colossus but she ended up trying to onto the ride anyway While she didn't fit, she said the staff were 'really nice and discreet' and she was given 'a fast pass to another ride' Someone else said: 'Getting in the seats have always stopped me from going to theme parks, I can't stand the judgement and prejudice.' 'Colossus has always been the most fat phobic ride I barely fit and I'm not that big,' another person commented. One fan said: 'On behalf of plus size thrill seekers thank you so much for doing this.' 'It terrifies me going to these places in case I don't fit! Can't deal with the embarrassment,' commented another follower. Someone else added: 'Thank you for normalising this! No one should miss out because of the anxiety this creates!' For Heather, it was important to share her experience with more nervous customers. After Hannah shared her experience online, many other TikTok users said they had also faced difficultie s She said: 'I was looking for a plus size guide to Thorpe Park before I went, to see if I could fit on the rides and make me feel less nervous to go. 'Thorpe Park's website was hard to find the weight limits and measurement requirements, a lot of the links to the weight limits/accessibility came up with 'page not found'. 'I wanted to help fellow fat people out, to give them a positive, unfiltered, honest guide on what rides they could actually fit on, and what rides had test seats so they could see if they would fit. 'Fat people deserve accessibility and to enjoy theme parks too.' A spokesperson for Thorpe Park said, 'At Thorpe Park Resort, we care deeply about creating magical experiences that are inclusive for all of our guests. 'We have always strived to create accessible attractions where people can be themselves and enjoy fun experiences together. 'From team training to listening to guest feedback, our priority is always focused on ensuring every one of our guests enjoys a magical day out with us at the UK's most thrilling theme park.' Advertisement Dame Deborah James' closest friends have led the emotional tributes to the campaigner in a BBC documentary airing tonight - following her death from bowel cancer at the age of 40. Cancer activist Lauren Mahon, 37, who presented BBC's You, Me and the Big C with Dame Deborah and their late friend Rachael Bland, broke down as she said: 'I just love her so much'. TV presenter Lorraine Kelly, who supported Dame Deborah's cancer awareness campaigns, called her late friend a 'smasher' and said she would always 'bounce back,' which is what made her death so 'difficult' to accept. Dame Deborah James: The Last Dance, which will air tonight at 8:30pm on BBC One but is already available to watch on BBC iPlayer, retraces the mother-of-two's five-year battle with stage four bowel cancer, through the eyes of the friends that supported her. The campaigner lost her battle with cancer on Tuesday, her family announced, after weeks of receiving end-of-life care at her parents' Surrey home. She raised 7,066,380 for cancer research through her Bowelbabe fund after donations surged in the hours after her death. Dame Deborah James: The Last Dance, which will air tonight at 8:30pm on BBC One, retraces the mother-of-two's battle with stage four bowel cancer, through the eyes of the friends that supported her Cancer activist Lauren Mahon, 37, who presented BBC's You, Me and the Big C with Dame Deborah and their late friend Rachael Bland, broke down as she said: 'I just love her so much' TV presenter Lorraine Kelly , who supported Dame Deborah's cancer awareness campaigns, called her late friend a 'smasher' and said she would always 'bounce back,' which is what made her death so 'difficult' to accept Deborah (pictured, far left, with Lauren Mahon and, right, with her brother and his fiancee) was made a dame by the Duke of Cambridge at her family home, with William praising her for 'going above and beyond to make a very special memory' Lauren Mahon and Steve Bland, Rachael's widower, were overcome with emotion as they remembered their 'best-friend' and said they were 'incredibly grateful to have had her at all.' As she wiped up her tears, Lauren made a heartfelt plea to keep raising money for cancer research, because 'we can't lose any more Debs.' 'Having relationship with people with cancer is really hard because you lose people,' Lauren said as she cried. 'There's people and there's Deborah and I can't help but be incredibly grateful that I had her at all.' She added she wished the campaigner could see what she meant to 'so many'. 'I just love her so much. We need to keep raising money because we cant lose any more Debs,' she said. Steve Bland, who lost his wife Rachael to breast cancer in 2018, said Deborah was one of his best-friends, a 'brilliant mum', pictured left, while Lauren Mahon cried as she said she loved Dame Deborah and that having friendships with people with cancer is 'really hard', pictured right After sharing her experiences on living with the illness on social media, Deborah became known as the 'Bowel Babe' and in 2018, she joined Lauren Mahon and Rachael Bland to present the award-winning podcast You, Me and the Big C on Radio 5 Live Reaction: Social media users who watched the documentary on BBC iPlayer took to Twitter today to say they had been left in tears by the programme Remembering her friend, with whom she co-hosted the You, Me and the Big C BBC podcast, Lauren said: 'Deb just has this ferocity in her to make a difference and to make sure nobody else suffers the same fate. 'Most people would just runaway from that, but Deb wanted to tell her story so it wouldn't be anyone's story. 'I'm really proud that we now talk about bums and poos on every channel.' Lorraine Kelly, who met Dame Deborah through her campaigning efforts and launched No Butts campaign with her also remembered her friend. 'I was looking at somebody with stage four bowel cancer. She was absolutely immaculate, always was. beautiful hair and makeup and perfect,' she said. On May 9, the mother-of-two shared a heartbreaking 'goodbye' message to her 470,000 Instagram followers, revealing she was being moved into hospice-at-home care, while 'surrounded by family', because 'my body simply isn't playing ball' 'And I couldn't believe that I was with a girl who was living on borrowed time. 'All she wanted to do was get this message across, make sure nobody else went through the same thing as her, make sure that everybody had the information that they needed and to stop people being stupid about their bottoms,' she added. 'That's what struck me. We started talking about bottoms and poo probably after 45 seconds when we met each other and I really just thought: "I really like you, you're my kind of woman, you're a smasher.' 'The thing about it is, and the thing that's so hard, is that she always bounced back, and I always thought that she would. 'And that's been very difficult because we just always thought she'd be here,' the presenter added. Resilience: Deborah James pictured with her mother Heather James two months ago after one of her most recent operations In recent weeks, Deborah made the most of her time, going for days out, which were exhausting due to her condition. However, she remained positive, and posted about how much she enjoyed outings, like this one to Royal Ascot HOW DEPUTY HEAD TURNED SOCIAL MEDIA STAR TRANSFORMED BOWEL CANCER AWARENESS In December 2016, the West London mother-of-two, a deputy head, was diagnosed 'late' with incurable bowel cancer After sharing her experiences on living with the disease on social media, Deborah became known as the 'Bowel Babe' In 2018, she became one of three presenters on Radio 5 Live's You, Me and the Big C, which was conceived by her late co-host Rachael Bland On September 5 2018, Welsh journalist and presenter Bland, diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, died at the age of 40 Deborah and her co-host Lauren Mahon continued to present the show, with Steve Bland, Rachael's husband, joining the duo On social media and in her column for The Sun newspaper, Deborah documented the many chemo, radiotherapy sessions and surgery she'd had since In 2018, Deborah (left) joined Lauren Mahon (front) and Rachael Bland (right) to present the award-winning podcast You, Me and the Big C on Radio 5 Live In 2019, she had a procedure known as CyberKnife, a highly targeted form of radiotherapy to attack an inoperable lymph node close to her liver The pandemic's impact on cancer services saw her campaign for care to continue as normal and, earlier this year, she launched the ITV's Lorraine's 'No Butts' campaign, raising awareness on bowel cancer symptoms Since last year, she had been taking new experimental drugs as part of a trial after her oncology team gave her the green light to do so In August, Deborah revealed that scans she'd had in recent days revealed her cancer had gone in the 'wrong direction very quickly' She told followers she would be taking a break on social media over the weekend to 'snuggle' with her family ahead of more scans The mother-of-two said a new 'rapidly-growing' tumour near her liver had wrapped itself around her bowel On October 1, Deborah celebrated her 40th birthday By October 18, the mother-of-two told her followers her chemotherapy was working Days later, she was rushed to A&E with 'spiking 40 degree temperatures' In November, she revealed she is unable to walk for more than 20 minutes and remained 'very weak' By December, Deborah said she was 'not sure what her options were' after her liver stent 'stopped working' In January, she had five operations in 10 days after nearly dying in an acute medical emergency On January 25, Deborah returned home from hospital after three weeks On March 14, the mother-of-two was back in hospital as an in-patient after suffering from septic infection In April, she concerned fans with snaps after suffering 'a rough few days' On April 14, the mother-of-two told fans she had been discharged from hospital but called the situation 'very tough' On April 27, she told Lorraine Kelly that she had spent '80 per cent' of the year in hospital On May 9, Deborah announced she had moved to hospice care Advertisement Steve Bland, who lost his wife Rachael to triple negative breast cancer in September 2018, was also among the people who remembered her in the emotional film. 'She's one of my best friend and someone who, if she ever thought I was having a tough time, she'd be the first one on the phone,' he said. He added Dame Deborah was a ;really, really, really wonderful person someone that I'm so blessed to call a friend and so proud of. 'Aside from all the money raise which was incredible, she was a brilliant mum, a brilliant friend and we're gonna miss that so much.' Reflecting on Debs' social media presence and her fight with cancer, he said: 'Deb would tell you that she used to get messages from people thinking that she would have it easy. 'They could see her dancing on Instagram and they thought "how could that person be dying" or "how could that person have incurable cancer?" 'They didn't always understand how difficult it was for her.' Talking about how the campaigner received a Damehood from the Queen in her last says, he said: 'the damehood was extraordinary, even by Debs standard, we didn't see that one coming. 'She's always been a dame, just without the title.' BBC presenter Gaby Roslin, who was a close friend of Deborah said she couldn't think of her without 'her laughing and dancing and singing. 'She did that the first day I met her. Cancer didn't stop her having fun. She showed that through her dancing, through her sassiness. I loved her dancing,' she added. Gaby talked of how Dame Deborah was 'overwhelmed' by people's reaction to the Bowelbabe Fund. 'And those three cancer charity that she felt so strongly about are going to get that injection of money because of Debs and I'm sure wherever she is she singing and dancing away. 'Knowing Debs that is exactly what she's doing. With the biggest smile on her face,' she added. Emma Campbell, who has breast cancer and appeared in several of Deborah's dancing videos, also remembered her friend as a 'sexy' and confident woman. 'There is only one person who can get me to dance and it's Deborah,' she joked. 'Deborah was an incredibly beautiful and sexy woman and I loved the way and was so impressed by the way she showed that side of herself and she didn't ever shy away from it and if she felt like dancing around in a sexy underwear, she did, it's just brilliant,' she added. 'And the essence of Deborah has always been that kind of radiance and that life force and that spirit. 'The more I spent time with Debs and the more I observed the way she faced it, you couldn't help being in her company or observe her and think "if she can do it, maintain that determination to live a big and brave and bold life, then so can I". 'She made a choice to document the good, the bad and the ugly,' she added, 'that's what is so important for other people who are facing a diagnosis or might be going through something similar. 'To share the skin reaction which was so painful and upsetting for her. The steroid high at 3am, doing an Instagram live because she couldn't sleep. 'The inbox being flooded from other people lying awake for whatever reason at that time. 'When you're going through a cancer experience, connection is everything, it can mean the difference between just surviving it or actually somehow living through it with moments of relief or even enjoying it at times,' she added. BBC journalist George Alagiah, journalist, who has stage four bowel cancer said Dame Deborah was among the 'limited number of people' he could talk to about his illness. 'For all of us living with cancer, we're all aware, we don't want to become a burden, we don't want to burden people too much. 'There is a limited number of people you can talk to, and Deborah James is one of those as I found out. 'To share my dilemmas, my fear, my wanting to cry with someone who had gone through that and was going through it that in itself was a kind of solace,' he added. 'Sharing is hugely important. When my moment came, I was looking for someone like Deborah James to talk to,' the presenter, who was diagnosed in 2014, said. In January 2020, she had explained that scans showed she had no evidence of cancer in her body at that point - with doctors suggesting she was 'rewriting the textbook' - but in April 2021, she revealed her cancer was back again Despite ongoing cancer treatments over the last few years, Deborah continued living life to the full, holidaying with her family and dancing in the rain The former headteacher (pictured right, with children Eloise, 12, Hugo, 14 and husband Sebastien Bowen) was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016 The cancer-fighting charity set up by Dame Deborah James has smashed the 7million milestone a day after her death was announced as Prince William leads tributes praising the fundraiser as 'an inspiration whose legacy will live on'. The Bowelbabe fund saw a surge in donations, pushing past 6.8m in the hours after it was revealed the 40-year-old mother-of-two had lost her battle with the disease and has now passed 7million and continues to rise. In her final weeks, the presenter of the BBC podcast You, Me And The Big C raised the huge amount of cash for research and was made a dame for her 'tireless' work improving awareness of the disease. Dame Deborah became a patron for Bowel Cancer UK following her diagnosis and worked to raise money and awareness of the charity. All donations will be used to fund causes that were close to Deborah's heart including funding clinical trials and raising awareness of bowel cancer with the help of Cancer Research UK. Its chief executive Genevieve Edwards said her legacy would live on through her campaigning work and that she had a 'special gift' to connect with the public which showed with the sheer volume of donations from the public. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge led tributes to Dame Deborah today and called her an 'inspirational and unfalteringly brave woman whose legacy will live on'. Prince William cleared his diary and travelled to her parents' home in Woking, Surrey, in mid-May to perform an honours ceremony at a tea party celebrating her extraordinary life. The devastated family Dame Deborah has left behind: Husband who was her 'rock', her 'unsung hero' father and the mother who 'relentlessly nursed' her - as she wrote letters for her children, 14 and 12, so their memories won't fade BBC podcast presenter Dame Deborah James was surrounded by her close family as she passed away at the age of 40 following her five-year battle with bowel cancer. The former deputy head teacher turned cancer campaigner, from west London, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in December 2016, and was told early on that she might not live beyond five years - a milestone that passed in the autumn of 2021. Sharing the news of her death to Instagram last night, her loved ones wrote: 'We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Dame Deborah James; the most amazing wife, daughter, sister, mummy. Deborah passed away peacefully today, surrounded by her family.' Deborah, parent to Hugo, 14, and Eloise, 12, with her husband Sebastien, had been spending the last few weeks at her parents home in Woking, where she passed away. She was joined by her mother Heather and her father Alistair, as well as her brother Ben, who recently announced his engagement to his long-term girlfriend Ashley Hall, and her sister Sarah. Deborah said she has written letters for her children to help them with their first dates and wedding days, and planned to buy Hugo 'a nice pen or wallet or cufflinks' and Eloise 'Tiffany bracelets and earrings' to remember her - as well as some presents and postcards from her for the future. And her funeral is also planned where she will be cremated, but she said she hoped her ashes will be kept in the family kitchen 'for a while' before being scattered. Here FEMAIL reveals the devastated relatives Deborah has left behind... BBC podcast presenter Dame Deborah James was surrounded by her close family, including her husband Sebastien, as she passed away at the age of 40 following her five-year battle with bowel cancer yesterday (pictured together) In March, the cancer campaigner was allowed out of hospital on day release to spend her final Mother's Day with her family (pictured left to right, Deborah James, her mother Heather James, father Alistair, her unnamed niece, husband Sebastien sister Sarah, a second unnamed niece, her brother-in-law, her brother's girlfriend Ashley, her son Hugo and her brother Ben). The tight-knit group are believed to have been by Deborah's side when she died The mother-of-two had often spoken of her sadness that she wouldn't see her children Hugo, 14, and Eloise, 12, growing up (pictured together) Meanwhile her parents Heather (left) and Alistair (right) offered endless support to their daughter throughout her cancer battle, even opening their Woking bungalow to her to receive end-of-life care The loyal husband who's been Deborah James's 'backbone': Banker Sebastien Bowen danced BBC podcaster 'back into the light' in her darkness moments - after cancelling their divorce weeks before her cancer diagnosis He was the man she called her 'rock', her 'blanket' and her 'very backbone' after cancer made Deborah James realise how 'special' the connection she shared with her banker husband Sebastien was. But if things had worked out differently, the BBC podcaster, 40, would have faced her five-year cancer battle as a single woman. The pair, who married in July 2008, and shared son Hugo, 14, and daughter, Eloise, 12, were in the midst of divorce proceedings in 2016, before rekindling their relationship a month before Deborah's diagnosis of incurable bowel cancer. But the 'bowel babe' urged her City banker husband, 42, to find love after her death, with the caveat: 'Don't be taken for a ride, don't marry a bimbo'. Sebastien will now face raising their two children alone, while balancing his career as a banker. Deborah James (left) is pictured on her July 2008 wedding day to banker Sebastien Bowen The pair, who married in July 2008, and shared son Hugo, 14, and daughter, Eloise, 12, and were set to split in 2016 before rekindling their romance shortly before Deborah's diagnosis of bowel cancer. They are pictured on their anniversary in 2009 Before her diagnosis, Deborah was an ambitious deputy head teacher who'd been brought in to turn around a failing comprehensive in Surrey. It meant she and Sebastien, were always stressed and barely saw each other. 'It was a classic case of our marriage coming last,' she told the Daily Mail in 2020. Dame Deborah James dead at 40: Poignant announcement from her family in full The death of podcast host and mother-of-two Deborah James at the age of 40 was announced by her family on Instagram We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Dame Deborah James; the most amazing wife, daughter, sister, mummy. Deborah passed away peacefully today, surrounded by her family. Deborah, who many of you will know as Bowelbabe, was an inspiration and we are incredibly proud of her and her work and commitment to charitable campaigning, fundraising and her endless efforts to raise awareness of cancer that touched so many lives. Deborah shared her experience with the world to raise awareness, break down barriers, challenge taboos and change the conversation around cancer. Even in her most challenging moments, her determination to raise money and awareness was inspiring. We thank you for giving us time in private as a family, and we look forward to continuing Deborahs legacy long into the future through the Thank you for playing your part in her journey, you are all incredible. And a few final things from Deborahfind a life worth enjoying; take risks; love deeply; have no regrets; and always, always have rebellious hope. And finally, check your poo it could just save your life. x Advertisement Sebastien moved out in 2015 and they embarked on an initially 'acrimonious' divorce, both hiring lawyers and starting to see other people. Deborah even went on some 'hideous' Tinder dates. They'd already had the decree nisi when they agreed to counselling, not with any hope of a reconciliation, but simply to be on more cordial terms for the children. Then, to Deborah's astonishment, the pair began having drinks, then dinner, after the sessions. In November 2016, they made 'a big step' and got back together, only for Deborah to receive her shock diagnosis soon after. 'Some days I crave the attention, just wanting to feel desired,' she told the Daily Mail. 'Other days, my husband can't sneeze near me without getting his head bitten off. Understandably navigating that for both of us is hard.' However, she said, 'One of the good things about cancer is it makes you reassess your relationship. It's crunch time. You think: 'Do I really want to be with this person?' And if you don't, then it's 'Bye!' as life really is short. 'But cancer can also make you realise how special your connection is, and that's where we are: in a good place.' The University of Edinburgh graduate works for Pomona Capital, a Mayfair-based private equity firm and previously was a director at MetLife Investments. In August, Deborah shared a sweet video of the pair dancing together in the South of France with a sweet caption thanking her husband for 'holding her hand in the darkness and dancing her back into the light'. She wrote: '13 Years of marriage. My Rock. It was our wedding anniversary earlier this week. Some days the weight of what that means in an uncertain future can be too much. 'Then it's the closing of new day. A new day you are grateful to see. A new day you didn't think you'd feel well in. And you dance. As your lids laugh and film. The sun sets, and you realise how wonderful it is to reach another milestone (and you park the sadness). 'And you smile. And you are at one in the moment only. Because for any of us that's all we ever have anyway. And you give thanks to have people in your life that are the very back bone you remain upright on. 'Sebastien - Thank you for holding my hand in the darkness and dancing me back into the light. I love you. Always'. Writing on his 40th birthday in 2019, Deborah shared this sweet picture and wrote: 'Happy 40th to this brilliant man. So proud of you. Thanks for being my rock and my blanket. For being there in sickness, in health, in the fun times and the bad times. We love you' Bowel babe' urged her City banker beau to find love after her death, with the caveat: 'Don't be taken for a ride, don't marry a bimbo'. They are pictured dancing on their anniversary in the south of France Sebastien moved out in 2015 and they embarked on an initially 'acrimonious' divorce, both hiring lawyers and starting to see other people. Deborah even went on some 'hideous' Tinder dates, but later rekindled their romance In November 2016, they made 'a big step' and got back together, only for Deborah to receive her shock diagnosis soon after. They are pictured at a festival Sebastien will now face raising their two children alone, while balancing his career as a banker. The University of Edinburgh graduate works for Pomona Capital, a Mayfair-based private equity firm and previously was a director at MetLife Investments. They are pictured on holiday Sebastien, who attended the 13,788-a-term St Paul's School in west London has an impressive career with 20 years of primary and secondary fund investing experience The couple often celebrated their anniversary and took moments to be romantic. In 2019, Deborah shared a sweet picture of the pair kissing at a London bar writing: '11 years ago today we 'officially' got married. 'We then had our wedding a few weeks later in France so we normally celebrate then and @sebastienbowen always remembers the correct date (it's the 26th!!)- but any excuse for a nice meal and a cheeky snog?! 'I don't do cheesy declarations very well - but I love this man very much so. Thanks for being my rock.' The couple often celebrate their anniversary and take moments to be romantic (pictured in the south of France) On another occasion she shared a picture of the pair kissing in Kew Gardens with the caption: '12 years ago I said yes in this same spot'. She often posted sweet pictures and tributes to her husband on social media, on his 40th birthday in 2019 she wrote: 'Happy 40th to this brilliant man. So proud of you. Thanks for being my rock and my blanket. For being there in sickness, in health, in the fun times and the bad times. We love you'' On another occasion she shared a picture of the pair kissing in Kew Gardens with the caption: '12 years ago I said yes in this same spot'. Sebastien, who attended the 13,788-a-term St Paul's School in west London has an impressive career with 20 years of primary and secondary fund investing experience. How her parent's love kept Deborah James going: 'Bowel gran', 64, who 'relentlessly nursed' BBC podcaster back to health 'again, and again and again' - while her 'behind-the-scenes' father 'held her up' Deborah's parents Heather and Alistair were endlessly supportive of their daughter, with the couple welcoming their daughter into their home in Woking during the final weeks of her life for hospice care. Her mother Heather, grandmother-to-four and mother-to-three, was a constant support for the former deputy head teacher turned cancer campaigner, who had been living with stage four bowel cancer since she was diagnosed in December 2016. She was by her side during countless hospital stays, joined in with Deborah's viral 'chemo dances', in which the pair would shake a leg to help the presenter get through another chemotherapy cycle, and cared for her grandchildren 'at the drop of a hat'. Deborah's parents Heather and Alistair were endlessly supportive of their daughter, with the couple welcoming their daughter into their home in Woking during the final weeks of her life for hospice care Happier times: Heather James pictured with her daughter Deborah James and her grandchild Eloise Heather had 'relentlessly nursed' Deborah (pictured together), 40, back to health 'again, and again and again' Heather (pictured), grandmother-to-four and mother-to-three, was a constant support for the former deputy head teacher turned cancer campaigner, who has been living with stage four bowel cancer since she was diagnosed in December 2016 Deborah previously posted a video as she danced to Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees in the garden with her mother while wearing matching outfits (pictured) Meanwhile her father Alistair took a more low-key approach, and made fewer public appearances on her social media page - but in her final weeks, Deborah paid tribute to her father and spoke of her love for him. Heather - who is a pre-school gymnastic coach - had also ensured Deborah's fans are kept up-to-date with her condition, by sharing updates on her own Instagram page @bowelgran, and stepped in for her daughter when she was too unwell to make events. One such occasion was to launch the 'No Butts' campaign alongside Lorraine Kelly, which aimed to raise awareness of bowel cancer on the Scottish host's daytime programme from 19 April to 5 May. Praising her mother's appearance, Deborah said on Instagram: 'I'm so proud of my mum today for stepping in to help launch the #NoButts campaign with @lorraine. 'This campaign is something I'm so passionate about. So of course I'm gutted not to be well enough to be there in person (yet!).' Deborah was equally full of praise for her mother on Heather's birthday last year, writing online: 'Thank you for everything you do for all of us, especially for relentlessly nursing me back to health, again, and again and again! 'From hiding in my hospital room to ensure I get my drugs, to sleeping on the sofa with me when I'm scared, to cutting up my toast into tiny squares so I can just nibble them when not hungry! 'To being there for my kids at the drop of a hat, and for being up for any form of dancing, fashion parade or crazy game I come up with! I'm fully aware where I get most of my 'quirky' traits from! 'I'm hoping you can spend the day not worrying about me,' she concluded. The following day, Deborah posted a video as she danced to Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees in the garden with her mother while wearing matching outfits. In her final You, Me and the Big C podcast, released earlier this month, Deborah (left) emotionally said goodbye to her faithful listeners and revealed she had decided to live out her days at her parents' bungalow in Woking Heather has ensured Deborah's fans are kept up-to-date with her condition, by sharing updates on her own Instagram page @bowelgran, and stepped in for her daughter when she was too unwell to make events, such as this Lorraine appearance on TV, pictured 'It's chemo dance time! You know each cycle I dance whilst attached to the pump,' she explained in her caption. But with with my kids in France, my mum has stepped up this time! Seeing as she's literally been nursing me every second for the last month, keeping me alive, I don't think there could ever be a more apt routine!!' 'Here's to another chemo cycle and to mothers helping us through them,' wrote the mother-of-two. In January, Heather shared a snap to Instagram showing her posing with her daughter in a hospital bed as she explained that the presenter had undergone five operations in 10 days following a medical emergency during which she almost died. She said: 'How she does it time and time again blows me away. It's early hours, but it went to plan. 'The aim was to internalised her bile stent if it was working which so far it seems to be. 'Obviously now she's kept under close monitoring but she's really happy (and emotional) because she has no drains for the first time in weeks. 'We just have to pray she remains stable for the foreseeable future now. Due to the operation today, I was allowed to see her briefly as her nominated visitor - which I'm grateful for.' Heather (pictured right) was by her side during countless hospital stays, joined in with Deborah's viral 'chemo dances', in which the pair would shake a leg to help the presenter get through another chemotherapy cycle, and cared for her grandchildren 'at the drop of a hat' Heather continued: 'Visiting in Covid is a really hard balance and it's heartbreaking that families can't see their loved ones more - I can't imagine what families went through in full lock down (including in our own family). 'Deborah certainly needs the support hence why I was allowed in, but risk has to be kept super low. 'Mental health is so important though, we can't underestimate how it helps with recovery. I see it with Deborah. I recall times pre Covid when I used to sleep in the same room over night! 'As is usual she asked for her make up as soon as she came round which is always a good sign!' She went on to hashtag the post with #MotherDaughter and #OneDayAtATime. In her final podcast, Deborah revealed she had decided to live out her days at her parents' bungalow in Woking to spare her children from constant reminders in their London home - and because she can't get up the stairs to use the lavatory. Meanwhile Deborah called her father Alistair her 'unsung hero', telling The Sun: 'I've not always been a big one for telling Dad how much I love him, so take it from me, just say it. You never know when it might be your last chance.' She continued: 'He's quietly there behind the scenes, making sure I am OK. In her final podcast, Deborah (pictured with her mother) revealed she had decided to live out her days at her parents' bungalow in Woking to spare her children from constant reminders in their London home - and because she can't get up the stairs to use the lavatory Meanwhile Deborah's father Alistair was decidedly more private, and appears not to have social media - yet she called him her 'unsung hero', and said he was always 'very calming' acting 'behind the scenes' While Deborah's father Alistair has been more private during his daughter's cancer battle, her mother Heather often posts on Instagram 'He's always been a very calming, loving presence in my life he's very good at handling me and all my craziness. His patience knows no bounds.' Meanwhile she added: 'It breaks my heart knowing they are having to watch this, I can't imagine what it must feel like.' Shortly after an Instagram post was shared to Deborah's page announcing the news last night, Heather reposted the image, saying she was 'heartbroken' by her daughter's death. The children whom she hoped to shield from the worst parts of her final moments: How dedicated mother Deborah spoke of her love for son Hugo, 14, and daughter Eloise, 12 In the final weeks of her life, a tearful Deborah James revealed that she planned her death and wanted to 'slip away' while 'listening to her family' after 'one last cuddle with my children' (pictured, with Hugo, 14, and Eloise, 12) The mother-of-two regularly shared posts on Instagram of her children, posting videos of them dancing with one another and enjoying the lighter moments of life (pictured, on a snowy day in London) In the final weeks of her life, a tearful Deborah James revealed that she planned her death and wanted to 'slip away' while 'listening to her family' after 'one last cuddle with my children'. The former head teacher turned podcaster often spoke of her love for her son Hugo, 14, and daughter, Eloise, 12, and her regret that she wouldn't see them grow up. The mother-of-two regularly shared posts on Instagram of her children, posting videos of them dancing with one another and enjoying the lighter moments of life. As her life came to an end, she said she wanted to die at her parents' house in Woking, to spare son, Hugo and Eloise from constant reminders in their London home. As her life came to an end, she said she wanted to die at her parents' house in Woking, to spare son, Hugo and Eloise from constant reminders in their London home Deborah said she had written letters for her children to help them with their first dates and wedding days, and planned to buy Hugo 'a nice pen or wallet or cufflinks' and Eloise 'Tiffany bracelets and earrings' to remember her - as well as some presents and postcards from her for the future BOWEL CANCER: THE SYMPTOMS YOU SHOULDN'T IGNORE Bowel, or colorectal, cancer affects the large bowel, which is made up of the colon and rectum. Such tumours usually develop from pre-cancerous growths, called polyps. Symptoms include: Bleeding from the bottom Blood in stools A change in bowel habits lasting at least three weeks Unexplained weight loss Extreme, unexplained tiredness Abdominal pain Most cases have no clear cause, however, people are more at risk if they: Are over 50 Have a family history of the condition Have a personal history of polyps in their bowel Suffer from inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn's disease Lead an unhealthy lifestyle Treatment usually involves surgery, and chemo- and radiotherapy. More than nine out of 10 people with stage one bowel cancer survive five years or more after their diagnosis. This drops significantly if it is diagnosed in later stages. According to Bowel Cancer UK figures, more than 41,200 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year in the UK. It affects around 40 per 100,000 adults per year in the US, according to the National Cancer Institute. Advertisement Deborah said she had written letters for her children to help them with their first dates and wedding days, and planned to buy Hugo 'a nice pen or wallet or cufflinks' and Eloise 'Tiffany bracelets and earrings' to remember her - as well as some presents and postcards from her for the future. The heartbreaking interview with The Times she also revealed how she will record letters for her children to open after she's died, including advice for them on how to act on a first date or what to do on their wedding day. Speaking to The Times she said the experience had been 'hideous', adding: ' My first thought was [that] I don't want my children to see me like this. I didn't think I would be able to speak to them without crying, but I'd love one last cuddle with them. 'We have had a string of emotional conversations that have escalated very quickly from supportive care to end-of-life care.' She said she was trying to 'compartmentalise' her death so that she could focus on her 'to-do death list' which includes making memory boxes and recording letters and 'funny messages' for her children. 'I know materialistic things don't matter, but I want to buy Hugo a nice pen or wallet or cufflinks,' she said. 'I'm going to buy my daughter some Tiffany bracelets and earrings. 'They will have all the memories, but I want them to have a few presents in the future. I also want to write them postcards, but I have to be honest, I get really tired.' She added: 'At 12 and 14 I hope they will remember me, but [they are] still very young, so my image will fade and they will have to rely on videos or photos.' Meanwhile in other interviews, she said she was devastated she wouldn't see her children grow up, telling BBC: 'I know that my kids are going to be more than looked after and surrounded by love. 'You always want to know as a mother - are your kids going to be okay? 'And my kids are going to be fine. But it doesn't mean I'm not going to miss every chance I could have had with them.' And in the final weeks of her life, she said she hoped to protect them from the worst moments of her illness, saying: 'I feel very strongly that I don't want my kids to see me agitated and distressed. 'I want to make sure they see me when I'm having a good days.' Saying the 'pressure' on her young children was 'huge', she continued: 'I want them to have nice memories. Prince William said he found it 'very difficult' speaking to Deborah's children Hugo, 14, and daughter, Eloise, 12, during the visit last month The former headteacher (pictured right, with children Eloise, 12, Hugo, 14 and husband Sebastien Bowen) was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016 'I don't want them to take on the burden of having to care for me, massage my legs because I can't walk. That would break my heart.' She recalled seeing her grandparents when they were unwell and said she was determined that Eloise and Hugo won't see that and will have good memories. Last month, when Prince William met the mother-of-two at her parent's home in Woking to make her a Dame, he said: 'I met her children as well. It was very difficult talking to them about it but they seem to have been talking about the situation a lot. 'That's so important in those moment that the family talk and communicate about it and the children are brought into what is going on. The siblings who offered some joy and comfort in the final days of her life: How Deborah's brother finally popped the question to his girlfriend - while her sister never left her side In the final weeks of her life, Deborah was surrounded by her brother and sister, whom appeared to bring some lighter moments to her difficult battle. Her younger sister Sarah Wieczorek, 38, works as an Executive Advisor at Environment Agency and has two young daughters herself, while her brother Ben recently got engaged to his long-term girlfriend Ashley. The family appear close-knit, with the siblings appearing to spend many of Deborah's final days with her at their parents bungalow in Woking. The pair frequently supported Deborah's campaigning and fundraising efforts, sharing links to her blogposts and articles online, as well as running races in aid of Bowel Cancer UK. Dame Deborah's sister Sarah and brother Ben appeared to have been a source of strength to the cancer campaigner in recent weeks, with her brother announcing his engagement to his long-term girlfriend in one joyful moment The mother-of-two posted a number of pictures with her brother and her sister-in-law to be on her Instagram page There was some happy news for the family in the last month, after Ben popped the question to his partner Ashley. Deborah shared the news online, writing: 'Ashley Hall and Benjamin James have finally 'put a ring on it'. I cried and cried...Even Prince William asked my brother why he hadn't done it yet.' Posting a gallery of snaps online, the mother-of-two wrote: 'He finally put a ring on it! Congratulations to @benjaminrjames and @ashleyclairehall for finally getting engaged after 11 years! 'If you ever followed my podcasts, brother banter features highly, and even Prince William joined in on the action recently! 'The question to my brother has always been why haven't you proposed! As a family everyone knew they both wanted to, it wasn't like the it's been off the cards it's just always been apparently about 'the right time'.' She continued: 'So they finally did it and then face timed me from Cornwall and then friends all afterwards - my mouth was still opened for the rest of the day. Meanwhile Deborah called her younger sister Sarah 'unflappable' and said she was 'always by her side' (left and right together) 'I couldn't be prouder to be able to finally say that @ashleyclairehall will be my sister in law - I adore her. And she makes @benjaminrjames happy which is all that matters and vice versa.' Deborah added: 'Of course I'm sad I won't see the wedding but it gave me an excuse to throw my last impromptu party (and I even sat at the table for a bit of it!!).' Deborah told The Sun on Father's Day she was devastated not to see her brother become a father, saying: 'My brother will be the most amazing dad. I am so pleased he is engaged, I love Ashley and they are so happy together. 'I have watched him with my kids over the years, and especially recently. He's that incredible fun uncle, he and Ashley spoil them rotten. 'And he's wonderful with his godchildren too. It breaks my heart that I won't see their kids, or see the dad he will be. Quality time: In the final weeks of Deborah's life, Sarah organised a girly sleepover for the family to enjoy together (left to right, Sarah's unnamed daughter, Heather, Sarah's second unnamed daughter, Eloise, Sarah and Deborah) 'But I know, without a doubt, he will be incredible.' Meanwhile she recently revealed he and Ashley planned to go on holiday to the US, and that she had faced a heartbreaking goodbye with her brother. Speaking to The Sun just seven days ago, she said of her brother Ben: "Hes off on holiday to the US tomorrow. I have told him they have to go, theyve planned the trip for ages. I also told him he must not come back, under any circumstances. 'He says hell come home. Itll be horrible saying goodbye to him. I cant really think about it right now.' It is unknown if Ben did travel to the US for his trip, or whether he will return to the UK following Deborah's passing. Deborah also credited her sister with being 'unflappable' and 'always by her side'. The 38-year-old appeared to be a stabilising presence for Deborah in the final years of her life, suggesting trips out and about to cheer her up and create wonderful memories together. In an Instagram post in 2020, Deborah wrote: 'To my sister Sarah - who still whips me along - thank you for carrying me when I have no strength.' In the last weeks of her life, she organised a girly sleepover for the family in Heather and Alistair's Woking home. Dame Deborah saved our lives: Cancer survivors praise the campaigner for raising awareness - as one mother says, 'I realised if she could get cancer then so could I' Dame Deborah James campaigned tirelessly to raise awareness of bowel cancer symptoms as she battled the disease herself, and in the process saved the lives of countless others who sought an early diagnosis. Cancer survivors from across the UK have thanked Dame Deborah for her selfless work, telling how they went to the GP after hearing her story during her regular TV appearances and episodes of her BBC podcast You, Me and the Big C. 'Without her campaigning I wouldn't have kept going back to me GP,' survivor Teresa Whitfield said today. 'She triggered something in me. And I'm now cancer free. She did save my life. I can only say thank you. Without her I don't think I would be here today.' BBC Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts, who this week announced she had been given the all-clear after receiving treatment for bowel cancer, was also helped by Dame Deborah's efforts. Saving lives: Dame Deborah James campaigned tirelessly to raise awareness of bowel cancer symptoms as she battled the disease herself, and in the process saved the lives of countless others who sought an early diagnosis. The cancer campaigner has died at the age of 40 'I truly believe what Deborah and others like her have done to get the message out - that bowel cancer can happen to anyone, at any age - was a huge factor in Adele's symptoms being taken seriously and getting her seen for a colonoscopy as quickly as she was,' her girlfriend Kate Holderness said. Dame Deborah's death was announced on Instagram last night in a post that revealed that she was surrounded by her family after months of end of life care at her parents' house in Surrey. In a poignant message to her 1million followers, it said that Dame Deborah's final message to them was: 'Find a life worth enjoying; take risks; love deeply; have no regrets; and always, always have rebellious hope. And finally, check your poo it could just save your life'. The campaigner's Bowelbabe fund surged past 6.8million in the hours after it was revealed the mother-of-two had passed away. She is survived by her two children Hugo, 14, and Eloise, 12, and her husband Sebastien. Here, a look at just some of the lives Dame Deborah impacted... I THOUGHT 'IF SHE CAN HAVE CANCER THEN SO CAN I' Bowel cancer survivor Margaret Murtagh, 41, from London, told how listening to Dame Deborah James' podcast saved her life after realising she was suffering from similar symptoms, which she had initially dismissed because she was a busy, active single mother-of-two. 'If she can have cancer, so can I': Bowel cancer survivor Margaret Murtagh, 41, from London, told how listening to Dame Deborah James' podcast saved her life after realising she was suffering from similar symptoms, which she had initially dismissed Full of energy: Margaret told GB News how Deborah had been selfless and full of energy, even as she fought her own battle with the disease. Pictured, the women at a charity event Margaret Murtagh, 41 from London started experiencing a change in bowel habit and fatigue, she put it down to her diet and being a single mother-of-two. It was around the time of the death of BBC presenter Rachael Bland, Deborah's podcast co-host, who lost her battle with breast cancer in September 2018. Margaret recalled how she kept seeing Deborah on TV and online as news outlets covered Rachael Bland's death. Did YOU seek treatment thanks to Dame Deborah's tireless work? Please email stephanie.linning@mailonline.co.uk if you would like to share your story. Advertisement It was only when she followed Deborah's 'Bowelbabe' Instagram account and listened to the You, Me and the Big C podcast that she realised she was experiencing what could be the symptoms of bowel cancer. 'It struck me really, really, really clearly. We were both of a similar age, with both had two kids, both lived in London, we were both runners, we were both healthy, we didn't look like we could have cancer,' she told GB News today. 'I heard her story and I thought, "oh my gosh, if she can have cancer, then so can I". That's when I started taking my symptoms really seriously and I rang my GP the next day... 'I was 38 when I was diagnosed, Deborah was 35. She made you think, "goodness, don't just rest on your laurels and think I'm a runner, I eat loads of veg, I don't eat processed meat." 'Don't just assume that you're healthy, that you can't get bowel cancer because you can. It happened to her and it happened to me.' Margaret was diagnosed with stage 2 bowel cancer in January 2019. She underwent a colonoscopy and was later given the all-clear. MY SYMPTOMS WERE TAKEN SERIOUSLY Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts, 43, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2021. On Monday, she revealed she has been given the all-clear. Survivor: Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts, 43, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2021. On Monday, she revealed she has been given the all-clear Grateful: The DJ's girlfriend Kate Holderness (pictured together) has spoken of how Dame Deborah's tireless campaigning and fundraising efforts helped raise awareness of the disease to the point where Adele's symptoms were 'taken seriously' Adele Roberts underwent colostomy surgery to remove a bowel tumor after being diagnosed with cancer. Like Dame Deborah, Adele Roberts has offered a deeply personal look at her bowel cancer battle via social media. Following the news of the campaigner's death, Roberts shared a simple post that read: 'Thank you for everything Deborah. 'Thank you for being so strong for so long and helping others when you were in so much pain yourself. 'You are the best of us. Thinking of your family and friends and I am forever grateful to you for helping me and my family.' It came hours after she was given the all-clear from the disease. The DJ's girlfriend Kate Holderness has spoken of how Dame Deborah's tireless campaigning and fundraising efforts helped raise awareness of the disease to the point where Adele's symptoms were 'taken seriously'. 'I truly believe what Deborah and others like her have done to get the message out - that bowel cancer can happen to anyone, at any age - was a huge factor in Adele's symptoms being taken seriously and getting her seen for a colonoscopy as quickly as she was,' Kate wrote on Instagram. 'Thank you for everything you've done Deborah, and for what your legacy will continue to do.' I WAS CLEANING THE KITCHEN AND STOPPED IN MY TRACKS Mother-of-four Tracey O'Keefe, of Glasgow, was diagnosed with anal cancer after watching Dame Deborah James on ITV's Lorraine in April 2018. She recognised she was suffering from similar symptoms and insisted she was referred to a specialist. Stopped in her tracks: Mother-of-four Tracey O'Keefe, of Glasgow, was diagnosed with anal cancer after watching Dame Deborah James on ITV's Lorraine in April 2018. She recognised she was suffering from similar symptoms and insisted she was referred to a specialist 'I was just cleaning up the kitchen and I heard her talking about her symptoms,' Tracey told Lorraine in a December 2018 appearance. "I looked at her and thought she didn't look like somebody who would have cancer. And that really hit home because I thought, "I have all those symptoms too". Tracey had previously sought treatment for her symptoms but returned to the GP after watching the Lorraine segment and insisted on being referred to a specialist. When she was met with delays on securing an appointment, Tracey took matters into her own hands and paid to see a doctor privately. She was diagnosed with a 4cm tumour. At the time of the interview, Tracey had received treatment and had a positive prognosis. Tracey admitted she had been embarrassed to seek help because her symptoms affected her bowels. 'I was embarrassed and I apologised every time I went to the GP. I went in saying, "sorry, it's me again, I've still got this. I've still got a wee bit of blood, I'm still pooing really strangely". 'It was a change in bowel habits, different shape, frequency, everything - all the classic symptoms. 'I had the weight loss as well. Like Deborah, I did think it's because I'm doing more yoga and I'm watching what I eat. But I had a gut feeling.' 'DEBORAH, WITHOUT YOU I WOULD BE DEAD' Marketing consultant Teresa Whitfield, 41, lives in south London with her husband and teenage daughter. She wrote an emotional open letter to Dame Deborah, published by OK! 'I remember having an upset stomach and blood in my poo on holiday in July 2018 and thinking, my bodys trying to tell me something. I put it down to dodgy food,' she wrote. 'But my poo didnt look normal - more like undigested tomatoes - and I developed a pain on the left side of my abdomen. I didnt know what the symptoms of bowel cancer were. It didnt even register with me. 'That October, I saw you raising awareness on the Lorraine show and the penny dropped like a stone. You spoke about bowel cancer so openly and a feeling of impending doom washed over me.' Teresa was eventually diagnosed with stage 2 bowel cancer after seeking private treatment after her NHS GP failed to take her symptoms seriously. She underwent an operation to remove a tumour and received chemotherapy. Now the proud mother-of-one is planning her retirement with her husband and looking forward to seeing her daughter grow up. 'Dame Deborah, without you I promise Id be dead,' she added. SHE INSPIRED US TO LIVE LIFE TO THE FULL Bowel cancer survivor Dr Anisha Patel, of Surrey, was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer in September 2018, aged 39. She credits Dame Deborah with transforming the cancer community and showing everyone how to 'live life to the full'. 'She stops us from feeling alone, we feel seen because of her,' she told i. 'She has showed us there is life for those of us living with cancer and she has changed the terminology around it. 'Just because you have stage four cancer doesnt mean you are terminal, it means you are living with cancer. 'She inspires all of us to live life to the full and not take anything for granted.' Dr Patel, a mother-of-two, said she thought she was suffering from new-onset IBS symptoms, including tiredness, some urgency in needing to go to the toilet and fresh blood on the toilet paper. Shining light: Bowel cancer survivor Dr Anisha Patel, of Surrey, was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer in September 2018, aged 39. She credits Dame Deborah with transforming the cancer community and showing everyone how to 'live life to the full' 'I finally spoke to my husband [a consultant Gastroenterologist] about my symptoms as I felt that things werent settling. I knew something just wasnt right, and he suggested I should get checked by a GP,' she wrote in a Bowel Cancer UK post. Eventually Dr Patel was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer. Since being given the all-clear, the GP has dedicated herself to raising awareness of the disease and frequently appears on ITV's Lorraine to promote the NoButts campaign. She paid tribute to Dame Deborah yesterday: 'You will never know the impact you had upon the millions of lives you touched in so many ways. And the legacy you leave will continue to do so. 'You have been the beacon for Bowel cancer amongst so many other things. And a pillar for our cancer community.' You can donate to Deborah James' BowelBabeFund here. Queen Letizia of Spain and Brigitte Macron put on a very stylish display as they arrived at the Royal Theatre in Madrid this morning. The pair were joined by Ingrid Schulerud, the wife of the NATO Secretary General, and the companions of world leaders - as Spain continues to host a NATO summit. The Madrid gathering will wrap up later on Thursday, but not after another stylish display from Queen Letizia - who wore a chic, bright pink dress for the theatre visit. The sleeveless dress featured a pleated skirt, with button detailing on the top. Letizia - the wife of Spanish King Felipe VI - completed her ensemble with nude, pointed heels and a matching clutch bag. Brigitte, who is married to French President Emmanuel Macron, rivalled her stylish display with an off-white, quarter sleeve dress. Queen Letizia of Spain (pictured with Royal Theatre Foundation president Gregorio Maranon Moyaa and Royal Theatre director Ignacio Garcia-Belenguer) put on a very stylish display as they arrived at the Royal Theatre in Madrid this morning Once inside the Royal Theatre this morning, the companions of NATO leaders posed for a series of photographs - and sat down for a reception Brigitte Macron (right) and Queen Letizia both attended a reception in Madrid today Brigitte, who is married to French President Emmanuel Macron, wore an off-white, quarter sleeve dress She wore her blonde locks in her typical bouncy style, and opted for light make-up. Once inside the Royal Theatre this morning, the companions of NATO leaders posed for a series of photographs - and sat down for a reception. In attendance was the Spanish Prime Minister's wife, Begona Gomez, the Luxembourg Prime Minister's husband, Gauthier Destenay and Montenegro's First Lady, Lidija Kuc Dukanovic. Madrid has been abuzz this week as world leaders descended on the Spanish capital en masse for a NATO summit. This morning, US President Joe Biden told Boris Johnson about the night he spent with his granddaughters on Wednesday. Spain's Queen Letizia (right) next to Spanish Prime Minister's wife, Begona Gomez (middle), and French First Lady, Brigitte Macron (left) Some 40 world leaders are attending the NATO summit, running from June 29 to 30, focused on the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine In attendance was the Spanish Prime Minister's wife, Begona Gomez (left, with Letizia right) Mr Biden was joined by Maisy, 21, and Finnegan Biden, 22, for dinner at the Prado Museum where they met Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his wife Begona. The daughters of Hunter Biden were filling in for first lady Jill Biden, who returned to Washington D.C. on Wednesday afternoon. Mr Biden and Mr Johnson swapped notes on their evenings and sounded as if they had chafed at security restrictions on their time in Spanish capital. As Mr Biden sat down at the NATO summit, Mr Johnson asked: 'How was your evening?' The Madrid gathering will wrap up later on Thursday, but not after another stylish display from Queen Letizia - who wore a chic, bright pink dress for the theatre visit Letizia's sleeveless dress featured a pleated skirt, with button detailing on the top. Letizia - the wife of Spanish King Felipe VI - completed her ensemble with nude, pointed heels and a matching clutch bag Queen Letizia of Spain is pictured during a visit to the Theatre Royal in Madrid today 'Good,' Mr Biden could he heard saying on a TV feed of the meeting. 'Great time with my granddaughters.' Earlier this week, Mr Biden joked with Felipe VI as he attended a lavish dinner at the royal palace in Madrid. 'We both married way above our stations,' Mr Biden told the King and Queen after he and Jill greeted the couple, who stood waiting in the throne room. Jill, wearing a white pants suit, admitted she had other worries - namely that her outfit would clash with the stylish Spanish royal. 'You changed,' Queen Letizia, in a black cocktail dress, told the first lady. Jill shook hands with her warmly and laughed. She told the president: 'She had on a white suit today. I said "Oh no, are you wearing that tonight?"' Some 40 world leaders are attending the NATO summit in Madrid, running from June 29 to 30, focused on the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Princess Elisabeth of Belgium cut a stylish figure as she stepped out today to open a 3D-printing laboratory named after her at KU Leuven. The future queen, 20, opened the Princess Elisabeth Additive Manufacturing Lab at the Leuven-based research university, of which the Oxford student is an ambassador. Looking typically stylish, Elisabeth, who is back in her home country after finishing her first years of studies, opted for a statement gold shirt and off-white trousers when attending today's engagement. Princess Elisabeth of Belgium cut a stylish figure as she stepped out today to open a 3D-printing laboratory named after her at KU Leuven The future queen, 20, opened the Princess Elisabeth Additive Manufacturing Lab at the Leuven-based research university, of which the Oxford student is an ambassador Looking typically stylish, Elisabeth, who is back in her home country after finishing her first years of studies, opted for a statement gold shirt and off-white trousers when attending today's engagement During today's event, the princess unveiled a silver plaque outside the lab and got a tour of the facility. She looked effortlessly chic in a gold and beige button-up blouse and cream trousers. Adding a touch of glitz to her outfit, she accessorised with gold chandler earrings and a cream stylish clutch bag. Her glam makeup enhanced her naturally pretty features and her brunette locks were swept back into a ponytail. Adding a touch of glitz to her outfit, she accessorised with gold chandler earrings and a cream stylish clutch bag Her glam makeup enhanced her naturally pretty features and her brunette locks were swept back into a ponytail It comes after the princess spent her Easter holiday at a training course in Leopoldsburg, near the Dutch border. The Belgian royal family released photographs of Elisabeth in face paint and camouflage combat gear as she joined fellow trainee officers to learn essential skills. This summer Elisabeth will return to Belgium for a camp run by the the Royal Military Academy (RMA), the university of the Belgian Defense, responsible for the academic, military and physical training of its future officers. Elisabeth enrolled in a course with the RMA in September 2020 and remains involved in training despite being a full-time first-year student at Oxford. The princess was given a demonstration on how the new 3D-printing machine works by a member of staff Elisabeth sat in a lecture hall with some of the university staff members and government officials She was greeted outside the university by some adoring students who shook her hand before the tour The balance of academic and military experience is regarded an essential foundation for her future life as queen. Elisabeth is the eldest daughter of King Philippe of Belgium, 62, and his wife, Queen Mathilde, 49. The couple also share sons Prince Gabriel, 18, and Prince Emmanuel, 16, and daughter Princess Eleonore, 14. The princess completed her secondary education at UWC Atlantic College in South Wales - based at a 12th-century castle and dubbed the 'Hippie Hogwarts' - where she boarded for 18 months. She looked effortlessly chic in a gold and beige button-up blouse and cream trousers She received a tour of the manufacturing lab and got a demonstration on how the 3D printer works She added a pop of colour to her makeup with a bright pink lipstick for the special occasion Spain's Crown Princess Leonor, 16, and Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, 16, are both current students. When lockdown hit, Elisabeth returned to live with her parents in Brussels and completed her schooling remotely. In September 2021 she graduated from her one-year course in social and military sciences at the RMA, where her father also studied. The following month the Belgian royal household announced the princess had started her undergraduate degree at Lincoln College, Oxford. She appeared in great spirits as she beamed for the camera in an array of snaps inside the university Elizabeth enjoyed a tour of the university and the 3D manufacturing lab which she lent her name to She appeared keen to see for herself how the process worked and peered in through a glass window of the machine According to Belgian newspaper Le Soir, the princess completed a written entrance exam in history 'anonymously' so that her social status would not affect her marks. Elisabeth is believed to have chosen the course herself, in agreement with her parents, and reportedly consulted with alumni from various universities and made her decision based on what would be most useful to her in her role as queen later in life. The royal family announced at the time that the princess would 'regularly return to Belgium and remain involved in Belgian public life' while she studies in the UK. Advertisement Linda Evangelista was pictured on a rare outing after a botched plastic surgery left her face 'brutally disfigured' - days after her ex-husband was accused of 'raping more than a dozen models as young as 14.' Evangelista, 57, has only been seen a few times since undergoing a fat-freezing procedure back in 2016 - which she said made her 'permanently deformed.' However, after spending years in 'hiding,' the former supermodel - who announced in February that she was done living in 'shame' - was spotted keeping it casual as she stepped out in New York City on Wednesday. The Canadian fashionista donned black sweatpants and a button down jean jacket for the outing. She went makeup free and kept her hair pulled back in a bun, pairing the look with wide-rimmed glasses and Birkenstock sandals. Linda Evangelista was pictured on a rare outing after a botched plastic surgery left her face 'brutally disfigured' Evangelista, 57, has only been seen a few times since undergoing a fat-freezing procedure back in 2016 - which she said left her 'permanently deformed' However, after spending years in 'hiding,' the former supermodel - who announced in February that she was done living in 'shame' - was spotted keeping it casual as she stepped out in New York City on Wednesday The Canadian fashionista (seen left now and right in 1990) donned black sweatpants and a button down jean jacket for the outing Evangelista was photographed hailing down an Uber before getting into the car. Later on in the day, she switched into a long, flowing, gray dress, and was seen clutching onto a bouquet of flowers as she made her way into a nearby building. She went makeup free and kept her hair pulled back in a bun The spotting comes just days after it was reported that her ex-husband, French agent Gerald Marie, 72, ran a sordid sex ring from within his multinational modeling agency - where he allegedly raped 13 models as young as 14 because he thought virgins were 'unphotogenic' and prescribed victims cocaine to keep them thin. Marie allegedly engaged in the misconduct while serving as European chief of Elite Model Management in the '80s and '90s - a tenure that saw him become one of the most powerful men in the industry. 53-year-old American model Carre Sutton claimed in an ongoing lawsuit that she was repeatedly raped after being recruited by the model boss in 1985, when she was 16. She also alleged that Marie - who was married to Evangelista from 1987 to 1993 - 'trafficked' her and other women 'to other wealthy men around Europe, where he was reportedly known as the 'Harvey Weinstein of the fashion industry.' The alleged abuse is set to be detailed in an upcoming documentary series, entitled Scouting For Girls: Fashions Darkest Secret, airing on Sky on Friday. He has denied all allegations made against him. Back in September, Evangelista revealed in a shocking Instagram post that she decided to retreat from the public eye after she developed a rare reaction to a cosmetic procedure in 2016. The cryolipolysis procedure, called CoolSculpting, was designed to decrease fat cells, but instead, it made her cells become enlarged. She said she soon began developing 'bulges' all over her body, which made her worry that she was losing her mind. 'To my followers who have wondered why I have not been working while my peers' careers have been thriving, the reason is that I was brutally disfigured by Zeltiq's CoolSculpting procedure which did the opposite of what it promised,' she wrote at the time. 'It increased, not decreased, my fat cells and left me permanently deformed after undergoing two painful, unsuccessful corrective surgeries. I have been left, as the media described, "unrecognizable."' She paired the look with wide-rimmed glasses and Birkenstock sandals Evangelista was photographed hailing down an Uber before getting into the car Back in February, Evangelista (seen right on the catwalk in 1989) revealed in a shocking interview with People magazine that she decided to retreat from the public eye after she developed a rare reaction to a cosmetic procedure in 2016 Later on in the day, she switched into a long, flowing, gray dress, and was seen clutching onto a bouquet of flowers as she made her way into a nearby building The cryolipolysis procedure, called CoolSculpting, was designed to decrease fat cells, but instead, it made her cells become enlarged. She said she soon began developing 'bulges' all over her body, which made her worry that she was losing her mind Speaking to People magazine in an interview months later, the former runway star detailed how she thought she was going crazy and 'stopped eating' when the growths started to appear on her chin, thighs, and bust area - and how she now 'dreads running into someone she knows' after spending decades as a catwalk sensation. At the time, she said she was 'done hiding' and posed for her first photoshoot since undergoing the procedure However, at the time, she said she was 'done hiding' and posed for her first photoshoot since undergoing the procedure. Days later, she was photographed out and about for the first time without a face mask. 'I can't live like this anymore, in hiding and shame. I just couldn't live in this pain any longer. I'm willing to finally speak,' she told the outlet. During the procedure, a device that's set below freezing temperature is applied to fat deposits, which causes cell death in the tissue. But Evangelista soon developed a condition called paradoxical adipose hyperplasia - a rare adverse effect of cryolipolysis, which has been reported in of 0.0051 per cent of the 1.5 million CoolSculpting procedures performed worldwide. With this condition, the treated area becomes larger, rather than smaller. It can leave a 'painless, visibly enlarged, firm, well-demarcated mass' underneath the skin. Evangelista detailed how within three months of her treatments she noticed the bulges forming on her body, with the targeted areas growing rather than shrinking - before hardening and becoming numb. She told People that she had filed a lawsuit last September suing CoolSculpting's parent company, Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc, for $50 million in damages, claiming at the time that she has been unable to work since the procedures. 'I can't live like this anymore, in hiding and shame. I just couldn't live in this pain any longer. I'm willing to finally speak,' she told the outlet at the time But Evangelista had developed a condition called paradoxical adipose hyperplasia - a rare adverse effect of cryolipolysis, which has been reported in of 0.0051 per cent of the 1.5 million CoolSculpting procedures performed worldwide The model told the outlet that she can no longer bear to look at herself in the mirror as 'it doesn't look like her,' explaining that her identity as 'Linda Evangelista, supermodel' is now 'gone' due to the condition She filed a lawsuit last September suing CoolSculpting's parent company, Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc, for $50 million in damages, claiming at the time that she has been unable to work since the procedures The star alleged that CoolSculpting offered to pay for liposuction for her to correct the damage caused by PAH after her doctor contacted them. However, she said that on the eve of her liposuction, Zeltiq said they would only pay for the procedure if she signed a confidentiality agreement - which she refused. In June 2016, Evangelista underwent a full body liposuction procedure, which she claims she paid for. She then underwent liposuction again in July 2017. Evangelista said she had to wear girdles, a chin strap, and compression garments for eight weeks after the liposuction to prevent the PAH coming back - but said the condition did return after her second liposuction. The spotting comes days after it was reported that her ex, Gerald Marie, 72, ran a sex ring while working at Elite Model Management in the '80s and '90s - where he allegedly raped 13 models as young as 14. He and Evangelista are seen in 1991 53-year-old American model Carre Sutton (pictured) claimed in an ongoing lawsuit that she was repeatedly raped after being recruited by the model boss in 1985, when she was 16 She also alleged that Marie (seen in 2020) - who was married to Evangelista from 1987 to 1993 - 'trafficked' her and other women 'to wealthy men around Europe, where he was reportedly known as the 'Harvey Weinstein of the fashion industry' The model told the outlet that she can no longer bear to look at herself in the mirror as 'it doesn't look like her,' explaining that her identity as 'Linda Evangelista, supermodel' is now 'gone' due to the condition. She added: 'If I walk without a girdle in a dress, I will have chafing to the point of almost bleeding. 'Because it's not like soft fat rubbing, it's like hard fat rubbing. [I can't] put my arms flat along my side. I don't think designers are going to want to dress me with that sticking out of my body.' A CoolSculpting representative told People at the time: 'The procedure has been well studied with more than 100 scientific publications and more than 11 million treatments performed worldwide.' They added that rare side effects such as PAH 'continue to be well-documented in the CoolSculpting information for patients and health care providers.' A young Australian man who flew to Turkey for budget veneers has been slammed by thousands on TikTok after sharing videos of the drastic procedure. Despite having already forked out $23,000 in Melbourne getting his top teeth done, David Kosir decided to jet overseas to complete his perfect set of pearly whites for just $3,000. The 26-year-old documented the treatment mid-procedure while sitting in the dentist chair and showed what his shaved down teeth looked like before the veneers were inserted. Scroll down for video Young Aussie David Kosir, 26, wasn't happy with his smile and decided to get veneers (left: before surgery). Last month he flew to Turkey for a budget procedure costing $3000 AUD (right: during the procedure) After: David, from Melbourne, posted a series of videos on TikTok documenting the process but was criticised and ridiculed by thousands online David calls himself 'plastic botched boy' on TikTok and a few of his videos have been viewed millions of times. One clip was uploaded alongside the caption: 'Day 1 down, very exciting times #turkeyteeth #chompers.' While he was happy with the end result and budget cost, he was criticised by thousands online. One TikTok user wrote: 'Have fun doing this every 10 years.' Another said: 'I know people who did the same thing and foods get in-between and start to rot. Smells worse than the toilet they say.' 'American Horror Story whooo,' a third added, and another felt 'sorry' for David. After the week-long procedure, David took a few days to rest before returning to Australia - and also had a hair transplant while overseas. 'The thing is, I'm not into a natural look at all,' David said, adding: 'I did my top teeth first separately in Australia by getting veneers and I received so many compliments in my personal life. 'So after the great feedback I was very eager to get my bottom teeth done, then I could have a full mouth of perfect teeth! 'It was just so much cheaper and the quality of work was still very good with the dentist I found having over 15 years' experience. I did a lot of research and it saved me a bucket load of money.' He described the process as 'easy' and 'pain free'. After the week-long procedure, David took a few days to rest before returning to Australia - and also had a hair transplant while overseas. In another TikTok video David revealed he's had $100,000 worth of plastic surgery to alter his look Are veneers a bad idea? Veneers are considered an irreversible procedure because your dentist needs to change the structure of your natural teeth Some people experience an increase in tooth sensitivity The procedure is also incredibly expensive Source: Colgate Advertisement In another TikTok video David revealed he's had $100,000 worth of plastic surgery to alter his look - including spending $7500 on lip filler, $1200 for freckle laser removal, and $1500 for annual botox. David has also spent $7000 for 10mL of cheek filler and $3000 for 5mL of jaw/chin filler, along with a $13,000 for a nose job. The teeth veneers and crowns cost a total of $33,000 and the hair transplant cost $6500. Unlike filler that's a removable treatment, intense procedures such as veneers and teeth shaving isn't reversible. The first American monkeypox patient to go public with his battle against the tropical virus has slammed health officials for a 'lackluster' job of testing for the virus, which has left many cases undiagnosed. Matt Ford, a self-employed actor who splits his time between Los Angeles and New York City, has spoken out to warn people that the disease 'sucks' and they should take it 'seriously.' He blasted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for their poor testing efforts, saying it took officials three days to diagnose his illness by which point he 'already knew' what they would say. Revealing his diagnosis to Buzzfeed, Ford said he caught the virus after having 'skin-to-skin contact' with another patient. Matt Ford, from Los Angeles, is the first patient to come forward to talk about his monkeypox diagnosis. He is pictured above with three spots due to the virus on his face The actor and writer, who describes himself as a 'proud openly gay man,' revealed he initially noticed spots in and around his 'underwear zone,' which indicated to him he had caught the virus. Over the next few days they spread across the rest of his body, including his face, arms, hands and abdomen. In total, he has counted 25 spots and said after appearing they began to 'fill with puss' and became itchy. Several especially in the 'sensitive area' became so painful they left him unable to sleep at night without taking painkillers. 'I think in total I counted 25 and there are also some in more sensitive areas which tend to be the most painful. They're so painful that I had to go to my doctor to get painkillers just to be able to sleep, like really f****** painful.' Ford also began suffering flu-like symptoms in the early stages, ranging from a fever, chills, night sweat and a cough. He is now isolating at home with most symptoms having largely subsided, but will remain there until the spots have healed over and the scabs dropped off. When he first spotted symptoms on June 17, America's monkeypox cases had just crossed into triple figures. But many scientists warned this was likely an 'undercount' because the CDC was carrying out so few tests every day. The CDC was performing about 60 tests for monkeypox a day last week, leaving it unable to stay on top of the virus. But it has now sent more swabbing kits to private laboratories as it aims to ramp up testing to tens of thousands a day. Ford showed spots on his stomach (left) and arm (right). There were about 25 in total, he said, that had erupted all over his body Ford said he took painkillers because one of the spots around his 'underwear zone' triggered so much pain he couldn't sleep. Pictured above is his arm with monkeypox warning signs Slamming the CDC's tracking of the virus on BuzzFeed, Ford said: 'Many friends and acquaintances [have] reached out to say they either also had it or had been exposed. Matt Ford, pictured above before contracting monkeypox. He says he lives in Los Angeles and New York City 'While it was reassuring to know I wasn't alone, it also made me worry that cases were being severely undercounted.' He added in a TikTok video: 'According to my doctor... the CDC is doing a really lackluster job of tracking how many cases there actually are. '[This is] due to a lack of testing, and generally not being on top of it.' Ford is America's first monkeypox patient to reveal his identity and be featured in a national publication. Describing his symptoms, he said: 'You can see these [spots] on my face, these are thankfully healing the fastest. 'And then these are on my arms and hands that you can see they are really not cute. I have got one on my tummy here. And those are just a few of the ones on my body. A day after being warned he had been exposed to the tropical disease, Ford said he began to experience flu-like symptoms which led to him visiting the doctors. Medics took a swab on the Monday, June 20, but did not manage to get him a diagnosis until the following Thursday, the 23rd by which point he 'already knew' he was infected. A nurse then began to check-in on him daily via phone, and he also received an order to remain at home until all his symptoms subsided. America has now recorded 351 cases of monkeypox. But scientists fear there are many more infections in the country that are yet to be diagnosed Ford is pictured above showing spots that had appeared due to the disease on his face. He made a video for social media to reveal his diagnosis What are the symptoms of monkeypox? How is it transmitted? What are the symptoms of monkeypox? Medical literature says patients with monkeypox initially experience flu-like symptoms such as a cough or fever before the characteristic rash appears and spreads across the body. But in the current outbreak this is not what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recording. They say many patients are seeing rashes and spots emerge around the genital and anal areas as the first warning sign. This is then followed by flu-like symptoms and a rash that spreads to the rest of the body. How is monkeypox transmitted? Monkeypox is passed on from close skin-to-skin contact. In the current outbreak it is mostly being transmitted through sex where people come into contact with infectious lesions. But it is not a sexually transmitted disease, and can spread without any sexual activity. In rare incidents it can also spread through the air when there is 'sustained' face-to-face contact. How deadly is it? Monkeypox is usually mild, with most patients recovering within a few weeks without treatment. Yet, the disease can prove fatal. Monkeypox kills up to 10 per cent of people it infects. However, with milder strains the fatality rate is closer to one in 100 similar to when Covid first hit. What are the treatment options? There are no specific treatments available for monkeypox infection. However, because monkeypox virus is closely related to the virus that causes smallpox, jabs for smallpox can also protect people from getting monkeypox. The US is currently rolling out the Jynneous jab to gay men who regularly have sex with others in New York and Washington D.C. in order to curb its spread. Advertisement Another patient, based in Chicago, has also come forward on social media with their diagnosis, but has chosen to remain anonymous going by the pseudonym 'thatgaydoctor.' Medical literature warns someone can transmit the monkeypox virus for as long as they have any signs. They can only be declared all clear when their spots have scabbed over and dropped off. Ford said he began taking frequent baths and painkillers to help ease pain from his spots, but that it was only 'so-so' at helping with it. Symptoms began to subside about a week after they appeared, he said, but he is now waiting for the final scabs to heal over. The CDC has faced repeated criticism for its testing regime, which many doctors warned initially discouraged medics from asking for the tests. The laborious process requires a patient's sample to first be tested for an orthopox virus the family of viruses including monkeypox at a local laboratory. If the result is positive, the sample is then sent to the CDC for confirmation. Critics say the process also requires clinicians to report suspected cases to health departments, who decide whether it meets the criteria to be checked for orthopox. It can also involve calling public hotlines and answering extensive questionnaires, which can be slow and cumbersome dissuading doctors from seeking tests. Health officials were carrying out about 10 swabs for monkeypox a day when the outbreak began, the Washington Post reported. This had risen to 60 a day by last week, but was still falling well short of the number needed as the outbreak continued to grow. America has recorded 351 monkeypox cases to date, with another 45 spotted over the last 24 hours. New York and California are facing the biggest outbreaks. But experts fear this could be just the 'tip of the iceberg', with many more infections in the community going undetected. Experts say that as the rash-causing virus is spreading under the radar it could well become an 'entrenched' sexually transmitted disease in the population because warning signs can be easily missed. Dr. Jay Varma, an epidemiologist at the Weill Cornell Medical School in New York City, said early infection signs are 'innocuous' and in hard to see places like the inside of the anus raising the likelihood it is missed. This gives the rash-causing virus a window in which to transmit to others, before more serious signs like flu-like symptoms and rashes across the body appear. Varma added that the tropical disease was also being aided by a lack of STI testing in the U.S., leaving many cases un-diagnosed. Covid's resurgence has prompted NHS hospitals to bring back face mask rules for patients just weeks after they were officially ditched. Health chiefs this month dropped all guidance that told patients to wear coverings inside hospitals as well as A&E units and GP surgeries in England. But at least four trusts have now reinstated guidance that urges people to mask-up because of a spike in infections. Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust claimed its update was to 'reduce further spread of Covid and keep patients and staff safe'. Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust, in Nottinghamshire, said it was 'vital we take decisive action to protect our most vulnerable patients'. Similar reinstatement messages were put out by Torbay and South Devon NHS Trust and North West Anglia NHS Trust. The guidance is, however, no longer legally enforceable. When the national NHS masking rules were dropped on June 10, local health bodies were given the power to draft their own policies. Several trusts still demanded patients and visitors wore face coverings. Left-leaning experts have already called for a return of masks and for Britons to only meet outside because of the country's uptick in infections. Covid infections have doubled in a fortnight across England and more than 1,000 patients are now being admitted with the virus each day. Face masks have been brought back in NHS hospitals because of a resurgence in Covid cases just weeks after the rules were ditched. Pictured: Kings Mill Hospital in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, which is run by Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust, which has switched its messaging Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust also reinstated the old guidance. Pictured: Addenbrooke's Hospital, run by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, which looks after 15 hospitals in the region, issued new guidance on Monday. Pictured: Dawlish Hospital in Devon Covid infections have nearly doubled in a fortnight in England, rising to about 1.4million in the latest week Admissions have breached 1,000 for the first time in two months but the majority of patients are not primarily ill with Covid Captain Tom Moore fund faces charity probe The Captain Tom Foundation faces further investigation after the charities watchdog launched a probe into claims that a firm controlled by the late Second World War veteran's daughter trademarked his name and reportedly made 800,000. The Charity Commission first opened a case into the charity in March last year, a month after Tom Moore died with Covid aged 100, and began reviewing the set-up of the organisation. This has now escalated to an inquiry after the watchdog said it had become concerned that a failure to take into account intellectual property and trademark issues when the charity was set up 'may have generated significant profit' for Club Nook Ltd. Club Nook Ltd was used to register names such as Captain Tom and Walk with Tom for commercial use. It owns a number of trademark-registered names for purposes including beer, spirits, greeting cards, lunch boxes and water bottles. As well as donations, the Captain Tom Foundation generates income through branded merchandise including T-shirts and gin. The Times reported that Club Nook Ltd made 809,000 in its first year, and that after creditors were paid, it was left with just under 500,000. A Companies House filing shows that the firm was registered in April 2020, less than two weeks before the foundation was incorporated. Advertisement The resurgence has been fuelled by the spread of BA.4 and BA.5, which are thought to be more infectious but just as mild as the original Omicron strain. The Government has said it will monitor the situation 'very quickly' but does not plan to reintroduce restrictions. Ministers and their key advisers have taken confidence from the fact only a fraction of Covid patients are primarily admitted because they are unwell due to the virus. Separate figures show just 20 Britons are dying from the virus each day now. Torbay and South Devon NHS Trust, which looks after 15 hospitals across the region, issued new guidance on Monday. A spokesperson for the trust said: 'Due to the rise in Covid in our communities and in our hospitals, we are encouraging people visiting our hospitals and health care sites to wear a face mask if they are able to do so. 'Thank you for your support.' The trust previously posted a picture of its maternity staff with and without masks, celebrating 'smiles are back' on June 10 when the guidance was lifted. After the public U-turn, people living in the area took to social media to ridicule the trust for changing its stance so quickly. Joel Webs Tweeted: 'I thought smiles were back? Are your staff now wearing masks?' Chaela wrote: 'That lasted long! We're all saying I told you so! The question is how did we all see it coming and you didn't?' Stephen Clarke said: 'Eejits. Encourage all to wear high quality masks and don't make this mistake again.' Other trusts faced similar backlash, although some insist the move demonstrates 'decisive' action in the face of spiralling infections. Phil Bolton, chief nurse for Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust, which has three hospitals, said the move to ditch masks was always considered reversible if cases picked up again. He added: 'At the time we cautiously stepped-down the requirement to wear a mask we said we'd keep transmission rates under constant review and reintroduce measures if necessary. 'As cases have risen, it's vital we take decisive action to protect our most vulnerable patients, visitors and colleagues to ensure we can keep vital services running for all those that need them over the coming weeks. 'We'd like to thank everyone for their continued support and ask everyone to wear a mask when asked to do so across our hospitals.' Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust said: 'With Covid cases rising in the local community and in our hospitals, we are reinstating the requirement to wear face masks in all clinical patient-facing areas with immediate effect. 'We are taking this step to reduce further spread of Covid and keep patients and staff safe. 'We will continue to keep our Covid Secure guidance under regular review.' The North West Anglia NHS Trust said: 'Due to a rise in Covid patient numbers in our hospitals we need to reinstate mask wearing in all clinical areas.' NHS England wrote to all local health bodies on July 10 to set out new rules on mask wearing issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Covid guidance was continuing to impact on 'capacity and flow', bosses said at the time. Patients admitted with Covid or suspected to have Covid should be provided with a face mask. Staff should still wear masks when dealing with Covid patients. 'Universal masking should also be considered in settings where patients are at high risk of infection due to immunosuppression eg oncology/haematology,' the advice also said. But masks are not needed elsewhere unless someone has a 'personal preference'. 'Chestfeeding' instead of breastfeeding and asking men if they are pregnant before getting a scan are just two ways NHS language has gone woke recently. NHS chiefs have repeatedly defended the changes, saying they want to be 'inclusive, respectful and relevant'. But health experts have warned de-gendering medical advice could be dangerous as it over-complicates and obscures vital health messaging. Health Secretary Sajid Javid has promised to reverse gender neutral language in the NHS, following a string of MailOnline revelations including one yesterday that revealed midwives were being told sex was 'assigned' at birth. Here, we detail some of the ways the woke language storm has engulfed the health service. Here are some examples of the woke language changes that have engulfed NHS communications. Some of these examples have been taken from national NHS communications while others are used by individual hospitals NHS removes the word 'women' from its MENOPAUSE page This month it was revealed the NHS's online guidance about the menopause had the terms 'women' and 'woman' removed. The webpage used to describe the condition as 'when a woman stops having periods and is no longer able to get pregnant naturally'. But a new, gender-neutral description made in May, says: 'Menopause is when your periods stop due to lower hormone levels'. The old advice also highlighted menopause usually occurs in women between the ages of 45 and 55, but about one in 100 women experience it before 40. But none of this information is included in the overview section of the updated webpage. In total six mentions of 'women' and 'woman' have been scrubbed from the page. Justifying the change, NHS Digital said they wanted language to be 'inclusive and respectful'. Experts warned that de-sexing the menopause page meant women with low English or health literacy could miss out and not read further. The NHS has quietly omitted the terms 'women' and 'woman' from its webpage on menopause. Pictured here is the older version of the menopause overview page (May 16) which mentioned women six times But the new version omits women from the overview entirely. Experts have warned women could be disadvantaged by de-gendered medical advice confusing health messaging NHS midwives told that sex is 'ASSIGNED' at birth Midwives denounced claims they 'assign' the sex of children at birth in a row on woke language yesterday. The wording came from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in an 'inclusivity' statement. Their document said: 'We recognise maternity and gynaecological services will be accessed by women, gender diverse individuals and people whose gender identity does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth.' But some midwives hit back at the colleges, arguing that they merely 'observe' the reality of a baby's sex at birth as opposed to deciding it themselves. Jo Gould, a midwife in Sussex, said she was 'ashamed' of her representative body and that the statement was 'nonsense' and 'offensive'. But the RCM said the phrase sex assigned at birth was used correctly arguing it is the UK governments Office for National Statistics legal terminology for the sex observed at birth and then recorded on the birth certificate. A statement on inclusivity from the Royal College of Midwives and Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has provoked outrage from some midwives on social media for using the term 'sex assigned at birth' NHS pregnancy advice refers to 'chestfeeding' and refuses to mention breasts Earlier this month, the NHS was criticised over 'ideological' new advice for trans parents that failed to mention the word 'breast'. A page titled 'chestfeeding if you're trans or non-binary' makes no mention of breasts and refers to breast reduction operations as 'top surgery'. It was also accused of 'normalising' a potentially dangerous chest-binding technique. The guidance also encourages people to keep taking hormone transitioning drugs when they 'chestfeed', despite admitting 'it is unclear what effect this could have on your baby'. The advice was written a year prior to publication but was only issued online after nearly 12 months of internal NHS wrangling. It provoked concern among nurses and maternity experts, who said the advice fails to warn people about health risks of such practices to both parents and babies. The term chestfeeding is used throughout the page with the term 'breast' omitted. Breastmilk likewise has been replaced with 'milk from the chest' The page also says testosterone can pass through breast milk to babies but adds it is 'unclear' what affect passing the hormone on to a baby could have Critics of the page have said it normalises a potentially dangerous 'binding' technique used to make breasts smaller using fabric and which can cause a variety of health problems NHS bosses removed term 'WOMEN' on ovarian and womb cancer advice pages Official NHS advice pages about ovarian, womb, vaginal and cervix cancers were found to have quietly scrubbed the word 'women' from their webpages earlier this year. The term was missing from the landing pages of three sections explaining the cancers, which are only found in biological women. For example, the original version of the ovarian NHS cancer page featured the line: 'Ovarian cancer, or cancer of the ovaries, is one of the most common types of cancer in women.' Another line read: 'Ovarian cancer mainly affects women who have been through the menopause (usually over the age of 50), but it can sometimes affect younger women.' However, in an update sneaked out in January these were removed with the page now saying: 'Anyone with ovaries can get ovarian cancer, but it mostly affects those over 50.' The changes were made late in 2021 and early 2022 but only came to light in May. The old version of the NHS ovarian cancer page as of December 30 2021 (left) mentions women specifically twice, whereas the new version (right) omits them NHS reinstates the word women in its miscarriage advice In June, the health service added the word 'women' back to its miscarriage page following backlash. The health service replaced 'women who know they're pregnant' with 'people who know they are pregnant'. Another line on the page was also criticised for saying miscarriage 'only affects about one in 100 people' instead of women. Despite amending one of the sentences to state that having three consecutive miscarriages 'only affects about one in 100 women', other pages in the NHS guidance make no mention of women at all. A section called 'aftermath' refers to 'people' seven times but not once to women, including in its sub-paragraph about the emotional impact of a miscarriage. Another section titled 'causes' does mention women several times when attributing their age as a factor on their pregnancy, with one in ten expectant women under 30 having a miscarriage compared to five in ten over 45. NHS Digital has now partially amended the webpage to include the word 'women' once at the end NHS-backed guidance states transwomen can breastfeed Experts warned newborn babies could be harmed by woke NHS-backed guidance stating biologically born men can breastfeed. Guidance from the La Leche's charity linked to on the NHS's controversial 'chestfeeding' advice page states biological men who swap sex can stimulate milk supply using the Newman-Goldfarb protocol. But the procedure, which involves taking a powerful drug called domperidone, has been mired in controversy and is effectively banned in the US because of its side effects. NHS bosses only recommend it to women struggling to produce milk in some cases because domperidone carries a risk of giving a baby an irregular heartbeat. Experts told MailOnline how scientists have 'no idea about the implications', of breastfeeding in men and that the NHS should focus on improving access to breastfeeding rates for women. An NHS England spokesperson said the link to La Leche's advice on the chestfeeding guidance page was to an 'independent, non-profit support site' and added does not reflect NHS policy. Hospitals asking men if they are pregnant before scans In March, it was revealed that men were being asked if they are or could be pregnant before given radiotherapy by some NHS trusts. Male cancer patients, as well as those having X-rays and MRI scans, were asked if they were expecting a baby, because the word 'female' was replaced by 'individuals' for medical procedures. For example, the Walton Centre NHS in Liverpool now asks 'all patients under the age of 60, regardless of how you may identify your gender' whether they could be having a baby. The dangers that radiotherapy, diagnostic imaging and nuclear medicine pose to an unborn child mean medics must find out if biologically female patients are pregnant before carrying out the procedures. But campaigners warned the move could spark the beginning of a 'clinically dangerous' move to record only gender, and not sex, on medical records. Patients and their families have also complained of 'unnecessary confusion and agitation' for vulnerable patients. Student midwives being taught how to help biological MEN give birth In May this year, it was revealed that midwifery students at Edinburgh Napier University were being taught biological men could get pregnant and trans men could give birth even if they have a penis. In a coursebook that has since been revised, trainee midwives were given detailed instructions on how to treat a male-to-female trans person during childbirth. The book's introduction stated: 'You may be caring for a pregnant or birthing person who is transitioning from male to female and may still have external male genitalia.' Another section with photo demonstrations detailed how to fit a catheter in a person with a penis and scrotum during labour. The book also included special instructions for people with prostate glands which are exclusive to biological men who may feel particular 'discomfort'. Several experts criticised the university, describing the woke material as 'remarkably ignorant about basic biology, sex and anatomy'. Bosses at the university have now changed the wording to say, 'people transitioning from female to male' rather than 'male to female', following the uproar. NHS told to use inclusive birth terms to avoid offending transgender people NHS services were told to use 'inclusive' terms like 'chestfeeding' so trans pregnant people aren't offended by a Government-funded report published in April. Produced by charity the LGBT Foundation other suggestions of language change was avoiding terms like 'vaginal birth', recommending 'frontal' or 'lower birth' instead. The charity also says some trans and non-binary people would benefit from having a private space in hospitals to give birth, so that they are not made uncomfortable by seeing women. It detailed the experience of one trans person, who said: 'I didnt have to go to a ward full of women after giving birth, I was actually provided with a private room for me and baby which was very helpful and accommodating for me and my gender identity.' The report was based on a survey 121 trans Britons on their experience of pregnancy. It was commissioned by the Health & Wellbeing Alliance, a partnership between charities and the NHS, which is managed jointly by the Department of Health and Social Care and Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. NHS hospital tells staff to say 'birthing parents' and 'human milk' In February last year Brighton and Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust unveiled 'gender inclusive' phrases it wanted its staff to use. These included terms like 'birthing parents' and 'human milk' rather than 'mothers' and 'breast milk' to avoid offending transgender people. The Trust said using 'gender inclusive' phrases was part of a drive to stamp out 'mainstream transphobia'. Other changes include replacing the use of the word 'woman' with the phrase 'woman or person', and the term 'father' with 'parent', 'co-parent' or 'second biological parent', depending on the circumstances. The new terms will be used for documents, protocols and Trust-wide communication. The move was welcomed by inclusivity campaigners at the time, with the group TransActual tweeted: 'This is fantastic, well done. Let's hope many more trusts follow suit. Everybody deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.' Britain should offer free abortions to American women who can no longer get them legally, UK doctors have said. The British Medical Association (BMA) has agreed to lobby the Government on the issue following the US supreme court's decision to overturn the Roe v Wade ruling. That highly controversial move ends American women's legal right to have abortions and leaves it up to individual states to decide if they are lawful. Foreign patients are able to have abortions in the UK currently but can be charged up to 1,500, depending on how far along a woman is in her pregnancy. But in an emergency debate yesterday, the BMA voted to lobby for free abortions for all nationalities. Of the 80,000 women who receive abortions from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) each year, 4,000 are international patients. Seven US states have already banned abortions in the wake of the landmark decision last week. Britain should offer free abortions to American women who can no longer access them legally in their home country, UK doctors have said (stock image) While abortions are usually free for Britons on the NHS, international patients can expect to pay between 480 to 1,510 for a consultation and the procedure itself. The cost depends on how many weeks pregnant the woman is and whether the procedure is done medically using tablets or surgically. At the BMA's annual meeting in Brighton, 57 per cent of members voted in favour of lobbying the Government for free abortions to all nationalities. A third voted against it and 7 per cent abstained. Marina Politis, the medical student who tabled the motion, said: 'Abortion is essential healthcare in [some] cases, the US supreme court decision is a death sentence. 'In other, less risky pregnancies, this decision still removes an essential right of the individual to choose what happens to their own body. 'In the context of a hostile environment, we have seen increased migrant charging. 'We also need to provide safe abortion care to all nationals seeking this in the UK, without subjecting them to overseas patient upfront tariffs and this must be regardless of borders going far beyond the US.' Dr Lisa Egbert, speaking on behalf of the AMA, the American equivalent of the BMA, thanked British doctors for their support. She said: 'The AMA is thankful to the British Association for adding your voice recognising access to essential medical care as a fundamental human right.' The US Supreme Court last week ended constitutional protections for abortion that have been in place for nearly 50 years by deciding to overturn the landmark Roe v Wade ruling. Seven states have already outlawed abortions in the wake of the decision, including Kentucky, Alabama and Oklahoma. But more states could follow in the coming weeks due to 'trigger laws' that were set up to ban abortion as soon as the federal right to it was removed. Boris Johnson over the weekend condemned the decision to overturn the ruling as a 'big step backwards'. 'It's a very important decision. I've got to tell you, I think it's a big step backwards,' he told a news conference during a visit to Rwanda. 'I've always believed in a woman's right to choose and I stick to that view and that is why the UK has the laws that it does.' A grandmother with leukaemia and kidney failure was left on a stretcher for 30 hours in A&E in one of the most harrowing examples of the crisis in the NHS. The 90-year-old, who wants to stay anonymous, split her head open after a fall in sheltered accommodation and was taken to hospital in an ambulance. But when she arrived at Whiston Hospital, near Liverpool, the bloodied pensioner was told there were no beds for her. She turned up at the A&E in the evening of Saturday, April 23, and wasn't admitted until the early hours of Monday 30 hours later. Only then did doctors finally take her into a side room for a scan to check the extent of the damage. She was forced to wait another 10 hours in a corridor until she was finally given a bed in a ward. A grandmother, who wished to remain anonymous and was three weeks from her 90th birthday, was stuck on a stretcher in Whiston Hospital, near Liverpool, for 30 hours Doctors needed to give her a scan to check the extent of the damage but she had to stay on the stretcher for more than a day which she fell off of on the first night WHAT'S BEHIND THE CURRENT A&E CRISIS? GP crisis Campaign groups, MPs and senior medics say desperate patients are turning to emergency and walk-in services because they can't get a face-to-face appointment with their GP. Around 60 per cent of appointments with GPs are in-person, with the rest done virtually, compared to more than 80 per cent pre-pandemic. The average GP in England is responsible for 2,200 patients now up from 1,900 in 2016. In the areas with poorest access, up to 2,600 patients are fighting over one family doctor. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) has previously warned difficulties in seeing a GP was leading to a crisis in emergency departments. A report in October by the College said a lack of access to family doctors was creating 'dangerous crowding' in A&Es. Covid The NHS offered a bare bones service for months during the first wave of the pandemic, shutting down all non-emergency services to focus on the virus. Even when the health service reopened, million stayed away for fear of catching the virus or being a burden on the NHS one of the consequences of the Governments stay at home, save lives slogan. There are concerns this suppressed demand that is now bouncing back. It is estimated that 13million fewer people went to hospital or their GP during the two years of the pandemic, and they are now flooding back, possibly more ill than ever. Staffing The NHS has long-running problems with recruiting and retaining medics in A&E. Doctors in training pass through emergency departments, experienced medics tend to retire early and there is a high use of temporary locum staff. This makes it difficult to admit patients quickly from A&E and to provide quick advice to patients and assess who can be treated and discharged. Social care crisis Staffing and bed shortages in the social care sector has created a bed-blocker crisis in the NHS. An estimated 10,000 thousand patients sitting in hospital beds face a 'delayed discharge' until the necessary next stage of their care becomes available. This means there are less beds to admit new patients, stopping them from being admitted quickly. Backlogs There are now more than 6million people waiting for a routine operation in England, the equivalent of one in nine of the entire population, coming out of the pandemic. The Government has promised to make clearing the waits a priority, which doctors say means the NHS finite amount of beds are taken up by patients having operations. eConsult Patients have also blamed eConsult services that some GP practices tell patients to fill out in order to get an appointment. A patient in her 60s from Oxfordshire, who wished to remain anonymous, told MailOnline she was told to complete the online that told her to go to A&E when she needed to see her GP. A 66-year-old patient from Gravesend was directed to A&E by an eConsult. But emergency medics said she needed to see her GP. And doctors have told how the eConsult system has left patients who are unwell and need a 'quick conversation' with their GP pushed towards emergency units when they didn't need to be there. Advertisement Recalling her mother's ordeal, the patient's daughter said she had fallen out of her bed in the night. She said: 'I went straight there, with pyjamas, incontinence pads, a blanket and food and drinks, to try and get an update.' By the time her daughter had arrived at hospital, the grandmother had barely moved from where she'd been left. She added: 'By this point mum was really confused, she thought nurses were carers who come to her bungalow and she kept asking one of them to go and her some sweeteners for her tea out of the cupboard in the kitchen.' Explaining the distressing wait, her daughter said: 'We were in a corridor with lots of other people on stretchers mainly elderly people. 'I went off down a corridor into another department to find a chair as I have got health issues myself and really needed to sit down. 'In front of us was another elderly patient, the ambulance staff with that person offered to stay with mum so the crew with mum could leave we had been there almost an hour at that point.' She was asked to leave after four hours because the casualty unit didn't have any space to accommodate family members. The woman's daughter said: 'We tried ringing later on and couldn't get an answer from A&E it was just ringing out understandably they were extremely busy. 'Later in the evening my son managed to get through and they said his grandmother was in "stretcher triage" but was comfortable, and her head injury was waiting to be assessed by a specialist. 'The following morning we rang again and my son was told she was still in stretcher triage but had fallen off the trolley in the night.' A healthcare assistant at the hospital revealed her mother had got her legs stuck through the trolley rails in the night and had fallen. She said: 'Thank God she hadn't done herself further injury.' The woman was eventually admitted and reached a ward in the early hours of the Monday morning, nearly 40 hours after she first arrived. Her daughter said: 'She was clearly confused, both through age related memory and hearing loss and probably also as result of the head injury. 'The hospital is clearly very understaffed and demand is through the roof but leaving a vulnerable old woman for so long in a corridor is totally unacceptable. 'She wasn't the only old person I saw in that corridor either, some in a worse state of confusion than mum. It's like they are disposable, they have no dignity and this system has become the norm. She added: 'The staff are maybe hardened to it, maybe they have to be to be able to actually go to work each day. 'What happens to old people who have no family nearby, to come and advocate or care for them during their wait to be admitted. It is truly shocking and it looks like it's only going to get worse.' Her grandmother stayed on the ward for another three weeks, before being discharged to a care home where she is currently staying. A spokesperson for St Helens and Knowsley NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, said: 'At times of great pressure, when demand exceeds the number of beds available to admit patients to the hospital, it is regrettable that there may be occasions where patients are cared for in stretcher triage for longer periods of time than we would wish. 'This was unfortunately the case in April and demand was exceptionally high. 'As with all other hospitals across the country, we have experienced a significant increase in demand for services over the last three years. 'Whiston Hospital remains the busiest A&E, with the highest number of attendances in Cheshire and Merseyside.' They added: 'Patient safety is always our priority. At all times we ensure that nursing and medical staff maintain the highest levels of care during this unprecedented level of activity. 'Our staff are responding to this increased pressure with exceptional professionalism and are working incredibly hard throughout the hospital to manage this demand.' Her traumatic experience is the latest in a long line of excruciating A&E waits in England, with more than 19,000 patients attending casualty forced to wait at least 12 hours for a bed last month. Pictured: Whiston Hospital in Merseyside Data on A&E performance in May shows a 19,053 people were forced to wait 12 hours or more to be treated, three times longer than the NHS target. The figure is a fifth lower than last month. Less than three-quarters of patients were seen within the four-hour target of arriving at emergency departments, a slight recovery from last month but the third-lowest rate ever recorded This was down by a fifth on the previous month but emergency medics say NHS England statistics are a 'gross under-representation' of the actual crisis. Campaign groups, MPs and senior medics say desperate patients are turning to emergency and walk-in services because they can't get an appointment with their GP. Staff shortages and the knock-on effects of the social care crisis and Covid-fuelled backlog are the other factors blamed for the pressures being felt in emergency care. Many of the 10,000 bed-blockers within the NHS are elderly patients who cannot go back to their homes because extra support is not available or there are no nursing home places. It can cause overcrowding in casualty because the lack of space means patients cannot be moved onto wards. The Government has, meanwhile, promised to make clearing the waits a priority, which doctors claim means the NHS' finite amount of beds are taken up by patients having operations. Every child treated for gender dysphoria in the last decade will have their medical records scrutinised to see if NHS care is causing more harm than good. Sajid Javid will today start to change the law to allow researchers to study data on around 9,000 adolescents given counselling or drugs for the condition. The Health Secretary wants to know whether the treatment improves trans children's lives or leads to further problems or regret. Currently, the data is protected by medical confidentiality laws that mean people are given a new NHS number when they legally change their gender. Mr Javid has expressed concern that some vulnerable youngsters are being wrongly prescribed powerful puberty blockers. Insiders claim he thinks the current system is 'failing children' and has likened the uneasiness to speak out to officials' fear of investigating Asian grooming gangs. It follows several lawsuits against NHS gender clinics by patients who feel they were not challenged more by medics when they changed genders. Keira Bell, 25, (pictured outside the Royal Courts of Justice in 2020) launched a lawsuit against Tavistock - the NHS' only child gender clinic - which she said rushed her into taking drugs Every child treated for gender dysphoria in the last decade will have their medical records scrutinised to see if NHS care is causing more harm than good. Sajid Javid will today start to change the law to allow researchers to study data on around 9,000 adolescents given counselling or drugs for the disorder Clinics in London, Leeds and Bristol, run by the Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust, are Englands only specialist services for trans children. It has been accused of being too willing to prescribe life-altering treatments and drugs that can permanently warp patients' hormones. Number of trans people receiving NHS treatment rises 75% in five years The number of adults in the UK being treated for gender dysphoria on the NHS has risen 75 per cent in five years, MailOnline can reveal. Latest figures for 2021 show more than 11,000 patients received care for the condition that causes sufferers to feel they were born the wrong gender. This is 74 per cent more compared to the 6,371 patients being treated in 2016. A gender dysphoria diagnosis is the first step to getting prescribed cross-sex hormone therapies that help trans people develop the characteristics of their preferred gender. MailOnline complied the data on gender dysphoria based on Freedom of Information (FOI) requests sent to 12 NHS gender clinics in the UK. Of these, 11 provided data on their patient numbers stretching back to 2016, or to when they first opened. Only four of the services were able to provide the number of patients prescribed oestrogen as part of their treatment, meaning the total is likely higher. Overall there were 11,085 gender dysphoria patients being treated in 2021/22, compared to 6,371 in 2016/17. Of the 2021 patients 1,592 were prescribed oestrogen. Advertisement Legislation to change the Gender Recognition Act 2004 will be introduced today and is expected to take a month to become law. It will allow the records of everyone who had therapy between 2009 and 2020 to be studied as part of a larger review of NHS gender dysphoria treatment. The review is being led by paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass. It will also look at the reasons behind an increase in referrals in recent years and why the increase has disproportionately been among girls. A Government source said: 'It is crucial that the relevant data is made available to Dr Cass as part of her independent review. 'It will build a world-leading clinical evidence base, better inform the planning of these services and improve our understanding of whether the treatment being provided is working. 'Ultimately that will benefit everyone, particularly children who may be questioning their gender identity.' The Times reports that Mr Javid is concerned the NHS is offering drugs to children with gender dysphoria too liberally. Doctors in the UK can prescribe children with puberty blockers after going through several rounds of counselling. They can be given hormone therapies, which cause the development of female or male characteristics, once they turn 16. There has been a dramatic rise in children receiving treatment for gender dysphoria in Britain. Just 138 children were referred for treatment in 2010/11, compared to 2,383 in 2020/21, a 17-fold increase. Keira Bell, a 25-year-old who was given puberty blockers by Tavistock at 16, launched a lawsuit against Tavistock, which she said rushed her into taking the drugs. In December 2020, the High Court ruled that children under 16 lacked capacity to give informed consent to the treatment following Ms Bell's case. But the decision was overturned a year later. It comes after a British man who had his genitals removed during gender reassignment surgery revealed he is suing the NHS over the operation. Ritchie Herron, 35, claims doctors did not warn him of the drastic outcome of the body-altering surgery which has left him infertile, incontinent and feeling like a sexual eunuch. It is thought to be the first medical negligence case over NHS transgender care in this country. The NHS trust involved has not been named. 'My first thought as I came round was Oh God! What have I done?': Man suing the NHS over trans surgery he bitterly regrets has bravely waived anonymity to share his ordeal Pictured: Ritchie Herron says he was fast-tracked by the NHS into life-changing surgery For Ritchie Herron, a bright and articulate civil servant from Newcastle, life over the past four years has become almost unbearable. It takes him ten minutes to empty his bladder, a process as painful as it is slow. Any sex drive is long gone. In fact, he says, his crotch is numb, shell-shocked from the damage done to him under the apparent care of the NHS. Numb rather sums up Ritchies whole demeanour as he struggles to process what has happened to him. Today he reveals in an exclusive interview that he is the man preparing legal action against the NHS over an operation that removed his genitals. Ritchies case emerged last week when he posted about his experience on Twitter under a pseudonym, TullipR. His brief testimony, which was picked up by the Daily Mail, was as shocking as it was damning for the NHS gender clinics that help people change sex. Battling mental health issues and after decades of suppressing his homosexuality Ritchie, 35, had thought the answer was to become a woman. But instead, he says, he was fast-tracked into making the biggest mistake of his life and left infertile, incontinent and with ongoing pain. Not only had the NHS clinic failed to take into account his spiralling mental health crisis, he claims, but it had also failed to properly counsel him about the risks. Ritchie has decided to waive his anonymity to tell the story of his ordeal in full, detail the physical and mental scars he has been left with and warn there are more like him ready to take legal action over the surgery they bitterly regret. His account raises serious questions about the safeguards in place at NHS gender clinics, which have seen a 1,700 per cent rise in referrals over the past ten years, accounted for mainly by children and young adults. The speed at which Ritchie who had been living as a woman called Abby was diagnosed and subsequently referred for irreversible surgery is disturbing in itself. In fact, he says, he had repeatedly turned down the procedure and had voiced deep misgivings to the clinics staff about having it. His case, he believes, could spark a wave of further claims. Pictured: Ritchie dressed in female clothes and went by 'Abby' before his surgery This is an avalanche waiting to happen, he tells The Mail on Sunday. Transition is now being sold to people on a mass scale. Its like PPI, but more sinister. In a few years, Im sure well have law firms asking people if they transitioned and would like to claim compensation. According to Ritchie, not one professional explored whether mental health issues may have led him to believe he was trans. Today, he is one of a growing number of de-transitioners, living once again as a man and grieving his mistake. Much of his confusion was around accepting he was gay, he now acknowledges. Ritchie says he buried his sexuality, which left him with depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, using repetitive behaviours to mask his unhappiness. Then, in his 20s, he stumbled across the idea of gender dysphoria in an internet chatroom. Older men on the forum convinced the vulnerable young man he must be trans. At that time for Ritchie, it felt like a lightbulb moment. After a series of breakdowns, in 2012 he decided to seek professional help. He was referred to a psychologist, who did not dissuade him of the notion he had gender dysphoria, and then to the Northern Region Gender Dysphoria Service, run by Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust. Pictured: Ritchie Herron as a young boy The waiting list for appointments was long but, consumed with the idea, Ritchie took out a payday loan to pay for an appointment at a private gender clinic in March 2014. According to Ritchie, he was diagnosed with transsexualism after just two 30-minute appointments. A psychiatrist recommended he take medication to block his testosterone production the first step towards gender reassignment. The only attempt to put the brakes on came from a close family member, who came to the appointment at the clinic with him. Ritchie says: She told the doctor I was on a high dose of antidepressants and had lots of complex issues, and yet they were referring me for gender treatment. So why did Ritchie go along with it? I was 26, he says, but I was very vulnerable. He began living full-time under the name Abby, dressing in female clothes. The testosterone-suppressing drugs meant he began developing breasts. By March 2015, he was attending appointments at the NHS gender clinic in Newcastle. The first question you get asked there is, Do you want genital surgery? he says. I wasnt sure. But Id heard you could get therapy if you were on the waiting list for surgery, so I said yes. The clinic which will not comment on Ritchies specific case told the MoS it does not provide mental health services to patients. Less than six months later, in July 2015, Ritchie received a referral for vaginoplasty surgery. Ritchie says he told the psychiatrist he was unsure and turned it down, but continued to receive therapy. In 2017, he was given another referral for surgery, to be performed at the Nuffield Health hospital in Brighton but paid for by the NHS. Ritchie refused it again but says he was told that if he did not accept the referral he would be discharged from the service. This sent him into a tailspin, he recalls. He believed it meant his therapy would also be withdrawn, which had been a lifeline. He had recently admitted he felt suicidal. At 10am on May 23, 2018, Ritchie was wheeled into the operating theatre. I didnt even see the surgeon, he says. I was very much in the mindset of Im here now, theres no stopping it even if I wanted to. The irreversible operation involves removing the penis and testicles, and reforming the area to resemble female genitals. For eight days he lay in a blur of painkillers. His first thought as he recovered his lucidity was: Oh God, what have I done? Ritchie is now planning a legal case against Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust. His barrister, Peter Harthan, says patients like Ritchie faced a lifetime of medical care and consequences and cannot be put back together again. He adds: My concern is clinicians failed to identify red flags and change direction. Proper consideration needs to be given to issues such as OCD, internalised homophobia, depression, drug use, sexual abuse and childhood trauma as potential reasons for patients rejecting their sexed body. In a statement, the Trust said it could not comment on an individual, but it added: Care plans are collaborative and tailored to each patients needs and goals, and treatment decisions are made following a thorough assessment in line with national recommendations. Ritchie says: Im proof the whole system has to become far more robust. How many more people are there out there like me? Advertisement A key advisor to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that plans for the U.S. government to roll out Covid-19 boosters tailored to the Omicron variant could be in vain, as the shots provide little that existing shots don't already. Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and member of the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), wrote in a STAT News op-ed that he would like to see more data in favor of the shots before the government made a heavy investment into them. Offit was one of two VRBPAC members who voted against the shots, which were recommended by the agency's top advisory panel on vaccines by a 19-2 vote on Tuesday. The FDA is aiming to get reformulated Covid-19 shots that specifically target the Omicron variant out to Americans as early as October. Currently available shots were formulated to target the virtually extinct original Wuhan strain of the virus. Antibodies provided by the original shots still are effective at preventing severe infection or death from Omicron, which is also a generally more mild variant compared to its predecessors. It comes as Covid cases in America remain steady, with the nation recorded 110,688 cases per day and 376 deaths per day. The Omicron variant emerged in late 2021 and took the world by storm: It was the most mutated version of the virus yet, and its ability to circumvent vaccine immunity caught the largely vaccinated population of many developed countries off-guard. It rapidly spread, causing case figures in the U.S. to reach 800,000 daily. Dr. Paul Offit (pictured), a member of VRBPAC, voted against approval of the Omicron specific boosters, doubting they provide value This sparked demand for Covid-19 boosters that could specifically target the mutant strain and prevent infection. Both Pfizer and Moderna have updated their jabs since and are expected to soon receive authorization from the FDA to roll out the shots either this week or next. Offit notes that in data submitted by both companies, the additional Omicron booster raised the antibody levels twofold, though he doubts they'll provide much effectiveness overall. 'That kind of twofold difference is, for example, similar to the modestly greater peak in neutralizing antibodies triggered by the first two doses of the Moderna vaccine compared with the Pfizer vaccine,' he explained, noting that the protections provided were similar. 'Those two vaccines provided almost identical protection against mild and severe Covid-19, although the benefits of the Pfizer vaccine waned a bit quicker over time.' Data submitted by the companies focused on antibody levels found in blood samples pulled from trial participants. Antibodies provide diminishing returns, though, and doubling antibody levels does not exactly provide double the protection. Offit says data on actual protection from infection, hospitalization and death needs to be collected first to determine how valuable these newly formulated shots are. 'Moderna and Pfizer executives have claimed that the Omicron vaccines will be protective for longer. That may be true, but how long is longer? A few weeks? A month or two?' he asks. The FDA is eager to get these shots out, already setting targets for rollout before they've even been authorized. Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, the agency's top regulatory body for vaccines, said Tuesday the aim was to make Omicron-specific jabs available by September. Demand for the shots may have plummeted in recent months even as Americans' worry about the pandemic seems to decline. A May Gallup poll found that only 31 percent of Americans report being either 'somewhat worried' or 'very worried' about catching Covid. The poll signals the shifting state of the virus as America approaches the summer months. In previous years, the warm weather months have come with large, devastating virus surges. The survey was conducted in mid-April, when the trend of declining cases that had existed for nearly three months to that point began to reverse. Participants were asked of their feelings about the pandemic, the virus and what sort of personal mitigations strategies they were using - or ignoring - in their day-to-day life. The study also found that 64 percent of Americans believed the pandemic was 'getting better.' At the time of the survey, cases had just dropped below 30,000 per day, making it one of the lowest points since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Around 21 percent of Americans said they believed the situation was about the same, and only 12 percent believed it was getting worse. The last time this few Americans believed the situation was worsening was summer 2021, when cases were at a low point, just before the explosion of the Delta variant. These optimistic feelings have led to some changes in behavior as well. Only 17 percent of Americans reported they were still social distancing, the lowest percentage so far. Just under a third of Americans said they have avoided large crowds, a fifth reported avoiding public places and just 15 percent avoided small gatherings. Those figures are also all pandemic-lows, Gallup reports. Despite shifts in social distancing, Americans seem to be clinging on to masks. The poll found that half of Americans still wear a face mask in public places. While the 50 percent figure is also a pandemic low, it's significantly higher than the number of people reporting they're still worried about the virus. One in six full-time GP roles in the UK are unfilled amid a recruitment 'nightmare', a survey suggests. Doctors have warned the staffing crisis means patients are be getting the care they need and burnt out GPs are having to 'pick up the burden'. A snapshot poll found 405 of 2,361 GP roles in Britain were vacant (17 per cent) the highest level in at least four years. Of surgeries with vacancies, 16 per cent had at least two unfilled posts. Doctors said salaried GPs are leaving the profession or cutting back the number of sessions due to high workloads, and practices are struggling to hire. Last night a report by the Health Foundation think-tank warned more than a quarter of doctor and nurse posts in GP practices could be vacant within ten years. The staffing crisis comes after the Government admitted it will likely fail on its manifesto promise of hiring 6,000 more family doctors by 2024. One in six full-time GP roles in the UK are unfilled, a survey suggests (stock image) Some 442 GPs responded to the survey, by GP magazine Pulse, which ran from February 25 to March 3. Three in 10 practices which responded had one vacancy, while 16 per cent had two and 44 per cent had none. The 17 per cent overall vacancy rate was higher than the last two times Pulse carried out the survey 14 per cent in May 2021 and 15 per cent in July 2018. One GP, who reported their practice had at least two vacancies, said that salaried GPs are 'leaving or cutting down on sessions'. Scotland wants to pinch English GPs Scotland will attempt to lure GPs across the border from England, it was revealed today. Family doctors will be incentivised to swap their surgery for one north of the border as part of a massive recruitment drive. Scotland wants to boost its family doctor numbers by 15 per cent over the next five years by hiring from 'other areas of the UK and elsewhere'. It will do so through an advertising blitz that will focus on 'the unique attractions of working as a GP in Scotland' including 'job satisfaction and lifestyle'. Scotland's health secretary Humza Yousaf said any boost to the nation's GP numbers will create a 'sustainable service for the future'. Dr Chris Williams, joint chair of RCGP Scotland, said Scotland is a 'truly unique place to work as a GP' with 'something for everyone'. But England is grappling a GP crisis of its own. The Government is destined to fail on its manifesto pledge to hire 6,000 more GPs by 2024 and health chiefs have warned half of the current workforce could quit over the next five years. Advertisement Surgeries are unable to replace roles because job adverts are receiving 'no response' and locums are 'nearly impossible' to get, they said. Another family doctor, who said their practice had three GP roles unfilled, warned that the situation was a 'nightmare'. There are around 1,500 fewer fully qualified GPs in England now than there were in 2015. Professor Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said the figures 'are worrying'. He said: 'If practices have vacancies, but can't fill them, the care that the people in those roles would be delivering to patients isn't being delivered. 'And the rest of the team, who will already be working under significant pressure, has to pick up the burden. 'Some practices may be able to employ locums to help, but this isn't a long-term solution to workforce problems, and in some areas it is also difficult to employ locums.' He warned that patients will not be getting the care they need and already burnt out GPs are having to 'pick up the burden'. The 'intensity and complexity' of GPs' workloads is on the rise, while the number of GPs is falling, he added. Family doctors are now 'often concerned' about the knock-on effects that the pressure has on their ability to provide safe patient care. Overall, 64 per cent of consultations were face-to-face and 50 per cent were with a family doctor. For comparison, eight in 10 appointments were in-person before the pandemic and 53 per cent were with GPs. Health Secretary Sajid Javid admitted last year that the Conservatives are behind on their key manifesto pledge of hiring 6,000 more GPs. There were around 27,000 full-time equivalent GPs in England in December 2021. Meanwhile, the Health Foundation warned yesterday that the GP crisis is going to get 'substantially worse' over the next 10 years. It estimated family doctor shortages could climb to 10,700 full-time equivalents by 2031, based on current trends, in relation to the number needed to meet the rising care need. However, if the number quitting due to burnout grows, the shortfall could hit 20,400 meaning around half of posts would be vacant. In the best case scenario, the gap could be limited to 3,300 around a tenth of posts the Government improved recruitment and retention of family doctors and if more pharmacists and physiotherapists were integrated into practice teams to take on some of their workload. Meanwhile, the shortfall of practice nurses is expected to grow to 6,400 over one in four by 2030/31 at current trends. The pessimistic scenario places this at close to one in two, or 10,100, while the optimistic scenario is a shortfall of 5,000. Patients who are disliked by their doctors could be receiving worse medical care than others, an emergency physician revealed Thursday. Dr. Joan Naidorf, who has nearly 30 years of experience on wards in Alexandria, Virginia, said medics judge patients just like anyone else. She warned that when they don't like someone this could harm care, with doctors avoiding seeing them or failing to listen when they explain their symptoms, risking a wrong diagnosis. Writing in the Washington Post, Naidorf mentioned a case where even she'd avoided a female drug-user who was 'in agony' because they would regularly sign out against clinical advice and refuse to fill out prescriptions. She called for further research into the impact of doctors disliking patients, warning it's normally ignored because medics are meant to treat all patients equally. Sometimes doctors may dislike patients, which could lead to them receiving worse care, medics have warned (file) Dr Joan Naidorf, an emergency physician with over 20 years experience, delivered the warning The impact of doctors' attitude toward patients in their care has been little studied in the past. But previous papers have suggested doctors find about 15 percent of patients they see in a day 'difficult.' That means that in a shift where a doctor may see 25 patients a day, they dislike three to four of them. Warning how a doctor's attitude to a patient can affect care, Nairdorf said: 'Health-care professionals judge patients one way or another because that is what humans do. 'Humans have a strong negativity bias and look for things that look wrong or dangerous. 'This tendency served our ancestors who had to be alert for danger well. We are experts at identifying what is wrong.' She talked about incidents during training where colleagues used 'derogatory' and 'demeaning' terms to describe a group of patients. She also warned that this attitude can become entrenched in a hospital environment, which could lead to worse care for a certain group of patients. Naidorf, who grew up in New Jersey, trained at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia. She has practiced for nearly 30 years at the emergency departments of the Inova Alexandria Hospital and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, both in Virginia. Describing an incident where Naidorf herself avoided seeing a patient, she mentioned an individual who would come to the ER regularly 'in pain' because of her drug habit. Naidorf said that by this patient's third visit she would actively try to avoid them and send a nurse instead. Drug-user woman was avoided in ER because she visited regularly A female drug-user who regularly came to hospital wards in Virginia did not receive the best care because she was avoided by medics. Dr Joan Naidorf, who has more than 20 years experience, revealed the tale in an article for the Washington Post. The emergency care physician said she started avoiding the patient on their third visit even when they were in 'extreme pain'. This patient would inject drugs into her legs leading to deep infections, she said. And even when she received treatment she would sign out against medical advice and refuse to fill out any prescriptions or seek a doctor to help. Naidorf said: 'I didn't like taking care of her and viewed all of our efforts as futile. 'I had a conflict that could prevent this patient from getting the care and attention she deserved from an ER doctor: I didn't like her.' Advertisement The patient who was not named normally had infections in her veins sparked by injections with drugs. After receiving care she would then discharge herself early against doctors wishes, and refuse to fill out prescription forms or seek care outside the hospital. Naidorf said: 'I didn't like taking care of her and viewed all of our efforts as futile. 'I had a conflict that could prevent this patient from getting the care and attention she deserved from an ER doctor: I didn't like her.' Other medics have previously spoken up about how a doctor's attitude to a patient could affect their care. This included Dr. Rana Awdish, a critical-care physician and medical director at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. She wrote in her book 'In Shock: My Journey From Death to Recovery and the Redemptive Power of Hope' in 2017: 'We label patients. 'We label them as cooperative, or drug-seeking, realistic, or difficult. 'It functioned as an abridged report to our colleagues of what to expect. "Difficult" was shorthand for "The patient is not going along with the plan. I have a good solid plan, and they weren't on board." 'We insisted on creating a dynamic in which one person wins and the other loses.' There is scant research into how doctor's attitudes affect patients' care, although many medics acknowledge this is likely a factor. A 2013 study from the British Medical Journal found that patients who believe their doctors care about them will take medication consistently, follow through on treatments and generally have better outcomes. At the same time the patients are also much less likely to file malpractice lawsuits even when a mistake was made. At the other end of the scale, this suggests that patients who feel disliked by their medics are less likely to follow treatment plans and have worse outcomes. A separate paper from scientists at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences published in 1999 suggested about one sixth of patients are found to be difficult by their doctor. It surveyed 500 patient encounters, but found as many as 74 were rated as 'difficult' by medics. It concluded that difficult patients were those who were more likely to have depression or anxiety, unmet expectations and a reduced satisfaction. THINK LIKE A HORSE by Grant Golliher (Yellow Kite 16.99, 272pp) Put a wild horse in the middle of a group of people, says one of Grant Gollihers friends, and it will pick out the most dangerous guy, every time. The friend worked at a farm which teaches horse skills to prisoners who are about to be released. Every new group was asked to stand around the edge of a pen, and pretty soon [the horse] would throw its head up and snort at a particular fellowthe horse could also pick out the least threatening guy and would be drawn to him. Grant Gollihers own ranch is near that farm in the U.S. state of Wyoming, and he, too, gives lessons in the bond between horses and humans. Business people visit the ranch to develop their leadership skills. At least one client asks Golliher to give her group minimal instruction in handling the animals: Failure can lead to learning, and we want people to be learn-it-alls instead of know-it-alls. Grant Golliher's friend taught horse skills to prisoners who were about to be released. His own ranch was next door to the farm where the lessons took place in Wyoming As the old saying goes, If you havent fallen off a horse, then you havent been riding long enough. Golliher is a gentle soul, and the book emphasises the value of calm, gradual learning. But hes no soft touch. A client [an individual whose horse hes looking after, rather than a corporate group] will roll up at the ranch with her kid He keeps kicking the gravel at her legJohnny, if you do that again youll have to go sit in the car. But Johnny does it again and his mom doesn't follow through on her warning Thats how it works with horses, too. If the horse tries to snatch a mouthful of grass while youre out riding and you pull his head up, but then you let him do it the next time, youre telling him that its OK to keep trying. As he tells his groups: Discipline without love is abuse, but love without discipline is also abuse. I didnt know that most horses have a good and a bad side, often influenced by something that happened to them in the past, something painful or scary that they have a hard time forgetting. Golliher is a gentle soul, and the book emphasises the value of calm, gradual learning. But hes no soft touch If a wild or unbroken horse crosses the line into another U.S. state, they have to get a blood test, which means having a needle inserted into their jugular vein. He wont forget that. He might get real used to being touched on his left side, but still refuse to let you go near the right. Thats why sometimes a horse can be quite comfortable with you waving a flag on his right side, but then jump out of his skin when you shift it to the other hand and suddenly he sees it in his other eye. Its like a brand new experience. Golliher is careful to give his horses the best environment in which to learn. For instance, he uses a round pen, which has no corners where a horse can get trapped. There are some moving stories, too, like the father who realises that, just as Golliher has shown patience with an unruly horse, he himself needs to show patience with his tantrum-prone son. Drivers are being warned to be alert for a rise in 'ghost broking' scams that largely originate on social media targeting younger motorists. The average 'ghost broking' scam is said to have cost victims thousands of pounds in 2021, with the average victim losing out on 1,950. Ghost broking often involves forging insurance paperwork, but can commonly involve selling victim 'real' policies, but changing some key details, such as their address or claims record - ultimately invalidating the insurance. These 'brokers' typically sell victims a policy at a reduced price which are attractive to younger, new drivers, who face far larger costs for cover. It potentially leaves motorists liable for fraud and at risk of penalties for driving uninsured. Dangers: Buying cheaper 'cover' from a ghost broker could be costly in the long-run (stock image) Most ghost brokers operate on social media, with the police and insurance industry agreeing that ghost brokers operate most prolifically on Facebook and Instagram, according to Which? Last year, insurers collectively reported more than 21,000 policies that could be connected to the scam, according to the Insurance Fraud Bureau. In May, Which? searched on social media platforms for profiles and pages that showed signs of being run by scammers offering 'cheap car insurance' on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Of the almost 50 profiles that matched Which?'s search on Instagram, more than half appeared to be offering quotes or cover to UK drivers, but showed no signs of being authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. One Instagram profile was also found boasting it could save customers 'up to 50 per cent' on their premium it also offered 'NCB (no-claims bonus) documents' and 'speeding ticket removal'. It had 45,900 followers - more than the five biggest insurers combined - and claimed to have 'over six years experience in [its] field', and has since been taken down by Instagram after being flagged as a scam. Consumers should conduct background checks with the FCA to avoid scam insurance brokers selling their services on social media On Facebook, 14 per cent of profiles were dubious, while only four per cent were flagged as suspect on the video streaming platform, TikTok. Over 500 cases of ghost broking with losses totalling 1million were reported to Action Fraud in 2021. However, this will only be people who make a report to Action Fraud and actually know that they have bought a fraudulent policy, as the true numbers are likely to be much higher. Some victims will not report being scammed because they are too embarrassed, while others might be aware their quotes have been manipulated, but ghost brokers can be persuasive in downplaying the significance of this. Some ghost brokers also put real effort into creating a positive word-of-mouth buzz, which helps them seem trustworthy. Many of these losses were from young drivers, who face the steepest premiums. Ghost brokers were also found to be heavily targeting non-native English speakers. Which also found that social media users may also have been affected by the scam without having bought a false policy, through having their address or other details used as part of forged insurance paperwork. Five signs you could be dealing with ghost broker: No sign of FCA authorisation: If you cannot find evidence that the business is regulated, it could be a scam. Limited contact options: Most companies can be reached in multiple ways, but if a seller will only interact via mobile, social or messaging app, it's best to steer clear. They are cagey about their methods: A genuine company will be able to tell you how its bargain's work. If a broker is vague, that could be a red flag. You receive unexpected insurance paperwork: If a company is writing to you about cover you did not take out, it could mean someone is basing a fraudulent policy at your address. Unusual activity on your credit report: Searches or activity involving unfamiliar companies could indicate that someone is using your details to buy financial products. 'Platforms should be required to prevent it' Which? also decided to test how social media platforms are vetting unregulated insurance middlemen, by setting up six accounts on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, claiming to be car insurance brokers. The two profiles on Facebook were taken down by the site within a few days, as was one Instagram profile linked to an email containing the word 'ghostbrokerscammer'. However, the second Instagram profile, stayed up for 35 days, as did the two TikTok profiles, before Which? took it down themselves. Experts are arguing for social media companies to have stronger processes in place to protect consumers from fraudulent pages offering financial services, suggesting platforms should be required to prevent this kind of activity. Meanwhile, consumers should be wary of insurance brokers selling their services on social media and can take simple steps to ensure they are not being scammed. If you plan on taking up an offer on social media, users should carry out basic background checks to ensure they are not buying a fraudulent insurance policy and are dealing with a company that is actually authorised by the FCA. Jenny Ross, Which? money editor, is calling on the Government to amend the Online Safety Bill to ensure its definition of fraud does not allow scammers to slip through. She said: 'Ghost broking is a really nasty kind of fraud, where scammers operate by stealth and typically take advantage of those who feel locked out of, or bewildered by, the car insurance market. 'Social media sites must do much more to crack down on car insurance scammers that are infiltrating their sites and harming consumers, and should address these problems now, ahead of the Online Safety Bill becoming law. 'The Online Safety Bill should require platforms to tackle this type of fraudulent content. 'The Government must ensure this happens by amending the Bill so that its definition of fraud does not allow some scammers to slip through the net and guaranteeing Ofcom is ready to enforce these new laws when they come into force.' A TikTok spokesperson added: "Our Community Guidelines make clear that we do not tolerate any kind of fraud or scams on TikTok and we will continue to take an aggressive approach to removing this kind of content.' Ben Fletcher, director at the Insurance Fraud Bureau, said: 'Ghost Broking' scams are worryingly prevalent on social media, so it's critical that consumers watch out for them. 'Young and vulnerable people are constantly being targeted online with fake car insurance deals that are too good to be true, and if they fall for them they're immediately left out of pocket and face having their car seized by the police for no insurance. 'The cost-of-living crisis means it's never been more important for people to safeguard their personal finances against fraud. 'To help raise awareness of the issue of 'Ghost Broking' scams, we'll soon be launching a digital advertising campaign to stop more people from falling victim. 'If anyone believes they have evidence of a fake motor insurance deal, they can report it to our confidential Cheatline for free or call 0800 422 0421.' Car production levels across Britain grew for the first time in 11 months last month, fresh data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has revealed. Production rates increased by 13.3 per cent in May, representing the first shoots of growth after 10 consecutive months of decline. There was also good news in terms of green vehicle outputs, with battery electric car production levels more than doubled, rising 108.3 per cent, with 4,525 built. However, the trade body warned the new figures gloss over the huge drop off in local motor manufacturing when compared to data from before the pandemic, with semiconductor and component shortages still hampering the sector. On the up: Car production levels across Britain grew for the first time in 11 months in May In total, 62,284 cars left factory gates across Britain last month, marking the highest volume since June 2021. But, the SMMT warned that May's figures had to be viewed in context against data seen in May 2021, which was still 'suffering significantly from pandemic related headwinds'. It added: 'Output remains 46.3 per cent below the pre-pandemic month in 2019, with ongoing supply chain issues, increasing economic uncertainty, rising business costs and disruption caused by the war in Ukraine.' In the year to date, total output has fallen by 23.2 per cent, with supply chain constraints - namely the shortage of semi-conductors - limiting volumes, with just 330,185 units built. This represents a shortfall of around 99,641. The decline has largely been driven by a 26.9 per cent fall in exports and a further 4.5 per cent dip in production for the domestic market, the SMMT said. But, production for both overseas and domestic markets increased in May, by 8.9 per cent and 39.5 per cent respectively. Output: UK car output rolling year totals, according to the SMMT Challenges: UK exports of cars remain below levels seen a few years ago, the SMMT said Exports accounted for 82.1 per cent of all new cars built in Britain in May, with almost six in ten of these destined for the EU. Shipments to the US slumped by 35.4 per cent, with the closure of a major UK plant last year continuing to hit export levels across the Atlantic. Battery electric vehicle production levels surged by 108.3 per cent in May, while 22.6 per cent of all cars built was alternatively fuelled, up from 19.3 per cent last at the same point a year ago, the SMMT said. Mike Hawes, SMMT's chief executive, said: 'Mays return to growth for UK car output is hugely welcome after 10 months of decline, indicating the sectors fundamental resilience. 'Any recovery, however, will be gradual as supply chain deliveries remain erratic, business costs volatile and geopolitical instability still very real. 'With the industry racing to decarbonise, we need to safeguard manufacturing competitiveness, drive investment and develop the skill base. 'Government and industry have a role to play in this transformation and collaboration will be essential if the UK is to remain at the forefront of automotive innovation.' David Leggett, automotive analyst at GlobalData, says headwinds for the UKs motor industry are gathering, particularly in rising energy costs which are working their way through the economy and manufacturing supply chains. 'While manufacturers are still in the position of fulfilling order backlogs under long waiting times caused by an unprecedented shortage of critical parts this year, underlying demand prospects are deteriorating with lower economic growth and higher price inflation,' he explains. 'Real incomes for households and businesses will be increasingly squeezed later this year and that will dent new car demand at home and in major export markets. 'In such circumstances it will be very difficult indeed for car companies to pass on higher costs to their customers.' Earlier this week, the SMMT called for urgent action to mitigate a 90million rise in energy costs and protect UK firms' competitiveness as it shifts to a zero emission future. The group said UK car manufacturers are paying around 59 per cent more a year for their energy bills than rivals across the European Union. The industry body said UK firms could have saved nearly 50million annually if they were buying energy in the EU even before this year's spike in prices. Ukraine, Russia carry out largest prisoner exchange since conflict start Xinhua) 08:38, June 30, 2022 KIEV, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine and Russia carried out their largest prisoner exchange since the start of the conflict on Feb. 24, the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Defense Ministry said Wednesday in a statement on Telegram. The agency said 144 Ukrainians aged 19 and 65 years returned home as a result of the exchange. According to the statement, under the swap, Russia released 59 soldiers of the National Guard of Ukraine, including 43 from the Azov regiment which fought for Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant. Most of the released Ukrainians have severe injuries, it said. Ukraine and Russia conducted their first prisoner exchange on March 24. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) The number of carjacking cases taking place in the capital in recent years has been highlighted in a new report, with two incidents of aggravated vehicle taking recorded in London on average per day. There have been 2,663 instances in the city, with Croydon having the highest volume of cases - some 139 in the three-year period - Metropolitan Police data for 2019 to 2021 provided to insurer Direct Line shows. A convicted car thief interviewed for the insurer's study said the volume of cases is down to a 'new generation of kids' who 'tend to not be bothered about using violence' when stealing vehicles. Does London have a carjacking crisis? Met Police data shows there were 2,663 cases of aggravated vehicle taking in the capital between 2019 and 2021 Aggravated vehicle taking refers to a vehicle being taken, but the theft also involved the use of dangerous driving, or when there is damage caused to a person, property, or the car itself during the process. Direct Line says London has seen nine incidents for every 10,000 registered vehicles in the last three years. Not all will be 'car' jackings, per se. Many of these cases are likely to be motorcycle thefts, with criminal gangs arriving on scooters armed with bolt croppers and angle grinders in broad daylight to steal motorbikes, mopeds and scooters. Croydon is the borough shown to have the most instances, accounting for five per cent (139 incidents) of the London total and 67 per cent higher than capital average. Enfield is second with 132 aggravated vehicle takings between 2019 and 2021, followed by Newham (128) and Brent (125). The data shows Kingston upon Thames (30), Kensington and Chelsea (40) and Richmond upon Thames (42) are the boroughs with the lowest cases of aggravated car theft in the three-year period. Top 10 London boroughs for aggravated vehicle takings, 2019-2021 London borough Total number of aggravated vehicle takings, 2019-2021 Number of aggravated vehicle takings per 10,000 vehicles Croydon 139 8.8 Enfield 132 9.5 Newham 128 16.2 Brent 125 11.6 Lewisham 120 14.1 Ealing 110 8.2 Greenwich 101 11.5 Tower Hamlets 100 18.3 Lambeth 100 13.9 Barnet 100 6.5 All London boroughs 2,663 8.9 Source: Direct Line Motor Insurance: Data provided by Metropolitan Police (excluding City of London) This is according to Met Police figures, attained by Direct Line and the University of Huddersfield as part of the 'Truth about Car Theft' campaign launched earlier this year. This includes research into motor-related crime, including interviews with prolific car thieves to understand their motives. When asked about the rise in violent vehicle thefts in the capital, one car thief told the university: 'Here's a new generation of kids coming out now where, like I say, some of them, they tend to not be bothered about using violence, to get some of what they need.' The penalties for those convicted of aggravated vehicle taking can result in a custodial prison sentence of up to two years. However, in incidents where an accident occurs resulting in death of another person the sentence can be much longer. Lorraine Price, head of motor insurance at Direct Line, said: 'The research will raise questions as to whether the current penalties are sufficient and if more can be done to protect innocent motorists. 'Our work with the University of Huddersfield aims to learn from the car thieves themselves, to help understand their motivation and what measures are needed to reduce this illegal activity.' The conclusion of the campaign is that motorists should take action to protect their vehicles. Professor Rachel Armitage, Professor of Criminology, explains: 'While conducting our research we were able to gain invaluable insight into deterrents for car criminals. 'We would encourage all car owners to take measures to keep their vehicle safe and not assume their area is off limits. 'Simple acts such as not leaving valuables in your car, taking car keys to bed, and folding in wing mirrors could all help make a car look less attractive to criminals.' Australians living in the United States have been left shocked by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling - with some even considering a move back Down Under. The landmark decision had recognised Americans' constitutional right to abortion and legalised it nationwide. But as of last Friday, federal protection for abortion in the US is removed, meaning the decision of abortion legality is in the hands of the states. Australians both at home and living in the US shared their reaction to the news. Australians both at home and the US have shared their reactions to the US Supreme Court's overruling of Roe v Wade, removing federal protection for abortion. (Pictured: abortion rights protesters in Jackson, Mississippi) Freelance writer Sophie Hanson, who moved to New York City in 2019, told Crikey that she was 'sickened'. 'The fact that only six unelected people can make a religious-based ruling that impacts half the country is horrid, dangerous and hypocritical,' she said. 'When a gun has more rights in this country than my uterus, that's pretty messed up.' While Ms Hanson and her husband have chosen to remain childless, the news has still made her frightened for the future of the country. She explained that if the government implemented a nationwide abortion ban she'd consider moving back to Australia. 'I am terrified of a future where hardline Christian Republican Mike Pence, whos right now calling for a national abortion ban, wins the presidency. If he does, that might convince me to move,' she told Crikey. Digital strategist Michael Chaitow, who also moved to the US in 2019, expressed his view that America was heading 'in the wrong direction' after overturning Roe v. Wade and still persisting with lax gun laws. He described the US as heading towards a 'less safe, less equal and less healthy society'. Australians back at home have also reacted negatively to the decision, with protests scheduled in major capital cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra this Friday and Saturday. NITV journalist Rachael Knowles said told News.com.au: 'It's just another reminder that as a woman your body is never really yours, and that the whole system is working to push us into this patriarchal way of being.' 'This has become so much more aggressive in the past few years.' Meanwhile, Gareth Nicholas Richie told the publication: 'With the talk of policing women's bodies, all it shows to me is that the United States is not a country that anyone should look up to. The "ideal" America does not exist.' Freelance writer Sophie Hanson (pictured) is living with her husband in New York. She said the news left her 'sickened'. She believes she may move back to Australia if a national abortion ban is implemented The Supreme Court controversially elected to strike down Roe v. Wade, a nearly 50 year-old decision that granted women the constitutional right to abortion, sparking widespread protests. (Pictured: protesters in Jackson, Mississippi) The reaction from Aussies comes as four of Australia's tech billionaires will bankroll their American staff, plus a companion, to reach a safe and legal abortion as the fiery aftermath of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision continues. Graphic design platform Canva has joined software juggernaut Atlassian, both Sydney-based companies that have become spectacularly successful globally, offering to pay for travel and accommodation for US employees. The move and accompanying statements by the four ultra-rich Aussies behind two of Australia's most successful tech companies in recent memory are a notable flex against the American conservative right. Joint Atlassian CEOs Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar are respectively worth $27.83billion and $26.41billion, while Canva bosses Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht are jointly valued at $13.82billion. All four are in the top 10 richest Australians released last week by the AFR. In a statement provided to Daily Mail Australia, Canva said it was 'concerned for [US] society.' 'We are deeply concerned by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade concerned for the millions of people who have lost access to safe healthcare, concerned for our team in the United States who are directly impacted by changes to the law, and concerned for society as a result of the precedent this decision sets, a Canva spokesperson said. In a statement provided to Daily Mail Australia, Canva said it would cover travel and accommodation for its US staff to reach safe abortions and that it is 'concerned for [US] society' Atlassian will immediately pay 'travel and accommodation' costs for US-based employees - and 'a companion' - so they can get a safe abortion (Pictured co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes who tweeted the policy on Saturday morning, with wife Anne Cannon-Brookes) The Australian companies are among several to have quickly offered such benefits - despite being threatened not to do so by Republican senators. Atlassian is believed to have around 3,000 US-based employees, while Canva is thought to have around 100. Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, Starbucks, Tesla, Meta (Facebook), Uber, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup have all pledged material support for staff wanting abortions. With millions of women expected to cross U.S. state lines to access legal abortions, many employers have added 'critical healthcare' packages to employees' benefit programs. Its statement added that 'While we appreciate the spectrum of personal views on this topic, we believe that safe healthcare is a human right'. 'In addition to our current wellbeing offerings ... as a first step, from today, we're covering the cost of travel and accommodation for U.S. based Canvanauts and their chosen support person to access abortion care in a state where it is not restricted or banned.' The Australian company is among several to have quickly offered such benefits - despite being threatened not to do so by Republican senators (Pictured Atlassian's co-founders and joint CEOs Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar) Mike Brookes-Cannon was quick to alert social media on Saturday to his company's official position on the US Supreme Court decision on abortion Atlassian made it clear on Saturday morning it would immediately pay 'travel and accommodation' costs for US-based employees - and 'a companion' - so they can get a safe abortion. Atlassian's billionaire co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes tweeted his company's 'dismayed' reaction on Saturday morning and a defiant statement. Half of US states are expected to ban abortion after the Supreme Court decision including Texas, Utah, Mississippi and Georgia. Florida may extend an existing ban on abortions after 15 weeks. Abortion remains legal in California, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Nevada and Colorado. Atlassian's billionaire co-founder and joint-CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes tweeted his company's 'dismayed' reaction on Saturday morning with a defiant statement. 'Starting today US employees living in states that have restricted or banned abortions will be offered reimbursement for travel and accommodations for themselves and a companion should they seek care outside their state,' the statement said. 'Today's decision by the Supreme Court not only strips away rights from women and pregnant people but puts their health and safety at risk. 'At Atlassian we are dismayed at this decision and stand firmly against the restriction and removal of rights.' It also said the health and safety of employees was a 'priority', including their 'right to access safe and legal reproductive healthcare'. President Joe Biden considered a Republican running mate for 2020 in secret conversations with a top donor, DailyMail.com can reveal. Walmart board chairman Greg Penner, who has donated over $640,000 to political campaigns since 1999, had back-channel talks with Hunter Biden in 2018 and 2019 to set up Joe with Republican former Ohio governor John Kasich for a bipartisan presidential ticket. The plot, revealed in text messages, emails, and a phone call recording on Hunter's abandoned laptop, gives an insight into political strategies the president considered in an attempt to win the White House. But it also reveals his son's deep involvement in Joe's political decisions, the unfettered access to the would-be president that top Democrat donors received, and Hunter's mixing of personal business interests with Joe's presidential campaign as he also pitched Penner's company on several money-making schemes. The Walmart chairman, 52, is a powerful figure, married to company heiress Carrie Walton and manager of her family's sizable wealth fund. Since 1999 he has donated $641,235 to political campaigns, including political action committees for Biden and Democrat lawmakers, Federal Election Commission data shows. Files found on Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop show he had teamed up with a top political donor in 2018 and 2019 to help set up his father Joe with a Republican running mate for 2020 Emails and audio recordings obtained by DailyMail.com reveal Hunter had back-channel talks with Walmart chairman Greg Penner (right) - a top political donor - to get Republican former Ohio Governor John Kasich (left) on a bipartisan presidential ticket with Joe Hunter and Penner's connection goes way back. The two graduated from the same class at Georgetown in 1992. In 2013 and 2014, Hunter used his relationship with Penner to try to hook Walmart as a lucrative client for two businesses he had invested in, Counsyl and E-Plata, in deals that they hoped would make at least $50million. The two men had also discussed their shared business interests in China in emails as far back as 2010. But in August 2017 Hunter wrote to Penner with a cryptic request. 'I'd like to discuss something with you that's best not to be done by text or email nothing bad I promise,' he emailed the Walmart chairman. Discussions continued apace. In June 2018, Penner emailed Hunter: 'I'd like to visit with you about some options I've been working on for the 2020 election.' Then on October 25 that year, an audio recording of a phone call between the two men saved on Hunter's abandoned laptop revealed the details of their nascent plan. On the call, Hunter told Penner that 'it's gonna be very difficult for him [Joe] not to run' for president six months before his father officially declared his candidacy. Hunter first appeared to broach the subject in an August 2017 email to Penner asking to discus something that is 'best not to be done by text or email' Later texts from March 2019 suggest Penner both called and met with Joe Biden. Hunter told the Walmart exec, 'he would gladly meet whenever your schedule and his allows' In a phone call discussing their plan, Hunter was careful to distance his father from any negotiations, telling Penner: 'this is all me, not him' 'I think that whether it's the party, or whether it's people like you Greg, the overall objective here is to stop not only Donald Trump, but to stem the tide of what Donald Trump represents in the political process for the future of this country,' he said. Kasich was known as an outspoken Republican critic of Donald Trump, and flirted with a primary challenge against him for the 2020 election. Ultimately Kasich endorsed Biden for president. Penner told Hunter he had been doing extensive research for a political campaign that could involve the former Ohio governor. 'We now know what we need to do in every state and what it would cost and how we do it. So it's really about pulling the trigger, if we decide we want to do it,' the Walmart chairman said. He revealed that Kasich wanted to meet Joe to discuss their potential joint ticket. 'We know it's of interest to John to at least have a conversation. If your dad was at all intrigued by it, we could figure out a way to facilitate,' he said. 'I could fly John out and it could just be an off-the-record face-to-face.' Hunter was careful to distance his father from any negotiations, saying 'this is all me, not him' and said he was concerned about 'emboldening' more 'fringe candidates' in the presidential primaries. Penner wrote in emails that he had been doing extensive research for a political campaign that could involve Kasich, and revealed Kasich wanted to meet Joe to discuss their potential joint ticket Kasich (far right) was known as an outspoken Republican critic of Donald Trump, and flirted with a primary challenge against him for the 2020 election 'I think for him, right now, to have that discussion is premature, particularly when he hasn't even announced,' Hunter told his friend. 'But I think that, obviously, if you're able to do this in the traditional way, I think there's a nonpartisan or even a partisan but moderate coalition that forms that allows him to win it all. 'However, who the hell knows with any of this stuff. 'No matter what, I rather him win that way. I think for the country, I think that it would be an opportunity to actually start to heal these divisions. 'Because the space between what you believe and what I believe Greg, is so thin. 'And we've allowed everybody else to tell us and tell the people that coalesce behind our camps that it's really wide and it's not, man. It truly isn't. 'You know, the vilification of George Bush when he was president was just as disconcerting to me as the vilification of Barack Obama. 'And I don't think that that ever necessarily changes, but if John and Joe were ever able to kind of repair that [divided national politics], that's a big, big leap forwardpotentially. 'Let's you and I have one more discussion after I talk to him.' The call recording has been uncovered previously, but new texts between Penner and Hunter from a backup of Hunter's iPhone stored on the laptop now verify that it was the Walmart chairman on the line. Later texts suggest Penner both called and met with Joe Biden. 'After he announces, give me a call so we can figure out how I can support him. I'd also like to meet him,' he wrote to Hunter on March 13, 2019. 'He is available tomorrow after 4PM EST if you are,' Hunter replied four days later. 'He looks forward to speaking and would gladly meet whenever your schedule and his allows.' Over the same period, Penner financially backed Kasich, Biden and other Democrats. In January 2016 he gave $2,700 to the Kasich for America political action committee (PAC). In March 2018 he gave a further $5,000. Emails show Hunter mixed politics with business in his relationship with Penner and thanked the Walmart exec helping set up a pitch for Hunter's firm with the company in 2014 In June 2019 he gave Biden for President PAC $2,800, $11,200 to Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper between March and December that year, and Brooklyn congressman Hakeem Jeffries' PAC $5,600 in June 2020. The communications uncovered from the laptop show Penner, a top donor, was able to get access to Joe through his son. Hunter mixed politics with business in his relationship with Penner. In 2014, he wrote to his former classmate thanking him for helping set up a pitch for Hunter's firm with Walmart. 'Just wanted to thank you again for arranging a call for ou[r] portfolio company, Counsyl, with the appropriate people at Walmart,' he wrote. 'I appreciate all your help.' Hunter's business partner wrote in one email that a deal with Madrone Capital, the Walton family wealth office Penner managed, could be worth $50million. 'I am setting up a meeting with Jamie at Madrone who is one of Penner's partners. 'Will keep you posted and it may be helpful to have you reach out to Penner when the time is right. 'Madrone could be a $50mm anchor,' Hunter's Rosemont Seneca Technology Partners colleague John DeLoche wrote to him in February 2013. In another email from 2013, Hunter's business partner John DeLoche wrote in one email that a deal with Madrone Capital, the Walton family wealth office Penner managed, could be worth $50million Hunter boasted of his relationship with Penner to Jeff Cooper, his business partner in another company E-Plata and a longtime friend and political donor of Joe's. 'The largest private sector employer in Mexico is Walmart- 209K employees. Our perfect target audience with the added benefit of Walmart adopting E-Plata at the POS. And Greg Penner (next Chairman of the Board) is a friend,' Hunter wrote to Cooper in February 2015. He wrote to Penner in November 2016: 'I just wanted to give you a heads up that a portfolio company of mine called ePlata (www.eplata.com) has a call scheduled with Mario De Armas on your team I just wanted to give you a heads up in case someone mentions my involvement.' 'Got it, thanks for the heads up Hunter. Interesting times there in DC!' Penner replied. The semi-truck driver who transported up to 100 migrants across the southern border before allegedly leaving them to die in the sweltering Texas heat could face the death penalty if convicted. The driver, Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, was allegedly found 'very high on meth' and posing as one of the survivors after the tragedy that killed 53, according to police. Zamorano was charged with one count of alien smuggling resulting in death, The Western District of Texas US Attorney's Office said. Christian Martinez, 28, was also charged with conspiracy and allegedly communicated with Zamorano about transporting the migrants. He also faces the death penalty if convicted. Alleged accomplices Juan Claudio D'Luna-Mendez, 23, and Juan Francisco D'Luna-Bilbao, 48, were both charged with possession of a weapon by an alien illegally in the US. Martinez was arrested in East Texas and will be transported to San Antonio. Prosecutors say investigators found the other two men at a San Antonio address where the truck was registered. The four men remained in custody as the investigation continued into the nation's deadliest smuggling episode on the US-Mexico border. Two more people died Wednesday as the death toll slowly climbed since the discovery of the bodies Monday near auto salvage yards on the edge of San Antonio. Authorities were looking into whether the truck had mechanical problems when it was abandoned. The driver, Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, is pictured smiling as he drives the tractor trailer loaded with immigrants through the US border Zamorano was allegedly found 'very high on meth' and posing as one of the survivors according to police Emergency responders and investigators surround the truck where at least 53 people died after being left in the trailer in sweltering Texas heat Heartbroken mother Magdalena Tepaz (centre) holds a picture of her slain son Juan, 14 as she mourns her boy during a memorial service in Tzucubal, Guatemala yesterday evening Magdalena (left) and Maria Sipac Grajeda (right) hold images of their teenage boys who died with at least 51 other migrants in San Antonio, Texas. Maria's son, Pascual, was just 13 Youngster Alfonso holds a picture of his 13-year-old brother Pascual in Tzucubal yesterday Family and friends build a makeshift memorial for the more-than-50 migrants killed in Texas The dead included 27 from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala and two from El Salvador, said Francisco Garduno, chief of Mexico's National Immigration Institute. Officials had potential identifications on 37 of the victims as of Wednesday, pending verification with authorities in other countries, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office. Forty of the victims were male, it said. Identifying the dead has been challenging because some were found without identification documents and in one case a stolen ID. Remote villages where some of the migrants came from in Mexico and Central America have no phone service to reach family members and fingerprint data has to be shared and matched by the governments involved. Javier Flores Lopez's family was waiting to find out whether he was on the truck. He had returned home to see his wife and three small children in southern Mexico and was going back to Ohio where his father and a brother live and he worked in construction. He is now among the missing and his cousin, Jose Luis Vasquez Guzman, is hospitalized in San Antonio, the family said. Family members (pictured at the Texas memorial) are still waiting for news of their loved ones Police and emergency services responding to the tractor trailer after it was discovered full of dead migrants on Monday The tractor trailer was hauled away and impounded on Wednesday morning, while investigators remained on the scene Zamorano, the driver, lives in suburban Houston and is originally from the Texas border city of Brownsville, according to the US Attorney's Office in San Antonio. His estranged wife, Jennifer Duncan, told The New York Post that Zamorano 'is a good man.' 'I'm in shock, I mean, I just don't even know what to say about it,' she said, 'I know he wouldn't do anything if he knew it was gonna harm anybody.' Duncan and Zamorano split six months ago, The Post reported. 'He goes out of his way to help anybody and everybody,' she said. Zamorano was scheduled to have his first court appearance Thursday. The tragedy occurred at a time when huge numbers of migrants have been coming to the US, many of them taking perilous risks to cross swift rivers and canals and scorching desert landscapes. Migrants were stopped nearly 240,000 times in May, up by one-third from a year ago. While it is not clear when or where the migrants boarded the truck bound for San Antonio, Homeland Security investigators believe it was on US soil, near or in Laredo, Texas, US Rep. Henry Cuellar said. The truck went through a Border Patrol checkpoint northeast of Laredo on Interstate 35 on Monday, Cuellar and Mexican officials confirmed. It was registered in Alamo, Texas, but had fake plates and logos, Garduno said. Officials in Mexico also released a surveillance photo showing the driver smiling at the checkpoint during the more than two-hour trip to San Antonio. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that state troopers would set up additional truck checkpoints on highways, but he did not say how many. In April, Abbott gridlocked the 1,200-mile Texas border for a week by requiring every truck entering the state to undergo additional inspections as part of his ongoing fight with the Biden administration over immigration policy. The Honduran government on Wednesday named brothers Fernando Jose Redondo Caballero (left) and Alejandro Miguel Andino Caballero (right) among the deceased Adela Betulia Ramirez Quezada, and Margie Tamara Paz Grajera, both of Honduras, were named among the deceased Sisters Carla and Griselda Carac-Tambriz, of Guatemala, were among the 53 migrants left to die in an abandoned semi-truck trailer in the sweltering Texas heat on Monday Some of the more than a dozen people transported to hospitals were found suffering from brain damage and internal bleeding, according to Ruben Minutti, the Mexico consul general in San Antonio. Migrants typically pay $8,000 to $10,000 to be taken across the border, loaded into a tractor-trailer and driven to San Antonio, where they transfer to smaller vehicles for their final destinations across the United States, said Craig Larrabee, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio. The death count from Monday's tragedy in San Antonio was the highest ever from a smuggling attempt in the US, he said. Four years ago, 10 died in 2017 after being trapped inside a truck parked at a San Antonio Walmart. In 2003, the bodies of 19 migrants were found in a sweltering truck southeast of the city. Temperatures in San Antonio on Monday approached 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and those taken to the hospital were hot to the touch and dehydrated, authorities said. It wouldn't have taken long for the temperature inside the truck to become deadly, said Jennifer Vanos, an assistant professor at Arizona State University who has researched child deaths in hot vehicles. The tractor-trailer likely would have been hot even before anyone got inside and because of the high humidity, lack of air flow and so many people inside, their sweat couldn't evaporate to cool their bodies and they would have dehydrated quickly, she said. Roberto Marquez of Dallas prepares to drape a cross to a makeshift memorial at the site where officials found dozens of people dead in an abandoned semitrailer containing suspected migrants, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Mourners pay their respects at a makeshift memorial at the site where officials found dozens of people dead in an abandoned semitrailer containing suspected migrants, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, in San Antonio With little information about the victims, desperate families from Mexico and Central America frantically sought word of their loved ones. Felicitos Garcia, who owns a grocery store in the remote community of San Miguel Huautla in Mexico's southern state of Oaxaca, said the mother of Vasquez Guzman, who was hospitalized in Texas, had gone to the state capital to learn more about her son's condition and the whereabouts of his cousin, who is missing. 'Life is tough here,' Garcia said. 'People survive by growing their own crops like corn, beans and wheat. Sometimes the land gives and sometimes it doesn't when the rains arrive late. There is nothing in place for people to have other resources. People live one day to the next.' Identifying the victims was painstaking because among the pitfalls were fake or stolen documents. Mexico's foreign affairs secretary identified two people Tuesday who were hospitalized in San Antonio. But it turned out one of the identification cards he shared on Twitter had been stolen last year in the southern state of Chiapas. Haneydi Antonio Guzman, 23, was safe in a mountain community more than 1,300 miles away from San Antonio when she began receiving messages from family and friends anxious over her fate. 'That's me on the ID, but I am not the person that was in the trailer and they say is hospitalized,' Antonio Guzman said. 'My relatives were contacting me worried, asking where I was.' In some regions of Mexico, attempting to cross into the United States is a tradition that most youths in heavily migrant towns at least consider. 'All of the young people start to think about going [to the US] as soon as they turn 18,' said migrant activist Carmelo Castaneda, who works with the nonprofit Casa del Migrante. 'If there aren't more visas, our people are going to keep dying.' A young couple managed to save $65,000 in just over a year to buy their dream home - as they reveal their top tips on how to squirrel cash away. Natasha Osborne, 23, and her partner Dylon Memen, 27, are adding the finishing touches to their home in Salisbury North, north of Adelaide, that they recently snapped up for $400,000. The pair put down a 5 per cent deposit on the three-bedroom house and are replacing the floorboards and slapping on some new paint before they move in. The couple, who both work as pick packers, preparing orders for shipments, spent the past 14 months writing every single expenditure down in a diary, even when they spent just 50c. 'We sacrificed a lot, we never went out, we'd go to friends' houses, or we'd stay in and play board games or video games,' Ms Osborne told Daily Mail Australia. The pair have been dating for under two years but always knew they wanted to get into the housing market as quickly as possible. Natasha Osborne, 23, and her partner Dylon Memen, 27, are adding the finishing touches to their home in Salisbury North, north of Adelaide, that they recently snapped up for $400,000 They were able to move back home with Ms Osborne's parents, but still contributed about $200 weekly for rent, bought groceries, and paid for bills. HOW THE COUPLE WERE ABLE TO SAVE - Staying home, avoiding nights out and playing board games instead - Bulk buy groceries and purchase meat only when it's on clearance - Choose which supermarkets are cheaper - Keep a diary of every expenditure no matter how small - Eat meals at home, meal prep - Fill up extra cans of fuel to save on prices - Buy non-branded items at supermarkets - Purchase clothes from op-shops Advertisement 'Every week, I'd go to the markets and get all my fruit and vegetables and do a big meal prep,' the 23-year-old said. 'I'd cook everything and freeze it. With all the rising prices for food it saved us quite a bit.' The pair also tried to buy non-branded products and would only ever buy meat when it was on clearance. 'If you're paying full price for meat, you're paying too much,' Ms Osborne said. Working out which supermarkets were cheaper was another way they were able to set aside more money each week. Fuel was another cost they were also able to keep down. Ms Osborne said she drove to work and, at the start of the week, would fill up her car, along with two jerry cans which she said saved her around $30 each week. 'We both love our coffee, but we ended up finding a secondhand coffee machine for $300 and bought locally sourced beans from the barista, which was so much cheaper,' she said. Ms Osborne said while she'd always been 'savvy' and chose op-shops over labels, it wasn't always easy limiting what she could spend. 'It was hard but we had each other's company, everyone knew the sacrifices we were making and how badly we wanted to get into the housing market,' she said. The couple also picked up extra shifts where they could and would work long hours. The pair put down a 5 per cent deposit on the three-bedder, after spending the past 14 months staying in and saving all they could The couple said they would buy non-branded items from the supermarket, and would work extra shifts when possible so they could buy their first home In April, with the help of their agent Bruno Caporella and mortgage broker Chris Longwill, the couple were finally able to put a deposit down. Mr Longwill said those looking to buy should be aware that they will need to put down more than just 5 per cent. He said with stamp duty and fee such as conveyancing, 'the minimum deposit is actually 13.5 per cent of any purchase price when all said and done'. The Mortgage Choice broker also gave his tips on some easy ways to save for a home. 'Knuckle down, save your birthday and Christmas money, save your tax refund, can you be thrifty and sell some stuff around the house on eBay?' he said. 'Save your extra overtime you do at work, be frugal for 6-12 months and the impacts are huge on your savings! Just don't spend.' 'Set a budget and put aside your mortgage repayments in savings each pay, then save more than that to know you can afford the repayments and your bills. 'Work out how much your house bills and utilities including insurance and council rates cost per month like $500, and save that too.' For Ms Osborne and her boyfriend, the year of board games and cooking at home well and truly paid off. Her advice for others wanting to have a home to call their own? Sacrifice. 'Sacrifice is key, you can't get anywhere without sacrificing something,' she said. Some of Sydney's toughest gangsters are fleeing the city as a gang war intensifies and police continue to crack down on violence. The brazen shooting of Omar Zahed, 39, and his brother Tarek, 41, at an Auburn gym in May has prompted many underworld figures to flee the city. The brothers were shot in a hail of at least 20 bullets, with Omar dying at the scene while his older brother was rushed to hospital with serious injuries. Members of the NSW gang-crime units Raptor Squad continue to crack down on gang violence with new powers targeting convicted drug dealers. The brazen shooting of Omar Zahed, 39, (left) and his brother Tarek, 41, (right) at an Auburn gym in May has prompted many underworld figures to flee Sydney Members of the NSW gang-crime units Raptor Squad continue to crackdown on gang violence with new powers targeting convicted drug dealers (pictured, officers at the Auburn gym where brothers Omar and Tarek Zahed were gunned down in May) 'It is out of control,' a senior underworld figure told The Daily Telegraph. 'The people being hit are big-time players. It seems some old scores are being settled under the cover of the current war. Everyone is saying, "Who is next?"' The source said officers, mainly members of the Raptor Squad, continue to harass crime group members and were pulling people over 'all the time'. He said people were getting increasingly nervous as more underworld figures are thrown behind bars, with others worried about who 'could be talking'. It was announced in May that new laws would give NSW police the power to search convicted drug dealers in the street, knock down their doors and search their homes, businesses and vehicles. The new legislation - two years in the making - will be piloted in four areas across NSW, including Bankstown in Sydney's southwest as the gangland war escalates. The tough laws allow police to apply to issue a Drug Supply Prohibition Order on anyone convicted of a 'serious drug offence' in the past decade. Members of the NSW gang-crime units Raptor Squad continue to crackdown on gang violence with new powers targeting convicted drug dealers (pictured, officers at the Bodyfit gym) Nazlioglu was once accused of killing former Comanchero bikie boss Mahmoud 'Mick' Hawi (pictured), who was shot in front of a gym in 2018 Any person under a Firearm Prohibition Order can also have their vehicle or home searched at any time. Earlier this month, Strike Force Hawk officers launched a week-long operation across the city, leading to 15 arrests and the seizure of drugs, stolen cars and cash. Police Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said it was a comprehensive sweep of underground figures as 52 firearm prohibition order searches took place. 'Last week, we targeted the who's who of criminality in Sydney's southwest: Rebels, Finks, and Lone Wolves (bikie gangs) - you'd be hard-pressed to find someone in that world who didn't get a home visit,' he said. On Monday night, ex-Lone Wolf bikie Yusuf Nazlioglu was gunned down in a spray of at least ten bullets after an unidentified killer opened fire in the parking complex under his apartment in Rhodes, in the city's west. Emergency services cart Nazlioglu out of the Rhodes building on Monday after he was shot up to ten times in the head and chest Bodies have been piling up in the Harbour City in the past 18 months with at least a dozen contract killings linked to the bitter feud between the Hamzy and Alameddine crime clans Police later confirmed the 40-year-old died in hospital at about 7.15am on Tuesday. Nazlioglu had once been accused of murdering Mick Hawi, the former president of the Comancheros bikie gang, but was acquitted by an NSW Supreme Court jury two years ago. Daily Mail Australia does not suggest that any of Hawi's relatives were involved in Nazlioglu's death. Nazlioglu's death marked the end of a six-week run without a fatal shooting in Sydney as the city grapples with a bloody underworld war, with at least 14 men gunned down over the past two years. On Tuesday, police said a 49-year-old man had been charged for his alleged role in the murder of underworld crime boss Mahmoud 'Brownie' Ahmad (pictured) Detectives say at this stage in the investigation the assassination does not appear to be linked to the feud between the Alameddine of Hamzy networks. On Tuesday, police said a 49-year-old man had been charged for his alleged role in the murder of underworld crime boss Mahmoud 'Brownie' Ahmad. Ahmad, also known as Sydney's 'Mr Big', was shot dead on a suburban street in Greenacre, in the city's southwest, on April 27. Raptor Squad police patrolling nearby performed CPR with vision of the harrowing scene showing 'Mr Big' fighting for his life, but they were unable to revive him. The CEO of the Orlando Museum of Art has been fired days after an FBI raid that seized an exhibit of 25 disputed artworks that were attributed to Jean-Michel Basquiat. Aaron De Groft was removed as director and CEO after the museum's board of trustees met on Tuesday night, following the federal raid on Friday seizing the works in the 'Heroes and Monsters' exhibit. The board said in a statement that it is 'extremely concerned' about the exhibition of 25 paintings whose authenticity has been challenged, as well as an 'inappropriate' email De Groft sent to an academic art expert. In the email to the art expert, who had been hired by the owners of the paintings, De Groft urged her to 'shut up' after she expressed qualms about the exhibit and asked that her name not be used in promoting it, according to the FBI. 'We have launched an official process to address these matters, as they are inconsistent with the values of this institution, our business standards, and our standards of conduct,' said board chair Cynthia Brumback in the statement. Aaron De Groft, CEO of the Orlando Museum of Art, has been fired days after an FBI raid that seized an exhibit of 25 disputed artworks that were attributed to Jean-Michel Basquiat One of the works, titled 'Untitled (Self-Portrait or Crown Face II), pictured, was painted on a FedEx box not used by the company until six years after the painter died of a drug overdose Jean-Michel Basquiat, who lived and worked in New York City, found success in the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. He died in 1988 at age 27 The statement didn't say if De Groft resigned under pressure or was fired, but museum employees told the New York Times that board meeting had ended with the decision to fire him. De Groft didn't respond Wednesday to an email message sent via LinkedIn. If authentic the paintings would be worth around $100 million -- but investigators have raised serious questions about their provenance, citing the fact that one of the works is painted on a FedEx box that was not produced until after Basquiat's death. Intentionally selling fake art is a federal crime. The owners of the paintings have previously said that they hoped to sell the works, and the Orlando exhibition would have offered a major boost in visibility and credibility. According to a search warrant, federal art crimes investigators have been looking into the 25 paintings since shortly after their supposed discovery in 2012. The controversy intensified shortly after the Orlando exhibit opened in February. Basquiat, who lived and worked in New York City, found success in the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. The Orlando Museum of Art was the first institution to display the pieces, which were said to have been found in an old storage locker years after Basquiat's 1988 death from a drug overdose at age 27. Entrance to an exhibit by artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is seen at the Orlando Museum of Art. The FBI raided the museum on Friday and seized 25 disputed paintings This 1982 untitled painting allegedly by artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is seen on display at the Orlando Museum of Art prior to the raid The FBI raided a Florida art museum on Friday (above) and seized more than two dozen paintings attributed to artist Jean-Michel Basquiat following questions about their authenticity The 25 paintings were bought for about $15,000 by William Force, an art and antiques dealer, and Leo Mangan, a retired salesman, according to the Times. Attorney Pierce O'Donnell later purchased an interest in six of the works and hired several experts to assess whether the paintings were genuine. One of those experts -- identified at 'Expert-2' by the FBI, but later named in the Times as University of Maryland associate professor Jordana Moore Saggese -- later contacted the museum to ask that her name not be associated with the exhibit. Saggese had assessed the works as genuine in her 2017 analysis, but told De Groft she no longer wanted to be associated with promoting the works and would consider it defamatory if the museum continued to use her name, according to a search warrant released Friday. De Groft urged her to 'shut up,' and he threatened to tell her employer that the painting's owners paid her $60,000 to write a report about the pieces. 'You want us to put out there that you got $60 grand to write this? OK then. Shut up. You took the money. Stop being holier than thou. You did this not me or anybody else,' De Groft said in the email quoted in the search warrant. 'Be quiet now is my best advice. These are real and legit. You know this. You are threatening the wrong people. Do your academic thing and stay in your limited lane.' Attorney Pierce O'Donnell (above) purchased an interest in six of the 25 works and hired several experts to assess whether the paintings were genuine An exhibition purportedly by artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is seen on display at the Orlando Museum of Art prior to the FBI raid Questions about the artworks' authenticity arose almost immediately after their discovery. The artwork was purportedly made in 1982, but experts have pointed out that the cardboard used in at least one of the pieces included FedEx typeface that wasnt used until 1994, about six years after Basquiat died, according to the search warrant. Los Angeles art dealer Larry Gagosian, who lived directly above Basquiat's studio when the paintings were allegedly created, said that he 'finds the scenario of the story highly unlikely' In addition, television writer Thad Mumford, the owner of the storage locker where the art was supposedly found, told investigators that he had never owned any Basquiat art and that the pieces were not in the unit the last time he had visited. Mumford died in 2018. Los Angeles art dealer Larry Gagosian, who lived directly above Basquiat's studio when the paintings were allegedly created, told Times that he 'finds the scenario of the story highly unlikely.' Gagosian said that the artist had been preparing works for his LA gallery at the time and that he kept close tabs on his studio progress, and would have known of their existence. Basquiat's assistant, John Seed, has also said that he did not notice the creation of the 25 paintings, some done on large sheets of canvas. Gagosian is not the only art expert to doubt the works' authenticities, with several curators known to specialize in Basquiat's creations uncommonly hesitant to weigh in on the controversy. Sotheby's and several art world professionals declined to comment on their authenticity. De Groft has repeatedly insisted that the art was legitimate. 'The cardboard is legit,' he said in February. 'I believe deeply these are authentic Basquiats. I cant answer the question on FedEx, theres an anomaly there.' Basquiat, pictured with pop art icon Andy Warhol in 1985, rose to fame in the 1980s The museum says the artworks were sold to Hollywood screenwriter Thad Mumford for $5,000 by Basquiat in 1982. The institution asserts the works remained in an LA storage unit owned by Mumford (above) until 2012, when they were sold at auction. Mumford died in 2018 Before coming to Orlando in late 2020, De Groft was director of the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and deputy director of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida. The Orlando exhibit was originally publicized to run through June 2023, but the museum later announced it was ending next week. Orlando Museum of Art spokeswoman Emilia Bourmas-Fry said the art's owners declined to extend the museum's contract and were planning to send the works to Italy for exhibition. 'Based on my training and experience, I believe that the significantly advanced date of the international departure of the Mumford Collection from OMA is to avoid further scrutiny of the provenance and authenticity of the works by the public and law enforcement,' an FBI special agent wrote in the warrant request. No criminal charges have been filed. Fry said last week that the museum was cooperating with the FBI. 'It is important to note that we still have not been led to believe the Museum has been or is the subject of any investigation,' Bourmas-Fry said. 'We continue to see our involvement purely as a fact witness.' William Tyrrell's foster mother has been refused an application to have charges she allegedly hit, kicked and intimidated a ten-year-old girl to be heard on mental health grounds. The court heard that the foster mother at one point called a friend and allegedly said 'I need to break her', with police having a strong case for the charges because of audio surveillance in the home at the time. Looking noticeably thinner and with her hair a darker shade, the foster mother appeared at Parramatta Local Court on Thursday on four charges - two of assaulting and two of intimidating a ten-year-girl in a family home. The court heard that after July last year the woman known as SD allegedly hit the girl with a wooden spoon and then 'kicked her on the floor' in what Magistrate Peter Feather described as the 'more serious' charge. Prosecutors told the court the intimidation was 'part of an ongoing pattern of violence' in the home and that the ten-year-old had become 'jealous' and started 'to act up' when a six-year-old child entered the home. Magistrate Peter Feather said SD had hit the girl with a wooden spoon on her body and assaulted the girl by kicking her in the left thigh. Wearing a rose pink sweater and black trousers, the foster mother arrived at Parramatta Local Court on Thursday with William's foster father, known as JS, and PR supremo Clare Collins, who runs the Wheres William marketing campaign. Both SD and JS were charged with common assault and stalking of the girl last year with JS pleading not guilty. SD's failed mental health application means she will attend the same hearing with her husband, listed for January 16 next year. William Tyrrell's foster mother and father(above) arrive at court where the noticeably thinner mother was applying to have charges she allegedly hit, kicked and intimidate a 10-year-old girl heard on mental health grounds The couple leaving Parramatta Local Court after a judge rejected the foster mum's bid to have her case heard on mental health grounds Mr Feather told the court it was a case where 'the child is misbehaving, the ten-year-old' and that a six-year-old had changed 'the dynamics in the family' causing 'a degree of jealousy in the child'. He said this had caused 'problems in terms of parenting'. Prosecutors told the court that the child had been 'misbehaving (over) a very long period of time'. But Mr Feather said the fact the alleged offences had occurred in front of another child and three other aggravating factors made them more serious. SD's lawyer Sharon Ramsden told the magistrate that the foster mother's alleged offending had happened in 'a unique set of circumstances'. The court heard audio police surveillance devices inside the foster mother's home caught her allegedly assaulting the girl and ringing a friend to say 'I need to break her' A forensic psychology report tendered to the court said the foster mother had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Magistrate Feather said he was satisfied this was true and that at the time of the alleged offending SD had been highly stressed. But he believed the charged had to be heard under the criminal justice system rather than the Mental Health Act and that if he were sentencing SD today he would give her a two-year community corrections order. Officers from Strike Force Rosann, the team set up by NSW Police to investigate William Tyrrell's disappearance, including Detective Sean Ogilvy and Detective Sergeant Andrew Lonergan were in court for the hearing. Police allege the 55-year-old caused the girl 'pain and bruising', and also hit the girl with a wooden spoon. William's foster father is due to face a trial next year after police allege he 'grabbed' the girl around the neck and 'physically restrained her to sit back down'. The foster couple also allegedly subjected the girl to a 15-minute 'tirade of verbal abuse' while she pleaded them to stop and later told a teacher she was afraid to go back to the house. The child had been placed in a 44-minute time-out period in November last year and had then told the couple, known by the pseudonyms SD and JS, that she 'hated them'. The foster mother of William Tyrrell (above) was hoping for the case to be heard on mental health grounds SD and JS had been 'attempting to intervene in the (alleged) victim's problematic behaviour' and William's female foster carer had told the girl that if she were to defecate on the floor she would rub her face in it, it is alleged. The details of the allegations against the couple in a psychologist's report were revealed earlier this month after a successful appeal to have a suppression order set aside, The Australian reported. Police will allege that when the child screamed out in pain, SD 'then forced the child to sit on the floor for an extended period of time before kicking the (alleged) victim and causing her pain and bruising. The (alleged) victim is reported to have tried to get up a number of times but (SD) forced her to sit down.' The report states police will allege the child was 'pleading' with SD to stop while the two defendants allegedly subjected her to a 15-minute 'tirade of verbal abuse'. The alleged victim spoke to her schoolteacher and 'expressed being afraid to return home'. Children's books by Roald Dahl and Dr Seuss (left) were put up for sale online by the foster father along with a child-sized wetsuit (right) Also for sale by the foster father online was a white double bunk bed (above) with pink and blue flowered bedsheets Last year, as police embarked on a new search of bushland near the NSW Mid North Coast town of Kendall for the remains of William Tyrrell, SD and her husband JS were charged with common assault of the girl. Earlier this year they were charged respectively with two counts and one count of stalking and intimidation intending fear of physical harm against a child. The foster mother's Mental Health Act application comes as William's foster father has put more children's items up for sale online. Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed in April - just days after being charged with stalking - that the foster parents were holding a massive fire sale of children's bikes, car seats, prams, furniture and a water tank with items as low as $5. The foster mother (above in Kendall after William vanished) is applying to the court to have charges of assaulting and stalking a child heard under the Mental Health Act Police allege the foster mother (left with William) subjected the girl to a 15-minute 'tirade of verbal abuse' while she pleaded with her to stop. William (right) wearing his favourite red fireman's hat on a slide after his removal into foster care The latest items listed by the foster father for sale include a white double bunk bed with blue and pink flowered sheets, a child's multi-coloured guitar, and child-sized wetsuit. He is also selling children's books including Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox and a set of Dr Seuss books. JS has pleaded not guilty to the assault and stalking charges and has been listed for hearing on January 16 next year. William disappeared aged three in September 2014 in the NSW Mid North Coast town of Kendall and no trace of the toddler has ever been found. A new search of bushland within 700m of the Kendall house where William was last seen was conducted late last year, but no items of significance have been identified. William Tyrrell (above) disappeared aged three in September 2014 in the NSW Mid North Coast town of Kendall and no trace of the toddler has ever been found Disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh was hit with his 16th indictment on Tuesday, with the 54-year-old now adding drug trafficking to his litany of charges. Murdaugh is accused of working with Curtis Smith, 61, a man he once represented at his law firm. Murdaugh from October 2013 to September 2021 allegedly oversaw an oxycodone purchase and distribution network, spanning multiple counties. He wrote 437 checks worth $2.4 million to Smith, who would then cash the check and use the money to buy the drugs. Smith also took a cut for himself. Both men were charged with possessing, manufacturing or distributing narcotics, and are being held in jail - Smith on a $250,000 bond. Smith was also indicted individually for money laundering, forgery, trafficking methamphetamine, unlawful possession of a schedule II controlled substance, and possession of marijuana. Murdaugh has been in jail since October. Alex Murdaugh is seen during a bond hearing in Varnville, South Carolina, in October 2021. On Tuesday he was hit with drug trafficking charges. He has blamed all his woes on a drug addiction Curtis Smith (left) was a client of Alex Murduagh's (right). Smith then worked with Murdaugh as part of an alleged drug trafficking network Murdaugh has pinned his problems on a years-long drug addiction. His legal troubles were revealed after his wife Maggie, 52, (center left) and son Paul, 22, (left) were killed in a shooting at the family home in June 2021 It is the latest bizarre twist in the head-spinning saga of Murdaugh, whose world fell apart when his wife Maggie, 54, and son Paul, 22, were found shot dead in June 2021. No one has been charged in their murders, and Murdaugh insisted he had nothing to do with it. Tight-lipped state police have neither named any suspects nor ruled anyone out. The deaths led to more criminal investigations into Murdaugh, including whether he or his family tried to obstruct the investigation into a fatal 2019 boat crash. Mallory Beach, 19, was killed on Murdaugh's boat which prosecutors said his late son, Paul, was driving. Prosecutors said Paul Murdaugh was driving the boat recklessly while intoxicated, but charges against him were dropped after he and his mother were killed at the family's Colleton County home in June. Other teenagers on the boat testified that they were scared to speak about the Murdaugh family because they knew how to 'cover things up'. Murdaugh's great-grandfather, grandfather and father were all elected prosecutors in Hampton County, where his family law firm bore the Murdaugh moniker until recently. The family's law firm, located in the most impressive building in town aside from the courthouse, has spent a century winning multimillion-dollar verdicts. The murder of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh then sparked an investigation into the family finances, and led to accusations that Alex Murdaugh stole a $3 million insurance payout awarded to the family of his housekeeper, who died in 2018. Gloria Satterfield had worked for the Murdaugh family for 25 years as a housekeeper and nanny. Gloria Satterfield, who died after falling at the Murdaugh home in 2018, was the family's housekeeper and nanny for 25 years Satterfield's sons (pictured in October) claimed Murdaugh convinced them at their mother's funeral to use Fleming as their attorney and sue Murdaugh for wrongful death, without disclosing that Fleming had been his college roommate and was godfather to one of his sons An indictment released Wednesday accuses Beaufort attorney Cory Fleming (left) of working with disgraced legal scion Alex Murdaugh (right) to defraud the estate of Gloria Satterfield Fleming allegedly deposited a $403,500 check from insurance that should have gone to Satterfield's estate into a bank account, and then used it for car and loan payments Gloria Satterfield's family was defrauded of '$3 million in insurance money' Authorities said Fleming knowingly moved money from insurance agreements to a fraudulent bank account Murdaugh had named similarly to that of a company that handles settlements. Fleming allegedly deposited $403,500 check into a personal bank account. The $403,500 check contained what was supposed to be compensation to Gloria's sons for her death, but it also contained a split of FLEMING's fee. Murdaugh and Fleming ultimately had a settlement disbursement check for $2,961,931.95 from Fleming's trust account, and Fleming delivered the check to Murdaugh. Prosecutors have accused Murdaugh of illegally using the money to pay off a $100,000 credit card bill, transferring more than $300,000 to his father and $735,000 to himself. It is unclear how much money of the insurance payouts Fleming employed for personal use. Advertisement Satterfield's sons claim that Murdaugh convinced them at their mother's funeral to use his friend Cory Fleming as their attorney, and sue Murdaugh for wrongful death. He did not disclose that Fleming had been his college roommate and was godfather to one of his sons. Fleming then diverted the resulting $3million insurance payouts to Murdaugh and himself, using it for car, loan and credit car payments, cash, and checks written to associates, prosecutors said. Fleming was charged with fraud in March. According to the indictment, Fleming, 53, did not tell Satterfield's sons about two settlements he secured from insurers. He instead moved the money from both agreements to a fraudulent bank account that Murdaugh had given a name similar to that of a company that handles settlements, authorities said. Fleming previously said he was helping Satterfield's sons' new lawyers. In a joint statement, issued by Fleming and the sons, Fleming said he 'was not a willing participant in Mr Murdaugh's scheme, but was used.' In September, perhaps the most surreal twist came yet, when Murdaugh was found with a gunshot wound to the head near his home. It quickly emerged that he had paid Smith to murder him, in order to give the $10 million life insurance payout to his surviving son, Buster. Murdaugh was arrested in October. Murdaugh currently faces 75 state charges, among them trust, forgery, money laundering, computer crime and now criminal conspiracy with Fleming. Buster, Maggie, Paul and Alex Murdaugh (from left). Murdaugh's wife, Maggie, and son Paul were found shot dead at the family's hunting lodge in a horrific double murder in June Murdaugh has adamantly denied having anything to do with the killings of his wife and son Pictured from left: Buster Murdaugh, Maggie Murdaugh, Paul Murdaugh and Alex Murdaugh in a photo posted by Margaret for Father's Day, 2020 His lawyers have also insisted he had nothing to do with it, calling on investigators to work as hard to find their killers as they are trying to unravel Murdaugh's finances Altogether, he is accused of stealing nearly $8.5 million intended for victims of wrongful death and insurance settlements. His brother said Murdaugh owes him $46,500 on $90,000 loaned in September in part to get Murdaugh into drug rehab. A judge set his bail at $7 million and refused to reduce it, even as Murdaugh's lawyer argued his bank accounts were seized in civil lawsuits and he could barely afford to buy underwear at the Richland County jail. Murdaugh has pinned his problems on a years-long drug addiction. Advertisement The Vietnamese girl seen in one of history's most iconic war photographs received her final skin treatment at a Miami clinic this week, 50 years after she was scorched by a napalm bombing. Kim Phuc Phan Ti, now 59, was photographed by a journalist on June 8, 1972 running towards the camera and crying after the attack left her body covered in third degree burns. She was nine-years-old at the time and became commonly known as Napalm Girl. Her injuries left her suffering debilitating pain for most of her life, leading her to seek a number skin graft procedures and treatments over the last few years to ease her suffering. She received the last of those treatments yesterday. The journalist who photographed her in 1972, Nick Ut, 71, joined her for the procedure to take pictures, just over fifty years to the day that he took the Pulitzer Prize winning photo. Kim Phuc Phan Ti, now 59, was nine years old when she was photographed immediately after being hit by a napalm attack in southern Vietnam After fleeing communist Vietnam in 1992, Phan Ti and her husband settled in Canada, where she began to seek treatment from Dr. Jill Zwaibel in Miami In 2015 Phan Ti sought treatment from Dr. Jill Zwaibel in Miami to treat the excruciating pain that plagued her since the bombing in 1972 Phan Ti told CBS News that she clearly remembered playing with other children on that day in 1972, when Vietnamese soldiers began yelling at them to run. 'And I look up I saw the airplane and four bombs landing like that,' she said. Phan Ti and others had been fleeing a North Vietnamese attack outside the village of Trang Bang, when the South Vietnamese air force mistook the group for NV soldiers and dropped napalm bombs on them. Her clothes were burned off of her, and she received third degree burns all over her body. She recalled yelling 'Too hot! Too hot!' in Vietnamese as she fled down the street from the flames. That was when Ut snapped the photo that would go on to shock the world on the cover of the New York Times. The journalist who photographed her in 1972, Nick Ut, 71, (left) joined her for the procedure to take pictures, just over fifty years to the day that he took the Pulitzer Prize winning photo Phan Ti recalled yelling 'Too hot! Too hot!' in Vietnamese as she fled down the street from the flames Nick Ut and Kim Phuc Phan Ti at photo exhibition in Milan, Italy, in 2022. The two have remained friends since the napalm bombing in Vietnam After taking the photo, Ut and several journalists on the scene whisked Phan Ti and a number of other children wounded in the attack away to a hospital in nearby Saigon. There, doctors told him that the scalded girl didn't stand a chance. 'Even the doctor said she will die, no way she still alive,' Ut told CBS, 'I tell them three time and they said no, then I hold my media pass and I said, 'If she dies, my picture on every front page on every newspaper.' And they worry when I say that and took her right away inside.' But Phan Ti held on, and after over a year in the hospital and nearly 20 surgeries she was released, but it would be nearly ten years and several more surgeries before she could properly move again. Even then, excruciating pain - exacerbated by moving in certain ways - persisted for years and nearly drove her to suicide. Before moving to the West, Kim wanted to become a doctor and studied medicine at a university in Vietnam. She was seen as a 'national symbol of war' and was supervised daily, used in propaganda films and subjected to constant interviews as an example of the barbarism of the West and anti-Communist ideology. Then, the regime decided to send her on a worldwide trip from Havana to Moscow as part of a global propaganda push. During a layover in Canada, she and her husband Bui Huy Toan, a fellow Vietnamese student she met in Cuba, decided to seek asylum and later citizenship, and they had two children in Toronto. The attack that day killed two of Kim's cousins and two other villagers, and she would stay in hospital for 14 months, undergoing 17 surgical procedures including skin transplants The napalm had been dropped by US-backed South Vietnam accidentally against its own forces and civilians, shedding Kim's clothes as she desperately ran for help She also kept up a friendship with photographer Ut, who she credits with saving her life and speaks on the phone with him every week. She calls him 'Uncle Ut' and he thinks of her as a daughter. Kim wrote in the New York Times: 'Yet I also remember hating him at times. I grew up detesting that photo. I thought to myself, "I am a little girl. I am naked. Why did he take that picture? Why didn't my parents protect me? Why did he print that photo? Why was I the only kid naked while my brothers and cousins in the photo had their clothes on?" I felt ugly and ashamed.' The napalm had been dropped by US-backed South Vietnam accidentally against its own forces and civilians, shedding Kim's clothes as she desperately ran for help, screaming 'too hot, too hot'. It killed two of Kim's cousins and two other villagers, and she would stay in hospital for 14 months, undergoing 17 surgical procedures including skin transplants. In 2015 she sought treatment for the pain from Dr. Jill Zwaibel in Miami. Knowing Phan Ti's story, Zwaibel agreed to perform treatments free of charge. 'Now 50 years later, I am no longer a victim of war, I am not the Napalm girl,' Phan Ti said, 'Now I am a friend, am a helper, I'm a grandmother and now I am a survivor calling out for peace.' Phan Ti and Ut viewing the original negatives of the photos from the 1972 napalm bombing Ut's photo would shock the world on the front page of The New York Times, and earn a Pulitzer Prize As Leigh Sales' time as host of 7.30 comes to an end, the ABC icon has revealed what's next after 12 years in the hot seat, her surprising love of swearing and how the national broadcaster can sometimes feel like a 'straitjacket'. Sales also reminisced on some of the highlights of her interviews over the years, with Shane Warne, Paul McCartney and many more. But before she decides what's next for her career, Sales is doing something very Australian. 'I've got long service leave because I've been (at ABC) so long,' she told 2GB's Ben Fordham on Thursday morning. Her immediate plan is to have more time with her two young boys, James and Daniel. 'I'm taking six months off and I feel like I really need a rest and to go away and just have a break,' she said. Leigh Sales (right) is pictured with her two boys, James and Daniel. Sales' 12 years of presenting ABC's 7.30 show is ending on Thursday night 'I think it's going to be very emotional tonight. But, my boys really want me to be home more in the evening. 'When they were little - because I've had two babies in my time there - it was fine, because I could hang out with them in the morning. 'But now that they're at school, I don't get much time with them in the morning and when I get home I'm often really tired. 'But they may, because they haven't seen me, want to talk. And I feel bad ... if I'm exhausted and I'm wanting them to go to bed, because I think that's not fair.' Fordham also asked if her boys ever get the full Leigh Sales interrogation treatment if they do something wrong. 'I'll tell you who used to suffer a bit from it is my poor ex-husband, and I've a feeling he might be my ex-husband for a reason,' she said with a laugh. 'I'd leave for work and say "Darling, would you mind stacking the dishwasher?" And then if I got home and it wasn't stacked I'd say "But you said this morning, the dishwasher would be stacked".' Sales also said she was looking forward to not having to think about the news all the time. 'If you do a daily program, you have no time to think. Anthony Albanese (pictured right) on his final interview with Leigh Sales (left) as host of ABC's 7.30 show 'All you can think about is what's in the news, who have we got tomorrow, better get this guest lined up. I need some time to think and see what brews up after that.' While well-aware she was due for a break, it was during an interview with actor Tom Hanks that confirmed it. 'The other weekend, I had to interview Tom Hanks and it was on the middle of the day on Saturday,' she said. 'And I spent all day Friday kind of cross, thinking "Oh, my weekend is getting interrupted, I'm going to interview Tom Hanks". 'When you're such an idiot that you feel like having to go and speak to one of the great talents in the world is a bit of an imposition on your weekend, then that's time to do a handover.' Leigh Sales has admitted feeling 'stabbed in the heart' by all of the Australian prime ministers she has interviewed Leigh Sales pictured in the earlier days of her presenting role of the 7.30 program on ABC Sales also spoke about some of her most memorable interviews, fondly remembering Shane Warne, who died from a heart attack in March, aged just 52. 'That's one of my favourite interviews of all time, because he was so authentic ... he never pretended to be something he wasn't,' she said. 'So often when you interview people, they're trying to put their best selves forward. They're sometimes nervous and so that pushes against authenticity. 'I always think that, like him, love him, his weaknesses, his strengths, it was all there ... I don't think I've ever interviewed somebody who was just so open. 'Calum, my producer, reckoned when he was watching all the material for the special (on ABC on Friday night), he said he'd thought he'd never seen me flirt with anyone so much as (Warnie).' Leigh Sales is seen on the red carpet at the Logie Awards at the Star Casino on the Gold Coast in 2019 Leigh Sales (pictured) is stepping down as the host of ABC's 7.30 show on Thursday night Another of her interview favourites was Paul McCartney. 'That was truly overwhelming, to meet somebody like that,' she said. 'Sometimes you can be a bit scared to meet people if you're a big fan of them because you're worried that if they turn out to be awful it's going to ruin your love of them. 'He just enhanced it, because he was just so absolutely lovely. It was really, really moving to talk to him.' Sales also recalled her legendary interview with radio host John Laws, who famously had a glass of whisky beside him during the interview which was held in his home. Leigh Sales (pictured) said her children have only ever known their mum at work four nights a week 'I did enjoy it. It was, I think, back in my first or second year, in 2011. People still raise that interview with me today,' Sales said. 'The week after it, I went into a bar and they made this special cocktail for me with bourbon and what not, in honour of the John Laws interview. People absolutely loved it.' Not all of her interviews were easy though, and she said the trickiest interviews 'tend to be the ones that you ask a question based in reason and logic and they answer not in a logical way'. 'So, Clive Palmer, Bob Katter, where they kind of go off in tangents and if you're trying to follow them, it's really difficult. Those ones are really hard,' she said. Though she has been attacked from both the left and right on social media, Sales said it doesn't get to her that much. Leigh Sales poses on February 7, 2011, in Sydney, Australia. She is stepping down from hosting ABC's 7.30 show 'The people who ask me the most about trolling and online reaction ... are always journos, because when you talk to people in the real world, everyone's busy doing their jobs,' she said. 'They're not sitting on their Twitter account all day, every day. And I think if you are doing that, it's giving you a distorted view of what people in the real world are actually interested in. 'So I say to journos, it doesn't bother me that much because I understand the difference between that and reality.' She said keeping in touch with reality also helps her decide on what to ask her guests. Leigh Sales (pictured) announced earlier this year that she would be quitting the 7.30 show 'I try to base my thoughts on the kind of questions I should be asking or my views about things on people's real world experiences, not based on the views of a kind of echo chamber of people on social media.' Fordham said to Sales that while he is able to express his personal views on 2GB, she has to hold back her own opinions on ABC. 'It can feel sometimes straitjacketed in that sense. I'm not someone who has particularly strong political opinions so I don't usually find it that difficult,' she said. 'I think the thing that I've found hardest - because I'm from Queensland, but I've lived in Sydney now for 20 or so years - is keeping in touch with what the average person thinks, when I'm an ABC fat cat who lives in inner city Sydney. 'You've got to be all the time working to find out what people really think. And so, my friends that I grew up with in Brisbane, for example, my family up there, they're not in the media, they're not in politics. 'They're police, secretaries, teachers, all sorts of jobs like that. Those are the people that I feel like, what they're talking about is what's of interest.' Leigh Sales (pictured) has got great acclaim from her ABC colleagues after announcing she is stepping down from hosting 7.30 Sales said her replacement, Sarah Ferguson, doesn't need her advice, and she will do what Kerry O'Brien, who she replaced at 7.30, did. 'When Kerry O'Brien left, it's hard when you come in behind someone who's done a job for a long time. The audience feels like they know them, that they're their friend,' she said. 'So Kerry, when he left, he left. He did not maintain a running commentary about the program or about me or about the ABC. 'He didn't ring up and say "Here's what you should be doing, here's my advice." He left, and he was never anything but publicly supportive, and that was so appreciated. 'I feel like that was the model for how you should conduct yourself.' Leigh Sales (pictured presenting ABC's 7.30 program) is known for her tough interviews Sales said leaving now is 'exciting, but it's also emotional. Exciting, because I'm very confident in myself that it's the right time, even though it's an awesome job and I've loved it. 'I just feel like it's time after nearly 12 years to explore some new challenges.' Though she is taking a six-month break, Sales did drop a hint about what could come next. 'I do enjoy radio,' she said. Fordham joked she shouldn't do breakfast radio, but said maybe she could replace Ray Hadley on 2GB. Finally, Fordham revealed what he says to people when they ask what Sales is really like. 'You're never going to believe this, but she swears like a trucker,' is what he tells people. 'F**king oath,' she replied, with the first four letters having been cut out by 2GB. He walked free from jail in September 2021 and moved in with his young bride The couple were married six months before he was shot in a basement carpark Jade Nazlioglu shared a photo with her new husband, before he was murdered The young widow of a murdered ex-bikie has shared a heartbreaking photo of the couple in a parking lot - before he was gunned down in front of her. Jade Nazlioglu, 27, was with her new husband, Yusuf Nazlioglu, on Monday evening when a hitman pumped his head and torso with ten bullets in a basement parking complex underneath their apartment in Rhodes, in Sydney's west. The 40-year-old was taken to Westmead Hospital but died on Tuesday morning - just eight months after he was released from jail, and six months after he married the former personal trainer. Mrs Nazlioglu broke her social media silence in the early hours of Thursday morning to share a photo of the once-happy couple in a cheeky embrace. The newlyweds were standing in a carpark in the photo, though not in the same spot where he was murdered. Jade Nazlioglu shared a photo (above) with her husband, Yusuf Nazlioglu, on Thursday morning Pictured: A photo Jade Nazlioglu posted on social media, the day before her husband was shot dead In the photo, Mrs Nazlioglu wore a yellow dress with strappy white stiletto shoes, while her tattooed husband donned a T-shirt, tracksuit pants and sneakers - with a designer watch and diamond-encrusted wedding band. The young bride was also clutching a white Chanel handbag - her own diamond wedding ring clearly visible. A loved one commented: 'Thinking of you Jade.' Someone else wrote: 'Thinking of you during this time Jade.' It is understood the unidentified killer waited in a silver hatchback for the couple to return home in their black Mercedes at 6pm on Monday, before they unloaded on Mr Nazlioglu. A pool of blood could be seen by the parking space where he was gunned down. His wife called emergency services. The silver hatchback was set on fire a few streets away from the shooting. The murder is under police investigation and no arrests have been made. Pictured: The basement carpark where Yusuf Nazlioglu, 40, was gunned down on Monday Police towed a black Mercedes from the carpark on Tuesday morning. The car had a large bullet hole Mr Nazlioglu walked free from Silverwater's Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre, western Sydney, in September last year - having served three years for firearm possession. He quickly started a whirlwind romance with his future wife, who used to go by Jade Heffer - a fitness instructor 13 years his junior who grew up in the regional town of Barham, about 800km south-west of Sydney, on the NSW/Victoria border. They moved into an apartment together in Rhodes before getting married on January 25 this year - four months after his release from jail. The day before Mrs Nazlioglu witnessed her husband's brutal death, she was pictured on Facebook in a figure-hugging black dress, strappy sandals and a black designer handbag. 'Birthday week,' the caption read. Jade Nazlioglu wears a very large, diamond wedding ring (pictured). She married her ex-bikie lover in January The couple got married in January - just four months after he was released from jail It is widely believed that Nazlioglu's death came about because he was previously charged with murder of former Comanchero leader, Mick Hawi - who was shot dead outside Fitness First Gym at Rockdale in February 2018, at a cemetery. His co-accused was friend and fellow Lone Wolf member Ahmad 'Adam' Doudar, 38. Nazlioglu was accused of being the triggerman and Doudar of disposing of a getaway car. Doudar would plead guilty to being an accessory after the fact to Hawi's murder and was sentenced to a non-parole period of three years and four months in jail. After a week of deliberations a jury found Nazlioglu not guilty of murder, however, he subsequently pleaded guilty to an unrelated charge of possessing a firearm and was jailed for three years. Emergency services cart Nazlioglu out of the Rhodes building on Monday after he was shot up to ten times in the head and chest Detective Superintendent Martin Hayston said on Tuesday that detectives believe the attack was 'targeted'. 'The person who approached the 40-year-old male and shot him clearly was there to do that, there is various lines of inquiry underway in relation to motive,' he said. Nazlioglu's death marked the end of a six-week run without a fatal shooting in Sydney as the city grapples with a bloody underworld war, with at least 14 men gunned down over the past two years. Detectives say at this stage in the investigation the assassination does not appear to be linked to the feud between the Alameddine and Hamzy networks. Parents in NSW are being urged to get a free influenza vaccination for their children during the school holidays as the state's hospitals continue to be inundated by people sick from the virus. Health Minister Brad Hazzard has extended the winter season free jab program for all state residents by two weeks to July 17, or until the end of the two school week holiday period. 'It only takes a few minutes to get a flu jab but that time could mean the difference between you or one of your loved ones ending up in ICU so please, book in today,' Mr Hazzard said. Just one-in-four children under five years have had a flu shot and the number is even lower for kids aged five to 15 Graph (pictured) shows the dramatic increase of flu cases in 2022 compared to former years Health Minister Brad Hazzard (pictured) urged NSW punters to take up the free jab to avoid getting very ill from in the horror flu season Just one-in-four children under five years have had a flu shot, and the number is even lower for kids aged five to 15. 'It's really worrying that just over 18 per cent of children and teenagers have had a flu jab and for kids aged six months to five years, the figure is 25 per cent,' Mr Hazzard said on Thursday. 'These numbers are particularly concerning given in the last month, four times as many kids have been admitted to Sydney's two children's hospitals with flu than with COVID.' Fewer than 40 per cent of 50-to 65-year-olds and only 64 per cent of those aged over 65 have had a flu jab. Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said flu vaccinations prevent unnecessary hospitalisations. 'More than 1000 people presented to our EDs (emergency departments) with flu-like illness last week and almost 165 were so unwell they were admitted, including very young children,' he said. Authorities are concerned about low flu jab rates in Sydney's west and southwest as well as parts of far northern NSW and the central west. About 25 per cent of Aussies from Canterbury-Bankstown and Fairfield local government areas have been vaccinated, compared to more than 40 per cent in Ku-ring-gai, Hornsby and Hunters Hill. The free vaccinations are up for grabs at pharmacies and GPs after NSW joined other states this month in making the jab free for those between five and 64. Shots were already free for kids aged between six months old and five and for those over 65 under the federal government's health scheme. The free vaccinations are up for grabs at pharmacies and GPs after NSW joined other states this month in making the jab free for those between five and 64 for a period of time that has been extended to July 17 Authorities want more uptake as a whole but especially in areas with lower numbers (pictured) A man's bullet-ridden body has been found on the street outside a school, with police investigating it as a suspected murder. Gunshots were heard at 8pm on Wednesday night, with police then discovering the body near Cranbourne Secondary College in Melbourne's south-east. Neighbours said they heard a 'heated argument' on the suburban street a few hours before the shooting. Police believe two men arrived at a property on Lecky St, near the school, before the row, with one returning later armed with a shovel. A 49-year-old man who lived at the address has been arrested, with police towing a white ute from the scene and inspecting a black SUV as well as the shovel. A 49-year-old man has been arrested over the suspected murder after neighbours heard a furious row in the hours before (pictured, the scene on Thursday as detectives take away what is believed to be a shovel) A man gunned down near Cranbourne Secondary College, in south-east Melbourne on Wednesday night (pictured, forensics at the scene) Police say they do not believe the shooting is linked to other recent shootings in Melbourne, after a family home was peppered with bullets on Wednesday. 'We do believe two males attended the address several hours prior to this incident and obviously a male returned shortly after 8pm,' Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said. 'We certainly believe at this point that the male who attended the property shortly after 8pm may have been armed with a shovel. 'We believe the vehicle may have been used by the male who attended the address.' The homicide squad is continuing to investigating the circumstances surrounding the death. The fatal shooting comes just hours after a gun shots rang out at a home in Epping in Melbourne's north, with Victoria Police confirming five people were inside at the time. A man is seen being led away by police on Wednesday night after the fatal shooting in Melbourne's south-east A Melbourne home with five people inside was peppered with bullets just after 2am on Wednesday - a day before this latest shooting The incident was just days after ex Mongols bikie Sam 'The Punisher' Abdulrahim, 30, was shot multiple times at a funeral. He was shot in the chest six times while at the Fawkner funeral on Saturday and he was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a critical condition but is now stable after receiving two life-saving surgeries. On Sunday he posted a photo of himself lying in a hospital bed with tubes hooked up to his body, sticking up his the middle finger. Former Mongols bikie Suleiman 'Sam' Abdulrahim was shot while at his cousin's funeral last weekend 'Allah is bigger than all these flops, they'll get their day,' he wrote. On Monday a man armed with a screwdriver was also shot by police in Coburg after allegedly confronting detectives. Police fired multiple shots at the 64-year-old man who required treatment by ambulance officers in a car park near Edgars Creek Parkland. The man was wanted for questioning over a death of a man in Albanvale on Saturday and remains in a serious condition in hospital. Anyone who witnessed the incident or with dashcam footage or CCTV is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has battled with journalists as she fronted the media for the first time since a scathing report exposed the 'fear-based' practices used by the state's public service. At one stage she cold-shouldered a journalist who questioned what the consequences would be for the 'bullies and belittlers' that the report, conducted by Professor Peter Coaldrake, found were endemic to the profession. The exchange began when the reporter asked if public servants who were bullied and belittled by senior and ministerial staff were owed an apology. 'I think everyone needs to be treated with respect,' Ms Palaszczuk said, without making a specific apology. 'Honestly, if people have time to belittle and bully other public servants it was time to move on'. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had some strained exchanges with reporters after fronting the media for the first time since a damning report on the culture of government Annastacia Palaszczuk (pictured with her boyfriend Dr Reza Adib at the Logies on the Gold Coast) said she was 100 per cent committed to her job after claims she had 'checked out' The journalist objected that the report specifically identified a problem with ministerial staff and asked if they weren't setting an example, why they shouldn't lose their job. Ms Palaszczuk responded that training was important but when the reporter tried to insist the 'report was a lesson in itself' the premier turned away from him with a curt 'OK'. The premier was asked about the last-minute cancellation of a media event on Wednesday after the report's release, saying she had to rush to an emergency dental appointment. 'I just had to get it done, alright, I'm sorry,' a stony-faced Ms Palaszczuk said. 'I was in my office working, I would have loved to have come and seen you. I was hoping to see you in the afternoon but unfortunately I couldn't speak.' Ms Palaszczuk ducked questions about whether ministerial staff found to be 'bullying' others would be fired and did not issue an apology to any potential victims Ms Palaszczuk admitted she was 'shocked and surprised' by some of the things she read in the report but vowed to implement all 14 recommendations in the review, calling it a 'health check'. 'It is absolutely healthy for government to have a health check from time-to-time,' the premier said. She said the most 'revolutionary' move would be to release Cabinet papers in 30 days rather than waiting 30 years, which would follow the practice of New Zealand. 'This is the most fundamental change (to cabinet conventions) that this state and this nation has ever seen,' she said. Following her testy press conference, Ms Palaszczuk headed to Ipswich to look at the building site for the new Ripley Hospital. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk headed to Ipswich to inspect the new Ripley Satellite Hospital The premier turning the sod at the new hospital site, which will cost $40 million to build Annastacia Palaszczuk (pictured in parliament last week) vowed to implement the integrity recommendations 'lock, stock and barrel' The recommendations include tightening the rules on lobbyists and banning them on working with parties on electoral campaigns. The 131-page Coaldrake Review unearthed allegations of bullying and belittling of public sector officials by ministerial staff and more bureaucrats. 'Public service officials can feel pressured, sometimes by ministerial staff, sometimes by more senior officers, to moderate advice developed with a "public interest" goal in mind, to fit with a perceived ministerial preference which may or may not be real or to avoid giving advice on difficult issues in writing,' Professor Coaldrake said. 'Personal interactions with some ministers and ministerial staff, and indeed some senior officers, can be disrespectful, belittling or bullying, and [cause] long-term detriment to careers real or apprehended. 'If unreasonable deadlines, bullying interactions, and intemperate demands for action or for compliant advice become pervasive, a fear-based response becomes entrenched in the culture.' The former state archivist Mike Summerell, whose accusations of intimidation sparked the review, said the recommendations 'don't go remotely far enough' and only reflected the limited scope of the report, the Courier Mail reported. 'Peter Coaldrake has shown there is a huge problem, but he has provided no real details at all,' Mr Summerell said. 'The people who caused these issues in many cases remain in post and in power, those who stood up to them have been forced out and suppressed. Queensland opposition leader David Crisafulli will continue campaigning for a royal commission into government integrity. 'A full Commission of Inquiry is now required to examine the details and to ensure those who caused and prospered under this culture are held to account.' Mr Summerell previously claimed pressure applied to him to protect the government's image in preparing annual reports potentially led to parliament being misled. An independent probe found this was not the case. Titled 'Let the sunshine in', the Coaldrake review called for a strengthening and continual review of the frameworks of transparency, integrity and accountability in government. 'This review aspires to influence a cultural shift which encourages openness from the top, starting with cabinet processes and a resulting shared focus on identifying and dealing with the challenges Queensland faces,' Prof Coaldrake said. 'Any good government, clear in purpose and open and accountable in approach, should have fewer integrity issues. 'It is now up to the government to make this focus a wake-up call to support for a more open system of government.' Opposition leader David Crisafulli described the review as 'laughable' and said he would continue campaigning for a royal commission into government integrity. 'It doesn't address the integrity inferno at the heart of the corruption risk that is the Palaszczuk government,' he said. Last week, Labor insiders claimed Ms Palaszczuk has 'checked out' of her role and showed more interest in attending social events than running Queensland. The claims prompted former premier Peter Beattie to urged her to start a new agenda and prove she still wants to be premier. 'You've got to keep renewing your vision, because if you don't, you get stale and people see you're stale and they will want someone else to have a go,' he told Courier Mail. Ms Palaszczuk responded to that criticism by saying she was '100 per cent' committed to her job and saying she was 'absolutely staying' up until the next election. She also wouldn't rule out running for another term. 'I love this job and it is up to the people of Queensland to vote whether they want me to continue or not doing this job.' A TikTok influencer's son from Alabama was dealing marijuana in the moments before he was shot dead. Randon Lee, the son of Ophelia Nichols, who has seven million followers, was killed one day before his 19th birthday when he was gunned down at a gas station in Prichard, near Mobile while sitting in his car. Two suspects have been identified by cops but no arrests have yet been made in the case. Police revealed how Lee was at the gas station and was meeting the suspects to sell cannabis when he was fired upon. TikTok influences Ophelia Nichols posted a video to her TikTok account where she admitted that in recent days the family had discovered a 'lot of stuff we just didn't know' Investigators have released footage which show Lee together with the suspects each pulling up to the gas station pumps in their respective cars. One of the suspects can be seen getting into Lee's car where he fired the fatal shot. He then got back into his own vehicle before speeding off. Lee, who was fatally injured managed to drive to another gas station where he died, Detective Jason Hadaway explained at a press conference. 'We do know at this time that Mr. Lee did have a relationship as far as selling to different individuals. These two individuals had bought from him in the past,' Detective Hadaway said. Lee was not on the local police's radar as someone known to them to be selling drugs. 'We do know at this time that Mr. Lee did have a relationship as far as selling to different individuals. These two had bought from him in the past,' Detective Jason Hadaway said Randon Lee died one day before his 19th birthday. He was found dead in his car at a gas station Ophelia Nichols posted a video to her TikTok account where she admitted that in recent days the family had discovered a 'lot of stuff we just didn't know.' 'When your children live out on their own and pay their own bills and they have a good job it just don't cross your mind that they would be doing anything to get themselves into trouble,' said Nichols. 'We've been told that the detectives think that marijuana was being dealt. My son was meeting there, and either they tried to rob him or they did rob him, but he was shot. Nichols went on to explain that her son had been 'troubled' in recent years. 'My son had a lot of trouble after his dad passed. Depression, all kind of stuff. We did everything we could to keep him on the right track. Everyone thought he was because he was doing so good with everything,' she explained. 'We just had a birthday dinner for him and was telling him how proud we were of him. He comes from good people and from a good family and a good home. But sometimes that just don't matter. But it gives nobody the right to shoot my son,' Nichols said. TikTok influencer Ophelia Nichols from Alabama revealed how her son was shot dead during a drug deal gone wrong On Sunday night, she posted a video in which she desperately asked for assistance to find son Randon Lee's murderers. The video has since had 25 million views which police say led to a significant number of people coming forward with information. 'Ms. Nichols has a TikTok following, which is great, and all those followers could help by calling in. This homicide is not more important than any homicide we've had in the city of Prichard or actually anywhere,' Detective Hadaway said. 'The word is getting out and I need to let everybody know. I am doing this video for a reason. I have never asked y'all for anything, but I need your help with this,' Nichols said during a tearful plea. 'Today would have been my baby child's 19th birthday. My son was murdered. He was shot and I have this hatred in my heart that I don't recognize, because I've never felt hate for anybody,' she continued. 'This individual took my son's life and I know they're out there in my town. They're out there living and breathing and my son's dead. He was just 18 years old. That's the best part of somebody's life, and I know they're out there in my town. They're out there,' she said. 'I want you to look at my son. This is my son. And you took him from me,' Nichols said as she broke down sobbing. 'Somebody know who did this to my child and I am asking for somebody's help. Anybody's help,' she said before the video cut off. TikTok influencer Ophelia Nichols from Alabama has made a tearful plea for help in tracking down her son's killer after he was shot dead on Friday in his car Randon Lee, 18, was killed at around 7:45am in Prichard, near Mobile The heartbreaking video was a huge departure from the kind of material she normally posts on the social media platform, which normally consist of her posting joyful, happy videos of herself delivered with southern charm. Her postings cover all manner of topics from family celebrations to sharing a new recipe or sharing beauty tips. Nichols said her son was shot at an Exxon gas station at around 7:45am on Friday. He then drove to a second station, Energizer, in the town of Prichard, Alabama, near Mobile, where he was found to have died from his injuries. Her heartbreaking plea has already managed to rack up almost 19 million views in a single day with some locals writing in the comments section offering their support and help. 'People talk. People talk, so I wanted that video to be seen because if the person who did this to my son could see what he did to our family. He took my son from me. My son,' Nichols said. 'Just been told We have a lead on two individuals. I hope they see this video & know what they have done to my family,' she wrote in an update in the comments on her tear-jerking video. Nichols, who has seven million followers shared news of her heartbreak in a video which has now been viewed 19 million times. She is pictured here holding up a photo of her son Nichols told local station NBC12 that she was finding it hard to do nothing and hopes that police track down those responsible. 'You have to sit back and hope and pray that they do what needs to be done so that the person or people who did this to my baby child gets behind bars. You have no choice but to sit here and wait,' she said. 'I spoke to him yesterday morning around 10 to tell him I had his money for his birthday. He was looking forward to it. Just hanging out with his friends and girlfriend. His family was his life,' she added. She said there was some comfort to be had in that her son was an organ donor and that part of him will live on with his organs having been transplanted into others. Nichol's shock quickly turned to grief, and now anger. 'I have this hatred in my heart that I don't recognize. Because I've never felt hate for anybody,' she said. No arrests have been made at the current time and the investigation is continuing. The motive behind the killing remains unclear. Anyone with information can contact the Prichard Police Department at 251-452-7800 or the Mobile County Sheriff's Office at 251-574-8633. A highly-paid government bureaucrat who stripped her co-worker of a plum $500,000 job in favour of John Barilaro bases her management style on 'what Jesus would do'. Investment NSW CEO and trade secretary Amy Brown told a parliamentary inquiry on Wednesday that she revoked a verbal job offer for the coveted $500,000-a-year New York-based post promoting NSW in New York in September last year. The three-year contract was then offered to then-deputy secretary Jenny West, before former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro, Ms Brown's boss at the time, changed the recruitment requirements. NSW trade secretary Amy Brown (above) said she models her management style after Jesus's leadership after she retracted a dream New York job offer for her colleague Jenny West The job was later offered to Mr Barilaro, with the former deputy premier due to start the coveted role in just two weeks, despite widespread outrage at his appointment. Ms Brown, who was thrown into the spotlight this month over her role in the controversial New York job, gave an extensive interview in February about how her faith inspires her management of 6000 employees. 'What would Jesus do if he were me in these life circumstances, in this job, with this issue before me and serving the people that I lead?,' Ms Brown told Eternity News, an online Christian magazine. 'He showed up for the people when they needed him and he really put every person at the centre.' A parliamentary inquiry (above) sat for the first time on Wednesday to investigate the retraction of Ms West's job offer and the new candidate's selection, John Barilaro Ms Brown said God offered her a sense of relief in her 'exhausting' job because her actions are part of his 'plan'. 'It started to dawn on me how exhausting it is to have to live that way, where every single outcome depends on you,' she said. 'If you don't perform to the highest standard at that meeting or if you're not in the right place at the right time... that is a really exhausting way to live. 'Having kids gives you that perspective and you don't have time to be able to be everywhere and do everything and so you have to let go and let God.' Ms Brown said she tried to lead by thinking of 'the good of your people'. 'I think God really speaks through the leadership of Christians in that servant leadership mentality,' Ms Brown told Eternity News. 'You put the good of your people at the heart of the way you lead and what you do and the decisions you make.' Jenny West (pictured), then the deputy secretary of Investment NSW, was told in August last year that she was selected for a $500,000 trade post job in New York Ms West's dream job in New York City was taken from her - leaving her upset Ms Brown joined the NSW public service's 'Club 600' in 2022 - with a pay rise seeing her collect $614,000 a year on the taxpayer to run the Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade. Ms Brown's revocation of Ms West's job and selection of Mr Barilaro is now the subject of a parliamentary inquest, which sat for the first time on Wednesday. Ms Brown told the inquiry that Ms West had been 'extremely upset' when her dream job offer was revoked which led to an 'irreconcilable' relationship with Investment NSW. Ms West is no longer working with government and was given an undisclosed payout after three years of public service. Then-NSW trade minister John Barilaro (above) changed the job's recruitment process after Ms West had been offered the positions and went on to be offered the job himself in May this year Ms West was offered the New York job boasting a $487,000 salary plus a $16,000 cost of living allowance in August 2021. Mr Barilaro, who created the job along with four other similar roles in 2020, changed the recruitment process for the position in September. Ms Brown said Ms West had been 'extremely upset' about the job offer retraction during a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday (above) Ms West's job offer was revoked on October 1 and the position was given to Mr Barilaro in May 2022. Ms Brown told the inquiry she had voiced concerns that Mr Barilaro would veto her nominated candidate for the New York job and claimed she did not know if Mr Barilaro ever asked his replacement as NSW trade minister, Stuart Ayres, for the job. However, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has insisted Ms Brown was the final decision maker for the role. Mr Barilaro signed a three-month contract for the job in June and is due to begin his role in New York in July. Mr Barilaro (above) was offered the New York job Ms West was previously offered after changing the recruitment process Nearly $1million has already been spent refurbishing part of the Australian consulate in New York for him to live in. Labor said the trade commissioner job is important and wants Mr Barilaro removed from the position. 'Every taxpayer needs to know whether this is value for money and whether we're sending the best person to New York,' Labor's upper house leader Penny Sharpe said. If Mr Barilaro is removed from the position during its six-month probationary period, he will be owed a week's salary, whereas after probation he would be owed payment for the full three-year contract. NSW Transport Minister David Elliott (above) said Mr Barilaro should be removed from the position because 'when you become the story over an appointment then the appointment might not be in the best interests of the people' Mr Perrottet established a private inquiry into Mr Barilaro's selection, separate to the parliamentary inquiry. 'I will look at the recommendations and any action that needs to be taken I will,' he said on Tuesday. NSW Transport Minister David Elliott also called for Mr Barilaro to step aside from the position during an interview with Sky News on Thursday morning. 'I'd expect him to withdraw and do the honourable thing because quite clearly when you become the story over an appointment then the appointment might not be in the best interests of the people of NSW,' he said. Former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone is facing a subpoena for 'on the record' testimony before the January 6 select committee, the panel announced on Wednesday evening. 'The Select Committee's investigation has revealed evidence that Mr. Cipollone repeatedly raised legal and other concerns about President Trump's activities on January 6th and in the days that preceded,' the panel's Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, a Republican, said in a joint statement on the subpoena. 'While the Select Committee appreciates Mr. Cipollone's earlier informal engagement with our investigation, the committee needs to hear from him on the record, as other former White House counsels have done in other congressional investigations,' they added in the Wednesday statement. 'Any concerns Mr. Cipollone has about the institutional prerogatives of the office he previously held are clearly outweighed by the need for his testimony.' The January 6 select committee subpoenaed on Wednesday former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone (pictured) for public testimony after revealing evidence in its investigation that he 'repeatedly raised legal and other concerns about President Trump's activities on January 6th and in the days that preceded' Cipollone was the White House counsel for former President Donald Trump from December 2018 to the end of his time in office in January 2021. The lawyer was present at the January meeting last year in the White House where he reportedly argued against the proposal by Trump to replace acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen with Jeffrey Clark, who was more friendly to the then-president's election fraud claims. 'Pat pretty much saved Rosen's job that day,' one senior Trump White House official told The Washington Post in an article published two days after President Joe Biden's inauguration. Although Cipollone has cooperated in an informal capacity with the select committee, he is now being called to go on the record with the panel. One person familiar with Cipollone's deliberations told a New York Times reporter on Wednesday that 'of course a subpoena was necessary before the former White House counsel could even consider transcribed testimony before the committee.' 'Pat Cipollone has previously provided an informal interview at the committee's request,' the source added. 'Now that a subpoena has been issued, it'll be evaluated as to matters of privilege that might be appropriate.' In a letter to Cipollone, the panel says that it is seeking more information on what the former White House counsel knows about 'Trump's awareness and involvement in activities undertaken to subvert the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.' They also claim that after Cipollone talked with the panel behind closed doors in an off-the-record session he 'declined to cooperate with us further.' Banks have revealed how a record 1.3billion was stolen by scammers last year amid a spiralling fraud epidemic. Cons in which victims are groomed and manipulated into divulging personal details or transferring money were the biggest driver of losses. Lenders reported a staggering 195,996 examples of so-called authorised or push payment scams, with Britons tricked into handing over 583.2million in 2021. Banks have revealed how a record 1.3billion was stolen by scammers in 2021. Romance scams were rife, with total losses soaring by 73% to 30.9million (STOCK) Con artists use a number of different tactics like scam phone calls, emails, social media posts and fake websites to target victims. They then pose as trusted organisations or even relatives to dupe people out of their money This is a 27 per cent rise in cases and 39 per cent increase in the amount of money stolen compared to the previous 12 months, according to banking trade body UK Finance. Crooks use tactics such as scam phone calls, text messages, emails, social media posts and fake websites to target victims. They then pose as trusted organisations such as the police, banks or even relatives to con people into making payments. Savers lost a devastating 171.7million to criminals offering fraudulent investment opportunities alone a 57 per cent increase on 2020. Romance scams in which crooks prey on the vulnerable and lonely were also rife, with total losses soaring by 73 per cent to 30.9million. On Monday, the Daily Mail revealed how Britain is now the fraud capital of the world, with almost 3billion lost every year This number is higher because it includes all incidents reported to Action Fraud. UK Finances research only includes cases where customers have reported the crime to their bank. Victims of unauthorised fraud such as where criminals have stolen a card and gone on a spending spree without the owners knowledge are legally entitled to a refund unless they have behaved recklessly. Britain is now the fraud capital of the world, with almost 3billion lost every year. Only around half of 'push payment' scam losses - 271.2million - were reimbursed last year (STOCK) I lost 3,000 to crook posing as son Christine Logan, 61, transferred funds to a scammer on WhatsApp who she thought was her son Christine Logan lost nearly 3,000 to a scammer posing as her son but was refused a full refund by her bank. The 61-year-old university administrator received a WhatsApp message saying her son had broken his phone, was using a new number and needed 2,800 to buy a new mobile. Mrs Logan transferred the cash via three separate payments but only later realised she had been conned. Yet HSBC claimed she did not do enough to check who was actually texting her and said it provided scam warnings on two of the three transactions. In the end it agreed to refund half of one payment 314 where it did not provide an alert. Mrs Logan, from Ealing, West London, said: I was absolutely hysterical when I lost the money it was all of my savings and I had to borrow money from my 82-year-old mother to cover my rent. HSBC UK said it treats all of our customers fairly and each case is looked at individually. Advertisement But there is not the same protection for those who lose money to authorised push payment scams. Most major banks are signed up to a code of conduct that requires them to refund blameless fraud victims. But only around half of push payment scam losses some 271.2million were reimbursed last year. Rocio Concha, of Which? said: All too often victims face a reimbursement lottery depending on who they bank with. Myron Jobson, a senior analyst at Interactive Investor, added: Fraudsters wreaked havoc during the pandemic by taking advantage of consumers fears and shrouding their nefarious schemes among correspondence by the government and legitimate organisations relating to coronavirus measures. The worry is history could repeat itself amid the biggest fall in living standards in generations. The figures also suggested the industry was worse at stopping unauthorised fraud. Banks blocked 65.3p of every 1 crooks attempted to steal, down from 67.3p and 68.8p in 2020 and 2019 respectively. UK Finance said this was down to a drop in the number of high-value cheque fraud cases, which previously boosted the figure. It also stressed it had still stopped 1.4billion from falling into the hands of criminals. Katy Worobec, of UK Finance, said: Fraud has a devastating impact on victims and the money stolen funds serious organised crime, as well as imposing significant costs on the wider economy. The Mail is calling for police to make tackling scammers a priority and to boost the number of specialist investigators, with a minister for fraud appointed to take overall responsibility. We are also calling for the reimbursement of fraud victims by banks to be made mandatory, alongside stronger protection for vulnerable customers. Tech giants should also be forced to compensate victims using their platforms and fined if they fail to protect them. Have you fallen victim to a scam? Write to us at moneymail@dailymail.co.uk The cost of taking an Uber or getting a Deliveroo meal is set to increase due to an Albanese government plan to improve gig workers' pay and conditions. Labor wants self-employed rideshare drivers - as well as other platform-based workers such as delivery drivers, security guards and even carers - to be awarded a minimum wage and sick leave, which they are currently not entitled to. Workplace relations minister Tony Burke - who wants to introduce the new laws this year - admitted the move would push up prices as companies such as Uber pass on the costs to consumers. 'I think that you'll get you'll get some small increases in prices in different places,' he told ABC radio on Thursday. The cost of taking an Uber or getting a Deliveroo meal is set to increase, the government has admitted Uber has revealed figures that show across Australia its drivers earned an average of $38 an hour before costs in the six weeks to May 30. Pictured: A woman flagging her taxi 'You know, it may mean that there's a marginal increase in getting a pizza delivered to your home or something like that.' But Mr Burke said any price increases were worth it to make sure workers were being treated well. 'As a nation we've worked on the basis that you shouldn't need tips before you can make ends meet. 'We've always worked on the basis that there should be minimum wages. We have a section of the economy at the moment where there's effectively no minimum and that can't go on,' he said. Labor's laws would give the independent wage-setting umpire - the Fair Work Commission - the power to set wages for gig economy workers. Mr Burke said 'genuine' small business owners do not need a minimum wage but workers doing 'employee-like' jobs such as taxi driving do. Workplace relations minister Tony Burke wants to introduce the new laws this year Uber has revealed figures that show across Australia its drivers earned an average of $38 an hour before costs in the six weeks to May 30. However, because they are not technically employed, they can legally earn below the minimum wage of $20.33 per hour. Furthermore, their earnings have been hit in recent months due to high fuel prices. Mr Burke's comments came after Uber on Wednesday struck a deal with the Transport Workers' Union, agreeing to the principal of a minimum wage and the right to appeal dismissals. 'This will deliver a national approach that gives the commission the scope and flexibility it needs to deal with ''employee-like'' forms of work,' Mr Burke said. 'The previous government said regulating the gig economy was ''too complicated''. 'Well, today's agreement shows that's not the case at all, they just couldn't be bothered to act.' Mr Burke said, because many gig workers use multiple apps, any leave entitlements would need to be portable. 'If you're if you're working across multiple platforms, then if there is to be a fund that would cover you when you needed sick leave, for example, then that should be shared across the different apps into a central fund that the worker can then draw on,' he said. Labor will change the definition of a casual worker so employment status is determined by their shift patterns The move is part of the ALP's broader plan to boost wages across the economy. In March 2021 the former government defined casual work for the first time as a situation where a worker has 'no firm advance commitment to continuing and indefinite work according to an agreed pattern of work'. But Labor will change this so employment status is determined by a worker's shift patterns. If an employee has regular shifts for a defined time period then they would be permanent not casual, such as a coal miner who has a 12-month fixed roster. The ALP will also bring in new laws to make sure workers who do the same job are paid the same if they are employed directly or through labour hire firms. And pay secrecy clauses in employment contracts designed to stop workers talking about their pay-packets will be banned. For almost half a century, the glitzy Jumbo Floating Restaurant was one of Hong Kongs best-known sights as it sat majestically in the stunning harbour surrounded by skyscrapers, serving seafood and suckling pig to celebrities, royals and tourists. Built in the style of a Ming dynasty imperial palace, the landmark vessel was 260ft long and could seat 2,300 diners. Once the worlds biggest floating restaurant, it had appeared in several hit films including a Bond movie. But earlier this month, having been crippled financially by Covid then towed away by tug boats, the restaurant with its dragon throne, murals and six-storey pagoda capsized and sank to the bottom of the South China Sea. For some Hong Kongers, the sinking of such an icon serves as a perfect metaphor for the capsizing of their own dreams of freedom and democracy as their citys unique status is scuttled by brutal communist bosses in Beijing. Never mind that the dim sum was often dreadful, the dishes bland, the bill inflated this event symbolised the death of Hong Kongs good old days, in the words of one resident. And just as there seems minimal chance of raising the huge craft 3,000ft from its resting place on the seabed, few citizens cling to much hope of salvaging that spirit of dynamism, openness and optimism it represented and which made Hong Kong so special. The old Hong Kong has gone, said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute, who wrote a history of his beloved birthplace. It is being brought in line with the rest of China and this is incredibly sad for anyone who was born there or lived there. The old Hong Kong is gone. It all seemed 25 years ago amid the pomp, pageantry and earnest promises to protect precious freedoms when the Union Flag was lowered for the last time and Hong Kong handed back to China after 156 years of British rule A ruthless dictatorship has crushed this former British colony with dizzying speed since the eruption of pro-democracy protests in 2019, using local stooges to lock up dissidents, silence journalists, intimidate business leaders and stifle the rule of law. It is depressing to see so many of the activists, civic leaders and politicians that I met while reporting on the protests being jailed or fleeing to stay free. Former legislator Ted Hui, now in Australia, told me more than 100 of his friends are behind bars. Its heartbreaking Hong Kong lost its freedom almost overnight and faces a long, dark age. People are being sent to jail every day. The prosecutions go on and on. How different it all seemed 25 years ago amid the pomp, pageantry and earnest promises to protect precious freedoms when the Union Flag was lowered for the last time and Hong Kong handed back to China after 156 years of British rule. The story of this great city is about the years before this night and the years of success that will surely follow it, proclaimed Chris Patten, the last British governor, before he carried away the flag at a rain-sodden ceremony on June 30, 1997. Among those attending were Labour prime minister Tony Blair, Chinas President Jiang Zemin and Prince Charles. There were a few protests and most dignitaries left drenched, but the mood was calm with choirs and 21-gun salutes. Later, Patten walked with the Prince on to the Royal Yacht Britannia as a band played Auld Lang Syne a moment seen as bringing down the curtain on an empire that covered one third of the planets land at its peak six decades earlier. Yet unlike other former colonies, the booming city state was not set free. Under a controversial deal agreed by Margaret Thatcher, it was given to China, with a scheme called One Country, Two Systems supposed to protect its freedoms until 2047. The big question is whether Britain was gullible to trust a vicious communist dictatorship with a bloodstained history of atrocities. For this was a time when most experts thought growth would drive China to become more liberal, more like Hong Kong. With the benefit of hindsight, many would answer with a resounding yes. The British and rest of the international community were naive in believing that such an authoritarian regime would let people have freedom, although many people believed that China might open up, said Dennis Kwok, an exiled political activist. Soon after the handover, Blair displaying his trademark naivety on foreign policy and complacency about authoritarian regimes insisted there was unstoppable momentum to democracy in China after the nation joined a global trade body. How hollow such words sound today following the tide of dystopian horrors inflicted not just on Hong Kong but against Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, Buddhists in Tibet and brave dissidents daring to challenge Chinas repressive rule. Thatcher signed the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration with reluctance but felt she had no option. Britain, having seized Hong Kong Island during the First Opium War in the 19th century, had agreed a treaty after the Second Opium War taking control for 99 years of the islands and more land The New Territories in the area. That lease ended on July 1, 1997. Chris Patten (right), the 28th and last governor of colonial Hong Kong, receives the Union Jack flag after it was lowered for the last time at Government House. Under a controversial deal agreed by Margaret Thatcher, it was given to China, with a scheme called One Country, Two Systems supposed to protect its freedoms until 2047. Thatcher signed the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration with reluctance but felt she had no option. That lease ended on July 1, 1997 Thatcher reportedly told one Hong Kong banker she saw the Chinese as savages, although later argued that we had to negotiate with the cards that we possessed. After the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 in Beijing, pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong demanded an end to the continuing negotiations but Britain decided to continue with the process after receiving assurances from the Chinese. Patten, to his credit and as recounted in his entertaining new book The Hong Kong Diaries, spent five years as governor battling bovine bureaucrats in both Beijing and Whitehall in a bid to introduce and embed democratic reforms. But it was too little, too late and now they have been ripped up with such force that even the last governors elderly friends such as Cardinal Zen, a 90-year-old former Catholic bishop, and Martin Lee, a mild-mannered 82-year-old barrister known as the Father of Democracy, are among those targeted by the cruel regime. Hong Kong was a frenetic melting pot of more than seven million people from all over the planet, a vibrant place that had evolved into a financial powerhouse serving as a unique bridge between China and the West. Yet Patten reminds us that many were refugees from communism who fled the persecution of landowners, from the starvation (even cannibalism) of the great famine and its tombstone politics, from the horrors and brutalities of modern Chinese crackdowns on any dissent. Xi has speeded up the strangulation of Hong Kong most infamously with the draconian National Security Law used to throttle freedoms that made it such an unusual corner of China Like others, he places much of the blame for the clampdown on Chinas latest dictator Xi Jinping, the fiercely nationalist and vain president who has ratcheted up repression and extreme state control backed by high-tech surveillance since taking over the leadership a decade ago. Patten pointed to the infamous Document Number Nine, circulated in communist circles after Xi took power, which warned against Western values such as democracy, economic freedom and a free Press liberal tenets that used to be on display in Hong Kong. He believes the ferocity of the clampdown exposes Xis fear over the despotic regimes strength. When they arrest a 90-year-old cardinal, it does not show any confidence in their system of government, said the former Tory chairman. Certainly Xi has speeded up the strangulation of Hong Kong most infamously with the draconian National Security Law used to throttle freedoms that made it such an unusual corner of China. This measure, criminalising criticism of the Chinese state, was secretly drafted after a blundering effort by Beijings stooges to permit extradition to China sparked the 2019 protests which were joined at times by up to two million people. The vile law alone has been used to jail about 200 people and even in efforts to silence foreigners. Benedict Rogers, British head of the human rights group Hong Kong Watch, was ordered to take down his organisations website or face possible imprisonment even though he lives in the UK. Rogers, who once lived as a journalist in Hong Kong, refused. But now he must be wary, like some other critics of this appalling regime, of travelling to places that possess extradition treaties with China for fear of a potential life sentence in prison. Half the world is off limits, said another leading activist, who lives with his family in another Western nation. Kidnapping is also a possibility, so I stay alert all the time. Criminalising criticism of the Chinese state was secretly drafted after a blundering effort by Beijings stooges to permit extradition to China sparked the 2019 protests which were joined at times by up to two million people Such is the extent of the Orwellian repression that library books are being removed, school texts replaced to ensure slavish loyalty to Beijing and parents have stopped talking about politics at home in case their children blurt out something wrong in public. Elections were at first postponed then only patriots permitted on ballot papers after pro-democracy politicians were accused of subversion for saying they opposed the government. Yet, sickeningly, some Britons still serve at senior level in the police force enforcing the crackdown while five UK judges sit on the bench of the highest court including Jonathan Sumption, who loves to pontificate about democracy and freedom. There is talk Xi might head to Hong Kong for the anniversary when residents will be given souvenirs such as mugs and pens to drive home Beijings message that it is a day of celebration rather than mourning for lost freedoms. In the latest move, history is being rewritten to suggest that Hong Kong was never a British colony. Instead, school books claim that Westminster only exercised colonial rule a subtle distinction to highlight Chinas claims of unbroken sovereignty. Chung Ching Kwong was born the year before handover so grew up in a freer Hong Kong when many dared hope China would honour its promises. I was taught to think critically, but now it feels like that world I knew has been turned upside down, she said. Many of the participants in the 2019 demonstrations were young, often teenagers, and highly-educated. They admitted to their fears and the futility of challenging China with umbrellas and wok lids to place over rounds of tear gas Then as a teenage school pupil, she witnessed the shocking moment when police fired tear gas for the first time on their citizens during the Umbrella protests of 2014 something that became routine during the demonstrations five years later, which were scarred by worsening police brutality. I saw that many of the participants in the 2019 demonstrations were young, often teenagers, and highly-educated. They admitted to their fears and the futility of challenging China with umbrellas and wok lids to place over rounds of tear gas. What alternative do we have? one asked me. Kwong, a Hong Kong campaigner who works with IPAC, an alliance of MPs in democratic countries pushing for firmer response to China, told me she anticipated Beijings breach of the treaty with Britain but I never expected it to be so quick. She was not alone: the demolition of the deal, the breaking of all those promises agreed by Chinese leaders, has taken place with disturbing speed. Kwong, currently studying in Germany, will this week join those Hong Kongers moving to Britain. According to the latest government figures, there have been 123,400 applications for the special visa scheme launched two years ago in response to the repression that offers a fresh start here. The clampdown on civil liberties, which coincided with Hong Kongs bungled response to Covid, has seen the population shrink for two years after six decades of annual growth that saw it double in size. Firms have seen an exodus of senior foreign staff and complain it can take months to find replacements while analysts predict a sharp fall in prices for the worlds most expensive residential property market. Some firms have begun warning it may be impossible to continue in a city that seems to have slammed shut its doors. Other multinationals such as the HSBC and Standard Chartered banks have, however, shamefully kowtowed to Beijing, even praising the National Security Law. The clampdown on civil liberties, which coincided with Hong Kongs bungled response to Covid, has seen the population shrink for two years after six decades of annual growth that saw it double in size Hong Kongs adoption of Chinas zero-Covid policy on the pandemic fuelled the sense of isolation after the virus emerged out of central China in January 2020. The government failed to vaccinate a sufficient number of elderly people, so when their defences were breached by the Omicron variant more than 8,000 people died in three months. Ironically, the Hollywood hit movie Contagion about a global pandemic, which starred Gwyneth Paltrow was filmed at Jumbo Floating Restaurant. Last month, Beijing picked John Lee, the hardline security chief sanctioned by the U.S. for overseeing the crackdown, as the territorys next chief executive a move seen as underscoring its relentless focus on stability rather than prosperity. Among those forced to flee recently is Michael Vidler, a human rights and criminal lawyer who spent 30 years building up a thriving Hong Kong practice before having to leave suddenly in April amid fears he was being targeted by Beijing. Even as he left the airport, Vidler was harassed by up to ten Chinese media reporters taking photographs and asking if he was a traitor. As he knew better than most, hostile Press campaigns are often used by the state as a prelude to arrest. The British lawyer had already seen legal colleagues in China barred from doing their job on baseless public nuisance grounds. I felt a quiet but profound sense of foreboding that this time had come for Hong Kong lawyers like me, he said. Hong Kong is becoming just another bustling Chinese city filled with fearful citizens under the rigid control of corrupt communist bosses in Beijing, brutish security forces and some of the worlds most intense surveillance Vidler arrived as a young man in Hong Kong entranced by its dynamism and freedom, the best police force in Asia and a system of government rooted in law. Now I see it as a police state, he said. There is no opposition in the legislative council, civil society is not functioning, people are cowed and the police are even goose-stepping in parades. Like all other Britons and Hong Kongers I spoke to last week, Vidler spoke of his sadness at the ruination of one of the worlds most remarkable places. Hong Kong is now unrecognisable from the place that I loved, he said. One financier I met on a protest told me she had begrudgingly left. The harsh truth is that Hong Kong with its unique spirit, evolved through an unusual stew of cultures, history and geography lies wrecked, just like that landmark restaurant. It is becoming just another bustling Chinese city filled with fearful citizens under the rigid control of corrupt communist bosses in Beijing, brutish security forces and some of the worlds most intense surveillance. And that is a tragic loss for the whole world. A ban on babies in the House of Commons chamber is set to stay after MPs complained they would be disruptive and distracting. Following an inquiry, MPs on the procedure committee said they believed members should not bring babies into the Chamber, Westminster Hall or general committees to observe, initiate, speak or intervene in proceedings. They said that while the Speaker could decide to allow babies to accompany their mothers in exceptional circumstances, the firm expectation should remain that members do not participate in proceedings while caring for a baby. Following an inquiry, MPs on the procedure committee said they believed members should not bring babies into the Chamber' The recommendation came after Labour MP Stella Creasy was told in November that she could no longer sit in Westminster Hall with her three-month-old son. This was despite the fact she had taken her son, and before him her daughter, into the Commons chamber regularly. Last night Miss Creasy said: This committee didnt speak to a single person outside Parliament despite many of us encouraging them to do so, so Im not surprised they dont recognise who is put off Parliament by its antiquated rules and approach to women who have children and the need to modernise. Change will only come when we start listening to those outside the status quo. After being asked to investigate the matter by the Speaker, the 17-member cross-party committee decided to recommend that the current rules were retained. Four MPs told the procedure committee they would be against babies being admitted to the chamber, with only two speaking up in favour. The matter is likely to be subject to a Commons debate and could be voted on by all MPs. A young woman has taken aim at a nightclub for being 'racist' after being denied entry due to her cultural face tattoos. Moale James, 23, who has Papua New Guinean heritage, was celebrating her partner's birthday by heading out to Brisbane's nightclub precinct in Fortitude Valley on Sunday morning. But she soon found herself turned away from popular Latin American club Hey Chica! after security guards took issue with her traditional tattoos. She took to Facebook to detail her experience starting by saying: 'One of your security guards last night refused to let me enter because of my face reva reva,' 'Giving you some time to respond, but I'm preparing a response to the discriminatory and racist behaviour I experienced last night. Time to answer.' Moale James (pictured), 23, was denied entry to Hey Chica! for her traditional face tattoos, which she has to honour her Papua New Guinean heritage Ms James had got the traditional tattoo (pictured) to celebrate her Papua New Guinean heritage Ms James explained even after she explained to the bouncer that her tattoos were cultural she was still denied entry. On the Hey Chica! website, its outline strict dress regulations. 'Dress to impress, smart casual is best, closed in shoes are a must. No face, neck or hand tattoos. Entry is at the discretion of the door host or management, dress code may vary for special events. For more information on dress regulations please contact us before your visit,' it reads. Ms James has now taken a stand saying she will be speaking with her local member about the 'rule' dictating that face tattoos are affiliated with gangs, and how this must be changed to reflect the diverse community. She also said she expects a written apology from the venue. In a private message to Ms James, which she shared on Facebook, the club apologised for the 'unintended distress' it caused but stood by its policy. 'Thank you for sharing your experience and for your understanding that the staff at Hey Chica! were following procedure,' the message said. Ms James took to Facebook calling the rule 'racist' and 'discrimination' and is now set to meet with her local MP to try to make a change In a private message to Ms James, which she shared on Facebook, the club apologised for the 'unintended distress' it caused but stood by its policy 'While we appreciate that our rule has caused you unintended distress, we do enforce a blanket policy that prohibits head and face tattoos at Hey Chica! alongside other conditions of entry. While we understand this is a strict policy, we will continue to enforce this under the Liquor Act.' Under Queensland's liquor laws, venues face penalties if they don't take reasonable steps to refuse people wearing items associated with criminal organisations including bikie gangs. Talking to the ABC, Ms James said the tattoos are marks handed down through generations and were from her great-grandmother dating back to when her village was established. She went onto say the chief of the village asked his daughters to carry the marks and their stories on their skin, a request which has echoed through generations. 'They hold great spiritual and ancestral value to me and my community,' she said. Ms James said she always planned to get the face marks as they hold 'great spiritual and ancestral value' After being turned away from the club, Ms James said she went to members of her community who are lawyers, and found out the club can refuse entry and service to people - but as long as it is not discriminatory. 'The fact that I was clumped into a group of people that are thugs, gang members, dangerous criminals, that is not my story,' Ms James said. 'I went back and I said, "these are cultural and what are you going to do about that?" And no response.' Ms James says she just people to hear her story and change their point of view on facial tattoos. She also hopes the venue reviews its policy, but at the very least educates those who made the rules to change the way they think about people who wear their marks with pride. Hey Chica! has been contacted for comment. Ghislaine Maxwells 20-year sentence could be slashed if she is allowed to serve it in the UK. Legal expert Mark Stephens said she would then come under British law rather than US rules, which forbid parole for federal crimes. That means Maxwell, 60 who is expected to appeal may have to spend only a further eight years in jail, and could be free before she is 70. Mr Stephens, of London legal firm Howard Kennedy, said: I think it will take until autumn to appeal. Once the appeal is done, if shes British shes entitled to opt for the prison swap regime it usually takes six to 18 months as it depends on a US citizen to be shipped back to America. A courtroom illustration of Ghislaine Maxwell with her defence lawyer Christian Everdell during her sentencing hearing in New York City on Tuesday. She was sentenced to 20 years for sex trafficking The sentencing marks the end of a decades-long fight for justice by victims of Maxwell and Epstein She starts her remaining tariff on an English basis. Say it took two years to get here, shes already served two years, shes got 16 years left. He said UK inmates get up to a third off for good behaviour and a third off for remission, adding: She would only serve five or six more years. The legal expert added: For Maxwell, the US authorities have to agree to it, as do the UK authorities and there has to be a prisoner to swap. Im sure Kevin Maxwell and his sisters can afford to make the trip to the US to visit her but not everybody can. Shes not getting special treatment. Ghislaine was Robert Maxwell's youngest child, born on Christmas Day 1961 She's pictured with her father in 1984 But Mr Stephens pointed out there are lot of hurdles for the convicted child sex predator to overcome before she can contemplate early freedom. Explaining the process for her to switch to UK prison, Mr Stephens - of London-based Howard Kennedy - told the Mail: Shes got to go through the appeal on the conviction and the sentence which is why she essentially confessed as best she could in her apology. She would have been advised not to admit any guilt but she tried to do something within the constraints of what she had. As grinning Andrew breaks cover, Maxwell victims tell him: Youre next target By From Sam Greenhill and Daniel Bates in New York for Daily Mail Prince Andrew came under fresh pressure last night to talk to the FBI about his paedophile friend Jeffrey Epstein following Ghislaine Maxwells jailing. Her victims say the duke and other cowardly Epstein associates who hide behind power and prestige should be targeted by the authorities. As a grinning Andrew, 62, broke cover yesterday for a horse ride in Windsor, one lawyer said he should definitely be concerned. Maxwell, 60, is likely to serve at least 15 of the 20 years she was given in a New York court on Tuesday for doing incalculable damage to young girls with Epstein. The Duke of York smiled at the cameras as he rode through Windsor Great Park on Wednesday on a brown steed The duke's former associate, Maxwell, 60, was jailed for 20 years after a court heard how she trafficked vulnerable teenagers for billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein Andrew was also spotted behind the wheel of his Range Rover as he drove through Windsor Great Park The Duke of York, Virginia Roberts, and Ghislaine Maxwell at the socialite's home in London Yesterday, victims lawyer Spencer Kuvin said: Our hope is that the government... prosecutes all the co-conspirators in this sexual conspiracy pyramid scheme. This includes not only the people procuring victims, but also the alleged perpetrators of abuse like Prince Andrew. He should definitely be concerned. But if he did nothing wrong, then come forward and tell the full story to the FBI. Andrew has largely withdrawn from public life since reaching a 12million out-of-court settlement this year with Epstein victim Virginia Roberts (now Giuffre), who accused the duke of raping her. He has always denied the allegations. In the 2000s, he spent weeks at Epsteins villa in Florida the so-called House of Sin where lady of the house Maxwell forced children to dress as schoolgirls for under-age sex with her boyfriend. For more than two years, US prosecutors have wanted the British Government to set up a formal interview with the duke under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty. The Home Office has yet to act, and a stand-off continues between the dukes legal team and US prosecutors over the terms of any interview by the FBI in London. Spencer Kuvin (left) and Lisa Bloom (right), lawyers representing Jeffrey Epstein's victims Legal sources told the Daily Mail the request had been long-grassed. One said: It appears to be in the too-hot-to-handle tray. After his Newsnight interview in November 2019, Andrew pledged to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, but has not yet done so. Maxwell, the daughter of media tycoon Robert Maxwell, met Andrew while studying history at Oxford in the early Eighties, and the prince later invited her and her boyfriend Epstein to Windsor Castle and Sandringham. In New York yesterday, Brad Edwards, another victims lawyer, said: Theres a lot of people who have a lot of information. We have said for a long time... they should be speaking and the time is now. Brad Edwards, attorney representing victims, speaking during press encounter outside federal court in New York Yet they are continuing to not speak, they are hurting victims, they are hurting survivors, they are not helping. There are a lot of people who have a lot of power and prestige and hide behind that and dont come forward like normal good human beings. They are people that are cowards and I wish they would come forward. He urged the FBI to keep investigating. Asked about others possibly linked to Maxwell and Epstein, he vowed: Lets hope theyre the next target. If we have anything to do with it, they will be. Maxwell victim Sarah Ransome, who gave an emotional speech to the court about how her life was ruined, said: The men that were involved in our sexual trafficking, the employees, the wealthy friends you are as bad as Ghislaine. Lisa Bloom, a lawyer for victims of Epstein, who killed himself in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for child sex charges, added: We call upon the FBI to fully investigate Prince Andrew. Virginia Giuffres civil case should be just the beginning. Everyone associated with Epstein and Maxwell should be carefully investigated. Its time for Prince Andrew to do the right thing, the thing he said he would do, and co-operate with the FBI so everyone who enabled Epstein and Maxwell can be brought to justice. Until he does, it is too soon for him to return to public life. Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani, who is now a lawyer in Los Angeles, said: I know Prince Andrews attorney. I know how they defend cases. Theres absolutely no way theyre going to make him available. They will make sure he never steps foot in the US. The FBI has said Andrew is a person of interest. Nick Goldstone, the UK-based head of dispute resolution at international law firm Ince, said: For the FBI to escalate Andrews status they would have to consider bringing criminal charges against him and in order to do that, they would need quite cogent evidence. Unless or until charges are brought I do not think anything can be done to force Andrew to assist, so long as he doesnt set foot in the USA or on US territorial soil any time soon. Last night, a spokesman for the Duke of York and prosecutors for the Southern District of New York declined to comment. Federal prosecutors asked a judge Wednesday to sentence one of the four former Minneapolis police officers convicted of civil rights violations in George Floyd's killing to as many as six-and-a-half years in prison but to impose significantly stiffer yet unspecified sentences on two others. They urged U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson to follow the nonbinding federal sentencing guidelines for former Officer Thomas Lane and impose a penalty between 5 1/4 and 6 1/2 years on prison. Prosecutors also said former Officer J. Alexander Kueng deserves a 'substantially higher' sentence than Lane's, but less than the 20 to 25 years Derek Chauvin is expected to get. And they said they'll seek a 'comparable' sentence to Kueng's for former Officer Tou Thao. Four former Minneapolis police officers convicted of civil rights violations in George Floyd's killing. Pictured from left: Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao. Cellphone video shows George Floyd on the pavement. From left, Officer Tou Thao (standing) Officer Derek Chauvin, with his knee on Floyd's neck, Officer J. Alexander Kueng and Officer Thomas Lane Former Officer Derek Chauvin reached a plea agreement in December that calls for a 20- to 25-year sentence. Both Lane and Kueng helped restrain Floyd on May 25, 2020, when Chauvin, who is white, killed Floyd, a black man, by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes despite Floyd's fading pleas that he couldn't breathe. Thao helped hold back a crowd of concerned bystanders. Floyd, 46, died May 25, 2020, while being arrested by Minneapolis police officers on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Officer Derek Chauvin was filmed kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes as he lost consciousness. George Floyd, 46, was murdered after he was placed under arrest in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill The killing of George Floyd sparked protests around the U.S. and beyond, including this one in London on June 3, 2020. The killing sparked immediate protests in Minneapolis that spread around the U.S. and beyond in a reckoning over police brutality and discrimination against people of color. Chauvin reached a plea agreement in December that calls for a 20- to 25-year sentence. Prosecutors are seeking 25 years for him. Thao, Kueng and Lane went to trial and were convicted on related federal civil rights charges in February. Lane is white, Kueng is African American and Thao is Asian American. Prosecutors said in a sentencing memo for Kueng that 'several factors weigh heavily in favor of a lengthy prison sentence' for him. They cited Kueng's 'abuse of state powers,' his 'lack of acceptance of responsibility, including his (at-times obstructive and incredible) trial testimony,' the need to deter other officers from standing by when colleagues abuse arrestees who aren't resisting, and the need for consistency with other cases of officers accused of failing to intervene to protect an arrestee from abuse. Prosecutors noted how it was established at trial that Kueng 'directed a helpful firefighter away from Mr. Floyd and rebuffed Lanes questions about whether Mr. Floyd should be rolled on his side. He personally assessed that Mr. Floyd did not have a pulse, and then did nothing about it.' And they said some of Kueng's testimony 'directly and obviously conflicted with other, irrefutable evidence presented at trial' in ways that amounted to perjury, particularly as it related to whether Kueng knew that Floyd 'had a serious medical need.' The prosecutors indicated they would lay out different reasons for a similar sentence for Thao in a separate memo that had not been filed as of Wednesday evening. In a sentencing memo for Lane, prosecutors said a penalty within the federal guidelines range would be appropriate, but not less as the defense is seeking. They said Lane's failure to provide aid that could have saved Floyd had 'serious consequences' for Floyd and the broader community. Attorneys for Lane and Thao have not filed their sentencing recommendations yet. A filing outlining what Kueng is seeking was not publicly available Wednesday, but his attorney filed another document Wednesday indicating he would seek a sentence below the guideline range. Magnuson has not set sentencing dates for the four former officers. The federal civil rights cases were separate from the state murder and manslaughter charges against them. Chauvin was convicted in state court last year of second-degree murder and sentenced to 22 1/2 years. Lane accepted a plea agreement in May to a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and is awaiting sentencing on that count. Thao and Kueng, who turned down plea bargains earlier, are scheduled to go on trial Oct. 24 on state charges of aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The nation's famously guarded foreign minister Penny Wong has publicly shared the extraordinary story of how her family escaped poverty and war to migrate to Australia. In a speech to Asian leaders in Malaysia's capital of Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, Senator Wong detailed how her father left his hometown of Sandakan and migrated Down Under, after most of her grandmother's family died during World War II. Opening her speech, Ms Wong said she doubted her grandmother could ever imagine she would return to the country one day in her role as Australia's foreign minister. 'Poh-Poh (Ms Wong's grandmother) was left alone to care for her children in the hardest of circumstances. She was barely literate,' she said. 'She was loving and humble, and the strongest person I have ever known.' Penny Wong (pictured left) with her baby step-sister and grandmother (pictured right) Madam Lai Fung Shim of Hakka-Chinese and Malaysian descent, known as 'Poh Poh' Ms Wong (pictured as a child) opened up about the struggles of her grandmother, looking after the children of her family after war killed most of her adult family members Ms Wong (pictured centre-right) with her father (pictured right) who pulled himself from poverty after receiving a scholarship to Adelaide University Ms Wong said she draws inspiration each day from her grandmother's 'determination to survive'. Ms Wong's nana had to look after the family's children as most members of the family died during the war. 'In times of struggle, I think of her, and what she had to endure, her determination to survive, and to save herself and her children, is something from which I draw strength every day,' said Ms Wong Ms Wong (pictured centre-left) has previously spoken about her struggles with racism when her family (pictured) moved with her to Australia in 1976 Ms Wong (pictured right) with father Francis Wong (pictured centre-left) and family in Malaysia, Ms Wong still has strong emotional ties with her father's home country, and is set to visit his hometown on Thursday Ms Wong said Australia's Colombo Plan scholarship allowed her father to migrate to Australia and study architecture at Adelaide University, saying the opportunity defined his life. 'It meant he could climb out of the poverty he experienced as a child. 'It meant doors opened that would have otherwise been jammed firmly shut. 'It meant he could come to Australia a very different Australia from what we know today,' said Ms Wong. After meeting his Australian wife, Ms Wong's father moved back to work in Malaysia in Kota Kinabalu where Ms Wong was born. Foreign minister Penny Wong signed the guest book as Malay foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah watched on (pictured) Ms Wong is looking to increasing cooperation between the nations Ms Wong will make a trip to her hometown this week. 'My family history will be on my mind today when I go back to Kota Kinabalu, but more than the past, I am focused on the future. 'Australians know our future lies in the region we share with Malaysia,' said Ms Wong. In the past, Ms Wong has opened up about the racism she experienced when she first moved to Australia as a child in 1976. Ms Wong was keen to praise Australia's education system and credited the country's university opportunities for her family's ascension from poverty. 'The value of that education has never left him. He always told me: 'They can take everything away from you, but they can't take your education',' she said. Ms Wong's three-day working visit started on Tuesday with a meeting with Malaysia's foreign minister (pictured) In her keynote address, Ms Wong said she would be 'sharpening' Australia's focus on Southeast Asia, with future cooperation planned for the region, especially with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). She said she wants a 'region that is peaceful and predictable.' Ms Wong is touring the region as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visits Spain and discusses the crisis in Ukraine with NATO leaders. Victoria Derbyshire is said to be the next big name looking to walk away from the BBC as it's revealed Channel 4 had talks with the news presenter. Her Bafta-winning BBC2 show, Victoria Derbyshire, was axed in 2020 and the 53-year-old journalist has now been one of the leading BBC News Channel presenters since. But her 170,000-a-year role could soon be the victim of new cuts as BBC World News and BBC News merge to create a single 24-hour TV news channel serving both UK and international audiences. The Times says she has been looked at by BBC insiders to replace Emily Maitlis on Newsnight - who also departed the corporation alongside other big names Dan Walker, Jon Sopel and Andrew Marr - but Derbyshire is apparently looking for a new challenge. And she was being thought of for the Leeds-based role at Channel 4 but has not been appointed as bosses wanted someone who lived in the northern city. Victoria Derbyshire is said to be the next big name looking to walk away from the BBC as it's revealed Channel 4 had talks with the news presenter The Times says she has been looked at by BBC insiders to replace Emily Maitlis on Newsnight but Derbyshire is apparently looking for a new challenge. Those who have departed the corporation include big names Dan Walker, Jon Sopel and Andrew Marr (now at LBC) Channel 4's head of news and current affairs, Louisa Compton, apparently wanted Debryshire to join the team. But Esme Wren, Channel 4 News's editor, wanted someone else and Krishnan Guru-Murthy became the main anchor after Jon Snow left the news programme. Under the shake-up by the Corporation, BBC Four and CBBC will end as linear TV channels and the BBC will cut up to 1,000 jobs over the next few years, it has announced in major cash-saving plans. In a speech to staff last month, Director-General Tim Davie said the BBC 'must reform to stay relevant and continue to provide great value for all' and become 'digital-first'. The changes mean the channels' content such as Blue Peter, Horrible Histories, Scandinavian hit the Killing, and Michael Portillo's Great Railway Journeys would move online and only be available on BBC iPlayer, with Radio 4 Extra moving to BBC Sounds. Her Bafta-winning BBC2 show, Victoria Derbyshire was axed in 2020 and the 53-year-old journalist has now been one of the leading BBC News Channel presenters since BBC World News and BBC News channel merger will create BBC News, which will 'offer greater amounts of shared content', according to the broadcaster, but with the ability to offer separate broadcasts depending on what is happening in the UK and abroad. It comes amid a rapid 'brain drain' from the BBC as a string of on-air talent has left for its rivals. Maitlis, Sopel and Marr jumped ship for LBC in a golden handcuffs deal expected to earn them huge pay rises. The journalists caused disarray at Broadcasting House after deciding to join Global, which is also home to Nick Ferrari, Shelagh Fogarty and James O'Brien. Lewis Goodall announced he is ditching the broadcaster to join Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel as a co-host on their LBC news podcast Emily Maitlis, former BBC Newsnight journalist, said she is 'utterly delighted' that Goodall was moving over to Global Goodall announced his career move on social media, saying that he is 'delighted' about the new adventure While Breakfast presenter Dan Walker ditched a 295,000-295,999 salary at the BBC for Channel 5 News earlier this year. Maitlis, who hosted Newsnight, had a series of impartiality complaints against her because of her tweets and on-air comments about the pandemic. Marr is said to have admitted he was prompted to leave the BBC because of his desire to speak freely on major issues, including climate change and politics. Leading presenters Andrew Neil and Simon McCoy have also left the BBC in the past year. While reporter Lewis Goodall also left Newsnight to solve the corporation's 'problem of left-wing bias', reports claim. The flagship programme's policy editor is ditching the broadcaster to join Maitlis and Sopel as co-host on their LBC news podcast, after apparently becoming tired of the BBC's drive for impartiality. However, corporation chiefs are said to have let the 32-year-old - a former Labour activist who previously worked for a Left-wing think tank - walk away without a counter-offer, viewing his departure as a chance to reset the show. One insider told the Telegraph: 'This is an important programme and one that it is vital we get right. 'We are determined to do that, and when people move on it creates opportunities.' A BBC spokesperson declined to comment on these claims. A British man has suffered catastrophic injuries after a buggy ride on a lads' holiday to Ayia Napa went horribly wrong. Andre Franco, 22, rented a buggy with three friends in the popular Cypriot party resort when the life-changing accident happened on May 21, which has left him unable to walk or talk since. His mum Isabel Franco, 61, said the group had been drinking heavily before taking the vehicle out at around 6:30am local time. Andre and a friend were both thrown off the back seat when the driver took a bend too fast. While his friend only suffered scratches from the fall, Andre cracked his head open, bleeding heavily and suffering major swelling to his brain. Andre's godmother, Susana Costa, said: 'The fine details are still a bit hazy because the boys he was with, they panicked. 'They were inebriated, as you can imagine at that time in the morning in a place like that... they panicked, because they saw blood, and I think they just freaked out.' Andre Franco, from Camden, north London, had rented a buggy with three other friends in the popular Cypriot party resort when the life-changing accident happened on May 21 Andre and a friend were both thrown off the back seat when the driver took a bend too fast While his friend only suffered scratches from the fall, Andre cracked his head open, bleeding heavily and suffering major swelling to his brain The men managed to call emergency services straight away, and Andre was rushed to a local hospital then transferred to Nicosia General Hospital the same night. As Andre was taken to hospital, one of the boys called his mum in London to tell her what had happened. Isabel said she was too shocked to speak when she got the call. Isabel said: 'I don't know the feeling. I think I had no feelings at all because I'm scared to have feelings. I didn't panic, I was like stuck. 'I just remember Susana was next to me, and I said: 'Andre's had an accident', and then I passed the phone to her because I couldn't talk.' Isabel and Susana got the earliest flight they could to Ayia Napa along with Andre's father, Carlos, arriving on the Sunday and heading to the hospital first thing on the Monday morning. The women said they were terrified to see Andre after what the doctors had told them. Susana said: 'What we were told, you start to let your imagination run wild a little bit. So we pictured the worse case scenario, obviously, when we got there. We were expecting something horrible.' Andre's godmother said she and Isabel were actually relieved to see how 'peaceful' Andre looked when they arrived, since he had been sedated. Andre, who used to work part-time in Urban Outfitters and play for Gospel Oak FC, has been unable to walk or talk since the accident. He has undergone a series of major operations, including one to remove part of his skull to allow space for his brain to swell without pushing against the bone. Although the initial shock wasn't as bad as the two women had expected, it soon dawned on them that Andre might not make a full recovery. Susana said: 'At the moment the doctors are not telling us much because they don't really know. At this point it's touch and go.' She said doctors were being 'very reserved' about any prognosis until Andre's brain swelling has reduced. But his mum and godmother say they have some cause for hope. Last week Isabel received a call from the hospital to say Andre was becoming more active. Susana said: 'Even though he's still intubated and on and off he's animated, moving his legs, arms, his body. But it's still early days to know for sure.' 'We've asked him questions, he shakes his head for 'no' and nods for 'yes'. We've asked him some random questions, just about us, 'do you know who we are?' We make jokes. 'We've seen some expressions in his face which could be classed as a smile I suppose. I don't know if it's just wishful thinking or what it is, but he does answer us, yes or no.' The men managed to call emergency services straight away, and Andre was rushed to a local hospital then transferred to Nicosia General Hospital the same night He has undergone a series of major operations, including one to remove part of his skull to allow space for his brain to swell without pushing against the bone The women call the hospital twice a day for updates, as they are only allowed to visit twice a week. They said the anxiety of waiting between visits has been hugely stressful. The costs are racking up, too. Isabel and Susana have to pay Euro 50 each for a PCR test each time they go to the hospital, and for a cab to get there since public transport in the area is poor. Andre will need specialist medical aviation to get back to London, which Susana says could cost anywhere between 15,000 and 32,000, depending on whether he recovers enough to be able to sit up for take-off and landing. Isabel has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise the money to get Andre home. She said two of the boys he was on holiday with have been incredibly 'distressed and supportive' since the accident, texting her every other day, and one of them has donated a huge sum of money to the page. Susana said: 'We understand that they are young kids and they do stuff like that.' Isabel added: 'We just want to get him home.' Click here to donate to the fundraiser. Russian dirty money is still flowing into the UK before being used to fund Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine due to shameful government complacency, a scathing report warns today. The Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said ministers had failed to take action on the cash and assets being laundered through the City of London. The current measures installed do not go far or fast enough, the report says, while the committee said it was shameful that it had taken the Ukraine war for the Economic Crime Act to be brought in. Russian dirty money is still flowing into the UK before being used to fund Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine, a report warns today. It puts this down to shameful government complacency. Pictured: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson The report comes after Britain placed sanctions on one of Putin's associates - Vladimir Potanin - who is also the second richest man in Russia. Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin Structurally, the resources of responsible bodies such as the National Crime Agency and Serious Fraud Office still face a fundamental mismatch against the wealthy individuals they are targeting. The report said: Without the means and resources, enforcement agencies are toothless. Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat said: For far too long, successive governments have allowed malign actors and kleptocrats to wash their dirty money in the London laundromat. Complacency has left the door open to corrupt wealth taking root and morally bankrupt billionaires using the UK as a safe deposit box. The criticism came as Britain slapped sanctions on Russias second-richest man Putin associate Vladimir Potanin, 61, known as the Nickel King freezing his assets and banning him from the UK. Vladimir Putin is a lunatic with small man syndrome, the Defence Secretary declared yesterday. Ben Wallace said the Russian leader has suffered the loss of 25,000 troops and is having to use ancient ammunition as his invasion of Ukraine falters. As he attended a Nato summit in Madrid, the minister said he does not believe Russia is winning the war as it fails to achieve any of its key objectives. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace (pictured) declared yesterday that Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, is not winning the war against Ukraine and labelled him a 'lunatic' And he joined the Prime Minister in mocking the Kremlin leader. Mr Wallace told LBC Radio: I certainly think President Putins view of himself and the world is a small man syndrome, macho view... I think hes certainly got it in spades. He also mocked Russian foreign ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova, saying: Shes a lunatic like he is. Earlier Boris Johnson told German TV that Putin would not have started the crazy, macho war if he were a woman. He said to ZDF: If you want a perfect example of toxic masculinity, its what hes doing in Ukraine. He made the comments arguing for more women in positions of power. Mr Johnson yesterday said he will not boycott a meeting of G20 leaders this year if pariah Putin attends. Boris Johnson also criticised the Russian leader and told German TV that Putin would not have started the crazy, macho war if he were a woman. Pictured: Russian president Vladimir Putin The Prime Minister argued it was important to win over member countries that have failed to take a strong stance against Russias invasion of Ukraine. He said: If you vacate something like the G20 you risk just handing the propaganda opportunity to others. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said it is important to tell [Putin] to his face what we think of him. Indonesia will host a G20 summit of world leaders in Bali in November. The countrys president Joko Widodo has invited both the Russian leader and Ukraines Volodymyr Zelensky to attend. The Apache AH-64E and its modernization by the US Army are not going smoothly, and concerns are cropping up. One is the new engine, which has problems supplying it and no long-range missile, as the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) noticed. Apache's Modernization Program Hitches The report says that the HASC Chairman, when the army asked for a $10 million budget request for the Apache Future Development Program as part of the defense bill released a week ago. It is supposed to serve until 2050, but its upgrading is not comprehensive enough, noted Defense News. No plans have been sent on how to start the aircraft getting the under-development Improved Turbine Engine Programme (ITEP) powerplant. The gunship should be used on UH-60 Blackhawks and the Army's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA), reported EurAsian Times. HASC expects a report by April 1, 2023, addressing the new power plant's supply chain problem and how all the components are affected by COVID-19. General Electric is developing the new engine but is delayed due to the pandemic affected by the disrupted supply chain. GE's T901 powerplant was chosen over the Honeywell and Pratt & Whitney collaboration which is the Advanced Turbine Engine Company. The new engine for the Apache AH-64E should have been ready by the third quarter of 2021, getting flight tested and deemed airworthy by 2023. Small production would be done by late 2024, with full-on production in 2026. Read Also: Xi Jinping: 5 Things To Know About China's President Not having the ITEP on the date is compounded by not having any long-range air-to-surface missile. Instead, the army uses the Israeli Spike Non-Line of Sight (NLOS) missile. Another issue that might be a dampener has been the absence of a long-range air-to-surface missile, with the army making do with the Israeli Spike Non-Line of Sight (NLOS) missile, noted Defense-Update. India Buys the AH-64 E, Chinook The Indian Air Force bought 22 Apache gunships with heavy lift Chinooks in a $3 Billion deal in 2015. Six more AH-64s were purchased, costing $800 million after a visit of former President Donald Trump in February 2020. According to Torbjorn Sjorgen, Boeing's Vice-president for International, Government, and Defense; informed that New Delhi wants to buy more. IAF's 11 Apaches from 22 are equipped with the Longbow fire control radar systems and Hellfire missiles that are lethal to most tanks and called 'tank killers.' Another armament is the Stinger air-to-air missiles and its chin-mounted gun; it has 625 armor-busting depleted uranium rounds for attacking light armor and personnel for the mission like close air support and all-around ground assault. IAF's Thrust in the India-China Border Conflict During the LAC in Ladakh standoff, gunships patrolled the Leh Air Base at the height of the conflict. The forces of the PLA and Indian army had armored units in the area in May 2020, which are still there. Units have left Pangong Lake and Galway Valley. Apache gunships are up against the Chinese Z-10 attack helicopter, which is lighter and less armored, with a weaker engine. The US is having difficulty catching up with a near-peer opponent like China. Compared to the Apache AH-64E, other combat helicopters are less capable, but their deficiencies are catching up fast; China and Russia are developing rotorcraft while the US struggles with its military budget. Related Article: AH-64 Apache Vs. the Ka-52 Alligator: Who Wins in the Battle of the Best Attack Chopper? @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The man accused of bombing the National Crime Authority office in Adelaide, killing a police officer and seriously wounding a lawyer, has been found guilty of both murder and attempted murder. In the South Australian Supreme Court on Thursday, Justice Kevin Nicholson handed down his verdicts against Domenic Perre who is already behind bars over drug offences. The 1994 bombing killed Detective Sergeant Geoffrey Bowen and seriously injured lawyer Peter Wallis. Sgt Bowen died from horrific injuries, including the loss of his left arm, while Mr Wallis lost an eye and suffered severe burns. Perre pleaded not guilty to the murder of Sgt Bowen and the attempted murder of Mr Wallis in his months-long trial conducted by the judge alone. Dominic Perre (pictured, being wheeled by a prison guard) was found guilty of the bombing attack on the National Crime Authority The judge deliberated over the evidence for nine months He was first charged with murder soon after the bombing but the case against him was dropped six months later because of a lack of evidence. The 64-year-old was arrested again in 2018 after a joint investigation, lasting more than two years, by a number of state and federal authorities including the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission. The judge deliberated over the evidence since September, taking nine months to come to a guilty verdict. Prosecutors argued the bombing was a personal attack on Sgt Bowen. Detective Sergeant Geoffrey Bowen (pictured) was killed in the bombing, suffering horrific injuries from the blast The bombing at the National Crime Authority (pictured) in 1994 They said Perre's hostility towards him had grown because of their interactions following the seizure of a multi-million dollar cannabis crop in the Northern Territory in August 1993. Perre elected not to give evidence but his defence team said the investigation into the bombing was plagued by tunnel vision. Lead counsel Gilbert Aitken told the court that in the eyes of SA detectives only Perre had the motive to make and send the bomb. British Airways yesterday axed more than 650 July holiday flights to Europe, affecting up to 105,000 passengers. The airline slashed its Gatwick and Heathrow schedules from 8,383 flights with more than 1.4 million seats to 7,731 services with fewer than 1.3 million seats. Among the worst-hit destinations are Amsterdam, Athens, Faro in Portugal, plus Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca and Malaga in Spain. It comes after easyJet axed 10,000-plus flights from its summer schedules last week. Most cancellations have been blamed on post-pandemic staff shortages and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has accused the industry of over-booking. It couldnt come at a worse time, with the peak summer season getting underway towards the end of July. British Airways yesterday axed more than 650 July holiday flights to Europe, affecting up to 105,000 passengers (file image) Hundreds of suitcases are seen abandoned at the baggage reclaim area of Terminal 2 in Heathrow Airport, west London this week BA had already cut 16,000 flights, or 8,000 round trips, from its summer schedule earlier this year, suggesting it is continuing to struggle with staff shortages. It comes after easyJet axed more than 10,000 flights from its schedules last week after having to make hundreds of cancellations in recent weeks. Tui and Wizz Air have also cancelled dozens of flights. Most cancellations have been due to a staff shortages crisis, particularly baggage handlers and cabin crew. Mr Shapps has accused the industry of over-booking planes. Thousands of passengers were stranded abroad over half-term as a result, often waiting several days before being given another flight home. With fewer seats available this summer, holidaymakers could see a rise in fares if they havent already booked as airlines try and re-coup losses as a result of less seats. Passengers were forced to sleep on the floor as they waited to see if they would be able to travel at Bristol Airport on Monday morning. They queued from 4.30am. Other customers were forced to bed down anywhere they could while waiting for more information on their flights in Bristol on Monday morning. One even thought ahead to pack an air bed so they would be more comfortable Hundreds of passengers packed into Heathrow's Terminal 2, pictured, Monday as they attempted to check in for their flights. Less flights have been cancelled so far at the UK's biggest airport, but travellers still arrived early for flights Mr Shapps told the Mail: Ill have a list of measures, which Ill talk about more on Thursday when its transport orals [in the Commons], of things were trying to do. We have a bunch of different things well be doing. Itll be more on what the sector needs to do and what the Governments trying to do to both encourage them and help them in doing it. Its quite a big list of things, like how we solved the HGV crisis with 33 different measures, or how I resolved the P&O issue with nine different measures. He confirmed that allowing in more cheap foreign workers by adding aviation jobs to the shortage occupation list was not one of the measures. A business expert says that temporary staff working at Heathrow, pictured today, are warning their own family members not to travel until November at the earliest. British Airway staff are also threatening to strike, after unions rejected a 10 per cent pay offer in favour of walkouts as early as next month, potentially during the school holidays Airlines have demanded he lobbies the Home Office for the change, which would make it easier to recruit staff from abroad. BA was contacted for comment. A BA spokesman said: We took pre-emptive action earlier this year to reduce our summer schedule to provide customers with as much notice as possible about any changes to their travel plans. As the entire aviation industry continues to face into the most challenging period in its history, regrettably it has become necessary to make some further reductions. Were in touch with customers to apologise and offer to rebook them or issue a full refund. The grandmother who fought fiercely to maintain custody of a seven-year-old girl who was killed last year has said that the girl never should have been placed in the care of her mother. On Wednesday, Navasia Jones, 36, and her 17-year-old son Paul Fine Jr were charged with murdering Jone's seven-year-old daughter Julissia Batties in their Bronx apartment last August. Julissia's paternal grandmother Yolanda Davis had taken care of the girl for most of her short life, and was locked in a bitter custody dispute with Jones, who regained custody of the child soon before her death, despite the girl's desperate pleas not to return. 'I fought hard all the time for my granddaughter,' Davis told reporters following the arrests. 'I fought many a day, I was attacked by case workers but I say today that I was glad there is justice.' 'I just thank god that I got justice for my granddaughter. She deserves that, she really deserves that, and God gave justice,' the grandmother added in an interview with DailyMail.com outside of the arraignment. 'I've been waiting for this day for 10 months.' Julissia Batties, seven, died in the care of her mother and half-brother in the Bronx last August. After a 10-month investigation, the mom and brother are now charged with her murder Julissia's paternal grandmother Yolanda Davis has said that the girl never should have been placed in the care of her mother On Wednesday, Navasia Jones, 36, (left) and her 17-year-old son Paul Fine Jr (right) were charged with murdering Jone's seven-year-old daughter Julissia Batties Prosecutors say that Julissia was viciously beaten and abused over a period of two days while in the care of Jones and Fine Jr prior to her death on August 10, 2021. Fine Jr allegedly confessed to beating the girl all over her body, and was additionally charged with sexually assaulting the girl, his half-sister. After seeing the teen being escorted into court in cuffs, Julissia's father Julius Batties told DailyMail.com: 'I want him put away for what he's done.' 'This is a revolting, disturbing case of brutality and callousness,' said Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark. 'The investigation revealed that Julissia was failed throughout her brief life. The signs of her torment were there but not acted on,' the DA added. 'We send our condolences to Julissia's father and grandmother, who remain devastated by the loss of this beautiful, little girl.' At a press conference, Clark revealed sickening details of the investigation. According to the investigation, Julissia lay suffering and dying for three hours before her mother finally called 911 at 8.06am on August 10, 2021, after being urged by a family member to do so. When first responders arrived, Julissia had no pulse and no vital signs. The child was taken to Lincoln Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Julissia's grandmother Yolanda Davis (left) and father Julius Batties (right) spoke out praising the arrest of Jones and Fine Jr in the young girl's death After seeing Fine Jr being escorted into court in cuffs, Julissia's father Julius Batties (with her above) told DailyMail.com: 'I want him put away for what he's done' The girl's mom and half-brother claimed that Julissia had fallen down after vomiting and urinating on herself at 5am that day, and had fallen against various items and the floor and hurt herself. Prosecutors say that the injuries on the little girl's body show that those claims are false. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the child died by homicide caused by blunt force trauma to her abdomen, concluding that she was struck with enough force to cause her internal organs to tear and bleed. The ME determined the bruises on Julissia's face were likely caused by a fist or hand. There were additional injuries, visible bruises, marks, and scratches on Julissia's body, including on both wrists, her clavicle, upper thigh and mouth. The child had injuries that were consistent with sexual assault, which were inflicted after Julissia had been beaten in her abdomen. A police source told the New York Post the girl's autopsy revealed that she had been sodomized. On Wednesday, Jones and Fine, Jr., were taken into custody at approximately 9.30am by officers from New York City's 40th Precinct. Fine Jr allegedly confessed to beating the girl all over her body, and was additionally charged with sexually assaulting the girl, his half-sister The teen brother of the slain 7-year-old in the Bronx, Paul Fine Jr. allegedly admitted that he assaulted his sister, Julissia Batties Father Julius Batties is seen at the arraignment for Paul Fine Jr, who allegedly killed his daughter, Julissia Batties The father wore a shirt with a tribute to his daughter, who was killed last August Greiving father Julius Batties (second from right) attends the Bronx district attorney's press conference announcing charges against Jones and Fine Jr As she was escorted out of the precinct, Jones snapped at a reporter denying the charges, saying: 'I didn't kill my daughter, b***h.' Jones and Fine Jr are both now charged with murder, manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child. Fine Jr was additionally charged with first-degree assault and first-degree sexual abuse. Both are being held without bond, and it was unclear whether they had attorneys to speak on their behalf. Jones is next due in court on September 12, and Fine Jr is set to appear on July 5. Speaking outside the arraignment, grandmother Yolanda Davis told DailyMail.com that she was 'really happy' to see Jones and Fine Jr in custody after a prolonged 10-month investigation. 'One thing my granddaughter said to me last was "we win,"' she said, recalling one of her last interactions with Julissia. 'And we definitely win.' A memorial was set up for 7-year old Julissia Batties at the Mitchel Houses in the Bronx on August 13th, 2021. The girl's lifeless body was discovered inside her mom's apartment Prior to Julissia's murder, police had been called to the apartment at the NYCHA's Mitchel Houses on Alexander Avenue over at least six times, over the past three years, sources said, and one of those times, the mother covered for her son, the New York Post reported. Davis has said Jones has seven other children, and the city has taken taken each of her seven children away from her at some point. She fought along with a court-appointed attorney, but in June 2021, the city Administration for Childrens Services returned Julissia to live with her mother. It would be without supervision, for the first time, and Julissia was killed less than two months later, the Post reported. The girl's father, Julius felt that ACS failed him and his daughter by giving up the child to the mother, who allegedly abused her, the Post previously reported. At the time, an ACS spokesman said: 'Our top priority is protecting the safety and wellbeing of all children in New York City. We are investigating this case with the NYPD.' A Chinese newspaper has brutally branded Anthony Albanese a 'greenhorn' on diplomacy - meaning he's inexperienced and doesn't know what he's doing. The Global Times - a propaganda mouthpiece for Beijing - used the old-fashioned word in an article this week as Mr Albanese headed to key NATO meetings in Spain. 'Since taking office in May, Albanese, who is a ''greenhorn on diplomacy'', has largely taken a similar line to the US,' the author wrote. The word was used in the 15th century to describe a young ox or bull because their horns had not matured. A Chinese newspaper has brutally branded Anthony Albanese a 'greenhorn on diplomacy'. The PM is pictured with partner Jodie Haydon The article came after the Prime Minister suggested the harsh and united response to Russia over its invasion of Ukraine would serve as a warning to China, which wants to reunite with Taiwan. He told the Australian Financial Review that Ukraine had demonstrated that 'attempts to impose change by force on a sovereign country meets resistance'. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian blasted Mr Albanese over the 'irresponsible' comments in a press conference on Wednesday. He said: 'We have also stressed many times that Taiwan is not Ukraine. A parallel cannot be drawn between them. Taiwan is not a sovereign country. We hope relevant politicians will stop making irresponsible remarks.' The Global Times is also running an article claiming that Chinese investors are turning away from Australia in face of increased security checks. A representative of a major listed Chinese firm in Australia told the publication: 'For Chinese companies going overseas, there are many options to choose other than putting all eggs in one basket with Australia.' Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian blasted Mr Albanese for making 'irresponsible' comments in a press conference on Wednesday At the NATO summit in Madrid on Wednesday, Mr Albanese told leaders that China aimed to become the 'most powerful nation in the world', adding a strengthening of relations between Beijing and Moscow posed a risk to all democratic nations. 'Just as Russia seeks to recreate a Russian or Soviet empire, the Chinese government is seeking friends, whether it be... through economic support to build up alliances to undermine what has historically been the Western alliance in places like the Indo-Pacific,' he said. Mr Albanese said Australia had been subjected to 'economic coercion' by China and urged democratic leaders to pursue trade diversification. Mr Zhao said NATO - a group of 30 nations - should stop 'trying to launch a new Cold War'. 'Stop trying to mess up Asia and the world after messing up Europe,' he said. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi (right) and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese whose late father was Italian 'What they should do is give up their Cold War mindset, zero-sum games and stop doing things that create enemies.' Mr Albanese met with the leaders of New Zealand, Japan and South Korea on the sidelines of the NATO summit as part of the 'Asia-Pacific Four' grouping, which was invited to participate for the first time. 'NATO has sent a strong message by including Asia-Pacific leaders in discussions at this forum,' Mr Albanese said. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pointed to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia had shaken the foundation of rules-based global order. 'The security of Europe and the security of the Indo-Pacific cannot be decoupled,' he said in opening remarks. Mr Albanese concurred saying 'it is clear that (Russian) President Putin's barbaric and illegal invasion of Ukraine has consequences far beyond Europe's borders'. A woman has been handed one of the longest jail sentences ever given to a female in New Zealand for the brutal murder of a five-year-old boy. Michaela Barriball, 27, will spend at least 17 years in prison for the murder of Malachi Rain Subecz, who was beaten, starved, thrown against walls and burnt with scorching hot water. He weighed just 16kg when he died at Starship Hospital in Auckland on November 12 last year, 11 days after was found injured at a home in Te Puna, 192km south of Auckland. Barriball is not related to Malachi, but he was put in her care last September after his biological mother was imprisoned. Malachi Rain Subecz (pictured) weighed just 16 kilograms when he died in hospital after weeks of shocking abuse Soon after taking Malachi into her care, Barriball started to assault him 'on a daily basis', hitting him in the head, face and body. The boy would frequently soil himself due to the abuse, which led Barriball to strip him naked and lock him outside or in a car. She also forced Malachi to stand for long periods and starved him. On one occasion, Barriball picked the boy up by his hair and threw him against a wall twice, before repeatedly slapping him across the face. The court also heard that Barriball held Malachi under the water while having a bath, and on another occasion put him in a shower under 73-degree water. That caused the boy severe burns, including a deep, 13cm blackened injury. Messages Barriball sent to her partner were also revealed in court. 'You like him more then me yar (sic), that's not fair he's taking everyone from me the ugly f*****,' one said. 'I'm gonna f*** him up badly. Ugly c*** taking my all everyone from my life g.' Michaela Barriball (pictured) will spend at least 17 years in prison for the murder of Malachi Rain Subecz After scalding Malachi in the shower, she messaged that 'I wanna take him to hospital but I'm f****** scared as man.' Barriball, who was unemployed, lived in a rented cabin owned by her father. Last October, she often left Malachi alone in the cabin overnight, returning in the morning. On October 31, the night before he suffered his last beating, the five-year-old went trick or treating with his cousins, dressed as a pirate. The next morning, Barriball lashed out at him for the last time, injuring him so badly he suffered a seizure. Malachi Subecz (pictured) was found injured in Te Puna, 192km south of Auckland New Zealand, on November 1, 2021, and died in hospital on November 12 She told paramedics he had fallen while getting ready for school. Malachi had a brain haemorrhage and bruises all over his body. Hours later he was transferred to Starship Hospital and placed in an induced coma. He died 11 days later on November 12. In the High Court at Rotorua on Thursday, Justice Paul Davison said Barriball's offending 'clearly sits at the highest end of any scale'. 'You held all the power, and you abused that power in the most callous and inhumane way imaginable,' he said. Judge Davison sentenced Barriball to life in prison, with a 17-year minimum period of imprisonment,' the NZ Herald reported. Malachi Subecz (pictured) so beaten so badly on November 1, 2021, he suffered a seizure Though it was Malachi's mother's wish that she be placed with Barriball while she was in jail, the boy's family is still waiting for answers from the authorities about how the abuse went unnoticed for months. In the hours after beating Malachi for the last time, Barriball messaged her boyfriend to say ' I don't care if I go to jail, I deserve to'. The court heard nine victim impact statements, including from Malachi's aunt, Helen Menzies. She stayed with the boy in Starship Hospital in the days before his life support was switched off. 'If I try to drift off to sleep at night, I hear his gasping breath,' she said. 'You laid your dirty hands on my nephew. What gave you the right to do that?' Her husband, Peter Menzies, held Malachi as he died. 'From then, my confidence and happiness died too,' he told the court. 'I hate this world and the horrible things people do. This has changed me forever.' Two men allegedly posed as rideshare drivers to lure a woman into their car before sexually assaulting her. The two men, believed to be aged in their 30s, picked up the 27-year-old woman from Bondi Junction in Sydney's east at about 2am on Friday, April 1. Police allege the duo drove the woman to an apartment in Wolli Creek, about a 30 minute drive south, where she was sexually assaulted and then let go. Police are on the hunt for two men accused of posing as fake rideshare drivers (pictured, two men police wish to speak to in relation to the incident) The two men picked up the 27-year-old woman from Bondi Junction in Sydney's east at about 2am on April 1 (pictured, two men police wish to speak to in relation to the incident) Images and CCTV footage of two men police believe can assist in ongoing inquiries have been released to the public. In the footage, the men are seen walking along a footpath, getting inside a vehicle, and buzzing into an apartment building with two others. The first man is described as being of Mediterranean/Middle Eastern appearance, about 160cm tall with a medium build. Police allege the duo drove the woman to an apartment in Wolli Creek where she was sexually assaulted and then let go (pictured, two men police believe can assist in their enquiries) He has black hair and a black beard and was last seen wearing a blue jumper with a white and red logo on the rear of the collar. The second man is described as being of Mediterranean/Middle Eastern appearance, about 160cm tall with a medium build. He has black hair worn in a bun and a beard and was wearing a white hooded jumper with a 'Nike' logo on the back and jeans. The alleged assault was reported to officers at St George Police Area Command with police forming Strike Force Wannamurra to investigate the incident. Anyone who may have information that can assist police is urged to contact St George Police Area Command or Crime Stoppers. One of Australia's top Covid-19 experts says it's 'unlikely' mask mandates work to stop the spread of the Omicron variant. Professor Peter Collignon, an influential infectious diseases physician with the Australian National University, shared an article on his social media in which American experts discussed mask effectiveness. 'Do mask mandates still work?' Prof. Collignon asked in the tweet. 'With omicron, [it] doesn't look likely.' One of Australia's top Covid-19 experts has said mask mandates do not work to stop the spread of the Omicron variant Do mask mandates still work? With omicron, doesn't look likely. https://t.co/k6Wqd8sjo5? Peter Collignon (@CollignonPeter) June 30, 2022 Agree, its very hard to work out where people get infected. But your eyes are also a good portal for introducing infection into your respiratory tract. So if you go to the trouble of wearing a N95 mask, make sure you have some eye protection as well. https://t.co/z4SkqkiRKs Peter Collignon (@CollignonPeter) June 29, 2022 Outspoken medical professor, Dr Monica Gandhi from University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) urged that mask mandates should be eliminated in the US He also said that even with N95 masks, widely believed to be effective against Omicron when fitted correctly, people were vulnerable to infection through their eyes. 'Your eyes are also a good portal for introducing infection into your respiratory tract,' Prof. Collignon said. 'So if you go to the trouble of wearing an N95 mask, make sure you have some eye protection as well.' In New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia, face masks are still mandatory on public transport and taxis for anyone aged over 12. In Victoria, anyone over eight must wear a mask on trams, buses and trains. On June 17, the requirement to wear masks in most Australian airports was lifted. Although the mandates remain for most public transport, they are rarely enforced, resulting in many Australians ignoring the rules. American professor, William Schaffner, said in the Healthline article Prof. Collignon shared, that Omicron was so contagious that people who wore their masks below their nose might as well not be wearing one. Professor Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, claimed the correct masks work when worn properly and when compliance is monitored. He said surgical masks worked early in the pandemic but that N95 or KN95 masks were 'most effective' against Omicron. An outspoken US medical professor, Dr Monica Gandhi from University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) urged that mask mandates should be eliminated to restore 'harmony within the medical community' and across the US. She said the best way of predicting community transmission was vaccination rates rather than whether it is compulsory to wear masks. 'Most well-done studies evaluating mask mandates do not show an association between mask mandates and the containment of spread or hospitalizations,' Dr Gandhi claimed. An American expert said the best way of predicting community transmission was vaccination rates rather than whether it is compulsory to wear masks Prof. Collignon said that even with N95 masks, widely believed to be effective against Omicron when fitted correctly, people were vulnerable to infection through their eyes The article was written as mask mandates were being reintroduced in an erratic manner in the US. It pointed out that data on mask effectiveness in containing Covid-19 in the US was complex and may have been overstated by vaccination take-up. In one influential Arizona study it was found schools without mask mandates were 3.5 times as likely to have Covid outbreaks than schools that began the year with them. But an article written by a group of doctors pointed out that the vast majority of schools without mask mandates also had low rates of vaccination. In June, Professor Margaret Hellard, of Australia's Burnet Institute told a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the state's pandemic orders, that authorities should reintroduce mask mandates for enclosed spaces. She warned Australia would see 10,000 to 15,000 Covid-19 deaths this year, which is way too high in her view. An Australian digital bank has collapsed, leaving 140 employees without a job and 6,000 customers racing to withdraw their money before next week. Volt Bank announced on Wednesday it was closing its deposit taking business and will return its banking licence after it couldn't raise enough funds to stay afloat. 'Volt has made the difficult decision to close its deposit taking business and has commenced the process of returning all deposits to its account holders,' the neobank's website said. 'Customers need to transfer the balances held in all Volt accounts to a nominated bank account with another financial institution before the 5th of July 2022.' Neobnak, Volt Bank, announced on Wednesday it was closing its deposit taking business and will return its banking licence after it couldn't raise enough funds to stay afloat The bank was launched in 2017 with Volt chief executive Steve Weston saying the closure of the company was an 'incredibly sad day'. 'We've built something as a team that Australia really needs to bring banking competition to the market. We've got technology and capability that simply doesn't exist in Australia today,' he said. 'But for us to take that to a public launch, we need petrol in the car and by petrol we need capital. And in the current market, being able to raise the amount of capital that we needed to be able to scale up was a task that we couldn't accomplish.' The bank was launched in 2017 with Volt chief executive Steve Weston (right) saying the closure of the company was an 'incredibly sad day' NEOBANKS IN AUSTRALIA 'Neobanks' or 'Challenger banks' are online only services that have no brick-and-mortar shopfronts. The first began appearing after the Global Financial Crises of 2008. Rules were loosened in Australia to allow them after the 2018 government inquiry into conduct in the banking sector. The digital banks are often founded on innovative technology or business models. Volt, Xinja, 86 400 and Judo were the first wave of the new banks licensed in Australia. Xinja and now Volt have collapsed and 86 400 was sold to NAB. Only Judo remains operating as a private company with about $5.5 billion in mortgages. Advertisement Transfer limits for customers have been increased to $250,000 with members told to stop using their accounts immediately. Volt has more than $100million in deposits. Mr Weston said as a bank, his business needed a lot more capital than others, and that was a challenge 'we were unable to overcome'. Volt had been seeking to raise $200million in investor funding through a Series F round launched in February. But as worldwide economies stalled this year, the investors it had lined up began backing out citing uncertain financial markets. 'If you want to be a bank and you want to scale up, you are going to need a lot of capital, and if you don't [raise it], you are not going to be able to grow... We just couldn't raise the level of capital we needed to,' Mr Weston told the AFR. Customer deposits of up to $250,000 are protected under the federal Financial Claims Scheme - but Volt hopes to be able to return all deposits in full so the scheme will not be triggered. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is monitoring Volt customer accounts to 'ensure funds are returned in and orderly and timely manner'. The company was granted its banking licence in 2019, the first start-up in Australia to be granted one. The collapse is the second of a high-profile neobank, following Xinja whose banking businesses folded in December 2020. In that case, Xinja started paying interest on deposits before earning capital from lending. All deposits were successfully returned to account holders and Xinja reverted its business model to financial tech. Neobanks operate exclusively online with no in-person branches. Other neobanks have fared better with the oddly named 86 400 being purchased by NAB for $220million in 2021. Financial rules were loosened to allow new banking entrants to enter the Australian market after the 2018 government inquiry into misconduct in the banking industry. Of the first wave of four digital banks to be approved, there is now only Judo which remains a privately held operating company, which has about $5billion in mortgages according to government data. Customers of the neobank have been urged to transfer their funds by July 5. Pictured are two woman enjoying a day out at Flemington Racecourse Kentucky's 2022 Teacher of the Year has quit his high school over accusations that he was grooming children in a student-run LGBTQ club. Willie Carver Jr., who is openly gay, said he felt pushed out of Montgomery County High School after ten years by homophobia, describing his time teaching as a gay man in Kentucky as a 'death by a thousand cuts,' according to NBC News. His 'breaking point' was when a woman repeatedly accused him of grooming students during a school board meeting earlier this year - and he says the school did nothing to support or defend him. Carver said that when he was accused of grooming - a homophobic accusation of predatory sexual behavior that has often been lobbed at the LGBTQ community - in March, the accusations and attacks spread online, with somebody posting a photo of him and LGBTQ students alongside homophobic slurs. Carver said that the school did nothing in response, and instead told him they 'couldn't involve themselves every time the community became upset with something at the school.' 'I have put up with these problems over the years because the benefits outweighed the cons,' Carver told NBC News, 'But I've now reached a stage where I'm starting to see that the toll on mental health is going to be such that my students are not going to be seeing a successful LGBTQ person in front of them. They're seeing someone who is stressed out and unhappy.' Willie Carver Jr., who is openly gay, said he made the decision to leave the school after a woman leveled the accusations against him during a school board meeting earlier this year Carver (far left, third row from floor) at an event for the 2022 teachers of the year with President Joe Biden (center) and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona (far left) in April The Montgomery County High School, where Carver taught for over ten years. He said that the school constantly acted against its LGBTQ community Carver, who taught French and English at the school, testified before the US House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in May on behalf of the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Equality Act, which requires schools to create policies against prejudicial bullying. During his testimony he recounted the discrimination he has faced as a gay teacher, which he said came from parents, faculty and school leadership alike. Carver has now accepted a position at the University of Kentucky, in Lexington, as an academic advisor at the Gatton College of Business and Economics. He said that during his time he watched administration pull books by black and LGBTQ authors at parents' request, kill a student-run poll intended to take the temperature on the school's LGBTQ inclusivity, and defend students accused of tearing pride posters off of walls. Montgomery County High School Matt Thompson did not comment on Carver's statements about the school, but spoke highly of his time there, according to the Courier Journal. 'Mr. Carver is a wonderful English and French teacher,' he said. 'We wish him well in his new endeavor.' Carver (left) visited the US Capitol in May to testify before the US House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties on behalf of the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Equality Act, which requires schools to create policies against prejudicial bullying 'I'm from Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, and met the President of the United States. My school didn't even mention it in an email,' Carver told the US House committee during his May testimony. 'This invisibility extends to all newly politicized identities. Our administrators' new directive is 'nothing racial.' Parents now demand alternative work when authors are black or LGBTQ. We are told to accommodate them, but I can't ethically erase Black or queer voices.' The place of sexuality and gender have come under the spotlight in recent months after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill - known as Don't Say Gay - into law barring teachers from addressing 'sexual orientation' or 'gender identity' in kindergarten through third grade. Many conservative lawmakers have leveled accusations of indoctrination and grooming at opponents of the bill and liberal leaning teachers. A young TikTok social media influencer has gone viral with a heartwarming video of himself giving flowers to an old lady in a city centre food court. Harrison Pawluk, 22, politely interrupted the elderly woman as she drank a takeaway cup of coffee in the Emporium Melbourne mall, and asked her to hold the bouquet. 'Sorry to bother you, is it ok if you can just hold these?' he asked, having been inspired to perform random acts of kindness after seeing the plight of people living in poverty overseas. Pawluk then put his backpack on the ground and pulled out a black parker before walking off and leaving the old woman with the flowers. 'Have a lovely day,' he said, evoking an expression of tears on the woman's face. Scroll down for video Harrison Pawluk, 22, politely interrupted the elderly woman as she drank a takeaway cup of coffee in the Emporium Melbourne mall, and asked her to hold the bouquet - before leaving it with her and wishing her a nice day The June 21 video has already been viewed 51.9 million times, getting 10 million likes. Pawluk, who has three million social media followers, told Daily Mail Australia he was inspired by witnessing homelessness during a recent trip to LA. 'I was recently inspired to change the nature of my content and use my platform to do some good and spread some kindness,' he said. 'Not enough creators utilise their platforms for good. 'I want to hopefully use mine as a vessel spreading good and hopefully inspiring a few people along the way.' Pawluk's TikTok and YouTube videos are making him about $10,000 to $15,000 a month through brand partnerships and sponsored posts. His 21-year-old Brisbane-based manager Taylor Reilly, who negotiates sponsorship, said popular TikTok influencers like Pawluk uploaded a video everyday targeted at a very specific audience. 'Harrison isn't out to fake his videos in order to get a viral video or an amazing reaction like a lot of creators do,' he said. 'He's doing this content because he genuinely believes, sometimes one person at a time, that he's making a difference. Pawluk then put his backpack on the ground and pulled out a black parker before walking off and leaving the old woman with the flowers, evoking tears 'He's recording these kind acts because he loves creating content. 'He hopes to inspire other people to also act and spread kindness - the snowball effect.' Reilly, who travelled to LA with Pawluk, said the poverty they saw in California had given them a new focus with their TikTok videos. 'I really got to experience life in a different light,' he said. 'I was originally making prank and skit content but after seeing the amount of poverty over there I came back to Australia with a new mindset of utilising my platform and content to spread kindness and create some good. 'My videos right now can include small gestures giving away flowers, surprising people with money or just talking to people to help them get problems theyre facing in life off of their chest.' Pawluk is hoping his random acts of kindness on camera yield him some revenue. 'My new goal is to find like minded businesses that want to also spread kindness to partner with me,' he said. Pawluk's 21-year-old manager Taylor Reilly (pictured), who negotiates sponsorship, said popular TikTok influencers like Pawluk uploaded a video everyday targeted at a very specific audience A Russian Su-35 Flanker took out a UAF MiG-29 in aerial combat last June 26 as losses for Kyiv mounted as Russia's forces steamrolled Ukrainian forces in the air and the ground. The Defense Ministry confirmed the Fulcrum was shot down close to Zelenodolsk in the Dnepropetrovsk Region. New Flanker Model Proven Superior Reported loss of another Ukrainian Air Force following after NATO is rendered to keep Ukrainian fighters airborne, with spare parts and armaments; mentioned Military Watch. Once the Soviet Union collapsed, the Ukrainian Air Force acquired approximately 200 MiG-29 fighters, however, its fleet was only sustained at about 35 aircraft in the 2010s, with low training hours and accessibility rates hindering efficiency. But the Ukrainian forces have lost at the frontline after Russian forces overwhelmed them in the air and attacks on airfields had damaged units. More planes were replaced from the war's start on February 24. Even the heavier Su-27 fighters, though better, had suffered casualties due to the Su-35 of the Russian Air Force that tore apart Ukrainian planes in the initial weeks. This forced the MiG-29 units to be used because of their shorter take-off distance and easier maintenance. They were intended to be deployed to the European frontlines against NATO by Soviet and Warsaw Pact forces during the Cold War, having entered the Soviet Air Force in 1982. Technological Gap of the Fulcrum Though the UAF MiG-29 is a great lightweight fighter, it is not good enough compared to the Su-27 in several aspects. Its endurance, sensors, and air-to-air strengths fell short compared to the Sukhoi Su-35, noted Daily Banner. The MiG-29 is twenty years older than the heavier fighter, a significant factor that cannot be ignored. The Ukrainians ended up overmatched in the end with a Russian Su-35 Flanker. Read Also: PAK-DA Stealth Bomber: Is Russia's Answer to the B-21 Raider Just as Capable Despite having agility in aerial combat compared to equivalent fighters for its size, the plane is shorthanded regarding its operational sensors, older avionics, and armament that need to be upgraded. This makes them almost useless in the modern era in which they are forced to fight, and the Su-35s have easy pickings without stressing their airframes. Su-57 Felon Enters Combat No doubt, the MiG-29 would be a guaranteed crashing mass of steel if it encounters a stark mismatch against a new frontline Russian fighter. The Su-57 Felon has been sent to the front in small numbers. Involved in the aerial engagements is the Su-35, which was one of the Russian aerial units that are major players in operation from airfields in Russia and ally Belarus. Though not 5th generation but a 4++ gen fighter, the Su-35 is equipped with three phased array radars, with two AESA, including the Khibiny-M electronic warfare suite; that will make the 80's fighter dead meat. Engaging the electronic warfare equipment to blind the sensors of MiG-29, then fire R-77 radar-guided missiles for the kill and not need to engage. Superior Russian Fighters with modern capabilities outclass the Ukrainian Forces in the air, which led to overall air superiority. It is no surprise that the Russian Su-35 Flanker would have the advantage over older and obsolete UAF MiG-29 fighters. Add the Felon 5th generation and 4++ gen fighters, then Kyiv will have a losing air war. Related Article: 5th Generation Russian Fighter: The Sukhoi Su-57 Felon Gets Major Upgrades With New Engine, Mounts Hypersonic Missiles @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Advertisement A brawl that erupted between dozens of people onboard a cruise ship was caused by jealousy over a threesome between passengers, according to a witness. A travel agent who was witness to the fracas told Fox News that the punch-up began over allegations of cheating - in particular, an alleged threesome which then upset the participants' respective partners. Video of the fracas depicted a chaotic scene as between 40 and 60 passengers began punching and shoving one another. Although the initial disagreement was between two passengers on the nightclub dance floor, it quickly spiraled out of control with more and more people piling in. The fight occurred on the final night of the ship's eight-day Caribbean cruise with stops in Dominicana, Turks and Caicos, and the Bahamas. Theresa James said the fight started just before 2am and lasted for an entire hour in an area where the ship's nightclub and casino were located. Bottles were smashed and a woman was also cut in the melee, although no serious injuries were reported. The fight ended up moving around the ship from the fifth floor down towards the first floor, all the while a couple of ship security guards attempted to break up the fight where they could - however, they were vastly outnumbered. It prompted the Coast Guard to escort the ship back to dock and the NYPD to open a probe. Massive brawl erupted early Tuesday on the Carnival Magic off New York as it was wrapping up its eight-day Caribbean cruise when the fight broke out in the ship's nightclub It has emerged the brawl was triggered after some passengers engaged in a threesome which then enraged their significant others leading to around 40 to 60 people getting involved in the punch-up A large brawl broke out in the nightclub of the Carnival Magic at about 5.20am on Tuesday, on the final night of the ship's eight-day Caribbean cruise Video of the fracas shows a chaotic scene as dozens of passengers punch and shove each other James explained how the guests involved in the fight were in her words, 'ignorant fools acting stupid'. She praised the security team for jumping into the middle of the brawl and ultimately calming things down. One witness, tweeting under the handle @nyeem0, said he was 'at the bar listening to my own music sipping a Shirley Temple, then the brawl broke out of nowhere!' He added that some of the passengers were 'injured and cut up from glass' and that 'most if not all' of the ship's security guards descended on the club to restore order. The witness added: 'it was the last night so i guess they wanted to go out with a bang, but a lifetime ban from cruising is wild lol.' The brawl took place as the ship approached harbor in New York, but it's unclear whether the vessel was in New York, New Jersey, or international waters at the time of the fight, making criminal jurisdictional issues murky. There were no arrests reported reported in the aftermath of the fight, and it was unclear which agency would lead the investigation. Following the fight, cruise line officials notified the Coast Guard, which launched a boat from Staten Island to escort it to dock in Manhattan, according to WNBC-TV. The brawl started as an altercation between two passengers on the dance floor, and cops say it widened into a fight involving as many as 40 to 60 passengers An outnumbered security guard seemed helpless to stop the brawl when it first broke out. Witnesses say security personnel flooded the nightclub to intervene The Carnival Magic (seen in a file photo) was wrapping up an eight-day Caribbean cruise with stops in Dominicana, Turks and Caicos, and the Bahamas The ship docked without incident at Pier 88, where police and paramedics were waiting to greet it. Cruise officials notified the Coast Guard, which launched a small boat from Staten Island to escort the ship the rest of the way to its Pier 88 dock. The NYPD initially described the incident as an 'emergency docking', but Carnival said in a statement to PIX11 that it was a scheduled port call. 'Last night while Carnival Magic was returning to New York, a number of guests were involved in an altercation in a nightclub,' the statement read. Thankfully no serious injuries were reported and our onboard security team intervened,' the cruise line said. Following the fight, cruise line officials notified the Coast Guard, which launched a boat from Staten Island to escort it to dock (above) in Manhattan The ship docked without incident at Pier 88, where police and paramedics were waiting to greet it 'The ship arrived as scheduled this morning and shoreside law enforcement authorities were notified and met the ship to interview suspects and witnesses and conduct an investigation,' Carnival's statement added. Police said that passengers disembarked gradually without incident. According to CruiseMapper, the Carnival Magic has already departed New York on another eight-day Caribbean cruise. Stops are scheduled in Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Turks and Caicos. Australia is a step closer to having Covid-19 vaccinations for children aged six months to five years, with Pfizer approved to submit an application to the medical regulator. The Therapeutic Goods Administration has granted a provisional determination to Pfizer, which would allow the pharmaceutical giant to apply to extend vaccine use to the younger cohort. Currently, the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for those aged five and over but there has been talk of extending its use to younger children, after US regulators recently approved a similar move. Australia is a step closer to having Covid-19 vaccinations for children aged six months to five years. Pictured: Scientists wearing protective masks A spokesman for the TGA said the provisional determination was the first step. 'The TGA considered all eligibility criteria, including evidence of a plan to submit comprehensive clinical data and the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic,' he said. 'Approval and potential supply in Australia would only commence should the vaccine be approved as safe and effective by the TGA and recommended for administration to this age group by ATAGI.' The Moderna vaccine for children under five is already being considered for approval by the administration. Health Minister Mark Butler did not want to put an exact timeframe on when a rollout of the pediatric vaccine would be approved. 'The TGA will take the time it needs to take, that's always been our approach, it was the former government's approach,' he told reporters in Canberra. 'I'm happy with however long they take to do the job properly.' Mr Butler said discussions had taken place with Moderna and Pfizer to make sure vaccines were ready to be distributed once they were formally approved. The Moderna vaccine for children under five is already being considered for approval However, the health minister said it was too early to predict what the take-up rate might be. 'We have a great track record in this country of up-to-five immunisations generally,' he said. 'What the take up will be by parents of under fives is a little unknown, we'll be considering what support and information we provide to parents about this.' The TGA said the determination did not mean Pfizer had yet submitted an application, or that it had been approved; only that it had been allowed to apply for expanded use. Australia is on track to record its 10,000th death from the virus within days. NSW, Victoria and Queensland together recorded 50 fatalities in the latest 24-hour reporting period, as the national toll rose to 9897. NSW Health is warning of a rise in cases this winter as new sub-variants take over, making people vulnerable to a second dose. The BA.2 sub-lineage remains the dominant variant. However, it is expected BA.4 and BA.5 will soon become so and are likely to be associated with an increase in infections. Meanwhile, vaccinations are no longer mandatory in Queensland for visitors to hospitals, aged care facilities, disability accommodation and jails. Workers in high-risk settings such as early childhood, primary and secondary education, prisons, youth detention centres, and airports are also exempt, unless required by employers to be vaccinated. A self-employed parking cop has shown their creative flair after covering a motorcyclist's bike in furious and threatening post-it notes. Sam Woodcock shared a video showing the nine post-it notes, written in aggressive red ink, that an angry resident had duct-taped to his motorbike seat. Mr Woodcock had parked his bike on an Elizabeth Bay street when he was hit by the abusive notes. 'Yo! This is not a bike park! There are plenty of bike parks and this is not one! You want to be a bikie, I know some...' 'Have some respect for your neighbours. Next time I'm coming to knock your bike over and punch you in the face!' Scroll down for the video. A motorbike rider parked on an Elizabeth Bay street and was the victim of an aggressive 'post-it poet' who instructed them not to park their bike in a motorbike parking zone (pictured, the notes left on Sam Woodcock's motorbike seat) Mr Woodcock called the post-it bandit an 'absolute idiot' before panning up to the parking sign - which showed he had left his bike in a 'motorbike only' zone. Locals in the comments labelled the note-leaver a post-it poet and said they had seen other aggressive notes left in the area. The aggressive motorbike notes come the same week a P-plate driver of an Audi hatchback was blasted for parking halfway across a road in nearby Surry Hills and was left two angry notes. 'This is not how to park you f*cken moron,' one of the notes read. On Wednesday another Sydney driver was attacked by self-employed parking police after parking their Audi hatch across a road in Surry Hills (above) Another brutal note said: 'You are a sh*t parker.' Twitter commenters under photos of the notes also slammed the driver for the poor park. Two angry notes (one above) were left on the Audi slamming the driver's lack of parking skills 'And the worst parking in Sydney today goes to this P-Plate driver,' one wrote. 'Lets pray they're sterile,' another said. 'Audi owners manual says this is the correct parking technique. Please do your research,' another joked. The widowed wife of a larrikin plumber has been forced to leave her husband in the Maldives after he drowned near an idyllic resort. What should have been a relaxing family holiday became a nightmare for 41-year-old Justin Grainger's wife Amanda and their young daughter on Saturday. The accident left the family distraught, and unfortunately, the young mother had to fly home without their beloved husband and father. The beloved father and husband's body is still overseas while the family struggle pulling the finances together to bring him home (pictured: Tragically deceased Jud Grainger and his wife Amanda) Both extended family and friends were left shocked and heartbroken by the tradie's sudden death, banding together to raise money to bring his body home. 'A husband and father of two daughters, (Mr Grainger) was on holidays in the Maldives when he tragically drowned,' family friend Michelle Ryan wrote. The family's idyllic holiday in the Maldives (pictured) was turned upside down by the drowning death of Mr Grainger 'He was a guy who loved to have a chat with strangers, he would offer help to anyone he came in contact with, he was incredibly generous and loved a joke or prank.' '(He was) so humble that he never would have believed the amount people whose lives were better for having him in it,' Ms Ryan explained. The money friends and family have so far raised is put towards bringing Mr Grainger's body back to Digger's Rest, in Melbourne's northern suburbs. Mr Grainger's (pictured with his wife) family and friends have rallied to raise enough money to bring the body of the young plumber home His sister-in-law was among the many to make a heartfelt tribute, saying she had always wanted a brother and felt like she had one when her sister met Mr Grainger. 'You had a passion for living and giving to others in ways no one else did, you would quite literally give anyone the shirt off your back. 'You could walk into a room and make life long friends with anyone you met you always had a way to make everyone smile with a corny joke or twisted humour,' she wrote. Mr Grainger, she wrote, spoiled all his girls rotten - from his daughter to his in-laws, nieces and wife. 'Every time I crack open a beer you will be there in my thoughts,' she wrote. The costs of bringing back a body from overseas vary depending on the weight of the body and coffin and various airport fees but the price can often run well over $15,000. So far, friends of the family have raised $14,665, nearly half of the money required to bring him home on their GoFundMe page. Gladys Berejikilan has broken an eight month hiatus on Twitter for the first time since turning her back on politics. The former NSW Premier turned corporate executive has been silent on social media since stepping down as state leader last October in a shock resignation sparked by a corruption inquiry. She returned to Twitter on Thursday in her new role as Optus Managing Director of Enterprise, Business and Institutional to weigh in on a proposed network-sharing deal between telecommunications rivals TPG and Telstra. It was her first tweet since October 1 last year, the day Ms Berejiklian was forced to step down as NSW Premier after ICAC announced a probe into her doomed relationship with disgraced former MP Wagga Wagga Daryl Maguire. 'We put our customers first at Optus. The proposed Telstra/TPG merger is a backward step for millions of Australians,' Ms Berejiklian tweeted. Gladys Berejiklian (pictured) has turned her back on politics and joined the corporate world The former NSW Premier ended a eight month Twitter hiatus on Thursday The tweet also included a link to her letter published on Optus' website as the telecommunication giant pleads for the proposal to be blocked.,' Ms Berejiklian wrote. 'If this merger is allowed to proceed, customers will have less choice and be subject to higher prices.' 'Communities will also be more vulnerable during natural disasters if an alternative communications system doesn't exist.' She added regional areas need more communications infrastructure having seen first-hand the devastating impact of floods and fires statewide in her former role. 'Our regions need more telecommunications investment, better connectivity and improved services and the proposed Telstra/TPG network merger is a very big step backward,' Ms Berejiklian wrote. 'We must continue to provide regional businesses with the competitive communications that underpins further improvements, ingenuity, and growth. Regional Australia won't be the only beneficiaries of improved connectivity; as more parts of nations's economy flourishes, so does all of Australia.' Now working for Optus, Gladys Berejiklian (pictured boyfriend Arthur Moses) has slammed a proposed network-sharing deal between telecommunications rivals TPG and Telstra Ms Berejikilian, 51, fronted up to the media on a daily basis for several months during NSW's horror Delta outbreak and Sydney lockdown last year. The former premier abruptly resigned from office days out from the end of lockdown after ICAC announcing an investigation into whether she had breached public trust or encouraged corrupt behaviour during her relationship with former boyfriend, disgraced ex-MP Mr Maguire. 'My resignation as premier could not happen at a worse time, but the timing is completely outside of my control, as the ICAC has chosen to take this action during the most challenging weeks of the most challenging times in the history of NSW,' Ms Berejiklian said at the time. 'Resigning at this time is against every instinct of my being and something which I do not want to do. I love my job, and serving the community, but I have been given no option following the statement issued.' ICAC is yet to hand down its findings from the hearing late last year. Ms Berejiklian has spent recent months out of the spotlight and rejected offers to enter federal politics before joining the corporate sector in February. A woman who poisoned her partner with a toxic cocktail of prescription drugs, including morphine, valium and tramadol, has been found guilty of murder for a second time. Wendie-Sue Dent denied killing her de facto lover David Lawrence at the Adelaide home they shared in December 2015 to claim his $400,000 estate. The NSW woman had been named the beneficiary of his $175,000 superannuation fund and also stood to inherit the home valued at $235,000. Wendie-Sue Dent (pictured) denied killing her de facto lover David Lawrence at the Adelaide home they shared in December 2015 to claim his $400,000 estate Dent was originally convicted by a jury in April 2020, but later had that verdict overturned on appeal. After a second trial by judge alone, Supreme Court Justice Sophie David on Thursday again found her guilty. Justice David said prosecutors had argued that Dent told many lies in the days and months following the death of Mr Lawrence, out of a consciousness of guilt to lay a false trail. Justice Sophie David said prosecutors had argued that Dent told many lies in the days and months following the death of Mr Lawrence, out of a consciousness of guilt to lay a false trail (pictured, Dent viewing the crime scene in 2019) Defence counsel said there was no direct evidence that Dent administered the fatal drugs and it remained possible that Mr Lawrence had self-administered for pain relief. 'Notwithstanding defence counsel's arguments, I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Ms Dent administered the prescription drugs to the deceased,' the judge said. 'I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that this act or acts caused the death of the deceased, that her act or acts causing the deceased's death were without any lawful excuse or justification and that at the time she administered the drugs causing the deceased's death, she had a specific intention to kill him.' Under SA's sentencing laws, Dent will be jailed for life, but submissions in relation to a non-parole period will be heard at a later date. Advertisement Buckingham Palace today confirmed it has 'revised' its HR policies in the wake of a report into allegations of bullying by the Duchess of Sussex - but will never publish the bombshell investigation - as one insider claimed: 'The household seems to be terrified of upsetting or provoking Harry and Meghan.' The Queen announced the probe after sensational claims emerged 15 months ago following complaints by staff during a 'toxic period' before the couple emigrated in early 2020. 'Broken' royal aides told of feeling humiliated, 'sick', 'terrified', left 'shaking' with fear, and being reduced to tears. Meghan was accused of having inflicted 'emotional cruelty' on her staff and 'drove them out'. One branded the Sussexes 'outrageous bullies'. The palace employees who spoke out claimed to The Times last year that there had been a litany of alleged 'emotional cruelty'. A number of those aides who worked for the Sussexes were interviewed as part of the probe by a third party law firm. But today palace officials would confirm only that their investigation had concluded and recommendations on our policy and procedures had been taken forward. And amid a veil of secrecy over the probe, it is said that those who took part in the inquiry havent been told what the outcome is. Meghan and Harry were reportedly not interviewed over the allegations. One source said: People suspected it would be buried, and now it seems that it has. Considering those who participated did so at great personal and reputational risk to themselves, the fact that they havent even been told what the findings are is unfathomable. 'I am sure they will be deeply distressed, but perhaps not entirely surprised given how things have been handled. The household seems to be terrified of upsetting or provoking Harry and Meghan. Another insider critical of the probe, and the decision not to publish, declared: 'What was the point?'. Lawyers for the Sussexes vehemently denied the couple bullied or mistreated staff allegedly between late 2018 and early 2020. Meghan then accused the Royal Family of 'perpetuating falsehoods' about her and Harry in their interview with Oprah Winfrey that was released hours after the allegations emerged in March 2021. Controversial: Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, during last years interview with Oprah Winfrey, which was broadcast in March 2021 just hours after the bullying claims emerged. The couple returned to the UK in June for the Platinum Jubilee (right) but were largely in the background How the 2021 allegations unfolded with a statement from the Duchess of Sussex at the time saying it was a 'calculated smear campaign'. Harry and Meghan were reportedly not interviewed as part of the probe A spokesman for the Sussexes did not respond when asked to comment - nor did they respond to claims that the couple's lawyers had been in touch with the palace throughout the process. It is also not known if Harry's brother William and his wife Kate were asked to give evidence, because several of the aides at the centre of the row were shared between the Sussexes and the Cambridges. Royal aides announced in March last year that they were launching an inquiry into claims that Meghans belittling behaviour while a working member of the Royal Family drove two female personal assistants out of the household and undermined the confidence of a third. Staff were said to have been left in tears and feeling traumatised with some likening their condition to having post-traumatic stress. The Royal Household employed a third-party law firm, paid for by the family privately, to probe the claims in a move that some predicted could increase tensions between Harry and Meghan and the institution. The allegations have always been strongly denied by the duchess, whose lawyers described them at the time as a calculated smear campaign. They did not respond to requests for comment yesterday. Last year a palace spokesman made clear that the specifics of the allegations which were brought to the attention of senior household staff at the time by Harry and Meghans concerned press secretary, Jason Knauf would not be probed. But they said they would investigate how the historic allegations of bullying were handled by officials and whether any changes to their HR policies and procedures should be instigated as a result. A spokesman confirmed that if those findings were to be made public, they would be included in this years Sovereign Grant report the official annual review into the Queens public finances and the running of her household. But announcing the report yesterday, her Master of the Privy Purse, Sir Michael Stevens, said of the investigation: There is nothing on this in the report. As we said last year, this work was undertaken privately and had no Sovereign Grant money spent on it. The review has been completed and recommendations on our (HR) policy and procedures have been taken forward. But we will not be commenting further. The Mail understands that although the review was concluded several months ago, the tiny handful of former royal staff invited to take part only recently discovered it had been wound up. Buckingham Palace has effectively buried a report into allegations of bullying by the Duchess of Sussex (seen with Harry at Kensington Palace) In a statement in March 2021, Buckingham Palace announced a formal probe into the allegations The allegations have always been strongly denied by the duchess, whose lawyers described them at the time as a calculated smear campaign. They did not respond to requests for comment yesterday. Pictured: Lawyer Jenny Afia speaking on The Princes And The Press documentary The issue of the bullying report was raised during a briefing about the Sovereign Grant which showed: The Queens annual expenditure increased by 17 per cent to 102.4 million during 2021/22, forcing officials to dip into savings; The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are now financially independent, with royal sources saying this was of great credit to them; Sources said Prince Charles would never again accept suitcases stuffed with cash following a row over charity donations; The most expensive royal trip in the past year was the Duke and Duchess of Cambridges flights to the Caribbean, costing 226,000; Officials insisted they would keep the royal train, despite it being used just six times last year at an average cost of 34,307; Property maintenance soared by 14.4 million to 63.9 million, as the ten-year project to renovate Buckingham Palace reaches a crucial stage. Reports about Meghans alleged bullying of staff surfaced just ahead of her explosive Oprah Winfrey interview with Prince Harry early last year. The Palace said it took such claims seriously and vowed to investigate. Last year, however, the Mail established that only a tiny number of royal employees both past and present had been spoken to and that staff feared it was already being kicked into the long grass. Those interviewed included two of Meghans former personal assistants, another senior female member of staff and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, who was then working as Prince Williams private secretary. Asked why the report into alleged bullying had not even been privately disseminated, a senior royal aide claimed yesterday: One has to recognise HR matters involving individuals are private and those individuals who participated in the review... have a right to that confidentiality. Where there have been improvements that needed to be made to policies and procedures, those have been implemented. And those who participated in the review have been informed that the review has concluded and contained recommendations. Because of the confidentiality of the discussions, we have not communicated the detailed recommendations. Palace prioritised peace, whatever the cost to their staff Analysis by Rebecca English royal editor Allegations that the Duchess of Sussex systemically targeted and bullied female staff have been deeply troubling and problematic for the Royal Family since they were aired early last year. It was the first time a member of the Royal Family had been the subject of a formal complaint to senior management about their alleged behaviour and there was no formal HR policy in place to deal with it. The fact the allegations had first been made three years previously without any action seemingly being taken also uncomfortably accentuated the depth of the Palaces paralysis over the issue. The delicacy of the situation was further exacerbated by the state of relations between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the Royal Family. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex depart the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral during the Platinum Jubilee earlier this month In the wake of their acrimonious departure as working royals and explosive Oprah Winfrey interview, palace officials were simply unable to predict just how this most defensive of couples would react. This is why they decided to focus their inquiries on how the allegations against Meghan were handled, as opposed to the substance of the claims themselves, whose truth or falsity has not been objectively established. It seemed a neat-ish solution and one that was specifically designed to prevent the duchess and her legal team from having any say in what was being treated as a purely procedural matter. Now officials have confirmed what the Daily Mail suggested would happen back in December last year that their entire review is being buried, never to be made public. And as I reveal today, even the tiny handful of staff who were consulted during the process havent been told what, if anything, the Palace plans to do to sharpen up their procedures in the future. Senior palace officials such as the Queens private secretary, Sir Edward Young who I have been told by multiple sources was also frequently on the receiving end of the worst of the Sussexes ire wanted to do the right thing, but have clearly prioritised peace with Harry and Meghan over their workforce. It has led some within the household to ask the question: is how your staff are treated and protected really deemed less important than angering the Sussexes? The answer, for many, is clearly yes. Advertisement Bernie Ecclestone has said he would 'still take a bullet' for warring Russian dictator Vladimir Putin despite his bloody invasion of Ukraine - before defending long-term friend Nelson Piquet after he branded Lewis Hamilton the N-word. In a bizarre interview on Good Morning Britain, the ex-Formula 1 owner, 91, branded 69-year-old dictator Putin a 'first class person' and 'sensible', before telling Hamilton he should 'brush aside' Piquet's racial slur and 'be happy' with his apology. His former colleagues were quick to distance themselves from his remarks, with F1 releasing a statement to say they were 'in very stark contrast to the position of the modern values of our sport.' It comes after Russian attacks on apartment buildings and a shopping mall in Ukraine this week, the latter of which was branded a war crime by western leaders. Ecclestone, however, said such civilian losses were 'not intentional', despite tens of thousands of innocents feared dead at the hands of indiscriminate shelling. The billionaire is a long-time admirer of Putin and the duo have been seen at sporting events together, often in deep conversation or laughing. Their friendship blossomed following the introduction of the Russian Grand Prix in 2014. Even the day after Russian troops stormed Ukraine in February this year, Ecclestone described Putin as 'honourable' and someone who 'did exactly what he said he was going to do without any arguments.' Ecclestone had appeared from a sunny rooftop in Ibiza this morning to give his thoughts on the racism storm engulfing F1, defending Nelson Piquet, 69, after he branded Lewis Hamilton the N-word in an interview. In a bizarre interview on Good Morning Britain, former Formula 1 owner Bernie Ecclestone, 91, branded 69-year-old dictator Vladimir Putin a 'first class person' and 'sensible.' Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone (R) attend the Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix competition October 11, 2015 in Sochi, Russia Ecclestone had been invited on the show to discuss the latest racism storm engulfing F1, after a video surfaced of Nelson Piquet (pictured with Ecclestone) calling Lewis Hamilton the N-word while discussing his crash with Max Verstappen at Silverstone last year Ecclestone and his 45-year-old wife Fabiana Flosi photographed with friends leaving fish restaurant Es Xarco in ibiza, last summer The ex-F1 boss previously said he thought Putin should be running Europe and that the invasion of Crimea was just to 'bring Russia back together' Mr Eccelstone is a known admirer of the Russian President, and the duo have been seen at sporting events together. (Pictured at F1 event in Sochi, Russia, in 2018) Bernie and Vlad's friendship was born out of lucrative Formula One deal Bernie Ecclestone and Vladimir Putin's friendship blossomed following the introduction of the Formula One Russian Grand Prix in 2014. Sochi was announced as the host city of the annual event under a seven-year deal. However the 40million contract was ended in this year following the Ukraine invasion. After signing the initial contract, Bernie and Vlad were regularly seen sharing a box at sporting events over the years. They were often pictured in deep conversation or laughing while sharing a joke. Ecclestone first offered to take a bullet for Putin in 2019. He said at the time that he would 'stand in front of a machine gun' to save him, because he is a 'good guy.' He said he did not believe he was behind the infamous Novichok attack in Salisbury, accusing people of making things up. He said: ''He didn't do that. He would be too busy to be worrying about that sort of thing. Storytellers make these things up.' Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok on March 4 2018. Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after she came into contact with a perfume container used to carry the Novichok on June 30. The two suspects - known by their aliases Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov - were caught on CCTV in Salisbury the day before the attack, and in an interview claimed they were just visiting to see the town to see the cathedral. The Russian government has always denied any involvement in the incident. The ex-F1 boss also said he thought Putin should be running Europe and that the invasion of Crimea was just to 'bring Russia back together.' He added: 'I would like him running Europe,' he says. 'We haven't got anybody, so it couldn't be any worse. He does what he says he is going to do... 'I am not a supporter of democracy. You need a dictator. As a dictator, you say, 'This is what I am going to do.' In a democracy, it gets watered down.' Advertisement Ecclestone discovered Piquet, the son of a prominent Brazilian politician, more than 40 years ago, when he would sneak him onto the track in the boot of his car. Looking back on how he helped shape him into the champion he became, Ecclestone said in a 2020 interview that Brazilian Piquet was 'special', and a 'super competitor' who 'wanted to win.' Ecclestone's wife, Fabiana, 45, is also Brazilian. They met in 2009 when she was in the marketing department for the Brazilian Grand Prix. She was elected vice-president of the motoring governing body FIA last year, covering the South American region, which raised eyebrows among industry leaders. Speaking this morning, Ecclestone sparked outrage when he took a shot at Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying he was a comedian before the Ukraine war and appeared to 'want to continue being one.' He then insisted the invasion 'could have ended differently' if Zelensky had 'talked with Putin'. When pressed by journalist Kate Garraway, who asked if he believed a change in Zelensky's actions, rather than Putin's, could have avoided war, Ecclestone replied: 'Absolutely.' He added: 'What he's doing is something he believed was the right thing for Russia. 'Unfortunately, like a lot of business people, certainly like me, we make mistakes from time to time, and when you've made the mistake you have to do the best you can to get out of it.' He added: 'I think if it had been conducted properly - I mean the other person in Ukraine... I understand he used to be a comedian, and I think he seems to want to continue that profession... I think if he had thought about things he would have definitely made a big enough effort to speak to Mr Putin, who is a sensible person and would have listened to him and probably done something about it.' Presenter Ben Shephard quizzed Ecclestone about the thousands of innocent lives killed in Ukraine, asking him: 'You can't justify that, surely?' Ecclestone responded: 'I don't. It wasn't intentional - look at all times America has moved into different countries which is nothing to do with America.' He added: 'And I'm quite sure Ukraine, if they'd wanted to get out of it properly, could have done.' Asked if he has had a chance to speak to Putin about 'what a mess' the situation is or urged him to rethink what he is doing, Ecclestone said: 'No. He's probably thought about that himself. He probably doesn't need reminding. 'I'm absolutely sure he now wishes he hadn't started this whole business, but didn't start as a war.' Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has led the condemnation of his remarks, telling GMB: 'I think those comments are extraordinary, absolutely extraordinary.' She added: 'This is a man who has perpetrated an appalling war, involving the systematic rape of women, the targeting of civilians in shopping centres. Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton arrives at the paddock ahead of the British Grand Prix 2022 at Silverstone, Towcester, on June 30, 2022 Ecclestone said Lewis Hamilton (pictured arriving to British Grand Prix at Silverstone today) should be 'happy' with Piquet's apology for using a racial slur against him Max Verstappen pictured at Silverstone today. Lewis Hamilton's race rival is dating Nelson Piquet's daughter Kelly Nelson Piquet, left, at dinner with his daughter Kelly, right, and her F1 world champion boyfriend Max Verstappen, centre 'I find those comments absolutely extraordinary by Bernie Ecclestone. Clearly Vladimir Putin is toxic, the Prime minister is right to have said that.' Ms Truss said she found 'apologists' for Putin 'absolutely shocking', when they can clearly see the 'appalling' atrocities unfolding in Ukraine. Formula One added: 'The comments made by Bernie Ecclestone are his personal views and are in very stark contrast to the position of the modern values of our sport.' Ecclestone had been invited on the show to discuss the latest racism storm engulfing F1, after a video surfaced of Nelson Piquet calling Lewis Hamilton the N-word while discussing his crash with Max Verstappen at Silverstone last year. While the Brazilian has apologised and insisted his language had no racist intent, he faces being banned from the F1 paddock. But Ecclestone, his long time pal, rushed to his defence today. He told GMB: 'I've known Nelson for an awful long time. I was with him a couple of weeks ago. Social media users branded Ecclestone a 'small minded idiot' for his comments on Ukraine and the latest F1 drama involving the N-word and Lewis Hamilton Bernie Ecclestone: No stranger to controversy Bernie Ecclestone's comments today in defence of Vladimir Putin and Nelson Piquet are just another in a long list of controversies to plague the 91-year-old billionaire's career. Here we list them below. Hitler comments He was previously forced to apologise when speaking in praise of Adolf Hitler, saying he was a man that could 'get things done.' At the same time, he accused Jews of failing to solve the banking crisis, even though 'they have a lot of influence everywhere'. A spokesman for Germany's Central Council of Jews said: 'No team should work with him any more - a boycott would be more than appropriate.' Later, Ecclestone said he was 'so sorry' and called himself 'an idiot'. Bribery accusation Ecclestone was accused of paying a 27million kickback to disgraced banker Gerhard Gribkowsky in 2005, to get him to sell his bank's holdings in Formula One to a client of Ecclestone's choosing. The sport's boss claimed the money was not in dispute but that he paid it because he was being 'shaken down' and wanted Gribkowsky to keep silent about his wealth to British tax authorities. Ecclestone was cleared of bribery charges in August 2014 after he paid a German criminal court 60million. The case caused anger in Germany where critics said Ecclestone had been 'washed clean' thanks to his 'spectacular' payment. Campaigners said allowing the defendant to use his wealth to stop a criminal prosecution was 'worrying'. Racism remarks When seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton launched a commission to tackle racism and diversity in F1 following the murder of George Floyd, Ecclestone initially praised the idea. However he then asked whether it would 'do anything bad or good for Formula One', before adding: 'In a lot of cases, black people are more racist than white people are.' Hamilton took to Instagram to brand Ecclestone 'ignorant and uneducated', before the Formula One Group was forced to issue a statement saying they 'completely disagree with Bernie Ecclestone's comments that have no place in Formula 1 or society.' Alleged tax avoidance During his bribery investigation in Germany, it emerged that Ecclestone had been probed by the UK tax authorities for nine years for allegedly avoiding the payment of 1.2 billion through a legal tax avoidance scheme. The matter was brought to a close in 2008 when HM Revenue and Customs agreed to settle with a payment of 10million. Arrest for gun in suitcase Most recently, on May 25 this year, Ecclestone was arrested for illegally carrying a firearm while boarding a private plane to Switzerland in Brazil. The undocumented LW Seecamp .32 was found in his luggage by a scanner. Ecclestone claimed he was unaware it was in his bag before paying a bill and jetting to Switzerland as planned. Advertisement 'It's not the sort of thing Nelson would say meaning something bad. 'He probably thinks lots of things he says which might upset us or might feel a little bit offensive.... to him it's nothing. It's just part of conversation. 'Nelson would never go out of his way to say anything bad, certainly. 'I think what probably happened, knowing Nelson as I know him, as his daughter is the girlfriend of Max Verstappen, probably after seeing the accident, he probably exploded and carried that forward.' At a press conference today head of this weekend's Silverstone Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton said: 'I don't know why we are giving the older voices a platform. 'We are looking to go somewhere different and they are not representative of who we are now in the sport. 'If we are looking to grow our audiences and give the younger people a platform that are more representative of today's times... it is not just about one individual or the use of that term but the bigger picture.' Hamilton continued:: 'I am incredibly grateful to all of those who have been supportive within the sport, particularly the drivers. 'It has been two years since many of us took the knee at the first race in Austria and we are still faced with challenges. 'I have been on the receiving end of racism and criticism and that negativity and archaic narratives for a long time and undertones of discrimination, so there is nothing new for me.' Social media users reacted furiously to Piquet's comments, with one tweeting: 'What a small minded idiot', while others accused him of being 'racist.' It is not the first time Ecclestone has courted controversy after first offering to take a bullet for Putin, a longtime friend of his, in 2019. He said at the time that he would 'stand in front of a machine gun' to save him, because he is a 'good guy.' He said he did not believe he was behind the infamous Novichok attack in Salisbury, accusing people of making things up. He said: ''He didn't do that. He would be too busy to be worrying about that sort of thing. Storytellers make these things up.' Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok on March 4 2018. Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after she came into contact with a perfume container used to carry the Novichok on June 30. The two suspects - known by their aliases Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov - were caught on CCTV in Salisbury the day before the attack, and in an interview claimed they were just visiting to see the town to see the cathedral. The Russian government has always denied any involvement in the incident. The ex-F1 boss also said he thought Putin should be running Europe and that the invasion of Crimea was just to 'bring Russia back together.' He added: 'I would like him running Europe,' he says. 'We haven't got anybody, so it couldn't be any worse. He does what he says he is going to do . . . 'I am not a supporter of democracy. You need a dictator. As a dictator, you say, 'This is what I am going to do.' In a democracy, it gets watered down.' Mr Eccelstone is a known admirer of the Russian President, and the duo have been seen at sporting events together. They were spotted deep in conversation at the Russian Grand Prix in 2014 and Mr Eccelstone previously described Putin as a 'first-class person'. It is not the first time Mr Ecclestone - who stood down at the CEO of Formula One in 2017 - has stirred controversy. He was previously forced to apologise when speaking in praise of Adolf Hitler, saying he was a man that could 'get things done.' At the same time, he accused Jews of failing to solve the banking crisis, even though 'they have a lot of influence everywhere'. A spokesman for Germany's Central Council of Jews said: 'No team should work with him any more - a boycott would be more than appropriate.' Later, Ecclestone said he was 'so sorry' and called himself 'an idiot'. He insisted 'things were taken a little bit wrong' and his praise of the German tyrant was 'not what he meant' before adding: 'Those who don't know me think I support Hitler's atrocities; those who do know me have told me how unwise I was to articulate my points so badly that it should have been so widely misunderstood. 'During the 1930s Germany was facing an economic crisis but Hitler was able to rebuild the economy, building the autobahns and German industry. 'That was all I meant when I referred to him getting things done. 'I'm an admirer of good leadership, of politicians who stand by their convictions and tell the voters the truth. 'I'm not an admirer of dictators, who rule by terror.' Mr Ecclestone is a known admirer of the Russian President. They have previously attended sporting events together, and were spotted deep in conversation at the Russian Grand Prix in 2014 In another interview, he added: 'Hitler brought a country that was bankrupt into a country that was very strong and that was really demonstrating what someone could do if they had the power and didn't have to keep back and referring every five minutes. 'The trouble with politicians and democracy is they all the time have to compromise, they can't do what they want to do because there is somebody in opposition. I regret it didn't come out like that.' In The Times interview, Ecclestone also referred to close friend Max Mosley, who was President of the motor racing body, the FIA, before taking his own life last May. He then suggested the son of British fascist Sir Oswald Mosley would do a 'super job' as Prime Minister. Mosley fought a privacy battle with a Sunday newspaper after he was exposed enjoying what was described as a Nazi-themed sadomasochistic orgy. However, a judge later ruled there was no evidence of the 'Nazi theme' and Ecclestone said of Mosley: 'He's a good leader with people. 'I don't think his background would be a problem.' In 2014, Mr Ecclestone was cleared of bribery charges after he paid a German criminal court 60million. The case has caused anger in Germany where critics said Ecclestone who was accused of paying a banker a 27million bribe had been 'washed clean' thanks to his 'spectacular' payment. Campaigners said allowing the defendant to use his wealth to stop a criminal prosecution was 'worrying'. Chinese President Xi Jinping railed against Hong Kong pro-democracy activists on Thursday as he arrived to attend celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China. Xi travelled into the city by high-speed train, the first time he has left mainland China since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. 'In the past period, Hong Kong has experienced more than one serious test, and overcome more than one risk and challenge,' Xi said after arriving at a high-speed train station in the heart of the city. 'After the storms, Hong Kong has been reborn of fire and emerged with robust vitality... The facts have proved that One Country, Two Systems has great vitality. 'I'm very happy to be in Hong Kong. It's been five years since I last visited, and in the past five years I've been paying attention to and thinking about Hong Kong,' he said. His visit prompted a massive security effort in the city, which under Xi's leadership has been reshaped in the past two years with officials cracking down on protest and freedom of speech and introducing a more 'patriotic' curriculum in schools. The changes, which prompted huge violent protests across the city in 2019, have all but eliminated opposition voices and driven many to leave. Friday's anniversary also marks the halfway point of the 50-year governance model agreed by Britain and China under which the city would keep some autonomy and freedoms. Critics say a national security law imposed by Beijing after the 2019 protests has eviscerated those promised freedoms. Some analysts see Xi's visit as a victory lap. Chinese President Xi Jinping (pictured today) arrived in Hong Kong Thursday to attend celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China China's President Xi Jinping waves as he delivers a speech upon his arrival in Hong Kong Chinese President Xi Jinping waves at people welcoming his arrival at the West Kowloon railway station, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the former British colony's handover to Chinese rule, in Hong Kong, China June 30, 2022 Supporters at the train station waving Chinese and Hong Kong flags chanted 'Welcome, welcome! Warm welcome!' as Xi's train pulled into the station on Thursday. Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were welcomed by the city's leader, Carrie Lam, as they alighted the train. Xi waved at the supporters who welcomed him on the platform. He later greeted John Lee, the city's incoming leader, and Leung Chun-ying, a former chief executive of the city, along with other officials. 'As long as we stick to the 'one country, two systems' framework, Hong Kong will certainly have a brighter future and will make new and bigger contributions to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people,' Xi said. Elsewhere in the train station, supporters stood on either side of a red carpet, also waving Chinese and Hong Kong flags. Some held up banners welcoming Xi and a lion dance performance was held. Xi is expected to speak about Hong Kong's future at a ceremony on Friday marking the return of the former British colony to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997. Hong Kong and nearby Macao are special administrative regions that are governed separately from the rest of China, known as the Chinese mainland. They are governed by the constitutional principle of 'one country, two systems' - which Xi referred to today in his speech - which states that Hong Kong should have its own governmental system, legal, economic and financial affairs, including trade relations with foreign countries - independent from mainland China. However, with the 2020 passage of the National Security Law, both the UK and the Unites States condemned China for breaching this principle. Xi has not left China since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. China has maintained a strict 'zero-COVID' policy that aims to keep the virus out. Xi's last overseas trip was to Myanmar in January 2020. A special unit of the Hong Kong police provides security in the city's Wanchai district on June 30, 2022, as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Hong Kong to attend celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China Policeman walk past water-filled security barriers near the High-Speed Rail Station in West Kowloon district, Hong Kong, China, 30 June 2022 Police officers inspect journalists' bags at a media position outside the Hong Kong West Kowloon railway station, before the 25th anniversary of the former British colony's handover to Chinese rule, in Hong Kong, China June 30, 2022 Government leaders have been forced into an anti-Covid 'closed-loop' system, parts of the city shut down, and multiple journalists barred from Friday events that will showcase the Communist Party's control over the city after a political crackdown that dismantled a democracy movement and crushed dissent. Details around the trip, Xi's first outside mainland China since the pandemic began, have been kept under wraps, but he is expected to make appearances in Hong Kong on Thursday and Friday. However, the Chinese leader will likely spend the night in neighbouring Shenzhen on the mainland - 15 minutes from Hong Kong by train - according to local media. Those coming into Xi's orbit during the trip, including the highest-ranking government officials, have been made to limit their social contacts, take daily PCR tests and check into a quarantine hotel in the days leading up to the visit. 'To play safe, if we are going to meet the paramount leader and other leaders in close quarters, I think it is worthwhile to go into the closed-loop arrangements,' veteran pro-Beijing politician Regina Ip told AFP news agency. Authorities have moved to eliminate any potential source of embarrassment during Xi's time in the city, with national security police making at least nine arrests over the past week. Lui Kam-ho, a senior policeman, warned this week against any acts of violence or public disorder. The police force of more than 30,000 said it would deploy its resources to ensure security for the celebrations. China's President Xi Jinping arrives following a high-speed rail journey across the border, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the former British colony's handover to Chinese rule, in Hong Kong, China June 30, 2022 'After the storms, Hong Kong has been reborn of fire and emerged with robust vitality... The facts have proved that One Country, Two Systems has great vitality,' Xi said upon his arrival A convoy of China's President Xi Jinping drives past as he arrives to mark the 25th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China, in Hong Kong, Thursday, June 30, 2022 The League of Social Democrats (LSD), one of Hong Kong's few remaining opposition groups, said it will not demonstrate on July 1 after national security officers spoke with volunteers associated with the group. LSD leaders told AFP their homes had been searched, and that they had also had conversations with the police. Chan Po-ying, the group's president, said that over the last few days she had begun to feel that she was being followed and watched. 'In the past there was something like this too, but not as bad as this year,' the veteran activist said. Hong Kong's top polling group announced that it would delay publishing the results of a survey that gauged government popularity 'in response to suggestions from relevant government departments after their risk assessment'. The July 1 handover anniversary in Hong Kong has traditionally been marked by tens of thousands taking to the streets in peaceful rallies every year. But mass gatherings have essentially disappeared in Hong Kong over the past few years under a mixture of coronavirus restrictions and a security crackdown aimed at eliminating any public opposition to China's uncompromising rule over the city. 2019: Protestors in Hong Kong shine laser pointers during a clash with police during anti-government protests in the city 2019: Protesters use umbrellas to shield themselves during a demonstration 2019: A molotov cocktail is thrown by protesters in Hong Kong during clashes with police Authorities have tightly restricted media coverage of Xi's visit, with the government barring multiple journalists from covering events around it. As of Wednesday, AFP has confirmed that 13 local and international journalists were denied accreditation to cover the handover celebrations. Two AFP reporters were among those rejected, with a government official citing unspecified 'security reasons'. A third AFP reporter was later granted accreditation. There are large-scale road closures on Hong Kong Island, and the flying of drones has been temporarily banned throughout the entire city, with police citing security concerns. Select sites across the financial hub have also been closed off, including the high-speed rail terminus, a performance venue for Chinese opera and Hong Kong's Science Park. A number of Science Park workers told AFP they had not received any notification about a visit by Xi but said they were told to work from home on Thursday. Authorities have also sought to portray an image of public support for the celebrations, including with mass displays of Hong Kong and China flags draped across dozens of public housing estates. At one estate, a 26-year-old resident surnamed Chan complained at small flags that had been placed outside every floor at a stairwell. 'It is unnecessary and too much,' he told AFP. Tony, a worker at the estate, said the display would be better if it was done by residents voluntarily. 'Are we really embracing this ideology so much?' he told AFP. 'People may be repelled... if it is overdone.' How Hong Kong was swallowed by the Chinese dragon: Just 25 years after Britain's handover, IAN BIRRELL laments how, despite Beijing's promises, the vibrant beacon of freedom has been crushed by communist tyranny By Ian Birrell for the Daily Mail For almost half a century, the glitzy Jumbo Floating Restaurant was one of Hong Kongs best-known sights as it sat majestically in the stunning harbour surrounded by skyscrapers, serving seafood and suckling pig to celebrities, royals and tourists. Built in the style of a Ming dynasty imperial palace, the landmark vessel was 260ft long and could seat 2,300 diners. Once the worlds biggest floating restaurant, it had appeared in several hit films including a Bond movie. But earlier this month, having been crippled financially by Covid then towed away by tug boats, the restaurant with its dragon throne, murals and six-storey pagoda capsized and sank to the bottom of the South China Sea. For some Hong Kongers, the sinking of such an icon serves as a perfect metaphor for the capsizing of their own dreams of freedom and democracy as their citys unique status is scuttled by brutal communist bosses in Beijing. Never mind that the dim sum was often dreadful, the dishes bland, the bill inflated this event symbolised the death of Hong Kongs good old days, in the words of one resident. And just as there seems minimal chance of raising the huge craft 3,000ft from its resting place on the seabed, few citizens cling to much hope of salvaging that spirit of dynamism, openness and optimism it represented and which made Hong Kong so special. The old Hong Kong has gone, said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute, who wrote a history of his beloved birthplace. It is being brought in line with the rest of China and this is incredibly sad for anyone who was born there or lived there. The old Hong Kong is gone. It all seemed 25 years ago amid the pomp, pageantry and earnest promises to protect precious freedoms when the Union Flag was lowered for the last time and Hong Kong handed back to China after 156 years of British rule A ruthless dictatorship has crushed this former British colony with dizzying speed since the eruption of pro-democracy protests in 2019, using local stooges to lock up dissidents, silence journalists, intimidate business leaders and stifle the rule of law. It is depressing to see so many of the activists, civic leaders and politicians that I met while reporting on the protests being jailed or fleeing to stay free. Former legislator Ted Hui, now in Australia, told me more than 100 of his friends are behind bars. Its heartbreaking Hong Kong lost its freedom almost overnight and faces a long, dark age. People are being sent to jail every day. The prosecutions go on and on. How different it all seemed 25 years ago amid the pomp, pageantry and earnest promises to protect precious freedoms when the Union Flag was lowered for the last time and Hong Kong handed back to China after 156 years of British rule. The story of this great city is about the years before this night and the years of success that will surely follow it, proclaimed Chris Patten, the last British governor, before he carried away the flag at a rain-sodden ceremony on June 30, 1997. Among those attending were Labour prime minister Tony Blair, Chinas President Jiang Zemin and Prince Charles. There were a few protests and most dignitaries left drenched, but the mood was calm with choirs and 21-gun salutes. Later, Patten walked with the Prince on to the Royal Yacht Britannia as a band played Auld Lang Syne a moment seen as bringing down the curtain on an empire that covered one third of the planets land at its peak six decades earlier. Yet unlike other former colonies, the booming city state was not set free. Under a controversial deal agreed by Margaret Thatcher, it was given to China, with a scheme called One Country, Two Systems supposed to protect its freedoms until 2047. The big question is whether Britain was gullible to trust a vicious communist dictatorship with a bloodstained history of atrocities. For this was a time when most experts thought growth would drive China to become more liberal, more like Hong Kong. With the benefit of hindsight, many would answer with a resounding yes. The British and rest of the international community were naive in believing that such an authoritarian regime would let people have freedom, although many people believed that China might open up, said Dennis Kwok, an exiled political activist. Soon after the handover, Blair displaying his trademark naivety on foreign policy and complacency about authoritarian regimes insisted there was unstoppable momentum to democracy in China after the nation joined a global trade body. How hollow such words sound today following the tide of dystopian horrors inflicted not just on Hong Kong but against Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, Buddhists in Tibet and brave dissidents daring to challenge Chinas repressive rule. Thatcher signed the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration with reluctance but felt she had no option. Britain, having seized Hong Kong Island during the First Opium War in the 19th century, had agreed a treaty after the Second Opium War taking control for 99 years of the islands and more land The New Territories in the area. That lease ended on July 1, 1997. Chris Patten (right), the 28th and last governor of colonial Hong Kong, receives the Union Jack flag after it was lowered for the last time at Government House. Under a controversial deal agreed by Margaret Thatcher, it was given to China, with a scheme called One Country, Two Systems supposed to protect its freedoms until 2047. Thatcher signed the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration with reluctance but felt she had no option. That lease ended on July 1, 1997 Thatcher reportedly told one Hong Kong banker she saw the Chinese as savages, although later argued that we had to negotiate with the cards that we possessed. After the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 in Beijing, pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong demanded an end to the continuing negotiations but Britain decided to continue with the process after receiving assurances from the Chinese. Patten, to his credit and as recounted in his entertaining new book The Hong Kong Diaries, spent five years as governor battling bovine bureaucrats in both Beijing and Whitehall in a bid to introduce and embed democratic reforms. But it was too little, too late and now they have been ripped up with such force that even the last governors elderly friends such as Cardinal Zen, a 90-year-old former Catholic bishop, and Martin Lee, a mild-mannered 82-year-old barrister known as the Father of Democracy, are among those targeted by the cruel regime. Hong Kong was a frenetic melting pot of more than seven million people from all over the planet, a vibrant place that had evolved into a financial powerhouse serving as a unique bridge between China and the West. Yet Patten reminds us that many were refugees from communism who fled the persecution of landowners, from the starvation (even cannibalism) of the great famine and its tombstone politics, from the horrors and brutalities of modern Chinese crackdowns on any dissent. Xi has speeded up the strangulation of Hong Kong most infamously with the draconian National Security Law used to throttle freedoms that made it such an unusual corner of China Like others, he places much of the blame for the clampdown on Chinas latest dictator Xi Jinping, the fiercely nationalist and vain president who has ratcheted up repression and extreme state control backed by high-tech surveillance since taking over the leadership a decade ago. Patten pointed to the infamous Document Number Nine, circulated in communist circles after Xi took power, which warned against Western values such as democracy, economic freedom and a free Press liberal tenets that used to be on display in Hong Kong. He believes the ferocity of the clampdown exposes Xis fear over the despotic regimes strength. When they arrest a 90-year-old cardinal, it does not show any confidence in their system of government, said the former Tory chairman. Certainly Xi has speeded up the strangulation of Hong Kong most infamously with the draconian National Security Law used to throttle freedoms that made it such an unusual corner of China. This measure, criminalising criticism of the Chinese state, was secretly drafted after a blundering effort by Beijings stooges to permit extradition to China sparked the 2019 protests which were joined at times by up to two million people. The vile law alone has been used to jail about 200 people and even in efforts to silence foreigners. Benedict Rogers, British head of the human rights group Hong Kong Watch, was ordered to take down his organisations website or face possible imprisonment even though he lives in the UK. Rogers, who once lived as a journalist in Hong Kong, refused. But now he must be wary, like some other critics of this appalling regime, of travelling to places that possess extradition treaties with China for fear of a potential life sentence in prison. Half the world is off limits, said another leading activist, who lives with his family in another Western nation. Kidnapping is also a possibility, so I stay alert all the time. Criminalising criticism of the Chinese state was secretly drafted after a blundering effort by Beijings stooges to permit extradition to China sparked the 2019 protests which were joined at times by up to two million people Such is the extent of the Orwellian repression that library books are being removed, school texts replaced to ensure slavish loyalty to Beijing and parents have stopped talking about politics at home in case their children blurt out something wrong in public. Elections were at first postponed then only patriots permitted on ballot papers after pro-democracy politicians were accused of subversion for saying they opposed the government. Yet, sickeningly, some Britons still serve at senior level in the police force enforcing the crackdown while five UK judges sit on the bench of the highest court including Jonathan Sumption, who loves to pontificate about democracy and freedom. There is talk Xi might head to Hong Kong for the anniversary when residents will be given souvenirs such as mugs and pens to drive home Beijings message that it is a day of celebration rather than mourning for lost freedoms. In the latest move, history is being rewritten to suggest that Hong Kong was never a British colony. Instead, school books claim that Westminster only exercised colonial rule a subtle distinction to highlight Chinas claims of unbroken sovereignty. Chung Ching Kwong was born the year before handover so grew up in a freer Hong Kong when many dared hope China would honour its promises. I was taught to think critically, but now it feels like that world I knew has been turned upside down, she said. Many of the participants in the 2019 demonstrations were young, often teenagers, and highly-educated. They admitted to their fears and the futility of challenging China with umbrellas and wok lids to place over rounds of tear gas Then as a teenage school pupil, she witnessed the shocking moment when police fired tear gas for the first time on their citizens during the Umbrella protests of 2014 something that became routine during the demonstrations five years later, which were scarred by worsening police brutality. I saw that many of the participants in the 2019 demonstrations were young, often teenagers, and highly-educated. They admitted to their fears and the futility of challenging China with umbrellas and wok lids to place over rounds of tear gas. What alternative do we have? one asked me. Kwong, a Hong Kong campaigner who works with IPAC, an alliance of MPs in democratic countries pushing for firmer response to China, told me she anticipated Beijings breach of the treaty with Britain but I never expected it to be so quick. She was not alone: the demolition of the deal, the breaking of all those promises agreed by Chinese leaders, has taken place with disturbing speed. Kwong, currently studying in Germany, will this week join those Hong Kongers moving to Britain. According to the latest government figures, there have been 123,400 applications for the special visa scheme launched two years ago in response to the repression that offers a fresh start here. The clampdown on civil liberties, which coincided with Hong Kongs bungled response to Covid, has seen the population shrink for two years after six decades of annual growth that saw it double in size. Firms have seen an exodus of senior foreign staff and complain it can take months to find replacements while analysts predict a sharp fall in prices for the worlds most expensive residential property market. Some firms have begun warning it may be impossible to continue in a city that seems to have slammed shut its doors. Other multinationals such as the HSBC and Standard Chartered banks have, however, shamefully kowtowed to Beijing, even praising the National Security Law. The clampdown on civil liberties, which coincided with Hong Kongs bungled response to Covid, has seen the population shrink for two years after six decades of annual growth that saw it double in size Hong Kongs adoption of Chinas zero-Covid policy on the pandemic fuelled the sense of isolation after the virus emerged out of central China in January 2020. The government failed to vaccinate a sufficient number of elderly people, so when their defences were breached by the Omicron variant more than 8,000 people died in three months. Ironically, the Hollywood hit movie Contagion about a global pandemic, which starred Gwyneth Paltrow was filmed at Jumbo Floating Restaurant. Last month, Beijing picked John Lee, the hardline security chief sanctioned by the U.S. for overseeing the crackdown, as the territorys next chief executive a move seen as underscoring its relentless focus on stability rather than prosperity. Among those forced to flee recently is Michael Vidler, a human rights and criminal lawyer who spent 30 years building up a thriving Hong Kong practice before having to leave suddenly in April amid fears he was being targeted by Beijing. Even as he left the airport, Vidler was harassed by up to ten Chinese media reporters taking photographs and asking if he was a traitor. As he knew better than most, hostile Press campaigns are often used by the state as a prelude to arrest. The British lawyer had already seen legal colleagues in China barred from doing their job on baseless public nuisance grounds. I felt a quiet but profound sense of foreboding that this time had come for Hong Kong lawyers like me, he said. Hong Kong is becoming just another bustling Chinese city filled with fearful citizens under the rigid control of corrupt communist bosses in Beijing, brutish security forces and some of the worlds most intense surveillance Vidler arrived as a young man in Hong Kong entranced by its dynamism and freedom, the best police force in Asia and a system of government rooted in law. Now I see it as a police state, he said. There is no opposition in the legislative council, civil society is not functioning, people are cowed and the police are even goose-stepping in parades. Like all other Britons and Hong Kongers I spoke to last week, Vidler spoke of his sadness at the ruination of one of the worlds most remarkable places. Hong Kong is now unrecognisable from the place that I loved, he said. One financier I met on a protest told me she had begrudgingly left. The harsh truth is that Hong Kong with its unique spirit, evolved through an unusual stew of cultures, history and geography lies wrecked, just like that landmark restaurant. It is becoming just another bustling Chinese city filled with fearful citizens under the rigid control of corrupt communist bosses in Beijing, brutish security forces and some of the worlds most intense surveillance. And that is a tragic loss for the whole world. Piers Corbyn has been told he has to pay more than 1,000 after breaking Covid rules by attending anti-lockdown protests in London. The 75-year-old, who is the brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, was found guilty of taking part in four different rule-breaking gatherings in 2020. Westminster Magistrates' Court heard the gatherings breached Covid restrictions by having more people present than was allowed, and took place between August 29 and December 31, 2020. The Metropolitan Police said Corbyn, who has become well known for his anti-lockdown views, was fined 750 and told to pay 275 in costs and 109 in surcharges for his participation in incidents in Trafalgar Square, Westminster and South Bank. These incidents saw more than 30 people gathering at a time when regulations said groups of more than six people were not allowed to meet outside unless certain exemptions applied. Piers Corbyn, pictured here hosting an anti-lockdown protest on New Year's Eve on London's South Bank, has been told to pay more than 1,000 for being involved in four gatherings that breached Covid rules The 75-year-old, who is pictured here being arrested at an anti-lockdown protest in Trafalgar Square on August 29, 2020, is well known for his Covid conspiracy theories Fellow protesters Vincent Dunmall, 55, from Orpington, south-east London, and Louise Creffield, 36, of Brighton, were also found guilty of taking part in three of the gatherings between August 29 and October 24 2020. Creffield was fined 250 for all three dates and she also had to pay 50 in prosecution costs and 34 in surcharges. Dunmall was fined 175 and he also had to pay 75 in prosecution costs and 34 in surcharges. Detective Inspector Chris Rudd, of the Metropolitan Police, said: 'It was saddening to have to deal with these incidents where large numbers of people illegally gathered in breach of Covid regulations during a national emergency period. 'At a time when so many members of the public were making considerable sacrifices and abiding by the rules to keep others safe, these individuals acted selfishly and risked spreading the virus. 'However, our policing response demonstrated that we were prepared to take action and issue fixed penalty notices to those deliberately flouted the rules.' Corbyn attended dozens of anti-lockdown protests across the country during the pandemic, including events in London, Manchester and Bristol. Jeremy Corbyn's brother Piers (right) is a well-known conspiracy theorist who has spouted claims that the coronavirus is linked to 5G mobile networks. Pictured with him at the August 29 demo in 2020 is struck-off nurse Kate Shemirani (left), who has also spouted conspiracy theories about the disease More than 10,000 Covid conspiracy theorists who believe the virus is a hoax gathered in London's Trafalgar Square on August 29, 2020, to protest against lockdown restrictions and vaccination programmes. Piers Corbyn has been fined for his role in this protest The four events he was fined for yesterday are gatherings at Trafalgar Square on August 29 and September 26, in Westminster on October 24 and on the South Bank on December 31. All took place in 2020. Creffield and Dunmall were both fined for the same gatherings in Trafalgar Square and at Westminster. At the first of these more than 10,000 Covid conspiracy theorists gathered in London to demonstrate against lockdown restrictions and vaccination programmes. The 'Unite for Freedom' rally saw speeches Corbyn and other conspiracy theorists, such as David Icke and struck-off nurse Kate Shermirani. Demonstrators at the event called for an 'end to Government lies' and the restoration of all freedoms as they marched past Downing Street towards the Houses of Parliament. Corbyn was pictured at the protest being taken away by a gaggle of mask-wearing police officers, who hauled him into a van, with the Met Police announcing afterwards they had arrested a 73-year-old man on suspicion of breaking the new coronavirus health protection regulations at Trafalgar Square. Corbyn had been arrested months before on May 16 and May 30 while protesting in Hyde Park as well. He was taken into custody after using a microphone to say 'vaccination is not necessary' and '5G towers will be installed everywhere', adding: '5G enhances anyone who's got illness from Covid, so they work together.' A massive crowd of people walks through the streets of London during an anti-lockdown protest on August 29, 2020, that Corbyn was involved in There is no evidence to link 5G and Covid-19 and scientists fear that a rise in measles among children can be attributed in part to unfounded fears about vaccines. He later claimed that despite being found guilty of breaching rules for the May 16 gathering, he was not fined after being given an absolute discharge. Among the other gatherings he has been fined for is a demonstration on London's South Bank on New Year's Eve 2020. In the video of the protest, Corbyn was seen confronting a line of police officers along the South Bank close to the London Eye, where thousands usually gather for New Year's Eve celebrations which were cancelled that year due to Covid restrictions. Corbyn bragged that around 1,000 people took part in the protest but in the video, barely two dozen are visible. Corbyn, who became one of the country's leading anti-lockdown voices, posted a video of what was dubbed the 'NYE Party of Parties' on his Twitter feed after a gathering on London's South Bank on December 31, 2020. Here he is pictured holding a flaming torch at the protest Corbyn, who was fined for his role in the New Year's Eve gathering, had bragged that around 1,000 people took part in the protest, but in a video of it barely two dozen are visible. Here he is pictured speaking to police officers at the protest Wearing a black woolly hat, Corbyn was seen leading a group of protestors chanting 'Freedom' as they approached the police line. Despite attempts by officers to prevent them from continuing, they manage to break through and continue along the banks of the River Thames. Seconds later, he was confronted by a group of police officers and appeared to be having a conversation with them before the fixed penalty notice of 200 was believed to have been issued. He later stood as a candidate in the London Mayoral elections in 2021, declaring he would 'end lockdown on day one as mayor'. He finished 11th with 20,604 votes while his party, Let London Live, finished 12th in the London Assembly election with 15,755 votes. A commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urged Google and Apple to drop TikTok from their app stores due to data security concerns on the famous Chinese-owned video app. Republican Brendan Carr wrote to Apple and Google on Tuesday, stating that TikTok has a "pattern of conduct and misrepresentations regarding the unfettered access that persons in Beijing have to sensitive U.S. user data" that breached their rules and therefore should be removed from the app store, as per a report from The New York Times. Because the FCC does not regulate app stores and its Democratic chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel generally sets the commission's agenda, commissioner Carr's request is unlikely to be granted. However, it underscores the constant pressure Washington authorities have put on Chinese tech firms. US Government Closely Monitoring TikTok Both former President Trump and President Biden have expressed concerns about TikTok due to privacy and national security issues. After potential agreements with Microsoft and Oracle fell through, the Trump administration gave TikTok deadlines to find a US buyer or face a ban in the country. However, the deadlines passed without any US government action. Early this year, the Biden Administration established new regulations that would give the US government additional power over applications like TikTok that would present a threat to national security. TikTok has insisted that it is taking precautions to prevent its Chinese employees from accessing its data. It claimed that it was sending all data from its American users through servers managed by the American cloud computing company Oracle before a recent news story from BuzzFeed News exposed that it was having difficulty doing so. Read Also: Federal Report Shows Highest Number of US School Shootings in 20 Years Personnel in China Have Access to US TikTok Users' Data Chinese company ByteDance owns the widely used video app. Business Insider reported that the company engineers in China could access US user data around September 2021 and January 2022 based on leaked recordings from more than 80 internal TikTok meetings. For years, TikTok has responded to data privacy concerns by swearing that information from US users is stored in the country, rather than China, where ByteDance is based. But the recordings indicate that ByteDance personnel in China have accessed the private data of US TikTok users multiple times. The recordings, which cover a wide range from small-group discussions with business executives and consultants to policy all-hands presentations, are supported by screenshots and other documents. This substantial body of evidence supports earlier claims that staff members based in China had access to US user data. Even though a TikTok executive testified under oath in a Senate hearing in October 2021 that a "world-renowned US-based security team" selects who has access to this data, nine statements from eight different employees detail instances in which US employees had to consult their Chinese counterparts to understand how US user data was being transferred. According to the recordings, US workers did not have authorization or understanding of how to access the material. The recordings eventually imply that the tech firm may have deceived Congress, its users, and the general public by downplaying the possibility that employees in China might still access data stored in the US. Related Article: Tesla Bankruptcy Threat: Elon Musk Sounds Alarm Over Nightmarish Losses in Past 2 Years @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Dominic Raab has denied winking at Labour's Angela Rayner in the Commons after being accused of acting like a 'dirty old man'. The Deputy Prime Minister was caught on camera making the gesture at the opposition front bench as the pair stood in for their respective party leaders at Prime Minister's Questions. But allies of Mr Raab have insisted that the wink was not directed at his female opponent. Instead they said he was winking at her frontbench colleague, Labour's shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray, telling the Times he had been 'braying loudly' next to her. However, Labour rejected the claim today, with a party source saying: 'The Deputy Prime Minister winking like a dirty old man at Ian? I doubt it.' The Deputy Prime Minister was caught on camera making the gesture at the opposition front bench as the pair stood in for their respective party leaders at Prime Minister's Questions. Allies of Mr Raab have insisted that the wink was not directed at his female opponent. Instead they said he was winking at shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray (bottom left) In the rowdy session in the Commons Mr Rabb also sparked a snobbery row when he accused his opposite number - raised in poverty in Manchester - of being a 'champagne socialist' for enjoying posh fizz and opera at Glyndebourne. Raab v Rayner: the best bits I KNOW KUNG FU Even before PMQs Ms Rayner was getting herself in the zone. Tweeting a pic of her panda shoe-clad feet she tweeted: 'I know Dominic Raab is a karate black belt and everything - but I've got my kung fu pandas on and I'm ready!' BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Dominic Raab accused deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner of being a champagne socialist for attending an opera festival. After she attacked his views on food banks he hit back over the RMT rail strikes, saying while they were on she was 'at the Glyndebourne music festival sipping champagne, listening to opera. Champagne socialism is back in the Labour Party.' HOME AND AWAY The pair were taking PMQs because Boris Johnson is on an eight-day diplomatic tour that has taken him from Rwanda to Spain, via Germany. Ms Rayner told the Commons: 'This week the Government lost two by-elections in one day, the first in three decades. It's no wonder that the Prime Minister has fled the country and left the honourable member to carry the can.' Mr Raab hit back: 'I gently point out to her that we want this Prime Minister going a lot longer than she wants the leader of Labour Party...' Advertisement The Deputy Prime Minister was standing in for Boris Johnson - who was at a Nato meeting in Madrid - and tore into Ms Rayner over Labour's attitude towards last week's rail strikes. He accused Ms Rayner of having 'flip-flopped' in her position on the strikes that hobbled the rail network last week. After the wink, Labour MP Toby Perkins tweeted: 'I will never unsee Dominic Raab's wink from the despatch box at Angela Rayner. I feel soiled.' To which she replied: 'Imagine how I feel.' In the rowdy session in the Commons Mr Rabb also sparked a snobbery row when he accused his opposite number - raised in poverty in Manchester - of being a 'champagne socialist' for enjoying posh fizz and opera at Glyndebourne. Boris Johnson's spokesman was later forced to say 'everybody should be able to enjoy arts and culture and other such things across the UK'. Ms Rayner later referenced the row, tweeting: 'Dominic Raab wont approve but I did indeed go the opera last week (it cost me 62). 'Tom Eisner, a working-class lad from Buxton near where I grew up kindly invited me. Hes been playing violin at Glyndebourne for 36 years. Never let anyone tell you youre not good enough.' Mr Raab and Ms Rayner usually make the most of their time to step up in the absence of their party leaders. And today was no different, with with Mr Johnson away at a Nato summit in Spain. For her part, Ms Rayner also set the scene, boasting beforehand that she was reading to take on the 'karate black belt' Tory by wearing 'Kung Fu Panda' heels - posting a picture of her Irregular Choice footwear on Twitter. Ms Rayner kicked off asking if Raab believed the Cabinet will prop the Prime Minister up until the 2030s. She told the Commons: 'This week the Government lost two by-elections in one day, the first in three decades. It's no wonder that the Prime Minister has fled the country and left the honourable member to carry the can. 'The people of Wakefield and Tiverton held their own vote of no confidence. The Prime Minister isn't just losing the room, he is losing their country. But instead of showing some humility, he intends to limp on until the 2030s. So, does he think the Cabinet will prop him up for this long?' The Deputy Prime Minister got a rousing reception when he replied: 'I gently point out to her that we want this Prime Minister going a lot longer than she wants the leader of Labour Party...' He noted 'we have got a working majority of 75' and 'we are focusing on delivering for the British people'. He added: 'We will protect the public from these damaging rail strikes when we have got the scene of Labour frontbenchers joining the picket lines.' He said: 'She talks about working people. Where was she when the comrades were on the picket line last Thursday? Where was she when the Labour frontbench were joining them rather than standing up for the public? 'She was at the Glyndebourne music festival sipping champagne, listening to opera. Champagne socialism is back in the Labour Party.' Ms Rayner hit back saying Britain cannot 'stomach' Boris Johnson for another eight years. 'The truth is what I want for my honourable friend the Leader of this Opposition is not to be the Leader of the Opposition, but to be the prime minister of this country,' she said. 'To be honest, it could not come quick enough. Britain can't stomach this Prime Minister for another eight years. His own backbenchers can't stomach him for another eight minutes. And if they continue to prop him up, I doubt the voters will stomach him for even eight seconds in the ballot.' John Barilaro has stepped down from a corporate gig in New York after his new position became 'untenable' amid intense scrutiny. The former NSW deputy premier and Nationals state leader was appointed as the NSW Trade Commissioner to the Americas a fortnight ago, sparking widespread outrage at his appointment and two separate parliamentary inquiries. Investment NSW CEO and trade secretary Amy Brown told a parliamentary inquiry on Wednesday that she revoked a verbal job offer for the coveted $500,000-a-year New York-based post promoting NSW in New York in September last year. The three-year contract was then offered to then-deputy secretary Jenny West, before Mr Barilaro, Ms Brown's boss at the time, changed the recruitment requirements. Mr Barilaro announced his retirement from politics shortly afterwards and was later offered the plum role in the Big Apple, which he was due to within a fortnight. He withdrew from the role late Thursday after telling Investment NSW his position has become untenable and a distraction for the state government. 'It is clear that my taking up this role is now not tenable with the amount of media attention this appointment has gained,' he said in a statement. Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro (pictured) has stepped down from his new role as NSW Trade Commissioner to the Americas after his appointment sparked widespread backlash NSW trade secretary Amy Brown (above) said she models her management style after Jesus's leadership after she retracted a dream New York job offer for her colleague Jenny West 'I believe my appointment will continue to be a distraction and not allow this important role to achieve what it was designed to do, and thus my decision. 'I stress, that I have always maintained that I followed the process and look forward to the results of the review.' Ms Brown confirmed she's been notified of Mr Barilaro's decision. 'This evening Mr John Barilaro notified me that he is withdrawing from the role of Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner Americas, effective immediately,' she said 'I request that his privacy be respected at this time.' Investment NSW would continue to assist with two inquiries probing the appointment. As such it is not appropriate to make any further comment.' Nearly $1million had been spent refurbishing part of the Australian consulate in New York for Mr Barilaro to live in. The job came with a $487,000 salary plus a $16,000 allowance, with Mr Barilaro due to start work in the Manhattan office on July 12. His decision comes hours after Transport Minister David Elliott urged his former ministerial colleague to do the right thing. 'I expect him to withdraw and do the honourable thing, because quite clearly when you become the story over an appointment, well, then the appointment might not be in the best interest of the people of NSW,' Mr Elliott told Sky News on Thursday. 'I'll let the parliamentary inquiry and the premier's investigation determine that but my very, very strong view is that he shouldn't be going to New York, and I'm pretty sure that that's the view of the majority of people in this state. It comes as Investment and Trade Minister Stuart Ayres also revealed he had concerns after Mr Barilaro texted him about his interest in the role late last year. 'He contacted me via text message ... indicating that he was interested in it,' Mr Ayres told reporters on Thursday. 'I informed him that they would be publicly advertised and he, like any other private citizen, will be able to apply,' Mr Ayres recalled. He knew Mr Barilaro's appointment would be politically contentious, but said he did not have the authority to direct his former colleague to resign. A parliamentary inquiry (above) sat for the first time on Wednesday to investigate the retraction of Ms West's job offer and the new candidate's selection, John Barilaro Jenny West (pictured), then the deputy secretary of Investment NSW, was told in August last year that she was selected for a $500,000 trade post job in New York Ms Brown, who was thrown into the spotlight this month over her role in the controversial New York job, gave an extensive interview in February about how her faith inspires her management of 6000 employees. 'What would Jesus do if he were me in these life circumstances, in this job, with this issue before me and serving the people that I lead?,' Ms Brown told Eternity News, an online Christian magazine. 'He showed up for the people when they needed him and he really put every person at the centre.' Ms Brown said God offered her a sense of relief in her 'exhausting' job because her actions are part of his 'plan'. 'It started to dawn on me how exhausting it is to have to live that way, where every single outcome depends on you,' she said. 'If you don't perform to the highest standard at that meeting or if you're not in the right place at the right time... that is a really exhausting way to live. 'Having kids gives you that perspective and you don't have time to be able to be everywhere and do everything and so you have to let go and let God.' Ms West's dream job in New York City was taken from her - leaving her upset Ms Brown said she tried to lead by thinking of 'the good of your people'. 'I think God really speaks through the leadership of Christians in that servant leadership mentality,' Ms Brown told Eternity News. 'You put the good of your people at the heart of the way you lead and what you do and the decisions you make.' Ms Brown joined the NSW public service's 'Club 600' in 2022 - with a pay rise seeing her collect $614,000 a year on the taxpayer to run the Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade. Ms Brown told the inquiry on Wednesday that Ms West had been 'extremely upset' when her dream job offer was revoked which led to an 'irreconcilable' relationship with Investment NSW. Ms West is no longer working with government and was given an undisclosed payout after three years of public service. Then-NSW trade minister John Barilaro (above) changed the job's recruitment process after Ms West had been offered the positions and went on to be offered the job himself in May this year Ms Brown said Ms West had been 'extremely upset' about the job offer retraction during a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday (above) Ms West was offered the New York job boasting a $487,000 salary plus a $16,000 cost of living allowance in August 2021. Mr Barilaro, who created the job along with four other similar roles in 2020, changed the recruitment process for the position in September. Ms West's job offer was revoked on October 1 and the position was given to Mr Barilaro in May 2022. Ms Brown told the inquiry she had voiced concerns that Mr Barilaro would veto her nominated candidate for the New York job and claimed she did not know if Mr Barilaro ever asked his replacement as NSW trade minister, Stuart Ayres, for the job. However, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has insisted Ms Brown was the final decision maker for the role. Mr Barilaro (above) was offered the New York job Ms West was previously offered after changing the recruitment process NSW Transport Minister David Elliott (above) said Mr Barilaro should be removed from the position because 'when you become the story over an appointment then the appointment might not be in the best interests of the people' Mr Perrottet established a private inquiry into Mr Barilaro's selection, separate to the parliamentary inquiry. 'I will look at the recommendations and any action that needs to be taken I will,' he said on Tuesday. NSW opposition leader Chris Minnshas slammed Mr Perrottet for failing to move against Mr Barilaro earlier. 'It's telling that the premier didn't sack John Barilaro, he walked,' Mr Minns said. 'Mr Barilaro should never have been appointed to this job in the first place. 'Serious concerns remain about how he got the job and the parliamentary inquiry will continue to pursue those.' The parliamentary inquiry will resume next Wednesday, where Ms West will appear as a witness. The parents of a girl who was raped by a 13-year-old boy have told of their outrage after he was spared a custodial sentence and allowed to carry on living just 120m from their home. The couple, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were told by police that steps could only be taken to force the boy to move if he lived within 100m of them. But due to him living with his parents only 20m further away, the family have been forced to run the risk of bumping into him. The couple's daughter was dragged into an alleyway and raped by the youth as she walked home from a party when she was 14, in October last year. The boy, who also cannot be identified, was quickly arrested as the girl recognised him and knew where he lived in Essex. He admitted her rape and sex assaults on five other girls when he first appeared before Chelmsford magistrates on January 10. But he was bailed to return to his family home, despite objections from police and prosecutors, as he apparently had no other relatives he could move in with outside the area. The parents of a girl (above) who was raped by a 13-year-old boy have told of their outrage after he was spared jail and allowed to carry on living just 120m from their home His victim has suffered panic attacks, due in part to repeatedly seeing him around in her neighbourhood. Her heightened anxiety has also led to her falling behind with her schoolwork. She had hoped to get some respite if he was given a period of detention, but her hopes were dashed when he received a three year Youth Rehabilitation Order at Chelmsford Crown Court last Thursday. The boy also ordered to wear a tag, putting him under a night time curfew at his family home for six months. In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, the mother of the girl said: 'It is atrocious that he has been able to carry on living so close to our house. 'Our daughter has seen him a number of times since he raped her. It triggers her anxiety having him so nearby. The couple, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were told by police that steps could only be taken to force the boy to move if he lived within 100m of their daughter (above) 'She has already had to change the route she walks to school to avoid passing his house but she never knows when she is going to see him again. 'He and his parents are in rented accommodation and they could easily leave. The police even suggested to them that they did, but they will not move. 'My daughter will not go out by herself now and hates seeing anyone wearing a hoody because her attacker wore one. 'She has seen him several times including once while she was walking to school and she physically vomited at the sight of him. 'She rang me in a panic and I told her to come home, but she was closer to school so she went there. Then they sent her straight home. 'Another time, she saw him on the path outside his home. He looked shocked and turned away, but it really knocked her. 'The problem is that we have to drive past his home to get anywhere. One time we were going past, and we saw him in his window. It is triggering. 'I also saw him alone outside his home, and reported it to police, but he insisted that his case worker was with him, although I didn't see anyone. 'My mum also saw him breaking his bail conditions eight-weeks-ago at the top of our road walking with his mother with his hood up 'It was reported to the police, but it took a week and a half for him to be picked up. He was put up before a judge and had his conditions tightened so he could not come out of his home and then walk towards our house.' The girl said: 'My anxiety has been really bad since I was raped. It has affected me being at school because I don't want to pass his home. 'I still get tearful and sick, and I have been having flashbacks. Having him around here, just makes things worse. It is in the back of my mind the whole time. 'But I have been having counselling for six months and that has been really helpful.' The mother enlisted the help of Harlow Conservative MP Robert Halfon to try and get the boy out of the area. He raised the in a question in Parliament to Home Office minister Rachel Maclean in February, saying the victim and her family had been caused 'intolerable distress'. Mr Halfon told MailOnline today: 'Too often, victims of sexual assault crimes are treated appallingly by the very apparatus meant to protect them - the criminal justice system. 'This has never been more the case than for my 14-year-old constituent. Her attacker has been allowed to live 120m away from her, despite Essex Police and the CPS vigorously arguing against it. 'Worst still, his bail hearing was thrice delayed, and his sentencing was extremely disappointing. 'My constituent is in a critical exam year, and has missed much schoolwork and exam preparation due to her anxiety and continuous panic attacks. 'The crime and the subsequent judicial proceedings have impacted her psychological and educational well-being. 'I have spoken in the Chamber regarding this case, had a meeting with a Minister, and written several letters to both Government Ministers and local authorities and yet nothing has been done. 'My teenage constituent has suffered enough, and I will continue to pursue every avenue available to ensure she receives the proper justice she deserves. 'Ultimately, she has endured two major injustices: first, the traumatising sexual assault and rape, and second, being let down by the justice system. 'The Conservatives are the party of law and order and the Justice Secretary has recently implemented important measures to strengthen the rights of victims of sexual assault. 'However, we must go beyond that to make sure that the criminal justice system works for everyone, regardless of their background or circumstance, to ensure that victims are treated with the utmost care and compassion. 'And, when there are failings in justice like this tragic example, that everything possible is done to repair that damage'. The mother said that her daughter was attacked as she walked home from a party without her knowledge. She said: 'We knew where the party was, and she had told us that friends were bringing her home. 'But they had fibbed, and a group of about six of them were walking back across a park, and this boy started walking with them. 'They didn't know him, but they knew of him because he lived nearby, and he had not been to the party. 'Most of the girls drifted off until it was just my daughter and her friend. 'Then her friend got picked up by her stepfather, and my daughter was left to walk just a short distance home at around midnight. 'She thought this boy had gone, but all of a sudden he grabbed her around the neck and dragged her into an alleyway where he raped her. 'She says she told him to stop, but he didn't. Then he let her go ,and she came home, and went straight to her room. 'I heard her crying, and I asked what the matter was, but she wouldn't tell me. 'I assumed she might have had an argument with her friend. Then the next day, on the Sunday, she spent almost the whole day in her room, and only came down for a bit of food. 'She was very quiet on the Monday morning and went to school, but half an hour later I got a call from a teacher who said there had been an incident. 'I told them to send my daughter home, and when she came back she told me she had been raped. 'It turned out that this boy had sexually assaulted five other girls earlier on the same evening. One of the girls at my daughter's school had reported it. 'My daughter had been texting one or two of them, and the staff came and got her. 'I phoned the police straight away, and called my husband, and he came home from work. 'The police came and took the clothes my daughter had been wearing. Then the next day, she was taken to a specialist centre where she was had intimate swabs taken, and gave a statement. 'She was relieved that she had told us, but she was a shell of the child that she was, and she still is. 'She used to be very outgoing, but she is still so much more quieter than she was, and she is nothing like her old self.' The mother said that the boy was arrested soon afterwards, and her daughter took part in an on-screen identity parade to pick him out. The couple's daughter was dragged into an alleyway and raped by the youth as she walked home from a party when she was aged 14 on the night of October 10 last year (file photo) She admitted being relieved when he later admitted the rape of her daughter and sex assaults on five other girls. But she added: 'I was fuming when the police said that he had been allowed to return home as part of his bail conditions. 'They told us that he had a tag, meaning he had to stay in from 7am to 7pm, and he was only allowed out with an adult or social worker. But it is ridiculous that he is so close. 'He was also banned from contacting my daughter and made to stay away from an area bordered by a couple of roads around our house.' The victim's father said: 'The police told us that if he was within 100m of our house, they could get him moved, but because he is 120m away, they cannot do that. 'The court ended up bailing him back to his home because he did not have relatives outside the area that he could have stayed with. 'But that is not our problem. They could have put him into foster care instead to get him away. It's just not fair on our daughter. 'We have warned people living near him about what he has done. We also contacted the letting agents of his home to try and get his family moved, but they did not want to know.' The mother added: 'I even went on the Land Registry to find out who owned his home, and we wrote to the owner to try and get this boy out. I don't know why they don't just leave.' The teenager was sentenced by Judge Timothy Walker after admitting one count of rape, assault by penetration and four sexual assaults on females. He is required to be under supervision for the whole period of his three Year Youth Rehabilitation Order which includes doing 90 days of 'activities'. His six month curfew order requires him to be indoors from 7pm until 7am for the first three months, from 8pm for the fourth and fifth months, and from 9pm on the sixth month. The youth was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, banned from having any contact with his six victims for five years and put on the Sex Offenders register for two years and six months. Exclusion orders banning him from areas around his victim's home are also continuing. The mother said: 'He should be in custody in for what he did, but the whole thing has been such a s**t show that I was not surprised to be told he was free. 'He has only spent one day in custody and that was when he was arrested and taken in for questioning. What kind of justice is that? 'The police said that he could have got 14 years if he had been 18, but he got off lightly because of his age.' A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'Rape has a devastating impact on victims which is why we are transforming our response to these crimes giving victims more support than ever and ensuring cases are pursued rigorously from report to conviction. 'While the decision to grant bail is solely a matter for independent judges, individuals placed on the sex offenders' register face strict conditions and can be prosecuted for breaking them.' 'Friends' co-creator Marta Kauffman has once again apologized for the lack of black leads on the legendary New York-based sitcom. In response to the lack of diversity on the show, Kauffman has pledged $4 million to her alma mater, the Boston area's Brandeis University, to create an endowed professorship in the university's African and African American studies department. Kauffman, 65, who co-created the NBC sitcom with David Crane, said she felt 'embarrassed' that 'Friends' featured a predominantly white cast. 'I've learned a lot in the last 20 years,' Kauffman told the LA Times. 'Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy. It's painful looking at yourself in the mirror. 'I'm embarrassed that I didn't know better 25 years ago.' While 'Friends' is arguably one of the most successful sitcoms of all-time, running for 10 seasons between 1994 and 2004, the show's lack of diversity was always something it was criticized for. 'Friends' co-creator Marta Kauffman has once again apologized for the lack of black leads on the legendary New York-based sitcom Kauffman, 65, who co-created the NBC sitcom with David Crane, said she felt 'embarrassed' that 'Friends' featured a predominantly white cast It took the show until 2002 to cast Aisha Tyler, the first black actress to become a series regular on the show, playing Dr. Charlie Wheeler, a paleontology professor who ended up dating Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) in season nine. But she only lasted nine episodes. Kauffman said she regrets making the six main characters all white - but is still happy that Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry were all part of the series. 'I would have been insane not to hire those six actors. What can I say? I wish Lisa was black?' Kauffman told The Hollywood Reporter prior to the airing of the 'Friends: The Reunion' special. But now, Kauffman is pledging $4 million to Brandeis University to promote the study of African American studies. The Marta F. Kauffman '78 Professorship in African and African American Studies will support a distinguished scholar with a concentration in the study of the peoples and cultures of Africa and the African diaspora. The donation will also help the department to recruit more expert scholars and teachers, map long-term academic and research priorities and provide new opportunities for students to engage in interdisciplinary scholarship, the university said. 'It took me a long time to begin to understand how I internalized systemic racism,' Kauffman told Brandeis. 'I've been working really hard to become an ally, an anti-racist. And this seemed to me to be a way that I could participate in the conversation from a white woman's perspective.' It took the show until 2002 to cast Aisha Tyler, the first black actress to become a series regular on the show, playing Dr. Charlie Wheeler, a paleontology professor who ended up dating Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) in season nine. But she only lasted nine episodes Since the announcement of the donation, Kauffman told the Los Angeles Times: 'I've gotten nothing but love. It's been amazing. It surprised me to some extent, because I didn't expect the news to go this wide. 'I've gotten a flood of emails and texts and posts that have been nothing but supportive. I've gotten a lot of 'It's about time.' Not in a mean way. It's just people acknowledging it was long overdue.' At the time of the release of 'Friends: The Reunion', which was criticized for sidestepping the issue of the lack of diverse roles, Kauffman's perspective on diversity started to shift. 'It was after what happened to George Floyd that I began to wrestle with my having bought into systematic racism in ways I was never aware of,' Kauffman told the LA Times. 'That was really the moment that I began to examine the ways I had participated. I knew then I needed to course-correct.' Pictured: (clockwise from left) Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani and Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay It comes after Schwimmer, who played Ross on the hit show, told The Guardian in an interview in 2019 that he was always pushing for diversity on 'Friends.' 'I was well aware of the lack of diversity and I campaigned for years to have Ross date women of color,' Schwimmer said. 'One of the first girlfriends I had on the show was an Asian-American woman, and later I dated African-American women. That was a very conscious push on my part.' It took the show until 2002 to cast Aisha Tyler, the first black actress to become a series regular on the show, playing Dr. Charlie Wheeler, a paleontology professor who ended up dating Ross in season nine. The realization about the show's lack of black characters has sometimes been hard - Kauffman got emotional in 2020 while admitting that she didn't do enough to promote diversity on her hit NBC sitcom. Kauffman was asked during the virtual 2020 ATX TV Festival about what she 'wished she knew' when she started her career in television. The writer/producer teared up and got emotional, stating, 'I wish I knew then what I know today. 'What makes this truly emotional for me is that I want this connection I didn't have,' she said. 'I deeply, deeply want this connection with the Black community that I didn't have. Because of 'Friends,' I never attained that.' 'Sorry, I just wish I knew then what I know now. I would've made very different decisions,' Kauffman added, referring to the show's lack of diversity, which it was often criticized for. 'I mean we've always encouraged people of diversity in our company, but I didn't do enough and now all I can think about is what can I do?' she added. 'What can I do differently? How can I run my show in a new way? And that's something I not only wish I knew when I started showrunning, but I wish I knew all the way up through last year,' Kauffman said. 'Friends' has been criticized for having a lack of diversity on the show Brandeis' African and African American studies department was established in 1969 and is one of the oldest such departments in the country. Chad Williams, the university's Samuel J. and Augusta Spector Professor of History and African and African American Studies, said the new professorship will place Brandeis in a leadership role in the broader academic community and public sphere. 'We're at a time in this country's history where students are looking for opportunities to expand their intellectual and political horizons, and looking for places where they can articulate what it means to be a young person in a time of incredible change and upheaval, particularly as it relates to race,' he said. 'Brandeis needs to embrace that and recognize there's an opportunity to lead with our department at the forefront.' Kauffman also confirmed that any future projects would include a more diverse cast. 'I feel I was finally able to make some difference in the conversation,' Kauffman told the LA Times. 'I have to say, after agreeing to this and when I stopped sweating, it didn't unburden me, but it lifted me up. But until in my next production I can do it right, it isn't over. 'I want to make sure from now on in every production I do that I am conscious in hiring people of color and actively pursue young writers of color. I want to know I will act differently from now on. And then I will feel unburdened.' A holidaymaker has sued TUI for 112,620 after claiming she slipped in a puddle at the juice bar at a four-star Spanish hotel resort and shattered her ankle. Karen Carey, 64, broke her right ankle when she fell over at the luxury H10 Taburiente Playa Hotel in Tenerife six years ago as she was going down to have her breakfast. The woman, from Walthamstow, East London, was with her husband Peter when the incident happened - but holiday giant TUI say her accident was her own fault because she went down to breakfast barefoot. Central London County Court heard that the fracture had a catastrophic effect on her life and career, plaguing her with chronic pain and drastically limiting her mobility. Karen Carey, 64, shattered her ankle at the four-star hotel in Tenerife six years ago as she was going down to have her breakfast. Mrs Carey is pictured outside Central London County Court The British woman was holidaying at the luxury H10 Taburiente Playa Hotel in Tenerife (pictured) when the incident happened in January 2016 The couple had booked a seven-day package at the four-star beachside hotel which boasts spectacular views, four swimming pools and several restaurants. The fall came on the fifth morning of their week-long winter dream holiday - and led to an ambulance rushing her off to hospital in La Palma as well as repeat bouts of surgery once she was back in the UK. Mrs Carey is now suing holiday giants TUI Ltd for 112,620 over the January 2016 accident, which her lawyers have blamed on a puddle of juice or water from a cava cooler bucket which cleaners failed to mop up. But TUI's legal team are denying all liability. They dispute that any liquid had been spilled on the floor, which they say was regularly cleaned up by hotel staff. On top of that, they say Mrs Carey may have brought disaster on herself by coming down to breakfast in bare feet and in failing to keep a proper look-out. From the witness box she told how the impact of the fall has overshadowed her life, wrecking her mobility and forcing her to quit a job she loved as a hotel credit controller. 'My nerves are gone,' she told the court, adding that her job prospects were effectively snuffed out by her injuries. 'I'm just a different person since this happened.' Although she did her best to get back to work, even the daily commute from her home in Walthamstow was a misery, and she ended up being medically retired in February 2017. To this day she still suffers from a 'significant disability' due to her injuries, the court heard. She said: 'I always wanted to get back to working at the hotel because it was a part of my life. I'd been there 40 years. Sketching out the circumstances of the accident her barrister, Andrew Young, told the court: 'Mrs Carey and her husband sat down at a table and the claimant then stood up and started walking towards the area where fruit juice was available in order to obtain a drink. TUI dispute that any liquid had been spilled on the floor, which they say was regularly cleaned up by staff at the hotel (pictured) 'As she came near to the area, her feet slipped from underneath her and she fell to the floor twisting her right ankle as she did so. 'She saw nothing on the floor before she fell, but she noticed that her bottom was wet after she had fallen. 'Her husband was summoned by a waiter immediately after the accident and he also noticed that the floor around the claimant was wet.' Mrs Carey's barrister said it was accepted that some of her current health problems were caused by 'degenerative changes' in her ankle, telling Judge Heather Baucher: 'She has been left with significant long term symptoms, which are partly the result of the accident and also partly the result of degenerative, but previously asymptomatic, changes in her ankle'. But lawyers for TUI insist that most of Mrs Carey's symptoms have nothing to do with her accident. They also say she was fit to return to light work duties work from November 2016 and is currently capable of at least 'sedentary' employment. Judge Baucher has now reserved her decision in the case. The last missing portrait of a 9/11 victim has been placed on the Ground Zero photo wall for the 2,977 people killed on Sept. 11. Antonio Dorsey Pratt, 43, was a cook at an investment bank canteen on the 101st floor of the North Tower when the first plane struck. 'Tony' left behind no digital footprint, with staff at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum cropping, enlarging and retouching a group photo of Pratt with his co-workers. Museum staff have spent nearly 17 years doing the same for the nearly 3,000 New Yorkers killed on Sept. 11 - and finished their work today. Pratt took the food service job at the Cantor Fitzgerald cafeteria just a week before 9/11 - and become one of 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees killed in the attacks. Hijacked American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767, struck floors 93 to 99 at 8:46 a.m. on Tuesday Sept. 11, 2001, destroying all exit staircases on the levels above. 'Tony' Pratt, 43, became the final face added to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum photo wall Tony (center) is pictured on the photo wall with 2,977 New Yorkers who lost their lives on 9/11 Memorial worker Randolph Black is pictured replacing an oak leaf symbol with Pratt's image Memorial CEO Alice Greenwald said: 'In order to focus on his beautiful face, a lot of work had to be done to zero in and enlarge and enlarge to the point where it could be appropriate for the scale of the installation.' Pratt's inclusion, replacing an oak tree placeholder symbol, represented the end of 'a process that began almost 16 years ago, when we began work on just even imagining what the 9/11 Memorial and Museum would be and what it would contain,' she said. Pratt is survived by wife, Asmareli Soga, whose teenage children he helped raise. His whereabouts became unclear after the attack, with Soga fearing the worst. The 9/11 Memorial and Museum, built in 2006, sits between the gaps left by the fallen towers The North Tower (right) is pictured billowing smoke across the New York City skyline on 9/11 New Yorkers were forced to sprint through downtown Manhattan as the buildings fell Tony's remains were finally found on September 11, 2004, allowing Soga and her son and daughter to have closure. 'Now maybe he can be in peace and we can have his funeral,' she said. 'Its a miracle. God is good.' Soga added: 'But after so many years, all of a sudden, I feel more hurt. This is opening up old wounds again. The pain never goes away. It stays with you.' Tony was the 1,569th 9/11 victim identified. The 9/11 Memorial and Museum, which stands between the two fallen towers, holds enlarged photos of the 2,977 people killed in the four Al Qaeda attacks on New York City, the Pentagon and the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93. First responders sit among the wreckage of the World Trade Center in the wake of the attacks The South Tower (left) was struck 17 minutes after the North Tower (right) was hit at 8:46 a.m. Standing proud: The buildings of the World Trade Center (pictured in 1976, three years after completion) were a distinctive feature of the New York City skyline - and the world's tallest It also memorializes the six victims of the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing masterminded by Ramzi Yousef, whose uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, was 'principal architect of the 9/11 attacks,' according to the 9/11 Commission report. United 93 was brought down by its passengers in south Pennsylvania, most likely en route to the White House. All 44 on board, including four Al Qaeda terrorists, were killed. Cantor Fitzgerald, which housed its corporate headquarters and New York City office between floors 101 and 105 of the North Tower, lost more employees on 9/11 than any other firm. CEO Howard Lutnick escaped the attack because he was taking his son to his first day of kindergarten. The memorial wall also features the six killed in the 1993 bombing (pictured), 2,983 in total But Howard's brother, Gary, was among 1,402 people killed in the North Tower. A further 614 died in the South Tower, which was hit by United Airlines Flight 175 seventeen minutes later. Nearly 350 New York City Firefighters were slain on September 11, in addition to 23 NYPD officers and 37 Port Authority cops. Citizens of 115 countries were among the victims. More than 2,000 cancer deaths since 9/11 have been attributed to toxic chemical exposure in the wake of the attacks, particularly among first responders. An emotional Leigh Sales has signed off at 7.30 for the last time after almost 12 years in the role. The long-time host of ABC's top current affairs program will take six months off to spend quality time with her two young sons after announcing her shock departure earlier this year. Sales' farewell coincided with ABC's 90th birthday celebrations on the same night. Her last day began with a Krispy Kreme donut and coffee from 7-11 before spending several hours in the hair and make-up chair. She was seen celebrating with friends, family and colleagues at ABC's Sydney headquarters before the show and stepped outside briefly to greet and embrace her sons. It was business as usual for a composed Sales at the start of Thursday's night's show as she got straight into introducing the first segment about 1994 fatal bombing of the National Crime Authority's Adelaide headquarters. There was no mention of her departure until the three few minutes of the program when she struggled to maintain her composure and choked back tears. Leigh Sales was all smiles for the cameras before her last episode of 7:30 on Thursday night 'Tonight is my final episode of 7:30 as anchor,' Sales began. 'Tomorrow night there is a special edition of 7:30 looking back over the many, many years. 'I've loved every minute. It's been an absolute privilege.' 'Thanks for your company, goodnight.' Her voice waivered and was seen wiping away tears as the final credits rolled. Sales opted to not wear Member of the Order of Australia badge on her lapel, which she has worn for big interviews and occasions, including her bombshell resignation and final interview with former prime minister Scott Morrison before the recent election. A select group of Sales' friends, colleagues and family gathered at ABC's Ultimo studios Thursday night for a farewell party to kick off when the cameras stop rolling as some of her interviewees paid tribute. Leigh Sales choked back tears as she signed off on the program she has hosted since 2011 Leigh Sales quit the job to spend more time with her sons, who were there for her farewell 'Leigh Sales is a formidable journalist - smart, thorough, compassionate, and relentless. Thank you Leigh for your many years of tough interviews on 70, your pursuit of the truth has helped Australians better understand our country + our world. All the best for what's next,' federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek tweeted. Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers added: 'For a dozen years on @730 and before that on Lateline, Leigh Sales has been a fierce, formidable and classy inquisitor. It was a big deal to be interviewed by her (and often a relief when it was over!). A complete professional and an absolute legend. All the best, Leigh.' Peers from the media industry also paid tribute. 'Farewell to Leigh Sales. Always a class act and a true professional,' journalist Kate McClymont tweeted. Some viewers were left disappointed with Sales' low-key sign-off from the show. 'Very poor send-off for Leigh Sales on 7"30. Not even flowers,' one woman tweeted. Sales documented her last day on Instagram, which began casually dressed and make-up free while buying an early morning donut and coffee from 7-11, 'because nothing exciting ever happens on your last day'. A make-up free Leigh Sales documented her day, which began with a donut and coffee Leigh Sales later spent several hours in the chair getting her hair and make-up done Leigh Sales sported a bright orange dress for her last day as 7.30 host She later uploaded a photo of her bright orange dress hanging in the wardrobe and several clips bantering with her trusted stylist and make-up artist of four years Christopher Sall while having her hair done. 'We're trying to act while today is just another day aren't we,' she says. 'In fact, we were channelling messages you used to hear years ago like 'don't make a spectacle of yourself' 'It's funny, because no one care about making a spectacle these days. Look at us right now, we're making a spectacle of ourselves already.' 'We've had a few laughs talking about nonsense as we always do,' Sales worked as NSW state political reporter, national security correspondent, Washington correspondent and host of Lateline since joining the ABC in 1995. She was announced as 7:30 host in December 2010 and has interviewed hundreds of high profile names from Australian prime ministers and state leaders to Hilary Clinton, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sir Paul Mc Cartney to the Dalai Lama and late Shane Warne. Presenting ABC's 7:30, formerly The 7:30 Report, is considered one of the most demanding and high-profile roles in Australian television. The long-time host shocked viewers earlier this year with the bombshell news that she was quitting the role, saying her decision came down to her 'two beautiful little boys' wanting to see more of their mum. The ABC will screen a special show dedicated to Leigh Sales (pictured) on Friday night Leigh Sales' sons James and Daniel were at ABC studios for their mum's final 7.30 episode Leigh Sales opted to not wear Member of the Order of Australia badge, which she wore when she announced her bombshell resignation on-air in February (pictured) Now aged eight and 11, sons James and Daniel have always known their mum to work four nights a week. 'I was appointed to the job on December 3, 2010. This is my 12th year in the seat. That was five Prime Ministers ago. It was so long ago that Donald Trump was just a guy with a bad orange hair-do hosting The Apprentice,' Sales told viewers at the time. 'There's nothing wrong other than I just feel a strong sense of it being time to pass the baton to the next runner in the race and to take a break. At the end of an election cycle feels like a good time to move on to something new at the ABC.' 'When I first started I didn't have children. And now I have two boys aged 10 and eight. And they've only ever known their mum at work four nights a week. 'They want me home with them before 8.30pm and I don't think that's too much for two little boys to ask and they're two beautiful little boys. 'She explained she had 'tried to shut down and call out bull****, hold powerful people to account, expose lies, incompetence and exaggeration in all political parties and all issues and present facts even when they're unpopular or inconvenient'. Sarah Ferguson was recently appointed the new 7.30 host and will host her first episode next Monday. A special dedicated to Sales' work in the role will air on the ABC on Friday night. Leigh Sales announced earlier this year she was quitting the program to spend more time with her young sons, now aged 8 and 11 (pictured) A British Army soldier has narrowly avoided jail after grabbing a teenage recruit's genitals while shouting 'get your c**k out' at a whiskey-fuelled battalion party. Guardsman John Mills, 27, downed a bottle of Jack Daniels before screaming at the 17-year-old - who had only joined the famous Coldstream Guards that day - to expose himself. Bulford Military Court heard the young recruit wanted to 'fit in' so did show the group of about a dozen soldiers his privates, before Guardsman Mills 'took it too far' and thrust his hand down the teenager's pants. Mr Mills was even later seen wielding a wooden sex toy and telling soldiers to perform sex acts on themselves with it. He was serving in the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, the oldest continuously serving regiment which is famed for its high-profile ceremonial duties involving the royal family. The Coldstream Guards can be recognised by their iconic red tunics and bearskin caps as they stand guard outside Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. At Bulford Military Court, Wiltshire, Mills, who is not married, was sentenced for one charge of disgraceful conduct of a cruel or indecent kind. He wept as he narrowly avoided jail with a four month prison sentence, suspended for two years. British Army Guardsman John Mills, 27 (pictured outside Bulford Military Court), has narrowly avoided jail after grabbing a teenage recruit's privates while shouting 'get your c**k out' at a whiskey-fuelled battalion party It was not classed as a sexual assault by the Service Prosecuting Authority as Gdsm Mills' actions were not deemed to be sexually motivated. Major Jon Griffiths, prosecuting, told the court: 'This didn't involve sexual activity but it was indecent, disgraceful and fuelled in a large way by alcohol. '[The victim] had recently joined the battalion and it was his first day living in the accommodation block. 'He was in his room and was aware of a block party in the room across the corridor. He was invited to join, where a group of soldiers were drinking alcohol. 'As he walked into that room there were high spirits and drunken behaviour. A number of people cheered and shouted 'get your c**k out' and 'show us your c**k'. 'He was new, he didn't necessarily feel comfortable but in an effort to fit in he exposed his penis, as did other members of the battalion.' Major Griffiths added: 'There was a sense of camaraderie, he was offered a Carling beer. 'At that point Gdsm Mills started shouting at him and pushed him into his face and was shouting 'show me your c**k' and 'get your c**k out' several times. Bulford Military Court (pictured) heard the young recruit wanted to 'fit in' so did show the group of about a dozen soldiers his privates, before Guardsman Mills 'took it too far' and thrust his hand down the teenager's pants. Mr Mills was even later seen wielding a wooden sex toy and telling soldiers to perform sex acts on themselves with it He explained that the victim felt uncomfortable, and it was at this point that Gdsm Mills 'forcibly placed his hands' inside the 17-year-old's underwear to grab his genitals for '10 to 15 seconds'. 'Gdsm Mills tried to unzip his trousers and at that point he backed off,' Major Griffiths continued. '[The victim] stayed there because he didn't want to seem like someone who was awkward and he wanted to try and fit in. 'In the next few moments Gdsm Mills produced a wooden dildo and encouraged other members of the unit to insert it in their anus.' Major Griffiths said Gdsm Mills was removed from the unit when the victim reported the incident and did not return before he was discharged in October 2021. The court heard Gdsm Mills told military police he had been 'blind drunk' after drinking an entire bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey. Chris Cannon, defending, said: 'Any individual entering that room was shouted at 'get your c**k out' or something similar. Nothing came of anybody that refused, they were simply allowed to come to the party and drink. 'This was a situation where Gdsm Mills abused his position as not only being older but also more experienced than [the victim] and he obviously just bowed to peer pressure. 'He is sorry for what happened that night, it's not something he's proud of. 'He would say he is a larger than life character, the life and soul of a party. But clearly he is also the one who goes and takes things a little too far, particularly when he's had a bit too much to drink. 'He's a tax paying civilian now. It is unlikely he will repeat this behaviour as he is out of that macho environment now.' The 27-year-old, who is not married and has no known children (pictured, Guardsman John Mills), was sentenced for one charge of disgraceful conduct of a cruel or indecent kind. He wept as he narrowly avoided jail with a four month prison sentence, suspended for two years Judge Advocate Jane England, sentencing, said: 'This was disgusting behaviour by you. He was 17 years old. In law, that is a child. Whether you knew that or not, he was much younger and junior in rank than you. 'This was bullying and intimidating behaviour from you while you were drunk but being drunk is no excuse. 'This was his first day there and this is what he was met with. I don't suppose that was the start he expected when joining the unit. 'You can see how seriously we take these offences and how close you came to losing your liberty. 'While you thought this was a bit of a joke and the others thought it was a joke and buffoonery behaviour, grabbing someone's genitals when they don't want you to is a serious offence.' Gdsm Mills, formerly of the 1 Coldstream Guards, was also ordered to carry out rehabilitation requirements of an alcohol abstinence monitoring programme and a programme for sex offenders. Advertisement A fighter jet pilot has been spotted 'hanging loose' during some spectacular training exercises in Wales which were captured by an amateur photographer. The F-15 Eagle was spotted by Thomas Pinder, 34, from Skipton, North Yorkshire while he was visiting Mach Loop in Wales, where he regularly goes to witness the amazing aerial displays. The Mach Loop is a series of valleys often used as low-level training areas for fast jet aircraft and propeller-driven aircraft. The pilots are locked in to training but are often aware of the many spectators and never shy away from a bit of showmanship, as can been seen in these stunning photographs where one of the pilots in the rear seat of the aircraft was spotted doing the 'hang loose' sign. The pilot in the back seat of this F-15 Eagle makes a 'hang loose' sign in a nod to the many passionate aircraft fans who travel to Wales to see these planes up close Two pilots are needed to fly the F-15 Eagle, and the pilot in the back seat can be seen taking a moment to acknowledge the many aircraft enthusiasts watching from below. The sign, traditionally a friendly greeting associated with surfers and Hawaii, is made by making a fist with your hand, but extending the thumb and fifth finger. The pilot seems to be enjoying the display as much as those on the ground watching it. The F15 Eagle is an American all-weather multirole strike fighter - the unique 'cloud' created by the aircraft can be seen beginning to appear across the wings in this image The F15 Eagle was on a training exercise - and appears to be struggling to shake off a fluffy cloud - but the unusual image is caused by warm air entering a low-pressure area Mr Pinder spotted the F-15 Eagle on a training exercise. The plane appeared to be struggling to exit a fluffly cloud, but this is actually a unique effect created by the jet. The unusual image is caused by warm air entering a low-pressure area, as the jet zooms through the sky, this produces condensation which kicks up the cloud-ball effect. This makes the plane itself look fluffy, as if half concealed by cloud. Mr Pinder explained: 'Being a keen amateur photographer I was looking forward to taking some photos during my trip and was lucky enough to capture the USAF F-15s. 'This set of photos shows the incredible moment the jets create a vapour cloud as they pull fast turns just meters in front of me. Mr Pinder, who captured the photographs, is an amateur photographer who learned how to capture fast-moving planes after practicing on birds of prey 'The speed, as well as the noise of the aircraft and skill of the pilots is incredible to witness up close in such a stunning location. 'Dramatic valleys and mountains make the perfect terrain for pilots to practice low flying.' He added: 'I am traditionally a landscape photographer and also have recently become interested in wildlife especially birds of prey which helped to teach me some of the tricks used to capture the jets. 'A fast shutter speed with a fairly low aperture was a good combination for the jets to capture the moment the cloud exploded from the wingtips and engulfed the aircraft. 'I was hoping to see the USAF F-15 jets from RAF Lakenheath pass through as I had missed them on the last trip. 'This time I was not only fortunate enough to see them but was treated to some spectacular low passes throughout the day.' A British man who ran down and killed a Swedish mother with a beach buggy in Cyprus while high on cannabis' has been jailed for just one year - sparking fury from her grieving husband. Camilla Christina Pamdahl, 46, had left her daughter, five, at the kids club of the hotel where she was staying so she could visit a local supermarket. But as she crossed the road at the resort of Ayia Napa last month (May) she was hit by the black and red dune buggy which was being driven by Manraj Singh Sidhu, 25. He was fast tracked through legal proceedings after pleading guilty and earlier this week sentenced to 12 months jail with the news being broken to Camillas heartbroken husband Jonas, 51, by MailOnline. Camilla Christina Pamdahl was killed in Ayia Napa last month by a man driving a beach buggy while high on cannabis. Husband Jonas asked 'Where is the justice?' after the driver was given just a year in prison Manraj Singh Sidhu (pictured), 25, plead guilty earlier this week and was sentenced to a year in jail Sidhu hit and killed the Swedish mother whilst driving a beach buggy in the holiday party town of Ayia Napa The rental buggy had overtaken a stopped car on Wednesday night before fatally hitting Pamdahl on a pedestrian crossing on Ayia Napa's Nissi Avenue Jonas said he will make an appeal to the Attorney General as he doesn't believe the sentence has taken everything into account He said: 'I'm so shocked by this decision. One year ? It's nothing. I knew it was going to trial but had no idea he had already been sentenced. 'Where is the justice? My brother-in-law has flown to Cyprus to try and get more information and to see what we can do about making an appeal. 'How can this happen? How can the judge only give one year? It seems to me they have rushed through this case and no matter he pleaded guilty. What about our family? 'I'm not sure the judge looked close enough into the circumstances. I've heard that he said he had served to avoid a stopped car but he still hit Camilla on a pedestrian crossing. 'What about the fact he was supposed to be drunk and that he had taken drugs ? None of this appears to have been taken into consideration. With good behaviour he could be out early next year. 'This is why we are looking at an appeal. It's very early stages at the moment but we want to find a lawyer in Cyprus who will make an appeal to the Attorney General. Jonas called the sentence of year 'nothing' 'It is totally crazy. I just don't think the court appreciated fully what happened. The speed he was going was also not taken into account.' MailOnline was the only media organisation in court when Sidhu, from Shefford, Bedfordshire, made his first appearance last month and his parents had flown in to support him. They were also there this week when he was sentenced and he will serve his jail term at Nicosia prison where a source said if he behaved he would be 'out within nine months'. The source added:' He could even ask to serve his sentence in the UK but by the time all the paperwork is complete there is a good chance he will have served most of his sentence and if he behaves he could be out within nine months. 'A year's jail does seem very lenient for what happened. The maximum is four years but the fact he pleaded guilty was taken into consideration but the victim's family have the option of appealing.' Camilla, who was from Gothenburg, Sweden, had arrived in Cyprus on April 29 with her daughter for a weeks holiday and was staying at the Sunwing Family resort which is Swedish owned. Paramedics raced to the scene and she was transferred to nearby Famagusta Hospital where she was declared dead. Camilla had left her five-year-old daughter at the kids club of the hotel where she was staying so she could visit a local supermarket At the time hotel manager Louis Misseris told MailOnline: It is very sad. I saw the accident as I arrived at the hotel and saw the road was blocked by the police. I decided to go and check it wasnt one of our guests because the zebra crossing is right outside the hotel and at first the police were not able to say. Then a after about an hour or so one of the staff from the kids club told us that a little girl hadnt been picked up and it was then we realised the victim was one of our guests. The police gave us the name and we checked and she was staying with us she had arrived the Friday before and should have left a week later. She had just taken the chance to go shopping and left her daughter at the club for a few minutes. Its very sad. The father came the following day to pick her up and take her back to Sweden. We informed the guests about what had happened and everyone was shocked, we are thinking about putting some flowers at the scene in the next few days. Jonas had no idea that his wife's killer had been sentenced. Sidhu's case was fast-tracked after his guilty plea Restaurant owner Theodora Marinova, who was working nearby at the time, said: I heard and saw everything. I was getting ready for the evening service when I heard a huge bang. I looked outside and saw the buggy and a car on the zebra crossing and so I ran to see if I could help, some of the people in the restaurant having dinner came as well. I saw a woman on the floor and there were two guys in the buggy, one looked hurt and the driver shook him as if to wake him up and then they both jumped out and ran away. One of them ran right past me and then the next thing a doctor from the hotel where the lady was staying came to help. I took one of the table cloths from the restaurant to make her more comfortable and the doctor was holding her heard. The ambulance was here very quickly and they took her to hospital but I heard she didnt make it. Its so terrible she had been in here for dinner with her daughter a few days before. Police later found Sidhu after issuing his photograph and asking for help in locating him and he was found around 11.30pm almost five hours after the incident. A top United States intelligence official said on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to take over most of Ukraine and noted that the outlook of the war is looking "grim." In a statement, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, said that the American government continues to be in a position overlooking Putin. U.S. officials believe that the Russian president has effectively the same political goals that they previously had, which is to take over most of Ukraine. Grim Outlook Haines added that U.S. intelligence agencies see three potential scenarios in the short term, the most likely outcome being a grinding conflict in which Russian forces only make incremental gains, but no breakthrough towards Putin's grand objective. The other possible scenarios include a major Russian breakthrough and Ukraine succeeding in stabilizing the frontlines while achieving small gains, perhaps near the Russian-held city of Kherson and other areas in southern Ukraine, as per MSN. Furthermore, Haines outlined the current U.S. intelligence assessment of the more than four-month-long war, saying that the consensus of U.S. spy agencies was that it would last "for an extended period of time." Read Also: China Warns NATO Expansion May Stir Conflict During Summit with Asian Rivals The remarks come as this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told United States President Joe Biden and other G7 leaders that he wished the war would be over by the end of the year. However, Haines' comments suggest that the billions of dollars in modern arms being supplied by the U.S. and other countries to Ukraine may not give Zelensky the ability to turn the tide against Russia anytime soon. According to Reuters, Haines said that Putin remains motivated to take most of Ukraine despite facing powerful defensive counterattacks from Kyiv's forces. However, Russian forces have been so degraded by more than four months of fighting that it is unlikely they can achieve their leader's plan any time soon. Russia-Ukraine War The official argued that during the potential years it would take for Russia to rebuild its forces, American intelligence anticipated that they would be more reliant on asymmetric tools that they have access to, such as cyber-attacks, efforts to control energy, and even nuclear weapons. All of this is in an attempt to manage and project power and influence on the international stage. Haines continued to say that in the interim, Russian troops were unlikely to be able to conduct multiple simultaneous operations in Ukraine. She said that Putin's priority right now is making gains in the Donbas region and collapsing Ukrainian forces, a development that Russia assesses will "cause the resistance from within to slump." The official's remarks also came after a summit of NATO leaders was held on Wednesday that branded Russia as the most "direct threat" to alliance security and vowed to modernize Kyiv's forces. The Western alliance's member leaders said that they stood behind their "heroic defense of their country." Russia's war in Ukraine was launched on Feb. 24 as authorities called it a "special military operation" to eliminate what it deemed a fascist government that threatened its security. However, Ukraine, the United States, and several other nations say that Russia is conducting an unjustified war of aggression against its neighboring European country, US News reported. Related Article: Russia "Cannot, Must Not Win" Against Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron Says Following Strike on Crowded Mall @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Advertisement Children were sent home early from a school after a group of travellers set up camp directly outside the entrance and started a fire. Pupils at Llanwern High School, in Newport, South Wales, were sent home on Tuesday when the travellers started a small a fire after parking up on Hartridge Farm Road outside. The school said on social media that the actions of the group, who were still there on Wednesday morning, meant students had to leave via the rear gate. This was to ensure that children who walked to and from school would not get home late due to the lengthy diversion route. Students who got the bus to and from school, and those who are collected, were able to leave the school as usual, the school said. It added it had contacted the local authority, Newport City Council, about the encampment, while police are also aware. Travellers set up camp in their caravans on the grass verge (pictured) outside the school on Tuesday, June 28, and were still there the following morning Students at Llanwern High School, in Newport, South Wales, were forced to go home early after the travellers arrived on Tuesday. Pictured is a sign at the entrance to the school The school said it sent students home early after travellers started a small fire outside the entrance. Pictured is a gas bottle and barbecue set up by the group 'Travellers have set up camp immediately outside the school gate,' the school said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon. 'The camp has a fire going at the moment so in agreement with the chair of governors, on this occasion, pupils have been directed to leave via the rear of the school and across the SDR bridge. 'To ensure pupils are not delayed in getting home, they have been allowed to leave a little bit earlier than usual. Pupils who take the bus will still be able to and those being collected will be allowed to leave via reception.' Numerous static caravans have been pictured at the site alongside gas bottles, barbeques and a number of other vehicles. Multiple vans and caravans could be seen outside the school after the camp was set up. The school said students were sent home early so they could get home on time due to the lengthy diversion route Pictured are vehicles parked up on the side of the road outside the school. The school says it has contacted Newport City Council about the encampment Newport City Council said it was 'aware of the unauthorised encampment' outside the school. Pictured are caravans and vehicles in the camp A spokesman for the city council said: 'Newport City Council is aware of the unauthorised encampment at Llanwern High School. 'The council has signed up to a Gwent regional protocol with Gwent Police and the four other councils for the management of unauthorised Gypsy and Traveller encampments. 'As per the protocol, our officers are currently liaising with Gwent Police regarding this encampment. The council are also working with the school to ensure safe access is maintained to the school site for pupils and staff.' A former SNP MP has been jailed for two years after embezzling almost 25,000 from donations to two pro-independence groups, and splashing the cash on rent and shopping. Natalie McGarry, 40, who represented Glasgow East between 2015 and 2017, was convicted of two charges of embezzlement - totalling 24,635 - in May following a trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court. A jury found her guilty by majority of a charge of taking 19,974 while she was treasurer of Women for Independence (WFI) between April 26 2013 and November 30 2015. She was also found guilty by majority of a second charge of embezzling 4,661 between April 9 2014 and August 10 2015 when she was treasurer, secretary and convener of the Glasgow Regional Association of the SNP. Sentencing McGarry, Sheriff Tom Hughes said she had betrayed people who put their trust in her and that a custodial sentence was inevitable. Natalie McGarry, 40, who represented Glasgow East between 2015 and 2017, was convicted of two charges of embezzlement - totalling 24,635 - in May following a trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court Sentencing McGarry (pictured in the Commons), Sheriff Tom Hughes said she had betrayed people who put their trust in her and that a custodial sentence was inevitable MP insisted there was 'no wrongdoing' after allegations emerged McGarry insisted there had been 'no wrongdoing on her part' after police were called in about tens of thousands of pounds of missing donations in 2016. But in a statement issued by her solicitor she announced she had taken the decision to leave the SNP 'in the best interests of the party and the constituents of the east end who voted for her'. 'She maintains she has done nothing wrong but is conscious that the events of the last 48 hours are distracting from the job she was elected to do on behalf of the SNP,' the statement said. 'She has a proud record as a principled activist and states she is determined to clear her name'. Opposition parties called on the SNP to suspend Miss McGarry, the niece of Holyrood Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick. When Mrs Thomson resigned the party whip following the launch of a police inquiry, Nicola Sturgeon said it was the 'right thing to do'. Miss McGarry, who helped to found Women for Independence, was not at a meeting of the group on Sunday, when members were told about missing funds. Conforming she had left the SNP a party spokesman said: 'Natalie McGarry MP has today indicated that she will temporarily be removing herself from the SNP whip at Westminster, which as a result will see her membership of the Scottish National Party suspended while the matter is investigated. 'Natalie McGarry has taken this step in order to allow the full and proper investigation of the issue. She now hopes that the investigation can proceed as quickly as possible, is clear that there has been no wrongdoing on her part, and will not be commenting further until the matter is resolved.' A source added: 'It was a complete shock. To say there's a feeling of betrayal, that trust has been broken, does not go far enough. It was a very upsetting meeting. 'As I understand it, they could not get access to Natalie. She blocked them from Facebook and Twitter and refused to answer phone calls. 'They have been trying to get answers from Natalie but she shut up shop and blocked everyone completely. That was very disappointing. 'I believe there was a conversation a month or so ago, where she promised to provide information, but that did not happen. The question was how much longer can we keep waiting. This is a members' organisation and we have to do the right thing by members.' Advertisement He told her: 'It's quite clear that society has a right to expect the highest standards from those who seek and eventually achieve high public office.' He added: 'Through your role in these offences, you have not only betrayed the trust placed in you by others, but your standards have fallen well short of those the public should have a right to expect from MPs.' The sheriff described the offences as 'very serious charges which took place over a long period of time'. Over the course of the six-week trial, the court heard from dozens of witnesses, including Scotland's former health secretary Jeane Freeman, who said she reported McGarry after noticing a significant shortfall in WFI accounts. Ms Freeman said she had no idea donations made to the group's independence Crowdfunder were going from the organisation's PayPal account into McGarry's personal bank account. She also voiced her frustrations at McGarry's delay in handing over receipts and invoices which would show what the funds had been spent on. The court also heard from witnesses that McGarry had personal financial difficulties and regularly received loans from family and friends. That included from Humza Yousaf, the current Scottish Health Secretary, who gave McGarry 600 to prevent her from being evicted from her house. The court also saw McGarry's bank records, which showed Crowdfunder donations from WFI being transferred to her own personal account. It included 10,472.52 on April 29 2014 and a further 9,848.70 on November 12 2014 - which she used to pay for rent and shopping. McGarry had said these were 'legitimate' expenses which she had incurred and which she was reimbursing herself for. At the sentencing today, defence agent Allan Macleod urged the sheriff to deal with his client as leniently as possible. He said: 'It's difficult to overstate the significant impact that these offences have had on Ms McGarry's life. 'In 2015 she was an MP, something that was a lifetime achievement. That has been transformed into a life she could barely have imagined seven years ago. 'The last seven years have been almost intolerable for her. As a consequence of these offences she has been ostracised by her former colleagues, people she was friends with, she lost her seat in parliament.' McGarry was elected as an SNP member in 2015 but resigned the party whip after the emergence of fraud allegations - which she denied. She continued in Parliament as an independent MP representing Glasgow East but did not seek re-election in 2017. McGarry previously appeared in court on embezzlement charges in 2018. She was sentenced to 18 months behind bars in June 2019 at Glasgow Sheriff Court after admitting two charges of embezzling more than 25,000. Days later she attempted to withdraw her two guilty pleas, however, the sheriff ruled that was not possible. She began a jail sentence of 18 months before being released days afterwards on bail, pending an appeal. The conviction was quashed in December 2019, and McGarry was later notified of a fresh prosecution, which has now concluded. McGarry was elected as an SNP member in 2015 but resigned the party whip after the emergence of fraud allegations - which she denied The Father of SNP MP Natalie McGarry arrives at Glasgow Sheriff Court for the sentencing JK Rowling threatened to sue McGarry after she accused her of 'bullying' In 2016, an explosive Twitter spat broke out between McGarry and JK Rowling, ending with the Harry Potter author threatening to sue the MP. McGarry sparked the row after claiming Rowling had supported an anti-Scottish nationalist Twitter user Brian Spanner, who has sent abusive tweets to McGarry and other pro-independence politicians in the past. Rowling, who received a string of sexist abuse for opposing nationalists during the Scottish referendum campaign, immediately demanded an explanation. McGarry responded by sending a screenshot of the author describing Spanner as a 'good man' in a Tweet posted in October last year and accused Rowling of 'bullying'. Then the row erupted. Rowling - still confused why she had been accused of supporting sexism - demanded proof. 'You aren't some random hater, Natalie,' Rowling tweeted. 'You're an elected politician and you've accused me of supporting abuse and misogyny... you need to provide proof that I support misogynistic abuse or you need to apologise.' Advertisement It comes as Scottish social media users have poked fun at First Minister Nicola Sturgeon after she gifted a special edition bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label whisky to the Queen during a meeting today. Sturgeon handed the Queen the 150 bottle of blended whisky and also faced criticism for showing a 'lack of respect' for the monarch after she called a second Scottish independence referendum during the 96-year-old's visit to Edinburgh. Twitter users were quick to make fun of the choice of gift with several claiming it would have been more special to pick an independent whisky brand while others said it would not be up to scratch for the Queen and compared it to Buckfast - the notorious high-strength fortified wine which has been linked to drunkenness and violence in Scotland. One said: 'Why did Sturgeon present HMTQ with a generic Johnnie Walker/Diageo whiksy? Was there some kind of undeclared incentive, because the Queen knows her stuff and it's not Scotland's finest. 'Why not support small business and give those distilleries the publicity?' Another added: 'Blue label is OK but there is some fine Scotch out there more fit for a Queen.' One user said: 'What, no Buckfast?' while another added: 'That's one for the staff Christmas do!' Another user joked: 'This is such a Scots thing to do, oi. Guess HRM is lucky she didn't get a case of Irn-Bru and a bag of haggie crisps.' The First Minister was received by Her Majesty at the Palace of Holyroodhouse this afternoon, just 100 yards or so from the Scottish Parliament where, yesterday, she announced plans to hold Indyref2 on October 19 next year. The referendum would need a favourable Supreme Court ruling to go ahead, which is seen as unlikely. Tory MP for North West Durham, Richard Holden, told MailOnline: 'Nicola Sturgeon is so obsessed with her own independence agenda that she simply doesn't care about anything or anyone else. Today, she's tried to use it to outshine her audience with the Queen'. He added: 'What Nicola Sturgeon should be concentrating on is turning around what she is responsible for in Scotland - the failing health system, education system that's falling down the international league tables and the worst drug deaths in the Western world rather than banging on about independence to cover up for her failures'. Bill Cosby boasted that has enjoyed 'one year of freedom home with my family' - days after a court ordered him to pay $500,000 to a woman he allegedly assaulted. The disgraced ex-TV star, 84, posted a picture to Instagram wearing a bright yellow shirt with the caption: 'After two years and 10 months fighting for my life and the truth - one year of freedom home with my family sure looks good on me. '(At least that's what my wife says).' Cosby, 84, was convicted of sexual assault in 2018. He spent two years and ten months behind bars. But he was released last June after a court overturned his conviction on a technicality. Boastful Bill: The disgraced ex-TV star posted a happy picture on Instagram to mark the verdict Cosby is pictured with wife Camille, 78, outside Montgomery Courthouse, PA on June 12, 2017 Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors in the case had violated Cosby's rights by reneging on a promise not to charge him. When did Cosby walk free? In late 2014, a flurry of sexual assault allegations against Cosby first appeared, dating between the mid-1960s and 2008. He was imprisoned in September 2018 on three counts of sexual assault and sentenced to three to ten years behind bars. Yet after two years and ten months, Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned Cosby's conviction on the grounds of 'due process violations'. Justice David Wecht wrote: 'Even though society has a strong interest in prosecuting crimes, it has an even stronger interest in ensuring that the constitutional rights of the people are vindicated.' He was released later on June 30, 2021. In March 2022, the United States Supreme Court declined to review the Pennsylvania decision. Cosby will remain free for the time being. Advertisement Huth's lawsuit was one of the last remaining legal claims against him after his insurer settled many others against his will. Cosby did not attend the trial or testify in person, but short clips from 2015 video deposition were played for jurors, in which he denied any sexual contact with Huth. Today's Instagram photo was taken by Cosby's longtime rep Andrew Wyatt. Rep Wyatt told DailyMail.com last week that his client was thrilled with Judge Craig Karlan's verdict - due to the fact the jury didn't award Huth millions. 'He said, "That's a victory, not having to pay Huth punitive legal bills,"' Wyatt said Wednesday, revealing he called Cosby immediately after the verdict to tell him of the lack of punitive damages. 'He was happy that no punitive [damages] were awarded,' Wyatt told DailyMail.com. 'What? That's all?' the comic reportedly asked, according to TMZ - before being met with a celebratory 'booyah!' from his PR specialist. Last week an LA civil court ordered Cosby to pay $500,000 to 64-year-old Judy Huth, who accused the convicted sex pest of sexually assaulting her at the Playboy Mansion in 1975. She was 16 at the time. Cosby reportedly cheered when he was informed that he didn't have to pay punitive damages. He was accused by more than 60 women of rape, drug-facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, child sexual abuse, and sexual misconduct. Alleged incidents spanned from 1965 to 2008. Cosby boasted in the caption that he had spent the time 'fighting for my life and the truth' Judy Huth (right) stands behind her attorney, Gloria Allred, outside the LA court last week Cosby had been found guilty of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand before his conviction was overturned In March, the United States Supreme Court declined to review the Pennsylvania decision. Cosby will therefore remain free for the time being. The high court declined prosecutors' request to hear the case and reinstate Cosby's conviction. As is typical, the Supreme Court did not say anything in rejecting the case. The case was included in a long list of cases the court said Monday it would not hear. Cosby's spokesperson Andrew Wyatt released a statement on Monday saying he was grateful for the decision. Women's rights activists reacted with disappointment. A female vicar at the centre of a bullying row with a 'white, wealthy' choir has resigned from one of Britain's most iconic churches. Catherine Relf-Pennington, 64, is leaving the historic Wymondham Abbey in Norfolk after receiving dozens of complaints against her, including of bullying, which she vehemently denied. She was also accused of assaulting a woman after banning her from the choir and reversing a truck into a parked vehicle in the abbey's car park, causing a 'six-inch-long gash', and driving off. A report in 2020 listed a total of 37 formal complaints made against the priest, leading to mediators and an investigation by a High Court judge. But Relf-Pennington, who had become the first woman vicar in the church's 900-year history, claimed she was in fact the victim of a cabal of 'white, wealthy, strongly interconnected men' who were not happy with a female running the show. She alleged she had received poison pen letters and had the tyres of her truck slashed. There were also disagreements over her style of preaching, with Kevin Hurn, Wymondham's mayor, describing it as 'very historical' and something that 'harked back to the ways of a previous generation', while others called it 'authoritarian.' Catherine Relf-Pennington, 64, is leaving the historic Wymondham Abbey in Norfolk after receiving dozens of complaints against her, including of bullying, which she always vehemently denied The years-long feud saw saw mediators having to be brought in, while a second choir has not performed at the Abbey for the past three years. The vicar's supporters said a 'small circle of white, wealthy, strongly interconnected men' were all 'hostile' to her. Former High Court Judge Sir Mark Hedley investigated, and in his report, he ordered the warring factions to get along, slamming the dispute as 'a disgrace to the Christian community'. Following Relf-Pennington's resignation, Mayor Hurn said he hoped a new vicar would be able to restore community spirit to the town. He said: 'Catherine has had a very torrid time at Wymondham and I think she has been under an incredible amount of pressure. 'Her way of preaching the Bible was very historical and harked back to the ways of a previous generation, which I do not think sat well with certain members of the church community. 'Whoever succeeds her will have a big challenge on their hands to restore harmony in the church community and bring back some of the people who have left to join other churches. 'The Abbey is the real crown jewel of Wymondham and I hope whoever takes over can help open it up and rise to this challenge.' Wymondham Choral Society, which has not held a concert at the Abbey for three years, said they hoped her departure would mean they could return to the historic venue. In his own 2021 investigation into the matter, the Bishop said the allegations against the vicar 'reflect a deeply felt division of opinion between parishioners who are supportive of the vicar and those who are not' The society, which is a separate organisation to the Abbey's own choir, previously held three concerts a year at the landmark, but was last permitted to perform there in 2019. They said: 'The dispute has made things incredibly distressing for our members and the community as a whole. 'A new vicar will be an entirely new person and we hope they will welcome us back with open arms.' A spokesman for the Diocese of Norwich said: 'Catherine Relf-Pennington has resigned her post as Vicar of Wymondham as of June 30 2022. 'The Bishop of Norwich and his senior colleagues will be working with the parish about plans for the future and the people of Wymondham continue to be much in his prayers.' In January (2022) the Rev Relf-Pennington delivered a 12-page broadside claiming she and her wardens at the abbey had been the victims of 'false allegations, delays and threats, and unremitting criticism of a church community doing its best in very difficult times'. She claimed there was an 'anti-women' element in the parish, and she astonishingly accused the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Reverend Graham Usher, of 'unethical, immoral and self-serving' behaviour. In their response at the time, the Diocese said the vicar had a 'legal duty to comply with the Bishop's directions and failure to do so could lead to disciplinary action for misconduct'. It said in January: 'As yet, a number of the Bishop's directions remain to be complied with, and he will be working to ensure that these matters are properly addressed. 'The Bishop is very keen to resolve matters in Wymondham for the benefit of the whole community.' Last November the bishop issued a series of recommendations for the vicar and the Abbey's church council (PCC), including ordering her to apologise to her congregation. He also raised concerns about the Abbey's finances. In his own 2021 investigation into the matter, the Bishop said the allegations against the vicar 'reflect a deeply felt division of opinion between parishioners who are supportive of the vicar and those who are not'. He said: 'These matters have monopolised a huge amount of my time since becoming Bishop of Norwich. 'The vicar has, unfortunately, alienated many of those who spoke to the visitation team by her authoritarian style.' She had refused to admit her part in the breakdown or 'accept any error in the way she has interacted with people', said the bishop. But her 12-page response, made public in January (2022) and said to be from her and the abbey wardens, said: 'We have been harassed. Relf-Pennington, who had become the first woman vicar in the church's 900-year history, claimed she was in fact the victim of a cabal of 'white, wealthy, strongly interconnected men' who were not happy with a female running the show. (Pictured: Wymondham abbey) 'For three years the pressure here has been unrelenting. We believe the intention has been to break the vicar, break the PCC and to break the worshipping community.' The response said complaints about the vicar had come from 'people opposed to women's ministry, disgruntled past employees and people vehemently opposed to changes which opened up the church to the wider community and modern ways of thinking'. It added: 'Throughout all these processes the Diocese has listened much more to some individuals - in particular a small circle of white, wealthy, strongly interconnected men, all hostile to the vicar, who have a huge influence over the matters at Wymondham Abbey and in the leadership of the Diocese. 'When the vicar became incumbent, there was no proper handover of finances. They were in a disorganised and confused state. 'The Abbey was fortunate to have a warden who was a forensic accountant, and he gave over 100 hours of his time to make sense of the financial history and to bring the accounts in line with charity law. 'At this time it became apparent how much money had been drained from the PCC reserve funds to pay the parish share over the past decade - making the financial position of the parish unsustainable. 'For many years, the Parish share of over 100,000 per annum has been a huge burden and only achieved by using Wymondham Abbey reserves which were left in legacy by people of Wymondham for the use of the Parish. On average this has been 30-40,000 per year from the reserves for the past 10 years. 'These reserves are now empty and the PCC had limited funds to sustain the church and people of Wymondham and Spooner Row over the pandemic. 'Raising the money for the parish share involves time, love and generosity - increasingly parishioners are unwilling to donate their time or money when it is taken by central church, and this very lengthy and protracted process initiated by the Diocese has drained people of good will to support the Church of England.' Sir Tony Blair denied he was launching a new political vehicle for himself today as he assembled his supporters in London to discuss 'challenges' facing modern Britain - including Brexit. The former Labour prime minister warned that 'a new politics and new policies' were needed, saying the UK is currently facing problems 'every bit as serious' as the post-War period. He made the remarks as he opened his 'Future of Britain' conference in central London, ahead of delivering the keynote speech himself later this afternoon. Other figures to have been invited include ex-Tory Cabinet ministers Rory Stewart - a former leadership candidate - and David Gauke, as well as Conservative peer Baroness Ruth Davidson and Labour MP Peter Kyle - a member of Sir Keir's shadow cabinet. Before opening the speech he had already issued a warning to Labour successor Sir Keir Starmer to spell out Labour's policies or face losing the next election. Welcoming guests this morning, Mr Blair said: 'This is not a new party. But it is about a new politics and the new policies which we need to make sure that any agenda we have works and endures for the future. 'And the context is simple and stark. Britain faces challenges that are unprecedented in recent times. 'Some like the technology revolution, and achieving net zero we share with other nations. Some, like Brexit are unique to Britain. Sir Tony insisted Labour had 'recovered its basic poise and clarity' under Sir Keir Starmer's leadership. But the ex-PM stepped up pressure on the Labour leader to set out his policies Sir Tony Blair is hosting a 'Future of Britain' conference in central London, with the former PM warning the UK is currently facing problems 'every bit as serious' as the post-War period Other figures to have been invited to Sir Tony's 'ideas conference' include ex-Tory Cabinet ministers Rory Stewart and David Gauke 'With a cost of living crisis, and the shadow of recession looming, we can't afford to continue as we are. 'We need to plan and prepare for a new world. And this is our way of starting this is not a new party. Sir Tony even suggested French President Emmanuel Macron had also been due to appear, if he had not had to attend this week's Nato summit in Spain. The former Labour leader has previously been rumoured to have been planning the creation of a new political movement in Britain modelled on Mr Macron's 'En Marche!' group. Sir Tony claimed that, if Sir Keir's predecessor Jeremy Corbyn had remained as Labour leader - or a similar figure from Labour's left had replaced him - then 'British politics would have had to broken up in some way'. The ex-PM dismissed suggestions he was still planning to create a new UK political party, as he insisted Labour had 'recovered its basic poise and clarity' under Sir Keir's leadership. But Sir Tony did not back away from his recent criticism that Sir Keir was 'struggling to break through with the public', as called on Labour to set out its policy agenda. He also appeared to suggest Sir Keir should adopt those New Labour-style ideas that were due to be discussed at his conference. 'The Labour Party is getting better all the time,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'I think Keir has done an amazing job given what he inherited after the Corbyn years. 'But the Labour Party itself is saying, "we're going to set out a policy agenda later this year and into next". 'In a way this conference - the ideas we're putting forward are available for anybody - but the purpose in part, from my perspective, is to say to the Labour Party "look, if we're going to win the next election, it's got to be as a modern, forward-looking progressive party that's not concentrating on the old Leftist shibboleth, but is rather understanding the modern world and able to harness things like the technological revolution in the right way". 'And if Labour sets out its stall with those types of ideas, that is what can seal the deal with the British people.' Pressed about what more Sir Keir needed to do to become prime minister, Sir Tony added: 'Create the policy agenda that makes it absolutely clear what type of Labour Party we are. 'He is entirely capable of doing that. I have had several conversations with him, we speak regularly to members of the Labour Party shadow cabinet - there are really good people there. 'And the changes he's made so far, and the Labour Party, have been good. 'But we've got to be absolutely frank with ourselves, if we want to win, it's going to be on the basis that people are absolutely clear what Labour is and what it stands for.' Explaining why he was organising today's conference, Sir Tony insisted that Britain was 'in a very tight spot' and was 'at serious risk of being relegated both in economic and political terms'. 'Next year our growth is going to be the lowest of any of the G20 other than Russia, we've got real problems on productivity, we've got a cost-of-living crisis, a looming recession,' he added. 'The conference today will focus in part also on what I call the three revolutions we're living through with no plan. 'A technology revolution, a 21st century equivalent of the 19th century industrial revolution; you've got a net-zero ambition - absolutely right but hugely difficult to achieve; and we've done Brexit, which is a fact, we've done it, but we've got to fix the problems and the consequences of it. 'Quite apart from the geo-political upheavals with Ukraine, we're in a situation where short-term and long-term the country's got big problems. 'This is an attempt to bring people together from across the political spectrum and say, "how do we fix it and what is the plan for the country's future?".' 'The problem at the moment is our politics is just politics. 'When the situation, I would say, today is every bit as serious as it was in 60s, in the 70s, or even after the Second World War.' An obsessed stalker who is alleged to have repeatedly emailed The Crown star Claire Foy about her being raped and bombarded her with 1,000 emails in one month poses a 'significant risk' to the actress, a court heard today. Jason Penrose, 39, sent the actress' publicist Emma Jackson vile emails about the star being raped and said he wanted to be her boyfriend, as well as showing up at her home and ringing the doorbell 'constantly', the court was told. He appeared in court this morning as the judge considered whether a full stalking protection order would be granted to prevent Penrose from contacting Ms Foy or her publicist. Ms Jackson forwarded the emails to Ms Foy's agent, who also received the messages but had blocked the sender's account. Penrose, who gave his address as Highgate Mental Health Centre, was accompanied by NHS workers at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court in London today, where the court was adjourned while Penrose's mental health is assessed. Ms Foy, 38, who played The Queen in the first two series' of hit Netflix show The Crown, called police on December 17 last year to report Penrose, from Paddington, London, had turned up to her home and was ringing her doorbell. Foy, who starred in the Crown (pictured), was referenced in emails allegedly sent by Penrose to her agent and publicist which contained explicit content Penrose allegedly showed up at Claire Foy's (pictured) home on December 17 2021 - at which point the actress called the police reporting he was outside her residence ringing on her doorbell constantly This followed the star's publicist receiving numerous explicit emails, including 1,000 of them sent between November and December 2 2021. Ms Jackson allegedly received an email from Penrose at 9.30pm on November 2 of last year, which read: 'I'm sorry I think Claire should not be talking about any personal stuff in media and only creative business.' At 5.10pm the next day a new email arrived which read: 'If they f*** raped Claire in the a** and bruised her inner thighs, she could get lots of cheap magazine covers or a hundred dollar f***dates in Europe.' Emails then became more frequent, and Ms Foy's publicist forwarded them to her agent. The agent reportedly told Ms Jackson they were also receiving emails from this account but had blocked it. Matters escalated when Penrose showed up at Ms Foy's home on December 17 2021 - at which point the actress called the police reporting he was outside her residence ringing on her doorbell constantly. Magistrates at Highbury Corner heard Penrose speak to confirm his name, date of birth and address. He requested a lawyer and asked for media to be banned from the hearing - this last request was denied The actress was granted a temporary Stalking Protection Order in February which bans Penrose, who currently resides in a mental health hospital, from contact with her or her publicist while the investigation continues. He was banned from attending their homes, places of work or anywhere he would reasonably expect them to be - and any breach could be prosecuted as a criminal offence. Penrose is also banned from entering the boroughs of Islington or Camden except to attend court, medical appointments or hospital. The order was due to expire on July 4, but has now been extended until the date of the adjourned hearing later in the month. Penrose could face up to five years behind bars if he is charged with and found guilty of breaching the order. Court documents from today's hearing added: 'The emails Ms Jackson continued to receive were quite graphic and talked about Foy being raped, w***ing herself out and wanting her to be his girlfriend.' The court heard Penrose poses 'a risk associated with stalking and to another person and there is a reasonable cause to believe the proposed order is necessary to protect another from such a risk.' Rosa Bennathan, prosecuting on behalf of the Metropolitan Police, told today's hearing the complainants in this case, Clare Foy and her manager Emma Jackson, first became aware of Penrose in August and September 2021. Penrose contacted Ms Jackson claiming to be a film producer looking for Ms Foy to appear in his film. She said she did not know him and refused the request. The prosecutor said: 'From November 2021 the respondent began sending emails to Ms Jackson about Ms Foy. 'By 2 December 2021 there were more than 1,000 emails. 'He also contacted Ms Foy's sister and later attended Ms Foy's address having worked out where that was. 'It is clear an order is necessary. There have been some breaches of the order which are currently being investigated by the police.' Penrose, who was not initially legally represented, appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court in north London wearing a blue shirt, beige trousers, brown shoes and a dark green hat for today's hearing. He spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address at a mental health hospital in north London as he asked to be represented by a lawyer. He also asked for media to be banned from the hearing, but that request was refused. Lawyer Moira Macfarlane told magistrates the case should be adjourned for at least three weeks so his mental health needs could be assessed. She said more needed to be known about his condition as his mental health diagnosis was not yet complete, saying: 'His mental health is still under question.' The Crown star Claire Foy (pictured) called police after alleged stalker Jason Penrose, 38, who sent emails about her being raped, repeatedly rang the doorbell at her home, the court heard She added that, since she had just been assigned as his lawyer and was given paperwork this morning, she did 'not have the time for justice to be done this morning.' The Metropolitan Police said it only needed to be shown that he understood the terms of the interim order for the case to go ahead and asked for it to be resolved this afternoon. The force's plea was refused by magistrates and Penrose will next appear in court on July 22 when a decision about imposing a full Stalking Protection Order is expected to be made. Chairman of the bench Clive Jenkin told him: 'You are still subject to a treatment order at a mental health unit. 'If you are released we are very concerned about your behaviour. 'We do not want you to harass or stalk these two women that have been mentioned at this court.' Penrose replied: 'I won't, I promise you.' Ms Foy, who has won a Golden Globe, two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, starred in Steven Soderbergh's psychological thriller Unsane, and played Neil Armstrong's wife Janet Shearon in the biopic of the astronaut, First Man. More recently she appeared in My Son and hit TV series A Very British Scandal. The case continues. Rats filmed crawling over fresh croissants in Sainsbury's had infested the store after climbing into the ceiling above the bakery from a damaged drain, a report has revealed. Health inspectors visited the branch in Islington, North London, after the rancid clip showed the rodents scurrying across the baked goods last year. It's now been revealed that the rats were able to access the bakery because they squeezed through voids - the space between internal roof and building ceiling - at the Sainsbury's branch on Essex Road. The stomach-churning video, which was captured by videographer Anthony Mitson, shows the two rodents crawling over croissants at the Sainsbury's Local. The rodents then leap onto the metal shelves behind the open-fronted stand and scamper away. During the clip, the rats scurry around the croissants tray before leaping onto the metal shelves behind the milk aisle and running away. The camera then pans down the aisle of the supermarket which appears to be empty. The two rats are spotted in the bakery section of the Sainsbury's store on Essex Road in Islington. It's now been revealed that they scurried through the sewers before entering in voids above the ceilings The rats scurry over the fresh croissants before leaping onto the shelf behind the milk aisle At the time, Sainsbury's said it had taken 'immediate action' to clean the store and had called in the contractors. A report revealed by the Metro.co.uk now shows that the rodents scuttled up from sewers into ceiling voids above a bakery. Along with finding their entrance route, they said that droppings were found around the external manhole gully of the store. The council found: 'The overview of the pest records submitted shows there were ongoing issues with rats during 2021, particularly relating to the external areas and the bakery and chiller areas. 'Many of the pest reports stated housekeeping/cleaning was required, and this was being intermittently maintained. There was also a number of pest proofing issues identified by Rentokil that appeared to take some time to repair and is likely to have contributed to allowing access to pests. 'The more recent rat activity was identified by staff in the bakery area on 15 September and again cleaning and proofing works around the chillers and ceiling void were identified by Rentokil on these subsequent visits.' Rentokil, the on-site pest contractor for Sainsbury's, found entry and exit holes after carrying out 'treatment, monitoring and investigations' when the video came to light. The letter reads: 'It was understood rats had gained access to the ceiling voids and there were entry/exit points above the adjacent retail chillers. [Redacted] enquired about the drainage system and found droppings around the external manhole gully. A Sainsbury's spokesperson said at the time that they were 'taking immediate action' to clean the store on Essex Road in Islington (pictured) '[Redacted] sent a follow-up letter requesting pest control reports, pest control procedures, due diligence checks records, and an action plan on how the company proposed to deal with this to prevent a reoccurrence.' Sent in February 2022, the letter from the council's Public Protection Team continues: 'During this visit, [Redacted] was advised that the rats had entered the premises via the sewer system where they had gained access to the ceiling void area above the bakery. '[Redacted] was advised that all pest proofing issues were being repaired and sensors and cameras were being fitted for continued surveillance of the rodent infestation. 'The root cause was identified as problems with the drainage system, including a collapsed drain, and it is understood that this, and all other necessary repairs within the premises, has now been completed. 'However, this drainage system area was not investigated until [Redacted] conducted the visit.' The Sainsbury's shop reopened on October 11 after they were satisfied that there was no longer any rodent activity in the premises. A Sainsbury's spokesperson said, 'All our stores have strict pest control and hygiene processes. These were in place at our Essex Road store and additional, immediate steps were taken at the time of this incident last year. The council and Environmental Health confirmed they were satisfied with the steps which were taken at the time.' Senator Patrick Leahy, 82, broke his hip in a fall at his home in McLean, Virginia on Wednesday evening and is undergoing surgery Thursday morning, his office announced. The Vermont Democrat is one of the oldest members of Congress and currently serves as President pro tempore of the Senate. 'Having been born blind in one eye, the Senator has had a lifelong struggle with reduced depth perception,' Leahy's office wrote in a statement on the fall. 'He has taken some remarkable dingers over the years but this one finally caught up with him.' The Thursday morning statement added: 'His doctors determined that the best course of action would be to have surgery to repair his hip as soon as possible.' 'He is expected to make a full recovery and begin a healthy course of physical therapy immediately.' Senator Patrick Leahy, 82, fell at his Virginia home Wednesday evening and broke his hip, requiring him to undergo surgery Thursday morning One of the woes of a 50-50 split Senate is that having just one member of your party out for any reason jeopardizes the chances of getting anything passed until their return. Leahy is the longest serving U.S. senator and will have eight terms and 48 years in the upper chamber under his belt when his latest terms end in January 2023. The Democrat announced in November that he will not seek reelection in the 2022 midterms. There are only four senators who are older than Leahy currently serving the oldest being Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, who is 88. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley is also 88-years-old, but is about three months younger than Feinstein. Alabama Republican Senator Richard Shelby is 87 and so is fellow GOP Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma. Although Leahy is now one of the elder members of Congress, he was only 34-years-old when he was elected to the Senate, making him the youngest senator in Vermont history. He is also the last of the so-called Watergate babies, which refers to the surge of congressional Democrats elected in 1974 after former President Richard Nixon resigned to avoid impeachment. During Donald Trump's second impeachment trial, Leahy was the presiding officer over the proceedings in the Senate, which ultimately felt and again acquitted the former president. President Joe Biden caught himself in the act of an embarrassing gaffe during a press conference on Thursday, mistakenly saying neutral Switzerland was joining NATO - rather than Sweden. He quickly recovered, joking that he must be getting anxious about the process of expanding the alliance. Biden delivered his remarks at the end of a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, where the big news was Turkey dropping its objection to Sweden and Finland joining the alliance. He described the process by which the two nations made their application after Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. First came a call from the leader Finland, asking to visit the White House. 'We got the telephone ... he suggested we call the leader of Switzerland ... ' he said before realizing his mistake. 'Switzerland, my goodness, I'm getting really anxious here about expanding NATO. 'Sweden.' President Joe Biden addressed the media at the end of a six-day trip to Europe. But he blundered by saying neutral Switzerland - rather than Sweden - was joining NATO Biden joined allies at the NATO summit in Madrid, where the big news was progress in Sweden and Finland joining the 30-strong alliance Biden arrived in Europe on Saturday night for the G7 summit in Germany, before flying to Spain. But he has taken few questions from reporters during the trip. On Thursday, he called on four reporters whose names were on a prepared list. As has become White House practise, administration officials had telephoned members of the traveling press pack to ask what the journalists planned to ask. 'I'm supposed to go down the list here,' said Biden as he called on Jim Tankersley of the New York Times. Earlier, leaders at the NATO summit had made clear they remained united in supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes. Biden used his news conference to say he was sending another $800 million in aid to Ukraine and said Putin's aggression had backfired with the way NATO was expanding. 'Putin thought he could break the transatlantic alliance,' he said. 'He tried to weaken us. He expected our resolve to fracture but he's getting exactly what he did not want. 'He wanted the Finlandization of NATO. He got the NATOization.' Sweden and Finland ended decades of neutrality to apply for NATO membership after Russia invaded Ukraine. President Joe Biden, Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finland's President Sauli Niinisto walk along the Colonnade to the Oval Office at the White House, last month Russia's invasion of Ukraine prompted Finland and Sweden to launch NATO applications If the nations are accepted into the alliance they will bring with them almost 1million troops, including reserves, along with a huge amount of artillery, jets and submarines Turkey opposed their application, angered by what it says is their support for Kurdish militants and arms embargoes on Ankara. But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dropped his opposition on the eve of the summit, allowing NATO to formally invite them to join the alliance. 'I think we can all agree this has been a historic NATO summit,' said Biden. 'Before the war started I told Putin that if he invaded Ukraine NATO would not only get stronger, but it would get more united, and we would see democracies of the world stand up and oppose his aggression and defend the rules based order. 'That is exactly what we are seeing today.' Earlier, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Sweden and Finland will sign the alliance's accession protocol on Tuesday - the next step to joining. That must then be ratified by all 30 members for them to become members. Production has been halted in the world's biggest chocolate plant In Belgium by an outbreak of Salmonella. Swiss giant Barry Callebaut's plant in the Belgian town of Wieze, immediately stopped exporting products after the dangerous bacteria was found, the firm said today. The factory produces liquid chocolate in wholesale batches for 73 clients, such as Hershey, Mondelez, Nestle and Unilever. There have been no reports so far of any chocolate consumers infected by the salmonella, which causes salmonellosis, a disease that cause diarrhoea and fever. It identified lecithin, an emulsifier routinely used in making chocolates, as the source of the contamination. Salmonella bacteria were discovered at the world's biggest chocolate factory in Belgium, forcing production to stop Barry Callebaut most of the products discovered to be contaminated are still on the site, but the company has contacted clients and asked them not to ship any products 'All products manufactured since the test have been blocked,' spokesman Korneel Warlop said. 'Barry Callebaut is currently contacting all customers who may have received contaminated products. Chocolate production in Wieze remains suspended until further notice.' Most of the products discovered to be contaminated are still on the site, and the company does not sell products directly to consumers so there is no reason to believe contaminated goods have yet made it onto shop shelves. But the firm has contacted all its clients and asked them not to ship any products they have made with chocolate made since June 25. 'Food safety is of the utmost importance for Barry Callebaut and this contamination is quite exceptional. We have a well-defined food safety charter and procedures,' the firm said. Belgium's food safety agency AFSCA has been informed and a spokesman told AFP it had opened an investigation. The plant doesn't make chocolates to be sold directly to consumers, so the risk of contaminated products making people ill is less likely (Barry Callebaut chocolates pictured) An AFSCA spokesman said investigators would 'gather all the information in order to trace the contamination'. The company is world number one in the sector, its annual sales amounted to 2.2 million tonnes during the 2020-2021 financial year. Over the past financial year, the group, which has a head office is in Zurich, generated a net profit of 384.5 million Swiss francs ($402 million) for 7.2 billion francs in turnover. The group employs more than 13,000 people, has more than 60 production sites worldwide. The scare comes a few weeks after a case of chocolates contaminated with salmonella in the Ferrero factory in Arlon in southern Belgium manufacturing Kinder chocolates. Belgian health authorities said on June 17 that they had given the green light to restart the Italian giant's factory for a three-month test period. French authorities convicted the lone surviving member of a group that carried out a 2015 terrorist rampage across Paris on Wednesday, finding him guilty of all charges, including murder and terrorism, and sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The hearing of the individual is considered to be the biggest criminal trial in modern French history. The court found that the suspect, identified as Salah Abdeslam, played a key role among the men who deployed explosives and assault rifles as they targeted the Bataclan concert venue, a national stadium, and several restaurants and cafes. Terrorist Suspect Convicted The incident took place on the night of Nov. 13, 2015, and resulted in the murder of 130 people and the injury of hundreds of others. Later, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bloodsheds, which were France's worst terrorist attacks since World War II. While the attention of the public during the 10-month trial was focused on Abdeslam, who is a Belgian-born French citizen, 19 other suspects were believed to have been perpetrators and accomplices and also charged. Five of them are presumed dead and one is imprisoned in Turkey, as per the Washington Post. Out of the 20 defendants, 19 were found guilty of all charges on Wednesday, with punishments ranging from suspended sentences to life in prison. The court also sentenced the 32-year-old Abdeslam to the harshest form of a life-in-prison sentence under French law, an extremely rare punishment that will make parole almost impossible. Read Also: Ukraine Shopping Mall Death Toll: 18 Dead, More Missing as Fears of Mass Casualty Rise After Russian Missile Attack Lawyers representing the victims of the terrorist attacks in 2015 welcomed the severity of the court's ruling. Gerard Chemla said that Abdeslam's sentence is symbolic and extremely rare because it sanctions extremely serious events. According to CNN, during the hearing of the verdict, Abdeslam did not appear to react to his sentence while Farid Kharkhach, who was convicted of a lesser charge, cried after hearing his verdict. Horrific Attacks The verdicts of the suspects are a culmination of a lengthy trial that began on Sept. 8, 2021, and involved more than 330 lawyers and roughly 1,800 civil parties, said the French Justice Ministry. The proceedings took place in a purpose-built courtroom inside the Palais de Justice in central Paris. The trial included testimony from first responders who described the horrors that they observed at the Bataclan concert hall and at bars and restaurants in the city. Survivors also spoke of their desperation as they tried to hide from the terrorists in fear for their lives. Family members of the people who were killed recalled how their anxiety turned to sorrow as they learned of the death of their loved ones. Dominique Kielemoes, whose son bled to death in one of the attacked cafes, said that the assassins or terrorists thought they were firing into the crowd, into a mass of people. She said that hearing the testimonies of victims during the trial was "crucial to both their own healing and that of the nation." She argued that the attackers were not firing into a mass of people, but a group of individuals who had their own lives and had hopes and expectations for the future, CBS News reported. Related Article: Ukraine War: Videos Show Scary Aftermath of Russia's Missile Attack at Shopping Mall With 1000+ People Inside @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A woman who collapsed with hypothermia during Sir Paul McCartney's headline performance at Glastonbury on Saturday night said she 'sobbed her heart out' after missing most of the show. Lisa Morris, 50, a self-described 'superfan' of Sir Paul, spent seven hours outside in front of the Pyramid Stage waiting for her hero to appear. Mrs Morris, of Twerton, Somerset, says she felt herself 'fading' within 20 minutes of Sir Paul taking to the stage and had to be pulled from the crowd. She could only remember the first 15 minutes of Macca's performance and said she was 'gutted' to have missed the rest. 'He came out and I burst into tears and then almost immediately I began to feel really unwell,' she said. Lisa Morris, 50, from Twerton, who collapsed at Paul McCartney's Glastonbury gig with hypothermia after waiting for seven hours to see him, 'sobbed her heart out' afterwards Kind: Sir Paul McCartney halted his Glastonbury headline set and called for help after seeing Mrs Morris collapse in the middle of the crowd Disruption: Sir Paul paused his tribute to Jimi Hendrix during his set to make sure the festival goer was okay (pictured: the crowds pointed to Mrs Morris) 'My temperature had dropped really low so everything I had eaten and drank came back up. I started being sick but I tried to stick it out.' Mrs Morris had earlier burrowed her way through the crowd along with friend Kerry and staked out a spot by the barriers with a prime view of the stage. They took a bag full of snacks, jelly beans, Coca Cola and cereal bars to give themselves enough energy through the hours ahead. But after the gig started at 9pm, the rock star saw Mrs Morris collapsing and halted his performance to ask, 'What's going on over there?' He gestured to bystanders to help, adding: 'Is there something happening there? If so, let's tend to it. Come on.' A moment later he said: 'It's okay we sorted it, we sorted it. There you go, mate!' He then joked: 'It wasn't that solo I played? All right.' Concern: Paul stopped on stage and pointed to the area in question, and said: 'What's going on over there? Is there something happening there? If so let's tend to it' Mrs Morris, who is a nurse herself, was taken to the medical tent and found to have hypothermia, with a dangerously low body temperature of 35C. 'I didn't think for a minute that I had hypothermia, but when you are in it yourself you don't think like that. I just felt tired, but I thought I had to stick it out. I have been waiting for this moment for three years. 'I had a really big pasta bowl before I went in because I knew I'd be there a while and I thought I would be warm inside the crowd. However, there was a strong wind blowing through the Pyramid - I could feel it catching my flag, which I held up for seven hours.' Earlier this year, Mrs Morris's husband Rob was diagnosed with bowel cancer, and she said: 'The thought of seeing Paul McCartney has been the only thing getting me through the last 15 weeks.' Her husband was meant to accompany her to Glastonbury Festival - where she was working at the church - but he had to sit it out due to a recent operation. The pair last saw Sir Paul when they nabbed tickets to one of his London concerts for their wedding anniversary in 2019. Amazing: With Paul having celebrated his 80th birthday last Saturday, his crowd of adoring fans sang Happy Birthday to him, before he broke into song with his 1995 hit, I Feel Like I'm Letting Go Outrage: However, while Paul's show began at 9:30pm, BBC delayed broadcasting the show until 10:30pm, with many viewers sharing their anger on social media Mrs Morris also saw the former Beatle at Glastonbury in 2004, which she said was the 'most magical moment' of her life. 'This was my moment and I feel like I fluffed it up. I was in anticipation all day and I couldn't settle myself until I got my spot in front of the stage. Luckily my friend Kerry came with me. I don't know what I would have done without her, but I feel terrible for making her miss Paul too. 'I felt okay during Noel Gallagher but there was a big surge after that. Luckily I stood my ground against the barrier. I am a super-fan and I told everybody that while we were waiting. 'I had been wearing my Paul McCartney t-shirt, my Sgt Pepper denim jacket and a skirt with shorts under it. So when I got pulled out, I just heard everyone saying "oh no," because they knew how much I'd wanted to see Macca. 'When I got to the medical tent, they gave me anti-sickness medication and I put on tracksuit bottoms, a jumper, a hoody and a coat. I could hear my favourite songs playing from the tent, like Live and Let Die and Golden Slumbers. 'I felt a whole mixture of emotions. I haven't been able to watch it back on iPlayer yet but I will just need to go and sit in a dark room by myself when I do.' A British woman who claims she was raped by James Bond screenwriter Paul Haggis has faced him in court at a pretrial hearing. The 28-year-old woman, whose identity is known by MailOnline but cannot be revealed, told police the Oscar winning Canadian attacked her three times earlier this month. She says he subjected her to a terrifying two-day ordeal after she arrived at Ostuni near Brindisi, Italy to meet him at a film festival he was giving a workshop at. The pretrial review before judge Vilma Gilli was to give prosecutors and defence teams the chance to put their versions across and both the woman and Haggis, 69, were cross examined. A British woman who claims she was raped by James Bond screenwriter Paul Haggis has faced him in court at a pretrial hearing. Pictured: Paul Haggis, center, arrives with his lawyer Michele Laforgia at Brindisi law court in southern Italy, on June 22 at an earlier hearing In a lengthy eight-hour session at Brindisi court that ended just before midnight the woman, who is a university graduate from London and who has worked in the arts, gave her version of events. She described how she had met Haggis at a film festival earlier this year and the two had stayed in touch agreeing to meet at the Allora Film Festival in Ostuni earlier this month. (June) The woman's lawyer, Carlo Strata, said she "remained calm and composed" and stuck to her story during the hearing describing how she was attacked three times during the two days and then dumped at Brindisi airport by Haggis at 6am. Staff found her in dishevelled state and alerted police who after she had told them what she claims happened, held Haggis at his hotel later the same day. He and his lawyer Michele Laforgia have insisted that sex between the pair was consensual, with Haggis saying the woman had asked him to get her a part as a "Bond girl". According to Mr Laforgia a medical examination carried out by doctors on the girl has been "misinterpreted" and was caused by an issue with a sanitary product. File photo: Haggis is pictured on October 16, 2015 arriving at the Rome Film Festival Haggis - who is accused of sexual violence - has been ordered to remain in Italy until the judicial authorities decide to carry on the case or dismiss it while the girl has now left for London. After the hearing Mr Strata said:' My client confirmed without hesitation and very clearly everything she has already described in her statement to the police. 'It was a very tiring day for us all, she asked for a few breaks for coffee and water, and she maintained her composure throughout. 'I saw Mr Haggis was making notes and he will have time to reflect on what was said in the next few days as we wait for the next step in the judicial process. 'We are very grateful to the prosecution and the police for their work in this case although as yet we have not had a full disclosure of Mr Haggis version.' Haggis wrote the screenplays for the Daniel Craig blockbusters Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace and he won an Oscar with his screenplay for the 2004 hit Crash Mr Laforgia said: 'It was a very long session, and some aspects were clarified and some will be clarified over the course of the next few days. 'Sexual offences are very serious crimes and need to be investigated properly and thoroughly but we have faith that this work will ensure the freedom of Mr Haggis. 'Obviously, he is apprehensive as anyone accused of such an offence would be, but we continue to insist on his innocence, and we will be asking for his house arrest to be revoked in the next few days.' Haggis co-wrote the 007 blockbusters Quantum of Solace and Casino Royal and in 2006 he won a best screenplay and best film Oscar for Crash. He also wrote the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby which was another Oscar winner. In recent years he has had legal problems from claims of sexual misconduct by four women in the United States. One of the women is his former publicist Haleigh Breest who sued him for sexual assault in New York in 2017, accusing him of forcing her to give him oral sex before raping her after a 2013 premiere. A friend of the woman told MailOnline: 'She went to Italy after meeting this director online. She is very well educated and moves in very glamorous social circles. 'I couldn't believe it when she told me what happened. She loves the arts and has worked in galleries in London, she is a very attractive woman.' Boris Johnson tonight revealed how Vladimir Putin has made more than 30 threats of nuclear war since his invasion of Ukraine - as the Prime Minister vowed to boost defence spending to counter Russia's aggression. At a press conference ending the NATO summit in Madrid, the PM announced the UK would be spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by the end of the decade. Mr Johnson insisted budgets will soar well over the alliance's two per cent target in the coming years, as the Government 'invests for the long term' as a response to the threat from Russia. The PM later revealed the extent of 'sabre-rattling' by Mr Putin, but warned against the West being dragged into the Russian President's depiction of a 'Russia versus NATO' conflict. Britain's former ambassador to the US, Sir Kim Darroch, this week warned that NATO had to be ready for a nuclear strike by Russia. Asked how many nuclear threats there had been from Mr Putin since the start of the Ukraine war, the PM told LBC Radio: 'Well, there's an analysis that I think has been done by somebody recently, a think tank. 'Theyre looking at about 35 mentions, or perhaps it's a little bit more now, of that issue.' But, speaking to the station's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast show, Mr Johnson stressed it was 'very, very important that we shouldn't allow ourselves to be side-tracked by this kind of sabre-rattling, because fundamentally, what Putin is trying to do is to reframe this'. 'It's about Russia versus NATO. It's about, you know, a stand-off of that kind,' he added. 'It's not. It's about his attack on an entirely innocent country, with conventional weapons, with artillery, bombardments with planes, shells and so on. 'And it's about the Ukrainians right to protect themselves. That is what this is about.' At a press conference ending the NATO summit in Madrid, Boris Johnson insisted defence budgets will soar well over the alliance's 2 per cent target in the coming years The PM revealed how Vladimir Putin has made more than 30 threats of nuclear war since his invasion of Ukraine The PM's proposed hike in defence spending, to 2.5 per cent of GDP, would be equivalent to around 10billion a year extra in today's prices by 2030 - with experts warning it might mean taxes will have to rise further to meet the commitment. Based on Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts for the size of the economy, there will be 55.1billion additional spending over the rest of the decade. However, Mr Johnson still faced questions over why the size of the army is being trimmed, arguing that the priority was 'to have armed services that are brilliantly equipped'. The PM said: 'We need to invest for the long-term in vital capabilities like future combat air whilst simultaneously adapting to a more dangerous and more competitive world. 'The logical conclusion of the investments on which we propose to embark, these decisions, is that we'll reach 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by the end of the decade.' Mr Johnson described the NATO alliance as 'united' and in 'robust health' as the Madrid summit drew to a close. He told a press conference: 'The NATO alliance is plainly in robust health and getting stronger, with new members and a new purpose. 'We can see that our work is cut out 'If history is any guide, then I believe that this great alliance will again be successful.' Despite the spending commitment, Mr Johnson is on the verge of abandoning a Tory manifesto pledge. A senior Government source has acknowledged that the 2019 promise to increase budgets by 0.5 percentage points above inflation might have to be abandoned. The source pointed out that the public finances had been battered by Covid and inflation is set to hit 11 per cent this year. 'The intention is always to honour manifesto commitments but they were made before 400 billion was spent coping with a global pandemic that none could have possibly foreseen,' the source said. Earlier this week IFS chief Paul Johnson issued a chart underlining how more money for health budgets had been found by easing back on military spending since the 1950s The PM pictured at the NATO summit in Madrid today, as it came to a conclusion Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has been cranking up demands for higher military spending to counter the threat from Russia. He warned at a RUSI think-tank event defence can no longer exist on a 'diet of smoke and mirrors', pointing out that ministers had behaved like 'corporate raiders' for decades as they diverted money to the NHS and other services. Senior Tory MP Tobias Ellwood said that committing to increase spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by the end of the decade is 'too little too late'. The chairman of the Commons Defence Committee tweeted: 'This is NOT the time to cut the Army by 10,000. 'And moving to 2.5% defence spend by 2030 is too little too late.' The PM's full interview will be broadcast tomorrow from 7am on LBCs Nick Ferrari at Breakfast Liz Cheney insists that she is 'absolutely confident' in Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony after she revealed during Tuesday's January 6 hearing her recollection of being told about an incident where Donald Trump lunged at a member of his security detail. She also said that the January 6 select committee will defend 'brave' Hutchinson against 'character assassinations by anonymous sources' and those who were called to testify but did not comply. The Wyoming lawmaker's defense comes after a report cast doubt on her testimony from a source close to Tony Ornato, the former Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations for Trump, who the witness alleges told her about the incident. 'I am absolutely confident in her credibility,' Representative Liz Cheney told ABC News' Jonathan Karl in a clip of an interview that was released Thursday when asked about the campaign to destroy Hutchinson's credibility. 'I think that what Cassidy Hutchinson did was an unbelievable example of bravery and of courage and patriotism in the face of real pressure,' said Cheney, the Republican vice chair of the January 6 select committee. Cheney's interview with Karl is the first since Hutchinson's bombshell testimony to the committee on Tuesday and will air in full on ABC's This Week program on Sunday morning. Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, are trying to cast doubt on the true access that Hutchinson had as the top aide to the then-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Trump insists that he 'hardly' knows who Hutchinson is and says her testimony is revenge for him not keeping her on his payroll after he left office in January 2021 as he relocated to Mar-a-Lago. Representative Liz Cheney, vice chair of the January 6 select committee, said that she is 'absolutely confident' in Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony and will not 'stand by and watch her character be assassinated by anonymous sources and by men who are claiming executive privilege' Cheney's defense of the 25-year-old witness comes as Republicans, including Donald Trump, attempt to discredit her testimony and claim she did not have the access she claims she did Hutchinson testified for two hours before the committee on Tuesday, including a story about Trump lunging at a Secret Service agent in his detail when he told the then-president that he could not drive him to the Capitol on January 6. The Secret Service's chief of communications says the January 6 committee did not contact them before sharing explosive testimony from Hutchinson about the alleged physical altercation Cheney, however, claims that the nine-member panel has 'real confidence' that she 'testified honestly'. 'Her credibility is there for the world to judge,' she told Karl in the pre-recorded interview. 'She's an incredibly brave young woman,' Cheney added. 'The committee is not going to stand by and watch her character be assassinated by anonymous sources and by men who are claiming executive privilege.' The highly publicized hearings were meant to go on break after last week until the House came back into session in mid-July but Chairman Bennie Thompson announced on Monday a surprise last-minute hearing with Hutchinson's testimony. Hutchinson, 25, spent two hours on Tuesday publicly revealing details about what she said went on behind the scenes in the days leading up to the Capitol attack and on the day of. She claimed that on January 6 Onato and Bobby Engel, the top agent on Trump's Secret Service detail, told her that Trump lunged at a member of his detail who was driving his presidential SUV, The Beast, when he would not drive him to the Capitol. The two men, a source close with Ornato claimed on Wednesday, never told Hutchinson about this alleged physical altercation. A statement issued by her lawyers Jody Hunt and William Jordan claims: 'Ms. Hutchinson stands by all of the testimony she provided yesterday, under oath, to the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.' The testimony from Hutchinson has caused a rift in MAGA world, according to the Washington Examiner. While nine former Trump officials said that they saw her testimony as a rebuff for not being kept on the payroll when the former president left for Florida, others who worked for the administration view her revelations as especially damning. Two former Trump officials suggested Hutchinson was a junior staffer and did not have the level of access she claims she had to Trump, Meadows, former White House COunsel Pat Cipollone and Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. One official suggested that Hutchinson put a 'permanent black mark' on Trump's record. 'This ultimately shows how wholly unfit for office he truly was,' that individual told the Examiner. 'No one that unhinged should be allowed anywhere near power in this country.' Mick Mulvaney, Trump's former White House chief of staff, said in a Tuesday tweet: 'The real bomb that got dropped was the implied charge of witness tampering. If there is hard evidence, that is a serious problem for the former President.' Alyssa Farah Griffin, former Trump White House communications director, added: 'I'm in awe of Cassidy's bravery & integrity. On the other, I expect to be disappointed by GOP leaders in power who will offer quotes against Trump on background, but continue to line up dutifully behind him publicly. Her honor is in tact, their dishonor remains.' Cheney's involvement with the January 6 investigation has isolated her from the Trump-era Republican Party. She was removed from her post as the No. 3 Republican and Representative Elise Stefanik became the new House Republican Conference chairwoman. The at-large Wyoming representative was also censured by her state's GOP as well as the Republican National Committee (RNC). Cheney is also far behind her Trump-backed primary challenger Harriet Hageman. Along with Cheney, GOP Representative Adam Kinzinger also joined the Democrat-led panel probing the Capitol attack. He is not, however, seeking reelection in the 2022 midterms as Cheney is doing. Cheney is returning to Wyoming to debate her Republican primary challengers including Hageman following several weeks of January 6 hearings. Despite her fall from grace with Wyoming Republicans, Cheney's national profile has exploded as she denounces Trump. She out-raised Hageman by a well over 2-to-1 margin in the first three months of 2022. Thursday's debate hosted by Wyoming PBS in Sheridan will be closed to the public for security reasons and to prevent people from disrupting the event, the stations General Manager Terry Dugas said in a statement. 'There are regular reports in the media of political figures and public servants being assaulted. Even in Wyoming, political figures receive death threats,' Dugas said. Secret Service's chief of communications Anthony Guglielm told Politico that the January 6 committee did not reach out to the agency before sharing Hutchinson's explosive testimony on Tuesday even though the claims involved members of the Secret Service. '[W]e plan on formally responding on the record,' Guglielmi said in an email. 'We have and will continue to make any member of the Secret Service available.' Ornato, the former Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations for Trump, apparently did not tell the January 6 witness that Trump lunged at an agent while trying to grab the wheel of the presidential SUV, according to a Wednesday Fox News report. Hutchinson said in her testimony Tuesday that Ornato briefed her on January 6, 2021 that Trump lunged at his security detail driver when he would not take him to the Capitol on January 6, 2021. She said he made this claims to her while Bobby Engel, the top agent on Trump's Secret Service detail, was in the room. Engel was in the car at the time of the alleged incident. The two both have testified to the January 6 committee in private over the last year in those interviews, neither Engel nor Ornato brought up allegations that Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of The Beast. A source close with Tony Ornato (left), the former Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations for Trump, told Fox News that he and Bobby Engel (right), the top agent on Trump's Secret Service detail, never told Hutchinson about the alleged wheel-grabbing incident like she claimed in the Tuesday hearing Engel and Ornato want to speak with the committee again on the record to refute the claims of a physical altercation with the driver of his presidential SUV, who is unnamed but will also cooperate with the panel, the source told Fox. Despite the contradicting memories of events, panel member Representative Stephanie Murphy told NBC News' Chuck Todd on Wednesday that when deposing Ornato behind closed doors, he 'did not have as clear of memories from this period of time as I would say Ms. Hutchinson did.' Hutchinson's testimony to the panel during an impromptu session on Tuesday included detailing an incident where she claims Ornato told her that Trump got physical when he was repeatedly told that the Secret Service could not take him to the Capitol on January 6 last year. Ornato told Hutchinson, according to her account, that Trump lunged at an agent and tried to grab the wheel of a presidential SUV when agents would not allow that. She also said that the agent grabbed the then-president's arm and Trump then tried to lunge at his neck. Ornato, according to the source close to him, watched the hearing and was shocked when Hutchinson made the allegation about the steering wheel. Hutchinson became increasingly cooperative with the committee after hiring a new lawyer this month. Her testimony to the panel in four separate interviews and willingness to publicly go before them led the panel to schedule a last-minute addition to the hearing schedule on Tuesday. Part of the reason for the add was over concerns for Hutchinson's safety due to what she knows and what she has shared with investigators. Trump's ex-lawyer Eric Herschmann said he penned the note that Hutchinson said she wrote on January 6, which was shown as evidence during Tuesday's explosive hearing. 'The handwritten note that Cassidy Hutchinson testified was written by her was in fact written by Eric Herschmann on January 6, 2021,' a spokesperson for Herschmann told ABC News late Tuesday. 'All sources with direct knowledge and law enforcement have and will confirm that it was written by Mr. Herschmann.' Herschmann reportedly previously told the House select committee on January 6 committee that he had scrawled the note in question. Herschmann had worked as a lawyer for Trump within the White House, but cooperated with the House investigation, including saying that some of the plots to overturn the election were 'nuts.' The handwritten message was written on Meadows' letterhead. Hutchinson testified that Herschmann was also in the meeting where they discussed something Trump could say to call off the Capitol attack. 'Anyone who entered the Capitol without proper authority should leave immediately,' the message reads. The word 'illegally' is crossed out. 'That's my handwriting,' Hutchinson told committee members during her Tuesday testimony. She testified that Meadows had handed her the notecard and a pen and started dictating a statement for the president as the Capitol was getting ransacked. Former President Trump pushed that Hutchinson was only playing ball with the Democrat-led committee because he didn't keep her on his payroll after he left office in January 2021 and relocated to Mar-a-Lago He also said her anecdote about him trying to grab the Beast's steering wheel after he was told he couldn't go to the Capitol on January 6 'Fake' and 'fraudulent' and denied testimony about how he would throw food and dishes when angry Hutchinson said Herschmann suggested changing the statement changing 'illegally' to 'without proper authority.' The January 6 committee downplayed that one of its witnesses was misremembering details about the memo. While Hutchinson and Herschmann 'may have differing recollections of who wrote the note,' the spokesperson said, the important thing was that 'both White House officials believed that the president should have immediately instructed his supporters to leave the Capitol building.' Hutchinson's lawyers told CNN Wednesday afternoon that she stood by her whole account. 'Ms. Hutchinson stands by all of the testimony she provided yesterday, under oath, to the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol,' said lawyers Jody Hunt and William Jordan. The meeting took place around 3 p.m. and Trump didn't send out a message to supporters until 4:17 p.m. telling them, 'We love you. You're very special. You've seen what happens. You've seen the way others are treated. ... I know how you feel, but go home, and go home in peace.' Trump reacted to the note being presented as evidence by posting to Truth Social: 'Bad handwriting, that of a Whacko?' Trump's ex-lawyer Eric Herschmann (pictured during his video testimony to the panel) said he penned the note that Hutchinson said she wrote on January 6, which was shown as evidence during Tuesday's hearing. Hutchinson said that Meadows handed her the notecard and a pen and started dictating a statement for the president as the Capitol was getting ransacked During the hearing, Hutchinson claimed she had written the note, but Eric Herschmann previously told the committee - reiterating it through a spokesperson Tuesday - that he had scrawled the message, which was something Trump could say to call off the Capitol attack Trump commented on the note being included in the testimony by suggesting it was written by a 'Whacko' Trump continued to go after his one-time aide Hutchinson using his Truth Social platform on Wednesday. 'The lies and fabricated stories being told to the partisan Highly Unselect Committee, not only by the phony social climber who got caught yesterday, but by many others, are a disgrace to our, in serious decline, Nation,' the ex-president wrote. Trump has been trying to hurt the reputation of Hutchinson since Tuesday's surprise hearing of the House select committee on January 6. 'I hardly know who this person, Cassidy Hutchinson, is, other than I heard very negative things about her (a total phony and 'leaker'), and when she requested to go with certain others of the team to Florida after my having served a full term in office, I personally turned her request down,' Trump wrote as the 25-year-old testimony was ongoing. Hutchinson provided embarrassing anecdotes about Trump's behavior during her testimony - including that he tried to grab the wheel of the presidential limo, the 'Beast,' after he was told he couldn't go to the Capitol Building on January 6 and threw food at the wall after Attorney General Bill Barr said there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election. 'Why did she want to go with us if she felt we were so terrible?' Trump said Tuesday. He suggested that Hutchinson only played ball with the Democrat-led committee because he didn't give her a job at Mar-a-Lago after he departed the White House in January 2021. 'I understand that she was very upset and angry that I didn't want her to go, or be a member of the team,' Trump said. 'She is bad news!' In another post on Truth social, Trump also accused Hutchinson of changing her story. 'She changed lawyers a couple of days ago, and with it, her story totally changed! SHOCKER???' the ex-president alleged. The former president fumed over the testimony Hutchinson delivered about him throwing temper tantrums. 'I NEVER SAID, 'MIKE PENCE DESERVES IT (to be hung). Another made up statement by a third rate social climber!' he posted. Trump had made a similar remark about Pence to ABC News' Jonathan Karl that corroborated Hutchinson's testimony HAPPIER TIMES: January 6 witness Cassidy Hutchinson (right) dances to YMCA alongside White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnanry (left) during a campaign stop in Ohio in September 2020 'Her Fake story that I tried to grab the steering wheel of the White House Limousine in order to steer it to the Capitol Building is 'sick' and fraudulent, very much like the Unselect Committee itself - Wouldn't even have been possible to do such a ridiculous thing,' Trump wrote. Later Tuesday, the January 6 committee tweeted out footage of Trump departing the Ellipse rally in a black SUV that purportedly shows his hands moving toward the driver. 'Her story of me throwing food is also falseand why would SHE have to clean it up, I hardly knew who she was?' the former president added. After Hutchinson's testimony concluded, Trump continued to go after her on Truth social. 'Her body language is that of a total bull. artist. Fantasy Land!' he wrote. After Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony concluded, former President Donald Trump continued to go after her on Truth Social The 25-year-old has firsthand information about the former president and his top aides' movements on the day of and leading up to the Capitol riot Trump has a history of turning on former aides and ex-political allies, a roster that now includes former Vice President Mike Pence and current Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. During the hearing, Hutchinson recalled an impromptu meeting on January 6 after Trump returned to the White House after speaking at the Ellipse she had with former Deputy Chief of Staff Tony Ornato and Bobby Engel, the head of Trump's security detail. 'Did you hear what effing happened in the Beast?' she said Engel asked her. She replied that she hadn't heard. 'Tony proceeded to tell me that when the president got in the Beast he was under the impression from Mr. Meadows that the off-the-record movement to the Capitol was still possible and likely to happen, but that Bobby had more information,' Hutchinson said. Trump, Hutchinson said, thought they were going up to the Capitol - like he had told his crowd of supporters he would do. This was in the hours before the attack. 'When Bobby had relayed to him we're not, we don't have the assets to do it, it's not secure, we're going back to the West Wing, the president had a very strong, very angry response,' Hutchinson continued. She was told that Trump said something like: 'I'm the effing president, take me up to the Capitol now!' Engel, she said, reiterated that they were headed back to the White House. 'The president reached up toward the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel, Mr. Engel grabbed his arm and said, 'Sir, you need to take your hand off the steering wheel, we're going back to the West Wing, we're not going to the Capitol,'' she said. 'Mr. Trump then used his free hand to lunge toward Bobby Engel and when Mr. Ornato had recounted this story to me he motioned toward his clavicles,' Hutchinson said, as a sign the president went for Engel's throat. Cheney asked Hutchinson if Engel or Ornato ever changed their stories. 'Neither Mr. Ornato or Mr. Engel told me ever that it was untrue,' Hutchinson testified. After Hutchinson's testimony wrapped, multiple news outlets reported that Secret Service officials planned to dispute her claims about what happened in the presidential SUV. Advertisement A British woman whose own father is accused of raping her while on holiday in Crete has bravely waived her right to anonymity to prove that he is '100% innocent'. Tammi Forsythe says the real rapist is still out there while her father languishes in a Greek prison accused of the sickening sex attack on her. Reliving her terrifying ordeal of how she was dragged from an alleyway and into a bush in the early hours of the morning, Tammi, 33, a mother-of-four, says she wants to be named so that Greek police catch the real rapist - and reveals her fears that she may be pregnant by her attacker. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Tammi fumed: 'It's not an easy thing for me to come out publicly as a rape victim but the world needs to know how me, and my father are suffering. 'He is 100% innocent, he did not rape me. The Greek police have treated us appallingly. 'As far as they are concerned, this is just a case of a drunken Brit on holiday who got raped. If we were Greek citizens, we would not have been treated like this.' Tammi Forsythe, 33, courageously waived her right to anonymity to say that she was dragged from an alleyway and into a bush where she was raped while on holiday in Crete - but insisted that her father Philip Forsythe (together right) didn't do it Police in Crete arrested Mr Forsythe, 62, on June 12 after officers studied CCTV (above) from the Help bar that allegedly showed that he indulged in 'inappropriate sexual activity' with Tammi in the hours leading up to the attack Tammi says that the footage from the Help bar simply shows a concerned father trying to help her get up, adding: 'I was drunk out of my head; I could barely move. He was just trying to get me up to take me back to the hotel and put me to bed.' She added: 'The police made up their minds from the start that my father was guilty and have not done anything about finding the real rapist. The time has come for me to speak out so that we can get justice.' Mr Forsythe was arrested on June 11, two days after Tammi reported being raped while on a boozy night out with him along the main strip in the tourist town of Malia, which is lined with rowdy bars and night clubs popular with Brits. He is currently being held in a prison in the city of Tripoli on the Greek mainland and is awaiting the results of DNA tests. Mr Forsythe has denied committing the rape and has been told by Greek prosecutors that he will either face trial within 18 months or could be released depending on the outcome of the results. Under Greek law, he has only been informally charged with the crime. Tammi (pictured) revealed that she is still in Crete, where she has been speaking to her father on the phone each day Tammi, who lives with her father in Hull, revealed that she is still in Crete, where she has been speaking to him on the phone each day. She cried: 'I only get to speak to him for a few minutes. He's in a terrible state psychologically and doesn't understand why this has happened because he's not done anything wrong. 'My father suffers from diabetes and a number of other serious medical issues. He's not eaten properly for five days and is close to having a breakdown. I'm really worried that this whole thing might kill him.' Tammi revealed that she fears she might be pregnant following the attack. She is the mother of three sons, aged 12, 10 and five and a daughter, 15 and is separated from their father. Tammi said: 'This holiday has turned into a horror movie. I'm really suffering with stress and anxiety which has only got worse because I'm feeling a bit sick and have missed my period. I'm usually very regular and it's not like me. 'I'm 60% sure that I'm pregnant. I've been told by the British Consulate that I need to go to a medical clinic to have a blood test, but I've been suffering from such bad panic attacks that I need someone to accompany me. But I'm here on my own and have got nobody to help me.' Tammi was on holiday with her father to celebrate his birthday and it was their first time abroad together following the lifting of Covid travel restrictions. They were due to return to the UK on June 19. Referring to the DNA test, Tammi said: 'We were promised that this would be a priority, but that's not proved to be the case. I've not been given any information about when we will get the results. The Greek authorities just don't seem to care. As far as they are concerned, they have got their man and my father can rot in prison.' Greek officials insist that they arrested Mr Forsythe after CCTV footage from the Help bar showed that he indulged in 'inappropriate sexual activity' with Tammi in the hours leading up to the attack. The CCTV footage has been obtained by MailOnline and Tammi denies her father did anything wrong, hitting back: 'I was drunk out of my head; I could barely move. He was just trying to get me up to take me back to the hotel and put me to bed. 'I lashed out at him because I was so drunk and angry. At one stage, I think I bit his hand. That's all the CCTV footage shows-a father trying to help his very drunk daughter. There was nothing sexual going on between us. It's a disgusting and ridiculous thing to say.' Recalling the night of the attack, Tammi revealed that she and her father arrived at the Help Bar along Malia's main strip at around 1.30am on Thursday 9 June and left at around 4.55am. She spent most of the night drinking Sambuca shots while he downed pints. Tammi admitted: 'I was so drunk, I could barely stand up. Somehow, I managed to stagger out of the bar, but we continued to argue. I was angry because I just wanted to be left alone so that I could carry on sleeping. Tammi says Mr Forsythe is 'the best dad in the world' who would never carrying out such a disturbing attack on her. One of four sisters from Hull, Tammi said 'My dad's very protective over his girls and we're all very close to him.' 'We got outside and sat on a concrete wall. My father put his arms around me, but I pushed him away and told him to f*** off. I was so drunk I didn't know what I was doing or saying. I just wanted him to leave me alone.' After her father walked off to return to their hotel, Tammi revealed that she staggered along a road and stumbled into a dead-end alley, where she fell and was too drunk to get up. She added: 'It was around 7.15am and I saw a man standing over me. He grabbed me by my legs, dragged me into a bush and raped me. I was left stunned by the whole thing and after it happened, I could not move for about 15 minutes because I was too scared.' She admitted that she was too inebriated to provide an adequate description of her attacker to Greek police and could not recall what he looked like apart from telling them that he was shorter than her and wore a white tee-shirt. Following the attack, Tammi revealed that she returned to her hotel at around 8am, fell asleep for several hours and after waking, recalled the rape and rang the British Consulate in Crete, who told her immediately to report it to the police. She said: 'I told the police the events of the night, where my father and I had been drinking and they took me there to retrace my steps. 'I told them that I was very drunk, but they got it all wrong when they saw the CCTV footage. They completely misunderstood everything I was saying. I told them that my father was wearing all white, but they took that to mean that the attacker was wearing all white. 'I was treated like a criminal not a victim and after suffering this horrendous crime, I'm suffering even more now because of what they're doing to my father.' Tammi told MailOnline that her dream holiday to Crete (pictured) has turned into a nightmare and she is using up her family's savings to stay there and support her father until she can go home and finally see her own four children again The Crete resort town of Malia (above) is a popular holiday destination with Brit tourists flocking to the island every summer Praising the British Consulate for their support, she said: 'I dont think I could have got through this without their help. They have been brilliant with me every step of the way. I cannot thank them enough.' Tammi, who is a former nail technician but is currently out of work said that she is determined to stay in Greece until her father is free. One of four sisters, she described him as the 'best dad in the world.' She cried: 'My dad's very protective over his girls and we're all very close to him. This was meant to be a lovely father and daughter holiday that's turned into hell for us.' Tammi estimates that she has already spent close to 4,000 as she remains in Crete waiting for the case to be resolved. She added: 'Luckily, my father's got some savings, which I've been using. I'm not going back to Hull without him and will stay in Greece for as long as it takes.' President Joe Biden plans to nominate an anti-abortion lawyer to a federal judgeship in Kentucky as part of a deal struck with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, it was reported on Wednesday night. S. Chad Meredith, a Federalist Society-backed attorney, fought against federal COVID-19 public health measures and to limit abortion access in Kentucky as the state's solicitor general. The move could damage the president's credibility with pro-choice groups in the wake of the Supreme Court rolling back federal abortion rights late last week, when its conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade. Biden handed McConnell the victory in exchange for the Kentucky Republican 'agreeing not to hold up future federal nominations by the Biden White House,' the Louisville Courier-Journal reported. The only Democrat in Kentucky's Congressional delegation told the outlet he believes it's part of a 'larger deal on judicial nominations.' One of Meredith's recent anti-abortion victories was a 2021 case in which he successfully argued that doctors performing the medical procedure must first give their patients ultrasounds and describe the fetus being shown. President Joe Biden is reportedly looking to strike a deal with Mitch McConnell to get his federal appointments through He also fought a Kentucky abortion clinic on behalf of its Republican then-Governor Matt Bevin. There are currently no federal judicial posts open in Kentucky, but there are 64 district court vacancies and seven for the US Court of Appeals. Biden has 20 nominees pending for both - and McConnell suggested the waiting list would get longer if Republicans take back the majority in November. Part of that deal will be a future judgeship for Kentucky lawyer Chad Meredith, it was reported on Wednesday 'If Im the majority leader, well be really picky on appointees. There are 1,200 executive branch appointments that come to us,' he said earlier this week at the Rotary Club of Florence County, Kentucky. He vowed, 'Well be way more picky over who gets to head various boards and commissions and agencies that are important to how all of you function in our society.' The lack of a current opening for Meredith, however, means it can still be derailed by Biden's Democrat allies and pro-choice activists. Rep. John Yarmuth, Kentucky's lone House Democrat, told the Courier-Journal that he would 'strongly' oppose Meredith's appointment. 'Given that a judicial position isnt currently open on the Eastern District Court, its clear that this is part of some larger deal on judicial nominations between the president and Mitch McConnell,' he told the outlet. DailyMail.com has reached out to Yarmuth's office for confirmation. Requests for further comment were also sent to the White House, Meredith, and McConnell's office. McConnell said earlier this week that he would be 'picky' with Biden appointees if Republicans took back the Senate majority Meredith shares his Federalist Society ties with all five Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade on Friday. The organization is well known for helping mold conservative attorneys, many of whom have gone on to various legal posts throughout state and federal governments. Former President Donald Trump consulted with Leonard Leo, who led the Federalist Society at the time, about all three of his Supreme Court appointees - Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. All three, along with Justice Clarence Thomas, agreed with Justice Samuel Alito's Friday opinion that abortion rights were not enshrined in the US Constitution. President Joe Biden called the decision 'outrageous' during a press conference in Madrid on Thursday. He said he would make further announcements on federal action after meeting with governors upon his return on Friday. 'I believe we have to codify Roe v. Wade in the law,' the president said. The mother of one of two American soldiers captured by Russian forces says parts of a recent conversation with her son appeared 'scripted.' Alexander Drueke, 40, and Andy Huynh, 27, both of Alabama, were captured by Russian forces on June 11 when they didn't return to a meeting spot after their group came under heavy fire in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border. Drueke's mother, Lois 'Bunny' Drueke, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama spoke to her son on the phone Tuesday night for 10 minutes. Bunny said she believes parts of the conversation did not seem to be coming directly from him. 'It was obvious that there were two things going on,' she told Good Morning America (GMA). 'One, I could tell when he was telling me something scripted. And the other things he was saying was just the regular conversation, just ordinary conversations that mothers really treasure.' Bunny (pictured with her son at an unknown time) said the other parts of the phone conversation were 'just the regular conversation, just ordinary conversations that mothers really treasure' The two soldiers have appeared in various videos distributed by Russia since their capture. Previously, the men have appeared frightened, but look calmer in the latest video. Drueke and Huynh traveled separately to help Ukraine, but became friends there in part because of their shared Alabama background, relatives have said. The U.S. State Department said it was looking into reports that Russian or Russian-backed separatist forces in Ukraine had captured at least two American citizens. If confirmed, they would be the first Americans fighting for Ukraine known to have been captured since the war began February 24. Alexander Drueke, 40, (pictured in a previous hostage video) and Andy Huynh, 27, both of Alabama, were captured by Russian forces on June 11 when they didn't return to a meeting spot after their group came under heavy fire in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border The two traveled separately to help Ukraine and became buddies there in part because of their shared Alabama background, relatives have said (pictured: Huynh, in a previous hostage video) According to Bunny, her son said he has been provided food, water and bedding, and his captors are anxious to begin negotiations, the Associated Press reported. 'He sounded tired and stressed, and he was clearly reciting some things he had been made to practice or read, but it was wonderful to hear his voice and know he's alive and alright,' she said. Drueke said he hadn't been in contact with Huynh for several days, according to his mother. The United States has said both men should be protected as prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. Huynh's family has not been able to speak with him, but said they were happy for the Drueke family. 'We are still hoping to get a similar communication from Andy,' Huyhn's fiancee, Joy Black told the Associated Press. Black told GMA that she takes the videos 'as an encouraging sign to stay positive' as she knows her fiance is still alive. The family members of the two American veterans captured by Russian forces in Ukraine are speaking out after images of the men were seen circulating Russian media. @jamesaalongman reports. https://t.co/AaK2Hesoxk pic.twitter.com/70uIw7Cdv7 Good Morning America (@GMA) June 30, 2022 Drueke's mother Lois 'Bunny' Drueke (left) said she thought parts of her son's phone conversation on Tuesday were 'scripted.' Huyhn's fiancee Joy Black (right) said she has not had any contact with her loved one, but the videos 'encouraged' her to stay positive 'It's hard to describe the feeling exactly, but I was just really glad to see him and hear him. It was very encouraging to at least get to see more recent video of him,' she told GMA. Previously, Drueke, a US Army veteran, and Huynh, a former US Marine, were warned by the Kremlin they faced possible execution for being what Putin's government branded 'soldiers of fortune.' The Kremlin said the men were not eligible for the rights afforded to prisoners of war captured by rivals, because they hadn't enlisted for the foreign army they were fighting with. Drueke's mother said earlier this week that she hopes global attention on the two prisoners - including from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky - will keep them safe. 'I want to thank President Zelensky for taking their situation seriously,' she said. Last week, Russia's US Ambassador declared its embassy has received no communications from the White House regarding two Americans being held captive for fighting in Ukraine. Anatoly Antonov, the head of the diplomatic mission, made the assertion Tuesday while speaking to journalists from the state-owned Russian News Agency (TASS). The statement from the ambassador contradicted claims the U.S. State Department made earlier in the day, that officials had been in talks with the Kremlin about the imprisoned Americans. Drueke, a US Army veteran, and Huynh (pictured), a former US Marine, were warned by the Kremlin they faced possible execution for being what Putin's government branded 'soldiers of fortune' Bunny hopes the global attention on her son (pictured) and Huynh will keep them safe The Pentagon, meanwhile, continues to insist that it is doing 'everything' possible to bring Drueke and Huynh home safely. Antonov, however, says otherwise - according to state media. 'There were no requests to the embassy. I do not confirm receiving a request of this kind from the US side,' the ambassador was quoted as saying by TASS. 'The embassy did not contact us.' Earlier in the day, State Department spokesman Ned Price said the White House had been 'in touch' with Moscow about the captives. A mother who smoked four bongs hours before she lost control of a car and killed her sister and her partner and injured her young daughter has been spared jail. Amberly Jane Hendy, from Katunga, Victoria, was 28 when she lost control of her vehicle in a hailstorm. It smashed into another car on the Goulborn Valley Highway on September 6, 2019. The crash killed two passengers, Hendy's sister Eloise Rigby, 23, and her sibling's partner Adam Boland, 39. Hendy's young daughter was also seriously injured in the crash, before spending several months in hospital. She is still battling ongoing health issues after traumatic brain injury. On Thursday, Hendy, 31, was spared jail and given a three-year community corrections order. Amberly Jane Hendy, from Katunga, Victoria, lost control of the car and it smashed into another vehicle, killing her sister and her sister's partner Hendy's young daughter was also seriously injured in the crash, before spending several months in hospital. She is still battling ongoing health issues She had pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous driving causing death and one of causing serious injury. In a statement to the court, the mother said she rethinks every decision she made that day. 'I regret the day of the accident beyond words, beyond measure. I've wished upon everything that I could go back to that day and change everything,' Hendy said. Hendy said she prayed her daughter would know how sorry she was for the crash. 'I live every day with sorrow, I live every day begging for forgiveness, I live every day praying my daughter will know how sorry that her aunty and uncle are gone and how sorry I am for the injuries she received,' she said, according to news.com.au. The mother smoked four bongs of cannabis on the morning of the crash - but said she hadn't been expecting to drive. Mr Boland asked her to take the wheel. He owned the car, which had a bald tyre, and the court was told Hendy knew it wasn't road worthy. After the crash, she told police that she just 'really wanted to get home'. During the trip, Hendy slowed when heavy rain started to fall but lost control and 'overcorrected'. She swerved into the opposite lane and crashed into another car. The other driver was not seriously injured. Mr Boland's mother told the court the two sisters and her son were incredibly close and Hendy would be feeling 'punished every day' over the crash. On Thursday, Hendy, 31, was spared jail and given a three-year community corrections order The mother smoked four bongs on the morning of the crash - but said she hadn't been expecting to drive 'I hope the trauma that Amberly would be going through each day is taken into account with sentencing,' she Boland told the court. Judge Liz Gaynor said this was the only time Hendy had committed a crime and added that the condition of her daughter meant mercy was 'warranted'. 'This is the loss of a beloved sister and her partner, the grief and distress caused to your parents, the serious injury to the daughter you clearly love and their effects,' Judge Gaynor she added. As part of the treatment order, Hendy must undertake mental health treatment and an assessment for drug use difficulties and complete 400 hours of community work. Her license was also cancelled for 18 months. The $15million luxury mansion of conwoman Melissa Caddick will soon go on the market in an effort to pay back her victims, just weeks after her husband was evicted. The fraudster who fleeced millions from investors disappeared after leaving her Dover Heights mansion in Sydney's eastern suburbs for an early morning run in November 2020, hours after her home was raided by the Australian Federal Police and corporate watchdog ASIC. But her severed foot washed up on Bournda Beach, about 500km south of Sydney, three months later leading investigators to believe she took her own life. Jones Partners took possession of the clifftop home in Sydney's eastern suburbs in May after Caddick's unemployed DJ-hairdresser husband Anthony Koletti ordered by the Federal Court to vacate. The receiver has appointed Sydney Sotheby's International Realty to sell the property, which is expected to be ready for sale in five to six weeks once maintenance and repairs are finished. The two storey five bedroom mansion with stunning Sydney harbour views is now worth almost three times the $6.2million Caddick paid for it in 2014 and has already attracted interest from potential buyers. Anthony Koletti (pictured) with his late wife Melissa Caddick was evicted from their Dover Heights mansion in May Receiver Jones Partners has enlisted a real estate agent to sell Melissa Caddick's Dover Heights mansion (pictured) and is expected to hit the market in the coming weeks 'Following a very extensive and detailed real estate agent selection process, we have today signed an agency Agreement with Sydney Sotheby's International Realty (Michael Pallier) to bring the Dover Heights property to market,' Jones Partners principal Bruce Gleeson said. 'We are actively working towards having the Dover Heights Property ready for sale in the vicinity of 5-6 weeks.' 'The Dover Heights Property represents a significant part of the receivership property of Melissa Caddick and there continues to be very strong interest in this property.' 'We will provide a further update towards the end of July regarding the Dover Heights property and the realisation of assets.' The property will be sold by liquidators in an attempt to try and repay some of the $23million Caddick stole from 74 investors in her Ponzi scheme - which largely comprised close friends and family. When it last hit the real estate the market eight years ago, the mansion was marketed as a breathtaking state-of-the-art residence with iconic views. 'A soothing palette of cocooning colours and luxurious materials married with high tech inclusions create a glamorous sanctuary where a series of beautiful living spaces provide separate zones for parents and children. There is also a fully self-contained lower level,' the property description stated. 'It is positioned in one of Dover Heights most exclusive streets, with the elevated aspect ensuring wonderful privacy and the location easily accessible to Bondi Beach, Rose Bay shopping, private schools plus coastal walks.' Final maintenance and repairs are being made to the home before it goes on the market The five bedroom mansion in Sydney's east has stunning views of Sydney Harbour (pictured) It comes after Mr Koletti recently surrendered his court battle for millions of his wife's ill-gotten millions. The hairdresser had asked for the Federal Court case to be stopped due to the 'horrible' media attention he received as it went along. Caddick, 49, disappeared after ripping off investors to fund a glamorous lifestyle and her demise is one of Australia's great unsolved mysteries. The fraudster was last seen leaving the eastern suburbs mansion she shared with her husband on November 12, 2020, after her home was raided by police. Melissa Caddick's husband Anthony Koletti recently for the Federal Court proceedings to be stopped citing 'horrible' media attention he received as a result of the court case Anthony Koletti who was married to Melissa Caddick has not been accused of any wrongdoing in relation to Caddick or her business Caddick's disappearance came a mere day after police and investigators from the Australian Investment and Securities Commission raided her Dovers Heights mansion as part of a fraud probe. Koletti, 39, through his lawyer Judy Swan said his claimed property, which was removed from the mansion to pay creditors, was not worth the 'horrible' media attention he received as a result of the proceedings. This isn't the first time Koletti has made headlines this month, dropping a diss track taking aim at journalists a fortnight ago. Anthony Koletti (pictured with wife Melissa Caddick) recently surrendered his court battle for millions of his wife's ill-gotten millions. The track hit out at journalists' coverage of his wife's fraud case and took digs at media personalities such as Kyle and Jackie O. In the song he also tells 2GB host Ben Fordham to 'keep my wife's name out of your mouth' in reference to the infamous Will Smith Oscars episode. Court documents estimated Caddick owed more than $23million to investors at the time of her disappearance. Many of them were relatives or close friends, whom she recruited as part of a Ponzi scheme using their money to fund her lavish lifestyle. To attempt to recoup some money Caddick stole, ASIC seized some of her assets, including the Dover Heights mansion. A inquest into Melissa Caddick's disappearance and suspected death will be held September Anthony Koletti was ordered by the Federal Court to vacate the Dover Heights property Mr Koletti has not been accused of any wrongdoing and in May finally agreed to move out of their home. But he contended that he was entitled to a portion of their assets including the mansion, a $4 million Edgecliff apartment, $7million in shares, $2million worth of jewellery and clothes. and proceeds from $360,000 of sold-off cars. Mr Koletti also sought an order that $100,000 worth of 'personal property', including five John Olsen paintings, his $26,500 wedding ring, a Gucci wedding dress, a Louis Vuitton watch, and several items of white-gold jewellery, be delivered to him for his 'exclusive use'. His request is being considered, with the case likely to be resolved by the time the matter returns to court on July 25. An inquest into Caddick's disappearance and suspected death will be held in September. Lifeline 13 11 14. A woke California school board member is calling for people to boycott the Fourth of July, claiming 'there is no reason to celebrate' America's Independence Day. AnaMarie Avila Farias, a third-generation Contra Costa County resident and member of the county's board of education, shared a fading blue and white image of the United States flag on June 28, along with the words 'BOYCOTT 4TH OF JULY,' on Facebook. 'I haven't celebrated 4th of July since 2016 and I don't think it's a holiday to celebrate' Farias wrote in a Facebook post. 'What do you think?' The elected official's stance on the federal holiday prompted a mixed bag of reactions from people on her private page, some agreeing with her while others were critical. 'Why boycott the 4th of July? Without what our forefathers did we as Americans would not have the freedoms that we have today,' one user wrote. Another agreed him with him, only to ask: 'Why? The holiday celebrates declaring independence from Britain's tyrant King George III. You wish we were still subjects of Britain?' AnaMarie Avila Farias, a school board member of the Contra Costa County Board of Education, said on her Facebook page that she didn't think the Fourth of July was a 'holiday to celebrate.' She shared a picture of a fading American flag with the words: 'BOYCOTT 4TH OF JULY' Avila Farias responded to a few comments under the controversial post, on one replying: 'I am not feeling particularly patriotic.' She later added: 'Lastly, last Friday women's reproductive rights were taken away. We are not in a place of progress or celebration when human rights are being taken away.' 'I am not feeling particularly patriotic,' Avila Farias replied. 'I am especially not interested in celebrating a holiday centered around freedom from oppressive government when that freedom is not a reality for so many people in this country. Lastly, last Friday women's reproductive rights were taken away. We are not in a place of progress or celebration when human rights are being taken away,' she said. The woke school board member didn't stop expressing her opinion there. Under another comment that suggested she 'maybe have a funeral and bury the Constitution and the Flag?' Avila Farias replied: 'Please invite me!' The mother-of-two, who is also a member of the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County (DPCCC), also shared a blog post from the online-publishing platform, 'Medium,' written by Dana P. Saxon - founder of Ancestors Unknown, a 'curriculum and special programming for schools and youth orgs.' Her blog post is titled: '9 Reasons Why I Don't Celebrate the 4th of July.' In it she writes: 'After 1776, it took nearly another 100 years before my ancestors technically gained their freedom in 1865. And a whole heap of pain, trauma, and oppression maintained during those years when only white Americans were liberated from someone else's rule.' She then went on to cite the three-fifths compromise, the 1787 fugitive slave clause and Frederick Douglass' 1852 famous speech: 'What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?' as reasons not to celebrate the federal holiday. The local school board member also asked to be invited to 'a funeral and bury [of] the Constitution and the flag' Avila Farias, who is a registered Democrat, previously shared posts advocating for abortion and the separation of church and state Avila Farias has also previously shared pro-abortion, separation between state and church, and pro-gun control posts on her profile in the past. However, despite being outspoken, Avila Farias has the right to free speech, another school board member told Fox News. 'It's her personal Facebook page; she is entitled to say whatever Facebook will allow her to say,' Mike Maxwell told the news outlet via email. 'And while I also am disappointed with the recent developments in honoring rights among Americans, I do not agree with her statement.' 'As long as she is not making the statement on behalf of the Board and County, go for it. But the smart voters will connect who is making that statement,' he added. The school board member has two children and is a third generation Contra Cost County resident A member of the Contra Costa Republican Party (CCRP), however, wasn't too pleased with Avila Farias' activity on social media. 'This type of rhetoric is absolutely disgusting,' chairman of the local GOP affiliate Matt Shupe told Fox News. 'The greatness in America is that people from all different political persuasions, opinions, perspectives are able to have their voice heard and respected, and at the end of the day, we all love this country, regardless of who the president is or who runs Congress.' 'The fact that Contra Costa County Democrats are basically protesting this country and its foundation and its core and don't believe in it anymore, I think speaks more volumes to their very twisted thinking and sad ideology at this point,' he added. 'Most Americans don't want this type of rhetoric in our education system.' Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is poised to become the first Black female justice and the 104th Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court after being sworn in on Thursday, minutes after her mentor and soon-to-be predecessor Justice Stephen Breyer retires. The 51-year-old was chosen for the court by United States President Joe Biden after Breyes announced this year that he plans to retire from the Supreme Court. Jackson was confirmed on Apr. 7 but has been waiting for her mentor to finish out the last term of his four-decade judicial career. Ketanji Brown Jackson's Oaths Breyer's work on the Supreme Court will end with the release of the term's remaining opinions and possibly with the announcement of some new cases accepted for the next term. Then, Jackson will be sworn in at a private ceremony at the Supreme Court, an event that will be live-streamed on some websites, including on the homepage of the Washington Post. Breyer and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will be responsible for administering the oaths Jackson must take. On Wednesday, Breyer sent a letter to President Biden that said he planned to end his service on the high court at noon, as per the Washington Post. In his letter, Breyer, who hired Jackson as a clerk for the 1999 to 2000 term, said that Biden nominated and the U.S. Senate has confirmed the Honorable Kentaji Brown Jackson to succeed him in the office. He said that he understood that his successor was prepared to take the prescribed oaths to begin her service as the 116th member of the court. Read Also: Ketanji Brown Jackson Touts Love for the U.S. on First Day of Confirmation Hearings, Vows To Be Independent The justice added that it has been his great honor to participate as a judge in the effort to maintain the United States Constitution and the Rule of Law. Jackson's appointment to the Supreme Court is a historic moment and her elevation from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit will mean that the Supreme Court will, for the first time, have four female justices among its nine members. According to ABC News, Breyer has been facing unprecedented public pressure from progressive activists urging him to retire. He was nominated by former President Bill Clinton in 1994 and first appointed to the federal bench in 1980 by former President Jimmy Carter. Stephen Breyer's Retirement Breyer last year authored major opinions upholding the Affordable Care Act, affirming free speech rights of students off-campus, and resolving a multi-billion dollar copyright dispute between two titans of American technology, Google, and Oracle. His retirement, which is at the early stages of the Biden presidency, comes as Democrats retain a razor-thin majority in the U.S. Senate, helping to ensure that his seat would be filled with someone who shares his judicial philosophy. After Jackson's confirmation in April, she noted that in her family, "it took just one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States." She added that her confirmation was "an honor of a lifetime," and said she was grateful to have the chance to join the court to promote the rule of law at the highest level, CNN reported. Related Article: Ketanji Brown Jackson Senate Vote Is Final: Here's How Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Fans React to Historic Supreme Court Confirmation @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A heroic Boy Scout on board Monday's fatal Missouri train wreck, who helped assist injured and trapped passengers, made sure he was the very last scout off. Harrison Boardman, 17, was sitting down when the train derailed. He quickly made sure everyone around him was okay before opening as many windows as possible on the overturned cars for passengers to escape, he told Fox News. 'I was trying to make sure I was the last scout off the train, so we had everybody,' Boardman said. Sixteen scouts were traveling home to Wisconsin from the Philmont South Ranch when the Los Angeles to Chicago Southwest Chief train crashed. None of the teenaged scouts were injured. Harrison Boardman (left), 17, was on board the train when it derailed on Monday in Missouri. He quickly responded by opening as many windows as possible for passengers to escape Nearly 300 people were on board the train, including crew members. Photos of the crash show passengers helping others climb out of the train windows Scout Dean Seaborn, 14, was trapped in a restroom of the Amtrak for about 30-minutes until he was able to assist in the mission. Seaborn was able to escape with the help of two others that assisted him out of the bathroom window. Once out, he saw his fellow passengers each other to safety. 'Everyone was pitching in to help,' he said. 'So I figured I'm going to do what they're doing... and try to help everyone I can.' Julian Boardman, a scout dad, said the troops are taught to be 'levelheaded' and to 'not freak out' when an emergency occurs, which is exactly how the scouts responded, he said. Other scouts were quick to lend a hand as first responders arrived and quickly aided the 275 passengers and 12 crew members on board. Sixteen scouts were on board the train and quickly assisted passengers. None of the scouts were injured in the crash The Amtrak train was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago when it collided with a dump truck at a public crossing in Mendon, Missouri and derailed First responders on the scene were thankful for the help of the scouts for their support in the rescue mission, a scout said Four people died and 150 people were hospitalized with injuries. Two of the victims were sisters traveling with their mom Eight train cars were derailed and flipped on their sides after colliding with a dump truck at a public crossing in Mendon, Missouri. Four people have been reported dead and approximately 150 people were hospitalized with injuries. Two of the victims were sisters traveling with their mother, KSHB reported. The other victims include a passenger and the driver of the dump truck. Another scout on board, 15-year-old Eli Skrypczak, was quick to aid the dying trucker and comforted him as he died. 'He was pretty upset, he wishes he could have done more,' Eli's father, Dan Skrypczak told the New York Post. 'Just trying to explain to him, you get hit by a high speed train, nobody could have done much for the truck driver. He did everything he could, he did the right thing. He provided comfort and aid.' Furious Beijing slammed NATO on Thursday for its 'malicious attack' and 'Cold War thinking' over a warning in which the group said for the first time in a guiding blueprint that China's power challenges the military alliance. The response came after NATO's strategic concept, published at a summit in Madrid, said Beijing's stated ambitions and coercive policies challenged its interests, security and values. NATO also said that China's closer ties to Russia went against Western interests, drawing a fiery response from Beijing. 'NATO's so-called new strategic concept document disregards facts, confuses black and white... (and) is maliciously attacking and smearing China,' foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular briefing Thursday. He added that China 'firmly opposes it'. 'When it comes to acts that undermine China's interests, we will make firm and strong responses. 'Who's challenging global security and undermining world peace? Are there any wars or conflicts over the years where Nato is not involved? Furious Beijing slammed NATO on Thursday over a 'completely futile' warning in which the group said for the first time in a guiding blueprint that China's power challenges the military alliance. China's foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian (pictured in March) said NATO's concept 'smears China's foreign policy'. He added that China 'firmly opposes it' 'We would like to warn NATO that hyping up the so-called China threat is completely futile,' Zhao told reporters. A statement released by China's Mission to the European Union on Thursday also responded to NATO's concept. 'Since NATO positions China as a `systemic challenge,' we have to pay close attention and respond in a coordinated way. When it comes to acts that undermine China's interests, we will make firm and strong responses,' the statement said. China insisted that it promotes peace through its collaboration with the United Nations and its foreign development projects. It called the 30-nation alliance a source of instability. 'NATO claims itself to be a defensive organization that upholds the rules-based international order, but it has bypassed the U.N. Security Council and waged wars against sovereign states, creating huge casualties and leaving tens of millions displaced,' it said. Leading NATO power the United States has pushed for the alliance to pay greater attention to China, despite reluctance from some allies to switch attention away from its focus on Europe. Beijing has refused to condemn its ally Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, and the two countries have drawn closer in the political, trade and military spheres as part of a 'no limits' relationship. This month, Chinese President Xi Jinping assured his counterpart Vladimir Putin of China's support on Russian 'sovereignty and security'. Beijing has also been accused of providing diplomatic cover for Russia by criticising Western sanctions and arms sales to Kyiv. In a sign of growing concern about China, leaders of regional partners Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand also attended a NATO summit for the first time. Pictured: The launch ceremony of the Fujian, a People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft carrier, at a shipyard in Shanghai on June 17, 2022 Pictured: Chinese soldiers are seen at a military parade in Beijing (file photo) 'China is substantially building up its military forces, including nuclear weapons, bullying its neighbours and threatening Taiwan,' NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said. 'China is not our adversary. But we must be clear eyed about the serious challenges it represents.' NATO, whose guiding document was updated for the first time since 2010, also accused China of targeting its members with 'malicious hybrid and cyber operations and its confrontational rhetoric'. But Zhao hit back, saying that China did not pose 'the systemic challenge imagined'. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addresses a press conference on the second and final day of the NATO 2022 Summit at the IFEMA Trade Fair Center MADRID, June 30, 2022 He added that the remarks about China's 'normal military development' and national defence policy were irresponsible. Instead, he said, it was NATO that is a 'systemic challenge to world peace and stability' and its 'hands are stained with the blood of the world's people'. Ahead of the unveiling of NATO's new strategy, Beijing had already pushed back against the alliance for increasing its attention on Asia. Actions that undermine the stability of the Asia-Pacific region, Zhao said, were 'doomed to fail'. Advertisement The cruise ship dubbed 'Titanic 2.0' by passengers after it hit an iceberg during a trip to Alaska is undergoing repairs in its home port of Seattle today. Norwegian Sun limped back into port in the early hours of the morning - three days after striking a semi-truck sized iceberg in Yakutak Bay, Alaska. Exclusive DailyMail.com photos show the ship moored at Pier 66 in Seattle with damage clearly visible to the prow. A tug named Kaya is moored close by while divers could be seen assessing the damage below the waterline. Indentations are visible on the starboard side where the growler - an iceberg that protrudes 3.3ft or less - smashed into the ship, while the metal of the prow appears badly scraped. Departing crew told DailyMail.com the incident is now the subject of an investigation expected to conclude in the next few weeks. One crew member said: 'I can't talk about what happened but there is an investigation and the results will come out in a few weeks time.' The cruise ship dubbed 'Titanic 2.0' by passengers after it hit an iceberg during a trip to Alaska is undergoing repairs in its home port of Seattle today Divers could be seen suiting up to assess the damage below the waterline after the ship took a big hit Exclusive DailyMail.com photos show the ship moored at Pier 66 in Seattle with damage clearly visible to the prow. Indentations are visible on the starboard side where the growler - an iceberg that protrudes 3.3ft or less - smashed into the ship, while the metal of the prow appears badly scraped A tug named Kaya is moored close by while divers prepare to assess the damage below the water Norwegian Sun crew are pictured waiting to be picked up after their voyage One crew member told DailyMail.com: 'I can't talk about what happened but there is an investigation and the results will come out in a few weeks time' DailyMail.com was on the scene just before 3am when the ship docked. The pictures show a large dark mark on the starboard side and scuffs to the paintwork. According to a port source, the semi-truck sized iceberg caused extensive damage below the waterline which will now be repaired by divers before it returns to cruising duties. Passengers aboard the ship have spoken about hearing a loud bang and feeling it 'judder' as it slammed into the iceberg. Alicia Amador, a passenger from Phoenix, Arizona, told the Juneau Empire how she heard a loud bang before the ship juddered on impact. She continued: 'The whole boat came to a complete stop from the impact. It was a scary experience.' Jason Newman of Atlanta, Georgia, told KTOO: 'The ship had a severe judder. You could feel the strike and then it listed minorly.' The crash was also captured on video with passengers heard screaming: 'Oh my God, it's the Titanic 2.0,' as the ship smashes into the growler. The Norwegian Sun holds a maximum of 2,000 passengers and had passenger and crew on board when it hit the iceberg Exclusive DailyMail.com photos show the damage to the starboard side caused by the Norwegian Sun hitting a 'growler' The pictures, which were taken as the ship arrived in Seattle just before 3am, show a large dark mark on the starboard side and scuffs to the paintwork. The major damage is below the waterline The semi-truck sized iceberg caused extensive damage below the waterline which will now be repaired by divers before it returns to cruising duties Passengers aboard the ship have spoken about hearing a loud bang and feeling it 'judder' as it slammed into the iceberg The Norwegian Sun hit the iceberg as it approached Disenchantment Bay and the Hubbard Glacier for what would have been one of the highlights of a seven-day trip that had been due to take in Ketchikan and the Hubbard Glacier. A detailed log of the ship's movements obtained by DailyMail.com from ship tracking website Marine Traffic shows it left Seattle last Thursday. According the log, the voyage began uneventfully with the ship docking at Halibut Point at 7.11pm on June 23 just over 24 hours after its departure. The Norwegian Sun hit the iceberg as it approached Disenchantment Bay and the Hubbard Glacier for what would have been one of the highlights of a seven-day trip that had been due to take in Kethikan and Glacier National Park Terrified passengers recorded the huge block of ice jolt the vessel while many slept before it disappeared under the bow on Saturday A timeline of Norwegian Sun's ill-fated journey, culminating in the iceberg crash and return to Seattle for repairs Shortly before 5am on the 24th, the 1,936-passenger cruise ship cast off and headed towards Icy Strait Point where it moored at 2.09pm. At 3.42am the next morning, the ship set sail again this time heading for the 76-mile long Hubbard Glacier which sits at the end of Disenchantment Bay. But dramatic playback footage of the ship's movements provided by Marine Traffic shows it abruptly changed course at 4.42am minutes after it crashed into the iceberg. It then limped back to port in Juneau, Alaska, where it docked just before midnight on the 26th. In a statement released on Tuesday, Norwegian Cruise Line said: 'On June 25 2022, while transiting to Hubbard Glacier, Alaska, Norwegian Sun made contact with ice. 'The ship sailed to Juneau, Alaska, where it was decided that the current voyage would be shortened. 'The ship was given clearance by the US Coast Guard and other maritime authorities to return to Seattle at reduced speed. 'All guests currently onboard will disembark in Seattle as planned.' Passengers have been offered a 100 per cent refund as well as a credit for future travel equivalent to the total cost of the trip. A fresh voyage planned for Thursday has been canceled. Zachary David Hughes, 29, is accused of stabbing 41-year-old Christina Larain Parcell 31 times at her South Carolina home last year, was close friends with the father of her child: docs A Juilliard-trained concert pianist charged with brutally murdering the mother of his friend's child may be forced to disclose his iPhone password after prosecutors claim a text between the two friends was a code for murder. Zachary David Hughes, 29, is accused of stabbing 41-year-old Christina Larain Parcell 31 times at her South Carolina home last year in what authorities described as a 'very violent attack' and a 'very brutal crime scene.' On the same day of the murder, Hughes' friend and father of Parcell's child, John Mello, reportedly sent a text to Hughes that read 'How did the music research go?' Hughes allegedly replied: 'Good, I'll tell you over the phone.' A solicitor has since filed a motion to gain access to Hughes' phone after officials believe it could hold information to incriminate Hughes or identify additional suspects. The motion filed this week claims Mello was in a 'contentious' custody battle with the victim and allegedly exchanged thousands of WhatsApp messages with Hughes, revealing Mello asked his friend Hughes to harass Parcell, WHNS reported. Parcell, a mother-of-one working as a veterinary technician, was found stabbed to death in her Greer, South Carolina home. October 13, 2021 Less than a week after her killing, Parcell's fiance, Bradly Post, was arrested and charged with five counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor for allegedly producing child pornography, reported WYFF. But police say the charges are unrelated to Parcell's murder. On the day of Parcell's murder, the father of her child, John Mello, reportedly sent a text to Hughes that read 'How did the music research go?' Parcell was found dead of multiple stab wounds at her South Carolina home in October 2021 Hughes pleaded not guilty when he appeared in a pre-trial hearing earlier this year. He is currently detained in the Greenville County Detention Center. Hughes, who is a graduate of the world-famous Julliard School in New York City and had been working as a concert pianist, now faces charges of murder and weapons possession during a violent crime. Sheriff Hobart Lewis described the murder as a 'very violent' attack, reported Greenville Online. 'It was a very brutal crime scene, for sure,' the sheriff added. Court documents revealed the suspect was caught on a neighbor's ring doorbell camera entering Parcell's home the day she was killed. The same suspect was also seen leaving the home on a bike. According to WHNS, investigators used FLOCK cameras which read license plates to connect Hughes with being at Parcell's house. Images from the cameras show Hughes' truck with a bike in the back. The same bike was later found in Hughes' home. Parcell's fiance Bradly Post, pictured, was arrested for child sex offenses on October 20, but police say the charges are unrelated to Parcell's murder The court documents also revealed more details on the relationship between Hughes and the father of Parcell's child - which allege John Mello was in a very 'contentious' custody battle with Parcell at the time of her killing. It was alleged that Hughes and Mello were close friends and exchanged over 2,000 WhatsApp messages. Last year, Parcell also launched a GoFundMe campaign, seeking donations to help pay her lawyer during a custody battle with Mello, who she claimed had traveled with the child out of the country. Mello was arrested on October 25 and charged with violating a custody order, transporting a child under age 16 and not returning her within 72 hours. A bakery which sells a 4 sandwich called 'Cheesus Christ' was threatened with legal action by an anonymous customer falsely claiming to be acting on behalf of a Christian organisation. The mystery seething sandwich-eater sent a letter to The Bridge Bakehouse in Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire, saying there was 'clearly a case to answer' for 'discrimination against Christians' over the name for the cheddar cheese and mozarella sandwich which comes with onion chutney. The bakery, whose menu is littered with puns includes other sandwiches with entertaining names such as 'In one ear and out the udder' for a roast beef, swiss cheese sandwich with horseradish mayonnaise; 'Joey Tribbiani' - which has ham, mozzarella, sun-dried tomato and pesto and a BLT sandwich called 'Don't go bacon my heart'. The letter writer claimed to have intervened over the 'Cheesus Christ' sandwich on the request of the local Holy Trinity church and Christian organisation Christian Concern. Dated June 23, it said: 'the slant on the name Jesus Christ is an insult to Christianity and is seen in the eyes of the law as discrimination against Christians.' It continued: 'Although our clients would prefer to settle this matter outside of the court, there is clearly a case to answer here. The Bridge Bakehouse in Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire (pictured) received the letter this week, dated June 23 - but has since said they found out it was a fake The bakery posted a photo of their damaged menu on social media, highlighting the Cheesus Christ sandwich and said someone had attempted to paint over the sandwich's name on its menu in white The Bridge Bakery has a long menu of hot and cold sandwiches, including the Cheesus Christ which remains on the menu (pictured - another sandwich offered by the bakery) The bakery had a sense of humour about the whole situation as they asked people not to vandalise its menu board 'Our clients do not wish to take this further, but feel they will need to in the name of Jesus Christ our lord and saviour if action is not taken.' The letter also demanded the bakery make a public apology, remove the sandwich from the menu and make a 300 donation to the village church in Whaley Bridge. The writer of the letter, who claimed to represent 'clients' within the local Christian community - described them as 'good standing citizens'. But the bakery said the letter was fake and had nothing to do with the local church or Christian Concern and had instead come from a 'disgruntled member of the local community'. In an Instagram story the bakery wrote: 'So after investigations it turned out the bizarre blackmail letter had nothing to do with Trinity Church or 'Christian Concern'. 'It seems it was from an anonymous disgruntled member of the local community... 'We would still love to find out who it was(!) and if they had anything to do with the recent vandalism of our menu board?!' Earlier this month The Bridge Bakehouse's menu was vandalised when the name of the cheese sandwich was painted over in white to hide it from view. The letter appeared to be on official note-headed paper with what were claimed to be Christian Concern's contact details and address, However the bakery has said the letter has nothing to do with the organisation. Despite the Cheesus Christ sandwich being on the menu since at least last September, the anonymous vandal didn't strike until now. The bakery announced that the letter is a fake on its Instagram account last night, adding they still want to find the person responsible. When the menu was defaced on June 10, the bakery took to Facebook to call the act out - but appeared good humoured about the incident. It said: 'To whoever has tried to cover up the 'Cheesus Christ' sandwich on our outdoor menu board with white paint, can you please not? 'We really can't be bothered contacting the council to check the CCTV. 'And if it wasn't done in the dead of night by someone dressed like The Mask of Zorro we are going to be highly disappointed.' MailOnline has contacted The Bridge Bakehouse for comment. Vladimir Putin has lost yet another high-ranking military officer amid bitter fighting in Ukraine as his forces suffer a series of humiliating setbacks. Lieutenant Colonel Pavel Kislyakov, 40, was buried today with full military honours in his hometown in Moscow region. Kislyakov, commander of a prestigious unit of Russian paratroopers, is the 57th colonel to have been killed since Putin ordered his troops over the border on February 24. No details have been given about where in Ukraine he was killed - but his death highlights the appalling losses of high-ranking officers suffered by Russia. The war, which has now raged for more than four months, has also seen the slaying of at least 11 Russian generals - though the true death toll may be higher given the tendency of Russian authorities to conceal its death tolls. It comes as fresh footage from the Ukrainian military showed how its soldiers deployed an M777 howitzer long-range artillery weapon to obliterate a Russian base. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported Russia has lost about 35,600 personnel, 1,573 tanks, 3,726 armoured combat vehicles, 790 artillery units, 246 multiple launch rocket systems, 104 air defence systems, 217 warplanes, 185 helicopters, 641 drones, 143 cruise missiles, 14 warships, and 2,602 motor vehicles and fuel tankers since the invasion began. Pavel Kislyakov, commander of a prestigious unit of Russian paratroopers, is the 57th colonel to have been killed since Putin ordered his troops over the border on February 24 Kislyakov, 40, was buried today with full military honours in his hometown in Moscow region Stonefaced Russian servicemen stand to attention at the military funeral of Colonel Kislyakov who was buried today after being killed in action on the frontlines in Ukraine This is the moment shells fired by an M777 howitzer slammed into a Russian base and warehouse of military vehicles The Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communications (StratCom) said in a statement yesterday: 'Three howitzers (M777) on the occupiers' armoured vehicles, headquarters and warehouse' The Ukrainian military said they used British-made M777 howitzers to destroy the Russian base - though this information could not be independently verified Biden reveals ramp-up in US forces in Europe The US will ramp up its forces and equipment across Europe to respond to threats coming from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, U.S. President Joe Biden announced during a NATO summit in Madrid. POLAND: The US will permanently station the V Corps Headquarters Forward Command, an Army garrison headquarters, and a field support battalion in Poland, making these the first permanent US forces on NATO's eastern flank. ROMANIA: Washington will position a rotational Brigade Combat Team in Romania. It will complement the other Brigade Combat Teams stationed and operating in Europe. BALTIC REGION: US will enhance its rotational deployments which include armoured, aviation, air defence, and special operations forces to reinforce security there. SPAIN: Washington is working with the Spanish government to raise the number of destroyers based in southern Spain from four to six. BRITAIN: Washington will send two F-35 squadrons to Britain, to complement one existing F-35 squadron and three F-15 squadrons. GERMANY: The US will forward station an air defence artillery brigade headquarters, a short-range air defence battalion, a combat sustainment support battalion headquarters, and an engineer brigade headquarters - approximately 625 military personnel in total. ITALY: Washington will forward station a short-range air defence battery totalling approximately 65 personnel. Advertisement Impressive footage obtained yesterday showed the moment a volley of shells fired by Ukrainian-operated howitzers slammed into a Russian base which reportedly housed several military vehicles. The Ukrainian military said they used British-made M777 howitzers to destroy the Russian base - though this information could not be independently verified. The Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communications (StratCom) said in a statement yesterday: 'Three howitzers (M777) on the occupiers' armoured vehicles, headquarters and warehouse.' Manufactured by the Global Combat Systems division of BAE Systems, the M777 is a highly-capable lightweight artillery gun which can fire shells at an effective range of up to 25 miles and could play a pivotal role in Ukraine's efforts to strike Russian targets at long-range. Kislyakov, who was killed in a separate attack, served as head of the operational department of the headquarters of the 11th separate airborne assault brigade in Buryatia. District official Denis Semenov said at the funeral: 'He died in the line of military duty during the special operation in Ukraine.' The father of two was described as 'a true hero and defender of the Motherland'. His death pushes the number of high-ranking Russian military officials killed in action close to 60, and comes just three days after the announcement that Col. Andrey Vasilyev, also a paratrooper commander, had been killed. Vasilyev was struck in one of Ukraine's first uses of a 43-mile-range HIMARS missile sent to Ukraine by U.S. President Joe Biden. The colonel had previously been awarded the Russian Order of Courage and led the 137th Guards Airborne Regiment of the 106th Guards Airborne Division. Vasilyev's death occurred the same night that footage first emerged of Ukrainian forces opening fire with HIMARS, with video also taken at night. It is not clear whether the strike captured on film and the strike that killed Vasilyev were one and the same, but the timing of his death means he is almost certainly one of the first Russian officers to be killed by the weapon. Colonel Andrey Vasilyev, 49, was killed in a HIMARS strike in Ukraine. The colonel had previously been awarded the Russian Order of Courage and led the 137th Guards Airborne Regiment of the 106th Guards Airborne Division Video shows blown-out buildings and burning cars following the strike, which Kyiv claims killed 40 Russian soldiers Footage emerged on Friday of Ukrainian forces attacking with a HIMARS battery somewhere in the east of the country, after America agreed to supply the weapons Russia's defence ministry announced this morning that its forces had withdrawn from Snake Island, a key strategic outpost 80 miles off Ukraine's southern coast, in a move which British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said shows the futility of the Russian leader's ambitions in Ukraine. Putin's remaining troops on the island fled in the middle of the night in two speedboats with the rocky outcrop left 'covered in fire' following a fresh volley of rocket attacks on remaining Russian positions, Ukraine's military said as Kyiv celebrated the retreat. The head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, Andriy Yermak, published a jubilant message upon learning the news this morning. 'KABOOM! No Russian troops on the Snake Island anymore. Our Armed Forces did a great job,' Yermak wrote on Twitter, sharing a photo of smoke rising from the island following last night's attacks. The 100-acre parcel of land 80 miles off Ukraine's southern coast was seized by Kremlin forces in the early days of the war but has been pounded by Ukrainian forces in recent weeks in a major offensive involving long-range weapons. Head of Zelensky's office Andriy Yermak this morning shared a photo of smoke rising from the island following yet another attack last night 'KABOOM! No Russian troops on the Snake Island anymore. Our Armed Forces did a great job,' Yermak wrote in a jubilant social media post Russia's defence ministry immediately tried to paint the retreat as a 'gesture of goodwill' designed to help the flow of grain exports as it confirmed the withdrawal of its troops. But the retreat represents a humiliating strategic blow for Putin in a war that has seen him lose tens of thousands of soldiers and vast amounts of military equipment. 'In the end, it will prove impossible for Putin to hold down a country that will not accept his rule,' Boris Johnson told a news conference after a NATO summit in Madrid. 'We've seen what Ukraine can do to drive the Russians back. We've seen what they did around Kyiv and Kharkiv, now on Snake Island. 'I think the right thing for us is to keep going on the course that NATO has set out, no matter how difficult.' It comes as NATO leaders continue to hold talks in Madrid where Joe Biden yesterday announced that America will deploy thousands more troops to Europe along with fighters, air defences and ships in a major reinforcement of the alliance's eastern flank in a new Iron Curtain to protect the continent from Russia. Europe's new Iron Curtain: The defences designed to keep Putin out as Biden announces a new permanent base in Poland - while Sweden and Finland are formally invited into alliance and Russia blasts 'destabilising' move By CHRIS PLEASANCE for MAILONLINE America will deploy thousands more troops to Europe along with fighters, air defences and ships, Joe Biden announced today, as NATO reinforces its eastern flank in a new Iron Curtain to protect the continent from Russia. Joe Biden, speaking at a NATO summit in Madrid today, announced the creation of a new base for the US Fifth Army Corps in Poland - the first permanent American base in the country - along with 3,000 extra soldiers to be sent to Romania and 'enhanced' troop rotations for the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Two more squadrons of F-35 fighters will be deployed to the UK, Biden added, along with additional air defence systems for Germany and Italy, and another two destroyers which will be stationed at Rota Naval Station in Spain, bringing the total to six. Meanwhile NATO formally invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance after Turkey dropped its opposition, and announced it will boost troops on its eastern flank by almost 4,000 compared to March this year. It comes after alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg yesterday announced NATO's high-alert force - troops which are not deployed but can be quickly sent into battle in the event of war - is being increased from 40,000 to 300,000. Moscow reacted with fury to the news, saying NATO expansion will be 'destabilising' for Europe. 'We consider the expansion of the North Atlantic alliance to be a purely destabilising factor in international affairs. It does not add security either to those who are expanding it, those joining it, or to other countries that perceive the alliance as a threat,' Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. The original 'Iron Curtain' was a phrase coined by Winston Churchill to describe the way Soviet Union and allied eastern European states sealed off contact with the West after the Second World War. NATO was founded in 1949 to deter a Soviet invasion of Western Europe, with most of the alliance's troops based in West Germany after it joined in 1955. Now many of NATO's forces are moving into the former-Soviet East European states to deter new aggression by Putin's Russia. NATO will deploy and extra 4,000 troops to its eastern frontier as part of enhanced defences against Russia, boosting the size of its garrisons in Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Latvia Joe Biden has announced thousands of extra US troops will be sent to Europe - mostly to the Baltics and Romania - along with new fighter jets, ships and air defence systems that will be deployed elsewhere British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (pictured talking to Joe Biden this morning) is expected to use his appearance at the NATO summit in Madrid to pledge extra troops for Estonia, potentially more than doubling current numbers US President Joe Biden (L) and British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson (R) pose for a photo on the first day of the NATO Summit US President Joe Biden smiles as British PM Boris Johnson (R) appears to crack jokes with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Madrid today 'Together with our allies we're going to make sure that NATO is ready to meet the threats from all directions across every domain,' Biden said at a summit taking place today in Madrid. 'In a moment where (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has shattered peace in Europe and attacked the very, very tenets of rule-based order, the United States and our allies, we're going to step up,' he said. 'We're stepping up, proving that NATO is more needed now than it ever has been.' Stoltenberg said the alliance was facing its biggest challenge since World War II because of Russia's aggression toward Ukraine, and welcomed Biden's announcement. 'This really demonstrates your decisive leadership and strength in the trans-Atlantic bond,' Stoltenberg said, thanking Biden for the 'unwavering support from you and from the United States to Ukraine.' US forces already deployed to Europe America has around 100,000 troops stationed in Europe, providing a large chunk of the continent's defence forces. The largest US troop deployments as-of April 2022 were... Germany: 36,160 troops Italy: 12,661 United Kingdom: 9,766 Spain: 3,108 Norway: 2,593 Turkey: 1,709 Belgium: 1,137 Netherlands: 436 Greece: 376 Portugal: 243 Poland: 172 Romania: 137 Advertisement Jakub Kumoch, foreign policy adviser to Polish president Andrzej Duda, welcomed the announcement of a new permanent military base on his soil - saying it sends 'a clear signal to Moscow' that NATO will defend its members. 'It is a success which comes from long and consistent negotiations on this matter and, at the same time, a very clear sign that the Americans intend to increase, not decrease, their presence in Poland,' Kumoch said. Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz added: 'Something that seemed impossible to many is becoming a fact today. We have a PERMANENT U.S. presence in Poland... It is also a clear signal to Moscow.' However, the pledges fell far short of what some leaders had been asking for - particularly the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania which had been demanding a new garrison of 50,000 NATO troops on their territory. Instead, NATO forces in the region have been moderately increased from 7,700 that were in place in March to 9,900. Biden did not specify exactly how many additional US troops will be sent as part of 'enhanced' rotations, but the figure is likely to fall far short of what had been called for. NATO leaders are meeting at a crucial time for the alliance, which is scrambling to respond to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Though Ukraine is not part of the alliance, it's surrounded by members and many NATO countries have been supplying weapons to hold back Russia's advance. That has prompted Russia - via its state media propaganda networks - to warn of a 'de-facto' war with NATO, which it argues could spiral into a nuclear Third World War. Poland, which shares a long land border with Ukraine, has been reinforced with NATO troops and has been rapidly buying up latest-generation American weaponry in recent months to try and deter Russia from attacking. The Baltic states - long viewed as NATO's Achilles heel - are also ramping up calls for reinforcements to fend off any threat of attack. Kyllike Sillaste-Elling, head of NATO relations at Estonia's foreign ministry, told The Independent: 'We need a new, more robust posture that will significantly strengthen the deterrence and defense of the eastern flank. 'Putin is not deterred. We should look at what Putin has been saying in his strategic aims including mentioning the former Soviet Union. 'As a direct neighbor we can't just overlook those statements. We are small, we are located far northeast next to Russia. We don't have anywhere to retreat to, we have nowhere to go. That is why we need to have as much in place as possible.' U.S. President Joe Biden, left, speaks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the summit this morning Prime Minister Boris Johnson (left) and U.S. President, Joe Biden attend a session of the North Atlantic Council during the Nato summit in Madrid, Spain. Picture date: Wednesday June 29, 2022 American aircraft carrier USS Kearsage is pictured on NATO drills in Sweden earlier this month, as the Scandinavian country is formally invited to join the alliance today Fears over the Suwalki Gap ramped up last week, when Lithuania - one of the Baltic states - stopped Russia moving goods across its territory, in line with EU sanctions. The Lithuanian route was a key supply line between Belarus, a close ally of Russia, and Kaliningrad - an enclave of Russian territory on the Baltic Sea. The Suwalki Gap links Belarus and Kaliningrad, running through the territory of both Lithuania and Poland who are NATO member states. They fear Putin could launch a lightning assault to occupy the territory, reopening Kaliningrad's supply lines while also cutting off the Baltic states from mainland Europe and making reinforcement much harder. That is why they are lobbying NATO to move sufficient forces into the region to hold back a Russian invasion now, rather than wait until an attack is already underway to deploy its armies. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February this year, NATO had around 3,700 troops stationed across Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia as part of a so-called 'tripwire' force. Another 19.5million in compensation is being given to postmasters caught up in the Horizon computer system scandal, postal affairs minister Paul Scully has announced. The award, which will be given to eligible members of a group representing subpostmasters, will take total compensation to around 30million. Mr Scully said: 'These postmasters and their families have shown immense courage in the face of terrible circumstances. 'I hope this initial step provides some comfort to these pioneering postmasters while reaffirming our commitment to ensuring they receive their fair share in compensation.' Business minister Lord Callanan told the House of Lords that the Government aims to have all offers of interim payments for victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal be made 'before the end of the year'. He added that, for those who have died, they would be 'engaging with their next of kin and with their estates' over the compensation they are owed. Starting in 1999, the Post Office began installing Horizon accounting systems - but faults in the software led to shortfalls in branches' accounts. Another 19.5million in compensation is being given to postmasters caught up in the Horizon computer system scandal, postal affairs minister Paul Scully (pictured) has announced The Post Office demanded sub-postmasters cover the shortfalls, and in many cases wrongfully prosecuted them between 1999 and 2015 for false accounting or theft. In 2019, a number of postmasters who had taken the first legal action against the Post Office over Horizon received 43million plus legal costs in a settlement, but much of this money was swallowed up by the associated costs of funding their case through the courts. They were ineligible for the Historical Shortfall Scheme (HSS) which was subsequently set up to compensate other affected postmasters. The Government confirmed in March that it would create a new scheme to ensure the group does not lose out, and Thursday's interim payment will provide support while this scheme is finalised. Mr Scully added: 'Furthermore, I can confirm that members of the GLO group (High Court Group Litigation Order) will be able to claim reasonable legal fees as part of participating in the final compensation scheme. Starting in 1999, the Post Office began installing Horizon accounting systems - but faults in the software led to shortfalls in branches' accounts. The Post Office (pictured, file photo) demanded sub-postmasters cover the shortfalls, and in many cases wrongfully prosecuted them between 1999 and 2015 for false accounting or theft 'I hope that this will allay any concerns that they might have about meeting the costs of seeking legal advice and support when applying to the scheme.' Conservative peer Lord Callanan also vowed that the 19.5million would not affect the core funding of the Post Office. Lord Callanan asserted that there would be 'no hiding place' for anyone who contributed to the wrongdoing in the public inquiry into the scandal. What was the Horizon computer system and how did it go wrong? Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of postmasters were sacked or prosecuted after money appeared to go missing from their branch accounts (file image) Horizon, an IT system developed by the Japanese company Fujitsu, was rolled out by the Post Office from 1999. The system was used for tasks such as transactions, accounting and stocktaking. However, subpostmasters complained about defects after it reported shortfalls - some of which amounted to thousands of pounds. Some subpostmasters attempted to plug the gap with their own money, even remortgaging their homes, in an attempt to correct an error. Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of subpostmasters were sacked or prosecuted due to the glitches. The ex-workers blamed flaws in the IT system, Horizon, but the Post Office denied there was a problem. In case after case the Post Office bullied postmasters into pleading guilty to crimes they knew they had not committed. Many others who were not convicted were hounded out of their jobs or forced to pay back thousands of pounds of 'missing' money. The Post Office spent 32million to deny any fault in their IT system, before capitulating. However, the postmasters and postmistresses said the scandal ruined their lives as they had to cope with the impact of a conviction and imprisonment, some while they had been pregnant or had young children. Marriages broke down, and courts have heard how some families believe the stress led to health conditions, addiction and premature deaths. Advertisement He also claimed that new leadership in the Post Office under Nick Read were producing a change in the culture and 'complacency' previously seen. He also assured Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom, a lead campaigner on this issue, that the 'inevitable delay' resulting out of the public inquiry will not cause to be legally time-barred any redress that might be needed to be taken in relation to those at fault. More than 700 branch managers were given criminal convictions when faulty accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their sites. It has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history, with dozens of convictions overturned and many more in line for compensation. A Post Office spokesman said: 'Ensuring full, fair and final compensation for all Horizon scandal victims is a priority as we put right the wrongs of the past. 'Almost two-thirds of postmasters in the Historical Shortfall Scheme have received compensation offers, the majority of which are already paid. 'We welcome the Government taking action on final, equitable compensation for the postmasters who were part of the group litigation settlement and those whose Horizon-related convictions are overturned.' The people responsible for the harm caused by the Horizon computer system scandal will be 'genuinely held accountable', a minister has said. Conservative MP for Telford Lucy Allan said that the people responsible for the harm caused by the Horizon scandal will be 'genuinely held accountable'. She told the Commons: 'I remain deeply concerned about the role of Fujitsu, UK Government Investments and all those who sent ministers to this House even after the Justice Fraser judgment to say "nothing to see here". 'That was wrong, now I know Sir Wyn Williams is investigating, as the minister rightly said, but will he personally commit to ensuring that those individuals are held to account?' Business minister Paul Scully replied: 'Absolutely, I will. What I can't do at this despatch box at this moment in time, having set up the statutory inquiry, is direct Sir Wyn to find any particular areas of finding. 'It is for him to do, I want to keep him as the independent chair, but absolutely we want to make sure that lessons are learned and that people are genuinely held accountable.' Conservative MP Duncan Baker has urged Paul Scully to look at the 'remuneration structure' for the existing postmasters, as 'we are losing post offices up and down our high streets'. The MP for North Norfolk and former postmaster told the Commons: 'I say this as a former postmaster, I think the only one in the House, those who are responsible for this, including Fujitsu and the senior people within the Post Office, have to be held to account. 'What I want to say to the minister is something different now, and that is please, please look at the remuneration structure for the existing postmasters out there. We are losing post offices up and down our high streets in our communities. The reason that we are doing that is because it is unviable sometimes to run a post office just as a stand-alone unit. Today I can confirm we are providing 19.5m as an interim compensation to members of the GLO the 555 who brought the first legal action against the Post Office over Horizon. pic.twitter.com/6oAjufskH2 Paul Scully MP (@scullyp) June 30, 2022 'When communities lose them, we are struggling to get them back again. So, please, once this horrendous scandal is dealt with, look at remunerating them properly, so we can get this great institution back onto our high streets because, by goodness, we need them.' The business minister replied: 'We are not waiting until this is over. The Post Office, as I say, have conversations with sub-postmasters and their representatives all the time about remuneration. Part of this has to do with that future of the Post Office that I was talking about.' He added: 'This is why we need to work together to make sure that we can have that viable approach for the post offices, not just for economic value, but for social value as well.' A teenage TikToker accused of stabbing her sleeping sister to death joked to cops that she 'Michael Myers'ed' her, a court in Pennsylvania heard. Claire Miller, pictured in a police mugshot after her arrest, is accused of stabbing her wheelchair-bound sister to death last winter Claire Miller, 16, was 14 when wheelchair-bound Helen, 19, was murdered at their family home in Manheim Township, Lancaster County last February. The high schooler was reportedly found by police standing in front of the house barefoot and covered in blood. She had dialed 911 and swiftly confessed to the killing, Manheim Township police said. Once arrested and taken to the police station, a ringtone with the theme from 1970s horror classic Halloween - in which the boy serial killer murders his sibling - prompted horror fan Claire to say: 'I Michael Myers'd my sister.' Manheim Township detective John Martin also told the court that after Claire was brought a fast food breakfast, she replied: 'Ooooh, McDonald's. I'd have killed someone sooner if I knew I'd get McDonald's.' The court heard that she texted her friends: 'Im so sorry guys. I just killed my sister.' Helen, who had cerebral palsy, was knifed seven times including twice in the chest and jaw and three times in the neck, coroner Dr. Wayne Ross said. Claire (left) poses for a seasonal pic with Helen (right), who suffered from cerebral palsy Police said the murder weapon, a kitchen knife, was left in Helen's neck. Myers also used a kitchen knife to kill his victims in the 1978 John Carpenter film. A court in Lancaster County is currently deciding whether Miller should be tried as a juvenile or an adult. Her parents have pleaded for her to be tried as a child. Though the suspect was a minor, Pennsylvania law dictates that all murder trials start in adult courts - with the accused taken to adult prisons. Claire Miller was found by cops in her front yard (pictured), barefoot and covered in blood Her defense attorney must petition County Judge Workman to transfer the case to a juvenile court, where penalties are more focused on treatment than punishment. Claire's lawyer, Robert Beyer, brought her parents to help make that case. Mother Marie Miller told the court: 'We love both of them. I know Claire did not mean to do this. 'We lost Helen and we don't want to lose Claire too. 'We don't want her to be punished, not get help and be put away for a long period for something that was out of her control. We can't lose her too.' Beyer added: 'Make no mistake about it, Claire is mentally ill. 'Shes a willing participant in her treatment. She wants to get better.' An official at Claire's school also testified in favour of the transfer. Claire was first taken to Lancaster County Prison, where she became its first juvenile woman, before being transferred to Muncy State Prison in March 2021. Two psychiatrists who analysed Claire said she suffered from auditory hallucinations - or hearing voices - that compelled her to cut her own throat on the night of the killing. Left: A popular TikToker, Claire Miller's account was taken down by the site after the killing. And right: Slain Helen poses for a wholesome selfie posted to Facebook Claire tried to cut her own throat and then focused on knifing the hallucination - only stopping when she realised blood was pouring out of her sister, according to two psychiatrists who evaluated Claire. Dr. Susan Rushing said that Claire was psychotic that night - and as she is still a child whose brain is not yet fully developed, that should be taken into account by the court. Rushing claims that Claire was severely symptomatic in April 2021 - yet prison doctors say she acted completely normal, with no signs of psychiatric illness. Officers testified that shortly after Helen died, Claire cried every now and then but was not paranoid nor frantic. An audio recording played to the court showed Claire saying 'No No No' from inside a police car as an ambulance approached her family home. Judge Workman is set to announce his decision at 1.30pm on July 18 at the Lancaster County Courthouse. Katie Boyes (pictured), headteacher of QE School, said: 'It is important to state that the use of a dog is not in reaction to an incident and there is not a drug problem at QE School.' A highly-rated secondary school in a genteel market town is bringing in a police sniffer dog and random bag searches to tackle 'county lines' drugs, it has been revealed. The head of Queen Elizabeth's School in Wimborne, Dorset, has warned parents in a letter of the upcoming enforcement measures. The 'highly trained' sniffer dog will be accompanied by its handler and will roam the classrooms, library and shared areas. There will also be a PCSO searching bags to ensure there are no banned substances, including tobacco, vapes and cigarettes, on site. The mixed school, which has over 1,500 pupils aged 13 to 18, is rated as Good by Ofsted. They said there is no 'drug problem' at the school but they are acting to 'protect the pupils from the dangers of illicit drugs'. The hardline approach has been welcomed by some parents, although others have questioned whether it is right to 'forewarn' students as they will 'now leave their stuff at home'. Michelle Lloyd said: 'If no other good comes of it, it will be a deterrent during school hours. 'It's a large issue to tackle and I don't think it will ever be stopped completely. The 'highly trained' sniffer dog will be accompanied by its handler and will roam the classrooms, library and shared areas (Stock image) 'Making it more awkward for people to use school kids is a good move forward.' However, Andrea Holloway responded: 'Defeated the object now! Forewarning is forearming! 'They should have said it will be happening not when. Teenagers are pretty savvy!!!!!' And one social media commenter said the measures were too heavy-handed as they made school like a 'prison'. Cindy Lou said: 'I think schools are going to far with sniffer dogs, it's school not prison or a detention centre.' The letter to parents explaining the initiative states: 'As part of our determination to educate students about, and protect them from the dangers of illicit drugs, the Queen Elizabeth's School has a programme of work that is delivered through assemblies and as part of the Curriculum for Life Programmes. 'In the light of recent news items about 'county lines', we have arranged for a drugs sniffer dog to attend on one day during the week beginning July 4, 2022. This approach has also been taken by a number of schools locally. 'Ensuring that our school is a safe, drug free and healthy environment for all students to learn and develop is a priority and reflects our community's values and expectations. 'It is with these goals in mind that we are undertaking this procedure. 'Your son/daughter will have had this explained to them by their tutor prior to the visit to prepare them. 'The dog will move across the school from class to class and in the shared areas, such as the library and reception. 'Students will be asked to file past the dog who will indicate any concerns to his handler. 'The student's parents would then be informed if, on further investigations, these concerns needed to be explored further. Queen Elizabeth's school (pictured), which has over 1,500 pupils aged 13 to 18, is rated as Good by Ofsted 'Periodically we will also be undertaking bag searches to ensure no banned substances, including tobacco, vapes and cigarettes have been brought into the school.' The school, which has also erected a large fence to boost its security, said the sniffer dog will be on site next week as part of an initiative being run in several Dorset schools. Katie Boyes, headteacher of QE School, said: 'It is important to state that the use of a dog is not in reaction to an incident and there is not a drug problem at QE School. 'We want to make the school as safe as possible and like other local schools decided to invite a sniffer dog in with its handler. 'It is entirely a preventative measure and is designed to help reassure parents that we are doing everything to ensure their children are safe. 'The visit of the dog for a few hours is allied to our programme of work that educates the children about the dangers of drugs. 'The new fence has been put up because it is a safeguarding requirement, and it is the recommended height for safeguarding compliance within schools.' President Biden tore into the Supreme Court for taking 'our country backwards' after justices ruled in a 6 to 3 decision to restrain the federal government's ability to regulate emissions at power plants, as Congressional Democrats accused the high court of 'killing America.' 'The Supreme Courts ruling in West Virginia v. EPA is another devastating decision that aims to take our country backwards,' Biden said in a statement. 'While this decision risks damaging our nations ability to keep our air clean and combat climate change, I will not relent in using my lawful authorities to protect public health and tackle the climate crisis.' He said he had directed the Department of Justice and other agencies to 'find ways that we can, under federal law, continue protecting Americans from harmful pollution, including pollution that causes climate change.' The case declares it unlawful for federal agencies to make 'major' decisions without clear authorization from Congress. It appears to allow for regulations focused narrowly on capping pollution from smokestacks, but blocks wider rules that set state-by-state targets for emissions reduction or a cap-and-trade system that would trigger a faster shift to clean energy. 'Capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible 'solution to the crisis of the day,' Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his opinion for the court. But he added that the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to do so. 'A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body,' he wrote. Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer slammed the 'MAGA' Supreme Court for the ruling. 'First on gun safety, then on abortion, and now on the environment this MAGA, regressive, extremist Supreme Court is intent on setting America back decades, if not centuries,' Schumer said. 'The Republican-appointed majority of the MAGA Court is pushing the country back to a time when robbers barons and corporate elites have complete power and average citizens have no say.' Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., claimed the Supreme Court was 'killing America' with Thursday's ruling. 'SCOTUS has just gutted EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. They are trying to stop the federal government from regulating in the public interest, and they have declared that corporate profits are more important than our lives. SCOTUS is killing America.' Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez used the new decision to renew her calls for killing the Senate filibuster, the 60-vote hurdle needed to end debate on most legislation. 'Catastrophic. A filibuster carveout is not enough. We need to reform or do away with the whole thing, for the sake of the planet,' the New York Democrat wrote on Twitter. The court's liberals, Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan dissented from the majority. 'Today, the court strips the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the power Congress gave it to respond to the most pressing environmental challenge of our time,' Kagan wrote. The ruling prevents the Biden administration from instituting the sort of sweeping emissions rules the EPA tried to implement under the Obama administration. The Supreme Court put Obama's Clean Power Plan on hold in 2016, and it never took effect. The court sided with coal power plants and GOP-led states in West Virginia v. EPA, reviewing an appeals court decision to axe the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule, a Trump-era regulation that effectively gutted the Clean Power Plan. Though the Clean Power Plan never took effect, the utility sector met its goals - a 32 percent reduction of carbon pollution from 2005 levels by 2030. The Biden administration had planned to write a fresh regulation and asked the Supreme Court to hold off on stepping in. 'No challenge poses a greater threat to our future than a changing climate. Every day, were feeling the impact of climate change, and todays Supreme Court decision is a major step backward,' former President Obama said in a statement on the ruling, calling on Congress to pass Biden's clean energy and climate initiatives. The Supreme Court ruled in a 6 to 3 decision to restrain the federal government's ability to regulate emissions at power plants The case declares it unlawful for federal agencies to make 'major' decisions without clear authorization from Congress What the Supreme Court's decision on West Virginia v. EPA means The court's decision could cut back agency power through the so-called 'major questions' doctrine, ruling that agencies need express approval from Congress to make 'major' decisions' Agencies' authority to impose regulations on things like worker safety or internet The case said the EPA could narrowly regulate smokestack emissions, but not impose broader The move could force Biden to go through Congress to impose his ambitious climate agenda, where he will likely face gridlock state-by-state targets for emissions reduction Advertisement Instead of deciding on an existing rule, the Supreme Court set a precedent for Biden's future rule, which was expected to fall in line with his goal for the entire U.S. power grid to run on clean energy by 2035. 'It's a bad decision and an unnecessary one, but the EPA can still limit greenhouse gases at the source under Section 111 and more broadly through other Clean Air Act provisions. In the wake of this ruling, EPA must use its remaining authority to the fullest,' said Jason Rylander, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate Law Institute, in a statement. The question of how much power the EPA has was based on Section 111 of the Clean Air Act, which allows the agency power to set 'standards of performance' for air pollutants. In its decision Thursday, the court took made its most significant climate case since 2007, when justices ruled in Massachusetts v. EPA that greenhouse gasses could be regulated as air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Faced with deadlock in Congress, President Obama at the time sought to combat climate change by regulating power plants, the largest source of greenhouse gas behind the transportation industry. The question before the justices was whether Congress must 'speak with particular clarity when it authorizes executive agencies to address major political and economic questions.' The court called it the 'major questions doctrine.' Some legal scholars worry the case could unravel much of the regulatory state - Biden's agencies are currently defending in court wetlands protections, limits on car and truck pollution and insurance coverage for birth control. 'Almost everything about these cases [is] manufactured in an effort to return to an era free from oversight by the government,' Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., wrote in a brief to the court. 'The radical right-wing court has decided that our children don't deserve a future on this planet. By eliminating the EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions the court is promoting more climate change. Congress must right this wrong,' New York Democratic Rep. Nydia Vasquez wrote on Twitter of the ruling. 'The Supreme Court just sided with fossil fuel companies instead of siding with our future,' said Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass. 'The Supreme Court's radical right majority just gutted the Clean Air Act, allowing coal companies to pollute without limits. Republicans tried and failed to undermine the Clean Air Act in Congress. Today, they've gotten the Supreme Court to do it for them,' Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, wrote on Twitter. West Virginia Republican Rep. Carol Miller celebrated the decision on Twitter. 'This is a BIG win for West Virginia. D.C. bureaucrats shouldn't be able to dictate how America's energy producers operate. Innovation not overregulation is the key to revitalizing our energy industry and communities.'T A Bronx woman and her teenage son have been arrested for the brutal death of a seven-year-old girl who was tortured, beaten, and sexually raped while in their care. According to an NYPD spokeswoman, Navasia Jones, 36, and her 17-year-old son Paul Fine, Jr. of Brooklyn were charged with the murder and manslaughter of Julissa Batties. Julissia's parents were fighting over custody of her, and she had been living with her grandmother. As per Crime Online, officers attended to the property six times in three years, with the final contact in March 2020. Jones is said to have covered for her son in one of those situations. Recordings reveal the moment of the dead girl screaming and pleading with her grandmother not to return to her mother's house for a court-ordered visit. Jones allegedly lost custody of her daughter at birth, as well as her four boys, due to abuse and neglect. Batties was murdered two months after the Administration for Children's Services let her return to her mother's house alone. "I didn't kill my daughter, b***h," reporters were allegedly screamed at as she was brought from the 40th Precinct station house. Davis stated that Jones has seven other children and that the city had taken each of her seven children away from her at some time, according to a report. Read Also: Monkeypox Vaccine | Release Date, US Distribution, and Everything You Need to Know Jones and Fine have been charged with murder, manslaughter, and endangering a child. Fine Jr., was charged with assault and sexual abuse while Jones was charged with failing to exercise control over a juvenile. Officers from New York City's 40th Precinct apprehended Jones and Fine, Jr. at 9:30 am on Wednesday. Jones is now facing accusations of murder, manslaughter, endangering a child, and failing to exercise control over a child. Her teenage son is accused of homicide, sexual assault, and endangering a child. Jones has claimed that her daughter, Julissa Batties, died after falling and striking her head on a desk on the night of Aug. 10. Jones's son, 18-year-old Paul Fine, revealed to detectives a day after Julissia's murder that he had repeatedly hit his sister before her death, believing she had stolen some snacks. According to the city's medical examiner's office, Julissia died of 'blunt force abdominal injuries,' and the case was deemed a homicide, as previously reported by The Daily Beast. Jones and Fine have both been charged with murder and manslaughter; Fine has also been charged with child sexual abuse. "Everyone was let down by the system," Julissia's father, Julius, said to reporters on Wednesday, adding that he was ready for justice to be delivered. Julissia's grandmother, Yolanda Davis, who had cared for her granddaughter, awaited this moment of justice. "Our main focus is preserving the safety and well-being of all children in New York City," stated an ACS spokeswoman at the time. "We are investigating this situation with the NYPD," Daily Mail reported. Related Article: Uncle Discovers Dead Nephew Left in Hot Car at Wendy's Drive-Thru in Georgia After Grandmother Forgets About Him @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Advertisement Poland has completed its 116-mile long steel wall along the Belarus border to stop migrants from entering, after accusing Alexander Lukashenko of encouraging an influx to 'destabilise' the region. The 18ft-high fence covers nearly half the length of Poland's border with the Russian ally, and cost nearly 300million to build. Tens of thousands of migrants and refugees, mostly from the Middle East, have crossed or attempted to cross into Poland from Belarus since last summer. The West has accused the Belarusian regime of orchestrating the influx with Russia in a 'hybrid' attack, a type of warfare using non-military tactics - a charge Minsk denies. 'The barrier we've built separates us from the bleak dictatorship of (Belarus leader Alexander) Lukashenko,' Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski told reporters. A view of the newly built border wall at the Polish Belarussian border in Kuznica, Poland, today after five months of construction The 18ft-high fence covers nearly half the length of Poland's border with the Russian ally, and cost nearly 300million to build A border guard officer walks by the wall erected to prevent migrant-crossing on the Polish-Belarusian border amid the migrant crisis near Kuznica Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki arrives for a press briefing by the metal border wall today after construction was finished Tens of thousands of migrants and refugees, mostly from the Middle East, have crossed or attempted to cross into Poland from Belarus since last summer 'Belarus... shares responsibility for Russia's aggression against Ukraine,' he added, speaking in front of the wall in Poland's border town of Kuznica. The migrant wave at the Belarus border 'was part of a wider scenario, a scenario to destabilise the whole region, all of Central and Eastern Europe,' he said. 'The first sign of the war in Ukraine was Alexander Lukashenko's attack on the Polish border with Belarus,' Morawiecki said. 'It was thanks to (our) political foresight and the anticipation of what may happen that we may focus now on helping Ukraine, which is fighting to protect its sovereignty. 'It was groundwork for the war in Ukraine.' Poland had earlier set up a no-access zone at the border, which expires Friday, banning non-residents, including migrants, aid workers and media from the area. It also sent thousands of troops and police officers to reinforce border guard patrols at the height of the crisis, and approved a law allowing migrants to be forced back into Belarus. Poland had earlier set up a no-access zone at the border, which expires Friday, banning non-residents, including migrants, aid workers and media from the area It also sent thousands of troops and police officers to reinforce border guard patrols at the height of the crisis, and approved a law allowing migrants to be forced back into Belarus At least 20 people have died at the Polish-Belarus border, where over the winter the migrants and refugees - many of them fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East - faced squalid, freezing conditions These so-called 'pushbacks', and the government's overall harsh anti-migration stance, drew condemnation from activists and aids organisations. At least 20 people have died at the Polish-Belarus border, where over the winter the migrants and refugees - many of them fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East - faced squalid, freezing conditions. But since Russia's invasion, Poland has opened its arms to refugees from Ukraine, allowing more than four million so far to cross over from the war-torn country. One of the asylum-seekers was 32-year-old Ali, who left Syria late last year after reading on social media that the easiest way into the EU was to fly to Belarus and walk into Poland. Ali, from a village outside Hama in western Syria, flew to the Belarusian capital, Minsk, and set out to find an unguarded spot in the forest where he could sneak over into the EU. 'I was looking for a place where I can live in safety, away from the oppression and hopelessness back home,' he said in an interview this week with The Associated Press in Berlin. Ali, who didn't give his last name, fearing repercussions for his family, was not prepared for the violence and sub-zero temperatures that awaited him in the vast forests and swamps. Since Russia's invasion, Poland has opened its arms to refugees from Ukraine, allowing more than four million so far to cross over from the war-torn country Belarus had never before been a key migration route into the EU - until its Lukashenko began encouraging would-be asylum-seekers in the Middle East to travel to Minsk A Human Rights Watch report this month said Poland 'unlawfully, and sometimes violently, summarily pushes migrants and asylum-seekers back to Belarus' 'There were nights when I went to sleep on the bare ground in the woods thinking I would not wake up again,' Ali said. 'If you give a lift to a refugee at the Ukrainian border you are a hero. If you do it at the Belarus border you are a smuggler and could end up in jail for eight years,' said Natalia Gebert, founder and CEO of Dom Otwarty, or Open House, a Polish NGO that helps refugees. Belarus had never before been a key migration route into the EU - until its Lukashenko began encouraging would-be asylum-seekers in the Middle East to travel to Minsk. Soon, people from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and African countries flocked to the EU's eastern edge, entering Poland and neighboring Lithuania and Latvia. Though migration slowed in the winter, people continued to try to enter the EU through Poland, a route seen as less dangerous than crossing the Mediterranean Sea, where many have drowned in past years, Gebert said. Ali, whose small makeup business in Syria was destroyed when Sunni extremists learned he belonged to the Alawite religious minority, says he got pushed back six times by Polish border guards. But Belarusian guards beat him, stole his money and forced him to take off all his clothes in the middle of the winter. He wanted to give up and return to Minsk, but the guards wouldn't let him. They made him and others lie on the cold ground, screamed at them, approached closely with a snarling dog and kicked Ali repeatedly in the chest. While some Poles support the government's tough stance, many border region residents have throughout the winter and spring sought to help migrants The project has raised concerns from human rights and environmental activists fearing that migrants fleeing conflict will not be able to apply for asylum The West has accused the Belarusian regime of orchestrating the influx with Russia in a 'hybrid' attack, a type of warfare using non-military tactics - a charge Minsk denies Polish border patrol officers broke his phone's SIM card, he said. He went without water and food for days, lost in the swamps. A Human Rights Watch report this month said Poland 'unlawfully, and sometimes violently, summarily pushes migrants and asylum-seekers back to Belarus, where they face serious abuses, including beatings and rape by border guards and other security forces.' Amnesty International has also detailed serious human rights abuses. While some Poles support the government's tough stance, many border region residents have throughout the winter and spring sought to help migrants trapped in the forest, several requiring medical help. Ali spent 16 days in the forests, before he and others used pliers to open a hole in a border fence. Some villagers gave him food and water, but soon he was apprehended by police and taken to a detention center. Over the next three months, he was moved through several closed camps. Guards carried batons and stun guns, he said, and every time before they moved him to a different camp they made him and other detainees strip naked in public. Nobody addressed him by his name, but by an identification number. In March, he was handed his papers and taken to the Debak center for foreigners in Otrebusy southwest of Warsaw, where he was told: 'Go away, go to Germany.' Ali arrived in Berlin in April and applied for asylum. Rights activists and psychologists have documented his account and also those of other asylum-seekers who say they suffered abuse by both Belarusian and Polish border guards. 'I feel better here. People call me by my name again,' Ali said. 'But I'm worried all the time that the Germans will send me back to Poland.' Advertisement President Joe Biden said he would back killing the filibuster to pass federal abortion legislation and blasted the Supreme Court's 'outrageous' repealing of Roe v. Wade during a press conference in Madrid on Thursday. Speaking to reporters at the end of a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, he condemned the ruling and its impact. 'America is better positioned to lead the world than we ever have been,' he said. 'But one thing that has been destabilizing is the outrageous behavior of the Supreme Court of United States in overruling not only Roe v. Wade, but essentially challenging the right to privacy.' Biden also defended his qualifications to be the 'messenger' on abortion rights even as allies and critics on the left condemned him for not acting sooner. And he said he would support a carve-out so that Democrats in Congress could pass laws to protect abortion rights, even without 60 votes in the Senate. 'The first and foremost thing we should do, is make it clear how outrageous this decision was and how much it impacts - not just on a woman's right to choose, which is a critical, critical piece - but on privacy generally,' Biden said. 'And so I'm going to be talking to the governors as to what actions they think I should be taking as well.' He added that the 'most important thing' was his belief that the protections granted in Roe v. Wade should be codified into law. 'The way to do that is to make sure that Congress votes to do that,' the president said. 'And if the filibuster gets in the way, it's like voting rights, it should be we provide an exception for this.' President Joe Biden gave a brief press conference on the last day of the NATO summit in Madrid on Thursday But the plan may go nowhere. It would need a unanimous vote by Democratic senators to go into effect - and two Democrats are known to be opposed. Biden previously supported the idea of a carve-out in order to pass legislation to protect voting rights - a bill that ultimately failed to make it into law, derailed by conservative Democrat Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema's opposition. Their offices both let it be known that they remained opposed to any exception to the filibuster rule. The 60-vote threshold required to overcome a filibuster delay in the Senate has all but ensured that the president's agenda grinds to a halt in the upper chamber. With a 50-50 split and Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaking vote, Democrats have an uphill battle to get 10 Republicans on board to pass a bill. During the press conference Biden, who is public about his Catholic faith, was also asked to square his current status leading the government response to Roe with his past public comments against abortion. NBC journalist Kelly O'Donnell asked: 'Are you the best messenger to carry this forward?' 'Yeah, I am. I'm the president of the United States of America. That makes me the best messenger,' Biden shot back. Abortion rights activists march outside the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on June 29 'And I really think that it's a serious, serious problem that the Court has thrust upon the United States - not just in terms of the right to choose, but in terms of the right to who you can marry, the right - a whole range of issues related to privacy.' Continuing to discuss the Supreme Court's impact on the right to privacy, Biden said: 'They just wiped it all out.' 'And so, I'm the only president they got, and I feel extremely strongly that I'm going to do everything in my power, which I legally can do in terms of executive orders, as well as push the Congress and the public,' Biden pledged. 'The bottom line here is: If you care, if the polling data is correct, and you think this decision by the court was an outrage or a significant mistake, vote. Show up and vote.' The president took off on a six-day trip to Europe a day after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. Women's rights campaigners warn that it will undermine U.S. work around the world on reproduction health and rights. On Sunday, after spending the day with G7 leaders in the Bavarian Alps, Biden insisted no one had raised the subject. 'Not related to Ukraine or any of the issues we discussed,' he said. Biden's full-throated support for rolling back the filibuster has been echoed by progressive lawmakers and even House Democratic leadership. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on the Senate to scuttle the filibuster to pass abortion rights on Monday in a statement promising to take legislative steps that would protect the right to privacy. But Harris, Biden's own vice president, expressed skepticism of the idea when asked by CNN on Monday evening. 'Right now, given the current composition of the Senate, the votes aren't there,' Harris told host Dana Bash when asked about the possibility. 'I understand why you're asking that question,' she continued when the journalist pressed again. 'But the reality of it is, we don't even get to really answer that in terms of whether it happens or not, if we don't have the numbers in the Senate.' 'And again, that's why I keep coming back to the importance of an election that is only 130-odd days away.' In what could be a blow to Biden's credibility in the abortion fight, the Louisville Courier-Journal report on Wednesday evening that he's looking at appointing Kentucky's Republican former solicitor general Chad Meredith to a federal judgeship. Meredith had represented the state's then-Governor Matt Bevin in a case against Kentucky's only operating abortion clinic at the time in 2019, and in 2021 he successfully fought to implement a ruling that forces doctors performing abortions to first perform ultrasounds on their patient and describe the fetus in detail. Democrat Rep. John Yarmuth told the outlet that he believed it was part of a deal with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell to get more of Biden's nominees confirmed. The 53 migrants from Mexico and Central America who died in the tragic smuggling incident in Texas were pursuing the American dream, their families have said. They all had plans of starting anew and hoped for decent paying jobs that would allow them to provide for their relatives back home. The massive group's dream about life in the United States was cut short Monday when it was abandoned in the locked container that was hauled through the southern border region before local and federal authorities discovered 46 corpses inside the overheated shipping bin. By Wednesday afternoon, the death toll in what investigators believe is the deadliest human trafficking episode, had increased to 53 while 11 remained hospitalized. The failed smuggling incident claimed the lives of two Salvadorans, seven Guatemalans, 14 Hondurans and 27 Mexicans. The nationalities of one other victim havs yet to be reported by U.S. authorities. San Antonio Police chief William McManus, who has been in law enforcement for four decades, told CNN it 'was a crime against humanity.' 'The floor of the trailer, it was completely covered in bodies. Completely covered in bodies,' he added. 'There were at least 10-plus bodies outside the trailer, because when we arrived, when EMS arrived, we were trying to find people who were still alive. So we had to move bodies out of the trailer onto the ground.' The driver of the truck, Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, was attempted to disguised himself as a migrant. He was arrested Wednesday and was charged with alien smuggling resulting in death. Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, drove the tractor trailer that crammed with Mexican, Guatemalan, Salvadoran and Honduran migrants before he abandoned it near San Antonio. At least 53 people had been confirmed dead as of Wednesday with 11 hospitalized Surveillance cameras captured Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, driving the truck hours before he crossed an immigration checkpoint and allegedly abandoned it on a road on the outskirts of San Antonio. The Department of Justice said he is originally from Brownsville, Texas, but resides in Pasadena, Texas The driver who abandoned the tractor trailer in the sweltering Texas heat, leaving at least 53 migrants dead, was 'very high on meth' when police arrested him Juan Claudio D'Luna-Mendez, 23, and Juan Francisco D'Luna-Bilbao, 48, both citizens of Mexico, have also been arrested in connection to the incident after investigators discovered that the tractor trailer's registration was linked to a residence in San Antonio. The men were seen living the home in two separate trucks and were stopped by authorities. Police recovered a gun from the truck that Francisco D'Luna-Bilbao. Additional firearms where also located at the home during a search. Both men were found to be residing illegally in the United States and were charged with one count of possession of a weapon by an alien illegally in the U.S. A migrant advocacy group in Mexico indicated that many of the 27 migrants who perished were residents of the Izucar de Matamoros, a city located in the southwestern part of the central state of Puebla. Puebla's government publicly acknowledged the possibility, but says it has no evidence to corroborate the Izucar link, with most of the victims yet to be formally identified. Some residents in Izucar de Matamoros would not rule out that some of the locals were among the victims, because despite the risks, the road north continues to lure young men especially, fed on tales of those who make it in the United States. Carlos Carraso, who lives in the town with a population of about 41,000, once migrated to New Jersey, where he found employment in a pizzeria. 'It's tough here in Mexico. There's violence, unemployment, health issues,' he said. Everyone who goes to the U.S. goes in search of the American Dream.' Margie Paz, Alejandro Andino and Fernando Redondo Margie Paz, of Honduras, was named among the deceased on Wednesday. The 24-year-old had been studying at the National Autonomous University of Honduras. She was dating Alejandro Caballero The Honduran government on Wednesday named brothers Fernando Redondo (left) and Alejandro Andino (right) among the deceased. Their mother told Honduran television station HCH that her sons and Andino's girlfriend left for the United States on June 4 The abandoned group's ambition of reaching the American Dream brought sorrow to Gloria Paz, whose only child, Margie Paz, 24, was found dead with her boyfriend Alejandro Andino, 23, and his brother, Fernando Redondo, 18. Although she had been employed at a call center in San Pedro Sula, Margie Paz's salary was not enough to help cover the $8,000 operation her mother needed to treat her cancer. 'My health is bad, that's why she made that trip, whenever she visited me she asked me how I felt and told me that she had to work to be able to pay for the operation,' Gloria Paz told Honduran television station HCH. 'She practically went to give her life for me.' With no well paying jobs in sight, Margie Paz joined Andino and Redondo and set for the U.S. on June 4 after when the siblings' relative, who lives in the United States, decided to cover the cost of their trip. Both Margie Paz and Andino were college graduates, yet were unsuccessful at landing jobs in their home country. 'You think that when people have a higher level of education, they have to get more employment opportunities,' said Karen Caballero, the brothers mother. 'Because that's why they work, study.' Adela Ramirez Adela Ramirez is one of 14 Hondurans who died in the smuggling incident Adela Aguilar told Honduran newspaper La Prensa that her granddaughter Adela Ramirez, 28, was living alone at her home in Cuyamel after her mother and sisters were successful in migrating to the United States. Ramirez had hoped to rejoin them in Los Angeles. Wilmer Tulul and Pascual Guachiac Wilmer Tulul and Pascual Guachiac were both 13 years old and are believed to be the youngest victims of the migrant smuggling tragedy that left 53 people dead after they were abandoned near San Antonio in an overheated container hauled by a semi-truck Guatemalan natives, Wilmer Tulul and Pascual Guachiac, both 13 years old, are believed to be the youngest who died. On June 14, the teenagers left the town of Tzucubal, an Indigenous Quiche community of about 1,500 people in the mountains nearly 100 miles northwest of the capital, where most live by subsistence farming. Tulul texted 'mom, we're heading out' to Magdalena Tepzas in their native Quiche on Monday. Manuel de Jesus Tulul said his son and Guachiac were heading to Houston, but had no idea they would be doing so crammed in a trailer. The boys were charged $6,000 by the smuggler, although half was only paid. Guachiac sent an audio message to his mother Maria Sipac Coj, indicating he was leaving in the tractor trailer Monday. Sipac Coj, a single mother of two, said her son wanted to study in the United States, then work and after build my house.' Carla Carac-Tambriz and Griselda Carac-Tambriz Sisters Carla and Griselda Carac-Tambriz, of Guatemala, were among the 51 migrants left to die in an abandoned semi-truck trailer in the sweltering Texas heat on Monday. The sisters came to America to 'achieve our dreams and also help our family' Carla Carac-Tambriz and her sister Griselda Carac-Tambriz, left their families behind in the western Guatemalan department of Solala, and died in the smuggling incident 'Let's achieve our dreams and also help our family,' one of the sisters reportedly said before the pair embarked on their journey to the U.S. Javier Flores and Jose Luis Vasquez Guzman In Mexico, cousins Javier Flores Lopez and Jose Luis Vasquez Guzman left the tiny community of Cerro Verde in the southern state of Oaxaca also hoping to help their families. They were headed to Ohio, where construction jobs and other work awaited. Flores Lopez is now missing, his family said, while Vasquez Guzman is hospitalized in San Antonio. Cerro Verde is a community of about 60 people that has largely been abandoned by the young. Those who remain work earning meager livings weaving sun hats, mats, brooms and other items from palm leaves. Many live on as little as 30 pesos a day (less than $2). It was not the first trip to the U.S.-Mexico border for Flores Lopez, now in his mid-30s, who left Cerro Verde years ago and went to Ohio, where his father and a brother live. He was back home to see his wife and three small children briefly, said a cousin, Francisco Lopez Hernandez. Vasquez Guzman, 32, decided to go with his cousin for his first trip across the border and hoped to reach his oldest brother who is in Ohio as well. While everyone knew the risks, countless people from Cerro Verde had made it safely across the U.S.-Mexico border with the help of smugglers, so it came as a shock, Lopez Hernandez said. The family believes Flores Lopez was, too, but they are still awaiting confirmation. Vasquez Guzmans mother had intended on getting a visa to visit her hospitalized son, but on Wednesday he was moved out of intensive care and she was able to speak with him by phone. She decided to stay in Mexico and await his recovery, said Aida Ruiz, director of the Oaxaca Institute for Migrant Attention. Lopez Hernandez said most people rely on those who have made it to the U.S. to send them money for the journey, which usually costs around $9,000. 'There are a lot of risks but for those who are lucky, the fortune is there, to be able to work, earn a living' he said. French police have arrested 15 people and charged one in relation to the death of 27 migrants who drowned in the English Channel in 2021. One has been charged with manslaughter and people-trafficking, and the nine others were to be taken before a judge who will decide whether to charge them. Police detained the 15 suspects in an overnight operation Sunday to Monday as part of their months-long investigation into the disaster, releasing five of them without charges. The death of the 27 in late November last year is believed to be the deadliest incident to have occurred in the English Channel. Among the 27 - aged seven to 47 - were 16 Iraqi Kurds, four Afghans, three Ethiopians, one Somali, one Egyptian and one Vietnamese migrant. A picture of the flimsy and dangerous dinghy that sank off Calais in November 2021, killing 27 people including seven women - one of whom was pregnant - and three children. 15 people have now been arrested in relation to this incident Many of the migrants who were on the inflatable dinghy last November were young men from Afghanistan (pictured) French police made 15 arrests over Sunday and Monday, but five people were released without charge (pictured French officers patrolling a beach near Calais) A French sea rescue boat was seen carrying the bodies of migrants recovered off the coast of Calais after the tragedy which saw at least 27 migrants, including five women and a girl, drown as they tried to cross the Channel Boris Johnson (left) told Emmanuel Macron (right) that British boots are needed on the ground in France to stop evil slave gangs 'getting away with murder' after at the 27 migrants drowned in the deadliest-ever Channel crossing Migrants were seen crossing the channel the very next day after 27 people drowned the day before Only two people survived the disaster, which sparked tension between the British and French governments. President Emmanuel Macron vowed France would not allow the Channel to become a 'cemetery'. France urged Britain to help more with cracking down on people-smuggling gangs, with Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin saying: 'We need intelligence. Responses to requests from the French police are not always given.' The rebuke followed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's proposal to send back all migrants and asylum seekers who land in England to France, a move rejected by Paris. Following Britain's departure from the European Union, it does not have a returns treaty with France or the wider EU. The spat added to a litany of post-Brexit rows between the two sides, which also include a dispute on fishing rights in the Channel which at times threatened to spill over into a full-blown trade war. Despite a more conciliatory tone since, and promises of more cooperation, the number of migrants seeking to cross the Channel from France to England surged in the first half of this year, according to the French interior ministry. Almost 2,800 migrants have been intercepted crossing the Channel this month - more than the entire figure for 2020 Almost 13,000 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year From January 1 to June 13, there were 777 attempted crossings involving 20,132 people, up 68 per cent on the same period last year, it said. The ministry said French security forces had prevented most of the crossings, with 61.39 per cent of the attempts thwarted in the first half, up 4.2 per cent on last year. The figures for all of 2021 had already been a record but the latest statistics show this could be beaten if current trends continue, as summer weather settles in that encourages more crossings. Some 52,000 people tried to cross in 2021, with 28,000 of the migrants succeeding, according to the French authorities. Yesterday, June 29, the Ministry of Defence recorded 269 migrants who crossed the channel in small boats. The numbers come as the UK seeks to toughen its policy against arrivals. Britain has repeatedly accused the French authorities of not doing enough to stop the crossings. What is the Nationality and Borders Act and how will it impact cross channel migrants Under the Nationality and Borders Act (NABA) which comes into force on Tuesday June 28, anyone caught piloting a boat carrying migrants in the Channel could face life behind bars. The measures, which received Royal Assent in April, include tougher penalties for those who pilot a small boat or smuggle migrants into the UK by other dangerous or illegal means, with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Also the maximum penalty for illegally entering the UK or overstaying a visa has increased from six months to four years' imprisonment. Those who did not come to the UK directly, did not claim without delay, or did not show good cause for their illegal entry or presence, may be given a shorter grant of permission to stay with a minimum of 30 months instead of five years. Immigration officers have also been given new powers to search containers for illegal migrants and foreign national offenders held in UK prisons can now be removed 12 months before the end of their custodial sentence. Home Secretary Priti Patel, pictured here in Parliament, said the new rules were part of the government's plan to 'take back control' of the nation's borders Also, the Government has powers to limit visas for those from countries which pose a 'risk to international peace and security and those that refuse to take back their own citizens who have no right to be in the UK. Home Secretary Priti Patel said: 'This is one of the most crucial milestones in delivering on our promise to the British public to take back control of our borders. 'While there is no single solution to the global migration crisis, these reforms which come into effect today play a vital role in overhauling the broken asylum system as we put our New Plan for Immigration into action. 'We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that we offer protection and sanctuary to those in genuine need; but these new measures will enable us to crack down on abuse of the system and the evil people-smugglers, who will now be subject to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment as a result of this law coming into force.' The NABA also includes changes to laws that previously denied British nationality to some children of British Overseas Territory citizens. Previously, women with British Overseas Territory citizenship could not pass on British nationality to children born outside the UK and its territories before January 1 1983. Similarly, children born to unmarried British Overseas Territory fathers before July 1 2006 could not acquire British nationality through their father. Rules requiring children born outside an Overseas Territory to British Overseas Territory citizen parents to be registered within 12 months of their birth in order to qualify for citizenship are being scrapped. Advertisement In a controversial policy, the UK is planning to deport illegal migrants, including those who arrive across the Channel, to Rwanda under an agreement with the African nation. However, the first flight earlier this month was cancelled after a last-minute intervention by the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) which enraged London. The Nationality and Borders Act came into force this week, introducing the tougher sentencing for those who smuggle migrants into the UK - up from 14 years imprisonment. Home Secretary Priti Patel said: 'This is one of the most crucial milestones in delivering on our promise to the British public to take back control of our borders. 'While there is no single solution to the global migration crisis, these reforms which come into effect today play a vital role in overhauling the broken asylum system as we put our New Plan for Immigration into action. 'We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that we offer protection and sanctuary to those in genuine need; but these new measures will enable us to crack down on abuse of the system and the evil people-smugglers, who will now be subject to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment as a result of this law coming into force.' ABC stars let their hair down to celebrate the broadcaster's 90th birthday as Leigh Sales bid farewell as host of its flagship program 7.30. Some of ABC's biggest names gathered to celebrate the massive milestone with guests enjoying beers, champagne and a birthday cake cutting ceremony at the Sydney headquarters. Comedians Jean Kittson and Tim Ferguson, Stan Grant and ABC News Channel presenter Karina Carvalho were among the guests. Popular Logie-winning presenter Tony Armstrong also popped by after co-hosting the channel's television special alongside Zan Rowe and Craig Reucassel. B1 and B2 from Bananas in Pyjamas and original members of The Wiggles also made special appearances. ABC stars let their hair down to celebrate the broadcaster's 90th birthday as Leigh Sales bid farewell as host of its flagship program 7.30 (pictured, Tony Armstrong made a late-night appearance) B1 and B2 were at ABC's headquarters for its 90th birthday celebrations which coincided with the night of Leigh Sales final episode of 7.30 ABC News Channel presenter Karina Carvalho was among the guests in attendance Leigh Sales was all smiles for the cameras before her last episode of 7.30 on Thursday night The program followed Sales' final appearance on 7.30, almost 12 years after she was appointed to the role. She was seen hugging friends and family outside the Ultimo studios before the show and stepped outside to greet and embrace her two young sons - the main reason behind Sales' shock departure announced earlier this year. Daily Mail Australia understands her sons left at 9.30pm followed by Sales shortly afterwards as birthday celebrations kicked on long into the night in the lobby. It was business as usual for a composed Sales at the start of Thursday's night's show as she got straight into introducing the first segment about 1994 fatal bombing of the National Crime Authority's Adelaide headquarters. There was no mention of her departure until the three few minutes of the program when she struggled to maintain her composure and choked back tears. Popular Logie-winning presenter Tony Armstrong also popped by after co-hosting the channel's television special alongside Zan Rowe and Craig Reucassel Comedian Tim Ferguson was seen talking to ABC colleagues at the 90th birthday celebrations Comedian Jean Kittson was seen having a laugh at ABC's 90th birthday bash 'Tonight is my final episode of 7.30 as anchor,' Sales began. 'Tomorrow night there is a special edition of 7.30 looking back over the many, many years. 'I've loved every minute. It's been an absolute privilege.' 'Thanks for your company, goodnight.' Her voice waivered and was seen wiping away tears as the final credits rolled. Sales opted to not wear Member of the Order of Australia badge on her lapel, which she has worn for big interviews and occasions, including her bombshell resignation and final interview with former prime minister Scott Morrison before the recent election. A select group of Sales' friends, colleagues and family gathered at ABC's Ultimo studios Thursday night for a farewell party to kick off when the cameras stop rolling as some of her interviewees paid tribute. Leigh Sales choked back tears as she signed off on the program she has hosted since 2011 Leigh Sales quit the job to spend more time with her sons, who were there for her farewell A long list of high-profile Australians flooded Twitter with praise for Sales on her final as 730 host The Wiggles Jeff Fatt (left) and Anthony Field (right) make an appearance at the shindig 'Leigh Sales is a formidable journalist - smart, thorough, compassionate, and relentless. Thank you Leigh for your many years of tough interviews on 70, your pursuit of the truth has helped Australians better understand our country + our world. All the best for what's next,' federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek tweeted. Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers added: 'For a dozen years on @730 and before that on Lateline, Leigh Sales has been a fierce, formidable and classy inquisitor. It was a big deal to be interviewed by her (and often a relief when it was over!). A complete professional and an absolute legend. All the best, Leigh.' Peers from the media industry also paid tribute. 'Farewell to Leigh Sales. Always a class act and a true professional,' journalist Kate McClymont tweeted. Some viewers were left disappointed with Sales' low-key sign-off from the show. 'Very poor send-off for Leigh Sales on 7:30. Not even flowers,' one woman tweeted. Sales will take the next six months off to spend quality time with her two sons James and Daniel. Sales documented her last day on Instagram, which began casually dressed and make-up free while buying an early morning donut and coffee from 7-11, 'because nothing exciting ever happens on your last day'. A make-up free Leigh Sales documented her day, which began with a donut and coffee Leigh Sales later spent several hours in the chair getting her hair and make-up done Leigh Sales sported a bright orange dress for her last day as 7.30 host She later uploaded a photo of her bright orange dress hanging in the wardrobe and several clips bantering with her trusted stylist and make-up artist of four years Christopher Sall while having her hair done. 'We're trying to act while today is just another day aren't we,' she says. 'In fact, we were channelling messages you used to hear years ago like 'don't make a spectacle of yourself' 'It's funny, because no one care about making a spectacle these days. Look at us right now, we're making a spectacle of ourselves already.' 'We've had a few laughs talking about nonsense as we always do,' Sales worked as NSW state political reporter, national security correspondent, Washington correspondent and host of Lateline since joining the ABC in 1995. She was announced as 7.30 host in December 2010 and has interviewed hundreds of high profile names from Australian prime ministers and state leaders to Hilary Clinton, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sir Paul Mc Cartney to the Dalai Lama and late Shane Warne. Presenting ABC's 7.30, formerly The 7.30 Report, is considered one of the most demanding and high-profile roles in Australian television. The long-time host shocked viewers earlier this year with the bombshell news that she was quitting the role, saying her decision came down to her 'two beautiful little boys' wanting to see more of their mum. The ABC will screen a special show dedicated to Leigh Sales (pictured) on Friday night Leigh Sales' sons James and Daniel were at ABC studios for their mum's final 7.30 episode Leigh Sales opted to not wear Member of the Order of Australia badge, which she wore when she announced her bombshell resignation on-air in February (pictured) Now aged eight and 11, sons James and Daniel have always known their mum to work four nights a week. 'I was appointed to the job on December 3, 2010. This is my 12th year in the seat. That was five Prime Ministers ago. It was so long ago that Donald Trump was just a guy with a bad orange hair-do hosting The Apprentice,' Sales told viewers at the time. 'There's nothing wrong other than I just feel a strong sense of it being time to pass the baton to the next runner in the race and to take a break. At the end of an election cycle feels like a good time to move on to something new at the ABC.' 'When I first started I didn't have children. And now I have two boys aged 10 and eight. And they've only ever known their mum at work four nights a week. 'They want me home with them before 8.30pm and I don't think that's too much for two little boys to ask and they're two beautiful little boys. 'She explained she had 'tried to shut down and call out bull****, hold powerful people to account, expose lies, incompetence and exaggeration in all political parties and all issues and present facts even when they're unpopular or inconvenient'. Sarah Ferguson was recently appointed the new 7.30 host and will host her first episode next Monday. A special dedicated to Sales' work in the role will air on the ABC on Friday night. Leigh Sales announced earlier this year she was quitting the program to spend more time with her young sons, now aged 8 and 11 (pictured) They are both billionaires who believe in strong leadership - so it's not hard to imagine Bernie Eccleston and Vladimir Putin as friends. And in case there were any doubts, the ex-Formula One boss, 91, put them to bed today in an astonishing defence of the warring Russian president, 69. In a bizarre interview with Good Morning Britain, the 5'2 entrepreneur said he would 'still take a bullet' for Putin - who also happens to be below average height, measuring an estimated 5'7. The father-of-four laid it on thick, branding the warmonger a 'first class' and 'sensible' person - despite the tens of thousands of innocents slain in his illegal invasion of Ukraine. Ecclestone, however, said such civilian losses were 'not intentional', and even blamed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky for the war, saying he should have tried harder to 'talk to Mr Putin'. The comments sparked fury online, while Foreign Secretary Liz Truss condemned the 'apologist' remarks as 'shocking'. They are both billionaires who don't believe in democracies, so it's not hard to imagine Bernie Eccleston and Vladimir Putin as friends. (Pictured together in 2013, at the inaugural Russian Formula One Grand Prix) Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP walks past Russian President Vladimir Putin on the podium after the Russian Formula One Grand Prix at Sochi Autodrom on October 12, 2014 in Sochi, Russia But they are nothing new when it comes to Ecclestone, whose friendship with Putin blossomed following the introduction of the Formula One Russian Grand Prix in 2014. Sochi was announced as the host city of the annual event under a lucrative seven-year deal. However the 40million contract was ended this year following the Ukraine invasion. After signing the initial contract, Bernie and Vlad were regularly seen sharing a box at sporting events over the years. They were often pictured in deep conversation or laughing while sharing a joke. By 2016, the ex-F1 boss was saying he thought Putin should be running Europe. 'I would like him running Europe,' he told the Times six years ago. 'We haven't got anybody, so it couldn't be any worse. He does what he says he is going to do.' Mr Eccelstone is a known admirer of the Russian President, and the duo have been seen at sporting events together. (Pictured at F1 event in Sochi, Russia, in 2018) Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone (R) attend the Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix competition October 11, 2015 in Sochi, Russia He then admitted: 'I am not a supporter of democracy. You need a dictator. As a dictator, you say, 'This is what I am going to do.' In a democracy, it gets watered down.' And it was in 2019 that Ecclestone first offered to take a bullet for for the dictator. He said at the time that he would 'stand in front of a machine gun' to save him, because he is a 'good guy.' He added that the illegal annexation of Crimea was just to 'bring Russia back together.' Ecclestone also said he did not believe Putin was behind the infamous Novichok attack in Salisbury, accusing people of making things up. He said: 'He didn't do that. He would be too busy to be worrying about that sort of thing. Storytellers make these things up.' Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok on March 4 2018. Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after she came into contact with a perfume container used to carry the Novichok on June 30. The two suspects - known by their aliases Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov - were caught on CCTV in Salisbury the day before the attack, and in an interview claimed they were just visiting to see the town to see the cathedral. The Russian government has always denied any involvement in the incident. President Joe Biden said Thursday there was no 'quid pro quo' to sell F-16s to Turkey if it dropped its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO. He made his remarks at the end of a two-day NATO summit in Madrid, Spain. It opened with news that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had given his go-ahead to NATO expansion, and was followed by senior Biden administration officials offering warm words about Turkey's bit to buy F-16s. But during a news conference at the end of the summit, Biden insisted it was wrong to suggest a deal had been done. 'I said back in December, as you recall, we should sell them the F-16 jets ... modernise those jets as well,' he said. 'It's not in our interest not to do that. And I indicated to them that I've not changed my position at all since December. 'And there was no quid pro quo with that. It's just that we should sell. 'I need congressional approval to be able to do that, and I think we can get that.' Sweden and Finland ended decades of neutrality to apply for NATO membership after Russia invaded Ukraine. President Joe Biden addressed the media at the end of a six-day trip to Europe. He said there was no 'quid pro quo' with Turkey to drop its opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO Turkey has repeatedly complained that a sale of F-16s is taking too long. And this week U.S. officials said the Pentagon 'fully supports' the sale Biden praised Erdogan for lifting his objections to Sweden and Finland joining NATO and thanked him for his work on getting grain out of the Ukraine when they met Wednesday Biden praised the decision. 'I want to particularly thank you for what you did putting together the situation with regard to Finland and Sweden,' he told Erdogan when they met on the sidelines of the summit on Wednesday. Erdogan's announcement came after the two leaders spoke to each by phone. And when Turkey dropped its opposition to Finnish and Swedish membership, U.S. officials also had warm words for its plan to upgrade its air force. 'The US Department of Defense fully supports Turkey's modernization plans for its F-16 fleet,' Celeste Wallander, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, told reporters. 'These plans are in the works.' The result was a slew of speculation that the U.S. had offered to smooth the sale, in return for progress on NATO expansion. In October, Turkey made an offer to buy 40 F-16 fighters and dozens of modernization kits for its existing warplanes. Biden also used his news conference to say he was sending another $800 million in military aid to Ukraine and said Putin's aggression had backfired with the way NATO was expanding. Biden joined allies at the NATO summit in Madrid, where the big news was progress in Sweden and Finland joining the 30-strong alliance 'I don't know how it's going to end, but it will not end with Russia defeating in Ukraine,' said Biden. 'Ukraine has already dealt a severe blow to Russia.' The new round of aid will add to the more than $6 billion in security assistance already delivered to Ukraine. 'Putin thought he could break the transatlantic alliance,' Biden said. 'He tried to weaken us. He expected our resolve to fracture but he's getting exactly what he did not want. 'He wanted the Finlandization of NATO. He got the NATOization.' Biden arrived in Europe on Saturday night for the G7 summit in Germany, before flying to Spain. But he has taken few questions from reporters during the trip. On Thursday, he called on four reporters whose names were on a prepared list. As has become White House practise, administration officials had telephoned members of the traveling press pack to ask what the journalists planned to ask. President Joe Biden, Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finland's President Sauli Niinisto walk along the Colonnade to the Oval Office at the White House, last month Russia's invasion of Ukraine prompted Finland and Sweden to launch NATO applications If the nations are accepted into the alliance they will bring with them almost 1million troops, including reserves, along with a huge amount of artillery, jets and submarines 'I'm supposed to go down the list here,' said Biden as he called on Jim Tankersley of the New York Times. He and other NATO leaders repeatedly said they would support Ukraine for as long as it took to defeat Russia. 'I think we can all agree this has been a historic NATO summit,' said Biden. 'Before the war started I told Putin that if he invaded Ukraine NATO would not only get stronger, but it would get more united, and we would see democracies of the world stand up and oppose his aggression and defend the rules based order. 'That is exactly what we are seeing today.' Earlier, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Sweden and Finland will sign the alliance's accession protocol on Tuesday - the next step to joining. That must then be ratified by all 30 members for them to become members. Advertisement Ukraine has released chilling new footage showing people inside a shopping centre as it was struck by a Russian missile on Monday, after the Kremlin insisted the complex was 'non-functioning'. The newly released footage was captured by CCTV cameras in and around the Amstor mall in Kremenchuk, central Ukraine, and shows people running and diving for cover as the rocket slammed into the building. Two cameras inside the same shop captured the moment the missile struck, sending goods flying off the shelves and the shopkeeper running for cover. Two more cameras on the exterior of the complex showed debris landing on the ground outside the mall. Another exterior camera showed smoke rising from the building as it was hit, and two passers-by narrowly avoiding flying debris. Another camera, looking out over a parking bay, captured the rocket a split second before it flew into the building - causing a huge blast. The new footage - released by Ukraine's security service - debunks the claim from Igor Konashenkov, a spokesperson for Russias defence ministry, who said the mall was 'non-functioning'. At least 18 people were killed in the strike with another 21 still missing as-of Wednesday, with rescuers warning they are unlikely to have survived an inferno which gutted the mall and caused the roof to collapse. Identifying victims is proving difficult, with some bodies burned beyond recognition. Pictured: The Russian missile is seen a split-second before striking the Ukrainian shopping mall on Monday. At least 18 people were killed in the strike Pictured: An explosion is seen after the missile struck the Amstor mall in Kremenchuk Other footage from the complex released this week showed what appeared to be a guided AS-4 Kitchen missile - originally designed to take out US aircraft carriers - slamming into the shopping centre shortly before 4pm local time Monday. More footage taken from cameras in a nearby park showed the moment a second missile struck the Kredmash factory, which sits behind the mall, destroying four warehouses and raining debris down on passersby. Ukraine accuses Russia of hitting the centre on Monday in Kremenchuk, found 205 miles southeast of Kyiv, in what is being talked about as a war crime. Russia denies the accusation and previously claimed its missile salvo was aimed at an arms depot and the centre was not in operation at the time. Funerals were set to be held on Thursday for some of the 18 people confirmed killed by Monday's Russian missile strike. Two cameras (footage shown bottom row) inside the same shop captured the moment the missile struck, sending goods flying off the shelves and a shopkeeper running for cover Pictured bottom row: A shopkeeper is shown running for cover as the shopping centre is hit by a Russian missile on Monday Pictured: CCTV footage shows smoke rising on Monday after the shopping centre was struck by a Russian missile. Debris was launched into the air and passers-by were lucky not to be hit After the attack on the shopping centre, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of becoming a 'terrorist' state. On Wednesday, he reproached NATO for not embracing or equipping his embattled country more fully. 'The open-door policy of NATO shouldn't resemble old turnstiles on Kyiv's subway, which stay open but close when you approach them until you pay,' Mr Zelensky told NATO leaders meeting in Madrid, speaking by video link. 'Hasn't Ukraine paid enough? Hasn't our contribution to defending Europe and the entire civilisation been sufficient?' He asked for more modern artillery systems and other weapons and warned the NATO leaders they either had to provide Ukraine with the help it needed to defeat Russia or 'face a delayed war between Russia and yourself.' Russian President Vladimir Putin denied Moscow's forces were responsible for a strike on the crowded shopping centre. 'Our army does not attack any civilian infrastructure site. We have every capability of knowing what is situated where,' Putin told a news conference in the Turkmenistan capital of Ashgabat. 'Nobody among us shoots just like that, randomly. It is normally done based on intelligence data on targets' and with 'high-precision weapons'. 'I am convinced that this time, everything was done in this exact manner,' Putin said. Since Putin ordered his forces into Ukraine, Moscow has insisted it has not targeted civilians, despite vast amounts of evidence on the contrary. Russian forces have bombed civilian sites indiscriminately, and there have been several instances where Ukrainians have been shot, tortured and raped. War crime investigation into Russia's military actions are on-going. Onlookers gather as the shopping centre is engulfed by flames shortly after it was struck by two Russian guided missiles on Monday, while an estimated 1,000 people were inside Smoke rises from the ruins of the Amstor shopping mall in the city of Kremenchuk, central Ukraine, after it was struck by long-range guided missiles that Ukraine says were fired by Russian bombers On Tuesday, the Russian military first claimed it struck a weapons depot in central Ukraine the previous day and the resulting explosions hit a closed shopping mall. The strike hit 'a depot with weapons and ammunition from the USA and European countries in the vicinity of the Kremenchuk automobile factory', the Russian military said in a statement. 'The explosions of ammunition for Western weapons sparked a fire in the nearby shopping mall, which was not operational at the time.' The Kremlin backed the Russian military's statement, saying the defence ministry's explanations were 'exhaustive.' 'I have nothing to add,' said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Russia's defence ministry admitted being behind the attacks - despite one politician initially blaming Ukraine for bombing its own people - saying the factory was being used as a store for western weapons which were due to be transported to Donbas. It denied striking the mall, and said the second missile actually hit a train station. But Ukraine says Russia deliberately targeted the mall in a 'terrorist attack' designed to sow fear among civilians, and that there were no arms being stored at the factory - which manufactures parts for civilian vehicles, among other things. Footage from the complex tallies more closely with Kyiv's account than Russia's. Footage reveals the bomb was likely a Russian AS-4 'Kitchen' guided missile - a Soviet-era weapon that was originally designed to take out American aircraft carriers The footage directly contradicts Kremlin claims that it destroyed a nearby factory being used to store weapons and a train station, and that the mall accidentally burned down after flames from those strikes spread This is the moment a Russian missile slammed into a factory in the city of Kremechuk, central Ukraine, after another rocket blew apart a nearby shopping mall and killed at least 18 civilians CCTV captures panicked locals running for cover as smoke rises from the first blast (top right, behind the trees) before a second missile hits (top left) - sparking a huge fireball and shockwave Mykhailo Podolyak, one of President Zelensky's top advisers who posted some of the footage online, wrote: 'Russian propaganda always lies: There is no coincidence, [the strike] was a deliberate blow to intimidate the population and cause mass casualties.' On Wednesday, Pope Francis called the bombing of the crowded shopping centre the latest in string of 'barbarous attacks' against Ukraine. 'Every day, I carry in my heart dear and martyred Ukraine, which continues to be flagellated by barbarous attacks like the one that hit the shopping centre in Kremenchuk,' Francis told crowds in St. Peter's Square on the feast of St. Peter and Paul. 'I pray that this mad war can soon end and I renew my appeal to persevere without tiring in praying for peace. 'May the Lord open the those paths to dialogue which men either do not want or not able to find. May they not neglect to help the Ukrainian population, which is suffering so much,' he said. Advertisement An aspiring pediatric nurse who was shot dead in New York City was a domestic abuse victim who was previously attacked by the baby's father, her devastated mother has claimed. Lisa Desort alleged her daughter Azsia Johnson, 20, was assaulted by her 22-year-old ex-boyfriend about six months ago despite being six months pregnant with his child. She accused the man, who has not been named, of 'stalking' and 'harassing' her girl after the incident and said they had pleaded with cops to intervene. But Desort claimed he was never arrested and slammed officers for 'failing to protect her' daughter, who was shot in the back of the head in the Upper East Side last night. Insiders suggested NYPD were hunting the man in connection with the vicious 'execution-style' shooting that happened in front of horrified children in a playground, but he has not been named a suspect. Johnson was today named as the victim of the horrific attack that saw a hooded man in black clothing blast her in the back of the head from point-blank range at 8.23pm. She had reportedly texted her family to tell them she was planning to meet her ex-boyfriend before she was murdered on the sidewalk. Her baby was unharmed. Azsia Johnson, 20, was fatally shot in the head while pushing her baby in a stroller on the Upper East Side on Wednesday Lisa Desort alleged her daughter Azsia Johnson (pictured) was assaulted by her ex-boyfriend about six months ago despite being six months pregnant with his child. Johnson died Wednesday after being shot in the head on the Upper East Side A teddy bear was left next to a tree near where Johnson woman was shot and killed on 95th Street Wednesday night Julio Cruz, 62, father of two, told DailyMail.com he had left his car in the area because there was no parking where he lives. But when he went to move his car, he found it was part of a murder investigation A hole from where a bullet punctured an SUV belonging to Cruz, who moved from Texas to the city with his family for work two weeks ago. They said they had heard of this kind of news happening in New York, but didn't think it would happen so close Desort told The New York Post through tears on Thursday afternoon: 'We called the precinct numerous times to tell the [domestic violence] unit that he was stalking and harrowing her. 'Even [though] they knew what apartment he lived in, they failed to apprehend and arrest him,' the mom continued. The city failed to protect my daughter.' She added to Fox News: 'All that anyone needs to know in this city is we called numerous times for her protection. No one protected my daughter, and now she's dead.' NYPD have identified a person of interest and is probing a domestic violence link in the fatal shooting, according to City Council member Julie Menin, who represents the area. The baby's father has not been named a suspect in the women's killing but police are trying to locate him for questioning, sources told New York Daily News. A hooded shooter approached Johnson and 'fired a single shot into her head from a very close range,' NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell told reporters at a press conference held Wednesday night. The victim was rushed to the hospital where she died. The baby was unharmed. Desort told PIX11 that her daughter had taken her baby daughter to the park when the shooting happened. She had been using a tracking app to keep tabs on Johnson and became concerned when it showed she was in the hospital. Desort said she tried to call, but there was no answer. Police then showed up at her door with the heartbreaking news. 'I fell to the ground,' she said. Sources told the New York Daily News the young mother had texted relatives saying she was planning to meet up with her child's father the night she was killed, so they could talk things out. She had reportedly been assaulted by him while pregnant and wasn't sure if she wanted him in her life. 'It appears she was targeted, not a stray bullet,' a police source said of the shooting. 'Close contact wound to the head. She had powder burns on her head, to show you how close he was.' It's not clear if recent alleged assaults were reported to the police, but the victim's mother claims they called for help 'numerous' times. 'He threatened me with death, my daughter with death, and my other daughter with death,' Desort said. 'We called the precinct numerous times.' Desort said her daughter had everything going for her. 'She had been working since she was 16, and she took care of people. She was the best mother,' she said through tears. 'My daughter did not deserve this.' Ebony Baulin speaks about Azsia Johnson, calling her a 'good person' and said their children played with each other Julio Cruz, 62, father of two, found his SUV riddled with bullets on the UES a day after the fatal shooting of a young mother The Manhattan neighborhood is the most affluent in New York, with average house prices at an eye-watering $1.5million and private school fees exceeding $58,000 per year A GoFundMe was created by Johnson's cousin Sharon Bell, who explains that the family is in shock over the 20-year-old's tragic death, adding that she is a mother to a 3-year-old and 3-month-old Neighbor and friend Ebony Baulin told DailyMail.com: 'That's my neighbor's daughter. She was a good person. She was happy. She had a boyfriend. 'She was just a good girl. Whenever there was a confrontation [between me and her mother], she would be the one to say, 'don't fight.' 'She took care of her kids. She was quiet. She went to work and took care of her kids. I've seen [the ex-boyfriend] a couple of times.' Lauren Brandel, 42, a mother who has lived on the Upper East Side for over 20 years, became emotional when she told DailyMail.com that she takes walks with her young daughter every evening in the neighborhood in the area where Johnson was shot and killed. 'We come here on a daily basis, literally, every single day with her, this is our walk,' she said. We play at that playground.' But she said she can't change her daily routine or avoid the area of a place she's lived in for two decades. 'It can happen anywhere,' she said. Brandel added that she's always felt safer with a stroller, but now feels differently. 'If this was random, it's a game changer,' she said about Johnson's killing. Meanwhile a Texas man who recently moved to New York with his family said he had heard about the escalating crime in the city, but never thought it would happen so close to home. Julio Cruz, 62, discovered his SUV riddled with bullets and being towed from the scene of the Upper East Side shooting on Thursday. The father of two told DailyMail.com he had left his car in the area because there was no parking where he lives. But when he went to move his car, he found it was part of a murder investigation. 'I came today to move the car and [to my surprise] they were moving my car,' he said. 'The officer told me the bullet is into the car and they took it to inspection it. And I need to pick up my car, I don't know.' Cruz, who moved from Texas to the city with his family for work two weeks ago, said they had heard of this kind of news happening in New York. 'Look, in Texas, as well as everywhere else, you hear about these kind of news that happen in New York,' he said. 'Me and my family came for work. But you never think it's going to happen so close to you. We heard before moving here, about crimes in the subway and everywhere in the city, but you just don't think it will happen to you.' A candlelight vigil will be held tonight at 8:30 p.m. on East 95th Street between Lexington and Third Avenue, as 'our community mourns the tragic fatal shooting of a young mother,' NYC Council Member Julie Menin tweeted. The Manhattan neighborhood is the most affluent in New York, with average house prices at an eye-watering $1.5million and private school fees exceeding $58,000 per year. Horrified children at the nearby playground witnessed the horrific shooting, and one girl described hearing a loud 'boom' that she quickly realized was a gunshot. Mayor Eric Adams blamed the shooting on the 'over-proliferation of guns' and said that criminals have 'no fear in using these guns on innocent New Yorkers.' The shooting comes four days after President Joe Biden signed into law a legislation that marks some of the biggest changes to federal gun law in decades. The execution-style killing occurred across the street from the Samuel Seabury Playground (above), which was filled with children who witnessed the horrific shooting A person of interest has been identified and the NYPD is probing a domestic violence link in the execution-style shooting of Johnson, who was pushing her three-month-old baby in stroller in Upper East Side 'Lives will be saved,' Biden said during the signing ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. 'From Columbine to Sandy Hook to Charleston, Orlando, Las Vegas, Parkland, El Paso, Atlanta, Buffalo, Uvalde, and for the shootings that happen every day in the streets that are mass shootings, we don't even hear about the number of people killed every day in the streets. Their message to us was to just something,' the president said. 'Today we did,' he noted. The new law comes in the wake of a spat of mass shootings including one at a grocery store in Buffalo where 10 black people were killed and one at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, where 17 children and two teachers died. Biden conceded the legislation doesn't have everything he wanted but 'it does include actions I've long called for that are going to save lives.' The president praised the bipartisan work on the issue. 'It's time when this seems impossible get anything done in Washington. We are doing something consequential,' he said. The day of the shooting, New York City and state officials announced lawsuits against 10 sellers of gun parts that the officials said can be assembled into untraceable ghost guns and sold without background checks. State Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the weapons sold by online ghost gun retailers have been found at a growing share of New York's crime scenes. NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell (center) and NYC Mayor Eric Adams (right) brief the press on a shooting after a woman walking her baby was shot dead on the Upper East Side 'These are dangerous weapons,' Adams, a former police officer, said at a Manhattan news conference with James and other officials. 'We should not think these are just kits used for hobbyists. They are being used by murderers. All of them are illegal.' The shooter was described as a male wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants. Police offered no further description of the killer. The woman was rushed to nearby Metropolitan Hospital, where she died within an hour. The baby was also taken to the hospital for evaluation but was unharmed. New York City's 19th police precinct, where the shooting occurred, is generally among the safest in the city. Last year, the precinct recorded just two murders, and until Wednesday had not seen a murder so far in 2022. The precinct is one of the most densely populated residential areas in Manhattan, and includes the mayor's residence, Gracie Mansion. It also encompasses a stretch of Madison Avenue with some of the city's most upscale shopping options. Citywide, major crimes in New York are up 38 percent so far this year compared to last year However, NYPD data shows that crime is on the rise in the 19th Precinct, as it is across the city. So far this year, major crimes are up 44 percent in the precinct from the same period one year ago, with robbery up 60 percent and felony assault increasing by 23 percent. The precinct has recorded 1,162 major crimes so far in 2022, compared to 805 incidents in the same period last year. Citywide, major crimes in New York are up 38 percent this year compared to last year, with robbery up 39 percent, burglary rising 34 percent, and felony assault jumping 19 percent. However, murders are down 13 percent from last year, and shooting victims have dropped 9 percent, gains that Adams and police officials attribute to a push to get illegal guns off the streets. Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact NYPD detectives at 1-800-577-TIPS. The Fedex worker who shot dead the founder of a non-profit in the early hours of the morning while he was asleep in bed next to his wife has been pictured smirking in his mugshot. Joshua Daniel Danehower, 33, has been charged with second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in the shooting death of 32-year-old Glyer, according to a statement issued by the Fairfax City Police Department. Danehower, who worked for FedEx, was an acquaintance of Glyer, his wife, Heather, and their two young children, Gryphon and Gailiee, 6 and 22 months. 'It was not random,' Fairfax City Police Lieutenant Matthew Lasowitz told DailyMail.com on Thursday. The suspect, identified as Joshua Daniel Danehower, 33, has been charged with second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in the shooting death of 32-year-old Glyer, according to a statement by the Fairfax City Police Department DonorSee founder Gret Glyer, 32, of Fairfax, Va., was found dead inside his Bolton Village Court home around 3 a.m. on Friday with gunshot wounds Glyer's wife, Heather, reportedly called 911 and told dispatchers she thought there was an intruder in their home. The couple's two children Gryphon and Gailiee, 6 and 22 months, were also home at the time, but were unharmed The lieutenant confirmed the suspect worked for FedEx at Dulles International Airport, but said he wasn't clear what role he had with the company. Lasowitz told DailyMail.com the backdoor of the family's home, located in Bolton Village Court, had been left unlocked, which is how the suspect supposedly gained entry. During the early-morning hours of Friday, Danehower walked into the master bedroom of the home and pumped several bullets into Glyer as he slept next to his wife, Heather. She called 911, telling the operator that she believed an intruder had entered her home. 'She heard a loud noise and believes her husband has been shot. She believes someone came into the house,' a dispatcher said, according to Fox 5 DC. Glyer's wife was uninjured during the ambush. Their two young children, who were also in the home at the time of the shooting, were also unharmed. Fairfax Police could not confirm to DailyMail.com whether Heather is a suspect in the case at this time, as the investigation is 'very active.' Heather could not be reached for comment. 'A motive is not yet known nor is the relationship with Glyer and the suspect,' Lasowitz said. 'We are looking into any possibility.' Danehower was arrested on Tuesday during his work shift at Dulles International Airport. He is being held without bond in the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. During the early-morning hours of Friday, Danehower walked into the master bedroom of the home and pumped several bullets into Glyer as he slept next to his wife, Heather. Their two young children were also in the home The DonorSee founder established the company in 2016 after 'moving to Malawi in 2013 and living with the world's poorest,' according to the non-profit's web site The couple had just moved to Bolton Village Court in Fairfax City, Va., a residential area that's dotted with trees and lined with white-picket fences, six months ago. It's not clear where the family had been living before Glyer, his wife and two young children had just moved to Fairfax City, an area with tree-lined streets and white-picket fences, six months ago. It's not clear where the family had been living before. Fairfax City has a population just shy of 25,000 and Lasowitz described the neighborhood Glyer resided as 'incredibly safe.' 'We haven't had a homicide in this community since July 2008,' he said, adding that it's 'not uncommon for people to leave their property or vehicles unlocked,' though it is strongly discouraged. Regarding the rear door being unlocked at the Glyer home, Laskowitz said he didn't know 'why the door was open' when officers arrived at the residence. He also added that the airport is approximately 15 miles away from the victim's home. Police were unable to confirm to DailyMail.com if Heather is a suspect in the case At a Thursday press conference, Captain Jeff Hunt of the City of Fairfax Police Department's criminal investigations division, announced the arrest of Danehower, saying it appears he 'acted alone.' The family's next-door neighbor heard three gunshots, according to Fox News. Gerald Searles, 54, who lives next door, said he and others are on edge after the shooting, despite Fairfax police saying there is no further 'threat to the community.' 'We definitely are just being a little bit more vigilant about just keeping our eyes and ears open,' he told Fox 5 DC. 'I don't think many people saw or heard anything at that time in the morning, but we definitely are just taking precautions and doing what's necessary to feel more comfortable.' Fairfax police also told Fox 5 DC that the home's backdoor was open, but did not disclose if the department saw any signs of forced entry. Glyer's wife issued a statement on Wednesday, describing her husband of four years: 'Gret was my best friend and an incredible husband and father,' she said. 'He had an amazing heart for helping the people who need it most, and I know that legacy will live on.' According to Glyer's LinkedIn profile, he had moved to Malawi in 2013, where he taught mathematics at a Bible school. The life-changing experience prompted Glyer to start the nonprofit, Housing for Orphans and Widows in Malawi, which worked to construct homes in rural areas, and a primary school for girls, according to his online obituary. In 2016, he returned to the United States and founded DonorSee, a fundraising platform whose mission, according to its web site, is 'to build a global support network for the world's poorest.' The non-profit employs approximately 15 people. Owen O'Doherty, the interim chief executive of DonorSee, told The Washington Post on Wednesday that he doesn't know Danehower and that he had no connection to the web site. O'Doherty said he and his colleagues 'are still incredibly shocked and deeply saddened' by the tragedy, describing Glyer as 'an inspirational leader and an amazing guy,' The Post reported. A GoFundMe has been set up for funeral expenses, as well as to help 'provide for his wife and children.' As of Thursday afternoon, nearly $136,000 has been raised toward their goal of $150,000. A fundraiser was also set up on Glyer's own DonorSee web site for $75,000 and has reached $48,000 as of Tuesday afternoon. 'Everyone at DonorSee has heavy hearts today and we grieve the loss of our inspirational Founder Gret,' the web site read. 'As many of you will know, Gret lived his life in the pursuit of helping others. He has left a legacy that will live on through DonorSee of changing the world for the better and helping those who need it most. He is a shining light that inspired those he met, and many more he did not meet.' Glyer set up DonorSee in 2016 - three years after he had moved to Malawi, Africa, and his life was 'transformed,' according the company's website. PLA Navy transport aircraft hold simulated landing on carrier, indicate 3rd carrier to be equipped with cargo planes By Liu Xuanzun (Global Times) 08:40, June 30, 2022 A future aircraft carrier function demonstration model is on display at the newly renovated and expanded Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution in Beijing on Sunday. Photo: Liu Xuanzun/GT The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy recently held simulation training for transport aircraft to land on aircraft carriers, with military analysts saying on Wednesday that the move indicated that China is now developing fixed-wing transport aircraft and special mission aircraft including early warning aircraft for its third aircraft carrier, thanks to the latter's electromagnetic catapults. The PLA Naval Aviation University recently organized a series of training sessions under realistic combat scenarios with Y-7 transport aircraft at an airfield in North China, China National Radio reported on Wednesday. Among a number of training courses, the pilot cadets carried out land-based simulation training for transport aircraft to land on aircraft carriers, according to the report. This seems to be the first time the general public was made aware that the PLA Navy is preparing its transport aircraft pilot cadets for aircraft carrier operations, observers said. China's current two aircraft carriers, the Liaoning and the Shandong, do not have fixed-wing transport aircraft because they use ski-jump ramps that limit the aircraft's takeoff weight. But such aircraft will soon be able to operate on the country's recently launched third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, which uses electromagnetic catapults, analysts said. Fixed-wing transport aircraft are advantageous over transport helicopters on aircraft carriers in terms of range, speed and cargo capacity, and that is why China should have them, now that it has a catapult-equipped aircraft carrier, Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert, told the Global Times on Wednesday. Using the Y-7 for simulated training is a good choice because the general characteristics like the size of the Y-7 are similar to a carrier-borne cargo plane, Fu said. The US has the C-2 Greyhound cargo plane for its aircraft carriers, and developed E-2 Hawkeye early warning aircraft based on it. China reportedly developed the KJ-600 early warning aircraft for its third carrier, and developing a cargo plane based on the KJ-600 would be easy, Fu said, noting that it could also spawn more special mission variants, including carrier-based fixed-wing anti-submarine warfare aircraft. The Fujianis also expected to be equipped with an improved version of the J-15 heavy fighter jet compatible with catapult launches, an electronic warfare variant of the J-15, a next-generation stealth fighter jet reportedly to be called the J-35, and armed reconnaissance drones, according to media reports. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which was launched roughly six months ago with the mission of observing and taking photographs of cosmic bodies, has captured the deepest image of our universe. Since it was launched, the space telescope has successfully unfolded its expansive sunshield, commissioned its science instruments, and reached an observation point more than one million kilometers from our planet. Deepest Image of the Universe This exciting point in space exploration comes after nearly two decades of effort to design, build, and test the massive space telescope on Earth prior to its launch on Christmas Day in 2021. Now, all of the responsibility is in the rearview mirror, and Webb's massive 6.5-meter diameter mirror is looking outward and collecting scientific data and images. The James Webb Space Telescope is known to be the largest and most powerful telescope that humans have ever launched into space and it is already revealing new information about the universe. Thomas Zurbuchen, who leads NASA's scientific programs said during a news conference on Wednesday that the images were being taken right now, as per ArsTechnica. He added that the space telescope has already captured a trove of amazing scientific information and noted that some others are yet to be taken moving forward. Zurbuchen said that the space agency was on the verge of getting the history-making data down. Read Also: Astronomers Discovered 2 Craters on the Moon After Mysterious Rocket Impact, Sparks Other Questions NASA said that it had plans to release several images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope starting at 10:30 a.m. ET on Jul. 12, which is a result of the telescope's "first light" observations. The space agency's officials said on Wednesday that the images and other data would include the deepest-field image of the universe that has ever been taken by humans. According to Phys.org, Bill Nelson, NASA's administrator, said that with the help of the Webb telescope, humans have been able to look farther than they have ever been before. Nelson's remarks were made at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which is the operations center for the $10 billion observatory that was launched in December last year. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Webb, which is considered a marvel of engineering, is capable of gazing farther into the cosmos than any other telescope before it. This is thanks to its enormous primary mirror and its instruments that focus on infrared, which allows it to peer through dust and gas which are found nearly everywhere in the universe. Nelson said that the space telescope is going to explore objects in the solar system and the atmospheres of exoplanets orbiting other stars. The findings would give astronomers clues as to whether potentially their atmospheres are similar to our planet's. Pam Melroy, NASA's deputy administrator, said that the "first light" images touched him greatly as a scientist, engineer, and human being. The term generally refers to the first time a telescope is used to make scientific observations after it has undergone tests and calibrations. Zurbuchen added that it was difficult to not look at the universe in a new light and not just have a moment that he called "deeply personal," Fox News reported. Related Article: Martian Soil Indicates Red Planet Could Establish Human Colonies in the Future @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. An 'evil' gang of teenagers stoned and kicked a pregnant hedgehog and her three babies to death. A group of boys, believed to be aged 12 and 13, were spotted attacking the helpless creature by two passers by on Porters Park Drive in Shenley, Hertfordshire, at around 7pm on Monday 20 June. The pair intervened, but were abused by the teenagers, who then made off down an alleyway. Hertfordshire Constabulary are appealing for witnesses in the brutal attack, which killed the mother hedgehog and her three unborn hoglets. London Colney Hedgehog Rescue found she had suffered a number of serious injuries, including spinal damage, the loss of sight in one eye, a broken leg and a fractured jaw. The mother was put to sleep a week after the ordeal, after the vets found they could not heal the roof of her broken mouth. The devastating damage had caused an open area to her nasal cavity resulting in her unable to eat. She then gave birth to her three hoglets who died shortly after. An 'evil' gang of teenagers stoned and kicked a pregnant hedgehog (pictured) and her three babies to death on Porters Park Drive in Shenley, Radlett in Hertfordshire at around 7pm on Monday 20 June Pc Dan Hill of Hertfordshire Constabulary said: 'We are a nation of animal lovers so I'm sure that many of you will be appalled by this incident. 'I would like to reassure the local community that we do take animal cruelty seriously. 'The Rural Operational Support Team, who specialise in dealing with rural and wildlife crime, will be assisting us with this investigation. 'If you were in the area at the time and saw what happened or have dash cam footage or CCTV or any other information that could help us to identify those involved please get in touch as soon as possible.' The rescuers have branded the thugs as 'evil children' but said it will not deter them from releasing rehabilitated hedgehogs into the wild. A group of boys, thought to be aged 12 and 13, were seen attacking the helpless creature by two passers by, who intervened, but were abused by the teenagers who then made off down an alleyway. Hertfordshire Constabulary are appealing for witnesses in the brutal attack The organisation said in a Facebook post: 'She had deteriorated and was unable to eat. The injury in the roof of her mouth was too severe to heal and impossible to stitch. 'Both the vets and I made the decision to let her go whilst she was under anaesthetic. 'And trust me (if anyone knows me) and as a hedgehog rescue, we don't give up lightly on mending all sorts of injuries and rehabilitating them back into the wild.' The aristocratic step-son of John Profumo has lost his bid to silence a music festival which was taking place at a farm neighbouring his second home in Devon. Sir Mark Havelock-Allan QC, the 5th Baronet of Lucknow, complained that the 'dub-dub-dub' bass noise travelled across Dorset's Bride Valley, destroying his peace and quiet. Sir Mark, whose film star mother Valerie Hobson's second husband was the disgraced war minister involved in the Christine Keeler scandal, said the sound was so intrusive he and his wife, Dame Alison Foster, felt they were 'driven out' on festival weekends, opting to stay at their London residence instead. The retired crown court judge was one of several local residents who complained about the loud music and the glare of laser lights in the night sky from Bredy Farm, near Burton Bradstock, to Dorset Council. Another complainant was a woman whose Airbnb guests said their holidays had been blighted by the noise. The local authority prosecuted farm owner Charles Harris and his partner Dr Abigail Charlsworth for breaching a noise abatement notice. Sir Mark Havelock-Allan QC, the 5th Baronet of Lucknow, lost his battle to silence a mini music festival on a neighbouring farm which he said destroyed his peace and quiet Sir Mark's second home (pictured) is near Bredy Farm Sir Mark said that the festival had been 'particularly intrusive not just the throb of the base - the dub-dub-dub across the valley - but you could hear the lyrics' But despite the band of locals lining up to give evidence against Bredy Farm, magistrates found the couple not guilty. Mr Harris and Dr Charlsworth, a vet, were able to show that the noise from the mini-festival the case was fought over did not exceed the decibel limit previously agreed by Dorset Council. Afterwards they said the case against them had been an act of 'pure nimbysim' and the three day trial was a waste of taxpayers' money. Having won their case they are hoping to recoup some of their legal fees from Dorset Council, which runs to 30,000. Dorset Council paid almost 9,000 in bringing the failed prosecution. Mr Harris, 38, said: 'In our view, the prosecution was a total waste of taxpayers money and an act of pure nimbyism at its finest. 'Some of the local residents were against it from the get-go. 'We were aware that neighbours had complained before we started, saying that the area was not a suitable place for live music events. They didn't want anything to spoil their tranquility. Yet there are a lot of younger people who live in the area who want to do stuff as well.' Mr Harris' family has owned Bredy Farm for 76 years. Covering 260 acres it farms pedigree beef and makes its own cider. In 2015 he and Dr Charlsworth decided to diversify and decided to stage mini-music festivals on the site that offers a natural amphitheatre set into the rolling hills. Since then they have put on three events a year, attracting around 500 guests at a time with camping on site also offered. But the Bride Valley, that sits above the Jurassic Coast UNESCO World Heritage Site, is also a popular spot for second homeowners and staycationers. One of those is Sir Mark who, with his second wife, a High Court judge, owns a home in the area. At the time the property, which is near Bredy Farm, was used as a second home to their main house in south London. Giving evidence Sir Mark, 71, told Weymouth Magistrates' Court, how the noise from the music festival in August 2019 was so intrusive he had to close all his doors and windows. He said: 'When they first started in 2015 the noise became noticeable. We tried not to be at the house on festival weekends. 'At one point we knew there was going to be a festival and we chose not to be there. We felt like we were driven out. 'The Witsun (May 2019) one was not intrusive so we were optimistic that the problem had been solved. 'But on one of the evenings in 2019 it was particularly intrusive not just the throb of the base - the dub-dub-dub across the valley - but you could hear the lyrics. 'Myself, my wife and my elder daughter were at the house. The music was intrusively loud. It was still audible even with all the windows shut. 'It's not that I don't like the music - although it is not particularly to my taste - it was just that it was destroying the peace and quiet. 'There's nothing you can hear at all except the waves of Chesil Beach - it is wonderfully quiet. The beauty of the Bride Valley and its closeness to the coast - it is the most lovely part of Dorset. The countryside is glorious'. Andrew and Christine Bailey rent out holiday cottages on their neighbouring farm. Mr Bailey described the noise on the August 2019 weekend. Dorset Council paid almost 9,000 in bringing the failed prosecution. Mr Harris (pictured) was found not guilty Charles Harris pictured with his partner Dr Abigail Charlsworth He said: 'The music was loud with a particularly intrusive base note. We had to retreat indoors. We could hear every word being sung - it wasn't possible to get to sleep. 'The only way we could have a proper conversation was to go indoors. The way we managed to drown out the music was to close the windows and turn up the TV. 'It caused a lot of stress by virtue of disturbed sleep. We have to rise early because of the farm so it had an impact on the following day as a whole. 'The guests complained to us like it was our fault.' Joanna Clatworthy, of Lower Sturthill Farm - near the defendants' property, complained about the 'base' of the music and the 'light pollution' from laser lights on the stage which disturbed her holidaying guests. She said: 'Most people who come here want to get away from places like London. 'I have to apologise to guests that it is out of my control. It is one of those things you can't do anything about. It is embarrassing, stressful and unnecessary. I don't think it is anything we should have to do'. But Mr Harris criticised Dorset Council for bringing the prosecution, claiming they did so based on the neighbours' complaints and not noise monitoring equipment. He said they hired an independent noise consultant to monitor the August 2019 event. Mr Harris said: 'The disturbance was never witnessed or monitored by the council, they just relied on recordings. 'There was an abatement notice served on us after a 2016 event which prompted 20 complaints. Our events are somewhat at the mercy of the weather. We are in a valley and the noise travels when there is absolutely no wind. 'After that we had a noise consultant come in and they helped us produce a noise plan that the council were happy with. The plans was that if we went at a level of 15 decibels over ambient noise levels we were in breach of the notice. 'In August 2019 the wind was still and there were a number of complaints. 'We had asked Dorset Council's environmental health officers to come out to it but they refused. We logged the noise monitoring levels throughout the event and they got to eight decibels above ambient noise levels. Charles Harris, pictured at Bredy Farm, said the prosecution 'was a total waste of taxpayers' money and an act of pure nimbyism at its finest' John Profumo, Parliamentary under-secretary (right) holding his son David with his wife, actress Valerie Hobson (left) and her son from her first marriage, Anthony Mark Havelock Allan (centre) who is now the 5th Baronet Mark Havelock Allan John Profumo is pictured with his wife, actress Valerie Hobson, in 1958. The pair remained married after his affair with Keeler emerged Rarely-seen photos of Profumo scandal mistress Christine Keeler have emerged for sale at auction. Above: The model is seen posing in a sleeveless white dress with a glass of champagne next to her 'So we had a three day trial just to prove our innocence. 'As well as the financial costs, we have had the stress of being under constant scrutiny.' A spokesperson for Dorset Council said: 'Under the Environmental Protection Act, Councils have a duty to investigate complaints about noise to determine whether a 'statutory nuisance' exists. 'Following the August 2019 event at Bredy Farm, the council received complaints from a number of local residents who were disturbed by the noise. 'Following investigation, Dorset Council determined there had been a statutory nuisance, which meant that the noise abatement notice, already in place following earlier events, had been contravened. As a result, the council decided to take court action. 'Despite Dorset Council submitting evidence, including from affected residents and noise recordings, the magistrates felt it was insufficient to state, beyond all reasonable doubt, that a 'statutory nuisance' had existed. 'Whilst they had every sympathy for the complainants, they found in favour of the defendant. 'Dorset Council accepts the verdict of the magistrates, and we estimate the cost of bringing these proceedings to court was around 10,500. 'It is hoped that similar enforcement action at Bredy Farm won't be necessary in the future, given that the organisers have invested in noise reducing measures since the August 2019 event.' The gruesome remains of a creature that 'looks like an orc from Lord of the Rings' have been found washed up on the shores of Egypt. Andrea Jud, 39, found the mysterious eyeless corpse baring its sharp teeth on a beach at Gabr el-Bint on the Sinai Peninsula. And just like the movie monster from Alien, it had two sets of jaws one within the other for hunting its prey. 'I didn't touch it. Just looking at it made me feel uneasy,' she said. 'It freaked me out. It looked like a Lord of the Rings orc.' This strange sea creature washed up onto a shore in Egypt, Andrea Jud, 39, who found it said it looked like an orc from Lord of the Rings Users on a Facebook group joked it could be a 'baby Loch Ness monster' or 'Voldemort', but most thought it was a Moray eel Adding to the mystery was the creature's location Andrea estimates it was 40ft inland, beyond the reach of the waves. She said: 'I was camping with a bunch of friends, we had hiked to the location along the coast from Dahab. 'I saw it early in the morning when I was walking back from the shore. 'It looked really dead the skin was dry and dark grey and patchy. It has a distinctive head, with an open mouth showing sharp teeth. 'There was an opening further back on the head where one would suspect the ears, but it might have been the gills. The creature's lack of limbs and second set of jaws suggests it may be an eel Users online felt the creature resembled an orc from the Lord of the Rings (pictured) It was found on a beach in Egypt, where the warm sun may have disfigured the creature beyond recognition 'I could not see any eyes. The body was long and curved, with the end pointing up towards the head, like a seahorse.' She continued: 'I was surprised at how big it was maybe the length of my arm and the head was bigger than my fist. 'It was gruesome to look at, and reminded me of the reality of death. 'My initial impression was that it was a being who suffered a rather horrible death. I couldn't figure out what kind of creature it was.' Looking for answers, the Swiss development consultant shared her photos with a marine identification group on Facebook. The answers were imaginative, to say the least. 'Baby Loch Ness monster,' ventured one person. 'Voldemort, I think,' said another, referring to the villainous Harry Potter character. Others suggested it was a mermaid, a 'demogorgon' the monster from the Netflix series, Stranger Things or more simply 'the stuff of nightmares'. But others thought that the jaws-within-jaws offered a clue. Moray eels have a second set of jaws within their throat and when a fish is caught within the main jaws this second set launches forwards, dragging the prey back to be swallowed. If it is a moray, the harsh Egyptian sun might have scorched it beyond easy recognition. In any case, how the creature died and how it ended up so far beyond the surf remains a mystery. Andrea said: 'It was too far inwards to have been pushed there by waves, as far as I know. 'The locals were fishing nearby and it might have been caught by them, but it was not near the other traces of fishing like sea shells. It was just alone.' Moray eels are typically found in tropical and subtropical waters, including the Red Sea. Abortions in Florida and Kentucky may temporarily resume after judges barred the states from enforcing abortion bans on Thursday. Kentucky and twelve other states implemented a trigger law which would outlaw abortions in the instance of a ruling to overturn the 1973 landmark, Roe v. Wade. Kentucky Judge Mitch Perry granted a temporary restraining order on Thursday to halt the state from enforcing a ban triggered by the Supreme Court's 6-3 vote - the state passed the trigger law in 2019. 'We're glad the court recognized the devastation happening in Kentucky and decided to block the commonwealth's cruel abortion bans,' Planned Parenthood said in a statement. The ban was lifted since being implemented on Friday following the Supreme Court Ruling. The state intended to limit abortions to be allowed only if needed to prevent death or injury to the mother. Thirteen states, including Kentucky, were set to enforce abortion bans and restrictions if Roe. v. Wade was ever overturned The ruling was met with contention by Republican State Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who claimed Perry had no right under the Kentucky constitution to allow abortion services to resume. 'We cannot let the same mistake that happened in Roe v. Wade, nearly 50 years ago, to be made again in Kentucky,' Cameron said. 'We will be seeking relief from this order.' Florida Judge John Cooper temporarily halted the block on abortions after 15-weeks following a petition from abortion advocate groups. The ban was signed into law by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in April and was set to take effect on Friday - following the overturn of Roe. Kentucky Judge Mitch Perry issued an order to prevent the state from enforcing a trigger law they passed in 2019 Florida Judge John Cooper, moved to halt the ban that would have prohibited abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy Advocacy groups, including Planned Parenthood and state abortion clinics, filed a lawsuit claiming the Florida's constitution protects the right to abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. 'I do find the state has failed to provide convincing and credible evidence that this law, HB 5, exhibits a compelling state interest to be protected,' Cooper said while agreeing with the advocacy groups. The temporary halt on abortions after the 15-week limit is set to take effect after the judge submits a written order - which he said would not occur on Thursday. The overturn of Roe allows for states to create their own abortion laws - whether they will allow the procedure or not. The rulings in Florida and Kentucky come after state courts in Utah, Louisiana, and Texas also temporarily blocked bans since the overturn of Roe v. Wade last Friday. Following the overturn of the 1973 right to abortion, advocates scattered to state courts to stop restrictions on abortions that are planned to take effect in 22 states. Abortion clinics in Ohio, Idaho, West Virginia and Mississippi are also seeking temporary halts to the state implemented bans. Other states that passed trigger laws prior to the Roe v. Wade ruling include - Arkansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. More states, including Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, Georgia, Iowa, and South Carolina, are also attempting to impose new bans and restrictions. The rulings in Florida and Kentucky come shortly after the Supreme Court removed lower federal court rulings that rescinded abortion limits related to Roe in Arizona, Arkansas, and Indiana on Thursday. Thousands of protesters rushed into the streets of New York City, Washington D.C., Boston, Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, and Detroit on the morning of June 24 when the Supreme Court ruling was released. Both pro-life and pro-choice groups rallied on the streets leading into the weekend. Those outraged by the overturn of the 1973 landmark held signs that read 'My body, my choice.' Thousands of demonstrators headed into the streets of major cities following the ruling to overturn of Roe v. Wade - the 1973 right to abortion Protests continued into the weekend with some becoming violent. In Los Angeles, two police officers were injured leading to multiple arrests after demonstrators began throwing objects Some politicians, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined in on the pro-abortion protests on Friday outside the Supreme Court. Ocasio-Cortez demanded that activists get 'into the streets' to show their opposition of the ruling. She joined in chanting that 'this decision' is 'illegitimate.' Some protests got heated when tension between police and demonstrators occurred. In Los Angeles on Saturday, protesters threw objects at police officers. Two officers were injured while several protesters were arrested. The union representing the Los Angeles Police Department, LA Protective League, criticized city officials for keeping silent while abortion right advocacy groups turned violent. 'The silence is deafening from our so-called community's leaders. This type of raw violence on display in Los Angeles and across the nation from dangerous mobs hell-bent on destruction has nothing to do with a woman's right to choose,' the union said in a statement. Scottish and Welsh ministers today hit out at the UK Government after 95million was taken from their devolved budgets to fund greater aid for Ukraine. Boris Johnson has announced an extra 1billion of military support to Ukraine as the country continues to battle Russia's brutal invasion. But the Prime Minister has provoked a political row with Edinburgh and Cardiff after the sum was part-funded by dipping into the Scottish and Welsh Governments' budgets. Both devolved administrations - led by Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford - stressed their support for UK efforts to help Ukraine. But they expressed concerns about the 'novel, worrying and potentially divisive approach' taken by the Treasury in funding the extra aid for Kyiv. It was also claimed they will now face 'challenging decisions' about future spending choices due to the money disappearing from their budgets. Scottish and Welsh finance ministers angrily questioned the use of devolved budgets for spending in areas that are reserved matters - such as military aid and defence - and therefore the responsibility of Westminster. Boris Johnson has announced an extra 1billion of military support to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as his country continues to battle Russia's brutal invasion Devolved administrations in Edinburgh and Cardiff - led by Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford - have hit out at the Treasury The PM pledged an extra 1bn for Ukraine to bring the UK's total military support since Russia launched its barbaric assault to 2.3bn - more than any country other than the US. The new cash has been earmarked for new drones, to boost air defence systems, and to provide thousands of pieces of vital kit for Ukrainian soldiers. Mr Johnson, speaking at a Nato summit in Madrid, this afternoon expressed fears that Ukraine being 'crushed or forced into a bad peace' would have 'appalling' consequences for the rest of the world. But he will return from his foreign trip to a new dispute with devolved administrations, after Number 10 revealed 95million of the extra cash going to Kyiv has come from Scottish and Welsh Governments' budgets. Downing Street said the rest of the 1billion sum had come from departmental underspending across Whitehall. Kate Forbes, the Scottish Government's Finance Secretary, said her administration - who stumped up 65million - had 'agreed to providing funding on this occasion given the clear need to maximise the international effort to support Ukraine'. But she warned: 'We are clear that this must not be seen as any kind of precedent which leads to devolved budgets being used to help pay for clearly reserved policy areas.' Kate Forbes, the Scottish Government's Finance Secretary, and Rebecca Evans, the Welsh Government's Minister for Finance, expressed concern about the use of devolved budgets Meanwhile, Rebecca Evans, the Welsh Government's Minister for Finance, warned the Labour administration would now face 'challenging decisions' about future spending choices. She said: 'We will continue to provide humanitarian support to the Ukrainian people, and it is right the UK should continue to provide much-needed military support. However, defence and foreign affairs are reserved matters. 'This is a novel, worrying and potentially divisive approach by the Treasury seeking to use devolved budgets, that should be for investment in devolved areas, like health and education, to fund reserved spending areas such as military aid and defence. Funding for these areas should rightly be met by the UK Government. 'Ultimately, because of the exceptional circumstances, we have accepted this situation in light of our ongoing commitment to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in their fight against this senseless act of aggression, but it should not be a precedent. 'This funding has not been provided from Welsh Government underspends but will result in challenging decisions to be made about our limited capital budget.' Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Simon Clarke, is understood to have recently asked devolved administrations to either offer up a contribution or take a reduction in their funding from Westminster. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: 'Britains commitment to Ukraine is real and constant and we will stand by them until Russia changes course. 'This military assistance will help them intensify their fight against Russian aggression and ensure they have the defence capabilities they need.' A new Iron Curtain has begun to descend across Europe following the invasion of Ukraine, Russia's foreign minister has declared today. Sergei Lavrov, speaking in Minsk after meeting with Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko, said Russia will not trust the US or EU on anything 'from now on.' 'As far as an iron curtain is concerned, essentially it is already descending,' on Europe he said. 'They should just be careful not to pinch anything.' It comes after the West heavily sanctioned Russia in retaliation for Putin ordering his troops into Ukraine, and began giving Kyiv weapons to drive back the assault. Sergei Lavrov, speaking in Minsk after meeting with Alexander Lukashenko, warned European leaders 'not to pinch anything' as a new Iron Curtain descends across the continent He spoke after NATO agreed to reinforce its eastern flank, and declared Russia to be the biggest threat to the continent's security Putin (right, meeting Indonesian President Joko Widodo today) has been hammered by sanctions and largely cut off from Western trade since the invasion What was the original Iron Curtain? The Iron Curtain was the name given to the political, ideological and later military barrier that separated western from eastern Europe between the end of the Second World War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Winston Churchill is credited with coining the term in a 1946 speech, when he said of Communist states: 'From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.' He delivered the address at a time when the UK, US and Soviets were dividing Europe into 'spheres of influence' as they planned for a post-war peace that they hoped would avoid mistakes made after the end of the First World War. Begun in good faith, the talks gradually fell apart as Stalin worked to create a buffer zone of allied eastern European states to shield Russia from attacks from central Europe, sparking fears among Western allies that the Soviets could become powerful enough to dominate the whole continent. That led to the creation of NATO in 1949, in turn sparking the rival Warsaw Pact of Soviet states in 1955. Trade, migration, cultural exchanges and communication between the two blocs was heavily restricted, as the two sides fought proxy wars against one-another, engaged in a nuclear arms race, and bid to beat each other in economically and technologically. Though the East-West boundary was largely ideological, it did include a number of physical borders - most notably the Berlin Wall that separated West Berlin from East Germany from 1961 until it fell in 1989. The same year, Poland dissolved its Communist government and reestablished democracy - signalling the beginning of the end for the Iron Curtain which crumbled in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Advertisement The original 'Iron Curtain' described the way Soviet Union and allied eastern European states sealed off contact with the West after the Second World War. Now, Western nations have begun cutting themselves off from Russia and its allies over the war in Ukraine, arguing it is a threat to global security and established order. Lavrov sought to dismiss Russia's growing isolation today, saying Moscow has not had any diplomatic relations with the EU since it last attacked Ukraine in 2014. The EU is not at all interested in understanding our interests,' Lavrov said. 'It is interested in what has been decided in Brussels. And what has been decided in Washington has been decided in Brussels.' Russia is now into the fifth month of fighting in Ukraine after what was supposed to be a days-long 'special military operation' spectacularly backfired. Despite making gains in the south and east, it has been handed a series of humiliating battlefield defeats - retreating from Snake Island earlier today. Moscow's forces pulled back from the tiny spit of land - around 90 miles off the coast of Odesa - after being subjected to days of heavy artillery bombardment. Russia occupied the island on the first day of the war, landing troops there after warship Moskva ordered the garrison to surrender and was memorably told: 'Russian warship, go f*** yourself!' The 100-acre parcel of land has little practical use but is of strategic importance, helping the occupier control waters south of Odesa - Ukraine's main port. Without control over the island, the chances of Russia launching an assault on Odesa - identified by generals as a key aim of the war - look increasingly remote. Russia has also lost 25,000 troops, more than 1,000 tanks, and seen its economy go into reverse after heavy sanctions were applied. Meanwhile Western leaders seem to be revelling in a rare moment of unity, this week agreeing to support Ukraine for 'as long as it takes' at the G7 summit before committing thousands of extra troops to Europe's defence at a NATO summit. Jens Stoltenberg, head of the alliance, set out an ambition to build NATO's army to 300,000 troops ready to deploy at short notice, while Joe Biden committed thousands more US soldiers to Europe. Russia is into its fifth month fighting in Ukraine having suffered a series of humiliating defeats, most-recently its retreat from Snake Island (pictured) Western leaders have vowed to support Ukraine for 'as long as it takes' as it tries to hold back Russian forces fighting to capture its eastern and southern regions NATO is also preparing to welcome Finland and Sweden after Turkey dropped its opposition to them joining, which will add tens of thousands of troops and state-of-the-art equipment to its ranks. A new strategy for the alliance, covering the next 10 years, identifies Russia as the biggest threat to Europe's security - having previously described it as a 'partner'. 'I think we can all agree that this has been a historic NATO Summit,' Biden told reporters afterwards. 'The world has changed a great deal,' Biden added. 'This summit was about strengthening our alliances, meeting the challenges of our world as it is a day, and the threats we're going to face in the future.' Biden and other G7 leaders also agreed $5billion in funding to help stave off a global food crisis, exacerbated by the war. Russia is blockading Ukraine's ports, preventing millions of tons of grain that previously fed some of the world's poorest and most-vulnerable people from leaving. Efforts to get the food out by road and rail are underway, but those routes cannot match the capacity of the huge grain ships Ukraine previously used. The UN has warned of multiple simultaneous famines and global instability if the crisis is not addressed, which would pile pressure on Ukraine's western allies to try and force an early peace deal that would favour Russia. Speaking about the end-game in Ukraine, Biden today added: 'I don't know what it how it's going to end, but it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine.' 45-year-old Nikolay Mikhailets, who wounded at Amstor shopping mall targeted by Russian missile strike in Kremenchuk Pope Francis has accused Russia of carrying out a 'cruel and senseless war of aggression' just weeks after he was slammed for suggesting Vladimir Putin's invasion was 'provoked'. The Catholic leader told a delegation of Orthodox leaders in Rome that the Kremlin is engaged in 'armed conquest, expansionism and imperialism' in Ukraine. He referred to the conflict as one pitting Christians against one another, with Ukraine home to a sizeable Catholic minority. Pope Francis has accused Russia of carrying out a 'cruel and senseless war of aggression' just weeks after he was slammed for suggesting Vladimir Putin's invasion was 'provoked' (pictured yesterday) 'Reconciliation among separated Christians, as a means of contributing to peace between peoples in conflict, is a most timely consideration these days, as our world is disrupted by a cruel and senseless war of aggression in which many, many Christians are fighting one another,' the pope said. The Eastern and Western branches of Christianity separated in the Great Schism of 1054. The pope also told his Orthodox visitors, in a clear reference to Russia, that all needed 'to recognise that armed conquest, expansionism and imperialism have nothing to do with the kingdom that Jesus proclaimed'. It was the second consecutive day that the Pope spoke on the Ukraine conflict. On Wednesday he condemned the bombing of a crowded shopping centre in the city of Kremenchuk, the latest in string of 'barbarous attacks' against Ukraine. But the critical comments towards Russia come two weeks after the pope faced a backlash with his sympathetic remarks towards the invasion. The Catholic leader told a delegation of Orthodox leaders in Rome that the Kremlin is engaged in 'armed conquest, expansionism and imperialism' in Ukraine (Putin pictured today with Indonesian president Joko Widodo) In the text of a conversation he held last month with editors of Jesuit media, he said the situation was not black and white and that the war was 'perhaps in some way provoked' by NATO. Francis also declared that World War III had already begun but denied being 'pro-Putin'. He said Russian troops were brutal, cruel and ferocious, while praising the bravery of Ukrainian soldiers who have been fighting for their country's survival since the invasion began in February. The Ukraine war has caused deep divisions among world Orthodoxy. The patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), Kirill, has given his full-throated blessing to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The aftermath of a rocket attack on the Mashhidropryvid plant by the Russian troops is seen in Kharkiv His position has splintered the worldwide Orthodox Church and unleashed an internal rebellion which has led to some local Orthodox Churches once linked to the ROC to sever ties. Putin, a member of the ROC, has described Moscow's actions in Ukraine as a 'special military operation' aimed at demilitarising and 'denazifying' the country. The pope has rejected such terminology. In an interview published last month in an Italian newspaper, Francis said Kirill 'cannot become Putin's altar boy'. The ROC later scolded the pope over the remark. Francis was to have met Kirill on June 14 in Jerusalem but the plan was cancelled in April on the advice of Vatican diplomats. It would have been only their second meeting. Their first, in Cuba in 2016, was the first between a pope and a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church since the Great Schism. Earlier this month Britain sanctioned Kirill for 'his prominent support of Russian military aggression in Ukraine'. Hungary blocked an EU attempt to sanction him. A Texas sheriff drove four illegal immigrants back to Mexico himself after their car crashed during a pursuit on Wednesday. Five illegal immigrants were passengers in the car that crashed and flipped while deputies were attempting to pull the vehicle over, Sheriff Brad Coe told The Epoch Times. One woman was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Coe took the four uninjured illegal immigrants to Border Patrol for deportation - but was unable to have them processed and deported without being checked medically - which they declined. 'I [couldn't] let them walk the streets,' Coe said. 'I still have to protect the Constitution and protect the people in the country.' Rather than let them go free, Coe decided to take the migrants and drop them off an hour away at Eagle Pass - which is a point of entry between the United States and Mexico. 'To let them go, undocumented, unaccounted for, just go because of policy - I couldn't do it... If Border Patrol won't take a group for whatever reason, I don't have a choice.' Five illegal immigrants were found in a vehicle after it crashed in a police pursuit in Kenney County, Texas on Wednesday Only one woman was injured and transported to a local hospital. The other four were uninjured and denied medical attention The driver of the crashed car, a Mexican national wearing a cartel-related emblem, is facing seven felony charges. Texas Gov. Greg Abbot applauded Coe's actions to secure the border. 'I applaud all of our sheriffs for having to respond in unprecedented conditions. And that's causing all of us to use unprecedented action,' he said. The Kinney County Sheriff's Department has turned back or returned more than 20,000 people to the border, according to Abbot. The efforts by Coe follow the death of 53 migrants on Monday after they were smuggled across the border and left to die in the back of a deserted semi-truck under the Texas sun. About 100 migrants were in the semi-truck when it was abandoned in the heat near an auto salvage yard on the edge of San Antonio - those deceased include 27 from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala, and two from El Salvador. About 100 migrants were on board the semi-truck when it was abandoned in the Texas heat. The death toll climbed to 53 on Wednesday The truck was abandoned on the edge of San Antonio. Those deceased include 27 from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala, and two from El Salvador The driver, Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, was allegedly on meth and posing as one of the survivors of the tragedy, police said. The Western District of Texas US Attorney's Office charged Zamorano with one count of alien smuggling resulting in death. He could also face the death penalty. Other alleged accomplices have also been identified and charged. If convicted they may also face the death penalty. It's unclear whether the truck was abandoned due to mechanical issues. The migration crisis continues to worsen under the Biden administration. CBP encountered 239,416 migrants in May. Three liberal and two conservative justices led the 5-4 ruling that confirms Biden didn't break immigration law when his administration halted the Trump implemented policy to send immigrants waiting proceedings back to Mexico In light of the recent incidents, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that President Joe Biden didn't violate immigration law when his administration halted the Trump implemented policy to send immigrants waiting proceedings back to Mexico in February 2021. The 5-4 ruling succeeded with votes from three liberal and two conservative justices - Chief Justice John Roberts and Brett Kavanuagh. Former President Donald Trump put the Migrant Protection Protocol into place in January 2019 to put an end to the number of migrants at the border and in the country as they await immigration hearings. Lower courts argued that the Biden administration violated federal law when he withdrew the policy. Over 1.5 million migrants crossed the southern border - including California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas - between October 2021 to May 2022, according to the Southwest Land Border Encounters. In May, 239,416 migrants were accounted for at the border - the highest since the Biden administration. President Joe Bidens top COVID adviser was forced to miss his own daughter's wedding after testing positive for the virus. Fauci, 81, who had tested positive for the virus on June 14 days after attending a class reunion, had to attend the wedding of his daughter, Megan, 31, remotely, he told The New York Times. The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases had attended a 60th class reunion dinner ceremony at the Anthony S. Fauci Integrated Science Complex, named in his honor, at the College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester, Massachusetts. At least two other attendees at the June 11 dinner tested positive for COVID, but it is still unclear if Fauci had contracted the virus at the event. After being able to avoid the virus for more than two years, U.S. COVID tsar Anthony Fauci (pictured) tested positive for coronavirus on June 14. It came just days after he attended a ceremony in his honor (above) at the College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester, Massachusetts The health official was seen greeting and talking to fellow attendees at the June 11 ceremony without wearing his masks on several occasions Fauci and wife Christine Grady are pictured with their three daughters (L-R) Jenny, Alison and Megan, before the pandemic. The COVID tsar had to miss attending Megan's wedding in person, calling remotely, due to his positive virus test The COVID tsar told the Times he attended the ceremony via FaceTime, forgoing the chance to see his daughter get married in New Orleans. Fauci had remained apart from his three daughters following the pandemic's initial breakout due to the risk the virus would pose on the 81-year-old. He eventually reunited with them last summer, just before the Delta surge. The health officials has three daughter with is wife, Christine Grady, chief of the department of bioethics at the National Institutes of Health. Megan, the middle child, is a third-grade school teacher living in New Orleans. Fauci has received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and two booster shots. Dr. Anthony Fauci said that he first tested positive for Covid-19 on June 14 and began his first course of Paxlovid on June 15 Dr. Anthony Fauci testifies virtually during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing to examine an update on the ongoing Federal response to COVID-19 on June 16 Fauci tested positive for the virus with mild symptoms including fatigue. As his symptoms got slightly worse, Fauci began a five day course of Paxlovid. Paxlovid, a drug that was anointed as America's silver bullet against COVID-19 by some health officials and even President Joe Biden, may not have any effectiveness for people that are already vaccinated, according its manufacturer Pfizer's own data. Following his treatment, Fauci said that he tested negative for the virus three days in a row. He decided to test again on the fourth day. The result came back positive. Fauci confirmed on Tuesday, amid the Foreign Policy Global Health Forum, that he is suffering from 'COVID rebound' symptoms after being treated with the drug. In May, the Centers for Disease Control issued a formal warning regarding a COVID-19 rebound as result of a course of Paxlovid. The agency said that some patients who were prescribed Paxlovid suffered a recurrence of symptoms or tested positive for COVID between two and eight days after recovery. The CDC announcement said that there was not enough data to make a conclusion on the cause for the rebound. The agency noted that none of the reported rebound cases saw patients suffer a severe recurrence. In his announcement about his COVID rebound, Fauci said that his symptoms were 'much worse' after he tested positive for the second time. At the same conference where he announced his Covid-19 rebound, Fauci also said: 'It is not the time to be at odds with each other, it's a time to be pulling together against the common enemy, which is the [Covid-19] virus.' The Foreign Policy Global Health public forum is 'a platform for global health experts to discuss the most pressing issues and developing trends in international public health,' according to the organization. Fauci added that he felt as though there are more people with Covid-19 than is being publicly reported. Fauci said: 'I would say [the amount of COVID infections are] at least a couple fold if not more than what's reported... so many people that I know personally have gotten infected, been minimally symptomatic, and never reported their antigen positivity.' The president's Covid tsar also called for an 'aggressive' public vaccine campaign saying: 'If you locked down only for the sake of locking down, sooner or later the virus is going to enter or re-enter into your country.' He continued: 'The purpose should be to get a very aggressive vaccination campaign to all citizens.' Although COVID-19 cases have seen a dramatic drop following the Omicron surge in the winter, cases have seen a slight uptick in the warmer weather and after most states lifted their strictest COVID mandates. The nation has seen 193,201 new cases in the past day, according to Johns Hopkins University, and 710 new deaths. About 67 percent of eligible Americans are fully vaccinated against the virus, with nearly half opting to get a booster. About 78 percent of those eligible have gotten at least one jab of the vaccine. Around 80 migrants crossed the English Channel by small boat today as official figures reveal more than 3,000 have made the treacherous journey this month. The first group of around 40 people were brought to shore at Dover, Kent around 4am. A further 40 people were escorted into the harbour on board Border Force vessel Ranger shortly after midday. The mostly-male group could be seen wrapped thick jackets and blue blankets after battling wet and windy conditions in the Channel. One man appeared to be suffering from the cold as he sheltered underneath the blanket. Several small children were spotted among the group clasped close to their parents' chests, including an infant with a dummy in his mouth. It comes as the Nationality and Borders Act came into force on Tuesday introducing the tougher sentencing for those who smuggle migrants into the UK - up from 14 years imprisonment. The new rules also allow the government to strip foreign born offenders of their British citizenship, including the ability to deport people ahead of their release from prison. A man carries a young child as a group of around 40 people are safely brought in to short at Dover, Kent, earlier today Members of Border Force escort over 40 migrants back to Dover after they were picked up by the English Channel Border Force Also, migrants arriving on small boats today have fewer rights and less access to public services as part of the Government's clampdown. They were led along the gangway by soldiers dressed in camouflage fatigues to be processed by UK officials. Over the course of June a total of 3,042 people took their lives in their hands as they crossed the 21-mile Dover Straits in 75 boats. The busiest month so far this year was March which saw 3,066 asylum seekers reach the UK in dinghies or other small craft. Ministry of Defence data suggests June could become a record month for Channel crossings, with 269 people reported to have reached the Kent coast in six boats yesterday. The French surveillance and rescue centre (CROSS) in Gris-Nez also identified several boats in difficulty in the Calais Straits yesterday. The sea-rescue boat Jean Bart II was tasked with intercepting 46 stranded people in the Channel. They were then dropped off at the port of Dunkirk. A search and rescue operation was launched to aid a boat carrying 40 people which had got into difficulty south of Le Touquet. Figures reveal that 12,312 people have reached the UK this year in small boats, with many picked up by Border Force vessels such as this one Border Force vessel Ranger dropped off roughly 40 migrants at Dover today, after being picked up in the English channel Two people had jumped into the water to swim back to shore. They were picked up by the French Navy's Dauphin helicopter and dropped off at Le Touquet. The 38 migrants who had remained on the vessel were picked up by the boat Jean-Baptiste Fournier and dropped off on the beach of Cucq. Once they had been returned to the shore, the stranded people were taken care of by the central public security department. A total of 12,606 people have reached the UK in 377 boats so far this year. According to official government figures, 28,526 people made the crossing in 2021 - compared to 8,410 who arrived in 2020. Migrants were given blankets and supported by Border Force officials as they reached Dover today Tory MP for Dover Natalie Elphicke said: 'These shocking figures underline yet again why urgent action is needed. 'It's disappointing that the efforts being made by the Government to save lives and stop the people traffickers are being undermined by people who should know better. 'They should think again and support the action being taken to bring these treacherous journeys to an end. 'Let's not forget that these criminal smuggling gangs have a callous disregard for everyone. 'Too many lives have been lost in doomed attempts to cross the English Channel. It needs to end.' According to a source, Ghislaine Maxwell will ask to be moved to a British jail after serving three years of her sentence. The convicted sex trafficker must spend the first three years in the United States under US law, but she can then petition to relocate closer to her family. According to a Telegraph, the 60-year-old, who holds British, French, and US citizenship, will file a formal application to spend the majority of her 20-year term in the UK. She has already been detained for two years, which a court may consider time served. The convicted trafficker is anticipated to file an appeal. Throughout her trial, Maxwell's siblings have continuously stood unified in favor of their disgraced sister, blaming Jeffrey Epstein for "drawing her into his web" and criticizing the circumstances she was exposed to behind bars. Outside court yesterday, her brother Kevin said they had nothing to add to Ghislaine Maxwell's passionate statement in court and said she will be appealing her conviction and sentence. Throughout her trial, her family has attended either together or separately and has stood by her in a resolute display of family support, despite the danger of ruining her reputations by not denouncing her over her relationship with Epstein. Ian Maxwell has claimed that his 60-year-old sister has been harmed by the US judicial system and will spend decades in prison due to unfounded claims. He defends his sister's innocence, claiming she could have escaped to France, which has no extradition relationship with the US but chose to remain in the UK and face authorities since she has a clear conscience. Ian stated in January that he did not expect Ghislaine would 'flip' and assist prosecutors in convicting those connected to Epstein, as per Daily Mail. The fallen socialite faces various obstacles, including the likelihood that American officials would thwart her ambitions since she has "no automatic right to move." The US Government may refuse to allow her to return to the UK, and her victims are certain to oppose it. Sarah Ransome, who revealed two suicide attempts after being abused by Epstein and Maxwell in her impact statement read in court on Tuesday, said the Brit should never be allowed free. Maxwell was guilty of sex trafficking juveniles, conspiracy to persuade a kid to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, and conspiracy to transfer a minor with the purpose to engage in criminal sexual behavior for her former partner Jeffrey Epstein in December of last year. She was also convicted of conveying a kid with the purpose to engage in illegal sexual behavior and conspiracy to commit minor sex trafficking, as per Mirror. Read Also: Will Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Agree to Second Oprah Winfrey Interview? Here's What Sparks the Rumor! Jeffrey Epstein's Victim Not Convinced With Ghislaine Maxwell's Apology Meanwhile, Jeffrey Epstein victim Annie Farmer chastised British ex-socialite Ghislaine Maxwell in court for her phony apologies to victims. Farmer, one of Epstein's victims, testified during Maxwell's trial and broke her silence on "CBS Mornings" Wednesday to discuss her thoughts on the trial and react to the punishment. Farmer told presenter Gayle King that she gave her victim impact statement to the court in the hopes that she would weigh the long-term consequences of Epstein and Maxwell's sexual assault offenses. Epstein's survivor cited Maxwell's blatant lack of remorse for her wrongdoings as one of the most disturbing elements of the trial, saying her continued deception and the tireless efforts channeled into fighting for justice created a "black hole" for victims like herself. She expressed surprise that Maxwell spoke after her punishment, echoing the amazement expressed by others concerned, particularly upon hearing Maxwell's apologies. Farmer, who entered the stand and testified publicly during the trial after prior accusers used pseudonyms, said she tried multiple times throughout her impact statement to make eye contact with Maxwell, but her perpetrator continued to turn away, Fox News reported. Related Article: Nazi Billion Dollar Loot Comes To Light After Mystery Swiss Bank Accounts Revealed in Shocking List @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. New York City Mayor Eric Adams compared Rudy Giuliani to the infamous 'Central Park Karen' for 'falsely reporting a crime' after he claimed a Staten Island supermarket worker almost knock him to the ground. Giuliani, 78, who was mayor of NYC from 1994 to 2001, claimed ShopRite employee Daniel Gill, 39, tapped him on the back during a campaign stop in Staten Island. The politician and close Trump ally claims he could have died from the incident and said the slap felt like a 'boulder.' Gill can be seen on security footage patting Giuliani on the back during a campaign stop for his son Andrew Giuliani, who was running for New York State governor. He then reportedly said to the former mayor: 'What's up, scumbag?' Adams, 61, is now calling on the Richmond County District Attorney's Office (RCDA) to shift its focus away from Gill and toward the former NYC mayor. 'Just as weve done in other cases [like in] the Karen incident [that] happened in Central Park and other incidents, I believe the DA should look at that when determining what the final outcome is,' Adams said on Wednesday, according to the New York Daily News (NYDN). The incident the mayor is referring to is when Amy Cooper attacked birdwatcher Christian Cooper, 59, in Central Park's The Ramble in 2020. She was dubbed a 'Karen' - a term used to describe entitled white women - after she called the police and claimed Cooper was threatening her and her dog. Like in Giuliani's case, there was video evidence that suggested her claims were not true. NYC Mayor Eric Adams, 61, accused former mayor Rudy Guiliani, 78, of filing a false police report and compared him to the 'Central Park Karen,' who falsely claimed a black man was threatening her in the park in 2020. 'If that tape wasn't there, imagine what would have happened to that man?' Adams questioned on Daily Show on Wednesday Giuliani branded Adams an 'idiot' and said that the NYPD filed the police report, not him. However, Adams claimed the Republican spoke in detail about the assault to police and should be charged for 'falsely reporting a crime' 'I said to the DA, listen, she falsely reported a crime, she needs to be arrested. He falsely reported a crime, and the district attorney should take that seriously,' Adams said on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah on Wednesday. 'That person [Daniel Gill] he falsely reported spent 24 hours in jail. That's not acceptable. 'All the theatrics that [Giuliani] did, that's not acceptable. if that tape wasn't there, imagine what would have happened to that man?' Adams also joked with Noah in the opening segment of the show that his 'handshake' was assault, but the host just didn't 'realize it yet.' The RCDA originally charged Gill with felony assault, but it has since been downgraded to a misdemeanor charge. Giuliani has not been charged and it is unclear if he will be. DailyMail.com has reached out to the RCDA for comment. Daniel Gill spent 24 hours in jail over the incident and was originally charged with felony assault, which later got dropped down to a misdemeanor Gill (lower left) can be seen touching the former mayor (center) on the back The Republican - who branded Adams an 'idiot' earlier this week - claimed he 'didn't file a report,' therefore, wouldn't be subject to charges. 'Can you imagine that? He wants to prosecute me for a false police report that I didnt file,' Giuliani said, according to the NYDN. 'His police department filed the report. They did the investigation.' However, Adams claimed his predecessor did, in fact, speak to police, which NYPD sources confirmed to the NYDN. Adams said Giuliani was videoed making the 'serious allegations' of events that 'did not happen.' 'Because of his report to the police department, a person went to jail for 24 hours,' Adams said at an unrelated press conference on Wednesday. Adams called his predecessor 'irresponsible' for 'sensationalizing' the interaction. In recounting the crime on a Facebook Live feed, Giuliani, who also worked on the 2020 Trump re-election campaign, said Gill's touch 'felt like a boulder.' 'His intent was to cause serious harm,' Giuliani said in a Facebook video. 'I could have fallen and cracked my skull and died.' The grainy black and white store security video shows the ex-mayor from behind, a group of people around him. Gill comes in from the bottom of the frame and pats Giuliani on the back. The former mayor turns as Gill continues to address him as he walks past and then quickly off-screen. Giuliani said Gill was berating him about 'killing ladies,' a reference to the ex-mayor's pro-life stance. The ex-city leader said that the blow to the back pitched him forward and nearly knocked him down. Giuliani said he turned to a retired detective in the group and said, 'let's get him arrested. Let's make an example out of him.' Adams wasn't having it. He said the video did not show an assault. 'From what he stated about being punched in the head, felt like a bullet, from what he stated there was a lot of creativity,' Adams said. 'I think the district attorney - he's got the wrong person who he is investigating,' he said, and repeated: 'To falsely report a crime is a crime.' Gill was released without bail and declined to comment on the charges, but his lawyer's version hews closely with what Adams saw. 'Given Mr. Giuliani's obsession with seeing his name in the press and his demonstrated propensity to distort the truth, we are happy to correct the record on exactly what occurred over the weekend on Staten Island,' Legal Aid spokesman Redmond Haskins said. Gill is suspended from his supermarket job, pending termination, according to ShopRite. The fugitive yoga teacher who is accused of killing her love rival in a jealous rage has been arrested in Costa Rica after six weeks on the run. Kaitlin Armstrong, 34, was wanted for allegedly shooting dead cyclist Anna Moriah 'Mo' Wilson, 25, on May 11 in Austin, Texas. US Marshals have been searching for her across the US, and said she was last seen at Newark's Liberty International on May 18, the day after the Austin Police Department issued a warrant for her arrest. On Thursday evening, Armstrong was captured at a Santa Teresa Beach hotel in Costa Rica, US Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force said in a statement. Armstrong was stopped by agents assigned to the Santa Teresa de Cobano Tourist Police division and provided the cops a different name. However, no record of her entry into the country came up when the name she gave was cross referenced with the country's immigration registry. She then told the agents her real last name, which was checked with a data base that revealed she was wanted on an international arrest warrant. They added that a joint investigation by the Marshals and Homeland Security Investigations found that Armstrong fled the country on May 18 using a fraudulent passport. She boarded a United Airlines flight to San Jose at Newark, and arrived there that evening. Armstrong is now set to be deported to the US. In a video obtained by DailyMail.com, Armstrong can be seen from behind in shorts and an orange t-shirt with dramatically shorter hair which she dyed from red to brown. Video of her after her arrest has also been released, showing her walking to a holding cell with a police officer. As Armstrong was fleeing from authorities, any family or friends of hers that had been in contact with her during that time may face charges. Armstrong is white, stands 5 feet 8 inches and weighs approximately 125 pounds Armstrong is arrested at a hostel in Costa Rica after six weeks on the run: Cops say she used fake passport to flee the US Armstrong shown here at New York City's LaGuardia Airport on May 14 Authorities say Armstrong fell into a jealous rage and shot Wilson, 25, left, dead after she went for a swim and dinner with Armstrong's boyfriend, professional cycler Colin Strickland, right Timeline of Kaitlin Armstrong's movements since the murder of her boyfriend's lover May 11: Cyclist Moriah 'Mo' Wilson, 25, is found dead in an apartment in Austin, Texas, shortly after going swimming with Armstrong's boyfriend, Colin Strickland. May 13: Armstrong sells her Jeep Grand Cherokee, seen in surveillance footage outside the apartment where Wilson had been staying, and gets a check on May 15 for $12,200. May 14: An anonymous police tipster tells investigators that Armstrong flew into a rage after discovering Strickland's romance with Wilson. Armstrong is questioned by cops on an old warrant but had to be released when police realized it had expired. During the police interview Armstrong admitted it 'doesn't look good' when cops pointed out she had been near the apartment at the time of the murder. An anonymous caller tells Austin police that Armstrong had recently obtained a handgun. Armstrong is released and goes on the run from cops by hopping on an Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to Houston Hobby and then getting on a connecting Southwest flight to LaGuardia in New York. May 17: The firearm located at Strickland's residence was 'test fired' and police have determined it had 'significant potential' to be the gun used in the crime May 18: Armstrong is last seen at Newark Liberty International Airport, a two-and-a-half hour drive from Camp Haven in Livingston Manor where she is said to have been spotted about a month ago. June 30: Armstrong is arrested at a hotel in Costa Rica after a 43-day manhunt. Advertisement 'The Marshals Service elevated the Kaitlin Armstrong investigation to major case status early in this investigation, which likely played a key role in her capture after a 43-day run,' said U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Texas Susan Pamerleau. Armstrong is wanted in connection to the death of Wilson after authorities found Wilson 'bleeding and unconscious' after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds on May 11 at her friend's apartment in Austin. Police performed CPR on Wilson before pronouncing her dead at the scene. Wilson, a Vermont native and 'world-class' cyclist, was staying in Austin for a race. Armstrong's car was seen in the area around the time of the shooting, leading authorities to believe she had killed Wilson out of jealousy. They later found out that earlier that night, Wilson had gone to dinner with Armstrong's boyfriend Colin Strickland, who told police that the two of them had been swimming at Deep Eddy Pool before getting burgers at Pool Burger. Strickland said he picked her up from the apartment of her friend Caitlin Cash on his BMW motorbike at 5.45pm and dropped her off again at 8.36pm stopping shortly after to text Armstrong to tell her he had been dropping off flowers to another friend and that his phone had run out of battery. But unknown to Strickland, Armstrong had allegedly been tracking both him and Mo using cycling app Strava which shows the routes runners and cyclists take. A neighbor, who asked not to be named, previously told DailyMail.com that her home security camera caught Armstrong's black Jeep Cherokee driving up to the property, which sits above a garage at the back of a larger home, at 8.35pm. She also told DailyMail.com that Armstrong had been caught on camera the previous day, riding a bike in the same spot. Armstrong was questioned by Austin police officers on May 14 after they discovered that the yoga instructor had an open misdemeanor warrant on a theft of services charge, the Daily Beast reports. The cops then used the opportunity to briefly question her about Wilson's death several days earlier - after they received an anonymous tip that Armstrong flew into a rage when she discovered that Strickland had previously been romantically involved with Wilson. During the interview, cops showed Armstrong video surveillance of her SUV apparently coming to a stop outside the apartment where Wilson was found dead on May 11. The footage was time stamped just one minute after Wilson, 25, entered the building following a swim and dinner with Strickland. This is the latest US Marshals wanted poster for Kaitlin Armstrong Wilson was found with multiple gunshot wounds by her friend Caitlin Cash, with whom she was staying as she was in Texas for a race Strickland, 35, has previously said that his relationship with Armstrong was getting rocky and he decided to spend time with Wilson while she was in town He had met Wilson (pictured) through cycling and had a 'brief' romantic relationship with her at the end of October 2021 During the interview, Armstrong reportedly admitted it 'doesn't look good,' and a probable cause document for her arrest says she 'had no explanation as to why it was in the area, and did not make any denials surrounding the statements presented to her.' On May 13, five days before she fled the country, it was discovered that Armstrong had sold her black Jeep Grand Cherokee to a car dealership in Austin for $12,2000. A police tipster, who did not want to be identified, earlier told investigators that Armstrong flew into a rage on discovering cyclist Strickland's romance with fellow cyclist Wilson in January 2022. The informant told police: 'Armstrong became furious and was shaking with anger. Armstrong told the caller Armstrong was so angry Armstrong wanted to kill Wilson.' That tipster got in contact with cops on May 14, three days after Wilson was murdered. Armstrong was subsequently questioned by cops, and freed due to a technicality. After realizing Armstrong had fled, the US Marshals Service 'elevated the investigation to major case status early in this investigation, which likely played a key role in her capture after a 43-day run.' Veteran private investigator Bill Warner has said anyone that had contact with Armstrong while she was on the run could be charged by police. 'Because everyone knew she was on the run, anyone who talked to her during that time should have expected to be charged by the police,' Warner told Fox News. 'She looked to have a really tight network of individuals and friends, and her family seemed to be standing by her, saying that she was innocent. She appeared to have a lot of support behind her.' Strickland has claimed to The Sun that his relationship with Wilson formed after his relationship with Armstrong got rocky. 'I had ended the relationship with Kaitlin and it was just interesting timing because Mo had come to Austin to visit a friend that exact week,' he told The Sun. 'It was completely unplanned and yeah, we started spending some time together.' During Wilson and Strickland's secret meet-up, Armstrong's 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee was spotted driving outside the home of Wilson's friend, where the cyclist was staying at Wilson and Strickland went for a swim at a local swimming pool and then stopped by the Pool Burger (pictured) restaurant for dinner Armstrong's car was spotted again that night after Strickland dropped off Wilson Armstrong is believed to have tracked Wilson through her Strava account. Although now deleted, the fitness tracking app was recording Wilson up to the day of her murder A neighbor said she saw Armstrong's Jeep Grand Cherokee pull up to the residence (pictured) the night that Wilson was killed A man who was staying at the Camp Haven (pictured) compound in Livingston Manor, New York, said Armstrong's sister Christine had been staying there and he had seen Armstrong there earlier 'That was clearly expressed to Kaitlin at that time, and Kaitlin dated other men directly after that.' He added: 'We were clearly going our separate ways but we just didn't get enough inertia to separate.' The professional cyclist also argued that he was in 'minimal communication' with Wilson after their romance ended last year, alleging the affidavit implied something deeper. 'Mo and I communicated about twice a month (after that) and I think it was skewed in a very misleading way in the affidavit,' Strickland said. He also told the newspaper he got back with his ex because 'Kaitlin and I were involved in several businesses together.' Additionally, Strickland denied having any intimate interactions with Wilson the day of her death, reiterating that the nature of their relationship was platonic at that point. 'If it wasn't, there would have been intent to do otherwise, which did not transpire,' he stated. Strickland, who has allegedly been in 'shell-shocked grieving mode' since Wilson's killing, also told The Sun there was no indication that 'anything was off' with Armstrong. 'I would say she is one of the least volatile people I have ever met and that's why it's so absolutely shocking,' he explained. 'She had sides to her personality that I don't think she shared with anybody. 'I had no indication of anything like that.' The cyclist revealed that he is still mourning Wilson's killing, but would not confirm if he has been in contact with her loved ones. He did, however, note that Armstrong and Wilson had a face-to-face interaction with each other at a cycling event in Arkansas in January. After the event, Wilson allegedly texted Strickland: 'This weekend was strange for me and I just want to know what's going on. 'If you just want to be friends (seems to be the case) then that's cool, but I'd like to talk about it cause honestly my mind has been going in circles and I don't know what to think.' Santa Teresa: Remote village where fugitive yoga teacher was finally caught Santa Teresa is a remote village on the Nicoya peninsula of Costa Rica, 93 miles from the capital city of San Jose. The population is around 3,099 inhabitants with another 500 throughout the the year due to tourism. Armstrong was found in Santa Teresa Beach, a remote Costa Rican town that has become popular for tourists in recent years Previously a quaint fishing community, the town has been transforming into a tourism hotspot, boasting beautiful beaches, yoga retreats, spas and surfing. There are currently 44 hotels, 59 tourist rental houses and 49 restaurants in the area. The town holds both luxury resorts and affordable hostels with prices ranging from $50 to $550 a night, making it attractive to both backpackers and celebrities alike. Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen are often spotted in the area, and have been going to Costa Rica together since 2007 There is also a bustling nightlife due to the bars and restaurants that line the beaches. The getaway was popularized in part by Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen, who are frequently spotted in the area with their kids. Bundchen has said they have been visiting since 2007. Advertisement Friends of Strickland, 35, have since told DailyMail.com he fears becoming Armstrong's second victim and has 'got out of Dodge completely' until she is caught. Close friend David, 42, of Lockhart, Texas, said: 'None of us can sleep. He's staying out of sight until she's caught. I do know where he is but I'm not mentioning where for his safety. 'He's not in Texas he's got completely out of Dodge.' Strickland has not confirmed those allegations himself. Santa Teresa Beach, where Armstrong was found, is a remote town located on Costa Rica's northern Nicoya peninsula. The town is located over five hours from San Jose, the city that Armstrong flew into. 'This is an example of combining the resources of local, state, federal and international authorities to apprehend a violent fugitive, bring an end to that run and hopefully a sense of closure to the victim's family,' read the statement from the US Marshals. The area is home to many hostels and hotels that have comparatively low prices to other remote vacation spots, with some as low as $50 a night. The town is known for beautiful beaches and surfing, and has recently seen an uptick in tourists and expats since celebrities including Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen vacation there. The couple are frequently spotted around Santa Teresa, most recently in February, and Bundchen told Vogue in 2010 that they have been going there together since 2007. Advertisement The crisis in the airline industry will continue over the July 4 holiday as thousands face delays and cancelations amid a staff shortage and picketing pilots. On Thursday alone, 5,827 flights within, in or out of the United States have been delayed, while another 639 were canceled. This comes ahead of a holiday weekend, which is expected to see 3.55 million Americans fly according to AAA, with Friday expected to be the peak day for air travel. Not only are airports likely to be jammed, the roads will be back to normal despite sustained high gas prices, with a record 42 million motorist predicted to travel at least 50 miles by road this weekend. In total, AAA projects that 47.9 million Americans will travel for the Fourth this year, up 3.7 percent from last year and close to the historic peak reached in 2019, before the pandemic struck. 'The volume of travelers we expect to see over Independence Day is a definite sign that summer travel is kicking into high gear,' said Paula Twidale, senior vice president, AAA Travel. In addition to airport chaos and heavy traffic, holiday travelers will have to contend with higher prices. Average gas prices have soared 56 percent from a year ago, mid-range hotel prices have increased 23 percent, and average lowest airfares are up 14 percent. For air travelers, Newark Liberty International Airport remains the most prolific in terms of cancelations with 49 on Thursday, while Denver International has the most delays at 349. American Airlines canceled 8 percent of its flights on Tuesday and Wednesday, and United Airlines scrubbed 4 percent of its schedule both days, according to FlightAware. John F Kennedy International Airport: Frustrated travelers can be seen in long queues as they try to check in at Terminal 4 General view or travelers in JFK Terminal 4 in New York. KLM airlines is seen with long lines as people wait to check in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Aiport: Passengers wait in line for security Passengers at the Delta terminal at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Travellers line up at the American Airlines counters in Logan Airport at the start of the long July 4th holiday weekend in Boston, Massachusetts Newark Liberty International Airport remains the most prolific in terms of cancelations with 49, while Denver International has the most delays at 349 Travelers at John F. Kennedy Airport are forced to sit down and bear long delays while trying to get out for the holiday Drivers sit in slow moving traffic leaving Boston at the start of the long Fourth of July holiday weekend Travelers are already facing a difficult summer as airlines expect record demand while they rebuild staff to make up for the thousands of workers who left the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Delta Air Lines took the unusual step this week of warning travelers that there could be problems over the holiday weekend. Fourth Of July travel by the numbers Here's how the travel projections for this holiday weekend stack up against last year, according to AAA: 2021 (actual) Average gas price: $3.12 Drivers: 41.8M Air travelers: 3.5M Other (bus, train): 900K Total travelers: 46.2M Airfare: $176 Hotel: $198 Car rental: $166 2022 (forecast) Average gas price: $4.86 Drivers: 42M Air travelers: 3.55M Other (bus, train): 2.42M Total travelers: 47.9M Airfare: $201 Hotel: $244 Car rental: $110 Advertisement Delta had by far the most canceled flights of any U.S. airline over the Memorial Day holiday stretch, when U.S. carriers scrubbed nearly 2,800 flights, and again last weekend, when it canceled seven percent of flights. American Airlines alone has delayed over 700 flights, but one pilot says that 88 percent are due to staff shortages and the delays are actually meant to spin the truth. Delta Airlines pilots planned to start picketing on Thursday at several major airports including LAX, JFK and Atlanta, which are some of the most affected in terms of cancellations and delays. Dennis Tajer, active American Airlines pilot and the Communications Committee chairman for the Allied Pilots Association, claims AA is delaying flights 24 hours instead of canceling to make the cancelation numbers appear lower. He noted that any flight delayed by 24 hours is essentially a stand-in for a canceled flight. 'American Airlines is claiming that they have the pilots to fly the summer schedule. They've said that they have a training backlog, but we're good,' Tajer said. 'We don't believe them. Based on our numbers, they do not have the pilots and staffing to get this done. We're warned them for months and month. This is a broken record, the needle is skipping on the same groove of the vinyl.' Over 750,000 passengers have had their flights impacted in the month of June on American Airlines alone, with 75,000 just in the past two days. 'The house is on fire. We have buckets of water and they've told us not to move,' said Tajer, who claims that solutions exist to better utilize pilots and let them work overtime, but American refuses. 'What's even worse we have solutions to better utilize us. We've told them for the last two summers, but they're not interested.' American Airlines didn't respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment. 2022 Delta Pilots hold a organized protest at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City Pilots have a long and arduous process toward any strike action so many are protesting and walking picket lines on days off At least one canceled flight is seen on Thursday at Boston Logan International Airport In the week leading up to the Fourth, the number of air travelers has almost returned to 2019 levels, TSA data show In addition, the Biden administration is blaming the airlines, saying it received billions in stimulus money to keep afloat during the pandemic and should stick to the schedule it publishes. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said earlier this month that airlines had until July 4 to figure out the issues and work out the kinks so travelers can have a smooth summer holiday. Buttigieg pushed back earlier this week when the head of the trade group Airlines for America blamed the FAA for delays. 'The majority of cancellations and the majority of delays have nothing to do with air traffic control staffing,' Buttigieg told 'NBC Nightly News.' Sen. Bernie Sanders demanded Washington fine airlines $55,000 per passenger for every flight cancellation they know can't be fully staffed. 'The American people are sick of airlines ripping them off, canceling flights at the last minute and delaying flights for hours on end,' he said. Sens. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked 10 airline CEOs this week to 'take immediate action' to reduce travel disruptions. The senators demanded information about how each airline decides which flights to cancel and the number of consumer refunds requested and granted. Sen. Bernie Sanders (left) demanded Washington fine airlines $55,000 per passenger for every flight cancelation they know can't be fully staffed while Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (right) said airlines have until July 4 to figure out the issues and work out the kinks so travelers can have a smooth summer holiday. United Airlines will cut about 50 flights a day out of Newark in an attempt to reduce long delays that the airline blames on airport construction and other issues. The cuts - about 12 percent of United flights in Newark - will start July 1 and last the rest of the summer. United is the main airline of Newark Liberty International Airport, which is just across the Hudson River from New York City, and gets heavy use from people living in and around the city. Only domestic flights will be reduced, a United spokeswoman said Thursday, adding that United will not drop any destinations from Newark. The airline got a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration to reduce flights, she said. Two weeks ago, Buttigieg called the chief executives of major U.S. airlines to a virtual meeting to discuss thousands of recent flight cancellations and delays over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. He urged airlines to ensure they can reliably operate planned summer schedules. Delays and cancelations cost airlines a hefty sum, with delays costing airlines around $74 a minute, or $4,500 an hour. Defying tarmac delay rules means airlines are charged $27,500 per passenger, meaning one plane with 200 passengers could cost a $5.5 million fine. For passengers, delays can cost about $47 of their time. In 2018, before the pandemic, delays and cancellations cost passengers almost $28 billion. Airlines are not required by law to compensate passengers for a cancellation or delay. Passengers have taken to social media to complain about how the delays and cancellations affected them, with many claiming they are 'nervous to fly.' A record 42 million people around the United States are expected to hit the road for trips over the Fourth of July holiday weekend despite average gas price surging close to $5 per gallon. The average U.S. retail price of gasoline recently broke through $5 per gallon for the first time in history. It has gone down slightly and averaged $4.86 on Wednesday. While the $5 price is not record from an inflation-adjusted basis, it still represents an increase of nearly $2 per gallon from a year earlier. Despite the higher cost, gasoline demand is only 1 percent below the average for this time of year in the United States, and a record number of people are expected to travel by car for the holiday weekend. The 42 million figure, should it pan out, would surpass 2019's peak, when 41.5 million people traveled by vehicle on Independence Day, according to the American Automobile Association. Including air travel, 47.9 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home during the holiday period, just 2 percent less than 2019's 49 million, but surpassing 2021's levels, the travel membership organization said. Researchers argued in a 2021 report that congestion has been building in the US month-by-month since the pandemic (Pictured: Philadelphia rush hour traffic in April 2019) A graph shows a steep drop in traffic during the pandemic and the steady increase in 2021 'The volume of travelers we expect to see over Independence Day is a definite sign that summer travel is kicking into high gear,' said Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel. 'Earlier this year, we started seeing the demand for travel increase and its not tapering off.' Through April 2022, 1.017 trillion vehicle miles were reported, a rate that trails only 2019 and 2018 in terms of pace, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. A man in Washington was arrested on Tuesday for vandalizing a Catholic church in Washington state and spraying graffiti all over its walls, less than a week after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Maeve Jacqueline Nota, 31, was recorded smashing one of two doors with a rock in front of a pastoral office at St. Louise Catholic Church in Bellevue before throwing and kicking broken glass into the building, according to surveillance footage. A woman was praying inside when the vandalism started. She tried to talk to Nota but, scared, ended up locking herself inside the building while he graffitied the wall outside the church. Nota was then seen in the surveillance video picking up his backpack and leaving the area after being chased off by a church employee, who had been hit by a rock thrown by the suspect. The employee was also spray-painted in the face. In the aftermath of the incident, one of the church's entrances was destroyed, while a door in the parish's schooling area was also smashed. Several spots within the church grounds were also graffitied with anti-Catholic rhetoric. 'Religion of hate,' 'go to your fake hell,' 'groomers,' 'rapists,' 'woman haters,' and a spray-painted message calling Catholics 'liars' were pictured on social media. Maeve Jacqueline Nota, 31, was recorded smashing a window at one of the entrances to St. Louise Catholic Church in Bellevue, Wash., with a rock before graffitiing its walls on Tuesday 'Religion of hate,' and 'woman haters,' were several tags spray-painted on the church's wall by Nota. Pictures were shared on social media by Bellevue Police and local outlets, including one of an entrance permanently damaged (pictured) Relics, including a gift from the 2020 alumni class of the Virgin Mary, also known as 'The Undoer of Knots,' were also damaged, according to the church's Father Gary Zender. 'When I try to look at the person and their wounds that helps me to step back and say 'I have some wounds too,' he told Fox 13 Seattle. 'So, there's a human connection there, as well as a spiritual one.' Fr. Zender added he was more concerned about the condition of the employee who was attacked rather than the extent of damage done to the building. He refused to tie the incident with the recent Roe v. Wade overruling that has sparked pro-life activists into a fury. The pastor mentioned that another church, Saint Anthony's Church in Renton, about 13 miles south of his parish, was also vandalized with the words: 'Abortions save lives.' It remains unclear if both incidents are associated with one another. Nota also spray-painted on a gift of the Virgin Mary (pictured) from a graduating class to the church The suspect vandalized an estimated $100,000 at the Catholic church One of the church's entrances was severely damaged while another door (pictured) was smashed Bellevue Police Captain Darryl McKinney said Nota's actions would be classified under a hate crime statute and that he damaged $100,000 of property. 'Obviously, there's a lot going on in the world,' McKinney told Fox 13 Seattle. 'People are worked up about things. They're upset or at least some people are I think there are some emotions stirred up and we're seeing people act how they normally wouldn't.' The suspect is also facing more charges for assaulting the St Louise's Catholic Church employee. He was initially taken to Overlake Hospital before being brought to jail. Prior to turning himself in, Nota used a backpack filled with spray paint cans to damage a police patrol car. St Louise's Catholic Church in Bellevue, Washington Bellevue Police also reported that the suspect appeared intoxicated and was injured at the time of his arrest, most likely from touching broken glass and smashing one of the doors. 'People want the church to be a safe place, that's what we try to consistently do,' Zender said. 'It doesn't feel safe for some folks right now. We just need to keep looking to Jesus and try to offer the ministry of healing the best way we can.' Police added that Nato could possibly face a felony charge for assault. His pre-trial conditions were made official on Thursday, although Nota remains behind bars. There was confusion over Nota's gender in court, as it prosecutors believe that he is transgender. British and Canadian authorities have given seven soldiers a full military burial more than a century after they were killed in the First World War. The six Commonwealth soldiers and a German soldier who all died in Belgium between 1914 and 1918 were buried early on Thursday. Their remains were discovered during a gas pipeline construction near Ypres. The soldiers were found in two separate burial sites near the Belgian town at the heart of Flanders Fields, where hundreds of thousands perished between 1914 to 1918. The ceremony took place on Thursday at the New Irish Farm Commonwealth War Grave near Ypres. In total, 63 sets of First World War soldiers' remains were uncovered by archaeologists during the work between 2014 and 2016. British and Canadian authorities have given seven soldiers a full military burial killed more than a century after they were killed in the First World War British soldiers are shown laying to rest their fellow servicemen who laid down his life over a hundred years ago in the battle of Ypres during the First World War Canadian soldiers are shown carrying the casket of Private John Lambert of the Newfoundland Regiment. Lambert, identified through DNA, died on August 16, 1917 The two soldiers were discovered during a gas pipeline construction near Ypres, Belgium in two separate burial sites at the heart of Flanders Fields 'We remember, we reconnect with Private John Lambert. He was a mechanic making 40 cents a day... signed up to make one dollar a day and immediately gave 60 cents a day to his sister,' said Reverend Gary Watt, referring to one of the soldiers, Canadian Private John Lambert of the Newfoundland Regiment. Mr Lambert was identified through DNA. He died on August 16 1917. 'He exaggerated his age in order to answer more willingly and more readily the call to serve freedom and democracy,' Mr Watt continued. 'Private John Lambert had common sense of the common good. He knew that complacency would not stop the robbing of freedom.' The second set contained the remains of three casualties: an unknown Royal Fusilier, an unknown soldier of unknown regiment and an unknown German soldier. 'Unfortunately, it has not been possible to establish their date of death,' said the UK's Ministry of Defence. The British soldiers and the German casualty have not been identified, although it has been established that the remains recovered are from the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the Royal Hampshire Regiment. 'Sadly, both the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the Royal Hampshire Regiment have too many casualties killed on 16 August 1917 for the JCCC to be able to attempt identification,' said the Ministry of Defence. The modern-day equivalent of the British regiments - the First Fusiliers, the Royal Irish Regiment, Princess of Waless Royal Regiment - put the long-unburied soldiers to rest. 'The soldiers taking part in todays service can see they walk in the footsteps of the giants who went before them,' said Louise Dorr, Minister of Defence caseworker. The German soldier's remains were also buried side-by-side the British soldier. High-ranking officers salute the fallen heroes, whose sacrifice for their country is remembered and honoured even after a century A priest is shown reading a eulogy for the fallen soldiers. The ceremony took place on Thursday at the New Irish Farm Commonwealth War Grave near Ypres Five of the remains were from unknown British soldiers, and one unknown German soldier was also reburied. Archaeologists have discovered artefacts that link the unknown soldiers to Britain and Germany. The evolution of DNA technology has allowed for the identification of more and more unknown soldiers from the First World War. Earlier this month, a great-great-nephew of English poet William Wordsworth - who was recently identified by DNA research - was given a funeral ceremony in France, 105 years after he died. The British soldier lies side by side a Germans soldiers headstone. Five of the remains were from unknown British soldiers, and one unknown German soldier was also reburied Sir Tony Blair today admitted Brexit was not going to be reversed 'any time soon' as he hosted an 'ideas conference' - dubbed 'Blairfest' - in central London. The former Labour prime minister - a fierce opponent of the UK's departure from the EU and among those who pushed for a second referendum - acknowledged the debate had now been settled. 'It is not going to be reversed any time soon, lets say, any time in this generation,' he told the conference, to which leading Remain figures had been invited. But Sir Tony cited Brexit as one of the current challenges facing the UK, adding: 'You still have got to fix the problems. This stuff in Northern Ireland is doing us damage. Sir Tony denied that his 'Future of Britain' conference was the precursor to setting up a new political vehicle for himself, despite frequent rumours that he could try and lead a new 'centrist' movement. He said: 'You've got two main political parties, I don't see that changing.' Delivering a keynote address at the conference this afternoon, the former premier praised Sir Keir Starmer's 'amazing' job in reforming Labour after taking over from Jeremy Corbyn. But, speaking to former BBC correspondent Jon Sopel, he warned that Sir Keir still needed to 'seal the deal' with British voters before he could win a general election. Sir Tony, 69, stepped up pressure on the Labour leader to set out his policy agenda and suggested Sir Keir adopt some of the 'progressive' ideas his guests had been debating today. He added that those who voted for the Liberal Democrats at the recent by-election in Tiverton and Honiton - which dealt a fresh blow to Boris Johnson's leadership - needed to feel comfortable with the prospect of a Labour government ahead of the next Westminster contest. But Sir Tony played down suggestions of a 'non-aggression pact' being struck between Labour and the Lib Dems ahead of the general election. With many predicting a some form of Labour-Lib Dem coalition if the next election results in a hung Parliament, he said: 'The party that is going to be the party dominating the government has got to be electable in its own right.' He admitted there was a 'big struggle' for centrist politics, but pointed to the victory of Joe Biden in the US as offering hope. 'Does that mean the fight is over? No. But it means it is not a hopeless fight,' Sir Tony added. Sir Tony Blair hosted a 'Future of Britain' conference in central London, with the former PM warning the UK is currently facing problems 'every bit as serious' as the post-War period Sir Tony insisted Labour had 'recovered its basic poise and clarity' under Sir Keir Starmer's leadership. But the ex-PM stepped up pressure on the Labour leader to set out his policies Other figures to have been invited to Sir Tony's 'ideas conference' include ex-Tory Cabinet ministers Rory Stewart and David Gauke The ex-premier had earlier warned that 'a new politics and new policies' were needed, saying the UK is currently facing problems 'every bit as serious' as the post-War period. Those invited to his conference included ex-Tory Cabinet ministers Rory Stewart - a former leadership candidate - and David Gauke, as well as Conservative peer Baroness Ruth Davidson and Labour MP Peter Kyle - a member of Sir Keir's shadow cabinet. Welcoming guests this morning, Mr Blair said: 'This is not a new party. But it is about a new politics and the new policies which we need to make sure that any agenda we have works and endures for the future. 'And the context is simple and stark. Britain faces challenges that are unprecedented in recent times. 'Some like the technology revolution, and achieving net zero we share with other nations. Some, like Brexit are unique to Britain. 'With a cost of living crisis, and the shadow of recession looming, we can't afford to continue as we are. 'We need to plan and prepare for a new world. And this is our way of starting this is not a new party.' Sir Tony suggested French President Emmanuel Macron had also been due to appear at the conference today, if he had not had to attend this week's Nato summit in Spain. The former Labour leader has previously been rumoured to have been planning the creation of a new political movement in Britain modelled on Mr Macron's 'En Marche!' group. Sir Tony claimed that, if Sir Keir's predecessor Jeremy Corbyn had remained as Labour leader - or a similar figure from Labour's left had replaced him - then 'British politics would have had to broken up in some way'. The ex-PM dismissed suggestions he was still planning to create a new UK political party, as he insisted Labour had 'recovered its basic poise and clarity' under Sir Keir's leadership. But Sir Tony did not back away from his recent criticism that Sir Keir was 'struggling to break through with the public', as called on Labour to set out its policy agenda. He also appeared to suggest Sir Keir should adopt those New Labour-style ideas that were due to be discussed at his conference. 'The Labour Party is getting better all the time,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'I think Keir has done an amazing job given what he inherited after the Corbyn years. 'But the Labour Party itself is saying, "we're going to set out a policy agenda later this year and into next". 'In a way this conference - the ideas we're putting forward are available for anybody - but the purpose in part, from my perspective, is to say to the Labour Party "look, if we're going to win the next election, it's got to be as a modern, forward-looking progressive party that's not concentrating on the old Leftist shibboleth, but is rather understanding the modern world and able to harness things like the technological revolution in the right way". 'And if Labour sets out its stall with those types of ideas, that is what can seal the deal with the British people.' Pressed about what more Sir Keir needed to do to become prime minister, Sir Tony added: 'Create the policy agenda that makes it absolutely clear what type of Labour Party we are. 'He is entirely capable of doing that. I have had several conversations with him, we speak regularly to members of the Labour Party shadow cabinet - there are really good people there. 'And the changes he's made so far, and the Labour Party, have been good. 'But we've got to be absolutely frank with ourselves, if we want to win, it's going to be on the basis that people are absolutely clear what Labour is and what it stands for.' Sir Tony denied his 'Future of Britain' conference was the precursor to setting up a new political vehicle for himself, despite rumours he could try and lead a 'centrist' movement Explaining why he had organised today's conference, Sir Tony insisted that Britain was 'in a very tight spot' and was 'at serious risk of being relegated both in economic and political terms'. 'Next year our growth is going to be the lowest of any of the G20 other than Russia, we've got real problems on productivity, we've got a cost-of-living crisis, a looming recession,' he added. 'The conference today will focus in part also on what I call the three revolutions we're living through with no plan. 'A technology revolution, a 21st century equivalent of the 19th century industrial revolution; you've got a net-zero ambition - absolutely right but hugely difficult to achieve; and we've done Brexit, which is a fact, we've done it, but we've got to fix the problems and the consequences of it. 'Quite apart from the geo-political upheavals with Ukraine, we're in a situation where short-term and long-term the country's got big problems. 'This is an attempt to bring people together from across the political spectrum and say, "how do we fix it and what is the plan for the country's future?".' 'The problem at the moment is our politics is just politics. 'When the situation, I would say, today is every bit as serious as it was in 60s, in the 70s, or even after the Second World War.' Essex Police have apologised to the family of a 12-year-old boy for failing to stop a paranoid schizophrenic driver from killing him following a series of failings by cops and mental health professionals, an inquest concluded. Terence Glover killed Harley Watson and injured nine other children and a 23-year-old when he ploughed his car into them outside Debden Park High School in Loughton, Essex on December 2, 2019. A report into the tragedy revealed police at one point blocked Glover's number after he bombarded them with calls, including threatening to mow down 'lots of children'. Glover had previously expressed paranoid beliefs that he was being persecuted and he told police in 999 calls that 'he might run some schoolchildren over'. He was arrested in September 2019 by police investigating offences of malicious communications, but following a Mental Health Act assessment - which lasted less than three minutes - he was not detained, an inquest heard. A jury concluded on Thursday, following a nine-day inquest in Chelmsford, that Harley was killed unlawfully. They recorded that the mental health assessment of Glover was 'inadequate and we determine that this inadequacy led to a failure in possibly detaining the perpetrator under the Mental Health Act'. Terence Glover killed Harley Watson (pictured) and injured nine other children and a 23-year-old when he ploughed his car into them outside Debden Park High School in Loughton, Essex on December 2, 2019 Pictured: Terence Glover was detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act at Snaresbrook Crown Court for the hit-and-run killing of schoolboy Harley Watson Among other factors listed as 'possibly the cause or more than minimal contributions to the death of Harley' were police failing to progress their investigation of Glover with 'speed and targeted precision'. They said the 'failure of information sharing between the involved services is inexcusable'. Deputy Chief Constable Andy Prophet said: 'On behalf of the force, I would like to offer my sincere apologies for the failings by Essex Police identified at the Inquest. 'As a father of two, I cannot imagine anything worse than the trauma Harley's family are going through, and the devastation and frustration they must feel. 'It goes without saying that we accept in full the findings of the inquest. 'We have not waited until today to amend the way information is shared between the medical experts in mental health and the police. We have delivered more training to our contact handlers and our colleagues who respond to the calls we receive for help. Among other factors listed as 'possibly the cause or more than minimal contributions to the death of Harley' (pictured) were police failing to progress their investigation of Glover with 'speed and targeted precision 'I'm confident we have learned from this and that the changes we've made will ensure our county is even safer. 'Today, my thoughts very much remain with Harley Watson's family and the other victims whose lives have been changed irreparably by what Terence Glover did.' The jurors found that Glover had driven into the crowd of children 'in the irrational belief that doing so would highlight his frustration at the police's response to his deluded claims of persecution by others'. Harley died in hospital of a severe head injury soon after he was struck. After carrying out his attack, Glover was found by police in his car in a pub car park several miles away. Glover admitted to the manslaughter by diminished responsibility of Harley at Snaresbrook Crown Court. He also admitted to the attempted murders of one adult and nine children, who were also injured in the attack. He was sentenced last year, while aged 52, to be detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act. A report into the tragedy revealed police at one point blocked Glover's number after he bombarded them with calls, including threatening to mow down 'lots of children'. Glover had previously expressed paranoid beliefs that he was being persecuted and he told police in 999 calls that 'he might run some schoolchildren over' Following the inquest, Harley's mother Jo Fricker said: 'We believe, and the evidence from several witnesses agreed, that had these significant and serious failings not occurred, Harley would still be alive today. 'We miss him terribly.' She went on: 'Glover's repeated and known threats to run over and harm children were not effectively acted upon by state agencies. 'He was allowed to be dangerous, untreated, and at liberty on the day he killed Harley. 'The evidence showed the police investigation into Glover's criminal acts, before he killed Harley, was totally inadequate - it was seriously flawed.' She said she was 'appalled by what has come to light during the inquest - the numerous and repeated failings to keep people safe'. Floral bouquets left near the entrance to Debden Park High School following the tragic incident in 2019 Police pictured outside a property in Essex following the tragic incident Ms Fricker said family will spend the next 24 hours 'planning a celebration for Harley's 15th birthday without him'. The MoS revealed earlier this year that a psychiatric team decided not to detain Glover just weeks before the December 2019 attack, even though police had warned that he was planning to run over children. Now a report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct reveals: Glover called Essex Police many hundreds of times, including on 117 occasions in the eight months before Harleys death; On at least 30 occasions, he made threatening comments, including eight calls in which he threatened to run over children; A worried parent warned police that Glover was driving suspiciously near the school and watching children as they went home after lessons. Despite that, the IOPC probe cleared Essex Police of any blame and makes no recommendations to change its policies or training. Essex Police appear to have acted reasonably in their dealings with him and, having responded in line with the powers available to them in response to his vague threats to kill, cannot be judged to have contributed to Harley Watsons death, it concluded. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made colleagues wince with her answers and baffled reporters in a choppy start to her tenure as White House press secretary, Politico's West Wing Playbook reported Wednesday night. The newsletter anonymously quoted White House reporters, while White House officials defended her sometimes uneven performance, since she took over the podium from Jen Psaki in May. Among the awkward exchanges highlighted was a back-and-forth with DailyMail.com over whether the president and first lady would be deemed close contacts to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland after she tested positive for COVID-19. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made colleagues wince with her answers and baffled reporters in a choppy start to her tenure as White House press secretary, Politico's West Wing Playbook reported Wednesday night The newsletter anonymously quoted White House reporters, while White House officials defended press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre's choppy start, since she took over the podium from Jen Psaki in May 'Well, I do not know when she last saw the President or the First Lady - Secretary Deb Haaland,' Jean-Pierre answered during a June 1 briefing, after it was already pointed out to her that they had been together on Memorial Day, two days before. 'Oh, were they? OK.' When told that there were pictures of them at the same Memoridal Day event Jean-Pierre responded, 'OK, great. Well, thank you for that reminder.' 'I know that - and we've said this multiple times: The president has a regular weekly cadence on testing that -that has been, you know, approved and talked with his doctor,' she then answered. While news of Haaland's positive test broke during the briefing, Jean-Pierre didn't volunteer that she didn't know about it until asked. 'No. This is - I'm just learning about this now,' she said. At least twice Jean-Pierre was unaware of remarks the president made. She 'did not hear that part of the speech' when asked about claims the president made at the Naval Academy's commencement that he was 'appointed' to the Annapolis academy the same year he was already finishing college. 'I need to read it myself, and just go back and see what you're talking about exactly. I can't speak to it right now,' Jean-Pierre told CBS News' Ed O'Keefe during a May 31 briefing, as he had been asked whether Biden could be confused about the timeline. During the June 1 briefing she admitted she hadn't listened to a question-and-answer session Biden had with reporters just minutes before. 'I was in my office. I did not actually hear what the president said. I do not like to speak on something without having a conversation with the president first,' Jean-Pierre said. She was unable to answer why Biden didn't know about the brewing baby formula shortage for two months. At the conclusion of an event on the baby formula crisis - which was held directly before the press briefing - Biden told reporters in the room that he was first informed of the baby formula shortage in 'early April.' Several CEOs who Zoomed into the White House event said they knew as early as February, when Abbott's formula was recalled, that there would be a problem. 'We knew from the very beginning this would be a very serious event,' said Robert Cleveland, an executive at Reckitt. 'We were aware of the general impact that this would have.' Why Biden wasn't informed sooner remains a mystery. 'Was someone called here at the White House to say this could be an issue that requires presidential involvement?' CBS' O'Keefe asked Jean-Pierre. 'So I don't have the timeline on that,' the press secretary answered. 'All I can tell you as a whole-of-government approach we have been working on this since the recall in February.' ABC's Mary Bruce later pressed Jean-Pierre saying that it sounded like even if the president had known sooner it wouldn't have improved the response. 'No, that's not what I'm saying,' Jean-Pierre. 'I'm saying that we have been working on this since we have found that we found out about the recall since day one.' 'That's what I'm laying out to all of you as a timeline,' she continued. 'As a whole-of-government response, we have taken this on since the first day we learned about the recall,' Jean-Pierre added. 'Was there a breakdown in the process here that somebody failed to inform him?' asked CNN's MJ Lee moments later. Jean-Pierre again said she hadn't talked to the president about the comments he made. 'I would have to talk to him about that April date,' she said - later saying she wasn't disputing the president's words. 'No, I'm not questioning the president at all,' she said. During another briefing several days later, when asked about a baby formula shortage update, Jean-Pierre looked at her briefing book before telling a reporter, 'I don't have anything new.' One reporter suggested to Politico that fewer journalists may attend Jean-Pierre briefings if she doesn't improve. 'At a certain point it wouldn't surprise me if people started voting with their feet,' the journalist said. Another criticized her for leaning too heavily on her briefing book. 'She is so focused on not making a mistake that she doesn't let herself speak freely,' a reporter told Politico. 'A lot of her responses end up becoming ... it appears that she's reading from a page.' White House officials were quick to clap back - saying no matter how Jean-Pierre handled the job journalists would complain. 'They would grumble regardless of who is at the podium and find ways of critiquing those individuals,' a senior official told Politico, declining to give his or her name. 'Singling her out like this is nonsensical. The alternative is the Trump model of outright lying and making things up on the spot - is that honestly critics' preference?' the official added. Deputy White House press secretary Andrew Bates said Jean-Pierre is 'proud of her briefings,' adding, 'which often run longer than the modern average and have included multiple Saturday gaggles.' Gaggles are when a group of reporters asks questions of the press secretary, usually on board Air Force One. 'She loves the back and forth with the White House press corps, and her door is always open for any feedback its members are interested in giving directly,' Bates said. Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema remain steadfast in their defense of the filibuster, their offices said, despite public pressure from all the way up to President Biden. Manchin's office told DailyMail.com that the West Virginia Democrat's position had not changed in light of the president's new comments, and Sinema's office referred DailyMail.com to a statement the Arizona Democrat made after the leaked Supreme Court decision: 'Protections in the Senate safeguarding against the erosion of women's access to health care have been used half-a-dozen times in the past ten years, and are more important now than ever.' In new comments during a press conference in Madrid on Thursday Biden said he would back an exception to the filibuster to pass federal abortion legislation and blasted the Supreme Court's 'outrageous' repealing of Roe v. Wade. Speaking to reporters at the end of a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, he condemned the ruling and its impact. 'America is better positioned to lead the world than we ever have been,' he said. 'But one thing that has been destabilizing is the outrageous behavior of the Supreme Court of United States in overruling not only Roe v. Wade, but essentially challenging the right to privacy.' Biden also defended his qualifications to be the 'messenger' on abortion rights even as allies and critics on the left condemned him for not acting sooner. Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema remain steadfast in their defense of the filibuster, their offices said, despite public pressure from all the way up to President Biden And he said he would support a carve-out so that Democrats in Congress could pass laws to protect abortion rights, even without 60 votes in the Senate. 'The first and foremost thing we should do, is make it clear how outrageous this decision was and how much it impacts - not just on a woman's right to choose, which is a critical, critical piece - but on privacy generally,' Biden said. 'And so I'm going to be talking to the governors as to what actions they think I should be taking as well.' He added that the 'most important thing' was his belief that the protections granted in Roe v. Wade should be codified into law. 'The way to do that is to make sure that Congress votes to do that,' the president said. 'And if the filibuster gets in the way, it's like voting rights, it should be we provide an exception for this.' He added that Congress should not only codify abortion rights but also the 'right to privacy,' which he said the Supreme Court 'wiped out' in its decision with Roe. He said codifying privacy rights would protect a 'whole range of issues,' including same-sex marriage. President Joe Biden gave a brief press conference on the last day of the NATO summit in Madrid on Thursday But the plan may go nowhere. It would need a unanimous vote by Democratic senators to go into effect - and two Democrats are known to be opposed. Biden previously supported the idea of a carve-out in order to pass legislation to protect voting rights - a bill that ultimately failed to make it into law, derailed by conservative Democrat Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema's opposition. Their offices both let it be known that they remained opposed to any exception to the filibuster rule. The 60-vote threshold required to overcome a filibuster delay in the Senate has all but ensured that the president's agenda grinds to a halt in the upper chamber. With a 50-50 split and Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaking vote, Democrats have an uphill battle to get 10 Republicans on board to pass a bill. During the press conference Biden, who is public about his Catholic faith, was also asked to square his current status leading the government response to Roe with his past public comments against abortion. NBC journalist Kelly O'Donnell asked: 'Are you the best messenger to carry this forward?' 'Yeah, I am. I'm the president of the United States of America. That makes me the best messenger,' Biden shot back. Abortion rights activists march outside the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on June 29 'And I really think that it's a serious, serious problem that the Court has thrust upon the United States - not just in terms of the right to choose, but in terms of the right to who you can marry, the right - a whole range of issues related to privacy.' Continuing to discuss the Supreme Court's impact on the right to privacy, Biden said: 'They just wiped it all out.' He also hinted at executive action to come on abortion rights. 'And so, I'm the only president they got, and I feel extremely strongly that I'm going to do everything in my power, which I legally can do in terms of executive orders, as well as push the Congress and the public,' Biden pledged. 'The bottom line here is: If you care, if the polling data is correct, and you think this decision by the court was an outrage or a significant mistake, vote. Show up and vote.' The president took off on a six-day trip to Europe a day after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. Women's rights campaigners warn that it will undermine U.S. work around the world on reproduction health and rights. On Sunday, after spending the day with G7 leaders in the Bavarian Alps, Biden insisted no one had raised the subject. 'Not related to Ukraine or any of the issues we discussed,' he said. Biden's full-throated support for rolling back the filibuster has been echoed by progressive lawmakers and even House Democratic leadership. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on the Senate to scuttle the filibuster to pass abortion rights on Monday in a statement promising to take legislative steps that would protect the right to privacy. But Harris, Biden's own vice president, expressed skepticism of the idea when asked by CNN on Monday evening. 'Right now, given the current composition of the Senate, the votes aren't there,' Harris told host Dana Bash when asked about the possibility. 'I understand why you're asking that question,' she continued when the journalist pressed again. 'But the reality of it is, we don't even get to really answer that in terms of whether it happens or not, if we don't have the numbers in the Senate.' 'And again, that's why I keep coming back to the importance of an election that is only 130-odd days away.' In what could be a blow to Biden's credibility in the abortion fight, the Louisville Courier-Journal report on Wednesday evening that he's looking at appointing Kentucky's Republican former solicitor general Chad Meredith to a federal judgeship. Meredith had represented the state's then-Governor Matt Bevin in a case against Kentucky's only operating abortion clinic at the time in 2019, and in 2021 he successfully fought to implement a ruling that forces doctors performing abortions to first perform ultrasounds on their patient and describe the fetus in detail. Democrat Rep. John Yarmuth told the outlet that he believed it was part of a deal with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell to get more of Biden's nominees confirmed. Advertisement The brutal horror of the Battle of the Somme is unveiled in colourised photos released ahead of the 106th anniversary of World War One, with July 1st marking the start of the battle. The battle was one of the most bloody of World War One which saw such figures as JRR Tolkien, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, Otto Frank - the father of Anne Frank - and Adolf Hitler fight in the battle. Over three million men fought in the battle which saw over a million killed or injured, scarring the earth in one of the deadliest battles in human history. On the first day of the Somme, the German 2nd Army suffered a severe defeat. It was the first World War One battle to see tanks brought to the battlefield. Despite a decisive victory, 57,470 casualties were confirmed by the British, including 19,240 deaths - marking the largest loss of life suffered by the British Army in one day. Hitler would ultimately receive a leg wound, while Tolkien developed trench fever and had to be taken to a military hospital. By the end of the battle, the British and French had gained 10 kilometres of German-occupied territory, the largest gain since the First Battle of the Marne in 1914, revealing the slow and excruciatingly slow pace of the bloody war. Troops are pictured moving through a muddy forest. The brutal horror of the Battle of the Somme is unveiled in colourised photos released ahead of the 106th anniversary of World War One, with July 1st marking the start of the battle Troops awaiting an attack order during the Battle of the Somme. Advancing British troops found that the German defences had not been destroyed as expected and many units suffered very high casualties with little progress The Western front of the battle in colour. By the end of the first day on 1 July 1916, British forces had suffered 57,470 casualties, including 19,240 deaths, the largest loss of life suffered by the British Army in a single day Canadians troops making an attack. Over three million men fought in the battle which saw over a million killed or injured, scarring the earth in one of the deadliest battles in human history A colourised photo of a Canadian Battalion going over the top. The battle was one of the most bloody of World War One which saw such figures as JRR Tolkien, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, Otto Frank - the father of Anne Frank - and Adolf Hitler fight in the battle The first day of the tanks going into action. The battle became known for the importance of air power and the first use of tanks, the new technology appearing in September 1916 The mud rises to the knees of the horses. Operations on the River Ancre continued with some gains on the British side, but in deteriorating weather conditions major operations. Britain fired 1.5million shells, but estimates suggest as many as 30 per cent were defective. Unknown to the British, a mine exploded only ten minutes before the planned assault, unwittingly signaling the Germans that an attack was coming Colourised photo of British troops between La Boisselle and Contalmaison. Britain had wanted to attack in Belgium, but the French said the battle must be fought in northern France at a point where the two armies met, upon the River Somme A French machine gunner posing with his equipment in full uniform, shown on August 10th, over a month into the battle. After failing in 1914-15 to break the muddy stalemate of trench warfare, the Allies developed the Big Push - a plan to align the Western Front push with attacks by Russia and Italy A colourised photo of German prisoners being brought to headquarters. The Germans attacked the French at Verdun, which led Britain to launch the attack on the Somme earlier than planned in order to help their ally One image shows men from the Royal Irish Rifles in their support trenches. The Some offensive ultimately included 12 separate battles, many of which became slogging matches that lasted for weeks Soldiers are shown tending to their wounded. Although the French made good progress in the south and there were some local successes, in most places the attack was a bloody failure On the front lines of the Somme, a lone soldier holds out around dead and wounded comrades. General Sir Douglas Haig commanded the British forces. He was under pressure to attack and disagreed with his senior commander Colourised photo of men from the 20th British Division and the 22nd French Division. Haigs plan was for the British Fourth Army to break through in the centre, while the Third Army in the north and the French Sixth Army to the south made diversionary attacks A 400mm gun being prepared for action. In most cases, British troops were unable to keep up with the barrage that was supposed to take them through to the German trenches, and they were slaughtered when the Germans returned fire Colourised photo of a dead British soldier. The offensive was the first to be fought by a largely citizen army made up of British civilian volunteers rather than professional soldiers. As a result, casualties were high Colourised photo of machine gunners wearing gas helmets. Over 150,000 British soldiers are buried on the Somme A colourised photo of a wounded British Soldier being carried by German prisoners. On 14 July, four British divisions made a dawn attack on Longueval Ridge, catching the Germans by surprise and ultiamtely capturing the ridge. A colourised photo of German prisoners being searched following their capture in July 1916. The Somme succeeded in relieving the pressure on the French at Verdun Colourised photo of a 145 naval gun. The tactics developed at the Somme led to the use of creeping barrages later in the war A colourised photo of soldiers from the Worcestershire Regiment. Hitler would ultimately receive a leg wound, while Tolkien developed trench fever and had to be taken to a military hospital China has urged NATO members to abandon their "Cold War mindset" after the intergovernmental military alliance labeled Beijing a threat to their interests and security. NATO's new 10-year strategic policy chastised China for its malicious cyber activities, strategic cooperation with Russia, efforts to dominate supply chains, and nuclear weapons growth. NATO: Russia Is the "Biggest Threat" Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian aimed at the international body on Wednesday, accusing member countries of recurrent excursions into the Asia-Pacific area. Zhao then went to the nations pushing sanctions on Russia and sending arms to Ukraine before accusing the United States of benefitting from the crisis. NATO's newly revealed strategic framework does not mince words in its assessment of China's activities, accusing it of "confrontation rhetoric" and disinformation campaigns aimed at members to undermine alliance security. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended the NATO meeting as part of an Asia-Pacific delegation, echoing the treaty's worries over China's response to the Russian incursion. Albanese earlier claimed Beijing "should be criticizing" Moscow's murderous actions in Ukraine, with the invasion now approaching its fifth month, according to Sky News. Meanwhile, the 30 NATO members labeled Russia as the greatest threat to their security on Wednesday, and for the first time recognized the challenge posed by China's emergence. It came as President Joe Biden said the US was moving more troops and hardware into Europe, including for the first time installing a permanent presence on NATO's eastern flank. Twelve years ago, NATO's strategic concept included no mention of China and referred to Russia as a strategic partner. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has given the North Atlantic Treaty Organization fresh purpose following failures in Afghanistan and splits during Donald Trump's presidency. Russia's attack on Ukraine has broken peace and significantly changed our security situation. Biden arrived at the NATO meeting in Madrid on Wednesday morning, promising to send two F-35 squadrons to the United Kingdom and two destroyers to Spain as he increases US forces in Europe to counter Russia's Vladimir Putin. It involves a permanent military deployment on NATO's eastern flank for the first time, which is sure to irritate Moscow. Biden's declaration came on the first day of a conference that began with Turkey abandoning its opposition to Finland and Sweden joining the alliance, Daily Mail reported. Read Also: North Korea Accuses Japan, South Korea, US of Moving Towards Creation of 'Asian NATO' Prior to Attendance at Summit US, NATO Issue Strong Rebuke to China's Threats Furthermore, the United States and its NATO allies issued a sharp rebuke on Wednesday to the People's Republic of China's malicious hybrid and cyber threats, warning that the no-limits collaboration between China and Russia is undermining a rules-based international order. According to NATO's 2022 Strategic Concept, cyberspace is disputed at all times, with malicious actors attempting to destroy the Atlantic alliance's essential infrastructure, harvest information, steal intellectual property, and obstruct military operations. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, US officials have questioned China's claim of neutrality, accusing Beijing of using its state-controlled information toolkit to propagate Russian false statements about the war. As the armed situation in Ukraine approaches its fifth month, Chinese authorities say they are making independent judgments based on historical context. China has a strategic alliance with Ukraine, and Beijing asserts that it respects Kyiv's territorial and sovereign integrity. However, China supports Russia's ostensible security concerns and has opposed Western sanctions on Moscow. Personal chemistry between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin has been on the show as Beijing routinely proclaims verbal support for Moscow. On Wednesday, a representative for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs cautioned NATO to keep out of the Asia-Pacific area, as per VOA News. Related Article: China Warns NATO Expansion May Stir Conflict During Summit with Asian Rivals @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Dr Mark McBride-Wright won the Rooke Award by the Royal Academy of Engineering A British engineer championing underrepresented views in his industry has won a prestigious award. Dr Mark McBride-Wright, who founded EqualEngineers to spearhead rapid cultural change in the engineering and technology sector while promoting diversity and inclusion, was honoured with the Rooke Award by the Royal Academy of Engineering. The award, previously won by astronaut Major Tim Peake, is presented to people who have brought engineering to life for the public. Mark will receive the medal at the Academy's awards dinner in London on July 12. Driven by a vision and understanding that better equality, diversity and inclusion programmes are essential to improve individual and organisational performance, Mark has worked to engage thousands of people through EqualEngineers through events, public speaking and training to ensure organisations across the engineering and technology sector are truly inclusive environments. He said: 'It's a massive honour to receive this award as it is so vital we engage people from all walks of life to consider a career in engineering. This sector is so important to society, helping us find solutions, drive innovation and improve quality of life. 'And I have the ambition to now take my work forward, evolve and elevate to a place that will help the engineering sector to improve exponentially for the generations to come.' Mark explained that he wants to establish a national engineering mentoring programme, whereby every engineering student has the opportunity to gain a mentor from industry. Already, his company EqualEngineers runs a Pathways Programme which involves the likes of McLaren Racing and Rolls-Royce. Through this pioneering diversity employment scheme, Mark helps to address inclusion issues among the sectors which are prominent and disproportionately affect engineering students from underrepresented groups. Dr McBride-Wright founded EqualEngineers to spearhead cultural change in the engineering and technology sector while promoting diversity and inclusion The purpose of this programme is to provide students with a variety of supportive elements - including mentors - to ensure greater employability outcomes after graduation, and to improve their sense of inclusion and belonging within the engineering and technology industry. Mark says he is now working to elevate this in the future, to ensure all students are able to have access to mentors - drastically improving future candidates for job roles in the sector. He added: 'The vision I have for a mentoring campaign would be a huge step in the right direction for engineering, construction and technology. 'Not only this, I want to create a national engineering careers website, similar to the NHS, with any route and any career type listed here. 'So, as you can see, this Rooke Award is only the beginning!' As a gay safety engineer, Mark is also the chair and co-founder of InterEngineering, a non-profit industry body that connects, informs, and empowers LGBTQ+ engineers and supporters. Set up in 2014, the organisation has grown to become the leading voice in amplifying the work of LGBTQ+ engineers and addressing inclusion within the engineering and construction sector. Now boasting a membership of 1,000 members, InterEngineering has allowed LGBTQ+ engineers to become increasingly recognised through presence at national Pride parades, producing open-source support materials on a range of topics (including Transitioning in the Workplace and Embedding Diversity in the Supply Chain). Professor Sarah Hainsworth OBE FREng, Chair of the Academy's Diversity & Inclusion Committee and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Bath, said: 'Mark has shared his personal story of being an openly gay engineer and has spoken at numerous high-profile events sharing the work he has done on providing a spotlight on sexual orientation and gender identity in the engineering sector. 'He has interwoven his experience as a technical safety engineer exploring linkages between psychological safety, physical safety and engineering culture.' Mark is the recipient of numerous accolades including being listed #2 in the 2015 Financial Times Future LGBT Leaders list and named 'Corporate Rising Star' at the 2016 British LGBT Awards. Russia is assembling new battalions with fearsome Chechen warriors to again attempt to launch a fresh assault on Ukraine, according to a notorious Kremlin mouthpiece. The bold claim was made by Russian-Chechen author and well-known propagandist German Sadulaev on his telegram channel, who stated that the four new heavily armed battalions will be formed to launch offensives against Ukraine. However, such claims of formidable new military units in the Russian army ring hollow against fresh reports that Vladimir Putin's forces are being 'hollowed out' by the scale of the losses they are suffering in the Donbas and overall. British military chiefs have assessed that the enormous expenditure of manpower and materiel by the Russian army in taking the city of Severodonetsk last week has yielded only 'tactical successes'. 'The Russian armed forces are increasingly hollowed out,' came the latest intelligence update from the Ministry of Defence on Tuesday. 'They currently accept a level of degraded combat effectiveness, which is probably unsustainable in the long term.' Russia is assembling new battalions with fearsome Chechen warriors to again attempt to launch a fresh assault on Ukraine, according to Russian-Chechen author and well-known propagandist German Sadulaev. Pictured: Servicemen take part in a review of the Chechen Republic's troops and military hardware at the residence of Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic on Feb 25 Chechen unit, 'Kadyrovtsy' in Mariupol,pose for a group photo before a destroyed building. The speaker: 'an order to destroy and purge Mariupol is fulfilled. The order of president Putin is fulfilled, the order of Kadyrov is fulfilled' British military chiefs have assessed that the enormous expenditure of manpower and materiel by the Russian army in taking the city of Severodonetsk last week has yielded only 'tactical successes' Generous estimates by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine put the number of Russian tanks destroyed so far at 1,573, 3,726 armoured personnel carriers, almost a thousand artillery pieces and MLRS (multiple launch rocket systems) and 35,600 soldiers killed Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic, announced the formation of four new battalions staffed by young Chechens ready for a renewed assault on Ukraine Generous estimates by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine put the number of Russian tanks destroyed so far at 1,573, 3,726 armoured personnel carriers, almost a thousand artillery pieces and MLRS (multiple launch rocket systems) and 35,600 soldiers killed. It took the combined efforts of the core elements of six different armies to achieve the 'tactical success' of capturing Severodonetsk - a price, the MoD implies, that was not worth paying. But such sober assessments of Russian military capabilities are no obstacle for Kremlin propaganda outfits to optimistically dream up new formations with which to turn the tide against their stubborn Ukrainian foes. German Sadulaev, who made the claims about four new Chechen battalions in his Telegram channel, is a Russian-Chechen author and nationalist 'According to the staff of the [Russian] Ministry of Defence, the battalion is armed with tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armoured personnel carriers, artillery, mortars,' Sadulaev wrote of the new Chechen units. 'There will be everything you need for an active offensive in the first line.' Sadulaev claims that this new 'Akhamt' regiment - which will belong to the Russian Ministry of Defence rather than the more lightly-armed Russian Guard - is being formed in Chechnya as announced personally by Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov. Previous Chechen regiments only brought light arms to the battlefield and were thus tasked with cleaning up occupied territories. 'They could not go in the first line of attack, their task was to clean up the already liberated territories of Ukraine,' The Russian propagandist wrote. 'And if they were used for the assault, then it was ''not very good.'' 'Given the high degree of motivation and psychological readiness of the Chechens for war, it is clear that these battalions will become a powerful assault weapon on the Ukrainian fronts,' Sadulaev said. Having narrowed their battlefront from thousands of miles across its whole eastern frontier with Ukraine, Russian forces are now concentrating their combined Army Southern Group of Forces around the towns of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk. The battle for Severodonetsk, a strategically-located town of 100,000 in the Luhansk region, raged for three to four weeks before Ukrainian troops finally gave it up the Russians after non-stop heavy artillery bombardments reduced it to rubble. Moscow is now setting its sights on Severodonetsk's twin city Lysychansk, just across the Donets River. The frequency of shelling on Lysychansk is 'enormous', the regional governor of Lugansk said on Wednesday. Ukrainian forces around Severodonetsk retreated from the city as remaining in positions that have been relentlessly shelled 'doesn't make sense' Ukrainian troop ride a tank on a road of the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas on June 21, 2022, as Ukraine says Russian shelling has caused 'catastrophic destruction' in the eastern industrial city of Lysychansk Severodonetsk, which has been 'reduced to rubble' by concentrated heavy artillery shelling by the Russian army, is now in enemy hands Lysychansk 'is constantly being shelled with large calibres. The fighting is continuing at the outskirts of the city. The Russian army is trying to attack constantly,' Sergiy Gaiday told Ukrainian television, later posting the video on his Telegram channel. 'Now there is a peak of fighting. The frequency of shelling is enormous,' he said, adding that there were still about 15,000 civilians remaining in the city. However, their evacuation 'might be dangerous at the moment', he said. The Russians 'brought in big numbers of vehicles, enormous number of people. Shelling and attacks do not stop,' Gaiday said. After several weeks of fighting, during which dozens of civilians were killed, Moscow has already taken control of the neighbouring city of Severodonetsk, and is now setting its sights on Lysychansk. It is the last major city the Russians need to take over in the Luhansk region, one of two provinces in the large Donbas region that Moscow wants to control completely. 'Ukrainian forces are continuing to hold their positions around Lysychansk, where fighting is concentrated around the Lysychansk oil refinery, 10km south-west of the city centre,' the MoD wrote today. They said that Russian forces are making only 'limited progress' as they attempt to encircle the Ukrainian defenders from the north via Izium. 'It is highly likely that Ukrainian forces' ability to continue fighting delaying battles, and then withdraw troops in good order before they are encircled, will continue to be a key factor in the outcome of the campaign.' The U.S. Justice Department has launched an investigation into the New York Police Department's treatment of sex crime victims after receiving reports of deficiencies for more than a decade. Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and two U.S. attorneys in New York said they will thoroughly review the department's Special Victims Division to gauge whether it engages in a pattern of gender-biased policing. 'Survivors of sexual assault should expect effective, trauma-informed and victim-centered investigations by police departments,' Clarke said. 'Based on information provided to the Justice Department, we find significant justification to investigate whether the NYPDs Special Victims Division engages in a pattern or practice of gender-biased policing.' The investigation comes after years of reports of deficient practices by the NYPD in its sex crimes probe and a 2019 lawsuit in which two women claimed that the NYPD's Special Victims Division had mistreated them. Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department Civil Rights Division, will lead a probe into the New York Police Department's Special Victims Unit Victims of sex crimes have criticized the unit for more than a decade, claiming police ignored their claims or said cases were 'too complex' to handle. Pictured, the units new headquarters following a lawsuit from two women in 2019 One woman alleged detectives shrugged off her report of being raped by someone shed been involved with, logging it as a 'dispute' instead of a sex crime. Another woman said her account of being kidnapped and gang-raped was grossly mishandled by a sex-crimes detective for months before she was told the case was 'too complex' to investigate. After the lawsuit and a leadership shakeup, the NYPD pledged to change its ways. But victims say the promised reforms haven't arrived. Nineteen victims then wrote to the DOJ to get involved 'Because we wanted to protect others from the kinds of harm we suffered, as well as to seek justice for ourselves, we reported our assaults to the NYPD,' they wrote. 'We expected that the well-funded, technologically sophisticated police agency of the nation's largest city would respond to our assaults with professionalism and with thorough, skillful, truth-seeking investigations.' Justice Department officials said they will be reaching out to community groups and the public to learn about their interactions with the division. They said the probe will include a comprehensive review of the police department's policies, procedures and training for investigations of sexual assault crimes by the unit, including how it interacts with survivors and witnesses and how it collects evidence and completes investigations. They said they also want to see what steps the police department has taken to address deficiencies in its handling of sexual assault crimes, including its staffing and the services and support it offers sexual assault survivors. U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said the NYPD has already taken steps to address concerns, but authorities want to ensure sex assault victims are treated fair in the future. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in Manhattan said sex crimes victims 'deserve the same rigorous and unbiased investigations of their cases that the NYPD affords to other categories of crime.' 'Likewise,' he added, 'relentless and effective pursuit of perpetrators of sexual violence, unburdened by gender stereotypes or differential treatment, is essential to public safety.' A message seeking comment was left with the NYPD. U.S. Attorney Breon Peace speaks to members of the media outside federal court, Wednesday. He said the NYPD has already taken steps to address concerns, but authorities want to ensure sex assault victims are treated fair in the future After the 2019 lawsuit, the NYPD appointed a woman, Judith Harrison, to lead the embattled division and shifted to what she called a 'victim-centered' approach - but she moved to a different position within two years. In 2020, the department appointed Michael King, a veteran investigator and forensic nurse, to the post. King, whose experience included conducting the very physical exams and evidence collection vital to solving sex crimes cases, spent part of his first few days on the job going to the hospital to assist doctors with rape kits. But King was removed from the job in February, amid complaints about his leadership and the division's continued mishandling of cases. Last October, a woman who identified herself as Christine told a City Council hearing that detectives made fundamental mistakes in investigating her rape. She said they failed to interview witnesses or collect security camera footage from the bar where she'd been before the attack. Instead, she said, they wanted to set up a 'traumatizing controlled phone call with the man who raped me,' failed to test for date-rape drugs and closed the case twice without telling her. A mother and father accused of murdering their ten-week-old daughter tried to blame the hospital for her death, a court heard today. Lily-Mai Saint George died from a serious head injury and had also suffered 18 rib fractures, two fractures in her leg and severe bruising. Lauren Saint George and Darren Hurrell, both 25, allegedly shook their daughter to death eight days after she was released into their care against the advice of hospital staff. The parents both deny murder, manslaughter, causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a person under 16 years old. Hurrell's housing support worker told the court that he 'got the impression that they were blaming the hospital for what happened'. Lauren Saint George (pictured) and Darren Hurrell (below), both 25, allegedly shook their daughter to death eight days after she was released into their care against the advice of hospital staff. Pictured: Lauren Saint George arriving at Wood Green Crown Court in London on June 14 'Darren had complained to me that Lauren was not motivated to go to the hospital to see the baby,' Darren Hurrell's housing support worker Anthony Monbelly told the court today. Pictured: Darren Hurrell arriving at Wood Green Crown Court on June 15 Lily-Mai was born prematurely in November 2017 and spent the first two months of her life in Barnet Hospital, before she was discharged into her parents' care on January 25 2018. Saint George and Hurrell had been homeless for several years and hospital staff tried to stop them taking Lily-Mai home, believing they were incapable of looking after her, jurors heard. They were horrified when Saint George had told staff that she 'hated' the noises Lily-Mai made and wished she would 'cry instead of groaning'. The baby died at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital on 2 February 2018, after being found unresponsive by her parents at their home in Belmont Road, Haringey, two days earlier. Lily-Mai was 10 weeks and two days old and only two weeks past a normal pregnancy term. Anthony Monbelly was Hurrell's support worker when he lived in a housing association home. Giving evidence today, Thursday, June 30, in a blue shirt and jeans, Mr Monbelly gave an account of a conversation he had with Hurrell in February 2018 about Lily-Mai's collapse. 'He said that he had been sleeping and Lauren had woken him and said that she didn't know how to do the baby. 'He said that he told her what to do and he got out of bed and it was then that he noticed that the baby was not well.' The support worker went on to tell jurors that Hurrell was a heavy sleeper and because of this he had asked him if it was possible that Saint George could have done something to Lily-Mai. 'Hurt the child in some way,' he said. 'Darren replied, "No, she would have told me." 'I got the impression that they were blaming the hospital for what happened...' In 2017/18, Mr Monbelly worked for Riverside Housing Association (RHA) which assisted single homeless people. As a support worker, he would help young homeless people to move on successfully. Hurrell had been referred to RHA in 2016 and was given 'single occupancy housing' which he began to share with Saint George when they got together, the court heard. Mr Monbelly said that staff would do regular unannounced visits and, as a result, discovered that Saint George was living with her boyfriend in one of their properties. The support worker told Hurrell that he was putting himself at risk of eviction. In 2017, before Lily-Mai was born, management evicted the couple from the home. But Mr Monbelly continued to support Hurrell even after his eviction. Asked about the dad-to-be's attitude towards the pregnancy, he said: 'Darren was just very very happy. Excited and looking forward to it.' After Lily-Mai was born, Mr Monbelly noticed that Hurrell became the main carer, jurors heard. 'Darren had complained to me that Lauren was not motivated to go to the hospital to see the baby,' he said. 'He was the main one. 'He felt quite sad, emotionally sad about it.' Mr Monbelly told the court Darren Hurrell 'did not trust' Lily-Mai's mother. Lauren Saint George (pictured), to administer her anaemia medication 'Darren was happy, a very proud dad. He was beaming,' Mr Monbelly said. 'Darren fed her, burped her, changed her. He seemed to be the primary carer. Darren was the doting parent.' On January 29, the parents brought Lily-Mai to visit Mr Monbelly at his offices. 'Darren was happy, a very proud dad. He was beaming. 'Darren fed her, burped her, changed her 'He seemed to be the primary carer. 'Darren was the doting parent.' When asked about the parents' attitude towards Lily-Mai's medical needs, Mr Monbelly said: 'Darren told me that the baby had anaemia and needed medication and he would give this to her. 'I got the impression that he did not trust Lauren to do it. 'He also said that he was concerned that the baby was flopping.' About the flopping, Mr Monbelly went on: 'I did notice it too. 'He didn't need to describe what that meant because I, visually, noticed that the baby was a bit floppy. 'The hospital had told them that this would happen because of her anaemia. I remember Darren saying that to me.' Questioned on Saint George's maternal behaviour, the support worker added: 'Lauren was holding the baby at times. She had little or no intervention with the baby.' Saint George, of Bonnington House, Enfield, and Hurrell, of Meadow Lane, Alvaston, Derby, deny murder, manslaughter, causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a person under 16 years old. The trial continues. Cyber criminals are on a hacking rampage across the UK of 'epidemic proportions', new research warns, with an average of 330 Britons a minute suffering some form of cyber attack. The shocking statistics, which convert to a Brit being hacked every 0.2 seconds, came from Nord VPN, who said that most people do not even realise that they have experienced a hack at all. Hacking attempts have become so commonplace that the average person suffers a cyber attack of some kind three times a year. More than one in ten people in the UK, according to the research, have in the past 12 months suffered theft of money, bank credentials or financial data from organised criminals and fraudsters who have brought their dark arts online. A similar number were asked to pay a ransom to regain access to their accounts, files or to stop such information being published online. Disturbingly, given the huge rise of video calls over the past couple of years, one in twelve had experienced hackers gaining control over their computer's webcam. 'Hacking has reached epidemic proportions in the UK,' said Adrianus Warmenhoven, a cybersecurity expert. The shocking statistics, which convert to a Brit being hacked every 0.2 seconds, came from Nord VPN, who said that most people do not even realise that they have experienced a hack at all Cyber criminals are on a hacking rampage of 'epidemic proportions' across the UK, new research warns, with an average of 330 Britons a minute suffering some form of cyber attack 'Some of the attacks happen so often that people don't even regard them as cyber crime. However, each of the incidents we included in the study wouldn't be possible without hacking of one kind or another. 'Encountering even those incidents that appear innocuous, like hard-to-close internet pop-ups, should cause alarm and prompt you to check for malware. 'Lurking behind each of these digital misadventures is a hacker resorting to crime to make money. Don't make it easy for them.' Some of the most frequent attacks are pop-up adverts that are extremely difficult to close, which only happens due to hacking and has been experienced by nearly half of respondents to the research over the past 12 months. Yet many people would not consider that they have been hacked when this occurs. The most commonly-understood form of hacking is having your email account hijacked so friends and colleagues receive spam from your address, which has been experienced by three in ten people. An unlucky minority of some seven per cent of respondents said they suffered more than 20 hacks in the past year. More than one in ten people in the UK, according to the research, have in the past 12 months suffered theft of money, bank credentials or financial data from organised criminals and fraudsters who have brought their dark arts online Despite the cyber crime wave, a more savvy third of the population suffered no hacks at all. These people are likely to be those who take greater precautions around their online security or spend less time online. Some ways to reduce your chances of being hacked are to use strong passwords, refrain from visiting suspicious websites or opening unsolicited messages, always go to the website directly of your service providers rather than clicking on links in emails and even encrypt your files. In the commercial sphere, cyber attacks cost businesses in Britain 374million during the Covid pandemic, as businesses were forced to relocate to working from home. A survey of 450 top finance and risk professionals at UK-listed companies found almost two-thirds of firms had suffered a cyber attack or data breach in the first 18 months of the pandemic. Most of these companies said they had lost money or revenue as a result. The majority of these attacks 82 per cent could be attributed to tech issues or behaviour related to working from home, the research from software group Diligent found. Remote working presents huge challenges for businesses security due to issues such as weak antivirus software, insecure internet connections and the use of platforms such as Zoom which can be hacked. And it could continue to be costly for firms whose employees want to work in a hybrid shift pattern that splits time between home and the office. Government figures in the year to March 2022 found that almost one in three businesses and a quarter of charities suffering attacks said they now experience breaches or attacks at least once a week. Two in five businesses reported cyber security breaches or attacks in the last 12 months. The Texas truck driver who was allegedly 'high on meth' and killed 53 migrants from Mexico and Central America - known as 'the deadliest human trafficking' episode in US history - appeared in federal court on Thursday. Homero Zamorano, Jr., 45, was arrested on Wednesday on criminal charges for his alleged involvement in a botched smuggling ring that resulted in dozens of deaths, according to the Department of Justice and the US Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas. Zamorano cowardly hid in the brush after attempting to evade San Antonio police officers by posing as a survivor, a Mexican immigrant official said. Federal prosecutors said two of the suspects, including Zamorano, who was the driver, face charges carrying potential life sentences or the death penalty, if convicted. San Antonio Police officers were led to Zamorano's hide-out and detained him. Surveillance footage provided by Laredo Sector border patrol agents showed the tractor-trailer crossing through an immigration checkpoint. The video confirmed the black-colored shirt with stripe detail and hat was the clothing Zamorano, the driver, had been wearing. The tractor-trailer carrying the migrants cleared an inland Border Patrol checkpoint, and ended up in San Antonio before the gruesome discovery was made of dozens of bodies stacked on top of one another, the Associated Press reported. Temperatures in San Antonio soared to 103 degrees on Monday. Inside the tractor-trailer there had been no signs of a working air-conditioner. First responders said many of the victims suffered from heatstroke and dehydration, a report said. Homero Zamorano, Jr., 45, was arrested Wednesday on criminal charges for his alleged involvement in a botched smuggling ring that resulted in dozens of deaths, according to the Department of Justice and the US Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas Surveillance cameras captured Zamorano, 45, driving the rig across the border hours before he allegedly abandoned it on a road on the outskirts of San Antonio Police say Zamorano was 'very high on meth' at the time of his arrest and had attempted to disguise himself as a victim of the tragedy to 'avoid being detained' Christian Martinez, 28, who was also charged in the criminal complaint, was arrested in Palestine, Texas on Monday. He is charged with one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death, according to the DOJ. On Wednesday, Martinez made an initial appearance in Tyler, Texas. The investigation revealed that both Zamorano and Martinez communicated before the botched human-smuggling incident took place. The truck was carrying 73 people, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press, though a DOJ source told DailyMail.com that, to their knowledge, only 64 people had been on board as it made its way through the checkpoint on Interstate 35. It's unclear if agents stopped the driver for questioning at the inland checkpoint or if the truck went through unimpeded. Those inside the tractor-trailer were suspected of entering the country illegally, the DOJ reported. The incident left 53 migrants, including five children, dead. Officials have identified 34 victims Residents of San Antonio cry as they attend a Tuesday night vigil for the victims found in an abandoned truck Members of the community take part in a vigil for the dozens of people have been found dead Monday in a semi-trailer in San Antonio According to court documents, Homeland Security Investigators (HSI) responded to the scene on Monday involving 73 individuals suspected of entering the United States illegally. At the scene, investigators confirmed 48 individuals had died. Twenty-two of those were Mexican nationals, seven were Guatemalan , two Honduran and 17 were of unknown origin but suspected to be undocumented non-citizens, the DOJ reported. A mobile fingerprint device was used by HSI to confirm the undocumented status of those in the tractor-trailer. Sixteen of the undocumented individuals were transported to local hospitals for medical evaluation. Five people died at hospital. Officials are working with foreign consulate officers to properly notify family members of the deceased. There are roughly 110 inland highway checkpoints along the Mexican and Canadian borders. Monday's catastrophe raises the question if checkpoints are able to adequately spot people in cars and trucks who enter the US illegally, Associated Press reported. U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, who drives through the checkpoint almost weekly, said investigators believe migrants boarded the truck in or around Laredo, though that is unconfirmed, the news outlet reported. Zamarano's Facebook shows him with various different selfies and a few photos with his dog, and his love for Mexico and the Houston Astros. According to his bio, he is single, hails from Mission, Texas, enjoys smoking marijuana, and has a high school education. His estranged wife told The New York Post that 'he was a good man' and was 'shocked by his involvement.' Margie Tamara Paz Grajera, of Honduras, (pictured left) was among the deceased on Wednesday. She had been studying at the National Autonomous University of Honduras. She was dating Alejandro Miguel Andino Caballero (pictured below right). Adela Betulia Ramirez Quezada of Honduras was also among the deceased The Honduran government on Wednesday named brothers Fernando Jose Redondo Caballero (left) and Alejandro Miguel Andino Caballero (right) among the deceased Sisters Carla and Griselda Carac-Tambriz, of Guatemala, were among the 53 migrants who died in an abandoned semi-truck trailer in the sweltering Texas heat on Monday. The sisters came to America to 'achieve our dreams and also help our family' A female Met Police officer has been fired for ignoring 10,000 hidden in a shoebox in a Line of Duty-style corruption plot which has seen six officers jailed. PC Inga Gherghel was dismissed without notice on April 28, 2020, after police searched the couple's address and found the cash along with a stab vest not belonging to her. Police discovered the stab vest had been used by her husband Ioan Gherghel, a 36-year-old Romanian bodybuilder, who would allegedly use the stab vest to impersonate a police officer. He was jailed for six years in early 2022 after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to acquire criminal property. A significant amount of cash found at the home of Ioan Gherghel, a friend of Mahmood, who was also jailed with the corrupt officer The husband had allegedly been an accomplice to Kashif Mahmood, a Met officer who was part of a wider criminal network. As part of the act, Mahmood would pretend to stop and search drug dealers to steal their money. Mahmood booked out police cars from Stoke Newington Police station while he was calling in sick, then drive to pick up Ioan Gherghel who would wear the vest before driving around looking for potential shake-downs. The couple were busted when they accidentally activated a body camera and recorded Ioan Gherghel - who is not a police officer - wearing the stab vest. But the investigation panel had trouble convicting Inga Gherghel of knowingly hiding the criminal proceeds, instead finding it was inconceivable that she could not have been unaware of the contraband. 'PC Gherghel willfully failed to enquire further in to the origin or purpose of the items and as to what either might be doing in her flat,' said the police in a statement. Mahmood's wife Shareen Kashif, 30, was sentenced after she admitted concealing criminal property for her husband in April 2020. She was given a 20-month sentence, suspended for 21 months, and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work following a hearing at Southwark Crown Court. The court heard her husband regularly jetted off to Dubai and lived a lavish lifestyle with designer watches while working with east London gangsters. Shareen Kashif pictured outside Southwark Crown Court in 2021. She avoided an immediate custodial sentence Corrupt cop Kashif Mahmood was jailed for eight years in May for his role in an organised crime group Kashif, who was supported by family members in a packed public gallery in court, told police she only became aware of her husband's illegal activities a few days before the raid on their house. Kashif said she was 'very angry' when she became aware of her husband's illegal activities, adding she had done a 'silly and stupid thing' in helping him conceal the money. She initially was arrested when police discovered Encrochat messages between the London gang and a co-conspirator in Dubai - where Mahmood would holiday with the crime group. Ioan Gherghel and Kashif Mohmood allegedly confiscated 850,000 from criminals in March 2021. They handed the money to 34-year-old gangster twins, Shabaz and Shazad Khan and their older brother Mohsin Khan. Investigations by the Met's anti-corruption unit began after the French gendarmerie infiltrated the EncroChat encrypted phone network in April 2020, revealing Mahmood was using his police powers to work with the Khan gang. Mahmood and the Khans were 'long-standing associates' and holidayed together in Dubai. While Mahmood was jailed for eight years, ringleader Mohsin Khan, 35, was sentenced to 16 years jail and Shazad was locked up for 15 years while Shabaz received 14 years. The decorated Secret Service agent who allegedly got into a tussle with Donald Trump in the back of the Beast during the January 6 riot can be pictured for the first time as a source tells DailyMail.com: 'He would take a bullet for his president but he can't lie to Congress.' Special Agent in Charge Robert 'Bobby' Engel was the lead agent on Trump's detail throughout his time in office, during which he dedicated his life to shielding and evacuating the president 'at any cost.' Now though, the federal law enforcement agent has taken up a much tamer job in Tampa, Florida, where he is now the head of the agency's field office. On Tuesday, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson told the House Select Committee that Trump had lunged for the presidential limo's steering wheel after Engel refused to drive him to the US Capitol to join rampaging supporters. Her bombshell testimony has set the scene for lawmakers to recall Engel to ask whether it's true that he was forced to restrain the president who allegedly responded by grabbing Engel around the neck. Bobby Engel walked side-by-side with Trump when the then-president infamously had crowds dispersed from Lafayette Park in Washington so he could hold a bible outside St. John's Church Engel is expected to refute former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony that he was forced to restrain President Donald Trump in the presidential limo on January 6 2021. The Secret Service agent is pictured (left) ushering the president out of his car in June 2020 The former senior White House aide testified on Tuesday that Trump (pictured on January 6, 2021) was aware that some of his supporters could not get into his Stop the Steal rally because they were armed - and that he was reportedly 'furious' about it Engel gave evidence to the January 6 committee earlier this month, reportedly telling a closed-door session that the two men 'took different views' as they drove back to the White House instead of Capitol Hill after the Ellipse rally which preceded the 2021 rioting. But it's unlikely the Marine corps vet, 52, would have volunteered details of the supposed physical clash unless he was specifically asked about it, one former agent told DailyMail.com citing the Secret Service motto of 'Worthy of Trust and Confidence.' 'They are the inner circle the most trusted of the trusted,' our source explained. 'It's not about protecting Trump or Joe Biden or whomever is in power, it's about protecting the relationship between the Secret Service and the Office of President. 'You have to be relied upon not to divulge the things you see and hear so it's unlikely this agent would speak openly about what happened in the limo, if indeed anything happened. 'However there is a difference between exercising discretion and being asked a question under oath. If they subpoena him and ask him a direct question about it I would expect him to answer.' The Secret Service said Wednesday that it would soon respond 'on the record' to the 'new allegations' contained in Hutchinson's explosive testimony. Several media outlets have reported that both Engel, the then-head of Trump's security, and the Beast's thus-far unnamed driver were both prepared to challenge her claims, citing Secret Service sources. Neither man has commented publicly. Hutchinson, a former aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, told the January 6 Committee that she heard about the alleged clash from White House deputy chief of staff Tony Ornato. 'I looked at Tony, and he said, "Did you f***ing hear what happened in the Beast?" Hutchinson told the panel of seven Democrats and two Republicans in Tuesday's hastily arranged session. Trump had just given a fiery speech to his supporters outside the White House repeating accusations that his 2020 election loss was down to voter fraud before climbing back into his armored SUV, she recounted. 'So when the president had gotten into the vehicle with Bobby, he thought that they were going up to the Capitol. And when Bobby had relayed to him: "We're not, we don't have the assets to do it, it's not secure, we're going back to the West Wing," the president had a very strong and very angry response to that,' Hutchinson said. Engel was ever-present at the president's side throughout his time in office and was there for some of his most controversial episodes Engel was with Cabinet members and Chairman of the Join Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and others who followed Trump to St. John's Church on June 1, 2020 E The ex-Marine was with his daughter Kirsten when she graduated from the elite Virginia Military Institute In Lexington, Virginia this year Engel and his wife Gail, 51, lived in this magnificent 5-bed, 7 bath house an hour outside Washington before selling it for $1.2 million and moving to Florida 'Tony described him as being irate. The president said something to the effect of, "I'm the f***ing president! Take me up to the Capitol now!" To which Bobby responded, "Sir, we have to go back to the West Wing".' Hutchinson said Trump then reached towards the front of the vehicle to grab the steering wheel, forcing Engel to intervene. 'Mr. Engel grabbed his arm and said: "Sir, you need to take your hand off the steering wheel, we're going back to the West Wing. We're not going to the Capitol." 'Mr. Trump then used his free hand to lunge toward Bobby Engel,' Hutchinson added. The former aide said Ornato motioned to his clavicles while recounting the confrontation, hinting that Trump who has declared Hutchinson's evidence a 'fake story' and branded her a 'whack job' tried to grab Engel by the throat. Engel and Ornato both gave closed-door testimony prior to Hutchinson's intervention but details have not been disclosed, according to reports. A June 8 Politico article stated that Engel and Trump discussed the outgoing president's desire to head to the Capitol as the rioting began to unfold, but that he and Engel merely 'took different views on the topic', citing a person familiar with the agent's testimony. Square-jawed Engel was an ever-present figure at the president's side throughout his time in office and was there for some of his most controversial episodes. Pictures obtained by DailyMail.com show him flanking Trump during a June 2020 walk to St. John's Church for a photo op after protestors were forcibly removed from Lafayette Square, across from the north side of the White House. Former Mark Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson was the January 6 committee's surprise witness on Tuesday where she claimed that Trump had 'lunged' at Engel The president's vehicle is a heavily-armored car known as 'The Beast,' driven by Secret Service agents. This graphic shows another similar model of The Beast to the SUV version Trump was in on January 6 'There is a rigorous selection process and you have to be highly skilled and experienced to get this job,' the former Secret Service agent told DailyMail.com. 'You have to travel with the president wherever he goes. It's incredibly demanding and it involves a lot of sacrifice. This guy's job was to run on stage and take a bullet for the president he's the final line of defense.' Engel and his wife Gail, 51, lived in a five-bedroom, $1.2million home in Waterford, Virginia an hour from D.C., during his time protecting Trump but he relocated to Florida after Biden took office. His daughter Kirsten graduated from the elite Virginia Military Institute In Lexington, Virginia this year and was commissioned into the US Army, citing her dad as her inspiration. Engel is also a presidential appointment to the 11-member Medal of Valor Review Board which reviews nominations and recommends awardees. Engel now heads the Secret Service's Tampa Field Office, where he and his new team busted a counterfeit currency ring in January, according to a Secret Service media release. Combating counterfeit currency was the original mission of the agency when it was formed in 1865 before it was expanded in 1901 to include the Presidential Protection Division, which is charged with guarding the Commander-in-Chief and his immediate family. In the event of an attack, agents are responsible for shielding and evacuating the president 'at any cost including with their lives' as well as organizing motorcades and protecting foreign leaders. Hutchinson testified that Trump was so angry that his Secret Service agents refused to take him to the Capitol on January 6 that he lunged forEngel's throat Camera-shy Bobby Engel (left) did pose for a family portrait posted on Facebook in 2018 Private Leslie Coffelt is the only Secret Service agent to have been killed while protecting a president after he was shot three times while saving Harry S. Truman from gun-toting Puerto Rican nationalists in 1950. Special Agent Tim McCarthy took a bullet to the chest but survived after he stepped in front of Ronald Reagan during a 1981 assassination attempt. Trump has repeatedly dismissed the Democrat-led January 6 committee which is examining accusations that the rioting was not a spontaneous attack but rather a coordinated 'last stand' from the former president and his allies as they tried to upend the 2020 election result and cling to power. On Thursday he dismissed Hutchinson as a 'climber' and laughed off suggestions he would get into a fight with burly Secret Service agents, telling Newsmax: 'These guys lift 350 pounds - I don't.' He added: 'This lady yesterday, there's something wrong with her. Is there something wrong? She said I jumped from a car and I started strangling - think of this - I started strangling a Secret Service agent who I know very well.' Former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton chided an interviewer when asked Wednesday if she would be supporting President Joe Biden in 2024. 'Look, I would endorse our sitting president - yes of course,' Clinton told NBC's Yamiche Alcindor. 'This is a silly question.' 'Not you, but everybody who's asking,' Clinton then added. Clinton said she believed Biden is the 'person most likely to win.' 'Joe Biden beat - in a huge landslide victory in the popular vote - Donald Trump,' the former secretary of state and first lady said. 'I think that says a lot.' Former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton chided NBC's Yamiche Alcindor for asking her if she would support President Joe Biden in the 2024 race. 'Look, I would endorse our sitting president - yes of course,' Clinton said, adding, 'This is a silly question' Yamiche Alcindor (left) asked Hillary Clinton (right) backstage about 2024 but also interviewed her at the Aspen Ideas Festival where Clinton gave her thoughts on the Supreme Court's decision to overrule Roe v. Wade Alcindor also told Andrea Mitchell, who was anchoring MSNBC, that Clinton responded with an 'absolutely not' when asked if she'd consider running for the White House again. Biden, then vice president, decided against pursuing the White House in 2016 as he grieved his late son Beau Biden. Clinton, who had served as President Barack Obama's secretary of state after losing the Democratic primary to him in 2008, swooped in and eventually won the nomination - in a harder battle than expected against progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders. She ultimately lost to Donald Trump, who Biden then beat in 2020 by more than 7 million votes. Clinton also won the popular vote in 2016, but Trump overcame her tally in the Electoral College. Clinton's statement of support come after The New York Times reported this week that Biden is annoyed that there are questions about whether he should run for re-election, due to his advanced age and sagging poll numbers. This week Vice President Kamala Harris was asked by CNN's Dana Bash about comments the House's No. 3 Democrat, Rep. Jim Clyburn, said in support of Harris running for president if Biden bowed out, saying she was 'first on his list.' 'Joe Biden is running for re-election, and I will be his ticket-mate,' Harris answered. 'Full stop. That's it.' On Wednesday, the White House said the vice president wanted to clarify those comments, making the statement less definitive. 'The president intends to run and if he does, I will be his ticket mate. We will run together,' Harris said. Clinton spoke to Alcindor on the sidelines of the Aspen Ideas Festival, where the NBC News journalist also interviewed the former Democratic nominee onstage. There, Clinton spoke of her disgust with the Supreme Court of its ruling in Dobbs, which overruled the landmark Roe v. Wade case and push abortion laws back to the states. 'It's the most arrogant misreading of history and law that you could ever find,' Clinton told the crowd. 'It is so narrow and baseless.' Clinton said it was 'not only ignorant, but almost dismissive to the point of contempt for women's lives and women's choices and the difficulties that women of all backgrounds - and this has nothing to do with your opinion, your personal opinion, your religious belief.' 'That was the whole point of choice,' Clinton added. She talked about how she knew Justice Harry Blackmun, who had been appointed to the court by Republican President Richard Nixon, and was assigned to the Eighth Circuit, which included Arkansas where Clinton practiced law. 'He would come and he would speak and he was very candid. And he kept saying ... what we're trying to do is to leave this choice to the individual, to her conscience, to her doctor,' Clinton recalled. 'And he used to say, who would decide this choice? Would the government decide this choice - whether it be local government or federal government.' Clinton, who was appearing at Aspen, in part, to honor the life of the late Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, explained why she, too, would be concerned. 'I think Madeleine would be as worried as I am, both about the impact of the decision on real women's and families' lives, but also about what it says about how our country is retreating from trying to figure out how we have a big, inclusive, pluralistic democracy.' The Supreme Court will hear a case that could potentially give state legislatures virtually unchecked power over how they run their elections, it was announced on Thursday. A decision bears potentially massive implications for the upcoming presidential race. The case, Moore v. Harper, is focused on North Carolina Republican lawmakers' controversial redistricting efforts. They're seeking to reinstate a proposed Congressional map that was thrown out by multiple North Carolina courts for violating state gerrymandering laws. But despite that the high court's 5-3 conservative majority court said it will take up Moore, which will test the 'Independent State Legislature Doctrine' - a theory favored by right-wing legal scholars and Constitutional originalists. It's an interpretation of the US Constitution where a state's legislative branch is free to buck the judicial and executive branches in enacting new election laws. In its most extreme form, the doctrine would allow an elected state legislature to operate elections with impunity to their state laws. More likely, state courts stand to lose the power to override legislatures' Congressional map proposals on civil rights grounds or other interpreted violations of a state constitution. The Supreme Court justices, with the addition of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, will take up an elections case with potentially dramatic implications in its next term beginning in October State governors could also lose veto power over legislatures' election proposals, according to an interpretation of the doctrine. Justice Neil Gorsuch, the first appointed by Donald Trump, endorsed the fringe theory as recently as in a concurring opinion for a case about mail-in ballots in the 2020 election. 'The Constitution provides that state legislatures - not federal judges, not state judges, not state governors, not other state officials - bear primary responsibility for setting election rules,' Gorsuch argued. A total of four justices have endorsed the theory - the number needed for the high court to take a case up. Republican-led legislatures in battleground states that narrowly went to Joe Biden in 2020 could get a dramatic increase in influence over their state's 2024 race The court siding with North Carolina Republicans could trigger a dramatic in election laws in battleground states like Michigan and Pennsylvania - which could have an effect on the 2024 presidential election outcome. Justices have rejected arguments based on the independent state legislature doctrine several times dating from 1916, which upheld the right of Ohio residents to alter election rules by popular referendum. The North Carolina Supreme Court struck down Republicans' proposed map in February. Under that plan, Republicans would have been in control of all but three of the state's Congressional districts. The Tar Heel state's highest court voted 4-3 along party lines that the map was 'unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt' in its partisan advantage. 'Achieving partisan advantage incommensurate with a political partys level of statewide voter support is neither a compelling nor a legitimate governmental interest,' the court ruled. Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, told the Associated Press that 'this case could profoundly alter the balance of power in states and prevent state courts and agencies from providing protections for peoples right to vote.' 'Theres a wide range of ways the court could rule on this. Taken to its extreme, it would be a radical reworking of our system of running elections,' he said. The announcement came on the last day of the court's most politically charged docket in modern history. During the last month alone, justices overturned federal abortion protections, dramatically expanded conceal carry firearm laws and allowed the Biden administration to end a controversial immigration policy known as Remain In Mexico. Bitcoin has lost almost 54% of its value this year, endangering a crucial source of income for North Korea and its nuclear projects. According to digital investigators, millions of dollars in cash stolen by the sanctioned countries have been wiped out owing to the poor performance of bitcoin marketplaces. Although cryptocurrencies are projected to account for only a small fraction of North Korea's economy, they serve an 'extremely crucial' function. North Korea's Cryptocurrencies According to digital investigators, millions of dollars in cash stolen by the sanctioned countries have been wiped out owing to the poor performance of bitcoin marketplaces. Although cryptocurrencies are projected to account for only a small fraction of North Korea's economy, they serve an 'extremely crucial' function. Because of widespread international restrictions related to its nuclear program, the government has limited access to global trade and other sources of wealth, making crypto heists appealing. Cyberattacks have become "absolutely vital" to Pyongyang's capacity to circumvent sanctions and earn funds for its nuclear and missile programs, according to Eric Penton-Voak, coordinator of the United Nations panel of experts that monitors sanctions. North Korea was alleged to have raised an estimated $2 billion for its weapons of mass devastation programs through cyberattacks in 2019. The rapid drop in crypto prices, which began in May amid a larger economic slowdown, hinders Pyongyang's ability to profit from that and other heists and may influence how Pyongyang plans to fund its weapons programs, according to two South Korean government officials. It comes as North Korea conducts a record number of missile launches this year, which the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul believes has cost up to $620 million and prepares to resume nuclear testing amid an economic crisis, Daily Mail reported. Will Bitcoin Crash Affect North Korea's Nuclear Program? According to Reuters, North Korea is subject to international sanctions due to its nuclear program, limiting its access to global trade and making cryptocurrency heists more appealing. Eric Penton-Voak, a coordinator of the United Nations panel of experts responsible for monitoring sanctions, said cyberattacks are "absolutely vital" to North Korea's capacity to circumvent sanctions and collect funds for its nuclear and missile programs. North Korea gained an estimated $2 billion in revenue via cyberattacks in 2019 for its weapons of mass devastation development. The Federal Bureau of Investigation accused two North Korean hacker gangs in April of being responsible for a $620 million bitcoin crime against the Ronin Network, which runs the blockchain-based game Axie Infinity (AXS). That hack would be worth $230 million today, but North Korea apparently exchanged nearly all of the proceeds for Bitcoin. Chainalysis said North Korea's old unlaundered cryptocurrency holdings, spanning 49 hacks from 2017 to 2021, have declined to $65 million from $170 million since the year began. Since the year began, Bitcoin and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) have plunged 57.3% and 69.5%, respectively, according to Benzinga via MSN. Read Also: 6 Tips on How to Improve Trading Discipline North Korean Hackers Attack US Company Meanwhile, North Korea's state-sponsored Lazarus Group is suspected of being behind the recent $100 million cryptocurrency theft from a US blockchain company, the latest in a string of high-profile cyber heists from the Kim Jong-un regime, according to Elliptic, a London-based blockchain analytics firm. The investigation comes a week after California-based crypto business Harmony officially stated on June 24 that unidentified hackers had stolen cryptocurrency totaling about $100 million from the company's Horizon Bridge, a blockchain bridge. The service, also known as a cross-chain bridge, joins two blockchains and allows users to move cryptocurrencies such as Binance chain, bitcoin, and Ethereum across them. Binance coin, Ethereum, tether, and wrapped bitcoin were among the stolen coins. According to Elliptic, the hacking gang instantly converted a large portion of the crypto assets into a total of 85,837 ethers by exploiting Uniswap, a decentralized exchange system that operates on the Ethereum blockchain. Given that the platform allows users to discreetly swap cryptocurrencies with one another without a centralized middleman or using order books, decentralized exchanges are often utilized by hackers to launder cryptocurrencies and evade confiscation of stolen assets, as per Korea Herald. Related Article: Ukraine War: Videos Show Scary Aftermath of Russia's Missile Attack at Shopping Mall With 1000+ People Inside @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Advertisement Rep. Judy Chu was among 181 angry protesters who were arrested Thursday for blocking an intersection near the Supreme Court to demonstrate their anger at the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The protesters sat on the concrete in Washington, D.C.'s 90 degree weather as U.S. Capitol Police said they warned them three times to move before they began making arrests. 'This momentum will only build due to the 38 million women who'll be affected by this when they see that abortion has been banned in their state,' Chu said ahead of her arrest. Chu, a California Democrat, authored the Women's Health Protection Act, the House-passed bill that would have codified abortion rights. Members of the Senate, even Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin, said the bill was too far-reaching. The protesters sat on the concrete in Washington, D.C.'s 90 degree weather as U.S. Capitol Police said they warned them three times to move before they began making arrests Rep. Judy Chu was among 181 angry protesters who were arrested Thursday for blocking an intersection near the Supreme Court to demonstrate their anger at the overturning of Roe v. Wade 'This momentum will only build due to the 38 million women who'll be affected by this when they see that abortion has been banned in their state,' Chu said ahead of her arrest 'When I first heard Roe was overturned, I immediately thought of who would be most harmed by this decision: a young girl who is a survivor of rape, a mother who cannot afford to travel to another state to access critical care, an expecting mother with an ectopic pregnancy whose life is in danger because she cannot have an abortion,' Chu said in a statement. 'So, when I think of all these women - and more - the decision to join a peaceful demonstration to make clear we will not allow the clock to be rolled back on abortion rights so easy. She then called on the Supreme Court to abolish the filibuster to pass the Women's Health Protection Act. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, released Friday, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to allow Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban to move forward and 5-4 to do away with Roe v. Wade and sent shockwaves throughout the country. Every day since fiery pro-choice protesters have gathered outside the Supreme Court, which erected metal fencing and staged more security out front in anticipation of the decision. Republican states across the country have moved to restrict abortion or enact 'trigger laws' they already had on the books, laws that were passed in anticipation of the high court overturning Roe. President Biden on Thursday said he would back a carveout of the filibuster to codify abortion rights. 'The first and foremost thing we should do, is make it clear how outrageous this decision was and how much it impacts - not just on a woman's right to choose, which is a critical, critical piece - but on privacy generally,' Biden said. 'And so I'm going to be talking to the governors as to what actions they think I should be taking as well.' He added that the 'most important thing' was his belief that the protections granted in Roe v. Wade should be codified into law. 'The way to do that is to make sure that Congress votes to do that,' the president said. 'And if the filibuster gets in the way, it's like voting rights, it should be we provide an exception for this.' 'The decision to join a peaceful demonstration to make clear we will not allow the clock to be rolled back on abortion rights so easy,' she said Chu called on the Senate to abolish the filibuster to pass the Women's Health Protection Act, a House-passed bill she wrote Chu (D-CA), and Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, right, participate in an abortion rights demonstration outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 30 Abortion rights activists block an intersection near the United States Supreme Court after it overturned Roe v. Wade Friday, sending shockwaves across the nation Activists, joined by actress Busy Phillips, march past SCOTUS. Thursday's protest was organized by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Center for Popular Democracy Action The FBI has added Dr. Ruja Ignatova, the 'Cryptoqueen' to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list after she allegedly defrauded investors with her $4 billion cryptocurrency pyramid scheme. Ignatova, 42, who the Department of Justice said used her OneCoin cryptocurrency as a multi-level marketing scam to target investors worldwide between 2014 and 2018, is now wanted for $100,000. Investigators believe Ignatova was tipped off in 2017 after a U.S. District Court in New York issued a warrant for her arrest, leading the alleged scammer to travel to Greece and disappear. Special Agent Ronald Shimko, who is investigating the case out of the FBI's New York Field Office, said he hopes the publicity of being on the most wanted list will help track down Ignatova. 'There are so many victims all over the world who were financially devastated by this,' Shimko said. 'We want to bring her to justice.' Dr. Ruja Ignatova, known as the 'Cryptoqueen,' was added to the FBI"s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on Thursday for defrauding investors Ignatova allegedly scammed investors around the world to collect $4 billion for her OneCoin cryptocurrency, which was a pyramid scheme THE FBI'S TOP TEN MOST WANTED FUGITIVES The FBI has maintained a list of its top most wanted fugitives for 72 years. Along with Ruja Ignatova, the current members of the list include: ARNOLDO JIMENEZ: Wanted for the alleged brutal 2012 murder of his wife the day after their wedding ALEXIS FLORES: Wanted for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of a five-year-old Philadelphia girl in 2000 JOSE RODOLFO VILLARREAL-HERNANDEZ: Wanted for allegedly instructing individuals to track and murder a 43-year0ld man in Southlake, Texas, in 2013 YULAN ADONAY ARCHAGA CARIAS: Wanted for alleged racketeering and drug and weapon charges as the alleged leader of MS-13 for all of Honduras RAFAEL CARO-QUINTERO: Wanted for the 1985 murder of a federal agent as the godfather of Mexican drug trafficking EUGENE PALMER: Wanted for the murder of his daughter-in-law in 2012 BHADRESHKUMAR CHETANBHAI PATEL: Wanted for the murder of his wife in 2015 ALEJANDRO ROSALES CASTILLO: Wanted for his alleged involvement of the murder of a coworker in 2016 JASON DEREK BROWN: Wanted for murder and armed robbery in 2014 Advertisement Dubbed the 'Cryptoqueen,' Ignatova, a lawyer, co-founded OneCoin in 2014 as the 'Bitcoin killer,' luring investors to purchase packages her cryptocurrency. Investigators said that a key part of her business model was to push investors into selling additional packages of OneCoin to friends and family, which was essentially a pyramid scheme to pay out those at the top. 'Ignatova targeted individuals who may not have fully understood the ins and outs of cryptocurrencies but were moved by Ignatovas impressive resume and the marketing strategies used by OneCoin,' the FBI said in its statement. The Bulgarian-born Ignatova is only the 11th woman to have been placed on the FBI's most wanted list in its 72-year history. She is also wanted in Germany through an Interpol Red Notice, which warns that she may have surgically changed her appearance in order to avoid capture. Investigators said she was living in luxury before traveling to Sofia, Bulgaria, after a warrant was issued for her arrest on October 12, 2017. She was then reported traveling from Sofia to Athens, Greece, on October 25, and has not been seen since. Authorities believe she could be traveling with a fake German passport to the United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, Russia, Germany and other parts of Eastern Europe. At the height of OneCoin's popularity, Ignatova took the stage at the UK's Wembley Arena, where she celebrated her success and touted that her cryptocurrency would overtake Bitcoin. Although she remains on the run, her brother, Konstantin, was arrested in 2019 and plead guilty to multiple felonies for his leadership role in OneCoin. In 2018, authorities issued a superseding indictment against Ignatov, charging her with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and securities fraud. Mike Driscoll, the FBI's assistant director in charge of the New York Office, and Damian Williams, the U.S attorney for the Southern District of New York, said they were confident that Ignatova would be caught. Investigators said she was living in luxury before traveling to Sofia, Bulgaria, after an arrest warrant was issued in 2017. Pictured: Ignatova touting her cryptocurrency Investigators believe she may be travelling through Eastern Europe using a fake German passport and has altered her face through sur Overall crime has continued to skyrocket in the Big Apple, up 37 percent overall and robberies are up 39 percent The 47-year-old victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment and the five robbers are still at large and said to be between 16 and 20 The men stole his bag, which contained $7,550 worth of jewelry. It is unclear if they knew what was in the bag Five young men attacked a shirtless man inside the Canarsie-Rockaway Parkway subway station on May 18 around 3.30am A mob attacked a man in a Brooklyn subway station and robbed of him $7,500 worth of jewelry as the Big Apple continues to rot. A group of what appears to be five young men were spotted attacking a shirtless man inside the Canarsie-Rockaway Parkway subway station on May 18 around 3.30am, newly released surveillance footage revealed. Police said the group got into a verbal dispute with the 47-year-old victim while inside the station and it quickly turned physical. The group allegedly punched and kicked the man in the head and body before stealing his bag, which reportedly contained $7,550 worth of jewelry. It is unclear if the men knew what was inside the bag. The victim, who has not been identified, was taken to a local hospital for treatment. The five young men are still at large and the NYPD described them as being between the ages of 16 to 20. Five young men attack a shirtless man inside the Canarsie-Rockaway Parkway subway station on May 18 around 3.30am The men can be seen throwing the 47-year-old victim around on the subway platform before stealing his bag, which contained $7,550 worth of jewelry it in. It is unclear if the suspect knew what was in the bag DailyMail.com has contacted the NYPD for comment. The blatant robberies come as no surprise to New Yorkers as overall crime is up a dramatic 37 percent. Robberies alone are up almost 40 percent, as well as rape and felony assaults, which are up 15 and 19 percent, respectively. Transit crimes are sky high at 52 percent - rising nearly 40 percent from the first half of last year. Mayor Eric Adams, 61, has received immense backlash from New Yorkers, who are growing more scared as daylight crimes and gun violence are increasing. The five men are still at large and the NYPD described them as being between the ages of 16 and 20 The mayor recently spent three hours on the subway overnight and said he didn't care for what he saw. 'Let me tell you something: When I started looking into this, I was shocked at how bad this place is,' Adams told the Post earlier this month. Mayor Adams said he first knew he had to do something about subway crime about three weeks in office. 'It was probably, the third third or fourth week in January. I spent a lot of time in the office,' he said. 'And I started peeling back layers and what it started to unveil to me is how we just had this good shell, but underneath it's bad.' Crime has soared in NYC, with robberies up 39 percent compared to last year and overall crime up 37 percent The New York City subway is run by the New York City Transit Authority, which falls under the state Metropolitan Transportation Authority, controlled by the chairman, Janno Lieber, who was appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul and confirmed by the state Senate in January. The mayor appoints several members of the MTA board, but has little control over the operation and maintenance of the system. Ridership on the subway is just under 60 percent of what it was pre-pandemic, with roughly 3.4 million daily commuters using the system. Queensland is set to ban disposable coffee cups and lids as the state gradually phases out single-use plastics over the next five years. The state government is expected to unveil its plans on Friday to cut down on waste that includes popular items such as plastic drinking cups and takeaway containers. Environment minister Meaghan Scanlon revealed coffee cups will be among the disposable products to be given the axe and replaced with sustainable alternatives. Queensland is set to ban disposable coffee cups and lids as the state gradually phases out single-use plastics over the next five years (stock image) Environment minister Meaghan Scanlon revealed coffee cups will be among the disposable products to be given the axe and replaced with sustainable alternatives (stock image) 'Of course, we will continue to work with retailers, community groups and suppliers so they have the alternative products in place,' she told Courier Mail. 'That'll begin with getting to work straight away on replacements for coffee cups through an Innovation Challenge with further details to be announced soon to get Queensland businesses working on the alternatives we need.' Plastic stemmed cotton buds, polystyrene loose packaging and plastic microbeads will be among the first to go with the products banned in September 2023. Mass balloon releases will also be prohibited to reduce the amount of plastic ending up in the oceans. 'Single-use plastics are problematic, and Queenslanders have made it clear they want to give more of them the punt,' Ms Scanlon said. 'They don't break down. They fill up our dumps and they kill wildlife.' Plastic drinking cups, oxo-degradable plastics and expanded polystyrene trays will be next on the chopping block and phased out in September 2024. The state government is expected to unveil its plans on Friday to cut down on waste that includes popular items such as plastic drinking cups and takeaway containers (stock image) Single-use produce bags, balloon sticks, closures, clips, and bread bag tags will also be banned. Bait bags, plastic dome lids and takeaway containers will then be phased out in September 2025. Heavy fines could be enforced with business owners charged as much as $6,800 if they are caught selling the prohibited items. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to forget Anthony Albanese's name during an awkward encounter at the NATO Summit. The Australian leader met with Mr Trudeau in Madrid on Thursday morning local time, with the pair shaking hands and posing for photos. 'It's a real pleasure to be meeting with ah ... ah ... a great progressive leader,' Trudeau said as he stumbled and threw his hands in the air. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to forget Anthony Albanese 's name during an awkward encounter at the NATO Summit 'We're really, really excited to have ah ... ah, a friend in Australia. Australia has been a long-time friend'. Mr Albanese seemed unfazed by the apparent slip up before Mr Trudeau saved himself and referred to him as 'Prime Minister Albanese'. 'With Prime Minister Albanese we have someone who we're going to be able to dig into on climate change, on inclusive economic growth, on reconciliation, on a range of issues that we know our citizens want us to step up on,' he said. The Australian leader met with Mr Trudeau in Madrid on Thursday morning, with the pair shaking hands and posing for photos Mr Albanese has been invited to visit Canada by Mr Trudeau, with the pair excited to work together on policies like climate change. The Aussie PM said the meeting had been 'very successful'. 'We have very similar political perspectives and Prime Minister Trudeau has invited me to visit Canada. I've invited him to visit Australia,' he said. Last year US President Joe Biden appeared to forget Scott Morrison's name, instead referring to him as 'that fellow Down Under'. Mr Albanese will now jet off to Paris to mend the relationship with the French over a scrapped submarine deal. Mr Albanese is seen speaking to the media in Paris. He's travelled to France in a bid to repair the relationship with French President Emmanuel Macron The prime minister spoke at the NATO Summit in Madrid on Wednesday, where he warned world leaders of China's assertive and expanding influence in the Pacific, which he said threatened regional security. Mr Albanese met with the leaders of Italy, Germany and the European Commission, as well as New Zealand, Japan and South Korea - who alongside Australia form a group known as the Asia-Pacific Four. He also held a one-on-one with his UK counterpart Boris Johnson, gifting him a Rabbitohs rugby league jersey at their first meeting as leaders and pledging to work together on security in the Indo-Pacific region and climate change. The prime minister will on Friday be hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace. Mr Albanese is visiting at the invitation of Mr Macron, with the two to work on repairing the damaged relationship after a $90 billion submarine deal with Naval Group was dumped in favour of nuclear-powered submarines to be provided under the AUKUS partnership with the United States and United Kingdom. It is yet to be confirmed whether Mr Albanese will take up Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's offer to visit him in Kyiv as a show of support for his war-torn country. The prime minister said security assessments are still underway. Sydney commuters are in for a 'very messy day' as the NSW rail union pushes ahead with industrial action Sydney commuters are in for a 'very messy day' as the NSW rail union pushes ahead with industrial action that will take out 70 per cent of the train fleet. The Rail, Tram and Bus Union has been locked in long-running stoush with the Perrottet government over a new Korean-made Intercity fleet, which it says is unsafe. While the government has signalled it could be prepared to spend $264 million to modify the fleet, the union says it has refused to sign an agreement confirming it will fix the safety issues raised by train drivers. Sydney commuters are in for a 'messy day' as the rail union pushes ahead with industrial action (pictured, commuters wait for services) 'This will be the fourth time the government has offered to make the changes, announced the changes, and then backtracked as a result of internal politics,' it said in a statement on Friday. Rail, Tram and Bus Union NSW Secretary Alex Claassens said that during a meeting with the government on Thursday, elements of the modification offer had been taken off the table. 'I'm just not sure where we go from here but our members are resolute,' he said. 'We are going to continue fighting to get these trains made safe, and we'll do whatever it takes to make that happen.' Protected industrial action planned for Friday is going ahead, which will see train drivers refuse to operate foreign or privately made trains. This means only 30 per cent of Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink services will be operate. 'It's going to be a very messy day,' Mr Claassens said. 'It'll be a weekend timetable with other trains taken out of it.' Transport Minister David Elliott said on Thursday the government had offered railway workers $3000 bonuses. 'The families of the railway workers right now could be having $3000 deposited in their account, instead of having that money spent on modifying perfectly good trains,' he said. But Mr Classeens described the payments offered to railway workers, to get the fleet on the tracks without modifications, as "bribes". Sydney commuters have been advised to expect significant train delays and cancellations on Friday. A flow on effect is likely to impact people travelling to Sydney airport and on buses. The industrial action on Tuesday when drivers cut train speeds to 60 km/h. Major flood warnings have been issued a 500kmh wall of heavy rain and damaging winds set to smash Australia's east coast. Families are being asked to re-assess their holiday plans ahead of the wet and windy conditions just as school holidays begin for Victoria, Queensland and NSW. Flooding is possible for the Hunter, Central Coast, the Greater Sydney region and the South Coast from Saturday, with flood watches in place for catchments between Newcastle and Batemans Bay, including Sydney and the Illawarra. Warnings of flash flooding are specifically in place for the Sydney, Illawarra and Shoalhaven areas and the Cooks and Georges Rivers. A major flood warning has been issued with heavy rain and damaging winds smashing Australia's east coast (pictured, rain forecast for NSW over the coming days) NSW's coast is expected to see heavy rain from Thursday afternoon with the centre of the storm focusing over Sydney and Newcastle Showers already falling across the east coast are forecast to increase on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, developing into widespread areas of persistent rain. NSW residents have been warned to brace for yet more heavy rainfall, river rises, flooding and possible landslips as a stubborn low forms over the coast. 'We know these are quite dangerous systems,' Bureau of Meteorology Manager of Hazard Preparedness and Response Jane Golding told media on Friday. 'They've been known to produce some widespread flooding in the past, and that's certainly on the cards for the next few days.' On Friday the areas of impact are expected to include Greater Sydney and the Illawarra region, with hundreds of millimetres of rain forecast to fall. 'We're expecting some locations over the next few days, and even tomorrow, could see what they would normally see in the entire month of July all in one day,' Ms Golding said. She said the deluge could lead to flash flooding and landslips. 'We know that the landscape is quite vulnerable at the moment and the water can move very quickly down the slopes and through the waterways,' she said. From Saturday, risk areas include Newcastle, the Central Coast, Lake Macquarie, the Upper Coxs, Colo and Macdonald rivers. Also at risk are the the Upper and Lower Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers. Flooding is possible for the Hunter, Central Coast, the Greater Sydney region and the South Coast from Saturday, with flood watches in place for catchments between Newcastle and Batemans Bay, including Sydney and the Illawarra 'What our hydrologists are seeing is the rain is potentially enough to cause major flooding there again, which will be the third or fourth time in the last two years for those communities,' Ms Golding said. The SES warned residents not to expect the same consequences from heavy falls as previously, with saturated catchments likely to produce different results. 'The accumulation of heavy rainfalls over the number of days will have a different effect on the flow of rivers,' NSW SES Commissioner Carlene York said. 'A different effect on flash flooding which, by its name, can come very quickly and be very unexpected. 'The main message from the SES is for people to think about their own safety and the safety of their family and friends.' Multiple computer weather forecast models show Australia's east coast will be drenched over the next week (pictured) Flood warnings issued for weekend Flood warnings have been issued for parts of NSW on Saturday. Below is a list of flood warnings, their severity and location: Minor to major Wollombi Brook Lower Hunter River Upper Nepean River Lower Nepean River Hawkesbury River Colo River Minor to moderate Central Coast Minor Manning River Gloucester River Wallis Lake Myall River Karuah River Goulburn River Upper Hunter River Newcastle Area Paterson River Williams River Lake Macquarie Upper Coxs River MacDonald River Northern Sydney Southern Sydney Parramatta River Cooks River Georges River Woronora River Illawarra Coast Shoalhaven River St Georges Basin Clyde River Advertisement The rain will stretch from Melbourne in the south of the country to as far north as Cape York and spreading west to Darwin - with the heaviest falls around Sydney and the tropical north Queensland coast. The deluge will ease in Victoria on Sunday but continue in eastern Queensland and NSW with a second day of 100mm falls in some areas likely to cause flash flooding. Monday will be similar conditions, with some models forecasting the downpour will continue into Tuesday and Wednesday. Over the coming days the accumulated rainfall forecast looks bleak with the east coast getting a drenching from Cooktown in the north to Bateman's Bay south of Sydney. Accumulated totals between 100mm and 200mm are likely for some areas and isolated falls of more than 300mm are possible. The weekend will be wet for those on the east coast with rain stretching from Cape York to Victoria Residents in central Victoria, ACT and NSW will brave the cold this week with polar surges bringing 'feels-like' temperatures plummeting to -3C courtesy of wind chill Over on the west coast the weather is looking drier with light rainfall in Perth over the next week and no rain in the northern half of WA. Temperature-wise the polar blast sweeping up from the Southern Ocean will continue to bring icy conditions for much of the country. Sydney will see maximums of 17C to 19C for the weekend and dip to 11C overnight. Melbourne will be considerably colder with minimums of 7C and hitting a high of 13C to 14C. Perth will also see chilly nights of 7C but will warm up during the day to reach 20C. Brisbane will be avoid much of the frosty temperatures sitting between 14C and 21C, but will be in for a rainy weekend. Canberra in stark contrast will reach highs of just 12C and drop to just 1C overnight on Friday. The nearby ski fields, already experiencing one of the best snow seasons in years, should also get some good powder with the rain forming snow in the alps region. Both Perisher Ski Resort and Thredbo are forecast to receive 4cm of new powder on Friday The alps will get some good snowfall including Mount Buller (above) which is in its peak ski season Snake Island is a tiny spit of land 80 miles off the southern coast of Ukraine, but it has proven to be one of the most hotly contested positions in the war so far. Despite measuring less than a fifth of a square kilometre in size, the island represents a valuable strategic position. A military outpost on Snake Island, fortified with additional troops, missile systems and a naval presence, could play a major role in controlling the seas - and even skies - of southern Ukraine. If Russia were to establish a protected stronghold on the island, it could reinforce its blockade of Ukraine's southern ports, preventing any exporting of grain or importing of aid and supplies. The island would also serve as an ideal deployment point for a tactical naval landing, while some analysts have warned it could even allow Russia to establish a land corridor between the annexed Crimea and the breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldova. Regaining control of the island is therefore paramount for Ukraine's armed forces to reduce Russia's influence in the south. Ownership of Snake Island also represents somewhat of a morale boost for Ukraine, after the landmass assumed national significance when border guard Roman Hrybov told a Russian warship 'go f*** yourself!' on the first day of the invasion. An Amtrak passenger train struck a dump truck Monday at an uncontrolled crossing in a rural area of Missouri killing two people on the train and one in the truck. Others were injured. The crash happened just after noon near Mendon, Missouri. Several cars derailed. The train was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago. The crash came a day after three people were killed when an Amtrak train smashed into a car in California killing three people in the vehicle. Here's a look at other recent Amtrak accidents: June 26, 2022: Three people in a car were killed when an Amtrak commuter train smashed into their vehicle in Northern California. No one in the train was injured. Sept. 26, 2021: Three people died and others were injured when an Amtrak derailed in north-central Montana as it traveled from Chicago to Seattle. September 2021: Three people died and others were injured when an Amtrak derailed in north-central Montana as it traveled from Chicago to Seattle Dec. 18, 2017: Three people were killed and 10 seriously injured in a derailment near Olympia, Washington, in which part of the train landed on Interstate 5. The train was traveling more than 80 mph during its inaugural run of a newly opened, faster rail line when it left the tracks. April 3, 2016: Two maintenance workers were struck and killed by train going more than 100 mph in Chester, Pennsylvania. The lead engine of the train derailed. March 14, 2016: A train traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago derailed in southwest Kansas, injuring at least 32 people. Investigators concluded a cattle feed delivery truck hit the track and shifted it at least a foot before the derailment. Oct. 5, 2015: A train headed from Vermont to Washington, D.C., derailed when it hit rocks that had fallen onto the track from a ledge. Seven people were injured. May 12, 2015: A train traveling at twice the 50 mph speed limit derailed as it entered a sharp curve in Philadelphia. Eight people were killed and more than 200 were injured. Two killer whales are thought to have killed at least eight Great White Sharks off the coast of South Africa since 2017, and managed to scare off many more. Researchers found that the Great Whites have been avoiding certain regions of the Gansbaai coast for fear of being hunted by orca. Many of the shark carcasses washed up without their livers and hearts, or with other injuries distinctive to the orca pair. Shark experts at the Dyer Island Conservation Trust claim this suggests the marine predators trigger the 'flight' response to fear in sharks when nearby. This in turn results in their rapid, long-term emigration from the area, creating an opportunity for an influx of new predators to deplete other species. Senior White Shark biologist Alison Towner said: 'The research is particularly important, as by determining how large marine predators respond to risk, we can understand the dynamics of coexistence with other predator communities. 'These dynamics may also dictate the interactions between competitors or intra-guild predator-prey relationship.' At least seven great white shark carcasses have washed ashore in False Bay since 2017, with telltale teeth marks indicating they were savaged by orcas. Researchers say Great Whites that encounter killer whales will immediately abandon their usual hunting ground for up to a year Experts at the Dyer Island Conservation Trust claim the decline in Great White Sharks suggests the orcas trigger their 'flight' response to fear when nearby Between 2010 and 2016 shark spotters recorded more than 200 great white sightings a year at False Bay, near Seal Island (pictured). In a study published today, biologist Alison Towner reports that she has tracked 14 sharks fleeing the Gansbaai coast areas when orcas are present WHY DO ORCAS HUNT GREAT WHITE SHARKS? Orcas are the only natural predator of the Great White. Scientists have found proof that they are gashing the sharks open and eating their fatty livers. Scientists speculate this behaviour may be behind the disappearance of great whites from the waters of False Bay, off of the coast of Cape Town. Great Whites frequented the area between the months of June to October every year as part of their annual winter hunting season. They were drawn to the region by the presence of the so-called Seal Island, a rock home to a huge seal colony. However, they have themselves fallen pray to orcas and are on the retreat. Advertisement Gansbaai was once a world-renowned place for spotting the legendary Great White, with tourists across the globe visiting and partaking in cage diving. In a study published today in the African Journal of Marine Science, Towner reports that she has tracked 14 sharks fleeing the areas when orcas are present over a five-and-a-half year period. This accompanied a dramatic decrease in visual sightings in certain Western Cape Bays, where they have dominated over many years. The study's lead author said: 'Initially, following an orca attack in Gansbaai, individual Great White Sharks did not appear for weeks or months. 'What we seem to be witnessing though is a large-scale avoidance strategy, mirroring what we see used by wild dogs in the Serengeti in Tanzania in response to increased lion presence. 'The more the Orcas frequent these sites, the longer the Great White Sharks stay away.' Prior to these predations on the Great White Sharks, there were only two instances since data collection began in Gansbaai where they were absent for a week or more: one week in 2007, and three weeks in 2016. The decline in sharks in these areas is having an effect on the sea's ecosystem, such as the emergence of a new predator to the area of the Bronze Whaler Shark. Towner added: 'The Bronze Whaler Shark which is known to be eaten by the Great White Shark are also being attacked by the orcas, who are indicating a level of experience and skill in hunting large sharks. 'However, balance is crucial in marine ecosystems, for example, with no Great White Sharks restricting Cape Fur seal behaviour, the seals can predate on critically endangered African Penguins, or compete for the small pelagic fish they eat. 'That's a top-down impact, we also have 'bottom up' trophic pressures from extensive removal of Abalone, which graze the kelp forests these species are all connected through. 'To put it simply, although this is a hypothesis for now, there is only so much pressure an ecosystem can take, and the impacts of Orcas removing sharks, are likely far wider-reaching.' Great White Sharks are a big tourism draw in South Africa, with daring visitors getting lowered into shark cages for an up-close visit. But the number of shark sightings near Cape Town has dropped precipitously since 2017, threatening eco-tourism in the region HOW DO THE WHALES HUNT THE SHARKS? A Great White Shark liver can weigh more than 60 kilograms (130lbs) and its rich organic chemicals make it a perfect food source for killer whales. Dr Ingrid Visser, who has studied killer whales for nearly 20 years, said orcas use their powerful tails to create strong underwater currents that force the sharks to the surface. 'Once the shark is at the surface, the killer whale pivots and lifts its tail out of the water and comes down on top of it like a karate chop,' she said. This stuns the sharks, leaving them as a still target target for the killer whales' removal of the liver. Advertisement The researchers believe that the behaviour of the destructive orca pair could be an indication of a general increase of the species in the area. In addition, the pair could be members of a rare shark-eating morphotype, known to hunt at least three shark species as a prime source of nutrition in South Africa. The orcas' prevalence may suggest that a decline in prey populations, including fishes and sharks, is causing changes in their distribution pattern. Other explanations for the decline in Great Whites in the area include shark fishing, fishery-induced declines in prey or an increase in the sea surface temperature. However, while these may have a partial effect, they are unlikely to the sole contributor to such a sudden, localised population decline from 2017. Towner said: 'The Orcas are targeting subadult Great White Sharks, which can further impact an already vulnerable shark population owing to their slow growth and late-maturing life-history strategy. 'Increased vigilance using citizen science, for example fishers' reports and tourism vessels, as well as continued tracking studies, will aid in collecting more information on how these predations may impact the long-term ecological balance in these complex coastal seascapes. 'We know that Great White sharks face their highest targeted mortality in the anti-shark bather protection nets in KwaZulu Natal, they simply cannot afford additional pressure now from Orca, killer whale predation.' By MEMO June 27, 2022: Information Clearing House -- In further signs that support for Israel has morphed into a religious extremist position, Bible-thumping, far-right American voters within the Texas Republican Party have approved a platform that will make it illegal to create a Palestinian State in territories controlled by the apartheid state. The platform, approved by 5,100 delegates in Houston on Saturday, supports the "prohibition of a Palestinian State within the historical borders of Israel, as it would jeopardise Israel's security and it would force Israel to give up land that God gave to the Jewish people as referenced in Genesis." Going beyond all previous anti-Palestinian positions ever adopted by an American party, the GOP platform approved the creation of what is often referred to as "Greater Israel," which will see Israel expand ethno-nationalist Jewish domination to every inch of Historic Palestine. After decades of ethnic cleansing, artificial re-drawing of borders and population control based on who is and is not Jewish, Israel has managed to wrestle total control of the territory from the West of River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea. Currently, as many as 12 million people reside in Historic Palestine, but full rights are granted by the occupation state to Jews only. The remaining six million non-Jews are subjected to various forms of racial discrimination, depending on their place of residence. While non-Jews are denied full equality with Jews wherever they live, the 1.8 million Palestinian citizens of Israel, for example, have more rights than Palestinians in every other zone of Israeli control. Though they face various forms of racial discrimination, Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem are granted relatively better status than Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, where the native population has been caged into an "open air prison". Also, a racist policy enshrined in Israeli law denies some six million Palestinian refugees the right to return to the territory from which they were expelled only a few decades ago. The same law, however, permits every Jew across the world to "return" and settle in any part of Palestine, despite not having any direct connection to the land, other than Biblical claims mentioned in the Genesis. Such practices, including the racial fragmentation of Palestine into zones of control where half the population enjoys full rights of citizenship denied to the non-Jewish half, every major human rights group has labelled Israel an apartheid state. As of 2019, 138 of the 193 UN member states have recognised the State of Palestine. Moreover, every UN member, including the US and European countries, are ostensibly committed to the creation of a fully sovereign Palestinian State. Nevertheless, every major Israeli party explicitly rejects the international consensus and now have found strong support for their radical position from the Texas Republican party in foreclosing any chance of a Palestinian State from ever being established. Though party platforms do not necessarily translate into government policy, critics cite the former US President Donald Trump and the support enjoyed by Israel amongst powerful Evangelical Christians as well as fringe elements in US society, to argue that the most extreme and rejectionist views about the apartheid state have become normalised in US politics. Amongst the other policies adopted by the pro-Israel Texas constituency is a proposal to hold a referendum on seceding from the US; a rejection of Joe Biden's presidency; calls for the repeal of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed Black voters representation. Retired NASA astronaut Scott Kelly insists the public has not lost interest in space despite a bombshell new report pointing to widespread apathy among young people. The 58-year-old American naval aviator, who spent a year on the International Space Station from 2015 to 2016, said the rise of space tourism fuelled by billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson was sparking public interest once again. He spoke out after a report found that a lack of awareness was driving fear among Generation Z, with those born between 1997 and 2012 more likely to associate space with aliens and Star Wars than exploration or satellite communications. Just one in three adults of all ages are 'excited' about space, the survey of 20,000 people across 11 countries worldwide found, while one in five are 'nervous' and one in nine 'terrified'. A total of 97 per cent of respondents said they saw the cosmos as a threat, citing space junk and climate change as their main concerns. The report has been published by Inmarsat, Britain's largest satellite group, which said the findings were a 'wake-up call' for the space industry. Bullish: Retired NASA astronaut Scott Kelly insists the public has not lost interest in space despite a bombshell new report pointing to widespread apathy among young people He spoke out after a report found that a lack of awareness was driving fear among Generation Z, with those born between 1997 and 2012 more likely to associate space with aliens and Star Wars than exploration or satellite communications Just one in three adults of all ages are 'excited' about space, the survey of 20,000 people across 11 countries worldwide found, while one in five are 'nervous' and one in nine 'terrified'. This graphic shows what each age group associates the most with space KEY FINDINGS INTO HOW THE PUBLIC VIEWS SPACE The Inmarsat report, titled 'What on Earth is the value of space', involved surveying 20,000 people in 11 countries. Here are some of the key findings: Only a quarter of the public (23 per cent) feel space exploration is 'important' Almost half (46 per cent) consider satellites when thinking of space A total of 37 per cent think of expeditions to the moon and Mars Twenty one per cent think of aliens, while almost 1 in 10 think of Star Wars Only a third of people feel 'excited' about space (34 per cent) Eighteen per cent feel nervous, while just 38 per cent wish they knew more about space A quarter (24 per cent) of people feel 'overwhelmed' by the cosmos Gen-Z are twice as likely to associate space with aliens, Star Wars and billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos than older generations A total of 97 per cent of the global population surveyed feel space is a threat One in 9 people said they were 'terrified' of what could happen in space with space junk and collisions in orbit (47 per cent), pollution (39 per cent), and damaging the Earths atmosphere (35 per cent) seen as the top threats Advertisement Kelly, a veteran of four spaceflights and the face of the 'What on Earth is the value of space' survey, told MailOnline the public had 'absolutely not' fallen out of love with space, despite the findings. 'I think they're extremely interested in it. I think the activities of commercial space companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Orbit and Virgin Galactic really has gripped people's attention,' he said. 'There is just a lot going on in the world at the moment.' He also dismissed the notion that the allure of space had been lost because of the rise in wealthy businessman blasting off on rockets built by billionaires Musk, Bezos and Branson. 'I think it's a great thing, personally,' Kelly said of the rise in space tourism and the commercialisation of low-Earth orbit. 'It's time for private investment in space governments have been doing it for 70 years now. It's time for the entrepreneurs of this world to step up.' When asked whether space exploration was important, Kelly said: 'First of all, we are explorers. 'It is that exploration DNA that drove us out of the caves, over the mountains and across the sea, and eventually into space. 'Long-term survival of a species depends on its ability to grow and advance. To do that, you can't be afraid to venture out into the unknown.' In response to people being 'terrified' of space, Kelly cited another recent survey that found many young people today aspire to be social media influencers. 'It's probably all of them who are afraid!' he joked. 'But no, spaceflight is risky. I know that because I lost two friends on Columbia [the space shuttle disaster in 2003]. 'That being said, you have to take risks.' He added: 'Space exploration is the hardest thing we do. 'The extremes of the environment and the technology we need to survive and thrive, is the technology that also improves our lives here on Earth. 'Areas like computing power, satellite communication, GPS technology and even health care advances were accomplished initially to support our efforts in space. 'Space also allows us to better study and understand our home planet so we can be better stewards of Earth. 'It also gives us perspective on humanity when you look at the planet without political borders and with a thin and fragile atmosphere. In response to people being 'terrified' of space, Kelly cited another recent survey that found many young people today aspire to be social media influencers A total of 97 per cent of respondents said they saw the cosmos as a threat, citing space junk and climate change as their main concerns. BRITAIN REVEALS PLANS TO CLEAN UP SPACE JUNK The UK government has announced plans for an 'RAC for space' as part of its vision to tackle millions of shards of debris clogging up near-Earth orbit. It also wants to improve the sustainability of future space missions, with Science Minister George Freeman issuing a stern warning to the likes of Russia and China that 'the days of putting up whatever they want have got to be over'. Britain wants to launch a spacecraft that can remain in orbit and remove multiple pieces of debris, forcing them to burn up in Earth's upper atmosphere, as depicted in this graphic above He said a 'Wild West' space race without effective regulation would only serve to increase the growing threat of debris in orbit, including hundreds of old satellites. Mr Freeman also told MailOnline that he expected Elon Musk to fall in line with Britain's push for space sustainability, adding that the need for action was not something the US billionaire could ignore. The UK government's raft of new measures includes regulating commercial satellite launches, rewarding companies that minimise their footprint on the Earth's orbit, and dishing out an additional 5 million for technologies to clean up space junk. One project is the 'Active Debris Removal' programme, which involves launching a new spacecraft to physically collect and destroy pieces of space junk floating around the Earth. Advertisement 'To see Earth hanging there against the black void of space makes us want to take care of our home even more.' When it comes to the UK, almost half (42 per cent) of Britons are worried about space junk and collisions in space; 32 per cent fear space activity damaging the Earth's atmosphere and 14 per cent are concerned we may end up polluting space. Just last week, the UK government announced a raft of new measures designed to drive sustainability in space and help clear up the millions of shards of debris clogging up near-Earth orbit. Kelly endorsed the need for action, which he said many companies including Musk's SpaceX were taking very seriously. Critics of the Tesla founder say his Starlink constellation is hogging space, with both China and the European Space Agency taking aim at his satellite-internet system, but Musk has rubbished these fears. 'Orbital debris and collisions in space could be and, in fact, is a big risk,' Kelly added. 'If this problem is not mitigated, we could someday end up in a situation where certain orbits become unusable and that would have an impact on the quality of life on Earth because the limits it would place on the space technology we have come to rely on in our daily lives.' One of the UK government's proposed measures includes an 'Active Debris Removal' programme, which involves launching a new spacecraft to physically collect and destroy pieces of space junk floating around the Earth. But Inmarsat's chief technology officer Peter Hadinger told MailOnline that although the removal of debris was important, proactive action was much more effective. 'From a technological perspective, it's immensely challenging to clean up debris in low-Earth orbit. 'It's the equivalent of an oil spill in the sea on Earth because it streaks in every direction.' He said that preventing the debris occurring in the first place was a much more effective solution to the problem, including designing more sustainable satellites and rocket parts. The Inmarsat report also found that those aged 65 and above, who were teenagers when humans first walked on the moon, are more optimistic and hopeful than Gen-Z. They are more likely to associate space with research and exploration, rockets, and satellites with their understanding of space more rooted in science than science-fiction. However, Inmarsat CEO Rajeev Suri acknowledged that the space industry had plenty to do to change public opinion, with the survey finding that just a quarter of people think space exploration is 'important'. The 58-year-old American naval aviator, who spent a year on the International Space Station (ISS) from 2015 to 2016, said the rise of space tourism fuelled by billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson was sparking public interest once again. This is a selfie of Kelly inside the cupola on the ISS, a special compartment that provides a 360-degree view of Earth The report has been published by Inmarsat, Britain's largest satellite group, which said the findings were a 'wake-up call' for the space industry Inmarsat CEO Rajeev Suri acknowledged that the space industry had to change public opinion, with the survey finding that just a quarter of people think space exploration is 'important' Almost half (46 per cent) consider satellites when thinking of space, while 37 per cent think of expeditions to the moon and Mars, 21 per cent think of aliens, and almost 1 in 10 think of Star Wars. Fewer than 1 in 10 people globally think of communications and connectivity. 'This report should be a wake-up call for our industry,' Suri said. 'Space appears to be under-appreciated and misunderstood in the real-world. In many respects, the knowledge we possess as a society is inaccurate and incomplete. 'Space can enable a better way of living for all on Earth, but public support will make or break this vital contribution to a better future. 'Space needs a new narrative, and it is time for us to define its value to the world.' The full report is available here. Warm weather has finally come to the US east coast, but scientists warn it has brought great white sharks to Cape Cod, Massachusetts along for the ride. Each summer, great whites leave their winter homes around Florida and other southern states and head north to swim in the warm waters of the cape and July sees a boom in sightings. Scientists are warning visitors of the New England peninsula to be weary when swimming in the bay. July tends to be when great whites appear in earnest as the cape's waters warm, with sightings peaking from August through October, Megan Winton, a scientist with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, said during a news conference at the organization's offices in Chatham on Wednesday. Scroll down for videos Megan Winton, a scientist with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, said during a news conference at the organizations offices in Chatham on Wednesday: 'Just know that large sharks are here. 'Just know that large sharks are here,' she said. 'They're a constant presence from June to the fall (autumn).' However, the first great white sighting was reported on May 29 near Great Point on Nantucket and another followed just last week. A great white shark was filmed eating a seal just off the beach from the Great Point Lighthouse on #Nantucket on Sunday. @A_WhiteShark @SharkWeek @OCEARCH : Will Little pic.twitter.com/RjsS54Zm9M Nantucket Current (@ACKCurrent) May 30, 2022 Off Cape Experiences shared a video on their Instagram page last week showing a 15-foot-long shark swimming around the bay Off Cape Experiences shared a video on their Instagram page showing a 15-foot-long shark swimming around the bay. Since 2009, researchers have tagged more than 280 great whites off the cape, with nearly 230 of those tags still active and sending back data about shark movements, according to the scientists. Greg Skomal, a state marine biologist who has been studying the region's great whites for decades, said the animals still tend to be concentrated on the Atlantic Ocean-facing side of the cape, where they feast on a flourishing seal population. He advised beachgoers to be most vigilant when swimming off beaches where the shoreline quickly drops off into deeper waters. 'Sharks will come close to the shore when they have water depth,' Skomal said. Since 2009, researchers have tagged more than 280 great whites off the cape, with nearly 230 of those tags still active and sending back data about shark movements, according to the scientists. This means the cape could see up to 230 great whites this season. Skomal and Winton have spent years studying white shark migration and hunting behavior, in a bid to increase beach safety. By tagging the predators allows the team to better understand where the sharks are likely to make an appearance, as well as what times of the day they tend to be most active. Skomal says there's been a marked change in beachgoer behavior since the region saw two shark attacks on humans, one of them fatal, in 2018. Many are increasingly keeping closer to shore when they swim, with others not venturing into the waters at all, he said. 'It's a conservation success story in terms of sharks and seals,' Ms Winton said. 'At the same time, this is an important place for people to recreate, so it's important to find ways to coexist.' Ancient trees in England should have the same protection status as old buildings, conservationists say, after research suggested there could be millions of unrecorded 'cathedrals of the natural world'. Experts from the University of Nottingham estimated that there could be between 1.7 and 2.1 million ancient trees across the country ten times as many as currently on official records. The Woodland Trust is now rallying for these trees to receive the same heritage status as some of the nation's favourite buildings, including Buckingham Palace and the Old Bailey. Adam Cormack, head of campaigning at the conservation charity, said: 'These astonishing trees are our inheritance from history, and we should be treating them like national treasures. 'We are petitioning governments across the UK for better protection for our most ancient and important trees and to do more to support people who are looking after them.' Ancient and veteran trees currently have no automatic right of protection in the UK, and it is difficult for organisations to know exactly how many are at risk. Pictured is the world-famous 1,000-year-old Major Oak tree in Sherwood Forest, Nottingham Left: Ancient and veteran tree record abundance per 1km grid square as counted by volunteers. Abundance ranges from 0 (blue) to 939 (red). Right: An updated, more detailed map showing a much wider distribution of ancient trees corrected for sample bias He called them the 'cathedrals of the natural world', before adding: 'These huge stalwarts have taken centuries to grow and their loss would just be devastating, not only for the landscape, but for the environment. 'These trees are vital havens for wildlife and huge carbon stores. 'These living legends don't have the automatic legal protection that most of our wildlife and old buildings have. 'This is despite the fact some are more than 1,000 years old.' An ancient tree is defined as showing exceptional age in relation to other trees of the same species, and may have historical or cultural value. An oak tree is classified as ancient when it reaches 400 years of age, and is considered a veteran tree at 150. However, Birch trees grow very quickly and reach ancient status at 150 years old, while Yews are not deemed ancient until they are about 800. Most ancient and veteran trees display similar features such as a hollowing trunk, dead wood in the canopy or the presence of other organisms such as fungi or plants on its structure. Veteran trees share similar features and values to ancient trees, but they may not be old enough to be considered truly ancient for their species. Ancient and veteran tree records across England from the Ancient Tree Inventory. There are 94,024 records in total - 10,450 ancient and 83,574 veteran. These were used to generate the predictive models. The models, when calibrated using new field surveys, predict that there are 2.1 million ancient and veteran trees in total, of which those in the inventory are a small fraction New predicted maps of the abundance of ancient and veteran trees across England from. Left shows the abundance as predicted from the counts only. Red areas represent areas of high abundance. Right shows places where the researchers predicted they lack data because of sampling bias. Red areas represent places where it is likely there is under sampling LOST AND AT RISK ANCIENT TREES The Cubbington Pear tree, a 250-year-old pear tree near Leamington Spa, was felled to make way for HS2 in 2020. Parts of Jones' Hill Wood in Buckinghamshire, an ancient woodland that inspired Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox, are also being cleared to make way for the high speed railway. The 550-year old Darwin Oak, along with 30 veteran trees, are under threat from the North West Road in Shrewsbury. Nine veteran trees and some ancient woodland at Ashenbank Wood, are slated for the chop to make way for the Lower Thames crossing. As of yesterday, work has started to cut down a 600-year-old oak tree in Bretton, Peterborough that is on the Ancient Tree Register. Advertisement The researchers built upon current data from the Woodland Trust's Ancient Tree Inventory, Ancient Tree Forum and the Tree Register. These have currently mapped 180,000 English trees, with about 115,000 of those are classified as ancient or veteran. A study, published today in Ecological Applications, used mathematical modelling to predict the true distribution of ancient and veteran tree distribution across England. The Ancient Tree Inventory was started in 2004, and anyone can record a tree online with each entry then verified by experts. However, it is likely susceptible to 'sampling bias', where the results are partly a reflection of where people have gone to survey, rather than where the trees actually might be. The new study took into account distance from cities, distance from roads, population density and environmental factors when mapping the trees. This was to help distinguish between places where people are unlikely to have looked for trees and places which really don't have any. To check the reliability of the new maps, a group of volunteers was then recruited to carry out a selection of surveys to locate the trees in a designated 1km square space. It was found that 285 of the 459 ancient and veteran trees located by the volunteers had not yet been logged in the Ancient Tree Inventory. These numbers are also thought to be an underestimate, as volunteers reported that many trees in their allocated area were inaccessible or too far off to survey accurately. A total of 22 species of trees were recorded across all the surveys, with oak being by far the most commonly recorded with 54 per cent of identified trees. This was followed by ash with 12 per cent, beech with 6 per cent and sycamore with 5 per cent. The Woodland Trust is calling for the government to provide legal protection by giving heritage status to ancient and veteran trees. Pictured is a 600-year-old oak tree in Bretton, Peterborough that is on the Ancient Tree Register. This is to be cut down because its roots are damaging a house built 20 years ago Dr Victoria Nolan, who was one of the lead researchers on the University of Nottingham study, said: 'The findings from the surveys provide an insight into the number of species and type of trees that are present in different areas of the country. 'They also were able to be used to calibrate the models and provide estimates of the total number of ancient and veteran trees across England. 'Based on the best performing distribution models, these estimates predict two million ancient and veteran trees, which is an amazing increase on what is currently recorded. 'It also suggests there is a lot more recording to do, but by having these more accurate prediction maps, targeted surveying will make it much easier to find them!' Most ancient and veteran trees display similar features such as a hollowing trunk, dead wood in the canopy or the presence of other organisms such as fungi or plants on its structure. Pictured is Pulpit Yew in the churchyard of St James's Church, Nantglyn, Denbighshire that is thought to be thought to be between 1,500 and 2,000 years old According to the Woodland Trust, the ancient and veteran trees currently have no automatic right of protection in the UK, and it is difficult for organisations to know exactly how many are at risk. Three quarters of England's ancient trees are found in places like fields, churchyards, housing estates, parks or on roadsides, rather than within protected wildlife sites. The UK has more ancient oak trees than the rest of Europe combined, which are essential in the fight against the climate and nature crisis. Oak alone supports 2,300 species of wildlife and the older and larger a tree, the more carbon it keeps locked away. The Woodland Trust is calling for the government to provide legal protection by giving heritage status to the trees. IT is also asking for land management systems to be put in place that could, for example, secure root protection area around the base of trees or reduce any threats from its surroundings. Virgin Orbit's first nighttime launch has been delayed due to a 'slightly out of bounds' propellent temperature on its LauncherOne rocket. The launch, codenamed Straight Up, was set to take place at 10pm PDT Wednesday (6am BST Thursday) but will now happen 'in the coming days'. It is set to be the first nighttime launch for the aerospace company, which is part of British billionaire Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group. When it finally happens, Straight Up will transport seven satellites for the US Space Force into low Earth orbit, around 310 miles (500km) above Earth. The satellites will be blasted into space on a rocket called LauncherOne, which will be unleashed from a jumbo jet from Mojave Air and Space Port in California. Virgin Orbit's first nighttime launch has been delayed a day due to 'slightly out of bounds' propellent temperature on its LauncherOne rocket Seven satellites will be blasted into space on a rocket called LauncherOne, which will be unleashed from a jumbo jet from Mojave Air and Space Port in California Virgin Orbit launches involve the firm's carrier aircraft, a modified Boeing 747 called Cosmic Girl (pictured), and a two-stage orbital launch vehicle called LauncherOne, tucked into Cosmic Girl's belly LAUNCHER ONE FLIGHTS PAST - May 25, 2020: Failure - January 17, 2021: Success - June 30, 2021: Success - January 13, 2022: Success All took place from Mojave Air and Space Port, California UPCOMING - Early July, 2022 (from Mojave Air and Space Port) - September 8, 2022 (from Spaceport Cornwall) Advertisement Straight Up, which is named after a 1988 hit by Paula Abdul, will also be the last Virgin Orbit launch before a historic blast off takes place from Cornwall in September the first ever UK satellite launch. It will mark one of the most significant milestones in UK spaceflight since the launch of the British space programme in 1952. Virgin Orbit announced the Straight Up delay on Twitter less than an hour before the launch was expected to happen. 'We are standing down from today's launch attempt,' the firm said. 'Our systems are in great health, but our propellant temperature was slightly out of bounds, and out of extreme caution, we are scrubbed for the day. 'We're proud of the team for running an extremely professional operation.' It is unclear exactly when the launch will rescheduled for, although it has been reported that the delay is only likely to be for 24 hours, so it could happen as soon as Friday morning UK time. As recently as six days ago, Virgin Orbit said it was on track for the scheduled launch at 10pm Wednesday local time, with 'dress rehearsals complete'. As recently as six days ago, Virgin Orbit said it was on track for the scheduled launch at 10pm Wednesday local time, saying 'dress rehearsals complete' Virgin Orbit announced the Straight Up delay on Twitter less than an hour before the launch was expected to happen HOW VIRGIN ORBIT GETS SATELLITES INTO SPACE TAKE OFF Cosmic Girl, an adapted Boeing 747, takes off from an air and space port, initially in California. ROCKET DEPLOYMENT At cruising altitude around 35,000 feet, the chief pilot hits the Big Red Button that releases the rocket from the pylon. FIRST STAGE BURN After a 4-second freefall, the first stage engine, NewtonThree, bursts to life, accelerating the rocket to more than 8,000 miles per hour. Once its fuel is spent, the first stage detaches. FAIRING SEPARATION With LauncherOne now between 310 to 745 miles above the Earths surface, the fairing pops open, exposing the payload as it nears its destination. SATELLITE DEPLOYMENT Finally, with very precise timing, the second stage ejects the satellite into its final orbit. RETURN TO EARTH Atmospheric drag will eventually pull the second stage back down to Earth, where it burns up in the atmosphere, minimising environmental footprint. Advertisement 'Our hardware is in top-notch condition, and the team is performing exceptionally, as we prepare for our first night-time launch,' Tyler Grinnell, vice president of test, flight and launch for Virgin Orbit, said on June 24. 'The perspective we've gained from each previous launch is really paying off now. 'Our crews in the sky and on the ground are ready to further our mission of getting our customers' satellites precisely where they need to go.' When it eventually occurs, the launch will support the United States Space Forces STP-S28A mission and carry payloads for the Department of Defense (DOD) Space Test Program (STP). The seven satellites released will conduct experiments in space-based communications, in-space navigation, and climate change, according to Virgin Orbit. The firm has already conducted three successful consecutive orbital missions with LauncherOne in 2021 and 2022, the last one taking place in January. All three blasted off from Mojave Air and Space Port, California, but the next one, scheduled for September 8, will launch from Spaceport Cornwall, part of Newquay Airport. Virgin Orbit uses an eccentric launch method, involving a carrier aircraft, a modified Boeing 747 called Cosmic Girl, and LauncherOne, a two-stage orbital launch vehicle, tucked into Cosmic Girl's belly. Once Cosmic Girl is at a high enough altitude around 35,000 feet LauncherOne is unleashed. When at an orbital altitude, LauncherOne deploys the satellites, catapulted into orbit at 8,000 miles per hour. Pictured is the LauncherOne rocket. Spaceport Cornwall and Virgin Orbit are confident that the first UK satellite launch will take place from the Cornish site, beating Scottish rivals Virgin Orbit is a company within the Virgin Group, the conglomerate founded by Richard Branson in 1970. Virgin Orbit was formed in 2017 to develop the air-launched LauncherOne rocket, launched from Cosmic Girl (this had previously been a project of Virgin Galactic) Over the last 16 months since January 2021, LauncherOne has already deployed payloads in space for Virgin Orbit's customers, including NASA and the US Department of Defense. Virgin Orbit is a company within the Virgin Group, the conglomerate founded by Richard Branson in 1970. It was formed in 2017 to develop the air-launched LauncherOne rocket, launched from Cosmic Girl (this had previously been a project of Virgin Galactic). A carnivorous plant may sound like something out of science fiction, but they do exist and they tend to eat bugs and tiny animals. Scientists have identified a weird-looking new species known as Nepenthes Pudica that traps its prey in a way that's unique among these types of plants. This newly identified plant is known as a pitcher plant for the modified leaves called pitfall traps that it deploys to catch prey - featuring a deep bulbous cavity that contains digestive fluid at the bottom. 'We found a pitcher plant which differs markedly from all the other known species,' botanist Martin Dancak of Palacky University Olomouc in the Czech Republic, who is the lead author of the study, says in a statement. The unique carnivorous plants were discovered in Indonesia. Pictured is lower pitchers revealed under a moss mat (left) and lower pitchers extracted from a cavity-note Pitcher plants typically produce pitfall traps above ground at the surface of the soil or on trees so that insects are drawn in and trapped. The insects then are dissolved in the digestive juices at the bottom of the cavity. However, N. Pudica differs from other such plants that botanists have observed because its pitfall traps are set underground. 'This species places its up-to11-cm-long [4.3-inch] pitchers underground, where they are formed in cavities or directly in the soil and trap animals living underground, usually ants, mites, and beetles,' Dancak says. The newly identified carnivorous plant is known as Nepenthes Pudica. Pictured is a detail of lower pitchers from the soil (left) and lower pitchers excavated under tree roots The species' unique way of trapping prey may have given it an evolutionary advantage. Pictured is male flowers (left) and a male plant with florescence (right) The pitchers retain their size underground and are often reddish in color. 'Interestingly, we found numerous organisms living inside the pitchers, including mosquito larvae, nematodes and a species of worm which was also described as a new species,' explains Vaclav Cermak of the Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic, who was also part of the research team. This unique way of trapping prey may have given this particular species an evolutionary advantage. The species was first discovered back in 2012 on the island of Borneo in the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan. Pictured (left) is infructescence, which refers to the fruits derived from the reproductive part of the plants, and a female plant (right) with infructescence 'The potentially strong competition for prey and possible environmental limitations in the forest understory (e.g. dryness affecting ridgetops) might be avoided by moving the traps underground,' the researchers explain. Pictured is Nepenthes Pudica juvenile rosette pitcher (left) and upper pitchers (right) 'The living strategy of Nepenthes Pudica can be viewed as an advantageous evolutionary adaptation. As carnivorous plants are highly dependent on prey for organic nutrients essential for reproductive success, strong selective pressures may have acted on traits related to prey capture,' the researchers state in their paper published in the journal PhytoKeys. 'Hence, the potentially strong competition for prey and possible environmental limitations in the forest understory (e.g. dryness affecting ridgetops) might be avoided by moving the traps underground,' they continue. The species was first discovered back in 2012 on the island of Borneo in the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan. 'This discovery is important for nature conservation in Indonesian Borneo,' one scientist says. Pictured is a habitat with a mature plant (left) and a habitat with lower pitchers excavated from the soil (right) Researchers hope their work inspires more conservation efforts in these highly biodiverse parts of Indonesia. Pictured is a habit (A), lower pitcher (B), infructescence (C), male inflorescence (D) and detail of a climbing stem with a leaf (E) During a trip to the area, researchers saw plants that were Nepenthes but didn't produce pitchers. As they continued to explore that area and found more, they eventually realized that they'd discovered a species that targets the underground environment. 'This discovery is important for nature conservation in Indonesian Borneo, as it emphasizes its significance as a world biodiversity hotspot. 'We hope that the discovery of this unique carnivorous plant might help protect Bornean rainforests, especially prevent or at least slow the conversion of pristine forests into oil palm plantations,' concludes Wewin Tjiasmanto of Yayasan Konservasi Biota Lahan Basah, who helped discover the new species. Scientists published their work in the journal PhytoKeys. The National Aviary in Pittsburgh welcomed a new member to its critically endangered Andean condor family. A female chick hatched at the bird sanctuary on June 7, as news of the birth was announced Thursday, to Lianni and Lurch, which also live at the aviary. The chick weighed jut half of a pound when it was born, sporting a body of white fluffy feathers and a small head with beady eyes. The chick is one of only three Andean Condors, to hatch in North American zoos in the past year. 'This chick's hatching is an important step for the declining South American species, the aviary shared in the announcement. 'This adorable little one is cozy in her Condor Court nest cave with Lianni, her very attentive mother.' The Andean Condor is famous for having the longest wingspan of any raptor in the world. Scroll down for videos The National Aviary in Pittsburgh welcomed a new member to its critically endangered Andean condor family Lianni, a 38-year-old Andean condor, laid the egg on April 5 and the egg hatched two months later. It takes more than a year from the time the egg is laid until the chick has learned to live on its own. Researchers at the aviary explain that because the chick is without a caruncle it is likely to be a female. The caruncle is the skin on the head and throat hang in lose folds, and is reddish-black, with a fleshy wattle over the beak. A female chick hatched at the bird sanctuary on June 7, news of the birth was announced Thursday, to Lianni (right)and Lurch (left), which also live at the aviary 'Our team takes a holistic approach to working to conserve this vitally important species,' Kurt Hundgen, director of Animal Care and Conservation Programs at the National Aviary, told PennLive. 'We conduct research in the field to understand the behavior of wild Andean Condors and work collaboratively with other zoological institutions in Ecuador where the species is considered critically endangered. 'We provide the best possible care for the Andean Condors that call the National Aviary home and we play a very active role in the Species Survival Plan designed to enhance the conservation of the species.' Lianni, a 38-year-old Andean condor, laid the egg (left) on April 5 and the egg hatched two months later. It takes more than a year from the time the egg is laid until the chick has learned to live on its own. The Andean condor has a wingspan of up to 10.5 feet and a body measuring up to four feet, making it one of the largest birds in the world. The aviary said Andean condors are one of the largest birds in the world with a wingspan of more than 10 feet. The chick could end up weighing more than 30 pounds, but it will not reach its full size until it is about six months old. The Andean Condor has the honor of being the national bird of several South American countries including Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador. There are fears that the species is now extinct in Venezuela, and there are only some 7,000 living adults left in the world. A interesting discovery within the condor population surfaced in October 2021, when researchers found endangered California condors can have 'virgin births.' A study confirmed two male chicks hatched in 2001 and 2009 from unfertilized eggs. Researchers at the aviary explain that because the chick is without a caruncle it is likely to be a female. The caruncle is the skin on the head and throat hang in lose folds, and is reddish-black, with a fleshy wattle over the beak' The chicks, dubbed SB260 and SB517, had DNA that was 100 percent of their mothers, which means the two adult condors fertilized the eggs themselves. The phenomenon is known as parthenogenesis, but researchers were unaware that the chicks were born through asexual reproduction until they died due to health complications - one passed away in 2003 at age two and the other in 2017 at eight. The team at the California zoo welcome the chicks with open arms, but did not realize the pair were produced through a virgin birth because the others had produced multiple offspring with mates one had 11 chicks, while the other was paired with a male for over 20 years and had 23 chicks. This is truly an amazing discovery,' said Ryder. A interesting discovery within the condor population surfaced in October 2021, when researchers found endangered California condors can have 'virgin births.' A study confirmed two male chicks hatched in 2001 and 2009 from unfertilized eggs (pictured) Oliver Ryder, the study's co-author and director of conservation genetics for the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, said in a statement: 'We were not exactly looking for evidence of parthenogenesis, it just hit us in the face. 'We only confirmed it because of the normal genetic studies we do to prove parentage. 'Our results showed that both eggs possessed the expected male ZZ sex chromosomes, but all markers were only inherited from their dams, verifying our findings.' Both chicks experienced health issues that unfortunately led to their deaths. Advertisement A NASA satellite captured stunning images of a partial solar eclipse from its unique vantage point in space - the only place where it was visible. The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) photographed the moon passing in front of the sun yesterday from about 05:20 BST (01:20 ET). The transit lasted for about 35 minutes and at its peak, the moon covered 67 percent the fiery surface. The spacecraft then returned a series of images of the event that showed 'lunar mountains backlit by solar fire', according to experts at SpaceWeather.com. Bumps and irregularities can be seen on the moon's surface it passed by that have been identified as part of the Leibnitz and Doerfel mountain ranges. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured images of a 35-minute-long partial solar eclipse from its unique vantage point in space - the only place where it was visible The Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed the moon passing in front of the sun yesterday from 05:20 BST (01:20 ET) The spacecraft returned a series of images of the event that showed 'lunar mountains backlit by solar fire', according to experts at SpaceWeather.com. WHAT IS A SOLAR ECLIPSE? Solar eclipses occur when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, casting a shadow on the Earth. There are various types, depending on how much of the sun appears to be obscured to a viewer in a given location. Solar eclipses only occur roughly every six months - a consequence of how the moon doesn't quite orbit in the same plane around the Earth as the planet does in its path around the sun. Advertisement Patricio Leon, from Santiago, Chile, compared the close-up images of the moon moving across the sun to a topography map from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter He was able to identify the Leibnitz and Doerfel mountain ranges near the moon's south pole during the eclipse. Experts at SpaceWeather.com said: 'At the peak of the eclipse, the Moon covered 67 per cent of the sun, and lunar mountains were backlit by solar fire. 'High-resolution images like these can help the SDO science team better understand the telescope. 'They reveal how light diffracts around SDO's optics and filter support grids. 'Once these are calibrated, it is possible to correct SDO data for instrumental effects and sharpen images of the sun even more than before.' Launched in 2010, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory monitors the sun with a fleet of spacecraft, snapping pictures of it every 0.75 seconds. It also studies the sun's magnetic field, atmosphere, sunspots and other aspects that influence activity during the 11-year solar cycle. The sun has been experiencing heightened activity for some months as it appears to be moving into a particularly active period of its 11-year cycle of activity, which began in 2019 and is expected to peak in 2025. The sun's magnetic poles flip at the peak of the solar activity cycle, and a solar wind composed of charged particles carries the magnetic field away from the suns surface and through the solar system. This accompanies an increase in solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the sun's surface. A CME is a significant release of plasma and accompanying magnetic field from the sun's corona the outermost part of the sun's atmosphere into the solar wind. CMEs only impact Earth when they're aimed in our planet's direction, and tend to be much slower than solar flares as they move a greater amount of matter. Patricio Leon, from Santiago, Chile, compared the close-up images of the moon moving across the sun to a topography map from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter He was able to identify the Leibnitz and Doerfel mountain ranges near the moon's south pole during the eclipse Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), pictured here in illustration, studies how solar activity is created and how space weather results from that activity AThe energy from a flare can disrupt the area of the atmosphere through which radio waves travel, which can lead to temporary blackouts in navigation and communications signals. On the other hand, CMEs have the power to jostle Earth's magnetic fields, creating currents that drive particles down toward Earth's poles. When these react with oxygen and nitrogen, they help create the aurora, also known as the Northern and Southern Lights. Additionally, the magnetic changes can affect a variety of human technologies, causing GPS coordinates to stray by a few yards and overloading electricity grids when power companies are not prepared. There hasn't been an extreme CME or solar flare in the modern world the last was the Carrington Event in 1859 creating a geomagnetic storm with an aurora appearing globally, as well as fires at telegraph stations. NASA's Perseverance rover has been aptly named because nearly two months after beginning its search into past life on Mars it has still yet to find any viable samples. The car-sized robot began its mission to find ancient biomarkers in the Martian clay on April 22, which could indicate if alien life ever existed on the Red Planet. It has been roaming around an ancient delta to look for sampling sites that might contain ancient microbes and organics. The rover then drills down to extract a specimen that it plans to leave at the base of the delta to be retrieved in future missions. However, NASA has since revealed that, so far, no samples have been successfully collected. The fragile clay materials the rover targets have been known to fracture, crack and crumble during the abrasion and coring process. Other rocks have tricky shapes and angles that make drilling difficult or impossible, NASA has admitted. Nearly two months after beginning its search into past life on Mars, NASA's Perseverance rover has still yet to collect any viable rock samples. The fragile clay materials the rover targets have been known to fracture, crack and crumble during the abrasion and coring process Some target rocks have tricky shapes and angles that make drilling difficult or impossible An image of the Perseverance rover sizing up Betty's Rock on Sol 477. The layered rock likely originated from an outcrop above, but its rough surface and sharp angles has so far prevented Perseverance from collecting a sample PERSEVERANCE ROVER COMES WITH 23 CAMERAS There are 23 cameras mounted to the Perseverance rover including: Nine engineering cameras, seven science cameras and seven for entry, descent and landing. The engineering cameras give detailed information in colour about the terrain the rover has to cross. They measure the ground for safe driving, check out the status of hardware and support sample gathering. There are Hazcams for hazard detection and Navcams for navigation. Science cameras record in more detail and can even capture 3D images. The Mastcam-Z on a 2 metre arm has a zoom feature for focusing on distant objects and can film video. The Supercam fires a laser at mineral targets beyond the reach of the rovers arm to analysed the chemical composition of the rock. Advertisement The Twitter account for the Perseverance rover tweeted: 'The rocks here at the ancient river delta are amazing, but so far none has been perfect for #SamplingMars 'Some too fragile, some too jagged, but I'm sure I'll find the right one soon I'm not called Perseverance for nothing.' Scientists know from studying deltas on Earth that fine-grained clay-rich rocks in these environments are good at preserving ancient biomarkers. Biomarkers, or 'molecular fossils,' are complex organic molecules created by life and preserved in rock for up to billions of years. Perserverence chooses a sample using its suite of onboard instruments to detect whether organic molecules are present before coring. Once extracted, the core samples will be returned to Earth where scientists can analyse them in laboratories. They will identify any organics present and characterise their molecular structures in detail. These analyses can help determine whether any organic molecules contained in Martian delta rocks are biomarkers or non-biological organics. US space agency NASA wants these rocks to be brought back to Earth in the 2030s. Scientists hope that, as well as providing answers about potential ancient life on the Red Planet, they will also reveal more about Mars' climate and how it has evolved. However, up until now, collecting the core samples has proven a challenge. An artist's impression shows Jezero Crater as it may have looked as a lake billions of years ago Nasa's Perseverance rover (pictured) chooses a sample using its suite of onboard instruments to detect whether organic molecules are present in some rock before coring. Once extracted, the core samples will be returned to Earth where scientists can analyse them in laboratories Last week, the Perseverance team hoped to sample Bettys Rock, a layered rock made up of alternating coarse-grained and fine-grained materials. They believe that Bettys Rock came from the Rocky Top outcrop many meters above, breaking free and landing near the bottom of the delta front at some point in the past. Unfortunately, its jagged layers and awkward shape prevented the rover from safely manoeuvring its arm and placing the corer on the target to abrade and drill. Instead, the rover will now sample Skinner Ridge Rock, a low-lying rock that looks very similar to Bettys Rock, but with a much more approachable shape. The process of moving over to the rock, study its composition and collecting a sample will take several sols - days on Mars - to complete. XX Perseverance landed on Mars on February 18 last year, after a nearly seven-month journey through space, and made its first test drive just over two weeks later. Up until the beginning of '#Campaign 2' - the current search of Jezero Crater for signs of life - the rover spent time testing its instruments and surveying Mars' geological features. It collected eight rock-core samples from its first science campaign and completed a record-breaking, 31-Martian-day (or sol) dash across about 3 miles (5 kilometres) of Mars. Perseverance arrived at the doorstep of Jezero Crater's ancient river delta on April 13. Dubbed 'Three Forks' by the Perseverance team (a reference to the spot where three route options to the delta merge), the location serves as the staging area for the rover's second science expedition, the 'Delta Front Campaign'. Several miles wide, the fan-shaped delta formed where an ancient river spilled into the lake that once filled Jezero Crater. Rising more than 130 feet (40 metres) above the crater floor and filled with jagged cliffs, angled surfaces, projecting boulders, and sand-filled pockets, the delta promises to hold numerous geologic revelations perhaps even proof that microscopic life existed on Mars billions of years ago. Perseverance uses a drill on the end of its robotic arm and a complex sample collection system to gather rock cores for return to Earth. The rover will collect rocks from the Jezero Crater (pictured) and leave the samples at the base of the delta to be retrieved by future missions The rover is expected to collect around eight samples over about half an Earth year during the Delta Front Campaign. Perseverance is then expected to put down its first collection of rocks from the delta when it returns to the crater floor at the end of the year. After completing the descent, the robot will, according to current plans, again ascend the delta perhaps via another, untravelled route to begin the 'Delta Top Campaign', which will last about half an Earth year as well. 'The delta at Jezero Crater promises to be a veritable geologic feast and one of the best locations on Mars to look for signs of past microscopic life,' said Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. 'The answers are out there and Team Perseverance is ready to find them.' Mission scientist Professor Sanjeev Gupta, from Imperial College London, explained why experts were hopeful, saying that rivers flowing into a delta bring nutrients helpful for life, while the fine-grained sediment is good for preservation. In this image released by NASA, the drill hole from Perseverance's second sample-collection attempt last year can be seen in a rock Scientists hope that as well as providing answers about potential ancient life on the Red Planet, the rock samples will also reveal more about Mars' climate and how it has evolved A Florida businessman is one of the five paying customers who will soar to the edge of space aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket sometime this year. 'They [Blue Origin] have my flight suit made. The date is now set and it will happen this year,' Steve Young, 59, told DailyMail.com in a phone interview. 'Why do I want to go to space? Because I can. I am a bragger. I can say I went to space and my friends can't.' 'It [Blue Origin's flights] also intrigued me and I have the funds available to do this.' Those funds come from the sale of Florida's largest telecommunications contractor, Young's Communications or Y-com Young told DailyMail.com that he sold the company when it was generating $100 million annually and it was acquired by Grain Management, which only purchases companies valued between $20 million to $150 million. Scroll down for videos Steve Young (center), 59, is a Florida resident, business owner, husband, father and one of the paying customers set to fly to space aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket. Pictured he is with his sons Austin (left) and Chase (left) Y-com was started by Young's father and uncle in 1972 after he retired from the military. The brothers started the giant telecom company with just a pickup truck and their own equipment - and it eventually grew into the massive business it is today. Young, who is an Army brat, was born in Germany, but settled in Florida after his father retired from the military in 1969. Young, who lives in Indialantic, also owns Pineapples, a restaurant, music venue and rooftop bar in Eau Gallie, Florida - which he opened shortly before selling Y-com. Y-com was started by Young's father and uncle in 1972 after he retired from the military. The brothers started the giant telecom company with just a pickup truck and their own equipment - and it eventually grew into the massive business it is today Young, who lives in Indialantic, also owns Pineapples, a restaurant, music venue and rooftop bar in Eau Gallie, Florida - which he opened shortly before selling Y-com The restaurant came about when Young was searching for a venue for his oldest son, Austin, 30, to run bands through. He found a location, but the owner refused to sell it. Young will join four other paying customers on the journey to space 'I bought the parking lot next to it and built a bigger, better versions,' said Young, who has another son Chase, 25, who is embarking on a career in coding. Young told DailyMail.com that when he is not at Pineapples, which opened in April 2021, he is traveling and spending time with his wife, Melodie. 'We've been together for 38 years and two weeks, he said. 'She was with another boy that surfed at what I called my beach. I overheard they were breaking up so I called every Austin in the phone book until I found her,' Young continued, explaining how he met his wife. He will join four other paying customers on the journey to space, along with a special guest chosen by Blue Origin and Young said he cannot wait to find out who that is. Blue Origin began its space tourist venture on July 20 when it sent Bezos, the found of the company, and three others. The flights take place aboard the New Shepard rocket, named after Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, who was the first American in space Blue Origin began its space tourist venture on July 20 when it sent Bezos (pictured), the found of the company, and three others. The next flight, on October 13, took Star Trek's William Shatner 65 miles above the surface, making him the oldest person ever to reach the final frontier. Blue Origin has launched a total of five space tourism flights, with the most recent on June 4. The flights take place aboard the New Shepard rocket, named after Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, who was the first American in space. The six person crew will spend a few days training before the flight, which includes going over safety systems and preparing for unexpected aspects of spaceflight such as strange noises, bumps and accelerations. The next flight, on October 13, took Star Trek's William Shatner (second from right) 65 miles above the surface, making him the oldest person ever to reach the final frontier The group will also learn how to behave in zero-gravity inside the cabin without colliding with their flight mates. The six individuals should pile inside a truck to the launch tower 45 minutes before lift-off. The crew will then climb the tower, ring a bell that hangs at one end of the crossing and strap into the fully autonomous 60-foot-tall New Shepard rocket. They will then blast off from a base in the west Texas town of Van Horn and head toward the edge of space. Scientists have restored arm and hand movements in paralyzed monkeys by zapping the animals' spinal cords. The successful experiment allows the team at Pittsburgh University to start human trials and patients are now being recruited. For the pre-clinical testing, monkeys were implanted with electrodes along their spines that were connected to an external stimulator the size of a pencil-top eraser. The animals were also fitted with brain implants that monitor voluntary movement. When the brain implants detected the animal's intention to move its arm, the stimulator sent small electrical shocks up spinal cord toward the muscles of the arm and hand. A video of the experiment shows the monkey unable to reach a treat, but when the stimulator zaps its spinal cord it can reach and grab the food. The breakthrough research offers hope to the more than five million people who are paralyzed due to a spinal injury or stroke. Scroll down for videos Scientists have restored arm and hand movements in paralyzed monkeys by zapping the animals' spinal cords. Pictured is the paralyzed monkey before its spinal cord is zapped. It is attempting to reach for the treat, but is unable to move its arm The analysis showed that, while not enough to restore the arm function completely, stimulation significantly improved precision, force and range of movement, allowing each animal to move its arm more efficiently. Importantly, the animals continued to improve as they adapted and learned how to use stimulation. Co first author Dr Sara Conti of Harvard Medical School in Boston told SWNS: 'Our protocol consists of simple stimulation patterns that are initiated by detection of the animal's intention to move. 'We don't need to know where the animal wants to move. We only need to know they want to move - and extracting that information is relatively simple. Stimulation is zapping its spinal cord. The monkey is able to move its arm up toward the treat 'Our technology could be implemented in clinics in many different ways, potentially without requiring brain implants.' The team began this work with the goal of develop a technology that activates the remaining healthy nerves connecting the brain and spinal cord to control arm muscles using an external stimuli a challenging feat to say the least. Senior author Marco Capogrosso, assistant professor of neurological surgery and member of the Rehabilitation and Neural Engineering Labs at Pitt, said in a statement: 'To perform even the simplest arm movement, our nervous system has to coordinate hundreds of muscles, and replacing this intricate neural control with direct electrical muscle activation would be very difficult outside a laboratory, 'Instead of stimulating muscles, we simplified the technology by designing a system that uses surviving neurons to restore the connection between the brain and the arm via specific stimulation pulses to the spinal cord, potentially enabling a person with paralysis to perform tasks of daily living.' Here the monkey is able to grab the treat, to which he also moves to his mouth Monkeys were fitted with brain implants detected electrical activity from regions controlling voluntary movement. When they detected the animal's intention to move its arm a small array of electrodes connected to a stimulator the size of a pencil rubber were switched on To test the technology, researchers worked with macaque monkeys with partial arm paralysis who were trained to reach, grasp and pull a lever to receive their favorite food treat. They were fitted with brain implants that detected electrical activity from regions controlling voluntary movement. When they detected the animal's intention to move its arm a small array of electrodes connected to a stimulator the size of a pencil rubber were switched on. It was placed over the nerve roots sprouting from the spinal cord toward the muscles of the arm and hand. Co first author Dr Beatrice Barra, now at New York University, said in a statement: 'Taking a step back and tackling a very complex clinical problem from a different and simpler perspective compared to anything that was done before opens more clinical possibilities for people with arm and hand paralysis. 'By building a technology around the nervous system that mimics what it is naturally designed to do, we get better results.' The electrical spinal cord stimulation, described in the journal Nature Neuroscience, will be tested on paralyzed stroke patients in the US later this year. After returning from a visit to the front near Kherson, Ukraine, on June 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his military would continue to fight Russia and return everything thats ours, after having earlier made clear his intent to liberate our Crimea as well. While those goals are understandable, the harsh realities emerging on the bloody battlefields of eastern Ukraine make it increasingly likely that the longer Kyiv seeks to achieve military victory, the more likely it is ultimately to be defeated. U.S. policy, guided by U.S. interests, should change to reflect this reality. Early in the war, many in Ukraine and the West were buoyed by the clear failure of the Kremlins army to conquer Kyiv and force the government to surrender, as evidenced by Russias shocking loss of thousands of tanks and other armored vehiclesand tens of thousands of its troopsespecially on the Kyiv and Kharkiv fronts. The Ukrainian Armed Forces, in contrast, fought heroically and effectively, performing well above expectations . In response, the United States and dozens of other Western countries accelerated the delivery of weapons and ammunition to Kyiv. As much as Ukraine welcomes every piece of equipment, however, the deliveries have been a clunky mixture of modern and antiquated, Western and Soviet. Numerous systems require specialized training, specific maintenance systems, and ammunition of various calibers that are often mutually exclusive to each weapon system. All of this requires a massive and complicated logistics system to keep the weapons supplied and functioningone that doesnt currently exist in Ukraine and continues to be improvised. Meanwhile, Ukrainian leaders have been clamoring for more weapons, warning that the quantities sent or pledged so far are grossly insufficient. Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak wrote last week that in addition to the equipment already promised, Ukraine still needs 1000 howitzers caliber 155 mm; 300 MLRS [multiple launch rocket launchers]; 500 tanks; 2000 armored vehicles; [and] 1000 drones. The scale of these requests illustrates how difficult it will be for the Ukrainian forces to hold out against the Russian onslaught in their countrys east, let alone turn the tide to defeat it. Since Russia changed tack and prioritized firepower over maneuver in the Donbas fight, its forces have been pummeling Ukrainian troops with upwards of a staggering 70,000 shells per day and a significant number of heavy rockets. Additionally, Russian President Vladimir Putins forces are conducting as many as 300 air sorties over Ukraine per day. Ukraine, in contrast, is firing an estimated one-tenth as many shellsand sometimes flies only three to five air sorties per day. This disparity in firepower is driving Ukrainian casualties beyond what we believe it can sustain, with up to 200 soldiers reportedly killed each day and around 500 wounded. The toll on Kyivs equipment is just as devastating: Most of the Soviet-era equipment Ukraine possessed at the beginning of the war has been destroyed, and it has run out of entire categories of ammunition. No military can sustain those kinds of losses and continue to offer effective resistanceas evidenced by Ukraines recent loss of several towns and villages to the Russian invaders and near-encirclement on the Donbas front. Policies in Kyiv and Washington seem to ignore these battlefield realities. Last week, Zelensky reiterated his plans to regain all Ukrainian territory lost to Russia since the first invasion in 2014currently about 20 percent of Ukraine. On the prospects for a negotiated settlement, he added one day later that there is no time for talking to Russia. U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks recently said the Pentagon is well equipped to support Ukraine for five, 10, or 20 years into the future. Yet our own substantial experience deployed in combat leads us to wonder if Ukraine can hold out for five to 10 months, much less one or two decades. While there is still time, and Kyiv still controls 80 percent of its territory, a change in U.S. policy would provide a chance to save Ukrainian lives and prevent further territorial losses. At minimum, the Biden administration should de-emphasize its goals of weakening Russia and instead prioritize diplomacy, helping Kyiv and Moscow find a negotiated end to the war. It is in the U.S. national interest to prevent the war from escalating in Ukraine or expanding beyond it. Avoiding the risk of direct U.S.-Russian or NATO-Russian confrontation is vital because of the dire global consequences of a nuclear war. The world is already at a greater risk of nuclear war than at any time since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. By Tulsi Gabbard, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Daniel L. Davis, a senior fellow at Defense Priorities. Astronauts sacrifice a lot to explore the mysteries of deep space and it's well known that the zero gravity environment results in bone loss. However, new research shows that astronauts who partake in spaceflights that last longer than three months can show signs of incomplete bone recovery even after a full year back on Earth. 'The detrimental effect of spaceflight on skeletal tissue can be profound,' states the opening line of the study published today in Scientific Reports. 'We found that weight-bearing bones only partially recovered in most astronauts one year after spaceflight,' Leigh Gabel, assistant professor in Kinesiology, and lead author of the study, says in a statement. The impact of zero gravity on the bones of an astronaut can be 'profound' according to the study. Pictured above is astronaut Tom Marshburn after pinning the official flown NASA astronaut insignia on ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer after the Crew-3 Crew Dragon 'Endurance' successfully docked with the International Space Station 'This suggests the permanent bone loss due to spaceflight is about the same as a decade worth of age-related bone loss on Earth.' The study was started in 2017 and it followed 17 astronauts before and after spaceflight over seven years to determine how bone does or does not recover after longer spaceflights. Researchers went to Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas and scanned the wrists and ankles of the astronauts before they left for space. One year after returning from long-duration spaceflight, most astronauts demonstrated incomplete recovery of bone density, strength, and trabecular thickness at the weight-bearing distal tibia. Incomplete recovery of bone density and strength was more pronounced in astronauts who flew on longer duration missions, researchers found. Pictured above is the International Space Station as photographed by Expedition 56 crew members When astronauts are floating in microgravity, their bones that would be weight-bearing on Earth don't have to carry any weight. 'Understanding what happens to astronauts and how they recover is incredibly rare. It lets us look at the processes happening in the body in such a short time frame. We would have to follow someone for decades on Earth to see the same amount of bone loss,' Gabel explains. Incomplete recovery of bone density and strength was more pronounced in astronauts who flew on longer duration missions, for whom bone loss after spaceflight was significantly higher than astronauts on shorter missions. Researchers noted that astronauts all respond differently to the physical impacts of space travel. All astronauts recover differently when it comes to the impact of zero gravity. Pictured above is the deployment of scientific experiments by Astronaut Edwin Aldrin Jr. is photographed by Astronaut Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 Moon mission. 'Weve seen astronauts who had trouble walking due to weakness and lack of balance after returning from spaceflight, to others who cheerfully road their bike on Johnson Space Center campus to meet us for a study visit,' says Dr. Steven Body, director of the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health and professor in the Cumming School of Medicine, who started the study. As space travel enters a new era where long-duration missions may become more common, the study is planning to examine the impact of even lengthier trips in its next iteration.' Astronaut Robert Thirsk knows how bizarre the return to Earth can be: 'Just as the body must adapt to spaceflight at the start of a mission, it must also readapt back to Earths gravity field at the end,' says Thirsk, the former UCalgary Chancellor. WHEN DID NASA LAST LAUNCH CREWED MISSIONS FROM THE US? Shuttle Columbia is shown during lift-off from the Kennedy Space Center in 2003 NASA launched its first space shuttle, Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-1), from the Kennedy Space Center on April 12, 1981. In the three decades that followed, the space agency deployed a total of 135 missions from US soil. Columbia was only the beginning; following in its footsteps, NASA launched Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavor to carry people to orbit. These launches also allowed for the construction of the International Space Station the largest structure in space, thats now home to a revolving crew of astronauts from all around the world, conducting important experiments that continue to advance our knowledge of the cosmos. The shuttle missions came to an end with the Atlantis shuttle on July 21, 2011 after STS-135. In the years since, NASA has had to rely on Russian modules to send astronauts to the ISS, all of which launch from foreign soil. Now, the space agency has turned to the private sector to provide space taxi services, to take astronauts from US soil to the ISS. On August 3, 2018, NASA revealed astronauts would fly on the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon. So far only SpaceX has successfully taken astronauts to the ISS, but it is hoped the first Starliner flight will happen in 2022. The shuttle missions came to an end with the Atlantis shuttle on July 21, 2011 after STS-135. Above, Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fl, marking the official end of the 30-year program Advertisement 'Fatigue, light-headedness, and imbalance were immediate challenges for me on my return. Bones and muscles take the longest to recover following spaceflight. 'But within a day of landing, I felt comfortable again as an Earthling.' The study team included two members from the European Space Agency (ESA), Dr. Anna-Maria Liphardt, and Martina Heer, as well as two from NASA, Dr. Scott Smith, and Dr. Jean Sibonga. The study was funded by the Canadian Space Agency and conducted in partnership with ESA, NASA and astronauts from North America, Europe, and Asia. Tottenham expect to finalise the transfer of Everton striker Richarlison within the next 24 hours and have agreed to sign Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet on loan. Everton want over 50m for the Brazilian and talks are focusing on the structure of the fee. His previous club Watford are due 10 per cent of anything over 40m. The two sides have been locked in talks in recent days. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy met with good friend and Everton counterpart Bill Kenwright for dinner at Scott's in London on Monday evening. Richarlison is set to swap Everton for Tottenham as talks between clubs over his fee continue Various Tottenham players have been mentioned as potential makeweights though winger Steven Bergwijn, who was considered by Everton earlier in the window, has expressed a preference to join Ajax or another Champions League side. Proposals involving Harry Winks have also been dismissed. Spurs manager Antonio Conte is looking to add to his squad quickly and prepare his team well in advance of the transfer window closing. He has already brought in Ivan Perisic and Fraser Forster and is looking to add attacking depth to what was at times a stretched squad last season. Daniel Levy (L) and Bill Kenwright met in London to continue talks over transfer of Richarlison Richarlison is a key target for Tottenham this summer and has a 60million price tag Tottenham also have a loan deal ready for Lenglet but are continuing talks over other defenders. Atletico Madrid want right-back Emerson Royal but that hinges on Tottenham's talks with Middlesbrough over Djed Spence. The signing of Richarlison would boost Conte's options with the Brazilian international able to operate out wide or up front comfortably. He would be able to provide competition in attacking areas as well as deputy for Harry Kane, limiting pressure on Son Heung-min. Spurs boss Antonio Conte is on the brink of sealing a loan deal for Clement Lenglet Everton are willing to listen to offers for the 25-year old because, despite avoiding relegation last season, their financial situation is still precarious. They can raise capital through player sales and will look to give manager Frank Lampard as much money as possible to rebuild a competitive side. In total, Richarlison has made 152 appearances for Everton since joining from Watford in 2018 for 40m, scoring 53 goals. Tottenham held off a late attempt from Chelsea to sign Everton forward Richarlison. Everton had rejected an initial 40m from Spurs at 4pm on Wednesday but they came back with a revised offer of 50m plus add-ons which Chelsea opted not to match. Richarlison underwent his medical in Brazil on Thursday with Tottenham staff present and is due back in the UK next week. Watford will receive around 2m from the deal. Tottenham are also in advanced in talks over a 15m deal for Middlesbrough right-back Djed Spence and have a loan in place for Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet. Richarlison is set to swap Everton for Tottenham in a deal worth an eventual 60million Richarlison will become Antonio Conte's fourth summer signing in an impressive window after already landing Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster and Yves Bissouma. Spurs are expected to commit to an initial package in the region of 50million, with a further 10m in add-ons bringing the total outlay for the Brazilian to around 60m. Everton and Spurs had been locked in talks in recent days before they eventually reached an agreement. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy met with good friend and Everton counterpart Bill Kenwright for dinner at Scott's in London on Monday evening. Various Tottenham players have been mentioned as potential makeweights though winger Steven Bergwijn, who was considered by Everton earlier in the window, has expressed a preference to join Ajax or another Champions League side. Proposals involving Harry Winks have also been dismissed. Everton had demanded a 60m fee - which Spurs have eventually agreed to meet Conte is looking to add to his squad quickly and prepare his team well in advance of the transfer window closing. The signing of Richarlison would boost Conte's options with the Brazilian international able to operate out wide or up front comfortably. He would be able to provide competition in attacking areas as well as deputy for Harry Kane, limiting pressure on Son Heung-min. The Brazilian forward will become the latest addition to Spurs manager Antonio Conte's squad Everton are willing to listen to offers for the 25-year old because, despite avoiding relegation last season, their financial situation is still precarious. They can raise capital through player sales and will look to give manager Frank Lampard as much money as possible to rebuild a competitive side. In total, Richarlison has made 152 appearances for Everton since joining from Watford in 2018 for 40m, scoring 53 goals. Chelsea are in talks to sign Raphinha from Leeds after opting not to up their bid for Richarlison. Lewis Hamilton faces possible expulsion from the British Grand Prix as the row over wearing jewellery in the cockpit reaches boiling point. This latest controversy rears it head after Nelson Piquet was banned from Formula One for life for using the n-word about the seven-time world champion. In the most extreme circumstances, Hamilton could be barred from competing at his home race for taking to the track in jewellery - a move that would test the ire of 140,000 fans due at Silverstone on Sunday. Lewis Hamilton could be banned from the British Grand Prix due to the row over wearing jewellery in the cockpit If Hamilton isn't able to compete it would test the patience of the 140,000 fans at Silverstone The grace period regarding wearing jewellery expires on Thursday, yet Hamilton retains his contentious nose stud The grace period regarding wearing jewellery expires today, yet Hamilton retains his contentious nose stud. The FIA are not backing down, either. At least for now. President Mohammed Ben Sulayem is keen to stick to his insistence that the previously unenforced jewellery rule is an important safety issue. If Ben Sulayem is not talked into a compromise position, Hamilton could either be fined or, in extremis, prevented from racing. Triple world champion Piquet, meanwhile, issued an apology for his use in a podcast recorded last November of the Portuguese word 'neguinho', meaning little n*****, but it was not enough to save him from a permanent suspension of his paddock pass. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem insists the jewellery rule is an important safety issue This is an unprecedented sanction for a world champion. It was issued as a warning to anyone else of any stature who makes racist comments. Although no official communique was forthcoming on Piquet's fate, Sportsmail understands that if the 69-year-old Piquet wanted to attend an event, his accreditation would be blocked. He rarely attends races, though he has been an occasional caller at his home grand prix in Brazil. In his statement, Piquet said: 'I would like to clear up the stories circulating in the media about a comment I made in an interview last year. Nelson Piquet was banned from Formula One for life for using the n-word about Hamilton F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali was present to personally sign off Piquet's ban 'What I said was ill-thought-out and I make no defence for it, but I will clarify that the term used is one that has widely and historically been used colloquially in Brazilian Portuguese as a synonym for 'guy' or 'person' and was never intended to offend. 'I would never use the word I have been accused of in some translations. I strongly condemn any suggestion that the word was used to belittle a driver because of his skin colour. 'I apologise wholeheartedly to anyone that was affected, including Lewis, who is an incredible driver, but the translation in some media is not correct. 'Discrimination has no place in F1 or society and I am happy to clarify my thoughts in that respect.' The words cut little ice at F1 headquarters in Piccadilly, with chief executive Stefano Domenicali personally signing off Piquet's ban. A sign of a Hamilton climbdown emerged on Thursday night with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff saying: 'We know there is a safety issue with drivers and Lewis understands that. 'The FIA has compromised so far. I expect the dialogue to continue and that there will not be any controversy this weekend. That is going to go away.' A favourite Queensland getaway of visiting superstars like Johnny Depp and Pink is up for auction next month. While there is no price guide for the three-bedroom Oak Beach property, it's likely to sell for more than $2million when it goes under the hammer on July 28. The current owner is Aussie entrepreneur Naomi Simson, one of the investors on Channel 10's Shark Tank, who bought the home nearly eight years ago for $1.88million, reports Realestate.com.au. This Port Douglas getaway owned by Shark Tank investor and RedBalloon entrepreneur Naomi Simson is up for auction next month. It was a favourite holiday home for visiting superstars including Pink and Johnny Depp. (Pictured: the patio area and swimming pool) Simson and her husband Stuart King used the 607sqm property, which is just 10 minutes from Port Douglas, as a retreat during the Covid lockdowns. They are now selling because they want to travel. Before the pandemic, the couple rented out the luxury haven as a holiday home to high-end clients such as Pink and Depp for $1,000 a night. Located on a private street in a sought-after postcode, the beachfront house has a resort atmosphere thanks to its uninterrupted views of the ocean. Naomi Simson (pictured in 2018) bought the home nearly eight years ago for $1.88million Located on a private street in a sought-after postcode, the beachfront house has a resort atmosphere thanks to its uninterrupted views of the ocean. (Pictured: one of the bedrooms) Its main features include the Balinese-style courtyard, ideal for dining under the stars, plus the heated swimming pool and outdoor hammock. Indoors, the open-plan design creates a mood of relaxation. The well-appointed modern kitchen opens out to the dining pavilion, while each of the bedrooms has its own courtyard. Its main features include the Balinese-style courtyard, ideal for dining under the stars, plus the heated swimming pool and outdoor hammock Indoors, the open-plan design creates a mood of relaxation The 1.5km stretch of beach that fronts the property is known to attract celebrities. Peter Allen once owned a property on the same street, while Natalie Imbruglia was married on the beach there. Before her stint on Shark Tank, Simson earned a fortune from her RedBalloon brand. Founded in 2001, the company provides customers with 'experience gifts' that range from workshops to skydiving. Beauty and the Geek fans can get excited as Channel Nine has confirmed the 2022 season will premiere on Sunday, July 17, at 7pm. Sophie Monk is back hosting the feel-good dating show which will see 10 new beauties and 10 new geeks eager to find love. There will be a diverse range of contestants this year, including a professional mermaid, a trainspotter, crypto trader and martial arts ninja. Beauty and the Geek fans can get excited as Channel Nine has confirmed the 2022 season will premiere on Sunday, July 17, at 7pm. (Pictured: host Sophie Monk) Popular challenges, including the geeks' makeovers, will return, as well as gladiator-style battles and a cosplay event. A new life-swap challenge will also debut, and the trailer hints a beauty will have to move into her geek partner's sharehouse. Sophie, 42, promises sparks will fly this season, saying: 'Australia is going to fall in love with our new beauties and geeks, who are the most adorable people in the world.' Popular challenges, including the geeks' makeovers, will return, as well as gladiator-style battles and a cosplay event. (Pictured: one of the geeks commandeering a tank in the trailer) 'And trust me, there are some major sparks flying around this season. It will be the sweetest thing youll ever see.' The new trailer, released last week, includes a heart-warming moment in which one geek admits to his beauty he has never been kissed. The promo hints he may finally get his first kiss on national television. Sophie Monk (pictured) is back hosting the feel-good dating show which will see 10 new beauties and 10 new geeks eager to find love One beauty breaks down in tears of joy when she sees her geek after his makeover, telling him: 'You look amazing.' Beauty and the Geek returned to Aussie screens last year after a seven-year hiatus, and Sophie couldn't be happier. 'Ive never felt so passionate about a reality show and Im so excited for the new season to start,' she said. 'This is like no other show Ive ever seen, and I love being a part of it. Not only does it make you laugh your a**e off, it will also make you cry.' Before she appeared on Married At First Sight, Martha Kalifatidis was a popular makeup artist. And now the reality star-turned-influencer has offered a look inside her makeup bag - revealing the beauty products that give her her trademark flawless face. Surprisingly, her 'favourite foundation of all time' is reasonably priced, with the 33-year-old revealing she uses MCo Beauty's Ultrastay Flawless Foundation, $28. Inside Martha Kalifatidis's makeup bag: Influencer shares her beauty secrets - and the $28 foundation she swears by She also swears by the brand's popular $22 Instant Camouflage and Contour concealer. Martha uses two bronzers - Charlotte Tilbury's airbrush bronzer, which retails for $75, and Nars Sheer Glow foundation, $70, in a deep shade. The brunette bombshell also support the concept of 'beauty from within', saying she can't live without her Chinese herbs. Martha recently shared the secret behind how she always manages to look so sexy. In an Instagram Stories post, she told a fan: 'I promise you I don't look sexy everyday. I only really show the good days. Beauty on a budget! Surprisingly, her 'favourite foundation of all time' is relatively reasonable, with the 33-year-old revealing she uses MCo Beauty's Ultrastay Flawless Foundation, $28 Martha recently shared the secret behind how she always manages to look so sexy. In an Instagram Stories post, she told a fan: 'I promise you I don't look sexy everyday. I only really show the good days' 'I do drink a tonne of water every single day. I need eight hours of sleep, if I don't get it I'm a demon.' Martha added that she has a particular makeup item that always gives her confidence. 'Lipliner will fix a multitude of sins and insecurities, once you find "your shade" don't be seen without it' she added. 'Lipliner will fix a multitude of sins and insecurities, once you find "your shade" don't be seen without it' she said Martha recently said she's 'ashamed' to admit to what she does for a living Down Under - while in Europe and the USA, she feels more respected for her online career as an influencer. 'In Australia it's constantly s**t on. Being an influencer is dirty,' she wrote in an Instagram Stories post. 'Every time I travel and people ask me what I do I'm so embarrassed to even say it, because I've been conditioned to be ashamed,' she went on. 'In Europe and the States it's so well received, They see it as entrepreneurial.' Martha recently said she's 'ashamed' to admit to what she does for a living Down Under - while in Europe and the USA, she feels more respected for her online career as an influencer Martha continued: 'I studied to be a nurse, I know what hard work is. I know how good I have it. 'I have the luxury to work from anywhere and any time (well not really any time). And sure we get good s**t, but we live under a microscope with thousands of people waiting for us to f**k up so they can all share it and write about it and laugh.' The pint-sized star has amassed over 642,000 Instagram followers since finding fame on MAFS three years ago and has racked up endorsement deals with some of Australia's biggest brands in the process. Erika Jayne has been ordered to turn in a pair of $750,000 diamond earrings after a court determined they were bought with money stolen by her estranged husband Tom Girardi. Judge Barry Russell on Tuesday said that while he did not think the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 50, 'was aware the earrings were stolen property,' she must turn them in as they were paid for with 'settlement funds from the trust account created for a class action handled by Thomas' firm Girardi Keese,' Law360 reported, according to US. Girardi, 83, in March 2007 purchased the jewelry for the Atlanta-born reality star with funds from a client trust account and claimed they were case-related expenditures, Us reported in February, citing court docs in the case. Girardi initially claimed that the earrings were stolen, but they were purportedly located in a safe. The latest: Erika Jayne, 50, has been ordered to turn in a pair of $750,000 diamond earrings after a court determined they were bought with money stolen by her estranged husband Tom Girardi. She was snapped in LA in 2019 Ronald Richards, a lawyer who once worked for the trustee in the case, told US that Jayne 'had tried to argue that too much time had passed and that it was the firm's former clients who should be making this claim, not the trustee. 'The court rejected that argument and said the trustee can bring a turnover order for the earrings and forfeited all of Erika's rights in the earrings.' Richards noted that the court 'found the firm embezzled the funds' and that 'the earrings were ordered property of the estate.' Richards on Wednesday told Page Six that 'the ruling was a major milestone in the quest to recover stolen assets by the Girardis,' and that 'it does not matter whether Erika knew they were stolen client funds or not.' Jayne 'had tried to argue that too much time had passed and that it was the firm's former clients who should be making this claim, not the trustee,' said Ronald Richards, a lawyer who once worked for the trustee in the case Judge Barry Russell on Tuesday said that while he did not think the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star 'was aware the earrings were stolen property,' she must turn them in as they were paid for with stolen funds. She was pictured in NYC in 2019 Girardi, 83, in March 2007 purchased the jewelry for the Atlanta-born reality star with funds from a client trust account and claimed they were case-related expenditures, according to court docs. He was pictured in LA in 2018 Jayne's lawyer Evan Borges said that the reality star 'did nothing wrong' and was facing repercussions due to Girardi's misconduct. 'Once again, Erika is facing consequences for past actions taken by Tom Girardi and Girardi Keese,' Borges told the outlet. 'In fact, the judge specifically found no fault or knowledge on the part of Erika regarding the actions by Tom Girardi and his partners at the law firm. Tom Girardi the lawyer did this. 'Legally, the judge's decision raises an important issue of whether the law allows revisiting transactions of 15 years ago to take away a gift received by an innocent spouse. But that's for a higher court to decide.' Jayne filed for divorce from Girardi in November of 2020 after a 21-year marriage, shortly ahead of the filing of the initial suit. She said at the time: 'After much consideration, I have decided to end my marriage to Tom Girardi. This is not a step taken lightly or easily. I have great love and respect for Tom and for our years and the lives we built together.' Jayne's lawyer Evan Borges said that the reality star 'did nothing wrong' and was facing repercussions due to Girardi's misconduct. She was pictured in LA in 2021 Jayne was originally named with her estranged spouse in the December 2020 class action lawsuit filed by Edelson PC, accusing them of fraud and embezzlement in connection with $2 million in settlement funds earmarked for victims of the 2018 Lion Air Flight 610 crash, in which all 189 people onboard died. In January, she was dismissed from the ongoing lawsuit filed against against Girardi in Illinois. Girardi has been living in a nursing home after he was diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer's disease, and in July of 2021 was placed into a conservatorship by his brother Robert. Jayne last month spoke with US about her decision to remain on the Bravo reality show. 'This season is about really trying to pull yourself together and go on,' she said. 'It was tough but ultimately, I'll get there and it's part of the human experience. 'You can't go through what I have gone through the previous season and not feel something. I wanted to have some fun and I wanted to not feel so heavy. So that's what I did.' Eamonn Holmes has hit out at ITV bosses over his exit from This Morning and accused them of 'lying' the real reason he left. The broadcaster and wife Ruth Langsford, both 62, were replaced by Alison Hammond, 47, and Dermot O'Leary, 49, after 15 years of presenting the Friday slot in a move that shocked both fans and the couple themselves. And six months after leaving, Eamonn has blasted his former employers for forcing him out and shuts down claims it was his decision to leave for a new job at GB News, stating: 'Let's get it straight, they left me!' Having his say: Eamonn Holmes has hit out at ITV bosses over his exit from This Morning and accused them of 'lying' the real reason he left (pictured in 2021) In an interview with The Mirror, Eamonn responded to questioning about what went wrong with ITV and stated he still was unaware of the reason behind his exit before addressing claims he landed himself in hot water over his controversial comment about 5G masts being linked to coronavirus. He said: 'It's never been mentioned to me. If that was the case, at least that would be a reason. And if Dame EasyJet [ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall, ex-chief exec of EasyJet] had wanted an apology or some sort of explanation, fine. But she never picked up the phone and asked me. 'I've never had any communication with Dame Carolyn McCall. And I still stand by those remarks because not once did I say 5G spreads coronavirus. 'I said that as reporters, we should always question the narrative. And that has never been more obvious than under the No10 regime that has existed from then and beyond.' Shock: The broadcaster and wife Ruth Langsford, both 62 (pictured together), were replaced by Alison Hammond, 47, and Dermot O'Leary, 49, after 15 years of presenting the Friday slot in a move that shocked both fans and the couple themselves TV watchdog Ofcom received 419 complaints regarding Eamonn's comment about 5G, which led to an on air apology from the star. Ofcom stated at the time that the 'ambiguous comments were ill-judged and risked undermining viewers' trust in advice from public authorities and scientific evidence'. Eamonn went on to pour cold water on claims he turned his back on ITV to present his show on GB News as he ranted on Wednesday that the 'department of disinformation at ITV' can 'put out all the lies' they wish. He fumed: 'I wish somebody would show me the email or the letter or that I was sent to say, 'Eamonn, this is why this is coming to an end'. 'But to tell lies, that I left them to go to GB News... I didn't they left me. Let's get it straight. They left me. I don't care, because our audience is only up.' 'Let's get it straight, they left me!' Six months after leaving, Eamonn has blasted his former employers for forcing him out and shuts down claims it was his decision to leave for a new job at GB News When asked if he would ever return to ITV, Eamonn shared that there would be a few people 'would have to not be there' before he even considered it. The presenter also added that he hasn't watched the ITV daytime show since his departure as it would be 'too sensitive'. A representative for This Morning told MailOnline: This isn't a version of events that we recognise and as we have said before we wish Eamonn all of the very best.' Speaking out: Eamonn addressed claims he landed himself in hot water over his controversial comment about 5G masts being linked to coronavirus Wow: The TV star went on to pour cold water on claims he turned his back on ITV to present his show on GB News as he ranted that the 'department of disinformation at ITV' can 'put out all the lies' they wish 9pictured with Ruth and costars Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby) Takeover: Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary now host This Morning on Fridays Back in March, in an interview with The Guardian Eamonn slammed ITV once again, after branding the broadcaster 'sly' and accusing it of hypocrisy over its diversity drive. Eamonn said: 'I joined GB News because options dried up. The 'wrong age', at the 'wrong stage' - at some point it becomes very hard to get work. 'It was obvious I didn't tick the boxes for ITV any more and I wasn't being treated with respect there. Hitting out: Back in March, in an interview with The Guardian Eamonn slammed ITV once again, after branding the broadcaster 'sly' and accusing it of hypocrisy over its diversity drive 'It was a self-esteem thing. You think 'nah I'm out of here, bye!' So that was it. And nothing's changed: I play what I do straight.' In a further dig at ITV, Eamonn added GB News had been 'very welcoming' and it felt 'nice to be appreciated'. MailOnline contacted ITV for comment at the time. D.L. Hughley is no longer acknowledging MoNique following a monthlong feud between the comics that stemmed from him getting top billing over her at a May 28 concert in Detroit. Hughley, 59, was asked by TMZ in Los Angeles on Wednesday about MoNique, 54, and said he no longer will address the rift with her. 'You only get so many breaths in your life and I refuse to use one more on somebody like that,' Hughley said. The latest: D.L. Hughley, 59, is no longer acknowledging MoNique, 54, following a monthlong feud between the comics that stemmed from him getting top billing over her at a May 28 concert in Detroit. He was snapped onstage earlier this year in New Jersey He added of MoNique, 'I don't even know who you talking about, I don't even know who you talking about ... I don't even know who it is, I don't even know who you're talking about.' MoNique earlier this month apologized for remarks she made in reference to an alleged sexual assault on Hughley's daughter; she was subsequently publicly criticized via social media by his eldest daughter, Ryan Nicole Shepard. While performing at the Duke Energy Center of Performing Arts in Raleigh, North Carolina June 19, she said, 'I like to consider myself a woman of honor, so, I have to do something right now publicly that I did publicly and when I f*** it up, Ive got to fix it up. So, Im going to take care of that right now - to D.L. Hughley's family, to I want to publicly apologize if I hurt anyone's feelings. 'I want to publicly apologize to his wife, his babies, if I hurt their feelings because that was never my ... intention. I never meant to hurt their feelings.' MoNique earlier this month apologized for remarks she made in reference to an alleged sexual assault on Hughley's daughter Hughley said of MoNique, 'You only get so many breaths in your life and I refuse to use one more on somebody like that' After he was asked about the apology Wednesday, Hughley said, 'I haven't heard anything, I don't listen to that - not at all. 'I can tell you this: I work, my family's intact, I just came from doing a benefit for the people that are affected by the tragedy in Buffalo. I go home and see my granddaughter.' Hughley said he has 'no words or breath for somebody like that,' and he draws the line at attacks on his family. The rift between the two initially began when MoNique ripped Hughley onstage during The Comedy Explosion show, an event they both performed in, at the Fox Theater in Detroit on May 28. In her set at, MoNique said that she specifically signed onto the show as the headline act, and accused Hughley of threatening not to perform if he had to go on before her. 'The contract - the motherf***ing contract says that a b**** is the headliner - the headliner - let me say it again, the headliner,' MoNique said. 'Thats what the motherf***ing contract says, MoNique is to be the last motherf***ing person on the ... stage, she is the headliner. Thats what I signed the f*** up for, I'm 30-plus years in this and motherf***ing I don't open for' nobody. The rift between the two began when MoNique ripped Hughley onstage during The Comedy Explosion show, an event they both performed in, at the Fox Theater in Detroit on May 28 Hughley, in response, shared a frame of MoNique from the 2009 movie Precious in an Instagram post addressing her tirade She continued: 'The contract said the headliner, the contract said the headliner, the contract said the headliner, but ... D.L. Hughley turned into a b**** and said, "I won't perform if she does that ... I won't go out if she does that"' ... so when I leave this motherf***er, the headliner has left.' MoNique noted that she has a 'history' with Hughley, saying he has past publicly criticized her professionally with no provocation. In response, Hughley cited MoNique's past show business feuds, naming a litany of people and companies who MoNique has past expressed issues with in illustrating her history of professional grievances. 'Oprah was the problem, Tyler Perry was the problem, Charlamagne was the problem, Steve Harvey was the problem, Lee Daniels was the problem, Netflix was the problem Now its MY turn,' Hughley said. 'At some point it cant be everyone else, ITS YOU!! Lesson learned ... I wonder whos next ' Hughley noted MoNique's Oscar-winning performance in the 2009 movie Precious, in which she played the mercurial, abusive and manipulative mother of the titular character. 'Apparently, the role you played in PRECIOUS turned out to be an autobiography,' he said. There are several Chrome extensions that can make work easier if you're a social media manager or manager. While Hubspot and 99signals.com have provided lists of tools for publishing and tracking the performance of contents, we have hand-picked our favorite Chrome extensions that we can highly recommend due to their useful features. Look at them down below! Buffer With Buffer, sharing content to your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages is simpler and easier. If you're a customer of Buffer, you can also use the extension to schedule posts directly from your browser, avoiding the need to visit the Buffer website. Additionally, you can schedule posts to be published later. Get Buffer extension here BuzzSumo BuzzSumo gives an overview on how well your content is doing. Click the extension when you're on a website to display stats like a piece's amount of social shares and backlinks. Using this tool, you can quickly determine how much engagement your content is receiving. Additionally, you might utilize BuzzSumo to analyze your competitors and find tactics that can increase the shareability of your content. Get BuzzSumo extension here Planyway With the Trello extension Planyway, you can easily integrate a calendar and Gantt chart to your boards. Because it makes scheduling and tracking your content a breeze, it is without a doubt the ideal tool for creating a social media calendar. Additionally, it enables you to link your Google Calendar with a board so that you may organize your posting schedule on upcoming activities. Get Planyway extension here Read More: 7 Best Chrome Extensions for Online Safety and Security in 2022 RiteTag RiteTag lets you see how hashtags are doing on Twitter and Facebook. RiteTag evaluates the hashtags you start typing in real time and color codes them once you log in with your Twitter or Facebook credentials. If your hashtag is green, it means it will help people find your content right away. If your hashtag is blue, it suggests it will eventually increase the visibility of your content. Your hashtag should be replaced if it is gray since it is receiving little engagement. If your hashtag is red, use a different one because it's so widely used that your content will get lost in the crowd. Get RiteTag extension here SimilarWeb It provides you with quick insights about a site's performance. It offers information on a site's audience demographics, traffic sources, and levels of engagement. With the extension installed, you may check at the profiles of your competitors and determine how and to whom they are devoting the majority of their time. Get SimilarWeb extension here SocialAnalyzer With the help of this social media monitoring tool, you may keep track of the most popular postings in one of your target markets or sectors. Check out the most current content on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to see how people are responding to the information that is already being published. This tool can be used to track brand sentiment and improve your social media marketing activities. Get SocialAnalyzer extension here URL Shortener Long URLs might make your social media postings appear unprofessional. With the URL Shortener extension, you may personalize link access, add your own domain name, and specify expiration dates. Get URL Shortener extension here Related Article: Having Difficulty Writing? Check Out These 7 Useful Google Chrome Extensions To Help You Make Amazing Contents! She started shooting Alex Garland's upcoming epic action film Civil War in Atlanta in March. Some three months later and Kirsten Dunst enjoyed a bit of down time and decided to make her way to Joan's On Third in Los Angeles for lunch. The Academy Award-nominated actress also got in a bit of shopping in West Hollywood on Wednesday, where she looked to be on the hunt for clothes for her two young children that she shares with fiance and actor Jesse Plemons. Solo stroll: Kirsten Dunst headed out to pick up lunch at Joan's On Third on Wednesday after doing some shopping in the West Hollywood region Dunst, 40, kept it casual in the fashion department dressed in faded blue jeans with a tie-dye Rodarte T-shirt. The Power Of The Dog star also donned a pair of yellow sandals and carried a black leather purse over her right shoulder. For her stroll out alone, the New Jersey native pulled her long blonde tresses into a loose ponytail with a part on the left. Appearing to wear minimal makeup, the former child star also donned stylish sunglasses as the sun glared down and the temperatures soared into the upper 80s Fahrenheit. Lunch after shopping: The Oscar-nominated actress ended up getting food to go from Joan's On Third after seemingly shopping for clothes for her two young children Earlier in the afternoon, Dunst was spotted shopping for her sons Ennis, four, and James, one, at the children's boutique, Eggy, in West Hollywood. Dunst was first scene on the set of Civil War in Atlanta, Georgia in mid-March, which happens to be her first work-related project since giving birth to her second boy this past September. Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation) is serving as both writer and director for Civil War which also stars Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Cailee Spaeny, Karl Glusman and Sonoya Mizuno. Details of the storyline have largely been kept under wraps, although Garland did reveal that it is set 'at an indeterminate point in the future and serves as a sci-fi allegory for our currently polarized predicament' according to The Daily Telegraph. The shoot for the film shifted from Atlanta to London, England in May. First post-baby role: The Oscar-nominated actress has been filming the action epic film, Civil War, that's written and directed by Alex Garland, since March For her last film role in The Power Of The Dog, Dunst received a Best Supporting Actress nomination alongside Plemons, who got a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role in the Western psychological drama. The couple, who also starred together in the series Fargo in 2015, began their romance the following year, which led to their engagement in 2017. They would go on to welcome their first son Ennis in May 2018 and their boy James three years later. Growing up on camera as a child star, Dunst is best known for her roles in Little Women (1994), Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004), Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004), Melancholia (2011), The Two Faces of January (2014), Hidden Figures (2017) and The Power Of The Dog (2021). Plemons had his breakout role in the hit AMC series Breaking Bad (2012-2013), and is also known for such films as Battleship (2012), Black Mass (2015), American Made (2017), The Irishman (2019), El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019) and Jungle Cruise (2021). An Australian Bachelor star has a surprise cameo in George Clooney's new movie Ticket To Paradise, which he filmed in Australia earlier this year. Romy Poulier, who appeared on season six of the reality dating show in 2018, revealed the embarrassing moment she accidentally dropped a drinks tray in the Hollywood star's lap while playing a flight attendant in the film. The blonde beauty made the confession after re-sharing a trailer of the movie to her Instagram page on Wednesday. Australian Bachelor star Romy Poulier has a surprise cameo as a flight attendant in George Clooney's new movie Ticket To Paradise, which he filmed in Australia last year In the clip, she be seen serving drinks to George as his character fights with his co-star Julia Roberts. The Ocean's Eleven stars play a divorced couple in the film. Romy spoke about the blunder after her fellow Bachelor co-star Alisha Aitken-Radburn wrote: 'Stop, George Clooney snatched a champers from you'. 'Darl unfortunately he ended up with the whole tray. Yes I accidentally dropped the tray on his face and crutch. 4 glasses. Smash,' Romy responded. The blonde bombshell revealed the embarrassing moment she accidentally dropped a drinks tray in the Hollywood star's lap during filming The trailer for the film was dropped on Wednesday. George and Julia play exes on a mission to stop their daughter from making the same mistake they did 25-years-ago by marrying young. Their daughter Lily (played by Kaitlyn Dever) meets the love of her life on a post-graduation jaunt to Bali, which is where her parents must travel to in order to change her mind. Romy, who rose to fame on the Australian version of The Bachelor in 2018, made the confession after re-sharing a trailer of the movie to her Instagram However, judging by the trailer it looks as though Julia and George's trip to save their daughter ends up being a journey in healing their own problems with each other. It's the fourth time that George and Julia have worked together, after Ocean's Eleven (2001), Ocean's Twelve (2004), and Money Monster (2016). Romy rose to fame on The Bachelor Australia in 2018, and was slammed for being part of a 'mean girls' clique on the series. Speaking to Stellar, she said her snide remarks about the other women in the mansion were fed to her by producers with the promise they would make her look 'cheeky and fun'. Romy (pictured here) rose to fame on The Bachelor and was slammed for being part of a 'mean girls' clique on the series 'It's my fault. That's what I'm most upset about. I never saw myself as an easily manipulated person,' she said. 'At the end of the day it was my behaviour [but] I just wish I'd stuck to my values and morals and said, "F**k you, I'm not saying that."' Romy later starred in Australian horror film The Possessed, which also stars John Jarratt and Lincoln Lewis. Ticket to Paradise is scheduled to be theatrically released by Universal Pictures on October 21, 2022 Romy was portrayed as the ringleader of a group of bullying girls - including jewellery designer Cat Henesey (right) and Labor Party staffer Alisha Aitken-Radburn (centre) on the show Paris Hilton didn't let the sweltering Los Angeles heat stop her from stepping out in style on Wednesday afternoon. The 41-year-old socialite slipped her toned physique into a cozy gray color-blocked velour tracksuit ahead of an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Later in the afternoon, Paris was spotted exiting the filming studio in a sexy black dress and stiletto heels. Don't sweat it! Paris Hilton didn't let the sweltering Los Angeles heat stop her from stepping out in style on Wednesday. The 41-year-old socialite slipped her toned physique into a cozy gray color-blocked velour tracksuit before rocking a sexy black dress for an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Layered beneath her zip-up track jacket was a plain black tank top that coordinated with her sleeves and the cuffs of her track pants. Paris' golden blonde tresses were styled in a half up half down hairdo with her bangs swept to one side. Her loose flowing strands cascaded down her back and chest as she posed for shutterbugs outside the El Capitan Theatre, where Jimmy Kimmel Live! is filmed. The Simple Life star shielded her eyes with some Y2K inspired frameless shades and accessorized with a pair of diamond studs. Layered look: Layered beneath her zip-up track jacket was a plain black tank top that coordinated with her sleeves and the cuffs of her track pants Blondie: Paris' golden blonde tresses were styled in a half up half down hairdo with her bangs swept to one side She also rocked the large diamond wedding ring she received from husband Carter Reum in November. As for makeup, Paris sported a glossy pink lip and a noticeably bronzed complexion. Before heading inside for tape her segment, the Paris In Love star took the time to sign autographs for fans. Stylish: The Simple Life star shielded her eyes with some Y2K inspired frameless shades and accessorized with a pair of diamond studs Glam: As for makeup, Paris sported a glossy pink lip and a noticeably bronzed complexion. The Simple Life star shielded her eyes with some Y2K inspired frameless shades and accessorized with a pair of diamond studs She went the extra mile by also posing for a few selfies from behind a fence. Paris was surrounded by several security guards as she spent time with her diehard fans. She was interviewed by guest host, comedian Chelsea Handler, during Wednesday's episode, which also featured an appearance by stand-up star Matteo Lane and musical guest Aespa. Fan service: Before heading inside for tape her segment, the Paris In Love star took the time to sign autographs for fans Safety first: Paris was surrounded by several security guards as she spent time with her diehard fans After chatting with Chelsea, Paris exited the theater in her sexy all-black number which had a plunging neckline and a coordinating neck scarf. The fashionista gathered at the waist and had a gold buckle. She waved goodbye to fans in the wings before getting inside her chauffeured SUV and driving off. Wow! After chatting with Chelsea, Paris exited the theater in her sexy all-black number which had a plunging neckline and a coordinating neck scarf Fashionista: The fashionista gathered at the waist and had a gold buckle. She waved goodbye to fans in the wings before getting inside her chauffeured SUV and driving off SUV ready: Paris Hilton poses in front of a Suburban before being whisked away The evening prior, Paris looked ultra glam as she attended a Dreamscape by Hilton Estates Group event in Los Angeles. She was joined by her younger brother Barron Hilton, 32, at the swanky event. For the star-studded occasion the blonde bombshell wore a light blue dress with a floral pattern. Hitting the red carpet: The evening prior, Paris looked ultra glam as she attended a Dreamscape by Hilton Estates Group event in Los Angeles The daughter of murdered gangland figure Carl Williams has opened up about her 12-year battle with online bullying. Dhakota Williams, 21, fired back at cyber bullies for body shaming her in an emotional Instagram post on Wednesday. She said she has been criticised for her weight since childhood and was fed up. Dhakota Williams (pictured), the daughter of late gangland figure Carl Williams, has opened up about her ordeal with cyber bullying 'These people online have been calling me fat since I was about nine years old,' she raged. 'I was nine, crying, because people were calling me fat... [what the f**k]. That's 12 years of me having to see people comment about my body. 'It's such a shame that I've had to learn not to give a f**k instead of people having to learn to be nice.' 'These people online have been calling me fat since I was about nine years old and I'm fed up,' Dhakota raged. Pictured with late father Carl Melbourne-based Dhakota went on to say that she was proud of her curves. 'Sorry we're built like f***ing women around here, not prepubescent children like some of these weirdos want you to look like,' she wrote. 'Women have thighs, hips, boobs, and are built in all different shapes and sizes.' The brunette finished by saying that 'body shaming in 2022 is not cool' and she's thankful that it no longer bothers her like it once did. Dhakota, whose mother is gangland widow Roberta Williams, regularly shares sultry images of herself on Instagram and has amassed almost 40,000 followers. 'It's such a shame that I've had to learn not to give a f**k instead of people having to learn to be nice,' she wrote to her almost 40,000 followers Melbourne-based Dhakota went on to say that she was proud of her curves She was nine years old when her father, drug kingpin Carl Williams, was bludgeoned to death at Barwon Prison by fellow inmate Matthew Charles Johnson in 2010. Carl was a key figure in Melbourne's infamous gangland war, which claimed the lives of 36 criminal figures between 1998 and 2010. He was jailed for 35 years in 2007 for ordering the murders of three rivals, and more time for conspiring to kill a fourth. 'Women have thighs, hips, boobs, and are built in all different shapes and sizes,' the 21-year-old told her followers His death in 2010 followed an investigation revealing Victoria Police was paying $8,000 per year for his daughter's school fees. It was later revealed Carl was an informant and had given information regarding a handful of unsolved murder investigations. He wrote several long letters to his wife and others from jail in the months before he was murdered, which have since been made into a book titled Life Sentence. Dhakota (left) is pictured with her mother Roberta (right) at her 21st birthday party Dhakota spoke fondly about her father on Channel Seven's Sunday Night program in 2016. 'We know our dad as our dad, not what he's described as in the newspapers... so we know him as fun and loving and caring for us, and always made us happy,' she said. 'If you spoke to him and got to know him, you'd think he's not that sort of person, like, and you can tell he did it for his family 'cause he was all for us, all for us family.' 'It was just normal for me, that's all I really knew.' Advertisement Slumdog Millionaire alum Freida Pinto was as welcome as the sunshine in her dramatic dress at the Manhattan premiere of Mr. Malcolm's List, which was held at the DGA Theater on Wednesday. The 37-year-old SAG Award winner looked pretty in a yellow-pleated Naeem Khan Resort 23 halter gown, featuring cascading tie-on sleeves, which was selected by stylist Erin Walsh. Hairstylist Joseph Chase coiffed Freida's sleek partial updo for the red carpet festivities. Folds and folds of chiffon! Slumdog Millionaire alum Freida Pinto was as welcome as the sunshine in her dramatic dress at the Manhattan premiere of Mr. Malcolm's List, which was held at the DGA Theater on Wednesday Make-up artist Daniel Martin brought out Pinto's brows and applied dark brown eye shadow to her lids while keeping her lip nude. The South Asian sensation portrays scheming country girl Selina Dalton - who courts the wealthy Mr. Jeremiah Malcolm (Sope Dirisu) - in the colorblind-casted Regency romance, which hits US theaters this Friday. 'Selina is part of Julia [Thistlewaite's revenge] ploy but is unaware of what she's walking into,' Freida defended to the Boston Herald on Wednesday. 'Only Mr. Malcolm is so charming and so real that she sees through all of the facade that he puts on in society, and really starts falling in love with him. This is obviously going to be a problem for Julia because she didnt mean for Selena to really fall in love with Mr. Malcolm. Glam time! The 37-year-old SAG Award winner looked pretty in a yellow-pleated Naeem Khan Resort 23 halter gown, featuring cascading tie-on sleeves, which was selected by stylist Erin Walsh Shiny locks: Hairstylist Joseph Chase coiffed Freida's sleek partial updo for the red carpet festivities Ready for her close-up! Make-up artist Daniel Martin brought out Pinto's brows and applied dark brown eye shadow to her lids while keeping her lip nude 'She really starts falling in love with him': The South Asian sensation portrays scheming country girl Selina Dalton - who courts the wealthy Mr. Jeremiah Malcolm (Sope Dirisu) - in the colorblind-casted Regency romance, which hits US theaters this Friday Cast and crew pic: Freida proudly posed beside director Emma Holly Jones (M) and her castmates Sope Dirisu (L), Zawe Ashton (2-L), and Theo James (R) Who knew they were friends? Pinto was joined at the screening by Huma Abedin, who's best known as the vice chair of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and the ex-wife of disgraced New York Congressman Anthony Weiner 'So Selena has her own little hill to climb: She comes to the city looking to reconnect with her friend and also maybe find love along the way. But she least expects to find it with someone like Mr. Malcolm, which is a fun little twist in the tale.' Pinto proudly posed beside director Emma Holly Jones and her castmates Sope Dirisu, Zawe Ashton, and Theo James. The Mira, Royal Detective star was joined at the screening by Huma Abedin, who's best known as the vice chair of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and the ex-wife of disgraced New York Congressman Anthony Weiner. Missing from Freida's side was her seven-month-old son Rumi-Ray from her 20-month marriage to photographer Cory Tran, who's hard at work training to climb the Himalayas this fall. On daddy duties! Missing from the Mira, Royal Detective star's side was her seven-month-old son Rumi-Ray from her 20-month marriage to photographer Cory Tran, who's hard at work training to climb the Himalayas this fall (pictured June 19) 'Rumi and mama love London!' Freida (pictured May 11) recently returned to the States from England where she filmed a mystery role in My Mother's Wedding alongside Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, and Emily Beecham 'I have never been happier working!' Oscar nominee Kristin Scott Thomas also stars in her feature directorial debut, which just wrapped principal photography, and she revealed she caught Covid at some point during the shoot (pictured Wednesday) Pinto recently returned to the States from England where she filmed a mystery role in My Mother's Wedding alongside Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, and Emily Beecham. Oscar nominee Kristin Scott Thomas also stars in her feature directorial debut, which just wrapped principal photography, and she revealed she caught COVID-19 at some point during the shoot. The Freebird Films Entertainment founder shared a sweet moment at the premiere with her co-star Zawe Ashton where they held hands. Tom Hiddleston's 37-year-old fiancee - who plays scheming socialite Julia Thistlewaite - reportedly debuted her baby bump in a caped off-the-shoulder embellished gown featuring an empire waist. Offering her a congratulations? The Freebird Films Entertainment founder shared a sweet moment at the premiere with her co-star Zawe Ashton where they held hands Baby on board? Tom Hiddleston's 37-year-old fiancee - who plays scheming socialite Julia Thistlewaite - reportedly debuted her baby bump in a caped off-the-shoulder embellished gown featuring an empire waist Man of the hour! Gangs of London star Sope Dirisu - who plays the titular role in the 19th century movie - looked dapper in a shiny navy-blue Prada suit over a black Prada turtleneck and matching boots Swag: Dual action star Theo James - who plays Captain Henry Ossory - wore a simple white Polo shirt beneath his black double-breasted suit and matching loafers Gangs of London star Sope Dirisu - who plays the titular role in the 19th century movie - looked dapper in a shiny navy-blue Prada suit over a black Prada turtleneck and matching boots. Dual action star Theo James - who plays Captain Henry Ossory - wore a simple white Polo shirt beneath his black double-breasted suit and matching loafers. Last Train to Christmas actress Sianad Gregory - who plays Molly - flaunted her fit figure in a black cut-out dress and grey studded Valentino Garavani slingback heels. LBD: Last Train to Christmas actress Sianad Gregory - who plays Molly - flaunted her fit figure in a black cut-out dress and grey studded Valentino Garavani slingback heels Partial period garb: The Welsh actress posed with her top-hatted castmate Divian Ladwa, who plays John and did a takeover of the Mr. Malcolm's List Instagram account for the event Scribe: Author Suzanne Allain - whose 2009 novel was adapted for the film - glammed up in a black velvet dress featuring a polka dot bodice and sleeves Squad: Also glamming up from behind the camera were Mr. Malcolm's List producers (from L-R) Laura Rister, Katie Holly, and Laura Lewis The Welsh actress posed with her top-hatted castmate Divian Ladwa, who plays John and did a takeover of the Mr. Malcolm's List Instagram account for the event. Author Suzanne Allain - whose 2009 novel was adapted for the film - glammed up in a black velvet dress featuring a polka dot bodice and sleeves. Also glamming up from behind the camera were Mr. Malcolm's List producers Laura Rister, Katie Holly, and Laura Lewis. Peek-a-boo! Thor: Love and Thunder actress Pom Klementieff flashed a hint of her criss-crossing bra beneath a dark denim ensemble and gold platform heels selected by stylist Sandra Amador Lovely ladies! Ms. Marvel actress Alysia Reiner (L) opted for a silver button-up cocktail dress while Law & Order: SVU star Jamie Gray Hyder (R) wore a coral floral pencil dress Werrrk! Rocking not-so-basic black attire at the premiere were The Expanse star Dominique Tipper, Paradise Square thespian Sidney DuPont, and Women 360 Model Giza LaGarce Thor: Love and Thunder actress Pom Klementieff flashed a hint of her criss-crossing bra beneath a dark denim ensemble and gold platform heels selected by stylist Sandra Amador. Ms. Marvel actress Alysia Reiner opted for a silver button-up cocktail dress while Law & Order: SVU star Jamie Gray Hyder wore a coral floral pencil dress. Rocking not-so-basic black attire at the premiere were The Expanse star Dominique Tipper, Paradise Square thespian Sidney DuPont, and Women 360 Model Giza LaGarce. For the premiere's 'VIP reception,' Freida slipped out of her canary yellow dress and into a striking beaded number that gave a glimpse at her toned midsection. Outfit change! For the premiere's 'VIP reception,' Freida slipped out of her canary yellow dress and into a striking beaded number that gave a glimpse at her toned midsection. Dazzling: It consisted of a sparkly bustier top with a scalloped design and a pair of high-waisted pants with beaded embroidery Finishing touches: She accessorized the glitzy look with a pair of matching drop earrings, a clutch and a silky floor-length vest It consisted of a sparkly bustier top with a scalloped design and a pair of high-waisted pants with beaded embroidery. She accessorized the glitzy look with a pair of matching drop earrings, a clutch and a silky floor-length vest. Also present for the reception was co-star Zawe Ashton, who is currently expecting her first child with fiance Tom Hiddleston. The actress hid her burgeoning bump beneath a frilly off-the-shoulder mini dress with a flirty pink floral pattern. Showing off her toned legs, Zawe rocked a pair of off-white heels. Say cheese! Freida seen posing for a snap with Sope Dirisu Oscar winner Russell Crowe will play a priest battling demons in The Pope's Exorcist, an upcoming supernatural thriller. Based on Amorth's published memoirs, the film will be directed by Julius Avery, who is best known for the 2018 horror film Overlord. Russell portrays Father Gabrielle Amorth, a real-life figure who was based at the Vatican and is said to have performed 60,000 exorcisms. Oscar winner Russell Crowe will play a priest battling demons in The Pope's Exorcist, an upcoming supernatural thriller 'It's been a goal of mine to work with Russell,' young Australian filmmmaker Avery told The Hollywood Reporter. 'To collaborate with him on the Pope's Exorcist is a dream come true.' According to the publication, the film will deal with Fr Amorth's life and work, with filming expected to begin in Ireland in September. Fr Amorth, who died in 2016 at the age of 91, wrote two books detailing horrifying tales of demonic possession - An Exorcist Tells His Story and An Exorcist: More Stories. The 58-year-old Kiwi super star will play Father Gabrielle Amorth, a real-life figure who was based at the Vatican and reputedly performed 60,000 exorcisms Picture: Russell Crowe in a scene from his up-coming film Poker Face The official exorcist for the diocese of Rome Fr Amorth was dubbed the Dean of Exorcists and is said to have conducted a staggering 60,000 exorcisms over a 30-year period. His death prompted national mourning in Italy, where an estimated 500,000 people visit an exorcist each year. Although the Catholic Church officially recognises exorcism, its modernisers see it as a medieval hangover that plays on superstition to strengthen religious devotion. The Pope's Exorcist is a supernatural thriller and will be directed by Julius Avery who is best known for the 2018 horror film Overlord Picture: Avery on the set of Overload A favourite Amorth quip was to say: 'You know why the devil flees when he sees me? Because I'm uglier than he is.' Meanwhile, the new film adds to a long list of up coming releases for Crowe including The Greatest Beer Run Ever and Poker Face, which he directed as well as stars in. Impatient fans will be able to catch the burly legend in Chris Hemsworth's Thor: Love and Thunder when it opens next week. Amber Heard is facing yet another potential legal battle - this time in Australia - just weeks after losing her high-profile defamation trial against her ex-husband Johnny Depp. The 36-year-old actress is the subject of an 'ongoing' perjury investigation related to court proceedings stemming from her infamous visit to Queensland with Depp in 2015, when she broke Australia's strict quarantine and biosecurity laws by failing to declare the former couple's Yorkshire terriers, Pistol and Boo, when she flew into the country. Heard was charged with two counts of illegally importing the animals in July 2015, however the case was closed when she pled guilty to falsifying travel documents in a Gold Coast court in April 2016. But the actress's dog-smuggling saga was given new life in October 2021, when it was exclusively revealed by DailyMail.com that Australian officials were investigating Heard for perjury over claims that she lied to authorities about the circumstances in which her dogs were brought into the country. The Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment has now confirmed that the case is still 'ongoing', telling ET Canada that it is 'investigating allegations of perjury by Ms. Heard during court proceedings for the 2015 illegal importation of [her] two dogs into Australia'. Amber Heard (left) could face another legal battle in Australia after losing her defamation trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp (right). Pictured in Toronto, Canada, on September 14, 2015 Heard faced two counts of knowingly importing a prohibited product into the country. (Pictured: the Yorkshire terriers at the centre of the incident, Pistol and Boo) Perjury carries a maximum jail term of 14 years while the latter offence can result in a seven-year stretch under the Queensland penal code. It's unlikely the Australian government would try to have Heard extradited, but she could nonetheless face arrest if she tried to enter the country again. The department's perjury investigation stems from testimony given by a former employee of Depp during his UK libel case against The Sun newspaper in 2020. Depp's former estate manager Kevin Murphy raised eyebrows Down Under when he told the London court that Heard had ordered him to lie on oath after she flew the pets into Queensland in a private jet without declaring them. Pistol and Boo should have been declared to customs and placed in 10-day quarantine but their arrival went undetected for several weeks until a grooming salon posted snaps of the cuddly pair to Facebook. Depp and Heard were given 72-hours to send the dogs home or face having them seized and euthanized. Heard eventually pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of falsifying an immigration document and accepted a fine of 10,000 Australian dollars ($7,650) after her lawyer, Jeremy Kirk, insisted that the paperwork for the dogs had 'slipped through the cracks' and that there was 'no attempt to deceive'. Kirk said Heard thought that her then-husband's staff had completed the paperwork and was exhausted and suffering from sleep deprivation when she ticked the wrong box on her arrival card. The Aquaman actress, 36, is the subject of an 'ongoing' perjury investigation in Australia related to court proceedings stemming from her visit to Queensland with Depp in 2015 when the couple broke Australia's biosecurity laws by failing to declare their Yorkshire terriers, Pistol and Boo. (Heard and Depp are seen outside court on the Gold Coast on April 18, 2016) Heard was charged with two counts of illegally importing the animals in July that year, but the case was closed when she pleaded guilty in April 2016 to falsifying travel documents. She and Depp also recorded a video apology (pictured) in which she expressed remorse for her actions Heard and Depp also issued a video statement in which she expressed remorse for her actions. The footage was widely mocked on social media with some fans saying the couple looked like they'd been kidnapped and held to ransom. Heard's version of events went unchallenged until July 2020 when Depp's former estate manager told London's High Court in a written statement that he had repeatedly warned the actress about Australia's strict animal entry rules. 'I also explained to Ms. Heard several times the fact that trying to take the dogs into Australia without completing the mandatory process was illegal and could result in very harsh penalties including euthanizing the dogs,' Murphy said. He went on to allege that, when the smuggling controversy erupted, Heard demanded he provide a 'false statement' to the Australian court saying she didn't know anything about the requirements. 'When I expressed that I was extremely uncomfortable with this, Ms. Heard said to me 'Well I want your help on this I wouldn't want you to have a problem with your job.' 'It became very apparent that Ms. Heard was threatening my job stability unless I cooperated with providing a declaration that supported her false account for the Australian proceedings. 'Because of this I felt extreme pressure to cooperate, despite knowing this would involve being untruthful,' added Murphy, who worked for Depp for eight years.= The Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment said on Tuesday it was 'investigating allegations of perjury by Ms Heard during court proceedings for the 2015 illegal importation of [her] two dogs into Australia.' The spokesperson confirmed the case was 'ongoing'. (Pictured: Heard outside a Fairfax, Virginia, court on May 27) Heard must pay Depp (pictured) US$10.35million after a U.S. court found she defamed the 59-year-old actor by describing herself as a domestic abuse victim in an opinion piece she wrote Murphy later confirmed to DailyMail.com that he had been contacted by the FBI and had agreed to provide Australian authorities with a witness statement. He declined to comment further. The news of the ongoing perjury case against Heard comes just weeks after she was ordered to pay her ex-husband $10.35 million in damages after a Virginia court found that she defamed the actor by referring to herself as a survivor of domestic abuse in an opinion piece published in the Washington Post. Depp sued Heard, to whom he was married from 2015 to 2017, over a December 2018 piece she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as 'a public figure representing domestic abuse'. The jury found in Depp's favour on all three of his claims relating to specific statements in the 2018 piece. The jury found Depp should receive $10million in compensatory damages and $5million in punitive damages, but the judge reduced the punitive damages award to $350,000 under a state cap. Heard has said she plans to appeal against the verdict. At Friday's hearing, the judge said that if Heard appeals, she must post a bond for the full amount of US$10.35million while the appeal is pending a common practice. The judge's order says both awards are subject to six-per-cent interest per year. This is the moment Chris Hemsworth's eight-year-old son - quite literally - follows in his father's footsteps in Thor: Love and Thunder. Tristan Hemsworth is seen in the opening moments of the film's trailer as he runs through the woods in a montage showing Thor growing from a child to an adult. The sequence begins with Tristan dashing past trees, then cuts to a teenage Thor and finishes with Chris himself, highlighting the evolution of the God of Thunder. This is the moment Chris Hemsworth's eight-year-old son - quite literally - follows in his father's footsteps in Thor: Love and Thunder. Tristan Hemsworth is seen in the opening moments of the trailer running through the woods in a montage showing Thor growing from a child to an adult Chris confirmed his son's cameo at the Thor: Love and Thunder premiere, and also revealed his 10-year-old daughter India filmed a small role as the character 'Love'. The Marvel actor, 38, explained his new movie was a family affair for several stars, as Christian Bale and Natalie Portman's children also made cameos. Chris told film critic Kevin McCarthy his children 'really wanted to be in it', adding: 'Taika [Waititi, director] had his children in there. Christian Bale had his. Natalie had her kids as well.' Chris confirmed his son's cameo at the Thor: Love and Thunder premiere, and also revealed his 10-year-old daughter India filmed a small role as the character 'Love'. (Pictured at the Sydney premiere with wife Elsa Pataky and their twin sons Tristan and Sasha) Chris clarified that the cameos were simply a fun family experience and he didn't want his children to become actors. 'I don't want them to be child stars. It was just a special experience we all had,' he said. When asked whether his kids enjoyed sharing the screen with their famous father, he replied: 'They loved it. They had a great time.' Chris (pictured on November 21, 2019, in Narita, Japan) clarified that the cameos were simply a fun family experience and he didn't want his children to become actors This isn't the first time Chris has helped a family member get on screen, as he gave his brother Luke a cameo in one of the Thor movies. His wife Elsa Pataky landed a small role as a nurse in Thor: Ragnarok, too. The Hollywood star also gave his cousin Luke Van Os some career advice before the young actor landed his breakthrough role in Home and Away - the same Aussie soap where Chris got his start. Bindi Irwin spent a fun-filled day at the beach with her toddler daughter Grace Warrior on Thursday. The 23-year-old conservationist gave her little girl a big cuddle as they went for a walk along the gorgeous shoreline. She posted a gallery of heart-melting snaps from the outing on Instagram, and wrote: 'These smiles and hugs make my life.' Bindi Irwin spent a fun-filled day at the beach with her daughter Grace Warrior on Thursday Bindi's day at the beach comes after the Irwin family announced the launch of a new restaurant and bar at the Crocodile Hunter Lodge in Australia Zoo. She announced the opening on Wednesday, telling her social media followers: 'Warrior Restaurant and Bar opens tomorrow night @crocodilehunterlodge. 'We look forward to welcoming you for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can even book your own private dining room. 'Remember to be on the lookout for koalas, kangaroos and emus during your meal.' The 23-year-old conservationist gave her little girl a big cuddle as they went for a walk along the gorgeous shoreline 'These smiles and hugs make my life,' Bindi, 23, wrote on Instagram It comes after the Irwin family announced the launch of a new restaurant and bar at the Crocodile Hunter Lodge in Australia Zoo. (Pictured: inside the Crocodile Hunter Lodge) The new restaurant also includes a special tribute wall to the late Steve Irwin which is filled with pictures of the Crocodile Hunter and his family. The lodge is a new addition to Australia Zoo that allows guests to stay overnight. Steve and his widow Terri Irwin, who now runs Australia Zoo after his death in 2006, always dreamt of visitors being able to have an immersive experience at the zoo. The new restaurant also includes a special tribute wall to the late Steve Irwin which is filled with pictures of the Crocodile Hunter and his family 'Steve always had a dream that someday not only could people visit Australia Zoo but to stay overnight. Have the immersive experience,' Terri, 57, said. Her son Robert Irwin, 18, also revealed some of the wood used in the building had been repurposed from the crocodile grandstands Steve originally built. He said: 'So a lot of the lodge is actually kind of in a way hand-built by dad.' She welcomed her daughter Harper with husband Sam Wood just weeks ago. So it is no surprise mother-of-four Snezana Wood was in desperate need of a pampering session on Thursday. The 41-year-old was seen leaving popular Boda hair salon in Prahan, Melbourne. Snezana Wood showed off her incredible post-baby body as she enjoyed a pampering session at a Melbourne hair salon on Thursday The brunette beauty carried her tiny tot in a baby carrier as she headed back to her $150,000 Porsche Cayenne with freshly cut and dyed tresses. Unfortunately Snezana copped a pesky parking fine, with a parking inspector seen placing a ticket on the shield of the luxury SUV moments earlier. During the outing, the former scientific sales rep-turned-influencer showed off her incredible post-baby body in a pair of fitted black trousers teamed with an unbutton blouse that exposed a hint of her lacy bra. The 41-year-old was seen leaving popular Boda hair salon in Prahan, Melbourne She kept warm with a black and white check coat and wore some comfy Adidas sneakers. The Macedonian-born beauty revealed her post-pregnancy glow by wearing minimal makeup and a pair of spectacles. The outing comes after Snezana and Sam took baby Harper to hospital earlier this month. Glowing and gorgeous: The Macedonian-born beauty revealed her post-pregnancy glow by wearing minimal makeup and a pair of spectacles 'Snez had to take Harper to the Royal Children's Hospital last night at 10.30[pm],' Sam revealed in a video on Instagram Stories. 'She got home with Harper and Evie at 5.45[am] this morning.' He explained that Harper was in hospital with an infection she caught from her siblings Willow and Charlie. 'Now little Harper's got it,' he said. 'Just waiting to get her blood tests back.' The brunette beauty carried her tiny tot in a baby carrier as she headed back to her $150,000 Porsche Cayenne with freshly cut and dyed tresses Sam sighed before admitting he was 'being tested at the moment'. The Woods have faced setback after setback since the arrival of Harper, who was taken to the NICU with an infection soon after being born one month premature. Snezana herself was hospitalised with sepsis shortly after giving birth. 'Of course in true Snez fashion her only thoughts were for her little baby and it was breaking her heart that she couldnt hold her,' Sam said on Instagram last month. '@snezanawood you really are the strongest and most beautiful person I know and like you, thank god the force is strong in little Harper.' Unfortunately Snezana copped a pesky parking fine, with a parking inspector seen placing a ticket on the shield of the luxury SUV moments earlier After 24 days in the hospital, Harper was able to go home. Snezana and Sam have been together since meeting on The Bachelor Australia in 2015. They tied the knot in Byron Bay, NSW, in 2018. In addition to Harper, they share two daughters together: Charlie, two, and Willow, four. Snezana has a 17-year-old daughter, Eve, from a previous relationship. Tesla Model Y joins another patrol fleet -- the Leawood Police Department in Johnson County in Kansas, as it shifts to electric vehicles (EV). The EVs of the Elon Musk-owned automaker have been gracing several police departments in the United States, and the Leawood Police is the latest to join them. Police fleets in the US have started to embrace EVs as it is cleaner than going fuel-powered. Not to mention that most departments have learned that the switch would also lead to lesser expenses in the long run. Tesla Model Y Joins Fleet of Leawood Police Now, the Leawood police department has finally opted to include a new EV in its fleet, none other than a Tesla Model Y. As per a news story by the local Kansas news outlet KSHB, the Model Y police car of the Leawood Police Department flaunts a sleek black and white look with flashing red and blue LEDs. The Model Y was coated mostly in sleek black paint, while its doors are in clean white color that matches its wheels. The police force has also modified the bumper of the Tesla crossover by installing a sturdy bullbar. KSHB reports that the Kansas police department started considering getting their hands on an EV last year. But they only made it a reality this time. The Captain of Leadwood Police Department, Kirt Yoder, narrates that he "ended up contacting about ten agencies from New York to California" before coming up with the final decision. Yoder also said that Tesla in Kansas City was great, and "they were eager to help." Read Also: All Tesla Vehicles Can Now Have Apple's CarPlay Support Thanks To Polish Developer Why Leadwood Police Chooses Tesla Model Y The decision to get a Tesla Model Y became final after the Leawood City Council approved the idea of shifting to an EV. According to a recent report by Tesla North, the Leawood Department has weighed in the pros and cons before going all in on the Model Y SUV. And it turns out that a Ford Explorer Patrol SUV would costs their department around $4,500 per year for its gas costs alone. On the other hand, the Tesla Model Y would only require them to spend roughly $648 annually based on the $0.08 kilowatt per hour rate. After learning that going green means more savings as well, the Leawood Police presented it to the city council. Meanwhile, the Leawood Police captain believes that EVs "are going to be the future and this is going to be a good foundation for us." However, he adds, "Some officers have concerns because this is a smaller vehicle and the extra equipment (of a patrol car) eats into their work space. Related Article: Tesla Lays Off 200 Autopilot Employees - California Office Closed Down? Former Married At First Sight star Seb Guilhaus has spoken of the backlash he faced when he joined adult website OnlyFans back in April. The personal trainer, 30, and his girlfriend Ania Kilic make explicit content for paying subscribers, which he says is empowering for them both. But Seb, who was portrayed as a goofy 'nice guy' on season seven of MAFS, told Adelaide Now the feedback hadn't been 100 per cent positive. Former Married At First Sight star Seb Guilhaus (pictured with girlfriend Ania Kilic) has spoken of the backlash he faced when he joined adult website OnlyFans back in April 'I know it comes as a massive shock, especially from me,' he said, adding that there shouldn't be 'stigma' around OnlyFans because sex is a 'natural part of life'. While Seb admitted to 'copping it a bit from my followers on Instagram', he said overall 'people have accepted me and acknowledge it's not forced on anyone'. 'Obviously people with fixed views will always regard things in this realm [sex work] as being offensive,' he continued. 'No one is getting hurt and no one is being forced to subscribe.' Seb, who was portrayed as a goofy 'nice guy' on season seven of MAFS, says the feedback hasn't been 100 per cent positive, admitting he 'copped it from my followers on Instagram' Seb rose to fame on Married At First Sight in 2020 when he was partnered with fan-favourite bride Elizabeth Sobinoff. Lizzie had been left heartbroken by ex-'husband' Sam Ball during the previous year's season, and viewers were thrilled when she found her happy ending with Seb. But the pair called it quits 12 months later, and Seb subsequently began dating Ania, a longtime friend he'd had a crush on years earlier. 'Obviously people with fixed views will always regard things in this realm [sex work] as being offensive,' he told Adelaide Now. 'No one's getting hurt and no one's being forced to subscribe' Since joining OnlyFans, Seb and Ania have climbed to the top 1.9 per cent of all creators on the website, with estimated monthly earnings of $10,000. He said setting up an account on the platform had done wonders for the couple's relationship and improved their 'connection'. Other MAFS stars making a living on OnlyFans include Jessika Power, Alana Lister and Olivia Frazer, who signed up after quitting her teaching job. Paris Hilton confirmed that she had to cancel on President Biden to attend the wedding of her friend Britney Spears. The reality star told guest host Chelsea Handler during her Wednesday appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live that Biden and his team wanted her to DJ during the Summit of Americas event in Los Angeles, which was the same date as Britney's wedding on June 9. The star had to tell the President's team that she wasn't going to miss her close friend's wedding, even when they offered to send her a helicopter so she could fly between the two major events. Friends first: Paris Hilton confirmed that she had to cancel on President Biden to attend the wedding of her friend Britney Spears 'I was asked by President Biden and their team to go DJ that summit dinner with all the leaders of the world, but it was the same night as Britney's wedding,' explained Paris. ' And I'm like ''No, I'm not going to miss that''. They're like ''We'll send a helicopter and you can fly back and forth.'' 'I'm not going to be the one landing in and out at Britney's wedding in a helicopter. So I had to cancel on the President,' she pointed out. Iconic group: Paris attended her close friend's wedding on June 9 with other stars including Donatella Versace, Madonna, Selena Gomez and Drew Barrymore, 47 Chelsea showed a picture of Paris at the wedding with Britney, Madonna, Donatella Versace, Selena Gomez and Drew Barrymore during the show with Paris gushing: 'It was literally one of the most iconic nights of my life'. Paris shared how emotional she got watching Britney tie the knot with Sam Asghari, 28. 'Seeing her walk down the aisle, this angel, who's had a horrible time these past 13 years to finally have her freedom and to be able to do what she wants and have that happy fairytale ending was just beautiful,' Paris said. Chelsea wanted to know of the iconic women in the photo who got the most intoxicated. No: The star told guest host Chelsea Handler during her Wednesday appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live that Biden wanted her to DJ during the Summit of Americas event in Los Angeles 'It wasn't even about the drink it was more about the dancing and the singing,' Paris insisted, revealing: 'Madonna was singing. Selena and I were singing. Everyone was singing.' Paris said she has been friends with Britney for more than two decades. 'We just met from back in the day,' the star recalled. 'One of my first pictures of us was at my grandfather's estate. She came over and we were hanging out. We have been close ever since. ' The host also congratulated Paris on her recent wedding to Carter Reum, 41. 'He's amazing,' Paris said. 'I feel really lucky. I see you're in love, too.' Sorry! The star had to tell the President's team that she wasn't going to miss her friend's wedding, even when they offered to send her a helicopter Chelsea thanked her but said she wasn't ready to get married. 'How did you know that you were ready to get married to somebody?' Chelsea asked. 'When you know you know,' Paris said. 'I thought I was just going to be single forever. That was my plan. I wasn't looking for love and it just happened unexpectedly.' Paris also spilled that her honeymoon went on for almost seven weeks. 'I deserved it,' the star insisted. 'I had been working really hard and it was my first vacation in a long time.' The newlywed also said she couldn't wait to have kids with her husband, gushing: 'I've always wanted to have a family, I've just never found the right person to do it with'. 'So now I can't wait for that next step.' Friends for years: Paris said she has been friends with Britney for more than two decades 'I have to DJ at TomorrowLand in Ibiza so the summers are not good for me,' Paris said of when she hopes to conceive. The busy star explained that her DJ performances are pretty intense. 'I used to have to play a 4:30 to 6:30 DJ set, change into a swimsuit and then 6:45 to 8:30 spraying foam and playing music at the same time,' she said. 'I do earlier sets now,' she said. The two went on to discuss their love for animals and Paris said she once left Las Vegas when she was 19 with a goat, two ferrets and a monkey. 'I went to the airport and they were like you cannot bring these all on the plane,' Paris said. 'I had to literally get in a limo with all these animals, driving like six hours of traffic, because it was New Years, home to LA, with all these pets.' Paris said she kept all the animals and that she also had two new Pomeranian dogs named Crypto and Ether. She recently travelled to London with her friends. And on Wednesday, Naomi Watts showed off her nails after visiting a beauty salon during her trip. The 53-year-old shared a selfie to Instagram of her fresh new nails which featured bright yellow tips. Naomi Watts revealed her CRAZY nails after visiting a beauty salon with her friends in London on Wednesday Naomi looked stylish in a pink jumper as she enjoyed a sip from her cocktail. She also wore two diamond encrusted love bracelets from Cartier on her left wrist, which have a combined price of $19,900. It comes after Naomi recently revealed the shocking piece of advice she received in Hollywood. The 53-year-old shared a selfie to Instagram of her fresh new nails after getting her nails done with her friends At a preview for her new menopausal wellness brand Stripes, the actress said she was once told she'd become irrelevant if she got too old and was no longer 'f***able'. 'This is pretty much an ageist industry that has been branded as such,' she told a small audience at the Stripes preview in New York City last week. 'And we have been told multiple times going into it that you're pretty much done by the time you hit your mid-forties,' she continued. It comes after Naomi recently revealed the shocking piece of advice she received in Hollywood 'If you're not f***able - that's the word I got told once - you're no longer relevant.' The Mulholland Drive star is fighting ageism with her own beauty and wellness line which will 'address the skin and body changes of menopause'. Naomi has just started previewing the product to influencers and members of the media, although it's unclear when it will officially launch. Wheel of Fortune host John Burgess has opened up about his recent battle with sepsis. The legendary game show host, 79, battled the life-threatening illness after suffering a 'serious bacterial infection' in February. 'At first I felt maybe a bit nauseous, bit drowsy, achy in the joints and pretty soon I just felt like I was going to throw up,' he told the Courier Mail. Wheel of Fortune host John Burgess, 79, has revealed a severe battle with sepsis 'almost killed him' after suffering a 'serious bacterial infection' 'That was at seven o'clock in the morning and by 7.30 I couldn't get off the toilet, so my second son had to lift me off the toilet and carry me into the bedroom.' John's wife Gianna then called an ambulance and he was rushed to hospital, where he spent four days in ICU. He credits his survival to his wife's decision to call an ambulance. However, John said he still experiences symptoms such as hair loss and low energy. The legendary game show host battled the life-threatening illness after suffering a 'serious bacterial infection' in February John is best known for hosting Wheel of Fortune alongside Adriana Xenides from 1984 to 1996. Adriana sadly died in 2010 at the age of 54 after suffering a ruptured intestine. After a successful and lengthy stint on Seven's Wheel of Fortune, John moved over to Nine to host Catchphrase from 1997 to 2003. John is best known for hosting Wheel of Fortune alongside Adriana Xenides from 1984 to 1996 One of the last times John was pictured in public was in December 2019, when he was spotted posing alongside former Married At First Sight star Dino Hira at Nine's Perth studio. The presenter, formerly know as 'Baby John' due to his young age when joining the media industry, stood in a charming photo with the beaming reality star. Despite his mature age, John looked fit and vibrant in a stylish bright yellow shirt. Dino shared the photo to Instagram, captioning it: 'How can you not crack a smile and appreciate the day when you bump into Australia's longest serving TV game show host and one of my favourites, Burgo!' 'Much respect to him for his talent and work ethic!' he said. Juliette Lewis debuted very big flame red hair as she was seen for the first time on set for the new Chippendales miniseries in San Pedro, Los Angeles on Wednesday. The actress, 49, looked strikingly different from her usual glossy brunette appearance as she slipped into a sexy all-black ensemble that hugged her figure. The Hulu series that is titled, Immigrant, follows the true crime-ridden story of Chippendales creator, Somen 'Steve' Banerjee. Edgy: Juliette Lewis, 49, debuted big flame red hair with a sexy black ensemble as she was seen for the first time on the set of new Hulu series Immigrant in Los Angeles on Wednesday Juliette looked sensational as she got into character and tucked her V-neck sleeveless blouse into a pair of skin tight wet look jeans. She boosted her height with a pair of stiletto boots and added a silver embellished belt to complete her outfit. The award-winning star will take on the role of Chippendales groupie Denise, who went on to manage the New York club and their national tours. On set: The award-winning star will take on the role of Chippendales groupie Denise, who went on to manage the New York club and national tours Switching it up: The actress looked strikingly different from her usual glossy brunette self The series hails from Pam & Tommy creator Robert Siegel, which tells the true story of Indian-American entrepreneur Somen 'Steve' Banerjee, played by Kumail Nanjiani. It will show how Steve created Chippendales in 1979, the first all-male stripping troupe in America. The series will explore the, 'insane, darkly comedic, crime-ridden story behind the unique male revue that became a cultural phenomenon.' Creator: The series tells the true story of Somen 'Steve' Banerjee, played by actor Kumail Nanjiani, who founded the all-male stripping troupe in America The show also stars Murray Bartlett and Annaleigh Ashford, with Kumail also producing the series alongside his wife Emily V. Gordon. Steve bought a failing Los Angeles bar called Destiny II in 1979 and turned it into a nightclub called Chippendales. He would later open more Chippendales bars in New York, Dallas and Denver, but as more competing companies started sprouting up, Steve's dark side emerged. Competition: It will show how Steve created Chippendales in 1979, the first all-male stripping troupe in America (The dance group in 2018) The entrepreneur attempted to burn down at least three competing strip clubs and enlisted Ray Colon, a former Palm Springs cop and male entertainer, to carry out the murders of his producer Nick De Noia in 1987 and other former Chippendales dancers in 1990 and 1991. Steve pleaded guilty to attempted arson, racketeering, and murder for hire, resulting in a plea deal that would have lead to a 26-year prison sentence and the loss of his company. The day he was to be sentenced in October 1994, Steve committed suicide in his cell by hanging himself, passing away at just 48 years of age. Emma Louise Connolly and Oliver Proudlock looked in high spirits as they enjoyed their first date night since becoming parents. The couple welcomed daughter Bonnie on May 14 but briefly left their baby bubble for a night in adult company at the first anniversary party of Los Mochis in Notting Hill on Wednesday. The duo were joined by the likes of Lady Amelia Windsor and Tina Hobley at the glitzy soiree, where guests were treated to Baja-Nihon cuisine and tequila cocktails. Cute couple: Emma Louise Connolly and Oliver Proudlock enjoyed their first date night since becoming parents at the first birthday party of Los Mochis in Notting Hill on Wednesday. Emma, 30, looked radiant for her night out as she opted for a casual yet chic ensemble consisting of a boxy black and red blazer and boyfriend jeans. The influencer was positively glowing as she posed for snaps alongside her Made In Chelsea husband, 33, who donned a mint green jumper and jeans. Emma and Proudlock welcomed their first child, daughter Bonnie Lou, into the world on Saturday May 14. Mingling: The couple welcomed daughter Bonnie on May 14 but briefly left their baby bubble for a night in adult company (pictured with ballet dancer Eric Underwood) Stunning: Emma, 30, looked radiant for her night out as she opted for a casual yet chic ensemble consisting of a boxy black and red blazer and boyfriend jeans The couple wrote: 'Shes here With so much love and pride, we are thrilled to share the safe & healthy arrival of our beautiful baby girl. 'She has already filled us with so much love and happiness. Our Bonnie Lou Proudlock, 14/05/22. [sic]'. The happy couple revealed they were expecting their first child last December - a year after they tied the knot. Guests: The duo were joined by the likes of Lady Amelia Windsor (left) and Tina Hobley at the glitzy soiree, where guests were treated to Baja-Nihon cuisine and tequila cocktails Fun times: Proudlock shared an Instagram clip inside the event where a Mariachi band performed for the guests The clip showed the moment the couple were pronounced husband and wife in 2020, before cutting to Oliver holding up a newborn jumper with the phrase 'Yeah baby!' embroidered on it. Emma captioned the clip: '1 year married, 1 yeah baby on the way. We are bursting with love and gratitude for our very precious little growing gift!' The couple announced their engagement in August 2018 after Oliver got down on one knee during a romantic trip to Gothenburg, Sweden. Oliver and Emma originally planned to host 200 guests at Cowdray Park, West Sussex, for a wedding in April 2020, however their grand plans were reduced to just 15 people. While they persevered in their planning, their fourth attempt to tie the knot was almost thwarted when Boris Johnson announced plans to plunge London into Tier 4, meaning that all wedding receptions were banned, but Proudlock managed to pull together a last-minute wedding. Because the day was pulled together in less than 24 hours, a lot of Oliver's family and some of Emma's family couldn't be there, and so they had a private YouTube link set up so their loved-ones around the world could watch the ceremony. Kevin Spacey has been pictured for the first time since he appeared in court in London accused of historically sexually assaulting three men. The disgraced actor, 62, was seen arriving in Croatia on Wednesday, ahead of filming a docu-drama as he continues to work amid his ongoing legal battles. Spacey, who has 'strenuously denied' the allegations against him, has claimed he will 'establish his innocence' over claims he sexually assaulted three men over an eight-year period during visits to Britain. During the court appearance which took place on June 16, Spacey was granted unconditional bail which means he is free to fly to other countries. The American star, who starred in Netflix series House of Cards and films American Beauty and The Usual Suspects, is accused of a string of sex attacks on three men in London and Gloucestershire between 2005 and 2013 while he was artistic director of the Old Vic theatre. First sighting: Kevin Spacey has been pictured for the first time since he appeared in court in London accused of historically sexually assaulting three men Channel 4 announced earlier this week that the broadcaster was working on a Kevin Spacey documentary surrounding the allegations against Spacey. Patrick Gibbs QC, defending, told the court Spacey 'strenuously denies' the allegations and had returned 'voluntarily' to the UK to 'establish his innocence'. The court heard Spacey went through four days of interviewing in New York and promised that if he was charged he would come to Britain to answer them. Spacey, who was wearing glasses and dressed smartly in a blue suit, teal suede brogues and a dark patterned tie, made no comment outside the courthouse as he was rushed past a queue of other court attendees and through the entrance before passing security. Back to work: The disgraced actor, 62, was seen arriving in Croatia on Wednesday, ahead of filming a docu-drama as he continues to work amid his ongoing legal battles Denial: Spacey, who has 'strenuously denied' the allegations against him, has claimed he will 'establish his innocence' over claims he sexually assaulted three men over an eight-year period Prosecutor Natalie Dawson did not give any further details of the allegations beyond the charges, which were read out by the court's legal advisor. Mr Gibbs continued: 'Having seen the full Crown's case, pages and pages of statements and exhibits delivered to him...he has chosen, not on bail, to come to this court today and my submission is that you can have every confidence, and the judge at Southwark can have every confidence, that he will continue to attend. 'He needs to answer these charges if he is to proceed with his life.' Deputy Chief Magistrate Ikram granted Spacey unconditional bail ahead of his plea and trial preparation hearing at Southwark Crown Court on 14 July. Allegations: The American star is accused of a string of sex attacks on three men in London and Gloucestershire between 2005 and 2013 (pictured arriving at court on June 16) Arrival: Patrick Gibbs QC, defending, told the court Spacey 'strenuously denies' the allegations and had returned 'voluntarily' to the UK to 'establish his innocence' He said: 'I am going to send your case to the crown court sitting at Southwark. I am going to grant you unconditional bail. Every defendant has a right to unconditional bail unless the court is of the view that there is a real risk. 'You have cooperated, I am told, and this has not been at all challenged by the Crown, with the authorities both in New York and you voluntarily attended these proceedings here today. 'Indeed I withdrew the warrant which was issued for your arrest because it was not necessary. I am not persuaded that there is a real risk, bearing in mind all that I have heard about you, that you would fail to surrender.' Spacey nodded and walked slowly out of the dock when he was told that he was free to leave. The actor had been interviewed under caution by Scotland Yard in 2019 after the force launched an investigation into the claims two years earlier. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorised charges against him last month, but American Spacey could only be formally charged after travelling to the UK. British prosecutors had suggested they would try and extradite the actor from the US, he appeared in court voluntarily. In a statement released to Good Morning America after the Crown Prosecution Service announcement last month, Spacey said he was 'confident' he will prove his innocence. The statement added: 'I very much appreciate the Crown Prosecution Service's statement in which they carefully reminded the media and the public that I am entitled to a fair trial, and innocent until proven otherwise. 'While I am disappointed with their decision to move forward, I will voluntarily appear in the U.K. as soon as can be arranged and defend myself against these charges, which I am confident will prove my innocence.' The Crown Prosecution Service said last month that one man, now in his 40s, claims he was sexually assaulted by Spacey twice in March 2005. A second man, now in his 30s, claims that in August 2008 he was sexually assaulted and then forced to engage in a sex act against his will. All these alleged incidents took place in London. The third complainant, now in his 30s, alleges he was sexually assaulted in April 2013 in Gloucestershire. Georgia Steel looked nothing short of incredible as she flaunted her figure in a bikini in an Instagram snap while on holiday in Dubai on Thursday. The Love Island star, 24, who appeared on the fourth series of the ITV2 reality show in 2018, looked sensational as she showed off her toned stomach. Posing up a storm in her hotel room, Georgia oozed confidence as she snapped a mirror selfie while holding a mug of coffee. Sensational: Georgia Steel looked nothing short of incredible as she flaunted her figure in a bikini in an Instagram snap while on holiday in Dubai on Thursday The TV personality wore a gold waist chain which brought attention to her trim physique. Georgia looked every inch the beach babe as she posed alluringly, showing off a glowing tan in the swimwear. The reality star wore her long brown hair loose, and kept her make-up subtle as she uploaded a full length mirror selfie for her 1.6 million followers. Georgia simply captioned the snap: 'Good morning from Dubai.' Glowing: The Love Island star, 24, who appeared on the fourth series of the ITV2 reality show in 2018, looked sensational as she showed off her toned stomach Georgia wowed once again as she posed in a black cut-out bikini in a slew of sizzling mirror snaps, which she shared to Instagram earlier this month. The influencer wore her long brunette locks in neat voluminous waves and sported a full face of makeup. Captioning the stunning shots, she wrote: 'More n more'. Georgia's trip to Dubai comes after she splashed out 60,000 on a swanky new black Range Rover. The television personality proved money wasn't an issue after purchasing the luxury vehicle and shared a snap of it on Thursday parked on her drive. She captioned the shot: 'Arrived home to my new baby' and then gave her 1.6million followers on Instagram a tour of the inside. In another shot she showed off the very modern sleek dashboard as she selected her favourite tunes The car featured a shiny perfect paint job, black wheels and posh blacked-out windows. Georgia rose to fame on the 2018 series of Love Island and has become a successful influencer in the years that have followed. She's currently celebrating her 40th birthday in Capri with her friends and husband Hamish Blake. But on Thursday, Zoe Foster Blake revealed how her holiday turned into a nightmare on a boating trip to the island in Italys Bay of Naples. The former journalist-turned-skincare entrepreneur took to Instagram on Thursday to reveal her coastal jaunt was anything but smooth sailing when she lost a beloved item and her friends were left violently ill. Zoe Foster Blake revealed how her Italian holiday turned into a nightmare on Thursday, when she shared her woes to Instagram In one post, Zoe shared a photo of herself relaxing on the yacht and wrote: 'Things were absolutely perfect'. She then posted a video of the ocean and continued: 'Then right after this, I dropped my phone in the sea'. 'And two of my angels vomited from seasickness,' she captioned another image of her friends lying on the island. In one post, Zoe shared a photo of herself relaxing on the yacht. She then posted a video of the ocean and continued: 'Then right after this, I dropped my phone in the sea' It comes after Hamish revealed the real reason he was invited on his wife's birthday trip to Italy was to be a cameraman. The comedian, 40, shared a snap of his beauty guru wife Zoe and a group of their friends standing in front of a stunning Italian backdrop. In the selfie, Hamish clutched two phones and camera, while the group of women posed in the background. 'And two of my angels vomited from seasickness,' she captioned another image of her friends lying on the island 'I'm lucky enough to be on my wife's belated 40th Girls Trip to Italy and don't worry,' he wrote. 'I know exactly where I stand (off camera, 3 metres away with the sun behind me, taking at least 5 options per photo, per phone),' he added. Hamish shares two children with Zoe, son Sonny, eight, and daughter Rudy. Following a major shake-up of cast members in recent weeks, EastEnders have released images of the first drag queen character to feature on the soap. Actor Matthew Morrison will debut as Felix Baker, also known by his stage name Tara Misu. The character will be part of a new family who are due to arrive in Walford this summer when the estranged brother of Mitch, played by Roger Griffiths, turns up in Albert Square. Welcome to Walford! EastEnders have released images of the first drag queen character to feature on the soap played by Matthew Morrison will debut as Felix Bake The younger son of Mitch's estranged brother Avery (Omar Lye-Fook), Baker will arrive in Walford prompting conflict and new storylines. The pair were seen arriving at the set for their first day of filming for the soap earlier this month. In the new first-look pictures, Tara Misu is seen wearing a blue bodycon minidress with fishnets while clasping a handbag in front of Albert Square's famous road sign. Debut: In first-look pictures, Tara Misu is seen wearing a blue bodycon minidress with fishnets while clasping a handbag in front of Albert Square's famous road sign. Actor Matthew said: 'I am blessed to have the opportunity to step into the heels of the fierce Tara Misu as part of my role on EastEnders. 'It's a privilege to represent the LGBTQIA+ community and to showcase the creative art of drag to both viewers at home and the residents of Walford.' EastEnders also shared a video on its social media channels showing Matthew getting tips on his drag transformation from a former RuPaul's Drag Race UK contestant. Goodbye: Elsewhere, EastEnders actress Tanya Franks, 54, has reportedly quit the role of Rainie Cross after seven years and will leave the show in shocking scenes Elsewhere, EastEnders actress Tanya Franks has reportedly quit her role as Rainie Cross on BBC soap after seven years. The 54-year-old has appeared in the show on and off since 2007 but most recently returned in 2015, but will apparently leave the show in a storyline that sees her character depart Albert Square with her baby Roland. Rainie - who is the sister of the established character Tanya Branning - became estranged from her son after his father Stuart Highway abandoned him during his depression battle and left him in the care of surrogate Bernie Taylor (Clair Norris). But upon growing tired of caring for the tot, Bernie offered Rainie an ultimatum. She said: 'I shouldn't be the only one putting Roland first. You do not get to make him suffer because your marriage is falling apart. In scenes yet to air on television, Rainie tells Stuart: 'The most important now is my innocent little boy. Your faces, I'll be fine.' According to The Sun, Rainie was then seen climbing into a cab with Roland as she left Walford for good. Goodbye: And EastEnder's fans were left 'gutted' on Thursday evening over Nancy Carter's shock departure as actress Maddy Hill has left the show for good Stuart Highway (Ricky Champ) is also said to be leaving the series shortly after Rainie's exit scenes have aired. It comes just days after Maddy Hill - known to viewers as market stall trader Nancy Carter - also left the soap opera on Thursday. The beloved charted moved Manchester after her boyfriend Zack Hudson (James Farrar) cheated on her with Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf). Fans were left 'gutted' after actress Maddie left the soap in shock scenes, just a year after reprising her role as Nancy Carter. A commissioner of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has renewed calls for Apple and Google to boot out the TikTok app from their app stores over reports detailing national security risks with the short video sharing platform's parent company ByteDance, CNN reported. TikTok Parent Firm ByteDance 'Beholden' to Chinese Government, Says FCC Commissioner FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr wrote letters to the CEOs of Apple and Google on June 24, emphasizing that ByteDance was 'beholden" to the Chinese government and is required by Chinese law "to comply with [Chinese government] surveillance demands." Carr cited a BuzzFeed news report that claimed ByteDance's Chinese staff had accessed US TikTok users' data on several occasions, These allegations showed how TikTok is not complying "with the policies that both of your companies require every app to adhere to." Read Also: TikTok Ban Update: US Commerce Department Issued Further Delay In the letter, Carr said there are a number of other reports that show "concerning evidence and determinations regarding TikTok's data practices", such as cases discovered by researchers where the app bypassed all safety nets on Android and iOS devices to gain access to private information. Carr went as far as to describe TikTok as a "risk to national security". In a tweet, Carr said that TikTok is "not just another video app." He added, "That's the sheep's clothing," and added, "It harvests swaths of sensitive data that new reports show are being accessed in Beijing." TikTok is not just another video app. Thats the sheeps clothing. It harvests swaths of sensitive data that new reports show are being accessed in Beijing. Ive called on @Apple & @Google to remove TikTok from their app stores for its pattern of surreptitious data practices. pic.twitter.com/Le01fBpNjn Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) June 28, 2022 Carr asked the companies to either remove TikTok from their app stores by July 8 or explain why they did not intend to do so. TikTok: BuzzFeed Report 'Misleading' In a statement, TikTok called the BuzzFeed report "misleading" as both Apple and Google have yet to respond to the FCC commissioner's letter. TikTok said it has engineering teams around the world that "employ access controls like encryption and security monitoring" in securing user data, and an access approval process managed by the company's US-based security team. TikTok engineers from outside the U.S. can be granted access to U.S. user data on an "as-needed" basis under the aforementioned strict controls. BuzzFeed, meanwhile, stands by its report that US user data was accessed by China-based TikTok employees far more frequently than previously known, and added in a statement that TikTok itself confirmed it in its own statement. U.S. officials have voiced concerns over national security risks that Chinese counterparts could easily access U.S. user data. Carr's request seems odd because the FCC has no clear jurisdiction over the content of app stores and it merely regulates the national security space through its mandated authority to grant communications licenses to companies. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews deals by foreign acquirers for potential national security risks, ordered ByteDance in 2020 to divest its TikTok interest because of fears that U.S. user data could be relayed to China's communist government. To allay these fears, TikTok said it had migrated U.S. user data to Oracle Corp servers. Related Article: TikTok Class-Action Lawsuit: Moderator Claims Videos Left her Traumatized Coronation Street's Lucy Fallon showed off her ample assets in a plunging black swimsuit as she posted a slew of sizzling holiday snaps to her Instagram account on Wednesday. The actress, 26, sent temperatures soaring as she uploaded several sultry shots from Dubai's AURA sky pool. The blonde beauty balanced precariously on edge of the world's highest 360-degree infinity pool. Incredible: Coronation Street 's Lucy Fallon showed off her ample assets in a plunging black swimsuit as she posted a slew of sizzling holiday snaps to her Instagram account on Wednesday Quip: Captioning the string of shots, she wrote: 'feel like pure s**t just want summer back <3 love 2 u all mwah' Lucy wore her blonde hair down in easy, beachy curls while accessorising the look with an R initial necklace for her boyfriend Ryan Ledson, 24. The soap star looked picture perfect as she posed with the glistening horizon of the Arabian Gulf in the background. Shielding her eyes behind the scorching sun with a pair of oversized sunglasses, the fresh-faced stunner looked blissfully happy. Scorching: The actress, 26, sent temperatures soaring as she uploaded several sultry shots from Dubai 's AURA sky pool Lady in red: Another photo showed the soap star posing in a mirror for a selfie in another plunging swimsuit - this one in an eye-catching red shade Another photo showed the soap star posing in a mirror for a selfie in another plunging swimsuit - this one in an eye-catching red shade. And a third shot depicted Lucy gazing down at a huge milkshake topped with a whole slice of cake, whipped cream, sprinkles and a cherry. She also posed for a beaming selfie with her friend Beth Kennedy, wearing a floral top with a cutout to expose her ample cleavage. Captioning the string of shots, she wrote: 'feel like pure s**t just want summer back <3 love 2 u all mwah'. Yummy: And a third shot depicted Lucy gazing down at a huge milkshake topped with a whole slice of cake, whipped cream, sprinkles and a cherry Stunning: She also posed for a beaming selfie with her friend Beth Kennedy, wearing a floral top with a cutout to expose her ample cleavage It comes as Lucy has been sharing pictures from her luxe holidays for the past few weeks. Last month she shared a loved-up photo of herself and Ryan enjoying dinner on the beach for their last night in the Maldives. 'Sorry for the spam - but oh my life what an unbelievable last night in the Maldives we have just had,' she wrote. 'Thank you so much to @siyamworld for organising something so special for the both of us. And special shout out to Longey and Nahidh (event manager) for being the best there is! Also love u.' The post showed Lucy and her beau having some food and drinks at a table on the sand, surrounded by candles. Romantic getaway: Last month she shared a loved-up photo of herself and Ryan enjoying dinner on the beach for their last night in the Maldives Getaway fashion: For the past few weeks, the actress - known for playing Bethany Platt in the ITV drama - has been sharing pictures from her luxe holiday Lucy donned a gorgeous flower-print maxi-dress for the romantic dinner, whereas Ryan kept it simple with a grey zip-up top and Bermuda shorts. In May she also showed off her curves in a ruffled green bikini as she enjoyed the stunning beach views in a stringy swimsuit, which featured ornate white detailing. She kept her holiday look casual with a simple pair of shades and some bracelets, wearing her long platinum blonde hair down in relaxed waves. Loved up: Lucy and Ryan went went Instagram official in May last year. Pictured together in March Clam to fame: Lucy is best known as a former Coronation Street star. She played Bethany Platt in the soap (pictured in 2017 with Ben Cartwright) Sharing the snap with her 526,000 followers on Instagram, Lucy captioned it with Harry Styles lyrics. She wrote: 'ur sweet ice cream, but u could use a flake or 2.' Earlier this month, the stunner shared photos of herself in a Mama Mia-esque blue and white embroidered dress, with her hair braided at the sides. Another ensemble included a long blue maxi dress, cinched at the waist with a glam chunky belt, finished off with a bright orange overshirt. Lucy and Ryan went went Instagram official in May last year. Their romance came after Lucy called things off with her ex-partner Tom Leech for good in January. Lucy first split with her boyfriend of three years last August, before she began filming ITV's Don't Rock The Boat, after lockdown 'drove them apart'. But insiders close to the actress later revealed they secretly reunited in September last year to give their relationship one last try. However, according to a report, Lucy soon kicked the insurance manager out of the house they shared in Blackpool for the final time. Mariska Hargitay took time to honor her legendary actress mother, Jayne Mansfield, on the 55th anniversary of iconic blonde bombshells tragic death. The Law & Order: SVU actress, 58, was just three-years-old when her then 34-year-old mother was killed in a car crash on June 29, 1967. Taking to Instagram to share stunning black and white photo of the Hollywood icon on Wednesday, Hargitay wrote: We live to love you more each day. Rest in peace: Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay has paid tribute to her Hollywood icon mother, Jayne Mansfield, on the 55th anniversary of her death Her legacy: The 58-year-old star's legendary blonde bombshell mother died in car crash when Hargitay was just three-years-old Memories: Hargitay being held by her mother in 1996, with her father Mickey Harigtay, brothers Zoltan and Mikos, and her mother's daughter Jayne Maria, from a previous marriage Fans were quick to share messages of support as one commented: She lives on through you. Shed be so proud of you. Another wrote: Shes looking over you and your family. A thought for you and this beautiful blond angel, another added. Mansfields life was suddenly cut short while she was in a Buick car traveling from Biloxi, Mississippi to New Orleans along with her lawyer and then-boyfriend Samuel S. Brody, driver Ronnie Harrison, and three of her children. Harrison crashed into the rear of a tractor-trailer that was obscured by a cloud of insecticide dust from the truck hauling it. Unusual choices: Mansfield picture with her daughter Harigaty while spending time with her friend, Satanist Anton LaVey (undated photo) Firm friends: LaVey and Mansfield pictured together, with the High Priest and founder of The Church of Satan holding her pet chihuahua Stunning: Mansfield was a trailblazer sex symbol in the fifties and sixties - at a time where many actresses were afraid to embrace their sexuality. Pictured in 1995 (left) and 1957 (right) Mariska, who was fast asleep in the backseat, survived. Her brothers, eight-year-old Mickey Jr. and six-year-old Zoltan, also survived. Jayne Mansfield was born Vera Jayne Palmer in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in 1933. She studied acting at university and won a series of quirkily named beauty contests including Gas Station Queen, Miss Lobster and Miss Fire Prevention Week. Her iconic hourglass figure cost her roles in the conservative climate of 1950s Hollywood but famously won her a nude shoot with Playboy in 1955. The following year, Mansfield signed with Twentieth Century Fox, whose executives hoped she could become the new Marilyn Monroe. Despite her cultivated image as the stereotypical dumb blonde, Mansfield was an intelligent woman who spoke five languages and reportedly had a lust for knowledge. Blonde bombshell: In 1956, Mansfield signed with Twentieth Century Fox, whose executives hoped she could become the new Marilyn Monroe (undated photo) Voluptuous: Her iconic hourglass figure cost her roles in the conservative climate of 1950s Hollywood - pictured in 1906 flick, Too Hot To Handle Sex appeal: Mansfield was one of the first major Hollywood actresses to appear nude in 1963 film, Promises! Promises! Pictured in 1957 (left) and 1955 (right) She was named one of the most promising newcomers at the 1957 Golden Globe Awards for her performances in films such as The Girl Cant Help It. But by the early 1960s, her career had begun to fizzle out. After making waves as one of the first major Hollywood actresses to appear nude in a film Promises! Promises! in 1963 Mansfields career continued to struggle. Mansfields rather rocky private life three marriages that all ended in divorce, along with allegations of numerous affairs was also a major talking point during her time in the public eye. In 1966, she also began a friendship with Anton LaVey, a Satanist trying to attract new members to his Church of Satan. A popular legend that might have been spread by LaVey himself claimed that he portrayed the devil who rapes Mia Farrows character in the 1968 film Rosemarys Baby. After they connected in San Francisco, the pair developed a friendship that some claim was sexual in nature and continued to meet frequently to perform rituals until Mansfields death. Making waves: Mansfield famously had multiple iconic wardrobe malfunctions during industry events. Pictured in with Sophia Loren in 1957. During their intense correspondence over the following year, it is claimed that Mansfield asked LaVey to send her an incubus a male demon who visits women in their sleep. The pair also like to dine in public around Beverly Hills, with LaVey sporting his resplendent cape. Luckily, paparazzi were always on hand to document them as they held court. After Mansfield died LaVey conducted a Satanic memorial service for her at his Black House in San Francisco. Mansfield was survived by her five children: Jayne (born 1950), Mickey (born 1958), Zoltan (born 1960), Mariska (born 1964) and Tony (born 1965). By the time of her fateful death, Mansfield had survived no less than six car accidents. Star power: Hargitay's father, actor and former Mr. Universe bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay, died in September 2016 Special reunion: Hargitay and her mother were united on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame when their stars placed stars were placed side by side in 2013 Hargitay is married to Peter Hermann, an actor who she met on set of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The pair have three children together; biological son August, 16, adopted daughter Amaya, 11, and their adopted Andrew, 10. Reflecting on the difficult lessons she was forced to learn as a young girl after the loss, Harigtay told Glamour in 2021: 'I think I learned about crisis very young, and I learned very young that s*** happens and there's no guarantees, and we keep going. And then we transform it.' The Can't Hurry Love star continued: 'That's been kind of my superpower, and the gift of having trauma early in life. Ive spent the last 50how old am I?57, so 54 years sort of trying to figure out what happened and why, and what am I supposed to do with it?' In a previous interview with People, Hargitay revealed that she had developed 'catastrophic thinking' while dealing with her mother's death. Superstar couple: Hargitay is married to fellow actor Peter Hermann, who she met on set of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Growing family: The pair share biological son August, 16, adopted daughter Amaya, 11, and their adopted Andrew, 10 She told the weekly that losing her mother at an early age prepared her mentally that the worst could always happen as she explained: 'The way Ive lived with loss is to lean into it. As the saying goes, the only way out is through. 'In my life, certainly Ive tried to avoid pain, loss, feeling things. But Ive learned instead to really lean into it, because sooner or later you have to pay the piper.' The Downtown star did admit that her mentality doesn't make loss any easier but can help her put it all into perspective. 'Im not saying its easy, and it certainly hasnt been for me,' she explained. 'Theres been a lot of darkness. But on the other side things can be so bright.' In 2013, Hargitay and her mother were united on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame when their stars placed stars were placed side by side. Fiona Falkiner's fiancee Hayley Willis has shown off her burgeoning baby bump in a sweet snap shared to her Instagram. The expecting mum sported a grey polo neck and jeans as she playfully balanced a bowl of yoghurt on her bump. Opting for a chilled out at home look, she joked: 'Who needs a table?' as she pulled her hair back into a slick bun. Fiona Falkiner's fiancee Hayley Willis has shown off her burgeoning baby bump in a sweet snap shared to her Instagram. The expecting mum sported a grey polo neck and jeans as she playfully balanced a bowl of yoghurt on her bump Hundreds of people were quick to comment on the snap, including her doting partner Fiona who loving wrote, 'How lucky am I', before describing her wife-to-be as a stunner. It comes after the couple celebrated their son Hunter's first birthday. The two mothers took to Instagram in March to share photos of them marking the celebration with the adorable youngster. Milestone: Fiona Falkiner and fiancee Hayley Willis celebrated their son Hunter's first birthday (all pictured) in March New addition: Hayley will give birth to the couple's second child. Here with Fiona (R) and son Hunter, now one. The couple made the announcement earlier this month Fiona shared rarely seen images of the trio all wearing Hawaiian shirts during celebrations at a party. Hunter was treated to a monkey cake along with a mix of finger food for his birthday party. The youngster also got a mix of balloon and party decorations in the living room. 'What a day! Celebrating our little man who just brings us so much joy!' Fiona wrote, before adding: 'Happy Birthday Hunter.' Too cute: Hunter was treated to a monkey cake along with a mix of finger food for his party Loving: 'What a day! Celebrating our little man who just brings us so much joy!' Fiona wrote, before adding: 'Happy Birthday Hunter' Hayley shared similar photos of adorable Hunter alongside the couple's friends. 'We survived our first year of parenting and lived to tell the tale! What a fab day celebrating our big boy - family, friends and of course a few party shirts,' she wrote. 'We love you Hunter.' It comes after the couple revealed Hayley is pregnant with the family's second child. Friends and family: 'We survived our first year of parenting and lived to tell the tale! What a fab day celebrating our big boy - family, friends and of course a few party shirts,' Hayley wrote 'Grateful, blessed, over the moon it's hard to put into words how much I adore my little family as we prepare to welcome another addition,' Hayley wrote on Instagram. 'Baby Falkiner due August. Two boys under two, how hard can it be?!' Fiona also wrote on Instagram: 'No words guys! Baby Falkiner Due in August. We are over the moon!' Enjoying yourself? Hunter looked to be having fun as he played with block games in the yard 'My beautiful wife to be @hayley__willis has been so incredible, having had covid, moved house, all the things in the first trimester but she is just amazing and took it all in her stride!' She continued: 'Hunter can't wait to meet his baby brother!!!! Life does not get much better than this! I am feeling very blessed with a very full heart.' Fiona and Hayley welcomed their son Hunter into the world on March 22 - and announced his arrival via a sweet Instagram post. The couple became engaged in April 2019 while on holiday in Vanuatu, sharing the sweet moment to Instagram. She rose to fame with her lingerie campaigns in the Nineties. And Sophie Anderton proved she's still got it as she flaunted her washboard abs in a green bikini as she enjoyed a Pilates retreat in Greece. The model, 44, looked sensational in the skimpy two-piece as she pulled off a number of playful poses in the sizzling Instagram snaps shared on Thursday. Model looks: Sophie Anderton proved she's still got it as she flaunted her washboard abs in a green bikini as she enjoyed a Pilates retreat in Greece with friends Joined by a friend on a yacht, Sophie looked the picture of happiness as she sported slicked back locks and donned minimal make-up for the jaw-dropping images. The runway star looked every inch the beach babe as she showcased her washboard stomach in the tiny two piece, which highlighted her toned midriff. Another stunning image showed the brunette beauty floating in the Mediterranean Sea giving a polarised view of her sensational figure. Breathtaking: Another stunning image showed the brunette beauty floating in the Mediterranean Sea giving a polarised view of her sensational figure Sophie appeared to be in full relaxation mode as she spent the day with her fellow pilates lovers as she uploaded several shots of the group living it up in Mykonos. Showcasing her modelling talents, she treated her 97,000 followers to some sultry shots which included her exhibiting her flexibility and her impressive agility. The colourful collage also included some group shots of the fitness lovers during the intense trip and a glimpse into their stunning villa. Work it: The runway star looked every inch the beach babe as she showcased her washboard stomach in the tiny two piece, which highlighted her toned midriff Stunner: Showcasing her modelling talents, Sophie treated her 97,000 followers to some sultry shots Expressing her sheer love for the mind-body exercise and her time at the resort, Sophie captioning her post: 'The Pilates dream team taking a well deserved break on the Mediterranean Seawhat a strong group of ladies! #catamaran #boatlife '@paolasbodybarre you well and truly Paolarized us over the Strength, Align and Flow retreat. I was over the moon with the results I saw in such a short space as a week. I have loved you for 20 years, heres to another 20 my beautiful friend! 'Can barely wait for the next oneDM @paolasbodybarre if you are interested in joining us on the next retreat.' Flexible: The Pilates lover and her friend exhibited their flexibility and her impressive agility as they enjoyed some down time on their private yacht All aboard! Sophie looked the picture of happiness as she enjoyed some quality time with her close friends Girls on tour: While spending the day doing pilates, the group made sure they enjoyed some precocious downtime on their private yacht Greek getaway: The colourful collage also included some group shots of the fitness lovers after a pilates session Hideaway: Sophie gave followers a glimpse into the stunning villa she called home for the duration of the trip The stunning snaps come months after Sophie married Count Kaz Balinski-Jundzill, 53, in August, describing the wedding as 'the happiest day of my life'. Sophie who found fame as the face of Gossard bras in the 1990s, tied the knot in Ireland on August 5 after the couple postponed their wedding three times due to the pandemic. However the star admitted she 'never thought marriage was on the cards' and had been nicknamed 'the runway bride' but added: 'Love comes into your life when you're not looking for it.' Sophie, who wore an ivory lace wedding gown designed by Irish couturier Helen Cody, told HELLO! magazine: 'I've waited all my life to meet the person I wanted to marry. Although I've loved, I've never been in love until now.' She added: 'Kaz kept telling me it [marriage] would suit me, and he was right.' The couple had a civil ceremony in the village of Laragh, with Balinski-Jundzill's daughter, Charlie's Angels star Ella Balinska, acting as ring bearer. The ceremony was followed by a wedding reception at their family home, Glendalough House. Balinski-Jundzill - who works in the extractive oil industry - told the magazine he was 'in awe' of Sophie on their special day and even had to 'look away' to prevent himself from crying. Speaking with The Daily Mail's Richard Eden after her wedding, Sophie said: 'Yesterday, I married my best friend, soulmate and lifetime partner in crime. Marriage bliss: The model tied the knot with Count Kaz Balinski-Jundzill in Ireland on August 5 after the couple postponed their wedding three times due to the pandemic 'I cannot believe after so many obstacles and date changes, I am officially Mrs Kaz Balinksi.' Sophie and Kaz had to postpone their nuptials twice last year due to Covid and then again at the end of July when one of Kaz's four children fell ill. One of Kaz's children is actress Ella Balinska, 24, who he shares with TV chef ex-wife, Lorraine Pascale. Ella starred in the 2019 Charlie's Angels film. The happy newlyweds have been together for more than four years, with Sophie often gushing about their relationship. Lottie Tomlinson visited London's Houses of Parliament on Wednesday for the launch of a bereavement charity's research after she lost her mother and her sister Felicite. The sister of Louis Tomlinson, 23, met with Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health Dr Rosena Allin-Khan to talk about bereavement support across the UK. She also visited the Palace of Westminster for the Sue Ryder charity's launch event to mark their research 'around the availability and impact of bereavement support'. Campaigning: Lottie Tomlinson visited London's Houses of Parliament on Wednesday for the launch of a bereavement charity's research after she lost her mother and her sister Felicite It is a cause close to Lottie's heart after she lost her mother Johannah Deakin to leukaemia in December 2016 and her sister Felicite died in March 2019 from an accidental overdose. Lottie, who has been an ambassador for the Sue Ryder charity since 2020, spoke to Rosena about the findings of the charity's bereavement research report, according to Doncaster Free Press. Speaking of the need for bereavement support, Lottie said: 'So many people get to such a dark place when they are grieving because they are not able to get the help that they need and it's shocking that there isn't a bereavement pathway in place already.' She went on to explain that people call their GP when they realise they need extra support but the services are overwhelmed and she said it leads people to 'give up' asking for help. Event: She visited the Palace of Westminster for the Sue Ryder charity's launch event to mark their new research 'around the availability and impact of bereavement support' Reflecting on her own experiences with grief, she continued: 'I relied on the support of my friends and family after my mum passed away but sought professional support after my sister died and it made a huge difference. 'Grief is so overwhelming and painful and I can understand why people don't want to feel it, but you can end up in a bad place if you try to numb it and push those feelings away.' Lottie is backing Sue Ryder calling on the government to commit to development a bereavement pathway, which would include offering people help through counselling, prescription drugs and financial support. After the meeting at the Houses of Parliament, Lottie took to Instagram to reflect on the experience and said she was 'honoured' to be part of the charity's campaign. In a lengthy caption, she penned: 'Truly honoured to be part of this movement @suerydercharity we were in Parliament again last night for the launch of their new research around the availability and impact of bereavement support in the UK. Grief: The sister of Louis Tomlinson, 23, met with Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health Dr Rosena Allin-Khan to talk about bereavement support across the UK 'Research found that 70 per cent of people said they were unable to access the support they would have liked after a bereavement. 'Sue Ryder are now calling on the government to create a specific bereavement pathway so people can access the support they need together we can make a difference.' She also shared a gallery of snaps showing herself putting her blossoming baby bump on full display as she posed outside the Palace of Westminster. Lottie, who is expecting her first child with her boyfriend Lewis Burton, was the epitome of elegance in a stunning black gown that showed off her baby bump. She completed her ensemble with a pair of beige heels and swept her golden tresses back into a sleek up-do for the occasion. Couple: Lottie shared a gallery of snaps showing herself putting her blossoming baby bump on full display as she posed with her partner Lewis Burton outside the Palace of Westminster 'Honoured': After the meeting at the Houses of Parliament, Lottie took to Instagram to reflect on the experience and said she was 'honoured' to be part of the charity's campaign Lottie accentuated her striking features with a dramatic slick of mascara and a touch of pink lipstick as she posed ahead of the meeting. The Tanologist creator was also joined by her partner Lewis, who cut a suave figure in a navy suit and a light blue shirt. Another picture showed her posing inside the building while holding a sign which read: 'I support Sue Ryder's call to improve bereavement support.' She also shared a glimpse at handouts from the event, including a bereavement card which said: 'I don't know what to say but I am sending you so much love.' Lottie tragically lost her sister Felicite in March 2019 after she died from an accidental overdose of cocaine, anxiety drug Xanax and painkillers. Support: She also shared a glimpse at her handouts from the launch event, including a bereavement card which said: 'I don't know what to say but I am sending you so much love' Last August, Lottie shared a heartbreaking tribute for her younger sister on what would have been her 21st birthday. At the time, she took to Instagram Stories to honour her sibling, sharing a glamorous photo of the pair at an event alongside a heartfelt caption. 'My beautiful baby sister and best friend would have been 21 today. Not a day goes by that I don't miss you. I miss my sister but more so I miss my friend,' Lottie wrote. 'You were the best person to talk to about everything. I think of what you would have been like today, what you would have been doing. 'But instead you're safe with Mama looking after us all from up there,' she continued, referencing their mother Johannah, who passed away in December 2016, aged 43, following a battle with leukaemia. Hard times: Lottie tragically lost her sister Felicite in March 2019 after she died from an accidental overdose of cocaine, anxiety drug Xanax and painkillers 'Until we meet again, I will make you proud x,' Lottie concluded. Lottie also shared a quote by Morgan Harper Nichols, which read: 'Going through things you never thought you'd go through will only take you places you never thought you'd get to.' In 2020, Lottie discussed the tragic deaths of her mother and sister and how she has 'got to a good point' with her grief after undergoing counselling. Appearing on Lorraine, the social media star revealed getting therapy after her sister Felicite's death helped her with the grieving process. Discussing her mother's death, she said: 'It was really fast. That made it harder. We didn't have time to get our head around things and process it. She was the best. 'Until we meet again, I will make you proud': Last August, she shared a heartbreaking tribute for her younger sister (left) on what would have been her 21st birthday 'She made her whole life about us and did everything for us. She was the sweetest, kindest woman. Lorraine asked: 'And then three years later, your poor sister. Have you learned anything that has helped you?' Lottie said: 'I feel like I was able to deal with it a lot better with my sister. I had picked up a few coping mechanisms. 'I got extra help when my sister died than when my mum died. I want people to know that you can get help. It does really help with the grieving process when you go and speak to someone. 'A lot of people try and deal with it themselves but I think it's important that you don't go through it alone,' she said. Devastated: Felicite was found collapsed and lifeless at her fourth-floor studio apartment in Earls Court, west London in March 2019 The influencer said the support from Louis' fans as well as Sue Ryder had enabled her to manage her grief. As well as Louis and Lottie, Johannah was also mother to twins Daisy and Phoebe, 18, and twins Ernest and Doris. She was also grandmother to Louis' son Freddie, five. A statement released to MailOnline following Johannah's death read: 'It is with immeasurable sadness that Johannah Deakin's family said goodbye to Johannah in the early hours of Wednesday 7th December 2016. 'Earlier this year Johannah was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of leukaemia that required immediate and continuous treatment. We respectfully request that the family are given time and space to grieve in private.' Loss: Lottie, who is the sister of Louis Tomlinson, also lost her mother Johannah Deakin, who passed away in December 2016, aged 43, following a battle with leukaemia Three years later, Felicite was found collapsed and lifeless at her fourth-floor studio apartment in Earls Court, west London. Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe said at an inquest afterwards: 'It was a perfect storm, the OxyCodone, the alpraxolam [Xanax] and cocaine. I find no evidence this was a deliberate act to end her life.' After hearing she had turned to drugs following the tragic death of her mother, the coroner recorded a misadventure verdict. For confidential support in the UK 24 hours a day 365 days a year, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org For bereavement resources including practical and emotional advice to encourage conversations about grief, visit sueryder.org/copingwithgrief. Stephanie Davis has revealed her painful skin condition, which has left her with 'weeping wounds'. The Hollyoaks actress, 29, took to Instagram to tell her followers about the 'sore' rash that has stopped her from wanting to leave her house. She said: 'So you've all been asking me for updates on my skin but I've not really wanted to share what a look like with you all because it's so bad - I've put a filter on now because I feel so embarrassed and I'm hiding away really.' Ouch! Stephanie Davis has revealed her painful skin condition, which has left her with 'weeping wounds' 'It's come up all over my body in different places, I've just myself to bits scratching. 'I don't like you all seeing me like this but this is topical withdrawal or steroid withdrawal which I'm just trying to go through the process.' She continued: 'I've been a bit stressed and it's not made it any better, it's made it worse. 'Just when will there be a day free with my skin, days go by and it's getting worse before it gets better. Embarrassed: The Hollyoaks actress, 29, took to Instagram to tell her followers about the 'sore' rash that has stopped her from wanting to leave her house 'I just don't want to leave the house and stuff.' Stephanie showed pictures of her raw inflamed skin and the weeping cracks, admitting it was making her feel 'depressed'. She said: 'I can't wait to get dressed up and put tan on and not f***ing picking skin from under my nails and leaving a trail wherever I go. 'I am sick of itching, it is so sore all over. I don't want to go anywhere, I don't want to go out of the house, my eyes are all tight and sore underneath.' Stephanie later uploaded a video on Thursday saying her face had become so tight she couldn't move it. Wounds: Stephanie showed pictures of her raw inflamed skin and the weeping cracks, admitting it was making her feel 'depressed' She said: 'I just feel really embarrassed of my skin at the moment, I feel really ugly.' She admitted: 'I just don't want to leave the house like this. I've just had enough. It's just really getting me down. Just want to look me again and put makeup and tan on. 'I'm not sleeping in the night because the itch is so bad that I just want to drag my skin.' 'Just don't feel attractive, just feel like an absolute ugly fat horrible mess.' Sore: Stephanie later uploaded a video on Thursday saying her face had become so tight she couldn't move it Earlier this year, Stephanie spoke about her condition, telling OK! magazine: 'The issue started in August last year, on reflection it was stress that started it all up. Ive noticed now if I get very stressed my skin flares up. 'I had tried everything from over-the-counter creams to prescribed steroid creams, which made my skin 10 times worse and my skin 10 times drier and more irritated. 'I even tried smothering my face and chest Greek yoghurt to help cool my skin from the awful burning, I just wanted to dunk my whole face in a bucket of something to relieve the pain.' The star explained how at one point her skin became so 'tight and crusty' and started shedding 'like a snake'. It comes after she confirmed her new romance with Joseph Mckalroy, 25. earlier this year, just weeks after splitting with her ex Oliver Tasker. Loved-up: It comes after she confirmed her new romance with Joseph Mckalroy, 25. earlier this year, just weeks after splitting with her ex Oliver Tasker The Big Brother contestant carried a clashing hot pink velvet shoulder bag and added a pair of nude stiletto heels. She wore her raven tresses in a sleek high ponytail to display a chunky pair of gold earrings. Joseph opted for a sauve all-black ensemble consisting of a shirt with stars embellished on the collar and chino trousers. Stephanie's new love interest comes after she suffered a devastating miscarriage in September. The actress split from her bike shop worker boyfriend Oliver last month, deleting all traces of him from social media. She referred to their romance as her 'last relationship', in a now-deleted Instagram post. The actress who went 'Instagram official' with Oliver just seven months ago has endured an incredibly difficult 2021, after experiencing a miscarriage in September. A source close to Stephanie told The Sun: 'Steph is a strong, independent woman and is the one who decided to move on from Oliver. 'They had a great six months together but it just wasn't working out. 'There were some issues with trust and Steph respects herself too much to feel like she should stay in a relationship that isn't working.' It's over! Stephanie split from her bike shop worker boyfriend Oliver last month, removing all traces of him from social media It comes after Stephanie revealed her 'blood started to boil' when she discovered her stalker left presents for her son Caben. The star has had a tough time in recent months as she was tormented by the obsessed fan who sent her gifts. Speaking on Monday's episode of This Morning, Stephanie detailed how the stalker, 43-year-old Alex Boston, was convinced they should be together. The actress said: 'As soon as he mentioned Caben - and he left presents for Caben - my blood started to boil. I was really scared. 'I was a single mum, living at home on my own - petrifying. I had to leave my home with Caben - our safe place was violated.' Interview: It comes after Stephanie revealed her 'blood started to boil' when she discovered her stalker left presents for her son Caben, five In her first TV interview about the terrifying experience, Stephanie told hosts Phillip Schofield and Rochelle Humes it started in March last year. She said: 'There were daffodils left outside my drive. That was the first time it started. My little boy Caben saw them and said, "Mummy, can we take them inside?" 'And I didn't think anything of it, so I let him put them in the plant pot. Now, on reflection, if he was watching me, he [the stalker] saw that as a sign of acceptance and it just carried on.' She added: 'The daffodils kept coming back. I started checking my Instagram messages, I never really look in my requests. 'Then I started to see fake accounts, constant. I can't tell you how many there were. I'd block them and he'd make another one. There were lengthy messages and disturbing, that's when I started to notice.' Terrifying: The TV personality has had a tough time in recent months as she was tormented by the obsessed fan who sent her gifts Phillip said the stalker was sending Stephanie seven-page letters and then Stephanie caught him on CCTV. She revealed: 'My whole routine was disturbed. In my mum's house were my brothers, my dad, my nan because she's got dementia. 'I was in bed with my mum one night, with Caben in another bed another night, it was horrible, not being able to go to your home or just to get clothes. 'I was literally looking over my shoulder. Every time the wind blew, I was constantly filled with anxiety.' Phillip asked what it does to your head and Stephanie replied: 'Terrible, terrible. I think it definitely had a big impact to my mental health. Ordeal: Speaking on Monday's episode of This Morning, Stephanie detailed how the stalker, 43-year-old Alex Boston, was convinced they should be together 'I struggle with my mental health anyway, but when that happened my anxiety was through the roof. 'I was constantly having panic attacks, I couldn't sleep, I was up and kept checking in on Caben, panicking, imagining he wasn't there, going through all those motions.' On how her stalker managed to get away with it for so long, Stephanie said: 'The police were checking the letters in forensics and there were no fingerprints on there. 'He'd worn gloves and he put a blocker to the cameras on the street, so it cut out when he walked past I felt like I was in The Bodyguard. It was like living in a horror film.' Phillip asked how he was caught and Stephanie explained: 'One of the letters, he messed up and left a fingerprint.' The actress said: 'As soon as he mentioned Caben - and he left presents for Caben - my blood started to boil. I was really scared' And on Boston being convicted to 28 weeks in prison, Stephanie said, 'I feel relieved. I slept for the first time in a long time. 'I still think it'll take a while even when I left my house yesterday, I've got a rustley plant at the end of my drive and it [scared me].' The actress' stalker, Alex Boston, pleaded guilty on November 12 to stalking Stephanie, however he failed to turn up to sentencing on December 22. Stephanie previously told how she first noticed that someone was watching her when a delivery of handpicked daffodils was left outside the home where she lives with her son. At first, Stephanie brushed off any harrowing thoughts and thought maybe her mother Pauline Davis had left the flowers outside her door. Scary: In her first TV interview about the terrifying experience, Stephanie told hosts Phillip Schofield and Rochelle Humes it started in March last year However after Pauline confirmed she was not the gift giver and more presents began to arrive at the property, Stephanie began to worry. Talking about some of the gifts received, Stephanie told the Mirror: 'He left a big bag of stuff that obviously he picked for me. What freaked me out was there was a little leopard print number - on reflection it makes me feel sick - as I thought he obviously looked at that, gone out and got it, and thought that it would look good on me. Stephanie said that she knew the person leaving the gifts was the same culprit, because they continued to leave bunches of daffodils with the gifts. One present was a plant, which was accompanied by a message which read: 'grow this to grow our love.', while making declarations of love and admitting that he wanted to be a father to her son Caben. Creepy: The gifts continued to arrive for Stephanie but the stalker would also bring gifts for her son Caben Stephanie, who was in a relationship with Oliver at the time, asked her then boyfriend if he was sending the gifts - however she said he seemed offended and confirmed that it wasn't him either. The gifts left Stephanie feeling paranoid and she began to question whether it was someone she knew in her local area, including a man who had repeatedly been asking her out on a date. A CPS spokesman said: 'Between April 2020 and July 2021, Boston stalked Ms Davis by bombarding her with messages via social media, delivering letters and gifts, and loitering outside her home address.' Boston, of Moreton in Wirral, Merseyside, was identified through his Instagram account and fingerprint evidence on the letters, the CPS said. When his address was searched more letters intended for Stephanie were found. Gabby Allen flashed her gym toned figure as she soaked up the sun in a bikini in Switzerland on Thursday. The former Love Island star, 30, showcased her sensational figure in the colourful two piece as she posed up a storm for a video on Instagram. The reality star showed off her peachy behind as she skipped away from the camera along the pool side before raising her arms in the air. Incredible: Gabby Allen flashed her gym toned figure as she soaked up the sun in a bikini in Switzerland on Thursday Gabby styled her long blonde tresses in a neat French braid as it cascaded down her back as she walked taking in the lavish hotel and sunshine. The fitness instructor later perched on a sun lounger as she adjusted her triangle halter neck bikini top. Gabby seemed in high spirits as she beamed wearing a radiant, glam palette of makeup including a pink lipstick. Bootylicious: The former Love Island star, 30, showcased her sensational figure in the colourful two piece as she posed up a storm for a video on Instagram Looking good: The reality star showed off her peachy behind as she skipped away from the camera along the pool side before raising her arms in the air She completed her holiday look by accessorising with several gold necklaces which she layered. The beauty penned to the post: '1, 2, 3, 4...' Later in the day Gabby took to her Instagram story to share a racy snap to her 1.1million followers before she enjoyed a massage. Soaking up the sun: Gabby styled her long blonde tresses in a neat French braid as it cascaded down her back as she walked taking in the lavish hotel and sunshine Gabby was seen facing away from the camera as she kept her modesty by holding her hand over her assets. The former ITV2 star wowed in the black lace thong as she styled her short blonde tresses flicked over to one side. The beauty is currently soaking up the sun in Switzerland with her Ex On The Beach star boyfriend Brandon Myers, 35. Amazing: The fitness instructor later perched on a sun lounger as she adjusted her triangle halter neck bikini top and tiny bottoms Sensational: Gabby seemed in high spirits as she beamed wearing a radiant, glam palette of makeup including a pink lipstick Gabby and Brandon have been dating since June 2020 and went public with their romance two months later The television personality initially denied speculation they were in a relationship, stating at the time they were 'just friends'. Gabby previously dated Rak-Su star Myles Stephenson until August 2019, when she accused him of cheating on her. Wow: Later in the day Gabby share a racy snap to her 1.1million followers in a black lace thong before she enjoyed a massage Loved-up: The beauty is currently soaking up the sun in Switzerland with her Ex On The Beach star boyfriend Brandon Myers, 35 The reality star is thought to be worth an estimated 1.3million since finding fame on the 2017 series of Love Island. Earlier in the week Gabby proudly showed off her ripped physique after undergoing a year-long body transformation. The Scouse reality star uploaded a' before' and 'after' snap, which clearly illustrated how her abs went from impressively toned to perfectly chiseled. In the first photo, taken last year, Gabby looked sensational as she posed in a bright orange bikini, while in the second, taken recently, the Love Islander lifted up her tank top to reveal rippling abs. Fitness instructor Gabby wrote alongside in a lengthy post: 'ONE YEAR APART,' before praising her 'shape up' groups for being transformative and going on to explain how running the groups has helped to change herself. She insisted: 'We have had some amazing transformations, created sustainable heathy routines, built confidence, educated, introduced new friendships that are now bffe! 'I have improved so much as a trainer. I have educated myself on SO much due to working with incredible people. I have changed my OWN physique, Im stronger, healthier, happier. I am more confident & I love more than nothing else, helping others feel the same too.' Bill Bailey, David Harewood and Paralympian Lauren Steadman are three animal-loving celebrities who are have teamed up with pet charity Blue Cross to recreate images from their historic archives. The stars stepped back in time to recreate three images from Blue Cross' heritage*, dating all the way back to WWI and WWII, to commemorate 125 years of the charity helping pets and people. Five of the charity's modern-day re-homing team also lent their support, recreating an additional archive image which features five 'kennel maids' wearing protective army helmets whilst caring for the dogs of WWII soldiers while they were fighting overseas. Originally known as 'Our Dumb Friends League', Blue Cross was formed in 1897 to help the working horses of London, who were often underfed, struggled to carry heavy loads and became injured on slippery asphalt roads created for new motor vehicles. TV star David Harewood is in his element (left) as he recreates the affectionate World War Two soldier and his dog pose (right) Fast forward to today, and the charity continues to support pets and people through its veterinary, rehoming, pet behaviour, education, and pet bereavement services. Since its formation, the charity estimates that it has positively impacted a staggering 38 million lives and it plans to help more than 120,000 pets over the next three years through its services. Bill Bailey, said: 'It was great fun being a Pearly King for a day, and a fitting way to acknowledge the heritage of the Blue Cross, and to highlight their wonderful support for horses and other animals that has continued to this day. Congratulations Blue Cross on reaching your 125 milestone, and a heartfelt thank you for all that you do for both pets and people.' Paralympian Lauren Steadman (left) recreates the Blue Cross Fund for Wounded War dogs, US fundraising poster, created during WWI (right) David Harewood, added: 'It was fun to be a part of such a wonderful celebration recreating a special moment between a British soldier and his dog. This campaign not only highlights how long Blue Cross has been around to support pets and people, but also how the love for animals can also span across generations. I'm proud to be involved!' Lauren Steadman, said: 'It was wonderful to have my beautiful dog Kira on set with me to create this image of a WWI nurse treating a wounded dog. Kira is a rescue dog, so I have a huge appreciation for the work that Blue Cross and pet charities do. Happy birthday Blue Cross, and congratulations on your 125th year.' Iain Heaton, Deputy CEO and CFO at Blue Cross, said: 'We are delighted to share these recreated historic images with our supporters, beneficiaries, and the British public. Bill, David, Lauren, and our hard-working rehoming team have done a phenomenal job at demonstrating how we have supported both pets and people over the last 125 years, and we can't wait to see people's response. New: Bill Bailey looks splendid dressed as an old-fashioned Pearly King Old: A Pearly King with a horse saved from slaughter 'Since Blue Cross' formation in 1897, we have been present for both people and pets during key moments in history, and we continue to support them through our veterinary, rehoming and behavioural services to this very day. 'But our job is not done, and we are needed today more than ever. So, as well as celebrating our illustrious heritage, we hope that this campaign helps to drive further awareness and understanding of our cause.' Lala Kent has claimed Randall Emmett tackled her when she grabbed his cell phone during a heated confrontation about cheating. The 31-year-old reality star - who has since split with the 51-year-old film producer she shares a 15-month-old daughter named Ocean with - alleged that he pushed her to the ground when she accused him of philandering in October 2021. She told the Los Angeles Times in a bombshell expose centered around Emmett that her Vanderpump Rules castmates had alerted her about pictures of Emmett exiting an elevator with two young women in Nashville were circulating online. Scroll down for video Revealing: Lala Kent has claimed Randall Emmett tackled her when she grabbed his cell phone during a heated confrontation about cheating When he was back in LA shortly after Kent claims to have demanded to see the contents of Emmett's phone and when he refused, she grabbed it away from him. She explained to the daily newspaper: 'He ran after me, tackled me and knocked me to the ground. 'I used every ounce of strength to get him off of me as he was trying to pry it from my hands... That was when I knew, for sure, that there was a lot he was hiding.' Emmett's spokesperson Sallie Hofmeister denied many allegations to the LA Times including the alleged cheating as she said: 'Randall enjoys socializing with friends. In Nashville he was hanging out with a large group of people, men and women.' Family: The 31-year-old reality star - who has since split with the 51-year-old film producer she shares a 15-month-old daughter named Ocean with - alleged that he pushed her to the ground when she accused him of philandering in October 2021 Claims: She (seen in June 2021) told the Los Angeles Times in a bombshell expose centered around Emmett that her Vanderpump Rules castmates had alerted her about pictures of Emmett exiting an elevator with two young women in Nashville were circulating online When he was back in LA shortly after Kent claims to have demanded to see the contents of Emmett's phone and when he refused, she grabbed it away from him. She explained to the daily newspaper: 'He ran after me, tackled me and knocked me to the ground,' they are seen in September 2021 The publication claims to have spoken to five people who backed Kent's allegation about Emmett tackling her within weeks of the altercation, however, his team denied that a physical fight had happened. A declaration from his longtime nanny, Isabelle Morales, was provided to the publication as she said that 'neither was on the ground.' Morales explained: 'I witnessed Randall and Lala fighting over his phone. The only physical interaction I saw was Randall taking back his phone from Lala.' Emmett's spokesperson Hofmeister said that Kent sought 'to keep her name in the press, and remain relevant in reality television.' Interesting: The publication claims to have spoken to five people who backed Kent's allegation about Emmett tackling her within weeks of the altercation, however, his team denied that a physical fight had happened This comes a month after Kent alleged that Emmett would prevent her from leaving their home with daughter Ocean in the immediate aftermath of their split. Kent split with Emmett on October 15, 2021 after he landed at the center of cheating rumors, but she claims she was unable to move out of their home for another 12 days until he left for a trip to Miami. Lala claimed during an appearance on the SiriusXM show Jeff Lewis Live that Emmett would threaten to call the police should she leave the home with Ocean and not return her. 'He would give me time periods that I could take her': This comes a month after Kent alleged that Emmett would prevent her from leaving their home with daughter Ocean in the immediate aftermath of their split She also alleged he allowed her to leave with Ocean only during specific time frames. 'He wasn't letting me leave the house with Ocean during those 12 days,' she said. 'He would threaten to call the police on me if I didn't return her, and he would give me time periods that I could take her,' she claimed. Jeff asked if Randall was behaving this way because he sensed Lala was going to leave. 'I don't think he knew I was leaving. I think he needed to regain control of me,' she responded. Kent, 31, claimed Randall prevented her from leaving their home after she split from him on October 15, 2021 following the emergence of cheating rumors 'I'm like, shaking just thinking about that time period,' she added. 'It was horrific.' Once Randall boarded a plane for Miami, however, Lala used that chance to leave. She said it took her four hours to pack and she relocated to an Airbnb where she spent 'a little less than a month' at. 'We did it quick,' she said. 'I was worried that he was having me watched, which he did send people to watch me. Luckily, they didn't watch me move out.' Speaking up: Kent got candid during an appearance on 'So I packed myself probably in four hours. I took my clothes,' she added. 'I went to an Airbnb that I had rented, it was one that I could eat quickly, and one that was nice enough that I would enjoy staying there but not break the bank. And then I stayed there for a little less than a month,' she said. Once Randall learned they had moved out, Lala claims she received numerous text messages from him. She also discussed the seeing the photograph of Randall allegedly cheating on her in Nashville. The picture showed Randall walking across the street with two other women. 'My intuition was just, you couldn't ignore it. I immediately was sick to my stomach. Something's wrong, this person is not who you think he is,' she said of seeing the picture. Leaving him: 'So I packed myself probably in four hours. I took my clothes,' Lala said as she detailed her departure from the home Asked if Randall was dating one of the women, she replied: 'One of the girls in the photo he had met in March at a nightclub in Miami. He was attracted to her friend, but her friend was not into him so he went to her. 'That's when they started their relationship. They traveled together,' she said, adding she knew 'everything' after guest Josh Flagg asked how she knew the information. 'She was like his main girl, but there were many women,' Lala added. Earlier this month, Lala hilariously recreated the photo of Randall allegedly cheating on her in Nashville. Subtle shade: Seven months after an image of the 51-year-old producer walking with two women outside at a hotel emerged, the reality star, 31, shared an image of herself crossing the same street in Music City Lala Kent left fans stunned with her latest Instagram post, a recreation of a photograph of her ex-fiance Randall Emmett allegedly cheating on her in Nashville. The reality star shared an image of herself crossing a similar street that he did in Music City on Wednesday. While she did not say anything about the picture, her 1.7 million Instagram followers called the move 'savage' and said they were 'dead over' the snap. While she did not say anything about the picture, her 1.7 million Instagram followers called the move 'savage' and said they were 'dead over' the snap; Randall Emmett pictured in In October, fans were shocked when PageSix claimed the mother-of-one had broken off her engagement of three years with Emmett. The site added that he had cheated on the reality TV star when he was working on Nashville, Tennessee. 'Randall always lives a double life,' a source told the site. 'He lives the life of a husband or boyfriend, and then he lives the life of a serial partier and then goes on a bender.' Split: In October, fans were shocked when PageSix claimed the mother-of-one had broken off her engagement of three years with Emmett; seen in 2019 Following the cheating allegations, Kent cleaned her social media pages of her ex and liked a post that accused him of cheating on her. She even took to Instagram to share a video of herself moving into the Beverly Hills Hotel while Beyonce's Sorry played. Their split came just seven months after they welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Ocean. Kent and Emmett initially met in 2015, and they began a relationship not long after they made each other's acquaintance. Prior to becoming involved with the actress, the producer was married to his first wife, Ambyr Childers, with whom he shared two children. The two initially separated in 2015, and although they reconciled, they went on to formally dissolve their union in 2017. The wedding that won't happen: In October, she also showed photos of the wedding dress she was supposed to wear for her 2020 wedding to Randall if the ceremony had not been delayed by the pandemic Emmett and Kent went public with their relationship in 2018, and the Midnight in the Switchgrass director popped the question that same year. The pair initially planned to have their wedding ceremony in April of 2020, although they postponed their plans in response to the ongoing state of the global pandemic. The two later rescheduled their nuptials and went on to announced that they were expecting to bring a child into their lives last September. Sad: Their split came just seven months after they welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Ocean Kent eventually shared a picture of Ocean to her Instagram account for the first time not long after she gave birth in March. Weeks before their parting, she said she was 'ready to go' with regard to having a second baby with Randall. The television personality even spoke with People during Travel & Give's fourth annual fundraiser in West Hollywood about her desire to expand her family. Two of a kind: Kent and Emmett initially met in 2015 and began a relationship not long after they met During the event, Kent noted that the 'second' her daughter turned one, she and Emmett would be 'back at it with the calendar that shows ovulation.' Kent also noted to the outlet that she may be 'oversharing' but 'that's how it goes.' And in October she also showed photos of the wedding dress she was supposed to wear for her 2020 wedding to Randall if the ceremony had not been delayed by the pandemic. Milestones: The pair went public with their relationship in 2018, and the producer popped the big question that same year Lala said she was inspired to post some photos of the gown after a 'beautiful conversation' with her stylist. 'I wanted to share my wedding dress that I was going to wear on April 18th 2020,' the star captioned her slideshow. 'This dress was custom designed by [Alexandra Renee Scott].' When asked if she was still going to be wearing it on her special day by a fan in her comment section, Kent replied she and her designer are 'going to start from scratch.' Andrew Garfield peeled off his wetsuit during a surfing trip in Malibu on Wednesday. The 38-year-old actor was first seen while catching a wave as he made the most of a morning surf session in the celebrity-favorite city. The Hacksaw Ridge star later pulled off the top portion of his wetsuit after hopping out of the ocean, and he took a solo stroll down the beach. Surf's up! Andrew Garfield peeled off his wetsuit during a surfing trip in Malibu on Wednesday Garfield's outing occurred during his much-publicized break from his acting career. The performer announced that he would be stepping away from the screen during an interview with Variety, where he noted that he wanted time to think about the direction of his career. 'I'm going to rest for a little bit. I need to recalibrate and reconsider what I want to do next and who I want to be and just be a bit of a person for awhile,' he stated. The much-celebrated performer also described awards season as 'a washing machine.' In the water: The 38-year-old actor was first seen while catching a wave while making the most of a morning surf session in the celebrity-favorite city Enjoying himself: The Hacksaw Ridge star later pulled off the top portion of his wetsuit after hopping out of the ocean, and he took a solo stroll down the beach Garfield concluded by remarking that he was looking forward to slowing things down for the time being. The performer made a point of stating: 'I need to just be a bit ordinary for a while.' He later clarified that he would only be taking a few months off of work during an appearance on The View, where he noted via E! News that he was 'just having a holiday. Garfield's most recent role was in the miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven, which premiered this past April. In the past: Garfield's most recent role was in the miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven, which premiered this past April The show was based on the 2003 novel of the same name, which was written by Jon Krakauer. Under the Banner of Heaven was centered on a detective whose faith becomes shaken while investigating the murder of a mother and her baby girl. Also featured in the program were performers such as Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sam Worthington and Rory Culkin. The book was initially intended to be adapted into a film, although its producers later changed its format to a miniseries. Storyline: Under the Banner of Heaven was centered on a detective whose faith becomes shaken while investigating the murder of a mother and her baby girl The show premiered on April 28 and ran for a total of seven episodes, with its finale airing earlier this month. Under the Banner of Heaven received positive reviews from critics, although it received criticism from members of the Mormon Church for perceived inaccuracies. The show was put up for the Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials, which will be given out this August. A new "double crater" has appeared on the moon, but no nation has taken ownership of the impact. Images published by NASA reveal what it refers to as a "double crater" created on the Moon's surface by an unidentified spacecraft, according to a news story by Complex. The agency said in a statement released on June 24 that astronomers first discovered a "rocket body" in late 2021 that was destined to collide with the moon. The aforementioned double crater was later photographed by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which is run by the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. It has been confirmed that the impact took place in March. The eastern crater is 18-meter diameter while the western crater is 16-meter diameter. After a rocket body impacted the Moon last year, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter was able to snap a surprising view of the impact site. Unexpectedly, the crater is actually two craters and may indicate that the rocket body had large masses at each end: https://t.co/WtMAFrNkUw pic.twitter.com/hcoYPxlm8z NASA 360 (@NASA360) June 27, 2022 NASA said that the unexpected double crater might be a sign that the rocket body had substantial masses at each end. Typically, the mass of a spent rocket stage is concentrated at the motor end and mostly consists of an empty fuel tank. The double nature of the crater may provide clues as to the identity of the rocket body, whose origin is still unknown. Read More: Hubble Space Telescope Spots a White Dwarf That Survived Its Own Explosion What Might Be the Cause of the Double Craters on the Moon? Huffpost reported that according to astronomer Bill Gray, the object could be the "spent upper stage" of China's Chang'e 5-T1 rocket. He stated this in an interview with Live Science. After seeing the rocket in space in 2015, Gray envisaged that its debris would collide with the moon, according to Live Science. The media outlet claimed that he initially identified the rocket debris as a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, but then classified it as a Chinese rocket that had been launched in 2014. Despite the U.S. Department of Defense's Space Command reporting that the rocket was still in space in March, Chinese officials stated that it "burned up" and came back to Earth in 2014. Other Craters Caused by Other Space Crafts NASA said that the double craters were not produced by any other rocket body impacts on the Moon. The four Apollo SIV-B craters (Apollos 13, 14, 15, 17) had relatively irregular forms and were somewhat larger than each of the double craters (more than 35 meters). The double crater on the mystery rocket body's maximum width (29 meters) was comparable to the S-IVBs. You can see below the craters which Apollos 13, 14, 15, 17 have created: What Kind of Spacecraft Captured These Double Craters? According to the space agency, LRO was put into orbit on June 18, 2009, and since then, its seven powerful instruments have gathered an enormous amount of data, adding significantly to our understanding of the Moon. For the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, it is overseen by the Goddard Space Flight Center of NASA, which is located in Greenbelt, Maryland. In order to increase human presence in space and return with new information and opportunities, NASA is traveling back to the Moon alongside international and commercial partners. Related Article: NASA Gives Hints on What the First Photos of James Webb Space Telescope Will Include A man enjoying his morning coffee was lost for words when a Today show reporter asked for his thoughts on Queensland's looming ban on single-use plastics. Queensland reporter Jessica Millward asked customers at a Brisbane cafe what they thought of disposable coffee cups being included in the ban, which is set to be unveiled by the state government on Friday. During a live cross, Millward strolled over to a man in a hi-vis jacket and black balaclava, and asked: 'It is going to be a big change. How do you feel about that?' A man enjoying his morning coffee was lost for words when a Today show reporter asked for his thoughts on Queensland's looming ban on single-use plastics There was a five-second pause as the man looked at the microphone before turning away and saying: 'I haven't really thought about it, to be honest.' A stunned Millward awkwardly replied, 'You haven't?' Meanwhile, newsreader Alex Cullen burst into laughter back in the Today show studio as Millward asked the same question to another person at the table. Queensland reporter Jessica Millward asked customers at a Brisbane cafe what they thought of disposable coffee cups being included in the ban. There was a five-second pause as one man looked at the microphone before saying: 'I haven't really thought about it, to be honest' The Queensland government is set to ban single-use plastics in a new environmental policy that will change how many people drink their morning coffee. Disposable coffee cups, which typically have a plastic resin, or polyethylene, lining, are on the chopping block, but eco-friendly cups won't be affected. The ban, set to be outlined by the government on Friday, will come in two stages. The Queensland government is set to ban single-use plastics in a new environmental policy that will change how many people drink their morning coffee. Disposable coffee cups (such as the ones seen in this stock image) are on the chopping block Items such as cotton buds, polystyrene packaging and multi-release balloons will be banned from September 1, 2023. And a year later, on September 1, 2024, the ban will be extended to products such as bread-bag tags and disposable coffee cups. Environment minister Meaghan Scanlon confirmed coffee cups will be among the disposable products to be given the axe and replaced with sustainable alternatives. Megan Thee Stallion sent pulses racing as she performed at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark on Thursday. The rapper, 27, exhibited her incredible figure in a racy sheer black bodysuit as she took to the stage in Roskilde. The star put on a sizzling display as she showcased her incredible dance moves in the dazzling silver outlined number which she sported with fishnet tights. Racy: Megan Thee Stallion sent pulses racing as she performed at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark on Thursday Megan opted for a glamorous palette of makeup including a silver metallic eyeshadow and bold dark lipstick. She turned up the heat wearing a glittering pair of silver earrings and showed off her long eye catching manicure. The artist styled her long dark tresses in voluminous curls as they cascaded past her shoulders from a centre parting. Megan became the latest Glastonbury star to hit out at the US Supreme Court's historic overturning of the Roe V Wade ruling as she took to The Other Stage on Sunday. Amazing: The star put on a sizzling display as she showcased her incredible dance moves in the dazzling silver outlined number which she sported with fishnet tights In an expletive-laden rant, the musician insisted she 'doesn't support this s**'t' in response to the court's ruling, which ended the constitutional right to abortion in the US, meaning individual states could decide whether the procedure can be made illegal. Megan is among several stars who have been outspoken in opposing the court ruling, with Olivia Rodrigo bringing Lily Allen on-stage to perform her hit F**k You in response to the news. Addressing the crowd during her set, Megan said: 'You know I wouldn't be me if I didn't say something about these stupid-a*s men. 'Texas really embarrassing me right now, y'all. The hot girls and hot boys do not support this s**t. My body, my motherf*****g choice!' The Supreme Court ended constitutional protections for abortion that have been in place for nearly 50 years by deciding to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling and hand back power to individual states to decide whether or not to permit the procedure. The justices held that the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that allowed abortions performed before a fetus would be viable outside the womb - between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy - was wrongly decided because the U.S. Constitution makes no specific mention of abortion rights. The ruling means that individual states now have the power to decide on whether to ban abortion. The Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice research group, has said that 26 states are 'certain or likely' to ban abortion now. The decision means that women with unwanted pregnancies in large swathes of America will now face the choice of traveling to another state where the procedure remains legal and available, buying abortion pills online or having a potentially dangerous illegal abortion. In an address at the White House, President Joe Biden said it was 'a sad day for the court and the country' and called the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade - and making terminations illegal for millions of American women - 'wrong, extreme and out of touch'. Accusing the court of 'expressly taking away a constitution right that is so fundamental to so many Americans', Biden vowed the fight over abortion rights 'is not over' and said his administration will do everything in its power to combat efforts to restrict women from travelling to other states to obtain abortions. Mitch Eynaud has laughed off rumours about his sexuality after Married At First Sight viewers speculated he was gay because of his flamboyant fashion sense. The 27-year-old was the subject of gossip during this year's season because of his flashy wardrobe, earrings and passing resemblance to Wham!-era George Michael. But Mitch, who is heterosexual, clearly doesn't mind the gay rumours because he played up to them during a bawdy Instagram Q&A on Thursday. Mitch Eynaud (pictured with Ella Ding) has laughed off rumours about his sexuality after Married At First Sight viewers speculated he was gay because of his flamboyant fashion sense He was asked by a fan, 'Are the rumours about you being gay true?' Mitch replied, 'Yes,' and shared a short video of himself consensually placing his hand on a male friend's crotch. This was clearly a joke and Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Mitch is gay. Mitch, who is heterosexual, clearly doesn't mind the gay rumours because he played up to them during an Instagram Q&A on Thursday. He was asked by a fan, 'Are the rumours about you being gay true?' and replied, 'Yes,' while consensually placing his hand on a friend's crotch The Gold Coast-based financial planner was paired with Melbourne beautician Ella Ding on Married At First Sight this year. They made it all the way to final vows, but commitment-phobe Mitch said he couldn't make a decision about their future after only being together for a short time. The reconciled after the cameras stopped rolling, but once again split around the time of the cast reunion, which was filmed in January. Mitch, 27, was the subject of gossip during this year's season because of his flashy wardrobe, earrings and passing resemblance to Wham!-era George Michael There were rumours Mitch hooked up with fellow MAFS bride Tamara Djordjevic on the Gold Coast once production wrapped. However, they have insisted they are just friends. Next year's season of Married At First Sight is now in pre-production and is expected to air on Channel Nine in early 2023. Grammy winner Cardi B shared a celebrity retouching secret by posting a corset-clad poolside snap, which showed her tattooed thighs both with a filter and without a filter. In the non-filtered version of the photo, the Bronx-born 29-year-old's left thigh showed tiny ripples of cellulite that most average women have, and the filtered version smoothed her thigh out. 'Filter on the thighs. No filter on thighs,' Cardi who boasts 230.8M social media followers tweeted on Thursday. FILTERED: Grammy winner Cardi B shared a celebrity retouching secret by posting a corset-clad poolside snap, which showed her tattooed thighs both with a filter and without a filter NON-FILTERED: In the non-filtered version of the photo, the Bronx-born 29-year-old's left thigh showed tiny ripples of cellulite that most average women have, and the filtered version smoothed her thigh out 'Hot s*** tonight. I will go live tonight at 11:30[EST] on IG.' The Cardi Tries producer-star was hyping the midnight release of her new song Hot S***, which features 24-time Grammy winner Kanye 'Ye' West and rapper Lil Durk. On Wednesday, Cardi (born Belcalis Almanzar) teased a 15-second snippet from the trap track while sipping champagne on her New York City balcony clad only in a Disco Daddy Studio bathrobe and towel. And 15 seconds is all the half-Dominican, half-Trinidadian star's fans needed to start creating TikTok dance/lip-sync videos as she remarked: 'It's starting already!' Cardi who boasts 230.8M social media followers tweeted on Thursday: 'Filter on the thighs. No filter on thighs. Hot s*** tonight. I will go live tonight at 11:30[EST] on IG' Hours away! The Cardi Tries producer-star was hyping the midnight release of her new song Hot S***, which features 24-time Grammy winner Kanye 'Ye' West and rapper Lil Durk Sneak peak! On Wednesday, Cardi (born Belcalis Almanzar) teased a 15-second snippet from the trap track while sipping champagne on her New York City balcony clad only in a Disco Daddy Studio bathrobe and towel 'It's starting already!' And 15 seconds is all the half-Dominican, half-Trinidadian star's fans needed to start creating TikTok dance/lip-sync videos On Thursday, Cardi also Instastoried a snap of her three-year-old daughter Kulture Kiari Cephus and nine-month-old son Wave Set Cephus with Grammy nominee Offset captioned: 'I can tell they [are] going to give me hell.' And speaking of photoshopped thighs, the No Love rapper declared on Wednesday that she wants a tummy tuck. 'This stomach, it's giving tummy tuck. Like, it's not bad, but I just don't like this extra little skin,' Cardi admitted via Instastory. 'I am a little heavier than usual, but I don't like it, I want to get rid of it. Like, I think [my son] Wavey, like, did me wrong. 'I can tell they [are] going to give me hell': On Thursday, Cardi also Instastoried a snap of her three-year-old daughter Kulture Kiari Cephus and nine-month-old son Wave Set Cephus with Grammy nominee Offset Speaking of photoshopped thighs! The No Love rapper declared on Wednesday that she wants a tummy tuck Cardi admitted via Instastory: 'This stomach, it's giving tummy tuck. Like, it's not bad, but I just don't like this extra little skin' She continued: 'I am a little heavier than usual, but I don't like it, I want to get rid of it. Like, I think [my son] Wavey, like, did me wrong. 'I cannot wait to put out this song and do more things so I can get the f*** out and do my f***ing surgery. I'm over it' Self-discipline: Ironically, the former stripper - who underwent her first boob job at age 18 and her first butt enhancement at age 20 - was sipping on a large coffee drink topped with whipped cream as she complained about her waist line 'I cannot wait to put out this song and do more things so I can get the f*** out and do my f***ing surgery. I'm over it. Me and surgery goes together bad. Real bad. We go together real bad, b****.' Ironically, the former stripper who underwent her first boob job at age 18 and her first butt enhancement at age 20 was sipping on a large coffee drink topped with whipped cream as she complained about her waist line. Cardi is next scheduled to perform this Sunday at Pennsylvania's Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem. The Bet It hitmaker will then fly to England to headline Gopuff Delivers Wireless 2022 festivals happening July 8 at London's Finsbury Park and July 9 at Birmingham's The Nec. $30 - $40 With more than 20 years as a stand-up comedian, Tom Papa is one of the top comedic voices in the country finding success as an author, in film, TV, radio and podcasts as well as on the live stage. Tom recently released his second book, Youre Doing Great! And Other Reasons To Stay Alive, which was the follow-up to Your Dad Stole My Rake: And Other Family Dilemmas both released by St Martins Press, making Summer Must Read lists from Parade Magazine to The New York Post. Tom is also a contributing writer to the New Yorker Magazine. Tom has four hour-long stand-up specials, the latest Tom Papa: Youre Doing Great! was a wildly successful Netflix Original. His other critically acclaimed specials include Human Mule, Freaked Out, and Tom Papa Live in New York City, two of which were directed by Rob Zombie. He is a regular guest on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast and Toms own podcast, Breaking Bread with Tom Papa, features Tom and his guest for an hour of eating, drinking, and enjoying life. Listeners are invited to take a seat at the table as Tom and his guests celebrate the true meaning of breaking bread with insightful, revealing and always funny conversations. Tom is host of the daily Netflix radio show, What a Joke With Papa and Fortune, on SiriusXMs Netflix Channel. Tom also hosts of the hit SiriusXM show, Come to Papa with residencies at Largo in Los Angeles and The Village Underground in NYC. Tom writes the script for each show and casts top actors and comedians to play the roles or perform stand-up, all backed by a live band. Performers include Matt Damon, Sarah Silverman, Joel McHale, Bill Burr, Jim Gaffigan, John Mulaney, Kevin Nealon, Kevin Pollack and many more. Tom was a regular performer on the nationally syndicated radio show, Live from Here, formerly A Prairie Home Companion, that featured his own regular segment, Out. In. America. With Tom Papa, heard by the 2.6 million fans of the weekly radio show. Tom also appears on National Public Radio as a guest panelist on Wait, Wait Dont Tell Me which he also had the honor of guest hosting. In the fall of 2018, Tom hosted his own Food Network TV series Baked, where he took his love of baking and explored bakeries throughout the country. The show developed from Toms love of making sourdough bread using his own sourdough starter and visiting expert bakers while on tour. As an actor Tom recently starred opposite Lily Taylor in the film Paper Spiders and he appears in the newly released North Hollywood. Tom has starred opposite Matt Damon in the Steven Soderbergh film The Informant, and opposite Paul Giamatti in Rob Zombies animated feature, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, as the voice of El Superbeasto. Tom has appeared in the films Analyze That, opposite Robert DeNiro, and Comedian; Tom was seen in Rob Zombies film 3 From Hell, alongside Clive Owen in Steven Soderberghs Cinemax series The Knick, and he was seen in Chris Rocks film, Top Five. Tom was seen alongside Michael Douglas and Matt Damon in the HBO film, Behind the Candelabra, which was directed by Steven Soderbergh and won 11 Emmys. On TV, Tom hosted the NBC series The Marriage Ref, which ran for two seasons. Tom had a recurring role opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the CBS series, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and starred in his own NBC series, Come to Papa. As a film and television writer, Toms credits include the Rob Zombie film The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, the Jerry Seinfeld film Bee Movie, and the TV series Red Oaks, The Marriage Ref and Come To Papa. When not touring the country, Tom lives in Los Angeles with his wife, two daughters, a cat and dog where he spends most of his time writing and baking bread. SHOWTIME & LOCATION: Friday, March 3, 2023- 7:30 p.m. Victoria Theatre | 138 North Main Street| Dayton, Ohio 45402 Ukrainian president urges more defense, financial aid at NATO summit Xinhua) 08:45, June 30, 2022 KIEV, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday addressed a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit via a video link, urging more defense and financial assistance for Ukraine, the presidential press service reported. In his speech, Zelensky said that Ukraine needs modern missile and air defense systems to protect its cities, and artillery to stand against Russia on the battlefields. Financial support for Ukraine is no less important than aid with weapons, Zelensky said, noting that his country needs nearly 5 billion U.S. dollars per month for defense and protection. The Ukrainian leader also called on the NATO member states to continue sanctions against Russia and provide Ukraine with security guarantees. "We need security guarantees, and you have to find a place for Ukraine in the common security space," Zelensky stressed. The three-day NATO summit kicked off in Madrid of Spain on June 28. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) NASA's asteroid-redirecting spacecraft could be stronger than expected. Experts at the University of Bern recently revealed that NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft not only redirects asteroids from their original path but also leaves a crater behind and deforms the asteroid when it does, per Space.com. NASA's DART spacecraft was initially intended to redirect asteroids that could pose a real threat of colliding with Earth, per NASA's Planetary Defence Coordination Office (PDCO) webpage. NASA DART Mission New Discoveries Experts at the University of Bern alongside those from the National Center of Competence in Research (NNCR) PlanetS have found that NASA's DART spacecraft could deform its target asteroid, Dimorphos, rather than just leave a crater. Sabina Raducan, the study's lead, explained that asteroids could have a very loose internal structure similar to a pile of rubble. In the case of an asteroid, the pieces are held together by gravitational interactions and small cohesive forces, as evidenced by an earlier space mission from the Japanese Space Agency, the Hayabusa2 mission. However, previous simulations of the DART mission impact mostly assumed a solid piece of space rock rather than a pile of space rock. Thanks to this assumption, Raducan believes that NASA's DART spacecraft could completely deform Dimorphos. Raducan also believes that once the spacecraft hits Dimorphos at its intended speed of 24,000 kilometers an hour, the impact could eject more materials than previous estimates predicted. Read More: Facebook Groups Now Have Community Channels Are Other New Features on the Way? The simulation was necessary as impact conditions cannot be replicated in laboratory experiments, and the long and complex process of crater formation following such an impact made t impossible to realistically simulate the impact processes up to now. However, Raducan and their team used a "novel modelling approach" that takes the propagation of the shock waves, the compaction, and the subsequent flow of material into account. The new model allowed experts to simulate the entire cratering process resulting from impacts on small asteroids like Dimorphos in a laboratory. Raducan is from the Institute of Physics and the NCCR PlanetS at the University of Bern. What Is NASA's DART Mission? NASA's DART mission is part of the PDCO methods against near-Earth objects like asteroids and comets, per NASA. NASA's PDCO is tasked to find possible threatening near-Earth objects, and warn the government, media, and the public of a potential collision. In the event of a threatening near-Earth object being found, it will also coordinate with other government agencies to create a national plan to combat the collision's effects should it happen, and mitigate the risk of the impact happening. This is where NASA's DART spacecraft comes in. The DART spacecraft is still in its testing phase, and as such, NASA will be redirecting a non-threatening asteroid to see if it works to gauge if the spacecraft can do the same with an earth-threatening asteroid. The DART mission is the first-ever mission dedicated to investigating and demonstrating one method of asteroid deflection by using kinetic impact to change the space rock's path. Related Article: NASA Gives Hints on What the First Photos of James Webb Space Telescope Will Include OVERVIEW: The SEC declined Grayscale's bid for a spot bitcoin ETF on Wednesday, June 29, citing market manipulation concerns. Grayscale, manager of the world's biggest bitcoin fund, met in secret with the SEC in May to convert its flagship fund into an ETF. SEC Refuses Grayscale's ETF for Market Manipulation Worries After authorities rejected its request to transform the investment vehicle into an exchange-traded fund, Grayscale, which oversees the biggest bitcoin fund in the world, said it would file a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC denied Grayscale's request for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund on June 29, citing the investment manager's refusal to provide information on worries about market manipulation. The watchdog is worried that the Grayscale plan will not provide investors with enough safeguards. In October 2021, Grayscale sought to have its Bitcoin Trust, or GBTC, become an ETF, but the decision was repeatedly postponed. Grayscale has increased pressure on the watchdog to support it, including providing a means for individuals to email their support immediately. Grayscale promptly appealed the SEC's judgment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a petition. Donald B. Verrilli Jr., a former solicitor general of the United States, is Grayscale's chief legal strategist, leading a group of lawyers from Davis Polk & Wardwell in this case. Verrilli claimed that the SEC is behaving arbitrarily and capriciously in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by failing to treat identical investment vehicles consistently. A statement from the SEC was not immediately available outside of regular U.S. business hours. In light of prior decisions to approve other bitcoin-based ETFs, such as ones based on futures markets and one that enables investors to be short or bet against the cryptocurrency, Grayscale claims the SEC's approach is contradictory. The SEC's approval of the first U.S. spot bitcoin ETF, a step that would make cryptocurrencies more accessible to institutional investors, was what the cryptocurrency bulls had been banking on. Read Also: SpaceX to Perform Commercial Communications Satellite, Rocket Landing at Sea on Wednesday The decision to reject Grayscale's proposal for a bitcoin ETF adds to a string of recent unfavorable headlines for cryptocurrencies. Three Arrows Capital, a troubled cryptocurrency hedge firm, went out of business earlier this week. On Wednesday, June 29, Bitcoin traded at $20,085, down 1% from the previous day. Since the bubble's peak in November 2021, the aggregate market value of cryptocurrencies has decreased by $2 trillion. Grayscale Manager Assembled in Secret With SEC in May Grayscale, the asset management in charge of the largest bitcoin fund in the world, held a secret meeting with the Securities and Exchange Commission in May this year to convince the watchdog to agree to the conversion of its flagship fund into an ETF. According to a 24-page presentation seen by CNBC, converting the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into an NYSE-traded ETF will increase security and increase access to bitcoin while releasing up to $8 billion in value for investors. This is due to the trust's average 25% price discount to the price of its underlying asset since the beginning of 2021, which should vanish upon conversion, said the business. According to Grayscale, over 850,000 U.S. accounts control around 3.4 percent of the total bitcoin supply held by GBTC. Before the recent crypto retrenchment reduced its value to $20.1 billion, the fund, which allowed institutional investors like Ark Invest's Cathie Wood to wager on bitcoin, grew to more than $30 billion. Additionally, the company pointed out the growing disclosures related to GBTC and its network of partners, including BNY Mellon and Coinbase, and is prepared to assist with the conversion process. Related Article: Ethereum Price Prediction: Data Analysis Points to $4000 Breakout After 3% Increase New Delhi: The GST Council on Wednesday took no decision on the most sought-after yet contentious issue of the extension of goods and services tax compensation for the states beyond this month. A final decision is likely to be taken at the next meeting of the council in the first week of August. In addition, the council granted the group of ministers (GoM) more time to decide on rate rationalisation measures. When GST was rolled out, the states were promised compensation for revenue loss till June 2022. The compensation amount was raised by levying a cess on luxury, demerit and sin goods over and above the 28 per cent tax. Briefing the reporters after the two-day long meeting with her state counterparts in Chandigarh, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that several states have urged the Centre to extend the deadline for compensation beyond June 30. "Around 16 to 17 states pitched for extending the mechanism to compensate states for revenue lost from the implementation of GST beyond June 30, but no decision was taken," she said. Besides the compensation issue, the finance minister said that during the two-day long meeting, the GST Council considered four reports presented by the GoMs. "The four reports were on: Rate rationalisation; betting, gambling, lottery; IT and technology related changes; movement of precious metals like gold," she added. Elaborating on the discussion regarding the compensation cess, she said, "Of the 16 states, 3-4 spoke of evolving their own revenue stream to break from the compensation mechanism." With two years being lost in the pandemic, the states have sought an extension of this compensation mechanism. "Puducherry finance minister K. Lakshminarayanan said all states sought an extension of the compensation mechanism, but no decision has been taken," she said. The Centre, last week, notified the extension of the compensation cess levied on luxury and demerit goods till March 2026, to repay borrowing that were done in 2020-21 and 2021-22 to compensate states for GST revenue loss. When a nationwide goods and services tax subsumed 17 central and state levies from July 1, 2017, it was decided that states will be compensated for any loss of revenue from the new tax for five years. With two years being lost in the pandemic, states have sought an extension of this compensation mechanism. Although the council considered taxes on online gaming, casinos and horse racing, no decision was taken in this regard. Rather, it has given the GoM time until July 15 to firm up its report after speaking with the stakeholders. Speaking on the issue, the finance minister said that the GST Council also deferred decision on levying a 28 per cent tax on casinos, online gaming, horse racing and lottery. "A group of ministers headed by Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma has been asked to consider submissions of stakeholders again on the valuation mechanism and submit its report by July 15. The report will be discussed by the GST Council at its next meeting in the first week of August," she said. On the issue of rate rationalisation, the council -- the highest decision-making body of the indirect tax regime, which is headed by the finance minister and comprises of representatives of all states and UTs -- discussed it at the meeting but did not take a decision. "The council has come to the conclusion that the rate rationalisation measures will be taken in 3 months," Ms Sitharaman said. Hyderabad: Class 10 students were an elated lot, as 90 per cent of them cleared the SSC examinations and 11,343 of them scored a GPA of 10 in the results declared on Thursday. Of the total perfect scores, private schools accounted for 9,484 of them, followed by BC welfare schools (408), social welfare schools (327) and Zilla Parishad schools (326), among others. Most schools said that they secured a pass percentage of at least an 80, and students failed by just a mark or two in a maximum of two subjects each. A total of 5,04,398 students took the exams held between June 2 and June 11. After Covid, students were very stressed and were unable to concentrate. They were not aware about the new paper pattern as well. The students only prepared properly two months before the exams, in April and May, which was very useful to them, said R. Sharada, headmistress of Govt Girls High School, Majeedia, Masab Tank. While most teachers credited students for their hard work amid the pandemic, a few said that the corrections were probably lenient as students scored higher than their pre-finals. The syllabus was also cut by 30 per cent due to the pandemic. Further, a few teachers also called for a reduction of the number of exams from 9-10 to six, to reduce the burden on students. Y. Shekhar Rao, the president of Telangana recognised schools management association, said, The 30 per cent reduction in syllabus was a great move by the government that helped students pass with flying colours. However, a few schools were not aware of the declaration of results even three hours after the declaration of results. A headmaster of a government school said that there was a lack of communication to a few schools, due to which they remained unaware of it. The results of a few candidates are withheld for want of certain information from the school, camp or centre. These cases will be finalised and results will be released soon, officials said. There was a huge outcry by parents and students on Tuesday, with many expected toppers getting single-digit or below-average marks. Representational Image/PTI Hyderabad: Top sources, closely associated with the Telangana state board of Intermediate education (TSBIE), on Wednesday said that there have been mistakes in the correction of answer sheets, with at least 1,000 students who performed well in pre-final exams getting single-digit scores in the finals. Yes, there are mistakes in the correction of papers. So far, two cases have come out where the students have scored 0. These are being re-evaluated. Intermediate lecturers were the evaluators and definitely, there was a mistake on their behalf. The process to identify such papers is on. Subject experts will be called and a decision will be taken accordingly, a source said. There was a huge outcry by parents and students on Tuesday, with many expected toppers getting single-digit or below-average marks. Even as TSBIE secretary Syed Omer Jaleel said that the papers were thoroughly checked, causing a delay in the release of results, students were unsatisfied. A student, requesting anonymity, said, I have been a good student and always have been among the toppers. Getting a single-digit score is unbelievable. I was sure to score at least 55/60 but got 9 instead. Presently, parents are approaching associations and unions to pressurise the board to recheck all answer sheets and waive the Rs 600 revaluation fee. Why are the students voices ignored? Lecturers and principals can support us as they are aware of our good performance throughout the year. But they are mum now, a second student said. Parents also said their mental health has been affected due to such mistakes and that it has left students apprehensive about preparations for supplementary exams, as well as competitive exams. They also alleged that colleges have given up on students. The college management has totally given up on students after the results were announced. They do not care about the students and are bluntly asking them to try their luck next year. Few students also have to prepare for other competitive exams, which they are unable to because of the results. This pattern of failing students was repeated a few years ago as well, a parent said. Many parents said that they have received no support from the board or the institutions, and that students must be given grace marks due to disruptions to the academic session due to the Covid-19 pandemic. (PTI) Hyderabad: Within hours of the Intermediate results announcement on Tuesday, dissatisfied parents started making enquiries on steps for revaluation of papers, recounting and supplementary exams for their wards to get better scores. Educational counsellors and psychologists received around 350 calls on the helpline number since Tuesday morning, mostly from worried students and parents over poor marks. Dr Anupama, a clinical psychologist, received around 100 calls with concerns from parents and children regarding re-evaluation, rechecking and correction. She also received many calls from students who could not clear the exams. The psychologist said, I received some calls from students who were concerned about errors in their marks, asking if they could be typo errors. I advised them to consult the authorities concerned, who will ensure the corrections. Dr P. Jawaharlal Nehru received 24 to 25 calls after midnight from students who had failed the exams. I counselled them about their concerns and advised them to focus on the next step since this one result is not the entire life, he said. Many parents said that they have received no support from the board or the institutions, and that students must be given grace marks due to disruptions to the academic session due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Parents are dissatisfied with the results and are blaming the board for wronging their children, who worked hard. Most of the students are worried and are in panic as to how they could fail or score low marks, said Asif Hussain Sohail, the president of Telangana Parents Association. However, junior college managements dismissed such claims. A principal of a private junior college said that physical classes started in September. Several model papers were distributed to the students. The syllabus was already cut short and more choices were also given. After so much effort, when students do not want to study, nothing can be done, the principal said. Experts cited a lack of understanding of students interests for poor marks and called for identifying their interests during formative years in school. The BJP set up welcoming banners for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Hyderabad on July 2 in Hitech city. (K. Durga Rao/DC) Hyderabad: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Hyderabad on July 2 and 3, unidentified persons placed a flex board that read #BYEBYE Modi near Tivoli crossroads in Secunderabad. After the police noticed it, officials rushed to the spot and got it removed with the help of GHMC workers. Hyderabad police commissioner C. V. Anand told DC, The flex board was fined by GHMC. Everything is normal in the city. Mumbai: The BJP, which is expected to stake claim to form the next government in Maharashtra soon following the resignation of Uddhav Thackeray as the chief minister, will be holding a series of meetings here on Thursday to decide the future course of action, where party's state in-charge C T Ravi will remain present, party sources said. Ravi, who has arrived in Mumbai on Thursday morning, will attend a meeting at 'Sagar' bungalow, the official residence of Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis with senior party leaders, including its state chief Chandrakant Patil. The BJP has also asked all of its MLAs to remain in Mumbai city till the next steps are taken, they said. Following Thackeray's resignation on Wednesday night, Chandrakant Patil had said that Fadnavis and rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, who claims to have the support of 39 rebel Sena legislators and 11 independent MLAs as well as small parties, would decide the next court of action. "While BJP has 106 MLAs of its own and support of some 10 independent MLAs, it will have to undertake a lot of deliberations and negotiations for seat sharing formula with rebel Sena MLAs and independents. It will take some time, but a clear picture would emerge by Friday," Patil had said. Thackeray had resigned soon after the Supreme Court refused to stay Governor B S Koshyari's direction to his government to take a floor test in the Assembly on Thursday. His resignation capped over a week-long drama of resort politics, where rebel Shiv Sena MLAs led Shinde camped in luxury hotels and hopped on chartered jets from Mumbai to Surat and Guwahati, before landing in Goa on Wednesday night. Fadnavis is expected to make a comeback as chief minister after holding the post from 2014 to 2019. Newly elected Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde(L) and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari(C) during their oath-taking ceremony, at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai, Thursday, June 30, 2022. (PTI) Mumbai: In an unexpected move that is being seen as a political masterstroke, the BJP announced rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde as the new chief minister of Maharashtra. In a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan on Thursday evening, Mr Shinde and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis took oaths as chief minister and deputy chief minister, respectively. Mr Fadnaviss appointment as a deputy CM also came as a surprise, as he himself had earlier claimed that he will not be a part of the cabinet but will offer support from outside. But, later, BJP national president J.P. Nadda informed that Mr Fadnavis will serve as the deputy CM in the Shinde-led ministry. The new government was formed in Maharashtra after Uddhav Thackeray quit as Maharashtra chief minister on Wednesday, shortly after the Supreme Court ruled that he must prove his majority in the floor test. He will be the fourth Shiv Sena CM after Manohar Joshi, Narayan Rane and Mr Thackeray and the first CM from Mumbai's neighbouring Thane city. Mr Fadnavis and Mr Shinde met governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in the afternoon at Raj Bhavan to stake a claim for government formation in Maharashtra. After this, Mr Fadnavis surprised everyone by naming Mr Shinde as the next CM. The announcement came as a jolt as he was expected to return as the chief minister with the support of the Shinde faction. Mr Fadnavis also said the Shiv Sena, by joining hands with the Congress and the NCP in 2019 to overthrow the BJP, had insulted the public mandate. He further claimed rampant corruption during the rule of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government while quoting two NCP leaders accused of corruption. Mr Shinde thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, Nadda and Fadnavis for making him CM. "Despite having the support of 120 MLAs, Fadnavis showed a big heart and gave the CM post to me. If he had wished he could have kept the CM post with himself," he added. Mr Fadnavis said that he accepts the party's orders as a loyal activist. "For me, the directives of the party, which have given me the highest post, are above everything else," he tweeted. Mr Modi congratulated Mr Shinde and Mr Fadnavis on being sworn in as the CM and deputy CM. Meanwhile, the rebel MLAs, who stayed put in Goa, celebrated Mr Shindes anointment as the CM by dancing and singing. In the Kopri-Panchpakhadi constituency in Thane city, which Mr Shinde represents, people burst fire crackers and distributed sweets to celebrate the occasion. Mr Shinde arrived in Mumbai from Goa in the morning. He was provided with a Z-category security cover by the Centre. He claimed that he had the support of 50 MLAs, including 39 MLAs. The Shinde family originally belonged to the Satara district and moved to Thane in the 70s. In his early days, Mr Shinde started with odd jobs. He worked at a beer brewery and a fishing company. Later, he also worked as an autorickshaw driver. Mr Shinde joined the Shiv Sena in the 80s. Shiv Sena chief and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday made an appeal asking rebel MLAs to return and hold talks with him. (PTI file photo) Mumbai: Political developments in Maharashtra gathered momentum late on Tuesday night as senior BJP leader and former CM Devendra Fadnavis met governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, and is learnt to have sought a special session of the state Assembly to prove the majority of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. Mr Fadnavis, with state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil and other party leaders, called on Mr Koshyari at around 10 pm shortly after he returned to the city from New Delhi, where he had gone to consult the leadership. Mr Fadnavis said: We have written a letter to the governor in which we mentioned the current political situation. Thirty-nine MLAs of the Shiv Sena are out of the state and they do not want to continue in the government with the NCP and Congress. The MVA government has lost its majority. We have requested the governor to ask the chief minister to prove his majority in the Assembly. This is the first time the BJP has directly got into action after Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde rebelled against the MVA government along with 39 party MLAs. Earlier, in a last-ditch effort to persuade the rebel MLAs, Shiv Sena supremo and Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday made a passionate appeal asking them to return and hold talks. Come back to Mumbai, lets talk, well find a way (out), he said. Saying it was still not too late, Mr Thackeray claimed other parties will not be able to offer the respect and honour the Shiv Sena has given them. Dont fall prey to anyones missteps. The honour given to you by the Shiv Sena cant be found anywhere. If you come forward and speak, we will sort out the issues. As Shiv Sena party chief and family head, I am still worried about you. Come here for a dialogue, he said. You (rebel MLAs) have been stuck in Guwahati for the last few days. Every day new information is coming forth about you. Many of you are in touch with us and you are still in the Shiv Sena. Some family members also contacted me, Mr Thackeray added. Meanwhile, before Mr Fadnavis met Mr Koshyari, sources said eight Independent MLAs had sent an email to the governor from Guwahati urging him to order a floor test. Party sources in New Delhi claimed that there was a good chance that Mr Fadnavis might be able to attend the BJP national executive meeting in Hyderabad from July 2 as the new CM of Maharashtra. Earlier, the Shiv Sena refuted reports that Mr Thackeray had called Mr Fadnavis in a bid to save his government. In a statement, the party said: The news that Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray called Devendra Fadnavis to save the government is utterly misleading. What Uddhav Thackeray has to say, he speaks publicly. The Maharashtra CM has also directed the state urban development department to submit all files related to decisions taken by rebel leader Eknath Shinde from June 1. Meanwhile, Mr Shinde said in Guwahati he will return to Mumbai soon and that his faction was taking Balasahebs legacy forward. He added that false information was being spread in public on the MLAs being in touch with the Sena leadership. This came after Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut claimed the party was hopeful of the return of a few MLAs, whom the party did not consider rebels as they were still in touch with them. I am not leaving the Shiv Sena. I am the real Shiv Sena, Mr Shinde said, rubbishing the claims of the Thackeray group that some 15-20 MLAs were in touch with them and wanted to return to Mumbai. I have 50 people with me in Guwahati, they have come of their own accord and for Hindutva. We all will go to Mumbai soon, Mr Shinde said. He also said he would speak to Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. Mr Shindes stance was boosted by the Supreme Court ruling that the rebel MLAs cannot be disqualified for anti-party actions. Instead, the Shinde group has been given time till July 12 to explain its stand. Reacting to Mr Thackerays appeal, Mr Shinde responded: Your son and spokesperson (Raut) call us pigs, buffaloes, dogs, nullah dirt, uncivilised, dead bodies, etc. On the other hand, the same MLAs are being asked for a truce to save the anti-Hindu MVA government. What is the meaning of this? Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray submits his resignation from the post of Maharashtra Chief Minister to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai, Wednesday night, June 29, 2022. Maharashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray is also seen. (PTI) Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday resigned from his post virtually minutes after the Supreme Court directed that the floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly at 11 am on Thursday morning should go ahead as scheduled. Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had directed Mr Thackerays Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to hold a confidence vote on Thursday, but this will not be needed now. The celebrations began at the BJP office in Mumbai and Eknath Shindes rebel camp in Goa almost immediately after Mr Thackeray resigned. BJP leader Chandrakant Patil said his party will hold talks with Eknath Shinde and then decide their future course of action. However, Devendra Fadnavis, former CM and Leader of the Opposition, is expected to stake claim soon to forming the new government, maybe as early as Thursday morning. Mr Shinde is likely to be offered the post of deputy CM. Addressing the state virtually on Facebook Live, Mr Thackeray also said he was resigning as a member of the Legislative Council. In a democracy, heads are counted to show numbers. I am not interested in that. I dont want to play these games. Tomorrow, they will say that they have brought down Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackerays son, he said, while addressing the people of the state. I had come in an unexpected manner and I am going out in a similar fashion. I am not going away forever, I will be here and I will once again sit in Shiv Sena Bhavan. I will gather all my people. I am resigning as the CM and as an MLC, Mr Thackeray added. Mr Thackeray thanked Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar for being by the Shiv Senas side. In a sarcastic comment, the outgoing CM also thanked the governor for his commitment to securing democracy and calling a floor test within 24 hours of receiving a letter from some MLAs. He recalled that the governor has not taken a decision on the 12 names recommended for the MLC post for one and a half years. In his speech, Mr Thackeray also addressed rebel MLAs led by Eknath Shinde. I appealed to the rebels as well to speak openly about who they have problems with: Me? NCP? Or Congress? If the rebel MLAs had placed their demands directly before me and not gone to Surat or any other state, this could have been handled better, he said. Later, Mr Thackeray along with Anil Parab, Neelam Gorhe and Milind Narvekar reached Raj Bhavan to submit his resignation. Mr Shinde and the other rebel Shiv Sena MLAs have landed in Goa and are expected to reach Mumbai Thursday morning. After Mr Thackeray's resignation, Mr Shinde said: This is the victory of Balasaheb and Anand Dighe's ideals. Earlier, Mr Thackeray also delivered an emotional speech at the Cabinet meeting held at around 5 pm, in which decisions to rename Aurangabad and Osmanabad as Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv were taken. Mr Thackeray thanked his Cabinet ministers and bureaucrats for their support in the last two and a half years and also sought their forgiveness for any mistakes that he may have committed. Todays situation has arisen because my own people betrayed me, he said at the Cabinet meeting. The Shiv Sena had moved the Supreme Court challenging the governors order to hold the floor test on Thursday. However, the Supreme Court said a floor test was the only way to settle all issues that have entangled the politics of Maharashtra following a rebellion by Mr Shinde, leading to a political crisis. The court said the results of the floor test will be subject to the final outcome of Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhus petition against the governors decision and issued a notice on the plea. A free trade agreement (FTA) between the UK and India is absolutely achievable by the Diwali timeline set by Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Narendra Modi with only some technical legal aspects left to be resolved, UK Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said on Thursday. Confirming that both sides are now getting on with the market access aspects of a trade deal, the minister in-charge of the negotiations on the UK government side said that some compromise and cooperation will be required on both sides to get a deal over the line. We have been set the challenge to get a deal by this Diwali, 24th October is seared in my brain, she said, during a UK-India Week forum on trade relations. Thats really helped our negotiators to really focus and where the big prizes are. Its imperative as we all want to get on so that our businesses get cracking. It is absolutely achievable. "It might be in a practical sense we havent completed some boring technical bit, but what we are clear is that by Diwali we have got that whole picture and we know where we have the mutually value-adding parts, she said. The minister said an FTA with India would take on a unique form because a cookie-cutter, one size fits all approach to negotiating a trade deal would not work. Undoubtedly, negotiations can be tough. Success comes through compromise and cooperation on both sides. There are times when we need to meet each other in the middle, she said. Earlier this week, the UKs Department for International Trade (DIT) said the latest round of talks concluded last week with discussions in 71 separate sessions covering 20 policy areas. The talks took place in a hybrid fashion with a majority of officials joining virtually and the fifth round of FTA talks is scheduled to be held in New Delhi next month. The focus of the FTA negotiations is on reducing the barriers to trade, cutting tariffs and supporting companies to export. According to DIT, India-UK bilateral trade currently stands at around GBP 24 billion a year. Industry experts hope this figure could be boosted further with the conclusion of the FTA. Activities at Korean language village "Sup Sogui Hosu" in Minnesota / Courtesy of Ross King Government, companies should make long-term investments in Korean studies: experts By Dong Sun-hwa Korean cultural content is sweeping the world off its feet. K-pop titan BTS earned two nominations at the prestigious Grammy Awards, while the 2021 Korean survival series, "Squid Game," attracted the views of over 142 million households worldwide on streaming platform Netflix. Actor Song Kang-ho recently became the first male actor from Korea to nab the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for his role in the 2022 drama film, "Broker." K-pop boy band BTS / Courtesy of Big Hit Music The global popularity of Korean culture has naturally piqued people's interest in Korea itself, with many of them curious about exploring the country from A to Z so that they can have a deeper understanding of the content they love. "Interest in Korean popular culture is also generating an interest in 'high culture' from Korean language to gestures to semiotics to culture customs," Jieun Kiaer, a professor of Korean linguistics at the University of Oxford, told The Korea Times. "Even 'Korean common sense' in the form of concepts like 'nunchi' which can be compared to emotional intelligence in the West is a hot talking point across the globe." Kiaer added that people from diverse backgrounds and age groups join her whenever she organizes an event to discuss the subject of "untranslatability" or the gap in translation in Korean films and shows. A scene from the 2021 Netflix series, "Squid Game" / Courtesy of Netflix "During these events, I and my students break down the verbal and non-verbal communication and unveil the meanings that are not expressed in the subtitles," she explained. "There were more than 100 participants in some cases. Our talk on translating 'Squid Game' was the most sought-after one." The number of universities that offer Korean studies or language courses has been steadily growing as well. In 1991, there were only 151 universities in 32 countries where students could take courses related to Korea, according to public diplomacy organization Korea Foundation (KF). But by 2022, the number has spiked to 1,408 nearly a 10-fold increase. This figure seems large at first glance. It looks like there will be enough scholars in the future, who will speak for Korea on the international stage and help it amplify its voice when needed. But according to experts, that assumption is far from the truth. They say Korean studies is still the "underdog and straggler." "Many say overseas Korean studies is booming, but this is very superficial," Ross King, a professor of Korean language and literature at the University of British Columbia, said in a recent email interview. "The Korean government and companies should make long-term investments in the infrastructure for Korean studies. A lot of people seem to believe that foreigners will happily pay their own money to learn about Korea because they enjoy its cultural content, but this is not true, especially for those hailing from the countries that have a higher gross national product (GNP) than Korea." Loli Kim, a DPhil researcher in Korean studies at the University of Oxford, echoed this sentiment. "As a student, the greatest challenge was acquiring funding to support me throughout my studies over the years," said Kim, who began learning Korean after studying Mandarin and Japanese. "There are countless diligent and passionate students, but the funding has been so limited." King believes that now it is time for Korea to step up its game and capitalize on the popularity of its culture before it is too late. "We need more endowed teaching positions, scholarships and bursaries for students and programs like 'Sup Sogui Hosu' and the Inter-University Center for Korean Language Studies (IUC) at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul," he said. Korean language village "Sup Sogui Hosu" in Minnesota / Courtesy of Ross King Founded by King in 1999, "Sup Sogui Hosu" which means "a lake in the forest" in Korean is the world's one and only Korean language village in Minnesota, which has drawn more than 1,800 students from the U.S. and many other countries. It offers two- and four-week sessions for beginners to advanced speakers of Korean, who are aged from seven to 18. Every year, the village fills up to its capacity of 100 villagers, King says. "A similar program at the Yokohama Center in Japan has oodles of funding and has been providing high-level training in academic and professional Japanese since the 1960s, but the IUC program struggles to provide scholarships for three to four students, and has only five dues-paying institutional members," King pointed out. "That is because the $8,000 per year membership fee is too much for most universities outside Korea to afford." The lack of a critical mass of tenure-track academic positions in Korean studies is another issue. "Most Korean studies programs are one-man or one-woman shows, where one colleague has to do everything him or herself, whereas the Chinese and Japanese studies programs always have more staff, teaching positions, funding and better infrastructure," he said, adding that there are over 140 universities teaching Korean language in North America, but only 30 percent of them teach it for more than 300 hours. The total number of tenure-track jobs on the continent is reportedly only about 15. "China and Japan studies have five or six times better infrastructure, plus more opportunities for funded study in China, Taiwan and Japan for foreign students," he noted. "So the colleagues in these fields control the vast majority of East Asian Studies departments and programs. In terms of investment, Korea today is doing not even one-fifth of what Japan did 50 years ago." Villagers at Korean language village "Sup Sogui Hosu" in Minnesota / Courtesy of Ross King The situation is not so different in the U.K., either. Currently, undergraduates at Oxford are only offered Korean as a supplementary language along with either Chinese or Japanese, while Cambridge does not offer any undergraduate course in Korean studies. The latter does have courses for Chinese and Japanese studies though. "Scholarships and grants for students are always in short supply and they need to be prioritized as they are the academics of the future," Kim stressed. "But I believe that funding for the expansion of Korean studies courses and departments at universities would also be beneficial and the next step to accommodate the growing interest. Government and company support has been central to the popularity of Korean culture and the creation of Korean soft power. Now it is the opportune time to promote Korean studies so that it can teach something beyond pop culture." Korean government to boost support for Korean studies The KF, which is under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), and has been supporting students and professors of Korean studies since its establishment in 1991, is well aware of the issue of the lack of support. "We can see why students and professors are calling for more support," a KF official told The Korea Times. "We know we still have a long way to go." Korea Foundation (KF) President Lee Geun / Courtesy of KF According to the KF's latest research, there are about 25 professors of Korean studies at eight Ivy League schools, including Harvard and Princeton University, whereas the number is far higher for Chinese and Japanese studies, which have 96 and 63 professors, respectively. "We are planning to conduct a more in-depth research in November to get more accurate data by analyzing about 50 colleges in the U.S.," the official explained. According to him, the national power of Korea has been relatively weak compared to its neighbors, making it demanding for the government and the KF to lend comparable support. "To make it worse, the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to our budget," he added. "A large portion of our revenue comes from passport issuance, but most people did not need passports over the past few years due to the global health crisis that forced them to stay at home. Nonetheless, the amount we invest in promoting Korean studies has been steadily growing since 2018." The KF's investments stood at 12.3 billion won ($9.5 million) in 2018, but it raised the figure to 18 billion won last year. "The government is now better aware of the fact that they should expand support for Korean studies to meet the growing demand," the official said. "In fact, the KF was recently announced as one of the organizations to promote public cultural diplomacy and this is stipulated in a new law. So I would say investments are highly likely to increase in the days ahead not only for people and institutions based in North America and Europe, but also for those in Asia and South America." The KF is also planning to play a more active role in developing Korean studies. To date, it has established 153 job positions at 98 universities for academic positions in Korean studies. It has also fielded numerous visiting professors to different colleges, and launched a live online course titled, "Global e-school" in 2021 to provide educational material for more people. Approximately 13,800 people joined the course, the KF says. "Learn! KOREAN with BTS" is an educational package utilizing BTS' intellectual property to help people learn Korean. Courtesy of HYBE EDU The High Court has refused bail to a Guatemalan woman who was intercepted carrying cocaine at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in March 2020. Justice H P Sandesh said that the contention that the accused is in custody for two years and three months is not a ground to enlarge her on bail when an offence against the society at large is invoked. The petitioner Herrera Valenzuela De Lopez, a native of Villancva (Guatemala), was intercepted and cocaine weighing 1.3 kg was recovered in her body, including the private parts. On arrival at KIA on March 2, 2020, from Addis Ababa by an Ethiopian airlines flight, officers of Customs Intelligence Unit (CIU) had subjected her to an enquiry. It was revealed that she had inserted a tube containing cocaine in her vagina. In all, 150 capsules were recovered from her body. The petitioner contended that she is in custody for more than two years and claimed that charges have not been framed against her since a Spanish language translator is not available. Special counsel for the Customs Department submitted that the court has to take note of the modus operandi in the case transporting the contraband in capsules. It was argued that the petitioner had not only swallowed the capsules but also hidden them in her private parts. Justice Sandesh noted that when an offence against the society at large is invoked, the contention that the accused is under custody for over two years cannot be a ground for granting bail. On the other contention that the charge has not been framed since a Spanish language translator is not available, the court said that it is the duty cast upon the prosecution to make arrangements to appoint a translator who is well versed with the Spanish language to assist the Court. Hence, the trial Court also endeavors to dispose of the matter as early as possible since the petitioner is in custody from two years three months, the court said. Russia has "no problem" if Finland and Sweden join NATO, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. "We don't have problems with Sweden and Finland like we do with Ukraine," Putin told a news conference in the Turkmenistan capital of Ashgabat. "We don't have territorial differences," the Russian leader continued. "There is nothing that could bother us about Sweden and Finland joining NATO. If Finland and Sweden wish to, they can join. That's up to them. They can join whatever they want." However, "if military contingents and military infrastructure were deployed there, we would be obliged to respond symmetrically and raise the same threats for those territories where threats have arisen for us," Putin said. Sweden and Finland have both decided to apply to join NATO after Russia launched its military operation in pro-Western Ukraine on February 24. The formal process for membership was launched at the NATO summit in Madrid on Wednesday. Until now, Russia had always been critical of the prospect of the two Nordic countries joining the alliance, saying it would be a "destabilising factor" for international security. Putin nevertheless condemned NATO's "imperial ambitions", accusing the alliance of seeking to assert its "supremacy" through the Ukraine conflict. "Ukraine and the well-being of Ukrainian people is not the aim of the collective West and NATO but a means to defend their own interests," Putin said. "The NATO countries' leaders wish to... assert their supremacy, their imperial ambitions," he added. The Atlantic alliance and "above all the United States have long needed an external enemy around which they can unite their allies," the Russian leader said. "Iran wasn't good for that. We've given them this opportunity... to gather the whole world around them." What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance. Let them take arms. --Thomas Jefferson. Little must the founding father and third President of America have imagined that in the time to come, the very liberties he endeavoured to preserve for Americas citizens would be severely jeopardised at the altar of vouching for the rights of individuals. The recent blood-curdling incident in the US the Uvalde school shooting -- where 16 children were gunned to death, has reignited the debate worldwide on whether there is a need to tighten regulation of the arms industry. In this context, it is interesting to understand the Indian narrative on the right to bear arms. We trace the history of the debate in India, critique the Constituent Assemblys rejection of the right to bear arms, and analyse the position of the courts since. During a Constituent Assembly discussion in 1948, H V Kamath first proposed an amendment to include the right to bear arms in the Constitution. He tried to impel the Assembly by referring to the Resolution on Fundamental Rights passed at the Karachi Session of the Indian National Congress in 1931, which enlisted the right of citizens to keep and bear arms in accordance with certain regulations. In view of the possibility of abuse of such a right, he proposed certain reasonable restrictions in the interest of public order, peace, and tranquility. In his arguments, he pointed to the demand of the freedom movement to recognise this right as a constitutional one and harked upon the fact that whereas the saboteurs would always have access to arms, the danger would befall those who didnt have them. He believed that bestowing this right would, in turn, assure the citizens that they were trusted by the State and would also cater to their right of self-defence. But his proposal could not clear the vote in the Constituent Assembly. Maulana Hasrat Mohani rose to sincerely support Kamaths idea and brought the aspect of personal liberty and the Arms Act into the narrative. He contended that if the Constitution deprived the citizens of the right to bear arms and disregarded their individual liberties, they would be perpetuating the prejudices of the British. He voiced his contempt for the Indian Arms Act, 1878, introduced by the British, which denied any Indian the right to keep arms without a proper licence and imposed a strict restriction on the unsanctioned possession of arms. Ambedkars view Rebutting the arguments made by H V Kamath, Ambedkar reminded him that the structure of society presently was completely different from what it used to be in the pre-independence period. This was basically in response to Kamaths contention that the document Swaraj, which was released during the Karachi Resolution, had guaranteed the right to bear arms. Ambedkar was categorical in stating that I personally myself cannot conceive how it would be possible for the State to carry on its administration if every individual had the right to go into the market and purchase all sorts of instruments of attack without any let or hindrance from the State. What the courts have said The position of the courts in India has largely been uniform in dealing with the issue of the right to bear arms. In the case of Kapildeo Singh vs. the State of Bihar, it was held that the right to bear arms is not a constitutional right. The court substantiated its reasoning by stating that the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees the right to bear arms, has come under carping criticism. In the High Courts view, the right had become synonymous with gun running, etc. Reiterating the above view, the Allahabad High Court held in the State of Uttar Pradesh v. Hridaya Narayan Tiwari, that there did not exist any right to bear arms. The exception to the discourse is the case of Ganesh Chandra Bhatt vs District Magistrate where a single judge bench had held that the right to bear arms was a constitutionally guaranteed right under Article 21. To assert his reasoning, Justice M Katju used every argument from the reams of the Mahabharata to how Britishers disarmed the Indians. The judge also observed that numerous rights were read into Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution. Was he hinting that the right to bear arms is covered under the three aforementioned rights? The argument becomes too far-fetched when the judge says that though it is a duty of the State to protect the citizens of the country, if it is not possible for it to do so, then the citizens definitely have the right to bear arms. Obviously, the mechanism of self-defence is likely to increase in the event of failure of law and order. However, in case of it being made a fundamental right, the citizens will have the right to approach the Supreme Court and High Courts of different states, effectively giving the ultimate scope to exercise their right. However, the ruling in the aforementioned case was buried by successive judgements. A notable mention is that of the State of UP v. Mahipat Singh, in which Chief Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice D Y Chandrachud had criticised the ruling in the Ganesh Bhatt case. They held that licensed acquisition and possession of arms is a privilege and cannot be said to constitute an integral part of the right to life. Conclusively, the journey of the right to bear arms has indeed been a riveting one, and ultimately, it was not held to be within the purview of Article 21. (The writers are students of Dharmashastra National Law University) As the Supreme Court of the United States of America (SCOTUS) arrived at a conclusion on the validity of abortion law, United States is witnessing renewed activism. The SCOTUS rolled back its position of granting pregnant persons the right to abort. This judge-made or the SCOTUS-made law was established in a 1973 judgement in Roe v Wade case, which granted the person the right to choose whether to give birth to a child. This is a pro-choice interpretation of the law and one that has tilted the presidential scales in the US. With the introduction of states discretion in passing their own abortion laws, the SCOTUS has given states like Texas autonomy to uphold the right of an unborn but not essentially the right of the living mother. This may surprise many, but the Indian abortion laws are indeed Roe v Wade in motion. India, too had its share of debate on pro-choice vs pro-life in its 73 years of constitutional history. This was specifically dealt with in 2003, when the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act of 1971 was amended, with subsequent amendments as recently as 2021. The SCOTUS decision would have a specific and targeted reaction in the Indian law too. So far, the courtroom deliberations in India on abortion have referenced the American judiciary. To understand this linkage, one must understand that the permission to abort in India is based on the weeks of pregnancy, the circumstances and, more importantly, depends on the court. Aborting a child through freewill is restricted with caveats of choice of life to be saved -- life of the parent or the life of the unborn child. This decision is left to the medical practitioner, medical board and the courts. A pro-choice legislation, though in line with the universal declaration of human rights, is not simple as Indias laws operate in silos and the pregnant person needs to petition the court. This fundamentally is vesting the courts, and the bureaucratic system, with the power to determine the choice, and the right of self-determination in effect is left to red tape. This topic is not unique to India. In its landmark decision of A, B and C v Ireland (2010), the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) determined that ECHR has no role to play in the national legislation of Ireland, to impose a clause restricting the right of women to abort. It went on to say that the ECHR does not find Ireland to be violating the ECHRs Article 8 -- the right of life. It held that a country is responsible for providing the necessary mechanisms to allow the pregnant persons to determine if their life is at risk. India now has the task of striking a balance between the SCOTUS and the ECHR, potentially resulting in two polarised views, while striking a balance by selective restriction. According to a study conducted in 2020, in India abortion as a right of the person is still at the constitutional doorsteps of various courts and the right of choice of the person is still left to the judiciary after passing through all the hoops in the bureaucratic system -- the medical board and then the reference and the lower judiciary, etc., -- with 153 cases before various fora. These are reported cases as it is difficult to assume that India has a higher access to the judicial system for a sensitive topic like abortion. India still carries the stigma of safe sex and quacks hold a sway. In striking this balance, India must not alter the fundamental right of the pregnant person. A fundamental right with a negative obligation has haunted India for long. In 2017, the Supreme Court had to decide on the right of a minor to terminate her pregnancy, which was the result of an offence and she did not want. The pregnant person, even as the bureaucratic trauma is underway, must make the case to the court as to why the persuasion of SCOTUS in the Indian Judiciary should not prevail. In essence, a person arguing for abortion has lost the important precedence in international jurisdiction to further her claim. This is an opportunity for India to legislate comprehensively by choosing a position departing from the SCOTUS while retaining the international non- derogable human rights principles. (Amirthalakshmi R is the principal counsel at the Chambers of Dr Srikant Parthasarathy and the latter is a professor of International Law.) 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. Tour operator, Travel Solutions, is offering sun holidays to the Algarve and Majorca from City of Derry Airport this summer. The Airport partnership with Travel Solutions marks a new era in welcoming back European connectivity for family holidays, couples breaks and group getaways, which has been highly desired in the North West for quite some time. City of Derry Airport welcomed this years first Algarve and Majorca passengers with some holiday themed live music, beach-ready hospitality, and special decor and giveaways to mark the occasion. Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Cllr Sandra Duffy, and the Travel Solutions team joined the vibrant celebrations. Peter McMinn, Managing Director at Travel Solutions, stated: This is an exciting day for Travel Solutions as the first of our European charter flights depart from City of Derry Airport. "It is great to see couples and families start their holiday from their local airport and we looked forward to welcoming our customers as they jet off to the sunshine. Great value holidays with the ease of travelling from City of Derry Airport is a winning combination and todays passengers are benefiting from that. Steve Frazer, Managing Director at City of Derry Airport said: We are thrilled to welcome back European holidays for our local catchment area, particularly after what has been a difficult few years for us all. With minimal travel time to the airport, cost-effective parking rates, a journey time of less than 15 minutes from the carpark to your departure gate, and the best priced Airport Lounge in the UK to relax in, there is no doubt that Flying Local will provide you with a stress-free travel experience. At City of Derry Airport, your holiday truly starts from the moment you arrive at the airport. Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Sandra Duffy, added: I am delighted to see the return of the Summer Sun routes at City of Derry Airport. The flights to the Algarve and Majorca offer local people all the convenience of easy parking and check in that the airport offers and significantly reduces their travel time. It has been a turbulent few years for the aviation industry so I am particularly pleased to see further routes being added to the airports portfolio following the recent resumption of the Edinburgh and Manchester routes meaning passenger numbers are moving towards pre-pandemic levels again. For more information on Travel Solutions summer holidays to the Algarve and Majorca from City of Derry Airport, visit www.travel-solutions.co.uk. The Ministry of Defence has been asked to respond to claims a military intelligence officer accompanied a notorious loyalist killer at the scene of a policemans murder. The claim was made at the first preliminary hearing of an inquest into the shooting of RUC sergeant Joseph Campbell outside Cushendall RUC station in Co Antrim in 1977. UVF killer Robin Jackson, now deceased, has long been suspected of involvement in the murder of the 49-year-old father-of-eight. The policemans family believe rogue elements of the security forces colluded with Jackson to kill the respected officer. At the initial hearing at Belfast Coroners Court on Thursday, a barrister for Mr Campbells family raised the question about a military officer being at the murder scene. Karen Quinlivan QC told coroner Patrick McGurgan that the claim emerged during a review exercise into outstanding legacy cases in 2016. We identified that there was information that suggests the involvement of a military intelligence liaison officer, she said. It appears from the police report that a military intelligence liaison officer was at the scene of the murder on the night of the murder in the company of Robin Jackson. Mr McGurgan told the barrister representing the Army that he expected the MoD to comment on the claim later in the inquest process. Thats something that I will be expecting the MoD to have comment on in due course, he said. Ms Quinlivan also informed the court that in 1998, an unredacted copy of the original RUC murder investigation file was passed to the Campbell family by an anonymous source. She said the fact the bereaved relatives already had the full copy of the report should be considered when the coroner came to determining what sensitive materials should be redacted at the full inquest hearing. Following a police reinvestigation of the shooting in 1980, a RUC Special Branch officer was charged with the murder but was later acquitted. Another man was convicted of withholding information about the murder. In 2014, an investigation by the Police Ombudsman found RUC Special Branch was aware of a threat against Sgt Campbell but failed to inform him. The Ombudsman also identified a series of investigative failings by the police. However, the Ombudsman was unable to substantiate claims that rogue security force members conspired with loyalists to commit the murder. The next preliminary inquest hearing was listed for October 25. June 30, 2022 -- Xiphera's first financing round was led by anchor investor Gorilla Capital, which was joined by two other institutional investors Korpun Seed Ltd from SijoittajaPRO Corporate Finance and Aakkoset Oy as the three main investors. Additional individual investors also joined the late seed financing round totalling 480k. Xiphera is a bootstrapped company and it has focused on organic and profitable growth during its entire history. However, there are times in a company's journey when external investment enables strategic and proactive activities, and with the successfully completed financing round Xiphera will be able to speed up its transition from a startup company into a scaleup company. Late seed financing rounds are typically targeted for companies which have demonstrated customer traction and plan to continue and accelerate their growth. Xiphera being a five-year-old, cash-flow positive company with full ownership by its Co-Founders until 2022 is an ideal target for late seed financing, and the external investment will be used to generate business growth and further international expansion. The external investors will also bring their considerable expertise and business acumen to our company, says Xiphera's CEO and Co-Founder Matti Tommiska, The successfully completed financing round combined with Xiphera's recently announced admission into Business Finland's Young Innovative Companies (NIY) Program admission into Business Finland's Young Innovative Companies (NIY) Program will give us the tools to accelerate our international growth. I am absolutely confident that we will be the leading provider of secure and high performance cryptographic Intellectual Property cores for FPGAs and ASICs. Xiphera's main investors Scaleup companies benefit greatly from the right network and supporting connections for their business to grow and succeed. Xipheras three main investors, Gorilla Capital, Korpun Seed Ltd, and Aakkoset Oy, will support Xipheras expansion and business development in multiple ways. The following quotes summarise the driving motives of Xiphera's main investors, with the common themes being a passionate team, solving real-world customer problems both today and in the future, and demonstrated traction. Despite being founded by PhDs and developing something fairly complex and deep tech, Xiphera is not a science project. It addresses a genuine business problem which is only boosted during these turbulent times and the founders demonstrate a healthy commercial attitude. We like founders who have a passion for the customer problem and felt strong alignment with Xiphera. Were excited to be part of the next leg of Xipheras journey Risto Rautakorpi, Gorilla Capital. Cybersecurity is a big megatrend and we are proud to solve these problems together with Xiphera. Xiphera has a unique team with deep knowledge in the hardware-based security solutions. We love companies that have the ability to grow profitably without external funding in the first years of the companys journey. One of the big rules of investing is Dont invest in something you dont understand. We proudly announce that we have no deep understanding about cybersecurity, but we trust the team of Xiphera and that is why we invest Matias Itkonen, SijoittajaPRO Corporate Finance / Korpun Seed Ltd. Nobody can ignore data protection and privacy. All businesses need to safe-guard intellectual property and proprietary data, such as their AI models and customer secrets. Cryptography is a key component in this and it has to be blazing fast, local and trustworthy. By investing in Xiphera we are investing in the trends of privacy protection, Zero Trust, edge computing and safe ML/AI. Above all, we are investing in a great team that can handle even the post-quantum concerns on a global scale. Aakkoset Oy. Company introductions Xiphera Xiphera Ltd. is a Finnish company designing hardware-based security solutions using proven cryptographic algorithms. We have strong cryptographic expertise, extensive experience in system design, and deep knowledge on digital logic, enabling our customers to protect their critical information and assets. Gorilla Capital Gorilla Capital is a Nordic VC fund based in Finland investing in early-stage companies that apply technology to solve real business problems of today. Our focus is on camels rather than unicorns we dont bet on catching the black swan outlier, instead our model is built on statistical probabilities based on real life evidence. Our purpose is to enable each of our portfolio companies to reach their maximal potential be it a billion-euro IPO or an early stage trade sale acquisition. We look for talented, hard-working, and passionate teams applying technology to solve tangible business problems evident today. We like to see the customer, rather than the product or technology, as the driving force of the actions of the entrepreneur. Post-investment, we provide our companies with guidance on key strategic topics, best practices from our portfolio as well as advise them in understanding what is required to achieve an exit. We want to be kept up-to-date with the companies businesses regularly but we dont mandate on having a seat on their board. Were an active investor with 20-25 new investments annually. Korpun Seed Ltd from SijoittajaPRO Corporate Finance SijoittajaPRO Corporate Finance is a consortium of Finnish entrepreneurs, family businesses, and professional investors, investing in Finnish growth companies. We have invested over 72 million into 90 different companies during the past 6 years. The early stage seed investment company Korpun Seed Ltd, started in 2022 by SijoittajaPRO Corporate Finance, co-invests in early-stage Finnish growth companies, with Xiphera being our fourth investment. Aakkoset Oy Aakkoset Oy We invest in inspiring innovations driven by true entrepreneurs. Let's accelerate the productization to make a global impact. Actor Park Hae-soo plays the role of Berlin in Netflix's new Korean series "Money Heist: Korea Joint Economic Area." Courtesy of Netflix By Lee Gyu-lee Following his global breakout role as a smart, cunning player in Netflix's "Squid Game," actor Park Hae-soo has taken on another memorable role in the platform's new series "Money Heist: Korea Joint Economic Area." The Korean remake of Netflix's smash-hit series "Money Heist" revolves around a gang of thieves, led by a criminal mastermind known as "the professor," who take over the mint of a newly unified Korea while holding hostages inside. Park plays the role of Berlin, the most wanted man in North Korea who escaped one of the rogue state's internment camps. He is the charismatic second-in-command of the gang, and instills fear in others to bring them under his control, which causes conflict among the hostages and the criminals inside the mint. "The biggest thing I focused on in playing the role of Berlin was trying not to imitate (the original character). I tried to portray the character in a devoted and serious manner," the actor said during an interview with The Korea Times via video chat, Tuesday. He expressed that the different backstory of the character from the original series gave him space to create a distinct character. "When I read the script, I could see the parts of the character that I can portray differently, and because he had a different subplot, I wanted to approach it like that," he said. "Also, it starred so many actors that I like so I really wanted to join. The role of Berlin is very attractive so I wanted to take the challenge." A scene from Netflix's Korean production "Money Heist: Korea Joint Economic Area" / Courtesy of Netflix Experts highlight potential for trade growth between Ireland and Africa Press release Trade between Ireland and African countries is at record levels and has the potential to grow significantly in the years ahead, a conference will hear today. The Africa Ireland Economic Forum (AIEF) sees business leaders from across Ireland and Africa meet to explore ways to grow trade and investments in both directions over the coming years. Simon Coveney T.D., Minister for Foreign Affairs, said: Africas potential is not theoretical it is happening now. We are focused on building Irelands economic, political and cultural links right across the continent. The Forum provides the opportunity to consider how Ireland can strengthen its support for sustainable and inclusive economic growth. There is a focus on leveraging technology and innovation for Africas growth, prioritising women entrepreneurs and climate-smart innovation. I believe these are areas in which Irish companies have a wealth of experience to share with African partners. Colm Brophy T.D., Minister for Overseas Aid and the Diaspora, added: Ireland has decades of experience in working in partnership with Africa. While huge challenges remain, there is no doubt that economic growth is delivering transformative results across the continent. Our own experience of economic development can be useful to our African friends. Among the positive economic developments between Ireland and Africa are: In 2021, trade in goods between Ireland and Africa increased to a record level of 2.41 billion (1.85 billion in Irish exports and 0.55 billion in Irish imports). increased to (1.85 billion in Irish exports and 0.55 billion in Irish imports). Trade in services has also been a particular success story in recent years, now at a record level of just over 4 billion (3.5 billion in exports and 0.57 billion in imports). has also been a particular success story in recent years, now at (3.5 billion in exports and 0.57 billion in imports). Africa was Irelands fastest growing export market in 2020 for dairy, seafood and beverages . . In 2021, the value of agri-food exports to Africa increased by a further 8% to 880 million, doubling in the space of a decade, while Irish spirits exports to Africa grew by 133%. increased by a further 8% to 880 million, doubling in the space of a decade, while Irish spirits exports to Africa grew by 133%. Nigeria was Irelands largest agri-food export market in Africa in 2021, accounting for 24% of the market share at 210 million. in Africa in 2021, accounting for 24% of the market share at 210 million. South Africa was the largest African export partner overall in 2021 with 380 million in exports followed by Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria. The Africa Ireland Economic Forum (AIEF) takes place today at the RDS in Dublin. Speakers at the Africa Ireland Economic Forum include: Simon Coveney, T.D., Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence; Mariam Katagum, Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Nigeria; Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group; Colm Brophy, T.D., Minister for Overseas Development Aid & Diaspora; Pippa Hackett, Minister of State for Agriculture with responsibility for Land Use and Biodiversity; Dr. Jane Feehan, Head of West Africa representation for the European Investment Bank; Leo Clancy, CEO of Enterprise Ireland; Shane Hamill, Bord Bias Interim Director of Global Business Development; Allen Sophia Asiimwe, Deputy CEO and Chief of Programmes, TradeMark East Africa. Note for Editors The Africa Ireland Economic Forum is a key component of the Global Ireland Strategy for Africa. The theme of the Africa Ireland Economic Forum is Prospering Post-Pandemic: Towards a Sustainable, Greener Future. For a full list of speakers, visit https://dfa.ie/aief/speakers/ There will be panel discussions on topics including regional trade, green growth in the agriculture, food and energy sectors, womens economic empowerment, and how technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship are being leveraged for Africas growth. A full conference programme is available https://dfa.ie/aief/programme/ ENDS Press Office 30 June 2022 Previous Item | Next Item Minister Byrne to address Council of Europe Committee of Ministers & HELP Annual Network Conference Press release Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne TD will visit Strasbourg on Thursday 30 June as part of Irelands Presidency of the Council of Europe. The Minister will address the Committee of Ministers Deputies, where he will call for the Council of Europe to convene a Summit of Heads of State and Government as soon as possible. Speaking of the need for a Summit, Minister Byrne said: The Council of Europe was established in the wake of war on our continent, with Ireland amongst its founding members. Now, as war ravages Ukraine, we believe its time for our 46 Heads of State and Government to reconvene to redouble the institutions support for Ukraine, refocus its relations with the EU, and recommit to our founding freedoms, above all the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. While in Strasbourg, Minister Byrne will open the annual conference of the Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) programme. Explaining the value of the initiative, the Minister said: One of Irelands highest priorities during its Presidency is to support the Council of Europe in protecting human rights across the continent, above all in areas of conflict. The Councils HELP Programme meaningfully advances this key objective by enhancing the capacity of judges, lawyers and prosecutors, in all 46 Council of Europe member states and beyond, to apply the European human rights standards in their daily work as legal professionals. The Minister will also take part in a signing ceremony to announce additional voluntary financial contributions of over 350,000 to the Council of Europe, largely directed towards the European Court of Human Rights. ENDS Press Office 30 June 2022 Notes to editors Established in 1949, and headquartered in Strasbourg, the Council of Europe is the continents largest and oldest intergovernmental organisation. Ireland was amongst the organisations ten founding members. Today, following the expulsion of the Russian Federation in March, it comprises 46 member states, including the 27 EU member states, the United Kingdom, Turkey and Ukraine. The organisation plays a leading role in the protection and promotion of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law across Europe and beyond notably through the European Court of Human Rights, which ensures the observance by member states of their obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. The Irish Presidency of the Council of Europes Committee of Ministers began on 20 May and runs to mid-November. Further details are available on www.ireland.ie/coe. The HELP programme is designed to enhance the capacity of legal professionals across the Councils 46 member states to apply European human rights standards in their daily work. This years conference will see approximately several hundred judges, jurists, officials and civil society representatives gather in Strasbourg to consider the Councils response to the war in Ukraine and the work of legal professionals in times of war. Organised under the patronage of the Irish Presidency, Youth Action Week celebrates 50 years of the youth sector in the Council of Europe, with over 500 young people from across the continent gathering in Strasbourg. Aimed at strengthening mutual trust between young people and democratic processes, the initiative advances one of Irelands Presidency priorities, championing the voices of young people through participative democracy. Previous Item | Filmmaker Park Chan-wook / Courtesy of CJ ENM Cannes-winning director defies cliches, stereotypes in new film By Kwak Yeon-soo Since his breakout with "Oldboy," (2003) which won the Grand Pix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, director Park Chan-wook rose quickly to become the face of Korean cinema on the international scene. From "Joint Security Area" (2000) to "The Handmaiden" (2017), Park's work has encompassed dark humor and heart through insightful storytelling. Known for his distinct visual style and extreme violence, Park has developed a personal signature across his filmography. Due to his unique cinematic vision, Park has been nominated many times for and swept awards at various international film festivals, and his recognition at Cannes earned him the nickname "Cannes Park" in Korea. At Cannes, Park also won the Jury Prize with his vampire horror drama film "Thirst" in 2009 and took home the Best Director award this year for his latest film "Decision to Leave," totaling three awards. "Decision to Leave," starring Park Hae-il as Hae-joon and Tang Wei as Seo-rae, follows an insomniac Korean police detective chasing after an enigmatic and mesmerizing widow, a Chinese immigrant, who is suspected of pushing her husband off a cliff. Park's new film is unlike any other cop-suspect romance film that depicts a femme fatale who seduces a police detective. "To avoid cliches, I multilayered the plot. After Hae-joon switches districts and moves to the coast, where his wife works at a nuclear plant, there are plenty of melodramatic twists and turns to the seemingly predictable plot. Seo-rae's feelings for the detective become unambiguous in the second half of the film," he said during a recent interview with The Korea Times. A scene from the film "Decision to Leave," for which director Park Chan-wook received the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival in May / Courtesy of CJ ENM He also discussed creating original characters that defy stereotypes. "The male protagonist is a policeman, but not like the ones we're used to seeing. He's meticulous and tidy and carries personal items in suits tailored to have 12 pockets in his jacket and six in his pants. The female protagonist, a murder suspect, has dignity and a direct manner," he said. The tension between the two leads is depicted in a sophisticated and refined manner as it excludes provocative sex scenes. "I wanted to make something classically refined where the characters' emotions are swirling internally, but on the outside they are quiet. The story's emphasis is on adult romance, dealing with mature relationships. As we get older, it becomes harder to express our feelings due to given situations and circumstances," he explained. The "auteur" said he had Tang and Park in mind when writing the script. "Even before finishing the script, I met up with Tang and offered her the role. Tang's personality traits, which I observed when meeting her, were reflected in the rewriting of the script. I did the same thing with Park," he said. He praised the Chinese actress' passion to learn Korean. "She was quite stubborn about learning Korean step-by-step in order to catch the nuances of her lines. She didn't just try to memorize the lines fast. She truly understood the meaning of the lines," he said. The two leads have smoldering chemistry on screen. Park conveys Hae-jun's moral dilemma between his sense of duty as a detective and the ungovernable forces of his heart, while Tang keeps the audience guessing about her character until the film's ending. Actors Tang Wei, left, and Park Hae-il in a scene from the film "Decision to Leave" / Courtesy of CJ ENM Two evangelical street preachers who denied singling out homosexuals with 'homophobic slurs' while urging sinners to repent in Dundalk, had the case against them struck out at the local district court. Both defendants claimed that the LGBT community has weaponised An Garda Siochana and the PSNI by making complaints against their preaching and the court heard they wear body cameras as a result. Ryan Williamson with an address at Loughbrickland, Banbridge and Sean Tully of Alexander Avenue, Belfast, both aged 44, were charged with failing to provide their name and address to a garda, using threatening abusive and insulting behaviour, and failing to comply with the direction of a garda at the Market Square, Dundalk on September 21st last year. A Garda gave evidence of being on beat patrol and being dispatched to the area following a call to the Garda Station. On arrival he found three men using a speaker, who he claimed were using insulting language of a homophobic nature backed by a religious message. The garda said one of them was saying homosexuals were going to burn in hell forever and that sodomy is a sin. He said the three refused to leave the area and continued to preach and both refused to give their name and address. At the end of the State's case the Defence barrister argued there was no specific evidence given about a third defendant being present, 39 year old Robert Ervine of Loughbrickland, Banbridge who failed to appear to meet the case against him. He was prosecuted for using threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour and failing to comply with a garda's direction, both of which Judge Eirinn McKiernan dismissed. Both Mr Tully and Mr Williamson said they were preaching the gospel and handing out literature with tracts from the bible. Mr. Tully denied making any homophobic slurs and said he had been quoting from the bible saying the unrighteous should not enter the kingdom of heaven and he said no members of the public engaged with them. Mr. Williamson, who was preaching when the Garda arrived, played footage from a body camera during which he preached that God calls on homosexuals and heterosexuals to repent and claimed they were there to police the spiritual issues in Dundalk. Judge Eirinn McKiernan said she believes everybody is entitled to have their own opinion and in some instances if it has the potential or is likely to cause a breach of the peace you need to consider that but in this case she had a doubt saying "I don't perceive it was likely to cause a breach of the peace" and dismissed the charges. Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has today (June 30, 2022) reminded community groups to submit their applications for the new 15 million Community Centre Investment Fund. The Fund, which is the first of its kind, will provide grants of between 10,000 and 300,000 for the upgrade and refurbishment of community centres in both urban and rural areas. Hundreds of community groups across the country have already attended online information clinics organised by the Department of Rural and Community Development since Minister Humphreys launched the Fund in April. And the Minister is today urging interested groups to submit their applications before the closing date of July 14, 2022 at 3pm. Full details are available at www.gov.ie/communitycentresfund Commenting today, Minister Humphreys said: Right across the country, there has been a huge interest shown in the new 15 million Community Centre Investment Fund. Today, Im reminding interested groups that there is now just two weeks to go for them to submit their applications. I believe this initiative will have a hugely positive impact in communities the length and breadth of the country. It will provide communities in both rural and urban areas with the support they need to upgrade and renovate their local community centre. For any community group that still has questions about their applications, Im urging you today to attend the final online information clinic which is taking place on Monday, July 11. A visitor views a painting at this year's Frieze Los Angeles in February. The fair's inaugural Seoul edition will kick off in September at COEX in southern Seoul. Courtesy of Frieze By Park Han-sol With Seoul named as the first Asian host of the Frieze Art Fair, a prestigious global platform for modern and contemporary art, the organizer of Frieze Seoul unveiled a list of participating galleries and main programs for its inaugural edition in September, Wednesday. The four-day fair will kick off on Sept. 2 at COEX in southern Seoul, running alongside Korea's largest contemporary art fair, KIAF Seoul, via a five-year-long partnership with the Galleries Association of Korea. It is the fifth international fair launched by Frieze, following Frieze Los Angeles, Frieze New York, Frieze London and Frieze Masters. Some 110 major galleries from over 20 countries plan to take part in Frieze Seoul this year. The list includes globally established players like Perrotin, Pace Gallery, Lehmann Maupin, Gladstone Gallery and Thaddaeus Ropac which have all opened new outposts in Seoul over the last six years as well as Gagosian, White Cube, David Zwirner and Hauser & Wirth, which have yet to make their ways into Korea's capital city. Also joining the event are 12 local galleries, including Arario Gallery, PKM Gallery, Kukje Gallery and Johyun Gallery. A promotional image for the upcoming Frieze Seoul / Courtesy of Frieze Along with the list of participants, Frieze Seoul has announced that the four-day event will be divided into three sections: Main, Frieze Masters and Focus Asia. Frieze Masters, under the direction of Nathan Clements-Gillespie, will be dedicated to representative art from antiquity to the late 20th century, inviting 18 galleries Seoul-based Gallery Hyundai and Hakgojae Gallery, among others to present the millennia-spanning art collection on one stage. Focus Asia, helmed by Christopher Y. Lew of the Horizon Art Foundation in Los Angeles and independent curator Jang Hye-jung, will be organized to focus on 10 of the groundbreaking creators from the continent through emerging Asian galleries that have opened their doors since 2010. Ahead of the start of the September fair, from Aug. 29, Frieze will offer international audiences chances to explore local museums, artists and cultural events across the country's capital city during Frieze Week. The opening of Frieze Art Fair in Seoul is expected to stimulate further the already booming domestic art market. With the notable surge in public interest in art sales and collecting, Korean fairs have been claiming a continuous streak of successes since last year. This year alone, both the Galleries Art Fair held in March and Art Busan in May saw record turnouts and sales once again. The former announced 17.7 billion won ($13.7 million) in sales, an increase of more than twofold compared to last year's sales, while the latter grabbed headlines after seeing 76 billion won in sales and a turnout of over 100,000 visitors. Balancing payments under the GLAS+ scheme worth 650,000 are being issued to over 3,000 Irish farmers. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue TD, announced the commencement of the payments today (Thursday June 30). Farmers receiving the payments - approximately 2,000 each - are being rewarded for undertaking environmental commitments recognised as exceptional. It represents the final 15% of GLAS+ payments and total GLAS payments last year. Announcing the news, Minister McConalogue said, "I am very pleased to be announcing the commencing of these GLAS+ balancing payments, as it means that almost 650,000 will be made to over 3,100 GLAS participants. "This payment [sic] will also bring the total payments made to date in respect of GLAS to over 1.18 billion. I am also pleased to note that over 95% of GLAS participants have now been paid in full in respect of their 2021 GLAS commitments." He added: "The delivery of environmental benefits continues to be a key objective given the number of challenges we face as regards climate change, loss of biodiversity and water quality. "Earlier this week I launched a new agri-environmental climate measure, to succeed GLAS called ACRES which is currently with the EU Commission for approval. Our intention is that this will commence on 1 January 2023. "The commitment of 1.5 billion scheme to ACRES over the lifetime of the new CAP demonstrates the commitment of the Government to facilitate the delivery of climate, environmental and biodiversity benefits while supporting farm incomes." By Anna J. Park Lotte Card has joined the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) in an effort to strengthen its environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG)-based management activities. According to the firm, Thursday, the card company joined the U.N.-backed voluntary governance framework, which is based on CEO commitments to implement universal sustainability principles and take steps to support U.N. goals. Founded in 2000, the governance framework promotes corporate social responsibility in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. Currently, 16,169 companies from 161 countries are participating in the initiative. Participating companies are obliged to submit annual progress reports about their sustainable management efforts. Now Lotte Card has become the country's second credit card company to join the UNGC, following BC Card. BC Card joined as the country's first card firm to participate in the U.N.-backed governance framework in 2015. "Lotte Card joining the UNGC aims to reflect the UNGC's 10 principles into the firm's management activities, while strengthening the firm's social commitment and ESG-principled activities to a global standard," an official from Lotte Card explained. "With them joining, the UNGC expects Lotte Card's contribution in achieving the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals as a member of the UNGC, as the firm deepens its ESG management activities," UNGC Network Korea Secretary-General Yoo Yeon-chul said. The floor where U.S private equity firm Lone Star had its offices is shown in the lobby of the former Star Tower building in southern Seoul in this file photo. Korea Times file Gov't could end up needing to pay $4.67 billion in compensation By Yi Whan-woo A multi-billion-dollar suit filed by U.S. private equity firm Lone Star against the Korean government is drawing to an end, drumming up interest over how it will turn out after a 10-year legal battle. For the Korean government, losing the suit could mean having to pay $4.67 billion to Lone Star in compensation as the American company has demanded. Lone Star has claimed it reaped less profit than expected in its sale of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) to Hana Bank in January 2012 due to a delayed approval by the Korean government. The American investor accordingly filed the lawsuit in November 2012. The compensation amount could end up being even higher due to interest accumulated over 10 years. Additionally, the Korean defendant may be asked to bear part of the litigation expenses incurred by Lone Star if it loses the case. "The cost of the legal dispute will be burdensome for the government regardless of the outcome," said Song Ki-ho, a member of Lawyers for a Democratic Society, a group consisting of progressive lawyers. His comment came as the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes declared the "termination of the proceedings" of the Korea-Lone Star lawsuit, Wednesday. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the center is a World Bank-affiliated tribunal tasked with resolution and conciliation in investor-state dispute settlements (ISDS). Four rounds of hearings on the case were held between 2015 and 2016, along with a question-and-answer session in October 2020. The termination will be followed by a verdict in the next 120 days. Lawyers for a Democratic Society sides with the view that Lone Star was allegedly linked to manipulating the stock value of KEB to buy a 51.02-percent stake in the lender at a below-market price in 2003, before selling it for 3.91 trillion won ($3 billion) to Hana Bank almost nine years later. Through the KEB sale, Lone Star made 4.7 trillion won in profit including dividends. It still argued that it ended up raising a margin much smaller than what it could have gained because the Korean government repeatedly delayed approving the sale. The U.S. investment firm tried to offload controlling its stake in KEB multiple times between 2005 and 2012, including in 2007 when the planned sale of the bank to HSBC fell through as the Financial Services Commission (FSC) postponed its approval. Lone Star also said Seoul in particular applied pressure to lower the price during the KEB sale and that taxation related to the sale was unfair. The Korean government insists that it treated Lone Star equally and fairly as in the case of domestic entities in accordance with international laws and regulations. Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Justice said the Yoon Suk-yeol administration plans to review what steps it will take after the tribunal delivers its decision. Depending on the outcome, the Lone Star case could stir up a debate over whether the three top financial officials in the Yoon administration should be held responsible. The three Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho and Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Rhee Chang-yong were directly or indirectly linked to the Lone Star case earlier in their careers. Han was an adviser to Kim & Chang, the law firm that represented Lone Star in 2003. His relationship with Kim & Chang prompted suspicion during his confirmation hearing that he had been aware of Lone Star's disputed acquisition of KEB. He denied the speculation. Choo, a career financial bureaucrat, was a mid-level official dealing with banking policy in 2003 and also the FSC vice chairman in 2012. Rhee, also the former FSC vice chairman from 2008 to 2009, was accused of failing to judge back then that Lone Star should have been disqualified as the controlling shareholder of KEB. EBRD extends US$ 60 million financing package to Bank CenterCredit Funds to promote green and small business lending Latest project under the EBRDs GEFF The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing new funds, creating growth opportunities and facilitating green lending in Kazakhstan by offering a financial package of US$ 60 million to one of the countrys largest lenders, Bank CenterCredit (BCC). It will consist of a local currency loan of up to US$ 20 million equivalent under the EBRDs Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF), designed to support domestic businesses ready to invest in climate mitigation and adaptation technologies and services. The financing will be supported by grant funding from the Climate Investment Funds. The remaining US$ 40 million (in local currency equivalent) will be provided for further on-lending to domestic micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The funds will help them to cope with the after-effects of the pandemic and will provide sustainable long-term financing for the economy of Kazakhstan. The loan will be supported by grant funds from the EU Investment Facility for Central Asia under the Regional Small Business Programme for Central Asia. The GEFF programme is part of the EBRDs Green Economy Transition (GET) approach, through which the EBRD aims to become a majority green bank by 2025. The programme operates through a network of more than 145 local financial institutions across 27 countries, supported by more than 4.6 billion of EBRD financing for 190,000 clients to date. These projects have led to annual CO 2 emission reductions of more than 8.6 million tonnes so far. In 2022 the EBRD marks 30 years since Kazakhstan joined the Bank. With more than US$ 10.3 billion invested in the country to date, this is the largest and longest-running uninterrupted banking operation of the EBRD in Central Asia. CABINET has approved a scheme which will grant maternity leave to elected members of local authorities across the country, in a move that have been hailed as one step forward for equality by a pregnant Cork city councillor. The scheme offers the choice to appoint an individual as a temporary substitute in the place of a councillor who takes a period of maternity-related absence or is absent due to illness. The substitute would have the ability to vote on behalf of the councillor, represent them at all meetings and in all other aspects of the role for the maternity leave period. Separately, if a councillor does not want to have a substitute, but would like more administrative support, Minister of State with responsibility for Local Government Peter Burke has said he is bringing forward regulations which will mean councillors will be given funding for additional administrative assistance for the duration of their maternity leave. This will mean they can pay someone on a weekly basis to assist with secretarial work. Cork city councillor Fiona Kerins said she is delighted that the proposals have been approved by Cabinet. Cllr. Fiona Kerins. At a full council meeting last year, the Sinn Fein councillor shared her experience of returning to council meetings when her daughter was just seven weeks old due to a lack of maternity leave for elected representatives, which she cited as a serious barrier to achieving gender-balanced representation in politics. Ms Kerins was also given the opportunity to address a Seanad committee to give a first-hand account of her experience being denied maternity leave in her role as a councillor. I am due a baby in October but Im not holding my breath that this will get over the finishing line by then but at least it's there going forward for whoever needs it and one step forward for equality, she said of the new policy proposals. Hopefully it might encourage women to consider a role in politics. Currently, female councillors are office-holders rather than employees and as such, they are not covered by the statutory framework for employees on issues such as maternity leave. By making a legislative provision for female councillors to access maternity leave under the Maternity Protection Act 1994, councillors will be entitled to the same rights as female employees, and those with the relevant PRSI contributions. 'WORK TO BE DONE FOR WOMEN IN POLITICS' Green Party Cork city councillor Colette Finn, who has also lobbied for maternity leave entitlements for councillors, said she hopes the new scheme will have a positive knock-on effect. In the Green Party, we place a strong emphasis on empowering women within our party. Half of our elected representatives are women, but there is so much more work that we can do for women in general in politics. This scheme will take down one barrier that women faced when getting elected to local government. This will have a positive knock-on effect for politics at large. An equal Ireland for every person can only be achieved when we have womens voices at the highest offices in local and national government and beyond, Ms Finn said. The policy proposals were informed by an all-female working group established by Minister Burke last year. The Minister welcomed the Cabinets approval of the measures which he said would address a deficit which should not exist in a 21st-century workplace. Draft legislation is now being prepared and will be passed through the Oireachtas over the coming period. By Jeon Yae-wool The Korea Times is hosting the 2022 Student Reporter Contest, sponsored mainly by ETS Korea, running from June 27 to Aug. 15. This competition is aimed to help students improve their English proficiency and have a journalistic experience to report on various issues in the medium of video. It is the third year that the English media outlet, under the main sponsorship of the ETS, creator of the TOEFL iBT test, has hosted the English video contest for students across the nation. The competition is open to middle and high school students, undergraduates and graduates. Applicants can enter the contest either individually or in teams of up to three. Those attending schools in Korea can enter the competition, but students from countries using English as an official language are ineligible. As for a topic, applicants can choose any issue or subject they regard as newsworthy whether it is a person, social issue or personal experience. The video entries should be shorter than five minutes. Applicants should upload the video footage on YouTube by Aug. 15, and access to submit the link along with the application form. The video file has no restrictions in format. Applicants are required to appear as a reporter in the video for both individual and team entries. The winners will be announced in August, and the awards ceremony will take place during September. The winners will be given prize money and a plaque, awarded by The Korea Times, ETS Korea, Education New Zealand, Incheon Global Campus (IGC), the University of Utah Asia Campus and George Mason University Korea. For more information, contact or call 02-724-2868, 2869. Jeon Yae-wool produces The Korea Times Weekly, an eight-page tabloid the newspaper publishes once a week for readers learning English with news. WHEN a Co Cork farmer terrorised his own family with a long axe, they had to lock themselves into a bedroom until they were rescued by the armed support unit. Now the accused man has been sentenced to two years and nine months imprisonment, with the final year suspended, by Judge Helen Boyle at Cork Circuit Criminal Court. There had been a safety order in place arising out of previous concerns of domestic violence and the parties are not identified because of this. The incident that gave rise to the case occurred on February 12 when the defendants sister and parents had to lock themselves in a room to avoid him after he picked up 2ft-long axe. When gardai arrived in response to the call for assistance, the accused man shouted: Get off my fucking property or I will kill you. Come here and I will finish this. The armed support unit secured the family members who were hiding out and they got them out of the house to safety. At the height of the incident, he swiped a knife in the direction of his sister and damaged his parents house. The accused had consumed a large amount of alcohol and prescription medication. The investigating garda said that the victims were afraid to make victim-impact statements and are still in fear of the accused man. You have anger issues when drunk. It is an understatement that alcohol does not suit you. Unless you address this, you will continue to come before the courts, Judge Boyle said. The judge noted from background reports that the accused was fine when sober and that his parents would accept him back in the house if he addressed his difficulties. Judge Boyle said to the accused: There is some minimisation of what you did, particularly on the impact on your family. Insight is minimal. You dont take personal responsibility when drunk. It would appear you have a long way to go to see the impact of your actions on your family, she said. You are now in custody due to your actions. You allowed alcohol to get the better of you. You wont live a long life if you continue to drink the way you are going. You are found to be a high-risk category for reoffending. You could have mistaken last nights Marquee gig for the closing scene in a coming of age movie, as prom queen, pop princess Olivia Rodrigo had the mostly teenage crowd rocking to lyrics about young love, under the dazzling lights of a giant disco ball. The Californian 19-year-old has only just graduated high school herself, but has already been rocketed into superstardom with her starring role in the High School Musical tv remake, her record breaking debut single drivers licence, and her triple Grammy award winning first album Sour. Tickets were like gold dust for Rodrigos highly anticipated Live at the Marquee gig. The Gen-Z crowd was warmed up by bubble-gum pink, space bun punk artist Baby Queen, who like Rodrigo has garnered much of her fame and young fanbase through viral online hits, with singles such as Online Dating, Buzzkill, and Colours of You the latter used to promote the Netflix series Heartstopper on TikTok. Crowd waiting for Olivia Rodrigo. Photo By Ray Keogh It was almost 9:20pm before Olivia burst on stage to her angsty teenage anthem brutal, and the electric energy in the room didnt once waver as Rodrigo made her way through every track in her repertoire. Hi Cork how are ya doing? You look so pretty, she said in her sing-song voice, adding that its the first time shes ever been to Ireland. Later in the night, while donning a sequined cowboy hat that sparkled with the Irish tricolour, she added: Youre the best crowd Ive ever seen in my life! It was a night of cathartic girl power as Olivia and her all female band rocked the big top with every viral hit from Sour, as well as her High School Musical track All I Want, and covers of Avril Lavignes Complicated, and Ready to Go by Republica. Olivia Rodrigo LATM. Pic:Ray Keogh You could hardly see tiny Rodrigo over the sea of phones snapping, FaceTiming, and TikTok-ing every second of her high octane performance, and at some points could barely hear her over the roar of adoring fans who knew every word. With billions of streams racked up on her music, the eyes of the world are on Rodrigo right now but the TikTok sensation danced across the stage like she was in her bedroom and nobody was watching - an energy matched by her screaming fans. As the curtains close and the credits roll on this years Live at the Marquee, there could have been no better final show than that of the all-American High School sweetheart, turned pink rock pop powerhouse. The American Southwest is witnessing a horrific and inexplicable phenomenon, likely due to the climate crisis: hundreds of thousands of migratory birds are dying off. The birds seem to be just falling out of the sky, as The Guardian reported. An eerie scene was captured on video and posted to the Las Cruces-Sun News in New Mexico. Journalist Austin Fisher was out on a hike on Sunday when he encountered a trail of dead birds. The New Mexico Game & Fish department has been inundated with calls from residents concerned about all the dead birds they are seeing. We started receiving calls a week ago on Tuesday the eighth and they havent really stopped since then from all across the state, said Game & Fish Department spokeswoman Tristanna Bickford, as The Santa Fe New Mexican reported. We cant say any official cause at this time. That would be pure speculation. The die-off isnt just happening in New Mexico. According to The Guardian, clusters of various dead birds, including flycatchers, swallows, bluebirds, blackbirds, sparrows and warblers have been spotted in Colorado, Texas, Arizona and Nebraska. Its just terrible, said Martha Desmond, a professor at the New Mexico State Universitys department of fish, wildlife and conservation ecology, to CNN. The number is in the six figures. Just by looking at the scope of what were seeing, we know this is a very large event, hundreds of thousands and maybe even millions of dead birds, and were looking at the higher end of that. I collected over a dozen in just a two-mile stretch in front of my house, said Desmond, as The Guardian reported. To see this and to be picking up these carcasses and realizing how widespread this is, is personally devastating. To see this many individuals and species dying is a national tragedy. While the New Mexico Game & Fish Department started receiving calls on Sept. 8, Desmonds timeline goes back to Aug. 20 when a large number of dead birds were spotted at the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range and White Sands National Monument. On the missile range we might in a week find, get a report of, less than half a dozen birds, Trish Butler, a biologist at the range, told KOB, the NBC News affiliate in Albuquerque. This last week weve had a couple hundred, so that really got our attention. According to NBC News, why exactly the mass die-off is happening is a mystery. Desmond suggested that a cold front that hit New Mexico or a recent drought might play a part. She added that the wildfires burning across the west may be a factor. There may have been some damage to these birds in their lungs. It may have pushed them out early when they werent ready to migrate, she said to NBC News. The birds migrate from Alaska and Canada to reach their winter homes in Central and South America. Besides the smoke damaging their lungs, it is possible that the wildfires forced the birds to change their pattern away from resource-rich coastal areas to a desert where the food and water they need to refuel are much more difficult to find, according to The Guardian. In other words, they may be starving, dehydrated and exhausted. The Supreme Court has restricted the ability of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to fight the climate crisis. In a 6 to 3 ruling on Thursday, the nations highest court ruled that the Clean Air Agency does not empower the EPA to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants without prior Congressional approval. Yet the decision comes on the heels of a global sweep of early heat waves that have made the necessity of climate action ever more apparent. Whatever else this Court may know about, it does not have a clue about how to address climate change, Justice Elana Kagan wrote in a scathing dissent. And lets say the obvious: The stakes here are high. Yet the Court today prevents congressionally authorized agency action to curb power plants carbon dioxide emissions. The Court appoints itself instead of Congress or the expert agency the decisionmaker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening. Here is the opinion from John Roberts in West Virginia v. EPA: https://t.co/ret7VxSSpj. The three liberal justices dissent. SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 30, 2022 The decision could have wide-ranging implications for the federal governments ability to regulate not just greenhouse gas emissions but other matters of public and environmental health, yet it all revolves around a policy that is no longer in place. The initial case, West Virginia v. EPA, was a response to the Obama-era Clean Power Plan requiring states to reduce power emissions by transitioning away from coal plants, as AP News explained. West Virginia and other Republican-led states argued that the EPA should not be able to impose a major economic shift by targeting coal plants without the say-so of elected officials, as The Guardian explained. The Supreme Court blocked the plan from going into effect while the lawsuits continued, and the Trump administrations EPA then jettisoned it entirely and took a more limited approach, according to AP News. This, in turn, was challenged by mostly Democratic states and struck down by a federal appeals court in Washington. In the end, market forces ultimately achieved the emissions reductions that the Obama administration had sought with its initial plan, as coal plants shut down on their own. West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency is a case about an environmental regulation that no longer exists, that never took effect, and that would not have accomplished very much if it had taken effect, Voxs Ian Millhiser wrote. Yet the decision could have major impacts for the regulatory state. In his opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts agreed that major social or economic shifts should be dictated by Congress, not federal agencies. Capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible solution to the crisis of the day, he wrote. But it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme. A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body. The decision was entirely along ideological lines, with the five other conservative judges siding with Roberts and the two other liberals siding with Kagan, as CNBC reported. The Biden administration has set a goal of eliminating power sector emissions which are currently around 30 percent of the U.S. total by 2035, according to AP News. Its plan to actually deal with those emissions is supposed to be completed by the end of this year. This is another devastating decision from the Court that aims to take our country backwards, White House spokesperson Abdullah Hasan said in a statement reported by Reuters. While the Courts decision risks damaging our ability to keep our air clean and combat climate change, President Biden will not relent in using the authorities that he has under law to protect public health and tackle the climate change crisis. The decision also comes as Congress has consistently failed to enact meaningful climate legislation, as a recent attempt was stymied by Republican Senators and Democratic West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, The Guardian noted. By insisting instead that an agency can promulgate an important and significant climate rule only by showing clear congressional authorization at a time when the court knows that Congress is effectively dysfunctional, the court threatens to upend the national governments ability to safeguard the public health and welfare at the very moment when the United States, and all nations, are facing our greatest environmental challenge of all: climate change, Harvard law professor Richard Lazarus told The New York Times. The decision is part of a broader trend by the current court to limit the regulatory authority of federal agencies. In recent decisions, it also shot down the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions ability to halt evictions during the coronavirus pandemic and the ability of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to enforce COVID-19 vaccination mandates for large employers. This court in one term has basically dismantled the administrative state, City University of New York law professor Rebecca Bratspies told Vox. In response to the ruling, environmental groups urged both the EPA and Congress to keep working to reduce emissions. EPA has no choice. It must make do with the authority it retains to quickly advance as robust a set of power plant standards as it can, Union of Concerned Scientists President Johanna Chao Kreilick said in a statement emailed to EcoWatch. However, climate action cannot stop there. Congress must expeditiously enact robust and equitable clean energy and climate legislation. As the mounting toll borne by communities across the country and around the world makes clear, climate change is here, today, and theres no time left to waste. Staff of the National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage place a "geompa," a hilt-shaped ornament, on top of a "chwidu," a dragon-shaped ornamental roof tile, during a press conference at the National Palace Museum of Korea, central Seoul, Wednesday. The fully intact set of the roof tile decorations, which is believed to be for royal buildings in the early Joseon era, was excavated from the mudflats of coastal Taean, South Chungcheong Province. Yonhap By Kim Rahn A dragon-shaped ornamental roof tile and a hilt-shaped ornament placed on top of it have been unearthed, the first excavation ever of a fully intact dragon-shaped roof tile decoration, according to the National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage, Wednesday. A "chwidu" and "geompa" on the roof of Injeong Gate at Changdeok Palace in Seoul / Courtesy of Cultural Heritage Administration The institute under the Cultural Heritage Administration made public the artifacts, which are believed to have adorned royal buildings early in the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom. The upper part of the roof tile, called a "chwidu," which decorated both ends of the main ridge of a building roof, was discovered in the mudflats of Cheongpodae, Taean, South Chungcheong Province, in May, and the hilt-shaped ornament placed on top of the chwidu, called a "geompa," was also found there last June. The upper part matched the lower part that had been discovered there in 2019 by a local who was collecting shells. The combined upper and lower parts also paired with other upper and lower parts the institute found nearby last June. With the finding of the geompa, the fully intact dragon-shaped roof tile decoration has now been verified. Considering that dragon patterns were used only by the royal family in early Joseon, the ornament is also expected to assist people in studying the details of royal buildings of the era. The size of the "geompa," or hilt-shaped ornament, excavated from the mudflats of Taean, South Chungcheong Province, which is believed to have adorned the roof of a royal building in early Joseon / Courtesy of Cultural Heritage Administration The excavated geompa is 40.5 centimeters long, 16 centimeters wide and 7 centimeters thick, with cloud patterns on both sides. Geompa were used to prevent rainwater from flowing inside the chwidu. It is different from several geompa that are seen in late Joseon-era royal buildings such as in Injeong Gate of Changdeok Palace that do not have any patterns on them and are much simpler in their shapes. The institute plans to conduct additional excavation work in the mudflat area and under the sea in the region until mid-August. It will continue to study whether there is a sunken ship there, as well as where the roof tiles for royal buildings were made and on which routes they were transported. Amazon's customers in the United Arab Emirates won't find listings for LGBTQ-related products on its website anymore. According to The New York Times, the Emirati government has demanded the removal of products associated with LGBTQ people and issues and has threatened to penalize Amazon if it doesn't comply by Friday. In response, the e-commerce giant has pulled individual product listings and restricted search results for over 150 keywords. The UAE criminalizes consensual same-sex relations, and punishment could include imprisonment and even the death penalty. Some of the search terms the website had restricted are broad enough to cover most items, including "lgbtq," "pride" and "closeted gay." However, some blocked search terms are more targeted, such as "transgender flag," "chest binder for lesbians" and "lgbtq iphone case." The Times says those terms didn't produce any result when the publication tried them out. In addition, Amazon blocked several books in the region. Nagata Kabi's My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness and Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist are two of the affected titles. In a statement sent to The Times, spokesperson Nicole Pampe said that as a company, Amazon remains "committed to diversity, equity and inclusion" and that it believes "that the rights of L.G.B.T.Q.+ people must be protected." Pampe added, however: "With Amazon stores around the world, we must also comply with the local laws and regulations of the countries in which we operate." Amazon is but one of the companies in the tech industry that has given in to the demands of a restrictive government in order to keep operating in a region. Netflix, for instance, previously pulled a show critical of the Saudi government, while Apple reportedly gave the Chinese government control of some of its data centers in the country. Google once developed a censored Chinese search engine called Project Dragonfly, though it ultimately terminated the initiative in 2019. Outside of regions with restrictive laws, Amazon is much less likely to remove items from its product listings. When a group of employees in Seattle called on the company to remove books that suggest kids who identify as transgender are mentally ill, Amazon said that as a bookseller, it has "chosen to offer a very broad range of viewpoints, including books that conflict with [its] company values and corporate positions." Apple has started allowing developers to use alternative payment systems for apps in South Korea, it announced. It made the move to comply with a new law in the nation requiring major app stores to allow alternative payment methods. Apple is still taking a cut from app transactions, though, albeit with a slight reduction in the fee. To use alternatives to Apple's own payment system, developers must create a special version of their apps for the Korean App Store. Apple has approved four South Korean payment providers, KCP, Inicis, Toss and NICE and any others must be approved by Apple via a request on its developer website. Certain features like Ask to Buy and Family Sharing won't be available, and Apple takes no responsibility for subscription management or refunds. Apple originally appealed the law, but eventually agreed to reduce its usual 30 percent commission to 26 percent. That effectively matches Google, which unveiled its Play Store compliance plans shortly after the law was announced with a four percent discounts on its usual commission. Apple has faced attacks on its policies over the past few years, kicked off after Epic Games sued it for removing Fortnite from the App Store. In the US, proposed Senate bills would force Apple to allow app sideloading on iOS and other measures. Last year, Apple published a 16-page report explaining why it should be able to keep its ecosystem closed. The walk from the Las Vegas Convention Center to Tacos El Gordo may only be seven-tenths of a mile but under the blazing sun of a Nevada winter, the trip can seem an eternity. Lucky for us Al Pastor enthusiasts, this traditional CES taco trek is now far more convenient as the Boring Company and Resorts World Las Vegas announced the official opening of the latest Loop station at Las Vegas Convention Center. This spur off of the Boring Company's existing Loop network (which runs underneath the North and South halls of the LVCC) connects the convention center directly to a sister station underneath the World Resorts property on the other side of South Las Vegas Blvd. Boring expects the trip between the two to take just a few minutes assuming nothing goes wrong and plans to eventually expand the underground vehicle network to more than 55 stops along the Strip. Today marks a monumental moment not only for our resort, but for Las Vegas, Scott Sibella, president of Resorts World Las Vegas, said in a Thursday press relea. Our passenger station will make a visit to our resort from the Las Vegas Convention Center easier than ever, and eventually connect us to key destinations throughout the city. The Boring Company began work on the initial $47 million tunnels running under the LVCC back in 2019, completed excavation the following May, and opened for service because of course it did on April 20th, 2022. In October, 2021 Las Vegas approved the Boring Company's plans to expand its Loop network to encompass more than 29 miles of tunnel. That figure grew to 34 miles in June, 2022 to include stations at Harry Reid International Airport and Allegiant Stadium following approval from the Clark County Commissioners. However, despite Boring CEO Elon Musk's claims of superior passenger capacity up to 4,400 people every hour! the system so far has only managed to move around 575 people in that time. A small fleet of Cruise robotaxis in San Francisco suddenly stopped operating on Tuesday night, effectively stopping traffic on a street in the city's Fillmore district for a couple of hours until employees were able to arrive. TechCrunch first noticed a Reddit post that featured a photo of the stalled driverless cabs at the corner of Gough and Fulton streets. Cruise which is General Motors AV subsidiary only launched its commercial robotaxi service in the city last week. The rides feature no human safety driver, are geo-restricted to certain streets and can only operate in the late evening hours. Cruise apologized for the incident in a statement, but gave little explanation for what caused the mishap. We had an issue earlier this week that caused some of our vehicles to cluster together, a Cruise spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch. While it was resolved and no passengers were impacted, we apologize to anyone who was inconvenienced. The GM-backed AV startup won the first driverless taxi permit in a major US city, and began offering San Francisco residents free rides in February. After launching its paid passenger service on June 24, early reviews from Cruise passengers came pouring in. One passenger noted that his Cruise car took an unusually long route to get to his home. Another passenger seemed to have a more positive experience, even leaving a cash tip for the driverless car. I got to ride in a @Cruise car (named Falafel) as an early paying customer this week! Falafel was an excellent driver and the whole ride felt safe and smooth. I couldnt find an option to tip Falafel so I just left some coins in the cup holder - hope thats ok. pic.twitter.com/OYnyTyleYl Rob Zimmerman (@robmzimmerman) June 26, 2022 This weeks traffic jam appears to be Cruises first major stumbling block, at least for its commercial service. Back in April, police stopped a Cruise car for not having its headlights on. Officers appeared unsure of how to proceed after discovering there was no human behind the wheel. The State of California requires AV companies to report any collision that involve property damage, bodily harm or death to the DMV, which publishes the data online. A total of 18 reports involving Cruise vehicles have been filed this year. If your Pixel is in need of some care, you can now buy official parts to try and fix the problem yourself. Parts and detailed repair guides for Pixel 2 and above are now available from iFixit . The parts include screens, batteries, rear cameras and charging ports. They're available a la carte and iFixit plans to offer more types of parts in the future. You can also buy Fix Kits, which iFixit says include everything that a Pixel user needs to repair their device. Each kit comes with a gizmo to open the phone and official adhesive to seal it back up. The parts have a lifetime guarantee from iFixit save for batteries, which have a one-year guarantee. At the outset, iFixit is selling the parts in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and other European countries where Google offers Pixels. The company also plans to support future Pixel models as soon as possible after launch. It will have guides and parts for Pixel 6a this fall, for instance. In addition, iFixit is selling parts wholesale to independent repair shops. Google and iFixit announced a partnership in April to offer Pixel users official parts. Apple and Samsung have also committed to enabling customers to self-repair devices. The smartphone makers made those moves amid a broader push for right-to-repair rules. Roughly 25 percent (23.4 percent to be exact) of the Earths sea floor has been mapped, thanks to an international initiative known as Seabed 2030. Relying largely on voluntary contributions of bathymetric data (or ocean topography) by governments, companies and research institutions, the project is part of a larger UN-led initiative called The Ocean Decade. Seabed 2030 hopes to map 100 percent of the ocean floor by 2030, which researchers say will be possible thanks to advances in technology and corralling already available data. Over the past year alone, Seabed 2030 has added measurements for around 3.8 million square miles (roughly the size of Europe) primarily through newly opened archives, rather than active mapping efforts. Scientists believe collecting more bathymetric data will help further our understanding of climate change and ocean preservation efforts. Ocean floor mapping also helps in the detection of tsunamis and other natural disasters. A complete map of the ocean floor is the missing tool that will enable us to tackle some of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time, including climate change and marine pollution. It will enable us to safeguard the planets future, said Mitsuyuki Unno, executive director of The Nippon Foundation in a press release. As the BBC notes, much of the data used in Seabed 2030 already existed. The group largely relies on contributions from governments and companies, though some of these entities are still reluctant to completely open up their archives for fear of spilling national or trade secrets. All the data that Seabed 2030 is collecting will be available to the public online on the GEBCO (General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans) global grid. Prior to Seabed 2030, very little directly measured ocean floor data was available for public use. Most bathymetric measurements are estimated using satellite altimeter readings, which give a very rough idea of the shape of the sea floor surface. Some scientists believe a global effort to locate the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 would have been better informed by newer, more precise methods to chart the ocean floor. The Samsung Gaming Hub is live now on 2022 Samsung smart TVs and smart monitors, and it's adding two services from Amazon to its game-streaming lineup: Twitch and Luna. Twitch is available today, while Luna is coming soon. Gamers will also be able to access Xbox Game Pass now, as well as apps for NVIDIA GeForce NOW, Google Stadia and Utomik in the same designated area on their TVs. The company plans to release details about the gaming hub's rollout to earlier Samsung smart TV models at a later date, a Samsung spokesperson confirmed to Engadget. For those who are unfamiliar with the Samsung Gaming Hub, it essentially offers players a way to access major cloud gaming services on their smart TV using only their Bluetooth controller, no console needed . Apps for both Spotify and YouTube are also included in the gaming hub. Samsung says it plans on delivering even more gaming-focused content in the future, including new partnerships. With expanding partnerships across leading game streaming services and expert curated recommendations, players will be able to easily browse and discover games from the widest selection available, regardless of platform, said Won-Jin Lee, president of Samsungs Service Business Team. Amazons Luna cloud gaming service has only been available to the general public since March, and is already available on Fire TVs. Its partnership with Samsung could give the nascent gaming service an easy way to reach people who have never used it in their homes. Twitch (which is owned by Amazon) once had an app for Samsung smart TVs, but it was retired in 2019. The platforms return to the newest Samsung smart TVs will be happy news for streamers and their fans. NATO itself is the cause of trouble, China opposes 'Asia-Pacific version of NATO': Chinese UN representative (Global Times) 08:58, June 30, 2022 Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations Zhang Jun (center) makes an address at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to tackle the situation in Ukraine on February 21, 2022. Photo: Xinhua China firmly opposes NATO's involvement in the Asia-Pacific region or the creation of an "Asia-Pacific version of NATO," said the Chinese Permanent Representative to the UN Zhang Jun during a meeting of the UN Security Council on Ukraine. Zhang said that the Ukraine crisis has once again sounded the alarm for the world that security is indivisible. The NATO eastward expansion has not only failed to make Europe secure, but sowed seeds of conflict. It is a lesson worthy of reflection, according to the UN brief on the meeting on Tuesday. While NATO leaders recently painted other countries as a threat, he stressed the organization itself is actually the cause of trouble. NATO must abandon its Cold War mentality based on bloc confrontation, he said, expressing concern over the organization's strategic adjustments. "We urge NATO to learn its lessons, not provoking camp confrontation with the excuse of Ukraine crisis, nor provoking a new Cold War, nor seeking out imaginary enemies in the Asia-Pacific region to create conflicts and divisions," Zhang said. China firmly opposes NATO's involvement in the Asia-Pacific region or the creation of an "Asia-Pacific version of NATO." The outdated Cold War cannot be replayed in the Asia-Pacific region and the ongoing warfare should not be present in the region either, Zhang noted. Countries in the Asia-Pacific cherish the hard-won peace and prosperity and look forward to mutually beneficial cooperation for common development and rejuvenation."Any attempt to go against the tide of history is doomed to fail," he stressed. On the Ukraine crisis, Zhang said it is regrettable and worrying to see the crisis is expanding and the dire humanitarian situation which comes with growing civilian casualties. Dialogue is the only viable way to end hostilities, Zhang stressed, calling on the international community to avoid contrary actions and all parties to work in concert for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Facts have illustrated that sending weapons cannot bring about peace, nor can sanctions solve the security conundrum, he said, while attempts to weaponize the world economy and pressure countries into taking sides will only divide the international community. Delaying and obstructing diplomatic negotiations for geopolitical purposes, or even adding fuel and intensifying confrontation, will only escalate the conflict and ultimately backfire, Zhang noted. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presides over a meeting of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party in Pyongyang, June 27. Yonhap North Korea lambasted an intergovernmental anti-money laundering body Thursday over its recent decision to keep the country on its list of "high-risk" jurisdictions, accusing the organization of following the U.S.' "hostile policy" against it. During its plenary meeting in Berlin from June 14 to 17, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) decided to maintain North Korea and Iran on the list of "high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action," defined as having significant deficiencies in countering money laundering, terrorist financing and financing of proliferation. "This is an unjust behavior of the organization overtly following the anti-DPRK policy of the U.S. which tries to disgrace the image of the DPRK," said Ri Jong-chol, section chief of the North's National Coordination Committee for Anti-money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism, in an English-language article carried by the Korean Central News Agency. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "The organization has run a racket of including the DPRK in the list of 'high-risk jurisdiction subject to a call for action' just like an annual event since it designated the DPRK as an 'extremely dangerous state threatening the international financial system' in 2011," Ri said. "I hope that the true cooperative relations with the organization will recover, and advise the FATF not to follow the U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK." (Yonhap) Mary Mara reportedly faced a tragic incident before drowning, the authorities confirmed. The New York State Police released a press statement following the discovery of Mara's body in the St. Lawrence River. It revealed that they conducted a preliminary investigation and determined that there were no signs of foul play. However, it said that the investigation was still ongoing. A few days after Mara's tragic death, her representative disclosed further details about the heartbreaking event. In an exclusive interview with a news outlet, the actress's representative Craig Dorfman said that the authorities concluded that the abrasions on her face and body suggested she probably died after suffering blunt head trauma. Police assumed that she slipped while trying to get out of the water and hit her head, causing loss of consciousness. With that, she fell back into the water and drowned. However, PEOPLE later confirmed that the report was inaccurate, with the police saying there were no signs of trauma on her body when she was found. As of press time, the authorities have concrete evidence of what object hit her head - or she hit as she fell - they clarified that no foul play was involved. "The preliminary investigation suggests the victim drowned while swimming. The victim's body showed no signs of foul play and was transported to the Jefferson County Medical Examiner's Office pending an autopsy to determine an official cause of death. The investigation is continuing," the previous release said. The 61-year-old's representative also said that they do not believe drugs or alcohol were involved in the accident. Mary Mara's Cause of Death Following the report about the actress's head trauma, a New York State Police Troop D spokesperson shared an updated statement revealing Mary Mara's cause of death. The autopsy findings stated that "Ray Donovan" star died of asphyxiation, or suffocation, due to drowning. READ ALSO: Amber Heard Broke: Actress Desperate To Sell THIS Gift From Elon Musk To Settle Her Debts "The Jefferson County Medical Examiner's Office performed a post-mortem examination and determined that Mary Mara's manner of death was an accident, due to asphyxiation, and water drowning. The investigation is continuing," the spokesperson went on. Her death came after the actress served decades of her life appearing in several shows, including "NYPD Blue," "Judging Amy," "The West Wing," "Nip/Tuck," "Star Trek: Enterprise," "The Practice," and "Gideon's Crossing," among others. She is survived by her two sisters, Martha and Susan Mara, and their extended families. READ MORE: Johnny Depp New Movie Coming Soon: Actor Spotted in Paris After Snubbing 'Pirates' The Matilda The Musical movie has officially announced its release date. Matilda is a classic. Every generation has their own connection to the young, smart, magically equipped girl. Since the time the book by Roald Dahl was written, it seems that every possible iteration of the show has been made. A film was created in 1996 which broadened the audience of the show. Then, in 2010, Matilda the Musical was created for the stage. The realm of the musical was just what this character needed to take it to new heights. Now, in 2022, the musical is heading back to the movie screen. Matilda the Musical will be released in movie form, and the release date of this phenomenal show has just been announced. Matilda the Musical movie will premiere at the ever iconic BFI London Film Festival. It's world premiere will be on October 5th. The movie will screen at the Southbank Centre in the Royal Festival Hall. After this premiere at the 66th annual BFI London Film Festival, the movie will spread all over the world. It will open to the public theatrically in the UK on December 2nd. Then, it will start streaming on Netflix presumably later on in December or in early January. The Netflix release date has not yet been officially announced. We are so excited to see Matilda's audience continue to grow. It continues to show the world with optimism and smarts, everything is possible. We will keep you up to date on all things Matilda the Musical as they come to light. NATO SUMMIT AND RUSSIA-CHINAS GROWING INFLUENCE IN AFRICA While Russias invasion of Ukraine has dominated the NATO summit in Madrid, the alliances new Strategic Concept its main working document for the next decade is having to contend with Russia and Chinas growing influence in Africa. As the host of the summit taking place this week (27-29 June), Spain has emphasized its proximity to Africa as it lobbies for a greater focus on Europes southern flank in a new document outlining NATOs vision of its security challenges and tasks. Spain and other member nations are quietly pushing the Western alliance to consider how the likes of Russias Wagner mercenaries are spreading Kremlins influence to the continent, while China quietly strengthens its own presence.vThe Strategic Concept is NATOs most important document after the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949. The security assessment is updated roughly every decade to reset the Wests security agenda. The current version, approved in Lisbon in 2010, stated the risk of a conventional war on NATO territory was low. It did not explicitly mention concerns about instability in Africa. But there appears to be a consensus among NATO members heading into the Madrid summit that while Russia remains concern No. 1, the alliance must continue to widen its view globally. Spains position for an increased focus on the South is shared by the UK, France and Italy. WAGNER GROUPS ALLEGED ATROCITIES IN CONFLICT-STRICKEN COUNTRIES Russia has gained traction thanks to the presence of its mercenaries in the Sahel region, a semiarid expanse stretching from Senegal to Sudan that suffers from political strife, terrorism and drought. The Kremlin denies links to the Wagner Group, despite decorating its leadership and allowing it to train on Russian Ministry of Defence property, and the groups front-and-centre participation in the 2014 annexation of Ukraines Crimean peninsula and war in the Donbas. The private military company with links to neo-Nazis and far-right extremists has also participated in the war in Syria and has since developed footholds in Libya, Mali, Sudan and the Central African Republic. In Mali, Wagner soldiers are filling a void created by the exit of former colonial power France. In Sudan, Russias offer of an economic alliance earned it the promise of a naval base on the Red Sea. In the Central African Republic, Wagner fighters protect the countrys gold and diamond mines. In return, Putin gets diplomatic allies and resources. In recent weeks, reports have emerged of indiscriminate attacks and arrests by the Russians, which suggest that things had reached breaking point again. The refugees crossing the border from Mali to Mauritania Al Jazeera spoke to had reported that they were fleeing violence by the armed groups, the Malian army or fighters affiliated with it, and reported no connection to Wagner. Multiple refugees also either cited the Russians specifically as a threat or said the security situation in Malis decade-long war has gotten worse since Wagner mercenaries arrived. GERMANY RETURNS AFRICAS STOLEN ART In the 19th and 20th centuries, European powers colonized the African continent and plundered its cultural artefacts on a massive scale. Pieces of great local significance were pillaged by invading soldiers, seized by the colonial authorities, or taken by Christian missionaries. The Europeans then put these works on display in their museums, in ethnographic exhibitions labelled Negro Art. But now priceless artefacts taken from Cameroon, Namibia and Tanzania during colonial times will be permanently returned, Germany says. The Berlin-based Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which manages the German capitals many museums, has said recently it had entered into negotiations on the returns of artefacts to Namibia, Tanzania and Cameroon. The foundations president, Hermann Parzinger, welcomed the move to return the artefacts. The decision makes clear that the issue of the return of items collected in a colonial context does not always come down to injustice, he said, adding that the special significance in particular spiritual of an artefact for the community it originated from may also justify return. OSLO, Norway, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Aker Solutions has been awarded a strategic partnership agreement with Var Energi to deliver subsea production systems for all upcoming subsea projects for the next five years, for all Var Energi operated assets and projects on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The agreement has an option to be extended for a further 2+2 years. The scope of the agreement includes the full range of equipment and services to deliver complete subsea production systems, including umbilicals, all based on Aker Solutions' standard product portfolio. It also includes front-end engineering and design work (FEED) for the upcoming field developments. The work under the frame agreement is expected to start during 2022. Var Energi is a pure-play Norwegian operator producing nearly 250,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day from a robust portfolio of 36 producing fields. With the producing fields and an active ownership in 148 licenses, the company is well positioned for value-adding growth - expecting a production growth to 350,000 boe by 2025. The strategic partnership model is built on a one-for-all and all-for-one principle and contrasts with the conventional model of separate contracts with split scope and responsibilities. Var Energi is seeking increased overall collaboration with suppliers throughout the value chain with a clear ambition of more sustainable and efficient production of oil and gas. "This agreement with Var Energi builds on our strong track-record in working in partnerships and alliances and demonstrates the benefits of our standardized product portfolio," said Maria Peralta, executive vice president and head of Aker Solutions' subsea business. "We are excited to work for a customer who shares our high ambitions for sustainable solutions. In the tendering for this contract, we have experienced that Var Energi has taken a leading role among oil companies to weigh the sustainability in proposed solutions from suppliers. This is a market development which creates new opportunities to use our expertise for both increased competitiveness and for growing our business activities. We have worked with Var Energi for many years on the NCS and we look forward to continuing our relationship and creating value and enhancing performance on their upcoming Subsea projects. With their hub-centric strategy, we see large opportunities for subsea tie-backs moving forward." The value of the work to be called off under the frame agreement will only be recognized by Aker Solutions as order intake when each new project is called off, in the Subsea segment. The total value of work called off during the lifetime of the frame agreement is expected as a minimum to correspond to what Aker Solutions defines as a significant1 contract award. 1Aker Solutions defines a significant contract as being between NOK 1.5 billion and NOK 2.5 billion CONTACT: Media Contact:Torbjrn Andersenmob: +4792885542 email: torbjorn.andersen@akersolutions.com Investor Contact:Fredrik Berge mob: +4745032090 email: fredrik.berge@akersolutions.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/aker-solutions-asa/r/aker-solutions-wins-5-year-partnership-agreement-with-var-energi,c3594244 President Yoon Suk-yeol met with Polish President Andrzej Duda, Wednesday, and lauded the two countries' "strategic" partnership across diverse sectors, including the defense industry. During the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Madrid, the two leaders discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation and a range of global issues, including North Korea's nuclear weapons program, the presidential office said. "I am very pleased that our two countries' relationship has been deepened to a strategic partnership in various areas from education and infrastructure investment to energy and the defense industry, based on mutual friendship and trust," Yoon said. Duda expressed the hope that the relationship will expand even further through their meeting. Yoon asked the Polish president to take a special interest in some 300 South Korean businesses operating in Poland in the electronics, car battery and IT sectors, and also expressed hope for close cooperation between the two countries on the construction of a new airport in Poland. The two leaders agreed to explore ways to cooperate on nuclear power and liquefied natural gas carriers as part of efforts to achieve carbon neutrality and establish energy security. On North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Yoon asked for Poland's continued interest and cooperation. Duda expressed his support for the South Korean government's efforts to bring peace to the peninsula and promised to continue to work with Yoon's administration. (Yonhap) PARIS and NEW YORK and SAN FRANCISCO, June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Moet Hennessy, the world leading luxury wines and spirits division of LVMH, is pleased to announce the addition of Joseph Phelps Vineyards to its portfolio. This acquisition follows Moet Hennessy's development strategy, which aims to satisfy its consumers and distribution partners' aspirations with an increasingly diversified and comprehensive portfolio, adding Houses with strong values of excellence, craftsmanship and heritage. Founded by Joseph Phelps in 1973, the Napa and Sonoma-based wine collection is one of the most respected and acclaimed in the United States. It has made its way to the best tables and cellars across the country, and its legendary Insignia, a Bordeaux-style Napa-grown blend, is considered one of the most sought-after and desirable fine wines in the world. Moet Hennessy plans to build on the admirable legacy established by Joseph Phelps, his children and grandchildren, maintaining the shared values of quality, craftsmanship, entrepreneurship and a focus on sustainability. After the closing of the acquisition, the entirety of the Joseph Phelps collection of exceptional Napa Valley and Sonoma Coast wines will be welcomed by Moet Hennessy's customers, alongside its outstanding multi-centennial Champagnes and its growing offer of exceptional still wines from Europe and the New World. Philippe Schaus, Chairman and CEO of Moet Hennessy declares: "We are delighted and very proud to welcome Joseph Phelps Vineyards to our portfolio of luxury wines and spirits. Through the combination of the wonderful vineyards of Joseph Phelps, the unrivalled experience and excellence of the Joseph Phelps team, and the support of our global distribution organization and unique expertise with premium, family-owned brands, we will continue the wonderful journey initiated by the founder fifty years ago and pursued by his heirs today. Joseph Phelps has been to the Napa Valley what Nicolas Ruinart, Mrs Clicquot, Joseph Krug and Claude Moet were to the Champagne region, and likewise we will continue to develop this new House in the respect of the founder's heritage and vision." The Phelps Family commented, "Our father founded Joseph Phelps Vineyards in 1973 with a passion for innovation, an unwavering commitment to quality, and joie de vivre. Nearly 50 years later, we're proud to have grown from a 600-acre cattle ranch and early pioneer of the Napa Valley to a critically acclaimed and internationally known producer of iconic wines. As we plan for the next 50 years, we believe that passing the care of this crown jewel of the Napa Valley and Sonoma Coast to Moet Hennessy will build on our family's legacy well into the future. During our discussions with Moet Hennessy, it was abundantly clear that they value and embrace all of our brilliant and dedicated team members and, most importantly, are committed to ensuring that our founding mission and values remain at the heart of Joseph Phelps Vineyards." About Joseph Phelps Vineyards Joseph Phelps founded his namesake winery in 1973, and quickly established himself as a pioneer and creative visionary in the Napa Valley wine industry in its early days of development. A year later, he started producing Insignia, the red blend in the exclusive Bordeaux style of California. Since then, Insignia has been critically acclaimed for its iconic vintages, and four times rewarded with Robert Parker Wine Advocate's perfect 100-point scores for the 1991, 1997, 2002 and 2007 vintages. Joseph Phelps Vineyards consists of an estate recognized worldwide for the quality of all of its wines, with 200 hectares of its own vines spread over eleven vineyards in the Napa Valley and 30 hectares spread over two vineyards in Sonoma Valley. With a focus on innovation and commitment to excellence, Joseph Phelps Vineyards today is synonymous with best-in-class California winemaking and continues to embody the pioneering spirit and extraordinary legacy of its founder. About Moet Hennessy Moet Hennessy is the wines and spirits division of LVMH, which also holds renowned wine estates through "LVMH Vins d'Exceptions". Regrouping twenty-five Maisons, recognized internationally for the richness of their terroirs, the quality of their products and the craftsmanship with which they are created, Moet Hennessy has been committed for many years to its environmental and social program, Living Soils Living Together. Ao Yun, Arbeg, Armand de Brignac, Belvedere, Bodega Numanthia, Cape Mentelle, Chandon, Chateau d'Esclans, Chateau Galoupet, Cheval des Andes, Clos19, Cloudy Bay, Dom Perignon, Eminente, Glenmorangie, Hennessy, Krug, Mercier, Moet & Chandon, Newton, Ruinart, Terrazas de los Andes, Veuve Clicquot, Volcan de mi Tierra, Woodinville. https://www.linkedin.com/company/moethennessy Contact:Moet HennessyAlain LavitalPublic Relations & Partnerships Directoralavital@moethennessy.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1850833/2018_Insignia__photo_credit_Briana_Maria.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1850834/2018_Insignia_BMwood_box_photo_credit_Briana_Maria.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1850835/home_ranch_tractor_hillside__photo_credit_Matt_Morris.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1850836/Winery_Sunset_photo_credit_Matt_Morris.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1660736/Moet_Hennessy_Logo2.jpg - Second large-scale trial shows greater reduction in tinnitus symptom severity using bimodal neuromodulation device, Lenire - 91% of treatment compliant participants experienced improvement in tinnitus symptoms that sustained 12 months after treatment - 87.8% said they would recommend treatment to others with tinnitus DUBLIN, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Neuromod Devices Limited, the Irish medical device company specialising in the treatment of tinnitus, has published the results of the company's TENT-A2 (Treatment Evaluation of Neuromodulation for Tinnitus Stage A2) clinical trial in the highly regarded scientific journal, Nature Scientific Reports in a paper titled: "Different bimodal neuromodulation settings reduce tinnitus symptoms in a large randomized trial." The full paper is available here: TENT-A2 results[1]. Tinnitus, commonly referred to as "ringing in the ears" is thought to affect between 10 15% of the global adult population[2,3]. The TENT-A2 trial, which included 191 participants, is the company's second large-scale clinical trial and sought to replicate and further enhance the results demonstrated in the company's TENT-A1 trial, a study that evaluated the safety and efficacy of Lenire, the company's non-invasive bimodal neuromodulation device in 326 participants. The publication of the TENT-A2 results in Nature Scientific Reports follows on from the publication of the TENT-A1 results as the cover story in Science Translational Medicine in 2020 (the full TENT-A1 results paper is available here: TENT-A1 results)[4]. This second major publication continues Neuromod's strategy to establish the clinical credibility of bimodal neuromodulation through publishing large-scale clinical trials in top-tier peer-reviewed journals. The TENT-A2 study investigated if changing treatment stimuli after six weeks of treatment would result in greater improvement in tinnitus symptoms than observed in the TENT-A1 study, during which participants were treated with the same stimuli for the entire 12-week treatment period. In the TENT-A1 study, treatment compliant participants demonstrated a mean improvement that was more than twice the published clinically important improvement. In the TENT-A2 study, 95% of treatment compliant participants achieved a greater average improvement in symptoms compared to TENT-A1[1,4,5] and almost three times the published clinically important improvement. 91% of treatment compliant participants achieved an improvement that sustained 12 months after treatment concluded[1,5]. TENT-A2 is the second large-scale clinical trial validating the safety, with high patient satisfaction and tolerability, of bimodal neuromodulation as a treatment for tinnitus while also demonstrating greater efficacy in reducing tinnitus symptoms through optimised treatment regimens compared to the first large-scale trial. Bimodal neuromodulation is the stimulation of nerves with two paired stimuli for therapeutic purposes. The tinnitus treatment device that was used in the study, known as Lenire and available commercially throughout Europe, was developed by Neuromod. It consists of wireless (Bluetooth) headphones that deliver sequences of audio tones to both ears, combined with electrical stimulation pulses delivered to the surface of the tongue via 32 electrodes on a proprietary device trademarked as Tonguetip. The device's settings can be configured to provide treatment with different combinations of audio and electrical stimuli. The timing, intensity and delivery of the stimuli are controlled by an easy-to-use handheld controller that each participant is trained to use prior to continuing treatment from home. Before using the treatment for the first time, the device is configured to the patient's hearing profile and optimised to the patient's sensitivity level for tongue stimulation. Similarly to TENT-A1, participants in the TENT-A2 trial were instructed to use Lenire for 60 minutes each day for 12 weeks. However, after an initial six weeks of treatment, the timing and delivery of the audio and tongue stimuli were changed for participants of the TENT-A2 trial for their remaining six weeks of treatment. In TENT-A1, the stimulation setting remained the same for the full 12 weeks of treatment. This change in treatment regimen resulted in a greater average reduction in tinnitus symptom severity achieved by treatment compliant participants[1,4,5]. The study was conducted at the Wellcome Trust-HRB Clinical Research Facility, St. James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland with no treatment-related Serious Adverse Events (SAEs) reported and a high treatment compliance. Out of 191 enrolled participants, 83.8% used the device at or above the minimum compliance level over the 12-week treatment period[1]. When treatment was completed, participants returned their devices and were assessed at three follow-up appointments up to 12 months. 70.3% of the 172 participants who filled out the exit survey said they had benefited from using the treatment and 87.8% said they would recommend other people with tinnitus to try the treatment[1]. Participants were screened and selected based on a pre-defined list of inclusion and exclusion criteria that enrolled a representative sample of the wider tinnitus population. Further information about the criteria can be found using identifier NCT03530306 at https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Speaking on the news, Dr Ross O'Neill, Founding CEO of Neuromod, said, "We're delighted to announce the publication of positive results from the TENT-A2 clinical trial which show greater improvement in tinnitus symptoms from treatment with Lenire. Tinnitus remains one of the largest unmet clinical needs globally and I'm proud that Neuromod is at the forefront of developing bimodal neuromodulation technology to treat chronic tinnitus. Publishing two large-scale clinical trials in internationally-recognised peer-reviewed journals with positive results for a tinnitus treatment device is a historic milestone, and we're committed to continuing our research in this area to further improve patient outcomes." Hubert Lim, Chief Scientific Officer at Neuromod, commented, "I am proud of our company's ability to build on our prior research by enrolling 191 participants in another large-scale clinical trial that showed even greater improvements in tinnitus symptoms compared to our previous large-scale study when adjusting the stimulation regimen over time. The successful completion of two large-scale trials is a major milestone in our continuing work to develop a treatment to help as many people living with tinnitus and in further demonstrating bimodal neuromodulation as a safe and effective intervention for people living with the condition." About Neuromod Devices Ltd Founded in 2010, Neuromod Devices Ltd. is a medical technology company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Neuromod specialises in the design and development of neuromodulation technologies to address the clinical needs of underserved patient populations who live with chronic and debilitating conditions. The lead application of Neuromod's technology is in the field of tinnitus, where Neuromod has completed extensive clinical trials to confirm the efficacy of its non-invasive neuromodulation platform in this common disorder. Neuromod's tinnitus treatment device, Lenire, is currently available throughout Europe. For more information, visit www.neuromoddevices.com. About Lenire Lenire is the first non-invasive bimodal neuromodulation tinnitus treatment device shown to soothe and relieve tinnitus in a large-scale clinical trial4. Lenire has CE-mark certification for the treatment of tinnitus under the supervision of an appropriately qualified healthcare professional in Europe. Further details about Lenire including a list of providers can be found at www.lenire.com. About Nature Scientific Reports Scientific Reports is an open access journal publishing original research from across all areas of the natural sciences, psychology, medicine and engineering and a member of the Nature family of research journals. Scientific Reports is the 6th most-cited journal in the world, with more than 540,000 citations in 20206, and receives widespread attention in policy documents and the media. Connect with Neuromod Devices Ltd:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/neuromod Twitter: twitter.com/NeuromodDevices Neuromod Devices website: neuromoddevices.com Lenire website: lenire.com References 1. Conlon et al., Different bimodal neuromodulation settings reduce tinnitus symptoms in a large randomized trial, Sci Rep, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-13875-x (2022).2. Baguely et al., Tinnitus, The Lancet (2013), https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673613601427.3. McCormack, A., Edmondson-Jones, M., Somerset, S. & Hall, D. A systematic review of the reporting of tinnitus prevalence and severity. Hear Res. 337, 7079. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heares.2016.05.009 (2016).4. Conlon et al., Sci. Transl. Med. 12, eabb2830 (2020). 5. As measured by Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI). 6. 2020 Journal Citation Reports Science Edition (Clarivate Analytics, 2021). Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1850706/Neuromod_Devices_1.jpgPhoto - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1850705/Neuromod_Devices_2.jpgPDF - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1850707/Neuromod_Devices.pdf For more information, please contact: Neil Doyle Global Director of Marketing Neuromod Devices +353 85 822 9021neil.doyle@neuromoddevices.com WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that an Obama-era rule forcing power plants to curtail carbon emissions exceeded limits on executive power, restricting the ability of President Joe Biden and future administrations to fight climate change. In a 6-3 ruling, the court said under existing federal pollution laws the Environmental Protection Agency could not set industry-wide limits on carbon emissions, calling the EPA's rulemaking, "unprecedented and a fundamental revision" of the Clean Air Act, which Congress last updated in 1990. "Precedent teaches that there are 'extraordinary cases' in which the 'history and the breadth of the authority that [the agency] has asserted,' and the 'economic and political significance' of that assertion, provide a 'reason to hesitate before concluding that Congress' meant to confer such authority," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts. RELATED: SCOTUS set to hear climate change case that may significantly alter Texas' oil and gas industry The ruling has implications far beyond the nation's power sector, extending to the oil and gas industry, a pillar of the Texas economy. From refineries along the Houston Ship Channel to oil and gas fields in West Texas, the industry and the fuels it produces are among the biggest source of greenhouse gases in the country. The court did not go as far as some in the oil industry might have hoped, leaving intact federal agencies' authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. But the ruling potentially signaled a broader skepticism among the court's conservative majority on climate regulation at-large, said David Adelman, a law professor at the University of Texas. "You don't have to overturn Massachusetts vs. EPA in one fell swoop. You can do it in little bits that are hard for the general public to understand," he said, referring to the 2007 Supreme Court ruling that EPA has authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. "With this court, it's more than plausible that's the direction they would take." The decision comes as the Biden administration is seeking to set the nation on the path to net-zero emissions by mid century, as scientists say is necessary to avoid cataclysmic destruction from climate change. The first major climate case to be heard by the Supreme Court since conservatives gained a wide majority during the Trump administration, the case is seen as a bellwether on how far the nation's highest court will allow the White House to go in addressing climate change. Writing in dissent, Justice Elana Kagan, joined by justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor, said today's decision, "strips the EPA of of the power Congress gave it to respond to 'the most pressing environmental challenge of our time.'" With Congress deadlocked on climate legislation, Biden and former president Barack Obama relied on authority granted them under the Clean Air Act to order industry to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Republicans in states like Texas have sought to block that strategy, maintaining that the White House was overstepping its authority and that it was up to Congress to decide how to address climate change. Last year a group of Republican state attorneys general, including Ken Paxton of Texas, filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the Obama-era rule forcing power plants to reduce emissions, which the Supreme Court already stayed in 2016 and was left dormant during the Trump administration. Texas Governor Greg Abbott was one of a number Republicans cheering the ruling Thursday. "Todays landmark victory against an out-of-control administration is also a big win for Americans who worry about skyrocketing energy costs due to expensive federal regulations that threaten our energy industry," he said in a statement. "President Biden cannot keep attacking the energy industry and the hardworking men and women who power our nation. So far Congress has struggled to find agreement on climate change, with many Democrats looking for sweeping limits on carbon emissions, while Republicans largely seek to limit federal intervention to funding for the development of clean energy technology, One exception is a bipartisan group of senators that includes Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat, and Mitt Romney, the Utah Republican, who have been debating policies including a carbon fee on imports. Following Thursday's ruling, some members of that group called for Congress to come to agreement on climate change. "The Supreme Court made the right choice putting the ball in Congress court. We must address the connection between U.S. energy development, affordability, and lowering global emissions," said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louis. S.A. VOTES Voter Guide: What to know for the Texas runoff election A breakdown of key state and local races and candidates in the May 24 primary runoff. While Thursday's ruling was directed at EPA's jurisdiction over the power sector, lawyers were already predicting other polluting industries would use the ruling to challenge federal efforts to control their emissions. Asked for comment, a spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute, the oil sector's largest lobbying group, declined to address the ruling itself but said the industry would, "continue to work with policymakers across the federal government in support of smart regulations that build on the progress weve made on CO2 emissions reductions." Power sector emissions are already declining, with wind and solar installations far outpacing the development of traditional power generation. Coal plants, among the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, are being replaced by cleaner-burning natural gas turbines. But this progress is not happening fast enough to achieve the emissions targets that scientists say are necessary to avoid the worst effects of climate change. The Biden administration has been working on a revised version of Obama's Clean Power Plan, with the goal of achieving a net zero emissions power sector by 2030. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said Thursday that work would continue, commenting the agency was, "committed to using the full scope of EPAs authorities to protect communities and reduce the pollution that is driving climate change." One option would be to use the EPA's established authority over other forms of air pollution to indirectly put a check on carbon dioxide emissions. Another strategy would be to begin requiring coal and natural gas fired power plants to install carbon capture equipment. Whether the Supreme Court would allow such a regulation remains to be seen, said Victor Flatt, a law professor at the University of Houston. "That is really hard to predict and it might actually depend on how expensive and doable (carbon capture) is," he said. "In this ruling, they're requiring Congress to be more explicit in regulating greenhouse gas emissions." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Heres a look at whats new or notable in home video. Movies and TV series are available on streaming sites such as iTunes, Amazon and Vudu unless otherwise noted. Crawlspace: San Antonio native Henry Thomas gets a break from the Netflix horror beat (The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, etc.) to star in this quick and dirty thriller. He plays a plumber who witnesses a murder while working in the space under the floor of a remote cabin. He must use his wits and a few power tools to survive. Fortunately for him, the bad guys could be trying out for a backwoods production of Home Alone, and at 50, Thomas looks fit enough to take on more serious competition. Another familiar face in the cast is Jennifer Robertson, Jocelyn Schitt on Schitts Creek, who plays a deputy sheriff. Available to buy or rent from digital retailers. More Information Also streaming Here are some more notable movies newly available on streaming services: Recent movies "Bohemian Rhapsody": Rami Malek won an Oscar for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury, one of rock's greatest front men, in this biopic of the band Queen. Hulu "House of Gucci": Extravagant fashions, ostentatious wealth and Lady Gaga are the main attractions of this fact-based drama, directed by Ridley Scott, about a woman who nearly destroyed the famous Italian fashion house. Available Saturday in Amazon Prime Video "Last Night in Soho": A lonely girl (Thomasin McKenzie) who's mad about London's Swinging Sixties dreams her way into the past and a life-threatening mystery in this elegant horror film. HBO Max Vintage movies "Big Trouble in Little China": Horror master John Carpenter detours into action comedy in this romp about a trucker (Kurt Russell) who gets crosswise with supernatural forces in the Chinatown underground. It's a fan favorite. Hulu "Flesh and Bone": Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, who were married at the time, star in this Texas-set drama about a man haunted by his horrific past. Paramount+ "Jennifer's Body": A flop when it was released in 2009, Diablo Cody's horror movie is now considered a cult classic. It's about a high school student (Amanda Seyfried) who suspects something is wrong with her popular friend Jennifer (Megan Fox). Amazon Prime Video "Mean Girls": Tina Fey wrote this 2004 high school comedy about a new girl (Lindsay Lohan) who has to learn how to navigate her school's cliques and rivalries. Netflix See More Collapse RELATED: Joaquin Castro told a dad joke on Cristela Alonzos new Netflix comedy special New Blu-ray Firestarter: The most interesting thing about Firestarter, for those not familiar with Stephen Kings 1980 novel or the 1984 movie based on it starring Drew Barrymore, is its clear influence on the hit Netflix series Stranger Things. Its about a girl named Charlie with terrible psychic powers: she starts fires with her mind. Shes on the run with her father from the clandestine government agency that gave her those powers. This remake, starring Zac Efron as the dad and 12-year-old Ryan Kiera Armstrong as his flame-throwing kid, is just good enough to keep viewers engaged for its 90-minute running time, but it lacks the folksy character development of a good King yarn and is missing the innovative approach to horror typical of other Blumhouse Productions films. Little Ryans got a big scream, though; there may be more scary movies in her future. Now available on Blu-ray and DVD. MORE LIKE THIS: Musicians who played Taco Land in San Antonio reunite in art exhibit at Blue Star studio Notable reissue Fire in the Sky: A younger Henry Thomas has an encounter with aliens that resemble E.T. but are much less personable in this 1993 science-fiction (or is it?) movie. His teenage character is part of a crew of loggers who claim a flying saucer kidnapped their buddy Travis (D.B. Sweeney). The residents of the small Arizona town where they live suspect they abandoned him in the woods or worse until he shows up a few days later, naked and disoriented. Hot on the heels of 1991s Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Robert Patrick gives a strong performance as the head of the logging crew, whose life is upended by the incident. The movie is based on a book by the real-life Travis Walton, who says he really was abducted by aliens. (A harrowing scene of a shipboard experiment could be a memory or just a nightmare). Like a good episode of The X Files, the movie never really settles the question what you think happened may depend on what you believe going in. Now available on Blu-ray; also streaming on Amazon Prime Video This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The best hot dogs are the dogs that fire up memories of good times. Just ask Kent Oliver, owner of The Dakota East Side Ice House. When Oliver lived in Laredo, hed dash across the border to party at El Club Firenzi in Nuevo Laredo. Outside the club, there was this hot dog stand. Nothing special, except it sold a dog dressed out in bacon, avocados, onions, jalapenos and paint-by-number sauces perfect for taking the edge off the night. Those Nuevo Laredo nights live on with The Dakotas Firenzi Dogs, among the top 10 best hot dogs in San Antonio, a group that includes dogs from a late-night street cart, a River Walk favorite, a tiny walk-up on the South Side and everybodys favorite wholesale club. You dont have to wait for July Fourth to appreciate a great hot dog. But its not a bad place to start. Here are the 10 best, ranked. Mike Sutter / Staff 10. Costco: All-beef hot dog The official line is that you have to be a Costco member to get this killer $1.50 deal on a quarter-pound beef dog with a 20-ounce soda. The unofficial line is that some people just sneak in the exit where the concession stand lives. Im not advocating that kind of shady shuffle, but I am advocating a big, fat, perfectly steamed dog on a soft sesame bun with all the mustard, relish and ketchup you can pump from the condiment counter while you dodge shopping carts piled with kids, 100-pound bags of dog food, tube socks and a Roomba. 5611 UTSA Blvd., 210-200-2050, more locations at costco.com On ExpressNews.com: The best plant-based vegan hot dogs and sausages for 4th of July cookouts Mike Sutter / Staff 9. The Shack: Enchilada Dog San Antonios not exactly a hot dog town. Its an enchilada town. The Shack understands. And the Enchilada Dog at this shop on Loop 410 by Military Drive is exactly what it says: a perfect cheese enchilada piled on a split Nathans all-beef frank in a hot dog bun. Its like that old Reeses Peanut Butter Cup commercial with Robbie Benson: Hey, you got chocolate in my peanut butter! Two great tastes that go great together. 7431 NW Loop 410, Suite 115, 210-375-4097, theshacksatx.com Mike Sutter / Staff 8. Dog Haus: T-Mex This big, bright, beer-happy California chain rolled into San Antonios Stone Oak with a hot dog that has arugula. Whatever. But it also had the good sense to make dogs that speak to its Texas audience. The T-Mex piles an aromatic beef chorizo and pepper Jack sausage with jalapenos, slaw, avocado, chipotle aioli and pickled red peppers a riot of colors, flavors and textures tamed by the doughnut-shop sweetness of a Kings Hawaiian Roll bun. 20907 Stone Oak Parkway, 210-257-8809, more locations at doghaus.com Mike Sutter / Staff 7. Schilos: Riverwalk Kraut Dog They sell happiness by the foot at Schilos, a German delicatessen that wandered down near the River Walk more than 100 years ago. The Riverwalk Kraut Dog starts with a foot-long beef hot dog wrapped end-to-end in bacon, then piled with sauerkraut and fat chunks of sour pickles. Hoist a frosty mug of housemade root beer and confuse the kids at the table by shouting Prost! 424 E. Commerce St., 210-223-6692, schilos.com Mike Sutter / Staff 6. Broadway Delicatessen: Jersey City Dog Is Broadway Delicatessen downtown a pizza parlor, a sandwich joint or a hot dog stand? The answer is yes. Owner Arnold Mendoza parlayed his youthful travels along the East Coast into a shop that understands all three, a spirit captured by the Jersey City Dog. Its a union of styles: the tangy red marinara of a pizza, the spicy Italian sausage of a good East Coast dog and the sour bite of pickled giardiniera youd get from an Italian sandwich, all held together by melted provolone on a soft sandwich roll. 122 Broadway, 210-455-8388, broadwaydelisa.com On ExpressNews.com: 7 San Antonio restaurants and shops serving great slices of pie for 4th of July Mike Sutter / Staff 5. El Weinecero: Perro Caliente At the downtown hot dog cart El Weinecero at 10 oclock on a Friday night, a young woman walked up and said, I heard about you guys on TikTok. What? A hot dog cart with mad social media skills? Thats the secret weapon for siblings Robert Espinoza and Angelica Espinoza, who rolled El Weinecero onto East Houston Street by Peacock Alley in 2021 with no real restaurant background but with a strong sense of how to build their brand online. The brand is strong, with a tight menu of four all-beef dogs, wrapped in bacon and grilled on the carts flat-top grill downtown from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. The best of the group is a three-pepper blend of red and green jalapenos and fiery serranos with grilled onions called the Perro Caliente. Its not quite make-you-cry hot, but itll bring out the feelings. 507 E. Houston St., no phone, Facebook: @ElWeinecero Mike Sutter / Staff 4. Dakota East Side Ice House: Firenzi Dogs The hot dog stand at El Club Firenzi in Nuevo Laredo is well represented at this diorama-perfect manifestation of a proper ice house on the near East Side. Firenzi Dogs come two to an order with chips and a very good side salad. The bacon does most of the talking, crumbled in sweet and smoky bits over juicy beef dogs with avocado salsa and a hit of Valentina. Order a Be Nice Dammit Hefeweizen, punch up something on the jukebox and dance like everybody at Firenzi is watching. 433 S. Hackberry St., 210-375-6009, thedakotasa.com On ExpressNews.com: The 15 best burgers in San Antonio Mike Sutter / Staff 3. JKs Chicago Hot Dogs: Chicago Dog No top 10 hot dog list in America is complete without a perfect Chicago dog, and JKs near North Star Mall is the place to go in San Antonio. Owners Gloria and Carlo Caballero have had 15 years to perfect the Chicago dog formula: a Vienna all-beef frank thats lean and juicy at the same time, luminous green relish, tangy little sport peppers, onions, tomatoes, mustard and a full-on pickle spear on a poppyseed bun. If less is more, then certainly sometimes more is just the right amount. Thats a Chicago dog. 15711 San Pedro Ave., 210-201-4030, jkchicagodogs.com Mike Sutter / Staff 2. The Dogfather: The Elote Built around a hearty beef frank dressed out with Mexican street corn, crushed Takis and the funky hot mess of queso fresco, mayo and Parmesan cheese, The Elote honors the grand spectacle of a Mexican dog without making fun of it. The Dogfather, on San Pedro near Basse, sets itself apart by using lobster roll bread instead of the basic hot dog bun, with high, grill-marked sides and a ridge of crust along the top like a flavor runway. Leave the bun, take The Elote. 6211 San Pedro Ave., 210-481-4272, sadogfather.com Mike Sutter / Staff 1. RockerDogz Gourmet Street Dogs: Thai Kickboxer Dog Kris Martinez is a skater punk and a former rock n roll touring chef with a reverence for Anthony Bourdain. His little walk-up hot dog shack near the missions is part concession stand, part backyard cookout and part crash course in how to paint a hot dog with the full box of culinary spray paint cans. This is the guy you want making your hot dog, and his Thai Kickboxer Dog is the king of San Antonio dogs. Its an all-beef dog with a graffiti swirl of purple cabbage slaw, green basil leaves, mint, cilantro, carrots, jalapenos and cucumber, spiked with sweet chile glaze. Its a cross between a Thai salad and a Vietnamese banh mi, with dots of Sriracha like periods at the end of a sentence about how great a hot dog can be. 3014 Roosevelt Ave., 210-277-7288, Facebook: @RockerDogz Mike Sutter / Staff Bonus dog: Uwes Bakery & Deli: Bratwurst on a Bun This is a San Antonio roundup, but it doesnt seem fair to leave out one of the best hot dogs in Central Texas. Uwes Bakery & Deli is beloved in New Braunfels for bread, kolaches and klobasneks, but its bratwurst hot dog plays in the same league, made with a fat, housemade Thuringer brat with an aroma like Bavarian incense on a stout pretzel bun with crisp sauerkraut and grain mustard. Uwes? Always. 1024 W. San Antonio St., Unit B, New Braunfels, 830-632-6585, uwesbakerydeli.com msutter@express-news.net | Twitter: @fedmanwalking | Instagram: @fedmanwalking This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Twenty-five years ago, two young women in Galveston County disappeared and were never seen alive again. On Wednesday, after years of waiting, William Reece admitted he was responsible for their deaths. Reece in a morning court appearance pleaded guilty to the 1997 murders of Jessica Cain, of Tiki Island, and Laura Smither, of Friendswood. After pleading guilty in Galveston County, he was taken to Brazoria County, where he pleaded guilty to the murder of Kelli Ann Cox, a University of North Texas student who also went missing in Denton 1997. FILE, MBR / AP Laura Smither (left) and Jessica Cain (left). (File photos) Laura Smither (left) and Jessica Cain (left). (File photos) Reece was sentenced to up to 99 years in prison. He will be eligible for parole after 30 years, according to Galveston County prosecutors. "Today brings an end to 25 years of uncertainty for everyone affected by the murders of Laura Smither and Jessica Cain, Roady said. It's true that no amount of punishment could heal the wounds suffered by their families and communities who love them. But these convictions will help ensure that their murderer will die in prison, where he belongs. Reece has already been sentenced to the death penalty in Oklahoma over the murder of woman, Tiffany Johnston, who was abducted from a car wash in Bethany, Okla. in July 1997. Earlier this year, Reece was transferred from Oklahoma back to Galveston County to face the Texas charges still pending against him. Prosecutors and Reeces defense attorney said it will be up to state officials in Texas and Oklahoma to decide if he stays in prison or is transferred back to Oklahomas death row. Around 40 people sat in the courtroom on the third floor of Galveston County's Justice Center to watch the pleas happen. They included Smither's family and friends, and Galveston County police officers and prosecutors who have long tried to bring Reece to justice. Smither's mother, Gay Smither, gave a victim impact statement. Holding up a photograph of her daughter, she said that Reeces crimes broke her family apart. We never got to see the incredible woman she would become," Smither said of her daughter. JENNIFER REYNOLDS/The Galveston County Daily News But Gay Smither also thanked Reece for his confession and said she had forgiven him for her daughters murder. LAURA'S LEGACY: Abducted 20 years ago, Laura Smither leaves legacy of hope and healing We all sin, Smither said. We all make mistakes. But then we must make things right. Please keep telling the truth, Bill. Reece didnt look at Gay Smither during her testimony. During a press conference after the hearing, Smither said she believed that Reece might have more information that could help other families find. Rees had been held at the Friendswood municipal jail since March, while prosecutors and Reeces attorneys worked on a plea deal. Roady demurred when asked if Reece was asked about other crimes or investigations during that time. I believe that the investigators in this case will always be glad to talk to him more about anything else he may want to share, Galveston County District attorney Jack Roady said. Cain's family was not in attendance -- Roady said the family was aware of the hearing but did not attend. Reece, 62. wore a blue polo shirt and jeans and walked with a cane during the hearing. Reece spoke only when Galveston County District Court Judge Jared Robinson asked if he understood the agreement and had given it freely. JENNIFER REYNOLDS/The Galveston County Daily News Cain, 17, and Smither, 12, disappeared within months of each other. Smither's remains were found three weeks after her abduction, but Cain's body remained missing for nearly 20 years. Investigators were led to her body by Reece, who began cooperating with investigators after DNA evidence had tied him to another murder in Oklahoma. Reece was also indicted in Brazoria County for the murder of Kelli Ann Cox, a University of North Texas student who also went missing in 1997 and whose body was also found in 2016. Norm Gomlak / Cox Family Smither was Reece's first known murder victim. She went missing on April 3, 1997, after leaving her Friendswood home for a jog. Her decomposed body was found three weeks later in a retention pond in Pasadena. Cox disappeared from a gas station in Denton on July 15, 1997, shortly after taking a tour of the Denton County Jail. Like Cain, her body was found after Reece in 2016 directed investigators to the Brazoria County field where he had buried her. Cain disappeared on Aug. 17, 1997. She was reported missing after her truck was found abandoned on the shoulder of Interstate 45. She was last seen alive at a party in Webster. REECE VICTIMS: Slain child's mom seeks sit-down with killer 'to share my faith and talk to him about his soul' Reece was long considered a suspect in the murders, though he wasn't formally indicted or charged with the crimes for almost 20 years. He has been imprisoned since 1997 after being convicted of kidnapping over the attempted abduction of a Webster woman in September 1997. He is still serving a 60-year sentence for that conviction. In a statement, Roady said Reece wasnt entirely cooperative during his negotiations for a plea deal. Reece was careful to not provide enough evidence for prosecutors to seek a death penalty, Roady said. While he admitted to killing Cain, Cox and Smither, prosecutors didnt feel they could prove other crimes, like kidnapping, that would have allowed the charge to be upgraded to capital murder, Roady said. JENNIFER REYNOLDS/The Galveston County Daily News In 2015, DNA evidence connected Reece to a murder case in Oklahoma. Around the same time, he began speaking to investigators about other cases in which he was a suspect. In February 2016, police began searching fields in southwest Houston and Angleton. In the following two months, searchers found Cain and Cox's bodies. After the hearing was over, Gay Smither thanked the police officers who continued to pursue the case for years. Their work brought closure to three families, she said. Even though for all these years we were absolutely convinced it was Reece, today is the validation of that, she said. Our police were phenomenal in what they did in our case. Not only did they bring the answer to our family, they brought the answers to Jessica and Kellis families. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Smugglers who drove a tractor-trailer from the Laredo area to San Antonio with dozens of dead or dying migrants inside timed its passage through a federal immigration checkpoint to take advantage of a shift change, according to a source close to the investigation. The timing, which was likely intentional and based on the smugglers own surveillance, made the Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 35, about 26 miles north of Laredo, especially vulnerable, the source said. Details released by U.S. and Mexican authorities show that the smugglers picked up the immigrants in Laredo, and that the rig went through the checkpoint between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Monday U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, told the Express-News that the vehicle was waved through the checkpoint because traffic was backing up. Migrants were inside the trailer at the time, Cuellar said. On ExpressNews.com: I have too many bodies here: Details from deadly human-smuggling incident At least 53 migrants from Mexico and Central America died in the suffocating heat of the trailer, which was abandoned near JBSA-Lackland later Monday. Temperatures in San Antonio approached 100 degrees that day. It wasnt the first time smugglers have exploited a chink in the same checkpoints effectiveness, with tragic results. In 2017, an x-ray machine at the checkpoint wasnt working the night a Kentucky trucker passed through with human cargo in the back of his sweltering tractor-trailer. That driver, James Matthew Bradley Jr., was later found with 39 immigrants in his rig in the parking lot of a Walmart on San Antonios South Side. Eight were dead when police arrived; two more died at hospitals. Bradley was sentenced to two concurrent life sentences with no parole. On ExpressNews.com: Fourth suspect arrested in deadly tractor-trailer case Those who died in the latest tragedy included 22 Mexican nationals, seven from Guatemala, two from Honduras and 17 others of unknown origin. Some of the deceased may have been from El Salvador. Authorities identified the driver as Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, of Palestine in East Texas. Zamorano tried to disguise himself as one of the migrants before he ran away, investigators said. Police apprehended him in a field. Several factors can hamper the ability of Border Patrol agents to detect illegal cargo at checkpoints, including the sheer volume of traffic. On ExpressNews.com: Heat in tractor trailer where migrants died could have reached 150 degrees The Laredo-area checkpoint is one of the busiest in the country. On top of that, about 70 percent of Border Patrol personnel are tied up at immigrant detention centers and with administrative tasks, leaving only a fraction available to police the border and checkpoints, said Cuellar, whose congressional district extends from San Antonio southwest to Laredo and farther south along the border. The Border Patrol is suffering right now because only 30 percent of their people are actually doing their mission at checkpoints and the border, Cuellar said. And on top of that, for years Ive been asking the administration that we need to put new technology at the checkpoints. Cuellar wants the Department of Homeland Security to fund more x-ray technology that would see inside every truck that passes through a checkpoint. Currently, trucks are x-rayed selectively, as a secondary measure, Cuellar said. The smugglers will get that empty trailer, get people from a stash house, lets say in Laredo, and then theyll jump in and try to cross that checkpoint, he said. In a statement, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus said he was horrified at the tragic loss of life near San Antonio. This speaks to the desperation of migrants who would put their lives in the hands of callous human smugglers who show no regard for human life. We will be working with our federal, state and local partners to assist in every way possible with this investigation. Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday vowed to step up truck inspections along the border in the wake of Mondays tragedy. The checkpoints will be mobile, he said, and will be overseen by troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety. State officials didnt say where they would be located or how many there would be. They said they didnt want to make it easier for cartels to plan ways to circumvent them. In April, reacting to a surge in migrant crossings, Abbott shut down commercial traffic entering Texas from Mexico so state troopers could inspect trucks. But the troopers lacked authority to inspect cargo and were limited to checking brakes and headlights near international bridges across the Rio Grande. Trooper who will participate in the new inspection effort announced on Wednesday will have expertise in commercial transport and will be able to identify clone trucks used by smugglers, state officials said. These are trucks made to resemble legitimate vehicles, sometimes with pirated license plates and ID numbers from the state and federal transportation departments. The rig that carried the migrants found dead in San Antonio on Monday was a clone of a truck used by a produce hauling company in the border town of Alamo. The owners of Betancourt Trucking and Harvesting said the smugglers clone was the same color and bore the same ID numbers as their truck. All it lacked was the company logo. bchasnoff@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 1 of 2 Via Bexar County Sheriff's Office Facebook Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Via Bexar County Sheriff's Office Facebook Show More Show Less The Bexar County Sheriffs Office is searching for an 89-year-old man who was last seen Friday on the far West Side. Jack Kirk Wells was last seen in the 3000 block of Grosenbacher, according to a Silver Alert posted on the offices Facebook page. He has a medical condition that may require medication, the post states. A man described as one of the collectors of smuggling fees in the deadly tractor-trailer incident this week has been arrested in East Texas, making him the fourth suspect connected to the case. Christian Martinez, 28, was arrested in Palestine and is charged with one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death. According to court documents, a search warrant was executed on a cellphone belonging to the accused driver, Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, who is from Brownsville but was living in Palestine. The U.S. Attorneys Office in San Antonio said in a news release that it discovered Zamorano and Martinez communicated with each other about the smuggling event. If convicted, Martinez faces up to life in prison or could face the death penalty. He had an initial appearance Wednesday in Tyler and will be transported to San Antonio for further proceedings. Federal prosecutors also said Zamorano has been charged with alien smuggling resulting in death. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison or possibly the death penalty. The smugglers ferried the migrants from the Laredo area to the South Side of San Antonio in a big rig disguised as a border produce truck. At least 53 migrants from Mexico and Central America died in the suffocating heat of the trailer, which was abandoned near JBSA-Lackland on Monday. Earlier this week, Craig Larrabee, acting special agent for Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio, made it clear he would not speak about the case. But speaking generally about immigrant-smuggling or transporting cases, he said his agents try to be thorough. When we see incidents like this, we investigate all aspects, Larrabee said. We investigate the coordinators, we investigate the transporters, the guides, the drivers, the financial side the people collecting payments and distributing the payments. Everybody. The arrest is the latest since officials detained three other people this week, including Zamorano, who is accused of abandoning the tractor-trailer on a dirt road near the military base. San Antonio police were called to the scene about 6 p.m. Monday, and city officials later reported that night that 46 of the immigrants were found dead of heat-related causes, and 16 were hospitalized. As of Wednesday, the death toll had grown to 53, making it the deadliest truck-smuggling case in recent history. In Mexico, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and members of his Cabinet confirmed details previously reported by the Express-News, including Zamoranos first name, and released photos of him and the red 1995 Volvo rig crossing an international bridge. The officials said the truck driver tried to pass himself off as one of the immigrants after they were found by police. Zamorano was apparently still recovering from a drug and medical episode Wednesday. He was not brought to a federal court appearance, as expected. Relatives of a woman who was briefly in a relationship with Zamorano said the couple were married or together a short while before he went off to work in oilfields up north. He was a decent person. He was very respectful, said Yanet Balderas, whose sister had a relationship with Zamorano. You wouldnt think hed be that kind of guy. Balderas said she did not know him to be a trucker, but said it was at least eight years ago that she met him. Records show Zamorano has a criminal past, including misdemeanor arrests for fraud and driving without a license in Florida. Attempts to gather further information on those arrests were unsuccessful Wednesday. Court records show investigators traced license plates on the rig to a home in the 100 block of Arnold Drive after the truck was found. After putting the house under surveillance, they moved in and detained two young men who were about to leave in separate trucks. One of the men confessed to having a gun in his truck. Officers found a gun, and after getting a search warrant, agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found more guns, including at least one rifle, in the house, records show. Those suspects, Juan Francisco DLuna-Bilbao, 48, and Juan Claudio DLuna-Mendez, 23, appeared in federal court in San Antonio on Tuesday on charges of being undocumented immigrants who illegally possessed weapons. They are scheduled for probable cause and bail hearings on Friday. DLuna-Bilbaos lawyer, Cynthia Orr, said she plans to waive the probable cause hearing, and ask for the bail hearing to be postponed. The pair face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Michael Gross, DLuna-Mendezs lawyer, said he does not comment on his ongoing cases. While the pairs arrests seem more like a firearms case, they show a pattern. The ATF bureau has partnered with Homeland Security Investigations in the past to take down immigrant-trafficking groups that are also involved in acquiring firearms. One of the most notorious cases is that of Jose Miguel Sandoval-Pineda, an immigrant with ties to San Antonio and Central Texas. He is accused of leading co-defendants who would acquire guns used as part of immigrant-smuggling and trafficking. Some of his co-defendants admitted he instructed them to fire-bomb homes of some rivals. To facilitate their human smuggling, members of the organization would (make) straw purchases and exchange firearms, which would then be used to guard illegal aliens and to retaliate against the organizations rivals, prosecutor Brian Nowinski wrote in a court document in Sandoval-Pinedas case. Sandoval-Pineda was scheduled to be sentenced this week, but it was postponed until August. It is unrelated to the truck case. guillermo.contreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland France's President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol ahead of a bi-lateral meeting at the Ifema congress centre in Madrid, June 29, on the sidelines of the NATO summit. AFP-Yonhap President Yoon Suk-yeol met with French President Emmanuel Macron, Wednesday, and discussed cooperation in various sectors, including nuclear power and space, the presidential office said. During the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Madrid, the two leaders agreed on the importance of nuclear energy in achieving carbon neutrality and promised to expand bilateral cooperation to ensure the safety of nuclear power generation and strengthen the competitiveness of the industry, it added. Yoon and Macron also expressed hope for greater cooperation in space, including the development of small- and medium-sized satellites. Yoon asked for France's support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan, and Macron responded that he would make appropriate considerations. On North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Yoon requested that France continue to take an interest in the issue as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. Macron said he highly assesses the South Korean government's diplomatic efforts to achieve North Korea's complete denuclearization, and expressed his commitment to cooperating with South Korea to faithfully implement U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions on the North. Yoon also invited Macron to visit South Korea, the presidential office said. (Yonhap) This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate UVALDE In just 24 hours, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin Jr. went from secret questioning by a Texas House committee to being a target of an emotional outpouring of grief and anger at a City Council meeting Thursday. After his appearance at the closed-door hearing on the May 24 mass shooting here, with invitation-only witnesses who including school and civic officials and law enforcement, the mayor had counted himself among residents angry and chafing at the pace and direction of various investigations. Then, during a 90-minute free-for-all, some of those residents chafed at him, at other council members and the citys lawyers. The council members, who have been warned not to comment publicly about the shooting, sat and endured the public raging and didnt try to limit it. These kids were obliterated. My sister was obliterated. It was a closed casket. I couldnt hug her, Velma Lisa Duran, 50, of San Antonio told the council, referring to Irma Linda Garcia, a teacher killed at Robb Elementary School. You sit here and say, I dont know. I have no control Enough is enough. This is ridiculous. It is frightening to be a teacher now. Now they want to arm teachers. Thats the stupidest thing Ive ever heard. You need to do something! More Information Q See More Collapse Blood is on your hands because you failed to do anything, she said Theres body cameras, theres surveillance, there is audio, theres surviving kids, theres a surviving teacher. You have facts! Tina Quintanilla Taylor, 41, whose daughter was at the school that day but was unhurt, said families were going to get a million excuses on why we cant answer the questions, why we cant provide this, why we cant provide that. But what we need here is to know that yall have our backs, because you know, right now we feel like none of yall -- I mean, its scary. Its scary to be on this side, she said. The council heard a similar outpouring last week, but Thursdays crowd was even more vocal. McLaughlin himself has been an outspoken critic of the various investigations into what police were doing as 19 children and two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary School. He has complained, along with anguished citizens, at the lack of answers. In an interview after testifying, McLaughlin said hes angered that while the school districts police chief, Pedro Pete Arredondo who is also on the City Council has been in the spotlight for his role in the response to the shooting, no other police agency has been forced to explain its actions that day. He said Texas Rangers and Department of Public Safety troopers, U.S. marshals, U.S. Border Patrol agents, Uvalde and school district police and a district attorneys office investigator waited outside the classroom that the gunman, Salvador Ramos, 18, shared with the dead and dying for more than an hour before he was killed. I think nine different agencies were in that hallway, McLaughlin said. You never hear about them. The embattled Arredondo did not attend Thursdays special meeting of Uvalde City Council. The council recently rejected Arredondos request for a leave of absence and could replace him if he misses another meeting. Council members spent two hours in closed session arguing with attorneys about what they could do, only to come out to meet the crowd with nothing to share, McLaughlin said. Were not trying to hide anything from you, were not trying to do that. We dont have anything. DPS has tied our hands, he said. Berlinda Arreola, grandmother of Amerie Jo Garza, a 10-year-old girl gunned down at the school, asked the council where people can get information if not from the city. I understand youre not getting the information that we want, and yall made that very clear, so where is our next step? Because if were not getting it from you guys, we need to find out where we need to go and we need to go to knock on the next door, said Arreola, 49. Again, yall are in the same boat we are, but were looking for some answers that nobody seems to be getting and its just making Uvalde PD and everybody else look even more guilty, she added. I agree, McLaughlin said, telling the crowd a few moments later that House investigators had vowed to release their report even if it had different findings from the one being done by the DPS. Of course theyre going to tell you that, Arreola replied. Were already at the point where we dont believe anything that anybody said because from Day One everybodys lied. Everybody in this room has been lied to more than once. The House Investigative Committee on the Robb Elementary Shooting took testimony Thursday from Becky Reinhardt, the Uvalde High School assistant principal; Luke Williams and Richard Wolf, both with the Texas Department of Public Safety, and Johnny Field, a constable. News media were ordered out of the building at midmorning by the city fire marshal, Juan Hernandez, who said the committee didnt want reporters loitering nearby, though City Hall remained open for public business. Adding a sideshow to the proceedings was Stephen Willeford, the man who shot the Sutherland Springs mass shooter after 26 people were killed at the Baptist church there in 2017, and who became the nations best-known example of the good guy with a gun theory of public safety pushed by firearms advocates. Willeford said he had not been invited to testify but would love to talk to the committee. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan established the panel in early June to look into the Uvalde massacre. It has so far met with around 50 witnesses. Its members, Reps. Dustin Burrows and Joe Moody, and former Texas Supreme Court justice Eva Guzman, will report their conclusions as soon as possible to help inform the work of the House, Phelans office has said. Information about the shooting and the police response sometimes incorrect and contradictory has trickled out of Austin and Uvalde, frustrating local residents and family members of the victims. Much of the blame for the death toll has been placed on Arredondo, who served as the incident commander at the scene. Uvalde Consolidated Independent School Districts superintendent, Hal Harrell, put him on administrative leave a day after the Texas Department of Public Safety director, Steve McCraw, called police efforts at the school an abject failure and antithetical to everything we have learned over the past two decades. On ExpressNews.com: Council rejects leave of absence for embattled Uvalde school police chief McLaughlin said he has talked with Arredondo only once in recent weeks and asked on June 20 whether he intended to remain on the council or resign, but didnt get an answer. Ive heard it indirectly he is thinking of resigning, McLaughlin said, adding that one person who knows him says that is something he is thinking real hard about. Burrows, the House committees chairman, is an attorney and businessman in Lubbock. Moody is from El Paso, where a far-right gunman killed 23 people and wounded 23 others at a Walmart in 2019. Beginning my third journey to #Uvalde in as many weeks, Moody, the sole Democrat on the panel, wrote Tuesday on Twitter. Im bringing with me the same rosary I carried on 8/3/19 in #ElPaso. I have faith, and I continue to pray for peace and healing for this community, but I know work perfects faith. We have much work to do. #txlege sigc@express-news.net Dozens of bodies crowded the tractor-trailers interior, and more lay on the ground behind it. As San Antonio police began searching for the truck driver, one asked over the radio for more officers, saying, I have too many bodies here. Emergency personnel were called to the scene. An officer described the driver: Heavy-set Hispanic male. He may be wearing a brown shirt, according to recordings of police radio traffic obtained by the Express-News. Running along railroad tracks or near mechanics shop along New Laredo Highway. Another officer said the driver might have a bunny tattoo on his neck. And maybe a teardrop tattoo. Later, someone said he was wearing a shirt with white stripes. The officers exchange took place after 6 p.m. Monday at the scene of the countrys deadliest immigrant-smuggling case involving a big rig. The driver had abandoned the red Volvo truck on a isolated, narrow stretch of Quintana Road near JBSA-Lackland on the Southwest Side. Early on, police estimated there were 20 bodies an undercount. Jordan Vonderhaar, HO / TNS Federal authorities say the trailer carried 64 immigrants. Forty-eight of them died on the scene, and another five at area hospitals, bringing the death toll to 53 as of Wednesday. The dead included 22 Mexican nationals, seven from Guatemala, two from Honduras and 17 others of unknown origin. Since Monday, consulate officials have said some of the deceased also may have come from El Salvador. On Thursday, the alleged driver, Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, who later tried to pass himself off as one of the immigrants he was smuggling, made his first court appearance in San Antonio federal court. Hes charged with transporting undocumented immigrants resulting in death. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison or the death penalty. Zamorano has a criminal past, including misdemeanor arrests for fraud and driving without a license in Florida. The checkpoint Details released by U.S. and Mexican authorities show that the truck picked up the immigrants in Laredo and crossed through the checkpoint north of that border city between 2 and 3 p.m. Monday. In a criminal complaint affidavit, investigators said police found multiple individuals on the ground and in nearby brush, several of them dead. Officers were led to the location of a man hiding in the brush. He ran away. SAPD officers soon detained Zamorano. Police collected a cellphone, hat and wallet containing Zamoranos identification card, the affidavit said. The affidavit said Border Patrol officers provided Homeland Security Investigations agents who are in charge of the investigation with surveillance footage of the tractor-trailer crossing the checkpoint near Laredo. The driver wore a black shirt with grayish-white stripes and a hat. Agents confirmed Zamorano matched the driver in the surveillance images. After securing a warrant to inspect Zamoranos cellphone, agents linked him to Christian Martinez, who like Zamorano lives in Palestine in East Texas. Martinez was arrested Tuesday in connection with the case. Agents reviewed text messages allegedly between Zamorano and Martinez. A criminal complaint affidavit filed against Martinez included this account: 12:17 p.m. on Monday: Zamorano received a picture from Martinez showing a truck load manifest. 12:19 p.m.: Zamorano texted Martinez, I go to the same spot. 12:44 p.m.: Martinez sent Zamorano GPS coordinates that led to an address in Laredo. 1:40 p.m.: Martinez sent Zamorano a text with a typo, believed to be wya, or Where You At? 3:18 p.m.: Martinez sent Zamorano three text messages saying, Call me bro, Yes and Call me bro. 6:17 p.m.: Martinez sent Zamorano one last message saying, Wya, bro. HSI agents in San Antonio learned that their counterparts in Tyler had an open investigation into Martinez. Talking to investigators, a confidential informant alleged Tuesday that Martinez had discussed the deaths of several individuals inside the tractor-trailer in San Antonio, admitting that he was involved in the incident and naming Zamorano as the driver. Martinez also allegedly said the driver didnt know the tractor-trailers air conditioning had stopped working. Authorities are expected to charge Martinez with conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants resulting in death. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison or the death penalty. Zamoranos hearing Zamorano appeared in federal court Thursday afternoon wearing a blue surgical mask, seated next to two public defenders. The hearing lasted about five minutes. U.S. Magistrate Elizabeth Betsy Chestney informed Zamorano of the charge against him. He also faces a $250,000 fine and a special assessment of $5,000 per victim, the judge told him. She set hearings for next Wednesday to determine probable cause and whether he qualifies for release on bail. Both Zamoranos lead public defender, Jose I. Gonzalez-Falla, and the federal prosecutor declined to comment. guillermo.contreras @express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A man accused of killing former News 4 employee Christopher Olivarez has been arrested by San Antonio police. Sebastian Hernandez, 20, was arrested without incident at his central San Antonio home, Sgt. Washington Moscoso told reporters Wednesday evening. He faces a murder charge. Hernandez has been very cooperative with the detectives but maintains hes innocent, Moscoso said. Olivarez, 40, was found dead on Sept. 25, 2021, with multiple stab wounds in the front yard of his home in the 300 block of Kirk Place. He was an account executive at News 4 from 2012 to 2016. Last year, San Antonio police released several surveillance videos showing a person coming and going from the residence on Sept. 10 and 14, as well as on the night of the killing. Police said they now believe Hernandez is the person seen on the video. On ExpressNews.com: Reward increased to $17K for information about killing of former News 4 employee Chris Olivarez Moscoso said initial pleas for the public to help identify the man in the video went unanswered. But that after an additional push from Crime Stoppers and the media, Moscoso said someone came forward with Hernandezs name around late March or early April of this year. At that time, Hernandez provided a statement and a DNA sample. Moscoso said the DNA matched several pieces of evidence at the crime scene, including the knife that was believed to be the murder weapon. On ExpressNews.com: Police release more surveillance video of a person of interest in the death of a News 4 employee Moscoso said Hernandez and Olivarez were acquaintances. megan.rodriguez@express-news.net The Sheriffs Office is searching for two suspects in connection with a fatal shooting in southwest Bexar County, described by Sheriff Javier Salazar as a brazen attack. Details are limited, but Salazar said during a news conference on Wednesday that the shooting occurred around 2 p.m. in the 7000 block of Calle Fincias. When deputies arrived, they discovered the male victim, believed to be in his 40s or 50s, dead in a dark-colored sedan in a wooded area, Salazar said. Salazar said that the victim was initially shot in his vehicle nearby before it rolled forward and embedded itself about 100 yards into the wooded area. Witnesses later told authorities they saw two suspects chase after the vehicle into the wooded area. They then heard more gunfire. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio police apprehend suspects near La Cantera, UTSA says If youre doing a brazen attack like this on somebody in broad daylight, and youre going out of your way clearly they wanted this victim dead and thats exactly what happened, Salazar said. At least a dozen shots were fired, he said. Some shots may have entered surrounding houses or property, although there were no reported injuries. Different caliber shell casings were discovered at the scene. Its unclear whether the victim and suspects were firing at each other or using different guns to fire at the victim. The suspects fled the scene in another vehicle. Salazar said an undercover organized crime working on an unrelated case saw the suspects and followed them, but they lost them in traffic. As of 4 p.m., the sheriffs office has yet to release a description of the suspects. The vehicle they were in was later discovered at a nearby residence near the area of Edwards Road and Old Pearsall Road. timothy.fanning@express-news.net Yellow Dog Productions/Getty Images A 25-year-old San Antonio man was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in a state jail after pleading guilty to several animal cruelty and bestiality charges. According to San Antonio's Animal Care Services, Jean Marie Bugoma broke into a local horse stable and tripped three horses by roping their front and hind legs, causing them to fall in order for him to commit bestiality. Other women in U.S. history came to mind as former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified on Tuesday before the U.S. House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Anita Hill. Christine Blasey Ford. Marie Yovanovitch. As important as their testimony was against morally bankrupt leaders, Hutchinson may have delivered the most damning testimony about a major event in U.S. history the armed, planned attack on U.S. democracy by supporters of former President Donald Trump. Related: Garcia: The lesson of Jan. 6: Confront sedition or accept it as the new normal It underscored this overarching fact: Other presidents oversaw peaceful transfers of power, even when they lost their re-elections, especially when they lost. Hutchinson showed courage. Its what Anita Hill did in 1991 during Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas nomination hearings. She testified that hed sexually harassed her while chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Committee, where she also worked. She was credible. Afterward, Hill faced death threats. Its what Christine Blasey Ford did in 2018, when she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee against Justice Brett Kavanaughs nomination to the Supreme Court. She testified under oath that he attempted to rape her in the 1980s. A drunken Kavanaugh pinned her down on a bed, groped her, tried to take off her clothes and put his hands over her mouth. She was credible. Afterward, Ford faced death threats. Its what Marie Yovanovitch did in 2019, when she testified in Trumps first impeachment inquiry. Hed removed her as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine after she disputed his conspiracy theories about Ukrainian efforts to undermine him. Trump was pressing Ukraine to investigate Democrats to help his re-election chances. She was credible. Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani attacked and tried to discredit her. She remains a patriot. For the record, Hutchinsons political outlook remains suspect. But she had nothing to gain in testifying about Trumps outrageous, criminal behavior. He knew rioters would endanger members of Congress, including and perhaps especially Vice President Mike Pence. He knew Capitol police and other officers would face armed insurrectionists. Some officers lost their lives in the attack. Others later committed suicide. Some left their jobs. Hutchinson was in Trumps inner circle and worked for Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who has not contradicted her testimony. Trump, Giuliani and other Trump loyalists are now attempting to discredit her. Trump dismissed Hutchinson as a phony and someone he hardly knew. The news volume couldnt have been higher this month with the Supreme Courts reversal of Roe vs. Wade; the massacre in Uvalde; and the suffering of migrants who died inside a tractor-trailer on the citys South Side. Related: Editorial: They were insurrectionists, not patriots Its understandable that people would rather turn off their televisions and stop reading news reports. But its as much a patriotic duty to know about Hutchinsons testimony as it is for her to risk her career to give it. Hutchinson said Trump knew and didnt care that his supporters were armed. He didnt want them screened by a magnetometer. He wanted them to be ushered in quickly so they could grow the size of his rally. I dont (expletive) care that they have weapons. Theyre not here to hurt me, Trump said, according to Hutchinson. As others have testified, Trump agreed with rioters that Pence should be hanged. She testified that Trump was angry, his behavior out of control. After leaving the rally, she testified Trump tried to take hold of the steering wheel when he realized the driver was not taking him to the Capitol and then lunged at a Secret Service agent. I remember feeling frustrated, disappointed.I was really sad, she said. As an American, I was disgusted. It was unpatriotic, it was unpatriotic. Hutchinson didnt face cross-examination but seemed capable of handling that kind of pressure and scrutiny. Its what she has in common with Hill, Blasey Ford, Yovanovitch and Rep. Liz Cheney, vice chair of the Jan. 6 committee. Its understandable to be fatigued, disappointed and disgusted with this process. Getting Trump to be held accountable has come at a glacial pace. Powerful Republicans remain silent while Trump bolsters his chances for the 2024 Republican nomination. We must power through. Hutchinson gave us hope. Because she was credible. eayala@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Donald Trump didnt fulfill many of his campaign promises during his single term as president of the United States. Trump promised to repeal the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) and replace it with something more to his liking. He failed. Trump promised to get Mexico to pay for a coast-to-coast wall along this countrys southern border. On ExpressNews.com: Garcia: Human-smuggling tragedy cant be blamed on open borders As president, however, he quickly scrapped the idea of Mexico paying for the wall and decided to bill U.S. taxpayers for it. In the end, only 80 miles of fencing was built where it didnt already exist. Trump promised to revamp this countrys trade arrangement with China. Despite his imposition of tariffs that put a hurt on U.S. businesses, he failed to make much headway with Chinese leaders. Trump promised that during his administration, the U.S. economy would achieve annual growth of more than 4 percent. He never got close. Trump also promised to balance the federal budget. He not only failed to do so, but thanks to the 2017 tax cut he signed into law his one major legislative accomplishment the federal deficit ballooned from $665 billion in 2017 to $984 billion in 2019. Nonetheless, Trump will go down in history as one of our consequential presidents. This would be true even if he hadnt broken all historical precedent by refusing to accept his 2020 election defeat and attempting to overturn the election results. Trumps legacy achievement is the fact that he got to pick three justices to the Supreme Court during his four years in office. Thats three more SCOTUS appointments than Jimmy Carter got during an equivalent period of time. For Trump, those court appointments were always secondary to his dream of a border wall and his determination to unspool the health care law enacted by his predecessor/enemy, Barack Obama. On ExpressNews.com: Ayala: White House aide follows courageous women before her, risking their future to speak the truth The Supreme Court was simply his vehicle to bolster his standing with the Republican Partys old-school, originalist base, parts of which exhibited queasiness at the thought of a bombastic reality-show host taking the reins of their party. To solidify his standing at the end of the 2016 primary races, Trump released a shortlist of potential Supreme Court selections, a group of candidates provided to him by the ultra-conservative Federalist Society. Trump got his first pick, Neil Gorsuch, because Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell had blocked Obama for nearly a year from filling that court vacancy. He got his final pick, Amy Coney Barrett, when progressive Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away six weeks before Trump would get voted out of office and McConnell implemented a warp-speed confirmation process. What could have been a 5-3 liberal majority, with Chief Justice John Roberts as the swing vote, is now a 5-3 conservative majority. It could alter the shape of the Supreme Court for a generation or more. Over the past week, the Supreme Court has struck down a 49-year-old ruling that made abortion legal across the country, limited the Environmental Protection Agencys authority to regulate emissions from power plants, thrown out a century-old New York gun-control measure and enabled public-school officials to lead students in prayer. On Thursday, the Supreme Court also took a case that has the potential to give state legislatures complete authority without regard to state courts or state constitutions over election rules. Given how close our election system came to buckling in the face of Trumps 2020 coup attempt, this case is fraught with danger. Of course, the most explosive decision so far from this Supreme Court came with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 SCOTUS decision that made abortion legal across the country. Its an unpopular decision (supported by only 40 percent of respondents in a recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll) and will create extreme hardship for women in the states that implement abortion bans. Its also doubtful that the decision will produce the results its advocates want. At the time that the Roe decision was issued, nearly 50 years ago, there were an estimated 700,000 legal abortions performed annually in the U.S. (not to mention all the dangerous, back-alley abortions in states where abortion was illegal). In 2019, with Roe in place, there were 629,898 abortions in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This Supreme Courts majority, however, seems oblivious to such considerations. And for all of their rhetoric about strictly interpreting the Constitution, this Supreme Courts conservative justices seem perfectly willing to apply the Constitution in selective ways that serve their ideological purposes. Its a court thats more partisan, more brazen and more combative than any weve seen in recent times. Its a perfect legacy for Trump. ggarcia@express-news.net | twitter.com/gilgamesh470 The peaceful community of Uvalde has endured horror these past weeks that has shaken every Texan to the core. We are left processing the shock and grief brought on by the tragedy at Robb Elementary School. Hearts are broken for the innocent lives taken so senselessly and families suddenly bereft of the joy and laughter of their precious children. Parents are worried about the basic safety and security of their schools. Understandably, people are angry and baffled at the injustice of a disturbed criminals demented final actions causing such devastation. The faces of the grieving families and stunned residents of Uvalde, with whom Cecilia and I have met, will leave deep and lasting scars on our hearts. I pray each day for the innocent souls taken too soon and for the families who must now carry on incomprehensibly without their loved ones. While we can never bring back those who were lost, we must come together to support the grief-stricken community as it embarks on the long road of healing. To jump-start that process, I immediately mobilized all available resources to Uvalde. The state disaster declaration allows Texas and local jurisdictions to provide support that is easily accessible and readily available. State agencies have embedded representatives in Uvalde to provide assistance with benefits such as workers compensation claims and counseling services for residents. My public safety office made an initial $5 million investment establishing a permanent Uvalde Together Resiliency Center to serve as a hub for services, such as crisis counseling and behavioral health care for survivors, first responders and the entire community. In partnership with state agencies, regional mental health authorities led by the Hill Country Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Centers are connecting area residents with mental health services through a 24/7 hotline, which has answered hundreds of calls since late May. Texans want to help their fellow Texans. They can donate to the Robb School Memorial Fund, established by the First Bank of Uvalde in partnership with our states OneStar Foundation, to support victims families, teachers and the broader community. Donations provide immediate financial support for those impacted and will go a long way in letting Uvalde know they are not alone as they recover. As the state of Texas activates its full capabilities to lift up Uvalde, we must ensure such tragedies do not happen again. Ive directed the Texas District & County Attorneys Association to use the lie-and-try law I signed last session as a new tool to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals. The law makes it a state jail felony to illegally purchase a firearm by falsifying information on a background check form. Also, the Texas School Safety Center and the Texas Education Agency are implementing heightened standards to make our schools safer when students return in August. Additionally, Texas State Universitys nationally recognized Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training programs will be provided to school districts across the state. As for new laws, Texas legislative leaders have formed special committees to examine school safety standards and to develop legislative recommendations on school safety, access to mental health care, social media policies, police training and firearm safety, among other topics. This process empowers the officials who make the law to get right to work addressing all the issues concerning the tragedy in Uvalde. What is abundantly clear is that mental health is foundational to the security of our schools, public spaces and communities. It is a pervasive issue affecting everyone, whether its a struggling family member or a neighbor without a network of care and support. We must prioritize providing the resources needed to help Texans suffering from a mental health challenge. Helping an individual in need will not only give them their life back but will also create stronger, safer communities for everyone. Moments like this tear at the very fabric of a community. But throughout our history, Texans have risen above challenges and together forged a brighter path forward. It is who we are as a people, uniting in our darkest days to make sure our families, neighbors and communities are able to flourish in the great promise that Texas holds. Greg Abbott is the governor of Texas. In the grief-choked days since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Ive been haunted by a moment from the new documentary Battleground. Much of the film, which recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, follows female leaders of the anti-abortion movement, including Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, and Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America. These arent the people regularly standing outside of abortion clinics harassing patients. They are, rather, savvy lobbyists and organizers, and the documentary is in part a window into how they won. The scene I keep revisiting features a Students for Life training session about how you can change minds about abortion online, in which members of the group learned how to draw young pro-choice people into debate in comment threads. Hawkins said theyd had 105,000 conversations. Cynthia Lowen, the director of Battleground, told me she was struck by the activists strategy to get into environments and places, online and offline, where young, typically pro-choice people are, and to try to create doubts about their position. This is quite different from what Ive seen in the pro-choice movement, where activists frequently act as if those who dont agree with them on everything arent worth engaging with. (Last week, NARAL tweeted, If your feminism doesnt understand how anti-trans policies disproportionately impact BIPOC folks, particularly Black trans women and girls, its not feminism.) In the aftermath of the anti-abortion movements catastrophic victory, its worth asking what we can learn from their tactics. RELATED: Gonzales: Why prosecuting abortion would be an injustice Obviously, the anti-abortion movement hasnt convinced anywhere near a majority of Americans. Roes death comes courtesy of three Supreme Court justices appointed by a president who lost the popular vote. According to a CBS/News YouGov poll taken after the ruling, 59 percent of Americans and 67 percent of women disapprove of it. The Senate cant codify minimal reproductive rights because of the filibuster, which gives a minority of conservatives veto power over much of national policymaking. In states like Wisconsin, legislatures are so gerrymandered that it will take more than a popular-vote majority to undo their abortion bans. The right pretends that ending Roe returns abortion to the democratic process, but Roes demise was made possible by democracys erosion. That shouldnt blind us, however, to the success of the anti-abortion movement, which has organized for almost 50 years to bring us to this moment. Those state-level gerrymanders didnt just happen. As the New York Times reported, they were made possible by the 2010 Republican wave, which reduced the number of state legislatures controlled by Democrats from 27 to 16. Republicans then used redistricting to cement their hold on power even as they passed a barrage of state laws meant to chip away at Roe. The legal and political wings of the anti-abortion movement were methodical, often biding their time until they had a friendly Supreme Court in place. As general counsel of the National Right to Life Committee, James Bopp opposed attempts to prohibit abortion outright, fearing their rejection would only strengthen Roe. Instead, as Irin Carmon reported in 2013, he focused on wedge issues like 20-week abortion bans. Meanwhile, grassroots abortion opponents have remained relentless, often drawing in people for reasons of sociability as much as ideology. In The Making of Pro-Life Activists, sociologist Ziad W. Munson found that many activists had been ambivalent about abortion, or even pro-choice, before being invited to a rally or meeting. The movement welcomed them, and the experience of activism converted them. Similarly, one of Lowens interviewees said she wasnt opposed to abortion until she tagged along to the March for Life with some college friends. She later went to work for Students for Life. MORE LIKE THIS: Commentary: Decades of anti-abortion policy harming Texans I fear that some abortion-rights activists are learning the wrong lessons from their enemies triumph, taking inspiration from the most confrontational anti-abortion forces. A string of apparent arsons at anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers mimics years of pro-life assaults on abortion clinics. (So far, mercifully, the arsons havent caused any injuries.) Before Dr. Barnett Slepian, a Buffalo, N.Y., abortion provider, was assassinated in 1998, protesters followed his children to their grade school. Recently a shadowy pro-choice outfit called Ruth Sent Us hinted at doing something similar to the kids of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, tweeting about the school they attend. Besides being immoral, these tactics suggest a misunderstanding of how the anti-abortion movement got to this point. Anti-abortion terrorism has been correlated with greater support for abortion rights, harming the political campaign to reverse Roe. That campaign prevailed because of a movement that spent decades mastering the nuts and bolts of American politics, persisting despite years of failure and disappointment. This doesnt just mean vote harder. It means contesting every level of power, all the time, including local elections, judicial selections and administrative rule-making. It means drawing people into a community that will make continuous struggle seem rewarding rather than depleting. Abortion opponents have shoved us into a nightmare world of surveillance, coercion and medical desperation. Theyve also shown us the arduous path out of it. President Yoon Suk-yeol gestures as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stands behind him during their attendance at the summit for NATO member countries and partner nations at IFEMA Convention Center in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday (local time). Yonhap President Yoon shows strong interest in mending Korea-Japan relations; now ball is in Japanese PM's court By Nam Hyun-woo MADRID President Yoon Suk-yeol actively expressed his willingness to sit down with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a summit in an apparent move to thaw chilly bilateral relations, whenever he had chances to speak to the Japanese leader at the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain. Throughout the summit, Yoon encountered Kishida a total of five times: first at a gala dinner on Tuesday; then during four-way talks among NATO's partners in the Asia-Pacific, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand (informally known as the Asia-Pacific Four or AP4); then in a trilateral summit among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo; next at a photo session among the AP4 leaders and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg; and finally in a summit between NATO members and the Asia-Pacific partner countries. Yoon actively expressed his hopes for improving Seoul-Tokyo ties in a straightforward manner. During their meeting at the gala dinner, Yoon told Kishida he wants to "resolve issues that stand in the way of improving Seoul-Tokyo ties as soon as possible after Japan's upper house election, in order to establish future-oriented bilateral relations." Kishida responded favorably that he also hopes for "a healthier relationship." Their exchange of diplomatic words came after the botched Yoon-Kishida summit on the sidelines of the NATO event. Earlier this month, Seoul's presidential office had said that chances were unlikely for a Seoul-Tokyo summit in Spain, because Japan will hold an upper house of parliament election on July 10. Since a summit between South Korea and Japan is bound to entail discussion of historical issues, which is a sensitive subject for both sides, the summit having results that are favorable to Seoul could negatively affect the sentiment of Japanese voters especially conservatives watchers said. So, according to the presidential office, conditions for a possible Seoul-Tokyo summit would be better after the elections in Japan. President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida applaud during the summit between the NATO member countries and partner nations at the IFEMA Convention Center in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday (local time). Yonhap As soon as the Dobbs opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was issued last week, Democratic politicians attacked the Supreme Court. Predictably, their arguments omitted any discussion of the law. On the issue of abortion, Democrats often argue the majority of Americans favored leaving Roe in place. What Democrats often dont mention is that national polling shows a vast majority of people believe that at a certain point in a pregnancy, abortion should no longer be allowed. Before the court overturned Roe, abortion was permitted nationwide prior to fetal viability, which most experts say occurs around the 23rd or 24th week of pregnancy. The decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization does not bar abortion in this country. Rather, each state, via its elected representatives, will now pass legislation that lawmakers believe best deals with abortion. Some states will allow abortion well into pregnancy. Some wont allow abortion. And most will probably find a certain time at which abortion is no longer legal, with exceptions made for the circumstances of the pregnancy and the health of the mother. The Mississippi law at issue in Dobbs, for example, would limit abortions to the first 15 weeks of a pregnancy. As for the idea of leaving this issue to the states? Its neither new, nor is it necessarily conservative. The late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1992 loudly noted her concerns about Roe when she stated: Doctrinal limbs too swiftly shaped may prove unstable. The most prominent example is Roe v. Wade. Suppose the court had not fashion(ed) a regime blanketing the subject, a set of rules that displaced virtually every state law then in force. She then contrasted Roe with other decisions in which the court took a more measured approach, and she praised those opinions for having opened a dialogue with the political branches of government and having tossed the issue back into the legislators court, where the political forces of the day could operate. RELATED: Pregnant women can still receive abortions deemed medically necessary Im certainly not telling anyone how to feel about abortion. We all have our own feelings about the issue. But all Americans should agree that the judicial branch of government is not there to decide the circumstances under which abortion should be legal, or whether abortion should be legal at six, 15 or 24 weeks of a pregnancy. Courts should not make law or create policy but rather interpret the laws as written. It is that fundamental principle that has led most unbiased constitutional scholars to agree that the Roe opinion was off base. This even includes Edward Lazarus, the law clerk to Roes author, Justice Harry Blackmun, who wrote that as a matter of constitutional interpretation and judicial method, Roe borders on the indefensible. The legal argument in Roe that somehow the 14th Amendments right to privacy created a new, fundamental right to abortion up to the 24th week of a pregnancy, would impermissibly take away the legislative branchs right to create policy. As Justice Sandra Day OConnor once said: Irrespective of what we may believe is wise or prudent policy in this difficult area, the Constitution does not constitute us as Platonic Guardians nor does it vest in this Court the authority to strike down laws because they do not meet our standards of desirable social policy, wisdom, or common sense. A corresponding argument from Democrats that sending the issue of abortion back to the states is the result of an extreme and ideological Supreme Court taking away a persons choice is disingenuous. How often have elected Democrats championed an individuals right to choose? Masks and vaccines? School choice? Not for Democrats. Health care? Nope, not after they passed the Affordable Care Act mandate to buy health insurance. And regarding the Supreme Court, did we hear Democrats complain when it upheld the Affordable Care Act, legalized gay marriage and ruled against former President Donald Trump on his election challenges? MORE LIKE THIS: Supreme Courts abortion decision condemned, celebrated in San Antonio Finally, the position that stare decisis legal precedent should have prevented the overturning of Roe also holds no water as the Supreme Court has overruled its prior constitutional decisions, in whole or in part, on numerous occasions. Should the court get criticized for reversing itself in 1934 by finding a minimum wage for women was constitutional (West Coast Hotel v. Parrish), or when it reversed itself and decided that a policy of separate but equal educational facilities for racial minorities was unconstitutional (Brown v. Board of Education)? Of course not, as it has an obligation to do so when it is clear prior decisions were not well-decided. The 10th Amendment to our Constitution requires that powers not given to the federal government be left to the states. Rather than nine judges dictating what to do on abortion, the Dobbs decision now gives the people the choice. Marc Whyte is an attorney and the San Antonio zoning commissioner for District 10. Email: whytemarc@gmail.com. The Golden State Killer never saw the law coming. Police had never connected Joseph James DeAngelo to a spree of 13 murders, 50 rapes and more than 120 burglaries across California during the 1970s and 80s. Then, in 2018, investigators uploaded a DNA profile of one murder victims rapist into a commercial database, similar to those created by companies like 23andMe and Ancestry.com. Bingo. Several people in the database shared a common ancestor with the killer, and police created a family tree. They quickly honed in on DeAngelo, then 72, and arrested him after confirming that his DNA matched the killers. He confessed to numerous crimes and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The capture of the Golden State Killer put this technique, called genetic genealogy, in the headlines. Police now regularly use it to catch cold case killers, and to identify the remains of murder and accident victims from decades ago. It also raised a question for historians and forensic anthropologists at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), which has labs at Offutt Air Force Base and in Hawaii: Could they use the same method to identify the war dead from World War II, Korea and Vietnam? Four years later, the answer appears to be yes. The accounting agency, working with its partners at the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) in Dover, Delaware, has begun to use a highly sensitive next-generation DNA sequencing test developed by scientists at AFDIL and Parabon NanoLabs, a pioneering genetic genealogy firm. Someday, it may help Carrie LeGarde, a forensic anthropologist at the Offutt lab, tie a bow around DPAAs largest and most successful project to date: the identification of the unknown dead from the battleship USS Oklahoma, sunk in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Over six years, she led a team of anthropologists that examined more than 13,000 bones recovered from the ship and later buried in Hawaii in graves marked unknown. They identified 361 of 394 missing sailors and Marines. The 92% identification rate far exceeded the 80% goal set when the first remains were disinterred in 2015. LeGarde said she was proud to have returned so many World War II heroes to their families, nearly 80 years later. But the fact that 33 could not be given names gnaws at her just a bit. We have done everything we can at this point, LeGarde said. Of course, I would love to identify everybody. But thats a pretty difficult task. Traditional mitochondrial and Y-chromosome DNA testing involves extracting snippets of DNA from the unidentified bones and comparing them to DNA samples taken from one or more family members. Those samples are processed at AFDIL and buttressed with traditional forensic work by DPAA anthropologists and historians, such as examining the size and shape of the bones and where and how they were found. This process has allowed DPAA to meet or exceed a goal of 200 identifications per year some from field excavations in former war zones, and others buried as unknowns in military cemeteries. But this method has some drawbacks. The requirement for family-reference DNA means the Defense Department must spend time and money tracking down relatives and persuading them to submit a DNA sample from a cheek swab. That can be hard to do. Some relatives may be suspicious of giving a sample to the government. Some of the missing service members were adopted, so their DNA doesnt match living relatives. And in some cases, family members just cant be found. The other significant problem is the DNA itself. DNA decays with time, making it harder to extract readable samples from bones that have been buried for decades. It deteriorates even faster when burials take place in acidic soil or in warm, wet climates like most burials from Korea, Vietnam or World War II in the Pacific. If you dont act, you might lose it forever, said Kristen Mittelman, chief development officer for Othram, a private genetic genealogy lab in Houston that specializes in cold case IDs. Also, chemical treatments historically used in burials to preserve bodies have had the perverse effect of destroying DNA. This has hampered several of the accounting agencys major projects. One example: the identification of 859 Korean War unknowns whose remains were retrieved from battlefield graves during and after the war. They were soaked in formaldehyde and treated with other chemicals before they were reburied in Hawaii, and DPAA analysts have had difficulty extracting DNA from them. In 2016, AFDIL and Parabon introduced a far more sensitive next-generation DNA test. It let investigators capture samples from as many as 60% of even highly degraded samples 10 times the rate of earlier tests. Later innovations have allowed the lab to accurately match samples with more distant relatives, and to extract DNA from even some of the most highly degraded samples. We mimic what 23andMe and Ancestry were trying to do, said Tim McMahon, director of the Armed Forces DNA Lab. Were good at getting DNA from the samples they send us. Mittelman and her husband, David, who is the CEO of the Othram DNA lab, have suggested that genetic genealogy could also offer a path to identification not only of the USS Oklahomas 33 remaining unknowns, but also 85 unidentified dead from the USS Arizona. Moored just a few hundred yards from the Oklahoma, the Arizona blew up in a cataclysmic explosion just minutes into the attack when a Japanese bomb exploded in the ships magazine. Of the Arizonas 1,500-man crew, 1,177 were killed, the highest death toll at Pearl Harbor. Just 105 bodies were recovered and identified. Most of the rest are permanently entombed in the sunken hull, which is now part of the USS Arizona Memorial. But 85 sets of recovered remains could not be identified and were buried as unknowns. Currently there are no plans to identify the Arizona unknowns, because doing so would require obtaining DNA reference samples from the families of all of the 1,177 dead. The Mittelmans believe genetic genealogy could allow DPAA to bypass that step by using their proprietary testing protocol, which they said already has been used to crack hundreds of cold cases. David Mittelman said they use multiple methods, plug into large DNA databases, and turn over their results to authorities. They charge $5,000 per sample. Our success rate is extremely high, he said. We pride ourselves on taking unsolvable problems and bringing them to conclusion. Theyve pitched their idea to officials at the Armed Forces DNA Lab. In a recent report to MIA families, DPAA called it a fruitful meeting but has not announced a partnership. Hope still remains for the 33 Oklahoma unknowns, too. When the Oklahoma Project wrapped up last year, the unidentified bones were placed in four caskets and reburied at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. They were lowered into the earth after a solemn ceremony on Dec. 7, 2021, the 80th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. LeGarde said one of the caskets contains an assortment of bones considered too small to be worth identifying. They will remain permanently buried. But the three other caskets contain individual sets of remains linked by DNA, segregated and wrapped in blankets awaiting new technology that will allow them to be identified and returned to their families. We know what casket they have gone into, LeGarde said. They could be accessed in the future if needed. Thats encouraging news for relatives of brothers William and Robert Sellon, USS Oklahoma sailors who grew up in Randolph, Nebraska. William, 25, known to family as Billy, was killed in the attack. He is one of the 33 who remain unknown. Robert, known as Bobby, survived. But he never escaped the shadow of Pearl Harbor. Ive been watching the paper, so hopeful, said Diann Sellon Gliem, 72, of Randolph, whose father, Monte, was the brothers first cousin. Theres always been a sadness in our family, and kind of a mystery. Billy and Bobby were the only two sons of a cabinetmaker and his wife who had moved from Randolph to Missoula, Montana, in search of work during the 1930s. That is where the brothers joined the Navy. Its not clear today how they came to be serving together on the Oklahoma, but it wasnt uncommon in the pre-World War II Navy. At least seven other sets of brothers were assigned to the ship, according to the website PearlHarbor.org. Family stories differ about exactly what happened to them that morning. One account says they were together that Sunday morning but split up when one decided to go to church and the other skipped it. Another story says Bobby slipped out of a porthole of the ship before it capsized and swam back in a vain attempt to find Billy. They do know Bobby never really recovered from the loss of his brother. He was wounded in the war perhaps on board the USS Northampton, to which he was transferred after Pearl Harbor. The ship was torpedoed and sunk almost a year later during a disastrous naval battle near Guadalcanal. After the war, Bobby returned to Montana, married, fathered two daughters, split up with his wife and remarried. He liked bars and guns, and once got shot by another man. His behavior reminds relatives today of post-traumatic stress. On June 28, 1952, he walked into a bedroom at his parents house in Missoula with a high-powered rifle and fatally shot himself. He was 31. A newspaper account quoted his parents as saying he had been despondent ever since World War II. I was paralyzed with grief when he killed himself, recalls Glenda Rock III, Bobbys younger daughter, who was 6 when he died. He always called me Happy Jack. He was safety, was warmth. She said no one would mention her fathers name for several years. It took time, but she has worked through her familys tragedy. Its not painful anymore. Its a saga, Rock said. Although she lives in Idaho, Rock said she would like to see her uncles remains buried in Nebraska if he can be identified. Thats the ending Gliem is hoping for, too. The story just got sadder and sadder. It was hard for me to shake it, she said. It would be a closure on one of those open-ended questions from World War II. Nebraska-born sailor, 17, who died at Pearl Harbor to be buried Friday in Hawaii Darrel Parker, convicted of Lincoln murder in 1956 and cleared five decades later, dies at 90 80 years after Pearl Harbor, unidentified USS Oklahoma sailors are returned to Hawaii soil Watch Now: WWII veteran Jack Langan returns home 80 years later To talk about life in the American West, first we need to talk about death. The seriousness of death often indicates some broader serious things that are going on, said Leif Fredrickson, co-host of the podcast "Death in the West." Death in the West is a historical true-crime podcast hosted by four nonfiction aficionados who grew up in Missoula: Chad Dundas, Zach Dundas, Erika Fredrickson and Leif Erickson. The first 10-episode season explores the 1917 murder of Frank Little, an leader for Industrial Workers of the World who was trying to organize mining workers in Butte at the time he was killed. That season just won an Award of Excellence from the American Association of State and Local History for its Leadership in History Awards. The first season explores all the major players in Littles death: the police, Copper Kings, private agents and more, taking a deep dive into a significant event in Montana labor history that Montanans still talk about today. Littles grave still stands in Butte, with his grave marker reading "Slain by capitalist interests for organizing and inspiring his fellow men." Though many theories surrounding his murder exist, it is considered officially unsolved. Theres no real smoking gun, Fredrickson said. Leif Fredrickson and his sister and co-host Erika Fredrickson grew up in Missoula and have ties to Butte. As kids, one sometimes hears stories about Frank Little, Leif Fredrickson said. We were also fascinated by the history of Butte in general, he said. In some ways, Butte, along with Frank Little, is the main character of our first season. Buttes rich history opened doors to explore themes currently relevant to Montanans, some more than ever before: class conflict, urbanization, industrialization, mining, European settlement, etc. There was class violence all over, but particularly in the American West, Fredrickson said. The American West has been mythologized, he said, and "Death in the West" attempts to puncture some of those myths, he said. In the telling of the history of the West, social solidarity and movements for socialism arent often told, but there have been huge pushes toward those movements, especially around the time of Littles death, he said. Now in its second season, "Death in the West" is currently examining the case of D.B. Cooper, a man who hijacked a Northwest Orient flight from Seattle to Portland in 1971, demanding a $200,000 ransom from the airline before jumping. We wanted to do something very different from what we had done in the first time period, Fredrickson said. So we chose something much later in the 20th century. Putting together a scripted podcast is a huge undertaking. All four co-hosts have other jobs, and the podcast is completely DIY. Its just a labor of love, Fredrickson said. So that always makes it rewarding, to get some recognition for it. Mountain meadows burst with blue. Hillsides teem with yellow. Delicate petals of Montanas state flower grace gravelly slopes. Southwest Montanas native plants appear to be abundantly blooming this summer. Yes, this year really seems to be quite special for native plants, said Robert Pal, an associate professor of biology at Montana Technological University and vice president of the board for the Montana Native Plant Society. I am sure it is due to the unusually wet spring. And previous dry period, he said. Jessie Salix, forest botanist for the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, offered a similar take. I think especially after such a dry year last year, we are going ooh and aah, she said. Its looking like a pretty awesome year. Salix said fields of what turned out to be camas caught her eye recently from a distance. I was driving along the Big Hole and thought, What is that blue out there? she said. Chiara Cipriano, a spokeswoman for the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, said the spring weather has certainly been favorable for the flower-covered mountain sides. Cipriano added, Folks traveling through the recent Rodney Ridge prescribed burn outside Helena will also notice a proliferation of the arrowleaf balsamroot. Botanist and plant ecologist Peter Lesica, co-chairman of the Montana Native Plant Societys conservation committee, deferred to Pals expertise about the region near Butte, Anaconda and Deer Lodge. Lesica said the relative abundance of native plants in Montana and the emergence of their blooms can vary year to year, depending on precipitation and a host of other factors. He lives near Mount Jumbo in Missoula and said the native plants there typically bloom sooner than plants in places like Anaconda and Butte. Things depend a lot on where in the state you are, Lesica said. I recently worked in the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge south of Glasgow, and it was green, but the blooming was late. In fact I think that things were at least somewhat late most places I've been, Lesica added. Here in Missoula it was drier than average in March through May, but June has been wet. Early blooming things were not very impressive, but many plants that usually bloom in June have been quite abundant. He said Monday that he and Pal had recently returned from the Libby area, where the wildflowers were abundant. Wildflower devotees sometimes embrace native plants with spiritual fervor. Did a divine being scatter their concentrated beauty across the Montana landscape to help human beings endure all that is ugly about life? Other wildflower aficionados adopt a more scientific approach, one that focuses on evolutionary adaptations meant to attract pollinators. They talk about the wavelengths of light that yield color. Of course, Albert Einstein suggested repeatedly that science and spirituality need not be mutually exclusive. What I see in Nature is a magnificent structure that we can comprehend only very imperfectly, and that must fill a thinking person with a feeling of humility, Einstein said. This is a genuinely religious feeling that has nothing to do with mysticism. Scientists say that the bright and stunning colors of wildflowers did not evolve to please human eyes. Instead, flowers perfected their colors over millions of years to attract pollinators and support the plants reproductive success. Not everyone reacts to wildflowers with reverence. On a recent Saturday afternoon, two adults whose pickup truck sported Wyoming plates were spotted long the Mill Creek Highway feverishly picking camas flowers. The Forest Service cites a host of reasons why picking or digging up wildflowers is wrong. (The agencys entreaties against disturbing wildflowers dont mention karma.) Almost all wildflowers are fragile and many wilt and perish soon after being picked, the agency says. We dont often realize it, but wildflowers support entire ecosystems for pollinators, birds and small mammals on a micro scale. Butterflies and other insects, small birds, and animals depend on seeds, nectar and pollen for their food supply and life support system. Native Americans favored the roots of the arrowleaf balsamroot, the camas and the bitterroot, among other native plants. The U.S. Forest Service reports that nearly all parts of the arrowleaf balsamroot were used as food by various Native American groups. The roots may be baked or steamed and eaten, as well as the young shoots, the Forest Service observes. The immature flower stems could be peeled and eaten, the flowers themselves are good browse for wildlife. Balsamroot seeds are nutritious and oil-rich, another good source of food. Native American tribes considered the bulb-like roots of the common camas to be a delicacy. Bulbs would be steamed or pit cooked for one to three days, breaking down complex carbohydrates into ample amounts of the sugar fructose, the Forest Service observes. The Lewis and Clark expeditions introduction by the Nez Perce in 1805 to a bread made from camas roots did not go well. The men were sick for days, according to expedition journals. The Forest Service reports that bitterroot is a culturally significant plant for several Native American tribes in the West, including the Kootenai, the Nez Perce, the Paiute, the Shoshone and others. Traditionally, the roots were gathered, dried for storage, and used for food or trade, the Forest Service observes. The root is bitter, so it was cooked and often mixed with meat or berries. The bitterroot is Montanas state flower and can arrest the eye because it sometimes appears to have dropped into place from the sky. The U.S. Forest Service describes a host of places in the region that can yield quality time with wildflowers. They include Vipond Park near Dewey, the Gravelly Range and the Elkhorn Wildlife Management Unit. The United States Supreme Court (Photo courtesy of The Nevada Current). The United States Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that states can prosecute non-Native people who commit crimes against a Native person on tribal lands, a dramatic move for tribal sovereignty that undoes decades of practice. Victor Manuel Castro-Huerta, who is non-Native, was sentenced to 35 years in prison stemming from a 2015 child neglect conviction in Oklahoma against his Native American stepdaughter within the states Cherokee Reservation. Castro-Huerta challenged the conviction, citing the Supreme Courts 2020 decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma, which held states cannot prosecute crimes committed on Native American lands without federal approval. In this case, Oklahoma argued that because Castro-Huerta is non-Native, McGirt does not bar his prosecution by the state, and the Supreme Court agreed. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who authored the courts majority opinion, raised questions about the eastern part of Oklahoma, including Tulsa, being labeled as Indian Country. About two million people live there, and the vast majority are not Indians, he wrote.The classification of eastern Oklahoma as Indian country has raised urgent questions about which government or governments have jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed there. Kavanaugh listed multiple decisions going back to 1845 to support the argument that Indian reservations are part of the surrounding state and are subject to the states jurisdiction except as forbidden by federal law. In short, the courts precedents establish that Indian country is part of a states territory and that, unless preempted, states have jurisdiction over crimes committed in Indian Country, Kavanaugh wrote for the majority. Justices John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito Jr., and Amy Coney Barrett joined Kavanaugh in the majority. At the same time, Neil Gorsuch joined the three liberal justices Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor in dissent. In his dissent, Gorsuch praised the 1832 decision Worcester v. Georgia, which ruled state law had no power in Indian country without congressional authorization. The decision established a foundational rule that would persist for over 200 years: Native American Tribes retain their sovereignty unless and until Congress ordains otherwise, Gorsuch wrote. He argued that Wednesdays ruling was reneging on a promise made to the Cherokee after their exile to what became Oklahoma. The federal government promised the tribe that it would remain forever free from interference by state authorities. Only the Tribe or the federal government could punish crimes by or against tribal members on tribal lands, he wrote. Where this Court once stood firm, today it wilts Where our predecessors refused to participate in one states unlawful power grab at the expense of the Cherokee, todays Court accedes to anothers. Respectfully, I dissent. Gorsuch pushed back on the majoritys argument that a state possesses inherent sovereign power to prosecute crimes on tribal reservations until and unless Congress preempts that authority. The Court emphasizes that states normally wield broad police powers within their borders absent some preemptive federal law, he wrote. But the effort to wedge tribes into that paradigm is a category error. Tribes are not private organizations within state boundaries. Their reservations are not glorified private campgrounds. Tribes are sovereigns. Keaton Sunchild, political director at Western Native Voice, a nonpartisan organization that advocates for Native rights in Montana, said the ruling sets a dangerous criterion going forward. Obviously we fear that this starts a dangerous precedent of stripping tribal sovereignty and blurring the lines between the treaties made between the federal government and the tribes across the country, he said. This is something that we have long just assumed is settled on between state governments, federal governments and tribal governments I guess the five justices thought differently and now we have to worry about what happens next with tribal rights, who knows what else could be under attack and potentially stripped next. He added that the decision is expected to have a harmful impact going forward. We will likely see more states meddling in tribal affairs and the taking away of autonomy that tribes have had available to them for decades. The Native American Fund said in a statement that the ruling strikes against the sovereignty of tribal nations and the consequences of the decision for tribal nations, the federal government, and states will take time to unravel. The Supreme Courts decision today is an attack on tribal sovereignty and the hard-fought progress of our ancestors to exercise our inherent sovereignty over our own territories, said National Congress of American Indians President Fawn Sharp in the release. It was only a few months ago that Congress loudly supported tribal sovereignty and tribal criminal jurisdiction with the passage of the Violence Against Womens Act, reaffirming the right of Tribal Nations to protect their own people and communities, but make no mistake, today, the Supreme Court has dealt a massive blow to tribal sovereignty and Congress must, again, respond. The post Supreme Court ruling expands states authority to prosecute crimes on tribal land appeared first on Daily Montanan. Fairfield, MT (59436) Today A few showers early with scattered thunderstorms arriving for the afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 71F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 48F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Focusing on farm business efficiency and carefully considering the value at each stage can help farmers plot a path through the myriad of offerings connected with climate change. Speaking at the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV) AGM, Jason Jordan, estates director of the 4,860ha Knowsley Estate, said he was becoming more climate aware, but he didnt feel in full possession of what needed to be done and where. We may want to look at biodiversity net gain but what we dont want is to commit only to find out later it wasnt the right decision. Any decisions to take land out of agricultural production need to be carefully considered, said Charlie Ireland, managing partner at Ceres Rural, adding that if habitat and soils were considered separately, opportunities would be missed. Agriculture emits 10% of greenhouse gases, he said. But its ability to also sequester carbon can be used as a means to top up income which may be of interest to some businesses as BPS falls off. Companies like Agreena and Trinity Capital are paying farmers not for results but on a production system basis, valuing carbon at 30-60ha depending on the level of intensity, or extensivity of the system lower cultivations and regenerative systems. It is important to weigh the impact on productivity businesses need to be aware of this. With no standard tools for measuring carbon the variation in results can be large, he added. Some make allowance for sequestering carbon on farms and some dont. We need standardisation of measurements if we are going to increase confidence in the ability of businesses to market carbon. NFU vice president, Tom Bradshaw said too much time is spent on debating which carbon calculator to use. With ELMs the government needs to incentivise uptake of carbon calculation and back one, two or three credible mechanisms. When it comes to soil organic matter there are two different tests with widely ranging organic matter levels. We need a standard protocol. Some people within Defra believe tree planting is the way forward - not at what agriculture can deliver, like hedges and improved soil organic matter. It isnt all about tree planting and taking land out of food production. CAAV secretary and adviser Jeremy Moody questioned whether carbon had much value for sale, suggesting it had more value at home. With its level of emissions, it is a hard job for agriculture to reach net zero. Farmers will need to hold carbon for their own net zero progress helping someone else be net zero will not help the farm. It also has a low value at 7-15/t at farm level and farms will not have that many tonnes to consider. Soil is arguably a bigger issue for farming, he added. Many soils have become depleted and their improvement supports good farming. But this is a net cost and how do we value it? To be net zero by 2050 is a very challenging target, he said. The UK has done the easiest 40% - better than most countries and with little effect on the public and ways of life. But it will get harder from now on, and it will be better and cheaper to tackle it in a planned way. Deferral will only make it harder, sharper and more expensive. Lords have spoken out against a Bill which will force farmers and landowners to accept cuts of up to 90% in the rent they receive for hosting mobile phone masts. New rules under the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill could strip small landowners of the limited legal safeguards they are entitled to under existing law. This has resulted in in a groundswell of opposition from Labour, Liberal Democrat and Crossbench peers. Since the Electronic Communications Code was passed in 2017, operators like Vodafone, EE and Telefonica, who make combined annual profits of over 30bn a year, have slashed rents, without consulting site owners. But the new Bill will allow telecoms companies to go further, placing farmers and other landowners, who have come to rely on this rental income, in potential financial peril. While the government has insisted the savings telecoms companies make on rental payments will be reinvested in new networks and benefit consumers, millions of customers have seen their phone bills soar amidst an unprecedented cost of living crisis. This comes while telecoms companies continue to rake in hundreds of millions of pounds of UK taxpayer funded subsidies to roll out 5G. The Bill has had strong cross-party resistance from MPs, shining light on Nadine Dorries dysfunctional DCMS, which has only recently come under criticism from both sides of the House for its policies across gambling and broadcasting. It is expected that Lords from across the political spectrum will highlight how the bill will enhance the position of already profitable telecoms companies and severely threaten the rights of property owners. Lords are also likely to challenge the blanket refusal of MPs to even allow a review of the impact of reforms on connectivity or rents despite independent evidence that the reforms will actually slow down the national 5G rollout. Lords from across the political spectrum were critical of the Bill at Second Reading on 6 June. Baroness Stowell, Conservative Chair of the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee said: It seems to me that site owners are being asked to make sacrifices for the benefit of their local communities. "But they fear that what is in fact happening is that they are being asked to give up income for the benefit of commercial providers gaining profit. It seems wrong that a Bill designed to level up is making some of those affected feel that they are losing out. Labour DCMS and BEIS spokesperson Lord Bassam added: Clearly, something is not right when companies can almost unilaterally determine the level of rent that they are prepared to pay for sites, regardless of earlier agreements. The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), the first of three new environmental schemes being introduced post-Brexit, has today opened for applications. The SFI is intended to financially reward actions beneficial to the environment, against a backdrop of helping the industry achieve green targets coupled with reductions in direct payments. Farmers will be paid to provide public goods such as improved water quality, biodiversity, climate change mitigation and animal health and welfare. For this year, the agri-environmental scheme, opening for farmers in England only, includes three standards, each with different levels and payments. The scheme opened on Thursday (30 June) for applications and there is no deadline to apply, Defra said. Farming minister, Victoria Prentis said: The Sustainable Farming Incentive is designed to be accessible and recognises the importance of domestic food production to our national resilience. "Farmers will receive payment within three months of their agreements starting, and payment rates are more targeted and less prescriptive than previous EU schemes. "We want to support farmers with the choices they take for their farms, and I urge them to apply. For the arable and horticultural soils standard, farmers will be paid between 22 and 40 per hectare, depending on the activity level. The introductory level includes testing of soil organic matter and 70% or more of land covered with green cover over the winter, while the intermediate level includes activities such as 70% or more of land covered with multi-species green cover. For the improved grassland soils standard, farmers will be paid between 28 and 58 per hectare, also depending on the activity level. The introductory level includes activity such as producing a soil management plan, while the intermediate level includes herbal leys on at least 15% of land. Finally, farmers will be paid 10.30 per hectare for the introductory moorland standard, or 265 per agreement for the additional payment. Defra said it had worked with more than 4,000 farmers to test and trial the SFI scheme. Under the government's agricultural transition plan, the other two schemes to launch are Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery. Only subscribers with PAID Print or E-Edition subscriptions enter here to gain access. If you are not a Current Paid subscriber do not go through this portal. Please return to the subscription page to purchase one of our offers. Thank you! From left, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japanse Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol pose for a group photo ahead of a Indo-Pacific Partners meeting during the NATO summit in Madrid, June 29. AFP-Yonhap Gov't seeks diplomatic solutions before Supreme Court ruling By Jung Min-ho Korea will launch a council on July 4 to resolve the issue of wartime forced labor one of the biggest obstacles blocking the improvement of its relations with Japan. According to government sources Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is reviewing ways to foster good relations, which soured over the past several years after Korean court rulings that found Japanese companies liable to pay compensation for the victims of forced labor during Japan's colonial rule (1910-45). With the Supreme Court expected to rule on the statute of limitations on forced labor cases in the coming months, the ministry is scrambling to resolve the issue diplomatically. If it rules in favor of the victims, companies including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel will have their seized assets in Korea liquidated a "red line" Tokyo warned Seoul will regret crossing. One measure the ministry has considered is establishing a 30 billion won ($23,000) fund to compensate 300 victims. The ministry has urged the victims to voice their needs through the council more actively, while collecting their opinions to set up specific goals. The most critical and challenging part of the task is to persuade the Japanese government and companies to join it. The Japanese side has maintained that the issue of compensation for forced labor was "settled completely and finally" as part of the two countries' normalization treaty in 1965, 20 years after the liberation of Korea. Japanese companies will likely remain reluctant to join the fund, given that doing so will undermine the treaty and could result in drawing lawsuits from their shareholders. Thus, one of the ideas suggested is to raise money from Korean companies that had benefited from the treaty, which included $800m in Japan's grants and loans to Korea, and the Japanese ones that expect obvious and imminent benefits from the improved relations between the two countries. It will also be important to watch what messages the Japanese government and companies will give to the victims, who are demanding apologies and recognition for unjust treatment they received during the period. It remains to be seen how far the Japanese government and companies will concede as they have their own challenge of dealing with far-right voices and politicians who cater to them. Experts say, if Japanese leaders are to improve bilateral relations with Korea, they will begin to act after the House of Councillors elections scheduled to be held on July 10. The ministry's efforts come at a time when President Yoon Suk-yeol and Fumio Kishida, his Japanese counterpart, have exchanged friendly messages at the NATO summit in Madrid. During their meeting at Tuesday's (local time) gala dinner, Yoon told Kishida he would like to build future-oriented bilateral relations between the two countries after resolving issues blocking that path and wished him good luck in the elections. Kishida agreed and expressed appreciation. Yoon, who had criticized the previous Moon Jae-in administration for politicizing the critical relationship with the Asian neighbor, has showed signs that his government will be different from the prior one as of taking office May 10. Yet, many old and new issues, including forced labor and Japan's wartime sexual slavery of Korean women, suggest a very bumpy path to rapprochement. According to a recent poll conducted jointly by the Hankook Ilbo and the Yomiuri Shimbun, 52.9 percent of Koreans said they expect Korea-Japan relations to improve under the new administration, a jump from 28.9 percent last year. In Japan, 31 percent of respondents agreed, an increase from 14 percent. Image: Instagram Deepika Padukone is on a rollercoaster that is only going up. First, she became the House Ambassador for Louis Vuitton, the first Indian celebrity to do so, then, followed it up with her visit to Cannes where she was not only a guest but also a jury member. She slayed with her looks and made international headlines while she was at it. And now, the actor is the ambassador for Cartier, the French jewellery and watch brand, whose high jewellery has been spotted on the necks of and dangling from the earlobes of many famous celebrities at several red carpets.Recently, Deepika attended a Cartier party in Madrid to celebrate the brands new high jewellery, and chose a Bahraini label for making an appearance. Monsoori, from designer Shaima Al Mansoori, was the force behind the outfit a white dress with peplum top with tiered panels inspired by a flower, a neckline plunging all the way down to the navel, and a tulle skirt that left little to the imagination. She accessorised the look with a necklace featuring diamonds placed in geometric motifs that ended a little lower than her clavicle with two blue stones. Her hair was tied in the actors signature messy bun and the makeup included her MO the smokey eyes.Image: Instagram This dress seems to be some sort of a redemption for the actor whose other recent look the red peplum dress from Louis Vuitton that the actor sported on the Cannes red carpet received lukewarm responses from fashion enthusiasts and critics alike. Even though the red number was risque in its waif-y construct, it wasnt something that we havent seen the actor wear before. This number, however, despite its hyper-femininity, was a wonderful option owing to its various textures and the way it fit her snugly, cementing the actors position as a global style icon.What do you think of Deepikas outfit from the Middle Eastern designer Shaima Al Mansoori? Is it tad riskier and more interesting than the Louis Vuitton red number from Cannes? The veterans ministry has chosen a South African Air Force (SAAF) unit as next month's Korean War hero for its extensive operations in support of the South during the 1950-53 conflict, officials said Thursday. The 2 Squadron SAAF, nicknamed "Flying Cheetahs," conducted a total of 12,067 sorties in key air operations at frontline battle zones from the southeastern port city of Busan to Pyongyang during the first major armed conflict of the Cold War. Led by Lt. Col. Servaas Theron, the squadron cut off enemies' logistics lines and offered close air support for ground troops with 16 F-51 Mustang fighters acquired from the United States, according to the ministry. It successfully destroyed key enemy assets, including 40 tanks, 220 field artillery guns, 147 anti-aircraft guns and about 500 supply depots. During the war, South Africa sent a total of 826 troops. Of them, 36 were killed, and eight were taken prisoner. "Despite the absence of diplomatic ties between South Africa and Korea at the time and the geographical location of the country in the southernmost part of Africa, it sent troops to defend the Republic of Korea," the ministry said in a press release. The two countries forged official diplomatic ties in 1992. (Yonhap) Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category In a recent interview, Anurag Kashyap got candid about the prevailing fear among the film industry about what content can be shown and what cannot. The director was asked if OTT content across streaming platforms has encouraged the kind of storytelling he does. To this, he answered that it is a double-edged sword. The actor recently attended the BFI screening of his upcoming movie Dobaaraa. During the event, he answered multiple questions about the current restrictive atmosphere in the film industry. At the moment, we cant do anything that is remotely political, or remotely religious. Those are big nos. And big nos not because anyone has said that you cant do that, but because everybody is living in an atmosphere where they dont know how anybody is going to react. Right now, were very fragile, were very easily offended. So, for creators in India, its a great time to create long-form storytelling and new experimental stuff, but at the same time, we are walking a very thin line. Dobaaraa is a remake of the Spanish film Mirage and centres around time travel and a parallel universe. The filmmaker recently completed ten years of his gangster-thriller Gangs of Wasseypur, speaking on the movie the director called it his biggest undoing. He added that once Dobaaraa releases he expects the audience to stop expecting gangster-thrillers of him again. Ranbir Kapoor is making headlines for exciting updates on the personal and professional front. The actor is returning to the big screen after years with not one but two big-budget films - Shamshera and Brahmastra. In Shamshera, he plays a role that marks a stark departure from the kind of films he's known for. Now, Karan Malhotra has opened up about how that is precisely what works for Shamshera.In an interview with a leading daily, the director said that working with Ranbir was a novel experience since he is a "new-age actor". Malhotra explained, "He is an actor who internalises a lot, you see that in all of his performances. He is not a loud actor, he is not out there, but my cinema is exactly that."He added, Ranbir brings in the freshness to Shamshera that an actor rarely brings these days. What is unique about Shamshera, and why the trailer has been received well, is because Ranbir is not a usual suspect for a film like this." Karan cited examples of unexpected castings that worked out like Hrithik Roshan, Rishi Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt in Agneepath.In Shamshera, Rabir Kapoor plays a dacoit warrior who goes up against the British rule. The film set in the 1800s is a period drama that promises a story of revolution backed by grand visuals.Check out the film's trailer here:Shamshera arrives in theatres on July 22 this year. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 23, 2022) - Xtra-Gold Resources Corp. (TSX: XTG) (OTCQB: XTGRF) ("Xtra-Gold" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce assay results for an additional 24 diamond core boreholes totalling 3,553 metres from its ongoing Zone 3 resource expansion drilling program on the Company's wholly-owned Kibi Gold Project, located in the Kibi - Winneba greenstone belt (the "Kibi Gold Belt"), in Ghana, West Africa. With the present drilling successfully confirming the down-plunge continuity and multi-shoot geometry of the recently identified Boomerang East gold zone (see the Company's news release of February 18, 2022). The current drilling forms part of an aggressive in-house drilling initiative focussing on multiple resource expansion targets along the southwest (Zone 3) segment of the over three-kilometre-long Zone 2 - Zone 3 anticlinal fold structure; stretching over one kilometre beyond the limits of the recently published updated Mineral Resource Estimate (the "2021 MRE", see the Company's news release of November 1, 2021). Assay results reported are provided in Table 1 below and include the following highlights: Boomerang East: Lower Shoot - 77.0 metres ("m") at 1.59 grams per tonne gold ("g/t Au"), including 31.0 m at 3.23 g/t Au, from 122.0 m in hole KBDD22481 - 46.0 m at 1.39 g/t Au, including 20.0 m at 2.01 g/t Au, from 127.0 m in KBDD22475 - 43.0 m at 1.57 g/t Au, including 13.0 m at 3.21 g/t Au, from 52.0 m in KBDD22480 Boomerang East: Upper Shoot (s) - 13.5 m at 3.20 g/t Au from 37.0 m in hole KBDD22478 - 11.3 m at 2.41 g/t Au, including 6.0 m at 3.40 g/t Au, from 11.0 m in KBDD22464 - 9.1 m at 1.21 g/t Au from 93.9 m in KBDD22469; followed by second interval of 16.3 m at 2.06 g/t Au from 141.7 m, including 5.7 m at 3.10 g/t Au James Longshore, President and CEO remarked: "We are incredibly pleased with the success of our initial follow up drilling program at the recently identified Boomerang East gold zone. With just over 3,500 m of drilling we have advanced this target from a near surface prospect to a multi-shoot gold system extending to an almost 300 m down-plunge distance along the fold hinge of the Zone 2 - Zone 3 anticlinal fold structure. We look forward to the further resource growth potential from the ongoing expansion drilling targeting both the up-plunge and down-plunge extensions of the Boomerang East mineralization, as well as step-out drilling along the extension of the controlling anticlinal fold hinge structure." Today's Kibi Gold Project drill results correspond to 24 follow up drill holes targeting the recently defined Boomerang East gold zone located along the southwestern (Zone 3) segment of the over three-kilometre-long Zone 2 - Zone 3 anticlinal fold structure. With the drilling, in addition to further delineating and expanding the auriferous zone, also designed to gain additional insight on the mineralization's litho-structural setting. The 24 diamond core boreholes totalling 3,553 m were completed by the Company's in-house drilling crews from early February to mid-May 2022 (KBDD22459 - KBDD2282). A total of 68 holes (9,451 m) have been completed since the initiation of the current drill program following the late July 2021 database close-out date for the recently published updated 2021 MRE. Exploration significant auriferous intercepts are presented in Table 1 below, with a drill plan (Figure 1) and collar details (Table 2), available at: (Figure 1_Zone 2 - Zone 3 Drill Plan_Jun 23 2022) (Table 2_Drill Collar Info_Jun 23 2022) Table 1: Significant Drill Intercepts Boomerang East Resource Expansion Target (Zone 3 - Kibi Gold Project) DDH KBDD22459 - KBDD22482 / February - May 2022 Hole ID From (metres) To (metres) Core Length (metres) Gold Grams Per Tonne KBDD22459 77.0 86.3 9.3 0.80 including 83.2 86.3 3.1 1.24 and 179.0 186.3 7.3 0.76 including 184.0 186.3 2.3 2.06 KBDD22460 74.0 86.5 12.5 0.35 including 80.0 83.0 3.0 0.81 KBDD22461 92.0 92.6 0.6 19.98 and 103.0 103.6 0.6 4.64 KBDD22462 22.5 32.0 9.5 0.71 including 25.3 27.5 2.2 2.01 KBDD22463 44.8 57.6 12.8 0.68 including 47.0 52.0 5.0 1.32 and 98.0 114.6 16.6 0.52 including 109.4 111.3 1.9 1.41 and 120.4 136.05 15.65 0.28 KBDD22464 11.0 22.3 11.3 2.41 including 14.0 20.0 6.0 3.40 KBDD22466 28.9 37.0 8.1 0.88 including 35.4 37.0 1.6 2.62 KBDD22468 7.5 13.5 6.0 0.76 and 60.0 85.6 25.6 0.99 including 61.0 75.8 14.8 1.30 and 144.0 161.0 17.0 0.30 KBDD22469 93.9 103.0 9.1 1.21 including 100.0 102.0 2.0 2.67 and 141.7 158.0 16.3 2.06 including 152.3 158.0 5.7 3.10 KBDD22470 4.1 19.5 15.4 0.28 and 117.0 118.0 1.0 10.19 and 124.0 131.0 7.0 0.94 KBDD22471 115.3 123.3 8.0 0.87 including 118.4 120.4 2.0 1.78 and 171.0 178.9 7.9 0.43 KBDD22472 84.0 92.0 8.0 0.71 KBDD22474 95.2 98.8 3.6 4.89 and 147.0 161.0 14.0 0.90 including 147.0 149.0 2.0 2.56 KBDD22475 127.0 173.0 46.0 1.39 including 149.0 169.0 20.0 2.01 KBDD22476 90.0 96.0 6.0 1.58 including 94.0 95.0 1.0 4.04 and 149.0 151.0 2.0 2.70 KBDD22478 37.0 50.5 13.5 3.20 including 37.0 41.5 4.5 8.87 KBDD22479 34.0 43.0 9.0 0.28 KBDD22480 52.0 95.0 43.0 1.57 including 55.0 68.0 13.0 3.21 and incl. 82.0 82.5 0.5 15.97 KBDD22481 122.0 199.0 77.0 1.59 including 140.0 171.0 31.0 3.23 and incl. 155.0 164.0 9.0 6.38 and incl. 157.0 158.0 1.0 17.94 Notes: Reported intercepts are core-lengths; true width of mineralization is unknown at this time. "Significant" intercepts meet following criteria: minimum metal factor (grade x length) of 2.5; with minimum 0.25 g/t gold average grade over interval. Intercepts also constrained with a 0.25 g/t gold minimum cut-off grade at top and bottom of intercept, with no upper cut-off applied, and maximum of five (5) consecutive samples of internal dilution (<0.25 g/t gold). All internal intervals above 15 g/t gold indicated. Gold mineralization along the Zone 2 - Zone 3 MRE trend is emplaced along the limbs and hinge of a 1st Order ("F2a"), tight to isoclinal, anticlinal fold structure, with mineralization zones further occupying 2nd Order ("F1") isoclinal fold hinges on a target scale. Mineralization consists predominantly of tensional arrays of auriferous quartz-carbonate veins hosted by folded diorite bodies with an interpreted Belt-type granitoid affinity. Over 20 significant gold occurrences hosted by Belt (Dixcove)- and Basin (Cape Coast)-type granitoids are known in Ghana, with a number constituting significant deposits. These deposits represent a relatively new style of gold mineralization for orogenic gold deposits within the West African Birimian terrain. Belt-type intrusion-hosted gold deposits include Newmont Mining's Subika deposit at their Ahafo mine and Kinross Mining's Chirano deposit within the Sefwi gold belt, as well as the former Golden Star Resources' Hwini-Butre deposit at the southern extremity of the Ashanti gold belt. The present Boomerang East drilling (23 of 24 holes) focussed on confirming and expanding the gold mineralization recently intersected in a pair of drill-fan patterns testing an auriferous quartz vein exposure lying along the apparent fold hinge of the NE-trending, 1st Order, Zone 2 - Zone 3 anticlinal fold structure. With the northeastern most fan-pattern returning mineralized intercepts of 16.5 m grading 6.23 g/t Au, including 13.74 g/t Au over 6.5 m, from a down-hole depth of 1.5 m in hole KBDD22455; and 13.5 m grading 1.64 g/t Au, including 3.35 g/t Au over 6.0 m and 21.0 m grading 1.46 g/t Au, including 2.49 g/t Au over 11.0 m, from down-hole depths of 0.0 m and 39.0 m respectively in KBDD22458 (see the Company's news release of February 18, 2022). The drilling was conducted along eight (8) NW-SE Sections at mostly 50 m, with locally 25 m, spacing covering an approximately 250 m trend-length of the NE-trending fold structure. With most of the holes consisting of NW-trending, moderately to steeply-inclined (-60o to -75o) boreholes. Ongoing 3D litho-structural modelling indicates that the Boomerang East gold mineralization is emplaced within the inner arc of a tight, moderate NE-plunging, isoclinally folded diorite body. With the mineralization appearing to occur as a system of stacked, crescent-shaped, NE-plunging gold shoots traced to date over an approximately 295 m down-plunge distance along the fold hinge structure (i.e., approximately 160 m vertical depth from surface). Presently, two, more prominent mineralization shoots standout: an upper shoot (s) extending to surface which corresponds to the discovery quartz vein outcrop and the near surface aforementioned KBDD22455 / KBDD22458 auriferous drill intercepts; and a lower blind shoot with no present surface expression. Mineralized intercept highlights from the lower shoot, corresponding to the two southwestern most 50 m spaced drill sections, include: 46.0 m grading 1.39 g/t Au, including 2.01 g/t Au over 20.0 m, from a down-hole depth of 127.0 m in hole KBDD22475 and 77.0 m grading 1.59 g/t Au, including 3.23 g/t Au over 31.0 m, from a down-hole depth of 122 m in KBDD22481 (40 m SE of KBDD22475 intercept); and 25.6 m grading 0.99 g/t Au, including 1.30 g/t Au over 14.8 m, from a down-hole depth of 60.0 m in KBDD22468 and 43.0 m grading 1.57 g/t Au, including 3.21 g/t Au over 13.0 m, from a down-hole of 52.0 m in KBDD22480 (25 m NW of KBDD22468 intercept). Mineralized intercept highlights from the upper shoot (s), from near surface to down plunge, include: 11.3 m grading 2.41 g/t Au from a down-hole depth of 11.0 m in KBDD22464 and 13.5 m grading 3.20 g/t Au from a down-hole depth of 37.0 m in KBDD22478; and 9.1 m grading 1.21 g/t Au and 16.3 m grading 2.06 g/t Au, including 3.10 g/t Au over 5.7 m, from down-hole depths of 93.9 m and 141.7 m respectively in KBDD22469, and 3.6 m grading 4.89 g/t Au and 14.0 m grading 0.90 g/t Au from down-hole depths of 95.2 m and 147.0 m respectively in KBDD22474. QA/QC Yves P. Clement, P. Geo, Vice President, Exploration for Xtra-Gold is acting as the Qualified Person in compliance with National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") with respect to this announcement. He has prepared and or supervised the preparation of the scientific or technical information in this announcement and confirms compliance with NI 43-101. All samples in this news release were analyzed by standard fire assay fusion with atomic absorption spectroscopy finish at the ISO 17025:2005 accredited Intertek Minerals Limited's laboratory in Tarkwa, Ghana. Xtra-Gold has implemented a rigorous quality assurance / quality control (QA/QC) program to ensure best practices in sampling and analysis of drill core, trench channel, and saw-cut channel samples, the details of which can be viewed on the Company's website at www.xtragold.com. About Xtra-Gold Resources Corp. Xtra-Gold is a gold exploration company with a substantial land position in the Kibi Gold Belt. The Kibi Gold Belt, which exhibits many similar geological features to Ghana's main gold belt, the Ashanti Belt, has been the subject of very limited modern exploration activity targeting lode gold deposits as virtually all past gold mining activity and exploration efforts focused on the extensive alluvial gold occurrences in many river valleys throughout the Kibi area. Xtra-Gold holds 5 Mining Leases totaling approximately 226 sq km (22,600 ha) at the northern extremity of the Kibi Gold Belt. The Company's exploration efforts to date have focused on the Kibi Gold Project located on the Apapam Concession (33.65 sq km), along the eastern flank of the Kibi Gold Belt. The Kibi Gold Project (Zones 1-3) Mineral Resource Estimate, produced by Xtra-Gold on September 30, 2021, represents the only Mineral Resource ever generated on a lode gold project within the Kibi Gold Belt. The NI 43-101 Technical Report entitled "Xtra-Gold Resources Corporation Kibi Gold Project", jointly prepared by Pivot Mining Consultants (Pty) and Tect Geological Consulting, and dated November 16, 2021, is filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Forward-Looking Statements The TSX does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements". These statements are based on information currently available to the Company and the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward- looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results relating to, among other things, results of exploration, project development, reclamation and capital costs of the Company's mineral properties, and the Company's financial condition and prospects, could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements for many reasons such as: changes in general economic conditions and conditions in the financial markets; changes in demand and prices for minerals; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological and operational difficulties encountered in connection with the activities of the Company; and other matters discussed in this news release. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by the Company or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Cautionary Note to United States Investors This news release has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of U.S. securities laws. Unless otherwise indicated, all resource and reserve estimates included in this news release have been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum 2014 Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Canadian standards, including NI 43-101, differ significantly from the requirements of the SEC, and mineral resource and reserve information contained herein may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies. In particular, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the term "resource" does not equate to the term "reserves". Under U.S. standards, mineralization may not be classified as a "reserve" unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve determination is made. The SEC's disclosure standards normally do not permit the inclusion of information concerning "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" or "inferred mineral resources" or other descriptions of the amount of mineralization in mineral deposits that do not constitute "reserves" by U.S. standards in documents filed with the SEC. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into reserves. U.S. investors should also understand that "inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an "inferred mineral resource" will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimated "inferred mineral resources" may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies except in rare cases. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an "inferred mineral resource" exists or is economically or legally mineable. Disclosure of "contained ounces" in a resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian regulations; however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute "reserves" by SEC standards as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. The requirements of NI 43-101 for identification of "reserves" are also not the same as those of the SEC, and reserves reported by the Company in compliance with NI 43-101 may not qualify as "reserves" under SEC standards. Accordingly, information concerning mineral deposits set forth herein may not be comparable with information made public by companies that report in accordance with U.S. standards. Contact Information For further information please contact: James Longshore Chief Executive Officer 416-628-2881 E-mail: info@xtragold.com Website: www.xtragold.com 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/128744 Indonesian President Joko Widodo in conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron and United States President Joe Biden while attending the G7 Summit in Elmau, Germany, Monday, June 27, 2022. ANTARA/HO-Press Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat/Laily Rachev/aa/ak. (Handout of Press Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat/Laily R) JAKARTA, June 30, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has arrived at the venue of the 48th G7 Summit in Schloss Elmau, Germany on Monday afternoon (June 27) local time (UTC+1) to attend the meeting in the capacity of a partner country and as the G20 President.The G7 is an informal forum bringing together leaders of the world's leading industrial nations from the European Union and countries such as Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.Jokowi was welcomed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.During the official welcoming session by the chancellor, Jokowi was present with the leaders of G7 partner countries, including Argentine President Alberto Fernandez, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Senegalese President Macky Sall, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.Furthermore, during the photo session, he posed for a picture accompanied by the German chancellor and United States President Joe Biden.All heads of government attended two sessions of the G7 meeting.President Jokowi invited G7 countries to contribute to capitalizing on investment opportunities in the clean energy sector in Indonesia.President Jokowi conveyed the statement while attending the G7 Summit working lunch session based on the topics of climate change, energy, and health in Elmau, Germany, Monday (June 27)."(This is) especially (regarding) investment opportunities in the clean energy sector in Indonesia, including the development of an electric car and lithium battery ecosystem," the president stated.According to President Jokowi, Indonesia's potential, as a contributor to clean energy, whether in the bowels of the earth, on land, or at sea, is very large. Indonesia needs large investments and low-carbon technologies to support a fast and effective transition to clean energy."Indonesia needs at least US$25-30 billion for energy transition in the next eight years. We can optimize this transition as a motor of economic growth, open up business opportunities, and create new jobs," President Jokowi stated.Furthermore, the president noted that in Indonesia as well as in other developing countries, the risk of climate change is very real, especially since it is an archipelagic country, with 17 thousand islands. The risks are not only detrimental to health but also put farmers and fishermen in trouble."We really hope for the support of all G7 countries in the Indonesian Presidency at the G20. See you in Bali. Thank you," the president stated.During session II of the G7 summit on the topics of food security and gender equality, President Jokowi called on G7 and G20 countries to jointly overcome the food crisis that currently threatens people in developing countries to fall into extreme hunger and poverty."(Some) 323 million people in 2022, according to the World Food Programme, are at risk of facing acute food insecurity. The G7 and G20 have a big responsibility to overcome this food crisis. Let us fulfill our responsibilities now and from now on," President Jokowi affirmed.According to the president, food is the most basic human rights issue. Indubitably, women from poor families suffer the most from food shortages for their children and families."We must act quickly to find a concrete solution. Food production must be increased. The global food and fertilizer supply chain must return to normal," the president stated.In his speech, President Jokowi emphasized the importance of G7 countries' support for the reintegration of Ukraine's wheat exports and Russia's exports of food and fertilizer commodities in global supply chains.There are two ways to realize this, with the first being the facilitation of Ukraine's grain exports that can begin immediately.According to the president, the second approach is proactive communication with the public worldwide that food and fertilizer commodities from Russia are not subject to sanctions."This intensive communication is very necessary, so that there is no prolonged doubt in the (minds of the) international public. This intensive communication also needs to be strengthened with communication with related parties, such as banks, insurance, shipping, and others," the president explained.President Jokowi had paid significant attention to the impact of the war on food and fertilizer supply chains."(This is) especially for fertilizers, because if we fail to handle it, then a rice crisis involving two billion people, especially in developing countries, can occur," the president cautioned.At the end of his remarks, the president again called for the importance of the G7 and G20 countries to jointly overcome this food crisis while also inviting G7 leaders to attend the G20 Summit in Bali."I am waiting for the G7 leaders to attend the G20 summit. See you in Bali, on November 15-16, 2022," President Jokowi stated.Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi noted that the president held about nine bilateral meetings with: the Prime Minister of India; French President; Prime Minister of Canada; Chancellor of Germany; British Prime Minister; Prime Minister of Japan; President of the European Commission; President of the Council of Europe; and the Managing Director of the IMF.During the bilateral meetings, besides inviting other countries to solve the problems of the food supply chain, president Jokowi also highlighted the preparations for the G20 Summit."In these meetings, we can clearly see that support for the Indonesian Presidency is still very strong," Marsudi noted.In 2022, Germany takes over the G7 Presidency and hosts the 48th G7 summit held on June 26-28, 2022, in Schloss Elmau.The G7, originally G8, was set up in 1975.The annual G7 summits have, over the years, developed into a platform for determining the course of multilateral discourse and shaping political responses to global challenges.Written by: Azis Kurmala, Editor: Fardah Assegaf (c) ANTARA 2022Source: G20 IndonesiaCopyright 2022 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 29, 2022) - Eastern Platinum Limited's (TSX: ELR) (JSE: EPS) ("Eastplats" or the "Company") Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") is pleased to announce that it has appointed Mr. Wanjin Yang as the Company's Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Yang is a senior exploration geologist with over 30 years' of experience in major mineral exploration projects, corporate management, and corporate development. He previously was the Project Geologist at Whitehorse Gold Corp. working on its mineral exploration projects, new project acquisitions, and other corporate development work. Mr. Yang replaces Ms. Diana Hu, who has left the Company to pursue other endeavours. Mr. George Dorin, Eastplats' Chairman stated, "We are pleased to appoint Mr. Yang to lead the team as management executes the plan to re-start underground operations at the Zandfontein section of the Crocodile River Mine in South Africa. We look forward to working with Mr. Yang and hearing about his vision for the Company." Mr. Dorin further commented, "We thank Diana for her significant contributions as Chief Executive Officer over the past 6 years and wish her the very best in her new ventures." The Company also announces that Mr. Andrea Zhang has transitioned to a Vice-President role after serving as Chief Operating Officer. For further information, please contact: EASTERN PLATINUM LIMITED Wylie Hui, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary whui@eastplats.com (email) (604) 800-8200 (phone) Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, forecasts, estimates, expectations and objectives for future operations that are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "will", "plan", "intends", "may", "could", "expects", "anticipates" and similar expressions. Further disclosure of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and other forward-looking statements are discussed in the Company's most recent Annual Information Form available under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com. In particular, this press release contains, without limitation, forward-looking statements pertaining to: the ability of the Company to restart Zandfontein underground mining, to do so in 2022 and the potential contributions of Mr. Yang as Chief Executive Officer. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements as a number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, unanticipated problems that may arise in the Company's production processes, commodity prices, lower than expected grades and quantities of resources, need for additional funding and availability of such additional funding on acceptable terms, economic conditions, currency fluctuations, competition and regulations, legal proceedings and risks related to operations in foreign countries. All forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, the "Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information" section contained in the Company's most recent Management's Discussion and Analysis available under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date they are given and, except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation, and does not undertake, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/129566 Europ Assistance Group and Akur8 are delighted to announce their collaboration to strengthen Europ Assistance's pricing process for its Travel Insurance and Car Assistance programs. By joining forces with one of the world's leading assistance companies, Akur8 is extending its European footprint and developing its expertise in the pricing of various insurance products. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220610005219/en/ Specifically developed for insurers, Akur8's solution enhances their pricing processes by automating risk modeling using Transparent Artificial Intelligence proprietary technology. Core benefits for insurers include increased predictive performance and speed-to-accuracy for higher market reactivity and immediate business impact, all while maintaining full transparency and control of the models created. In 1963, Europ Assistance invented the concept of assistance. With 24/7 assistance and an international network operating in over 200 countries and territories, Europ Assistance carries out over 11 million interventions each year to protect its hundreds of millions of policyholders around the world, and has received awards in several countries for its excellent services. By choosing Akur8, Europ Assistance is in line with its DNA as a pioneer company: Akur8's pricing solution brings unparalleled speed and accuracy to the insurance pricing process, allowing highly predictive models to be built in record time, while maintaining transparency, auditability and total control over the models. "We are delighted to support Europ Assistance in enhancing the sophistication of its pricing process! Customer support is very important to us at Akur8, so we are particularly proud to collaborate with a reputable insurer that has received many awards for its reliability", said Samuel Falmagne, CEO of Akur8. "We are honored to include a new Generali Group company among our clients. Not only does this new alliance with Europ Assistance strengthen Akur8's presence in Europe, but it also shows that our customers trust us", added Brune de Linares, Chief Client Officer of Akur8. "Akur8 is a great pricing tool! We liked the automation of repetitive tasks as well as the quick and easy learning curve of the user interface for all team members. We particularly appreciated working on our own data with the help of Akur8 during the pilot, and we look forward to working together in the future", concluded Olivier Danneaux, Global Pricing Underwriting Director at Europ Assistance. About Akur8 Akur8 is revolutionizing insurance pricing with Transparent AI, boosting insurers' pricing capabilities with unprecedented speed and accuracy across the pricing process without compromising on auditability or control.Our modular pricing platform automates technical and commercial premium modeling. It empowers insurers to compute adjusted and accurate rates in line with their commercial strategy while materially impacting their business and maintaining absolute control of the models created, as required by regulators worldwide. With Akur8, time spent modeling is reduced by 10x, the models' predictive power is increased by 10% and loss ratio improvement potential is boosted by 2-4%. Akur8 already serves 50+ customers across 20+ countries, including AXA, Generali and Munich Re; specialty insurers Canopius and Tokio Marine Kiln; insurtechs Wakam and wefox; and mutual insurer Matmut. 700 actuaries use Akur8 daily to build their pricing models across all lines of business. About Europ Assistance Founded in 1963, Europ Assistance, the inventor of the assistance concept, supports its customers in over 200 countries and territories through a network of 750,000 approved partners and 43 assistance centers. Our mission is to provide people and companies with solutions adapted to any emergency or everyday situation anywhere, anytime. Europ Assistance provides roadside assistance, emergency assistance and travel insurance services, as well as personal assistance services such as support for seniors, digital identity protection, telemedicine and concierge services. The commitment of its 10,000 employees is to be the most reliable assistance company in the world. Europ Assistance is part of the Generali Group, one of the world's leading insurance companies. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220610005219/en/ Contacts: Media Anne-Laure Klein +33 6 63 79 44 74 anne-laure.klein@akur8.com Police questioned a businessman Thursday in connection with allegations that he paid for sexual services as a bribe to now-ruling People Power Party (PPP) Chairman Lee Jun-seok about 10 years ago. The National Police Agency said a team of investigators questioned Kim Sung-jin, CEO of the tech company I-kaist, who is currently detained at the Seoul Detention Center over a separate case. Lee is accused of receiving sexual services paid for by Kim in 2013. At the time, Lee was considered close to then-President Park Geun-hye because Park had handpicked him for a seat on the party's collective leadership two years earlier. The scandal is considered the biggest crisis yet for Lee, who won the PPP chairmanship last year as the first person in his 30s to take the helm of a major political party in Korea. Lee has claimed he is innocent. The PPP's ethics committee plans to hold a meeting on Lee's case next week. The types of disciplinary action the committee can take range from a warning to expulsion from the party. (Yonhap) - Lafullen's safety and efficacy proven in 24-month clinical study - Improvements in initial volume and long-lasting effects - Efficacious treatment protocol developed by specialists based on research results SEOUL, South Korea, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Research results confirm the long-term safety and efficacy of Samyang Holdings Biopharmaceuticals Division's new filler Lafullen. A dermal filler is a proven safe medical device injected into the skin's subcutaneous fat layer to add volume and fill facial wrinkles for a smoother, more youthful appearance. Samyang Holdings Biopharmaceuticals Division (CEO: Lee Young-Joon) announced on June 30th that a clinical study on the safety and improvement effect of its polycaprolactone (PCL) filler Lafullen has been published in the prestigious international academic journal Dermatologic Therapy, a Scientific Citation Index (SCI) publication that issues the latest scientific findings in the field of dermatology. Professor Kim Beom Joon from the Department of Dermatology, Chung-Ang University Hospital conducted this comparative study of Lafullen and an existing PCL filler on 59 Korean men and women. The study examined Lafullen's effect on the nasolabial folds using a globally accepted standard index and confirmed initial volume improvement and safe and stable volume maintenance during the one-year course of the study. Samyang Holdings Biopharmaceuticals Division has secured long-term safety and efficacy data by conducting follow-up observational studies for an additional 12 months after the study's conclusion to evaluate the expected duration of efficacy exceeding two years. Treatment protocols developed by medical professionals obtained quantitative data on improvements to nasolabial folds using the Wrinkle Severity Rating Scale (WSRS), Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAIS) after treatment, and Volume change using a 3D scanner. Development of Lafullen, an injectable dermal filler from Samyang Holdings Biopharmaceuticals Division, began in 2015 and received marketing approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2021. Lafullen is made of PCL (Polycaprolactone), a biodegradable polymer material for medical use, as its main component. Thanks to the patented technology of Samyang Holdings Biopharmaceuticals Division, Lafullen has less irritation compared to existing PCL fillers, and natural volume can be expected. Sam Kim, Manager of Samyang Holdings Biopharmaceutical Division said, "Scientific research has confirmed Lafullen's duration of efficacy, safety, and stability." He added, "The study results are being used to refine the treatment protocol to ensure the highest standards of safety and efficacy for use by domestic and international dermatologists." Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1849169/1.jpg WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) announced the BD MAX Respiratory Viral Panel, a combination test for SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A + B and Respiratory Syncytial Virus, has been CE marked to the IVD directive 98/79/EC. The test uses a single nasal swab or a single nasopharyngeal swab sample to find if a patient has COVID-19 or the flu or RSV. 'SARS-Cov-2, influenza and RSV are a triple threat, as patient symptoms and clinical presentation can be nearly identical. A combined testing panel is key to enabling clinicians to quickly and efficiently diagnose, differentiate and treat patients to help manage the spread of the infections,' said Nikos Pavlidis, vice president of Molecular Diagnostics at BD. The company plans to submit for Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA in the coming weeks. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. BRUSSELS, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The European Litigation Funders Association ("ELFA") has been established to serve as the European voice of the commercial litigation funding industry. With a focus on the EU, ELFA's objective is to represent the industry before EU clients, governmental bodies, international organizations, and professional associations, and to set good standards of practice to be promoted throughout the industry. ELFA is founded by three leading litigation funders with a European footprint including Deminor, Nivalion AG, and Omni Bridgeway Limited. ELFA's current directors are Charles Demoulin (Chief Investment Officer, Deminor); Marcel Wegmuller (Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Nivalion AG); and Wieger Wielinga (Managing Director EMEA Omni Bridgeway), who will serve as ELFA's inaugural Chairman. The intention of the association is to be inclusive for all professional litigation funders of larger or smaller size. "ELFA's membership will be comprised of professional funders who are active and present in the EU and is intended to include both large established funders as well as small, emerging funders," states Wielinga. "My co-founders and I saw a clear need for this level of inclusivity and concentration on the EU. What not everyone knows, is that the cradle of the legal finance industry lies here in the EU, where it was created thirty years ago. The establishment of ELFA is a natural next step in our industry's progression. We are already in discussions with a number of interested funders who are enthusiastic about joining ELFA." The association invites prospective members who meet ELFA's membership criteria and adhere to the association's Code of Conduct which is central to ELFA's mandate. The code establishes and promotes high industry standards, general principles and best practices in the interests of clients to ensure that litigation funders follow the same institutional standards and processes clients expect of their other finance partners. In this regard, states Demoulin, "The establishment of ELFA underscores the industry's maturation in the financial services community, while indicative of the growing need for dispute finding solutions." He continues, "Fundamentally, legal financing supports the rule of law. For companies, organizations or individuals with limited resources, litigation funding facilitates access to justice by ensuring that disputes are resolved based on the merits, not who has the bigger legal budget. Litigation funding helps restoring the balance." Typically, a commercial legal finance provider will pay the fees and expenses associated with the pursuit of a claim or will advance a portion of the value of the pending claim, in exchange for a portion of the recovery of the judgment or award if the matter is successful. Wegmuller notes, "Expanding the understanding of our industry, the role we serve in legal and financial contexts, and value we provide clients is one cornerstone of ELFA's purpose. ELFA aims to be the primary and trusted resource in the EU for information, research, commentary and inquiries concerning dispute funding and commercial legal finance." The growth of legal finance globally has seen the emergence of associations representing other regions and industry participants. ILFA (International Legal Finance Association) represents the largest funders with international footprints and operations, and ALF (Association of Litigation Funders) represents funders active in England and Wales. "With the legal finance industry incepted in the EU in the late 1980's and growing exponentially, particularly in recent years, it is time to organize our collective voice to ensure and promote our sector's continued transparency, sound principles, and intelligent consideration in the EU's legal forums and financial markets," concludes Wielinga. "We are convinced that litigation funding can contribute something valuable to the legal ecosystem." For media inquiries contact: media@elfassociation.eu Sarah Glover Tel: +44 07479 402230 www.elfassociation.eu Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1851044/ELFA_logo_RGB_STANDARD_Logo.jpg Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2022) - BlockchainK2 Corp. wholly-owned subsidiary Amplify Games (TSXV: BITK) (OTCQB: BIDCF) (FSE: KRL2) ("BlockchainK2" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the onboarding of a new group of game stores to the platform as well as the addition of the sale and trading of physical games to the platform. The addition of physical game sales further adds to the breadth of offerings available on the ARKADE marketplace, bringing in not only millions of gamers that want to buy, sell and trade-in their physical games, but also enabling local game stores to better monetize their presence online and increase engagement in their brick-and-mortar stores. With over 18,000 local game store businesses in the United States alone, this new vertical will increase sales for both ARKADE and these local businesses while fostering community engagement in new ways. "After our first release of the platform back in May, we are excited to now be onboarding a new set of game stores to the platform with our update coming in late July which will increase our catalog to over 10,000 titles," says Tony Caputo, CEO of Amplify Games. "This is another very positive step as we continue to build out our capabilities and market ARKADE to the gaming community." ARKADE is the first step in the Amplify Games strategy of meeting gamers where they are today, designing innovation within the market that is in line with the values of those gamers, and with gamers on board with that vision, bringing them forward into new spaces, expanding the gaming market. About Amplify Games Inc. Amplify Games is a gaming technology platform that is solving the problems of today with technology that will empower the future of digital game distribution and promotion. The platform uses blockchain technology to change the current studio, publisher, influencer paradigm. This combination of the needs within the gaming industry and the solutions that blockchain and NFT's can provide to meet those needs will enable Amplify Games to take advantage of tremendous opportunities in the $45 billion digital games market. For more information about Amplify Games, please visit http://www.amplifygames.io./. About BlockchainK2 Corp. BlockchainK2 Corp. is a holding company investing in blockchain technology solutions for capital markets and other sectors that can be made more efficient through tokenization. The Company is currently invested in RealBlocks, a technology platform for private equity, private credit and real estate that provides tokenized secondary trading of LP interests. The Company also has executed a joint venture agreement with Standard Power, an industrial scale crypto currency mining facility with very low power costs in the United States. For information on BlockchainK2 Corp., please visit www.blockchaink2.com. For further information, please contact: Sergei Stetsenko, CEO 604-630-8746 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/129593 WESTMINSTER, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 30, 2022 / BioLargo, Inc. (OTCQB:BLGO), a developer of sustainable cleantech technologies and full-service environmental engineering company, announced that its engineering subsidiary located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, has been working with Ultra Safe Nuclear to help produce the first prototype fuel production systems for the company's revolutionary new Micro Modular Reactor (MMR). A Seattle-based nuclear energy innovator, Ultra Safe Nuclear has invented a "fission battery" - a fourth generation modular nuclear reactor - that can deliver safe, zero-carbon, cost-effective energy anywhere. The MMR uses ceramic-encapsulated nuclear fuel - Fully Ceramic Micro-encapsulated (FCM) - an extremely rugged and stable fuel with extraordinary high temperature stability. Ultra Safe Nuclear recently opened a facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and reports that it will invest approximately $13 million in the community. The facility is focused on building production systems that can efficiently manufacture the ceramic-encapsulated nuclear fuel used in their reactors. BioLargo Engineering, Science & Technologies (BioLargo Engineering) has been retained to provide engineering design support, fabrication, and integration for the company's prototype fuel production systems. Thus far, BioLargo has been contracted for work in the range of a half million dollars, to be completed over several months. Randall Moore, President of BioLargo Engineering, said, "Ultra Safe Nuclear's reactor represents the cutting edge in clean, safe nuclear energy. At BioLargo, we are focused on sustainable, clean technologies, and we're thrilled to assist in developing the fuel systems for this impressive technology. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with Ultra Safe Nuclear." About BioLargo, Inc. BioLargo, Inc. (OTCQB:BLGO) invents, develops, and commercializes innovative technologies in the cleantech space, including for PFAS contamination, advanced water and wastewater treatment, industrial odor and VOC control, air quality control, and infection control. With over 13 years of extensive R&D, BioLargo holds a wide array of issued patents, maintains a robust pipeline of products, and provides full-service environmental engineering. Our approach is to invent or acquire novel technologies and develop them to maturity through our operating subsidiaries. We have developed a number of key channel partnerships to support the reach of our products and services and maximize their commercial potential. With a keen emphasis on collaborations with academic, municipal, and commercial organizations and associations, BioLargo has proven itself with over 80 awarded grants and numerous pilot projects. We monetize through direct sales, recurring service contracts, licensing agreements, strategic joint venture formation and/or the sale of the IP. See our website at www.BioLargo.com. About Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation Ultra Safe Nuclear is the Seattle-based global leader in the deployment of micro reactors, and a strong vertical integrator of nuclear power technologies, entirely committed to bringing safe, commercially competitive, clean and reliable nuclear energy to markets throughout the world. The company adheres to strict inherent and intrinsic safety principles through technological innovation in fuels, materials and design: Ultra Safe Nuclear is Reliable Zero-Carbon Energy. Anywhere. Contact Information Dennis P. Calvert President and CEO, BioLargo, Inc. 888-400-2863 Safe Harbor Act This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include without limitation those about BioLargo's (the "Company") expectations regarding anticipated revenue and plans for future operations, and may be identified by words such as "we believe". These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation: the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's business, results of operations, financial condition, and stock price; the effect of global and regional economic conditions on the Company's business, including effects on purchasing decisions by consumers and businesses; the ability of the Company to compete in markets that are highly competitive and subject to rapid technological change; the ability of the Company to manage frequent introductions and transitions of products and services, including delivering to the marketplace, and stimulating customer demand for, new products, services, and technological innovations on a timely basis; the dependency of the Company on the performance of distributors of the Company's products. More information on these risks and other potential factors that could affect the Company's business and financial results is included in the Company's filings with the SEC, including in the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of the Company's most recently filed periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and subsequent filings. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates. SOURCE: BioLargo, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/707105/BioLargo-Engineering-Science-Technologies-Selected-to-Help-Make-Novel-Nuclear-Reactor-Fuel-Production-System CRANBROOK, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 30, 2022 / Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:EPL), ("the Company") announces that the Company intends to complete a non-brokered private placement to arms-length and non-arms-length investors. Application will be filed with the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V) to sell up to 7,000,000 flow-through units at a price of $.17 CDN per unit for gross proceeds of $1,190,000 CDN. Each unit will consist of a flow-through common share and one-half non-flow-through common share purchase warrant, each whole warrant exercisable at $.25 CDN for a 24-month period. Directors of the Company have approved an overallotment of up to 10% of the units. The common share purchase warrants are subject to an accelerated expiry at the option of the Company if the published closing trade price of the common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange is greater than or equal to $.50 for any 20 consecutive trading days, in which event the holder may be given notice that the warrants will expire 30 days following the date of such notice. The common share purchase warrants may be exercised by the holder during the 30 day period between the notice and the expiration of the common share purchase warrants. A 7% commission or finder's fee may be paid to registered dealers or eligible arms-length third parties involved in the financing. The financing is expected to close in July, 2022. Maximum gross proceeds of the offering are expected to be $1,190,000 CDN (excluding 10% over-allotment if warranted). Proceeds from the sale of units will be used to fund exploration of the company's various projects in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Yukon. Flow-through funds will qualify as Canadian exploration expenses as defined in the Income Tax Act and will be renounced for the 2022 taxation year. About Eagle Plains Resources Based in Cranbrook, B.C., Eagle Plains is a well-funded, prolific project generator that continues to conduct research, acquire and explore mineral projects throughout western Canada. The Company was formed in 1992 and is the ninth-oldest listed issuer on the TSX-V (and one of only three that has not seen a roll-back or restructuring of its shares). Eagle Plains has continued to deliver shareholder value over the years and through numerous spin-outs has transferred over $100,000,000 in value directly to its shareholders, with Copper Canyon Resources and recently Taiga Gold being notable examples. The Company is committed to steadily enhancing shareholder value by advancing our diverse portfolio of projects toward discovery through collaborative partnerships and development of a highly experienced technical team. Eagle Plains also holds significant royalty interests in western Canadian projects, covering a broad spectrum of commodities on projects controlled by Cameco Corp., Iso Energy Corp., Denison Mines Corp., Skeena Resources Ltd. and Alexco Resource Corp./Banyan Gold Corp., among many others. Management's focus is to advance its most promising exploration projects. Throughout the exploration process, our mission is to help maintain prosperous communities by exploring for and discovering resource opportunities while building lasting relationships through honest and respectful business practices. Expenditures from 2011-2021 on Eagle Plains-related projects exceed $27M, the majority of which was funded by third-party partners. This exploration work resulted in approximately 42,000m of diamond-drilling and extensive ground-based exploration work facilitating the advancement of numerous projects at various stages of development. On behalf of the Board of Directors "Tim J. Termuende" President and CEO For further information on EPL, please contact Mike Labach at 1 866 HUNT ORE (486 8673) Email: mgl@eagleplains.com or visit our website at http://www.eagleplains.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of Property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. SOURCE: Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/707127/Eagle-Plains-Announces-Flow-through-Financing VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 30, 2022 / Ximen Mining Corp. (TSXV:XIM)(FRA:1XMA)(OTCQB:XXMMF) (the "Company" or "Ximen") announces that it is planning to conduct airborne magnetic and LIDAR geophysical surveys at its Brett property near Vernon in southern British Columbia. The Brett epithermal gold property covers 20,000 hectares and 17 mineral occurrences located 30 kilometres west of Vernon, in southern B.C. Drilling at the Brett project has been delayed due to the effects of last year's wildfire. The program for 2022 will now include a drone-based airborne magnetic survey and a helicopter LIDAR survey. These new surveys are being done to provide base information for exploring extensions to the Main and parallel zones. Image showing areas for airborne data collection at Brett Property. The magnetic survey will include 487 line-km to be flown at 50m spaced flight lines using a DRONE-MAG system, which consists of a multi-rotor UAV platform with a GSMP-35U potassium vapor magnetometer magnetometer, and GSM-19 Over Hauser base stations. The LIDAR survey will consist of 54 km of lidar and orthophoto data to be collected with a Phoenix Ranger Lidar scanner via a manned helicopter. The magnetic results will be used to map the distribution of rock types beneath cover and identify possible de-magnetized zones associated with mineralization. The LIDAR will be used for lineament analysis and as a detailed topographic base. Technical disclosure in this news release has been approved by Dr. Mathew Ball, P.Geo., VP Exploration for Ximen Mining Corp. and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Readers are cautioned that historical records referred to in this News Release have been examined but not verified by a Qualified Person. Further work is required to verify that historical records referred to in this News Release are accurate. On behalf of the Board of Directors, "Christopher R. Anderson" Christopher R. Anderson, President, CEO and Director 604 488-3900 Investor Relations: Sophy Cesar 604-488-3900 ir@XimenMiningCorp.com About Ximen Mining Corp. Ximen Mining Corp. owns 100% interest in three of its precious metal projects located in southern BC. Ximen's two Gold projects, The Amelia Gold Mine and The Brett Epithermal Gold Project. Ximen also owns the Treasure Mountain Silver Project adjacent to the past producing Huldra Silver Mine. Currently, the Treasure Mountain Silver Project is under an option agreement. The option partner is making annual staged cash and stocks payments as well as funding the development of the project. The company has also acquired control of the Kenville Gold mine near Nelson British Columbia which comes with surface and underground rights, buildings and equipment. Ximen is a publicly listed company trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol XIM, in the USA under the symbol XXMMF, and in Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin Stock Exchanges in Germany under the symbol 1XMA and WKN with the number as A2JBKL. This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future exploration drilling, exploration activities and events or developments that the Company expects, are forward looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results 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 exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. 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 Ximen Mining Corp 888 Dunsmuir Street - Suite 888, Vancouver, B.C., V6C 3K4 Tel: 604-488-3900 SOURCE: Ximen Mining Corp View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/707135/Ximen-Mining-Initiates-Magnetic-and-Lidar-Surveys-at-its-100-Owned-Brett-Epithermal-Gold-Property GYEONGJU, South Korea, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage released news article series on the 30th about the lifestyles of Silla. In this episode, the article deals with the meaning of bear bones excavated in Wolseong. In terms of domestic archaeological excavation, news coverages related to discovered relics have frequently been reported including excavation of earthenwares, ironwares, and stonewares. However, relics such as animal bones easily decay, which are not usually left intact, although they once existed inside the relics. Hence, organic relics including animal bones were mainly discovered in special environment where bones can be safely protected such as swamps. Also, after extensive amounts of animal bones were discovered inside the layers of sediments of Haeja, a pond surrounding Wolseong, it became possible to look through how people of Silla treated animals in the 5th century, about 1,600 years ago. Most of animals found in Wolseong excavation site are mammals including wild pigs, cows, horses, dogs, bears, and deers. It is estimated that Silla people might have raised these animals as live stocks and used them for farming or meat. The investigation team especially focused on animals that are hard to live with humans such as bears, deers, and wild boars. It is analyzed that people of Silla might have used bears in another purpose, other than eating them. Researchers of the Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage found evidence in "Samguk-Sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms)," which explains how people of Silla used bears. According to "Samguk-Sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms)," there is a record which shows that people of Silla used bear skins to make decorations for army flag. Another record of "Samguk-Sagi" tells that there was also a governmental office dealing with leather products in royal palace of Silla. It is estimated that various animal leather products were made in Wolseong, where royal families of Silla lived. When tanning the leather, the method of using animals' brain water is handed down. It is also presumed that this is related to a number of cases in which skulls were found broken, among animal bones excavated in Haeja of Wolseong. Likewise, animal bones excavated in Haeja of Wolseong are attracting a lot of attentions of historic academia, providing significant evidences which show the lifestyle of Silla royal families. SHANGHAI, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Infinix has unveiled the seriously fast 180W Thunder Charge Technology, which will debut on selected Infinix flagship phones that will be announced in the second half of the year. The breakthrough new technology will enable users to achieve the time for a 1-50% charge of the 4500mAh battery in just four minutes[1], providing users with a faster and safer advanced smart device charging experience. "Following last year's Infinix 160W fast charging Concept Phone release, Infinix 180W Thunder Charge is another industry breakthrough that delivers ultra-fast charging technology to the public. Infinix aims to keep improving daily efficiency through iteration and innovation of fast charging technology so that users around the world can be the first to experience efficient and convenient digital life," said Manfred Hong, Senior Product Director of Infinix. Industry-leading 180W Charging Technology Ultra-fast charging has never been as prevalent as it is today and with the production of safer methods of charging at a higher voltage rate, the technology is becoming more and more popular in mid range devices. Regular smartphones with fast charging features generally use batteries with a charging rate of 1 to 3C, while 180W Thunder Charge uses batteries with a rate of 8C, which effectively reduces the chances of the battery overheating due to the fast charging technology. Infinix cooperated with the world's leading battery manufacturers to develop a new 8C battery cell, which is the maximum charging rate rechargeable lithium battery in the industry at present. The 8C cell has lower internal resistance when compared with the conventional single electrode lug structure, the 8C cell has a multi-electrode lug, which reduces more than 50%[2] of the internal resistance and produces less heat. Furthermore, the 180W Thunder Charge uses two 8C-rated batteries in series, so the charging power of each battery is only 90W while being charged, reducing heat and increasing longevity. 180W Thunder Charge also adopts automatic bidirectional-power supply technology to lengthen phone's battery life by 2%[3] compared to traditionally double cell battery designed phones. The automatic bidirectional-power supply technology reduces the area of the power supply circuit by 60%, increases the precision of the circuit layout and saves space. The charging technology works using dynamic distribution. Three parallel charge pumps support the highest powered conversion yet on an Infinix device, achieving 99%[4] charging conversion efficiency, which avoids overloads and overheating. This is the pinnacle of Infinix charging technology to date. A Safer way to Charge Keeping safety a key priority, 180W Thunder Charge has 111 software and hardware security protection mechanisms to protect smartphones, chargers, and charging cables. The security protection is triggered during abnormal scenarios - such as high temperature, increased voltage, electromagnetic interference and more - to ensure the safety of the smartphone's system. Furthermore, 180W Thunder charge has 20 temperature sensors, which are distributed in USB inputs, charging chips, on the battery and other locations inside the device. The charge is monitored in real-time through an intelligent temperature control algorithm which keeps track of everything. While the device is charging, the smartphone's temperature is kept below 43 ?[5], which ensures a safe and fast charging experience without excess heat or battery degradation. The 180W Thunder Charge cable has a built-in Infinix special encryption chip, which outputs 180W power transmission for an ultra-fast charge. 180W Thunder Charge can intelligently identify the cable's power transmission capacity and adjust accordingly. If a different cable without Infinix's special encryption chip is plugged into the device, it identifies the cable and limit power to 60W/100W to ensure a safe charge. Powerful, Compatible & Portable Infinix's 180W Thunder Charge technology is one of the most advanced solutions yet from Infinix and represents a step forward in technological breakthroughs for smartphones in the mid-range price bracket. Offering next-level charging speed, lower temperatures and safer protocols, 180W Thunder Charge gives users blazing fast and intelligent ways to power the Infinix devices. Present in the technology is the new semiconductor material GaN, which enables the 180W Thunder Charge to be resistant to a variety of environments with high temperatures above 40C. Furthermore, the charger adapter is compatible with multiple fast charging protocols, and can perform a maximum of 100W fast charging for most electronic devices on the market, which include mobile phones, tablets, and laptops giving users maximum flexibility with a one cable fits all solution. Users can also use cables from other manufactures to charge Infinix devices up to 100W. 180W Thunder Charge has two separate charging modes, Furious Mode and Standard Mode. Furious mode can be activated at the click of a button giving users 180W super-fast charging. With the world leading application of 180W fast charging technology made available to mass produced smartphones by Infinix, it demonstrates Infinix's strong technical competency and innovative spirit. Presenting this technology to the wider public at an affordable price is one of Infinix's core values and represents Infinix's desire to democratize high-end technology and make it available to everyone who wants it. Stay tuned for our upcoming new products with 180W Thunder Charge available in the second half of this year. About Infinix: In?nix Mobility is a rapidly emerging technology brand that designs, manufactures and markets an expanding portfolio of smart devices worldwide under the In?nix brand, which was founded in 2013. Targeting today's youth with ?rst in class technology, In?nix creates trendy, powerful and attainably priced smart devices that bring the latest technology on the market to users around the world at a time when they need it at a price that they want it. For more information, please visit: http://www.infinixmobility.com/ [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] All data are theoretical values obtained by Infinix internal laboratories through tests carried out under particular conditions. Actual data may vary owing to differences in individual products, software versions, application conditions and environmental factors. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1848950/180W_Thunder_Charge.jpg Regulatory News: TheraVet (ISIN: BE0974387194 ticker: ALVET) (Paris:ALVET) (Brussels:ALVET), a pioneering biotechnology company specialising in the management of osteoarticular diseases in pets, presents its half-year operational update ending June 30, 2022. Enrico Bastianelli, Chief Executive Officer of TheraVet, commented: "During this first half of the year, TheraVet achieved very important business milestones. Concerning BIOCERA-VET, in addition to the partnership agreement for BIOCERA-VETSmartGraft, we signed 3 distribution contracts, covering now three out of the five biggest vet markets in Europe: France, United Kingdom Ireland and Spain. Furthermore, thanks to the efforts of the team, the whole BIOCERA-VET line is now distributed, making available the most comprehensive line of bone substitutes on the vet market". Key operational events of the period Distribution Agreement for the BIOCERA-VET product line in France On January 18, 2022, the Company announced the signing of a non-exclusive commercial distribution agreement for its BIOCERA-VET bone substitutes in France with the veterinary co-operative Centravet, one of France's leading wholesalers/distributors of animal health products. The agreement covered the bone substitutes BIOCERA-VET Bone Surgery and BIOCERA-VET Osteosarcoma. Positive results of BIOCERA-VET- Bone Surgery in arthrodesis in a larger patients cohort On February 4, 2022, the Company announced the presentation of BIOCERA-VETclinical data in bone fusion surgical procedure1 at 6th World Veterinary Orthopaedic Congress (WVOC) and 49th Annual Conference of the Veterinary Orthopedic Society (VOS) 2022. The results were extremely well received and was granted the Best Poster Presentation Award by the WVOC/VOS committee. The Company also announced the confirmation of the excellent efficacy and safety results: Larger cohort of animals (doubling the number of animals treated with BCV: n= 20 vs. n=10 at 4 weeks and n=27 vs. n=13 at 8 weeks); Bone fusion scores for BIOCERA-VETat 4 and 8 weeks comparable to autologous bone graft; No complication related to BIOCERA-VET (0% vs. 25% for autologous bone graft) These results therefore confirmed the positioning of BIOCERA-VETBone Surgery as a valuable alternative to autologous bone graft in joint bone fusion. Partnership agreement broadening BIOCERA-VET product line with a biological bone graft, BIOCERA-VET SMARTGRAFT On February 7, 2022, the Company announced an exclusive partnership with Industrie Biomediche Insubri SA (IBI, Switzerland) expanding TheraVet's bone substitutes portfolio with a new and complementary biological bone graft product line, BIOCERA-VET SmartGraft. With its new product line, TheraVet will provide the veterinary market with a unique and standardized biological bone graft solution combining quality with availability. Commercial launch of BIOCERA-VETBone Surgery and Osteosarcoma in United Kingdom and Ireland On March 15, 2022, the Company announced the commercial launch of BIOCERA-VET Bone Surgery and Osteosarcoma in United Kingdom and Ireland. This milestone propelled TheraVet into the 3rd largest European market with more than 16 million companions (dogs and cats) and into one of the fast-growing veterinary markets with an expected CAGR2 of +9.5% up to 2026. In 2020, the companion animal services market represented 6.2 billion, of which 2.1 billion dedicated to veterinary care. With over 23% of companion animals covered by health insurance, the UK is one of the European countries with the highest coverage behind Sweden. Distribution agreement for BIOCERA-VETin United Kingdom and Ireland On May 10, 2022, the company announced the signing of an exclusive distribution agreement with Veterinary Instrumentation (Vi), a global animal-health company specialising in orthopaedics surgical instrumentation. This agreement represents a significant step forward for the distribution of BIOCERA-VET product line in United Kingdom and Ireland. This distribution agreement includes the products recently added to TheraVet bone substitutes portfolio i.e., BIOCERA-VET Bone Surgery Ready-To-Use, BIOCERA-VET Osteosarcoma Ready-To-Use, BIOCERA-VET Granules and BIOCERA-VETSmartGraft. Vi will leverage its own sales and marketing strike force in the veterinary field to promote and distribute the BIOCERA-VET products in UK Ireland as from June 2022. Distribution agreement for the full range of BIOCERA-VET product line in Spain On May 30, 2022, the Company announced the signing of an exclusive distribution agreement with Nuzoa, a leading Spanish company in the distribution of veterinary products and services. This agreement represents a significant step forward for the distribution of BIOCERA-VET product line in Spain, one of the five biggest European pet markets (with France, United-Kingdom, Germany and Italy), with about 6.73 million of dogs and 3.7 million of cats. This partnership enables the Company to launch in Spain ~6 months ahead of schedule. This agreement covers the entire BIOCERA-VET portfolio, i.e., BIOCERA-VET Bone Surgery RTU, BIOCERA-VET SmartGraft, BIOCERA-VET Granules, BIOCERA-VET Osteosarcoma RTU. Nuzoa will leverage its own sales and marketing force in the veterinary field to promote and distribute the BIOCERA-VET products in Spain as from September 2022. Commercial launch of the whole BIOCERA-VET line in Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Spain, UK Ireland and in United States. On June 2, 2022, the Company announced the commercial launch of the whole BIOCERA-VET portfolio, i.e., BIOCERA-VET Bone Surgery RTU, BIOCERA-VET SmartGraft, BIOCERA-VET Granules, BIOCERA-VET Osteosarcoma RTU in Belgium, France, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as in Spain Distribution is ensured by wholesalers and distributors in Belgium (Covetrus), France (Centravet), United Kingdom Ireland (Veterinary Instrumentation) and in Spain (Nuzoa, as from September 2022) as well as through TheraVet's brand new webshop www.bioceravet.com. On June 30, 2022, the Company announcedthe commercial launch of its BIOCERA-VET products including BIOCERA-VET Bone Surgery Ready-to-Use, BIOCERA-VETGranules and BIOCERA-VET Osteosarcoma Ready-To-Use in United States of America, the largest companion animal health market with about 89 million dogs, 104 million cats and a pet ownership above 50%. The Company will initially focus its marketing and commercial efforts on the states of Texas, Florida and Carolinas. These four states were selected as they gather more than 20% of US orthopedic specialists and some of the highest pet ownership rate of the US, as it is ranging from 56 to 59% and as TheraVet has currently its main collaborations with important Key Opinion Leaders in Texas and in the Carolinas. Next key operational events for the second half of the year The next key Company milestone is to expand the commercialization of BIOCERA-VETto Germany, the biggest European pet market, with ~25 million dogs and cats. Additionally, with the objective to always improve its portfolio, the Company will pursue the development of BIOCERA-VET combined with antibiotics and prepare its commercialization later in the year. As with sales and revenues targets, these milestones could be affected by the current geopolitical and socio-economic conditions. But despite this, the Company remains confident in its ability to reach its objectives. The Company continues its efforts on the European pivotal clinical study assessing VISCO-VET in canine osteoarthritis. After the late approval3 of the clinical study by the competent authorities, the set-up and initiation of sites in Portugal and Poland are now completed. However, the delays in patient recruitment communicated in the annual report published last Avril 6, 2022 is only slowly improving. Indeed, despite the setup of corrective measures, the recruitment rate is so far not reaching the target. In Poland, one of the main recruiting countries, the proximity with Ukraine and the massive influx of refugees is the main cause. In other countries, as reported by veterinarians, it is the abnormally high routine workload related to the significant increase of pet ownership and pet treatments since COVID pandemic period that does not allow to increase the time dedicated to clinical studies. Therefore, VISCO-VET development plan is now expected to suffer delay of several months as compared to the initial development plan. Cash update Available cash on June 30, 2022, is 3.50 million compared to 7.25 million on June 30, 2021. The Company's tight management allows its cash to cover 2 years of operational activities. Next financial update Half-year Financial Results of 2022, on September 9, 2022 About TheraVet SA TheraVet is a veterinary biotechnology company specialising in osteoarticular treatments for companion animals. The Company develops targeted, safe and effective treatments to improve the quality of life of pets suffering from joint and bone diseases. For pet owners, the health of their pets is a major concern and TheraVet's mission is to address the need for innovative and curative treatments. TheraVet works closely with international opinion leaders in order to provide a more effective response to ever-growing needs in the field of veterinary medicine. TheraVet is listed on Euronext Growth Paris and Brussels, has its head office in Belgium (Gosselies) with a US subsidiary in Texas. For more information, visit the TheraVet websiteor follow us on LinkedIn Facebook Twitter 1Arthrodesis 2 Compound annual growth rate 3 Set-up and initiation of Poland and Portugal was expected in 4Q2021 however due administrative delay of competent authorities not related to VISCO-VET product evaluation, this step was only achieved in 2Q2022 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005665/en/ Contacts: TheraVet Chief Operating Officer Sabrina Ena investors@thera.vet Tel: +32 (0) 71 96 00 43 Chief Corporate Officer Julie Winand investors@thera.vet NewCap Investor Relations and Financial Communications Theo Martin Olivier Bricaud theravet@newcap.eu Tel: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 Press Relations Arthur Rouille Ambre Delval theravet@newcap.eu Tel: +33 (0)1 44 71 00 15 NewCap Belgique Press Relations Laure-Eve Monfort lemonfort@newcap.fr Tel.: 32 (0) 489 57 76 52 President Yoon Suk-yeol shakes hands with participants at his meeting with Korean residents in Spain at the Mandarin Oriental Ritz in Madrid, Wednesday, local time. Yonhap By Lee Hae-rin President Yoon Suk-yeol said he would not spare policy support for Korean nationals living overseas to help them and their children grow up proud of their ethnic identity as Koreans. During a dinner on Wednesday (local time) with 100 Koreans from different fields living in Spain, he also promised to provide digital administrative services for overseas Koreans, saying, "I want to realize a new Korea with you." Yoon and first lady Kim Keon-hee met the Korean nationals from all across Spain who gathered at Mandarin Oriental Ritz in Madrid on the sidelines of his official trip to the 2022 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit. In his opening speech, Yoon said he will revise laws and policies to take good care of the difficulties faced by Korean residents overseas. Yoon said the Korean community in Spain started with people's "spirit of challenge." They went to Spain first as taekwondo instructors, poultry farm workers or deep sea fishermen off the Canary Islands and built up bases for their lives with hard work, he said. "The first generation of Koreans' hard work and dedication set an example for their descendants and paved the way for further development of the community. The Korean community united when times were tough and they helped one another. Their courage to stand on their own feet in times of crisis inspired Koreans in the motherland," the president said. "I'd like to give them a big round of applause." "In my inauguration speech, I said that I wish to build a country truly owned by its people that fulfills its responsibilities in the international community," Yoon said, "And I wish to build such a country with you, Korean nationals living overseas." Yoon said, "No matter which country you live in, or where you are, you are all precious people of Korea," and assured them that their lives and safety would be his utmost priority. Then he encouraged the participants to "come together for the Korean community's development." Yoon said that he understands many Korean nationals in Spain have faced immense difficulties and permanently returned to Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the first time in 15 years that a Korean president met with Korean residents in Spain. BMO Real Estate Investments Ltd - Change of Name To: RNS From: BMO Real Estate Investments Limited (now called CT Property Trust Limited) Date:30 June 2022 LEI: 231801XRCB89W6XTR23 Change of Name BMO Real Estate Investments Limited (the "Company") announces that it has changed its name to CT Property Trust Limited with immediate effect. It is expected that the Company's shares will trade under the new name on the London Stock Exchange with effect from 8.00 a.m. on 1 July 2022. The Company's trading instrument display mnemonic ("BREI") will change to "CTPT" and the ISIN and SEDOL numbers will remain unchanged. The Company's website address will be amended to reflect the change of name and will be available at www.ctpropertytrust.co.uk from 4 July 2022. Shareholders are unaffected by the change of name and existing share certificates should be retained and will remain valid. Any new share certificates issued will bear the name CT Property Trust Limited. The investment policy and process remain unchanged. Background The Company's investment manager is part of BMO GAM (EMEA) which, in November 2021, was acquired and is currently being integrated into Columbia Threadneedle Investments. From 4 July 2022, the entire BMO GAM (EMEA) business will be rebranded as Columbia Threadneedle Investments, unifying the businesses under its global brand. In light of this, the Board proposed that the Company name be changed to CT Property Trust Limited, and this was approved by shareholders at an EGM of the Company held on 29 June 2022. All enquiries: The Company Secretary Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services (Guernsey) Limited Trafalgar Court Les Banques St Peter Port Guernsey GY1 3QL Tel: 01481 745001 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2022) - Solis Minerals Limited (TSXV: SLMN) (ASX: SLM) (OTCQB: SLMFF) ("Solis" or the "Company") announces that it has elected to withdraw from its option agreement on the Mostazal Project in Chile. Accordingly, Solis will have no future claim on the Mostazal Project, or any contiguous exploration ground acquired through staking, and will be released from any further obligations to the vendor. Pursuant to the Option Agreement dated June 23rd, 2021, Solis, through its wholly owned subsidiary Westminster Chile SpA, was granted the right to earn up to a 100% interest in the Mostazal Project in Chile's Atacama Desert by spending US$5m on exploration and making payments of US$5m to the vendor over four years. Jason Cubitt, Solis' president and CEO, stated: "Mostazal presented an exciting prospect for us with a known copper mineralised system at surface and historical data supported an exploration thesis testing deeper targets. However, results from our first phase of drilling and geophysical surveys undertaken by the Company in 2022 ultimately did not meet our minimum expectations and management determined that it is in the best interest of shareholders to re-allocate the Company's resources." With a current cash balance of approximately A$3m, the Company remains in a strong position to advance its portfolio of porphyry and IOCG copper projects in Peru, including Ilo Norte and Ilo Este, and will provide updates on these and other projects currently under review as developments occur. In early 2022 the Company expanded its footprint in Peru through the application of seven concessions in the Tacna Region of Southern Peru0F[1] (Figure 1), 15kms along trend from Southern Copper Corporation's Toquepala Mine. The applications lie along the regional Incapuquio Fault system in southern Peru, which is associated with three large copper-molybdenum deposits currently in production: Cuajone, Quellaveco and Toquepala. Peru Copper Projects The Company owns a 100% interest in a number of copper-focused projects located in the Departments of Moquegua and Tacna, in southern Peru. The Company's Ilo Este Copper Project (Figure1) is located approximately 20 kilometres northeast of the port city of Ilo, and is hypothesised to be a large, eroded porphyry containing copper, gold, silver and molybdenum, with an identified mineralised trend over 3 square kilometres. The Ilo Norte Copper Project is located approximately 20 kilometres north-northeast of the city of Ilo and consists of a 10km long alteration system, hosting iron-oxide-copper-gold mineralisation (IOCG), (Figure 1). Figure 1: Solis Minerals Ltd - Peruvian Projects' Location Plan To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1134/129621_solis_figure1.jpg The Ilo Este and Ilo Norte projects represent a portfolio of exploration concessions in the highly prospective coastal IOCG/porphyry copper belt of southern Peru. Solis believes that the mineralisation identified on Ilo Norte is part of an IOCG system, with a high-grade copper-skarn target; while the mineralisation at Ilo Este is part of a copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry system. Proposed work The Company intends to undertake remote sensing surveys on sections of the Ilo project areas using WorldView-31F[2] data acquisition to guide regional alteration mapping and target generation and complement the extensive ground mapping carried out to date. Combined with previous drilling, these exploration tools are aimed to provide a strong vector for identification of new drill targets in the short to medium term on the permits. Additional Tenement Applications The Company applied for new tenements 15km south, and on the trend of, the Toquepala Mine and is in the process of being granted 3,025 Ha of largely contiguous exploration ground in eight concessions2F[3] after some subdivisions for overlapping applications were effected. The Company is currently compiling all of the available historic exploration and regional government data for the project area. This prospective area will also be subject to WorldView-3 data acquisition to assist in target generation and future exploration. About Solis Minerals Ltd. Solis Minerals is a Latin American-focused mining exploration company. The Company holds a 100% interest in a package of highly prospective IOCG (iron oxide copper/gold) and porphyry copper projects in southwestern Peru within the country's prolific coastal copper belt - a source of nearly half of Peru's copper production. This Announcement has been authorised for release to ASX by the Board of Solis Minerals Ltd. For further information please contact: Jason Cubitt President and CEO Solis Minerals Ltd. +01 (604) 209 1658 Stephen Moloney Investor Relations Corporate Storytime +61 (0) 403 222 052 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of accuracy of this news release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected including, but not limited to, market conditions, availability of financing, actual results of the Company's exploration and other activities, environmental risks, future metal prices, operating risks, accidents, labor issues, delays in obtaining governmental approvals and permits, and other risks in the mining industry. All the forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and those in our continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances save as required by applicable law. Qualified Person Statement Fred Tejada, P. Geo., is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) and a consultant to the Company and has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release. Competent Person Statement The information in this ASX release in relation to Geological Information and Exploration Results is based on and fairly represent information compiled by Mr Anthony Greenaway, a Competent Person who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Greenaway is an employee of Solis Minerals Ltd. and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and types of deposit under consideration and to the exploration activities undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the "Australian Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves". Mr Greenaway consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on information in the form and context in which it appears. Mr Greenaway has provided his prior written consent as to the form and context in which the Geological Information and Exploration Results and supporting information are presented in this Announcement. All information relating to exploration results that have been previously released to the market is appropriately referenced in this document. APPENDIX 1 Table 1 Mostazal Copper Project Drill Collar Table Hole ID Hole Status East (m) North (m) RL (m) Planned (m) EOH (m) DIP AZI MODD001 Complete 440,853 7,049,571 2748 500 362.0 -90 0 MODD002 Complete 440,374 7,049,835 2760 500 494.7 -65 90 MODD003 Complete 440,103 7,049,295 2521 500 528.0 -90 0 MODD004 Complete 441,881 7,049,630 2949 500 446.1 -90 0 Table 2 Mostazal Copper Project significant copper intersections Hole From To Interval Cu (m) (m) (m) (%) MODD001 10 40 30 0.12 Including: 30 40 10 0.17 136 138 2 0.76 258 260 2 0.11 304 306 2 0.26 MODD002 148 150 2 0.25 218 222 4 1.06 240 256 16 0.32 Including: 244 246 2 0.68 292 294 2 0.16 328 332 4 0.13 342 358 16 0.11 378 380 2 0.11 446 448 2 0.48 470 474 4 0.52 MODD003 66 68 2 0.17 434 451 17 0.1 Including 434 438 4 0.15 Including 447 451 4 0.1 464 466 2 0.22 501 512 11 0.29 Including 506 512 6 0.44 Including 510 512 2 0.99 MODD004 29 50 21 0.28 Including 29 37 8 0.42 Including 34 36 2 0.78 Including 35 36 1 1.1 Including 42 50 8 0.3 Including 42 46 4 0.42 57 58 1 0.14 67 68 1 0.13 156 158 2 0.13 193 196 3 0.16 220 221 1 0.22 245 246 1 0.12 Table 3 Recent Peruvian Project tenement application details CODE CONCESSION TIT_CONCESSION Ha_Reduced CONCESSION STATUS 10013422 SOLIS02 WESTMINSTER PERU S.A.C. 200 D.M. en Tramite D.L. 708 010013422A SOLIS02A WESTMINSTER PERU S.A.C. 49 D.M. en Tramite D.L. 708 10013522 SOLIS03 WESTMINSTER PERU S.A.C. 500 D.M. en Tramite D.L. 708 10013622 SOLIS04 WESTMINSTER PERU S.A.C. 400 D.M. en Tramite D.L. 708 10013722 SOLIS05 WESTMINSTER PERU S.A.C. 407 D.M. en Tramite D.L. 708 10013822 SOLIS06 WESTMINSTER PERU S.A.C. 969 D.M. en Tramite D.L. 708 10013922 SOLIS07 WESTMINSTER PERU S.A.C. 300 D.M. en Tramite D.L. 708 010013822A SOLIS07A WESTMINSTER PERU S.A.C. 200 D.M. en Tramite D.L. 708 Figure 2: Mostazal Copper Project location To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1134/129621_solis_figure2.jpg Figure 3: Mostazal Copper Project drill hole location plan To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1134/129621_solis_figure3.jpg APPENDIX 2 Mostazal Project JORC Tables JORC Code, 2012 Edition - Table 1 Section 1 Sampling Techniques and Data (Criteria in this section apply to all succeeding sections) Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary Sampling techniques Nature and quality of sampling (e.g. cut channels, random chips, or specific specialised industry standard measurement tools appropriate to the minerals under investigation, such as down hole gamma sondes, or handheld XRF instruments, etc). These examples should not be taken as limiting the broad meaning of sampling. Include reference to measures taken to ensure sample representivity and the appropriate calibration of any measurement tools or systems used. Aspects of the determination of mineralisation that are Material to the Public Report. In cases where 'industry standard' work has been done this would be relatively simple (e.g. 'reverse circulation drilling was used to obtain 1 m samples from which 3 kg was pulverised to produce a 30 g charge for fire assay'). In other cases more explanation may be required, such as where there is coarse gold that has inherent sampling problems. Unusual commodities or mineralisation types (e.g. submarine nodules) may warrant disclosure of detailed information. Sampling across the project has included rock chip sampling of open pit exposure, trenches, rock outcrops, soil sampling and diamond drilling. Soil, trenching and outcrop sampling was undertaken by Sociedad Legal Minera Mostazal between 2005 and 2008, Galileo Minerals Ltd in 2008, and IMT Exploraciones between 2011 and 2013. Diamond drilling was undertaken by IMT Exploraciones between 2012 and 2013. Soil sampling and rock chip sampling was used to identify zones of potential mineralisation. These is no detailed record of how outcrop sampling was completed or the size of the samples. Trenches were sampled on 1m intervals; however the size of the sample is not recorded. Diamond drill holes were samples on either 1 m, 3 m or 4 m, intervals as half core samples. Solis Minerals is completing a diamond drilling program at Mostazal, comprising up to 4,000m of diamond drill core. Drilling techniques Drill type (e.g. core, reverse circulation, open-hole hammer, rotary air blast, auger, Bangka, sonic, etc) and details (e.g. core diameter, triple or standard tube, depth of diamond tails, face-sampling bit or other type, whether core is oriented and if so, by what method, etc). All historical drilling completed to date at the Mostazal Copper Project has been diamond drilling. 60 diamond drill holes were completed by previous explorers for a total of 11,381m. Historical diamond drilling was undertaken using a Boart Longyear LF-900 drilling rig. Drill holes were completed as HQ size (63.5mm core diameter). There is no record of the drill tube type used, i.e. triple tube or standard tube. Solis Minerals is completing HQ2 (63.5mm core diameter) diamond drilling utilising wirelines drilling techniques. Drill sample recovery Method of recording and assessing core and chip sample recoveries and results assessed. Measures taken to maximise sample recovery and ensure representative nature of the samples. Whether a relationship exists between sample recovery and grade and whether sample bias may have occurred due to preferential loss/gain of fine/coarse material. Diamond core recovery was recorded for each sample interval by measuring the recovered core against the drill depth. Diamond core recovery varied between 0.25% and 100%, but typically averaged 95%. There is no apparent relationship between core recovery and grades from historical data. There is no apparent sample bias due to preferential loss/ gain of fine/ coarse material. Logging Whether core and chip samples have been geologically and geotechnically logged to a level of detail to support appropriate Mineral Resource estimation, mining studies and metallurgical studies. Whether logging is qualitative or quantitative in nature. Core (or costean, channel, etc) photography. The total length and percentage of the relevant intersections logged. Rock chip and soil sampling was usually completed as part of a geological mapping campaign. Historical diamond drill holes were geologically logged at varying intervals based on lithology. Logging included, lithology, colour, mineralogy, texture, alteration, structure, mineralisation and RQD. All diamond drill core has been logged. Solis Minerals has logged all current drill holes in detail including lithology, colour, mineralogy, texture, alteration, structure, mineralisation and RQD. Sub-sampling techniques and sample preparation If core, whether cut or sawn and whether quarter, half or all core taken. If non-core, whether riffled, tube sampled, rotary split, etc and whether sampled wet or dry. For all sample types, the nature, quality and appropriateness of the sample preparation technique. Quality control procedures adopted for all sub-sampling stages to maximise representivity of samples. Measures taken to ensure that the sampling is representative of the in-situ material collected, including for instance results for field duplicate/second-half sampling. Whether sample sizes are appropriate to the grain size of the material being sampled. Diamond core was cut using a core saw and sampled as either half core or quarter core. Soil and rock chip samples collected by Galileo Minerals Ltd were sent to Vigalab laboratory in Copiapo, whereas samples collected by IMP Exploraciones were sent to Andes Analytical Assay Ltda in Santiago for sample preparation and analysis. There are no records for rock chip samples and soil samples collected by Sociedad Legal Minera Mostazal. There is no detailed description of the sample preparation methods for the historical soil and rock chip samples. Diamond drill core was sent to Andes Analytical Assay Ltda in Santiago for sample preparation and analysis. There is no detailed description of sample preparation methods used for historical diamond drill core. Quality control samples were inserted into each of the soil, rock chip and diamond drilling sample batches and included field duplicates, blanks and certified reference material samples. There is no record of any internal laboratory quality control sampling. Solis Minerals drill core is being cut using a core saw and sampled as half core. Solis Minerals samples are being sent to ALS in La Serena Chile for sample preparation including crushing (70% <2mm), riffle splitting 1kg sub sample and fine pulverisation (85%<75um). Sample sizes are appropriate for the material being sampled. Quality of assay data and laboratory tests The nature, quality and appropriateness of the assaying and laboratory procedures used and whether the technique is considered partial or total. For geophysical tools, spectrometers, handheld XRF instruments, etc, the parameters used in determining the analysis including instrument make and model, reading times, calibrations factors applied and their derivation, etc. Nature of quality control procedures adopted (e.g. standards, blanks, duplicates, external laboratory checks) and whether acceptable levels of accuracy (i.e. lack of bias) and precision have been established. There are no assay records for rock chip and soil samples for samples collected by Sociedad Legal Minera Mostazal. Rock chip and soil samples collected by Galileo Minerals Ltd were assayed for copper, soluble copper, solvent copper extraction from pregnant solution, gold silver, lead, zinc, molybdenum arsenic and iron. The analytical method is not recorded. Rock and soil samples collected by IMT Exploraciones were assayed for 39-elements using Inductively coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Diamond core samples were assayed for a 39-element suit using Inductively coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Quality control samples were inserted into each of the soil, rock and diamond drilling sample batches and included field duplicates, blanks and certified reference materials. There is no record of any internal laboratory quality control sampling. ICP-MS is considered to be a total assay method. 6,830 diamond core samples ranging in length from 0.04m to 20m were submitted for SG analysis using Archimedes method. Solis Minerals drill core samples are being assayed for a 33-element suite via 4 acid digestion with ICP-AES finish, as well as gold by 50gm fire assay/AAS. Solis Minerals routinely inserts reference standards and blanks and duplicates into the sampling system at a 1:25 frequency. Verification of sampling and assaying The verification of significant intersections by either independent or alternative company personnel. The use of twinned holes. Documentation of primary data, data entry procedures, data verification, data storage (physical and electronic) protocols. Discuss any adjustment to assay data. Reported significant intersections have been calculated as length weighted averages by Soils Minerals. There have been no twin drill holes completed. There have been no adjustments made to the historical assay data. Location of data points Accuracy and quality of surveys used to locate drill holes (collar and down-hole surveys), trenches, mine workings and other locations used in Mineral Resource estimation. Specification of the grid system used. Quality and adequacy of topographic control. Drill holes have been located using a handheld GPS (model unknown). Down hole surveys were conducted for each diamond drill hole on 50m intervals. There is no description of the survey tool used. All data has been collected in UTM zone 19S coordinates. The topography was surveyed on 1-5m contours intervals in 2012 over the entire project area by contract surveyors (method unknown). Artisanal open cut and underground mining occurred throughout the project area between 1950s and 2006. Sociedad Legal Minera Ltda then conducted a small scale open cut surface and room and pillar underground mining between 2006 and 2008. The surface mining has been surveyed during the topographic survey in 2012, however the underground workings have not been surveyed. Solis Minerals has located initial drill site via a hand held GPS, and will have final hole locations survey by an independent contractor. Solis Minerals reports all coordinates in PSAD56 - 19S. Data spacing and distribution Data spacing for reporting of Exploration Results. Whether the data spacing and distribution is sufficient to establish the degree of geological and grade continuity appropriate for the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimation procedure(s) and classifications applied. Whether sample compositing has been applied. Geological sampling (rock and soil) has been completed on a nominal 200m x 200m grid over the entire project area. Diamond drilling was previously completed over the central parts of the project area on a nominal 150m x 100m grid. The sampling data is sufficient to establish the general extents and orientation of the near surface manto copper-silver style mineralisation, however the mineralisation remains open along strike and at depth. Sample compositing has not been applied. Solis Minerals is undertaking selected drilling at this stage, with no set drill spacing. Orientation of data in relation to geological structure Whether the orientation of sampling achieves unbiased sampling of possible structures and the extent to which this is known, considering the deposit type. If the relationship between the drilling orientation and the orientation of key mineralised structures is considered to have introduced a sampling bias, this should be assessed and reported if material. The historical diamond drilling was completed in three phases. The initial phase of drill holes were angled to the southwest and were fanned off drilling platforms spaced approximately 100m apart on a northwest-southeast line. The subsequent drilling programs were drilled steeply towards the east or northeast to intersect the manto structures at a perpendicular angle. Solis Minerals is drilling both vertical and angel holes designed to test specific targets. Drilling is designed to intersect the planned targets at a perpendicular angle. Sample security The measures taken to ensure sample security. There is no detailed record of sample chain of custody between the project site and the assay laboratories for historical programs. Remnant drill core is securely stored at Sociedad Legal Minera Mostazal's property in Copiapo. Solis Minerals staff and contractors manage the movement on site, including the transport of cut samples from site to the laboratory in La Serena. Audits or reviews The results of any audits or reviews of sampling techniques and data. There have been no detailed audits or reviews of the historical or recent sampling techniques. Solis Minerals has conducted an internal technical review of the historical Mostazal Copper Project data. Section 2 Reporting of Exploration Results (Criteria listed in the preceding section also apply to this section) Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary Mineral tenement and land tenure status Type, reference name/number, location and ownership including agreements or material issues with third parties such as joint ventures, partnerships, overriding royalties, native title interests, historical sites, wilderness or national park and environmental settings. The security of the tenure held at the time of reporting along with any known impediments to obtaining a licence to operate in the area. The Mostazal Copper Project is located in the commune of Diego de Almagro, in the Chanaral Province of the Third Atacama Region, Chile approximately 80km northeast of the city of Copiapo. The Mostazal Copper Project consists of eight Exploitation Mining Concessions covering an area of 1,317 ha that were constituted in accordance with the Chilean mining Code 1993. The eight concessions are currently 100% owned by a series of legal Mining Companies (Sociedad Legal Minera), each of which are owned by two shareholders, who are also the owners of Sociedad Legal Minera Mostazal. Exploration done by other parties Acknowledgment and appraisal of exploration by other parties. Sociedad Legal Minera Mostazal completed reconnaissance sampling and mining activities at the project between 2005 and 2008. Galileo Minerals conducted trench and outcrop sampling in 2008 and produced an exploration target for the M-01 mineralised lens based upon previous geological mapping and surface sampling. IMT Exploraciones completed soil, trench and outcrop sampling, diamond drilling, and ground magnetic and induced polarization geophysical surveys between 2011 and 2013. APGC Corp Chile Spa produced a foreign estimate for the Mostazal Copper Project in 2015 using the diamond drilling data, surface sampling and mapping. Santiago Metals Limitada completed geological mapping over the project area in 2016. Geology Deposit type, geological setting and style of mineralisation. The Mostazal Copper Project area consists of fine grained to porphyritic andesite lava flows and breccias of the Jurassic - lower Cretaceous age Sierra Fraga Formation, that are locally interbedded with volcaniclastic sediments. The andesites are intruded by a series of dacite porphyry dykes of Paleocene to Eocene age that typically trend northeast - southwest. The western and southeastern portions of the project area covered by late-stage Tertiary Atacama gravels with thicknesses ranging from a few metres to a few tens of metres. More recent Quaternary age sediments including sand, gravel, colluvium, and silt cover occurs throughout the project area. Mineralisation identified at the Mostazal Copper Project consists of several stacked stratified and discontinuous copper-silver (Cu-Ag) mineralised lenses or 'mantos' within the andesitic volcanic rocks that strike to the north-northwest and dip to the west, subparallel to the host andesite flow banding. Drill hole Information A summary of all information material to the understanding of the exploration results including a tabulation of the following information for all Material drill holes: easting and northing of the drill hole collar elevation or RL (Reduced Level - elevation above sea level in metres) of the drill hole collar dip and azimuth of the hole hole length If the exclusion of this information is justified on the basis that the information is not Material and this exclusion does not detract from the understanding of the report, the Competent Person should clearly explain why this is the case. A summary of the current Mostazal drilling data/ hole locations is included in Table 1 of this document. Data aggregation methods In reporting Exploration Results, weighting averaging techniques, maximum and/or minimum grade truncations (e.g. cutting of high grades) and cut-off grades are usually Material and should be stated. Where aggregate intercepts incorporate short lengths of high-grade results and longer lengths of low-grade results, the procedure used for such aggregation should be stated and some typical examples of such aggregations should be shown in detail. The assumptions used for any reporting of metal equivalent values should be clearly stated. Intersection have been calculated as length weighted averages. Selected intersections are reported above a nominal intersection grade cutoff of >0.5% Cu, with a maximum of 3m of internal dilution. No metal equivalent values have been used. Relationship between mineralisation widths and intercept lengths These relationships are particularly important in the reporting of Exploration Results. If the geometry of the mineralisation with respect to the drill hole angle is known, its nature should be reported. If it is not known and only the down hole lengths are reported, there should be a clear statement to this effect (e.g. 'down hole length, true width not known'). Calculated intersections are reported as down-hole widths. There is insufficient data at this to enable to calculation of true width intersections. Diagrams Appropriate maps and sections (with scales) and tabulations of intercepts should be included for any significant discovery being reported These should include, but not be limited to a plan view of drill hole collar locations and appropriate sectional views. The Company has included various maps and figures showing the sample results and geological context. Balanced reporting Where comprehensive reporting of all Exploration Results is not practicable, representative reporting of both low and high grades and/or widths should be practiced avoiding misleading reporting of Exploration Results. Significant copper intersections have been reported for holes MODD001, MODD002, MODD003 and MODD004, with a minimum intersection selection criteria of >0.1% Cu over 1 meter, and a maximum internal dilution of 3 meters. Other substantive exploration data Other exploration data, if meaningful and material, should be reported including (but not limited to): geological observations; geophysical survey results; geochemical survey results; bulk samples - size and method of treatment; metallurgical test results; bulk density, groundwater, geotechnical and rock characteristics; potential deleterious or contaminating substances. IMT Exploraciones completed ground magnetic and Induced polarization surveys over the project area. Further work The nature and scale of planned further work (e.g. tests for lateral extensions or depth extensions or large-scale step-out drilling). Diagrams clearly highlighting the areas of possible extensions, including the main geological interpretations and future drilling areas, provided this information is not commercially sensitive. No further work by the Company is proposed for the Mostazal Project. APPENDIX 3 Peruvian Project JORC Tables JORC Code, 2012 Edition - Table 1 Section 1 Sampling Techniques and Data (Criteria in this section apply to all succeeding sections) Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary Sampling techniques Nature and quality of sampling (e.g. cut channels, random chips, or specific specialised industry standard measurement tools appropriate to the minerals under investigation, such as downhole gamma sondes, or handheld XRF instruments, etc.). These examples should not be taken as limiting the broad meaning of sampling. Include reference to measures taken to ensure sample representivity and the appropriate calibration of any measurement tools or systems used. Aspects of the determination of mineralisation that are Material to the Public Report. In cases where 'industry standard' work has been done; this would be relatively simple (e.g. 'reverse circulation drilling was used to obtain 1 m samples from which 3 kg was pulverised to produce a 30 g charge for fire assay'). In other cases, more explanation may be required, such as where there is coarse gold that has inherent sampling problems. Unusual commodities or mineralisation types (e.g. submarine nodules) may warrant disclosure of detailed information. Sampling across the project has included rock chip sampling from trenches, and rock outcrops, and reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling. There is no detailed record of how outcrop or trench chip sampling was completed or the size of the samples. Reverse circulation drilling was completed by Peruvian Latin Resources at Ilo Norte (8 holes for 2,690 m completed in 2011) and Rio Tinto at Ilo Este (12 holes for 2,128 m completed in 2000). Apart from collar locations there are no other records available for the Rio Tinto drilling. The RC holes completed by Peruvian Latin Resources had 1,345 samples collected over 2 m intervals. Diamond drilling was completed by Peruvian Latin Resources at Ilo Este (3 holes for 2,073 m completed in 2014-15) and Compania Minera Zahena SAC at both Ilo Norte (16 holes for 12,658 m completed in 2014) and Ilo Este (9 holes for 5,322 m completed in 2015-16). Diamond core was sampled nominally on 2 m (Peruvian Latin Resources) or 3 m (Compania Minera Zahena SAC) intervals. Drilling techniques Drill type (e.g. core, reverse circulation, open- hole hammer, rotary air blast, auger, Bangka, sonic, etc.) and details (e.g. core diameter, triple or standard tube, depth of diamond tails, face-sampling bit or other type, whether core is oriented and if so, by what method, etc.). Reverse circulation samples were collected from a rig-mounted cyclone in large plastic bags before being split down to a 4-5 kg sample using a 2-tier riffle splitter and then placed into calico bags for despatch to the lab. There is no record of the bit type used for either of the RC drilling programs but the hole completed by Peruvian Latin Resources used 5 inch bit. Diamond drill holes completed by Peruvian Latin Resources at Ilo Este were initially drilled as PQ size (85 mm core diameter) to depths varying between 87-109 m and were then drilled at HQ size (63.5 mm core diameter) until the end of hole. All the holes were completed using a standard tube. Diamond drill holes completed by Compania Minera Zahena SAC at Ilo Este were drilled as HQ size (63.5 mm core diameter) until the end of hole. All the holes were completed using a standard tube. Diamond drill holes completed by Compania Minera Zahena SAC at Ilo Norte were drilled using a combination of HQ size (63.5 mm core diameter), NQ (core diameter 47.6 mm) and in one drill hole BQ (core diameter 36.5 mm) for the last 88 m. All the holes were completed using a standard tube. Drill sample recovery Method of recording and assessing core and chip sample recoveries and results assessed. Measures taken to maximise sample recovery and ensure representative nature of the samples. Whether a relationship exists between sample recovery and grade and whether sample bias may have occurred due to preferential loss/gain of fine/coarse material. RC sample recovery was assessed visually and from sample weights recorded at the laboratory. Core barrel length and core length measurements were made so that core recoveries could be estimated. Recoveries were good and no significant core loss was experienced. Logging Whether core and chip samples have been geologically and geotechnically logged to a level of detail to support appropriate Mineral Resource estimation, mining studies and metallurgical studies. Whether logging is qualitative or quantitative in nature. Core (or costean, channel, etc.) photography. The total length and percentage of the relevant intersections logged. The RC drill holes completed by Peruvian Latin Resources were qualitatively logged for lithology, alteration, and mineralisation. All of the diamond drill core was qualitatively logged for lithology, alteration and mineralisation which has been inspected qualitatively. No geotechnical logging was performed. Photographs were taken of all the core in sample boxes. Sub-sampling techniques and sample preparation If core, whether cut or sawn and whether quarter, half or all core taken. If non-core, whether riffled, tube sampled, rotary split, etc. and whether sampled wet or dry. For all sample types, the nature, quality and appropriateness of the sample preparation technique. Quality control procedures adopted for all sub-sampling stages to maximise representivity of samples. Measures taken to ensure that the sampling is representative of the in situ material collected, including for instance results for field duplicate/second-half sampling. Whether sample sizes are appropriate to the grain size of the material being sampled. Reverse circulation samples were collected from a rig-mounted cyclone in large plastic bags before being split down to a 4-5 kg sample using a 2-tier riffle splitter. The splitter was cleaned with compressed air between each sample. All the samples were recorded as dry. Diamond core was sampled by company technicians under supervision of company geologists using a diamond saw to cut along the axis of the core taking care to representively split any visible mineralisation. Half core samples over two or three-metre intervals were bagged for dispatch to SGS laboratories in Peru. (SGS del Peru S.A.C laboratory in Arequipa for sample preparation and then to the SGS laboratory in Lima for analysis). Laboratory sample preparation consisted of weighing the samples upon receipt, crushing the samples so 70% <2 mm, splitting off approximately 1,000 g of sample and then pulverising the coarse split to 85% passing 75. Laboratory sample preparation for diamond drill samples consisted of jaw crushing the samples to a 1/4 inch and then riffle split to obtain 200-250 g for pulverising. Blanks and field duplicates were inserted at a rate of approximately 1 in 40 to 1 in 50 samples each and certified reference standards were inserted approximately 1 in 20. Laboratory duplicates were also undertaken approximately 1 in 40 samples. Drill sample recovery Method of recording and assessing core and chip sample recoveries and results assessed. Measures taken to maximise sample recovery and ensure representative nature of the samples. Whether a relationship exists between sample recovery and grade and whether sample bias may have occurred due to preferential loss/gain of fine/coarse material. RC sample recovery was assessed visually and from sample weights recorded at the laboratory. Core barrel length and core length measurements were made so that core recoveries could be estimated. Recoveries were good and no significant core loss was experienced. Logging Whether core and chip samples have been geologically and geotechnically logged to a level of detail to support appropriate Mineral Resource estimation, mining studies and metallurgical studies. Whether logging is qualitative or quantitative in nature. Core (or costean, channel, etc.) photography. The total length and percentage of the relevant intersections logged. The RC drill holes completed by Peruvian Latin Resources were qualitatively logged for lithology, alteration, and mineralisation. All of the diamond drill core was qualitatively logged for lithology, alteration and mineralisation which has been inspected qualitatively. No geotechnical logging was performed. Photographs were taken of all the core in sample boxes. Sub-sampling techniques and sample preparation If core, whether cut or sawn and whether quarter, half or all core taken. If non-core, whether riffled, tube sampled, rotary split, etc. and whether sampled wet or dry. For all sample types, the nature, quality and appropriateness of the sample preparation technique. Quality control procedures adopted for all sub-sampling stages to maximise representivity of samples. Measures taken to ensure that the sampling is representative of the in situ material collected, including for instance results for field duplicate/second-half sampling. Whether sample sizes are appropriate to the grain size of the material being sampled. Reverse circulation samples were collected from a rig-mounted cyclone in large plastic bags before being split down to a 4-5 kg sample using a 2-tier riffle splitter. The splitter was cleaned with compressed air between each sample. All the samples were recorded as dry. Diamond core was sampled by company technicians under supervision of company geologists using a diamond saw to cut along the axis of the core taking care to representively split any visible mineralisation. Half core samples over two or three-metre intervals were bagged for dispatch to SGS laboratories in Peru. (SGS del Peru S.A.C laboratory in Arequipa for sample preparation and then to the SGS laboratory in Lima for analysis). Laboratory sample preparation consisted of weighing the samples upon receipt, crushing the samples so 70% <2 mm, splitting off approximately 1,000 g of sample and then pulverising the coarse split to 85% passing 75. Laboratory sample preparation for diamond drill samples consisted of jaw crushing the samples to a 1/4 inch and then riffle split to obtain 200-250 g for pulverising. Blanks and field duplicates were inserted at a rate of approximately 1 in 40 to 1 in 50 samples each and certified reference standards were inserted approximately 1 in 20. Laboratory duplicates were also undertaken approximately 1 in 40 samples. Section 2 Reporting of Exploration Results (Criteria listed in the preceding section also apply to this section) Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary Mineral tenement and land tenure status Type, reference name/number, location and ownership including agreements or material issues with third parties such as joint ventures, partnerships, overriding royalties, native title interests, historical sites, wilderness or national park and environmental settings. The security of the tenure held at the time of reporting along with any known impediments to obtaining a licence to operate in the area. The Ilo Norte and Ilo Este Copper Projects are located approximately 22 km north-northeast and 20 km northeast respectively from the Pacific coastal town of Ilo, in the Ilo Province, Department of Moquegua of Sothern Peru. The Ilo Norte Project area consists of eight Mining Concessions covering a total area of 7,700 ha and the Ilo Este Project area consists of four Mining Concessions covering a total area of 3,200 ha. The twelve Mining Concessions are 100% owned by Westminster Peru S.A.C, a subsidiary pf Solis Minerals Ltd. The Company has applied for eight new mining concessions located approximately 75km north-east from the Pacific coastal town of Ilo, in the Ilo Province, Department of Moquegua of Sothern Peru. Exploration done by other parties Acknowledgment and appraisal of exploration by other parties. Ilo Norte Southern Peru Copper Company carried out mapping and sampling of the broad Ilo area in 2000. Teck Resources Ltd flew airborne magnetic and radiometric surveys and completed stream and rock chip sampling surveys (11,395 samples) over the broad Ilo area in 2003. Peruvian Latin Resources completed a ground magnetic survey over llo Norte in 2009, a ground gravimetric survey over llo Norte in 2010, geological mapping and rock chip sampling in 2011 to 2012, RC drilling in 2011 and completed an Induced Polarisation survey in 2012/2013, Compania Minera Zahena S.A.C. completed 16 diamond drill holes in 2014. Ilo Este Rio Tinto completed preliminary reconnaissance work including mapping and trench sampling over the project in 1999 followed by 12 RC holes in 2000. Peruvian Latin Resources completed several phases of geological mapping and soil and rock chip sampling between 2009 and 2013, then a ground magnetic survey and three diamond drill holes in 2014/2015. Compania Minera Zahena S.A.C. completed 9 diamond drill holes in 2015/2016. Geology Deposit type, geological setting and style of mineralisation. The geology of the llo Norte project area consists of andesitic pyroclastics, andesitic volcanics belonging to the Chocolate Formation and younger Quaternary cover sediments. The mineralisation is interpreted to be an iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) type deposit that is contained within highly altered andesitic volcaniclastics. Contact metamorphism and metasomatism have produced at least five phases of widespread development of mostly lentiform economic mineral assemblages including copper, gold, silver, zinc and minor cobalt. The geology of the llo Este project consists of porphyritic andesites, porphyritic micro-diorite sills, andesitic tuff and sandstones of the Chocolate Formation that outcrop on the northern and southern flanks of two major belts of felsic igneous intrusions of the Cretaceous age. The mineralisation at llo Este is interpreted to be a Cu-Au porphyry system. Drill hole Information A summary of all information material to the understanding of the exploration results including a tabulation of the following information for all Material drill holes: easting and northing of the drill hole collar elevation or RL (Reduced Level - elevation above sea level in metres) of the drill hole collar dip and azimuth of the hole downhole length and interception depth hole length. If the exclusion of this information is justified on the basis that the information is not Material and this exclusion does not detract from the understanding of the report, the Competent Person should clearly explain why this is the case. Not applicable Data aggregation methods In reporting Exploration Results, weighting averaging techniques, maximum and/or minimum grade truncations (e.g. cutting of high grades) and cut-off grades are usually Material and should be stated. Where aggregate intercepts incorporate short lengths of high grade results and longer lengths of low grade results, the procedure used for such aggregation should be stated and some typical examples of such aggregations should be shown in detail. The assumptions used for any reporting of metal equivalent values should be clearly stated. No cut-offs have been applied when reporting of mineralised intersections. The average copper, gold and silver grades reported for each mineralised intersection include both mineralised and non-mineralised samples. No metal equivalents have been used. Relationship between mineralisation widths and intercept lengths These relationships are particularly important in the reporting of Exploration Results. If the geometry of the mineralisation with respect to the drill hole angle is known, its nature should be reported. If it is not known and only the downhole lengths are reported, there should be a clear statement to this effect (e.g. 'down hole length, true width not known'). The mineralised intervals were intersected by inclined drill holes. The true orientation of the mineralised zones is not yet known therefore the mineralised intersections reported may possibly be longer that the true width of the mineralisation. Diagrams Appropriate maps and sections (with scales) and tabulations of intercepts should be included for any significant discovery being reported These should include, but not be. limited to a plan view of drill hole collar locations and appropriate sectional views. Appropriate maps and sections are included in the body of this report. Balanced reporting Where comprehensive reporting of all Exploration Results is not practicable, representative reporting of both low and high grades and/or widths should be practiced to avoid misleading reporting of Exploration Results. The reporting of the mineralised intersections is consistent between each of the drill holes and drilling programs and is considered balanced. Other substantive exploration data Other exploration data, if meaningful and material, should be reported including (but not limited to): geological observations; geophysical survey results; geochemical survey results; bulk samples - size and method of treatment; metallurgical test results; bulk density, groundwater, geotechnical and rock characteristics; potential deleterious or contaminating substances. The mineralised intersections are reported in context with supporting geological, geochemical and geophysical data at each deposit. Further work The nature and scale of planned further work (e.g. tests for lateral extensions or depth extensions or large-scale step-out drilling). Diagrams clearly highlighting the areas of possible extensions, including the main geological interpretations and future drilling. areas, provided this information is not commercially sensitive. Solis plans to undertake remote sensing surveys and field reconnaissance work, followed by drill target identification on its Peruvian Copper Projects including the Ilo Norte and Este Projects as well as the Company's new tenement application areas. The Company will collate and compile any historic data available over the new application area. [1] Refer to ASX Announcement dated 19 January 2022 [2] WorldView-3 is an imaging and environment monitoring commercial satellite [3] Refer to ASX Announcement dated 19 January 2022 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/129621 LONDON and NEW YORK, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bank of London, the next-generation technology company and the world's first purpose-built global clearing, agency, and transaction bank, today announced the appointment of Tam Holmes as its Co-President & Group Chief Product Officer and Member of the Group's Executive Management Committee. As Group Chief Product Officer, Tam is responsible for oversight of the Group's overall customer and product vision, strategy, and innovation. Prior to The Bank of London, Tam spent five years at 10X Banking ("10X") where he served as Chief Product Officer and Chief Development Officer, playing a key role in driving the business forward, including as a Board Member, and where he was principally responsible for managing all customer relationships, product strategy, product management and business development. Instrumental in building investor and customer confidence, he positioned 10X as the transformational partner of choice for Global Tier 1 banks. Previously Tam was the Head of Digital Security and Fraud at Lloyds Banking Group, where he also served as Head of Programme Delivery for Digital Banking. Tam was responsible for the re-platforming of Lloyd's digital banking stack, as well as the design of innovative digital fraud and security controls, including the UK's first deployment of behavioural biometrics, and device ID systems. Anthony Watson, Group Chief Executive & Founder of The Bank of London, said: "Tam's wealth of knowledge and experience across banking, large-scale transformation, and programme delivery, makes him a great fit at The Bank of London. He brings a particularly unique perspective from his time at 10X, where he led both the sales and product development of their cloud bank platform to JP Morgan Chase in the UK and Europe, Westpac in Australia and other global banks. With his flair for driving innovation coupled with a strong reputation for leading with humility and empathy, Tam will provide a world-class product experience for our clients globally." Tam Holmes, Co-President & Group Chief Product Officer of The Bank of London, said: "I'm delighted to join The Bank of London at such a pivotal time. The market has been left under-served by incumbents for far too long and I'm excited to start driving forward our customer and product vision, strategy, and innovation, to build strong products and experiences that our will customers love - in the UK, the EU and beyond." NOTES TO EDITORS About The Bank of London The Bank of London launched 30th November 2021 as the sixth principal clearing bank of the United Kingdom, and only the second clearing bank in 250 years. With a $1.1 billion valuation, it is the first pre-revenue bank in history to attain 'unicorn' status upon debut. The Bank of London is a leading-edge technology company and the world's first purpose-built global clearing, agency, and transaction bank. We leverage our patented technology innovations and differentiated bank capabilities to lift economies and communities by powering the borderless economic infrastructure of the future. The bank has been established to assist banks, clearing houses, digital & traditional asset firms, governments, financial services companies from local fintechs to global institutions, payment networks and non-financial brands seeking to launch fully compliant financial products and services in-country and across-borders. With headquarters in London and offices in New York and Belfast, The Bank of London is a principal clearing bank of the United Kingdom authorised by the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority. For more information visit: thebankoflondon.com, or on Twitter and Instagram at: @thebankoflondon. Photo- https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1851422/Tam_Holmes.jpg Globe Capital Limited - Audited Results for the year ended 31 December 2021 Globe Capital Limited AQSE: GCAP ("Globe Capital" or the "Company") Audited Annual Results for the year ended 31 December 2021 Globe Capital Limited (AQSE: GCAP) is pleased to announce its audited annual results for year ended 31 December 2021. A copy for which will be uploaded to the company's website shortly - https://globecapitalltd.com Chairman's statement I am pleased to report the final audited results for the year ended 31 December 2021 of Globe Capital Limited (the "Company", together with its subsidiaries, the "Group"). Financial performance The turnover for the year was Nil (2020: 10,000) and the loss was 13,039 (2020: 136,998). The loss per share was 0.005 pence (2020: 0.05 pence). In the past year, the Directors have kept operational costs at a minimum, where possible. Review of operations The Group's investment strategy is to seek medium-to-long term investments in businesses that exhibit growth potential. The Group continues to be an active investor in situations where the Group can make a clear contribution to the growth and development of the investment. During the year the Company continued with its office in the Business Bay, Dubai and operation through the subsidiary Vogel Marketing Services FSZ in Ajman, United Arab Emirates which promotes companies from the UK and EU within the Gulf Region, however the results from this region have been frustrated by the continued delays due to Brexit and now Covid-19 and as a result the company ceased all operations in Dubai in early 2022. The Company's full annual report, includes a going concern note in relation to the preparation of the financial statements, which confirms that whilst the Company's current liabilities exceeded its current assets as at 31 December 2021 by 35,795, continued support is currently being provided by the company's directors and shareholders Glenpani Group and Simon Grant Rennick. The Auditors have indicated a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the Group's ability to continue as a going concern, but have not qualified their opinion. The Company is still well placed to take advantage of any opportunities as they arise through 2022 onwards and will continue to look for further fund raising opportunities and investments. Simon Grant Rennick Chairman 30th June 2022 Globe Capital Limited AQSE: GCAP ("Globe Capital" or the "Company") Audited Annual Results for the year ended 31 December 2021 REVIEW OF BUSINESS The principal activity of the company to the year end was to focus on restoring and reinstating direction to Globe with the company's share capital being suspended for most of the period due to issues arising with the company's depositary interest agreement and late filing associated with the financial statements for the year ending 2020. I am pleased to report that on the 15 November 2021 after a period of review, Globe completed a restructure and recapitalisation exercise concurrent with the reconstitution of the Board of Directors, contemporaneous to these decisions and upon concluding positive discussions with the AQSE Growth Market Exchange the company's shares were subsequently restored to trading. Restructure & Recapitalisation of the company November 2021 included: Board Reconstitution On 15 November 2021, the company welcomed Mr Burns Singh Tennent-Bhohi & Mr Simon Grant-Rennick to the Board of Directors concurrent with their recapitalisation and restructure strategy. Burns Singh Tennent-Bhohi (Executive Director) Burns is the founder & CEO of The Glenpani Group, an international private venture capital business based in London/U.K. Glenpani's focus is the evaluation and augmentation of distressed-asset opportunities and private-transaction/investment origination. Glenpani Group cornerstone-invest, originate transactions and provide corporate consultancy to international companies both private and public. Glenpani Group maintains a deep international network that includes corporate brokers/ financiers, investment bankers, merchant banks, UHNWIs, project-level financiers, asset banks and technical teams. Burns assumes a number of International Directorships on both private and public companies having raised in excess of $50,000,000 in debt and equity financing, completed over $40,000,000 in corporate transactions with Tier 1 mining companies and has most recently completed an investment transaction that from seed has generated a return on capital invested in excess of 15,000% in the Nickel-Space. Mr Simon Grant-Rennick (Executive Director) Simon graduated from the Camborne School of Mines (Bsc Mining Engineering [hons], ACSM) and has been actively involved in the mining and metal trading industry for over 30-years. During this time Simon has served Board & Management roles for both private and public (LSE, ASX, AQSE) entities globally. Simon has extensive experiences in the industrial and non-ferrous metal industry which includes a successfully operating Falconbridge Internationals non-ferrous trading arm. Simon maintains a number of Board & Management Roles across industries including; agriculture, property, technology & the mining sector, including; All Active Asset Capital Ltd (AIM: AAA), U.K. Spac plc (AIM: SPC), Evrima plc (AQSE: EVA) and was most recently the Executive Chairman of Quetzal Capital plc (AQSE: QTZ). The retiring Director In conjunction with these Board and restructuring initiatives, Mr David Barnett retired his role as Director. Mr Barnett has been a supportive and active Director of the company from his appointment and the Board of Globe wishes to thank him for his services to the company and wish him well in his future endeavours. Convertible Loan Note Financing In order to begin rationalising the balance sheet, the two incoming Directors entered a 100,000 Convertible Loan Note ("CLN") Financing Agreement. The terms of the agreement allows for 100,000 of capital to be injected as unsecured, non-interest bearing CLNs maturing on the three year anniversary for which they were issued. The CLNs have a conversion price of 0.00004 and at the election of the lender if converted, the lender shall be issued one warrant for every one conversion share issued. The warrants shall have a strike price of, 0.00008 and a life to expiry of 5-years from date of grant. POST YEAR END REVIEW The company continues to rationalise the balance sheet, engage with shareholders of the company and is actively working to finalise details regarding the commercial direction of the business that since admission has been focused on the property and general investment sector. The Board have received interest in the business since commencing the restructure and recapitalisation process and whilst the conditions of current global financial markets present challenges, the Directors are confident in progressing a revitalised strategy to generate value for the shareholders of the company. As at year end, the company still maintains a number of creditors with relation to legacy corporate activity and general working capital, the Board are working diligently to achieve a debt-free capital structure for the business to enhance the corporate profile of the company moving forward. Ongoing discussions with creditors to date have been positive and the company will look to make announcements upon conclusion. In April 2022, the company changed the auditor the company and appointed Edward Veeders UK Limited . The Company would like to thank PKF LLP, the outgoing Auditor. OUTLOOK With the bulk of the corporate restructure complete, Globe now has a restored purpose as an investment issuer on the AQSE Growth Market Exchange. The company is now focused on rationalising the balance of legacy creditors and determining the corporate direction of the company for which the Board will present to the shareholders at the upcoming, Annual General Meeting. Burns Singh Tennent-Bhohi Director 30th June 2022 GLOBE CAPITAL LIMITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF PROFIT AND LOSS AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME For the year ended31DECEMBER2021 Audited Audited Year ended 31 December 2021 Year ended 31 December 2020 GBP GBP Revenue - 10,000 Gross Profit - 10,000 Other Income - 3,907 Administrative Expenses (7,039) (144,905) Finance costs (6,000) (6.000) (Loss) Before Income Tax (13,039) (136,998) Income Tax - - Profit / (Loss) for the period attributable to equity holders (13,039) (136.998) (Loss) per share Basic (pence) (0.005p) (0.05p) GLOBE CAPITAL LIMITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION As at31DECEMBER2021 Audited Audited Year ended 31 December 2021 Year ended 31 December 2020 GBP GBP Non-current Assets Goodwill - - Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss 8,238 1,120 8,238 1,120 Current assets Other receivables and Prepayments 8,844 7,443 Loans Receivables - - Cash and cash equivalents 26,893 17,264 35,737 24,707 Current Liabilities Other Payables 71,532 103,115 Amount due to a related company - 5,800 71,532 108,915 Net Current (Liabilities)/Assets (35,795) (84,208) Total Assets (less)/Above Current Liabilities (27,557) (83,088) Non-current liabilities Other payables 124,000 118,000 Amount due to a related company 32,500 - Amounts due to directors 54,235 24,165 210,735 142,165 Net (Liabilities) (238,292) (225,253) Shareholders' Equity Called Up Share Capital 645,094 645,094 Share premium account 940,226 940,226 Retained Earnings (1,823,612) (1,810,573) Total Equity (238,292) (225,253) GLOBE CAPITAL LIMITED COMPANY STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION As at31DECEMBER2021 Audited Audited Year ended 31 December 2021 Year ended 31 December 2020 GBP GBP Non-current Assets Investment in Subsidiary 1,250 1,250 Goodwill - - Loans receivable - 15,000 Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss 8,238 1,120 9,488 17,370 Current assets Other receivables and Prepayments 8,744 10,506 Loans Receivables 17,133 25,000 Cash and cash equivalents - 3,580 25,877 24,707 Current Liabilities Other Payables 71,532 88,116 Amount due to a related company - 5,800 71,532 93,916 Net Current (Liabilities)/Assets (45,655) (54,830) Total Assets (less)/Above Current Liabilities (36,167) (37,460) Non-current liabilities Other payables 124,000 118,000 Amount due to a related company 32,500 - Amounts due to directors 54,235 24,165 210,735 142,165 Net (Liabilities) (246,902) (179,625) Shareholders' Equity Called Up Share Capital 645,094 645,094 Share premium account 940,226 940,226 Reserves (1,832,222) (1,764,945) Total Equity (246,902) (179,625) The loss of the parent company for the year ended 31st December 2021 was 67,277 (2020 - 136,088) GLOBE CAPITAL LIMITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS For the year ended31DECEMBER2021 Audited Audited Year ended 31 December 2021 Year ended 31 December 2020 GBP GBP Profit/(Loss) before tax (13,039) (136,998) Adjustment: Depreciation - 3,500 Loan receivables written off - 55,263 Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment - 5,590 Increase in value of financial assets (7,118) - Other receivables written off - 6,839 Interest expenses 6,000 6,000 Non cash transactions written off (29,538) - Interest income - (3,907) Operating loss before working capital changes (43,695) (63,713) Changes in working capital: Other receivables and prepayments (1,401) 9,390 Creditors (Decrease)/Increase (27,875) 28,407 Cash utilised in operations (72,971) (25,916) Cash flows from investing activities Other loan repayments (18,000) - Increase in loans receivables 20,000 28,732 Increase in loans from related parties 32,500 1,400 Increase in directors loan 48,100 7,735 Interest received 290 290 Net cash from investing activities 82,600 38,157 Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 9,629 12,241 Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 17,264 5,023 Cash and cash equivalents at end of year 26,893 17,264 Analysis of cash and cash equivalents Cash and bank balances 26,893 17,264 The directors of Globe Capital Limited accept responsibility for this announcement. For further information Globe Capital Limited Darren Edmonston Tel: +44 (0) 1279 635511 CORPORATE ADVISER AND CONTACT DETAILS: Peterhouse Capital Limited Guy Miller / Mark Anwyl Tel: +44 (0) 207 469 0930 Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information. Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain. Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2022) - Grizzly Discoveries Inc. (TSXV: GZD) (FSE: G6H) (OTCQB: GZDIF) ("Grizzly" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company is currently reviewing proposals for core drilling during the 2022 exploration season. The Company is permitted for initial drilling programs at its Motherlode and Dayton Prospects in the Greenwood area, BC and is currently in the process of obtaining the required permits for drilling at the Robocop Project near Grasmere, BC. Dayton and Motherlode Targets Grizzly is anticipating that the drilling program will likely commence at Greenwood in August and will begin with drilling at either the Dayton copper-gold-silver (Cu-Au-Ag) porphyry target near Rock Creek or at a number of skarn related targets in and around the historical Motherlode Pit area 3 km northwest of the town of Greenwood. All the drill targets are road or trail accessible and located close to excellent infrastructure. Once permits are received for drilling at the Robocop Project either a second drill rig will be engaged to complete the Robocop drilling or the rig engaged for the Greenwood drill program will be shifted to the Robocop Project. The Dayton IP2 target (an induced polarization chargeability anomaly) was tested by Grizzly with a single hole in 2011 and intersected potassic altered volcanics and intrusives with a near surface intersection of 0.15% Cu and 0.43 g/t Au (or 0.4% CuEq*) over 51 m core length starting at a depth of 3m. The Motherlode skarn targets are comprised of Au-Ag-Cu +/- lead-zinc (Pb-Zn) in proximity to the historical producing Motherlode Mine, which produced significant amounts of Cu, Au and Ag. Prior drilling by Grizzly about 700 m north of the historical open pit intersected up 17.15 grams per tonne (g/t) Au, 41.7 g/t Ag, along with , 0.56% Pb and 1.51% Zn over 1.5 m core length. Other Exploration The 2022 surface exploration program for the Greenwood Precious-Battery Metals Project and the Robocop Battery Metals Project will comprise soil and rock sampling, along with ground geophysical surveys followed by drilling at both projects in southern BC. Grizzly will focus efforts at a number of new and existing high-priority battery metals targets at Robocop (copper, cobalt and silver) and precious metals - battery metals targets at Greenwood (gold-silver-copper and other based metals). The ground exploration will be focused on or near prospective targets to be drilled during 2022 as well as a number of other high priority exploration targets. Recent geophysical results have outlined large areas with anomalous geological potential for new discoveries at both projects. Surface exploration has commenced for the 2022 program with ground crews currently conducting prospecting and soil sampling in the Rock Creek area. Other targets to be examined and sampled this year in the Greenwood Project area with a view of determining additional drilling targets include the Prince of Wales Au-Cu skarn target and the Mabel Jenny Cu-Au skarn/porphyry target in the Copper Mountain area, the Attwood - Overlander skarn and epithermal precious metal targets in the vicinity of the Lexington and Golden Crown mines east of the town of Greenwood, and the Sappho alkalic porphyry/skarn target with Cu-Au-Ag and significant platinum (Pt) and palladium (Pd). Prior drilling by Grizzly intersected up to 1.0 g/t Au, 4.65 g/t Ag, 0.03% Cu and 0.3% Zn over 30 m core length at the Prince of Wales Target at Copper Mountain, and up to 0.31% Cu, 0.75 g/t Au, 0.34 g/t Pt, 0.39 g/t Pd and 6.57 g/t Ag over 6.5 m core length at the Sappho Target south of the town of Greenwood near the US border. Brian Testo, President and CEO of Grizzly Discoveries stated "We look forward to the start of the 2022 program after completing a significant financing that will allow us to complete our long awaited drill programs at the Robocop Battery Metals Project and at our Greenwood Precious Metals-Battery Metals Project. Grizzly has significant potential for new copper-cobalt and copper-precious metal discoveries during a time when demand for battery metals is surging due to the shift to renewable energy sources and electric vehicles. We are looking forward to commencing an initial Phase 1 program over the next couple of months to isolate drill targets in preparation for a Phase 2 - 2022 drill testing. The geology of the Robocop and Greenwood areas has the potential to yield world-class discoveries." *CuEq calculated suing a price of $US1,750 per oz Au and $US4.00 per pound for Cu Warrants and Options Exercised Between June 8 and June 30, 2022, the Company issued 480,000 Common Shares for proceeds of $36,000 upon the exercise of outstanding warrants and 300,000 common shares upon the exercise of options for proceeds of $15,000. As of June 30, 2022, the Company has 135,222,667 common shares issued and outstanding. The technical content of this news release and the Company's technical disclosure has been reviewed and approved by Michael B. Dufresne, M. Sc., P. Geol., P.Geo., who is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. ABOUT GRIZZLY DISCOVERIES INC. Grizzly is a diversified Canadian mineral exploration company with its primary listing on the TSX Venture Exchange focused on developing its approximately 66,000 ha (approximately 165,000 acres) of precious and base metals properties in southeastern British Columbia. Grizzly is run by 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: 604-282-6372 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/129653 Asciminib final draft recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for use for treatment of adult patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukaemia (Ph+ CML) in chronic phase (CP), previously treated with two or more tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and without a known T315I mutation The final draft recommendation provides access to an innovative treatment option addressing an unmet need for eligible people with CML who commonly develop intolerance or resistance to current treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) 1-3 Asciminib is the first treatment in its class to be authorised in Great Britain LONDON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK is pleased to announce that eligible patients in England and Wales will soon have routine access to Scemblix (asciminib), the first STAMP inhibitor for patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). The news comes as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published its Final Appraisal Determination (FAD) recommending asciminib for treatment of adult patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukaemia (Ph+ CML) in chronic phase (CP), previously treated with two or more tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and without a known T315I mutation.1 "Though outcomes for CML patients have improved, challenges in treatment have continued to have an impact on patients' quality of life, together with the potential to develop resistance or intolerance to their current treatment," commented David FitzGerald, Trustee, CML Support UK. "For this reason, we welcome the addition of asciminib to the treatment pathway, offering a new option for third-line therapy for eligible patients living with CML." In England and Wales, there are approximately 830 new cases of CML a year, with the majority of patients requiring lifelong treatment and management.4,5 A switch in treatment is not uncommon for those with CML, with almost half of patients changing the TKI they are on after becoming intolerant or developing resistance.1,2 Failure rate, however, increases with each line of therapy.2 "Over the past two decades, TKIs have been the mainstay of treatment for CML, however, over time patients often have to switch their treatment due to intolerance or resistance. A significant number of patients on second-line TKI treatment fail to achieve a satisfactory response after two years and are at risk of disease progression," 6 said Dr Dragana Milojkovic, Professor of Practice (Chronic Myeloid Malignancies), Department of Immunology and Inflammation, Imperial College London. "Where the next treatment option has previously been another conventional TKI, today's decision means that clinicians can now consider a novel TKI with an alternative mechanism of action, that may support outcomes for eligible CML patients." "NICE's positive recommendation for asciminib means that physicians can now consider an innovative treatment for people living with chronic myeloid leukaemia, a long-term debilitating and life-threatening condition," said Heather Moses, Oncology country medical director, Novartis UK. "This milestone strengthens Novartis' legacy in oncology and is evidence of our ongoing commitment to bring forward pioneering, precision treatment options to address unmet needs and help improve quality of life for people living with cancer." About Novartis Commitment to CML Novartis has a long-standing scientific commitment to patients living with CML. For more than 20 years, our bold science has helped transform CML into a chronic disease for many patients. Despite these advancements, we're not standing still. We continue to research ways to target the disease, seeking to address the challenges with treatment resistance and/or intolerance that many patients face. Novartis also continues to reimagine CML care through its commitment to sustainable access for patients and collaboration with the global CML community. About Novartis Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. As a leading global medicines company, we strive to use innovative science and digital technologies to create treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach more than 800 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 109,000 people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. In the UK, we employ approximately 1,500 people to serve healthcare needs across the whole of the UK, as well as supporting the global operations of Novartis. Since 2014, Novartis has invested over 200 million in R&D and is a leading sponsor of clinical trials, in the UK. For more information, please visit www.novartis.co.uk. Novartis UK is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @NovartisUK at www.twitter.com/novartisuk References National Institute For Health And Care Excellence (2022). Final appraisal: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/gid-ta10691/documents/final-appraisal-determination-document Akard LP, et al. Clin Adv Hematol Oncol. 2013;11:421-432. Milojkovic D, et al. Br J Haematol. 2021;192:62-74. Cancer Research UK (2021). Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (C92.1): 2016-2018. Available at: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/leukaemia-cml/incidencecollapseZero. Accessed: June 2022 . Bower H, et al. J Clin Oncol. 2016;34:2851-2857. Cortes J and Lang F. J Hematol Oncol 2021;14:44. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 30, 2022 / Gemina Laboratories Ltd. (the "Company" or "Gemina") (CSE:GLAB)(FRA:8I7) is pleased to announce that the Company has closed its previously announced "commercially reasonable best efforts" offering by way of prospectus supplement (the "Offering"). Pursuant to the Offering, the Company issued 5,626,735 units of the Company ("Units") at a price of $0.60 per Unit (the "Unit Price") for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $3.37 million. The Offering was completed pursuant to an agency agreement dated June 23, 2022 (the "Agency Agreement") with Leede Jones Gable Inc. (the "Agent"). Pursuant to the Agency Agreement, the Agent has the option to increase the size of the Offering by up to an additional 1,250,100 Units (the "Over-Allotment Option"), exercisable in whole or in part at any time for a period of 30 days after the date hereof (the "Closing Date"). In connection with the Offering, the Agent received a cash commission of $236,322.87 and an aggregate of 393,871 warrants (each an "Agent Compensation Warrant"). Each Agent Compensation Warrant is exercisable to acquire one Share (as defined below) at the Unit Price for a period of 60 months following the Closing Date. Each Unit issued pursuant to the Offering consists of one common share in the capital of Gemina (a "Share") and one Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Share at a price equal to $0.80 for a period of 60 months following the Closing Date, subject to acceleration in certain circumstances. The Warrants are governed by the terms of a warrant indenture (the "Indenture") dated June 30, 2022 between the Company and Computershare Trust Company of Canada as warrant agent, a copy of which will be available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. For further details regarding the Warrants, please refer to the Indenture. Certain insiders of the Company acquired an aggregate of 99,998 Units pursuant to the Offering, 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 is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements imposed by MI 61-101 with respect to the insider participation in the Offering pursuant to the exemptions in section 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as neither the fair market value of the Units acquired by the insiders nor the consideration paid therefor, exceeds 25% of the Company's market capitalization. The Offering was completed pursuant to a prospectus supplement dated June 23, 2022 to the Company's short form base shelf prospectus dated January 10, 2022 in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. The Company anticipates using the proceeds of the Offering to finance product development and potential strategic acquisitions, and for research and development, working capital and general corporate purposes. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor will there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. Private Placement The Company is also pleased to provide an update on the anticipated timing for closing its non-brokered private placement for up to 1,666,667 Units (the "Private Placement"), which is currently expected to close during the first week of July. All securities to be issued pursuant to the Private Placement will be subject to a four month hold period from the date of issue. The Company anticipates using the proceeds of the Private Placement for working capital and general corporate purposes. On Behalf of the Board of Directors John Davies CEO Gemina Laboratories Ltd. About Gemina Laboratories Ltd. Gemina Labs is a biosensor and diagnostic company with a transformative, patented, proprietary chemistry that powers next-generation testing platforms for a wide range of pathogens that affect human health and wellness. Our technology drives testing platforms that are fast, affordable and accurate, and easily self-administered. Our development pipeline includes platforms for the rapid testing of COVID-19, influenza and other viruses. Additional information on the Company can be found at www.geminalabs.com. 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 Release. Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information: This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Such information includes, without limitation, information regarding the terms of the Offering and the intended use of proceeds from the Offering. Although Gemina believes that such information is reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward looking information is 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. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance and that such forward-looking information is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management in light of management's experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, as of the date of this news release including, without limitation, that the Company will be able to utilize the proceeds of the Offering in the manner intended; that the Private Placement will close and on the anticipated timeline; that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner; that applicable regulatory approvals will be received; and assumptions regarding political and regulatory stability and stability in financial and capital markets. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others: the risk that the Company may not be able to utilize the proceeds of the Offering in the manner intended; that the Private Placement may not close or may not close on the anticipated timeline; the state of the financial markets for the Company's securities; recent market volatility and potentially negative capital raising conditions resulting from the continued COVID-19 pandemic and risks relating to the extent and duration of such pandemic and its impact on global markets; the conflict in Eastern Europe; the Company's ability to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies; and other risks and factors that the Company is unaware of at this time The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. The securities referred to in this news release 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 within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from the U.S. registration requirements. This news release does not constitute an offer for sale of securities, nor a solicitation for offers to buy any securities. For more information regrading the Company, please contact: James Tansey Telephone: 604-562-4546 Email: investor@geminalabs.com SOURCE: Gemina Laboratories Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/707239/Gemina-Announces-Closing-Of-Prospectus-Supplement-Offering-And-Update-To-Concurrent-Non-brokered-Private-Placement Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2022) - Centurion Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: CTN) (the "Company") announces that the consolidation of its common shares will become effective July 6, 2022, and all common shares will be consolidated on a 2:1 basis, such that for every 2 common shares presently held, shareholders will receive 1 post-consolidated common share. Centurion currently has 33,639,473 common shares outstanding which will, on a post-consolidation basis, result in approximately 16,819,736 common shares outstanding. There are no stock options or warrants outstanding and the Company's name and trading symbol will remain the same. The Company's new CUSIP # is: 15643T404 and the ISIN # is: CA 15643T4046. A Letter of Transmittal will be mailed to registered shareholders holding physical certificates by the Company's transfer agent, Endeavor Trust Company, advising that the consolidation has taken effect and those shareholders should surrender their existing common share certificates, for new (post-consolidation) common share certificates. No fractional common shares of the Company shall be issued in connection with the consolidation and the number of common shares to be received by a shareholder shall be rounded down to the nearest whole number of common shares. Centurion will apply to the TSXV Exchange for a resumption of trading as a mineral exploration issuer following its Annual General and Special meeting to be held on August 12, 2022. ABOUT CENTURION Centurion Minerals Ltd. is a Canadian-based company with a focus on mineral asset development in the Americas. The Company's lead investment is its interest in the Ana Sofia Agri-Gypsum Fertilizer Project, and it is also reviewing additional prospective, precious mineral exploration projects. "David G. Tafel" President and CEO For Further Information Contact: David Tafel 604-484-2161 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 Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information All statements, trend analysis and other information contained in this press release about anticipated future events or results constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including, without limitation, statements regarding, the completion of the Arrangement, the Meeting, the Final Order hearing of the Court, the anticipated benefits of the Arrangement, the Company's plan to develop its business and provide Shareholders with additional investment choices and enhanced value, the Company's plans to complete the Consolidation and the Company's plans to apply to the TSX-V for a resumption of trading as a mineral exploration issuer following the Meeting are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements and/or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements since the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, including the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in the Company's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators, and assumptions made with regard to: the Company's ability to complete the proposed Arrangement on the terms and conditions contemplated, or at all; the Companies' ability to secure the necessary shareholder, Court and regulatory approvals required to complete the Arrangement; the estimated costs associated with the Arrangement; the timing of the Meeting, the Final Order hearing and the Arrangement, and the general stability of the economy and the industry in which the Company operates . Forward-looking statements are subject to business and economic risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results of operations to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company expectations include risks associated with the business of the Company; risks related to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions to the closing of the Arrangement; non-completion of the Arrangement; risks related to the Company failing to obtain the requisite shareholder approval required for the Arrangement; risks relating the number of dissenting shareholders requiring fair value for their securities in connection with the Arrangement; risks related to exploration and potential development of the Company projects; business and economic conditions in the mining and cannabis industries generally; fluctuations in commodity prices and currency exchange rates; the need for cooperation of government agencies and native groups in the issuance of required permits; the need to obtain additional financing to develop properties, or cannabis-related assets, and uncertainty as to the availability and terms of future financing; and other risk factors as detailed from time to time and additional risks identified in the Company filings with Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR in Canada (available at www.sedar.com). Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and opinions of management at the date the statements are made. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/129673 abrdn Global Infrastructure Income Fund ("ASGI") abrdn Asia-Pacific Income Fund, Inc. ("FAX") PHILADELPHIA, PA / ACCESSWIRE / June 30, 2022 / The above-noted abrdn U.S. Closed-End Funds (the "Funds" or individually the "Fund"), today announced that the Funds paid the distributions noted in the table below on June 30, 2022, on a per share basis to all shareholders of record as of June 22, 2022 (ex-dividend date June 21, 2022). These dates apply to the Funds listed below with the exception of the abrdn Australia Equity Fund, Inc. (IAF), the India Fund, Inc. (IFN) and the abrdn Japan Equity Fund, Inc. (JEQ) which paid the distribution on June 30, 2022 to all shareholders of record as of May 20, 2022 (ex-dividend date May 19, 2022). Ticker Exchange Fund Amount ASGI NYSE abrdn Global Infrastructure Income Fund $ 0.1200 FAX NYSE American abrdn Asia-Pacific Income Fund, Inc. $ 0.0275 IAF NYSE American abrdn Australia Equity Fund, Inc. $ 0.1500 IFN NYSE The India Fund, Inc. $ 0.5300 JEQ NYSE abrdn Japan Equity Fund, Inc. $ 0.1200 Each Fund has adopted a distribution policy to provide investors with a stable distribution out of current income, supplemented by realized capital gains and, to the extent necessary, paid-in capital. For the abrdn Australia Equity Fund, Inc. (IAF), the India Fund, Inc. (IFN) and the abrdn Japan Equity Fund, Inc. (JEQ) the stock distributions were automatically paid in newly issued shares of the Fund unless otherwise instructed by the shareholder to be paid in cash. Shares of common stock were issued at the lower of the net asset value ("NAV") per share or the market price per share with a floor for the NAV of not less than 95% of the market price on June 21, 2022. The reinvestment prices per share for these distributions were as follows: $ 4.6695 for the abrdn Australia Equity Fund, Inc. (IAF); $ 16.18 for the India Fund, Inc. (IFN) and $ 5.63 for the abrdn Japan Equity Fund, Inc. (JEQ). Fractional shares were generally settled in cash, except for registered shareholders with book entry accounts at Computershare Investor Services who had whole and fractional shares added to their account. To have received the abrdn Australia Equity Fund, Inc. (IAF), the India Fund, Inc. (IFN) and the abrdn Japan Equity Fund, Inc. (JEQ) quarterly distributions payable in June 2022 in cash instead of shares of common stock, for shareholders who hold shares in "street name," the bank, brokerage or nominee who holds the shares must have advised the Depository Trust Company as to the full and fractional shares for which they want the distribution paid in cash by June 17, 2022; and for shares that are held in registered form, written notification for the election of cash by registered shareholders must have been received by Computershare Investor Services prior to June 17, 2022. Under applicable U.S. tax rules, the amount and character of distributable income for each Fund's fiscal year can be finally determined only as of the end of the Fund's fiscal year. However, under Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act") and related rules, the Funds may be required to indicate to shareholders the estimated source of certain distributions to shareholders. The following tables set forth the estimated amounts of the sources of the distributions for purposes of Section 19 of the 1940 Act and the rules adopted thereunder. The tables have been computed based on generally accepted accounting principles. The tables include estimated amounts and percentages for the current distributions paid this month as well as for the cumulative distributions paid relating to fiscal year to date, from the following sources: net investment income; net realized short-term capital gains; net realized long-term capital gains; and return of capital. The estimated compositions of the distributions may vary because the estimated composition may be impacted by future income, expenses and realized gains and losses on securities and currencies. Each Fund's estimated sources of the current distribution paid this month and for its current fiscal year to date are as follows: Estimated Amounts of Current Distribution per Share Fund* Distribution Amount Net Investment Income Net Realized Short-Term Gains** Net Realized Long-Term Gains Return of Capital ASGI $0.1200 $0.0144 12% $0.0060 5% $0.0996 83% - - FAX $0.0275 $0.0155 56% - - - - $0.0120 44% IAF $0.1500 $0.0495 33% - - $0.0855 57% $0.0150 10% IFN $0.5300 - - - - $0.5300 100% - - JEQ $0.1200 $0.0144 12% - - $0.0996 83% $0.0060 5% Estimated Amounts of Fiscal Year* to Date Cumulative Distributions per Share Fund Distribution Amount Net Investment Income Net Realized Short-Term Gains ** Net Realized Long-Term Gains Return of Capital ASGI $1.0098 $0.1212 12% $0.0505 5% $0.8381 83% - - FAX $0.2200 $0.1233 56% - - - - $0.0967 44% IAF $0.4600 $0.1518 33% - - $0.2622 57% $0.0460 10% IFN $1.1100 - - - - $1.1100 100% - - JEQ $1.2505 $0.1501 12% $1.0379 83% $0.0625 5% * ASGI has a 9/30 fiscal year end; FAX, IAF and JEQ have a 10/31 fiscal year end; IFN has a 12/31 fiscal year end. **includes currency gains. Where the estimated amounts above show a portion of the distribution to be a "Return of Capital," it means that Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in a Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income." As of June 23, 2022, after giving effect to this payment, JEQ estimates it has a net deficit of $1,392,900.00. A net deficit results when the Fund has net unrealized losses that are in excess of any net realized gains that have not yet been distributed. The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The final determination of the source of all distributions for the current year will only be made after year-end. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of the fiscal year and may be subject to change based on tax regulations. After the end of each calendar year, a Form 1099-DIV will be sent to shareholders for the prior calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes. The following table provides the Funds' total return performance based on net asset value (NAV) over various time periods compared to the Funds' annualized and cumulative distribution rates. Fund Performance and Distribution Rate Information Fund Average Annual Total Return on NAV for the 5 Year Period Ending 02/28/2022 Current Fiscal Period's Annualized Distribution Rate on NAV Cumulative Total Return on NAV Cumulative Distribution Rate on NAV ASGI 13.24%3 6.08% 5.73% 3.95% FAX 0.20% 9.19% (13.44%) 5.36% 1 Return data is net of all Fund expenses and fees and assumes the reinvestment of all distributions reinvested at prices obtained under the Fund's dividend reinvestment plan. 2 Based on the Fund's NAV as of May 31, 2022. 3 The Fund launched within the past 5 years; the performance and distribution rate information presented reflects data from inception (July 29, 2020) through May 31, 2022. Fund Performance and Distribution Rate Information Fund Average Annual Total Return on NAV for the 5 Year Period Ending 04/30/2022 Current Fiscal Period's Annualized Distribution Rate on NAV Cumulative Total Return on NAV Cumulative Distribution Rate on NAV IAF 2 8.32% 10.78% (7.22%) 5.48% IFN 2 7.06% 11.42% (10.88%) 2.85% JEQ 2 1.85% 6.38%3 (24.63%) 16.04% 1 Return data is net of all Fund expenses and fees and assumes the reinvestment of all distributions reinvested at prices obtained under the Fund's dividend reinvestment plan. 2 Based on the Fund's NAV as of April 30, 2022. 3 The percentage shown does not include the Fund's annual distribution policy in place in 2021. Shareholders should not draw any conclusions about a Fund's investment performance from the amount of the Fund's current distributions or from the terms of the distribution policy (the "Distribution Policy"). While NAV performance may be indicative of the Fund's investment performance, it does not measure the value of a shareholder's investment in the Fund. The value of a shareholder's investment in the Fund is determined by the Fund's market price, which is based on the supply and demand for the Fund's shares in the open market. Pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Funds may distribute any long-term capital gains more frequently than the limits provided in Section 19(b) under the 1940 Act and Rule 19b-1 thereunder. Therefore, distributions paid by the Funds during the year may include net income, short-term capital gains, long-term capital gains and/or a return of capital. Net income dividends and short-term capital gain dividends, while generally taxable at ordinary income rates, may be eligible, to the extent of qualified dividend income earned by the Funds, to be taxed at a lower rate not to exceed the maximum rate applicable to your long-term capital gains. Distributions made in any calendar year in excess of investment company taxable income and net capital gain are treated as taxable ordinary dividends to the extent of undistributed earnings and profits, and then as a return of capital that reduces the adjusted basis in the shares held. To the extent return of capital distributions exceed the adjusted basis in the shares held, capital gain is recognized with a holding period based on the period the shares have been held at the date such amount is received. The payment of distributions in accordance with the Distribution Policy may result in a decrease in the Fund's net assets. A decrease in the Fund's net assets may cause an increase in the Fund's annual operating expense ratio and a decrease in the Fund's market price per share to the extent the market price correlates closely to the Fund's net asset value per share. The Distribution Policy may also negatively affect the Fund's investment activities to the extent that the Fund is required to hold larger cash positions than it typically would hold or to the extent that the Fund must liquidate securities that it would not have sold, for the purpose of paying the distribution. Each Fund's Board has the right to amend, suspend or terminate the Distribution Policy at any time. The amendment, suspension or termination of the Distribution Policy may affect the Fund's market price per share. Investors should consult their tax advisor regarding federal, state and local tax considerations that may be applicable in their particular circumstances. Circular 230 disclosure : To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the U.S. Treasury, we inform you that any U.S. tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein. In the United States, abrdn is the marketing name for the following affiliated, registered investment advisers: abrdn Inc., Aberdeen Asset Managers Ltd., abrdn Australia Limited, abrdn Asia Limited, Aberdeen Capital Management, LLC, abrdn ETFs Advisors LLC and Aberdeen Standard Alternative Funds Limited. Closed-end funds are traded on the secondary market through one of the stock exchanges. A Fund's investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares may be worth more or less than the original cost. Shares of closed-end funds may trade above (a premium) or below (a discount) the net asset value (NAV) of the fund's portfolio. There is no assurance that a Fund will achieve its investment objective. Past performance does not guarantee future results. If you If you wish to receive this information electronically, please contact Investor.Relations@abrdn.com https://www.abrdn.com/en-us/cefinvestorcenter/fund-centre/closed-end-funds For More Information Contact: abrdn U.S. Closed-End Funds Investor Relations 1-800-522-5465 Investor.Relations@abrdn.com SOURCE: abrdn U.S. Closed-End Funds View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/707244/Abrdn-US-Closed-End-Funds-Announce-Distribution-Payment-Details Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2022) - CoinAnalyst Corp. (CSE: COYX) (FSE: 1EO) (the "Corporation") is providing this bi-weekly default status report (the "Default Status Report") in accordance with National Policy 12-203 - Cease Trade Orders for Continuous Disclosure Defaults ("NP 21-203"). On April 26, 2022, the Corporation announced (the "Default Announcement") that, for reasons disclosed in the Default Announcement, the filing of the Corporation's audited annual financial statements, management's discussion and analysis, and related certifications for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (collectively, the "Annual Filings"), would not be completed by the prescribed deadline of May 2, 2022. As a result of this delay in filing the Annual Filings, the Corporation's principal regulator, British Columbia Securities Commission, granted a temporary management cease trade order (the "MCTO") to the Corporation. The MCTO prohibits all trading by the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of the Corporation, and such other directors, officers and persons as determined by the applicable regulatory authorities, in securities of the Corporation until the MCTO is revoked. The Corporation's board of directors and management will be unable to meet the Corporation's obligations relating to the filing of the Annual Filings on or before June 30, 2022. The Corporation requested and has been granted a two-week extension by the Corporation's principal regulator, British Columbia Securities Commission and continues to work expeditiously with its auditors to finalize the Annual Filings. Pursuant to the provisions of the alternative information guidelines specified by NP 12-203, the Corporation reports that since the Default Announcement there have not been any changes to the information contained therein that would reasonably be expected to be material to an investor, not any failure by the Corporation to fulfil its intentions as stated therein with respect to satisfying the provisions of the alternative information guidelines, and there are no additional defaults or anticipated defaults subsequent to the disclosure therein, other than the delay in filing the Annual Filings. Further, there is no additional material information respecting the Corporation and its affairs that have not been generally disclosed and there are no insolvency proceedings against the Corporation as of the date of this Default Status Report. Until the Annual Filings have been filed, the Corporation intends to continue to satisfy the provision of the alternative information guidelines specified by NP 12-203 by issuing bi-weekly status default repots in the form of press releases, which will also be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. About CoinAnalyst Corp. CoinAnalyst focuses on the business which includes an artificial intelligence ("AI")-based big data analytics platform (the "Platform") that enables investors in the digital asset sector and other industries to access a dashboard. The dashboard monitors and analyzes real-time data from the digital asset market (Coins/Tokens/NFTs/initial offerings). The Corporation's software monitors news sources, tracks influencers, scans online social media, and provides sentiment analysis, forecast and trade signals on the top 300 digital assets. Additionally, the software system provides news, price quotes and allows for messaging. To learn more about CoinAnalyst, please visit https://coinanalyst.tech/en/. For more information, please contact: Andrew Sazama Chief Operating Officer and Director Email: contact@coinanalyst.tech Phone: + 49 69 2648485 - 20 Forward-Looking Statements Certain information set out in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements in respect of among other things: the filing of the Annual Filings and the timing thereof; the continued satisfaction of the requirements of the MCTO; the continued and successful development of the businesses and technologies of Corporation; and other information concerning the intentions, plans, future action and future successes of the Corporation, and its businesses, technologies and products described herein. Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions and expectations of management of the Corporation as at the effective date of such statements and, in certain cases, information provided or disseminated by third parties. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, and that information obtained from third party sources is reliable, they can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements included in this document, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which the forward-looking statements are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur, which may cause actual results in future periods to differ materially from any estimates or projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, risk factors set forth in the Corporation's most recent management's discussion and analysis, a copy of which is filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and readers are cautioned that the risk factors disclosed therein should not be construed as exhaustive. These statements are made as at the date hereof and unless otherwise required by law, the Corporation does not intend, or assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/129694 Paldang floodgates open: Two people watch water being released from Paldang Dam in Hanam City, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday after heavy rainfall. Heavy rain warnings have been issued in the metropolitan region, including Seoul. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, torrential downpours are forecast to continue through Friday. Yonhap TSX and OTCQX: MPVD TORONTO and NEW YORK, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. ("Mountain Province", the "Company") (TSX: MPVD) (OTCQX: MPVD) announces that the nominees listed in the management proxy circular for the 2022 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders ("Annual Meeting") were elected as directors of the Company. Detailed results of the vote for the election of directors held at the virtual Annual Meeting on June 30, 2022 are set out below. Nominee Votes For % For Votes Withheld % Withheld Jonathan Comerford 89,625,741 95.74 % 3,990,735 4.26 % Mark Wall 89,985,292 96.12 % 3,631,184 3.88 % Brett Desmond 89,961,169 96.10 % 3,655,307 3.90 % Karen Goracke 93,290,789 99.65 % 325,687 0.35 % Daniel Johnson 93,290,020 99.65 % 326,456 0.35 % Ken Robertson 93,168,177 99.52 % 448,299 0.48 % Kelly Stark-Anderson 93,241,874 99.60 % 374,602 0.40 % At the Annual Meeting, KPMG LLP were re-appointed as auditor of the Company at remuneration to be fixed by the directors. About the Company Mountain Province Diamonds is a 49% participant with De Beers Canada in the Gahcho Kue diamond mine located in Canada'sNorthwest Territories. The Gahcho Kue Joint Venture property consists of several kimberlites that are actively being mined, developed, and explored for future development. The Company also controls 106,202 hectares of highly prospective mineral claims and leases that surround the Gahcho Kue Mine Joint Venture property that include an indicated mineral resource for the Kelvin kimberlite and inferred mineral resources for the Faraday kimberlites. For further information on Mountain Province Diamonds and to receive news releases by email, visit the Company's website at www.mountainprovince.com. Qualified Person The disclosure in this news release of scientific and technical information regarding Mountain Province's mineral properties has been reviewed and approved by Matthew MacPhail, P.Eng., MBA, and Tom E. McCandless, Ph.D., P.Geo., both employees of Mountain Province Diamonds and Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian and United States securities laws concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to operational hazards, including possible disruption due to pandemic such as COVID-19, its impact on travel, self-isolation protocols and business and operations, estimated production and mine life of the project of Mountain Province; the realization of mineral reserve estimates; the timing and amount of estimated future production; costs of production; the future price of diamonds; the estimation of mineral reserves and resources; the ability to manage debt; capital expenditures; the ability to obtain permits for operations; liquidity; tax rates; and currency exchange rate fluctuations. Except for statements of historical fact relating to Mountain Province, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "anticipates," "may," "can," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "projects," "targets," "intends," "likely," "will," "should," "to be", "potential" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "should" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are based on a number of assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Many of these assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of Mountain Province and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from results anticipated by such forward-looking statements include the development of operation hazards which could arise in relation to COVID-19, including, but not limited to protocols which may be adopted to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and any impact of such protocols on Mountain Province's business and operations, variations in ore grade or recovery rates, changes in market conditions, changes in project parameters, mine sequencing; production rates; cash flow; risks relating to the availability and timeliness of permitting and governmental approvals; supply of, and demand for, diamonds; fluctuating commodity prices and currency exchange rates, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated. These factors are discussed in greater detail in Mountain Province's most recent Annual Information Form and in the most recent MD&A filed on SEDAR, which also provide additional general assumptions in connection with these statements. Mountain Province cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. Investors and others who base themselves on forward-looking statements should carefully consider the above factors as well as the uncertainties they represent and the risk they entail. Mountain Province believes that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. Although Mountain Province has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Mountain Province undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Statements concerning mineral reserve and resource estimates may also be deemed to constitute forward-looking statements to the extent they involve estimates of the mineralization that will be encountered as the property is developed. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Further, Mountain Province may make changes to its business plans that could affect its results. The principal assets of Mountain Province are administered pursuant to a joint venture under which Mountain Province is not the operator. Mountain Province is exposed to actions taken or omissions made by the operator within its prerogative and/or determinations made by the joint venture under its terms. Such actions or omissions may impact the future performance of Mountain Province. Under its current note and revolving credit facilities Mountain Province is subject to certain limitations on its ability to pay dividends on common stock. The declaration of dividends is at the discretion of Mountain Province's Board of Directors, subject to the limitations under the Company's debt facilities, and will depend on Mountain Province's financial results, cash requirements, future prospects, and other factors deemed relevant by the Board Investor Contact: Rich Matthews, Partner, Integrous Communications, matthews@integcom.us, (604)757-7179, www.integcom.us; Mark Wall, President and CEO, 161 Bay Street, Suite 1410, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2S1, Phone: (416) 361-3562, E-mail: info@mountainprovince.com; Matthew MacPhail, Chief Technical Officer, 161 Bay Street, Suite 1410, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2S1, Phone: (416) 361-3562, E-mail: info@mountainprovince.com Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2022) - LevelJump Healthcare Corp. (TSXV: JUMP) (OTCQB: JMPHF) (FSE: 75J) ("LevelJump" or the "Company"), a Canadian leader in B2B telehealth solutions, is pleased to announce that at its annual and special meeting of shareholders held on Tuesday, June 28, 2022 (the "Meeting"), all matters placed before the Meeting were overwhelmingly approved including: (1) the re-election of Mitchell Geisler, Robert Landau, Gary Prihar, Richard Jagodnik and Jackie Glazer as directors; (2) the re-appointment of Clearhouse LLP as auditors; (3) the approval of the shares for debt transaction; (4) the approval of the Company's Omnibus Fixed Equity Incentive Plan; (5) the continuance of the Company to Ontario under the OBCA. Each item of business was approved by more than 95% of the shares eligible to vote on each matter, with the exeption of item (4) which was approved by 72%. About LevelJump Healthcare LevelJump Healthcare Corp., (TSXV: JUMP) is building a national telehealth medical company and brand, currently by providing teleradiology (remote radiology) services to its client hospitals and imaging centers. Additionally, JUMP owns and operates independent healthcare facilities (IHF's) focused on diagnostic imaging. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF LEVELJUMP HEALTHCARE CORP. Mitchell Geisler, Chief Executive Officer info@leveljumphealthcare.com (833) 840-2020 CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to the Company's business plans and the outlook of the Company's industry. Although the Company believes, in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release and the Company assumes no responsibility to update them or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances other than as required by applicable securities laws. The Company undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of the Company, Canadian Teleradiology Services, Inc., their securities, or their respective financial or operating results (as applicable). Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The securities being offered 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 U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor in any other jurisdiction. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/129695 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2022) - BASIN URANIUM CORP. (CSE: NCLR) (OTC Pink: BURCF) (FSE: 6NP0) ("Basin Uranium" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Clayton Olson to its Board of Directors. Mr. Olson will act as an independent director and is expected to serve as a member of Company's audit committee. Mr. Olson is a seasoned business professional and currently serves as an Associate Director with Altus Group, specializing in property tax consulting, real estate appraisal and tax appeal advocacy. Prior to joining Altus Group at the beginning of 2022, he spent 11 years in a variety of roles at BC Assessment, specializing in the appraisal and appeal defense of large industrial, commercial and investment properties. Mr. Olson currently sits on the Board of Governors for the Real Estate Institute of BC, where he serves as Secretary Treasurer. He received his BBA from Thompson Rivers University, and later received his Post Graduate Certificate in Property Valuation from University of British Columbia. Basin Uranium also announces the resignation of Kevin Ma from the board of directors. The Company wishes to thank Mr. Ma for his service and for his continued support. The Company wishes him all the best in his future endeavours. Option Grant The Company has also granted 100,000 stock options under the Company's stock option plan in connection with the onboarding of its new director. The options vest immediately and are exercisable for a period of five years at an exercise price of $0.25. The incentive options are subject to a hold period of four months and a day from issuance in accordance with the Canadian Securities Exchange Policy 6. About Basin Uranium Corp. Basin Uranium Corp. is a Canadian junior exploration company focused on mineral exploration and development in the green energy sector. The Company owns the Wray Mesa project in southeastern Utah which has seen significant historic uranium and vanadium exploration and is located adjacent to the fully- permitted and production ready La Sal project. The Company has an option to acquire a 75% interest in the Mann Lake uranium project, located in the Athabasca basin in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada and holds an option in the CHG gold exploration project located approximately 15 kilometers northwest of the town of Clinton in south-central British Columbia. For further information, please visit https://basinuranium.ca or email info@basinuranium.ca. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Mike Blady Chief Executive Officer info@basinuranium.ca Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, including statements regarding future estimates, plans, objectives, timing, assumptions or expectations of future performance are forward-looking statements and contain forward-looking information. 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". Forward-looking statements are based on certain material assumptions and analysis made by the Company and the opinions and estimates of management as of the date of this news release. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Important factors that may cause actual results to vary include, without limitation, uncertainties affecting the expected use of proceeds. 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. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/129682 Canada Drives, a Vancouver, BC-based online car shopping and to-your-door delivery platform, closed $40M CAD equity funding round. Canadian company goeasy provided the financial resources. The company intends to use the funds to expand into new provincial markets, grow the available inventory and enhance its digital platform. Canada Drives is an online car shopping and delivery platform available in Canada. Customers can shop for certified used vehicles, pay in full or finance, sign all documents, and have their vehicle delivered to their doorstep as quickly as the same day. The company is operational in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and most recently in Saskatchewan. FinSMEs 30/06/2022 Tyson 2.0, an Orange County, Calif.-based cannabis brand, closed of its $9M Series A funding round. The round was led by JW Asset Management with participation from K2, Ambria Capital, Tress Capital, and Patrick Carroll. The company intends to use the funds to acquire more celebrity intellectual property, scale marketing efforts, accelerate distribution, and further invest in the development of its house of brands strategy. Founded by President and Chairman, Chad Bronstein, and legendary boxer, entrepreneur and icon Mike Tyson, Tyson 2.0 is a premier cannabis company producing cannabis products and selling them in over 20 US states and Canada. In that time, Tyson 2.0 has sold over 4,000 pounds of cannabis flower across North America. The company also announced the appointment of Nicole Cosby as its Chief Legal and Licensing Officer. Cosby also served as Chief Data and Compliance Officer of Fyllo Group and prior to this, held the position of Senior Vice President of Standards at Publicis Group. She is an attorney by trade and has a background in digital advertising/data policy and brand strategy/licensing. FinSMEs 30/06/2022 The chief of an international group campaigning for an end to all nuclear testing has called on North Korea to reinstate its related moratorium, as speculation is rampant that the secretive regime may soon carry out an underground nuclear weapon test. "While I can assure you of the readiness of our verification regime to detect any nuclear test, I wish to take this opportunity to call on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to renew the commitment it made in 2018 to suspend nuclear testing," Robert Floyd, executive secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), said in a statement during a meeting of its governing body in Vienna, Monday (local time). He also urged Pyongyang to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The North announced a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear weapon and intercontinental ballistic missile tests in April 2018, two months before a historic summit with the United States in Singapore. In late 2019, however, the North's leader Kim Jong-un stated that Pyongyang no longer felt bound by the moratorium amid a stalemate in denuclearization talks. North Korea conducted its sixth and last nuclear weapon test in September 2017 at the Punggye-ri site. South Korean and U.S. intelligence communities say preparations for another test already have been completed. (Yonhap) Interview: Finland, Sweden's accession will weaken NATO, says Greek scholar Xinhua) 09:01, June 30, 2022 ATHENS, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The accession of Finland and Sweden to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will be a negative development for the west, as it will eventually weaken the alliance, a Greek scholar told Xinhua here on Wednesday. "Although the concerns of Finland and Sweden about Russia can be explained, these do not prove that their accession to NATO is in NATO's interest," said Pelagia Karpathiotaki, an international relations scholar and researcher at the Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics. "These two countries will be considered by Russia aggressive bridgeheads, which at the same time are too weak for the west to defend," Karpathiotaki said while commenting on the results of the ongoing NATO summit in Madrid. Turkey has dropped its objections to the two countries' NATO accession, but many questions remain regarding the alliance's enlargement plans before and after the start of the ongoing Ukraine crisis. In Finland and Sweden's case, once the accession process is completed, a space of instability will be created in the European security system, Karpathiotaki argued. The tiny military forces of these countries would add little to the overall military strength of the alliance, but their joining NATO would create ample problems, she said. "The alliance's interest is to avoid being trapped in areas that it could hardly defend, while a large increase in its membership would make it difficult to take decisions," Karpathiotaki noted. "Also, countries with strong anti-Russian elements will lure the alliance into unwanted tensions with Moscow," the scholar stressed. This view has also been expressed by several political and military analysts, who are clearly not pro-Russian, she added. Under normal circumstances, NATO should consider whether the candidates can contribute to the alliance's collective defense, Karpathiotaki noted. However, today the expansion of NATO is based on ideological narratives rather than on criteria of power, she said. The west "had to" expand to countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union or were under the Soviet sphere of influence in order to impose "western values" and "democracy," according to the narrative. As a result, countries with minimal to negative contribution to the collective power of the alliance join in, and problems emerge in a structure where decisions have to be taken unanimously, the expert noted. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the allied countries today have very different geopolitical identities and agendas compared to the old "solid" NATO of the Cold War, she explained. For Karpathiotaki, the argument that "after we go to a new Cold War, then we must be as many as possible against Russia" is not valid either. The issue is not how many states are in the NATO structure but what power they have, she said. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) The South Korean government publicly asked North Korea, Tuesday, to give notification before releasing water from dams near their border during the current rainy season, as their daily hotline communication was disrupted presumably due to technical reasons. The Ministry of Unification made the request in a statement, describing it as a "basic measure" to protect the lives and property of the South Korean residents just south of the border. "We attempted to reach North Korea several times through our regular call via the inter-Korean liaison office at 9 a.m. this morning, but we failed to make a connection, as the North remained unresponsive," a unification ministry official told reporters. The official cited the possibility of technical glitches in Pyongyang's communication lines caused by heavy rainfall that hit some parts of the North recently, pointing out that such instability in the bilateral hotline is not unprecedented during the rainy season. The ministry plans to deliver a formal request to the North as soon as regular communication resumes through the joint liaison office lines. In August 2020, the North partially opened the floodgates of the Hwanggang Dam on the western inter-Korean border without prior notice and dumped water into the Imjin River, putting South Korean residents living near border areas on high alert. Under an agreement signed between the two countries in October 2009, the North agreed to notify the South in advance of any plans to release water from the dam, following a deadly accident that killed six South Koreans after the North discharged water from the Hwanggang Dam without notice. (Yonhap) Here's something you don't see everyday: a city that rescinds a tax. The Brownsville City Council unanimously decided Tuesday, June 28 to do away with what's known as it "transient room tax," otherwise known as a hotel tax. Brownsville doesn't have any hotels in city limits, but it is the site of about 10 Airbnb vacation rentals in private homes with two more on Vrbo. For other cities, what's also called a "transient lodging tax" (in Albany) or simply a lodging tax (Corvallis), is a major source of revenues. For example, even mid-pandemic, between July and November 2021, Albany took in around $586,000, that city reported in February. In Portland, that number is in the millions. In Brownsville, that number is in the four digits. The low four digits. "(S)ince passage of the tax, administration of the tax has proven to be a burden on the city in comparison to the revenue generated by the tax," says a resolution connected to the ordinance the council passed Tuesday repealing the tax. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Albany Democrat-Herald. City Administrator Scott McDowell said in recent years, the annual take has totaled somewhere between $1,700 and $2,200. Even more than the cost to collect the pittance, the city received complaints about the tax. "It's just not worth it," McDowell said in an interview after the meeting. The tax, 6% of the booking, was first passed in 2005, according to the resolution. Since 2018, Linn County has its own lodging tax, set at 3%, which is collected countywide, including cities with their own taxes. On top of those, the state charges another 1.5%. The council repealed the tax via an emergency ordinance, so it bypasses a second vote and takes effect immediately. Councilor Michael Humphreys said he wanted the tax off the books by the end of the fiscal year, which is June 30. Also at the meeting, the council approved the budget for 2022-23. The budget has an expected revenue intake of $3.8 million for the general fund, which pays for many city services. The budget includes a 7% hike in water/sewer rates. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Temperatures are rising, and it feels like summer has finally arrived to the mid-Willamette Valley. A popular way to beat the heat is to spend time on the river. But how safe are the local rivers? Fire officials say there are plenty of hazards river-goers need to be mindful of. Rivers still cold It may be scorching hot outside, but the river temperatures arent. The cool water may seem like an ideal retreat from the heat, but when river temperatures are between 40 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit, it can be dangerous for swimmers to take a dip. When people go swimming, they can go into shock, Benton County Sheriffs Lt. Toby Bottorff said. If you dont have a life jacket on, its going to be a lot harder to get one on when your body is in shock or experiencing hypothermia. Bottorff is in charge of the department's marine deputies. The marine deputy program is seasonal and generally runs from May to mid-September. Jefferson Fire District Division Chief Louis Gisler echoed Bottorff in saying the water is still cold enough to be dangerous. He anticipates the water temperatures will increase once the water levels go down. Life jackets are a must One of the easiest ways to stay safe on the rivers is to wear a life jacket. Not only is it the law in some cases, but its a preventive measure that pays off. Over the years, I would say in at least 90% of drownings, people did not have life jackets, Bottorff said. Throughout his years on the job, Bottorff said pulling deceased people out of the water has made an impact on him. It brought home the fact that its really important to wear that life jacket, he said. Depending on someones age and the type of boat they are on, not wearing a life jacket can be costly in more ways than one. Word spreads around when were out giving tickets, Bottorff said. But we dont care about the money; we care about compliance and people being safe. Even if you have a life jacket, if it doesnt fit properly, its not going to do its job, Gisler said. One of the problems he sees out on the river is people not wearing the proper size. For example, a child should not be wearing an adult life jacket. To find out more about life jacket regulations and safety tips, go to the Oregon State Marine Board website. River users can also tap local agencies' stashes if they dont have their own life jackets. For example, Albany Fire Department, the Osborn Aquatic Center and Lebanon Fire District all have life jacket loaner programs. Really know the water Water rescue officials say one of the most important tips for safe river usage is knowing the water. Just because someone has floated the same river for years doesnt mean new hazards or flow patterns arent safety threats. In late April, two kayakers from Eugene went missing on the Long Tom River near Monroe and were ultimately found deceased. Although its unclear exactly what happened, officials said their deaths appeared to be water-related. Make sure you have a plan, Bottorff said. Be familiar with the river youre using. Scout the river for hazards beforehand. Knowing what to expect on the river before floating on it is crucial, but knowing your own abilities is just as important. I think the biggest mistake people make is overestimating themselves and underestimating the water, Gisler said. He added that the water is always going to be dangerous, regardless of conditions or someones experience level. People assume because theyre on a float or inner tube that they can kick and move and outwork the water, Gisler said. Water does not get tired. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Albany Democrat-Herald. Hazards on and beneath the surface Water levels are expected to retreat and river temperatures should increase in the coming weeks, but dangers still exist. The Oregon State Marine Board has a Boating Obstruction Reporting Tools dashboard that offers information and pictures of current river hazards, such as log jams and strainers. For example, the North Santiam River has a major log jam across the river, a few miles downstream of Buell Miller. This log jam cant be removed due to a fish habitat, Gisler said. If someone finds themselves encountering the log jam, theyll be stuck. As the water levels begin to recede, Gisler said some areas of the river will become unpassable. This is why he suggests checking on river conditions before floating. Between log jams, strainers and a swift-moving river, hazards can catch unprepared floaters and boaters off guard. A healthy fear of the water is necessary, according to Gisler. If youre not afraid of the water, you shouldnt be in it, he said. People need to respect it. Maddie Pfeifer covers public safety for Mid-Valley Media. She can be contacted at 541-812-6091 or Madison.Pfeifer@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter via @maddiepfeifer_ Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 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. Tomas Ojea Quintana, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, moves to the U.N. Human Rights Office in Seoul, Tuesday. Newsis By Jung Min-ho A United Nations human rights expert on Tuesday called for the release of more information about the incident in which a government official was killed in North Korean waters. He was quoted by the victim's brother as saying that his family has "the right to know." At a meeting in Seoul with Lee Rae-jin, the elder brother of the fisheries official shot dead by the North two years ago, Tomas Ojea Quintana, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, also said that Pyongyang should help the family uncover the whole truth, discipline those who were responsible and compensate the family for the loss. "He expressed support for our fact-finding efforts, including the attempt to get access to the information kept in the presidential archives," Lee told The Korea Times. His support comes at a time when the family members are demanding that the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which holds a majority at the National Assembly, agree to grant them access to classified documents sealed by the Presidential Archive. They are hoping that the documents will help them resolve questions about the tragedy, including whether the previous Moon Jae-in administration did what was necessary to save their family member. Quintana is expected to share some of the family's concerns with high-ranking government officials, including Unification Minister Kwon Young-se, when he meets them on Wednesday. Kim Ki-yoon, Lee's lawyer who also attended the meeting, said it is important that Quintana specifically said the North should compensate the family over his death and prosecute those directly involved in it. Lee Rae-jin, the brother of a South Korean official who was killed by the North Korean military two years ago, speaks to reporters before a meeting with Tomas Ojea Quintana, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, at the U.N. Human Rights Office in Seoul, Tuesday. Newsis June 2022 by Marc Jacob Rackspace Technology announced it worked with Grupo Milenio to migrate from a virtual environment to a more reliable AWS Cloud architecture to provide the best, most up-to-date digital content for breaking news and high traffic. The digital transformation resulted in increased uptime for Grupo Milenio to ensure dependable delivery of breaking news in Mexico. Grupo Milenio is the most comprehensive news conglomerate in Mexico, offering timely information on its multiplatform, 24 hours a day. The news conglomerate includes the newspaper Milenio Diario, which offers a national edition and eight regional editions; Milenio Television, a national TV channel that broadcasts 24/7; the news portal milenio.com; and the Milenio Radio network. Grupo Milenio needed to migrate from its virtual environment to the cloud to ensure it could support the delivery of digital content to all its regions across Mexico during periods of breaking news and high traffic on its website. Also, the organization needed to ensure that its internal users have a fast and dependable multimedia platform on which to publish content, especially during breaking-news events. "One of our challenges has been achieving our aggressive digital goals without increasing OPEX or the cost of services while producing the same level of service, building more applications, launching more deployments, having more systems developed for information and having more infrastructure available with less personnel all at a much lower cost month by month and year by year," said Enrique Calderon, Technology Director of Grupo Milenio in its multimedia division. "Support from Rackspace Technology is making my job easier due to the implementation of a self-scaling AWS solution and several data centers for Grupo Milenio." In addition to the infrastructure, Rackspace Technology also provides support for AWS to help the organization quickly resolve any issues before disruption to news broadcasts occur. "To achieve all its business goals, Grupo Milenio needed a reliable partner who could ensure dependable cloud data center performance," Jeff DeVerter, Chief Technology Evangelist at Rackspace Technology. "Thats why it chose Rackspace Technology. During its cloud transformation, Rackspace Technology provided Grupo Milenio with support for architecture design, build-out, implementation and service configuration that now allows them to be ready to scale at a moments notice." North Korea is taking emergency measures to prevent damage from flooding as the country braces for the summer rainy season amid its fight against COVID-19, according to state media, Wednesday. The country's "central emergency anti-epidemic sector" took steps to ensure medical supplies in thousands of emergency medical units set up at hospitals across the country and urged disinfection work in evacuation centers to prevent the outbreak of an "enteric illness," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The North is also taking measures to disinfect regions affected by natural disasters to block the spread of the "malicious" coronavirus. On Tuesday, Premier Kim Tok-hun urged efforts to minimize damage from typhoons and heavy downpours by improving the accuracy of weather forecasts as he inspected the State Hydro-Meteorological Administration, the country's state weather agency, and the Committee for Emergency and Disaster Management. He called for nationwide efforts to protect crops and to reach its target harvest level for this year, the KCNA reported. Observers have voiced concerns that the heavy downpours could deal a blow to agricultural output in the North, which is known to be vulnerable to flooding due to poor irrigation and deforestation. North Korea has issued a heavy rain alert for most of the country's regions this week. (Yonhap) New York, June 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Warming Cabinet Market Research Report by Type, End-user, Cubic Foot, Inches, Region - Global Forecast to 2027 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06287231/?utm_source=GNW The Global Warming Cabinet Market size was estimated at USD 1,892.11 million in 2021 and expected to reach USD 2,080.57 million in 2022, and is projected to grow at a CAGR 10.21% to reach USD 3,391.50 million by 2027. Market Statistics: The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, AUD, CAD, and CHF. It helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available. In this report, the years 2019 and 2020 are considered historical years, 2021 as the base year, 2022 as the estimated year, and years from 2023 to 2027 are considered the forecast period. Market Segmentation & Coverage: This research report categorizes the Warming Cabinet to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets: Based on Type, the market was studied across Multiple Cavity and Single Cavity. The Single Cavity is further studied across Blanket, Combo, and Fluid. Based on End-user, the market was studied across Clinic and Hospital. Based on Cubic Foot, the market was studied across More than 7.5 Cu ft (Large), Up to 5 Cu ft (Small), and Up to 7.5 Cu ft (Mid-size). Based on Inches, the market was studied across 24 Inch, 30 Inch, Less than 24 Inch, and More than 30 Inch. Based on Region, the market was studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas is further studied across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The United States is further studied across California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The Asia-Pacific is further studied across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa is further studied across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom. Cumulative Impact of COVID-19: COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, and the long-term effects are projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report delivers insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecasts, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market. Cumulative Impact of 2022 Russia Ukraine Conflict: We continuously monitor and update reports on political and economic uncertainty due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Negative impacts are significantly foreseen globally, especially across Eastern Europe, European Union, Eastern & Central Asia, and the United States. This contention has severely affected lives and livelihoods and represents far-reaching disruptions in trade dynamics. The potential effects of ongoing war and uncertainty in Eastern Europe are expected to have an adverse impact on the world economy, with especially long-term harsh effects on Russia.This report uncovers the impact of demand & supply, pricing variants, strategic uptake of vendors, and recommendations for Warming Cabinet market considering the current update on the conflict and its global response. Competitive Strategic Window: The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies to help the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. It describes the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth during a forecast period. FPNV Positioning Matrix: The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Warming Cabinet Market based on Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape. Market Share Analysis: The Market Share Analysis offers the analysis of vendors considering their contribution to the overall market. It provides the idea of its revenue generation into the overall market compared to other vendors in the space. It provides insights into how vendors are performing in terms of revenue generation and customer base compared to others. Knowing market share offers an idea of the size and competitiveness of the vendors for the base year. It reveals the market characteristics in terms of accumulation, fragmentation, dominance, and amalgamation traits. Competitive Scenario: The Competitive Scenario provides an outlook analysis of the various business growth strategies adopted by the vendors. The news covered in this section deliver valuable thoughts at the different stage while keeping up-to-date with the business and engage stakeholders in the economic debate. The competitive scenario represents press releases or news of the companies categorized into Merger & Acquisition, Agreement, Collaboration, & Partnership, New Product Launch & Enhancement, Investment & Funding, and Award, Recognition, & Expansion. All the news collected help vendor to understand the gaps in the marketplace and competitors strength and weakness thereby, providing insights to enhance product and service. Company Usability Profiles: The report profoundly explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Warming Cabinet Market, including Avante Health Solutions, Barkey, Blickman, Inc., CME Corp, Continental Metal Products, Inc., Electrolux AB, Emsa?, Enthermics, Inc., Future Health Concepts, Inc., Getinge AB, HESS Medizintechnik AG, Kanmed AB (MEDCare Visions Company), LogiQuip, MAC Medical, Inc., Natus Medical Incorporated, Pedigo Products, SKYTRON, LLC, Spire Integrated Solutions, STERIS plc, and Surgmed. The report provides insights on the following pointers: 1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players 2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyze penetration across mature segments of the markets 3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments 4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, certification, regulatory approvals, patent landscape, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players 5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and breakthrough product developments The report answers questions such as: 1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Warming Cabinet Market? 2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Warming Cabinet Market during the forecast period? 3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Warming Cabinet Market? 4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Warming Cabinet Market? 5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Warming Cabinet Market? 6. What is the market share of the leading vendors in the Global Warming Cabinet Market? 7. What modes and strategic moves are considered suitable for entering the Global Warming Cabinet Market? Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06287231/?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. __________________________ English French HOMEWOOD, Ill., June 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) announced today plans to invest approximately $55 million in Minnesota in 2022. This includes investments in technology, capacity, rolling stock units and company-wide decarbonization initiatives, as well as network improvements. These investments will power sustainable growth and ensure the continued safe movement of goods in Minnesota and everywhere on CNs transcontinental network. We continue to make significant investments in our network, technology, and capacity. We are building the premier railroad of the 21st century to do even more for our customers, railroaders, shareholders, and the communities in which we operate. - Sean Finn, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Services and Chief Legal Officer of CN This past year, CN expertly navigated difficult circumstances and successfully kept critical goods moving across Minnesota, further proving that they are an essential link in our critical supply chains. I am incredibly grateful that CN has chosen to build upon their success in Minnesota by investing in local infrastructure and technology. I thank CN for their commitment to the Northland, and look forward to continuing our partnership with them for many years to come. - Pete Stauber, U.S. Congressman, Minnesotas 8th Congressional District Maintenance program highlights include: Replacing approximately 5 miles of rail; Installing more than 105,000 new railroad ties; Rebuilding 14 road crossing surfaces; and Maintenance work on bridges, culverts, signal systems, and other track infrastructure Minnesota in numbers: Capital investments: More than US$300 million in the last five years Employees: approximately 540 Railroad route miles operated: 426 Community partnerships: US$126,000 in 2021 Local spending: US$123 million in 2021 Cash taxes paid: US$17 million in 2021 Forward-looking Statements Certain statements included in this news release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and under Canadian securities laws. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The Company cautions that its assumptions may not materialize and that current economic conditions render such assumptions, although reasonable at the time they were made, subject to greater uncertainty. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of terminology such as believes, expects, anticipates, assumes, outlook, plans, targets, or other similar words. Forward-looking statements reflect information as of the date on which they are made. CN assumes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect future events, changes in circumstances, or changes in beliefs, unless required by applicable securities laws. In the event CN does update any forward-looking statement, no inference should be made that CN will make additional updates with respect to that statement, related matters, or any other forward-looking statement. About CN CN is a world-class transportation leader and trade-enabler. Essential to the economy, to the customers, and to the communities it serves, CN safely transports more than 300 million tons of natural resources, manufactured products, and finished goods throughout North America every year. As the only railroad connecting Canadas Eastern and Western coasts with the U.S. South through a 18,600-mile rail network, CN and its affiliates have been contributing to community prosperity and sustainable trade since 1919. CN is committed to programs supporting social responsibility and environmental stewardship. Contacts: THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES ~Arranges US$14.0M Debt and Equity Financing ~ VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd. (the "Company" or "GSilver") (TSXV:GSVR) is pleased to announce that it has signed a binding definitive agreement with Great Panther Mining Ltd. ("Great Panther") (TSX:GPR) to acquire all of Great Panthers Mexican assets through the purchase of Great Panthers Mexican subsidiary, Minera Mexicana Rosario S.A. de C.V. (MMR), including the producing Topia mine and production facility, the San Ignacio mine, the Guanajuato Mine Complex (GMC) and the Cata processing plant (the MMR Acquisition). GSilver will henceforth refer to GMC as the Valenciana mine (Valenciana). Highlights: GSilvers operations will expand from two mines and one production facility to five mines and three production facilities. The acquisition includes the Topia mine, located in Durango, Mexico which is currently producing concentrates containing silver, lead, zinc, and gold. Significant lead financing orders have been confirmed from Ocean Partners (UK) Ltd. and from an affiliate of OCIM Metals and Mining ( OCIM ). ). 2021 total silver equivalent production at Topia was 1,129,611 Ag Eq ounces. ( 1 ) 2021 total silver equivalent production at the Valenciana and San Ignacio mines and Cata processing plant was 1,051,336 AgEq ounces. ( 1 ) Total consideration of USD$14.7M; satisfied by US$6,700,000 in GSilver Shares and US$8,000,000 in cash (see debt and equity financing details below) The transaction Includes the following historical measured, indicated and inferred resources: Valenciana and San Ignacio Effective Date: July 31, 2021 Class Tonnes Ag (gpt) Ag (oz) Au (gpt) Au (oz) AgEq (gpt) AgEq (oz) Valenciana Measured and Indicated 251,666 250 2,021,193 1.76 14,280 400 3,235,029 Inferred 220,760 225 1,597,357 1.95 13,873 391 2,776,595 San Ignacio Measured and Indicated 267,828 145 1,248,734 2.80 24,106 384 3,302,726 Inferred 445,217 178 2,551,719 2.65 38,002 404 5,781,944 Combined Measured and Indicated 519,493 196 3,269,927 2.30 38,386 391 6,537,755 Inferred 665,977 194 4,149,076 2.42 51,876 400 8,558,540 Topia mine Effective Date: March 31, 2021 Class Tonnes Ag (gpt) Ag (oz) Pb (%) Zn (%) AgEq (gpt) AgEq (oz) Measured and Indicated 331,800 609 1.84 4.40 4.50 1,041 11,107,000 Inferred 274,600 592 1.44 3.35 3.63 932 8,221,000 GSilver is not treating these estimates as current mineral resources as a qualified person on behalf of GSilver has not done sufficient work to classify these estimates as current mineral resources. (2) Ramon Davila, President and Director of GSilver said, This acquisition will prove instantly accretive; the Topia Mine is currently producing and will immediately lift GSilvers production profile. Within the Guanajuato mining district, the San Ignacio and Valenciana mines were put on care and maintenance less than eight months ago only due to a lack of available tailings facilities; GSilver plans to swiftly re-start production from these mines and process the mineralised material using the excess capacity at our nearby El Cubo production facilities (El Cubo). This acquisition keeps us on course to expeditiously establish GSilver as a mid-tier precious metals producer in Mexico. Purchase of the Great Panther MMR Assets: The Company has signed a binding definitive agreement with Great Panther (the "GP Agreement") to acquire 100% of the shares of Great Panthers Mexican subsidiary, MMR. MMRs combined Mexican assets include three mines, two floatation processing facilities, substantial historical measured, indicated, and inferred resources(2), and 25,000 hectares of mineral claims as more particularly described below. The GP Agreement: Chairman and CEO James Anderson said: "We are delighted to have come to this agreement with Great Panther, and we welcome them becoming a significant shareholder of our Company. The Great Panther Mexican assets fit well into our plan to expand precious metals production in central Mexico. The MMR Acquisition further demonstrates our commitment to consolidating the Guanajuato mining district, which has an established 480-year mining history of precious metals production. The immediate availability of mineralised material from the San Ignacio and Valenciana mines will allow GSilver to fill our El Cubo mills excess capacity in Guanajuato. Together with ongoing production from the Topia Mine in Durango, our production expansion will be immediate and substantial. Additionally, the integration of the GSilver mining claims with the claims of Great Panther will open new exploration possibilities in the district that were not possible before this transaction. We thank our European resource lender OCIM and our offtake partners Ocean Partners (UK) Ltd. for providing important lead financing orders for this transaction. On closing of the MMR Acquisition GSilver will pay, subject to certain closing adjustments, US$14.7M to Great Panther as follows: US$8.0M in cash, subject to adjustments. US$6.7M in GSilver common shares at a deemed price of C$0.335 per share, for a total of 25,787,200 GSilver shares (the Consideration Shares). GSilver has also agreed to pay Great Panther up to an additional US$2.0M in contingent payments based on the following: US$500,000 upon GSilver producing 2,500,000 ounces of silver from the purchased MMR assets. US$750,000 if the price of silver closes at or above US$27.50 per ounce for 30 consecutive days within two years after closing. US$750,000 if the price of silver closes at or above US$30.00 per ounce for 30 consecutive days within three years after closing. Closing of the GP Agreement is subject to satisfaction of certain closing conditions including receipt of all requisite third party approvals and the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange (the TSXV). Financing for the MMR Acquisition: US$5.0M Credit Facility: GSilver is pleased to announce that it has signed a concentrate pre-payment facility term sheet (the OP Facility) with Ocean Partners (UK), a metals off-take and trading firm, to provide US$5.0M of financing to be used as a portion of GSilvers acquisition price for MMR. The OP Facility will be for a term of 24-months, secured by a share pledge over MMR, which holds the purchased assets, and repayable over a period of 21-months following a three-month grace period. Interest on the loan will be calculated at 12-month libor + 7.5%. GSilver will also grant Ocean Partners 2,500,000 warrants on the same terms as offered to the purchasers of subscription receipts in the proposed equity financing below. In conjunction with the OP Facility, the Company has agreed to sell 100% of the concentrate produced from MMRs Guanajuato mines including Valenciana and San Ignacio to Ocean Partners for a minimum of 24 months, subject to minimum of 6,000 wet metric tonnes, and 100% of all zinc concentrate produced from the Topia mine for the same period once Topias existing zinc concentrate off-take agreement expires within the next month or so. The OP Facility is subject to customary closing conditions including execution of definitive off-take pre-payment and security documentation, and TSXV acceptance. US$9.0M (C$11.55M) Equity Financing: GSilver has received expressions of interest from insiders and Presidents List investors for an equity financing of approximately US$6.9M including a lead order from an affiliate of Paris and Geneva based resource lender OCIM. OCIM is currently GSilvers senior lender, having advanced a US$7.5M debt facility in May, 2022. GSilver has entered into an agreement with Research Capital Corporation and Canaccord Genuity Corp. as co-lead agents and joint bookrunners, and on behalf of a syndicate of agents, including Echelon Wealth Partners Inc. and Roth Canada, ULC (collectively the Agents), pursuant to which the Agents will undertake, on a best-efforts basis, a part-and-parcel brokered private placement offering of 35,000,000 subscription receipts of GSilver (the Subscription Receipts) at a price of C$0.33 (equivalent to approximately US$0.257) per Subscription Receipt, to raise gross proceeds of up to C$11.55 million (equivalent to approximately US$9.0 million) (the Equity Financing). GSilver has also granted the Agents an option to increase the size of the Equity Financing by up to an additional 15% of the Equity Financing or 5,250,000 Subscription Receipts (C$1,1732,500), exercisable in whole or in part at any time up to 48 hours prior to closing of the Equity Financing. The gross proceeds of the Equity Financing, less 50% of the Agents cash commission and expenses (see below), will be deposited in escrow (the Escrowed Funds) pending satisfaction of certain subscription receipt release conditions (the SR Conditions) including the concurrent closing of the GP Agreement and receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals including acceptance of the TSXV. Upon closing of the GP Agreement, each Subscription Receipt will automatically convert, without payment of any additional consideration or further action on the part of the holder thereof, into one unit of GSilver consisting of one common share (a GSilver Share") and one common share purchase warrant (a "GSilver Warrant") of GSilver and the Escrowed Funds and any accrued interest thereon (less the balance of the Agents cash commission and expenses) will be released to the Company. Each GSilver Warrant will be exercisable for one GSilver Share at a price of C$0.50 for a period of 36 months following closing of the GP Agreement. If the SR Conditions are not satisfied within 90 days following closing of the Equity Financing (or such other date as the Company and the Agents may agree), the Escrowed Funds and any interest accrued thereon will be returned to the purchasers of Subscription Receipts and the Subscription Receipts will be cancelled. In consideration for their services in connection with the Equity Financing, the Agents will receive a cash commission of 6% of the gross proceeds raised, and brokers warrants (the Brokers Warrants) of 6% of the total number of Subscription Receipts sold, under the Equity Financing (subject to reduced cash commission and Brokers Warrants on sales of Subscription Receipts to purchasers on the Companys Presidents List). Each Brokers Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one GSilver Share for a period of 36 months following closing of the GP Agreement at a price equal to the issue price of the Subscription Receipts. The Agents will also be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses incurred in connection with the Equity Financing including legal fees. The net proceeds of the Equity Financing will be used to, among other things, finance the purchase price for the MMR Acquisition, fund ongoing mining operations and for general corporate and working capital purposes. The Equity Financing is scheduled to close on or about the week of July 27, 2022, or such other date as agreed upon between the Company and the Agents and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals including the acceptance of the TSXV. It is anticipated that certain directors, officers and other insiders of GSilver (collectively Insiders) will participate in the Equity Financing for up to a maximum of 10% of the financing. Such portion of the Equity Financing with Insiders will constitute a related party transaction for the purposes of Multilateral Instrument 61-101, Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (MI 61-101), and GSilver intends to rely upon exemptions from the requirement to obtain a formal valuation and seek minority shareholder approval for the Equity Financing on the basis that the fair market value of the participation by such Insiders in the Equity Financing will be less than 25% of GSilvers current market capitalization. It is anticipated that the material change report of GSilver to be filed in connection with this announcement of the MMR Acquisition, the OP Financing and the Equity Financing will be filed less than 21 days in advance of the closing of the Equity Financing, which GSilver considers reasonable within the context of current market conditions and to ensure that the net proceeds of the Equity Financing are available to GSilver to fund the purchase price for MMR upon closing of the GP Agreement. All securities issuable in connection with the MMR Acquisition, the OP Facility and the Equity Financing will be subject to a statutory hold period of 4 months and one day from the date of issue. In addition, Great Panther has agreed to certain additional voluntary hold periods on 50% of the Consideration Shares to be released in stages up to 12 months following closing of the GP Agreement. Assets Being Purchased: Valenciana-Cata: Under Great Panther, the mines situated near the centre of Guanajuato were known as the Guanajuato Mine Complex or GMC; situated along the highly productive Veta Madre (Mother Vein). From north to south, these mines are called Guanajuatito, Valenciana, Cata, Los Posos, and Promontorio. Henceforth, GSilver will refer to these mines collectively as Valenciana and to the accompanying processing plant, which has nameplate capacity of 1200 tonnes per day, as Cata. Mined since the 1500s, and encompassing a strike length of 4.2km, this mine became one of the premier silver mines in the world and, for a time, accounted for up to one-third of global annual silver production. Historical in-situ measured and indicated resources at Valenciana (GMC), as reported by Great Panther (effective date: July 31, 2021) totalled 251,666 tonnes grading 250 gpt Ag and 1.76 gpt Au (400 gpt AgEq) for 3.23M AgEq ounces, with inferred resources of 220,760 tonnes grading 225 gpt Ag and 1.95 gpt Au (391 gpt AgEq) for 2.77M AgEq ounces. See the mineral resources table for Valenciana (GMC) under Highlights above. (2) The Cata processing plant remains in good working condition and has a nameplate capacity of 1200 tonnes per day (36,000 tonnes/month). The plant is a traditional crushing, grinding and floatation system that produces a high-grade silver-gold concentrate. Valenciana was put on care and maintenance by Great Panther in November 2021 because of a lack of tailings space. San Ignacio: The San Ignacio Mine is located approximately 20km by road west of the city of Guanajuato and 38km from GSilvers El Cubo mill. Mineralization exists within an epithermal quartz vein system called La Luz, which is a large regional tectonic structure that also hosts Endeavour Silvers Bolanitos Mine. San Ignacio has operated for 10 years, with high grade silver and gold material continually trucked to Great Panthers Cata mill for processing. GSilver intends to transport material from San Ignacio to El Cubo for processing. Historical in-situ measured and indicated resources at San Ignacio as reported by Great Panther (effective date: July 31, 2021) totalled 267,828 tonnes grading 145 gpt Ag and 2.80 gpt Au (384 gpt AgEq) for 3.30M AgEq ounces, with inferred resources of 445,217 tonnes grading 178 gpt Ag and 2.65 gpt Au (404 gpt AgEq) for 5.78M AgEq ounces. See the mineral resources table for San Ignacio under Highlights above. (2) San Ignacio was put on care and maintenance by Great Panther in January 2022 due to a lack of tailings capacity. Topia Mine and Mill, Durango, Mexico. Great Panther has operated the Topia Mine in north-eastern Durango since 2004; the mine includes a 260 tonnes per day flotation processing plant that is currently operating at close to full capacity. The mineral deposits at Topia are different than those seen at Valenciana and San Ignacio, which exclusively produce precious metals. Mineralization at Topia exists as polymetallic epithermal veins that contain high-grade concentrations of silver, zinc, lead and gold. The Topia veins consist mainly of massive galena, sphalerite, and tetrahedrite in a gangue of quartz, barite, and calcite. Historical in-situ measured and indicated resources at Topia as reported by Great Panther (effective date: March 31, 2021) totalled 331,800 tonnes grading 609 gpt Ag, 1.84 gpt Au, 4.4%Pb and 4.5%Zn (1,041 gpt AgEq) for 11.10M AgEq ounces, with inferred resources of 274,600 tonnes grading 592 gpt Ag, 1.44 gpt Au, 3.35% Pb and 3.63%Zn (932 gpt AgEq) for 8.22M AgEq ounces. See the mineral resources table for Topia under Highlights above. (2) Topia is currently in operation; the mine produces a lead-silver-gold concentrate and a separate zinc concentrate. Closing of the MMR Acquisition is subject to a number of conditions including acceptance of the TSXV. There are no assurances that the MMR Acquisition, the OP Facility and the Equity Financing will be completed on the proposed terms or at all. Hernan Dorado Smith, a director and officer of GSilver and a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. Advisor and Counsel: GSilvers financial advisor for the MMR Acquisition is Minvisory Corp. and Gregory T. Chu, A Law Corporation acts as the Companys legal advisor. About Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd.: GSilver mines and processes silver and gold concentrate from its El Cubo mine and mill. The Company continues to delineate additional silver and gold resources through underground drilling at El Cubo and its nearby El Pinguico project. Both projects are located within 11km of the city of Guanajuato, Mexico, which has an established 480-year mining history. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS "James Anderson" Chairman and CEO For further information regarding Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd., please contact: JJ Jennex, Communications Manager, +1 (604) 723-1433 Email: jjj@gsilver.com Continue to watch our progress at: www.GSilver.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. This new 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 or for the account or benefit of a U.S. person (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. Forward-Looking Information and Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and information, which relate to future events or future performance including, but not limited to, the successful acquisition of MMR on the proposed terms and conditions and estimated timing for closing thereof; the ability of GSilver to raise the necessary funding to complete the MMR acquisition (including closing the initial expressions of interest and lead orders) on the terms and conditions contemplated; the exploration, development and production potential of MMRs mining assets and the existence of mineral resources thereon; the ability of GSilver to successfully re-start mining operations at, and supply sufficient mineralized material from, Valenciana and San Ignacio for processing through the El Cubo mill at the projected rate to fill excess capacity at El Cubo and produce sufficient ounces of silver and gold to, inter alia, service and repay its current and proposed debt facilities including, but not limited to, the proposed QP Facility; the ability to successfully integrate MMRs mining assets into the Companys current operations and immediately and substantially expand production to generate positive cash flow from the El Cubo and Topia mills and open up new exploration possibilities as contemplated or at all; and the ability of the MMR Acquisition to keep GSilver on course to expeditiously establish the Company as a mid-tier Mexican precious metals producer. Such forward-looking statements reflect managements current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected including, but not limited to, market conditions, availability of financing, currency rate fluctuations, actual results of exploration, development and production activities, unanticipated geological formations and characteristics, environmental risks, future prices of gold, silver and other metals, operating risks, accidents, labor issues, delays in obtaining governmental or regulatory approvals and permits, and other risks in the mining industry. There are no assurances that GSilver will successfully finance and complete the acquisition of MMR on the terms contemplated or at all. In addition, there is uncertainty about the continued spread of COVID-19, the ongoing war in Ukraine, rising inflation and interest rates (domestically and abroad) and the impact they will have on the Companys operations, supply chains, ability to access the MMR properties, El Cubo and/or El Pinguico or procure equipment, contractors and other personnel or raise capital on a timely basis or at all and economic activity in general. All the forward-looking statements and information made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and those in our continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements and information are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances save as required by law. 1 Extracted from Great Panthers news release dated January 19, 2022. Silver equivalent ounces for 2021 were calculated using an 85:1 Ag:Au ratio. 2 These estimates have been extracted from the following National Instrument 43-101 technical reports filed by Great Panther under its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and use the definitions of Mineral Resource set forth in the CIM Definition Standards, adopted May 10, 2014, by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum: (a) NI 43-101 report on the Guanajuato Mine Complex dated February 28, 2022 (effective date July 31, 2021) prepared on behalf of Great Panther by Robert F. Brown, P. Eng, and Mohammad Nourpour, P. Geo., (together the GP Qualified Persons) and titled NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Update Technical Report on the Guanajuato Mine Complex, Guanajuato and San Ignacio Operations, Guanajuato State, Mexico (the Guanajuato Report); and (b) NI 43-101 report on the Topia Mine dated February 11, 2022 (effective date March 31, 2021) prepared on behalf of Great Panther by the GP Qualified Persons and titled NI 43-101 Report on the Topia Mine Mineral Resource Estimates as of March 31, 2021 (the Topia Report), Such estimates are subject to certain assumptions regarding grade, metal prices, currency exchange rates, costs, metals production rates, schedule of development, labour, consumables and other material costs, markets and market prices as more particularly set out in the reports. AgEq oz were calculated using 85:1 Ag:Au ratio. AgEq gpt and AgEq oz figures reported for Topia have been extracted from Great Panthers news release dated February 11, 2022. The Guanajuato resources were estimated from six area-specific block models at Guanajuato, and eighteen block models at San Ignacio. A set of 44 wireframes representing the mineralized zones served to constrain the block models and data subsequently used in Inverse Distance Cubed (ID3) Au and Ag grade interpolation. The geological interpretation was provided by Great Panther. Wireframe modelling was completed using MICROMINE and Leapfrog 3D geological modelling software and grade estimation and geological modelling completed using by MICROMINE software. See the Guanajuato Report for further details of the key assumptions, parameters, and methods used to prepare the resource estimate. The Topia resources were estimated from 10 mine area-specific block models. A set of 60 wireframes representing the mineralized zones (veins) served to constrain both the block models and data subsequently used in Inverse Distance Cubed (ID3) gold, silver, lead, and zinc grade interpolations. Each block residing at least partly within one of 60 wireframes received a grade estimate. The full operational cost cut-off value as calculated by Great Panthers mine operating staff ranges from US$202 to US$345/tonne for different areas based on full mine operating costs (mining, milling, administration). Block model silver, gold, lead, and zinc grades have been converted to an US$ NSR value using an NSR calculator which takes into effect metal prices (long term projected to be US$20.00/oz silver, US$1,650/oz gold, US$0.85/lb lead, and US$1.20/lb zinc), plant metallurgical recoveries of 92.4% for Ag, 55.4% for Au, 94.3% for Pb, and 90.5% for Zn, concentrate shipping charges, and proprietary smelter terms. Blocks with an NSR value equal to or greater than the operations full cut-off costs were tabulated into the mineral resource estimate for each zone. The cut-off value was applied to each block estimated in the resource block model. Mineral Resource blocks are only considered Measured or Indicated if they are within 10m or 20m of underground channel sampling associated with mine development. See the Topia Report for further details of the key assumptions, parameters, and methods use to prepare the resource estimate. GSilver is not treating these estimates as current mineral resources as a qualified person on behalf of GSilver has not done sufficient work to classify the estimates as current mineral resources and therefore such estimates should not be relied upon. A thorough review by GSilvers qualified person of all historic data, along with additional exploration and validation work to confirm results and estimation parameters, would be required in order to produce a current mineral resource estimate for the Valenciana and San Ignacio mines and Topia. Singapore, June 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Autonomous Future Productions today announced Deeptech Times, a new online news and media publication that is dedicated to offering enterprises, business leaders and policy makers in Asia a lens through which they can better understand the progress of deep technologies and their consequent issues, allowing them to make informed decisions within the respective ecosystems they operate in. Deeptech Times is helmed by veteran technology journalist Grace Chng who has over 30 years of publishing and journalism experience. She was previously publishing director and editor of The Straits Times Digital Life in Singapore. A seasoned and accomplished writer, author and technology industry observer, Chng serves as the editorial director and strategic advisor to Deeptech Times to design and create engaging content that is both insightful and analytical; and presented in multimedia spanning text, video, audio and graphics. This period of technology development is exciting. It is the beginning of a new Internet, of being able to do things differently on the Web. Emerging technologies are converging and their influence on businesses and society will be even more profound, said Chng. We aim to bring insightful coverage of the technologies that will be shaping a fast-changing world. The deep technology sectors Deeptech Times covers include blockchain (including crypto and NFT), decentralised finance (DeFi) and fintech, metaverse/Web 3.0, space technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics; as well as other areas including quantum computing, autonomous vehicles, sustainability technology and biomedical science. Chng is supported by Alfred Siew, who is the editor of the publication, as well as writers and producers worldwide passionate and curious about the impact of deep technologies. Technology has changed dramatically in the previous several years with emerging innovations that look set to transform businesses and consumers in ways we can only imagine, said Siew. These are the new areas we seek to focus on more deeply in Deeptech Times to better serve readers. Previously the technology correspondent at The Straits Times, Siew brings with him more than 20 years of industry and editorial experience to help offer trusted and authoritative journalism to Deeptech Times readers. He continues to edit Techgoondu.com, which will be a partner publication, and run his own consultancy firm. Additional information: Deeptech Times launch video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eznk8iaMbXA About Deeptech Times Deeptech Times is dedicated to offering enterprises, business leaders and policy makers in Asia a lens through which they can better understand the progress of deep technologies and their consequent issues, allowing them to make informed decisions within the respective ecosystems they operate in. We provide features and interviews that are insightful and analytical, and present them in multimedia spanning text, video, audio and graphics. Deeptech Times is a media publication of Autonomous Future Productions. Visit deeptechtimes.com for more information. Seoul, South Korea, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global website builders market is expected to reach US$ 3.5 Billion by the end of the 2022-2032 forecast period, growing at a CAGR of 6.9%, concludes a recently published report by Fact.MR. As of 2022, the market is poised to reach US$ 1.8 Billion, yielding a dollar opportunity worth US$ 1.7 Billion throughout the forthcoming decade. Technological advancements have pushed sales to new heights. Demand expanded significantly from 2015 to 2021, registering a growth rate of 7.6% to be valued at US$ 1.7 Billion. The increasing demand for e-commerce platforms across the globe boosts the growth of the website builders market. Adoption of innovative technology solutions and services for enhanced user experience & improved operational productivity is expected to give significant opportunities to the market in the assessment period. For Critical Insights on Website Builders Market, Request a Sample Report https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=7520 An increase in the adoption of cloud-based services from large enterprises as well as SMEs also boosts the sales of the website builders market in the forecasting period. Also, rising technological proliferation and adoption of smart mobile devices also influence demand for the website builders market. These trends are likely to provide traction to the website builders market. Prominent Website Builders Industry Growth Drivers Increasing Internet Penetration to positively impact growth of the Website Builders Market As the volume of online business transactions rise exponentially, the demand for website builders is acquiring major traction. An increase in the adoption of cloud-based services from large enterprises as well as SMEs also boosts the sales of the website builders market in the forecasting period. Also, rising technological proliferation and adoption of smart mobile devices also influence demand for the website builders market. All these technological trends are driven by the demand and desire of users to increase convenience, functionality, and efficiency. Also, the increasing demand for e-commerce platforms across the globe boosts the growth of the website builders market. Adoption of innovative technology solutions and services for enhanced user experience & improved operational productivity is expected to give significant opportunities to the market in the assessment period. To learn more about Website Builders Market, you can get in touch with our Analyst at https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=AE&rep_id=7520 Key Segments Covered in the Website Builders Industry Survey Website Builders Market by Type : Mobile Website Builder PC Website Builder Website Builders Market by Deployment Type : Cloud-based Website Builders On-premises Website Builders Website Builders Market by End Users : Website Builders for Individuals Website Builders for SMEs Website Builders for Large Enterprises Website Builders Market by Region : North America Latin America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa Competitive Landscape The global market for website builders is characterized by the presence of multiple vendors, aiming to offer extensive consulting and integration services to clients. Additionally, enterprises are seeking out, specialized service providers, offering solutions tailor-made to suit their business objectives. In addition, the vendors are likely to leverage up-gradation and product differentiation to gain an edge over other competitors in the market. In September 2020 - GoDaddy announced its popular content design app Over by GoDaddy, is now deeply integrated into Websites + Marketing. This enables anyone to easily create impactful visuals right inside of Websites + Marketing, its website builder and set of marketing tools. In September 2020 - Mono Solutions announce a partnership with Lokale Internetwerbung GmbH & Co. KG, an expert in delivering a SaaS marketing solution to local businesses. This partnership brings the addition of Mono Websites to their proprietary toolbox offering, the lead hub platform. Get Customization on Website Builders Market Report for Specific Research Solutions https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=RC&rep_id=7520 Key players in the Website Builders Market Wix Squarespace GoDaddy Mono Solutions Web.com Shopify Ecwid Wordpress.com Key Takeaways from Website Builders Market Study Global website builders market to flourish 2x from 2022 to 2032 U.S to emerge as the dominant website builders market, reaching US$ 1.2 Billion by 2032 China to be the fastest-growing market, registering a CAGR of 6.2% across the decade South Korea, U.K & Japan are likely to yield $ opportunities worth US$ 44.1 Million, US$ 63.6 Million, and US$ 81.6 Million respectively Based on type, PC website builders register maximum expansion, growing at a 6.2% CAGR Cloud-based to emerge as the top deployment type category, growing at a rate of 6.4% through 2032 About the Technology Division at Fact.MR Expert analysis, actionable insights, and strategic recommendations of the highly seasoned technology team at Fact.MR helps clients from across the globe with their unique business intelligence needs. With a repertoire of over thousand reports and 1 million-plus data points, the team has analysed the technology industry across 50+ countries for over a decade. The team provides unmatched end-to-end research and consulting services. Explore Fact.MR's Coverage on the Technology Domain- AI Virtual Visor Market- As per a new report published by Fact.MR, a market research and competitive intelligence provider, the number of vehicle displays is steadily increasing, and over the years, has increased almost 65% between 2016 and 2021. Fact.MR estimates that the automotive display market is likely to reach almost US$ 22 Billion by 2022. Bicycle Subscription Market- As per industry analysis by Fact.MR, a market research and competitive intelligence provider, the global market for bicycles stood at US$ 58 Billion in 2020, wherein, around 140 Million bicycles are produced annually across the globe. The market is set to reach a valuation of little over US$ 127 Billion by 2030, with a projected growth of above 8% CAGR. Satellite Internet Market- The satellite internet market is expected to surpass a market valuation of US$ 6 Billion and expand at a CAGR of more than 8% during the forecast period, 2021-2031. The internet has moved from a goods to an amenity and to a must-have over the past 2 decades, mainly as a result of the smartphone revolution. Physical Access Control System (PACS) Market- Physical access control system (PACS) market analysis shows that global demand enjoyed year-on-year (YoY) growth of over 10% in 2021, to total 2.2 Million units. Demand for biometric PACS is poised to grow 9% to total 850 000 units, while demand for card-based PACS will be up 12.5% to 960 000 units in 2021. High Power RF Amplifier Market- The global high power RF amplifier market enjoys a valuation of around US$ 4.6 Billion at present. Sales of high power RF amplifiers are slated to accelerate at a high CAGR of 12.3% to reach US$ 14.7 Billion by 2031. Demand for smart energy in end-use sectors is likely to increase at a CAGR of 10.2% over the assessment period of 2021 to 2031. Airport Kiosk Market- The global airport kiosk market was valued at around US$ 1.7 Billion in 2020. Sales of airport kiosks are projected to accelerate at a healthy CAGR of 9% to top US$ 4 Billion by 2031. Public Safety Software Market- The global public safety software market reached a valuation of around US$ 7 Billion in 2020, and is slated to rise at a CAGR of 11% to top US$ 20 Billion by 2031. Demand for computer-aided dispatch solutions is set to increase at a CAGR of 9% across the assessment period of 2021 to 2031. Big Data Analytics in Healthcare Market- The global big data analytics in healthcare market is estimated at US$ 39.7 billion in 2022. Data as a technology has been adopted by healthcare industry stakeholders rapidly and is being monetized, which is slated to push the global big data analytics in healthcare market to grow at CAGR of over 19%, and register total market value of US$ 194.7 billion by 2032 end. Digital Door Lock System Market- The global digital door lock system market is likely to reach a valuation of around US$ 9 Billion in 2022. The sales of digital door lock system are slated to accelerate at a steady CAGR of 18% to top US$ 47 Billion by 2032. SiC & GaN Power Semiconductor Market- The global SiC & GaN power semiconductor market is estimated at US$ 884 million in 2022. Demand of SiC & GaN power semiconductor devices is forecast to surpass the market value of US$ 6,954 Million by 2032. Stupendous growth rate of 22.9% is projected for the demand of these electronic discrete components during the forecast period of 2022-32. About Us: Market research and consulting agency with a difference! Thats why 80% of Fortune 1,000 companies trust us for making their most critical decisions. While our experienced consultants employ the latest technologies to extract hard-to-find insights, we believe our USP is the trust clients have on our expertise. Spanning a wide range from automotive & industry 4.0 to healthcare & retail, our coverage is expansive, but we ensure even the most niche categories are analyzed. Our sales offices in United States and Dublin, Ireland. Headquarter based in Dubai, UAE. Reach out to us with your goals, and well be an able research partner. Contact: Mahendra Singh US Sales Office: 11140 Rockville Pike Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20852 Email: sales@factmr.com Tel: +1 (628) 251-1583 Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter Sydney, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Just released, this edition of BuddeComm report outlines the latest developments and key trends in the telecoms markets. - https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Albania-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?utm_source=GNW In March 2022, 4iG completed the acquisition of One Telecommunications and a majority stake in ALBtelecom. This could lead to the two businesses being merged, meaning that the mobile market has lost one of the main players, leaving the merged entity with a strong dominance in the mobile sector. Consistent with developments elsewhere in the region, fixed-line telephony use and penetration in Albania is declining steadily as subscribers migrate to mobile solutions. The mobile sector is well provided with LTE networks, while operators have invested in 5G, with Ericsson as one of the principal vendors. Some of these efforts have been made in conjunction with neighbouring Kosovo, with the intention of a seamless 5G corridor along the highway connecting the two countries. The country has long sought accession to the European Union (EU) which has benefited its telecoms sector through closer scrutiny of its regulatory regime and through the injection of funding to help modernise infrastructure. Albania signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU, which came into force in mid-2009. As part of the EU pre-accession process, Albania has received financial aid to build public institutions and improve cross-border co-operation under the EUs Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance funding mechanism. Albania has been recognised as a candidate country for accession to the EU since June 2014. Key developments: 4iG acquires One Telecommunications and ALBtelecom; Vodafone Albania to invest 100 million in fixed infrastructure following its acquisition of ABCom; Albania and Kosovo work to develop a 5G corridor; Report update includes the regulators market data to March 2022, operator data to Q1 2022, updated Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments. Companies mentioned in this report: Vodafone Albania, ALBtelecom (Eagle Mobile), Telekom Albania (AMC), Cosmote, Turk Telecom, Primo Communications, 4iG Read the full report: https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Albania-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?utm_source=GNW NEW YORK, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Major mom care brand Momcozy announced a new sub-brand, BabyCozy, focused on bringing comfort and care to all babies. Over the past years, Momcozy has built a reputation as a brand dedicated to making new moms lives more comfortable and convenient. With the announcement of BabyCozy, it hopes to extend its comfortable design and love to babies. Source: BabyCozy's website Thinking ahead for parents, caring just like parents Through years of experience, Momcozy has gained the trust and support of millions of mothers. Momcozy knows moms, and understands that new parents want the best for their little ones. Further research conducted through focus interviews revealed that the new generation of parents want products that are natural, non-toxic and cozy for their babies. Inspired by its findings, Momcozy decided to direct its expertise towards founding BabyCozy, to give parents comfortable, reliable, and safe products they can confidently use on their little ones. With a focus on helping parents, and allowing the love for their children to trickle down through its products, the team has put its efforts into thoughtful design and technological innovation, down to the smallest details. BabyCozy selected its materials to ensure stability, safety and performance, from the most premium and sustainable suppliers around the world (including 3M, Domtar, Nippon, and Hyosung among others), so parents know their babies only have the best possible experience with its products. Cozy design, made with parents' love As its initial offering, BabyCozy will launch its Bouncy Soft diapers on Amazon and its official website on July 5th. Made with the softest materials, the diapers were crafted to bring the ultimate comfort to babies. According to feedback from 600+ trial users in the US, Bouncy Soft diapers are already earning a reputation with some of being the softest diapers theyve ever used, while also being super absorbent. Every aspect of BabyCozy's Bouncy Soft diapers is designed so only the softest, most gentle material comes in contact with babies skin." As explained by BabyCozys team, "The diapers back layer contains the finest microfiber on the market and is lined with 20,000+ micropores, making it velvety soft to the touch, highly breathable, and remarkably gentle. On the inside, the top sheet's ultra-soft embossed cocoon bump design reduces friction by 45%, keeping babies skin free of irritation." The team adds, Our diapers are also chlorine, phthalate, paraben and fragrance free, keeping your baby's skin safe from harm. With such high priority placed on softness, some may wonder about the diaper cores absorbency and durability. The team explains, The core is made of FSC-certified pulp and Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP), and does a great job absorbing and locking in urine. It stays dry up to 12 hours, and holds together without lumping or faulting. Parents can relax- our diapers will keep your little one comfy even when it's time for a nappy change. A helping hand for parents, attentive to your baby's needs With its launch, BabyCozy has a message to share with parents. Everyone wants the very best for their little one. But being a parent, you'll find yourself always having so many things to worry about, and so many choices to make for your baby. Relax! You dont always have to be a perfect parent. Let us help shoulder the load. BabyCozy strives to be the perfect helper for parents, by providing quality products that cater to even the smallest details of your babys needs. To continue delivering on its mission, BabyCozy will launch more high-standard, baby-centered products in the upcoming months. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d5fd4e43-3ef7-42ec-a664-9a8a8cce9df1 Dublin, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Poultry Vaccines Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Type, Technology, Dosage Form, Disease, Route of Administration, End User" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global poultry vaccines market is expected to grow from US$ 1,844.89 million in 2021 to US$ 2,845.00 million by 2028; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.4% from 2021 to 2028. The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated lockdown for a long period led to significant adversities in different sectors, including the agriculture and other allied sub-sectors in India and several other countries. The members of the North American Meat Institute process the great majority of beef, pig, lamb, and poultry produced in the US, which is required to make the safest and finest quality meat and poultry products. According to federal guidance approved by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Priority (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), frontline meat and poultry workers should be the next priority for COVID-19 vaccination, after the healthcare workers. Members of the meat institute have distributed numerous pieces of personal protective equipment, implemented health and temperature screening, drastically altered facilities, conducted testing, provided paid preemptive leaves for high-risk and quarantined employees, and improved air sanitation and ventilation. Due to these safety measures, COVID-19 infection rates are now more than 8-times lower among meat and poultry workers than in the general population. However, limited processing capacity for poultry has negatively impacted the distribution and retail of animal products in the US. The shutdown of teaching and training institutes, competition and event venues, tourist places, and trade and sales facilities has led to a drop in demand for poultry vaccines. Chickens are not sensitive to SARS-CoV-2 infection, i.e., COVID-19. Nonetheless, the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on poultry consumption, transportation, and farming economics. Stockholders, veterinarians, farmers, and the entire poultry production chain partners need to be more involved in the current situation to fulfill consumer demands and ensure sustainable agriculture. According to a recent report prepared by P W Cargill, Merial Avian Business Unit UK and Joey Johnston, Merial Avian Business Unit, USA 2021, although the pandemic disrupted the poultry industry in Europe in 2020, it is expected to resurge in 2021. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, in June 2020, the Government of Japan (GOJ) declared a state of emergency and asked people to stay home. During these lockdowns, the demand for poultry meat gone down due to the shuttering of restaurants. According to Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India Limited, the poultry industry in India suffered great losses during the recent lockdown with Q4 FY2020 being the worst quarter in 2020. The industry incurred huge losses due to a sharp decline in sales, demand, realization, and profitability. Rumors spread on social media about poultry birds being possible vectors of SARS-CoV-2 further hampered the demand for poultry products. In January 2021, the largest bird flu outbreak in years hit chicken farmers in Asian countries, including Japan to India, further upsetting poultry prices. Since November 2020, more than 20 million chickens have been destroyed in South Korea and Japan. The growing demand for healthy chicken food in Europe, the Middle East & Africa (EMEA) encourages governments to create suitable laws and regulations for the safety of animals in the poultry business. For example, infections with Campylobacter and Salmonella species are the two most common foodborne illnesses caused by eating chicken meat. The instances of influenza H5N1 infection in humans are linked to the consumption of raw or undercooked chicken or chicken products (HPAI). Based on demands, there has been a rise in the production of poultry products in the EMEA. With the rise in demand for poultry food products, the need for vaccines is on the rise to keep poultry safe and achieve optimum yields. However, the demand is decreasing in the poorer African countries. Poultry birds are susceptible to various fowl illnesses, which cause significant economic losses to the business, particularly in poorer nations. Key Topics Covered: 1. Introduction 2. Key Takeaways 3. Research Methodology 4. Poultry Vaccines Market - Market Landscape 4.1 Overview 4.2 PEST Analysis 4.2.1 North America PEST Analysis 4.2.2 Europe PEST Analysis 4.2.3 Asia Pacific PEST Analysis 4.2.4 Middle East & Africa PEST Analysis 4.2.5 South & Central America PEST Analysis 4.3 Experts Opinion 5. Poultry Vaccines Market - Key Market Dynamics 5.1 Market Drivers 5.1.1 Increasing Prevalence of Diseases in Poultry 5.1.2 Increasing Demand for Healthy Poultry Food 5.2 Market Restraints 5.2.1 Failure of Vaccines in Poultry Production 5.3 Market Opportunities 5.3.1 Rising Growth of Market in Untapped Economies 5.4 Future Trends 5.4.1 Key Business Strategies to Enhance Market Growth in Future 5.5 Impact Analysis 6. Poultry Vaccines Market - Global Analysis 6.1 Poultry Vaccines Market Revenue Forecast and Analysis 6.1.1 Poultry Vaccines Market Revenue Forecast and Analysis 6.1.2 Global Poultry Vaccines Market - Market Potential Analysis, By Region 6.2 Company Analysis 6.2.1 Market Share Analysis of Key Players (2020) 6.2.2 Comparative Company Analysis 6.2.3 Growth Strategy Analysis 6.2.4 Performance of Key Players 6.2.4.1 Merck 6.2.4.2 Boehringer Ingelheim 7. Poultry Vaccines Market Analysis - By Type 7.1 Overview 7.2 Poultry Vaccines Market Revenue Share, by Type (2021 and 2028) 7.3 Broiler 7.3.1 Overview 7.3.2 Broiler: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 7.4 Layer 7.4.1 Overview 7.4.2 Layer: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 7.5 Breeder 7.5.1 Overview 7.5.2 Breeder: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 8. Poultry Vaccines Market Analysis - By Technology 8.1 Overview 8.2 Poultry Vaccines Market Revenue Share, by Technology (2021 and 2028) 8.3 Live Attenuated Vaccines 8.3.1 Overview 8.3.2 Live attenuated vaccines: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 8.4 Inactivated Vaccines 8.4.1 Overview 8.4.2 Inactivated Vaccines: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 8.5 Recombinant Vaccines 8.5.1 Overview 8.5.2 Recombinant Vaccines: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 8.6 Others 8.6.1 Overview 8.6.2 Others: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 9. Poultry Vaccines Market Analysis - By Dosage Form 9.1 Overview 9.2 Poultry Vaccines Market Revenue Share, by Dosage Form (2021 and 2028) 9.3 Liquid Vaccines 9.3.1 Overview 9.3.2 Liquid Vaccines: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 9.4 Freeze-Dried Vaccines 9.4.1 Overview 9.4.2 Freeze-Dried Vaccines: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 9.5 Dust/Powdered Vaccines 9.5.1 Overview 9.5.2 Dust/Powdered Vaccines: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 10. Poultry Vaccines Market Analysis - By Disease 10.1 Overview 10.2 Poultry Vaccines Market Revenue Share, by Disease (2021 and 2028) 10.3 Infectious Bronchitis 10.3.1 Overview 10.3.2 Infectious Bronchitis: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 10.4 Avian Influenza 10.4.1 Overview 10.4.2 Avian Influenza: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 10.5 Marek's Disease 10.5.1 Overview 10.5.2 Marek's Disease: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 10.6 Infectious Bursal Disease 10.6.1 Overview 10.6.2 Infectious Bursal Disease: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 10.7 Salmonellosis 10.7.1 Overview 10.7.2 Salmonellosis: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 10.8 Newcastle Disease 10.8.1 Overview 10.8.2 Newcastle Disease: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 10.9 Others 10.9.1 Overview 10.9.2 Others: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 11. Poultry Vaccines Market Analysis - By Route of Administration 11.1 Overview 11.2 Poultry Vaccines Market Revenue Share, by Route of Administration (2021 and 2028) 11.3 Drinking water (D/W) & Spray 11.3.1 Overview 11.3.2 Drinking water (D/W) & Spray: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 11.4 Intramuscular (I/M) 11.4.1 Overview 11.4.2 Intramuscular (I/M): Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 11.5 Subcutaneous (S/C) 11.5.1 Overview 11.5.2 Subcutaneous (S/C): Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 11.6 Others 11.6.1 Overview 11.6.2 Others: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 12. Poultry Vaccines Market Analysis - By End User 12.1 Overview 12.2 Poultry Vaccines Market Share, by End User, 2021 and 2028, (%) 12.3 Veterinary Hospitals 12.3.1 Overview 12.3.2 Veterinary Hospitals: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 12.4 Poultry Vaccination Centers & Clinics 12.4.1 Overview 12.4.2 Poultry Vaccination Centre: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 12.5 Poultry Farms and Hatchery 12.5.1 Overview 12.5.2 Poultry Farms and Hatchery: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 13. Global Poultry Vaccines Market - Geographic Analysis 14. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Poultry Vaccines Market 14.1 North America: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 14.2 Europe: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 14.3 Asia Pacific: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 14.4 Middle East and Africa: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 14.5 South and Central America: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 15. Poultry Vaccine Market - Industry Landscape 15.1 Overview 15.2 Growth Strategies in the Poultry Vaccine Market (%) 15.3 Organic Developments 15.3.1 Overview 15.4 Inorganic Developments 15.4.1 Overview 16. Company Profiles 16.1 Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH 16.1.1 Key Facts 16.1.2 Business Description 16.1.3 Products and Services 16.1.4 Financial Overview 16.1.5 SWOT Analysis 16.1.6 Key Developments 16.2 Zoetis Inc. 16.2.1 Key Facts 16.2.2 Business Description 16.2.3 Products and Services 16.2.4 Financial Overview 16.2.5 SWOT Analysis 16.2.6 Key Developments 16.3 Ceva Sante Animale 16.3.1 Key Facts 16.3.2 Business Description 16.3.3 Products and Services 16.3.4 Financial Overview 16.3.5 SWOT Analysis 16.3.6 Key Developments 16.4 BIOVAC 16.4.1 Key Facts 16.4.2 Business Description 16.4.3 Products and Services 16.4.4 Financial Overview 16.4.5 SWOT Analysis 16.4.6 Key Developments 16.5 PHIBRO ANIMAL HEALTH CORPORATION 16.5.1 Key Facts 16.5.2 Business Description 16.5.3 Products and Services 16.5.4 Financial Overview 16.5.5 SWOT Analysis 16.5.6 Key Developments 16.6 Hester Biosciences Limited 16.6.1 Key Facts 16.6.2 Business Description 16.6.3 Products and Services 16.6.4 Financial Overview 16.6.5 SWOT Analysis 16.6.6 Key Developments 16.7 Venky's India 16.7.1 Key Facts 16.7.2 Business Description 16.7.3 Products and Services 16.7.4 Financial Overview 16.7.5 SWOT Analysis 16.7.6 Key Developments 16.8 Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC 16.8.1 Key Facts 16.8.2 Business Description 16.8.3 Products and Services 16.8.4 Financial Overview 16.8.5 SWOT Analysis 16.8.6 Key Developments 16.9 Elanco 16.9.1 Key Facts 16.9.2 Business Description 16.9.3 Products and Services 16.9.4 Financial Overview 16.9.5 SWOT Analysis 16.9.6 Key Developments 16.10 Merck Animal Health 16.10.1 Key Facts 16.10.2 Business Description 16.10.3 Products and Services 16.10.4 Financial Overview 16.10.5 SWOT Analysis 16.10.6 Key Developments 17. Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/eza2za Attachment New York, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Low Temperature Bearings Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Type, Material, and Application" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06289918/?utm_source=GNW The low temperature bearings market in North America is segmented into the US, Canada, and Mexico.The region is expected to provide lucrative opportunities to the low temperature bearings market during the forecast period. The continuous contribution of tech giants in technological advancements has created a stir in the competitive market across the region, thereby integrating advanced technologies in their respective business processes for better future growth. North American countries, especially the US and Canada, are technologically advanced and comprise numerous industries, such as automotive, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, and chemicals, which propels the growth of low temperature bearings market in North America. NSK has developed new self-lubricating deep groove ball bearings for cryogenic gases, such as hydrogen and LNG, which are handled by submersible pumps.The double bearing of the pump shaft is a significant design feature in these pumps. Corrosion resistance is critical, and no other lubricant than the medium washing around the bearing may be utilized.NSK bearings are available in a variety of sizes and are suitable to use in big hydrogen pumping plants and decentralized applications, such as hydrogen filling stations. Additionally, SKF is spending around USD 55 million in North America to improve its industrial footprint and competitiveness.An additional US 20 million will be invested in relocating the production of Tapered Roller Bearings (TRBs) from China to a facility in Mexico. The move will boost SKFs North American product range while supporting the Groups regional manufacturing objectives. The energy mix used to generate power in the US has shifted throughout time, particularly in recent years.Natural gas and renewable energy sources are growing their proportion of power generation in the country, while coal-fired electricity output is decreasing. Coal accounted for 20% of total utility-scale power generation by the end of 2020, while coal accounted for 19% of total utility-scale energy generation. As a result, the countrys expanded energy & power industry presents a huge potential for the low temperature bearings market suppliers. Organic chemical manufacturing; train, subway, and transit car manufacturing, and semiconductor machinery manufacturing are among the 151 industries in the Canada manufacturing sector.The increase of revenue, company, and employment varies greatly per industry. Kaman delivers maintenance-free bearings that boost reliability and application life while lowering operating costs in demanding applications throughout industries.Kaman offers a variety of self-lubricating bearing liners, and the users decision will be determined by the application. Some liners are designed for high-speed or high-load applications, while others are designed for high-temperature or high-impact environments. As a result, the growing manufacturing sector in the country propels the demand for mechanical components, such as low temperature bearings. NTN Corporation, SKF Group, Timken Company, DuPont, Nachi-Fujikoshi Corp, Albeco Buchalter, American Roller Bearing Company, GEBR.Reinfurt GMBH and CO KG, Durofit Technologies Private Limited, and ZYS Bearing Research Institute Co. Ltd. are among the key companies operating in the low temperature bearings market. The COVID-19 pandemic affected the majority of businesses globally.The continuous growth in the count of virus-infected patients compelled respective government authorities to impose respective curbs on the movement of humans, goods, and commodities with travel restrictions, mass lockdowns, and business shutdowns. The imposition of lockdown resulted in the lesser production of commodities and goods and lowered the frequency of service offerings.The manufacturing and aerospace industries witnessed a notable decline in their revenues due to the temporary shutdown of operations. In the first quarter of 2020, after the imposition of a nationwide lockdown in most nations, many industrial sectors came to a standstill.Further, low temperature bearings is extensively used in the pharmaceutical industry, aerospace, and manufacturing industry. However, as the situation has normalized , the low temperature bearings market is expected to grow remarkably worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted several end-use industries, such as manufacturing and aerospace, due to the interruption in the supply chain of raw materials and the temporary shutdown of production facilities.Further, low-temperature bearing is used to improve the pump performance in end-use industries; hence, the demand for the low-temperature bearing is closely tied to the functioning of production facilities. As a result, disruptions in manufacturing operations are projected to have a negative impact on the global low temperature bearings market in the future. Low temperature bearings market players globally faced severe challenges due to supply chain disruptions of low temperature bearings components, which led to a supply-demand gap that negatively influenced the low temperature bearings market growth. The overall global low temperature bearings market size has been derived using both primary and secondary sources.Exhaustive secondary research has been conducted using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the low temperature bearings market. The process also serves the purpose of obtaining an overview and forecast for the low temperature bearings market analysis with respect to all the segments.Also, multiple primary interviews have been conducted with industry participants and commentators to validate the data and gain more analytical insights into the topic. The participants of this process include industry experts such as VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, and national sales managers, along with external consultants such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leaders, specializing in the low temperature bearings market. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06289918/?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, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Solar Control Glass Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global solar control glass market reached a value of US$ 5.46 billion in 2021. Looking forward, the market is projected to reach a value of US$ 9.38 billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 9.20% during 2022-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, the analyst is continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic on different End-use sectors. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor. Solar control glass refers to a kind of glass with a special coating that is precisely manufactured to reduce the extent of heat entering a specific space. The solar control coating on the glass reflects heat from the sun back, outside of the area it has been installed on, such as a building, automotive, or a greenhouse. It significantly reduces the amount of heat that can pass through, thereby providing a more usable and comfortable space. Along with absorbing and reflecting heat, these glasses also filter out light and offer reduced glare, thus maintaining a cozier interior in summers and reducing the need for air-conditioning. A varied range of aesthetics, such as reflective, tinted, and neutral, are offered by different types of solar control glasses. A combination of solar control glasses with LOW-E thermal insulation in dual glazing windows with self-cleaning systems provides optimal temperature all year round. Solar Control Glass Market Trends The global market is primarily driven by the increasing adoption of solar control glasses in automobiles. Since they reduce the heat load on the vehicle while minimizing the need for air conditioning, this results in higher mileage and reduced fuel consumption. This is further supported by the widespread preference of consumers toward cost-effective and energy-efficient vehicles. Significant demand for solar control glass in residential and commercial buildings due to the rising awareness regarding the high air conditioning costs is also acting as a major growth-inducing factor. In addition to this, rapid urbanization, the escalating concerns regarding carbon dioxide emissions, growing consciousness regarding climate change, and the expansion of smart construction activities are some of the other factors contributing to the market growth across the globe. Competitive Landscape The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being AGC Inc., arcon Flach- und Sicherheitsglas GmbH & Co. KG, Cardinal Glass Industries Inc., Central Glass Ltd., Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A., Euroglas GmbH, Guardian Industries LLC (Koch Industries Inc.), Nippon Sheet Glass Co. Ltd., PPG Industries Inc., Schott AG, Shanghai Yaohua Pilkington Glass Group Co. Ltd. and Sisecam (Turkiye Is Bankasi A.S.). Key Questions Answered in This Report How has the global solar control glass market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global solar control glass market? What are the key regional markets? What is the breakup of the market based on the glass type? What is the breakup of the market based on the coating method? What is the breakup of the market based on the nature? 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 solar control glass market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the industry? Key Topics Covered: 1 Preface 2 Scope and Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Introduction 4.1 Overview 4.2 Key Industry Trends 5 Global Solar Control Glass Market 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Market Forecast 6 Market Breakup by Glass Type 6.1 Float Glass 6.1.1 Market Trends 6.1.2 Market Forecast 6.2 Heat Strengthened Glass 6.2.1 Market Trends 6.2.2 Market Forecast 6.3 Laminated Glass 6.3.1 Market Trends 6.3.2 Market Forecast 6.4 Tempered Glass 6.4.1 Market Trends 6.4.2 Market Forecast 6.5 Others 6.5.1 Market Trends 6.5.2 Market Forecast 7 Market Breakup by Coating Method 7.1 Hard Coated 7.1.1 Market Trends 7.1.2 Market Forecast 7.2 Soft Coated 7.2.1 Market Trends 7.2.2 Market Forecast 8 Market Breakup by Nature 8.1 Electrochromic 8.1.1 Market Trends 8.1.2 Market Forecast 8.2 Photochromic 8.2.1 Market Trends 8.2.2 Market Forecast 8.3 Gasochromic 8.3.1 Market Trends 8.3.2 Market Forecast 8.4 Others 8.4.1 Market Trends 8.4.2 Market Forecast 9 Market Breakup by Application 9.1 Residential 9.1.1 Market Trends 9.1.2 Market Forecast 9.2 Commercial 9.2.1 Market Trends 9.2.2 Market Forecast 9.3 Automotive 9.3.1 Market Trends 9.3.2 Market Forecast 9.4 Others 9.4.1 Market Trends 9.4.2 Market Forecast 10 Market Breakup by Region 11 SWOT Analysis 12 Value Chain Analysis 13 Porters Five Forces Analysis 14 Price Analysis 15 Competitive Landscape 15.1 Market Structure 15.2 Key Players 15.3 Profiles of Key Players 15.3.1 AGC Inc. 15.3.1.1 Company Overview 15.3.1.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.1.3 Financials 15.3.1.4 SWOT Analysis 15.3.2 arcon Flach- und Sicherheitsglas GmbH & Co. KG 15.3.2.1 Company Overview 15.3.2.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.3 Cardinal Glass Industries Inc. 15.3.3.1 Company Overview 15.3.3.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.4 Central Glass Ltd. 15.3.4.1 Company Overview 15.3.4.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.5 Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. 15.3.5.1 Company Overview 15.3.5.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.5.3 Financials 15.3.5.4 SWOT Analysis 15.3.6 Euroglas GmbH 15.3.6.1 Company Overview 15.3.6.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.7 Guardian Industries LLC (Koch Industries Inc.) 15.3.7.1 Company Overview 15.3.7.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.7.3 SWOT Analysis 15.3.8 Nippon Sheet Glass Co. Ltd. 15.3.8.1 Company Overview 15.3.8.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.8.3 Financials 15.3.8.4 SWOT Analysis 15.3.9 PPG Industries Inc. 15.3.9.1 Company Overview 15.3.9.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.9.3 Financials 15.3.9.4 SWOT Analysis 15.3.10 Schott AG 15.3.10.1 Company Overview 15.3.10.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.10.3 SWOT Analysis 15.3.11 Shanghai Yaohua Pilkington Glass Group Co. Ltd. 15.3.11.1 Company Overview 15.3.11.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.11.3 Financials For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/a0v5c9 Attachment North Korea has remained unresponsive for the second day to South Korea's attempt to deliver a formal request asking it to give prior notification before releasing water from dams near their border during the summer rainy season, according to Seoul's unification ministry, Wednesday. "At around 9 a.m. today, the regular phone call via the inter-Korean joint liaison office was held as usual," the ministry announced. The North, however, did not mention whether it was willing to accept the formal note from the South Korean government, it said. On Tuesday morning, the North did not respond to a regular hotline call through the joint liaison office apparently due to technical glitches on its side. The ministry handling inter-Korean affairs soon issued a public statement calling on Pyongyang to notify Seoul of its plan, if any, to release dam water close to the border. The communication lines were then restored, and the ministry expressed its intent to send a formal request. But the North did not clarify its position on whether to take it officially. The message was instead conveyed "verbally" via a separate military hotline at around 4 p.m., the ministry added. The two sides hold routine contact through the joint liaison office channel twice a day once in the morning and the other in late afternoon. (Yonhap) Dublin, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Surgical Clips Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global surgical clips market reached a value of US$ 405.2 million in 2021. Looking forward, the market is projected to reach a value of US$ 591.8 million by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.30% during 2022-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, the analyst is continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic on different End-use sectors. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor. Surgical clips are made using inert and biocompatible materials, such as sterile titanium, polyester fiber, nickel, stainless steel alloy, aluminum, and cobalt. They are utilized for controlling duct and artery and removing an ovary, tube, gallbladder, or uterus during hysterectomy. They can also be used to close the cystic duct and artery in laparoscopic cholecystectomy and prevent bile leakage or bleeding. Presently, they are gaining traction as an alternative to suturing for ligation in patients undergoing several surgical procedures, such as cholecystectomies. Surgical Clips Market Trends The rising number of individuals undergoing surgical procedures due to the widespread prevalence of chronic ailments, such as arthritis, cancer, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), represents one of the major growth-inducing factors. This can also be attributed to the growing geriatric population worldwide, which is more vulnerable to medical conditions that require surgical interventions. Moreover, the implementation of stringent healthcare norms that promote safety and efficacy during invasive surgical procedures is impelling the market growth. Furthermore, the expanding medical tourism sector, coupled with the increasing popularity of cosmetic surgeries, is bolstering the market growth. Apart from this, a significant rise in fatal road accidents and high hospital admission rates are catalyzing the demand for surgical clips around the wound. Besides this, as retained clips lead to diminished quality of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images and cause complications, researchers are developing safe variants that can be dissolved or absorbed by the body after a certain period. As they can reduce the rate of postoperative complications and minimize problems associated with diagnostic imaging, the demand for surgical clips is anticipated to rise in clinical use across the globe. Key Market Segmentation This report provides an analysis of the key trends in each sub-segment of the global surgical clips market, along with forecasts at the global, regional and country level from 2022-2027. The report has categorized the market based on type, material type, surgery type and End-user. Breakup by Type: Ligating Clips Aneurysm Clips Others Breakup by Material Type: Titanium Polymer Others Breakup by Surgery Type: Automated Surgery Clips Manual Surgery Clips Breakup by End-user: Hospital and Clinic Ambulatory Surgery Center 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 Ackermann Instruments GmbH, B. Braun Melsungen AG, Boston Scientific Corporation, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, Grena Limited, Johnson & Johnson, LeMaitre Vascula Inc., LocaMed Ltd., Medtronic plc, Meril Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd. (Micro Life Sciences Private Limited), Scanlan International Inc. and Teleflex Incorporated. Key Questions Answered in This Report How has the global surgical clips market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global surgical clips market? What are the key regional markets? What is the breakup of the market based on the type? What is the breakup of the market based on the material type? What is the breakup of the market based on the surgery type? What is the breakup of the market based on the End-user? 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 surgical clips market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the industry? Key Topics Covered: 1 Preface 2 Scope and Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Introduction 4.1 Overview 4.2 Key Industry Trends 5 Global Surgical Clips Market 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Market Forecast 6 Market Breakup by Type 6.1 Ligating Clips 6.1.1 Market Trends 6.1.2 Market Forecast 6.2 Aneurysm Clips 6.2.1 Market Trends 6.2.2 Market Forecast 6.3 Others 6.3.1 Market Trends 6.3.2 Market Forecast 7 Market Breakup by Material Type 7.1 Titanium 7.1.1 Market Trends 7.1.2 Market Forecast 7.2 Polymer 7.2.1 Market Trends 7.2.2 Market Forecast 7.3 Others 7.3.1 Market Trends 7.3.2 Market Forecast 8 Market Breakup by Surgery Type 8.1 Automated Surgery Clips 8.1.1 Market Trends 8.1.2 Market Forecast 8.2 Manual Surgery Clips 8.2.1 Market Trends 8.2.2 Market Forecast 9 Market Breakup by End User 9.1 Hospital and Clinic 9.1.1 Market Trends 9.1.2 Market Forecast 9.2 Ambulatory Surgery Center 9.2.1 Market Trends 9.2.2 Market Forecast 10 Market Breakup by Region 11 SWOT Analysis 12 Value Chain Analysis 13 Porters Five Forces Analysis 14 Price Analysis 15 Competitive Landscape 15.1 Market Structure 15.2 Key Players 15.3 Profiles of Key Players 15.3.1 Ackermann Instruments GmbH 15.3.1.1 Company Overview 15.3.1.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.2 B. Braun Melsungen AG 15.3.2.1 Company Overview 15.3.2.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.3 Boston Scientific Corporation 15.3.3.1 Company Overview 15.3.3.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.4 Edwards Lifesciences Corporation 15.3.4.1 Company Overview 15.3.4.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.5 Grena Limited 15.3.5.1 Company Overview 15.3.5.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.6 Johnson & Johnson 15.3.6.1 Company Overview 15.3.6.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.7 LeMaitre Vascula Inc. 15.3.7.1 Company Overview 15.3.7.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.7.3 Financials 15.3.7.4 SWOT Analysis 15.3.8 LocaMed Ltd. 15.3.8.1 Company Overview 15.3.8.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.9 Medtronic plc 15.3.9.1 Company Overview 15.3.9.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.9.3 Financials 15.3.9.4 SWOT Analysis 15.3.10 Meril Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd. (Micro Life Sciences Private Limited) 15.3.10.1 Company Overview 15.3.10.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.11 Scanlan International Inc. 15.3.11.1 Company Overview 15.3.11.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.12 Teleflex Incorporated 15.3.12.1 Company Overview 15.3.12.2 Product Portfolio For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/hfenir Attachment Atlanta, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ATLANTA, June 30, 2022 Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) (the Company) announced today that, effective June 29, 2022, the Board of Directors (the Board) approved an increase in the size of the Board from 10 to 11 members and elected Marcia J. Avedon, Ph.D. as an Independent Director. Dr. Avedon will serve on the Governance and Compensation and Management Development Committees. She will serve for a term that will expire at the Companys next annual meeting of stockholders. Dr. Avedon most recently served as Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources, Marketing and Communications Officer for Trane Technologies PLC, where she was responsible for all global human resource and reputation management strategies and functions. Dr. Avedon has over two decades of expertise in leadership development, talent and succession management, executive compensation, brand building, organizational development, corporate governance, Environmental, Social and Governance strategies, and large-scale organization and culture changes. Neil M. Ashe, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, commented, We are pleased that Dr. Marcia Avedon has agreed to join our Board. She has strategic business experience in the industrial space and has demonstrated consistently that she can build companies that compound shareholder wealth. We look forward to having her expertise in human capital, communications, and public affairs on our Board as we continue our progress on our business transformation. About Acuity Brands Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) is a market-leading industrial technology company. We use technology to solve problems in spaces and light. Through our two business segments, Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls (ABL) and the Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG), we design, manufacture, and bring to market products and services that make a valuable difference in peoples lives. We achieve growth through the development of innovative new products and services, including lighting, lighting controls, building management systems, and location-aware applications. Acuity Brands, Inc. achieves customer-focused efficiencies that allow the Company to increase market share and deliver superior returns. The Company looks to aggressively deploy capital to grow the business and to enter attractive new verticals. Acuity Brands, Inc. is based in Atlanta, Georgia, with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. The Company is powered by approximately 13,500 dedicated and talented associates. Visit us at www.acuitybrands.com. # # # Investor Contact: Charlotte McLaughlin Vice President, Investor Relations (404) 853-1456 investorrelations@acuitybrands.com Media Contact: Candace Steele Flippin Chief Communications Officer candace@acuitybrands.com Attachment Roseau, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Financial Secretary of the Commonwealth of Dominica had a discussion with the European Union (EU) dignitaries in Brussels, Belgium, on 23 June 23, to discuss Dominica's journey to becoming the world's first climate-resilient nation. Denise Edwards represented the country during the discussions with the European Member of Parliament (MEP) Stephane Bijoux, and the new MEP from Martinique Max Orville. MEP Stephane Bijoux lauded Dominica's efforts to become a climate-resilient nation and to promote eco-tourism. He also assured support for the country as it forges ahead with a number of initiatives that will enable it to realise this goal and establish resilient infrastructure to withstand natural catastrophes. Furthermore, Bijoux asserted, "Climate change is a severe threat that impacts everyone regardless of creed or stature sadly, Small Island Developing States such as Dominica are bearing the brunt of catastrophic weather patterns. It is our responsibility to partner with developing countries as solidarity is needed in the fight against climate change." Dominica has garnered appreciation for promoting as well as encouraging sustainable tourism and preserving its natural assets. The country has been at the frontline of the war against natural disasters, including hurricanes, tropical storms, and cyclones. Additionally, Bijoux mentioned that the country is recovering very well from the global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Dominica has been shattered by various hurricanes and tropical storms, and the country has been building back better after 90 percent of its infrastructure was devastated by Tropical Storm Erika (2015) and Hurricane Maria (2017). The EU provided 8.9 million in financial assistance under the European Development Fund (EDF) to Dominica at the time Tropical Storm Erika hit the country in 2015. In addition to that, the European Commission's Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid department also provided 250,000 in emergency humanitarian aid to Dominica following the severe destruction caused by Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island in 2017. Further, Dominica has also signed the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which emphasises development cooperation. The island nation of Dominica is making the right strides in its quest to become a climate-resilient nation. The construction of its geothermal plant is almost complete. The plant will enable the country to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. In 1992 the United Nations made an urgent call to all countries to tackle climate change amongst other issues and, in 2015 the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were developed. Dominica is already on its way to achieving six of the 17 SDGs for its nation, these include No Poverty; Good Health and Wellbeing; Affordable and Clean Energy; Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure; Sustainable Cities and Communities, and Climate Action. As hurricanes become more frequent and more intense, Dominica and other small islands are seeking new opportunities which lie in decarbonisation and renewable energy technologies to aid more sustainable forms of tourism and digitisation of the economy. The country, which can be counted among the few nations that can be termed "carbon neutral" is enhancing its resilience agenda by utilising resources on the island to generate energy. The geothermal plant will ensure that the country is powered by renewable energy, reducing energy costs and carbon emissions while simultaneously creating jobs. Along with the geothermal plant, the island is ensuring that all infrastructure on the island is developed with sustainability and resilience in mind all buildings from homes to hospitals, are built to withstand weather disasters. Dominica's tourism sector is also witnessing a green revitalisation, thanks to the introduction and construction of boutique environmentally sensitive villas and resorts. As the country moves towards complete climate resilience, visitors can be confident that their trip helps preserve and boost the environment. Those who fall in love with the country can be pleased to know that they can make it their ideal second home. New York, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Household Paper Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report By Type, By Distribution Channel, By Regional Outlook and Forecast, 2022 2028" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06289256/?utm_source=GNW Concerns about infectious diseases and allergies have contributed significantly to the expansion of the household paper market. The industry has grown dramatically in the last five years as the need for paper products has soared, owing to rising concerns about hygiene and cleanliness. Moreover, despite the economic situation, demand for household paper products like diapers and feminine products remains stable. Aside from the benefits of paper over other materials, like easy accessibility of raw materials and low-cost manufacturing, tissue papers have been proven to be far more hygienic than cotton towels or any other product because a piece of tissue is utilized once and discarded, and new tissue is chosen to take out for the next time. Utilizing the same cotton towel several times is not a good way to keep the hands clean. Such reasons have fueled the market for domestic tissue paper goods. Tissues, on the other side, are more expensive in comparison to cotton towels because a towel can be utilized for several months whereas tissues are only used once. The growth of the market can be attributed to peoples growing awareness of hygiene and cleanliness. Consumer awareness of infectious diseases and allergies has been a primary driver of the industrys expansion. This is owing to rising concerns regarding hygiene and cleanliness, the industry has grown significantly in recent years. Additionally, rising awareness among health-conscious customers creates an opportunity over the forecast period. Increased attention to disposable waste, food storage safety, and sanitary hygiene are also driving the expansion of the household paper products. COVID-19 Impact With the spread of the coronavirus, the COVID-19 pandemic had a favorable impact on the market. The demand for household paper exploded as a result of an increase in consumption amongst people who believe it is safer to use during the pandemic due to the greater knowledge of personal hygiene and sanitation. Furthermore, increased awareness regarding personal hygiene and health as a result of the COVID-19 viruss proliferation is expected to drive market expansion in the coming years. The demand for home essentials such as tissue sheets has skyrocketed in the first several months of 2020 due to panic shopping. Lockdown rules implemented by separate government entities caused people to stay at home, boosting tissue paper use. For example, Kimberly-revenue Clarks in the first quarter of 2020 totaled USD 1.7 billion, up roughly 13% from the same period last year. The spike in volume, including double-digit gains for K-bathroom Cs tissue and facial tissues within the consumer segment during Q1 2020, can be ascribed to the rise in tissue paper sales. Market Growth Factors Growing need for greener and natural products The growing awareness of deforestation for paper pulp production has created a quandary among tissue paper consumers about how to use it. Manufacturers, on the other hand, are continuously looking for new ways to lessen the demand for virgin paper pulp obtained from trees by using recycled fibers in their goods. Manufacturers are also attempting to obtain raw materials responsibly. For example, Procter & Gamble said in September 2019 that by 2025, the proportion of FSC-certified tissue fiber in its Charmin, Bounty, and Puffs brands would grow by a significant rate consistently. The increasing amount of commercial facilities The rising popularity of travel and tourism has boosted the hospitality business around the world. It, together with rising cleanliness standards, has increased the need for tissue products in resorts, hotels, and restaurants, contributing to market expansion. Moreover, the growing working-class population has increased product consumption in offices and business sectors to meet employees workplace needs. According to data from the United States Census Bureaus Country Business Pattern, the overall count of establishments in the United States increased in the year 2018 from the year 2017. Market Restraining Factors Increased use of tissue paper would add to the amount of garbage produced Tissue paper is a one-time-use product, which contributes to the overall waste problem. Due to the significant effort necessary to degrade and recycle such tissue paper, customers should refrain from utilizing it and instead choose sustainable goods. Additionally, because tissue paper does not entirely dissolve in water, if it is flushed away, it might clog toilets and create drainage system blockage. Some papers are too dense to flow with the water, and if thrown directly into the washroom seats, it get lodged in the pipes and tubes. With the growing awareness of the importance of cleanliness and least wastage, the demand for tissue paper among people is expected to be less popular. Type Outlook Based on Type, the market is segmented into Kitchen Rolls, Paper Towels, Table Napkins, and Others. The table napkin segment garnered a significant revenue share in the household paper market in 2021. It is owing to increasing use in table cleanliness and growing consumer preference for cleanliness and hygiene of tables and surrounds. Moreover, growing cleanliness awareness drives and programs also contributes to this segments growth. Distribution Channel Outlook Based on Distribution Channel, the market is segmented into Offline and Online. The offline segment procured the maximum revenue share in the household paper market in 2021. Specialty stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, and independent retail stores all fall within the offline category. In the coming years, the increasing organized retail sector in developing nations is likely to boost demand for domestic paper products. End-users can also get physical and quality assessments through the offline channel. Regional Outlook Based on Regions, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, Middle East & Africa. The Asia Pacific emerged as the leading region in the household paper market with the largest revenue share in 2021. This is due to increased population and urbanization, which results in increased production and use of domestic paper goods throughout the region. Additionally, the growing working population and increasing disposable income of middle-class customers are also some factors. In the next years, rising demand for kitchen roll goods in this region is expected to enhance the markets growth. The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include The Procter and Gamble Company, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Essity AB, Seventh Generation, Inc., Georgia-Pacific LLC, Unicharm Corporation, Hengan International Group Company, Asia Pulp and Paper Group Sinar Mas, Solaris Paper, Inc., and Costco Wholesale Corporation. Strategies deployed in Household Paper Market Feb-2022: Essity took over Legacy Converting, the US professional wiping and cleaning company. This acquisition aimed to expand the wiping and cleaning products offering and strengthen the existence in key customer segments in the North American market. Oct-2020: Kimberley-Clark took over Softex Indonesia, a leader in the fast-growing Indonesian personal care market. This acquisition aimed to fasten the growth with good market share in key personal care categories throughout Southeast Asias largest economy. In addition, this acquisition would enhance the integrated strengths in innovation and brand building while maintaining the local market expertise and benefits that Softex Indonesia has built with its strong portfolio of brands. Apr-2018: Proctor & Gamble took over Merck, the Indian publicly traded unit of the German drug maker. This acquisition aimed to expand the portfolio of consumer healthcare products as well as improve P&Gs consumer health play in the domestic market. Scope of the Study Market Segments covered in the Report: By Type Kitchen Rolls Paper Towels Table Napkins Others By Distribution Channel Offline Online By Geography North America o US o Canada o Mexico o Rest of North America Europe o Germany o UK o France o Russia o Spain o Italy o Rest of Europe Asia Pacific o China o Japan o India o South Korea o Singapore o Malaysia o Rest of Asia Pacific LAMEA o Brazil o Argentina o UAE o Saudi Arabia o South Africa o Nigeria o Rest of LAMEA Companies Profiled The Procter and Gamble Company Kimberly-Clark Corporation Essity AB Seventh Generation, Inc. Georgia-Pacific LLC Unicharm Corporation Hengan International Group Company Asia Pulp and Paper Group Sinar Mas Solaris Paper, Inc. Costco Wholesale Corporation Unique Offerings Exhaustive coverage Highest number of market tables and figures Subscription based model available Guaranteed best price Assured post sales research support with 10% customization free Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06289256/?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. __________________________ TEL AVIV, Israel, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today ASTERRA released an expansion to its EarthWorks product line that paves the way for improving remote surveillance of critical infrastructure. ASTERRA EarthWorks monitors the actual underground soil moisture near large infrastructure installations that increases risk of failure or catastrophe. Numerous industries are now served by EarthWorks, including dams, levees, roads, rail, mining, and property. With the expansion of EarthWorks, the ability now exists to remotely identify areas of high moisture which pose a hazard to assets which could lead to costly and devastating infrastructure failure, said Elly Perets, chief executive officer of ASTERRA. The EarthWorks service is a reliable way to monitor infrastructure and to take action that preserves resources and protects people from harm. EarthWorks technology sees through pavement and treetops, and is uninhibited by light and weather conditions. The subscription provides access to the ASTERRA customer portal with data and insights. With ongoing monitoring of the underground soil moisture, the costs associated with inspection, maintenance, operations, and engineering are reduced. The various industries served by EarthWorks each have unique challenges which benefit from ASTERRAs Earth observation technology. Many dams and levees are beyond their life expectancy. Of the estimated 1.2 million in-stream barriers in Europe, approximately 61,500 of those barriers are dams. In Japan and the United Kingdom, the average age of the dams is over 100 years old, 50 years over their expected life. As a result, these dams are exposed to multiple hazards, including flooding, storm surge, erosion, and damage to controls and gates. EarthWorks improves on visual inspections, highlighting areas for detailed inspection or the placement of remote sensors. Railway transport is another critical infrastructure targeted with EarthWorks. In the United States alone, there are 630 freight railroads with 148,000 miles of rail lines across all terrains. A major challenge is aging infrastructure existing over large areas of land. Since EarthWorks monitors these areas remotely, the soil moisture data service and insights will increase efficiency and improve the safety, maintenance, and operations of railway infrastructure. Mining managers will use EarthWorks to ensure mining operations are optimized, hazards are mitigated, and advanced methods for reducing impact on the environment are used. It is effective for developing drilling and production plans, designing haul roads, determining utility routes, monitoring pipelines, safely placing heavy equipment, and to monitor for leakage in cooling ponds, process tanks, and tailing dams. Those interested to learn more about EarthWorks can view the website as well as attend an informative free webinar on July 27th by registering online. ABOUT ASTERRA ASTERRA (formerly Utilis) provides geospatial data-driven platform solutions for water utilities, government agencies, and the greater infrastructure industry in the areas of roads, rails, dams, and mines. ASTERRA products and services use synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from satellites and turn this data into large-scale decision support tools. The companys proprietary algorithms and highly educated scientists and engineers are the keys to their mission, to become humanitys eyes on the Earth. ASTERRA is investing in artificial intelligence (AI) to bring its products to the next level. Since 2017, ASTERRA technology has been used in over 59 countries, saving over 169,280 million gallons of potable water, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 108,339 metric tons, and saving 423,200 MWH of energy, all in support of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. ASTERRA is headquartered in Israel with offices in the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan. Their innovative data solutions are used in multiple verticals around the globe. For more information on ASTERRA and to learn more about their technology, visit https://asterra.io. Media Contact Karen Dubey Corporate Marketing Director inquiry@asterra.io (858) 798-6709 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/38dd891b-caf9-499f-995f-91455dd55b48 A video accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c6ec7c10-0953-4b71-8644-0a5bfa31c176 Dublin, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Fiber Optic Cable Market (2022-2027) by Fiber Type, Cable Type, Application, Geography, Competitive Analysis, and the Impact of Covid-19 with Ansoff Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Global Fiber Optic Cable Market is estimated to be USD 6.74 Bn in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 10.57 Bn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 9.41%. Market Dynamics Market dynamics are forces that impact the prices and behaviors of the Global Fiber Optic Cable Market stakeholders. These forces create pricing signals which result from the changes in the supply and demand curves for a given product or service. Forces of Market Dynamics may be related to macro-economic and micro-economic factors. There are dynamic market forces other than price, demand, and supply. Human emotions can also drive decisions, influence the market, and create price signals. As the market dynamics impact the supply and demand curves, decision-makers aim to determine the best way to use various financial tools to stem various strategies for speeding the growth and reducing the risks. Market Segmentations The Global Fiber Optic Cable Market is segmented based on Fiber Type, Cable Type, Application, and Geography. By Fiber Type, the market is classified into Glass Optical Fiber and Plastic Optical Fiber. By Cable Type, the market is classified into Multi-Mode and Single-Mode. By Application, the market is classified into Communication and Non Communication. By Geography, the market is classified into Americas, Europe, Middle-East & Africa and Asia-Pacific. Company Profiles The report provides a detailed analysis of the competitors in the market. It covers the financial performance analysis for the publicly listed companies in the market. The report also offers detailed information on the companies' recent development and competitive scenario. Some of the companies covered in this report are AFL Communications, Amphenol, ART Photonics, Carlisle Interconnect Technologies, Coherent, Collins Aerospace, Commscope, Corning, Fiberoptics Technology, Nestor Cables, Nexans, Optical Cable, Radiall, Sumitomo Electric Industries, TE Connectivity, etc. Countries Studied America (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, United States, Rest of Americas) Europe (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Rest of Europe) Middle-East and Africa (Egypt, Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Rest of MEA) Asia-Pacific (Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Taiwan, Rest of Asia-Pacific) Competitive Quadrant The report includes Competitive Quadrant, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their Industry Position score and Market Performance score. The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc. Ansoff Analysis The report presents a detailed Ansoff matrix analysis for the Global Fiber Optic Cable Market. Ansoff Matrix, also known as Product/Market Expansion Grid, is a strategic tool used to design strategies for the growth of the company. The matrix can be used to evaluate approaches in four strategies viz. Market Development, Market Penetration, Product Development and Diversification. The matrix is also used for risk analysis to understand the risk involved with each approach. The report analyses the Global Fiber Optic Cable Market using the Ansoff Matrix to provide the best approaches a company can take to improve its market position. Based on the SWOT analysis conducted on the industry and industry players, the analyst has devised suitable strategies for market growth. Why buy this report? The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Fiber Optic Cable Market. The report includes in-depth qualitative analysis, verifiable data from authentic sources, and projections about market size. The projections are calculated using proven research methodologies. The report has been compiled through extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research is done through interviews, surveys, and observation of renowned personnel in the industry. The report includes an in-depth market analysis using Porter's 5 forces model and the Ansoff Matrix. In addition, the impact of Covid-19 on the market is also featured in the report. The report also includes the regulatory scenario in the industry, which will help you make a well-informed decision. The report discusses major regulatory bodies and major rules and regulations imposed on this sector across various geographies. The report also contains the competitive analysis using Positioning Quadrants, the analyst's Proprietary competitive positioning tool. Key Topics Covered: 1 Report Description 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Market Dynamics 4.1 Drivers 4.1.1 Increasing Demand for The Internet 4.1.2 Rising Demand in Fiber to the X (FTTx) 4.2 Restraints 4.2.1 Higher Initial Installation Cost 4.3 Opportunities 4.3.1 Advancement Technology in Fiber Optic Communication 4.3.2 Growing Telecommunication Industry in the Middle East & Africa 4.4 Challenges 4.4.1 Complex Installation Process and Surging Demand for Wireless Solutions 5 Market Analysis 5.1 Regulatory Scenario 5.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Ansoff Matrix Analysis 6 Global Fiber Optic Cable Market, By Fiber Type 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Glass Optical Fiber 6.3 Plastic Optical Fiber 7 Global Fiber Optic Cable Market, By Cable Type 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Multi-Mode 7.3 Single-Mode 8 Global Fiber Optic Cable Market, By Application 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Communication 8.2.1 Telecom 8.2.2 Home Premises 8.2.3 Cable Antenna Television (CATV) 8.2.4 Industrial 8.2.5 Military 8.3 Non Communication 8.3.1 Telecom 8.3.2 Fiber Optic Lighting 9 Americas' Fiber Optic Cable Market 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Argentina 9.3 Brazil 9.4 Canada 9.5 Chile 9.6 Colombia 9.7 Mexico 9.8 Peru 9.9 United States 9.10 Rest of Americas 10 Europe's Fiber Optic Cable Market 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Austria 10.3 Belgium 10.4 Denmark 10.5 Finland 10.6 France 10.7 Germany 10.8 Italy 10.9 Netherlands 10.10 Norway 10.11 Poland 10.12 Russia 10.13 Spain 10.14 Sweden 10.15 Switzerland 10.16 United Kingdom 10.17 Rest of Europe 11 Middle East and Africa's Fiber Optic Cable Market 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Egypt 11.3 Israel 11.4 Qatar 11.5 Saudi Arabia 11.6 South Africa 11.7 United Arab Emirates 11.8 Rest of MEA 12 APAC's Fiber Optic Cable Market 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Australia 12.3 Bangladesh 12.4 China 12.5 India 12.6 Indonesia 12.7 Japan 12.8 Malaysia 12.9 Philippines 12.10 Singapore 12.11 South Korea 12.12 Sri Lanka 12.13 Thailand 12.14 Taiwan 12.15 Rest of Asia-Pacific 13 Competitive Landscape 13.1 Competitive Quadrant 13.2 Market Share Analysis 13.3 Strategic Initiatives 13.3.1 M&A and Investments 13.3.2 Partnerships and Collaborations 13.3.3 Product Developments and Improvements 14 Company Profiles 14.1 AFL Communications 14.2 Amphenol 14.3 ART Photonics 14.4 Carlisle Interconnect Technologies 14.5 Coherent 14.6 Collins Aerospace 14.7 Commscope 14.8 Corning 14.9 Fiberoptics Technology 14.10 Finolex Cables 14.11 Fujikura 14.12 Furukawa Electric 14.13 General Cable Technologies 14.14 Hengtong 14.15 Hitachi Cable America 14.16 II-VI 14.17 Leoni 14.18 LS Cable & System 14.19 Nestor Cables 14.20 Nexans 14.21 Optical Cable 14.22 Radiall 14.23 Sumitomo Electric Industries 14.24 TE Connectivity 14.25 W L Gore & Associates 14.26 Yangtze Optical Fiber And Cable (YOFC) 15 Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/k1x00o Attachment BOSTON, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mystic Moose, the independent game developer behind the web3 gaming metaverse Planet Mojo, debuted its first cinematic trailer with a public release today on Planet Mojo's website and YouTube channel. Cinematic Collector's Pass NFTs are also being offered to community members who sign up on Premint.xyz to celebrate the landmark occasion. The highly anticipated trailer was created in collaboration with San Francisco-based Swordfish, whose talented team includes former members of Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and Pixar. Bay Area Sound provided the music and sound effects. It offers the first look at the mysterious mechanical invasion that imperils the natural world of Planet Mojo. "But out of darkness, light always rises," as the champion Brooka Clawhaven, the trailer's narrator, explains. Featured within the trailer is the first sprouted Mojo a magical, anthropomorphic, plant-based creature that must rise up to face the deadly threat. Mojos are the heart of Planet Mojo and will be crucial to the various forms of gameplay, including an upcoming auto chess game called Mojo Melee, the Biomes land-based game, and other interconnected experiences, all of which are built on the Polygon network. "The Mystic Moose team is excited to progress the story of Planet Mojo through this amazing new trailer," said Mike Levine, Founder and Chief Creative Officer. "Working on this with old friends from Swordfish was a blast. Their team is top notch and helped us create something truly magical." The trailer's public release takes place on the heels of an important milestone for Planet Mojo. Moj-Seed NFT holders early supporters and community members of Planet Mojo sprouted their unique Mojos, revealing the magical creatures' one-of-a-kind combinations of traits for the first time on June 23. Looking ahead, the auto chess game Mojo Melee will be released in the coming months. Planet Mojo will expand over time to offer a variety of games and experiences that unveil more of the metaverse's narrative. Mystic Moose has raised more than US$9 million from partners, including Animoca Brands, Courtside Ventures, Alameda, Spartan, Republic, Sfermion, Merit Circle, and others. Check out www.planetmojo.io for updates and to learn more about Planet Mojo's vision and roadmap. About Planet Mojo Planet Mojo is a Web3 gaming metaverse being built by Mystic Moose. Set on a rich, mysterious alien world, players will compete using their NFT-based customized teams in a suite of player-versus-player (PvP), play-and-earn games and esports tournaments, including a debut auto chess title. Visit www.planetmojo.io to find out more. About Mystic Moose Mystic Moose is a decentralized independent development studio comprised of game industry veterans from LucasArts, EA, Activision, and HappyGiant. The company is backed by industry leaders, including Animoca Brands, Courtside Ventures, Republic, Sfermion, and Alameda. Mystic Moose is headquartered in moose-filled Conway, MA. Join the Planet Mojo Community Twitter: twitter.com/WeArePlanetMojo Discord: discord.gg/PlanetMojo Telegram: t.me/planetmojochat Medium: medium.com/planet-mojo-blog YouTube: https://bit.ly/mojo_youtube Media Contact: press@planetmojo.io Media Kit: Images & Branding Related Images Image 1 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment TORONTO, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quisitive Technology Solutions Inc. (Quisitive or the Company) (TSXV: QUIS, OTCQX: QUISF), a premier Microsoft solutions and payment solutions provider, today announced it has received the Microsoft United States Health and Life Sciences Partner of the Year award. The Microsoft United States Health and Life Sciences Award complements the recently announced global Microsoft Partner of the Year Finalist Award in Healthcare . Quisitive was the top Microsoft partner recognized for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions for health and life sciences leveraging Microsoft technology in the United States market. Previously, Quisitive was named the 2021 global Healthcare Partner of the Year, and this years dual recognition validates the Companys continued investment in healthcare industry solutions. Quisitives MazikCare healthcare cloud platform is built on Microsoft technologies such as the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, Dynamics, Azure and Power Platform, to serve healthcare organizations worldwide with tailored solutions for patient engagement, vaccine management, virtual and home healthcare, revenue cycle management, supply chain management, and data connectivity. MazikCare has consistently delivered customer impact, such as enabling the delivery of personized care to over 200,000 chronically ill home health care patients. By offering repeatable, scalable solutions powered by Microsoft and through deep industry acumen, Quisitive offers clients an accelerated route to solve these business challenges. As Microsoft evaluates their fiscal year partner performance, we were pleased to be awarded the Microsoft United States Health and Life Sciences Partner of the Year award, highlighting our dominant U.S. footprint as a dedicated Microsoft partner, said Quisitive CEO Mike Reinhart. This specific award weve been given by the United States division further demonstrates our synergistic ability to help solve problems for health and life sciences customers via consultation and digital transformation utilizing Microsofts technology stack. The complete list of Microsoft 2022 US Award Winners can be found at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/us-partner-blog/2022/06/29/announcing-the-2022-microsoft-us-award-winners/ About Quisitive: Quisitive (TSXV: QUIS, OTCQX: QUISF) is a premier, global Microsoft partner that harnesses the Microsoft platform and complementary technologies, including custom solutions and first-party offerings, to generate transformational impact for enterprise customers. Our Cloud Solutions business focuses on helping enterprises move, operate, and innovate in the three Microsoft clouds. Centering on our LedgerPay product suite, our Payments Intelligence solution leverages the Microsoft Azure cloud to transform the payment processing industry into an entirely new source of customer engagement and consumer value. Quisitive serves clients globally from seventeen employee hubs across the world. For more information, visit www.Quisitive.com and follow @BeQuisitive. Quisitive Investor Contact Matt Glover and John Yi Gateway Investor Relations QUIS@gatewayir.com 949-574-3860 Tami Anders Chief of Staff tami.anders@quisitive.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information This news release contains certain forwardlooking information and forwardlooking statements (collectively, forward looking statements) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation regarding Quisitive and its business. 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 forwardlooking statements. Forward looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forwardlooking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to: internal business integrations, onboarding of pilot merchants, completion of additional certifications, expectations regarding go-to-market strategy and future success of the Companys LedgerPay platform, growth prospects, projected milestones and timelines, and other anticipated benefits and impacts of the Visa certification. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements, or the material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information, are described under the heading "Risks Factors" in the Company's annual information form dated June 23, 2022, which are available under the Companys issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information, or the material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information, will prove to be accurate. The Company does not undertake any obligations to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities 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. Pune, India, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global Development and Operations (DevOps) Market is likely to gain momentum from the ability of the software solutions to aid in enhancing a company's speed to provide improved services and applications to the consumers. Besides, they offer automation and it thereby helps employees in doing innovative work rather than spending time on low-value tasks. This information is published in a recent study by Fortune Business Insights, titled, "DevOps Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Offering (Software, Services), By Deployment (Public Cloud, Private Cloud, and Hybrid), By Organization Size (Large Enterprises, Small and Medium Enterprises), By Industry (BFSI, Retail, Government, Manufacturing, IT & Telecommunication, Healthcare, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2028." As per the study, the global DevOps market size is projected to reach USD 14.9 billion by 2028, exhibiting a CAGR of 19.1% during the forecast period. Whilst, it stood at USD 3.7 billion in 2018. Industry Developments: January 2020 : Collab Net Version One, a software firm headquartered in Georgia, teamed up with Xebia Labs, an independent software company based in Burlington, to create new DevOps platform for the companies. As per the company officials, this collaboration would help the companies in offering their consumer bases with end-to-end management capabilities and visibility required to develop software solutions securely, reliably, and quickly. It would further aid the companies in speeding up their digital transformation. : Collab Net Version One, a software firm headquartered in Georgia, teamed up with Xebia Labs, an independent software company based in Burlington, to create new DevOps platform for the companies. As per the company officials, this collaboration would help the companies in offering their consumer bases with end-to-end management capabilities and visibility required to develop software solutions securely, reliably, and quickly. It would further aid the companies in speeding up their digital transformation. July 2019: IBM Corporation, a multinational information technology company based in New York, announced its partnership with DB maestro, a computer software service company headquartered in Massachusetts. This partnership would help the companies in providing database release automation capabilities specially designed to smoothen DevOps environments for companies. Request Sample Copy of the Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/devops-market-102040 Report Scope: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2019-2028 Forecast Period 2019 to 2028 CAGR 19.1 % 2028 Value Projection USD 14.9 Billion Base Year 2018 Market Size in 2018 USD 3.7 Billion Historical Data for 2015-2017 No. of Pages 160 Segments covered Offering; Deployment; Organization Size; Industry; Growth Drivers Growing Popularity of DevOps Tools to Augment Market Demand Ongoing Shift to Hybrid Cloud and Improvement in Operational Efficiency to Favor Growth Pitfalls & Challenges DevOps Software Segment to Generate the Highest Revenue During the Forecast Period DRIVING FACTORS- High Demand for Operational Flexibility to Propel Growth DevOps tools are aiding in strengthening the development process in an organization and are decreasing the chances of making errors. Hence, they are gaining more and more popularity, especially in the IT sector. These tools also support the stability and security of the software deployment process. According to one of our lead analysts, "Containerization and platform-as-a-service are some of the current market trends that are accelerating the DevOps market growth. These services are simplifying the implementation and adoption of DevOps in various industries." Apart from these, there is an increasing demand for the penetration of Internet of Things (IoT), client satisfaction, and high operational flexibility in the industry. These factors would also boost growth. REGIONAL INSIGHTS- Increasing Number of SMEs to Favor Growth in Asia Pacific In terms of geography, the market is fragmented into Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa, Europe, Asia Pacific, and North America. Out of these, North America acquired USD 1,829.4 million DevOps software market revenue in 2018. This growth is attributable to the rising adoption of DevOps solutions in the BFSI, retail, and IT & telecommunication industries. Europe would also showcase healthy growth because of the increasing deployment of these software solutions in several banks. It has resulted in around 25% efficiency enhancement in internet banking by cutting off the workload of the IT operation teams. Asia Pacific, on the other hand, is set to exhibit the highest CAGR in the coming years owing to the upsurging demand for automated software in countries, namely, China, Japan, and Singapore. Additionally, the number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is increasing day by day in these countries. It is, in turn, causing a high demand for DevOps tools to agile and streamline the business operations. To get to know more about the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19 on this DevOps Market Report, Please visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/devops-market-102040 This Report Answers the Following Questions: What are the development to operations market trends and growth drivers? How many significant key players are present in the market? Which business strategies are being used by the industry giants to gain success? What are the most niche areas present in the market? What are the crucial opportunities and challenges in the market? Segmentation By Offering Software Services By Deployment Public Cloud Private Cloud Hybrid By Organization Size Large Enterprises Small and Medium Enterprises By Industry BFSI Retail Government Manufacturing IT & Telecommunication Healthcare Others By Geography North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa Latin America COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE- Collab Net Teams Up with Xebia Labs while IBM Corporation Joins Hand with DB maestro to Launch New Platforms Key companies present in the market are following the strategy of partnerships to create new DevOps platforms in order to increase their product portfolio and gain more popularity. They are also striving persistently to gain the maximum DevOps market share during the forthcoming years. Below are two of the key industry developments Companies Covered in the DevOps Market Report: Cigniti Technologies Amazon Web Services, Inc. CA Technologies Microsoft Corporation Atlassian Corporation Plc. Red Hat, Inc. GitLab Oracle Corporation Google LLC RapidValue IBM Corporation Puppet Other key market players Quick Buy - DevOps Market Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/102040 Major Points in TOC: Introduction Definition, By Segment Research Approach Sources Executive Summary Market Dynamics Drivers, Restraints and Opportunities Emerging Trends Key Insights Macro and Micro Economic Indicators Consolidated SWOT Analysis of Key Players Porter's Five Forces Analysis Global DevOps Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2015-2028 Key Findings / Summary Market Size Estimates and Forecasts By Offering (Value) Software Services By Deployment (Value) Public Cloud Private Cloud Hybrid Cloud By Organization Size (Value) Large Enterprises Small and Medium Enterprises By Industry (Value) BFSI Retail Government Manufacturing IT & Telecommunication Healthcare Others By Geography (Value) North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa Latin America TOC Continued. About Us: Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them to address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Contact Us: Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd. US :+1 424 253 0390 UK : +44 2071 939123 APAC : +91 744 740 1245 CEDARVILLE, OHIO, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The first graduating cohort of Cedarville Universitys civil engineering program completed senior design projects, including partnerships with Design Outreach and Samaritans Purse, focused on creating prototypes of service applications for international use. Each service application from the group of 19 civil engineering students was focused on providing humanitarian assistance. One of the main values we want to build into our program is an appreciation for service and missions work, said Dr. David Dittenber, associate professor of civil engineering. We think it is important to structure our senior projects around service-based engineering. During the fall semester, seniors worked to gain a background understanding of their assigned engineering problems, then designing an affordable solution. In the Spring, students executed their plans by running experiments and building prototypes. Projects included a partnership with Design Outreach to create a latrine structure to meet the needs of families in Malawi, a partnership with Samaritans Purse to design a disaster relief shelter against flooding and cyclones in Mozambique, development of well drilling testing equipment for the village of Poundioum Senegal and evaluation of ground anchors commonly used for temporary structures in disaster relief scenarios. Each project culminated in a complete prototype that has potential to be implemented for humanitarian work in other countries or continually developed by the next class of civil engineering students. Design Outreach is a Christian humanitarian engineering nonprofit organization headquartered in Gahanna, Ohio that focuses on innovative products that improve the lives of the most marginalized and vulnerable people living in developing countries. The students' project for Design Outreach, when completed, will result in a design for the above ground structural components of a latrine that can interface with the latrine pit liner and slab Design Outreach is working to develop. These technologies are necessary for equipping a single-family household in Malawi with a reusable restroom that is independent from water. With an approximate lifetime of 20 years, the project could make a significant difference in rural areas of the developing country. This is something Design Outreach really wants to see developed, said Dittenber on the LifeLatrine Superstructure project. We will probably be working on it a second year, taking what the students did and making it cheaper and easier for Design Outreach to implement prototypes for further evaluation by the summer of 2023. These projects are a chance to see what the students are capable of in a non-structured environment, Dittenber noted. All four of these are projects target problems without a real solution right now. The real benefit for students is having to tackle a real issue thats taking place on the other side of the world. Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,715 undergraduate, graduate, and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is one of the largest private universities in Ohio, recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, including the Bachelor of Science in civil engineering, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and high student engagement ranking. For more information about the University, visit cedarville.edu. Attachments President Yoon Suk-yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wait for the beginning of their trilateral summit on the sidelines of the 2022 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit at Ifema Convention Center in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday. Yonhap By Nam Hyun-woo MADRID The leaders of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan agreed on Wednesday to step up pressure on North Korea, whose nuclear and missile programs have posed a growing threat to international security. They shared the need for close consultation in trilateral security cooperation and strengthening the U.S.' extended deterrence for its allies. Extended deterrence refers to Washington's commitment to provide its nuclear capabilities to defend its allies. The three countries agreed on the need for three-way cooperation during a trilateral summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the 2022 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday (local time). The last trilateral summit was held in New York in September of 2017. "With North Korea's nuclear missile threat escalating and uncertainties growing, the importance of trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan has been increasing," Yoon said during the summit. "The summit shows the three countries' commitment to intensify trilateral cooperation to solve regional and global problems." Biden said trilateral cooperation is very important to achieve their shared goals, including the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a free and open Indo-Pacific. He said concerns remain over North Korea resuming its nuclear weapons test. Kishida also noted that the trilateral cooperation and stronger U.S. extended deterrence are essential as chances increase of additional North Korean provocations. The Japanese prime minister added that the three countries will jointly respond to North Korea's nuclear test through measures including a joint military exercise, adding that Japan wants to enhance its defense capability to strengthen the deterrence of the South Korea-U.S. alliance. The presidential office said in a statement that the leaders agreed that a growing threat from North Korea not only endangered the Korean Peninsula, but also East Asia and the entire world. The trilateral summit took place following a policy shift in South Korea toward North Korea after Yoon was inaugurated on May 10. Departing from the previous Moon Jae-in administration's conciliatory stance toward the North, the Yoon government pledged to take a more quid-pro-quo approach toward the belligerent regime. "During the summit, President Yoon maintained the stance that North Korea's nuclear ambitions are a common threat for South Korea, the U.S. and Japan," an official at the presidential office told reporters. To strengthen trilateral cooperation, the South Korean leader also seeks to improve Seoul-Tokyo relations. President Yoon Suk-yeol answers questions from the press as he enters the Ifema Congress Center in Madrid, Spain, to attend the 2022 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps During a gala dinner at the NATO Summit, Tuesday, Yoon had a brief conversation with the Japanese prime minister and expressed his hopes for future-oriented developments in bilateral relations. "After Japan's upcoming upper house elections, I and my aides plan to resolve issues that stand in the way of improving Seoul-Tokyo ties as soon as possible to establish future-oriented bilateral relations," Yoon was quoted by the presidential office as saying to Kishida. The presidential office said Kishida appreciated Yoon's words and added that the Japanese leader is aware of the fact that the South Korean president is making efforts to improve bilateral ties and that he, too, hopes for healthier relations between the two countries. President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a four-way meeting between the leaders of South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand on the sidelines of the 2022 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday (local time). Clockwise from top left are Yoon, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Yonhap Their exchange of cordial remarks continued in a four-way meeting between NATO's Asia-Pacific partner countries South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand on Wednesday. During the meeting, the four leaders acknowledged that the four-way summit is timely and meaningful as they share values and vision for the region. Kishida said any action to change the status quo by force is unacceptable, noting that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is one such incident that broke the rules and challenged international order. The Japanese leader said he would like to discuss Indo-Pacific issues with the three other leaders and look for ways to work together. Yoon nodded in agreement as the Japanese leader spoke. Yoon told reporters after the four-way talks that he is "convinced that Prime Minister Kishida is a partner who can together resolve pending issues between South Korea and Japan." President Yoon Suk-yeol shakes hands with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte during their summit at a hotel in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday (local time). Yonhap Singapore, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ChainUp Group, a blockchain technology solutions provider, today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Korean blockchain company HS88. Both parties will join forces in blockchain technology development and provide mutual network support for market expansion. Headquartered in Singapore, ChainUp offers a complete suite of blockchain solutions including digital assets trading systems, liquidity solutions, NFT trading systems, wallet solutions, and digital asset custody and management. With offices around the world, the company has served more than 1,000 clients in 30 countries over the last five years both in blockchain infrastructure development and ecosystem support. Korean company HS88 provides an all-in-one blockchain service platform and focuses on driving the growth and development of the blockchain industry. The company provides clients with comprehensive consulting and solutions related to blockchain and digital assets. Mr. Jeff Mei, Chief Marketing Officer of ChainUp Group said, Aligned with our mission to make blockchain technology more accessible for businesses around the world, we welcome this partnership with HS88 to leverage each others technical expertise and in-depth market insights to collaboratively advance industry developments and drive blockchain technology adoption globally. --- End --- About ChainUp Group Founded in 2017, ChainUp is a leading end-to-end blockchain technology solutions provider covering infrastructure development and ecosystem support. Built on the mission to empower businesses through blockchain technology, ChainUps innovative and all-around compliant solutions include digital asset exchange systems, NFT trading systems, wallet solutions, liquidity solutions, and digital assets custody and management. Headquartered in Singapore and with offices around the world, the company has served more than 1,000 clients in 30 countries, reaching over 60 million end-users. For more information, please visit: www.chainup.com. WASHINGTON, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LINK Strategic Partners (LINK), a global strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, and social impact consulting firm, is excited to announce the appointment of Celso Baez III as Director of Strategy and Texas Branch Manager. This new role will provide strategic vision and leadership in all facets of LINKs client portfolio as the firm expands its mission-driven reach to new markets. Baez will launch LINKs Austin, Texas office and build upon the footprint LINK has established in the state following its critical work including supporting the City of Brownsville during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; Austin Independent School District as part of its long-range facility master plan and successful 2017 bond efforts; Huston Tillotson University and its groundbreaking community engagement work; and multi-year activations at SXSW and SXSWEdu. He joins LINK after nearly 15 years of experience as a community engagement practitioner and public administration professional, with a deep cross-sector background that includes public education, public transportation, public health and health care service delivery, government relations, community engagement, and campaign strategy. LINK prides itself on working on the most challenging and complex issues of the moment in and with communities across the country and abroad. With his breadth of expertise and experience, we could not be more excited to welcome Celso into this leadership role, said Michael Akin, President of LINK Strategic Partners. Expanding our presence in the Texas market is a deliberate step for the firm, and we do so with the utmost mindfulness to do right by communities we seek to serve which is why LINK will enthusiastically invest in transformational local organizations by way of Celsos engagement and beyond. Baez is passionate about serving to improve the great equalizers that afforded him and his family opportunities to prosper and lead a dignified life. His track record of influencing public-serving organizations towards prioritizing equitable, inclusive, and participatory decision-making processes is laudable. He has accomplished this through important work at Capital Metro, Austins public transportation authority; at Austin ISD, Central Texas largest public school district; and at Central Health, Travis Countys public hospital district. Community involvement is a way of life for me, and I look forward to furthering my intentional work within and outside of Austins institutions that aim to create more equitable communities for all, Baez said. Joining LINK and its mission-focused and social impact-minded team aligns with my values. Im thrilled to join LINK and bring about positive change across all of the firm's valued clients. Celsos appointment is another step in the culmination of a robust search for leadership talent across a range of sectors in which LINK operates. This announcement propels LINK into the second half of the year and builds on a series of recent achievements, most recently being named to the Inc. Magazine Best In Business List of companies making a positive impact on the world. Building upon a decade of providing extensive mission-driven expertise, LINK continues to accelerate and expand its work to support the specific needs of the many communities and client partners the firm serves. For more information about LINK Strategic Partners, visit our website, www.linksp.com. Follow our team and learn about the community-based work that we do through our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. ### About LINK Strategic Partners LINK Strategic Partners is a global strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, and social impact consulting firm proudly based in Washington, D.C. In the past 10 years, LINK has expanded from a small local shop to a dynamic firm with hundreds of local, regional, national, and international clients. Our world-class and diverse team of professionals ranges from 17 to 94 years of age and lead our offices in D.C., Phoenix, St. Louis, New York, Austin and Manchester, England. Over 65% of Team LINK identifies as women, and nearly 70% are people of color, reflecting LINKs foundational commitment to be in and of the communities we serve. LINKs mission-driven work includes thousands of hours of pro and low bono work with community partners. Visit www.linksp.com. Attachment SHANGHAI, China, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lilith Games heralded creator of AFK Arena and Warpath announced its globally popular real-time strategy MMO Rise of Kingdoms has welcomed a new civilization to the fray: Ancient Egypt. With the new army, players will take to the battlefield to wage historically-accurate wars and defeat other players not just with brute force, but with the fabled cunning and architectural ingenuity of Ancient Egypt. The update, called Egypt Must Rise, is now available on PC via the official site and on iOS and Android devices. In addition, Lilith Games revealed that true cross-platform functionality is now deployed for all platforms, meaning players can resume their Rise of Kingdoms skirmishes whether at home or on the go. Watch the Rise of Kingdoms: Egypt Must Rise trailer: https://youtu.be/LL3QDSzgzSw With its rich history of prosperity and affluence, the addition of ancient Egypt allows players to experience a whole new civilization to lead, grow, and flourish. Additionally, the update adds new Commanders, including Imhotep, expert pyramid architect and high priest, and The Warrior King himself, Thutmose III. Powerful, intelligent, strategic, and undoubtedly stylish, ancient Egypt was ruled for almost 30 centuries before its conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. Rise of Kingdoms also offers players 13 historically accurate kingdoms to command, with societies from rich cultural backgrounds in addition to Egypt, such as Rome, Britain, Spain, Germany, France, China, Japan, Korea, Arabia, Ottoman, Byzantium, and Viking. Lead expeditions beyond country borders, devote power to assisting residents in need and become a leader known for their noble character. With Rise of Kingdoms vastly rich MMOSLG gameplay that flawlessly merges MMO-style gameplay on a world map thats limitlessly zoomable, wage historically accurate wars between ancient civilizations and lead their denizens to a prosperous future. Rise of Kingdoms Key Features: Thirteen Unique Civilizations: Choose one of 13 historical civilizations and guide your empire from a lone clan into a great, unstoppable force. Each civilization has its own architecture, unique units, and special advantages how you use them to your benefit is up to you! Put your governing skills to the test with the Egyptian civilization; fight together with Cleopatra and her armies, Thutmose III, Imhotep, and other great commanders to conquer the sands and start your own centuries-spanning adventure! Choose one of 13 historical civilizations and guide your empire from a lone clan into a great, unstoppable force. Each civilization has its own architecture, unique units, and special advantages how you use them to your benefit is up to you! Put your governing skills to the test with the Egyptian civilization; fight together with Cleopatra and her armies, Thutmose III, Imhotep, and other great commanders to conquer the sands and start your own centuries-spanning adventure! Real-Time Battles: Battles happen in real-time on the world map. Anyone can join or leave a battle at any time, allowing true MMOSLG gameplay. See an ally being attacked right in your backyard? Send some troops to help them out, or launch a surprise counterattack on the attackers city. Battles happen in real-time on the world map. Anyone can join or leave a battle at any time, allowing true MMOSLG gameplay. See an ally being attacked right in your backyard? Send some troops to help them out, or launch a surprise counterattack on the attackers city. Seamless World Map: All in-game action takes place on a single, enormous map inhabited by players and NPCs. No isolated bases or separate battle screens. Never-before-seen on mobile, infinite zoom allows you to transition freely between the world view and individual cities or barbarian outposts. Map features include natural obstructions such as rivers and mountain ranges and strategic passes that must be captured to gain entrance to neighboring regions. All in-game action takes place on a single, enormous map inhabited by players and NPCs. No isolated bases or separate battle screens. Never-before-seen on mobile, infinite zoom allows you to transition freely between the world view and individual cities or barbarian outposts. Map features include natural obstructions such as rivers and mountain ranges and strategic passes that must be captured to gain entrance to neighboring regions. Unrestricted Troop Movements: New orders can be issued to troops at any time, offering limitless strategic possibilities. Launch an attack on an enemy city, then circle back and meet up with your alliance army to capture a pass. Dispatch troops to collect lumber from a nearby forest and have them pick off a few barbarian clans along the way. Forces can also be split up between multiple commanders so that you can engage in multiple actions simultaneously. New orders can be issued to troops at any time, offering limitless strategic possibilities. Launch an attack on an enemy city, then circle back and meet up with your alliance army to capture a pass. Dispatch troops to collect lumber from a nearby forest and have them pick off a few barbarian clans along the way. Forces can also be split up between multiple commanders so that you can engage in multiple actions simultaneously. Alliance System: Full alliance features allow players to help one another: live chat with built-in translation, officer roles, map indicators to coordinate strategies, and more! Alliances can expand their territory to gain resources, capture mountain passes and barbarian outposts to strengthen their position and work together to unlock group achievements. Full alliance features allow players to help one another: live chat with built-in translation, officer roles, map indicators to coordinate strategies, and more! Alliances can expand their territory to gain resources, capture mountain passes and barbarian outposts to strengthen their position and work together to unlock group achievements. RPG Commanders: Call upon dozens of historical figures who will serve as your trustworthy commanders, from Julius Caesar and Sun Tzu to Joan of Arc and Kusunoki Masashige. Level up your commanders by defeating barbarians and sending them into battles, then upgrade their abilities using an RPG-style talent tree and skill system. Rise of Kingdoms is available now on the App Store and Google Play, as well as on PC: iOS App Store | Android Google Play | PC To learn more about this extensively deep strategy MMO, visit the official website: https://roc.lilithgames.com/. Follow Rise of Kingdoms on social media for news and updates via Twitter and Facebook. A press kit containing screenshots, key art, videos, GIFs, and more, is available here: https://uberstrategist.link/Rise-of-Kingdoms-Presskit. About Lilith Games Established in May 2013, Lilith Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (AKA Lilith) is devoted to creating an unprecedented gaming experience for players around the globe via engaging and diverse mobile games. Since its founding, Lilith has developed and published a variety of acclaimed games, such as Soul Hunters, Abi: A Robots Tale, Rise of Kingdoms, Art of Conquest, AFK Arena, and Warpath. Lilith Games ranked 10th place in terms of global game publishing company revenue according to data from App Annies State of Mobile 2021 report. In addition to commercial gaming success, Lilith creates and publishes compelling independent games, including popular titles Isoland 2: Ashes of Time Lite and Mr. Pumpkin 2: Walls of Kowloon. Visit www.lilithgames.com to learn more and explore Liliths expanding catalog of titles. PRESS CONTACT Jessica Timms and Tabitha Beidleman UberStrategist PR pr@uberstrategist.com 1-646-844-8388 Toronto, Ontario, Canada, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) is launching a new Advanced Therapies stream for pre-seed and seed-stage ventures at the forefront of biotech. To bring this program to life, CDL has partnered with CCRM, a leader in accelerating the development and commercialization of regenerative medicine-based technologies. Advanced Therapies will be launched at four world-class CDL locations the University of British Columbia, the University of Oxford, the University of Toronto, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison creating an international network that will foster the next generation of biotech companies. Health tech is fundamentally changing treatment strategies the targeting of general symptoms in broad populations is being replaced by highly targeted therapies, and potential cures, in more refined patient subgroups. This sea change is a result of advancements in both molecular techniques and the analysis of biological data. CDL alumni ventures are among those companies at the forefront. Advanced Therapies is for founders leveraging cell and gene therapies, biologics, antibody-drug conjugates, and other biological products to innovate solutions to biological, medical, and health-care issues. CDLs Advanced Therapeutics stream combines a proven model for success and a founder-friendly mindset with a core group of biotech mentors who know what it takes to bring these therapies to patients. Adding CCRMs capabilities and expertise is like rocket fuel to accelerate the trajectory of these cutting-edge companies, said Dawn Bell, a CDL Health mentor and Global Development Head, Strategic Partnerships at Novartis. This new stream will bring together entrepreneurs, investors, and scientists with expertise building massively scalable companies. Selected participants will work with these mentors to sharpen objectives, prioritize time and resources, raise capital, and build networks with experts working on the frontiers of research. The growing number of startup founders working in advanced therapies, including CDL alumni such as Notch Therapeutics, have proven that Advanced Therapies is a necessary addition to CDLs programming. CDL is partnering with CCRM for the launch of this new stream. Health tech is rapidly evolving to better serve people around the world. CDL, in partnership with CCRM, is eager to support cutting-edge research and founders who are looking to advance therapeutics and innovate the healthcare landscape, said Sonia Sennik, Executive Director at CDL. CCRM, a global public-private partnership located in Toronto, Canada, has a deep network of researchers, investors, leading companies, and entrepreneurs that have been supporting the establishment of early-stage companies for a decade. I always envisioned that CDL and CCRM would join forces to enhance early-stage company creation and company scaling in the area of advanced therapies, said Michael May, President and CEO, CCRM. CCRM has a unique global position in this space. And I believe CDL is developing a best-in-class process of its own so it just seemed like a perfect marriage of skills, interests, and track record to partner in one of the hottest areas in biotech. In addition to harnessing the global networks of CDL and CCRM, Advanced Therapies will leverage the academic and scientific communities of four leading institutions in North America and Europe. Each brings its own deep expertise and standout network in the field: University of British Columbia: Ranked as one of the top healthtech cities in the world, with a high density of researchers, investors and startups in the advanced therapies realm. University of Toronto: A massive healthtech centre with hundreds of millions of dollars invested into the sector each year, and the site of major healthtech conferences, such as MaRS Impact Health. University of Oxford: Precision medicine and eHealth are in the top-three burgeoning innovation fields in the local ecosystem, supported by world-class researchers at Oxford. University of Wisconsin-Madison: Stem cell and regenerative medicine research have a major centre in the state, with massive support by the business and venture capital community. Join a CDL Health webinar to learn more. Companies and founders interested in applying to the Advanced Therapies stream can contact health@creativedestructionlab.com for more information. Applications will be accepted online until August 31, 2022. About Creative Destruction Lab Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) is a nonprofit organization that delivers an objectives-based program for massively scalable, seed-stage, science- and technology-based companies. Its nine-month program allows founders to learn from experienced entrepreneurs, increasing their likelihood of success. Founded in 2012 by Professor Ajay Agrawal at the University of Torontos Rotman School of Management, the program has expanded to 12 sites across six countries. Participating ventures have created $20 billion (CAD) in equity value. About Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine CCRM is a global, public-private partnership headquartered in Canada. It receives funding from the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, and leading academic and industry partners. CCRM supports the development of regenerative medicines and associated enabling technologies, with a specific focus on cell and gene therapy. A network of researchers, leading companies, strategic investors and entrepreneurs, CCRM accelerates the translation of scientific discovery into new companies and marketable products for patients, with specialized teams, funding and infrastructure. CCRM is hosted at its Toronto site by the University of Toronto and is the commercialization partner of Medicine by Design. Visit us at ccrm.ca. Attachment New York, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Christian Rudloff, a project development and finance attorney who has advised on several transformative international infrastructure projects, has joined Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP as counsel in New York. Rudloff advises global corporations and financial institutions as sponsors, suppliers, contractors, borrowers and lenders in project development, finance and asset acquisition and disposition transactions across the energy, oil and gas, infrastructure and mining and metals sectors, with a particular focus on cross-border transactions in Latin America. Rudloffs primary focus is on the project contracts related to the development and operation of each individual project within the parameters of the applicable industry. His notable representations prior to joining the firm include: The borrowers and sponsors on the $235 (approximate) million financing for the development, construction and operation of two solar photovoltaic projects in Mexico (recognized as the 2017 Latin America Solar Deal of the Year by IJGlobal); A Canadian gold production company on the development of a $2.2 billion gold/copper mine in Chile; Lenders on multiple aspects of the proposed $7.33 billion gas project, a more than 1,000 km gas pipeline in Peru (one of the largest infrastructure projects to come to market in the history of Perus energy sector); and A state authority in the Middle East and North Africa region on the development and financing of a first-in-kind and first-in-country $25 billion nuclear new build project and negotiating the EPC, Fuel Supply, O&M and Radioactive Waste Treatment contracts. Christian is a highly-respected lawyer who brings additional strength to our Latin America, project finance and development and energy practices, said Jeff Schroeder, head of Hunton Andrews Kurths energy and infrastructure team. The firm is dedicated to delivering top tier service to our energy and infrastructure sector clientele. Christians reputation for developing insightful solutions and assisting his clients achieve their business objectives align with our goals. Christians deep developer side perspective will complement our Latin America practice very well, said Alejandro Silva, international counsel with the energy and infrastructure team. We are pleased to welcome him to the firm. Rudloff joins the firm from Shearman & Sterling, where he was a counsel in that firms Project Development and Finance Group. He earned his certificate in business administration from Northwestern Universitys Kellogg School of Management, his LLM from Northwestern University School of Law and his JD equivalent degree from the Universidad Diego Portales, Escuela de Derecho. Rudloff is admitted to practice law in New York, Chile and Mexico. Hunton Andrews Kurths global energy and infrastructure team provides comprehensive finance, development, and infrastructure counsel to financial institutions, regulated and unregulated power companies, distributors and transportation companies, independent electric transmission companies, and others involved in the renewable energy, oil, gas, LNG, petrochemical, and nuclear industries. With lawyers in the United States, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP serves clients across a broad range of complex transactional, litigation and regulatory matters. For more information, please contact Jeremy Heallen at +1 713 220 3713. Attachment Lisbon, Portugal, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Norway has become the first country in Europe to partner with Global Fishing Watchan international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing ocean governance through increased transparencyand will share its vessel tracking data for the Norwegian fishing fleet on the organizations public map. The announcement was made at the second United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal where countries from around the world are gathering to mobilize action and innovative solutions to some of the oceans most pressing threats. Under the memorandum of understanding, which was signed between Global Fishing Watch and Norways Directorate of Fisheries, Norway has agreed to share the vessel monitoring system data for vessels 15 meters or more in length on the Global Fishing Watch map. Wild living marine resources are a common good and belong to everyone, said Frank Bakke-Jensen, director general of the Directorate of Fisheries in Norway. When a commercial fishing fleet is licensed to utilize this common good, we are obliged and committed to share fisheries data documenting the environmental footprint of commercial fishing activity. We hope that others will follow this approach and share more fisheries data. We believe that improved transparency of fishing data is necessary to reduce the risk of illegal fisheries and set the groundwork for improved compliance, said Thord Monsen, head of monitoring, control and surveillance at the Directorate of Fisheries. The incorporated data will span a total of approximately 600 vesselsall vessels 15 meters in length or more predominantly operating in Norwegian waters and the northeast Atlantic Ocean. Norway is currently expanding its VMS requirement to include all commercial fishing vessels, as well as increasing the frequency that vessels need to report their positiona requirement which will be implemented over the coming years in a phased approach. Were seeing more and more countries embrace fisheries transparency, demonstrating their understanding of just how essential public data is to the effective management of fishing activity, said Tony Long, chief executive officer of Global Fishing Watch. Norway has taken a leading global role in the sustainable ocean economy and is using its experience and expertise to promote better ocean governance. By bringing its fishing fleet into our map, Norway is paving the way for other countries, including developed nations, to follow suit. Since October 2019 Norway has shared its VMS tracking information on the Fisheries Directorate website in support of transparency and as part of an effort to make government data public whenever possible. The partnership with Global Fishing Watch will help make its vessel tracking data more accessible to a wider range of stakeholdersa substantial benefit in the sphere of international fisheries management. With a coastline of more than 83,000 kilometers, including islands and fjords, the fishing sector is a key element to Norways economic, social and cultural identity. Norway is the second largest exporter of fish and fish products by value in the world and is home to some of the most productive marine areas in the world. An influential voice when it comes to fisheries issues and a leader on blue economy issues, Norways decision to partner with Global Fishing Watch and amplify its vessel tracking data demonstrates how fisheries transparency can be adopted in countries where fishing represents such a significant part of the economy. Data can be a powerful tool in protecting the environment, as we have seen in our work on climate change. The more data we have about the ocean, the better we can protect it and the people that rely on it. Norway's commitment to making fishing vessel data accessible to the world - via Global Fishing Watch - is a great step forward for ocean transparency," said Michael R. Bloomberg, Founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions. Their commitment to data-sharing is a model other countries can follow, and it will help demonstrate the effectiveness - environmentally and economically - of sustainable fishing. Norway joins a growing number of progressive countries from around the world that are dedicated to advancing, and benefiting from, fisheries transparency, which include: Benin, Brazil, Belize, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Global Fishing Watch is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing ocean governance through increased transparency of human activity at sea. By creating and publicly sharing map visualizations, data and analysis tools, we aim to enable scientific research and transform the way our ocean is managed. We believe human activity at sea should be public knowledge in order to safeguard the global ocean for the common good of all. globalfishingwatch.org Attachment New York, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Asia Pacific Ground Engaging Tools Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Regional Analysis By Application, Tools Type, and End-Use" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06289884/?utm_source=GNW Many local vendors, such as BEML India, Caterpillar Inc., CNH Industrial, JCB India Limited, and John Deere, operating in the Asia Pacific ground engaging tools market, have strategically invested in business expansion to gain a competitive advantage. The sales of technologically advanced excavators, loaders, and other equipment have increased recently in Asia Pacific. The growth in Asia Pacific ground engaging tools market is attributed to the advent of artificial intelligence as it saves time, lowers expenses, uplifts production, and improves equipment accuracy. Agriculture is a primary source of income for more than 58% of the Indian population. Therefore, the integration of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and robotics is anticipated to boost the sales of heavy-duty equipment and machinery that can help enhance the crop yield in the country. Further, the Indian government launched the Digital Agriculture Mission for 20212025; in addition to this mission, the decision to invest US$ 306.29 million in the computerization of the Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) is projected to propel the Indian agricultural sector in the coming years. Such initiatives by the Indian government bolster the sales of earth-moving heavy equipment, thereby driving the demand for the Asia Pacific ground engaging tools market. The use of ground-engaging tools in construction and mining activities is expected to rise in the coming years due to the benefits of metal attachments among earth-moving equipment users.Manufacturers in the Asia Pacific ground engaging tools market are offering products with uncompromising design and advanced computer-aided engineering (CAE) technologies, including finite element analysis (FEA) that can withstand different digging conditions. Such innovations are propelling the Asia pacific ground engaging tools market. The advantages of frequently replacing ground engaging tools are further anticipated to increase the sales of these tools in agricultural & forestry verticals, bolstering the Asia Pacific ground engaging tools market. Key Insights: With the rapid growth in the automotive & transportation sector in China, off-highway construction and mining equipment is anticipated to observe an increased sales in 2022. According to the China International Capital Corporation, auto sales are expected to reach 27.2 million units at the end of next year in 2022, up by 6.2% year-on-year (Y-o-Y). Chinese vehicle production rose by 20.6%, and sales increased by 18.7% in February 2022, compared to February 2021, as per the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) report 2022. Therefore, the rising heavy-duty equipment production and sales are boosting the ground engaging tools market growth across the country. The off-highway vehicle sales grew exponentially in the second half of 2021 due to favorable government policies, such as the Chinese Phase VI Emission Standards (China VI) for commercial vehicles. The Chinese government is investing extensively in infrastructure projects, such as Intermodal Freight Logistics Parks, leading to an increased demand for ground engaging tools to enhance equipment performance and reduce wear and tear. Such factors are propelling the Asia Pacific ground engaging tools market in the post pandemic era. Based on application, the Asia Pacific ground engaging tools market is segmented into excavators, loaders, bulldozers, and others.The excavators segment held the largest share in the market in 2021, and it is also anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, dipper, bucket, and cab on a rotating platform and are used for digging trenches, holes, and foundations. The growing demand for ground engaging tools for excavators to increase the life expectancy of machine parts and raise production while decreasing the overall cost of machine ownership is propelling this segment. According to the China Construction Machinery Association (CCMA), 26 leading excavator makers in China sold 126,941 digging machines, up 85% Y-o-Y in the first quarter of 2021.In November 2020, Volvo CE unveiled its two major heavy-duty excavators in the country and launched 10 models throughout 2021. Doosan Infracore Co. and Hyundai Construction Equipment Co., South Koreas excavator makers, are observing a steady rise in their excavator shipments to China due to Chinas booming construction market. The Chinese governments policy to boost the economy is driving the regional civil engineering and construction market growth, thus accelerating excavator sales. Such data indicates a rising demand for ground engaging tools in Asia Pacific. The report segments the Asia Pacific ground engaging tools market as follows: The Asia Pacific ground engaging tools market is segmented on the basis of application, tools type, and end-use.Based on application, the market is categorized into excavators, loaders, bulldozers, and others. Based on tools type, the Asia Pacific ground engaging tools market is segmented into bucket teeth, adapters, lips shrouds, side cutter, ripper shanks, and others. Based on end-use, the market is categorized into construction, mining, and others. BEML India, Caterpillar Inc, CNH Industrial, JCB India Limited, John Deere, Komatsu, Larsen And Toubro, Liebherr, Sany Group, Tata Hitachi, ESCO Tool, Bradken, and CQMS Razer Pty Ltd. are companies operating in the Asia Pacific ground engaging tools market. The overall size of the Asia Pacific ground engaging tools market has been derived using both primary and secondary sources.To begin the research process, exhaustive secondary research has been conducted using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the market. The process also serves the purpose of obtaining an overview and forecast for the market with respect to all the market segments.Multiple primary interviews have been conducted with industry participants to validate the data and gain more analytical insights into the topic. This process includes VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, national sales managers, and external consultants, such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leadersspecializing in the Asia Pacific ground engaging tools market. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06289884/?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. __________________________ SEATTLE, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Coherent Market Insights, the global gel permeation chromatography (GPC) market is estimated to be valued at US$ 1,304.4 million in 2022 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period (2022-2030). Key Trends and Analysis of the Global Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) Market: Major players operating in market are focusing on co-marketing agreements for integration of component of one company with GPC systems of other. For instance, in January 2018, Waters Corporation and Malvern Panalytical entered into a co-marketing agreement with Malvern Panalytical. It resulted in pairing of the Waters ACQUITY Advanced Polymer Chromatography System with Malvern Panalytical s OMNISEC REVEAL, which provides high sensitivity, higher resolution data, and access to samples without the need for column calibration. Request Sample copy of this Report @ https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/28 Key Market Takeaways: Global gel permeation chromatography (GPC) market is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period due to increasing adoption of inorganic strategies such as acquisition by key players in market. For instance, in May 2021, Techcomp Instruments Ltd (TIL) announced acquisition with Scion Instruments NL BV. This acquisition benefitted and increased Scion Instruments and Techcomps presence in the analytical chromatography market which plays major role in gel permeation chromatographic analysis. Among product types, the gel permeation chromatography system segment is expected to dominate market growth over the forecast period, owing to increased research and development activities for synthesis of synthetic rubber by key players in market. For instance, in January 2017, International Symposium on gel permeation chromatography size exclusion chromatography (GPC/SEC) and related techniques in Amsterdam, Postnova Analytics were used in research and advanced characterization of synthetic and natural rubber. Dr Gerhard Heinzmann included application of gel permeation chromatography in characterization of synthetic and natural rubber. On the basis of end user, the pharmaceutical companies segment is expected to dominate the segment growth over the forecast period, as separation and characterization of new chemical entities, which are polymer-based is possible efficiently with gel permeation chromatography and this is expected to aid in growth of market in the within year. Moreover, most of these drugs under investigation are in preclinical study, which consists of studying structure and component of new chemical entity, which demands GPC systems. Competitive Landscape: Key players operating in the global gel permeation chromatography (GPC) market include Agilent Technologies, Waters Corporation, Malvern Panalytical, Shimadzu Corporation, Polymer Char, Tosoh Corporation, Gilson, Inc., and Thermo Fisher Corporation. Buy-Now this Research Report @ https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/buy-now/28 Market Segmentation: Global Gel Permeation Chromatography Market, By Product Type: Gel Permeation Chromatography System Detectors Columns Pumps Global Gel Permeation Chromatography Market, By End User: Pharmaceutical and Biotech Companies Research Institutes Global Gel Permeation Chromatography Market, By Region: North America By Country U.S. Canada Latin America By Country Brazil Mexico Argentina Rest of Latin America Europe By Country Germany U.K. France Italy Spain Russia Rest of Europe Asia Pacific By Country China India Japan Australia South Korea ASEAN Rest of Asia Pacific Middle East By Country GCC Israel Rest of Middle East Africa By Region/Country South Africa Central Africa North Africa Related Market Intelligence Reports: Chromatography Market, By Product Type (Liquid (HPLC, UHPLC), Gas Liquid, Others (Ion Chromatography, LPLC, Flash, TLC and Chemical sensors)), and By Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa) - Size, Share, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2020 2027 Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LCMS) Market, by Type (Single Quadrupole LC-MS, Triple Quadrupole LC-MS, and Ion Trap LC-MS), by Sensitivity (High Flow, Micro Flow, and Nano Flow), by End User (Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industry, Hospital and Research Laboratories, and Academic and Research Institutes), and by Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa) - Size, Share, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2019 2027 About Us: Coherent Market Insights is a global market intelligence and consulting organization focused on assisting our plethora of clients achieve transformational growth by helping them make critical business decisions. We are headquartered in India, having sales office at global financial capital in the U.S. and sales consultants in United Kingdom and Japan. Our client base includes players from across various business verticals in over 57 countries worldwide. We create value for clients through our highly reliable and accurate reports. We are also committed in playing a leading role in offering insights in various sectors post-COVID-19 and continue to deliver measurable, sustainable results for our clients. Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter Johannesburg, South Africa, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Republic of South Africa Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Acquisitions LLC (RSAMMDA.LLC) and Protext Mobility, Inc (OTC PINK: TXTM) are pleased to announce that its Chairman Dr. Ahmed Jamaloodeen (Dr.J) has received the high honor of being appointed as National Commodity Board Chairman of Cannabis and All Indigenous Flora. As the largest agricultural Union, the Chairman will represent and interact with all stakeholders including but not limited to Government, both local and international Governments to set framework for the country of South Africa as it relates to Cannabis and all indigenous flora. Dr. Jamaloodeen commented, This past Thursday, I had the distinct honor of accepting the appointment of National Commodity Board Chairman of Cannabis and Indigenous Flora in the Country of South Africa. What full Union support means is enablement. And now, with the acquisition complete Protext has management in place with the knowledge, relationships governmental and other, compliance, resources, facilities, biomass, human capital and infrastructure that is invaluable. The federally issued and gazetted licenses we are in possession of allow for cannabis and hemp import, export, grow & cultivation, research, testing , developing end product for global distribution, all of which are anticipated to be utilized by Protext with the end goal to commercialize the live plant extraction technology and bring superior end products to the market. Having technology thats been proven to increase bioavailability by 10-15x greater is significant. Additional testing is anticipated to be conducted over the next few weeks as we are in the process of bringing the kettle equipment back to the farm. The testing will focus on maximizing yield as well as testing various strains. Dr.J continued, As we previously stated, but worth repeating, we entered into this transaction with Protext as we believe there to be numerous synergies by allowing access to certain assets of our established business with Protext as well as commercialize the Protext proprietary live plant extraction technology and processes into our existing hemp and cannabis infrastructure. Prior to the merger, Protext had collaborated with RSAMMD and Leeds Boerdery, whereby the companies utilized Protexts proprietary live plant extraction technology along with Kettle extraction equipment to conduct a series of live cannabis extraction testing at New Castle Farm under federally issued license and permits, with the goal to produce an emulsion rich with cannabinoid but with little to no conversion of THC-A to psychoactive THC. We undertook a series of tests to prove out that the Kettle system and extraction technologies did what they were supposed to do. As part of our previous investigations, various tests were completed using live cannabis flower and leaf, rendered into liquid emulsions supplied by the farm in New Castle. Prior to now, it was hypothecated that processing live cannabis under lower temperatures would yield a rich nano-emulsion of phytocannabinoids while retaining the non-psychoactive precursor acid form (THC-A). Our investigations have conclusively demonstrated that full-spectrum cannabinoids can be extracted using the proprietary Kettle system, with minimal metabolic conversion, paving the way for advancement of medical research using non-psychoactive cannabis. What has also intrigued us are the findings from prior research and clinical trials that have shown that the Kettle system, when applied to other medicinal plants, can create an extract that is significantly more bioavailable (10-15x) than a standard extract. This means that our cannabis extract should be more potent while providing a dose that could potentially last up to 24 hours in the bloodstream, which is in-line with prior clinical results using other medicinal plants. Medically, this opens the door to a line of natural pharmaceuticals derived from cannabis but at a fraction of the price and with potentially superior outcomes. From a business perspective, an increase of bioavailability in that magnitude can be a game changer for cultivators as it essentially could increase the net yield by a factor of 10-15x per plant, per acre, per farm. All of this work was made possible through existing federally issued license and permit to conduct research and testing of cannabis at the New Castle Farm, managed and controlled by Dr.J. We are enthusiastic about commercializing the proprietary extraction technology. By devising a way to extract the phytocannabinoids without metabolic conversion of THC-A, we can retain the entourage effect and the full medical potential of cannabis, but without the psychoactive property delivered by THC. We believe what we have now shown is a scientifically important milestone and a technology breakthrough that has global significance and we look forward to taking this to commercialization which may include global licensing opportunities to other grow and extraction facilities around the world. concluded Protext CEO, Mr. Du Plooy. CONTACT INFORMATION For all media inquiries or for further information, please contact Dylon Du Plooy at: dylon@rsammd.co.za Dr.J at: exportintl@aol.com Follow us at: https://twitter.com/RSAMMD https://twitter.com/ProtextP About RSAMMDA.LLC: RSAMMDA.LLC. is a jointly owned company focused on acquisitions with two principals, Mr. Dylon Du Plooy and Dr. Ahmed Jamaloodeen (Dr. J). Mr. Du Plooy is a South African pioneer in the research, cultivation, production and distribution of medical cannabis and cannabinoids. Dr. J operates the 5000 Hectare New Castle Farm as well as federally issued cannabis and hemp licenses issued by the Government of South Africa. Together, we partner with leading hospitals and universities globally to advance the clinical benefits and applications of cannabinoids. RSAMMDA.LLC founders are a group of medical doctors and pharmacists, and cannabis activists who have been at the forefront of medical cannabis legislation and South African cannabis legalization, which took place in September 2018. We are committed to the advancement of technology and scientific research that leads to an improved quality of life for patients around the world. About Protext (OTC PINK: TXTM) Through its prior acquisitions, Protext has engaged in the research, testing and development of highly bioavailable botanical products all-natural ingredients formulated for nutraceutical and pharmaceutical applications through the use of proprietary live plant extraction technology. Safe Harbor Statement This release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, we can give no assurance or guarantee that such expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct. Forward- looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of words like "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "intend," or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward- looking statements, as these statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties, including but not limited to: adverse economic conditions, competition, adverse federal, state and local government regulation, international governmental regulation, inadequate capital, inability to carry out research, development and commercialization plans, loss or retirement of key executives and other specific risks. To the extent that statements in this press release are not strictly historical, including statements as to revenue projections, business strategy, outlook, objectives, future milestones, plans, intentions, goals, future financial conditions, events conditioned on stockholder or other approval, or otherwise as to future events, such statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. The company disclaims any obligation to update information contained in any forward-looking statement. This press release shall not be deemed a general solicitation. -- Holm responsible for advancing enterprise strategic marketing and communications -- -- Koneru will drive IT strategies and internal digital transformation initiatives -- -- Reece to foster elevated engagement with outdoor industry and government organizations -- EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WGO), a leading outdoor lifestyle product manufacturer, announced today that Amber Holm will be joining Winnebago Industries as Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer. Sri Koneru is promoted to Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer and Chad Reece is promoted to Vice President, Government and Industry Relations. Amber Holm In the newly created CMO role, Holm will work strategically to create an even more vibrant Winnebago Industries portfolio by driving marketing and branding efforts at the enterprise level, and engaging the Companys numerous stakeholders more proactively from a communications perspective. Amber will report directly to Winnebago Industries President and CEO, Michael Happe. Holm joins Winnebago Industries effective July 6, 2022, after more than two decades leading marketing and brand management for top consumer brands across multiple industries. Most recently, as Vice President, Brands at Newell Brands, she led the global housewares business, including Rubbermaid, Calphalon, FoodSaver, and Ball Canning, achieving record sales growth and transforming brand positioning, consumer insights, and omnichannel marketing. Prior to that, Holm spent six years at Bridgestone Americas as Vice President of Marketing, leading the Bridgestone and Firestone tire brands in the U.S. and Canada, and 13 years at General Mills overseeing a variety of brands including Pillsbury, Lucky Charms, and Cheerios as well as driving customer marketing efforts and building a multicultural marketing program. Holm earned a BA from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Winnebago Industries President and CEO Michael Happe commented, We are excited to welcome Amber, an experienced and highly accomplished marketing leader, to our Executive Leadership Team. Over the past six years, we have built a stable of premium, leading outdoor recreation brands under the Winnebago Industries parent company umbrella. These are incredible assets and as CMO, Amber will especially strengthen the Winnebago Industries enterprise brand, captain the sharing of best brand management practices across the organization, and drive crucial strategic communications and consumer insights efforts. Sri Koneru In his expanded role as CIO, Koneru will partner with company leaders in the development and implementation of digital strategies, including the transformation of customer engagement and interaction, information technologies within products, and internal digital transformation initiatives across the Company. As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, Koneru will continue to report to Bryan Hughes, CFO and Senior Vice President, Finance, IT, and Strategic Planning. Hughes commented, Sri joined Winnebago Industries two years ago and has been Vice President, IT since his arrival. In this period, he has made significant contributions, most notably in bolstering a cyber-security platform and building a highly qualified team to execute cyber and digital strategy. His extensive expertise in enterprise architecture, digital transformation, leveraging data, and mobile and cloud technology, as well as a history of leading successful ERP implementations make him a perfect fit for this expanded role. Prior to Winnebago Industries, Koneru was with Xcel Energy as Area Vice President, IT & Digital Strategy, where he successfully led a major ERP rollout across the entire enterprise and the deployment of digital tools. He also spent 15 years with Target Corporation in Solution Delivery and Portfolio Management roles, overseeing business process automation, monitoring a key global ERP implementation, and translating business strategies into technology roadmaps. Koneru earned his Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from the University of Bangalore, India. Chad Reece As VP, Government and Industry Relations, Reece will be responsible for oversight of ongoing engagement with various outdoor industry related organizations, state and national level government and corporate development contacts, and awareness of key legislation trends and issues. He will also support various corporate relations initiatives and report to Stacy Bogart, SVP, General Counsel, Secretary and Corporate Responsibility. A 34-year veteran of Winnebago Industries, Reece has served in many critical leadership roles, most recently as Director, Corporate Relations where he led enterprise branding and had oversight and management of communications and public relations across Winnebago Industries. Prior to that Reece served as Director of Marketing for 15 years. Additionally, he has been active at the board and committee levels with several state and national organizations including the RV Industry Association and was recently elected Treasurer of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry. Reece is a graduate of Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville and resides with his wife in Forest City, Iowa where he serves on a variety of local civic and community boards in North Iowa. Bogart commented, As VP, Government and Industry Relations, Chad will leverage his long-term government and industry relationships to further enhance Winnebago Industries leadership in the outdoor recreation industry. He will continue to be a great ambassador for our Company, and I look forward to collaborating with him in his expanded role. About Winnebago Industries Winnebago Industries, Inc. is a leading North American manufacturer of outdoor lifestyle products under the Winnebago, Grand Design, Chris-Craft, Newmar and Barletta brands, which are used primarily in leisure travel and outdoor recreation activities. The Company builds quality motorhomes, travel trailers, fifth-wheel products, pontoons, inboard/outboard and sterndrive powerboats, and commercial community outreach vehicles. Winnebago Industries has multiple facilities in Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, and Florida. The Company's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and traded under the symbol WGO. For access to Winnebago Industries' investor relations material or to add your name to an automatic email list for Company news releases, visit http://investor.wgo.net. Media Contact: Chad Reece 641-585-6647 creece@wgo.net Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6c291664-e95f-4a97-afc3-b8c50c9563b5 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7a28ef8b-bf8f-4a5a-9954-6b5ed3efe46a https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fbb3341f-9ffa-4059-ae12-0b967ce3c0d6 President Yoon Suk-yeol holds a trilateral summit with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday (local time). Yonhap Kishida's proposal for trilateral drills linked to Japan's rearmament By Kang Seung-woo Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's remarks during his meeting with President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden, Wednesday (local time), are creating a stir here as Kishida floated the idea of holding a trilateral military drill, which South Korea has been sensitive about. On the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, the three heads of state sat down together for the first time in nearly five years. Korea and Japan, both of whom are not members of the military alliance, attended the meeting as the organization's Asia-Pacific partners. While stressing the need to strengthen three-way cooperation on North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile threats, Kishida suggested that they prepare for possible provocations through a combined military drill that has never happened due to the historical animosity between Seoul and Tokyo. "I think it was very timely to hold the Japan-U.S.-South Korea summit this time. We also welcome the agreement on the implementation of missile alert training and ballistic missile detection and tracking training by the three countries at their recent defense ministers' meeting," he said in his introductory remarks. New York, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Aerospace and Military Fiber Optic Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Component, Application, and End-User" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06289875/?utm_source=GNW Thus, these two industries pose a continuously high demand for technologically enhanced and high-speed communication systems. The major benefit conferred by high-speed data transfer solutions is the access to real-time information with minimum scope for data loss. This benefit has been urging the aircraft manufacturers to opt for fiber optic solutions, which is augmenting the aerospace and military fiber optic market. Commercial airlines have opted for long-haul flights due to increasing passenger traffic on these routes.Long-haul flights demand high-speed communication and seamless connectivity. Further, Ethernet has been the most preferred choice for network infrastructure protocol among commercial airlines over the years, owing to its superior performance, reliability, and universally accepted open standard.However, the Ethernet network connectivity faced limitations in transmitting high bandwidth data over longer distances. Due to this, several aircraft cabling system manufacturers ventured into the fiber-optic cable industry, which has been propelling the aerospace and military fiber optic market growth. North America leads in technological advancements and expenditure toward aerospace technologies that primarily drive the market in this region.Moreover, this region is witnessing increasing use of aerospace and military fiber optics due to the rising demand for creating tactical data link systems across aerospace and military sectors. For instance, in the year 2019, the US government invested US$716 billion on national security.This money supported military modernization efforts and secure communication among the armed services. Every year, in the US, general aviation aircraft log 25.5 million flight hours in which two-thirds of this traffic is for business purposes. Canadian and US-based airlines such as Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Air Canada, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines placed numerous orders for commercial aircraft, which are to be delivered between 2021 and 2025. The increasing number of orders of aircraft production of aircraft for commercial and military applications is helping the growth of the aerospace and military fiber optic market. The increasing demand for new and reliable fiber optic cables and connectors for communication systems is also one of the major factors driving the growth of aerospace and military fiber optic market.For instance, in February 2021, Raytheon provided radar system kits for the US navys Poseidon aircraft. This contract provides radar system production kits and related support for the Poseidon aircraft for Navy and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Such initiatives are propelling the growth of aerospace and military fiber optic market activities in North America Region COVID-19 Impact on Aerospace and Military Fiber Optic Market In North America, the US is the largest military spending country, followed by Canada and Mexico.However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced these countries on the backfoot to invest in developing and acquiring new military technologies in this region. There was a complete halt in the production, manufacturing, and supply chain of the military and aerospace equipment due to longer lockdowns implemented by various governments in their respective countries. Hence, the pandemic had a negative impact on the aerospace and military fiber optic market in this region. Moreover, labor shortages led to the decline in the revenue of key market players in the North America aerospace and military fiber optic market.However, the regions military and defense enterprises restarted the procurement of aerospace and military fiber optics in the post-COVID-19 recovery period; hence, this regional market has regained its momentum. Also, this trend is expected to continue over the next few years, aiding the aerospace and military fiber optic market growth. Additionally, the military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) industry has been expanding since the inception of the technology.The functioning of numerous companies in the military UAV sector enables defense forces to choose from various products. Various military UAV manufacturers are integrating their models with a wide range of technologically advanced payloads, such as communication systems, surveillance and monitoring systems, and sensors.Defense forces worldwide are investing significantly in UAVs as they play a crucial role in defense activities. Traditional military UAVs used conventional cablings to transmit the collected data; however, fiber optic cables have replaced these in recent years.This is attributed to the ability of fiber optic cables to relay the real-time data at a faster rate than conventional cables. Moreover, they enable the transmission of large data volumes over long distances. These benefits drive the aerospace and military fiber optic market size. In the past couple of years, the use of tethered drones has increased at a noteworthy rate among military forces.As a result, the demand for fiber optics has surged among the tethered drone manufacturers. In 2021, UAVForDrone developed a multi-rotor tethered UAV with an optical fiber system that is capable of transferring data and video links via the fiber cable from the air units to the ground station. Thus, advancements in military UAVs, coupled with the presence of fiber optic suppliers for UAVs, are leading to significant growth trends in the aerospace and military fiber optic market. A few aerospace and military fiber optic market players include Carlisle Interconnect Technologies (US), TE Connectivity (US/Switzerland), AFL (US), W.L. Gore and Associates, Inc. (US), Amphenol FSI (US), Prysmian Group (Italy), Raytheon Technologies Corporation (US), Prysmian S.p.A. (Italy), Nexans S.A. (France), Radiall (France) and Glenair, Inc. (US). The overall aerospace and military fiber optic market size has been derived using both primary and secondary sources.To begin the research process, exhaustive secondary research has been conducted using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the market. The process also serves the purpose of obtaining an overview and forecast of the aerospace and military fiber optic market size with respect to all market segments.Also, multiple primary interviews have been conducted with industry participants and commentators to validate the data and gain more analytical insights. The participants typically involved in this process include VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, national sales managers, and external consultantssuch as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leadersspecializing in the aerospace and military fiber optic market. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06289875/?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. __________________________ Staten Island, NY, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This July 4th, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation is honored to announce it has paid, in full, the mortgages on the homes of 22 fallen first responders around the country. The Foundation has ensured the families these heroes left behind will be able to stay in the homes they shared with their loved ones. Tunnel to Towers has paid off the mortgage on the homes of: Louisville Metro Police Officer Zachary Cottongim Boone County Fire Protection District Assistant Fire Chief Bryant Gladney Jefferson Township Firefighter Thomas Rees North Carolina State Highway Patrol Master Trooper John Horton Mesquite Police Department Police Officer Richard Lee Houston II Texas Department of Public Safety Special Agent Anthony Salas Harris County Constable Kareem Atkins Sterling Fire Department Captain Garrett Ramos Chicago Police Officer Paul Nauden Wayne County Sheriffs Office Deputy Sheriff Sean Riley Former Sayville Fire Department Fire Chief Lawrence Sesso FDNY Lieutenant Joseph Maiello Iowa State Trooper Theodore Benda Henry County Police Officer Paramhans Desai Alamo Police Officer Dylan Harrison Wakefield Fire Lieutenant Robert Ford Sr. New Hampshire State Police Staff Sgt. Jesse Sherrill Pascagoula Fire Department Captain Jacob Latch South Metro Fire Rescue Firefighter Paramedic Anthony Palato Corrections Officer John Edward Grinston Keith Los Angeles Fire Department Firefighter Kelly Wong The home recipients are located in 16 states, stretching across the country from California to Maine. The Tunnel to Towers Fallen First Responder Home Program pays off mortgages for the families of law enforcement officers and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty, leaving behind young children. On December 3, 2021, then Lieutenant Ramos responded to a residential fire while at the scene, he fell through the first floor into the basement. He was taken to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on December 4, 2021. He was posthumously promoted to Captain. He left behind his wife, Brittney, and two daughters. In the midst of the worst reality I could imagine, Tunnel to Towers stepped in and granted me the most unexpected and generous gift, payment of our mortgage. When everything around me was crashing down, they came in and gave me and my girls stability and hope. Tunnels to Towers is allowing me to focus on grieving and taking care of my girls. I will forever be grateful to T2T for their support and for welcoming me into their family. Thank you for honoring my husband and his sacrifice with this gift, said his wife Brittney Ramos. Master Trooper Horton was on duty conducting a traffic stop on January 3rd, 2022 when he called for assistance. A trooper responding to the scene lost control of his vehicle and hit Master Trooper Horton and the detained driver, killing both of them. He left behind his wife, Ashley, and their six children. Having her mortgage paid off in honor of July 4 was especially significant for Ashley Horton since it was her husbands favorite holiday, saying He appreciated the men and women who fought for our freedom, and he loved the fireworks, food, and festivities. Every year, John and I hosted a get-together for the 4th. I hope to continue that tradition, with an extra reason to celebrate this year, despite our familys loss. As we celebrate America's freedom this Fourth of July, I am honored to give these fallen first responder families the financial freedom of owning their home, mortgage-free, said Tunnel to Towers Chairman and CEO Frank Siller. While you are celebrating with flags and fireworks this weekend, please take a moment to think of these heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice to keep our communities safe and those who will continue to put their lives at risk every day. Join Tunnel to Towers on its mission to provide mortgage-free homes to Americas heroes and the families they leave behind by donating $11 per month at T2T.org. About the Tunnel to Towers Foundation The Tunnel to Towers Foundation is dedicated to honoring the sacrifice of FDNY Firefighter Stephen Siller, who laid down his life to save others on September 11, 2001. For more than 20 years the Foundation has supported our nations first responders, veterans, and their families by providing these heroes and the families they leave behind with mortgage-free homes. For more about the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and its commitment to DO GOOD, please visit T2T.org. Follow @Tunnel2Towers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Attachments SAN DIEGO, CA, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- Medical Marijuana, Inc. ( OTC: MJNA ) (the Company), the first-ever publicly traded cannabis company in the United States that launched the worlds first-ever cannabis-derived nutraceutical products, brands, and supply chain, announced today that its subsidiary Kannaway will be hosting its South Africa Regional Conference in Cape Town this Saturday, July 2, 2022. Kannaway has experienced an incredible start in South Africa and our future in the country is very bright, said Medical Marijuana, Inc. CEO Blake Schroeder. South Africas CBD market is projected to be a $7 billion market by 2023 . We intend to be the driving force around awareness, education, and cannabis-based opportunity to capture a large share of the marketplace. This event, which will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, is designed to serve as a premier networking opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn how they can get involved in South Africas emerging cannabis industry. It will also feature many seasoned hemp industry professionals including Founder Dr. Stuart Titus, CEO Blake Schroeder, Kannaway South Africa Country Manager, Dudu Mathole, and Kannaway's first South African International Director, Adriaan Pieterse. The event will provide information about CBD and its benefits, Kannaways line of products in South Africa, and entrepreneurial opportunity within the company. It has been an amazing experience working with Kannaway and I look forward to speaking with current and potential entrepreneurs at the event about how Ive found success with the company and how they can too, said Adriaan Pieterse. Kannaway is leading the CBD market in South Africa and it is an honor to help drive its mission to improve the wellness of people around the world. About Medical Marijuana, Inc. We are a company of firsts . Medical Marijuana, Inc. ( MJNA ) is a cannabis company with three distinct business units in the non-psychoactive cannabinoid space: a global portfolio of cannabinoid-based nutraceutical brands led by Kannaway and HempMeds ; a pioneer in sourcing the highest-quality legal non-psychoactive cannabis products derived from industrial hemp; and a cannabinoid-based clinical research and botanical drug development sector led by its pharmaceutical investment companies and partners including AXIM Biotechnologies, Inc . and Neuropathix . Medical Marijuana, Inc. was named a top CBD producer by CNBC . Medical Marijuana, Inc. was also the first company to receive historic import permits for CBD products from the governments of Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Paraguay and is a leader in the development of international markets. The company's flagship product Real Scientific Hemp Oil has been used in several successful clinical studies throughout Mexico and Brazil to understand its safety and efficacy. Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s headquarters is in San Diego, California, and additional information is available at OTCMarkets.com or by visiting www.medicalmarijuanainc.com . To see Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s corporate video, click here . FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Medical Marijuana, Inc. to be materially different from the statements made herein. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) DISCLOSURE These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. LEGAL DISCLOSURE Medical Marijuana, Inc. does not sell or distribute any products that are in violation of the United States Controlled Substances Act. CONTACT: Public Relations Contact: Kathryn Brown Account Director CMW Media P. 858-221-8001 kathryn@cmwmedia.com www.cmwmedia.com Investor Relations Contact: P. (858) 283-4016 Investors@medicalmarijuanainc.com NEW YORK, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greystone, a leading national commercial real estate finance company, has provided $11,576,000 in HUD-insured financing on a 150-unit, age-restricted affordable housing community in Houston, Texas. The transaction was originated by Michael Zampetti and Kelley Klobetanz of Greystone on behalf of Chelsea Seniors I, LLC. Constructed in 2011, Chelsea Senior Community in Harris County consists of five, mid-rise elevator buildings, with 45 one- and 105 two-bedroom units for low-income seniors (below 60% AMI) and extremely low-income seniors (below 30% AMI) over 55 years of age. The property has LITHC land use restriction agreements (LURAs) in place that require limits on tenant income and rent restrictions for all units. The $11,576,000 HUD 223(f) loan carries a 35-year term and 40-year amortization along with a low, fixed rate. The property qualifies for a lower annual Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) of 0.25% because it is rent-restricted. In addition to refinancing, loan proceeds enable the borrower to continue with ongoing property maintenance and monetize a portion of their equity. Greystone is deeply committed to helping clients access the right financing so they can provide affordable, quality housing to people of all ages and incomes, said Mr. Zampetti. We are able to leverage our position as the top FHA commercial lender to provide solutions to our clients for these critical housing communities. Providing quality affordable housing for seniors in Houston is a priority for us, and our Greystone team made it their priority as well, said Mr. Cherno Njie, principal of the borrower. Greystones affordable housing and HUD financing expertise and attention to detail were exceptional - we look forward to working with our team again on future transactions. In February 2022, Mr. Zampetti and Ms. Klobetanz of Greystone provided $8 million in HUD-insured financing for a 128-unit property, Little York Villas, for the same sponsor. About Greystone Greystone is a private national commercial real estate finance company with an established reputation as a leader in multifamily and healthcare finance, having ranked as a top FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac lender in these sectors. Loans are offered through Greystone Servicing Company LLC, Greystone Funding Company LLC and/or other Greystone affiliates. For more information, visit www.greystone.com. PRESS CONTACT: Karen Marotta Greystone 212-896-9149 Karen.Marotta@greyco.com OTTAWA, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Renewable Industries Canada (RICanada), the countrys foremost coalition of producers of low carbon renewable fuels and clean technology, welcomes the Governments release of the final Clean Fuel Regulations (CFR). The final CFR marks a major milestone in Canadas ongoing efforts to decarbonize transportation and combat climate change sustainably. RICanada has been pleased to be an active participant in the Governments CFR Technical Working Group and public consultations since the policy was announced. Reflected in the final regulations were recommendations to simplify administrative burdens for biofuel feedstocks and the retirement of credits on exported fossil fuels. These important criteria will ensure the CFR reflects the sustainability of Canadian agriculture and aligns with other jurisdictions. Biofuels are an essential solution to climate change and smart climate policies that support innovation will pave the road to net zero biofuels. The CFR will be instrumental in sending a clear signal to investors that Canada is ready for more clean and more cost-effective low-carbon fuels, like ethanol and biomass-based diesel. Every year, Canadas renewable fuel producers create $3.7B in gross economic benefits to our economy and have created over 14,000 jobs since 2007. RICanadas technical analysis shows that using the CFR GHG calculation methodology, biofuel use in Canada today - including blending ethanol in gasoline and biomass-based diesel in diesel - reduces GHG emissions by 6.1MT annually, the equivalent of taking 1.2 million cars off the road each year. About RICanada Founded in 1984, Renewable Industries Canada (RICanada) represents the producers and supporters of clean, renewable fuels. Committed to raising consumer awareness and policy building, we have been the leading, national voice for Canada's domestic biofuel industry for over 35 years. Our membership includes some of the largest and brightest biofuels producers, business innovators, agricultural leaders, and industry experts in the country. For further information, contact: Dan Pfeffer, Renewable Industries Canada, d.pfeffer@ricanada.org, T: 1-833-4-RN-FUEL, Twitter: @renewcan New York, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As per the World Health Organization data, globally, as of 2019, 30.4 million persons (10.5% of the estimated hepatitis B population) were aware of their illness, with 6.6 million (22%) of those diagnosed being put under treatment. In 2021, it was estimated that 12% to 25% of patients with chronic hepatitis B infection estimated to require treatment across the globe. Research Nester has published a detailed market report on Global HBsAg Testing Market for the forecast period i.e. 2022 2031 which includes the ongoing industry innovations and recent trends being adopted by the major industry players to achieve their business targets. Apart from that, the inclusive data on market size, growth rate, market revenue share, growth opportunities and challenges for the market players along with worldwide analysis on five major regions North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa has been provided in the report. As per the World Health Organization, 296 million people worldwide have chronic hepatitis B infection in 2019, with 1.5 million new cases diagnosed each year. Hepatitis B claimed the lives of 820,000 persons worldwide in the same year. The global HBsAg testing market is estimated to grow at a robust CAGR over the forecast period. Patients are more aware about hepatitis B and the importance of an early detection, as hepatitis B can lead to serious complications, namely cirrhosis and other liver diseases. For Instance, around 2 million people globally die from liver disease each year, with 1 million of those fatalities coming from cirrhosis complications, 1 million from viral hepatitis, and 1 million from hepatocellular carcinoma. Liver cancer is currently the 16th most prevalent cause of death worldwide, while cirrhosis is currently the 11th most common; together, they account for 3.5% of all fatalities worldwide. With 1.6% and 2.1% of the global burden, respectively, cirrhosis is one of the top 20 causes of disability-adjusted life years and years of life lost. Get a sample copy of the report@ https://www.researchnester.com/sample-request-3971 In addition to this, technical developments in molecular diagnostics, as well as an increase in technologies, such as, blood transfusion and donations in hepatitis patients, are likely to propel market growth in the future years. For instance, with improvements in molecular diagnostics, technologies, such as, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), real-time PCR, and ribonucleic acid (RNA) tests, are having high accuracy results. For instance, within a few weeks of exposure, the RNA test, which is nearly 100% accurate, can detect an infection. Furthermore, the market is expected to benefit from the rapidly increasing biotechnology, and biopharmaceutical and advanced treatments that give fast-paced cure for both hepatitis B and hepatitis C viral infection. For instance, drugs today have more than a 95% success rate across brief treatment periods, compared to the first-ever HCV (hepatitis C virus) medication licensed in 1991, where a patient faced cure rates of only about 6%. Click here to get the short-term and long-term impacts of COVID-19 on this Market. Please visit: https://www.researchnester.com/reports/hbsag-testing-market/3971 On the basis of geographical analysis, the global HBsAg testing market is segmented into five major regions including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa region. Out of these, the market in the North America region is expected to hold the largest market share over the forecast period. This can be attributed largely to the region's great availability of modern diagnostic instruments. Furthermore, an increasing number of government campaigns to promote awareness about hepatitis, as well as high healthcare spending, are expected to boost market expansion in the approaching years. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), healthcare spending in the United States would increase by 9.7% in 2020, to USD 4.1 trillion. Health spending accounted for around 19.7% of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). On the other hand, the market in Asia Pacific region is estimated to witness significant market growth over the forecast period owing to the enormous number of patients and increasing hepatitis cases in the area. For instance, 5-10% of adults and up to 90% of babies infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) become chronically infected each year, with 75% of these in Asia, where hepatitis B is the primary cause of chronic hepatitis. Moreover, the governments drive to address the increasing prevalence of the disease is expected to boost the market expansion over the given period of time. As per the World Health Organization, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Thailand have become the first nations in the WHO South-East Asia Region to accomplish Hepatitis B control, with the disease's prevalence among 5-year-old children reducing to less than 1%. Get a Sample PDF of HBsAg Testing Market Report 2022 The study further incorporates Y-O-Y growth, demand & supply and forecast future opportunity in North America (U.S., Canada), Europe (U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Belgium, Netherlands & Luxembourg, NORDIC [Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark], Poland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Rest of Latin America), Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Rest of Asia-Pacific), Middle East and Africa (Israel, GCC [Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman], North Africa, South Africa, Rest of Middle East and Africa). The global HBsAg testing market is segmented by type into cassettes/cards kit and strips kit. Out of these, the strips kit segment is expected to grab the largest market share over the forecast period owing to its easy availability, high affordability, convenience to use, and high accuracy. As per the National Library of Medicine, these test kits provide 99% of accuracy with an average sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 99%. Apart from that, tests conducted with strips kit provide outcomes in a short period of time, which is estimated to boost the segment growth during the forecast period. Do You Have Any Query Or Specific Requirement? Ask to Our Expert Further, the global HBsAg testing market is also segmented by application into hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centers, home care, and others. Out of these, the hospitals segment is anticipated to hold the maximum market share over the forecast period owing to people's strong desire to be treated by highly skilled medical personnel and the existence of a huge patient pool in a hospital facility, which in turn is estimated to increase the spending in health-care sector. As per the World Health Organization, Global health spending has increased overall during the previous 20 years, doubling in real terms, reaching USD 8.5 trillion in 2019 and 9.8% of GDP, up from 8.5% in 2000. Moreover, the increasing awareness among the people regarding the cause, impact, and cure of the diseases such as, hepatitis B and cirrhosis is estimated to drive the segment growth over the forecast period. For more insights on the market share of various regions Request for a FREE sample now! Some of the prominent key players and their company profiling mentioned in the report include Abbott Laboratories, F. Hoffman-La Roche AG, Siemens AG, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Danaher Corporation, bioMerieux SA, DiaSorin S.P.A., MedMira Inc., Fujirebio US Inc., Grifols S.A., and other key market players. The profiling enfolds growth opportunities, challenges, and market trends prevalent for the growth of the market during the forecast period. 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With an out-of-the-box mindset to produce statistical and analytical market research reports, we provide strategic consulting so that our clients can make wise business decisions with clarity while strategizing and planning for their forthcoming needs and succeed in achieving their future endeavors. We believe every business can expand to its new horizon, provided a right guidance at a right time is available through strategic minds. Contact for more Info: AJ Daniel Email: info@researchnester.com U.S. Phone: +1 646 586 9123 U.K. Phone: +44 203 608 5919 WILSON, N.C., June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rural Opportunity Institute (ROI), the local organization supporting trauma-informed and resilient communities by offering various initiatives that foster healing in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, is thrilled to celebrate Eulanda Thorne, a single mother of four who is using education, human connection and passion to help support healing from stress and trauma. When she was crowned Ms. Black North Carolina USA 2022, Eulanda Thorne received the affirmation that she had been waiting for since applying to the pageant back in 2020. Despite being the oldest competitor in the pageant, she knew she had what it takes to win. Some may see receiving this honor as an ending, however, Eulanda knew this was only the beginning. While working as a Program Manager for the Public School Forum of North Carolina, serving as a Certified Resilience Educator for Rural Opportunity Institute (ROI) and raising four children, she knew that she could use her new pageant title to increase the impact of her life's work. In fact, that is exactly why she competed in the pageant. So, what is her life's work? For her that's easy to answer; it is supporting the healing process of others through offerings of education, human connection, and love. Her hope is to utilize her time as Ms. Black North Carolina 2022 sharing with as many people as possible what she has learned about adverse childhood experiences, trauma and building resilience. This healing journey started in 2018 when Eulanda was sitting in a Reconnect for Resilience Training in Edgecombe County. During this time, she was completing a Master's Degree program to become a counselor and attended the two-day training through her counselor internship. When one training was not enough, she chose to attend a second time. But even before attending the second training, her passion for this work was so obvious that she was pulled aside and introduced to the leaders who organized the training - this is when she connected with one of the founders of ROI. She then asked about and was introduced to a train-the-trainer program that would "change the trajectory of her life". The Resiliency Educator Apprenticeship Program (REAP) conducted by Resources for Resilience literally brought her to tears. She instantly connected with the information and knew it was the missing link to help continue healing from the trauma she and her children had experienced. Within a few months, she attended and completed the training program with the clear purpose of providing the same training that changed her life to other people and to do so with authenticity. Eulanda now believes wholeheartedly that the work being done by ROI is vital to building strong, resilient communities and wants to do everything she can to help them succeed. Right now her role is serving as one of ROI's Board Members and Certified Resilience Educators. In this role, she is able to continue providing training to the community. In her two-day training, she educates on how trauma manifests itself in the body, what Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are, and provides tools and strategies that can help others regulate, stay connected and build resilience during stressful experiences. When asked, "who needs this training the most?" She responded by saying that the training "is needed by anyone who has an amygdala" - which is basically every human. The amygdala is an important brain structure involved in the body's stress response system. Understanding what happens within this system and how trauma is felt by our bodies can increase our capacity for well-being and healing. And certainly more people need more tools and resources for healing stress and trauma they have sustained. While Eulanda has only six short months left to wear her crown (due to the Covid pandemic interfering with the regular scheduled pageant date), she plans to make the most out of this time. In addition to connecting with more people and organizations to share this knowledge, she hopes to inspire her own children to lead resilient lives and to stay well in the face of adversity. She also aspires to make an impact with this work in her hometown of Wilson, North Carolina. Eulanda feels the success she's experienced on this journey can be attributed to making a clear and conscious choice to lead with love, authenticity and compassion. She lives by that moral compass. To book Eulanda as a motivational speaker or resilience trainer, please reach out to her directly at eulandathorne@gmail.com or info@ruralopportunity.org or complete a speaker request form at https://www.ruralopportunity.org/speaker Related Images Image 1: Eulanda Thorne, Ms. Black North Carolina USA 2022 Eulanda Thorne, backstage, after winning and being crowned Ms. Black North Carolina USA 2022 with her platform of adverse childhood experiences, trauma and resilience. This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment London, June 30, 2022 CNH Industrial (NYSE: CNHI / MI: CNHI) received a 2022 Manufacturing Leadership Award for outstanding achievement in the Sustainability Leadership category, which honors manufacturers that are shaping the future of the sector through digital transformation. This is the third consecutive year that the Company has earned recognition from the Manufacturing Leadership Council, which is a division of the National Association of Manufacturers. CNH Industrials award-winning project, Smart Pretreatment for the Paint Shop, was executed by the manufacturing team at the Case IH and STEYR agricultural production plant in St. Valentin, Austria. The project enhanced operator safety while at the same time ensuring optimum paint quality and the sustainable use of additives. Painting is one of the core steps in the manufacturing process and the correct dosing of additives, such as washing detergents and pH reducers, in the pretreatment stage is the key to ideal paint quality and adhesion. By using data collected from four smart dosing stations and six sensors, the correct quantity of additives is automatically injected without human intervention. This guarantees absolute safety for employees, a high-quality paint finish and significantly reduced additive usage. This latest award further validates CNH Industrials continued excellence in manufacturing, with the teams paint shop solution helping to achieve the company vision of Sustainably advancing the noble work of global agricultural and construction workers. CNH Industrial (NYSE: CNHI / MI: CNHI) is a world-class equipment and services company. Driven by its purpose of Breaking New Ground, which centers on Innovation, Sustainability and Productivity, the Company provides the strategic direction, R&D capabilities, and investments that enable the success of its global and regional Brands. Globally, Case IH and New Holland Agriculture supply 360 agriculture applications from machines to implements and the digital technologies that enhance them; and CASE and New Holland Construction Equipment deliver a full lineup of construction products that make the industry more productive. The Companys regionally focused Brands include: STEYR, for agricultural tractors; Raven, a leader in digital agriculture, precision technology and the development of autonomous systems; Flexi-Coil, specializing in tillage and seeding systems; Miller, manufacturing application equipment; Kongskilde, providing tillage, seeding and hay & forage implements; and Eurocomach, producing a wide range of mini and midi excavators for the construction sector, including electric solutions. Across a history spanning over two centuries, CNH Industrial has always been a pioneer in its sectors and continues to passionately innovate and drive customer efficiency and success. As a truly global company, CNH Industrials 37,000+ employees form part of a diverse and inclusive workplace, focused on empowering customers to grow, and build, a better world. For more information and the latest financial and sustainability reports visit: cnhindustrial.com For news from CNH Industrial and its Brands visit: media.cnhindustrial.com About the Manufacturing Leadership Council Founded in 2008 and now a division of the National Association of Manufacturers, the Manufacturing Leadership Councils mission is to help manufacturing companies transition to the digital model of manufacturing by focusing on the technological, organizational, and leadership dimensions of change. With more than 3,300 senior-level members from many of the worlds leading manufacturing companies, the MLC focuses on the intersection of advanced digital technologies, growth and improvement opportunities in operations, and changes to leadership and organizational structures as manufacturing enterprises pursue their journey to Manufacturing 4.0. www.manufacturingleadershipcouncil.com About the National Association of Manufacturers The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12 million men and women, contributes $2.25 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for more than three-quarters of all private-sector research and development in the nation. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. The NAMs world-class staff of policy experts provide unmatched access and information on the key issues affecting your business and bottom line. We are on the front lines of a wide range of policy battles, from immigration reform and labor relations, to energy and the environment, to trade policy and taxes. At every turn, we are working on behalf of manufacturers in America to advance policies that help manufacturers do what they do best: create economic strength and jobs. www.nam.org Media contacts: Rebecca Fabian Anna Angelini North America United Kingdom Tel. +1 312 515 2249 Tel. +44 (0)7725 826 007 mediarelations@cnhind.com Attachments English French OTTAWA, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Canadian Red Cross announced today the launch of the 19th annual giving campaign with Walmart Canada for disaster relief and preparedness. For the month of July, Walmart customers will be invited to donate to Red Cross at the checkout in stores and on Walmart.ca. In addition to the funds donated, Walmart Canada will also contribute an additional $1 million to help communities in need. The support from Walmart, their associates, and customers, is vital to the Red Cross as more frequent and complex emergencies arise, and community support is required both during and after emergencies and disasters. Walmart Canada supports the commitment of the Red Cross in building resilience in communities across Canada, as well as internationally. In addition to the funds contributed during the annual campaign, Walmart Canada has also provided support for other Red Cross initiatives, such as: The Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal, with a donation of $270,000 including an employee giving match. The Friendly Calls Program, with a donation of $250,000. The program addresses loneliness and isolation through regular phone calls and helping to connect people to their local community. By providing delivery trucks for the Toronto Mobile Food Bank where Red Cross personnel delivers packaged food hampers to clients who are unable to access traditional food banks. The continued support of Walmart Canada helps the Canadian Red respond to emergencies and disasters across the country, while maintaining a focus on helping communities to strengthen their resilience, said Jean-Philippe Tizi, Chief Emergency Officer, Canadian Red Cross. We are very grateful for this ongoing support, and we thank Walmart, along with its employees and everyone who contributes to this annual campaign. Your contributions make a difference to those in urgent need." The Red Cross is vitally important in helping build strong communities during their greatest times of need. And were proud to support them and the incredible work they do as part of our journey to become a regenerative company, said Rob Nicol, Vice President Communications and Corporate Affairs. Along with our associates across the country, were gearing up for another successful campaign so we encourage everyone to give generously. Walmart Canada is the largest corporate partner of the Canadian Red Cross. Over the past 18 years of the annual campaign, Walmart Canada, along with its associates and customers have helped raise more than $60 million for the Red Cross. About the Canadian Red Cross Here in Canada and overseas, the Red Cross stands ready to help people before, during and after a disaster. As a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement which is made up of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and 192 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies the Canadian Red Cross is dedicated to helping people and communities in Canada and around the world in times of need and supporting them in strengthening their resilience. About Walmart Canada Walmart Canada operates a chain of more than 400 stores nationwide serving 1.5 million customers each day. Walmart Canada's flagship online store, Walmart.ca is visited by 1.5 million customers daily. With more than 100,000 associates, Walmart Canada is one of Canada's largest employers and is ranked one of the country's top 10 most influential brands. Walmart Canada was recently recognized as a LinkedIn Top Company of 2021 and was also named one of Canadas most popular brands (based on Google searches). Walmart Canada's extensive philanthropy program is focused on supporting Canadian families in need, and since 1994 Walmart Canada has raised and donated more than $500 million to Canadian charities. Additional information can be found at walmartcanada.ca and on Walmart Canada's social media pages - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Media Contacts Canadian Red Cross: English Media Line: 1-877-599-9602 French Media Line: 1-888-418-9111 Walmart Canada: Felicia Fefer, Corporate Affairs, Felicia.Fefer@walmart.com NEW YORK, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces an investigation of potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW) resulting from allegations that Charles Schwab may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public. SO WHAT: If you purchased Charles Schwab securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses. WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the prospective class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=6945 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. WHAT IS THIS ABOUT: On July 1, 2021, Charles Schwab disclosed that the Company had been responding to an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) arising from a compliance examination. The investigation primarily concerned historic disclosures related to the Schwab Intelligent Portfolios (SIP) digital advisory solution. Charles Schwab further disclosed its second quarter 2021 financial results will include a liability and related non-deductible charge of $200 million. On this news, Charles Schwab share prices dropped $0.77, or approximately 1%, to close at $72.80 on July 2, 2021. On June 13, 2022, the SEC announced that it charged three Charles Schwab investment adviser subsidiaries who agreed to pay $187 million to harmed clients to settle the charges. The SEC charged Charles Schwab with misleading investors that used its robo-adviser product, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. Instead of the touted disciplined portfolio construction methodology that sought optimal return[s], Charles Schwabs own data showed that under most market conditions, the cash in the portfolios would cause clients to make less money even while taking on the same amount of risk. On this news, Charles Schwab share prices dropped $1.98, or approximately 3%, to close on June 13, 2022 at $60.24. WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs Bar. Many of the firms attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. ------------------------------- Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 lrosen@rosenlegal.com pkim@rosenlegal.com cases@rosenlegal.com www.rosenlegal.com By Choe Chong-dae Although it's been more than seven decades since the 1950-53 Korean War broke out, the United Nations Memorial Park in Busan still evokes a sense of pride and respect for the lofty spirits of the fallen U.N. warriors. There have been numerous unsung heroes who fought bravely and sacrificed their lives for the freedom of Korea. It is encouraging to learn that the remains of John Robert Cormier, a Canadian veteran of the Korean War, were laid to rest in the U.N. Memorial Cemetery in Busan on June 21, according to his cherished wishes. Cormier fought in the Korean War at the young age of 19 from April 1952. He passed away last November after living at a nursing home for military retirees in Canada for some 25 years. His ardent love for Korea led him to be buried in Korea. Canada dispatched troops to Korea as part of the United Nations Allied Forces soon after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. Thanks to their exemplary benevolent spirit, approximately 26,000 forces helped defend Korea's freedom and democracy. By the conclusion of the war, more than 500 Canadians had sacrificed their lives. Their humanitarian contributions and indomitable spirit, alongside the other U.N. allied forces, have paved the way for Korea to grow into a prosperous, peaceful and democratic nation. Of significant note is the part the Canadians, along with other U.N. forces, played in the Battle of Kapyong. Those Canadian troops, members of the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Regiment, along with the 3rd Royal Australian Regiment and the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade, achieved brilliant battle results in the hills above the Kapyong River Valley in April 1951. The Canadian troops played a pivotal role in defending a crucial hill against a force of about 5,000 Chinese and North Korean soldiers. They successfully defended the Kapyong Valley against attacks from Chinese forces while overwhelmingly outnumbered, and prevented enemy forces from ultimately capturing Seoul. If the Kapyong Valley had been overtaken by the Chinese forces, it would have provided the enemy forces with a direct route to Seoul. The Kapyong area is better known as part of Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province. Personally, I have had the opportunity to establish a close friendship with Col. T. Spencer who served as defense attache at the Embassy of Canada in Korea in 1982. He was a Canadian veteran of the Korean War and emphasized to me the significance of the Battle of Kapyong. I'm certain all of Korea would have been communized by North Korea were it not for the tremendous courage and determination of our fallen foreign comrades and other unsung military heroes. We should honor their philanthropic sacrifice forever. Regrettably, there have been some leftist civic groups and pro-North Korean figures who are unaware of the sacrifice, heroic efforts and devotion of U.S. and U.N. allied nations to defend freedom in Korea. They call for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Korea and dismantling of the United Nations Command in Korea. Their senseless demands seem to forget the lessons and bitter experiences of the Korean War. And the fact that the freedoms, which those groups and people as well as other South Koreans enjoy today, were purchased at a high cost, in terms of the precious blood of the U.S., U.N., Korean and other soldiers during the Korean War. They should realize: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," a warning remark attributed to philosopher George Santayana. The dedication of the Canadian troops to Korea, along with U.N. allied forces, has had a profound impact on Korea and on me personally. It was very good to relive it again. ) is a guest columnist of The Korea Times. He is president of Dae-kwang International Co., and director of the Korean-Swedish Association. Choe Chong-dae ( choecd@naver.com Sacramento, CA, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Greater Sacramento Economic Council (GSEC) business development team traveled to Washington D.C. to attend the international SelectUSA investment summit as part of a record-sized California delegation led by the states Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis. The U.S. government program led by the U.S. Department of Commerce focuses on facilitating job-creating business investment into the United States and raising awareness of the critical role that economic development plays in the U.S. economy. Greater Sacramento met with over 20 international companies to explain the momentum throughout the Sacramento region and why its a great place to do business. This conference is the leader in foreign direct investment (FDI) for national economic development groups and had its best year ever with over 3,600 attendees from 80+ global markets. SelectUSA is an important opportunity for Greater Sacramento to raise its international profile with companies who are looking to move to California, specifically the state capital market, Troels Adrian Greater Sacramento Vice President of Business Development said. California is the largest U.S. market and the 5th largest economy in the world, so we make a natural first landing spot for companies entering this country. Our record-sized delegation also sent a powerful statement to the global economy about Californias commitment to openness and trade. The SelectUSA Investment Summit is the highest profile event in the United States dedicated to promoting foreign direct investment (FDI) and fostering direct connection with attending companies from around the world. Our team has traveled the last six years to SelectUSA since our organization was founded, Barry Broome President & CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council said. This conference is crucial to our foreign direct investment strategy throughout the six-county region. We expect over half a dozen visits from companies as a direct result of this years summit as well as several new locates, bringing global innovation and economic vitality to our region. Since its inception, SelectUSA has facilitated more than $105 billion in investment, creating and/or retaining over 138,000 U.S. jobs. Success in the U.S. market can help drive success globally. With an annual GDP of $20 trillion and population of over 325 million, the United States is the worlds most attractive consumer market, offering unmatched diversity, a thriving culture of innovation, and the most productive workforce. Companies of all sizes from startups to multinationals can find the ideas, resources, and market to succeed and grow. About the Greater Sacramento Economic Council The Greater Sacramento Economic Council is the catalyst for innovative growth strategies in the Capital Region of California. The organization spearheads community-led direction to retain, attract, grow and scale tradable sectors, develop advanced industries and create jobs and investment throughout a six-county region. Greater Sacramento represents a collaboration between local and state governments, market leaders, influencers and stakeholders, with the sole mission of driving inclusive economic growth. The Greater Sacramento region was founded on discovery, built on leadership and fueled by innovation. ### Montreal, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Montreal, Quebec - Frank And Oak, an apparel company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, has introduced its Mens Underwear Collection which uses organic cotton and recycled polyester. The mens underwear is available in two options: classic trunks or boxer briefs. Both kinds are equipped with an elastic waistband. The classic trunks and boxer briefs are available in small, medium, large, and extra-large sizes. They come in grey, navy, black, dark red, and brown colour options. For more information about the Mens Underwear Collection visit https://ca.frankandoak.com/collections/men-underwear. Right from the time of its launch in Montreal in 2012, Frank And Oak has strived to create an apparel brand that delivers a unique message to both creatives and entrepreneurs. The brands first clothing store at the Mile End in Montreal quickly became a favourite, and the company gained the reputation of being one of the leading lifestyle brands and online retailers of Canada. The company is a certified B Corp, having cultivated the reputation of a leader in the sustainable fashion market with its use of innovative fabrics made from materials derived from nature. At present, 75% of Frank And Oaks apparel is made from eco-friendly and sustainably processed materials. As previously announced, in 2019, Frank And Oak had set itself several goals for completion in 2022. The first goal was to completely get rid of virgin plastics from the supply chain. The second goal was to totally offset its greenhouse gas emissions and the third goal was to boost the use of renewable energies. The fourth goal was to establish community spirit and have a zero-waste philosophy. Recently, the brand has presented a report on where it stands in terms of accomplishing these goals. For example, it has already been able to complete its first goal, as evidenced by the fact that all of the tags on the Frank And Oak products are made from biodegradable sugarcane paper and printed with soy-based ink. In addition, 78% of the products are made from organic, cruelty-free, certified low-impact, biodegradable or recycled fibres. Those who would like to know more about the environmentally-friendly products available from Frank And Oak can visit the brands website: https://ca.frankandoak.com/pages/men. ### For more information about Frank And Oak, contact the company here: Frank And Oak Anne Gael Plante +1-514-889-8701 anne-gael.plante@frankandoak.com 702 St-Viateur E, Suite 702, Montreal, QC H2T 1A8, Canada Toronto, Ontario, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Halcones Precious Metals Inc. (Halcones) and Pinehurst Capital II Inc. (TSXV: PINH.P) ("Pinehurst") are pleased to announce that Halcones has closed a non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") of units (the "Units"). The Offering follows the closing of Halcones subscription receipt offering (please see Pinehursts press release dated June 24, 2022 for further details). Under the Offering, Halcones issued an aggregate of 713,334 Units at a price of $0.30 per Unit (the "Issue Price") for gross proceeds of $214,000. Each Unit is comprised of one common share of Halcones (a Halcones Common Share) and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a Halcones Warrant). Each Halcones Warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one Halcones Common Share at a price of $0.40 for a period of 24 months following the date hereof. As previously announced, on January 25, 2022, Halcones and Pinehurst entered into an amalgamation agreement, as amended on May 20, 2022 (the Amalgamation Agreement) setting out the terms of the reverse take-over of Pinehurst by the shareholders of Halcones by way of a three-cornered amalgamation with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pinehurst incorporated under the laws of the Province of Ontario (the RTO). Pinehurst, as the resulting issuer following the completion of the RTO (the Resulting Issuer), will continue the business of Halcones under the name Pinehurst Precious Metals Corp. or such other name as determined by Halcones. Each Halcones Common Share and each Halcones Warrant will be immediately exchanged for one common share of Pinehurst and one common share purchase warrant of Pinehurst (each on a post-Consolidation basis). Pursuant to the Amalgamation Agreement, prior to completing the RTO, Pinehurst common shares shall be consolidated on the basis of 0.4716981 post-consolidation Pinehurst common shares for each one pre-consolidation Pinehurst common share (the Consolidation). All securities issued under the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period of four-months and one-day. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering for the exploration of the Carachapampa project in Chile and for working capital and general corporate purposes. For further information, please contact: David Rosenkrantz Pinehurst Capital II Inc., CEO e: drosenkrantz@patica.ca p: 416-865-0123 Lawrence Guy Halcones Precious Metals Inc., Director e: info@halconesresources.com p: 416-930-7660 Cautionary Notes This press release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, forward-looking statements) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this press 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 press release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: the Offering and certain terms and conditions thereof; the use of proceeds from the Offering, and corporate and regulatory approvals. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; and the delay or failure to receive shareholder, director or regulatory approvals. 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 the forward-looking statements and information contained in this press release. Except as required by law, Halcones assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change. The TSXV has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The securities referenced herein have not been, nor will be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from U.S. registration requirements. This release does not constitute an offer for sale of securities in the United States. SAN DIEGO, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oberon Fuels (Oberon), a maker of products that reduce greenhouse gas emissions of major energy sectors, has joined both the World Biogas Association (WBA) and Liquid Gas Europe as Oberon continues to build upon its work in Europe and around the world. Oberon has developed a straightforward here-now way to slash the CO 2 emissions of the global Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG or propane) industry through the production of renewable dimethyl ether (rDME). Because rDME can be stored, transported and dispensed using existing LPG vehicles and equipment, it can be readily blended with fossil LPG to reduce carbon emissions by up to 60 percent. The intersection between rDME made from biogas and the LPG industry is a key reason for Oberon to join these trade associations. The EU consumes about 48 billion liters (12.7 billion gallons) of LPG per year, of which an estimated 3.8 billion liters (1 billion gallons) are imported from Russia. Oberon Fuels can enable European countries to produce fuels from local renewable biomass with no indirect land use impacts while reducing the need to import foreign energy resources. To help meet the goals of the EU Green Deal, the EU market is ready for new approaches to decarbonizing a range of major uses including transport, heating and agriculture. Oberons interest in expanding into Europe and other global markets is intended to accelerate commercial adoption of rDME with near-term market trials leading to deployment of multiple commercial-scale production plants. Oberon already has strategic collaborations with leaders around the world including Suburban Propane (US) and South America-based Lipigas. Oberon executives were in Switzerland recently presenting at the International DME Associations annual event, and company CEO Rebecca Boudreaux, Ph.D., spoke earlier today at the European Liquid Gas Congress event in Barcelona. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation is announcing Juggy Sihota, Vice-president, Consumer Health at TELUS, as its newly appointed Board Chair. Sihotas appointment is historically significant to the Foundation as she is the first BIPOC woman to ever hold this position. Today is an historic day for our Foundation and its also deeply personal for me. I have had the privilege of serving on the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation Board for the past nine years since they helped save my moms life. To have this culminate into the role of Board Chair for this formidable organisation is truly an honour. I made a commitment to my mom, Tarsem Sihota, many years ago that I would dedicate myself to help drive improvements to health care for all Canadians. To serve as Board Chair for one of the top five fundraising foundations in the country helps me honour and fulfill this commitment. This organisation has become like a family to me. Our health care leaders here are second to none. We just finished a record-breaking year, raising more than $113 million while also making a generational investment of $100 million toward the acquisition of a Vancouver city block to support further innovation in health care delivery. Philanthropy plays a vital role in our health care system and my gratitude goes out to all of our donors. My gratitude, as well, to Gary Segal, our former Board Chair, for his partnership, mentorship and friendship. I will build upon our established track record and am excited to work with Vice Chair Jim Szabo, our impressive Board and with our CEO, Angela Chapman, says Sihota. A multidisciplinary executive with more than 20 years of leadership experience, Sihota leads the national strategy, execution and operation of the Consumer Health business for TELUS. In addition, she has led several emerging technology businesses and operations, spanning service development, operations, as well as strategy and marketing. Sihota is a passionate community leader, giving of her time, talent and resources to a number of causes, including the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation, where she has served as a Director since 2013. She has made significant impact in guiding the growth of the Foundation as a member of our Governance & Nominating committee, Lottery Proceeds Distribution committee, the Major Gifts committee and as Chair of the HR committee leading the recruitment for the current CEO, Angela Chapman. We are very excited to announce the appointment of Juggy Sihota as our next Chair of the Board of Directors, Angela Chapman, President & CEO of VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation. Juggy brings a deep knowledge of the role of innovation in transforming health care. Her expertise and strategic leadership in marketing and business development are vital assets as we invite new generations of supporters to improve health care for everyone in BC. I look forward to working with Juggy, our incredible Board of Directors, donors and health care partners to transform health care through innovation and save lives. About VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation is Vancouver Coastal Healths primary philanthropic partner, raising funds for specialized adult health services and research for all British Columbians. We partner with donors to drive innovation and sustainable health care at VGH, UBC Hospital, GF Strong Rehab Centre, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, and Vancouver Community Health Services. Photo: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iqi0h81dcue23rx/AAAkFx95xHepYO3geeZgUscOa?dl=0 Contact: Sam Smith VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation Cell: 778-389-4897 Email: sam.smith@vghfoundation.ca A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4deafa53-d68a-4c53-b2b2-029a2bb21fa0 Vancouver, Canada, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thirty-six-year-old Combe, already part of the senior leadership team, will work alongside current CEO Andy Gruber, who has been in the role for four years, during a transition period starting July 1, 2022. Gruber will exit the role effective August 1, 2022, to take up a senior management position within PayByPhones parent-company Volkswagen Financial Services AG. Gruber will also sit on the PayByPhone supervisory board, to which Combe will report, headed by Stefan Imme, Chief Digital Officer, Volkswagen Financial Services AG. Imme says, The journey of growth and development that Andy has led over his four years has been incredible. On behalf of Volkswagen Financial Services AG, I want to thank Andy for his hard work and dedication. As we enter the next stage of growth for the business, we are confident it is in great hands with Jonny. His track record of success sets him up well to lead the dynamic and fast-paced PayByPhone Group, ensuring exceptional results. During Grubers successful tenure at the company, PayByPhone has seen exponential growth including more than doubling the number of monthly active users of the PayByPhone app and expanding its coverage from 5 to 11 countries around the globe. Gruber says, Jonny is in a unique position to lead the business through our next phase of growth, thanks to the senior leadership positions hes held since he joined PayByPhone in 2018. Our app is now available in nearly 1,300 cities, compared to just over 400 four years ago, and that trajectory is set to continue. He fully understands not only our products and services, but also the challenges our clients and customers face. I have full confidence and trust in Jonny as I hand the reins to him this is an exciting time for PayByPhone. Combe says, I am delighted to be taking on this role, continuing the exemplary global leadership that Andy has demonstrated, and working alongside our exceptional leadership team. As we evolve and grow, I want to drive our ethos of simplifying our clients and customers journeys and encourage our teams across the globe to continue to embrace our winning mindset. The reason is simple. We are in a unique position; PayByPhone is the only player in our industry to have an app that can be used globally, in nearly 1,300 cities. The possibilities for continued growth and success are outstanding. Combe, who will relocate from the UK to Vancouver, Canada, will continue to lead the corporate division until a replacement is appointed. Before taking responsibility for the corporate business, Combe was CEO of the UK market, a position he held for four years, where he led it to massive growth and launched a multi-award-winning environmental initiative. Combes background is steeped in not only mobility but also technology. Before joining PayByPhone, Combe held several high-profile management roles at BMW Group, looking after its environment, real estate, mobility, and innovation team in EMEA. Most notably, he spearheaded BMW's digital and innovation programs in the UK and pioneered the birth of the award-winning BMW Innovation Lab. For more information, visit www.paybyphone.com About PayByPhone PayByPhones aim is simple: simplify your journey so you can focus on what matters most. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen Financial Services AG, it is one of the fastest growing mobile payments companies in the world, processing more than $740 million USD in payments and over five million downloads per year. Available in nearly 1,300 cities across the globe, PayByPhone helps millions of consumers easily and safely pay for parking without the hassles of coins, lines, or fines. Its smart, intuitive technology is at the center of its user-first approach, delivered to make everything as simple as possible. For more information, please visit www.paybyphone.com. Attachment VACAVILLE, Calif., June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Transwestern Ventures (TWV) and the City of Vacaville together announce plans to develop a 390,000-square-foot biomanufacturing campus on 22.4 acres in Vaca Valley Business Park, located at the interchange of I-80 and I-505 in Vacaville, California. The project will be built in two phases: Phase 1 comprises 233,888 square feet with delivery estimated in Summer 2024, and Phase 2 comprises 158,316 square feet. Part of the Bay Area, Vacaville is situated along the main thoroughfare between the state capital and the Bay Area. Its proximity to San Francisco, Sacramento, and the University of Californias Berkeley and Davis campuses provides access to top talent from across the life sciences and advanced manufacturing sectors. Additionally, Solano Community Colleges Vacaville campus has distinguished itself through the offering of two biomanufacturing baccalaureate programs. Vacaville is also home to the California Biomanufacturing Center Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating biomanufacturing growth. Vacaville is a biomanufacturing leader in the U.S., making this area incredibly attractive to companies looking for modern facilities in a region with a critical shortage of available life sciences space, said Fred Knapp, Managing Partner, Transwestern Ventures. Some of the worlds leading life sciences firms have come to Vacaville to capitalize on the synergies created by a combination of extraordinary talent, relative affordability, and the citys strong economic and demographic trends. Companies such as Agenus, Kaiser Permanente, Genentech, and Polaris currently have a presence in Vaca Valley Business Park. The site newly acquired by TWV was sourced by Transwestern Real Estate Services (TRS) and purchased in an off-market transaction. The TRS Life Sciences team of Managing Director Ken Meyersieck, Senior Vice President Peter Conte, and Vice President Andrew Wheeler will oversee leasing for the new campus, which can meet occupier needs ranging from biomanufacturing and R&D space to healthcare and medical office. The buildings are suitable for a single user or may be divided. Vacaville works hard to appeal to both businesses and residents, and we are extremely proud of our reputation as a growing biomanufacturing corridor, said Ron Rowlett, Mayor of the City of Vacaville. Our city is uniquely positioned to offer life sciences firms both superior space in newly developed facilities and the quality of life a young, talented workforce expects. We are delighted to collaborate with Transwestern Ventures to bring its vision to life. With a population of more than 102,000, Vacaville is a vibrant city in one of the countrys fastest-growing areas. It is an attractive family community with a historic past deep in culture, and a wealth of amenities including parks, community centers, museums, public venues, attractions and events. Rendering available for download here. About Transwestern Ventures Transwestern Ventures (TWV) creates value for investors by sourcing and executing real estate investments across all property sectors nationwide. As the opportunistic investment arm of the Transwestern family of companies, Ventures works synergistically with the firms services, development and investment management businesses, bringing capital, financial engineering and operational expertise to undervalued or undermanaged properties, enterprises and unique investment opportunities. About Transwestern The privately held Transwestern companies have been delivering a higher level of personalized service and innovative real estate solutions since 1978. Through an integrated, customized approach that begins with good ideas, the firm drives value for clients across commercial real estate services, development, investment management, and opportunistic endeavors for high-net-worth investors. Operating from 33 U.S. offices, Transwestern extends its platform capabilities globally through strategic alliance partners whose unique geographic, cultural, and business expertise fuels creative solutions. Learn more at transwestern.com and @Transwestern. Media Contact Don Burrus Economic Development Services Director (707) 449-5611 Don.Burrus@cityofvacaville.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/787fc43c-5ca0-48cc-a59f-e6d24ac2c0b8 New York, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Insight Partners published latest research study on Dental Scalers Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Product (Powered Dental Scalers, Handheld Dental Scalers, and Scaler Inserts), Application (Periodontics, Endodontics, and Others), and End User (Hospitals, Dental Clinics, and Others), the Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing region in the market over the forecast period due to growing investments from international players in China and India, improving government support in countries such as China, and advancing healthcare infrastructure. Request Sample PDF Brochure of Dental Scalers Market Size - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis with Strategic Developments at: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPRE00029442/ Dental Scalers Market Report Scope & Strategic Insights: Report Coverage Details Market Size Value in US$ 918.98 Million in 2022 Market Size Value by US$ 1,309.91 Million by 2028 Growth rate CAGR of 6.1% from 2022 to 2028 Forecast Period 2022-2028 Base Year 2022 No. of Pages 173 No. Tables 84 No. of Charts & Figures 77 Historical data available Yes Segments covered Product, Application, and End User Regional scope North America; Europe; Asia Pacific; Latin America; MEA Country scope US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Argentina Report coverage Revenue forecast, company ranking, competitive landscape, growth factors, and trends Dental Scalers Market: Competitive Landscape and Key Developments Companies operating in the dental scalers market implement various organic developments that lead to dynamic improvements in the market. Various organic growth strategies such as product launch and product development propel the market growth. Several companies are also implementing numerous inorganic strategies, such as partnerships, collaborations, and mergers & acquisitions. Inquiry Before Purchase: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/inquiry/TIPRE00029442/ The dental scalers market players are adopting various organic and inorganic strategies for market development. For instance, in October 2020, Hu-Friedy Group, the dental division of Cantel Medical Corp., introduced the new line of Harmony Ergonomic Scalers and Curettes designed with TrueFit Technology. The best-in-class instrument portfolio from Hu-Friedy is an ergonomic scaling solution backed by scientific innovation. The company researchers and engineers utilized TrueFit Technology to develop a scaler handle with optimal proportions and ideal width that provides a secure and nimble grasp. In March 2022, Henry Schein, Inc. announced a new development in its ACCLEAN brand. The ACCLEAN brand is a line of preventive care products designed with the help of hygienists, organized in a three-stage packaging system to help dental hygienists stay organized. In addition to refreshed packaging, new products have been added to the ACCLEAN brand portfolio, such as the new ACCLEAN Ultrasonic Scaler. It features dual-frequency 25K/30K technology to automatically detect inserts to integrate with existing equipment and autogain technology to maintain power throughout a dental procedure. In October 2020, Nakanishi Inc. invested in DCI International, LLC. (DCI) at a shareholding ratio of 33%. NAKANISHI INC. and NSK Group are participants in the global dental instrument market industry intending to continue successful growth in the US and Canadian markets. DCI International, LLC., one of the international leaders, is engaged in manufacturing dental equipment, components, and other parts in the global market and continues to innovate and develop new technology to deliver a best-in-class customer experience. NSK collaborates with DCI with its full line of dental instrumentation for the North American dental market. Have a question? Speak to Research Analyst: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/speak-to-analyst/TIPRE00029442 In October 2019, Hu-Friedy launched Streamline PLUS ultrasonic inserts, the newest addition to the popular Streamline portfolio of inserts. Streamline PLUS inserts feature the ergonomic handle design of Hu-Friedys top-selling Swivel inserts, allowing clinicians to choose the Hu-Friedy insert that works best with their equipment without sacrificing comfort. Dental Scalers Market: Key Insights Future Trends Technological advances have led to the development of ultrasonic scalers. This tool relies on low-frequency soundwaves to vibrate against your teeth, effectively removing difficult tartar buildup. There are two types of ultrasonic scalers. The magnetostrictive model operates at ~25,000-30,000 cycles per second, the head moving in a circular motion. The piezoelectric scaler moves at 28,000-36,000 cycles per second while the tip vibrates back and forth against the tooth. Ultrasonic scalers ensure excellent stain removal compared to hand scaling, are more effective at removing tartar buildup than a manual scraper, and require less water during dental scaling. All these benefits of ultrasonic dental scalers propel the dental scalers market growth. Avail Lucrative DISCOUNTS on Dental Scalers Market Research Study: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/discount/TIPRE00029442/ In North America, the US holds a significant share of the dental scalers market. The market growth in the US is due to the availability of most foreign companies in the healthcare sector that have their R&D centers in the US. Since these facilities rely on dental scalers to provide high-quality outcomes, this industry is projected to proliferate. Moreover, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 84.9% of children aged from 2 to 17, 64.0% of adults aged 18-64, and 65.6% of adults aged 65 and above had at least one dental visit in 2018. In a study published in the American Dental Association, scaling and root preparation are helpful for patients with chronic periodontitis. Recurrent periodontitis affects 47.2% of adults over age 30 in the US. Two main factors influencing the demand for general oral care are the prevalence of oral diseases and abnormalities in the population. Dental Scalers Market: Segmental Overview Based on end user, the dental scalers market is segmented into hospitals, dental clinics, and others. In 2022, the hospitals segment held the largest share of the market. However, the dental clinics segment is expected to witness the highest CAGR from 2022 to 2028. Many dental patients visit private practice dental clinics due to the availability of specialists. Over 80% of the dental practices or dental clinics are run by the owners. The number of independent practices and dental clinics is rising globally. People prefer to visit dental clinics rather than hospitals for dental treatment as they are cost-efficient. The growing number of dental clinics in rural areas of developing and developed countries is driving the growth of the dental clinics segment, hence driving the overall growth of the dental scalers market. Directly Purchase Premium Copy of Dental Scalers Market Growth Report (2022-2028) at: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/buy/TIPRE00029442/ Browse Adjoining Reports: Ultrasonic Dental Scalers Market Forecast to 2028 - Covid-19 Impact and Global Analysis - By Product Type (Magnetostrictive Ultrasonic Scalers, Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Scalers); Application (Periodontal, Endodontic, Others); End User (Hospitals, Dental Clinics, Other End Users) Dental Veneers Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Product (Composite Material, Dental Porcelain, and Others), Age Group (Child and Adult), and End User (Hospitals, Dental Clinics, and Others) Dental Consumables Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Product [Dental Restoration Products (Dental Implants, Dental Prosthetics, CAD/CAM Restoration Consumables, and Dental Restoration Materials), Orthodontics (Clear Aligners/Removable Braces, Fixed Braces, and Others), Periodontics (Dental Anesthetics, Dental Hemostats, and Dental Sutures), Infection Control (Sanitizing Gel, Personal Protective Wear, and Disinfectants), Endodontics (Shaping & Cleaning Consumables, Access Preparation Consumables, and Obturation Consumables), Whitening Products (In-Office Whitening Products and Take-Home Whitening Products), Finishing & Polishing Products (Prophylaxis Products and Fluorides), and Others] and End User (Dental Hospitals & Clinics, Dental Laboratories, and Others) Dental Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Type (Dental Restorative, Dental Orthodontics, Dental Consumables, and Other Specialties) and Application (Hospitals, Dental Clinics, and Others) Denture Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Type (Complete, Partial); Material (Metallic, Porcelain, Acrylic); Usage (Removable, Fixed); Application (Repair Broken Teeth, Implanted Teeth, Other); End User (Hospitals, Dental Clinics), and Geography Invisible Braces Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Product Type (Clear Aligners, Ceramic Braces, Clear Retainers, Lingual Braces); Application (Excessive Spacing, Crowding, Open Bite, Deep Bite, Cross Bite, Abnormal Eruption, Others); End-User (Dental Clinic, Others) Dental Equipment Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Product (Therapeutic Dental Equipment {Dental Operatory & Treatment Center Equipment, Dental Handpieces, Dental Light-Curing Equipment, and Others}, General Equipment{CAD/CAM Systems, Electrosurgical Systems, Casting Machines, and Ceramic Furnaces}, Dental Lasers {Soft Tissue Lasers and All-Tissue (Hard/Soft) Lasers}, Diagnostic Systems {Extraoral Imaging Systems and Intraoral Imaging Systems}, and Dental Imaging Software; End User (Hospitals, Dental Academic & Research Institutes, and Others) Dental CAD/CAM Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Product [Dental CAD/CAM Materials (Glass Ceramics, Alumina-Based Ceramics, Lithium Disilicate, Zirconia, and Others) and Dental CAD/CAM Systems], Type (In-Office Systems and In-Lab Systems), Components [Hardware (Dental Printers, Milling Machines, Scanners, and Others) and Software], Application (Dental Prosthesis, Dental Implants, and Others), and End User (Dental Clinics, Dental Laboratories, Milling Centers, and Others) About Us: The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We specialize in industries such as Semiconductor and Electronics, Aerospace and Defense, Automotive and Transportation, Biotechnology, Healthcare IT, Manufacturing and Construction, Medical Device, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Chemicals and Materials. Contact Us: If you have any queries about this report or if you would like further information, please contact us: Sandown, New Hampshire, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Barry Billcliff, owner of Merrimack Valley Roofing and Gutter, announced the recent incorporation of DamBar LLC, an additional construction company to the growing enterprise. Billcliff said the company has reached $4 million in revenue. He credits a colorful background and an entrepreneurs drive with his success. One of the keys, he believes, is hiring the right people. We hire passionate artisans to do our work and that shows with the response from our clients and our growth, Billcliff said. Despite the economic outlook, he said one of the major renovations that should not be ignored is your roof. Billcliff said dont wait until a roof leaks to fix it. Taking preventative action can save you from a more expensive repair. Go into your attic to look for any sign of leaking. Getting on the roof and looking for loose shingles is a good idea. Sometimes a leak can be fixed without a major repair. Adding flashing or cleaning out gutters is something Merrimack sees regularly. In the area there was a shortage of reliable help the past few years, Merrimack Valley Roofing and Gutter established itself as a reliable provider that didnt take advantage with overpriced bids. We want to treat everyone fairly, Billcliff said. Billcliff is also the owner of The Bear Cave, one of the largest bars in New England as well as Drive Again Motors and Mittys Big Beef. He is also a musician and an officer in a local musicians union. Gradually with sound investments, savings, and timely decisions, he built his way up and made his mark as a successful entrepreneur. He owns, manages, and oversees over 16 business ventures that hes either created, acquired, or initiated. He was a founding member of the Rebels and Rockers motorcycle club. He is also the President and founding member of Braap Pack, an off-road club. One of his key achievements is being the youngest artist to have won the gold key award at the Halifax Art Festival. He had a full scholarship to the New England Art Academy and has also held an exhibition at the Daytona Art Museum. Moreover, he is a former national wrestler, probably not surprising considering the sheer energy, passion, and hunger for achieving more than that he possesses. He is also a full-credit press associate and daredevil adventurist who has performed and filmed several stunts around the globe. In addition, Barry has performed, filmed, and published an enormous number of daredevil stunts and adventures around the world. He was once chased to the Colosseum by a tour guide dressed as a gladiator. He climbed the great pyramid of Giza and broke into a poppy field where he was held at gunpoint by the Mexican drug cartel. Merrimack Valley Roofing and Gutter was founded in 1976 in Southern New Hampshire. They work with a variety of projects including Mansard, Saltbox, or Flat Roof. They are also a leading distributor of gutters in the New Hampshire region. MIAMI and LOS ANGELES, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- National investment fraud law firm Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein, P.A. (DKR) (http://www.dkrpa.com) alerts investors that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has fined UBS Financial Services, Inc. (UBS) $25 million for misconduct relating to UBSs sales of the UBS Yield Enhancement Strategy (YES). UBS is a subsidiary of UBS Group A.G. (NYSE: UBS). YES is a complex options strategy that UBS sold as a way for investors to receive a modest amount of income. The SEC found that UBS failed to adequately train its brokers about YES and failed to disclose to investors (or even to UBS brokers) the significant downside risk of YES, which UBSs daily internal reports reflected. The SEC also found that UBSs risk disclosures were inadequate and that UBS engaged in fraud and deceit upon YES investors. Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein, P.A. Has Recovered Millions of Dollars for YES Investors Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein, P.A. has been representing YES investors since early 2019. To date, DKR has recovered YES losses for more than 20 YES investors and the firm continues to prosecute YES cases for clients throughout the United States. The SECs findings against UBS are consistent with the theories that DKR has been using in its cases against UBS. Based on numerous discussions with UBS brokers, it is apparent that in addition to failing to disclose information about YES to investors, UBS even kept important information about YES from its own brokers. As a result, we believe that many UBS brokers did not understand YES. YES Loss Recovery Through FINRA Arbitration UBS YES investors can file FINRA arbitration claims in an effort to recover their losses. FINRA arbitration is a private dispute resolution process for disputes with brokerage firms. If you lost money in the UBS YES options strategy, contact Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein, P.A. DKR has extensive experience representing YES investors. With offices in Miami, Los Angeles, West Palm Beach, and New York Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein, P.A. represents investors throughout the United States, Mexico, and Latin America in stockbroker negligence and brokerage firm misconduct cases. Contact: Jeffrey B. Kaplan, Esq. jkaplan@dkrpa.com 2665 S. Bayshore Drive Penthouse 2B Miami, Florida 33133 (888) 578-6255 URL http://www.dkrpa.com 2029 Century Park East Century Plaza Tower Suite 400N Los Angeles, CA 90067 (888) 578-6255 The fortress at Fusan in the late 19th century Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection By Robert Neff Traveling alone through the Korean countryside in March 1875 was dangerous especially if you were a foreigner. However, one young Japanese man from Tsushima Island, likely a student interpreter at Fusan (modern Busan) and possessed by the folly of youth and the mastery of the Korean language, was determined to explore Korea beyond the small Japanese enclave at Fusan. He wrote: "After studying Korean for several years and becoming pretty well acquainted with the language, the idea entered my mind to make a tour of observation through the interior of the country in disguise." His destination was the great market city of Daegu a fairly conservative city that would later gain a seemingly well-deserved reputation as being unfriendly to foreign visitors. In preparation for his journey, he let his hair and beard grow out so that his "general appearance, in [the] course of time, resembled that of a Korean." Following the advice of his Korean companion, he put on Korean mourning clothing the large mourning hat which covered his face, aided in disguising his true identity. They departed on March 15, and after a fairly short trek made their first stop in a crude inn. The Japanese man felt quite fortunate as the inn had an empty room in which he and his Korean companion could pass the night shielded from the watchful eyes of the general population. Torai Gate circa early 1900s Robert Neff Collection Although he was dressed like a Korean and could speak Korean, his careful preparations were almost foiled by his finicky appetite. "The food was rough and coarse and assailed my nose with such a stench that indicated that it was putrid. One glance at it was quite sufficient to create a bitter taste in the mouth. To give a specimen or two of the dishes one was herrings and shrimps pickled in salt (the latter cut in small pieces), exceedingly offensive to the smell." He also described the doenjang stew as being thick like mud. The meal, served with side dishes and "such an immense quantity of rice that no single man could eat it all," was extremely inexpensive. Apparently it was not to his liking but, as he later recalled, "As I might run the risk of exciting suspicion if I did not eat, I ate as best I could." The following morning they continued their trek and stayed at an inn where the food was relatively the same as in the previous inn. This time, however, the inn had another guest who suddenly burst into their room: "My Korean companion found great fault with this irregular entry. Henceforward we arranged that I was to pass for a sick man and that other guests were not to be allowed into our room, and to make a similar arrangement with the landlord before putting up anywhere. I felt very uneasy at the time, lest the guest should ask any questions, and guess the truth; but luckily he went away without any dispute." This would not be his last brush with discovery. A small restaurant circa early 1900s Robert Neff Collection On the 17th they crossed the Nakdong River noting that narrow boats nearly 20 meters in length sailed up and down the river. It was just as they reached Miryang when they encountered a Korean official and his procession returning home from Daegu. Unsure as how to act in front of the official, he was spared from discovery when one of the Korean passersby told him to get out of sight as he was a mourner. "From this," he wrote later, "I first learned that it is the invariable custom for mourners to avoid meeting people of the higher class." This custom may have shielded him from the upper class but not from the observant eyes of the lower class. A laborer grew suspicious and asked if he was Japanese but the "mourner's" traveling companion convinced him it was merely a case of mistaken identity as there were "a great many people in the world who resemble one another in appearance." On March 18, he discovered that he was running out of money. He bought a large amount of rice cakes at one of the "mud-built stalls" he passed "to satisfy in some degree [his] hunger." He was, of course, somewhat judgmental and often compared Korea unfavorably to Japan. He wrote: "In the fields, as we went along, I saw woodmen engaged in raking pine leaves together and gathering withered branches, straw and grass, which they use in place of firewood. This would seem to show that firewood and charcoal are scarce, and also that very little attention is paid to farming." A scene from the Korean countryside circa early 1900s Robert Neff Collection That night, he arrived at his friend's nephew's house on the outskirts of Daegu the place where he would stay for a fortnight. It was a thatched house in dilapidated condition. He described it as the "exact counterpart" of the seaweed huts used by Tsushima Island peasants. His hosts were farmers who supplemented their income by selling pots and pans. They lived rather frugally but they were exceedingly kind to their guests and shared all they could. Their food was simple rice and wheat mixed, served with wild vegetables. During his entire stay, he never saw them eat meat and claimed even Koreans in the middle and higher classes found it difficult to obtain it usually resorting to salted fish. "The articles of food are for the most part rancid in smell." It wasn't only the food he criticized. "[The Koreans] make no particular change in their garments for inside and outside wear. Their bodies and limbs are impregnated with filth; their clothing is a nest of vermin. As they usually lie down and get up without washing their feet, their houses are in complete litter, the stench of which offends the nose in a well-nigh unendurable manner." Even Korean alcohol was not exempt from the scorn of his pen. He denounced "makgeolli" as "thick [and] muddy so sour and acrid in taste that one can hardly drink it." And yet, one snowy night, he and his friend drank enough of it while gossiping that he became intoxicated enough to compel his unwilling friend to take him to the walled city his target destination. "But to my great vexation," he complained, "owing to the darkness of the evening, I was unable to see anything clearly." Sharing a meal circa early 1900s Robert Neff Collection On March 31, his friend slept in the same room with him this seems to have provided him with some degree of comfort but it was short-lived. "In the middle of the night the dogs suddenly began to bark and a noise was heard of people calling out 'Thieves!' 'Thieves!' Soon afterward a woman came to the door outside, asking where the thieves were, and after her four or five men came and said that the robbers are concealed in this house and manifested great suspicion. They were then about to make a search, but at this stage, my friend got very angry and shouted out asking them what they meant by treating him as a thief, and how they would explain their conduct if they searched another person's house and did not find any thieves there. They went away without a word." The Japanese man was terrified, and gathered his things together in case they should come back and he would have to flee into the night. Sleep came very uneasily. In the morning, he moved to another friend's house. This friend took him to view the interior of the walled city which somewhat impressed him. The prosperous city of 3,700 houses was surrounded by a wall five meters tall and five kilometers in circumference. There were four gates and each guarded by soldiers. Near the northern gate was a building used by the governor of Daegu to pay homage to the capital by making "profound bows in the direction of the capital." This he did twice a month on the first and 15th day. Near the western gate, he was surprised to see "that half the interior was crowded with convicts. The area around the eastern gate was "bustling and crowded; the shops [were] as close together as fishes' scales" and displayed their wares foreign cotton goods and domestic products on small mats. The governor's residence was located near the southern gate and there was a large sign posted warning mounted officials to dismount as a sign of respect for the governor. Yeongnamnu at Miryang circa early 1900s Robert Neff Collection Potsdam, NY, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR), based at Clarkson University, is celebrating its 20th year. CITeR, which performs research in the growing areas of identity science and biometric recognition, is a National Science Foundation Industry-University Cooperative Research Center. Biometrics is the automated recognition of individuals based on their biological and behavioral traits. Centers like CITeR focus on the needs of industry and government through collaborations between these groups and universities. Stephanie Schuckers, Clarkson's Paynter-Krigman Endowed Professor in Engineering Science, serves as director of CITeR. "At points, we wondered whether this research would become a 'solved' problem, and then new challenges would emerge: spoof detection, biometric cryptography, altered finger detection, biometrics at a distance, biometric permanence, and more," she says. "And now, here we are in 2022, with additional challenges such as face morphing, deepfakes, bias, template security, biometrics in children and many others." Since awarding its first research grants in 2002, CITeR has performed cutting-edge research as new problems evolve each year. Some fundamental scientific studies funded by CITeR examine permanence -- how a trait remains essentially unchanged throughout one's lifetime -- in aging adults and children. The research found that accurate identification by fingerprint in adults remained high over a 12- 15 -year period. CITeR researchers have also studied biometric recognition in children, which has applications in areas including immigration, refugee efforts and distribution of benefits. The findings show that identification by irises is stable for the three years they studied in children aged 4 to 11, and face recognition algorithms fail over a three-year period. In the last three years, CITeR researchers have also developed several single and differential morph detectors to circumvent the problem of morph attacks. Face morphing is the process of combining two or more subjects in an image to create a new identity that contains features of both individuals. Morphed images can fool facial recognition systems into falsely accepting multiple people, leading to failures in national security and border control applications. Single morph detectors are used during passport applications to authenticate if the submitted passport photo is a real or morphed image. Differential detectors are used to validate if the photo of the passport holder is the same as the photo in the passport. Other current and past CITeR research highlights include cross-spectral face recognition; noncontact fingerprint recognition; template security and privacy; bias in face recognition; presentation attack detection (liveness detection); and soft and novel biometrics. An anniversary celebration was held May 10-12 as part of CITeR's semiannual program review for industry and government affiliates and guests. The event was hosted at the Buffalo Museum of Science and University at Buffalo and included a keynote by University Distinguished Professor Anil K. Jain of Michigan State University and technical presentations on CITeR's ongoing research projects. CITeR was founded in 2001 and held its first meeting in 2002. Lawrence Hornak at West Virginia University (WVU) was the founding director and was joined by Anil Jain from Michigan State University and Jim Wayman from San Jose State University. WVU faculty included Bojan Cukic, Michael Schuckers, Tim Norman and Stephanie Schuckers. In 2002, Bojan Cukic moved to the co-director role. Today, there are 40 active faculty members. In 2011, Stephane Schuckers became CITeR director. Over time, CITeR also added the University of Arizona, University at Buffalo, Michigan State University and an international site, the Idiap Research Institute in Martigny, Switzerland. The key to CITeRs success is the participation of its affiliates. IUCRCs are unique in that their affiliates become directly involved in all phases of the center's research from planning to completion. At the time of its 2002 founding, CITeR had five affiliates: the Department of Defense Office/Biometrics Fusion Center, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency, the Biometrics Foundation, and Viisage. Today, CITeR boasts 22 members: ACV Auctions, Army Futures Command Combat Capabilities Development, Command Armaments Center (CCDC Armaments), Athena Sciences, Aware Inc., Cyber Street Solutions, Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), Defense Forensic Science Center (DFSC), Department of Defense Defense Forensics and Biometrics Agency (DFBA), Department of Homeland Security Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM), Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, IDEMIA, National Security Agency, Precise Biometrics, Public Safety Canada, Qualcomm Incorporated, SICPA, Synolo Biometrics Inc., TECH5, Veridium, and Xator Corporation. Attachment SAN FRANCISCO, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman urges Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) investors who suffered significant losses to submit your losses now. Class Period: Feb. 24, 2021 June 9, 2022 Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Aug. 29, 2022 Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/WFC Contact An Attorney Now: WFC@hbsslaw.com | 844-916-0895 Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) Securities Class Action: The litigation focuses on Wells Fargos statements about its diverse slate hiring policy (Diverse Search Requirement), which required that at least half of interview candidates must represent a historically underrepresented group for most posted jobs in the U.S. paying more than $100,000 per year. Specifically, the complaint alleges Defendants: (1) misrepresented its commitment to diversity in its workplace; (2) conducted fake job interviews to meet its Diverse Search Requirement; and, (3) as a result, was under increased risk of regulatory and/or governmental scrutiny. On May 19, 2022, the New York Times reported that a former executive in the companys wealth management division (Joe Bruno) told it that often diverse candidates would be interviewed for jobs already promised to someone else and he was fired after he reported to his superiors that the practice of conducting fake interviews was inappropriate, morally wrong, ethically wrong. NYT also cited other current and former Wells Fargo employees further corroborating Mr. Brunos account. Then, on June 9, 2022, the NYT reported that federal prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into whether Wells Fargo violated federal laws by conducting sham interviews of minority and female job candidates. These disclosures caused Wells Fargos shares to decline sharply. Were focused on investors losses and proving Wells Fargo mispresented its commitment to diversity, said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation. If you invested in Wells Fargo and have significant losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firms investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman. Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Wells Fargo should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email WFC@hbsslaw.com. About Hagens Berman Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs rights complex litigation law firm focusing on corporate accountability through class-action law. The firm is home to a robust securities litigation practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw. SAN FRANCISCO, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Simplicity Tech Inc., the technology company behind the mobile application that helps cities fight misinformation and strengthen relationships with residents, is proud to welcome Miguel Gamino Jr. as its Chief Experience Officer and Founding Partner. Miguel previously served as Executive Vice President and Head of Global Cities at Mastercard and brings over 20 years of rich experience working with cities and local governments. I cant think of a better time to accelerate an application like Simplicity to help improve trust and transparency between urban residents and their local government, said Miguel Gamino Jr. This is certain to increase the effectiveness of the critical services delivered by cities daily. The chance to scale this impact in cities across the U.S. and worldwide is an incredible opportunity that Im thrilled to join. While at Mastercard, Miguels team developed its City Possible program to help cities accomplish inclusive economic growth and prosperity. This became a worldwide network of over 320 cities, states, and other organizations. Simplicity Tech Inc. began its search for a CXO due to the growing interest of large cities in utilizing the Simplicity app following its launch in the U.S. last year. Some of the 30+ cities using the app today include Oakland and the entire San Mateo County, which has nearly half of the Silicon Valley cities. With the Simplicity app, municipalities and residents can combat the growth of misinformation on social media, improve the speed of information sharing, and reduce the environmental impact of printed materials. The app lets residents choose the type of alerts they want to receive, including updates from various municipal agencies and departments critical to residents daily lives, such as the health department, road closures, upcoming events, and emergency notifications. Last year, the company raised over $10 million from institutional investors to fuel its fast growth. We developed a unique solution which affects every residents daily life in a city, comments Juraj Gago, co-founder of Simplicity. With Miguels rich experience in the industry, we will be able to help a city of any size to utilize the app to its fullest potential. Prior to his role at Mastercard, Miguel served as Chief Technology Officer for the City of New York; before that, he was City Chief Information Officer and Executive Director of the Department of Technology for the City and County of San Francisco, and Chief Information and Innovation Officer for the City of El Paso. About Simplicity Tech Inc. Simplicity Tech Inc. is a technology company based in San Francisco Bay Area, with offices in Chicago and Bratislava, Slovakia. Its Simplicity application helps municipalities and residents fight misinformation and stay informed on the most critical updates in their communities. Following its successful launch in Silicon Valley, the company raised over $10M in seed funding for further expansion. For more information, visit www.onesimplicity.com . Mariia Ternovskaia Simplicity Tech Inc. mariia@onesimplicity.com MOUNT VERNON, N.Y., June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Bona Fide Masks Corp. (www.bonafidemasks.com), the most trusted mask distributor in United States and Canada, announced its official partnership with ShipBob as its international third-party logistics (3PL) provider for end-to-end fulfillment solutions in Canada. This partnership will support fulfillment, warehousing, and inventory management, augmenting Bona Fide Masks' e-commerce business. Since the company's inception, Bona Fide Masks has proudly distributed Guangzhou Powecom Labor Insurance Supplies Co., Ltd. (Powecom) and Guangzhou Harley Commodity Co., Ltd. (Harley) KN95s in Canada. Leveraging ShipBob's capabilities, Bona Fide Masks will optimize delivery speeds, reduce shipping costs, and deliver a greater level of customer service. The Bona Fide Masks business model has been built on superior supply chain integrity. The appointment of 3PL partners is a direct response to a thriving global marketplace and the growing demand for fast and affordable shipping. Bona Fide Masks is delighted to select best-in-class partners to better serve their customers while maintaining their commitment to trust, authenticity, and transparency. The benefits of the ShipBob partnership for Canadian customers include free shipping with orders over $35, the elimination of custom fees given items will ship within Canada, and quicker delivery times shipping (3-7 days for standard and 1-3 days for expedited). "We are excited to work with ShipBob to better serve our Canadian customers. As a family-owned and operated business, we take the appointment of strategic partnerships very seriously. We want to ensure that our partners share our sensibilities for doing business the right way and place the highest value on trust and transparency. We selected ShipBob given their proven track record and impressive global capabilities. As we scale our business, we will continue to invest in technology and infrastructure that positions Bona Fide Masks not just as the most trusted mask distributor but a company with the highest level of customer service. We know our customers depend on us for authentic, high-quality masks, and we will continue to work hard to deliver these products quickly and efficiently." - Bill Taubner, President, Bona Fide Masks More about Ball Chain Manufacturing. Co., Inc.: Family-owned and -operated since 1938, Ball Chain is the only major U.S. manufacturer of metal ball chain and attachments. The company's ball chain is featured in window roller shades, light fixtures, plumbing devices, keychains and jewelry items. Headquartered in Mount Vernon, New York. with global distribution, Ball Chain designs and fabricates innovative products while providing exemplary customer service. After entering the interior design market with ShimmerScreen decorative metal curtains, the company further diversified its offerings with the launch of LogoTags, a promotional products division. Ball Chain is proud of its commitment to the American workforce and the environment. The company has earned industry recognition for its responsible business practices, including "green business" certification from the Green Business Bureau (GBB) and certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). More about ShipBob: Founded in 2014 by Dhruv Saxena and Divey Gulati, ShipBob has become one of the fastest-growing tech companies in America. ShipBob believes that every direct-to-consumer e-commerce brand has what it takes to stay competitive. The company's goal is to provide the best fulfillment services for merchants, so they can focus more on what's important growing their business and delivering a remarkable customer experience. In just a few short years, ShipBob has grown from working out of Dhruv's apartment to a Chicago headquarters and hundreds of thousands of square feet of warehouse space across the US. But no matter how much the company has grown, their goal remains the same: to provide best-in-class fulfillment for small to mid-size businesses. Media Contact: 914.664.7500 Bill Taubner, President, bill@ballchain.com Cristina Chianese, VP of Marketing & Strategy, cristina@ballchain.com Ball Chain Mfg. Co., Inc. / Bona Fide Masks Corp. info@bonafidemasks.com Related Images Image 1 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment TORONTO, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bunker Hill Mining Corp. (the Company) (CSE: BNKR, OTCQB: BHLL) is pleased to announce that Dr. Mark Cruise has been appointed to its Board of Directors, replacing Mr. Wayne Parsons. Richard Williams, Executive Chairman, commented: I am excited and very proud to welcome Dr. Mark Cruise to the Board of Directors of Bunker Hill. A highly respected career geologist and company builder, his technical expertise, extensive professional network, and track record of growing mid-tier mining companies add essential strategic capabilities to our Board as we start to look beyond the restart the mine towards ways to create new value from investment in exploration and external growth opportunities. We are very lucky to have him join us. But it is with a heavy heart that all of us at Bunker Hill bid farewell to the redoubtable Wayne Parsons, whose consistent passion, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit, as both Board Member and CFO, has been invaluable to the early-stage turnaround management of the business. APPOINTMENT OF DR. MARK CRUISE AS INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR Dr. Cruise is a professional geologist with over 27 years of international mining experience, in Europe, the Americas and Africa. A former polymetallic commodity specialist with Anglo American plc, Dr. Cruise founded and was Chief Executive Officer of Trevali Mining Corporation. Under his leadership, the company grew from an initial discovery into a top-ten global zinc producer with operations in the Americas and Africa. He has previously served as Vice President Business Development and Exploration, COO and CEO for several TSX, TSX-Venture and NYSE-Americas listed exploration and development Companies. Mark has Served on 9 Public Company Boards over 14 years for TSX-V; TSX and NYSE-Americas listed Exploration, Development and Producing Companies with market capitalizations ranging from tens of millions to in-excess of US$1 billion. Mr. Wayne Parsons is a mining finance entrepreneur who served as Bunker Hills CFO between May 2019 and January 2021, stepping up to be a key Non-Executive Board Director thereafter. He leaves the Board and the Company effective June 30, 2022 but will remain close to the Company as both a supportive shareholder and friend. Now that our business is focused fully upon the technical aspects of restarting and developing the mines potential, I am delighted to hand over my governance responsibilities to Dr. Mark Cruise whose technical expertise and experience are vital for this stage of the companys development, said Mr. Parsons. This is indeed a very exciting moment for all our shareholders. INVESTMENT IN A PARTNERSHIP CULTURE SHARE-BASED BONUS AWARDS The Company is delighted to report that it has awarded 1,218,000 Units of the Company as a one-time bonus to 26 Idaho-based personnel in recognition of significant and special contributions made towards the restart of the Bunker Hill Mine, including underground rehabilitation and development, infrastructure improvements, geology, and environmental and community initiatives. In addition to recognizing their extraordinary efforts at a challenging and foundational time, this also represents the first step along a path designed to build a distinctive performance-focused ownership culture within the Company. Our ability to maximize the value contained within the Bunker Hill mine is directly related to the performance-focused partnership that we are building with our Silver Valley contractors and personnel, said Sam Ash, CEO of the Company. We do not take that of them for granted and believe it is vital that they can share in the very special opportunity that is being created here. This is just one small first step on the path to achieving that. Each Unit is comprised is comprised of one common share and one warrant to purchase a common share of the Company at a price of CAD 0.37 per common share until April 1, 2025. ABOUT BUNKER HILL MINING CORP. Under new Idaho-based leadership the Bunker Hill Mining Corp, intends to sustainably restart and develop the Bunker Hill Mine as the first step in consolidating a portfolio of North American precious-metal assets with a focus on silver. Information about the Company is available on its website, www.bunkerhillmining.com, or within the SEDAR and EDGAR databases. For additional information contact: David Wiens, CFA CFO & Corporate Secretary +1 208 370 3665 ir@bunkerhillmining.com CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as well as within the meaning of the phrase forward-looking information in the Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations. Forward-looking statements are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Companys future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as believes, anticipates, expects, estimates, may, could, would, will, or plan. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet managements expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Companys intentions regarding: its objectives, goals or future plans and statements; closing the Stream as described herein with SRSR; the financing package with SRSR being sufficient for the purposes described herein; the Companys ability to secure additional financing, whether dilutive or non-dilutive; the Companys ability to progress detailed engineering of the Bunker Hill Mine; the Companys ability to complete the underground decline, the demobilization of the Pend Oreille mill, and further engineering optimization in preparation for the mine restart; the Companys ability to restart production at the Bunker Hill Mine; and the completion of a pre-feasibility study and the timing thereof. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: the ability to predict and counteract the effects of COVID-19 on the business of the Company, including but not limited to the effects of COVID-19 on the price of commodities, capital market conditions, restriction on labour and international travel and supply chains; failure to identify mineral resources; failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves; the inability to complete a feasibility study which recommends a production decision; the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results; the Companys ability to restart and develop the Bunker Hill Mine and the risks of not basing a production decision on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability, resulting in increased uncertainty due to multiple technical and economic risks of failure which are associated with this production decision including, among others, areas that are analyzed in more detail in a feasibility study, such as applying economic analysis to resources and reserves, more detailed metallurgy and a number of specialized studies in areas such as mining and recovery methods, market analysis, and environmental and community impacts and, as a result, there may be an increased uncertainty of achieving any particular level of recovery of minerals or the cost of such recovery, including increased risks associated with developing a commercially mineable deposit with no guarantee that production will begin as anticipated or at all or that anticipated production costs will be achieved; failure to commence production would have a material adverse impact on the Company's ability to generate revenue and cash flow to fund operations; failure to achieve the anticipated production costs would have a material adverse impact on the Company's cash flow and future profitability; delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals; political risks; changes in equity markets; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; the inability of the Company to budget and manage its liquidity in light of the failure to obtain additional financing, including the ability of the Company to complete the payments to the U.S. EPA pursuant to the terms of the agreement to acquire the Bunker Hill Mine; inflation; changes in exchange rates; fluctuations in commodity prices; delays in the development of projects; capital, operating and reclamation costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry; the cost, timing and ability to implement ESG initiatives which may not be technically successful or economically viable; and those risks set out in the Companys public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. The beauty of Unhyeongung in April 2022. Robert Neff Collection By Robert Neff On the morning of June 15, 1892, the residents of Seoul awoke to the booming of thunder. It was a very welcomed sound. One elderly American wrote in her diary, the sky had "every appearance of rain, we all hope it may come." Indeed, many of the farmers were probably praying fervently knowing that a bountiful rain would help ensure a successful harvest, but others, before the end of the evening, would rue the rain perhaps curse it for it dampened their Machiavellian plans. Heungson Daewon'gun, the father of the king, had long been a thorn in his son's side. In the recent past, he had been notorious for his plots to undermine his son's authority and was especially nefarious to the queen's whom he considered to be his mortal enemy. However, age had mellowed the elderly man he was about 71 years old and in recent years he "had remained apparently aloof from the politics, though rumor, in view of his antecedents, often connected his name with suggestive canards." Throughout the day it rained heavily and many people sought the sanctuaries of their homes. The Daewon'gun was no exception. He invited several of his friends to Unhyeongung (his palace/residence) for a small dinner party, and "all of the household partook freely of wine." It was a very enjoyable evening but it taxed heavily upon the elderly Daewon'gun, who, "being somewhat fatigued, went to bed a little after nine." It was at about 9:30 when a loud explosion coming from the Daewon'gun's residence shattered the peacefulness of the evening rain. Several officials proceeded thither to make inquiries, but being assured by the gate-porter that nothing had happened, they withdrew." Little could they have imagined of what had transpired behind the closed gate. A gate of Unhyeongung in April 2022. Robert Neff Collection According to the Seoul-based correspondent of the Fiji Shimpo (newspaper): "Shortly after the Prince had retired a loud noise was heard in or near his room, and the servants, rushing thither, found that a part of the building had been completely wrecked. Unable at first to see the Prince, they supposed that he had been killed, but presently he emerged unhurt from the ruins, and gave orders that the rest of the house should be searched. Examination revealed that boxes containing about 13 or 14 lbs. of gunpowder each had been placed in the heating flues under the Prince's bedroom, study, and reception-chamber. These rooms practically constitute the Prince's regular dwelling-place, so it is plain that by exploding the three boxes simultaneously, the plotters expected to kill the [Daewon'gun] without fail. The boxes under the bedroom and reception room did actually explode, but that under the study failed, the fuse having been damped by rain which was falling heavily." A ground-level view of Unhyeongung in April 2022. Robert Neff Collection It was surmised that "during the guests' departure someone carried in the powder" and placed it in the flues. It is a very interesting account but, as usual, there are discrepancies to begin with, the dates. The Japan Weekly Mail claimed it took place on the 16th but wondered why the news of the assassination attempt did not reach Tokyo until the 23rd even though the Japanese representative in Seoul had supposedly sent a telegraph on the 17th, informing his government of what had transpired. Most accounts, however, give the date of the assassination attempts as June 18. Horace N. Allen, the temporary charge d'affaires at the American legation, sent a confidential report to the State Department nearly two weeks after the attempt in which he wrote: "I have the honor, privately to report that for some days a rumor has been current here to the effect that on the night of the 18th June and unsuccessful attempt was made to assassinate the [Daewon'gun] father of the king, by means of a package of gunpowder placed under his sleeping room, but which was discovered in time to prevent an explosion." An inner gate of Unhyeongung in April 2022. Robert Neff Collection According to Allen, the Japanese minister in Seoul, upon learning of the attempt, had immediately telegraphed his government and requested two warships to be sent to Korea. The Korean king, learning of the Japanese minister's actions, sent a messenger to Allen (and presumably the other Western diplomats) informing him that the report of the assassination attempt "was not credited in the Palace" and the king "feared unpleasant notices might appear in the papers." The palace was insisting nothing had happened, as if they were trying to brush the failure away. This seems to be supported by the Fiji Shimpo's account which claims that almost immediately after the assassination attempt, the Daewon'gun "reported the particulars to the King, but that neither the latter nor the Queen-Dowager took any notice or sent any massage of condolence." At the end of his report, Allen wrote"I may add that the rumor is believed to [illegible] by all the representative and the people." I am guessing the missing words are "be true." Inside Unhyeongung in April 2022. Robert Neff Collection Allen wasn't the only one talking about the attempt. Walter Hillier, the British representative to Seoul, paid a visit to Chinese Resident (representative to Seoul) and was informed: "in confidence that the story was perfectly true, a dastardly attempt having been made on the night of the 18th instant to blow up the King's father, an old man of 70 years of age, and his wife, who is [the] mother to the King. A quantity of gunpowder was placed under the floor of the old man's sleeping room, the floors of all rooms in this country being heated by flues running underneath them, and it was merely by an accident that he and his wife escaped. They had fortunately moved into another room at the last moment, and though the floor was blown out, the powder was of so poor a description that the damage was confined to the empty chamber." When Hillier asked what steps had been taken to "discover the perpetrators," the Chinese Resident whispered to him "that the King did not care to enquire, and gave me [Hillier] to understand that the Queen knew what was going to happen and that the plot had been concocted by some members of her family, who are deadly enemies of the King's father and of the party, which he represents." Not everyone agreed that it was the palace responsible for the failed attempt. The Japan Daily Mail noted that Korea had "opened her gates to the outer world only a dozen years ago, and already her agitators have recourse to dynamite to accomplish their nefarious purposes." The paper suggested that the attempt was assisted by outsiders: "It is scarcely probable that any Korean laboratory is yet capable of manufacturing bombs and infernal machines, and the evident interference will be that the plotters were in collusion with outsiders." The courtyard of Unhyeongung in April 2022. Robert Neff Collection The Fiji Shimpo, however, reported that some of the wild rumors on the street accused the Chinese Resident of having some degree of culpability. Allen dismissed these claims. He denied dynamite was used and declared "the idea of foreigners being connected with the plot is absurd." Many people suspected it was the Min family. They enjoyed powerful positions in the government and were despised by a large portion of the population they also had a great hatred towards the Daewon'gun. The Fiji Shimpo pointed out that the Min family alleged the assassination attempt "was a plot designed to injure their reputation." The reputation of the Min family was not that good even in the eyes of the Chinese Resident who historically supported it. He denigrated the king for his weak character and extravagant habits and accused him of being "completely in the hand hands of the Queen and her adherents; he was under the influence of the most superstitious fears, which were worked upon by the Queen, at whose suggestion he was moving into another palace; and he was perfectly reckless in his expenditure." The kingdom's impecuniosity was to blame for this surge of violence. Government officials and soldiers had not received their salaries for several months even a year even though the king "was selling offices right and left to raise money for his extravagances, which offices [were] invariably secured by members of the Queen's clan or party." He speculated that if the queen whose health was precarious died, it would be "the signal for the wholesale murder of the members of her clan." A closer look at some of the buildings of Unhyeongung in April 2022. Robert Neff Collection Samsung Electronics executives hold 3-nanometer wafers at the company's production line in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, along with workers holding up three fingers to celebrate the world's first mass production of 3-nanometer chips. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics By Park Jae-hyuk Samsung Electronics stepped ahead of TSMC, becoming the world's first chipmaker to begin mass production of 3-nanometer process nodes, applying gate-all-around (GAA) transistor architecture. The Korean firm made the announcement, Thursday, that it had beaten its Taiwanese rival, which aims to mass-produce 3-nanometer chips by the second quarter of this year, as well as Intel, which has made huge investments in the foundry business to achieve the same goal by the second quarter of next year. According to Samsung Electronics, the 3-nanometer process is regarded as the most advanced at this moment, because it can reduce power consumption by up to 45 percent, improve performance by 23 percent and reduce surface area by 16 percent, compared to the conventional 5-nanometer process. U.S. President Joe Biden also drew global attention to Samsung's 3-nanometer chip production process, as he autographed its prototype last month when he visited the company's factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, during a state visit to Korea to hold a summit with President Yoon Suk-yeol. "Samsung has grown rapidly as we continue to demonstrate leadership in applying next-generation technologies to manufacturing, such as the foundry industry's first high-K metal gate, FinFET, as well as extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. We seek to continue this leadership with the world's first 3-nanometer process with the MBCFET," said Choi Si-young, head of the company's foundry business. "We will continue active innovation in competitive technology development and building processes that help expedite achieving the maturity of technology." As of the first quarter of this year, TSMC accounted for 53.6 percent of the global foundry market, while Samsung accounted for 16.3 percent, according to market research firm TrendForce. Samsung was considered to be lagging behind TSMC in terms of the yield rate for 4-nanometer chips. Experts have therefore advised the Korean company to reduce defects in its chip production, if it wants to catch up with its Taiwanese competitor. Although Samsung has not disclosed the yield rate and clients of its 3-nanometer chips, it was reported that it has increased its proportion of good units. Based on this achievement, Samsung plans to increase its number of clients to around 300 by 2026 from 100 in 2021. Truth or Consequences, NM (87901) Today Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 93F. NNE winds shifting to SSW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 70F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. South Africa: President Ramaphosa in Botswana for SACU Summit President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived in the Republic of Botswana on a working visit to attend the 7th Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Summit of Heads of State and Government. The President is accompanied by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Ebrahim Patel; the Deputy Minister of Finance, David Masondo and the South African Revenue Service Commissioner, Edward Kieswetter. The summit will be held at the Gaborone International Convention Centre and will be attended by Heads of State and Government and representatives of SACU Member States. Member States include the Republic of Botswana as the summit host and the current chair of the Union; the Kingdom of Eswatini; the Kingdom of Lesotho; the Republic of Namibia, and the Republic of South Africa. SACU is the oldest Customs Union in the world and its summit is held annually to discuss progress on the implementation of its agreed upon Work Programme. This years summit will consider progress made on the implementation of the refocused Work Programme. The priorities of the programme include: Industrialisation through the development of regional value chains, investment attraction and export promotion; Regional financing mechanism; Trade facilitation and logistics, and Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The summit will further consider the five-year SACU Strategic Plan, as approved by the Council of Ministers on 2 June 2022, the Presidency said in a statement. The summit is preceded by the meetings of its institutions, namely: 64th Meeting of the Finance and Audit Committee: 22 June 2022; 68th Meeting of the SACU Commission: 23-24 June 2022; and 47th Meeting of the SACU Council of Ministers: 28-29 June 2022. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-06-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Forest Law builds legal protection for ecology 09:13, June 30, 2022 By Ni Yi ( People's Daily It's been two years since the revised Forest Law took effect in China on July 1, 2020. Photo taken on Sept. 28, 2021 shows beautiful scenery in the Saihanba National Forest Park, Chengde city, north China's Hebei province. (People's Daily Online/Xiao Xueping) In the past two years, judiciary authorities have strictly abided by the principle stipulated by the law, which requires the country to prioritize ecology and protection and pursue sustainable development through a method that combines conservation and afforestation. As a result, a legal protection wall has been built and constantly consolidated for forest ecology. In January this year, a case of destruction of ecological resources proposed by the Yuelu District People's Procuratorate in Changsha, central China's Hunan province came to trial, which involved illegal logging of 454.84 cubic meters of timber and serious damage to the local woodland. According to law, the six criminals in the case were put into jail with sentences ranging from a year to three years and 11 months. Besides, they were ordered to pay over 104,000 yuan ($15,528) in total to compensate for ecological losses and apologize to the public on media outlets above the municipal level for civil public interest action. It was the first case in Changsha in which the suspects were requested to compensate for the ecological damages they had caused in the whole process of the crime, including illegal felling, transporting and trading of trees. The case mirrored the judiciary protection of forest ecology carried out by Chinese judiciary authorities with the strictest system and rule of law. Since 2019, courts at all levels across China have concluded 403,989 cases of first instance related to forest resources, including 268,180 civil lawsuits. On June 14 this year, the Supreme People's Court, Chinas top court, released an interpretation on dealing with forest-related civil disputes, as well as 10 supporting model cases, to improve the system of rules applicable to environmental and ecological laws, and promote science-based protection and utilization of forest resources from the legal perspective. In recent years, innovative compensation measures were emerging, such as alternative restoration and non-in-situ greening. Procuratorates in southwest China's Guizhou province have introduced civil compensation to the evaluation system of criminal offenses, urging suspects and defendants to restore the ecological environment through afforestation efforts. Aerial photo taken on June 25, 2022 shows the Taohuayuan National Forest Park in southwest China's Chongqing municipality. (People's Daily Online/Qiu Hongbin) The people's court in Anji county, Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang province has dispatched 120 court officers to 215 villages and communities to ensure that compensation is made for every criminal case related to environmental resources. The Intermediate People's Court of Chunlin district, Changchun, northeast China's Jilin province has signed 164 re-greening agreements since 2018, replanting 886.74 mu (59 hectares) of forests. "The Forest Law stipulates an approach combining conservation and afforestation, so we should make innovations in the way we restore ecology based on particular forest environment, to ensure a science-based and timely recovery of the functions of the forest ecology," said Xie Deti, a professor with the College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University. Upholding the concept of restorative justice, judiciary departments are guiding the perpetrators to turn from "destroyers" to "recovers" of the ecological environment, which synergizes the legal, social and ecological effects of the judicature, Xie said. Over the past two years, the Forest Law has provided a legal basis for advancing ecological progress, protection, cultivation, and utilization of forest resources, said Wang Xiang, an official with the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, adding that the law is promoting coordinated eco-socio development and forest ecological protection. To strive for carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals is an important measure for China to address acute resource and environmental constraints and achieve sustained development. Forest is the largest carbon pool in the terrestrial ecosystem. It bears important ecological functions such as carbon sequestration. Forest rangers plant seedlings on a forest farm in Tongjiang county, Bazhong city, southwest China's Sichuan province, April 9, 2021. (People's Daily Online/Cheng Cong) According to the interpretation released in June, perpetrators are allowed to compensate for the losses of forest resources by undertaking certified methods of forestry carbon sequestration. In practice, such cases have already been reported in Fujian, Guizhou and other regions of China. "So far, China has incorporated forestry carbon sequestration into the emission trading system as a certified emission reduction project, and the country is building a national carbon emission trading market," said Lin Jinxing, a professor with Beijing Forestry University. The measures taken by judiciary authorities in the recent years have constantly improved the trade rules of forestry carbon sequestration, consolidated the carbon sequestration capability of the forest ecology, increased the carbon sink of the forest ecosystem, and contributed to the sustainable development of the green, low-carbon and recyclable economy, the professor added. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) headquarters in Naju, South Jeolla Province / Courtesy of KEPCO The government said Thursday that it will intensely monitor the country's power monopoly Korea Electric Power (KEPCO) and 13 other state-run firms over financial health concerns. The finance ministry said the 14 firms earned low grades in the government's financial health assessment, as either their profitability has deteriorated or their debt levels remain high. The companies include Korea Railroad, KEPCO's five power-generating affiliates, Korea National Oil and Korea Gas. The government said it has decided to keep close tabs on their financial health on concerns that further deterioration of this could evolve into a spike in debt or insolvency of all public firms. The combined debt held by the 14 on the watch list amounted to 372.1 trillion won ($286.4 billion) as of the end of 2021, accounting for 64 percent of the total indebtedness at 350 state-run companies. KEPCO chalked up widening losses due to soaring energy costs. It reported a record high operating loss of 7.78 trillion won in the first quarter of this year, larger than the operating loss of 5.86 trillion won logged for all of 2021. The finance ministry said it will draw up details of a five-year plan by next month to improve their financial health and monitor their progress. Envisioned measures call for the companies to sell non-core assets, streamline their business structures and take other steps to enhance their financial status. (Yonhap) By Kim Hyun-bin Lee Won-ju, the daughter of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, is scheduled to attend Colorado College in the U.S. for the fall semester, according to local reports, Thursday. Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, which was established in 1874 as one of the most prestigious liberal arts colleges in the U.S. A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a university that focuses on undergraduate courses such as the humanities and pure sciences, also called fundamental science, rather than education for employment or the acquisition of specific skills. Colorado College was ranked 3rd and 7th in the Most Innovative Schools and Undergraduate Education categories last year in the U.S. News & World Report's national university rankings. James Heckman, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2000, and Ken Salasar, who served as Secretary of the Interior during the Barack Obama administration previously attended the college. Lee will go through core classes for her freshman and second year and then choose a specific major in her third year. The college enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduates and offers 42 major areas of study and 33 minor subjects. The business world is also paying attention to the fact that Ms. Lee's career path resembles her father's. Vice Chairman Lee received a recommendation to pursue a major in the humanities from his grandfather, the late Lee Byung-chull, founder of Samsung Group. Vice Chairman Lee entered the Department of Oriental History at Seoul National University. Later, he received a master's degree in business administration from Keio University in Japan and a doctoral degree in business administration from Harvard University in the U.S. The European Council has agreed to raise the targets for reducing CO 2 emissions for new cars and new vans by 2030 to 55% compared to 1990 for cars and to 50% for vans. The Council also agreed to introduce a 100% CO 2 emissions reduction target by 2035 for new cars and vansi.e., effectively a ban on internal combustion engines. Enabling drivers to recharge their vehicles across the member states will be ensured by the related revision of the deployment of an alternative fuels infrastructure (AFIR). In 2026, the Commission will assess the progress made towards achieving the 100% emission reduction targets and the need to review these targets taking into account technological developments, including with regard to plug-in hybrid technologies and the importance of a viable and socially equitable transition towards zero emissions. The Council also agreed to put an end to the regulatory incentive mechanism for zero- and low-emission vehicles (ZLEV) as of 2030. Now that the Council has agreed on its positions, negotiations with the European Parliament will begin so as to reach an agreement on the final legal texts. Investigators walk out of the Embassy Tavern Friday morning as law enforcement from multiple agencies piece together what led to a shooting Thursday night that led to two people being murdered and a third severely injured. A shooting that occurred late last Thursday night resulted in two deaths and a manhunt for the shooter, which ended Friday afternoon with the shooter succumbing to apparent self-inflicted injuries. Officers of the Green River Police Department were initially dispatched to a disturbance in the area of Riverview Drive Thursday night, according to a GRPD press release. Information received by dispatch indicated a subject at that location had pointed a pistol at the reporting party. As officers were responding to that call, a second call of an active shooter at the Embassy Tavern Bar was received. Officers arrived to find two persons dead and one wounded at the Embassy. The wounded person was transported to Memorial Hospital by ambulance. The investigation indicates the disturbance call on Riverview Drive and the shooting at the Embassy Tavern were related, the GRPD said. Officers from the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office and the Rock Springs Police Department responded immediately to assist the GRPD as the situation unfolded. Agents from the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation and Federal Bureau of Investigation also assisted with the investigation. Friday morning, the GRPD said witnesses had identified the suspect as Douglas Wolf, 51, of Green River. Law enforcement also urged the public to avoid the area from Elk Street and Yellowstone Road to Villa Lane north of Rock Springs since there was strong evidence Wolf was contained by officers of the SCSO and RSPD in an industrial area North of Rock Springs at the time. Around 10:30 a.m. Friday, the GRPD and SCSO said the suspect had been located and was in custody and there was no further threat to residents north of Rock Springs. Friday afternoon the GRPD and SCSO issued a joint press release explaining Wolf had succumbed to apparent self-inflicted injuries while being apprehended by area joint tactical law enforcement agencies. Tactical teams including K9 units located the suspect in an unoccupied industrial building on Mesa Drive near Cathedral Drive north of Rock Springs. Wolf was alive and still in possession of the firearm, which was pointed at his head, according to the press release. Upon contact, officers observed blood and an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. As officers attempted to take him into custody, the suspect fired the weapon at himself. Tactical officers moved in and secured the weapon, then immediately began life-saving measures. The suspect was taken into custody and transported by ambulance to Sweetwater Memorial, where he was officially pronounced deceased shortly after 11 a.m. No shots were fired by law enforcement during the encounter, according to the press release, however, due to standard operating procedure for local law enforcement agencies in Sweetwater County, the investigation of the shooting in this portion of the incident has been turned over to the Department of Criminal Investigation for further investigation. The press release expressed thanks to Green River Police Department, Sweetwater County Sherriff's Office, Rock Spring Police Department, Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigations, Combined Communication Center, Combined Tactical and Negotiation Teams, and BLM Rangers for their fast and immediate response and thanks to the Combined Bomb Team and Disposal Team for providing robots used for entry. "We are deeply saddened by the loss of lives that have been taken by this senseless act," the press release said. "Our thoughts go out to the friends and family of those affected by this tragedy." Green River Fire Department personnel assist in getting a critical patient into a medical helicopter to be transported for further care after a multiple-vehicle crash. Two vehicle accidents in Sweetwater County last week led to multiple injuries and one death. A fatal crash occurred at milepost 506 on US 191 south of Rock Springs in the early morning hours of June 19, according to a press release from Wyoming Highway Patrol. Around 2:47 a.m., Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers were notified of a one-vehicle rollover. A 2006 Nissan Altima was headed north on US 191. The driver of the Nissan could not maintain his travel lane, causing the vehicle to exit the west side of the road and overturn. The driver of the Nissan has been identified as 18-year-old Rock Springs resident Jaquan T. Lyons Smith. The adult passenger was wearing a seatbelt and has been identified as 18-year-old Rock Springs resident Gaige D. Olsen. Lyons Smith and three juvenile passengers were not wearing seatbelts. Lyons Smith, Olsen, and one juvenile passenger were transported to Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County for injuries sustained in the crash. One juvenile was transported by medical helicopter to the University of Utah for injuries from the crash. The third juvenile has been identified as a 15-year-old occupant who was fatally injured. Impairment, speed, and driver inattention are being investigated as possible contributing factors. This is the 42nd fatality on Wyoming's roadways in 2022 compared to 44 in 2021, 42 in 2020, and 75 in 2019 to date. Another accident occurred June 22 involving multiple vehicles but not resulting in any fatalities according to a press release from the Green River Fire Department. At approximately 8 p.m. Wednesday June 22 Green River Fire Department (GRFD) was dispatched along with Castle Rock Ambulance (CRA) to a multiple-vehicle accident with multiple injuries reported on I80 at mile marker 66. Upon arrival, Wyoming State Highway Patrol Troopers along with Sweetwater County Sheriffs had the scene contained with traffic being diverted around the wreckage. GRFD Co-Chief Bill Robinson along with CRA staff started to assess the scene and it was quickly determined patient extrication was needed along with multiple air med units. GRFD Rescue crew led by Captain Austin Rider took over rescue operations and assisted CRA crews with medical. With the assistance by law enforcement, two medical helicopters were successful in landing in different locations and were able to transport the two critical patients. Four other patients, including two juveniles who were ejected from the vehicle, were transported to Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County for treatment and evaluation. All departments worked the scene for over four hours until complete. Robinson stated that if it had not been for everyone from dispatch, fire, EMS, state troopers, sheriff, medical helicopter personnel, and hospital crews the outcome for all patients would have been very different. "We are blessed in this community whether you live here, visiting, or just passing through, that all these entities work well and professionally with each other as they do," the press release stated. "GRFD would like to say thank you to Sweetwater Combined Communications Center, Wyoming State Highway Troopers, Sweetwater County Sheriff's, Castle Rock Ambulance, Sweetwater Medics, AirMed Teams, and Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County for all their help during this time." Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, third from left, presides over a meeting attended by top economy-related ministry officials at the Government Complex in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap Electricity reserve falls to 5-year low By Lee Kyung-min The government is bolstering energy reserves to prevent possible blackouts triggered by an earlier and more intense heatwave in the summer, with electricity demand this year expected to peak in the second week of August, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Thursday. The short-term energy demand is affected by ongoing geopolitical uncertainties from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, a power supply risk set to push down this year's reserve energy supply rate to a multi-year low. Further fanning the bleak outlook is the electricity price increase that took effect July 1, straining not only low-income households and the self-employed but also industries cornered to shoulder increases in production costs and other expenses. The government plans to raise the nuclear power supply to 20.7 gigawatts (GW) in the second week of August, up from 17.7 GW a year earlier. The ministry said the minimum power supply reserve, as measured by the difference between supply capacity and demand, is expected to peak at 5.2 GW in the second week of August. Janice Ann Smith Mortensen, age 85, of Bountiful, Utah, died on June 15 in Salt Lake City, after a short fully-vaccinated battle with Covid and a frustrating battle with dementia. Born in Salt Lake City on March 21, 1937, to Samuel H. and Phyllis Merleen Jones Smith, her formative years were spent in Klamath Falls and Woodburn, Oregon. After graduation from North Marion High School as valedictorian, Janice attended BYU, where she obtained a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood & Family Development and Elementary Education. She also spent a semester at the Merrill Palmer Institute in Detroit. At BYU is where she met the love of her life, E. Wayne Mortensen, who broken-heartedly survives her. Married on June 6, 1959, in the Manti Utah Temple, Janice began her career as a "domestic engineer." Janice and Wayne welcomed into their home and are survived by her adoring children, Carrie (Russell) Eyre, Lorine, Alan (Robyn), David (Stacey), Amy and Lynelle (Troy) Stoddard. She is also survived by her 13 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren (who call her "Oma") and by her two loving brothers, Tom (Jean) Smith and Harold (Dianne) Smith. Janice and Wayne began their married life together in Corvallis, Oregon, where Janice taught school while pregnant with Carrie (a violation of district protocol at the time), while Wayne finished his chemical engineering degree at Oregon State University. Theirs was an equal partnership based upon their shared faith and hope in Jesus Christ. Wayne's jobs took their growing family to Richmond, California; Syracuse, New York; Green River, Wyoming; back to Syracuse; Gibsonburg, Ohio; and then back to Green River. As empty-nesters, Janice and Wayne moved to Fairborn, Ohio; Casper, Wyoming; Calgary, Alberta; Layton, Utah; Berlin Germany (where they served as senior missionaries for the LDS Church) and then to Bountiful, Utah, where they have resided until her passing. Yet Janice always considered Oregon to be home and was quick to correct the improper pronunciation of her beloved state. The capstone to Janice's family life was a Disney cruise to Alaska sponsored by Janice and Wayne where all her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and spouses attended. Janice served her community extensively in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving as both ward and stake Primary and Relief Society Presidents and as ward Young Women's President. She also served as Wayne's scribe as he was a Stake Patriarch for the past 40 years. She taught in most of the auxiliary classes in her church. She operated a pilot program for the Church in name extraction and welcomed several church authorities into their home when Wayne served as stake president. Janice served in the PTA at all her children's schools and was president of the PTA in Gibsonburg. She ran a pre-court diversion program for juveniles in Green River. Janice was as generous with her money as she was with her time, always helping people in need. In order to allow the family to recover from Covid, a visitation will not be held until Friday, July 1 at Russon Mortuary, 295 North Main, Bountiful from 6 - 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 2 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel, 1476 North 300 West, Bountiful, Utah with a visitation prior to the funeral from 10:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Interment will be near her parents in the Pleasant Grove City Cemetery. For those who may want to participate services will be streamed live on the Russon Brothers Mortuary Facebook page and on Janice's obituary at www.russonmortuary.com. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Humanitarian Fund of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Dear Editor, In a piece written on May 26, the editorial board of the Green River Star asserted the State should back away from crypto as none of this will benefit Wyoming in the long run. I have to say, I couldnt disagree more. Wyoming is at a crossroads. We have long relied on our trifecta of industry energy, agriculture, and tourism to fund our state and local governments and employ our residents. Those industries will always be important to the fabric of our state, but that shouldnt prevent us from welcoming other emerging industries to the Cowboy State. In its attempt to discredit the industry, the board makes a number of assertions that dont stand up to scrutiny. Im not sure what the board means by mirror schemes involving pyramids as that would imply that digital asset markets are a) protected by gatekeepers and b) purchasing digital assets makes someone upstream richer. Both points are patently false. While exchanges and institutions exist to make accessing digital asset markets easier, no intermediary is necessary. Furthermore, at least in the cases of Bitcoin and Ethereum, no single individual is getting rich because people are buying more of those assets. I like to think of digital assets as more of an investment vehicle, like a stock or a hard asset like land. Different assets serve different purposes, just like different digital assets serve different purposes. A digital asset like Bitcoin isnt influenced by the actions of one individual or a small group. It is decentralized. It is like cattle. The actions of one rancher cant change the price of cattle across the country. The board also asserts entire scams have developed using the hype around cryptocurrency, and Ill give them that. Yes, there are scammers in the cryptocurrency industry, but instead of letting the status quo stand and empowering them to continue scamming consumers, we should implement regulations that prevent them from perpetuating these scams. U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis recently introduced a digital asset framework bill that does just that. Furthermore, the board fails to recognize that cryptocurrencies and digital assets create opportunities for those who have not been well represented in the traditional financial markets. It also creates opportunities for a state that has all too often been left behind when it comes to new economic opportunities. Its hard to say what the impact of the digital asset industry will have on Wyoming, but its bold to say that none of this will benefit Wyoming in the long run. Additionally, the University of Wyoming is currently the only Division I university with a blockchain program. We are going to start graduating students with the ability to work in this industry and they are going to realize that they can stay in Wyoming and raise their families because of the way we positioned ourselves early on. It is important for people to voice their concerns about new technology and industries, but to discredit an entire industry based on a small subset of bad actors is irresponsible. Consumers are protected when truthful information is easy to come by. I would welcome further conversations from anyone on the Green River Star editorial board on this topic. The State of Wyoming should responsibly chase economic opportunities that present themselves, and I look forward to the prosperity we could experience because of the steps weve taken in this space. Rep. Mark Baker Green River Faith Duncan of Green River attended this year's Wyoming Girls State session. During the session, she was elected to multiple positions and received other awards and achievements. Duncan, the only delegate representing Green River, was in the City of Meadowlark. She was elected to City Police Officer, Senate Chief Clerk, Senate Committee Chairman and U.S. Senator. She was also the Wyoming Girls State Memorial Scholarship winner. The 79th session of American Legion Auxiliary Wyoming Girls State was held on the campus of Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne June 4-11. "The Girls State program emphasizes the importance of government in modern life and educates young women in the duties, privileges, rights, and responsibilities of American Citizenship," a press release states. "It awakens a sincere conviction that a well-informed, intelligent, participating citizenry is vital to protect and preserve our American institutions and our democracy. These goals are achieved by actual participation in a simulation of the political and governmental process." Upon arrival to the program, delegates are assigned to "cities," where they live during their residence at Girls State, the press release explains. During the program, which is operated in accordance with the basic laws of the State of Wyoming, delegates elect their own city, county and state officials and learn the duties of the various offices. They also introduce and pass their own bills in the Girls State legislature, make and enforce ordinances regulating their cities;and manage their own police force to administer justice. "Every student holds a definite, integral role in the functions of Girls State," the press release said. The program also invites guest speakers including government officials, community leaders, military members and veterans who present their perspectives on processes and operations. "Girls State offers a myriad of opportunities to experience government first-hand as a citizen, as a voter, as a candidate, as an official, as a policy maker, and as a friend," the press release said. Gov. Ned Lamont took a safe path early Thursday, naming a recently retired, veteran state lawyer from North Haven with elections experience to fill the secretary of the state position for the next six months. Mark F. Kohler will take the secretary of the state role effective July 11, succeeding Denise Merrill, who has held the post for 11 1/2 years and is stepping down effective noon Thursday to care for her ailing husband. Merrill, 73, had announced last year she would not seek re-election. Kohler, a 1987 UConn law school graduate, was head of the special litigation unit from 2011 to 2021, serving under two attorneys general, George Jepsen and William Tong. That unit represents all state constitutional officers, the legislature, and the judiciary, covering, among other matters, election issues a subject of frequent lawsuits. In naming Kohler, Lamont hewed to the tradition of picking a non-controversial veteran professional to fill a short-term vacancy in a constitutional office as he did at the end of 2021, when he named Natalie Braswell to succeed former Comptroller Kevin Lembo, who resigned due to a heart condition. Mark is an extraordinary public servant, Lamont said Thursday. He has been specializing in election law over that attorney generals office for many, many years. He had just taken a retirement and he agreed to stay on to help us for 6 months and to make sure we get through this primary, next election, the balloting, as smoothly as can be done, he continued. Kohlers appointment comes one day after a political blogger and Hartford Courant columnist, Kevin Rennie, incorrectly named a different person as Lamonts pick. The Courant retracted that story. The secretary of the state position is the most hotly contested constitutional office in this years elections, with two candidates vying in the Democratic primary and three Republicans, all of them with significant credentials. Lamont made it clear he would not name a person with aspirations to run for the office. The candidate who wins the seat in the November election would be sworn in on Jan. 4 under the political schedule laid out in the state Constitution. Lamont also declined to name Scott Bates, Merrills top deputy, who has been the subject of controversy in his former role as chairman of the Connecticut Port Authority, due to cost overruns at the state pier in New London and other issues. The Republican state chairman, Ben Proto, had publicly warned Lamont not to name Bates. Its unclear whether Bates was ever under consideration. Lamonts office said the candidate named by Rennie, Democratic Party insider Moriah Moriarty, was never under consideration. Kohler retired earlier this year as an associate attorney general under Tong. Before the special litigation assignment, he headed the public utilities unit from 2009 to 2011 and the finance department from 2003 to 2009. In the early 1990s he was an associate at Shipman & Goodwin. He had just taken a retirement and he agreed to stay on to help us for 6 months and to make sure we get through this primary, next election, the balloting, as smoothly as can be done, Lamont told reporters Thursday. People dont know if hes a Republican or a Democrat. Thats code for, hes an appointee who is not politically active in campaigns. For the record, the North Haven town clerks office said Kohler is registered as a Democrat. Mark is incredibly well-respected as a level-headed, tactful, and experienced attorney who has a considerable understanding of Connecticut state statutes, particularly those concerning the operations of our elections and government administration, Lamont said in a written release. The circumstances surrounding the need to fill this vacancy are very unfortunate, but I am pleased that Mark has agreed to step away briefly from his retirement and return to state service. I am confident that this will be a smooth transition. I am honored and humbled to be named by Governor Ned Lamont to serve out the remainder of this term and continue my public service on behalf of the people of the State of Connecticut, Kohler said in the governors release. I have the utmost respect, appreciation, and admiration for the work Denise Merrill accomplished in this role, and I look forward to working with her dedicated team of professionals to ensure that our elections are carried out in an accessible, fair, and transparent manner. Merrill, who was majority leader of the state House of Representatives before she won election for the constitutional office in 2010, issued a statement saying she was pleased with Kohlers appointment. I am quite familiar with Marks work and stellar career in the Attorney Generals office, as well as his commitment to public service. I have every confidence he will make sure that all the important functions of our office, as well as our upcoming elections are handled fairly and with integrity. dhaar@hearstmediact.com Reporter Abigail Brone contributed to this report. HARTFORD Owners of historic homes in 10 Connecticut urban centers are now eligible to apply for funds to enhance, restore and preserve their homes. The Edward F. Gerber Urban Preservation Fund will select one recipient of a $10,000 grant each year. The property must have no more than four units and be located in Bridgeport, Hartford, Manchester, New Britain, New Haven, New London, Norwalk, Stamford, Waterbury or West Haven. Edward Gerber joined Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin outside the historic Amos Bull House Wednesday to announce that applications have opened and must be submitted by July 8. We are blessed in this state and particularly in this city to have extraordinary architecture, Bronin said. So many times, the owners of those buildings who love their homes, love their buildings, love their history dont necessarily have the funds to preserve it. Eligible properties must be owner-occupied. Projects may include removal of non-historic features such as vinyl siding. A full list of eligible and non-eligible projects can be found here. The fund is a part of the work of Historic New England, a regional non-profit organization that supports preservation projects in New England. Gerber lived in downtown Washington D.C. for most of his life before moving to Westport. In D.C., Gerber said he met many people who wanted to preserve their historic homes but lacked the money. They couldnt get the money so they didnt do the project, Gerber said. He launched the fund alongside Historic New England, where he serves as a board member, with support from Carissa Demore, team leader for preservation services. It supports really thoughtful maintenance and restoration work by property owners and that kind of highly visible preservation work and investment goes a long way beyond individual property owners toward building a sense of place and sense of community our neighborhoods, Demore said. emily.disalvo@hearstmediact.com UNITED NATIONS (AP) Iran said Thursday it is ready for new indirect talks with the United States to overcome the last hurdles to revive its tattered 2015 nuclear deal with major powers amid a growing crisis over the country's atomic program. Irans U.N. Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi told the U.N. Security Council that the Iranian negotiating team is ready to engage constructively again to conclude and reach agreement. The ball is in U.S. court, and if the U.S. acts realistically and shows its serious intention to implement its obligations, the agreement is not out of reach, he added. Ravanchis remarks came a day after indirect negotiations between Iran and the U.S. ended in Qatar after failing to make significant progress. Yet Ravanchi described the Qatar talks as serious and positive. He said Iran will contact the European Union coordinators for the next stage of talks. During intensive consultations with EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Tehran last week Iran once again emphasized its willingness to provide creative solutions to the remaining issues in the hope of ending the deadlock, Ravanchi said. He spoke at a Security Council meeting on the U.N. resolution that endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal and its five permanent members the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France and Germany. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump pulled America out of the agreement, known as the JCPOA, raising tensions across the wider Middle East and sparking a series of attacks and incidents. President Joe Biden's administration has been working to renew the agreement, which placed curbs on Irans nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief, which Iran insists it has never received. The State Department said after this weeks talks in Doha that Iran raised issues wholly unrelated to the JCPOA and apparently is not ready to make a fundamental decision on whether it wants to revive the deal or bury it. Before Ravanchi spoke, U.S. deputy ambassador Richard Mills told the council that the United States remains committed to a mutual return to full implementation" of the JCPOA. Mills said the U.S. has been prepared for months to conclude a deal based on understandings negotiated in Vienna in March, but we can only conclude a deal, and implement it, if Iran drops its additional demands that are outside the scope of the JCPOA. The Vienna talks have been on pause since March. And since the deals collapse, Iran has been running advanced centrifuges and rapidly growing stockpiles of enriched uranium to 60% purity, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels. However, Tehran continues to suffer under intense economic sanctions while the West hopes to again curtail its nuclear program. Before the council meeting, France, Britain and Germany issued a joint statement saying Irans nuclear program is now more advanced than at any point in the past and its actions are rapidly unsettling the balance of the package we had negotiated over many months. The statement urged Iran to conclude the deal, while it is still possible and warned that its actions raise further obstacles to the IAEA's ability to provide assurance of the peaceful nature of Irans nuclear program. U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo expressed hope that Iran and the United States will continue to build on the momentum of the last few days of talks in Qatar to resolve the remaining issues. While the U.N. nuclear agency hasnt been able to verify Irans stockpile of enriched uranium, it estimates that the stockpile is more than 15 times the amount allowed under the JCPOA, including uranium enriched to 20% and 60% which is extremely worrying, she said. Also, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran has started to install additional advanced centrifuges at enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordo. EU Ambassador Olof Skoog said that in view of Iran's worrying nuclear trajectory" and new U.S. sanctions, it's vital that an agreement is concluded as soon as possible, stressing that the space for further significant changes has been exhausted." This is important for Europe, for Iran, the region but also the world as a whole that now more than ever needs more security and stability," Skoog said. Russias deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky, while critical of allegations against Iran, said Moscow wholeheartedly supports negotiations to revive the JCPOA and sees no insurmountable issues. Attempts to step up pressure on Iran through unwarranted fueling of tensions around the JCPOA could fully invalidate prospects for reviving the deal, he cautioned and urged all parties to focus on compromise. SAN ANTONIO (AP) The tractor-trailer at the center of a human-smuggling attempt that left 53 people dead had passed through an inland U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint with migrants inside the sweltering rig earlier in its journey, a U.S. official said Thursday. The truck went through the checkpoint on Interstate 35 located 26 miles (42 kilometers) northeast of the border city of Laredo, Texas. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said there were 73 people in the truck when it was discovered Monday in San Antonio, including the 53 who died. It was unclear if agents stopped the driver for questioning at the inland checkpoint or if the truck went through unimpeded. The disclosure brings new attention to an old policy question of whether the roughly 110 inland highway checkpoints along the Mexican and Canadian borders are sufficiently effective at spotting people in cars and trucks who enter the United States illegally. They are generally located up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the border. Texas state police also announced they would operate their own inland checkpoints for tractor-trailers on the orders of Gov. Greg Abbott, who considers the Biden administration's efforts insufficient. It was unclear how many trucks they would be stopping. Also Thursday, Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, the alleged driver of the tractor-trailer, made his initial appearance in San Antonio federal court. During a hearing that lasted about five minutes, Zamorano, wearing a white T-shirt and gray sweatpants, said very little, giving yes and no answers to questions from U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Chestney about his rights and the charges against him. The judge appointed a federal public defender for Zamorano as well as a second attorney since the smuggling charge he faces carries a possible death sentence. She scheduled a hearing next week to determine if he is eligible for bail. It remained unclear just how long the migrants were in the trailer on the sweltering day and whether having their cell phones confiscated by the smugglers before being placed inside contributed to the extremely high death toll. Emergency calls from trapped migrants have not emerged in this case as they have in earlier incidents. On Thursday, Jose Santos Bueso of El Progreso, Honduras said his daughter, 37-year-old Jazmin Nayarith Bueso Nunez, told him in their last conversation that she was in Laredo, that the smugglers were going to take their phones and she would not be able to communicate for a time. She last messaged her 15-year-old son around midday Monday, saying they were about to head to San Antonio and she would be out of contact. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1976 that Border Patrol agents may stop vehicles at inland checkpoints for brief questioning without a warrant, even if there is no reason to believe that they are carrying people in the country illegally. Still, the practice has galvanized immigration advocates and civil libertarians who consider checkpoints ripe for racial profiling and abuse of authority. Some motorists post videos to social media accusing agents of heavy-handed, inappropriate questioning. The Laredo-area checkpoint is on one of the busiest highways along the border, particularly for trucks, raising the possibility of choking commerce and creating havoc if every motorist is stopped and questioned. Border Patrol officials call the checkpoints an imperfect but effective second line of defense after the border, acknowledging that agents must balance law enforcement interests with disrupting legitimate commerce and travel. Volume and configuration vary widely among checkpoints, but agents generally have five to seven seconds to decide whether to question a driver, said Roy Villareal, former chief of the Border Patrol's Tucson, Arizona, sector. Ultimately, it's very difficult to ascertain with crime in general. It's hard to say whether you're 100% effective, 50%, 10%." U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, who drives through the checkpoint almost weekly, said investigators believe the migrants boarded the truck in or around Laredo, though that is unconfirmed. That would be consistent with smuggling patterns: migrants cross the border on foot and hide in a house or in shrubbery on U.S. soil before getting picked up and taken to the nearest major city. Even if the truck were empty, it would raise questions about the checkpoints. Migrants often perish trying to circumvent them, getting dropped off before reaching them with plans to get picked up on the other side. In Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings, migrants walk through sweltering ranches to avoid a checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) north of the border. The Government Accountability Office reported this month that agents at inland checkpoints detained about 35,700 people believed to be in the U.S. illegally from the 2016 to 2020 fiscal years, only about 2% of all Border Patrol arrests. Agents seized drugs nearly 18,000 times during that period with more than nine of 10 arrests involving U.S. citizens. They have been a trap for U.S. citizens carrying even small bags of marijuana. About 40% of pot seizures at Border Patrol checkpoints from fiscal years 2013 to 2016 were an ounce (28 grams) or less from U.S. citizens, according to an earlier GAO report. Abbott did not provide details on the extent of Texas' new inland inspections announced Thursday. Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said troopers would take a more aggressive stance. Asked if that meant stopping every truck, Olivarez said he did not know and that it would partly depend on staffing. Its going to be inspecting more than what we usually inspect, Olivarez said. In April, Abbott gridlocked Texas border for a week after issuing orders that troopers inspect every tractor-trailer entering from Mexico as part of his ongoing fight with the Biden administration over immigration policy. Those inspections, which were mechanical and safety inspections, did not turn up any migrants or drugs. ___ Spagat reported from San Diego. Paul Weber in Austin, Texas and Delmer Martinez in El Progreso, Honduras contributed to this report. Motorola posted a teaser for its upcoming X30 Pro flagship smartphone. This is the same smartphone expected to come equipped with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset and a 200MP main camera sensor. Motorola may launch the X30 Pro as the Motorola Frontier in markets outside of China. The teaser reveals that the Moto X30 Pro will use three different focal lengths on its camera system in what is an unusual setup in the smartphone realm. 35mm is the widest it goes, matching the ZTE Axon 40 Ultra's main camera that we really liked in our review. You then get 50mm telephoto, which would be about 2x magnification on most other smartphones out there, but a modest 1.4x on the Moto. Finally, there's going to be a 85mm longer telephoto camera. If you've been serious about DSLR photography you'd know that the three focal lengths are not accidentally chosen. We are not so sure how well the lack of ultrawide camera will sit with potential users, though. Golden trifocal section Freeze the emotions of the world Moto X30 Pro Hyper-realistic image master Last month, Motorola teased a smartphone that would launch in July will arrive with a 200MP main camera. We are expecting to see the long-anticipated Motorola Frontier at this event, though Moto may have more than one smartphone coming with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and a 200MP camera. Motorola Frontier render The Motorola Frontier will use Samsungs 200MP ISOCELL HP1 sensor which can output 12.5MP or 50MP still images with support for 8K video recording at 30fps. The Frontier is also rumored to come with a curved 6.67-inch OLED screen with 144Hz refresh rate. Theres also a 60MP selfie camera and speculation of a 4,500 mAh battery with wired 125W fast-charging. Source LS Cable & System Asia LSCV plant in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. / Courtesy of LS Cable & Systems LS Cable & System Asia seeks to expand new businesses to be better prepared for and adapt to the changing pandemic. The company continues to grow after achieving record-high quarterly results in the first quarter of this year. Its strategy is to go beyond Vietnam and advance into global markets such as ASEAN countries and North America with its renewable energy and telecommunication businesses. LS Cable & System Asia is the "No. 1" cable maker, occupying more than 20 percent of the power cable market in Vietnam, the company said. It has three production subsidiaries Vietnam LS-VINA (Hanoi), LSCV (Ho Chi Minh City) and Myanmar LSGM (Yangon) to produce high-quality power and communication cables, and is playing a leading role in LS Cable & System's success in the global market. LS-VINA is the only cable company capable of producing ultra-high-voltage cables in Vietnam, and it is expected to benefit from the expansion to new and renewable energies such as wind and solar power. In particular, the Vietnamese government announced a plan to build 18GW of wind power capacity by 2030, which opened the way to a 3.6-trillion-won ($2.8 billion) cable market LSCV's telecommunication cable business is also expected to expand following the establishment of high-speed communication networks in North America and Southeast Asia. LSCV exports around 80 percent of all its telecommunication cables to the U.S. "Growth is expected due to the urbanization of the ASEAN countries, the establishment of high-speed communication networks and the development of new and renewable energies," Baek In-jae , CEO of LS Cable & System Asia said. "We will focus on investing in high-value-added products to improve our profit margins." (Advertorial) These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales. A judge disqualified himself from presiding over a case connected to a retired police officer charged with terrorizing. Retired Guam Police Department Lt. Jojo Templo Garcia appeared in the Superior Court of Guam Thursday morning to plead guilty or not guilty to charges connected to a February indictment. The hearing was rescheduled to next week. Magistrate Judge Jonathan R. Quan rescheduled the hearing after disqualifying himself from the case because of his experience working with Garcia at Guam Police Department. Garcia will appear in court again July 6 before Magistrate Judge Benjamin C. Sison Jr. Garcia was indicted in February with three counts of terrorizing as a third-degree felony, four counts of reckless conduct and one count of official misconduct as misdemeanors. The indictment doesnt give much detail of Garcias charges. A video that circulated on social media in December 2021 showed Garcia arguing with people outside a residence while carrying a rifle. In the video, he appears to point the rifle at others. The Office of the Attorney General was unable to confirm if the charges were linked to the video. UPDATE, JUNE 30 AT 7:48 PM: Lewistown Police Department Assistant Chief of Police Jon Polich has shared more information on Wednesday's shooting. Several agencies reportedly responded to the 1200 block of 6th Ave. North in Lewistown for a report of a man that had been shot at a residence. The reporting party stated a man involved in the shooting left the area on foot and had a firearm in his possession. When first responders arrived, they found Tyler Green, 46, lying on the ground with life-threatening injuries. He was taken to the Central Montana Medical Center Emergency Room, where he was later pronounced dead. Law enforcement searched the area for persons of interest in the shooting, and a 24-year-old man believed to be involved was recognized by a probation officer on Main Street near 6th Ave. North. According to Polich, the man was detained without incident and was taken to the Fergus County Sheriffs Department where he was later booked into the jail for felony Assault with a Weapon. Following a further investigation, an arrest warrant for Deliberate Homicide, Attempted Deliberate Homicide, and other charges, was issued for his arrest and he was booked into the jail for the warrant. Polich said the department is not releasing the mans name at this time. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Lewistown Police Department at 406-535-1800 or Central Montana Crime Stoppers at 406-535-2746. The Lewistown Police Department would like to thank the numerous agencies that assisted us to help bring this incident to a safe resolution. We would also like to thank the community for their assistance and cooperation in this matter. The Police Department would also like to extend our deepest condolences to Greens family for their tragic loss, Polich said. LEWISTOWN, MT- Overnight police responded to a shooting in Lewistown at the 1200 block of 6th Ave., North. People in the area that spoke with ABC FOX Montana say this is a quiet neighborhood across the street from a park. Police tell us theres no threat to the public but that the area will be closed for sometime as an investigation is conducted. We will keep you posted. A prosecuting attorney told a Superior Court judge Thursday that a member of Frank Ko San Nicolas legal defense team had been in contact with the accuser in San Nicolas sex assault case. San Nicolas, a suruhanu and former Port Authority of Guam police officer, is accused of criminal sexual conduct. Attorneys met Thursday to discuss his motion for a mistrial. Before Judge Arthur Barcinas could begin, Assistant Attorney General Richelle Canto said she learned a member of San Nicolas defense team from the Arriola Law Firm had been in contact with San Nicolas accuser. I just found out your honor, that law clerk apparently assisted the victim and her boyfriend two years ago when they were looking for how they were going to report this, because she had been raped and she was looking for people for help with attorneys, or should she report this to the police officers, Canto said. She was referring to the clerk who has sat between San Nicolas and his attorney, Joaquin Jay Arriola Jr., throughout the trial. Canto said this is one of many concerns shes had with Arriola, who she said has tried to lie and cheat to win this trial. She said her office is ready to file an ethics complaint against him. Arriola said his law clerk was never put on the witness list. If he heard information from a witness out there and was willing to testify about it, we would have put him on the witness list, Arriola said. Before the prosecutor comes into court to make a statement like that she just made, I would strongly suggest she investigate. Barcinas said there was nothing he could do with the information and told Canto to proceed as she wishes. Mistrial Following the arguments, Arriola argued on a motion to have Barcinas declare a mistrial after Canto asked a witness questions that solicited hearsay statements three times. Barcinas previously ordered the witness only be allowed to testify as long as the testimony "did not contain hearsay and related only to the victim's demeanor." Arriola further argued Canto solicited hearsay statements when she asked the witness, "Did she reveal to you that she was sexually assaulted by Ko?" In response, Canto said her questions cannot be considered by the jury as evidence, and said Arriola had already brought up the witness revealing the alleged assault while questioning a different witness. Barcinas said he would take time to review witness statements before making a decision. If the motion for a mistrial is denied, the trial will continue. San Nicolas faces charges of third-degree criminal sexual conduct as a second-degree felony and two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct as misdemeanors connected to the sexual assault of a 26-year-old woman in a cave in May 2020. He was acquitted of similar charges in December 2021. Michael Lujan Bevacqua is an author, artist, activist and the curator for The Guam Museum. Health care professionals from the Guam Memorial Hospital, Guam Regional Medical City and other medical facilities, are joined by supporters as they gather for an awareness wave to kickstart National Hospital Week, while at the ITC intersection May 9, 2022, in Tamuning. Korea's 'e-Saram' praised as innovative management system for public workers By Ko Dong-hwan Minister of Personnel Management Kim Seung-ho Haiti - Insecurity : The PNH thwarts a kidnapping, 3 kidnappers killed, 1 injured, 2 on the run Wednesday, June 29, the Police warned of the presence of suspicious individuals traveling on board a Toyata 4Runner in crisis color, registered : AA-09249, the police intervened in time when these individuals were going to kidnap an employee of the Henry Deschamps Bookstore. The police pursued the kidnappers from Petion-Ville to the level of Lalue. During the exchange of fire, 3 of the bandits were mortally wounded near the premises of the Haitian Foundation for Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases and another was wounded and arrested. Note that according to information available to the Central Directorate of Judicial Police (DCPJ), the three kidnappers killed by the police were repeat offenders well known to the police. This are Jean Brunel, born in Kenscoff on June 22, 1984, imprisoned in the National Penitentiary on December 23, 2010 for illegal possession of firearms, armed robbery and criminal association. Jean Mario Joseph, born in Cite Soleil on April 22, 1990, imprisoned in the National Penitentiary on September 2, 2011 for illegal possession of firearms. Jean Michel Bien-Aime, born in Port-au-Prince on November 6, 1979 (multi-recidivist), imprisoned in the National Penitentiary on December 26, 2008 for criminal association and November 6, 2017 for armed robbery, robbery and illegal detention of firearms. The police are actively looking for two other fugitive accomplices, who took part in this thwarted kidnapping attempt. SL/ iciHaiti Haiti - News : Zapping... Ouanaminthe : Fuel seizure operation The agents of the National Police of Haiti (PNH), in Ouanaminthe (Dept. Nord-East), carried out an operation in several private houses serving as a place of clandestine storage of fuel and seized several barrels of petroleum products. D-1 : 115,337 candidates expected for the official Bac exams 115,337 candidates will take the official baccalaureate exam on July 1, 4.5 and 6, https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36852-haiti-flash-baccalaureate-exams-2022-change-of-date-official.html . 1,873 classrooms in 572 exam centers across the country are preparing to receive them. 101,108 students will compose for the NX-IV (single Bac), 4,577 for the Bac Permanent Philo and 9,652 for the Bac Permanent NS-IV. Meniol Jeune, the Director General of the Ministry of National Education, declared that all the necessary measures have been taken for the smooth running of these exams and guarantees that there will be no security problem. SWAT Cop arrested Divisional Inspector Gary Desrosiers, Spokesperson for the National Police of Haiti (PNH) confirmed the arrest on June 24, of police officer Frantz Pierre of the special SWAT unit, for his alleged involvement in an attempt to kidnapping and murder, on January 18, 2022, in Delmas. The policeman was arrested while he was in the victim's vehicle. Dangerous addiction According to the Director General of Dominican Customs Edouardo Lovaton, the Republic provides monthly 80% of the Haitian market in food products... Assassination of the Presiden: Protests for the 1st anniversary Former Ministers and close collaborators of Jovenel Moise announce a series of activities including three days of peaceful demonstrations on July 6, 7 and 8, throughout the country, to mark the first anniversary of his assassination at his Pelerin residence 5 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34162-haiti-flash-president-jovenel-moise-assassinated-by-mercenaries-official-updated-7am-+-video.html Legal instruments between the two Nations of the island On Wednesday, June 29, 2022, the Technical Secretariat of the Haitian-Dominican Joint Bilateral Commission (CMB) held an important preparatory meeting for a workshop on the identification and evaluation of legal instruments between the Republic of Haiti and the Republic Dominican. HL/ HaitiLibre Legislative leaders call on Stein to act on abortion restrictions Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore are shown in a file photo. [CAROLINA PUBLIC PRESS] Top Republicans in the state legislature and the states attorney general are squaring up to fight over the line North Carolina drew on abortion nearly 50 years ago. North Carolina is poised to be one of the only states in the South to allow abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last week in a 5-4 decision. The high court said each state should be able to decide whether to allow, regulate or ban abortions. Since then, officials in eight states announced that abortion has been outlawed. Several states have a so-called trigger ban, which was set to prohibit abortion if the high court also overturned Roe. While no trigger ban is on the books in North Carolina, a 1973 state law bans abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy. However, a federal court awarded an injunction against that ban in a 2019 case, Bryant v. Woodall. That injunction still stands, which prevents state officials from enforcing the ban on abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy. Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, recused himself for the Bryant case, his staff said this week. State Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and State House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, the leaders of the Republican-controlled General Assembly, asked Stein and his office to defend the states 20-week ban in a letter last week. We respectfully call on you and the Department of Justice to take all necessary legal action to lift the injunction currently barring the full enforcement of our States abortion restrictions, the letter said. Berger and Moore asked Stein to respond by Friday. Stein had not responded as of late Wednesday, although his office said the legislative leaders can expect a response before the July 1 deadline. The state legislature is slated to wrap up its work on the short session this week, and Lauren Horsch, Bergers spokeswoman, said he doesnt expect to take up any legislation related to abortion this year. When the dust settles Several other states, including South Carolina and Georgia, are likely to ban abortion, too, according to The New York Times. When the dust settles, North Carolina, Virginia and Florida may be the only Southern states that do not outlaw the practice. And its entirely possible that Virginia and Florida, which both have Republican governors, could outlaw abortion in the near future, depending on how political winds blow. As surrounding states ban abortion, clinics in North Carolina expect a rise in the number of patients without a corresponding increase in appointment availability. Amber Gavin, spokeswoman for A Womans Choice abortion clinics, said estimates for the increase in demand range from a 20 percent increase to nearly double the demand, although its too soon to be certain. While North Carolina has a 72-hour waiting period for abortion, the first appointment can happen over a video or phone call. AWC clinics are prepared to be open for longer hours and additional days to accommodate as many people as we can that need care, Gavin said. If Steins office takes legal steps to restore the 20-week ban, Horsch said, then the General Assembly likely wont have to get involved any further. But if Stein doesnt act to restore the ban, the situation gets more complicated. November election stakes in NC Then the legislative leaders will evaluate their options for how to best restore the ban, she said. With the short session ending this week, we do not anticipate taking up any pro-life legislation until next year. Both chambers of North Carolinas legislature currently have Republican majorities, although neither has enough votes to override a veto by Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat. Putting potential legislative action on hold until 2023 would mean waiting until after the outcome of Novembers elections, when Democrats hope to eat into the Republican majority in both chambers of the General Assembly and Republicans hope to expand their advantage and reclaim the veto-proof majority they held a few years ago. In a press release sent Friday, Stein directly associated the future of abortion law in North Carolina with elections. State law currently protects womens reproductive freedoms, Stein said. If we want to keep our freedoms under state law, then we have to elect state officials who commit to protecting them. Each chamber requires a supermajority of three-fifths of elected lawmakers to override a gubernatorial veto: at least 72 in the 120-member House and 30 in the 50-member Senate. Republicans command a lead in both chambers, with 69 Republicans in the House and 28 in the state Senate. Elections for the state Supreme Court could also have significance for the future of abortion in North Carolina, and voters views on abortion could play a major role in high court elections this fall. Of the seven justices on the state Supreme Court, three are Republican, and two spots occupied by Democrats are up for grabs this fall. If even one Republican challenger wins, it could tilt the balance against abortion access in one of the last remaining states where it is legal in the South. * * * * * Kate Martin is lead investigative reporter for Carolina Public Press. Email her at kmartin@carolinapublicpress.org. Fourth of July features parade, concert and fireworks The city's Independence Day parade takes place starting at 10:30 a.m. Monday, July 4, followed by an expanded Fourth of July celebration along five blocks of Main Street culminating in the fireworks show. Henderson County Tourism Development Authority and Henderson County Parks and Recreation are teaming up on the celebration from Third Avenue to Caswell Street that includes bluegrass bands from 5 to 9 on the Historic Courthouse Plaza. The Lonesome Road Band from 5-6:30 pm and Supper Break from 7 pm-9 pm in front of the Historic Courthouse, along with games, face painting, craft corner, inflatables, food trucks and more starting at 5. At the Visitor Center Stage, the TDA will host BSE Band from 7 to 9:30. At either concert location, people are encouraged to bring a chair and sit back, relax and enjoy the music followed by the fireworks display. WTZQ radio will simulcast the fireworks with patriotic music. The parade, from Caswell Street to Sixth Avenue, runs south to north, opposite the direction of the Apple Festival and Christmas parades. No parking will be permitted along the parade route after 6 a.m. Main Street from its southern intersection at King Street to Sixth Avenue will close at approximately 9 a.m. Traffic will still be able to traverse the avenues until approximately 10:15 a.m. when they will close in preparation for the 10:30 a.m. parade start. The avenues and Main Street from Third Avenue to Sixth Avenue will reopen as the last entry progresses along the route. The Main Street blocks from Caswell to Third Avenue will remain closed in preparation for the 4th of July Concert and Fireworks hosted by the Tourism Development Authority and Henderson County Parks and Recreation. The fireworks launch site is off South Grove Street and a large balloon will be launched the morning of the Fourth to signify where the fireworks will be seen. The fireworks display will take place between 9:15 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Motorists should avoid the launch site area (South Grove Street between the bridges) before and during the fireworks display. It is recommended that attendees leave pets safely and comfortably at home. A HOSPICE charity has launched a night-time service for the Henley area. The Sue Ryder Palliative Care Hub South Oxfordshire will now provide palliative care and emotional support at patients homes around the clock. This has been made possible by a substantial donation by a charitable trust set up on the wishes of a former mayor of Henley, Anthony (Tony) Lane. It means a member of Sue Ryders hospice at home team will give one-to-one care to existing patients already in receipt of a care package between the hours of 10pm and 7am. The charity hopes to launch the service soon and is now recruiting new staff, including nursing assistants. Sylvia Thomas, head of quality and clinical services, said: For families with a loved one who is dying, night-time can be an especially worrying and difficult time when they feel isolated or exhausted. Our new overnight service will ensure we can be there when it matters for our patients and their families no matter what time of day it is, providing them with the reassurance that their loved one is in the care of a skilled member of the hospice at home team, while they can take some much-needed rest. Sue Ryders aim is to be there when it matters for our patients at the most difficult times of their lives, providing a truly holistic package of care to meet individual need. On average, only 30 per cent of palliative care provision in the UK is funded by the Government. It is our fantastic supporters who fundraise for us so tirelessly and partners such as the Anthony (Tony) Lane Foundation who make it possible for us to provide the care that we are so well known for. Anna Burnside, a trustee of the foundation, said: We are delighted to support the new Sue Ryder night service for the benefit of the people of Henley and South Oxfordshire. Sue Ryder has provided essential services to the community for many decades and this ground-breaking initiative will ensure that this connection continues long into the future. Mr Lane died in March 2014, aged 87, having lived in Henley for most of his life. He worked as a cobbler and was a Conservative member of Henley Town Council between 1965 and 2002. He was mayor for a record four terms between 1971 and 2002. He set up that foundation as a charitable trust in his will and it became a registered charity in June 2016. Since then the trustees have made grants to a wide range of grassroots community groups and voluntary organisations. The foundation focuses on one of five themes every year. They are: engaging children and young people in Henley; providing for the social wellbeing of the elderly of Henley; Preserving and celebrating Henleys heritage and history; improving the health of the people of Henley and encouraging new business in Henley. Mr Lane was made an MBE in 1995 for his contribution to the community. He had lived at the Acacia Lodge care home in Quebec Road at the time of his death. Sue Ryders care hub was launched after it closed its hospice in Nettlebed, saying that demand had fallen and more people wanted to be cared for at home. The building has since been sold to a developer and is due to be turned into flats. A local man walks next to his bicycle past a plant damaged following recent Russian shelling in the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine, June 29. EPA-Yonhap The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) branded Russia the biggest "direct threat" to Western security, Wednesday, after its invasion of Ukraine and agreed on plans to modernize Kyiv's beleaguered armed forces, saying it stood fully behind Ukrainians' "heroic defense of their country." At a summit dominated by the invasion and the geopolitical upheaval it has caused, NATO also invited Sweden and Finland to join and pledged a seven-fold increase from 2023 in combat forces on high alert along its eastern flank against any future Russian attack. In reaction, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would respond in kind if NATO set up infrastructure in Finland and Sweden after they join the U.S.-led military alliance. Putin was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying he could not rule out that tensions would emerge in Moscow's relations with Helsinki and Stockholm over their joining NATO. U.S. President Joe Biden announced more land, sea and air force deployments across Europe from Spain in the west to Romania and Poland bordering Ukraine. These included a permanent army headquarters with accompanying battalion in Poland the first full-time U.S. deployment on NATO's eastern fringes. "President Putin's war against Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe and has created the biggest security crisis in Europe since the Second World War," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference. "NATO has responded with strength and unity," he said. Britain said it would provide another 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion) of military support to Ukraine, including air defense systems, unmanned aerial vehicles and new electronic warfare equipment. 'Fighting everywhere' As the 30 national NATO leaders were meeting in Madrid, Russian forces intensified attacks in Ukraine, including missile strikes and shelling on the southern Mykolaiv region close to front lines and the Black Sea. The mayor of Mykolaiv city said a Russian missile had killed at least five people in a residential building there, while Moscow said its forces had hit what it called a training base for foreign mercenaries in the region. The governor of eastern Luhansk province reported "fighting everywhere" in a battle around the hilltop city of Lysychansk, which Russian forces are trying to encircle as they try to capture the industrialized eastern Donbas region on behalf of separatist proxies. Donbas comprises the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces. Regional Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukrainian television that Russian attacks killed one civilian and wounded eight Wednesday. Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports. Also in Donetsk, a video clip aired on Russia's RIA state news agency showed former U.S. soldier Alexander Drueke, who was captured while fighting for Ukrainian forces. "My combat experience here was that one mission on that one day," said Drueke, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, referring to the day he was captured outside Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. "I didn't fire a shot. I would hope that would play a factor in whatever sentence I do or don't receive." President Volodymyr Zelenskiy once again told NATO that Ukrainian forces needed more weapons and money, and faster, to erode Russia's huge edge in artillery and missile firepower, and said Moscow's ambitions did not stop at Ukraine. The Russian invasion that began Feb. 24 has destroyed cities, killed thousands and sent millions fleeing. Russia says it is pursuing a "special military operation" to rid Ukraine of dangerous nationalists. Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of an unprovoked, imperial-style land grab. The top U.S. intelligence official Avril Haines said Wednesday the most likely near term scenario is a grinding conflict in which Moscow makes only incremental gains, but no breakthrough on its goal of taking most of Ukraine. A worker removes debris from a building destroyed by a Russian missile strike in Dnipro, Ukraine, June 29, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues. Reuters-Yonhap Indirect talks between Tehran and Washington aimed at breaking an impasse over how to salvage a 2015 nuclear pact have ended in Qatar without the progress "the EU team as coordinator had hoped-for," EU envoy Enrique Mora tweeted Wednesday. "We will keep working with even greater urgency to bring back on track a key deal for non-proliferation and regional stability," Mora said. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said in a statement that Iran "failed to respond positively to the EU's initiative and therefore ... no progress was made" in the talks. The EU-mediated, indirect talks started Tuesday with Mora as coordinator, shuttling between Iran's Ali Bagheri Kani and Washington's special Iran envoy Rob Malley based in separate rooms in a hotel in Qatar's capital of Doha. Iran refuses to hold direct talks with its arch-foe, the United States, resulting in the "proximity" talks arrangement involving Mora. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Naser Kanani said Bagheri Kani and Mora "will be in touch about continuing the path and the next stage of the talks," Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. The nuclear pact seemed near revival in March but 11 months of talks between Tehran and major powers in Vienna were thrown into disarray chiefly over Tehran's insistence that Washington remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), its elite security force, from the U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) list. "Iran raised issues wholly unrelated" to the nuclear agreement, the State Department spokesperson said. Tehran "apparently is not ready to make a fundamental decision on whether it wants to revive the deal or bury it," the spokesperson said. The Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the IRGC, blamed President Joe Biden administration's "weakness and its inability to make a final decision" for lack of progress in the talks. "What prevented these negotiations from coming to fruition is the U.S. insistence on its proposed draft text in Vienna that excludes any guarantees for Iran's economic benefit," Tasnim said. Under the nuclear pact, Tehran limited its uranium enrichment program, a potential pathway to nuclear weapons though Iran says it seeks only civilian atomic energy, in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. But in 2018, then-U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the deal, calling it too soft on Iran, and re-imposed harsh U.S. sanctions, spurring Tehran to breach nuclear limits in the pact. (AP) President Yoon Suk-yeol, right, attends a photo session during a summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) at the IFEMA Convention Center in Madrid on June 29, joined by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, center, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, left, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, second from left, and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Yonhap President Yoon Suk-yeol met with the chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Thursday and discussed South Korea's plans to enter into a new partnership agreement with the organization and open a mission to NATO in Belgium, his office said. During the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid, Yoon and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg assessed the cooperative relationship between South Korea and NATO since their establishment of a global partnership in 2006. (JTA) For years, Steven Spielberg intended to direct a movie about Edgardo Mortara, a 19th-century Italian Jew who was kidnapped by the Catholic Church and raised Christian, eventually becoming a priest, while his Jewish family lobbied to free him. But Spielberg is no longer making the film after having trouble casting the role of the young Mortara. Instead, viewers' best chance to see Mortara's story onscreen will now be via a separate Italian production helmed by director Marco Bellochio ("The Traitor"), who shared details about his take on the material at the Cannes Film Festival.... Adam Sandler is seen at "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in Los Angeles, June 1, 2022. (JTA) - Last month, Adam Sandler threw his daughter a star-studded bat mitzvah party. Now it looks like his production company is making a bat mitzvah-themed film. The casting site Backstage has posted a casting call for an in-the-works adaptation of "You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah," a 2005 young adult novel by Fiona Rosenbloom. Whether Sandler will have a role in the middle school-set story has not yet been revealed, but his Happy Madison Productions company is behind the film. Sammi Cohen, who has helmed other teen films such as "Crush," "Hollywood Darlings" and "Mr. Student B... A.B. Yehoshua autographs one of his novels at the International Writers Festival at Mishkenot Sha'ananim in Jerusalem in 2010. (JNS) - When it comes to novelist A.B. Yehoshua, who died on June 14 at the age of 85, it's difficult to separate his romances from his political activism. Despite his extreme views on Jewish identity, the Holocaust and the Palestinian conflict, he was pragmatic in his opinions, taking in the reality on the ground. Born on Dec. 19, 1936, to Yaakov Yehoshua - a multi-generation Jerusalemite - and Malka, who immigrated to Israel from Morocco four years before his birth, he was named Avraham Gabriel "Boolie" after his maternal grandfather (A.B. was a pen name). "We did not come here because o... In response to the Mapping Project of Boston, Sam Friedman, chief development officer of Shalom Orlando, gave a statement on behalf of the now-merged Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando and The Roth Family JCC. Shalom Orlando stands in solidarity with the Jewish community of Boston and is grateful to Rep. [Darren] Soto [of Kississimmee] for his support in investigating the antisemitic Mapping out of Boston, Friedman said. We further urge all of our elected officials to remain vigilant against the growing threat of antisemitism and thank our local law enforcement officials for thei... A four-page letter written and typed by Adolf Hitler in 1919 documenting plans for German and world Jewry. (JNS) - A 30-member Simon Wiesenthal Center international delegation met with Pope Francis on Wednesday to present a facsimile of an original four-page 1919 document authored and signed by Adolf Hitler, in which he openly espouses the destruction of the Jewish people by "a government of national strength." The facsimile, whose original is displayed at the SWC's Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, was presented by Simon Wiesenthal Center founder and CEO Rabbi Marvin Hier and Dawn Arnall, chairwoman of the leading NGO for Jewish human rights. In Hier's remarks to Pope Francis, the Jewish... Abortion-rights demonstrator Jessica Smith holds a sign in front of the Hamilton County Court House in Chattanooga, Tenn., May 14. AP-Yonhap A federal court allowed Tennessee to ban abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy, Tuesday, while a Texas judge temporarily blocked enforcement of that state's decades-old ban on virtually all abortions, in a flurry of activity set off at courthouses across the U.S. by the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Statewide bans or other restrictions that were either left on the books for generations, tied up by legal challenges or specifically designed to take effect if Roe were to fall are now in play as a result of last week's Supreme Court ruling eliminating the constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy. Roughly half the states are expected to prohibit or severely limit the procedure now that the highest court has left it up to them. Since Friday, judges have agreed to allow bans or other restrictions to take effect in Alabama, Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee. But abortion bans remained temporarily blocked in some states, including Louisiana, Texas and Utah. Decisions are pending in other places, including Florida and Indiana. Abortion rights advocates also dropped some of their legal efforts in Indiana, Minnesota and Missouri. Some clinics initially turned patients away soon after the court ruling came down, but then reopened as judges ruled in their favor. That happened in Louisiana, Tuesday. In Houston, a Democratic city in a conservative state, a judge blocked enforcement for now of a statewide ban on virtually all abortions. Abortions in Texas are still prohibited at about six weeks because of a law that took effect last year. But after Tuesday's ruling, Texas clinics, which stopped providing services Friday, received assurances they can resume operations for at least a few more weeks without risking prosecution. At least one provider reopened to patients. In Tennessee, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed a six-week ban to take effect at the state's request. An even more restrictive ban, prohibiting nearly all abortions, is set to take effect in a month. Both measures would make performing an abortion a felony and subject doctors to up to 15 years in prison. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision opened the gates on a wave of litigation. One side is seeking to put statewide bans into effect swiftly, while the other is trying to stop or at least delay such measures. Much of the court activity focused on ''trigger laws'' adopted in 13 states that were designed to take effect quickly upon last week's ruling. Additional lawsuits could also target old anti-abortion laws that were left on the books in some states and went unenforced under Roe. Newer abortion restrictions that were put on hold pending the Supreme Court ruling are also coming back into play. In Wisconsin, the Democratic attorney general filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging an abortion ban that has been on the books for 173 years. With Roe struck down, abortion opponents said the old law is now in effect, and abortion providers in the state have stopped offering the procedure. But Attorney General Josh Kaul argued that an abortion-friendly law passed in 1985 supersedes the older law. Abortion rights supporters gathered at the South Carolina statehouse Tuesday. Merritt Watts, who moved to South Carolina from California last year, said if she still lived in California, she would have ''completely different rights.'' ''I used to think of red states as someone else's problem, but it's not,'' the Charleston resident said. ''They deserve what Californians have.'' (AP) (JTA) - Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? ShvomBob Kvadrat-hoyzn, of course. And now the Jewish world knows how to say "SpongeBob SquarePants" in Yiddish, thanks to a translation of the animated kid show's theme song by Eddy Portnoy, the academic advisor and director of exhibitions at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in Manhattan. Last week, Portnoy's college-aged daughter put "SpongeBob" on TV, and Portnoy was inspired. He typed up the lyrics on his Notes app and posted the translation to Twitter, and let the algorithm do the rest. "I can choose anything to translate," he said,... (JTA) Just under half of all Democratic senators are seeking the direct involvement of the United States in the investigation of the death of a Palestinian journalist who was shot over a month ago while covering an Israeli raid on a West Bank refugee camp. Twenty-four senators signed a letter sent to President Biden Thursday, three weeks prior to his first scheduled state visit to Israel. It is the largest action yet from U.S. lawmakers seeking an independent resolution to the May 11 killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was an American citizen. Multiple media... From the American Jewish Committee, a global Jewish advocacy organization A new website that claims to show the ties between various Massachusetts institutions and support for the colonization of Palestine has raised alarms over its dangerous targeting of the Jewish community. The map, published earlier this month by anonymous supporters of the BDS movement, is being promoted by anti-Israel groups such as Boston BDS and the left-wing nonprofit Massachusetts Peace Action. It claims to illustrate organizations and institutions in Massachusetts that they say are responsible for harm agai... (JTA) The global Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement targeting Israel has disavowed a controversial website mapping Boston-area Jewish groups a day after lawmakers urged a federal investigation of the projects potential to be used by extremist groups. The announcement by the BDS movement on Wednesday aimed to distance the group from the Mapping Project, an anonymous collective of Boston-area pro-Palestinian activists. The project lists the names and addresses of Massachusetts Jewish groups, including schools, community funds and synagogue organizations, that it claims are promoti... (JNS) Two Biden administration nominees for top posts related to the Middle East came under fire for alleged anti-Israel bias by Senate Republicans in their confirmation hearing on Thursday. The hearing, held in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, comes at a critical time as U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to travel to Israel and Saudi Arabia next month while the United States is struggling to repair its frayed relationship with the Arab kingdom amid skyrocketing gas prices. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) took issue with Tamara Cofman Wittes, the nominee for assistant administrator fo... (New York Jewish Week) Seeking the endorsement of Borough Park Orthodox leaders in his run for Congress, former mayor Bill de Blasio apologized for a 2020 tweet berating Jews for large gatherings held during the pandemic. In a video of Sundays meeting, called by an activist of the Bobov Hasidic movement, de Blasio is seen being asked about the tweet. In the tweet, he blasted the Jewish community following the packed funeral for a rabbi who died of COVID-19, and said the NYPD had been instructed to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups. It was a mis... Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (r) with Yair Lapid (center) leads a Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on June 26, 2022. (JNS) - Israel appears set to head back to the polls after a "change coalition" has failed to hold its razor-thin majority, barely a year after its formation. Elections are likely to be held on Oct. 25, just after the conclusion of the Jewish High Holidays. The elections would be the fifth in just three-and-a-half years. Meanwhile, according to the coalition's complicated rotation agreement, Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid will tentatively become a caretaker "transitional" prime minister with limited powers until a new government can be formed after elections. In this role, Lapid would... (JTA) - The Jewish Agency's nominating committee recommended Doron Almog, a storied retired general and a longtime advocate for people with disabilities, to lead the body that bridges Israel and the Jewish Diaspora. The nomination Thursday of Almog, 71, now goes to the Jewish Agency's Board of Governors, where it is all but assured of approval. The nomination follows an extended period of consideration since May 2021, when the last chairman of the agency, Isaac Herzog, announced his successful run for the Israeli presidency. The agency has been led in the interim by an acting chairman, Yaak... Protesters in Berlin hold a Palestinian flag and the initials of the anti-Israel BDS movement while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting Germany in August 2019. (JNS) - The Stuttgart Administrative Court recently ruled that calls to single out the Jewish state for boycott, divestment and sanctions do not violate Germany's laws against hate speech and are protected, sparking outrage from critics that the decision turns anti-Semitism into a socially and politically correct view. "It is probably the first time in the history of the Federal Republic that a court has expressly declared 'anti-Semitic views' to be a legally protected area of 'freedom of opinion,'" Henryk M. Broder, a leading expert on German Jew-hatred, wrote in his popular column f... (JNS) There was little time for a period of transition for Julie Platt. But with her experience, there was little need for one. Announced in February as the incoming chair of the Jewish Federations of North America Board of Trustees, Platt was unanimously confirmed for the role. Only the second woman to lead the organization, Platt is a former banker who has focused on promoting Jewish education and helping to rescue the Jewish camp movement during the pandemic. Platt served as JFNAs national campaign chair and chair of LiveSecure, the organizations initiative to broaden and deep... Next petrol shipment to arrive in Sri Lanka on July 22: official Xinhua) 09:15, June 30, 2022 COLOMBO, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The next petrol shipment will arrive in Sri Lanka on July 22 as the country faces a severe shortage of fuel, an official said here on Wednesday. Sagala Ratnayake, the prime minister's chief of staff and a committee member appointed to look into the fuel crisis, told journalists that although Sri Lanka's Ceylon Petroleum Corporation had funds, it was unable to buy fuel due to high global demands. Ratnayake said that Sri Lanka currently had 11,000 metric tons of diesel, 5,000 metric tons of petrol, 30,000 metric tons of furnace oil, and 800 metric tons of jet fuel in its storage. He further said that 38,000 metric tons of diesel will arrive between July 11 and July 15. Ratnayake said the existing stocks of diesel will only be available for essential services until the new shipment reaches the country next month. Sri Lanka's Power and Energy Ministry already began rationing fuel to the public by issuing token numbers from this week while schools in Colombo and the outskirts remain closed due to the lack of transport. Sri Lanka has been facing crippling fuel shortages, and prices of fuel have increased four times this year. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) (JNS) With the dramatic announcement on June 20 by coalition leaders Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid of their intention to dissolve Israels government, the nation began bracing itself for its fifth round of elections in three years. A proposed date of Oct. 25 has already been set. However, elections could still be avoided if opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu succeeds in forming a government before the Knesset is dissolved. Can he do it? Netanyahu currently controls 55 Knesset seats. He needs 61, a bare minimum majority in Israels 120-seat parliament. According to Ilana Shpa... The Jewish Pavilion hosted Shabbat services at Oakmonte Village Siena. They were led by Randi Cunningham, a long-time volunteer, and consisted of singing, prayers, and challah. Cunningham started by passing out Shabbat pamphlets containing prayers and led the six residents sitting around the table in prayer to light the candles. The residents joined as Cunningham led them in singing prayers such as the Aleynu and Shema, even harmonizing during parts of the prayers. After prayers were sung the residents enjoyed grape juice and challah. The Jewish Pavilion hosts Shabbat services twice a mont... For 50 years, Roe v. Wade has been the settled law of the United States. Today, in its decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Center, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, revoking the Constitutional right of a woman to terminate a pregnancy and sending the authority to regulate reproductive rights back to the states. Judaism cherishes human life, requiring Jews to set aside all ritual and religious obligations to preserve it. At the same time, Judaism recognizes that a fetus is not an independent individual, and the life and welfare of a pregnant woman takes precedence... WASHINGTON (JTA) The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Maine parents seeking funding to send their children to religious schools, a development that a dissenting Jewish justice, Stephen Breyer, suggested could open the door to broad public funding of parochial schools. Ruling Tuesday in Carson v. Makin, the 6-3 majority favored parents in Maine who objected to a state policy that funded private school education for students who lived in districts without public schools, but explicitly excluded religious schools on church-state grounds. The courts two Jewish justices, Elena Kagan a... (JTA) On Tuesday, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision prohibiting government from excluding religion and religious institutions from government funding programs. This decision in Carson v. Makin follows on the heels of two other high court decisions in the last five years emphasizing that such exclusions constitute religious discrimination prohibited under the First Amendment. But what makes this decision important is its rejection of the so-called status-use distinction: government may not discriminate based on the mere religious status of an institution, but could dis... (JNS) U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Israel on July 13. Analysts tell JNS that among the key topics to be discussed will be the Iran threat; a security alliance between Israel and Gulf states; the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem; the poor health of Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas; Russia-Syria-Ukraine; and a new global I2U2 coalition involving India. The Iranian threat Negotiations for a new nuclear deal with Iran have been on the ropes since April when the Islamic Republic said it would not return to talks in Vienna with Western powers. Jonathan Rynho... (JTA) In a live streamed address to students, faculty and staff at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Israel to join the network of countries around the world that have placed sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. We are grateful to your great nation. But we would like to also get support from your government, Zelensky said. Tell me, how can you not help the victim of such aggression? In his address, Zelensky recognized the connected histories of Ukraine and Israel, noting the Ukrainian origins of Yiddish writer Sholem Ale... (JNS) As I was researching the Six-Day War fought 55 years ago, I stumbled across an article written by Christopher Sykes, the son of Sir Mark Sykes, the British diplomat who negotiated the Sykes-Picot agreement with Francois Georges-Picot. Christopher was a diplomat, soldier and foreign correspondent who wrote about the war in the February 1968 issue of Encounter. He made several keen observations that are relevant today. Sykes said that he had firm convictions about the rights and wrongs of the opening of the June war; the need for a united Jerusalem; [and] the need for an Isra... (JNS) This week, the U.N. Human Rights Council published an 18-page report on the May 2021 conflict between Hamas and Israel. From the outset, Israel knew the reports conclusion was predetermined and rightly refused to cooperate with a biased investigation, labeling it a moral stain on the international community and the U.N. This assessment has proved correct. The inquiry that led to the report the first such inquiry to be open-ended is led by Navi Pillay, a former UNHRC high commissioner who has spearheaded more investigations of Israel than of any other country in... (JNS) The moment that some Israelis have been dreading and others happily anticipating finally arrived on Monday. Though the announcement by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid of a call for the disbanding of the Knesset was virtually a foregone conclusion, it came as a bit of a surprise. Earlier in the day, it was reported that Bennett had bought his teetering coalition an additional week. This was attributed to the fact that Likud Party and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu was postponing a no-confidence motion for several days. Still, the public resp... (JNS) Much has been written in recent days about a Boston BDS groups online map of Jewish sites across Massachusetts. The Mapping Project ostensibly revealed the monstrous connections between Massachusetts institutions and the alleged evils of Zionism and Israel, which would have been bad enough, but it also gleefully included synagogues, Jewish sites and Jewish schools at best tangentially related to the Jewish state. The takeaway was clear: Jews equal Zionists. And since Zionism is evil, the Jews are evil. And now, says the map, you know where to find them. As many noted,... (JNS) According to the Washington, D.C.-based White House Historical Association, the 1978/79 U.S. policy on Iran, that embraced Ayatollah Khomeini, betrayed the pro-U.S. shah and failed the pro-U.S. Sunni Arab regimes, was based on a superficial view of Middle East political, religious, cultural and historical reality. In January 1979, the Shah fled into exile, and the theocratic regime of Khomeini took power. There was little informed understanding in the U.S. government about the political implications of this fundamentalist regime. Gary Sick, who was on the National Security st... Jannah Hotel Apartments and Villas Ras Al Khaimah is pleased to announce the promotion of Johnny Rjeily as General Manager of the property. Johnny will be reporting to the Chief Executive Officer and will be responsible for managing the overall operations and resources of the hotel, leading the continuous development and strategic direction of Jannah Hotel Apartments and Villas. Johnny is a seasoned hotelier with over 20 years of hospitality excellence, with key exposures in the front office segment. With a Bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management from Al-Kafaat University, Ain-Saade, Lebanon, Johnny has been an integral driver in enriching the core value of customer experience in all of his operational endeavors both in the UAE and Lebanon. He joined Jannah Burj Al Sarab as Front Office Manager in 2019 and has been maintaining the effective front-line support services of the hotel. Since then, Johnny had always been ready to take on the challenge of shadowing the roles of the Operations Manager and General Manager from other Jannah properties which solidifies his management skills and business acumen. This paved way for so many opportunities for growth and learning which helped him to continuously evolve in his hospitality endeavors. Jannah Hotel Apartments and Villas RAK is extremely excited to witness the unremitting development of the property with the mentorship of Johnny Rjeily as the new General Manager. Produced by the Travel Industry Executive Women's Network (TIEWN) in partnership with the Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association (BLLA), this in-person LOS ANGELES event will gather women in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries to focus on "Money, Abundance, and Manifestation." It is designed to spark discussion about how the greatest accomplishment in our careers is how we think about and take action on our financial wellness. Whether that is investing in yourself, your career, or your business, establishing a specific path will lead you to success. Other topics include: WOMEN AT WORK - The women leading the way / Women leading forward / Women who are our role models. BUSINESS TRENDS - Emerging trends and game-changing foresights. MANIFESTING A SUCCESSFUL FUTURE - Achieve your professional, financial, and wellness aspirations. Attendees will include key players in the travel industry from hospitality, travel-related companies such as travel advisors/owners of Travel Management Companies, airline/cruise line/tour operators/tourist offices/destination management organizations, rail, travel, and hospitality technology, and solution providers, suppliers to the hospitality industry, new and emerging business founders and hoteliers in luxury and boutique, financial institutions specializing in female-owned and managed companies and various other groups involved with DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives as well as students. This event is organized by BLLA For more information please contact Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association (BLLA) Bangkok - Radisson Hotel Group is gearing up for the recovery of travel and hospitality in Thailand with plans to exponentially expand its portfolio by adding 100 hotels and resorts in the country by 2025. The new growth plans for Thailand represent part of the Groups wider expansion strategy which targets the growth of its current portfolio of 400 properties to over 2,000 hotels and resorts in operation and development by 2025. At present, Radisson Hotel Group has a collection of 6 properties in Thailand, with 4 hotels currently operating in Bangkok and two more in the pipeline in Phuket and Pattaya. This ambitious strategy will be driven by a dynamic business model that will be tailor-made to owners, and driven through a combination of organic growth, mergers and acquisitions, and master license agreements. With a defined brand architecture and segmentation, the Group leverages its collection of industry-leading brands including Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu and Radisson, while tapping into growing segments such as resorts and serviced apartments, with a focus on key business and leisure destinations that includes, Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Koh Samui, as well as up-and-coming locations across the Kingdom of Thailand. Focusing on Thailands dynamic growth and opportunities, the Group sees vast potential in brands including Radisson Individuals, the Groups soft brand, which is gaining good traction globally, and is expected to be popular with Thai owners and developers. Radisson Individuals promises greater flexibility and lower investment costs, while also allowing hotels to maintain their unique characteristics and personalities. Other brands driving this rapid expansion will be upper midscale brand, Park Inn by Radisson, that seeks to offer the essentials, carefully designed with guests mood in mind, while providing friendly service and surprising, feel-good extras, and Radisson RED, an upscale brand that infuses a playful twist on conventional hotel stays featuring stylish spaces with standout design where our guests can feel inspired, engaged with others and connected to the heart of the destination. Radisson Hotel Group will also capitalize on its alliance with its shareholder Jin Jiang International and affiliates to accelerate its expansion. Owners and developers will have access to an expanded collection of brands in select markets across Asia Pacific. In Thailand, the Group has secured rights to develop and operate 7 Days, a premium economy brand and Metropolo, through individual master license agreements with affiliates of Jin Jiang. Targeting the upscale and mid-scale segments in Thailand, the Group has also secured rights to develop and operate the Golden Tulip, Kyriad and Campanile brands, from Louvre Hotels Group. Throughout 2021, Radisson Hotel Group, with the support of its shareholders Jin Jiang and Sino-Ceef, has continued to roll-out its five-year transformation plan which resulted in the implementation of best-in-class systems to maximize revenue across the Groups hotels, as well as continued investment in the Groups operating systems, resulting in the delivery of the best GOP in the industry. Radisson Hotel Groups commitment to supporting the future of travel and hospitality in Thailand is reinforced by the launch of a dedicated business unit in Bangkok, which gives its Thai partners access to a team of on-the-ground experts that develops long standing relationships based on trust, responsibility and accountability. Thailand is a highly desirable destination offering a wealth of experiences for all types of travelers. The removal of border restrictions is a highly important step in the recovery of the Kingdoms tourism economy, and we expect to see a strong resurgence of inbound travel over the coming months. Radisson Hotel Group is poised and fully committed to the future of travel and hospitality in Thailand, and we look forward to working with all our partners to build a bright future in this captivating country, said Katerina Giannouka, President, Asia Pacific, Radisson Hotel Group. David Nguyen, Managing Director, Indochina and Strategic Partnerships, South East Asia & Pacific added, With Thailand being one of Radisson Hotel Groups core growth markets, my team and I look forward to working with partners in the country to further expand our portfolio to be ready for the tourism rebound. Thailand is now fully open to international visitors with no testing requirements or quarantine restrictions for fully vaccinated inbound travelers. Following this important step, the Land of Smiles is expected to experience a fast recovery as guests flock back to their favorite destinations. The Thai government estimates that the country will attract over 7 million international visitors in 2022. In the longer term, the return of Chinese visitors to Thailand will play a major role in the success of Radisson Hotel Group, and Thailand as a whole. Prior to the pandemic, Chinese nationals accounted for more than a quarter of the countrys total visitor arrivals. When outbound tourism from China eventually resumes, Thailand will be one of the first countries to benefit. Radisson Hotel Groups alliance with Jin Jiang International will offer unprecedented access to this hugely important market, including Chinese language booking channels, digital payments, and access to over 182 million loyalty program members. Radisson Hotel Group will also help Thailands tourism sector achieve a sustainable future; the company has made a firm commitment to become carbon net zero by 2050 and all Radisson Meetings are 100% carbon neutral. Together with industry leaders such as the Phuket Hotel Association, Radisson Hotel Group is a partner of the Hotel Sustainability Basics, a new industry movement to drive sustainable travel. About Radisson Hotel Group Radisson Hotel Group is one of the world's largest hotel groups with nine distinctive hotel brands, and more than 1,600 hotels in operation and under development in 120 countries. The Group's overarching brand promise is Every Moment Matters with a signature Yes I Can! service ethos. The Radisson Hotel Group portfolio includes Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Radisson Individuals, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, and prizeotel brought together under one commercial umbrella brand Radisson Hotels. Radisson Rewards is our international rewards program that delivers unique and personalized ways to create memorable moments that matter to our guests. Radisson Rewards offers an exceptional experience for our guests, meeting planners, and travel agents at over 550 hotels in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Radisson Meetings provides tailored solutions for any event or meeting, including hybrid solutions placing guests and their needs at the heart of its offer. Radisson Meetings is built around three strong service commitments: Personal, Professional and Memorable, while delivering on the brilliant basics and being uniquely 100% Carbon Neutral. The health and safety of guests and team members remain a top priority for Radisson Hotel Group. All properties across the Group's portfolio are subject to stringent health and safety requirements, as outlined in the Radisson Hotels Safety Protocol. More than 100,000 team members work at Radisson Hotel Group and at the hotels licensed to operate in its systems. For more information, visit our corporate website. Or connect with Radisson Hotels on: LinkedIn | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube Our fingers are crossed that this summer plays out as forecasted, with a genuine travel recovery scenario leading to big boosts of occupancy for properties big and small, urban and resort, and in all countries where its deemed safe to travel. But theres a reputational risk in this whiplash back to higher occupancy figures that can cause lasting harm to a brand if not properly addressed. It comes down to a hotels ability to service guests. Staffing shortages are a big setback on operations and revenue maximization, and sadly they arent going away any time soon. For the rest of 2022, this means more incoming guests and fewer team members. Taken together, some requests and SOPs are bound to get missed; as we well know, those service mishaps are bound to crop up in your online reviews sooner or later. To get a better sense of this challenge and what hotels can do to mitigate it while keeping a lean team, we reconnected with Michael Kessler, CEO of ReviewPro, for additional insights. This stretch of pent-up travel demand will come and go until we regain some semblance of normalcy, but those bad reviews on TripAdvisor and other OTAs are there for all to see, said Kessler. Right now, customers are keenly focused on post-pandemic rather than pre-pandemic hotel reviews, and this means reputation management and ideally the automation of this task in order to not harm team productivity deserves a serious rethink as we get underway in this next era of travel. From the Guests Perspective Its always illuminating to hear a different angle on the labor crisis; Kessler suggests that all hoteliers first take a step back and put themselves in the guests shoes. Were so caught up in the day to day and trying to juggle staffing schedules or room cleaning orders that we forget to look at the travel recovery of 2022 from the customers point of view. Put bluntly, guests dont care about whats happening operationally at a hotel; they just want a great experience, with all their needs addressed quickly and effectively. This is especially the case for those who havent been able to travel during the past two years of restrictions. Add to this that room prices may inevitably rise due to supply chain issues and the like, and you have a guest with higher service expectations and a need for smooth, restful stay at your hotel, regardless of the back-of-house staffing. Often dubbed Revenge Travel 2.0, the forthcoming recovery period may also see such travelers going out with a vengeance through more personal pampering, added indulgences, a heightened demand for experiential amenities or activities and, ultimately for you, more revenue per guest to the hotel. As a classic good problem to have, this surplus of service requests and increased upsell volume further increases the load on your team to execute, in turn increasing the possibility of errors arising from frontline staffing shortages. To help prevent negative reviews, we need to learn to do less with more, and that means employing technology to cover some parts of the job. Far from deploying a robot at the front desk, were referring to automation and AI tools for repetitive tasks in order to free up available staff to cover the guest-facing and more complex problem-solving side of the job. This can be done throughout the customer journey for instance, by speeding up response times and opening up communication channels. Consider the Entire Guest Journey What to look for in upgrading your hotel tech stack? This automatization of the guest journey must be tackled systemically. It can involve any or all of the following, with each aspect working to address the setback of staffing shortages by freeing up labor for other tasks: Programming in-stay surveys and setting team notifications, so that hoteliers can act quickly to provide onsite service recovery when needed. Consolidating requests from any digital platform whether its an email, texting app or social media so nothing gets missed and the team isnt burdened with checking every single channel. Bringing all online reviews into one platform for managers to efficiently answer with thanks and acknowledgements, and for prospective guests to see that the hotel is responsive and caring. Perfecting the prearrival and post-departure automated communications to set the tone for a great onsite experience and maintain the brand relationship after check-out. Employing a hospitality specific chatbot to help automate the more repetitive aspects of inbound inquiries, whether its for guests currently on-premises or those yet to book a room. Offering comp set review benchmarks to give a sense of where a property needs to improve compared to other brands. Analyzing the specific words in each review, using AI-driven tools to evaluate performance not just on star rating changes but on guests sentiments and soft suggestions. Automation Ultimately Makes for Happier Staff and Guests Your kneejerk reaction to all the various automation of tasks from the above is that it would make associates afraid of creative destruction. The exact opposite is what actually happens, as Kessler demonstrated through the example of the Aquaria Natal Hotel in Ponte Negra, Brazil, where happier staff inevitably results in happier guests. In this case, the deployment of a review management platform was part of a concerted effort to truly care for the employees one that also involved better staff meals, continuing professional development, gym discounts, medical coverage and onsite wellness counselling. Before the pandemic, the property was rated 59th out of 116 hotels in the area; now it has the top rank. The Aquaria Natal used ReviewPro to spot negative sentiments mid-stay then send alerts to the team to address immediately, as well as to send out clear communications with guests so that they understood what services were available during the rolling adjustments to COVID-19 mandates and werent disappointed by the disruptions. Simple automation like this freed up the frontline teams time so that they could focus on building genuine rapport with guests and earn the online praise that pushed the hotel into the number one position. For your own property, consider one other staff retention bonus from these tools, in that they can also be set up to notify managers when an especially great review is posted or when a specific team member is praised by name. These snippets of celebration can then be printed and pinned up in the staff lounge for all to see what an awesome job theyre doing. The Bottom Line Sometimes, its the simple acts of recognition like this that can go a long way towards boosting morale and preventing turnover, absenteeism or presenteeism (when employees are present but disengaged). Especially during a labor crisis where automation is already needed in many other ways, its reassuring to find these subtle yet creative ways to use existing technologies to retain staff and develop a great organizational culture. Taken together, the seven functionalities from above along with some of the other morale-boosting features of these platforms present a strong case for why hotel review management needs a stronger focus in the post-pandemic recovery. Staffing shortages will be an omnipresent issue for the next year (at least!), making automation essential to maintain quality service delivery. And as you can see from the example, even some of the seemingly inconsequential use cases can go a long way towards creating a healthy culture that then fosters a steady stream of great online reviews Larry Mogelonsky Hotel Mogel Consulting Limited View source During the recent Hospitality School Revenue Management Faculty Forum, hosted by the HSMAI Foundation, participants from hospitality schools CUNY NYC College of Technology, Missouri State University, Penn State, Red River College Polytech, Ryerson University, and University of Nevada, Las Vegas discussed various topics related to student perceptions of the industry. The following outlines the insights gleaned from this group during the forum. What is the lasting impact of the global pandemic on student morale and motivation? Students are cautiously optimistic yet nervous about job security. There is concern that the industry is no longer a good fit with their ambitions. Students are less focused on growth in their careers and more focused on job security. There is a sentiment that there arent many revenue management opportunities after graduation. What are the student perceptions of revenue career opportunities when they start your class? They are unclear as to what it really is and what their careers would look like. Students initially think it will be similar to a finance class and that it will only be applicable to hotels. Many havent even considered it. They think GM nothing about revenue management. Once they start to understand it, they can find revenue management in everyday life and feel like they have a unique understanding of the world. What do you tell students in your class that excites them about this career path? It is a global subject with a lot of opportunities. Based on personal experience, sharing the dynamic roles of revenue managers. The field is challenging, and you can see real impact. It is a fast-paced, energizing field that provides a great opportunity to drive strategy for an organization. What recent shifts have you observed in students career interests? They have more uncertainty, but some understand that the opportunities are coming back. Some are moving toward revenue management as an option after taking the class, as a more stable alternative to operations. There are more students who want to take the entrepreneurial route. What is a best practice for increasing student interest in revenue classes? Simulations and certifications Teaching it as a skill set and not just as a job Raising awareness of the discipline early in the program Getting involved in HSMAI Using guest speakers in the industry What resources would help you with curriculum development or enhancement? (Ranked in order of interest.) Faculty externships Case studies and supplemental materials Digital assets (videos, podcasts, etc.) Faculty development opportunities or certifications Access to industry professionals as guest speakers Plug-and-play curriculum HSMAI Foundation Perspective During the forum, revenue faculty leaders also ranked internships, mentorship, and career planning and placement resources as the top ways to encourage students to pursue revenue careers. Across revenue, sales, and marketing faculty forums, internships and mentorship were ranked highly in this regard. Because of this, it would be beneficial to industry professionals at hotels and hotel companies to reach out to schools in their region, meet the faculty and find ways to engage students. This can be done by assisting with a class project, volunteering to speak at a class, or setting up a shadow day with your team members. You could also leverage students for short-term or summer projects. Share the message about your career journey and the breadth of career opportunities that exist in the areas that generate the revenue for hotels and the industry. View source Each year, reporters working for PCMag hit the road to test the quality and speed of Americas cellular data networks. Houston is usually one of the cities visited, and this year the winning national network also took the crown locally. T-Mobile scored a decisive victory in the survey because of its lead in 5G, the much-hyped, next-generation wireless standard. Verizon and AT&T have been emphasizing a super-fast form of that wireless data service, called millimeter wave or mmWave, that only works well outside or in large venues. Meanwhile T-Mobile was building out 5G variants that provide impressive speeds and travel greater distances. Its focus on so-called sub-6 and mid-band 5G has paid off, so far. But as the new PCMag results show, the competition is catching up. Verizon, in particular, is aggressively expanding its mid-band service, while AT&T has been slower on its rollout. The Houston results mirror what I reported in columns earlier this year, and provide an updated picture. The PCMag website, which began life as the venerable PC Magazine in 1992, has been testing mobile networks for 13 years, when 3G was the way most folks accessed the internet over cellular devices. This year, according to author and chief mobile analyst Sascha Segan, the sites reporters drove 10,000 miles with a collection of smartphones affixed to boards in each car, continuously checking speeds and connection reliability. More Read the full PCMag Best Mobile Networks report at www.pcmag.com/news/best-mobile-networks-2022 See More Collapse The testers used software developed by Ookla, the same company that makes the popular Speedtest app and website for checking download and upload speeds. Ookla is owned by Ziff-Davis, which also owns PCMag, and provided new software this year that also checks for dropped calls. The software worked the handsets so intensely that they required cooling hardware to keep them from overheating, Segan wrote. On HoustonChronicle.com: AT&Ts 5G C-band service is fast, limited to a small number of locations for now Mobile networks of the major carriers were tested in 30 cities this year, as well as six rural regions, one of which included Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana. In Texas, a reporter made at least 12 stops in parts of Austin, Dallas and Houston. At each stop, the software on the phones ran for 15 minutes, testing speeds and making calls to a recorded message. Each carrier was graded on upload and download speeds, as well as the average data speed; latency or lag; dropped calls and failed data connections. The combined score, with weighting to emphasize reliability, was used to rank the three major carriers. The winner is... Nationally, T-Mobile was the best network according to PCMags metrics, followed by Verizon and then AT&T. T-Mobile didnt have the fastest maximum speed, because while it does have some mmWave towers, there arent many. But it did have the fastest average speed, the highest percentage of upload connections above 5 megabits per second, the lowest average latency but the highest number of failed data connections. In Houston, T-Mobile was No. 1, with AT&T coming in second and Verizon third. PCMags reporter made 16 stops here, in both the urban core and in many of the areas suburbs, though none outside Beltway 8. Heres how the Houston numbers break down: Verizon had the fastest maximum download speeds, at 2,589.8 Mbps, compared to T-Mobiles 834.6 Mbps and AT&Ts 344.2 Mbps. T-Mobile led with the fastest average downloads at 330.5 Mbps compared to Verizons 190.2 Mbps and AT&Ts 49.8 Mbps. T-Mobile had download speeds faster than 25 Mbps 93 percent of the time, compared to 63 percent for Verizon and 60 percent for AT&T. Verizon also led with maximum upload speeds, 105.3 Mbps compared to T-Mobiles 91 Mbps and AT&Ts 87.6 Mbps. T-Mobiles average upload speeds were tops at 34.2 Mbps; AT&T had 21 Mbps and Verizon had 18.6 Mbps. T-Mobile upload speeds were above 5 Mbps 92 percent of the time, AT&T was at 85 percent and Verizon at 78 percent. Verizon had the best latency with 42 milliseconds, AT&T at 45 milliseconds and T-Mobile at 55 milliseconds. None of the carriers had dropped calls in Houston. AT&T had the fewest failed data connections with 4 percent, compared to T-Mobile with 5 percent and Verizon with 6 percent. AT&T and Verizon last year won in a Federal Communications Commission auction swaths of new radio spectrum known as C-band, which exists in the middle range of frequencies for 5G, commonly known as mid-band. So far, Verizon has been more aggressive at rolling out C-band, as well as expanding its mmWave service into neighborhoods here. AT&T has been slower to expand, and that showed in many of the PCMag results. On HoustonChronicle.com: Verizon gets a 5G speed bump with new C-band spectrum if you can find it Segan told me in a Twitter direct-message exchange that, in Houston, AT&Ts C-band service - designated by a 5G+ icon on capable phones - was hard to come by. Of the 252 minutes where we were recording AT&T network types in Houston (we tested for longer, but don't have network type information for all of it), we saw AT&T 5G+ for 21 minutes, or 8.3 percent of the time, he told me. Both T-Mobile and Verizon showed mid-band and high-band results more often in Houston than AT&T did, which was also true in the rest of the country. That jibes with my experience in March, when I used an AT&T smartphone that can access C-band frequencies. I was unable to find instances of C-band on my own, and had to ask an AT&T representative to provide specific locations. In a column that month, I reported download speeds of up to 560 Mbps right around those towers. Based on Segans comments, AT&Ts C-band rollout has made progress, but is still MIA in most places. Catching up with hype I also tested Verizons network in February. In Houston, Verizon is using the same towers and frequencies for high-speed, millimeter wave service that it uses for its 5G Home Broadband service. Houston was one of the first cities to get that service, designed to compete with the likes of Comcast and AT&Ts wire-based home internet. The company is also using those towers for its C-band network, and is farther along than AT&T. I saw C-band speeds between 700 Mbps and 1 gigabit per second, and while they werent ubiquitous, I didnt need an AT&T rep to tell me where they were. While 5G has yet to live up to its early-days hype, service is definitely getting better. It will be very interesting to see PCMags testing results next year, when C-band is more common for both Verizon and AT&T. dsilverman@outlook.com twitter.com/dsilverman This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Millions of Americans are expected to hit the road during the long Fourth of July weekend, although record-high fuel prices may lead them to cut back on other travel expenses, experts say. Texans are ready for a break, said Kent Livesay, vice president and general manager of AAA Texas. Leaders at Buc-ees, the gas station chain headquartered in Lake Jackson, share that sense. This summer has been a busy summer for road trips, said Jeff Nadalo, general counsel for Buc-ees. Average gasoline prices soared to record levels this spring, including more than $4 a gallon for the first time in Houston, but have softened in recent weeks. As of Monday, drivers can expect to pay around $4.48 per gallon if theyre fueling up in Houston, according to GasBuddy, the fuel price-tracking website 10 cents less than last week, but $1.79 more than a year ago. WHY SO HIGH: The reason why gas prices are so high was decades in the making In GasBuddys annual summer travel survey, released in May, 70 percent of respondents said high gas prices have affected their travel plans this summer. Last year, just 24 percent said the same. But 58 percent were nonetheless planning road trips as the summer began, and a third said they were planning to travel during the Fourth of July weekend specifically. The high prices dont seem to be holding many Americans back from hitting the road with the economy fully reopen, said Patrick De Haan, GasBuddys head of petroleum analysis. Similarly, AAA Texas predicts that 3.5 million Texans will go on trips this weekend, which it defines as traveling at least fifty miles from home, an increase of 3 percent from last years Independence Day weekend, and within 1 percent of the same period in 2019. Most of those travelers about 3.1 million are expected to be motorists, which would be a record for the state. This isnt surprising, says Joshua Zuber, senior public affairs specialist for AAA Texas, given the nations pent-up demand to travel and the airline industrys woes such as soaring airfares and thousands of canceled flights amid a pilot shortage. HOUSTON RECORD: Houston gasoline prices hit $4 a gallon for first time ever When we see higher gas prices, typically that doesnt deter people from traveling, Zuber added. Rather, if theyre concerned about the higher gas prices, folks tend to modify their trips meaning theyll choose less expensive accommodations, focus on staying with family and friends, or modify their activities. Tom Faust, a spokesman for Margaritaville Lake Resort in Conroe, said that he considers the Fourth of July the Super Bowl of the leisure season, and expects this year will be no different. We still do have rooms available for the weekend, but we anticipate by Saturday that we will be full, Faust said, adding that 75 to 85 percent of the resorts leisure travelers are from the Houston area. Houstonians who plan to hit the road this weekend should be prepared for congestion during peak travel times Thursday and Friday afternoon. Pack your patience, Zuber said. erica.grieder@chron.com Two of the nations largest pipeline companies are considering projects that would expand their businesses into petrochemical manufacturing. Houston-based Enterprise Products has applied for local tax abatements for an ethylene manufacturing facility in East Texas that, if built, would cost $5.25 billion. Energy Transfer of Dallas also plans to build an ethylene manufacturing facility along the Gulf Coast. The potential projects would help meet soaring global demand for ethylene. Chemical-makers buy ethylene to make compounds such as polyethylene, a basic plastic used in packaging, and polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, polymers used in everything from construction to consumer electronics. On HoustonChronicle.com: Tricon blossomed alongside Houstons chemical industry For pipeline companies, ethylene production is a natural next step, analysts said. Enterprise and Energy Transfer already take in natural gas, separating out its ethane the precursor to ethylene so it can be sold to chemical-makers, who then sell the resulting ethylene back to pipeline companies for transport and storage. More ethylene manufacturing facilities need to come online in order to keep pace with growing demand for plastics, said Chris Mudd, managing director for Chiron Financial, a Houston-based energy investment banking firm. He said it would take at least one new ethylene manufacturing facility starting up each year. The way people live now, he said, theres more demand for flexible packaging, which all comes from ethylene. The U.S. Gulf Coast is also a natural place to build one, he said, because natural gas is more affordable here. Enterprise is considering a $5.25 billion ethylene plant in one of at least three sites, the company said Monday. The unit would have the capacity to produce 2,000 kilotons per year of ethylene. The company also plans to build a $1 billion unit that processes ethylene into polymer-grade propylene, which is used to make plastics and fibers. None of the ... projects and their locations have been finalized, approved or sanctioned at this time, the company said in a statement Monday. On HoustonChronicle.com: After decades of producing chemicals, Westlake makes a material shift Energy Transfer, too, is looking to build a world-class petrochemical facility along the Gulf Coast, part of its plan to provide a coastal ethylene system to connect the dots between Louisiana and Houston, executives said during a first-quarter earnings call in May. The company is looking to strike deals with potential ethylene buyers for that project before it reaches a final investment decision, executives said. amanda.drane@chron.com WASHINGTON - After years of resistance from politicians in Texas, oil and gas companies in West Texass Permian Basin could soon have to operate under much tougher air pollution restrictions. The Environmental Protection Agency is weighing whether to declare counties in West Texas and eastern New Mexico in violation of federal limits on ozone pollution. At issue are the large volumes of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that when exposed to oxygen forms ozone, leaking into the atmosphere during oil and gas drilling. Air monitors in eastern New Mexico have been tracking elevated ozone levels for years, prompting that state to put in place tougher air pollution rules for oil drillers. But across the border in Texas, the state government has resisted calls for similar action, refusing to install air monitors to track the level of pollution around oil and gas fields, said Jon Goldstein, senior director of regulatory and legislative affairs at the Environmental Defense Fund. You cant know what you dont know, he said. Texas does not have any rules on the books on methane pollution. Thats what makes the EPA action so important. Its going to kick over to the state these tougher regulations. On HoustonChronicle.com: Gas firms rush to claim responsibly sourced certification, even as questions linger The EPA is expected to face a tough fight from Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who last year ordered state agencies to do whatever necessary to protect the states oil and gas industry from climate action by the Biden administration. Earlier this week Abbott wrote a letter to President Joe Biden threatening to take the action needed to protect the production of oil and warning the EPAs proposed crackdown on methane emissions would likely decrease crude production in one of Americas largest oil fields, further driving up gasoline prices already at record levels. Your fellow Americans are counting on you, Abbott wrote. You can either stand with Americans by working to reduce gas prices, or you can side with arbitrary and discretionary EPA bureaucrats who could impair oil production and jobs in the Permian Basin. Were the EPA to declare the Permian Basin a non-attainment area, state officials would be required to enact tougher air pollution laws, likely requiring oil and gas companies to regularly inspect their equipment for methane leaks through technologies such as infrared cameras and drones and replace older equipment. Such practices are becoming commonplace in oil and gas fields around the country, as publicly traded companies, under pressure from investors, look to prove their commitment to fighting climate change. In the oil and gas fields of Colorado and Wyoming, where the EPA has declared non-attainment areas for ozone, monitoring for methane emissions is fast becoming standard. At a recent hearing before the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, a Republican, bragged how a recent Georgia Tech study showed his state had a lower rate of fugitive emissions from natural gas drilling than any western state. Given the reality fossil fuels will continue to be an essential component of energy consumption for years to come, he said, it is vital to recognize what states like Wyoming can do to minimize the footprint of energy sources. But the prospect of more federal environmental regulations is being met with resistance by some oil and gas companies, particularly smaller, privately held firms with smaller budgets, who argue it will add cost to their production. Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, said the industry is already making great strides in reducing methane emissions and improving air quality in West Texas, making federal intervention unnecessary. Domestic oil and natural gas produced in the United States, and largely right here in Texas, is the cleanest in the world, he said. At a time when the administration should be working with industry to unleash Americas energy potential, the administration is making moves that ignore and even discourage progress. U.S. companies have long argued oil and gas produced here is cleaner than that produced in other nations, but a new analysis by the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Institute indicates oil and gas operations in Texas have some of the highest methane emissions in the world. Tracking methane emissions is notoriously difficult. EPA data shows methane emissions have been on a steady decline since 1990. But the statistics companies report to the EPA are estimates, based on assumptions about how frequently oil and gas equipment is likely to leak and in some cases observations in the field. A 2018 study from the Environmental Defense Fund estimated that the EPA was under counting methane emissions from U.S. oil and gas fields by 60 percent. EPA is expected to make a decision on designating the Permian Basin a nonattainment area next year, Goldstein said. james.osborne@chron.com WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that an Obama-era rule forcing power plants to curtail carbon emissions exceeded limits on executive power, restricting the ability of President Joe Biden and future administrations to fight climate change. In a 6-3 ruling, the court said under existing federal pollution laws the Environmental Protection Agency could not set industry-wide limits on carbon emissions, calling the EPA's rulemaking, "unprecedented and a fundamental revision" of the Clean Air Act, which Congress last updated in 1990. "Precedent teaches that there are 'extraordinary cases' in which the 'history and the breadth of the authority that [the agency] has asserted,' and the 'economic and political significance' of that assertion, provide a 'reason to hesitate before concluding that Congress' meant to confer such authority," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts. RELATED: SCOTUS set to hear climate change case that may significantly alter Texas' oil and gas industry The ruling has implications far beyond the nation's power sector, extending to the oil and gas industry, a pillar of the Texas economy. From refineries along the Houston Ship Channel to oil and gas fields in West Texas, the industry and the fuels it produces are among the biggest source of greenhouse gases in the country. The court did not go as far as some in the oil industry might have hoped, leaving intact federal agencies' authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. But the ruling potentially signaled a broader skepticism among the court's conservative majority on climate regulation at-large, said David Adelman, a law professor at the University of Texas. "You don't have to overturn Massachusetts vs. EPA in one fell swoop. You can do it in little bits that are hard for the general public to understand," he said, referring to the 2007 Supreme Court ruling that EPA has authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. "With this court, it's more than plausible that's the direction they would take." The decision comes as the Biden administration is seeking to set the nation on the path to net-zero emissions by mid century, as scientists say is necessary to avoid cataclysmic destruction from climate change. The first major climate case to be heard by the Supreme Court since conservatives gained a wide majority during the Trump administration, the case is seen as a bellwether on how far the nation's highest court will allow the White House to go in addressing climate change. Writing in dissent, Justice Elana Kagan, joined by justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor, said today's decision, "strips the EPA of of the power Congress gave it to respond to 'the most pressing environmental challenge of our time.'" With Congress deadlocked on climate legislation, Biden and former president Barack Obama relied on authority granted them under the Clean Air Act to order industry to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Republicans in states like Texas have sought to block that strategy, maintaining that the White House was overstepping its authority and that it was up to Congress to decide how to address climate change. Last year a group of Republican state attorneys general, including Ken Paxton of Texas, filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the Obama-era rule forcing power plants to reduce emissions, which the Supreme Court already stayed in 2016 and was left dormant during the Trump administration. Texas Governor Greg Abbott was one of a number Republicans cheering the ruling Thursday. "Todays landmark victory against an out-of-control administration is also a big win for Americans who worry about skyrocketing energy costs due to expensive federal regulations that threaten our energy industry," he said in a statement. "President Biden cannot keep attacking the energy industry and the hardworking men and women who power our nation. So far Congress has struggled to find agreement on climate change, with many Democrats looking for sweeping limits on carbon emissions, while Republicans largely seek to limit federal intervention to funding for the development of clean energy technology, One exception is a bipartisan group of senators that includes Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat, and Mitt Romney, the Utah Republican, who have been debating policies including a carbon fee on imports. Following Thursday's ruling, some members of that group called for Congress to come to agreement on climate change. "The Supreme Court made the right choice putting the ball in Congress court. We must address the connection between U.S. energy development, affordability, and lowering global emissions," said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louis. While Thursday's ruling was directed at EPA's jurisdiction over the power sector, lawyers were already predicting other polluting industries would use the ruling to challenge federal efforts to control their emissions. Asked for comment, a spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute, the oil sector's largest lobbying group, declined to address the ruling itself but said the industry would, "continue to work with policymakers across the federal government in support of smart regulations that build on the progress weve made on CO2 emissions reductions." Power sector emissions are already declining, with wind and solar installations far outpacing the development of traditional power generation. Coal plants, among the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, are being replaced by cleaner-burning natural gas turbines. But this progress is not happening fast enough to achieve the emissions targets that scientists say are necessary to avoid the worst effects of climate change. The Biden administration has been working on a revised version of Obama's Clean Power Plan, with the goal of achieving a net zero emissions power sector by 2030. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said Thursday that work would continue, commenting the agency was, "committed to using the full scope of EPAs authorities to protect communities and reduce the pollution that is driving climate change." One option would be to use the EPA's established authority over other forms of air pollution to indirectly put a check on carbon dioxide emissions. Another strategy would be to begin requiring coal and natural gas fired power plants to install carbon capture equipment. Whether the Supreme Court would allow such a regulation remains to be seen, said Victor Flatt, a law professor at the University of Houston. "That is really hard to predict and it might actually depend on how expensive and doable (carbon capture) is," he said. "In this ruling, they're requiring Congress to be more explicit in regulating greenhouse gas emissions." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 1 of 2 Courtesy Cushman & Wakefield Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Isikel Show More Show Less Retail electricity service provider Gexa Energy is relocating to downtown Houston in a vote of confidence for the districts office market still recovering from the pandemic.A Gexa Energy spokesman confirmed the firm plans to relocate to downtown Houston starting in late 2022 and early 2023 from its current offices at 20455 State Highway 249 in northwest Houston. The company inked a 10-year lease for 62,261 square feet of office space at 601 Travis Street, taking up the entirety of the 14th floor, according to Cushman & Wakefield, which represents landlords Cerebus Capital Management and Hines. Diana Bridger, Brad Beasley and Michael Anderson of Cushman Wakefield represented the landlord in the deal and Ron McWherter of CBRE represented the tenant. At 601 Travis, Gexa Energy will be joining NextEra Energy Resources, its parent company, which recently extended its 75,000 square-foot lease in the same building. NextEra is one of the largest wholesale generators of electric power in the country. Gexas lease is among the larger new office deals signed this year in the central business district. About 32 percent of office space downtown is available for lease, according to Cushman & Wakefield research. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate In its fairly young life, Georgia James has had its share of reinvention, multiple lives, and assorted locations. The luxe steakhouse from Chris Shepherds Underbelly Hospitality had its genesis as the original concept (One Fifth Steak) in the chefs daring, unorthodox One Fifth project that began in 2017 with five different restaurants over five years at the former Marks American Cuisine space at 1658 Westheimer. The steak concept practically a surefire in a beef-loving city -- proved to be among the most popular and memorable of the One Fifth iterations, so much so that Shepherd couldnt help but revive it as Georgia James in October 2018 after he closed his Underbelly at 1100 Westheimer, the restaurant he opened in 2012 and earned him a James Beard Award in 2014. Georgia James operated in the former Underbelly space until late January 2022 when Shepherd closed shop at 1100 Westheimer. The restaurant was briefly relocated to 1658 Westheimer through June as the final salvo in the One Fifth project. Fans who stuck with Shepherds posh steakhouse manifestations will be glad to know that the peripatetic Georgia James now has a permanent new home. July 1 marks the official start to the steakhouses newest chapter as the first of several high-end dining projects to open at Regent Square, the massive residential and retail at West Dallas and Dunlavy from GID Development Group. COLD COMFORT: Summer means chilled vegetable soups such as gazpacho; where to find them in Houston Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Since it opened at Underbelly, Georgia James has been the jewel of Shepherds Underbelly Hospitality portfolio, and now it has a shiny new home at 3503 W. Dallas to play out its indulgent dining ambitions. The project is swank indeed: 11,000 square feet of space on two levels (the second-floor lounge with two expansive terraces is set to open at the end of the month). Walls of windows draped in airy sheers lend light to the first-floor dining room, a 7,000-square-foot space of white-napped marble tables and tawny upholstered Scandinavian-style walnut chairs. On one end of the long dining room is an open kitchen that fairly echoes the working pass of the former Underbelly. And thats where executive chef Greg Peters and his crew are rekindling the Georgia James fires. While much of the restaurants signature moves remain, specifically the cast iron-seared steaks sizzled in copious amounts of butter along with garlic and fresh thyme, Peters new menu also holds some new twists and welcome flavors. For Georgia James discerning customers, these menu additions might be the most exciting element of the new project. Like the original Underbellys philosophy of telling the story of how Houston eats, Georgia James is charting a new course through that lens. Its not really a rebirth or rebranding but a continuation of what makes Georgia James Georgia James, Peters said. We didnt want to change that, but we wanted to have fun with the menu. We wanted to take a fresh look at things. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Those new ideas include a starter of pho-cured beef tenderloin carpaccio pho spices clinging to thin leaves of beef dotted with lemongrass aioli and scattered with crispy rice noodles. Another nod to Houstons Vietnamese cravings is the Viet-Cajun roasted oysters (oven-roasted oysters bubbling in a buttery bath flavored with Creole seasoning, garlic, cayenne and fish sauce) inspired by chef Trong Nguyens Crawfish & Noodles in Asiatown. DRINK UP: Which Houston bar made the list of 50 Best Bars in North America? What else is new? Seared Gulf fish (usually red snapper) paired with charred cabbage and a twist of wheat noodles in Szechuan peppercorn oil; loaded potatoes au gratin (potatoes bubbling in mornay sauce shot through with bacon and chives); masala-flavored fried onion strings served with turmeric yogurt; and the Underbelly classic Lamburger Helper refashioned as a beef-forward Steakhouse Helper. There are also new steak bolsters of add-ons such as crab Rockefeller, roasted garlic butter and chimichurri sauce. These newbies join familiar Georgia James menu items such as bone marrow with pecan pesto, tuna tartare with crispy rice, smoked redfish dip, iceberg slab salad with blue cheese and bacon lardons, fried chicken with dirty rice, and whole roasted lobster with cornbread stuffing and garlic herb butter. And, of course, the beef: 44 Farms strips, ribeyes and porterhouses; American and Japanese Wagyu; and the showy big spender cut of dry-aged long bone ribeye. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Other Georgia James constants: the beefy international wine list (500 labels strong), a formidable collection of American whiskey, and a creative cocktail list (check out the Pear n Tonic made with gin, Japanese sake vermouth, pear and citrus tonic), and service laced with upscale steakhouse gentility. This is our first new-build site, which created a variety of benefits for the resulting design and functionality of the space, Shepherd said. We are so excited to welcome guests in to this cosmopolitan, serene and airy dining room that is as much a representation of Houstons evolution as it is of our own. Those notions of evolution will continue when Underbelly Hospitality opens Pastore, Shepherds adjacent Italian-American concept planned for later this year. For now, though, its Georgia James time in the culinary spotlight. Georgia James, 3503 W. Dallas, 832-241-5088; georgiajamessteak.com. Open Monday through Saturday 5 to 10 p.m., Sunday 5 to 9 p.m. Greg Morago writes about food for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter. Send him news tips at greg.morago@chron.com. Hear him on our BBQ State of Mind podcast to learn about Houston and Texas barbecue culture. The Department of Veterans Affairs recently began offering psychedelic substances to patients as a part of clinical trials, a major step in the quest to determine the therapeutic potential of illegal drugs the federal government has long deemed dangerous. At least five trials are underway or being planned by a handful of government clinicians who see potential in using psychedelic experiences combined with psychotherapy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and other conditions endemic among veterans of recent wars. This is a watershed moment, said Dr. Rachel Yehuda, director of mental health at the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center in the Bronx, who is leading one of the studies. This is a time for a lot of hope. The theory at the heart of the research is that compounds such as MDMA, also known as Ecstasy, and psilocybin mushrooms, when taken in a safe setting under the guidance of skilled therapists, can yield powerful insights and disrupt harmful patterns of thought and behavior. In the 1950s and 1960s, many scientists regarded psychedelics as a potentially revolutionary tool in the treatment of addiction and other psychiatric conditions. In one notable clinical study in 1963, patients at a Veterans Affairs clinic in Kansas took LSD to treat alcoholism. But that promising wave of research came to a sudden halt soon afterward, as soaring recreational use of hallucinogens sparked a political backlash. The first of these new psychedelic trials, at a Veterans Affairs clinic in California, began last summer after researchers received approval from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Food and Drug Administration to treat combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder with MDMA. The trial in New York started in January. Three trials at clinics in San Diego and Portland, Oregon, are scheduled to start later this year using MDMA and synthetic psilocybin, an analog of hallucinogenic mushrooms. The research became viable after the FDA designated MDMA and psilocybin as breakthrough therapies in 2017 and 2018, for treatment of PTSD and depression, respectively. Regulators give that label to new drugs when preliminary studies suggest they would be more effective than standard treatments for serious conditions. The studies are happening amid a global rethinking of the dangers and potential benefits of substances that were outlawed and demonized during the presidencies of Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. Both leaders became concerned that psychedelic drugs were fueling opposition to the war in Vietnam War and other government activities, according to historians. But in recent years, campaigns to expand research into the medicinal use of psychedelic substances and to make related drug laws more lenient have gained support across the country. In 2020, voters in Oregon passed two ballot measures that decriminalized possession of small amounts of drugs and called for the establishment of a therapeutic framework for psilocybin. Since then, Texas and Connecticut have approved measures allowing the study of psilocybin and MDMA for mental health treatment. Psychedelic retreats have become booming business in countries in Latin America and Europe where the legal landscape is more permissive. Psychiatry departments at numerous universities in the United States now have centers where psychedelics are studied. And investors have begun applying for patents, hoping to find novel ways to profit from psychedelic therapy if and when it becomes legal. Last year, the FDA reviewed 16 applications to treat psychiatric conditions with psychedelic substances, more than in the four previous years combined, according to an agency spokesperson. In response to an emailed series of questions, the FDA said there are formidable challenges to establishing the safety and efficacy of medicinal psychedelics. For starters, there is no easy way to run studies with a placebo control because the sensory effects of the drugs are evident to participants and researchers. The FDA has also cautioned that patients might walk away from psychedelic sessions in a hypersuggestible state, which could lead to a merely short-lived sense of improvement. Popular media is inundated with overwhelmingly positive references to these drugs, which can potentially influence patients and therapists expectations, Dr. Javier Muniz, a senior official at the FDA division that evaluates new drugs, said in a recent online workshop. The high degree of enthusiasm and anticipation is beyond anything weve ever seen with any unapproved psychiatric drug. Proponents of accelerating psychedelic research have drawn attention to the mental health care crisis among veterans. In 2019, at least 6,261 veterans died by suicide, according to government data, a rate far higher than that of civilians. Nearly 16% of veterans who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan have been diagnosed with PTSD. The standard treatments for PTSD at Veterans Affairs clinics include prolonged exposure therapy, during which patients are urged to repeatedly talk about the source of their trauma, and cognitive processing therapy, which is designed to help them reframe negative thoughts. Many patients are also prescribed anti-anxiety drugs and antidepressants. Hundreds of veterans have traveled to psychedelic retreat centers abroad, and many have become advocates for expanding access to hallucinogens. Theres a risk of doing nothing, as veterans are seeking care elsewhere, said Dr. Shannon T. Remick, a psychiatrist at the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System in Loma Linda, Calif., who is treating PTSD patients with MDMA. Its our priority to make sure veterans are safe and getting the best care. Remicks study includes 10 combat veterans who will each undergo three MDMA sessions along with psychotherapy. Participants will be tracked for at least a year. Overall, the studies will involve a few dozen participants, a tiny segment of the Veterans Affairs patient population. But the researchers said they expect that colleagues across the bureaucracy will soon launch more and that larger ones are likely in the future. In interviews, the clinicians leading psychedelic studies said the Veterans Affairs health care system is the ideal place to study the therapeutic potential, limitations and possible dangers of hallucinogens, which can include cardiovascular anomalies and episodes of psychosis. The VA is in some ways the best place for this type of research to happen, said Dr. Leslie Morland, a clinical psychologist at the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System in San Diego, who is studying the possibility that MDMA can enhance couples therapy in marriages strained by PTSD. The VA is going to make sure that we have good data that supports the safety and efficacy before they offer it to veterans, as I think is appropriate. Yehuda, a renowned expert on PTSD, said she was convinced psychedelics would become a revolutionary tool in mental health treatment. But researchers still have much to learn, she said. I think its going to be a breakthrough for a bunch of people, she said. But we just have to figure out who they are, and more importantly, who they arent. In her trial, MDMA sessions typically last eight hours, and patients are offered an initial and supplemental dose. Veterans ease into the experience listening to gentle music and are allowed to wear eye shades. A pair of therapists monitor the patient, speaking to them as little or as much as the patient appears to encourage. Yehuda said sessions can be excruciatingly painful, a process she compared to giving birth. The most common misconception about MDMA with psychotherapy is that youre taking this magic pill that will take away your symptoms, she said. Whats happening is, you are getting in a state that is conducive to doing difficult work in a manner in which you are in the right window of tolerance where you can emotionally engage, where you can process the memory but not get so distressed by the memory that you become emotionally numb. Yehuda said that existing therapies for PTSD often led to a reduction of distress. But she said the early results of MDMA trials showed something astounding in the field. Many people are showing what seems to look like remission, she said. The clinicians leading the studies said they were trying to keep their enthusiasm in check as they build on a body of scientific research. Were taking vulnerable people particularly, people with severe mental illness, PTSD, substance abuse disorders and were putting them in a vulnerable state of mind, a very suggestible state of mind, said Dr. Christopher Stauffer, a psychiatrist at the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System in Portland who is leading two psychedelic studies. We have to be super careful about bias in all directions, from the researchers to the participants. Still, Stauffer said it was imperative to innovate and take considered risks. We have a mental health crisis right now, and our current mental health system is not able to adequately manage it, he said. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Houston Chronicle A Burleson roofing contractor ignored an OSHA citation for failing to provide fall safety equipment and training which could have prevented the January death of a roofer in Houston, federal officials said. Mario Baez, 21, was working for D&G Roofing Company at the 2200 block of Kelley Street on Jan. 26 when he fell 30 feet through a skylight and died. The U.S. Department of Labor said Wednesday they are investigating the death. Joel Umanzor A person was taken into custody after an hours-long standoff at a River Oaks home, according to the Houston Police Department. Houston Police Department officers responded around 9:30 a.m. to the 3800 block of Del Monte Drive, where witnesses said authorities were attempting to execute a search warrant. It is currently unclear who or what police were looking for at the time of the incident. A Houston woman who is facing a capital murder charge in the death of her sister reportedly asked her 13-year-old son to help her move a bag with the dead woman's body from a dumpster to the trunk of her car, according to court records. Houston police on Monday arrested Carmen White, 38, in the death of her younger sister, Cynthia Cervantes, the agency said in a news release. White fatally shot the 37-year-old woman, then later set her body on fire, apparently in retaliation for a previous domestic incident, according to court records filed with the Harris County District Clerk's Office. On April 1, officers found Cervantes' burning body around 11 a.m. outside of a warehouse on the 3500 block of Cherry Street after an employee from the north Houston business flagged down a railroad worker who reported it to authorities, police added. More on HoustonChronicle.com: Harris County misdemeanor court judge arrested, charged with official oppression Medical examiners at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences identified Cervantes by her fingerprints, according to the criminal complaint. She was shot several times, including the back of her neck which severed her spinal cord, prior to being set on fire, the complaint continued. Video surveillance from the warehouse showed a gray Chevrolet HHR pulled into the property's driveway for six to seven minutes prior to the discovery of the woman's body, court records show. A family friend tipped off homicide investigators about White's apparent erratic behavior in the days after her sister's death, saying she had become "paranoid" and "extremely nervous," the criminal complaint states. The friend told investigators White allegedly bought a gray Chevrolet HHR on March 5 but by April 8 had become insistent on trading it in for another car because the air conditioning "wasn't working," according to court documents. When shown the video surveillance from the warehouse, the friend confirmed White's vehicle based on the paper dealer plates and a distinctive yellow dent on the driver's side. Investigators then learned from the friend that on Feb. 8 Cervantes called the police on White, which resulted in the older sister being arrested and charged with misdemeanor terroristic threat and felony possession of a controlled substance, specifically methamphetamine, the criminal complaint continued. More on Crime: Man fatally shot during an apparent attempted robbery outside a north Houston bar, police say White allegedly then asked both her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend to help her move a body from a vacant unit below her apartment in west Houston but when the couple realized it was Cervantes they declined, the criminal complaint states. That's when, court records say, White allegedly asked her son to help her move her sister's body from a dumpster to her car's trunk. When the boy felt what he believed to be legs inside the bag, he dropped it, angering White, the criminal complaint alleges. The son said he feared for his safety due to his mother's "aggressive" behavior and eventually helped her put Cervantes' body inside the trunk. White remains in Harris County jail with bail set at $750,000. Joel.Umanzor@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Faith leaders, elected officials and the family of the Rev. Ronald Mouton Sr. gathered at his sanctuary, East Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, on Wednesday to demand that the person who shot the churchs pastor during a road rage incident come forward. This is yet another incident of senseless, unnecessary violence that led to the loss of a husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, pastor and iconic community leader and servant of God who has been taken from all of us at the hands of a misguided soul who had no restraint in pulling the trigger, said Bishop James Dixon, pastor at Community of Faith Church and president of NAACP Houston Branch. Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer We dont want someone else to suffer at the hands of someone who committed this kind of violence, and so we say to anyone who knows something, it is your moral obligation to say something, Dixon said. More from Sam Gonzalez Kelly: Galveston, the birthplace of Juneteenth, has been losing Black residents for decades Mouton, 58, was killed Friday afternoon when another driver shot him in the chest during a road rage incident on the Gulf Freeway feeder road near Griggs Road, according to Houston police. Surveillance images showed a suspect fleeing south on the Gulf Freeway in a black Honda Accord. No one has been apprehended in connection with the shooting. Mouton had served as the pastor at East Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in MacGregor for 30 years, according to the churchs website. Dozens of congregants, including Moutons family members, sat in the pews, murmuring in agreement as the speakers at Wednesdays gathering called for prayer, justice and accountability. Stifled sobs arose from the audience when U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, called for everyone in the building to face the pulpit for a moment of silence. I want the community to know the magnitude of our loss. It is unspeakable, it cannot be defined. It cannot be crafted, it cannot be described and it cannot fit inside this room, Jackson Lee said. You killed a pastor, a person whose every (instinct) is to come to you in your time of need, she said. You have taken that away from the membership of the East Bethel Baptist Church. Andy Kahan, director of victim advocacy and services at Crime Stoppers of Houston, pledged a $15,000 reward for information leading to the shooters arrest. Houston Assistant Police Chief Belinda Null, speaking on behalf of Chief Troy Finner, said business mogul Tilman Fertitta called Finner earlier Wednesday morning to pledge an additional $10,000 to help encourage people to share information. NEW DATA: Houstonians more supportive of racial equity and public education, Rice survey shows Other pastors standing behind Bishop James Dixon at the event pledged $1,000 on behalf of their respective congregations as well. Faith leaders are planning a prayer and march for justice Sunday evening at Palm Center, 5110 Griggs Road, as well as a celebration of life on July 8 at Community of Faith Church. The East Bethel Missionary Baptist Church will hold its own service for Mouton on July 9. His twin brother, Roland Mouton, a pastor in Louisiana, made the final remarks at Wednesdays gathering, directing them at the suspect. Were not looking for revenge, killer ... But I think there is something we are owed and that is justice, Mouton said. If you got a heart, if you got a conscience, ease our hurt and help us take away our anger and give us the justice that we deserve. sam.kelly@chron.com The city on Wednesday awarded a contract worth more than $7 million to an environmental clean-up company to remove trash, wash and sanitize homeless encampments around Houston, a task city workers have carried out since the beginning of the pandemic. Funded with federal COVID-19 relief money, the three-year contract will help free up workers at the beleaguered Solid Waste Management Department who previously performed the clean-ups while grappling with long hours and persistent short staffing. Crews hired by Whittaker Lane Contracting now will undertake the encampment maintenance. Under the contract, unanimously approved by City Council, crews will remove trash and toxic waste, pressure wash encampment surfaces and disinfect areas where needed, officials said. They will not, however, dispose of personal property or remove anyone from the encampments, said Marc Eichenbaum, who heads the Mayors Office for Homeless Initiatives. A GROWING PROBLEM: Why are Houstons trash trucks always behind schedule? The clean-ups are not designed to be a solution, Eichenbaum said, but aim to reduce COVID-19 infections and other public health concerns among residents while the city works to find them stable housing. Some 57 homeless encampments have been decommissioned meaning camp residents were offered permanent housing, the sites were cleared and fencing was erected to prevent the camps from reforming, Eichenbaum said. The clean-up efforts will address trash and other issues to protect the health of encampment residents and the greater community until every encampment can be decommissioned, Eichenbaum said. It was unclear Wednesday how many encampments in Houston will be serviced by the new contract. Catherine Villarreal with Coalition for the Homeless put the current number of encampments in the hundreds, but said some might be only one or two tents with tallies constantly shifting as unsheltered people move around. Under the approved contract, the city will pay $7.1 million for the clean-ups over three years, with an option to renew for an additional year at a cost of $2.6 million. The funding comes from Houstons $608 million share of the American Rescue Plan Act, passed by Congress in May 2021. District A Council Member Amy Peck supported the contract, but said the Texas Department of Transportation should shoulder more responsibility for clean-ups, given that many homeless encampments are located below state-operated highways. I think TxDOT should have some of the responsibility of the costs, Peck said, noting that the city has no mechanism to require it shoulder more costs. SPECIAL FEATURE: Kiki goes in search of her stuff, gone from her place on a Houston sidewalk TxDOT spokeswoman Emily Black said agency contractors already perform bi-weekly litter pick-up and street sweeping, services that cover trash that accumulates around Houston underpasses. Passing the clean-up duties to contractors would will allow the Solid Waste department to focus on its core responsibilities across Houston, Director Mark Wilfalk said. nora.mishanec@chron.com President Joe Biden has all the authority he needs to terminate his predecessors Remain in Mexico policy, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday. That policy had stranded thousands of asylum-seekers in Mexico awaiting results of their applications. Biden moved to end the policy in 2021 and resume allowing those seeking asylum to remain in the United States while their cases progressed, as has been the custom for decades. Texas and Missouri sued to stop him and rulings by a North Texas district court and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put Bidens plans on hold. Chief Justice Roberts, writing for a 5-4 majority, ruled Thursday that Bidens critics were wrong. Every president going back to Bill Clinton has released those with credible claims into the United States while their cases are heard in immigration courts, he said. This decision is a victory for the humane treatment of people fleeing crises at home. It is a victory, however, that returns responsibility to the Biden administration. The federal government must address the underlying challenges at the border, ones that go well beyond asylum-related issues. Hundreds of thousands of migrants are seeking entry to the United States, and neither the president nor the Congress have been able to meaningfully deal with that reality. Still, the ruling Thursday is most welcome. Though officially called the Migrant Protection Protocols, the policy had nothing to do with protection. Its first iteration was linked to at least 10,250 reports of murder, kidnapping, rape, torture and other violent attacks on asylum-seekers and other migrants often left stranded in border towns the State Department adamantly warns you shouldnt visit. We have been deeply troubled by the programs cruelty since it began in 2019. For those asylum-seekers whose claims are deemed credible and who are released in the United States they still face years of court hearings. Only 15 percent to 20 percent have typically been granted asylum. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council told the board the MPP policy had been a farce from the start by presenting countless bureaucratic and security-related obstacles. Less than 3 percent of those in the program are being granted asylum, he said. Ending the program can be done in an orderly, humane way. During the initial wind-down attempt, the Biden administration worked with partners to successfully bring 13,000 migrants legally into the country to await their court hearings. Evidence shows that most migrants do show for court hearings, especially asylum-seekers and those represented by lawyers. Indeed, the 33,500 Ukrainian refugee cases efficiently and humanely processed since April show that where theres political will, theres a way. While this ruling will help migrants with legitimate asylum claims, it does nothing to address the nations broader immigration challenges. Migrants, including those asking for asylum, will seek ever more extreme routes into the country a win for smugglers who can cash in at up to $25,000 a pop. If weve learned anything from the discovery of 53 migrants whose last breaths were in a cramped tractor-trailer in San Antonio, its that tragedies like this will only increase if we double down on stick solutions to immigration without offering a better carrot. More legal pathways, such as seasonal farm-worker programs, could benefit migrants and industries alike, while draining criminal networks cash flow. If Biden cant find solutions, another president may use their discretion to put asylum-seekers back in the tent camps. Four years ago, Justice Brett Kavanaugh survived one of the messiest, most combative Supreme Court nomination battles in American history. In the end, his supporters, including both Texas senators, asked the American people to trust him, and to trust their judgment that he was honest. It was too much to ask. Thats obvious now. Americans crisis of faith in the Supreme Court, seemingly the only institution we still trusted, is bigger than one justice, of course. But Kavanaugh, with his precarious ascent and his pre-confirmation assurances that have now proven disingenuous, illustrate why. At stake is the courts legitimacy, fidelity to the rule of law, and the simple belief that the smart people in black robes who enjoy lifetime appointments to interpret the U.S. Constitution will conduct themselves with integrity. Consequences of last weeks seismic breach of precedent in overturning Roe v. Wade will affect every American, even those who were celebrating their long-awaited victory as some sort of justice. In 2018, Kavanaugh was confirmed 50-48, the narrowest margin for a successful Supreme Court nomination since 1881. The vote hinged on two matters of trust: First, he angrily denied compelling allegations of sexual misconduct from his youth. Second, he sought to reassure senators and their constituents who worried the court was poised to dispense with Roe and end the constitutional right to an abortion that had withstood repeated challenge since 1973. On the latter issue, Kavanaugh told senators Roe was a precedent deserving respect, just the kind of vague statement many justices make when pressed by senators for something that they should never give: An explicit prediction of how theyll rule in future cases. But Kavanaugh didnt stop there. One of the important things to keep in mind about Roe v. Wade, he testified, is that it has been reaffirmed many times over the past 45 years. He called a crucial case that affirmed the crux of Roe, Casey v Planned Parenthood, a precedent on a precedent. Honesty questioned Despite all that, Kavanaugh added the crucial fifth vote to last Fridays opinion overturning Roe. Given that ruling declares the 1973 decision was egregiously wrong when it was delivered, many are asking whether he deceived the Senate when he testified under oath. We asked one of the senators who voted for Kavanaugh, and supports the Dobbs decision. Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said Tuesday that he believed Kavanaugh was simply trying to sidestep a box no nominee should be pressed into: promising to vote in a certain way. I dont think Judge Kavanaugh misled me or the judiciary committee, Cornyn said. This is an example of two people who hear the same word and come away from it with a different interpretation. Two of Cornyns colleagues whose votes proved necessary for Kavanaughs confirmation have had very different reactions. The Senates most conservative Democrat, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and, arguably, its most progressive Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, have each stated that Kavanaugh had privately assured them of his support for Roe as a precedent. Collins, who released a transcript of her notes from their meeting, insisted that Kavanaugh had stressed to her that Roe was settled law, giving her confidence that even a conservative majority would not overturn the decision. Both Manchin and Collins have said they were deceived. If Kavanaugh believed what he said in 2018, why didnt he join Chief Justice John Roberts last week in upholding Roe? Roberts joined the majority opinion in Dobbs to uphold the Mississippi law restricting abortions to the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. But he issued a second opinion rejecting the majoritys unnecessary 5-4 vote to overturn Roe and Casey, which he called a serious jolt to the legal system regardless of how you view those cases. Consequences To observe the Supreme Court in person, something few Americans have been able to do since COVID, is to understand just how much depends on faith in its rulings and the justices themselves. The main doors to the Court stand 17 feet high, are bronze and weigh 13 tons. At either side of its main entrance are large statues by the sculptor James Earle Fraser. To the left is a female figure known as the Contemplation of Justice. To the right is a male figure known as the Guardian of Law. Inside, to the east of the Great Chamber, statues of the worlds great lawgivers stand in a kind of silent majesty. There you will find Moses, Confucius, and Solon, the statesman and poet credited with laying the foundation of Athenian democracy. These impressions, along with all the archaic rituals of the courts operations, are designed to give authority to the one branch of the U.S government whose power even its usefulness rest entirely on its words. Justices have ruled in controversial ways before. Presidents from Thomas Jefferson to Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama have sought to rebuke and sometimes even reshape the court. But these disputes have focused on the decisions the justices make, their perspectives, their interpretations matters of subjectivity. When we cant trust the word of a justice, that presents a more serious threat to the courts legitimacy. Some on the left are calling for for Kavanaugh to be impeached. Meanwhile, some are demanding censure for Justice Clarence Thomas, or at least his recusal from any cases involving the 2020 election, given his wifes leading role in advising President Trump in his scheme to illegally remain in office. What we can say is that these calls speak to a crisis of confidence in the court unlike any other in our recent memory. Only once before has a justice been impeached, in 1804 when Jefferson persuaded the U.S. House to bring charges of partisanship and having behaved in an arbitrary, oppressive, and unjust way against Justice Samuel Chase, a Federalist and one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence. He was acquitted in the Senate. Justice Abe Fortas might have been impeached in 1969, had he not resigned after financial improprieties came to light. To understand the consequences of Kavanaughs apparent dissembling, begin with a simple question of whether we can trust what he has said or written. Ever since a leaked draft of the Dobbs opinion appeared earlier this year, many worried that its reversal of Roe would provide a pathway to overturning other court precedents dealing with privacy, including those involving married adults right to contraception and gay adults right to marriage and sexual intimacy. In its majority opinion, the court said that nothing in the Dobbs decision should indicate those rights are at risk. Kavanaugh wrote separately to stress the same point. Nor, he said, would he be in favor of laws restricting travel by residents of states where abortion is illegal to seek abortion care in a state where it isnt. Those are important reassurances, but how much credibility should they be given, especially given a second concurring opinion, written by Justice Thomas. Parsing his words carefully, Thomas agreed that Fridays decision doesnt eliminate those other rights, but stressed that the court should strike them down in future cases. They were all decided just as wrongly as Roe, Thomas wrote. When those cases reach the court, are we expected to trust, yet again, Kavanaughs word that he wouldnt go that far? Yet another damaged institution Support for Congress is low; and has been for years. But what feels new in America is a how widespread our distrust in institutions across the board has become, from doubts about everything from our membership in NATO to the freedom from partisanship at the CDC. Even cherished ideals, such as the peaceful transder of power or the right to vote, have come under alarming fire. The court has been an outlier, and along with the judiciary as a whole, something Americans have tended to trust. Thats changing. A Gallup poll released this week shows just a record low of 25 percent of Americans trust the court, down from 40 percent just two years ago. The court has weathered crises of faith before, such as after its 5-4 decision Bush v. Gore intervening in the 2000 presidential election, an opinion at least one justice, Sandra Day OConnor, came to regret. Roberts has worked hard to lead the court since then, looking to stress areas of agreement when possible. His efforts to keep faith in the court high have been challenged by successive controversies. In 2016, the GOP-led Senate refused even to hold a confirmation hearing for Presidents Obamas pick, Merrick Garland, and then brazenly rushed to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to replace liberal icon Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the days after Trump lost the 2020 election. Nearly a quarter-century ago, Justice John Paul Stevens, worried that the courts decision in Bush v. Gore would cause Americans to doubt the political independence of the court, wrote: It is confidence in the men and women who administer the judicial system that is the true backbone of the rule of law, Stevens wrote. This time, the damage is different. Its not only the questions about ideological or partisan biases of the justices a charge fairly made about many whove worn the black robes over the years. At least when it comes to the case of Kavanaugh, the question is far more fundamental: Can we trust that what he says or writes is true? The answer, for now, must be no not completely. And that, all by itself, is devastating. The earth is aflame. On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court yanked away the fire hose. In its latest disturbing decision, the high court drastically narrowed the Environmental Protection Agencys authority to fight the scorching ravages of climate change. The court ruled 6-3 in West Va. v. EPA, a case challenging President Obamas 2015 Clean Power Plan, a landmark effort to reduce carbon emissions nationwide. It never got implemented. The impact of the decision will go far beyond that plan, and even beyond the environment. In ruling against the EPA, the court adopted a strict standard for when any federal agency may impose rules the court deems likely to be especially disruptive to Americas economy and politics. Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by the courts five other conservatives, reasoned that in those instances, the agencies rules must have been explicitly authorized by Congress. In the case of the Clean Power Plan, standards for existing power plants were so ambitious that states likely would have had to reduce their reliance on coal to meet them. Roberts reasoned that if Congress had wanted the EPA to determine what kinds of energy Americas power plants used, it would have said so. Capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible solution to the crisis of the day. Roberts wrote. But it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme. The ruling builds on a string of recent decisions that have checked agencies power, including the CDC when it announced a moratorium on evictions during the pandemic. What makes this case such a troubling example is that the EPAs authority to regulate emissions from power plants is clear. Congress granted the EPA sweeping authority to curb pollution from various sources in the Clean Air Act of 1970. Along with the Clear Water Act, its one of two pillars of modern environmentalism, and is considered by many the most important positive legacy of Richard Nixons presidency. In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that carbon emissions, the greenhouse gases tied to climate change, were pollution for purposes of the Clean Air Act. Whats more, the Obama Clean Power Plan left it up to the states to decide how to achieve its aggressive emissions goals. That was a tremendous advantage for states such as Texas, which was (and is) miles ahead of its competitors in harnessing wind energy, and where natural gas, far cleaner than coal, is in such abundance. Justice Elena Kagan nodded to that history in her dissent, joined by Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. Today, the court strips the Environmental Protection Agency of the power Congress gave it to respond to the most pressing environmental challenge of our time, Kagan wrote, quoting from 2007s , Massachusetts v. EPA. By hobbling the EPA just when we need it most, the court has handed responsibility for addressing climate change to just the people and institutions whove refused to do so for so long. Here at home, thats officials such as Gov. Greg Abbott and the disingenuously named Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. With the world on fire, the only possible solution is for the voters to elect candidates who seem to understand the value of a fire hose and arent afraid to use it. Regarding Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade, ending constitutional protection of abortion rights, (June 24): If you are ever on a jury, watch the lawyers at the end of the trial. One has won. One has lost. Yet at the end they typically exchange pleasantries. This does not mean that the winner is not happy and the loser is not disappointed. Believe me. I know. I have experienced both. So why conclude with decency? Because it characterizes true professionals. It is even nobility, what Edmund Burke called a graceful ornament to the civil order. Where am I going with this? The reversal of Roe v. Wade is seen as a win to many people, yet it is a loss bringing anxiety and even fear to many others. Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, seems to see himself as a winner on this issue. He is supposed to be an official for all the people of Texas. Does he deal with the Roe v. Wade reversal in a dignified way, sensitive to the impact on those who are losers? No. He declares a holiday for members of his office. This brings to mind the powerful rhetorical statement by Joseph N. Welch in the McCarthy hearings. Have you no sense of decency, sir? Those words brought to an end Joseph McCarthys Senate career, a career based on a big lie. No, not a lie claiming a fraudulent election. His was a claim that the U.S. government was infested by communists. Hopefully, regardless of how we view a Supreme Court decision we still desire decency of our public officials. Stanley P. Santire, Houston So, Attorney General Ken Paxton declared June 24 an agency holiday to celebrate the overturning of Roe v. Wade and a womans right to choose. Are we, the taxpayers, going to pay his employees salaries while they spend the day away from work? Let Ken Paxton pay his staffs salaries out of his own corrupt pocket. Linda Rehm, Houston Hypocrisy Regarding As Supreme Court overturns abortion rights, could same-sex marriage be next to go?, (June 24): In 2008 when Barack Obama was running for president, he was asked who he wouldnt have nominated to the Supreme Court. Without hesitation he said Justice Clarence Thomas. With the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, now you see why. Thomas not only voted against almost 50 years of precedent, but also took aim at three other landmark cases that relied on that same legal reasoning, which is privacy rights guaranteed by the 14th Amendment: Griswold v. Connecticut, the 1965 decision that gave women the right to birth control; Lawrence v. Texas, a 2003 case invalidating sodomy laws; and Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 case establishing the right of gay couples to marry. Justice Thomas wrote that the court should reconsider all three decisions, saying it had a duty to correct the error established in those precedents. Why not go one more step backward? I think the court should also review Loving v. Virginia, the 1967 ruling that allowed interracial marriage. That was also ruled on privacy rights which are not specifically mentioned in the 1789 U.S. Constitution. Nor are other rights, such as owning a car, travel to a foreign country, sending your child to private schools, owning a computer and a million other things we take for granted. Sorry Justice Thomas, you might have to leave your white wife Ginni, who supported the Jan. 6 revolutionaries. Terry H. Anderson, Bryan Clarence Thomas hypocritical opinion that the Supreme Court has the duty to correct the error established by precedents granting citizens the liberty to use contraception for family planning and to marry in same-sex relationships is amazing beyond belief. Thomas is reaping the liberty granted by the landmark Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court decision to marry his wife, Ginni. How is that liberty, that is not guaranteed by the Constitution, different from the ones he wants to deny the rest of us? I guess attempting to apply logic to a conservative justices decision process is an exercise in futility. Kenneth Meyers, Houston The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Biden administration may end a Trump-era immigration policy that requires most asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims are processed. The 5-4 decision marks a major blow for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who joined Missouri in suing the Biden administration last year to preserve the policy, known informally as Remain in Mexico and officially as the Migrant Protection Protocols. And it halts a trend of court rulings that have thus far hamstrung President Joe Bidens efforts to roll back the immigration policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump, and restore legal pathways for migrants to enter the country. Trump, who enacted the Remain in Mexico policy in early 2019, contended it was needed to crack down on meritless asylum claims and manage the record numbers of Central American families seeking entry to the U.S. arguments later echoed by Texas and Missouri in the Supreme Court case. RELATED: How Texas Republicans ushered in the new era of immigration policy making Human rights groups and immigrant advocates say the program strands migrants many of whom are fleeing countries plagued by extreme violence and poverty in northern Mexico under dangerous and unsanitary conditions, with widely documented reports of robbery, torture, rape, kidnapping and other violent attacks. Chief Justice John Roberts penned the majority opinion, finding that federal law allows but does not require immigration authorities to return asylum seekers to Mexico. He and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the three liberal members of the court to form a narrow majority. Paxton, in a brief statement, called the court's decision "an unfortunate one, and I believe it was wrongly decided." He cited Justice Samuel Alito's dissenting opinion, which argued that federal law does not allow the government to "simply release the alien in this country and hope that the alien will show up for the hearing at which his or her entitlement to remain will be decided." The decision resolves an issue that stretches to the first day of President Joe Bidens term, when he suspended new enrollments in the Remain in Mexico program. He would later formally end the policy, but a Texas district judge, siding with Texas and Missouri, ordered federal authorities to keep it in place, ruling that Bidens preferred method for handling asylum seekers ran afoul of U.S. immigration law. IN-DEPTH: Bidens border plan calls for 23,000 officers, slashing asylum processing time Shortly after, the Supreme Court rejected the Biden administrations request to quickly intervene in the case, and a federal appellate court later upheld the district court decision. Then, after months of negotiation with Mexican leaders, immigration officials in December restarted a more limited version of the program, under which they have returned asylum seekers to Mexico at a much lower rate than during the Trump administration. At issue in the Remain in Mexico litigation was a provision of federal law that allows migrants awaiting their asylum hearings to be temporarily released into the country on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. Conservatives have sought to scale back the practice, which they often deride as catch and release, arguing it contains loopholes that are easily exploited. Lawyers from the Biden administration argued that releasing asylum seekers on parole would provide a public benefit by ensuring the Department of Homeland Security can use its limited detention space for those with a criminal history or who pose a flight risk. The administration further contended that forcing the Trump-era policy to continue through a court order would interfere with the broad discretion historically granted to the president in setting federal immigration policy. Justice Department lawyers said Biden chose to end the Trump-era program in part because it imposes unjustifiable human costs on migrants facing extreme violence in Mexico. Roberts, in the majority opinion, found that the lower court rulings forced the president "to the bargaining table with Mexico, over a policy that both countries wish to terminate" and in doing so "imposed a significant burden" upon Biden's "ability to conduct diplomatic relations with Mexico." Alito, meanwhile, argued that the Biden administration's regular use of the parole option for asylum seekers "gives rise to a strong inference that the government is not really making these decisions on a case-by-case basis," as required by law. He noted that more than 27,000 migrants were temporarily released into the country in April to await their asylum hearings. Texas and Missouri, meanwhile, said Bidens move to end the policy would place a financial burden on border states where asylum seekers would be temporarily released, through the paroled migrants use of public services such as schools and medical care. Paxton and his counterpart in Missouri also argued that the policy deters those who attempt to game the system by disappearing into the country instead of showing up for their asylum hearings, while also speeding up the process for those with legitimate asylum claims. U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk sided with the states last August, issuing an order to reinstate Remain in Mexico and finding that a federal law grants the Biden administration just two options for asylum seekers: mandatory detention or return to a contiguous territory. Immigration officials, Kacsmaryk added, may only use a third route temporarily releasing asylum seekers into the country on parole in limited cases, and not simply because DHS does not have the detention capacity to hold them. In legal filings and testimony before the Supreme Court, DOJ officials argued that Kacsmaryks view was egregiously mistaken and has never been accepted by any presidential administration since the statutes enactment in 1996, including while MPP was operational. Under Kacsmaryks interpretation, the DOJ noted, DHS has been in continuous and systemic violation of federal law for more than two decades. Kavanaugh, in a concurring opinion, wrote that immigration law grants presidents discretion to parole asylum seekers into the U.S. as long as the decision is "reasonable and reasonably explained." It was not up to the court to decide whether DHS met the standard, Kavanaugh said, adding that federal courts "must be deferential" to the president on foreign policy and not "improperly second-guess" his judgment. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, urged Biden to "move swiftly" to end the Remain in Mexico program and turn his attention to another Trump-era policy: Title 42, the public health order that allows immigration authorities during a pandemic to expel migrants from the country before they can apply for asylum. Despite facing pressure from within his party to end the policy, Biden continued it for more than a year, then announced in April he would lift the order. A federal judge has blocked the move, however, and immigration officials have continued a monthly pace of roughly 100,000 Title 42 expulsions. "The United States has a legal and moral obligation to protect asylum-seekers, and I will continue fighting for a humane immigration system that prioritizes fairness and safety for all people," Castro said in a statement. jasper.scherer@chron.com 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. Williamstown Select Board Finds Diversity Training Program for Town Personnel WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. The Select Board on Monday expressed its commitment to provide ongoing diversity, equity and inclusion training for town employees. And the board members promised in a formal statement to participate in that training themselves. Andy Hogeland and Jeff Johnson took the lead on finding a firm to train town personnel in how to treat one another and members of the public in a way that upholds DEI values as mandated by a pair of articles overwhelmingly passed by town meeting in 2020. "We discovered three or four months ago there was a gap in our DEI training," Hogeland said Monday. "In the course of the last three months, we talked to various people who do this. We have come down to recommending this particular one." The one they chose, Diversity Builder out of Nashville, Tenn., is a 19-year-old workplace training firm whose clients have included, among others, the Williamstown Police Department, which made its own push to establish DEI principles in the wake of revelations in a 2020 lawsuit that roiled town government. "I was pleasantly surprised by the volume [of trainers] out there, which made it a more difficult decision for us," Johnson said. "This is about getting us up to par with modern trainings. "It is not anything against our town employees. But it's our job to get them training." The $1,800 price tag for online training was less than the board expected, Johnson said. And, as a bonus, the expense can be covered by the fiscal 2022 budget that ends on Thursday. That leaves untouched the $7,000 that the town allocated to diversity training in the FY23 budget. Board member Randal Fippinger objected to the idea that the training will be conducted online. "This sort of work needs to be done in person, in groups, preferably in smaller groups," Fippinger said. "It's significantly different than the kind of training you do online." Johnson and Hogeland agreed, but Johnson noted that with in-person training, "zeroes add on to that cost." Both emphasized that the initial online program from Diversity Builder is the beginning of the town's process, a point echoed by incoming Town Manager Bob Menicocci in the statement the board approved 5-0 on Monday night. "As Bob said, this is a start," Johnson said. "You can take that initial training, and it puts something in our files that people can be held accountable to because they've had the training. "This is just a start to get us going." Monday's statement on DEI training dovetailed with another item on the agenda, a review of last week's joint meeting between the Select Board and the Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Equity Committee. Select Board Chair Hugh Daley said it was a productive exercise in crystalizing the purpose of the DIRE Committee as it begins its third year. That purpose was left largely undefined by the Select Board itself when it created the advisory committee in the summer of 2020 after residents expressed concern about equity issues in the town as the country grappled with race relations in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis "If you ask 10 different people in town what the purpose of the DIRE Committee is, you get 10 different answers," Daley said, repeating a comment he made in last week's joint meeting. He said even the DIRE Committee and Select Board members who attended the joint meeting had trouble expressing a succinct mission for the advisory committee. Daley argued that a clearer remit will help DIRE Committee members. "It's not that we're totally far apart, but if it's not something where people can say, 'I know why we're doing this,' you're stuck." Fippinger, who chaired the DIRE Committee before his election to the Select Board in May, pointed out that attendees at last week's meeting agreed that DIRE is empowered to pursue its own projects in addition to answering specific questions posed by the Select Board. Last week's session was the first part of a dialogue about the DIRE Committee's role in town government. On Tuesday, June 28, the Select Board was to hold the first of a series of public listening sessions to receive input from residents about how they saw the diversity panel's purpose. In other business on Monday, the Select Board approved a utility pole move on Berkshire Drive, reappointed some incumbent members of town boards and committees, expressed its appreciation for the service of interim Town Manager Charlie Blanchard, whose term ends Thursday and discussed the town's approach to expenditures of American Rescue Plan Act funds. The board also talked about how things went at this month's annual town meeting, which was both longer than usual and, for some, frustrating for its inability to decide on a number of proposed zoning bylaw amendments. The issues arising out of the June 14 meeting, coupled with longstanding concerns about low attendance at the meeting, have sparked interest in either reforms to the town meeting model, consideration of charter changes that would alter the meeting's role in town government or both. Daley suggested on Monday that the board look at undertaking parallel studies: one to review the charter, which is largely unchanged since 1956; and one to consider reforms to the meeting, including, as some have suggested, moving to Saturday or even breaking the process into two sessions. Brent White of White Engineering explains the plan to the Mobile Home Rent Control Board. Pittsfield's Allendale Pines Plans Further Expansion PITTSFIELD, Mass. Allendale Pines plans to expand the mobile home park with more than 20 additional lots. This addition will separate the parks into AP South and the new AP North. The Mobile Home Rent Control Board on Monday OK'd the plan contingent on approval from the Conservation Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals. "In summary, this project would provide 21 additional financially attainable lots and homes for Pittsfield," Attorney Jeffrey Scrimo said on behalf of owner Eagle Allendale. "This would be an expansion of the existing Allendale Pines community, but it was served by a separate entrance and separate utilities." Lot rent is proposed to be $550 for AP North and the existing lots' lower rate of $320 will not change. The higher rate is attributed to the costs of creating a new lot from scratch and inflation. "If one were to compare the rent structure that exists for the existing facility versus the proposed, in this case here we're taking a virgin piece of ground, we need to clear it, we need to grade it, we need to provide a sub base to construct a road and then pave the road, construction-grade all the pad sites, slope stabilization, drainage," Brent White of White Engineering in Pittsfield explained. "The work that was proposed down below, we had a road network in place, we had a road base, we had water and sewer lines that needed to be replaced and the electricity was already to the site. In this case, here we have to establish that all for the first time in this area." The project will cost about $1.4 million with additional fees associated with the site's development. It needs to go before the Conservation Commission because work is proposed to occur within 100 feet of a bordering vegetative wetland and the applicant will need to apply for a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals for a pre-existing non-conformity Mayor Linda Tyer announces the last of the city's American Rescue Plan Act community awards to 19 organizations totaling $2.9 million on Wednesday. Tyer Announces Final Round of ARPA Community Awards PITTSFIELD, Mass. Mayor Linda Tyer has announced the last of the city's American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) community awards to 19 organizations totaling $2.9 million. "When Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act, it emphasized the importance of investing in post-pandemic recovery, especially for people who had been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic," Tyer explained at a press conference in the council chambers on Wednesday. "Even in our community forums, we heard over and over again that there are Pittsfield residents of all ages who were negatively affected by COVID-19. So in this way, Congress and the community are aligned in their mission and when we set about our work as an internal team, we knew we had a calling." Pittsfield was allocated about $41 million in federal ARPA funds that must be spent by 2026. Tyer added that the administration is pleased to bring the "valuable resource" to community partners. The city received a total of 28 community-based proposals. 18 Degrees Early Education Family Center received the largest allocation of $600,000 to add family liaisons to its early education and care team with a goal of ensuring that Pittsfield families and children receive support in class and at home to promote positive and adaptive development and behaviors. The Brien Center, which provides behavioral health care, received $400,000 to enhance the utilization of its Fenn Street campus with a new electronic health records system and a transportation program for city clients. Members of the Gladys Allen Brigham Community Center attended the press conference to applaud the center's $100,000 allocation for capital improvements to Camp Stevenson-Witawentin on Churchill Street. It is a summer day camp for girls on Onota Lake that offers traditional programming and prevention education. CEO Kelly Marion said the camp has not seen significant investment since 1999. It will be used to refurbish some of its cabins and bring them up to code with the hope of welcoming more girls to the property and having more community groups use it. "Summer camp is a beautiful experience that's really sometimes unaffordable for a lot of families in the community," she explained. "So for us, we run a campership drive to be able to offset costs for a lot of our children and families to be out there and to increase the capacity is a way that we're able to increase the usage and get kids into safe and fun summer programs. Summer recreation is really, really important and we build a lot of learning into the summer camp experience and I think that makes us a little different than most general camps. It's not about the sports, it's about the learning and the life skills and skill-building that takes place out there." Development and Communications Manager Abigail Allard added that it also closes the education gap that happens with kids in the summer. Another goal is to have the camp be at the same level of quality as its private counterparts. "We want to be able to use it, you know, from Memorial Day through Columbus Day, and have as many people on the property as possible," Marion said. "And give that experience, especially to families that are under-resourced. To have a safe, beautiful property to go spend time on with your family is important." The center was previously awarded Community Preservation Act funding by the city to build a quarter-mile-long "Eureka! Learning Trail" trail at the camp that is named after its STEM skills program. The trail is set to be built this summer in cooperation with another nonprofit Greenagers. In April, Tyer announced the first $5.9 million round of community awards. Both rounds total $8.9 million. The next step for awardees is to get contracts underway and by early September, Tyer said the administration will make another announcement about a "big" investment it is working toward. "They're the experts in their fields and we're a stronger community because we have strong networks between government and our community partners," Tyer said about the funding recipients. "And so, again, I was just impressed with the new initiatives, the creativity, the dedication to the people they serve in their individual organizations, which has a ripple effect and community." This round of community awards: 18 Degrees Early Education Family Care: $600,000 for the addition of family liaisons to the Early Education and Care team to ensure that Pittsfield families and children receive in-class and at-home support to promote positive and adaptive development and behaviors. Goodwill Makes Promotions PITTSFIELD, Mass. Goodwill Industries of the Berkshires and Southern Vermont announced the promotions of Karen Harrington to director of retail operations, northern territory, and Mary Killeen to the position of director of finance. Harrington is the manager of Goodwill's retail store in Bennington, Vermont, a position she has held since 2015. She oversees operations at Goodwill's store in North Adams and Rutland and is a member of the team working on the July reopening of Goodwill's flagship store in Pittsfield. Prior to joining Goodwill, she was employed at the Bennington Museum for 22 years, including 16 years as administrative assistant to the executive director, followed by six years as manager of the museum's gift shop. Harrington attended Southern Vermont College and is a Bennington native. She resides there with her husband Tim, 13 chickens, two ducks and a Labrador retriever. She has two grown children, three grown stepchildren, and ten grandchildren. Killeen, a Pittsfield native and resident, joined Goodwill in 2020 as its senior accountant. With a B.S. in business administration from Stonehill College and many years of accounting experience, she brings expertise in accounting principles and best practices to Goodwill's administrative team. In her new role as director of finance, Killeen will oversee all the day-to-day financial aspects of Goodwill's operations, as well as short- and long-term planning for the nonprofit organization. Earlier in her career, Killeen worked at WCVB-TV and in television production at Metromedia Producers in Boston. For 20 years, she owned and operated The Bookshelf, a second-hand bookstore on Elm Street, that she closed in 2014. Killeen has also served as an IndyCar Series timing and scoring official for eight years, which included participating in three IndyCar races in Australia. Commissioner Transition Announced at DCR BOSTON Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Beth Card announced the departure of Department of Conservation and Recreation Acting Commissioner Stephanie Cooper and the appointment of Doug Rice, former General Counsel at DCR and currently Director of Procurement for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) as the incoming Commissioner. "Acting Commissioner Cooper has been a vital asset steering the Department of Conservation and Recreation, she demonstrated her commitment to the agency's mission, its staff, and the state parks system every day. I am very grateful for her service, " said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Beth Card. "I am excited to welcome Doug to the team, and have confidence that he will be a strong advocate and supporter of our state's natural, cultural, and recreational resources." In November 2021, Acting Commissioner Cooper was appointed to lead the more than 450,000-acre state parks system, which includes parks, forests, reservations, pools, beaches, watershed lands, rinks, and thousands of miles of trails. During her tenure at the agency, she has helped guide DCR to conduct an agency-wide strategic evaluation process, recruit hundreds of lifeguards, and commence ARPA project planning for the department. Cooper will return to her role as the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's (MassDEP) Deputy Commissioner of Policy and Planning. Doug Rice first joined the MWRA in August 2016, serving as the agency's Deputy Contracts Manager before being promoted to Director of Procurement. Prior to joining the MWRA, he served as General Counsel for DCR from July 2011 to August 2016. Doug has also previously served as the General Counsel for the Massachusetts Recovery & Reinvestment Office, an Assistant Attorney General, and an Assistant District Attorney for the Office of the Middlesex District Attorney. Rice received a Juris Doctor Degree from Suffolk University Law School, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a concentration in International Politics from the George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs. Originally from Melrose, Rice lives in the City of Malden with his wife and their daughter. The UN General Assembly has declared June 27 as the International SME Day to recognise the importance and immense contribution of SMEs to global economies. As we celebrate this special day, Bank One would like to place on record and recognise the vital role SMEs play in local and global economies. Bank One understands and appreciates the hardships entrepreneurs go through to make a success of their enterprises. Small and Nimble: Powering entire economies and employment In Mauritius, as in the rest of the world, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) act as a crucial engine of the national economy and employment. With their innovative mindsets, agile work methodology and competitive operations, they bring to the table unique ideas, breakthrough products, and improved processes, thus powering economic growth and employment. No wonder then that the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development lauds entrepreneurship as the engine that lies at the heart of economic growth. Indeed, SMEs account for the majority of businesses worldwide and are important contributors to job creation and global economic development. The World Bank estimates that SMEs represent about 90% of businesses and more than 50% of employment worldwide. In Mauritius, SMEs represented 99% of all enterprises, 50% of employment, 35.7% of Gross Value Added and around 12% of total exports, according to a 2019 handbook by the Ministry of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives. Resilience in the face of constant crises With SMEs shoring up Mauritius across economic and employment paradigms, it is unfortunate indeed that the last three years have sorely tested the entrepreneurial spirit in the island economy. With COVID-19 raging for two long years and then being closely followed by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the period since the start of 2020 has been most trying for the SME sector. In particular, the pandemic impacted global trade, which dropped significantly following the lockdown and subsequent prohibitive sanitary measures imposed by different countries. The situation proved to be more alarming for SMEs as they were too resource constrained to adapt to a changing context. A survey conducted by the International Trade Centre in 2020 on 4,467 SMEs in 132 countries revealed that 55% of the respondents were strongly affected by the global pandemic and one-fifth of them were on the verge of closing down their operations permanently in the near future. In Mauritius, in addition to being economically affected by the lockdown, SMEs faced problems in raw material imports due to the international supply chain disruption caused by COVID-19. For businesses that have been hit hard by the pandemic and are looking to make a strong comeback, now is the time to uncover and seize these opportunities as the pandemic has upended traditional businesses and created new norms. Despite all the challenges, difficulties and crises plaguing them, SMEs have been most resilient and agile in the face of these constant tremors that have shaken their very foundation. However, while SMEs have succeeded in weathering the storms so far, trusting to their resilience alone is not enough. Here in Mauritius, the Government acknowledges the role that SMEs play in furthering economic growth, employment and exports, and has consciously set up a conducive framework for their progress in these tough times. Government laying the groundwork for supporting SMEs Indeed, over the last two years, the Government has provided its full support to SMEs through the Wage Assistance Scheme and financing of additional remuneration. For the way forward, the recently read Mauritius Budget 2022-23 comes as welcome respite for the SME sector, with a slew of supportive measures for entrepreneurs. One of the most lauded announcements of Budget 2022-23 is the proposed amendment to the definition of SMEs. Noting that SMEs are the driving force of growth and employment to the island, the Finance Minister unveiled an enlarged definition of SMEs towards increasing the assistance provided to them. Thus, the turnover threshold for micro enterprises has been increased from Rs 2 M to Rs 10 M, that for small enterprises from Rs 2 M Rs 10 M to Rs 10 M Rs 30 M and for medium enterprises from Rs 10 M Rs 50 M to Rs 30 M Rs 100 M. In addition, a new category of mid-market enterprises with turnover from Rs 100 M to Rs 250 M has been included under the SME Act. This enlarged definition will effectively enable some 142,000 enterprises to benefit from improved access to government support programmes and financing. In addition, Budget 2022-23 also announced the intention of the Mauritius Investment Corporation to set up a Venture Capital Fund of Rs 5 B aimed at SMEs and mid-market enterprises. Innovation set to provide the impetus from good to great Finally, to not just survive but thrive and succeed to the next level, SMEs need to innovate and lay the groundwork to face potential changes and disruptions that will undoubtedly follow in the not-so-distant future. SMEs should always remember that challenges bring opportunities, and the biggest window of opportunity that COVID-19 brought in its wake is increasing digitalisation. SMEs must innovate and develop new ways of doing things. Indeed, new technologies have been proven to be important assets in helping countries to recover from disruptions caused by the pandemic. Now is the time to truly realise this sectors potential for taking the economy from good to great, with SMEs powering the digitisation of the economy with all the agility, innovation and resilience at their command. At Bank One, we would like to stress that we are here to help SMEs start, manage and grow their enterprise. So let us help you take your business from good to great. By Sunil Sathebajee, Head of Business & SME Banking Bamk One Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires Christina, left, and Logan Lamphere are the new proprietors at Unlimited Nutrition on Spring Street in Williamstown. The new owners of Unlimited Nutrition promise an expanded menu with old favorites. PreviousNext Williamstown Tea, Shake Spot Reopens Friday with New Owners The beverage shop offers indoor seating. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. Spring Street's newest entrepreneur is new to business ownership but not new to the business of making healthy, refreshing beverages. Logan Lamphere and her mother, Christina, took over Unlimited Nutrition at 31 Spring St. last week, and on Friday, they will hold their grand re-opening of Williamstown's home for "Good Vibes and Great Nutrition." "I work at another nutrition club in New York state near my home," Logan said this week. "Jackie [Therrien] and Kenzie [Huntoon], who were the owners of Unlimited Nutrition, reached out to the owners of that [New York] club and said, 'We can't do this anymore.' "My bosses reached out to me and said, 'We're not sure if you're ever interested in owning a nutrition club, but this is a great opportunity.' " Logan and Christina Lamphere jumped at the chance. "It was kind of laid out for us," Logan said. "It was hard for us to not do it. It was a good opportunity, so we decided to jump in. Getting to do it young works out for me when I'm older." Logan said she was working at the Averill Park, N.Y., club for a little more than a year after coming home from college in Maine. During that time, she had a chance to learn about the teas and shakes that customers want. And she wasted no time revamping the menu at Unlimited Nutrition, which opened just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. "Some of the teas they had, I still have," Lamphere said. "They're just renamed. I have all their old recipes, so I can make whatever people come in looking for. "I added a lot more shakes, and the menu is a lot bigger than theirs. I added a peach tree section because our logo is a peach and I wanted to have fun with that. It now has a lot more berry flavors compared to what they had. Flavors I put together like blue raspberry and melon they didn't have that." Christina Lamphere was a customer at her daughter's old drink spot but did not have the business experience that Logan brings to the operation. For now, Logan Lamphere said that she will be the sole employee, but she hopes to bring on help as the business develops. To start out, Unlimited Nutrition will be open Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 8 to 5, except for the grand opening on Friday, July 1, from 10 to 4. Lamphere said the chance to open her own business was "too good to be true," and she is confident in the customer base that Unlimited Nutrition taps into. "I'm very excited," she said. "I think it's a great spot. I went to elementary school here at Pine Cobble, so I'm very familiar with the area. It's good to be back. "We're going to get, hopefully, a lot of new faces as well as the old regulars. From our social media account, I can see that everyone is super excited to have us back, and I'm excited to meet everyone in person." The year was 1944, and the Allies were at war. In Washington, the precursor agency to the CIA had an idea on how to help. The plan: Write and publish a how-to guide to creating toxic workplaces, and smuggle it to sympathetic workers behind enemy lines who hoped to sabotage the Axis from within. Not everyone could carry a gun or blow up train tracks and military installations, the thinking went, but they could make their workplaces so inhospitable and inefficient that they might slow down the Nazi war machine. The guide was called the Simple Sabotage Field Manual. You can read the whole thing online, today. What's most fascinating is how many of the things that we complain about in business today were almost the exact same things that Allied spies advised doing to create toxic workplaces eight decades ago. In fact, if you're running a business, it's worth asking whether any of your employees seem to practice these behaviors regularly. 1. Do they insist on holding meetings when less-intrusive means of discussion will do? From the sabotage guide: Hold conferences when there is more critical work to be done ... When possible, refer all matters to committees, for "further study and consideration." Attempt to make the committees as large as possible--never less than five. 2. Do they talk on and on and on, at length? From the sabotage guide: Make "speeches." Talk as frequently as possible and at great length. Illustrate your "points" by long anecdotes and accounts of personal experiences. Never hesitate to make a few appropriate "patriotic" comments. 3. Do they insist on revisiting things that have already been decided? From the sabotage guide: Haggle over precise wordings of communications, minutes, resolutions. ... Refer back to matters decided upon at the last meeting and attempt to re-open the question of the advisability of that decision. 4. Do they treat colleagues and the people who report to them unfairly? From the sabotage guide: To lower morale and with it, production, be pleasant to inefficient workers; give them undeserved promotions. Discriminate against efficient workers; complain unjustly about their work. 5. Do they seem to have constant excuses for not working? From the sabotage guide: Contrive as many interruptions to your work as you can: when changing the material on which you are working, as you would on a lathe or punch, take needless time to do it. If you are cutting, shaping or doing other measured work, measure dimensions twice as often as you need to. When you go to the lavatory, spend a longer time there than is necessary. Forget tools so that you will have to go back after them. 6. Do they seem paralyzed and unable to act? From the sabotage guide: Advocate caution. Be "reasonable" and urge your fellow-conferees to be "reasonable" and avoid haste which might result in embarrassments or difficulties later on. ... Be worried about the propriety of any decision--raise the question of whether such action as is contemplated lies within the jurisdiction of the group or whether it might conflict with the policy of some higher echelon." 7. Do they have a hard time working with colleagues? From the sabotage guide: Never pass on your skill and experience to a new or less skillful worker. Give lengthy and incomprehensible explanations when questioned. When training new workers, give incomplete or misleading instructions. 8. Do they set fires at work, or else call in false police reports to send emergency workers to the wrong parts of the city? OK, obviously this one would go beyond just creating a toxic workplace, and the fact that they're on the list is a reminder that the sabotage guide was in fact intended for warfare. There's a new Jeff Bezos biopic set to be released this summer that chronicles the Amazon kingpin's endeavor to create an online book store that eventually expanded into an e-commerce empire. Curious entrepreneurs may want to tune in if interested in a small taste of Amazon's beginnings. The biopic, dubbed Bezos, attempts to map out the early days of Amazon by following the challenges faced by the entrepreneur, played by Armando Gutierrez, in the aftermath of quitting his job at the New York-based fund D.E. Shaw. Viewers are reminded of the pain points that any young startup founder may face: access to capital, work/life balance, and poor compensation. A media representative for the film says that Bezos is based on Zero to Hero, written by Tashena Ebanks, which "was created for young readers to inspire them regarding entrepreneurship." While Bezos is most certainly not an Academy Awards contender, it does offer lessons for emerging entrepreneurs. Here are three: 1. A company's name is everything One of the first impressions a business makes on a consumer is with its name. Amazon is named after the world's largest river by volume--a nod to the entrepreneur's eventual goal of becoming the everything store. In the company's early days, however, Bezos first set out to call the company Cadabra Inc. It was a play on "abracadabra," an exclamation magicians yell out during a magic trick. That name ended up being panned when people started confusing it for the word "cadaver." Bezos then looked toward a handful of other names until he gravitated to Relentless.com. He and his now ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, purchased the web domain for Relentless--even today, typing in Relentless.com into your web browser will reroute you to Amazon's homepage. In the movie, viewers watch Bezos leaf through the front of the dictionary until landing on the word "Amazon." And so Amazon.com was born, since the dot-com "tells our customers that we exist exclusively on the internet," Bezos says in the movie. 2. Believe in your idea Bezos soared through the ranks at D.E. Shaw, eventually becoming the youngest senior vice president at the hedge fund. Bezos's then-boss, David Shaw (played by Marcus Lemonis, who stars in CNBC's The Profit), was interested in the future of the internet, leading Bezos to research its value propositions and growth potential. He then stumbled upon a fact that the web was growing at 2,300 percent per year. And so Bezos approached Shaw with his idea. Though it was not met with the enthusiasm that Bezos likely hoped for--Shaw tried to dissuade Bezos from leaving a financially secure position to plunge head-first into a startup. In the film, Shaw even says that he likes the idea, but actively discourages Bezos from pursuing it. As it obvious to all, Bezos chose to ignore that advice. 3. Know your market, and know when to walk away The decision to take--or walk away--from a buyout offer boils down to a few factors, such as how sweet the deal is and if an entrepreneur thinks it's the right time to sell, according to the Entrepreneurs' Organization, an Alexandria, Virginia-based entrepreneurs network. Spoiler alert: As the Bezos movie draws to an end, we see Bezos himself make a decision on whether or not to sell. When Amazon was first starting out, Barnes & Noble dominated the book-selling industry with hundreds of stores and roughly $2 billion in revenue in 1995 while independent booksellers were shuttering. Meanwhile, Bezos was setting out to create the largest online bookstore with few resources on-hand. Bezos met with Barnes & Noble chairman Leonard Riggio, who purportedly told the Amazon head that the brick-and-mortar giant would start their own website and crush Amazon, according to The Everything Store, a book by Brad Stone that follows Amazon's rise. B&N's Riggio reportedly propositioned Bezos to work together--and the Bezos movie portrays this as well, showing a tense meeting between the two at which Riggio offers to acquire Amazon for $1 million before the startup even launched its website. Bezos walks away, emphasizing to his bewildered team that they must be onto something if they've already received a buyout offer this early on. The pandemic brought new meaning to the word "flexibility," especially as it applies to work environments. For some, the lockdowns were a refreshing opportunity to reevaluate what systems were (or weren't) working. But for most--who were left scrambling to implement new technologies and virtually transform their business systems overnight--it was a more significant hurdle to overcome. As people began to work from home en masse, conversations about work-life balance increased. The lines were blurred between people's daily routine and their normal office hours. Parents scrambled to get work done between meals, activities with the kids, and household responsibilities. Work flexibility can mean different things to different people. For some, it can look like a hybrid or fully remote schedule, being back in the office every day, or the "work from anywhere at any time" model. Regardless of your business' workstyle preferences, the pandemic and its aftermath taught us that how we work doesn't need to fit into any status quo. At Zen Media, we've always operated in a fully remote fashion, but for years, we were in the minority. Traditionally, companies have adhered to stricter workstyle policies. People had to be at their desks by 8 or 9 a.m., and taking long lunch breaks or leaving the office before 5 p.m. was frowned upon. With government mandates, employee demands, and other looming expectations, corporate America is finding out that there is no "right way" to operate in today's new work environment. Leaders across different industries are continually reevaluating what flexibility means to them. Work Isn't One-Size-Fits-All Managers and team leaders should do their best to get to know their employees as individuals, so they can better understand their team's workplace needs. Learning to treat people as individuals--instead of resources--makes a big difference. With a variety of individuals making up each team, the one-size-fits-all approach simply isn't an effective long-term strategy. Martin Birch, CEO of ibml, emphasizes the importance of a flexible approach for his teams. "We spend so much time at work, whether from home or in the office, that it is important to cultivate relationships there. Make sure you care about each employee and try to enable people to actually have fun at work." Birch's team heavily focuses on a positive company culture, which can look like many things--allowing employees to work in a way that best suits their needs, for example. Prioritizing flexibility and a positive culture helps them weed out the wrong type of employees, so they can hire (and retain) those who are focused on positive attitudes and outcomes. Knowing When to Expand--or Contract Whether you're a small or large business, the ability to grow or shrink your business as necessary is key. This was especially evident during the pandemic when business trajectories were unstable. Tightening budgets and shifting labor pools are constant factors affecting leaders and pressuring them to adapt in real-time. Businesses can minimize costs by automating services, such as payment processing and client onboarding. Service automation solutions, like those offered by Regpack, enable companies to design flexible payment systems, which not only helps businesses cut unnecessary costs but also ensures a steady flow of revenue, which helps companies operate profitably for customers during trying times. Putting payment and billing functions on autopilot helps leaders focus on what they do best and frees them up to focus on the big picture. Create Comfortable Workspaces For many, the comfort of working from home is hard to beat. Office spaces have to create more comfortable, flexible environments in order to compete. Things like hybrid conference spaces, soundproofed phone or video conferencing booths, and comfortable seating arrangements will draw people from their homes and back into the office. Workspaces should be flexible so that the time spent working in person is used to its maximum potential. One furniture company, Haworth, has found that giving people a comfortable yet functional workplace maximizes efficiency in a hybrid work environment. West Michigan is home to the biggest office furniture companies in the world. Johnny Brann Jr., who runs Haworth's main distributor Interphase Interiors in Grand Rapids says that designing comfortable and functional workspaces has always been a priority for their clients, but since the pandemic, they've seen a marked increase in workplaces that are designed with flexibility in mind. China to host global conference on sci-tech innovation Xinhua) 09:21, June 30, 2022 BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The Global Future Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Conference will be held in Beijing from July 29 to 30, according to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) on Wednesday. Themed "Technology Empowers the Future, Innovation Leads Development," the conference will be co-hosted by several organizations, including the CCPIT, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, the World Intellectual Property Organization, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. The conference consists of the opening ceremony, plenary session, theme forum and other activities, focusing on a variety of topics, such as digital trade, intellectual manufacturing and autonomous driving, Feng Yaoxiang, CCPIT spokesperson, told a press conference. Held both online and offline, the conference will issue several research reports analyzing the development of China's sci-tech innovation and its future trends. Representatives of international organizations, famous scientists and industry leaders will be invited to attend the conference. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) Every week, I'm in conversation with founders, and the topics of data and artificial intelligence come up again and again. Many of the small business owners I speak to express confusion about what--if anything--they should be doing on those fronts. They're being bombarded with marketing for data and A.I. products and services, but they're not sure what to do with all that information. What are the real gains your company can achieve by modernizing its approach to data and implementing A.I.? As a data scientist, founder, and reporter, I've thought a lot about this. And I've identified three key areas where companies tend to see real gains: 1. Increase Productivity. The most immediate way your company can benefit from implementing data and A.I. is to increase efficiency in tackling certain tasks--particularly repetitive or error-prone human processes where machines can do a better job. A lot of companies have many thousands of rows of important data sitting in Excel spreadsheets or similar. There's a good chance yours is one of them: Your team brings data into spreadsheets by hand and manipulates it through complicated calculations, deploying valuable human effort to do so. Contrast that to a modern data and A.I. approach: Your company's data-whether it is about customer behavior, marketing analysis, inventory management or some other aspect of operations-gets shuttled into a more robust repository, like a database in the cloud. Well-established processes for getting the data properly in place, called ETL (Extract, Transform, and Load) guide the migration. About a year ago, Eyeful Media, a digital marketing agency in Dallas (No. 542 on the 2021 Inc. 5000), began modernizing its data stack. The company used to receive all its client data in spreadsheets, and would keep the data in spreadsheets while performing manipulation and analysis; the spreadsheets consistently crashed during those efforts due to the processing load on their local computers, memory errors, or other typical spreadsheet problems. Not only were Eyeful's high-salaried analysts spending too much time wrangling data, but they were also constantly dealing with software errors. They were generating reports manually, says CEO Antonella Pisani, "taking away their time to focus on more strategic work." Since it's embraced a modern data and A.I. approach, however, Eyeful now pushes the information it collects from clients into databases, and then uses dashboard tools to automatically generate reports for clients that present easily digestible analyses. If you can put these processes and structures in place at your own company, you'll save your team the time it takes to do this work by hand - increasing the efficiency of the process, the accuracy of the resulting data, and-likely-the happiness of your people. 2. Gain Novel Insights. Tapping into the computing power of the cloud, and leveraging the sophistication of analysis that is possible with databases, allows Eyeful to deliver far better results to clients than it could with Excel-generated reports. The dashboards built on top of that stack are more convenient, easier to read, and they refresh automatically. When Pisani recounts some of her big wins from the past year, she points to the insights her clients have gained into their marketing efforts from Eyeful's new breed of reports. Collecting a larger set of data, and crunching it across a wider array of criteria, allows Eyeful "to solve some of the bigger problems these clients are dealing with," says Pisani. With their new approach, she says, the depth and breadth of their analyses far outstrips what used to crash their spreadsheet programs. Where a spreadsheet-based analysis might look at one or two criteria in relation to each other, the new approach can compare and contrast many different types of fields at once. So instead of merely looking at trends for all customers over time, with a modern data stack, it's a lot easier to cluster customers into various groups and categories in the same analysis, and then break that data down by product areas. Pisani recalls one of her clients telling her, "This is so cool, I would have given up my first-born child for this dashboard." Luckily, it didn't come to that. When you use a modern data stack, not only do you get data that is more secure and calculations that are more reliable than they are in spreadsheets, you create opportunities for greater understanding of your data. It might allow you to develop personas for your customers so you can target them more effectively, or analyze marketing efforts through A/B testing, or learn that a certain product only sells well when some other product is on sale. And it all can be automated to appear directly in dashboards for management--thus freeing your top talent from the task of creating the analyses, and instead giving them the time to make decisions based on the insights. 3. Offer Additional Features in Products and Services. What your company does today may not seem A.I.-centric at all. Perhaps you sell physical products, or offer expert consulting services. But once you have a data platform up and running that can deliver insights, you can package those insights to boost sales. For example, A.I.-based recommendation engines are a common tool that companies from Amazon to Netflix use to increase sales. When customers are purchasing one product or service, your sales platform can recommend related products or services, based on the behavior of other customers. You can also deliver insights to your customers about themselves, based on similar analyses, turning automatically-generated reports into a product. Think of the year-end reports you receive from music services or credit cards that tell you about your choices as a consumer, and how applying a similar approach within your company's offerings might look. Going from insights to new features - or entirely new products - opens a wide range of opportunities, depending on where you start and what you find. There are many additional reasons to get started with modernizing your data and bringing A.I. to bear on your current processes. We'll be getting to more of those over the course of this series. Do you have questions you'd like to see us answer? If so, just drop them in the form below to let us know. 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No worries for refund as the money remains in investor's account." www.indiainfoline.com is part of the IIFL Group, a leading financial services player and a diversified NBFC. The site provides comprehensive and real time information on Indian corporates, sectors, financial markets and economy. On the site we feature industry and political leaders, entrepreneurs, and trend setters. The research, personal finance and market tutorial sections are widely followed by students, academia, corporates and investors among others. Netskope, the leader in Security Service Edge (SSE) and Zero Trust, has announced that it has been selected by Mastek , the global turnkey Digital Engineering & Cloud Transformation specialist, as the companys simplified, unified and secure connectivity platform for cloud applications and infrastructure.In line with Netskopes core mission, Mastek aims to reduce its IT complexity, strengthen security and accelerate global delivery with a market leading provider.Mastek continues to drive their internal digitization across the value chain, adopting a cloud and mobile first strategy. Its aim is to implement a hire from anywhere, deliver from everywhere initiative, to meet rapidly growing demand for its services from an international customer base.Netskope will help Mastek deliver its work from anywhere initiative, facilitating secure access to the internet and SaaS applications as well as providing Identity-as-a-Service (IaaS) capabilities. It will allow Masteks employees to work on a zero-trust basis from any device and any location, improving the employee experience without compromising data security.In addition, Netskope will provide a unified view of all data flows, enhancing Masteks security posture and enabling better analytics to facilitate ongoing improvements to data management processes.As we continue our digital transformation and expand our hire from anywhere and deliver everywhere initiative, cloud & data security is of the utmost importance, said Hiral Chandrana, Global CEO of Mastek Group. We see great synergies with Netskope, who share our core values and understand our enterprise security requirements. We also look forward to working with Netskope as we accelerate growth at scale and provide holistic solutions to our clients.Were thrilled to be working with Mastek, a leader in digital engineering & cloud transformation to secure its perimeter as it transitions to a cloud-first strategy, said Sanjay Beri, CEO and co-founder of Netskope. Our device agnostic solutions will enable a safer, better experience for all Mastek employees, regardless of their working environment, whilst safeguarding the companys data as it travels through the cloud.Recognizing the numerous synergies between the two companies core offerings, Netskope and Mastek are also exploring a global go-to-market strategy in specific industries to offer prospective and existing customers combined digital engineering and cloud transformation and security solutions.On Thursday early morning trade, Mastek was trading at Rs2,099.75 per share up by Rs24.25 or 1.17% from its previous closing of Rs2,075.50 per share on the BSE. According to NMDC's Chief Managing Director Sumit Deb, the company's under-construction Nagarnar Steel Plant (NSP) has received approval from its shareholders and creditors to demerge. Deb, who was in the national capital, said that the demerger of NSP from NMDC is proceeding. CMD Sumit Deb, who was in the capital, told Press Trust of India that the demerger of NSP from NMDC is proceeding as planned. In response to a question on the demerger, he stated, "We have received approval from (the company's) shareholders and creditors for the demerger process. The CMD said that the approval was given on Tuesday. To hasten the demerger of NMDC's Nagarnar Steel Plant, the steel ministry called two separate meetings of the company's shareholders and creditors. The largest iron ore mining business in the nation, NMDC, is constructing a 3 million tonne per year steel plant in Chhattisgarh's Nagarnar region, close to Bastar. At an estimated cost of Rs23,140 crore, the complex is being built over 1,980 acres. The demerger of NSP from NMDC and sale of the Center's complete stake to a strategic bidder were approved by the Union Cabinet in October 2020. NSP will remain a separate business after the demerger. NSP will remain a separate business after the demerger. According to an Indian customs document examined by Reuters, the largest cement manufacturer in India, UltraTech Cement, is importing a shipment of Russian coal and paying with Chinese yuan, a unique payment option that dealers predict may become more popular. As per the document, UltraTech is importing 157,000 tonnes of coal from the Russian manufacturer SUEK, which was loaded into the bulk carrier MV Mangas at the Vanino port in the Russian Far East. The value of the shipment, according to a cited invoice dated June 5, is 172,652,900 yuan ($25.81 million). Two industry insiders with knowledge of the situation said that the sale of the shipment was orchestrated by SUEK's Dubai-based subsidiary and that other businesses have also made orders for Russian coal using yuan payments. The growing use of the yuan as a means of payment could support Beijing's efforts to further internationalize the currency and challenge the dominance of the U.S. dollar in international trade, as well as shield Moscow from the effects of western sanctions imposed on Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine. Since they are not permitted to speak to the media, the sources declined to give their names. A request for feedback from UltraTech and SUEK was not met with any response. "This action is important. In the last 25 years of my profession, I have never heard of an Indian organization paying in yuan for foreign commerce. In essence, this is avoiding the USD (U.S. dollar) "a currency broker located in Singapore explained. The transaction demonstrates how India has continued to do business with Russia in exchange for commodities like coal and oil despite western sanctions. India has maintained long-standing relations with Russia in terms of politics and security, therefore it has refrained from denouncing the attack in Ukraine, which according to Russia was a "special military operation." It was unclear how the transaction with SUEK was carried out and which bank provided a letter of credit for UltraTech almost away. A request for comment from SUEK was ignored. According to ship-tracking information on Refinitiv Eikon, the Mangas is now anchored close to the Indian port of Kandla. The Board of Directors of Veranda Learning Solutions Limited at its meeting held on June 29, 2022 has approved the binding Term Sheet for the sanction of acquisition financing for an amount of 30 million Euros to be granted to Veranda Learning Solutions North America, Inc, Incorporated as a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of the Company ("Veranda US") for funding of acquisitions proposed to be made by Veranda US in future.As per the regulatory filing, the providing of Corporate Guarantee and execution of Corporate Guarantee Agreement in relation to payment to be availed by Veranda US as a collateral in terms of the Binding Term Sheet and the loan agreement proposed to be entered into between Veranda US and lenders.In addition to this, the execution of Loan Agreement between the Company and Veranda US in relation to the infusion of funds to the extent of USD 9,10,000 by the Company on arms' length basis as recommended by the Audit Committee.The creation of a pledge on the entire shareholding of Veranda US held by the Company along with any securities or instruments that the Company acquires on account of any accretion to or in respect of any shares pursuant to any corporate action taken by Veranda US (including by way of additional issuance, bonus issue, consolidation, splits, options, subdivision or reclassification or otherwise) and any securities or instruments that are issued in lieu of, or in relation to, or in respect of, any shares (including any shares or securities of companies following actions such as mergers or demergers) during the tenure of the finance.At around 9:17 AM, Veranda Learning Solutions was trading at Rs242.65 per share lower by 1.34% on the BSE. Three elected Mohawks chiefs from three different councils will attend the 5th annual Jay Treaty Border Alliance Conference being held in Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan this week. Chief Michael Conners, Saint Regis Tribal Council is one of... The St. Regis Mission Church is organizing a group of Akwesasronon Elders, residential school survivors and parishioners to attend the visit of Pope Francis who will travel to Quebec City, where he is expected to meet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau... Alia Bhatt shared such happy news with her fans, who are always eager to know what's happening in her personal life, but she soon came under the scanner and was scrutinized. The sexism, hatred and negativity were unwarranted. The news of her pregnancy made national headlines. Alia bhatt announced her pregnancy and people be like itni jaldi Kiki (@kitha_puvan) June 27, 2022 40 year old marries a 29 year old (at the peak of her career) and ofcourse he wants to have a baby so she is now pregnant...there goes her career. Comrade (@Comrade_SSR) June 27, 2022 However, many people came forward to support her too asking those who were trolling her to focus on their lives instead. Alia, too, responded to a sexist post saying she is a woman, not a parcel. Ufff yeh Alia Bhatt ki pregnancy per sab ko mirchein kyun lag gaeen hain bhaee??Some women saying uska career khatam, some saying no, poora thesis chal raha hai is perwish the couple all the best BTW #AliaBhattPregnancy LadyButNotGaga! (@ShoaibReema) June 29, 2022 Now, Pakistani actors including Zara Noor Abbas and Durefishan Saleem have extended support to Alia Bhatt. Instagram Zara Noor Abbas wrote in support of Alia Bhatt, "I thought only Pakistan thinks like this". She added, "Especially when brands wanted to drop me, when they got know I was expecting. Becoming pregnant and being an actress makes the society feel you are not good for work anymore. Well, guess what, women are good enough for everything and anything and it's time the dictators realise so. We don't have to prove our motherhood and craft to any patriarchy." Durefishan Saleem wrote on Instagram Story, "We can get married/make babies and still be kick*** fab. Marriage is a part of life, not a halt. Stop telling women that their career goals don't align well with that." On Monday, Alia Bhatt had announced on Instagram that she and Ranbir were having their first child together. "Our baby... coming soon," she wrote on Instagram. She had thanked people for their love in another Instagram Story. "Overwhelmed with all the love ! Have tried to read everyone's messages and good wishes and all I want to say is, it truly feels so special to celebrate such a big moment in our lives with all your love and blessings. Thank you every single one of you." Instagram story She had also slammed a sexist report and wrote, "Meanwhile we still live in some people's heads. We still live in a patriarchal world. FYI, nothing has gotten delayed. No one needs to pick anyone up. I am a woman, not a parcel. I do not need to rest at all but good to know you'll have a doctor's certification as well. This is 2022. Can we please get out of this archaic way of thinking? Now if you would excuse me. My shot is ready." (For more news and updates from the world of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment, and let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments below.) Giving some much-needed respite from the summer heat and humidity, the monsoon has reached Delhi on Thursday. Most parts of the national capital received the first monsoon showers in the morning. The India Meteorological Department which declared the arrival of the much-anticipated monsoon said the showers will further advance into Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmiri, some parts of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan on June 30. #Monsoon Mubarak #Delhi NCR! Good Rains covering entire National Capital Region, will continue on and off for the day. #DelhiRains pic.twitter.com/S83VviQgf9 Weatherman Navdeep Dahiya (@navdeepdahiya55) June 30, 2022 IMD issues orange alert The southwest monsoon usually arrives in the national capital on June 27 and covers the entire country by July 8. The IMD has issued an orange alert, warning of heavy rainfall in some areas in the city on Thursday and moderate rainfall on Friday. The maximum temperature will come down to 34-35 degrees Celsius. While the rains are a welcome relief from the scorching summer heat, it is not so good news for the people of Delhi NCR who had to travel. Other side of Delhi rains. pic.twitter.com/jXlljV8d80 Vaishali Poddar (@PoddarVaishali) May 30, 2022 Rain brings traffic to a halt Many officer-goers reported late for office and several people posted their plight through videos and photographs on social media, some seeking help from police. "Movement of traffic has been restricted at railway underpass Pul Prahladpur. Both the carriageways are closed due to waterlogging," the traffic police said. Finally, #Monsoon rains arrive in #Delhi but also the same helpless feeling with roads turning into small rivulets despite assurances by @CMODelhi leading to traffic chaos @IamNaveenKapoor pic.twitter.com/J63ZUtqfA4 Manoj Gupta (@PassionForNews) June 30, 2022 Massive traffic jams were witnessed in ITO, Ring Road, nearby area of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, Barapullah, Delhi-Noida border, Chilla Border, UP Gate, Delhi-Gurugram road and in Palam. Pretty sure metro travellers would be happy as they wouldn't have to face the traffic that will follow these rains. #DelhiRains #Delhi #Monsoon #Monsoon2022 pic.twitter.com/57Fs4A1k34 SkymetWeather (@SkymetWeather) June 30, 2022 In an advisory to commuters, the Delhi Traffic Police said: "As per IMD report thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain and gusty winds would occur over and adjoining areas of entire Delhi. Commuters are advised to plan their journey accordingly." Apart from traffic jams, waterlogging was reported in all the low lying areas of the city. Hello Delhi! Problem if it doesnt rain. Problem if it rains. Embrace the city for what it is. Simple lesson. pic.twitter.com/nomc0J5dG8 G Rajaraman (@g_rajaraman) June 30, 2022 "Waterlogging was reported in the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, Pul Prahladpur underpass, Zakhira Flyover, IP Estate, Vinod Nagar, Azadpur market underpass, Loni Road roundabout and near Pragati Maidan," an official said. Waterlogging at Pragati maidan tunnel The newly inaugurated Pragati Maidan tunnel reported waterlogging on Thursday. Earlier this week, the PWD officials had claimed that they have made elaborate arrangements in the tunnel to allay fears of waterlogging. They had claimed automatic pumps along with seven underground sumps have been constructed in the tunnel for swift discharge of the water. Delhi Airport Meanwhile, flight operations at the IGI Airport were also disrupted. The airport authorities have requested the passengers to reach out to the concerned airline for updated flight information. According to the authorities, multiple flights were delayed, while two have been diverted so far to Amritsar and Jaipur. For more on news, sports and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. The oceans which cover more than 70 per cent of the earth's surface are still shrouded in mystery. We know more about outer space than the secrets the depths of the oceans hold. One such mystery that is yet to be unlocked is what happened to MV Kairali, an Indian ship that quite literally vanished. MV Kairali The story of MV Kairali MV Kairali was a bulk carrier, owned by Kerala Shipping Corporation. The ship originally built in September 1966 as Oscarsord in Norway was bought by the KSC for Rs 5.81 crores and was the first ship and till date, the only one owned by Kerala Shipping Corporation. After being bought by KSC, Oscarsord was renamed MV Kairali. On June 30, 1979, MV Kairali sailed from Margao to Rostock, Germany via Djibouti with 20,538 tonnes of iron ore and 49 crew members including Captain Mariyadas Joseph onboard. That was the last time ever MV Kairali and its crew were seen. Nivin Pauly/ Facebook The last anyone heard from the crew of MV Kairali was on July 3, 1979, through the Bombay Radio, the official agency to communicate messages to and from the ship. The ship was supposed to stop at Djibouti for refueling on July 8. Missing for 12 days before search started However, even after three days, there was no communication from MV Kairali, the agents in Djibouti informed KSC that the ship was missing. Even after this, it took another four more days for the KSC to acknowledge that its ship is missing. On July 16, 1979, 13 days after the last communication from the ship, a search was initiated for MV Kairali. The Indian Navy led the efforts to find the missing ship, but to no avail and it was later called off. Nivin Pauly/ Facebook It is estimated that MV Kairali went missing some 500 miles off Margao, but to date, no one knows how. MV Kairali had a faulty radar Following the disappearance of MV Kairali, relatives of the crew members have made some serious allegations against the KSC. The most notable is the allegation that Captain Mariyadas Joseph had refused to sail the ship on 30, June since the radar of the ship was under repair. According to Babu Joseph, a relative of one of the missing crew members, Captian Joseph, had told his wife Marykutty Joseph in a letter on 26th June that the ship will sail only on July 4th after repairing the radar. The relatives alleged that the crew was forced by KSC to start their voyage on 30th June, without fixing the radar. awesomeocean Other theories They have refused to accept that MV Kairali sunk in the ocean as it is unlikely for such a large ship to not leave some debris behind. Many believed that MV Kairali was attacked by pirates. who took the crew hostage and the ship could have been sold for scrapping. Some marine experts were of the opinion that MV Kairali had loaded iron ore, beyond its capacity and moisture led to liquification of cargo resulting in the ship capsizing. For more on news, sports and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is looking into a possible Pakistan link to the beheading of a Hindu tailor in Udaipur. This is after Rajasthan Director General of Police (DGP) ML Lather said that one of the men arrested for the beheading, Ghouse Mohammad had links with Karachi-based Dawat-e-Islami and had visited the Pakistani city in 2014. Screengrab During the investigation, it was found that the accused, Ghouse Mohammad, was in touch with the organisation and had even made a visit, the Rajasthan DGP had said at a press conference on Wednesday. What is Dawat-e-Islami? Dawat-e-Islami is a Sunni Islamic organisation that was founded in Karachi in September 1981 by Illyas Attar Qadri, whose followers call themselves Attari. Dawat- e-Islami Dawat-e-Islami is registered as a charity and operates in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh in the subcontinent and also in the UK. It's declared aim is to propagate the message of Prophet Muhammad. It offers online courses in Islamic studies and also runs a television channel. Radicalised followers of Dawat-e-Islami While the organisation itself has not been accused of any involvement in terror-related activities, some of its followers have. In September 2020, Zaheer Hassan Mehmood, a Pakistani terrorist arrested for stabbing two persons outside the former Paris office of Charlie Hebdo magazine had told the authorities that he was a follower of Maulana Ilyas Qadri, the leader of Dawat-e-Islami. Mumtaz Qadri, a former Pakistan Police commando who shot dead former Governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer in 2011 for alleged blasphemy was also reportedly a follower of Dawat-e-Islami. Pakistan rejects allegations Pakistan has rejected the reported links between the accused with the Ismalist organisation. In a statement, the Foreign Office said that it has seen reports in a segment of the Indian media referring to investigations into the murder case in Udaipur, seeking to link the accused individuals to an organisation in Pakistan. "We categorically reject any such insinuations," the FO said. AFP The FO also said that such "malicious attempts" would not succeed in misleading the people, either in India or elsewhere in the world. Though it has been established that Ghouse Mohammad had traveled to Pakistan, and had links to Dawat-e-Islami, it is still unclear what role the outfit has played in radicalising him. Links between second accused and Dawat-e-Islami yet to be found Incidentally, the second arrested - the man seen killing the tailor is Riaz Akhtari, a name used by the followers of Dawat-e-Islami. AFP Police are yet to confirm his links with the outfit. According to PTI, Akhtari used to work at a local mosque in Udaipur and was involved in spreading religious propaganda. A resident of Asind town in Bhilwara, Riaz had migrated 20 years ago and moved to Dubai. Riaz got married in 2001 and left Asind in 2002. He moved to Dubai thereafter and never returned. Even when his father died last year, he didn't come home, a relative of his said. It was not immediately clear when Akhtari returned to India, the sources said, adding that he shifted to a rented accommodation in Udaipur along with his wife and two children on June 12. Mohammad Umar, his landlord, said the family vacated the house on June 28 just before the incident. "I had never met him personally. It was his wife who approached mine for the accommodation. We asked for their ID proofs but they never gave them to us. The family left the house on June 28, said the landlord. For more on news, sports and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. One of the most interesting MongoDB World 2022 announcements is the release of Vercel-MongoDB integration. What we are seeing here is the gradual simplification and standardization of integrating large infrastructure components. You are able to capitalize on a great deal of power in your data store and host with a minimum of architectural fuss. Less wrangling with architecture means more time working on your core goals. Lets take a look at the new streamlined integration. Using MongoDB and Vercel together was already fairly easy. However, the new official integration offers an ordained approach that is standard and brings with it several niceties. Lets build on this project I used to demo Vercel-MongoDB integration previously to see how things work. The hinge between your Vercel and MongoDB Atlas infrastructure comes down to the MONGODB_URI environmental variable. The official integration handles defining this and sharing it for you, along with the necessary permissions. For our demo here, what we want to achieve is a SvelteKit-based app that we develop with locally, with a local MongoDB data store. Then we want to deploy this app to Vercel and have it automatically use a MongoDB Atlas cluster as its data store. This is a very common setup. Incidentally, much of this works the same for React/Next or Vue/Nuxt. The basic setup is seen in Figure 1. Figure 1. Dev and prod architectures for Vercel-MongoDB app IDG The SvelteKit demo app Our demo app is a SvelteKit app that allows for creating a simple document, an apothegm, with a text and an author field, and displays the list of apothegms in the database. For the text of our documents, well use some pithy apothegms. SvelteKit is a full-stack framework, so well use the load method in our view to hit the back end and load any existing apothegms, as in Listing 1. Listing 1. SvelteKits load() method export async function load({ params, fetch, session, stuff }) { const res = await fetch('/apothegm', { method: "GET", headers: { 'content-type': 'application/json' } }); return { props: { apothegms: await res.json() } }; } Youll find more info on SvelteKits load method here, but the main idea is that we are hitting the back-end API before the page is bootstrapped and inserting the resultant JSON into the props.apothegms field. That field is also exposed on a regular script element, so that the page has access to it, with the line export let apothegms; . On the back end, the /apothegm get method looks like Listing 2. Listing 2. Retrieving apothegms from the back end import clientPromise from '../lib/mongo'; export async function get ({request}) { const dbConnection = await clientPromise; const db = dbConnection.db("apothegm"); const collection = db.collection("apothegm"); let apos = await collection.find({}).toArray(); return { status: 200, headers: { 'content-type': 'application/json' }, body: { apos } }; } Listing 2 returns a body full of apothegms retrieved from the data store, i.e., from the apothegm database and the apothegm collection. This method largely relies on the clientPromise object imported from lib/mongo. Lets look at the relevant bits of that module in Listing 3. Listing 3. The MongoDB helper /lib/mongo.js import 'dotenv/config'; import { MongoClient } from 'mongodb'; const uri = process.env["MONGODB_URI"]; const options = { useUnifiedTopology: true, useNewUrlParser: true, } let client; let clientPromise; if (!uri) { throw new Error('Please set Mongo URI') } if (process.env['NODE_ENV'] === 'development') { if (!global._mongoClientPromise) { client = new MongoClient(uri, options) global._mongoClientPromise = client.connect() } clientPromise = global._mongoClientPromise } else { client = new MongoClient(uri, options) clientPromise = client.connect() } export default clientPromise Listing 3 does its work by creating a connection to a MongoDB instance via the MONGODB_URI environmental variable. This variable is pulled from the environment with the process.env["MONGODB_URI"] call. Note the first line of this file is a call to import 'dotenv/config' . This import causes the dotenv library to bootstrap itself. The purpose of dotenv is to load environment variables for the app from config files (in an OS-agnostic way). More info on that here. For our app, we want to set that variable to a local URI during development, and set it to a remote MongoDB Atlas URL during production. We can do that by providing a .env file that dotenv will find during local development but not in prod. To accomplish this, we dont check the file into version controlwe add it to .gitignore. The relevant bits from both files are shown in Listing 4. Listing 4. Adds to .env and .gitignore // .env MONGODB_URI="mongodb://localhost:27017 // .gitignore .env .env.* This means during development, our app will hit the local MongoDB install. At this point, you can launch the app with npm run dev and everything should function. The Vercel-MongoDB production setup Now that dev is up and running well turn our attention to setting up prod, or what we are calling prod. In a real-world situation, you would implement testing and staging steps and then promote from staging to production. In any event, youll need accounts in both Vercel and MongoDB Atlas. Both services offer free hobby level accounts that are quick and easy to set up: MongoDB sign up, Vercel sign up. Import the project into Vercel Once you have your accounts, you can log into Vercel, create a new project, and import the code for the project. Heres that GitHub project again: https://github.com/MTyson/sveltekit-vercel-mongo. Once the import is done, Vercel will automatically build and deploy the project. (Sigh of relief: No extra infrastructure work.) The build will succeed but the project will display an error when you view it. Thats because there is no data store available. Create a MongoDB Atlas cluster Now you want to create a cluster in MongoDB Atlas to serve as a home for your production data. In your MongoDB console, it is easy to create a free cluster (instructions here). Youll also create a database user along the way. Back to Vercel to add integration Once you have a cluster available for use, the next step is to add MongoDB integration to your Vercel user account. (In an enterprise setting, you can add this to your Vercel team.) Navigate to https://vercel.com/integrations/mongodbatlas and click the Add Integration button at the top. You will be presented with a modal containing a drop-down menu, and the account you want to use should appear there, as in Screen 1 below. Screen 1. Add MongoDB Atlas integration to Vercel IDG Next you are given the choice to add the integration to all projects or to a specific one. For the sake of this demo, lets pick Add to All and hit continue. Temporarily back in MongoDB Atlas Adding the integration will launch a MongoDB signup page in another window. If you dont already have a MongoDB account, you can set one up. Otherwise, log in to your existing account. Next, a dialog will ask what MongoDB Atlas organization to add the integration to. Just use the default you set up for your user. Finally, hit the Acknowledge button on the final screen to accept that you have to manually uninstall the integration if you want it removed, as shown in Screen 2. Screen 2. Acknowledge organization access in MongoDB Atlas IDG Now youll see the MongoDB Atlas project you selected and the clusters within it. Youll associate a cluster in the left-hand drop box to one or more Vercel projects in the right-hand multiselect. In our case, we want to add the Vercel project we created earlier to the right-hand selection. You can see this in Screen 3. Screen 3. Associate Vercel project to MongoDB Atlas cluster IDG The next step is creating the bridge between the MongoDB Atlas cluster and the Vercel project. Make sure you select the correct project on the Vercel side! Once this is in place, the Vercel project will automatically have access to the environment variable ( MONGODB_URL ) we need to connect with ease to the data store. Back to Vercel to test Back in Vercel, youll see the MongoDB Atlas integrations in the Integrations tab, as in Screen 4. Screen 4. MongoDB Atlas integration in Vercel IDG From here you can make changes to the Vercel side of the integration (including uninstalling it if you wish, by selecting Manage -> Uninstall). Next we verify that the Vercel project has taken on the new environmental variable that refers to the MongoDB Atlas install. Open the Vercel project, and click Settings. In Settings, click Environment Variables in the left-hand menu. You should then see a MONGODB_URI variable listed there, as in Screen 5. Screen 5. Environment variables in Vercel project IDG If you click the eye icon within the variable, you can see the value, which should point to your MongoDB Atlas cluster. This verifies that the environment variable is available to the app when deployed. Now if you click on the project to view it, youll see it running with data driven by the Atlas cluster, as in Screen 6. Screen 6. Running in prod with Vercel-MongoDB Atlas integration IDG The bottom line is that the Vercel-MongoDB integration gives us a simple way to connect our application as deployed in Vercel to our data store as running in MongoDB Atlas. A similar approach could be used for associating apps to data in different environments, from test, to staging, to production. Overall, the integration allows for a more standardized approach to leveraging global scale to zero infrastructure with a minimum of fuss. Microsoft .NET 6 is the culmination of the .NET unification that started with .NET 5. Cross-platform .NET 6 merges the .NET Core, .NET Framework, and Xamarin/Mono technologies into a single .NET Framework, unifying the SDK and runtime for desktop, mobile, web, and cloud applications. Microsoft made .NET 6 generally available on November 9, 2021, alongside C# 10 and Visual Studio 2022. In addition to an improved developer experience overall, .NET 6 brings significant performance boosts compared to its earlier counterparts. In fact, .NET 6 is the fastest .NET yet. Its also a Long-Term Support (LTS) release, which means Microsoft will support .NET 6 for three years. It goes without saying that you must understand the new features of .NET 6 before you can take full advantage of them. This article discusses whats new in .NET 6 and what it means to go forward as a C# 10 developer. You can download a copy of .NET 6.0 for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Note that .NET 6 is supported in both Visual Studio 2022 and Visual Studio 2022 for Mac. However, .NET 6 is not compatible with Visual Studio 2019, Visual Studio for Mac 8, or MSBuild 16. You will need to upgrade to Visual Studio 2022 if you wish to use .NET 6. You can download Visual Studio 2022 here. A unified and extended .NET platform .NET 6 provides a unified platform for desktop, mobile, web, cloud, and IoT applications. The underlying platform supports applications of various types and makes it simple to re-use code across all applications. New features and enhancements have been introduced to ensure that code executing in the cloud, on a desktop, or on a mobile device all behaves the same way. One of the most enticing enhancements is the .NET Multi-platform App UI (.NET MAUI). You can now write code that provides a modern client app experience across desktop and mobile operating systems in a single project. .NET MAUI became generally available in May. Note that neither .NET 5 nor .NET 6 is a replacement for the legacy .NET Framework. Microsoft has no plans to port Web Forms, Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), or Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) from .NET Framework to .NET 5 or .NET 6. However, there are supported alternatives for each of these technologies as shown below. Web Forms can be replaced by ASP.NET Core Blazor or Razor Pages. Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) can be replaced by gRPC. Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) can be replaced by open source CoreWF. Whats new in .NET 6 Lets now look at the new features and improvements in .NET 6. Improved performance Performance is considerably improved, particularly for file I/O, resulting in reduced execution time, latency, and memory use. The FileStream class has been re-written to improve async file I/O performance. The implementation on Windows no longer uses blocking APIs, which makes it several times faster. The Just in Time (JIT) compiler has been updated. There have been improvements in the garbage collector as well. System types such as Guid and string have been improved considerably. Profile-guided optimizing Profile-guided optimizing (PGO) is a compiler optimization technique and a new feature introduced in .NET 6 that allows the JIT compiler to generate optimized code according to the types and codes that are most often used. Unified platform support Microsofts work toward a unified platform for .NET applications started with .NET 5. The idea was to provide a uniform platform for developing apps that can run on any device and any operating system. Thus all .NET 6 applications, across web browser, desktop, cloud, IoT, and mobile devices, use the same .NET libraries. New APIs introduced New APIs have been added for HTTP/3, JSON, mathematics, and more. Security improvements There have been significant improvements in security, such as support for the ChaCha20Poly1305 encryption scheme, OpenSSL, and defense in depth runtime mitigations. C# 10 and F# 6 improvements The considerable improvements in C# 10 include the introduction of new lambda capabilities, record structs, and implicit using. There have been improvements to F# 6 as well that include pipeline debugging and Task-based async. Improvements in JSON APIs Improvements to JSON APIs bring more capabilities and enhanced performance. A new source generator for System.Text.Json has been introduced that eliminates the need for runtime reflection and code creation and allows for the production of appropriate serialization code at build time. Improvements in cloud diagnostics Cloud diagnostics have been enhanced with the addition of OpenTelemetry and dotnet-monitor, which are currently in production and accessible with Azure App Service. Improvements in code quality Source generators and analyzers have been introduced to help you write better, safer, and faster code. Hot Reload Hot Reload is one of the most striking new features added in .NET 6. You can take advantage of this feature to modify the user interface when your application is in execution. You can see the changes reflected as soon as you save themyou dont need to restart the application. This feature boosts developer productivity considerably. DateOnly and TimeOnly structs This is a long-awaited feature in .NET. You can now set values to an object that is just a date or a time. Below are a few examples that illustrate how you could use DateOnly and TimeOnly structs. var dateNow = new DateOnly(2021, 11, 17); var newDate = dateNow.AddDays(7); var timeNow = new TimeOnly(12, 0, 0); var newTimeNow = timeNow.AddHours(5); Support for async streaming With .NET 6, you now have support for async streaming, using IAsyncEnumerable, which allows you to stream data from the server without any buffering. Targeting .NET 6 When you create a new .NET 6 application in Visual Studio 2022, the TargetFramework node should refer to .NET 6. A typical .csproj file created in .NET 6 will look like this: Exe net6.0 enable enable You can also specify a flavor of .NET 6 if youre targeting a specific operating system: net6.0-android net6.0-ios net6.0-maccatalyst net6.0-tvos net6.0-windows Whats missing from .NET 6? Note that some technologies were dropped in .NET 5. Hence, they are not a part of .NET 6 as well. These include the following: ASP.NET Web Forms. The legacy ASP.NET Web Forms is no longer supported. You might want to use Blazor, Angular, or React instead. Windows Communication Foundation (WCF). Microsoft had intended to bring WCF back to the .NET ecosystem, but dropped the idea after determining it would take some three years to do so. Microsoft recommends using gRPC, Googles open source RPC framework, as an alternative. (For a guide, see my article here.) Windows Workflow Foundation (WWF). WWF, a workflow framework that has been in use for many years, has being dropped from .NET as well. The .NET release schedule After the release of .NET 5, Microsoft promised to deliver a new version of .NET in November of every year. The following table lists the release schedule for .NET. Timeline .NET release .NET Core 3.0 RC July 2019 .NET Core 3.0 GA September 2019 .NET Core 3.1 LTS November 2019 .NET 5 GA November 2020 .NET 6 LTS November 2021 .NET 7 GA November 2022 .NET 8 LTS November 2023 .NET Framework was deprecated after .NET 5 was released. This means you can still use .NET Framework on versions of Windows that support it. However, with Microsoft shortening the lifecycles of the operating systems, you could easily end up using a Windows version whose end-of-life has already arrived. Microsoft provides Long-Term Support for .NET 6. It should be noted that LTS releases are usually supported for a period of three years from the date of release. Thus, Microsoft plans to support .NET 6 until November 2024. The next LTS release, .NET 8, is due in November 2023. A new era of .NET development From a better, faster, and unified runtime to an improved developer experience, the sweeping benefits of .NET 6 make it the most significant release in the .NET ecosystem since .NET 4. .NET 6 is both the fastest .NET yet, with a smaller footprint and reduced resource consumption, and the most developer-friendly, with many language enhancements and features like Hot Reload. Most important, .NET 6 takes us a big step toward easing the development of cross-platform applications. It is a cross-platform framework that allows you to create native mobile and desktop applications for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows, without having to maintain multiple codebases to support all these different platforms. Microsoft .NET 6 not only establishes a new foundation for all future .NET platforms. It marks a new era of developing performant, modern-day applications for multiple operating systems and architectures in .NET. With a unified platform, better language maturity, and improved developer tools, .NET 6 is well set to be the default Microsoft development platform for years to come. New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles! Donegal Names Sponic to Lead Personal Lines David W. Sponic has been named senior vice president of personal lines by Donegal Insurance Group. Sponic succeeds Jeff Jacobsen, who the company said will transition into an advisory role leading up to his retirement in early 2023 after more than 40 years in the insurance industry including three decades with Donegal. Sponic previously led Donegals personal lines marketing and home office underwriting operations. He began his career with Donegal in 1990 as a personal lines underwriter and, in the decades since, has been involved in nearly every strategic personal lines initiative. including the introduction of a new suite of personal lines products, a new agency portal and a new policy administration system. He will be based in Donegals Marietta, Pennsylvania home office. Donegal Group Inc. and its subsidiaries offer commercial and personal property/casualty insurance in 24 Mid-Atlantic, Midwestern, New England, Southern and Southwestern states. Mullan Joins Risk Strategies as Chief Human Resources Officer Specialty insurance broker Risk Strategies announced that Amanda Mullan has joined the firm as chief human resources officer. Mullan will oversee the companys human resource function including talent acquisition and development, human resource benefits and operations, employee relations and overall total employee engagement across the company. Mullan has more than 20 years of experience leading human capital initiatives. Most recently she was senior vice president and chief human resources officer at New Jersey Resources (NJR) where she was responsible for programs to maximize the potential of its workforce. She also led customer and community relations, diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and was the chair of its Corporate Sustainability Council. Prior to NJR, Mullan served as director and senior vice president of human resources in North America for insurance broker Willis Group Holdings. She has also held senior human resource leadership roles at Dun & Bradstreet, Realogy Title Group and Prudential. Coaction Appoints Edmonds Chief Actuarial Officer New Jersey-based specialty property/casualty insurer Coaction Global has named Ellen Edmonds as chief actuarial officer. She joins Coaction with more than 30 years of experience across reserving, pricing, and financial reporting. Most recently, Edmonds served as senior vice president and chief reserving actuary at Everest RE, following a career of roles with increasing responsibility at Everest, Crum & Forster, and Reliance Insurance Co. Edmonds will report to Coaction Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Ritz. Lee Lloyd, Coactions current chief actuarial officer will return to underwriting, reporting to Chris Dougherty, chief underwriting officer. Topics Human Resources A pro-China propaganda campaign used fake social media accounts to try to stir up opposition, including protests, against mining firms that challenge Chinas business interests, U.S.-based cyber-security firm Mandiant said on Tuesday. While politically motivated disinformation campaigns on social media have grown increasingly common, researchers say, such an operation targeting a specific industry of strategic importance to China is rare. The digital campaign, known to researchers as Dragonbridge, flooded Twitter and Facebook in recent months with posts raising environmental and health concerns over the operations of three major mining firms: Australias Lynas Rare Earths Ltd., Canadas Appia Rare Earths and Uranium Corp., and USA Rare Earth. Chinas Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) and embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. Lynas and Appia told Reuters they heard of the campaign from Mandiant. We tried to investigate what happened but we couldnt figure out anything, Appia Chief Executive Tom Drivas said. USA Rare Earth, as well as social media firms Facebook and Twitter, did not respond to requests for comment. The bogus social media accounts got more aggressive this month after the latter two firms laid out new mining plans, Mandiant said in its report. The report said the campaign against Lynas called for protests over its planned construction of a rare earths processing facility in Texas. While it failed to launch actual protests, accounts pretended they were successful by posting photos of unrelated, older protests in Malaysia. Some posts specifically criticized U.S. President Joe Bidens move in March to invoke a law aimed at reducing U.S. reliance on Chinese minerals. China dominates the global market for rare earth elements a critical geopolitical leverage, foreign policy experts say. An operation like this requires a well-funded and well-staffed entity, said John Hultquist, Mandiants vice president of intelligence. Mandiant said it lacked enough data to attribute the activity to a specific known actor. While the campaigns impact appeared limited and most of the social media accounts were recently removed, Hultquist said it could mean other business competitors to China will be similarly targeted in the future. Some of the fake accounts invaded a public, environmentally conscious Facebook group to allege the mining firms and the U.S. government were trying to expose local populations to radioactive contamination. This is a particularly interesting case because theyre co-opting existing political movements and attitudes to gain support for their strategic goals, said Dakota Cary, a security consultant focused on China at the Krebs Stamos Group. (Reporting by Zeba Siddiqui in San Francisco; editing by Howard Goller) Topics China Mining This edition of International People Moves details appointments at AXA XL, BMS and WTW. A summary of these new hires follows here. AXA XL Promotes Dores to CUO, Intl Financial Lines APAC & Europe AXA XL Insurance announced it has promoted Ana Dores to chief underwriting officer, International Financial Lines, APAC & Europe. Her appointment is effective on Sept. 1 and she will be based in Madrid. In this role, Dores will oversee the management of AXA XLs financial lines portfolio and, working closely with local underwriting teams, will be responsible for the underwriting strategy for professional indemnity, management liability, financial institutions, cyber and mergers & acquisitions in Europe, Asia and Australia. Dores has 17 years of experience in financial lines underwriting. She started her career with AIG Europe first in Portugal as a financial lines underwriter and then in Madrid as a professional indemnity underwriter. She then worked at Liberty Specialty Markets as a senior underwriter before joining AXA XL in 2014, where she has been leading the International Financial Lines for Iberia since 2017. *** BMS Hires 7 for Casualty Division, Including 4 Brokers From Tysers BMS, the London-based independent re/insurance broker, announced the appointment of seven industry hires to its rapidly growing casualty division. They will support BMS network of international clients as well as fuelling the groups overall expansion strategy. Andrew Park, Charles Waddington, Sean Cahill, and Natasha Anne Mitchell Gonzalez join BMS as directors, effective October 2022. Based in London, the team will report to Chris Ritchie, managing director of international direct and facultative at BMS. Prior to joining BMS, Park and Waddington co-led the international liability unit at Tysers as directors. Waddington joined Integro (now Tysers) in 2007, before that he was head of worldwide casualty at Guy Carpenter. Park began working at Integro in 2008 from Lockton as managing principal in casualty. Combined, Gonzalez and Cahill bring more than 17 years industry experience to BMS, joining from their most recent roles as associate directors at Tysers. In addition, BMS announces the following appointments to the practice (which also came from Tysers, according to their LinkedIn profiles): Emily Weighton as divisional director, effective July 2022 as divisional director, effective July 2022 Joe Crewdson , as senior broker, effective September 2022 , as senior broker, effective September 2022 Olivia Bellingham as broker, effective July 2022. *** WTW Taps RenRes Modhvadia for Structured Risk WTW announced the appointment of Sudhir Modhvadia as head of Structured Risk, GB, reporting into Alex Shepherd, head of Facultative, WTW and based in London. Modhvadia was formerly at RenaissanceRe Syndicate 1458 and is an experienced property underwriter with deep technical specialisms across most assumed lines of property business, covering insurance (open market and delegated authorities) and reinsurance (treaty XOL and proportional). Modhvadia spent more than eight years at RenRe, according to his LinkedIn profile. He will be responsible for all multiple risk transactions within facultative as the team looks to expand its strategic reinsurance offering to cedents. He will work with all lines of business within WTW to develop their risk facility and portfolio management capabilities. Topics Willis Towers Watson AXA XL Casualty The chief elected official in the Missouri county where an Amtrak train slammed into a dump truck said Tuesday that residents and county leaders have been pushing for a safety upgrade at the railroad crossing for nearly three years. Meanwhile, the toll from the accident rose to four deaths and 150 injuries. A day after the deadly crash on Monday, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said people taken to 10 hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to serious. By Tuesday afternoon, at least 15 people remained hospitalized. The dead, three passengers and the truck driver, have not been identified. Amtraks Southwest Chief was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago Monday afternoon when it struck the truck and derailed at the crossing. Amtrak officials said about 275 passengers and 12 crew members were aboard. The crossing in a rural area near Mendon in western Missouri, about 84 miles northeast of Kansas City, has no lights or other signals to warn of an approaching train. Chariton County Presiding Commissioner Evan Emmerich said in an email to The Associated Press that resident Mike Spencer first brought his concerns about the crossing to a Dec. 2, 2019, commission meeting. He was told to contact the Missouri Department of Transportations Railroad Safety division. A week later, commissioners spoke with officials from the state agency and were told it is on their plans to repair, Emmerich said. After that, Emmerich cited other efforts by the commission. They included a March 2021 meeting with a state Railroad Safety division engineer at the crossing site; an email sent to the Railroad Safety division on May 23 to address concerns about visibility at the crossing; and a May 31 call to BNSF Railway, which owns the track, to express our concerns with the visibility issue at the crossing. In January, the Missouri Department of Transportation submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration its State Freight & Rail Plan plan. It included a proposal to install lights and gates, along with roadway improvements. The project was estimated at $400,000. Typically, the federal government would pay 80% and the county 20%. MoDOT spokeswoman Linda Horn said the crossing near Mendon is identified for funding for improvements. Neither Horn nor a spokeswoman for Gov. Mike Parson immediately responded to emailed questions about why the countys request wasnt addressed sooner. BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent said the company had not been made aware of the states proposed upgrade. She said the next step would be a site review. We would work with all of the parties involved to determine if additional warning devices are needed and then work to get those designed, built and installed, Kent said. Spencer told The Associated Press that he is among several people who have complained that the overgrowth of brush and the steep incline from the road to the tracks makes it hard to see oncoming trains from either direction. Spencer, who grows corn and soybeans on land surrounding the intersection, said the crossing is especially dangerous for those driving heavy, slow farm equipment. Spencer is on the board of a local levy district. He said the dump truck driver was hauling rock for a levy on a local creek, a project that had been ongoing for a couple of days. Earlier this month, Spencer posted a video on Facebook of the crossing that shows the steep gravel incline leading up to it. We have to cross this with farm equipment to get to several of our fields, Spencer wrote with the posting. We have been on the RR for several years about fixing the approach by building the road up, putting in signals, signal lights or just cutting the brush back. The posting noted that some trains pass by at up to 90 mph. If you cross here with a vehicle stop, approach very slowly, then look both ways there are 2 tracks and around 85 trains go through there everyday, Spencer wrote. Passengers recounted the frightening aftermath of the accident. Rob Nightingale of Taos, New Mexico, said he was dozing off in his sleeper compartment when the lights flickered and the train rocked back and forth and he felt it tip. I saw the ground coming toward my window, and all the debris and dust, Nightingale told The Associated Press. Then it sat on its side and it was complete silence. I sat there and didnt hear anything. Then I heard a little girl next door crying. Nightingale was unhurt and he and other passengers were able to climb out of the overturned train car through a window. Passengers included 16 youths and eight adults from two Boy Scout troops who were traveling home to Appleton, Wisconsin, as well as high school students from Pleasant Ridge High School in Easton, Kansas, who were headed to a Future Business Leaders of America conference in Chicago. It was the second Amtrak collision in as many days. Three people in a car were killed Sunday afternoon when an Amtrak commuter train smashed into it in Northern California, authorities said. People have been injured or killed in at least six other accidents involving Amtrak trains since 2015. Last year, three people died and others were injured when an Amtrak derailed in north-central Montana as it traveled from Chicago to Seattle. Amtrak is a federally supported company that operates more than 300 passenger trains daily in nearly every contiguous U.S. state and parts of Canada. The Southwest Chief takes about two days to travel from Los Angeles to Chicago, picking up passengers at stops in between. Ballentine reported from Columbia, Missouri. Associated Press reporters Margaret Stafford in Kansas City, Missouri, and Jim Salter in OFallon, Missouri, contributed to this report. Related: Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Missouri Training Development New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles! A U.S. appeals court said Whole Foods employees cannot sue the upscale grocery chain or its parent Amazon.com Inc. after being sent home without pay or disciplined for wearing Black Lives Matter face masks on the job. In a 3-0 decision on Tuesday, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the employees failed to show that Whole Foods enforcement of a previously unenforced dress code by banning the masks amounted to racial discrimination or violated Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Boston-based court said it was pure conjecture to suggest that racial bias drove Whole Foods into selectively enforcing its dress code, which also covered visible slogans, logos and ads unrelated to the company. Whole Foods timing may be explained by the obvious alternative explanation that Whole Foods did not want to allow the mass expression of a controversial message by employees in their stores, Circuit Judge Kermit Lipez wrote. Shannon Liss-Riordan, a lawyer for the employees, said they were disappointed and evaluating their options. She also represents workers in related proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board. Whole Foods welcomed Tuesdays decision, saying its dress code has long promoted a welcoming, safe, and inclusive shopping environment. It has also called the code facially neutral, and with Seattle-based Amazon expressed support for Black Lives Matter. The proposed class action covered workers in Massachusetts, California, Georgia, Indiana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington. A lower court judge had dismissed much of the case, on somewhat different grounds, in February 2021. The Black Lives Matter movement started after several Black people were killed by police in the United States. A video showing the May 2020 killing of George Floyd by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin sparked nationwide protests about racial injustice. The case is Frith et al v Whole Foods Market Inc, U.S. District Court, 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 21-1171. New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles! Wholesale broker Risk Placement Services (RPS) said more than 20 new insurance companies and managing general agents have entered the excess & surplus marketplace over the last couple of years and they may be more aggressive than incumbent insurers. In my 30-plus year career, Ive never seen so many new market entrants come in within a few months of each other, said Bill Wilkinson, president of the national casualty brokerage at RPS, in the brokers U.S. Casualty Market Outlook. Wilkinson said new E&S players do not have legacy issues and may be in a good position to gain accounts as future so-called nuclear verdicts return as a major concern since courts are just revving back to normal following closures from COVID-19. Many believe that future nuclear verdicts awards could be higher, putting further financial strain on long-time E&S casualty insurers, Wilkinson added. Starting late 2021, RPS said incumbent carriers began losing accounts to the new E&S capacity providers. Now brokers are the ones driving application displacement in the market, restructuring towers in an effort to reduce pricing increases that incumbent carriers continue to push, said Adam Mazan, vice president of RPS Pacific region. One RPS broker quoted in the report said he went to the market after an incumbent came back with a significantly high renewal price on an excess umbrella policy. One new market entrant came back with a quote 30% less. Wilkinson said the new insurers have been cautious with limits, with caps often at $5 million and as low as $1 or $2 million within the lead $5 million. RPS said towers will continue to involve more carriers than a few years ago, with competition improving after $10 million in coverage. With underwriters stretched by the rise in submissions as accounts shop, Mazan said to be prepared for underwriting submission bottlenecks. The accounts that provide the best information to insurers typically get moved to the top of the pile, RPS said, adding that an early renewal process has always been a good strategy but it is more important than ever in 2022. Topics Excess Surplus Oklahoma officials have reached an opioid settlement with three drug companies that would bring more than $250 million to finance efforts to battle opioid addiction, state Attorney General John OConnor has announced. The deal with McKesson, Cardinal and AmerisourceBergen settled a lawsuit in which Oklahoma accused the companies of fostering a nationwide epidemic of opioid abuse, OConnor said in a Monday statement. Many Oklahoma families have been ravaged and lives have been lost by opioid addictions and overdoses, OConnor said. Money cannot possibly heal those wounds or bring back our loved ones. The funds we are recovering will be used to prevent and treat addictions to opioids. The settlement was subject to approval by city and county governments with which the proceeds would be shared to support their efforts against opioid abuse, he said. In a statement, AmerisourceBergen spokeswoman Lauren Esposito said the agreement will avoid years of protracted litigation, expedite the movement of resources to communities impacted by opioid misuse and allow our company to do what we do best, ensuring that health care facilities like hospitals and community pharmacies have access to the medications that patients and care providers need. There was no immediate comment from McKesson and Cardinal. OConnor noted that the state had previously rejected a national settlement with the companies and now has recovered more than $680 million from opioid makers, including $270 million from OxyContin maker Purdue and $85 million from Israeli-owned Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Oklahoma Drugs New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles! A Democratic challenger to Floridas chief financial officer this week laid the blame for some of the states property insurance woes at the feet of incumbent Jimmy Patronis. Patronis has had five years to get in front of this, Adam Hattersley told a meeting of the Duval County Democratic Party, according to the Florida Politics news site. Hattersley, a former state legislator, said that Patronis, who has been the head of the Department of Financial Services since 2017, has absolutely cost you money. Florida has seen double-digit insurance premium spikes from many property insurers in the last three years, as insurers have said they have faced a perfect storm of fraudulent roof claims, extreme amounts of claims litigation and soaring reinsurance prices. The DFS oversees the Office of Insurance Regulation and insurer insolvencies, and licenses and polices adjusters and insurance agents. Hattersley, who trails his opponent severely in fundraising, offered few details about what Patronis should have done differently during the insurance crisis. But regulators have come under new scrutiny this year from some lawmakers after four carriers have been declared insolvent and others have stopped writing new policies in Florida. Patronis campaign office responded Wednesday to some of Hattersleys comments. LOL. The reality is that the CFOs leadership has led the way for consumers to recover more than $100 million, and counting, from insurance companies with the help of state insurance specialists, Patronis campaign manager, Caleb Spencer, said in an email. He was referring to the DFS Division of Consumer Services, which has specialists who assist policyholders in claims disputes with their insurers. Topics Florida New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles! It may seem a minor point to some, but its fundamental to the American system of justice, advocates said: Its up to a jury not a judge to decide what is considered an official act by a state insurance commissioner or other elected official whos been offered an alleged bribe. Its a complete violation of the constitution. The judge is not the tryer of facts, said attorney Hank Asbill, who helped write an amicus brief in the appeal of Greg Lindberg, a North Carolina insurance entrepreneur who was convicted of attempting to bribe the states insurance commissioner in 2018. The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday agreed with Asbill and ordered a new trial for Lindberg and his co-defendant John Gray. The court found that the lower court judge had erred in his instructions to the jury that replacing a deputy insurance commissioner with one more favorable to Lindbergs business investments was an official act. The term is considered a key part of the federal law that defines what constitutes bribery and whats known as honest services fraud. North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey, who triggered the investigation into Lindberg when he reported Lindbergs offers to the FBI, then recorded conversations with the businessman, declined to talk about the turn of events Thursday. Since I anticipate that I would be asked to testify again, I have no comment on the matter at this time other than to say that I look forward to continuing to cooperate with law enforcement, Causey said in a statement. Lindberg, once head of several insurance companies, including Southland National Insurance and Southland National Reinsurance, along with investment firms, has served 21 months of a 7-year sentence. His attorneys have asked the court to release him on bond. Federal prosecutors have until mid-July to respond. A date for a new trial has not been set. Lindberg said in a statement that he could not describe the challenges of being separated from family and friends, from the work I care about and the communities I work closely with. He said that he has been teaching other inmates business courses during his sentence, according to state news reports. The U.S. Attorneys office for the Western District of North Carolina could not be reached for comment, nor could the former prosecutor in the case, William Stetzer, now a county attorney in Gaston County, near Charlotte. In ordering a new trial, the appellate court relied on a similar high-profile case, that of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. McDonnell was convicted in 2014 on charges of illegally accepting gifts and loans from a Virginia company. But the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016 overturned the conviction, deciding that prosecutors had overreached in claiming that the governor had performed official acts in return for the gifts. There is no doubt that this case is distasteful; it may be worse than that, U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the McDonnell decision. But our concern is not with tawdry tales of Ferraris, Rolexes, and ball gowns. It is instead with the broader legal implications of the governments boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute. A more limited interpretation of the term official act leaves ample room for prosecuting corruption, while comporting with the text of the statute and the precedent of this court. The amicus brief in that case, which supported the official act argument, was written by Asbill and other attorneys with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The organization may be better known for its pro-bono work in blue-collar criminal cases, in working to overturn erroneous convictions, and in addressing systemic racism in the legal system. But Virginia attorney David Smith, who works with the NACDL, said the group also intervenes on behalf of many white-collar defendants in cases that involve overreach by prosecutors and over-criminalization of defendants actions. The courts in the McDonnell case and in the Lindberg appeal help limit overly broad interpretations of criminal actions and they correctly focused on the importance of what an official act is, Asbill said. The North Carolina appellate decision is broader than what happened to Lindberg, Asbill said Thursday. If the district courts jury instructions had been allowed to stand, it would have set a terrible precedent that judges can make decisions for the jury. Without the official act requirement, constituents could be prosecuted for small campaign contributions if they expressed opinions to an elected official on any non-trivial project such as a plant closing or the restoration of power after a storm, reads the Lindberg amicus brief from the NACDL. The 4th Circuits opinion, nonetheless, laid out a compelling account of Lindbergs and Grays actions that led to the investigation and convictions. The story began in 2015, just before Causey was elected insurance commissioner. Deputy Commissioner Jacqueline Obusek, a 20-year veteran of the department, had expressed concerns about some of Lindbergs business practices, noting that Lindbergs insurance companies had made an inordinate amount of investments in his affiliated companies. Insurance regulators monitor affiliated investments because they are seen as illiquid and, therefore, can limit the ability of an insurance company to pay policyholders, 4th Circuit Chief Judge Roger Gregory wrote. Prior to 2019, North Carolina law did not limit the amount of affiliate investments of regulated companies, but the Department of Insurance had the authority to impose such limits on its own. After Causey was elected, he promoted Obusek to a senior deputy commissioner position. Within weeks, Lindberg donated $10,000 to Causeys campaign, then another $500,000 to the North Carolina Republican Party, with $110,000 of that to be sent to Causeys campaign treasury. Related: NC Judge Orders Lindberg to Give Up Control of Firms to Repay Insurers Causey testified that he would not accept the money, and he reached out to the FBI. The commissioner then recorded subsequent talks with Lindberg and his associates, the court explained. At one point, Lindberg and Gray expressed their dissatisfaction with Obusek and urged Causey to replace her with John Palermo, vice president at Eli Global, one of Lindbergs companies. When Causey balked at that, Lindberg requested another employee at the department. Over several meetings, Lindberg discussed donating as much as $2 million to Causeys reelection campaign. Causey, with recording device rolling, agreed to the staff change. A few months later, Lindberg and Gray were charged with conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and bribery. Topics North Carolina In the annals of how the pandemic changed things, toss in a positive tale from insurer CSAA Insurance Group. Walnut Creek, California-based CSAA, a AAA Insurer, offers automobile, homeowners and other personal lines of insurance to AAA Members through AAA clubs in 23 states and the District of Columbia. When the pandemic began to unwind, promising economic downturn, and reducing the number of miles people were driving thereby reducing the need for numerous carrier personnel, such as those in claims a CSAA executive was tasked to see what could be done to keep as many of the companys 3,500-strong workforce employed as possible. Out of that conversation and the ensuing effort came a new subsidiary with 400 workers and a new line of business for the company: CSAA Specialized Services. Joey Daryanani, vice president of Specialized Services, credits the idea to an employee who pointed out that the need for contact tracers during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak could be met by the companys claims personnel. The companys chief operating officer asked Daryanani to look into it, with the initial goals of simply helping the community while also retaining claims employees. The program landed a contract tracing engagement with a small city using 25 people, and it ballooned from there, with currently 400 full-time and contract workers working virtually in a contact center environment. The new business-to-business endeavor offers claims handling, training, and call center support. Their claims handling services include end-to-end claims management, specialty services like subrogation, total loss and salvage recovery and Medicare compliance. Training services include curriculums customized to meet an organizations learning objectives. The call center support component is comprised of contact center capabilities, staff, and community-related services. We are going after these three areas, they are the core areas for us, Daryanani said. In another unique, pandemic-related twist, this is an all-virtual business. It had to be from the start, and it has proven to be an efficient way to operate thereafter, according to him. Now we can go around the country anywhere and land an account in a time zone and weve got resources in those places, he said. To be fair, Daryanani and the operation had a bit of a head start. Daryanani helped in setting up a body shop training facility in Las Vegas for CSAA with virtual attributes prior to the pandemic. The facility has vehicles on site, but a trainer anywhere in the world can virtually appear in front of a car and train employees. CSAA Specialized Services started with state government contracts, and has continued to build out, according to Daryanani. The new subsidiarys clients include more government contracts for COVID contact tracing, vaccine support, disease investigations, processing of unemployment claims, and helping schools districts secure personal protective equipment. Theyre also building out private clients, including other insurers. CSAA Specialized Services is the third-party provider for an autonomous vehicle company that transports people, and the company recently partnered with Verisk in a revenue sharing deal in which CSAA provides training through the Verisk platform. Daryanani said that while the subsidiary is new, it is already a cash-positive operation. I operate this as a start up, he said. Other than original investment in resources and personnel from CSAA, they have invested the revenue and margins the company has earned in the last 18 months to maintain operations. There really has not been a substantial dollar investment into this, Daryanani said. Its not a huge money maker, but we are in the positive right now. He believes the business will continue growing long after the pandemic wanes. In each of these three areas I do see an opportunity to disrupt and make things better given our CSAA culture and our ability to handle both claims and service interactions, he said. This is a service we can provide to the insurance industry and other industries. And I do see an opportunity to grow in that area. Topics Carriers California COVID-19 Vincent Labarbera, of Vancouver, Wash., has been added to Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidlers most wanted after he failed to appear in Clark County Superior Court to face felony charges of filing a false insurance claim and attempted first degree theft. Clark County issued a bench warrant for his arrest. According to investigators, Labarberas 2019 Honda CBR500R was stolen from his residence in Vancouver. Labarbera had liability-only insurance on his motorcycle, so did not have coverage if the bike was stolen. After the theft of his motorcycle, Labarbera reportedly went online and upgraded his policy by adding collision and comprehensive coverage. He then filed a claim with Progressive and alleged that the motorcycle was stolen after he had modified his policy. Progressive investigators were able to verify with Clark County Sheriffs Office that the motorcycle was stolen 38 minutes prior to him changing his insurance coverage. Progressive denied his claim for $9,444 and referred the claim to investigators, as required by state law. Topics Auto Fraud Washington Total insurer combined losses and expenses incurred in 2021 were $13.1 billion, or 96% of calendar year premium, compared with $12 billion in 2020, according to a report released today. The Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of Californias report released today examines losses and expenses for 2021. Key findings in the report, which can be found on the WCIRBs website in the research section, include: Medical losses paid in 2021 were $4.4 billion, or 53% of total loss payments. Indemnity benefits paid in 2021 were $3.8 billion, or 47% of total loss payments. Of this amount, temporary disability benefits accounted for 54% of indemnity payments and permanent partial disability benefits accounted for 35%. Topics Carriers California Trends Workers' Compensation Profit Loss Almost two-thirds of Irish consumers oppose a ban on single-use takeaway coffee cups, according to a new survey. The data was collected on behalf of the Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI), which opposes the Governments proposed measures to limit the use of paper-based cups. The association, which has 2,500 members, said that those working in the hospitality industry would rather see the Government focus on improving recycling capacity in the State. There are around 15,000 employees in the coffee-related hospitality sector in Ireland, and the vast majority of coffee shop business is takeaway trade. These to-go outlets - often small, family-run businesses - will have to shoulder the burden of the levy and prospective ban on cups, said RAI Chief Executive Adrian Cummins. We all recognise that Ireland must do more to reduce its plastics use and littering levels, but banning compostable and recyclable paper-based cups in favour of hard plastic cups isnt the way to go about it. The market will be driven towards cheap and low-quality items made entirely of hard plastics, with limited reuse potential. The so-called latte levy, which will see the introduction of a 20-cent levy on all disposable paper coffee cups, has faced resistance from stakeholders since the idea was first floated. According to the RAIs data, 63% of people feel that recyclable and compostable cups should be excluded from the levy, while nearly three in four feel that paper-based cups should not be subject to it. The measure is set to be introduced under the Governments Circular Economy Bill by the end of this year. It is hoped that the move will encourage customers to switch to reusable items and help curb the dumping of 200 million coffee cups per year. The case against a man facing a theft charge related to the Michaela McAreavey murder investigation has been struck out, his lawyer said. Sandip Moneea, 52, who was previously acquitted of Mrs McAreaveys murder, was charged earlier this year with conspiracy to commit larceny in relation to the honeymooners hotel room in Mauritius. The 27-year-old was strangled in her room at the Legends Hotel on the Indian Ocean island on January 10, 2011. John and Michaela McAreavey (Irish News/PA) The teacher, who had married John 10 days earlier, was attacked after she returned to her room alone and disturbed a burglary. No one has been convicted of murdering the daughter of Gaelic football manager Mickey Harte. Former hotel worker Moneea, of School Lane, Petit Raffray, had been accused of conspiring with another employee to steal a magnetic key card to the hotel room to commit larceny. He had denied any wrongdoing. The provisional charge was struck out at a court hearing on the Indian Ocean island on Tuesday, according to his barrister Neelkanth Dulloo. The other man charged with conspiracy to commit larceny is former hotel security guard Dassen Narayanen. Former hotel security worker Dassen Naraynen (Paul Faith/PA) His barrister Vikash Teeluckdharry said a decision on his case was adjourned until July 25. He said prosecutors only received an evidence file from police on Friday and had requested more time to review it. Narayanen, 37, from Royal Road, Plaine des Papayes, has denied wrongdoing. In 2012, Moneea and another man were found not guilty of Mrs McAreaveys murder after a high-profile trial on the holiday island. Moneea and his co-accused in the murder trial, Avinash Treebhoowoon, worked as cleaners at the hotel at the time of the killing. They denied any role in the honeymooners murder. A 32-year old man who came here from Moldova to start a new life suffered catastrophic and life-changing injuries when he was crushed by a forklift against a refuse skip at work, the High Court has heard. His wife, who told the court they had moved to this country with hope for the future, said after the accident three years ago she was left lost here without family or friends and with two young children Her husband, Eugeniu Lazari, the court heard, has been left brain-damaged and requires full-time care and has to live in residential care. Cristina Lazari told Mr Justice Paul Coffey she fears she may now lose her council home after she settled two High Court actions for a total of 3m over the accident at a premises in Dublin Port. She pleaded that some of the settlement be used to secure a home for her and her children where her husband can also be cared for at home. Heartbreaking case Mr Justice Coffey said it was a heartbreaking case where the Lazaris had come to this country in 2016 with optimism and hope for the future and three years later there was this tragic accident which completely altered their lives in a most profound way. The judge said while he had a limited function and he had to have regard only for the best interests of Mr Lazari, he had listened very carefully to Ms Lazari and was mindful of her wishes. He said everything should be done for her and he was in no doubt that Mr Lazari would want that. Mr Justice Coffey said the case can come back before him, if needs be, in the future. Eugeniu Lazari from Naas, Co Kildare had through his wife Cristina Lazari sued his employers Doyle Shipping Group Unlimited Company of Ocean Pier, Alexandar Road, Dublin, over the accident there on September 20, 2019. A mechanical operative, Mr Lazari was cleaning up weeds when it is believed he was crushed by the forklift. The family counsel, Edward Walsh SC, told the court it was a particularly tragic case where Mr Lazari s accident took place just nine days after the birth of his second child. Counsel said on the day of the accident Mr Lazari was clearing weeds from a maintenance yard but it was noticed that he had not turned up for his morning tea break. When colleagues found him, he was unconscious and crushed up against a refuse skip by a forklift. Counsel said there was an investigation by the Health and Safety Authority(HSA) and the gardai. An HSA investigation found there was no mechanical fault in the forklift truck. No prosecution was brought in the case by gardai, who concluded that Mr Lazari got down off the forklift to check the skip and the forklift crept up on him and crushed him. Company denied negligence At issue in the case was whether the handbrake in the forklift was engaged or not. The company denied negligence and maintained Mr Lazari was not authorised to operate a forklift and there was alleged contributory negligence in that Mr Lazari had allegedly positioned himself between the skip and the forklift in circumstances which he knew or ought to have known it was unsafe to do so. Mr Walsh told the court it was their sides contention that it was allegedly the practice that the forklift was used to compress refuse in the skip. Cristina Lazari told the court that when she got the call about the accident, she could not believe what she was hearing. I feared the worst. I said please tell me he is alive," she told the judge. She added: I was all alone in this country with young children, without family or friends. I was lost. The court was told the settlement represents half the value of the case . Ian Bailey has said he is pleased to see Gardai announce that they are to conduct a full review into the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in West Cork in 1996. Gardai said on Wednesday the investigation into the French filmmaker's murder has "remained active and ongoing" and the review will be conducted by the Serious Crime Review Team. A spokesperson said that following a full review, recommendations to the local investigation team in West Cork will be made. A Garda spokesperson said: "The Garda investigation into the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier has remained active and ongoing." "Following a review by [the] Assistant Commissioner [for] Organised and Serious Crime, the Garda Serious Crime Review Team will now conduct a full review of this case. "On the finalisation of this review, the Serious Crime Review Team will provide recommendations to the local investigation team. "An Garda Siochana continues to appeal to anyone who may have any information on this crime to contact the Garda investigation team at Bantry Garda Station 027 20860 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111. "As this is an ongoing investigation, An Garda Siochana will be not commenting on the specifics of the investigation," they added. Sophie Toscan du Plantier was murdered in West Cork in 1996. No one has been charged with her murder in Ireland, however, Mr Bailey was convicted in absentia in Paris in 2019 and received a 25-year sentence. Mr Bailey has always denied any role in Du Plantier's death and was never charged in Ireland in relation to the killing. In 2020, the High Court in Ireland ruled that he cannot be extradited to France. Mr Bailey said he wrote to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris in March last year asking him to carry out a review of the case: I asked him to carry out a through review of the case as it had implicated my life for 25 years, it had been ruined and affected by a false allegation. He said he is clearly pleased at the announcement the Garda Serious Crime Review Team will carry out a review. Tonight [Wednesday] via the media, RTE, I heard that apparently a cold case review has been sanctioned, he said last night. In other words, Drew Harris has acceded to my request for a cold case review. "What form that will take I do not know. I have already said, and I will reiterate, that I am happy to. and prepared to, cooperate with any objective and the key word here is objective review of the case. Mr Bailey said he is clearly pleased that the review is happening: I am reserving any sense of emotional response until we see how it plays out, he said. If I am happy that it is objective, I will be cooperating with it. Earlier today, Mr Bailey's solicitor Frank Buttimer said as far as he is aware there are no firm indications that the review could yield new information. A renewed interest in the case came about following the release of the West Cork Podcast, followed by two separate documentaries released in 2021; Jim Sheridan's Murder at the Cottage and the Netflix production Sophie: A Murder in West Cork. Ms du Plantiers son, Pierre Louis Baudey-Vignaud, who was just 15 when she died, appeared on the Late Late Show last year where he called for anyone with information on her murder to come forward. Its been 25-years. The truth has not arrived yet. We must end this story, for me, for my mother, for Irish people, he said. You have a murderer still living in Ireland, he said. Ms du Plantier was a television producer and filmmaker from France who frequently visited her holiday home in Schull in West Cork. She was murdered on the night of December 23 1996, aged 39. The son of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, Pierre-Louis Baudey, has welcomed the cold case review of his mothers death, saying Ireland needs to close this case. Mr Baudey said he was informed of the review by a telephone call from gardai at lunch time on Wednesday. It comes as Ian Bailey says he hopes the review will finally clear him of the murder of Ms du Plantier. Mr Baudey's family had been deeply involved in the fight for justice for his mother, he told RTE radios News at One and they had big expectations for the outcome of the review. There had been pressure from the public, the family, the media, the European Union and womens groups which had been recognised by the gardai and had led to the review, he said. There was now new technology, new elements which could make a difference. Mr Baudey said he believed that if a new investigation was being launched it was because the authorities believed there was new evidence. He said his family had been waiting 26 years for justice, they were hoping to finally have closure and justice. The Irish people also needed closure, it was important for Irish justice, he added. Read More Sophie Toscan du Plantier savagely lost her life near a place she saw as refuge This investigation was separate from the French investigation which had led to Ian Bailey being found guilty in absentia and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. He finished by saying: Ireland needs to close this case. Mr Bailey's solicitor, Frank Buttimer, has said that his client will fully co-operate with the new inquiry "to the extent that he is required to co-operate". Speaking following the news of the review, Mr Buttimer said as far as he is aware there are no firm indications that the review could yield new information. However, the Cork-based solicitor said that he is aware of a new witness who claims to have seen a suspect on the night. There are reports that the individual has signed an affidavit to that effect. The body of Sophie Toscan du Plantier was found outside her West Cork home in December 1996. She had been beaten to death with a concrete block. "I believe it is something that has come to the attention of An Garda Siochana. Its evidential value or its evidential reliability would clearly be a matter for An Garda Siochana. "It is probably one of the lines of inquiry which will be pursued." Mr Bailey believes the decision to conduct the review is because he asked the Garda Commissioner to do so. He said that he first heard that there would be a review through the media. "I wrote to Drew Harris as a clean pair of hands to do with this case because he was obviously not involved in the previous investigations," said Mr Bailey. "I asked him to carry out a cold case review and I welcome the news." Speaking about what he hopes the review will achieve, Mr Bailey said he hopes his name is cleared. I hope there will be an acknowledgement, if not the discovery of who was the murderer of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, an acknowledgement that it wasn't me." He said he has been praying for the past 25 years that the truth would come out before he dies. Mr Buttimer said that uncovering the truth is a mammoth task but he hopes there is a possibility of success. Speaking to RTE Radio's Morning Ireland, Mr Buttimer said that he hopes the review will be properly resourced and structured. One of the problems with the case, according to Mr Buttimer, is the manner in which the initial investigation was conducted. Ian Bailey said that he first heard that there would be a review through the media. "Crime scene matters, forensic matters... matters concerning pathology and so on. Which, if they had been more carefully addressed at the time, might have led to lines of inquiry or might have led to evidential gathering at that time. "That is not necessarily a criticism by the way because one must remember the location of the dreadful crime. It is of a remote nature. All of those things had a relevance at the time." He continued: "I suspect that that level of material if it had been available, would probably have been regarded as being useful by now. One can never rule it out, obviously." Meanwhile, former sergeant-in-charge of the Cold Case Unit, Alan Bailey, said the crime can be solved after over a quarter of a century. "The passage of time doesn't affect cold case reviews, if anything it would have the opposite effect insofar as people may have changed loyalties or may no longer be in fear. There may also be advances in science. "All of those things put together can make a huge difference in crime investigation." A rare occurrence last weekend: off work. Had almost forgotten that Cork exists on a Sunday as well as the rest of the week. I made the most of my free time by taking a stroll around town, ducking in and out of the showers as I went. I eventually turned towards the Marina for reasons completely unconnected with the Cortado Coffee stop (though why more coffee trucks dont sell bars of chocolate, well, maybe someone should write a column about that). The Marina, Cork. Picture: Jim Coughlan Along the way, I took in the cityscape along the riverside Horgans Quay, Lapps Quay, Albert Quay and noted in passing the height of the buildings for one particular reason. Id just listened to the (always) excellent Slate Money podcast episode from last week, one which dealt with the specific issues raised by building upwards, and which featured Stefan Al, architect and author of Supertall: How the Worlds Tallest Buildings Are Reshaping Our Cities and Our Lives. Als points resonated as I strolled around the vertical parts of the city, though I had a particular experience that is shared by many Cork residents of a particular vintage: trying to recall what some of the citys nooks and crannies looked like before being smoothed out and glassed over when they really were nooks and crannies. This is a harder assignment than you might think. Its extraordinary how quickly you forget the building which stood in one particular spot for years, blending into the background so seamlessly you forget what purpose it actually served. (Case in point: I spoke to Joe Healy last week here and during the week he posted a picture on social media that showed the buildings which stood on Andersons Quay before Jurys Inn was built there: kudos to anyone who remembers what those buildings were.) Back to Al. One of the first points to make is that Corks buildings are not supertall lets be honest, imposing though those buildings are in our own specific context, theyre probably best described as middling-tall. Medium-small even. Implications of new building style But Als views are worth repurposing when we examine the implications of this new building style for our city. Considerations of space mean Cork is building upwards, but there are other factors involved. One review of his book suggested the architect understands that skyscrapers are a product of technology, finance, zoning, marketing, social preferences and aesthetics, and that to ignore any one of these categories is to misunderstand the subject. This is a collection of factors that arent always in harmony, of course. Technology makes building upward possible, and finance is available for such towering blocks, but social preference in Ireland has long been in favour of single-house occupancy; on the other hand, the requirements of zoning in the broadest sense mean more accommodation is required, and finance (in the homebuyer sense) means apartments may be a more realistic target than a single house. The site of the old Sextant pub. Picture: Breda Graham The ebb and flow of primacy among these categories means balancing the importance of one may relegate another when it comes to consideration until events push the second-class category back to the top ranking again. (All of this, of course, is before we even begin to take on our own particular issues, such as the u-turn on the future of the site of the old Sextant pub in Cork, when planning permission was granted for a residential tower until the developer decided that wouldn't be as profitable as an office block.) While listening to the podcast, however, I made another discovery when host Felix Salmon referred to a particular approach adopted in London designed to protect iconic views. London has a very extensive protected view corridor system, and I believe theres 13 view corridors going from iconic sites to iconic buildings, he said. The view from Regents Park to, lets say St Pauls Cathedral. And these were set up in response to what people perceived as eyesores and these were very much respected up until I would say, you know, 10 or 20 years ago. Thats when also the tide started to swing the other way. Focus on building riverside Given the focus in Cork on building riverside, I found this particularly interesting. If the city is to be oriented in that direction and building is to continue down towards the harbour, should we be cognisant of views that may be obscured from the city as we look down the river? Granted, the natural bend of the river and the heights of the northside towards Montenotte and environs are visible now, but will there come a time when those sights are harder to enjoy? In that context, it was interesting to stand in the middle of Clontarf Street bridge over the weekend and imagine what would or wouldnt be visible when theres a new build at the tip of Lapps Quay where the Custom House building stands now. The bulk of the College of Commerce and School of Music means you dont see an awful lot of the cityscape out beyond the central island of the city. Picture Denis Minihane. When I strolled back into town along the riverside the view corridors werent hectic either, to begin with. The bulk of the College of Commerce and School of Music means you dont see an awful lot of the cityscape out beyond the central island of the city, for instance, but the obvious rejoinder is that once you get past those buildings, and RTE Cork and the Holy Trinity, youre into a pretty stunning view corridor, one in a class all its own. You can push up towards Parliament Bridge and get a good line on St Fin Barres Cathedral, which is a skyscraper of a different order. Before I abandon that Slate podcast which I was listening to again as I strolled, so apologies if I blanked you on my travels down the Marina Al brought up one more interesting question, one to consider as we wrap these tower blocks in our sweaty embrace. Green buildings How green are they? Al said the concept of a green building can be very limited because we tend to focus on a green building thats run operationally very efficiently, meaning all the energy we use to heat the building, to cool the building or to run the lighting that we have, like energy-saving devices, or were using renewable energy for that. But what we dont take into this equation is all the energy that we need to construct a building. Building is a significant contributor to global carbon emissions. Some experts estimate that building operations account for as much as 28% of global emissions, but another 10% of emissions on top of that come from construction-related industries. That is all the energy that you use for the materials, said Al. So think about the concrete that goes into the walls, the floors, the steel, the metal, the glass. So you may have a building that is extremely efficient operationally, but you still have that enormous kind of carbon costs that you had in constructing this building in the first place. This was an argument I in my innocence hadnt heard before. What good is a green building if constructing it in the first place did so much damage before the energy-saving devices were installed? All of this from one stroll from the quays to the Marina. Suggestions for the next journey welcome. Armaghs Tiernan Kelly will not contest his six-month suspension for the eye-gouging incident at the end of normal time in last Sundays All-Ireland SFC quarter-final defeat to Galway. Kelly is among four players, three from Armagh, to be issued proposed bans by Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) arising from the brawl. The other three are all substitutes Armaghs Conor Turbitt and Blaine Hughes and Galways Cathal Sweeney and all had been recommended one-match penalties for acting dangerously towards an opponent. The Irish Examiner also understands the counties have been hit with 10,000 fines. Tiernan Kelly has received the 24-week ban for an altercation involving Galway forward Damien Comer as the two sets of players returned to their dressing rooms on the Cusack Stand side of Croke Park after Armagh forced extra-time. In a statement on Friday afternoon, Armagh GAA confirmed they accepted the proposed sanctions - "Following the investigation carried out by the CCCC, Armagh GAA can confirm the players and county board have accepted the proposed penalties. There will be no further comment." On Wednesday, the counties were given notice of Galway captain Sean Kelly and Armagh co-skipper Aidan Nugents one-match bans after they were sent off by David Coldrick for contributing to a melee. The pair were issued with red cards prior to the start of extra-time. Armagh also received confirmation that Greg McCabe has seen his one-match ban for his sending off in normal time against Galway doubled as he was dismissed in Februarys Division 1 win over Tyrone in the Athletic Grounds, a repeat Category III infraction. Should he accept the penalty, he will miss the first two games of next years Allianz Football League. Armagh and Galway were today asked to identify players that had been singled out by the CCCC following their review of the brawl in conjunction with Coldrick. It concluded an intense three-day examination of the violent scenes after the referees report was received on Monday evening. Kelly is expected to contest their penalties in front of the Central Hearings Committee (CHC) with the formers meeting anticipated this evening ahead of facing Derry in Saturday weeks All-Ireland semi-final. He is expected to have his ban quashed due to mistaken identity, although Galway only learned of Sweeneys punishment yesterday evening. Burma Chin Resistance Claims to Have Killed Myanmar Junta Troops Members of the Chin Defense Force in Mindat during military training. / CDF Four Myanmar junta soldiers were reportedly killed and many injured during clashes with the Chin Defense Force (CDF) in Mindat on Wednesday near the Chin State and Magwe Region border. Around 100 junta troops moved from Tilin Township in Magwe to Mindat since Tuesday. On Wednesday, there were three clashes with the Mindat CDF near Palontwe village on the border of Tilin and Mindat townships. A CDF member was killed by junta shelling and another lightly wounded. Two fighters went missing during the clashes and were later found brutally murdered by regime soldiers, according to the CDF. The regime troops were reportedly torching near the village on Thursday. More fighting is expected and ammunition and other supplies are needed, a representative of the CDF told The Irrawaddy. Mindat was the first place to take up arms against the regime. However, we have not received much support to fight junta troops, the representative said. Palontwe villagers have fled their homes. Clashes have been reported in Chin State since May 2021 with fighting regularly occurring in Mindat. The regime is increasingly sending reinforcements to the township, according to the Mindat Township Peoples Administration. Mindat is a small town but the regime has increased its troops there. There are at least three battalions in the town, said a member of the team. Mindat-based Light Infantry Battalion 274 regularly shells nearby villages, killing four civilians this month. Burma Eight Myanmar Junta Troops Killed by Resistance Drones: PDFs The control room of a military boat escorting a tanker during PDF drone attack in Myaung Township, Sagaing Region on June 13. / Civilian Defense and Security Organization in Myaung Around eight Myanmar regime troops were reportedly killed on Wednesday when peoples defense forces (PDFs) conducted aerial bombing attacks in Sagaing Region. Eight PDFs bombarded troops deployed at Myaungs fire station, according to the Civilian Defense and Security Organization in Myaung. Ko Nway Oo of the group posted on Facebook that five drones targeted soldiers under a tree and in a fire department office. At least seven regime troops were killed and many others injured, the PDFs claimed. PDF video shows an explosive dropped by a drone exploding near a tree and another breaking a roof. The Irrawaddy was unable to independently confirm the casualties. The PDFs said another drone carrying a bomb was brought down by regime forces using a jammer while it was attempting to attack a military vehicle. On Wednesday the Myaung Revolution Army (MRA) and Chaung-U PDF claimed to have killed two pro-regime Pyu-Saw-Htee militia members who accompanied troops raiding Shwe Pann village in Myaung Township. The groups said the two were shot at close range while they were away from troops in the village. The resistance fighters escaped without any casualties, despite intense regime attacks, said the MRA. A junta soldier was killed and four others injured when two PDFs bombed a military checkpoint in Tabayin Township, Sagaing Region, said the Dictatorship Revolutionary Peoples Army that said it took part in the attack. Video shows a grenade dropped by a drone hitting the checkpoint. Myanmars junta faces attacks from PDFs and ethnic armed organizations across the country nearly every day. On Wednesday, an estimated 28 regime troops were killed and four injured in resistance attacks, according to the civilian National Unity Governments Home Affairs and Immigration Ministry. The number was probably an underestimate of regime casualties, the ministry said. Burma Japan's Kirin Offloads Myanmar Beer Business Over Coup A Kirin Beer promotional ad in Myanmar in 2020 / Kirin Ichiban Myanmar Facebook TOKYOJapanese drinks giant Kirin said Thursday it has agreed to a buyout of its shares in a Myanmar joint venture with a junta-linked conglomerate, completing its exit from the market over the 2021 coup. Days after the putsch in February 2021, Kirin announced it would end its joint venture Myanmar Brewery with the junta-linked MEHPCL, saying it was deeply concerned by the recent actions of the military in Myanmar. But it struggled to disentangle itself from the secretive conglomerate and contested a bid by MEHPCL to dissolve the joint venture as it feared liquidation proceedings would not be fair. Kirin said Thursday that a share buyback agreement worth about 22.4 billion yen (US$164 million) had been reached to transfer its 51 percent stake back into the subsidiary, ending the joint venture. We are relieved to settle this matter within the announced deadline by the most appropriate means among several options, Yoshinori Isozaki, Kirins president and CEO, said in a statement. According to figures published by Kirin in 2018, Myanmar Brewerywhose beverages include the ubiquitous Myanmar Beer brandboasted a market share of nearly 80 percent. But Kirin had been under pressure even before the coup over its ties to the military, and launched an investigation after rights groups called for transparency into whether money from its joint venture had funded rights abuses. Investors piled into Myanmar after the military relaxed its iron grip in 2011, paving the way for democratic reforms and economic liberalization. They poured money into telecoms, infrastructure, manufacturing and construction projectsbefore the coup upended the democratic interlude and damaged the economy. But a raft of foreign companies have exited the market since the military seized power from Daw Aung San Suu Kyis government, including oil giants TotalEnergies and Chevron and Norwegian telecoms operator Telenor. Kirins Myanmar business generated 32.6 billion yen in revenue in 2019-20, less than 2 percent of the firms annual sales. POLICE are investigating circumstances which led to detectives inadvertently shooting two Chitungwiza residents on Monday. The detectives were pursuing an armed robbery suspect. The incident took place at Taita Shops. In a statement on Tuesday, police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner, Paul Nyathi, said the two victims Tashinga Mugwara and Pamela Muchazorwei were hit by a stray bullet. The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) is investigating an unfortunate incident that occurred at Taita Shops in Chitungwiza on June 27, 2022 at around 4pm, where police had a shootout with a robbery suspect only identified as Denis Madondo, reads the statement. Police received a tip-off and located the suspect at Taita Shops. The suspect noticed detectives approaching and drew an Airgun pistol from his jacket before pointing it at detectives. In response, the detectives fired a warning shot into the air and later shot towards the suspect and missed him. The suspect escaped by getting into an unregistered red Honda Fit vehicle. He drove towards the Chitungwiza-Hwedza Road. After about an hour, it emerged that the bullet, which missed the suspect, had hit Tashinga Mugwara and Pamela Muchazorwei. Asst Comm Nyathi said Mugwara and Muchazorwei sustained serious injuries and they were admitted at Chitungwiza Hospital and Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals. He said the ZRP deeply regrets the unfortunate shooting of the two. H Metro Burma Myanmar Junta Using Massive Airstrikes to Defend Strategic Outpost Regime fighter jet seen during training. Myanmars military regime is employing massive airstrikes against resistance forces attempting to seize a strategic junta outpost in Karen State near the border with Thailand. Since Sunday, the armed wings of the Karen National Union (KNU): the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the Karen National Defense Organization (KNDO), and other Karen resistance groups have been attacking the Ukayit Hta military outpost in Waw Lay in Karen States Myawaddy Township. On Thursday, Myo Thura Ko Ko, a spokesperson for Cobra Column, one of the Peoples Defense Forces (PDF) fighting alongside the KNLA and KNDO, told The Irrawaddy that junta airstrikes are intensifying. Since the morning, a YAK military jet has attacked nine times, a MIG-29 jet has attacked five times and two MI-17 helicopters have made five trips with reinforcements from Mawlamyine, he said, speaking at 1pm on Thursday. Regime jets also entered Thailands airspace on Thursday. A video of a junta jet flying over a residential area on the outskirts of Phop Phra District in Thailands Tak Province near the Thailand-Myanmar frontier went viral among Thai Facebook users, worrying Thai citizens. Cobra Columns Myo Thura Ko Ko said the regime is using massive air and artillery strikes to defend the Ukayit Hta outpost, because the battle has become the center of attention for both the junta and the resistance after five days of intense fighting. They [the regime] are defending hard and using a lot of force to save face, he told The Irrawaddy. Both sides have reportedly suffered casualties. On Wednesday, regime forces even used cluster bombs banned under the Geneva Convention during the fighting, which was the most intense of the five days of clashes, according to Cobra Columns spokesperson. The Irrawaddy was unable to verify independently the juntas use of cluster bombs. Ukayit Hta outpost is located at the Falu-Waw Lay-Sukali intersection and is strategically important. Almost 300 civilians from Waw Lay have fled across the Moei River to Thailand as of Thursday due to the heavy fighting, according to a rescue team in the Thai border town of Mae Sot. Thai authorities separated them into groups of about 50 or 60 people and allowed them to stay only on the banks of the Moei River. They are allowed medical assistance but nothing else, said a Myanmar resident of Mae Sot. KNLA, KNDO and allied resistance forces captured a military camp in Maw Khee in the KNLAs Brigade 6 territory, known as Dooplaya District, on March 22. The KNLA and allied PDFs also seized Thay Baw Boe camp on May 18. Earlier this month, the KNDO and PDFs seized Waw Lay Police Station, where junta troops are based. Five regime soldiers were captured and nine detained resistance fighters were rescued. You may also like these stories: Villagers Flee Junta Raids in Upper Myanmar UN Envoy, Thai Leader Hold Talks on Myanmar Progress Needed Before Engaging Myanmar Junta, Singapore PM Says Burma Myanmar People Fear for Suu Kyis Life After Move to Prison; World Largely Silent Myanmars currently detained leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi addresses her supporters in Yangons Thanlyin Township in August 2015 during an electoral campaign. / The Irrawaddy Since the regimes transfer of Myanmars elected leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to solitary confinement in a prison, most people in the country cant help worrying that her life will be in danger, especially given her old age. They know that their leader will remain calm and strong in spirit, even though she is alone. However, as she is a prisoner of the brutal and wicked regime at the age of 77, they are concerned over her fragile state and her wellbeing. She could face death anytime in prison, said veteran political analyst and writer U Than Soe Naing, who has been through Myanmars rocky politics for seven decades, expressing his concern. He said the junta, which has always wanted to get rid of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has carefully calculated its moves against her this time, from charging her with a series of fabricated cases to handing down lengthy sentences, and finally transferring her to a prison, seeking to end not just her political life but her life itself. They put her in this life-threatening state, expecting her to die inside. In that way, they could bring about her end naturally, and not have to do it themselves, the analyst added. Since 1988, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been Myanmars most popular and cherished political leader, and the generals biggest enemy. She has been repeatedly attacked and arrested for her commitment to bring democracy to Myanmar. She was first detained in July 1989 and since then, she has spent 15 years under house arrest in her lakeside residence in Yangon. Following the military takeover in February last year, coup leader Min Aung Hlaing placed her under house arrest before sending her to an undisclosed location for more than a year. Then the junta transferred her to solitary confinement in prison last Wednesday. As Myanmars prisons are notorious for their poor conditionsnot least their sanitary problems, with a lack of access to clean water and proper healthcareits no wonder that many people have voiced concerns for the leader. If any danger befalls her, the junta will be totally responsible, Ko Tayzar San, one of the most prominent anti-regime leaders, told The Irrawaddy. The 33-year-old doctor-turned-activist said the juntas jailing of the countrys most respected and trusted leader who has been given a mandate by the public as their representative in every election she contested was an insult to all people and bullying with armed force. The oppression of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will only add to the peoples determination and make their revolutionary spirit stronger, he added. The world is silent While Myanmar people are worried about their leader and sending their silent prayers for her wellbeing, the majority of the international community has been unprecedentedly tightlipped since the regimes transfer of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to the prison last week. Previously, the Myanmar democracy leader was a source of concern for the UN, the US and other European countries. The presidents, secretaries of state or prime ministers from those countries never failed to condemn the former regime for its inappropriate actions against her. Contrary to their former positions, however, the US and some EU countries have so far not bothered to respond to Daw Aung San Suu Kyis prison transfer with official statements, more than one week on. On the fourth day after the transfer, Counselor of the US State Department Derek Chollet just said on Twitter that the US strongly denounced the military regimes use of solitary confinement for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Individually, Daw Aung San Suu Kyis longtime friend US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday tweeted that solitary confinement at the hands of a military junta is only the latest injustice my friend, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has endured in the name of democracy in Burma, using Myanmars former name. The United States and the entire free world must continue to stand with the people of Burma against this tyranny, he urged. Such muted international responses have disappointed Myanmar people like Ko Ye. It is painful to see the world treating her as nothing, he said, adding that he couldnt imagine being in the shoes of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is two years older than his grandmother, as a prisoner again. Ko Ye said he thought the muted international response suggested the militarys mission of using the Rohingya crisis to trap her into destroying her image remained successful on the international stage. The Myanmar military committed genocide against Rohingya people in northern Rakhine State in 2017, causing more than 700,000 of them to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi tarnished her international image by defending the military at the International Court of Justice, saying there was no genocide in Myanmar. Igor Blazevic, senior adviser with the Prague Civil Society Centre, recently responded to a Czech political magazine, saying that while Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has made mistakes in her political life, nobody should let his or her disappointment in her cloud their understanding of who are the real monsters behind the mass crimes committed against the Rohingya and now against the population at large. More importantly, Blazevic said, the ongoing Myanmar movement for democracy and freedom has learned from those mistakes. Ko Ye said the international inaction wont benefit anyonenot the Rohingya, not the people of Myanmarbut only the murderous junta. Prominent anti-regime protest leader Ko Tayzar San said that the international community has failed to effectively support not only Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, but also the Myanmar revolution, which has now been going for more than a year. Thousands have been killed. Tens of thousands have been imprisoned. Yet, there is no effective international support to protect them. And no serious action has yet been taken against [the regime]. However the activist said all ethnic brothers and sisters across the country will keep fighting together for their freedom and to build a federal democracy . The veteran analyst U Than Soe Naing added that no matter how the junta attempts to intimidate people, the revolution will remain strong till the end. When our Spring Revolution wins, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all political detainees will also be free. Burma Regime Suspends Boat Travel in Western Myanmar After Junta Soldiers Abducted Vessels in Maungdaw. / The Irrawaddy Residents of the Rakhine State capital Sittwe have had their day-to-day life seriously disrupted after local military authorities barred passenger ferries and cargo vessels from leaving Sittwe until further notice. The ban comes after a Myanmar navy officer and sailor were abducted in broad daylight on June 23 by the Rakhine ethnic armed organization, the Arakan Army (AA). Amid rising military tensions in western Myanmars Rakhine State, the military regime has blocked waterways in northern Rakhine and ordered the suspension of ferry services operating between Sittwe and a number of townships including Taungup, Kyaukphyu, Ramree, Munaung, Pauktaw, Minbya, Myebon, Mrauk-U, Rathedaung and Buthidaung, citing security concerns. Rakhine is a largely coastal and riverine region and the new restrictions on water transport are taking a heavy toll on locals, said former lower house lawmaker U Poe San from Kyaukphyu Township. People have to rely on water transport in Rakhine. Distance learners [from other parts of Rakhine] who have taken semester exams [at Sittwe University] are stranded in Sittwe. Even the civil servants are having difficulties as the ferryboats cant operate, he told The Irrawaddy. Commodity prices have also steadily increased as a result, said Ann resident Ko Ann Thargyi. The regimes blocking of waterways is unacceptable. They cite security concerns as the reason to block waterways. They dont need to do that. They can check vessels if they are suspicious, he told The Irrawaddy. The junta has also blocked the Sittwe-Ponnagyun-Rathedaung road since the second week of June. Prices of agricultural goods have consequently soared and supplies are running out, according to local farmers. June is the rice-growing season in Myanmar. A trader from Rathedaung Township said: Although the military has observed an informal ceasefire with the AA, it is instilling fear in people and causing financial hardship. Vessels in Sittwe cant leave the town and vessels from other towns cant enter Sittwe. Fuel and fertilizer are running short in other parts of Rakhine. In 2020, ahead of the November general election, the Myanmar military and the AA agreed an informal ceasefire. Now, after 18 months of relative calm, tensions are escalating again and Rakhine State is edging ever closer to a return to conflict. Earlier in June, the AA abducted 13 junta soldiers and police in Kyauktaw, Ponnagyun, Mrauk-U and Sittwe townships, alleging that the regime has seized members of its administrative branch, which has gradually been replacing the juntas administrative mechanism in Rakhine since last years coup. Regime forces have responded by detaining dozens of civilians on suspicion of having ties to the AA, causing panic among local residents. Guest Column Thailands Special Envoy Risks Becoming a Tool of Myanmar Junta Pornpimol Kanchanalak attends the Shangri-La Dialogue Summit in Singapore on June 11, 2022. / Flickr At a meeting with security officials in Singapore last month, US Department of State Counselor Derek Chollet said what most international observers think when he stated that there is no chance that elections, which Myanmars junta has pledged to hold next year, will be free and fair. On the contrary, he said, it can be an attempt to just manipulate the region, the international community. But a notable exception is Pornpimol Pauline Kanchanalak, Thailands newly appointed special envoy to Myanmar. Speaking at the same conference, she said that the international community must take the juntas commitment to hold elections at face value and that condemnations, sanctions, ostracization of the junta have reached diminishing returns. It is hard to say whether Pornpimol really believed what she said or if it was merely an outcome of the notion that being kind to the junta and showing it some understanding would produce results. But, as last years coup clearly shows, the kind of constructive engagement that several outsiders, among them Western academics, diplomats and aid officials, pursued prior to the military takeover was severely misguided. As history has proved time and again, Myanmars generals do not listen to anybody but themselves. Pornpimol may also be a victim of another gross misunderstanding that is common among Thai policy makers: that they have a positive, special relationship with the Myanmar military that other outsiders lack. Therefore, the generals will listen to their Thai brothers and sisters, especially if they refrain from condemning human-rights abuses perpetrated by the Myanmar military. Troubled history But Myanmars generals may not be as easy to charm as Pornpimol and other Thai civil and military officials seem to believe. Behind the smiles and the handshakes often seen at official functions lies a long and troubled history of mutual distrust between the two Southeast Asian neighbors. Well into modern times, Thai schoolchildren learned little more about Myanmar than that its invading armies destroyed the old royal capital of Ayutthaya in 1767. Myanmar for its part had every reason to resent the Thais when they, in the early 1950s, became actively involved in sending supplies to renegade Kuomintang (KMT) forces that had retreated into northeastern and northern Myanmar following their defeat by Mao Zedongs communist forces in 1949. The Myanmar military had to fight those unwelcome intruders while the US Central Intelligence Agency and its Taiwanese and Thai allies funneled weapons and other necessities across the border into the Shan States, where the KMT had its bases. Then, in October 1953, traditional atavistic Thai fears of Myanmar were reinforced when the Myanmar military was trying to block a KMT advance south towards todays Kayah Stateand a Myanmar aircraft strayed across the border and accidentally bombed a village in Mae Hong Son province, killing two people and injuring five. The specter of the destruction of Ayutthaya was raised in sensational reports in the Thai media and the then Thai prime minister, Plaek Phibunsongkram, publicly threatened to shoot down any Myanmar aircraft that violated the countrys airspace. Privately, however, he invited leaders of the Mon and Karen rebel armies to Bangkok, where, for the first time, secret negotiations were held between representatives of ethnic armed organizations from Myanmar and senior Thai officials. In March 1954, they arrived in the Thai capital. The Mon sent Nai Shwe Kyin, one of the founders of the Mon rebel movement, and Nai Hong Sa, who had a wide range of connections within Thailands ethnic Mon community. Saw Thra Din, a resistance veteran, represented the Karen National Union (KNU). They had a brief meeting with Plaek but negotiations were handled by Siddhi Savetsila, a young wing commander in the Royal Thai Air Force, and Charoentit Charunjamratromran, a prominent police colonel. Siddhi later became a politician and was Thailands foreign minister from 1980 to 1990 and, from 1991 to his death in 2015, served as a member of the Privy Council of the Thai King. New policy That clandestine visit of the Mon and Karen rebel leaders in 1954 marked the beginning of a new Thai policy towards Myanmarone that would, to the chagrin of Myanmars military commanders, last for decades. For Thailand to police the porous, 2,416-km border with its historical enemy would have been a difficult and extremely costly undertaking. The solution was to encourage ethnic armed organizations from Myanmar to serve as buffers. While the Thai leaders pledged no direct support, the rebels were allowed to set up camps along the frontier, their families were allowed to stay in towns and villages on the Thai side, and they could buy arms and ammunition from dealers in Thailand. The first military coup in Myanmar in March 1962, and the subsequent introduction of a disastrous policy called the Burmese Way to Socialism made it possible for the ethnic rebels to strengthen their respective armed forces. Socialism in a Myanmar context, as articulated by the new dictator, General Ne Win, meant that everything in sight was nationalized and handed over to about 20 military-run state corporations. But those were so badly managed that Myanmars own production of consumer goods collapsed. Official imports also came to a standstill, as no foreign traders knew how to deal with the military corporations and the officers who headed them had very limited business experience. Enterprising black marketeers and smugglers, however, soon made up for the shortcomings. Most of the goods were brought in from Thailandand the KNU and other ethnic rebels set up a series of toll gates along the Thai border where the contraband was taxed. Links were established with Thai merchants and military commanders, whose interests often were intertwined. Consumer goods, textiles, machinery, transistor radios and tape recorders, machinery, spare parts for vehicles and medicine went from Thailand to Myanmar while teak, other forest products, minerals, jade, precious stones, antiques and opium flowed in the opposite direction. The total value of those unofficial transactions has never been thoroughly researched, but it is fair to assume that Thailand owes much of its rapid economic growth and development in the 1960s, 70s and 80s to the thriving black-market trade with Myanmar. The Myanmar government had to turn a blind eye to these smuggling activities along the Thai border, given a choice between contraband or no goods at all, which could result in political and social unrest. And, as an inadvertent result of Gen. Ne Wins economic policies, the ethnic rebels were able to buy more, and more sophisticated, weapons and maintain control over most of the Thai-Myanmar border. It was not until after the 1988 pro-democracy uprising in Myanmar that the Thais began to re-evaluate their border-buffer policy. The protesters did not manage to dislodge the military from power, but the Burmese Way to Socialism was abandoned and free enterprise was allowedalbeit under the strict supervision of the then junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council. In the wake of the uprising, thousands of dissidents flocked to the Thai border, where they and their activities were toleratedbut then an unprecedented and very controversial deal was struck between Myanmars military authorities and the Thai army commander at the time, General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh. In December 1988, he went to Yangon and broke the international isolation that had been imposed on Myanmar after thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators had been massacred in the streets of the capital and other cities and towns. In return, Thai companies received lucrative logging contracts, fishing rights and deals in the hotel business. Chavalit also agreed to repatriate student activists who had fled to Thailand after the massacres, and that was not always done voluntarily. Direct links With direct business links being established between Thai and Myanmar interests, the old border buffer concept was becoming obsolete. It became more difficult, but not impossible, for the dissidents, and the ethnic armed organizations, to operate along the border. Many ethnic groups from Myanmar, among them the Karen, the Kachin and the Pa-O, still have contacts with Thai military officers and local government officials, which makes it difficult for the authorities in Bangkok to fully implement the new policies. And then there are groups like the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), which is armed by the Thais and is still functioning as a border buffer, but more to prevent the China-allied United Wa State Army from establishing a stronghold on the Thai border than to keep the Myanmar military at bay. But there are also occasional skirmishes between the RCSS and Myanmar junta forces. And some guns, hand grenades and explosives are even now reaching Karen guerrillas as well as the urban dissidents with whom they are allied. One should not be surprised to learn that the Myanmar military sees the Thais as duplicitous. Private discussions with former Myanmar army officers also reveal the disdain with which they see their Thai counterparts, who they say are weak and lack combat experience. And, not to be forgotten, the Myanmar military has a long memory and cannot ignore decades of Thai border politicswhich were entirely in favor of Myanmars ethnic armed organizationsor that the Thais, at the same time, took advantage of Myanmars economic predicaments. That the Thais can be used, but not trusted, appears to be the consensus among Myanmar officers. Pornpimol may be correct in assuming that the Myanmar military has a very special relationship with the Thais. But it is not in the way she thinks, and it will not produce the results she expects to get in return for being nice to the generals in Naypyitaw. Bertil Lintner is a Swedish journalist, author and strategic consultant who has been writing about Asia for nearly four decades. Google Cloud has launched digital accelerator bundles to simplify access to Google Cloud and Google Workspace technologies. Google released the new offering to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Australia embrace the digital shift. Australias 2.4 million small businesses make up the backbone of the economy, representing over 32% of the countrys total gross domestic product (GDP). Yet 31% of SMBs are struggling to keep up with technological changes critical to their success, according to a Venture Insights report. As part of the recently announced Technology Investment Boost, SMBs can claim 120% of spending on new technologies and tech training. With approximately 3.6 million eligible businesses in Australia, these bundles were designed in collaboration with key SMB solutions partners and are in accordance under the government scheme while providing SMB-specific solutions for teams to choose from. The offers include: Google Workspace and e-commerce store design: Professional domain, paired with web design tools from Google Cloud partner Wix, to help SMBs create an optimised web presence and online store. Solutions designed by Synnexs reseller network to support SMBs as they build their ecommerce platforms, manage data storage, accelerate platform migration, alongside access to Google Workspace tools Google Cloud digital transformation solutions: Among Google Cloud Premier Partners, Riley and DoIt have specific solutions built on Google Cloud to assist businesses with their digital transformation journey, and accelerate their growth. These are designed to help businesses effectively adopt and solve core needs - Use cases include using Google Cloud's AI suite to grow revenue, migration offerings to help businesses on their cloud journey and cost optimisation of existing cloud workloads. To connect with a preferred Google partner or learn about the breadth of offerings from the entire Google partner ecosystem, businesses can visit the Partner Directory and search for partners that best suit their needs. The report outlines Vertivs approach to energy and water efficiency; diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I); employee health and safety; and other ESG-related topics. The content covered in the report serves as a baseline upon which the organisation will build future efforts. We all know how critical connectivity is to our daily lives and the global economy. The worlds appetite for data continues to rise, and our solutions keep data systems on and connected. At the same time, we recognise the current and potential impacts of climate change, said Vertiv CEO Rob Johnson. We are seeking to meet the growing demand for critical digital infrastructure, and simultaneously mitigate environmental impacts from our operations and products. As a result, were innovating to come up with more efficient and effective ways to support critical digital infrastructure. Vertivs ESG Executive Steering Committee, made up of senior leaders from across the organisation, is driving a company-wide evaluation of ESG performance. Some of the activities and results highlighted in the report include: The introduction of new and upgraded products with high energy and water efficiency attributes, with others planned for release in the coming months and years. Participation in several industry partnerships aimed at addressing data centre efficiency and emissions, including the EcoEdge PrimePower Project (E2P2), the Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Alliance (SDIA), the European Data Centre Association (EUDCA), and the Rise Partnership Program. An internal review of Vertivs Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions. Development of performance and improvement benchmarks to help the organisation reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions. A 12% year-over-year reduction in recordable injuries based on the US Occupational Safety and Health Administrations total reportable injury rate (TRIR). The introduction of training opportunities to support the organisations global focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The appointment of multiple women to executive positions within the company within the last two years, including chief information officer Sheryl Haislet, and chief legal counsel Stephanie Gill. In our communications with our customers and partners across the region, weve found that sustainability and energy efficiency are top of mind when it comes to deploying technologies, services and overall mapping out their organisational goals. The release of this report from Vertiv comes at an opportune time wherein we say to our customers, We heard you, as it outlines our commitment in providing energy-efficient solutions and technologies, including those that can leverage renewable energy sources, said Vertiv ASI president Anand Sanghi (Australia and New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea and India). On the ground in ANZ, were making important inroads to charge ahead and fill the data centre greenspace with reliable, efficient energy, while improving representation at the leadership level such as with the recent senior appointment of LuLu Shiraz to sales director, said Vertiv managing director ANZ Robert Linsdell. About Vertiv Vertiv brings together hardware, software, analytics and ongoing services to enable its customers vital applications to run continuously, perform optimally and grow with their business needs. Vertiv solves the most important challenges facing todays data centers, communication networks and commercial and industrial facilities with a portfolio of power, cooling and IT infrastructure solutions and services that extends from the cloud to the edge of the network. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, US, Vertiv employs approximately 24,000 people and does business in more than 130 countries. For more information, and for the latest news and content, go to Vertiv's website. THE State yesterday failed to release to the High Court transcribed records of proceedings at the lower courts in the matter Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) legislators Job Sikhala (Zengeza West) and Godfrey Sithole (Chitungwiza North) are accused of inciting public violence. Sikhala and Sithole were arrested after violence broke out in the Nyatsime area of Chitungwiza following the murder of CCC activist Moreblessing Ali by suspected Zanu PF activist Pius Mukandi, alias Jamba, who has since been arrested. After failure to submit the recordings, High Court judge Justice Munamato Mutevedzi struck the MPs bail hearing off the roll. Mutevedzi did not give a specific date when the matter would be heard, but only told the High Court that it will be heard after the record is obtained. The MPs, who have clocked almost a month in jail and are represented by Jeremiah Bhamu and Alec Muchadehama, were remanded in custody to June 14. At the lower courts, Sikhala and Sithole were denied bail by deputy chief magistrate Gibson Mandaza who ruled that they were likely to abscond. But Muchadehama said the magistrates conclusion was not supported by facts. Prosecutors allege that Sikhala posted videos encouraging public violence following the discovery of Alis dismembered body. Sithole is accused of conniving with Sikhala by organising transport which ferried mourners to Nyatsime. Meanwhile, Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president Obert Masaraure was yesterday granted $60 000 bail by the High Court in a case he is accused of murder. Newsday National Energy Resources Australia (NERA) - an independent, federally funded not-for-profit working to decarbonise Australias energy sector - has launched a national LETs Pitch program to identify, support and raise the profile of the Australias best and brightest' cleantech businesses. NERA says Australian businesses are developing world-class technologies that can help shape the global energy transition, and the LETs Pitch Australia supply chain development program will support the growth of low emissions technologies by providing small to medium enterprises (SMEs) with unique business development opportunities and supporting three winning organisations to showcase at the Global Clean Energy Action Forum (GCEAF) in Pittsburgh, USA. LETs Pitch Australia program aims to support the growth of SMEs with low emissions technologies (LETs) All shortlisted applicants will receive tailored business and pitching mentoring and support Applicants will then pitch their tech to judging panel of investors, venture capital and industry experts Winners will be supported to join the Team Australia delegation at the Global Clean Energy Action Forum (GCEAF) in Pittsburgh USA, one of the most important international energy events in 2022 Applicants will then pitch their tech to judging panel of investors, venture capital and industry experts Winners will be supported to join the Team Australia delegation at the Global Clean Energy Action Forum (GCEAF) in Pittsburgh USA, one of the most important international energy events in 2022 Miranda Taylor, NERA Chief Executive Officer, says investment in technology combined with collaboration across governments, industries, R&D and innovators must be a top priority if we are to achieve the scale of decarbonisation needed to meet global emissions targets. We need to get to net zero as fast as we can, while recognising the world also needs access to decarbonised, reliable, and affordable energy that also meets the highest standards of environmental protection and safety. That demand is only likely to increase. It is therefore vital that we take action now to accelerate support for the technologies that can decarbonise our economies and address growing energy demands globally. LETs Pitch is about identifying the innovative businesses behind Australia's leading low emissions technologies and supporting their growth in domestic and international markets. This could secure a two-fold opportunity to grow Australias economy by fast-tracking decarbonisation and diversifying into high-value technologies and advanced manufacturing, Taylor said. LETs Pitch is open to start-up or scale-up businesses with an innovative technology that will support Australias low carbon future in one of the targeted technology categories such as clean hydrogen and low emissions electricity. Winners of the LETs Pitch Australia program will be invited to travel to Pittsburgh and showcase their technology on the international stage at Global Clean Energy Action Forum, 21 23 September 2022. Get unlimited access to all content and features at ivpressonline.com with our Full Online Access Subscription. Read our E-Edition, the digital replica of the print newspaper online, access content in exclusive sections including Family, Teen, Business, Databases, Farm and more. This option does not include daily home delivery of the Imperial Valley Press newspaper. For home delivery service, please select Premium or Premium Plus. FILE - This photo combo of images provided by the Kent County Sheriff and Delaware Department of Justice, respectively, shows Adam Dean Fox, left, and Barry Croft Jr. on April 8, 2022, A judge on Thursday, June, 30, 2022, set Aug. 9, 2022, for a second trial for the two men charged with plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. A jury in April acquitted two other men but couldn't reach a unanimous verdict for the pair. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., vice chair of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection, delivers her "Time for Choosing" speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum Wednesday, June 29, 2022, in Simi Valley, Calif. The speech is part of a series focusing on the conservative movement to address critical questions facing the future of the Republican Party. 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. A HARARE woman, who is facing a US$50 000 lawsuit for adultery, has been granted relief to approach the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) to challenge the law, which she says is no longer part of Zimbabwean law. Ratidzo Nyamuchengwa, who is being sued by her former friend Marvelous Marufu for adultery, was yesterday granted the relief by High Court judge, Justice Emilia Muchawa. Nyamuchengwa argues that adultery is no longer an offence in Zimbabwe because the charge is inconsistent with chapter 4 of the Constitution. The ConCourt is expected to give a ruling after hearing her arguments. She wants the court to show whether the common law of adultery is consistent with subsection (1) of section 56 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, insofar as it allows her to be sued, while simultaneously precluding the complainant from suing her former husband for the same acts. Nyamuchengwa also said the claim was unconstitutional as it exposes her to the prospect of being questioned and made to testify on an intimate and personal matter pertaining to her private sexual relations. She also complained that the law calls for scrutiny of, and publicity of her alleged sexual liaisons or other relations with Marufus former husband. Another query that she wants to raise is whether the common law restricts her from freely associating with any consenting adult person she chooses. To that end the Constitutional Court shall determine whether the common law delict of adultery sued upon by plaintiff is consistent with subsection (1) of section 56 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013 insofar as it allows the plaintiff to sue the defendant whilst simultaneously precluding her from suing her former husband for the same acts upon which she sues the defendant, Muchawa said. The man at the centre of the controversy is Albert Mhondoro who allegedly used his wifes savings to marry Nyamuchengwa. There was drama on the day he paid lobola for his new wife, after Marufu stormed the proceedings demanding her money and man back. Mhondoro has since dumped his family and is now living with Nyamuchengwa. According to court papers, Marufu and Mhondoro wed on March 19, 2018 and celebrations were held on April 7, 2018. Nyamuchengwa also attended the wedding and bought gifts for the couple. Newsday In a blow to the fight against climate change, the Supreme Court has limited how the nations main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants In this image from video provided by the Supreme Court, Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts administers the Constitutional Oath to Ketanji Brown Jackson as her husband Patrick Jackson holds the Bible at the Supreme Court in Washington on Thursday. FILE - A man from Nicaragua sits at a shelter for migrants, April 21, 2022, in Tijuana, Mexico. The Supreme Court has ruled that the Biden administration properly ended a Trump-era policy forcing some U.S. asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico. The justices 5-4 decision for the administration came in a case about the Remain in Mexico policy under President Donald Trump. Staff Writer Jonathan Roberts is a reporter and photographer for the Johnson City Press covering Health Care, Johnson City and Jonesborough. He is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and has been with the Press since 2019. Airport Authority members were told that Tri-Cities Airport had seen a 51% increase in guests in the January to May time period over the same time frame last year. Tim Williams: Rebooting cultural exchange along the Silk Road People's Daily Online) 09:53, June 30, 2022 Tim Williams is Professor of Silk Roads Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. Having obtained his first degree in 1980, he has over 40 years of experience in the field and has been teaching and training new generations of archaeologists and heritage management professionals for more than 20 years. As the director of the Ancient Merv Project since 2001 and the author of multiple ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) thematic studies along the Silk Roads, Williams has worked closely with China and other Asian countries for nearly two decades, culminating in the unprecedented transnational nomination of the World Heritage Site Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor between China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in 2014, and the establishment of the UCL-Northwest University International Centre for Silk Roads Archaeology & Heritage in 2018. Currently, Williams is working with scholars from China and six other countries on the Central Asian Archaeological Landscape Project aimed at digitizing and sharing data on cultural heritage sites situated across Central Asia and western China. Tim Williams (Photo/Fraser Watson) Silk Roads: Connecting the East and West Peoples Daily Online: With over 40 years of experience in archaeology, your early projects were mostly in southern England. What was it that brought you all the way to the Silk Road of China? Williams: I was lucky to start off with archaeology in urban archaeology in the UK. I was particularly interested in Roman towns and cities, from Colchester in late 1970s to heading to the Archaeology Commission of English Heritage in late 1990s. During that time, I worked on a rescue archaeology project in Beirut, Lebanon. I was fascinated by the transition of the city from a classical city into a medieval city, and this led me to study the Silk Road. After joining the Institute of Archaeology in 2002, I started working in Central Asia. My research then focused primarily on the historic remains of Merv, the Great Silk Road city in Turkmenistan. And that in turn led me further down the Silk Road eastward to China where I first visited in 2005. That drew me into the glory and excitement of the quality of archaeology that existed within China, and the potential to carry out comparative research on the Silk Road. Peoples Daily Online: What are some of the most memorable moments in your first trip to China? Williams: When I first got to China in 2005, we went on a mission to visit a whole range of sites. And what I was shocked by, to be honest, was the scale, quantity, and quality of the archaeology here. In a European context, Ive never been interested in pre-history very much, there wasnt enough data to play with. Suddenly in China, you could go to sites from 5000 BC and see that scale and quality of archaeology. I went up to the site of Niuheliang in northeast China. The whole interconnectivity of this monumental burial architecture within the surrounding landscape, its positioning, and the quality of the survival of the material really brought home to me how exciting the pre-history research in China was. I then went to Xian for the first time and saw the remains of Changan, the ancient capital of China in the Han Dynasty (202 BC 220 AD). Emperor Wudi (156 BC 87 BC) sent envoys in the second century BC into Central Asia, fundamentally changing the scale of interaction between China and Central Asia. In 2005, there was a sense that historians dealt with the historical period and archaeologists dealt with prehistory. It just seemed to me a phenomenal opportunity that archaeology has so much to offer to the study of the Silk Road. So, I thought that would be an interesting journey to work with Chinese colleagues on developing Silk Road studies in China. Peoples Daily Online: Having studied the northern section of the overland Silk Road since 2005, you recently started to look at the Maritime Silk Road. Could you share with us some of your discoveries there? Williams: Its a moot point as to how much we should divide the interconnection of maritime trade with the interconnection of overland trade. We have coastal forts, landmarks, and port cities. A lot of these are common issues that we have explored on the overland Silk Road. Ports represent a particularly complex heritage management challenge because good ports carry on being used and therefore, they tend to destroy the earlier harbor. Evidence of an earlier port in Shanghai was largely lost in the redevelopment of the city. And then we have shipwrecks, but the stuff thats being shipped is made on land. So theres a connectivity between what happens on the land and at sea. There is the phenomenal Nanhai No. 1 boat in the South China Sea, and its fascinating in terms of understanding how the trade is structured and organized. Tim Williams (Photo/Fraser Watson) Heritage sites: Integrating the community and landscape Peoples Daily Online: Archaeology isnt only about carrying out excavations but also involves the preservation and presentation of sites afterwards. In your opinion, what has China achieved in the field of cultural heritage management? Williams: From 2005 onwards, it was still a very top-down, state-driven approach, very much about ancient sites that belonged to the privileged. What has evolved over the last 15 to 20 years is a greater engagement with local communities, with how heritage sites fit within the landscape, and the way that heritage sites are used and developed, either as tourist resources or educational resources. When I first went to China in 2005, very few Chinese universities taught anything to do with heritage management. Archaeology was very much about the study of archaeology. Now the top universities, such as Peking University and Northwest University, have really developed heritage management courses and have a lot of people teaching it. I think there is still a long way to go but there has been some really significant progress as well. After the first successful World Heritage nomination in 2014 of the Changan-Tianshan Corridor, China recognised that they needed to bring the site managers of all those sites together to share their expertise. I was invited to participate in a number of workshops and meetings in China. Its been an interesting process because my Chinese partners had important and exciting developments to bring to the meetings. So its not a simple issue of a UK university training Chinese students, its actually been a much more positive dialogue going both ways. Peoples Daily Online: While serving as the director of the International Centre for Silk Roads Archaeology and Heritage, which was jointly established by the UKs University College London and Chinas Northwest University in 2018, what were some of the projects you finished or are about to begin in collaboration with colleagues in China? Williams: Northwest University has been a strong collaborator with us, and Professor Ma Jian, now head of the department, and Professor Wang Jianxin have been our strong supporters. Its been a very productive relationship and so in 2019 we set up a joint Silk Road Centre for Archaeology and Heritage. More recently, NWU and Professor Ma have been our partners in the Central Asian Archaeological Landscape Project, a big five-year programme to help five Central Asian countries and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China to do the digital documentation of heritage, draw together digital inventories and digitise archives. I have a student from Urumqi and she is doing her PhD on the management of sites in the Taklamakan Desert. I would just love to be able to get out there and see those sites on the ground. Tim Williams (Photo/Fraser Watson) Transnational nominations: Promoting exchange and dialogue Peoples Daily Online: You mentioned your involvement in the nomination of UNESCO World Heritage Site Silk Road: Changan-Tianshan, a project that has set the standard for future transnational nominations. What do you think is special about these kinds of transnational opportunities? Williams: I think the collaboration between countries and things like the World Heritage nomination, particularly the idea of trans-boundary nominations, offer the opportunity for cultural dialogue and understanding. I joined the process for nominating the Silk Road in 2010 and nobody could work out how to nominate the Silk Road because theoretically it covered 26 countries, some of which were at war with each other. So how were you going to nominate a nominator? Initially, China was quite hopeful that it could nominate just the Silk Road sites within China but the consensus between all the countries was that they really wanted to keep this idea of transnationalism working. There had been no trans-boundary nomination for the overland Silk Road and the first one was the Changan-Tianshan Corridor nominated by China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. World Heritage Sites have to report every five years. When China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan sent in three separate reports, they were sent back and UNESCO said: No, you are one site. This is one World Heritage property. That was a watershed moment for realising its not just a one-off; and allowed the three countries to grow together. These transnational nominations have the opportunity to build that kind of soft power relationship between countries. Peoples Daily Online: As you said, the nomination of the Changan-Tianshan Corridor set the foundation for further cultural exchange and capacity building between China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Now with the Belt and Road Initiative in motion, what is the role that collaborations like this would play in the future? Williams: Partly through the Belt and Road Initiative, China is trying to develop archaeological research in areas like Central Asia. This has led to a number of opportunities for Central Asia to develop research and build up their capacity in heritage management, and thats something that is hugely beneficial to the Central Asian countries who have very good archaeologists but lack the infrastructure, resources and laboratory-based skills that are available in China. Both Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are very supportive of this process. Currently, Im working with ICOMOS that advises UNESCO, and were looking at extending the Silk Road thematic study to East Asia, covering not only the land routes through northeast China and the Korean Peninsula but also maritime exchanges across the Yellow Sea. The expert knowledge comes from Chinese, Korean and Japanese scholars, and its very useful to have people like myself who looks at the information from an outside perspective and draws out similarities, differences and issues in the process. Having said that, I dont think its easy but Im hoping that cultural diplomacy will actually have a benefit within that broad dialogue between the countries. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) GLION INSTITUTE OF HIGHER EDUCATION ALUMNI CELEBRATE ALMA MATER 60TH ANNIVERSARY 2022 marks Glion Institute of Higher Education 60 years. As part of the Anniversary celebrations, Glion alumni are reuniting around the world in a succession of events. GLION INSTITUTE OF HIGHER EDUCATION ALUMNI CELEBRATE ALMA MATER 60TH ANNIVERSARY 2022 marks Glion Institute of Higher Education 60 years. As part of the Anniversary celebrations, Glion alumni are reuniting around the world in a succession of events. Careers - Recruitment / Job / Training This is a press release Category: Worldwide This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2022-06-30 Starting with 15 students from 5 countries, Glion campus in Switzerland first opened its doors in 1962. In 60 years, the institution has built a unique network with highly influential figures of the Hospitality industry and beyond acting as a career success factor for its members. The support of the community starts right at the beginning during students studies. Bachelor and masters students get personalized support from the institutions Career & Internship service. With 3480 industry partners and 655 companies who recruited last year from the highly recognized Swiss institution, Glion affirms a 98% employability rate. After graduation, alumni stay connected to the influential global network of industry professionals and entrepreneurs spread over 144 countries. Glion today unites a community of 7 board members, 66 regional vice presidents and Ambassadors with more than 15,000 alumni from all over the world. Through a state-of-the art on-line platform, Glion alumni enjoy privileged access to new positions and career opportunities from other members of the community, who choose Glion first when recruiting fresh talent and forging new partnerships. Overall, Glion is ranked in the top three worldwide for employer reputation since its entry in the QS World University Rankings by Subject in 2018. 86% of Glion Alumni become managers in less than 5 years. 48% of Glion Alumni work in other sectors than hospitality, including FMCG, Luxury Goods and Services, Marketing, Events, Banking and Finance. 52% join the traditional Hospitality, Tourism and Food and Beverage sectors. Among the prizes awarded to Glion Alumni on Saturday June 18th in Montreux, just to name a few were: Stephen Alden, Glion Alumnus, 1981 and CEO Raffles & Orient Express, Member of the Executive Committee at Accor awarded for outstanding professional accomplishment and Susanne Kaufmann, Alumnus 1993 and founder of the eponymous cosmetic brand who received the special Achievement Award Entrepreneurial Leadership. The Alumni Association Glion (AAG) strives to foster the continuation of the Glion Spirit throughout the life its members by creating an active worldwide community of Glion Alumni which supports each individuals personal development and growth, careers, networking, entrepreneurship, thus enhancing the value of the membership and the prestige of both the Association and Glion Institute of Higher Education. The AAG Board members are Christopher Jones, President (CEO of Sushi Shop); Ronald Homsy, Vice President (COO and Co-Founder of Pinktada); Mayumi Matthaus, Secretary General (founder of Suskind); Beatrice Leon, Member (Front of House, Mandarin Oriental, Lake Como); Caroline Ellul, Member (Founder of French Luxury Consulting); Tibor Fejes, Member, (Director, Global Revenue Performance, Policy and Planning at Marriott International) and Frederic Frere, Member, (CEO and Co-Founder, Travelstore.pt). They are at the forefront of community engagement initiatives such as the Ambassador programme, Innovation and entrepreneurship commission, fostering industry relations and Alumni events like this the 60th anniversary celebrations world-tour in which recruitment and passion were high on the agenda. About Glion Institute of Higher Education Founded in 1962, Glion Institute of Higher Education is a Swiss institution offering bachelors and masters degrees in hospitality, luxury and finance to an international student body across three campuses in Switzerland and London, UK. Glion is ranked among the worlds top five higher education institutions for hospitality and leisure management, and in the top three number for employer reputation since its entry in the ranking in 2018. (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2022). Part of Sommet Education, worldwide leader in hospitality education, Glion is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). A theatre sheltering civilians destroyed in March in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol was likely hit by a Russian airstrike in a war crime, Amnesty International said in a report published Thursday. "Until now, we were speaking about an alleged war crime. Now we can clearly say it was one, committed by the Russian armed forces," Oksana Pokalchuk, head of Amnesty's Ukraine branch, told AFP. "These explosions were caused by something really big: two 500-kilogramme (1,100-pound) bombs" dropped from a plane, she added, dismissing Russian claims that the theatre was hit in a false-flag attack by the city's Ukrainian defenders. Nevertheless, the group also found that the death toll may have been smaller than initially believed. Amnesty spoke to dozens of survivors and witnesses about the March 16 strike and also gathered evidence such as photos, video and satellite images of the scene and documents including plans of the destroyed theatre. As a designated shelter site after Russia's invasion began on February 24, thousands gathered at the theatre on different days in early March, hoping to join evacuation convoys. Volunteers were distributing food, water and essential items like blankets, as well as providing medical care. "In Mariupol, there were so many military targets. They clearly chose the civilian one," Pokalchuk said, adding that this would have been clear to Russian commanders from drone and satellite imagery. Several departures -- unofficial or through negotiated humanitarian corridors -- in the days leading up to the blast drained the numbers holed up in the building. But "a man who volunteered in the field kitchen said that they were still cooking for 800 people on the day of the attack," Amnesty wrote. Analysis of the impact on the theatre suggested the detonation of 400-800 kg of explosives. Amnesty said that most likely came from two 500-kg bombs, based on evidence including debris survivors described from the scene and details of the pattern of Russian operations in the region at the time. Meanwhile, the group gathered no testimony backing up the Russian claim of a false-flag attack. Based on eyewitness statements and public death reports, "Amnesty International believes that at least a dozen people died in the attack, but also that it is likely that many additional fatalities remain unreported," the group added. Mariupol city authorities had provided an initial estimate of around 300 deaths, while an Associated Press investigation suggested the toll could be up to 600. "It is good news that fewer people were killed. But it doesn't change anything. It is still clearly a war crime," Pokalchuk said. Lets face it, the International Criminal Court, which celebrates its twentieth anniversary on July 1, is suffering from a lack of results. In two decades, and at a cost of almost two billion dollars, the ICC has never sustained the atrocity conviction of any state official at any level anywhere in the world. Some of its leading cases have collapsed because of faulty case-building, reversals on appeal, and outright sabotage by targeted officials. The only defendants convicted of atrocity crimes in 20 years have been five African rebels. And yet, the ICC has had an important impact on global justice, through its governing Rome statute which has been transposed into many national laws, and the baseline international presumption in favor of accountability it helps promote, as well as through the pressure it has exerted on some states like Colombia to undertake prosecutions or risk an ICC investigation. In a case I helped prosecute, the African Union (AU) played a vital role in bringing about the trial of former Chad dictator Hissene Habre by an AU-backed hybrid court in Senegal, precisely to ward off even more ICC cases against African leaders by showing Africa could handle its own. Mixed courts and universal jurisdiction It is domestic and hybrid courts which dominate global accountability efforts, as they should, and the list of former rulers they have prosecuted for human rights crimes keeps growing, including Charles Taylor of Liberia, Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Khieu Samphan of Cambodia, Alberto Fujimori of Peru, Efrain Rios Montt of Guatemala, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso. Hashim Thaci of Kosovo now faces trial before a Kosovo court sitting in The Hague. Guinea has just indicted its ex-president Alpha Conde. The Gambia government says it will prosecute former president Yahya Jammeh before a hybrid court. Universal jurisdiction cases are also on the rise, with over 100 defendants, mostly living in Europe, being prosecuted for crimes back in places like Syria, Liberia, Iraq and Rwanda. This welcome development has been spurred by NGO activism, the creation in many European countries of special war crimes units, some of which have opened structural investigations into country situations like Syria, and the establishment of three independent investigative mechanisms for atrocities committed in Myanmar, Syria and by ISIL. These mechanisms build war-crimes cases and feed them to national prosecutors, helping create what former US war crimes ambassador Stephen Rapp has called a new international justice ecosystem. Rapp is one of those advocating, together with the International Commission of Jurists, for creation of a Standing Independent Investigative Mechanism (SIIM) to build prosecution files for the worst country situations. ICCs Ukraine moment Russias naked aggression in Ukraine and its flagrant war crimes have now created a Ukraine moment in international justice and given the ICC a golden opportunity to demonstrate its relevance. But it has also exposed the political calculations and double standards which have plagued both the ICC and the international justice system more generally. The widespread and rapid mobilization by the ICC and national prosecutors has surpassed any previous response to atrocity by orders of magnitude. The hard-charging new ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, has seized the moment to make three visits to the country he calls a crime scene, open the ICCs largest field office ever, create an online portal to gather evidence, and raise unprecedented amounts of extrabudgetary state contributions and seconded personnel to support his probe. Forty-three ICC member states formally requested an ICC investigation of the situation in Ukraine, meaning the prosecutor did not have to waste time seeking approval by a judicial panel. Even the United States, which objects to ICC jurisdiction over the nationals of non-party states (like the US) absent a Security Council referral, seems to support the ICCs investigation over alleged crimes by nationals of Russia (a non-party state ) in Ukraine. In addition to the Ukrainian prosecutor Iryna Venediktova, who is on the frontlines with a team looking at over 15,000 suspected war crimes, five neighboring states and the ICC have joined her to form the largest-ever Joint Investigating Team, while experts sent by many other countries are helping develop evidence. This is the kind of concerted response for which human rights groups have always advocated, and the quick action means that evidence can be collected and preserved in a way that would be impossible down the road. This global commitment to accountability should be the model for other crises in places such as Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Mali, Myanmar, Palestine, and Yemen. And yet, of course, it is the exception. As Raji Sourani, Director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and a supporter of the ICC Ukraine probe, has lamented, the prosecutor never sought outside money for the ICCs Palestine investigation, never spoke about a crime scene, never opened a portal for observers to report crimes, never sought to visit Palestine. Legal arm of NATO? If the office of the ICC prosecutor is not to be seen as just the legal arm of NATO, it must devise an equally robust response in other country situations it is supposed to be investigating, or risk, the words of the Coalition for the ICC, exacerbating perceptions of politicization of and selectivity in the Courts work. State pledges of funding and personnel for Ukraine, the CICC said, sends the unfortunate signal that justice for some victims should be prioritized over others, depending on political will. Those perceptions of bias were fueled last September when prosecutor Khan announced that in his Afghanistan investigation, he was deprioritizing alleged crimes by the United States and its allies, the inquiry into which had hardly progressed in almost 20 years but had triggered Trump administration sanctions against the court. Even before Khan, the OTP let the United Kingdom off the hook, because it could not conclude that the UKs domestic efforts to deal with allegations of systematic torture in Iraq were not genuine, despite zero domestic prosecutions in fifteen years. These same double standards have polluted the entire international justice eco-system. The broad universal jurisdiction laws of Belgium and Spain were key in advancing cases against miscreants like Habre and Chiles Augusto Pinochet, but were repealed following political pressure when they were used against American, Chinese and Israeli defendants. Germany, whose aggressive use of universal jurisdiction led to landmark prosecutions of Syrian torturers and most recently a case against an alleged Gambian death squad member, twice refused to move on complaints against Bush administration officials for alleged war on terror crimes against Muslim detainees, just as France also refused. And of course the United States itself never prosecuted those officials for ordering practices such as "waterboarding," the use of secret CIA prisons, and the rendition of detainees to countries where they were tortured. The justice mobilization around the horrors visited on Ukraine is heartwarming and illustrates how justice can function when the political will exists. But the long-term integrity and global acceptance of the ICC and the international justice framework require that they also take on crimes committed by powerful western actors, not just designated enemies. Russian troops have abandoned their positions on a captured Ukrainian island, a major setback to their invasion effort that weakens their blockade of Ukraine's ports, defence officials said on Thursday. The news from the Black Sea came as NATO leaders wrapped up their summit in Madrid, intent on demonstrating their unity and determination to back up Kyiv with advanced weapons in the face of Moscow's assault. Snake Island became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance in the first days of the war, when the rocky outcrop's defenders told a Russian warship that called on them to surrender to "go f*ck yourself," an incident that spurred a defiant meme. It was also a strategic target, sitting aside shipping lanes near Ukraine's port of Odessa. Russia had attempted to install missile and air defence batteries while under fire from drones. Now, however, Ukraine has begun to receive longer range missiles and military gear from its Western backers, and the Russian position on Snake Island seems to have become untenable. "In the end, it will prove impossible for (President Vladimir) Putin to hold down a country that will not accept his rule," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, stressing that any eventual peace deal would be on Ukraine's terms. "We've seen what Ukraine can do to drive the Russians back. We've seen what they did around Kyiv and Kharkiv, now on Snake Island." - 'Strategically important' - The Russian defence ministry statement described the retreat as "a gesture of goodwill" meant to demonstrate that Moscow will not interfere with UN efforts to organise protected grain exports from Ukraine. But Kyiv claimed it as a win. "They always downplay their defeats this way," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter. "I thank the defenders of Odessa region who took maximum measures to liberate a strategically important part of our territory," Valeriy Zaluzhny, the Ukraine military's commander-in-chief, said on Telegram. In peacetime, Ukraine is a major agricultural exporter, but Russia's invasion has damaged farmland and seen Ukraine's ports seized, razed or blockaded -- threatening grain importers in Africa with famine. Western powers have accused Putin of using the trapped harvest as a weapon to increase pressure on the international community, and Russia has been accused of stealing grain. On Thursday, a ship carrying 7,000 tonnes of grain sailed from Ukraine's occupied port of Berdyansk, said the regional leader appointed by the Russian occupation forces. Evgeny Balitsky, the head of the pro-Moscow administration, said Russia's Black Sea ships "are ensuring the security" of the journey he said, adding that the port had been de-mined. - 'Direct threat' - Separately, the Russian defence ministry said its forces are holding more than 6,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war who have been captured since the February 24 invasion. The conflict in Ukraine has dominated the NATO summit in Madrid, where the leaders said Russia "is the most significant and direct threat to allies' security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area". This came as NATO officially invited Sweden and Finland to join the alliance, and US President Joe Biden announced new deployments of US troops, ships and planes to Europe. Biden said the US move was exactly what Russian President Putin "didn't want" -- and Moscow, facing fierce resistance from Ukrainian forces equipped with Western arms, reacted with predictable fury. Putin accused the alliance of seeking to assert its "supremacy", telling journalists in the Turkmenistan capital of Ashgabat that Ukraine and its people are "a means" for NATO to "defend their own interests." "The NATO countries' leaders wish to... assert their supremacy, their imperial ambitions," Putin added. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed Putin's comments as "ridiculous" and said the Russian leader "has made imperialism the goal of his politics". NATO leaders have funnelled billions of dollars of arms to Ukraine and faced a renewed appeal from President Volodymyr Zelensky for more long-range artillery. "Ukraine can count on us for as long as it takes," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said at the summit, which ends Thursday, as he announced a new strategic overview that focuses on the Moscow threat. - 'Clear-eyed' - The document, updated for the first time since 2010, warned the alliance "cannot discount the possibility" of an attack on its members. Kuleba welcomed NATO's "clear-eyed stance on Russia". Russian missiles continued to rain down across Ukraine. In the southern city of Mykolaiv rescuers found the bodies of six slain civilians in the rubble of a destroyed building, emergency services said. The city of Lysychansk in the eastern Donbas region -- the current focus of Russia's offensive -- is also facing sustained bombardment. "The Russians are throwing almost all of their resources at capturing Lysychansk," Sergiy Gaiday, regional governor of Lugansk, which includes the city, said on Telegram. "It's hard to find a safe spot in the city." The United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine said on Thursday 16 million Ukrainians were in need of humanitarian aid. - Theatre strike 'war crime' - Moscow's invasion triggered massive economic sanctions and a wave of support for Zelensky's government, including deliveries of advanced weapons, as well as the reinforcement of Europe's defences. Washington has announced it will shift the headquarters of its 5th Army Corps to Poland. An army brigade will head to Romania and two squadrons of F-35 fighters to Britain, air defence systems will be sent to Germany and Italy, and the fleet of US Navy destroyers in Spain will grow from four to six. Britain also pledged another $1.2 billion in military aid for Ukraine on Wednesday, including air defence systems and drones. burs-dc/raz The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for three people over alleged war crimes during the 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia in South Ossetia, it said Thursday. Mikhail Mayramovich Mindzaev, Gamlet Guchmazov and David Georgiyevich Sanakoev, who were officials in the pro-Moscow breakaway republic, allegedly detained civilians to use as "bargaining chips" in negotiations, the ICC said. Judges at the Hague-based ICC found "there were reasonable grounds to believe that each of these three suspects bears responsibility for war crimes," the court said in a statement. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan applied for the arrest warrants in March -- days after Russia invaded Ukraine -- and judges granted the applications on June 24, before making them public Thursday. Mindzaev was internal affairs minister for South Ossetia, Guchmazov was head of the ministry's preliminary detention facility, and Sanakoev was the region's "ombudsman" at the time, the court said. The court in 2016 opened an investigation into alleged war crimes during the brief 2008 war between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia, its first such probe into events outside Africa and the first into a war involving Russia. The fighting in August 2008 claimed more than 700 lives and displaced tens of thousands of ethnic Georgians. The ICC said there was evidence that ethnic Georgians were arrested in South Ossetia "and subsequently detained, mistreated and kept in harsh detention conditions in a detention centre in Tskhinvali", dubbed the "isolator". The detainees were then "used as a bargaining tool by Russia and the South Ossetian de facto authorities, and used for an exchange of prisoners and detainees. As a result of the exchange, the detainees were forced to leave South Ossetia." Russian nationals Mindzaev, 66, and Guchmazov, 45, are both accused of the war crimes of unlawful confinement, torture and inhuman treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, hostage taking, and unlawful transfer of civilians, the court said. Sanakoev, also 45, is accused of hostage taking and unlawful transfer of civilians. Russia is not a member of the ICC but Georgia is. When it comes to unrivaled acting performances, Park Hae Soo is definitely one of the top stars in the list! From "Squid Game" to "Money Heist Korea," the actor exceeds fans and viewers' expectations every time, even earning the nickname "Netflix's Son." Following its success, Park Hae Soo dishes out his honest thoughts on appearing in the drama. Park Hae Soo Reveals Honest Thoughts on Playing Berlin Park Hae Soo, who has appeared in many popular Netflix series "Squid Game" and "Money Heist Korea," talks about his acting role, preparations and more. In the drama, Park Hae Soo takes on the role of Berlin, the right hand man of the Professor (Yoo Ji Tae), who leads the biggest heist in the history of the Korean Peninsula. When asked why he chose to star as Berlin, Park Hae Soo bares his soul and confesses that he was hesitant to accept the offer. "I saw the original Spanish series when the news of a South Korean remake was not in discussion," Park Hae Soo shared. "I loved the series but the thought of being in the remake never crossed my mind." He also said, "When I was asked to play the role of Berlin, I felt extremely pressured. There was a lot of work that I was discouraged by. Eventually, I did it." Park Hae Soo exerted a lot of effort prior to filming, and even met up with a teacher from Pyongyang and practiced the North Korean dialect. Through this, the actor felt more culturally adept, which satiated his thirst for perfection. In particular, his portrayal of Berlin is well-lauded by fans in both the domestic and international scene. Park Hae Soo on Being Nicknamed As 'Netflix's Son' Because of the slew of multiple projects Park Hae Soo did with Netflix Korea, many fans and colleagues gave him a new moniker, "Netflix's Son." Although witty and flattering, Park Hae Soo politely shrugs the nickname as he deems he's "too old to be a son." "I'm very honored to have a great relationship with Netflix," he stated. "But I am more grateful to meet viewers with such amazing works." Just last year, Park Hae Soo starred in the worldwide hit series "Squid Game." In 2022, he appeared in the espionage film "Yaksha: Ruthless Operations" before finally being cast in "Money Heist Korea." IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 'Money Heist Korea' Breaks Own Record- Ranks Second on Global Charts Park Hae Soo hopes to appear in the small screen with works with Netflix in the future. 'Money Heist Korea': Hit or Miss? Despite the success of the series, some fans still criticized the work. Park Hae Soo isn't fazed with any of these. He said, "It's a remake so it's obvious that many fans will be divided by their opinions. However, I have no regrets." "Even if they like or dislike the work, I'm still thankful that they made time to watch the series which allowed me to show my skills as an actor," Park Hae Soo added. On the other hand, "Money Heist Korea: Joint Economic Area" is available for worldwide streaming on Netflix. Watch the trailer here, ICYMI: KDramastars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. Before his much-awaited fan meetings in Asia, Cha Eun Woo recently attended the Dior event where he met Korea's "Figure Queen" Kim Yu Na. Their exchange of conversation is gaining attention from the public. Keep on reading for more details! Cha Eun Woo and Kim Yu Na Attend Christian Dior Beauty Event On June 17, ASTRO member Cha Eun Woo made his appearance at the Christian Dior Beauty Event. As a brand ambassador of the luxury brand, the idol-actor once again wowed the crowd by pulling off a dashing look. He showed off his curly hair which perfectly blended with his all black suit The famous Italian brand collaborated with the Seoul Museum of Arts. Contemporary artist Jean-Michel Othoniel attended the event. His presence became one of the highlights of the Christian Dior gathering held in Seoul. Apart from the idol-actor, another brand ambassador and Korea's highly-respected athlete, dubbed "Figure Queen Skater," Kim Yu Na was also present at the event. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Cha Eun Woo Makes Hearts Swoon After Doing THIS in 'Running Man' Seeing the two in one frame made the fans admire their elegant charms. Since both are public figures, many wondered if they ever had a friendly chit-chat, and it turned out they have! Cha Eun Woo Shares Conversation With Kim Yu Na The conversation between Cha Eun Woo and Kim Yu Na at the fashion event has been revealed. In a news release by a known K-media outlet, they shared screenshots of messages that the "True Beauty" lead star sent to the fan community platform "Universe." The messages were also shared on Twitter and other online communities. Eun Woo shared some behind stories about what had happened during his attendance at the Dior event. Cha Eun Woo says, "At the Dior event, we had to drink a toast during the waiting time." He continued, "I carefully told Kim Yu Na that I saw her going to Suri High School from Naeungnae Elementary School. She also said that she knew I was also a Suri High School alumni." Their schools were quite near to each other. Kim Yu Na was already making a name in the field of skating when Eun Woo was able to recognize her. In addition, the heartthrob said they talked about how many apartments they lived in and admitted that both of them enjoyed the event (Dior). Due to their friendly conversation, fans couldn't help but adore Kim Yu Na and Cha Eun Woo's recent interaction. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Cha Eun Woo Captivates Many With THESE New Photos What are your thoughts about Cha Eun Woo and Kim Yu Na's friendly interaction? Tell us in the comments! For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news and updates, keep your tabs open here at Kdramastars. Kdramastars owns this article. Shai Collins wrote this. Tom Dyas says he'd take a more forceful role in reducing crime in Kelowna than has incumbent Mayor Colin Basran. Dyas, who ran against his former friend in 2018, has announced he'll run again for mayor in this October's civic election. Tom Dyas says he'd take a more forceful role in reducing crime in Kelowna than has incumbent Mayor Colin Basran. Dyas, who ran against his former friend in 2018, has announced he'll run again for mayor in this October's civic election. A Vancouver Police Department patch is seen on an officer's uniform as she makes a phone call after responding to an unknown incident in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on January 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck An online photography competition that aims to share "Ireland's intangible cultural heritage with the world" has named a local winner. Kilkenny photographer Anne-Karoline Distel took her photograph of an ancient quern stone that is on display in Rothe House, in Kilkenny City. The photo, above, took third place in the recent competition held on Wikimedia Commons in the 'Wiki loves folklore in Ireland' category. Wikimedia Commons is an online media repository of open images, sounds, videos and other media. It holds more than 80 million free-to-use media files, managed and editable by registered volunteers. This competition takes place every year in spring. Anyone can enter the competition, and there are similar ones like 'Wiki Loves Monuments' for built heritage and 'Wiki Loves Earth' for natural heritage which are also hosted by local Wikimedia affiliates annually. The jury consisted of Clodagh Doyle, Keeper National Museum of Ireland - Country Life, Michael Fortune, folklorist, and Manchan Magan, writer, traveller and television programme maker. Quern stones were used in Kilkenny until the middle of the 20th century (according to an article in the Old Kilkenny Review 1971) to grind grains into flour. A wooden handle in the off-centre hole was used to rotate the mill stone. Uploading photographs which you have taken yourself to Wikimedia is an easy and great way to promote local heritage: In the case of the quern stone, it means that anyone anywhere in the world searching for royalty free images of quern stones for a Wikipedia article, a powerpoint presentation, a book, newsletter or any type of publication can use the image. The only condition is the correct attribution which can easily be found when clicking on the download button. The Wiki Loves Monuments competition features a useful map of sites where images are still lacking for monuments in your area: CLICK HERE. In County Kilkenny, it applies mostly to churches, church ruins and bridges. Sadly, the main contributors in Kilkenny City are foreign visitors who sometimes remember the location wrong where they took the pictures or get confused about the two cathedrals or the many duplicate names for Protestant and Catholic churches. How much easier would it be for locals to attribute the right name to the photograph! Rebecca ONeill, Wikimedia Community Ireland commented: The variety of images uploaded this year was a real delight, and we wish all our participants good luck in the international competition! This would make a great family project during the summer holidays! After almost 30 years of making magic happen at Barnstorm Theatre Company Vincent Dempsey is exiting stage right and taking a well-deserved break. Humble, modest, hard-working and kind Vincent has brought the joy of theatre to generations of children across Ireland and his patience and dedication has cultivated and inspired people of all ages not only to appreciate theatre as a spectator but also to participate and engage in the theatrical process. Vincent has been General Manager at Barnstorm Theatre Company since 1998 and was also Production Manager and Tour Manager on the professional productions for young audiences. Artistic Director of Barnstorm Theatre Company, Philip Hardy explained that while Vincent is retiring from his role as General Manager there are already plans in the pipeline for future collaborations. Vincent and I have been a team for so many years in the development of Barnstorm as a provincially-based theatre company and of Theatre for Young Audiences. It has been an adventurous road that we travelled, and I dont think Barnstorm would ever have achieved what it has without his guidance and expertise. I remember our regular visits to the Arts Council in Dublin in our pursuit of recognition for what we were trying to do in Kilkenny and one officer stated, the air is different in Merrion Square when the boys from Kilkenny are here. Vincent is stepping down as General Manager but will still be involved with the company on specific projects I look forward to continuing the journey with our new GM Anja Terpstra and the Barnstorm family. Chair of the Board of Directors at Barnstorm, Seamus Greene paid tribute to Vincent describing him as a passionate advocate for the arts. I first met Vincent ten years ago. He was rigging lights and setting up his lighting board for a production the Adult Theatre Club was working on at the time. He was consistently patient, kind and dedicated on that and every other production that I was lucky enough to work on with him. He brought those same qualities to his tireless work as Producer/Manager and passionate advocate for Barnstorm. Hes a big loss to the theatre in Kilkenny. I wish him health and every happiness in his retirement. One of Barnstorms many success stories has been the development of amateur acting groups which continue to this day with the Barn Owl Players. Minister of State, Malcolm Noonan and board member said it was a privilege to have worked closely with someone for such passion and vision for his craft. "As a director of Barnstorm for many years I have been privileged to have worked closely with Vincent. Over that time I have grown to admire his passion and vision for his craft and that of creating theatre for young audiences."He has been part of establishing Barnstorm as one of the leading theatre companies in Ireland, producing innovative, original and challenging productions as well as employing many theatre professionals and writers. "Vincent's wider contributions to civic and cultural life in Kilkenny and indeed in Ireland are worthy of recognition. We will miss him but I'm sure he will continue to bring his immeasurable talent to theatre and to the arts in Kilkenny. " PRO of the Barn Owl Players, Cara ODoherty said that Vincents contribution to the Barn Owl Players has been invaluable. From lighting and tech support to setting up stages and all the tiny things that go on behind the scenes to create a successful show. He had made us a better drama group and helped us all find our light - literally! On a personal note, Vincent taught me the importance of keeping a steadfast head, willingly shared his decades worth of knowledge, answered my questions, and supported my theatrical endeavours outside of the group. He has done this all in his calm, unassuming manner, an anchor in the wonderful chaos that is live theatre. Board member, Margaret Whitely also took the opportunity to wish Vincent well in the future. I met Vincent through the Barn Owl Players. He has always been supportive of our group and his expertise in lighting brought an extra level of professionalism to our productions. A true gent whose company I have always enjoyed. Former staff member at Barnstorm and friend, Nuala Roche said she was lucky to work alongside Vincent. During seven years at Barnstorm I was lucky to have had a mentor, colleague and friend in Vincent. I valued his support as a manager, not to mention his ability to keep spinning plates in the air, without ever dropping one! I wish him a fruitful and rewarding retirement no doubt he will be as busy as ever. Vincent is also a steering group member in the NCFA (National Campaign for the Arts), a volunteer-led grass roots movement advocating for the arts in Ireland. Vincent was also Schools Liaison Officer at TEAM Theatre, Irelands foremost TIE (theatre in education) company for many years, and subsequently on their Board of Directors. A party to celebrate Vincent will take place at the Home Rule Club on July 9 at 5pm - all alumni and friends of Barnstorm are most welcome but people are asked to email anja@barnstorm.ie before July 5 if they wish to attend. Green Party Councillor Maria Dollard has welcomed Cabinet approval to draft a general scheme which will allow for the provision of maternity leave to Councillors across the country. The scheme offers the choice to appoint an individual as a temporary substitute in the place of a Councillor who takes a period of maternity-related absence or is absent due to illness. The substitute would have the ability to vote on behalf of the councillor, represent them at all meetings, in all aspects of the role for the 26-week maternity leave period. Cllr Dollard, who tabled a motion at the December 2020 of Kilkenny County Council, calling for the introduction of maternity leave for councillors, welcomed the motion. In the Green Party, half of our elected representatives are women, but there is so much more work that we can do for women in general in politics. This scheme will allow for the increased participation of women in local government, which will have a positive knock-on effect for politics at large. Kilkenny has one of the lowest rates of female representation of women in local government in Ireland. Well below the national average which is only 26%. An equal Ireland for every woman can only be achieved when we have womens voices at the highest offices in local government and beyond. There is alternative administrative support option if a councillor does not wish to elect a substitute in their place. In this case, councillors will be given funding for additional administrative assistance for the entirety of their maternity leave. Following the approval at Cabinet, the draft legislation will be prepared and will pass through the Oireachtas in the near future. The UK Government has agreed to amend controversial Troubles legislation to prevent immunity being granted to those responsible for serious sexual offences. Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns announced the concession after being warned by Conservative MPs to act or face defeat in a House of Commons vote. Proposals before MPs seek to establish a new information retrieval body to review deaths and other harmful conduct within the Troubles defined as the period from January 1 1966 to April 10 1998. The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill will also offer immunity to people who are deemed to have co-operated with the information retrieval body, although criminal prosecutions could still take place. Concerns were raised by MPs about the wording of the Bill, and Labour tabled an amendment to ensure certain offences of sexual violence including rape must not be treated as within the scope of immunity from prosecution. Mr Burns initially pledged to bring greater clarity to the issue and review the matter, before announcing the Government would accept Labours proposal. He added this was on the condition that further work will take place in the coming days to improve the amendments wording ahead of the Bills report stage on Monday. Conservative MP Simon Hoare, Northern Ireland Affairs Committee chairman, earlier told the Commons: There is a very firm belief that sexual intimidation, sexual violence, rape was used as a tool of intimidation and criminality during the Troubles. Just for the sake of clarity and for peace of mind for those who are concerned about this issue, I would hope that this is something that the Government could move on to provide that peace of mind. Conservative former Northern Ireland secretary Julian Smith urged Mr Burns to accept the amendment, with the option to make further changes later on, to ensure no one from the Conservative Party has to vote against the exclusion of rape in this Bill. Mr Hoare also went on to advise the Government to deliver on commitments to consider the matter further and bring back a new proposal or there would be a free-for-all and the Government will be defeated. Mr Burns, as the debate on day one of the Bills committee stage came to an end, said: I sought to explain this morning the Governments thinking and why we were sure that the Bill as written would not have the perverse consequence that (shadow Northern Ireland secretary Peter Kyle) feared. We have heard loud and clear the mood of the House and the wish of the House to see a greater clarity on the face of the Bill. And with that intent clear and our recognition of the mood of the House on that, we are willing to accept the amendment in the name of the shadow secretary of state on the condition that we will work over the course of the coming days to see if we can find refined wording that we can bring back to the House at report stage. For Labour, Mr Kyle said he accepted the ministers offer but warned the Opposition has an overarching concern about the overall Bill. In a statement outside the House, Mr Kyle said: Ensuring this Bill does not allow rapists to gain immunity from prosecution is a low but critical bar for it to pass, so we are pleased the Government accepted Labours amendment. However, there are still many areas for improvement before the Bill passes our test: that it delivers more for victims of terror than perpetrators. MPs later voted 271 to 191, majority 80, to reject a DUP amendment aimed at reducing the risk of people deliberately misleading the new information retrieval body in a bid to secure immunity. Mr Burns had told the debate: The current position, as the legislation is before the House, is that immunity once given cannot be revoked. He added: The body will have a significant degree of latitude in testing an individuals credibility and sincerity and Id hope the engagement and professionalism of those who will be appointed to serve on the panel would be such that that case would very rarely, if ever, arise. MPs also voted 271 to 175, majority 96, to reject a DUP amendment aimed at preventing the grant of immunity to any person subject to active proceedings who has moved abroad to escape prosecution. More than 3,500 people were killed during the Troubles, including over 1,000 members of the security forces, and the new body would seek to help individuals and family members receive more information. Conservative MPs hope the measures will stop vexatious action against British military personnel who served in Northern Ireland. MPs from Northern Ireland fear the Bill will not allow victims to move forward. Weather Alert ...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON MONDAY TO 11 PM CDT WEDNESDAY... * WHAT...Heat index values between 100 and 105 can be expected Monday, followed by heat index values between 105 and 110 Tuesday and Wednesday. * WHERE...Portions of south central, southwest, and west central Illinois. Portions of central, east central, northeast, and southeast Missouri. * WHEN...From Noon Monday to 11 PM CDT Wednesday. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. People in the Saint Louis Metropolitan Area can get information about cooling centers or energy assistance related to the excessive heat by calling the United Way of Greater Saint Louis at 800-427-4626, or if calling from a land line phone dial 2-1-1. You can also call Cool Down Saint Louis at 314-241-7668. && Weather Alert ...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 11 PM CDT WEDNESDAY... * WHAT...Heat index values between 100 and 106 can be expected this afternoon, followed by heat index values between 105 and 110 Tuesday and Wednesday. * WHERE...Portions of south central, southwest, and west central Illinois. Portions of central, east central, northeast, and southeast Missouri. * WHEN...From Noon today to 11 PM CDT Wednesday. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. People in the Saint Louis Metropolitan Area can get information about cooling centers or energy assistance related to the excessive heat by calling the United Way of Greater Saint Louis at 800-427-4626, or if calling from a land line phone dial 2-1-1. You can also call Cool Down Saint Louis at 314-241-7668. && Rural resources banks in E Chinas Anhui turn ecological resources into valuable assets People's Daily Online) 14:39, June 30, 2022 Although it has been nearly one year since Xu Xuefeng, a farmer in east Chinas Anhui Province was paid a sum of money from his village for transferring his land resources management rights, the man is still impressed by how the project has benefited him. In August 2021, Liuxi village in Jingde county, Anhui opened a rural resources bank in the hope of turning residential land, farmland and housing properties, which were sparsely scattered and offered few economic benefits, into tradable resources by integrating them, introduced Hu Liming, head of the team of officials stationed in Liuxi village engaged in facilitating rural development, and who also serves as first secretary of the Party committee in the village. Photo shows a white tea plantation in Liuxi village, Jingde county, east Chinas Anhui Province. (Peoples Daily Online/Zhang Jun) Liuxi village is situated in a mountainous region in southern Anhui. The agricultural and forestry land area located in mountains near the village is 9,358 mu (623.87 hectares), but the area of flat farmland run by the village is quite small. In 2017, the village kicked off a reform to transfer forestry resources management rights. During the reform, farmers transferred their rights to manage forestry resources to a stock cooperative in the village, which would then invest in the resources and run the investment projects. This mechanism effectively turned rural resources into assets and farmers into shareholders. Xu Xuefeng, a villager from Liuxi village, Jingde county, east Chinas Anhui Province, shows a certificate which proves that he is a beneficiary of the ecological resources transfer program. (Peoples Daily Online/Zhang Jun) In 2021, the collective income of Liuxi village reached 614,000 yuan (about $91,608), which was more than 20 times as much as the income collected by the village in 2016. The rural resources bank has put a price tag on rural resources, said Hu. While according to Sun Jun, deputy secretary of the Party committee and deputy head of the villagers committee in Liuxi village, because the resources had not been exploited in the past, they produced no economic benefits. Aside from three plantations that cover a total area of 2,276 mu, after the rural resources bank was opened, Liuxi village also finished the transfer of the rights to use 3,600 mu of agricultural and forestry land located in the mountains. In Liuxi village, there is also a white tea plantation that occupies 1,000 mu of land. The agricultural and forestry land area owned by Liuxi village is large, but the flattened area of farmland run by the village is quite small. (Peoples Daily Online/Zhang Jun) In addition to being paid land transfer fees, local farmers can also work at the plantations, which is able to provide jobs for more than 200 villagers, with their income totaling 3.6 million yuan each year, introduced Sun. Apart from Liuxi village, another 10 villages in Jingde county are running their own rural resources banks, which have gathered together 23,600 mu of agricultural and forestry land in the mountainous areas. Nearly one year after they went into operation, these banks have effectively converted local ecological resources into assets and capital. The rural resources bank has helped turn the ecological resources of Liuxi village into valuable assets. (Peoples Daily Online/Zhang Jun) (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) President Yoon Suk-yeol listens to a speech during a summit between NATO member countries and partner nations at the IFEMA Convention Center in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday (local time). Yonhap Presidential office optimistic about summit outcomes By Nam Hyun-woo MADRID A possible deal to export weapons to Poland could be President Yoon Suk-yeol's first achievement in his diplomatic efforts to promote South Korean industries in Europe, with the presidential office saying "a tangible outcome will likely come in the near future." During a press conference on Wednesday (local time), Choi Sang-mok, the senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, said "there was a profound discussion" between President Yoon and his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, during their summit earlier in the day, thus he is "expecting the first outcome of Yoon's sales diplomacy." Starting Tuesday, Yoon held a series of summits with European countries on the sidelines of the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain, with the goal of improving South Korea's economic and strategic presence for its European partners. The summit took place after Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak visited South Korea on May 30 to inspect Seoul's domestically developed weapon systems, including the FA-50 light combat aircraft, the K2 tank, the K9 howitzer and the Redback infantry fighting vehicle. At the time, the minister expressed intent to buy 48 FA-50s worth a total 2 trillion won ($1.55 billion), according to media reports, and the country's armament agency said the aircraft was being considered as a platform for strengthening the Polish Air Force. Though the presidential office declined to disclose further details on a potential deal with Poland because the two sides are still in negotiations, an official said, "There will be a tangible outcome in the near future." Choi said there were also discussions over arms exports during Yoon's summit with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday, and the Yoon government will make an aggressive sales pitch with the goal of "joining the world's top 3 or top 4 powerhouses in the defense industry." Along with arms exports, Choi said there have been outcomes in nuclear power during Yoon's summits. According to Choi, Yoon handed over a booklet on South Korea's nuclear energy industry to the Polish president while promoting the country's capability during their summit. Choi noted that Yoon would make a similar pitch during a summit with Czech officials on Thursday. Both Poland and the Czech Republic are exploring suppliers for their nuclear power plant plans, and South Korean companies are making bids for those lucrative projects. As part of the bids, nine MOUs were signed between private firms of South Korea and the Czech Republic on Tuesday and nine others are scheduled to be signed between firms of South Korea and Poland on Thursday. President Yoon Suk-yeol shakes hands with Polish President Andrzej Duda during their summit on the sidelines of the 2022 NATO Summit at the IFEMA Convention Center in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday (local time). Yonhap Including those outcomes, the presidential office said "goals have been accomplished" in Yoon's attendance at the summit, which was his first overseas trip as president. "We had three concepts while preparing Yoon's NATO summit attendance: the coalition for value and rules, the stronger cooperation in emerging security and the establishment of a global network," Kim Tae-hyo, the first deputy director of the National Security Office, said during a press conference. "And we believe we accomplished those goals far better than our earlier expectations." During the summits, Yoon has stressed that the issue of regional security is now being amplified as a global issue in the current international order. Thus, a coalition based on common values and international rules is important for overcoming various challenges. His attendance at the NATO event showed that South Korea has the capability to stand together with other countries sharing the values of individual liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Regarding the emerging issue of security, Kim said the summits played their role in enhancing partnerships between South Korea and European countries in the fields of semiconductors, electric vehicles, batteries and nuclear power. Also, Yoon met more than 30 leaders of countries participating in the NATO Summit, and received invitations from many of them, which will be the foundation for Yoon's diplomacy for the next five years. On Wednesday alone, Yoon had summits or meetings with the leaders of the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Poland, the U.S., France and Denmark. During a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron, Yoon discussed bilateral cooperation on nuclear power and in space. With Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Yoon focused on renewable energy technologies, such as off-shore wind power. By Ko Dong-hwan Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming / Joint Press Corps By Donald Kirk The inauguration of Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. as president of the Philippines opens a highly controversial period in the convoluted history of a country mired in rampant corruption, lawlessness and an anti-drug campaign that's taken at least 30,000 lives.Widely known by his nickname, Bongbong Marcos projected calmness and courtesy after winning the presidential election by an overwhelming margin in May. His background, however, suggests he may have trouble keeping up appearances. Marcos' father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., ruled by martial law for half his 21 years in office, throwing tens of thousands of opponents into jail, several thousand of whom lost their lives. Finally, in February 1986, he was forced out in the "People Power Revolution."In 1986, I watched as hundreds of thousands at least 1 million, possibly 2 million filled the 12-lane avenue known as Edsa, the acronym for Epifanio de los Santos, a revered literary and political figure a century ago, calling for Marcos' ouster. Like South Korea's Candlelit Revolution of 2016-2017, which I also witnessed night after night, the Philippines' People Power Revolution was bloodless and the outcome was quite similar.In Korea, Park Geun-hye was impeached and jailed, and her successor, Moon Jae-in, was elected to a five-year term as president. In the Philippines, on the day that Marcos & Co. fled aboard a U.S. Air Force plane, Corazon Aquino, the doyenne of another family dynasty, having won a "snap election" that Marcos had called, was inaugurated for a six-year term.Comparisons are highly inexact, but there are parallels. Park spent nearly five years in prison before Moon mercifully freed her. Marcos and his wildly extravagant wife, Imelda, and their two daughters and son lived in exile in Honolulu, where Marcos died in 1989.The comparison dies completely, however, when looking at what happened next in their lives. In Korea, Park Geun-hye lives quietly in her native Daegu, once the power base of her long-ruling father, Park Chung-hee, who was assassinated in 1979. In the Philippines, Bongbong Marcos and his notorious mother, aided by numerous friends and associates, have masterminded the resurgence of the Marcos dynasty. They've zealously restored Marcos Sr.'s name, convincing the mass of Philippine citizens that Marcos Sr. was a visionary figure who ruled in a "golden age."The thought of Bongbong Marcos returning to Malacanang, the home of Spanish governors while the Philippines was a colony of Spain, boggles the mind. Bongbong himself projects a rather innocuous image, but his mother, Imelda, is still under investigation for the billions of dollars that she and her late husband squirreled into bank accounts in Switzerland and elsewhere. Bongbong Marcos also faces the legacy of the killing of political foes, including the assassination of Corazon Aquino's husband, Benigno, on Aug. 21, 1983, as he was getting off a plane at Manila's international airport, which now bears his name. It was that killing, of course, that triggered the wave of protests culminating in Marcos' downfall and the election of Benigno's widow.Bongbong Marcos also bears the legacy of much more recent history. He's the successor to Rodrigo Duterte, responsible for a crackdown on drugs that remains the target of investigation by the International Court of Justice into "crimes against humanity." Marcos has waffled on whether the Philippines will cooperate with the ICJ, but we can be pretty sure the ICJ probe won't get anywhere while he pursues the drug war.It will be impossible for Marcos to distance himself from Duterte. While no longer president, Duterte perpetuates his name and power through his daughter, Sara, elected vice president after being mayor of Davao, the big port city on the southern island of Mindanao. Davao is the Duterte family stronghold. Sara inherited the post from her father before he became president, and a younger brother has succeeded her in city hall.The flagrant nepotism that characterizes both the Marcos and Duterte dynasties might not be so concerning if the Philippines were peaceful and prosperous. Every day, however, the Philippine media reports assassinations in power struggles among rival politicians and gangsters, even as nearly one-fourth the country's 110 million people live in poverty.The Fil-English word for these assassinations is "salvaging," inherited from the American era when wasted gear was heaped onto salvage dumps. When someone is killed by gunmen speeding by on motorcycles, as so often happens in the Philippines, he's said to have been "salvaged." Bongbong Marcos, like his father and mother, may find that the way to wealth and power is to destroy your enemies.Donald Kirk ( www.donaldkirk.com ) writes from Seoul as well as Washington. By Jang Daul High temperatures scorched the Earth in June, including in North America, Europe, Russia, India and China. We, people in South Korea, also had the highest-ever daily minimum temperature recorded in June since 1997. It is very clear that climate change is causing the increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events. No one on Earth is immune from the impact of global climate change. This is the reason why all the countries in the world need to work together. However, at the same time, the impact of climate change does not fall equally on everyone. Ironically, those who bear less responsibility for climate change are the ones who will suffer more, which is mostly true not only at the global, but also at the national level. Many of the low-income countries in South America, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands are being hit harder by global climate change. Also, within a society, the vulnerable, including the poor, people with disabilities, children, women, the elderly, outdoor workers and farmers, suffer more from global heating and extreme weather events. Then, who needs to reduce carbon emissions first and take more roles and responsibilities? First of all, following the "polluter pays" principle, at the global level, those countries that emitted more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere should reduce their emissions more. The G20, comprising the world's 19 largest economies and the EU, includes the top two largest emitters, the U.S. and China. The G20 accounts for 85 percent of all cumulative carbon dioxide emissions since the Industrial Revolution began in the middle of the 18th century. Therefore, climate change mitigation is a major task for the G20. By current income level, high-income and upper-middle-income countries emit 80 percent of the global CO2 emissions. Consequently, the lower-middle-income and low-income countries housing half of the world's population have relatively less responsibility for climate mitigation that the rich countries do. Within the same countries, industry should bear more responsibility for climate action. In South Korea the top 10 private corporate groups together with the Korean Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) account for more than 60 percent of the country's total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Therefore, the roles and responsibilities of these 11 corporate groups are critical to achieving Korea's 2030 climate target: a 40 percent reduction of emissions by 2030 compared to 2018 levels. When it comes to leadership in industrial carbon reduction, some industries need to reduce their emissions faster and greater than others. In Korea, the top three GHG-emitting industries are steel, petrochemical and cement. However, the share of electricity consumption by these three industries is much smaller than that of other major GHG-emitting industries, such as semiconductors, displays and electronics, where the share of electricity consumption is close to 90 percent of the total. Therefore, while the steel, petrochemical and cement industries are developing alternative materials, new processes and technologies to reduce their GHG emissions, the semiconductor, display and electronics industries especially leading companies like Samsung Electronics, LG Display, SK Hynix and Samsung Display need to show faster and greater efforts in GHG emissions reduction by procuring renewable electricity. These latter companies are also not only major electricity consumers and therefore GHG emitters, but also, they have increased their fossil-fuel-based power consumption and carbon emissions in recent years. The International Energy Agency (IEA) suggested that to achieve the goal of 2050 carbon neutrality, we need to make overall net zero emissions in the power sector in the advanced economies including Korea by not 2050 but 2035. Furthermore, the same net zero achievement needs to be made for the entire global power sector by 2040, including all developing nations. These IEA milestones in the power sector show how fast and challenging the energy transition is scientifically required for humanity to avoid climate disaster, and how high the expectations are for a country like Korea and its leading corporations. The latest U.N. report on climate change mitigation analyzed various mitigation options and their estimated ranges of costs and potential in 2030. It clearly shows what we need to focus on first. In the energy sector, but also overall, solar and wind energies could provide the greatest contribution to the net carbon emissions reduction in 2030 with the least cost. Nuclear power generation is not considered one of the priority options due to relatively smaller mitigation potential with higher cost. In the building sector, avoiding demand for energy services and efficient lighting, appliances and equipment are the priority ones to get greater mitigation outcomes with less cost. In the transport sector, higher fuel efficiency for light-duty vehicles, the shift to public transportation and the shift from fossil fuels to electric vehicles are the priority options to have less carbon emissions at lower costs. Therefore, the new Yoon administration should rethink its already weak target for the share of renewables in power generation by 2030 and instead double its ambition if it wants greater climate change mitigation with relatively lower costs. Also, as promised by Yoon during the election campaign, bans on new sales of gasoline and diesel engine vehicles need to be introduced by 2030. Jang Daul (daul.jang@greenpeace.org) is a government relations and advocacy specialist at Greenpeace East Asia Seoul Office. By Sandip Kumar Mishra After coming to power, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol proposed the so-called "ABCD strategy" (advance human capital, build health security, connect cultures, and digitize Asian infrastructure) toward Southeast Asian countries and India. There are opinions that essentially it is equivalent to connecting "people, peace and prosperity" of the region, which was emphasized in the Moon Jae-in administration's New Southern Policy. Thus, there would not be much change in the contents of South Korea's policy toward ASEAN countries and India, although the name New Southern Policy might be changed. However, it would be better if the name New Southern Policy, as well as its contents, remain unchanged to show bipartisan consensus in South Korea that ASEAN countries and India are important for South Korea's economic and strategic interests. With the arrival of the country as a middle power, both economic and strategic imperatives have pushed South Korea to seek further diversification and to reach out to other Asian countries. During the Roh Moo-hyun administration, South Korea tried to reach out to ASEAN countries and India in a more substantial way. The Korea-ASEAN Center was established and a free trade agreement (FTA) was signed with ASEAN countries during his tenure. And during his visit to India in 2004, the two countries established a joint study group for an FTA. The Lee Myung-bak administration also announced its New Asia Initiative for the region which used the words peace and prosperity. South Korea signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with India and Strategic Partnership Agreement with both ASEAN and India during Lee's tenure. The next President Park Geun-hye also showed interest in the region, which led to steady growth in South Korea's relations with ASEAN countries and India. Another important thrust was brought about by the Moon Jae-in administration in South Korea's engagement with this region. He announced the New Southern Policy and underlined that South Korea's relations with ASEAN countries and India are on a par with South Korea's relations with the major powers such as the U.S., China, Japan and Russia. The New Southern Policy was also an important departure point because it tried to create institutions, processes and an epistemic community, which promotes connecting people, peace and prosperity in ASEAN countries and India with South Korea. Moon became the first president of South Korea who visited all of the ASEAN countries and India during his term. It is also interesting to note that most of these visits happened in the very first half of his term underlining the importance he gave to the region. Because of the continued efforts of South Korea, bilateral trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges with these countries increased substantially. South Korea's trade with ASEAN countries rose from $149 billion in 2017 to $176 billion in 2021. ASEAN collectively constitutes the second-largest trading partner of South Korea. Of the ASEAN countries, the biggest trading partner for Korea has been Vietnam with $68 billion in 2021. Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand have also been growing economically closer to South Korea. By 2019, almost 12 million people were visiting each country, making ASEAN the most favored travel destination for South Koreans. South Korea's trade with India has also grown substantially to $23.7 billion in 2021 after a period of lowered optimism that lasted for a few years. During the Moon Jae-in administration, several universities and research institutes in South Korea started placing more importance as well as funding for teaching and research about ASEAN countries and India. A number of seminars, conferences, awareness campaigns and reach-outs were organized and gradually, they have been providing momentum to South Korea's bilateral relations with these countries. South Korea under the Moon administration also preferred to avoid committing to the Indo-Pacific strategy and preferred the New Southern Policy, which was closer to the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and India's Act East Policy. Meanwhile, South Korea also became connected with ASEAN countries through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) as well as with ASEAN and India by the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). It would be better for the Yoon administration to carry forward the New Southern Policy both its nomenclature and contents and further strengthen it. Even though the new administration appears to be interested in the Indo-Pacific strategy as well as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) and has also been re-strengthening its ties with the U.S. and Japan, the gains of the New Southern Policy must be consolidated and further expanded as both positions are not mutually exclusive. A change in the policy's name to the "ABCD strategy" or dilution of its contents might create confusion and apprehension in the minds of partner countries and it could be avoided. The author (sandipmishra10@gmail.com) is associate professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. By Tom Plate An unexpected invitation came via email last week that will prove either of no more import than any of the other stuff in my inbox, or instead a tea leaf to be read and analyzed with care and an open mind. It was an invitation to join an unofficial "exchange of views" with "some scholars" regarding "mainly Sino-U.S. relations" over lunch at the large People's Republic of China consulate building in Los Angeles. I will not take the invitation lightly. In years past notably during the era of former President Jiang Zemin, coinciding with the second term of the Clinton presidency in the U.S. Beijing encouraged its diplomats to pitch China's geopolitical and ideological positions to any perceived "influencers" who would listen, while bringing to the tasks such charm as they could. Back then, relations with the Chinese staff were usually businesslike and often cordial. You could and would agree to disagree, but with mutual respect. Then, roughly a decade ago while there is no way of quantifying it there came a new coldness out of Beijing. Here in otherwise mellow California, fellow journalists and academics were dismayed, including a few in Los Angeles I knew personally. One journalist had in principle accepted a guest teaching role warmly extended by an internationally respected Chinese university. That was in 2014. But then the project was put on hold, where it remains today. A year later, an academic wrote a book on China-U.S. relations that had been contracted, paid for and expertly translated into Chinese. It was dutifully submitted for what the mainland Chinese publisher assumed would be routine approval by the government. The publisher was mistaken, and the book remains stuck in some censor's great dark cave. Then, a highly regarded colleague, who ran a brilliant China-U.S. relations institute at the University of Southern California, woke up one day to a cross-Pacific cacophony of unplugged bilateral programs and unreturned semi-personal emails. I can still recall his depressed face. So you can see why the invitation from the consulate last week caught my eye and lifted me into potential positive territory. It pains to live without hope, for hope can inspire one to try to view events with optimism. Here are a few other events that recently caught people's attention: in Hong Kong, Beijing's liaison office tendered an invitation to business-sector members to offer candid thoughts in unofficial "listening sessions." These businesspeople no doubt have a lot to say. At Sydney's cutting-edge University of Technology, Xiao Qian, recently appointed as China's top diplomat in Australia, teed up an unusual major speech that was clearly calculated to propose to the newly elected Australian government that relations with China deserved better. This career diplomat a former director of the Asia Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs showed admirable diplomatic pluck in the face of a deliberately rude torrent of shouts from an audience that inevitably included some heckling human-rights protesters. Is this what we want? That scene took place just two weeks after a meeting in Singapore at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue between Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe and Richard Marles, his Australian counterpart. A former Australian intelligence boss explained that the get-together happened because the new center-left government doesn't "carry the baggage of the last 10 years and that is not a criticism of the previous government. But they don't carry the baggage of the differences in respect to the pandemic. They don't carry the baggage of ministers incessantly talking about the potential for conflict with China. They are able to start with a clean slate." This significant comment, first reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, was picked up by Voice of America under a headline that began "Diplomatic Thaw " This is what we want. In Beijing now, even the Biden administration may be singing in a new key. In recent weeks, its new Ambassador Nicholas Burns has posed for countless photo-ops with the relish of a politician hustling for office. For all the seeming Twitter-type superficiality, though, it is quite good to see Washington waving the friendly side of the American flag. The ambassador post had been vacant since October 2020. Maybe the Democratic government of President Joe Biden wasn't sure exactly how to fill it. How about, for U.S. domestic enjoyment, with an American wolf-warrior to snarl at Beijing? Or with a lonesome China dove? But current polls for the autumn midterm elections favor Republicans, so that would be too risky. Generally cheerful and moderate, Ambassador Burns might prove just right for the Beijing hotspot. Burns is a proper career diplomat. A graduate of the School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, he has served in both Republican and Democratic administrations, including those of presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. I have similar hope for China's Xiao Qian laboring in Australia. Based on their remarkably similar starts, both men appear to have been instructed by their governments to help move the temperature gauge toward definite defrost. My tea-leaf reading convinces me that both sides accept the need for a better bilateral relationship. After all, it's easier to read the tea leaves when you're looking down into the bottom of the cup. Which is precisely where Sino-U.S. relations now lie. Tom Plate (platecolumn@gmail.com), a distinguished scholar of Asian and Pacific affairs at Loyola Marymount University, is vice president of the nonprofit Pacific Century Institute. His article was distributed by the South China Morning Post. The views expressed in the above article are those of the author's and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times. A jobseeker passes by a board of job listings on the wall of a state-run employment agency in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap By Lee Kyung-min Kim Joo-won, 42, who owns a small restaurant in Seoul, said Thursday that he will have to let at least one worker go if the government's new hourly minimum wage takes effect next year. "The minimum wage has been on a sharp rise in recent years, and it is certain to rise yet again next year. I can't take it anymore," Kim said. The restaurant owner said his business is far from making a meaningful turnaround after years of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the minimum wage hike is not helping him. Kim said he had to lay off a couple of minimum wage workers two years ago at the beginning of the health crisis, mostly because of limitations on private gatherings and restrictions on operating hours. Aliya Franco, a student in the Early Childhood program at Trine Universitys Center for Montessori Education, gestures as her class meets outside on Trines Angola campus. The Early Childhood program at Trine Universitys Center for Montessori Education has earned Full Accreditation Initial status from the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education. slide 2 of 6 Sunmi released her new song "Heart Burn." She held a media conference to commemorate the release of her seventh single album at Shinhan Play Square in Seoul on June 29. BURLINGTON Fridays overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court has the country at odds. One side wants expanded womens rights, believing the act of giving birth to a child should always be a choice. The other preaches pro-life, that abortion is murder. This group currently holds the power in Wisconsin, with a Republican legislature supported by the Supreme Court decision and an 1849 abortion ban that has never been overturned despite having been dormant since 1973. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Rochester Republican who grew up in Burlington, is happy with the Supreme Court ruling to give the decision whether abortion should be legal to state lawmakers and not the federal government. Safeguarding the lives of unborn children shouldnt be controversial, Vos wrote on his Facebook page Friday. Todays decision reaffirms their lives are precious and worthy of protection. Protests showing in opposition to Fridays ruling are quickly spreading across the country, primarily starting the day of the decision in big cities like Milwaukee, two days later in Downtown Racine, and then Monday for the first time in Burlington. Underway Right now, a woman who survives sexual assault or rape and wants to get an abortion cannot legally do it in the State of Wisconsin. She would have to go to Minnesota or Illinois or further. Some pro-life federal lawmakers are looking to further illegalize abortion nationwide although theres little momentum there. With more power given to the states, it will require voters to come out in force this November to legalize abortion in Wisconsin. It isnt likely, considering Republicans currently have a near-supermajority in the state Legislature. Brooke Chilcoat, 20, a senior at UW-Whitewater and a 2019 Burlington High School graduate, is fed up. So, she did something about it. Chilcoat took to social media and hit up her contacts around 8 p.m. Sunday night to organize a #DefendRoe protest. Only 19 hours later, more than 70 of her friends, supporters and local activists showed up in Downtown Burlington in Echo Lake Park to hold up signs along busy Milwaukee Avenue. The heavily-trafficked area is four lanes and forces people to stop at the lights and either continue downtown or veer left down Bridge Street. Many people honked their car horns in approval or gave a thumbs up in support of the mostly young women, who leaned into the street and reeled off My body, my choice chants. Some drivers hurled profanities. Protesters responded in kind. Things remained peaceful, something Vos and others have urged in this time of disagreement considering the violent acts both sides of the argument have perpetrated. Its deeper than just a law for Chilcoat. She told stories of past abuse Monday, including being raped and having friends who have survived sexual assault. We all know that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, and our reproductive rights are at risk, Chilcoat said alongside Burlington residents Briita Welch and Matthew Gregoric. Many people dont have access to abortion or that type of care anymore. Not only is it hard on any person that has a uterus, but especially our marginalized communities and people of color, anybody below the poverty line is being affected even more. A lot of those resources were not available to them. For Welch, a local activist and mother, this is a human rights issue, she said. According to 2022 polling from Pew Research Center, 61% of Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Planned Parenthood has discontinued abortions (in Wisconsin) as of this past Friday, but what you have to understand is that abortion is not just a one-stop visit, Welch said Monday. There are multiple visits that are required to ensure the health and safety of the woman, theres ultrasounds and other health steps that need to be taken. There are so many medical emergencies, things where the medical answer is to have an abortion, Chilcoat added, a statement that OB/GYN (obstetrics and gynecology) groups agree with but pro-life groups dont. Now doctors may have to look at prison time for saving a life. In Ohio, a new law has made it illegal for doctors to perform an abortion even if the fetus has a fatal defect that will make it impossible for them to live upon being born. In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 754 deaths of mothers because of pregnancy or during childbirth in the U.S. Thats equal to approximately 1.25 deaths in each state per month, or 2.1 deaths for every 10,000 live births. Chilcoat said she has had to consider an abortion in the past, though shes never gotten one. Shes afraid women who go through what she has will not be able to consider abortion. Ive been sexually assaulted and raped, and in those situations you dont know what can happen to you, Chilcoat said. Ive had a couple scares, and Ive had to look into resources. Look at the girl in high school who gets pregnant and doesnt know what to do, doesnt want to tell her mom These young people need those resources. Only the beginning Protesters, including Burlington Coalition for Dismantling Racism President Laura Bielefeldt, varied loud chants with a megaphone and spread out in a single file line facing an extremely busy Milwaukee Avenue during rush hour, from 3-5 p.m. Monday. Gregoric, 20, another BHS grad, said he is gay and came to the protest to support his friends and women. He fears that the right of same-sex couples to marry could also be in danger. One of the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade Friday, Clarence Thomas, wrote that he hopes the court reconsider cases that legalized gay marriage and the use of contraception. Its unclear if four of the other eight justices would vote to overturn those rights granted in 2015 and 1965, respectively. Maybe theyll turn to people like me and say I cant get married, Gregoric said. Its very sad to hear theyre reversing back to very old ways. In the future, Id like to get married. I have a partner, and were looking forward to that. I dont want that to be an issue, Gregoric continued. Were fighting for any and all minorities in this country. This decision is only the beginning, Welch added. Youre talking about LGBTQ rights, gay marriage, contraception, birth control pills. Its possible these things will just be taken away. Those protesting called for a galvanization of pro-choice voters to elect pro-choice candidates this fall. The biggest thing is getting people in (elected) office that are going to protect womens rights and rights for every single other marginalized community, Chilcoat said. The biggest thing is voting. I have a website set up where you can register to vote. With rallies and protests already circulating in the area, the fallout from the Roe decision could very well bring more unrest to Racine Country streets this summer. RICHMOND, Va. Police are investigating the death of an 18-month-old boy who died Tuesday after being left unattended in a vehicle for several hours. The boys father later committed suicide, Chesterfield County police said. Its just a tragedy on so many levels, said police Lt. Col. Christopher Hensley. Our hearts go out to the family and friends that are going to deal with this. Officers began their investigation at 11:42 a.m. after receiving reports of a child being left in a family vehicle. Hensley said police were in contact with the childs mother and relatives who said the boy may be in danger after they learned he had not been dropped off at day care. The family indicated to police that the boys father was making suicidal statements, police said. Police were told the vehicle may be located at the fathers home in the 14100 block of Aldengate Road. Other people contacted us [and said] we needed to respond to that address, to check on his welfare, and thats when things unfolded, said Hensley Officers discovered the vehicle, but nothing was inside except an empty car seat, Hensley said. Police then entered the home, where they found the 18-month-old boy dead. The boys father was discovered shortly after in the woods behind the house with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Hensley said police believe the father left the child in the vehicle for several hours before discovering the boy was dead. When he discovered the child, he returned home, took the child inside, exited his home and shot himself, police said. Authorities have not released the identities of the father and son. Anyone with information is asked to call police at (804) 748-1251 or Crime Solvers at (804) 748-0660. And for additional information on suicide prevention, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or text HELLO to the Crisis Text Line at 741741. A 37-year-old Tomah man convicted of beating to death a 3-year-old boy will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of release. Marcus Wayne Anderson received a life sentence from Monroe County Circuit Judge Mark Goodman during a sentencing hearing Wednesday in Sparta. Anderson is accused of inflicting multiple injuries that caused the death of Kyson Rice at a Jodi Circle residence in Tomah on May 3, 2019. Goodman said the case was a "extremely vicious homicide" and that "the last moments of Kyson's life were horrible." "The blood of Kyson Rice will never come off your hands," Goodman said. Anderson was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide and several other crimes, including child abuse, drug possession and four counts of bail jumping. Prosecutors allege that Anderson inflicted a sustained beating on the 36-pound toddler and called four other people before finally calling 911. He allegedly lied about the circumstances that caused Kyson's injuries and drove away under the influence of narcotics after telling police he would meet Kyson at a local hospital. He later tested positive for four different banned substances. An autopsy concluded that Kyson suffered nearly 200 bruises. Kyson's uncle, John Glynn, pounded the lectern 186 times during a victim impact statement to illustrate how many times Anderson struck the child. Glynn asked for a life sentence without the possibility of parole. "Please protect society from this evil," Glynn said. "No parole. Ever." Witnesses and prosecutors described Anderson as a remorseless killer with no redeeming qualities. Assistant District Attorney Sarah Skiles said Anderson has spent much of his adult life in prison and has a thin employment history. "There are absolutely no positive characteristics to Marcus Anderson," she said. "If someone wrote the story about his life, it would say this: Marcus Anderson is a selfish, violent predator who takes advantage of and manipulates people weaker than him and is someone who blames the consequences of all of his actions on other people." She called Anderson a "real-life monster." "Marcus Anderson murdered Kyson in an excruciating and brutal manner," Skiles said. "I don't use the term monster lightly. It's not a word I've used in court before. It's a word I hope I never have to use again." She said Anderson left behind a long list of victims, including family members, hospital employees and first responders who witnessed Kyson's injuries. Two Tomah police officers were among those who gave victim impact statements. "He caused every first responder to live this day over and over," said Tomah Police Department Sgt. Wilbert Steinborn. Kyson's mother, Jessica Rice, asked Skiles to read her victim impact statement. Rice and Anderson were living together prior to Kyson's death with Rice holding a full-time job and Anderson assuming primary daycare responsibilities. "You had no right to take (Kyson) away in such a cruel way," she said. Rice said Kyson's death has left her distrustful of people. "I don't think I can ever have a healthy relationship again," she said. Anderson has maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings and took the case to a jury, which handed down guilty verdicts on the most serious charges April 12. The jury acquitted Anderson on five of the nine bail jumping charges. Defense attorney Patrick Flanagan asked the court to leave open the possibility of parole. He said every defendant should be given "hope that they can change." Flanagan said Anderson conducted himself with decorum during the trial. "He kept his composure when he believed he was innocent and everybody else says he's monster," Flanagan said. He pushed back against arguments that Anderson didn't accept responsibility for his actions. "Mr. Anderson has a right to a trial," Flanagan said. "There should be no punishment whatsoever for his decision to take this to trial." Anderson spoke briefly before his sentence was handed down. He said he asks "God every day for forgiveness" but that he didn't intend to kill Kyson. "I never wanted Kyson to die," Anderson said. "Who in their right mind wants a child to die?" Goodman said his sentencing decision was influenced by the age of the victim, the widespread wounds to "nearly every inch" of Kyson's body and Anderson's criminal history, which included six years in an Arizona prison for armed robbery and convictions for false imprisonment and battery in La Crosse County. Anderson was sentenced to four years probation in the La Crosse County case. The victim testified during the homicide trial that Anderson physically abused her and her infant child while the three lived together in La Crosse. La Crosse Tribune reporter Steve Rundio can be reached at steve.rundio@lee.net. MADISON The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled a boy accused of shooting and wounding eight people at a suburban Milwaukee mall in 2020 should be tried in adult court. The court, on a 4-3 decision released Wednesday, said a Milwaukee County Children's Court judge was wrong in denying prosecutors' request to waive the teen, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, to adult court. Chief Justice Annette Ziegler wrote that there was no reasonable basis for denying the state's waiver petition. The teen has been charged with eight felony counts of first-degree reckless injury. Prosecutors say he opened fire at Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa on Nov. 20, 2020, injuring three people in a group he was confronting, a friend who was with him, and four random shoppers. Ziegler was joined in the majority opinion by justices Patience Roggensack, Rebecca Bradley and Jill Karofsky. Justice Brian Hagedorn dissented, joined by justices Ann Walsh Bradley and Rebecca Dallet. Although another judge might have reasonably reached a different conclusion on the same set of facts, this decision was within the discretion the law affords to circuit court judges, Hagedorn wrote. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 30 (ANI): Eknath Shinde, who led a revolt against Shiv Sena leading to the collapse of the 31 month-old Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Thursday evening. He was administered an oath by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Deputy Chief Minister. Fadnavis, who was Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2014-19, announced at a joint press conference in Mumbai on Thursday that Eknath Shinde will be the new CM. Fadnavis also announced at the press conference that he will not be part of the government. Home Minister Amit Shah said in a tweet later that Fadnavis has decided to be part of the new government in Maharashtra in the interest of the people of the state after a word from BJP chief JP Nadda and congratulated him for his decision. Devendra Fadnavis Takes Oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis, who was Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2014-19, announced at a joint press conference in Mumbai on Thursday that Eknath Shinde will be the new CM. Fadnavis also announced at the press conference that he will not be part of the government. Home Minister Amit Shah said in a tweet later that Fadnavis has decided to be part of the new government in Maharashtra in the interest of the people of the state after a word from BJP chief JP Nadda and congratulated him for his decision. Eknath Shinde Takes Oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister Nadda told ANI that the party's central leadership has decided that Devendra Fadnavis should be part of the new Maharashtra government and a request to him and directions have been given that he should take charge as Deputy Chief Minister. Nadda said that Fadnavis had shown a "big heart" in announcing that he will personally not be part of the government and Shinde will get full support of BjP. Nada said BJP's central leadership has decided that Devendra Fadnavis should become a part of the government and assume responsibility. "A request has been made to Devendraji personally and central leadership has given directions that Devendraji should assume responsibility as Deputy Chief Minister and use his full energy for fulfilling expectations of the people of Maharashtra and contribute to making Maharashtra a developed state," he said. Referring to Fadnavis announcing that he will not be part of the government, Nadda said that is shows the character of BjP workers and leaders and shows that "we are not for any post but for ideology". Earlier in the day, Shinde and Fadnavis met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari to stake a claim to form the government in the state. "After the swearing-in ceremony today, we will have a cabinet expansion and Shiv Sena and BjP leaders will take the oath. I will stay out of the government," Fadnavis said. "In 2019, BJP and Shiv Sena had an alliance and we got the required numbers in Assembly elections. We hoped to form the government but Shiv Sena chose to get into an alliance with those against whom Balasaheb protested throughout his life. Shiv Sena insulted the mandate of the people." "Shiv Sena MLAs were demanding that the alliance with Congress and CP should be ended but Uddhav Thackeray ignored these MLAs and gave priority to MVA alliance partners, that's why these MAs intensified their voices." he added. Uddhav Thackeray' resignation as chief minister on Wednesday came days after Shinde led a rebellion with at least 39 Shiv Sena MLAs. Shinde, who was also present at the press conference with Fadnavis, said the decision taken is committed to Bal Thackeray's Hindutva and for development work in the constituencies of the 50 MLAS supporting him. "A total of 50 MLAs are with us, including 40 MLAs from Shiv Sena...We have fought this battle so far with their helpI will not let even a scratch mar the trust that these 50 people have placed in me - let alone break that trust," Shinde said. "The decision that we have taken is committed to Balasaheb's Hindutva and for the development work in the constituencies of our MLAs. We have 50 MLAs with us." he added. The Shiv Sena leader further said that though BJP has 120 MLAs, but Fadnavis did not take up the post of Chief Minister. "BJP has 120 MLAs but despite that Devendra Fadnavis didn't take the post of CM. I express my gratitude to him along with PM Modi, Amit Shah and other Bjp leaders that they showed generosity and made Balasaheb's Sainik (party-worker) the CM of the state," he said. (ANI) New Delhi [India], June 30 (ANI): Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday co-chaired the 14th Joint Committee Meeting from the Indian side to discuss and decide on all important issues related to the execution of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project. Dr MORI Masafumi, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of Japan co-chaired the meeting from the Japanese side, according to an official statement by Railway Ministry. Also Read | Eknath Shinde to be Sworn in As Chief Minister of Maharashtra; Here is Everything You Need to Know About Him. During the meeting, a presentation, and a video film were shown regarding the progress of the project. Further, issues related to funding, contracts and execution were discussed for mutual resolution and targeted commissioning of the project, the statement read. Joint Committee meeting between the Government of India and the Government of Japan is the highest consultative body for taking ahead projects of mutual interests and benefits. The Japanese Government is committed to funding the MAHSR projects with a soft loan and technical and financial cooperation. Also Read | Mumbai High Tide Calendar for July 2022: Here's the Timetable of High and Low Tides for July During Monsoon. The meeting was fruitful and productive and finalized strategic issues for the early completion of the project. Both sides agreed to work to Hon'ble PM's view of One Project- One team in the overall interest of the project, it added. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Mumbai, Jun 30 (PTI) The Reserve Bank on Thursday said the bad loans of banks are expected to further decline to 5.3 per cent of total advances by March 2023 from a six-year low on the back of growth in credit and declining trend in the stock of NPAs. However, it cautioned that the proportion of bad loans may increase if the macroeconomic environment worsens. Also Read | Udaipur Beheading: Thousands Take Out Silent March Amidst Curfew in City, Demand Death Penalty for Kanhaiya Lal's Killers. The gross non-performing asset (GNPA) ratio of banks fell to a six-year low of 5.9 per cent in March 2022. The GNPA ratio of scheduled commercial bans (SCBs) stood at 7.4 per cent in March 2021. Also Read | Shiv Sena Rebel Leader Eknath Shinde To Be New Maharashtra CM, BJP To Support. Support measures provided by the regulator during the COVID-19 pandemic aided in arresting GNPA ratios of SCBs even with the winding down of regulatory reliefs. "Under the assumption of no further regulatory reliefs as well as without taking the potential impact of stressed asset purchases by NARCL into account, stress tests indicate that GNPA ratio of all SCBs may improve from 5.9 per cent in March 2022 to 5.3 per cent by March 2023 under the baseline scenario driven by higher expected bank credit growth and declining trend in the stock of GNPAs, among other factors," the RBI said. The Rs 6,000 crore National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL) or bad bank is expected to take over the first set of non-performing accounts of banks in July. In its 25th issue of the Financial Stability Report (FSR) released on Thursday, the RBI further said if the macroeconomic environment worsens to a medium or severe stress scenario, the GNPA ratio may rise to 6.2 per cent and 8.3 per cent, respectively. "At the bank group level too, the GNPA ratios may shrink by March 2023 in the baseline scenario," it said. In the severe stress scenario, however, the GNPA ratios of public sector banks (PSBs) may increase from 7.6 per cent in March 2022 to 10.5 per cent a year later. The GNPA ratios would go up from 3.7 per cent to 5.7 per cent for private sector banks and 2.8 per cent to 4 per cent for foreign banks over the same period. As per the FSR, banks as well as non-banking financial institutions have sufficient capital buffers to withstand shocks. Among financial institutions, banks have reduced GNPA ratios through recoveries, write-offs and reduction in slippages. The RBI noted that with GNPA ratios down to their lowest levels in six years and a modest return to profitability, bank credit growth is in double digits after a long hiatus. According to the FSR, macro-stress tests for credit risk reveal that SCBs are well-capitalised and all banks would be able to comply with the minimum capital requirements even under adverse stress scenarios. On banking credit, the report said a deeper profiling of bank credit indicates that most of the revival was in the second half of 2021-22, and it has continued during the current financial year so far. While personal loans remained a dominant component, credit demand from the industrial sector revived after collapsing in 2020-21 as well as in the first half of 2021-22. "A significant portion of new industrial loans was extended as working capital loans. Loan growth to private corporate sector turned positive after two successive years of decline and deleveraging," it said. Importantly, banks' balance sheets remain robust, with non-performing assets on a decline for both wholesale and retail loans, and capital buffers remain adequate, it added. The central bank publishes the Financial Stability Report (FSR) biannually and it includes contributions from all the financial sector regulators. Accordingly, it reflects the collective assessment of the Sub Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC-SC) on risks to stability of the Indian financial system, the RBI said. (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, Jun 30 (PTI) The BJP's surprise decision to back Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde as Maharashtra's next chief minister underlines its aim to bring aboard its Hindutva bandwagon the regional sentiments plank traditionally identified with its former ally, with the party's eyes firmly set on the bigger battles of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the state elections the same year. Once a junior ally of Shiv Sena which advocated a more unabashed form of Hindutva, the BJP now virtually owns it, and hopes Shinde will help the BJP, in its elevated position, to identify with the regional sentiments, which the Sena always championed. Also Read | Udaipur Beheading: Thousands Take Out Silent March Amidst Curfew in City, Demand Death Penalty for Kanhaiya Lal's Killers. The strategic move will also bolster the BJP's push to decimate Uddhav Thakceray-led party by depriving it of its pet Hindutva and ethnic sub-nationalism plank. The pull of rank and file Shiv Sainiks towards the Shinde faction may also gain strength with one of them at the top post, BJP insiders said. Also Read | Shiv Sena Rebel Leader Eknath Shinde To Be New Maharashtra CM, BJP To Support. With Marathas, the state's most dominant caste, considered more sympathetic to the parties like the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena, Shinde will also help the BJP in wooing the community that he comes from. As the fight between two Sena factions intensify in the coming weeks and months, including before the Election Commission, the rise of Shinde, a grassroots Maratha politician always identified with his party's planks of Hindutva and ethnic sub-nationalism, may hurt the prospects of Uddhav Thackeray. "It is a very strategic move. It appears to be a plan of a much larger strategy where the aim is to weaken the Shiv Sena and take it out of the hands of Thackerays," said Maharashtra-based political scientist Sanjay Patil, who has studied the party for his Ph.D. "Using Shiv Sena slogans, its people and by appointing a Maratha CM, the BJP is posing the toughest challenge to the Thackeray brand in the history of Maharashtra. There is an attempt to separate Thackerays from Shiv Sena, but it wouldn't be easy as Sena and Thackeray were always the same in the imagination of Marathi people," he said. "As Sena's ideology was broadly based on two planks: religion (Hindutva) and region (Marathi Manoos), now the attempt is that everything gets submerged into the larger plank of Hindutva and should be bigger than nativism," he added. There is also a view that the BJP may have tried to hedge its bets as the matter is still technically in court, and it remains an open guess how the battle between the two Sena factions will play out politically as the brand Thackeray can't be written off. The BJP's move, however, has also come with its own share of headache. Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is seen as the party's face in the state and a key leader behind the rebellion in Shiv Sena, was apparently left unhappy with the leadership's choice of Shinde. He announced that he will not be part of the new Cabinet but was prevailed up on by the top brass to join it. Political observers also pointed out that Shinde, whose faction has around 50 MLAs (including independents) to the BJP's 106, leading the government may have its own pitfalls. Political benefits of the leaders of rebel factions or the smaller party running the government with the support of a big party have been mixed. S Gurumurthy, an RSS sympathiser and editor of Tamil political weekly Thuglak and, lauded the BJP's move to pick Shinde as chief minister as "strategically brilliant and politically large-hearted". It has shocked political pundits seeing a BJP conspiracy behind the revolt in Shiv Sena, he said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Mumbai, Jun 30 (PTI) The BJP, which is expected to stake claim to form the next government in Maharashtra soon following the resignation of Uddhav Thackeray as the chief minister, will be holding a series of meetings here on Thursday to decide the future course of action, where party's state in-charge C T Ravi will remain present, party sources said. Also Read | All Congress MLAs to Shortly Meet at Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan to Discuss the Present Latest Tweet by ANI. Ravi, who has arrived in Mumbai on Thursday morning, will attend a meeting at 'Sagar' bungalow, the official residence of Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis with senior party leaders, including its state chief Chandrakant Patil. The BJP has also asked all of its MLAs to remain in Mumbai city till the next steps are taken, they said. Also Read | Nothing Phone (1) India Price & Specifications Leaked Online Ahead of Its Launch: Report. Following Thackeray's resignation on Wednesday night, Chandrakant Patil had said that Fadnavis and rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, who claims to have the support of 39 rebel Sena legislators and 11 independent MLAs as well as small parties, would decide the next court of action. "While BJP has 106 MLAs of its own and support of some 10 independent MLAs, it will have to undertake a lot of deliberations and negotiations for seat sharing formula with rebel Sena MLAs and independents. It will take some time, but a clear picture would emerge by Friday," Patil had said. Thackeray had resigned soon after the Supreme Court refused to stay Governor B S Koshyari's direction to his government to take a floor test in the Assembly on Thursday. His resignation capped over a week-long drama of resort politics, where rebel Shiv Sena MLAs led Shinde camped in luxury hotels and hopped on chartered jets from Mumbai to Surat and Guwahati, before landing in Goa on Wednesday night. Fadnavis is expected to make a comeback as chief minister after holding the post from 2014 to 2019. (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, Jun 30 (PTI) Delhi government will provide skill training and educational support to Tihar jail inmates to help them reintegrate better with the society after completion of their jail term, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Thursday. In order to facilitate the programme, Delhi government school teachers will study the education background and potential skills of the inmates. Also Read | Eknath Shinde Takes Oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis as His Deputy. Sisodia held a meeting with the Director General (Prison) Sandeep Goel, Secretary Education Ashok Kumar, and senior officials of the education department, including the teachers working with jail inmates, on Thursday to discuss the details of the project. "Our government believes that right education is the only way to set the right mindset among people and help them lead a better and meaningful life. There are nearly 20,000 inmates in Tihar jail," Sisodia said. Also Read | Udaipur Beheading: Thousands Take Out Silent March Amidst Curfew in City, Demand Death Penalty for Kanhaiya Lal's Killers. "Under this project, our teachers will talk to the inmates to understand their educational background and skilling needs and accordingly new programmes will be designed for them." "Further, the study will also help the government understand the gaps in the education system, due to which crimes are still happening in the society," he added. Sisodia, who is also Delhi's education minister, directed the teachers to interact very diligently and sensitively with the inmates. Teachers should ensure that they are able to understand the inmates' unique skills during their conversation and highlight their areas of interest for working in future, he said. Delhi government already runs an education programme in Tihar jail and its additional complexes in Rohini and Mandoli, where government teachers have been appointed by the Directorate of Education and are taking classes weekly. Now these teachers will be supporting the government with this study," he added. (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, June 30: Delhi Police busted an international syndicate of stolen mobile phones smuggling and arrested three persons, according to officials. The Cyber Cell, Crime Branch, Delhi said in a statement that they had received inputs that some Meerut-based 'Thak Thak' gang members, who are involved in several cases of theft, snatching and robbery would come to Loni Gol Chakkar to sell snatched/robbed mobile phones. They were also in possession of illegal arms. Robbers Smash Mans Leg Using Brick, Manage To Rob His Phone and Bag in Delhis Sangam Vihar. A raid was conducted at Loni Gol Chakkar, Gokal Puri, Delhi on Wednesday evening and three criminals namely Nasir, Aashim and Anish were apprehended in their autorickshaw. During a cursory search two countrymade pistols along with six live cartridges and 19 mobile phones of different brands including Apple, Samsung, Oppo and Realme were recovered from their possession. A case was then registered at PS Crime Branch, Delhi. During the investigation, it came to the fore that the accused persons used to sell these robbed/snatched mobile phones to one Kashim, a resident of Sadar Bazar, Delhi, who further send these mobile phones to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Saudi Arab via Gujrat, Mumbai, Bihar through courier. Kashim and the owner of the courier agency involved in this syndicate are yet to be arrested. The investigation is underway. (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, Jun 30 (PTI) Free train travels of sitting and former Lok Sabha members over the past five years have cost the exchequer Rs 62 crore, which included nearly Rs 2.5 crore in the pandemic-hit 2020-21, according to information revealed under the RTI Act. While sitting MPs are entitled to use the railways' first class air-conditioned or executive class for free, their spouses too can avail free travel under certain conditions. Also Read | Mozilla Firefox's New Feature Automatically Removes Tracking From URLs: Report. Former MPs are also entitled to travel in any train in AC-2 tier along with a companion or in AC-1 if alone. In the response to a Right to Information query filed by Madhya Pradesh-based Chandra Shekhar Gaur, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said it has received a bill of Rs 35.21 crore from the Railways for the travel of sitting MPs and Rs 26.82 crore for former MPs during 2017-2018 to 2021-22. Also Read | Who is Eknath Shinde? Heres All About The Shiv Sena Leader Who is Set to Take Oath as The Next CM of Maharashtra. According to the response, the MPs and ex-MPs also used the Railway passes even during the pandemic-hit year of 2020-21 when their bill was Rs 1.29 crore and Rs 1.18 crore, respectively. The Railways' pay and accounts department forwards the bills to the LS Secretariat for processing. The Railways has recently put on hold an array of concessions it offered to certain categories of passengers including senior citizens. While there was subdued anger among certain sections over the move, the discontinuation of the subsidy given to senior citizens has drawn a lot of ire. According to official data, between March 20, 2020 and March 31, 2022, the Railways did not offer concessions to 7.31 crore senior citizen travellers. These included 4.46 crore males over the age of 60, and 2.84 crore females over 58 and 8,310 transgender people. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Panaji, Jun 30 (PTI) Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs led by senior leader Eknath Shinde, who are currently camping in Goa, will hold a meeting on Thursday to decide the way forward as they are likely to support the BJP to form the next government in Maharashtra following the resignation of Uddhav Thackeray as the chief minister. Also Read | Indian Air Force Rescues Israeli National Pnina Kuperman From Zanskar Area of Ladakh. A chartered flight carrying the breakaway MLAs landed at the Dabolim airport in Goa on Wednesday night from Guwahati. They are staying in a luxury hotel at Dona Paula. Also Read | Uddhav Thackeray Resigns As Maharashtra CM Ahead of Floor Test, What Happens Next? How Will Next Government Come to Power; Heres All You Need to know. "We will hold a meeting on Thursday to decide our future course of action," Deepak Kesarkar, the spokesperson of the rebel group, told a television channel. He said the decision will be taken by Shinde after talks. Kesarkar said a decision on when to leave Goa for Mumbai is yet to be taken. "Whether to leave on Thursday or Friday is yet to be decided," he said. When asked about the Supreme Court verdict on Wednesday in which it refused to stay Maharashtra Governor B S Koshyari's direction to the Uddhav Thackeray-led government to take a floor test in the Assembly, Kesarkar said there was nothing to feel happy about it as the NCP and Congress made Sena people fight among themselves. "We had tried to avoid it (rebellion) But it could not be avoided," he said. Reacting to Thackeray's resignation, Kesarkar said that Sena MLAs had urged him to pull out of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) even yesterday, but he preferred to approach the Supreme Court. (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, Jun 30 (PTI) The Congress on Thursday latched on to a slip of tongue by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman when she uttered "horse-trading" to take a swipe at the BJP, saying buying MLAs has become so common she "blurted out the truth". In a short video clip widely circulated on the social media and shared by Congress's media department head Pawan Khera, Nirmala Sitharaman is heard saying: "The second GOM, related to the betting, gambling, casinos, horse-trading (corrects herself) horse-racing..." Also Read | Eknath Shinde Takes Oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis as His Deputy. The clip was from Wednesday where at a press conference the finance minister said the GST council had deferred a decision on 28 per cent tax on casinos, online gaming, horse-racing and lottery pending consultation. Taking a dig over Sitharaman's slip of tongue, Khera tweeted, "I knew @nsitharaman ji had the ability to think out of the (ballot) box. Yes Nirmala ji, there should be GST on horse trading." Also Read | Udaipur Beheading: Thousands Take Out Silent March Amidst Curfew in City, Demand Death Penalty for Kanhaiya Lal's Killers. In a statement issued on the Maharashtra political developments, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said since 2014, the prime focus of the BJP has been to bring down elected governments in states rather than serve the public. "The offices of the Governors and Speakers, and agencies like ED and CBI are openly misused. Buying MLAs has become so commonplace that the Finance Minister blurted out the truth today, when she suggested imposition of GST on horse-trading," he said referring to Sitharaman's remarks. PTI ASK (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], June 30 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday offered prayers to Lord Amarnath at Raj Bhawan in Srinagar. Speaking to ANI, Sinha said today the first Puja was completed and devotees from all over the country have come for the Amarnath Yatra. Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Shocker: Elder Sister Gets 12-Year-Old Sibling Gang-Raped, Murdered by Friends in Lakhimpur Kheri District. "I have full faith that by the grace of Mahadev and Baba Amarnath, the journey will be successful. I wish devotees have good 'Darshan' and hope that they go back home safely," he said. Earlier this week, Sinha reviewed the security arrangements and preparations for Amarnath Yatra in Jammu. Also Read | Karnataka Shocker: Man Kills His 2 Daughters After Wife Elopes With Paramour in Kalaburagi. He also chaired a review meeting with Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Ramesh Kumar, Deputy Commissioner Jammu Avny Lavasa, ADGP Jammu Mukesh Singh and other officials. Meanwhile, the first batch of Amarnath pilgrims, who started from Jammu on Wednesday morning reached Nunwan Pahalgam base camp in the Anantnag district of South Kashmir. The Yatra began yesterday from Jammu amid tight security arrangements made by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) along with the army and the local police. The Amarnath shrine pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine of Lord Shiva, located in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, is held from the twin routes of Pahalgam and Baltal. The Jammu and Kashmir government had cancelled the annual Amarnath pilgrimage due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation in 2020 and 2021 after a discussion with Amarnathji Shrine Board members. Security has been tightened in Jammu and Kashmir with special emphasis on the use of over 130 sniffer dogs on the vehicle routes heading towards the shrine to ensure safe pilgrimage amid heightened terror threats. A top government official, requesting anonymity, told ANI that this is the first time when the security forces have been using a maximum number of sniffer dogs to check the use of explosives by terrorists to disrupt the 43-day annual pilgrimage beginning on June 30. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 30 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on the successful launch of three foreign satellites, onboard its PSLV-C53, in precise orbit from the Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh. Also Read | Eknath Shinde Takes Oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis as His Deputy. "Congratulations to @ISRO on the successful launch of the PSLV-C53/DS-EO mission. This 55th mission of PSLV is yet another example of India lending its hand to international space cooperation. Look forward to many more of such initiatives!," Vijayan said in a tweet. Also Read | Udaipur Beheading: Thousands Take Out Silent March Amidst Curfew in City, Demand Death Penalty for Kanhaiya Lal's Killers. PSLV-C53 is the second dedicated commercial mission of NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of ISRO which, had on June 23, launched GSAT-24 in its first "demand-driven" communication satellite mission post-space sector reforms, leasing the entire capacity on board to Direct-to-Home (DTH) service provider Tata Play. On Thursday, the four-stage, 44.4-metre high PSLV-C53 that blasted off from the second launchpad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre placed the three Singapore satellites--DS-EO, NeuSAR and SCOOB-1 -- in intended orbit of 570 km. This is the 55th mission of PSLV, often described as ISRO's trusted workhorse and the 15th one using the PSLV-Core Alone variant. It also marks the 16th PSLV launch from the second launchpad. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Hazaribag (Jharkhand), June 30 (PTI) The body of a doctor who was allegedly kidnapped from his clinic was found in Pindrahi forest in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh district in a decomposed state, a senior police official said on Thursday. Also Read | Three-part Docuseries on Sex Offender #GhislaineMaxwell to Be Streamed from July 8 Read: Latest Tweet by IANS India. The body of the 34-year-old Abhijit Kumar Roy was found by the police on Wednesday following the confession by the prime accused, superintendent of police Manoj Ratan Chothe said. Also Read | Udaipur Beheading: Thousands Take Out Silent March Amidst Curfew in City, Demand Death Penalty for Kanhaiya Lal's Killers. Roy was allegedly kidnapped by four miscreants from his clinic for ransom when he was treating a female patient of Kusumbha village on June 25. They killed the doctor with a sharp weapon the same night when their demand for ransom was not immediately met and dumped his body in the jungle, the SP said. A search for the doctor had been launched by his brother Milan Roy and villagers on June 25 night and they had lodged a missing report at Katkumdag police station. The complaint had mentioned the name of the prime accused as he had threatened the doctor's family with dire consequences if his demand for money was not met forthwith. SP said a SIT was immediately formed and massive raids were conducted leading to the arrest of the prime accused. The police found the doctor's body following a lead provided by the accused, who also disclosed the names of his accomplices in the kidnap and murder, the SP said. Raids are on to apprehend the accomplices, he added. Meanwhile, about 500 villagers gheraoed the Katkumdag police station and demanded the arrest of those involved in the abduction and murder of the doctor, compensation and employment for the doctor's widow. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Mumbai, Jun 30 (PTI) A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court here on Thursday rejected a plea seeking cancellation of bail granted to Sudhakar Dwivedi, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, for allegedly violating the bail conditions. Also Read | In a Shocking Incident, Villagers in #Karnatakas Chamarajanagar Were Forced to Carry a Latest Tweet by IANS India. Dwivedi had secured bail in 2017, and one of the bail conditions was that he cannot leave the country without the court's permission. Also Read | Mozilla Firefox's New Feature Automatically Removes Tracking From URLs: Report. Nisar Ahmed Bilal, the father of one of the victims and an intervener in the case, sought cancellation of the bail granted to Dwivedi, claiming that the latter had allegedly violated the bail conditions by travelling to Nepal without taking the court's permission In his plea, filed through advocate Shahid Nadeem, Bilal claimed that when he stumbled upon information about Dwivedi's visit to Nepal, he did his own research and found evidence for the same. Photographs of the said event (Nepal visit) were submitted with a request to the special public prosecutor that the NIA file an application for cancellation of bail. However, no such action has been taken till today, said the plea, which was filed in October last year. Special judge A K Lahoti rejected the plea, but directed the accused not to breach the bail condition henceforth. Six people were killed and over 100 injured on September 29, 2008, after an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque at Malegaon town in Nashik district, located about 200 kilometres from Mumbai. Besides Dwivedi, other accused in the case include Lt Col Prasad Purohit, BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, Shudakar Diwedi, Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retired), Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni, all of whom are out on bail. (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, Jun 30 (PTI) The Army on Thursday said 13 soldiers of the Territorial Army and five civilians have so far been rescued from the landslide-hit railway construction site in Manipur's Noney district. At least eight people were killed and over 70 went missing after a massive landslide hit the railway construction site on Wednesday night. Also Read | Eknath Shinde Takes Oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis as His Deputy. In a statement, the Army said Assam Rifles and Territorial Army troops carried out the rescue operations throughout the day in the general area of the Tupul railway station, in spite of inclement weather. "The civil administration has cautioned civilians living in downstream areas of the (Ejai) river to take precautions and evacuate due to likelihood of breach in the dam created on the river by the landslide," the statement said. Also Read | Udaipur Beheading: Thousands Take Out Silent March Amidst Curfew in City, Demand Death Penalty for Kanhaiya Lal's Killers. The search operations will continue during the night, it added. Engineering equipment, including dozers, have been pressed into service for creating access to the site and help in the rescue efforts, it said. "Teams of Indian Railways, civil administration, NDRF (National Disaster Response Force), SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) and locals of Noney district are also actively contributing in the search," the statement noted. "So far, 13 soldiers of Territorial Army and five civilians have been rescued, while mortal remains of seven soldiers and one civilian have been recovered," it said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Goa [India], June 30 (ANI): The meeting of rebel Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde and other MLAs is underway in Goa to discuss the further course of action after the Uddhav Thackeray government crumbled on Wednesday. The meeting was scheduled to take place this morning before the faction leaves for Mumbai, Deepak Kesarkar told ANI. Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Shocker: Elder Sister Gets 12-Year-Old Sibling Gang-Raped, Murdered by Friends in Lakhimpur Kheri District. Notably, the camp was supposed to return to Mumbai early morning, had there been a Floor Test against the Uddhav government. With the cancellation of the test, the MLAs are likely to depart from Goa after a night layover from Guwahati. Meanwhile, all Congress MLAs will also meet at Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan to discuss the present political situation in the state. Also Read | Karnataka Shocker: Man Kills His 2 Daughters After Wife Elopes With Paramour in Kalaburagi. Earlier today, Maharashtra Assembly Secretary Rajendra Bhagwat informed all state MLAs that as per the Governor's orders the special session that was scheduled on Thursday will now not be convened. The Floor Test that was convened by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was challenged in the Supreme Court by the Shiv Sena. The apex court, however, declined to stay the Floor Test and in its observation said that the floor of the House was the only way to settle these issues of democracy. Minutes after the order by the top court, Thackeray addressed the people of the state via social media in which he announced his decision to step down as chief minister and as a Member of the Legislative Council. The announcement brought an end to the political crisis that erupted in the state for over a week with a faction of Shiv Sena MLAs revolting against him for joining hands with NCP and Congress to form the government. Meanwhile, the stage is set for the return of a BJP-led government in the state with the party, which is the single-largest party in the Maharashtra Assembly with 106 MLAs, likely to stake claim to form the government. As Leader of the Opposition, Devendra Fadnavis is set to stake claim to the Chief Minister's post for the third time. Fadnavis, who met the party's top brass twice in a week in Delhi, said that the future course of action will be announced today. The BJP, on the other hand, is likely to hold a series of meetings to deliberate on the formation of government in the state along with the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde, which had been camping in first Surat, then Guwahati and had landed in Goa on Wednesday night. The BJP will approach the Governor to stake claim to form the government, which the Shinde faction would back with their 39 Shiv Sena MLAs and other independents. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Indore, Jun 30 (PTI) Traders at the wholesale market in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city shut their establishments for half day on Thursday to protest the gruesome killing of a tailor in Udaipur. Also Read | Udaipur Beheading: Thousands Take Out Silent March Amidst Curfew in City, Demand Death Penalty for Kanhaiya Lal's Killers. Wholesale traders associated with groceries, bullion, utensils, iron products and cloth among others closed their establishments for half day in protest against the brutal murder of tailor Kanhaiya Lal, said Ramesh Khandelwal, the chairman of Ahilya Chamber of Commerce and Industries. Also Read | Shiv Sena Rebel Leader Eknath Shinde To Be New Maharashtra CM, BJP To Support. "The trading community is angered by the brutal murder of Kanhaiya Lal. We demand that the accused murderers should be awarded capital punishment," he said. Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor, was on Tuesday killed in Rajesthan's Udaipur by two men who had posted videos online that said they were avenging an insult to Islam. The local body elections in Indore are scheduled to be held on July 6, and both the BJP and Congress have supported the bandh call given by the traders' body. Bajrang Dal and other right-wing organisations staged agitations in parts of Indore and set fire to an effigy of terrorism and the Rajasthan government. According to eyewitnesses, protestors thrashed the effigies with slippers and shoes before setting them on fire. (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], June 30 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the 'Udyami Bharat' programme at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi today. During the event, Prime Minister will launch the 'Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance' (RAMP) scheme, 'Capacity Building of First-Time MSME Exporters' (CBFTE) scheme and new features of the 'Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme' (PMEGP). Also Read | Udaipur Beheading: Tailor Kanhaiya Lals Body Had 26 Injury Marks, Say Sources. PM Modi will also digitally transfer assistance to beneficiaries of PMEGP for 2022-23; announce results of MSME Idea Hackathon, 2022; distribute National MSME Awards, 2022; and issue Digital Equity Certificates to 75 MSMEs in Self Reliant India (SRI) Fund. According to Prime Minister's Office (PMO), 'Udyami Bharat' is reflective of the continuous commitment of the government, right from day one, to work towards the empowerment of MSMEs. The government has launched several initiatives from time to time like MUDRA Yojana, Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, and Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) to provide necessary and timely support to the MSME sector, which has helped benefit crores of people across the country. Also Read | Uddhav Thackeray Announces Resignation as Maharashtra Chief Minister and MLC. Prime Minister will launch the 'Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance' (RAMP) scheme, with an outlay of around Rs 6,000 crore. It aims to scale up the implementation capacity and coverage of MSMEs in the states, with impact enhancement of existing MSME schemes. It will complement the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan by fostering innovation, encouraging ideation, incubating new business and entrepreneurship by developing quality standards, improving practices and processes, enhancing market access, deploying technological tools and Industry 4.0 to make MSMEs competitive and self-reliant. Prime Minister will launch the 'Capacity Building of First-Time MSME Exporters' (CBFTE) scheme, which aims to encourage MSMEs to offer products and services of international standards for the global market. This will enhance the participation of Indian MSMEs in the global value chain and help them realise their export potential. He will also launch new features of the 'Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme' (PMEGP). These include an increase in the maximum project cost to Rs 50 lakh (from Rs 25 lakh) for the manufacturing sector and Rs 20 lakh (from Rs 10 lakh) in the service sector and the inclusion of applicants from aspirational districts and transgenders in the Special Category applicants for availing higher subsidies. Also, handholding support is being provided to applicants/entrepreneurs through the engagement of banking, technical and marketing experts. During the event, PM Modi will announce the results of the MSME Idea Hackathon, 2022.Launched on March 10 this year, this Hackathon is aimed at promoting and supporting the untapped creativity of individuals, promoting adoption of latest technologies and innovation among MSMEs. The selected incubatee ideas will be provided funding support of up to Rs 15 lakhs per approved idea. Prime Minister will also distribute the National MSME Awards 2022. The award is a recognition of the contributions of MSMEs, States/UTs, aspirational districts and banks for their outstanding performance in the growth and development of India's dynamic MSME sector, the release said. (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, Jun 30 (PTI) Police on Thursday saved the life of a 40-year-old man who allegedly attempted to commit suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his residence in northwest Delhi's Jahangirpuri, officials said. At around 2.30 am, police received information that a man had hanged himself in a house in Jahangirpuri's 'D' block. Also Read | Who is Eknath Shinde? Know Everything About the Former Auto Driver Who Shook Maharashtra Politics to Emerge as CM. Police reached the spot and found the man hanging from a ceiling fan in a room of the house, a senior officer said. As the room was locked from inside, police broke open the door and rescued the man. Head Constable Vijay held his legs up and Assistant Sub-Inspector Dinesh untied the knot of the scarf used for hanging, the officer said. Also Read | Eknath Shinde Takes Oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis as His Deputy. Vijay also gave cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to the man, who was rushed to the Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial (BJRM) Hospital. The man was identified as Subodh Bansal, police said. His younger brother had informed police about the incident, the officer said. Bansal runs a general store in Bhalaswa Dairy and was under stress because of a loan he had taken, police said, adding that his condition is stable now. In another incident, constable Deepak was patrolling near the Mayur Vihar Phase-1 metro station in east Delhi when he received information at 2.11 am regarding a fire incident in a flat at the Anand Lok society, police said. He rushed to the spot, ensured that a woman and a child were evacuated from the flat safely and helped the fire fighters douse the blaze, 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) Mumbai, Jun 30 (PTI) A portion of a five-storey residential building collapsed in Kalbadevi area of south Mumbai on Thursday, and at least 60 to 70 people were evacuated safely from the structure, a fire brigade official said. Also Read | Mozilla Firefox's New Feature Automatically Removes Tracking From URLs: Report. The incident took place around 2 pm in Badamwadi area of Kalbadevi, a densely populated locality in the city, the official said. Also Read | Who is Eknath Shinde? Heres All About The Shiv Sena Leader Who is Set to Take Oath as The Next CM of Maharashtra. "A portion of a cessed MHADA building collapsed in the afternoon. There is no report of any injury so far," an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said. At least 60 to 70 people were evacuated safely from the premises before the collapse, he said. Five fire engines were pressed into service and the work of clearing the debris was underway, he said. Janak Sanghavi, a former corporator from the area, said the building Janak Bhuvan was undergoing repairs at the time of the incident. Residents of the building were rescued before a portion of the structure collapsed, as the plaster of the building was falling, he said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chandigarh, Jun 30 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said a three-member cabinet committee has been formed for the regularisation of the services of the contractual employees working in the government departments. Three cabinet ministers -- Harpal Singh Cheema, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer and Harjot Singh Bains -- will explore ways and means to regularise the services of the contractual employees after due consultation with legal experts, Mann said on the floor of the Assembly. Also Read | Who is Eknath Shinde? Know Everything About the Former Auto Driver Who Shook Maharashtra Politics to Emerge as CM. He said the state government has set its wheels in motion for which the cabinet, at a meeting held on Thursday, has given its nod to the draft of a new bill. Mann said the cabinet committee will examine the legal feasibility of the draft in consultation with the advocate general. Also Read | Eknath Shinde Takes Oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis as His Deputy. He said a fresh bill will be drafted to provide succour to these employees. The chief minister said his government is fully sensitive towards the need for regularising the services of the employees working on contract, ad-hoc, daily wages, work charge and temporary basis. However, he said a law framed for this purpose in 2016 is sub-judice and another one drafted in 2021 is still awaiting the governor's nod. Mann said the state government will not hesitate to convene a special session of the Assembly for introducing the new bill. He said this was a top priority of the government and no stone will be left unturned for this noble cause. The chief minister said his government is duty-bound to give relief to these employees for which all the legal hurdles will be cleared before implementing the new draft bill. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chandigarh, Jun 30 (PTI) Eleven people involved in heinous crimes and backed by gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Harvinder Rinda have been arrested, a senior police officer said here on Thursday. These history-sheeters were active in several neighbouring states of Punjab and had been involved in crimes such as murder, attempt to murder, armed dacoity, organised extortion, robbery and drug smuggling, Additional Director General of Police, Anti-Gangster Task Force, Pramod Ban said here on Thursday. Also Read | Mozilla Firefox's New Feature Automatically Removes Tracking From URLs: Report. "With their arrests, the Punjab Police has thwarted attempts of at least seven murders, two police custody escapes and four armed robberies," he added. Nine weapons and five looted vehicles were recovered from their possession, Ban said. Also Read | Who is Eknath Shinde? Heres All About The Shiv Sena Leader Who is Set to Take Oath as The Next CM of Maharashtra. Ban also said the arrested people had been conducting recces for the past few months and were nabbed before they could strike. When asked if any prominent personality was on their target, the ADGP Ban said, "I cannot indicate anything like that. But what I can tell you is their aim was to create unrest." As per preliminary investigations, the ADGP said, the gang was being operated by Vikram Brar, an associate of Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar, on the directions of Harvinder Singh alias Rinda. Brar, a resident of Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, is currently residing abroad is wanted by the police of six states. He was a classmate of Lawrence Bishnoi and is active on social media, Ban said. Those arrested hail from Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. They are Mohammad Yaseen Akhtar alias Jaisy Purewal, Navi, Amandeep alias Shooter, Shiv Kumar alias Shiva, Ankush Sabharwal alias Paya and Vishal alias Fauji from Jalandhar; Sagar Singh from Mohali; Annu alias Pehalwan of Kapurthala; Amar Malik from Ludhiana; and Sumit Jaswal alias Kaku and Arun Kumar alias Mani Rana from Una in Himachal Pradesh, the ADGP said. Giving out details about the arrested people, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jalandhar (Rural) Swapan Sharma said Akhtar alias Jaisy has been involved in at least 16 criminal activities. Similarly, Ankush Sabarwal alias Paya has six criminal cases registered against him. He was a student of Vikram Brar at an IELTS centre in Nakodar in 2014 and had been providing shelter and safe houses to Saurav Mahakal of Maharashtra, who was arrested by the police in Pune, recently. Along with Mahakal, he committed three crimes in Punjab, the SSP said. Sharma said Arun Kumar alias Mani Rana is a gangster operating at the behest of the Lawrence-Jaggu Bhagwanpuria group and they had planned Mani's escape from police custody during a court hearing in Himachal Pradesh's Una. He said Sumit Jaswal alias Kaku has been arrested as he was actively involved in doing a recce and organising logistics for this escape attempt. "With the arrest of this gang, the backbone of organised criminal activities in the Doaba region (of Punjab) in general and Jalandhar, in particular, has been broken," the SSP added. All the arrests were made by the Jalandhar Rural police. In the past two months, teams from Jalandhar Rural have arrested 32 people affiliated with various jailed gangsters across the state and recovered 38 weapons from their possession. Replying to a question, Ban said the Punjab Police is working in close coordination with Anti-Terrorism Squads of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Special Cell of the Delhi Police, "and we keep sharing information on a regular basis on various things". (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, Jun 30 (PTI)The Supreme Court Thursday said it would hear on July 13 plea of alleged 'conman' Sukesh Chandrashekhar and his wife to shift them from the Tihar Jail on the ground of threat to their life. A vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala said that it has not received the affidavit filed by Chandrashekhar on the proposal of the Centre to shift them to Mandoli jail. Also Read | Udaipur Beheading: Thousands Take Out Silent March Amidst Curfew in City, Demand Death Penalty for Kanhaiya Lal's Killers. It said there is no urgency in the plea and it could be heard by the regular bench. Senior advocate R Basant, appearing for Chandrashekhar, said that they be shifted outside the jurisdiction of the Director-General (Delhi Prisons) as his clients are being extorted and threatened. Also Read | Shiv Sena Rebel Leader Eknath Shinde To Be New Maharashtra CM, BJP To Support. The bench ordered, The petitioners are reported to have filed their objections/affidavits on June 28, 2022. The same is not placed on record. The Registry is directed to tag those papers in the paper book of the case. List the matter for further consideration on July 13, 2022. On June 23, the Centre had proposed to the top court that if at all Chandrashekhar and his wife are to be shifted outside the Tihar Jail, then they should be lodged in Mandoli prison which is being guarded by paramilitary forces. The government had opposed the transfer of Chandrashekhar and his wife to any other jail outside Delhi on the alleged ground of a threat to their life and added that they will be protected by police personnel from Tamil Nadu Special Police Force and would be observed through CCTV cameras. The top court had asked Chandrashekhar to file his objections to the Centre's proposal to shift the accused to Mandoli Jail. On June 21, the ED had sought prosecution of Chandrashekhar for perjury as it had claimed that he had falsely stated in his affidavit about a physical assault in Tihar Jail and deliberately omitted the report of the doctors who ruled out any physical injury to him. The ED opposed the transfer of Chandrashekhar and his wife from Tihar Jail to any other prison outside Delhi on the ground of a threat to his life and said that police personnel from Tamil Nadu's special police force have been deployed for their security. The top court had said that since another vacation bench has passed the order seeking names of jails in which Chandrashekhar and his wife could be transferred, it cannot review it or modify it. In an affidavit filed by Director General (Prisons), Delhi Prisons it was said that the contents of the Chandrashekhar's application that he was assaulted in jail are vehemently denied as totally and wholly false and fabricated for the ulterior motive of seeking transfer to another prison to repeat his misdemeanours and offences. On June 20, the ED had made some startling revelations against Chandrashekhar that he indulged in money laundering, extortion, impersonation of public officials including those holding constitutional posts, and had opposed his plea for prison transfer outside Delhi. The probe agency has sought to intervene in a plea of Chandrashekhar, who is lodged in Tihar jail on charges of money laundering and duping several people, and his wife seeking their transfer to a prison outside Delhi alleging threat to their lives from jail staff. In its intervention application, the ED has said Chandrashekhar has repeatedly committed offences including money laundering during his incarceration in the jail by subverting the legal system and prison rules with the help of his knowledge of technology and his abilities to con people. Sukesh Chandrashekhar has created a web through his devious mechanism. He is a master conman and with technology at his disposal, he could execute to perfection his plan, the agency said. The ED said that it has been found that Sukesh and his wife Leena were running an organized crime syndicate with the aid and association of other associates, added to the syndicate from time to time. That being inside the jail, he was threatening people to do what he wished or face consequences. The proceeds of crime were used to purchase cars, houses in Chennai, various luxury items, clothes, etc., and were utilized to open a salon for his wife, to give expensive gifts to celebrities, and to jail authorities to manage facilities in jail, it said. The probe agency named several TV and Bollywood personalities with whom the conman' has contacts and used to give them expensive gifts.PTI MNL SJK MNL (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], June 30 (ANI): Ahead of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national executive meeting in Hyderabad, the Cyberabad Commissioner of Police M Stephen Raveendra on Wednesday issued prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) applicable under the limits of Cyberabad Metropolitan commissionerate area in the city from July 1 where the party meeting will be held. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also scheduled to visit Hyderabad to attend the party's national executive and to address a public meeting in Secunderabad. Also Read | John Abraham-Disha Patani Raise Temperatures in Ek Villain Returns Poster Read @ANI Story Latest Tweet by ANI Digital. "With a view to maintain public order, peace and tranquillity which may cause danger to human life, health or safety and to prevent riot or an affray or obstruction to any person in his lawful discharge of duty in the limits of Cyberabad Metropolitan Commissionerate area, I M Stephen Raveendra, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Cyberabad in the exercise of the power vested in me under section 144 CrPC do hereby prohibit any assembly of more than (05) persons in the limits of Cyberabad Commissionerate from July 1, 2022, to July 4, 2022.," the order reads. However, Police Officers on duty, Military Personnel on duty, Home Guards on duty and Funeral processions are exempted from the operation of this order. Also Read | Anthrax Detected in Dead Wild Pigs in Kerala's Athirapally. The public are hereby informed that any person violating the above orders shall be liable for prosecution under Section 144 CrPC. The Hyderabad city police, along with state government departments, have put elaborate security arrangements in place ahead of PM Modi's visit to Hyderabad. The BJP is holding its national executive meeting at HICC Novotel on July 2-3 and the Prime Minister is scheduled to address a rally at the parade grounds at the culmination of the meeting. BJP OBC Morcha National President Dr K Laxman said, "On July 2 and 3, our National Executive meeting is going to be held. In this meeting, BJP National President JP Naada, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Ministers of 19 states and other BJP senior leaders will be participating in this historic meeting." Earlier, the BJP had held its national executive meeting in the city in 2004 when the party promised to carve out a separate state of Telangana without delay if it came to power. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Udaipur, Jun 30 (PTI) The two men accused of killing of a tailor here were produced in a local court amid tight security on Thursday evening, officials said. The two accused -- Riaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad -- were brought in a police van with their faces covered and were produced in the court while several advocates started shouting slogans on the premises, they said. Also Read | Devendra Fadnavis Has Decided to Be Part of New Maharashtra Government, Says Amit Shah; to Latest Tweet by ANI Digital. Riaz and Ghouse allegedly hacked tailor Kanhaiya Lal to death with a cleaver at his shop in Udaipur on Tuesday and later posted videos online saying they are avenging an insult to Islam. The lawyers gathered on the court premises in large numbers in the evening and started shouting slogans demanding death penalty to the accused. Also Read | Udaipur Beheading: Thousands Take Out Silent March Amidst Curfew in City, Demand Death Penalty for Kanhaiya Lal's Killers. (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, Jun 30 (PTI) Special laws like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) are "necessary" so that action can be taken against terrorists and those "who behead other people," Union minister R K Singh said on Thursday. In his address at the opening of a national conference here on 'Human Rights in Indian Culture and Philosophy', he also said one has to have legislations like UAPA, and some people have to be detained, to "protect the lives of others". Also Read | Udaipur Beheading: Thousands Take Out Silent March Amidst Curfew in City, Demand Death Penalty for Kanhaiya Lal's Killers. His comments come in the backdrop of two men getting booked under the UAPA in Rajasthan's Udaipur for murdering a tailor there. Some reports said that the tailor was beheaded by the duo. Singh, a former Union home secretary, said during his bureaucratic career with the home department both in Bihar and at the Centre, he was made aware of the menace of terrorists and Naxalites and how it is sometimes difficult to find people, including policemen, who can give evidence against them as they are afraid to say anything fearing for their safety. Also Read | Shiv Sena Rebel Leader Eknath Shinde To Be New Maharashtra CM, BJP To Support. "Therefore, it is necessary to have laws like the Crime Control Act and it is necessary to have special laws like UAPA so we can act against terrorists and those types of people who behead other people. That is something which has to be said, and which has to be accepted," he said. The minister, who holds the portfolios of power and new and renewable energy, said the UAPA is to "ensure that people are not killed", and "those who do not listen to diktats of terrorists are not wiped out". The "infringement" on due process of "few citizens" is to "protect larger humanity," the former Union home secretary said. In his address, he asserted that the country has been subjected to terrorism and Naxalism and over time, both have been tackled. Referring to the topic of the two-day conference, Singh said "human right is something that is embedded in our DNA, and not given to us as a concept from outside". "Also, I see home ministry as the custodian of the rights of the people, and that is what I feel has to be perspective of the home department," he added. Singh also quoted from ancient texts to emphasise the wisdom and ethos that India has drawn from since time immemorial. "In Hinduism, 'dharma' doesn't mean religion, but it is a way of life, a culture that respects the lives of all human beings. We are inheritors of that culture in which a common man could ask a question the conduct of an emperor, Lord Ram. So, human rights is something that is inborn in us," he said. He enumerated the achievements of the Narendra Modi government in building houses for poor and others, providing water and cooking gas connections to households and health insurance to the needy, saying, this was as "extension of the basic human rights" that one accords to citizens. The Union minister also said peaceful co-existence and 'ahimsa' have been the ethos of India. "We are the most tolerant people on earth. We never discriminated against religions. We respect all gods, that is why we have a pantheon of gods. We don't believe in conversions," he said. "We are the religion that does not believe in conversions. It not like other religions where people behead other people just because someone did not convert... We are different because we are evolved," he added. Riaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad had hacked Kanhaiya Lal to death with a cleaver at his shop in Udaipur on Tuesday and posted videos online saying they were avenging an insult to Islam. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had said on Wednesday that the murder was meant to spread terror. Information has also surfaced that the killers have contacts aborad, he said. Prominent Muslim organisations have condemned the killing, calling it "un-Islamic" and asserting that no person has the right to take law into one's hands. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Gorakhpur (UP), Jun 30 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will launch a campaign against communicable diseases from Gorakhpur's Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College on Friday. The chief minister arrived in Gorakhpur on Thursday for the programme and paid obeisance at the Gorakhnath temple. Also Read | Who is Eknath Shinde? Know Everything About the Former Auto Driver Who Shook Maharashtra Politics to Emerge as CM. According to information department officials, a detailed plan for the campaign against communicable diseases has been prepared by the departments concerned. The focus will be on controlling vector-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria and chikungunya. The state government claims that the spread of Japanese encephalitis (JE), which took thousands of lives in the district between 1978 and 2017, has been curbed in the last two years with no deaths. Also Read | Eknath Shinde Takes Oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis as His Deputy. In 2016, there were 701 patients of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in Gorakhpur, of whom 139 died. In 2017, 874 AES patients were registered, of whom 121 died. However, things took a turn after 2017. In 2021, only 251 AES patients were registered in the district, of whom 15 died. In 2016, there were 36 JE patients, of whom nine died. In 2017, there were 49 JE patients, of whom 10 died. The numbers came further down in the last couple of years. In 2021, 14 JE patients were found and this year, only five such patients have so far been registered with no deaths, health department officials claim. Adityanath has said AES and JE will be eradicated from the district and the state in the coming years. (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, Jun 30 (PTI) JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals on Thursday said its board has approved a proposal to acquire four paediatric brands from Dr Reddy's Laboratories for about Rs 98 crore. The company's board at its meeting held on June 29, has considered and approved the acquisition of a portfolio of brands, for use sales within India, from Dr Reddy's Laboratories, the drug maker said in a regulatory filing. Also Read | 2022 Maruti Suzuki Brezza India Launch Today, Watch LIVE Streaming Here. The company has inked a pact with Dr Reddy's Laboratories to acquire four of its brands -- Z&D, Pedicloryl, Pecef and Ezinapi -- for the India market, it added. All four brands are focused on the paediatric segment in the country with a total covered market size of Rs 1,800 crore as per IQVIA data, JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals said. Also Read | Samsung Galaxy F13 Now Available for Sale via Flipkart. The combined sales of these brands stood at around Rs 33 crore for FY 2021-22, it added. The acquisition, which will be funded primarily through long-term debt, will be completed in the next few working days, the drug firm stated. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kolkata, Jun 30 (PTI) The Paschim Banga Gramin Bank has joined hands with SBI Life Insurance for a bancassurance pact, officials said on Thursday. The partnership will see all the branches of Paschim Banga Gramin Bank across West Bengal offer SBI Life's range of protection, wealth creation, credit life, annuity and savings products, thereby increasing accessibility of life insurance solutions in the region, they said. Also Read | Mozilla Firefox's New Feature Automatically Removes Tracking From URLs: Report. The agreement was signed by Arun Kumar Patra, General Manager of Paschim Banga Gramin Bank and Jayant Pandey, Regional Director of SBI Life. Bancassurance is an arrangement between a bank and an insurance company, as a part of which the latter can sell its products to the lender's customers. Also Read | Who is Eknath Shinde? Heres All About The Shiv Sena Leader Who is Set to Take Oath as The Next CM of Maharashtra. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) London, Jun 30 (PTI) It is critical for the world to prevent the overuse of antibiotics and the India-UK collaboration in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the next big frontier after the vaccine partnership during the COVID-19 pandemic, UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Thursday. His comments at the India Global Forum's UK-India Week summit came as the UK government announced further investment into finding new treatments to tackle drug-resistant infections. The GBP 4.5 million investment made by the government's Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) will support the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) to develop new treatments for drug-resistant infections identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the greatest threat to global health and development. Also Read | China Retains Zero-COVID Policy While Cutting Travel Quarantine to 7 Days. A huge area of cooperation with India is antimicrobial resistance (AMR), Javid told PTI. We are sadly as a world losing the use of certain antibiotics, something we are very dependent on. We must prevent overuse together and look at R&D for new antibiotics. The UK, through the Fleming Fund, is providing support and funding to Indian scientists to work together on one of the biggest health threats the world is currently facing, he said. Also Read | Pakistan To Implement NCOC Guidelines Amid Spike in COVID-19 Cases. The British Pakistani minister, whose father was born in Jalandhar, said India has a special place in his heart and confirmed that the India-UK Health Dialogue is scheduled for later this year in India after being postponed over the pandemic. Our vaccine cooperation through the pandemic was fantastic but we don't want that to be a one off, he said, with reference to the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Serum Institute of India (SII) partnership for COVID-19 vaccines. Both sides are very ambitious in what we want to achieve, including through a free trade agreement (FTA). We both have a strong life sciences sector. Last year, we had the highest number of Indian-trained nurses come to the UK than we have seen in three decades. We want that exchange to continue and grow, he said. India and the UK working together will be much better prepared for future healthcare risks, he added. Javid was joined virtually at the India Global Forum summit by Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, who also highlighted the India-UK cooperation in the field of vaccines and pharmaceuticals. With Covid, healthcare and emergency crisis management has emerged as another important collaboration area in an already strong UK-India healthcare partnership. COVID-19 has highlighted the need to build resilient health infrastructures, said Mandaviya. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Ashgabat (Turkmenistan), Jun 30 (AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of the other four countries along the Caspian Sea on Wednesday reaffirmed their shared commitment to keep foreign militaries out of the region. The presidents of Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan met in Turkmenistan's capital, Ashgabat, for a summit to discuss regional cooperation and international issues. Also Read | UK PM Boris Johnson Says if Vladimir Putin Was a Woman He Would Not Have Started Such 'Macho War' in Ukraine. In a communique after the meeting, they emphasized their agreement to bar any foreign militaries from the Caspian. They also underlined a pledge not to offer the territory of their nations for aggression against another littoral country. The communique also emphasized the importance of cooperation in the military sphere between the Caspian nations. Also Read | US President Joe Biden Announces US Reinforcement of NATO Forces in Europe To Meet Threats Amid Russia-Ukraine Conflict. In 2018, the five countries signed a convention for exploitation of the Caspian Sea resources that ended decades of uncertainty. For Putin, Wednesday's visit to Ashgabat came as part of his first foreign trip since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Putin visited the ex-Soviet nation of Tajikistan the previous day. Wednesday's summit came as NATO held its own summit in Madrid, declaring Russia the "most significant and direct threat" to its members' peace and security and vowing to strengthen support for Ukraine. Putin and other leaders didn't mention the fighting in Ukraine at their public comments at the summit. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Abuja [Nigeria], June 30 (ANI/Xinhua): At least five persons were killed and nine others injured when a bus suddenly caught fire Wednesday along the Lagos-Ibadan highway linking three states in Nigeria's southwest region, the traffic police said. Ahmed Umar, a commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in the southern state of Ogun, said the fire incident in Ogere, a town along the Ogun corridor of the highway, occurred as a result of mechanical deficiency while in motion. Also Read | UK PM Boris Johnson Says if Vladimir Putin Was a Woman He Would Not Have Started Such 'Macho War' in Ukraine. The five dead victims suffered some burns, while the injured suffered varying degrees of injury, Umar told reporters in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun. The FRSC official advised motorists to ensure their vehicles' road worthiness at all times to avoid endangering passengers' lives. (ANI/Xinhua) Also Read | US President Joe Biden Announces US Reinforcement of NATO Forces in Europe To Meet Threats Amid Russia-Ukraine Conflict. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Islamabad [Pakistan], June 30 (ANI): Former Pakistani Finance Minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz senior leader Ishaq Dar has revealed that he had decided to return to the country after the orders of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. While speaking to journalists in London, Dar said, "I am going to Pakistan in the fourth week of July on the orders of former Prime Minister Nawaz." Also Read | UK PM Boris Johnson Says if Vladimir Putin Was a Woman He Would Not Have Started Such 'Macho War' in Ukraine. The PML-N stalwart further revealed that he had received his new passport and had also granted him permission to travel, ARY News reported. Terming the cases registered against him 'political victimization', Ishaq Dar said his lawyers will move the court for protective bail before his return to Pakistan. Also Read | US President Joe Biden Announces US Reinforcement of NATO Forces in Europe To Meet Threats Amid Russia-Ukraine Conflict. The former minister also informed that he will take the oath as senator upon his arrival and the party will take their decision on his appointment as the Finance Minister, according to ARY News. Dar was elected as a senator on a technocrat seat from Punjab in 2018. He could not take oath due to his stay in London. However, the SC suspended his membership over his failure to appear in court on May 8, 2018. It is pertinent to mention here that the former finance minister left Pakistan four years back and is wanted in Pakistan in multiple cases. Earlier, in May, the Pakistan court issued a perpetual arrest warrant against former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in "corruption reference". The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed the reference against Dar, who has been declared an absconder in the case since he has missed hearings owing to his prolonged stay in London, that the former Minister had acquired assets beyond his known sources of income, Dawn newspaper reported. The court also made conditional the issuance of a ruling on pleas seeking the acquittal of co-accused -- former NBP president Saeed Ahmed, Mansoor Raza Rizvi, and Naeem Mehmood, who were directors of Ishaq Dar's Hajveri Modaraba -- on the PML-N leader's arrest. The co-accused had filed pleas for their acquittal and challenged the reference under the NAB amendment ordinance, as per the publication. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Tuscaloosa (US), Jun 30 (AP) The mother of a US military veteran who went missing after he travelled to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia has spoken with her son by telephone, the family said Wednesday. Lois "Bunny" Drueke, of Tuscaloosa, answered a call from what appeared to be a Russian exchange and talked to son Alex Drueke on Tuesday for nearly 10 minutes in their first conversation since he and Andy Huynh, another Alabama veteran who travelled to Ukraine, were captured after a fight earlier this month in Ukraine. Also Read | UK PM Boris Johnson Says if Vladimir Putin Was a Woman He Would Not Have Started Such 'Macho War' in Ukraine. Apparently at the prompting of his captors, Drueke said the people holding him were anxious to begin negotiations and that he had food, water and bedding, Bunny Drueke said in a statement released by her family. "He sounded tired and stressed, and he was clearly reciting some things he had been made to practice or read, but it was wonderful to hear his voice and know he's alive and alright," she said. Also Read | US President Joe Biden Announces US Reinforcement of NATO Forces in Europe To Meet Threats Amid Russia-Ukraine Conflict. Drueke said he hadn't been in contact with Huynh for several days, according to the woman. The United States has said both men should be protected as prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. Huyhn's fiance, Joy Black, said his family was thrilled the Drueke was able to speak with his mother. "We are still hoping to get a similar communication from Andy," she said. Druke and Huynh didn't return to a meeting spot after their group came under heavy fire in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border on June 9. The two travelled separately to help Ukraine and became buddies there in part because of their shared Alabama background, relatives have said. The US State Department said it was looking into reports that Russian or Russian-backed separatist forces in Ukraine had captured at least two American citizens. If confirmed, they would be the first Americans fighting for Ukraine known to have been captured since the war began February 24. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Lahore, Jun 30 (PTI) A Pakistan court on Thursday ordered the recounting of votes in the elections for the post of the Punjab Chief Minister held on April 16, saying the votes of the 25 dissidents of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party should be excluded from the counting process. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's son Hamza was appointed the Chief Minister of Punjab province on April 16, with a resounding majority of 197 votes 11 more than the required 186 which included 25 dissidents from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party led by ousted prime minister Khan. Also Read | China Retains Zero-COVID Policy While Cutting Travel Quarantine to 7 Days. On May 20, these lawmakers were de-seated by the Pakistan Election Commission under the deflection clause. Hamza, who belongs to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMN-N) led by his father, Shehbaz Sharif, will no longer be the Punjab Chief Minister if he doesn't retain the required majority after the exclusion of 25 votes, while the second round of polls will be held as per Article 130(4) in case no one gets the majority after a recount. Also Read | Pakistan To Implement NCOC Guidelines Amid Spike in COVID-19 Cases. If the required majority for Hamza which is 186 votes in the 371-member strong house to stay the Chief Minister is not secured, the election will be held again under Article 130(4), unless another candidate has the majority. A five-member bench of the Lahore High Court comprising Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan, Justice Shahid Jamil Khan, Justice Shehram Sarwar Chaudhry, Justice Sajid Mahmood Sethi and Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh announced the verdict with a 4-1 majority. The court said that Hamza will cease to be the chief minister if he loses the required majority after the exclusion of 25 votes by the presiding officer. We could, possibly direct fresh election after declaring the election as unlawful but it would nullify the direction by the apex court to the state functionaries for the conduct of election in accordance with the Constitution and the decision by learned Division Bench of this Court, appointing Deputy Speaker as presiding officer and directing for the conduct of the election on 16th April 2022," the verdict stated. For the recounting of votes and re-election, if required, a Provincial Assembly session will be held on July 1 at 4pm, the court ruled. The Lahore High Court stressed that the session cannot be prorogued until the election process was completed and the presiding officer "intimated the result of the elected chief minister to the governor". (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) United Nations, Jun 30 (AP) The UN Security Council voted Wednesday to maintain the U.N. peacekeeping mission in turmoil-wracked Mali, while condemning the West African nation's military rulers for using mercenaries that commit human rights and humanitarian violations. The council also expressed "grave concern" at the deteriorating political and security situation in the West African nation. Also Read | Google Targeted in Fresh EU Consumer Groups Privacy Complaints Latest Tweet by Reuters. Russia and China abstained on the French-drafted resolution that extends the mandate of the mission until June 30, 2023, with its current ceiling of 13,289 military personnel and 1,920 international police. Mali has been in turmoil since a 2012 uprising prompted mutinous soldiers to overthrow the president. The power vacuum that resulted ultimately led to an Islamic insurgency and a French-led war that ousted the jihadists from power in 2013. Also Read | UK PM Boris Johnson Says if Vladimir Putin Was a Woman He Would Not Have Started Such 'Macho War' in Ukraine. But insurgents remain active and extremist groups affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have moved from the arid north to more populated central Mali since 2015, stoking animosity and violence between ethnic groups in the region. Mali's current ruling junta, which seized power in August 2020, has grown closer to Russia as Moscow has looked to build alliances and gain sway in Africa. The junta has hired mercenaries from Russia's Wagner Group, which has been accused by the European Union and human rights groups of violating human rights and international humanitarian law. The Kremlin denies any connection to the company, but Western analysts call it a tool of Russian President Vladimir Putin. After Wednesday's vote, France's U.N. ambassador, Nicolas De Riviere, said violations of human rights and humanitarian law by terrorist groups as well as Malian armed forces accompanied by members of the Wagner Group "must stop". Warning that insecurity in Mali is rising, he said the U.N. mission must be given access to areas where alleged violations are committed to fulfil its mandate and publish quarterly human rights reports as the resolution demands. He said that "those responsible for violations must be brought to justice." Amid tensions with Mali's military rulers, France announced in February that its military forces would be out of the country by this summer. But France proposed continuing to provide aerial support to the UN peacekeepers, who need the capabilities of attack helicopters. Mali strongly objected to a continued French air presence, however, and the French offer was dropped from the resolution. US deputy ambassador Richard Mills said one reason the United States supported the resolution was "because it strongly condemns the alarming increase in violations and abuses against civilians and again calls for all parties to cease committing or abetting any violation or abuse." He said that "this includes terrorist armed groups, the Malian armed forces, and the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group." The resolution authorizes the UN mission to assist Malian authorities in promoting and protecting human rights. The force also is "to monitor, document, conduct fact-finding missions, help investigate and report publicly" to the Security Council on humanitarian and rights violations, including sexual violence and human trafficking, "and to contribute to efforts to prevent such violations and abuses." It also authorizes UN peacekeepers to carry out other "priority tasks," including supporting implementation of a June 2015 peace agreement and the current political transition, supporting the restoration of state authority to central Mali and stabilizing the region, protecting civilians and creating safe environments for delivery of humanitarian aid. Explaining Russia's abstention, the country's deputy UN ambassador, Anna Evstigneeva, pointed to the resolution's "intrusive wording" on human rights, saying it will not help ensure that Mali can exercise its right to protect its own citizens. "We are concerned that this might be used by those who want to tarnish the work of the transition government and are not pleased with its independent foreign policy approach," she said. "We to a degree have become used to the fact that our Western colleagues time and again try and push 'fakes' into the council about the apparently disruptive work of Russia in Mali" when Moscow is helping the country combat terrorism. Last Friday, Mali's junta leader signed a new law paving the way for elections and a return to constitutional rule in 2024. The law would allow Col. Assimi Goita, who is president of the transitional government and other military members, to be candidates, according to a copy of the legislation seen by The Associated Press. The resolution on Mali also gives Security Council backing to continued support for the regional counterterrorism force known as the G5 Sahel, which Mali's military rulers announced they were pulling out of in May. The G5 Sahel force, which also includes soldiers from the neighbouring West African states of Niger, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Chad, was created in 2014 and actually deployed troops in 2017. The council said it will continue providing medical evacuations and "access to life support consumables and use of engineering plant equipment." It asked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "to enhance exchange of information between the peacekeepuing force in Mali and the G5 Sahel states through provision of relevant intelligence." (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Lucknow, June 30: The Yogi Adityanath government has banned processions and any kind of protest against the Udaipur incident in the state. Director General of Police (DGP) D.S. Chauhan said security has been stepped up across the state and action would be taken against anyone making provocative remarks. Additional DG, law and order, Prashant Kumar, said that permission would be needed for any religious or political function on the issue. Prashant Kumar said police are keeping vigil on social media posts from the headquarters as well as district level. Udaipur Beheading: Main Accused Were in Touch With Pakistan-Based Organisation Dawat-e-Islami, Says Police. "We are in touch with the central and state agencies for sharing intelligence inputs and threats and key details are being exchanged," he said. The ADG said that Uttar Pradesh Police have also opened dialogue with religious leaders to maintain social amity. The district police chiefs have appealed to citizens neither to post any comment on social media nor share any video related to the Udaipur killing. Significantly, the Kanwar Yatras are scheduled to begin in mid-July and a senior official said that the situation would be reviewed before the event. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 30, 2022 10:59 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). The Indian Air Force (IAF) rescued an Israeli national from the Zanskar area of Ladakh, officials said on Thursday. The tourist was identified as Pnina Kuperman. She was in the area for trekking when she suffered breathing problems. A terrorist associate of proscribed terror outfit LeT was arrested from #JammuandKashmir's #Budgam on Wednesday in connection with a case pertaining to the busting of a narco-terror funding module, police said. pic.twitter.com/9bTHAkPKFc IANS (@ians_india) June 29, 2022 (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.) Lao leader pushes for logistics links along China-Laos Railway Xinhua) 15:12, June 30, 2022 VIENTIANE, June 30 (Xinhua) -- General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith has called on state authorities to work with the Vientiane Logistics Park (VLP), set up at the Lao end of the China-Laos Railway, for the country to become a regional logistics hub. The leader made the suggestion on Wednesday during his visit to the park, the country's first-ever integrated logistics park on the outskirts of the Lao capital Vientiane. Thongloun called on relevant ministries to work with the park to facilitate its operation and formulate necessary legislation on logistics to better regulate the industry. Open for services since December 4, 2021, one day after the opening of the China-Laos Railway, the VLP and its dry port have provided cost-effective services for the shipment of products to regional markets and beyond, according to the local daily Vientiane Times. Since its inauguration, the park has recorded increasing shipments of freight between Thailand and China, thanks to facilitation offered by Laos-Thailand and China-Laos railways, which both connect to the park. It is estimated that about 5 million containers will be shifted through Laos each year until 2030, with 2 million containers a year to be moved through the park and railways. Based on this estimation, the park is projected to generate about 400 million U.S. dollars of direct revenue into the state budget. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Fourth India-Japan cyber dialogue was hosted by India virtually today. Both sides discussed imp areas of bilateral cyber cooperation and reviewed the progress achieved in the areas of cybersecurity and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) including 5G technology: MEA pic.twitter.com/e25MUCPa3r ANI (@ANI) June 30, 2022 (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.) Thousands of residents of #Udaipur, agitated by the gruesome broad daylight beheading of #KanhaiyaLal inside his tailoring shop by two assailants on Tuesday, took out a silent march in the midst of curfew on Thursday, demanding death penalty for the accused. pic.twitter.com/EA1tjtHKAh IANS (@ians_india) June 30, 2022 (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.) Udaipur beheading case | Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot appeals to people to maintain peace "I want to assure you that no criminal will be spared irrespective of any religion or community," he tweets pic.twitter.com/nb6auWLBlT ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) June 30, 2022 (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.) As you chant "Jai Baba Jagannath!" during the biggest Hindu chariot festival, greet your friends and family members with beautiful HD images, WhatsApp messages, wallpapers, Telegram quotes & SMS. Celebrate Rath Yatra on July 1, Friday, with full zeal and enthusiasm by singing and dancing in the festive fever but don't forget to share Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra 2022 wishes & greetings with your close ones. Scroll down and find the most exciting Lord Jagannath messages and images. Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra 2022 Wishes & Greetings Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra 2022 Wishes (File Image) Lord Jagannath Messages and Images Jagannath Puri 2022 Wishes (File Image) Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra 2022 Wallpapers Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra 2022 Wishes (File Image) Wishes & Greetings to Send on Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra 2022 Jagannath Puri 2022 Wishes (File Image) Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra 2022 Quotes Jagannath Puri 2022 Wishes (File Image) Rath Yatra 2022 Wishes: Images, Messages and Greetings To Celebrate the Chariot Festival in Puri (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.) Mexico's journalist deaths continue to occur as the country recorded its 12th fatality of a media practitioner this year. Antonio de la Cruz, a reporter for the local newspaper Expreso, was shot on Wednesday while leaving his house, The Guardian said, citing state prosecutors and the newspaper that employed him. The tragic incident occurred in de la Cruz's home in Ciudad Victoria, located in northeastern Mexico, Al Jazeera reported. Ciudad Victoria is the capital of Tamaulipas. The 43-year-old journalist was joined by her 23-year-old daughter on Wednesday when the shooting occurred, leaving her seriously injured. France 24 noted that de la Cruz's wife was also injured in the attack, but it was unclear how serious her injury was. State Governor Francisco Cabeza da Vaca underscored that medical practitioners are "fighting to save the life" of de la Cruz's daughter. He also emphasized that the recent gun attack on journalists will "not go unpunished." Reports claim that 2022 is now the deadliest year on record for the members of Mexico's press. READ NEXT: Mexico Journalist Killing Reaches Death Toll of 8 After Latest Shooting [Full Details] Mexico Journalist Deaths: AMLO Spokesperson Condemns Latest Attack The spokesperson for President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Jesus Ramirez, said that officials should not allow more attacks on journalists and activists, echoing da Vaca's claim of punishing the latest attack on the country's press. Media rights group Reporters Without Borders urged Mexico's authorities to carry out a probe into the murder to find out if de la Cruz's death was connected to his journalistic work. Tamaulipas' state prosecutor's office stressed that the specialized unit for investigating crimes against freedom of expression was informed of the incident. In addition, the federal prosecutor's office pointed out that it will open an investigation regarding the latest Mexico journalist killing. Mexico Journalist Killings: Attack on Expreso Reporters Antonio de la Cruz was a reporter for Expreso for almost three decades. He covered several beats for the newspaper, such as rural and social topics, as well as water shortages. "He never expressed any concern to us," Expreso Director Miguel Dominguez said. Dominguez also described de la Cruz as "very aware" of Tamaulipas' reality and that he was "very brave." Antonio de la Cruz was not the only Expreso journalist who experienced violence while doing their duty. In 2018, Expreso's journalist Hector Gonzales was beaten to death. Moreover, the local newspaper also experienced violent threats. In 2012, a car bomb exploded in front of the paper's offices. In 2018, a human head was delivered in a cooler with a note warning the publication on reporting the violence in the city. Previously, Lopez Obrador has vowed "zero impunity" for the crimes against journalists in the country. However, Reporters Without Borders claimed on its website that AMLO has not taken the "necessary reforms to stop the spiral of violence against the press." Attacks on Mexico's press have surged 85% in three years since AMLO took power on December 18. Likewise, Mexico journalist deaths became rampant, with at least seven killed last year and a dozen killed this year. READ NEXT: Mexico: Poverty, US Border Issues Blamed for Devastating Deaths of At Least 50 Migrants This article is owned by Latin Post. Written By: Joshua Summers WATCH: Dozens of Journalists Slaughtered in Mexico - From On Demand News Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday hit back at Texas Governor Gregg Abbott after he blamed President Joe Biden for the deaths of the 53 migrants who were discovered inside a semi-truck in San Antonio this week. Harris made her comments during an interview with NPR, commenting on how Abbott responded to the tragic deaths of the migrants, per Fox News. "How the governor of that state responded really highlights part of the problem because his response when there are 50 dead bodies in his state is to go straight to politics... Instead of dealing with the realities of the issue," Harris said in the interview. The vice president then pointed out that the Biden administration is taking the issue of human smuggling "seriously," pointing out that there have been over 2,000 arrests in the last three months in connection to the issue. Harris further noted that there were also at least eight indictments that have happened. Vice President Kamala Harris then placed the blame on the Trump administration. "We also need to take seriously the fact that we have a broken immigration system that was decimated by the last administration," Harris said, stressing that the current administration was on the path of trying to fix the "broken system." READ NEXT: San Antonio Semi-Truck Tragedy: Migrant Death Toll Reaches 53, Identifying Victims Difficult Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Blames Pres. Joe Biden on Deaths of Migrants Days before Harris lashed out at the Texas governor, Abbott pointed his fingers at President Joe Biden after the migrants were found inside a semi-truck in San Antonio. At Least 42 People Found Dead Inside Truck Carrying Migrants In Texas. These deaths are on Biden. They are a result of his deadly open border policies. They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law. https://t.co/8KG3iAwlEk Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 28, 2022 "These deaths are on Biden... They are the result of his deadly open border policies. They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law," Abbott said. On Tuesday, Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) blamed "poverty and desperation" for the deaths of the over 50 migrants. Amlo further noted that human trafficking and a lack of control in the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as the U.S. interior, played a role in the deaths of the asylum seekers. The deaths included migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Authorities also discovered survivors, including four children. Authorities pointed out that the survivors were hot to the touch and were suffering from heat exhaustion. Texas to Increase Truck Checkpoints Following Migrant Deaths On Wednesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that the lone star state will add new checkpoints for trucks that will enter the state from Mexico. Abbott emphasized that the Department of Public Safety (DPS) will "establish a checkpoint strategy" immediately. The said checkpoints would target trucks like the one that was used where the migrants died. Abbott did not mention the exact positions of the checkpoints, contending that Texas would want to surprise cartels and smugglers. However, DPS Director Steve McGraw suggested that checkpoints would be along "smuggling corridors" that connect ports of entry from Mexico to major Texas cities like San Antonio and Houston. READ NEXT: Mexico Journalist Deaths Continue to Rise; 12th Reporter Shot Dead, Daughter Injured This article is owned by Latin Post. Written By: Joshua Summers WATCH: Texas to Increase Truck Checkpoints at Border Amid Migrants' Death in San Antonio - From KHOU 11 Former First Lady Melania Trump seemed to have refused to condemn the violence during the January 6 Capitol riot, according to a text message shown by a previous White House aide. Independent News reported that the former White House aide was Stephanie Grisham, who is a longtime Trump loyalist and served as the former president's press secretary. Grisham also served as Melania's chief of staff, who resigned within hours of the text exchange on January 6 last year when a crowd of Donald Trump supporters breached the seat of Congress to reverse election results. Grisham allegedly asked the former first lady in a text message if she wanted to tweet that "peaceful protests are the right of every American, but there is no place for lawlessness and violence." Melania then allegedly replied with a short "no." The exact conversation was earlier referred to in her memoir "I'll Take Your Questions Now" last year. However, the exact text itself was not shared. READ NEXT: Donald Trump Tried to Retain Presidency Illegally, Should Be Charged With Crimes- Half of U.S Adults in New Poll Melania Trump Allegedly Refuses to Condemn Capitol Riot Violence Stephanie Grisham said in a Business Insider report that she resigned immediately after Melania's response. She was the first Trump official to step down after the Capitol riot. The former Trump aide became a vocal critic of her former bosses after serving in the administration. She even said she needed to be "deprogrammed" after leaving the White House. Grisham joined dozens of former Trump officials who were, at the time, creating plans to impede their former boss during the upcoming 2022 midterm elections and in 2024. She further suggested that Trump aides who refuse to cooperate with the January 6 panel should be charged in June. Representatives for Melania at Trump's post-presidential press office have yet to comment on the matter. January 6 Hearing and Donald Trump Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, painted a picture of the January 6 Capitol riot, with allegations that Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of the car he was traveling in. BBC News reported that Trump allegedly wrestled with a Secret Service officer in an attempt to divert his motorcade to the Capitol, where his supporters were gathering. Hutchinson testified that Meadows told her he thought things "might get real, real bad" days before the insurrection. She detailed how White House officials warned of the possible violence. Hutchinson also said that Trump personally knew the members of the crowd at his morning rally near the White House were armed as they were being turned away by Secret Service officers. Hutchinson said she heard the president say he does not care that the people have weapons, adding that they were not there to hurt him. Trump reportedly said to "let my people in," and that the crowd can march to the Capitol from there. The former president allegedly attempted to grab the steering wheel when he learned that the motorcade was returning to the White House. READ MORE: Donald Trump Admits He Didn't Win Presidential Election 2020 During Interview With Presidential Historians This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Jan. 6 committee hearing tomorrow; FBI seizes Trump lawyer John Eastman's phone - from CNBC Television Elmo, the bubbly red Muppet beloved worldwide, is now vaccinated against COVID-19. The Sesame Workshop, which is the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, released a public service announcement on Tuesday. It revealed that Elmo, who is three and a half years old in Sesame Street's setting, is now vaccinated, and they are urging other kids to get vaccinated as well. Elmo's father, Louie, who is also a Muppet, talked about getting his child vaccinated. He answered several questions often asked about children receiving the potentially life-saving vaccine. He said that he talked with Elmo's pediatrician about getting one and learned that it was the best way to keep not only Elmo and himself safe but also their friends, neighbors, and everyone else. The PSA comes as COVID-19 vaccines are now made available for children below five years of age. READ NEXT: Florida Refuses to Distribute COVID-19 Vaccines for Kids Under 5, but State Doctors Can Sesame Street Aims to Spread Information About COVID-19 Vaccines for Children In a statement to CNN, Sesame Workshop's Senior Vice President for U.S. Social Impact Jeanette Betancourt acknowledged that parents will indeed be asking questions regarding the safety of the vaccines. However, she said that they hope Louie and Elmo will inspire parents and caregivers across the country to speak to their healthcare providers and get more information about the vaccines. Emergency use authorization for the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines has already been given by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for children below five years of age earlier this month. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine advisers also voted unanimously to recommend that children below five should also get vaccinated. The Sesame Street PSA received praise from doctors, including CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen. Wen, who is the mother of two small children, said that her kids have already received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. She acknowledges that people are still on the fence about giving their children the vaccine and said that the Sesame Street PSA also did a good job in acknowledging those questions as well. She also praised it for urging parents to seek out the person they should trust the most about the health of their children, which is their pediatrician. Ted Cruz Predictably Bashes Sesame Street PSA After picking a fight with Big Bird over the COVID-19 vaccine last year, conservative Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz blasted Sesame Street once again, this time for Elmo and his dad's PSA. In a tweet, Cruz wrote that while Elmo's father urged parents to ask questions, Elmo was still blatantly advocating for kids to get the shot. He then said that the PSA cited zero scientific evidence. Thanks, @sesamestreet for saying parents are allowed to have questions! You then have @elmo aggressively advocate for vaccinating children UNDER 5. But you cite ZERO scientific evidence for this. Learn more:https://t.co/Ss20TmFTSB https://t.co/tr67QyfRyC Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 28, 2022 The tweet did not get over too well, with Twitter users blasting Cruz for his usual anti-vaccine rhetoric. Some tweets were scathing in their criticisms of Cruz's "hypocrisy," while some merely poked fun at the Texas Senator's expense. According to The Guardian, Sesame Street has long become a target for the U.S. political right. The children's show has taken a stand on various issues, which range from LGBTQ rights to vaccination and even racial justice following the death of George Floyd. READ NEXT: CDC Releases Bizarre Tips on How to Have Sex With People Infected With Monkeypox This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: Sesame Street: Elmo Gets the COVID-19 Vaccine | PSA - Sesame Street A California city is considering enforcing armed security among their schools following the tragic Uvalde shooting in Texas that killed more than a dozen of children and two teachers. As reported by SMDP, the City of Malibu citied its "large, difficult-to-secure exurban campuses and slow law enforcement response times" as the reason behind heightening the security in its four public school campuses for the first time. According to Fox News, the schools that fall within the Santa Monica-Malibu School District (SMMUSD), specifically Malibu Elementary, Webster Elementary, and Malibu's Middle and High Schools, are considering the said move in the aftermath of the tragedy. Despite the plans of the California city to enforce the said program, the estimate of its cost was still unclear. However, Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Silverstein noted that the citizens should demand the school district fund the said program. "Demand it, not just request them and take their answer, 'No' - demand it, and if necessary, consider legal action to require it because it is their responsibility to keep our school students safe," Silverstein noted. Meanwhile, the school district said in a statement to a local newspaper that they support the plan, but the program would be initially covered by the city. The said schools located in Malibu are served by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. In a Tuesday statement, SMMUSD Superintendent Ben Drati said they are thrilled to collaborate with the LASD to enhance the security and responsiveness around Malibu schools. "We appreciate this joint effort to improve patrolling, response time, and intervention in emergencies or threats to our campuses and thank Malibu City Council for the initial funding for this pilot," Drati added. READ NEXT: Uvalde Teacher Says Texas Shooting Gunman Salvador Ramos Was a 'Student Who Scared Her Most' Texas Shooting: Uvalde Gunman's Grandmother Also on Wednesday, the grandmother of the Texas shooter, Salvador Ramos, which he shot before firing in Uvalde's Robb Elementary School, got out of the hospital. The grandmother, identified as 66-year-old Celia Gonzales, got out of the healthcare facility in San Antonio a month after she was shot by Ramos, Reuters reported. It can be recalled that the grandmother was shot by her grandson in her face in their home. Ramos' grandfather previously shared that his wife had a bullet pierce her jaw and upper cheek. He added that his wife needed a "significant reconstructive surgery." The grandmother's release was announced by University Health in San Antonio. The hospital also pointed out that the only remaining patient from the shooting in Uvalde was a 10-year-old girl who was "upgraded to good condition." Texas: Tragic Uvalde School Shooting The Texas shooting in Uvalde's Robb Elementary School occurred on May 24. The shooting sparked after Salvador Ramos entered the site carrying an AR-15 rifle. At least 19 children and two teachers died after Ramos was fired at the said school. Uvalde City will hold a special city council on Thursday, where the shooting in Robb Elementary School will be discussed. Meanwhile, Governor Greg Abbott announced on Tuesday that Texas approved $105.5 million for improving school safety and mental health resources. READ NEXT: Here's How Kamala Harris Reacted to Texas' Greg Abbott's Comments on Migrant Deaths This article is owned by Latin Post. Written By: Joshua Summers WATCH: Uvalde Mayor Among New Witnesses Testifying Before Texas House Committee - From KHOU 11 Costa Rica is a tourist-friendly country, best known for cloud forests, jungle tours, and beaches. With the country already open to tourists after closing up due to COVID-19, visitors are expected to flock to this Central American tropical paradise. But while the country is best known for its natural beauty, it's also a great place to party. According to Leisure and Travel, many Costa Ricans celebrate fiestas all over the country. Many celebrate religious feasts as a great excuse to party it up. From dancing and music to bullfighting and even to what is Costa Rica's equivalent of Germany's Oktoberfest, Costa Rica surely knows how to celebrate. READ NEXT: Mexico: 5 Underrated Mexican Food That Are Not Tacos Costa Rica: 5 Costa Rican Festivals to Celebrate In Costa Rican fiestas are often religious and cultural affairs. But they also happen to be some of the biggest parties in the country. Here are five of them. Fiestas de Palmares (Palmares Festival) Fiestas de Palmares is the country's largest cowboy party. It lasts two whole weeks as it celebrates Costa Rica's cowboy culture with rodeos, carnival rides, parades, and lots of booze. In fact, According to Maximo Nivel, there is so much booze that it is second only to Oktoberfest. It usually kicks off on the second Thursday of January and is considered the largest and most anticipated festival in Costa Rica. Its highlight is the "Tope" or Horse Parade, where horse riders and cowboys from all over the country gather and show off their riding skills and the beauty of their horses. Fiesta de los Diablitos (Diablitos Festival) This feast literally means the "Festival of the Little Devils," with two of the country's indigenous communities, the Boruca and the Rey Curre, celebrating it every December. The feast is highlighted with villagers donning costumes and masks to represent ancestral spirits and reenact their ancestors' victory over Spanish conquistadors. And yes, there will still be lots of drinking, with the drink of choice being a fermented corn beverage known as chicha. The Boruca community celebrates the festival every December, while the Rey Curre celebrates it every February. Limon Carnival Taking inspiration from Brazil's Carnival, the Limon Carnival is one huge party highlighted by parades, food, and drinks. But unlike Brazil's Carnival, this one showcases more of Costa Rica's own diverse culture. It happens every October as a celebration of Costa Rican culture and beauty. Festival de la Luz (Festival of Lights) Like most Latin American countries, Costa Rica is deeply Catholic. And as December arrives, this means one thing: Christmas. In the municipality of San Jose, the lead-up to Christmas involves one of Costa Rica's most beautiful festivals, the Festival de la Luz, also known as the Light Festival. It boasts an extravagant parade, as well as performances by the top bands in the country. According to Costa Rican Vacations, it first started in 1996 and has since grown to be the kick-off event for the Christmas season in the country. From fireworks to bands playing Christmas carols and the huge parade, the festival has also grown in international recognition. Envision Festival While the other four on this list celebrate Costa Rican culture and traditions, the Envision Festival is more dedicated to trustafarians and psychedelia enthusiasts. It boasts plenty of art, food, and music, as well as yoga. Visitors from all over the world flock to the beach forest of Uvita, Costa Rica every February to participate in the celebration. READ MORE: Uruguay: Best Traditional Foods to Eat While You're in the South American Country This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: Festival de la Luz: Programa del 17 de Diciembre de 2016 - From Repretel Costa Rica Guatemala is one of the countries in Central America that offers a unique culture, tradition, and savory dishes that will make foreigners love the country. If you want an experience that traverses leisure, history, and one-of-a-kind adventure, then Guatemala is the right destination for your next trip. Guatemala is home to active volcanoes and historical ruins that will surely satisfy your curiosity and hunger for knowledge. READ NEXT: Travel to Argentina: 5 Famous Tourist Spots to Spice up Your Trip 5 Famous Guatemala Tourist Spots The good thing in the Latin American region is that every corner of its countries is worth visiting. To help you decide which tourist spots you should visit when in Guatemala, here is a list of places you must check out. Tikal National Park If you are into places with historical and cultural roots, then checking out the Tikal National Park in Guatemala should be on your list. The said park is home to one of the largest pre-Columbian Maya ruins in the world. Tikal's ruins showed what life was like in this Maya city. When you are here, check out The North Acropolis, which holds the burial sites of people dating back to 1,300 years. You should also check the Plaza of Seven Temples that were made during the 650 B.C. and the Tikal Temple, which stands at 47 meters high. This site is now a UNESCO World Heritage. Semuc Champey Taking a dip and relaxing in the waters is never a letdown during a trip, especially when you are in Guatemala. The Central American country is home to the famous Semuc Champey, a 300-meter-long forming limestone bridge in the middle of the jungle. The said rock formation is famous for its turquoise water pools. This tourist spot is also famed for the area's river tubing and cave explorations. Pacaya Volcano Trekking the Pacaya Volcano is also a good idea if you want to see a live volcanic activity. Pacaya is known to have been continuously active since 1975, with the lava explosions constantly changing its appearance. Organized tours offer guided hikes, where you can roast some marshmallows on hotspots while enjoying the hot and fantastic view. Chichicastenango Getting some souvenirs should never be out of your list when traveling to a foreign country, and when you're in Guatemala, you should check out Chichicastenango. Chichicastenango is known to be the largest market in Central America. Visiting this town's market on Thursdays and Sundays will never disappoint as it offers vibrant textiles, colorful crafts, and anything that can be a souvenir on your Guatemalan trip. Antigua Want some photos that are worth posting on your Instagram? Then you should check out the town of Antigua. This colonial town is located in the highlands of Guatemala and offers one of the best streetscapes in the world. This town is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it offers different attractions and activities. Some cheap Spanish schools are also located in town, so you may check it out if you want to learn the language and have a heart-to-heart talk with the locals. READ MORE: 5 Famous Bolivia Tourist Attractions You Absolutely Must Visit This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Joshua Summers WATCH: Top 10 Things To Do in Guatemala - From Travelmoji Lawyers for U.S. officials sued by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera filed a motion Tuesday for the second time to dismiss the lawsuit of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel leader in a Colorado court. According to Infobae, the officials, including Attorney General Merrick Garland and Bureau of Prisons Director Michael Carvajal, were forced to file their petition again because Judge William Martinez told them last week that the first petition had been incorrectly filed. The officials again said that El Chapo's complaints about alleged "cruel and unfair" treatment at the ADX "supermax" prison in Florence, Colorado are unfounded and do not amount to "any abuse," the Associated Press reported. The defendants stressed that the former Sinaloa Cartel leader was not "a prisoner like any other." They added that the Supreme Court and appeals courts had already rejected the same allegations of mistreatment and harsh conditions in prison by El Chapo. The defendants also requested that the time limit set for presenting evidence in the case be suspended. In the first request to dismiss the case, Martinez told the defendants that the appeal had not been presented correctly because both parties should first try to reach an agreement to address El Chapo's complaints and see if a solution could be reached. But in their second request to dismiss the case, lawyers for the defendants said no settlement had been reached. El Chapo filed the lawsuit against Garland, Carvajal, and others last year when he revealed that he was suffering from psychological problems due to how he was treated in the maximum-security prison in Colorado. READ NEXT: Sinaloa Cartel Boss El Mayo's Son, 'Mayito Gordo,' Gets 9 Years in Prison but Could Be Released Next Year Sinaloa Cartel Boss El Chapo Says His Complaints Are Getting Ignored The infamous Sinaloa Cartel boss is currently imprisoned in one of the most secure prisons in the United States. In a seven-page letter he previously sent to Garland and Carvajal and was included in his lawsuit, El Chapo complained about being mistreated in the ADX "supermax" prison. He said the treatment he received in the maximum-security prison was "cruel and unfair," and it was taking a toll on his health. El Chapo wrote in English that due to the treatment at the prison, he now suffers from "headaches, memory loss, muscle cramps, stress, and depression." He also made several demands, such as being able to communicate with other inmates verbally. El Chapo claimed that since arriving in the U.S., he had not been allowed to speak to his wife. The long list of his complaints also includes being served little food, the "extremely hot" temperature that makes his blood pressure rise, and suffering from a fungal infection in his foot due to sharing nail clippers with other inmates. The Sinaloa Cartel boss added that prison officials enter his cell "several times a week to do routine searches when they move and touch all my belongings." El Chapo then asked to be treated better and that the conditions in his cell be improved. The Case of Sinaloa Cartel Boss El Chapo The Sinaloa Cartel is considered one of the world's most powerful drug trafficking syndicates. The Mexican drug cartel has been known for carrying out assassinations, murders, and torture to protect its turf. The group was founded in the late 1980s and headed by El Chapo. The Mexican drug kingpin was arrested and sentenced to more than 20 years in prison in 1993. El Chapo escaped from prison in 2001 and was apprehended again in 2014 in Sinaloa, Mexico. He again escaped from prison through a tunnel the following year. In January 2016, Mexican officials announced that El Chapo has been captured again. He was extradited to the U.S. the following year. El Chapo is serving a life sentence in prison after being found guilty in 2019 of all 10 federal charges he faced. He was accused of illegally importing millions of kilos of cocaine from Mexico to the U.S., along with significant quantities of heroin and marijuana. In January, a federal appeals court in New York upheld the life sentence of El Chapo after his request for a new trial was dismissed. In their decision, the three judges rejected some of El Chapo's arguments, including jury bias, "deplorable" jail conditions, and the U.S. government selectively targeting him for prosecution. Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court junked the request of the Sinaloa cartel leader to review his case. His lawyers filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in April, and the high court reportedly rejected the petition without comment. El Chapo's legal team cited two reasons for granting the petition for a writ of certiorari. The first was more technical and related to violations of an extradition treaty. The second had something to do with El Chapo's complaints about "pretrial restraints." El Chapo's lawyers noted that "certiorari is also warranted because excessive and punitive pretrial restraints impaired petitioner's right to counsel, a defense, and due process of law." They maintained that the pretrial confinement of the Sinaloa Cartel leader was beyond "draconian." El Chapo's lawyers argued that the "series of pyramiding constraints" and "tower of expanding restraints" robbed the Sinaloa Cartel boss of the ability to "mount a defense" and get a fair trial. READ MORE: El Chapo Sons' Hitman Shot Dead by Rival Gang of Sinaloa Cartel While Eating His Last Taco in Mexico This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: El Chapo's Drug Tunnels, Explained - From VOX A Domino's Pizza delivery driver in California was shot and killed on Tuesday night when he stopped to help an elderly victim during an assault in Orange County. According to ABC 7 News, the Orange County Sheriff's Department said police officers were sent to the 7000 block of Lessue Avenue in Stanton City for reports of "trouble." When they arrived, responding deputies found 49-year-old Juan Cristalinas of Santa Ana and an unidentified 76-year-old man in the street with several gunshot wounds. Investigators said Cristalinas apparently stopped to assist the older man. Police noted that both men were rushed to a hospital. However, authorities said Cristalinas died shortly after, while the unidentified assault victim was expected to survive. Police said the suspects are now on the run. Cristalinas' son, Ivan Cristalinas, told Eyewitness News that it was true "you never knew when someone is not going to come back." Ivan said he was grateful to have shared a few laughs with his father hours before the police announced he was killed. READ NEXT: California Woman Dismembered, Killed by 'Snapchat' Guy Who Googled 'How to Be a Serial Killer' Juan Cristalinas: California Pizza Delivery Driver Killed Police said they are investigating the relationship between the injured victim and the suspects. People reported that investigators are on the hunt for four male suspects believed to be Hispanic or white. Juan Cristalinas reportedly had two jobs. He spent his weekends working on cars as a mechanic. The pizza delivery driver was described as a "hardworking, loving man." The customer who ordered the pizza said she thought she heard fireworks. Sally Gomez Cox said she heard three booms. Cristalinas' GoFundMe page noted that he leaves behind a wife, three sons, and three grandchildren. He was going to turn 50 years old in a few months. The pizza delivery driver's family said Cristalinas was always making time for those he loved. The GoFundMe page was set up by Cristalinas' daughter-in-law, Daniela Trevilla, who described him as a person who always stood up for others and was not scared of doing the right thing. Trevalla noted that all donations would go toward her father-in-law's memorial and funeral expenses. One person wrote on the GoFundMe page that Cristalinas was "one of the coolest down-to-earth guy I ever met." The Orange County Sheriff's Department urged anyone with information on the case to contact its department at (714) 647-7000 or leave an anonymous tip with the Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS. California Gun Violence According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of firearm mortality in California is among the country's lowest, with 8.5 gun deaths per 100,000 people in 2020, compared with 13.7 per 100,000 nationally and 14.2 per 100,000 in Texas. The New York Times reported that Californians are also about 25 percent less likely to die in mass shootings than residents of other states. California has expanded the criteria for keeping guns out of the hands of people who pose a danger to themselves or others due to mental illness. A person cannot also have a gun for the next 10 years if convicted of a violent misdemeanor in California. READ MORE: California Family Killed Toddler by Performing Horrifying Church Exorcism Together, DA Says This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Pizza Delivery Driver Shot and Killed While Helping Assault Victim in O.C. - From KTLA 5 CASE TITLE: Mrs. Leena Rakesh Vs Bureau of Immigration Ministry of Home Affairs DATE OF JUDGEMENT: 20 June, 2022. BENCH: Justice SG Pandit PARTIES: Petitioner Mrs. Leena Rakesh Respondent Bureau of Immigration Ministry of Home Affairs. SUBJECT The writ petition was filed in the High Court of Karnataka as to challenge the arbitrary power exercised by the bank and violating Article 14,19,21 of the Indian Constitution. IMPORTANT PROVISIONS ARTICLE 14 Article 14 of Indian Constitution deals with equality and equal before the law concept. That is everyone has equal protection under the law and they are equal before it. It also puts forth that any act of arbitrariness either by the legislature or executive negates the concept of equality. ARTICLE 19 Article 19 of the Indian Constitution deals with protection of rights regarding freedom and expression etc., under 19(d) citizens are provided to move freely without any restrictions. ARTICLE 21 Article 21 of the Indian Constitution deals with the right to life and personal liberty. No person under this Article shall be deprived of his own life and personal liberty unless with regards to the procedure established by the law. ARTICLE 226 Article 226 deals with the power conferred to High Court to issue orders writs and directions to any Government authority or person. OVERVIEW In the present case, the petitioner was travelling from Philippines to India for a pending matrimonial matter and after the same was completed while her way back to Philippines she was stopped from leaving the country. The Foreign Regional Registration Officer, stopped the petitioner from travelling by issuing a LOC as per the instructions of respondent 03(the bank). The Petitioner filed for a writ of Mandamus for the arbitrary action of the respondents in violation of Articles 14,19,21. ISSUES RAISED whether the bank is justified by its act of preventing the petitioner from travelling abroad and to be issued an LOC . ARGUMENTS ADVANCED BY THE PETITIONER The Petitioner argued that the act of the Respondents in stopping the Petitioner from travelling abroad amounts to the arbitrary action and thus does violate Articles 14,19,21 of the Indian Constitution . . That the counsel further argued that the issuance of such LOC is not a recovery proceeding and the Respondents have already initiated recovery proceedings to realize the dues from the petitioner by means of the security submitted. He further argues that there were no criminal or non-cognizable offences against the petitioner and under the Official Memorandum an LOC can be issued only if the petitioner if permitted to travel would affect the economic interest of the country. It was also submitted that the valuation of security is more than that of the amount due and also relied upon decisions of the Divisional Bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court at Chandigarh and contended that just the default in payment does not itself lead to issuance of LOC and preventing a person from travelling abroad. ARGUMENTS ADVANCED BY THE RESPONDENT RESPONDENTS NO.1 AND 2 The Respondents 1 & 2 submit that the said LOC was issued as per the request of the Respondent 3. It was further contended that whenever bank is of the opinion that there shall be a fraud or default by the borrower and there by escaping from the territory to avoid recovery in such a case it shall be requested to issue LOC and the Respondents 1&2 are supposed to take action with respect to the same. It further relied upon the judgement in the case Dr. Bavaguthuraghuram Shetty vs Bureau of Immigration and Others, where it states that the criminal case is not necessary and if the bank is of the opinion that such an issue of LOC is necessary when it finds that if the person leaves abroad without paying dues then it shall be having an effect on the economic interest of that country. RESPONDENT NO.3 The Respondent 3 submits that when the Petitioner failed to pay back the loan a recovery proceeding was initiated and there were also instances wherein the Respondent tried to sell the secured property but it was unsuccessful as the same was in the possession of tenant. The Respondent submits that the Petitioner if left to travel abroad then the recovery of the same due might be impossible, this authorizes the Respondent bank to issue the LOC and thus the same was issued and requested to Respondents 1 & 2. JUDGEMENT ANALYSIS The court relies upon the O.M. dated 22.02.2021 and under clause 6(L) it provides for the authority to issue LOC when such person when permitted would cause adverse impact on the countrys economic interest. It also lays out thatnot letting a person travel abroad for recovering amount does not fall under the above clause to issue LOC. It also contented that just because the bank has such a power, they cannot use it arbitrarily. And also, the Respondent 1 & 2 cannot just be based on the request of the respondent 3 issue LOC they should re-check with the clauses of the O.M. and act arbitrarily. The court also denied the relevance upon the case Bavaguthuraghuram case as the facts of the case are different to that of the present case and the amount to be recovered in this case definitely results in disturbance of economic interest of the country. Thus, the court allowed the writ petition of the Petitioner and directed the Petitioner to deposit an amount of 10,00,000/- for adjustment of dues, also to withdraw LOC and to also allow the Petitioner to travel abroad. CONCLUSION The High Court after hearing both the parties has allowed the writ petition also directed that the banks do not have the authority to exercise arbitrarily. The court directed that the banks do not have power to issue the LOC unless there is some effect to the economic interest of the country. Learn the practical aspects of CrPC HERE, CPC HERE, IPC HERE, Evidence Act HERE, Family Laws HERE, DV Act HERE Click here to download the original copy of the judgement Covid-19 has forced the HSE to cut visits to the hospital where many people from Laois, Offaly and other parts of the Midlands are treated. The HSE's Dublin Midlands Hospital Group issued a statement on behalf of the Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore which took effect immediately from June 30. It says revised its visiting arrangements mean that visiting for nominated persons needs to be pre-arranged on critical and compassionate grounds only. This can be arranged at ward level by contacting the hospital in advance. Otherwise, people are asked not to visit the hospital if you have symptoms of COVID-19. It adds that all visitors must wear a mask. Catriona McDonald is Hospital Manager in Tullamore. We are experiencing increasing levels of Covid-19 in the Hospital and across the wider community. We need to protect our patients and staff and so have taken the difficult decision to curtail visiting at this time. We will monitor and review these arrangements on an ongoing basis. We regret the impact this has on patients in our care and their family, she said. There were 15 people with Covid-19 being treated at the Tullamore hospital on Tuesday, June 29. Of these, five were admitted in the 24 hours to 8pm. There was one critically ill with Covid-19. There were no available general beds and just one free ICU bed at the big Offaly hospital. Meanwhile, across the border in Laois, at total of nine people ad Covid-19 in the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise. None were critically ill. The hospital had two available general beds and one free ICU beds on Tuesday. A woman has been given a two-year suspended sentence for laundering 72,000 which was stolen from Bus Eireann in an email misdirection fraud. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today/yesterday (Wednesday) heard that in October 2019, Bus Eireann received an email from a GoBus email advising them of that company's new bank account details. Staff at Bus Eireann updated their bank details for GoBus, and a few days later, 72,000 was paid from Bus Eireann to the new GoBus bank account. Bank of Ireland subsequently contacted GoBus to inform them that they suspected fraudulent activity on their account. GoBus informed Bus Eireann of this, and it was discovered that the 72,000 paid by Bus Eireann was not received by GoBus. Gardai were contacted and informed regarding the activity. As a result, the fraudulent bank account was frozen, and a meeting was arranged between the bank and the holder of the bank account, Jessica Serra (30) of Margarets Road, Finglas, Dublin 18, Gardai attended this meeting and arrested Serra. Garda Conor ODwyer told the court that Serra informed them she had met a man on a night out who told her that if he allowed her to use his bank account, he would give her 3,000. At the time, Serra hoped to travel to Turkey for surgery, but she declined the offer. The court heard that Serra was quoted 6,000 for her surgery in Turkey, and she reconsidered the offer and contacted the man. When her bank account was frozen, only 44,000 was present. Garda ODwyer told the court that Serra has no previous convictions and is from Italy originally. She has previously worked as a babysitter and for Dunnes Stores. Mr Diarmuid Collins, BL, defending, told the court that his client has significant mental health issues and suffers from depression. During her garda interview, Serra was visibly upset and feared that as her father is in poor health, she may never see him again. Mr Collins told the court that Serra is a vulnerable and easily manipulated woman. Judge Martin Nolan said the accused acted recklessly and knew that she was acting wrongfully when she took the money. Her early guilty plea, her full admissions and lack of any previous convictions would all be considered as mitigating factors. Judge Nolan sentenced the accused to two years in prison but suspended it in full under the conditions that she keep the peace and be of good behaviour. The Dail has heard the cost of the army guarding republican prisoners is over 200,000 annually per inmate in Portlaoise Prison. Minister for Defence Simon Coveney said he believes the army presence should be phased out of Portlaoise Prison. Deputy Eamon OCuiv raised the matter in the Dail this week while discussing the report of the Commision on the Defence Forces. He said: I understand it is recommended to do away with in the commission report is the need for a military presence at the E wing of Portlaoise Prison. That is costing 2.74 million. There are 12 prisoners there. The vast majority of them are due out within two years; in fact, some are due out before the end of this summer. They are already getting temporary releases. It seems an amazing cost, 200,000 a pop, to have that presence, Deputy OCuiv remarked. "> These are by no means the prisoners who cause the greatest threat to the State at this time. Will this matter be looked at seriously? It seems to me to be unnecessary now, whatever justification there was for it in the past, he added. Deputy Bernard Durkan asked when decisions on army operations assisting civilian authorities would be made: Will the conclusions be announced and endorsed by the Government by the end of this Dail session - in other words, before the summer recess? Minister for Defence, Simon Coveney said: "Yes" is the straight answer to that question. I hope that that will happen well in advance of our breaking up in a few weeks' time. He said I do not believe that it is either justifiable or necessary for the Defence Forces to have the presence they have in Portlaoise Prison indefinitely. My view is that the Defence Forces should be phased out of Portlaoise Prison but, of course, we have to work with the Department of Justice and the Prison Service to do that efficiently. Minister Coveney said: If we are trying to narrow the scope of what we are asking the Defence Forces to do, that is one area where they have done a fantastic job, but I think the Prison Service should be able to replicate that work without having Defence Forces personnel in Portlaoise Prison. That takes up a lot of resourcing and is quite expensive, and I think the Defence Forces could be used elsewhere more effectively in their core role. That is a recommendation in the report. I strongly agree with it. I do not think it will happen overnight because these things need to be managed, but I certainly intend to pursue it in a reasonable timeline, Minister Coveney said. An exhibition on Laois Cumann na mBan women who were part of the fight for Irish freedom will be launched in Mountmellick Library on Tuesday 5th July at 7.30 pm. The exhibition was curated by Mountmellick native Bernadette Dunne with the support of Laois County Library as part of its Decade of Centenaries programme. Formed in 1914, they were active in the War of Independence and took the anti-Treaty side in the Civil War. Cumann an mBan were declared an illegal organisation by the government of the Irish Free State in 1923. This was reversed when Fianna Fail came to power in 1932. Bernadette Dunne spoke about the background to the Laois project. Official records pertaining to the organisation, membership and activities of Cumann na mBan in County Laois are sparse to say the least. Laois is the only county not to have a register of Cumann na mBan members, she said. At the suggestion of her father, Richard Dick Fitzpatrick, whose mother was an active member in Laois, Bernadette launched a project to gather oral histories of the revolutionary women before they were lost forever. The stories of the Laois women that feature in the exhibition are compiled from official records housed in the Military Archives and the oral histories gathered by Bernadette. The Cumann na mBan exhibition and related events are part of a long-term and on-going engagement by Laois Local Studies in projects bringing back into the light womens experience of the revolutionary period. It is hoped that the exhibition will encourage the public to share and record for posterity more stories relating to the forgotten women of revolutionary Laois. Speakers on the night will include historian Regina Dunne, who has researched Cumann na mBan in Laois; Sinead Holland (Laois Local Studies) who is compiling an archive and membership roll of Laois Cumann na mBan; Bernadette Dunne, who will outline her ongoing project to gather oral histories of Laois Cumann na mBan members. The exhibition will remain in the Mountmellick Library until the end of August and will be exhibited in other Laois library branches in the coming months. If you have information on Laois members of Cumann na mBan that you would like recorded, you can email Bernadette Dunne at bernadettenidhuinn@gmail.com and Laois Local Studies on localstudies@laoiscoco.ie Households earning up to 80,000 euro should be entitled to claim the back-to-education allowance, Sinn Fein has said. The party wants to extend the allowance to an additional 500,000 children under proposals to cut back-to-school costs. Sinn Feins education spokesman Donnchadh O Laoghaire said he wants to see the allowance increase by 50%, from 160 euro to 240 euro for primary school children, and from 285 euro to 427.50 for secondary school children. Mr O Laoghaire said he wants to see middle income families have access to the allowance because of the cost-of-living crisis. Today @Donnchadhol launched Sinn Feins plan to cut back-to-school costs to ensure families get a much-needed break from rising expenses. No family should face the fear of being plunged into debt just for sending a child to school. Read our plan here: https://t.co/sRc6pQ9w3f pic.twitter.com/8zNlnPAD27 Sinn Fein (@sinnfeinireland) June 30, 2022 He said that the cost of going back to school is a huge burden for families. This is likely to be even more of a crisis this year. Very often back-to-school costs can cost well in excess of 1,000 euro a child and much more than that if you have two or three children going through the school system, Mr O Laoghaire added. He said that school costs combined with rising fuel and energy costs have put families under severe pressure. We feel there is a particularly urgent need for radical proposals to ensure families are supported in terms of back to schools, Mr O Laoghaire added. He said research published last year found that 63% of parents said covering school costs was a very significant financial burden. The average cost of sending a child to primary school is 1,186 euro and 1,491 euro for a secondary school child, according to the Irish League of Credit Unions. There is an urgent need to support families through this, Mr O Laoghaire added. In terms of what we are proposing is, we are putting in place a very significant package of 161 million euro and that is a mixture of cash payments, proper funding of state services. We want to ensure the cost of uniforms are reduced, that book costs, school transport fees and voluntary contributions are eliminated and the funding replaced by the state and cost burden brought down. One of the major proposals that we have is to ensure that middle income families can access the back-to-education allowance. We want to deliver a full free book scheme. Free school books are in place in the North since 1947, we are 75 years behind the North and many other jurisdictions. Sinn Fein TD Darren ORourke said there is a significant opportunity to expand and improve the school transport scheme. Mr ORourke said the party would invest 10 million euros to create 10,000 extra places in the next academic year and eliminate fees at the cost of 17.3 million euros over the course of the Dail term. The school transport scheme is an essential service, particularly in rural areas, he added. It caters for 121,000 children, but each year the service is substantially oversubscribed and around 25,000 children a year are excluded from the scheme based on the criteria that currently applies. That leaves parents scrambling to find alternative arrangements and can lead to inconvenience. Our proposal is to expand the scheme to make it available to 10,000 more children and to reduce costs for the scheme. An Assistant Garda Commissioner, who served in Rathangan, Co Kildare, earlier in his career, was honoured by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee on his retirement earlier this week. John O'Driscoll retired on Tuesday after 41 years of service in An Garda Siochana. He joined the force in 1981 and was originally stationed at Fitzgibbon Street Garda Station in Dublins North Inner City. He rose through the ranks, serving in areas such as the Garda National Immigration Bureau, Garda National Drug Unit and the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and was being promoted to Assistant Commissioner, Special Crime Operations, in 2016. He has served in multiple districts around the country, including many years in the Dublin Metropolitan Area as well as time in Swinford, Co Mayo and Rathangan, Co Kildare. John ODriscoll has served the State with integrity and distinction over the course of his 41 year career in policing," said Minister McEntee. "Throughout his career, and particularly in difficult days since 2016, John has embodied the finest tradition of An Garda Siochana. His experience, dedication and leadership ensured the success of the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau in effectively disrupting organised crime groups and bringing to justice many of the most serious criminals. "In recent months months, we have seen the work of An Garda Siochana with their international law enforcement partners come to fruition to effectively tackle criminal groups - Johns work has been central to quietly harnessing this coalition of support. "As he retires today, I know Johns heart will always remain in policing and his legacy will have a lasting impact - on all those who have had the privilege to work with him and on the public he has served with such steadfastness. I wish John and all those close to him many years of healthy and happy retirement. Bouncy castle hirers across Ireland have come together to secure a group insurance scheme for their unique requirements. The scheme - which will provide access to stronger premiums for hirers - has been secured by the Irish Inflatable Hirers Federation, which represents bouncy castle operators around the country. The Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance, Sean Fleming, welcomed what he called the "great news". Minister Fleming said, This is very welcome news for bouncy castle operators. I would like to congratulate the Irish Inflatable Hirers Federation and their broker for getting this successful group scheme up and running. "This is great news for families and children throughout the country who will now have access and be able to avail of the fun and enjoyment of bouncy castles. Many businesses have seen success accessing insurance through group schemes. "I would encourage businesses who are experiencing difficulty accessing insurance to consider a group scheme with fellow operators. A CONCERNED citizen contacted RTE's Liveline after witnessing six vehicles reverse back up a slip road leading to the M7 Limerick to Dublin motorway. Generally, complaints around this stretch of the motorway relate to the number of accidents following heavy rain or hail showers. But the gentleman who rang Joe Duffy has a different issue. He goes for his breakfast every Friday or Saturday morning at the Applegreen Service Station in Birdhill. "I usually eat outside. Where I sit faces the slip road that goes onto the motorway. In the last year I have seen six vehicles go down the slip road, stop, reverse back up the slip road against traffic and go into the filling station, said the local. It is also possible that some think they are heading to Limerick and turn back as Nenagh is the next junction. He said on Saturday, June 25 he saw two cars reverse back up "one after the other", and has also seen an arctic truck driver do the same manoeuvre. "It must happen a lot if I have seen it six times in a year. How many more times is it happening?" he asked. Joe looked up Google Maps on his screen so he could get a better idea of what the caller was describing. When motorists come off the motorway at Birdhill there is a roundabout. You go left for Ballina and the Applegreen or straight to return to the M7 on the slip road in question. Joe believes people, who dont know the area, see the service station and think its entrance is through the roundabout and down the slip road. However, he says that is no excuse for retracing your steps. "It is lunacy reversing up a slip road. Absolute madness. A car flys around and rear ends you, said Joe. "Are they mad? You miss your exit, thats your hard luck you keep going," he added. Joe thinks "better signage" is needed if people are getting confused. Liveline contacted gardai who told them they have never had a problem. The caller contacted gardai as well and a guard told him they have "never heard anybody complain about it". Joe thanked the man for calling in. "We will never know how important your call is because we will never know how many lives youve saved because of people who have heard this, wont get confused and go the wrong way," he concluded. A LIMERICK native has been appointed to a key role at Inis Offshore Wind, the Irish offshore wind development business backed by the Temporis Aurora Fund. Mark Connolly, who was previously part of the business development team at Shannon Foynes Company, has taken up a role as Community Liaison Manager, to help lead its programme of public consultation and stakeholder engagement. Mr Connolly, who is from Adare, has worked for over 18 years in various disciplines including high volume manufacturing, process engineering, facilities services industry and the shipping industry. He holds a Master of Science in Project Management and is well-known in sporting circles from representing Limerick GAA at underage and Munster in rugby. Inis Offshore Wind has identified five potential project sites off the Irish coast - including one off the South coast and two each off the East and West coasts - with plans to develop at least 1GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, which would constitute a significant contribution to Irelands offshore wind targets and provide enough electricity to power up to 1 million homes. Launched in September 2021, the company is funded through the Temporis Aurora Fund, which is managed by Temporis Investment Management Limited. In addition to ISIF, the Temporis Aurora Funds investors include institutions from the EU, UK and US. Speaking following his appointment, Mark Connolly said; I am excited to be joining the growing team at Inis Offshore Wind and have been very impressed with the level of community engagement already established. With the experience of the team thats here and the backing of the Temporis Aurora Fund and its strategic investor, ISIF, there is significant long-term support for the companys goals and objectives, with the Irish State having a direct stake in the success of Inis Offshore Wind. Head of Inis Offshore Wind, Vanessa OConnell, added: We are delighted that Mark has joined us. He brings a wealth of experience and will add to the positive engagements weve already had with various stakeholders as we look forward to progressing on those conversations with the people who live and work in our coastal communities. It is a crucial period for this new and emerging industrial sector, and we need to make sure there is clear and comprehensive consultation with the relevant communities in this combined effort to move towards a renewable energy future. Austin Coughlan, Head of the Temporis Aurora Fund, said: Mark is a great addition to the team as we expand our level of public consultation and engagement with key community stakeholders. Inis Offshore Wind provides a direct benefit to the people of Ireland through the investment of the Temporis Aurora Fund and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, and we are working with all stakeholders of the Irish offshore community to deliver a new green industry for Ireland with substantial job creation across the country aligned with Irelands pathway to Net Zero. ADARE businesswoman, Maeve Martin-Kelly, has announced her retirement as General Manager of Adare Heritage Centre after more than 25 years. Maeve was appointed to the position in 1994 when the then Limerick County Council opened the tourist attraction in the centre of the village. In addition to her day-to-day duties, she also engaged with other tourism organisations such as Failte Ireland, Tourism Ireland, INTO (Incoming Tour Operators) and AVEA (Association of Visitors Experiences) to promote Adare Heritage Centre and the wider Adare area. Throughout her time working at Adare Heritage Centre, she supported the Adare Community Trust, Adare Tidy Towns and was a founder member of Adare Business Organisation. "I'm delighted and I'm very excited to embrace it (retirement). I did a lot of thinking before I made this decision but I had been doing the job for the last 28 years," she told Live 95's Limerick Today adding that is looking forward to having a summer off. "I'm a very active person as most people would know and I don't intend to be doing absolutely nothing and a few people have approached me but I'm really just letting my brain take a break and take a holiday for two months and I'm not going to do anything - I haven't had a summer off since I was in school," she added. A TECH firm with a strong presence in Limerick is one of eight IDA-backed companies which are to create more than 200 new jobs across the country. Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar has announced the creation of 241 jobs in Limerick, Dublin, Galway and Letterkenny across the high-growth companies which are based in Europe and the US. The investments are supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland. Making todays announcement, Mr Varadkar said This is brilliant news. Its a testament to our highly-qualified and talented workforce. Im really impressed with the high growth potential of these companies and wish them every success as they continue to grow their business here in Ireland. 241 new jobs today in 8 different companies across #Galway #Limerick #Dublin & #Letterkenny. Government policy is balanced regional development, investing & creating jobs in every county. Todays announcement good demonstration of that #FullEmployment Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) June 30, 2022 Martin Shanahan, CEO of IDA Ireland, added: I am delighted to welcome these new companies to Ireland. I particularly welcome the locational spread of these investments which shows that the technology offering, availability of talent and attractive work life balance in the regions resonates with overseas investors. One of the companies - Evolv AI - already has a presence in Limerick and earlier this year opened its European headquarters in Dublin. The San Francisco-based company, which provides Experience Optimization solutions, that help brands deliver optimised and personalised customer experiences in real time, says it is making Ireland the focal point for its European team. Evolv AI, which aims to hire 25 additional people over the next two years, already has key team members in Dublin and Limerick and sees Ireland as an optimal market to hire and retain top talent. The new roles will be in sales, marketing, expert services, client success management, engineering, Research and Development. Our company is built on innovating how brands deliver better customer experiences using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Our success is based on hiring talented people who can delight our clients and provide the intellectual capital to continue to enhance our platform and services. The calibre of people we found in Ireland is second to none and a main reason for our continued growth with key European companies," said Evolv AI CEO and Co-Founder Michael Scharff. Brian MacMahon, Vice President of Services in EMEA, added: We are lucky to count as clients some of the leading brands in Europe and across the world. These clients have high standards and demand the best. The team we hired in Ireland has been exemplary and we expect to continue to be able to find new team members who can help us stay a market leader and deliver unparalleled value to our clients for years to come. A MOTHER has described her shock at seeing a naked man performing a sex act in front of children at a beach popular with Limerick people. At Ennis District Court, the woman said the man was standing, leaning against rocks at Lahinch beach as he carried out the solo sex act on August 28, last. The woman - who was on a day trip in Lahinch with her family - told the court that seeing the man performing the act "made me shocked, especially as he was facing children". The woman phoned gardai to report what she had seen. She told the court it was the second time that day she phoned gardai in relation to the man. The witness said she first phoned gardai after seeing the man - who lives in Limerick - to her right standing up naked with an erection facing towards the water. The man denies engaging in a solo sex act in a public place likely to cause fear and alarm in others and exposing his genitals intending to cause fear, distress or alarm to another person in a public place. Garda Paul Hehir told the court that in response to the first call, gardai arrived at the beach and spoke to the male. He stated the man said that if he was nude, it was innocent as he was changing swimwear at the time. Garda Hehir said the man was wearing speedos when he arrived at the beach. The defendant, he added, was not present when gardai arrived following the second phone call. In a subsequent interview, the man told gardai that he did not engage in a solo sex act. No - definitely not, he said adding: I didnt expose myself to anyone - I thought I was on my own. The man told gardai that he was in a secluded part of the beach away from people on what, he said, was the hottest day of the year. The man - living in Limerick - had cycled from Ennis to Lahinch on the day. Asked at interview about being nude at the beach, the defendant - represented by solicitor, Daragh Hassett - said: If I was naked I was naked - I could have been standing up, I was facing the sun. I was not aware of people there." He added: Erection or no erection? I don know. It is up to them to judge. The man went on to say: Sometimes I sunbathe naked on naturist beaches. I do sunbathe naked while reading. I thought I was on my own. In court the man repeated his denials of engaging in a solo sex act at the beach and insisted he was only naked when changing his swimming shorts. The man lives with his partner and child in Limerick and arrived in Ireland in 2020. Judge Alec Gabbett adjourned the case until next Wednesday when he will deliver his verdict. An award-winning Limerick-based theatre artist, playwright and performer has received a bursary under the 2022 Platform 31 scheme. Following the success of the inaugural Platform 31 programme in 2021, the innovative scheme has returned for 2022, showing the commitment of Local Authority Arts Offices, together with the Arts Council, to supporting the continued development of artists throughout Ireland. The scheme is designed to support 31 artists one from each Local Authority area in Ireland to reflect on and develop their practice or make work in a new way, while being connected with and supported by peer practitioners, advisors and mentors. The 2022 Limerick recipient is Joanne Ryan whose critically acclaimed multimedia solo show Eggsistentialism premiered in Dublin Fringe in 2016, was part of Culture Irelands 2017 Edinburgh Showcase and has since toured extensively with runs in London, Liverpool, Cyprus, Malaysia and Australia. Developed by the Association of Local Authority Arts Offices, Platform 31 offers two elements of support - financial and developmental - for mid-career artists across all disciplines. Speaking following the announcement, Dr Pippa Little, Arts Officer with Limerick City and County Council said: Joanne brings her skills and passions to the Platform 31 group, which has a developmental focus. This opportunity for all of the artists brings energy from meeting, collaborating and creating a network. Joanne Ryan (pictured below) says she is absolutely thrilled to be part of this year's Platform 31 scheme and very honoured to be the artist representing Limerick for 2022. "Platform 31 is a really special programme and an amazing opportunity. I'm so grateful to Limerick City and County Council for giving me this chance and for all of their support. It means so much." In 2018, Joanne was one of the playwrights chosen to participate in Fishamble Theatre Companys A Play for Ireland scheme. Her second play In Two Minds was developed across a two-year process supported by The Arts Council, Limerick Council, The Community Foundation of Ireland, Fishambles New Play Clinic and The JP McManus Charitable Foundation. She is now working on a number of new theatre projects including a new autobiographical work and a large-scale, interdisciplinary promenade production. In addition to her work as a writer and maker, Joanne has also performed with many companies in Ireland. In 2014 she was nominated for an Irish Times Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in What Happened Bridgie Cleary. She was a Six in the Attic artist at Irish Theatre Institute in 2021/22 and is currently resident artist in Ormston House and Theatre Artist in Residence in Belltable | Limerick. She has been awarded Civic Honours for her international awards success and contribution to theatre and the arts in Limerick. The Green Party leader has said he would not object to bringing forward this years Budget by a month. The idea to announce the Budget in September has been mooted by coalition parties, as the Government comes under pressure to do more to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. The Cabinet is set to make a decision on the matter next week. Eamon Ryan said the Government is right to reject calls from the opposition to take immediate action. We are in the middle of a national economic dialogue and dialogue with international partners. Its good to involve them in some of the difficult choices we have to make, Mr Ryan told RTE Morning Ireland. We had a meeting on Monday with Paschal Donohoe and Michael McGrath. They will go to Cabinet next week and set out our summer economic statement. So its giving a projection as to where we are as we start framing and preparing the Budget. I wouldnt object if we had to move it to the September period rather than October and thats a matter for Cabinet to decide early next week. I would not want what the opposition wants which is doing it today. I think the critical thing in the Budget is that it is going to be a difficult winter and autumn because there is a strong possibility that Russia will use the flow of gas and turn it off in a deliberate way to try and further put pressure on the European Union. In those circumstances I think the measures in the Budget do have to be targeted as much as possible, at those at risk of fuel poverty. I think thats one of the key things we need to get around. Its about looking at a variety of families who could be working, who may not be fully reliant on social welfare, its using time over the coming weeks with social partners to hear their views, and dont do the Budget three months in advance. Mr Ryan also said he does not expect fuel rationing or power outages happening over the winter months. We are in a different situation to some of the countries like Germany, or Austria or Holland, where they have up to 80% of their gas supplies coming from Russia and that is central to their industrial whole strategy, he added. In our case, its probably about 2 to 3%, most of our gas either comes from the Corrib or the UK and Norway. We will be affected by the higher prices, which have been driven up by Russia using oil and gas as a political tool in this war. There is this risk around future oil supplies because Russia exports account for about three million barrels in the international markets. But we have taken a lot of steps with the international energy to prepare for that. Click here to read the full article. The owners of the Cinerama Dome have obtained a liquor license, moving one step closer to reopening the theater and the adjoining 14-screen multiplex in Hollywood. The Decurion Corp., the family business that has owned the Dome since it was built in 1963, has kept quiet about its plans ever since shuttering the 17 locations in its Pacific Theatres and ArcLight chains and filing for bankruptcy last year. In the bankruptcy, Decurion held onto to its most prized location the ArcLight Hollywood and the Dome and there have been widespread rumors and reporting that the company planned to reopen the theater at some point. On June 3, the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control granted a liquor license, allowing Decurion to operate a restaurant and two bars on the premises. According to the license application, obtained by Variety, the complex will henceforth be known as Cinerama Hollywood. The application does not disclose the news that fans most want to know that is, when the theater will reopen. But it does include schematics showing that the company plans to reopen the Dome as well as all 14 screens of the former ArcLight Hollywood. The facility has been dormant since the pandemic began more than two years ago. Decurion declined to comment. Variety has previously reported that Christopher Forman, the third-generation CEO of the Decurion Corp., intended to revamp and reopen the Hollywood location as a venue of uncompromising excellence. The application includes a sample menu for the restaurant which suggests that company is indeed aiming for an elevated price point, at least by theater standards. On the mezzanine level, the plan is to offer savory items chips and caviar, Parker House rolls, vegetable tarte Tatin, oysters and octopus ranging in price from $9 to $32. The lobby level restaurant will offer wild prawns with yuzu kosho butter and pickled carrot, pecorino sardo (a sheeps milk cheese) with raw honey and fennel pollen, and whipped ricotta tartine. Prices on entrees range from $18 to $38. A bankruptcy trustee recently auctioned off 15,000 items once owned by the Pacific Theatres chain, including projectors, theater seats, and concession equipment. AMC Theatres and Regal have taken over a handful of the former ArcLight and Pacific locations, though many others still remain vacant. In May, the Landmark Pico announced that it would close, leaving the city with one fewer premium theater location. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. In the spring of 2020, as the COVID crisis was rapidly becoming a global pandemic, Ezra Miller began wearing out their welcome in Iceland. The actor best known for playing the DC superhero the Flash in several films for Warner Bros. was set to start filming the studios latest entry in the Harry Potter franchise, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, in London when the shoot was halted on March 15, 2020, due to COVID. In the weeks after, Miller, who identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, became a regular at bars in Icelands capital, Reykjavik, where locals came to know and even befriend them. Many recognized Miller from their earliest breakout movies, 2012s The Perks of Being a Wallflower and 2011s We Need to Talk About Kevin, where they played a troubled teen who brought a bow and arrow to school and murdered his classmates. Miller, then 27, also started to show a different, volatile side to their personality one that began to concern Icelanders. There was always something with Ezra, said Carlos Reynir, then a bartender at Priki Kaffihus, a pub located in the heart of Reykjavik. Reynir said he intervened in two altercations at Priki involving Miller. The first was a heated argument between Miller and a male patron that began as banter but ended in the actor putting the man in a chokehold and later slapping him. Reynir, who broke up the fight, says Miller later apologized, and the other patron quickly shrugged it off as a joke. The actor was allowed to continue frequenting the bar. We just brushed it off as two friends getting drunk and getting in a fight, Reynir said. Its Iceland. That happens twice a weekend. But the next altercation, in which Miller assaulted a young woman at the bar, was harder to discount. The incident grabbed global headlines when footage of Miller placing the woman in a chokehold and then pushing her to the ground went viral online in early April 2020. Soon after the incident, Variety spoke with the woman Miller assaulted; she recently confirmed that her comments could be printed for this article. She asked to remain anonymous out of concern for her privacy, as shes telling her story publicly for the first time. In the blurry video, Miller is seen confronting the woman who is smiling and waving her arms as she walks toward them and asking, Do you want to fight? Is that what you do? After Miller grabs her neck, she lets out an audible gasp. The person filming the video stopped to intervene, Variety has confirmed. According to three sources, the woman had been speaking to Miller at the bar prior to the quarrel. She said she inquired about the actors feet visible in flip-flops after noticing some wounds, which Miller explained were battle scars from a fight. After discussing how they got them, she began to walk away, but turned around and joked, But just so you know, I could take you in a fight. Miller replied, You really want to fight? and the woman told them to meet her in the smoking area in two minutes. Eventually, Miller confronted her outside the bar. I think its just fun and games but then it wasnt, she said. Its a sentiment echoed by another woman, Nadia (she requested that only her first name be used, out of concern for her privacy), who alleges in an interview with Variety that after a warm, two-year friendship with Miller, mostly via text message, the actor came to her Berlin apartment late one evening in February 2022 at her invitation. They hadnt seen each other since they had a consensual sexual encounter in 2020. But after a friendly interaction, Millers mood sharply turned when she told them that they couldnt smoke inside her home. That just set them off, Nadia said. I asked them to leave about 20 times, maybe more. They started insulting me. Im a transphobic piece of shit. Im a Nazi. It became so, so stressful for me. They were going around my house, looking at everything, touching everything, spreading tobacco leaves on the floor. It felt disgusting and very intrusive. After roughly a half-hour of pleading, Nadia said she finally convinced Miller to leave once she called the police. The incident left her deeply disturbed. While she is clear that she never felt at risk of sexual assault that night in her apartment, she believed the actor could somehow attack me physically. I totally felt unsafe, she said. Five people two friends, a womens rights advocate, a German social worker, and Nadias German lawyer told Variety that they spoke with Nadia soon after her alleged encounter with Miller and corroborated her account. In April, Nadia filed a criminal complaint about her experience, which Variety has confirmed with the German State Prosecutors Office in Berlin. While the prosecutor was investigating a charge of trespassing against Miller, their office says that it has discontinued its proceedings since the actor is no longer in Germany. Just over a month after her alleged encounter with Miller, Nadia saw news reports that the actor had been arrested half a world away in Hawaii, for disorderly conduct and harassment, after another turbulent incident at a bar. In May, TMZ released body-cam video of Millers arrest in Hawaii, in which the actor records much of the encounter for, they say, NFT crypto art. In the video, they also say a patron at a bar declared himself as a Nazi, and accused a police officer of touching their penis during a search. Nadia realized she wasnt alone in her experience with the actor. It seems to be a pattern, she said. They jet-set abuse. That alleged pattern has only grown more alarming. After a second arrest in Hawaii in April, this time for second-degree assault after allegedly throwing a chair at a woman and leaving her with a cut on her forehead, the actor additionally has had two protection orders placed against them. The first, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, was by parents of a now-18-year-old from the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North and South Dakota, who claim Miller manipulated their daughter when she was between the ages of 12 and 18. The second was by parents of a current 12-year-old in Massachusetts that involves an incident that occurred just days before their alleged confrontation with Nadia in Berlin. In a story about the latter incident, The Daily Beast reported that Miller allegedly got into an aggressive confrontation with the Greenfield, Mass., family over the mothers casual reference to her tribe and Millers claim that the board game Parcheesi appropriates Rastafarian culture. At one point, Miller allegedly revealed a gun and said to a family member, Talking like that could get you into a really serious situation. In June, a Rolling Stone story alleged that Miller has been housing a mother and her three young children at their Vermont farm amid unsafe living conditions, with unsecured guns scattered around the expansive property. (The mother told Rolling Stone that Miller helped her escape an abusive marriage.) As for Millers future as a movie star, its unclear whether they will continue to perform as the Scarlet Speedster in future projects, but Warner Bros. is still committed to releasing its $200 million-budgeted tentpole The Flash in theaters in June 2023. According to sources with knowledge of the project, the film simply costs too much for the studio to scrap entirely and reshooting with a new actor in Millers role is similarly cost-prohibitive, because the actor is in virtually every scene. Also, the film likely cant generate the revenues needed to turn a profit without a robust theatrical run, so putting the movie directly on HBO Max is also unlikely. All eyes are on Warner Bros., however, as to how it continues to navigate the choppy waters surrounding Miller. The studio already had to downplay the actors involvement in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, which opened in theaters in April. Representatives for Miller had no comment. A source close to the situation tells Variety that Miller hopes to address the allegations at some point, but they have chosen to privately focus on their health and healing over the coming months. When Miller started showing up at Priki Kaffihus in Reykjavik, their unusual behavior was at first chalked up to the eccentric whims of a visiting celebrity. If they werent lighting incense or candles, or even bringing in their own Bluetooth speaker and playing it super loud to overpower our music, there was always something, Reynir, the bartender at Priki, said. Wed approach them and say, Hey, do you mind? There are other people here. It was a bit of a chuckle. And then they would go, Yeah, sure, and theyd stop, only to continue it a little bit later. The day Miller assaulted the woman at Priki in April 2020, her initial interactions with them felt at first to be in a similarly barbed-yet-easygoing vein. When she told Miller to meet her in the smoking area, she said she meant it as a joke and it appeared that Miller took it as one when they remained inside. But then a friend of the woman approached Miller and told them that hed heard the actor didnt want to fight. My friend didnt have to say that, the woman allowed. It was just a joke, obviously but [Miller] took that literally and got super mad and came running outside. Thats when one of the womans friends started recording. I think its just fun and games but then it wasnt, she said. All of a sudden, [theyre] on top of me, choking me, still screaming in my face if I want to fight. My friend whos filming sees [theyre] obviously not joking and its actually serious, so he stops filming, and pushes [them] off me as [theyre] still trying to fight me. Two guy friends of mine are actually holding [Miller] back as [theyre] screaming, This is what you wanted! This is what you wanted! (At the time of the interview, it was unclear whether the woman was aware Miller uses they/them pronouns.) The woman said Miller spat in her friends face multiple times an affront that was dangerous in the early, pre-vaccine days of the pandemic. (Variety in 2020 confirmed Millers actions with her friend, who also wished to remain anonymous.) Eventually, she said, a bartender Reynir ran outside to break up the fight. Reynir had arrived early for his shift that day and had seen the woman in the smoking area with her friends and Miller. When he saw the situation going way out of hand, he decided to get involved. [Miller] grabs me by the throat as Im trying to usher them out the [back] door and tells me theyre not leaving, Reynir said. He added that Miller repeatedly claimed that the womans friends had pushed them. Which they didnt, the bartender said. They proceeded to spit in my face several times, so with the final push I closed and locked the door, he added. Reynir then ran to lock the taverns front entrance, where Miller, who had run along the perimeter of the building, was banging on the door and screaming to be let in. Eventually, the actor was ushered into a car by two local friends and driven away. Variety has corroborated Reynirs account with three other sources, including management at Priki. The woman reported the incident to the police the report was confirmed by Variety but didnt press charges. Reynir was allowed to finish work early and took a COVID PCR test the next morning, which came back negative, he said. I do believe the incident at the bar was what ruined [Millers] reputation thoroughly in Iceland, Reynir said. They stopped coming to other bars shortly after. Reynir, who left Priki recently and now works at a Chinese restaurant, was struck by how quickly Miller turned against the local community, leaving a trail of destruction in their path. I thought they were great to begin with. We talked about all kinds of spiritual things and went deep into philosophy, said Reynir. They had this wonderful mask on as this total sweetheart with a completely open mind, whos ready to help and talk to anyone. But as soon as someone does something they dont agree with or doesnt like, its their fault, not [Ezras]. The day the video of Miller choking the woman in Iceland went viral, Nadia saw it on her Twitter feed. She called them immediately. Ezra was in Iceland in a car with a friend, Nadia said. I could hear the friend or maybe friends, I dont know, laughing, and Ezra was in a very good mood. Ezra was like, Dont worry. Its just a misunderstanding. Its nothing. Nothing happened. At the time, Nadia had known Miller for just a few months, but she felt she had no reason to doubt them. In the video, its true that the girl is smiling, so I thought, OK, I guess it was taken out of context and they were just playing around, she said. I just let it go. Nadia met Miller in January 2020 at an art opening in Los Angeles she was visiting from Germany when Miller approached her and a friend outside and struck up a conversation. While she works in the music world, Nadia was unfamiliar with Millers career and didnt recognize them. They said they were a performer, she said. My friend kept on saying, Its Ezra Miller! And I kept on asking my friend, Whos Ezra Miller? She liked that Miller was interested in discussing society and spiritual things rather than talking about the film industry or pop culture. It was refreshing, she said. So, as she was leaving the opening, Nadia asked Miller to exchange numbers. About five minutes into the car ride back to her hotel, Nadia said she started receiving pretty adult, X-rated text messages from Miller suggesting the two hook up. Which, by the way, was totally fine there was nothing abusive about it. Im just not into texting like this, she said. I told them to stop, and they stopped on the spot. The two kept texting, and on Millers last night in L.A., they spent the night together. They were super caring, super nice, she said. I had no reason to suspect anything bad was ever going to happen with them. (Nadia said she could not share the texts with Variety out of concern it would violate German privacy laws.) Over the next two years, Nadia said she and Miller continued to text each other, but every attempt to meet again in person was thwarted either by their schedules, the pandemic or both. After plans to spend Christmas 2021 together in London were foiled when Nadias flight was canceled three times, she began to worry about the strength of her connection with Miller. Theyd been super nice to me, and I didnt feel good to not show up and to refuse the invitations, she said. I thought maybe Ive lost a friend because weve missed each other so many times. So, with the Berlinale approaching in February 2022, she invited Miller to visit her should they be in the city for the annual film festival. The actor had recently wrapped filming on The Flash, and The Secrets of Dumbledore wasnt opening for another two months, so they had nothing to promote in Berlin. But one night during the festival, Nadia got a text from the actor at nearly 4 a.m. I received a message, like, Hey, Ive arrived in Berlin, but I might have to go tomorrow, she said. Miller hadnt lined up a hotel, she said, so with the city shut down amid the omicron surge and the weather near freezing outside, she invited Miller to her apartment. When they arrived, they were super nice, super polite, asking me if they could come in, she recalled. When I said my house is shoes off, they had no problem taking their shoes off. They talked. She gave them tea and vegetable soup. Then Miller began to roll a cigarette. I was like, Yeah, you need to smoke this outside or on the balcony. Theres no smoking in my house, she said. Miller kept rolling their cigarette. Nadia insisted they smoke outside. Instantly, their demeanor changed. And this Im quoting word for word, she said. They started with Im a maker of planets. Tobacco is sacred. Miller continued on a tirade, she said, that they could do whatever they want whenever they want, basically. When Nadia stood up to insist that guests should honor their hosts house rules, they looked at me with this really mean, stern face, and told me, Sit down, like they were ordering a dog. Nadia told Miller as much. Their reply, she said, was Yes, Im talking to you like a dog. I said, OK, if you talk to me like this, its time for you to go, she said. But Miller didnt. Instead, they escalated, accusing Nadia of being transphobic and a Nazi. I asked them if they remember I told them Im a descendant of Holocaust survivors, so why would they say that to me? she said. They answered, screaming at me, Yes, but how many people of my family died? Because many people in their family died. I was like, Oh, OK, this is a game of whos got the most trauma. So, Nadia disengaged. The only thing I said to them was Leave my house. Go away. Go away. Leave. Can you leave now? she said. Like a broken record. Miller persisted, stalking her apartment. I told them I was calling the police because they were refusing to leave, she said. And while I was calling the police, Ezra was calling the police or pretending to call the police. I dont know. Miller entered Nadias bedroom, and when she told them to leave, they started to shout that they were a rape survivor and I was triggering them, she said. They started to say I had assaulted them. I had beat them up. I had hurt them. Finally, Nadia was able to block Miller near the entrance to her apartment with her body, and said out loud that she was surprised the police hadnt arrived yet. Miller finally gathered their things and left. Nadia called the police to tell them not to bother coming, put her cellphone and door buzzer on silent and set about cleaning up her apartment. I thought it was over, but it was not, she said. About 30 minutes later, at nearly 6 a.m., Nadia heard a loud banging noise at the front door of her apartment building. When she looked outside, she could see Miller at the door seemingly attempting to break it down, and said they were screaming that Nadia had stolen their passport and money. She then discovered Miller had left behind a second jacket in her apartment, which did contain Millers passport and credit card. She threw down the jacket to Miller from her balcony and went back inside. At that point Nadia realized Miller had texted her just minutes earlier, but she said she didnt see the texts until days later, when she reviewed them with a social worker. (The social worker confirmed seeing the texts with Nadia to Variety.) It was an alarming exclamation point on what had already been a frightening experience. I did not feel safe, Nadia said. All five sources who corroborated Nadias account with Variety said they spoke with her very soon after in one case, the day after her alleged encounter with Miller. Only Nadias lawyer could recall Nadia telling him that Miller had declared that they were a maker of planets and that tobacco is sacred. All the sources were deeply troubled by what Nadia related to them about her alleged experience. I was worried, said one of Nadias friends. I think she was misled she had a memory of them from when they had time in L.A., and what she got [in Berlin] was really different. It sounded dangerous. Nadia said she has not seen Miller since that night, and she blocked their number on her phone. But she was deeply shaken. One of the reasons I did not feel safe is after they left, I Googled Ezra to see maybe something is going on with them, she said. And I saw a report in the press that they made some sort of death threats to KKK members via Instagram. On Jan. 27, the actor posted a message on video for the Beulaville chapter of the North Carolina Ku Klux Klan. Look, if yall want to die, I suggest just killing yourselves with your own guns, okay? Miller continued in the video. (The actor has since deactivated that Instagram account.) Otherwise, keep doing exactly what youre doing right now and you know what I am talking about and then, you know, well do it for you if thats really what you want. Miller had repeatedly called Nadia a Nazi in her own home. They knew where she lived and had tried to break down her apartment building door. What was to stop them from posting about her? And then I have fans at my door wanting to beat me up, she said. After speaking with the social worker about her options, Nadia realized that a way to defend against any reprisal from Miller was to share her experience with a journalist. She reached out to a womens rights advocate while seeking guidance on how to proceed; that source, who also corroborated Nadias account, put her in touch with Variety. For the Icelandic bartender Reynir, the international attention following Millers behavior in 2020 rocked his city, which despite being accustomed to Hollywood actors coming through town as part of Icelands booming production scene, is less familiar with the global appeal of celebrity drama. The incident, Reynir said, brought him close to the others involved, but thanks to an Icelandic upbringing, were rather quick at letting things like this go. Priki saw Miller just once more after the incident with the woman. Both Reynir and his former manager said the actor came to the bar with the gift of a stuffed toy elephant, intended as a peace offering and still kicking around somewhere in the bar. They havent seen Miller since. Two years later, however, following the new string of headlines about Miller, the actor is once again a topic of conversation in Reykjavik. To this day, if I see Ezra Miller, Ill look the other way and keep walking, but I still wish them the best. I dont want this to be their life, Reynir said. I want them to stop going through the celebrity craziness that theyre going through and be happy. Even though they did all this shit to me and my friends, theyre still a person that deserves good things, but not if they continue acting the way that they have. You get what you give. Nadia is less forgiving of Millers behavior, but also a bit less concerned about any reprisal from the actor since theyre facing so many other allegations and legal battles. Theyre probably not thinking about me anymore because Im just one of many people they abused, she said. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Wattpad, the user-contributed fiction platform, will pay writers cash stipends of up to $25,000 if they meet certain criteria in return for making their stories exclusive to the platform. The companys Wattpad Creators Program plans to pay out a total of $2.6 million to writers in 2022. To be eligible, writers must have: published a new story part in the last three months; at least one completed novel-length story of 50,000 words or more in their catalog; at least one story in an eligible genre; and reached a minimum number of Engaged Readers as based on Wattpads Story Statistics resource. More info on the program is available at this link. More than 500 writers will be eligible for the cash stipends, the first time Wattpad is paying creators in this way. In addition, participants will be eligible for marketing and editorial support and sponsored brand partnerships. Under the Wattpad Creators Program, some of the companys biggest stories will become exclusive to the platform. Among the first cohort of now-exclusive Wattpad writers is romance writer Tamara Lush (@TamaraLush), author of Drive and Crash and other steamy hits; Jessica Cunsolo (@AvaViolet), whose With Me series of novels has accumulated nearly 1 billion reads on the platform and has a series adaptation in development from Wattpad Webstoon Studios and Sony Pictures Television; Kate Marchant (@toastedbagels), author of hit novel and upcoming film Float, starring and produced by Robbie Amell; Claudia Tan (@claudiaoverhere), author of Perfect Addiction, in production as a feature film from Wattpad Webtoon Studios and Constantin Film; and Sondi Warner (@sondi_is_on), author of Lead Me Astray, which has 259 million reads. As part of the Wattpad Creators Program, the company recently rolled out a new Engaged Readers metric for writers that measures story performance and engagement over the past 365 days, specifically highlighting how many readers spent more than 5 minutes reading a story. The company also launched the Wattpad Creator Portal, an online resource with information and tips to help writers hone their craft, available to all users. However, its not the first time the company is paying its best-performing contributors. In 2019, Wattpad launched its Paid Stories program, letting writers charge a per-chapter or per-story fee for reader access. The program has grown to support hundreds of writers around the world, paying out more than $3 million in the first three years. In addition, Wattpad is part of Wattpad Webtoon Studios, which supports writers with brand partnership opportunities, as well as TV, film, and publishing deals. Earlier this year, South Korea-based Naver, Webtoons owner, acquired Wattpad in a $600 million deal. Were in the business of helping writers build a global audience and make money, said Jeanne Lam, president of Wattpad. With this program and investment, were putting millions of dollars directly into authors pockets, and helping them hone their skills with new editorial support and educational programming. The Wattpad Creators Program is currently rolling out to English-language writers around the world. It will become available next in Spanish-language markets and the Philippines, with additional markets to follow in 2023. Educational programming and writer resources will be available for more than 3,000 qualifying writers this year, along with more than 500 writers who are eligible for cash stipends. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. An attempted human smuggling ended with a fatal crash in Encinal, north of Laredo, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. DPS confirmed four people are dead and three are in critical condition. Troopers said the driver evaded law enforcement and crashed into an 18-wheeler. The crash occurred at about 8:42 a.m. Thursday at the Loves Travel Stop in Encinal. A preliminary investigation revealed a white Jeep was traveling north on Interstate 35 evading the U.S. Border Patrol. The Jeep was speeding when it took Exit 38, lost control and rear-ended a parked semi-trailer, authorities said. Four male passengers were pronounced deceased at the scene. Two men are from Guatemala and one from Mexico. The fourth one has not been determined. Notification of next of kin is pending. Furthermore, the male driver and two additional male passengers were injured and taken to a hospital for treatment. Authorities said the driver, a U.S. citizen, is in critical condition. The two other passengers are from Guatemala and Mexico. DPS troopers are further investigating the crash. U.S. Customs and Border Protection released the following statement regarding the incident. On Thursday, June 30 a vehicle traveling north of Laredo failed to yield to U.S. Border Patrol agents and later crashed, resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries. The incident remains under investigation by U.S. Customs and Border Protections Office of Professional Responsibility, Texas Department of Public Safety, and Homeland Security Investigations, CBP said. Encinal Police Department posted on its Facebook that there was heavy Law Enforcement presence at the Loves Truck Stop due to a critical police incident. Encinal police then updated the post saying there were multiple local, state and federal agencies on scene. Roadway will be blocked off for several hours, this is an active crime scene, please avoid the area for first responders, the post read. Courtesy/Laredo Police Department A man has been airlifted to San Antonio following a two-vehicle crash involving a motorcycle, according to Laredo police. At about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Laredo Fire Department crews responded to a crash between a motorcycle and a Chevy passenger car. Police said the motorcycle rider was a 22-year-old male while the driver of the car was an 80-year-old woman. Christian Alejandro Ocampo County leaders were presented a road improvement plan this week specifically targeting low-income neighborhoods and residents as part of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968. The plan would be funded through community development block grants without the need for the county to match them. The grant award is for $350,000 and will focus on improvements and reconstruction in the Pueblo Nuevo Colonia. Projects include paving 8,000 feet of street including West Miers, West Paredes Avenue, West Ozuna and West Gomez, and West Alvarado. The grant information also shows utility poles will be subjected to relocation. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate DETROIT (AP) The inaugural class of the Detroit Apple Developer Academy, a free program that teaches students the fundamentals of coding, design, marketing and project management, celebrated its unique accomplishment during a ceremony Thursday. The academy in Detroit for people interested in a career in the app economy is the first in North America and was launched as part of Apples Racial Equity and Justice Initiative. Can you believe it? That you're here at this moment where all your hard work has paid off, Lisa Jackson, the tech giant's vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives, asked the graduates. I do want to be among the first to say congratulations." The 90 grads range in age from 18 to 64 and include a high school student, a pastor and a mother and son. The academy is supported by Michigan State University and the Gilbert Family Foundation and Rocket Companies. Michigan State supplies the program's instructors and mentors, while the Gilbert Family Foundation and Rocket Companies provide money and space. As a Black man in America, it is hard to find opportunities like this that gives you the skills to get started in tech," said graduate Mario Crippen, a 28-year-old from Detroit. He added that he was thankful for the "chance to change the narrative around Black tech and making my son proud of his dad. Crippen and his classmates received 10 months of training, with all equipment needed for iOS development provided. Graduates developed new apps now available on or soon coming to the iPhone app store that address a range of consumer needs, including travel, health and wellness and more. Apple opened its first Developer Academy in Brazil nearly a decade ago and has more than a dozen other academies around the world, including in Brazil, Indonesia and Italy. It announced the Apple Developer Academy in Detroit in January 2021. The Detroit graduation comes after a federal judge last year ordered Apple to dismantle a lucrative part of the competitive barricade guarding its app store. The judge didnt brand Apple as a monopolist or require it to allow competing stores to offer apps for iPhones, iPads and iPods. Those were two of the biggest objectives sought by Epic Games, the maker of the popular Fortnite video game that filed what it would hoped would be a landmark antitrust case after defying an exclusive payment system that funnels 15% to 30% of all in-app digital transactions on iPhones to Apple. Both sides are appealing the decision. Academy grads have earned jobs at companies such as General Motors, Ford and Rocket Mortgage. One was accepted into Michigan State's engineering college, an accomplishment that earned a shoutout from school President Samuel Stanley during Thursday's ceremony. I'm going to be the first to welcome you to MSU, Stanley said, pointing to Paul Campbell, who completed his high school requirements in the morning while attending academy classes in the afternoon. The Detroit Apple Developer Academy is accepting applications from people 18 and older for the upcoming class on a rolling basis. WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. Supreme Court declined Thursday to take up a case involving a state law that gives California-based flight crews more generous meal and rest breaks than required by federal rules. Several Virgin America flight attendants sued to be included under the law, and an appeals court in San Francisco ruled in their favor last year. Alaska Airlines, which bought Virgin America in 2016, appealed to the Supreme Court, but the justices declined to take up the matter, leaving the lower court's ruling in place. The California law requires that workers be free from all job duties for 10 minutes every four hours and for a 30-minute meal break every five hours. Federal regulations limit flight attendants to a 14-hour work day, but they remain on duty during meal breaks. Airlines argue that if the California law stands, they will need to add crew members on some flights, which would lead to higher fares. Alaska Airlines, which is based in Seattle, said it was disappointed that the high court declined to hear its appeal. Were carefully evaluating how to balance California law with the federal rules that cover airline crew duties, the airline said in a statement. The trade group Airlines for America opposes the California law and said Thursday that letting it stand will result in a patchwork of costly and conflicting state regulations. It said at least 19 states have laws covering meal and rest breaks. Lawyers for Alaska Airlines argued this month that the California law would be especially burdensome now, while airlines face labor shortages that are causing them to cancel thousands of flights. Attorneys for the flight attendants countered that it was laughable to think a law that applies to a limited group of workers would make nationwide labor shortages and flight cancellations any worse. The flight attendants' lawyers said the Federal Aviation Administrations authority to pre-empt state laws only applies to measures affecting airlines prices, routes and services, and that states are otherwise free to regulate working conditions. FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) A pair of lawsuits that for years has plagued Virginia's largest school system with allegations that it ignored students' accusations of sex assaults are back in front of federal judges. One of the lawsuits includes allegations of horrific abuse suffered by a student at a Fairfax County middle school and was the basis for a 2014 federal investigation. The lawsuits attracted low-level attention when they were filed before the pandemic and became caught up in appeals. Now, both cases are moving forward again at a time when schools' responses to alleged sex assaults are receiving more intense scrutiny, as evidenced by the national attention in neighboring Loudoun County. The middle schooler filed an amended complaint earlier this month after the school board's efforts to block her suit were rejected. Her ordeal began in October 2011, according to the lawsuit, when she was a seventh grader at Rachel Carson Middle School in Reston. A classmate started telling others that he'd engaged in sexual activity with the girl, identified only by her initials in the lawsuit. As rumors spread, she started to face harassment and name-calling at her locker in hallways. Then, she alleges, a boy at the school began routinely sexually assaulting her sometimes with others joining the assault and threatening her to remain silent. The assaults occurred over a period of months, according to the lawsuit. The girl was evaluated by a nurse who confirmed scarring consistent with anal rape, but a police detective the former school resource officer at Rachel Carson dismissed the activity as consensual. School officials continued to downplay and minimize the alleged assaults as consensual, even though the girl was 12 and was pleading with administrators and counselors for protection while the supposedly consensual relationship was ongoing. She also alleges that on school grounds, a group of boys forced her into a closet and sexually assaulted her. Eventually, in 2012, the girl's mother filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights. After a two-year investigation, the school system entered a voluntary resolution agreement in which it admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to improve its tracking and responses to allegations of sexual assaults. The lawsuit was filed in 2019. It has been hung up until now because the school system objected to her filing under a pseudonym. The school system appealed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, which unanimously ruled in the girl's favor. In a statement, Fairfax County Public Schools says it cooperated fully with the investigation and noted that police and prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges. The school system also said the girl's allegations in the most recent complaint are more severe than what she first reported to school officials. We continue to believe the senior staff acted appropriately and lawfully in addressing this familys concerns 11 years ago, the school system said in the statement. The other lawsuit involves a girl at Oakton High School who said she was sexually assaulted by a boy on a bus during a school band trip. That case went to trial in 2019. A jury found in the school system's favor, ruling that the girl had been assaulted but did not give the school system proper notice of what had happened to her. On appeal, though, the 4th Circuit ruled 9-6 in favor of the girl and sent the case back to Alexandria for a new trial. The appellate ruling has turned a case that seemingly hinged at trial on a he-said-she-said question of whether the girl was assaulted into a case that could significantly alter the scope of Title IX, the 50-year old law that bars discrimination based on sex in education. The dissenting justices said school systems shouldn't be held liable for a sexual assault unless they had some reason to know beforehand that the perpetrator posed a risk. Judges who ruled in favor of the Oakton student said the school system should not be entitled to one free rape before it can be held liable for its policies and procedures. Alexandra Brodsky, a lawyer with Public Justice, which is representing the Oakton student, said shes especially concerned that a purportedly progressive school board in Fairfax County authorized pursuit of a legal strategy that, while it could help it win its case against the Oakton student, could set a dangerous precedent that weakens students protections from abuse. Fairfax County is asking the Supreme Court to gut Title IX protections for sexual assault survivors, Brodsky said. Brodsky said there is now greater public awareness of schools' failure to support students who report sexual assaults and sexual harassment, particularly in Fairfax County, the nation's 10th largest school system. Students at high schools across the county staged walkouts protesting administrative inaction to student claims. Two school principals have been charged criminally with failing to report alleged sex crimes to police, as required by law. Much of that scrutiny has been driven by conservative political activists. In Loudoun County, the school system faced intense backlash over its handling of alleged sex assaults, which became a national rallying point on conservative news outlets in part because the perpetrator in two of those cases was a boy wearing a skirt. Brodsky said that while transphobia drove some of the attention to the issue in Loudoun, "I don't think that means that there isn't good faith, bipartisan concern about these issues. ... Protecting students from sexual abuse should be a nonpartisan issue. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SLOVIANSK, Ukraine (AP) Russian forces withdrew from a strategic Black Sea island Thursday, potentially easing the threat to the vital Ukrainian port city of Odesa, but kept up their push to encircle the last stronghold of resistance in the eastern province of Luhansk. The Kremlin portrayed the pullout from Snake Island as a goodwill gesture. But Ukraines military claimed it forced the Russians to flee in two small speedboats following a barrage of Ukrainian artillery and missile strikes. The exact number of troops was not disclosed. Unable to withstand the impact of our artillery, missile and aviation units, the Russian occupiers have left Snake Island. The Odesa region is completely liberated, the Ukrainian military said in its regular social media update Thursday evening. A senior Ukrainian military official, Oleksiy Gromov, earlier said Kyiv was planning to deploy troops to Snake Island, but did not specify a timeline. At the moment, we control (the island) with the help of our weapons: long-range artillery, rocket units and aviation, Gromov said. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the withdrawal was intended to demonstrate that Moscow isn't hampering U.N. efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor for exporting agricultural products from Ukraine. Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of blockading Ukrainian ports to prevent exports of grain, contributing to a global food crisis. Russia has denied that and said Ukraine needs to remove mines from the Black Sea to allow safe navigation. Turkey has sought to broker a deal to unblock grain exports. But the talks have dragged on, with Kyiv expressing fear that Russia will exploit the removal of the mines to attack Odesa. Snake Island sits along a busy shipping lane. Russia took control of it in the opening days of the war in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that although the pullout did not guarantee the Black Sea regions safety, it would significantly limit Russian activities there. Step by step, we will push (Russia) out of our sea, our land, our sky, he said in his nightly address. It was unclear if the evacuation of Snake Island meant a change in Moscow's designs on Ukraine's biggest port, which is crucial for shipping grain to Africa, the Middle East and other parts of the world. It's also the headquarters of the country's navy. The island shrouded in myth since ancient times early on took on legendary significance for Ukraine's resistance to the Russian invasion, when Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back, "Go (expletive) yourself. Ukraine has celebrated the story with patriotic fervor, issuing a postage stamp in commemoration. The island's Ukrainian defenders were captured by the Russians but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange. After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there and its air defenses. At a NATO summit in Madrid, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson billed the Russian pullout as a sign that Ukraine will prevail in the war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin. "In the end it will prove impossible for Putin to hold down a country that will not accept occupation, Johnson said. Meanwhile, Moscow kept up its push to take control of the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. It is focused on the city of Lysychansk, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in Luhansk province. Russian troops and their separatist allies control 95% of Luhansk and about half of Donetsk, the two provinces that make up the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas. Ukraine said the Russians were shelling Lysychansk and clashing with Ukrainian defenders around an oil refinery on its edges. The Ukrainian military said Thursday evening that Russia had seen partial success that day around the plant, some 17 kilometers south-west of the city. They made no reference to claims that attacking forces had been able to cross the strategic Siverskiy Donets river and enter the city from the north. Zelenskyy said in his nightly address that the situation in the Donbas remained the toughest and extremely difficult. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian reconnaissance units trying to enter Lysychansk on Wednesday were repelled. He said the Russians were trying to block a highway used to deliver supplies, and fully encircle the city. The Russians have thrown practically all their forces to seize the city, Haidai said, but denied that Lysychansk had been encircled. Nevertheless, Haidai noted that as of Thursday evening, evacuations from the city were impossible due to heavy shelling and mined access roads. Earlier, the Ukrainian military said it was not planning a retreat from Lysychansk. A representative of Russia-backed separatists in Luhansk claimed that pro-Russian forces entered Lysychansk Thursday, after a perilous river crossing which, if true, would be a significant development. Military analysts previously told the AP that Russian forces had little chance of crossing the river without major losses due to the defenders' elevated positions. It was impossible to immediately verify the accuracy of the statements by Andrey Marochko, who heads the armed forces of the self-proclaimed, unrecognized separatist territory, to Russia's Interfax agency. There was no official confirmation from Moscow or Kyiv. In other developments: Ukraine's president hailed the launch Thursday of Ukrainian electricity exports to E.U. member state Romania, which Zelenskyy called only the first stage of a process that may see a significant part of the Russian gas consumed by Europeans replaced by Ukrainian energy. - U.S. President Joe Biden said his administration will send an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, including rockets and advanced air defense systems. In his nightly address, Zelenskyy thanked Biden for the move, saying that the equipment soon "will go to the frontline to work for Ukraine, to defend freedom. Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who held talks with Putin on Thursday a day after visiting Ukraine, said he handed the Russian leader a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He did not elaborate. A senior Russian official warned that Moscow could consider Western sanctions as a cause for war. Under certain circumstances, such hostile measures could be perceived ... even as a casus belli, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy secretary of Russias Security Council, said in a speech at a legal forum. Speaking on a visit to Turkmenistan on Thursday, Putin said his goals in Ukraine haven't changed since the start of the war. He said they were the liberation of the Donbas, the protection of these people and the creation of conditions that would guarantee the security of Russia itself. He made no mention of his original stated goals to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine. As you can see, the troops are moving and reaching the marks that were set for them for a certain stage of this combat work. Everything is going according to plan, Putin said. Funerals were scheduled Thursday for some of the 18 people confirmed killed in a Russian airstrike Monday on a busy shopping mall in the central city of Kremenchuk. Crews searched the rubble for 20 still missing. Sweden announced plans to send more military aid to Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons and mine-clearing equipment. Sweden was invited this week to join NATO, a process that could take months. Iranian state media said Thursday Iran has proposed expanding financial exchanges with Russia and cooperating in the energy field. Both countries are under heavy Western sanctions. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Putin met on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, Savannah Morning News. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, right, is set to join the Supreme Court on June 30, making history as the first female African-American justice and beginning what could be a decades-long tenure. But as she starts her job, the court is in turmoil. Local News, Health & Wellness, Politics By Chris Boyle Published: June 30 2022 "Health Commissioner Dr. Larry Eisenstein has informed me of his plan to depart the county to pursue a job in the private sector." Said County Executive Blakeman. Nassau County Health Commissioner Dr. Lawrence Eisenstein will leave to pursue opportunities in the private sector on July 29th. "Health Commissioner Dr. Larry Eisenstein has informed me of his plan to depart the county in the coming months to pursue a job in the private sector." Said Nassau County Executive Bruce A. Blakeman. "Dr. Eisenstein has helped lead the county through some of the most tumultuous times in our history as we struggled to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Serving multiple administrations, his professionalism, work ethic, knowledge, and commitment to the residents of Nassau County is unmatched. I want to thank him for his years of service, and wish him great success as he embarks on the next chapter of his career." Blakeman Concluded "The pandemic put the important role the health commissioner plays in the county on full display for the public to see, and finding the best and most qualified candidates is something I take very seriously. Starting today, I will launch a nationwide search to find the best of the best who can build on Dr. Eisenstein's achievements and ensure the continued health and safety of our residents." Food, Wine, & Dining, Local News, Seasonal & Current Events By Chris Boyle Published: June 30 2022 Craft beer festival returns to Heckscher State Park - beer, wine, cider Long Island Craft Classic, 8/13. The Long Island Craft Classic will return to the picturesque Heckscher State Park on Saturday, August 13, 2022 for what promises to be summers best beer, wine, and cider tasting celebration. This tasting event is one of Long Islands longest-running and best festsshowcasing local hometown favorites, award-winning American craft breweries, international trend-setters, and more. All tickets include a barbecue sandwich from the official event caterer, Bobbique . Another sell-out is expected.Tickets and information are available at LICraftClassic.com The Long Island Craft Classic is back and better than ever! Its been awhile since we have been able to return to Heckscher State Park and it warms our hearts to get a chance to see all of our volunteers, brewers, attendees and long-time friends again,said Andy Calimano, owner of the production company, Starfish Junction. I cant think of a more beautiful setting than Heckscher State Park to enjoy BBQ, beers and friends. Representing local producers will be some of Long Islands most-loved distributors, including Synergy Brew Project, Spider Bite and DUBCO . A variety of national and international distributors will also join in for the days festivities, including: Mahou, Alhambra, and San Miguel from Spain. Hailing from Massachusetts ,Exhibit A Brewing Company , will be returning to the event this year as they have since our first Long Island Craft Classic back in 2016. Other members at large in attendance this year include 2022 New York State Craft Beer Gold Medalist Ebbs, Live Nation partner Fountain and recent Empire State Development grant recipients Sloop Brewing. The Long Island Craft Classic is an amazing showcase for local breweries, wineries, and cider makers from around the corner and around the world. Tickets are $70pp (plus tax/fees) and include a barbeque sandwich, beer, wine, and cider sampling. Designated driver tickets are also available ($20pp). This is a 21+ event. Valid photo identification is required by all attendees for admission. To purchase tickets or for additional information, visit www.LICraftClassic.com . Heckscher State Park is located at 1 Heckscher State Parkway, East Islip, NY 11730. Food, Wine, & Dining By Ls Cohen Published: June 30 2022 Developed by David Tunney, the restaurateur behind the Old Fields chain of eateries on the North Shore. When Pentimento in Stony Brook closed, it left a vacancy in not only the historic village center at 93 Main Street but also the hearts of residents who lost a favorite food spot. Now, restaurateur David Tunney is reviving the space with a new Italian restaurant called Luca, according to a report in GreaterPortJeff.com. Its gonna be hot, Tunney told the news outlet recently. He imagines the new restaurant to be high end, with a cool vibe and seating for about 100 people. Pentimento announced on Facebook that it was closing their doors after 27 years in business. Tunney told GreaterPortJeff that he grew up in the area and said it was time for a place just like the one he is developing. (Alliance News) - Ascential PLC said on Thursday it acquired e-commerce service provider Intrepid E-Commerce Services Pte Ltd for an initial cash consideration of USD57 million. Deferred considerations will be payable over four years, totalling between USD100 million and USD197 million when combined with the initial cash payment. The maximum consideration for the acquisition is capped at USD250 million, in the event that stretching targets are reached. Intrepid is headquartered in Singapore and primarily provides services to brands in South East Asia. In 2021, Intrepid reported revenue of USD17.8 million and an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation loss of USD4.5 million. Chief Executive Duncan Painter said: "Intrepid's strong presence in South East Asia, alongside its proven expertise operating across the major marketplaces in this important region, further enhances the capabilities and global reach of our Digital Commerce business." Shares in the business-to-business media and events firm Ascential were down 1.4% at 259.60 pence on Thursday morning in London. By Heather Rydings; heatherrydings@alliancenews.com Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Wednesday and not separately reported by Alliance News: ---------- Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings PLC - pharmaceutical company developing prescription cannabinoid medicines - Expects financial performance in line with management expectations for the eleven months ended April 30, with around GBP2.9 million invested in research & development, and GBP5.6 million costs before tax credits. "With a diversified pipeline and the potential to provide innovative solutions to the global pain market the board is confident that the company will continue to build on recent momentum as it continues to develop next generation, non-addictive pain medications," the firm says. ---------- Myanmar Investments International Ltd - Myanmar-focused investor - In the six months to March 31, pretax loss widens to USD18.1 million from USD8.0 million year-on-year, as net asset value per share drops to USD0.35 from USD0.87. The performance reflects Myanmar's state of "deep crisis" after more than a year of military rule, the firm says, but the "worst may be over". ---------- Eden Research PLC - Oxfordshire-based sustainable crop protection and animal health firm - Reports "positive strides" despite "unprecedented backdrop", with modest sales growth following regulatory progress with biopesticide products Cedroz and Mevalone. Awaits US approval of the products and three active ingredients, which will significantly expand its addressable market. Expects stronger year-on-year growth going forward. ---------- Scirocco Energy PLC - Leeds, England-based oil & gas investment company - and Wentworth Resources PLC - Tanzania-focused natural gas production company - At general meeting, Scirocco shareholders vote in a majority to approve deal in which Wentworth will acquire its 25% non-operated working interest in the Ruvuma Production sharing agreement in Tanzania. However, 37% vote against the proposal. Intends to engage with the shareholders about the "significant benefits of the deal". Acknowledging the development, Wentworth notes: "The transaction remains subject to certain regulatory approvals plus the non-exercise or waiving of pre-emption rights by the other Ruvuma Asset JOA partners. Wentworth will continue to update the market accordingly." ---------- Aquila European Renewables Income Fund PLC - Hamburg-based investor in renewable energy infrastructure in Europe, advised by Aquila Capital Investment GmbH - Says wholly-owned subsidiary Tesseract Holdings Ltd closes acquisition of 100% interest in Tiza, a 30 megawatt peak operating solar photovoltaic asset in the South of Spain. "Tiza benefits from a recently signed, 6.5 year fixed price Power Purchase Agreement with Axpo Iberia, a subsidiary of Axpo Solutions, which covers 70% of P50 production," the firm says. ---------- Harland & Wolff Group Holdings PLC - Belfast-based offshore construction company - Receives extension on deadline to publish annual results for the 17-month period ended December 31 from AIM. Now has until September 30 to release the results, but expects to report the accounts "well in advance" of this date. "This additional period is in view of the adverse impact of Covid-19 on the audit and annual report finalisation process. The company's auditors have been clearing a large backlog of work that built up during the previous lockdown and immediately thereafter," the company explains. Confirms it does not expect the financial information in the preliminary results to differ from the 2021 accounts. ---------- BiON PLC - Kuala Lumpur-based renewable energy services - Will be suspended from trading from July 1 on AIM market, as it will be unable to complete and publish its audited report and accounts for 2021 by the deadline of June 30. ---------- Mila Resources PLC - London-based gold company focused on Australia - Announces more positive assay results from stage 1 drilling at Coffey deposit, its flagship target at Kathleen Valley Gold project in Western Australia. Results include 8.0 metres at 3.2 grams per tonnes gold, 7.4 grams per tonne silver and 3.1% zinc from hole KVRD0032. "Armed with some very impressive results from our Stage 1 drilling, Mila will shortly be embarking on our fully funded Stage 2 and Stage 3 campaigns with the knowledge that the Coffey Deposit bears all of the geological signatures of a major new mineralised system," says Executive Director Mark Stephenson. ---------- Phoenix Global Resources PLC - London-based upstream oil and gas company focused on Argentina - Agrees increase to bridging facility with Mercuria of USD36.0 million to USD133.5 million, for a repayment and maturity date of December 31. Continues to seek a restructuring of the existing facilities with Mercuria, but does not expect to do so until later in the year. Will use the increased facility to fund its planned work programmes. ---------- VH Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities PLC - invests in sustainable energy infrastructure - Raises GBP122 million in placing, open offer, subscription and intermediaries offer. Will use proceeds to invest in a number of potential infrastructure investments in sustainable energy that Victory Hill Capital Advisors has negotiated for acquisition, or is in the process of doing so. Investment advisor confident it will be able to invest or commit the net proceeds within three to six months after admission. "Since IPO in February 2021 we have successfully committed or deployed around GBP290 million across an attractive portfolio of 24 assets diversified by both technology and geography. This further capital commitment of GBP122 million, from both new and existing shareholders, will support our future growth ambitions and takes our total capital raised to over GBP455 million in less than 18 months," says Chief Executive Officer Benard Bulkin. ---------- DP Aircraft I Ltd - Guernsey-based aircraft leasing company - Will proceed with fundraising via tap issue of 30.0 million new shares at USD0.025 each to raise USD750,000. Price represents a "significant" discount to net asset value per share of USD0.17 at December-end. The tap issue will close on Wednesday morning next week. Fundraise follows consultation with its largest shareholders, and will be used as additional working capital. ---------- Trackwise Designs PLC - Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire-based products using printed circuit technology - Expects to publish annual results for 2021 in the second half of July, after the completion of audit. Expectations for the year remain unchanged from the previous guidance issued in January. Delay is due to impacts from Covid-19 such as staff absences. Receives one-month extension to the June 30 reporting deadline from AIM. ---------- Asiamet Resources Ltd - developing copper-gold deposits in Indonesia, including BKZ deposit in Central Kelimantan - Says due diligence undertaken by PT Delta Dunia Makmur Tbk (DOID) has been completed for the BKM copper project in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. The due diligence found no "red flags" for the project, and DOID continues to be a "very supportive shareholder". DOID and Asiamet are working to finalise the next steps on advancing the BKM project. "Having now completed extensive diligence on the BKM copper project with DOID, Asiamet is in a strong position heading into project financing. This extended diligence process has also allowed us to incorporate the recommendations of the proposed ITE into the feasibility update currently being undertaken by NewPro and hence fast track a key component of the financing process," says Asiamet Chair Tony Manini. ---------- Ironveld PLC - South Africa-focused exploration and development company - Receives requisition notice which requires the board to convene a general meeting to consider proposals to remove the Chair Giles Clarke and Chief Executive Officer Martin Eales as directors. The notice comes from Align Research Ltd, whose owners Richard and Catherine Jennings hold 9.0% of Ironveld's share capital. Board maintains the timing of the notice is "inappropriate", and that the resolutions are "vexatious" and linked "a number of commercial proposals Mr Jennings has put to the company". Will respond to the notice as required in due course, but urges shareholders to take no action in the meantime. ---------- MiLOC Group Ltd - Hong Kong-based pharmaceutical and beauty product company - Raises HKD540,000, around GBP55,147, through issue of 275,737 shares at 20p each to three individual shareholders. Will use the proceeds for general working capital purposes. ---------- BMO UK High Income Trust PLC - invests for dividend income plus prospects for capital growth - Will change name to "CT UK High Income Trust PLC" effective Thursday, under the ticker 'CHI', 'CHIB' and 'CHIU' for its ordinary shares, b shares and units respectively. New name reflects that its investment manager, BMO GAM (EMEA) was acquired in November and is being integrated into Columbia Threadneedle, and will be changing its name to Columbia Threadneedle Investments to unify the brand globally. ---------- MetalNRG PLC - London-based investor in natural resources and energy - Receives request for general meeting to be convened to consider instructing an independent professional advisor to investigate certain transactions conducted by the company between January 2021 and February 2022, and the use of GBP1.8 million in net placing proceeds from the placing conducted in May 2021. The company considered the request, and rejected it on the grounds the requesting party did not hold the prerequisite number of shares to make such a request. "In order to avoid the need to requisition a general meeting, and the costs associated therewith, to obtain information which is already readily available to shareholders, the company has decided to provide the information voluntarily and transparently," the firm stated, alongside details of the pertinent matters. ---------- Strategic Minerals PLC - London-based exploration and production company - Receives approval for planned mining activities of wholly-owned subsidiary Leigh Creek Copper Mine, from the South Australian Department of Energy & Mining. The approval was in line with its expectations, and covers the mining and processing of copper oxide at the Paltridge North deposit. "The approval, while having taken longer due to a number of factors, is welcomed, anticipated news. This provides a focal point by which to progress discussions currently underway with potential funders/joint venture partners," says Managing Director John Peters. ---------- Minoan Group PLC - Surrey-based Greek hotel investor - Says discussions are progressing to adjust an agreement with the Ecclesiastical Foundation Panagia Akrotiriani, which may be required in the terms of its long leasehold title of its project site in Crete. "The company's frequent meetings with the Foundation covering the key legal, technical and economic aspects of the project, have revealed that the new law on Epifania (the equivalent of a long term ground lease in English law) best serves the interests of both parties and, therefore, is the preferred option to enable development of the project. The use of Epifania would be in line with the most advantageous of the Business Plans referred to in Minoan's preliminary results announcement of 28 April 2022," the firm explains. ---------- Ross Group PLC - London-based supply chain management and distribution company - Delays publication of annual report for 2021, as its auditors needed more time to complete their work before the June 30 deadline. Its shares will be suspended from July 1 in line with FCA guidance. ---------- Tower Resources PLC - Africa-focused oil and gas company - Says subsidiary Tower Resources Cameroon SA executes term sheet with BGFI Bank Group for medium term loan of CAR4.42 billion, around USD7.1 million, to partially finance the NJOM-3 well on the Thali block in Cameroon. "We are delighted to announce this step forward in the financing of the NJOM-3 well, and also in our relationship with BGFI Bank Group. As we announced last month, the expected cost of the well has increased to approximately USD18 million, and so this facility and the USD4 million or so we have already invested, will still leave us with a balance - but a much smaller and more manageable balance - of the NJOM-3 well to finance," says Chief Executive Officer & Chair Jeremy Asher. Asher says the firm is considering financing options at asset level, and seeking an option more favourable to shareholders than the farmout structure that had previously been considered. ---------- Pacific Assets Trust PLC - Asia Pacific-focused investor - Says Independent Non-Executive Director Robert Talbut becomes senior independent director, effective since the end of the AGM on Tuesday. Talbut succeeds Charlotta Ginman, who will remain the chair of the audit committee. ---------- BWA Group PLC - London-based minerals exploration investment company - Completes mechanised auger sampling programme at Nkoteng project, with selection of 20 samples to be submitted to German for heavy mineral separation testwork. Results are expected late in the third quarter. "The company are processing the raw geological data collected from the recent programme and are still in the early stages of evaluating the lithological data and database in general. BWA are very encouraged by the presence of observed intervals of Ilmenite, Rutile, Zircon and Kyanite over continuous zones within the programme area. BWA look forward to receiving the results of the heavy mineral separation testwork," the firm says. ---------- ICG Enterprise Trust PLC - London-based private equity investor - Makes two new direct co-investments and invests in a secondary portfolio on behalf of its shareholders. ICGT invests unspecified amount in software company Precisely alongside Clearlake Capital and Insight Partners, in a direct investment. Expects to invest an additional USD20 million in Precisely. Also invests in ECA Group, a maritime autonomous systems and navigation solutions company, alongside ICG Europe Mid-Market Fund I, and will make a direct co-investment of around EUR15 million. Thirdly, directly co-invests alongside ICG in Prodject Ludgate Hill IIIA, a secondary portfolio of North American Investments, and will make direct co-investment of USD25 million. ---------- By Elizabeth Winter; elizabethwinter@alliancenews.com Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Hotel occupancy in Palma in June is higher than that in 2019. This is in part being attributed to cruise tourism, as many passengers are opting to stay a few days in Mallorca before going on their cruises. Palma is more of a base port for cruises than used to be the case, the president of the Palma-Cala Major hoteliers association, Javier Vich, saying that this is having a positive impact. "In June we have been registering an average occupancy of 90%, compared to 87% in 2019. Many cruise passengers arrive a few days before leaving on their cruises. This helps to explain the three per cent increase." Ian Livesey, head of TUI operations in the Balearics, Spain and Portugal, observes that Palma has become a base port "of reference" for all cruise operators in the Mediterranean this summer. "Between 20 and 30% of cruise passengers arriving at the airport choose to spend a few days before or after their cruise, which is normally a week." By agreement with the Balearic government, the number of stopovers per day in Palma is limited to three, but this agreement does allow for four ships on certain days. In July, there are four days - the 2nd, 9th, 16th and 22nd. As from next year there will be no exceptions; the limit every day will be three. U.S. Attorney Jane Young for New Hampshire, center, addresses a news conference that was livestreamed Wednesday for a few minutes before technical difficulties shut it down. U.S. Attorney Nikolas "Kolo" Kerest of Vermont, second from the right, was among the participants. MANISTEE COUNTY Voters will choose between three candidates vying in the Aug. 2 primary election for the Republican nomination for the 102nd District House seat. Curt VanderWall, Ryan Sebolt and Ryan E. Roberts are on the Republican ticket. Whoever wins the primary will face Democrat Brian Hosticka in the general election. The 102nd District for the Michigan House of Representatives includes the city of Manistee, Ludington and a large part of Mason County and will go south as far as Whitehall. However, many areas in Manistee County such as Onekama, Bear Lake, Kaleva, Arcadia, Marilla and Brethren are in the 104th District The News Advocate sent questionnaires to all candidates in contested races. Roberts did not submit a response. Answers are only edited if they exceed the word limits. MANISTEE NEWS ADVOCATE: Please introduce yourself and describe your background, professionally, politically or personally. SEBOLT: God, Constitution & Personal Responsibility are the core of my political beliefs. Im a Family Man from Hart who also lived in Manistee while attending WSCC. US ARMY/MIARNG Veteran, including performing maintenance on the Humvees from 126th Bravo Troop, Manistee Armory, sent to my armory for work. I owned a Hobby Store in Scottville, and graduated from Ferris State with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration, Nationally Ranked in Business Law and Economic Analysis. Currently serving as Director/GM of HomeTown Pharmacy Apothecare, which processes claims for the Manistee Medical Care Facility. VANDERWALL: Im Curt VanderWall, the State Senator for Michigans 35th district. I am also the owner of Turf Care Mole Man of Ludington. Prior to that, I worked with Eberhard foods and chaired the Mason County Board of Commissioners. I also served on the board of the United Way of Mason County and currently chair the Womens Jericho House Board. I am proud to have been married to Diane for 36 years and have three children and two grandchildren. We are involved with Covenant Christian School in Ludington and attend Mason County Reformed Church, where I served as a deacon. MNA: What are your top two legislative priorities and how would you address them? SEBOLT: #1 Restore the Economy Increase Domestic Energy from All Sources to lower prices. Restore Our Roads by keeping ALL State Fuel Tax at the pumps for roads. End the Revolving Door of Welfare to require healthy, able-bodied recipients to actually take and retain a job: this results in increased production of goods which then lowers price due to Supply being greater than Demand. #2 Restore Trust in Government Ensure transparency and access to documents at ALL levels of government, reform our outdated election law that in 2016 and 2020 divided the People, and stop the Largesse of Lobbyist Lunches many Legislators enjoy. Lobbyist Funded Food at current levels in Michigan is a disservice to the trust many have for our legislators. Legislators need to return to the People, not return to the Lobbyist Lunch Line. VANDERWALL: The most important issue that Michiganders are facing right now is high prices and ballooning costs. Everything is more expensive from eggs to gasoline, and we are facing product shortages like we havent seen in recent history. Simply put, life is getting to be unaffordable in Northwestern Michigan. I have sponsored legislation to cut billions of dollars in taxes and supported legislation to eliminate the gas tax. I also want to eliminate the tax on retirement income including pensions AND 401ks. Our seniors cant continue to survive on fixed incomes with the way prices are rising. Another one of my legislative priorities is infrastructure. I believe in making Northwestern Michigan a desirable place to live, work, and raise a family. This means eliminating the urban/rural divide. Rural areas cant compete with big cities if we dont have up to date infrastructure including roads, bridges and dams that work for us as well as high quality broadband connectivity. Without investing in these key areas, rural areas will be left behind. I have been a strong voice in Lansing for Northwestern Michigan and secured millions of dollars for rural infrastructure and programs to help farmers and small business owners. MNA: How would you aid parents and caregivers in providing more options for child care in Michigan? SEBOLT: MDHHS needs to reverse regulations that prevent Child Care Providers from charging CDC clients more than the general public or their own employees. This Price Setting practice harms hard-working Michigan Families who do not qualify for benefits and an extra 25 cents less per hour is the difference between getting enough gas to get their child to day care and not being able to afford gas to get to work. VANDERWALL: When I talk to people at their doors, at the grocery stores, and in my office in Lansing, one message resonates clearly: there is a dire need for quality and affordable childcare. Right now, mothers especially, are having to choose whether or not to go back to work, but when they search for child care options for their children it is either too expensive or doesnt exist. One way we can support our mothers as well as our small businesses is by increasing the supply of child care. When parents go back to work they help alleviate the staffing issues that nearly every business is facing. I have supported record funding for child care resources so that child care centers and at-home providers are able to keep their doors open. I have also supported common-sense reforms to support the industry such as creating centralized hubs to provide educational materials, toys, and other necessary items to centers and home-providers so they can focus on improving the quality of care for children. Finally, I have supported the Tri-share child care program which splits the cost of child care between the state, the parent, and the employer for qualifying families. File photo SCOTTVILLE The Michigan Second Cavalry Civil War reenactors return for a patriotic service on Sunday at the United Methodist Church in Scottville. There will be a presentation of the American flag and patriotic music will be played during the 10 a.m. service. Former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has publicly stood by and reiterated his support to Vladimir Putin despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ecclestone labelled Putin as a 'sensible' person who would be open to discuss with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and find a solution. "I'd still take a bullet for him," Ecclestone told ITV's Good Morning Britain. "I'd rather it didn't hurt, but if it does I'd still take a bullet, because he's a first-class person. "What he's doing is something that he believed was the right thing he was doing for Russia. "Unfortunately, he's like a lot of business people, certainly like me, we make mistakes from time to time. When you've made the mistake, you have to do the best you can to get out of it. "I think if it had been conducted properly, I mean the other person in Ukraine [Zelenskyy], I mean, his profession, I understand, he used to be a comedian. "I think he seems as if he wants to continue that profession, because I think if he'd have thought about things, he would have definitely made a big enough effort to speak to Mr Putin, who is a sensible person and would have listened to him and could have probably done something about it." A 60-person brawl broke out in a nightclub on a Carnival Magic cruise ship Tuesday after an alleged threesome that enraged the significant others, according to a witness. Speaking with Fox News Digital, travel agent and cruise passenger Theresa James said the fight started just before 2:00 a.m. on the last night of the ship's eight-day Caribbean voyage. James claims the melee started over allegations of cheating, specifically a threesome between passengers that upset their respective partners. The brawl, which started on the fifth floor, lasted about an hour and it ended on the first floor of the ship. Although no serious injuries were reported, James says glass bottles got smashed and a woman may have been cut. US Coast Guard escorts cruise ship The US Coast Guard escorted the cruise ship to dock in Manhattan and the New York Police Department is investigating the incident. No arrests were made in the aftermath of the fight, which took place as the ship approached harbor in New York. Officials don't know if the ship was in New York, New Jersey, or international waters at the time of the brawl, so criminal jurisdiction is unclear. James called the guests involved in the fight, 'ignorant fools acting stupid' and praised the ship's security team for how it handled the brawl. She also said that besides the incident, the rest of the trip was a great experience and already booked another Carnival Magic cruise for August. China makes notable progress in protecting rare wild animals that call country home People's Daily Online) 15:35, June 30, 2022 Photo shows three giant pandas at the Giant Panda National Park. (Photo courtesy of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration) Photo shows two Hainan gibbons at the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in south Chinas Hainan Province. (Photo courtesy of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration) Photo shows Tibetan antelopes at the Sanjiangyuan National Park. (Photo courtesy of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration) White-naped cranes forage at the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park. (Photo courtesy of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration) Photo shows a scene at the Qilian Mountain National Park. (Peoples Daily/Wang Jiang) China has made remarkable achievements in protecting wild animals in recent years through effective measures such as habitat conservation and artificial breeding. As a result, an increasing number of rare and endangered animals have been more frequently spotted in the countrys vast territory, and their populations have gradually risen. The population of giant pandas in the wild has grown from 1,114 in the 1970s and 1980s to 1,864, while the number of wild Asian elephants has increased from about 180 in 1985 to about 300. The crested ibis population in the wild has risen from only seven in 1981, when they were first discovered, to over 6,000; while the number of wild Tibetan antelopes has climbed to over 300,000 from fewer than 70,000 at the end of the 1990s. The number of Hainan gibbons, the worlds rarest primate, has increased to 36 in five families from fewer than 10 in the 1980s in south Chinas Hainan Province. The populations of Siberian tigers and Amur leopards at the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park are following a steady upward trend, as the ecology in the national park continues improving, said Zhao Li, head of the national parks administration bureau. Zhao introduced that 10 new tiger cubs were discovered since 2017, increasing the total population of Siberian tigers to about 50, and there were also seven newly spotted Amur leopard cubs, which adds up to a leopard population of about 60. The populations of over 100 rare and endangered wild animals, including the crested ibis, Asian elephants, and Tibetan antelopes, have recovered in ever-greater numbers, according to an official with the Department of Wildlife Conservation under the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA). In recent years, China has been developing a natural protected area (PA) system with a focus on national parks. The first group of national parks, including the Sanjiangyuan National Park and the Giant Panda National Park, have already been officially established. So far, the country has established close to 10,000 natural PAs of all types, covering about 18 percent of its total land area and bringing 90 percent of terrestrial ecosystems and 85 percent of key wild animal populations under effective protection. China was the first in the world to propose and implement a red line system for ecological conservation, which stipulates that at least 25 percent of its land area shall be demarcated for ecological protection. The system has contributed to the conservation of rare and endangered species and their habitats. Providing a natural environment that sustains wild animals by strengthening habitat protection and establishing natural protected areas is the most important, economical and efficient way for biodiversity conservation, said Jiang Zhigang, former executive deputy director of the Endangered Species Scientific Commission of China. Meanwhile, China has launched campaigns to rescue and breed rare and endangered wildlife through ex-situ conservation. At present, China has set up wildlife rescue and breeding centers and germplasm genetic banks. More than 400 rare and endangered wild animal species have benefited from artificial breeding. The giant pandas, crested ibis, Chinese forest musk deer, Francois leaf monkeys, and other artificially bred species have been successfully released into the wild. Przewalskis horses and elks, once nowhere to be found in the wild, are now thriving. Chinas Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) started to build a national biodiversity observation network in 2011, and has developed a database of biodiversity conservation and monitoring. The network can obtain more than 700,000 pieces of data every year. These first-hand data reflect changes in species in key regions, providing technical support for China to assess the conservation status and threat factors of biodiversity and to respond with relevant measures and policies, said Jing Xin, director of the biodiversity protection office of the MEEs Department of Nature and Ecology Conservation. Besides, China has protected rare and endangered wild animals with the strongest rule of law and the strictest possible law enforcement. Since 2012, China has promulgated and revised more than 20 laws and regulations pertinent to biodiversity conservation, including laws on the protection of wild animals, forestry, grassland, the environment, the Yangtze River, and biosecurity. Biodiversity conservation is inseparable from broad social participation. In recent years, the MEE, the NFGA and other departments have carried out public awareness activities and the dissemination of knowledge on biodiversity. Peoples awareness of ecological protection has been remarkably enhanced as a result of these efforts. Moving forward, China will further protect rare and endangered wild animals and achieve harmony between man and nature. An NFGA official noted that China will continue to protect 48 critically endangered wild animal species, including giant pandas, Siberian tigers, and Chinese pangolins, and their habitats over the 14th Five-Year Plan period. This year, the country will set up a new batch of national parks in its key ecological regions, including the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the basins of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. China will further enhance its protection efforts, ensure the safety of valuable and endangered species as well as their habitats, strengthen law enforcement and monitoring, and crack down on illegal practices, according to the NFGA. In addition, the country will launch more publicity activities to raise public awareness for wild animal protection and guide the public to oppose illegal acts, so as to nurture a sound atmosphere for wildlife protection. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) An actor paired with a much younger actress is not uncommon in Indian films. Actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar are still being cast opposite actresses half their age which fans find cringeworthy at times. However, R. Madhavan has made his stance pretty clear on this. He is among the most charming actors who has worked in several romantic films in Tamil cinema and even started his career in Bollywood with a romantic film, Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein. The 52-year-old actor has said he is open to doing romance films only if it is an age-appropriate role and we think its only sensible. In an interview with PTI, he said, I have to be age-appropriate in my roles. It is not that I am romancing a young girl now. It is not something that I want to do. If I am offered a romantic film, it has to be age-appropriate or have content that makes me viable for me to be part of it. I go by where I am, emotionally. If it appeals to me, I do it. It is always instinctive. Madhavan will be next seen in his directorial debut, Rocketry: The Nambi Effect in which he plays Nambi Narayanan, former scientist and aerospace engineer at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) who was accused of espionage. The film is written, directed and produced by the actor himself. Talking about surviving in the industry, he said, It was all about finding my own path. I realised early on in my life that nobody can predict anything about the industry. All I did was pursue things that made me happy and see if I was playing the cards correctly. I didn't want to be an actor, I never trained to be one. I had no one from my family in the industry, I did not know anybody but I'm still here. I must have done something right, he added. Rocketry is all set to release on 1 July 2022 and stars Simran, Rajit Kapur and Ravi Raghavendra in prominent roles. Tamil actor Suriya and Shah Rukh Khan will also make a cameo appearance in the film. Madhavan has two more Hindi-language films lined up, Amriki Pandit and Dhokha Round D Corner. Thank you for subscribing! By signing up to this free newsletter you agree to receive occasional emails from us informing you about our products and services. You can opt out of these emails at any time. Lee Township board of trustees appointed Heidi Pitt the new treasurer at its June 29 meeting. Two days prior, former township treasurer William Stewart announced his resignation, which was quickly reviewed by the board and accepted at the meeting. The board said Pitt was the only applicant to submit a letter of interest. Because of the experience I have, the knowledge that I have brought with me, the passion I have for the township, I think I can serve the community, serve the residents, and support the board, Pitt said at the meeting. Pitt will finish Stewart's term as treasurer through Nov. 20, but both her and Stewart are on the ballot for the primary election in August. The board did not discuss why the former treasurer suddenly resigned, Supervisor Doug Kruger said he wasnt expecting the resignation. It was a complete surprise in my email on Monday morning, he said. Stewart was contacted to attend the meeting, but the board members said they never received a response. Kruger is not worried for the future of the board and said Pitt will be a great treasurer. She has the spirit, she has the drive," Kruger said. "She has put forth a ton of effort thus far in recent years even to understand our finances and I truly believe she would be a fantastic asset to Lee township. Pitt said though she doesnt have experience in government, she has the time to commit to her treasurer position and has been preparing for the job by doing research and reading Michigan Township Association books. Some attendees voiced concern about whether Pitt would have enough help in transitioning to the treasurer position if Stewart is not available. Another resident was concerned about how the board is going to handle record maintenance following Stewart's resignation. It is my understanding that Bill has kept all the township records and township computers at his home, said audience member Jasna Appell. "How does that work so that we as residents are comfortable that all of those records maintain here at the hall where they should be? Kruger said they need to review the board's record maintenance and hopes to have something in writing by August. That's been a discussion for many over the years, and we need to review and see how other townships handle this policy, Kruger said. Trustees officially approved Pitt with a welcome aboard and applause from attendees at the meeting. Pitt also took an oath to be on the board following the meeting. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate JERUSALEM (AP) Israels parliament voted Thursday to dissolve itself, triggering the country's fifth election in just over three years and thrusting veteran politician Yair Lapid into the role of interim prime minister as he tries to persuade a deeply polarized nation to embrace his centrist vision. Polls indicate it will be a difficult road for Lapid to defeat his main rival, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a divisive figure who is at the heart of Israels protracted political crisis. The election is set for Nov. 1. Lapid, a former author, newspaper columnist and TV host, was the architect of the outgoing coalition government an alliance of eight diverse parties spanning the Israeli political spectrum that was bonded largely by their shared antipathy toward Netanyahu. The coalition ended the 12-year reign of Netanyahu, who was Israel's longest-serving prime minister. As with the previous four elections, the upcoming vote promises to be another referendum on Netanyahu, who is adored with cult-like reverence by his admirers and reviled with equal strength by his opponents. The elections focused on his fitness to lead at a time when he is facing criminal charges of accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust. He has denied any wrongdoing. The current government collapsed just over a year after it was formed due to infighting and a string of defections. As part of their power-sharing deal, the current prime minister, Naftali Bennett, will step aside for Lapid, who officially takes office Friday. Bennett will not run in November. In Israeli politics, no party has ever singlehandedly captured the 61-seat parliamentary majority in parliament required to form a government. Instead, the leader of the party who can cobble together a majority coalition with other parties becomes prime minister. That sets up a de facto battle between Netanyahu, whose Likud party is projected to be the largest party, and Lapid, whose party is expected to be the second-largest but may be better positioned to form a coalition. Both men are charismatic and gifted orators with a rare talent for connecting with both large audiences as well as smaller groups. Yet they offer vastly different world views. Lapid, a secular and cosmopolitan resident of an upscale Tel Aviv neighborhood, burst onto the political scene in 2012 by forming his Yesh Atid, or There is a Future, party catering to the countrys moderate and struggling middle class. Since those early days as an upstart, he has transformed himself into a feisty opposition leader and finally a savvy operator who ousted Netanyahu. He has criticized the outsized influence of ultra-Orthodox parties and plans on courting Arab voters, if not for Yesh Atid then at least for partners that might join a future coalition. In fact, the outgoing coalition he helped build made history by being the first to include an Arab party. Lapid also will be the first Israeli prime minister since 2009 to support a two-state solution with the Palestinians, though he will not be able to launch any major initiatives during his caretaker term. On the campaign trail, he will market himself as a unifier, while portraying Netanyahu as a divider. Netanyahu will likely paint his rival as inexperienced and dangerous. Lapid did not speak publicly following Thursdays vote, instead huddling for meetings and paying a visit to Yad Vashem, Israels national Holocaust memorial. Lapids late father, the former journalist and Cabinet minister Joseph Lapid, was a Holocaust survivor and a major influence on his son. Immediately after the vote, I went to Yad Vashem to promise my father that I will always keep Israel strong, able to defend itself and ensure peace for its children, he said. Netanyahu, meanwhile, is a fervent nationalist who has aligned himself with religious and ultranationalist parties that oppose Palestinian statehood and support the West Bank settler movement, which is widely seen internationally as illegal and an obstruction to peace. He thrives on dividing and conquering his opponents, and frequently uses incendiary language against Israel's Arab minority. They promised change, they spoke about healing, they tried an experiment, and the experiment failed, Netanyahu said in an address to parliament ahead of Thursdays vote as he railed against the outgoing government. We are the only alternative: a strong, stable, responsible nationalist government. He kicked off his campaign immediately after the vote with a stop at a Jerusalem mall, where he promised cheering supporters that he would tackle rising prices. Facing a country that has known little else but Netanyahu for well over a decade, Lapids task in the coming months will be to convince the public that he is prime minister material. He has used the last year as Israels foreign minister to build up a roster of international contacts, deepening ties with new Arab allies and lobbying on the sidelines of negotiations over Irans nuclear program. And his new office, even in the role of caretaker, will give him a powerful platform to further that goal. In two weeks, he will host U.S. President Joe Biden, providing important facetime as well as repeated photo opportunities. Lapid will hold news conferences and lead Cabinet meetings and security briefings discussing the countrys most important issues, and should get an opportunity to address the U.N. General Assembly in the fall. Those moments could help him solidify the statesmanlike image he has sought to build. This week in the Knesset, the parliament, he appeared calm, collected and pensive. In private, he strikes a warmer note, and is known to break the ice with self-deprecating humor. Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, an Israeli think tank, said that Lapids gambit could pay off. Despite the deep divisions between Israels religious and secular Jews, its dovish left wing and nationalist right wing and its Jewish and Arab communities, Plesner said there is a broad swath of the population that holds centrist views on issues like seeking an accommodation with the Palestinians. A swing of just a handful of parliamentary seats could determine the outcome of the vote. The center exists, and Lapid no doubt is the leader of this constituency, he said. Polls by Israeli media show Netanyahu and his allies are projected to gain seats, although it is unclear whether they would have enough to form a majority outright. If neither he nor anyone else succeeds in doing so, Israel could go to elections yet again, a scenario that could leave Lapid in charge for months to come. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MANISTEE Anyone who took a morning stroll past the Armory Youth Project in Manistee this week may have caught a whiff of some tantalizing aromas. The Taste of River Street camp has had Manistee County students whipping up a variety of culinary delights since Monday. "The Taste of River Street came about at a staff meeting," said Amy Wojciechowski, Armory executive director. "We talked about different organizations that could come in and share their knowledge, experience and expertise with the kids. The groups that have come in have been so impressive." On Wednesday, Jessica Cebula, owner of AJ's Pizzeria, located at 34 Arthur St. in Manistee, dropped by the Armory to lead nine students through the process of making their very own 10-inch pizza. Cebula said she was more than happy to share some tricks of the trade. "My daughter and I, when we opened up, we just wanted to be part of the community help out where we can, donate where we can. Whether it's our time, a donation or a food donation, we just want to help," she said. "We want to be part of Manistee. We have been welcomed with open arms. Everybody's done an amazing job of telling us we're doing a great job and welcoming us, so we just want to pay it forward." Kyle Kotecki/News Advocate Cebula told the students AJ's makes nearly everything from scratch. "We make the dough, we make the buns, we slice all of our own meat, we slice all of our own vegetables, we make the pizza sauce it's almost easier for me to tell you what we don't make in the restaurant than what we do," she said. "We pride ourselves on that." The campers were taught how to get their dough just right, spread the sauce, sprinkle the cheese, add toppings and cook their pizzas to perfection. Cebula said a person can tell a lot about a pizza by the cheese. "It's called the stretch. Once you bite it, how far does that cheese stretch?" she said. "If it has a good stretch, that means it's a good, quality cheese." Sara Workman, Armory assistant executive director, also rolled up her sleeves and got in on the fun. "It's never smelled better at the Armory," she said. While their pizzas were in the oven, Cebula taught the kids how to season bread sticks and dough nugs. Kyle Kotecki/News Advocate Cebula said she enjoyed teaching the students and will be returning to the Armory to give more cooking lessons in the future. "(The students) did amazing. Oh my gosh, they were so fun. They really were. They have a good group of kids here," she said. "I explained to Sara, we're excited to work with the Armory. We're excited to work with the program throughout the winter and stuff, too cooking classes during the winter. We'll come in and help them make strombolis and show them how to make different things." Wojciechowski said Downtown Delights will be visiting the Armory today to teach the students how to make milkshakes. "And we had Northern Spice Company on Monday they came in and talked about spices. They had spices and had the children make different mixes with the spices and make hamburgers using the spices," she said. "They got to make it their own way and it was very, very fun. The group on Tuesday was Taco 'Bout It (Mexican Fusion). ... The students were able to work with the people from Taco 'Bout It and got to learn more about their industry, their business and their food." More photos Visit manisteenews.com for more photos from Wednesday's Taste of River Street cooking lesson. See More Collapse Wojciechowski said the Taste of River Street camp has been a resounding success. "It's been very interesting and a lot of fun," she said. "The staff like it as much as the students. The smells in the Armory are fantastic." The Armory Youth Project offers after-school and summer programs for youth in grades 6-12. It is a 501c(3) organization which operates solely through the support of donations and grants. Visit armoryyouthproject.com for more information. MANISTEE COUNTY Its no secret that many of the worlds avian species are under threat from habitat loss and pollution. And one of these rare birds is making its last stand along northern Michigans west coast. Meet the Great Lakes piping plover, or Charadrius melodus, a small darting shorebird that nests in Manistee and Benzie counties, along with other distinct populations found elsewhere in the Northern Great Plains and along the Atlantic coast. Birds from all three populations winter on the southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts in the United States, as well as in the Bahamas, according to information on greatlakespipingplover.org. For a time, the birds melodic call was commonly heard by beachgoers and coastal residents. As Henry David Thoreau wrote in Cape Cod, ... if I were required to name a sound, the remembrance of which most perfectly revives the impression which the beach has made, it would be the dreary peep of the piping plover which haunts there. But in the years since Thoreau was moved to write about the plover, populations of these diminutive birds have plummeted. The shores of the Great Lakes were once home to nearly 800 pairs of piping plovers, but by 1990 that number had dropped to 13, according to greatlakespipingplover.org. The piping plover is globally threatened and endangered; it is uncommon and local within its range, and has been listed by the United States as "endangered" in the Great Lakes region and "threatened" in the remainder of its breeding range, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. There are only approximately 4,000 breeding pairs left worldwide, according to the National Audubon Society website. Julie Den Uyl, a former park ranger at Sleeping Bear Dune National Park, says the reason for the reduced population is simple: man. Things like habitat destruction, increased predation and nest disruption contributed to their rapid decline. Den Uyl operates Sleeping Bear Tour Co., a state licensed tour company that offers guided tours of plover nesting sites at the park. Half of the population nests here within Sleeping Bear Dunes, so that would be the 35 miles of coasts that we have here including North and South Manitou Island, Den Uyl told the News Advocate. We are home to over half the Great Lakes population, so it's a very important area for their protection." Piping plovers can be found at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore from early April through mid-August, according to the National Parks Service website. They return in April and early May and remain here through the summer to nest and raise their young. Provided photo/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Areas around the nests are roped off during the breeding season at Sleeping Bear to protect the birds from disturbances that would cause them to abandon their nests. In order for habitat to be physically and biologically suitable for piping plovers, it must have a total shoreline length of at least 12 miles of gently sloping, sparsely vegetated sand beach with a total beach area of at least five acres, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In mid-July the females begin assembling in flocks to migrate south for the winter, leaving their mates to watch over the chicks until they are able to fly, states part of the park service website. Once the chicks are independent in late July, both the males and the chicks begin to leave the Great Lakes area and by late August, all have left for warmer climates. With conservation efforts, Den Uyl says these birds are poised to make a comeback in northwest Michigan. The National Lakeshore is a huge positive (benefit) to the breed, just by protecting the shoreline and not allowing the mass building of condominiums and homes along the lakeshore, Den Uyl said, adding that if those homes were there, there would be no plovers. A United States National Lakeshore is an area of lakeshore that has been designated a protected area with the purpose of preserving environmental, cultural, scenic, recreational, natural or habitat resources. They are administered, maintained and protected by the National Park Service. The Great Lakes Piping Plover Conservation Team a partnership between federal and state agencies, Great Lakes tribal governments, universities and other conservation organizations is also working to ensure the shorebird recovers, according to greatlakespipingplover.org. Den Uyl also credits the work of Dr. Francie Cuthbert, whose career-long effort to conserve and restore piping plover populations in the Great Lakes is paying dividends. (Cuthbert) has dedicated her entire life to saving the species, Den Uyl said. She kind of gave me the idea of tourism for protection. Provided photo/Bri Rudinsky/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Cuthbert, a professor in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology at University of Minnesota, operates an intensive captive rearing and re-release program at the University of Michigan Biological Station near Pellston. Each season, plover eggs are rescued from nests that are abandoned, due to the loss of one of the adults to predation, or due to nest wash-out because of high water, reads part of the website plovermother.com. Rescued eggs are rushed to the University of Michigan Biological Station where the Detroit Zoo manages a captive rearing facility for Great Lakes piping plovers. With these combined efforts, the National Parks Service reports that the number of Great Lakes nesting plovers has risen to 76 pairs in 2017, with 41 pairs found nesting at Sleeping Bear Dunes. The National Audubon Society lists the following eight things residents and tourists can do to help the plovers: 1. Report the location of piping plovers and their nests. 2. Stay away from nest exclosures and posted piping plovers breeding areas. 3. Always keep dogs leashed. 4. Pack out your food waste and garbage. 5. Leave driftwood and algae on the beaches. 6. Do not operate vehicles on beaches with nesting piping plovers. 7. Report people or pets disturbing piping plovers or their nests. 8. Become informed. Learning more about piping plovers and other coastal birds and sharing information with others is another great way to help protect them, reads part of the audubon website. For more information, to report a plover nesting site or find other ways you can get involved, visit greatlakespipingplovers.org. Anyone wishing to make an additional contribution to research efforts can do so by visiting this link: z.umn.edu/pipingplover. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) The House Jan. 6 committee has heard dramatic testimony from former White House aides and others about Donald Trumps relentless efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his encouragement of supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol bent on achieving his goal. But the big question remains: Was any of it criminal? Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide in Trumps White House, added fresh urgency to the question Tuesday as she delivered explosive new testimony about Trumps actions before and during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. She said Trump was informed that there were armed protesters at his morning rally before he stood onstage and told them to fight like hell at the Capitol. Then he argued with his security detail, she said, trying to go with the crowd. Trump's aides knew there could be legal consequences. Hutchinson said White House Counsel Pat Cipollone told her we're going to get charged with every crime imaginable if Trump had gone to the Capitol that day as Congress was certifying President Joe Bidens win. Cipollone said Trump could be exposing himself to obstruction of justice charges or defrauding the electoral count, she said. On the heels of Hutchinson's public testimony, the House committee on Wednesday issued a subpoena for Cipollone, saying in a letter that while he had provided an informal interview on April 13, his refusal to provide on-the-record testimony made their subpoena necessary. The Justice Department has recently expanded its investigation into the Jan. 6 attack, targeting some of Trumps allies in Washington and around the country who participated in his scheme to invalidate Biden's victory. But prosecutors have not indicated whether they will bring a case against the former president. A look at potential crimes, and what Congress and the Justice Department might do: WHAT HAS THE EVIDENCE SHOWN? Witnesses have testified that Trump was repeatedly advised by campaign aides and top government officials that he had lost the election to Biden and that his claims of widespread voter fraud were divorced from reality. Yet he pressed ahead, shouting the false allegations that culminated in the riot at the Capitol. Still in office, he leaned on the Justice Department to get government law enforcement officials to take up his cause. He pressured the states asking Georgia's secretary of state to find votes, for example and Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the joint session of Congress that day. Hutchinson testified that Trump said he wanted metal detectors removed from the area near where he was delivering a speech on Jan. 6. He said it did not matter to him if the supporters, who were to head to the Capitol, were carrying weapons because they were not there to hurt him. Trump took to his social media website on Tuesday to deny much of Hutchinsons testimony, which was based on both her own interactions with Trump and information from others who talked to him that day. WERE ANY CRIMES COMMITTED BY TRUMP? He hasn't been charged, but legal experts believe the testimony, presuming it can be corroborated, does give prosecutors avenues to pursue. Federal law, for instance, makes it a crime to incite, organize, encourage or promote a riot like the one that enveloped the Capitol. But that's a high bar for prosecutors to clear. Trump's exhortation to fight like hell could be construed as a more general call to action. He was acquitted by the Senate of an incitement charge in his impeachment trial after the insurrection. Still, a federal judge in February, in rejecting a request by Trump to toss out conspiracy lawsuits from Democratic lawmakers and two Capitol Police officers, said Trump's words plausibly led to the riot. And Hutchinson's first-hand account of hearing Trump complain about metal detectors suggested he was aware that some supporters were capable of violence but brushed it off. A more likely option for prosecution, said Jimmy Gurule, a former federal prosecutor who is a Notre Dame law professor, would be to pursue a case that Trump conspired to defraud the United States through his wide-ranging efforts to overturn the election and to obstruct the congressional proceeding at which the results were to be certified. That broad statute was cited by the House committee when it asserted in a March legal filing that it had evidence Trump had engaged in a criminal conspiracy. He was perpetuating the big lie. To what end? To remain in power and to prevent Biden from assuming the reins of the presidency, Gurule said. It was fraud on the American people. Some legal experts say it doesnt matter if Trump believed the election was stolen or not. But others say much would depend on the presidents intent and state of mind and whether he supported activities he knew to be unlawful. Though witnesses have testified under oath about telling Trump he had lost, it would be hard to prove what he actually believed. I can confidently say that any serious felony-level federal crime that is going to be charged here is going to require proof beyond a reasonable doubt of criminal intent, said Samuel Buell, a Duke University criminal law professor. "Any argument that he doesn't believe that he's doing something that is against the law ... is still an argument he can make and still something the prosecutor has to prove. WILL THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ACTUALLY BRING A CASE? That's anyone's guess. The congressional hearings have produced eye-popping testimony, but the one-sided presentation of facts, with no opportunities for cross-examination of witnesses, is a far cry from the burden of proof and trial constraints in criminal prosecutions. One of the more striking accounts from Hutchinson that Trump, irate at being driven to the White House instead of the Capitol on Jan. 6, tried to grab at the steering wheel of his presidential vehicle was something she heard second-hand, likely inadmissible before a jury. There are clear signs prosecutors are moving beyond the rioters, serving subpoenas last week on multiple state Republican Party chairmen in examining a scheme by Trump allies to create slates of alternate, or fake, electors in an attempt to subvert the vote. Attorney General Merrick Garland, a former federal appeals court judge and circumspect by nature, has pledged the Justice Department will hold accountable wrongdoers at any level more than 800 people have been charged so far but he has not said one way or another that he's considering a case against Trump. Some Democrats in Congress have been pressing Garland to act. The Jan. 6 committee itself could make a formal criminal referral based on its more than 1,000 interviews. The Justice Department wouldnt have to act on such a referral, but it has been pressuring the panel to hand over its interview transcripts as it weighs making its own case. A Justice Department spokesman declined to commennt. There's no legal bar to prosecuting Trump as a former president. Since he is no longer in office, Justice Department legal opinions that shielded him from criminal charges no longer apply. But while it may be hard for the department to turn away from a case if the cumulative evidence is provable beyond a reasonable doubt, there are other factors to consider. No former president has ever been prosecuted by the Justice Department, and a criminal case against the already polarizing former president risks dividing the country even further. Trump has also been laying the groundwork for another presidential run, and the department may want to avoid any perception that it is targeting a political adversary of Biden in the heat of an election. It will be, Buell said, one of the hardest issues that any U.S. attorney general has ever confronted. V is for vaccine. Elmo got a COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday, according to Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street." In a public service announcement posted to YouTube, the beloved 3-and-a-half-year-old Sesame Street star talked with his dad about what it was like to get the shot. There was a little pinch, but it was OK, Elmo said in the video. Elmos dad said he had a lot of questions for the pediatrician, who assured him that vaccinations are safe and effective for children. Was it safe? Was it the right decision? I talked to our pediatrician so I could make the right choice, Louie said in the PSA. I learned that Elmo getting vaccinated is the best way to keep himself, our friends, neighbors and everyone else healthy and enjoying the things they love. COVID-19 vaccinations for the youngest Americans started last week. That means U.S. kids under 5 roughly 18 million youngsters are eligible for the shots. U.S. regulators authorized shots from Moderna and Pfizer. The Moderna vaccine is two doses and the Pfizer shot is three. Last November, Big Bird got vaccinated sparking criticism from some conservative politicians. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican, called it government propaganda. The CDC advises vaccination even for those who already had COVID-19 to protect against reinfection, and says it is OK to get other vaccines at the same time. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Laws banning most abortions at the point of the first detectable heartbeat are beginning to take effect across the country, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision Friday to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized the procedure in 1973. Such laws, often referred to as fetal heartbeat bills, ban abortions once cardiac activity is detected, which can happen around six weeks into pregnancy, although a timeframe typically isn't specified in the measures. Swift court actions in states including Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee revived laws stalled under Roe in the decision's wake. That has left some people who were planning abortions and the clinics lined up to provide them scrambling. Here's a look at what has happened following the ruling, where that leaves residents of affected states, and what may come next: WHERE ARE THE LAWS IN EFFECT? Stalled laws were reimposed in Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee within days of the Supreme Court ruling. In September, Texas became the first state to successfully impose such a law, with the dozen or so other states seeing theirs placed on hold under Roe. Similar laws are the subject of court action in at least four other states. Ohio was able to reimpose its fetal heartbeat law, which had twice been vetoed because of constitutional considerations under Roe, within hours of that case's reversal. At the request of Republican Attorney General Dave Yost, a federal judge lifted the stay that had prevented enforcement since the law was signed in 2019. The American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood sued in the Ohio Supreme Court on behalf of a group of abortion providers Wednesday, arguing the law also violates the state constitution. South Carolina's heartbeat law went into effect Monday, after an injunction blocking the law was removed. Tennessee's took effect Wednesday. In Georgia, where a federal judge declared the heartbeat restriction" unconstitutional in 2020, a federal appeals court Friday has given parties three weeks to file briefs addressing the effect the Supreme Court ruling on the state's appeal of the lower court ruling. Q: IS ABORTION STILL LEGAL IN THESE STATES? A: Yes, but only until cardiac activity is detected. That can happen around six weeks of gestational age, which is before many women even know they are pregnant. Further, abortion rights groups, clinics and some faith groups are making available resources to people who still want abortions, including financial help and transportation to other states. Meanwhile, abortion opponents, including Ohio's governor, are ramping up resources for families, in hopes that the new restrictions prompt more people to carry their pregnancies to term. Republican legislative leaders in Ohio and South Carolina have raised the possibility of further tightening their states' abortion restrictions to full bans later this year. Tennessee's other abortion ban, known as the so-called trigger ban, is set to restrict abortion in that state almost entirely in less than a month. WHAT DO THE LAWS PROHIBIT, EXACTLY? The laws generally prohibit abortions of an unborn human individual whose fetal heartbeat has been detected. That terminology used widely in anti-abortion legislation across the country does not easily translate to medical science. Thats because at the point where advanced technology can detect that first visual flutter, as early as six weeks into pregnancy, the embryo isnt yet a fetus, and it doesnt have a heart. An embryo is termed a fetus eight weeks after fertilization, according to medical experts. Abortion rights advocates, civil rights attorneys and some abortion foes favor calling the laws six-week abortion bans. That, too, is misleading. Most heartbeat laws make no mention of a particular gestational age after which abortion is illegal. What they ban are most abortions after the point when a state-sanctioned detection method administered in good faith by a medical professional can detect cardiac activity. If no cardiac activity is found, an abortion can go forward. Under Ohio's law, women must wait 24 hours, then get a second ultrasound to again assure no flutter is present before the procedure can move forward. ARE THERE ANY EXCEPTIONS? Yes, but it depends on the state. The Ohio and Tennessee laws make exceptions for the life of the mother or for risk of "substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function. This could include preeclampsia, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, premature rupture of membranes or inevitable miscarriage. Neither makes exceptions for incest or rape, including rape of a child. Both laws also specify that a womans mental health does not qualify for an exemption. South Carolina's law requires an attempt to detect a fetal heartbeat once a doctor thinks a pregnant woman is at least eight weeks along. The state allows exceptions for when the womans life is in danger, or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. Georgias law makes exceptions in the case of rape and incest, if the woman files a police report first. It also allows for abortions when the life of the mother is at risk or when a pregnancy is deemed medically futile," generally due to a serious medical condition in the fetus. WHAT ARE THE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATORS? A person who performs an abortion in violation of the ban in Ohio could be charged with a fifth-degree felony, which carries a penalty of probation or six to 12 months in prison and a fine of up to $2,500. Under the law, a doctor invoking one of the law's exceptions also must specify in writing the medical condition invoked, place a record of that decision in the patient's file and maintain it for seven years. Failing to keep proper paperwork is subject to a penalty of up to $20,000 for each instance. Under Tennessee's law, performing an abortion when cardiac activity is present is a felony, subjecting doctors to up to 15 years in prison. A doctor guilty of violating South Carolina's abortion law faces a felony conviction carrying a penalty of $20,000 and up to two years in prison, or both. Pregnant people are not held liable under any of the laws, and they are given the option to bring civil action for wrongful death if their pregnancy is terminated without an attempt to detect a fetal heartbeat. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The combination of heat and humidity would have quickly created life-threatening conditions inside the packed, un-air-conditioned tractor-trailer where dozens of migrants were found dead, an expert said. Although its unclear how long the people had been inside the trailer, it likely would only take an hour or less for temperatures to climb as high as 125 degrees Fahrenheit (51 Celsius) or hotter, said Jennifer Vanos, an assistant professor in climate and health at Arizona State University who has studied child deaths in cars. The death toll rose to 53 on Wednesday, two days after the tractor-trailer packed with more than 60 people was found abandoned on the edge of San Antonio, marking the nations deadliest smuggling episode on the U.S.-Mexico border. WHAT MADE THE SITUATION SO DANGEROUS? The tractor-trailer likely would have been hot perhaps 105-110 degrees when people got in because the outdoor heat and humidity already were high, Vanos said. Once inside, their bodies would have created even more heat and humidity, and because there was no air flow, their sweat could not evaporate to cool their bodies and they would dehydrate quickly. The migrants did not have water. All those things together are going to drive a quicker heat death, Vanos said. It can take less than one hour for a car left in the sun to heat up from air-conditioned temperatures to 125 degrees, partly because windows create a greenhouse effect, said Vanos. Though the tractor-trailer was windowless, the temperature inside could have reached 125-130 degrees fairly quickly because of the number of people and because the trailer would have continued absorbing heat from the sun, she said. It's unclear when or where the migrants boarded the truck, but Homeland Security investigators believe they got on near or in Laredo, on U.S. soil, about two hours from San Antonio, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar told The Associated Press Wednesday. It's also unclear how long the trailer was sitting in San Antonio. HOW LONG COULD THEY HAVE SURVIVED? That depends on their health and other factors, including age, medications and their clothing, Vanos said. Heatstroke can set in when body temperature exceeds 104 degrees, and organs can begin to fail when the body's core temperature reaches a critical high of 107-108 degrees, Vanos said. But cardiovascular failure could happen at a lower body temperature if someone has a pre-existing heart or cardiovascular disease. Some people also might have died of renal collapse, especially if they had existing kidney disease, because the lack of water led to dehydration, she said. Some of the more than a dozen people transported to hospitals were suffering from injuries such as brain damage and internal bleeding, according to Ruben Minutti, the Mexico consul general in San Antonio. Several people died at the hospital. Vanos said that indicates their body couldn't regulate its temperature and the organs were already failing. HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) The impact of the predicted tsunami of Connecticut state employees retiring from government service appears smaller than first feared, given an uptick in hiring and current state workers withdrawing their retirement paperwork in advance of Friday's deadline, according to Gov. Ned Lamont and his administration. It's more like a summer storm than a tsunami, the Democrat said Wednesday, noting how the state is on track to end the fiscal year with the same number of employees that it had a year ago. More than 6,000 people were hired during the current fiscal year, which ends Friday. That's about 1,000 more than usual, according to the state's chief human resources official. Lamont and others credited a new state labor agreement that includes higher wages and bonuses, new hybrid and telework opportunities, and the state's improved talent recruitment efforts, as well as workers' personal economic circumstances with encouraging people to apply for state jobs or keep the ones they already have. We're seeing individuals pull back their paperwork and say, 'I've decided to stay.' And we're really encouraged by that, said Michelle Gilman, commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services. State employee unions, however, contend that there is still a public service crisis and that critical state services are at risk. They argue there were serious staffing shortages that predate the current surge in retirements. We are down 500 front-line staff throughout our state prisons, and that does not even include the June retirements or the 100 additional posts we were promised would be filled, said Collin Provost, a correctional officer and president of AFSCME Local 391, in a written statement. This alarmingly low level of staffing puts correctional officers at risk every day. As of Tuesday, 4,232 people had filed retirement applications with the Office of State Comptroller since January. There are roughly 48,200 full-time employees throughout state government. Data from the comptroller's office indicate more than 200 state workers who submitted nonbinding intents-to-retire letters to their agencies ended up pulling those applications. As of Tuesday, 1,361 letters of intent had been filed but ultimately 1,142 final retirement applications had been received by the office. Letters of intent are not required so the data is expected to change between now and Friday. While some workers have rescinded their retirement applications at UConn, hundreds are still expected to leave state service. At Storrs and the regional campuses, the university originally anticipated about 430 retirements but reduced the predicted number to about 385. As of Wednesday, a UConn spokesperson said 394 retirement applications had been filed, with only about 16 people rescinding their paperwork. At UConn Health, 347 employee retirements have been processed. Fewer than five applications had been rescinded, the spokesperson said. The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities reports it expects to see 727 full-time retirements. That's compared with 235 last fiscal year and 183 in fiscal year 2020. The state's Judicial Branch expects about 95 employees to retire as of July 1. A spokesperson said some people this month rescinded their intent to retire, but it's not at a volume that is out of the ordinary. Meanwhile, Jim Tamburro, executive director of the Office of Legislative Management, said roughly 14 legislative staff will be retiring and that is the number we anticipated. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW ORLEANS (AP) Arizonas attorney general says a total abortion ban that has been on the books since before statehood can be enforced and Louisiana's attorney general is warning doctors against performing abortions even while a ban there is temporarily blocked, as states grapple with long-halted laws in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The high court decision less than a week ago has set off legal battles in multiple states where lawmakers have sought to ban or restrict abortion. In Arizona, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey has said a law he signed in March banning abortions after 15 weeks took precedence over a total ban in place since at least 1901, 11 years before Arizona statehood. But Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a fellow Republican, said he was reveiwing the 1901 law in the wake of Roe and and providers immediately stopped performing the procedure out of fear of prosecution. Brnovich on Wednesday sided with those who pointed to a specific provision in the new law that said it did not override the earlier one, which has been blocked since 1973. Brnovich says hell seek to have it unblocked. Our office has concluded the Legislature has made its intentions clear with regards to abortion laws, Brmovich said on Twitter. ARS 13-3603 (the pre-statehood law) is back in effect and will not be repealed when the new law takes effect. Ducey spokesman C.J. Karamargin the governors office was reviewing Brnovichs decision and had no immediate comment. Earlier Wednesday, Louisianas attorney general issued a warning to doctors against performing abortions, despite a judges order blocking the state from enforcing its ban on the procedure. In a letter to the Louisiana State Medical Society, Attorney General Jeff Landry said the state judges Monday order blocking enforcement has limited reach and abortion has been a crime since Fridays high court decision. It is incumbent on this office to advise you that any medical provider who would perform or has performed an elective abortion after the Supreme Courts decision in Dobbs is jeopardizing his or her liberty and medical license, Landry wrote, referencing the Friday decision. Landrys spokesman did not immediately respond to a message asking whether his office would seek to prosecute doctors who perform abortions while the judges order is in effect. The three abortion clinics in the state have said they will continue operations while the order is in effect. Kentuckys two abortion clinics meanwhile asked a judge to issue a temporary restraining order to block a state law that took effect after the Supreme Court ruling. Attorneys for a Louisville clinic argued that Kentuckys constitution allows for abortion, adding one clinic has turned away about 200 potential patients since the Friday ruling. A judge said he would rule on the request this week. Louisiana and Kentucky are among states that had trigger laws designed to ban abortion, with few exceptions, in anticipation of a decision to overturn Roe. In Ohio, lawyers abortion providers asked that states Supreme Court on Wednesday to use its powers to overturn a ban on abortions once cardiac activity is detectable. The American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and others argued the law violates the Ohio Constitutions broad protections of individual liberty. A challenge to West Virginias abortion ban also was announced Wednesday by the ACLU of that state. The ACLU says the state ban dates back to the 1800s and has been superseded by numerous laws passed since, including a 20-week abortion ban that was passed in 2015 and acknowledges a patients right to an abortion. ___ Associated Press reporters Bob Christie in Phoenix, Julie Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, and Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this story. ___ For APs full coverage of the Supreme Court ruling on abortion, go to https://apnews.com/hub/abortion. ___ This story has corrected the spelling of Kanawha County. Just months after the Navy announced a record recruitment bonus, the sea service has made a series of policy changes that are aimed at decreasing the speed at which sailors leave the Navy in a further sign that the branch is struggling with recruitment and retention of service members. The changes, announced in an administrative message released Tuesday, include moves to let sailors keep serving longer the ability of sailors to apply for a delay in separation or retirement, and an offer to waive high-year tenure requirements as well as a measure to prevent sailors from leaving the fleet early. The message explained that the goal behind the changes is to ensure the Navy remains fully manned and operationally ready. These changes are being announced in the middle of what Lt. Gen. David Ottignon, the Marine Corps officer in charge of manpower, called arguably the most challenging recruiting year since the inception of the all-volunteer force," in Senate testimony on April 27. Read Next: Senators Block VA Review of Hospital Closures, Upgrades The first version of the policy, posted to the Navys website, explained that the changes were being made due to the uncertainty regarding COVID-19 Pandemic vaccination losses and the recruiting environment, where competition for talent is especially tough. This requires retention of the right talent, at a time of uncertainty to ensure sustainment of the force, the policy added. However, when Military.com reached out to the Navy for further details, a spokeswoman for the branch said that document was uploaded in error. A new version was subsequently posted, removing the lines that described difficulty recruiting entirely. The Navys new policy also suggests that the service is considering letting COVID-19 vaccine refusers continue to serve. Aside from the mention of uncertainty regarding COVID-19 Pandemic vaccination losses, the original policy also expressly said that COVID-19 vaccination refusers were ineligible for the voluntary extensions of service. That reference made in two locations on the original memo was removed. The Navy is offering sailors who are retiring or separating before March 31, 2023, the chance to delay their exit to as far out as Sept. 30, 2023, the service announced. Sailors who chose to stay will continue to be eligible for the incentive sea duty pay as well as promotions. Furthemore, the policy explains that enlisted sailors filling critical operational billets both at sea and shore who are retiring as a result of reaching high year tenure a limit of how many years of service a sailor can have at various ranks can ask to stay in the service for up to another year. Aside from providing another year of service, the policy notes that those sailors would be eligible for advancement during that time, thus giving those sailors more chances to promote and avoid the forced, high year tenure separation. Conversely, the message also announced that, effective immediately, all enlisted early out programs and new time in grade requirement waivers are hereby [sic] cancelled. Service commitments such as enlistment contracts, service obligations for accepting permanent change of station orders, advancements, bonuses, training, etc., will be fulfilled, the policy said. The Navy offered a historically high $25,000 recruiting bonus in April just to encourage recruits to ship off to boot camp before summer. Lt. Sarah Niles, a spokeswoman for the Navys Personnel boss, explained in an email that while the Navy is confident that we will attain the overall annual retention goals, the service also recognizes that they are in a very challenging recruiting environment in competition for the top talent hence the bonuses. According to data provided by Niles, the Navy is close to retaining all the senior sailors for the year the service had targeted, and is over its goal for sailors with less than six years of service. The rosy numbers offered by the Navy clashes with grim reports from military officials who say that Americas military services have a shrinking pool of possible recruits that is being further limited by the countrys growing issues with obesity or are screened out due to minor criminal infractions, including the use of recreational drugs such as marijuana. The Navys new policy also comes just days after the Army announced it dropped the requirement for its recruits to have a high school degree or GED certificate as long as they shipped to basic training before Oct. 1. -- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin. Related: Military Throwing Cash at Recruiting Crisis as Troops Head for the Exits NEW ORLEANS A former U.S. Coast Guard employee has pleaded guilty in a test score-fixing scheme that happened over seven years at an exam center in Louisiana, federal prosecutors said. U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans, in a news release Tuesday, said Eldridge Johnson entered the plea June 23 to one count each of bribery and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Johnson faces up to 15 years for the bribery charge, five years for the conspiracy charge and a fine of up to $250,000, Evans' office said. Sentencing is set for Sept. 29. Johnson was an examination administrator at an exam center for the agency in Mandeville, Louisiana. He gave exams merchant mariners were required to pass in order to obtain licenses to work in various positions on ships. Beginning in 2011 and continuing until about the time of his retirement in January 2018, Johnson engaged in a scheme to receive bribes from mariners who had applied for licenses, Evans said. Johnson offered and sold various forms of assistance, including reporting false information to the Coast Guard and selling exam questions and answers to mariners before they took the tests, he said. The conspiracy conviction relates to his post-retirement conduct, in which he acted as an intermediary for employee Dorothy Smith who entered false exam scores in exchange for money. Prosecutors said Smith took bribes to fix exam scores and used intermediaries to connect her to maritime workers who were willing to pay. Smith and another employee, Beverly McCrary, pleaded guilty in the case and are scheduled for sentencing Sept. 15. A federal jury in San Diego convicted four of five former U.S. naval officers of conspiracy, bribery and fraud on Wednesday, capping a four-month long trial and a decade-long investigation of the worst corruption scandal in the history of the Navy. After deliberating over parts of three weeks, jurors convicted former Capts. David Newland, James Dolan and David Lausman and former Cmdr. Mario Herrera of conspiracy to commit bribery, receiving bribes, and conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud due to their entanglements with Singapore-based military contractor Leonard Glenn Francis. Lausman was also convicted of obstruction of justice for destroying a computer hard drive with documents and emails from his time as the commanding officer of the aircraft carrier George Washington. The jury deadlocked and reached no verdict on charges against a fifth defendant, former Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless. The verdict ended a lengthy trial the only one in the sprawling prosecution that began with opening statements on March 2. The evidence jurors were shown featured reams of documents including emails and invoices, testimony from federal agents, and testimony from other Navy officials caught in the scandal who had pleaded guilty and agreed to give evidence against others in exchange for a potentially lighter sentence. Prosecutors laid out what is now, after nearly a decade of "Fat Leonard" indictments and more than two-dozen guilty pleas, a familiar litany: Francis nicknamed for his girth showered gifts of fancy meals, prostitutes, high-end hotel rooms and other perks on Navy officers from 2006 through 2014. In return, they did his bidding, such as providing ship schedules for the Navy's Seventh Fleet and trying to steer Navy ships to ports around Southeast Asia that Francis and his company, Glenn Defense Marin Asia, controlled. Once there, he gouged the Navy on services, including fuel, supplies, sewage disposal, security, shore transportation and more. Francis admitted to defrauding at least $35 million from the U.S. Navy. The trial included an extraordinary, three-day-long hearing mid-trial to get to the bottom of allegations that federal prosecutors had illegally withheld information from defense lawyers. It was one of several motions that defense attorneys filed during the course of the trial contending prosecutors had committed misconduct and a mistrial should be declared. But U.S. District Court Judge Janis Sammartino has not issued any formal rulings on the motions filed by lawyers unusual in any trial but especially so in such a high-profile case. The most recent was filed even while the jury deliberated, arguing that the government had not disclosed that a key case agent had made inaccurate statements in a sworn arrest warrant affidavit in a strikingly similar case a year ago. That motion and the others are still pending, frustrating defense lawyers. "Our view is this case should never have gone to the jury," Joseph Mancano, the lawyer for Newland, said during a hearing June 22 outside the presence of the jury. And he criticized how federal prosecutors have handled the case. "The layers of prosecutorial misconduct in this case are mind-boggling," he told the judge. But, in response, government lawyers said that nothing the defense raised in the motions were enough to halt the case. "None of the issues individually or collectively arise to 'flagrant misbehavior' or have caused 'substantial prejudice' to the defendants," prosecutors wrote. The arguments over the withheld information was not the biggest surprise in the trial. In a stunning move, the scandal's namesake, Francis, who pleaded guilty in 2015 and met hundreds of times with agents and prosecutors as part of his cooperation agreement, was not called to testify. The government gave no explanation, and indeed it did not have to. But there was plenty of speculation. Some centered on a multi-part podcast Francis recorded that was released before trial. In hours of recordings he bragged about his influence and reach. At one point in an excerpt defense attorneys played several times for the jury he appeared to throw a cloud over the pending case. "I can't say my story," Francis told an interviewer in his deep baritone voice, "because if I tell you my story, if I tell them my story, then the government hasn't got a case against all those other guys." Another reason: Years ago Francis testified in a deposition for a court-martial of a Navy fighter pilot charged with accepting bribes. While the judge in the case did not accept a defense lawyer's argument that Francis perjured himself under cross-examination, he acquitted the pilot of the most serious charges against him, which relied on Francis's testimony. Also not called to testify was a second key player, former Cmdr. Jose Sanchez, who has also pleaded guilty and, like Francis, is awaiting sentencing after helping prosecutors. That meant the case against the five men relied heavily on emails, phone and billing records, and other documentary evidence. Other corrupt officers who pleaded guilty, such as Edmund Aruffo and Stephen Shedd, were called to testify, but defense lawyers in closing arguments urged jurors to consider the sizable hole made by Francis' absence as a sign of the weakness in the government's case. Defense lawyers put on only a handful of witnesses, attacking the government case via cross-examinations. In closing arguments that stretched over several days, they assailed the government's reliance on cooperating witnesses angling for shorter sentences. They said the emails presented by prosecutors were presented out of context and insinuated wrongdoing by simply connecting the former officers to Francis or his company. The highly unusual mid-trial hearing centered on information about one prostitute. Right as the trial got under way, federal agents had conversations with the woman, named Ynah, who was allegedly paid by Francis to have sex with defendant Lausman. But the woman denied to agents she had sex and said she slept on the couch in the hotel room of an officer. She also admitted she lied to Francis about having sex, so she could get paid. Ynah declined requests to come to San Diego from the Philippines to testify. No information on this conversation was given to defense lawyers, which they said violated longstanding legal obligations of prosecutors to turn over information that could help show a defendant was not guilty. Sammartino, the judge, halted testimony in the trial for a hearing in which the chief prosecutor on the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Pletcher, had to take the extraordinary step of testifying on the stand to defend his actions. In the end Sammartino didn't sanction prosecutors. The convicted defendants and their lawyers declined to comment after the verdicts were read to a nearly packed courtroom, filled with family and friends of the defendants on one side and a legion of federal agents and prosecutors on the other. Thomas O'Brien, the lawyer for Loveless, asked Sammartino to acquit his client after the jury was dismissed, arguing the government had "thrown everything it can" against Loveless and was unable to convince the jury. Pletcher objected to that, and Sammartino declined to make an immediate ruling. The U.S. Attorney's Office issued a brief news release about the verdict late Wednesday but did not comment on its significance or say whether Loveless would be retried. Outside of court, O'Brien said the government should not seek to retry his client. "After four months of trial and several weeks of deliberations the jury failed to convict Admiral Loveless on any counts," he said. "This case should be dismissed." Sentencing for the four men was set for Oct. 11, but a series of post-trial motions from defense lawyers are expected to be filed before then. The trial could very well mark the end of the sweeping Fat Leonard investigation. Since the indictment in this case was handed down in March 2017, the investigation has slowed down markedly. Four people were indicted after this case but they each pleaded guilty before trial. Francis is set to be sentenced on July 14. Since 2018 he had been living in a kind of house arrest at a secret residential location while receiving treatment and care for medical problems, including renal cancer. -------- 2022 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Visit sandiegouniontribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. New York, US (PANA) - The resurgence of the M23 armed group has broad repercussions for the security, human rights and humanitarian situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and for the wider region, the UN Special Representative there told the Security Council on Wednesday SLOVIANSK, Ukraine Russia on Thursday pulled back its forces from a strategically placed Black Sea island where they have faced relentless Ukrainian attacks, but kept up its push to encircle the last bulwark of Ukraine's resistance in the eastern province of Luhansk. Russias Defense Ministry said it withdrew its forces from the Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island off Ukraines Black Sea port of Odesa in what it described as a goodwill gesture. Ukraine's military said the Russians fled the island in two speedboats following a barrage of Ukrainian artillery and missile strikes. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov insisted that the withdrawal was intended to demonstrate that the Russian Federation wasnt hampering the United Nations efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor for taking agricultural products from the territory of Ukraine. Ukraine and the West have accused Russian of blockading Ukrainian ports to prevent the exports of grain, contributing to the global food crisis. Russia has denied the accusations and charged that Ukraine needs to remove sea mines from the Black Sea to allow safe navigation. Turkey has sought to broker a deal on unblocking grain exports from Ukraine, but the talks have dragged on without any sign of quick progress with Kyiv voicing concern that Russia could use the deal to launch an attack on Odesa. Russia took control of the island that sits on a busy shipping lane in the opening days of the war in an apparent hope to use it to control the area and use it as a staging ground for an attack on Odesa. The island came to epitomize the Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion, when Ukrainian troops there received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or face bombardment. Russian warship, the answer came back, go (expletive) yourself. The Ukrainian defenders of the island were captured by the Russians but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange. Since the island was taken, the Ukrainian military has relentlessly bombarded a small Russian garrison and air defense assets stationed there. In the east of Ukraine on Thursday, Moscow kept up its push to take control of the entire Donbas region. It is focused on the city of Lysychansk, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the Luhansk province. Russian troops and their separatist allies control 95% of Luhansk and about half of Donetsk, the two provinces that make up the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas. The Ukrainian General Staff said that the Russian troops were shelling Lysychansk and clashing with Ukrainian defenders around an oil refinery on the edge of the city. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said that Russian reconaissance units tried to enter Lysychansk Wednesday, but were repelled by the Ukrainian forces. He said the Russians were trying to block a highway used to deliver supplies and fully encircle the city. The Russians have thrown practically all their forces to seize the city, Haidai said. Speaking on a visit to Turkmenistan early Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his goals in Ukraine haven't changed since the start of the war. He said they were the liberation of the Donbas, the protection of these people and the creation of conditions that would guarantee the security of Russia itself. He made no mention of his original stated goals to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine. He denied Russia had adjusted its strategy after failing to take Kyiv in the early stage of the conflict. As you can see, the troops are moving and reaching the marks that were set for them for a certain stage of this combat work. Everything is going according to plan, Putin said at a news conference in Turkmenistan. In central Ukraine, funerals were to be held Thursday for some of the 18 people confirmed killed by Monday's Russian missile strike on a busy shopping mall in Kremenchuk. Crews continued to search through the rubble in search of another 20 people who remain missing. Ukrainian State Emergency Services press officer Svitlana Rybalko told The Associated Press that along with the 18 bodies, investigators found fragments of eight more bodies. It was not immediately clear whether that meant there were more victims. A number of survivors suffered severed limbs. After the attack on the mall, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of becoming a terrorist state. On Wednesday, he reproached NATO for not embracing or equipping his embattled country more fully. He asked for more modern artillery systems and other weapons and warned the NATO leaders they either had to provide Ukraine with the help it needed to defeat Russia or face a delayed war between Russia and yourself. In southern Ukraine, the death toll from Wednesday's Russian missile strike on an apartment building in Mykolaiv rose to six, according to Gov. Vitaliy Kim. Another six people were wounded. Mykolaiv is a major port and seizing it as well as Odesa farther west would be key to Russias objective of cutting off Ukraine from its Black Sea coast. Thursday was the deadline for Army National Guard soldiers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or potentially face separation from the service, with roughly 40,000, or 13% of its force, having yet to be inoculated, according to data from the service component reviewed by Military.com. The numbers pose a daunting challenge to the Pentagon, which mandated vaccination against COVID-19, as it does to counter more than a dozen other ailments such as hepatitis and the flu. The Army National Guard's deadline was the latest of any military component, with most other deadlines falling last year. The Air National Guard, for example, had a Dec. 2, 2021, deadline and saw a vaccination rate of 94% when the deadline passed. Read Next: Army Swiftly Backpedals on Policy Dropping High School Diploma Requirement As of June 16, 89% of the Army Reserve was fully vaccinated, compared to 97% of the active-duty Army. So far, at least 923 active-duty troops have been removed from the force for refusing to comply with the mandate. Neither the Army nor National Guard Bureau has developed a plan on how to handle a huge swath of its force refusing a medical mandate. Some states have a significant portion of its formations unvaccinated, and the idea of removing all of them might be unrealistic. "It would be difficult to lose that many soldiers," John Goheen, a spokesperson for the National Guard Association, told Military.com. "This is a challenge. For a lot of people, they just don't see the pandemic anymore." It could be a tough sell to those not yet vaccinated, given that COVID-19 has had its greatest impact on people with other health ailments, including obesity and diabetes. "We're talking about a generally healthy portion of the population," Goheen added, referencing Guardsmen. "I don't know what all this is going to bring. The numbers are something that's certainly being watched, and Guard leaders are concerned." While Guardsmen have a much higher vaccination rate than the general population, a state's percentage of vaccinated troops mirroring its political makeup -- with blue and purple states generally having much higher inoculation rates than red states. For example, 20% of soldiers in the Oklahoma and 17% in the Arkansas Guard are unvaccinated, compared to only 4% and 8% of the New Hampshire and New York Army National Guard that are unvaccinated, respectively, according to data obtained by Military.com. The idea of having to replace so many soldiers could be a non-starter for some states, especially with an ongoing recruiting crisis making filling the ranks an already uphill battle. "We're going to give every soldier every opportunity to get vaccinated and continue their military career," Lt. Gen. Jon Jensen, director of the Army Guard, told Military.com in an emailed statement. "We're not giving up on anybody until the separation paperwork is signed and completed." Multiple Republican governors have vowed not to kick out service members who have refused to comply with the Pentagon's order. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt sued the Defense Department to block the mandate, saying that the vaccine "violates the personal freedoms" of troops, followed by the state's adjutant general, Brig. Gen. Thomas Mancino, issuing a memo saying that troops would not be required to take the vaccine. Mancino later warned not complying could be a career-killer. A federal judge quickly ruled against Oklahoma's suit. That showdown was a flashpoint over who has ultimate control of the National Guard, something that has never been fully articulated in laws and military regulations. Guardsmen have dueling obligations, serving their respective governors during much of their service but the federal government when tapped for deployments abroad. However, during a Guardsman's typical weekend duties, they are still paid by the federal government, funding that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has threatened to withhold. Yet it's unclear how easily that threat can be enforced. In the meantime, some states are telling their Guardsmen not to show up to their weekend duties if they are unvaccinated, a move short of kicking them out of the service outright. "National Guard Soldiers are not authorized to drill after 30 June 2022 if they are not vaccinated or do not have an approved or in-process medical or religious exemption," an Oklahoma Guard spokesperson told Military.com in an email. "Per Governor Stitt's directive, Oklahoma does not plan to separate a Soldier based on vaccine status. Guard members will still be authorized to perform state active duty." -- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon. Related: Number of Soldiers Booted for Vaccine Refusal Doubled from Last Month Service members who leave the military and begin their search for civilian employment may come across several challenges. And those leaving the military with a disability visible or invisible encounter even more. As employers learn more about what veterans can contribute to their business or organization, the task gets a little easier, but there are still opportunities to use resources and tips from the community. Getting out and meeting people is one of the best ways to further your job search, and an effective way to do that is through a job fair. Before You Go Before you attend a job fair, do some research and figure out what companies are going to be there, and what open positions those companies have. See whether you can imagine yourself in any of those positions, what qualifications they require and how you stack up against the competition. Learn a bit about the companys veteran programs and see whether you know anyone who currently works there that you can talk to. Retired Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Alston Cleary said learning how to translate his military experience for the civilian workforce was key to landing the job and continues to be a part of his workday. Cleary began his Army career as a maintenance technician and now works as a Total Productive Maintenance Coordinator for the John Deere plant in East Moline, Illinois. Retired Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Alston Cleary A lot of things that I do in the military are the same things that Im doing at John Deere, he said. They just have different acronyms or call them different things. Use Them to Build Your Network Job fairs even those that may not be within your intended career field are a great opportunity to build your network and practice talking to people. Prepare your personal introduction, dress as you would for an interview and have a few answers ready if they want to do a quick interview. You can also work with organizations like RecruitMilitary, a partner of the DAV (Disabled American Veterans), that helps connect employers to veterans, to prepare for a job fair. Choose a Job Fair to Attend Getting out and meeting people is one of the best ways to further your job search, and an effective way to do that is through a job fair. Organizations like DAV host job fairs regularly, and often virtually, to connect veterans with national employers who have committed to hiring veterans. The job fairs are open to veterans, transitioning military service members and their spouses. In 2021, Cleary attended one of DAVs virtual job fairs where he was introduced to another organization that helps connect businesses with qualified veterans. DAV focuses on finding a good fit for both veterans and employers through its National Employment Program. DAV knows how crucial meaningful employment is to a veterans successful transition from the military and into civilian life. We also know the incredible skills and experience veterans like Alston Cleary bring to the table, said acting DAV national employment director Rob Lougee. After the Job Fair Just like after an interview, there are a few crucial steps post-job fair that you wont want to forget about. Start by following up with the people you met, either by sending them more information about yourself or a quick thank you email. You can also self-assess your experience and decide what you need to work on for the next one. If you were able to connect with a potential employer, or learn about a new opportunity, follow through with that. For more information and additional resources for job seekers, visit dav.org/veterans/employment-resources. New York, US (PANA) - Every 24 seconds someone is killed in traffic, making safety on the worlds roads a global development challenge for all societies, especially for the most vulnerable, a senior UN official has said, ahead of the first ever High-level General Assembly Meeting on Improving Road Safety 30.06.2022 LISTEN Kaakyire Kwame Fosu, better known in Showbiz as KK Fosu, has revealed his political ambitions after his soon-to-come retirement from music. He made this revelation in a radio conversation on the Accra-based Hitz FM with Andy Dosty, monitored by this portal. Though he kept his political affiliation secret in this particular interview, he revealed that his political longing started three years ago because of his quest to help the poor. I want to assist my nation. My political ambition began three years ago, and I believe the voters will support me, he revealed. The "Anadwo ye de" and "Suudwe" highlife hitmaker further asserted that he would like to serve in the legislative arm of government as Member of Parliament. After my singing career, Id want to serve in the legislature. I would not want to be performing at age 60. I must advocate for the disadvantaged. Given that I consider them, why wouldnt they vote for me? I want to attend the legislature. I am not playing, he explained. Speaking in a similar interview on the Accra-based CTV monitored by this portal, he highlighted his policies and finally revealed that he would not be affiliated with any political party as he intends to go as an independent candidate for the Akuapem North constituency. According to him, his main policy will be to prioritise youths in agriculture. "Let's go back to agriculture. I always want to advocate when it comes to agriculture. I want us to go back to agriculture and create more jobs there for the youth. I want us to build agriculture for it to become attractive for the youth. "I'm going as an independent candidate. You see, I'm a person who is loved by everyone. Whether it's the NDC, NPP, CPP, you name it; everyone loves me," he stated. He added that: "The other thing with such established parties is that you'd need to join them and serve for a while before you can contest and they'd even tell you there's a long line of possible candidates to be considered before you. I'm not ready for that." A Ghanaian artist that deserves recognition is the GHANATTA trained DANKYI MENSAH. Following in the footsteps of other prominent Ghanatta College of Art Alumni with international pedigree such Amoako Boafo, Otis Quarcoe, Cornelius Armah, Kwesi Botchway and Emmanuel Taku, is Dankyi Mensah. For seasoned art collectors and historians, these Ghanaian artists collectively embody the vanguard of a new generation of African painters coming up with an evolving new art vocabulary. With his recently sold-out paintings in New York, solo exhibitions in London and Art Brussels, and an upcoming exhibition in Knokke, Belgium with Maruani Mercier Gallery, Dankyi Mensah can claim to have international gravitas. Dankyi Mensah, The Kumerican Series. Courtesy of the Artist and ChilliArt Project So, how do we understand Dankyi Mensah as a Ghanaian artist gaining international recognition? Dankyi sees art as a reflection of his history and his society. As he said in a recent interview: It is a mirror image of what I see and feel around me. We are all social beings, and we interact with each other. My social position in society is what fuels my art. But at a more fundamental level, I hope my art can create a better society for my people." For his current project, KUMERICA, the painter Dankyi Mensah seeks to document the ongoing development of the contemporary urban, social, and political landscape of Ghana through colourful portraiture. The 'Kumerican' series explores the concept of cultural hybridization and seek to document the development of the contemporary urban, social, and political landscape in Kumasi, Ghana through colourful, figurative portraiture. Kumericaa term often associated with the music scenerevolves around the encounter between the local culture of Kumasi, in the Ashanti region, and American urban hip-hop culture. Dankyi Mensah, The Kumerican Series. Courtesy of the Artist and ChilliArt Project But for Dankyi, this goes beyond music and lifestyles, and includes the crafting of a new identity, such as the changing of street names, and the adoption of a new flag as a sign of the times. The meaning of these identities becomes a focal point in his art. Dankyi Mensah, The Kumerican Series, London. Courtesy of the artist and ChilliArt project Dankyi attempts to capture this cultural shift by depicting his subjects dressed in an American-influenced street style posed against a background of traditional Ghanaian fabric patterns, ultimately re-examining what the Kumerican phenomena means within the contemporary social urban landscape of Kumasi, Ghana. The Black bodies in Dankyis paintings juxtaposed with these vivid backgrounds are part of the emerging artist discourse about blackness presenting a counter-narrative to white standards of beauty. Here, one sees echoes of the famed African American artist Kehinde Willey in his works. As Dankyi explains: My artistic vocabulary pushes me to explore and celebrate Blackness in contrast to how Blacks have been portrayed in history. It appears to me that capturing the black skin in purple and blue hues conveys a sense of multiplicity of what it means to be black. Blackness is not monolithic. In an interview, he notes that seeing Black portraiture in the major museum collections can be empowering for diasporic Blacks. Dankyi Mensah, The Kumerican Series, London. Courtesy of the artist and ChilliArt project More so, he explains that his use of the colour purple to capture black skins celebrates the regal and royal nature of Blackness! In his solo booth exhibition at Art Brussels, Dankyi Mensah plays with the substance of his acrylic paints, manipulating it to give variable dimensions such as texture to the hair of his subjects which adds an element of life. A particular noticeable feature of Dankyis work is the portrayal of his subject's strong brown eyes and their strong gaze that challenges and engages his viewers. For Dankyi, this style of painting enables the viewer to see the soul of his subjects through the gaze of their eyes. Dankyi Mensah, The Kumerican Series, London. Courtesy of the artist and ChilliArt project Exploring the vocation of the artist as a social historian, Dankyi highlights the idea of beauty in relation to the black experience. Beauty is always a contested phenomenon! Are we not reminded that Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder? Dankyis play with the use of colour, patterns, and texture as means to express emotion, and at the same time to reflect on tradition and globalization, while capturing and documenting the everchanging urban life in Ghana is telling of an artist who has become a force to reckon with. Dankyi Mensah, The Kumerican Series, London. Courtesy of the artist and ChilliArt project Overall, Dankyis works and documentation on KUMERICA offers the viewer a glimpse into his world, highlighting this prominent shift in culture and identity taking place in Kumasi, Ghana. Africa. Having recently completed a one-month residency at The Warehouse, in Zaventem, Belgium, Dankyi Mensahs newest body of work celebrates the very essence of life and beauty through the portrayal of his Kumerican subjects. Locating his subjects in the splendor and beauty of flowers, his subjects are painted with beauty, grace, and reverence. For this new upcoming exhibition on Kumerica, Dankyis portraitures are grounded in an artistic language that draws on themes of nature, with his subjects awashed in flowers and posing amidst traditional Ghanian patterned fabrics. The solo booth Reflections of the Kumerican Experience with works by Dankyi Mensah at Art Brussels: Wednesday 27 April 2022 - Sunday 01 May 2022. Courtesy of the Artist and Murani Mercier Gallery, Belgium. Overall, Dankyis works offer a glimpse about the impact of globalization, hybridization and a prominent shift in culture and identity taking place among the youth in Kumasi, Ghana. *Nii F. Africanus Armah is an art collector and historian who lives in New York City Morris Babyface, the Ghanaian music producer and crooner, has reacted to the recent claims made by Yaw Tog concerning an alleged spiritual attack on his life earlier this year. Yaw Tog, the award-winning Ghanaian musician who has been out of the music scene for over six (6) months after releasing his partying song revealed on Saturday, June 25, 2022, in a tweet that he was defeated spiritually in the early days of 2022. He went on to advise aspiring musicians to take their spiritual life seriously and also be cautious about who they choose as friends. "I feel like advising the young ones wishing to do music in the near future please be strong in the spiritual world too. I got defeated early this year but Im back again and be beware of fake friends please," Yaw Tog tweeted. In response to this tweet, the award-winning music producer asserted that the music industry in Ghana is full of resentment toward one another. He added that the people you will wish to help when you make it will be the same people who pull you down. He prayed for God's protection for the youngster and advised him to take his spiritual life seriously. You see what I have always been saying? The question here is, is it JESUS CHRIST? This is Ghana! Where you can be blessed with many talents and the very people you'd wish to succeed and help or have succeeded and even helped, are those who will pull you down, destroy and bury you. "If you are not careful, people will frustrate you so much so that you will end up selling your soul to the devil in the name of finding protection and fighting enemies. I pray this young talented boy finds Jesus Christ before someone deceives him into something dangerous. Only in Jesus Christ can we be truly protected! Hmmm! GHANA," he bemoaned. National Democratic Party constituency secretary aspirant for Ejura-Sekyedumasi Honorable Amadu Hadi popularly called 'Geo-Lawyer' has appealed to delegates to offer him the opportunity to bridge the gap between delegates and the party leadership. He assures delegates of his quarterly visit to them and his all-time availability to all members of the party especially delegates when elected. He made this assurance when he met with some delegates at Badukurom on Tuesday night as part of his campaign tour. "Delegates in this constituency have been neglected for too long. Your voices are not been heard and your concerns are not being addressed. "You are the foundation of the party and so we need to bridge the gap between you the delegates and the party leadership. I want to assure you of my commitment to dealing passionately with any concerns you bring to my table," he assures. Honourable Hadi continued by revealing to delegates his intention of initiating a yearly 'delegates get together' program that will offer every delegate the opportunity to meet with all executive members of the party to deliberate on party issues. "With me as your constituency Secretary, we shall have an annual delegates seminar to discuss and assess our progress as a party," he stated. The delegates assured him of their support and also urged him to do as he pledged when given the mandate. The Aurum Ghana Institute, a healthcare organization, has equipped journalists with the requisite knowledge to report and fact-check health-related stories to ensure their consumers are properly informed. The workshop was held at the Tomreik hotel in Accra on Wednesday, June 29, 2022. Speaking at the training, Ms. Jabinah Anaman, acting country director of the Aurum Ghana Institute, stated that most media personalities, who are key in the dissemination of health-related information, sometimes lack the requisite knowledge, making such information less factual. She noted that it is critical the media, which has undoubtedly a very powerful and trusted institution, receive this training to be able to disseminate the right information to the public. So, in that respect, it is important that any health-related information the journalists put out should be correct since anything less could harm the consumer. You (media) are more trusted regarding information dissemination, so we are confident this training will equip you with the right skill set to inform the public on the right health issues appropriately, she noted. Speaking at the event were Mr. Rabiu Alhassan of Fact-Check Ghana and Nana Kofi Quakyi, the programme manager for IMPAACT 4 C19 at the Aurum Ghana Institute. Rabiu Alhassan, who is also a former journalist, advised journalists to be cautious about the information they feed the public, especially the health-related ones. He said they should first do fact-checking to know its authenticity before. Nana Kofi Quakyi, in his presentation, enlightened the journalists about COVID-19 issues. He advised journalists to be cautious in their attempts to report cases of COVID-19 to avoid fear and panic. Aurum Institute Ghana is a pan-African organisation working to advance health science and innovation, through research and policy formulation, for the greater good of the public. The organization was founded in 2017 as a subsidiary of the Aurium Institute Group, which has its headquarters in South Africa and other branches in several African countries, including Mozambique, Eswatini, Lesotho, and even the United States of America. The sole surviving member of an Islamic State terror cell that killed 130 people in Paris in November 2015 was handed a whole-life sentence by a French court on Wednesday, the toughest punishment possible. Salah Abdeslam was sentenced to a whole-life term, which offers only a small chance of parole after 30 years, only the fifth time in French legal history such a punishment has been handed out. A Brussels native with a long criminal record, he was also a pot-smoking lover of parties and casinos before falling under the thrall of radical Islam. The court heard how he and elder brother Brahim moved from a life of drugs and delinquency in the crime-ridden Molenbeek area of the Belgian capital to dreaming of an Islamic caliphate. The pair ran a dingy local bar, Les Beguines, which was a dealers' hangout before becoming a secret location for watching extreme IS videos after the group seized territory in Iraq and Syria from 2014. "I tell you: we fought against France, we attacked France. We targeted the population, civilians, but in reality, it was nothing personal against these people," an unrepentant Abdeslam said in September as the trial opened, parroting IS propaganda. His descent into the Islamist death cult came under the influence of his childhood friend Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who became a key IS recruiter and ringleader for the Paris attacks. In February 2015, Brussels police summoned Abdeslam to discuss Abaaoud who had appeared in a gruesome video from Syria, showing him driving a pick-up that was dragging mutilated bodies to a mass grave. "Apart from the jihad, he's a good guy," Abdeslam said during an interview, hiding his own plans to follow other Molenbeek locals to Syria. 'Not going to do it' Over the course of the nine-month Paris trial, the one-time tram technician outwardly changed, dropping his early bravado and defiance to become more outwardly remorseful. He blamed his early behaviour on his detention conditions - solitary confinement with round-the-clock video surveillance since his arrest in March 2016. "When I arrived in this setting, after six years of isolation where they prevented me from talking to anyone, it was a social shock," he said, adding that he had "been a bit hard with words and I regret it". In April, after months of refusing to testify, he declared that he would account for himself to prove that he was not "the monster without humanity" that he had been made out to be. According to his version of events, he was approached by Abaaoud to take part in the Paris attacks as a suicide bomber two days before the mission. "It was a shock for me," he told the court, but "I ended up accepting." After dropping off three bombers outside the national stadium on the night, his job was to detonate himself in a bar in the trendy 18th district of the capital. "I go into the cafe, I order a drink, I look at the people around me and I say to myself 'no, I'm not going to do it'," he told the court. He discarded his suicide vest in a bin and fled back to Brussels where he went on the run for four months. His brother Brahim embraced his mission, gunning down young people in cafes before blowing himself up. 'A terrorist' The prosecution highlighted inconsistencies in his account and also pointed to handwritten letters, full of grammatical mistakes, which he wrote while in hiding. "My dear younger sister, I imagine it must be difficult for you to be separated from your two brothers, and everyone is calling us terrorists as well. Understand that we only terrorised infidels," he wrote. In April, Abdeslam sobbed in court and pleaded for forgiveness after weeks of testimony from survivors about their loss and injuries. In his final statement, he begged the judges not to punish him for the crimes of others, seeking to emphasise that he had not killed anyone himself. "I made mistakes, it's true. But I'm not a murderer, I'm not a killer," he said. Observers were left wondering whether the man at the start of the trial had seen the light after coming face-to-face with the people his actions harmed. "They're still people, who did unspeakable things, but they're still people, so I imagine that they were affected," survivor Bruno Poncet told French news agency AFP of Abdeslam and the 13 other accused in court. "I think that Salah Abdeslam behaved like a terrorist, that his brother was a terrorist and that he, even after the event, was still a terrorist," lawyer Gerard Chemla, who was acting on behalf of victims, told AFP. "After that, the rest leaves me rather indifferent." The GCB Bank has refuted false media reports that it has terminated its existing cash in transit (CIT) contract with their current bullion van company and have awarded same to another company. The Banks says the publication by the Herald Newspaper in its 8th and 24th June editions are false, malicious and intended to discredit and unnecessarily pre-empt the efforts of the Board and Management of the Bank to proactively protect the interest of shareholders. The bank, in a press statement issued on the 26th of June 2022 and signed by Mr. Emmanuel Kojo Kwarteng, the Corporate Affairs Manager noted that the alleged granting of a $20 million loan to a certain company to secure a new armoured bullion van for CIT operations is untrue and fabricated to destroy the good image of the bank. The statement further assured the clients and customers of the bank, as well as the general public, that the bank is a reputable public entity that will not soil its reputation for any reason. "Further, the Bank has not granted a loan to any company to procure and/or operate armoured bullion vans for CIT services. For the paper to insinuate that GCB Bank is granting a US$20 Million facility to a vendor to procure armoured vans and provide CIT services to the Bank is frivolous and a figment of their imagination in an attempt to malign the hard work of the management and staff of GCB Bank in growing this great national asset. Any attempt to influence the Bank to consider any vendor who does not meet the requirements for the CIT services will not be tolerated," parts of the statement reads. Find the full release below: GCB Bank Plc has noted with dismay the publication of news items in the 8th and 24th June 2022 editions of a newspaper called the Herald suggesting the termination of the contracts of the Bank's existing cash in transit (CIT) vendors and awarding contracts for armoured bullion van CIT services to unqualified vendors. We deem the content of the publication as false, malicious and intended to discredit and unnecessarily pre-empt the efforts of the Board and Management of the Bank to proactively protect the interest of shareholders. The Bank has neither terminated the contract of existing CIT service providers nor awarded a contract for the use of armoured bullion vans for CIT services. Further, the Bank has not granted a loan to any company to procure and/or operate armoured bullion vans for CIT services. For the paper to insinuate that GCB Bank is granting a US$20 Million facility to a vendor to procure armoured vans and provide CIT services to the Bank is frivolous and a figment of their imagination in an attempt to malign the hard work of the management and staff of GCB Bank in growing this great national asset. Any attempt to influence the Bank to consider any vendor who does not meet the requirements for the CIT services will not be tolerated. It may be recalled that in December 2020, the Bank of Ghana (BOG) issued a directive for Banks to replace soft skinned bullion vans with armoured bullion vans for CIT services. Subsequent to the BOG directive, GCB Bank Plc received a number of proposals from prospective vendors which will be considered within the framework of the Bank's procurement process. We wish to assure clients, the general public and all stakeholders that the Bank upholds high governance standards in engaging vendors and will comply with its procurement policy and process to ensure that companies that meet both technical and financial requirements are selected to carry out CIT service for the Bank. GCB Bank Plc has a rich heritage and is a national asset that must be shielded and protected from persons with malicious intent. The Board and Management of GCB would like to urge our staff, customers, shareholders and the general public to ignore the malicious publication and other versions being circulated on social media and other platforms. The Bank is focused on providing financial service to its customers and wide stakeholder groups and will continue to protect their interests. Signed; On Behalf of the Board and Management 26th June 2022 Corporate Affairs / Media Contacts Emmanuel Kojo Kwarteng Email: [email protected] Telephone: +233540103097 News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. Lawyers of Arise Ghana have accused the Ghana Police Service of denying them access to arrested demonstrators. According to a press release issued on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, the lawyers say they were denied access because of an order from above. Arguing that the action of the police is in contravention of articles 14 & 15 of the 1992 Constitution to be denied access to the arrested demonstrators, the lawyers are calling on the Inspector General of Police to order his officers to grant them access to the protesters held in police custody. This morning several lawyers have tried to gain access to the persons being held by the Police but have been denied access simply because there is an "order from above", clearly in contravention of articles 14 & 15 of the 1992 Constitution. Lawyers In Search Of Democracy (LINSOD) denounce this unconstitutional act by the Police and condemn it in its entirety. We demand of the IGP to immediately order his men to allow persons being in custody to have access to Lawyers, parts of a release from lawyers of Arise Ghana have said. It adds, We further demand of the IGP to order his men to respect the constitutional rights of all persons being held in detention by the Ghana Police and treat them with dignity. Police in a press release noted that 29 protesters are in custody after they were arrested on Tuesday for participating in the violence that marred day one of the Arise Ghana krom ay3 hye demonstration. Find more in the press release below: Ranking Member on Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, John Jinapor is requesting government to exclude Mytileneos in the relocation of the AMERI plant to Kumasi and allow Volta River Authority (VRA) to control the move. He said VRA is more than capable to handle the plant as they have previously managed other plants quite well. Speaking on Joy News PM Express on June 29, he indicated that, before government makes any move now, it must hand over the plant to VRA for the authority to determine the way forward. The Yapei-Kusawgu MP added that, although VRA has an agreement with Mytileneos, it was just pre-financing. Firstly, we believe that Mytileneos must not even be involved in this transaction and so its a no-no. Dont even attempt to engage Mytileneos given the frosty relationship we have with them which led to the sacking of the then Minister. You would recall that the AMERI negotiations, it was this same Mytileneos Company that got involved. That is one; two is that we believe that the plant must be handed over to VRA. We dont need to wait for additional documents. We are well aware that the 6-year contract has run its full length through the BOOT agreement, the plant has been paid for and it has another 20 years in capacity in terms of its useful life and from what the Minister has put out as a consecutive figure of 35 million, it means that we could be making 700 million over its life span. VRA has the capacity, theyve run T1, T2, theyve run the Tema plant, theyve run several other plants and so given that their expertise is within the GE plant and this is a GE plant; a General Election plant, our issue is that when we run the BOOT, the plant must go to VRA so even before you do anything reverse and hand over the plant to VRA, he explained on the show. Mr. Jinapor further adds that, documents he has received show that, the relocation will cost more than the estimated $35 million. The 250MW plant power deal was signed between Ghana and the Africa Middle East Resources Investment Group (AMERI) in 2015. Government has now decided to relocate the 10 unit plant to Kumasi. The Minority in Parliament has raised questions on governments estimated cost and the involvement of Mytileneos, a company that was caught in a scandal in 2018 that led to the dismissal of the then Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko. The relocation of the plant is to help stabilize the national grid. Prosecutors have announced the opening of a formal investigation into French cabinet minister Damien Abad after a woman accused him of attempted rape at a party in 2010. President Emmanuel Macron's Solidarity Minister, Abad has been accused of assault by three separate women. The most recent accuser is believed to be the former head of the youth wing of the Nouveau Centre (New Centrist) party, who told the Mediapart website earlier this month that Abad had assaulted her. Abad, who suffers from arthrogryposis, a rare condition that affects the joints, denies the allegations and has vowed to sue the woman behind the Mediapart article. She has not been named by the news organisation. Loss of parliamentary majority The allegations against the 42-year-old minister in the run-up to legislative elections earlier in June were seen as one of several factors that led to Macron's MPs losing their parliamentary majority. Macron was criticised by a schoolgirl while in southern France on 6 June who asked him why he "put men at the head of state who are accused of rape and violence against women". Abad, France's first handicapped MP when elected in 2012, has previously ruled out resigning, saying "should an innocent man resign? I don't think so". He was convincingly re-elected from his constituency in the Ain region of eastern France in this month's election. One of the Abad's accusers says that she had blacked out after accepting a glass of champagne and woke up in her underwear with Abad in a hotel room. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin is also the subject of a rape complaint filed in 2017. He has denied any wrongdoing and prosecutors in January asked for the case to be dropped. A group calling itself Lawyers in Search of Democracy (LINSOD) is demanding the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to order his officers to allow persons detained during Tuesdays violent demonstration have access to their lawyers. The group said holding the arrested without access to legal representatives is in contravention of the 1992 Constitution. Lawyers In Search Of Democracy (LINSOD) denounce this unconstitutional act by the Police and condemn it in its entirety, a press release signed by Spokesperson Chris-Arcmann Ackummey said. We demand of the IGP to immediately order his men to allow persons being in custody to have access to Lawyers. The group fears the arrested persons may spend a longer time in custody because Thursday, June 30 is Martyrs Day and the courts will not sit. They, therefore, wanted immediate access so that they could be released on bail. On Tuesday, police picked up 29 persons said to have breached the law while demonstrating at the Obra Spot in Accra. It said those persons would be processed for court in anticipation of more arrests. Available video footages of the event are being reviewed and all other persons identified for taking part in the attacks as well as inciting the violence will be arrested and brought to face justice, the police said on Tuesday. Police have also resolved to arrest leaders of the demonstration dubbed #KromAy3Hye demo. Police resolve to charge Arise Ghana demo leaders despite Day 2 peace But LINSOD said the police are infringing on the rights of the demonstrators. We further demand of the IGP to order his men to respect the constitutional rights of all persons being held in detention by the Ghana Police and treat them with dignity. We further condemn the propensity of law enforcement officers who assaulted unarmed innocent civilians with impunity and complete disregard for their rights. The group expressed disappointment in what it said is the lack of professionalism displayed by the police on Tuesday. The Police must live up to its label as a service and provide protection in a professional way to demonstrators. 3news.com A member of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Justice Lee Adoboe has filed an injunction suit against the swearing-in ceremony of the president-elect of the GJA, Mr Albert Dwumfour. Mr Adoboe wants allegations of bribery levelled against Mr Dwumfour in the lead-up to the polls, investigated first before the swearing-in takes place. Mr Adoboe is praying the court to, among others, declare that the offer of cash, favours, and/or incentives by the 3rd defendant [Mr Dwumfour] and Samuel Amoh Tobin, to members of 1st defendant association in the Western Region, constitutes an electoral malpractice under article 52 of the GJA constitution. About a week before the election, The Fourth Estate reported that a member of the GJA in the Western Region, Dotsey Koblah Aklorbortu, petitioned the election committee of the association to investigate and act on the conduct of Mr Dwunfuor, who was one of the three contestants for the presidency (The other two GJA presidential contenders are the editor of The Ghanaian Times, Dave Agbenu; and a journalist and communications consultant, Gayheart Mensah). In the petition, Mr. Aklorbortu alleged that Mr. Dwumfour with tacit support from the Chairman of Tobinco Group of Company, Mr. Amoh Tobbin, offered members of the GJA in good standing, [at a meeting], in addition to the buffet, an amount 500 (sic)to vote for Mr. Albert Dwumfour. The petitioner further alleged that Mr. Amoh Tobbin , in the said meeting at the Atlantic Hotel in Takoradi, told journalists to vote for Mr. Dwumfour in order to protect and promote his business. He said during the previous administration, his business suffered under Mr Opuni and that he used the media to protect his interest. Therefore, voting for Mr. Albert Kwabena Dwumfour to become the GJA President will mean protection for his business interest. Mr Tobbin is heard in the video saying if it were a political thing, he would ask, Should I give a TV [set] or this or that, which was greeted with laughter from the journalists present at the meeting. I will be of help because Im in the industry and more so, Im a businessman. So, Ill need you tomorrow. If you come tomorrow after voting for him and I turn you down, Tobinco is a household name. Who knows tomorrow? he said. Im not a politician, who will say it and just go away. Im a businessman. Im in a lot of businesses. So do him [pointing to Albert Dwumfour] a favour. Do me a favour by bringing him. When you bring him why I want you to bring him on board is to support my business as well. Hes my corporate person. He does all my social [activities], he told the journalists. The petitioner says the actions of Albert Dwumfour contravene Article 52 (b) (c) and (d) GJA constitution 2004. It states 52 (b) it shall be an election offence for any candidate to directly or indirectly offer cash, favours, any incentives, or apply threats with the intention to influence the election results. (c) Any candidate found contravening the provisions of Article 52 (b) shall be disqualified after due investigation by the elections committee and (d) if found guilty, the candidate shall be barred from standing for any GJA elections for the next two (2) subsequent general elections. Mr Dwumfour was the National Organiser of the GJA. His tenure expired in 2020 along with the old executives who held on to their positions as a result of legal battles that delayed the recent election. He is also the Group Head for Corporate Affairs of the Tobinco Group of Companies. He admitted his boss gave the journalists money but said it was not a bribe He [Amoh Tobin] asked me whether I was leaving them [journalists] like that. He asked about the number of delegates [in the Western Region] and I said about 20 and he said I should give all of them 500 cedis, Mr Dwumfour told The Fourth Estate. Source: Classfmonline.com The fact that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was born out of violence, being the metamorphosed Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), the late former President J. J. Rawlings' military junta, does not bestow on them the right to be violent and to commit violence with impunity. Former President John Dramani Mahama, a total misfit in the position of president, in his desperation to stage a comeback, relishes in unleashing violence on the population to cow them to vote him back into power. Why should he be supportive of acts of violence, perpetration of crimes, disseminations of propaganda heavily pregnant with lies, to winning back political power for himself and his NDC? Why is he overflowing with evil and never satisfied with all the remunerative positions God has so far blessed him with? Why is he insatiably greedy, selfish and excessively corrupt to the point of encouraging his sycophantic bunch of uncivilized supporters and NDC members to resort to acts of violence, and obviously, criminal activities to having his way? Many a Ghanaian that lacks the truth in them, jumps the gun, if I should say so, as soon as John Mahama, the holier than thou originator of the NDC of whom Rawlings even doesn't come close, speaks. Who is he committing his incited violence against, if not the very Ghanaians he is desperately yearning to come back to rule them? From his behaviour, he is totally unfit to come back to rule Ghana, my beloved country. I cry for my country Ghana and those ignorantly supporting the callous, clueless, incompetent and hugely corrupt John Mahama to come back to rule Ghana. The Ghana police must have the right of self-defence should John Dramani Mahama incite those ignorant NDC members and their supporters in the name of public demonstrations for all silly reasons to unleash violence on them as in the video below. Ghanaians must bow down their heads in shame for having had such a wicked John Mahama as once their president who is again, doing whatever it takes to come back to power. Ghana is doomed should John Mahama be voted back to power come election 2024. Ghanaians, I have told you the truth. And, the bible has Jesus Christ said in John 8:32, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" Once you have known the truth, you will be a complete fool to vote to elect John Mahama again as the president of Ghana. Rockson Adofo Thursday, 30 June 2022 Christ Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).24 Oct 1997 30.06.2022 LISTEN Instances of sympathy are rarely excuses to throw out the rule book. In the case of the European Union, throwing out the rule book about admission has tended to be a feature of enlargement. Credentials of candidate states have been, when needed, boosted or cooked for the occasion. Others, whatever the progress, have been ignored. For a collective that really ought to tidy the stables before admitting more occupants, the enthusiastic glee with which Ukraines symbolic candidacy has greeted stayed true to form. The Ukraine War has done away with the more troubling facts of European integration and its process. Everything is now being done to powder, paint and deodorise Ukraine as a true European power of democratic flavour facing despotic Oriental barbarism. Out of the debris, all opponents of that barbarism are tolerant, peace loving democrats singing hymns to the rule of law. This has the added effect of not examining the special nature of the society in question. Regarding Ukraine, this is striking. In terms of economy and politics, it would be hard to see Ukraine as a credible candidate under official accession procedures. According to remarks made by Freedom House, itself a US-funded non-profit organisation of some notoriety, corruption remains endemic, and initiatives to combat it are only partially implemented. It also notes that attacks on journalists, civil society activists and members of minority groups have proven all too frequent. These are some of the problems that have been cited to explain the lengthy waiting times for other states going through the EU accession process. The enlargement procedure is governed by a number of requirements. For instance, Chapter 23 covers the judiciary (independence, impartiality, accountability), the battle against corruption, fundamental rights (for instance, the right to a trial, a right to a fair trial, anti-discrimination), and the rights of EU citizens. Chapter 24 covers matters of justice, freedom and security, noting the requirements for efficient policing and cooperation across a range of areas. Given such requirements, EU bureaucracy has been stifling and discouraging towards a number of candidate hopefuls. They, in turn, have resorted to a suite of demands, often framed along nationalist lines. The problem is most pronounced in the Western Balkans, where the candidates have been left lingering in a chilling waiting room. Brussels has done wonders in damaging its own reputation in this regard, blocking, for instance, accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. In Serbia, attitudes to joining the EU have cooled. In April, a poll conducted by Ipsos and published in the Serbian newspaper Blic, revealed that 44% of respondents were against membership, with 35% in favour. It was the first time in two decades that those against joining had topped the list. Playing to that mood, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has argued that the European path would be continued and pursued in dignified fashion. In the meantime, Serbia would keep its independence in decision-making, at least until we become a member of the EU. No number of sweet, treacly assessments of Ukrainian society, even from the most messianic US funded organisations, have been able to get away from the specific problems facing Ukraines civil society advocates. But war has come, and glowing opportunities have presented themselves. In the European Council meeting held in Brussels on June 23-4, the decision was made to sign off on the European Commissions recommendation to grant Ukraine and Moldova official candidate status. Yet for all the foamy praise for the measure, the unified front is deceptive. Denmark and Portugal have made the point that, were it not for the war, Ukraine would barely warrant a spot in the accession queue to commence membership negotiations. A country like Moldova would be even further behind. Portugals Prime Minister Antonio Costa sees greater priority and value in keeping the EU house in firm agreement. The best support that the European Union can give to Ukraine is to keep its unity. His preference was to focus on building a long-term platform to support the recovery of Ukraine rather than dabbling in protracted legal debates. For Costa, it was imperative to avoid creating false expectations that become bitter disappointment. Even French President Emmanuel Macron has given a range of different signals, admitting that the cases of Ukraine and Moldova were very clearly [] linked to the context. This was exceptional, he conceded, as enlargement was generally incompatible with the blocs mission of integration. His controversial preference has been for an alternative European political community that might even, come the time, include Russia. In specialist and academic circles, the enlargement genie has also been attached to the coattails of war. Vedran Dzihic of the Austrian Institute for International Affairs, and Paul Schmidt, Secretary General of the Austrian Society for European Politics, see a chance to speed up the show. That project stalled with the accession of Croatia in 2013. The authors urge Brussels to move beyond the technocratic rigidity that has come to characterise EU enlargement and neighbourhood policies. They also encourage a common geopolitical Europeanisation of the countries in the Western Balkans, together with Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia. Even more intriguing in the propping up of Ukraines membership credentials ahead of other states languishing in the queue is a misunderstanding of how the EU itself operates. The relentlessly questioning Giandomenico Majone regards the body as occupying a world where the language of democratic politics is largely unintelligible, seeing a closer parallel with ancient Sparta rather than Athens, where the popular assembly voted yes or no to the proposals advanced by the Council of Elders but had no right to propose measures on its own account. In this world, policy arises less from an enfranchised populace than an oligarchy of cabinets, bureaucrats and diplomats. For all the talk about independent judiciaries, anti-corruption measures, and accountability, the EU lags, making the candidate status of countries such as Ukraine and Moldova less bizarre than might otherwise be. Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He currently lectures at RMIT University. Email: [email protected] Al Mukhollis Siagian 30.06.2022 LISTEN If scientific institutions are still sitting comfortably in their ivory towers, the public will remain isolated from the ideas that are put forward from research. - Al Mukhollis Siagian Reviewer of The Interdisciplinary Social Science Journal Collection The rapid progress of the era in the globalization process has connected the knots of science and revealed behind it a research-based economy that reflects a new type of interaction between research findings and society. National neo-transformation forcefully raises critical questions about how the interconnectivity of research findings with society. We cannot rule out the fact that researchers are not immune from greater social change. In parallel, we see the capitalization of science as a normal condition formed by factors of social, economic and cultural development. As a form of transformation; the integration of science, technology and industry into the fusion point allows research findings to lack the axial principles of post-industrial society. There is a significant reconfiguration of institutional boundaries in terms of the production of research findings and capitalization. Many people think that the capitalization of research findings is a curse for scientific institutions. The implication is that the existential function of scientific institutions to society is increasingly distant. What is the function of a scientific institution, such as a university, if not to create science in response to the needs of society, then the author does not know what it is for. It is clear that universities cannot pretend to be public institutions isolated from public problems. But research often has a random component and the scientific institution becomes a strange entity. Mainstreaming and Main Issues of Research Publications Indonesia is one of the countries that is keen to mainstream research publications. The logical consequence of the republic's stubbornness, with its large population, has made Indonesia one of the countries with the most research institutions in the world whose management composition consists of the government, universities, and non-governmental think tanks to produce science in order to build public quality in education. support the progress of the nation. Regularly, mainstreaming research and publications to encourage researchers, lecturers, and professors can be seen from the National Research Master Plan through Presidential Regulation Number 38 of 2018 as a sequence of research priorities in Indonesia, Law Number 11 of 2019 concerning the National System of Science and Technology that underlines the need for a research ecosystem in Indonesia, Presidential Regulation Number 16 of 2018 concerning Government Procurement of Goods and Services. Most researchers in Indonesia are academic scientists (lecturers). When referring to data from PDDIKTI in February 2022, there are 293,236 lecturers in Indonesia spread across 4,517 universities. Of course, it is inconceivable how great Indonesia is in producing science and answering society's problems through research findings. Should! It is true that the publications of lecturers in the past 5 years have shown an increase in the quantity of publications. As data in 2019, there are 343,710 of our publications, and as many as 44,262 are indexed by Scopus. Compared to previous years, for example in 2015 we only had 205,820 publications with 8,902 of them indexed by Scopus. This achievement is the success of the research mainstreaming policy. But on the other hand, on the other hand, we reap the quality of research that is apprehensive. A significant increase in numbers is not accompanied by an increase in citations and is often trapped in predatory journals. This does not include stripping down the research findings and ideas put forward from each article with the potential to be un-implemented. This issue requires a kind of attention opposite ofresearchers (mostly) with stakeholder attention in mainstreaming research to help remove public stagnation. Where researchers conduct research through various motivations that seem to override the reincarnation of society. Researchers come to the community every time they conduct research, interview or ask the community to fill out questionnaires. After the problems and data were obtained, the community was left alone. It is almost the same as the work of politicians who are bullshit activists who come when they want to. Not a few researchers and academics behave pragmatically and opportunistically. Pursuing research publications to get more incentives, conducting research only to meet demands, and increasing publication slots to achieve higher structural positions and functional status. The cyclical implication is the insincerity and dishonesty of research, so that published findings only result in an increase in the number of publications and an increase in the burden of society with minimal value and solutions. The number of publications is 343,710 (as in the data above), if classified based on the public dimension; government, private sector, and society. So Indonesia should be the world's reference in terms of science production and solutions to various national problems. We can assume that hundreds of thousands per dimension each year, the problems are always described and the ideas discussed per publication of research findings. There has been so much space for the vacancies of academic as well as practical investigation on every dimension that hundreds of thousands of articles have filled it. But unfortunately, for some time that has passed, the research findings of our researchers are more likely to just stay in the journal and slowly sink into the archives. This issue once again returned to the attention of researchers who tended to be pragmatic and opportunist to trigger un-implemented research findings. From the increase in the number of publications, Indonesia also received negative feedback, being included in the black book list as the country that produces the most predatory journals along with India, the Philippines, Egypt, and other countries. As data from Sceintomectri 2021, Indonesia is in the top 4 positions that produce predatory journals in the social science field. In addition, the management of the publication of our research findings internally has questionable quality and substance, both research on basic science and applied science. Empirically, the author has received many complaints from researchers, both lecturers and students regarding journal management when they want to publish. More than 30 researchers stated the same thing, that journal managers prioritize payment for publication of each title. Even some mainstream researchers, say professors, often enter this dangerous arena with quite high and varied fees, due to the demands of the role they are carrying out. Mainstream academics think that the reason for this is that incentives and facilities for research from the State are still minimal. However, the author has previously raised this issue in an article entitled "Meaning the Impact of Research" that it is the mainstreaming of the quality of our research that should be addressed first. Then ask stakeholders to raise the level of welfare of the researchers. Let's start not to be tempted byscientific publications that are more transactional (financial). Strengthen discussions, multiply ideas, and sharpen arguments from published research findings. Relying on journal platforms for the publication of research findings of 114 journals (Sinta Kemendikbud as of February 2022) indexed by Scopus (Elsevier) and Web of Science (Thomson Reuters) should be more than enough to make Indonesia a reference for the world in science production and its interconnectivity towards public issues. Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang, the 2020 presidential running mate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has slammed the Akufo-Addo government for instigating abuse toward Arise Ghana demonstrators. According to the former education minister, the protesters would have been freely allowed to protest against the economic hardships without being maltreated by the police or any other institution under the erstwhile Mahama administration. She condemns the police officers who fired teargas and rubber bullets at the "peaceful" demonstrators on Tuesday. Like your successor (referring to former President Mahama), these demonstrators could have occupied Ghana and allowed their votes to count without a policeman being captured aiming a gun and a stone at peaceful demonstrators, she stated. Her comment follows Tuesday's edition of the Arise Ghana demonstrations that was marred with violence clash between the Police and protesters at Circle. Speaking at the John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Lecture for the Central and Western Regions, in Cape Coast, on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, Prof. Opoku-Agyeman expressed her admiration for the late former president, John Fiifi Atta Mills who was celebrated as a peace-loving president. She touted Prof. Mill's strong moral character, regard for people, and commitment to easing hardships of his citizens. Truthfulness and a willingness to account for his stewardship without fear from anyone, whether or not Parliament was involved, was a quality I admired. We will always celebrate you for embodying these defining characteristics," she emphasised. National Chairman hopeful of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Hon. Nii Armah Ashietey has said politics is largely about the impacts politicians make on the people and not the other way round. According to him, politicians must be able or be seen to be impacting positively by enhancing the living conditions of the people they are serving. Hon. Nii Armah Ashietey made the observation when he received a delegation from the executives of the Kwabre East Constituency in the Ashanti Region of the NDC at his office in Accra. The delegation was in Accra to express their heartfelt appreciation to the National Chairman hopeful for his support during the burial and final funeral rites of their late father and a staunch NDC member at Kwabre East in the Ashanti Region. "I want to change the face of doing internal politics within the NDC hence my desire to bid for the NDC National Chairmanship. We need to change our ways and if given the nod by delegates I will ensure our great party has a new look." He amongst other things mentioned the periodic training of party agents long before elections set in. "We must not wait for few months or weeks to elections before we start to train our party agents." He stated, "If voted as the NDC National Chairman, I will ensure the party replicates what we did during my time as Korle Klottey Constituency MP, when periodic training were held for our party agents which helped us a lot. I am if the view that training of party agents must be conducted on continuous-basis but not to wait till few weeks or months to elections before we do that. He continued, "the NDC need to work hard to reclaim the governance of the country from the shambolic NPP under the leadership of President Akuffo Addo. The people are suffering dearly and they need a saviour to rescue them from the shackles of this current administration." According to the former Korle Klottey MP, the NDC is the only party with the answers to the sufferings Ghanaians are currently facing. He noted that the Party must work hard to ensure victory in the 2024 general elections. "We have learnt our lessons and when we come to power, I am hopeful we shall do far better than what this regime is doing. We have the capabilities to win the next elections even though it wont come easy," he said. He however cautioned that it seems the party is far behind in terms of preparations for the next elections. He therefore called on the NDC hierarchy to be up to the task by coming out with modalities needed to make the party members, especially the grassroots battle ready. "NPP has made life difficult and must be kicked out and Ghanaians will not forgive us if we fail to vote NPP out. Gone are the days when elections are won at polling stations but the dynamics have changed now. We must therefore work hard and united in order to bring back NDC to power," hon. Nii Armah Ashietey pointed out. He commended the delegation for their selfless dedication to the course of the NDC in the constituency and the Ashanti Region as a whole and urged them to continue to work hard and win more votes for the party in the region in 2024. He therefore asked for their support to make his quest for national chairmanship a success in order to help revive the fallen image of the party in the country. We must do our best to make Nii Armah Ashietey the National Chairman to change the face of the party. I know where our challenges are and we shall fix it. On his part, Nana Yaw Acheampong, the leader of the delegation was grateful to Nii Armah Ashietey and the entire NDC fraternity for the love and sympathies shown them during the burial and funeral rites of their late father. He called on delegates to rally behind Nii Armah Ashietey to win the national chairmanship slot for the party to help change the old ways of doing things in the party. If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Yaw Boateng Gyan, a former National Organizer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has expressed his dislike for former President John Dramani Mahama leading the party again. He said the party will lose if former President Mahama is allowed to lead them in the 2024 General elections. The NDC stalwart, speaking on Angel FM's Anopa Bofo Morning Show on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, said given the history of Ghana's politics, anyone who has been to the presidency served only eight years. He cited previous government officials who served the eight years in government and had presidential ambitions such as Alhaji Aliu Mahama and the late President Mills, but were unable to seize the opportunity for one reason or another. He further intimated that President Mahama's defeat in 2016 when he was in government and subsequently in 2020 was the doing of God. For that reason, he noted that the NDC must not make the mistake of giving the former president another chance to lead the party into opposition again. "We lost power in 2016 when we were in control of all the opportunities. In 2020, we lost again and we have had to sit down and ask ourselves if it is God who is controlling our fate...Since the Fourth Republic, no one has been to the presidency for more than eight years. "Mahama has been vice under Mills for four years and then became president for four years making eight... When he stood in 2016, what happened? He lost, he intimated. Mr. Gyan has been rooting for Kwabena Duffour, a former Finance Minister to lead the NDC as flagbearer. He said the personality and experience of Mr. Duffour qualifies him to replace former President John Dramani Mahama. The leadership of the Kumasi Kejetia Traders Association has indicated that measures have been put in place to ensure that power to the new Kejetia market is not disconnected again. According to the leadership, traders in the market have been asked to raise funds to defray the debt owed the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). This comes on the back of the restoration of power to the market on Tuesday, June 28, after almost a week of blackout following the disconnection of power supply by ECG over the failure of the traders to pay bills amounting to GH5.2 million. Speaking to Citi News, President of the Federation of Kumasi traders, Nana Akwasi Prempreh said a committee has been instituted to ensure that the debt is cleared. ECG disconnecting the power might not occur again, so we have entreated all the traders to support us to settle the bills on time. A committee has been set up to be in charge of sharing the bill, and it has started compiling the list. So by next Monday, they will begin the sharing in order for us to pay 20 percent of the debts by July 15. Last week, there was a blackout at the market after officials from the ECG disconnected power to the facility. This situation, was because the traders refused to pay their electricity bills for close to fourteen months after the management of the facility failed to provide each shop with a meter. Leadership of the traders disclosed that following several engagements with the management of the facility and the Electricity Company of Ghana, the traders have made the commitment to pay the outstanding bills. In 2021, the failure of the management of the facility to ensure the provision of meters for each shop forced the leadership of the traders to instruct their members not to pay any bills to the management. This decision led to the disconnection of electricity supply to the shops. The traders insisted that until each shop is provided with a personal meter, they are not going to pay any bill to the management. About 7,200 shops at the facility were affected by the disconnection exercise. For months, the traders, and the management of the facility have had disagreements over the payment of electricity bills. citinewsroom The Minority in Parliament wants government to reinstate the collection of road tolls. Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu says bringing back road tolls will help government in its revenue drive following current economic challenges. Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, Haruna Iddrisu said the issue must be revisited. Must it just be a policy directive of the government that, it does not want road tolls, and we will all kowtow to it? No! Everywhere in the world, road tolls play a function, particularly when a public-private partnership is needed to expand road infrastructure. Lets look at long-term investment, where the private sector will come and pump their money for years. How will they recoup their money when government is doing away with road tolls, he lamented. The Ministry of Roads and Highways on Thursday, November 18, 2021, closed all toll booths across the country following an announcement by the Minister of Finance during the 2022 budget presentation to the effect that toll collection would no longer exist in Ghana. Consequently, it introduced a few economic policies, including the imposition of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-levy) to strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation and reduce borrowing. 'We've generated only 10% of estimated E-Levy revenue so far' Although government had high hopes that the E-levy could be the magic wand to Ghanas revenue challenges, according to a leading member of the governing New Patriotic Party, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darkois, the policy is raking in only 10% of estimated revenue . The government commenced the implementation of the levy on May 1, 2022, after its initial announcement in the 2022 budget. In a series of tweets, Mr. Otchere-Darko said the e-levy, since its implementation has generated less than GH60 million instead of the expected GH600 million. After 5 months of stalemate and bashing, the e-levy, after implementation, is delivering only 10% of estimated revenues; our revenues remain very low as compared to the rest of the world; debt levels dangerously high, cedi, like most currencies, struggling against the US dollar. By Citi Newsroom 30.06.2022 LISTEN The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) finds it worrying that people describe judges especially the Supreme Court justices as partisan, a former President of the GBA, Mr Anthony Forson, has said. Asked whether the GBA gets worried over the characterization of the justices of the apex court as partisan especially when almost all the applications filed by former President John Dramani during the 2020 election petition hearing were dismissed, he answered that It is very worrying because if application is put before a panel of 28 judges and the application is unmeritorious, it will be 28-0. It hurts that the judges are branded political, he stressed. Unfortunately, it is perception, that how come a series of applications were returned with a similar margin. You will have to look at the fact and evidence put before the judges. I know the judges individually, they are of good quality, so it hurts me that they are put in that jacket. Indeed, the President [Akufo-Addo] himself, in one of the clips when he was interviewed about judges, he said when people go to the Supreme Court to discuss issue of constitutional propriety and legal propriety, so it is sad that people should think that a person trained in the laws who has risen to that level will abandon his law because somebody appointed him. I find it difficult to understand why some people come to that conclusion. In any case, when a matter is put before a judge, he either rules this way or that way, there is no way that we will have a draw. Of course, the losing party will always say that there is something untoward happening, the winning party will say, I had a more persuasive argument he told TV3s Johnnie Hughes on Thursday June 30 while speaking on the 40th anniversary of the Martyrs' Day celebration. Regarding whether or not the GBA has lot its voice as far as getting duty bearers to act in the interest of the country and the people, is concerned, he said the association has always been expressing its views on national issues either through press statements or engagements with stakeholders. Mr Forson further stated that the fundamental issue the GBA fought for, was a return to civilian rule. That, he said, has happened with several avenues for people to express their views now in place. Definitely not, he answered. He added I have had the opportunity to speak on this issue . the fundamental issue which the GBA was fighting was democracy. Now, every person who is ruling was elected by us so there is no fight in that direction. The fundamental issue which the GBA was fighting for was a return to civilian rule. There so many other voices. For example, then it was only GBC, now we have TV3 and others, we have social media which is also a very string force. So I cannot say that the GBA has lot its voice, he said. 3news.com In 2016, I was surprised when the former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan(late), called for the legalization and decriminalization of cannabis with regulations in place for control and commercialization. Former President J.A. Kufour had shared similar opinion before (I stand to be corrected). Largely, people who advocate for the legalization of cannabis are stereotyped as deviants, riff- raffs and considered users. But appeal by these honorable men was an eye opener, an indication that things aren't exactly how we have been seeing them. Ghana has taken one major step, decriminalizing the use of cannabis for health and industrial purposes. Parliament passed the Narcotics Control Commission Bill, 2019. The law also makes the country's Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) a Commission with enhanced powers to oversee the industrial use of some narcotic substances. The value of the Cannabis market for the year 2020 according to Fortune Business Insights was USD 20.47 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 197.74 billion by 2028. The South African cannabis sector is presently worth R28 Billion /$1,736,272,720.00. Few years after recreational use of cannabis became legal in 2018, it is having proven to be a game changer. Cannabis refers to all products derived from the plant Cannabis sativa. Marijuana refers to parts of or products from the plant Cannabis sativa that contain substantial amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol. Origin It is documented that the usage of cannabis dates back to 7,000 B.C. and was used by the ancient Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. Differing views have its that cannabis came to Africa at least 1,000 years ago, to Madagascar from South Asia. Ghana has more than a school of thought. One says cannabis was brought by troops from India and Burma after the World War 2. Another states, it is from Sierra Leonean sailors. Some historians have also theorized that Napoleon's troops brought marijuana to Europe in 1804. It is not clear how it got to North America from Asia, but cannabis had been in existence in America as medicine for so long. It was essentially used for the "sheets" in sailing ships, hemp canvas covered wagons. Levi Strauss made Levi Jeans out of old canvas sails. The two drafts of the Declaration of Independence in U.S.A. were written on hemp paper. However, marijuana use became widespread after alcohol was banned during the Prohibition Era (1920 - 1933), becoming a recreational drug and a drug of choice. The word "Marihuana" itself is thought to have been a slang from Spanish speaking migrant laborers who worked in the Southwestern United States before the Great Depression. They brought marijuana across the U.S. - Mexico border in the early 1900's when they came seeking work. After alcohol was made legal again, marijuana use sharply declined. Illegalization of Marijuana The Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) was established in 1930 and headed by Harry Anslinger from its inception for the next 32 years. He had earlier made an assertion on record that cannabis use was not such a big deal. His position shifted after his appointment. Ambitious Harry wanted to wage a war on drugs, but cocaine and heroin were the only outlawed drugs then since 1914. Moreover, they were used by a small minority. Marijuana was highly patronised. Harry with the FBN strategized. Using fear, themes of violence and prejudice, false claims they kept demonizing marijuana. Anslinger first claim was marijuana causes psychosis and eventually insanity. In a radio address, he stated young people are slaves to this narcotic, continuing addiction until they deteriorate mentally, become insane, turn to violent crime and murder. The assistance of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, and few newspaper stories from the 1920's talking about deranged or violent episodes after marijuana use, the FBN Boss step up the the propaganda campaign to make marijuana illegal at the federal level. Advertisements ran in theaters and newspapers around the country warning of the evils and dangers of its use: "Beware! Young and Old - People in All Walks of Life! It contains the Killer Drug "Marijuana" - a powerful narcotic in which lurks Murder! Insanity! Death!" Marijuana was repeatedly referred to as "The Devil's Harvest" or "Devil's Weed. "The billboards and movie posters from this era speak louder than words. A movie titled "Reefer Madness" was released in 1936 financed by the American government. It showed questionable 'evidence' of how the lives of four high school students, lured to use marijuana by a drug peddler, went out of control. It also had a hit and run accident, suicide, homicide, rape, and the rapid descent of marijuana users into madness. The so called 'evidence' in Reefer Madness was later proven to be utterly false but it worked in favor of Harry. He found the story of a certain Victor Licata useful. Victor committed a parricide, hacking his family to death with an axe. He was rumored to have been high on marijuana. After several years, it turned out to be a false claim, however Victor Licata had a history of mental illness. Harry equally engaged 30 scientists for scientific evidence on how dangerous marijuana is.29 told him it wasn't a dangerous drug, yet he decided to use the theory of the only scientist that said it was dangerous. He finally made a presentation to the public that it should be banned. He was a racist as well and had a second underlining strategy. He claimed that black people and Latinos were the primary users of marijuana, and it made them forget their place in the fabric of American society. "He claims that cannabis promotes interracial mixing, interracial relationships. A series of raids were conducted in the big cities like New York aimed at crippling the narcotics traffic. Soon the nationwide attitude towards Marijuana became unfavorable. His efforts and his influence was vital in the introduction and passage of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, which outlawed possessing or selling marijuana/pot. Ban in Africa Some history books mention that marijuana considered a "noxious weed" in 1891, the Cape Colony prohibited cannabis under Act 34, and the Free State outlawed dealing in a cannabis in 1903. The 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which consolidated all previous treaties relating to narcotics control and established a mechanism for coordinates international control of narcotic drugs, endorsed this prohibition. The convention established strict controls on the cultivation of opium poppy, coca bush (used to produce cocaine), and cannabis plant and their products, which were collectively described as narcotic drugs. All West African countries are parties to the 1961 Convention. This position the total elimination or criminalization of all recreational uses of narcotic drugs in the world was emphasized by the United Nations General Assembly Special Session, or UNGASS, at a meeting of UN member states to assess the worlds drug control priorities in 1998. New Direction The landmark 2011 report of the Global Commission on Drug Policy had the conclusion that after many years of trying it has seen how expensive and demanding the war against drug is. The imposition of legal regimes of punishment of drug users and dealers, as well as the use of armed or unarmed state security agents to destroy narcotic crops in producing countries and to intercept trafficked substances, have neither prevented the availability of the drugs, nor curbed their use anywhere. Conclusion Ghana can emulate the steps of Morocco, Lesotho, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In Rwanda, medical cannabis was legalized in 2021, and the government dedicated 134 hectares to cannabis production. Since the law decriminalizing Cannabis in Ghana has been passed, government should fast track efforts, putting in place the necessary measures so that cannabis can be legalized and produced commercially. Research has shown that alcohol creates more damage to the brain and body, but it is legal in Ghana. If cigarette, known to cause cancer is still legal, then we need to reconsider our posture on cannabis. This is a billion-dollar industry and will breathe life into our economy. The challenge and possibility of abuse can be easily mitigated with innovative control measure. We just need to have a national dialogue; consult think tanks and duplicate the successful approach used by other countries around the world. Legalization, Control and Commercialization of Cannabis will do more than E-Levy failed to do. Long live mother Ghana. Dumenu Charles Selorm Member of Parliament for Mpraeso, Davis Ansah Opoku has said demonstration is a constitutional right to all Ghanaians. He noted that a situation where the exercise becomes a violent attack on the police becomes unconstitutional. His comment follows the violent attack that marred the Arise Ghana demonstration on Tuesday. Mr lawmaker noted that Ghanas practice of democracy allowed for the venting and expression of displeasure through demonstrations, but it should be done peacefully. Speaking on the demonstration on Joy News AM Show today, We are in a very democratic dispensation where protests or demonstrations for me are critical and necessary tools in allowing people to air their views. I have always maintained that demonstrations are one of the medium where it serves as a point where people can express themselves. So if a group of persons will want to demonstrate for things they think should be done right for me I think it is within their democratic rights. "Constitution demands that they do that, but wanting to turn that into a very violent scene and want to create scenes, scenes that we will not want to see in our country, taking the law into your own hands and attacking the police, for me those were the low points in their demonstration. They have the right to demonstrate, but I will prefer people taking to the streets and demonstrating than some unscrupulous persons picking arms and trying to destroy the peace in the country." According to him, per his knowledge and experience in organizing demonstrations, an agreement is always reached between both parties before the scheduled date. I have been involved in organizing demonstrations for some time now. I was a member of the Alliance for Accountable Governance and I know how the police relate with demonstrators so to say that it was the police that drew first blood doesnt sit well with me. I know that before you embark on a demonstration, you sit down with police officers and agree on certain routes. So for you to move away from those routes I think that clearly would be undermining the very agreement you sat with the police and agreed on. If it were to be the military I would be a veteran in organizing demonstrations. I am telling you that you sit down with the police and agree on routes. They cannot deny that fact, he intimated. On June 27 and 28, the Arise Ghana demonstration was held to protest the economic hardships in the country. In what was supposed to be a peaceful demonstration, took a sour turn when demonstrators clashed with police resulting in both policemen and demonstrators sustaining injuries on June 27. Demonstrators according to the police wanted to use unauthorized routes but were being held back, hence their pelting of stones at its personnel. Some 29 demonstrators were arrested. The Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini has said any commendation of the police during the demonstration should not include the first day which was marred by a violent clash. He stated that day one of the protest gave an indication that the police came with a negative mentality towards the demonstrators. Speaking on Accra-based Joy News today, he noted that the police did not perform to the expectation of most Ghanaians on the first day of the demonstration. He noted that they however seem to have done a better job on the second day and should be commended for that. I think that if for nothing at all, for yesterday the police deserve commendation. The first day was an eyesore. A lot of people believe that the police came to the demonstration grounds with a negative mentality towards the demonstrators and perhaps could not manage the demonstration to the best of their ability and to the expectations of many Ghanaians and so for the first day I think that one would not be right commending them, but for yesterday I think that they came back; they may have gone through their notes after the first day of the demonstration and came back better prepared, with a better mindset, very engaging and very well organized and so for at least the show they put up yesterday they deserve some commendation as well, he said on the 'AM Show' on Joy News. He added that some persons arrested during the demonstration are still locked up and their lawyers denied access to them. "That is shameful and a blot on the image of the Ghana Police Service. They are going against our laws in this country especially the constitution. I dont think that it is fair for suspects to be incarcerated without the opportunity to speak to their lawyers. What is happening to them in incarceration? We do not know. They are forced to speak in the absence of their lawyers. Are they being maltreated? We do not know, he stated. Security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades as thousands of anti-coup protesters took to the streets of the Sudanese capital Khartoum and its suburbs Thursday demanding an end to military rule, AFP correspondents said. "Down with Burhan's rule," protesters chanted in north Khartoum, urging the reversal of an October military coup by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan that prompted foreign governments to slash aid, deepening a chronic economic crisis. "Even if we die, the military will not rule us," they cried. Pro-democracy medics said one demonstrator was shot dead "by a bullet in the chest" Wednesday night, in small-scale protests in the run-up to the main rallies. More than 100 people have been killed in protest-related violence, according to UN figures, as the military has cracked down on the anti-coup movement over the past eight months. An AFP correspondent said internet and phone lines had been disrupted since the early hours of Thursday, a measure the Sudanese authorities often impose to prevent mass gatherings. Security was tight in Khartoum despite the recent lifting of a state of emergency imposed after the coup. Troops and police blocked off roads leading to both army headquarters and the presidential palace, witnesses said. Shops around the capital were largely shuttered. Activists have been calling for "million-strong" rallies. UN special representative Volker Perthes said Thursday that "violence needs to end", while the US embassy in Khartoum urged restraint and "the protection of civilians so that no more lives are lost". Multiple anniversaries Sudan's foreign ministry has repeatedly criticised the UN envoy's comments, saying they were built on "assumptions" and "contradict his role as facilitator" in troubled talks on ending Sudan's political crisis. The latest protests come on the anniversary of a previous coup in 1989 that toppled the country's last elected civilian government and ushered in three decades of iron-fisted rule by Islamist-backed general Omar al-Bashir. They also come on the anniversary of 2019 protests demanding that the generals, who had ousted Bashir in a palace coup earlier that year, cede power to civilians. Those protests led to the formation of the mixed civilian-military transitional government which was toppled in last year's coup. Sudan has been roiled by near-weekly protests as the country's economic woes have deepened since Burhan seized power last year. "June 30 is our way to bring down the coup and block the path of any fake alternatives," said the Forces for Freedom and Change, an alliance of civilian groups whose leaders were ousted in the coup. Alongside the African Union and east African bloc IGAD, the United Nations has been attempting to broker talks between the generals and civilians, but they have been boycotted by all the main civilian factions. The UN has warned that the deepening economic and political crisis has pushed one third of the country's population of more than 40 million towards life-threatening food shortages. Over the past six months, at least 18 Israelis have been the victims of shootings or knife attacks perpetrated by Palestinians. What has provoked this escalation in Palestinian violence against citizens of the Jewish state? Palestinians have been particularly angry at the crackdown against Muslim worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The third holiest site in the Muslim world was effectively closed during the month-long fasting period of Ramadan in April. According to figures compiled by the Reuters news service, Palestinians in the West Bank and within Israel have killed 18 people, including three police officers and a security guard, since March. Most of the Israeli victims were civilians some of them settlers. A European rights monitor says the Israeli army has killed 47 Palestinians, including eight children and two women, since the beginning of this year. Flashpoints in Jenin, Nablus Many of the latest attackers, some still teenagers, are residents of the West Bank city of Jenin. Jenin has seen a recent increase in Israeli military activity. There have also been clashes between Jewish settlers and local Palestinians in the city of Nablus. Palestinian journalist Mohammad Abu Thabet says the Israeli army is active on a daily basis in Nablus. "The other day, a citizen was shot and slightly wounded by Israeli soldiers near the southern Nablus checkpoint of Hewara," Thabet told RFI. "The soldiers carried the wounded man in an Israeli ambulance, taking him to an unknown destination. They blocked access for Palestinian ambulances to the scene." In April during the holy month of Ramadan, Palestinians reacted angrily to Israeli army protection for Jewish settlers from the far-right religious community. Hundreds of Jews broke into the Al-Aqsa mosque compound to celebrate rituals of their own. Obaida is a 22-year-old Palestinian who lives in east Jerusalem, which has long been a flashpoint for confrontations between right-wing Israelis and Palestinians. Obaida said tensions mounted again this year during Ramadan, which coincided with the Jewish Passover holiday. "When people live under this kind of pressure, they react in anger. An entire generation has grown up in refugee camps and in the streets, not in academic institutions or schools. This generation has given up on politics and they may respond with a great deal of anger," Obaida said. Reaction against occupation Jenin has been the scene of Israeli raids on suspected Palestinian militants, leading to confrontations between Israeli soldiers and local young people. Yasser Abu Jame is director of the Gaza-based Mental Health Program, a leading psychiatric institution. Abu Jame said that the reaction by Palestinian youth to the Israeli occupation is a normal response to repression. "The sense of heroism that you are ready to give yourself up in order to save your country, family or nation, is something that happened before this time. "It is the brutality of the occupation that leaves no space for Palestinians to live in peace. The sense of challenge remains all the time, as those suffering under the occupation feel they need to mount a challenge," Dr. Abu Jame added. He believes that Palestinian youth, who live under the Israeli occupation, have only one model to imitate, and that is resistance, a challenge to the occupying power. Biden's visit eagerly awaited Last month the Israeli defence Minister Benny Gantz voiced the idea that Israel is open to a peaceful solution with the Palestinians. Gantz's remarks came against the backdrop of an expected visit to Israel by US President, Joe Biden, in July. "The Prime Minister of Israel, Naftali Bennett, has repeatedly said that he is not going to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and that the two-state solution is not on the table," says Gaza-based political analyst Mokhaimar Abu Se'da. "Benny Gantz is trying to pay lip service to the international community, in light of the latest Israeli brutality against the Palestinian people. And even if this current Israeli coalition government goes for direct contacts with the Palestinian Authority, this could lead to the collapse of that government." Sammy Gyamfi, a leading member of the Arise Ghana pressure group, organizers of the 'Kurom ay3 hye' demonstrations has announced that the arrested protesters have been granted police enquiry bail. Mr. Gyamfi, who is also the national communications director of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), revealed that the leadership of the pressure group together with their lawyers are in negotiations with the police to finalize the bail terms. He expressed gratitude to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akufo Dampare, and the entire Ghana Police Service for their cooperation with them. This was contained in a tweet by Mr. Gyamfi on on Thursday, June 30, 2022, spotted by Modernghana news. Arrested Arise Ghana protesters granted Police enquiry bail. The leadership of Arise Ghana and our lawyers are in the process of finalizing the bail processes. Arise Ghana is grateful to the IGP and the Police service, he tweeted. The first day (Tuesday, June 28) of the Arise Ghana 'Kurom Aye hye' demonstrations was characterized by violent clash between protesters and the police over the route for the march. This saw the pelting of stones by the protesters and the subsequent firing of rubber bullets and tear gas by the police. The police later released a press statement indicating they had arrested 29 protesters who they believed instigated the turmoil at the scene, which included students. Meanwhile, the second day of the demonstration ended peacefully on Wednesday, June 29. Cool-weather crops heat up district's economy in Ningxia 15:39, June 30, 2022 By Guan Xiaomeng ( Chinadaily.com.cn A view of a modern agriculture demonstration area in Guyuan's Yaomo village. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] Choy sum, a type of cabbage that is a common sight at dinner tables and Cantonese restaurants in South China, often comes from another part of the country entirely. Yuanzhou district of Guyuan in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region sells 70 percent of its cool-weather vegetables to other areas, making its vegetable industry a pillar of the district. Lying at the eastern foot of Liupan Mountain at the southern tip of the region, Guyuan has an annual average temperature of 6.3 C and an altitude of 1,450-2,500 meters, perfect conditions for these crops. "Cool-weather vegetables" refers to breeds produced in places with cool summer temperatures between 17-25 C. This includes cabbages, carrots and onions. With five vegetable firms and more than 70 cooperatives involving 17,000 households of local farmers, Yuanzhou is estimated to reach a total output of 700,000 tons valued at more than 1.8 billion yuan in 2022. A member of the "A Date with China" 2022 international media tour visits the agricultural demonstration area. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] Crisp, tender, and lower in fiber and aftertaste, Yuanzhou cool-weather vegetables are sold en masse to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Yangtze River Delta. Yao Xuan, Party secretary of Yaomo village in Yuanzhou, said the average vegetable plot can produce as many as three different kinds of crops a year thanks to mechanizing the whole process. Previously, it was limited to one. Choy sum is one of the mainstays in Yuanzhou. The first crop is usually planted in March or early April. In less than two months, the vegetable can be served to people in the GBA. Shipping via cold-chain logistics takes less than 36 hours. "More than 70 percent of disposable per-capita income comes from planting vegetables," Yao said, adding it had increased to 18,300 yuan in 2021 compared with 9,500 yuan in 2016. "We received orders from the GBA and Yangtze River Delta before the planting season this year and each constituted 40,000 tons. We have expanded seedling space to meet the demand," Yao said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Dr. Jones Opoku-Ware, a criminologist and lecturer at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), believes that the protesters of the Arise Ghana 'Krom Ay3 shi' demo planned the violence to create a bad image for the police on Tuesday. Speaking on the 'Frontline Show' on the Accra-based Rainbow Radio on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, monitored by Modernghana News, he noted that the protesters had already planned to instigate violence as a way of painting the police amateurish. But Dr. Opoku Ware applauded the police officers for holding onto their patience despite the high level of provocation by the protesters. According to him, if the police had not chosen to use simple force in dealing with the situation, the outcome would have been more fatal. "The Police stood their ground despite the incident, and I must commend them because I realised the level of provocation was high. If the Police had reacted in full force, we would have been talking about a different story this morning. There would have been several casualties on the part of the protestors if the Police had not restrained themselves," he added. The first day of the Arise Ghana demonstration on Tuesday, June 28 was marred by violent clash between the protesters and the police over the use of route for the march. Protesters pelted the police with stones who responded by firing rubber bullets and teargas. Far-left France Unbowed (LFI) MP Eric Coquerel was on Thursday elected to the key post of president of the National Assembly's influential Finance Committee. Coquerel, who was picked in a closed ballot vote, has been described as a "tireless defender" of working-class neighbourhoods and a staunch proponent of LFI leader Jean-Luc Melenchon's fight against islamophobia. In recent days, the prospect that he would chair the finance committee had worried President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance, as well as the traditional right and Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN). As a joint candidate for the left-wing Nupes coalition, 63-year-old Coquerel won in the third round with 21 votes against 11 for RN candidate Jean-Philippe Tanguy and nine for Republican (LR) candidate Veronique Louwagie. A majority of MPs abstained. In a tweet, Coquerel underlined that he would not use the chairmanship of the finance committee to organise a tax witch hunt, but to better fight tax avoidance such as the McDonald's controversy. He also called out MPs who would have preferred an RN candidate for the post to stop reinforcing the far right. Tactically placed by left-wing coalition His candidacy was endorsed by the left-wing Nupes coalition ahead of the former leader of Socialist Party (PS) deputies Valerie Rabault. She had expressed her interest in running for the position before surrendering to the logic of intra-Nupes power relations, despite being better qualified for the job. In his defence, Rabault said: "He was very present [on the previous committee], very assiduous, which is not the case for everyone. He is someone who has worked on his files." By making himself available to journalists over the past 10 years, Coquerel has established himself as one of the most media-friendly "Melenchonists". In keeping with the National Assembly's rules, Coquerel will hold the position for one year. The Ghana Police Service has announced the number of police officers who sustained injuries from Tuesdays edition of the Arise Ghana demonstration has increased from the initial 12 to 15. The police further indicated that all the victims are receiving treatment at the police hospital. It however noted that two of the personnel are undergoing emergency treatment due to the severity of their injuries. The Police in an update on its Facebook page today noted that the Police expressed its profound appreciation to the Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery, and his team for visiting the patients at their various wards. The first day of the Arise Ghana demonstration on Tuesday, June 28 was marred by violent clash between the protesters and the police over the use of route for the march. Protesters pelted the police with stones who responded by firing rubber bullets and teargas. Read full release below: Update on Injured Police Officers: Number Increases to 15, Two Undergo Emergency Surgery The number of officers who were injured during the first day of the Arise Ghana demonstration increased from twelve (12) to fifteen (15). All the officers are being treated at the Police Hospital with two (2) undergoing emergency surgery. We are grateful to our sector Minister, Hon. Ambrose Dery, Minister for the Interior, for leading a team to visit the officers at the hospital. The Police Administration wishes to express its appreciation to members of the public for their show of love and support for the affected officers. At least four Sudanese demonstrators were killed Thursday as the security forces sought to quash mass rallies of protesters demanding an end to military rule, pro-democracy medics reported. AFP correspondents reported security forces firing tear gas and stun grenades to disperse tens of thousands of protesters, the latest crackdown on the anti-coup movement in the past eight months. At least two of the four were shot dead by "bullets to the chest", the medics said, reporting a total death toll of 105 from months of protest-related violence. "Even if we die, the military will not rule us," protesters chanted, urging the reversal of an October military coup by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, that prompted foreign governments to slash aid, deepening a chronic economic crisis. "Down with Burhan's rule," others chanted, with protests and violence flaring in both the capital Khartoum and its suburbs, including the twin city of Omdurman. Map of Sudan locating the capital Khartoum. By (AFP) The medics had previously reported one demonstrator was shot dead on Wednesday during small-scale protests in the run-up to the main rallies. An AFP correspondent said internet and phone lines had been disrupted since the early hours of Thursday, a measure the Sudanese authorities often impose to prevent mass gatherings. Security was tight in Khartoum despite the recent lifting of a state of emergency imposed after the coup. Troops and police blocked off roads leading to both army headquarters and the presidential palace, witnesses said. Shops around the capital were largely shuttered. Activists have been calling for "million-strong" rallies. 'Violence needs to end' UN special representative Volker Perthes said Thursday that "violence needs to end", while the US embassy in Khartoum urged restraint and "the protection of civilians so that no more lives are lost". Sudan's military leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, drove the country's main civilian groups from power in an October 2021 coup, plunging the country into deeper crisis. By Ashraf SHAZLY (AFP/File) Sudan's foreign ministry has repeatedly criticised the UN envoy's comments, saying they were built on "assumptions" and "contradict his role as facilitator" in troubled talks on ending Sudan's political crisis. The latest protests come on the anniversary of a previous coup in 1989, that toppled the country's last elected civilian government and ushered in three decades of iron-fisted rule by Islamist-backed general Omar al-Bashir. They also come on the anniversary of 2019 protests demanding that the generals, who had ousted Bashir in a palace coup earlier that year, cede power to civilians. Those protests led to the formation of the mixed civilian-military transitional government which was toppled in last year's coup. Sudan has been roiled by near-weekly protests as the country's economic woes have deepened since Burhan seized power last year. "June 30 is our way to bring down the coup and block the path of any fake alternatives," said the Forces for Freedom and Change, an alliance of civilian groups whose leaders were ousted in the coup. Sudanese protesters march towards the parliament building in Omdurman on April 6, 2022, during a rally against military rule. By - (AFP) Alongside the African Union and east African bloc IGAD, the United Nations has been attempting to broker talks between the generals and civilians, but they have been boycotted by all the main civilian factions. The UN has warned that the deepening economic and political crisis has pushed one third of the country's population of more than 40 million towards life-threatening food shortages. French police were on Thursday holding 10 people suspected of involvement in the November 2021 drowning of 27 migrants in the English Channel. Among the victims, who were aged between seven and 47, were 16 Iraqi Kurds, four Afghans, three Ethiopians, one Somali, one Egyptian and one Vietnamese. Only two people survived the disaster. Judicial sources said on Thursday one person had been charged with manslaughter and people-trafficking. The other nine could face similar charges after interviews with judges. The group was among 15 arrested during the early hours of Monday. Police later released five people. Anger In the aftermath of the tragedy, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said France would not allow the Channel to become a cemetery and urged Britain to help more with cracking down on people-smuggling gangs France's Interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin, added: "We need intelligence. Responses to requests from the French police are not always given." His comments followed a proposal from the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to send all migrants and asylum seekers landing in England back to France. The spat added to an array of squabbles between the countries following Britain's departure from the European Union. Despite a more conciliatory tone since and promises of more cooperation, the number of migrants seeking to cross the 30km stretch of water between France and England has surged in the first half of this year, according to the French interior ministry. From 1 January to 13 June, there were 777 attempted crossings involving 20,132 people, up 68 percent on the same period last year, the ministry said. A record 52,000 people tried to cross in 2021, with 28,000 of them succeeding, according to the French authorities. Statistics suggest that number could be eclipsed if existing trends continue. Britain has accused the French authorities of failing to prevent the crossings. And in an attempt to deter would-be migrants, Johnson's government cut a deal with Rwandan authorities to take illegal migrants. However, the first flight earlier this month under the new scheme was cancelled after a last-minute intervention by the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights. The African continent produces seven million tonnes of marine fish a year. This capture has increased in recent years thanks to improved catches in west Africa and the end of Somalian piracy in the Indian Ocean. But the growth in supply can't match the growing demand. Africa's population is expected to reach 1.7 billion in 2030 and 2.5 billion in 2050. Fish consumption is already 7.5kg per capita per year. It would need to grow to 13 million tonnes of marine fish in 2030 and almost 19 million tonnes in 2050. These figures provide an idea of the scale of the production gap: about six million tonnes in 2030 and 12 million in 2050. Much change is required to reach such targets. We did a study evaluating the potential for development of fisheries and aquaculture in the region to overcome this production gap and ensure the food security and livelihoods of the millions of people across the continent who depend on fisheries and fishery resources for survival and income. Our main finding was that despite the pressures fisheries face, there is enormous potential to increase the productivity of the fisheries. At the same time there is potential to increase the health of coastal and marine environments and provide new avenues for job creation. This review can be used to inform sustainable fisheries development and governance of sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources. This is particularly important given the increasing attention given to the development of Africa's blue economy . Threats and opportunities Climate change and the associated alterations in fish distribution patterns pose significant threats to catch potential and to the security of coastal communities. Reductions in water quality through pollution, habitat destruction, and unsustainable and destructive fishing practices imperil the ability of ecosystems to support fisheries. It's hard to manage ecosystems effectively when there is a lack of information . Fish don't stay within national boundaries and this raises complex issues. Jurisdictions overlap and governance of fish resources is poor at all levels. It has tended to focus on volume of production. This combination of issues has already caused the over-exploitation of all major fish resources. Despite the threats, there are still opportunities to secure the future of African marine fisheries. Firstly, the continental fish market is large, with high demand and increasing purchasing power . Africa is a net importer of fish but has the potential to become a net exporting continent. Secondly, there is increasing attention and finance being invested in the health of ecosystems. Efforts are being made to mitigate biodiversity loss and the effects of climate change. Coastal ecosystems have an important role in carbon sequestration and coastal protection. Restoring them helps protect fishery resources. Lastly, with the increasing importance of developing the blue economy, fisheries are being integrated into a much wider management system. They are gaining increasing attention for their contributions to blue growth. Securing the future Making use of these opportunities has the potential to significantly increase the production of Africa's marine fisheries. There are three key areas of intervention: restoring ecosystems to health improving the sustainability of fisheries operations improving harvest and post-harvest chains. According to our analysis, restoring ecosystems to a healthy condition could increase fish production by 50-60%, adding 9-10.5 million tonnes to annual net supply by 2050. Healthy ecosystems have more abilities to provide precious services to humans, and more so the fisheries. Healthy ecosystems act as nurseries, feeding grounds, and breeding grounds for various species important to the fisheries. This value can be exceeded through more accurate valuation of ecosystems, increasing the role of marine protected areas in fisheries management, and improved marine spatial planning. A further two to three million tonnes of fish net supply could be delivered by 2050. It can be done by improving the sustainability of fisheries operations and reducing the environmental footprint of fleets and processing industries. Proper transboundary management should focus on resolving foreign access agreements, and addressing informal and illegal fishing. Operations can do more to limit the waste of bycatch and discard. Improving harvest and post-harvest chains has the potential to deliver 1.5-2 million tonnes net supply by 2030. Scaled-up mariculture (fish farming) can offer two to four million tonnes. Adding value to products for example smoking and drying fish can reduce losses that are now 35% of harvests . Finally, Africa can reduce its vulnerability to external shocks by boosting intra-regional trade and limiting exports. The nutritional needs of African nations should come first. Links at the African level need to be forged and investment channelled into regional collaborative mechanisms for trade. For each of these four areas of intervention, specific solutions exist. Most of them have already been implemented with success they just need to be promoted and scaled up. Within the current continental, regional and national blue economy schemes, pathways are available to integrate fishing with restoring ecosystems. Together they can provide benefits for biodiversity, food security, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. This research was supported by the African Natural Resources Centre (ANRC) of the African Development Bank. The views do not represent those of ANRC. Pierre Failler does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. By Antaya March, Senior Research Associate Centre for Blue Governance, University of Portsmouth And Pierre Failler, Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre for Blue Governance, UNESCO Chair in Ocean Governance, University of Portsmouth From Senegal through Ghana to Cameroon, small-scale fishing is both a livelihood and a way of life for people in coastal parts of West and Central Africa, with more than two million small-scale fishers . It has been this way for centuries but that is changing. Fishers are faced with diminishing fish stocks, competition from foreign industrial fleets, illegal fishing , unstable governance, and a lack of infrastructure to support fishing operations. Small-scale fisheries in these countries, as in other areas of the global south, are often part of the informal economy . Despite being critical to local livelihoods across sectors, informal employment accounts for over 80% of all employment on the continent small-scale fisheries are generally not regulated or protected by the state. The COVID-19 pandemic only worsened the situation. It brought many aspects of food and seafood supply chains to a halt . Fisherfolk and coastal communities in West and Central Africa were severely affected. Our newly published research from Cameroon and Liberia studied these effects. We found that small-scale fisheries brought in fewer fish and less income. Fish wastage was also a bigger problem than usual because storage facilities weren't available for fisherfolks. These experiences, coupled with the sector's bigger systemic problems before the pandemic, deserve attention. Fishing communities in West and Central Africa receive little attention from academics and policymakers despite their contribution to the region's food security and employment economics . From better ocean stewardship activities to better governance of these resources and those who depend on them, there is much to be done for small-scale fisheries in this region. There is a need for better innovations and policies to help improve the fisheries sector in this region. Vibrant, diverse fisheries Small-scale fishers in West and Central Africa have a great deal to tell researchers. Small-scale fisheries are central to food and nutritional security . They are also remarkably multicultural. It is common to see people from other nationalities settled and fishing in a neighbouring country. In Cameroon, for example, our research has shown that many fisherfolks are migrants from Ghana and Nigeria. Similarly, fishers in Liberia are mostly Ghanaians who have obtained fishing permits to fish in the country. These patterns of migration result in highly culturally diverse fishing communities; fishers bring not just their families to these neighbouring countries but also their traditions and customs. However, this brings in problems in terms of access and mobilisation of collective efforts to address problems as they arise. COVID-19 exacerbated existing threats to this important informal sector. For instance, it confirmed how the lack of robust governance systems at the state level leaves workers vulnerable to shocks like pandemics and climate change impacts. Workers in these fisheries rarely benefit from any sort of state protections or services related to their employment and occupational safety. Read more: How COVID affected markets and livelihoods in Kenya's fisheries sector They also don't have access to the kind of infrastructure that might have kept fish fresh for longer during periods when markets weren't open or people were afraid to leave their homes because of the pandemic. One Liberian fisher told us: COVID-19 affects our business greatly. Like before, we used to have many customers coming to buy our fresh fish at the beach, but currently, our mothers dry the fish we caught and take to the market. After weeks from drying the fish and they are not bought it gets spoiled. So, how can small-scale fishers in these countries be better supported? The need for action The UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 emphasises the need to conserve ocean resources and to use them sustainably. Coastal populations are growing , and the dependency on fishing and the ocean in these places will continue to increase. Coastal dwellers' wellbeing and livelihood are at risk and that's a threat to both the short and long-term resilience of the fish food system in West and Central Africa. With increasing environmental stresses and emerging systemic shocks such as COVID-19, there is a need for action to not only achieve this but also to ensure the well-being of those who depend on these resources. For example, the digitalisation of the fisheries sector could be a sustainable response approach to shocks. In North America, fisherfolks use digital services such as smartphone apps to sell and deliver seafood to the consumer . This could be replicated in West and Central Africa. Fisherfolks can use local telephone networks and e-money services to facilitate communications and transactions. Also, the establishment of community supported fisheries programmes can help reorganise local fish marketing, reduce fish losses across the value chain, and build community resilience to shocks. Whatever approach is taken, it's crucial to include the fishers themselves in discussing possible pathways forward. They can help guide policy makers on how to ensure sustainable fisheries practices . Regional and international bodies also need to get more involved by providing funding and institutional support to enhance the fisheries sector. Richard A. Nyiawung receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the University of Guelph, Canada. Philip A Loring receives funding from the Arrell Food Institute, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. By Richard A. Nyiawung, PhD Candidate in Geography and International Development Studies, University of Guelph And Philip A Loring, Associate Professor and Arrell Chair in Food, Policy, and Society, University of Guelph The scant remains of DR Congo's fiery independence hero Patrice Lumumba were interred on Thursday after a nine-day homage that stirred traumatic memories and national pride. "Sleep in peace now," President Felix Tshisekedi said. Hailing Lumumba as "our national hero," Tshisekedi declared: "May the land of our ancestors be sweet and mild to you." A single gold-crowned tooth, returned by Belgium, is all that remains of the young nationalist. He was murdered in January 1961 at the age of 35, just months after becoming Congo's first post-colonial prime minister. The remains have been buried beneath a statue of Lumumba in the heart of Kinshasa. By Arsene MPIANA (AFP) In a solemn ceremony coinciding with the country's 62nd anniversary, the remains were interred in a mausoleum beneath a statue of Lumumba on an avenue in the capital Kinshasa that also bears his name. Didier Shonda, 24, told AFP that he had come from Lumumba's home region of Sankuru for the ceremony. With the return of the remains "his spirit will no longer wander," said Shonda. "We now know where to come to replenish our resources to totally free our country and the youth of Africa." Radical Lumumba was among the vanguard of pan-African leaders who led the charge to end colonialism in the late 1950s. He rose to prominence in 1958 when he launched a political party, the Congolese National Movement (MNC), which called for independence and a secular Congolese state. He stunned Belgium with a speech on independence day on June 30, 1960 that was attended by the country's monarch, King Baudouin. In it, he accused the exiting colonial masters of racism and "humiliating slavery." "We experienced the slurs, the insults, the beatings that we had to undergo morning, noon and evening, because we were negroes," he declared. Just 75 days later, Lumumba was forced out by a coup fomented with the help of Belgium and the CIA, which also opposed the support he had requested from the Soviet Union. In January 1961, Lumumba was handed over to the authorities in mineral-rich southeast Katanga province, which had seceded from the fledgling nation months earlier with Belgium's support. He was shot dead and his body was dissolved in acid, but a Belgian police officer involved in the killing kept one of his teeth as a trophy. Congolese independence hero Patrice Lumumba, right, and Joseph Okito, the vice president of the senate, were arrested in December 1960. By - (AFP/File) In 2016, the Belgian authorities seized the relic from his daughter. After a long campaign by Lumumba's family, Belgium returned the tooth on June 20, a move that followed a visit of reconciliation by Baudouin's nephew and successor, King Philippe. Pilgrimage The remains were taken to Lumumba's home area of Sankuru in the centre of the country, to his political stronghold of Kisangani in the northeast and finally to the place where he was murdered before being flown to Kinshasa. Five former prime ministers joined a funeral vigil on Thursday alongside current government chief Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde. "The figure of Patrice Lumumba is a prime symbol of national unity, transcending political differences," said Evariste Mabi, a premier in the 1980s under Lumumba's nemesis, dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. DR Congo declared four days of national mourning for the return of Lumumba's remains. By Arsene Mpiana (AFP) "(He) embodies the people's successful struggle for freedom." Belgium's rule over what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo was one of the harshest imposed by the European powers that ruled most of Africa in the late 19th and 20th centuries. King Leopold II governed the vast country -- a swathe of central Africa the size of continental western Europe -- as his personal property between 1885 and 1908, before it became a Belgian colony. Historians say millions were killed, mutilated or died of disease as they were forced to collect rubber under his rule. The land was also pillaged for its mineral wealth, timber and ivory. Tshisekedi thanked Lumumba's family for their campaign but also singled out "the Belgian people and authorities" for praise. "They have helped the restoration of truth... after years of denial," he said. "It's only after telling the truth, after establishing responsibilities, that we, Congolese and Belgians, can jointly enter the phase of forgiveness, justice and genuine and final reconciliation." At least five Sudanese demonstrators were killed Thursday as security forces sought to quash mass rallies of protesters demanding an end to military rule, pro-democracy medics reported. In one of the most violent days this year amid an ongoing crackdown on the anti-coup movement, AFP correspondents reported security forces firing tear gas and stun grenades to disperse tens of thousands of protesters. "Even if we die, the military will not rule us," protesters chanted, urging the reversal of an October military coup by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, that prompted foreign governments to slash aid, deepening a chronic economic crisis. Two of the four were shot dead by "bullets to the chest", and another by "a bullet to the head", the medics said, reporting the deaths on Thursday took the toll to 108 from months of protest-related violence. "Down with Burhan's rule," crowds chanted, with protests and violence flaring in both the capital Khartoum and its suburbs, including the twin city of Omdurman. Medics also reported "several attempts to storm hospitals in Khartoum," with security forces firing tear gas into one hospital, where some of those injured during the protests had been taken. Map of Sudan locating the capital Khartoum. By (AFP) An AFP correspondent said internet and phone lines had been disrupted since the early hours of Thursday, a measure the Sudanese authorities often impose to prevent mass gatherings. Security was tight in Khartoum despite the recent lifting of a state of emergency imposed after the coup. Troops and police blocked roads leading to both army headquarters and the presidential palace, witnesses said. Shops around the capital were largely shuttered. Activists have been calling for "million-strong" rallies. 'Violence needs to end' Sudan's military leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, drove the country's main civilian groups from power in an October 2021 coup, plunging the country into deeper crisis. By Ashraf SHAZLY (AFP/File) UN special representative Volker Perthes said Thursday that "violence needs to end", while the US embassy in Khartoum urged restraint and "the protection of civilians so that no more lives are lost". Sudan's foreign ministry has repeatedly criticised the UN envoy's comments, saying they were built on "assumptions" and "contradict his role as facilitator" in troubled talks on ending Sudan's political crisis. The latest protests come on the anniversary of a previous coup in 1989, that toppled the country's last elected civilian government and ushered in three decades of iron-fisted rule by Islamist-backed general Omar al-Bashir. They also come on the anniversary of 2019 protests demanding that the generals, who had ousted Bashir in a palace coup earlier that year, cede power to civilians. Those protests led to the formation of the mixed civilian-military transitional government which was toppled in last year's coup. Sudanese protesters march towards the parliament building in Omdurman on April 6, 2022, during a rally against military rule. By - (AFP) Sudan has been roiled by near-weekly protests as the country's economic woes have deepened since Burhan seized power last year. "June 30 is our way to bring down the coup and block the path of any fake alternatives," said the Forces for Freedom and Change, an alliance of civilian groups whose leaders were ousted in the coup. Alongside the African Union and east African bloc IGAD, the United Nations has been attempting to broker talks between the generals and civilians, but they have been boycotted by all the main civilian factions. The UN has warned that the deepening economic and political crisis has pushed one third of the country's population of more than 40 million towards life-threatening food shortages. The Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) has cautioned the public to beware of messages sent by fraudsters who have taken advantage of the ongoing bank records update to swindle the unsuspecting public. In a press statement issued today, EOCO noted that a lot of people have already fallen prey to the mechanisms of the fraudsters. According to EOCO, the fraudsters send links to members of the public asking them to tap on the said links and provide bank account numbers, mobile numbers, mobile app pin and a One Time Password (OTP) The general public is advised to cultivate a sense of hesitancy in tapping on links purporting to from the bank. The public is urged to report suspicious messages to the bank for immediate action. Currently, citizens with already existing bank accounts are expected to update their bank records with their Ghana Card as the Ghana Card will be the only card for financial transactions effective July 1. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education has urged African leaders to consider implementing policies and programs that could transform their economies through education. Dr. Adutwum made the call when speaking at the closing session of the one-day World Bank Ministerial Meeting on Education for Western and Central African countries held on Monday, June 27, 2022, which was attended by several African leaders. According to the minister, African countries cannot continue doing the old things that have not been able to yield any positive results in boosting their economies. "We cannot continue doing the old things and expect to get new results, but we should rather up our game and do more to transform our economies," he stated. Dr. Adutwum noted that the best days for the transformation of African countries are the days ahead, and as such African countries should rise and do new things such as the introduction and revitalization of vocational training in their education policies to help boost their various economies. The best days for Africa are not behind us but ahead of us. Let us, therefore, forge ahead in unity and work towards revamping our economies through the transformation of our education policies, Dr. Adutwum emphasised. The Union of Professional Nurses and Midwives, Ghana (UPNMG) has ended her 2nd Quarter National Council meeting. The 5-day meeting, which was held in Sunyani and commenced on June 20 was attended by all regional executives and the National Council. Leadership of the union discussed how it could further improve upon its existing welfare packages (loan scheme, hire purchase, insurance scheme for all members, land and housing scheme, scholarship scheme). It gave updates on other packages such as the Scholarship Scheme, The Auto Scheme and the UPNMG Fund. The Scholarship Scheme Leadership indicated that plans are far advanced to roll out its flagship scholarship scheme for all members willing to pursue nursing and midwifery related courses at different levels in the country. The Auto Scheme Leadership indicated that the much-awaited auto scheme which has been on the agenda of the Union is at its final consultation phase and will soon be rolled out. The UPNMG Fund Leadership indicated that they have registered The UPNMG Fund to which every member contributes a minimum GHS50.00 as a Fund Management Company - The UPNMG FUND LBG. The ingenious venture of operating the UPNMG Fund as a Fund Management Company will have the following implications; Contribution of members, which serves as the mutual fund will be properly and professionally managed, leading to higher dividends for members. Interest accrued on contributions of members will reflect on the fund's web-based portal. The UPNMG FUND LBG will manage funds from individuals, unions and institutions aside that of its members, culminating in the generation of more income for members. Migration of Nurses and Midwives Leadership expressed concerns about the recent migration of Nurses and Midwives from the country to the United Kingdom (UK), attributing the mass exodus mainly to the poor conditions of service in Ghana. Leadership indicated that they will issue an official communique to its employer to see how best they can collaborate to reduce the occurrence. Procurement of motorbikes to enhance mobility In order to enhance the mobility of District and Regional Executives, leadership agreed to procure three motorbikes for each region. This is expected to help the various regions respond to the calls of members and also facilitate district tours. Refund of The Nurses Fund to UPNMG Members Leadership thoroughly discussed the refund of The Nurses Fund to current members who used to belong to the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA). The legal team was present to answer questions on that matter. The legal team noted that they have defeated the GRNMA in two defamation suits filed against them [UPNMG] at the Kumasi High Court. Looking Forward The National Council unanimously agreed to continue working for the union without taking allowances. The regional quota has also been extended to the various districts, with each district entitled to an amount from the dues of each member in that particular district, which is to directly facilitate the work of the executives in the regions and districts. Leadership indicated that they are determined and fully committed to ensuring that there is a vast improvement in the conditions of service of Nurses and Midwives in the country. The Bono Regional branch of the Media Coalition against Open Defecation (M-CODe) has been inaugurated, with a call on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to strictly enforce their sanitation bye-laws to eliminate Open Defecation (OD) in the country. The coalition works to end OD in the region. Mr Francis Ameyibor, the National Convener, M-CODe who made the call appealed to the government to adequately resource sanitation units of the various MMDAs to position them well to undertake community outreaches and promote environmental sanitation. M-CODe is an advocacy group, comprising mass media institutions and Journalists crusading against open defecation in the country through a coordinated and more aggressive policy influence and public sensitization. The formation was facilitated by the World Vision Ghana, an international Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) and Kings Hall Media. Speaking at a ceremony held at Abesim near Sunyani, Mr Ameyibor said the government ought to prioritize and earmarked enough funding to the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, saying sanitation must be a fulcrum around which all development must evolve. He said ending OD in the country required strong political will and commitment, and asked the media to endeavour and bring issues of OD to the spotlight. Mr Ameyibor said a Presidential Special Initiative (PSI) was also required, if the nation was truly committed to ending OD, and thereby achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Everybody must live in a good sanitary environment and this can happen if the MMDAs and traditional authorities enforce bye-laws on sanitation, he added. Mr Gyan Lamptey, the Bono East Regional Environmental Health Officer regretted that only 215 out of the about 1,347 communities in the region were OD free, saying over 87 per cent of people in the region practice OD. He therefore called on the M-CODe to intensify nationwide advocacy for people to stop the practice to help improve on good environmental sanitation in the country and prevent the outbreak of diseases. Mr Alexander Bae-Yeboah, an Assistant Director at the Bono Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) lauded the formation of the coalition, and stressed the Councils readiness to support their activities in the region. Mr Yaw Attah Arhin, the Chairman, Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), and WASH Technical Specialist, World Vision Ghana, called on the MMDAs to enforce the building code and ensure that landlords provided household toilets. 30.06.2022 LISTEN Two of the Police officers that sustained injuries during the violent incident on day one of the Arise Ghana demonstration have undergone emergency surgery. This has been announced by an official statement issued by the Ghana Police Service on Thursday, June 30, 2022. In addition, the Police have disclosed that the number of injured police officers has increased from 12 to 15. The number of officers who were injured during the first day of the Arise Ghana demonstration, increased from twelve (12) to fifteen (15). All the officers are being treated at the Police Hospital with two (2) undergoing emergency surgery. We are grateful to our sector Minister, Hon. Ambrose Dery, Minister for the Interior, for leading a team to visit the officers at the hospital, parts of a statement from the Ghana Police Service have said today. It adds, The Police Administration wishes to express its appreciation to members of the public for their show of love and support for the affected officers. Over the years, Ghana has depended so much on the use of conventional energy (power) which is derived from natural gas, diesel, Heavy Fuel Oils, (HFO), Hydro among others to produce the energy requirement of the country for so long. It is against this backdrop that, 3 rd edition of the Energy Commissions Senior High Schools renewable energy challenge quiz has been organized at Bolgatanga Girls Senior High School (BOGISS) for eight Senior High Schools under the theme Clean Cooking & Food Processing using Renewable Energy Technologies." In an interview with ModernGhana News in Bolgatanga, the Programme Coordinator of the SHSs Renewable Energy Challenge and Energy Commission Julius Nkansah-Nyarko said the aim of the programme is to whip up students' interest in practical application rather than the theory being learnt over the years without practical results. Mr. Nkansah-Nyarko said, in his view, the youth are full of innovations that can bring to bear on research which can be solutions to solve the renewable energy at the local level. The Upper East Regional STEM Coordinator, Ms Faustinan Agetara lauded BOGISS and the winning team expressing hope that her girls were going to go to the grand finale and bring home the cup. She however lamented the lack of support in her department and appealed to stakeholders to come on board to help strengthen her department in the Upper East Region. The leader of the winning team, Bolgatanga Girls SHS, Miss Adiba Emmaculate Amoah said their project was plastics fuel gas generation to suit the current environment of plastics menace. She stressed that unlike last year, their group entered the competition with solar cooker. Miss Amoah indicated that, as plastics are often gathered and burned, they release poisonous substances into the air which end up polluting the air and the entire environment. The project she said was aimed at solving the problem of air pollution. She added that though they were in a competition, their success came as a surprise as there were others with equally innovative ideas. The Energy Commission (EC) as part of its obligation under the Renewable Energy Act, 2011 (Act 832), is mandated for promoting the development and utilization of renewable energy resources as well as recommend and advise relevant stakeholders on the educational curriculum on efficient use of renewable energy sources and develop programmes for its main-streaming. A Cross Section Of The Participant At The Challene In Bolgatanga[1] Nii Ayi Mensah, a man who suffered an eye injury during the 'Krom Ay3 Hye' demonstration organised by Arise Ghana group on Tuesday, says he cant see with his right eye. The demonstration was characterised by chaos on the first day of the protest when the leadership of the group and police officials failed to reach a compromise on the routes for their march. The police subsequently fired tear gas and water cannons on the demonstrators. Leadership of the Arise Ghana paid a visit to the affected protestors at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on Thursday, June 30, 2022. They indicated their readiness to support all affected persons through public support. IGP to answer questions in Parliament Addressing the media, the Member of Parliament for the Odododiodoo constituency, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, indicated that the IGP will soon be invited to answer questions on recent police brutalities. According to the legislator, the continuous reports of alleged police brutalities, especially during demonstrations, must be investigated, and a lasting solution proffered to curb such happenings in the future. Some 12 police personnel were also alleged to have sustained varied injuries, according to a police statement. The statement failed to state the number of civilians that suffered in one way or the other, but announced the arrest of some 29 protestors. ---citinewsroom Former President, John Dramani Mahama says the Akufo-Addo administration has proven to be clueless as to how best to manage Ghana's economy. According to the former President, though the country seems to be having an economic meltdown, President Akufo-Addo and his team have shown little appreciation of the situation. Mr. Mahama says despite the NPP administrations incompetence, it is totally impervious to sound proposals to rescue the economy and mitigate the extreme economic hardships that Ghanaians are dealing with. It is apparent that even as the ship of state is being buffeted by the choppy waters of economic disaster, President Akufo-Addo and his head of the economic management team and his Finance Minister have no clue as to what direction to lead this country, Mr. Mahama said while speaking on the state of the economy at the inaugural launch of a policy think tank, Think Progress Ghana. The Akufo-Addo administration has refused to do what is necessary to arrest the economic decline. The suffering and pain experienced by Ghanaians do not seem to move the Akufo-Addo government to action. They have convinced themselves somehow that by refusing to do the heavy lifting required, they can wait out the economic storm and that stability and normalcy will return as a matter of due course, he added. ---citinewsroom Founding member of the ruling New Patriotic Party and ex-military officer, Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe has described the current challenges with the Ghana Police Service regarding crowd control as the result of running a militia alongside the regular police. He cited what happened at Ayawaso West Wuogon as a clear case of militia doing the job of the police. Those you saw in the so called fancy dressed, were they regular police officers? he quizzed The former Ghanas Ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro was speaking with Alfred Ocansey on 3FM Sunrise Morning Show on his observation of the two day Arise Ghana demonstration which was organized by Arise Ghana Movement in collaboration with some political parties from Tuesday 28th to Wednesday 29th June, 2022. There was a violent clash between the protesters and the police during the first day of the demonstration. Mr. Nyaho-Tamakloe says he is not surprised about the recent incidents of police abusing civilians and mishandling protesters as well as the use of brute force against civilians. I am surprised some of you are surprised about what is happening now. They are political elements not professional people. When you have a militia and regular police service, the militia definitely overtakes the roles of the regular police and that is what we are seeing now Nyaho-Tamakloe expressed. He recalled that demonstrations have been conducted in Ghana since the days of Nkrumah and there have been a series of serious protests across subsequent political regimes as recent as the 'ku me preko' demo during the time of Jerry Rawlings. Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe said the Police, then, were more cooperative and protected protesters successfully. A significant event was a rally we had in Kumasi, same as 'kume preko' but I think we called it 'sie me preko'. When we got there, we saw the military lined up when we were marching to Kumasi and our people were charged, and the soldiers had their heads down with their rifles just pointing to the ground. I was shocked and we passed peacefully, he said. He explained that even when the leadership of the 'sie me preko' demo had left the grounds for refreshment elsewhere, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander at the time came to them in a civil and diplomatic manner to plead with them to go back to the grounds and dismiss the protesters since the protesters insisted they wouldn't disperse until the leaders of the demonstration ask them to do so. According to Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe, modern policing is not about the show of force and what the police did on the first day of the demonstration was fruitless and a disgrace to the people of Ghana. He again recommends that communication is a very powerful way of solving problems and opined that the second day of the Arise Ghana Demonstration was peaceful because of effective communication between the police and leaders of the protest. ---3news.com The traditional leaders and residents of Winneba have vowed to resist any mining activity in the Winneba Forest Reserve. The chiefs and residents cautioned the Minerals Commission to take its hands off the Winneba Forest. The youth of Winneba has stated that they are prepared to lay down their lives to protect the forest, noting that mining activities will destroy their land and the Cultural Heritage of Winneba. They have therefore urged the government and the Mineral Commission to come out immediately and respond to the allegations that they have sold the Winneba Forest for mining activities. They indicated that they have cited media reports with a letter that Government of Ghana has sold the Winneba Forest. They said they have been informed that the Minerals Commission is coming to mine Lithium and other Mineral resources from it. Speaking to the media at a press conference, the Paramount Chief of the Effutu Traditional Area, Neeyi Ghatey VI, explained that they have gotten a notice that their forest which serves as a place where they hunt antelope for their Aboakyire Festival, gives them rainfall, and other important activities has been sold by government. According to him, they are not going to sit down for their only Forest to be sold for mining activities. The Paramount Chief added they have also seen publication in print media and other social media platforms that those occupying some parts of the Winneba Forest should vacate the land within 21 days before their houses and other properties are demolished for the mining activities. He therefore cautioned the Minerals Commission not to make any attempt to touch the forest which has been there since he was born, adding that nothing will make them allow the Government to mine in the forest. 30.06.2022 LISTEN "It is difficult to fathom why the Russia-Ukraine war should create food problems for Africans. After all, our foodstuffs are different from theirs and we have prolific lands for abundant food production," US-based mining engineer and consultant Dr. Solomon Owusu has stated. According to him, African leaders do not see any value in building fertilizer plants to boost agriculture and also in return, create employment for the youth. He stressed that Africans have not realised that the importation of huge fertilizers and agricultural products contribute immensely to the weakening of their currencies. Dr. Solomon Owusu on his social media handle wrote "I sometimes wonder if our political leaders and academicians have forgotten that we produce wastes everyday, such as sewage sludge, industrial wastes, organic wastes, etc. The people in the Western World derive fertilizers from these wastes. Why cant Africans also produce fertilizers from these same wastes but purchase them at higher costs from the Western World? He revealed that "because our wastes are poorly managed, they have become a big burden, making our cities dirty and creating preventable flooding, instead of converting them into fertilizers to boost agriculture, create employment, augment environmental cleanliness, generate electricity and generate wealth." He continued, "We have lots of Africans working in the waste management and agricultural sectors abroad, particularly USA and Europe. Will our governments back in Africa incentivize them to integrate that knowledge back home in order to boost our Agric sectors? Over to all Africans, especially Ghanaians". Ghana has for the past year experienced hikes in food prices which has been attributed to increase in farm inputs, fertiliser prices, transportation as well as many other factors that have been triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war. In the presence of more than 150 ministers, UNESCO warned of the double-edged crisis currently affecting education: a learning crisis and a budgetary crisis. Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of the Organization, called for a "global mobilization to place education at the top of the agenda and meet the sustainable development goals". In 2019, UNESCO had already warned that it would be difficult to achieve the goal of "quality education for all by 2030". Now, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the forecast even worse, prompting the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to mobilize the world's education communities and governments at a meeting it is hosting this week in Paris. Some 2,000 participants from around the world gathered at UNESCO headquarters from 28 to 30 June to prepare for the Education Transformation Summit convened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in September. Significant learning gaps "The pandemic has exacerbated the global education crisis," lamented Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO. "School closures have resulted in significant learning losses. In low- and middle-income countries, 70 per cent of 10-year-olds are unable to understand simple written text up from 57 per cent in 2019," she said. "Without new measures to support them, these young people will face significant difficulties in continuing their education and entering the workforce. We will then face a major social crisis. Today I am calling for mobilization: education must return to the top of the international community's agenda if we are to meet the Sustainable Development Goals," the Director-General continued. According to a report by UNESCO, the World Bank and UNICEF released on 24 June, these learning delays will also have a strong impact on the economy. On a global scale, they will represent a cumulative loss of wealth for the current generation of schoolchildren of around $21 trillion. The previous estimate in 2021 was $17 trillion, showing that the situation has declined over the past year. Concerns about funding In addition to this learning crisis, there is a funding crisis. According to another study by UNESCO and the World Bank, 40% of low- and middle-income countries reduced their education spending during the pandemic. The average reduction was 13.5%. However, in the summer of 2022, budgets have still not returned to their 2019 levels. "We are concerned about the wavering funding for education at this critical time," said Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO. "When public funding decreases, families have to increase their financial contribution. And the more the financial burden for education falls on families, the greater the risk of increasing inequality," she said. The question of resources is all the more important as education must also be transformed to meet the new challenges of the 21st century. As the recent UNESCO report on the Future of Education has shown, curricula and teaching must be adapted to issues such as the climate crisis and the digital revolution. UN Summit in September While there are many reasons for concern, the large-scale mobilization of governments this week at UNESCO gives cause for hope. More than 150 ministers and deputy ministers personally accepted the invitation and took part in the debates - the largest number ever to attend the Organization's headquarters. In their speeches, all of them underlined their determination to act, and to collaborate on new initiatives. These two days of collective work have thus allowed us to sketch out many possible measures. The discussions will continue on 19 September in New York, during the Summit for the Transformation of Education, which will bring together heads of state and government: a major event convened by the United Nations Secretary-General aimed at putting education at the top of the international agenda. Source: UNESCO 30.06.2022 LISTEN President of the Artisanal Palm Oil Millers and Outgrowers Association of Ghana, Mr. Paul Kwabena Amaning, has opined that going to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has never solved Ghana's economic challenges hence government should take advantage of the palm oil industry to invest in palm oil production for manufacturing and export to generate foreign exchange to save the economy. He stressed that Ghana has 360,000 hectares of land which can be used to cultivate palm oil in large quantities to create over 1.4million jobs. Mr Amaning noted that government can get 108 million tons of crude through palm oil which can generate over 1 billion dollars a year to revive Ghanas economy. But Mr.Paul-Kwabena-Amaning believes going to the IMF had not helped Ghana. Ghana has 360000 hectares of land which can be used to cultivate palm oil in large quantities which can provide over 1.4m jobs and generate over 1 billion dollars a year to revive Ghanas economy. International Monetary Fund (IMF) is never a good alternative, the IMF policy was the reason why all the plantation farms which were initiated by Ignatius Kutu Acheampong in the past have all been sold to the whites because of the IMF policy, Mr.Paul-Kwabena-Amaning told Accra-based Kingdom FM 107.7. He added, Government should stop the decision of going to IMF, they should rather focus on investing in oil palm business that will generate more revenue for the country. He opined that under Ignatius Kutu Acheampongs regime he started Operation feed your self in the Eastern region which helped in cultivating large palm oil production in large quantities. Operation Feed Yourself according to him, gave birth to Twifo Oil Palm, GOPDC, BOP in Central, Eastern and Western regions respectively. According to him, oil palm served as raw material for the industry and a good source of foreign exchange, and urged Ghana to use its arable land to cultivate the countrys second most important cash tree crop, after cocoa. Mr.Paul-Kwabena-Amaning said with government support, will promote the commercial cultivation of palm oil to meet local and international demands. As a Ghanaian, Im very keen about our palm oil industry because it will create employment for our youth and solve many of our socio-economic problems thats why I believe we can leverage on our palm oil to expand to boost our economy. The Russian Embassy in Ghana has attributed the high cost of food prices in Ghana to the sanctions meted out to Russia as a result of its special military operations in Ukraine. In a tweet today, the Russian Embassy in Ghana indicated that it was wrong for the Ghanaian media to follow the reportage of the West and attribute the high cost of food to Russia as Russia is not to be blamed. According to the Embassy, Russia has grains and buyers have money ready to purchase however, the sanctions on Russia do not permit the sale hence the worldwide rippling effect. At this point, the average reader would probably ask himself what is the purpose of all of this. The purpose is to isolate Russia. The collective West wanted to punish Russia, but punished itself along with the rest of the world, its stated. The Embassy further added that, the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war is not to blame for the food hikes in the country as being campaigned in the media, but the sanctions meted out to Russian and short sighted financial and monetary mechanisms that the West resorted to during the pandemic is what has caused the hikes. Everyone suffered from this. Interruptions in supplies and settlements lead to a global shortage of products contribute to further price hikes and threatens world food security. No deals are done, activity decreases at the same time demand increases, which make prices to rise. Thats the reason! the Embassy explained. 30.06.2022 LISTEN Mr. Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, the newly sworn-in President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), has promised to help improve the image of the Association. Mr. Dwumfuor, who was the National Organizer for the previous administration, said in his inaugural speech at the Accra International Conference Centre in Accra on Thursday, June 30, 2022, that his new administration will work to reposition GJA to promote the safety of journalists in the country. I wish to declare that today marks the dawn of a new era in the life of the GJA, My administration will help to lift the image of our dear association, he assured. He added that his administration will work to improve the salaries and the welfare of journalists. Mr Dwumfour encouraged all GJA members to actively participate in the process of revising the GJA constitution. The newly elected national executives of GJA were sworn into office by Justice George Koomson, an Appeal Court Justice who conducted the oath-taking of the six new executives. The newly sworn-in executives are Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, President; Mrs Linda Asante-Adjei Vice President; Kofi Yeboah General Secretary; Dominic Hlordzi, Organising Secretary; Rebecca Ekpe, Public Affairs Officer and Mrs Audrey Dekalu, Treasurer. At least seven Sudanese demonstrators were killed Thursday as security forces sought to quash mass rallies of protesters demanding an end to military rule, pro-democracy medics said. In one of the most violent days this year in an ongoing crackdown on the anti-coup movement, AFP correspondents reported security forces firing tear gas and stun grenades to disperse tens of thousands of protesters. "Even if we die, the military will not rule us," protesters chanted, urging the reversal of an October military coup by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan that prompted foreign governments to slash aid, deepening a chronic economic crisis. At least five of the seven killed were shot -- two in the chest, two in the head, and another in the back -- the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors said, raising the overall death toll to 110 from protest-related violence since October. "Down with Burhan's rule," crowds chanted, with protests and violence flaring in both the capital Khartoum and its suburbs, including the twin city of Omdurman, on the other side of the Nile river. Sudanese anti-coup protesters take cover as riot police try to disperse them with a water cannon during a demonstration against military rule in Khartoum on June 30. By - (AFP) Security forces fired powerful water cannons, as protesters set fire to burning tyres. Medics also reported "several attempts to storm hospitals in Khartoum," with security forces firing tear gas into one hospital, where some of those injured during the protests had been taken. Protests in Khartoum were larger than normal, and beyond the capital, demonstrations also took place in Wad Madani in the south, the western Darfur region, the eastern states of Kassala and Gedaref as well as the city of Port Sudan, witnesses said. Map of Sudan locating the capital Khartoum. By (AFP) Internet and phone lines had been disrupted since the early hours of Thursday, a measure the Sudanese authorities often impose to prevent mass gatherings. By Thursday evening, communications were partially restored. Security was tight in Khartoum despite the recent lifting of a state of emergency imposed after the coup. Troops and police blocked roads leading to both army headquarters and the presidential palace, witnesses said. Shops around the capital were largely shuttered. 'Violence needs to end' Police and protesters clashed on Thursday during one of the largest and most violent demonstrations in recent months. By - (AFP) Demonstrations continued in Omdurman as night fell with crowds trying to remove security barricades in a bid to cross bridges to reach Khartoum, witnesses said. Thursday's rallies showed a "change in the balance of power in favour of the mass movement and its goals of seizing complete civil authority and defeating the coup," said the Forces for Freedom and Change, an alliance of civilian groups whose leaders were ousted in the coup. UN special representative Volker Perthes said Thursday that "violence needs to end", while the US embassy in Khartoum urged restraint and "the protection of civilians so that no more lives are lost". The latest protests come on the anniversary of a previous coup in 1989, that toppled the country's last elected civilian government and ushered in three decades of iron-fisted rule by Islamist-backed General Omar al-Bashir. They also come on the anniversary of 2019 protests demanding that the generals, who had ousted Bashir in a palace coup earlier that year, cede power to civilians. Those protests led to the formation of the mixed civilian-military transitional government which was toppled in last year's coup. Protesters clash with security forces during a demonstration in the Sudanese capital on June 30. By - (AFP) Sudan has been roiled by near-weekly protests as the country's economic woes have deepened since Burhan seized power last year. Alongside the African Union and regional bloc IGAD, the United Nations has been attempting to facilitate talks between the generals and civilians, but they have been boycotted by the main civilian factions. The UN has warned that the deepening economic and political crisis has pushed one third of the country's population of more than 40 million towards life-threatening food shortages. The Mobile Money Agents Association has kicked against plans by the Ghana Revenue Authority to tax merchants accounts through E-levy. The government commenced the implementation of the E-levy on May 1, 2022. It initially excluded the accounts of merchants from the taxation. However, the Ghana Revenue Authority has come out to reveal its plans to tax merchants accounts. President of the Ghana Mobile Money Association, Evans Otumfuor, says the taxation will affect their businesses. I understand the fear, but the extension of the E-levy to merchants is really going to put so much burden on us and draw us back. Businesses are really going to suffer. We are going to have most businesses demanding cash for payment of goods instead of Mobile money. I do not see why, all of a sudden, it has become necessary that merchants who were initially excluded have drawn into the tax bracket. That is unfortunate, so it something government should not encourage. The levy was reduced from 1.75% to 1.5% after protests from various stakeholders. A member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, had said the e-levy introduced by the government to generate additional cash for the government is raking in only 10% of estimated revenue. In a series of tweets, Mr. Otchere-Darko said the e-levy, since its implementation, had generated less than GH60 million instead of the expected GH600 million. In the meantime, the Minority in Parliament is demanding full disclosure from the Finance Ministry on the amount collected so far from the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-levy). He argues that suggestions from a leading figure in the NPP that the tax handle is underperforming could be a ploy to take the country to the IMF. The Minority opposed the passage of the e-levy and walked out in protest before its approval. Speaking to Citi News, Deputy Minority Leader, James Avedzi indicated that until official figures are released, the Minority will not be convinced by suggestions that the e-levy is underperforming in terms of revenue. ---citinewsroom Former President, John Dramani Mahama has slammed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for habouring underperforming ministers who have decided to turn the sectors they are in charge of into their habitat. He urged the President to as a matter of urgency fire underperforming Ministers who have become dead woods in government including Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta. According to the 2020 Presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the troubling times Ghana finds itself demands that the President Akufo-Addo takes not only big but bold decisions. Speaking at the inaugural launch of a new advocacy group, Think Progress Ghana, John Dramani Mahama proposed to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to dig into the Presidential tool kit and make use of available means available in times of crisis. ..it will serve the President well to use some instruments from the Presidential tool kit in times of crisis such as this. Fire your finance minister, conduct a major shake-up of Government to remove the many dead woods that have turned ministries into their fiefdoms and finally huddle with the best brains this country must formulate a comprehensive recovery plan for our economy. The time to act is now, ex-President John Dramani Mahama said at the inaugural event of Thing Progress Ghana held on Thursday, June 30, 2022. Among other things, the leading member of the NDC accused President Akufo-Addo and his government of collateralising almost all of Ghanas revenue sources. He stressed that it is why the countrys challenges have been compounded with debt levels now at an all-time high. John Dramani Mahama further warned that the NDC Members of Parliament will no longer allow the government to go for loans that are not project-specific. He noted that while President Akufo-Addos appetite for borrowing has brought nothing better to Ghanaians, it has proven catastrophic and could get dire to worst. Former President, John Dramani Mahama has backed claims by Gabby Otchere Darko that the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) is not raking in the estimated revenue for government two months after its implementation commenced. In a post on his Twitter page on Monday, June 27, 2022, Mr. Otchere Darko revealed that the E-Levy is only bringing in 10% of the projected revenue. He noted that only GHS60million was realised from the expected GHS600million. After 5 months of stalemate and bashing, the e-levy, after implementation, is delivering only 10% of estimated revenues; our revenues remain very low as compared to the rest of the world; debt levels dangerously high, cedi, like most currencies, struggling against the US dollar, the leading member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government said in a Tweet. Describing Gabby Otchere Darko as an unofficial Prime Minister of Ghana while delivering a speech at the inaugural launch of Think Ghana Progress on Thursday, June 30, 2022, ex-President Mahama said the numbers provided on the E-Levy were not far from right. According to him, data acquired indicate that the levy has been a spectacular failer providing a little of 11% of the projected revenue for government. The e-levy was presented as the panacea to the economic problems of Ghana. We were in fact told, that it would enable government reduce borrowing. True to our predictions and cautions to government about the overly ambitious revenue and fiscal policy targets, available first-quarter data show that those targets will not be met, and this will no doubt create even bigger credibility crisis for our battered economy. For the entire month of May, the much-vaunted e-levy, which was rammed down the throats of Ghanaians, yielded a paltry GHS 54 million against a target of GHS 475 million for that month representing only 11.3%. The month of June has not offered any sign of improvement as only about GHS 7.1 million had been collected by the first week of the month, John Dramani Mahama said while speaking on the theme: "Ghanas Debt Burden; Reflections and Solutions." The 2020 presidential candidate of the NDC added, These figures demonstrate that so far, the e-levy has been a spectacular failure and has become the mother of all nuisance taxes and I wish to reiterate my earlier promise that we will abolish it in the very first budget statement to be presented under the next NDC administration. In an advice to the ruling government, John Dramani Mahama urged President Akufo-Addo to take steps to restructure the countrys debt to avoid turning Ghana into Sri Lanka. Authorities in Burkina Faso should investigate and hold accountable those responsible for threats made against journalist Ahmed Newton Barry and ensure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Barry told CPJ in a phone interview that on June 10 his lawyer sent him an audio clip, then circulating widely in WhatsApp groups, that featured an anonymous voice calling for people to attack Barrys home. A joint statement by local press associations called on Burkina Faso authorities to immediately investigate the threatening message and hold those responsible to account. Barry, the former editor-in-chief of the privately owned LEvenement newspaper who now appears as a current affairs commentator for a variety of Burkina Faso media outlets, told CPJ that the clip did not cite any specific reason for the threats, but added that he had recently voiced skepticism of a deal between the Malian government and a Russian mercenary company, which would have been seen as provocative to pro-Russian enthusiasts in the region. Burkina Faso authorities should thoroughly investigate the threatening message against Newton Ahmed Barry that recently circulated on social media, and ensure his safety, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator in Johannesburg, South Africa. The security of journalists in Burkina Faso is tenuous enough without their having to worry about a mob being provoked to attack their homes. In the audio clip, in the local Moore language which Barry translated for CPJ, the speaker identified Barry by name and then said they would organize a hundred people and invade his house. We are going to set fire to it and then destroy everything and collect the rubble that is piled up. Barry said the threat may be related to comments he made during a May 19 broadcast of Surface de verite, a prime-time program aired by privately owned TV station BF1, in which he criticized the Malian governments work with the Russian mercenary company. Barry told CPJ that he had shared a copy of the audio with Harouna Yoda, Burkina Fasos attorney general. As soon as we were informed, we contacted the Central Brigade for the fight against cybercrime, which mobilized other subunits to find the person [who made the threats], Yoda told CPJ in a phone interview, saying that he could not speak further about an ongoing investigation. June 30, 2022 No, NATO Will Not Get Ready For War I had a good laugh when I read this nonsense: NATO to boost troops on high alert to over 300,000 -Stoltenberg BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO will boost the number of troops on high alert by more than sevenfold to over 300,000, its secretary-general said on Monday, as allies prepared to adopt a new strategy describing Moscow as a direct threat four months into the Ukraine war. ... Stoltenberg said NATO in future would have "well over 300,000" troops on high alert, compared to 40,000 troops that currently make up the alliance's existing quick reaction force, the NATO Response Force (NRF). The new force model is meant to replace the NRF and "provide a larger pool of high readiness forces across domains, land, sea, air and cyber, which will be pre-assigned to specific plans for the defence of allies," a NATO official said. NATO does not have 300,000 troops to put on high alert. The troops are controlled by member states and I see no willingness by any of them to shoulder the costs that a real high alert status would have. Units on high alert means that they fully manned with no one on vacation and with enough supplies ready to sustain weeks of battle. All of that costs money. Member states will instead designate existing units as 'high alert' ones and change nothing else in their usual equipment and training. The statement is pure NATO public relations fluff. Stoltenberg did not even ask or inform member states before he made that announcement: Stoltenbergs announcement caught the top defense officials of many NATO members off guard, leading them to question which of their forces, if any, were being included in the 300,000 figure. Maybe its number magic? said one senior European defense official, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk frankly about the confusion. Several senior European security policymakers said they were taken by surprise, with no advance notice of the plan to expand NATOs quick-response force from its current size of 40,000 in light of the Ukraine war and Russias ongoing military threats to NATO territory. This was one of the ideas that are typical for NATO bureaucrats who live in their own fantasy world. They are the reason why the French president Macron has called NATO 'brain dead'. And no, it is really nothing more than an idea: A NATO official, speaking on the condition of anonymity per the alliances ground rules, said that country-specific numbers still needed pinning down. Even the 300,000 total is theoretical for the moment: The concept has not been fully worked up yet, the official said. We will have to do more to build up the model before we can work out what national commitments can be. Even so, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht has already said her country will offer up 15,000 troops a full division. Lambrecht offered nothing. She will put the fake 'high alert' label on an existing division and change nothing else. That she did this is actually quite revealing. If Germany as one of the bigger NATO countries offers only one division size element where will the other 19 division size elements come from that are needed to make up a 300,000 strong force? Do they even exist? NATO is just a shadow of its former self. Member states now have only a few troops that can be designated to work under NATO. Even those lack ammunition and depot weapons to make up for eventually losses. Some now even lack the industries to make more systems and grenades. They are also unable to make new ones that are fit for their purposes. Neither of the big or small 'modern' weapons that were given to Ukraine has made a difference. The Javelins had empty batteries, the British NLAW anti-tank weapons were too weak to defeat Russian armor. Switchblade suicide drones are not controllable under Russian electronic warfare conditions. Stinger missiles have heat sensors that are too slow to acquire a fast moving target. The 'light' howitzer M-777 are too light for real battle conditions and tend to break. NATO countries have put too much money into their air forces which will be unable to break through Russia's excellent air defenses. NATO's air defense is in contrast too weak. Just ask the Saudis how well their Patriot systems worked against Yemeni drones. Those systems can do nothing against Russia's medium range missiles. System like Iskander and Kalibr, of which Russia has many, are hard to find in NATO armies. What is the last time NATO units have trained under electronic warfare conditions? The New York Times interviewed nearly two dozen Ukrainian soldiers over the last several weeks who all pointed to similar problems: Russians jammed their radios constantly; they didnt have enough communication gear; and they often had difficulty getting through to a commander to call for artillery support. Talking to units stationed nearby was also an issue, they said, which has led to Ukrainian forces occasionally firing on one another. ... The General said that his two off-the-shelf radios were jammed constantly. They would use the stronger signal on the same frequency, he said. Troops in more specialized units have been issued U.S.-supplied encrypted radios and can speak to one another unhindered, one soldier said, but the radios high output means the Russians can find the locations they are broadcasting from. This is why we stopped communicating and only communicated the necessary minimum, such as if an evacuation was needed or an urgent help, the soldier, who goes by the name Raccoon, added. Materially NATO is not ready to fight. Politically it is also not ready. John Helmer quotes excerpts from an interview with the former chief of staff of the Polish army, Miecyslaw Gocul: You complain, and [NATO Secretary-General] Jens Stoltenberg has announced: The NATO summit in Madrid will be groundbreaking. With a new strategic concept, we will make a fundamental change in NATOs deterrence and defense. Before the NATO summit in Warsaw [in 2016]), at the Pacts military committee, I asked Stoltenberg: what will be the guarantees for the eastern flank? He replied with a question: what else does Poland expect? I said straight out: security and prosperity, which is what the rest of us sitting at the table want. Just like then, I hear the same slogans today, such as do more with less. There are also other fine-sounding calls, but these are only political slogans calculated for a positive public reaction and minimizing costs. They do not really bring about any political and military solutions. ... Now the tension between Russia and Lithuania is growing, because the sanctions are blocking the Kaliningrad Oblast more and more. Could this be a hotspot? If Putin wanted to start the war further and decided to cut a corridor through the Baltics to the Kaliningrad District at the Suwaki Gap, what forces could stop him? Could the forces of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland stop Putin? Not at all. Putin will not be stopped by the Americans, who are present on the eastern flank only in small numbers. I repeat, Russia talks and calculates only with strong countries and organizations. And NATO in our region is weak. It indeed is. And except for few east European hot heads, everyone hopes that it will stay so. None of the bigger NATO member countries wants a large fight with Russia. That includes the United States. Why then prepare for it? Why buy weapons that will never be used? On the other side Russia does not want anything from Europe. It does not have an ideology that seeks expansion. It wants to be left alone. NATO is a cold war relict that was kept alive to give the U.S. some political advantages. Its real purpose has never changed: keep Germany down, Russia out and the U.S. in Europe. That will only change when western Europe starts to rebel against it. Unfortunately the chances for that are low. Posted by b on June 30, 2022 at 15:41 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page June 30, 2022 Ukraine Open Thread 2022-100 Only news & views related to the Ukraine conflict ... The current open thread for other issues is here. Posted by b on June 30, 2022 at 15:59 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MADRID (AP) NATO has for the first time singled out China as one of its strategic priorities for the next decade, warning about its growing military ambitions, confrontational rhetoric toward Taiwan and other neighbors, and increasingly close ties to Russia. While Russias war against Ukraine has dominated discussions at the NATO summit, China earned a place Wednesday among the Western alliances most worrying security concerns. China is substantially building up its military forces, including nuclear weapons, bullying its neighbors, threatening Taiwan ... monitoring and controlling its own citizens through advanced technology, and spreading Russian lies and disinformation, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said after presenting NATOs ten-year Strategic Concept. China is not our adversary," Stoltenberg said, but we must be clear-eyed about the serious challenges it represents." The strategic document directed its harshest language at Russia, but the mere mention of China was significant; the 2010 document did not discuss China. The official turn by NATO puts the worlds largest military alliance based on the United States armed forces on guard against China, which has the world's second-largest economy and a rapidly growing military, both in numbers and in top-notch technology. One of the things that (Chinas) doing is seeking to undermine the rules-based international order that we adhere to, that we believe in, that we helped build, said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. And if Chinas challenging it in one way or another, we will stand up to that. China has yet to condemn Russia's four-month long war against Ukraine and has criticized sanctions brought against Moscow by NATO members. A year ago, Russia and China extended a friendship treaty promising even more strategic cooperation in defending their common interests. That was followed up in November with an agreement to strengthen their military ties. Weeks before Russias February invasion, Chinese leader Xi Jinping hosted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for a summit at which they pledged a partnership that had no limits. Western leaders are concerned that Russia's aggression in Ukraine could embolden China to be more assertive over Taiwan. China considers Taiwan a part of its territory with no right to independent recognition as a state or representation on the world stage. Speaking at an event in Madrid that was not part of the NATO summit, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that unless China is checked there is a real risk that they draw the wrong idea which results in a catastrophic miscalculation such as invading Taiwan, referring to the self-governing island that China claims as a province. However, in a move interpreted to show it was somewhat uneasy over the war in Ukraine, China voted to abstain in a United Nations motion to demand Russia halt its attack. China has greatly increased its diplomatic reach via foreign investment, above all in central Asia and Africa. Now it is seeking to match that with greater military might, especially in the South China Sea where it has built bases on disputed islands. The U.S. navy has pushed back by conducting drills in those waters. The gathering of world leaders in Madrid, both inside the NATO summit and on its sidelines, included many from Asian nations. It was the first time that the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand were invited to a NATO summit. They participated in a NATO session on new global challenges after holding a side meeting outside of the summit. And United States president Joe Biden sat down with the leaders of Japan and South Korea. Following what he called a very successful meeting with the other three Pacific nations, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for China to finally denounce Russias aggressions. Earlier on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that NATO members had been creating tension and provoking conflicts by sending warships and aircraft into areas close to the Asian mainland and the South China Sea. NATO should give up the Cold War mentality, zero-sum game and the practice of creating enemies, and not try to mess up Asia and the whole world after disrupting Europe, Zhao said. A surveillance aircraft controlled by NATO member Canada was recently intercepted by a Chinese fighter in international airspace. Canadian officials called the Chinese pilot's action reckless. Beijing continues to claim it is neutral in the Ukraine war, and it has accused NATO and the U.S. of provoking Russia into military action. Facts have proven that sanctions are not a way out of conflicts, and the continued delivery of weapons will not help realize peace, Zhao said. NATO allies debated fiercely over how to frame their approach toward China. High-level Spanish and French diplomatic officials told The Associated Press that their delegations insisted on China being considered a challenge and not a threat like Russia. But one thing was clear: Ignoring China was no longer an option. The challenges we all face are truly global, Stoltenberg told the Western allies. The international balance of power is shifting, and strategic competition is on the rise. ___ AP writer Christopher Bodeen contributed to this report from Beijing. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 Midland Crime Stoppers Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Midland Crime Stoppers Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Midland Crime Stoppers Show More Show Less 5 of 5 Midland Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 cash reward for any information that leads to the arrest of two suspects who burglarized the two Midland Sherwin Williams stores. At about 1:05 a.m. on June 13, two male suspects traveling in a black Chevrolet Tahoe broke into the Sherwin Williams stores located at 2215 N. Midland Drive and 3110 N. Loop 250 W. The suspects stole multiple paint sprayer rigs from each location totaling approximately $8,204. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) A Republican think tank CEO who opposes critical race theory and supports giving children public money for private school scholarships appears to be a heavy favorite to be elected the new schools leader in conservative South Carolina this fall. But Ellen Weaver faces one potentially serious obstacle: she lacks a master's degree, a new requirement to become Education Superintendent. Weaver started on the advanced degree in April and vows to complete it before the November election. But it's unclear what might happen if she fails to do so, whether the issue could end up in court, and if that would open the door for a Democrat to win statewide office in South Carolina for the first time in 18 years. After winning the GOP nomination Tuesday, Weaver seemed unworried. Tonight we saw that voters understand the real qualification for this job is leadership and a strong backbone," Weaver told reporters. "That said, I will fully fulfill all the legal obligations to hold this job. I will complete my master's degree in educational leadership in October ahead of the general election. In South Carolina, Republicans in the Legislature have sought to prevent transgender high school athletes from playing with the team of their gender identity and restrict local school districts from requiring masks. These issues have been pushed by conservatives across the country and are bringing more attention to the top administrators running public schools. The current Republican Superintendent Molly Spearman who endorsed Weaver's runoff opponent has disagreed with members of her party. Weavers views align more with most of the states leading conservatives. Weaver faces Democrat Lisa Ellis, a teacher and founder of education advocacy group SC for Ed who has an advanced degree. Also running is Green Party candidate Patricia Mickel, a teacher who told The Associated Press she has a master's degree. Weaver enrolled in a masters program in educational leadership from Bob Jones University in Greenville, the conservative Christian school where she has an undergraduate political science degree. The school website says the program typically takes 12 to 18 months to complete. But students can set their own pace. The registrars office confirmed to AP that Weaver is a current student and plans to take an online class in the fall. The advanced degree requirement dates to 2018, when 60% of voters rejected a constitutional amendment to have the governor appoint the education leader. Lawmakers also updated the qualifications for the job in companion legislation. For the superintendent position in 2022, candidates must now meet new qualifications including a masters degree and broad-based experience in public education as a teacher, administrator, or member of a school board or policy-making body. Although the new qualifications appeared on the South Carolina Election Commissions website, they received scant attention until The Post and Courier published a story after candidate filing ended. Several candidates dropped out while others like Weaver pledged to obtain advanced degrees. Parties certify that candidates are qualified for primaries, and Republicans said Weaver's pledge of a degree before November was enough. Beyond qualifications, Ellis' campaign said, experience is important. Unlike Weaver, the Democrat has spent time in the classroom and administration, spokesperson Leesa Danzek told AP. Regardless of whether Weaver is able to complete and obtain her required masters degree, there are of course some more practical qualifications that I think many parents and voters would like to see in the leader of education, Danzek said. If Weaver gets her master's degree before statewide officers are inaugurated after November, there will be no legal question about her eligibility, said attorney Kevin Hall, who has been a legal counsel to the state Republican Party. No one has sued Weaver over her qualifications, but both the degree and experience could be challenged. Weaver has no classroom or school administration experience and the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee she oversees does not set policy. She worked for former U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint before becoming president of the Palmetto Promise Institute think tank he founded. Regarding concerns about Weavers experience, Hall added her think tank leadership speaks for itself." The superintendent race has featured themes seen elsewhere nationwide, including debates over COVID-19 classroom policies and a conservative outcry over critical race theory. That term is a way of thinking about Americas history through the lens of racism. It has become a political rallying cry on the right, but real-world examples of its teaching in classrooms have proved difficult to find. Patrick Kelly, director of government affairs at the Palmetto State Teachers Association, noted that the Republican primary included much discussion around critical race theory. While Kelly said indoctrination might be an issue in some parts of the state," he added that at the end of the day thats not in our state standards. He also said the governor has declared student mental health to be a crisis in the state, but noted that wasn't debated by the primary candidates. And, he said, voter turnout was absymally low" just 17% percent for the June 14 primary and 7% for the runoff two weeks later, according to state Election Commission data. ___ Associated Press writer Jeffrey Collins contributed to this report. ___ James Pollard 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. Follow James Pollard on Twitter. Editors note: The following is another story about alternatives to abortion in Midland, following the Supreme Courts overturning of Roe vs. Wade. -- The demand for families wanting to adopt is greater than ever, according to a Gladney Center for Adoption official. Jennifer Lanter, vice president of Education and Communications for the organization, said this week that there are 1 million to 2 million families in the US that want to adopt a child and that Gladney is having to turn away families more than ever before. Lanter talked with the Reporter-Telegram after the Supreme Courts Roe vs. Wade ruling, although she stayed away from commenting specifically about the decision. Her preference was to stay out of the debate. Our mission stays the same, Lanter said. We dont want people to feel forced to make an adoption plan. That is not an easy decision. It can be beautiful, but it also can be hard. We want to stay neutral. Gladney, according to its website, exists to give children loving, caring families here at home and around the world. Thats the heart of our mission. The organization provides resources, including free medical care and counseling, for those interested in making that difficult decision. Services for life, was how Lanter described it. Adoption requires a lot of support. Gladney has had a presence in Midland for some time. Lanter commented that Midland is like a second home for the organization and that Gladney has a good relationship with The Life Center. She said that since the goal doesnt change regardless of a court decision Gladney will continue to work to educate those with accurate information about the adoption process. That includes dealing with the complexities, including how much contact a birthing mother has with the family adopting or the child. Lanter said the process has become more open for those who want that contact. Editor's Note Editor's note: The following is another story about alternatives to abortion in Midland, following the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe vs. Wade. See More Collapse Lanter also said the greatest challenge when it comes to adoption is finding homes for those kids in the Texas foster care system (as many as 4,000, she said) specifically those children 6 and up. We are here to help, Lanter said. It has been that way for Gladney for more than 135 years. Online: https://adoptionsbygladney.com/ A licensed practical nurse assesses equipment for vaccine and booster patients at the Northern Region Community Health Center in Dededo on June 30. Editor Zaldy Dandan is the recipient of the Best Editorial Writer Award of the Society of Professional Journalists, and the CNMI Humanities Award for Outstanding Contributions to Journalism. His four books are available on amazon.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) The main union for Atlantic City casino workers reached agreements on new contracts with four casinos on Thursday, providing for what one its president called the best contract we've ever had and labor peace that will avoid a strike on Fourth of July weekend, one of the casinos busiest of the year. Local 54 of the Unite Here union reached tentative agreements with the Borgata, which is owned by MGM Resorts International, and three Caesars Entertainment casinos: Caesars, Harrahs and the Tropicana. A Sunday strike deadline remains against the Hard Rock casino, but the new pacts appear to greatly increase the likelihood of a deal getting done with Hard Rock as well. This is the best contract we've ever had, union president Bob McDevitt told The Associated Press shortly after a deal was reached around 11 p.m. We got everything we wanted and everything we needed. The workers delivered a contract that they can be proud of for years to come. Workers, too, were elated at the deal. Im super excited, said Ronnette Lark, a housekeeper at Harrahs. I've been here 24 years and weve never gotten a raise like this. We got big raises. The union did not reveal the terms of the settlement, saying they need to be presented to the full union membership and ratified before taking effect. But it said it had been seeking significant raises to help employees keep pace with rising costs. Representatives of the four casinos did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the agreements. The settlements come at a crucial time for Atlantic City and its casino industry, which is striving to recover from losses caused by the pandemic and exacerbated by inflation and a labor shortage. Yet those same factors were the driving force behind the union seeking a much larger raise than it had in past years; the exact amount has not been made public. In past contracts, the union concentrated on preserving health care and pension benefits, but this time sought what it termed significant raises for workers to help them keep pace with spiraling prices for gasoline, food, rent and other living expenses. The deals avoided what would have been the citys first casino strike since 2016, when the union rejected demands by billionaire Carl Icahn that the Trump Taj Mahal casino operate without health care and pension benefits that were terminated by a bankruptcy court. The union went on strike on July 1, and the casino shut down on Oct. 10. It was sold months later to Hard Rock International, which gutted it and reopened it as the new Hard Rock Atlantic City in June 2018. The finances underlying the current dispute are complex. Including internet gambling and sports betting revenue, the casinos and their online partners have won $1.8 billion over the first five months of this year. Thats up more than 49% from the same period in 2019, before the coronavirus hit. But the casinos claim those figures are misleading because third-party partners keep about 70% of internet and sports betting revenue, leaving little for the brick-and-mortar casinos. They say a more accurate metric is money won from in-person gamblers. By that measure, the casinos have won only 5% more than they did from in-person gamblers over the first five months of 2019. Only three casinos Borgata, Hard Rock and Ocean have won more from in-person gamblers in that time frame. ___ Follow Wayne Parry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC The Gateway Arch in St. Louis doesn't have its own national day on the calendar, but if there was a choice, today just may be it. The Arch is America's tallest national monument at 630 feet tall. It's also 630 feet wide, so it's no wonder the iconic monument ironically located in America's smallest national park, has nabbed the final day of June as its own self-proclaimed special day. But there's more to the Gateway Arch than just its stature, here five facts to know about the iconic structure. 'The' gateway to the West Art Wager/Getty Images/iStockphoto The Gateway Arch stands as a symbol to America's westward expansion following the Louisiana Purchase. A gateway to all things beyond the western banks of the Mississippi River. St. Louis and the surrounding region was a gathering point as settlers before and after adventurers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark packed up to see what opportunities were in the uncharted land in the new American west. This is also why St. Louis is called, "The Gateway City." No Presidents allowed Bettmann/Bettmann Archive The President of the United States is not allowed to journey to the top of the Gateway Arch and take in the views from the observation deck. Many reports have said the security risks are too high for the Secret Service to protect the leader of the free world, and to this day not one single standing president has been to top of the monument. Former president Dwight D. Eisenhower made his way to the top long after his term in office. He signed off on the land to be cleared for the Arch and national park in 1954 and made his way to the top in 1967. An architect's crowning achievement Pictorial Parade/Getty Images Eero Saarinen will be forever remembered as the man who designed the Gateway Arch. The Finnish architect also designed Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, as well as the TWA Hotel and the CBS Building (his only skyscraper). He sadly didn't see his masterpiece come to life. He died in Michigan in 1961, four years before the Arch's completion. One big lightning rod vanessasuzannphotography/Getty Images/iStockphoto Oh yes, the Gateway Arch can and has been struck by lightning. According to StormyHighway.com, the Arch is hit one to two times a year by lightning on average, but there are some years that go by with no hits at all. Several hits have been reported on the Arch since 2010. It's earthquake-proof Davel5957/Getty Images Believe it or not, the Arch is earthquake resistant. And on top of that, it's also built to sway. Visitors to the top often say they've felt the monument move, but the National Park Service points out it takes a lot just to move the Arch a tiny bit. "The Arch is designed to sway as much as 18 inches in 150 mph winds and it can withstand an earthquake; however, under normal conditions, the Arch does not sway," the NPS website states. "It takes a 50-mile an hour wind to move the top 1 1/2 inches each side of center." BRUSSELS (AP) A huge Belgian chocolate factory has halted production after detecting salmonella in a batch of chocolates. The Barry Callebaut company said Thursday that its plant in Wieze which it says is the worlds largest chocolate factory shut down all production lines as a precaution while the contamination is investigated. Barry Callebaut produces chocolate for multiple brands sold around the world. The salmonella was detected Monday, and all chocolate products made at the plant were placed on hold pending investigation, the company said. It identified lecithin, an emulsifier routinely used in making chocolates, as the source of the contamination. The company said it informed Belgian food safety authorities and is contacting customers who might have contaminated products in their possession. It is unclear whether any consumers have reported being sickened by the chocolates. Earlier this year, at least 200 reported cases of salmonella were believed linked to chocolate Easter eggs made in another Belgian plant operated by Italian company Ferrero. In Franklin, the Fourth of July is about family and tradition. For the community, it's a time for fun, games, entertainment and burgoo. Organizer Aleece Ford said the Fourth of July celebration is one of the biggest community events of the year. "Generations come back for it," she said. "My kids look forward to it each year." Returning to the weekend lineup is something that hasn't been around for about 10 years: A twist on popular games like"Lets Make a Deal," "Family Feud" and "Double Dare" called the Family Fun Games. The weekend will kick off with a class reunion, food vendors at 4 p.m. Saturday and a performance by the Harmony Grits from 6 to 9 p.m. Returning is the popular children's rodeo with mutton busting beginning at 5 p.m. Sunday followed by a street dance from 9 to 11 p.m. There will also be a free mechanical bull and a cutest cowgirl/cowboy competition. A pageant will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, followed by the All-American Baby Contest. Burgoo is a staple of the weekend and vegetable cutting will start at 4 p.m. Sunday and stirring will start at 1 a.m. Monday. Burgoo service will begin at 6 a.m. Monday with a gallon at $23. Bowl service will begin at 9:30 a.m. A parade will start at 10 a.m. Monday. Fireworks will cap the holiday weekend at dusk Monday. The display has been moved to Dodsworth Road with seating at the Franklin High School ballfield. Dodsworth Road will be closed to through-traffic at Dahman and Kenny roads. Dahman Road will also become a one-way street going west starting at 7 p.m. Monday. Jacksonville will kick off its Independence Day celebration with the Rotary Club of Jacksonville at 10 a.m. Saturday. The parade will travel from the Morgan County Fairgrounds, east on West State Street to the downtown square. There will be a 5K run/walk Monday at Nichols Park. Registration will begin at 6:30 a.m., the run/walk at 7:30 a.m. with a fun run for those 12 or under at 8:15 a.m. Fireworks will go off at dusk near Nichols Park. In White Hall, the community will celebrate the nations birthday starting Saturday with the Uncle Sam 5K at 8 a.m. at Greene Gables. There will also be a volleyball tourney at 11 a.m. at Custer Park. Sunday will feature a parade at 7 p.m. and on Monday, activities will take place throughout the day at the Lions Park starting at 10 a.m. Fireworks will begin about 9:30 p.m. Monday. Other fireworks shows include: Beardstown: about 9:15 p.m. Monday at Roy Roberts Park. Carlinville: 9:30 p.m. Monday at the Macoupin County Fairgrounds. Girard: dusk Saturday at Girard Sunset Lake. Girard: 9 p.m. Sunday at Otter Lake. Greenfield: 9 p.m. Saturday, followed by music by Branded. Jerseyville: dusk Monday at Jerseyville Park. Mount Sterling: about 9:30 p.m. Saturday at Mount Sterling Lake Shipman: dusk Sunday at Shipman Lake. MesquitaFMS/Getty Images The Salvation Army is assisting with back-to-school clothing for Morgan County families in need. To qualify, children must be in school and live with the family applying for assistance. Volunteers will take them shopping at Walmart. Assistance is available for the first 150 families who sign up. I watched one of my favorite movies the other night: Quo Vadis. Despite the cheesy costumes and over the top acting, it has important historical value, in that it describes a critical but faded episode of inhumanity: The persecution of Christians. We know about it, we have some vague memories of the people who had to dance around the lions in the Colosseum, but the events are generally filed under news too old to care about. Except, the news too old to care about is todays headline. No lions, no Colosseum, just the massacre of Nigerian Catholics in a church on Pentecost Sunday 2022. Nigeria is a country whose Christians have been under assault for over a decade. According to the website Genocide Watch, over 45,000 Christians have been assassinated in the last 13 years, making that country the most dangerous in Africa for members of the faith. Catholics are in particular danger, because we represent a large percentage of Christians in the country and attract most of the attention. This time, they waited until the worshippers entered St. Francis Church in Owo, Ondo State, and then started shooting at them from both inside and outside of the building. Reports state that some of the attackers were disguised as parishioners. Some have attributed the assault to random violence. But dont be misled. The history of anti-Christian violence in Nigeria is a part of the fabric of the nation, something that mirrors a similar wave of persecution that has engulfed much of Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and Central America. In my 25 years practicing immigration law, Ive handled a lot of asylum cases. But the ones that cause me the largest number of sleepless nights are the ones that involve religious persecution. Just this month, we were successful in obtaining asylum for a Catholic youth leader from El Salvador who had a gun held to his head as he was counseling young boys in church. He was told that if he didnt stop trying to keep the boys from joining Mara Salvatrucha, the most violent gang in that country, he would end up like Romero. That was a clear reference to the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was assassinated at the altar while celebrating Mass in San Salvador over 40 years ago. Ive also represented Protestant preachers whove been kidnapped, threatened and, in one case, orphaned (mother and father murdered) because of their ministries in Honduras and China. The most heart-wrenching case was that of a young Salvadoran woman who was raped by her boyfriend, a police officer, and became pregnant. When he demanded that she abort the child, she refused because of her Catholic beliefs, at which point he beat her so severely that she miscarried. And when she tried to report him to his fellow police officers, she was told that she should have gotten an abortion (this, in a country that sacrificed martyrs for the church). Somehow, these stories rarely make it up through the media magma, the dense layers of preferences that the people who run the newspapers and cable networks impose on the rest of us. People magazine will give its cover over to the juicy details of Meghan Markles latest grievance, while the massacred bodies of churchgoers will make it to Page 5 of the Washington Post. The truth is uncomfortable, but its still the truth. The vast majority of Christians persecuted for religious reasons are killed by non-Christians. The statistics are quite clear on this, even though Amnesty International will try to avoid naming names. And Ill go even further. The last acceptable prejudice in America is anti-Catholicism. Its not persecution, but the level to which it infects our current society is insidious. Instead of cracking jokes about how misogynistic, bigoted and backwards Christians are, it might be a better idea to notice the bleeding bodies. Expanding agricultural mechanization makes farming more efficient in SW Chinas Tibet People's Daily Online) 17:15, June 30, 2022 In recent years, Lhasa city, capital of southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region, has made continuous efforts to improve the mechanization level of agricultural production and promote the development of modern agriculture, better guaranteeing the safety of and significantly improving efficiency in grain production. In Lhunzhub county, which is known as the granary of Lhasa, the comprehensive mechanization rate of the ploughing, planting, and harvesting of major food crops reached around 83 percent, bringing intangible benefits to local farmers and herdsmen. A villager in Lhunzhub county, Lhasa city, capital of southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region, drives an agricultural tractor. (Photo/Ran Wenjuan) It used to take me a whole day to plough 4 mu (1 mu equals about 667 square meters) of farmland with livestock. Now I can finish the work within an hour using machinery, said Danluo, a villager in Jiangjiao village, Lhunzhub county. The villager is full of praise for the benefits of agricultural mechanization. According to him, his family has 22 mu of farmland, and all of them have been planted with highland barley, wheat, and oilseed rape with the help of agricultural machinery. Before the popularization of agricultural machines, the villager and his wife both had to work in the fields. Now that the machines can save so much time and energy for them, his wife only needs to do the housework and take care of their livestock, while the villager himself is able to work in the county town, according to him. The village where the man lives set up an agricultural machinery cooperative in 2008. It now owns a total of 20 agricultural machines of various types, including a harvester. In Qugaqiang village of Lhunzhub county, farmers are busy sowing forage oats in the fields with machines. Villagers in Lhunzhub county, Lhasa city, capital of southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region, sow forage oats using agricultural machinery. (Photo/Ran Wenjuan) In the past, when we relied solely on the traditional farming pattern for agricultural production, our village had an extremely poor ability to withstand natural risks. In addition, our village didnt have enough labor force for farm work, so most of the farmlands were left uncultivated, said Yang Xianliang, first Party secretary of the village. The village set up an agricultural machinery cooperative in 2018, and now it has 108 pieces of machinery, including a combine harvester, hay baler, and crop protection machine, according to Yang. As the mechanization level of farm work is improving constantly, villagers are more confident about the future, said Yang, who disclosed that since the village started to use agricultural machinery, it has continuously expanded the planting area of forage grass, and now forage grass planting is a main channel for increasing the income of local people. Villagers in Lhunzhub county, Lhasa city, capital of southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region, sow forage oats using agricultural machinery. (Photo/Ran Wenjuan) (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) Charming and stylish British secret service agent James Bond won't be returning to the silver screen for at least two years as the character is getting a revamp as per the franchise producer Barbara Broccoli, reports 'Deadline'. The producer told 'Deadline' at a star-studded private event in central London to honour Broccoli and her brother Michael G. Wilson for their BFI Fellowships, that it will be "at least two years" before the next 007 movie begins filming. He said that the task of finding an actor to replace Daniel Craig hasn't begun "because it's a reinvention of Bond". Broccoli wouldn't be drawn on who would play Bond next, but did offer an update on the decision-making process. She said, "Nobodys in the running. We're working out where to go with him, we're talking that through. There isn't a script and we can't come up with one until we decide how we're going to approach the next film because, really, it's a reinvention of Bond. We're reinventing who he is and that takes time. I'd say that filming is at least two years away." 'Deadline' further stated that the night was a Bond love fest, peppered with warm-hearted and witty video messages from Bond luminaries, including Daniel Craig, Dame Judi Dench, Lea Seydoux, Rami Malek and Sam Mendes, director of 'Skyfall' and 'Spectre'. EON duo Broccoli and Wilson were presented their BFI Fellowships by Bond regulars Ralph Fiennes, who plays spy chief M, and Naomie Harris, who plays no-nonsense Miss. Moneypenny. RABAT, Morocco (AP) Activists on Wednesday urged Morocco to launch an unbiased investigation into the deaths of at least 23 migrants who were trying to enter Spains North African enclave of Melilla last week. The Moroccan Association for Human Rights demanded in a letter to the general prosecutor at the Nador Court of Appeal that an investigation be opened into the events before any burials of the dead. They died when hundreds of migrants attempted to scale the heavily guarded border fence between Nador and Melilla. More 200 migrants and security officers were injured. The only condition for transparency regarding the Black Friday events in Nador is the opening of a judicial inquiry, carrying out the necessary autopsies, and helping to identify the victims, the association said in a statement. Spains prime minister has defended the way Moroccan and Spanish police repelled migrants as they tried to cross the shared border, depicting the attempt as an attack on Spains borders. His left-center government is trying to improve ties with Morocco following an acrimonious diplomatic dispute over Western Sahara. Earlier the association claimed that city officials were burying unidentified dead migrants in at least 21 graves dug in a local cemetery. The association said that many migrants are currently being held by police pending trial. The majority are from Sudan and Chad. A delegation from the Moroccan state-affiliated human rights organization CNDH visited the Nador hospital Wednesday to see injured migrants, and visited the morgue where the bodies of victims are held. The group says the visit is part of a fact-finding mission about last weeks events. Activists say that is not enough. A sit-in is planned for Friday outside the parliament building in Rabat to show support for migrants who lost their lives at the Mellila border. Opposition parties in the House of Representatives have called Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita to the stand and demanded an explanation for what took place at the Melilla border. Human rights groups have deplored the treatment the migrants received from police on both sides. Sudan doctors: 8 people killed in mass rallies against coup View Photo CAIRO (AP) Sudanese security forces shot eight people to death during anti-coup protests Thursday, a medical group said as thousands marched to denounce the countrys military rulers and demand an immediate transfer of power to civilians. The Sudans Doctors Committee said in a tweet that six people were fatally shot when police fired live ammunition at protesters in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, the Sudanese capital. Across the Nile River in Khartoum, another person died from a gunshot wound in the head and a child died after being shot in the chest, according the group, which tracks casualties during protests. The identities of the eight were not immediately known. Also in Khartoum, police fired tear gas at thousands of demonstrators trying to reach the Republican Palace, the militarys seat of power in the heart of the city. Videos showing thousands waving Sudanese flags and running under clouds of tear gas were posted on social media. Other videos show demonstrators raising banners reading No Negotiations! No Partnership reiterating their opposition to any power-sharing deal with the military rulers. Sudans leading pro-democracy groups Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change and the Resistance Committees had called for nationwide protest Thursday to reiterate their demands for a reversal of the Oct. 25 military coup. The takeover upended the East African countrys short-lived transition to democracy following the 2019 ouster of longtime autocratic ruler Omar al-Bashir. Thursdays protests also fell on the third anniversary of a 2019 mass rally that forced the generals to sit down at the negotiating table with pro-democracy groups and eventually sign a power-sharing agreement that was expected to govern Sudan during a transitional period, until general elections were to be held. The coup last October scuttled this arrangement. Were very, very much gravely concerned by the continued use of excessive force by the government security forces in Sudan as they respond to protests and especially what weve seen today, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New York. It is imperative that people be allowed to express themselves freely and peacefully, and security forces in any country should be there to protect peoples right to do that, not to hinder it. Meanwhile, the London-based internet advocacy group, NetBlocks, said internet access was disrupted across many mobile and fixed-line internet providers in Sudan on Thursday, including state operator Sudantel, leaving national connectivity at only 17% of its ordinary level. Cuts to internet services have been routinely recorded ahead of most anti-coup protests. NetBlocks recommends against the use of network disruptions and social media restrictions to counter protests, given their disproportionate impact to fundamental rights including freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, said the London-based group. The October coup triggered near-weekly street demonstrations, which authorities have met with a deadly crackdown that has so far killed 111 people, including Thursdays casualties. Among those killed were 18 children, according to the Doctors Committee. Hundreds of people, including prominent politicians and activists, have been detained, although many have been released recently as part of trust-building measures. Since the coup, the U.N. political mission in Sudan, the African Union, and the eight-nation east African regional Intergovernmental Authority in Development group have been trying to broker a way out of the political impasse. Earlier this month, the leading pro-democracy group finally agreed to sit with the generals in a meeting that was brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia. However, no breakthrough has materialized from these talks. By NOHA ELHENNAWY Associated Press ASEAN special envoy making 2nd visit to strife-torn Myanmar View Photo BANGKOK (AP) Cambodias foreign minister is making his second visit to Myanmar as a special envoy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to the country that has been mired in violence and civil unrest since the military seized power last year. State-run television MRTV reported that Prak Sokhonn and his party were welcomed by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after their arrival in Yangon on Wednesday. ASEAN has been seeking to implement a five-point consensus it reached on Myanmar last year calling for dialogue among all concerned parties, provision of humanitarian assistance, an immediate cessation of violence and a visit by a special envoy to meet all parties. Cambodia is the current chair of the 10-nation grouping, which includes Myanmar. Myanmars military-installed government initially agreed to the consensus but has since made little effort to implement it, and the country has slipped into a situation that some U.N. experts have characterized as a civil war. Its stonewalling led fellow ASEAN members to block government leaders from attending major meetings of the regional grouping. A spokesperson for the military government said on Tuesday that Prak Sokhoon will not be allowed to meet ousted government leader Aung San Suu Kyi during his five-day visit. Suu Kyi is being tried on multiple charges, including corruption, and was transferred last week to a custom-built solitary facility at a prison in Naypyitaw, the capital. Her supporters say the charges are politically motivated to discredit her and legitimize the militarys seizure of power. The military ousted Suu Kyis elected government and then violently cracked down on widespread protests against its actions. After security forces unleashed lethal force against peaceful demonstrators, some opponents of military rule took up arms. Cambodias government said Prak Sokhonns visit will follow up on the implementation of the five-point consensus, the outcome of a consultative meeting on ASEAN humanitarian assistance to Myanmar held in Cambodia last month, and help create an environment conducive to political dialogue through meetings with all concerned parties. Prak Sokhonn is scheduled to meet with military government leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and officials from at least six ethnic armed groups which have been seeking greater autonomy from the central government. But there is skepticism that the meeting will advance peacemaking because none of the groups attending is currently in armed conflict with the government. During his first mission in March, Prak Sokhonn met with Min Aung Hlaing, diplomats from other ASEAN countries and the U.N. and a Myanmar politician. He said after his return that he had seen minor progress during his visit and was not allowed to meet with Suu Kyi and other opposition leaders. Live updates | Trudeau: Canada to up Latvia troop presence View Photo MADRID (AP) The Latest on the final day of the NATO summit in Madrid: ___ Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government will increase Canadas troop presence in Latvia as part of NATOs commitment to strengthen its deterrence measures along Russias border. Trudeau made the announcement at the close of the three-day NATO summit in Madrid. He did not give specific numbers. Canada leads NATOs battlegroup in Latvia of around 2,000 soldiers in total. Albania, the Czech Republic, Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain also provide troops to the group. We will be bolstering our military deployment in Latvia and work with other allies to be able to rapidly augment our current strength to our combat capable brigade when required, Trudeau said. Trudeau said his government also wants to send up to 39 armored combat support vehicles to Ukraine along with six additional drone cameras to help fight the Russian invasion. ___ US boosting military presence in Europe amid Russia threat NATO calls Russia its most significant and direct threat NATO pivots to highlight Chinese challenges for 1st time Explainer: How was Turkeys veto of Nordic NATO bid avoided? ___ OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: Turkeys president is hailing his countrys joint memorandum with Sweden and Finland over their NATO accession as a victory. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that all of Turkeys sensitivities had been included in the 10-article agreement. The deal signed Tuesday removed Turkeys objection to the Nordic countries NATO membership. But Erdogan added that if Sweden and Finland did not fulfill their promises, Turkey could still block their membership by not ratifying the deal in the Turkish parliament. Erdogan claimed after the NATO summit ended that Sweden had promised to extradite 73 terrorists to Turkey and crack down on the financing and recruitment activities of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, and its extensions. However, the Nordic countries only said they would address those requests in accordance with the European Convention on Extradition and gave no firm number in the written agreement. ___ French President Emmanuel Macron says France is ready to send more troops to Romania if needed as part of the NATO mission to bolster forces on its eastern flank following Russias invasion of Ukraine. France already has around 500 soldiers and an air defense system deployed in Romania. Macron said the assets can be reinforced at very short notice. Macron, speaking at a news conference Thursday following the NATO summit in Madrid, said Frances financial, humanitarian and military support for Ukraine will continue as long as needed. ___ U.S. President Joe Biden says his administration will soon provide another $800 million in security assistance for Ukraine to fight Russias invasion. Biden said the new aid would include advanced air defense systems, counter battery radars, and additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, that the administration has already sent to Ukraine. Biden said Thursday the package will be formally detailed by his administration in the coming days. He spoke at a news conference at the end of the NATO summit in Madrid. The latest round of aid is part of the $40 billion package of security and economic assistance passed last month by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by Biden. It is the 14th package of weapons and military equipment committed to Ukraine since the war began. With the latest tranche of assistance, the U.S. has committed about $7 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since late February when Russia invaded its neighbor. ___ President Joe Biden says Americans should expect to pay higher gas prices as long as it takes so Russia cannot, in fact, defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine. Russias invasion of its neighbor last February is blamed for driving up the oil price. This is a critical, critical position for the world, Biden said at a news conference Thursday on the final day of the NATO summit in Madrid. Biden said Russia, Russia, Russia is the reason people are spending more at the pump. Hes talking with U.S. allies about setting a cap on the price of Russian oil, limiting how much money that Moscow can make from its exports. Biden emphasized his long-term support for Ukraine as the war drags on, saying, We are going to stick with Ukraine. I dont know what it how its going to end, but it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine, he said. Although gas prices remain a political challenge for Biden, he said that he wouldnt use his scheduled trip to Saudi Arabia next month to request more oil production. ___ President Joe Biden says NATO has transformed itself by adapting to a rapidly changing security situation around the globe. Closing the military alliances summit in Madrid on Thursday, Biden described the meeting as historic. The three-day summit included the Biden administration announcing plans to permanently bolster the U.S. military presence in Europe, an agreement between Turkey, Finland and Sweden to pave the way for the accession of Nordic nations into NATO, and the alliance updating its strategic concept reflect that Chinas coercive policies are a challenge to the Western blocs interests. Biden noted the last time NATO updated its strategic concept Russia was characterized as a partner and the document didnt even mention China. The world has changed, changed a great deal since then, Biden said told a press conference. ___ Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez admits the war between Russia and Ukraine is going on longer than expected. Speaking Thursday at the end of a NATO summit hosted by Spain, Sanchez said the allies had all conveyed their wish to see peace talks. But he added: It must be Ukraine which decides its future. He added that Ukraine has the allies full backing until the last Russian soldier leaves its territory. Sanchez also expressed satisfaction that Spain had achieved its goal of getting NATO to place special attention to the threats it faces on its southern flank, particularly from terrorist and mercenary groups in the Sahel region of Africa where Russia has substantial influence. ___ Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany will launch the process of ratifying the planned NATO membership of Sweden and Finland this week and will conclude it very quickly. The two Nordic nations were formally invited on Wednesday to join the alliance. Scholz said Thursday that we stand ready to assure both countries of support already now as long as the accession process isnt formally concluded. Asked whether thats a political statement or if there are military plans for such support, Scholz replied that its simply part of the solidarity the countries owe each other. Scholz added that Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared more or less unfazed by NATOs decision to admit the two countries, so I think this is something where, despite the tricky situation, we can assume that it wont contribute to intensifying the tensions between NATO and Russia. He conceded that that outlook comes with uncertainty. ___ British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the withdrawal of Russian troops from Snake Island in the Black Sea is a sign that Ukraine will prevail in the war. Johnson said the pullout from the island where occupying Russian troops have faced relentless Ukrainian attacks shows that again Russia has had to cede ground. He said that in the end it will prove impossible for Putin to hold down a country that will not accept occupation. Johnson spoke at the end of a NATO summit in Madrid dominated by the consequences of Russias invasion of Ukraine. He said Russia must be driven off from all the territory it has occupied since it invaded in February and that at the moment there doesnt seem to be anything to talk about regarding a cease-fire. Johnson welcomed a commitment by many NATO members to increase defense spending and said the U.K. would raise its spending target from 2% of GDP to 2.5% by the end of the decade. ___ NATOs leader has closed a summit of the Western military alliance with a message to Moscow that the allies are prepared to protect every inch of NATO territory and fully back Ukraine in its battle against Russian forces. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that NATO has made sure that there is no misunderstanding in the minds of any adversary, that if they do anything like what Russia has done to Georgia in 2008 or Ukraine now, that will trigger the full response of the whole alliance. Stoltenberg said the three-day summit in Madrid featured several transformative decisions. Besides pledging more aid by NATO members for Kyiv, the allies agreed to boost their rapid response forces in Eastern Europe from 40,000 to 300,000, invited Sweden and Finland to join as new members, and approved a new list of top security priorities for the next decade, among other decisions. We face the most serious security situation in decades, but we are rising to the challenge with unity and resolve, Stoltenberg said. ___ Sweden plans to send additional military support to Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons, support weapons and demining equipment that it says Kyiv had requested. The hardware is worth approximately 500 million kronor ($49 million). It is important that the support to Ukraine from the democratic countries in Europe is continuous and long-term, Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist said, according to the Swedish news agency TT. He didnt say when and how the equipment would be delivered but said, It is in everyones interest that it is delivered as quickly as possible. Sweden was invited at a NATO summit this week to join the Western military alliance. ___ Italian Premier Mario Draghi is skipping the last day of the NATO summit in Madrid amid simmering tensions in his coalition government. Draghis office said the premier will attend a Cabinet meeting in the Italian capital on Thursday. Measures to bring relief for high consumer energy bills and government spending top the Cabinets agenda. Draghis abrupt departure came amid tension in his wide-ranging unity coalition, assembled during the COVID-19 pandemic. His predecessor, populist 5-Star Movement leader Giuseppe Conte, has been seething over issues including Draghis staunch support for more military aid for Ukraine. The 5-Stars are themselves in turmoil after Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio broke with the Movement last week, forming his own pro-Draghi political group, with an eye to national elections next year. Italian Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini is standing in for Draghi in Madrid. ___ Britain is sending 1 billion pounds ($1.21 billion) worth of military support to Ukraine, bringing its total military and economic support since the start of the war to 3.8 billion pounds. The government said the new money is for equipment including air defense systems, unmanned aerial vehicles and electronic warfare equipment. Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged allies at a NATO summit in Madrid on Thursday to dig deep in support of Ukraine. Britain is the second-largest contributor of military support to Ukraine, after the United States. It is also one of only nine of the 30 NATO members meeting the alliances target of spending 2% of GDP on defense. ___ NATO leaders are arriving at a conference center in Madrid for the third and final day of their annual summit. The 30-member alliance is due to wrap up its talks with a working session on security concerns for its southern flank, namely in unstable areas of North Africa and the Middle East. On Wednesday, NATO nations pledged their continued support for Ukraine in its efforts to resist Russias invasion. It also issued an updated Strategic Concept, the document which lays out its top security concerns for the coming decade, where it named Russia as its top threat and added China for the first time. NATO has also announced that it will boost its rapid response forces for Eastern Europe, increasing them from 40,000 to 300,000 troops ready to react to any attack by Russia against NATO territory. The alliance has also cleared the path for Sweden and Finland to become new members after overcoming Turkeys misgivings. ___ BRUSSELS China has reacted to NATO naming it as a security challenge by calling the Western military alliance a Cold War remnant that is smearing Beijings international reputation. On Wednesday, NATO issued its updated Strategic Concept, the document that lays out its top security threats for the coming decade. While Russia was named its top threat, NATO included China for the first time. It said that China strives to subvert the rules-based international order, including in the space, cyber and maritime domains and warned of its close ties with Moscow. A statement released by Chinas Mission to the European Union on Thursday responded: Since NATO positions China as a systemic challenge, we have to pay close attention and respond in a coordinated way. When it comes to acts that undermine Chinas interests, we will make firm and strong responses. China insisted that it promotes peace through its collaboration with the United Nations and its foreign development projects. It called the 30-nation alliance a source of instability. NATO claims itself to be a defensive organization that upholds the rules-based international order, but it has bypassed the U.N. Security Council and waged wars against sovereign states, creating huge casualties and leaving tens of millions displaced, it said. The Associated Press Russian forces leave Snake Island, keep up eastern assault View Photo SLOVIANSK, Ukraine (AP) Russian forces withdrew from a strategic Black Sea island Thursday, potentially easing the threat to the vital Ukrainian port city of Odesa, but kept up their push to encircle the last stronghold of resistance in the eastern province of Luhansk. The Kremlin portrayed the pullout from Snake Island as a goodwill gesture. But Ukraines military claimed it forced the Russians to flee in two small speedboats following a barrage of Ukrainian artillery and missile strikes. The exact number of troops was not disclosed. Unable to withstand the impact of our artillery, missile and aviation units, the Russian occupiers have left Snake Island. The Odesa region is completely liberated, the Ukrainian military said in its regular social media update Thursday evening. A senior Ukrainian military official, Oleksiy Gromov, earlier said Kyiv was planning to deploy troops to Snake Island, but did not specify a timeline. At the moment, we control (the island) with the help of our weapons: long-range artillery, rocket units and aviation, Gromov said. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the withdrawal was intended to demonstrate that Moscow isnt hampering U.N. efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor for exporting agricultural products from Ukraine. Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of blockading Ukrainian ports to prevent exports of grain, contributing to a global food crisis. Russia has denied that and said Ukraine needs to remove mines from the Black Sea to allow safe navigation. Turkey has sought to broker a deal to unblock grain exports. But the talks have dragged on, with Kyiv expressing fear that Russia will exploit the removal of the mines to attack Odesa. Snake Island sits along a busy shipping lane. Russia took control of it in the opening days of the war in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that although the pullout did not guarantee the Black Sea regions safety, it would significantly limit Russian activities there. Step by step, we will push (Russia) out of our sea, our land, our sky, he said in his nightly address. It was unclear if the evacuation of Snake Island meant a change in Moscows designs on Ukraines biggest port, which is crucial for shipping grain to Africa, the Middle East and other parts of the world. Its also the headquarters of the countrys navy. The island shrouded in myth since ancient times early on took on legendary significance for Ukraines resistance to the Russian invasion, when Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back, Go (expletive) yourself. Ukraine has celebrated the story with patriotic fervor, issuing a postage stamp in commemoration. The islands Ukrainian defenders were captured by the Russians but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange. After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there and its air defenses. At a NATO summit in Madrid, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson billed the Russian pullout as a sign that Ukraine will prevail in the war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the end it will prove impossible for Putin to hold down a country that will not accept occupation, Johnson said. Meanwhile, Moscow kept up its push to take control of the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. It is focused on the city of Lysychansk, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in Luhansk province. Russian troops and their separatist allies control 95% of Luhansk and about half of Donetsk, the two provinces that make up the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas. Ukraine said the Russians were shelling Lysychansk and clashing with Ukrainian defenders around an oil refinery on its edges. The Ukrainian military said Thursday evening that Russia had seen partial success that day around the plant, some 17 kilometers south-west of the city. They made no reference to claims that attacking forces had been able to cross the strategic Siverskiy Donets river and enter the city from the north. Zelenskyy said in his nightly address that the situation in the Donbas remained the toughest and extremely difficult. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian reconnaissance units trying to enter Lysychansk on Wednesday were repelled. He said the Russians were trying to block a highway used to deliver supplies, and fully encircle the city. The Russians have thrown practically all their forces to seize the city, Haidai said, but denied that Lysychansk had been encircled. Nevertheless, Haidai noted that as of Thursday evening, evacuations from the city were impossible due to heavy shelling and mined access roads. Earlier, the Ukrainian military said it was not planning a retreat from Lysychansk. A representative of Russia-backed separatists in Luhansk claimed that pro-Russian forces entered Lysychansk Thursday, after a perilous river crossing which, if true, would be a significant development. Military analysts previously told the AP that Russian forces had little chance of crossing the river without major losses due to the defenders elevated positions. It was impossible to immediately verify the accuracy of the statements by Andrey Marochko, who heads the armed forces of the self-proclaimed, unrecognized separatist territory, to Russias Interfax agency. There was no official confirmation from Moscow or Kyiv. In other developments: Ukraines president hailed the launch Thursday of Ukrainian electricity exports to E.U. member state Romania, which Zelenskyy called only the first stage of a process that may see a significant part of the Russian gas consumed by Europeans replaced by Ukrainian energy. - U.S. President Joe Biden said his administration will send an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, including rockets and advanced air defense systems. In his nightly address, Zelenskyy thanked Biden for the move, saying that the equipment soon will go to the frontline to work for Ukraine, to defend freedom. Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who held talks with Putin on Thursday a day after visiting Ukraine, said he handed the Russian leader a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He did not elaborate. A senior Russian official warned that Moscow could consider Western sanctions as a cause for war. Under certain circumstances, such hostile measures could be perceived even as a casus belli, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy secretary of Russias Security Council, said in a speech at a legal forum. Speaking on a visit to Turkmenistan on Thursday, Putin said his goals in Ukraine havent changed since the start of the war. He said they were the liberation of the Donbas, the protection of these people and the creation of conditions that would guarantee the security of Russia itself. He made no mention of his original stated goals to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine. As you can see, the troops are moving and reaching the marks that were set for them for a certain stage of this combat work. Everything is going according to plan, Putin said. Funerals were scheduled Thursday for some of the 18 people confirmed killed in a Russian airstrike Monday on a busy shopping mall in the central city of Kremenchuk. Crews searched the rubble for 20 still missing. Sweden announced plans to send more military aid to Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons and mine-clearing equipment. Sweden was invited this week to join NATO, a process that could take months. Iranian state media said Thursday Iran has proposed expanding financial exchanges with Russia and cooperating in the energy field. Both countries are under heavy Western sanctions. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Putin met on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine. By FRANCESCA EBEL Associated Press Berlin preps huge thermos to help heat homes this winter View Photo BERLIN (AP) The rust-colored tower rising from an industrial site near the banks of Berlins Spree river looks nothing like the sleek flasks Germans use for coffee, yet its purpose is similar: to provide some warmth throughout the day, especially when its cold outside. With a height of 45 meters (almost 150 feet) and holding up to 56 million liters (14.8 million gallons) of hot water, utility company Vattenfall says the tower will help heat Berlin homes this winter even if Russian gas supplies dry up. Its a huge thermos that helps us to store the heat when we dont need it, said Tanja Wielgoss, who heads the Sweden-based companys heat unit in Germany. And then we can release it when we need to use it. While district heating systems fueled by coal, gas or waste have been around for more than a century, most arent designed to store significant amounts of heat. Instead, they burn as much fossil fuel as needed, contributing to the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving global warming. By contrast, the new facility unveiled Thursday at Vattenfalls Reuter power station will hold water brought to almost boiling temperature using electricity from solar and wind power plants across Germany. During periods when renewable energy exceeds demand the facility effectively acts as a giant battery, though instead of storing electricity it stores heat. Sometimes you have an abundance of electricity in the grids that you cannot use anymore, and then you need to turn off the wind turbines, said Wielgoss. Where we are standing we can take in this electricity. The 50-million-euro ($52 million) facility will have a thermal capacity of 200 Megawatts enough to meet much of Berlins hot water needs during the summer and about 10% of what it requires in the winter. The vast, insulated tank can keep water hot for up to 13 hours, helping bridge short periods when theres little wind or sun. It will also be able to use other sources of heat such as that extracted from wastewater, said Wielgoss. While it will be Europes biggest heat storage facility when its completed at the end of this year, an even bigger one is already being planned in the Netherlands. Berlins top climate official, Bettina Jarasch, said the faster such heat storage systems are built, the better. Due to its geographic location the Berlin region is even more dependent on Russian fossil fuels than other parts of Germany, she told The Associated Press. Thats why were really in a hurry here. The war in Ukraine and the energy crisis teach us that we need to be faster, said Jarasch. First of all to become climate neutral, she said. And secondly, to become independent (of energy imports). Figures released Thursday by Germanys utility industry association BDEW shows efforts to reduce natural gas use are having an effect. Consumption of gas dropped by 14.3% in the first five months of this year compared to the same period in 2021. Part of the decline was due to milder weather, but the industry group said even accounting for warmer temperatures there was a measurable drop that it attributed to bumpier economic conditions, appeals from the German government to save energy and individuals personal efforts. Wielgoss said she was confident that Vattenfalls customers wont go cold this winter, despite the looming gas squeeze from Russia as Moscow retaliates for Western sanctions by reducing the gas flowing through key pipelines. Consumers in Germany are very well protected, she said. So they for sure will not suffer any shortages. But of course, we plead with everybody to really start saving energy. Each kilowatt hour we save is good for the country, she added. ___ Follow APs climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press Erdogan: Nordic NATO bid could still be nixed if vows unkept View Photo ISTANBUL (AP) Just two days after agreeing to lift deal-breaking objections to Sweden and Finlands NATO accession, Turkeys leader warned Thursday that Ankara could still block the process if the two countries fail to fully meet his expectations. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the close of the alliances summit in Madrid that the 10-article agreement with the Nordic pair was a victory for Ankara and addressed all its sensitivities. He particularly stressed the satisfying of Turkeys demand for Sweden and Finland to extradite terror suspects with links to outlawed Kurdish groups or the network of an exiled cleric accused of a failed 2016 coup in Turkey. But Erdogan added that if the two Nordic states renege on their promises, Turkeys Parliament could refuse to ratify the deal reached Tuesday. NATO accession must be formally approved by all 30 member states, which gives each a blocking right. This business will not work if we dont pass this in our parliament, Erdogan said. First, Sweden and Finland must fulfill their duties and those are already in the text. But if they dont fulfill these, then of course there is no way we would send it to our parliament. Erdogan claimed that Sweden had promised to extradite 73 terrorists to Turkey and crack down on the financing and recruitment activities of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK listed as a terrorist group by the U.S. and the European Union and linked groups. Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, an extension of the PKK. The text of the memorandum sets no specific number of extraditions. It says Finland and Sweden will address Turkeys pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects expeditiously and thoroughly, taking into account information, evidence and intelligence provided by Turkey in accordance with the European Convention on Extradition. On Wednesday, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said Sweden and Finlands justice ministries have files from Turkey on 33 people with alleged links to PKK and the network of U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen. Journalists repeatedly pressed Erdogan on Thursday about the extraditions and whether Sweden had actually promised the number he cited. He said the number of extradition requests previously stood at 60 but was updated to 73. Of course, what we understand is important from our meetings and talks, Erdogan said. Sweden promised to give us these 73 people with this text. They may or they may not, we will follow that through the text and we will make our decision. There was no immediate response to requests for comments from the Swedish delegation at the summit in Madrid. The Swedish government has sought to allay concerns that the deal would lead to extraditions to Turkey without due process. I know there are some people who are worried that were going to start to hunt people and extradite them, and I think its important to say that we always follow Swedish laws and international conventions, and we never extradite Swedish citizens, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told public broadcaster SVT on Wednesday. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto stressed that Helsinki pointed out that the memorandum does not list the names of individuals. In the case of extraditions, we will adhere to our own legislation and international agreements. Ultimately, extradition is a legal discretion which politicians have no right to influence, Niinisto said. With the joint memorandum signed, NATO moved ahead with inviting the Nordic countries to the military alliance that seeks to enlarge and strengthen in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. The most time consuming part of gaining NATO membership is the ratification of the applicants accession protocols by the alliances 30 member countries. Its a process that involves national parliaments and could take months. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country would launch launch the process of ratifying the planned NATO membership of Sweden and Finland this week and conclude it very quickly. ___ Aritz Parra in Madrid and Karl Ritter in Berlin contributed. ___ Follow APs coverage of the NATO summit at https://apnews.com/hub/nato By ZEYNEP BILGINSOY Associated Press US Supreme Court View Photo Washington, DC The US Supreme Court has ruled that the federal Environmental Protection Agency does not have the legal authority to put in place mandates to reduce carbon emissions, unless specifically directed so by a legislative body. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion, that a decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body. The lawsuit was filed by West Virginia and supported by 16 other states. The ruling noted that the EPAs actions (mandates) would be transformational to the economy. The concept was initially put forward by the Obama Administration as part of a Clean Power Plan, and it was later repealed by the Trump Administration. The Supreme Court decision prevents the Biden Administration from bringing back a similar plan. California Governor Gavin Newsom has put out a statement in opposition to the ruling, arguing, The Supreme Court sided with the fossil fuel industry, kneecapping the federal governments basic ability to tackle climate change. Todays ruling makes it even more imperative that California and other states succeed in our efforts to combat the climate crisis. While the court has once again turned back the clock, California refuses to go backward were just getting started. Sale puts Ben & Jerrys ice cream back in West Bank, kind of View Photo JERUSALEM (AP) A new agreement in Israel will put Ben & Jerrys ice cream back on shelves in annexed east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank despite the ice cream makers protest of Israeli policies, according to Unilever, the company that owns the brand. The Vermont company, which has long backed liberal causes, said it does not agree with the decision, and its unclear if the product which would only be sold with Hebrew and Arabic labeling would have the same appeal to customers. Israel hailed the move as a victory in its ongoing campaign against the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. BDS aims to bring economic pressure to bear on Israel over its military occupation of lands the Palestinians want for a future state. Unilever, which acquired Ben & Jerrys in 2000 but distanced itself from the ice cream makers decision last year to halt sales in the territories, said Wednesday that it had sold its business interest in Israel to a local company that would sell Ben & Jerrys ice cream under its Hebrew and Arabic name throughout Israel and the West Bank. When Ben & Jerrys was sold, the companies agreed that the ice cream makers independent board would be free to pursue its social mission, including longstanding support for liberal causes, including racial justice, climate action, LGBTQ rights and campaign finance reform. But Unilever would have the final word on financial and operational decisions. Unilever said it has used the opportunity of the past year to listen to perspectives on this complex and sensitive matter and believes this is the best outcome for Ben & Jerrys in Israel. In its statement, Unilever reiterated that it does not support the BDS movement. It said it was very proud of its business in Israel, where it employs around 2,000 people and has four manufacturing plants. Unilever sold the business to Avi Zinger, the owner of Israel-based American Quality Products Ltd, who had sued Unilever and Ben & Jerrys in March in a U.S. federal court over the termination of their business relationship, saying it violated U.S. and Israeli law. Zingers legal team said the decision by Unilever was part of a settlement. He thanked Unilever for resolving the matter and for the strong and principled stand it has taken against BDS. There is no place for discrimination in the commercial sale of ice cream, Zinger said. Ben & Jerrys said that its parent company had taken the decision. We do not agree with it, the ice cream maker said on its Twitter account, adding that it would no longer profit from sales of its products in Israel. We continue to believe it is inconsistent with Ben & Jerrys values for our ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, it added. Omar Shakir, the director of Human Rights Watch for Israel and the Palestinian territories, said Unilever sought to undermine Ben & Jerrys principled decision to avoid complicity in Israels violations of Palestinian rights, which his organization says amount to apartheid, an allegation Israel adamantly rejects. It wont succeed: Ben & Jerrys wont be doing business in illegal settlements. What comes next may look and taste similar, but, without Ben & Jerrys recognized social justice values, its just a pint of ice cream. Israel hailed the decision and thanked governors and other elected officials in the United States and elsewhere for supporting its campaign against BDS. It said Unilever consulted its Foreign Ministry throughout the process. Antisemitism will not defeat us, not even when it comes to ice-cream, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said. We will fight delegitimization and the BDS campaign in every arena, whether in the public square, in the economic sphere or in the moral realm. BDS, an umbrella group supported by virtually all of Palestinian civil society, presents itself as a non-violent protest movement modeled on the boycott campaign against apartheid South Africa. It does not adopt an official position on how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be resolved, and it officially rejects antisemitism. Israel views BDS as an assault on its very legitimacy, in part because of extreme views held by some of its supporters. Israel also points to the groups support for a right of return for millions of Palestinian refugees which would spell the end of Israel as a Jewish-majority state and BDS leaders refusal to endorse a two-state solution to the conflict. Ben & Jerrys decision was not a full boycott, and appeared to be aimed at Israels settlement enterprise. Some 700,000 Jewish settlers live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, which Israel annexed and considers part of its capital. Israel captured both territories in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want them to be part of their future state. Most of the international community views the settlements as a violation of international law. The Palestinians consider them the main obstacle to peace because they absorb and divide up the land on which a future Palestinian state would be established. Every Israeli government has expanded settlements, including during the height of the peace process in the 1990s. By JOSEPH KRAUSS Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) Qatar has donated $60 million to the Lebanese army, hard hit by the Mediterranean nations unprecedented economic meltdown, Qatar News Agency reported Thursday. The announcement came shortly after Qatars Foreign Minister Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani arrived in Beirut, where he is expected to meet senior Lebanese officials. Lebanons nearly three-year crisis has put unprecedented pressure on the U.S.-backed armys operational abilities, wiping out soldiers salaries and wrecking morale. The overall deterioration puts at risk one of the few forces unifying Lebanon the military. Over the past years, the army has been receiving assistance, including food supplies, from friendly countries. Al Thani, who is also Qatars deputy prime minister, is in Lebanon to attend the Arab Foreign Ministers Consultative Meeting, the report said. Since the crisis erupted in October 2019, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 90% of its value, tens of thousands have become jobless and three quarters of the population of 6 million, including 1 million Syrian refugees, now lives in poverty. The economic crisis is rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement by the ruling class, which has been running the country since the end of the 1975-90 civil war. The report said Qatar announced in July last year that the Gulf Arab sheikhdom would support the Lebanese army with 70 tons of food every month for a year. The Special Cell of Delhi Police on Thursday flew Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair to Bengaluru to recover his laptop which he used for uploading various contents on social media sites. According to police, he has allegedly formatted his electronic devices and is refusing to hand them over to police despite being repeatedly asked. "Zubair was deliberately using religion to outrage a religious group. He was doing this to gain popularity," the police has alleged. The Special Cell has said that he was evasive and not cooperating with the officials. After recovering the laptop, the police will try to access the hard disk memory to check the edited materials allegedly posted by him. The laptop will be sent for the forensic examinations at CFSL, Rohini. "My laptop and my phone storage are my personal things. They want my laptop only to harass me, only because I have been challenging what certain people have been saying, and some of those people are in power," Zubair had said through his counsel Vrinda Grover before a Delhi court. As per the FIR, accused Zubair had used a screengrab of an old Hindi movie which showed an image of a hotel, with its board reading 'Hanuman hotel' instead of 'Honeymoon hotel'. In his tweet, Zubair had written, "BEFORE 2014: Honeymoon Hotel. After 2014: Hanuman Hotel". Iran says its ready for new talks with US on nuclear deal Iran says its ready for new talks with US on nuclear deal View Photo UNITED NATIONS (AP) Iran said Thursday it is ready for new indirect talks with the United States to overcome the last hurdles to revive its tattered 2015 nuclear deal with major powers amid a growing crisis over the countrys atomic program. Irans U.N. Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi told the U.N. Security Council that the Iranian negotiating team is ready to engage constructively again to conclude and reach agreement. The ball is in U.S. court, and if the U.S. acts realistically and shows its serious intention to implement its obligations, the agreement is not out of reach, he added. Ravanchis remarks came a day after indirect negotiations between Iran and the U.S. ended in Qatar after failing to make significant progress. Yet Ravanchi described the Qatar talks as serious and positive. He said Iran will contact the European Union coordinators for the next stage of talks. During intensive consultations with EUs foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Tehran last week Iran once again emphasized its willingness to provide creative solutions to the remaining issues in the hope of ending the deadlock, Ravanchi said. He spoke at a Security Council meeting on the U.N. resolution that endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal and its five permanent members the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France and Germany. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump pulled America out of the agreement, known as the JCPOA, raising tensions across the wider Middle East and sparking a series of attacks and incidents. President Joe Bidens administration has been working to renew the agreement, which placed curbs on Irans nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief, which Iran insists it has never received. The State Department said after this weeks talks in Doha that Iran raised issues wholly unrelated to the JCPOA and apparently is not ready to make a fundamental decision on whether it wants to revive the deal or bury it. Before Ravanchi spoke, U.S. deputy ambassador Richard Mills told the council that the United States remains committed to a mutual return to full implementation of the JCPOA. Mills said the U.S. has been prepared for months to conclude a deal based on understandings negotiated in Vienna in March, but we can only conclude a deal, and implement it, if Iran drops its additional demands that are outside the scope of the JCPOA. The Vienna talks have been on pause since March. And since the deals collapse, Iran has been running advanced centrifuges and rapidly growing stockpiles of enriched uranium to 60% purity, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels. However, Tehran continues to suffer under intense economic sanctions while the West hopes to again curtail its nuclear program. Before the council meeting, France, Britain and Germany issued a joint statement saying Irans nuclear program is now more advanced than at any point in the past and its actions are rapidly unsettling the balance of the package we had negotiated over many months. The statement urged Iran to conclude the deal, while it is still possible and warned that its actions raise further obstacles to the IAEAs ability to provide assurance of the peaceful nature of Irans nuclear program. U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo expressed hope that Iran and the United States will continue to build on the momentum of the last few days of talks in Qatar to resolve the remaining issues. While the U.N. nuclear agency hasnt been able to verify Irans stockpile of enriched uranium, it estimates that the stockpile is more than 15 times the amount allowed under the JCPOA, including uranium enriched to 20% and 60% which is extremely worrying, she said. Also, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran has started to install additional advanced centrifuges at enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordo. EU Ambassador Olof Skoog said that in view of Irans worrying nuclear trajectory and new U.S. sanctions, its vital that an agreement is concluded as soon as possible, stressing that the space for further significant changes has been exhausted. This is important for Europe, for Iran, the region but also the world as a whole that now more than ever needs more security and stability, Skoog said. Russias deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky, while critical of allegations against Iran, said Moscow wholeheartedly supports negotiations to revive the JCPOA and sees no insurmountable issues. Attempts to step up pressure on Iran through unwarranted fueling of tensions around the JCPOA could fully invalidate prospects for reviving the deal, he cautioned and urged all parties to focus on compromise. By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press Arizona attorney general: Pre-1901 abortion ban enforceable View Photo PHOENIX (AP) Arizonas Republican attorney general announced Wednesday that a pre-statehood law that bans all abortions is enforceable and that he will soon file for the removal of an injunction that has blocked it for nearly 50 years. Attorney General Mark Brnovichs office said after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 1973 decision that said abortion was a constitutional right that he was weighing whether the old law could be be enforced. His decision puts him at odds with Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. The governor had said after he signed a new law banning abortions after 15 weeks in March that it took precedence over the law in place since at least 1901, 11 years before Arizona statehood. But abortion opponents who wrote the new law and the Republican state senator who sponsored it, Nancy Barto, argued that the old law could be enforced. They pointed to a specific provision that said it did not override that law. Our office has concluded the Legislature has made its intentions clear with regards to abortion laws, Brmovich said on Twitter. ARS 13-3603 (the pre-statehood law) is back in effect and will not be repealed when the new law take effect in late September. Ducey spokesman C.J. Karamargin the governors office was reviewing Brnovichs decision and had no immediate comment. The old law says anyone who helps a pregnant woman obtain an abortion can be sentenced to two to five years in prison. The only exception is if the life of the woman is in jeopardy. Abortion clinics across Arizona had stopped providing the procedures within hours of last Fridays Supreme Court ruling. They cited concerns that the old law could be enforced. Planned Parenthood Arizona President and CEO Brittany Forteno said the group was outraged by Brnovichs decision, which came after providers and patients had been living in distress since Friday. Now, our extremist Attorney General has announced his plans to reinstate an antiquated, enjoined 1901 law that will ban all abortion in Arizona until the new law takes effect, she said. Its unconscionable and drastically out of line with the 7 in 10 Arizonans who support abortion access. Besides the total ban, a law that grants eggs and fetuses all rights is also on the books. Abortion rights advocates are asking a judge who refused to block it last year because Roe v. Wade was in effect to reconsider his decision. The judge did block that laws ban on abortions because of a fetal genetic abnormality. After the Supreme Court decision, an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 abortion rights protesters gathered at the state Capitol, where the Legislature was completing work on the yearly session. State police used tear gas to disperse the crowd after a small group of protesters started banging on the state Senates glass front and one person tried to kick in a sliding glass door. No arrests or injuries were reported Friday night, but protests continued for two days and several people were arrested. Brnovich is among several Republicans vying for their partys nomination for U.S. Senate in the Aug. 2 primary. There were just over 13,000 abortions in Arizona in 2020, according to the most recent report from the Arizona Department of Health Services. Of those, fewer than 650 were performed after 15 weeks of gestation. By BOB CHRISTIE Associated Press Lawsuits target Virginia school board sex-assault response View Photo FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) A pair of lawsuits that for years has plagued Virginias largest school system with allegations that it ignored students accusations of sex assaults are back in front of federal judges. One of the lawsuits includes allegations of horrific abuse suffered by a student at a Fairfax County middle school and was the basis for a 2014 federal investigation. The lawsuits attracted low-level attention when they were filed before the pandemic and became caught up in appeals. Now, both cases are moving forward again at a time when schools responses to alleged sex assaults are receiving more intense scrutiny, as evidenced by the national attention in neighboring Loudoun County. The middle schooler filed an amended complaint earlier this month after the school boards efforts to block her suit were rejected. Her ordeal began in October 2011, according to the lawsuit, when she was a seventh grader at Rachel Carson Middle School in Reston. A classmate started telling others that hed engaged in sexual activity with the girl, identified only by her initials in the lawsuit. As rumors spread, she started to face harassment and name-calling at her locker in hallways. Then, she alleges, a boy at the school began routinely sexually assaulting her sometimes with others joining the assault and threatening her to remain silent. The assaults occurred over a period of months, according to the lawsuit. The girl was evaluated by a nurse who confirmed scarring consistent with anal rape, but a police detective the former school resource officer at Rachel Carson dismissed the activity as consensual. School officials continued to downplay and minimize the alleged assaults as consensual, even though the girl was 12 and was pleading with administrators and counselors for protection while the supposedly consensual relationship was ongoing. She also alleges that on school grounds, a group of boys forced her into a closet and sexually assaulted her. Eventually, in 2012, the girls mother filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Educations Office of Civil Rights. After a two-year investigation, the school system entered a voluntary resolution agreement in which it admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to improve its tracking and responses to allegations of sexual assaults. The lawsuit was filed in 2019. It has been hung up until now because the school system objected to her filing under a pseudonym. The school system appealed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, which unanimously ruled in the girls favor. In a statement, Fairfax County Public Schools says it cooperated fully with the investigation and noted that police and prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges. The school system also said the girls allegations in the most recent complaint are more severe than what she first reported to school officials. We continue to believe the senior staff acted appropriately and lawfully in addressing this familys concerns 11 years ago, the school system said in the statement. The other lawsuit involves a girl at Oakton High School who said she was sexually assaulted by a boy on a bus during a school band trip. That case went to trial in 2019. A jury found in the school systems favor, ruling that the girl had been assaulted but did not give the school system proper notice of what had happened to her. On appeal, though, the 4th Circuit ruled 9-6 in favor of the girl and sent the case back to Alexandria for a new trial. The appellate ruling has turned a case that seemingly hinged at trial on a he-said-she-said question of whether the girl was assaulted into a case that could significantly alter the scope of Title IX, the 50-year old law that bars discrimination based on sex in education. The dissenting justices said school systems shouldnt be held liable for a sexual assault unless they had some reason to know beforehand that the perpetrator posed a risk. Judges who ruled in favor of the Oakton student said the school system should not be entitled to one free rape before it can be held liable for its policies and procedures. Alexandra Brodsky, a lawyer with Public Justice, which is representing the Oakton student, said shes especially concerned that a purportedly progressive school board in Fairfax County authorized pursuit of a legal strategy that, while it could help it win its case against the Oakton student, could set a dangerous precedent that weakens students protections from abuse. Fairfax County is asking the Supreme Court to gut Title IX protections for sexual assault survivors, Brodsky said. Brodsky said there is now greater public awareness of schools failure to support students who report sexual assaults and sexual harassment, particularly in Fairfax County, the nations 10th largest school system. Students at high schools across the county staged walkouts protesting administrative inaction to student claims. Two school principals have been charged criminally with failing to report alleged sex crimes to police, as required by law. Much of that scrutiny has been driven by conservative political activists. In Loudoun County, the school system faced intense backlash over its handling of alleged sex assaults, which became a national rallying point on conservative news outlets in part because the perpetrator in two of those cases was a boy wearing a skirt. Brodsky said that while transphobia drove some of the attention to the issue in Loudoun, I dont think that means that there isnt good faith, bipartisan concern about these issues. Protecting students from sexual abuse should be a nonpartisan issue. By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press Trump endorses GOP rival to Jan. 6 witness Rusty Bowers View Photo PHOENIX (AP) Donald Trump on Wednesday endorsed the Republican running against Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, who last week gave powerful testimony to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. Bowers, who is blocked by term limits from seeking another term in the Arizona House, is running for an open seat in the state Senate. Trump praised his GOP primary rival, former Sen. David Farnsworth, for supporting the lie that the 2020 election was marred by fraud. Bowers must be defeated, and highly respected David Farnsworth is the man to do it, Trump said in his endorsement. He will straighten things out and secure your Border. In his testimony last week, Bowers walked through what started with a Trump phone call on a Sunday after he returned from church. The defeated president laid out a proposal to have the state replace its electors for President Joe Biden with others favoring Trump. I said, Look, youre asking me to do something that is counter to my oath, Bowers testified. Bowers insisted on seeing Trumps evidence of voter fraud, which he said Trumps team never produced beyond vague allegations. He recalled Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani later told him, Weve got lots of theories, we just dont have the evidence. Bowers earned national acclaim with his folksy recitation of the pressure he faced from Trump and his allies, including angry and noisy protests outside his home as his adult daughter lay dying inside from an extended illness. His performance also drew scorn from Trump allies. Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward tweeted her own support for Farnsworth the next day. Bowers said in an interview with The Associated Press that day that he thinks the voters will back him because of his honesty. Frankly, we feel good that this will will bring out a large independent group who finally see somebody that they feel they can put some confidence in as Republicans Bowers said. I think thats our strongest part. The Legislatures 2022 session ended last week and early ballots will be mailed out next week for the Aug. 2 primary. Bowers said hes focused on winning the seat in the east Phoenix suburb of Mesa. He said the voters will decide whether it is him or Farnsworth they want in the state Senate. But its not David Farnsworth its Donald Trump, Bowers said. David is just a surrogate. And if they want Donald Trump in this position, they they should vote for David. Bowers did make some waves when he told the AP before he testified in Washington last week that he would vote for Trump again if the choice were between him and President Joe Biden. That comment ended up in national headlines, since it came in the same interview where he called the former presidents efforts to overturn the 2020 election unconstitutional. He said that Trumps actions have hurt the nation and created distrust in elections, which he said are fair. He has worked to clarify that remark since it was published. He told the AP that hes even more opposed to Trump after appearing before the commission investing the Jan. 6 attack on Congress. He said he was floored while hearing first hand what Trump did to other officials, including pushing Georgia Secretary of State Brad Brad Raffensperger to find the 11,000 votes Trump would need to reverse is loss in the Peach state. I want a robust, open, fair, honest primary election, and I want choices other than Donald J. Trump, Bowers said. And there are some great choices available, and I hope we can get them over a finish line and not him. By JONATHAN J. COOPER and BOB CHRISTIE Associated Press BRIDGEPORT, Calif. (AP) Improving weather helped firefighters stop the spread of a Sierra Nevada wildfire that forced evacuation of several hundred people from their homes and injured 13 firefighters and a civilian, authorities said Thursday. The Rices Fire remained at 904 acres while containment increased to 20%, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. Firefighters were aided by cooler weather and an increase in humidity, Cal Fire said. Injuries from the fire were heat-related problems, such as dehydration, fire officials said. The wildfire began with a building fire Tuesday in Nevada County near the Yuba River. It burned that structure and three nearby outbuildings, fire officials said. Some evacuation orders were lifted Thursday as firefighters made progress but Cal Fire said 250 homes and other structures in small nearby communities remained under threat. The fire burned down to the Yuba River but did not cross over into neighboring Yuba County. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Indirect negotiations between Iran and the U.S. over Tehran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers ended Wednesday in Qatar after failing to make significant progress amid a growing crisis over the Islamic Republic's atomic program, diplomats said. The Doha talks broke up after two days without any sign of a breakthrough, months after talks in Vienna among all of the deal's parties went on pause." In the time since, Iran shut off surveillance cameras of international inspectors and now has enough high-enriched uranium to potentially fashion into at least one nuclear bomb if it chose. And with Iran and the U.S. blaming each other for the talks' failure, it remains unclear when or if there will be another round of negotiations. European Union mediator Enrique Mora on Twitter described as intense the two days of talks in Doha. "Unfortunately, not yet the progress the EU team as coordinator had hoped-for," Mora wrote. We will keep working with even greater urgency to bring back on track a key deal for non-proliferation and regional stability. Mora's comments came hours after the semiofficial Tasnim news agency, believed to be close to Irans hard-line Revolutionary Guard, described the negotiations as finished hours before they ended and having no effect on breaking the deadlock in the talks. Tasnim claimed that the American position did not include a guarantee for Iran benefiting economically from the deal, quoting what it described as unnamed informed sources. Washington is seeking to revive the (deal) in order to limit Iran without economic achievement for our country, the Tasnim report claimed. A key sticking point has been American sanctions targeting the Guard. U.S. Special Representative Rob Malley spoke to the Iranians through Mora during the talks. Mora then took messages to Irans top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani. After the Tasnim report, Foreign Minister spokesman Nasser Kanaani issued a statement describing the talks as being held in a professional and serious atmosphere. He later said that Iran and Mora will be in touch regarding the continuation of the route and the next stage of the talks. However, it remains unclear if there will be another round of talks on the deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The State Department said that Iran "raised issues wholly unrelated to the JCPOA and apparently is not ready to make a fundamental decision on whether it wants to revive the deal or bury it. Indirect discussions in Doha have concluded, and while we are very grateful to the EU for its efforts, we are disappointed that Iran has, yet again, failed to respond positively to the EUs initiative and therefore that no progress was made," the State Department said. Iran and world powers agreed in 2015 to the nuclear deal, which saw Tehran drastically limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord, raising tensions across the wider Middle East and sparking a series of attacks and incidents. Talks in Vienna about reviving the deal have been on a pause since March. Since the deals collapse, Iran has been running advanced centrifuges and rapidly growing stockpiles of enriched uranium. However, Tehran continues to suffer under intense economic sanctions while the West hopes to again curtail Iran's nuclear program. The incentive for Washington and Tehran to keep the prospect of a deal alive is strong, even as the actual likelihood of achieving a compromise diminishes, said Henry Rome, an analyst with the Eurasia Group tracking the negotiations. For that reason, we would expect the sides to resume talks in Doha in the near future, although we are not optimistic about a breakthrough. ___ Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP. MADRID (AP) The Latest on the final day of the NATO summit in Madrid: ___ Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government will increase Canada's troop presence in Latvia as part of NATOs commitment to strengthen its deterrence measures along Russias border. Trudeau made the announcement at the close of the three-day NATO summit in Madrid. He did not give specific numbers. Canada leads NATOs battlegroup in Latvia of around 2,000 soldiers in total. Albania, the Czech Republic, Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain also provide troops to the group. We will be bolstering our military deployment in Latvia and work with other allies to be able to rapidly augment our current strength to our combat capable brigade when required, Trudeau said. Trudeau said his government also wants to send up to 39 armored combat support vehicles to Ukraine along with six additional drone cameras to help fight the Russian invasion. ___ US boosting military presence in Europe amid Russia threat NATO calls Russia its most significant and direct threat NATO pivots to highlight Chinese challenges for 1st time Explainer: How was Turkeys veto of Nordic NATO bid avoided? ___ OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: Turkeys president is hailing his countrys joint memorandum with Sweden and Finland over their NATO accession as a victory. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that all of Turkeys sensitivities had been included in the 10-article agreement. The deal signed Tuesday removed Turkeys objection to the Nordic countries NATO membership. But Erdogan added that if Sweden and Finland did not fulfill their promises, Turkey could still block their membership by not ratifying the deal in the Turkish parliament. Erdogan claimed after the NATO summit ended that Sweden had promised to extradite 73 terrorists to Turkey and crack down on the financing and recruitment activities of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, and its extensions. However, the Nordic countries only said they would address those requests in accordance with the European Convention on Extradition and gave no firm number in the written agreement. ___ French President Emmanuel Macron says France is ready to send more troops to Romania if needed as part of the NATO mission to bolster forces on its eastern flank following Russias invasion of Ukraine. France already has around 500 soldiers and an air defense system deployed in Romania. Macron said the assets can be reinforced at very short notice. Macron, speaking at a news conference Thursday following the NATO summit in Madrid, said Frances financial, humanitarian and military support for Ukraine will continue as long as needed. ___ U.S. President Joe Biden says his administration will soon provide another $800 million in security assistance for Ukraine to fight Russias invasion. Biden said the new aid would include advanced air defense systems, counter battery radars, and additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, that the administration has already sent to Ukraine. Biden said Thursday the package will be formally detailed by his administration in the coming days. He spoke at a news conference at the end of the NATO summit in Madrid. The latest round of aid is part of the $40 billion package of security and economic assistance passed last month by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by Biden. It is the 14th package of weapons and military equipment committed to Ukraine since the war began. With the latest tranche of assistance, the U.S. has committed about $7 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since late February when Russia invaded its neighbor. ___ President Joe Biden says Americans should expect to pay higher gas prices as long as it takes so Russia cannot, in fact, defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine. Russias invasion of its neighbor last February is blamed for driving up the oil price. This is a critical, critical position for the world, Biden said at a news conference Thursday on the final day of the NATO summit in Madrid. Biden said Russia, Russia, Russia is the reason people are spending more at the pump. Hes talking with U.S. allies about setting a cap on the price of Russian oil, limiting how much money that Moscow can make from its exports. Biden emphasized his long-term support for Ukraine as the war drags on, saying, We are going to stick with Ukraine. I dont know what it how its going to end, but it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine, he said. Although gas prices remain a political challenge for Biden, he said that he wouldnt use his scheduled trip to Saudi Arabia next month to request more oil production. ___ President Joe Biden says NATO has transformed itself by adapting to a rapidly changing security situation around the globe. Closing the military alliances summit in Madrid on Thursday, Biden described the meeting as historic. The three-day summit included the Biden administration announcing plans to permanently bolster the U.S. military presence in Europe, an agreement between Turkey, Finland and Sweden to pave the way for the accession of Nordic nations into NATO, and the alliance updating its strategic concept reflect that Chinas coercive policies are a challenge to the Western blocs interests. Biden noted the last time NATO updated its strategic concept Russia was characterized as a partner and the document didnt even mention China. The world has changed, changed a great deal since then, Biden said told a press conference. ___ Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez admits the war between Russia and Ukraine is going on longer than expected. Speaking Thursday at the end of a NATO summit hosted by Spain, Sanchez said the allies had all conveyed their wish to see peace talks. But he added: It must be Ukraine which decides its future. He added that Ukraine has the allies full backing until the last Russian soldier leaves its territory. Sanchez also expressed satisfaction that Spain had achieved its goal of getting NATO to place special attention to the threats it faces on its southern flank, particularly from terrorist and mercenary groups in the Sahel region of Africa where Russia has substantial influence. ___ Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany will launch the process of ratifying the planned NATO membership of Sweden and Finland this week and will conclude it very quickly. The two Nordic nations were formally invited on Wednesday to join the alliance. Scholz said Thursday that we stand ready to assure both countries of support already now as long as the accession process isnt formally concluded. Asked whether thats a political statement or if there are military plans for such support, Scholz replied that its simply part of the solidarity the countries owe each other. Scholz added that Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared more or less unfazed by NATOs decision to admit the two countries, so I think this is something where, despite the tricky situation, we can assume that it wont contribute to intensifying the tensions between NATO and Russia. He conceded that that outlook comes with uncertainty. ___ British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the withdrawal of Russian troops from Snake Island in the Black Sea is a sign that Ukraine will prevail in the war. Johnson said the pullout from the island where occupying Russian troops have faced relentless Ukrainian attacks shows that again Russia has had to cede ground. He said that in the end it will prove impossible for Putin to hold down a country that will not accept occupation. Johnson spoke at the end of a NATO summit in Madrid dominated by the consequences of Russias invasion of Ukraine. He said Russia must be driven off from all the territory it has occupied since it invaded in February and that at the moment there doesnt seem to be anything to talk about regarding a cease-fire. Johnson welcomed a commitment by many NATO members to increase defense spending and said the U.K. would raise its spending target from 2% of GDP to 2.5% by the end of the decade. ___ NATOs leader has closed a summit of the Western military alliance with a message to Moscow that the allies are prepared to protect every inch of NATO territory and fully back Ukraine in its battle against Russian forces. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that NATO has made sure that there is no misunderstanding in the minds of any adversary, that if they do anything like what Russia has done to Georgia in 2008 or Ukraine now, that will trigger the full response of the whole alliance. Stoltenberg said the three-day summit in Madrid featured several transformative decisions. Besides pledging more aid by NATO members for Kyiv, the allies agreed to boost their rapid response forces in Eastern Europe from 40,000 to 300,000, invited Sweden and Finland to join as new members, and approved a new list of top security priorities for the next decade, among other decisions. We face the most serious security situation in decades, but we are rising to the challenge with unity and resolve, Stoltenberg said. ___ Sweden plans to send additional military support to Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons, support weapons and demining equipment that it says Kyiv had requested. The hardware is worth approximately 500 million kronor ($49 million). It is important that the support to Ukraine from the democratic countries in Europe is continuous and long-term, Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist said, according to the Swedish news agency TT. He didnt say when and how the equipment would be delivered but said, It is in everyones interest that it is delivered as quickly as possible. Sweden was invited at a NATO summit this week to join the Western military alliance. ___ Italian Premier Mario Draghi is skipping the last day of the NATO summit in Madrid amid simmering tensions in his coalition government. Draghis office said the premier will attend a Cabinet meeting in the Italian capital on Thursday. Measures to bring relief for high consumer energy bills and government spending top the Cabinets agenda. Draghis abrupt departure came amid tension in his wide-ranging unity coalition, assembled during the COVID-19 pandemic. His predecessor, populist 5-Star Movement leader Giuseppe Conte, has been seething over issues including Draghis staunch support for more military aid for Ukraine. The 5-Stars are themselves in turmoil after Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio broke with the Movement last week, forming his own pro-Draghi political group, with an eye to national elections next year. Italian Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini is standing in for Draghi in Madrid. ___ Britain is sending 1 billion pounds ($1.21 billion) worth of military support to Ukraine, bringing its total military and economic support since the start of the war to 3.8 billion pounds. The government said the new money is for equipment including air defense systems, unmanned aerial vehicles and electronic warfare equipment. Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged allies at a NATO summit in Madrid on Thursday to dig deep in support of Ukraine. Britain is the second-largest contributor of military support to Ukraine, after the United States. It is also one of only nine of the 30 NATO members meeting the alliances target of spending 2% of GDP on defense. ___ NATO leaders are arriving at a conference center in Madrid for the third and final day of their annual summit. The 30-member alliance is due to wrap up its talks with a working session on security concerns for its southern flank, namely in unstable areas of North Africa and the Middle East. On Wednesday, NATO nations pledged their continued support for Ukraine in its efforts to resist Russias invasion. It also issued an updated Strategic Concept, the document which lays out its top security concerns for the coming decade, where it named Russia as its top threat and added China for the first time. NATO has also announced that it will boost its rapid response forces for Eastern Europe, increasing them from 40,000 to 300,000 troops ready to react to any attack by Russia against NATO territory. The alliance has also cleared the path for Sweden and Finland to become new members after overcoming Turkeys misgivings. ___ BRUSSELS China has reacted to NATO naming it as a security challenge by calling the Western military alliance a Cold War remnant that is smearing Beijings international reputation. On Wednesday, NATO issued its updated Strategic Concept, the document that lays out its top security threats for the coming decade. While Russia was named its top threat, NATO included China for the first time. It said that China strives to subvert the rules-based international order, including in the space, cyber and maritime domains and warned of its close ties with Moscow. A statement released by Chinas Mission to the European Union on Thursday responded: Since NATO positions China as a systemic challenge, we have to pay close attention and respond in a coordinated way. When it comes to acts that undermine Chinas interests, we will make firm and strong responses. China insisted that it promotes peace through its collaboration with the United Nations and its foreign development projects. It called the 30-nation alliance a source of instability. NATO claims itself to be a defensive organization that upholds the rules-based international order, but it has bypassed the U.N. Security Council and waged wars against sovereign states, creating huge casualties and leaving tens of millions displaced, it said. SLOVIANSK, Ukraine (AP) Russian forces withdrew from a strategic Black Sea island Thursday, potentially easing the threat to the vital Ukrainian port city of Odesa, but kept up their push to encircle the last stronghold of resistance in the eastern province of Luhansk. The Kremlin portrayed the pullout from Snake Island as a goodwill gesture. But Ukraines military claimed it forced the Russians to flee in two small speedboats following a barrage of Ukrainian artillery and missile strikes. The exact number of troops was not disclosed. Unable to withstand the impact of our artillery, missile and aviation units, the Russian occupiers have left Snake Island. The Odesa region is completely liberated, the Ukrainian military said in its regular social media update Thursday evening. A senior Ukrainian military official, Oleksiy Gromov, earlier said Kyiv was planning to deploy troops to Snake Island, but did not specify a timeline. At the moment, we control (the island) with the help of our weapons: long-range artillery, rocket units and aviation, Gromov said. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the withdrawal was intended to demonstrate that Moscow isn't hampering U.N. efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor for exporting agricultural products from Ukraine. Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of blockading Ukrainian ports to prevent exports of grain, contributing to a global food crisis. Russia has denied that and said Ukraine needs to remove mines from the Black Sea to allow safe navigation. Turkey has sought to broker a deal to unblock grain exports. But the talks have dragged on, with Kyiv expressing fear that Russia will exploit the removal of the mines to attack Odesa. Snake Island sits along a busy shipping lane. Russia took control of it in the opening days of the war in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that although the pullout did not guarantee the Black Sea regions safety, it would significantly limit Russian activities there. Step by step, we will push (Russia) out of our sea, our land, our sky, he said in his nightly address. It was unclear if the evacuation of Snake Island meant a change in Moscow's designs on Ukraine's biggest port, which is crucial for shipping grain to Africa, the Middle East and other parts of the world. It's also the headquarters of the country's navy. The island shrouded in myth since ancient times early on took on legendary significance for Ukraine's resistance to the Russian invasion, when Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back, "Go (expletive) yourself. Ukraine has celebrated the story with patriotic fervor, issuing a postage stamp in commemoration. The island's Ukrainian defenders were captured by the Russians but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange. After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there and its air defenses. At a NATO summit in Madrid, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson billed the Russian pullout as a sign that Ukraine will prevail in the war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin. "In the end it will prove impossible for Putin to hold down a country that will not accept occupation, Johnson said. Meanwhile, Moscow kept up its push to take control of the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. It is focused on the city of Lysychansk, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in Luhansk province. Russian troops and their separatist allies control 95% of Luhansk and about half of Donetsk, the two provinces that make up the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas. Ukraine said the Russians were shelling Lysychansk and clashing with Ukrainian defenders around an oil refinery on its edges. The Ukrainian military said Thursday evening that Russia had seen partial success that day around the plant, some 17 kilometers south-west of the city. They made no reference to claims that attacking forces had been able to cross the strategic Siverskiy Donets river and enter the city from the north. Zelenskyy said in his nightly address that the situation in the Donbas remained the toughest and extremely difficult. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian reconnaissance units trying to enter Lysychansk on Wednesday were repelled. He said the Russians were trying to block a highway used to deliver supplies, and fully encircle the city. The Russians have thrown practically all their forces to seize the city, Haidai said, but denied that Lysychansk had been encircled. Nevertheless, Haidai noted that as of Thursday evening, evacuations from the city were impossible due to heavy shelling and mined access roads. Earlier, the Ukrainian military said it was not planning a retreat from Lysychansk. A representative of Russia-backed separatists in Luhansk claimed that pro-Russian forces entered Lysychansk Thursday, after a perilous river crossing which, if true, would be a significant development. Military analysts previously told the AP that Russian forces had little chance of crossing the river without major losses due to the defenders' elevated positions. It was impossible to immediately verify the accuracy of the statements by Andrey Marochko, who heads the armed forces of the self-proclaimed, unrecognized separatist territory, to Russia's Interfax agency. There was no official confirmation from Moscow or Kyiv. In other developments: Ukraine's president hailed the launch Thursday of Ukrainian electricity exports to E.U. member state Romania, which Zelenskyy called only the first stage of a process that may see a significant part of the Russian gas consumed by Europeans replaced by Ukrainian energy. - U.S. President Joe Biden said his administration will send an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, including rockets and advanced air defense systems. In his nightly address, Zelenskyy thanked Biden for the move, saying that the equipment soon "will go to the frontline to work for Ukraine, to defend freedom. Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who held talks with Putin on Thursday a day after visiting Ukraine, said he handed the Russian leader a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He did not elaborate. A senior Russian official warned that Moscow could consider Western sanctions as a cause for war. Under certain circumstances, such hostile measures could be perceived ... even as a casus belli, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy secretary of Russias Security Council, said in a speech at a legal forum. Speaking on a visit to Turkmenistan on Thursday, Putin said his goals in Ukraine haven't changed since the start of the war. He said they were the liberation of the Donbas, the protection of these people and the creation of conditions that would guarantee the security of Russia itself. He made no mention of his original stated goals to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine. As you can see, the troops are moving and reaching the marks that were set for them for a certain stage of this combat work. Everything is going according to plan, Putin said. Funerals were scheduled Thursday for some of the 18 people confirmed killed in a Russian airstrike Monday on a busy shopping mall in the central city of Kremenchuk. Crews searched the rubble for 20 still missing. Sweden announced plans to send more military aid to Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons and mine-clearing equipment. Sweden was invited this week to join NATO, a process that could take months. Iranian state media said Thursday Iran has proposed expanding financial exchanges with Russia and cooperating in the energy field. Both countries are under heavy Western sanctions. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Putin met on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine. Nick Dale / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEm On Thursday, a South Carolina grand jury returned an indictment alleging charges related to money laundering and wildlife trafficking against five people, including Doc Antle, who was featured in the series "Tiger King," and Jason Clay of Franklin, Texas, a U.S. Department of Justice press release states. In the release, Clay is listed as the owner and operator of the Franklin Drive Thru Safari, which is described as a "for-profit corporation that housed captive exotic species and sold tours and safari experiences to guests." A Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Thursday sent Riaz Akhtari and Ghaus Mohammed, the two prime accused who killed a tailor Kanhaiya Lal, to 14 days judicial custody. Both the accused were produced before the special court amid tight security. The court after hearing the contention sent them to judicial custody. The sources in the agency said that they received crucial input that both can be attacked by different organisations and hence they decided to produce them before Udaipur court. "There are many more involved in the incident. It was a larger conspiracy which was executed in a well planned manner. The people who are involved in this are yet to be caught. And we don't want any untoward incident, as we have input that accused might be attacked, hence we have postponed the plan to take them to Delhi," said the source. The source said that both had been keeping an eye on the accused for a long time. Ghaus, in 2014 went to Karachi where he came in contact with the Dawat-e-Islami organization. Since then he was in touch with them. Both the accused after hacking Kanhaiya Lal ' title=' Kanhaiya Lal '>Kanhaiya Lal to death recorded the video saying they were taking revenge on insult to Islam. Later they posted the video on social media. In the viral video, one of the two accused could be heard saying, "I will make the video viral when I accomplish my goal to teach a lesson to the accused who has shown disrespect to our God." The incident sent panic waves across the country and Rajasthan Government immediately shut down internet service for a day to avoid untoward incident. Courtesy of Orion Real Estate Partners Los Angeles-based Orion Real Estate Partners plans to fully revamp the interior and exterior of the Remington Ranch apartments on the Northside near the airport. Orion says it purchased the 180-unit, 7.4-acre apartment complex at 12511 Jones Maltsberger Road this month, according to a news release. The company will renovate the clubhouse, business lounge, coffee bar, fitness center, and pool with a free-standing cabana. The $2.6 million renovations, the company says, will "drive premium rents" while remaining affordable. MySA reached out to Orion to see it the company anticipates a rent increase. The company didn't disclose who previously owned the apartments, but recent data from the Bexar County Appraisal District lists another California firm, Kahn-Remington LP, as the owner. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW YORK (AP) Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani who was a figure in former President Donald Trump's first impeachment investigation, was sentenced Wednesday to a year and eight months in prison for fraud and campaign finance crimes by a judge who said fraud had become a way of life for Parnas. Parnas, 50, had sought leniency on grounds that hed cooperated with the Congressional probe of Trump and his efforts to get Ukrainian leaders to investigate President Joe Bidens son. U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken didn't give Parnas credit for that assistance, which came only after the Soviet-born businessman was facing criminal charges. But the judge still imposed a sentence lighter than the six years sought by prosecutors. The judge also ordered Parnas to pay $2.3 million in restitution. The various schemes Parnas deployed to get money that prosecutors claim say fueled a lavish lifestyle led Oetken to say that for Parnas, fraud was essentially a way of life, a way of doing business. Addressing the court before the sentence was announced, Parnas sobbed and apologized to those who had lost money investing in his business ventures. A lot that you heard is true, your honor. I have not been a good person my whole life. Ive made mistakes. And I admit it, Parnas said. I want to apologize to all the victims that I hurt. These are all people who are my friends, all people who trusted me, and I lied to them to further my personal agenda. The criminal case against Parnas was not directly related to his work acting as a fixer for Giuliani as the former New York City mayor lobbied Ukrainian officials to launch an investigation of Bidens son, Hunter. Instead, it zeroed in on donations Parnas had illegally made to a number of U.S. politicians using the riches of a wealthy Russian to jump-start a legal recreational-marijuana business. In March, Parnas also pleaded guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy, admitting that he and a partner had given investors false information about a Florida-based business, Fraud Guarantee, that promised it could protect people against fraud. That new company hired Giuliani as a consultant at a time when some Ukrainian figures were trying to curry favor with the Trump administration, agreeing to pay him $500,000. Charles Gucciardo, a Long Island attorney who put up the cash to pay Giuliani, told the judge during the sentencing hearing that he hoped the former Manhattan federal prosecutor would return the money, since Fraud Guarantee turned out to be a fraud. My bet is hes going to give me that money back, he said, adding that he didn't blame Giuliani, who has not been charged with any crimes in connection with the scheme. Outside of court, Parnas said that he didn't believe Giuliani would return the money. I dont think hell pay him back because, as you can see, hes gone down the path of no return. Hes just an evil man, unfortunately, and somebody that Im very, very sad that I had to meet, he said. Giuliani, who was working at the time as a personal lawyer for Trump, has said he knew nothing about the crimes of Parnas and others. Federal prosecutors are investigating whether Giuliani's interactions with Ukrainian figures violated a federal law that governs lobbying on behalf of foreign countries or entities. Parnas and a business associate, Igor Fruman, attracted attention from reporters after arranging big donations to Republican politicians, including a $325,000 donation to a political action committee supporting Trump. An October conviction also supported a finding that he made illegal donations in 2018 to promote a new energy company. During Parnas' sentencing hearing, the judge also heard from others who had lost money with him in failed business deals. Dianne Pues said the businessman destroyed my life when he failed to repay money she and her husband had loaned him to produce a movie called Anatomy of an Assassin. Parnas promised he would become a new person, sometimes turning around in court to looked for victims as he expressed contrition. Id like to apologize to Mr. Gucciardo. Even though I never spent a dollar of his money. I lied to him and used our friendship. Charles, I am sorry, he said. WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed a former state trooper to sue Texas over his claim that he was forced out of his job when he returned from Army service in Iraq. The justices ruled for Army veteran Le Roy Torres under a federal law that was enacted in 1994 in the wake of the Persian Gulf war to strengthen job protections for returning service members. By a 5-4 vote, the high court rejected Texas' claim that it is shielded from such lawsuits. Text, history, and precedent show that the States, in coming together to form a Union, agreed to sacrifice their sovereign immunity for the good of the common defense, Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the court. Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by three other conservative justices, dissented, arguing that when the States ratified the Constitution, they did not implicitly consent to private damages actions filed in their own courtswhether authorized by Congress war powers or any other Article I power. Article I refers to the part of the Constitution that spells out Congress' power. Torres says he suffered lung damage from exposure to open burn pits on his base in Iraq. He spent a year in Iraq and was discharged as a captain after nearly 19 years in the U.S. Army Reserve. Separately, Congress is nearing final passage of a sweeping expansion of health care and disability benefits for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who were exposed to the open pits that were set ablaze with jet fuel to dispose of tires, batteries, medical waste and other materials. The state and Torres dispute what happened when he returned to Texas, unable to resume his job as a state trooper because of the damage to his lungs. He eventually resigned and later filed his lawsuit. A state appellate court dismissed it, and the justices stepped in. Congress first allowed returning service members to sue states to keep their jobs in 1974, recognizing discrimination because of opposition to the Vietnam War. In March, the court allowed the Navy to take account of sailors' vaccination status in deciding on deployments, narrowing a lower court order. Three justices, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Thomas, dissented from the high court's order. Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined her colleagues in Wednesday's dissent. Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images The U.S. Attorney's Office released the names of all four suspects who have been charged in the deaths of the 53 immigrants that were found in the back of a semi-truck and suffocated from the heat in San Antonio on Monday, June 27. The suspects charges range from smuggling that resulted in death to possession of weapons by a person who has entered the country illegally, according to a news release sent out Wednesday night, June 29. Douglas Sacha/Getty Images An off-duty police officer was killed after being struck by a drunk driver in Austin early Wednesday morning. Off-duty Poteet police officer Jeffrey Richardson, 35, was in the 11700 block of N Mopac Expressway service road northbound when he was hit by a vehicle at 2:12 a.m. on June 29, according to a Austin Police Department release. The caller informed dispatch that Richardson was an off-duty Poteet police officer. Richardson was transported to St. David's Round Rock Medical Center where we eventually died from his injuries, according to the release. Bexar County Sheriff's Office Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said deputies are looking for two people in connected to a shooting that killed one man in Meadowood Acres on the Southwest Side off Highway 90 and Montgomery Road on Wednesday afternoon, June 29. Salazar said during a press conference that deputies found a man dead off Calle Fincias in Meadowood around 2 p.m. when responding to a call for shots fired. Salazar said the man was shot at least once by the suspects and then witnesses saw his vehicle roll into a wooded area where the suspects reportedly fired a dozen more shots. Olena Ruban/Getty Images A San Antonio man received 10 years of jail time after pleading guilty to a felony charge connected to sexual conduct with a horse, according to the city's animal care services department. Jean Marie Bugoma, 25, was given the sentence during proceedings in the 379th District Court on Wednesday, June 29, according to a news release from ACS. He was initially charged with multiple counts of burglary and bestiality in connection to a January 2021 case at an equine boarding facility. Ken Branca A San Antonio juvenile was fatally shot several times outside a community center park on Wednesday, June 29, according to the San Antonio Police Department. The shooting occurred just after 9 p.m. in the 200 block of Rex Street, not far from the San Antonio Zoo and Olmos Park. When officers arrived, the male juvenile was pronounced dead on arrival. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) took up the blocking of official accounts of Pakistani missions by India with Twitter management and demanded their restoration. Also, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned India for blocking the accounts of Pakistani missions within its boundaries, Dawn reported. The PTA termed it a "biased suppression of information" and called on the management of Twitter to reconsider their decision and restore official Pakistani accounts for viewing in India. A senior PTA official said Twitter had been asked to provide details related to the blocking of the official accounts within India territory. "The interaction with Twitter was based on basic rights related to flow of information," the official said, adding: "We need to know the justifications for the blocking, at least tell us the violations committed by these accounts so that we may not repeat those mistakes." Sources in the government said India utilised the emergency clauses in their social media rules to block the official Twitter accounts of Pakistani high commissions. Pakistan had earlier asked the Twitter management about standards of the platform in different countries, the sources added. The Foreign Office (FO), meanwhile, posted a tweet expressing concern that diversified thoughts were being discouraged systematically in India. The FO tweeted that diminishing space for plurality of voices and access to information in India was extremely alarming, Dawn reported. It mentioned that social media platforms must abide by applicable international norms. "We are urging @Twitter to restore immediate access to our accounts and ensure adherence to democratic freedoms of speech and expression. "Deeply concerning that #India has blocked flow of information to Indian @Twitter by withholding access to following official accounts @PakinIran, @PakinTurkey, @PakinEgypt, @PakistanUN_NY, these are in addition to many others for which access has been blocked," the Office added. Megan Rodriguez The San Antonio Police Department has arrested a man in connection with the fatal stabbing of a former News 4 employee, Christopher Olivarez. Sebastian Hernandez, 20, was arrested without incident at his central San Antonio home on Wednesday, June 29. Olivarez, 40, was found dead with trauma to his body on September 25, 2021 at his home in the 300 block of Kirk Place. He was an account executive at News 4 from 2012 to 2016. SAPD said a push from Crime Stoppers and the media helped as a person came forward and provided a name of a potential suspect. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last week, making access to abortions in Texas even harder for women in the Lone Star State. Here's a rundown of what happened and how you can access abortions legally as a Texas woman. Yes, for now at some clinics. With that 49-year-old case now overturned, a trigger law will go into effect in Texas in the coming weeks that bans all abortions from the moment of fertilization, except in rare cases to save the life of a pregnant patient or prevent "substantial impairment of major bodily function." However, abortions up to about six weeks in pregnancy can resume at some clinics in Texas for now after a Harris County District Court judge granted a temporary restraining order that blocks an abortion ban on Tuesday, June 28. Whole Womans Health, which operates abortion clinics in McAllen, McKinney, Fort Worth, and Austin, said it would resume providing abortions as a result of this ruling. Besides the Whole Woman's Health clinics, the others that will resume operations are Alamo Women's Reproductive Services in San Antonio, Brookside Women's Medical Center and Austin Women's Health Center in Austin, Houston Womens Clinic and Houston Womens Reproductive Services in Houston, and Southwestern Womens Surgery Center in Dallas. A hearing has been set for July 12 to decide on a more permanent restraining order. Can you get an abortion out of state legally? Yes. Abortion expert Maria Antonietta, director for Ipas Central America and Mexico, told MySA she has worked with patients who have already traveled to other states, like New Mexico, to get their abortions. Ipas is an international, non-governmental organization that increases access to safe abortions and contraception. New Mexico allows late-term abortions, does not require teenagers to get parental approval, and does not have a waiting period. But the state has only three clinics providing surgical abortions, all in Albuquerque, according to a report by the Texas Tribune. Three other clinics offer abortion medication, two in the southern part of the state, and some telemedicine companies offer services to people with a New Mexico mailing address. If you're looking for resources outside of Texas, 26 clinics provide abortions in states closest to Texas, mainly in Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico. However, traveling out of the state or country to obtain abortion services will simply be beyond the reach of many Texans, especially people of color, Antonietta said. "The Texas law is very clear that it's a law not to protect life but to persecute women and the people who support them," Antonietta said. "It's to force people to do something illegal or put themselves in danger. When that law was passed, it showed that these are the true colors of the anti-choice movement." Can you mail-in pills in Texas? No. The Texas Senate Bill 4 law has banned medication abortion in Texas starting at seven weeks of pregnancy. SB4 is a state felony punishable by a $10,000 fine and up to two years in prison. That also applies to those who would ship medication abortion into Texas. However, Antonietta said it isn't illegal to have the pill mailed somewhere else where medication abortion is legal. According to Whole Woman's Health, you can have the pill shipped discreetly to U.S. post office via general delivery in eligible states. The total cost of care, including the medication, is $400. Whole Woman's Health is unable to accept insurance or Medicaid for medication abortion care by mail at this time. Financial assistance may be available to those who qualify. If you need more information, visit its website at wholewomanshealth.com. Or, call 877-835-8631 to check your eligibility. My Nashville Post role has evolved since 2000 when I joined the now-defunct The City Paper. TCP became a Post sister publication in 2008 (when I began doing some Post work) and folded in 2013. I have been managing editor of the Post since late 2011. Follow William Williams Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Ukraine and Russia carried out their largest prisoner exchange since the beginning of the ongoing war on February 24, the Main Intelligence Directorate of Kiev's Defence Ministry said in a statement. The agency said 144 Ukrainians aged 19 and 65 years returned home as a result of the exchange on Wednesday, reports Xinhua news agency. According to the statement, under the swap, Russia released 59 soldiers of the National Guard of Ukraine, including 43 from the Azov regiment which fought for Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant. Most of the released Ukrainians have severe injuries, it said. Ukraine and Russia conducted their first prisoner exchange on March 24. The agency noted that most of the released Ukrainians have serious injuries: gunshot and shrapnel wounds, explosives-related injuries, burns, fractures, and amputated limbs. All of them are receiving proper emergency medical and psychological care, it added. (Natural News) In the biggest mass casualty event in the history of San Antonio, more than 50 migrants have died after being left inside a tractor-trailer in sweltering heat. According to the Commissioner of Precinct 1, Rebeca Clay-Flores, the death toll stands at 51, which includes 39 men and 12 women. The death toll has climbed since 46 migrants were initially found dead at the scene on Monday as five of the victims brought to hospitals were later pronounced dead. Several other individuals are still hospitalized with heat-related illnesses. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus believes the people were part of an attempt to smuggle migrants across the border, but he noted that all of the victims home countries are not currently known. However, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard, tweeted that the deaths included 22 people from Mexico along with two from Honduras and seven from Guatemala. Although the border city the individuals traveled from is unknown, the truck is believed to have gone through the Laredo checkpoint. The trailer was discovered on Monday evening when a nearby worker heard cries for help coming from inside of it on Quintana Road. The doors were reportedly partway open, and the worker called for help after seeing dead people inside of the trailer. The chief of the San Antonio Fire Department, Charles Hood, said that the 46 adults who were discovered dead in the trailer and the surrounding area appeared to have suffered from heat stroke. The Bexar County Medical Examiners office is currently investigating the deaths and has requested help from other counties. Hood added that the refrigerated tractor-trailer did not have any working air conditioning or water available. However, it was not clear how long the individuals had been inside the trailer. Those who survived were too weak and hot to let themselves out of the vehicle. According to first responders, 16 people were sent to area hospitals, including four pediatric patients and 12 adults, all of whom were conscious at the time of transport but suffering from heat exhaustion. Three people are in custody McManus told the media that three people had been detained following the discovery of the trailer but their connection to the incident is not entirely clear yet. One person who was detained at the scene was discovered in a field near the trailer and may have been trying to pass themselves off as a survivor, while two other individuals were taken into custody from a home in the southern part of Bexar County with help from a license plate number provided by a witness taken from a truck that fled the scene. These individuals are currently in federal custody and may be facing charges of conspiracy to transport migrants resulting in death and transporting migrants resulting in death. Although the tractor-trailer had registration numbers from the Texas Department of Transportation, the numbers could have been fraudulent. Authorities are currently investigating. The incident is being called the biggest mass casualty event in San Antonio, but it is not the first time that groups of migrants have been discovered dead in the city. In July 2017, eight migrants were discovered dead not far from Mondays incident after being trapped inside a truck parked at a Walmart; two more people in the truck later died at the hospital. The driver in that incident, James Matthew Bradley Jr., was handed a sentence of life in prison after pleading guilty to one count of transporting aliens resulting in death and one count of conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death. In May 2003, a group of 19 migrants were found dead inside of an unrefrigerated dairy truck that was left in Victoria with temperatures above 170 degrees inside. Driver Tyrone Williams was sentenced to 34 years in prison for his role in the incident without the possibility of parole. In a tweet, Texas governor Greg Abbott blamed the incident on the President, writing: These deaths are on Biden. They are a result of his deadly open border policies. Sources for this article include: KSAT.com KSAT.com (Natural News) A court based in the British Virgin Islands has ordered the liquidation of embattled cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, Sky News reports. (Article by Alex Dovbnya republished from U.Today) The companys insolvency is being handled by global advisory firm Teneo. Rumors about 3ACs woes started swirling in early June. The once-dominant hedge fund has been hit extremely hard by the collapse of Terra and the ensuing market contagion. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that the troubled hedge fund was seeking a bailout agreement after it started selling off its assets. The Singapore-based firm was launched back in 2012 by former classmates Su Zhu and Kyle Davies. The liquidation of one of the most influential cryptocurrency firms could cause more pain for the cryptocurrency sector, which is struggling to recover after a string of bad news. Bitcoin is currently trading slightly above the $20,000 level. Read more at: U.Today (Natural News) German lawyer Reiner Fullmich and at least 50 of his colleagues have concluded that the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines are designed to experiment on the human race. They arrived at that conclusion after hearing the statements of witnesses in the German Corona Investigative Committee particularly that of former Pfizer executive Dr. Mike Yeadon. According to Yeadon, the vaccine manufacturers are still trying to find out what dosage an unknown toxin is needed to kill people. He added that the mortality rate linked to the vaccines is traceable based on the lot numbers of the different batches, some appear to be more lethal than others. The lawyers said that when taking a look at the available evidence, the main goal of the injections seems to be global depopulation. Fullmich also said the lawyers, who are preparing an international lawsuit against Pfizer, were no longer in doubt as poisoning and mass murder through the vaccines are intentionally being perpetrated on people. Journalist Ulf Bittner and podcaster Sverige Granskas also stated in their interviews that in Sweden, injuries and death related to known lot numbers are seen to be similar in the different healthcare regions. Bittner is in contact with a vaccine coordinator who was able to provide documents to keep track of the people injured or dead related to the vaccine batches. (Related: COVID vaccines killing more children than the virus, but the government does not care.) Some lots are extremely dangerous and lethal It appears that the barcodes at the bottom of the vaccine doses indicate which ones are placebo the harmless dose being injected to politicians and prominent individuals. However, Fullmich and his team believe that all of the lots are dangerous. The much more important piece of information that we got from Mike Yeadon when we spoke with him in our Corona committee session is that there are certain lots that are extremely dangerous and deadly, Fullmich explained. Earlier this year, Dr. Jane Ruby said these pharmaceutical companies not only created lethal batches they also had codes that allowed them to check which lots are toxic and which ones are causing disabilities, or indicate which disabilities are likely to appear. Ruby said that for Moderna, it is batch or lot code 011 l 20., which represents the temporal batch order, the concentration that determines the toxicity and the number of adverse reactions. With the number 20 being qualitative, Ruby said an ingredient is considered toxic in these batch lots. What it boils down to is that this is about population reduction, Fullmich said. He explained that if these companies are going to use deadly doses right from the start, they are going to scare everyone off. Thats why theyre experimenting with the right dose that could kill off five to 20 percent of the population. Legally, it means that there is no negligence and that they are not making mistakes. This is compelling evidence of premeditated mass murder. Punitive damages come into play whenever youre dealing with a bad actor who is intentionally doing something harmful, and that is what were dealing with here, he added. (Related: DEPOPULATION: Thanks in part to COVID jabs, most US counties lost population in 2021.) The makers of the vaccines, the politicians who pushed for them, the mainstream media that advertised them and the doctors who administered the shots are all in it, and Fullmich has promised to bring them to justice. Visit Vaccines.news for more updates about the toxicity of the COVID-19 injections. Watch the video below to know more about Reiner Fullmichs war against Big Pharma. This video is from the Rick Langley channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: The Ben Armstrong Show: Vaccines more dangerous than COVID Brighteon.com. Dr. Jane Ruby: Big Pharma companies intentionally deploying toxic batches of COVID-19 vaccine Brighteon.TV. COVID vaccine coordinator who aggressively pushed mRNA shots dies unexpectedly was it the jab? Covid vaccine victims could seek monetary compensation under new bill proposed by Senate Republicans. Sources include: Brighteon.com 1 LewRockwell.com Brighteon.com 2 (Natural News) Five counties in Texas were designated as natural disaster areas as drought ravaged the Lone Star State. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, five counties Austin, Colorado, Harris, Lavaca and Fort Bend were designated as natural disaster areas. The counties suffered from severe to exceptional drought, it added. The Fort Boone Herald said Fort Bend County only received less than half an inch of rain in June, down from the usual five inches of rain at this time of year. Boone Holladay, agricultural agent at the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, said rainfall will be well below normal with temperatures way above normal. (Related: California farmers shaking almonds off trees to save drought-stricken orchards.) Fort Bend County received 9.5 inches of rain in June 2021 yielding plenty of corn, sorghum and cotton harvests. But the lack of rain this year impacted the quality of sorghum, Holladay remarked. John Few, another agricultural agent and Holladays colleague at Texas AgriLife, remarked that the corn harvest for this year will not be of the highest quality. Usually, youll have a full ear of corn 98 percent of the time. If you open up an ear of corn now, its maybe three-quarters full but the tip is not making kernels, he told the Herald. Both Holladay and Few agreed that with the lower yield and quality of crops harvested, farmers will most definitely request insurance assistance from the federal government. USDA extends emergency credit to help tide farmers over Given the situation at the Texas counties, the U.S. Department of Agricultures (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) extended the much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters through emergency loans. The proceeds of these loans can then be used to meet recovery needs, such as the replacement of essential items like equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation or refinancing of certain debts. The FSA will review the loans based on the extent of the losses, available security and repayment ability. Farmers living in the five counties deemed as natural disaster areas because of the drought are eligible to apply for the emergency credit. Other contiguous counties are also eligible to apply including the Brazoria, Chambers, DeWitt, Fayette, Galveston, Gonzales, Harris, Jackson, Liberty, Montgomery, Victoria, Waller, Washington and Wharton counties. Few pointed out that aside from the FSA emergency loans, market forces could also be of assistance to farmers especially those planting corn. The high price for corn production would lead to prices increasing, which could lead to some profit, said the agriculture agent. Few noted that corn prices are expected to reach as high as $6 per bushel. Holladay, meanwhile, said that Fort Bend County being declared a drought disaster zone meant farmers will have less hassle seeking insurance assistance on their crops. Watch the video below for more information about the effects of drought on crops and livestock. This video is from the Grand Solar Minimum Solutions channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: AGFax.com FBHerald.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) As churches and pregnancy centers in California are on high alert, and a Christian pregnancy center in Colorado was vandalized and burned, with rioting in Arizona, among other acts of violent raging on the part of pro-abortion supporters after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade and sent the issue of abortion back to the states, the MSM, democrat politicians, and liberals online and offline continue to screech about reproductive health. (Article by Susan Duclos republished from AllNewsPipeline.com) Before getting to the points I want to make in this article, people need to see how crazed and unhinged people are getting because there is no longer federal permission to unlimited abortions across America. Now the states decide, and we the people in those states have the ultimate say-so by electing their officials. That is just a small sample of the insanity being seen across the nation. The people above and other abortion supporters are obsessed with using abortion as birth control, rather than taking responsibility for their own actions and sexual decisions. ABORTION IS NOT REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH Every adult knows what abortion is: The killing of an unborn child while still in the womb. That is a fact and the terminology something that the MSM, democrats and liberal all across the nation absolutely refuse to accurately describe. Instead, they use the term reproductive health, or reproductive rights. . Sounds less offensive, which is why they do it, yet the neither term is accurate in any way, shape or form. To reproduce is to create, not kill. Not one state that has what is called trigger laws, which makes abortion automatically illegal in that state, is taking away any reproductive rights. The Guttmacher Institute, a research group, says that 13 states have trigger laws that bar most abortions that will take effect immediately after the ruling Friday. They are Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. Five more states had respective bans on abortion from the time before the Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973. They include Alabama, Arizona, Michigan, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, and South Carolina, according to the Institute, have laws that ban abortions after the 6-week mark. Those laws will be revisited after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Meanwhile, the legislatures of Florida, Indiana, Montana, and Nebraska appear likely to ban abortion based on previous and current efforts, the group says. Women in each of those states have the right to produce children or to decide not to, by not getting pregnant in the first place. They still have the unhindered right to get pregnant and have children, with nothing restricting said right. Make no mistake, when you see the media write about reproductive health or rights, what they mean is they want the right to kill an unborn baby. They wont say that though because that terminology would make people think twice about supporting abortion. The MSM by and large are performing abortion activism by inaccurately describing abortion as a health issue, or reproductive rights issue. They attempt to conflate miscarriage, which is not the deliberate killing of a baby, and is a health issue, with abortion. That is as intellectually dishonest as it gets. Read more at: AllNewsPipeline.com (Natural News) Sri Lankan authorities abruptly restricted fuel supplies on Monday, June 27, just days after Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told the parliament that the countrys debt-laden economy has completely collapsed. Spokesman Bandula Gunawardena said in a televised statement that the cabinet of ministers decided to limit the distribution of fuel to essential services until July 10 and that inter-provincial public transport would likely come to a halt. Port, health services, food transport will be provided petrol and diesel while all other sectors are requested to stay at home and provide services online at this difficult time, Gunawardena said. Wickremesinghe said the island nation is unable to purchase fuel as shortages of essentials and electricity worsen. Schools in urban areas have already shut and authorities advised their 22 million residents to work from home. Nathan Piper, head of oil and gas research at finance company Investec, told BBC that Sri Lanka is the first country to take the drastic step of halting sales of fuel to ordinary people since the 1970s oil crisis when fuel was rationed in the United States and Europe and speed limits were introduced to reduce demand. Many of the islands residents dont know how they will cope without fuel. There have been long queues at filling stations across Sri Lanka for months. Colombo taxi driver Chinthaka Kumara said the ban would create more problems for the people. Im a daily wage earner. Ive been in this queue for three days and I dont know when we will get petrol, he told BBC. Private employee S Wijetunga said he was in a queue for two days. I got a token number 11 but I dont know when I will get fuel, he said. I need to go to the office now, so I have no option but to leave my vehicle here and go in a three-wheeler. Kenat, a motorized rickshaw driver, said: Our family used to have three meals a day. Now we eat only twice a day. If this continues, it will come down to one meal. Sri Lankan economy down 1.6 percent year-on-year in Q1 Analysts dont see any hopes in the coming months when it comes to Sri Lankas economy. They are even predicting that the worst is yet to come considering the state of security and order at the moment. (Related: Glimpse of the future: Protests, violence put a spotlight on Sri Lankas collapsing economy.) The state-run Census and Statistics Department data shows that the country went down 1.6 percent in the years first quarter versus the same period last year and is expected to contract even more in the second quarter. The countrys economy had expanded by 4.3 percent in the first quarter last year and saw full-year growth clock in at 3.5 percent throughout 2021. On Monday, Sri Lankas largest electric company Ceylon Electricity Board lost 65 billion rupees ($185 million) in the first quarter and asked for a shocking 835 percent price increase for the heavily-subsided smallest power consumers, the countrys Public Utilities Commission said. Moreover, they recently hiked fuel prices by 12 percent and are also looking to raise power tariffs by 57 percent. Meanwhile, people are starving and hungry and have been rioting over the cost of food, fuel and electricity. According to reports, a motorist was shot dead by police in April at the central town of Rambukkana when a clash erupted over the distribution of rationed petrol and diesel. The clashes involving motorists have erupted at three locations, according to the police, and at least six constables were wounded in one clash while seven motorists were arrested. The United Nations (UN) said that four out of five people in Sri Lanka have started skipping meals as they cannot afford to eat. The UN further warned of a looming dire humanitarian crisis with millions in need of aid. Visit Collapse.news for more news related to Sri Lankas current economic situation. Watch the below video titled about Sri Lankas economic collapse. This video is from the AktiivinenKansalainen channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Sri Lanka is collapsing: People are starving, no gas, no electricity and now the army starts shooting at them. Nuclear-armed Pakistan now on the verge of economic collapse, following in path of Sri Lanka. Food riots: Violent protests erupt in Sri Lanka and Iran as prices of everyday goods soar. On the heels of Russias dollar bond default, Sri Lanka defaults on its dollar debt who is next to destabilize just so its people can eat? Sources include: TheGuardian.com FinancialPost.com BBC.com ChannelNewsAsia.com France24.com SHTFplan.com StangeSounds.org Brighteon.com (Natural News) Ukrainian farmers are destroying their own harvest equipment to prevent the Russian army from confiscating them and their unharvested crops. Dan Basse, president of agricultural industry research firm AgResource Company, noted that many of his clients in Ukraine have been actually damaging their combines so the Russians cant combine the wheat. Its a war zone. Its messy. Its a shame, and our hearts bleed for the Ukrainians who are being harmed, said Basse. (Related: Ukraine reports two-thirds decrease in grain exports while global wheat prices skyrocket.) Sergey Porada, 51, a farmer in the village of Fedorivka in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast (region), broke his combine harvester deliberately. Soon afterward, Russian soldiers occupying the region kept trying to get in touch with him to repair the machinery in time for the harvest. I broke it for a reason, he said, laughing, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. What equipment and farmland Russia cant seize, it reportedly targets for bombing campaigns, rendering what few growing crops and what little usable equipment left on farms destroyed. Basse claimed that Russia has bombed refineries, seaports and other critical parts of Ukraines infrastructure. He even estimated that between three to four of the countrys top seven export terminals have sustained such major damage that months of work are necessary to repair them. This means that even if farmers have kept their equipment intact and if their farmlands havent been targeted by Russian artillery, many are still unable to access the diesel they need for their equipment to harvest the crops. If you were to place a diesel order today in the wheat areas, which is really central and western Ukraine, you would find that its probably four to six weeks to get delivery on it, said Basse. The Kyiv School of Economics has also estimated that the invasion has cost Ukraines massive agricultural sector over $4.3 billion in destroyed equipment, damaged land and unharvested crops. Ukraine unable to properly restart food production due to ongoing conflict The threat of being caught in the middle of a battle or being targeted by artillery is preventing Ukraines already crippled agricultural sector from being able to keep up with what little activity it can scrounge up. Ukrainians have accused Russia of deliberately targeting the countrys food production and export infrastructure to fully cripple the countrys ability to recover economically. Agriculture is one of the few business sectors that is working, said farmer Volodymyr Onyschuk, whose nearly 5,000-acre wheat and sunflower field in the southern Mykolaiv Oblast was peppered by Russian artillery. Of course, they want to destroy it. They want to end this stream of income into the country. Even if Onyschuk was able to restart planting, the crops he can grow will be vulnerable to fire caused by further artillery strikes, which could be hell for farmers when the harvest season begins. All hes hoping for now is to survive until the next harvest, by which time the war will hopefully be over. In farmland taken over by Russian troops, occupying forces are trying to get farmers to restart food production under the condition that they give a substantial portion of the harvest over to Russian forces. Valery Stoyanov, 50, a farmer near the southern city of Melitopol, had his land taken over by Russian forces. He and his neighbors were allowed to stay on their land, but a large proportion of their crops had to be turned over to the Russians. For Russian-occupied farmland with absent owners, Russians and Ukrainian sympathizers are handling food production on their own. Petro Melnyk, who owns farmland all over Ukraine, including in the occupied part of eastern Ukraines breakaway Luhansk Oblast, his only clue of what activity is currently going on in the area is from satellite images that show crops were planted. Ukraine isnt the only country with food production being crippled. Watch this episode of The Ben Armstrong Show as host Ben Armstrong talks about how over 90 food plants in the United States were attacked in the past six months. This video is from the channel The New American on Brighteon.com. More related articles: Russia-Ukraine war could contribute to more severe food shortages, mass starvation for years to come, warns UN. Russia being blamed for locking up Ukrainian ports so grain cannot be shipped, but its actually Kyivs fault for dropping mines in the waters. Countries racing to take over global agriculture market following disappearance of Ukrainian and Russian food exports. The longer the Ukraine conflict drags on, the higher the likelihood it will trigger a GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS. Ukraine farmers unable to work on their fields due to war, increasing fears of global food shortages. Sources include: AgWeb.com WSJ.com Reuters.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) Health officials in the U.K. this month identified the countrys first polio outbreak in 40 years, and believe the outbreak was caused by a strain of polio found in the oral polio vaccine. (Article by Megan Redshaw republished from ChildrenHealthDefense.org) Health officials in Britain warned parents on June 22 to ensure their children have been vaccinated against polio after multiple closely related versions of the virus that cause the disease were found in sewage water at the London Beckton Sewage Treatment Works the largest water treatment plant in the U.K. The Global Polio Laboratory Network has confirmed the isolation of type 2 vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV2) from environmental samples in London, United Kingdom, which were detected as part of ongoing disease surveillance, the World Health Organization (WHO) states on its website. The U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said it believes the virus was vaccine-derived, meaning it came from someone who received the live polio vaccine. That person then passed the virus to individuals in London, who shed the virus into their feces. The viruses genetic sequences suggest there has been some spread between closely linked individuals in north and east London, the UKHSA said. The virus was isolated from environmental samples collected between February and May, and no related cases of paralysis have been detected, the WHO said. Additional sewage samples collected upstream from the main waste-water treatment plants inlet are being analyzed. People vaccinated with the live oral polio vaccine (OPV) shed traces of the virus in their stool which eventually end up in sewage wastewater, NPR reported. Scientists believe a person brought the virus into London and then spread it to others who were unvaccinated. We are urgently investigating to better understand the extent of this transmission, Vanessa Saliba, an epidemiologist who consults for the UKHSA, said in the statement. The risk to the general public is thought to be extremely low but the agency encourages anyone not fully vaccinated to receive a polio vaccine. WHO approves Gates oral polio vaccine for emergency use The WHO on Nov. 13, 2020, granted Emergency Use Listing (EUL) to a new novel oral polio vaccine called nOPV2, designed to treat the type of polio outbreak occurring in the U.K. Based on the WHOs review of data and research available on nOPV2, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) recommended Gates nOPV2 become the vaccine of choice for responding to type 2 polio outbreaks caused by OPV. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provided 100% of the funding for the development and clinical trials of the vaccine. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) states on its website: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has funded all development and clinical trials of nOPV2 to date, working closely with GPEI partners throughout the process to ensure resources are going toward a tool that could prove critical to helping end all forms of polio. Based on promising data from clinical trials, and the public health emergency that cVDPV2 [vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2] constitutes, the Foundation is funding at-risk production of 160 million doses of nOPV2 to ensure it can be deployed immediately following the issuance of WHOs interim Emergency Use Listing (EUL) recommendation for use. The emergency use listing, or EUL, is the first of its kind for a vaccine designed to pave the way for potential listing of COVID-19 vaccines, the WHO said on its website. On December 31, 2020, the WHO issued its first EUL listing for a COVID-19 vaccine. According to the WHO, the agency granted the listing for the Pfizer Comirnaty vaccine. The EUL is a regulatory pathway that allows the WHO whose second-largest financial donor is the Gates Foundation to distribute an unlicensed product for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, which the organization claims polio has been since 2014. The EUL allows vaccines and medicines to be made available more quickly to address health emergencies, without long-term phase 3 data, and is the same mechanism used for distribution of Zika, Ebola and COVID-19 vaccines. According to the WHO, in very rare cases, the administration of OPV results in vaccine-associated paralytic polio associated with a reversion of the vaccine strains to the more neurovirulent profile of wild poliovirus. In addition to causing vaccine-associated paralytic polio, vaccine strains have the capacity to cause disease of the nervous system and to transmit from person to person resulting in infectious poliomyelitis. Based on the WHOs review of data and research available on nOPV2, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) recommended Gates nOPV2 become the vaccine of choice for responding to type 2 polio outbreaks caused by OPV. According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), the nOPV2 was developed to address vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 outbreaks, which can emerge when the weakened strain of the vaccine virus circulates in under-immunized populations and, with time, can genetically revert into a form that causes paralysis. In other words, under-immunized populations not the OPV are to blame for the vaccine-related polio strains. In an email to The Defender, Dr. Brian Hooker, Ph.D., P.E., Childrens Health Defense chief scientific officer and professor of biology at Simpson University said: Once again, Big Pharma, fueled by the Gates Foundation, has created a huge problem that only they can solve. The introduction of the new OPV in the U.K. has predictably led to polio virus in the sewage (i.e., where poliovirus propagates) and now the only solution is to inject U.K. citizens with the nPOV2 to prevent the spread of OPV-induced polio. If this isnt a scam, I dont know what is! The U.K.s Medicines and Regulatory Health Products Agency (MHRA) on June 17 said in a tweet: An exciting new global study, co-authored by our lead scientist Javier Martin, shows that new polio vaccine nOPV2 is an effective tool in reducing the risk of Vaccine-Derived Polio Viruses. An exciting new global study, co-authored by our lead scientist Javier Martin, shows that new polio vaccine nOPV2 is an effective tool in reducing the risk of Vaccine-Derived Polio Viruses. https://t.co/C7WEXc91WN#polio#poliovaccine#polioeradicationpic.twitter.com/P8YISydi34 MHRAgovuk (@MHRAgovuk) June 17, 2022 The tweet linked to a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advocating for the use of Gates nOPV2 vaccine. Between the launch of nOPV2 in March 2021 and late May 2022, more than 350 million doses had been administered across 18 countries. The GPEI confirmed, as of May 30, 16 other countries are ready to use nOPV2 and an additional 17 are in the midst of preparations. WHO, GPEI and other organizations pushing Gates-funded vaccine According to UNICEF, the GPEI is a public-private partnership led by national governments with six core partners: Rotary International, the WHO, the CDC, UNICEF, the Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The Gates Foundation, in addition to funding the nPOV2 vaccine, GPEI and the WHO, also funds Rotary International, UNICEF, Gavi and the CDC Foundation. The entity in charge of monitoring vaccine adverse events following administraton of nPOV2 is the WHOs own Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS). The GACVS Sub-Committee on nOPV2 Safety will advise WHO and its Member States on safety outcomes following the use of initially pre-licensed type 2 novel oral poliovirus vaccine, during the EUL period, prior to the availability of Phase III clinical trial results, according to GPEI. In essence, the Gates Foundation funded the creation, development and clinical trials for the new nPOV2 polio vaccine, funds the organizations that administered millions of doses to be given under EUL without any long-term data, funds the organizations implementing its roll-out and surveillance and funds the entity monitoring adverse events associated with nPOV2s use. The Gates Foundation is also a funder of NPR and NPRs blog, which have published numerous articles on VDPV2 and paved the way for Gates nPOV2 vaccine as the solution. Oral polio v. inactivated polio vaccines According to the WHO, the original OPV uses a mixture of live attenuated poliovirus strains of each of the three serotypes, selected for their ability to mimic the immune systems response following infection with wild polioviruses, but with a reduced chance of spreading to the central nervous system. To achieve the desired immune response, three or more doses of OPV are required spaced out over a period of time. The U.S. and some western countries use an inactivated (killed) polio vaccine (IPV) developed by Dr. Jonas Salk and first used in 1955. Scientists claim the inactivated virus poses no risk of spread, although the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting system shows two reported cases of poliomyelitis reported following vaccination with IPV. The U.S. stopped using OPV in 2000 because it caused paralytic polio. According to NPR, countries in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia are experiencing a rise in cases of vaccine-derived polio. These countries mostly use the OPV developed by Albert Sabin and first used in 1961. Gates nOPV2 vaccine is a modified version of Sabins existing OPV vaccine. The spread of vaccine-derived polio virus from OPV vaccine in multiple countries throughout Africa and Asia resulted in 1,612 cases of paralytic polio from 2017 through 2020, Dr. Liz Mumper, pediatrician and former medical director of the Autism Research Institute told The Defender. Since these polio virus samples are in wastewater in a developed country, those who have access to clean water should not be at risk, Mumper said. However, the media is raising alarms. This is a setback for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. According to the CDC, three cases of paralytic polio caused by the OPV vaccine have been reported in the U.S. since the vaccine was discontinued in 2000. The CDCs Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS, shows 66 reports of polio following administration of the OPV. VAERS also shows 14 reported cases of poliomyelitis following vaccination with IPV. Historically, VAERS has been shown to report only 1% of actual vaccine adverse events. Read more at: ChildrenHealthDefense.org (Natural News) A horrific tragedy just occurred in San Antonio, Tex., where an 18-wheel tractor-trailer was discovered packed to the gills with migrants, many of whom were dead from dehydration and heat exhaustion. According to reports, some 46 bodies were found in and around the trailer, along with 16 still-alive people who were rushed to local hospitals for recovery. The incident is believed to be a human trafficking effort gone wrong. Just before 6 p.m. on Monday, a city worker on Quintana Road near Cassin Road, located in a rural and secluded area of southwest San Antonio, happened to be passing by and heard a cry for help, according to Police Chief William McManus. When officers arrived on the scene, they immediately noticed one body on the ground outside the trailer, the back of which was partially open. The dead range in age from teens to young adults, and are believed to have succumbed to heat stroke and heat exhaustion, as the trailer had no air conditioning and no water as temperatures exceeded 100 degrees. Of the 16 people who were taken to the hospital, 12 were adults and four were children. According to Fire Chief Charles Hood, their bodies were hot to the touch and dehydrated, as there was no water anywhere to be found in the trailer. They were suffering from heat stroke and exhaustion, Hood is quoted as saying. It was a refrigerated tractor-trailer, but there was no visible working AC unit on that rig. San Antonio mayor calls incident a horrible human tragedy In a statement, Mayor Ron Nirenberg urged area residents to think compassionately and to pray for the deceased, the ailing, and their families at this moment. Migrants seeking asylum should always be treated as a humanitarian crisis, but this evening were facing a horrific human tragedy, he added. Three people have been taken into custody over the matter, which sadly is not the first time this kind of thing has happened in Texas, as well as other states abutting the southern border. According to the Associated Press (AP), big rig smuggling operations have been happening since the early 1990s in border states. San Diego and El Paso were among the busiest corridors for illegal crossings, though things changed after 9/11 when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was formed. Ever since then, smuggling operations have taken more dangerous routes through difficult terrain, not to mention the increased costs associated with these more advanced types of operations. Concerning this latest incident, it appears that perhaps something went wrong with the big rig as it traversed the more rural back roads of southern Texas. This is possibly why the trailer was left abandoned, and the people inside it were left to die. Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) is working with the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) to get to the bottom of what happened here and who is responsible for it. HSI continues its enforcement efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our communities, the unit announced. We will continue to address the serious public safety threat posed by human smuggling organizations and their reckless disregard for the health and safety of those smuggled. To report suspicious activity, we encourage people to call the HSI Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. All calls are kept confidential. It turns out that Gov. Greg Abbott is partially to blame for this because of a change he made back in April to end state police inspections of box trucks coming across the Texas border from Mexico. Abbott, meanwhile, is blaming Joe Biden for the deaths. More related news can be found at Migrants.news. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com NaturalNews.com NYTimes.com TexasTribune.org Paleontologists have redescribed an extinct species of giant kangaroo that lived the mountains of Papua New Guinea about 50,000 to 20,000 years ago and erected a new genus for it. The large mountainous island of New Guinea forms the northern portion of the Australian continent and is home to a varied and unique marsupial fauna, including numerous endemic genera and species. Kangaroos and their close relatives (family Macropodidae) are represented in the modern New Guinean fauna by multiple species of tree-kangaroos (genus Dendrolagus), pademelons (Thylogale), dorcopsises (Dorcopsis and Dorcopsulus), as well as the spectacled hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes conspicillatus) and the agile wallaby (Notamacropus agilis). No modern New Guinean macropodids exceed 20 kg in adult body mass, but several larger-bodied fossil species are known: Protemnodon nombe, Protemnodon hopei, Protemnodon tumbuna, and Dendrolagus noibano. The New Guinean fauna is fascinating, but very few Australians have much of an idea of whats actually there, said Isaac Kerr, a Ph.D. candidate at Flinders University. There are several species of large, long-nosed, worm-eating echidna that are still around today, many different wallaby and possum species that we dont get in Australia, and more still in the fossil record. We think of these animals as being uniquely Australian, but they have this intriguing other life within New Guinea. As part of the review of the Protemnodon genus, Kerr and his colleague, Flinders Universitys Professor Gavin Prideaux, focused on Protemnodon nombe, which was first described in 1983 on the basis of two partial jaws from Nombe Rockshelter, Papua New Guinea. They found that the species differed from other members of the genus in several ways and should be classified as a separate genus, Nombe. Now known as Nombe nombe, this kangaroo lived in a diverse montane rainforest with thick undergrowth and a closed canopy, the researchers said. It evolved to eat the tough leaves from trees and shrubs, with a thick jaw bone and strong chewing muscles. The authors believe that Nombe nombe evolved from an ancient form of kangaroo that dispersed into New Guinea during the Late Miocene epoch, around 5-8 million years ago. During that time, the islands of New Guinea and mainland Australia were connected by a land-bridge due to lower sea levels, rather than separated by the flooded Torres Strait as they are today, they explained. This bridge allowed early Australian mammals, including various giant, extinct forms, to move into the rainforests of New Guinea. When the Torres Strait flooded again, however, these populations of animals became disconnected from their Australian relatives, and so evolved separately to suit their tropical, mountainous Papua New Guinea home. Nombe nombe is now considered the descendant of one of these ancient lineages of kangaroos. The findings were published in the journal Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. _____ Isaac A.R. Kerr & Gavin J. Prideaux. A new genus of kangaroo (Marsupialia, Macropodidae) from the Late Pleistocene of Papua New Guinea. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, published online June 29, 2022; doi: 10.1080/03721426.2022.2086518 (Natural News) There is no more loathsome politician than a far-left California Democrat who hates guns and, as a matter of course, the constitutionally guaranteed right to keep and bear arms. No doubt angry about the fact that neither he nor Gov. Gavin Newsom can sign away Californians rights to gun ownership, state Attorney General Rob Bontas office leaked the personal information of state gun owners as in, someone purposely posted their names and other information on a state-run website dashboard. Pro-gun rights site The Reload notes: The California Department of Justices 2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal went live on Monday with publicly-accessible files that include identifying information for those who have concealed carry permits. The leaked information includes the persons full name, race, home address, date of birth, and date their permit was issued. The data also shows the type of permit issued, indicating if the permit holder is a member of law enforcement or a judge. The Reload reviewed a copy of the Los Angeles County database and found 244 judge permits listed in the database. The files included the home addresses, full names, and dates of birth for all of them. The same was true for seven custodial officers, 63 people with a place of employment permit, and 420 reserve officers. The report also noted that 2,891 people in Los Angeles County with standard licenses also had their information compromised by the leak, though the database appears to include some duplicate entries as well. At first, the information was available to be downloaded from the site by downloading the background information behind the graphics. However, the site was updated by Tuesday morning so that personal information was no longer available to the public. And by Tuesday afternoon, the sites database was not active at all. California Rifle and Pistol Association President Chuck Michel expressed anger over the leak and said that a lawsuit may be coming at the very least. Vindictive sore loser bureaucrats have endangered peoples lives and invited conflict by illegally releasing confidential private information, Michel told The Center Square in a statement. CRPA is working with several legislators and sheriffs to determine the extent of the damage caused by DOJs doxing of law abiding gun owners. Litigation is likely. Bontas office also responded to an inquiry from The Center Square after the initial story was published. We are investigating an exposure of individuals personal information connected to the DOJ Firearms Dashboard, his office said via email. Any unauthorized release of personal information is unacceptable. We are working swiftly to address this situation and will provide additional information as soon as possible. On Monday, Bontas office issued a press release regarding the posting of the dashboard. Transparency is key to increasing public trust between law enforcement and the communities we serve, the attorney general said in the release, according to The Center Square. As news of tragic mass shootings continue to dominate the news cycle, leaving many with feelings of fear and uncertainty, we must do everything we can to prevent gun violence. One of my continued priorities is to better provide information needed to help advance efforts that strengthen Californias commonsense gun laws. Todays announcement puts power and information into the hands of our communities by helping them better understand the role and potential dangers of firearms within our state. The Reload sees vindictiveness as a motive behind the leak. The leak comes just over a year after California moved to provide detailed personal information of all gun owners in the state to educational institutions across the country despite objections over concerns about data security and individual privacy. It also comes as a similar policy to Californias restrictive gun carry law was invalidated by the Supreme Court, which will likely result in many more Californians being added to the same database the state just leaked, the site noted. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned a New York law severely restricting concealed carry as a violation of the Second Amendment; this is Californias way of sticking up a middle finger to the high court. Lets hope this rank partisanship and stupidity will cost someone a lot of money and their job. Sources include: TheReload.com TheCenterSquare.com (Natural News) The Federal Criminal Court of Switzerland (FCC) found a former employee of Credit Suisse, alongside the bank itself, guilty of being unable to prevent money laundering done by a drug ring involving Bulgarian cocaine traffickers. Magistrates gave the former Credit Suisse manager, who prosecutors accused of accepting suitcases of cash from one of the syndicates members, a 20-month suspended sentence. Two members of the drug ring and another employee from a different bank were also found guilty of money laundering. Credit Suisse itself was not off the hook, as the FCC also fined the bank two million Swiss francs ($2.1 million) over certain historical organizational inadequacies. The crime pertained to amounts of money the cocaine traffickers spent on prostitutes during a trip to Switzerland, which were deposited in the bank. (Related: Both Citigroup and JPMorgan have now received huge fines for crimes the regulators wont reveal.) According to the Swiss court, Credit Suisse made it possible for the crime ring to launder money through the bank between July 2007 and December 2008 by failing to adequately monitor its accounts and making sure that the business complied with anti-money-laundering rules. The crime ring also allegedly recruited a Bulgarian wrestler and others in its circle for operations. Both the former manager and the bank itself denied the accusations. Credit Suisse said in a pre-trial statement that it unreservedly rejects as meritless all allegations in this legacy matter raised against it and is convinced that its former employee is innocent. The bank reiterated that its organizational setup was correct and appropriate in the period being probed, citing a review on its money laundering systems conducted by outside lawyers and consultants. It also argued that the crimes date back to an era when compliance standards were less stringent. The verdict is considered by many as the most significant criminal conviction of a major Swiss Bank in the countrys history. Authorities taking legal action against major banks This decision is another blow to the already tarnished reputation of Credit Suisse. The bank is set to face a second indictment in an unrelated case later this year. To make matters worse, it has also struggled with a series of scandals that have sent its shares to near-record lows. Credit Suisse criticized the case for having been brought up so many years after the events in question. The bank questioned why Swiss prosecutors publicly charged it with money laundering offenses in late 2020, even though the alleged crimes took place between 2004 and 2008. Corruption and money laundering experts said Switzerland taking legal action against a major bank like Credit Suisse could send a powerful message in a country that is famous for its banking industry. Mark Pieth, a money-laundering expert at the University of Basel, said on the eve of the trial that it has the potential to be a watershed moment. The fact that Switzerland is taking action against Credit Suisse considered as one of the jewels in the Swiss crown is especially significant, he added. Swiss private banks have adopted tougher anti-money laundering checks after an international regulatory crackdown to prevent money laundering. However, Switzerland itself still has massive gaps in its prevention. Credit Suisse said it would appeal against the conviction. Visit Corruption.news for more stories about money laundering. Watch the video below to understand how offshore finance is flourishing. This video is from the Truth Health Freedom channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: New law to target Bitcoin under money laundering enforcement. Government documents reveal global banks are defying US laundering crackdowns by serving criminals and terrorists. Money laundering: Joe Bidens brother sent bank wiring instructions to spy chief of China. BREAKING: FBI running active criminal investigation into money laundering operations of the Biden family total media blackout continues. The FDIC is urging Americans to keep their money in the banks practically an admission that you probably shouldnt. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com CNBC.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) Ukrainian forces in Severodonetsk have been ordered to withdraw, according to the top regional official. (Article republished from StrangeSounds.org) The city is the focus of Russias invasion as it tries to take control of large parts of eastern Ukraine. Remaining in positions that have been relentlessly shelled for months just doesnt make sense, Luhansk regional head Serhiy Haidai said. Russian forces have nearly encircled Severodonetsk in recent days, and are now targeting its twin city Lysychansk. They have received orders to retreat to new positions and from there continue their operations, Mr Haidai told Ukrainian television on Friday morning. The citys entire infrastructure has been completely destroyed, he added, with over 90% of houses shelled and 80% of them critically damaged. It is unclear if the Ukrainian withdrawal has begun Ukrainian military said on Friday morning that fighting continues for the city of Severodonetsk. (MSM fake news; again and always) On Thursday, Russian forces took control of more territory to the south of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, raising fears that Ukrainian forces could soon be encircled there. Russias invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February, has been focused on the two cities for several weeks. They are the last significant Ukrainian positions in the Luhansk region, which together with the Donetsk region make up what is collectively known as Donbas. In a separate development on Friday, a Russian-appointed official in the occupied southern city of Kherson was killed in a car blast, Russian news agencies reported. Several Kremlin-installed officials have recently been targeted in the Kherson region, control over which allows Moscow to have a land corridor from Russia to Crimea Ukraines southern peninsula annexed by the Kremlin in 2014. [BBC, Al Jezira] Read more at: StrangeSounds.org (Natural News) The South American nation of Ecuador has announced force majeure for its oil industry, alongside a state of exception decree, amid nationwide turmoil. State-owned oil firm Petroecuador made the announcement on June 18, which applied to its exploration, exploitation, transport and commerce sectors stopping exports in turn. The declaration followed protesters entering oil fields which affected output, said a company statement. Petroecuador added that it has lost 6,975 barrels of crude oil since protests began on June 20 and has stopped some drilling operations. The state-owned oil firms declaration came amid Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso announcing a state of exception in three provinces, as he attempted to crack down on the ongoing turmoil. He first announced a state of exception in response to protests by indigenous groups disapproving of the governments economic policies. According to Lasso, the 30-day state of exception will cover the provinces of Imbabura, Cotopaxi and Pichincha regions that include the capital city Quito. He added that curfews in the capital would be in place from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., and gatherings will be banned all day in the troubled provinces. The Ecuadorian leader did not state how long the laws would last. I called for dialogue and the answer was more violence, there is no intention to find solutions, Lasso declared in a televised broadcast. Indigenous groups in the country started protests on June 20 to oppose Lassos social and economic policies. They demanded a price freeze for fuel products, a stop to further mining and oil exploration projects and additional time for small farmers to pay their bank loans. The protesters also called on the government to increase the budget for healthcare. (Related: Skyrocketing fuel costs spark mass protests in France, Spain and Albania.) Military to stamp out protests that harm democracy In response, Lasso promised to boost help for the most susceptible sectors. He announced financing of fertilizer costs for small and medium farmers by 50 percent, and a pardon on overdue loans worth up to $3,000 by public banks. He also assured that there will be no price hikes for fuel products. But the moves failed to pacify protesters, who now have the backing of students. The unrest had also taken a violent turn, with flower farms and other establishments being attacked. Police officers had also been imprisoned by protesters. Given the situation, the Ecuadorian military said they would not allow ongoing protests to harm the countrys democracy. They also urged citizens to work toward national unity and pointed to drug traffickers and organized crime groups as responsible for the violence at protests. Defense Minister Luis Lara, accompanied by military commanders, told journalists: The [Ecuadorian] Armed Forces will not allow constitutional order to be broken, or any action against democracy and the laws of the republic. During one such protest in Quito, security forces and protesters battled in the capital with some demonstrators hurling sticks. Security forces responded by firing tear gas and non-lethal projectiles. The office of Ecuadors Attorney General Diana Salazar Mendez said in a statement that its main office had been attacked, although it did not specify the attackers. Meanwhile, police commander Fausto Salinas told reporters that security forces had seized sharp weapons and cans of diesel and gasoline from some demonstrators. He added that 80 people had been taken into custody as a result of the riots, which indigenous leaders blamed on poverty and inequality. At least 55 protesters have been injured over the previous week, while more than 100 members of Ecuadors security forces have been injured. Quito residents awoke to discover that some roads have been closed and parts of the public transport system with it. Major highways heading into the capital have been blocked since protests started. Meanwhile, the Mariscal Sucre International Airport in the city stated that some flights were being affected. Follow Rioting.news for more news about the protests happening around the world. Watch the video below to know more about the violent protests happening in Quito, Ecuador. This video is from the Puretrauma357 channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Glimpse of the future: Protests, violence put a spotlight on Sri Lankas collapsing economy. Food and fuel shortages, price spikes continue to get worse in protest-hit Ecuador. Perus leftist government calls in military, imposes curfew to crack down on inflation protests. Peru in turmoil as inflation protests erupt; president calls in military, imposes curfew. Sources include: Reuters.com IBTimes.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) It is illegal to buy, sell, grow, or even possess healing cannabis in Kansas, and nutritious raw milk is prohibited from being sold at grocery stores anywhere in the state. But a woman could soon be allowed to murder her unborn baby at any time for any reason since Kansas abortion industry is for all practical purposes completely unregulated, thanks to a state Supreme Court ruling. Voters have the power to stop this travesty on August 2nd, however. Concerning an upcoming special election, the Value Them Both Coalition (VTB) is urging all Kansas voters to vote yes on a new amendment that will protect the bipartisan and common sense limits on the abortion industry that have been enacted in Kansas over the past 25 years, but that were just nullified, in essence, by the Kansas Supreme Court. A recent Kansas Supreme Court ruling removed the legal foundation for all existing laws that permit basic regulations on abortion, VTB explains on its campaign website. Value Them Both (the name of the amendment) simply allows for these existing laws to be protected. If the amendment is not passed, warns VTB, then Kansas could become a permanent destination for extreme abortion procedures. Women from other states where abortion is now prohibited one of these is nearby Missouri will opt to travel to Kansas once they realize that the abortion industry there is basically a free for all. Without Value Them Both, Kansas abortion law will become as extreme as New York and California, VTB warns. Without the Value Them Both amendment, Kansas will become an abortion tourism state Concerning the recent Dobbs v. Jackson County Womens Health Organization ruling from the Supreme Court that effectively overruled both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, VTB had this to say in a statement: Todays decision on Dobbs v. Jackson emphasizes the importance of our democracy, restoring the power to the states to decide how and if they are going to place limits on the abortion industry. The U.S. Supreme Court restored the peoples ability to come to individual consensus on abortion limits but not in Kansas. As it stands today, unelected judges in Kansas are the ones who will decide the fate of abortion limits. The Value Them Both Amendment is a reasonable approach and will ensure Kansas does not remain a permanent destination for the most extreme and painful abortion procedures. All the Value Them Both amendment really does is solidify existing abortion laws in Kansas, which are at risk of potentially being nullified by extremist judges. VTB, which is trying to stop this from happening, is led by Kansans for Life, the Kansas Catholic Conference, and Kansas Family Voice. Certain safeguards on abortion are also now at risk in Kansas. These include safe clinics, meaning basic sanitation, sterilization, and safety regulations; the requirement that only medical doctors with hospital admitting privileges be allowed to perform abortions; and the mandate that women first be informed about the physical and emotional implications of abortion before being allowed to get one. Children, meaning minors, who wish to get an abortion in Kansas currently have to notify their parents first, but that is also up for grabs without the amendment in place to protect it. Late-term abortions could also become legalized in Kansas, making it a destination state for baby murder right in the center of Americas heartland. Another thing the Value Them Both amendment seeks to protect against is the possibility that Kansas taxpayers end up being forced to foot the bill for Planned Parenthood clinics dotted across the state, as well as the abortions they perform. Without the Value Them Both Amendment, unlimited abortion will come to Kansas, VTB warns. Our legislature will no longer be able to hold the abortion industry accountable, just like weve seen in states like New York and Illinois. With our voices and our vote, we will let it be known that Kansas values both women and our unborn children. Kansans: do you really want to pay for out-of-state womens late-term abortions? Current law in Kansas prohibits the state from forcing taxpayers to pay for abortions. A bill pertaining to this was passed back in 2013, however, the state Supreme Court could overrule that, along with all of the other aforementioned protections. The Value Them Both amendment does not, just to be clear, have anything to do with federal funding for abortion. The Hyde Amendment currently protects federal Medicaid funds from being used for abortion, but it does not in any way affect state dollars. However, there are members of Congress, along with President Biden, who are calling to overturn of the Hyde Amendment. If this happens, it will be even more important that we protect our state dollars with Value Them Both, VTB warns. The latest news about abortion laws from state to state can be found at Abortions.news. Sources for this article include: ValueThemBoth.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Baby-killing pharmaceuticals are a major cash cow for the abortion industry. And the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade has some abortion fanatics stocking up on these pills like they are going out of style. Someone named Rachel Cohen who writes for Vox published a manifesto about abortion drugs, urging women to stock up on them just in case. Mind you, she first started warning women to do this before Roe officially got the ax. With more in-person clinics shuttering and a Supreme Court thats threatening to overturn Roe v. Wade, a small but growing number of reproductive experts have been encouraging discussion of an idea called advance provision or, more colloquially, stocking up on abortion pills in case one needs them later, Cohen wrote. With the global supply chain on its last legs, one would think that Cohen would have urged readers to stock up on more important things like, oh, I dont know, maybe rice or toilet paper? Apparently, her biggest concern during the apocalypse is still being able to murder unborn babies. Back in May, VICE published a similar story about how women should stockpile stomach ulcer drugs intended for livestock in order to scientifically manipulate them into their own do-it-yourself abortion drugs. Vox urges readers to break the law by murdering babies in states where abortion is now illegal Cohen is really concerned about the plight of promiscuous women in states like Texas, which only allows abortions up until eight weeks gestation. Lone Star State residents, she says, would do well to create an at-home bunker full of abortion pills. In Texas, for example, if you dont realize until eight weeks in that youre pregnant which could be only a couple of weeks after a missed period you would have already passed the states new legal deadline for obtaining abortion pills, Cohen writes. But if you had already stored them in your home, or your friend or neighbor had, then youd be able to take them. What Cohen conveniently failed to explain in her cringeworthy piece is what, exactly, abortion pills do to women. Cohen is basically prescribing the stuff to women as if she was a doctor, when the reality is that she is just some left-wing hack who writes for a suitably aligned far-left rag. When a woman takes the pill, the progesterone hormone becomes inhibited, reports Newsbusters about what these pharmaceuticals do to womens bodies. This starves the child in the womb of all the nutrients it needs and results in the termination of the childs life. Its most common for first-trimester abortions. Vox didnt explain how the pill even worked, but still claimed that Its a safe option for most patients. As you can imagine, however, this type of pill is extremely unsafe. In addition to the roughly four million babies who have been starved to death ever since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first approved these baby-killing drugs, more than 4,000 women who took them suffered severe adverse effects. At least 24 women have died from these drugs. In one of the two pro-life bills that he signed this past week, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, banned the distribution of these pills via mail. This means that, at least in Louisiana, Cohens advice to women is illegal. Vox is just another progressive globetrotter and this article and the organizations commitment to ending innocent life is something they should be ashamed of, Newsbusters Tierin-Rose Mandelburg urges. Stockpile canned goods, not abortion pills. The latest news about the Lefts obsession with abortion can be found at Abortions.news. Sources include: Newsbusters.org NaturalNews.com (Natural News) By the time 2023 rolls around, natural gas prices in some European countries could double or even triple because they refuse to buy it from Russia in rubles. Marcell Gottert from Agenda Austria, a Vienna-based research institute, said that Austria, which heavily relies on Russian energy exports, will more than likely see a doubling in costs before the end of the year. Neighbor Germany is in the same boat, though its costs could triple. It will take at least until the year 2024 before prices level out, let alone decrease. And this is a best-case scenario, meaning it could take much longer to see any kind of relief. Austrian consumers are already paying about 60 percent more for natural gas than they were last year. Germany is in even worse shape, prompting Climate Action Minister Robert Habeck to announce that the country is now in a level-two emergency. We are in a gas crisis, Habeck said. Gas is now a scarce commodity. The prices are already high and we have to be prepared for further increases. Habeck went on to pin the blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is Putins fault that Germany is refusing to purchase energy in rubles, Habeck claimed. We must not delude ourselves: cutting gas supplies is an economic attack on us by Putin, Habeck said. It is clearly Putins strategy to create insecurity, drive up prices and divide us as a society. If Western Europe wants to keep the heat on this winter, its going to have to revert back to a non-green energy model Much of Western Europe, which proudly went green, is now having to revert back to coal in order to meet electricity demand. This, too, is the result of its refusal to play ball with Russia. Instead of dropping the sanctions and agreeing to cooperate with Russia, Western Europe is doubling down on depriving its citizens of cheap and abundant energy. As a result, the continent faces a potential collapse in the coming days. To reduce gas consumption, less gas must be used to generate electricity, Habeck added. Coal-fired power plants will have to be used more instead. Thats bitter, but its simply necessary in this situation to lower gas usage. Germany had previously announced plans to completely phase out all of its coal-powered power plants in order to create a green utopia. Those plans will now have to remain on hold until the country can figure out some other way to import non-green energy from somewhere other than Russia and continue pretending as though it is doing the planet a favor. Either that, or Germany will have to fire back up all of its own non-green energy plants. If it does not do this, there is sure to be a lights out crisis once the cold winter months arrive later this year. There is not just an energy crisis unfolding but also a food shortage crisis as well, wrote a reader at Breitbart News. The elites are not going to let a convenient war that they planned go to waste since they factored famine into their new world order roadmap. Another pointed out that there is also a long-term population decline and reductionism model factored in as well. All of these shortages and impending famines are deliberate, in other words. Climate change, the alleged climate crisis, and climate reparations are collectively the biggest hoax ever perpetrated on the masses, added another. It is all artificial to destroy the Western free world. The latest news about the energy crisis can be found at Collapse.news. Sources include: Breitbart.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Hunter Bidens Laptop from Hell might be the most significant political disaster since Argentinian stripper Fanne Fox, 50 years ago, leapt into the Tidal Basin from the car of House Ways and Means Chairman Wilbur Mills. (Article by R. Cort Kirkwood republished from TheNewAmerican.com) The latest from the computer shows that his father, President Joe Biden, paid for Hunters sexcapades with Russian escorts, and he kept his son afloat with five months of loans totaling $100,000. And the big-spending Boy Wonder needed all that money despite a salary of more than $40,000 a month from Burisma Holdings, the energy outfit in Ukraine and nexus of the Biden-Burisma influence-peddling scheme. But the laptop revealed more than Hunters habit of spending $600 an hour for sex with prostitutes. It also contained a video of an apparently concerned Hunter wondering whether he harmed one of the exploited women. EXCLUSIVE: @POTUS Joe Biden apparently unwittingly financed his sons participation in an escort ring tied to Russia, records from a copy of Hunter Bidens abandoned laptop show. In obtained footage, Hunter is heard conversing with an escort. STORY: https://t.co/5eARvkBVx0pic.twitter.com/pfbM3HXQta Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) June 27, 2022 $30K on Escorts President Joe Biden apparently unwittingly financed his sons participation in an escort ring tied to Russia, records from a copy of Hunter Bidens abandoned laptop show, the Washington Examiner reported: Hunter Biden spent over $30,000 on escorts, many of whom were linked to .ru Russian email addresses and worked with an exclusive model agency called UberGFE during a 3 1/2 month period between November 2018 and March 2019. He managed to do so thanks in part to Joe Biden committing to wiring him a total of $100,000 to help pay his bills from December 2018 through January 2019. In one instance, Joe Biden wired his son $5,000 while he was actively engaged with an UberGFE escort. In another, texts indicated Hunter Biden convinced his father to wire him $20,000 to finance his stay at a New York City drug rehabilitation program that he never checked into. Whats wrong with you? Hunter told the Washington Examiner shortly after this story was published. The real question is whats wrong with Hunter Biden. But that small truth aside, the text messages dont suggest that Sleepy Joe knew his son was making whoopee with a soiled dove from the land of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Rachmaninoff. Amusingly, Hunter had to confide in a woman named Eva that his accounts were temporarily frozen at one point because his attempted payments to her girls with Russian email accounts were too much of a red flag for his bank. Eva refers to him as Robert in the messages, which is his birth name. As well, Biden senior, who pushed Ukraine to fire a prosecutor who was investigating the company that employed his son, wired $5,000 to the sex-crazed lad less than three hours before he filmed a dispute with an escort over a $10,000 payment at a cottage in Boston, Massachusetts. The younger Biden really must have wanted something from Russia with Love given what he paid: Hunter Biden requested Eva send one of her escorts to his cottage during the early hours of Jan. 18, 2019. A few hours after the escort arrived, he texted Eva asking how much it would cost for another 8 hours of the escorts time. Eva said the total charge for 16 hours would be $9,500. At 5:17 p.m. that day, Eva directed that he wire the funds to a bank account linked to a woman with a Russian email address. Less than 90 minutes later, at 6:31 p.m., Hunter Biden received an email informing him that Joseph R Biden Jr. had sent him $5,000 through Cash App. Joe Bidens then-assistant Richard Ruffner texted Hunter Biden that same minute informing him he was only able to do $5,000 because the weekly limit is $7,500. At the time Hunter needed this injection of cash, Burisma was paying him $41,500 a month, despite his manifest lack of experience in the energy business. Minutes after the report was published, Hunter Biden emailed: Whats wrong with you?https://t.co/2NE3Kv17Tl Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) June 27, 2022 The Video What went on between Hunter and the escort we dont know. We do know that the sex fiend was mighty worried he physically harmed the woman. Is anything hurt on you? Hunter asked the woman: Anything? I was literally saying Im sorry that it took so long to give you $10,000, he can be heard saying. Do you have any bruise? Anything? Have I ever touched you in a bad way? Ever? Have I asked you every time if I could touch you? Every time. Sweetheart, look at me. You cannot talk to me that way and say things like that. Because Im more respectful than anyone youve ever met. Are you OK? Total spent: $30,000-plus between November 26, 2018 and March 10, 2019, bank records show. And Hunter Biden also performed a Google search for dc russian escorts and visited the UberGFE website to search for escorts in Boston from his iPhone XS, according to the backup located on a copy of his abandoned laptop, the Examiner reported. The report offers much, much more. But perhaps the most important thing to remember about Hunter and his father is what the two have said about each other. My dad respects me more than he respects anyone in the world, and I know that to be certain, Hunter once bragged , adding that his father thinks Im a god. Frighteningly thats believable. In December, 2020, Joe Biden told leftist Stephen Colbert what he thought of his son: He is the smartest man I know I mean from a pure intellectual capacity. And as long as hes good, were good. Read more at: TheNewAmerican.com (Natural News) A family-friendly LGBT pride event in Seattle turned pedophilic big shocker after adult marchers stripped off their clothes and started dangling their disease-infested genitals in front of underage children. The first Gay Pride event to occur there in three years because Western Washington remains deathly afraid of the Fauci Flu, aka the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) Seattles pride event featured obese, effeminate biological males on bicycles and on foot prancing through the streets in their birthday suits. Children on the sidelines of the event whose parents deserve to have a millstone strung around their necks and thrown into the sea were exposed to all sorts of hideous and disturbing LGBT genitalia as the crowd masses cheered the perversion. While all of this was happening, a Boy Scouts troop you really cannot make this stuff up was also seen marching amid all that filth with both American and LGBT rainbow flags in tow. The parade kicked off around 11 a.m. with members of the Boys and Girls Scouts of America, who marched in uniformed fashion while proudly holding both American and Pride flags, reports The Post Millennial a video of the scouts, as they are now generically calling themselves, can be seen below: HAPPENING NOW: Pride 2022 is kicking off Downtown Seattle led by the Boys and Girl Scouts of America. The group recently changed their name to scouts to be more inclusive. pic.twitter.com/5OGWmuCZfx Katie Daviscourt?? (@KatieDaviscourt) June 26, 2022 LGBTs wish they could shed their perversion uniform, but its who they are According to NPR the Girl Scouts were able to remain a group exclusively for girls because, well, women get special privileges in the new America. If you are a boy, however, then there are no more exclusive groups for you to participate in and enjoy a normal, healthy fraternity. Almost immediately after the Scouts passed by on the parade route, a large group of naked LGBT cyclists appeared and started circling around like vultures as their obesity-wedged reproductive organs tossed about in the wind. Some were partially covered in body paint, while others decided to leave nothing to the eye unseen, the Millennials Katie Daviscourt wrote about the incident. Amazingly (or perhaps not), the perversion festival saw more than half a million attendees, as well as 200 different participating groups. Yes, America is spiritual Sodom and Egypt, the modern reincarnation of the Sodom and Gomorrah of old. The Seattle Fire Department participated in the debauchery, and Seattle Police were originally supposed to show up until event organizers banned them for political reasons, presumably due to Black Lives Matter (BLM). (Police officers) need to recognize the privilege that they hold, said Krystal Marx, executive director of Seattle Pride, to local media. They get to take off their uniform every day, (whereas) we dont get to take off our queerness. Such a statement suggests that LGBTs are really not all that proud like they claim they are, and deep down inside wish they could shed the uniform of perversion and evil that they love to parade around for the world to see, including in front of children, infants, toddlers, and even babies. This year represents the first time that the Seattle Police have not participated in Seattle Pride since 1994, reports indicate. More than 100 employees of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) self-identify as LGBTs. After the parade portion of the day was over, Pride Fest attendees waddled their way over to the Seattle Center for follow-up festivities including singing, dancing, and of course a clothing-optional water fountain party. More related news about LGBT perversion and pedophilic targeting of young children by adult perverts can be found at GayMafia.news. Sources include: ThePostMillennial.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) One of the tools that abortion lovers are using to find crisis pregnancy centers to attack is an interactive map tool developed by two professors from the University of Georgia (UGA). Andrea Swartzendruber and Danielle Lambert, both from UGAs Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department, compiled the locations of more than 2,500 pro-life clinics across the country. They then put this information in map format for easy use. The stated purpose of the map is to provide location information about all of the crisis pregnancy centers operating in the U.S. Swartzendruber and Lambert refer to them as fake womens health centers that are aimed at prevent[ing] people from having abortions. Theres reason to think that people seeking health services may not know exactly what these centers are and the services they offer, Swartzendruber said in 2018 when the map first went online, suggesting that pregnant women are too stupid to figure out what a crisis pregnancy center is. Antifa is said to be making full use of the map, which helps its members identify where crisis pregnancy centers are located in order to vandalize them and set them on fire. An Antifa chapter out of Washington state included the CPC map in a post celebrating the destruction of a pro-life clinic by another member of the same domestic terrorist cell. Back in May, the group claimed responsibility for the vandalization of four churches in the Olympia area. All of them, Antifa said, are in some way tied to pregnancy resource centers, so they had to go. You can find your nearest fake abortion clinic on the Crisis Pregnancy Center Map, the post mocked. Swartzendruber and Lambert are responsible for criminal acts against crisis pregnancy centers Just after the Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, another far-left domestic terrorist group in Minnesota called the Twin Cities Encampment Responders posted a link to the map as encouragement for its members to become violent. A map of anti-abortion fake clinics, including dozens around the Twin Cities area you know, just because information is power, the group wrote in a wink-wink post to its members. Colorado Springs Antifa, another domestic terrorist group that doxxes people affiliated with right-wing groups, shared a post to Twitter containing a link to the CPC map and a message of criminal intent that read: For the night owls. A graphic accompanying the groups original post was even more forthcoming, stating: Your local crisis pregnancy center tonight. Mask up. Stay dangerous. As we reported, many of these same domestic terrorists are roving Reddit with the addresses of the Supreme Court justices who voted in favor of protecting unborn human life. What we hope the perpetrators of this act understand is that an attack on Life Choices is ultimately not an attack on a political party or act of, said Kathy Roberts, the head of a Longmont, Colo.-based crisis pregnancy center called Life Choices that was vandalized and burned by pro-abortion terrorists. It is an attack on those who walk through our doors every day in need of diapers, pregnancy tests, limited ultrasounds, clothing, financial and parenting classes, support, and so much more. It is an attack on a place that is supposed to be safe for women, men, and their families. So much of this terrorism would not have been as easily accomplished were it not for Swartzendruber and Lamberts map. While the two may not be directly associated with the crimes at hand, they sure are facilitating it and proudly, based on the rhetoric they have used in the past to denigrate the very existence of crisis pregnancy centers. The latest news about abortion can be found at Abortions.news. Sources for this article include: TheEpochTimes.com NaturalNews.com Issued in reliance on the Fund's waiver from NZX Main Board Listing Rule 3.13.1 dated 24 June 2019. A copy of this waiver can be found at https:// www.fonterra.com/nz/en/investors/fonterra-shareholders-fund.html. Please be advised that during the month of June 2022 the following allotments and redemptions of units were made in the Fonterra Shareholders' Fund. Each unit was allotted or redeemed in consideration of the transfer of one share in Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited to or by Fonterra Farmer Custodian Limited. (a) Class of Security and ISIN: FSF Units, ISIN: NZFSFE0001S5 (b)Number of Securities: Allotted: 0 Redeemed: 0 Net Redemption 0 (c)Percentage of total Class of Securities: Allotted: 0.0000000% Redeemed: 0.0000000% Net Redemption % 0.0000000% (d)Reason for redemption: Each unit was allotted or redeemed in consideration of the transfer of one share in Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited to or by Fonterra Farmer Custodian Limited. (e)Specific authority for allotment: Fonterra Shareholders' Fund Unit Trust Deed between FSF Management Company Limited, the New Zealand Guardian Trust Company Limited and Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited, and the Custody Trust Deed for the Fonterra Economic Rights Trust between FSF Management Company Limited, the New Zealand Guardian Trust Company Limited, Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited and Fonterra Farmer Custodian Limited. (f)Terms or details of the redemption: The units allotted rank pari-passu with the existing units on issue. (g)Number of Securities of the Class in existence at close on 30/06/2022 after the redemption (exclusive of Treasury Stock):107,417,322 (h)Previous number of Securities of the Class in existence at close on31/05/2022 before the redemption (exclusive of Treasury Stock):107,417,322 Andrew Cordner On behalf of the Fonterra Shareholders' Fund. FSF Management Company Ltd (Australian Registered Business Number 190 539 935, incorporated in New Zealand) is the manager of the Fonterra Shareholders' Fund. taf@fonterra.com Phone +64 9 374 9000 Private Bag 92032, Auckland, 1142, 109 Fanshawe Street, Auckland Central, Auckland, 1010 New Zealand www.fonterra.com Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: 4th July 2022 Morning Report BIF - Acquires shares in Hot Lime Labs RUA - Cann Group granted TGA GMP for Mildura facility AFI - Invitation to Results Webcast PFI Share Buyback Programme to Pause Greenfern Industries Limited ("GFI") - Late Annual Report 1st July 2022 Morning Report General Capital Releases 2022 Annual Report Fonterra, NZX, EEX confirm GDT strategic partnership BIF - Annual Report 2022 (Natural News) The vast majority of Americans simply dont trust the media and that has been a well-established fact for years. The reason is clear: The mainstream media is a propaganda entity for the left-wing deep state, pushing disinformation and pre-selected narratives in order to advance certain political objectives. The national media doesnt report what is relevant to the lives of most Americans and they certainly do not serve as a check on those in power at least not those with a D behind their names. Thats because nearly all journalism schools teach students not how to question authority and dig deep into their subjects, but rather to serve as echo chambers and activists for the left. But those same schools must also teach students arrogance because a new survey indicates todays reporters and journalists have a much higher opinion of themselves and their work than most Americans do. A new survey from the Pew Research Center found that journalists give themselves high marks for reporting the news, but their readers in the general public dont agree with the grade given, Lifesite News reported. The research and polling form found there is a huge disconnect when it comes to the five core functions of journalism: covering the most important stories of the day, reporting the news accurately, serving as a watchdog over elected leaders, giving voice to the underrepresented, and managing or correcting misinformation. In all five areas, journalists give far more positive assessments than the general public of the work news organizations are doing, the survey, released on June 14, reported. And on four of the five items, Americans on the whole are significantly more likely to say the news media is doing a bad job than a good job. For example, while 65% of journalists say news organizations do a very or somewhat good job reporting the news accurately, 35% of the public agrees, while 43% of U.S. adults say journalists do a bad job of this, Pew reported. According to the survey, journalists also said they feel connected to their readers, but obviously, its a one-way-street relationship. Similarly, while nearly half of journalists (46%) say they feel extremely or very connected with their audiences, only about a quarter of the public (26%) feels that connection with their main news organizations, noted the Pew center. A little over half of journalists surveyed (55%) say that in reporting the news, every side does not always deserve equal coverage, greater than the share who say journalists should always strive to give every side equal coverage (44%), the survey found. Just over half (55%) think journalists are largely able to keep their views out of their reporting, while 43% say journalists are often unable to, the survey wrapped up. The results are a further indication that the media bubble is real, according to The Hill media analyst Joe Concha. To say theres a disconnect between many journalists and the public they serve is a gross understatement, Concha, who is also a Fox News contributor, wrote in a column last week following the surveys release. So why the disconnect? Perhaps its like the old saying about the key to good real estate: Location, location location, he pointed out. Most of the national media are located in two places: New York City and Washington, D.C. He went on to point out that the editorial board of The New York Times has not endorsed a Republican for president in 66 years, adding that the Washington Post has never done so. Concha added that would probably be a bad idea to share your party affiliation if a reporter was a GOP voter and worked at either of those publications. Sources include: LifeSiteNews.com Newsfakes.com (Natural News) Sisters Leah and Michelle Svensson, known as The Resistance Chicks, talked about the power of prayer in changing a nation during the June 24 episode of Headline News on Brighteon.TV. They were joined in the show by Grace Life Church Pastors Buck and Amy Schafer. Michelle said June 24 is going down in history as the day when the Constitution and life prevailed once again in the United States as the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling, including the Casey law. (Related: Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, sending issue of abortion back to states where it always belonged.) Pastor Buck, who is the lead pastor and co-founder of Grace Life Church in Pittsburgh, said they are seeing God move and that their prayer teams have been decreeing in Gods name for three years that Roe v. Wade will be overturned. Meanwhile, Pastor Amy explained that people cant complain, be mad or angry when praying about everything because coming before the throne room of God and crying out on behalf of Gods people is another thing. She noted that many amazing things are happening in America and that the overturn of Roe v. Wade is nothing short of a miracle. The Schafers will hold an event called Pittsburgh Prays at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on July 10. The event seeks to unite at least 400 Patriot Pastors in the country. Leah shared that they have been praying for Ohio and its leaders and that they have organized the Patriot Pastors and Patriot Candidates events. And were praying. Were trying to make a move here in Ohio to where we pray for Gods will to be done. For God to raise up godly men and women to help lead our state, Leah said. Gods people need to bring hope, faith and encouragement to others Pastor Amy said they want to boldly and freely preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. And this is a time for Gods people to bring hope, faith and encouragement to others who need it, she said. She also mentioned that their Church made a decision not to shut down during the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic because people were looking for hope and answers and the Church needs to be there. Pastor Buck stressed that people need a standard of truth and bold pastors need to rise up, stand up and declare the truth. He also said that believers must pray every day, but they must also fight, do something and hold the line. The Grace Life Church lead pastor added that righteous people must have one voice and one agreement so that they can make things happen. Leah pointed out that believers can pray for people and ask God to bring healing to the nation. She added that there is a cancer in Washington D.C. and the state legislatures. Believers have the authority in Jesus Christ to remove the spiritual cancer, and speak life into the government, she said. Pastor Buck mentioned that the Church is the answer and it must rise up now. It is time for the Church to wake up, get filled with the Spirit of God and go into every mans world to preach the gospel and be a witness, he said. God is waiting for Christian believers to exercise the spiritual authority that has been given to us. Follow Awakening.news for more stories like this. Watch the June 24 episode of Headline News below. You can catch Headline News every Friday at 6-7 p.m. and every Sunday at 5-6 p.m. on Brighteon.TV. More related stories: Theologians: Patriot movement must also be a Christian revival movement Brighteon.TV. Rev. Marty Grisham tells Dr. John Diamond: We need to pull down strongholds of the enemy Brighteon.TV. Its time for the Supreme Court to overrule Roe v. Wade. B-Alert News: Power of prayer is about power of leadership and influence Brighteon.TV. Coach Dave Daubenmire: Christians have to reclaim the territory for Christ Brighteon.TV. Sources include: Brighteon.com GraceLifePittsburgh.com According to a study, a mosquito bite can be delayed by the insect's circadian rhythm. Recent studies have shown that mosquitoes prefer to sleep when they are sleep-deprived rather than seek out their next meal. The results demonstrate the importance of restorative sleep, even for insects. Oluwaseun Ajayi, a doctoral candidate at the University of Cincinnati, expressed surprise because he anticipated that mosquitoes would be attracted to a blood meal whether they were sleep-deprived or not. The study's lead author is Ajayi. According to Ajayi, the need for mosquito management and control alternatives to chemical insecticides made the research necessary. Although circadian rhythms, which are closely linked to sleep in other systems and regulate the time and frequency of mosquito bites, have been extensively studied in these disease vectors, his team was surprised that sleep is understudied in mosquitoes. This stoked the group's interest in this field of study even more. Mosquito Circadian Rhythm Researchers spent more than a year developing techniques to study mosquito sleep patterns. They used image analysis to define mosquito posture and an infrared-based monitoring system to measure the duration and amount of sleep in three different mosquito species. It was particularly difficult, according to Ajayi, because of something researchers refer to as the "observer effect," which states that simply observing something can affect how it turns out. Mosquitoes can detect the presence of humans due to their body heat, odors, movement, and the carbon dioxide that humans exhale while breathing and that is emitted from their skin. So even simply entering the room to observe them can affect how the insects behave. Ajayi goes on to say that because mosquitoes are typically drawn to their hosts' sensations and stimulation, it will be difficult to accurately measure their sleep. His team had to conduct our experiments in cages and incubators far from people as a result of this. To prevent mosquito interactions with the human host, images for the postural analyses were taken remotely. To address those issues, scientists conducted the experiment in a quiet lab with the mosquitoes located several rooms away from any potential passersby. To record whenever the mosquitoes moved without running the risk of disturbing them, they installed cameras and infrared sensors in the room. Sleeping Mosquitoes The mosquitoes in the lab slept for 16 to 19 hours every day, according to the researchers. They took a while to figure out when a mosquito was dozing. They can stay still and perch for a very long time when they aren't searching for food to conserve energy. However, scientists have found that mosquitoes lower their hind legs and draw their bodies closer to the surface where they are resting when they appear to be sleeping. For about a week, the mosquitoes were left unattended to help them adjust to their new surroundings. When they first arrived, researchers observed their sleeping and feeding patterns. Then, to deprive them of sleep, researchers routinely vibrated their enclosures at night or during the day. When they were awake, more than three-quarters of the mosquitoes that went to sleep would normally hunt for a blood meal. But after a restless night, less than a quarter of them were hungry. Both in the lab and when they observed the mosquitoes in the field, they discovered that the sleepy ones avoided humans more frequently. Read also: Techniques on Dealing With Wildfires May Help Mosquito Problem Sleep-Deprived Mosquitoes Scientists are aware of the negative effects on human health and the longevity of prolonged sleep loss. According to Ajayi, sleep deprivation harms insects' biological processes. He goes on to say that honeybees who lost sleep at night were unable to forage effectively the next day due to impaired waggle dance signaling. Fruit flies that did not get enough sleep at night experienced problems with their short- and long-term memory. A mosquito bite can spread dangerous diseases like West Nile, Zika, dengue, and malaria to people. They can also infect dogs and horses with diseases like West Nile virus, heartworms, and eastern equine encephalitis. The researchers hope to develop new strategies to stop the spread of infections by comprehending the circadian rhythms of insects, Treehugger reports. According to Ajayi, a connection between immunity and sleep has been found in fruit flies. Additionally, immunity plays a significant role in mosquito disease transmission. Based on this, the study would explain how sleep affects mosquitoes' ability to transmit disease. Related article: Study Shows That Mosquito Brains Record Human Odor Through Sweat in Order for Them To Find Humans GIGLIO PORTO, ITALY - JANUARY 13: All the authorities are seen placing a wreath in memory of the victims on the stretch of sea where the ship Costa Concordia ran aground, on January 13, 2022 in Giglio Porto, Italy. Regarded as one of the worst maritime disasters of the 21st century, 32 people were killed after the Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a rock near the Island of Giglio and sunk on 13 January 2012. (Photo : Photo by Gianluca Panella/Getty Images) A US military vessel destroyed after WWII was discovered, approximately 7,000 meters which is about 23,000 feet beyond ocean surface off the coast of the Philippine islands; earning it the globe's profoundest sunken ship already discovered, according to an American research program. WWII Shipwreck: The World's Deepest Wreckage On 25 October 1944, the USS Samuel B. Roberts was lost following a combat along the paramount inland sea of Samar as US army units struggled to break free the Philippines together with then a US territory from Japanese domination, as per CBC News. Caladan Oceanic, a Texas-based deep ocean cloud computing business, claimed a manned space propulsion system recorded, captured on camera, and assessed the shattered hull of the "Sammy B" throughout a succession of expeditions spanning eight days this month. The ship's three-tube torpedo armament and weapon station were shown in photographs. As per the interview, and post of Caladan Oceanic founding member Victor Vescovo, who operated the propulsion system, the said vessel has nos become the profoundest ghost ship yet identified and inspected. The modest battleship as Vescovo explained went on the best of the Japanese Fleet, battling them to the last finale. While as per to the US Navy archives, the members of Sammy B floated for over three days eagerly anticipating for some relief efforts, with several people dying from injuries and marine mammal assassination attempts. A tally of 89 people was killed out of the 224-person production team. The action was related of the broader Battle of Leyte, that also featured severe armed struggle involving US and Japanese army units throughout the last quite few nights. As per Science Alert, it was on October 25 conflict, Sammy B has been among of the four US warships lost. These shipwrecks were discovered by Victor Vescovo, the founding member of Dallas-based Caladan Oceanic Investigations. Furthermore, as what the previous reports have disclosed the battleship which was reportedly sunk drowned during the Battle of Samar, which also took place in the Philippine Sea territory near the island of Samar which was an action part of the larger Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of humanity's biggest maritime conflicts. Also read: Secret Passageways Used by Ancient Andean Culture Opened for the 1st Time in 3000 Years Wreckage 7,000 Meters Below Sea Level Throughout a sequence of excursions earlier quarter, a manned space underwater vessel which is a very tiny submersible intended to function submerged have recorded and documented the disaster. While BBC News reported that photographs from the terrible accident demonstrate that several components of the cargo vessel, along with a three-tube torpedo launcher and gun mount, are still undamaged. Vescovo, a former Navy officer, and UK-based EYOS Investigations revealed the newest discovery by claiming that the ship laying down at 6,895 meters, it is now the shallowest ghost ship ever identified and studied. As per to the investigators it was an incredible honor to discover this immensely renowned vessel and have the opportunity to convey her narrative of perseverance and service to others who may not have been aware of the vessel's and her crew's dedication. The USS Johnston, which had formerly been classified as the globe's deepest wreckage at over 6,500 meters, was discovered by Vescovo's crew in the year of 2021. The professionals searched for the USS Gambier Bay at more than 7,000 meters below surface pressure in the most recent search, but they were reluctant find it. It definitely didn't look for the USS Hoel since there was no accurate information about where it could have plummeted.The Titanic is submerged in around 4,000 meters deep. Related article: Caught on Camera! A 'Somber Moment' of Starfishes Devouring a Lifeless Sea Lion Meteorologists advise that people along the Gulf Coast should be prepared for flooding rains as a tropical rainfall strengthens and approaches this week. Tropical System On the Way A tropical rainfall traveling toward the Caribbean is on the edge of becoming a named tropical storm. Still, meteorologists are also monitoring another tropical downpour in the northern Gulf of Mexico that might grow. While organization and development into a tropical depression or named storm is possible at any moment through Thursday, downpours are forecast to overspread most of the western and central Gulf Coast. This rain may trigger localized flash floods, but it will also provide much-needed drought relief. AccuWeather has classified this disturbance as a tropical rainstorm, which is expected to move westward into Texas until the end of the week. Although it is moving west, rainfall linked with the system may cause downpours in Louisiana and Arkansas later this week. According to satellite photographs from Tuesday afternoon, the tropical rainfall was getting more structured. Forecasters warn that even an unidentified system may have significant repercussions on land in the form of heavy rain. Also Read: Dry Thunderstorms in California may Spark More Wildfires Weather Mix Up Tropical moisture will mix with a stalled front as it moves onto the coast, delivering rounds of severe downpours this week. While the greatest rain will likely fall on the Texas coast as the monsoon advances inland Thursday, heavy rain could fall as far east as Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. "There will be enough moisture available and low wind shear, which when paired with the stalled front along the Gulf Coast creates the perfect formula for areas of hefty rainfall," Meteorologist Matt Benz noted. The Gulf of Mexico's waters is already warm enough to encourage future tropical development and intensification. While the transformation from a tropical rainstorm to a tropical depression or named storm is far from certain, it cannot be ruled out. Tropical consequences in the Texas region near the Gulf include floods, coastal wind gusts, and heavy surf. Warm seas, low wind shear, and moist air contribute to tropical growth. However, in this situation, many things are also working against it. "As the disturbance travels closer to land, the window for development narrows," Benz said. "As the system approaches into the western Gulf of Mexico, some dry air and increased wind shear may be present, which might limit development." Flood Risk Flooding rain is possible until the second half of the week, regardless of whether the tropical downpour develops into a designated tropical storm. Multiple rounds of rain and thunderstorms may travel over the same areas simultaneously, causing rainfall totals to climb rapidly. While such totals may appear acceptable at first, repeated bouts of rain can lead to flooding difficulties in a process known as "training." Motorists experiencing flooded roadways are warned that floods can be considerably deeper than they look. Regardless of the flood risk, rain is much needed in Louisiana and coastal Texas. According to the United States Drought Monitor, nearly all of this coastline is experiencing drought, with several sections falling into the "severe" drought category. Drought Watch. Drought affects cities such as San Antonio and Houston, Texas, and Lake Charles, Louisiana. While a single event will not end a drought, it will be a start in the right direction. Whatever happens with this tropical rainfall will serve as a reminder that the Atlantic hurricane season has already begun. experts continue to expect an above-average season in terms of named storms and landfall in the United States. Fourth of July Forecast Tropical Storm Alex, tracking near Florida at the beginning of June, is already in the books. Another system was built in the southern Caribbean along South America's coast. Bonnie and Colin will be the names of the next two tropical storms. People wishing for a reprieve from the weather for the Fourth of July holiday will be in luck. By the weekend, a large area of high pressure will form over the region, pushing the stalled front eastward and eliminating the rainfall danger. While isolated afternoon storms are still possible, they will be far less severe than expected heavy rain in the coming days. Related Article: Exposure to Major Disasters Can Cause Long-Term Mental Health Problems For more climate and weather updates, don't forget to follow Nature World News! MADRID, SPAIN - JUNE 06: A reactive to test suspected monkeypox samples is seen inside a fridge at the microbiology laboratory of La Paz Hospital on June 06, 2022 in Madrid, Spain. Europe is at the centre of the monkeypox virus outbreak, the World Health Organisation reported 780 confirmed cases with Britain, Spain and Portugal reporting the largest numbers of patients. (Photo : Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged doctors on June 14 to search for indications that don't fully fit the standard diagnoses of the condition. Unusual Symptoms of Monkeypox As per the CDC, the monkeypox infection is in the identical class and taxonomy as the infection that transmits smallpox and generates comparable, albeit weaker, signs. Individuals frequently experience chills, migraine, muscular pains, enlarged swollen glands, and exhaustion during the beginnings of an illness. Then the typical blotches linked with monkeypox develop. These allergic reactions generally advance in levels, beginning with discoloration papules, then rising bumps, pustules, and eventually sizable, pus-filled pimples; ultimately, these skin conditions band aid over and fall off, as per Live Science report. Originally, monkeypox blotches appear initially across the face as well as mouth and throat, then spread to the appendages, such as the back of the hand and toes. Nevertheless, the CDC observed that certain current monkeypox occurrences in the United States had deviated from this trend. Allergic reactions have first occurred near the sexual organs and scrotum, even the muscles bordering the jaw, in numerous individuals in the United States. These lesions have triggered nose and scrotum discomfort, gastrointestinal incontinence, severe swelling of the rectal lining (proctitis), and the impression of needing to release feces when the intestines are clear in some people (tenesmus). These indications are not mentioned in most accounts of monkeypox. Aside from the face and limbs, other individuals' blotches were dispersed or confined to a single anatomical region, the CDC claim.Allergic reactions at various phases of advancement have occasionally arisen at the identical area of the body, and the typical flu-like clinical signs of chills, enlarged lymph nodes, and exhaustion have not necessarily come even before outbreak, if they have happened of any kind. Also read: Skin Mites! These Tiny Things are Born, Mate and Live on Our Hair and Face CDC Warms the General Public Equally bizarre monkeypox manifestations have been observed in other nations affected by the latest epidemic. While Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), told NBC News that it is now evident that there is an uncommon circumstance, which means that even the disease is acting differently from how it used to function in the history. The diagnoses of monkeypox outbreaks might match those of the Varicella zoster virus, which forms chickenpox, as well as some highly contagious illnesses like syphilis and herpes, according to the CDC. If an individual looks to develop any of these disorders, physicians must examine the epidermis and gastrointestinal areas thoroughly, particularly the anal, genital, and dental secretions, to exclude up monkeypox as a prognosis. Anyone, regardless of person's sex, can develop and disseminate monkeypox, yet, in this epidemic, several of the confirmed occurrences in the United States are within homosexual, bisexual, or other males who have intercourse with men the CDC explained. As a result, the healthcare system has stated that males who have sex with men ought to be informed that the disease could be propagating through their contact connections. Ultimately, as of June 24, just over 4,100 monkeypox occurrences had been discovered in 47 states and regions; this worldwide incident tally, which is prone to revision, contains both affirmed monkeypox infectious diseases and diseases pertaining to an Orthopoxvirus - the pathogen species that involves monkeypox. More so, the CDC documented 201 such instances in 25 jurisdictions of Columbia in the United States. Related article: Typhoid Fever! This Ancient Killer is Becoming Resistant to Antibiotics Results of a study reveals that cheating algae cells are more vulnerable to environmental stress. This trade-off could help explain the emergence of multicellular organisms, and what keeps cells in algae and cells in the human body cooperating. Cheating algae cells are more sensitive to stress. This trade-off may shed light on the origin of multicellular organisms as well as what maintains cooperation between human body cells and algae cells. Volvox Carteri Aurora Nedelcu from the University of New Brunswick in Canada pointed out that there are always opportunities for individuals to cheat, reaping the benefits of a group without bearing the costs of cooperation, whether within cells or in societies. Nedelcu and her coworkers looked to the multicellular green algae Volvox carteri to shed light on the mechanisms that keep cheaters in check. V. carteri has two different types of cells: body cells that do not reproduce and reproductive cells that do. Normally, these cooperate. However, when the regA gene is altered, the body cells begin to reproduce uncontrollably. It is a member of the morphologically diverse volocine algae and is closely related to the single-celled Chlamydomonas reinhardti, making it a great species for research into the evolution of multicellularity and development. Body cells outnumber reproductive cells, so they create more new cells overall, each of which has the potential to create more cheaters. Although cheater mutants might initially appear to have an evolutionary advantage, cells in V. carteri eventually cooperate. The team's findings demonstrate that in V. carteri, somatic cells exhibit the most extreme form of altruism, such as reproductive sterility, and are terminally differentiated. The 2000-4000 somatic cells preserve the individual's motility, which is crucial for survival, by remaining undivided. The 10-16 gonidia, which are non-flagellated reproductive cells, grow rapidly and divide 11-12 times to create fully developed juveniles that are released to begin a new generation. Nedelcu and her team subjected both the regular V. carteri and the cheater mutant to extreme heat, light, and darkness. Only 50% of the typical algae developed dead cells, compared to 100% of the cheater mutant algae. This suggests, in Nedelcu's opinion, that cheater mutants are more vulnerable to environmental influences. The cost of lying may be high enough to encourage cooperation, at least in V. carteri. Read also: Barnacles, Algae on Ship Hulls Driving up Carbon Emissions, Leading to Global Warming The Fail-Safe Benjamin Kerr at the University of Washington in Seattle, who wasn't involved with the study, describes this behavior as a fail-safe mechanism for policing cheaters. He claims that studies like this one can add to the explanations for why cheaters don't always succeed by demonstrating connections between the common good and individual good. The same kind of trade-off might deter other varieties of cheaters. All single-celled organisms contain the genes that regulate how reproduction and survival are balanced. RegA is one of many of these genes that are still found in the ancestry of multicellular organisms like plants and animals. According to Nedelcu, these genes may have played a significant role in the development of multicellularity hundreds of millions of years ago, in addition to supporting the health of multicellular organisms. The study was published on the website of Royal Society Publishing. Nedelcu collaborated with Adrian Reyes-Prieto, Anajose Reyes-Guevara, Stephan Konig, and Marybelle Cameron-Pack for the study. Related article: Artificial Intelligence Predicts Algae to be Potential Renewable Source in Future Floodwaters have gripped some areas in British Columbia in the past several weeks as of Wednesday, June 29, submerging both residential and commercial establishments, as well as fields and roads. Provincial authorities have issued a new flood watch, high stream advisories, and evacuation alerts in the affected areas. The implemented flood-related measures meant that flash flooding in the province is not only disruptive but also life-threatening. The risk is manifested by rapid melting of ice and snow on mountains and along inland bodies of water. Furthermore, flood levels could also rise quickly, oftentimes in an unpredictable manner. These threats were previously introduced through warnings issued by meteorologists and hydrologists in the province, including the B.C. River Forecast Centre (RFC), in May 2022. The warnings pertain to the issuance of weather predictions relating to the B.C. flood risk after mountain snowpack accumulation was above-normal average levels. The current climatic situation in B.C. is one of the worst natural disasters reported in Canada. In addition to heavy rain, the unprecedented flooding from melting frozen ice is still a threat. These risks affect both residents and local officials as previously highlighted from the warnings of B.C. RFC experts, regarding the aggravation of melting through heat wave or hot weather. B.C. Evacuation Alerts Local authorities have issued evacuation alerts as a recent torrential rain due to inclement weather released a heavy downpour across the central and southern B.C. areas, leading to the snow melt. This led to the renewed flood alert or flood watch, as well as high streamflow advisories, according to Global News. The Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) issued an evacuation alert for Jones Creek, Wahleach Creek, and Lorenzetta Creek in Laidlaw on Wednesday. Additional areas affected by the alert are: Harrison Mills in Electoral Area C Nicomen Island North Nicomen Taylor Road Current advisories were also issued for Harrison and Frser River undiked lands on Monday, June 27. The FVRD also mentioned that sand and sandbags are available for residents in the affected areas. It has also activated the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) at Level 1. The district authority said it is monitoring both current and forecasted river levels, through data from the B.C. RFD and weather forecasts from Environment Canada. Also Read: British Columbia, Canada is Threatened by Increasing Flood Risk: Hydrologists and Meteorologists on High Alert B.C. Flood Alerts Flood alerts reportedly remain in effect for dozens of residential and commercial properties in the Glen Valley areas within Abbotsford and Langley. There are also 40 properties in Harrison Mills and select houses in Northwest Langley and Fort Langley under the alert. Township of Langley officials on Wednesday afternoon also urged residents to be prepared for an evacuation order, a mandatory mandate compared to the less restrictive evacuation alert. Details of the evacuation notice will be disseminated by protective services staff to low-lying and unprotected areas. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries from the B.C. flooding. Similar to the United States, Canada is currently in its summer season which normally spans from June to August each year. Related Article: Canada Flood Watch: B.C. Flood Risk Increases as Snow Melt Delays and Heat Intensifies A recent research that makes use of historical data has discovered exceptional evidence in favor of the "safety in numbers" theory, according to which Pacific salmon living in bigger groups are less likely to be eaten by predators. However, certain salmon species may sacrifice safety for a meal since schooling reduces food competition. Saving Pacific salmon While most people associate salmon with their spawning in freshwater streams, lead author Anne Polyakov, a doctoral student in the University of Washington's interdisciplinary Quantitative Ecology and Resource Management Program and the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, noted that salmon also spend a significant amount of time feeding and growing in the ocean, as per ScienceDaily. This study is exceptional because, despite the fact that we essentially cannot observe these fish in their natural ocean habitat, experts are still able to use this incredibly valuable dataset to derive these very convincing conclusions about how grouping affects predation risk and foraging success for individual fish. The researchers used data from an international fisheries dataset that was compiled for these species from 1956 to 1991 to examine four species of Pacific salmon: sockeye, chum, coho, and pink. All salmon are born in freshwater streams, migrate to the ocean to feed and grow, and then return to their native streams to lay eggs, spawn, and eventually die, resuming the lifecycle for the following generation. This study made use of novel analyses of previously collected historical data. Salmon capture statistics have been recorded across the North Pacific Ocean for more than 40 years by the University of Washington's Fisheries Research Institute in collaboration with the International North Pacific Fisheries Commission in an effort to manage each species. The authors of the study examined capture data from purse seine nets, a type of fishing gear that entails lowering a net and catching every fish in a small body of water. The size of the schools in which each fish had been swimming might be inferred by the researchers from the number of fish that were taken in one of these nets. The historical information also included meticulous records of predator wounds on salmon as well as the stomach contents for a subset of fish that were taken. This made for a special and significant data set since the researchers could quantify both salmon predator interactions and feeding success across a 45-year period covering the whole North Pacific Ocean. Also Read: Salmon Discovered to Posses Natural Version of Night Vision Goggles, New Study Shows Pacific salmon an endangered species Salmon are vital to the culture of First Nations and the economics of the West Coast. They are also crucial prey for many animals, including the critically endangered southern resident orcas. As habitats deteriorate and disappear, salmon do as well, as per Defenders. As fish disappear, the quality of the ecosystem declines as well, as salmon are an essential source of nutrients. Salmon are also markers of a healthy river and marine ecosystems. The west has experienced the collapse and extirpation of several salmon runs as a result of river damming. Many dams make it more challenging for adults to spawn upriver and obstruct newly born salmon from migrating downstream. These obstacles prevent salmon from accessing thousands of miles of their old habitat. Freshwater, estuaries, and the ocean are all included in the anadromous salmon's life history. For the most part, freshwater habitats are used for spawning, incubation, and raising juveniles. Estuaries are where juveniles are put on crucially rapid growth and make crucial osmoregulatory adjustments as they transition between fresh and saline waters. Finally, the ocean is where significant feeding results in the majority of the body mass of the returning adults. Salmon consume a vast range of food species during their lives, including different types of freshwater and marine invertebrates and fish. At the same time, they are preyed upon by a diverse range of invertebrate and vertebrate predators and scavengers. Related article: To Save Wild Salmon From Extreme Heat, Scotland Will Plant Millions of Trees Along Rivers MERERANI, TANZANIA, UNITED REPUBLIC OF: Tanzanian tanzanite miner James Meliary works 09 June 2006 picture in the Mererani mine, 300 meters into the ground. Deep beneath the earth in the foothills of Africa's highest mountain, Meliary toils in near total darkness, only a slim beam from a flashlight strapped to his head illuminating the void. One of thousands of "wana apollo," (Swahili for "spaceman"), he works in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro in an extraterrestrial environment where the air is hot and thick and flecks of graphite and quartz glitter like stars in the dark rocks. (Photo : Photo credit should read MATT BROWN/AFP via Getty Images) Researchers discovered 52 heretofore unrecorded stone dwellings adorned with rock artistry in Swaga Swaga Game Reserve in rural Tanzania, 2018. Discovery of Rock Shelter in Tanzania with Oversized Heads Wind erosion had more or less damaged all except a few, however among of those that had survived was a complete mystery. The Amak'hee 4 complex was lavishly decorated with a border of representational craftsmanship, featuring three enigmatic, humanoid beings with enormous heads. As per Science Alert update, paleoanthropologist Maciej Grzelczyk of the Jagiellonian University in Poland claimed the discovery might be a hint to determining which other, comparable ensembles of figures unearthed in those certain cave art frames could be. The Amak'hee 4 screen is hard to recognize, and though Grzelczyk determined in 2021 that it is somehow a few hundred years old. Apart from five white figurines, it is nearly totally covered in red color. Moreover, the fading of this pigmentation, along with the lack of household pets, shows that it is rather old, going prior to the state's hunter-gatherer civilizations. On the board, there are creatures that seem as antelope, elands, bison, as well as giraffes, and even a few human-like creatures with huge skulls. However, one category sticks apart. Grzelczyk noted in his 2021 article that a scenario that concentrates about 3 samples is overly impressive amongst some of the Amak'hee 4 artworks. As posted under the journal of Antiquity, the characters in this triptych appear to depict stylised bison heads, which resemble the center slump in aspect of the bison head from which both antlers arise and bend outwardly away from the skull, as well as the slightly rounded ears. Similarly, the Sandawe folk's tradition somehow doesn't feature themes of buffalo-headed beings or individuals who can shape-shift into bisons, thus the paintings might symbolize different things. Nevertheless, Grzelczyk says, bison antlers actually perform a crucial part in some Sandawe rites, ProQuest posted. Also read: Forest Bathing: Mysterious Japanese Practice With Hidden Benefits Anthropomorphic Figures in Tanzania Whatever they may be, the bizarre images are not beyond history. Two rock refuge murals in the Kondoa area of central Tanzania, located near from Amak'hee 4, bore a striking similarity to the three. Three projections are represented meditating around each other at the premises Kolo B2. Three illustrations are pictured side to side, laying on the soil, at Kolo B1. The figurines at all 3 locations have big heads, but the Kolo characters have a patterned design that is regarded as a headgear. The figurines are linked by a thread through their middle in all three locations. And all three have comparable arm and shoulder configurations and orientations. Amak'hee 4 has significant significant distinctions. The heads appear to be covered in with uniform hue, and they appear to be far more essential to the activity going on around them. Grzelczyk also quoted that the figures from Amak'hee 4 are notably larger over those at Kolo, and render this primary emblem a pivotal central focus upon which the portion of the tale appears to take seat. By comparison, the visuals at Kolo are secluded portrayals, with neither strong correlation to the remaining portion of the works of art. A few of the wall painting's locations in Kondoa are continuously used by the Sandawe for a range of ceremonial rituals. The recently discovered places are also recognized to people in the area, so they may give additional insight on what the strange symbols represent, The Sun reported. Likewise, historians shall strive to research the locations in order to add them to the written archive. Related article: Mysterious Shipwreck from WWII Discovered 7000 Meters Below Sea Level Fonterra today confirms the finalisation of the strategic partnership with New Zealands Exchange (NZX) and the European Energy Exchange (EEX) to each take ownership stakes in Global Dairy Trade (GDT) alongside the Co-op. As announced in February 2022, the partnership was subject to the approval of Boards, clearance from relevant competition law authorities, and finalisation of transaction documentation. With those approvals now received, Fonterra, NZX and EEX each hold an equal one-third (33.33%) shareholding in the global dairy auction platform GDT as of 30 June 2022. CFO Marc Rivers says the confirmation of the strategic partnership is an important milestone for Fonterra and global dairy participants. The move to a broader ownership structure marks the next step in the evolution of GDT giving it a presence in prominent international dairy producing regions, with greater participation expected at GDT events. It will bring more participants and transactions, stimulating further growth of risk management contracts available on financial trading platforms. This creates opportunities for the growth of financial tools to better manage price volatility which is something many industry participants, from farmers through to customers, are exposed to, says Mr Rivers. GDT Chief Executive Dr Eric Hansen said: The GDT team is looking forward to working with EEX and NZX as strategic partners with strong interests in dairy and established reputations as regulated exchanges to enhance GDTs role as an independent, neutral and transparent price discovery platform. NZX Chief Executive Mark Peterson says the strategic partnership will strengthen GDTs market reach benefiting New Zealand dairy farmers and customers. At a time of geopolitical and macroeconomic instability, GDTs vision to expand its global reach and provide better transparency in dairy commodity prices, is more important than ever for dairy market stakeholders, says Mr Peterson. It aligns with NZXs strategy of growing capital markets, connecting with more businesses, and creating greater value for shareholders and investors. In GDT, NZX is excited to be working with the best partners to achieve this. EEX Chief Strategy Officer Dr Tobias Paulun adds Being a shareholder of GDT fits perfectly to our strategy of taking asset classes which we already successfully serve to a global dimension. EEX looks forward to supporting GDTs growth vision with NZX and Fonterra with the aim to create value for the global dairy value chain by further improving price discovery and price risk management instruments. Next steps for GDT include appointing a new board and planning strategic growth initiatives, such as more frequent auctions and bringing more sellers onto the platform. Fonterras transaction proceeds on sale total NZD $35m. Final transaction proceeds will be subject to customary post-completion adjustments. As with previous one-off transactions, Fonterras FY22 announced forecast earnings range will continue to reflect only the underlying performance of the business. ENDS For further information contact: Fonterra Communications Phone: +64 21 507 072 communications@fonterra.com NZX Communications Simon Beattie Phone: +64 21 702 694 EEX Public Relations Phone: +49 341 2156-216 presse@eex.com GDT Communications Jen OHara Phone: +64 27 705 2178 About Fonterra Were an Aotearoa, New Zealand dairy co-operative owned by 10,000 farming whanau (families). Through the spirit of co-operation and a can-do attitude, Fonterras farmers, along with 20,000 employees around the world, share the goodness of our milk through innovative consumer, foodservice and ingredient brands. Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do, and were committed to leaving things in a better way than we found them. Everyday people working hard to be Good Together in the community. About NZX For more than 150 years we have been creating opportunities for Kiwis to grow their personal wealth and helping businesses prosper. As New Zealands Exchange, we are proud of our record in supporting the growth and global ambitions of local companies. NZX operates New Zealand's equity, debt, funds, derivatives and energy markets. To support the growth of our markets, we provide trading, clearing, settlement, depository and data services for our customers. We also own Smartshares, New Zealand's only issuer of listed Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), and KiwiSaver provider SuperLife. NZX Wealth Technologies is a 100%-owned subsidiary delivering rich online platform functionality to enable New Zealand investment advisors and providers to efficiently manage, trade and administer their client's assets. Learn more about us at: www.nzx.com About EEX The European Energy Exchange (EEX) is the leading energy exchange which builds secure, successful and sustainable commodity markets worldwide together with its customers. As part of EEX Group, a group of companies serving international commodity markets, it offers contracts on Power, Natural Gas and Emission Allowances as well as Freight and Agricultural Products. EEX also provides registry services as well as auctions for Guarantees of Origin, on behalf of the French State. More information: www.eex.com About GDT Global Dairy Trade (GDT) is the world leader in developing and operating dairy trading platforms, and actively supports the development of efficient dairy derivative trading. Our GDT Events auction service is the worlds pre-eminent price discovery platform for globally-traded dairy products, bringing together buyers and sellers of dairy ingredients from 70 countries to trade US$2-3 billion annually. GDTs credible, market-based reference prices play an important role in allowing buyers and sellers to trade with confidence in global and regional dairy markets. Data generated from the auction process is available through our GDT Insight subscription service to support the global dairy industry and associated financial trading. Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: 4th July 2022 Morning Report BIF - Acquires shares in Hot Lime Labs RUA - Cann Group granted TGA GMP for Mildura facility AFI - Invitation to Results Webcast PFI Share Buyback Programme to Pause Greenfern Industries Limited ("GFI") - Late Annual Report FSF - Monthly Allotment/ Redemption Notice 1st July 2022 Morning Report General Capital Releases 2022 Annual Report BIF - Annual Report 2022 On 30 June 2022, at the French Embassy in Greece and in the presence of the Ambassador, His Excellency Patrick Maisonnave, Naval Group gathered its Hellenic industrial partners to sign key contracts and teaming agreements as part of its Hellenic Industrial Participation plan for the FDI frigates for the Hellenic Navy. Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link On 30 June 2022, at the French Embassy in Greece and in the presence of the Ambassador, His Excellency Patrick Maisonnave, Naval Group gathered its Hellenic industrial partners to sign key contracts and teaming agreements as part of its Hellenic Industrial Participation plan for the FDI frigates for the Hellenic Navy. (Picture source: Naval Group) As part of the FDI frigates for the Hellenic Navy program, Naval Group designed a robust Hellenic Industrial Participation plan to develop new capacities in the Hellenic industry, sustaining highly qualified jobs and generating long-term economic spin-offs in Greece. Beyond the frigates program, Naval Group is committed to building strong and long-term partnerships to support the Hellenic Navy and support the development of the naval warfare capabilities of the Hellenic Industry. In this respect, 4 contracts were signed on 30 June with Emmis for the supply of electrical transformators, with Mevaco for mechanical equipment, with Stelma for paint application work, and with Viking Hellas for the supply of rigid hull inflatable boats. In addition, Naval Group entered into teaming agreements and exclusive competitive dialogues with Akmon, Intracom, Miltech, risma and Scytalys. Alain Guillou, Naval Group Executive Vice-President Development, said: Today, we are celebrating a new milestone in our strategic partnership with Greece. I am convinced that this is only the beginning of our collaboration with our Hellenic industry partners. We are committed to supporting the Hellenic Navy in achieving regional superiority at sea, but also the ability of the Hellenic industry to actively prepare the future of naval warfare. David Quancard, Naval Group Executive Vice-President Operation and Performance, added: At Naval Group, we are convinced that partnership is a key and strategic driver for the success of the complex programs that we conduct. We are proud to be signing today contracts and teaming agreements with our Hellenic partners. As the procurement for the frigates is on track, we know that this program will be the first of many we will work on together. Patrick Maisonnave declared: I am very happy to see the first contracts come to fruition between French and Greek manufacturers following Greece's acquisition of Naval Group's FDI frigates. Page Content Earlier this week, the Ministry of VROMI was presented with the final report of the Systemic Investigation on the Solid Waste Collection Tender (SWC) (2021-2026), which concludes the investigation by the Ombudsman. The Systemic Investigation was embarked when two bidders that participated in the SWC tender filed official complaints at the office of the Ombudsman concerning the outcome said tender. Prior to commencing the investigation, the Ombudsman requested the Ministry to respond to the complaints filed which the Ministry complied with and the Ombudsman subsequently decided to start a systemic investigation into the SWC tender process. It is important to note that it is the prerogative of the Ombudsman, based on the National Ordinance of the Ombudsman to start to start a systemic investigation into the work of Government, regardless as to whether a complaint is filed or not. During the process of the Systemic Investigation, the Ministry provided the feedback as requested by the Ombudsman along with additional information beyond what was requested by the Ombudsman to ensure a complete and thorough investigation. For several months during the investigation, a multitude of documents and correspondences was shared between the Ministry and the office Ombudsman. During this period, the Ombudsman and staff members were extended an invitation by the Ministry to in order to discuss and provide clarity into the many documentations in multiple boxes that were submitted by the Ministry. Although the mentioned invitation by the Ministry was declined by the Ombudsman, the Ministry thereafter suggested providing in-person feedback on the documents, but this offer was also declined by the Ombudsman. It is therefore unfortunate to now read that the Ombudsman finds that the Minister refused to provide certain information, while many attempts were made at doing just that Minister Doran eluded. The Ministry is of the opinion that it has provided the requested documentation as well as additional documentation to the Ombudsman and that it has therefore complied with the investigation of the Ombudsman. During said Systemic Investigation, the Department of Infrastructure, Cabinet, the act. Secretary-General and the Minister of VROMI were invited to meetings at the Ombudsmans office. These meetings took place in the format of an interrogation and were attended by all invited whereby answers to the questions posed by the Ombudsman and colleagues were provided. At these meetings, the Ombudsman recorded the hearings but refused to allow the persons invited to hearings to also record the hearings. Requests for copies of the recordings after the conclusion of the hearings were also not honored; even after all persons were heard. The Ombudsman was made aware that her stance on the recording of persons and specifically not allowing them to also record in return, is in violation of the rules set forth by other Ombudsman colleagues and offices (see www.nationaleombudsman.nl and the report (rapport 2014/166) published by the National Ombudsman in 2014 (in the Netherlands). It is also noteworthy that the report of the Ombudsman includes a section on post-awarding of the SWC contracts. The Ministry does not align itself with this section as it falls completely out of the scope of the investigation as indicated by the Ombudsman. When an entity which has been awarded a parcel in the SWC does not live up to their expectations based on the contract in place, then the Ministry should act according to in clauses in the contract for enforcement. Enforcement of a contract is a right afforded to a party in a contract; it does not indicate an issue with the awarding of said contract. The duration of contracts are known when they are entered into by parties. The Ministry works to avoid allowing the terms of contracts to lapse, thereby allowing those who were awarded contracts under a previous tender, to continue working under expired contracts. This puts undue pressure on the budget and it also provides those with existing contracts an added benefit of collecting funds beyond the duration of their contract. It also goes against article 47 of the Comptabiliteitslandsverordening. It was for this reason that the Department of Infrastructure was reminded that time was of the essence with preparing the necessary tasks related to executing the tendering process. When the then department head requested the Minister of VROMI for additional manpower, the Minister responded by providing the requested help. It is no secret that the Ministry of VROMI (among others) is short-staffed. The Ministry has been working diligently, within the confines of what is possible to fill vacancies to improve services rendered. As many may know, recently a job mixer was held to recruit potential candidates which was well attended and have provided some solid candidates for said vacancies. Prior to the awarding of contracts for the SWC tender, the process went through the Department of Infrastructure Section of Contracts, the Dept. Head of Infrastructure Management, the financial controller, the act. Secretary-General, Cabinet, Councils of Ministers and was checked and verified by the Governor and his cabinet. For this reason, the Ministry of VROMI respectfully does not share the position of the Ombudsman that the tender was neither fair nor transparent. The Ministry was requested to provide feedback to the preliminary findings of the report and complied also indicating that the report of the Ombudsman was found to be incomplete in details and therefore affecting the conclusions and outcome of said report. The Ombudsman has included the letter sent by the Ministry as a response to the report in question, but the Ministry has noted that the Ombudsman did not provide any feedback on said response in her final report. Despite not agreeing on the final report of the Ombudsman, it is abundantly clear that the Ministry and Ombudsman share (among others) one main and similar goal, to promote good governance. A tender procedural document was prepared in December 2021, which is used within the Ministry and applied to each tender. It is good to see that the Ombudsman shares this initiative of the Ministry in her recommendations. The Ministry will discuss this report internally and provide feedback to the Ombudsman on her suggestions made in her report. The Ministry of VROMI will continue to work endlessly on improving in all areas as well as continue to uphold the good governance which is being pursued by the Government of Sint Maarten. In closing the Ministry of VROMI looks forward to great cooperation between the two entities. President Xi arrives in Hong Kong for anniversary celebrations Xinhua) 18:54, June 30, 2022 Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan wave to the welcoming crowd upon their arrival in Hong Kong, south China, June 30, 2022. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, arrived in Hong Kong by train on Thursday afternoon. Xi will attend a meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on July 1. He will also inspect the HKSAR. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) HONG KONG, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Hong Kong by train on Thursday afternoon. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, will attend a meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on July 1. Xi will also inspect the HKSAR. Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan are greeted by Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam and her husband Lam Siu-por in Hong Kong, south China, June 30, 2022. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, arrived in Hong Kong by train on Thursday afternoon. Xi will attend a meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the HKSAR on July 1. He will also inspect the HKSAR. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan were greeted by HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam and her husband Lam Siu-por at the West Kowloon high-speed rail station. Hundreds of Hong Kong young people and members of the public waved flags and flowers at the welcome ceremony featuring the performance by the Hong Kong Police Band and lion dancing. Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulates the Hong Kong compatriots and extends his best wishes on the occasion marking the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland upon his arrival in Hong Kong, south China, June 30, 2022. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, arrived in Hong Kong by train on Thursday afternoon. Xi will attend a meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on July 1. He will also inspect the HKSAR. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) Xi congratulated the Hong Kong compatriots and extended his best wishes on the occasion marking the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland. Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulates the Hong Kong compatriots and extends his best wishes on the occasion marking the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland upon his arrival in Hong Kong, south China, June 30, 2022. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, arrived in Hong Kong by train on Thursday afternoon. Xi will attend a meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on July 1. He will also inspect the HKSAR. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) Xi said he has been all along concerned about and caring for Hong Kong. "My heart and the central government's heart are always with the Hong Kong compatriots." Over a period of time, Hong Kong had withstood a series of grave tests and overcome a series of risks and challenges. Hong Kong has since emerged stronger and shown great vigor, Xi said. Facts have proven the great vitality of "one country, two systems," which guarantees Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability and ensures the well-being of the Hong Kong compatriots, Xi said. Xi stressed that as long as "one country, two systems" is upheld unswervingly, Hong Kong will surely have an even brighter future and make new, greater contributions to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Leung Chun-ying and the incoming sixth-term Chief Executive of the HKSAR John Lee also attended the welcome ceremony. (Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji) 'The only other option at the junior high would be to go to an extended school day where half the kids come in early and are dismissed at midday and the other half would come at midday and go into the evening,' McComb said. Our County Editor Dave Hinton is editor of The News-Gazette's Our County section and former editor of the Rantoul Press. He can be reached at dhinton@news-gazette.com. Reporter Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk). Peoples Gas Manlove Field natural-gas storage area is shown in November 2017 southwest of Fisher. In the foreground is one of the many wells in the area. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Partly to mostly cloudy. High 93F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 77F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Introduction The concept of eradication Challenges References Further reading Eradicating a disease has proven challenging for a variety of reasons, not least of all it has been difficult to conceptualize and define what exactly eradication of disease really means. This article considers some of the factors that currently pose a challenge to the notion of disease eradication with a focus on the issues of surveillance, prospects for prophylaxis, and the concept of the patient's right to choose. Image Credit: Leremy/Shutterstock The concept of eradication The eradication of disease has been deemed the holy grail for health officials (Corona, 2020). Since the 1950s there have been seven eradication programs to tackle: malaria, yellow fever, yaws, hookworm, smallpox, poliomyelitis, and dracunculiasis, amongst others. The efforts made to eradicate malaria, yellow fever, and yaws (which causes severe skin infection) were unsuccessful, though they fostered a better understanding of the complexities of disease control. The Smallpox Eradication Program (SEP) was deemed highly successful. This outcome was achieved on account of the fact a vaccination program could be administered in a straightforward way. The Guinea worm and polio eradication programs followed on from the SEP, but these efforts were unfortunately met with varying success, though in the case of polio the disease is now present in only a few countries a far cry from the figure of close to 50 nations when the disease was endemic. The SEP formed the basis for the emergence of the concept of disease eradication in the 1980s. The now-famous Dahlem Workshop on the Eradication of Infectious Diseases convened in March 1997 in Germany to address questions about how to best define eradication (Dowdle, 1998; Quadros, 2002). At the meeting F. Fenner, A. J. Hall and W. R. Dowdle presented their seminal paper, What is Eradication? This question has proven problematic to conceptualize and define. One way to define eradication that has been accepted by the WHO and various other organizations is the permanent reduction to zero of the worldwide incidences of infection caused by a specific agent as a result of deliberate efforts (Corona, 2020). In 1993 the International Task Force for Disease Eradication assessed over 80 potential infectious disease categories of which they designated just six as eradicable candidates (Dowdle, 1998). The World Health Organisation (WHO) has since then declared only two viruses to have been officially eradicated thus far: variola virus (VARV) which causes smallpox and rinderpest virus (RPV) which causes rinderpest (also known as cattle plague). So, what does it take to eradicate disease and why is the endeavor proving to be so challenging? Image Credit: Chinnapong/Shutterstock Challenges Many are doubtful a disease can be eradicated, and the question is: should it be? There are several factors to be considered in this debate, such as: The cost and reliability of eradication The ensuing effect of an eradication claim for a particular disease Inevitable changes in the education of health care professionals to recognize the said disease Surveillance efforts and continued research into the disease will diminish The ongoing threat of bioterrorism entails a lack of trust in claims made for disease eradication; added to this threat is that of synthetic biology and the possibility for genome creation for viruses and micro-organisms Moreover, it is not possible to gain access to all parts of the world for the purpose of surveillance or for prophylaxis. This is usually due to political and military reasons. The effects of climate change may shift the geographical remit for disease occurrence. This factor has already presented us with a challenge in the case of polio. Somalia, on the horn of Africa, still has polio. Here there is no central government, the nation succumbs to piracy, and so there is little hope of mounting an effective health campaign. In other places, such as Burma (Myanmar) and North Korea it is difficult to monitor the rate of disease. Attempts to eradicate polio have furthermore proven problematic in countries like western India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The problems are further exacerbated by the lack of surveillance capability ascribed to many regions around the globe. Poorer countries and remote rural regions frequently lack the capacity to know if a disease has recurred in the wild-type form or if it is present in animal reservoirs thus posing a zoonotic threat. The problems are by no means confined to the poorer and/or remote regions of the world either. In economically richer countries, the emergence of the concept of the patient's right to choose has brought precarity to the notion that diseases like measles and Rubella can be eradicated once and for all. In the UK, USA, and Canada there are many people who actively oppose vaccination and seek to ensure that neither themselves nor close family members, such as dependents, receive these. In recent times, this has implications for the control of the COVID-19 pandemic and the prospects for future eradication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Learning from smallpox: How to eradicate a disease - Julie Garon and Walter A. Orenstein Play References Caplan, A. 2009. Is disease eradication ethical? The Lancet. Doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(09)61179-X. Corona, A. 2020. Disease Eradication: What Does It Take to Wipe out a Disease? American Society for Microbiology. Online: https://asm.org/Articles/2020/March/Disease-Eradication-What-Does-It-Take-to-Wipe-out. Dowdle, W. et al (Eds.). 1998. The Eradication of Infectious Diseases. New York: John Wiley & Sons; 1998. Also Available Online: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/260633/PMC2305684.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y. Gebre, T. 2021. Rethinking Disease Eradication: Putting Countries First. International Health. Doi: 10.1093/inthealth/ihab011. Quadros, C. 2002. Considerations for Viral Disease Eradication: Lessons Learned and Future Strategies: Workshop Summary, in: Institute of Medicine (US) Forum on Emerging Infections (National Academies Press, US). Online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK98114/. Further Reading What are implantable medical devices? Common examples of implantable medical devices Leading manufacturers of implantable medical device References Further reading Implantable medical devices are introduced into the human body through surgery or other medical interventions to serve specific functions. The most common examples of implantable medical devices include artificial joints, breast implants, cochlear implants, intraocular lenses, pacemakers, other cardiac implants, and intrauterine contraceptive devices. Image Credit: PIJITRA PHOMKHAM/Shutterstock.com What are implantable medical devices? Implantable medical devices are placed into the human body either permanently or temporarily to support functions of specific organs or tissues, monitor physiological activities, or deliver medicines. Some implants are prosthetics and intended to replace damaged body parts. These devices could be made up of human tissues or exogenous materials, such as metals, plastics, and ceramics. The functioning of active implantable medical devices depends on an electrical energy source other than that directly generated by the human body or gravity. These battery-powered devices are commonly used to support cardiac functions and are intended to remain inside the body after the surgical or medical implantation procedure. Common examples of implantable medical devices Cardioverter defibrillator A cardioverter defibrillator is a battery-powered medical device implanted in the heart tissue. The device is used to monitor heart rate rhythms, as well as to deliver electrical shocks to stimulate the heart muscle. In patients with recurrent and sustained ventricular tachycardia, the device is implanted to restore normal heartbeat rhythms and prevent sudden cardiac death. Pacemaker A pacemaker is a small battery-operated device implanted under the collarbone. The device sends electrical impulses to the heart through wires to maintain normal heartbeat rhythms. Some pacemakers are wireless and placed inside the heart using a small tube inserted through one of the veins. Any damage to the heart's electrical conduction system due to heart attack can lead to an irregular heartbeat. In such conditions, a pacemaker helps restore and maintain normal heart functions. Left ventricular assist device A left ventricular assist device is used to support cardiac circulation. The left ventricle is a large heart chamber that pumps blood out of the heart to circulate through the body. A left ventricular assist device is a battery-powered mechanical pumping device implanted surgically to maintain the pumping ability of the left ventricle. The device is particularly useful for end-stage heart failure patients who cannot undergo heart transplantation. The device uses a tube to transfer blood from the left ventricle to a pump, which is placed in the upper part of the abdomen. The pump then sends the blood into circulation through the aorta. The battery and control system placed outside the body is connected to the implanted pump through another tube inserted through the abdominal wall. Breast implants Breast implants are placed under the breast tissue or chest muscle for breast augmentation or reconstruction. The implants are generally composed of a silicone outer shell filled with saline or silicone gel. Various implants with different sizes, thicknesses, textures, and shapes are available on the market. Cochlear implants Cochlear implants are electronic hearing devices comprising an external microphone, sound processor, transmitter system, and an internally implanted receiver and electrode system. The internal system uses electronic circuits to receive signals from the external system and send electrical currents to the inner ear. The implants generate effective hearing sensations in people with severe to profound hearing loss. Intraocular lenses Intraocular lenses are implanted permanently into the eye to correct vision. These implants reduce the requirement for glasses or contact lenses. The lenses are made of plastic or silicon and placed in front of or behind the iris. A small incision is made in the eye to insert the lens. In contrast to the intraocular lenses implanted during cataract surgery, these lenses are placed into the eyes without removing the endogenous optical lens. Hip implants Hip implants are medical devices containing a ball and a socket. The ball is usually made up of metal or ceramic, and the socket is made up of metal, ceramic, or plastic. The implants are surgically placed in patients with hip injuries or arthritis to restore mobility and relieve pain. Contraceptive intrauterine devices Contraceptive intrauterine devices are placed inside the uterus to prevent pregnancy. A plastic tube containing the device is inserted into the uterus through the vaginal. After placement, the tube is removed. These devices are very effective for long-term birth control and avoiding the risk and side effects of hormonal contraceptive medicines. More advanced devices release a low-dose hormone into the uterus each day to improve birth control effectiveness. It also reduces menstrual blood flow and protects at-risk women against endometrial cancer. Leading manufacturers of implantable medical device With an increasing prevalence of chronic, age-related health conditions, fast-paced growth in the medical device industry has been observed globally. Some newly emerging technologies, including cloud computing, the internet of things (IoT), and artificial intelligence, have contributed significantly to the advancement in the medical device industry. Companies that have been at the top of the medical device industry for decades include Medtronic (Ireland), Johnson & Johnson (USA), CardinalHealth (Ireland and USA), Abbott (Chicago), Siemens AG (Germany), Stryker Corporation (USA), General Electric Company (USA), Baxter International Inc. (USA), and Boston Scientific Corporation (USA). References Implants and Prosthetics. 2019. U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/products-and-medical-procedures/implants-and-prosthetics Implanted Medical Device. 2020. Science Direct. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/implanted-medical-device Implantable Medical Devices. 2015. American Heart Association. Available at: https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/heart-attack/treatment-of-a-heart-attack/implantable-medical-devices Intrauterine devices. 2020. Medline Plus. Available at: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007635.htm Leading Medical Device Companies in 2020. 2021. University Lab Partners. Available at: https://www.universitylabpartners.org/blog/leading-medical-device-companies-2020 Further Reading The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has had a profound impact on society and the economy worldwide. Since its emergence at the end of 2019, extensive research has been conducted on SARS-CoV-2 in an effort to identify effective therapeutics that can be used to treat the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These efforts have led to the development of several antibodies and antiviral agents that are now approved for use in COVID-19 patients. Study: The Functional Landscape of SARS-CoV-2 3CL Protease. Image Credit: Natalya Rozhkova / Shutterstock.com Targeting the SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro Current COVID-19 therapeutics primarily target three viral targets including the spike glycoprotein, the ribonucleic acid (RNA)-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), as well as the 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro). Whereas monoclonal antibodies will often target the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, remdesivir and molnupiravir target the viral RdRp, and nirmatrelvir targets the SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro. The SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro is required for viral replication, thus making this enzyme an ideal target for novel therapeutics. Several SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibitors have already been developed, some of which have even advanced to clinical trials. In fact, the SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibitor niramtrelvir has already been approved to treat COVID-19 patients alongside ritonavir to prevent severe disease. As compared to the spike protein, which has already undergone many mutations as SARS-CoV-2 has evolved throughout the pandemic, the 3CLpro is largely conserved across several coronaviruses. This suggests that the development of broad-spectrum antivirals targeting this enzyme may be advantageous for the current pandemic, as well as future coronavirus outbreaks. About the study In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv* server, researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, University of Tehran, and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center assess the activity of all potential mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro through deep mutational scanning (DMS). This approach has previously been used to assess the impact of mutations on the expression of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, as well as its binding capabilities to the host cell angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor and neutralizing antibodies. Saccharomyces cerevisiae (budding yeast) was used in the current study due to its ease of handling, utility in previous SARS-CoV-2 DMS studies, and shared protein folding, post-translational modification, and turnover with human proteins. A yeast strain carrying the cloned SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro gene was created using an inducible yeast expression vector. 3CLpro restricts growth in vitro Cells expressing the SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro grew at a slower rate as compared to cells carrying the non-toxic control enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP). A catalytically inactive C145A mutant was subsequently created to determine whether this observed growth reduction was caused by the enzymatic activity of 3CLpro or that of an exogenously produced protease. To this end, the C145A mutant grew at a similar rate as the non-toxic EYFP control when produced in yeast, thereby indicating that the detected toxicity was a direct result of 3CLpro activity. Mutant 3CLpro activity The activity of each SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro variant enrichment was then assessed in the induced and uninduced circumstances to subsequently provide an activity score for each enzyme. These scores were then normalized to the wild-type and stop coding, which was set at 0 and -1, respectively. These studies demonstrated that the tolerance of the protein to each mutation varied widely across each variant, with certain regions appearing to be highly restricted and resistant to mutation. More specifically, mutations to the catalytic dyad, His41, and Cys145, both of which are essential for 3CLpro activity, inevitably led to a loss of protease activity. Other important residues within the active site that were conserved included Asp187 and Arg40, both of which are important for stabilizing various structures within 3CLpro. Phe140, Glu143, His163, His164, and Gln192 were also the most conserved residues that appeared to be resistant to mutations. Comparatively, Glu166 and Gln189 were found to be non-conserved residues that may also be resistant to mutations. The researchers also observed that various regions within 3CLpro mutants, such as those that form the catalytic pocket within the enzyme or reside at the dimerization interface, appear to be strongly intolerant to mutants. The DMS observations on mutant 3CLpro activity were subsequently confirmed through in vitro assays that evaluated the protease activity of these mutants. The evolution of 3CLpro conservation Despite the high degree of conservation observed in 3CLpro, other coronavirus 3CL proteases remain quite diverse. To better understand the activity of less conserved 3CLpro residues that arise due to evolution, the researchers used the ConSurf server. The ConSurf server provided a platform to assess the rate of evolution for each residue, wherein poorly conserved residues were classed as having a high rate of evolution. Comparatively, a greater degree of conservation within the residues led to the classification of a medium or low rate of evolution. Tolerance to mutations was observed in residues with high rates of mutation, whereas intolerance to mutations was observed in residues with low rates of evolution. One potential factor that may contribute to the evolutionary conservation of 3CLpro may include compensatory or enabling mutations that were out of scope for the current study. Implications Despite the highly conserved nature of 3CLpro across different coronaviruses, the current study found that this enzyme can still acquire various mutations; however, it appears that these mutations do not significantly alter 3CLpro activity. Nevertheless, the potential development of resistance against 3CLpro inhibitors warrants future studies on combination treatments that can help reduce the rate of viral escape. Several highly conserved regions within 3CLpro that were identified in the current study appear to have critical roles in the overall structural integrity and catalytic function of this enzyme. Thus, the development of 3CLpro inhibitors in the future could utilize these residues as anchor points. *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. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a series of nationwide lockdowns that disrupted the daily lives of the people globally. For example, a significant number of workers and students were required to quickly shift to remote work, while most individuals also limited their social activities, thus increasing their social isolation from others. Study: The good, the bad, and the mixed: Experiences during COVID-19 among an online sample of adults. Image Credit: eugenegurkov / Shutterstock.com Negative impacts of COVID-19 Several studies have highlighted the negative psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, analysis of both the negative and positive experiences during the early stages of the pandemic, their differences as a function of COVID-19-specific stressful events, and their co-occurrence potential have not been conducted. Most studies on the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have focused on its negative impacts, particularly on mental health disorders, increased concern towards the health of loved ones, psychological harm, loss of health, and leisure activities. The COVID-19 pandemic also amplified inequalities that already existed among disadvantaged groups, including those who faced socioeconomic disadvantages, ethnic minority groups, and the unemployed. Several previous studies have also indicated the worsening of mental health conditions throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in those who already experienced mental health disorders. Social isolation is identified as a prominent factor that contributed to negative COVID-19 experiences. However, a limited number of studies have explored the positive impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the general population. Nevertheless, few studies indicated an increase in well-being and a decrease in anxiety in people with pre-existing mental health conditions. Social connectedness, along with healthy coping and resilience themes, has also been reported among people, including those identifying with disadvantaged groups. Additional positive experiences that have been reported include having more time to do enjoyable activities, be in nature, spend with partners, and exercise. About the study A new PLOS One study explored the different experiences that the general population encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the association of COVID-19-specific stressful events to these experiences. The current study had three objectives, which included investigating factors that could measure positive and negative COVID-19 experiences, using a person-centered approach for the identification of underlying profiles of these experiences, as well as comparing emergent profiles concerning differences in psychological distress, demographic information, and specific stressful events for better understanding. The study included participants who anonymously completed an online survey that was posted on Amazons Mechanical Turk (MTURK) and was open from June 8, 2020, to June 14, 2020. Seven items were created to determine the experiences of the participants during the early months of the pandemic. These items were rated on a six-point scale ranging from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (6) and each followed the prompt, Relative to months before COVID-19. . . Data on demographic and specific COVID-19 events were collected from all study participants. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was used to measure stress during the past month and was rated from Never (0) to Very Often (4). Depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ2), while anxiety was measured using the General Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD2). Both depression and anxiety responses ranged from Not at all (0) to Nearly every day (3). Study findings The study selected the four-profile model, where the Predominantly Positive profile indicated those who strongly supported positive COVID-19 experiences, the Moderately Mixed profile indicated those who supported both negative and positive COVID-19 experiences, the Predominantly Negative profile indicated those who strongly supported negative COVID-19 experiences, and the High Mixed profile indicated those who strongly supported both negative and positive COVID-19 experiences. Taken together, 22.49% of participants identified as Predominantly Positive, 46.85% were considered Moderately Mixed, 22.76% as Predominantly Negative, and 7.91% represented High Mixed. Males were over-represented in the High Mixed and Moderate Mixed profiles, while females were over-represented in Predominantly Negative profiles. African American/Black and Hispanic/Latino were over-represented in the High Mixed profile. Those looking for work or laid off were over-represented in the Moderate Mixed profile, while those who were disabled, retired, or unable to work prior before COVID-19 were over-represented in the Predominately Negative and Predominately Positive profiles. Low earners were over-represented in the Predominately Negative profiles, whereas high earners were over-represented in the Predominately Positive profiles. Average and below-average earners were over-represented in the High Mixed profile. Individuals belonging to the High Mixed profile were younger and experienced psychological distress. A significant proportion of those in the High Mixed profile also had a loss of wage, were themselves diagnosed with COVID-19 or knew someone with COVID-19, and knew someone who died due to COVID-19. Conclusions The current study highlights that the experiences during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be defined unilaterally as negative or positive, as many of these experiences were highly diverse and complex. These findings help identify which individuals were at the greatest risk of negative psychological effects during the pandemic and can subsequently be used for clinical and research purposes. However, additional research is needed to develop targeted intervention and prevention programs to increase the resilience of individuals, both during and beyond the current pandemic. Limitations The study has certain limitations. First, the cross-sectional design of the study was not sufficient to determine positive and negative COVID-19 experiences. Second, the psychological distress was self-reported and could comprise recall bias. Third, the sample is not evenly distributed, as it primarily consists of White or Caucasian individuals. A final limitation is significant doubt regarding sample accuracy. Liz Kirkaldies grandson was near the top of his class in high school and a talented jazz bassist when he started smoking pot. The more serious he got about music, the more serious he got about pot. And the more serious he got about pot, the more paranoid, even psychotic, he became. He started hearing voices. They were going to kill him and there were people coming to eat his brain. Weird, weird stuff, Kirkaldie said. I woke up one morning, and no Kory anywhere. Well, it turns out, hed been running down Villa Lane here totally naked. Kory went to live with his grandmother for a couple of years in Napa, California. She thought maybe she could help. Now, she says that was naive. Kory was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Kirkaldie blames the pot. The drug use activated the psychosis, is what I really think, she said. Indeed, many scientific studies have linked marijuana use to an increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. The risk is more than four times as great for people who use high-potency marijuana daily than for those who have never used, according to a study published in The Lancet Psychiatry in 2019. One study found eliminating marijuana use in adolescents could reduce global rates of schizophrenia by 10%. Doctors and lawmakers in California want cannabis producers to warn consumers of this and other health risks on their packaging labels and in advertising, similar to requirements for cigarettes. They also want sellers to distribute health brochures to first-time customers outlining the risks cannabis poses to youths, drivers, and those who are pregnant, especially for pot that has high concentrations of THC, the chemical primarily responsible for marijuanas mental effects. Todays turbocharged products are turbocharging the harms associated with cannabis, said Dr. Lynn Silver with the Public Health Institute, a nonprofit sponsoring the proposed labeling legislation, SB 1097, the Cannabis Right to Know Act. Californians voted to legalize recreational pot in 2016. Three years later, emergency room visits for cannabis-induced psychosis went up 54% across the state, from 682 to 1,053, according to state hospital data. For people who already have a psychotic disorder, cannabis makes things worse leading to more ER visits, more hospitalizations, and more legal troubles, said Dr. Deepak Cyril DSouza, a psychiatry professor at Yale University School of Medicine who also serves on the physicians advisory board for Connecticuts medical marijuana program. But DSouza faces great difficulty convincing his patients of the dangers, especially as 19 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana. My patients with schizophrenia and also adolescents hear very conflicting messages that its legal; in fact, there may be medical uses for it, he said. If there are medical uses, how can we say theres anything wrong with it? Legalization is not the problem, he said; rather, its the commercialization of cannabis the heavy marketing, which can be geared toward attracting young people to become customers for life, and the increase in THC from 4% on average up to between 20% and 35% in todays varieties. Limiting the amount of THC in pot products and putting health warnings on labels could help reduce the health harms associated with cannabis use, DSouza said, the same way those methods worked for cigarettes. He credits warning labels, education campaigns, and marketing restrictions for the sharp drop in smoking rates among kids and teens in the past decade. We know how to message them, DSouza said. But I dont think we have the will or the resources, as yet. Some states, including Colorado, Oregon, and New York, have dabbled with cannabis warning-label requirements. Californias proposed rules are modeled after comprehensive protocols established in Canada: Rotating health warnings would be set against a bright-yellow background, use black 12-point type, and take up a third of the package front. The bill suggests language for 10 distinct warnings. Opponents of the proposed labels say the requirements are excessive and expensive, especially since marketing to children is already prohibited in California and people must be 21 to buy. This bill is really duplicative and puts unnecessary burdens on the legal cannabis industry, as we already have incredibly restrictive packaging and advertising requirements, said Lindsay Robinson, executive director of the California Cannabis Industry Association. The state should focus more on combating the illicit pot market rather than further regulating the legal one, she said. Legal dispensaries are already struggling to keep up with existing rules and taxes the states 1,500 licensed pot retailers generated $1.3 billion in state tax revenue last year. Adding more requirements makes it harder for them to compete with the illicit market, she said, and more likely to go out of business. The only real option if they fail out of the legal system is to shutter their businesses altogether or to operate underground. And I dont think the state of California, with the tax revenue, wants either of those to happen, Robinson said. The heart of the issue is that theres a massive, unregulated market in the state. Some people are skeptical that the labels will work. Liz Kirkaldies grandson, Kory, is stable now, living with his dad. But shes not sure a yellow warning wouldve stopped him when he was a teen. Theyre just not going to pay attention, she said. But if it helps even one person? Great. Scientists still do not know what causes schizophrenia, but they believe multiple factors are at play, including genetics, family history, trauma, and other influences in a persons environment, like smoking pot. Some scientists believe having schizophrenia in the first place predisposes people to smoking pot. While its difficult to prove a direct causal link between cannabis use and schizophrenia, the associations are strong enough to warrant action, said DSouza, and, importantly, pot use is one of the few risk factors people can control. Not everyone who smoked cigarettes developed lung cancer, and not everyone who has lung cancer smoked cigarettes, he said. But I think we would all agree that one of the most preventable causes of lung cancer is cigarette smoking. Applying the same health education strategies to cannabis that were used for tobacco, he said, is long overdue. This story is part of a partnership that includes KQED, NPR, and KHN. Two levels underground, Chicago's Field Museum has a secret bunker. The sub-basement Collections Resource Center houses millions of biological specimens for scientists around the world to use in their research, including countless bottles and jars containing pickled fish, lizards, and snakes, arranged like a library. Many of these specimens are decades or even centuries old, near-perfectly preserved by a combination of formalin and alcohol. But the process that preserves tissues often destroys or at least makes acquiring DNA for modern studies very difficult, which is bad news for scientists who study genetic relationships between organisms. A new study in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, however, reveals new approaches for getting and maximizing usable DNA from decades-old pickled specimens, and uses these techniques to solve a long-standing mystery about a small snake from the island of Borneo. As a true crime aficionado, it reminds me of how people didn't take DNA samples when a crime was committed in the 1960s, because nobody could have predicted that one day DNA samples would let you pinpoint who committed a crime. These older museum specimens are sometimes the only available examples of a species, but they weren't preserved with DNA in mind-- this paper is about how we can squeeze every bit of information possible out of them." Sara Ruane, assistant curator of herpetology at the Field Museum and study's senior author The project was born of the dissertation research of Justin Bernstein when he was Ruane's student at Rutgers University-Newark. "My primary study is on a group of snakes, called homalopsids or mud snakes, that live in South and Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Australia," says Bernstein, the paper's lead author. "They're really fascinating; they live in muddy, aquatic environments, and there are 56 species of them. We use DNA to study their evolutionary history, to try to describe new species, and to learn what happened to these groups over tens of millions of years that led to the diversity we see today." For this paper, there was one animal in particular that Bernstein and Ruane were trying to place into a family group, a two-foot-long greenish-brown snake called Hydrablabes periops, aka the olive small-eyed snake. It's found on Borneo, a large island east of mainland Malaysia and northwest from Australia that contains parts of Malaysia and Indonesia and the entire nation of Brunei. Based on its appearance, scientists had suggested two different families that it might be a part of. Analyzing its DNA could reveal its closest relatives and thus, its family, but that was easier said than done. "About half of mud snake diversity and all Hydrablabes vouchers are known from older specimens that were chemically treated, and this chemical treatment breaks down the DNA," says Bernstein. Part of the process of preserving an animal in alcohol is "fixing" it with a substance called formalin, a solution of formaldehyde gas and water, that makes its tissues rubbery and rigid. Unfortunately, the DNA in its cells gets altered as well. "It does something called crosslinking, which binds up the DNA," says Ruane. "If you want to study its DNA, you need to undo or try to force the DNA out from those crosslinks." Studying the olive small-eyed snake meant taking small samples of liver tissue from some of the few specimens in the United States, both from the Field Museum's collections. One from 1964, and the other from a 1993 collecting trip by the Field's then-curator Robert Inger and his wife Tan Fui Lian. Such old specimens required new lab techniques. Normally, getting DNA out of a tissue sample involves adding digestive enzymes that break apart the tissue, leaving the DNA behind, and heating it to 130 for several hours. "We had to modify the way we got the DNA out by making it hotter for longer and using more of these digestive enzymes," says Ruane. These more extreme preparation methods have been effective for other snakes in previous studies, but the resulting genetic analysis still contained lots of gaps for Borneo's Hydrablabes snake specimen. "The chemicals used to preserve the snakes sheared their DNA into shorter pieces of code, which made them hard to compare with longer, more complete genes from other specimens," says Bernstein. "The first software that I used made it hard to understand how much fragmented DNA there was across the study specimens, but switching to a different software that visualized the pieces of genetic code made it easier to see where there were problems." And even the smaller, more fragmented pieces of code could be added to larger, published datasets to help build an evolutionary tree. An important aspect of this paper for Bernstein was being transparent about the difficulties of using older specimens and the troubleshooting required to study them. "I wanted to show scientists that you can still do work with these specimens, it just requires a bit of finagling," he says. "On a broader level, the study is really showing how to leverage the data you do obtain and how you can combine it with previously published datasets to investigate some really cool hypotheses." As for the Bornean snake at the heart of the study, the researchers were able to determine that it's a member of the family Natricidae, which contains distant relatives such as the North American garter snakes. Which might not seem like a big deal, but "knowing that a particular species is part of a certain group can tell us a lot about biogeography and about how life on Earth has changed over time," says Ruane. And beyond the study of snakes, she notes that overall, "this project underscores the importance of museum collections, because you never know what you'll be able to learn from specimens in the future." The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) is hosting a free webinar, "When Medicine is Not Enough for Schizophrenia and Psychosis" on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, at 2:00 pm EDT. The presenter will be Dawn I. Velligan, Ph.D., Director of the Division of Community Recovery, Research and Training and Henry B. Dielmann Chair, Department of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. Dr. Velligan was a recipient of a 2016 Distinguished Investigator Grant and 2002 Independent Investigator Grant. Register today at BBRFoundation.org. Many individuals experience continued symptoms for schizophrenia and psychosis despite the best medication treatments available. What are some of the therapy approaches that can help when medicine is not enough? How do these approaches work? Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., President and CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation and Host and Executive Producer of the public television series "Healthy Minds," will be the moderator. This webinar is part of a series of free monthly "Meet the Scientist" webinars on the latest developments in psychiatry offered by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. In a recent article posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers conducted environmental sampling for an imported monkeypox virus (MPXV) case in the United Kingdom (UK). Study: Infection-competent monkeypox virus contamination identified in domestic settings following an imported case of monkeypox into the UK. Image Credit: NIAID Background Monkeypox is a re-emerging zoonotic illness with a case fatality rate of about 10% caused by MPXV, a double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) virus belonging to the Orthopoxvirus genus. Additionally, West and Central Africa are the endemic areas for MPXV. Several imported human monkeypox cases have been reported recently in countries like the United States (US), the UK, Singapore, and Israel. This phenomenon probably correlates with diminished protection against monkeypox infection offered previously by the smallpox vaccination program in endemic areas. There may be more imported cases of monkeypox in the future; such instances call for rigorous clinical oversight, including effective infection control measures. Indeed, environmental sampling to recognize contaminated locations potentially posing a threat could guide infection control recommendations. Transmission electron micrograph of Mulberry form pox virion cultured from a towel sampled in the patients bedroom. Direction magnificent = x92000. About the study The present report details an environmental sampling response in the wake of an imported monkeypox case detected in the UK toward the end of 2019. In December 2019, a traveler about 40 years returning from Nigeria after a four-week trip to the UK became MPXV-positive. Symptoms started about two weeks before returning with a four-day febrile illness and a persistent extensive pustular rash. The patient reported no travel to rural regions and had no known interaction with animals, raw foods, or vermin while in Nigeria. Patient samples from three lesions, throat swabs, urine, and blood were examined at the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory in the UK Health Security Agency, Porton, and found MPXV-positive. Afterward, the team conducted environmental sampling at two adjoining single-room residences occupied by the patient and their sibling. They also analyzed a long-haul commercial bus utilized by the patient to travel nearly 200 miles from the airport to their residence. Positive samples were identified using both surface and vacuum sampling techniques. The monkeypox diagnosis was validated by pan-orthopox and MPXV-specific real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) testing. The detection of MPXV DNA from different environmental samples was validated using RT-qPCR allied with viral isolation to determine the presence of infection-competent material. Whole-genome sequencing and electron microscopy were applied to positive samples for further confirmation and elucidation. To sum up, the current paper focused on concurrent research to depict the chance of onward MPXV transmission in settings where the patient spent extended time after returning to the UK and before diagnosis. Results The study results indicated that MPXV DNA was detected in several sites throughout the two adjoining single-room residences inhabited by the MPXV-infected person and their sibling. All 21 surface samples from the patient's apartment were MPXV RT-qPCR-positive, with most exhibiting cycle threshold (Ct) values that indicated substantial contamination. Additionally, multiple MPXV-positive samples were found in the sibling's residence, communal areas, and the connecting platform. Three days after the patient's last visit to these areas, the infectious MPXV was extracted from six samples. These findings verified that contaminated environments might present a risk of onward MPXV transmission. Four samples chosen for virus isolation could not be proven to contain a viable virus. The Ct values for all four samples were 29.9, suggesting an estimate for preferencing samples for virus isolation efforts in future sampling cycles. On the other hand, two samples that yielded viable viruses exhibited Ct values above 29.9, proving that this number was simply an approximation. Moreover, classic pox-like virions observed using transmission electron microscopy and sequence information from various successful isolations showed that the presently detected MPXV was linked strongly to sequences connected to incidences of recent MPXV importations from Nigeria. Besides, MPVX DNA could not be detected in any of the samples taken from the bus on which the patient traveled using RT-qPCR. This result suggests no apparent fomite transmission on the bus after the patient's travel. However, the team mentioned that they conducted the sampling around a week after the trip, and the vehicle would have been cleaned by this time. Further, the patient's fellow passengers on the bus and those who boarded subsequently did not report any symptoms of monkeypox. Conclusions Overall, the present study verifies the likelihood that infection-competent MPXV could be recovered in environments linked to known positive cases and the need for quick environmental assessments to minimize possible exposure to close contacts and the common public. Future confirmed cases of monkeypox might benefit from using the techniques used in this investigation for environmental sampling, RT-qPCR recognition, and viral isolation of positive samples. These techniques could assist in the determination of environmental contamination levels, confirming the existence of infection-competent material, and pinpointing areas needing additional cleaning. These adaptations could avert subsequent MPXV cases among close circles or the general public. *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. In a recent study published in the BMJ, researchers investigated the factors that might influence the long-distance (more than two meters) airborne transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV2) in real-world indoor settings, e.g., workplaces and residential apartments. Over a short-range, i.e., under two meters, SARS-CoV-2 transmits via respiratory droplets and aerosols. However, there is a lack of evidence on whether it transmits for long distances via aerosols indoors. Study: Long distance airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2: rapid systematic review. Image Credit: NIAID About the study In the present study, researchers comprehensively skimmed through epidemiological observational studies and outbreak investigations published between January 2020 and July 2020 to identify places where human-to-human SARS-CoV-2 transmission most likely occurred. Two reviewers independently screened these studies using an online tool Rayyan Systems, and a third reviewer resolved discrepancies if there were any. The data sources included Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase, medRxiv, Arxiv, and the World Health Organization (WHO) coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) research database. The primary study outcome was an incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection contracted through long-distance and factors influencing the same. The quality criteria checklist comprised ten questions, with four critical questions. The researchers strictly adhered to quality assessment related to exposure of transmission routes and the validity of outcome assessment. Finally, they used the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework to classify the evidence for a specific outcome as high, moderate, low, or very low certainty. Study findings The researchers identified 18 studies, all investigating clusters of COVID-19 outbreaks across Asia, Europe, Oceania, and the United States. These studies covered indoor settings, such as apartment blocks, hotels, restaurants, buses, food processing facilities, courtrooms, offices, and singing concerts. Seven outbreaks identified via these studies occurred between January and March 2020, i.e., the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic when community transmission was likely higher than perceived. Consequently, these studies considered only symptomatic participants as potential secondary cases. Moreover, the authors concluded that long-distance airborne SARS-CoV-2 transmission likely occurred for some or all transmission events in 16 of 18 studies. More importantly, inadequate air replacement, unidirectional airflow, and activities associated with increased aerosol emissions, such as singing or speaking, increased the likelihood of long-distance aerosol transmission. Four of 18 studies made observations based on extensive epidemiological investigations and genome sequencing. Hence, they provided solid evidence for long-distance airborne SARS-CoV-2 transmission. The first such study was by Eichler et al.; however, they could not exclude close contact or the fomite route of SARS-CoV-2 transmission for the secondary cases. The studies by Shah et al., Groves et al., Han et al., Hwang et al., and Vernez et al. fetched limited results (could not rule out fomite completely) due to their methodological limitations. However, their findings suggested that long-distance airborne SARS-CoV-2 transmission could have occurred for some if not all the events. Finally, Sarti et al. reported an uncertain prospect of long-distance airborne transmission in an office outbreak despite adequate COVID-19 measures in place. Further, 11 of the 18 studies mentioned that masking was compulsory in the indoor settings of interest without reporting on adherence to the mask use. Due to limited information, the study reviewers could not find evidence of long-distance airborne transmission. Also, the SARS-CoV-2 transmission setting and distance over which airborne transmission was perceived to have occurred could not be graded due to the observed heterogeneity between studies. Conclusions The evidence from the current rapid systematic review was of very low certainty. It highlighted the challenges in identifying long-distance SARS-CoV-2 transmission events and their under-reporting. More importantly, it demonstrated that COVID-19 outbreaks related to long-distance airborne transmission were rare. Nevertheless, the study found evidence supporting the feasibility of airborne SARS-CoV-2 transmission as an important route in indoor settings, especially in poorly ventilated spaces. Therefore, ventilation systems in indoor settings should be paid attention to when found inadequate. Also, activities like singing and loud speaking that increase aerosol emissions should be avoided in indoor public settings (e.g., pubs, restaurants). Future outbreak investigations should deploy mixed methods, from genomic analysis to environmental assessments for robust results. Additionally, such studies should be conducted as early as possible to lessen recall bias. In a recent study posted to Research Square*, researchers investigated whether wind-assisted transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was possible. Background In an American study, 46% of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) reported known contacts, indicating that infection could spread via less apparent routes. Evidence of the aerosol-mediated transmission of viral infections, including COVID-19, is increasing. Aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 was reported inside a quarantine facility, and an outbreak in a cruise ship reinforces the possibility of aerosol transmission. Under experimental conditions, the aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 was viable for three hours in 65% relative humidity. Another experimental study reported that the viability of aerosolized virus in artificial saliva was up to five hours. Because SARS-CoV-2 was viable up to the tested duration, the actual period of its viability remains unclear. Therefore, it is possible that viral particles carried by wind could cause an increase in COVID-19 cases downwind. The study and findings The present study tested whether COVID-19 infections soar following wind change. COVID-19 hotspots in the United Kingdom (UK) during the initial pandemic phase were identified. Case trends in hotspots were analyzed upwind and downwind within 14 days of wind change. The wind was southwesterly in West Midlands until mid-March and variable after that. Data from Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Dudley, Walsall, Sandwell, and Coventry were combined into the West Midlands area. The northeasterly wind blew twice during March 26 31 and April 17 23, 2020. Data from Worcestershire and Warwickshire were combined (henceforth WosWar) for analysis. COVID-19 cases peaked on April 3, 2020, in West Midlands and WosWar and declined after that, a trend similar to the UK. Case rates plateaued in WosWar from April 7, 12 days post first wind change. The decrease in COVID-19 cases was slower in WosWar than in West Midlands after the second wind change. In contrast, case trends in Staffordshire (north to and upwind of West Midlands) were distinct. Case rates peaked on April 4 before dropping and increased steadily from April 8, after the first wind change. Next, they investigated a known hotspot, Sheffield, northeast of Staffordshire. A northeasterly wind blew into Staffordshire thrice from March April 2020. Cases increased from April 8, 12 days post first wind change and peaked on April 15. Cases rates increased from April 18, after the second wind change. A third wind change began during this surge. In Sheffield, case rates declined from April 30, while case trends remained plateaued until May 5 in Staffordshire. Notably, COVID-19 cases soared sharply after testing for essential workers was mandated on April 23. Northeasterly winds blew twice between March 26 31 and April 18 22, traveling across London into Surrey. COVID-19 cases peaked between April 5 and 8 in London and April 6 in Surrey. A steady increase in COVID-19 cases commenced 13 days after the first wind change from April 8, plateauing until April 17. Cases in Surrey and London continued to decline after the second wind change. A southerly wind blew from London during March 23 25 to the north into Buckinghamshire, Essex, and Hertfordshire (BEH). This wind change coincided with the increasing case rate in BEH. Cases peaked in BEH on April 9 before dropping. Another southerly wind blew between April 4 and 7, and the rate of decline was slower 12 days after April 16 and plateaued between April 24 and 29. A southerly (April 4, 5) and southwesterly (April 7) wind blew into Northumberland from County Durham and Tyne and Wear. COVID-19 cases increased significantly in Northumberland eight days after the wind change, and meanwhile, cases in County Durham and Tyne and Wear were already peaked and began to drop. Eight days after the southerly wind, cases in Northumberland increased while those in County Durham and Tyne and Wear decreased. Conclusions The study observed an increase in COVID-19 cases downwind following a wind change, probably due to wind-assisted spread/transmission of SARS-CoV-2 particles from a hotspot to adjacent regions. The authors believed that places beyond those analyzed in this investigation might also have an effect. Overall, the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 transmission by wind has critical implications for preventing its spread, and more research is required to address the aerosol transmission of the virus. *Important notice Research Square 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. The Korber European Science Prize 2022, endowed with one million euros, is to be awarded to the British cell biologist Anthony Hyman. In 2009, Hyman and his team - during studies on single-cell embryos of a threadworm - discovered a completely new state of biological matter: proteins can accumulate locally in high concentrations in the cell fluid. These "condensates" resemble tiny drops. They form dynamically, sometimes in a matter of seconds, and are usually also quickly broken down again. In the degradation is disturbed - often due to age - toxic substances can be deposited in affected cells, triggering degenerative diseases such as ALS or Alzheimer's disease. Hyman is now looking for new drugs that could cure these diseases. In healthy human cells, condensates are formed when, for example, they are exposed to stress - such as poisoning, radiation or heat: Stress granules then shut down the activity of the cell in a kind of lockdown strategy to prevent permanent damage. In the brain, for example, neurotransmitters responsible for signal transmission in the synapses accumulate in condensates. In the cell nucleus, too, an estimated one-third of the molecules are organized in membraneless condensates. The study of condensates - initiated by Hyman's ground-breaking discovery in 2009 - is still in its infancy but is now the fastest-growing pioneering field in cell biology. Condensates hold the key to some of the field's biggest unanswered questions. Researchers around the world are trying to uncover the secrets of the complex molecular interactions in the droplets. Pharmaceutical research is also heavily involved - in the hope of influencing condensate formation with drugs and curing diseases such as Alzheimer's or ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). In both cases, the cause of the disease is condensates that solidify into toxic deposits. Anthony Hyman, 60, was born in the Israeli city of Haifa. After studying zoology in the UK at the University of Cambridge, he did his doctorate at King's College in 1987 on embryonic cell divisions of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. He went to the University of California in San Francisco as a postdoctoral researcher. In 1993, Hyman became group leader at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg. In 1999, he was one of the founding members of the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) in Dresden, which he still heads today together with a team of directors. He has been a Fellow of the British Royal Society since 2007, an international member of the American National Academy of Sciences since 2020 and a member of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina since 2021. Hyman likes to explain the scientific significance of condensate research using the example of a village: The villagers work in different places, for example in the bakery or the greengrocer's. Cells are organized in a similar way. The proteins and RNA of a cell work together in certain cell areas, including the condensates, and perform different functions there. Accordingly, Hyman's research approach is more complicated than the traditional approach: While the molecules in the condensates interact biochemically in the usual way, the droplets are additionally subject to the laws of biophysics. They form through a phase change - similar to how water turns to ice when it is cold. The higher concentration of proteins in the condensates causes their density to increase. They then behave similarly to drops of oil in a vinaigrette. Oil and vinegar do not mix perfectly. If the dressing is left to stand, the oil droplets separated by the energy of stirring gradually join together to form larger droplets until, after a few hours, all the oil is floating on top again. A similar observation led to the discovery of condensates in 2009, which represent a fundamentally new state of biological matter. Hyman and his interdisciplinary team developed a whole arsenal of methods to observe condensates and better understand their function. "We combine concepts from molecular biology, physical chemistry and soft matter physics," the prize winner explains. With the funds from the Korber Prize, Hyman wants to refine the methods even further in the future. In addition, he wants to find the amino acid codes that influence the biophysical behavior of proteins and explain what goes wrong in neurodegenerative diseases. He is convinced "that the cell biological understanding of condensate formation will have an important impact on future drug development". That is why Hyman is also co-founder of the Boston/Dresden-based company Dewpoint Therapeutics, which researches, among other things, the effect of drugs on condensates. Its priority is to prevent the formation of disease-causing deposits with suitable drugs. Patients and doctors expect drug regulators to provide an unbiased, rigorous assessment of new medicines before they hit the market. But an investigation published by The BMJ today finds that industry money permeates the globe's leading regulators, raising questions about their independence, especially in the wake of a string of drug and device scandals. Over the past decades, regulatory agencies have seen large proportions of their budgets funded by the industry they are sworn to regulate, explains investigative journalist Maryanne Demasi. Industry fees to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have increased 30 fold - from around $29m in 1993 to $884m in 2016, while in Europe, industry fees now fund 89% of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), up from 20% in 1995. In 2005, the UK House of Commons' health committee evaluated the influence of the drug industry on health policy. But nearly two decades on, little has changed, and industry funding of drug regulators has become the international norm. The BMJ asked six leading regulators, in Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, the UK, and US, a series of questions about their funding, transparency in their decision-making (and of data), and the rate at which new drugs are approved. Of these, Australia had the highest proportion of budget from industry fees (96%) and in 2020-2021 approved more than nine of every 10 drug company applications. Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) firmly denies that its almost exclusive reliance on pharmaceutical industry funding is a conflict of interest (COI). But in Australia, experts have called for a complete overhaul of the TGA's structure and function, arguing that the agency has become too close to industry. Sociologist Donald W Light of Rowan University in New Jersey, US, who has spent decades studying drug regulation, says, "Like the FDA,the TGA was founded to be an independent institute. However, being largely funded by fees from the companies whose products it is charged to evaluate is a fundamental conflict of interest and a prime example of institutional corruption." Concern over COIs is not just directed at those who work for the regulators but extends to the advisory panels intended to provide regulators with independent expert advice, notes Demasi. Of the regulators approached by The BMJ, only Canada's did not routinely seek advice from an independent committee and its evaluation team was the only one completely free of financial COIs. European, Japanese, and UK regulators publish a list of members with their full declarations online for public access, while the FDA judges COIs on a meeting-by-meeting basis and can grant waivers allowing participation of members. People should know about any financial COIs that those giving advice have so that they can evaluate whether those COIs have influenced the advice they are hearing. People need to be able to trust what they hear from public health officials and a lack of transparency erodes trust." Joel Lexchin, drug policy researcher at York University in Toronto Demasi acknowledges that there have been improvements in the transparency and accessibility of trial data, but points out that most regulatory agencies do not undertake their own assessment of individual patient data, but rather rely on summaries prepared by the drug sponsor. Industry fees are also used to help speed up approval of new treatments, she adds. Today, all major regulators offer "expedited pathways" but there is concern that quicker approval decisions have resulted in new drugs that were more likely to be withdrawn for safety reasons, more likely to carry a subsequent black box warning, and more likely to have one or more dosage forms voluntarily discontinued by the manufacturer. Critics also point to a regulator-industry "revolving door" that has seen many agency officials end up working or consulting for the same companies they regulated. Experts say that both small and large structural changes are necessary to help restore regulators' ability to carry out independent decision making, free of industry influence. Donald Light argues that regulators now need their own watchdog and is calling for a drug and vaccine safety board, independent of the drug regulator, with the authority, staffing, and funds to investigate incidents of patient harm. "Countries have independent safety boards for airlines and their passengers. Why not for drugs and patients too?" he says. The main objective of the study outlined below was to determine if continuous sampling (and multisampling point assay) offers effective monitoring for the complete production process (8 hours) by establishing whether trapped organisms can endure long-term drying stress with unaltered recovery. This study analyzed the recovery and feasibility of microorganisms captured on gelatin filters during 8 hours of filtration with HEPA-filtered air from a laminar flow hood, utilizing the MD8 Airscan system. Stressed and unstressed filters were contrasted with parallel-run reference filters as controls. The CFU were counted and the genus of the identified microorganism populations was established to assess if any changes occurred in microbiological flora during continuous long-term sampling. In contrast to the unstressed reference filters, no changes were noted in neither total recovery nor recovered bacterial diversity. No statistically meaningful differences in CFU/m3 were discovered between test filters and reference filters, and no considerable differences in the microbiological flora between test filters and reference filters. CFU populations were comparable: 8 hours of continuous air sampling on gelatin filters with the MD8 Airscan system did not influence total recovery or impact the diverse range of recovered microorganisms when test filters and reference filters were compared. Observing microbiological contamination of air in production areas is crucial because the aseptic filling is the step in the manufacturing process of the pharmaceutical industry that harbors one of the greatest risks for contamination.2 Aseptic filling lines are being deployed on an increased basis throughout the pharmaceutical industry because an increasing amount of biotechnology products cannot be sterilized after production without the sterilization process having some sort of impact on their quality. Filling lines are determined by ISO 51, and air actively sampled in these environments must comply by having less than one colony-forming unit per cubic meter (CFU/m3), with a minimum sample volume of one m3 of air taken per sample location, in line with Annex 1 to the EU GMP guide. Taking an 8-hour work shift into account, one m3 may be too low a sample volume to judge the overall air quality of the manufacturing environment reliably. Thus, developing a constant production monitoring tool to mitigate the risk of contamination and enhance the standard of quality control is necessary. A method is required that consistently surveys all cycles of the production process and facilitates sampling at multiple points. To establish if continuous air sampling using gelatin membranes can monitor the entire production process effectively over an eight-hour shift, the feasibility of microorganisms on gelatin filters throughout the sterile air long-term filtration process, i.e., whether trapped organisms can endure long-term drying stress and yield unaltered recovery, was evaluated. Previous studies and tests had demonstrated that gelatin filters with an inlet velocity of 0.25 m/second had a mean retention rate of around 99.9995% for Bacillus subtilis varniger spores and 99.94% for T3 coliphages.5 Image Credit: Sartorius Methods and materials The study evaluated whether the feasibility of microorganisms on gelatin filters was preserved throughout the long-term filtration of filtered air. The term filtered air is relative to the ISO 5 HEPA-filtered air of the used Class 2 biological safety cabinet. Test and reference gelatin filters were initially exposed to nonsterile air for around 30 minutes. The MD8 Airscan air samplers (set at an airflow rate of 2.0 m3/hour (0,144 m/second)) were placed in a non-controlled laboratory environment (autoclave room) at an approximate distance of 3040 cm apart from each other. This sampling location was selected to build up unique environmental conditions. There, a greater relative humidity (~ 57 6% and temperature: ~ 21 1 C) was anticipated, meaning a greater deal of drying stress-sensitive, waterborne microorganisms (e.g., gram-, generating a worst-case scenario). Furthermore, a typical greater content of airborne microorganisms was expected per cubic meter than in the normal laboratory. It was thus speculated because of this that the subsequent 8 hours of drying stress would clearly show a visible and statistically detectable effect. Following this, the test filters were applied to sample filtered air for an additional 8-hour period. For the filtration of ISO 5 graded air, the MD8 Airscan sampling heads were fixed beneath a laminar flow hood (relative humidity: ~ 43 3% and temperature: ~ 23 1 C). Therefore, there was no additional high relative humidity during the 8-hour stressing. The reference filters were exposed to only 30 minutes of filtration of non-sterile air without additional aeration. They were positioned on soybean-casein-digest agar medium directly once sampling was complete. At the end of the 8-hour filtration period beneath the laminar flow hood, the test filters were also placed on soybean-casein-digest agar medium plates and incubated for four days at around 32 oC. The cultured colonies that developed were counted and recorded as CFU/m3 26 times. Then, for the test and reference filters, the CFU/m3 were compared. In addition, the genus of each colony was established to find out if any variations in microbiological flora had occurred during continuous long-term sampling. Results Figure 1 exhibits an average CFU/m3 on test (gold bar, mean = 69 colonies, sd = 51 colonies) and reference filters (grey bar, mean = 64 colonies, sd = 32 colonies). A mean difference of 5 CFU/m3 (not statistically meaningful according to the paired T-test) was discovered, but no general trend was seen upon the comparison of test and reference filters (see Figure 2). Figure 1. Comparison of mean CFU on test and reference gelatin filters. Image Credit: Sartorius Figure 2. Comparison of CFU on the paired test and reference gelatin filters. Image Credit: Sartorius Across 12 cases, more CFU/m3 were present on test filters than on reference filters, but the opposite was determined in 13 cases (see Figure 2). The conventional deviation in test and reference filters can be associated with the general fluctuation of microorganisms naturally present in the ambient air of non-controlled environments. No statistically meaningful difference in the growth of microorganisms on test versus reference filters was noted. Figures 3 and 4 represent a soybean-casein-digest agar medium plate with microbiological flora grown on the paired test (left) and reference filters (right). This visual impression shows that similar comparisons can be made between the microbiological population found on the test and reference filters. Figure 3. Comparison of the microbiological flora grown on a test filter (left) and its corresponding reference filter (right). The composition of the microbiological population found on the test and reference filters is comparable. Representative soybean-casein-digest agar medium plates showing the microbiological flora grown on a test filter (left) and its corresponding reference filter (right). Image Credit: Sartorius Figure 4. Comparison of the microbiological flora grown on a test filter (left) and its corresponding reference filter (right). The composition of the microbiological population found on the test and reference filters is comparable. Representative soybean-casein-digest agar medium plates showing the microbiological flora grown on a test filter (left) and its corresponding reference filter (right). Image Credit: Sartorius The genus identification data from a macroscopic comparison of the microbiological flora displayed in Figures 5A and 5B supports the visual impression that the microbiological population on the test and reference filters correspond. No significant statistical differences in average CFU/m3 levels between test and reference gelatin filters were noted. The gold bar indicates a mean CFU/m3 of 69 colonies, with a basic deviation (sd) of 51 colonies for the test filters (counted 26 separate times). The grey bar exhibits an average CFU/m3 of 64 colonies, with an sd of 51 colonies for the reference filters (counted 26 separate times). The average difference of 5 CFU/m3 between test and reference gelatin filters was not statistically meaningful. There was no general trend of CFU/m3 when comparing test and reference filters. The gold bar displays CFU/m3 for 26 replicates of the test filters, and the grey bar is representative of CFU/m3 for the reference filters. Figure 5. A. Composition of the microbiological population grown on the test gelatin filters. Almost all microbes grown on test filters is Cocci. This figure shows a breakdown of microbes grown on soybean-caseindigest agar medium plates from test filters. B. Composition of the microbiological population grown on the reference gelatin filters. Almost all microbes grown on reference filters are Cocci. This figure shows a breakdown of microbes grown on soybean-casein-digest agar medium plates from reference filters. Image Credit: Sartorius Conclusion The aim of this study was to assess if gelatin filters produced by Sartorius Stedim Biotech GmbH are feasible for long-term (eight hours [8 hours]) air sampling in manufacturing conditions in the pharmaceutical industry. Specifically, if microorganisms captured on gelatin membranes are able to survive long-term filtration with filtered air. The 8-hour filtration period represents a standard work shift on an aseptic filling line. The studys focus was aimed on determining whether long-term air filtration reduced the number of CFU/m3 on filters. Therefore, a non-sterile air sampling on test filters for 30 minutes, followed by a filtration of ISO 5 graded air for 8 hours. The experiment offered no statistically meaningful differences between test (stressed) and reference (unstressed) filters. The test filters contained the same number of CFU/m3 as the reference filters (i.e., no microorganisms died during long-term filtration). The normal variations in test and reference filters could be correlated with the broad variations of microorganisms occurring naturally in the ambient air of non-controlled environments. Moreover, no major difference between the bacterial flora cultivated on the test and reference filters in either macroscopic or visual comparison could be determined. Even gram-negative bacteria were found on test filters, and there was no major statistical difference between stressed and unstressed gelatin filters. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that there is no major statistical difference between stressed and unstressed gelatin filters, thus demonstrating that gelatin membranes manufactured by Sartorius Stedim Biotech GmbH are appropriate for unremitting air monitoring in industrial, pharmaceutical production environments spanning a whole 8 hour work shift without needing human intervention. References (Draft of the Revision of) Annex 1 of the EU Guidelines to Good Manufacturing Practice, November 2008 (December 2017) USP, Chapter 1116 Microbiological Evaluation of Cleanrooms C. Scherwing, F. Golin, O. Guenec, K. Pflanz, G. Dalmaso, M. Bini, F. Andone, Continuous microbiological air monitoring for aseptic filling lines, PDA J Pharm Sci Technol, March|April 2007 61: 102109 CAMR Report 1993 An assessment of the Sartorius MD-8 Microbial Air Sampler About Sartorius Sartorius is a leading international pharmaceutical and laboratory equipment supplier. With our innovative products and services, we are helping our customers across the entire globe to implement their complex and quality-critical biomanufacturing and laboratory processes reliably and economically. The Group companies are united under the roof of Sartorius AG, which is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and holds the majority stake in Sartorius Stedim Biotech S.A. Quoted on the Paris Stock Exchange, this subgroup is comprised mainly of the Bioprocess Solutions Division. Innovative technologies enable medical progress A growing number of medications are biopharmaceuticals. These are produced using living cells in complex, lengthy and expensive procedures. The Bioprocess Solutions Division provides the essential products and technologies to accomplish this. In fact, Sartorius has been pioneering and setting the standards for single-use products that are currently used throughout all biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes. Making lab life easier Lab work is complex and demanding: Despite repetitive analytical routines, lab staff must perform each step in a highly concentrated and careful way for accurate results. The Lab Products and Services Division helps lab personnel excel because its products, such as laboratory balances, pipettes and lab consumables, minimize human error, simplify workflows and reduce physical workloads. Sponsored Content Policy: News-Medical.net publishes articles and related content that may be derived from sources where we have existing commercial relationships, provided such content adds value to the core editorial ethos of News-Medical.Net which is to educate and inform site visitors interested in medical research, science, medical devices and treatments. (Newser) A missing golden retriever named Lilah, discovered deep inside a culvert pipe in upstate New York, couldn't be lured out by her owner with peanut butter dog treats or cheese. In the end, State Trooper Jimmy Rasaphone decided to crawl about 15 feet into the pipe under a rural road to rescue Lilah, despite the extremely tight fit. "He crouched down and literally disappeared into the hole with a lead that had a choker on it," said Lilah's owner, Rudy Fuehrer, who called 911 for help on Sunday morning. "He was able somehow to manipulate his arms and get the choker around the dog's head." The trooper and retriever both emerged soaking wet but safe, reports the AP. The 13-year-old dog had been missing since Friday afternoon. Fuehrer was walking his two other dogsboth Lilah's offspringa few hundred feet down the road from his house Sunday when he heard a plaintive yelp. "I said, 'Oh my God, that's Lilah!'" he recalled Tuesday. Fuehrer, who lives near Binghamton, tried to get the weary and confused dog out but eventually called 911. Rasaphone and his partner showed up within minutes. Rasaphone said he'd go into the pipe since he was the smallest of the three of them. Fuehrer, who estimates the pipe's diameter was under 2 feet, was able to pull Lilah out after Rasaphone emerged. Fuehrer said he was grateful Rasaphone had the compassion and initiative to go nose-to-nose with his dog in a drainage pipe. He said Lilah is recovering nicely and out walking. "Needless to say, I took her out on a leash," he said, "because I didn't want any more escapades." (Read more uplifting news stories.) (Newser) The US Supreme Court on Tuesday put on hold a lower court ruling that Louisiana must draw new congressional districts before the 2022 elections to increase Black voting power. As a result, Louisiana's November congressional elections will be held using a Republican-drawn map with white majorities in five of six districts, the AP reports. The high court's ruling paused an earlier decision by a federal judge concerned that the map violates the Voting Rights Act and dilutes Black voter clout. Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, expressed disappointment with the decision. Creating a second African American-majority district was "about simple math, basic fairness, and the rule of law," Edwards said. "Black Louisianans make up one third of our population, and one third of our districts should be majority Black when such a map can be drawn, and, as has been clearly demonstrated, that map is more compact, better adheres to the legal principles governing redistricting, and will perform," he added. With the three liberal justices dissenting, the high court short-circuited the earlier order from US District Judge Shelly Dick to create a second majority Black congressional district in the state. As the map stands, five of Louisiana's six seats appear likely to remain in Republican hands. State Rep. Vincent Pierre, chairman of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus, said he was disheartened by the Supreme Courts decision and added that "hopes for change in the short term have been dashed." The Democrat described the map approved by the legislature as an "obvious violation" of the Voting Rights Act. Democrats and the Black Caucus argue that by the numbers at least two of the six districts should have Black majorities. Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell, a leader in the remapping effort, has insisted that trying to include the state's widely dispersed Black population in two separate congressional districts would result in two districts with very narrow Black majorities that could actually diminish Black voter power. (Read more redistricting stories.) (Newser) Police in Virginia are trying to determine the connection between the founder of a charity fundraising website and the FedEx worker accused of murdering him as he slept. The Fairfax County Police Department says Gret Glyer, 32, was shot in his bed at around 3am on June 24, Fox reports. His wife, who was lying in bed next to him, was unharmed. Joshua Daniel Danehower, 33, was arrested Tuesday night at his workplace, Dulles International Airport, police say. Danehower is believed to be an acquaintance of the family who may have known them through a local church, WJLA reports. Police say that the couple's two children, both under 2 years old, were unharmed and that the gunman left the home immediately after the shooting. Glyer created the DonorSee website, a nonprofit platform that describes itself as a way for donors to directly connect with people in need and antipoverty programs around the world, the Washington Post reports. Interim DonorSee chief executive Owen O'Doherty says Danehower had no connection to the website. He says the nonprofit's 15 workers "are still incredibly shocked and deeply saddened." Glyer founded DonorSee after spending several years in Malawi, where he taught at a Bible school and founded a nonprofit to build homes for widows and orphans. Police Capt. Jeff Hunt says investigators received a tip about Danehower while they were conducting interviews. "Someone came forward and told us that we should look at Mr. Danehower as a possible suspect," he says. Hunt says it's "very early in the investigation" and police are still looking into possible motives. (Read more Virginia stories.) (Newser) Update: At a memorial Sunday in Charleston, West Virginia, Sen. Joe Manchin said Hershel W. "Woody" Williams, the last remaining Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, would lie in state at the US Capitol. But Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer announced he would actually lie in honor. The distinction, per to the Architect of the Capitol, is that government officials and military officers lie in state while private citizens lie in honor, reports the AP. A date and other details will be forthcoming. Our original story from Wednesday, which details Williams' heroics, follows. Woody Williams, the last remaining Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, whose heroics under fire over several crucial hours at the Battle of Iwo Jima made him a legend in his native West Virginia, died Wednesday at age 98 at the Veterans Affairs medical center bearing his name in Huntington, the AP reports. "Today, America lost not just a valiant Marine and a Medal of Honor recipient, but an important link to our Nation's fight against tyranny in the Second World War," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. "I hope every American will pause to reflect on his service and that of an entire generation that sacrificed so much to defend the cause of freedom and democracy." As a young Marine corporal, Williams went ahead of his unit in February 1945 and eliminated a series of Japanese machine gun positions. Later that year, at age 22, Williams received the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for military valor, from President Harry Truman at the White House. "For me, receiving the Medal of Honor was actually the lifesaver because it forced me to talk about the experiences that I had, which was a therapy that I didn't even know I was doing," Williams said in 2018. Iwo Jima was where Marines planted the American flag on Mount Suribachi, a moment captured in one of the most iconic war photographs in history. Williams said he saw the flag from a distance after it went up as troops around him celebrated. Williams' actions in battle to clear the way for American tanks and infantry were detailed on the military's Medal of Honor website: He was "quick to volunteer his services when our tanks were maneuvering vainly to open a lane for the infantry through the network of reinforced concrete pillboxes, buried mines, and black volcanic sands. Williams daringly went forward alone to attempt the reduction of devastating machinegun fire from the unyielding positions." Facing small-arms fire, Williams fought for four hours, repeatedly returning to prepare demolition charges and obtain flamethrowers. After the war, Williams remained in the Marines before working for the VA for 33 years. Williams relied on his fiancee, Ruby, to get him through the anxious times during the war, saying he had to get back to the girl in Fairmont he was going to marry. Their marriage lasted 62 years. Ruby Williams died in 2007 at age 83. The couple had two daughters and five grandsons. (Read more obituary stories.) (Newser) Former President Trump has met the conditions for his contempt of court order to be lifted, and he is no longer in contempt of a New York court, a judge said in an order Wednesday. Trump had been held in civil contempt in April for failing to comply with a subpoena related to the New York attorney general's investigation into the Trump Organization. The judge said he reviewed "recent additional submissions" from Trump's legal team, and that the attorney general's office agreed the final conditions had been met, CNN and NBC News report. Trump had previously met other conditions, including paying $110,000 in fines that will be held in an escrow account pending the completion of his appeal. "Although we are pleased that the court has lifted the contempt finding, we maintain that it was wholly unwarranted and improper in the first place," one of Trump's attorneys said, per Axios. "We will push ahead with our appeal to secure justice for our client." Trump initially claimed he did not have any material relevant to the subpoena, and both the AG and a judge then said his attorneys must explain, in detail, how their search for such material was carried out, CBS News reports. After they did so, affidavits from two dozen Trump Organization employees and attorneys were required, in an effort to ascertain how the organization has so few records on Trump's personal finances. (Read more Donald Trump stories.) (Newser) Among the 53 people who died from extreme heat inside a tractor-trailer in San Antonio this week are two boys from southwestern Guatemala, ages 13 and 14, and a pair of brothers from northwestern Honduras who'd hoped to buy their mother a home. Karen Caballero says her sons, Fernando Jose Redondo Caballero and Alejandro Miguel Andino Caballero, had been "so excited" at the prospect of going north for better opportunities. "Every day, they asked me, 'Mom, when are we going to go?'" a tearful Caballero told Telemundo News, via NBC News. "They said, 'Mami, when we're there we'll buy you a casita [home],' and I said, 'I won't need a casita, because you won't be here.'" Before the men, ages 19 and 22, left their town on June 4, Cabellero told them to focus. "I hope you triumph," she added. The Honduran government has since confirmed the siblings were among the dead. Their identification documents and those of Andino's wife, 24-year-old Margie Tamara Paz, were inside the truck allegedly driven by 45-year-old Homero Zamorano, one of four people charged in the case and one of two who could face the death penalty if convicted. It's unclear when the migrants had boarded. One mother in Mexico, who fears her son was inside the truck, last heard from him on June 19 when he was hiding in a house in Texas, per Reuters. The truck had stopped on the side of a road in San Antonio about three hours after it reportedly passed through a federal checkpoint in Encinal, about 40 miles from the border, as it headed north along Interstate 35, per the New York Times. "Roughly 20,000 trucks pass through the corridor from Laredo to San Antonio every day," according to the outlet, which notes only those vehicles considered suspicious are searched. Officials say the truck, with Texas plates, was "cloned" to appear as though it was legally registered. Putting the blame on President Biden's immigration policies, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has said state police will create their own checkpoints to inspect trucks, though the strategy could result in traffic delays and economic damage. (Read more San Antonio stories.) (Newser) If Taco Bell happens to be sold out of the newly revived Mexican Pizza, no need to write a sad country song about it, as Dolly Parton might be wont to do. Instead, try the restaurant chain's two new menu items, both of which incorporate a Cheez-It cracker that's 16 times the size of the original bite-size snack. Per a Tuesday release, the Big Cheez-It Tostada (meat, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and sour cream on top of the giant Cheez-It) and Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supremewhat USA Today describes as "essentially the tostada but wrapped in a giant tortilla then grilled"will allow fans to "crunch their cravings with this abundantly cheesy and nostalgic, yet magically modern, dining experience." "There are few things that everyone can agree on ... but the iconic flavors from Taco Bell menu items and Cheez-It snacks appeal to all," Liz Matthews, the Bell's chief food innovation officer, says in the release. The Cheez-It offerings "[give] our fans the chance to experience the real cheese and crunch they love from both of our brands in a whole new way." CNN Business notes that the use of a well-known ingredient like this could help boost sales, as the chain's use of Doritos taco shells did. After those Doritos-tied tacos launched in 2012, more than 500 million of them sold within that first year or so. The tostada version of the new Cheez-It offering will sell for $2.49, while the Crunchwrap Supreme will cost you $4.29. However, interested parties will have to make quite the effort to try these two new items out: They're being test-driven for just two weeks, and only at one restaurant in Irvine, Calif. If the Southern California test goes well, the Cheez-It items may eventually make their way into other Taco Bells nationwide. (Read more Taco Bell stories.) (Newser) NATO faced rebukes from Moscow and Beijing on Thursday after it declared Russia a "direct threat" and said China posed "serious challenges" to global stability. The Western military alliance was wrapping up a summit in Madrid, where it issued a stark warning that the world has been plunged into a dangerous phase of big-power competition and myriad threats, from cyberattacks to climate change. NATO leaders also formally invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance. From the AP: Putin vows response. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned he would respond in kind if the Nordic pair allowed NATO troops and military infrastructure onto their territory. He said Russia will have to "create the same threats for the territory from which threats against us are created." "Nothing new" from Russia . Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said Putin's threats were "nothing new." "Of course, we have to expect some kind of surprises from Putin, but I doubt that he is attacking Sweden or Finland directly," she said. "We will see cyberattacks definitely. We will see hybrid attacks, information war is going on. But not the conventional war." . Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said Putin's threats were "nothing new." "Of course, we have to expect some kind of surprises from Putin, but I doubt that he is attacking Sweden or Finland directly," she said. "We will see cyberattacks definitely. We will see hybrid attacks, information war is going on. But not the conventional war." China says NATO is the one causing problems. China accused the alliance of maliciously attacking and smearing" the country. Its mission to the European Union said NATO "claims that other countries pose challenges, but it is NATO that is creating problems around the world." China accused the alliance of maliciously attacking and smearing" the country. Its mission to the European Union said NATO "claims that other countries pose challenges, but it is NATO that is creating problems around the world." Ukraine invasion brought "biggest overhaul" in decades. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told the summit that Russias invasion of Ukraine had brought "the biggest overhaul of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who addressed the summit by video link, urged NATO to send modern artillery systems and other weapons and warned the leaders they either had to provide Kyiv with the help it needed or "face a delayed war between Russia and yourself." "The question is, whos next? Moldova? Or the Baltics? Or Poland? The answer is: all of them, he said. Biden is boosting US presence in Europe . President Biden, announced a hefty boost in Americas military presence in Europe, including a permanent US base in Poland. The expansion will keep 100,000 troops in Europe for the foreseeable future, up from 80,000 before the war in Ukraine began. . President Biden, announced a hefty boost in Americas military presence in Europe, including a permanent US base in Poland. The expansion will keep 100,000 troops in Europe for the foreseeable future, up from 80,000 before the war in Ukraine began. Rapid reaction force is being scaled up . NATO leaders agreed to dramatically scale up military force along the alliances eastern flank, where countries from Romania to the Baltic states worry about Russias future plans. It announced plans to increase almost eightfold the size of the alliances rapid reaction force, from 40,000 to 300,000 troops, by next year. . NATO leaders agreed to dramatically scale up military force along the alliances eastern flank, where countries from Romania to the Baltic states worry about Russias future plans. It announced plans to increase almost eightfold the size of the alliances rapid reaction force, from 40,000 to 300,000 troops, by next year. NATO issues new Strategic Concept. At what Stoltenberg called a "transformative" summit, the leaders published NATOs new Strategic Concept, its once-a-decade set of priorities and goals. The last such document, in 2010, called Russia a "strategic partner. Now, NATO is accusing Russia of using coercion, subversion, aggression and annexation to extend its reach. The 2010 document made no mention of China, but the new one addressed Bejings growing economic and military reach. NATO said that China strives to subvert the rules-based international order, including in the space, cyber and maritime domains. (Read more NATO stories.) (Newser) As women scramble to delete period and fertility tracker apps from their mobile devices in the wake of last week's Roe v. Wade decision, with fears that data from such apps could be tied to prosecutions over abortion, one of the largest health apps is assuring customers their information is safe. "You deserve the right to protect your data," menstrual app Flo, which has nearly 50 million active users, tweeted shortly after the ruling came down on Friday, hinting at an "Anonymous Mode" soon to come down the pike. NPR reports that on Wednesday, the company's data protection chief emailed customers that that mode is now here, a feature that will permit users to scrub their name, email, and any other identifiers within the app. "If Flo were to receive an official request to identify a user by name or email ... we wouldn't be able to satisfy the request," Susanne Schumacher noted in her email. Even if they don't launch Anonymous Mode, customers can also email customer service and have their info similarly wiped. Meanwhile, a second tweet from Flo on Friday tried to alleviate worries that the company would sell personal data. So are concerns about such apps in a post-Roe world overhyped? A study cited by MobiHealthNews last month found that the majority of popular women's health (aka "femtech") apps shared data with third parties, with three of them even collecting data without consent. Flo itself reached a settlement in recent years with the Federal Trade Commission over iffiness on its privacy policy. The company insists an audit after the settlement "did not identify any material gaps or weaknesses in Flo's privacy practices," per MobiHealthNews. Still, "if I lived in a state where abortion was actively being criminalized, I would not use a period trackerthat's for sure," Andrea Ford, a research fellow at the University of Edinburgh, recently told NPR. (Read more Roe v. Wade stories.) (Newser) A Texas man acquitted eight years ago of murdering his father by reason of insanity has fled the hospital where he was being held, and his mom says she's "terrified" for him, their family, and the community at large. "I never, ever imagined that he would ever be able to escape" from the maximum-security North Texas State Hospital in Vernon, Leslie Ervin tells KXAN of her son, 29-year-old Alexander Ervin. Surveillance video shows Ervin scaling a section of 8-foot security fence about 9pm Sunday to escape the grounds. Alexander Ervin was found not guilty in 2014 of killing his father, 58-year-old Ray Scott Ervin, the previous year. Alexander Ervin's brother told the jury his sibling had attacked their dad with a pipe wrench and folding knife, insisting the older Ervin was an imposter and that he, Alexander Ervin, was a trained CIA agent sent to take him out, per the Austin American-Statesman. Alexander Ervin maintained the attack had been self-defense and that he didn't remember things the way his brother did. He was committed to the hospital near the Oklahoma border after his insanity plea and acquittal. The state's Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the hospital, isn't positively identifying Ervin as an escapee, citing privacy laws, with a spokesperson simply acknowledging to KXAN that anytime there's an "unauthorized departure" from the facility, police are immediately notified. Leslie Ervin tells the media outlet that her son has attended survival training camp and that he may be capable of living off the grid. "He could disappear for a while if he found a source of water," she says. Alexander Ervin, bald and sporting a mustache, is said to be between 5 foot 8 and 6 feet tall, weighs about 200 pounds, and was last seen wearing a black shirt, gray hoodie, tan pants, and black shoes. Police, who say they're doing a comprehensive search in the area, note that Ervin is considered armed and dangerous and that anyone who spots him should call 911. "When [Ervin] is on his medication ... he's a sweetheart," his mom says. "When he's off his meds, all bets are off." (Read more escape stories.) (Newser) Ukrainian forces have recaptured Snake Island on the Black Sea after Russian troops pulled back in what Russia's defense ministry claimed was "a gesture of goodwill." While Ukraine said it had forced Russian troops to flee the small, strategically-located islet overnight on two speed boats following an operation with missile and artillery units, Russia's ministry of defense said troops had completed assignments in the area and withdrew to allow grain exports from Ukraine, per the Guardian. This shows "Russia is not impeding UN efforts to organize a humanitarian corridor to ship agricultural products from Ukraine," the ministry said, per Al Jazeera. Blockades of Ukrainian ports have "caused grain prices to soar, threatening famine in several countries," per the Guardian. More than 20 million tons of grain are currently held in silos, per Reuters. Russia said Wednesday that it would work with the UN to prevent a global food crisis. But Andriy Yermak, head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office, said the "goodwill" claims weren't true, per Reuters. "KABOOM! No Russian troops on the Snake Island anymore. Our Armed Forces did a great job," he tweeted. On Telegram, Valeriy Zaluzhny, the Ukraine military's commander-in-chief, thanked defenders "who took maximum measures to liberate" the island near Odessa. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) (Newser) "I heard the noise, bup-bup bup-bup, and then suddenly there was fire everywhere around me and I saw the fire all over my arm," Kim Phuc said Tuesday, recalling a moment 50 years earlier when a napalm bomb struck her Vietnamese village. The subject of a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo, the 59-year-old who now lives in Toronto suffered burns to 65% of her body. That was followed by decades of intense, chronic pain before she began laser treatments at a clinic in Miami in 2015. On Tuesday, the 12th and what should be the last round of major treatment to heal and remove scar tissue wrapped up, per NBC News. The fractional blade laser "vaporizes the scar tissue," Dr. Jill Waibel of the Miami Dermatology and Laser Institute, who agreed to perform the service for free, told WTVJ. "Twelve times, and now, yes, absolutely, after those treatments my pain is so much better," Phuc told CBS4. "I used to hold my new grandson and could not feel his touch, and now, I can feel him," she added, per People. "It's so beautiful that I want to cry each time he touches me." Nick Ut, the AP photographer who snapped a photo of the 9-year-old screaming in agony, was alongside Phuc for the procedure. "I saw her arm burning, her body burning so badly," the 71-year-old said of that day in June 1972, per NBC. He rushed Phuc to a hospital, where staff only agreed to accept the child after much pressing. After being turned away three times, "I say 'I'm media, if she die, my picture's on the front page of every newspaper tomorrow,' and ... they took her right away inside," Ut said. "To be honest, he saved my life, and he became a part of my family," said Phuc, who will only require minor laser treatments moving forward, CBS4 reports. "She looks better, said Ut. Most importantly, she's "so happy." "Because of this treatment, I now have hope, and that's what I want to share with people," Phuc told People. "If 'The Girl in the Picture' can have hope, then you can have hope, too." (Read more uplifting news stories.) (Newser) An independent candidate for governor of Oregon took an interesting approach to building support, criticizing the state's largest city by suggesting the bloom is off the City of Roses because of homelessness. Betsy Johnson's comments appeared this week in a New York Times newsletter, the Bulletin reports. "You can see the deterioration of the beautiful City of Roses, now the city of roaches," Johnson said. The candidate added that Portland "is failing" and that "I dont think any problem demonstrates the need better to change Oregon's politics than the failure to solve homelessness on our streets." Equating people who lack housing with vermin didn't go over well with everyone. Marginalized groups have been labeled "cockroaches" in the past, said the director of Portland State Universitys Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative. Such language "completely erases their humanity," said Marisa Zapata. "It's deeply upsetting to have somebody using that language to describe people who are living their lives the best they can. It's especially upsetting to have someone whos been in a position of leadership in our state talk about future constituents this way." Porland's mayor saw it the same way. "We need a governor who will partner with us to help find solutions and fight for Portlandnot disparage and write us off," Ted Wheeler said. Johnson's communications director said the comments resonated with people. "What Betsy has been saying for months is that Oregon cannot succeed if Portland fails," she said, adding that just 8% of residents say the city is on the right track. The mayor invited all candidates for governor to tour Portland with him to learn about the city's issues, per KOIN. (Read more Oregon stories.) (Newser) In its last major decision of a history-making term, the Supreme Court delivered a ruling the Biden administration will actually like. In a 5-4 vote, the court said President Biden can end a Trump-era immigration policy informally known as "Remain in Mexico," reports CNN. The Migrant Protection Protocols of 2019 stipulated that some migrants seeking asylum in the US had to remain in Mexico while their request was sorted out, per USA Today. In the decision, Chief Justice John Roberts (who wrote the majority opinion) and fellow conservative Brett Kavanaugh joined the court's three liberals. The Trump administration put the policy in place, arguing it would help curb asylum applications that had no merit. President Biden rescinded the policy upon taking office, saying it exposed asylum-seekers to dangerous conditions. But after red-leaning states sued, a lower court declared that his administration hadn't provided an adequate reason for scrapping the policy, the Washington Post. The Supreme Court then took up the case. The decision comes amid a surge in migrants at the border, with April numbers at a 22-year high, notes USA Today. (Read more US Supreme Court stories.) (Newser) A woman accused of killing a star cyclist is in custody after six weeks as a fugitive. US Marshals say Kaitlin Armstrong, 34, was tracked to a hostel in Costa Rica and taken into custody, reports KVUE. She is now awaiting deportation to the US. Investigators say Armstrong fatally shot 24-year-old pro cyclist Moriah Wilson in Austin in May, per the Austin American-Statesman. The alleged motive is jealousy: Wilson had gone swimming earlier that day with Armstrong's boyfriend, pro cyclist Colin Strickland. Authorities say Armstrong went on the run after being confronted the day after the murder with video showing a vehicle similar to hers at the home where Wilson was shot. Armstrong allegedly sold that vehicle and used the money to fly out of the country, possibly under a fake identity. She faces charges of murder and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Rewards totaling $21,000 were offered for information leading to Armstrong's capture, but it was not immediately clear if the money would be claimed. (Read more Kaitlin Armstrong stories.) (Newser) A judge in Florida on Thursday declared the state's strict new abortion law to be unconstitutionalone day before it was to take effect. The state under Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to quickly appeal to Florida's Supreme Court, reports the Washington Post. The measure signed by the governor in April would ban virtually all abortions after 15 weeks, with no exceptions for rape or incest. Politico sees the temporary injunction issued by Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper as a "stinging defeat" for DeSantis. However, it appears the law might briefly go into place: The judge's verbal ruling will not take effect until he signs it, which the court says will not happen on Thursday, per the New York Times. The law was to take effect at midnight. Cooper ruled that the law is unconstitutional because it violates the privacy provision in the state's constitution. "Every natural person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person's private life except as otherwise provided herein," said Cooper, per WESH. The ruling comes as states grapple with the fallout from the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. In Kentucky, a judge on Thursday blocked that state's near-total abortion ban from taking effect, reports the AP. State Attorney General Daniel Cameron plans to challenge the ruling over the state's "trigger law," which was set up to take effect if Roe ever fell. (Read more Florida stories.) TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, emphasised that electricity and water is a vital sector that supports Bahrains comprehensive development, led by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. HRH Prince Salman highlighted the importance of implementing strategic programmes that contribute to the development of the electricity and water sector. His Royal Highness affirmed that Bahrain has a bright and skilled workforce capable of overcoming various challenges, and commended their continuous contributions and achievements in driving the countrys development across various sectors. He was speaking as ge met yesterday with Electricity and Water Affairs Authority (EWA) President Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, and the Minister of Electricity and Water Affairs, Yasser bin Ibrahim Humaidan, at Riffa Palace. HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister congratulated Kamal on his new appointment as president of the EWA, wishing him success in carrying out his duties. His Royal Highness commended the accomplishments of Kamal in the various positions he has held, as well as the ongoing projects he has supervised, which have been instrumental in stamping Bahrains mark on the global stage. Kamal expressed his gratitude for the trust bestowed upon him, and expressed his appreciation for the support and commitment provided by HRH Prince Salman to the Kingdoms national workforce who continue to work in the service of the leadership, the Kingdom and its citizens. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com A Bahraini man was sentenced to five years in jail by the High Criminal Court for embezzling more than BD65,000 from two investors. The defendant is accused of approaching an investor and a businessman and offering them the opportunity to establish a real estate company. They paid BD250,000 to set up the company and begin operations. Thereafter, one of the victims offered him to buy a property plot, but the investors were shocked to learn that the account was empty. They called the defendant, who claimed that there had been an error with the bank and that he would contact them. He promised to return their money, and he gave them cheques that bounced. As a result, they filed a case against him, accusing him of lying and deception. The defendant was earlier sentenced to one year in prison. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com The Labour Fund Tamkeen announced its support for GIG Gulf, previously known as AXA Gulf Insurance, towards recruiting around 120 Bahrainis. GIG Gulf offers talented Bahrainis the opportunity to obtain greater exposure and skills within the insurance industry, boosting their competitiveness. This initiative comes in partnership with the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB). GIG Gulfs new regional headquarters in Bahrain Bay was completed in 2020 and continues to serve four countries within the region. The new regional headquarters is home to 250 employees with a 60% Bahrainisation rate. The company has achieved several milestones, including a 90% Bahrainisation rate amongst employees serving personal lines customers and a diverse workforce of 50% women. Husain Mohamed Rajab, Chief Executive of Tamkeen, said: Our core mandate at Tamkeen is to support Bahrainis to become the employee of choice and enterprises to become the engine of economic growth by enabling them to successfully seize opportunities that the new economic realities present in order to boost their contributions to the local economy, in line with the Kingdoms national priorities. Khalid Humaidan, Chief Executive of the Bahrain EDB, added: The decision by GIG Gulf to invest in their new regional Headquarters in the Kingdom is a testament to Bahrains strengths as a regional financial services hub and reflects the positive attributes that make Bahrain attractive to international companies. Paul Adamson, Chief Executive Officer of GIG Gulf, said: We are proud of our history of over 70 years operating in Bahrain and very excited by this new commitment and investment, which creates new employment opportunities for nationals and is key to building sustainable operations. (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Elizabeth C. Tippett, University of Oregon (THE CONVERSATION) Employers looking for ways to support their workers seeking abortions in states where its now illegal or soon will be dont have it easy. From an employers standpoint, abortion is considered a type of health care benefit and the rules that apply to that benefit are shifting rapidly from state to state. Abortion is also a political flashpoint guaranteed to produce controversy. And the problem is not going away anytime soon. Some companies are vowing to cover the cost of traveling out of state to get the procedure where it is still legal. Others are emphasizing that their insurance plans explicitly cover abortions. As a legal scholar specializing in employment law, I believe theres also a third option that may not be as generous but is less likely to run into legal problems and will help more workers, especially those with low incomes. Covering medical costs directly As of 2020, the median cost of an abortion was US$500 to $600 in the first trimester, and around $900 in the second trimester. Although most women seeking an abortion pay for the procedure out of pocket, some companies cover abortion in their health plans. In a recent statement, for example, Uber touted that its employee health plan includes abortion costs. And employers in a handful of states such as California and New York are required to include abortion in any health plan they offer. However, other states outlaw health coverage for abortion under state insurance laws. Even before the recent Supreme Court abortion decision, 11 states including North Dakota and Texas had already prohibited or limited private insurance from paying for the procedure. Companies that fund their own health benefit plan may be in a better position to avoid restrictions in state insurance laws. But switching to a self-funded plan is unaffordable for most small or medium-sized businesses. And self-funding may not protect companies if states decide to criminalize abortion. In other words, companies do not have a lot of room to maneuver when it comes to covering abortions in states that are determined to prohibit the procedure. The travel expense option Microsoft, Citigroup and at least 50 other U.S. companies have pledged in recent weeks to reimburse workers for travel expenses associated with out-of-state medical care, including abortion. Kroger and Dicks Sporting Goods, for example, offered employees up to $4,000 to cover such expenses, while Zillow said it would reimburse up to $7,500 when travel is required for abortion or certain other medical procedures. Nevertheless, I suspect many companies may shy away from adopting similar policies. A survey in early June found that only 14% of companies already had a policy in place to reimburse abortion-related travel expenses, while another 25% said they were considering it. Although those numbers could grow, leading law firms have cautionedthat such policies could create legal risks similar to those involved in covering health care costs. Anti-abortion states could even directly prohibit travel reimbursement for out-of-state abortions. Texas lawmakers, for example, are already threatening to pass a law that would bar companies from doing business in Texas if they pay for residents of the state to receive abortions elsewhere. And while there are reasons to believe interstate travel would be constitutionally protected, any ensuing litigation would take years to resolve. As a result, many companies may simply decide against offering abortion travel benefits to workers in states where the procedure is banned. A simpler solution that helps everyone This doesnt mean that companies are completely powerless to help workers in an anti-abortion state. Workers who need to drive hundreds of miles for care unavailable in their state will at a minimum need time off work. And while most workers have some access to paid leave, those benefits are predominantly available to high-wage earners. By contrast, roughly half of workers on the low end of the wage scale lack paid sick leave or vacation time. These workers are left in an impossible position if they need to travel for an abortion. They generally arent even entitled to unpaid time off, unless they are covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act and their condition qualifies as a serious health condition. Instead, they are left to cajole co-workers to cover their shifts and hope managers cut them a break. And every hour a worker without vacation or sick leave spends driving to another state for medical care is an hour they arent being paid. An employee making $15 an hour who loses a week of work for an out-of-state abortion stands to forgo as much money as the cost of the procedure itself. In other words, the workers who can least afford to forgo wages for an abortion are most likely to be put in that position. If companies are reluctant or unable to pay for travel expenses or the procedure itself they can at least pay workers for the time they are away from work. Expanding sick leave and vacation leave to a broader swath of workers may also avoid some of the pitfalls of other corporate interventions. Even if state legislatures pass draconian laws such as the Texas law that prohibits aiding and abetting, companies rarely know exactly how workers spend their time off particularly when it comes to vacation time. Its harder then to pin liability on the employer. More privacy, less controversy For the same reason, sick leave and vacation policies also provide workers with a measure of privacy. Unlike policies involving travel or health benefits, employees can often avail themselves of time off without providing receipts or documentation. Finally, a quiet expansion of the companys paid time off enables employers to help women without attracting controversy. Companies are already nervous about abortion-related discussions at work. They may not want to generate more internal conflict at a time when partisan rancor is at a fever pitch. And while expanding paid time off may not seem like a lot, it would be one less hurdle for women experiencing nothing but hurdles. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/abortion-benefits-companies-have-a-simple-and-legal-way-to-help-their-workers-living-in-anti-abortion-states-expand-paid-time-off-185917. OTTAWA, ON, June 10, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - The Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable ("the Roundtable") welcomes the announcement made today by the American federal government to remove all testing requirements for travellers to the United States. Similarly, the Roundtable welcomes the step taken by the Canadian government to temporarily suspend mandatory arrivals testing for vaccinated travellers to assist with current congestion at airports, but continues to call on the Canadian Government to permanently remove all arrival testing and other remaining COVID-19 restrictions. Today's announcements mark an important milestone for the North American travel and tourism industry as it attempts to rebuild following more than two years of restrictions and shutdowns. Notwithstanding today's announcements, there is still significant work to do to alleviate unnecessary pressures on the travel sector and passenger experience. This includes immediately lifting the outdated vaccine mandates for passengers and federally regulated aviation workers and removing the duplicative health checks at Canada's airports. While today's announcement in Canada will remove some testing, there will remain congestion issues as all passengers' vaccination status will continue to be determined at the border, with unvaccinated travellers still required to undergo a COVID-19 test upon arrival through June. Canada's outdated rules are causing unacceptable delays at the country's major airports, keeping international visitors away and souring Canada's reputation on the world stage. Domestically, Canada's travel rules are hurting small businesses, unfairly impacting families looking to enjoy the summer travel season and forcing the cancellation of conferences and events that help power local economies. "Unfairly targeting travel and tourism is a relic from the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical experts have been clear; Canada's current border policies are outdated and no longer helping keep COVID-19 out of Canada. While today's announcement marks an important step in the right direction, there is still work to do," said Perrin Beatty, President & CEO of Canada's Chamber of Commerce. To that end, the Roundtable calls on the federal government to immediately: Remove vaccination mandates for passengers and federally regulated aviation workers; Remove the Public Health Agency of Canada's (PHAC) duplicate health checks and questions through ArriveCAN at government checkpoints; (PHAC) duplicate health checks and questions through ArriveCAN at government checkpoints; Remove manual selection processes for testing from CBSA and within airports; Establish clear service standards for security and customs processing of passengers travelling through Canadian airports. Canadians are ready to travel abroad, and international travellers are ready to travel to Canada. As demand for travel returns and other global economies re-open, Canada's border policies and resources must reflect the new reality. About the Canadian Travel & Tourism Roundtable The Canadian Tourism Roundtable is a cross-Canadian coalition of leaders in the tourism and travel sector including representatives from airports, airlines, hotels, and chambers of commerce across the country committed to working together to restart the sector smoothly and safely. Travel and Tourism is a $105 billion sector, employing millions of Canadians across the country and accounting for 2.1% of the country's gross domestic product. It advocates for a safe and prosperous tourism and travel sector across Canada. SOURCE Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable For further information: Connor Whitworth: [email protected] Decision on 3800 MHz spectrum auction rules will support more competition and the deployment of 5G services OTTAWA, ON, June 30, 2022 /CNW/ - Canadians rely more than ever on wireless services for work, school, finances and health care, making access to high-quality and affordable services essential. That is why the Government of Canada is making spectrum available to encourage competition in the wireless services market, improve rural connectivity and ensure the effective deployment of 5G technologies. Today, the Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced a decision on the 3800 MHz spectrum auction rules. These rules ensure that it will be possible to support higher quality and more affordable wireless services. They include measures proven to help promote competition and the fast deployment of services, such as: imposing a 100 MHz cap on the large national providers as to how much combined 3500 MHz and 3800 MHz spectrum they can acquire; reserving a total of 150 MHz across the 3500 MHz and 3800 MHz spectrum bands for smaller competitors; and implementing strong deployment requirements ensuring companies must "use or lose" the spectrum they win. Building on the success of similar measures for the recently auctioned 3500 MHz spectrum band, these rules will help to ensure Canadiansno matter where they livewill benefit from telecom services that are reliable, innovative, competitive and affordable. Quotes "Our government recognizes that high-quality telecom services are crucial in the everyday lives of Canadians. That's why we're committed to making more spectrum available to improve competition, innovation and affordability. Today's announcement of the new rules for the 3800 MHZ spectrum auction is an important step in our ongoing efforts to ensure Canadians have access to affordable and high-quality services from coast to coast to coast." The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry "Our government wants to ensure that all Canadiansincluding those in rural, northern and remote communitieshave access to fast, affordable and reliable Internet services. Making more spectrum available will equate to lower wireless prices for Canadians as competition ramps up. Today's announcement includes the strongest spectrum deployment requirements to date, ensuring providers will act quickly to provide higher quality services from Prince Rupert to Yellowknife and all the way to Fogo Island." The Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development Quick facts These rules follow the decision to repurpose the 3800 MHz band to support 5G services, which was announced in 2021, and is the next major step in the lead-up to the 3800 MHz spectrum auction planned for 2023. The pro-competition measures for the 3800 MHz band continue to build on those used for the recent 3500 MHz auction, through which small and regional providers increased their total spectrum holdings by over 50%, strengthening their ability to offer competitive services. The 3800 MHz and 3500 MHz spectrum bands are globally recognized as key for supporting 5G networks and rural wireless services, and ISED has designed similar rules for both auctions. This is one of many measures ISED is looking at to impose "use it or lose it" rules for spectrum; a number of additional consultations were launched in August 2021 . . The government is currently consulting on the Auction Policy and Licensing Framework for mmWave spectrum, which proposes to make even more spectrum available for wireless services. Stay connected Find more services and information at Canada.ca/ISED. Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on social media. Twitter: @ISED_CA, Facebook: Canadian Innovation, Instagram: @cdninnovation and LinkedIn SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada For further information: Laurie Bouchard, Senior Manager, Communications, Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, [email protected]; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, [email protected] MBABANE Ligoga Quarries yesterday moved an urgent application to stop government from paying over E20 million to Kukhanya Civils and Construction (PTY) Limited. The money was to be paid to Kukhanya as settlement for the roadwork for Sicunusa- Gege Road. The applicant (Ligoga Quarries) wants the court to interdict the Ministry of Public Works and Transports and the accountant from paying a sum of E20 361 372.89 to Kukhanya Civils and Construction (PTY) Limited. Respondents in the matters are Kukhanya Civils and Construction (PTY) Limited, Ministry of Public Works and Transport (Roads Department), the accountant general and the attorney general. According to the applicant, the money government intends to pay to Kukhanya was in terms of Payment Certificate No.37 being the final payment it (Kukhanya Civils and Construction) for the construction of the Gege- Sicunusa Road. The Managing Director of Ligoga Quarries, Mandla Abednego Mkhaliphi deposed to an affidavit where he narrated to the court why his company wanted government to be interdicted from paying Kukhanya. Mkhaliphi is the proprietor of Portion 3, Farm 982, which was in the centre of controversy following that soldiers were deployed in it. The soldiers were deployed at the farm when it had ceased operating following that its commercial license to mine quarry had expired in 2018. In his founding affidavit, he informed the court that the Ministry of Public Works and Transport was the employer of the project while Kukhanya was the contractor. He brought it to the attention of the court that Ligoga was a sub- contractor. He narrated to the court that as sub-contractor, Ligoga Quarries entered into supply of crushed stone aggregates at very high volumes agreement exclusively for the project. According to the MD, the applicant performed in terms of the supply agreement by causing the excavating and crushing of stone aggregates. Mkhaliphi alleged that the first respondent purportedly negated and/or delayed paying invoices which were presented by the applicant for payment. It was further his submission that the first respondent allegedly refused or neglected to pay the invoice despite receiving payments from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. As a result of non-payment, the applicant was forced to cease supplying the first respondent with the crushed stone aggregates. There were numerous meetings, at a considerable cost to the applicant, that were held with the first respondent in a bid to receive or compel payment. These meetings were unfruitful, averred Mkhaliphi. He informed the court that around February 2018, the first respondent not only disappeared but also ceased hauling the crushed stone aggregates from the applicants site. This, according to Mkhaliphi, resulted in the accumulation of a considerable crushed stone stockpile which hindered the applicants operation and eventually forced it (applicant) to shut down its operations. Further, the stockpile at the applicants site gave rise to a charge of standing time and/or delay in collection. The accumulated standing time charged by the applicant amounted to E20 361 372, contended Mkhaliphi. Mkhaliphi highlighted that Kukhanya and the Ministry of Public Works and Transport subsequently terminated their relationship in respect of the project and concluded a termination agreement to resolve, inter alia, outstanding issues including disputes about monies owed for services rendered during the subsistence of the project. He alleged that at the termination of the project, the amount due and owing to the applicant for the supplied crushed aggregates was E1 412 0185.55. Then MD pointed out that the applicant demanded payments for the crushed stone aggregates and the standing time claim from the first respondent. He argued that the first respondent failed and/or refused to make the payments for the two claims and this then compelled the applicant to institute proceedings in the High Court of Eswatini in an effort to recover the payments for the services rendered during the product. The applicants lawyer Bahle Nkonyane from Magagula and Hlophe argued that her client was entitled to an interdict order preserving the status quo pending final determination of the parties right. She contended that that the applicant was entitled to and had a right to payment for services rendered during the project. The harm, the applicant stands to suffer if the interdict is not granted is palpable. When it comes to making payments, the first respondent has always been evasive. This application is a fifth proceeding the applicant has instituted in the High Court in trying to secure payment from the first respondent in respect of the project, she argued. Meanwhile, the first respondents attorney, Majaha Tengbeh from S.V Mdladla Associates argued that the matter was improperly before court. He informed the court that the same matter was before Judge Mumcy Dlamini who had all the facts about it hence she was better positioned to hear the urgent application filed by the applicant. The Ministry of Public Work was represented by Assistant Attorney General Mbuso Simelane. TORONTO, June 20, 2022 /CNW/ - Media are invited to Toronto Pearson on June 21 as the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) and partners host a media day ahead of the busy summer travel season. Spokespeople from the GTAA, Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will be made available to provide tips and advice to travellers for the summer season. In addition to interviews, media will be invited to view measures in place to help passengers navigate the CATSA security process, including new video screens and divest tables (to get rid of liquids, aerosols and gels ahead of security). Who: GTAA, CATSA and CBSA When: Tuesday, June 21 10:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. Where: Toronto Pearson, Terminal 1 Departures RSVP: [email protected] For more information, please visit Toronto Pearson on Twitter (English and French), Facebook or Instagram. SOURCE Greater Toronto Airports Authority For further information: GTAA Media Office | [email protected] | (416) 776-3709 As Canada welcomes tens of thousands of Ukrainian and Afghan refugees, major brands including Accenture, Accor, Danby, Shopify Inc., and TD Bank Group step up to meet the moment TORONTO, June 30, 2022 /CNW/ -- As Canada welcomes an unrestricted number of refugees from Ukraine and 40,000 refugees from Afghanistan, today 22 major companies have committed to creating economic opportunities for these newcomers as they restart their lives across the country. The Tent Coalition for Refugees in Canada spearheaded by the Tent Partnership for Refugees (Tent), a global business network of over 250 companies committed to supporting refugees will work with some of Canada's biggest employers to create job opportunities and provide training and other tailored resources to help newcomers better integrate into the economy. "Canada has a long and proud tradition of welcoming the world's most vulnerable, and with the right focus we can reduce the number of refugees who are desperately in need of resettlement in a way that grows our economy and addresses our labour shortages. I applaud the Tent Partnership for Refugees on this initiative, which will undoubtedly help newcomers achieve success as they settle into their new communities across the country," the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship said. "Canada leads the world in resettling and welcoming refugees now businesses must step up to help refugees integrate successfully in their new communities," said Gideon Maltz, Executive Director at the Tent Partnership for Refugees. "By helping refugees secure jobs, companies are not only gaining much-needed talent they're also creating a fast track for refugees to learn the local language and customs, helping them build a social network and a community." The 22 companies in the Coalition span a range of sectors, many of which face significant labor shortages and will benefit from tapping into a new talent pool including manufacturing, food production, and hospitality. They include: Accenture, Accor, The Adecco Group, Agropur, Bank of Montreal, Bollore Logistics, Ceridian, Danby, Day & Ross, Deloitte, Hilton, IHG Hotels & Resorts, IKEA, Jacobs, Loblaws, McCain Foods, Pfizer, Shopify, Inc., Swarovski, Telus Corporation, TD Bank Group, and Ubisoft. "Employment is one of the most important factors for those fleeing crisis and settling in new countries and Accenture is proud to support the Tent Coalition for Refugees in Canada," said Jeffrey Russell, president, Accenture Canada. "The more we rally businesses to participate, the more employment opportunities we generate, and the better we support the integration of our new neighbours and colleagues to life in Canada. The benefits are mutual and the time to act is now." Supporting refugees is an issue Canadians agree upon; a recent survey found that four in five support the government's plan to allow an unlimited number of Ukrainian refugees into the country, while seven in ten support the resettlement of Afghan allies. "Supporting refugees is not only the right thing to do it's also the smart thing to do," continued Maltz. "As consumers seek out companies that align with their beliefs, supporting refugees will build brand loyalty and benefit the bottom line. Supporting refugees is a win-win for businesses, refugees, and the whole of society." The Coalition in Canada will also work closely with and complement the efforts of the Refugee Roundtable, led by Senator Ratna Omidvar, as well as other NGOs and the Canadian government. "As the Government of Canada remains committed to welcoming newcomers, it's wonderful to see the Canadian business community doing its part to ensure they can successfully integrate into our communities and economy," said The Honourable Ratna Omidvar, Co-chair of the Refugee Jobs Roundtable. "Newcomers are truly the lifeblood of a thriving economy and contribute in spades to company culture and innovation." Accenture is a long-standing global member of the Tent Partnership for Refugees and helped establish the Tent Coalition for Refugees in Canada. For media enquiries, please contact: Karishma Singh [email protected] [email protected] About the Tent Partnership for Refugees With more and more refugees displaced for longer periods of time, businesses have a critical role to play in helping refugees integrate economically in their new host communities. The Tent Partnership for Refugees mobilizes the global business community to improve the lives and livelihoods of more than 36 million refugees who have been forcibly displaced from their home countries. Founded by Chobani's founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya in 2016, we are a network of over 250 major companies committed to including refugees. Tent believes that companies can most sustainably support refugees by leveraging their core business operations by engaging refugees as potential employees, entrepreneurs and consumers. The full list of Tent members can be found here. Find out more at www.tent.org. SOURCE Tent Partnership for Refugees Subaru Canada is continuing its partnerships with the British Columbia Parks Foundation, Ontario Parks, and Parks New Brunswick through the support of their Ambassador Programs. Park Ambassador Programs aim to connect visitors with nature through education, activities, and providing guidance and support to first-time campers who are eager to learn how to camp. Subaru Canada will also provide digital media support to encourage the discovery and protection of Canada's wilderness. Parks Canada Family/Group Discovery Pass For the second consecutive year, Subaru Canada is providing Parks Canada Family/Group Discovery Passes to new 2022 Outback Wilderness and Forester Wilderness customers. These Discovery Passes allow Subaru Wilderness customers to explore more than 80 national parks, national historic sites, and national marine conservation areas for an entire year. The pass provides admission to amazing destinations and is a gateway to nature, history, and 450,000 km of memories. With models providing car-like drivability and handling with a new level of ruggedness, Subaru Wilderness customers can explore coast to coast with confidence and reliability. "By continuing our support of Canadian parks," said Yasushi Enami, chairman, president and CEO of Subaru Canada, Inc. "We want to encourage our customers to get outside and create a deeper connection with nature. We will always support Canadians that wish to go deeper in the forest, higher up the mountain and further off the beaten path than ever before." About Subaru Canada, Inc. Subaru Canada, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered in Mississauga, Ont., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of 95 authorized dealers across Canada. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill plants. For more information, please visit www.subaru.ca or www.pr.subaru.ca or follow @SubaruCanada on Twitter. SOURCE Subaru Canada Inc. For further information: Julie Lychak, PR Manager, (905) 568-4959, [email protected]; Sebastien Lajoie, PR Specialist, Quebec Region, (514) 336-0600, [email protected]; Madison Marple, PR Specialist, (905) 568-4959, [email protected] The ultra-not-expensive airline takes their summer expansion west, celebrating its first flight from Comox, BC to Edmonton, AB COMOX, BC, June 9, 2022 /CNW/ - Today, Swoop, Canada's leading ultra-low-cost airline, launched its inaugural flight to Comox Valley Airport (YQQ) from Edmonton International Airport (YEG). Swoop flight WO 217 landed in Comox at 7:55 a.m. local time, adding another B.C. destination to its network. "As Canada's leading ultra-low fare airline, we are thrilled to continue our network expansion in beautiful British Columbia, promoting tourism and stimulating economic growth in Comox," said Ryan Hubbard, Senior Manager, Airports at Swoop. "Demand for summer travel across Canada is soaring and we're proud to support communities, both large and small, with ultra-affordable fares." Swoop's new service to Comox is a welcome addition to the airline's long-standing presence across British Columbia. In addition to today's new route to Comox, Swoop also offers service to Victoria, Abbotsford, and Kelowna. "The ability for the residents of the Comox Valley to explore the world and for visitors from around the world to explore the Comox Valley continues to grow," said Mayor Russ Arnot. "The arrival of Swoop Airline further demonstrates the highly desirable destination that the Comox Valley is. As we exit the global COVID-19 pandemic the ability to connect in person with families and friends will add great joy to our residents." With introductory fares from Edmonton to Comox starting at just $49 CAD, Swoop is showing Canadians just how affordable travel can be this summer. Route Start Date Peak Weekly Frequency One-way total price (CAD) Base Fare (CAD) Taxes & Fees (CAD) Edmonton to Comox June 9, 2022 4x weekly $49 $0.59 $44.45 Comox to Edmonton June 9, 2022 4x weekly $59 $40.12 $14.93 Additional Quotes "The Comox Valley Airport is very happy to see Swoop Airlines support economic recovery in our region with the addition of new service from Edmonton," said Mike Atkins, CEO Comox Valley Airport. "The ultra-low cost point to point carrier arrives just in time to for summer leisure travel and will be a boon to our tourism sector." "The Chamber is thrilled to welcome Swoop to the Comox Valley. What a terrific opportunity this service will bring towards rebuilding economic recovery, particularly for the tourism sector," said Dianne Hawkins, CEO of the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce. "The Comox Valley has a strong tie to Alberta, especially since the first commencement of WestJet service over 20 years ago. This additional service will help to provide affordable connectivity for families and businesses with our neighbouring province. We are looking forward to seeing the first flight in June. All the best to Swoop and team in this new venture!" To learn more about Swoop and for flight schedules and bookings, please visit FlySwoop.com . For information on how Swoop is ensuring a safe and healthy travel experience visit FlySwoop.com/traveller-safety . About Swoop Swoop is on a mission to make travel more affordable and accessible for all Canadians. Established in 2018 as an independent subsidiary of the WestJet Group of Companies, Swoop is Canada's ultra-not-expensive airline. Offering scheduled service to destinations in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean, Swoop's unbundled fares put travellers in control of purchasing only the products and services they desire. Swoop's fleet of ten Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft will grow to 16 with the addition of six Boeing MAX-8 in 2022. At FlySwoop.com travellers can quickly and easily book flights, manage bookings, check-in, view boarding passes, track flights and access Wi-Fi service in-flight. SOURCE Swoop Inc. For further information: For Swoop media relations, please contact [email protected] "MSMEs contribute almost one-third of India's GDP. MSMEs contribute 30% of India's total income, or Rs. 100. Everyone benefits from the MSME sector's growth, according to PM Modi. Three months after receiving approval from the Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the World Bank-funded central government programme Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) for MSMEs was officially inaugurated on Thursday. Despite being announced by the government and the World Bank back in 2020, the five-year RAMP scheme will start in the current fiscal year 20222023 to support Covidhit MSMEs in their business recovery. Speaking at the Udyami Bharat programme in New Delhi, PM Modi said, Over Rs 1,400 crore has been released under Rs 50,000 crore Self-Reliant India Fund for MSMEs, and 18,000 MSMEs have been digitally transferred over Rs 500 crore. MSMEs are important to the development of the nation. MSMEs provide almost one-third of Indias GDP. MSMEs contribute 30% of Indias total income, or Rs. 100. Everyone benefits from the MSME sectors strengthening. Nirmala Sitharaman, the finance minister, stated in her budget speech in February that the scheme would be implemented over the next five years. In June of last year, the World Bank authorised Rs 3750 crore of the total programme budget. The government would pay the remaining expenditure of Rs 2312.45 crore. The World Bank stated that RAMP aims to improve the performance of 5.55 lakh MSMEs in a statement from June 2021. According to a statement made by the Cabinet in March of this year, an apex National MSME Council led by the Minister for MSME would be responsible for monitoring RAMP and overseeing its policy implementation. To support the ministrys ongoing MSME programmes, the financial assistance will be allocated to the MSME Ministrys budget based on Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs). Implementing the National MSME Reform Agenda, advancing center-state collaboration in the MSME sector, bolstering the receivable finance market for MSMEs, boosting the efficacy of the CGTMSE programme, and lowering the incidence of late payments are only a few of the DLIs. The Capacity Building of First-Time MSME Exporters (CBFTE) programme was also introduced by PM Modi to improve the calibre of MSME goods and services to be competitive on the worldwide market. The action aims to assist MSMEs in realising their export potential and enhancing their engagement in the global value chain. This step has been taken to simplify the export procedure for first-time exporters, whether it be in terms of monetary help, certification-related support, etc. No matter how big your product is, I want as many MSMEs as possible to consider the global market. Trade, technology, and tourism would be used to evaluate the work that our embassies abroad have done, according to PM Modi. due to the infamous pandemic, the Amarnath Yatra was suspended for two years. And now in June 2022, it is all set to begin again. The Amarnath Yatra is one of the most revered and significant pilgrimages, leading to the cave shrine of Lord Shiva in the Himalayas in South Kashmir. Thousands of pilgrims ascend to the temple each year. But due to the infamous pandemic, the Amarnath Yatra was suspended for two years. And now in June 2022, it is all set to begin again. This year has seen a series of terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir; among those killed were Vijay Kumar, a bank manager, and a social media sensation who was shot dead in Budgam by militants. A sizable contingent of the military has been deployed to maintain safety and prevent any accidents from happening during the Yatra. The attacks that had previously occurred and on several occasions the yaatris were put in grave danger which furthermore increases the reasons for tightening the security of the Amarnath Yatra. Heres the list of attacks that have previously taken place during the yatra: 1 2001 Massacre On July 20, 2001, 13 people were killed and 15 were injured in a terror attack on a pilgrim night camp. The incident took place at Sheshnag lake near Amarnath temple in Kashmir, in 2 explosions and firing by militants. 2 2002 Lashkar Attack Al-Mansuriyan, the front organization for the Lashkar-e-Taiba, carried out a terrorist strike on July 30, 2002, which left 30 people injured and 11 dead. Attacks on the Amarnath yatra had occurred for the third year in a row in 2002. On the same day, two individuals were killed and three others were injured when grenades were fired at a cab carrying passengers. 3 2002 Lashkar Attack The incident that took place on August 6, 2002, at the Nunwan base camp in Pahalgam resulted in the deaths of 9 individuals and the injury of 27 others. It was carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists. 4 2017 Terror Attack The attack on a bus carrying Gujarati pilgrims to the Amarnath shrine resulted in 32 injuries and seven fatalities. After the incident, the inspector general of CPRF had made a statement in which he indicated that Lashkar-e-Taiba might be behind the said attack. Eknath Shinde, a Shiv Sena rebel, met with all rebel MLAs this morning at 10 am for what they are referring to as a legislative party gathering. Shiv Sena rebels, who landed in Goa yesterday night, may meet with the Governor today after Uddhav Thackerays resignation as chief minister of Maharashtra. The BJP asserts that they can establish a new government with the support of more than 170 MLAs. This is how the big narrative is explained: After todays meeting with other rebels in Goa, Sena rebel Eknath Shindewho broke from a majority of his partys MLAs and toured BJP-ruled states across the nationwill see the governor. Shinde was the catalyst for the crisis in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. According to sources, Eknath Shinde would shortly depart Goa and travel by himself to Mumbai. He will see the Governor after a few meetings (with whom is still unknown). He may meet state BJP officials, including former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, according to sources. The details of cabinet positions have not yet been discussed with the BJP, but they will soon. Please dont believe the ministerial lists or rumours about it till then In a tweet, Mr. Shinde stated. A new administration will not yet be claimed by the BJP, according to sources. Girish Mahajan, a BJP leader, has asserted that the party will form the government within the next three days and that they have the support of more than 170 MLAs. Devendra Fadnavis is anticipated to be a contender for the states top position after seeing the governor on Tuesday night and starting the end game. The Maharashtra BJP tweeted a link to a Marathi-language address by Mr. Fadnavis. The caption that accompanied it said, in Marathi, Im going to return. in order to build a brand-new Maharashtra! Maharashtra, Jai . According to sources, Mr. Fadnaviss deputy is likely to be Eknath Shinde. There is also a raging dispute over who is entitled to the Shiv Sena, as the rebel camp hasnt yet stated that it intends to split off and join the BJP or even start a new party. They assert that they are the true Shiv Sena and that the faction led by Thackeray is a tiny minority that is attempting to forge a fresh alliance with the BJP. They might attempt to talk with the Thackeray camp, according to rumours. Uddhav Thackerays departure is not a subject of delight for us, according to MLA Deepak Kesarkar, the rebel factions spokesman, who made the statement on Wednesday. He claimed that the disagreement resulted from the partys collaboration with the Congress and Sharad Pawars Nationalist Congress Party. Additionally, he emphasised the importance of Sena leader Sanjay Raut, whose rise to prominence, according to some party insiders, had unnerved rebel leader Eknath Shinde. On Wednesday, just after the Supreme Court declared that his administration must take a floor test at 11 a.m. on Thursday as directed by the Governor, Uddhav Thackeray presented his resignation to Koshyari at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai. In spite of his resignation, the Governor urged him to serve as Chief Minister while other arrangements were being established. His resignation nullifies the requirement for a majority on the assembly floor. It is reported that Eknath Shinde has been offered the post of Deputy Chief Minister if BJP comes to power. With Uddhav Thackeray resigning as the CM of Maha, a new government with the NDA alliance with Devendra Fadnavis as the Chief Minister is all set to form in the state. As Eknath Shinde, former Minister of Urban Development and senior Shiv Sena leader, with 46 other rebel MLAs joins NDA, the question arises as to whats in it for Shinde and his camp? It is reported that Eknath Shinde has been offered the post of Deputy Chief Minister if BJP comes to power. While it remains uncertain, if rebel MLAs are gonna join BJP, form their own party or stake claim on the Shiv Sena. Rebel MLAs have no standing alone. They are left with two choices in view of the current scenario. Either join BJP or suffer the consequences of rebelling against the Thackerays. Though if the Shinde camp makes claim on the Bal Thackerays Shiv Sena, the Uddhav camp may end up losing their right to the party symbol; bow and arrow. With all things said and done, Maharashtra is seeing severe turbulence in its political arena. Fadnavis may become the next CM, rebel MLAs may go through the bypolls if they dont find support and Thackerays may end up losing their legacy. The situation remains uncertain. "I am resigning as the Chief Minister," Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray announced. He also announced his resignation as MLC too. Ahead of the No-Trust vote allowed by the Supreme Court, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray announced his resignation on Wednesday. The Supreme Court rejected the plea of Uddhav government and refuted to stay the floor test in the Maharashtra assembly. I am resigning as the Chief Minister, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray announced. He also announced his resignation as MLC too. We are not staying tomorrows floor test, the Supreme Court bench said. The MVA government in Maharashtra has been facing a political crisis after a revolt in Shiv Sena. The rebel MLAs led by Eknath Shinde have been camping in Guwahati. Uddhav Thackeray also expressed gratitude to NCP and Congress, allies in the coalition government. I want to express my gratitude to the people of NCP and Congress that they supported me. From Shiv Sena, Anil Parab, Subhash Desai and Aaditya Thackeray, these people were only present when the proposal was passed while NCP and Congress people also supported the proposal, he said. He also expressed to Maharashtra cabinet decisions taken earlier day. I am satisfied that we have officially renamed Aurangabad to Sambhaji Nagar and Osmanabad to Dharashiv the cities named by Balasaheb Thackeray, he said. The Supreme Court granted the go-ahead for a floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly tomorrow, refusing to postpone the state Governors order, which Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu had contested. The court also issued a notice on Shiv Sena Chief Whip Sunil Prabhus appeal, stating that tomorrows floor test will be postponed until the result of the current petition. On July 11, the court will hear his plea. Early in the afternoon, Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde met with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to establish their claim to authority. Eknath Shinde, the Shiv Sena renegade, will succeed Uddhav Thackeray as chief minister of Maharashtra, the BJPs Devendra Fadnavis announced on Thursday. The massive thunderbolt sealed a Sena revolt that deposed Uddhav Thackeray yesterday. Having said that, Eknath Shinde took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, alongside Devendra Fadnavis who sworn in as the Deputy CM. The BJP leader declared that no additional ministers will take their oaths today. Who is Eknath Shinde? Shiv Sena member Eknath Sambhaji Shinde is one of the 288 members of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and a cabinet minister for public works (PWD) for the Maharashtra State Government. He represents the Kopri-Pachpakhadi (Vidhan Sabha seat) in Maharashtra. He was re-elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for a total of four terms in 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019. Early years Shinde was born in Satara on February 9th, 1964. He moved to Thane at a young age, where he attended Mangala High School and Junior College until the 11th standard. He had to stop studying and start working to provide for his family. He joined the party in 1980 under the influence of Shiv Sena leader Balasaheb Thackeray and began working as a Sainik. He took involved in a number of agitations during that period, including the Maharashtra-Karnataka Agitation on the status of the Belgauvi, for which he was detained for 40 days. After entering politics, Shinde (58), once an auto-rickshaw driver in Thane, a city next to Mumbai, soon rose to become a crucial Sena leader in the Thane-Palghar region and is renowned for his combative stance on matters of public importance. Political Background Because of his commitment to the Senas cause, he was granted the chance to run for Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) corporator in 1997 and won with a sizable majority. He was chosen to lead the house in the TMC in 2001. He held onto the position until 2004. He took an active interest in the overall growth and well-being of the entire Thane area as the head of the house in the TMC, rather than limiting himself to concerns specific to the TMC or the city. Balasaheb Thackeray gave Shinde the chance to run in the Thane Assembly Constituency Assembly Elections in 2004, and Shinde won with a big majority. He was selected to the coveted position of Shiv Sena Thane District Head the very next year, in 2005. In the ensuing assembly elections in 2009, 2014, and 2019, he won. He was chosen to lead the Shiv Sena legislative party during the 2014 elections, and he later became the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly. He took office as the minister of Public Works Department (Public Undertakings) within a month of Shiv Senas decision to join the state government, and in January 2019 he was given the additional duty of the Health and Family Welfare Ministry. Family Lata Shinde is wed to Eknath Shinde. Anand Paranjape, a Shiv Sena defector running for the NCP, and Raju Patil, a candidate for the MNS, were defeated by his son, Dr. Shrikant Shinde, an orthopaedic physician, in the election for the Lok Sabha. MBABANE There were mixed reaction regarding the deployment of army personnel in some corners of the country. While some claimed that the sight of the soldiers brought confidence in emaSwati who were uncertain about their safety following planned activities by some pro-democracy formations, others felt intimidated. Some emaSwati were of the view that their safety was guaranteed, as they felt no one could just intimidate and harass them in the presence of the army. These were the people who were uncertain about their safety when they woke up for work yesterday morning. Some member of the public stated that the deployment of the army would help circumvent a repeat of what befell them last year. We were forced out of public transport and made to walk several kilometres last year. Even those with cars were made to pay at the illegal toll gates in order to drive home. We had no choice but to comply with the unlawful activities because we were scared. Government has done the right thing by deploying the army because security is always a priority, said one of the commuters, who claimed he was compelled to walk about 10 killometres. Resources However, others said there was no need for government to be wasting resources and deploy the army as if there was a war. Some members of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) were spotted at Mvutjini in Ezulwini, where they were deployed strategically. Others were deployed at a peak along the Mbabane-Manzini Freeway Road, while some joined the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) and His Majestys Correctional Services (HMCS) at the roadblock manned in the area. Other soldiers were seen walking along the Mbabane-Ngwenya Freeway Road before they disappeared into a forest at Nkoyoyo. This was a few metres from where another roadblock was manned in the area. At some point, the army was seen patrolling the capital city and surrounding areas along with the police, during the course of the day. The joint forces managed to quash attempts to cause disorder by some people at the Mbabane and Nkoyoyo bus ranks. It was gathered that the joint forces responded promptly after the people chanted political slogans and sang political songs, while accusing the kombi operators of operating on a public holiday. It was a two minutes thing at Nkoyoyo. There were some people who tried to intimidate the kombi operators, but their attempt was quashed by the arrival of the police officers, said an eyewitness at Nkoyoyo. During a visit to the area, the situation was calm and business was back to normal. Relief Meanwhile, businesspeople heaved a sigh of relief when they saw security personnel deployed in some corners of the country yesterday. The personnel from the three security forces were visible in some corners of the country as early as 6am, following the proposed march by Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF), even after they were denied permission by the Municipal Council of Mbabane. The security personnel were deployed strategically in the capital city and surrounding areas, while some conducted random patrols during the course of the day. In an interview, some businesspeople said the presence of the security personnel brought about confidence, as they were uncertain about their safety. In most instances, when there is a protest in the country, some people take advantage and vandalise property. June 29, 2022 reminds me of the huge loss due to the looting, vandalism and burning of my structure which happened last year. I have not recovered from the loss, but instead I am in huge debts, said one of the businesspeople whose shop was burnt down last year. The entrepreneur appreciated government for considering the deployment of the security personnel to safeguard their businesses. They stated that in as much as they owned the businesses, they were not the only beneficiaries as there were many emaSwati employed. It is hard to invest in a country where a business is burnt down in a minute, said another businessman. NORWALK Xerox Holdings Corp. Chief Executive Officer John Visentin, who led efforts to broaden the companys business focus over the last four years, died unexpectedly Wednesday while battling an ongoing illness, according to company officials. The Xerox family is profoundly saddened by this untimely event and extends its heartfelt condolences to Johns wife, his five daughters and his family, Xerox officials said in a statement released Thursday. The company has offices at Merritt 7 in Norwalk. Steve Bandrowczak, Xeroxs president and chief operations officer since 2018, will serve as interim chief executive. Visentin, who was also the companys vice chairman, took over as chief executive officer in May 2018. He replaced Jeff Jacobson, who resigned after a lawsuit led to a shareholder revolt against a board decision to accept a $6 billion buyout by Fujifilm Holdings. During a three-month period in the spring of 2018, Visentin served as a consultant to Icahn Capital in connection with with the proxy battle over the buyout offer. Fujifilm ended its pursuit of Xerox after a court battle and Jacobson voluntarily left the company as part of a settlement associated with the case. Visentin, 59, a Greenwich resident, was hailed as a visionary leader who navigated the company through unprecedented times and challenges since joining Xerox in 2018, the company said. His career included stints at Hewlett-Packard and IBM. His strategy ensured Xeroxs leadership position in office and production print technology and expanded the company into helping solve secular challenges with innovative solutions, the company statement said. He was known for his One Boat, One Team leadership and passionate about his workforce, the company said. Since joining Xerox in 2018, John drove Xerox forward, said James Nelson, chairman of Xeroxs Board of Directors. As a champion for innovation, he embraced and enhanced Xeroxs legacy as a print services provider and embarked on a transformative journey that broadened the companys expertise and offerings to digital and IT services, financial services and disruptive technologies. Johns drive, energy and commitment to the business and its customers, partners and employees will be greatly missed. Before taking over at Xerox, Visentin was a senior adviser to the chairman of Exela Technologies and an operating partner for Advent International. From October 2013 through July 2017, Visentin served as the executive chairman and chief executive officer of Novitex Enterprise Solutions in Stamford, which took over a business document services division of Pitney Bowes. Xerox, which is more than 100 years old, revolutionized copying and other print products and later extended is expertise into digital technology and other services. But by the end of 2019, as Xerox was facing a business slowdown because as companies transitioned from printing out documents to online storage, Visentin sought a $35 billion acquisition of printing equipment rival Hewlett Packard. That acquisition bid ultimately failed in March 2020 amid coronavirus concerns. Alex Soule, Lisa Backus and Paul Schott contributed to this story. luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade at a time when it has an unprecedented Catholic supermajority. That's not a coincidence. Nor is it the whole story. The justices who voted to overturn Roe have been shaped by a church whose catechism affirms the moral evil of every procured abortion and whose U.S. bishops have declared opposition to abortion their preeminent priority" in public policy. But that alone doesn't explain the justices' votes. U.S. Catholics as a whole are far more ambivalent on abortion than their church leaders, with more than half believing it should be legal in all or most circumstances, according to the Pew Research Center. Notable Catholics who support abortion rights include President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, both Democrats. Democratic-appointed Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a Catholic, dissented in the Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization decision that overturned Roe. But the justices in the Dobbs majority aren't simply cradle Catholics. Several have ties to intellectual and social currents within Catholicism that, for all their differences, share a doctrinal conservatism and strong opposition to abortion. Its not simply choosing Catholics, said Steven Millies, professor of public theology at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and author of Good Intentions: A History of Catholic Voters Road from Roe to Trump." It is because they are particular kinds of Catholics, traveling in particular Catholic circles that not everyone in your local parish is identifying with," Millies said. In Dobbs, five justices voted to overturn Roe Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas. A sixth, Chief Justice John Roberts, balked at overturning Roe but voted to uphold the Mississippi abortion restrictions in question. All six were raised Catholic. Most went to some combination of Catholic high schools, colleges or graduate schools. The one exception, Dobbs author Alito, has fondly described growing up in a home where church and the family were preeminent. Five of the six justices still identify as Catholic, while Gorsuch has attended an Episcopal church more recently. The Supreme Court was dominated by Protestant justices for much of its history. The majority have been Catholic since the 1990s, and for several years in the last decade, the court had six Catholic justices, three Jews and no Protestants. ( Newly sworn-in Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson identifies as Protestant.) But religious identity has mattered less of late than ideology, which is why conservative evangelicals have cheered on the Republican-nominated Catholics, said Nomi Stolzenberg, a University of Southern California Law School professor focusing on law and religion. In fact, eight of the last nine Republican nominees to be confirmed to the Supreme Court, from the Reagan to the Trump presidencies, have had Catholic pedigrees. That religious demographic may seem striking given Republicans' loyal evangelical Protestant constituency. But partly it's a matter of the available talent pool: Catholic immigrants' descendants have intensely pursued legal professions. Catholic institutions built their own intellectually rigorous law schools to aid in social assimilation and upward mobility. Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh began as a night school for working class immigrants. In time, Catholics were studying at Ivy League schools and reaching the judicial elite. Its an immigrant story, how Catholics and Jews overcame anti-Catholic and antisemitic resistance and eventually flooded into elite schools, Stolzenberg said. A 2017 study found 28% of federal appellate judges are Catholic, and 19% are Jewish. Millies said some of the earlier Republican-appointed justices disappointed conservatives by voting to uphold Roe. Republicans were looking for an identifier in the selection process that would make them safe, he said. By the '80s, it became Catholics. That, too, reflects the immigrant story, Millies said, as many midcentury Catholics sought to prove their American bona fides as staunchly anti-communist social conservatives. Catholics earned a marquee spot in American culture as being reliable, patriotic Americans, he said. Even the Catholic nominees werent all reliable. The now-retired Anthony Kennedy affirmed Roe and gay marriage. But later Republican administrations also scrutinized candidates judicial records and involvement in influential organizations such as the Federalist Society, Millies said. Gorsuch, who like several in the Dobbs majority has appeared at multiple Federalist Society events, studied at Oxford University with Catholic legal philosopher John Finnis. Finnis is a proponent of natural law, described in the Catholic catechism as the original moral sense which enables man to discern by reason the good and the evil. Gorsuch himself applied that principle in a book opposing assisted suicide. It may be the case that Gorsuch is no longer a practicing Catholic we dont know, Stolzenberg said. What we do know is that his legal philosophy is shaped by the conservative Catholic philosophy of natural law. Barrett has long been affiliated with People of Praise, an ecumenical Christian group with a significant Catholic membership. It combines a doctrinal and moral conservatism, including opposition to abortion. Thomas was raised Catholic in a largely Protestant extended family and briefly attended Catholic seminary, later attending an Episcopal church before returning to Catholicism. He has praised the Catholic nuns who taught him and the grandfather who raised him, a Catholic who worked hard to provide for his family" and a deeply religious man who lived by the Christian virtues. Thomas, concurring on Dobbs, went further in saying the court should reconsider other rights that past courts granted based on legal theories similar to Roe. Such precedents voided state laws against contraception, gay sex and same-sex marriage. In a speech at Notre Dame University in 2021, Thomas paid tribute to the influence of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, long the court's conservative stalwart. Despite their different backgrounds Thomas grew up in segregated Georgia in an African American family with limited education, Scalia in New Jersey as the son of a doctorate-earning Italian immigrant we were both Catholics, attended parochial schools and ... benefited from a common culture," Thomas said. Scalia who regularly attended the Latin Mass, a rite that appeals to many conservative Catholics influenced not only Thomas but other recent appointees. All of these people would say, We are followers of Scalia,' Stolzenberg said. Scalia was a conservative Catholic. That very much stamped him and marked his legal philosophy. But with conservatives racking up win after win on the court overturning Roe, loosening gun restrictions and expanding religious access to public forums and money their coalition will be tested, observers said. They long coalesced around the idea of originalism that justices should interpret the Constitution based on how its writers meant or applied it. But originalism, with its purported moral neutrality, is not any longer going to serve the needs of the pro-life coalition," said Bruce Ledewitz, a Duquesne University School of Law professor focused on constitutional law and religion. Some are talking about legislation declaring fetal personhood, and originalism doesn't get you there, he said. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate PHOENIX (AP) Arizona's Republican attorney general announced Wednesday that a pre-statehood law that bans all abortions is enforceable and that he will soon file for the removal of an injunction that has blocked it for nearly 50 years. Attorney General Mark Brnovich's office said after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 1973 decision that said abortion was a constitutional right that he was weighing whether the old law could be be enforced. His decision puts him at odds with Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. The governor had said after he signed a new law banning abortions after 15 weeks in March that it took precedence over the law in place since at least 1901, 11 years before Arizona statehood. But abortion opponents who wrote the new law and the Republican state senator who sponsored it, Nancy Barto, argued that the old law could be enforced. They pointed to a specific provision that said it did not override that law. Our office has concluded the Legislature has made its intentions clear with regards to abortion laws, Brmovich said on Twitter. ARS 13-3603 (the pre-statehood law) is back in effect and will not be repealed when the new law take effect in late September. Ducey spokesman C.J. Karamargin the governor's office was reviewing Brnovich's decision and had no immediate comment. The old law says anyone who helps a pregnant woman obtain an abortion can be sentenced to two to five years in prison. The only exception is if the life of the woman is in jeopardy. Abortion clinics across Arizona had stopped providing the procedures within hours of last Friday's Supreme Court ruling. They cited concerns that the old law could be enforced. Planned Parenthood Arizona President and CEO Brittany Forteno said the group was outraged by Brnovich's decision, which came after providers and patients had been living in distress since Friday. Now, our extremist Attorney General has announced his plans to reinstate an antiquated, enjoined 1901 law that will ban all abortion in Arizona until the new law takes effect, she said. "Its unconscionable and drastically out of line with the 7 in 10 Arizonans who support abortion access. Besides the total ban, a law that grants eggs and fetuses all rights is also on the books. Abortion rights advocates are asking a judge who refused to block it last year because Roe v. Wade was in effect to reconsider his decision. The judge did block that law's ban on abortions because of a fetal genetic abnormality. After the Supreme Court decision, an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 abortion rights protesters gathered at the state Capitol, where the Legislature was completing work on the yearly session. State police used tear gas to disperse the crowd after a small group of protesters started banging on the state Senate's glass front and one person tried to kick in a sliding glass door. No arrests or injuries were reported Friday night, but protests continued for two days and several people were arrested. Brnovich is among several Republicans vying for their party's nomination for U.S. Senate in the Aug. 2 primary. There were just over 13,000 abortions in Arizona in 2020, according to the most recent report from the Arizona Department of Health Services. Of those, fewer than 650 were performed after 15 weeks of gestation. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BRIDGEPORT- The state Department Connecticut of Mental Health and Addiction Services Thursday agreed to pay $9 million to the family of a man who was abused at a state-run psychiatric facility. Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis approved the $9 million settlement of a 2018 lawsuit stemming from the abuse of William H. Shehadi, Jr., a profoundly mentally ill man, who nurses and other staff at the Whiting Forensic Hospital regularly kicked, hit, and psychologically tortured for years, the state states. An additional undisclosed sum was paid by the Whiting chief of patient care services, whose employment at Whiting was terminated for her role in the abuse. The state legislature had previously approved the settlement. Our goal in bringing these lawsuits was to hold abusers and state officials accountable for the torture of a profoundly vulnerable human being who depended upon them for treatment and care, said Shehadis attorney, Antonio Ponvert III of the Bridgeport-based firm Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder. No person is above the law, especially those who are responsible for our most helpless citizens. State officials did not immediately respond to emails for comment on the settlement. Ponvert said more than 50 incidents of abuse over 24 days were captured on video, including a male nurse gyrating his groin on Shehadis face, individuals dousing him with liquids, throwing food at him, and forcing him to wear a diaper on his head. Under the terms of the settlement the state also agreed not to collect more than $8 million Shehadi owed for the cost of his nearly 30 years in state custody. In addition, the state agreed to substantial injunctive relief, including constant video monitoring for the remainder of Shehadis time at Whiting. Defendants in the lawsuit included the State of Connecticut, state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the commissioner of DMHAS and 11 Whiting administrators and supervisory level employees. The lawsuit claimed violations of the U.S. Constitution and the Connecticut Patients Bill of Rights. A second lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, sued the Whiting forensic nurses and treatment specialists. Almost 40 Whiting employees were fired for their role in the abuse scandal. Ten staff were arrested, nine staff were convicted and eight were sentenced to prison. Nurse Mark Cusson was found guilty by jury of three felony counts of cruelty to persons and five counts of disorderly conduct. Cusson is still serving his multi-year term in state prison. Let this case be an example to all mental health workers in Connecticut and across the nation, Ponvert said. Our laws and our nations Constitution protect ill and vulnerable people, people in custody, the weakest among us. Violate your sacred duty toward your fellow human beings, and you will go to jail. You will forever be known as a sadistic monster. Albert Shehadi, Bill Shehadis brother and legal conservator, said, It is hard to comprehend the level of systemic failure that allowed someone so incapacitated to be so brutally abused so openly for so long. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Brandon Wade/AP Show More Show Less 3 of 3 DALLAS (AP) A man who sold a pistol to a man who used it to hold four hostages inside a Texas synagogue before being fatally shot by the FBI early this year pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal gun crime, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Henry Michael Dwight Williams, 32, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, prosectors said. Williams sold Malik Faisal Akram the weapon Arkam used when he entered Congregation Beth Israel in the Dallas-area suburb of Colleyville on Jan. 15 and held the synagogues rabbi and three others hostage, according to prosecutors. South Africa: Salvokop government precinct brings jobs, development Public Works and Infrastructure Minister, Patricia de Lille, on Wednesday launched the first-ever government precinct in Salvakop, Pretoria. The Minister said the development of the precinct will see four government head offices constructed. These are the Department of Social Development and its agencies - the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the National Development Agency; the Department of Higher Education and Training; the Department of Home Affairs, and the Department of Correctional Services and Constitutional Development. De Lille said when it comes to job opportunities arising from the precinct construction, priority will be given to the local community of Salvakop. We have been in consultation with the local community and we have reached an agreement that they will be prioritised. The development will be a first of its kind for South Africa, aimed at achieving spatial integration by bringing government departments to a central location in proximity to mixed typology residential developments and various amenities supporting economic development for households and various income streams. This is one of the projects demonstrating governments commitment to investing in infrastructure development, which enables sustained economic growth and job creation, bringing the construction sector back to life, De Lille said. The precinct will be developed in three phases. The construction of Phase 1A: Bulk Civil and Internal Engineering works is currently in progress with a number of local residents and SMMEs from the nearby community already employed on the project. The civil and engineering works currently taking place on site includes preparations for new roads to be constructed, the construction of electrical substations, storm water trenches and other bulk infrastructure works, including the construction of a 30 mega litre reservoir at Freedom Park. De Lille said the Salvokop Precinct Development was gazetted as a Strategic Integrated Project (SIP), as part of the Infrastructure Investment Plan approved by Cabinet in May 2020. She said the project is expected to create an estimated 3 215 jobs during construction of Phase 1 and more than 80 0000 jobs over the life cycle of the project from 2021 2030. The project will be an example of how developments need to be constructed in our democracy by ensuring people live in well-located spaces, close to transport and economic activities, the Minister said. De Lille appealed to the community to work with government to ensure the success of the project, which has great benefits for the community through sustained job creation, sub-contracting for local businesses and ultimately a new integrated development that will bring economic development, safety for the community and more jobs for years to come. Warning to construction mafia De Lille warned that the so-called construction mafia will be dealt with in a serious manner by the South African Police Service, as they cannot allow community projects to be delayed and held hostage through intimidation tactics by criminals who demand payment from officials at construction sites. We must work together within the respective structures and co-operate with one another, keeping the best interests of the community at heart, the Minister said. At the launch, De Lille was accompanied by the Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and various stakeholders. Sarah Motswaneng, one of the local residents who is employed in the project through the Expanded Public Works Programme, told SAnews that she is now able to put food on the table for her family. We appreciate that priority has been given to us as the local community, and that once construction has been completed, we wont have to spend money on transport to seek government services, Motswaneng said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-06-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. China refutes remarks by British Foreign Secretary on Taiwan Xinhua) 19:16, June 30, 2022 BEIJING, June 30 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday refuted remarks made by British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who said "there is a real risk" that China draws the wrong idea which results in "a catastrophic miscalculation such as invading Taiwan." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a press briefing that some senior British officials recently have repeatedly hyped Taiwan-related issues, and China has made solemn representations. Zhao stressed once again that the Taiwan question is China's internal affair and no external force has the right to interfere. "This is the basic norm of international relations," he added. China adheres to the peaceful reunification and "one country, two systems" principle and will make every effort to strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification, Zhao said. "However, we will never sit idly by and watch the 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities," the spokesperson added. "Relevant remarks made by the British side are surprisingly self-righteous and lack common sense," Zhao said. (Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji) EZULWINI - Some commuters who failed to convince security personnel on the reasons for their travel to the capital city were turned back at a roadblock manned at Mvutjini yesterday. This was after some were found in possession of alcohol inside public transport. At around 7am yesterday, some commuters were already on their way back home from the roadblock. They shared that they were turned back after they had failed to give satisfactory reasons for their visit to Mbabane. I was on my way to Mbabane from Goje Township, said one of the commuters, who was already on his way home from the roadblock. The police have taken my alcohol and the unfortunate thing is that the kombi driver left with my change, which means I have to walk to Goje Township now. Clearly The commuter did not come out clearly when asked about the purpose of his travel to Mbabane. Another commuter tried in vain to negotiate with the police officers to allow him to proceed to Mbabane. We said go back, a police officer told the commuter. This reporter counted at least 10 commuters who were turned back at Mvutjini. Some were carrying bottles of vodka. The first group of males was told to disembark from a kombi, which was from Lobamba. The police officer, when speaking to the commuters, said it was not morally acceptable for any normal person to be drunk before 8am. These people know where they are going so early in the morning. We are asking them to go back where they are coming from, the officer was heard saying to his colleagues. Over 13 Toyota Quantums were stopped by the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) officers and every passenger was searched. When the men, who were told to get off the Quantum were interviewed, they mentioned that the reason they were drinking so early was because they had problems. Alcohol Alcohol is not an excuse but we have problems. That is why we are drinking, we are not going anywhere to cause chaos, said one of the men. Another group was seen trying to reason with the police after they had their alcohol confiscated and were told to remain behind. We used money to get here, we will not even get a refund? Please sir, allow us to continue with our journey, we will not cause trouble, pleaded the men. One of the police officers at the roadblock stated that they suspected that the commuters had no reasons for going to town, other than causing chaos. He said there was no way a person could drink alcohol and further carry beer bottles at around 7am. The officer of the law further stated that people with satisfactory reasons were allowed go to Mbabane, as they were not against anyone travelling. Noted was that motor vehicles were thoroughly searched at the roadblock. Another roadblock was manned at Nkoyoyo, where motorists were searched, at around 8am. Armed officers from the REPS and (HMCS) were deployed strategically next to the road. OMAHA, Neb. (AP) An eastern Nebraska man has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of threatening to kill a U.S. wildlife officer who cited him for fishing and hunting violations. Cody Cape, 23, of Blair, also pleaded guilty Tuesday in a federal courtroom in Omaha to a count of brandishing a firearm during a violent crime, the Omaha World-Herald reported. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors will ask for nearly 10 years in prison when Cape is sentenced in September. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) An Ohio school district's ban on anti-racism instruction is itself racist and an unconstitutional free speech prohibition, according to a federal lawsuit seeking to have the ban overturned. At issue is a resolution to create a culture of kindness narrowly approved last week by the Forest Hills school board in suburban Cincinnati. The resolution prohibits anti-racism curriculum, education and training and also bans the academic theory known as critical race theory. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW HAVEN Hes the grill man, and while he lives on Sheffield Street, Richard Cox Randy or Double R to his family and friends spent a lot of time on Lilac Street, helping out, joking, lifting spirits. It was at a Fathers Day/Juneteenth block party on Lilac Street in the Newhallville section that Cox was arrested and charged with illegal possession of a firearm. When he was taken away in the police transport van June 19, it was the last time anyone saw Cox able to walk. He flew off the vans bench, hands cuffed behind his back, and slammed head-first into the front wall, apparently when Officer Oscar Diaz hit the brakes hard to avoid hitting a car. He was just a charismatic person, said Dawn Thompson, who saw Cox almost every day. He knew how to make you laugh. He was silly. Kids knew him. Everybody knew him. But Thompson believes Cox wont be the same when he returns to Lilac Street in a wheelchair, possibly paralyzed from the chest down. He wont be who he was, Thompson said. The essence of him is gone with an injury like that. Theres no way hell be the same again. Its hard to think about without starting to cry, but he was just so loving. I dont understand. Cox has had two surgeries on his neck, and will have at least one more on his back, according to his sister, LaToya Boomer. On Tuesday, he was still intubated, unable to communicate other than by blinks and nods, said attorney Jack ODonnell.. But he was able to cry 10 times when nationally known civil rights attorney Ben Crump visited him in the hospital, as he told a town hall meeting that night. Hearst Connecticut Media was unable to determine whether Coxs condition had changed as of Thursday. Tina Martin, a neighbor, said of Cox, We saw him every day. Very helpful. Hes the grill man when we have cookouts. Cox didnt want to work the grill during the block party because it was Fathers Day, Martin said, so she was cooking. The grill caught on fire and he put the fire out, she said. Even though it was Fathers Day, he still helped me out because I didnt know what I was doing. Martin said it wasnt surprising Cox allegedly was carrying a gun, even though he has been convicted of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor that disqualifies him from owning a firearm. Its obvious, she said. Look where we live at, the environment we live in, the area, which is one of the higher-crime districts in New Haven. He was good to all of us. He was on this block every day. He would be here right now, she said. Randy Cox is a great guy and thats my brother, said Terrence Lewis Williams. He shows up in the community. Diaz, and Sgt. Betsy Segui, who rode in the van and implied that Cox was not trying hard to get up when they arrived at police headquarters, have been put on paid administrative leave. Officers Ronald Pressley, Jocelyn Lavandier and Luis Rivera, who were in the police lockup and assisted in removing Cox, also have been placed on leave. According to 2016 general orders of the Police Department, officers are to take the precautions necessary while transporting prisoners to protect the lives and safety of officers, the public and the person in custody. Using a prisoner conveyance van to bring in arrestees is the standard operating procedure in New Haven, rather than in a cruiser, although there are exceptions for juveniles and others. The officer assigned to the van is responsible for the safety and custody of the prisoner being transported, state the general orders. When Cox hit his head against the van and called out for help, saying, I cant move, the officers should have stopped and called for medical assistance, according to procedure. If the transporting officer becomes aware that a prisoner may be in distress, he/she shall immediately notify the dispatcher and render assistance when it is safe to do so, the orders state. Prisoners requiring immediate medical treatment will be evaluated by medical/ambulance personnel called to the scene. If deemed necessary by medical personnel, the prisoner will be transported to the hospital by ambulance. edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382 WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) The parents of a teenager wounded during a mass shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan are suing the shop that sold the handgun used to kill four students and injure six other people. The complaint filed Tuesday in federal court in Detroit on behalf of Matthew and Mary Mueller accuses Acme Shooting Goods LLC of negligently or unlawfully supplying the gun through a straw sale. Authorities have said James Crumbley bought the 9 mm semiautomatic handgun used in the Nov. 30 shooting as an early Christmas gift for his son, Ethan, who was 15 at the time. The lawsuit says Ethan accompanied his father to Acme Shooting Goods several days before the shooting and engaged in behavior or made one or more statements while in the store which further indicated that the Acme gun was intended for Ethan. Acme Shooting Goods was obligated to train, supervise and monitor employees to identify and prevent so-called straw purchases, according to the lawsuit. A straw purchase is when a person buys a gun to sell or give to someone prohibited from having one. An employee at the gun shop in Oxford declined to comment on the lawsuit Wednesday. The Muellers' son suffered gunshot wounds to a hand and his face. He was one of six students and one teacher wounded in the shooting at the school, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Detroit. Ethan Crumbley, now 16, has been charged as an adult with murder and terrorism and faces trial in January. James Crumbley and his wife, Jennifer, are accused of providing their son with access to the gun and are awaiting trial for involuntary manslaughter. Gun dealers, when they enter the business of selling guns, assume a duty to comply with all standards of reasonable care and all relevant state and/or federal firearms laws in order to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, juveniles and dangerous parties likely to misuse firearms, the Muellers' lawsuit says. A gun shop in Connecticut was named in a lawsuit against gunmaker Remington following the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, that killed 26 people, mostly children. Nancy Lanza bought the assault-style rifle used by her son, Adam Lanza, in the shooting. The shop later was dropped from the lawsuit when a judge dismissed the complaint against Remington in 2016. The judge cited a federal law that shields gun-makers from liability in most cases. The Connecticut Supreme Court later reinstated the lawsuit against Remington on the issue of whether it should be held liable for how it marketed the Bushmaster rifle. In February, Remington and the Sandy Hook families agreed to a $73 million settlement of the case. Remington, one of the nations oldest gun makers founded in 1816, filed for bankruptcy for a second time in 2020 and its assets were later sold off to several companies. The manufacturer was weighed down by lawsuits and retail sales restrictions following the school shooting. The Muellers' lawsuit does not include a dollar amount for damages. It also names the Oxford Community School District, its former superintendent and other officials. Other multimillion-dollar lawsuits filed after the shooting have said the violence was preventable. The morning of the shooting, school officials met with Ethan Crumbley and his parents at the school after a teacher found a drawing of a gun, a bullet and a person who appeared to have been shot, along with messages stating, My life is useless and The world is dead. The Crumbleys declined to take their son home and Ethan was allowed to remain in school. The gun was in his backpack, which was not searched. We are bringing this suit so that the failures both in the sale of this gun and at our school which allowed this to happen can never happen again, Matthew and Mary Mueller said in a statement. "No family or community needs to experience this pain and no child should have to live with it for the rest of their life. ___ This story has been corrected to show that Acme Shooting Goods is located in Oxford. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate UNITED NATIONS (AP) The U.N. special envoy for Congo warned Wednesday that the M23 rebel group has increasingly acted as a conventional army during escalating military action in the countrys volatile east and could threaten the U.N. peacekeeping force charged with protecting civilians. Bintou Keita urged the U.N. Security Council to fully back regional efforts to defuse tensions between Congo and Rwanda over M23 rebels and other armed groups that have raised fears of war between the neighboring countries. She also urged Congo and Rwanda to seize the opportunity to resolve their differences at an upcoming summit hosted by Angolas President Joao Lourenco in the capital, Luanda. Eastern Congo, which borders Rwanda, lives with the daily threat from dozens of armed groups that jostle for a piece of the regions rich mineral wealth, which the world mines for electric cars, laptops and mobile phones. The M23, one of the most notorious rebel groups, surged into action this year and captured a key trading town in eastern Congo this month. Congo has accused Rwanda of supporting the M23, which Rwanda has long denied. Each country has accused the other of recent incursions. On June 20, east African leaders meeting in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, responded to the threat of war by instructing a new regional force to deploy in eastern Congo and ordering an immediate cease-fire. Keita told the Security Council that during the most recent hostilities, the M23 has conducted itself increasingly as a conventional army rather than an armed group. The M23 possesses firepower and equipment, which is increasingly sophisticated, specifically in terms of long-range fire capacities, mortars and machine guns as well as precision fire against aircraft, she said. The threat that this poses both for civilians and U.N. peacekeepers who have a mandate to protect them is evident. The M23 offensive has had a major impact on civilians, causing the death of 23 people including six children in May and June, and displacing more than 170,000, the U.N. special representative said. Keita warned that if the M23 continues its well-coordinated attacks against the Congolese army and the U.N. peacekeeping force known as MONUSCO with increasing conventional capabilities, the mission may find itself confronted by a threat that goes beyond its current capabilities. She also cited threats from other armed groups. As government forces and the U.N. peacekeeping body shifted troops to focus on the M23, Keita said other armed groups sought to take advantage of the resulting security vacuum, increasing attacks in North Kivu and Ituri provinces that killed more than 150 civilians between May 28 and June 17. Keita later told reporters that deployment of the regional force authorized at the Kenya meeting should complement U.N. peacekeepers: "The most important element and feature for us is coordination, coordination, coordination. Fortunately, she said, the regional force will be based in Goma, eastern Congo's largest city, where U.N. peacekeepers have a coordination center with the Congolese army. She also stressed the importance of the regional forces commitment to human rights. Keita said MONUSCO has been informed that the regional forces headquarters will be deployed by the end of July and its troops should come sometime in August. U.S. deputy ambassador Richard Mills told the council the United States insists that the regional force's deployment be closely coordinated with U.N. peacekeepers and conducted under international law and existing Security Council sanctions resolutions. Keita said she was encouraged by the commitment of Congos government to pursue consultations with armed groups and encourage them to lay down their arms and join a national disarmament program, adding that several groups expressed their willingness. Julienne Lusenge, president of the Congolese organization Female Solidarity for Integrated Peace and Development, told the council about the impact of the worsening conflict in the east on women, saying mothers are cooking soil to feed their children instead of boiling corn or soya. Lusenge also told the story of a woman whose family mortgaged land to pay $700 to ransom a relative. She was kidnapped when she went to deliver the money, forced to cook the entrails of a man who had been killed that were fed to prisoners, and repeatedly raped. After being released, she was detained by another group as she headed home, held as a sexual slave and forced to cook and eat human flesh. She escaped, returned to her village, and learned the family member she went to ransom had been murdered. Lusenge urged the Security Council to end any ambiguity of what is happening in the east, saying U.N. experts have shown Rwandas involvement with the M23. And she urged increased protection for civilians to prevent deaths and sexual violence against women and girls, medical and psychological support for survivors, and strengthened dialogue to end the violence and restore stability to eastern Congo. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said Wednesday that her office will be readily equipped to oversee the 2022 elections including the choice of her future successor following her decision to step down this week in order to care for her ailing husband. Merrills resignation, which she said will become effective at noon on Thursday, requires Gov. Ned Lamont to appoint an interim secretary to oversee the offices election administration and various other duties for the next six months, until her elected successor is sworn in in January. Lamonts office had yet to name his pick by the end of Wednesday, while Republicans were already issuing scornful criticisms of one potential candidate. While unprecedented efforts by former President Donald Trump to dispute the nations electoral results have launched offices like the Secretary of the State into the spotlight, Merrill noted that in Connecticut, it is mostly up to local town clerks and registrars of voters to update the voter rolls, organize poll workers and publish notices about election dates and locations. We like to call ourselves the Guardians of Democracy, but our role specifically is very much administrative, Merrill said on Wednesday. Our office just makes sure everyone is following the law. The Secretary of the States Offices workforce of 70 employees is made up mostly of career civil servants, more than half of whom are assigned to the offices relatively obscure Business Services division. Merrill said her executive staff is limited to a small number of appointees who have known about this for quite a while. In a statement on Wednesday, Lamont referred to Merrill as a dear friend, and said her exit from public service is a tremendous loss for the people of Connecticut. Denise has had a long history of serving the public good in Connecticut and has become one of the most respected secretaries of state in the country, the governor said. While Lamont has yet to name a successor, speculation immediately turned toward Scott Bates, Merrills top deputy who has experience working as a congressional staffer and chairman of the Connecticut Port Authority. Bates controversial tenure at the Port Authority prompted Republican Party Chairman Ben Proto to issue a public warning Wednesday at the very real possibility that Bates could be tapped to oversee the office in charge of this falls elections. In a statement, the Republican leader also offered the unsolicited and unlikely recommendation that the Democratic governor select one of two former GOP leaders in the state legislature to serve as Merrills temporary successor. There is no shortage of individuals, on both sides of the aisle, who would serve the people and the voters well over the remaining six months, Proto said. Sadly, what is more likely is that Lamont will provide yet another promotion, both in pomp and payroll, for Bates, since its under the veil of being only temporary. Bates declined to comment when reached at his office Wednesday afternoon. Merrill said Wednesday that she had not recommended any names to Lamont as a choice for her interim successor, adding that it is his decision alone. The three-term secretary, who has served since 2010, said she would remain available to her successor during any transition period, though she did not anticipate any major hiccups. If Im asked for advice, Im certainly happy to give it, Merrill said. I think Im leaving the agency itself in very good hands, I have strong managers in all of the different divisions particularly elections. The candidates running to take over the office for a full term starting in January were similarly effusive in their praise for the offices staff, and there was little concern that Lamonts pick would face significant challenges in continuing the offices mission. I dont think the governor would risk appointing anyone in the interim who wouldnt be ready, said state Rep. Stephanie Thomas, D- Norwalk, who won her partys endorsement for the office at its statewide convention last month. Maritza Bond, the New Haven city health director who is challenging Thomas in the Democratic primary, on Wednesday called Merrill a pioneer in womens politics whom she trusted to leave in place a process to ensure a smooth transition for whoever takes over the office in the short term. Even Dominic Rapini, the Republican Partys endorsed candidate who has butted heads with elections officials in the past, said on Wednesday that he trusted Merrills staff and that Lamont could make a safe pick by choosing an internal candidate. Asked if that included Bates, Rapini said that he was aware of his partys concerns but did not have enough information to form his own opinion. I dont know him well enough one way or the other, Rapini said. I trust that if hes in that office he knows how the plumbing will work. Merrills tenure saw voter roles surge amid her successful push to simplify the registration process through the Department of Motor Vehicles and same-day registration on Election Day. When I came into office there was almost no online ability to register to vote, now almost everything is done online, Merrill said of her attempts to modernize the states election administration. Its been a huge undertaking, were just about complete. Merrill has also faced criticism from Republicans, who accused her of bypassing legislative authority to expand absentee voting and mail more than a million ballots to voters during 2020 due to their concerns about COVID-19. Merrill defended her actions, saying that the pandemic proved that Connecticuts limitations on absentee and early voting are too rigid. After nearly three decades in politics, Merrill, 73, announced last June that she would not seek a fourth term, citing a desire to turn the job over to a younger slate of candidates. Merrills husband, Dr. Stephen Leach, was also diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease several years ago, the effects of which led to a very rough winter, in which her husband was hospitalized with an infection and then transferred to a nursing home where he contracted COVID-19. Leach is now recovering at the couples home in Mansfield, Merrill said Wednesday, which contributed to her decision to leave office to care for him. That could happen again, hes very fragile, Merrill said of her decision. I dont think there was a moment [when her decision became apparent]. Ive been thinking about this for a long, long time and trying to do both but I think his condition currently really requires me to be with him right now, for personal reasons and for medical reasons. The Lords Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries has denied reports making the rounds that its General Overseer, Pastor Lazarus Muoka and ... The Lords Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries has denied reports making the rounds that its General Overseer, Pastor Lazarus Muoka and the church has endorsed the presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi. Reports had emerged on social media that Pastor Lazarus was supporting Peter Obi. However, a statement issued by the Churchs Public Relations Director, Pastor Louis Chidi said neither the church nor its General Overseer made a statement in support or against a political party. Our attention has been drawn to publications on some social media platforms attributed to our General Overseer, Pastor Lazarus Muoka, which were meant to portray him and the Church, the Lords Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, as politically inclined with sympathy for a particular political party and its aspirant. We wish to state without equivocation that neither our General Overseer nor the Church has ever made any political statement in support of, or against any person or party, and have no cause to be involved in politics We, therefore, wish to state categorically that such publication or view does not emanate from our General Overseer. Rather, its the enemy that has done that (according to Matthew 13:24-30), it stated. President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Lisbon, called for an increase in the volume of trade with Portugal as well as diversification to ... President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Lisbon, called for an increase in the volume of trade with Portugal as well as diversification to non-oil products. The President spoke at an Economic Seminar between Nigeria and Portugal businesses during his State Visit. The Nigerian leader said the two countries were in dire need of new investment opportunities. Buhari cited the devastation on global economies caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He recalled that the relationship between modern Nigeria and Portugal started over 40 years ago. The President said he was excited to learn of the increased level of enthusiasm Portuguese businesses have shown towards Nigeria. In the past 25 years, trade between Nigeria and Portugal has more than doubled to over $1 billion by 2020 just before the COVID-19 pandemic. Noting that this has been mostly in the oil and gas sector, he called on both nations to collaborate to do more. Buhari recalled that the Portuguese were the first European voyagers on record to visit the shores of Nigeria in the late fifteenth century. He announced that the Nigerian government awarded a contract to Mota-Engil, a Portuguese company, to construct a railway to connect Kano to Maradi in Southern Niger Republic. The President expressed confidence that the partnership will open doors for more Portuguese companies. The federal government has increased the tax on tobacco products including shisha and cigarettes from 20 percent to 30 percent. Olorun... The federal government has increased the tax on tobacco products including shisha and cigarettes from 20 percent to 30 percent. Olorunnimbe Mamora, minister of state for health, made this known on Tuesday at a media briefing in Abuja in commemoration of the 2022 World No Tobacco Day, themed Tobacco: A Threat To Our Environment. He said the tax is aimed at discouraging consumption of tobacco products. Mamora said the new tax took effect on June 1, 2022. This new regime increased the ad-valorem tax rate from 20 percent to 30 percent, he said. In addition to the 30 percent ad-valorem, a specific excise rate has been increased from N58 to N84 per pack of 20 sticks of cigarette, and this will further be increased to N94 per pack in 2023; and then N104 per pack in 2024. Also, shisha is now taxed at the rate of N3,000 per litre and N1,000 per kilogramme and this will be increased yearly by N500.12. This pro-health tax is an effective public health control measure against behavioural risk factors as it has the capacity to reduce demand and consumption of tobacco products. Mamora further said the ministry had commenced screening and issuance of operational licences to qualified major tobacco businesses in the country with the view to profiling and monitoring tobacco industry activities nationwide. He added that the tobacco industry must ensure that the unit packages of all their tobacco products have the approved text and pictorial/graphic health warning message so that the public, especially tobacco users, are made aware of the harmful effects of tobacco use. At the event, the minister also launched the Tobacco Control Data Initiative (TCDI) dashboard. The TCDI dashboard is a virtual system that would allow stakeholders and the public to access relevant and up-to-date data on tobacco control in the country. He urged Nigerians to avoid tobacco and exposure to second-hand smoke. According to him, quitting tobacco is beneficial as it decreases the risk of many diseases. It will also protect even babies, children, and women as they are the topmost victims of second-hand smoke, Mamora said. I also urge citizens to report infringements on provisions of the national tobacco control laws and regulations to the law enforcement agencies. MBABANE And they both claim victory! This is what the progressives movement and government said about June 29, the day when pro-democracy formations had planned activities in remembrance of those who passed on last year, on the same date. June 29, 2021 was a day characterised by unprecedented levels of looting, violence, burning and shooting of civilians, following the halting of petition deliveries by the youth to various tinkhundla centres. Yesterday, some of the progressives had planned to march to the Prime Ministers (PM) Office to deliver a petition, while others such as the Political Party Assembly (PPA) had actually called for its members to stay at home. If there is something one should not be jealous about is that the prodemocracy movement recorded a huge victory yesterday, said the Peoples United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) Secretary General (SG) Wandile Dludlu in relation to yesterdays situation in the country, following their declaration of June 29, 2022 as a public holiday. Concerned Dludlu said, as far as PUDEMO was concerned, people heeded the call of the mass democratic movement by staying at home, in remembrance of emaSwati who died and those who got injured during the political unrest, which took place on June 29-30, 2021. A report by the Human Rights Commission pointed out that 46 people died during last years political unrest. It should be noted that there has not been an agreement on the number of deaths. If you look at the number of closed shops across the country, you will agree with me that the businesspeople closed their businesses so that they and their employees can join hands in the remembrance of the people who sacrificed their lives for the struggle last year. About 80 to 90 per cent of the shops were closed, which means many people stayed at home, he said. Dludlu said yesterday was not necessarily about an activity, but about people staying at home. He said as leaders of the mass democratic movement, they couldnt hold activities in the major cities, where there was a heavy presence of security personnel, including the army. Gamble You heard some people saying that the army does not use rubber bullets, so we cannot gamble with the lives of the people because as much as we want democracy, we have a responsibility to protect them. There are activities in some parts of the country but not in the major cities, he said. He added that it was obvious that government did not want any activity by the mass democratic movement, hence it deployed the security personnel. He said it was clear that their safety was not guaranteed when they heard an army helicopter flying in close proximity on Tuesday night. Government, on the other hand, described yesterday as calm, after there were threats and intimidation propagated through social media by terrorist groups. In a statement issued yesterday afternoon, the Government Spokesperson, Alpheous Nxumalo, said the groups wanted to hold the nation to ransom while claiming to be fighting for democracy. He said government noted how emaSwati went on with their respective lives in the most appreciated peaceful manner. Nxumalo said yesterday started and progressed as any other normal working day, as citizens throughout the country went about doing their normal business peacefully, despite insufficient public transport in some places. Threats The governments spokesperson stated that it could not be ignored that some citizens chose to remain indoors, either because they were afraid of threats, or they were not sure if transport would be available. All in all, we appreciate the good and peace-loving citizens who chose to behave in a commendable manner, as well as our security officers who diligently and selflessly worked to ensure peace, law and order, said Nxumalo. He went on to say while there was nothing wrong, unconstitutional, or immoral about holding strong political views or having a preference for an alternative political order, but deploying terror tactics to get the message across was criminal, cowardly and contrary to ideals of good governance. Gratitude He further expressed gratitude to the countrys security services (imibutfo) for ensuring the overall safety and protection of the nation in all the various roads and business infrastructures across the country. The presence of soldiers in the streets raised concerns to many, as to what it meant because it was often perceived that soldiers would be deployed in cases of a war. However, in Prime Minister Cleopas Sipho Dlaminis remarks on Monday, he did mention that the police and the army would be present to provide security. Dlamini was quoted stating that now that the terrorists had declared war on the public, the government would declare it on them as well. Njengoba sebayiphakile natsi sitayiphaka kuhlanganwe etulu, said the PM in vernacular. Meanwhile, Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF) described yesterday as decisively successful day. MSF had initially planned to mark the day by delivering a petition to the Prime Ministers Office. MSF Chairperson Thulani Maseko said as the mass democratic movement, they declared June 29 of each and every year a public holiday. He said yesterday the people decisively made it happen. Maseko said the people made it clear that the Tinkhundla Government were no longer in charge of the country, but the people was in charge. The human rights lawyers said the denialism and naivety of those in authority must come to a stop. History continues to be written and the people keep on re-writing it in their own favour, said Maseko. Indeed, the mission was achieved; it was resoundingly successful regardless of States harassment and intimidation. Tinkhundla have lost the plot, added Maseko. Senator Ike Ekweremadu, former Deputy President, and his wife, Beatrice on Thursday appeared before the Uxbridge Magistrate Court in the U... Senator Ike Ekweremadu, former Deputy President, and his wife, Beatrice on Thursday appeared before the Uxbridge Magistrate Court in the United Kingdom over organ harvesting charges. Recall that Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, were recently arrested by the Specialist Crime Team of the Metropolitan Police in London for alleged conspiracy to harvest the organ of a child. The duo had been in custody since their arrest and subsequent charge to a London court, a situation which had elicited mixed reactions from Nigerians. The prosecutor had claimed that David Ukpo, who alleged that he was coerced to donate his kidney to the Senators daughter, is 15 years old. According to Channels Tv, the case has now been adjourned to July 7 at Westminster Magistrate Court to enable the UK Attorney General, Suella Braverman, to determine whether the case will be tried in the country or Nigeria. The Senate delegation will on Friday visit the former Deputy President of the Senate, in London. President of Senate Ahmad Lawan assured that the Senate would continue to engage with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigeria High Commissioner in London on the issue to ensure that the senator was given all necessary support. Ondo State Police Command has refuted speculations regarding plans by terrorists to strike. Rumors are circulating about a purported... Ondo State Police Command has refuted speculations regarding plans by terrorists to strike. Rumors are circulating about a purported letter to a radio station by a terror group. On Thursday, the police advised the public not to panic over the false information. Kindly disregard the rumour that terrorists wrote to Ilara Mokin via Adaba 88.9FM on their intention to attack the community, a statement read. The Information is false and misleading with intent to create unnecessary panic in Ilara Mokin and its environs. The police noted that the management of Adaba FM already issued a disclaimer. The security agency warned the peddlers of the negative story to desist. Commissioner of Police, Oyeyemi Oyediran assured the people of the state of adequate protection. Earlier this month, a church was attacked in Owo, leaving at least 40 people dead. A former Governor of Kaduna State and Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, on Thursday, said that the main op... A former Governor of Kaduna State and Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, on Thursday, said that the main opposition party would win the 2023 presidential election. He, however, urged leaders of the party to close rank and resolve all political challenges that might have arisen as a fallout of the partys presidential primary. Makarfi, who spoke with newsmen in Kaduna on Thursday amid rumour of defecting from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress, said he was not contemplating leaving the party he joined others to form in 1999 to date. According to him, the only reason I will quit the party is when retiring from active politics. He said that the misunderstanding associated with the outcome of the partys presidential primary and the choice of the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakars running mate must not be allowed to rock the PDP boat. Makarfi urged Atiku to reach out to Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers, on the choice of his running mate, saying that the matter is resolvable. I wont blame Wike for feeling bad. Because he has been one of the pillars of the party. Let the presidential candidate, Atiku sit down with Wike to discuss issues because he is the only one that knows why he picked his running mate. The matter is resolvable, he said. Makarfi, a former National Chairman of the party, expressed optimism that PDP would bring back true democracy to Nigeria in 2023, adding that we have learnt our lessons and we Will do more than we did when we are in power. He explained that as long as the 2023 election would hold the party will win but we need to work hard for us to win in 2023. PDP is set to bring back true democracy to Nigeria and we have learnt our lessons. Meanwhile, Markarfi described his rumoured defection from the PDP to APC as the handiwork of jobless politicians. He said, honestly, I am hearing this for the first time that I am defecting from PDP to APC and I dont know what can be the basis. Why should I make an investment in terms of time and whatever you can mention in PDP and now decided to leave. Why should I go through the stress and just when we are getting it right, then I now leave the PDP for APC or any other party? What will be the attraction for me to leave the PDP? Well, people dont approach me with such a rumour because they know the type of person that I am. If they want to come they come to me with substance. What could be the basis because in every rumour there must be a basis. Is it because members of the opposition party attended my sons wedding and that is the basis of that rumour? Even then people of my own political party were all there. Is this the kind of country that we want to build that because people from all shades of life attend wedding ceremonies, a burial that they will now start flying rumours of defection? The rumour is the figment of the imagination of people who are jobless. I am a PDP member thorough and thorough. If I leave PDP, I should be retiring from politics. And because you hold different political opinions then you now cut off all relationships with people and you want Nigeria to move forward? I will continue to hold my political opinion as a PDP person. I will continue to stand by my opinion in PDP. I have stood by it a long time ago and I will continue. People that have been galivanting between PDP and APC are known. I am in politics in PDP on principle. If people are moving across parties because they want to capture power or they want to enhance their financial-economic position or whatever; I am still in PDP and I will continue to be in PDP and this time around, I believe we are going to be in power Gods willing in Kaduna. And we shall be successful even at the national level. Watertown, NY (13601) Today Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 78F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Cloudy. Low 63F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Bahrains Labour Fund (Tamkeen) has announced the launch of the first cohort of the Cyber Security Training Programme in partnership with the world-renowned provider of cybersecurity training, Sans Institute. This follows the recent strategic partnership between Tamkeen and Sans Institute with the purpose of training and reskilling hundreds of Bahrainis in the field of cybersecurity, a highly in-demand specialty in Bahrain and beyond. This will further enhance the competitiveness of Bahrainis locally and internationally, in line with Tamkeens key objective of enabling Bahrainis to become the first choice of employment for private sector enterprises. Eight-week programme The Cyber Security Training Programme is an eight-week programme designed to identify and rapidly reskill individuals for roles in cybersecurity. This programme will provide participants with in depth cybersecurity knowledge and two Global Information Assurance Certifications (GIAC) upon completion, which will enable them to kickstart their careers in the field. The students joining the programme will have access to up to three Sans training courses, soft skills training, and opportunities for networking with potential employers, further enhancing their ability to pursue successful careers in cybersecurity. The training programme brings the Sans Institute extensive knowledge and experience in reskilling individuals to transition into cybersecurity, thus giving Bahraini talent the opportunity to pursue this highly in demand profession and access a world of opportunities in the kingdom and abroad. Human capital development Husain Mohamed Rajab, Chief Executive of Tamkeen, reiterated Tamkeens commitment to supporting human capital development in alignment with the economic recovery plan. He said: We are working to address the skill gaps in emerging and high potential sectors to supply the market with qualified Bahraini talent that can support the productivity of private sector enterprises, which at the same time equips Bahrainis with the skills they need to achieve career growth within these sectors. He added: The graduates of the Cyber Security Training Programme will get access to internship opportunities and will be able to connect with future employers and put their newly acquired skills to the test through on-the-job training that will facilitate their employment in enterprises that require cybersecurity professionals. James Lyne, Chief Technology Officer at Sans Institute said: Enabling Bahrainis to become certified cybersecurity professionals is in line with the Sans Institute mission to address the global skills gap in the field. We look forward to working with Bahrains national workforce and empowering them to enter this field through professional certification and on-the-job training, which will enhance their competitiveness and provide them with sustainable career opportunities. Open for Bahrainis Applications for the first cohort of the Cyber Security Training Programme are open for Bahraini nationals aged 18 years and over, who are able to attend the full duration of the course in person and are available for employment following successful graduation. The applications can be submitted on the Sans Institute website https://www.sans.org/mlp/bahrain-academy/. This training is fully supported for Bahraini individuals by Tamkeen, as part of its strategy driving greater economic impact in Bahrain. Tamkeens transformation also included the launch of 16 new programmes designed to drive the growth and development of enterprises and individuals in Bahrain, with more initiatives planned in the pipeline to serve these objectives.-- TradeArabia News Service The Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday expanded Oklahomas authority to prosecute crimes against Native Americans in much of the state . Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times/TNS If youre looking for fun for the Fourth, the New Orleans area has plenty of fireworks shows and events to help celebrate this Independence Day. +11 Where to see Fourth of July fireworks around New Orleans this weekend With Old Glory flapping in the breeze, burgers on the grill and fireworks in the night, Inde But for those who wish to avoid crowds and public spaces, private fireworks are an option in some parishes. Before making plans, be sure to check the ordinances in your area. Heres a breakdown of the fireworks laws in the New Orleans area: FILE - Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson smiles as Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., arrives for a meeting in his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 31, 2022. The first Black woman confirmed for the Supreme Court, Jackson, is officially becoming a justice. Jackson will be sworn as the courts 116th justice at midday Thursday, June 30, just as the man she is replacing, Justice Stephen Breyer, retires. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) Dr Karen Remo, UAE-based business leader, has been conferred the Presidential Award, the highest recognition given by the Philippine government to Filipino individuals and organisations overseas. Dr Remo, CEO and Managing Director of New Perspective Media Group and The Filipino Times, was chosen among the 17 recipients of the Pamana ng Pilipino Award (Presidential Awards, Filipino Heritage category). Presented by Secretary and Chairperson of Commission on Filipinos Overseas Justice Francisco Acosta, who officially acted on behalf of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, this distinction is given to overseas Filipinos who, in exemplifying the talent and industry of the Filipinos, have brought the country honour and recognition through excellence and distinction in the pursuit of their work or profession. Ability to lead In conferring the Pamana ng Pilipino Award to Dr Karen Remo, the President recognises her ability to lead, inspire, and influence Filipinos from all over the world while proving that women can be a pioneer in the field of business, according to the Presidential Awards for Filipino Individuals and Organisations (PAFIOO) Awards Committee. Dr Remo continues to be an inspiring entrepreneur and community leader in the Middle East. She has not only earned the respect of Filipinos and the multinational expat professionals in Dubai but also inspired many women to pursue their careers in business, it added. A report by Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) also commended Dr Remos role in enriching the economic and social ties between the UAE and the Philippines. Playing such an important role in the media industry, she fosters a positive relationship between the UAE and the Philippines. Her position has also allowed her to put Filipinos on the center stage. Campaign initiated Dr Remo also started a campaign to demonstrate Filipinos trust in the UAE governments efforts to eradicate the Covid-19. It also represents both countries unwavering support for one another in their attempts to contain the diseases spread, CFO added. The Philippine Ambassador to the UAE, Hjayceelyn Quintana, in her endorsement of the Presidential Award nomination, said: Dr Remo comes from a community of an estimated one million Filipinos in the UAE. To be a cut above the rest means that the impact of her achievements in the host country is a source of pride for Filipinos not only in the UAE, but in the Middle East region as a whole. It is worth noting that The Filipino Times that Dr Remo has founded in 2013 is now the largest digital news portal for Filipinos in the Middle East and the biggest free newspaper in the UAE. Consul General Renato Duenas, Philippine Consul General in Dubai and Northern Emirates, added: My warmest congratulations to Dr Karen Remo on being conferred the Presidential Award from the Commission on Filipinos Overseas. Dr Remo has been an outstanding Overseas Filipino, who has trail-blazed in the media and business world in the UAE and the Middle East region. Her accomplishments speak for themselves and are a testament to Filipino talent, ingenuity, and dedication. She truly is a great role model for all Filipinos. Im confident this award will inspire her even more in her mission to provide reliable news and information to her fellow Overseas Filipinos in the UAE and beyond. Trust and support Dr Remo said: "It is an honour to receive such a prestigious recognition and I am very grateful to the Office of the President, CFO, and the PAFIOO Awards Committee for this award. I have been privileged to work with and help many clients both in the government and private sectors in the Mena and Asia-Pacific regions. I am very thankful to our readers and followers who always support and challenge us to do better. It was their trust and support that gave me this opportunity to showcase the passion and dedication of every team member in the NPM Group of companies to be of service and to make a difference. "I am honoured to foster the positive relationship between UAE and Philippines. Both countries visionary and inclusive leadership has inspired me to promote global excellence, tolerance and respect, women empowerment and entrepreneurship which have great impact in the society, the environment and the economy, she added.-- TradeArabia News Service A Terrytown man out on bond while awaiting trial in a shooting that left a victim paralyzed was arrested again this week and accused of taking aim at a pair of 17-year-olds who allegedly ripped him off during a gun deal, Gretna police said. Angel Munoz Trinidad, 19, was booked Tuesday with two counts of attempted second-degree murder, said Gretna Police Deputy Chief Jason DiMarco. Authorities said he was wearing an ankle monitor when the shootings occured. +2 After man left paralyzed in Terrytown shooting, 2 charged with attempted murder Two men will stand trial for attempted second-degree murder in a Terrytown shooting that left the victim paralyzed from the waist down, accord In an unrelated case, Munoz has already pleaded not guilty to attempted second-degree murder in connection with an Aug. 7, 2021, shooting in Terrytown in which a 21-year-old man was left paralyzed from the waist down. Munoz had been fitted with a GPS tracking ankle monitor after his release on a $250,000 bond in the 2021 shooting, according to DiMarco. Munoz was wearing that ankle bracelet the afternoon of June 7 when he and another man arranged to buy a gun from a pair of teens. The group met in the 900 block of Romain Street and agreed on a $400 price for the weapon. NOLA Business Insider The biggest stories in business, delivered to you every day. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up But one of the teens snatched the cash without handing over the gun and the pair ran off, DiMarco said. Munoz, who was already armed, began shooting at the two teenagers, DiMarco said. Neither was teen was injured and they did not report the incident to authorities. But residents in the area called to report the gunfire, prompting officers to respond. Police discovered spent shell casings at the scene as well as video from several surveillance cameras in the area that helped investigators piece together what happened and identify Munoz and the teens, according to DiMarco. The man who was with Munoz for the gun deal was not arrested, according to authorities. The case is still under investigation. In addition to the attempted murder charges, Munoz was booked with illegal use of a weapon. Bail was set at $1.25 million, according to court records. Munoz was being held Thursday at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna. BJ Brown, arrested Wednesday on a charge of executing his partner in a downtown New Orleans parking lot then shooting a rural Tennessee police officer while on the lam, had been jailed in 2017 for allegedly beating the same woman he's now accused of killing, according to court records. The 32-year-old LaPlace resident was taken into custody after an overnight manhunt in Erin, Tennessee, about 65 miles west of Nashville. A man told WTVF television he recognized Brown walking on the side of a road and called police. The night before, Brown shot an Erin police officer who had stopped him in a vehicle, authorities said. He's being held at the Houston County jail and is expected to face charges of second-degree murder in New Orleans and attempted first-degree murder in Tennessee. Beaten with a broom New Orleans police accuse Brown of fatally shooting Cassandra Jones, 48, with an assault-style rifle Monday morning in the 1400 block of Iberville Street, a killing partially recorded on video and circulated on social media. The couple had a yearslong relationship with multiple reports of abuse, according to court records. Among the reports is a 2017 domestic violence incident in Reserve. St. John the Baptist Parish sheriff's deputies said they were summoned to Brown's house, where Jones told them they were arguing over another woman Brown was seeing. Brown grew irate, hit her with a broken broom handle, broke her phone, stole her wallet and ran out to hid in the woods, according to her account. She said she wanted to press charges. But it wasn't until November 2018 that deputies arrested Brown, booking him with criminal damage to property and second-offense domestic abuse battery, according to 40th Judicial District Court records in Edgard. And on March 3, 2019, just before Brown was to stand trial, Jones told authorities she no longer wanted to pursue the case, so he was released. Family seeks a moment Jones, a Mississippi native, was a mother of three and a deputy clerk First City Court in New Orleans, Clerk Austin Badon said. NOLA Business Insider The biggest stories in business, delivered to you every day. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up "Please understand this is a personal matter for our family," a sister, Karmen Richards, posted on Facebook after Jones was killed. "Were still soaking this in ourselves! Weve lost someone [who] is and forever will be missed and loved by us. Were asking everyone to please let us have our moment." Brown and Jones also were arrested together on Aug. 28, 2020, after a traffic stop in Reserve. Authorities said they found marijuana and ecstasy pills in the couple's vehicle, but Brown told them Jones didn't know about the drugs. They booked him on drug charges and her on a warrant for improper phone communications, which was later dropped. Almost two years later, Brown was placed on three years' probation for the drug charges. +2 Man who allegedly gunned down his ex, then shot a Tennessee cop, had history of abuse and arrests Weeks before she was shot dead in a downtown New Orleans parking lot, Cassandra Jones filed for a restraining order against BJ Brown, who is n Carlie Kollath Wells contributed to this report. When a hurricane is heading for New Orleans and southeast Louisiana, the biggest question for many is whether to stay or evacuate. If officials say to leave, then you need to leave. Related: Hurricane guide for beginners A mandatory evacuation means all residents and visitors must leave. A voluntary evacuation means you can leave, but it isn't required. Another term is "shelter in place." That's when you stay home or in another safe facility and ride out of the storm. You should have supplies with you and stay off the roads in this situation. Evacuate or shelter in place? If a mandatory evacuation is not ordered, it's up to you to decide to evacuate or shelter in place. These are the key factors to weigh: Storm threats, including strong winds and the potential for flooding Your personal situation, including your location and your family's health Ability to evacuate Power outages that might last for days Lack of public services Adequate supplies If you live in a trailer or mobile home, authorities strongly recommend evacuating for any storm. Many residents in a traditional building will stay for tropical storms and leave for storms that are at least Category 2 or 3, but again, each storm is different. Stay weather aware during hurricane season. Hurricanes don't pop up overnight and you usually have at least 48 hours' notice. But, tracks change and storms can intensify quickly so be prepared to move quickly or hunker down if the forecast changes unexpectedly. If you choose to stay, old-timers say to keep a hatchet in your attic, just in case unexpected flooding requires an emergency escape from your home. Here's the city's guide for other things to have if you choose to shelter in place. Questions to ask yourself Do you have transportation, a place to go and money for evacuation expenses? Sometimes it is easier to get out of town than deal with the aftermath of a storm if you have the means. The city offers free assistance in some evacuations. Text EVACNOLA to 77295 if you might need to use city-assisted evacuation. Ahead of a storm, you should identify several destinations in different directions. Evacuation destinations can include a friend's or relative's home, a public shelter or hotels. Several search tools are available to find pet-friendly hotels if needed. Here's a helpful site to walk you through making an emergency plan. Do you have medical conditions or a life situation (ex: small children) that would make it hard to live without air conditioning in the summer heat? Storms often knock out power for several days. Some people have generators, but many require gas, which may or may not be available. If you or your loved ones wouldn't be able to tolerate an extended power outage, consider leaving. Does your house flood during a regular thunderstorm? Storms often dump several inches of rain and cause flooding. Get hurricane updates in your inbox Sign up for updates on storm forecasts, tracks and more. e-mail address * Sign Up Do you have supplies to last at least a week? When storms hit, trees are often knocked down, blocking roads. Stores are closed and lines to get gas are long. Prepare now for storms by gathering nonperishable food, water, flashlights, power sources, important paperwork, etc. Related: 60+ nonperishable food items to consider If you do evacuate, tell your family and friends where you are going. Posting on social media also helps so people can check your status there instead of draining your phone battery by calling and texting you. And pack your patience. Traffic is much heavier when there's a storm threat, and New Orleans officials say you should estimate that it will take at least four times longer than usual to get to your destination. Do before leaving There are at least 15 basic things you should do before hitting the road, emergency officials say. If you live in a trailer or mobile home, before you evacuate, you should: Shut off fuel lines but do not disconnect them. Turn off the water where it enters your home. Use both "over the top" and "frame" ties to secure your home. Everyone, including those in mobile homes, should do the following before evacuating: Check on your elderly relatives and neighbors and see if anyone needs a ride or supplies. Take your animals with you or find someone who can evacuate with them or care for them temporarily. Plan ahead for large animals like horses and cattle. Gather items you need. See suggestions below. Remove debris from gutters and downspouts. Bring outdoor furniture and decorations inside. Secure or bring garbage bins inside. Make and place sandbags if needed. Lock all doors and windows. Empty your fridge and freezer or put everything into big garbage bags to make cleanup easier. Turn the fridge/freezer temperature to the lowest setting before leaving. Unplug household items, especially electronics, in case there's a power surge. Unplug household items in case there's a power surge. Move possessions to your highest floor. Photograph your property for insurance purposes. Cover your windows with plywood or storm shutters. Secure boats and recreational vehicles. Turn off electricity, water and propane gas. Leave natural gas on, unless you are instructed to turn it off. Leave a key with a neighbor or friend who is staying so they can access your house if needed. Packing list for evacuating This is the suggested packing list from New Orleans emergency officials and LSU AgCenter experts: Clothes. If you are in a rush, a pro tip is to take your hamper with your dirty clothes and wash them at your destination. Cell phone, important electronics and chargers, including car chargers Soap, toothbrush, toothpaste and toiletries Face masks, sanitizer and disinfecting wipes Bedding Identification Cash, credit cards, checkbook, etc. List of emergency contacts, including numbers for doctors and vets Medications, copy of medical records & prescriptions Birth and marriage certificates Documents that prove where you live Wills, deeds, titles, etc. Insurance policies Pet supplies, including proof of vaccination and leash or travel crate Activities to do, especially for children Roadside emergency kit, with a printed map. Cell service is often limited and phone navigation service may be spotty. Food and water for the trip because services may be limited for several hours while driving. Laptop or tablet List of your usernames and passwords More suggestions from LSU AgCenter Here are suggested items for children from the LSU AgCenter: Tablet or phone with downloaded shows and games Handheld video games (Example: Nintendo Switch) Several favorite books Crayons and paper Childrens puzzles Childrens board games (checkers, dominoes, etc.) Card games (Go Fish, Old Maid, Uno, etc.) Two favorite small toys, such as a doll or action figure A cherished stuffed animal A treasured blanket and/or pillow Pictures of family and pets Other special items that will comfort children Here are more tips for evacuating with children. Tips for evacuating with children ahead of a hurricane: What to bring, what to do Evacuating ahead of a hurricane with children can add another layer of difficulty to an already challenging situation. Here are some tips from Staff writer Mark Schleifstein contributed to this story. Sources: Times-Picayune archives, National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service, NOAA and NOLA Ready. Air France-KLM has published its 2021 Sustainability Report, a fully digital report that outlines the Groups actions to accelerate its environmental transition and to promote diversity and inclusion in all its businesses. Air France-KLM has also presented "Destination Sustainability", a program bringing together the Groups ambitions on the environment and climate change on the one hand, and the human factor on the other, by bringing the values of respect, equality and tolerance to the fore. In a context still marked by the aftermath of the pandemic and international tensions, Air France-KLM intends to strengthen its commitment towards sustainable air transport. It is doing so by following a scientific approach based on rigorous criteria, which has been validated by SBTi, an independent reference organization. In addition to achieving zero net CO2 emissions by 2050, Air France-KLM aims to reduce its emissions per passenger-km by 30% compared to 2019. The Group is also committed to using 10% of Sustainable Aviation Fuel by 2030, well beyond the regulatory mandate envisioned in Refuel EU for flights departing from Europe. To illustrate their strong commitment to more responsible air transport, the Air France-KLM Group airlines are mobilizing for the "Connecting Europe Days", held from 28 to 30 June in Lyon by the European Commission to discuss transport policies and promote sustainable mobility. Five flights operated by Air France, KLM and Transavia will fly to their destinations carrying at least 30% of sustainable aviation fuel. Social and societal responsibility is the second pillar of the Destination Sustainability strategy. With more than 71,000 employees, Air France-KLM Group is a leading employer, determined to foster an ever more inclusive culture and to fight against all forms of discrimination and inequality at work. For example, a third of the positions on the Group's Executive Committee should be held by women and women should represent 40% of management positions by 2030. "In 2021, the Air France-KLM Group was able to count on its 71,000 employees and their unfailing commitment. The report we are publishing today is the result of their actions and efforts to place our Group at the forefront of a sector that is reinventing itself. Our Destination Sustainability program embodies our willingness to position ourselves as leaders in sustainable aviation" said Benjamin Smith, CEO of the Air France-KLM Group. TradeArabia News Service Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the UAE, has resumed passenger flights between Abu Dhabi and Beijing, with the inaugural flight EY888 landing in the Chinese capital on June 30. With this, Etihad becomes the first regular direct international passenger service to return to Beijing under the latest mandate of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council in response to Covid-19. The flight is the first direct passenger service from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE to Beijing, capital of the Peoples Republic of China, since March 23, 2020. On board the flight were UAE diplomats, employees of Chinese enterprises with investments in the UAE, business travellers and students. Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said: Today marks a significant moment in Etihads history as passenger flights resume to Beijing for the first time in over 800 days. The direct flights between Abu Dhabi and Beijing will undoubtedly facilitate the deepening of bilateral cooperation in various fields and promote stronger bonds among the people of the two nations. As global travel restrictions rapidly ease, Etihad is equipped to further increase operations to China and meet the rising demand from travellers in both locations to support the recovery of economic and social activities worldwide. Ahmed Al Qubaisi, Senior Vice President, Government International & Communications, Etihad Aviation Group, commented: Etihads flight today is a testament to the successful comprehensive strategic partnership between both capitals and demonstrates the joint determination of both governments to build upon it. Etihad is tremendously grateful to be part of this moment and to contribute to the increasingly close ties between the UAE and China. Etihad continues to deliver on its commitment to facilitating a resilient and prosperous air bridge between the UAE and China, and beyond. This maintains passenger and cargo movement and supports economic and political exchanges between both nations. Following the inaugural flight, the regular weekly service will commence on July 6, and will be operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, featuring Business and Economy cabins. TradeArabia News Service New Delhi, June 30 (UNI) A group of 11 Afghan Sikhs is arriving in India today from Kabul, days after the terror attack on the Karte Parwan Gurdwara in which one Afghan Sikh and an Afghan guard were killed. The group will be carrying the ashes of Swinder Singh, an Afghan Sikh devotee who was killed in the Gurdwara attack on June 18. One of those injured in the attack, Raqbir Singh, is also part of the group. The Gurdwara attack was perpetrated by the Islamic State Khorasan unit. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar, has organised and is facilitating the transfer of Afghan Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan to India in coordination with the Indian World Forum and Government of India. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar, is providing humanitarian assistance in the form of airfare and will also provide financial aid to those seeking rehabilitation in India, said Indian World Forum President Puneet Singh Chandhok. Officials of SGPC and Afghan Hindu and Sikh Community leaders will be present at the airport and facilitate them. After their arrival the entire group will be leave for Gurdwara Guru Arjan Dev in Tilak Nagar. Harjinder Singh, President, SGPC and the Indian World Forum have directed their officials to facilitate those Afghan Sikhs arriving at the highest level. The Indian government granted 111 visas to Afghan Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Gurdwara attack. UNI RN SAN ANTONIO/MEXICO CITYThe alleged driver of a truck carrying dozens of migrants who died in the suffocating heat in Texas this week initially tried to pass himself off as a victim to escape authorities before he was arrested, U.S. and Mexican officials said on Wednesday. The death toll in the incident rose to 53 as some migrants who had been trapped in the sweltering tractor-trailer, which was left in a desolated area near a highway in San Antonio, died in the hospital, local officials said. More peopleincluding minorsremain hospitalized in the worst human smuggling incident in recent U.S. history, officials said. Mexicans made up about half of the deceased who perished after being trapped in the back of the truck as temperatures outside soared as high as 103 Fahrenheit (39.4 Celsius). Dozens of Mexican families this week have waited anxiously for news of missing loved ones who they fear may be among the dead. Mexican immigration officials identified the driver of the truck only as Homero N and published a photograph of him driving the truck through a security checkpoint in Laredo, Texas, at 2:50 p.m. on Monday. U.S. authorities detained two Mexican men in addition to the driver who was arrested leaving a house in San Antonio. On Wednesday, U.S. prosecutors were moving ahead with weapons charges against them. A federal judge in San Antonio, Texas, ordered the suspectsidentified as Juan Francisco DLuna-Bilbao and Juan Claudio DLuna-Mendezdetained until a preliminary hearing on Friday. Both men were charged on Tuesday with possessing firearms while residing in the United States illegally. Francisco Garduno, the head of Mexicos National Migration Institute, said at a news conference on Wednesday that the tractor-trailer passed through two U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoints in Texas, where it was captured on security cameras. The first was in the town of Encinal, 40 miles north of Laredo, and the second in Cotulla, 30 miles farther north. Between 6,000 and 6,800 trucks cross northbound through the Nuevo Laredo-Laredo international port of entry daily, according to Mexican customs data. Garduno said on Wednesday that 14 Hondurans, seven Guatemalans, and two Salvadorans died alongside the 27 Mexican fatalities reported a day earlier. One of the bodies found in Texas had not yet been identified, and 16 migrants were still in six local hospitals, Garduno said. Three of the injured are Mexicans, and the nationalities of 13 others remain unclear, he added. Garduno said there were 67 migrants on board the truck, lower than earlier estimates by some U.S. officials. By Jason Buch and Valentine Hilaire We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. SAN ANTONIOIn the chaotic minutes after dozens of illegal immigrants were found dead inside a tractor-trailer sweltering under the Texas sun, the driver tried to slip away by pretending to be one of the survivors, a Mexican immigration official said Wednesday. The American truck driver, along with another U.S. citizen and two other men, remained in custody as the investigation continued into the tragedy that killed 53 people in the nations deadliest smuggling episode on the U.S.Mexico border. Federal prosecutors said two of the suspects, including the driver, face charges that carry a potential sentence of life in prison or the death penalty if convicted. Two more people died Wednesday as the death toll slowly climbed since the discovery of 46 bodies Monday at the scene near auto salvage yards on the edge of San Antonio. The truck had been packed with 67 people, and the dead included 27 from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala, and two from El Salvador, said Francisco Garduno, chief of Mexicos National Immigration Institute. Officials had potential identifications on 37 of the victims as of Wednesday, pending verification with authorities in other countries, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiners Office. Forty of the victims were male, it said. Identifying the dead has been challenging because some were found without identification documents and in one case a stolen ID. Remote villages where some of the illegal immigrants came from in Mexico and Central America have no phone service to reach family members and fingerprint data has to be shared and matched by the governments involved. Javier Flores Lopezs family was waiting to find out whether he was on the truck. He had returned home to see his wife and three small children in southern Mexico and was going back to Ohio where his father and a brother live and he worked in construction. He is now among the missing and his cousin, Jose Luis Vasquez Guzman, is hospitalized in San Antonio, the family said. The tragedy occurred at a time when huge numbers of illegal immigrants have been coming to the United States. Illegal immigrants were stopped nearly 240,000 times in May, up by one-third from a year ago. While its not clear when or where the illegal immigrants boarded the truck bound for San Antonio, Homeland Security investigators believe it was on U.S. soil, near or in Laredo, Texas, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) told The Associated Press. The truck went through a Border Patrol checkpoint northeast of Laredo on Interstate 35 on Monday, Cuellar and Mexican officials confirmed. It was registered in Alamo, Texas, but had fake plates and logos, Garduno said. Officials in Mexico also released a surveillance photo showing the driver smiling at the checkpoint during the more than two-hour trip to San Antonio. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that state troopers would set up additional truck checkpoints on highways, but he did not say how many. Authorities were looking into whether the truck had mechanical problems when it was left next to a railroad track. The driver was apprehended after trying to disguise himself as one of the illegal immigrants, Garduno said. Federal prosecutors identified the driver as Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, who was charged with smuggling resulting in death. Zamorano lives in suburban Houston and is originally from the Texas border city of Brownsville, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office in San Antonio. He faces the most serious charges along with Christian Martinez, 28, who is accused of conspiracy and allegedly communicated with Zamorano about transporting the illegal immigrants. Martinez was arrested in East Texas and will be transported to San Antonio. Zamorano was scheduled to have his first court appearance Thursday. It was not immediately known if either suspect had an attorney. Two other men who are not U.S. citizens were also arrested on charges of illegal weapons possession. Prosecutors say investigators found the men at a San Antonio address where the truck was registered. Some of the more than a dozen people transported to hospitals were found suffering from brain damage and internal bleeding, according to Ruben Minutti, the Mexico consul general in San Antonio. Illegal immigrants typically pay $8,000 to $10,000 to be taken across the border, loaded into a tractor-trailer and driven to San Antonio, where they transfer to smaller vehicles for their final destinations across the United States, said Craig Larrabee, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio. The death count from Mondays tragedy in San Antonio was the highest ever from a smuggling attempt in the United States, he said. Four years ago, 10 died in 2017 after being trapped inside a truck parked at a San Antonio Walmart. In 2003, the bodies of 19 illegal immigrants were found in a sweltering truck southeast of the city. Temperatures in San Antonio on Monday approached 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), and those taken to the hospital were hot to the touch and dehydrated, authorities said. It wouldnt have taken long for the temperature inside the truck to become deadly, said Jennifer Vanos, an assistant professor at Arizona State University who has researched child deaths in hot vehicles. The tractor-trailer likely would have been hot even before anyone got inside and because of the high humidity, lack of air flow, and so many people inside, their sweat couldnt evaporate to cool their bodies and they would have dehydrated quickly, she said. Identifying the victims was painstaking because among the pitfalls were fake or stolen documents. Mexicos foreign affairs secretary identified two people Tuesday who were hospitalized in San Antonio. But it turned out one of the identification cards he shared on Twitter had been stolen last year in the southern state of Chiapas. Haneydi Antonio Guzman, 23, was safe in a mountain community more than 1,300 miles (2,092 kilometers) away from San Antonio when she began receiving messages from family and friends anxious over her fate. Thats me on the ID, but I am not the person that was in the trailer and they say is hospitalized, Antonio Guzman said. My relatives were contacting me worried, asking where I was. AquaExchange raises $ 3 mn to expand its farm automation footprint Hyderabad, June 30 (UNI) AquaExchange, a full-stack, tech-driven platform serving Indias multi-billion-dollar shrimp & fish ecosystem, on Thursday announced raising $3 million in Pre-Series A funding from Endiya Partners and Accion Venture Lab to strengthening its technology, e-commerce operations & expanding its farm automation footprint to over 1 Lakh acres of farms by March ending next year. AquaExchanges vision is to improve farmer productivity and livelihoods by ushering in AquaCulture 4.0 into India, the company said in a release. Started in 2020, the company has already touched the lives of thousands of Indian farmers with its patented tech and is demonstrating its value proposition to all stakeholders in the ecosystem. AquaExchange has patents published for its power management tool PowerMon and its feed management tool AquaBot. PowerMon is the worlds first patented technology that empowers farmers with complete farm power monitoring and aeration control through the convenience of a mobile app. AquaBot, the worlds only moving auto-feeder that has been deployed at scale, allows farmers to efficiently feed their ponds while maintaining good feed conversion ratios (FCRs). AquaExchange merged with the device manufacturer NextAqua, founded by Kareem and Kiran, earlier this year. Pavan Kosaraju, Founder of AquaExchange, said, our IoT devices and automatic feeders have been installed at scale and are helping farmers with higher reliability/efficiencies in terms of aeration and feed management. We believe that future aquaculture farmers should be equipped with the right data at the right time to ensure higher crop successes and also increase farming productivity. This in turn will help the other industry players such as Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance Companies to work with farmers and, in the process, unlock industry-wide efficiencies.' Dr Ramesh Byrapaneni, Managing Director of Endiya Partners said with its differentiated proprietary technology for farm automation and power management, AquaExchange will not only help bring in efficiencies across the aquaculture value chain but also generate solid data driven insights to bring in access to formal credit, that has largely remained elusive for the sector. AquaExchanges innovative technologies are addressing several pain points for Indias fish and shrimp farmers including purchasing supplies, automating processes, and selling products to ensure that farmers are empowered to continue feeding their communities, commented Michael Schlein, President and CEO of Accion. According to market reports the global shrimp and fish markets are estimated to grow to $400bn by 2027. This market is at the threshold of a massive change in terms of technology adoption for efficient farming. Companies like AquaExchange are at the forefront in terms of ushering in AquaCulture 4.0 which is needed to facilitate such productivity increases. UNI KNR ACL Franciscan Health Michigan City hospital recently presented St. Luke and St. Camillus awards to staff members. The hospital at 9300 Franciscan Way honored three employees "for their team approach to patient care and rapport with staff and patients." Hospitalist and internal medicine physician Elias Salloum won the 2022 St. Luke Award from Franciscan Health Michigan City. "The winner of the St. Luke Award, named for the patron saint of physicians and surgeons, is chosen each year by the patient care staff," Franciscan Health said in a news release. "The award recognizes physicians who have an outstanding rapport with nurses, patients and their families; show respect for the nursing profession; provide education and act as a resource to staff; serve as a role model; and exhibit a team approach to care." Nurses Abby Knoll and Jill Ross received the 2022 St. Camillus Award from Franciscan Health Michigan City. "The St. Camillus Award is named for St. Camillus, who, despite having an incurable wound on his leg, was dedicated to the care of the sick," Franciscan Health said in a news release. "It is chosen by the medical staff and recognizes a nurse who is an ambassador in the community; is a patient advocate; shows respect for the nursing profession; reflects our mission and values; promotes service and hospitality; has good rapport with fellow staff; and exhibits a team approach to care." 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. Independence Day travel is projected to be the second busiest since 2000 despite near record-high gas prices. AAA projects 47.9 million people will travel more than 50 miles from home over the Fourth of July weekend, a 3.7% increase over 2021. The overall travel volume will be just shy of the 2019 record in spite of the historically high gas prices hovering near $5 per gallon. The volume of travelers expected over Independence Day is a definite sign that summer travel is kicking into high gear, said Debbie Haas, vice president of travel for AAA Auto Club Group. Earlier this year, we started seeing the demand for travel increase, and its not tapering off. People are ready for a break and despite things costing more, they are finding ways to still take that much-needed vacation. It's estimated air travel will grow by 3% this year, though it will remain below pre-pandemic levels. AAA forecasts a record 42 million Americans will travel by car, accounting for 87.6% of overall travelers on the holiday weekend. Traveling by car does provide a level of comfort and flexibility that people may be looking for given the recent challenges with flying, AAA Senior Vice President of Travel Paula Twidale said. But not all destinations are within driving distance, which doesnt mean you have to abandon your vacation plans. The best advice we can give travelers is to consider working with a travel agent who can help plan for the unexpected like a flight cancellation. They are your best advocate. Chicago is expected to be one of the most visited destinations nationwide, along with Orlando, Seattle, New York, Anaheim, Anchorage, Ft. Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Honolulu and Denver. Traffic will be heavier than normal with as much as double the travel times on Thursday and Friday afternoons when commuters and holiday travelers both clog the highways. Traffic volumes, for instance, are expected to double on Interstate 290 West from Morgan Street to Wolf Road in Chicago on Friday afternoon. Even with gas hitting record prices, travelers are still eager to hit the road this summer. We expect nationwide travel times to increase about 50% compared to normal. Drivers around major metro areas must be prepared for significantly more delays, says Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX. Knowing when and where congestion will build can help drivers avoid the stress of sitting in traffic. Our advice is to avoid traveling on Thursday and Friday afternoon. Overall, travel bookings this Fourth of July weekend are up 60% domestically and 252% internationally, AAA estimates. Hotel rates are up 23% and airfare 14%. Independence Day gas prices are up 64% and the most expensive in history, according to AAA. Car rental rates are down 34% compared to 2021 but $40 more per day on average than they were pre-pandemic in 2019. "Prices will be at the highest level ever," GasBuddy Petroleum Analyst Patrick De Haan said. "Prices have deterred some people. There are some behavioral changes taking place. Some people are staying closer to home. Some people are not leaving home because of the high price of gasoline." An estimated 33% of those GasBuddy surveyed said they would hit the road for the Fourth of July weekend. That's lower than the unofficial kickoff to summer on Memorial Day weekend but still strong. "Overall, demand is not going down because of high prices. That's kind of the fascinating thing here," De Haan said. "I would suspect a lot of people are not wanting to stay closer to home, especially given where we've been the last two summers with COVID and lockdowns. The federal mask mandate is now gone so people are now traveling and getting out more and getting out and about." Gas demand is weaker than in past years but still remains relatively elevated. "Americans are biting the bullet on those high gas prices," De Haan said. "Overall, 70% said high gas prices weren't going to derail your summer travel plans. It's very surprising but indicative of what we're experiencing. People want to hit the road. It's having some impact but not keeping many people from hitting the road." 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. Indiana University Northwest is showing "Sticks + Tape," an interactive exhibit on loan from the Chicago-based art collective Floating Museum. The site specific installation is on display at the School of the Arts Gallery in the Arts & Sciences Building through July 15. Previously on display at the Chicago Riverwalk, it invites people to help build three-dimensional structures. "Floating Museum is an art collective that creates new models: exploring relationships between art, community, architecture, and public institutions," IUN said in a news release. "Using site-responsive art, design, and programming we explore the potential in these relationships, considering the infrastructure, history, and aesthetics of a space." The School of the Arts Gallery in the Arts & Sciences Building on Broadway is open 12-5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday during the summer. "In the Ceramic Studio with Professor Derek Walter" also is currently on display during regular hours of operation in the Anderson Library foyer on the IUN campus at 3400 Broadway in Gary. The exhibition "Bronislaw M. Bak: 100 Views of Chicago" is being dispayed at the Gallery for Contemporary Art in the Savannah Center, where it will run through August 10. It's on loan from the Lubeznik Center for the Arts in Michigan City. It showcases the work of Bak, a Polish-Artican woodcut artist who died in 1981. All of the woodcut prints on display were created, hand-printed and published in 1967. "In addition to the prints, the artist offered brief descriptions of his pieces in each of his 'Views,'" IUN said in a press release. "The culmination of a full year's work, this collection of landmarks, people, and street scenes evokes a sense of Chicago's history. Although the woodblocks no longer exist, the Lubeznik Center for the Arts shared one of the few remaining sets of this compelling portrait of the Windy City by holding the first public exhibit of the work in its entirety from February through April 2011. This exhibition was the first time Bak's black and white woodcuts were publicly displayed since their unveiling in 1967. Another of the editions is in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago." The gallery in the Savannah Center is open 12-5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday during the summer months. 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. U.S. Steel is planning to slash steelmaking jobs in Illinois as it looks to expand its domestic iron ore supply by investing in a pellet facility in Minnesota and reaching a deal with SunCoke Energy to make pig iron at blast furnaces at Granite City Works near St. Louis. The company is looking to reduce employment from about 1,500 to about 550 at the Illinois steel mill because of the shift in strategy to focus more on iron ore production and electric arc furnaces, or EAFs. "U.S. Steel has established a trend in recent years of shutting down operations, as it has done at the Great Lakes facility in Detroit, Lone Star Steel in Texas, tubular operations in Ohio, and the company abandoned a previously announced major capital improvement project at the Mon Valley Works and announced the closing of its West Coast operations at UPI in California," United Steelworkers Union International President Thomas Conway said. "The company continues to invest heavily in its non-union operations at Big River Steel in Arkansas, and management continues to point to their transition to EAF-produced steel as the pathway to success while they shutter operations." U.S. Steel spokesperson Amanda Malkowski said it would be the end of the steelmaking operations at Granite City Works as both remaining blast furnaces would be converted to pig iron production. All that would remain would be finishing lines, supplied by another U.S. Steel mill, potentially Gary Works. Displaced workers would be able to apply for a job at SunCoke or transfer to another U.S. Steel facility, Malkowski said. Those who are not placed somewhere will get severance packages. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker, one of the largest industrial concerns in the Calumet Region, recently announced it would invest $60 million in a pig iron caster at Gary Works that would produce up to 500,000 tons of pig iron for Big River Steel in Arkansas. That operation should go online next year, contributing $30 million a year to run-rate enterprise EBITDA and a return rate of more than 30%. This fall, the steelmaker will build a DR-grate pellet facility at either its Keetac or Minntac iron ore mine in Minnesota. One of the two plants will start making DR-grade pellets for electric arc furnaces as well as blast furnace-grade pellets for blast finances like those at Gary Works. The expected investment is about $150 million. U.S. Steel will have the option to sell the pellets to third-party suppliers or feed them to a direct reduced iron or hot briquetted facility of its own in the future. It immediately plans to use the pellets for a new product line. "Our conviction remains that steel mined, melted, and made in America is vital to our national and economic security," U.S. Steel President and CEO David Burritt said. "We are strategically investing in our raw materials that will feed the advanced steel mills of today and tomorrow, making us increasingly self-sufficient. Its another way that were supporting domestic manufacturing, simplifying complex global supply chains, addressing the sustainability demands of our customers, and ultimately creating profitable steel solutions for people and the planet." U.S. Steel has signed an agreement that would allow SunCoke to acquire the two blast furnaces at Granite City Works in Illinois. The company plans to build a 2 million ton granulated pig iron production facility, supplying U.S. Steel with 100% of the pig iron it produces for 10 years. The project would take about two years to build. U.S. Steel would use the pig iron to supply its fleet of electric arc furnaces with iron ore from its own mines, realizing a significant cost advantage. It would also result in the loss of about 1,000 steelworker jobs mostly represented by the USW. "The USW and U.S. Steel concluded a successful startup of an EAF operation in Birmingham, Alabama, at the Fairfield Works, and that's where the company should have continued to place additional EAF investments," Conway said. "Instead, they chose to double down their investment in their Arkansas facility," Conway said. "In its announcement regarding Granite City's future, the company callously failed to mention a word about the massive job loss or impact the decision will have on a skilled and loyal workforce, their families or their community." The USW said it was just the latest in a string of closures, including the indefinitely idled East Chicago Tin Mill U.S. Steel acquired from National Steel. "It is another tale in a long string of betrayals by the company, which now has permanently closed nearly two thirds of the assets it acquired from National Steel along with other acquisitions," Conway said. "The summer is coming and bringing with it the termination of the labor agreement between the parties. We will undoubtedly be talking about investment in our plants. The company should prepare itself for those discussions. We understand the vital importance of investment in our USW plants and the obligations to our members and their communities, even if the management at U.S. Steel doesn't. We have no intention of becoming the primary pig iron suppliers to their non-union operations." Love 0 Funny 2 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. The Cedar Lake Historical Association won the Albert B. Corey Award from The American Association for State and Local History for its Steam Through History program in which historic steamships set sail across Cedar Lake last year. Named after a founder and former president of AASLH, a national nonprofit dedicated to local history, the award is considered one of the most prestigious recognizing "achievement in the preservation of state and local history." Limited to just a single winner per year, it honors volunteer organizations that "best displays the qualities of vigor, scholarship and imagination in their work." The Cedar Lake Historical Association, which runs the recently renovated Museum at Lassens Resort, was honored for its partnership with the Hesston Steam Museum of LaPorte when it ran steamboats across Cedar Lake. The boat voyages recreated a historical 1896 journey from the Lassen's Resort hotel across Cedar Lake in an authentic steamboat to the Monon Railway Depot. Participants learn about town history, its golden resort age and steam power. Our goals were to increase guest attendance and volunteerism while creating excitement around the museum and engaging the community, said Julie Zasada, Cedar Lake Historical Association executive director. We succeeded brilliantly and welcomed over 1,000 passengers in five days, many who were on Cedar Lake for the very first time. As a result, we renewed our partnership for 2022. The Cedar Lake Historical Association operates a local history museum in the 101-year-old hotel on the shores of Cedar Lake, which was once a popular recreation destination across Chicagoland in the early 20th century. It offers the only experiential learning steamboat ride in the state of Indiana. For more information, visit lassensresort.org or aaslh.org. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in 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. A John Mellencamp biographer will speak in Gary's Miller Beach neighborhood Friday. David Masciotra, the author of "Mellencamp: American Troubadour" will speak at 7 p.m. Friday at the Nelson Algren 616 Sound Stage at 616 S. Lake St. in the Miller neighborhood. The Indiana University Northwest professor will discuss his biography of the heartland rocker from Seymour known for hits like "Pink Houses," "Hurts So Good" and "Jack & Diane." He will sign copies of the newly released paperback version of his book, which will be available for purchase for $20. "The Nelson Algren Museum of Miller Beach is presenting David Masciotra, author of an artistic biography of John Mellencamp Friday, July 1 at 7 p.m.," museum co-founder Sue Rutsen said. "David's discussion of the life and work of Mellencamp will be followed by Mellencamp music by Brent James of the Righteous Hillbillies." Masciotra is a writer who has penned five books, including about Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama. He will "present Mellencamp as you've never heard before," Rutsen said. "While Nelson Algren's work featured city life and the language of Chicago streets, John Mellencamp writes about small-town life and the language of Indiana back roads," she said. "David's excellent biography of John Mellencamp is not your regular rock star bio. Expect to hear insightful commentary on how Mellencamp deals with life and death issues and transforms them into song." He gets people to think anew about Mellencamp's music, Rutsen said. "I love this book," she said. "Songs are dissected and analyzed in such insightful ways that my impression of John Mellencamp has changed dramatically: the lyricism and musical presentation of Mellencamp's work make me understand why he, Bob Dylan, John Prine and Larry McMurtry have been friends and collaborators." Tickets cost $10. Drinks can be purchased from the Thumbs Up tavern next door. For more information, visit nelsonalgrenmuseumofmillerbeach.com, call 773-914-2574 or email suerutsen@gmail.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in 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. Yamaha introduces silver coloured Fascino 125 Fi 04 Jul 2022 | 3:33 PM Chennai, July 4 (UNI) India Yamaha Motor (IYM) Pvt. Ltd. today introduced its most stylish and fashionable scooter model, Fascino 125 Fi Hybrid in an all new Silver Colour. see more.. Suzuki launches Katana in India 04 Jul 2022 | 3:13 PM New Delhi, July 4 (UNI) Suzuki Motorcycle on Monday launched Katana in India. see more.. ADTL declares drug discovery & commercialization partnership with US-based EQRX 04 Jul 2022 | 3:10 PM Hyderabad, July 4 (UNI) Aurigene Discovery Technologies Limited (ADTL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dr. Reddys Laboratories Limited, on Monday announced a drug discovery, development and commercialization partnership with U.S.-based EQRx. see more.. Nissan India appoints Mohan Wilson as Director Marketing 04 Jul 2022 | 2:25 PM Mumbai, July 4 (UNI) Nissan India has appointed Mohan Wilson as Director Marketing, Product & Customer Experience, for Business Transformation for India market. see more.. VALPARAISO Bond has been set at $25,000 cash for a 63-year-old Valparaiso-area man accused of molesting a young girl he had been babysitting for about a year, according to a court document. Jerry Palmer appeared by video from the Porter County Jail Wednesday afternoon for an initial hearing before Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clymer. He was read the three felony counts of child molestation filed against him and was awarded a public defender, records show. Another Valparaiso-area man, who described Palmer as a family friend, told police he returned home from work early Saturday to find his two young children naked with Palmer "hovering" over one of the youths. "After the children were dressed, (the father) approached Jerry and told him, 'if I find out there was any foul play, I'll (expletive) kill you," according to a charging document. Palmer reportedly admitted to touching the female, who is now 9, in a sexual manner for the past two to three years, police said. He referred to the touching as "light petting" and "advised touching with Victim 1 may have gotten out of hand on occasion." The father said he knew of no problems with the babysitting arrangement until Saturday afternoon when arriving home to find a 50-pound dumbbell blocking the door, police said. The father said he spotted his juvenile son naked and heard his juvenile daughter call out from the bathroom that she too was naked and that Palmer had been in there with her, according to a charging document. The young girl later told investigators Palmer repeatedly touched her inappropriately when he was babysitting, charging information says. The girl's young brother confirmed her story and reportedly told police Palmer never touched him inappropriately. Palmer initially told investigators Sunday that he had touched the girl inappropriately three to four times over the past two to three years, police said. He later admitted he touched her once every two weeks. 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. CROWN POINT A Milwaukee man driving a teal 1993 Ford Escort linked to a homicide June 24 in Milwaukee fled from Indiana State Police, fired shots at a trooper, crashed into another car and was arrested Monday after police found him naked and attempting to inject himself with a syringe, court records state. Carlos R. Santiago, 38, ran into the Grand Calumet River with a gun when police located him and eventually came out of the water without it, according to Lake Criminal Court documents. Santiago was charged Wednesday with felony attempted murder, attempted battery by means of a deadly weapon, criminal recklessness, two counts of resisting law enforcement, pointing a firearm and leaving the scene of an accident. He had not entered pleas to the charges Thursday. His bond was set at $80,000 surety or $8,000 cash. After the crash, police checked the vehicle identification number on the Escort and learned it was wanted for processing in connection with a homicide in Milwaukee, according to court records. Milwaukee police told an Indiana State Police detective the Escort had been taken from a homicide victim in the Wisconsin city June 24 and that the car was believed to be in the possession of Santiago. Milwaukee police tweets showed they responded to two shootings June 24 that resulted in three homicides. About 10 a.m. June 24, a man in his 30s was killed. About 11:20 p.m., a 28-year-old man and a 39-year-old man were found shot to death. No charges had been filed against Santiago as of Thursday in connection with the homicide in Wisconsin, Milwaukee police said. A police spokesman declined to comment on which shooting death June 24 might be linked to Santiago. Indiana State Police first encountered Santiago about 4:20 p.m. Monday on eastbound Interstate 90 in Hammond while checking on a report of a disabled vehicle, according to court records. As a trooper approached the Escort, a man later identified as Sanitago put the car in gear and fled the scene. The trooper chased the Escort for nearly 20 minutes, during which time Santiago leaned out a window and fired a shot at the officer while entering a westbound off ramp in the opposite direction of traffic, records state. The trooper eventually ended the pursuit, but learned about a minute afterward that the Escort had been in a crash. Santiago was seen running from the crash scene with a gun, records state. About 7 p.m., two troopers found Santiago near the site of the crash and saw he was naked, had a gun and was in the process of injecting himself with a syringe, according to court documents. Santiago ran into the river, but eventually surrendered. Police found his clothing, 9 mm cartridges and clear plastic bags containing a powder-like substance near the riverbank, records state. State troopers identified Santiago using a photo provided by Milwaukee police. Troopers also recovered a spent 9 mm shell casing on the I-90 exit ramp where Santiago was accused of shooting at the trooper, records state. Love 1 Funny 1 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. CROWN POINT A Hobart man was being held without bail Wednesday on charges he repeatedly molested a middle school-age girl while she visited a Crown Point residence from 2020 to early 2022. David Garcia Jr., 30, is accused of fondling the girl beginning when she was 12 or 13 years old and progressing to raping her last summer. A Lake Criminal Court magistrate entered not guilty pleas on Garcia's behalf Wednesday to two felony counts of child molesting and two felony counts of sexual misconduct with a minor. The magistrate scheduled a bail review hearing for Garcia on Thursday before Judge Salvador Vasquez. Crown Point police began an investigation in March, after the girl disclosed the alleged sexual abuse to a school counselor, court records state. The girl alleged Garcia forced her to have sex with him at least five times between August 2021 and January 2022. Garcia told her not to tell anyone, records state. She told police she came forward because she was afraid of having to stay at Garcia's home during spring break and she wanted the alleged sexual abuse to stop. 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. MUNSTER A town police officer had to be extricated from his patrol car and taken to the hospital Wednesday night after colliding with a pickup truck while pursuing a motorist allegedly speeding westbound on Ridge Road, the department is reporting. Officer Bradley Riemerts was driving eastbound in the 1400 block of Ridge Road shortly before 9 p.m. when he saw the westbound vehicle speeding and weaving in and out of traffic, police said. Riemerts made a U-turn and was pursuing the vehicle westbound when his Ford Explorer collided with a 2019 Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck, which turned on to Ridge Road from Beech Avenue in front of the officer, according to Indiana State Police, who have been called in to investigate the crash. "The vehicles made contact which caused Officer Riemerts to run off the road and strike a utility pole," ISP said. The officer's patrol vehicle came to a stop on the sidewalk along the south side of Ridge Road and Elmwood Drive, Munster police said. Riemerts was taken to Community Hospital in Munster for treatment and later released, Munster police said. State police said he is expected to make a full recovery. "The driver of the white pickup truck had a complaint of pain from the crash, but did not need to be transported for treatment," ISP said. "The vehicle that Officer Riemerts was attempting to catch up to was not located and has not been identified," according to state police. 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. CROWN POINT Hobart Police Chief Garrett Ciszewski said that Lake County E-911 Executive Director Mark Swiderski doesn't have the authority to merge dispatch channels and that Hobart police won't share a talk group with Lake Station police until proper procedure is followed. The interlocal agreement for E-911 consolidation in Lake County, which was signed in 2014, requires the E-911 director to "assign the duties of the department's employees in a manner that achieves the effective operation of the department and assists to increase public safety." Ciszewski said that he and other affected police chiefs have all expressed concern that "this proposed change does nothing to increase public safety, by having to compete for air time." Because the change won't increase public safety, Swiderski is "acting outside the scope of his authority," Ciszewski said. During a meeting last week of the Lake County Public Safety Communications Commission, Ciszewski, Hobart Councilman Chris Wells, R-5th, Merrillville Assistant Police Chief Kosta Nuses and Lake Station Mayor Bill Carroll each said they were concerned the proposed mergers would negatively affect officer and community safety and reduce quality of service to residents. Swiderski plans to merge the Hobart and Lake Station/New Chicago police dispatch channels onto one frequency and the Merrillville and Crown Point police dispatch channels onto another frequency. The channel realignments, which are expected to take effect after Labor Day, would allow dispatchers to monitor a single channel instead of listening to one channel in an earpiece and a second from a speaker on their desks. Police officers, who currently hear talk on their radios from only those within their departments, would begin hearing communications from all agencies using their shared channels. During the meeting, Ciszewski asked other members to consider a motion for Hobart and Merrillville police to each have their own talk and dispatch groups by January 2023. Lake County Commissioner Mike Repay, D-Hammond, who serves as chairman of the Public Safety Communications Commission, refused to accept Ciszewski's motion. A motion would have to be on the board's agenda to be considered, but the board's special session was called for the purpose of approving a budget, Repay said. Ciszewski asked if his motion could be placed on an agenda for the board's next meeting, which is scheduled for October. Repay said Ciszewski's motion could be placed on an agenda, but so could a discussion about the color of a room. Later, Repay said commission members had specific duties, such as hiring an E-911 director and approving an annual budget, but they needed to trust Swiderki to make operational decisions for the E-911 Center. Swiderski, Repay and Public Safety Communications Commission attorney Nicole Bennett did not return messages seeking comment for this story. Ciszewski said Swiderski has the authority to give Hobart and Merrillville police their own talk channels because such a change would increase public safety. "Any changes that fall out of the scope of increasing public safety would have to be brought before the commission for approval," he said. However, the Public Safety Communications Commission doesn't currently have a duly elected chairman, Ciszewski said. County ordinance requires the commission's members to elect a chairman, vice chairman and secretary during the first meeting of each calendar year. The commission lacked a quorum in January, so its first meeting of the year was in April, he said. During that meeting, Repay didn't call for an election of commission officers. "The chairman chose to follow the rules of meeting in denying a motion and not putting an item on the agenda but does not want to follow the rules to hold an election which provides him his position as chairman to lead these meetings," Ciszewski said. The police chief accused Repay of failing in his "responsibility to public safety" and urged commission members to "explore replacing board leadership" with those who will "act responsibly for public safety." Ciszewski said the E-911 Center has a problem with employee retention that should be addressed. Commission members should consider whether dispatcher pay might be an issue, or perhaps hire an outside company to study the problem, he said. Swiderski said last week the E-911 Center, like many Region police departments, has faced some challenges in hiring since the coronavirus pandemic began. The E-911 Center is budgeted for 105 employees, but current staffing was 71, he said. Six new employees were expected to be released from training this week, and another five in training could begin by September. Even when the dispatch center is fully staffed, having more call takers than dispatchers is a priority, Swiderski said. The goal is to ensure all calls to 911 are being answered, he said. In the event of a public safety emergency, such as a mass shooting, the dispatch center would give one department exclusive control of the talk group and open a temporary second channel for other agencies using the shared channel, he said. Nuses said situations can quickly become dangerous and officers may not immediately be able to call for backup if they're sharing air time with another department. Swiderski said police have an "officer down" button on their microphones. When pushed, the button gives an officer automatic priority on the channel and allows them to talk over others, he said. Swiderski said he has advocated since he joined the E-911 Center in 2016 for the proposed realignment because asking one dispatcher to monitor separate channels creates a public safety risk. "This realignment is happening because we want the dispatcher to manage the one channel, not have to bounce back and forth through these different talk groups," he said. "Because that's how mistakes happen." Love 0 Funny 1 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. VALPARAISO A retired Chicago police officer is behind bars and faces multiple felony counts based on allegations of twice shooting at a neighbor and his children over a property line dispute, a newly-filed court documents shows. Aunzette Smith, 71, is charged with four counts of attempted aggravated battery, criminal recklessness, criminal confinement, pointing a firearm and misdemeanor battery, records show. Porter County police said they were called out around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday to the area just north of Shorewood Forest where Smith, who was on the phone with police dispatch, told them her neighbor had shoved her down, thrown her lawn mower and beat her with a stick. Smith said she was cutting the grass when her neighbor began yelling at her over an ongoing property line dispute, threw the lawnmower in her driveway, shoved her and spray painted a property line, police said. Smith said she grabbed her .38 special revolver from inside her house and came back out as her neighbor was attempting to drive away with his children ages 7, 12 and 15, according to police. "Aunzette stated, 'He always leaves before the cops get there, and never wants to talk to them after things happen,' " a charging document says. Smith said she stood in front of the vehicle attempting to stop the neighbor from leaving when he grabbed a stick and beat her, police said. When the vehicle reached the road, Smith said she pulled out her gun and fired two shots, charges say. "Aunzette stated she was trying to shoot the vehicle's tire so he/she could not leave, as he/she normally does when cops are called," police said. The neighbor reportedly told police he confronted Smith when she began mowing on his property and close to his landscaping. She aimed her mower at him and he responded by throwing the mower onto her property, police said. When he and his children were in their truck ready to leave, Smith confronted them and hit him in the chin with the handle of a shovel, charges say. The neighbor said he shoved the stick away, at which time Smith fell to the ground, according to police. Smith then shot at them as they drove away. The man provided police with video surveillance of the incident, which is expected to be played Thursday afternoon when Smith appears before Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clymer for a bond hearing. Smith had appeared in court Wednesday afternoon via video from the county jail during which time the charges were read to her. Upon hearing that prosecutors wanted to play the surveillance video as part of the bond hearing, defense attorney Bob Harper asked that Smith be brought over from the jail to see it in person since she recently had eye surgery. The most serious of the charges Smith faces carries a potential sentence of three to 16 years behind bars. Love 0 Funny 1 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. The State Budget Committee has green-lighted spending on two major projects aimed at improving public safety and election security in Northwest Indiana. The financial oversight panel on Wednesday authorized the Indiana Department of Correction to pay up to $25 million for the schematic design of the new Westville Correctional Facility in LaPorte County. The current Westville prison houses some 3,700 medium security offenders in a 76-year-old, 1 million square foot compound originally designed as a state mental health facility. It does not meet modern safety and security standards or the operational needs of staff and offenders, and due to the age and weathering of the facility it cannot be satisfactorily renovated, state records show. The $25 million Westville schematic design will produce the blueprint and other detailed specifications for the new facility, including inmate capacity, utility placement, site surveys, and cell dimensions and layouts. Hoosier lawmakers last year appropriated $400 million in the 2022-23 state budget to demolish and rebuild the prison on the same 117-acre property in Westville, including new inmate housing, administration, programming and treatment facilities. The newer high-security unit will be retained. The State Budget Committee also authorized the release of $12.3 million to the secretary of state's office to purchase Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) equipment in 45 counties, including Lake and LaPorte, that currently use some electronic voting devices without a paper backup. House Enrolled Act 1116, enacted in March, requires all counties with electronic voting machines have VVPATs in place by July 1, 2024, instead of the prior deadline of Dec. 31, 2029. VVPATs function similar to an internal cash register receipt by creating a paper record of electronically recorded votes if needed in case of malfunction, recount or post-election audit. "Being able to guarantee a paper trail for every vote cast in our state is a win for Hoosiers," said Secretary of State Holli Sullivan. "We know voters want a paper record attached to their vote, and VVPATs help further build confidence in our elections process." The budget committee additionally approved $3.2 million to enhance cybersecurity protection for the secretary of state and county elections offices by proactively hunting for threats and preparing to respond to critical attacks. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. NEW YORK (AP) Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani who was a figure in former President Donald Trump's first impeachment investigation, was sentenced Wednesday to a year and eight months in prison for fraud and campaign finance crimes by a judge who said fraud had become a way of life for Parnas. Parnas, 50, had sought leniency on grounds that hed cooperated with the Congressional probe of Trump and his efforts to get Ukrainian leaders to investigate President Joe Bidens son. U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken didn't give Parnas credit for that assistance, which came only after the Soviet-born businessman was facing criminal charges. But the judge still imposed a sentence lighter than the six years sought by prosecutors. The judge also ordered Parnas to pay $2.3 million in restitution. The various schemes Parnas deployed to get money that prosecutors claim say fueled a lavish lifestyle led Oetken to say that for Parnas, fraud was essentially a way of life, a way of doing business. Addressing the court before the sentence was announced, Parnas sobbed and apologized to those who had lost money investing in his business ventures. A lot that you heard is true, your honor. I have not been a good person my whole life. Ive made mistakes. And I admit it, Parnas said. I want to apologize to all the victims that I hurt. These are all people who are my friends, all people who trusted me, and I lied to them to further my personal agenda. The criminal case against Parnas was not directly related to his work acting as a fixer for Giuliani as the former New York City mayor lobbied Ukrainian officials to launch an investigation of Bidens son, Hunter. Instead, it zeroed in on donations Parnas had illegally made to a number of U.S. politicians using the riches of a wealthy Russian to jump-start a legal recreational-marijuana business. In March, Parnas also pleaded guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy, admitting that he and a partner had given investors false information about a Florida-based business, Fraud Guarantee, that promised it could protect people against fraud. That new company hired Giuliani as a consultant at a time when some Ukrainian figures were trying to curry favor with the Trump administration, agreeing to pay him $500,000. Charles Gucciardo, a Long Island attorney who put up the cash to pay Giuliani, told the judge during the sentencing hearing that he hoped the former Manhattan federal prosecutor would return the money, since Fraud Guarantee turned out to be a fraud. My bet is hes going to give me that money back, he said, adding that he didn't blame Giuliani, who has not been charged with any crimes in connection with the scheme. Outside of court, Parnas said that he didn't believe Giuliani would return the money. I dont think hell pay him back because, as you can see, hes gone down the path of no return. Hes just an evil man, unfortunately, and somebody that Im very, very sad that I had to meet, he said. Giuliani, who was working at the time as a personal lawyer for Trump, has said he knew nothing about the crimes of Parnas and others. Federal prosecutors are investigating whether Giuliani's interactions with Ukrainian figures violated a federal law that governs lobbying on behalf of foreign countries or entities. Parnas and a business associate, Igor Fruman, attracted attention from reporters after arranging big donations to Republican politicians, including a $325,000 donation to a political action committee supporting Trump. An October conviction also supported a finding that he made illegal donations in 2018 to promote a new energy company. During Parnas' sentencing hearing, the judge also heard from others who had lost money with him in failed business deals. Dianne Pues said the businessman destroyed my life when he failed to repay money she and her husband had loaned him to produce a movie called Anatomy of an Assassin. Parnas promised he would become a new person, sometimes turning around in court to looked for victims as he expressed contrition. Id like to apologize to Mr. Gucciardo. Even though I never spent a dollar of his money. I lied to him and used our friendship. Charles, I am sorry, he said. Copyright 2022 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 Amazon is the most obscure large company in the tech industry. It isnt just secretive, the way Apple is, but in a deeper sense, Jeff Bezos e-commerce and cloud-storage giant is opaque. Amazon rarely explains either its near-term tactical aims or its long-term strategic vision. It values surprise. To understand Amazon, then, is necessarily to engage in a kind of Kremlinology. Thats especially true of the story behind one of its most important business areas: the logistics by which it ships orders to its customers. Over the last few years, Amazon has left a trail of clues suggesting that it is radically altering how it delivers goods. Among other moves, it has set up its own fleet of trucks; introduced an Uber-like crowdsourced delivery service; built many robot-powered warehouses; and continued to invest in a far-out plan to use drones for delivery. It made another splash last week, when it showed off an Amazon-branded Boeing 767 airplane, one of more than 40 in its planned fleet. Facebooks decision to clarify its ad policy language is notable because Mark Zuckerberg, the social networks chief executive, has repeatedly fobbed off criticism that the company had an effect on how people voted. In a post on his Facebook page over the weekend, he said that 99 percent of what people see on the site is authentic, and only a tiny amount is fake news and hoaxes. Over all, this makes it extremely unlikely hoaxes changed the outcome of this election in one direction or the other, Mr. Zuckerberg wrote. Yet within Facebook, employees and executives have been increasingly questioning their responsibilities and role in influencing the electorate, The New York Times reported on Saturday. Facebooks ad policy update will not stem the flow of fake news stories that spread through the news feeds that people see when they visit the social network. Facebook has long spoken of how it helped influence and stoke democratic movements in places like the Middle East, and it tells its advertisers that it can help sway its users with ads. Facebook reaches 1.8 billion people around the globe, and the company is one of the largest distributors of news online. A Pew Research Center study said that nearly half of American adults rely on Facebook as a news source. Googles decision on Monday relates to the Google AdSense system that independent web publishers use to display advertising on their sites, generating revenue when ads are seen or clicked on. The advertisers pay Google, and Google pays a portion of those proceeds to the publishers. More than two million publishers use Googles advertising network. Islamabad, June 30 (UNI) The Lahore High Court on Thursday ordered re-counting of votes for the Punjab province Chief Minister's election, wherein Hamza Shahbaz, son of Pakistan President Shehbaz Sharif, had become the province's CM. The court also instructed to exclude the votes of 25 dissident Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf lawmakers. The writ petitions filed by the PTI had said Hamza's election in the Punjab Assembly was "illegal" and did not follow due processes and that his notification as the Punjab's chief must also be set aside as it was not in line with the law. A third petition pleaded that Hamza's oath-taking be declared illegal, according to The Express Tribune. "The decision by August Supreme Court of not counting votes of defecting members of a political party is squarely applicable to the election of CM held on April 14, 2022," said the judgement. The written judgement said that it was an "undeniable fact" that 25 PTI MPAs had voted in favour of Shahbaz, despite the party nominating PML-Q leader Pervez Elahi as its candidate, The Express Tribune's report said. The dissident lawmakers' action was against Article 63 A(1)(b) of the Constitution. "The emphasised part of the order, ibid, discloses the intent behind the decision that possibility of defection from the Party line, policy or direction isto be curbed, at the time of poll by the Presiding Officer, regardless of declaration or action by Party Head. It is understood that presence in the House, enlistment on voter list and casting of vote is not prohibited, however the vote so cast, is held not countable." The court also instructed to "recount the votes" and to exclude "25 votes of the defecting members". It added that Punjab's governor must call a session "on July 1 at 4:00 pm without fail". "As a consequence, if required majority, under Article 130(4), is not secured by any candidate, he shall proceed for second and further polls under its provisos for completing the process of election as required under Article 130(4), unless a candidate is elected by majority votes." Actions taken by Hamza as CM would "not be adversely affected" by the court's order, a Judge said. On April 16, Hamza was elected as the province's CM during a provincial assembly session, which was marred by violence. He had received a total of 197 votes 11 more than the required 186 including from 25 dissident PTI MPAs that were crucial for his victory. On May 20, those lawmakers were de-seated by the ECP for defecting, Dawn's report said. UNI XC VP GNK 1828 Yet as arts funders have come under scrutiny in recent years including calls for museums to distance themselves from donors such as the Sackler family and the oil giant BP observers in Germany have raised questions about Stoschek. Some have argued that there is a contrast between the politics of her collection and the origins of the money that sustains it. Stoscheks great-grandfather, the German industrialist Max Brose, was a member of the Nazi Party. During World War II, his automotive company manufactured gasoline canisters and armaments for the German military, partly using forced labor. While numerous German companies, including Hugo Boss and Bertelsmann, have openly grappled with their involvement with the Nazi regime, the Stoschek family has been accused of sweeping its history under the rug. The family has long said that Brose was a nonideological member of the Nazi Party who treated his companys forced laborers, largely Soviet prisoners of war, well. This account is supported by a 2008 book the company commissioned from the historian Gregor Schollgen. Titled Brose: A German Family Company, it has drawn pushback from some scholars and journalists for its largely rosy portrayal of Brose, and because the published work contains no footnotes, which has made it difficult to verify its claims. The New York Times learned that footnotes have been available upon request for a few years, but a Brose historian said that no such requests had been received. As word of Broses connection to forced labor and the Nazi Party circulated in the German art world, it led to a debate among artists on the ethics of working with Stoschek. Theres something undeniably ironic about a Supreme Court justice publishing a book defending the court as unflaggingly dedicated to its guiding principles and then, less than a year later, signing on to a dissent that explicitly lays out how this court betrays its guiding principles. But then Justice Stephen G. Breyer, the author of the terribly timed The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics, which was published last September, has become a font of unintended irony. Last week, when the conservative majority on the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, effectively overturning Roe v. Wade and undoing a nearly 50-year-old constitutional right, it had been nine months or 40 weeks and three days, to be exact since Breyers treatise was born. In an authors note, Breyer mentions in passing that the book began as remarks for the 2021 Scalia Lecture at Harvard Law School. What he neglects to say is that the conservative Justice Antonin Scalia was known for exactly the kind of ideological reasoning whose very existence Breyer so assiduously tries to deny. If I catch myself headed toward deciding a case on the basis of some general ideological commitment, I know I have gone down the wrong path, and I correct course, Breyer writes. My colleagues think the same way. Airbnb said that it was permanently banning parties at its properties worldwide, nearly two years after the home-sharing service issued a temporary restriction on large gatherings. The temporary ban has proved effective, the company said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that we are officially codifying the ban as our policy. The permanent ban went into effect that day. The move comes after Airbnb in 2019 prohibited open-invite gatherings advertised on social media, as well as chronic party houses that had become neighborhood nuisances. However, the 16-person occupancy limit that Airbnb adopted in the summer of 2020, when it announced a temporary ban on all parties and events, is being lifted under the new policy, the company said. It was evening on June 19 when Randy Coxs family got a phone call: Mr. Cox had been arrested by police officers in New Haven, Conn., and was on his way to booking. The family was anxious but was told to wait. The next phone call, hours later, was perplexing and frightening: Mr. Cox, 36, had fallen, was at the hospital and needed emergency surgery on his spine. The full picture of what happened in those intervening hours came into sharp focus this week, when Mr. Coxs family and his lawyers presented police video showing Mr. Cox slamming headfirst into the back of a police van after it came to a sudden halt and going limp. There were no seatbelts to restrain him. The impact shattered his spine and paralyzed him from the chest down, his family and lawyers said. Totally understandable, however, that most women earlier in our history would yearn to be homemakers. By the middle of the 19th century the cities were filling up with lower-income women putting in 13 or 14 hours a day on the job. One of them, Hester Vaughn, became a feminist cause. As suffragists told her story, she was raped by her employer in Philadelphia, left pregnant and abandoned in one cold attic room with no food. Eventually she went into labor alone and was found lying on the floor next to her dead baby. She was tried for infanticide and sentenced to be hanged, then finally pardoned by the governor. Becoming an excellent example of the need for an abortion option. Maybe its not fair to pin Hester Vaughns fate on Clarence Thomas, but we ought to look back at the time he seems to feel was a golden era in reproductive rights. Were talking about the land before Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court ruling in 1965 that held, in part, that it was unconstitutional for states to ban the sale of contraceptives. At the time, anyone convicted of using a birth control device in Connecticut even a married couple already raising six kids could be sentenced to up to a year in prison. In one of the very few times the matter ever came up for official debate in the state legislature, The Times reported a motion to change the law was defeated on a voice vote that took less than a minute. When it came to abortion, the whole country was talking about Sherri Finkbine, the host of a childrens TV show in Arizona. She was pregnant with her fifth child in 1962 when she discovered that a sedative her husband had brought back from an overseas trip contained thalidomide, and that shed taken enough to cause damage to the fetus. Finkbine scheduled an abortion, but she felt obliged to let the world know how dangerous those sedatives could be. Her attempt to be an anonymous source was a total failure, and when her story became public, the hospital canceled her procedure, the courts refused to give her any support and she lost her job hosting Romper Room. Finally, after a lot of publicity, she succeeded in getting an abortion in Sweden, where the physician who performed the procedure said the fetus was massively deformed. But when she returned home, she discovered shed been deemed unfit to work with children by a local TV station. There were the brave women who came forward with sexual assault allegations against Donald Trump, even though they were being attacked and vilified. I dont want to fail to mention Christine Blasey Ford, who testified to her allegations against Brett Kavanaugh. There was Nancy Pelosi, who held the line as best she could when Republicans held the majority, and expedited an aggressive liberal agenda when Democrats regained the majority. She also oversaw not one, but two impeachment votes against Trump, the first on accusations of soliciting foreign interference for the 2020 election, and the second on allegations of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection. In fact, in 2020, no group of voters voted more strongly to oust Trump than Black women. In fact, regardless of their race, more women voted to get rid of Trump than men, although a majority of white women still voted for him. Then, there is this point: America will rue the day that it did not elect Hillary Clinton president in 2016. There was an open Supreme Court seat when people were casting their ballots, and it still didnt motivate enough Democrats to turn out to the polls or convince enough undecided voters to support her. Sure, there were overlapping factors operating in that cycle Russian interference, the medias lopsided treatment of Clinton and Trump, Anthony Weiners laptop and James Comeys outrageous 11th-hour announcement but sexism was also one of them. At its hearing on Tuesday, the committee laid out how Mr. Trump had forewarning of violence, allowed a mob of his loyalists to attack the Capitol and, in fact, agreed with what they were doing. A person familiar with the panels work said Representative Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming and vice chairwoman of the committee, took a leading role overseeing the team investigating Mr. Trumps inner circle and was instrumental in organizing the surprise hearing featuring Ms. Hutchinson. Over the past month, the committee has aired hours of testimony none more significant than Ms. Hutchinsons narrative of Mr. Trumps actions on the day of the attack that legal experts believe bolstered a potential criminal case against Mr. Trump for inciting the mob or attempting to obstruct the special session of Congress. That, in turn, has escalated the already intense pressure on Mr. Garland and his top aides. The now familiar meme exhorting Mr. Garland to do his job by indicting Mr. Trump began to emerge on social media even before Ms. Hutchinson left the hearing room. We need some action from the D.O.J., and we need it now, Representative Ruben Gallego, Democrat of Arizona, said in an interview. Were in a time crunch now. Every day these criminals walk free is one more day of them evading justice. As we get closer to the midterm elections, I fear not acting will only empower the complicit Republicans more if they take power. For their part, members of the committee have repeatedly and publicly called for Mr. Garland to do more, even as the panel has denied the Justice Department access to its transcripts. (A committee spokesman has said the panel is negotiating with the Justice Department and could turn over its transcripts as early as July when it finishes its public hearings.) She spoke at a moment when Mr. Trump is potentially on the verge of announcing a presidential campaign for 2024, according to his advisers, raising the prospect of a front-running candidate in early polls who is also facing active civil and criminal investigations. Mr. Trump has also continued to repeat lies about his 2020 election loss, maintaining that the contest was stolen from him. As the full picture is coming into view with the Jan. 6 committee, it has become clear that the efforts Donald Trump oversaw and engaged in were even more chilling and more threatening than we could have imagined, Ms. Cheney said. Republicans, she said at another point, have to choose, because they cannot both be loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution. It was a striking commentary from the daughter of a Republican former vice president, Dick Cheney, against the current leader of the Republican Party, even as he is out of office. Ms. Cheney had been a supporter of Mr. Trumps until shortly after the 2020 election, when she criticized him for his baseless fraud allegations. After the election, Mr. Meadows played a key role in encouraging House Republicans to look at ways to subvert Mr. Bidens victory. Mr. Meadows called or texted Georgias secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, 18 times to arrange a call with Mr. Trump, and he made a trip to the state to look at the inspection of voting machines up close. He was in frequent contact with Trump supporters urging him to fight the outcome, including Virginia Thomas, the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas. Over the course of his tenure, Mr. Meadows helped create a rift between Mr. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, according to a handful of former White House officials, by inserting himself into tasks that the vice president would historically perform. Among other things, Mr. Meadows injected himself into a trip to the Capitol with Amy Coney Barrett when she was a Supreme Court nominee, a visit Mr. Pence had been expected to play a prominent role in leading, a former White House aide recalled. I think that Mark would often say to me that he was working to try and get the president to concede and accept the results of the election, Marc Short, Mr. Pences former chief of staff, told CBS Newss Face the Nation recently. And at the same time, it was clear he was bringing in lots of other people into the White House that were feeding the president different conspiracy theories, Mr. Short said. I think that Mark was telling different audiences all sorts of different stories. On election night, as Mr. Trumps personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, wanted to encourage the president to declare victory long before all the votes had been counted, Mr. Meadows and three other aides rejected the idea as stupid. But within days, Mr. Meadows began exchanging messages with his former House colleagues. WASHINGTON The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol issued a subpoena Wednesday for the testimony of Pat A. Cipollone, the White House counsel to President Donald J. Trump who repeatedly fought back against extreme plans to overturn the 2020 election, after he resisted testifying publicly. In a statement accompanying the subpoena, the leaders of the committee said they were seeking Mr. Cipollones deposition testimony because investigators needed to hear from him on the record, as other former White House counsels have done in other congressional investigations. The committee said it was seeking information about Mr. Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his involvement in plans to submit false slates of electors to Congress and interfere with the Justice Department. Chinese vice president puts forward 4-point proposal on developing China-Philippines ties Xinhua) 21:16, June 30, 2022 MANILA, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan on Thursday put forward a four-point proposal on the development of relations between China and the Philippines. As Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative, Wang attended the inauguration of Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos as the 17th president of the Philippines. At a meeting with the new Philippine president, Wang said President Marcos and his family have made great contributions to enhancing the China-Philippines friendship. The Chinese side has always given priority to the Philippines in its neighborhood diplomacy, and is ready to work with the new Philippine government in carrying on their friendship, boosting mutual trust and deepening cooperation so as to usher in a new "golden age" in bilateral ties, he said. The Chinese vice president said that both sides should develop bilateral relations under the guidance of the two heads of state, who will steer the course of the development of bilateral ties. The two countries should dovetail their development strategies so as to foster new growth points of pragmatic cooperation in the new era. The two sides should properly resolve differences and jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the South China Sea, Wang said. He also said the two countries should uphold international equality and justice, and jointly promote peace and development in Asia, as well as the well-being of humanity. For his part, Marcos welcomed Wang's presence at his presidential inauguration ceremony. Marcos recalled his 1974 visit to China when accompanying his mother Imelda, and noted that the relationship between his country and China has a long history and the two peoples are close to each other. Describing China as the most powerful partner of the Philippines, Marcos stressed that good-neighborly friendship is in the fundamental interests of both peoples. The new Philippine government attaches utmost importance to the relations with China, and is willing to deepen its participation in the joint construction of the Belt and Road, join hands with China in coping with regional challenges, and elevate the bilateral ties to a higher level, Marcos added. (Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji) 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. Friends say that Miller walked off a cliff into a future that could mean ostracism and threats to his mental health and physical safety. His book, which chronicles his relationships with the Republicans he left behind, tries to unpack why he did what he did and why they did what they did. Not a lot of people have been both brave and successful, said Juleanna Glover, a public affairs consultant and former press secretary for Vice President Dick Cheney who hosted the party last weekend. Her home has become a refuge of sorts for various causes over the years, from Syrian refugees to Americans taken hostage in Russia. A plugged-in crowd Glovers soiree was an especially revealing moment not only because of the exclusive company, but also because it revealed just how small the world of serious Republican strategists who rejected Trump really is. There was Sarah Longwell, a close Miller ally who was the mastermind behind Republican Voters Against Trump, one of a constellation of anti-Trump groups that spent millions helping Democrats in key swing states like Georgia in 2020. Jeremy Adler, a top communications adviser to Representative Liz Cheney, glided down the stairs with Sam Cornale, the executive director of the Democratic National Committee, while Andrew Bates, a White House deputy press secretary, found a quiet corner to field one of the hundreds of pings he gets each day from the Washington press corps. Many of the capitals most plugged-in reporters were there too, including Ryan Lizza and Alex Thompson of Politicos Beltway insider Playbook franchise; Josh Dawsey, a former Politico reporter and scoop machine now at The Washington Post; and Mark Leibovich, a longtime New York Times writer who is now at The Atlantic. Leibovich wrote a 2013 book about such scenes called This Town, a title that has become an arch metonym of sorts for all things Washington. Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said the committee did not contact the agency about Hutchinsons account of Mr. Trumps ride from the Ellipse to the White House before her testimony. Mr. Ornato, who was the head of Mr. Trumps Secret Service detail before being made deputy chief of staff, and Mr. Engel provided testimony to the committee before Ms. Hutchinson appeared, but they are willing to do so again, a Secret Service official said. Mr. Trumps allies are using the dispute over what happened in the presidential vehicle to call into question the credibility of Ms. Hutchinsons testimony as a whole, which painted a portrait of a president who disregarded threats of violence from his own supporters, sympathized with those who wanted to hang the vice president and wanted to join the crowd that went on to attack on the Capitol. The dispute also highlights Mr. Trumps relationship with his Secret Service detail, which was unlike that of most previous presidents. Agents were seen as more overtly supportive and admiring of Mr. Trump than they had been under any other modern president, according to people who have spent time in the White House during multiple administrations, and Mr. Trump worked to build loyalty among them. While other presidents came to favor the head of their detail and sometimes ensured they were promoted within the service, even at times appointing them as director of the agency, Mr. Trump sought to make his lead agent part of his personal political team. In naming Mr. Ornato deputy White House chief of staff, Mr. Trump raised eyebrows among traditionalists who saw that as inappropriate. For generations, agents generally tried to maintain studious neutrality under Republican and Democratic presidents, determined to be seen as protectors of the office regardless of who occupied it. Agents were known to like certain presidents more than others George H.W. Bush was often described as a favorite, while many were reportedly not fond of Bill Clinton and especially Hillary Clinton but they always insisted they were not part of the political team. Gov. Abbotts announcement of the new checkpoints comes a little more than two months after he briefly introduced a similar strategy near international crossings, directing the state police to conduct vehicle safety checks of all commercial trucks arriving from Mexico. The universal truck inspections snarled traffic and caused economic damage both in Mexico and in Texas. State police officers are not legally permitted to make universal inspections of vehicles for hidden people or other contraband, areas that are under the jurisdiction of the federal government, and so the officers were looking for violations of safety regulations for vehicles. The effort, in April, resulted in many unsafe trucks being taken off the road, but few if any discoveries of contraband or people being smuggled. Federal border agents are also limited in the searches they conduct. They have to have suspicion or reason to believe there is illegal activity, Mr. Staton said. The Border Patrol operates more than 100 checkpoints, most of them along highways and secondary roads that are 25 to 100 miles from the southern and northern borders. As vehicles approach a checkpoint, agents ask only some of them to stop, and typically ask occupants whether they are U.S. citizens or residents to identify people who are potentially deportable. Agents may walk around the vehicles they stop to conduct a visual check. If they are suspicious of illegal activity or alerted by sniffer dogs of possible illicit cargo, the agents send the vehicles to secondary inspection. From the 2016 through 2020 fiscal years, the Border Patrol apprehended about 35,700 potentially removable people at checkpoints and made about 17,970 drug seizures, according to agency data. The Republican majority leader of the State Senate, Devin LeMahieu, called the lawsuit seeking to oust Dr. Prehn, who is also a dentist, a waste of time and state money. If Tony Evers had all his appointees, all his emergency orders and all his budgets there is no doubt the State of Wisconsin would be much worse off than we are, he said. Mr. Kaul, the attorney general, sought Dr. Prehns removal in a lawsuit he filed in August in a county court in Madison, the state capital. After the court found that state law offered no way to do so, Mr. Kaul appealed directly to the State Supreme Court. The 33-page opinion of the courts majority reached the same conclusion, saying the plain language of state law said that a board member remained in office until the members successor was named by the governor and confirmed by the State Senate. Under state law, the justices said, Dr. Prehn could be removed only for cause, and his seat would otherwise become vacant only if he died or resigned. The state law at issue said explicitly that elected offices become vacant at the end of an officials term, they noted, but made no similar provision for appointed posts. The three liberal justices called the ruling nonsensical, noting that the State Senate had refused for more than a year to confirm or reject Mr. Everss replacement. BECKET, Mass. Among the main attractions of the Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival is its bucolic setting here in the Berkshires. But the news this year is a return to the great indoors. In 2020, the twin blows of the pandemic and a fire that burned down one of the festivals two theaters forced a cancellation of all performances. Last year, the shows were outside, weather permitting. The main stage the barn that the festivals founder, Ted Shawn, converted into the first theater in the United States dedicated to dance, 80 years ago was undergoing necessary renovations. The Ted Shawn Theater is now open again for business, half of its exterior wood weathered and historical-looking, the other half clean and new. (The second theater has not yet been rebuilt.) The first program in the renovated theater, last week, was indicative of another change: the addition, in 2020, of two associate curators, Melanie George and Ali Rosa-Salas. The show, America(na) to Me, was their idea our response, they said in a speech before the show on Sunday, to the first programs that Shawn presented at the theater in 1942, showcasing his conception of American dance (square dances, Agnes De Mille). The once-forgotten compositions of Julius Eastman (1940-90) are outlines, as malleable as they are strong. You can do Gay Guerrilla with its original four pianos, or 11 electric guitars, or a varied quintet and voice! Or something entirely different. In the second in a series of Eastman recordings, the Los Angeles ensemble Wild Up emphasizes this flexibility, including two versions each of Buddha and Touch Him When, alongside Joy Boy and Stay On It. Buddha (Field) is a grandly unfolding 10-minute exhalation, with shadowy undercurrents and creeping tensions. Three minutes shorter, Buddha (Path) is a shriek of terror at the start, gradually settling into sensual, curlicue solos before ending in an ominous growl. Its score lost, Touch Him When survived in a brooding recording for piano four hands. Here transcribed for guitar and performed by Jiji, the Light version is patient, spare and echoey; Heavy is blurry with distortion. As in Wild Ups recording of Femenine, released last year, the details clicks of saxophone keys, breath through flutes are clear, almost tactile, in Joy Boy. Its jittery and energetically chugging, with a fanfare feel and excited group chants of yah, yah (a tweak on the nah vocalizing in the quieter 1974 live recording). An apt closer, Stay On It is a bright party, veering between precision and lush chaos. ZACHARY WOOLFE Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous nights highlights that lets you sleep and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now. Dead Air Cassidy Hutchinsons testimony continued to be the talk of late night on Wednesday. The former Trump White House aides statements on Tuesday were so powerful that Fox News hosts appeared speechless on air, specifically a long, awkward pause during a broadcast with Bret Baier, Sandra Smith and John Roberts. A BRIEF HISTORY OF EQUALITY, by Thomas Piketty. Translated by Steven Rendall. (Belknap/Harvard University, $27.95.) In his latest book, the world-famous economist explores the origins of inequality, going back to the 18th century, and offers his ideas on how to create more equitable societies in the present day. He is well aware that changes on the scale he is proposing never happen incrementally, Nicholas Lemann writes in his review. Are such upheavals on their way? Piketty doesnt make predictions, but he treats the current system of hypercapitalism as being obviously doomed. Image EMBRACE FEARLESSLY THE BURNING WORLD: Essays, by Barry Lopez. (Random House, $28.) Lopezs posthumous essay collection ventures into territories both intimate and vast, from traumatic childhood memories in Los Angeles to thrilling explorations of Antarctica. If theres a unifying theme, it is the redemptive importance of paying attention to the planet and to the other beings with which we share it. The implications of attentiveness, it becomes clear, are radical and deep, Ben Ehrenreich writes, reviewing it. What more is there to say? He loved this world, and did his best, and pointed us the way. Image NIGHTCRAWLING, by Leila Mottley. (Knopf, $28.) Based on a true story, this debut follows a poor teenager in Oakland, Calif., as she falls into a sex trafficking ring where her abusers are the police. Mottley writes with a lyrical abandon that reminds us she was once Oaklands youth poet laureate. In the words of my Book Review colleague Lauren Christensen, who reviews it: The thing about some trauma plots is that even the grisliest ones can, unfortunately, be true. Kiaras story is pure fiction, Mottley says, but her circumstances are disturbingly, statistically real. Hong Kong has withstood one severe challenge after another, and overcome one hazard after another, Xi said in a brief speech upon his arrival. After the storm, Hong Kong has been reborn from the ashes, showing flourishing vitality. It was his first trip out of mainland China since the pandemic started. Covid infections recently rose in Hong Kong, and the city sent thousands of people officials, diplomats, journalists and workers to hotels for days of quarantine and daily Covid tests before his visit. It was also Xis first trip to Hong Kong in five years and his first since Beijing imposed a crackdown on a 2019 pro-democracy movement that mounted a serious challenge to its rule. Xis policies have stifled dissent in the city, and his visit underscores the importance of signaling his control over the former British colony. Analysis: In 1997, China promised Hong Kong 50 years of a light touch when the city returned to its control. Halfway through that period, those pledges appear badly weakened, if not broken. History: In the past 25 years, life on Queens Road, the first thoroughfare built by the British after they seized Hong Kong, has been transformed. Whoever controls the island can control shipping lanes in the Black Sea, so Russia attacked it on the first day of the invasion. Russias flagship, the Moskva, sailed up, and the dozen Ukrainian border guards stationed there were ordered to lay down their arms. One of the soldiers responded with an obscenity that later earned him a medal. Ukrainian forces sunk the Moskva weeks later. After it gained control of Snake Island, Russia prepared to bring surface-to-air missile systems there to support its ground forces. But the Ukrainians kept up their attacks. More than a week ago, Ukrainian forces struck a Russian tugboat delivering weapons and personnel to the island. The British military said the Ukrainians almost certainly had used newly delivered Harpoon missiles in the attack. Yesterday, the Ukrainian military said it had used missiles and artillery to knock out yet another Russian antimissile system. The last Russian soldiers on the island fled overnight on two speedboats, according to the Ukrainian military. The Russian defense ministry sought to cast the retreat as a gesture of good will to allow for grain exports to leave Ukraine. But observers said this was unlikely. There is logic in arguing that Moscows leadership role in OPEC Plus should be downgraded. Under tightening Western sanctions, Russia will probably grow weaker as an energy power and have less maneuvering room to raise or lower production to manage the oil markets. That whole system of OPEC Plus doesnt work if Russian production is going down not up, Daniel Yergin, an energy historian, said in an interview in May. So far, though, the Saudis and the Emiratis seem inclined to shrug off such arguments. The Saudis have spent years trying to strengthen the waning clout of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries by bringing Russia and other energy players, like Kazakhstan, into the fold. And most signs are that the Saudis are reluctant to ditch Moscow now. Russia may have acquired near pariah status in Western eyes because of the war in Ukraine, but from a Saudi point of view, it remains one of the two largest oil exporters, with Saudi Arabia. In that line of thinking, Russia is a more valuable partner than OPEC members such as Iran, Libya, Nigeria and Venezuela. The oil industries of those countries are also hamstrung by sanctions or other problems. Also, Russias success in finding markets for its oil in countries like China and India has demonstrated that it still has leverage and has confounded forecasters who predicted that the countrys output would decline faster than it has so far. Mr. Sullivan and Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said this week that officials would move quickly to negotiate and implement the myriad unresolved details of the proposed cap on the price of Russian oil exports, promising there would be relief for drivers at the gasoline pump if it is put in place. But many economists and energy experts doubt that a cap, which has never been tried on a global scale like this, could come together effectively anytime soon. Privately, some administration officials concede that it could take until late fall, or longer. European leaders have more publicly wrestled this week with the pain of the war for their citizens, particularly the availability and price of energy. But in a few limited speeches in Germany and Spain, Mr. Biden has expressed only a steely resolve in the cause of deterring Mr. Putins aggressions. Asked in a news conference at the end of the NATO summit in Spain how long American drivers could expect to continue paying higher gasoline prices, Mr. Biden was blunt. As long as it takes, he said, so Russia cannot in fact defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine. Mr. Biden also said he expected that his oil cap plan would help consumers. We think it can be done, he said. It will drive down the price of oil, and it will drive down the price of gasoline as well. John Visentin, who as chief executive led Xerox through the pandemic at a time when demand for printed documents and ink waned, died on Tuesday. He was 59. Mr. Visentin, who became chief executive of the photocopying and technology company in May 2018 and was also the vice chairman, died of complications from an ongoing illness, the company said in a statement. The statement did not say where he died. A spokesman for Xerox did not share details about that illness or say whether Mr. Visentin told the company about it. The company said that Steve Bandrowczak, the president and chief operating officer at Xerox, will serve as its interim chief executive. Since the Supreme Courts ruling on abortion, some media companies have wrestled with a complex issue: how to balance their news coverage with the desire to expand their policies to protect reproductive health care for their employees. Vox Medias chief executive, Jim Bankoff, consulted with his top editors to make sure the corporate response to the courts ruling would not undermine coverage. BuzzFeeds chief executive, Jonah Peretti, who shared his outrage about the courts decision in a memo to his employees, said in an interview that different teams determined the companys editorial and corporate responses. Its a very delicate balance, said Michael Schudson, a sociologist and historian of American media. The news organization feels a serious commitment to its own employees and their health and safety. You are mistaken if you think they will have moral compunction for attacking somebody elses network, Jang Se-iul, a graduate of Mirim College who served as an officer in the North Korean military before defecting to South Korea in 2008, said in an interview. To them, cyberspace is a battlefield and they are fighting enemies out there hurting their country. Mr. Jang said North Korea first began building its electronic warfare capability for defensive purposes, but soon realized that it could be an effective offensive weapon against its digital enemies. Around the time Mr. Jang arrived in Seoul, websites in South Korea and the United States were under a wave of cyber attacks. Going by names like Lazarus, Kimsuky and BeagleBoyz, North Korean hackers used increasingly sophisticated tools to infiltrate military, government, corporate and defense-industry networks around the world to conduct cyberespionage and steal sensitive data to aid its weapons development. Make no mistake, DPRK hackers are really good, said Eric Penton-Voak, a coordinator at the U.N. panel of experts, during a webinar in April, using the initials of North Koreas official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. They look at really interesting and very gray, new areas of cryptocurrency because actually, A, no one really understands them, and B, they can exploit weakness. Usually, North Korean hackers breach foreign crypto wallets through phishing attacks, luring victims with fake LinkedIn recruiting pages or other bait, according to Chainaysis. Then the hackers use a complex set of financial instruments to transfer the stolen funds, moving the loot through cryptocurrency mixers that combine multiple streams of digital assets, making it harder to track the movement of one particular batch of cryptocurrency. Theyre very methodical in how they launder them, said Erin Plante, senior director of investigations for Chainalysis. Theyre very methodical in small amounts moving over long periods of time to ultimately try to evade investigators. A bank regulator in Puerto Rico says it has suspended the operations of a boutique online bank that has been the focus of an international tax-evasion investigation and is owned by Peter Schiff, the outspoken libertarian economist and money manager. The regulator, the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico, issued the cease-and-desist order on Thursday against Euro Pacific Bank, which is based in San Juan, for having inadequate capital levels and compliance controls. Two years earlier, an international group of tax authorities known as the J5 opened an investigation into activities that allowed the bank to serve as a vehicle for suspected tax evasion and money laundering. Euro Pacific has a long history of noncompliance, the offices commissioner, Natalia Zequeira Diaz, said in a statement. She added that the bank regulator would not allow or tolerate any financial entity with a license issued by the government of Puerto Rico to operate outside the law or ignore the clear mandates of applicable laws and regulations. Electric vehicle sales have doubled over the past year, making up about 5 percent of new vehicle sales in the United States in the first quarter of 2022, compared with about 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2021. General Motors has pledged to stop producing gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035, with other carmakers setting similar goals. Ford Motor is producing an electric version of the F-150 pickup truck, the countrys best-selling vehicle, and has taken customer reservations for more than 200,000 of them. With the cost of solar and wind energy dropping below the price of coal and natural gas in many parts of the United States, renewable sources of electricity now make up 20 percent of the nations energy mix, up from 15 percent a decade ago. Understand the Supreme Courts E.P.A. Ruling Card 1 of 6 A key decision. The Supreme Court issued a ruling limiting the Environmental Protection Agencys ability to regulate carbon emissions from power plants, dealing a blow to the Biden administrations efforts to address climate change. Heres what to know: The case. The justices had been called to rule on whether the 1970 Clean Air Act allows the E.P.A. to issue sweeping regulations across the power sector or limits the agency to dictating changes at individual power plants. A suspended rule. At issue in the case is the Clean Power Plan, an Obama-era federal regulation adopted under the Clean Air Act that sought to govern emissions from power plants. After its announcement led to a barrage of lawsuits from Republican states and the coal industry, the Supreme Court put the program on hold in 2016 and it never took effect. The stakes. The plaintiffs, which include several Republican attorneys general and coal companies, want to rein in the E.P.A. and other federal agencies that issue regulations that affect the American economy, arguing that it should be up to Congress to set the rules. The ruling. The ruling curtails the E.P.A.s ability to regulate the energy sector, limiting it to measures like emission controls at individual power plants and ruling out more ambitious approaches like a cap-and-trade system without the intervention of Congress. Further implications. The decision could also pave the way for restrictions on federal agencies abilities to regulate health care, workplace safety, telecommunications and the financial sector. But the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, combined with the war in Ukraine and the related ban on Russian oil, has scrambled global energy supplies, and prompted President Biden to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserves and urge producers to pump more oil, at least in the short term. Clean energy producers in the United States also face significant obstacles from an outdated electricity transmission system. And the private sector is not moving quickly enough to cut emissions to the level that scientists say is needed to avert climate catastrophe. Mr. Biden wants half of new cars sold in the United States to be electric by 2030, and all electricity to come from wind, solar and other zero-carbon sources by 2035. We do see a powerful trend emerging in the private sector both driven by consumers who are demanding cleaner options, that is driving a shift in our energy mix, and toward electric vehicles, but that pace of change is really not sufficient to meet the long-term targets, said Sasha Mackler, an energy analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington research organization. For that, you still need policy. The administration doesnt have the right tools to get us all there. Success in the time that we need it, according to the scientific community that requires Congress. Congress in the coming weeks could still pass a scaled-back version of the spending bill that has been stalled on Capitol Hill for months. A version of the bill that passed the House last year includes $300 billion in clean energy tax incentives for producers and purchasers of clean electricity and electric vehicles. The Clean Air Act, which some legal experts call the most powerful environmental law in the world, was enacted in 1970, at the birth of the environmental movement. Since then it has been the source of scores of landmark regulations on air pollution, including soot, smog, mercury and the toxic chemicals that cause acid rain. The case that the Supreme Court decided on Thursday, West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, is part of a larger legal fight over whether and how far the Clean Air Act can be used to combat climate change. The outcome could handcuff President Bidens plans to lower the United States planet-warming pollution. The power sector is the second-largest source of emissions in the United States, after transportation. The failure of the United States the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in history to meet its climate targets would very likely mean the world will not be able to keep global warming at about 1.5 degrees above preindustrial levels. Beyond that threshold, scientists say, the likelihood of catastrophic heat waves, drought, flooding and widespread extinctions increases significantly. Earth has already heated an average of 1.1 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution. What it means I talked to Coral, who covers energy and environmental policy from The Timess Washington bureau, to better understand what this case means for the future. Manuela: Does this ruling mean the E.P.A. cant curb emissions at all? Coral: The ruling does not eliminate the E.P.A.s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. But it sharply restricts it. Presidents Biden and Barack Obama had hoped to use the authority of the Clean Air Act to direct the E.P.A. to write broad, sweeping rules that would transform the electricity sector, leading to the widespread closure of coal and gas fired power plants and their replacement with wind, solar and other clean sources of electricity. This decision means that the E.P.A. cant do the kind of sweeping, transformational policy that climate experts say is necessary to reduce greenhouse emissions. It could instead do a very narrow, modest regulation that might slightly lower emissions at the margins. Manuela: Can the United States ever meet its climate targets now? Coral: The math just got harder. President Biden has pledged to the rest of the world that the United States will cut its greenhouse pollution 50 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. In order to do that, most experts say that the United States would need a combination of new legislation and aggressive regulations on the most polluting sectors of industry vehicles, power plants, and oil and drilling wells. This decision takes one of those tools and makes it far less effective. Law enforcement agencies in Latin America will be able to benefit from a new mapping tool for strengthening general aviation surveillance. Under the COLIBRI Project, implemented by the WCO and funded by the European Union (EU), IT tools for secure real-time communication (CENcomm) and mapping (Geoportal) have been developed in order to strengthen the operational capacities of the administrations responsible for general aviation (GA) control. With the support of the WCO Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILOs) in the Caribbean and South America, these tools should enable administrations to improve their cooperation and coordination of controls in the general aviation sector. From 16 to 20 May 2022, 30 specialist law enforcement officers from Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Peru, gathered in Bogota, Colombia, for a train-the-trainers course on the Geoportal and CENcomm. They explored the features of the Geoportal, which combines, on the same platform, access to operational information collected in the field with tools for data visualization and cartographic analysis, and a system of cross-referencing the information with open-source data, as well as the provision of assistance in the preparation of controls. During the opening ceremony of the training, Colonel John Chavarro from the Drug Enforcement Directorate (DIRAN) of the Colombian National Police; Major Ernesto Andres Granados Gonzalez from the Intelligence Directorate (DIPOL) of the Colombian National Police; and Captain Liliana Bastidas Rodriguez from the Fiscal and Customs Police Directorate (POLFA) of the Colombian National Police, all emphasized the importance of the COLIBRI Project in strengthening international cooperation, crucial to the dismantling of international organized crime groups, but also welcomed this WCO initiative, which takes into account the current challenge of using data for better interpretation and integration in control activities. From 13 to 17 June 2022, 32 participants coming from different institutions responsible for fighting drug trafficking and organized crime of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay also set out to discover the many features of the Geoportal. Beyond the acquisition of knowledge, the regional training programme helps them establish a network of trusted contacts among administrations and countries which can only reinforce the effectiveness of the fight against cross-border organized crime. The training was opened by the Director General of Customs of Uruguay, Mr. Jaime Borgiani, accompanied by the Secretary General of the National Drug Board of Uruguay, Mr. Daniel Radio, and the Commander of the Air Operations Command of the Uruguayan Air Force, Brigadier General Mr. Alejandro O. Vilche. They welcomed the provision of the IT tools developed within the framework of the COLIBRI Project, as these tools constitute an operational technical support to the national administrations in charge of controls and will concretely reinforce the links between the administrations whose cooperation remains the only way forward in the fight against organized crime. The EU Delegation of Uruguay was also present at the opening ceremony, represented by the Head of the Political, Press and Information Section, Mr. Tomas Pospisil, who also stressed the importance of initiatives such as COLIBRI in exchanging information and best practices in combatting transnational organised crime and in strengthening the dialogue between the EU and the regions most affected by illicit activities. Following on from these intense weeks of training, the participants will ensure that the knowledge they have gained is passed on to their colleagues, thereby increasing the number of operators responsible for importing the data into the Geoportal and, in the process, earning their certificates as trainers under the COLIBRI Project. The next train-the-trainers session on the use of the Geoportal and CENcomm will again take place in the Latin America region, in Brasilia, Brazil, from 22 to 26 August 2022. On the occasion of this trans-regional training, participants will gather from Brazil and Cape Verde. Andrew Hinderaker, staff editor, Photo Before working at The Times as a photo editor, I worked as a photojournalist in New York City, shooting assignments from portraits to breaking news for a variety of publications. I raced from job to job on editors orders, but I didnt really understand what those editors did all day. Now, I see that we play a crucial role in advocating on behalf of our photographers and their work, to make sure its used for maximum impact. Working with new photographers is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. I love supporting them as they navigate their first assignments and bringing in people who hadnt been part of The Timess contributor pool. I think my experience working as a photographer helps me see the process through a photographers eyes. Sometimes, that involves long phone calls with a photographer who has shot something traumatic, or helping my editorial colleagues understand the conditions freelance photographers face in the field. Andrew LaVallee, editor, Arts & Leisure Im a better editor because I started out as a reporter. I know what its like to look at an empty file, waiting for my words to fill it; to have to bone up on an unfamiliar topic on a deadline; to face the music when something is wrong in a story and nobody elses name is on it. I know what its like to work with bad editors the careless ones, the insensitive ones, the ones who always think theyre right and try to instead be the type who leaves accurate wording alone even if its not how Id phrase it. The more time I spend as an editor, the more humbled I am by reporters. I feel like I increasingly see them writing, asking, noticing things that never occurred to me when I had their job. It sometimes makes me think that, with what Ive learned, I would be a much better reporter now, but mostly it makes me want to step it up, to be an editor worthy of this partnership. However thoughtful and well-intentioned, this debut feature is too airless and long-winded to excite. Winking screens and sterile corridors, cleanly photographed by Xiaosu Han and Andreas Thalhammer, make for clinically repetitive visuals and a depressing mood that the constant quarreling and no-good-choices plot only intensify. In short, the films sobriety is a drag, offering the actors little room to add color, their characters moral disparities less interesting than the small details of corporate-controlled life the crippling debt burdens, the expendability of the soldiers, the compulsory contraceptive device behind Hannahs ear scattered throughout the speeches. Theres a whole world of deprivation in those details, if only the filmmakers had the budget to bring it to life. Rubikon Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 50 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators. Two law enforcement officials confirmed that the police were looking at the killing as a potential incident of domestic violence. Ms. DeSort said her daughter was a victim of domestic violence who had endured a partners physical abuse during her pregnancy. On one occasion, in January, Ms. Johnson phoned her mother in the middle of a violent episode. She called me crying, saying, Mommy, hes hitting me. And she was hysterical, said Ms. DeSort. Ms. DeSort said she reported the incident to the police, but the man continued to threaten Ms. Johnson and her family. He said, Im going to kill you and all of the birds that go along with you, Ms. DeSort recalled. Ms. Johnson had been living at a family shelter that also houses victims of domestic violence on a leafy residential block in East Harlem, a law enforcement official said. Several women entered and left the shelter on Thursday, headed to work or on afternoon walks with children in strollers in tow. They were shocked to learn that the victim had lived among them. And yet even that Rudy Giuliani, the onetime Mafia-busting federal prosecutor, who had come to direct a combative rage at the serious business of thwarting democracy, would seem to have little in common with the man who this week chose to make an enemy not out of global drug traffickers, or the American ballot system, but rather a 39-year-old supermarket employee who didnt like him. As if downgrading from a taste for Mortal Kombat X to Magic the Gathering, Mr. Giuliani was going after Daniel Gill, a ShopRite worker who the former mayor claimed had attacked him at a campaign rally for his son, Andrew, who made an unsuccessful bid to become the Republican nominee for governor. According to police reports, Mr. Gill called the former mayor a scumbag and apparently railed against his position on abortion. He was subsequently charged with second-degree assault and spent a night in police custody before a video emerged showing the assault as something more benign a pat on the back. Mr. Gill was ultimately arraigned on misdemeanor counts. Appearing on The Daily Show With Trevor Noah on Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams weighed in, comparing his predecessor to the woman who had falsely accused a Black bird watcher of threatening her in Central Park two years ago. As he had earlier, the current occupant of City Hall claimed that Mr. Giuliani should be investigated for falsely reporting a crime. Unwilling to grab a thesaurus, the former mayor responded by calling the present one a scumbag. But even the conservative news anchor Greg Kelly questioned Mr. Giulianis account of events. I gotta be honest, he told him during an on-air interview, it doesnt look that bad. Mr. Giuliani, though, was not having it. Who knows what could have happened to him? serious injury, maybe even death. He was old elderly, in his own words and apparently content with becoming the new face of fragility politics. That all of this went down on Staten Island where voters overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump twice seemed to challenge his worldview in a way he could not reconcile. I carried 85 percent of Staten Island, Mr. Giuliani said of one of his mayoral elections during a news conference streamed on Facebook, as his head sunk into the collar of a white button-down shirt with wide horizontal stripes that seemed to say, I once played rugby. Stare decisis helps solve a particular problem for the Supreme Court, which must prove itself an institution operating across time, not simply an amalgamation of nine voices at any given moment. When it resists the impulse to overturn past decisions, the court builds in a continuity beyond what the opinions of its members would offer. Roe was already revisited, in the 1992 Casey decision, and left mostly standing. Under the norms that have governed the court for decades, Roe should have been safe, not because the majority agrees with it today, but because the Supreme Court does not upend settled law based on what the majority believes today. This is the subject of Chief Justice John Robertss disappointed concurrence. Surely we should adhere closely to principles of judicial restraint here, where the broader path the court chooses entails repudiating a constitutional right we have not only previously recognized, but also expressly reaffirmed applying the doctrine of stare decisis. The dissent of the liberals thrums with even deeper anger: Here, more than anywhere, the court needs to apply the law particularly the law of stare decisis. But stare decisis, as the justices know far better than I do, is not a law. And so, in his majority opinion, Samuel Alito brushes it aside. It is important for the public to perceive that our decisions are based on principle, and we should make every effort to achieve that objective by issuing opinions that carefully show how a proper understanding of the law leads to the results we reach, he wrote. But we cannot exceed the scope of our authority under the Constitution, and we cannot allow our decisions to be affected by any extraneous influences such as concern about the publics reaction to our work. The argument Alito makes throughout his opinion is simple: The court can err. When it has erred, it must correct itself. Make all the fancy arguments about stare decisis you want, but if a decision is wrong, then its wrong, and it must be revisited. To take his perspective for a moment: There is something maddening about being appointed to a seat on the lands highest court but told to leave standing the decisions you and four of your colleagues consider most noxious. On some level, he is right. Stare decisis makes little sense. The problem is that, without it, the Supreme Court itself makes even less sense. It is just nine costumed political appointees looking for the votes they need to get the outcomes they want. And the further we travel down that road, the more the mystique that sustains the court dissolves. There is no rule, really, that the Supreme Court must be obeyed as the final word in constitutional interpretation that, too, is a norm, and one that the court has no power to enforce. If all the Supreme Court is left with are the rules, soon enough there will be no Supreme Court to speak of. Going forward, they might want a new candidate for a new era, someone suited more for construction than demolition or, at least, someone with more varied talents, less personal baggage and a more substantive administrative record. This opportunity to change horses may be particularly attractive to the subset of Republicans who explicitly framed their support of Mr. Trump as a transactional arrangement to fill Supreme Court seats and thereby end Roe. I voted for the Supreme Court. I didnt want to vote for Trump, a pro-life voter named Jim George told The Washington Post in 2017. With Trump, you just hold your nose. Dobbs gives Mr. George and Republicans like him occasion to reopen their nostrils to more conventionally appealing scents. It does the same for any Republican for whom Mr. Trumps record beyond the Supreme Court unwalled borders, unended wars, the administrative state very much intact has begun to look a bit thin. Its too soon to say who the new candidate might be, but the Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, who is increasingly speculated about as Mr. Trumps most formidable challenger, could fit the bill. (A recent poll shows that Mr. DeSantis leads Mr. Trump as first choice among New Hampshire Republican primary voters who are Fox News viewers by 46 percent to 32 percent, and by 54 percent to 34 percent among conservative radio listeners.) Republicans can transfer their loyalty to Mr. DeSantis or some other 2024 contender without endangering Mr. Trumps enduring legacy a whit. Where the Supreme Court and abortion policy are concerned, they have nothing to lose by moving on and, with a more disciplined and competent leader, potentially much to gain. Mr. Trumps own response to the ruling is illustrative here. His statement teased a forthcoming national salvation, presumably through his own re-election, but offered no vision for a post-Roe agenda. Perhaps thats because Mr. Trump, always an unconvincing pro-lifer, appears unsure of what to make of the world he has wrought. Speaking Friday on Fox News, he blithely posited that in the end, this is something that will work out for everybody. But reports in The Times and Rolling Stone, citing unnamed sources close to the former president, indicate that his first reaction to the Dobbs decision was to worry about how it would affect his standing with suburban women. Without the help of those anti-Clinton members of the electorate, its highly unlikely the radical right could have fulfilled its dream of creating a top court controlled by overtly activist justices who now, one decision at a time, are ensuring that the politics of white privilege and patriarchal thinking reign supreme. Its a stark reminder that polls indicating that a majority of voters continue to favor a womans right to choose are meaningless if lots of those same voters choose not to vote. Andy Parker Portland, Ore. To the Editor: At this tragic time for womens rights, I remember a letter to the editor, in this very paper, that was written 30 years ago. We were at the crux of a significant presidential election, in which several Supreme Court seats were potentially at stake. The writer of that letter took the liberty of doctoring a quote from Julia Child, who was a known ardent supporter of Planned Parenthood. On one of her cooking shows, Julia accidentally flipped food out of the pan and onto the floor. As she picked it up from the floor and tossed it back into the pan, she looked into the camera and said, Always remember: If youre alone in the kitchen and you drop the lamb, you can always just pick it up. Whos going to know? The writer of that letter reminded women, Remember, you are alone in the voting booth. As we fight to get our rights back, I hope that women, regardless of their political party, will remember that advice this November. For law-abiding New Yorkers, there is currently no swift and easy way to protect yourself in your own home with a handgun. Even if you have no criminal record, no history of mental illness and no desire to carry a gun outside of your home, you must apply for an expensive handgun license. On June 23, the Supreme Court struck down an additional requirement to demonstrate a heightened need, or proper cause, if you want to carry your gun in public. An associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justices Department of Public Management told me that based on anecdotal evidence, generally retired police officers, people who transport large sums of money, those who have an immediate and credible death threat and celebrities are more likely to be approved for licenses to carry handguns in public. And given the high cost of the application process, gun ownership is only really available to those with means. I support background checks, waiting periods, assault weapon bans and gun control proposals that make it harder for people to obtain guns. We should strive for a world in which the only people with guns would be responsible citizens trained in firearm safety who purchased their guns legally, store them safely and use them only for hunting or sport shooting, or as a last resort for personal protection. Gun owners in New York should be required to take continuing education courses in order to renew their licenses. When gun owners are improperly trained and guns are not properly stored, there is a tremendous risk of injury to themselves and others. But the truth is that the world we live in is awash in illegal guns. Ghost guns, which are assembled from components bought online and are untraceable, are prevalent in coastal states with strict gun laws, and hundreds have been seized by the New York City Police Department in recent years. New Yorks onerous gun licensing requirements deter law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves. And while city officials boast that gun arrests are at a 28-year high and shooting incidents were down last month, murder, rape, robbery and assault were all on the rise when compared with the same time last year. The unfortunate reality is that you are more likely to be shot and killed by a relative or someone you know than by a stranger if you are a woman. While most murders in the United States involve a gun, most gun deaths in the United States are actually suicides, and preventing gun deaths is as much about investing in mental health and our communities as it is about enacting purchase restrictions. To be sure, estimates of defensive gun use, as Jennifer Mascia of The Trace recently put it, are so squishy that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in May removed all figures from its website. It has previously cited estimates ranging from 60,000 to 2.5 million defensive gun uses each year, but this is typically not a category tracked by law enforcement agencies, and stats presented largely depend on who is asking and the design of the study. That was where the giant head believed to represent the mythical hero was hidden, as if felled by the curse of the jealous goddess Hera, who was said to have made his life difficult from birth. The twice-life-size head is of a male bearded figure, and is covered by marine deposits that are being cleaned so that the piece can be restored. The head likely completes another ancient statue that was found in 1900: Herakles of Antikythera, which currently stands headless in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Mr. Baumer said. (Herakles, or Heracles, is the Greek name for Hercules.) Four hours before divers came across the marble head, Professor Baumer left the site to go back to Athens. He and a colleague stopped driving to look at pictures of the sculpture. He celebrated not only the thrill of the discovery, but also what it meant for research going forward. Knowing the underwater spot that the artifact was found gave explorers a better idea of the layout of the shipwreck, because earlier excavators hadnt documented where they discovered the body of the statue, he said. Experts are using 3-D mapping to digitally document how the wreck looks before any artifacts are removed, said Elisa Costa, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Venice who is part of the effort. Her mapping captured each layer that was uncovered as the boulders were lifted, and she said she would continue to document the space around the site, which team members believe could help explain the wreck. Its very exciting to be part of this important excavation project that started 120 years ago, she said. Its really incredible. The new flagship SoHo store is the brands only current New York location, though Ms. Fisher opened a store in the city in 2014 that is now closed. And though the California site may cater to the stars, Ms. Fisher said that New York is where her heart is. We have this whole history in SoHo, Ms. Fisher said. Its like where we grew up. Ms. Fishers own origin story came with serious challenges. When she was 30, she was diagnosed with a desmoid tumor, a rare noncancerous growth in the bodys connective tissue, in her chest. The condition affects two to four people per every million globally, according to the National Cancer Institute. She underwent chemotherapy, and the tumor shrank. A few years later, Ms. Fisher said, she and her husband, Kevin, wanted to have children. Her doctor cautioned against it. My oncologist said, Absolutely not. You cannot carry this baby. Your tumor grows from estrogen, Ms. Fisher said. After the loss of two surrogate pregnancies, Ms. Fisher took some time off and became pregnant naturally. She gave birth to a son, Shane, in the spring of 2005. Almost two years later, the Fishers had a daughter, Drew. On 28 June 2022, at the invitation of the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in charge of the Coordination of the Fight against Fraud, Mr. Van Peteghem, the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, took part in the graduation ceremony of the 50th session of the Belgian Customs School. The ceremony marked the end of 10 months of theoretical and practical training in core Customs matters provided by the Belgian Customs School and complemented by the WCO. Despite the prevailing global health crisis, the training followed its traditional schedule with sessions held both remotely and on-site, in Brussels. It saw the participation of 24 Customs officials from some Eight French-speaking African countries, namely the Central African Republic, Comoros, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Gabon, the Republic of Guinea and Niger. The laureates benefitted from a rich programme throughout the year, with 16 participants having the opportunity to attend a Train-the-trainers workshop, delivered by the prestigious Academie des Finances. In his keynote address, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Van Peteghem traced the institutions rich history and expressed his pride in this example of successful synergy between institutions. He reminded the graduates that borders were not barriers but rather opportunities, and invited these Customs officials to contribute to building highly efficient Customs administrations. Speaking on the heels of the 70th Anniversary of the World Customs Organization, WCO Secretary General Dr. Kunio Mikuriya seized the opportunity to remind the graduates and the public at large of some major current issues in Customs modernization, such as fragile borders, green Customs and data management, which depend on highly qualified and motivated staff. While congratulating the laureates on their brilliant achievement, he also praised the commitment of Belgian Customs and the choice of the Government to support capacity building of WCO Members. Many speakers recognized the critical role played by Customs cooperation and capacity building in the Customs modernization process as key tools for ensuring that Customs is fully equipped to fulfill its mandates. A representative of the graduates expressed gratitude to the trainers from Belgian Customs and the WCO, for the quality of the training, with a special mention for the Masterclass on the Harmonized System and the session on Gender Equality and Diversity, but also to the Belgian government for its continuous support. While period trackers seem like an obvious source of information about reproductive health decisions, experts say other digital information is more likely to put women at risk. Cynthia Conti-Cook, a civil rights lawyer and technology fellow at the Ford Foundation, researched prosecutions of pregnant people accused of feticide or endangering their fetuses, cataloging the digital evidence used against them in an academic paper she published in 2020. We should start with the types of data that have already been used to criminalize people, said Ms. Conti-Cook, who previously worked in a public defenders office in New York. The text to your sister that says, Expletive, Im pregnant. The search history for abortion pills or the visitation of websites that have information about abortion. One of the cases Ms. Conti-Cook highlighted was that of Latice Fisher, a Mississippi woman who was charged with second-degree murder after a stillbirth at home in 2017. According to a local report, investigators downloaded the contents of her phone, including her internet search history, and she admitted to conducting internet searches, including how to induce a miscarriage and how to buy pregnancy-terminating medicine like mifepristone and misoprostol online. After significant public attention, the case against Ms. Fisher was dropped. In another case, in Indiana, text messages to a friend about taking abortion pills late in a pregnancy were used to convict Purvi Patel, who successfully appealed and reduced a 20-year sentence for feticide and neglect of a dependent. Those text messages, those websites visited, those Google searches are the exact type of intent evidence that prosecutors want to fill their bag of evidence, Ms. Conti-Cook said. Investigators could also potentially use smartphone location data if states pass laws forbidding women to travel to areas where abortion is legal. Information about peoples movements, collected via apps on their phones, is regularly sold by data brokers. Many Hamlets Ive seen are wily. Some kooky. Narcissistic, aloof, even pretentious. Less common is a Hamlet who is tender and romantic and achingly vulnerable, like a petal falling from the head of a flower at the end of its bloom. When Alex Lawthers fragile Danish prince drags himself onstage in Robert Ickes modern-dress production of Hamlet, which opened Tuesday night at the Park Avenue Armory, he recalls the 19th-century poets Arthur Rimbaud and Percy Shelley, a brilliant yet dejected young man who seems resolved to his sorrow and to a tragic end. In the last decade, Icke has gained prominence for his heightened and contemporary-inflected adaptations of classics. This Hamlet played in the West End in 2017, with the hot-priest-sized package of magnetizing charisma known as Andrew Scott in the lead. He was one of the best Hamlets Ive ever seen though, as in so many other takes, the focus fell on his brooding and banter more than his emotional depth. This introductory story sets up the moral ambiguities of the tales that follow, in which ordinary people, robbed of their lives by a senseless conflict, are driven to extremes. The production is relentlessly dark and savage, even if its shot through with morbid humor, such as the moment when a medic who is transporting her lovers corpse propositions the soldier who has accompanied her on the mission: A body without a head in a body bag just doesnt turn me on. It was sometimes difficult, at least for this non-Russian- and non-Ukrainian-speaking viewer, to tell who was on which side. (The performance had German surtitles). The disorienting atmosphere brought to mind Sergei Loznitsas extraordinary film Donbass, another anthology of surreal episodes about the 2014 conflict. At the same time, Vorozhbits sensitivity to her characters psychologies and her desire to understand the perspective even of violent perpetrators make Bad Roads a deeply human work about the compromises, cunning and sheer blind luck that surviving in an inhuman time requires. It was almost a relief to leave the real-life horrors of Bad Roads behind for the immersive dystopia of Gymnasium, a high school opera written and directed by Bonn Park with music by Ben Roessler. The only Volkstheater production at Radikal Jung, it is quite possibly the loopiest and most entertaining German production that premiered last year. Set in a kooky mash-up of the late Middle Ages and the 1990s, the show is a campy, riotous sendup of films like Carrie, Heathers and Clueless that gleefully pokes fun at American high school myths. The stock characters and plot devices of teen comedies transposed to the eccentric setting provide Park and Roessler plenty of fuel for skewering our off-kilter world. Tribalism, feudalism and superstition are among the medieval codes that are resurgent in the post-truth digital age. With scrappily sung musical numbers and eye-poppingly colorful sets and costumes, Gymnasium comments on trolling, viral rumors and climate change skepticism with a gentle satirical touch. The hand-drawn sets, the low-budget special effects including an active volcano that looms over the school and the rough and spirited playing of the Orchestra Academy of the Munich Philharmonic (credited as the Orchestra of Cheerleaders) help make Gymnasium the senior play you wish your school had been awesome enough or your classmates talented enough to put on. If an employee gets caught stealing a candy bar, they get fired. But you have shoplifters who come in here and steal a whole buggy full of Tide. TONY SETTLES, a clerk at a Safeway supermarket in Denver, one of many retail workers pushing for new policies and stronger protections as the nations stores cope with a growing wave of theft and violence. A team of researchers including relatives of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old Black boy who was abducted and murdered in Mississippi in 1955, has discovered an unserved arrest warrant for the white woman whose accusations led to his gruesome death. The document was found last week in the basement of a courthouse in Greenwood, Miss. It does not constitute major new evidence in the case, which horrified but galvanized Black Americans at the time and helped lead to the civil rights movement. But those still working on Emmetts behalf said that the discovery added to their understanding of the legal drama surrounding his death, and that they hoped it would provide a basis for a new investigation. The woman, Carolyn Bryant Donham, was never charged in the case. She is now in her 80s and was living in North Carolina as recently as May, according to public records. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment. President Biden met with governors, labor leaders, and private companies last week to discuss a federal and state partnership to develop more offshore wind energy. WASHINGTON One by one, the tools available to President Biden to fight climate change are being stripped away. After a Supreme Court decision on Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency will have less authority to limit carbon dioxide from power plants, a major source in this country of the pollution that is dangerously heating the planet. Its one in a series of setbacks for Mr. Biden, who came into office with the most ambitious climate agenda of any president, pledging to the rest of the world that the United States, the worlds largest historic emitter of greenhouse gases, would cut that pollution in half by the end of the decade. In a statement, Mr. Biden called the ruling another devastating decision that aims to take our country backwards and said the conservative majority on the court was siding with special interests that have waged a long-term campaign to strip away our right to breathe clean air. The science confirms what we all see with our own eyes the wildfires, droughts, extreme heat, and intense storms are endangering our lives and livelihoods, Mr. Biden said. I will take action. My administration will continue using lawful executive authority, including the EPAs legally-upheld authorities, to keep our air clean, protect public health, and tackle the climate crisis. Some experts say that after the Supreme Courts decision in the case, West Virginia v. E.P.A., it will soon be mathematically impossible for Mr. Biden to meet his goals. At this point I dont see any way to hit the kind of targets they laid out, said David G. Victor, an expert in climate policy at the University of California, San Diego. The consequences could be severe. Scientists say the United States must hit Mr. Bidens target if it is to do its part to limit average global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, compared with temperatures before the Industrial Revolution. That is the threshold beyond which the likelihood significantly increases of catastrophic impacts such as deadly heat waves, drought, wildfire and storms. The planet has already warmed an average of about 1.1 degrees Celsius. But Mr. Biden has faced obstacle after obstacle in his push for climate action, ranging from conflicts within his own party to a worldwide energy crunch triggered by the war in Ukraine to well-funded legal challenges from Republicans and the fossil fuel industry. Patrick Morrisey, the Republican attorney general of West Virginia and the lead plaintiff in the case, called the decision a great win for West Virginia and her residents, adding, We are pleased this case returned the power to decide one of the major environmental issues of the day to the right place to decide it: the U.S. Congress, comprised of those elected by the people to serve the people. The problem for Mr. Biden is that Congress has so far failed to act on climate change. The centerpiece of the presidents climate plan, legislation to replace coal and gas-fired power plants with wind, solar and nuclear energy, was deleted from a major domestic policy bill last fall after objections from Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia. Mr. Manchin, who has personal financial ties to the coal industry, has been able to single-handedly set the limits of Mr. Bidens legislative ambitions as the key swing vote in an evenly divided Senate. Image The Supreme Court ruled Thursday to limit the E.P.A.s authority to regulate carbon dioxide from power plants. Credit... T.J. Kirkpatrick for The New York Times The domestic policy bill in limbo on Capitol Hill still includes what would be a historic increase in tax credits to spur the wind and solar industries. But it is unclear if Mr. Manchin will support the plan and the legislation could die if Republicans, who have shown little interest in climate action, retake one or both chambers in the midterm elections. Mr. Biden has focused on the nations top source of greenhouse gas pollution transportation by directing the E.P.A. to craft tough new limits on tailpipe emissions to speed up adoption of electric vehicles. But those rules are already under legal assault in lower courts by many of the same plaintiffs who were victorious in this weeks Supreme Court case. As a candidate, Mr. Biden promised to end drilling on public lands oil, gas and coal extraction from federal land and waters generates 25 percent of the nations greenhouse gas emissions. But when he tried to pause new drilling, it was overturned by a legal challenge from Republican attorneys general from states that produce fossil fuels. The administration held its first onshore drilling lease sale this week in seven Western states. The judicial branch and the legislative branch are seriously hindering Joe Bidens ability to get the job done on climate, said Richard Lazarus, a professor of environmental law at Harvard, who served on Mr. Bidens E.P.A. transition team. A lot of the optimism that everyone had a year ago is being replaced by pessimism. Theyre running out of options right now. The Biden administration contends that it remains possible for the United States to meet its climate targets, by cobbling together a mix of executive actions. Ambitious climate action presents a singular opportunity to ensure U.S. global competitiveness, create jobs, lower costs for families, and protect peoples health and well being, especially those whove long suffered the burden of inaction, Michael S. Regan, the E.P.A. administrator, said in a statement. E.P.A. will move forward with lawfully setting and implementing environmental standards that meet our obligation to protect all people and all communities from environmental harm. The Supreme Court ruling left intact the E.P.A.s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions but blocked any attempt by the agency to write regulations so broad that they force the closure of coal-fired plants, which generate the most carbon dioxide, or compel utilities to switch from fossil fuels to wind, solar and other clean sources. The E.P.A. still plans to issue tougher regulations to control methane, a potent greenhouse gas that leaks from oil and gas wells. And it plans stricter limits on other types of pollution generated by power plants, such as mercury, smog and soot. The idea is that cracking down on those pollutants could force electric utilities to clean up or shut down the dirtiest facilities, such as coal-burning power plants, which produce more carbon dioxide than gas-fired plants. Those air pollution rules will have co-benefits as they are being enforced, they will squeeze out some CO2 pollution, said Leah Stokes, a professor of environmental policy at the University of Santa Barbara, California, who has advised congressional Democrats on climate legislation. It wouldnt be the same amount. Every time we take a tool off the table were in a worse position. Image Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who has personal financial ties to the coal industry, has been able to single-handedly limit Mr. Bidens legislative ambitions as the key swing vote in a divided Senate. Credit... Anna Rose Layden Layden for The New York Times Meanwhile, the private sector has already been shifting away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy sources. Electric vehicle sales have doubled over the past year, making up about 5 percent of new vehicle sales in the United States in the first quarter of 2022, compared with about 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2021. General Motors has pledged to stop producing gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035, with other carmakers setting similar goals. Ford Motor is producing an electric version of the F-150 pickup truck, the countrys best-selling vehicle, and has taken customer reservations for more than 200,000 of them. With the cost of solar and wind energy dropping below the price of coal and natural gas in many parts of the United States, renewable sources of electricity now make up 20 percent of the nations energy mix, up from 15 percent a decade ago. But the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, combined with the war in Ukraine and the related ban on Russian oil, has scrambled global energy supplies, and prompted President Biden to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserves and urge producers to pump more oil, at least in the short term. Clean energy producers in the United States also face significant obstacles from an outdated electricity transmission system. And the private sector is not moving quickly enough to cut emissions to the level that scientists say is needed to avert climate catastrophe. Mr. Biden wants half of new cars sold in the United States to be electric by 2030, and all electricity to come from wind, solar and other zero-carbon sources by 2035. We do see a powerful trend emerging in the private sector both driven by consumers who are demanding cleaner options, that is driving a shift in our energy mix, and toward electric vehicles, but that pace of change is really not sufficient to meet the long-term targets, said Sasha Mackler, an energy analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington research organization. For that, you still need policy. The administration doesnt have the right tools to get us all there. Success in the time that we need it, according to the scientific community that requires Congress. Congress in the coming weeks could still pass a scaled-back version of the spending bill that has been stalled on Capitol Hill for months. A version of the bill that passed the House last year includes $300 billion in clean energy tax incentives for producers and purchasers of clean electricity and electric vehicles. Image A solar farm near El Centro, Calif. The state has required that 100 percent of its electricity be generated from zero-carbon sources by 2045, and many other states are adopting similar clean electricity standards. Credit... Bing Guan/Reuters But its current status is uncertain: Mr. Manchin blocked the larger spending bill that includes the tax credits last December, although he has recently restarted talks with the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, about the prospects for a less ambitious version. Under Senate rules, that bill must be passed by Sept. 30. The Senate is in recess through the second week of July, and will break again for the month of August, leaving Democrats limited time to reach agreement on a package that has eluded consensus for the past year. Democrats say the Supreme Court decision lends urgency to the push to pass that bill. Mr. Schumer said the decision will put American lives at risk, making it all the more imperative that Democrats soon pass meaningful legislation to address the climate crisis. Stalled action on the federal level puts a spotlight on dozens of states that are moving ahead with their own climate plans. If the state actions are put on steroids as the federal government realizes its impotence, the effects of that will be significant, said Mr. Victor. Just under half the states have already enacted significant climate policies. Their leader is California, which in the coming weeks is expected to finalize a first-in-the-nation regulation requiring that all new cars sold in the state must be electric or zero-emission by 2035. Seventeen other states are in line to adopt the same rule when it passes in Sacramento. California also requires that 100 percent of its electricity be generated from zero-carbon sources by 2045. Twenty-one other states have some version of that clean electricity standard, and several are advancing legislation for even more stringent versions. Todays ruling makes it even more imperative that California and other states succeed in our efforts to combat the climate crisis, said Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California. While the court has once again turned back the clock, California refuses to go backward were just getting started. But those state-level tools are also in the sights of many of the same Republican attorneys general who brought the power plant case to the Supreme Court. They have already filed a suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit considered the second-most powerful court in the country seeking to block state authority to mandate a transition to all-electric vehicle sales. Oral arguments have yet to be scheduled. Its a knife fight, said Ms. Stokes. We have to fight with every single tool we have on every level and its going to get harder. Younger leaders in particular are upset about what they see as too much compromising from Democrats on abortion. They want to talk about an absolute, inviolable right to abortion: You have to trust women to make their own decisions, they say, and any infringement takes away from womens autonomy and equal rights. But the anti-abortion side has skillfully played that to accuse Democrats of wanting abortion on demand anytime, in any circumstance, right up until birth. Theres little evidence that women are so blase about abortion, or that abortions frequently happen late in pregnancy. Most abortions happen in the first trimester. But its an effective slogan, and it goes against what polls show Americans want, which is for abortion to be available, with some restrictions. Many on the left, including some Democratic attorneys general, are showing a growing willingness to reject the courts legitimacy across a range of issues, including abortion. How widespread do you think such sentiments are in the top ranks of the Democratic Party, and where might this all be heading? I know there are people saying, Expand the court. But Ive heard very little of this from abortion rights groups in the days since the courts decision. Some of them were maybe hoping that the court would not overturn Roe entirely, and would stick to Chief Justice John Robertss position of upholding only Mississippis 15-week abortion ban. But these groups pivoted very quickly to a new strategy of fighting abortion laws based on state constitutions, and campaigning for or against ballot initiatives in Michigan, in Kansas and elsewhere that would enshrine or strip away state constitutional protections for abortion. The groups are focused on what they can do immediately to make sure that women can still get abortions. Rather than avail itself of Congresss clear statutory alternative to return inadmissible aliens to Mexico while they await proceedings in this country, Justice Alito wrote, D.H.S. has concluded that it may forgo that option altogether and instead simply release into this country untold numbers of aliens who are very likely to be removed if they show up for their removal hearings. This practice violates the clear terms of the law, but the court looks the other way. The challenged program, known commonly as Remain in Mexico and formally as the Migrant Protection Protocols, applies to people who left a third country and traveled through Mexico to reach the U.S. border. After the policy was put in place at the beginning of 2019, tens of thousands of people waited in unsanitary tent encampments for immigration hearings. There have been widespread reports of sexual assault, kidnapping and torture. Soon after he took office, President Biden sought to end the program. Texas and Missouri sued, and lower courts reinstated it, ruling that federal immigration laws require returning immigrants who arrive by land and who cannot be detained while their cases are heard. Since the Biden administration restarted the program in December, far fewer migrants have been enrolled than during the Trump era, a change that has galled many Republicans who have characterized Mr. Biden as weak on border security. The reduction is in part because the United States agreed to take additional steps to meet certain demands from Mexico, including that migrants be sent back under the program only if there was sufficient shelter space and if they had improved access to legal assistance. From December to the end of May, the Biden administration had enrolled into the program more than 4,300 migrants who were returned to Mexico, mainly people who could not be expelled under the public health rule. Most of those enrolled in recent months are men from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Without the program in place, more single adults from those countries will be permitted to enter and remain in the United States while their asylum cases wind through the court. Even with Remain in Mexico and the emergency public health rule in place, more than 800,000 migrants have been released into the country since Mr. Biden took office to wait out their immigration cases, which can take years. Protections against partisan gerrymandering established through the state courts could essentially vanish. The ability to challenge new voting laws at the state level could be reduced. And the theory underpinning the case could open the door to state legislatures sending their own slates of electors. It is one thing to agree to hear a case, of course, and another to rule on it. But four justices have already expressed at least tentative support for the doctrine, making a decision accepting it more than plausible. The court will probably hear arguments in the fall and issue its decision next year. Currently, Republicans have complete control over 30 state legislatures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, and were the force behind a wave of new voting restrictions passed last year. And Republican legislatures in key battleground states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and North Carolina have used their control over redistricting to effectively lock in power for a decade. Democrats, in turn, control just 17 state legislatures. The case concerns a voting map drawn by the North Carolina legislature that was rejected as a partisan gerrymander by the State Supreme Court. Republicans seeking to restore the legislative map argued that the state court was powerless to act under the so-called independent state legislature doctrine. Read the original article on Business Insider. As the US military's focus on competition with China grows, the US special-operations community is investing in a softer skill to counter Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region. At a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing in late April, leaders of the US special-operations community highlighted the importance of and need for special operators who are proficient in foreign languages. Countering China through language During the hearing, Brig. Gen. Jonathan Braga, commanding general of US Army Special Operations Command, said the units he commands including the Army Special Forces groups, Civil Affairs, and Psychological Operations teams are arguably the most proficient and invested in language skills within the US special-operations community. Among those units, Braga said, language skills are "maintained throughout through sustained training" and are tailored to specific regions because those units "stay regionally aligned." A Green Beret with 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) discusses close quarter battle with members of the Philippine National Police - Maritime Group, 2nd Special Operations Unit and the Philippine Coast Guard Special Operations Force May 30, 2022, near Puerto Princesa, Palawan. (Jared N. Gehmann/U.S. Army) US special operators have a worldwide presence and are deployed to more than 60 countries at any given time, where they train foreign forces or participate in deterrence and combat operations. Braga said that despite putting a lot of effort into language skills, members of the US special-operations community can't speak the language of every country to which they might deploy. "They're operating around the globe," supporting the priorities of every combatant command, Braga said, "but language is absolutely critical to being part of that interoperability. It's not just equipment, and it also shows that you care." Those relationships that language skills foster and sustain are extremely value in great-power competition, whether the US is trying to maintain deterrence or fight a full-blown war. "Human beings communicate by body language, chemistry, and words," said Lino Miani, a former Army Special Forces officer. "It is the combination of the three that really allows people to form bonds and communicate instinctively in the way that war sometimes demands." A Green Beret with 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), and soldiers assigned to the Royal Thai Army stack up and prepare to enter a building during Exercise Cobra Gold 21 at Camp Erawan, Lopburi, Kingdom of Thailand, Aug. 6, 2021. (U.S. Army) To measure language skill, the US military uses the Defense Language Proficiency Test, which has four levels 0 to 3. The training needed to use the language effectively can take anywhere from a few months to more than a year, depending on the complexity of the language. "War is a complex endeavor and it's not always enough to just be stronger than the enemy," said Miani, who is chief executive officer of AeroEye, a security firm offering aerial surveillance services. "Troops on the ground, particularly special-operations troops that are often isolated and/or embedded with allies or surrogates, will depend on their ability to understand complexity not just for mission accomplishment, but for survival," Miani added. "Language skills are the basic foundation of that understanding." During the hearing, Maj. Gen. James Glynn, who at the time was commanding general of Marine Forces Special Operations Command, said that his command has shifted its focus to some of the "more significant languages" in the Indo-Pacific region, including Mandarin Chinese. US troops should be skilled in Chinese, but the language has limited use, especially for official purposes, in many of the countries where US special-operators often work, Miani said. Proficiency in languages spoken in those countries is vital to reassuring partners and deterring foes. While the Chinese have influence in those countries, "our success in those geographic areas will be more dependent on our skill with other languages, like Korean, Thai, Indonesian, or Tagalog," added Miani, who is president of the Combat Diver Foundation. U.S. Marines with 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion and Philippine Marines, with 64th Reconnaissance Battalion, Marine Special Forces Group, work together to start a fire during Jungle Environment Survival Training as a part of Amphibious Landing Exercise 2015 (PHIBLEX 15) at Ternate, Philippines, Sept. 29. (Juan Bustos/U.S. Marine Corps) More language, more missions Some special operators develop more language skills because of their mission sets. US Army Green Berets have a focus on foreign internal defense the training, advising, and leading of partner forces and as such have long focused on language skills. But over the last two decades there has been a wider push for language capabilities among special-operations units. "Language and culture have been part of our training pipeline since inception, and so every critical skills operator that is created or has been created over the course of the last 15 years goes through a language unique to the theater in which we intend or they are most likely to deploy," Glynn said about MARSOC. One reason for the push was that during the global war on terror, better language skills often meant more missions, which in turn meant more funding and greater relevance for the unit. At one point, foreign internal defense was the hottest mission set, and every unit even Navy SEALs and Delta Force, which tend to focus on direct-action operations jumped at the opportunity to conduct it in order to be deployed. "Understanding our adversary through his own language and culture is important, but it is also important to understand our potential allies," Miani said. "Language skills are the basic foundation of this understanding." Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate. HONG KONG On the day that Hong Kong was returned to China a quarter century ago, the noodle maker of Queens Road worked as he had done for days and decades before, mixing flour and water into sustenance for a city filled with refugees from the mainland. To satisfy the diverse tastes, he made tender Shanghai noodles and Cantonese egg pasta, slippery wonton wrappers from Chinas south and thick dumpling skins beloved in Beijing. When the five-starred flag of the Peoples Republic of China replaced the Union Jack on July 1, 1997, it rained and rained, the water rising fast along Queens Road and its tributaries. Some people took the deluge as an omen of Communist control, others as a purifying ritual to cleanse Hong Kong of Western imperialism. The storm held no greater meaning for To Wo, who ran the noodle shop with his family. Mr. To still had to work every day of every year, feeding dough into clanging machines and emptying so many bags of flour that everything was dusted white, even the shrine to the kitchen god. Hong Kong has withstood one severe challenge after another, and overcome one hazard after another, he said. After the storm, Hong Kong has been reborn from the ashes, showing flourishing vitality. Mr. Xi has not left China in 29 months. His absence has been increasingly conspicuous, especially as a flurry of diplomacy arose in response to the war in Ukraine and the ensuing political, military and economic fallout. He called in via video link to a meeting of the Group of 20 in December; he sent a written statement to Novembers climate meeting in Glasgow. He has yet to meet President Biden in person. The inward turn points in large part to Beijings preoccupation with protecting Mr. Xis health ahead of an all-important Communist Party congress later this year where he is expected to claim another five years as Chinas leader. But for Mr. Xi, taking a victory lap in Hong Kong is crucial to asserting his vision of national rejuvenation, in which the Communist Party restores China to what he regards as its rightful place as a global power. Key to Mr. Putins message this week is that Russias global isolation is far from total and that the declarations at the NATO summit a determination to back Ukraine and strengthen the alliances eastern flank are of little concern. Mr. Putins trip to Central Asia was notable not just because it was the first time he had left the country since he began the invasion on Feb. 24, but also because he has been taking extraordinary pandemic precautions. After flying to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on Tuesday for a meeting with the countrys president, Emomali Rahmon, Mr. Putin spent the night there the first time he is known to have spent the night outside Russia since January 2020. On Wednesday, Mr. Putin flew to Turkmenistan for a gathering of the leaders of the five countries surrounding the Caspian Sea, which also include Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Iran. The summit held practical significance because Russia is trying to expand its influence in the economically vital, energy-rich region, while looking to fill the power vacuum left behind by the American withdrawal from nearby Afghanistan. But the summit was also of symbolic importance for Mr. Putins audience back home, offering a split-screen image of diplomatic activity and Russian soft power just as Western leaders gathered in Madrid. Mr. Putin presented two handmade sabers and a chess set from the Urals to Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, the eccentric former leader of insular Turkmenistan who was celebrating his 65th birthday; at the gathering with Caspian leaders, Mr. Putin called for more regional cooperation, including a Caspian film forum. Mr. Putin held a brief news conference afterward and again insisted he was in no hurry to end the war. The work is going smoothly, rhythmically, he said of the fighting. There is no need to talk about the timing. Then, on Thursday, the Russian leader indicated once more that he was not backing down. In a video address to to a St. Petersburg legal conference, he again falsely claimed that the Kyiv regime was carrying out a genocide and crimes against humanity in eastern Ukraines Donbas region. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia still aims to take most of Ukraine, but a breakthrough in the countrys east to other major cities beyond the Donbas remains unlikely in the short term even as Moscows forces consolidate their gains, the top American intelligence official said on Wednesday. The consensus in American intelligence agencies is that the war in Ukraine is likely to go on for an extended period of time, Avril D. Haines, the director of national intelligence, said in her first public update on intelligence assessments of the war in more than a month. Russia, she said, controls about 20 percent of Ukraine, with a conflict line that stretches for about 680 miles. Insurgent resistance by Ukrainians in Russian-occupied parts of the country is increasing, Ms. Haines said, making it less likely that Russia will make rapid gains or that a peaceful resolution can be reached. The fortress island has little value except as a base for Black Sea operations and has been a target for the Russians since the first day of the invasion. The Russian withdrawal, coming only a week after the Kremlin bragged about repelling a Ukrainian attempt to retake the island, appeared to be another instance of Moscows scaling down its military ambitions in the face of Ukrainian resistance. Both sides confirmed the retreat on Thursday. The Ukrainians said it had come after a weeklong campaign targeting the island and Russian efforts to resupply the garrison there with missile and artillery fire. The last Russian soldiers on the island, which is called Zmiinyi in Ukrainian, were reported fleeing overnight on two speedboats, according to the Ukrainian militarys southern command. There are no more Russians on Zmiinyi, said Andrii Yermak, the head of the presidential office of Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry, in a statement, sought to cast the retreat as a gesture of goodwill that would not allow Kyiv to speculate on the impending food crisis, since control of the island is vital to securing the shipping lanes. The Russian de facto blockade, enforced by its warships and submarines, has prevented Ukraine from exporting its prewar average of about six million metric tons of grain each month. Mr. Lapid enters office at a delicate time, with President Biden scheduled to visit Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia in mid-July. For weeks, some Israeli journalists have predicted that the American presidents visit may accompany an announcement about a warming of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, two countries that have never had a formal diplomatic relationship. The return to the ballot box, for the fifth time since April 2019, was greeted with frustration by many voters. Snap elections have become a repetitive fact of life because the electorate has in recent years remained consistently and evenly divided between supporters and critics of Mr. Netanyahu, preventing him or his opponents from forming a stable government backed by a parliamentary majority. I have no energy to vote again, said Maya Kleinman, 45, a biologist in the city of Rehovot in central Israel. I feel I am being forced to vote. I feel I am being held hostage by small and foul-smelling politics. If Israelis were once surprised or even shaken by the rate at which they have gone to the polls since 2019, they are now grudgingly resigned to it, said Mitchell Barak, a political analyst and pollster in Jerusalem. By this point, Israelis have pretty low expectations, said Mr. Barak. Voters were shocked to return three times to the ballot box in 2019 and 2020. But by the fourth election in 2021, Mr. Barak added, it felt like this is just how we do things here. Slide 1 of 13, Firefighters battled a devastating fire tornado, as one resident called it, on Monday in central Portugal that eventually left 64 people dead, many of them trapped in their cars, and more than 130 people injured. Slide 1 of 17, Two people suspected of being drug traffickers were arrested during an operation by the Brazilian police in the Acari slum in northern Rio de Janeiro. Ballard Partners has signed Liberia to help that African nation communicate with US government officials, businesses and NGOs. The one-year agreement, which went into effect June 24, calls for a monthly fee of $75K to be paid in quarterly installments of $225K. It automatically renews for successive one-year periods. Joel Maybury, US deputy chief of mission in Liberia, railed against the rampant corruption in the country during a June 23 speech at the Center for Security Studies and Development. He cited a report by the Center for Transparency and Accountability that showed that 90 percent of Liberians rate the level of corruption as high and two-thirds of them lack faith in the governments effort to fight corruption. Maybury called for a more robust oversight of all levels of government to uphold standards of accountability as defined under Liberian law and that when corruption is uncovered, the responsible parties should be prosecuted. Brian Ballard, who was Donald Trumps top fundraiser in Florida, heads his firm's four-member Liberian team. Washington State Looks for PSA Partner Fri., Jun. 24, 2022 The Washington State Office of the Attorney General is looking for a firm to handle a multimedia public service announcement campaign regarding the new charity care law. Cassidy Hutchinson It has been almost 18 months since Donald Trump left office, and continued to contest the 2020 election in the media. I have wondered why we havent heard about any plans for a Trump presidential library, but now I think I know: Trump wanted to wait until the completion of his second term to announce a library. With the testimony of White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson on Tuesday, Trump can kiss that idea goodbye. The J6 Committee is closing in on Trump, and they have woven such a convincing narrative that anyone with half a working brain can see that Trump is not only an overweening egoist and probable sociopath, he is a freaking sicko who cannot be allowed into the White House again. Ms. Hutchinson, a composed and poised witness, was Trumps Monica Lewinsky. She dropped the bombor bombswith compelling (if second hand) testimony of Trumps manic actions. Her testimony added to the already extensive list of conspiratorial and criminal acts Trump committed up to and including January 6. Bob Woodward went so far as to tell CNNs Wolf Blitzer that Hutchinson had written Trumps political obituary. From a PR perspective, Trump would do well to trot out plans for some kind of library, somewhere, to remind people that he was the 45th president and isnt done yet. The plans can be grandiose or sketchy. Trump is a real estate developer and knows that game well. The library would not only serve as a deflection tool, it might help to bolster the perception that the Orange One is still in control of himself and his actions, something that didnt come through in committee testimony this week. Speaking last night at a real presidential library, the Reagan in California, Rep. Liz Cheney said, As the full picture is coming into view with the January 6th Committee, it has become clear that the efforts Donald Trump oversaw and engaged in were even more chilling and more threatening than we could have imagined." The applause was deafening, and, as Lawrence ODonnell noted, these were Republicans! *** Bill Huey is president of Strategic Communications and the author of Carbon Man (Kindle, 2010). Merrick Garland Nearly half of America wants Donald Trump charged with a crime connected to the Jan. 6 assault on the US Capitol, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released June 30. Forty-eight percent of respondents want the former president indicted, while 31 percent don't. Twenty percent have no opinion. The bad news for Trump: the poll was conducted before the bombshell testimony of ex-White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. That urge to indict has dramatically grown after Hutchinson testified that Trump wanted to join the rabble trashing the Capitol and supported hanging vice president Pence. The poll results also show that a solid 58 percent of Americans blame Trump for the uprising. And where is attorney general Merrick Garland? The New York Times on June 30 reported that federal prosecutors were astonished by the compelling testimony of Hutchinson at the Jan. 6 Congressional committee hearings. That doesnt bode well for the sleuths at the Justice Dept., which is conducting its own probe on the Capitol riot. Committee members claim that Garland has not moved fast enough to follow their investigative leads. You would think that Garland, who was denied his dream job by former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Republican party, would be gung-ho to pursue Trump. Cautious Merrick reportedly wants to build an airtight case against the president, fearing the damage to the country if Trump eludes jail time. Time is running out, Merrick, as the midterm elections loom. And speaking of running out of time. The AP-NORC poll shows that America is done with Trump. As Congresswoman Liz Cheney so eloquently put it during her speech at the Reagan Library. No party, and no people, and no nation can defend and perpetuate a constitutional Republic if they accept a leader who's gone to war with the rule of law, with the democratic process, or with the peaceful transition of power, with the Constitution itself. The ball is in your court, Ron DeSantis. Make your move. The fading and shameless Trump says the Florida governor could be his VP pick. Why would the 43-year-old DeSantis saddle up with a surefire loser? Cutting off dictators.The Human Rights Foundation and the Life+Liberty Indexes has launched the Defund Dictators Tool. DDT focuses on emerging markets exchange traded funds that invest some of their assets in dictatorial regimes such as Russia, China and Saudi Arabia. Investors from free countries should be well informed of the human rights situation in the countries they seek to invest in and always consider democracies as the safer, more ethical choice, said HRFs senior policy officer Alvaro Piaggio. You don't want to invest in a fund that helps bankroll Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Do you? Are you looking for a new gig? Do you want to meet people from all walks of life and live out new adventures while earning a competitive pay and building a rewarding career? Uncle Sam may want you but the hotel industry really wants wants you. The American Hotel and Lodging Assn. has stepped up its A Place to Stay recruitment campaign to fill some of more than 130K openings in the hospitality industry. Ninety-seven percent of AHLA members are short of staff. Nearly half (49 percent) severely so. The Place to Stay effort pitches the opportunity to craft lifelong memories with guests who will also welcome you into their lives in many special ways. The Assn. needs to tone down its campaign a bit. The post-COVID world of airport chaos, cancelled flights and high gas prices, combined with staff shortages, makes many of those hotel guests downright surly. New hotel staffers may be in for some very unpleasant experiences. A TOTAL of 36 companies from a wide variety of sectors have now registered for the first ever Offaly Job Fair which takes place this weekend. Organised by Tullamore and District Chamber of Commerce, Offaly Job Fair takes place in the Tullamore Court Hotel on Saturday, July 2 next from 10am to 6pm Organisers believe that up to 500 jobs will be available to job seekers from across the region Firms from sectors such as construction, retail, finance, hospitality, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and engineering are set to take part in the job fair. The job fair is aimed at a wide range of job-seekers from the school leaver hoping to find an apprenticeship or further their education, to the commuter looking to work closer to home and enjoy a better work/life balance, to those looking to further their careers and to those financially stretched wanting to live outside the major cities where the cost of living is more affordable. Those planning to attend are asked to pre-register at www.tullamorechamberofcommerce.com/offaly-jobs-fair Tullamore Chamber President Anthony Hanniffy said Offaly and Tullamore were great places to work and live in. Mr Hanniffy stressed the Chamber has worked to support its members through some very difficult times in the recent past. As we come out of the Covid landscape we consulted with local businesses on the type of supports that would benefit the local business community the most. We expected recent events to have negatively impacted businesses but were pleasantly surprised at the strength and resilience of our community, with most businesses looking to push forward and grow despite these challenging times. One issue that raised its head again and again during our conversations was the difficulty in getting staff, and it is from these seeds that the Offaly Job Fair have grown. The Chamber President said the event wouldn't have been possible without the support of Offaly Local Development, Offaly Local Enterprise Office, LOETB and the Technical University of the Shannon. I would like to thank them for the tremendous time and effort they have put in to help us to make this event a reality, added Mr Hanniffy. He said the job fair was expecting to welcome Ukrainian job seekers who have fled to safety in Ireland and Offaly following the Russian invasion. We all feel a great sorrow for recent events and sympathise with what you have gone through and what some of your families are still going through. We welcome you with open arms into our communities and will endeavour to assist you as best we can, stressed the Chamber President. Mr Hanniffy said he was very upbeat about the future of business in Offaly. We have a strong generation coming through into adulthood, our businesses are remaining strong and growing, our community spirit is high and these all make the county a wonderful place to live and work, he pointed out. Among the firms taking part in the inaugural Offaly Job Fair are Enva Tullamore Credit Union Supermac's Lidl the HSE Grove Remote.ie Tullamore Court Hotel FRS Recruitment Cardinal Health Integra Palladio Group Spectrum Plastics Zoetis Nua Healthcare Choice People Bord na Mona Glass Innovations, Ferbane Acoustic Interiors Simpli Baked All Pro Recruitment Banagher Concrete Salutem Advisory National Learning Network Irish Whjeelchair Association The Ability Programme All About Trees Home Instead More details on the Offaly Job Fair can be found at www.tullamorechamberofcommerce.com or on the Offaly Job Fair Facebook page. A father of one has spoken of how he no longer feels safe walking the streets of a town in the Midlands after being kicked up to 20 times on the ground in front of his terrified 12-year-old son. Thirty-four-year-old Francis Gavin was set upon by a two women and a man shortly before 2pm on April 28 last while walking along the Ballymahon Street area of Longford town. The Longford man said the incident unfolded just as he had been in the process of attempting to purchase a number of items for his son ahead of a holiday to Spain a few days later. It was at that juncture, he said, the alleged suspects pulled up in a silver Ford Focus car before launching a violent and frenzied assault. Two of them were women and one had a Lucozade bottle in her hand, he said. The man came out (from the car) swinging boxes and I just told my son to run. He ran for his life into Eurogiant and the three of them started attacking me (on the street). "I was kicked around 15 to 20 times on the ground. I remember him (attacker) falling and I think his legs went dead from kicking me." I genuinely thought I would never see my sons face again. Francis sustained a number of cuts and bruises as a result of the incident, claiming many of those injuries came while falling to the ground as his alleged assailants unleashed their onslaught in full view of shocked bystanders. I went out to casualty and the doctor said to me he was disgusted (by the incident). He said he was sick of what is happening in Longford town. Francis, who, by his own admission has been before the courts in the past for shoplifting and driving offences, said he believed he was targeted by a faction who firmly believed they were above the law. This was about bullying and trying to take control, he said. This gang want to take control of Longford and want it to themselves. Now fully physically recovered, Francis conceded the episode was one which had left a deep and traumatic mark on his own self confidence, so much so that neither he or his son felt safe walking the streets of Longford town. My son has not come down to Longford since, he said. He is terrified and is in Dublin with his mother. I said to him: Are you coming down? All he said back to me was: No I wont daddy, I am too afraid to. I am very cowardly too. I have never had to watch my back anywhere and now I am going around the town watching my back. A garda spokesperson confirmed three people, two women aged in their fifties and 20s together with a man in his 30s had been arrested in connection to the incident but had since been released without charge. A file will now be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) as to whether any charges can be brought against the trio. A number of people appeared in Tullamore District Court last week on summons relating to driving with tinted windows. A Galway woman caught driving with tinted windows which did not meet the required legislation for visibility when driving, was fined at Tullamore District Court. Ruth McEvoy (32) was stopped by Garda Patrick McGee at Tulla and Crumlin, Kinnitty, Offaly on November 14, 2021. She said she didnt know about the legislation. She had no previous convictions. She works in the kitchen of a nursing home and has since removed the tints from the windows. Judge John Brennan fined her 200 and reduced the offence to a section 51A driving without consideration. A Limerick man appeared at Tullamore District Court accused of careless driving. Owen OConnell was stopped by Garda Patrick McGee at Tulla and Crumlin, Kinnitty, on November 14, 2021. He was driving with tinted windows which did not meet the required legislation for visibility while driving. Judge John Brennan reduced the offence to a Section 51A, driving without consideration, and fined him 100. A Roscommon man appeared on a summons of careless driving at Tullamore District Court. Colm Johnson, Ardkeenan, Drum, Athlone, Roscommon was stopped at Cloncollig, Tullamore, by Garda Patrick McGee on November 13, 2021. Mr Johnson was driving a car with tinted windows which did not meet the required safety standards for tinted windows. His solicitor Donal Farrelly said Mr Johnson didnt realise it could be a careless driving offence. He said the people who are selling these cars are not telling the buyers about the legislation. Mr Farrelly said the defendant was a 25 year old who was undertaking a college course and needs a car. Judge John Brennan said it was very unfortunate as otherwise the defendant was in ''good standing.'' He reduced the offence to a section 51A, driving without consideration, and fined the defendant 100 giving him three months to pay. Famous Irish activist, anti-nuclear advocate, and campaigner for peace, humanitarian aid and education, Adi Roche, visited Roscrea last week to mark the conclusion of the Roscrea Chernobyl Lifeline project. The founder and and CEO of Chernobyl Children's Project International, who has made her life's work the relief of suffering experienced by children in the wake of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, said the Roscrea based Lifeline project has made an exceptional difference in the lives of countless families. Speaking at an event held at the FRS headquarters in Roscrea, Adi Roche acknowledged the work by Henry Deane and his team, which she said changed lives and made a difference. Its all about giving back stolen childhoods - to say to the people of Belarus there is hope and it is coming from Ireland. We will never turn our backs on Belarus - people have challenged me on this and say Belarus is complicit in the war in Ukraine - but our covenant is with the people and particularly the children of Belarus and we were there long before the regime and we will be there long after, she said. "Our work is about children who are vulnerable and whose lives are on a precipice. We want to alleviate that suffering, which was all created by one single episode at 1:23am on April 26, 1986; when a series of events led to the massive explosion at Reactor No. 4 which spewed up radiation in graphite and uranium and was carried by the elements to all four corners of the earth - including Ireland. "But Belarus was hardest hit", she explained, adding that the genetic impact of radiation is felt in third and fourth generation Belarusians - a genetic marker "which will continue forever". Adi Roche was speaking at an event marking the conclusion of the Roscrea Chernobyl Lifeline Project - read our full coverage of the event in this week's Midland Tribune and online at OffalyLive. The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) is appealing to eligible people to get a second Covid booster vaccine. The chair of the Farm Family and Social Affairs at the IFA, Alice Doyle, made the call today (Thursday June 30), stating she was "taken aback" to hear only 46% of eligible people have availed of the vaccine. She said, "I would like to re-iterate the advice that those over 65, and those with underlying conditions over the age of 12, should arrange to get their 2nd booster. According to an ESRI survey from July 2020 (Differences in Risk of Severe Outcomes from Covid-19 across Occupations in Ireland), agricultural workers such as farmers were highlighted as high risk for chronic illness due to the average age of people in the occupation. However, exposure to the virus may have been lowered due to the nature of farming work and the closure of gathering places such as marts. The latest data (April 2022) from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows over 95% of Local Electoral Areas (LEAs) have a Covid-19 booster vaccination rate of 60% or more. Male employees across all sectors aged 18-24 years have the lowest Covid-19 booster vaccine uptake rate at 45%, while those in the Accommodation and Food Service sector had the lowest uptake rate at 56%. Over 13,000 cases of Covid-19 have been reported in the week leading up to June 28, according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), with a 14-day rate of 495.4 per 100,000 people. Ms Doyle continued: "The clear advice from the HSE is that the vaccine offers the best protection, particularly for people who have underlying conditions. I would ask people to make an appointment as soon as possible." She confirmed the IFA will extend the appeal through their network to spread the message to as many people as possible. The people of Tralee in Kerry have remembered murdered school teacher Ashling Murphy by erecting a small shrine along the banks of the canal in the town. A black and white picture with candles recalls Ashling who lost her life on January 12 this year after she was attacked while she was exercising along the canal bank in Tullamore. A plaque with the words: There is no night without a dawning No winter without a spring And beyond the dark horizon. Our hearts will once more sing... For those who leave us for a while Have only gone away Out of a restless, care worn world Into a brighter day Last January over 500 people gathered in the square in Tralee to pay tribute to Ashling. It was one of many held throughout Kerry and across Ireland and indeed the world. The vigils also called for an end to violence against women. 31-year-old Jozef Puska, the man accused of murdering Ashling Murphy will go on trial at the Central Criminal Court on June 6 of next year. Mr Puska, with an address at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly is charged with murdering the 23-year-old primary school teacher at Cappincur, Tullamore on the afternoon of January 12, 2022. He will be tried before a jury and the case is expected to last between three and four weeks. He remains in custody until that date. On April 6, Mr Puska was sent forward for trial to the Central Criminal Court after being served with the book of evidence. Free legal aid was granted to include representation of junior and senior counsel at the trial. A Slovakian interpreter will also be required for all court dates. Ms Murphy, a talented traditional Irish musician and a graduate from Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, was working as a teacher at Durrow National School at the time of her death. The Chinese president arrives in Hong Kong to cement Beijings control and farewell CEO Carrie Lam. But hell have to live with the virus while there. NATO has for the first time in its history labelled China a security threat, saying its partnership with Russia is an attempt to undermine world order. The Kremlin portrayed the pullout as a goodwill gesture but Ukraines military claimed it had forced the Russians to flee. Ukraine says Moscow has "thrown practically all their forces" to capture the last remaining city of resistance in the eastern Donbas region. DW has the latest. Russia said the move was a "goodwill gesture" to allow the export of Ukrainian agricultural products. Meanwhile, fighting intensified in Lysychansk, in the Donbas region. DW has the latest. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he can still block NATO accession for Sweden and Finland if they renege on an agreement involving the extradition of 73 people. Zee News 30 Jun 2022 The oath ceremony of Eknath Shinde as the new Maharashtra CM will be held at 7.30 pm today, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis announced.. Maharashtra government formation: If the BJP wants to form a government on its own, it would take the support of all the rebel MLAs. It's the first time Xi has made a trip outside mainland China since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The visit is expected to showcase Beijing's control over Hong Kong after a political crackdown crushed dissent. 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. The BJP is set to return to power in the state with the support of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde after chief minister.. Mid-Day 30 Jun 2022 Vladimir Putin says Western leaders would look "disgusting" if they were to undress "above or below the waist". The UK government will spend 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2030, Boris Johnson has announced, as NATO's secretary general warned that the alliance must stand up to Vladimir Putin. The 186-kilometer long wall was built after Poland accused Belarus of "instrumentalizing" asylum-seekers in late 2021. Poland's prime minister claimed that the standoff was "the first sign" of Russia's war on Ukraine. Russia claims it is a gesture of goodwill, but the withdrawal from a Black Sea rock is a big defeat. Newsy 30 Jun 2022 Watch VideoThe Remain in Mexico Immigration Program is coming to an end, more than three years after it was first implemented by.. Activists and doctors have successfully had abortion bans temporarily blocked in several US states. In Florida, the presiding judge said that the state ban violated a woman's right to privacy. Survivors of the 2015 attacks spoke to the BBC after the sentencing of Salah Abdeslam and 19 others. The Chinese leader is expected to speak about Hong Kong's future at a ceremony Friday marking the return of the former British colony to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997. Hundreds of civilians were sheltering in the drama theater during the March siege of Mariupol, the southern Ukrainian port city that Russian troops destroyed and now occupy. Rumble 18 Jun 2022 Two American nationals have told RT that they surrendered to Russian forces after being abandoned by their Ukrainian commanders... Rumble 30 Jun 2022 Joe Biden spoke to NATO today in Spain to tell the world he's sending more weapons to Ukraine. This will not sit well with.. Opalesque Industry Update - Apex Group Ltd., a global financial services provider, today announces its appointment by Encore Capital Management to provide fund administration, investor reporting and tax services. Encore is a vertically integrated real estate developer, operator, and institutional investment management firm, with in excess of $2bn in Assets under Management. Encore has been a longstanding tax compliance and structuring client of FTS, a leading tax services provider, which saw a majority shareholding acquired by Apex Group in April 2022. With FTS becoming part of Apex Group, existing clients - such as Encore - are now benefitting from access to the Group's global, cross-jurisdictional reach and range of additional services including fund administration, digital banking, compliance solutions and ESG Ratings and Advisory. Apex was appointed by Encore due to its ability to offer both tax fund administration services through one relationship, underpinned by its functional and real estate industry experience and leading technology solutions. This announcement follows a period of accelerated new business growth for Apex's Americas business, with Real Estate client wins including American Ventures Partners, RailField Partners and Midtown Capital Partners. Fund Administration services form an integral part of Apex's single-source solution, which, according to a recent Total Economic Impact (TEI) report by Forrester Consulting, provides clients of Apex Group with a return on investment of 105% and cost benefits of $5.39m, with a net present value of $2.75m over a three-year period. William McEnroe, Founder of FTS, now part of Apex Group comments: "This appointment by Encore to provide fund administration services is evidence of the strategic rationale of the acquisition of a majority shareholding in FTS by Apex Group: our clients are now able to access a full suite of services, in addition to their existing tax compliance and structuring delivered by FTS' experienced team." Michael Sheahan, Global Head of Real Estate at Apex Group adds: "As the Real Estate asset class continues to see significant allocations from institutional investors, it is important that managers choose the right partners to support their administrative and operational needs as their funds scale. Apex's single-source solution, delivered by an experienced team, offers the efficiency and convenience of both fund administration and tax services delivered via one relationship." John F Chiste, CFO at Encore Capital Management further adds: "We have been an extremely satisfied client of FTS for over a decade and their acquisition by Apex Group has opened up an expanded range of new services, products and technologies to support our business. Apex's proven track record in the real estate industry combined with their range of solutions means that they are the perfect partner for Encore's ongoing operations." File photo: A ship conducts live-fire drills during the Rim of the Pacific exercise led by the US. The US military has carried out intensive training activities in the Indo-Pacific region since June. On June 2, the Navy of the US Indo-Pacific Command and the South Korean Navy held a joint maritime exercise on the high seas near Okinawa, Japan. On June 6, the US launched a large-scale exercise Valiant Shield 22. On June 8, the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade of the US Marine Corps stationed in Japan held a crisis response exercise. On June 15, the 199th Fighter Squadron stationed in Hawaii flew to Japan to conduct joint training with the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force. On, June 29, The Rim of the Pacific 2022 (RIMPAC 2022) exercise kicked off in Hawaii. In fact, the US military stationed in the Indo-Pacific holds more than 90 code-named drills with the military of countries in the region every year. The common goal of these exercises is to maintain US hegemony in the Indo-Pacific region. In recent years, in response to the so-called "majorcountries competition", the US has paid more attention to using the strength of its allies and partners to balance China and Russia. Controlling allies and influencing partners through joint exercises and training to build a US-led Indo-Pacific security order has become an important choice for the US to maintain its hegemony. On the one hand, the US has firmly grasped its traditional allies and strengthened its internal cohesion. In the past few years, the US and Japan, Australia, the ROK, the Philippines, Thailand, and other allies have carried out all-round, multi-domain, high-frequency joint exercises and training. The US intends to tie Japan and Australia to the American chariot through military integration and curb the centrifugal tendency of the three countries of the ROK, the Philippines, and Thailand. On the other hand, the US is actively expanding its partnership network and enhancing its capability to shape the Indo-Pacific region. To "focus on every corner of the Indo-Pacific", the US has conducted joint exercises and training with traditionally undervalued regional countries in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific. The US also took this opportunity to install a field information support communication system in maritime command centers in several Southeast Asian countries and integrated the maritime monitoring networks of these Southeast Asian countries into the US Indo-Pacific combat system. The US has also dispatched training advisory groups to Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga, and other South Pacific Island countries to guide and organize training and urge them to rely on the US in the military field and recognize the US in terms of values. In addition, the US has also brought in NATO allies to strengthen its presence in the Indo-Pacific region. In recent years, a "small multilateral" joint training model has emerged in the Indo-Pacific region, led by US Indo-Pacific allies, and participated by several NATO countries. In such drills, several NATO countries including the UK, France and Canada dispatched small ship formations to the Indo-Pacific region to participate in the drill and show a posture of supporting the US for their own interests. In recent years, the US has deployed its Army brigade combat teams to relevant Indo-Pacific countries through rotational training, so that they can learn about the local natural environment, customs, and friendly forces. The large-scale training activities carried out by the US military in the South China Sea and surrounding areas are also intended to collect environmental data and information such as meteorology, hydrology, seabed geology, and topography in the South China Sea in addition to deterring China. US activities in the Indo-Pacific region are all close-in training to get familiar with the preset battlefield environment. The current US competition with China is to use joint exercises and training to attract allies and establish exclusive "small circles" to create divisions and confrontations between countries. The anti-China military group formed by the US has the fundamental purpose to bring the Asia-Pacific region into the trap of geopolitical games and camp confrontation so that the US can reap the benefits. Drills including the US-Japan remote island defense exercise, the US-India alpine mountain exercise, and the US-Philippines joint island control exercise clearly point to disputes over territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests between these countries and China. By imparting combat skills and strengthening information sharing, the US has encouraged relevant countries to confront China. If not curbed, such practices of intensifying contradictions and inciting confrontation are likely to weaken the foundation of long-term peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and seriously affect regional peace, stability, development, and prosperity. BAY CITY, Mich. (AP) Authorities on Wednesday recovered the body of a man who disappeared after jumping from a pontoon boat in Saginaw Bay. A fisherman spotted the body of 58-year-old Timothy A. Wallschlager floating in the bay about 300 to 500 yards (275 to 450 meters) from Shelter and Channel Island and notified the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Bay County Sheriff Troy Cunningham said. CLEON TWP. There are three measures on the ballot for Cleon Township on Aug. 2. One of the proposals is a bond for a new fire hall and township hall, the second is a millage renewal for the fire departments operations and the third is a cemetery renewal proposition. The five-year cemetery renewal proposition aims to levy funds for cemetery operations in Cleon Township. It would levy $9,325. in the first year. Voters in the Cleon Township Fire Departments coverage area are also expected to decide on a millage renewal request for the departments operations. The fire department covers fire and emergency services for Cleon Township and Springdale Township. Mark Greiner, Cleon Township fire chief, said the millage renewal funds are essential to the departments existence. If the fire department millage doesnt get renewed we will not have a fire department, Greiner said. He said the fire department millage accounts for about 65%-70% of the departments operating costs and the remainder is covered through contracted services the department does through Springdale Township. My official position is that the residents and taxpayers of Cleon and Springdale townships have indicated that they want a fire department and they will pay for it. If they indicate sometime in the future that they dont want to pay for a fire department, they wont have one, he said. Greiner said the department also assists other first response agencies in the surrounding townships with emergency medical services. If you lived in Cleon Township and you felt sick and you needed to go to the hospital, we probably wouldnt get dispatched, he explained. If you lived in Cleon Township and you had some type of an accident an you were trapped or additional help was needed, we would get dispatched to that. Greiner noted that the departments primary mission is emergency response and its secondary goal is public service through community engagement. He said this can be fire prevention local schools, Heritage Days participation and even transporting Santa Clause to schools in the area around Christmas. We do find out that most people dont realize what a true firefighter, or fire department does, he said. We want to make sure that we engage with the folks that are in our community. We want them to know that if they need our help, they can call us and were going to help. Those connections have also helped the department at a time when many are struggling to find enough volunteer firefighters and when many are aging out of their positions. Greiner said the department recently brought in a 17-year-old local fire explorer who could one day be a firefighter with the department. File graphic Ballot language The ballot language for both millage renewals are is as follows: FIRE DEPARTMENT RENEWAL PROPOSITION Shall Cleon Township, Manistee County, Michigan renew the previous voted increases in the tax rate limitations imposed under article IX, sec. 6 of the Michigan Constitution in the amount of 1.2199 mills ($1.2199 per $1000 of taxable value), increased by an additional 0.0301 mill ($0.0301 per $1000 of taxable value) to offset previous millage rollbacks, resulting in a levy of 1.25 mills ($1.25 per $1000 of taxable value) for 5 years, 2022 through 2026 inclusive, for Fire Department operating purposes? The revenue would be disbursed to Cleon Township, and if approved, it is estimated that the revenue generated by this proposal in the first year the millage is levied would be $46,625. CEMETERY RENEWAL PROPOSITION "Shall Cleon Township, Manistee County, Michigan renew the previous voted increases in the tax rate limitations imposed under article IX, sec. 6 of the Michigan Constitution in the amount of .2439 mills ($0.2439 per $1000 of taxable value), increased by an additional 0.0061 mill ($0.0061 per $1000 of taxable value) to offset previous millage rollbacks, resulting in a levy of .25 mills ($0.25 per $1000 of taxable value) for 5 years, 2022 through 2026 inclusive, for cemetery operating purposes? The revenue would be disbursed to Cleon Township, and if approved, it is estimated that the revenue generated by this proposal in the first year the millage is levied would be $9,325." BRUSSELS (AP) The European Union and New Zealand said Thursday they have concluded a free trade deal after four years of negotiations and sealed a partnership to reinforce their cooperation against organized crime and terror groups. According to the EU, trade with New Zealand is expected to increase by 30% as a result of the deal, with removing tariffs alone saving businesses 140 million ($146 million) in duties per year. This is a historic moment, said Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EUs executive branch. It is a solid and it is a modern trade agreement. It brings major opportunities to our companies, our farmers, our consumers. And important: on both sides. The 27-nation bloc said Thursday that EU investment flows into New Zealand could increase by over 80%. Bilateral trade in goods between the two partners has risen steadily in recent years, reaching almost 7.8 billion in 2021. The EU is New Zealands third-biggest trade partner. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the deal provides duty free access for 97% of New Zealands current exports to the EU, with 91% being lifted on the day the deal will be implemented. Von der Leyen said the deal protects 200 European agri-food products with geographical indicators, and guarantees that almost all tariffs will be eliminated on EU exports to New Zealand. The deal will enter into force once the European Parliament has endorsed it and New Zealand ratified it. In addition, both sides agreed on a closer cooperation on law enforcement with a deal between New Zealand and Europol, the EUs crime agency. Von der Leyen said it will help prevent terror attacks that took place in previous years on EU and New Zealand soil, while addressing online terror content. DETROIT (AP) The state must release details about a tax credit granted to General Motors, the Michigan Supreme Court said Wednesday in a dispute over public access to information. In a 7-0 decision, the court ruled against the Michigan Economic Development Corp., part of state government, which had argued that GM's tax credit cap was protected from disclosure under law. TO THE EDITOR: Claims recently were made on the Opinion page of the Midland Daily News that the Midland County Democratic Party has endorsed Ann Manary, a Republican, for the 95th MI State House seat. This is false. The MCDP has not endorsed any candidate for Michigan House and will not do so until after the Aug. 2 primary election. We currently have two candidates running for the Democratic nomination for this seat: Matt Dawson of Midland and Larry Grell of Gladwin. We encourage all voters to learn more about our candidates. Both of the Democratic candidates will be attending the Northwood Candidate Forum on July 20 as well as other events. Please contact us if you would like to learn more. Michigan has an open primary law, which allows registered voters to vote in any primary they chose, though only one. It is your right as a voter to choose which primary you vote in and the MCDP supports your right to do so. We thank you for doing your civic duty and hope you will research all the candidates and make the choice that is right for you. JENNIFER AUSTIN Midland County Democratic Party Chair Director of Content and Operations Spencer McKee is OutThere Colorado's Director of Content and Operations. In his spare time, Spencer loves to hike, rock climb, and trail run. He's on a mission to summit all 58 of Colorado's fourteeners and has already climbed more than half. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) Expressing great concern that Libya is gripped by political and security uncertainty after the failure to hold national elections in December 2021 and expiration of the timeline for the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) roadmap, the African Union has once again called the countrys two chambers of parliament to reach an agreement on the constitutional basis for the elections Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan Minister of Oil and Gas, Mohamed Aoun, has participated, via zoom, in the 184th meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) devoted to the fine-tuning of the organisation's long-term vision Lisbon, Portugal (PANA) - Record levels of fisheries and aquaculture production are making a critical contribution to global food security, the UN Ocean Conference under way in Lisbon, Portugal, heard on Wednesday Photo: (Photo : Getty images ) BBC podcaster Dame Deborah James, 40, passed away after a five-year battle with cancer. In an Instagram post by her family, they said they were deeply saddened by the death of an amazing wife, daughter, sister, and mother. She passed away surrounded by her family. Her family described her as "amazing" and an "inspiration." In her final weeks, James has raised 6.75 million for research and was made a dame by Prince William of Cambridge for her "tireless" work in improving awareness about bowel cancer. James was a former deputy teacher who eventually became a cancer campaigner. She was diagnosed with bowel cancer in December 2016, and the doctors told her that she might not live beyond five years. She is survived by her kids, Hugo, 14; Eloise, 12, and her husband, Sebastien. On May 9, the presenter of the BBC podcast "You, Me And The Big C" shared a tear-jerking farewell message for her Instagram followers. She shared that she is moving into hospice-at-home care at her parents' house, surrounded by family, because her parents are not "playing ball," Daily Mail says. An inspiring, tireless dame In May, she was given damehood by Prince William at her parents' home. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge donated to the research fund. He praised her "tireless efforts" and gave hope to those with the disease. Dame James said that the visit was "surreal," admitting that their cleaning and preparation went off the scale, but it was irrelevant because Prince William was so kind. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that she was an inspiration to many even in her most challenging moments. According to The Independent, she encouraged everyone in her last podcast to take risks, love deeply and find a life worth enjoying. She also advised not to have regrets and always have a "rebellious hope." Finally, she urged to "check your poo as it could just save your life." Read Also: Tiktok Star Ophelia Nichols Ask for Help from 7M Followers to Find Her Son's Killer Bowelbabe Fund for Bowel Cancer James had raised millions for cancer research. She was known for her no-nonsense approach to talking about cancer as she shared her treatment experiences and daily life since she was diagnosed in 2016. According to her family, Dame James shared her cancer experience to "raise awareness, break down barriers, and challenge taboos." She also wanted to change the narratives around cancer. Her family said that her determination to raise money and awareness was inspiring even in her most challenging moments. After she learned about her cancer, she started a cancer blog. She then wrote for the Sun and eventually became a BBC broadcaster. She launched the Bowelbabe fund to raise money for personalized medicine research for cancer patients. She raised 1m in less than 24 hours, beyond her initial goal of 250,000. To date, she has raised almost 7m, BBC reports. The money raised through her Bowelbabe fund is for Bowel Cancer UK, Cancer Research UK, and the Royal Marsden Hospital - a specialist cancer treatment facility. Genevieve Edwards, chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK, said James had incredible power to connect with people, leaving a tremendous legacy behind her. Related Article: 12-Year-Old "Glass Bones" Boy Has Broken 100 Bones in His Lifetime Due to Osteogenesis Imperfecta Photo: (Photo : Getty images ) A father killed himself after he learned that he left his 18-month-old son in an overheated car for up to three hours while at work. When he realized his horrific mistake, he returned home with the dead child, took the child inside, walked out of the back door, and shot himself. According to The Sun, police learned about the double tragedy when they received a tip about a suicidal man in Chesterfield, Virginia, on Tuesday afternoon. On the way to the man's home, the police received a second call from one of the father's family members, saying there may be a deceased child in the house. The family member told the police that the 18-month-old child was never dropped off at the daycare center. Police think the father may have told the family member that he left the child in the car for three hours and was making suicidal statements. When the cops arrived at the man's home, they found a car in the driveway with one of the backdoors open and an empty car seat inside. When they went inside, they found the remains of the 18-month-old boy. The cops found the man dead in the family's backyard with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Double tragedy Chesterfield Police Lt Col Christopher Hensley said that at some point during the day, the father, who was found deceased, left the child in the car for a period causing the child's death. He returned home, took the child inside, and shot himself. Hensley said that it is a horrible tragedy on so many levels. He added that their hearts go out to the bereaved family and friends but noted that they would be remiss in not taking the opportunity to remind people of the importance of checking your vehicles before leaving them, The Independent says. Neither the father nor the toddler's identities have been released. The police said they have remained in contact with the dead child's mother and other family members as they continue their investigation. Read Also: Police Arrest Home Aid for Stealing and Poisoning 93-Year-Old Patient Pediatric hot car deaths According to NY Post, the toddler is the seventh child to die from being left inside a hot car and the 914th since 1998. On average, the National Safety Council (NSC) says that 38 children under 15 die from heatstroke after being left in a car. Children are most vulnerable as their body temperatures rise much more quickly than adults. They suffer from heat stroke when temperatures reach 104 degrees. Most pediatric hot car deaths happen because the caregiver forgets the child. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends that caregivers never leave children unattended in a car, even if the air conditioner is on or the windows are open. NHTSA also advises making it a habit to check the front and the back of the car before leaving it. To make sure that children are not left unattended in the car, place a personal item that you often carry, such as a purse or briefcase, in the backseat to ensure that someone checks there before walking away, CNN says. Related Article: Boy, 8, Kills Girl, 1, and Wounds Her 2-Year-Old Sister in a Motel Using Dad's Gun Photo: (Photo : Getty images ) Physicians performing abortion procedures in Illinois are saying they are bracing for a surge of patients seeking abortion and possible legal battles after neighboring Missouri towns enacted trigger laws that immediately restricted legal abortion access. According to Dr. Colleen McNicholas, the chief medical officer with Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, the staff at the clinic at Fairview Heights, Illinois, plans to add two to four hours a day to their schedule and operate seven days a week for the increased demand. The facility was built in 2019 in anticipation of tightened restrictions on abortions in nearby states, ABC News says. Missouri's trigger law prohibits physicians from performing an abortion unless the mother's life is at risk. It has no exception for rape or incest. McNicholas said that they are bracing for the impact. Losing Access to Basic Reproductive Health Care Missouri Republican State Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, who helped draft the trigger law in Missouri, said that she wants to prevent Missouri abortion providers from assisting patients in getting abortions in other states as it violates the new Missouri law. For Coleman, if a facility in Missouri is arranging for abortion in another state, it violates the new Missouri law. Vanity Fair reports that early this year, Missouri state representative Mary Elizabeth Coleman introduced a provision that would allow private citizens to sue anyone they suspect of helping a Missouri resident get an abortion in another state. McNicholas said that they have been expecting these crackdown activities. However, she admitted that it is "soul-crushing" that the U.S. just allowed at least half of the people in the country to lose access to basic reproductive healthcare. Recently, she said that their facility has been receiving calls as far as Mississippi as states began restricting legal abortion access this year. A patient drove for nine hours from Houston shortly after Texas enacted its Trigger Law. She said the patient went from one clinic to another until she got to their facility. Twenty minutes later, she had her abortion medication and got back in the car to drive for another nine hours back to Houston. According to McNicholas, an estimated rise of around 30,000 women will seek abortion this year, and half of these patients will come to southern Illinois. To prepare for a surge of patients, she is working to increase funding and resources of their facility. Read Also: Ashley Graham Shares About Harrowing Near-Death Experience While Giving Birth to Twins Difficulty finding clinics in states that allow abortion for rape and incest Meanwhile, physicians in states that allow abortion for rape and incest are struggling with how they might help their patients seeking an abortion. According to Giovannina Anthony, one of two providers in Wyoming's only abort clinic, the state's vaguely written ban does not specify how a doctor will determine the validity of a patient's claim will soon take effect. Violating the law would mean 14 years in prison. While the law allows people to terminate pregnancy in cases of rape and incest, it would be easier to get patients across state lines for an abortion. Clinics planning to move their operations across state lines might leave patients in their states with no providers that are willing to offer abortion in cases of rape and incest, Politico reports. Related Article: New Breakthrough Study May Explain Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS Photo: (Photo : Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) The viral Burger King grandpa has finally reunited with his daughter and grandchildren after nearly four years apart, and he's been touched by the outpouring of support he received from thousands of netizens, who donated to his fundraiser so that he can enjoy his retirement. Kevin Ford, 54, was in tears when he finally hugged his family in person on the "Today" show. He hadn't seen them even before the pandemic because Ford was so dedicated to his work as the manager of the Burger King branch at the Las Vegas Airport, where he never missed a day of work. That's actually how he became a viral sensation. On May 25, a video on Instagram showed Ford expressing his appreciation for his gift from his company, HMSHost, which owns Burger King and Cinnabon. He was celebrating his 27th year of service and received a Starbucks tumbler, some pens, a movie ticket, and candies from his employers. Despite COVID-19 and his other obligations as a single father of four, whose kids were then completing their college degrees, Ford was consistently reporting for work. However, some people thought he deserved more than what he got as an anniversary gift, although Ford wasn't complaining. He was still very grateful to have been acknowledged with the presents because he knows others do not get the same privilege. Read Also: Police Arrest Grandfather for Unlawful Conduct After Grandson Brings His Gun to School to Shoot Zombies Fundraiser for Viral Burger King Grandpa Seryna, one of his children, then opened a GoFundme in the hopes of receiving $200 for a plane ticket so that her father could fly to them and see his grandchildren again. She wrote that she was not expecting anything, but she was hoping kind hearts would see that it would be a blessing for Ford to visit his grandkids. Over 8,200 people have donated to the fundraiser within ten days, reaching nearly $265,000 as of press time. The daughter also wrote about her father's dedication to his work so that he could provide for his kids. Ford was a single father for a while before he remarried. However, he continued to work for the same company because of its amazing health insurance package. "[His work] got all four of his daughters through high school and college with full healthcare coverage," Seryna said. Speaking with Today, Ford still could not believe the support from strangers. Some of those who donated were all the way from the United Kingdom and Australia. Even comedian and Hollywood star David Spade donated $5,000 for the viral Burger King grandpa. Seryna, on the other hand, said that the outpouring meant a lot to their family because she truly believes her father "deserves the world" for his sacrifices. Ford's employers also extended a message for him via "Today" to say that he is a valuable member of the company. Viral Burger King Grandpa to Send Grandkids to College Meanwhile, after thanking the public for their generosity, Ford said he would use part of the money for his grandchildren's college fund, per Daily Mail. He confessed to crying for several days because of the people's kindness. Asked why he never took a day off from work, the grandfather admitted that he did not know the answer to this and joked that he's probably a robot. Turning serious, Ford said that all he wanted was to work hard, be a good citizen, and be grateful every day. He is also hoping that he will make an impression on his grandkids. One of his oldest grandsons said that his grandfather's story had taught him not to be greedy. Related Article: Father Stands Guard Outside Daughter's School, Where His Wife Also Works, to Protect Them from Shooters Photo: (Photo : Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) Lois "Bunny" Drueke, the mom of a U.S. military veteran who went missing after he traveled to help Ukraine in its war against Russia, has spoken with her son by telephone, the family announced on Wednesday, June 29. The Tuscaloosa native answered a call from what appeared to be a Russian exchange and was able to talk to her son Alex Drueke for nearly 10 minutes on Tuesday, June 28, according to the Associated Press. It was their first conversation since Alex and Andy Huynh, another Alabama military veteran who traveled to Ukraine, were captured after a fight earlier this month in the war-torn country. Drueke said in a statement released by her family that the captors holding her son were anxious to begin negotiations and that Alex had food, water, and bedding. She added that her son sounded tired and stressed and was reciting some things he had been made to practice or read. The worried mom said it was still wonderful to hear her son's voice and know he was alive and alright. No contact between Drueke and Huynh for several days now According to the mother, Alex said he had not been in contact with Huynh for several days now. The United States has said that both men should be protected under the Geneva Conventions as prisoners of war. Joy Black, Huyhn's fiance, said his family was thrilled that Alex was able to speak with his mom, and they are still hoping to get a similar communication from Andy in the future. Drueke and Huynh did not return to a meeting spot after their group came under heavy fire from Russian troops in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border on June 9. The two military veterans traveled separately to help Ukraine in the war against Russia. Their relatives said they became buddies there in part because of their shared Alabama background, according to CBS News. The U.S. State Department said it was looking into reports that Russian or Russian-backed separatist forces had captured at least two American citizens in Ukraine. If confirmed, they would be the first Americans fighting for the country of Ukraine known to have been captured since the war started on February 24. Read Also: New Jersey Mom Gets 5 Years in Prison for Assaulting Daughter Who Suffered Serious Brain Injuries Civilian casualties rising in Ukraine as the war intensifies According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), they have recorded 10,631 civilian casualties in Ukraine since the conflict started on February 24. A total of 4,731 people had been killed in the war - 1,812 men, 1,225 women, 155 boys, and 134 girls, as well as 1,364 adults and 41 children whose sex is yet unknown. A total of 5,900 people had been injured in the war, broken down to 1,196 men, 829 women, 174 boys, and 131 girls, as well as 3,386 adults and 184 children whose sex is yet unknown. Most of the casualties have been recorded in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, with 2,773 people killed and 3,256 injured. Related Article: New Jersey Mom Shocked After Autopsy Shows Son's Treatment During Navy Seal Hell Week Training Photo: (Photo : CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) More than a day after the gruesome discovery of 53 dead migrants in a stifling big rig in San Antonio, Texas, few identities of the victims have been made public, illustrating the challenges authorities are facing in tracing people who cross borders clandestinely. According to Bexar County Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores, representing the district where the truck was abandoned, medical examiners had potentially identified 34 victims by Tuesday afternoon. The identities of those victims have yet to be confirmed, pending additional steps, such as fingerprints, according to NBC News. Clay-Flores described it as a challenge with no timeline on when the process might be finished. She told reporters that it is a tedious, sad, and difficult process. Children among the victims in deadliest human smuggling case in U.S. history The bodies were discovered on the outskirts of San Antonio on Monday afternoon in what is believed to be the country's deadliest smuggling episode at the U.S.-Mexico border. More than a dozen people found in the truck were taken to hospitals, including four children. Three people have been arrested in connection with the human smuggling case. The unfortunate tragedy occurred at a time when huge numbers of migrants have been coming to the United States, many of them taking dangerous risks to cross scorching desert landscapes and swift rivers and canals. Migrants were stopped nearly 240,000 times in May, up by a third from a year ago, according to CBS News. With little information being released about the victims, desperate families of migrants from Central America and Mexico frantically sought word of their loved ones. According to Ruben Minutti, the Mexico consul general in San Antonio, 27 dead migrants found in the truck are believed to be of Mexican origin based on the documents they were carrying. Read Also: Teenagers Among 51 Migrants Found Dead Inside Abandoned Truck in San Antonio, Texas Migrants came from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador He added that several survivors were in critical condition with injuries such as internal bleeding and brain damage. Officials said about 30 people had already reached out to the Mexican Consulate looking for their loved ones. Guatemala's foreign ministry announced late on Tuesday that it had confirmed two hospitalized Guatemalans and was working to identify three possible Guatemalans among the dead migrants. Honduras' foreign relations ministry said it was also working to confirm the identities of four people who carried Honduran papers that died in the truck. According to Eva Ferrufino, spokeswoman for Honduras' foreign ministry, her agency is working with the Honduras consulate in south Texas to match the names and fingerprints of the victims and complete identifications. The process is painstaking because among the pitfalls are stolen or fake documents. Mexico's foreign affairs secretary identified two people hospitalized in San Antonio on Tuesday morning, but it turned out that one of the identification cards he shared on Twitter had been stolen last year in the southern state of Chiapas in Mexico. The suspected driver of the truck and an accused conspirator was charged in the U.S. federal court with human trafficking offenses on Wednesday, June 29, according to Reuters. Related Article: Indiana Mom Draws a Heart on Her Children's Hands Every Morning in Case of School Shooting Photo: (Photo : Getty images ) A 13-year-old boy confessed that he helped dispose of his aunt's body after his mom allegedly shot her dead in April. The mother, Carmen White, 38, is now charged with capital murder with a $750,000 bond. According to Houston Police, the investigation started on April 1, when someone reported a burned body near an industrial metal work business. Upon autopsy, authorities learned that the body was Cynthia Cervantes, 37, White's sister. Police noted that the body had been shot multiple times before it was set on fire. They then identified White as a suspect in an initial investigation. She was arrested on June 27 for capital murder charges, The Sun reports. Gruesome murder confession of a 13-year-old boy White's 13-year-old son confessed that his mom forced him to move his dead aunt's body. He said he was at the park when his mother showed up and asked him to follow her. He said he followed his mother to the apartment complex dumpster, where she allegedly instructed him to assist her in lifting a bag of unknown items from the dumpster area and placing it in the trunk of her vehicle. The teen told police that when he reached and lifted what felt like human legs, he dropped them back to the ground. The boy narrated his mom became "very angry" and forced him to pick up the body and take it to the vehicle. When the son resisted again, White became "extremely aggressive." Fearing what she might do to him, he followed her instructions, ABC 13 said. He said he then went to his apartment and slept. Another witness said that White contacted him on March 31 to help her dispose of a body in exchange for sexual favors. He relayed that White picked him up and took him to a vacant unit below her apartment, where she showed him a body. She said she needed help in moving the body to her vehicle in exchange for sexual favors as payment. He noted that the body was wrapped in a garbage bag, but he could see that the person was deceased. He declined and asked White to drive him home. Police believe that when the witness declined her request, White asked for the son's help in moving the body. Police said that video footage showed that White's vehicle, a gray Chevrolet HHR, was at the location where the body was dumped for six to seven minutes before driving off on April 1. They also found traces of Cervantes' blood in her car. Read Also: Double Tragedy: Father Kills Himself After Finding He Left His 18-Month-Old Son Dead in Car An act of retaliation According to People, a witness told the police that White was angry with her sister, Cynthia Cervantes, for calling the police on her in February. The deceased sister reported her for "terroristic threats." When she was arrested for the charges, methamphetamine was found in her possession. White was reportedly mad as the complaint caused her to be jailed and her previous car to get towed, which she still has not recovered from the tow lot. Related Article: Boy, 8, Kills Girl, 1, and Wounds Her 2-Year-Old Sister in a Motel Using Dad's Gun Photo: (Photo : AXEL SCHMIDT/DDP/AFP via Getty Images) Police said that an eight-year-old boy who went missing for over a week had been found alive inside the sewer system near his home in northwestern Germany, according to NBC News. The boy, who German police identified only as Joe, went missing on June 17, prompting a huge search operation by authorities. There was finally some good news after police in Oldenburg found the child under a manhole cover eight days after he disappeared. The boy's discovery happened following a tip from a member of the public who heard sounds from beneath the street. Police issued a statement on Tuesday, June 28, saying that after evaluating all traces and clues, the officers now assume that Joe crawled through a drain into the rainwater sewer system on the day of his disappearance and lost his orientation after several meters. The boy was severely dehydrated and hypothermic when found According to German police, they have ruled out third-party negligence at this point. They added that the boy did not have any serious injuries but was severely hypothermic and dehydrated despite being completely undressed. Police said the boy lost his bearings in the system and could no longer find an exit. After the boy climbed along the pipe for 23 meters (75 feet), police said the child followed the sewer system through a plastic pipe with a diameter of just 60 centimeters (23.6 inches). Some of Joe's clothes were found in this pipe. The kid was able to move through sewer shafts and junctions to reach the area under the manhole cover where he was eventually found. Officers launched a homicide investigation at one point after receiving a tip that the young boy had been seen in the company of an unknown person, which later proved false. According to CNN, Joe was found just 1,000 feet from his home address and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was treated for dehydration and hypothermia. He remains in the hospital and has not yet been able to tell the police his full story in detail. Read Also: Olympic Star Lindsey Vonn Pays Tribute to Mom Who Has ALS in Emotional Hall of Fame Speech Joe became disoriented inside the sewer system An initial police report described the boy as having a learning disability. While the search for Joe was ongoing, they said he might misinterpret it as a game and continue hiding. In accordance with Germany's privacy laws, Joe's surname has not been made public. Investigators started scanning the drainage system for clues about how he disappeared immediately. The authorities concluded that the boy most likely climbed into a concrete drainage pipe while playing. He crawled through a canal into the sewer system and got lost after several meters. Joe told German police in an initial statement that he became increasingly disoriented while he got stuck in the sewers and could not find his way out. Police spokesman Stephan Klatte said they are so happy, labeling Joe's discovery as absolute luck, according to a report by ITV News. Related Article: Biden Calls on Congress to Approve 3-month Gas Tax Holiday as American Families Struggle Against Rising Costs Hamad International Airport (HIA) in Qatar has launched a Digital Twin initiative as part of its smart airport program to provide a real-time view of the airport through a 3D interface. The digital twins analytical engine integrates information from multiple airport systems to provide recommendations to help optimize operations. The development combined 3D modeling techniques, data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver faster and more data-driven decision making. The digital twin manages aircraft stand conflicts, improves responses to alerts and monitors the health of critical airport assets. Additionally, it uses data to optimize resources and minimize asset downtime. HIAs Digital Twin initiative has been recognized as the Smart Solution of the Year, earning it an award at the Qatar IT Business Awards. HIA was also named the Worlds Best Airport of 2022 at the Skytrax awards at Passenger Terminal Expo 2022. ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write(' ') } // --> ') } else if (width >= 425) { console.log ('largescreen'); document.write('') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> Suhail Kadri, senior vice president of technology and innovation at Hamad International Airport, stated, Hamad International Airport, in conjunction with industry partner SITA, is actively shaping the future of the airport industry by being one of the few airports in the world to develop a functioning digital twin and experiment with challenging use cases, ushering in a new era of efficiency. This one-of-a-kind technology will continue to mature and radically change how operational teams across the airport consume information and make decisions. We are delighted to be first movers in this area and accelerate the adoption of this breakthrough technology, which will ultimately benefit passengers, our airline partners and all airport stakeholders. Hani El-Assaad, SITA president, Middle East and Africa, said, Many congratulations to HIA for winning the Smart Solution of the Year award. Were delighted that our digital twin technology was part of that win. Digital twin has huge potential for airports looking to streamline their operations, which are hugely complex, involving many stakeholders, assets and activities. By creating the digital twin of an airport, we can capture everything that is happening at the airport in a holistic view. This has enabled HIA to make more informed decisions and improve their operations. (Click on image to Greatly Enlarge) In January, Apple TV+ announced a series order for a new original live-action series from Legendarys Monsterverse franchise. Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking new reality that monsters are real, the series explores one familys journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch. Legendarys Monsterverse is an expansive story universe of multi-layered experiences centering around humanitys battle to survive in a world that is under siege by a catastrophic new reality the monsters of our myths and legends are real. In Apples first update on the series were learning that theyve chosen five cast members as follows: Anna Sawai, Ren Watabe, Kiersey Clemons, Joe Tippett and Elisa Lasowski. Sawai (Pachinko and F9) will star as Cate, a former schoolteacher and a G-Day survivor. She travels to Japan to settle family affairs but instead uncovers a family secret. Lasowski (Versailles) will appear as Duvall, an expert operative with unwavering confidence in herself and her skills Tippett (Mare of Easttown, The Morning Show, Rise) stars as Tim, an office drone who dreams of secret agent adventure. Clemons (Hearts Beat Loud, The Young Wife) stars as May, an American ex-pat who can decipher codes. Watabe (461 Days of Bento) will play Kentaro who will embark on a quest to learn more about his revered yet mysterious father and discover his own talents in the process. For more, read the full report from Variety. New Family Comedy Best Foot Forward (Click on image to Greatly Enlarge) Apple TV+ has released the trailer for their new family comedy titled Best Foot Forward, premiering Friday, July 22. Based on the book Just Dont Fall by real-life paralympic athlete, author, motivational speaker and comedian Josh Sundquist, the live-action series follows 12-year-old Josh Dubin as he goes from homeschool to public school, eager to experience everything middle school has to offer! But along the way, Josh also faces a brand-new set of challenges, including how to get an entire school of kids to see past his prosthetic leg, and get to know him for who he is. With the support of his parents and the help of his best friends Kyle and Gabriella, Josh learns, laughs and grows, eager to come back every day for more. For more, read Apples full press release. Archive: Apple TV News For years, Ive assumed that most people dont need third-party antivirus tools and have cheerily passed this suggestion along to others. After all, Microsofts Windows Security suite (also known as Windows Defender or Microsoft Defender) provides built-in virus protection for your PC, and it doesnt cost a dime. Ive been using it for years, and the last time I can recall having virus problems on my PC was well over a decade ago. And yet, looking around for confirmation of this long-held belief quickly turns up an alternate universe, full of experts who insist that everyone should be paying for antivirus software. This advice comes not just from the companies that sell antivirus suites, but from reputable sites that perform antivirus software reviews (PCWorld included). On top of that, nearly every laptop Ive reviewed for PCWorld has come with some form of antivirus trialware from companies like McAfee and Norton. Those companies pay PC makers for placement, which wouldnt make sense if no one bought the products, right? At this point, Ive heard enough questions from readersand family membersthat I decided to dig a little deeper. What Ive learned is that my initial assumptions were mostly correct: Most people can indeed skate by without extra antivirus software. But that doesnt mean everyone should, or that you shouldnt take any extra precautions to stay safe. The case against extra antivirus software As an initial sanity check on my antivirus assumptions, I did the most obvious thing possible and put out the question on Twitter: Does Microsofts built-in Windows Security software provide enough protection for typical PC users? The consensus answer was yes, with caveats. Jared Newman / Foundry Justin Duino of How-To Geek pointed to his sites helpful article on the subject, which recommended Windows Security in conjunction with Malwarebytes free malware scanner. My fellow freelance journalist Rob Pegoraro also called out a Wirecutter article that came to the same conclusion. Another writer chimed in with a similar recommendation. The reasoning is simple: Windows Security rivals other programs at sniffing out viruses. While this wasnt always the case, Microsofts detection has improved considerably in recent years, to the point that the independent AV-TEST Institute regularly awards it a perfect 6 out 6 in protection, usability, and performance, beating industry averages. Perhaps more importantly, security is decentralized now, so a single virus scanner is no longer your only line of protection. Some examples: Major web browsers can detect and block malicious websites on their own, thanks to tools like Google Safe Browsing. Those browsers may also warn you if youre about to download an unrecognized program. Major email providers, such as Gmail and Yahoo, scan attachments for viruses before you can even download them. Those same email providers spam filters do a great job at keeping malicious emails out of your inbox and warning you of potential phishing schemes. The SmartScreen filter built into Windows will warn you if youre attempting to install unrecognized software. Antivirus, in the end, is just another line of defense. For most people, Microsofts built-in defenses should be strong enough. Getting a second opinion Malwarebytes might find some potential threats that Windows Security misses. Jared Newman / Foundry So why to do some folks recommend Malwarebytes as an additional layer of protection? Mainly because its nice to have another set of eyes on your computer. Last year, for instance, I ran a scan in Malwarebytes, and picked up a set of potentially unwanted programs tied to my installation of Chrome. While my Chrome installation seemed to be working finewith no sketchy toolbars or search redirects that I could seethis did convince me to delete my sync data from Chrome, reset its settings, and perform a fresh Chrome install. (I suspect it was a browser extension behaving badly.) But Malwarebytes has its downsides as well. If youre not careful during installation, it will automatically install its own extension in all your browsers, and the free version routinely nags you with upgrade prompts. Also, unless you disable its real-time protections (which are only available as a 14-day trial for free users), theyll override Microsofts own virus scanner. I may still occasionally install Malwarebytes to get a second opinion on my computers health, but for now, Im leaving it off my PC as well. The case for extra antivirus protection Tools like Norton 360 provide more than just virus scanning. Ian Paul / Foundry To be clear, third-party antivirus software isnt a grift with no actual utility behind it. While most people dont need to pay for antivirus software, there are still some reasons to consider doing so: You need more help with security: Some antivirus programs offer extra security features beyond the realm of traditional virus scanning. Avast, for instance, can monitor webcam use and let you block untrusted apps from capturing video, and it can also alert you if any of your online passwords are involved in a security breach. Some antivirus programs offer extra security features beyond the realm of traditional virus scanning. Avast, for instance, can monitor webcam use and let you block untrusted apps from capturing video, and it can also alert you if any of your online passwords are involved in a security breach. Youre looking to bundle: In addition to extra security features, some antivirus programs offer tools that you might otherwise purchase separately. Norton 360 Deluxe, for instance, includes its own password manager and cloud storage service. Avast One has a built-in VPN and a temporary file cleaner. In addition to extra security features, some antivirus programs offer tools that you might otherwise purchase separately. Norton 360 Deluxe, for instance, includes its own password manager and cloud storage service. Avast One has a built-in VPN and a temporary file cleaner. You want more kinds of protection: Some third-party tools offer additional methods of protection that arent built into Windows. AVGs Behavior Shield, for instance, can look for patterns of malicious behavior even when it hasnt detected a virus, while Avast One has ransomware protection that prevents apps from encrypting your files without permission. (Windows offers this as well, but not by default.) Antivirus suites also typically provide protection for mobile devices as well as personal computers. All of these extra features, however, can bloat up your computer, affecting performance and getting in your way, and they might not even be the best tools for the job. Id much rather use a dedicated password manager than one thats bundled with antivirus software, and if I needed a VPN, Id want to choose the provider myself. While extra antivirus software was essential in the early days of personal computing, these days its just one potential tool in the broader security arsenal, which should also include strong passwords, two-factor authentication, robust data backups, and a healthy dose of common sense. On that, at least, the experts seem to be in total harmony. Want more tech advice like this? Sign up for my Advisorator newsletter, where a version of this column originally appeared. Googles ambitions to become your only password manager strengthened Friday with several security updates across the Chrome and mobile, including iOS. Google said it will administer site logins on Android, create new passwords for those that may have been compromised, and more. Google declined to offer a timetable for these changes to be implemented, saying that they would be rolled out over the next couple of months. Interestingly, Google said that it would step in to manage passwords on iPhones. You can already authorize Google to manage and store passwords on Android, of course, but Google said it will offer iPhones the same capability. With Apples tendency to strictly manage apps and their implementation on iOS, Google seems to be sidestepping Apple by moving some of this functionality to its browser. Google will add touch-to-fill capabilities to Android in the coming months. Google Android, though, remains Googles playground, and youll see several password-specific improvements arriving on Android phones. For one, Google today offers the capability to autofill passwords for various sites, by taking your username and autofilling the password. Google said it will add an improvement called Touch-To-Fill over the coming months, automatically logging you in via just a touch that will simplify the process slightly further. If youd like to manage your existing passwords, Google will allow that, too: youll be able to add a shortcut to your stored passwords on your Android phones homescreen though not iOS, Google said. Googles automated password checker is also being improved. Google already periodically looks at your passwords and determines if theyre on a list of breached credentials. If so, it recommends that you change them. The improved Password Checkup feature will now allow you to change those passwords without going through the sites password update process, which usually relies on passcodes being emailed back and forth. Warnings about compromised passwords will now be sent to Chrome users on Android, Chrome OS, iOS, Linux and Windows. Users will also be able to manually add their own existing passwords to Googles password manager, too, Google said. Fidelity Bank, the largest privately-owned Ghanaian bank, has recorded a 32% increase in profit before tax (PBT) for 2021. This came to light at the Banks recent Annual General Meeting (AGM) which was held virtually for its shareholders to review the performance of the bank for the year ended December 31st, 2021. Within the period under review, the Bank posted a strong growth in key financial metrics across its various business segments. In addition to the record increase in PBT, the bank also recorded a revenue of GH 1.1 billion, 14% above the 2021 figure. Addressing shareholders at the AGM, Board Chairman of Fidelity Bank Ghana, Edward Effah, stated that despite significant external and domestic challenges, the bank remained resilient, turning in a strong performance in 2021. He further indicated that this buoyant performance was largely underpinned by the Banks all-encompassing transformation journey which has seen Fidelity leverage cutting edge technology to enhance convenience and deliver superior customer experience across the Banks various touchpoints. Mr. Effah stated that, the Groups balance sheet remained robust with a significant year-on-year increase of 44% to close the year at GH 13.36 billion, an increase from GH 9.28 billion in 2020. The growth was funded mainly from an increase in customer deposits and short-term borrowings that financed corresponding short-dated investments. Mr. Effah further asserted that Looking ahead, I have great confidence in the future of our Bank. Regardless of market conditions, our focus will always remain on what has sustained Fidelity Bank over the last 15 years: our people, our culture, and above all, our response to the evolving needs of our clients. In doing so, we are well-positioned to compete even better in the years ahead and to deliver higher, more sustainable returns for our shareholders and other stakeholders. At the AGM, the Bank reiterated the significant impact of its investments in digital innovations during the year under review in line with its transformation agenda. Consequently, by the end of 2021, 89% of all transactions were carried out via the banks digital channels. This impressive feat bears testament to Fidelitys leadership in digital banking and its remarkable success in migrating customers unto digital platforms. In his report at the AGM, the Managing Director of the Bank, Julian Opuni, stated that, 2021 marked the Banks fifteen years of existence as a commercial bank. Fifteen (15) years down the line, we are pleased with the successes we have chalked over the years with support from all our stakeholders and we believe that we are well positioned to continuously serve our customers better. He added that, the banks ambition of becoming a top 3 bank in Ghana by 2024 is on course with a focus on some key areas to achieve this mandate: digital innovation, data insights, value chain optimization, fit for future technology and talent optimization. He also stated that the banks transformation journey has already yielded some significant gains for the bank. Through the efforts of the Transformation Office, Fidelity achieved 113% of its revenue target for the year and mobilized low-cost deposits in excess of GH 240 million. The Bank also gave shareholders an overview of their notable accomplishments and honors received during the fiscal period under consideration. Consequent to the Banks remarkable business performance in 2021, the Bank and its leadership were duly recognized and accorded several laurels by reputable local and international organizations within the period. These include: The Bank of the Year Award at the Ghana Business Awards, Best Bank in Ghana by EMEA Finance, Best Treasury & Cash Management Bank in Ghana Award by the Global Finance Magazine, Agency Banking Bank of the Year Award by Instinct Business Finance Innovation, Outstanding response to COVID-19 and SME Loans Award by the Middle East and Africa Retail Innovation Banking Awards among others. The remarkable growth of Fidelity Bank over the last 15 years is testament to the vision and resilience of the leadership and staff of the bank, both past and present. Fidelitys story shows that the indomitable Ghanaian entrepreneurial spirit is still alive and demonstrates that it can be done in Ghana by Ghanaians. Fidelity Bank Ghana is optimistic that in 2022 and beyond, buoyed by the impact of its ongoing Transformation Agenda, it will continue to leverage on technology and the Banks strategy, people, and systems to give customers a satisfying banking experience and enhance shareholder value. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited has been named the Most Safety and Security Conscious Company of the Year, Best Company in Data Security Management and Best Company in Fire Safety and Security Management at the 2022 Health, Environment, Safety & Security (HESS) Awards held recently at the Movenpick Hotel in Accra. The Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Ghana, Julian Opuni emerged winner of the HESS Exemplary Leadership Award (Banking & Finance), while the Environment, Health & Safety Manager of the Bank, Ebenezer Gbolonyo, was adjudged the HESS Male Personality of the Year. The HESS award seeks to identify and celebrate health, safety and security-conscious companies who exhibit exceptional leadership and innovation in occupational Health, the Environment and Employee Stakeholder Safety and Security. Speaking on the awards garnered, Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Julian Opuni stated that these awards are a testament to the Banks commitment to safety in all spheres of their business. Winning five awards in an award scheme that recognizes the efforts of organizations in prioritizing health, safety, security and the environment is something Fidelity Bank is most proud of. This is a validation of all the work we do to ensure the safety of all stakeholders. We wish to express our appreciation to the organizers for this enormous recognition. I have no doubt that these awards will spur us on to do better than we already have. I also wish to dedicate these awards to all hardworking staff of Fidelity Bank and our loyal customers whose support and loyalty continues to urge us on to greater heights the Fidelity MD added. Fidelity Bank was adjudged winner in these categories taking into consideration its periodic security awareness training for all staff and partner agents, the recent upgrade of its electronic systems as well as steps the bank has taken to put in place a remote backup for CCTV footage with AI functionality. Additionally, the Banks initiative to train staff on general Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) issues including emergency preparedness and procedures with respect to first aid and use of appropriate HSE signs as well as fire, flood and other occupational disasters were factored into the awards. The banks capacity to monitor their full branch network, office ATMs and other collection points in real time through an internet protocol from a central monitoring station, among other things were also major factors leading to the recognition. Fidelity Bank's attainment of globally standardized ISO and PCI-DSS certifications were also acknowledged and contributed to the accolade of Best Company in Data Security Management. The Bank continues to validate its positioning as an indigenous business with global standards and a pacesetter in innovation. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Sri Lankan doctors and other medical staff, as well as teachers, will take to the streets on Wednesday to demand that the government solve a severe fuel shortage at the heart of the South Asian country's worst economic crisis in decades. Weeks of street demonstrations against cascading problems including power cuts and shortages of food and medicine escalated last month when nine people were killed and about 300 were injured, leading to the resignation of the prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the older brother of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The government, left with only enough fuel to last about a week, on Tuesday restricted supplies to essential services, like trains, buses and the health sector, for two weeks. But doctors, nurses and other medical staff say that even though they are deemed essential workers, they struggle to find fuel to get to work. "This is an impossible situation, the government has to give us a solution," H. M. Mediwatta, secretary of one of Sri Lanka's largest nursing unions, the All Island Nurses Union, told reporters. Sri Lanka's most serious economic crisis since independence in 1948 comes after COVID-19 battered its tourism-reliant economy and slashed remittances from its overseas workers. Rising oil prices, populist tax cuts and a seven-month ban on the import of chemical fertilisers last year that devastated agriculture have compounded the woes. Mediwatta explained how special token meant to ensure medical staff can buy fuel were being ignored at the petrol pumps. "The people at the pump won't let us get ahead in the line ... We cannot be on time for our shifts." Public health inspectors and other health service workers are also on strike on Wednesday and Thursday. The island nation of 22 million people has nearly run out of usable foreign exchange reserves to import essentials including food, medicine, petrol and diesel. With a growing sense of crisis, many people have been detained trying to flee the country by boat. read more The government is also looking abroad for help. Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera on Tuesday met Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar's minister of state for energy affairs and the CEO of Qatar Energy in a bid to secure fuel. Wijesekera is also seeking a credit line from the Qatar Fund for Development. Another Sri Lankan minister will travel to Russia at the weekend in search of energy deals. read more U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged $20 million for Sri Lanka to feed more than 800,000 children and 27,000 pregnant women and lactating mothers for the next 15 months, President Rajapaksa said. Investment firm Asia Securities said the shortages of fuel and other essentials, dwindling reserves, and low fiscal space would remain key concerns for the rest of the year. The economy could contract by 7.5% to 9.0% year on year, compared with its previous forecast of a contraction of about 5.5%. The economy grew by 3.3% last year, it said. "This combined with low USD liquidity and rising rates looks to dampen economic productivity for the medium term," it said. Source: Reuters 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 Two non-profit organisations have started constructing an emergency and trauma centre for the Yendi Municipal Hospital in the Northern Region. Mission 318 of the United States of America is constructing the $400,000 30-bed centre, in partnership with Global Mission Resource Centre, to cater for emergencies at the facility. The two organisations have since 2008 been carrying out medical outreach programmes where doctors and nurses from the United States perform free surgeries for patients suffering from hernia, goiter and fibroid, among other diseases, at the hospital. Construction works at the centre are currently 97 per cent completed, and the centre is expected to be handed over for use next month. The Founder and Executive Director of Global Resource Centre, Reverend Emmanuel Kwabena Mustapha, announced the start of the project during a media briefing in Yendi. The municipal hospital serves people in the eastern corridor of the region, where the lack of such a facility means referring patients under emergency conditions to the Tamale Teaching Hospital. The hospital, which is supposed to serve as a referral facility in the area, is 73 kilometres from Tamale and is without an intensive care unit (ICU). Second gesture The gesture is the second support of the kind that the hospital had received from non-profit benefactors. A $200,000 ICU with accompanying medical equipment was established in the hospital with funding from Care Unit Ghana and Global Mission Resource Centre. Rev. Mustapha said at the time, anytime there was an emergency, the patients were referred to the Tamale Teaching Hospital, but most of them did not make it by the time they got to Tamale. He said most of the patients would have been alive if the hospital had the ICU centre at the time. Trauma centre Rev. Mustapha said it was for the same reason that they were constructing the emergency and trauma centre for the Yendi hospital. He expressed gratitude to the Municipal Medical Superintendent, Dr Ayuba Abdulai, and his management team for the support towards the construction of the facility. He indicated that the Member of Parliament for Yendi, Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama, and other citizens had also contributed in cash and in kind to support the construction process. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has said it will ensure the strict enforcement of laws on standards. This will serve as a guide for other African countries to build robust standards regimes to facilitate smooth trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). According to the Director-General of the GSA, Professor Alex Dodoo, "the rules will be applied without fear or favour to serve the purpose for which they were made. Prof. Dodoo said this in an interview with the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of the 66th African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) Council meetings in Yaounde, Cameroun, yesterday[June 28, 2022]. He, however, added that the GSA would open a window of assistance to manufacturers, service providers, exporters and importers to comply with the laws and the new quality culture on standards. He said the GSA was now emboldened because in the last two months, the Cabinet gave approval to the National Quality Policy, while Parliament passed the GSA Bill. Significance Prof. Dodoo said the rigorous enforcement of the Standards Act, 1973 (NRCD 173) would also bring order to the public space, create jobs, generate revenue for the state and ensure discipline in society. Parliament passed into law the Ghana Standards Authority Bill, 2022 on June 20, this year to empower the GSA to effectively deliver on its mandate. The law also seeks to amend and consolidate laws relating to standards, conformity assessment and metrology (the art of measurements), as well as provide for related matters. The law consolidates three acts the Standards Authority Act, 1973 (N.R.C.D. 173), the Weights and Measures Act, 1975 (N.R.C.D. 326) and the Laws of Ghana (Revised Edition) Act, 1998 (Act 567) into one law. It also empowers the GSA to undertake its duties effectively in the areas of conformity assessment and metrology to ensure standards are adhered to in the country. The GSA has developed more than 4,000 standards on almost every item and food product, including buildings, roads, hospital equipment, electrical cables and appliances, school uniforms, kenkey and sobolo in the country. Council meetings The ARSO Council meetings form part of the ongoing 28th ARSO General Assembly, which will close on Saturday. The ARSO was formed in 1977, with the principal mandate to harmonise African standards and conformity assessment and procedures in order to reduce technical barriers to trade and promote intra-African and international trade, as well as enhance the industrialisation of Africa. Prof. Dodoo is the ARSO President-elect and he will be sworn into office at the meetings tomorrow. He said beyond the law and policy, the GSA had, for the first time, trained some officers on standards to physically enforce compliance and ensure conformity. Partnership At the council meeting, the Secretary-General of ARSO, Dr Hermogene Nsengimana, called for greater partnership between the international and African standardisation communities to harmonise conformity assessment regimes. He said the African integration agenda, through AfCFTA, also required the universal membership of African countries in ARSO to establish and maintain common standards. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video African countries have been advised to increase stakeholder collaborations to share knowledge, experiences and expertise to secure the continents digital space from security threats, including cyber crime. According to the Executive Director of the Attorney-General Alliance-Africa (AGA-Africa), Karen White, cyber crime was increasingly becoming a major threat to Africa, leading to the loss of huge sums of money on the continent. She, therefore, stressed the need for effective partnership among African countries to enable them to tackle the emerging digital threat to the continents development. Ms White said although Africa was still among the least affected by such threats, cyber attacks on critical infrastructure such as national security installations, and telecommunication networks, among others, were becoming frequent. Ms White gave the advice at the two-day annual conference of AGA-Africa in Accra yesterday. It was on the theme: "Exploring new frontiers for cyber security and Africa's digital future". Among the objectives of the conference is to explore new ways of harnessing the digital economy in Africa and also address issues of regulation, legislation and threats presented by the cyber industry. The conference is being participated in by African and United States Attorneys-General, ICT leaders on the continent, venture capitalists interested in Africa's technology scene, as well as AGA-Africa's extended networks of key decision makers. Digital threat Ms White said the digital future of the continent was threatened by increased vulnerabilities as more government services migrated online. The ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, a market of 1.2 billion people with a combined gross domestic product of $3 trillion, coupled with the free movement of people and goods across the continent, could also facilitate transnational crimes, she said. All these developments cement the significance of our annual conference over the next two days. My hope is that the impressive list of speakers and presenters, drawn from government regulators, prosecution bodies, academia and the private sector on the continent, will help us chart a new course in the fight against cyber crime and other transnational crimes that leverage the ubiquitous presence of technology in our lives, she said. Ms White said since 2016, AGA-Africa had trained legal officers and prosecutors in the investigation and prosecution of transnational crimes, including human trafficking, money laundering, counterfeit drugs, cyber crime and wildlife trafficking, in eight partner countries Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia. Case of Ghana The Deputy Attorney-General, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, said Ghana had made significant strides in the fight against cyber and other transnational crimes. He said a Cyber Crime Unit had been established at the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service, with its primary role being the detection and investigation of cyber crime. We have also enacted a number of laws, such as the Electronic Transactions Act (ETA), the Data Protection Act (DPA), 2012, and the Economic and Organised Crime (EOCO) Act, 2010, and redrafted the 2019 National Cyber Security Policy. And in 2020, the President also assented to law the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038), he said. According to him, the country had ratified relevant international conventions and treaties, such as the convention on cyber crime, also known as the Budapest Convention; the AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection, known as the Malabo Convention, among others. Mr Tuah-Yeboah said the conventions had improved Ghanas ranking on the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The latest ranking by GCI had Ghana in third place on the continent, behind Mauritius and Tanzania, with a score of 86.69 per cent. This was a major leap from the 10th and 11th places attained in the previous ratings and projects the country among the best in the region and globally, he added. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The retooling and repair work at the Komenda Sugar Factory (KSF) are 98 per cent complete. The Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, who disclosed this to Parliament yesterday, said a production test run would be conducted by the end of next month. The minister was responding to a question on the floor of Parliament put to him by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bole-Bamboi, Yusif Sulemana, on the state of the factory. Mr Kyerematen said other works had either been completed or were at the final stages of completion. He named the works to include the installation of a new pipeline to and from the plant to the molasses tank, and refractories. There is also lagging work in the boiler furnace and chimneys, which is fully completed. Another was the completion of the vacuum and water testing facility at the boiler house, which had started working, with steam pressure testing ongoing for the turbine to generate three megawatts (MW) of electricity, the minister added. Mr Kyerematen named the rest as the completion of raw sugar refining, enhancing it from between eight and 10 tonnes per hour to between 16 and 20 tonnes per hour, while equipment and machinery at the Mill House, the boiling house and the boiler and powerhouse sections had all been overhauled and repaired and components replaced, where necessary. Other works The Trade and Industry Minister said the electrical installation works, with all the motors and boilers, had been maintained and repaired, while the construction of a new warehouse for storing raw sugar jumbo bags of between one tonne and 5,000 tonnes was ongoing. He added that the construction of a new chemical storage warehouse, a new canteen and new washrooms for both genders was ongoing, while the construction of a new water reservoir of two-million litre capacity had been completed to expand the existing 150,000 litre reservoir. Mr Kyerematen said the turbine for electricity production had been overhauled and was being tested while sandblasting to remove rust and prevent further corrosion of equipment to maintain the integrity of all metal surfaces at the factory had been completed. "Mr Speaker, with respect to civil works, the whole factory building and the warehouse have been re-roofed to stop leakages and corrosion, while the raw material warehouse, as well as the fencing of the factory, is currently under construction," he said. Sugarcane development Mr Kyerematen further said four acres of nursery land had been prepared for cultivation to support sugarcane development in the catchment area. He said there were plans to expand the land to 500 acres after the commencement of operations. In addition to the above, the minister said, the board of the company was finalising negotiations with traditional authorities to secure about 20,000 acres of land required for plantation development at the Sekyere Obuasi and Sekyere Hemang areas in the Central Region. Cement On the current high prices of cement on the market, Mr Kyerematen attributed them to the significant increase in the price of clinker, an imported product and main raw material for producing cement. In addition to that, he said, the cost of freight had seen a very significant increase globally. That, he explained, was largely occasioned by the disruption in the global supply chain, initially caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently the Russia-Ukraine war. Furthermore, he said, the depreciation of the local currency against the US dollar and the increase in the prices of petroleum products had also contributed to the high cost of production of cement. "These factors account for the increase in the prices of cement on the local market," he said. The minister, however, indicated that the Economic Management Team, together with the Cabinet, was considering means to mitigate the factors influencing the high cost of cement in the country. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor Tuesday presented 95 signed mining licences to members of the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners. The licences would enable the miners to operate mining concessions after geological investigations by the Geological Survey Authority proved that they were viable for mining. However, the small-scale miners must comply with the terms and conditions outlined in the new mining framework manual including having a General Office, Washroom, Canteen, First Aid Post and a Clinic before a full-scale operation. At a brief ceremony at the Ministry to hand over the licences to the miners, Mr Jinapor, the Sector Minister, warned that the Ministry would not hesitate to revoke the licences of miners that infringed on the terms and conditions outlined in the mining framework manual and sanction the offenders accordingly. Mr Jinapor explained that the issuance of the licences was an affirmation of governments commitment to the growth of the small-scale industry in Ghana. The Minister reiterated the government's unalloyed determination to ensure value retention in the mining sector. "The government is in the process of building a completely new small-scale mining sector typified by responsible mining, creating jobs and improving the living conditions of miners and mining communities," the Minister added. The Minister mentioned reformation and law enforcement as two key pillars driving government's agenda to sanitise the small-scale sector. "The government will be ruthless in its fight against illegal mining, otherwise known as 'galamsey'; adding; "The law breakers will be dealt with ruthlessly in accordance with the law". "Those who will not come under the umbrella of responsible small-scale mining should know that the Ministry will come after them. All measures will be thoroughly enforced with no apologies," Mr Jinapor cautioned. The Minister noted that the seizure and decommissioning of mining equipment would continue unabated as the government continued to clamp down on the activities of illegal small-scale mining. "The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is leading a drive to build a new gold purchasing model, similar to that of the Produce Buying Company in the cocoa sector. Under this model, gold purchasing will be done in a robust regime led by the Bank of Ghana," the Minister stated. Mr Jinapor, therefore, appealed to the members of the Association to support the government's agenda to sanitise the sector. Mr Godwin Armah, the General Secretary of the GNASSM, on his part, expressed gratitude to the government and the Ministry for accommodating and implementing some proposals made by the Association. He said the Association would continue to partner with the government to ensure that the small-scale mining sector developed its full potential to support the national economy. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Star Assurance Company Limited, one of Ghanas leading insurance brands has urged employers to protect their staff who may be injured or become ill at work by signing up for the Workmens Compensation Insurance Policy. The policy which derives from the Workmens Compensation Act, 1987 PNDC Law 187, covers death, diseases, illness and injury sustained by employees arising out of and during the course of work. The law clearly states that employees should be mandatorily compensated in the unfortunate event of injury arising out of work. This policy provides great relief to employers. The amount payable in the event of work mishap could be quite substantial (up to a monthly income of ninety-six (96) months in the event of permanent disability and up to a monthly income of sixty (60) months in case of death). Speaking to a cross-section of the Companys stakeholders at the June, 2022 edition of its Stakeholder Engagement Series, Mr. Michael Adomako, the Product Development Manager said an injured employee should not suffer a diminution in earnings while he or she undergoes treatment for injuries sustained through an accident arising out of, and in the course of, employment. Even in the unfortunate event where the injury results in death or serious and permanent incapacity, the policy provides for a capital sum for the dependents /beneficiaries of the employee, Mr. Adomako said. Indeed, the Workmens Compensation Insurance Policy is a win-win for both Employer and Employee as the employer is protected from civil suits from its workers who become injured on the job, he added. The Stakeholder Engagement Series is part of the companys effort to educate the general public on the crucial role insurance plays in alleviating people's fear of sudden misfortune by mitigating loss through services and /or financial compensation. By extension, it contributes to the social protection of citizens by enhancing their financial security a Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video All 29 suspects who were arrested for rioting during the Arise Ghana demonstration on Monday 28th June 2022 have been granted police enquiry bail. Twenty-six (26) of them who have met the bail conditions have been released. The remaining three (3) are still going through the process of satisfying the bail conditions for their release. The Martyr's day celebrations today, made it difficult for the suspects to be arraigned before the court. Therefore, in line with the constitutional provision of not keeping suspects beyond 48 hours, they were granted bail and will be arraigned on Monday, 4th July 2022. We remain committed to ensuring that all other perpetrators are arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the laws of the country. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Regional branches of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) have piled pressure on their national executives to conclude negotiations with the government for the payment of cost of living allowance (COLA) following deteriorating economic conditions in the country. During this years May Day celebration, organised labour urged the government to pay 20 per cent of basic salary as COLA to workers. The regional NAGRAT branches have been taking turns to organise press conferences to communicate their concerns over the inability of the government to reach an agreement with the association on the payment of the allowance. They include the Bono, Ahafo, Bono East and Greater Accra branches. They gave the national leadership of the association a weeks ultimatum to reach an agreement with the government over the allowance or they would lay down their tools. Upper East In Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, members of the association urged the government to heed the calls by organised labour for the payment of COLA, reports Gilbert Mawuli Agbey. The Upper East Regional Chairman of NAGRAT, John Akunzebe, said the prices of goods and services continued to rise, while teachers salaries remained the same. The introduction of new taxes by the government has worsened the already bad condition of the people, he added. Sunyani The Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regional secretariat of the association also claimed that several calls by labour unions to the government on the matter had fallen on deaf ears, reports Biiya Mukusah Ali The Bono Regional Chairman of NAGRAT, Augustine Akidam, who addressed a press conference in Sunyani, said the current economic condition of teachers and other workers had worsened as a result of the unbearable cost of living, adding: We are on life support. Greater Accra Addressing the press in Accra yesterday[June 28, 2022], the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of NAGRAT, Henry Teity Tetteh-Afi, said the silence, indifference and insensitivity being exhibited by the government would no longer be tolerated, reports Emmanuel Bonney. The suffering as a result of severe economic hardships is simply unbearable at this time. The teacher has suffered so much for this nation, yet we retire into misery and undignified death. This state of affairs should not be allowed to continue," he said. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video It is high time the government passed a law to ban prayer camps from interfering in maternal healthcare delivery in the country. This is because the activities of most prayer camps are inimical to maternal healthcare delivery in general and antenatal care in particular. The situation is seemingly worse in rural areas than in urban settlements. SDG 3 If care is not taken, this phenomenon will contribute significantly to the countrys inability to attain the Sustainable Development Goal Three (SDG3) by 2030 just as Ghana failed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals Four and Five (MDG 4&5) in 2015. It is without disputation that maternal healthcare delivery provides for the health needs of the pregnant mother and her unborn baby simultaneously. The need for antenatal care (ANC) is physical rather than spiritual, hence ANC should not be handled by a spiritual centre such as a prayer camp. According to the Bible (1 Corinthians 12: 4-6), the same God gives different kinds of talents, services and works to different people to serve humanity. Suffice to say that the same God is at work in the medics and prayer camp managers. Hospital vs prayer camp Whereas medics are gifted, trained and mandated to provide various kinds of health care to the people, those managing prayer camps also have the gift of handling spiritual matters. As such, prayer camps must stay away from clinical conditions such as pregnancy complications. A prayer camp as the name denotes is a camp for prayers and not an antenatal clinic. Sadly, most prayer camps habitually diagnose medical problems as spiritual problems. Accordingly, they advise their clients against seeking medical care and later the situation becomes worse, leading to preventable deaths. It is thus not strange that Wikipedia defines prayer camps as religious institutions which serve as alternatives to hospitals in Ghana and Togo for a variety of ailments. They used methods such as chaining patients and fasting. Dangerous practices Some prayer camps even ask pregnant mothers to fast and drink holy oil and this eventually worsens the health condition of pregnant women. On November 4, 2017, for example, modernghana.com reported that some pregnant women in New Juaben municipality of the Eastern Region preferred a holy palm nut soup at a prayer camp in Koforidua to attending antenatal clinics. One wonders how a holy palm nut soup can address danger signs in pregnancy such as bleeding, foetal distress, oligohydramnios, pre-eclampsia, malpresentations or even ectopic pregnancy. It is equally trite knowledge that other prayer camps vigorously massage the abdomen of pregnant women, causing foetal distress and detachment of the placenta from the baby. This occurrence of detached placenta from the baby is clinically referred to as abruptio placentae, which is a serious pregnancy complication, and it specifically occurs when the placenta detaches from the inner wall of the womb before delivery, depriving the unborn baby of oxygen and nutrients. One may assert that prayer camps cause more harm to pregnant women and unborn babies than help them. Regarding prayer camp managers massaging the abdomen of pregnant women, a rhetorical question is worth asking. What is the business of a prayer camp in touching the abdomen of a pregnant woman with the aim of making the baby sit well in the uterus? Placental separation According to medical literature, depending on the degree of placental separation and how close the baby is to full term, treatment for abruptio placentae may include bed rest or a Caesarean Section (CS) to forestall fatality. In most cases, without a swift and an appropriate clinical intervention, abruptio placentae can be harmful to both the pregnant woman and her unborn baby. Apart from underlying health conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, trauma and abdominal injury or stress can separate or detach the placenta from the foetus, hence the massaging of a pregnant woman's abdomen by a prayer camp manager can be dangerous for both the baby and the pregnant mother. To my mind, ignorance makes some pregnant women prefer a prayer camp to a hospital for ANC. In Hosea 4:6, the Bible says: "For lack of knowledge, my people perish." Antenatals Advisedly, therefore, pregnant women should seek ANC from antenatal clinics located in hospitals and desist from seeking such care at prayer camps which offer nothing but preventable maternal deaths and stillbirths. Some prayer camps equally satanise antenatal care and Caesarean sections and accordingly, put fear in pregnant women to discourage them from seeking maternal health care in hospitals. It should not be lost on prayer camp managers that even in the Bible, Rachel (a wife of Jacob) was delivered by a Midwife when she was in labour, giving birth to Benjamin her last-born child (Genesis 35: 15-17). Mindful of the dangerous consequences of turning prayer camps into antenatal clinics, I dare suggest that the government should pass a law that bans such camps from providing medical care of any sort, let alone attend to pregnant women. Perhaps in the interim, the Medical and Dental Council should sanction quack medics who practise under the cover of prayer camps. The prayer camps make the work of the hospitals difficult because the former contribute to preventable maternal deaths in the country. Gender Ministry The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection also has a role to play because the living conditions at some of the prayer camps leave much to be desired. The right to health care is a fundamental human right. The women who patronise the prayer camps should equally be guided by Hosea 4:6 to say no to certain dictates of prayer camps. By this way, the lack of knowledge will not lead to the death of such pregnant women and their unborn babies. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Former Manhyia North NPP Member of Parliament(MP), Collins Owusu Amankwah, has expressed indignation with the behavior of the 'Arise Ghana' demonstrators towards the Police personnel sent to protect them. The demonstration which saw thongs of people converge at the Obra Spot, Circle, in Accra took a chaotic turn when the demonstrators decided to use different routes despite a court order to take specific routes. They had decided to march to the Jubilee House but the organizers of the demonstration and the protesters clashed with the Police after they refused to comply with the court order. According to reports, the Police refused to allow them to take a different route resulting in a violent confrontation. Some of the irate protesters hurled stones at the Police guards who also retaliated by splashing water cannons and firing tear gas to disperse them. Discussing yesterday's clash during Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" programme, Collins Owusu Amankwah described the 'Arise Ghana' organizers and demonstrators as "notorious". "I haven't ever seen demonstrators whose organizers are so notorious as the so-called Arise Ghana. Yes, they are notorious demonstrators," he exclaimed. He took with a pinch of salt accounts by the organizers after the clash that the Police were the first to throw objects at the demonstrators, therefore irking them to retaliate by pelting stones. To Collins Owusu Amankwah, there are footages evidencing that the "Police were very patient before they decided to shoot the tear gas but the demonstrators had made up their minds to provoke them", therefore stressing the demonstrators' desire to march to the Jubilee House is a "strategy to create unnecessary tension, to make the country ungovernable and to create chaos". He questioned the logic in going to demonstrate at the Jubilee House which is the seat of government if not for the obvious reasons to paint a picture of insecurity in the nation. "Is it the President's jacket that is so beautiful to them that they wanted to go to Jubilee House to watch or what?" he asked. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Seasoned Journalist, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako has reacted to the Arise Ghana protest held by some members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and youth in the capital city at Circle on Tuesday, June 28, 2022. They embarked on the demonstration to highlight the economic burdens on the citizenry and the bad performance of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration. The protest, scheduled from June 28 to 29, turned riotous as the protesters threw stones at the Police personnel sent to guard them and the Police responded with tear gas. The organizers, in a press conference after the violent clash, claimed the Police started the violence but the Police have debunked the allegations. "The Police have arrested 29 demonstrators for their participation in violent attacks on the Police and some members of the public including school children during the Arise Ghana demonstration in Accra...Also, the organisers of the demonstration will be arrested and put before court for the attacks and damage to public property, in line with the provisions of Section 3 of the Public Order Act, (Act 491)," a statement by the Police said. Speaking on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo", Kweku Baako expressed his disappointment over the incidents during the demonstration where some people, both demonstrators and Police officers, sustained serious degrees of injuries. "I'm a bit disappointed that it didn't end peacefully, smoothly. I'm a bit disappointed because I wanted it to go smooth-sailing, peaceful; it all helps our democratic credentials as a nation. It exposes our image in a very positive way to the world, so sincerely I was hoping it would go fine. Unfortunately, confusion and chaos occurred, out of it I hear there were some casualties like injuries. Thankfully, I think there were no fatalities," he said. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The National Treasurer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwabena Abankwa-Yeboah has refuted claims that the party used money donated to the nation for fighting COVID-19 to fund their campaign during the 2020 elections. Speaking on Angel FMs Morning Show, Anpa Bfo, Mr Abankwa-Yeboah who is seeking to be the party's National Chairman said this did not happen under him and hence called on Ghanaians to discard such rumours. There are beliefs that the government out of desperation used the funds meant to fund the pandemic for campaign and that has contributed to the current economic hardship. Reacting to this statement, Mr Abankwa-Yeboah said that is never the case as according to him, the party organised its own funding. We never used the COVID funds for campaign in 2020, I am the treasurer and I know this for a fact, he said. He was optimistic that the NPP will be able to break the eight with him in charge. He, therefore, called on the party to vote for him at the National congress. I will not give any kind of promise because I dont believe in promisesbut I believe and know that I win the elections, he said. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A leading member of the pressure group, Arise Ghana, Listowell Nana Poku says the Ghana Police Service is being manipulated by some powerful individuals within the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). He was emphatic on NEAT FMs morning show, Ghana Montie that, press statements from the police department are been drafted for the police for political gains. I can tell you for a fact that they (the police) dont write their statements, we know. Its from some unseen hands, he claimed. When asked by the host Mac Jerry Osei Agyemang to disclose those unseen hands, Listowell Nana Poku named the president and some high-ranking NPP members. Gabby is a suspect, Akufo-Addo [the president] is also a suspect, Osafo Marfo is another suspect and Ofori-Atta [the finance minister] is also a suspect. These are the people looting from the public purse without any accountability, he courageously claimed. Listowells wild allegation come after the police stated that organizers of the Arise Ghana demonstration will be arrested for their role in the incidents of Tuesday, June 28, 2022. According to the police in a statement, the leaders will be held responsible for the attacks and damage to public property after the protest turned chaotic at the Kwame Nkrumah interchange. The organisers of the demonstration will be arrested and put before court for the attacks and damage to public property, in line with the provisions of Section 3 of the Public Order Act, (Act 491), part of the statement read. Arise Ghana demonstration which was intended to protest against the rising economic hardship in Ghana was marred with a bloody clash. There was chaos as police fired teargas at protesters after they started pelting police with stones hurting officers and damaging state properties. According to multiple reports, the chaos erupted over confusion on the route to use. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A claim by the National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi that the Ghana National Mosque was built by a grant from the Turkish government and that former President John Mahama facilitated the construction of the mosque has been labeled "repugnant lies" by a Zongo youth group. Sammy Gyamfi said this in an interview on Peace FM. The Progressive Zongo Youth has been irked by this "lie" and has issued a strongly-worded statement expressing its indignation. The youth group accuses the NDC National Communications Officer of using a sacred monument like the National Mosque for cheap political points in his anti-National Cathedral crusade. They cautioned him to desist from using the National Mosque for his propaganda and cheap politics of giving "undue credit to people who don't deserve it". "As for the ridiculous claim that the mosque was funded through a grant from the Turkish government, it could only have come from a desperate propagandist trying to justify his opposition to the construction of the National Cathedral by making baseless claims with the National Mosque." "These claims by Sammy Gyamfi are not only lies and a shameless attempt to score cheap political points for former President Mahama, using the National Mosque, it is also disrespectful to Ghanaian Muslims, and the philanthropic NGO, which fully-funded the construction of the Mosque." "Sammy Gyamfi can go on with his anti National Cathedral campaign; that is his business, and not our concern. But in pursuing his propaganda, he should leave the National Mosque out of it, and he should stop giving credit to people for roles they did not play", parts of the statement said. Read full statement below: June 29, 2022 PRESS STATEMENT BY PROGRESSIVE ZONGO YOUTH ON REPUGNANT LIES BY SAMMY GYAMFI THAT FORMER PRESIDENT MAHAMA FACILITATED THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NATIONAL MOSQUE AND THAT IT WAS BUILT BY A GRANT BY TURKEY The Progressive Zongo Youth has read with abhorrence the sickening politicization of the National Mosque in Accra, and the spread of lies about it by Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). The Chief NDC Communicator, in his zeal to perhaps, bastardise the construction of the National Cathedral, was quoted by a number of publications as saying that former President John Mahama facilitated the construction of the National Mosque. He also also added that the National Mosque was financed through a grant from the Turkish government. These claims by Sammy Gyamfi are not only outrageous lies, his attempt to score cheap political points for former President Mahama, using the National Mosque, is also disrespectful to Ghanaian Muslims, and the philanthropic NGO, which fully-funded the construction of the Mosque. In recent times, we have watched on and ignored attempts by various uninformed groups to spread misinformation and lies about the origin and funding of the National Mosque; but when a senior member of a leading political party joins this lying bandwagon and deliberately spreads falsehood, we cannot allow it to slide without setting the records straight. The claim by Sammy Gyamfi that Mahama facilitated the construction of the mosque is a blatant h lie. As for the ridiculous claim that the mosque was funded through a grant from the Turkish government, it could only have come from a desperate propagandist trying to justify his opposition to the construction of the National Cathedral by making baseless claims with the National Mosque. We dare say Sammy Gyamfi knows very well his claims are unfounded, but he still pushed it through, knowing that public records and the facts can never support his falsehood. Sadly he deliberately chose to push through his lies, clearly out of his disregard for Ghanaian Muslims, the donors and the sanctity of the mosque itself. We do not believe Sammy Gyamfi, and those who reason like him, are oblivious of the origin and all the facts on the National Mosque. If they are, then they should seek for clarity and stop the lies and cheap politics with the national mosque. We recommend to Sammy Gyamfi and his ilk, the official commissioning brochure of the National Mosque published on Friday July 16th 2021. In this comprehensive document, everything about the mosque, from origin to funding are clearly stated. In pages 11, 12, and 13 of the brochure, the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, in his welcome notes, gave a comprehensive account of the history behind the national mosque, including its origin, national mosque construction committee members, initial contributors and facilitators for the arrival of the Turkish NGO that fully funded the project through their charity organization. It was not a grant from the Turkish government as Sammy Gyamfi claimed, and nowhere in this comprehensive report was former President Mahama named as the one who facilitated. In fact, the National Chief Imams comprehensive down-memory-lane account, rightly credits the facilitator of the National Mosque, through whom the Turkish NGO decided to fund the construction of the mosque. Facts about the national mosque, just as the mosque itself, are sacred. However, it has now become a new trend, for both opponents and supporters of the construction of the National Cathedral, to distort these facts to further their own agendas. We can forgive others, for this ignorant or deliberate posture, which continue to disrespect the efforts of many stalwarts and the financiers, but we cannot ignore the deliberate falsehood of Sammy Gyamfi. Sammy Gyamfi can go on with his anti National Cathedral campaign; that is his business, and not our concern. But in pursuing his propaganda, he should leave the National Mosque out of it, and he should stop giving credit to people for roles they did not play. The National Mosque, is a sacred monument of unity for all Muslims in the country irrespective of political affiliation, and it should not be the place for this kind of unfortunate politicization by Sammy Gyamfi. SIGNED ABDUL RAHMAN ISHAQ (CHAIRMAN Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Ghana will host the 61st Ordinary Session of the Authority of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government in Accra on July 3, 2022 at the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel. The Summit will mark the end of the second-year stewardship of President Akufo-Addo. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is also the Chair of the Authority of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government will host his colleagues 12 ECOWAS member states. President Akufo-Addo assumed the Chairmanship of ECOWAS on September 7, 2020 in Niamey, Niger after Mahamadou Issoufou, former President of Niger, had ended his stewardship. In June, 2021, the mandate of President Akufo-Addo was renewed by his peers for another one year based on his sterling leadership and to complete ongoing institutional reforms geared towards the reduction of the number of Statutory Appointees of the ECOWAS Commission from Fifteen (15) to Seven (7) as well as streamline operational cost. Among many others, the Summit would be dedicated to examining and taking decisions on the political, security and humanitarian situations in the Region. Most notably, the Summit shall review the current state of affairs in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, suspended from the organisation, following the unconstitutional changes of government in the three countries. Preceding the summit, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and Chair of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, will host her colleague Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence and Security for the Mediation and Security Council Meeting in Accra on June 29, 2022 at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel. The Mediation and Security Council Meeting shall provide updates on the political developments in the region, especially in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, as well as, in the Sahel Region. They would also provide updates on the overall climate of insecurity, challenges relating to youth unemployment and the impact of diseases and pandemics on social tensions in the Region. Ms Ayorkor Botchwey will also host her colleagues and Finance Ministers on Thursday, June 30, 2022 and Friday, July 1, 2022 in the ECOWAS Council of Ministers Meeting to, among others, discuss and make recommendations on the finance, administration, as well as, the programmes and activities of the ECOWAS institutions to the Authority of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government for adoption. 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 Governance Lecturer at the Central University, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, has slammed the Arise Ghana demonstration organizers and demonstrators over Tuesday's violent clash with the Police Service. Tuesday's demonstration ended up with both the protesters and Police officers taking cover for their lives as the protesters threw stones and other objects at the Police and the Police also responded with firing tear gas and spraying them with water cannons. Some of the officers and the protesters sustained injuries. According to a Police statement following the incident, 29 demonstrators have been arrested "for their participation in violent attacks on the Police and some members of the public including school children during the Arise Ghana demonstration in Accra...Also, the organisers of the demonstration will be arrested and put before court for the attacks and damage to public property, in line with the provisions of Section 3 of the Public Order Act, (Act 491)". Speaking on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' programme, Dr. Otchere-Ankrah rebuked the demonstrators for hurling stones at the security personnel charged with responsibility to protect them. He also slammed the youth who have been and were using foul language on the President of Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, asking if he was "your relative, would you not like it?" To him, the organizers and demonstrators should be ashamed of their actions. "Why would you throw stones? . . . They should bow their heads in shame," he stated. He further advised the youth to be respectful towards the Police and cautioned them not to challenge a Police officer wielding gun as at the least provocation, the gun could be triggered. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh says former President John Mahama's recent commentary on Ghanas economy is 'unfortunate'. According to him, the former president could not save the countrys economy during his tenure when there was no global crisis hence, must be the last to criticize the incumbent. Sir [John Mahama] under your watch, you even run to the IMF for policy credibility, even without this novel global economic challenge and Covid-19. The lawmaker jabbed His utterances come after Mr Mahama said the Nana Addo-led government had performed woefully after promising a smooth economy. He is however piling pressure on the government to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Due to the nature and depth of our economic problems, this government virtually has no other sustainable option, Mr Mahama said at the launch of a think tank known as Think Progress Ghana. According to him, any IMF programme will be expected to come up with terms that will ensure fiscal discipline. That is one of the things this government lacks. They dont have fiscal discipline and that is why they are even afraid to go into an IMF programme, the former President remarked. But, Frank Annoh-Dompreh in a tweet perceives Mr Mahama as a mendacious person who has failed to commend the Nana Addo-led government for managing the economy despite the crunch. Clearly you [Mahama] cannot commend the NPP for political reasons but, within your heart, you know the truth. He noted. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Liam Diaz, Essence Fox and Anna Claire Beitel appear in a still from the film "Scarborough" in this undated handout photo. The Canadian film follows the stories of several families living in the east end of Toronto.THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Compy Films *MANDATORY CREDIT* Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk talks with students from Rockcliffe Elementary School as they get a first look at The Living In Space exhibit during its unveiling at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa on Thursday, May 12, 2011. The experience may be out-of-this-world but research indicates those who travel to outer space suffer from increased bone loss. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. The Supreme Court will not hear an appeal from a British Columbia man convicted of trafficking 11 female victims, including underage girls, for sex. Reza Moazami, who was sentenced to 23 years in prison, had sought leave to appeal a September decision by the B.C. Court of Appeal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Blaine Chalk poses for a photo in front of his home in London, Ont., where he flies a version of the Canadian Flag designed by Indigenous artist Curtis Wilson, Monday, June 27, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff Robins Petersburg Chamber of Commerce President Jim Floyd and Captain Svein Rune Strmnes exchanged plaques aboard the Amundsen to commemorate the ship's inaugural visit to Petersburg. A ship named for one of Norway's most famed explorers has been visiting Petersburg for the first time this summer. The MS Roald Amundsen operated by Hurtigruten is the world's first hybrid powered expedition ship and is currently traversing through Alaska, offering passengers a chance to participate in experiments and research among the state's natural environments. Though unable to mark the Amundsen's very first visit to Petersburg in May, representatives from the community including Sally Dwyer, Jim Floyd, Sarah Holmgrain, Cynthia Lee, Heidi Lee, and Orin Pierson were able to go aboard t... The $14.4 billion document is the sixth-largest in state history Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has signed a $14.4 billion state budget, the sixth-largest in state history, after vetoing about $400 million from a proposal passed by the Alaska Legislature this spring. With Alaska expecting a multibillion-dollar surge in oil revenue due to high prices caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, spending is up by $2.7 billion when compared to the budget passed by the governor and lawmakers last year. That increase is less than the rise in revenue, and the state is poised to end a decade-long streak of years in which it needed to spend from savings in order to bal... Kaitlin Armstrong, wanted in connection with Moriah Wilson's murder , has been apprehended in Costa Rica and is now in police custody.U.S. Marshals confirmed to our sister site VeloNews that Armstrong was captured June 29 at a hostel on Santa Teresa Beach in Provincia de Puntarenas. An arrest warrant was first issued in connection with the killing May 17, six days after the crime, and Armstrong was last seen May 18 in Newark, New Jersey. Previously, she had been arrested on an old warrant and questioned by police May 12, but was released when police discovered a birth date discrepancy in their system.Armstrong was said to have flown from New Jersey to Costa Rica May 18 using a fake passport. She is also reported to have undergone plastic surgery.The latest case developments occurred last week, when Armstrong's vehicle was located at a dealership in Austin, Texas, where she had sold it before fleeing the state. An anonymous donor contributed $15,000 as a reward for any information leading to Armstrong's arrest, in addition to the $5,000 already offered by the U.S. Marshals Service and $1,000 offered by the Capital Area Crime Stoppers.Once back in the United States, Armstrong will be charged with several crimes, including the federal crime of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and first-degree murder, which is a capital crime in Texas and punishable with the death penalty.Read more on VeloNews Lasse Laukkarinen Claims The Festival Tallinn Main Event Day 1B Chip Lead June 30, 2022 Matthew Pitt Editor Day 1B of the 2022 The Festival Tallinn Main Event was more than twice the size of Day 1A, with 122 players piling into the Olympic Park Hotel. After ten levels of play, only 48 of those players still had chips in front of them, and nobody had a larger stack than Lasse Laukkarinen. Laukkarinen finished the night with 196,200 chips, or 123 big blinds going into Day 2. The Finnish grinder is a regular in Tallinn, with nine of his 15 recorded live poker tournament results stemming from his play in the Estonian capital. Laukkarinen cashed in two events at the Coolbet Open in Tallinn in late May, and now looks to be set to add another in the money finish in The Festival Tallinn Main Event thanks to leading the tournament overall. The Festival Tallinn Main Event Day 1B Top 10 Chip Counts Place Player Chips Big Blinds 1 Lasse Laukkarinen 196,200 123 2 Tapio Aaltonen 187,100 117 3 Michael Viggander 150,000 94 4 Mats Palokangas 144,800 91 5 Kaido Mikk 129,600 81 6 Aleksi Naski 125,300 78 7 Heidi Bekker 124,400 78 8 Ronny Albrigtsen 123,200 77 9 Sarunas Abdrachmanovas 120,800 76 10 Aleksiy Baranovskiy 117,900 74 Tapio Aaltonen (187,100) bagged up enough chips for second place on the Day 1B overnight chip counts. Aaltonen won a huge flip with ace-king versus pocket eights on the hand before the final scheduled break of the flight, which put him up to 175,000 chips. He added another 12,100 chips to his stack during the last two levels. Michael Viggander (150,000), Mats Palokangas (144,800), and Kaido Mikk (129,600) are the players rounding out the top five chip counts on what was the second of four scheduled Day 1s. The incredible day of Coolbet ambassador Heidi Bekker is worthy of a mention. Bekker got off to a poor start and saw her 30,000 starting stack dwindle to only 8,000 chips at one stage. However, she not only fought back but ended Day 1B with 124,400 chips, enough for seventh place on the overnight leaderboard. Much further down the chip counts you find Irish star Daragh Davey with 39,600 chips. Davey is an incredible poker player who has almost $1.9 million in online poker tournament cashes in addition to nearly $630,000 from live events. The Irishman has a solid record in Estonia thanks, in part, to a fourth-place finish in the 2021 edition of the Kings of Tallinn Main Event, which came with 23,810. One player who did not reach Day 2 at the first attempt was British pro JJ Hazan. Level 4 is how far Hazan progressed. During this level, he four-bet shoved his last 7,000 chips with pocket nines, and Oyvind Kildal Stangnes called with king-queen of spades. The nines stayed ahead until the river where Stangnes hit a royal flush to send Hazan packing. After deciding not to fire another bullet, Hazan jumped into the 220 Progressive Knockout event and plans to play in the H.O.R.S.E. event on June 30, such is the massive choice to players at The Festival Tallinn. Day 1C of the Main Event shuffles up and deals at 12:00 p.m. local time on June 30 with a turbo-structured Day 1D commencing at 8:00 p.m. local time. Lawrence Brandt Wins $1,500 PLO8 After Gruelling Final Day ($289,610) June 30, 2022 Liam Gannon A total of 14 players returned for the third day of Event #58: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Eight Or Better at Ballys and Paris in Las Vegas. At the end of the 13-hour-long day, it was Lawrence Brandt collecting his first WSOP bracelet and a career-best score of $289,610. It honestly was the best tournament I've ever played, the new bracelet holder said, I havent played too many PLO8 tournaments, and obviously luck plays a factor, but I was really happy with my performance. The Texas resident says he primarily focuses on cash games and mostly No-Limit Holdem. This is his third cash this WSOP and is his biggest lifetime. According to Brandt's Hendon Mob profile, his earnings totaled $192,721 before this victory. Brandts rail was a rowdy and supportive one containing over 20 people on it, and all embraced him as he took down his biggest tournament score. 2022 World Series of Poker Hub Bookmark this page! All you need to know about the 2022 WSOP is here. Click here Final Table Results Place Player Country Payout 1st Lawrence Brandt United States $289,610 2nd Corey Wade United States $179,010 3rd Robert Tanita United States $129,924 4th Richard Crooks United States $95,400 5th Jared Jaffee United States $70,877 6th Jacob Ferro United States $53,288 7th Peter Neff United States $40,550 8th Jerry Odeen Sweden $31,234 Start Of Day Action The start of day saw Frank Salese (14th - $12,458), Benjamin Miner (13th-$15,380), Jason Adams (12th - $15,380), and bracelet winner Joey Couden (11th - $19,233) all fall prior to the final table. The final player to fall before the unofficial final table was reached was Stuart Easton who after falling down to the tournament short stack, got in his remaining chips up against Jared Jaffees and Brandts aces with just king high. Jaffee ended up scooping the whole pot with a flush and Easton would have to settle for a tenth place for $19,233. Final Table Action The final table saw the shortest stack Alexander Orlov double up on the first hand. It was not to last though as he did see his ace-king get in against the ace-wheel combination hand of Jaffee. On a flop with two aces, Jaffee hit a low on the turn, and he filled up on the river to send Orlov out of the tournament in ninth place for $24,357. Jerry Odeen received a death by a thousand cuts as multiple times he was all-in and quartered, leaving himself as the shortest stack eight-handed. Corey Wade moved him all-in with a jack-high double-suited hand and Odeen called with ace-jack and a low card. No help came as Wade turned a full house and no low came home to send Odeen out in eighth place for $31,234. After that, some time passed before Peter Neff became the next casualty of the final table. Nothing seemed to go Neffs way at the final table, and eventually, he was all-in with king-queen and sevens against Jacob Ferros double-suited aces. Ferro turned him dead with a full house and Neff left the tournament area in seventh place for $40,550. Jacob Ferro Ferros run would come to an end, however, as his stack got short after doubling up Jaffee. Ferro would end up getting his short stack in with queen-jack and low cards, in against Brandts aces and finding no improvement, busting in sixth place for $53,288. Jaffee ended up getting his chips all in with a suited ace-queen against Robert Tanita's suited ace-ten. A rivered Broadway gave Tanita the best hand and the last remaining bracelet winner exited the tournament in fifth place for $70,877. After that, Tanita found himself knocking out Richard Crooks when Crooks got in his wrap Broadway draw against Tanitas pair of sixes and low draw. The board run-out was not favorable for Crooks and he ended his run in fourth place for $95,400. The three-handed endeavor became a long battle where each player rose to the chip lead and each fell to a short stack multiple times. In the end, it was Tanita who got his remaining chips in with king-jack double suited against Wades ace-high low card combination. A pair for Wade and a made low, spelled the end for Tanita who ended his run in third place for $129,924. Wade started the heads up with a 2:1 lead, but a few fortunate runouts for Brandt saw the lead flip. It ended when Wade called with his ace-nine and low cards against the ace-king high of Brandt. The river brought both players a straight but it was Brandts that was Broadway and Wade shook his hand and collected $179,010 for his impressive second-place finish. Congratulations to Lawrence Brandt on winning his first WSOP bracelet. Thank you to all who entered and thank you for reading along. Stay tuned to PokerNews for all updates regarding the WSOP. Luxon Pay Announces the Inaugural Mediterranean Poker Party June 30, 2022 Matthew Pitt Editor Daniel Williams Luxon Pay is bringing together several major poker brands under one roof this August when the inaugural Mediterranean Poker Party descends on North Cyprus, bringing with it a bustling three-week schedule featuring tournaments with buy-ins from $550 up to $200,000. The Mediterranean Poker Party, in partnership with Merit Resorts and from the organisers of the Caribbean Poker Party, takes place between August 19 and September 17 at the newly-opened Merit Royal Diamond Hotel, which features one of the largest poker rooms in the world; there is the capacity for 200 tables. The venue will utilise that vast space as the likes of the Eurasian Poker Tour, Ladies First, Irish Open, Malta Poker Festival, and iconic Italian poker brands La Notte Degli Assi, and La Casa Della Carte host events in this poker extravaganza. Neil Barrett, Business Development Director of Luxon Pay said: We are delighted that a diverse range of partners are hosting their own events at the Luxon Pay MPP. The idea is they use formats as close as possible to their most famous tournaments which players know and love. Look out for more exciting news in the near future about a further partner on the back end of the series. Songul Bekem, President of Merit Poker said: Everybody at Merit is really looking forward to this event that will mark the opening of our new giant poker room and the new Merit Royal Diamond Hotel. With over three weeks worth of action there really is something for everybody in the schedule. $5 Million Guaranteed Mediterranean Poker Party Main Event It is difficult to pick a stand-out event from the action-packed schedule but the Mediterranean Poker Party (MPP) Main Event is certainly one of many highlights. The MPP Main Event has three Day 1s, each costing $5,300 to enter and those who navigate their way through to the money places will take home a slice of a guaranteed $5 million prize pool. The eventual champion should take home a seven figure sum in addition to a custom trophy to display on their mantelpiece. Everyone who enters the MPP Main Event does so armed with a 100,000-starting stack. The industry-leading blind structure plays out to a 60-minute clock, which ensures the cream will rise to the top. The first of the trio of MPP Main Event flights shuffles up and deals at 12:00 p.m. on August 29 with subsequent Day 1s starting at the same time on August 30 and August 32, respectively. Day 1 survivors come together on September 1, the field is whittled further on September 2, with the MPP Main Event's final day seeing a worthy champion crowned on September 3. $5 Million Guaranteed MPP Main Event Schedule Date Time Event Mon 29 Aug 12:00 p.m. MPP Main Event Day 1A Tue 30 Aug 12:00 p.m. MPP Main Event Day 1B Wed 31 Aug 12:00 p.m. MPP Main Event Day 1C Thu 1 Sep 12:00 p.m. MPP Main Event Day 2 Fri 2 Sep 12:00 p.m. MPP Main Event Day 3 Sat 3 Sep 12:00 p.m. MPP Main Event Final Other Notable Mediterranean Poker Party Events $1,100 Eurasian Poker Tour (EAPT) $100 Ladies First ($1,000 for males) $550 Malta Poker Festival Grand Event (MPF) $550 La Notte Degli Assi $330 La Casa Della Carte $1,100 Irish Open Mediterranean Kicking off the festival on August 19 is the $1,100 MPP Open, which boasts a $1,000,000 guarantee on its prize pool. The event offers three starting flights, a 50,000 chip starting stack, and a 40-minute clock. This tournament concludes on August 23, when the remaining combatants battle it out until a victor emerges. Players can also enter the $2,200 MPP Warm Up during the first week of festivities. It offers the same structure as the MPP Open but with an incredible $2,000,000 guarantee; cards are in the air from August 26. Other events include a $10,400 buy-in High Roller that is sure to attract some of the biggest names in poker, while a yet-to-be-announced Super High Roller Week, with events costing up to $200,000, rounds of the spectacular three-week series. Mediterranean Poker Party Schedule Anyone attending the Mediterranean Poker Party is spoiled for choice during the three-week festival, so much so that it may be hard to find time to soak up the sun at the luxurious Merit Royal Diamond hotel. Date Time Event Buy-in Guarantee Fri 19 Aug 12:00 #1 MPP Open Day 1A $1,000 $1,000,000 Sat 20 Aug 12:00 #1 MPP Open Day 1B $1,000 $1,000,000 Sun 21 Aug 12:00 #1 MPP Open Day 1C $1,000 $1,000,000 Mon 22 Aug 12:00 #1 MPP Open Day 2 $1,000 $1,000,000 12:00 #2 EAPT Day 1A $1,000 $500,000 6:00 #2 EAPT Day 1B $1,000 $500,000 Tue 23 Aug 12:00 p.m. #1 MPP Open Day Final Day $1,100 1,000,000 12:00 p.m. #2 EAPT Day 1C $1,100 $500,000 6:00 p.m. #2 EAPT Day 1D $1,100 $500,000 Wed 24 Aug 10:00 .m. #2 EAPT Day 1 Turbo $1,100 $500,000 1:30 p.m. #2 EAPT Day 2 $1,100 $500,000 6:00 p.m. #3 La Notte Degli Assi Day 1A $550 $250,000 Thu 25 Aug 12:00 p.m. #2 EAPT Day 3 $1,100 $500,000 12:00 p.m. #3 La Notte Degli Assi Day 1B $550 $250,000 12:00 p.m. #4 MPP PLO Day 1 $2,200 $200,000 6:00 p.m. #3 La Notte Degli Assi Day 1C $550 $250,000 Fri 26 Aug 11:00 p.m. #3 La Notte Degli Assi Day 1 Turbo $550 $250,000 12:00 p.m. #5 MPP Warm Up Day 1A $2,200 $2,000,000 12:00 p.m. #4 MPP PLO Day Final Day $2,200 $200,000 12:00 p.m. #2 EAPT Day Final Day $1,100 $500,000 3:30 p.m. #3 La Notte Degli Assi Day 2 $550 $250,000 Sat 27 Aug 12:00 p.m. #5 MPP Warm Up Day 1B $2,200 $2,000,000 12:00 p.m. #3 La Notte Degli Assi Day Final Day $550 $250,000 12:00 p.m. #6 Ladies First $100 2:00 p.m. #7 La Casa Delle Carte Day 1 $330 Sun 28 Aug 12:00 p.m. #5 MPP Warm Up Day 1C $2,200 $2,000,000 12:00 p.m. #8 Malta Poker Festival Day 1 $550 12:00 p.m. #7 La Casa Delle Carte Day Final Day $330 Mon 29 Aug 12:00 p.m. #5 MPP Warm Up Day 2 $220 $2,000,000 12:00 p.m. #8 Malta Poker Festival Day Final Day $550 12:00 p.m. #10 MPP Mini Main Day 1A $550 $250,000 12:00 p.m. #9 MPP Main Event Day 1A $5,300 $5,000,000 Tue 30 Aug 12:00 p.m. #9 MPP Main Event Day 1B $5,300 $5,000,000 12:00 p.m. #10 MPP Mini Main Day 1B $550 $250,000 12:00 p.m. #5 MPP Warm Up Day Final Day $2,200 $2,000,000 8:00 p.m. #10 MPP Mini Main Day 1 Turbo $550 $250,000 Wed 31 Aug 12:00 p.m. #10 MPP Mini Main Day 2 $550 $250,000 12:00 p.m. #9 MPP Main Event Day 1C $5,300 $300 Thu 1 Sep 12:00 p.m. #10 MPP Mini Main Day Final Day $550 $250,000 12:00 p.m. #11 Irish Open Mediterranean Day 1A $1,100 $500,000 12:00 p.m. #9 MPP Main Event Day 2 $5,300 $5,000,000 6:00 p.m. #12 MPP 7-Max Day 1 $5,300 $500,000 Fri 2 Sep 12:00 p.m. #11 Irish Open Mediterranean Day 1B $1,100 $500,000 12:00 p.m. #12 MPP 7-Max Day Final Day $5,300 $500,000 12:00 p.m. #9 MPP Main Event Day 3 $5,300 $5,000,000 6:00 p.m. #13 MPP 6-Max Day 1 $5,300 $500,000 10:00 p.m. #11 Irish Open Mediterranean Day 1 Turbo $1,100 $500,000 Sat 3 Sep 12:00 p.m. #9 MPP Main Event Day Final Day $5,300 $5,000,000 12:00 p.m. #14 Irish 6-Max Mediterranean Day 1 $550 12:00 p.m. #11 Irish Open Mediterranean Day 2 $1,100 $500,000 12:00 p.m. #13 MPP 6-Max Day Final Day $5,300 $500,000 6:00 p.m. #15 MPP High Roller Day 1 $10,400 $1,000,000 Sun 4 Sep 12:00 p.m. #15 MPP High Roller Day Final Day $10,400 $1,000,000 12:00 p.m. #14 Irish 6-Max Mediterranean Day Final Day $550 12:00 p.m. #11 Irish Open Mediterranean Day 3 $1,100 $500,000 6:00 p.m. #16 MPP 6-Max High Roller Turbo $10,400 $500,000 Mon 5 Sep 12:00 p.m. #11 Irish Open Mediterranean Day Final Day $1,100 $500,000 Win Yourself a $10,000 Mediterranean Poker Party Package The event organisers, Luxon Pay, has been making moves in the poker landscape of late, with their easy-to-use, low-cost payments platform being used by a host of venues and events across Europe. These include, The Festival in Estonia, Dusk Till Dawn Poker Club in the United Kingdom, plus Kings Resort in Rozvadov, Czech Republic. Topping it all off is the Mediterranean Poker Party that is shaping up to be one of the must-play festivals on the live poker calendar. If the thought of three weeks in the Mediterranean has piqued your interest, youll be pleased to know that Merit Hotels is offering several options to suit all budgets, with all hotels within close proximity of the action. Furthermore, if you are looking for a package for the festival then Luxon Pay are offering a plethora of options that include accommodation and tournament buy-ins and can be found on the Mediterranean Poker Party website, under Promotions. You can also look to bag yourself a $10,000 Mediterranean Poker Party package, for free, by simply guessing the correct number of entrants in this year's WSOP Main Event. To be in with a chance of capturing this eye-watering package head to this page and follow the simple instructions, but be quick because the competition closes at 11:00 a.m. PST on July 3, 2022. World Series of Poker Reveals 2022-23 Circuit Schedule; Season 18 Kicks off July 20 June 29, 2022 Chad Holloway Executive Editor U.S. The schedule for the 18th season of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit was released on Wednesday and is comprised of 25 stops with 10 additional stops expected to be announced in the future. The new season will kick off immediately after the 2022 WSOP with a stop at Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Oklahoma from July 20-31. The World Series of Poker is back with the Circuit returning in just short of a month, said WSOP Senior Vice President and Executive Director Ty Stewart. With record-breaking attendance so far this summer, we expect a huge response to the full-scale return of our regional mid-stakes tour. Most WSOP Circuit stops will begin on Thursdays, with the four-day Main Events beginning on the second Friday of the tournament. Each stop is encouraged to add Seniors and Ladies events, where the winners will qualify to participate in the Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas. Each stop will offer at least a dozen official gold ring events starting as low as $250 with a capstone $1,700 buy-in Main Event. Additionally, there will be monthly online circuit events scheduled for players on WSOP.com. The prestigious $1 million freeroll will return featuring a similar format as the 2021-22 season. Beginning with the Choctaw Circuit Event, any official gold ring winners from either the live or online circuit events through May 2023, will qualify for the invitation-only Tournament of Champions event during the 2023 WSOP tournament in Las Vegas. Harveys Lake Tahoe & Caesars Southern Indiana Return; Chicago Stops WSOP Circuit ring Poker fans will be happy to learn that Harveys Lake Tahoe and Caesars Southern Indiana two longtime stops prior to the pandemic have returned to the schedule The WSOP Circuit will visit the former from October 20-31, 2022 and the latter from May 11-22, 2023. Similarly, the WSOP Circuit is slated to return to Horseshoe Hammond in the Chicagoland area from February 23-March 6, 2023, while also hosting a brand new stop at Grand Victoria Casino in Chicago, Illinois from November 10-21, 2022 and then against April 6-17, 2023. Noticeably absent from the schedule are any stops in Las Vegas, but with several Caesars properties throughout Sin City, theres a strong likelihood that a stop or two may be added in the future. The WSOP Circuit has previously visited Las Vegas venues such as Caesars Palace, Ballys, Planet Hollywood, and the Rio All-Suite Casino Hotel. 2022-23 WSOP Circuit Schedule Dates Venue July 20 - 31, 2022 Choctaw Durant (Dallas/Oklahoma) August 4 - 15, 2022 Harrahs Cherokee (North Carolina) August 17 - 28, 2022 Hard Rock (Tulsa) September 15 - 26, 2022 Horseshoe Council Bluffs (Omaha/Iowa) September 22 - October 2, 2022 Aruba Hilton (Aruba) September 29 - October 10, 2022 Thunder Valley Casino (Northern California) October 13 - 24, 2022 Isle of Capri (Pompano Beach, Florida) October 20 - 31, 2022 Harveys Lake Tahoe (Stateline, Nevada) November 3 - 13, 2022 Choctaw Durant (Dallas/Oklahoma) November 10 - 21, 2022 Grand Victoria Casino (Chicago, IL) November 24 - December 5, 2022 Harrahs Cherokee (North Carolina) December 3 - 14, 2022 The Bicycle Casino (Los Angeles) January 4 - 15, 2023 Choctaw Durant (Dallas/Oklahoma) January 12 - 23, 2023 Thunder Valley Casino (Northern California) January 19 - 30, 2023 Horseshoe/Tunica (MS) February 2 - 13, 2023 Isle of Capri (Pompano Beach, Florida) February 16 - 27, 2023 Harrahs Cherokee (North Carolina) February 23 - March 6, 2023 Horseshoe Hammond (Chicago) March 4 - 15, 2023 The Bicycle Casino (Los Angeles) March 9 - 20, 2023 Hard Rock (Tulsa) March 16 - 27, 2023 Turning Stone Resort Casino (Verona, NY) April 6 - 17, 2023 Grand Victoria Casino (Chicago, IL) April 20 - May 1, 2023 Horseshoe/Tunica (MS) May 4 - 15, 2023 Harrahs Cherokee (North Carolina) May 11 - 22, 2023 Caesars Southern Indiana, (Elizabeth, IN) 2022 World Series of Poker Hub Bookmark this page! All you need to know about the 2022 WSOP is here. Click here Sharelines The 2022/23 @WSOP Circuit schedule is comprised of 25 stops with 10 additional stops to be announced. Aiken, SC (29801) Today Partly cloudy early followed by scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. High around 90F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, then mainly cloudy after midnight. Low 72F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to cloudy skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 77F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. An investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation will audit the Federal Aviation Administration's oversight of Boeing's 787 assembly line, adding a new layer of government scrutiny to the troubled South Carolina-based program. The DOT's Office of Inspector General announced the review on June 29, citing "a number of concerns" that have been raised about the production of the Dreamliner and the 737 Max. It will begin in July and cover both airplanes. The goal will be to identify and resolve 787 and 737 Max production issues and to "address allegations of undue pressure within the production environment," the OIG memorandum stated. The audit was requested by the chairman and ranking members of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and its aviation subcommittee, which is led by Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash. Larsen's district includes Boeing's heavily unionized commercial aircraft stronghold in the Seattle area, where the company shut down the original 787 line last year and consolidated the Dreamliner program in right-to-work South Carolina. Larsen and Rep. Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat who heads up the infrastructure panel, called for a "thorough and unsparing" review and singled out the North Charleston operation in a joint statement this week. They noted that employees at the Boeing assembly plant off International Boulevard aren't represented by organized labor. "Our committee has repeatedly raised serious concerns with these persistent and unacceptable problems particularly at the non-union facility in South Carolina," they said in the statement. It wasn't immediately clear whether the audit will further delay Boeing's hopes of resuming deliveries of the 787, which the company now builds exclusively in North Charleston. The company declined to comment Thursday. The FAA hasn't allowed the planemaker to hand over a Dreamliner to a customer since May 2021 because of various manufacturing defects that are being reworked. The company said in April that it filed a plan to start delivering some of the roughly 120 completed 787s in its possession, but no decision has been issued. "If the FAA is under scrutiny, that increases the risk of further delays," said aviation expert and consultant Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory. The FAA, which is part of the transportation department, said in a written statement Thursday that "it welcomes outside scrutiny and looks forward to sharing how the agency has increased its oversight of Boeings production." The OIG doesn't comment publicly about its auditing procedures. On its website, it said the purpose of the reviews is "to promote the efficiency and effectiveness of DOT programs and operations and to detect and prevent waste, fraud and abuse." The FAA began taking a harder look at the 787 program when allegations arose that senior managers at the North Charleston factory put undue pressure on workers who are designated to inspect aircraft on behalf of the government safety agency. Boeing agreed in 2020 to pay $1.21 million to settle the matter. Last year, the FAA increased its oversight by taking over a critical factory review for four locally built 787s and certifying them for flight. Boeing is still working to mend its relationship with regulators. The ties were frayed badly by the crisis that enveloped the 737 Max, which was grounded worldwide in March 2019 after two crashes linked to faulty flight control software killed 346 passengers and crew members. The plane has been cleared to fly again by most countries. Last year, the U.S. Justice Department charged the aerospace giant with conspiring to defraud the FAA, saying some Boeing workers impeded the investigation into the Max crashes by providing misleading statements. The company agreed to pay about $2.5 billion to settle the criminal case. It recently named one of its local executives to serve as the liaison between the FAA and the roughly 1,000 employees who are authorized to inspect Dreamliners and other planes on behalf of the government agency. Boeing South Carolina's payroll has shrunk in recent years, but the company remains one of the region's largest employers. As of earlier this year, it had about 5,500 employees statewide, mostly at the 787 plant and other sites in North Charleston. Columbia, SC (29201) Today Partly cloudy early followed by scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. High around 90F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, then mainly cloudy after midnight. Low near 75F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. ELGIN A set of earthquakes this week rattled Dodd Owens' Elgin antique shop with enough power to send pictures crashing to the ground, shatter the glass in their frames, topple ceramic steins and make a table appear shimmy its way along the floor. Though the recent spate of quakes in the small Kershaw County town has been in small increments, the magnitude numbers seem to keep rising 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6. "It's not bad but they're getting more intense," said Robin Cooper, as she browsed the shop shelves. "It could go to 4 next time." Sheila Leonard, who works in the shop, said the quakes have been a source of gossip in the store. One customer told Leonard he had purchased extra insurance to cover earthquakes. The coverage kicks in July 1, so he's hopeful nothing major happens in the final hours. And she'd heard about another resident whose water pipes had come loose on their above-ground pool. "I'm beginning to think there's a washing machine that's gotten overloaded beneath us," Cooper said. The town, 25 miles from downtown Columbia, was rumbled by 10 earthquakes in less than 24 hours on June 29 and 30. Many residents continue about their daily business, but the recent round of temblors the state's strongest in eight years has some feeling shook. "Folks had grown almost immune until the recent events and so many in one day," Elgin Town Councilman Paul Rizzo said. The town of 1,600 residents and those in the surrounding area have experienced a total of 47 quakes since Christmas. Geologists studying the ongoing spate of earthquakes, called a swarm, believe this may be the longest period of successive earthquake activity in the states recorded history, according to the S.C. Emergency Management Division. While the sheer number seems hefty for an area of South Carolina that historically hasn't seen seismic activity, only about a quarter of the quakes fell within a magnitude that can be felt by residents 2.5 to 5.4. But of those, three earthquakes above 3 in magnitude have struck in less than a week. A 3.6 magnitude quake struck around 7 p.m. June 29 with enough force to be felt more than 100 miles away in Charlotte and areas just outside Charleston, Spartanburg and Conway, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. "We got to the point where you hear a little boom or feel a little bit during the day or at night, and you get accustomed to it," Elgin Mayor Melissa Emmons said. "But right now with the intensity of the ones that we're getting, I'm good to do without these." It was enough for the mayor to call S.C. Department of Transportation on June 29 to examine a bridge east of the town on U.S. 1, a heavily traveled road for those going between Elgin and the neighboring town of Lugoff with destinations like the high school. The inspection came back clear, state Transportation Secretary Christy Hall said. Her agency typically inspects structures after an earthquake of magnitude 4 or more. It usually takes a magnitude of 5.5 or higher to inflict even slight damage with the potential impact rising as the magnitude increases. Emmons also is planning a community meeting sometime after the July 4th holiday to update worried residents. When the 3.6 magnitude quake hit, Cooper's 92-year-old mother-in-law stumbled as she was trying to walk. In the basement of their home, photos fell off the walls and a window cracked. She has asked a contractor to come after the holiday to examine the foundation. Some Midlands residents have questioned whether nearby mining operations could be the source. But seismologists in the state have said there is no evidence to that work is a cause and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control stated the state permitted mines are not allowed to dig deep enough to be the cause. Elgin sits on the Eastern Piedmont fault system, which consists of several fault lines extending from Alabama to Virginia. On its way northeast, the fault stretches across the middle of South Carolina following the Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line, where area geology fades from the marine sediment of the coastal plain into the rock of the old Appalachian Mountains in the Piedmont. But because there are so few earthquakes in the Palmetto State when compared to more seismically active West Coast states, Steven Jaume, a seismologist at the College of Charleston, said scientists don't have a good idea which faults are still moving and might trigger a quake. Seismologists also believe these low-magnitude quakes are not indicators of larger earthquakes to come, the state Emergency Management Division said. Zoe Smothers was serving up slices to regulars at Tony's Pizza on Elgin's Main Street when the first of the larger quakes came June 29. She said while many of the decorations on display in the restaurant's dining room are a glued down but some of the vases, bottles and baskets that weren't secured rattled about. "Obviously there's some kind of pattern," Smothers said. "Something started this but who knows what it could be." MORRIS ISLAND Squeezed off of many beaches by rising sea levels on one side and development on the other, least terns often nest on gravel rooftops near the South Carolina coast. But about 40 pairs of the threatened species showed up this year on the beach at Morris Island. This uninhabited island adjacent to Charleston Harbor hasn't been been hospitable in the past: The last time this species was spotted here, in 2018, the nest washed away before the chicks were ready to fly. The couple of pairs that tried to nest here in 2010, the only other time recorded, also failed to raise any chicks. Conservationists say there are signs this year might be different, as long as the birds survive through the July Fourth holiday weekend. This year's colony is on high ground, unlikely to be disturbed by rising waters. On June 30, 34 chicks were visible through binoculars, most of them old enough to have feathers. One tried, with varying levels of success in heavy winds, to learn to fly near the shoreline. An adult with a fish in its mouth flew back toward the colony and the high-pitched squawking of its kin. Once a least tern is born, it takes about 25 to 30 days before a chick is ready to fly south. One of the biggest remaining threats to them beyond predators that range from coyotes to ghost crabs and laughing gulls is people. The site, which is roped off to keep anyone from disturbing it, is one of three public beaches in South Carolina where least terns are nesting this year. The other two are on Isle of Palms and Little Capers Island, also known as Bull Point. "For July Fourth, we're worried about all of them," said Allyssa Zebrowski, Audubon South Carolina's coastal stewardship coordinator, who noted that large crowds of boaters often park on Morris Island on weekends. "These birds are trying to raise families and we should give them as much space as possible ... because their numbers are in decline," she said. Disturbing the adults can be deadly for the young: It gives predators a chance to attack. And sand temperatures regularly reach 130 degrees in the summer heat that can be overwhelming for the eggs or chicks. Least terns, as their name suggests, are the smallest terns that live in North America. The adults, typically measuring less than 10 inches long, are gray on top, white underneath, with a yellow beak and black head. On first glance, they could easily be mistaken for a gull. They swoop down aggressively toward people or other perceived predators, a move that can leave chicks and eggs vulnerable to predators or scalding sand temperatures. They also have a mating dance: Male terns catch a fish, then wiggle it in front of the female to impress her. The colony was discovered by one of Audubon's bird steward volunteers over Memorial Day weekend. Conservationists had already spotted a couple of other species nesting on the island. On a recent day, oystercatchers, plovers and pelicans flew or rested nearby. Sea bird populations have declined 70 percent since 1950. Audubon has more than 100 volunteer stewards who help protect colonies and let people know how to safely share the beach with the birds, many of which are difficult to detect because they blend in with the sand. "It would be amazing if this colony makes it," said Cami Duquet, shorebirds steward coordinator for the state Department of Natural Resources. "It only takes one dog or one family to ruin a colony." Conservationists have some advice for visitors: Stay close to the water line on walks. Consider leaving the dog at home this weekend. Avoid roped-off areas. Make sure the boat isn't anchored too close to a nest. And if the birds start dive-bombing toward you, retreat. They're harmless, but it's a sign you've come too close. The 549 King St. space once occupied by King Street Public House will soon undergo yet another facelift as the co-founder of an acclaimed New York City bar readies the building for a new two-part bar. Bonnys Hideaway, the current occupant, will close later in 2022 so the space can be transformed into an elevated Irish pub with an adjacent cocktail lounge. Dubbed Hazel and Apple, Hazel will operate as the pub portion up front, while the latter will serve seasonal craft cocktails in an upmarket setting equipped with an outdoor patio. The Dead Rabbit co-founder Sean Muldoon, 50, and former beverage director Jillian Vose, 37, are behind the new project. Both are leaving their positions at the New York City bar, which in 2016 earned the top spot on The Worlds 50 Best Bars List, to move to Charleston. Muldoon, a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, has been visiting Charleston for years. When his friend and Prohibition owner James Walsh floated the idea of partnering up in Charleston, Muldoon jumped at the opportunity to open a bar right next door to Walsh and Prohibition. The bars name comes from a William Butler Yeats poem. In Ireland, Hazel represents wisdom and maturity, while Apple denotes youth and vigor. In addition to describing the two-part space, the name is a subtle reference to the two owners personalities, Muldoon said. Its our dream bar, and it's a bar that me and Jillian are really excited about, Muldoon said. Muldoon and Vose plan to open Hazel and Apple by April at the latest, but they hope to debut the concept sooner. Given that timetable, Bonny's Hideaway will likely close less than one year after opening. Bonny's was always meant to be a temporary concept, Muldoon said, adding that the bar and restaurant will essentially operate as a pop-up until the space needs to be closed for full renovations. Hazel and Apple is solely owned by Muldoon and Vose, but Walsh and The Dead Rabbit invested in the new venture to help bring it to fruition. The large space can hold over 250 people at full capacity, one of the reasons Muldoon decided to break it up into two parts. What we wanted to be was sort of bring our version of an Irish pub, Muldoon said. Because the venue is so big, it lends itself to two different rooms. Two different bars with a kitchen in between. Hazel will serve as that quintessential Irish pub, while Apple will offer a seasonal cocktail menu featuring more sophisticated drinks. I think it's going to have a brightness and an elegance to it, Vose said. Hazel will seat 120 people, and Apple will be able to hold another 65, with the kitchen and bathrooms separating the two. Hazel and Apples food program will have an emphasis on seafood, with a few classic Irish dishes landing on the menu. A chef has not yet been named. Georgetown, SC (29440) Today Isolated thunderstorms during the morning becoming more widespread this afternoon. High near 85F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms, especially during the evening. Low 73F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. The South Carolina GOP executive committee will decide June 30 whether to reinstate Joey Russo as the winner of the District 17 race for Greenville County Council or call for a new election to be held after the Greenville County GOP threw out the results of the June 14 primary race. Russo defeated longtime councilman Joe Dill in the GOP primary for the seat that represents northern Greenville County. Dill appealed the results to the local party, which voted to invalidate the results and called for the county to schedule a new election. Dill presented anecdotal evidence to members of the GCGOP in a meeting June 23 of his concern that some of the electronic voting machines in the district werent calibrated properly. One voter testified she was turned away from voting due to an expired drivers license. The county party then voted not to recognize the results of the election and called for a new election. Russo beat Dill in the primary by 132 votes. Russo then appealed the June 23 decision to the state party, which scheduled an executive committee hearing for June 30 in Columbia. Russo will argue that the state party should certify the original results and declare him the winner. Last weeks hearing was an orchestrated attempt to overturn the clear will of Republican primary voters in District 17, Russos attorney, Sloan Ellis, said in a statement to The Post and Courier. Among many other reasons, since Joey was not served with Mr. Dills protest as required by law, the committees decision is not valid and cannot stand. The SCGOP executive committee will hold a courtroom-style hearing with committee persons from each county serving as the jury and hearing arguments and testimony from each party, said Claire Brady, SCGOP communications director. The committee will then deliberate behind closed doors and will issue its ruling that night, she said. Sign up for our Greenville daily update newsletter. Sign up for daily roundups of our top stories, news and culture from the Upstate. This newsletter is hand-curated by a member of our Greenville news staff. Email Sign Up! Dill said he doesnt plan to attend the hearing. He said state law required the hearing to be held by June 25 at noon and that he doesnt believe the hearing is valid. Anything they do from here on is a violation of the law, Dill said. Im not going to attend his hearing because its circumventing state law and its not legal to have that meeting. Brady said three attorneys with the SCGOP had reviewed the law and found that the hearing must be held by the Saturday next after the local partys decision was made, not the Saturday immediately following the county partys decision. Dill said hes keeping his options open for what he will do once the state party issues its decision. Dill was first elected to the council in 1998 and has served six terms. He served 12 years on the county school board prior to that. He is currently chairman of the councils planning and development committee. Russo is running for public office for the first time. He is the owner of Greenville Industrial Rubber and Gasket Co. and is a former Greenville County Sheriffs Office deputy. Joey looks forward to the general election and ultimately representing the citizens of District 17 on County Council, Ellis said. If Russos win is upheld, he would face Democratic Party candidate Sheryl Guarniero in the November general election. Abortions increased by 15 percent last year in South Carolina, with nearly three out of four induced by medication, according to a new state report. The report from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control comes just as the state enacted a new stricter abortion law, and the Legislature is poised to begin hearings on an outright ban and what, if any, exceptions to allow. There were 6,279 abortions in the state last year, up from 5,468 in 2020, the agency reported. The increase was not a surprise and reflects a national trend of increased use as the U.S. Supreme Court prepared to weigh in on abortion rights, and women may have realized it could go away, said Vicki Ringer, director of public relations for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. "They are acting quicker than they have done in the past," she said. Of those, 4,629 were medication-aided, or 74 percent, which has been steadily increasing from 56 percent in 2018, according to a Post and Courier analysis. Surgical abortions have been steadily declining in both number and percentage since then as well and were down 20 percent since 2018, the analysis found. The costs are essentially the same for both because a doctor has to do it. Even if it is just handing the patient pills, "unnecessary regulations" apply to both surgical and medication-aided abortions, Ringer said. The pills are just easier for some women, she said. "For many who are nervous or scared about a procedure, this feels less invasive," Ringer said. Following the Supreme Court striking down a national right to abortion in overturning Roe v. Wade on June 24, state leaders moved quickly to enforce the Fetal Heartbeat Law that had been held up by a federal court injunction. That law took effect June 27, essentially banning abortion once something resembling a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which could be as early as six weeks. The court's ruling also ignited a national debate over the right to abortion, with multiple pro-abortion protests springing up throughout the country, including several in Charleston and a gathering inside the S.C. Statehouse on June 28 when abortion wasn't even being discussed. The Fetal Heartbeat Law could become moot in coming weeks as the Legislature considers a total ban on abortion and what exemptions there might be to that. It will begin in the House when the 12-member Ad Hoc Committee holds its first hearing beginning at noon July 7 in the House office building on the grounds of the Capitol. In the other chamber, one of the most strident abortion opponents has already filed a bill seeking virtually no exceptions. Sen. Richard Cash filed the Equal Protection at Conception No Exceptions Act. It would allow an abortion only to remove a fetus thats died in the womb or to end an ectopic pregnancy, one where the fertilized egg is growing outside of the uterus, where it will not survive and could endanger the life of the mother if there is a rupture. The bill would also make it illegal to take a pregnant girl under 18 years old across state lines to get an abortion. Whoever accompanies her, whether a friend or consenting parents, could get charged with a felony. That bill "will make me providing a pregnant woman a telephone number to our Charlotte abortion clinic a crime," Ringer said. Cash, R-Powdersville, had previously tried to remove exemptions for rape or incest during the debate on the current law, which allows them for fetuses fewer than 20 weeks old, or when necessary to save the life of the mother. In 2021, there were two abortions after 20 weeks to save the life of the mother, and nine due to fetal anomalies, according to the DHEC report. DHEC does not report how many abortions resulted from rape or incest. The number of abortions induced by six weeks, the new standard, has also been increasing steadily since 2018 and was at 48 percent in 2021, according to DHEC. However, because South Carolina gauges that time period as weeks since fertilization versus weeks since the last menstrual period, that number and percentage would be higher than how other states and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would calculate it. When reporting South Carolina's data, for instance, the CDC adds two weeks to harmonize with its methodology. The number at six weeks or less is much lower using that method. In 2019, DHEC reported the number of abortions at 6 weeks or less at 2,323 or 46 percent, while CDC showed 1,063 or 21 percent, less than half the state's total. Even with rising gas prices and population increases on the coast, state officials insist South Carolina is prepared to execute an evacuation should a severe storm occur this season. An evacuation order hasn't been issued for the coast since wind, surge and flooding from Hurricane Dorian in 2019 caused widespread damage in the state. At that time, Gov. Henry McMaster urged 830,000 residents of multiple coastal counties to leave their homes. The state's population has increased by 1.4 percent since July 2021 to 5,190,705 people, recent census data shows. Most of the growth took place in areas closest to the state's biggest cities. In terms of coastal municipalities, Bluffton added 3,457 more people in the past year, North Charleston grew by 1,701 residents and 1,527 people moved to Mount Pleasant. In the Charleston area, there's about a 48-hour maximum window needed to clear the area in the event of a severe storm, said Kim Stenson, director of the S.C. Emergency Management Division. The clearance time was last updated in 2019 to account for an increase in population then. Stenson said the state will probably go through the process again soon to update evacuation planning timelines. In June, state agencies tested hurricane evacuation plans that call for reversing traffic on major highways to speed departures from the coast. Since 2016, McMaster has called for lane reversals three times. Eight coastal counties in South Carolina are divided into a number of evacuation zones. During smaller storms, it might only be necessary to evacuate people living in zones closest to the coast. And in stronger storms, some of the more inland zones might need to be evacuated. State emergency management officials have made it easy for people to learn which zone they reside in. The agency's website includes a feature where people can enter their address to learn their zone. Evacuation zones are based on how far inland storm surge could reach. It is possible to be in a Federal Emergency Management Agency-declared flood zone but not in a hurricane evacuation zone. Flood zones are based on riverine flooding, and evacuation zones are more concerned with modeled storm surge, said EMD hurricane program manager Leah Blackwood. "The greatest cause of loss of life and property is storm surge," Blackwood said. Even when there's a mandatory evacuation, Stenson said the EMD has discovered that about 20 percent of the people along the coast do not leave. "If they stay in the evacuation zone and there's a large impact in terms of power outages and roads blocked, they're not going to have any services down there," Stenson said. "They're not going to be able to go to the hospital very easily if they hurt themselves, and that sort of thing." If transportation is the cause for people staying home during hurricanes, the state has a solution. State officials have executed a Critical Transportation Needs Plan only twice, but it is meant to help people with no other way to get to emergency shelters during hurricanes and other severe storms. When needed, the state emergency office will contract buses to bring people from disaster-prone areas to other parts of the state. The Charleston Area Convention Center is a rally point for buses to deliver people in Charleston County. From there, they go to shelters further inland, Stenson said. About 10,000 people in the Charleston area could be expected to take advantage of this service. "The two times we've done it before, no one's really taken advantage of it, "Stenson said. "It just hasn't been a real need." For those who have reliable transportation, emergency officials recommend a half of tank of gas be kept in vehicles in case they have to evacuate from Charleston to Columbia. More than 250 locations have been identified as shelters in the state, including in parts of the Upstate. Many are staffed by the American Red Cross and the Department of Social Services. In the last nine years, about 8,000 people have gone to emergency shelters, Stenson said. So there's usually plenty of room at them during storms. Transportation and shelters are available for those who choose to evacuate. But regardless of whether people leave or stay put during a storm, the emergency response is to encourage all residents to prepare their homes. People who don't live in an evacuation zone could still see the effects of a hurricane making landfall. It is important to make sure insurance coverage includes damage from rain, wind and flooding. Roofs should also be inspected and shutters properly installed. With the current supply chain issues, getting the necessary items before a storm might be a bit of a challenge. "So now's the time to kind of start collecting those things your emergency supply kit over time and keeping it stocked throughout hurricane season," said Derrec Becker, an EMD spokesman. "That way, you'll have enough for your family to survive on for at least three days or preferably for a week or more." EMD has compiled a 2022 Hurricane Guide that includes more preparation tips including information about evacuation routes, emergency alerts and important contacts, among other things. Find it online at hurricane.sc. Summerville, SC (29483) Today Partly cloudy early. Thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 89F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 74F. Winds light and variable. MYRTLE BEACH Hundreds of protesters gathered in Chapin Park on June 29 to denounce the Supreme Courts recent decision overturning Roe v. Wade. The protest was held in response to the Supreme Courts June 24 action which repealed the constitutional right to abortion which had existed in the U.S. for nearly 50 years. The ruling now allows states to regulate abortion, and more than 20 conservative-leaning states are considering or have already implemented new restrictions. Lorraine Woodward, a member of the Grand Strand Action Team leadership team, was one of the main organizers of the protest. She said she felt disgusted, disappointed and depressed for a brief period of time after she learned about the Supreme Courts decision. However, Woodward said after those fleeting emotions passed, she felt impassioned to mobilize a protest in support of abortion rights. This is a different era so now, we have to figure out where we go from here," Woodward said. "I think the way we go is we mobilize, we get people out to vote for people who are protectors and will be protectors of womens right to choose and womens right to autonomy over their own bodies. Nothing changes if people dont take action. The protest featured a wide array of protesters, including men and women of various races, ethnicities, sexualities and ages. Many mothers also came out in support, including one woman named Kay Kingsley, 25, of Myrtle Beach, who dressed as a character from The Handmaids Tale, a futuristic dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood. Kingsley is married and has three children. She needed to have an abortion two weeks ago due to an ectopic pregnancy a life-threatening pregnancy where the fertilized egg implants and grows outside the main cavity of the uterus. In this case, the egg had implanted in Kingsleys fallopian tube. Kingsley said she learned about the ectopic pregnancy while going in for a normal visit with her obstetrician-gynecologist. Once they learned about it, her healthcare provider urged her to go to the hospital, where she received treatment in order to allow for future pregnancies. If it wasnt for the healthcare that we had previously, then there wouldnt have been such swift action in order to save my life and I wouldnt have gone home to my kids, Kingsley said. Because of where we are today, there are going to be women who will be in my shoes that are going to doubt going to the hospital in the first place, and they might not go home to their children. While the protest took place, about five young men, laughing and holding vlogging cameras, counter-protested along the park's sidewalk. They bantered back and forth with about 20 pro-choice protesters, while shouting, "Abortion is murder." The group of 20 pro-choice protesters quickly formed a wall in the park to block the young men from the rest of the people in attendance, while chanting, "Block those kids." At the protest, many women at the protest expressed anger and resentment toward the Supreme Court for their ruling, including Judy Cooper, 79, of Philadelphia, who has protested in support of abortion rights for more than 50 years since before the passing of Roe v. Wade in 1973. Cooper, now retired, began supporting abortion rights while working as a K-8 teacher. After Roe v. Wade passed, she remembered how, in the 1980s, she used to escort women into abortion clinics in Philadelphia, while engaging in activism in other ways. Today, she said she feels angry about the Supreme Court's ruling because she is concerned about other womens rights being revoked, in addition to the constitutional right to an abortion. I dont think young women realize what they may have to go through, Cooper said. People have to vote. The protest was organized by the Grand Strand Action Team and the Womens Rights and Empowerment Network in South Carolina. FLORENCE Tiger King star Bhagavan Doc Antle is one of five people named in a 10-count federal indictment for wildlife trafficking and money laundering returned by a grand jury this week. The indictment and a previous federal complaint allege that Antle and one of his Myrtle Beach Safari employees, Andrew Sawyer, laundered more than $500,000 they thought were "proceeds of an operation to smuggle illegal immigrants across the Mexican border into the United States," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina. The duo allegedly concealed the money by providing checks from a business controlled by Antle and a business controlled by Sawyer. Antle and Sawyer claimed the checks were for construction work at the 50-acre wildlife preserve in Socastee outside Myrtle Beach, but federal officials countered the checks were written to make the pair appear to have legitimate income, court documents said. Antle and Sawyer allegedly received a 15 percent fee of any amount laundered. "Kudos to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for doing what the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has refused to do for years: Crack down on Doc Antles endangered-animal exploitation outfit," PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet stated in a June 30 email. "PETA will keep pushing the USDA to do its job, revoke Antles license, and stop letting him profit from animals misery." According to the indictment, Antle, along with Meredith Bybee of Myrtle Beach, Charles Sammut of Salinas, California, and Jason Clay of Franklin, Texas, also illegally trafficked and falsified records regarding wildlife. The animals involved included lemurs, cheetahs and a chimpanzee. Sammut and Clay are the owners and operators of Vision Quest Ranch and Franklin Drive Thru Safari, respectively. Antle and Sawyer are eligible for up to 20 years in federal prison for the money laundering charges and up to five years for the wildlife trafficking charges. Antle was granted a $250,000 bond on the money laundering charges by U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Rogers during a June 27 hearing, where the controversial tiger handler appeared on a video feed from the J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Conway. Rogers set bond conditions on the Myrtle Beach Safari owner, including releasing Antle to his son, who is responsible for making sure Antle makes his scheduled court appearances and limiting him to his Myrtle Beach-area animal preserve. The hearing came weeks after Antles lawyers asked for the release of the nationally known star on bond because of his health issues, no prior convictions and the importance of him running the 50-acre tourist attraction located off of S.C. Highway 707. Antle was featured on the hit Netflix series Tiger King, about animal handler and zoo operator Joe Exotic, who also was targeted for animal mistreatment and was sent to prison in a plot to kill a rival, Carole Baskin. Richard Caines contributed reporting from Myrtle Beach. A 35-year-old Anderson man who was among the first rioters to breach the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, has pleaded guilty to charges that carry up to 20 years in prison. George Tenney III on June 30 became the eighth South Carolinian convicted of storming the seat of U.S. democracy that day as Congress sought to formally certify Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election. Eight others from the Palmetto State still have charges pending 15 months after a violent mob of then-President Donald Trump supporters briefly disrupted the countrys peaceful transfer of power. Messages obtained by investigators showed Tenney had planned to take part in a siege of the Capitol building and Congress if the electoral votes don't go right. He was among the most violent of South Carolinas 16 defendants that day, charging documents attest. Surveillance footage from inside the Capitol showed Tenneys portly frame shoving and pulling police officers as he sought to open the buildings exterior doors from within and let more Trump supporters in. Eventually, he succeeded. Come on, Americans, Tenney yelled as the mob rushed through the entrance. He patted some on the back as they went. Tenney, who has two years of college education, will be sentenced in the coming months. His penalties will likely include prison time, federal judge Thomas Hogan in Washington said June 30 during the plea hearing done by conference call. Though Tenney's charges carry two decades behind bars and a fine of up to $250,000, his sentence will ultimately be much more lenient than that. Of the four South Carolinians who have been sentenced so far, just one has been sent to prison. Little River construction worker Nicholas Languerand, a QAnon conspiracy theorist with a history of drug abuse and threats to law enforcement, received 44 months behind bars for hurling a series of objects at police who guarded a Capitol entrance on Jan. 6. Tenney has already agreed to pay $2,000 in restitution toward the nearly $1.5 million in damage caused to the Capitol that day, according to a plea deal with prosecutors that dropped several of the charges against him. The U.S. Department of Justice has offered such plea deals to many of roughly 800 defendants charged with storming the Capitol building as it seeks to clear the Washington, D.C., court systems backlog and focus on the worst offenders that day. That includes leaders of extremist groups such as the Proud Boys, who sought to spark the violence that day. Agents working the expansive FBI investigation of Jan. 6 tracked down Tenney with the help of surveillance footage, facial recognition technology, cell phone GPS data, a tipster and social media messages where he bragged about having first hand knowledge of the riot. When investigators met with Tenney, he admitted to his involvement. He also didnt do a great job of hiding it: Tenney wore the same black jacket to his interview with agents that he wore inside the Capitol on Jan. 6. Tenney entered the Capitol through a Senate wing door at 2:19 p.m. that day despite seeing broken glass and hearing alarms blaring, court records say. He lingered just 13 minutes in the building, eventually climbing out through a broken window. It was unclear nearly three years ago what would happen to a cache of civil rights-era items with a Charleston provenance. The collection included the original tape of a Martin Luther King Jr. speech delivered July 30, 1967 at Charleston County Hall, as well as a recording surreptitiously made of a Ku Klux Klan rally the night before Kings appearance. It also contained audio of Ralph Abernathys lengthy speech of April 1, 1969, delivered during the Charleston Hospital Workers Strike. Abernathy had become president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference after Kings assassination in April 1968, and he was in town along with other civil rights leaders to support nurses and other workers protesting unequal pay and mistreatment. The audio recordings have not been heard except by a few and are sure to attract the attention of civil rights scholars, students and others. The year 1967 was pivotal in the life of King, who was shifting his attention from integration and enfranchisement to systemic problems of mass poverty, American imperialism and Black self-determination. The collection went to auction in 2019 and sold in New York City for $55,000 plus a 25-percent buyers premium. Now its back in Charleston, part of the holdings of the College of Charlestons Avery Research Center thanks to a donation from the Merrill C. Berman Collection. Avery staff plan to mount an exhibition in 2023 contextualizing and interpreting the materials for public consumption. The items had belonged to Columbia-based journalist Eugene Sloan who covered the events and made the recordings when he worked for The State newspaper. His daughters, Laura and Mary, tried to sell the collection intact a few years ago. The International African American Museum declined the offer since at the time it wasnt a collecting institution and did not have the means to store and preserve the materials, a curator had said. Bureaucracy got in the way when the Avery and the Center for Civil Rights History and Research at the University of South Carolina expressed interest in procuring the collection. At the time, Laura Crosby, a Summerville resident, and her sister Mary Roby were disappointed that the boxful of civil rights history wasnt purchased by someone in Charleston, Crosby told The Post and Courier. Their father thought highly of King and appreciated the efforts of civil rights activists, she said. Sloan died of a heart attack in 1969. The items remained in storage for decades. Avery Director Tamara Butler said the collection will help her team update a narrative that has long portrayed Charleston as a relatively mild-mannered place that saw far less confrontation and violence than cities such as Birmingham or Montgomery in Alabama. Theres a reason King came to Charleston in 1967, she said. The groundwork had been laid by local activists over many years since the city was not an afterthought of the freedom movement but one of its essential hubs. That's why Butler wants to use the new gift and the history it represents as a tool to find related testimonies of racial resistance and rebellion. The larger hope for us is that it will actually open up a gateway for us to collect stories, she said. Perhaps some in Charleston can share their memories of that period where they were and what they were doing on the night of Kings speech, or when Abernathy was in town, Butler said. The bigger goal is to get more voices in conversation with these (of King and Abernathy), she said. Besides the tapes, which include remarks from Johns Island activist Esau Jenkins and his granddaughter Jackie Gimball, the collection contains photographs of King and his entourage, the equipment Sloan used to make the audio recordings, photographs of the Klan rally and Sloans Hasselblad medium-format camera. On one of the tapes, listeners can hear KKK Grand Dragon Robert Scoggin at a meeting in Ravenel calling for Kings assassination, followed by sounds of approval from those gathered that night. King, instead, condemned violence in his half-hour speech. Responding to urban riots, he told his audience that setting fire to property within their communities was counterproductive. Better, he said, to build, baby build. Aaisha Haykal, Averys manager of archival services, said the audio eventually will be made available online, perhaps along with digital images of some of the other items. A grant received a few years ago from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission is helping to fund digitization efforts. Another grant received this year from the Donnelley Foundation will help pay for an oral history project thats likely to overlap with the effort to create an exhibit that places Kings address at its center. Daron Calhoun, Averys outreach and public programming coordinator, and coordinator of the race and social justice initiative, said securing the collection took some convincing. The staff insisted the materials needed to be housed in Charleston, and that Avery could contextualize them in ways that engaged the larger community. Calhoun formed a curatorial committee of nine to help identify, prioritize and organize exhibition projects, he said. The group includes museum and nonprofit professionals, city officials, community members and student and faculty representatives. The King project has shot to the top of the project list, though it could take a year or more to put it together, Calhoun said. Its going to take up the entire building, he said. A former Sullivan's Island policewoman claims in a newly filed lawsuit the former deputy town administrator harassed her for more than a year by making sexually suggestive remarks and offering to impregnate the womans wife. Amanda Capone said town officials failed to promptly investigate her claims of harassment by former Deputy Town Administrator Jason Blanton, which caused her emotional and physical distress, according to a civil complaint filed June 17. The former officer said she believes town officials retaliated against her for filing an internal complaint. She was passed up for a promotion and placed on administrative leave before resigning from the department in October, the civil complaint states. Blanton is the second town official to be accused of sexual harassment in the past year. In October, two women filed a lawsuit against Police Chief Chris Griffin claiming he sent them lewd messages during a 2019 work conference in Myrtle Beach. Griffin has denied wrongdoing in that case, which remains pending. Capone filed her lawsuit against the town of Sullivan's Island on June 17 in the 9th Circuits Court of Common Pleas. She seeks unspecified damages for negligence, emotional distress and civil rights violations, among other claims. Capone's Mount Pleasant attorney, Clayton B. McCullough, declined to comment about the lawsuit. The town's attorney, Dirk Aydlette of Columbia, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Capone, who is openly gay and married, was hired in January 2019 by the Sullivans Island Police Department working directly under Blanton enforcing the town's codes, according to the complaint. After graduating from the police academy in 2020, she took over the police departments budget, which required her to work more closely with the deputy town administrator. "Blanton appeared to have an obsession with Capone and her wife's personal life," the complaint states. Beginning in the summer of 2020, Blanton frequently disrupted work meetings to ask Capone questions about her sex life, the complaint states. The meetings were often attended by Griffin and another police department employee. Blanton allegedly asked Capone in one meeting if she found another patrolwoman attractive, adding he wanted to watch her and Capone make out, according to the complaint. In April 2021, Blanton offered to "inseminate Capone's wife for free" upon learning Capone and her wife were trying to have a child through in vitro fertilization. Blanton's comment made Capone feel sick and disgusted at work, the complaint states. A week later, Capone met with Town Administrator Andy Benke and Griffin to file a formal complaint against Blanton. Benke initially discouraged her from filing a formal complaint, the lawsuit states, but the police chief supported an investigation into Blanton. He reminded Benke of a previous incident in which Blanton suggested in a text message to staff that he make a replica of his genitalia to display at work. Benke agreed to investigate Capone's claims, as well as complaints made by another employee against Blanton, but later appeared to become frustrated when asked for updates on the case, according to the complaint. In July, Capone had a meeting with Mayor Patrick O'Neil and Benke to discuss Blanton's behavior toward her and other staff, the lawsuit states. One week later, the Town Council voted to demote Blanton, reduce his pay and suspend him for three days. Capone feared retaliation from Blanton, who allegedly told his staff Capone was "after him," the complaint states. A therapist wrote the town a letter in August stating Capone's interactions with Blanton had caused her physical and mental distress, according to the complaint. She was placed on administrative leave the following day and resigned from the department in October, according to the complaint. Blanton remains employed as comptroller and manager of administrative services, according to the town's website. Joe Henderson, the former director of zoning and planning, was promoted to deputy town administrator in May. The town has not filed a response to the lawsuit. NORTH CHARLESTON Authorities are searching for a 25-year-old man wanted in a double-homicide last year at an apartment complex. Rashiean Richmond Washington is charged with two counts of murder, one count of second-degree arson and a firearm offense, North Charleston Police Deputy Chief Ken Hagge said. Washington, aka "Mag," should be considered armed and dangerous. Washington is accused of fatally shooting two people Dec. 27 at Filbin Creek apartment complex, 1237 Sumner Ave. Jasmond Grant, 21, and Damarion Champagne, 17, were found dead from gunshot wounds in an apartment. Officials battled an active fire when they arrived at the apartment, an incident report states. A 60-year-old neighbor told authorities she saw a man wearing a mask run down the stairs after hearing gunshots, the report states. A bullet that pierced the neighbor's apartment wall was later found in her china cabinet, the report states. Washington's middle name is spelled "Richmon" in Charleston County jail booking records. North Charleston police are asking anyone with information regarding Washington's whereabouts to call its tip line at 843-607-2076. Anonymous tips can be made by calling Lowcountry Crime Stoppers at 843-554-1111. COLUMBIA After several projects in the Lowcountry, tree cutting is moving north on Interstate 26 as crews resurface the road. Citing reductions in the number of severe car wrecks on South Carolina's interstates, the state Department of Transportation has added tree removal to a number of projects over the past decade. In addition to improving safety, the department says cutting trees from the median and shoulders clears the way for road expansion as the state's population and traffic counts grow. Driving on I-26 today motorists will see trees being removed from the median and sides of the road over a 23-mile stretch from Interstate 95 in Dorchester County north to Orangeburg. While the focus of the project is repaving and drainage improvements, clearing trees within 55 feet of the roadway is included in the work, said DOT spokesman Pete Poore. The effort is expected to be complete by October 2024. Early last year, tree removal crews started in Ridgeville and cut north to I-95. The current cuttings mark the latest stretch. Cuttings along I-26 stem from a legislative push in 2015 to address accidents occurring on the interstate. According to DOT, 57 out of 68 severe-injury or fatal accidents that took place from 2007-11 in the Ridgeville to I-95 portion of I-26 involved hitting trees. The practice was put to the test earlier in 2009 when DOT added tree removal along 15 miles of Interstate 385 to a larger highway maintenance project. That stretch of road went from an average of 12 motorists crashing into trees each year to three annually. Serious and fatal crashes involving trees were reduced from about four to one annually. The results were repeated with projects on 13 miles of Interstate 26, between Summerville and Interstate 95, in 2014 and 2015 and more than 35 miles of I-95 in the Lowcountry in 2012 and 2018. Before that, trees were a factor in 25 percent of all fatal crashes in South Carolina, according to a study conducted by Clemson University in 2009. In 2019, that number was 12.5 percent, according to the latest annual SCDOT traffic statistics. Tree cutting has not always been popular with residents, who said removing the trees took away from area scenery. Following pushback in 2014, the first I-26 clearing project was shrunk from a targeted 30 miles down to 13. At that time, state lawmakers enacted a temporary requirement that the area councils of government had to approve cuttings before they take place. Current tree clearing projects do not face that requirement. But DOT officials note that in addition to safety concerns there are also plans to address traffic. Last year the department received approval for preliminary work to widen I-26, which sees an annual average daily traffic count of around 33,000 vehicles. Trees are typically cut down when an interstate is widened inward, Poore said. This saves the expense of buying right-of-way. Officials told The Post and Courier the goal is to eventually widen the interstate from Ridgeville to I-95, once funding is secured. Also last year on Interstate 20 trees were cleared from parts of Kershaw, Richland, Darlington and Florence counties. Guardrails were added in a number of locations. Some of this tree removal was part of DOT's Rural Road Safety Program, which clears vegetation as funds become available. Some are lauding the Dobbs decision that eliminated a woman's right to abortion as an example of conservative jurisprudence. They say it was nothing more than getting back to the true intent of the Constitution. They point out that there is no reference to a right to privacy in the Constitution. Since the abortion right is derived from a right to privacy, they claim there can be no right to abortion. They are wrong. I will concede that Roe v. Wade is a poorly written decision and that it depends upon the precedent of another poorly written case: Griswold v. Connecticut. I have criticized these cases before, and I have been worried for some time that their weaknesses might encourage right-wing judicial activism. And they have. It is true that there is no reference to a right to privacy in the Constitution. But let's take a step back from that for a moment. The landmark case of Marbury v. Madison (1803) established the basic power of judicial review. And as Justice John Marshall points out in that case, there is no reference to the power of judicial review in the Constitution. Marshall says that it must be implied because limited government demands it. He says that "this theory is essentially attached to a written constitution, and is consequently to be considered by this court as one of the fundamental principles of our society." In other words, if we are going to have a government that is truly limited, we must have judicial review, whether or not it is explicitly mentioned in the document. The Constitution is not like other laws. It is not a statement of rules and regulations. More than anything else, it is a statement of principles. That is why it is intended to endure for ages and why it can guide us even today. And the right to privacy is like judicial review. It is a fundamental principle of limited government. There must be a private sphere into which the government may not intrude. If the government can make decisions for women's reproductive choices, there are no limits to how far government can go. That is the essence of totalitarianism. The case that announced the right to privacy was Griswold v. Connecticut. And Justice William O. Douglas bless his heart created a mess by his choice of words. He talked about specific guarantees in the Bill of Rights having "penumbras, formed by emanations from those guarantees that help give them life and substance." Penumbras from emanations? A pretty poor choice of language. But what he is saying is that the principle of privacy is fundamental to our society. Some specifics are mentioned in the Constitution (as in the First, Fourth and Fifth amendments), but others are implied. Like judicial review. As the Ninth Amendment states: "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny to disparage others retained by the people." This is important. Our Founders wanted to be clear. Not all of our rights are "enumerated" in the document they bequeathed to us. But I would go further: The right to privacy is not just one more implied right. It is absolutely central to the existence of limited government. It defines limited government. The Dobbs decision is important not only because it eliminates the right to abortion, but also because it heralds in a new age of governmental intrusion into the private sphere. It threatens to replace limited government with unlimited government, total government, what we call totalitarianism. Justice Clarence Thomas has already suggested in his opinion in Dobbs that the court ought to reconsider the right of married people to birth control and the right of individuals to private sexual choices. And as terrifying as this is, it won't end there. The Dobbs decision is not conservative jurisprudence. John Marshall is the father of conservative jurisprudence, and the Dobbs decision dishonors that tradition. It is nothing more than right-wing activism. We now have a court that has been packed with people who are on a mission to undermine limited government and empower terrible forces that are growing in our country. So what comes next? There will be battles at the state and national level over abortion rights and other basic rights. And the courts will play an increasingly important role, as they feel that they are freed from the Constitution to do what they want. So passivity is no longer an option. Whatever your views, this is the time for active citizenship. It is time for people to wake up, roll up their sleeves, vote and get to work. For all of us who care about limited government, it is now time to make sure it stays limited. Solomon D. Stevens earned his doctorate in political science from Boston College and taught constitutional law, American government and political theory. He lives in North Charleston. Editorials represent the institutional view of the newspaper. They are written and edited by the editorial staff, which operates separately from the news department. Editorial writers are not involved in newsroom operations. The U.S. Supreme Court did not outlaw abortion last week. It did not restrict abortion. And if the court eventually reverses its precedents in cases involving contraceptives or same-sex marriage, it almost certainly will not outlaw any of that. Instead, it will do what it did with abortion, which is to return the question to our elected representatives. That is understandably worrisome for people who believe that abortion should remain legal particularly people who live in South Carolina and other states where lawmakers seem determined to outlaw it. But it's difficult to justify outrage toward the court if you believe in the foundational principle of our representative democracy: that we elect lawmakers to make our laws, and that courts step in only to interpret those laws and to guard clearly defined constitutional rights. And its irresponsible to suggest that the court should be expanded or altered because of unhappiness with its decisions decisions reached as a result of a nearly five-decade effort by Americans who felt as disenfranchised by the courts 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade as many Americans do today about its Dobbs v. Jackson ruling overturning Roe. The courts long-expected ruling in fact returns abortion to the status of most divisive issues, which are settled at the ballot box. Indeed, whats most unfortunate is that the ruling came in 2022, when our nation seems particularly ill-equipped to deal reasonably with the matter. In 1973, our society seemed to be well on its way to reaching a nuanced, middle-of-the-road position on abortion that would have allowed it early in pregnancies and under extraordinary circumstances later. That position, which would more closely mirror the rest of the industrialized world than either the anything-goes approach that has dominated our political landscape for a half-century or the total prohibitions that many states are likely to adopt, would have served our entire society well. But the 1973 court foreclosed that by prohibiting states and the Congress from regulating the procedure at all during the first three months of pregnancy (a position it has slowly backed away from) and severely limited restrictions through the next three months. The tragic reality is that the tribalism that has grown in no small part as a result of removing abortion from the normal give-and-take of politics might well have brought us to a position where a nuanced resolution is no longer possible. Still, we have an obligation to try to reach that sensible middle ground. That starts in South Carolina with our Legislature, which now has the legal leeway to impose any sort of abortion restrictions it chooses and which also has the ability to reach reasonable compromises. Although the Legislature intends to return to work this summer and fall to consider additional restrictions, lawmakers should recognize that a 2021 state law which a federal judge allowed to take effect on Monday already bans most abortions after about six weeks. That law is expected to cut the already-declining number of abortions performed in South Carolina by more than half. For anyone who cares about representing their constituents, that law should provide breathing room as voters come to terms with the new political reality. We understand that for some lawmakers, like some voters, this is a completely black-and-white issue: that abortion is murder, regardless of the circumstances. For many, though, staking out that position has been a political calculation: They knew it was popular among voters for whom ending abortion is the No. 1 political issue, and they knew that, as long as the court prevented them from following through, they wouldnt alienate more moderate voters who dont share that view. Like many Christian denominations, those lawmakers and much of the public believe that our society has been too promiscuous about abortion and that added legal restrictions are necessary but also that absolute bans go too far. Lawmakers whose current positions are based largely on political calculations as are lawmakers positions on most issues should insist on taking the time to carefully measure how the political landscape is changing. The job of lawmakers, after all, is to represent their constituents not to parrot our positions on every issue, but to be in broad alignment with our values. For voters who dont fall into either of the extreme camps, the task ahead is clearer: First, let your elected officials know what you think about abortion. Lawmakers will be hearing a lot from the no-restrictions and total-ban camps; they need to hear from all of us somewhere in the vast middle. We then should vote accordingly, for the candidates who come closest to our own positions, including the candidates who are best equipped to work toward reasonable restrictions. COLUMBIA U.S. Senate candidate and South Carolina state Rep. Krystle Matthews publicly apologized for a number of expletive-laden comments she made in a jailhouse phone call leaked by a conservative activist group. She then called on Republicans to examine their own alleged misdeeds ahead of the November midterms. In a hastily announced press conference on the Statehouse steps June 30, the Ladson Democrat said she regretted the language she used on the call with David Solomon Ballard, an inmate at Perry Correctional Institution. A recording of the conversation was obtained by Project Veritas, which has a history of targeting and trying to embarrass liberal political candidates. During the call, Matthews appeared to advocate for a number of questionable campaign tactics including the acceptance of drug money to finance her campaign, the enlistment of "sleeper" candidates to run as Republicans and the stealing of opponents' yard signs to defeat Republicans in November. Get you find me somebody from your family that dont even know you donating to my campaign and put that (expletive) under they names, she said at one point on the call. Matthews apologized for her language and invited the Federal Elections Commission to audit her campaign's finances, saying she had "absolutely nothing to hide." She quickly moved to attacking her November opponent, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, and the entire Republican Party, calling on them to apologize for opposing the codification of fundamental abortion protections under Roe v. Wade, the strengthening of the 1965 Voter Rights Act and the confirmation of President Joe Biden's Supreme Court nominee Kentanji Brown Jackson. Democrats, she said, needed to look past her comments and band behind her if they wanted to win in November. "Democrats need to rally behind each other," Matthews said. "Not based on personal relationships, but based on a common goal. Too often we allow ourselves to be distracted and redirected. And our lack of progress shows that far more than it should. "Republicans win because they band together no matter what," she added. "If we are going to start winning again, we can't allow them to tear us apart because a house divided will never stand." Her comments quickly drew criticism from the South Carolina Republican Party, which said she was attempting to dodge accountability for the comments she made. Sign up for updates! Get the latest political news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! Radical Democrat and Bernie Sanders supporter Krystle Matthews got busted cussing like a sailor while urging Democrats to infiltrate the Republican Party, hoping for dope money to fund her campaign, and encouraging illegal campaign contributions," SCGOP Chairman Drew McKissick said in a statement. "She clearly felt the heat because she held a rushed apology press conference, but the best she could do was half-heartedly apologize for her vulgarity and then change the subject? That might be the biggest example of Hey look, a squirrel! Ive ever seen. We look forward to beating Matthews twice in November. Scott's campaign declined to comment. It is still unclear why Matthews was on the phone with the inmate. Matthews said previously she was unaware Ballard was incarcerated at the time of the February phone call. Ballard, however, clearly states to Matthews during the 43 minute call that he was serving a sentence, according to a copy of the recording obtained by The Post and Courier. In 2018, Ballard was sentenced to 14 years in prison for making social media threats against Aiken County Sheriff Michael Hunt and injuring a SLED agent during his arrest the previous December. The Feb. 22 phone call came three days before a planned press conference at the prison in which several activist groups including the South Carolina Democratic Party Black Caucus, of which Matthews is a member and her campaign manager, Brandon Upson, leads were scheduled to appear, according to a press release obtained by the newspaper. The phone exchange has likely made things increasingly difficult for Matthews as she faces an uphill battle to retain her Statehouse seat, which she is simultaneously seeking to defend as she runs for U.S. Senate. While Matthews flipped a long-established Republican house seat to Democrats in the 2018 elections, House District 117 which she represents was recently redrawn by the South Carolina General Assembly to be strongly Republican during the recent redistricting. The new lines, where Republicans lead Democrats by 21 points, likely leave her at a steep disadvantage to Republican Jordan Pace, whom she defeated by just over five points in the 2020 elections. Pace said Matthews' comments will likely become a significant talking point in his pitch to voters entering the November elections. "She's a politician that doesn't take accountability for things," Pace said. "She said she talks one way to some people and a different way to others, and she's proud of that. To me, it sounds like she's every politician who has ever been elected to office." SPARTANBURG Ginger Rogers wants everyone to feel included in her yoga sessions. In our yoga class, when you come in, you see different people, different ages, different genders, different sizes and different colors, said Rogers, who runs the Spartanburg studio Yogaunme. Yogaunme opened in 2019 and offers 22 classes each week. The studio has classes for all skill levels and for those with injuries, and also offers one-on-one sessions, meditation classes and corporate mindfulness sessions. Rogers said she began practicing yoga consistently after teaching at a YMCA in Duncan. She decided to share her love for yoga with others. Rogerss studio is within The Healing Place at 1425 John B. White Sr. Blvd. Rogers moved to Spartanburg from northeast China seven years ago with her husband. Her husband lived in China for three years working for Milliken. The first week he was working in China, I was delivering business cards for teaching Chinese to foreigners, so he became my first student, Rogers said. Rogerss first business was making wire art. She uses metal to make wall decor and sculptures. She started selling wire art and paintings at local flea markets. When Rogers isnt at her yoga studio, she teaches crafting classes and exhibits her work at fairs, festivals and craft shows. Rogers wants people within each yoga class to know one another, so Yogaunme hosts community tea sessions after some classes. Rogers said her goal is to make yoga accessible to all. Yoganume also has a mindfulness program with Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System. All employees are able to practice yoga virtually twice a week. Rogers also offers classes at a senior citizen center called the Shepherds Center of Spartanburg, and has classes at various facilities in Spartanburg that help people with addictions. When you're an entrepreneur or work for yourself, you have to find motivation, she said. In order to find that, you need to have clarity and resilience. Yoganume has 12 teachers. Classes are available at 8:30 a.m., noon, 4:30 p.m. or 6 p.m. For me, it's the yoga but it's also the relationships that were forming, said Angela McGuire, an instructor at Yogaunme. It's a community that we built, so that's really important for me to have that. This past weekends U.S. Supreme Court decision is not only a landmark historic decision but also the greatest decision ever to foster the liv Read more On June 26, demonstrators take part in a protest against the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain. By Wang Yiwei The NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June has involved issues like continuous support to Ukraine, deliberation on the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, and the new strategic concept adoption to guide the development of the next decade. According to a previous statement by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, NATO is to take Russia as the most significant and direct threat to its members peace and security; at the same time, NATOs new strategic concept has set up many goals targeting China. Analysts pointed out that the Cold War has ended for more than 30 years, but NATO, as the legacy of the Cold War, is still active in advocating group confrontation and provoking conflicts. What NATO has done goes against the theme of peace and development in the new era, and should have been swept into the garbage of history long ago. In fact, NATO itself has always faced three paradoxes. First, is it offensive or defensive in nature? NATO has claimed to be a defensive organization, though it has been expanding eastward for five times since the end of the Cold War. At present, it is engaged in pushing forward the sixth round of expansion, and is ready to absorb Finland and Sweden, which have long pursued a policy of neutrality, to further strengthen the encirclement of Russia. With regard to Russias accusation that NATO has violated its commitment of never expanding even an inch at the end of the Cold War, especially its commitment to not absorbing Baltic states, NATO argued that it has pursued an open-door policy and NATO membership is open to any sovereign state. As a matter of fact, the expansion of NATO has not only gone against the idea of some far-sighted Europeans that the security of Europe should be kept in the hands of Europeans themselves, but also suppressed the rational voice that the security of Europe should not target or bypass Russia. The concept of indivisible security proposed in the Helsinki Final Act also has been thrown into piles of old papers. Moreover, 23 years ago, the US-led NATO brazenly launched a 78-day bombing campaign against what was then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia without any of its members being attacked, with no invitation or no authorization by the United Nations Security Council. Nearly 420,000 bombs were dropped, causing more than 3,500 casualties and an increase of 1 million refugees. Since then, NATO has repeatedly carried out extraterritorial interventions, showing an aggressively offensive posture. Second, is it a North Atlantic organization or a global organization? Although NATO refers to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, it has broken through the scope of military deployment beyond the traditional defense areas, and extended its tentacles to the so-called global commons, that is the new fields including outer space, polar regions, deep ocean and Internet, in an attempt to put a legal coat on NATOs operations beyond the traditional geographical space. Even worse, NATO has also begun to regard China as an ideal enemy. John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, even presumptuously claimed that China has not only posed a threat to the security of the Indo-Pacific region, but also to global security. By inviting Japan, ROK, Australia and New Zealand these four non-NATO member countries in the Asia Pacific Region to attend the NATO summit this year, it aims to integrate the small cliques of the US around the world within the framework of NATO and build a global NATO to suppress China. Third, does it belong to the US or Europe? The vast majority of the 30 NATO member states are European countries, though NATO has always been led by the US. NATO can thus be referred to as an organization with the brain of the US and the body of Europe. In the face of frequent practices of the US that sacrifice European interests, these European countries that are unable to make their own decisions in safeguarding their own security often have to swallow the insults in meek submission. Therefore, despite its heavy dependence on Russian energy, Europe has chosen to bear the spillovers of war such as rising prices and refugee flows in the name of supporting Ukraine. Meanwhile, although China and Europe are geographically far apart, and also have kept close economic and trade ties with huge common interests, NATOs strategy cannot be divorced from the baton of the US, but to follow the US regarding China as a challenge and threat. Some analysts pointed out that Europe is more helpless than stupid in its connection with the US. Having learned multiple lessons, Europeans have become more and more alert to the consequences of being kidnapped or betrayed by the US. In fact, even before the summit was held, a large number of European people gathered in front of the NATO headquarters in Brussels, calling to stop the war and dissolve the NATO. An alliance calling for abandoning NATO and striving for peace, which was established in Spain, the host of the 2022 NATO summit, has won joint support from several Parties and held an anti-summit protest outside the NATO summit venue as scheduled. This has once again highlighted the leadership crisis and trust crisis faced by the US. Lawrence Franklins Gatestone column discusses recently leaked documents further revealing the enormities committed by Chinas regime in its Xinjiang province. It also provides a useful review of the situation to date. What is to be done? Franklin modestly conclude: Democratic countries should distribute these leaks globally as cautionary warning to all societies that the CCPs projected panda bear image of China obscures the reality of a quite different animal with an insatiable appetite. At the same time, doing business in and with China is necessarily compromising. Our presumed moral betters at Apple have not paused to instruct us on this matter, but the Free Beacons Chuck Ross offers a useful case study in Apple CEO Sucks Up to China in Interview With State-Owned Media. Ross quotes Rep. Mike Waltz: This further underscores the hypocrisy of corporate America, which preaches social justice at home and turns a blind eye when it comes to its profits. Its absolutely shameful an American CEO would sit down with a communist, genocide-denying propaganda rag like China Daily. Ross writes: The [reported] interactions highlight the kind of compromises Cook has made in order to do business in China. The tech titan has touted Apples commitment to civil rights and privacy in the United States while complying with Beijings draconian national security laws and ignoring its human rights record. Ross has more, all of it worth reading. As I say, Franklins advice about what is to be done is modest. However, it is undoubtedly beyond the scope of any action to be taken by Apple. Assuming it is capable of embarrassment, the least we can do is embarrass it. A few essays have taken their place in the great tradition as masterpieces of intellectual demolition. Among such classics stands Samuel Johnsons Review of Soame Jenyns A Free Enquiry Into the Nature and Origin of Evil. Jenynss glib optimism in the face of human suffering (as Walter Jackson Bate called it), and his complacency over the problem that suffering poses to religious belief, struck a nerve. If Johnson knew anything from his own painful experience and deep reflection, he knew that an irreducible element of tragedy inhered in our lives. Hugh Kenners learned essay reviewing John Harrisons book The Reactionaries followed in Johnsons footsteps. Kenners essay provides the best modern example I know of anger provoking genius into a review that stands on its own as a masterpiece. Kenner was the foremost expositor of literary modernism. In a 1967 book, the forgotten critical mediocrity John Harrison had brought Yeats, Wyndham Lewis, Pound, Eliot and Lawrence before the bar of brain-dead left-wing judgment and found them all wanting on political grounds. In his review of Harrisons book (The Sleep Machine, collected in William Buckleys anthology Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?), Kenner noted that Harrisons book had been a critical hit among the tastemakers despite Harrisons utter cluelessness regarding the authors under discussion. Kenner was not amused. This fatuity, this ignorance, this silliness, this stark insensibility, he wrote in his review, none of it would be worth five minutes attention but for the highly symptomatic fact that reviewers paid it no heed at all in their headlong endorsement of Mr. Harrisons attitudes. Kenner is sorely missed as the Harrisononian symptoms have developed into the cancer that permeates our culture. As Johnson did to Jenyns, as Kenner did to Harrison, Heather Mac Donald did to Yale President Peter Salovey in her City Journal essay The true purpose of the university. In this essay Mac Donald addressed the highly symptomatic piffle of Yale President Peter Salovey. Mac Donald first sketched the farce at Yale: Of all the Black Lives Matterinspired protests that were sweeping campuses at that moment, Yales shrieking-girl episode was the most grotesque. In reaction, Yale groveled. President Salovey sent around a campus-wide letter declaring that he had never been as simultaneously moved, challenged, and encouraged by our communityand all the promise it embodiesas in the past two weeks. He proclaimed the need to work toward a better, more diverse, and more inclusive Yaleimplying that Yale was not inclusive and thanked students for offering him the opportunity to listen to and learn from you. That the shrieking girl had refused to listen to her college masteror to give him an opportunity to speakwas never mentioned; she suffered no known repercussions for her outrageous incivility. Salovey went on to pledge a reinforced commitment to a campus where hatred and discrimination have no place, implying that hatred and discrimination currently did have a place at Yale. Salovey announced that the entire administration, including faculty chairs and deans, would receive training on how to combat racism at Yale and reiterated a promise to dump another $50 million into Yales already all-consuming diversity efforts. From the farce at Yale Mac Donald moved on to a general critique of the childish ignorance Salovey defended and perpetuated. She wrote, for example: If ever there were a narrative worthy of being subjected to stubborn skepticism, in Saloveys words, the claim that Yale was the home of hatred and discrimination is it. There is not a single faculty member or administrator at Yale (or any other American college) who does not want minority students to succeed. Yale has been obsessed with what the academy calls diversity, trying to admit and hire as many underrepresented minorities as it possibly can without totally eviscerating academic standards. There has never been a more tolerant social environment in human history than Yale (and every other American college)at least if you dont challenge the reigning political orthodoxies. Any Yale student who thinks himself victimized by the institution is in the throes of a terrible delusion, unable to understand his supreme good fortune in ending up at one of the most august and richly endowed universities in the world. In the same Johnsonian spirit Victor Davis Hanson took up the case of Emmanuel Macron in The Mad, Mad Meditations of Monsieur Macron. He essentially rose to the defense of Donald Trump in his 2018 National Review column addressing Macrons disquisition on nationalism. Quotable quote: What makes a Macron reveal his idiocy so candidly, aside from his innate ignorance? I think Macron was a stand-in for his ilk shoving their ignorance down our throats every day in the United States. VDH has struck many such blows against President Biden and the Democrats revolutionary orthodoxy over the past few years. His historical learning may inspire us further to combat the ignorance in our own ways. Since then, however, VDH has departed National Review. He discussed his departure with Tucker Carlson last year (video and transcript here). Now comes Michael Anton to smack down NR in the American Mind column Reductio ad Hitlerum. The proximate cause of Antons smackdown is Mike Watsons NR article Carl Schmitts Disappointing American Disciples (behind NROs paywall). Anton is more or less an unnamed drive-by victim (Claremont published the infamous Flight 93 essay [by Anton] that implicitly compared American progressives to al-Qaeda) of Watson in his assessment of the post-liberal and/or common good right, or something. Watson somehow assimilates Anton and the Claremont Institute into the ostensible subject of his article. Anton concedes that his response necessarily depends on abstruse, academic stuff. However, Antons response culminates in this perfectly lucid condemnation of NR: National Review presents itself as the flagship publication of American conservatism, but then goes around calling conservatives it doesnt like Nazis. Those who call you Nazis are not your friends but your enemies. No one who is not a fool takes advice from his enemies, or assumes that said advice is well intentioned. It may be useful, even necessary, to know what your enemies are saying about you, but thats about as far as it goes. In the case of NR, which as best as I can tell no longer has much influence, it doesnt even go that far. Whole thing here. For energy geeks like me, the late June release each year of the BP Statistical Review of World Energy summons forth Steve Martin-style enthusiasm: Already Mark Perry has produced one key takeaway graphic from the copious data tables: Keep this in mind the next time you hear some climatista say the EU is so much better than the U.S. when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. I havent had time to do a deep dive into the data tablesIm going to have to farm that out to Perry and Robert Bryceso Ill have to go with some of BPs highlight charts. While BPs headlines boast of the great strides from renewable energy, a close look at the first chart shows that natural gas has experienced the most significant growth over the last 15 years, but notice that coal shows a large increase in 2021, which is continuing in a big way in 2022. (The huge dip in 2020 is of course the result of the COVID shutdown.) Second, the growth in energy use is overwhelmingly in developing nations and not in wealthy industrialized nations, whose elites keep trying to deny new energy resources to the developing world. Once upon a time the left would have called this colonialism, but climate change, so it doesnt count. Finally, gee what a great idea it was to build wind and solar power and back it up with traditional fuels sourced from Russia: Meanwhile, Bloomberg energy reporter Javier Blas notes that our refinery sector is running flat out. Maybe our government ought to be friendlier to building some new ones. More from Javier Blas: Seplat Energy said Thursday it has appointed a new chief operating officer and executive director in person of Samson Chibogwu Ezugworie with effect from July 1. Mr Ezugworie has experience in oil and gas spanning more than three decades, the last 25 years of which he spent with Royal Dutch Shell in Nigeria and overseas, according to the company, which is simultaneously listed in Lagos and London. Roles held at Shell companies in Nigeria before joining Seplats board comprise manager geosolutions, general manger development & subsurface as well as manager land asset, a statement issued by Nigerias biggest energy company by market value seen by PREMIUM TIMES shows. Mr Ezugworie also served in the capacity of director in Shell Exploration & Production Africa Limited (SEPA), Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) and Shell Nigeria Business Operations Limited (SNBO). He is a graduate of Geology from University of Nigeria Nsukka, the document posted on the Nigerian Exchange Limited said. Seplat also announced Effiong Okon, the operations director and an executive director on its board, would be relinquishing the position on July 1. In February 2018, he took office in that capacity and has since then invested his time, experience and skills in the growth of the company. READ ALSO: Seplat Energy appoints Omiyi to replace Orjiakor as chairman Mr Okon is taking up the role of director New Energy to lead that directorate of the company effective from in a bid to speed up the growth of the new energy business and further Seplats blueprint on energy transition. The Board is pleased to welcome Mr. Samson (Sam) Chibogwu Ezugworie as the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director on the Board of Seplat Energy and wishes Mr. Effiong Okon success in his new role as Director New Energy which is a critical one for the future of the Company, said Chairman Basil Omiyi. Abdulrasheed Bello, better known as JJC Skillz, has confirmed his marriage with Nollywood actress Funke Akindele has ended. Six years after their marriage and several rumours of separation, Mr Bello finally confirmed their divorce in an early Thursday morning Instagram post. The music producer and filmmaker revealed this on his Instagram page on Thursday morning. His statement read: Dear Friends and family, I need to let you know that Funke and I have separated. While it lasted, we shared many things and have created two beautiful children. The last two years have been tough for us. I have tried my best to fix things, but I believe it is beyond repair. 3 months ago and at Funkes insistence, I moved out of the house and, apart from AMVCA, have not been able to get Funke to sit down amicably to discuss the future of our relationship. Im making this announcement, so the public knows we are both pursuing separate lives. We still have issues that need to be addressed, such as the custody and wellbeing of our children, which is paramount, and business interests that need to be disentangled, but I do not doubt that these will be resolved one way or the other. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mr Bello (@jjcskillz) //www.instagram.com/embed.js The actress is yet to make any official statement about the news of their separation, just as she has ignored several speculations regarding their troubled union. History Like the actresss first marriage to Lagos politician Kehinde Oloyede, it appears history has repeated itself. Her ex-husband broke the news of their separation on his Facebook page. Ms Akindele married her first husband, Mr Oloyede, on May 26, 2012. The couple divorced in July 2013, citing irreconcilable differences. News of the failed marriage broke when Mr Oloyede announced the separation between himself and the actress via a post on Facebook. His Facebook post read: Its with a heavy heart that I am announcing the separation of me and my wife, Mrs Olufunke Akindele; weve both agreed to go our separate ways because of irreconcilable differences. We are still best friends, and we 4ever remain good friends. Ms Akindele married Nigerian rapper JJC Skillz in London in May 2016. Her pregnancy rumours were among the top searched results on Google search engine in August 2017. They welcomed twin boys in December 2018 and have several step-children. Friction However, the actress and JJcskillz have been on the news in recent times over fights with his ex-wife Mella and her outspoken step-son Benito. Mella accused JJC Skillz of physically assaulting his son Benito Bello. As revenge, Mella posted a picture of her estranged husband and his new family, revealing the identity of Funkes boys, whom the couple had hitherto shielded away from the public, on her Instagram page. Benito Bello claimed he lived with Funke and JJC for two years and the experience was a horror. He added that the actress is not what she is believed to be. Benitos allegations came on the heels of the accusation made against JJC Skillz by Mella, his mother; after that, JJC Skillz and Benito unfollowed each other on Instagram. The conduct of a primary election on June 4 for the Nasarawa West Senatorial seat has compounded a crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the North-central state. The shadow election produced an architect, Shehu Tukur, as the partys candidate but opponents accused the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, of manipulating the process. Observers say the crisis over the primary may cost the ruling party the senatorial seat in 2023 and even lead to the collapse of the party in Nasarawa. Mr Adamu was accused of doctoring the list of delegates for the primary election in two of the five local government areas of the district, in a bid to secure the partys ticket for his anointed candidate, Mr Tukur. The affected local government areas are Keffi and Nasarawa. There was no quarrel over the lists for Toto, Karu and Kokona LGAs. Governor Abdullahi Sule and the partys state chairman in Nasarawa, John Maaman, were among the stakeholders who have expressed disappointment in the national leadership of the party over the alleged manipulation. Mr Adamu was also accused of imposing Auta Koro and Abdulmumin Ari as the partys candidates for the two House of Representatives seats in the zone. The genesis of a crisis Until his emergence as the national chairman of the ruling party in March, Mr Adamu held the senatorial seat for Nasarawa West. His decision to go against the consensus of party stakeholders in the state in the national chairmanship race had ignited a feud in the party. This is because the stakeholders had on January 25 adopted a former governor of the state and senator representing Nasarawa South Senatorial district, Umaru Al-Makura, who declared his interest in the position earlier, as the states candidate for the top party seat. Even after Mr Adamu joined the race later, Governor Sule maintained in the build-up to the APC national convention that Mr Al-Makura remained the candidate of the state. But Mr Adamu, also a former governor of the state, was absent at the ceremony for the endorsement of Mr Al-Makura. At the time, he was the chairman of a committee the APC tasked to resolve crises in the various state chapters of the party after the state congresses that produced party officials across the country. Mr Adamu was said to have used that position to canvass support for his national chairmanship aspiration, against the position already taken by his state chapter of the party. His eventual emergence divided the party in Nasarawa into two factions, one loyal to him and the other to Mr Al-makura. Controversial battle for Nasarawa west senatorial ticket Shortly after Mr Adamu assumed his new office, the struggle to replace him in the Senate for the Nasarawa West seat began with Aliyu Wadada, a two-term member of the House of Representatives, Labaran Magaji, and Mr Tukur as the leading aspirants. After alleging that the delegates list had been doctored, Mr Wadada pulled out of the race and defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP). This left Messrs Magaji and Tukur to contest the primary election, which was held at the Nasarawa State University in Keffi on June 4. Eventually, Mr Tukur polled 179 votes to defeat Mr Magaji who polled 114 votes. However, Mr Magaji alleged fraud in the process and headed to the Federal High Court to reclaim his mandate after the partys appeal committee dismissed his petition. Doctored delegates list Mr Magaji claimed that the delegates list used for the primaries of the two federal and 10 state constituencies in Nasarawa West senatorial district was doctored. Many top APC members in the state, including the state party chairman, Mr Maaman, appeared to agree with Mr Magaji in his claim. The party in Nasarawa State is saddened by the discovery that officials from the national secretariat of the party thwarted the authentic list of delegates sent to the national secretariat, Mr Maaman told PREMIUM TIMES. We find this inexplicable. In the light of the above unfortunate development, the Nasarawa APC wishes to state that we will not tolerate this unwarranted doctoring of the official delegates list sent to the national secretariat. We consider this as undemocratic, and that it is capable of breeding disaffection, tension and disunity in the party. Therefore, the party will not accept any list outside of congresses conducted in the state, he said. Messrs Adamu, Tukur and Magaji did not respond to calls and SMS sent to their lines for this report. However, Mr Magaji had publicly alleged fraud and threatened to go to court. Divided house The Nasarawa West senatorial district, which comprises Keffi, Nasarawa, Toto, Karu, and Kokona LGAs, is home to prominent politicians in the state and has always been the centre of intense political struggles. By virtue of its position as the ruling party, the APC was expected to have the upper hand in the 2023 senatorial election in the district but for the crisis currently rocking the party. This may well become the partys Achilles heel. Rotation agreement Abubakar Sodangi, who hails from Nasarawa Local Government Area, represented the senatorial district for over 12 years before Mr Adamu from Keffi took the seat until he vacated it after his emergence as the APC national chairman this year. According to locals, Mr Magaji was the next in line for the seat, based on a rotation agreement among the four constituent LGAs. Mr Magaji is from Toto LGA that has never held the seat. Meanwhile, Mr Wadada, a 2019 governorship aspirant of the APC who defected to the SDP following the delegate controversy, is not a pushover in the senatorial zone. Many of his loyalists have joined him in his new party. Earlier this month, Mr Wadada held a rally at the Keffi Flyover Bridge in Keffi Local Government Area. The rally caused gridlock for several hours on the Keffi/Akwanga Federal highway and on major roads in Keffi where Mr Wadada and his teeming supporters passed through. Jonathan Gaza, a two-term member of the House of Representatives representing Karu/Keffi/Kokona federal constituency, has also defected to SDP with his supporters. This means that votes that would have gone to the APC will be divided as the party also faces litigation from Mr Magaji. What is certain is that APC will face a stiff contest in the senatorial district next year. Many observers believe that if the party does not put its house in order before the poll, the backlash may also affect the reelection of Governor Sule. The Nigerian government has said that electricity companies that fail to deliver assigned volumes will face penalties under newly agreed contracts. The step will be taken as part of measures to boost power supply in the country, and explains the governments recent assurance that supply will improve from July, power minister Abubakar Aliyu said Wednesday. Mr Aliyu told journalists in Abuja that powere operators, including generating firms or GENCOs, the Transmission Company of Nigeria and those distributing or DISCOs, signed contracts with the government on Tuesday, outlining specific amounts of electricity they will be offering customers. We signed reactivated contracts with the operators, GENCOs, TCN and the distributors. This means if you have a firm commitment from whoever generates what he says he is going to give, he must give otherwise there will be a penalty and he must not give otherwise, there will be a penalty, he said. The operations will be overseen by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to ensure all parties keep to the agreement. That was why the chairman of NERC Nigeria electricity Regulatory Commission, mentioned something about July 1, 2022, Nigeria will start to enjoy electricity. This is a process towards that, the minister said. Insecurity Nigerias broken power system has faced even more problems in recent months, generating below capacity and with the grid repeatedly collasping. The government has given several reasons for the poor electricity supply that leaves most citizens with power for hours and sometimes days. The power minister said insecurity was also a problem affecting the sectors progress. Like vandalism around oil pipelines which affects gas and once you dont get gas to power, you dont get the megawatts, once there is no power coming from the generators, you know what that means, he said. He said efforts are being made to ensure that issues are addressed. We are working round the clock to ensure that we nip everything in the bud. For instance, this maiduguri issue that you have particularly mentioned, he said. He said the government has been able to take back electricity to Maiduguri, Borno State, where the jihadist group Boko Haram attacked installations. Yes, we are facing a lot of security challenges in this country. We have challenges around our installations in Kaduna, he said. As Im talking to you now we have been battling with one of our lines snapping towards Shiroro, we have two lines coming from there. One, we cannot even go there to inspect and see what is wrong because of the security challenges, he added. He said there are issues around right of ways but some of them have been pulled down while others are still lingering. Speaking on the governments pact with Siemens, he said officials have been invited for the factory-testing of the 10 Mobitra transformers in Italy ahead of commencement of delivery in September 2022. Gunmen, believed to be bandits, killed at least 43 people including 30 soldiers and seven mobile police personnel in an attack on a mining site in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, local sources have said. The Niger State Government, while confirming the attack, however, said the number of casualties is yet to be ascertained. Residents said a search party found 37 bodies of soldiers and policemen in a bush near the mining site Thursday morning. Six other corpses of civilians were also recovered from the bush. The residents said many Chinese nationals and Nigerians were also abducted during the attack on the site on Wednesday. Yusuf Kokki, the co-convener, Concerned Shiroro Youths, in a statement to PREMIUM TIMES, said residents witnessed the attack on the site by several heavily armed assailants. The deaths from the Ajata Aboki massacre have risen astronomically as, at present, almost thirty soldiers have been discovered in the bush and confirmed dead, Mr Kokki said. He said resident expect to find more corpses as the search continues on Thursday morning. Mr Kokki said the gunmen arrived at the mining site operated by the Chinese and started shooting unsuspecting workers and the guards. He said seven mobile policemen and six other civilians were killed at the mining site. Mr Kokki said soldiers who were stationed at the nearby Erena town, swung into action and rushed to the scene, engaging the criminals in a firefight. Unfortunately, they suffered heavy causalities. Scores of others who sustained gunshot injuries (some in critical condition) have been taken to hospitals in the area for treatment. Emmanuel Umar, Niger State commissioner for Internal Security and Humanitarian Affairs, while confirming the attack, said the intervention of the soldiers led to the rescue of several workers who were injured in the attack. He, however, confirmed that four Chinese and several other workers were kidnapped by the bandits. He said the government has sent reinforcement and security personnel are pursuing the bandits with the hope of rescuing those kidnapped. The state government acknowledged all the efforts of the joint security operatives and that of the communities in the State towards taming the spate of insecurity in some parts of the state. Hence, security personnel are enjoined not to be discouraged in discharging their sacred duties of protecting citizens against all forms of threats as the government will continue to be steadfast in providing them with the needed support in all ramifications. His Excellency, Abubakar Sani Bello, the Governor of Niger State, has, therefore, directed that the security agencies should go all out to ensure the safe return of the kidnapped victims and make sure that none of the terrorists escape, he said. Two police officers were on Thursday feared killed when gunmen attacked a police checkpoint along Agbani Road in Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigerias South-east. The incident happened at about 9 a.m. The gunmen were said to have opened fire on the police officers at the checkpoint, killing two on the spot. A resident of the area told PREMIUM TIMES that about two officers were seen lying on the ground at the scene of the attack, but he was not sure if they were dead. Two of them are just lying there motionless. Nobody knows if they are dead or wounded, he said. When contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES. He could not, however, confirm the killing of the two police officers in the attack. He said the details of the attack were still sketchy. Yes. There was an attack on policemen on stop and search duty this morning by yet-to-identified hoodlums, he said. Mr Ndukwe said police operatives have been mobilised to track down the gunmen. Further development will be communicated, please, the police spokesperson said. Increased attacks Like other states in the South-east, security in Enugu State has deteriorated lately with attacks by armed persons. The latest attack comes less than two weeks after a police officer was killed by gunmen who attacked a police checkpoint in Ibagwa-Ani, a community in Nsukka Local Government Area of the state. Earlier this month, two police officers were also killed when gunmen attacked Nkpamte Community in the Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of the state. The Nigerian government has accused the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region. But the group has repeatedly denied their involvement in the attacks. The separatist group is leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra to be carved out from the South-east and some parts of South-south Nigeria. The leader of the group, Nnamdi Kanu, is being detained in Abuja where he is facing trial for terrorism. Mr Kanu appeared in court on June 28 in continuation of his trial. He is billed to appear in court again on November 14. President Muhammadu Buhari has been called upon to pass the Audit Law that was submitted by the Senate in January 2019, to check the mismanagement of funds by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies in the country. Segun Elemo, the director of Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI) made this call at an interactive session organised by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in Lagos on Wednesday. If you dont enact an Audit Law, you will not empower the office of the auditor general, and this issue about the accountant general submitting the year-end financial statement will continue, he said. Because there is no delegation of responsibility. So, everybody is just taking advantage of the gap in the system. So, what will it take for the federal government to enact the law? According to Mr Elemo, if the audit law is passed, it would aid the fight against corruption and also promote transparency and accountability among public office holders. He added that the law will provide for the timely publication of audit reports. International best practices allow for audit reports to be published at most 18 months after the end of the financial year, he said. Cross-cutting issues Mr Elemo, while doing a review of SERAPs findings in the 2018 audit report, said that 79 agencies of government had a total budget of N2.1 trillion. The total funds released to them is N831 billion. And 617 (billion) was unaccounted for, he said. He identified six cross-cutting issues in the audit report unretired advances, store items not taken on store charge, and circumvention of the procurement procedure. Others are irregularities in payment and expenditure, which include unauthorised foreign trips, failure in remittance of revenue, and irregularities in contract award, execution, and payment. Of all the six crossing issues, failure in remittance of revenue took about N54 billion. What that means is that MDAs were generating revenue and they did not remit to the federation account, he explained. Three issues we have in Nigeria today are revenue issues, we have a debt crisis even though theand development deficit. There is no way you want to solve the debt crisis and development deficit without talking about revenue. And failure in remittance of revenue grew by 164 per cent. When you look at what happened in 2017 and 2018, there was a growth of 164 per cent. It means that in 2017, failure in remittance of revenue was just N20 billion. By 2018, failure in remittance of revenue to the federation account has grown to N54 billion. And we are saying that there is no money to implement the budget. In his contribution, a federal Lawmaker from Osun State, Busayo Oluwole-Oke, called for the enforcement of the law to actualise transparency and accountability and advocated for creating sanctions for erring public office holders. Recommendations In the book unveiled by the advocacy group, they recommended that the federal government immediately impose stringent measures, including withholding financial releases and sanctioning the Chief Executive Officer of MDAS implicated in cases of corruption within their ministries, departments, and agenda. Establish an independent commission of inquiry with subpoena power to conduct a transparent, comprehensive, and impartial investigation into systemic corruption within Ministries, Departments and Agencies [MDAs). SERAP also urged the apex government to mandate all heads of MDAs to declare their assets publicly. The group urged the national assembly to urgently hold a public hearing on reports of corruption identified in the Auditor-General reports since 2013 and to exercise its constitutional oversight roles to examine the Auditor-General reports and to hold the government President Muhammadu Buhari to account for persistent failure to address reports of corruption within MDAs that the Auditor-General has consistently documented; Promptly pass the Proceeds of Crime Bill, the Whistle-blowers Bill, and the Witness Protection Bill among others, to improve transparency and accountability and reduce reports of corruption within MDAs. The UK governments Development Finance Institution (DFI), British International Investment (BII), has announced a $20 million investment in Moove, a Nigerian mobility fintech firm. BII, formerly known as CDC Group, said the four-year structured credit investment in Moove would help the firm actualise its mission of democratising access to vehicle ownership in Africa. The investment reflects BIIs focus on mobilising capital to build self-sufficiency and market resilience in Nigeria, and improve access to inclusive economic opportunities while helping to catalyse the countrys boundless entrepreneurial ambition. The British High Commissioner in Nigeria, Catriona Laing, and CEO of BII, Nick ODonohoe, co-hosted a business reception in Lagos to celebrate the launch of BIIs new name Wednesday night. They also reiterated the DFIs continued ambition to scale up investment that will boost key economic sectors in Nigeria. The event was held at the British Deputy High Commissioners Residence in Ikoyi, bringing together key leaders in business and BIIs investment partners from across the country. BIIs leadership outlined the organisations strategy to deliver productive, sustainable and inclusive investment and pledged to deepen its capital commitments to support the emergence of more breakthrough Nigerian businesses providing progressive solutions to urgent and complex development challenges. In her remarks, the British High Commissioner, Catriona Laing, said: Its a pleasure to be in Lagos to mark the launch of British International Investment, and to host Nick ODonohoe during his visit to Nigeria. BII forms an important part of the UKs package of tools and expertise to help Nigeria build their pipeline for investment and scale up infrastructure investment, in particular to achieve clean, green growth. The launch of BII marks a continuation of this partnership, and we look forward to seeing BIIs support expand and diversify in Nigeria. In his keynote speech, Mr ODonohoe highlighted BIIs 74-year history in Nigeria, from its first investments in 1949, in West African Fisheries and Cold Store, to the organisations pioneering role in supporting Nigerias first private equity fund African Capital Alliances Capital Alliance Private Equity Fund I (CAPE I). On how BIIs new five-year strategy is driving its investment in the worlds first mobility fintech, Moove, Mr ODonohoe explains that investing in the prosperity of Nigerias growing population requires innovative new partnerships that can leverage the countrys abundant capabilities and expertise. He said: In Moove, BII has a partner that aligns with our commitment to back dynamic tech-enabled businesses that can help accelerate impact in Nigeria by strengthening the countrys informal transport industry. I am delighted that not only will BIIs investment help to create jobs and provide entrepreneurial self-starters with the means to own their vehicles, but Mooves clear focus on gender diversity will foster inclusive economic opportunities for women, both within the companys workforce and among its drivers. Founded by serial entrepreneurs, Moove prides itself as a company committed to democratising access to vehicle ownership by providing revenue-based vehicle financing and financial services to mobility entrepreneurs. The mobility fintech is creating sustainable employment opportunities to empower those otherwise excluded from financial services by embedding its alternative credit scoring technology onto ride-hailing, e-logistics and instant delivery platforms, and using proprietary performance and revenue analytics to underwrite vehicle loans. Since its launch in 2020, Moove has rapidly expanded its operations within Nigeria and has entered into new African markets including Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa, as well as Europe, Middle East and Asia markets. The funding from BII will enable Moove to purchase and import brand new fuel-efficient cars into Lagos, which will be leased to drivers who can then earn their way to asset-ownership, over a three to four-year period. This will also alleviate one of the key blockages to the development of ride-hailing transportation infrastructure in Nigerias commercial capital. Ladi Delano, co-founder and co-CEO at Moove, said, Were incredibly proud to welcome onboard a world-class partner such as BII, whose strategic support will play a key role in our mission to build the worlds largest integrated vehicle financing platform for mobility entrepreneurs. With our new funding, were now in an even stronger position to use our technology and productivity data in creating a more inclusive financing ecosystem, whilst also tackling the unemployment problem affecting over a third of Nigerians by generating the opportunity for more seamless and sustainable employment. Nigeria is the BIIs biggest investment market in Africa, with a portfolio of nearly US $570 million, through more than 100 businesses and 43 funds, which collectively support almost 45,000 jobs across the country in 2020. The FCT Police Command has invited a lawyer and social media personality, Abdul Mahmud, popularly known as The Oracle, over allegations of conspiracy, cyber-stalking and willfully making a false statement. The police also accused the lawyer of defamation, emotional, verbal and psychological abuse and willfully placing a person in fear of physical injury. The accusations were contained in an invitation letter dated June 24 and sent to Mr Mahmuds office in Abuja. In the letter signed by Ahmed Musa, the deputy police commissioner in charge of Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Mr Mahmud was asked to report to a police superintendent at one of its offices in Wuse District of the federal capital. Not honouring However, responding to the invitation, Mr Mahmuds lawyer, Rodney Adzuanaga, in a letter, asked the police to state the substance of the complaint and the name of the complainant before his client could honour their invitation. He said the social media personality would not honour the invitation until the required information was provided. We noticed that the said letter does not disclose the name of the complainant, the substance of the petition, how our client is for clarification: just as the petition is not attached to the letter. The absence of these germane and fundamental ingredients in any inquiry of a criminal nature violates the express provisions of Section 36 (6) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. In light of the foregoing, our client will be unable to honour your invitation. He will however be available to honour the same if the necessary ingredients are provided and adequate time availed him to prepare for the invitation. We look forward to your favourable response and assure you and your office of our clients very high regard, the letter partly read. READ ALSO: Support for Peter Obi Also reacting to the invitation on his Facebook page, Mr Mahmud claimed that the invitation was sent to him shortly after declaring his support for Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party. A few hours after the Great Oracle publicly endorsed his candidate, an invitation letter from the police, ostensibly backdated surfaces. Nonsense. The Great Oracle cannot be intimidated. Hell use the opportunity availed by the invitation letter to push for the rights of citizens to know their accusers and the specific details of accusations/allegations against them, including the right to be served petitions, for their lawyers to prepare an adequate defence. It is a right guaranteed by the Constitution 1999 and the Great Oracle will not be intimidated. He has asked the police to do the lawful thing, otherwise, he wont honour its invitation! We move, he wrote on his Facebook page. The lawyer has been very critical of Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2023 presidential election. Efforts to speak to the spokesperson of the FCT police command, Josephine Adeh, were unsuccessful as she did not respond to calls and SMS sent to her. A police witness in the trial of Andrew Ominnikoron, a BRT driver, on Thursday testified that the body of Bamise Ayanwola was thrown from a moving bus. The suspect is accused of rape and murder of Ms Ayanwola, a 22-year-old fashion designer in February inside a BRT bus. Following the incident, another victim also appeared in court to accuse him of rape. At the resumed hearing on Thursday, at a Lagos High Court in Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Isibor Amos, a police officer, said he was alerted on February 26, about a corpse along with the Ogogoro village, leading to Oyingbo on Carter bridge. I was alerted on 26th of February, 2022 that people were gathered on the Express with someone lying down there. On getting there, I saw a female lifeless body, he told the court. I gathered that a moving vehicle had thrown something down, and when the observers came close, they saw that it was a lifeless body. They tried to revive her with sachet water but she did not survive it. READ ALSO: Earlier, in the proceeding, the defence lawyer, P.O Idogwu, who stood in for the lead lawyer, Ayobami Omotubora, mentioned that he was new to the case and pleaded that the court adjourn to a new date. The judge, Sherifat Sonaike, however, overruled the application stating that the case will not be further delayed by the lawyer. Mr Omotuboras absence has caused the judge to adjourn the matter twice. Another witness, Segun Agbe, a social worker with the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Response Team (DSVRT) mentioned that he was assigned to the case on March 12, 2022. Mr Agbe narrated how he visited one of the victims, Maryjane Odezelu, in her house, where she told him of how she was sexually abused by the defendant before visiting the Ajah police station to report the matter. I was assigned on this case on the 12th of March, 2022. I went to Miss Mary Jane, to talk to her about the incident and she narrated to us how everything happened on the bus and how the bus driver sexually abused and tore her clothes. Thereafter, we visited the Ajah Police Station to incident the matter. CSP Oseni and two other officers came to meet us. When we arrived at Ajah Police Station, Maryjane, made (gave) her statement. The judge adjourned till July 7, for the continuation of the trial. The Lagos governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has approved a N100 increase in fares of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on all routes. The increase, according to a statement on Wednesday signed by the spokesperson for Lagos State Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Kolawole Ojelabi, is to sustain their operations across the state. The increase takes effect from July 13. With the latest development, a ride from Ikorodu to TBS will now cost N600 from N500, while Berger to Ajah will now cost N700, from N600. Oshodi to Abule Egba will cost N450 from N350 and Abule-Egba-CMS-Obalende will attract a fare of N600. Why we increased BRT fares The agency explained that the economic realities havent been favourable to their operations. Operations of the transport scheme, of late, had been hampered due to rising cost of inputs required for sustainable service offering and the attendant high number of buses out of operation as a result of lack of spare parts, the transport agency explained. For instance, the exponential increase in the pump price of diesel from N187 to N830/litre between August 2020 and June 2022, had greatly affected the optimal performance of the bus operating companies leading to the withdrawal of buses from operation and longer waiting time at bus stations. According to the statement, Mr Sanwo-Olu also approved a proposal for a bailout for the bus operating companies to cushion the effect of the harsh operating environment and safeguard private partnership investment and forestall the demise of formalised bus operations in the state. Because of the economic situation, the government is also providing support for the Bus Operating Companies given the continuous increase in fuel price. This is to ensure that the increase to the passenger is kept to a minimum. The fare increase notwithstanding, the government noted that whatever support this would provide to the operators, it would still not cover the cost of fueling, thus likely to put the continued survival of the bus operations on a tight rein. The governor approved the transport agencys request to convert the current diesel buses in operation to the use of compressed natural gas (CNG). In 2020, due to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state government announced an upward review of the BRT fares. The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Anambra State branch, has complained about the rising cases of kidnapping, especially of its members in the state. The association issued a statement on Wednesday in Awka, calling on Governor Charles Soludo and security agencies in Anambra to take more proactive measures to check kidnapping in the state. The statement was signed by Jane Ezeonu, the acting chairman and Dubem Awachie, the acting secretary of NMA in Anambra. The NMA said at least three of their members had been abducted in the state since January this year. It said the most recent case was on June 25, where a doctor who works in a private hospital was abducted at Nimo, Njikoka Local Government Area on his way from work. He was kidnapped alongside a friend, a pharmacy student, and they were both held in captivity for over 24 hours by their abductors. They were only released on the night of June 26, the statement said. The NMA in Anambra deeply appreciates our colleagues, as well as other friends, who rallied round to support the family to facilitate their release. The NMA said medical doctors were law-abiding citizens who go about their duties at odd and unholy hours in the bid to maintain the health of the people. It warned that doctors may not guarantee the provision of healthcare services to the people if the government did not take urgent measures to ensure their security. NMA totally condemns this recurring sad situation which has made life unbearable for the citizens and has contributed significantly to the brain drain in the state. We seize this opportunity to once again call on the authorities, particularly the Anambra government, to step up efforts at surmounting the security challenges in the state. We may resort to actions to reverse this ugly trend and safeguard our members, it stated. (NAN) Gunmen have killed a police officer in Rivers State, Nigerias South-south. The officer, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, was reportedly ambushed on Tuesday evening and shot dead while he was going back home after work. Grace Iringe-Koko, the police spokesperson in Rivers, confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES. The police are investigating it (the killing), Ms Iringe-Koko, a deputy superintendent of police, said. We will bring the perpetrators to justice. No group had claimed responsibility yet for the killing. Police and other security agencies have been the target of frequent attacks by gunmen in Nigerias South-east. Some attacks have been carried out intermittently in the South-south. The Nigerian government has repeatedly accused the outlawed group, Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), of being responsible for the deadly attacks, but the group has denied their involvement. Seven officers were reportedly killed in May last year during multiple gun attacks in Rivers. The attacks occurred despite the night curfew imposed by the Rivers State Government in all the 23 local government areas of the state. Eight security operatives, including some police officers, were also killed in the state on April 25, 2021, in one of the deadliest attacks in the oil-rich state. In the South-east where the attacks are more frequent, gunmen killed a police officer and three others in Anambra State last month. In Enugu, still in the South-east, gunmen early this month killed two police officers in Enugu during an attack in a community. Four officers were similarly killed in the state in February this year. IPOB is seeking the creation of an independent state of Biafra which they want carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south. The leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, is standing trial for terrorism at a Federal High Court, Abuja. The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate Nigerias financial contributions to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The lower chamber reached the decision following the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by Awaji-inombek Abiante (PDP, Rivers). The House mandated the committees on Foreign Affairs, Inter-parliamentary Relations and ECOWAS Parliament to investigate the financial contribution by Nigeria in the past 10 years. The committees are to decide if the contribution is justified or not. Mr Abiante, in the motion, said Nigeria has contributed more than $1.177billion to the ECOWAS as its community levy, and this is the highest contribution by any member state since its inception. According to the lawmaker, the country is also contributing energy to member states and also military personnel for peacekeeping in Gambia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, and Liberia, among others. He expressed dissatisfaction with the big brother approach of the federal government. Despite Nigerias larger-than-life financial contributions to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the country and its citizens have not benefitted immensely. There is a need to appraise the benefits and contributions of ECOWAS towards the socio-economic development of Nigeria and Nigerians in the last ten years. the lawmaker said. Members voted overwhelmingly in support of the motion when it was put to vote by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila. Subsequently, the committees were directed to report back to the House in six weeks. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed worries over the low rate of Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) collection in Lagos State. The State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Olusegun Agbaje, made this known at the Eighth Annual Constituency Stakeholders Meeting held on Thursday in Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting is organised by the Lagos State House of Assembly on the importance of PVC ahead of the 2023 general elections. The meeting holds simultaneously in the 40 constituencies of the state. Mr Agbaje was represented by an INEC official, Emmanuel Adegboyega, during the meeting held at the Eti-Osa II Constituency. Mr Agbaje said: The low rate of PVC collection in Lagos State is worrisome as only 6,382 PVCs out of 34,242 received from the commissions headquarters for the first and second quarters CVR had been collected by their owners. This is just 18.6 per cent; similarly, for the old PVCs, a total of 1,091,157 are still uncollected by their owners. He urged stakeholders to properly educate and mobilise voters in line with the Electoral Act 2022 and 1999 Constitution as amended. According to him, such is a significant area where the commission needs the positive input of all stakeholders to complement its ongoing efforts towards improving the level of awareness. This will no doubt increase the PVC collection rate. Also, avoid voter apathy that has characterised past elections in the state where only 1,156,590 out of 6,570,291 registered voters, that is, 17.6 per cent participated in the 2019 general election in the state, Mr Agbaje said. Earlier, a lawmaker representing Eti-Osa State Constituency II, Gbolahan Yishawu, said the essence of the programme was like a town hall meeting for sharing ideas. Mr Yishawu said: Townhall means rubbing minds with your constituents and the theme is the priority of the 2023 general elections, the importance of PVC We are trying to sensitise our people to ensure that they go and get registered and not just registered but to collect their voters card. You saw me carry out an exercise trying to see how many people have actually registered and have got PVC. You cannot vote with your slip; you must get your PVC, that is the essence, he said. (NAN) A Bill to establish the National Electoral Offences Commission and Tribunal, on Thursday, passed the second reading in the House of Representatives. The bill, which has seven parts and 48 sections, sought to take the burden of prosecuting electoral offenders off the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The bill which was merged with four others was sponsored by the Chairman, House Committee on Electoral Matters, Aishatu Duku. It was stated in the bill that it was unrealistic for INEC to conduct free, fair and credible elections and simultaneously prosecute offences arising from the same elections. The Electoral Reform Committee headed by a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mohammed Uwais, had in 2007 recommended the establishment of a special prosecution body to be known as the Electoral Offences Commission. This is to work independently in the arraignment and prosecution of electoral offenders. The bill is to provide the legal framework for the investigation and prosecution of electoral offences for the general improvement of the electoral process in Nigeria. The Senate had in July 2021 passed a similar bill. The bill passed by the upper chamber prescribes a 20-year jail term for offenders found guilty of snatching ballot boxes during elections. (NAN) The House of Representatives has passed for the second reading a bill seeking to increase the retirement age of persons living with disabilities. The bill, sponsored by Babajimi Benson (APC, Lagos), is seeking to amend the Discrimination against Persons with Disability Prohibition Act. The bill is proposing amendments to sections 30 and 32 of the principal Act and rearranging sections 30-58. Section 30 (1) provides for an increase in the retirement age and term of service from 60 to 65years or 40 years of service, whichever comes first. Also, the second amendment seeks to ensure that the Chairman of the National Commission for Persons Living with Disability is someone also living with a disability. The person must, however, possess the requisite qualifications for that position. Leading the debate on the bill, Mr Benson said the proposal is seeking to ensure that persons living with disability are fairly treated to ensure equity and justice. He stated that the amendment will give them more opportunities, not only to fully give their services to the country but to also benefit more from the government and live a reasonable life after retirement. This is a standard procedure in most developed and developing countries. Mr Benson said equality is not enough because the PLWDs are already at a disadvantage due to their status. The Principal Act provides for equal treatment for PLWD. While this is a commendable effort by the Nigerian government, PLWD still faces challenges in their access to finance, markets, and networks because of barriers that arise out of non-inclusive legal frameworks and government policies, he said. Opposing the bill, Tajudeen Yusuf (PDP, Kogi) said the bill is discriminatory. He noted that the issue should be left at a policy level. It will create some challenges for us. We should allow agencies to come up with policies to encourage them rather than making laws. That will limit me if I am in that organisation because I will not have the same retirement age as that person and that will deny me the privileged positions because of somebody with a disability. It is pure discrimination, he said. The Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, explained that the bill is not discriminatory, but rather seeks to confer privilege on them. Exercising his right of reply, Mr Benson said it is international best practice. The bill was passed for the second reading when Mr Gbajabiamila put it to vote. Ramatu Yunusa, the wife of the chairman of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees NULGE, Sanusi Isa, who was abducted by gunmen on Tuesday from her residence, has given birth in captivity. Mr Isa confirmed the news to PREMIUM TIMES via a phone call on Thursday afternoon. Bandits attacked the residence of the NULGE boss in the Damba area of the state capital and abducted the pregnant woman when they could not find her husband. Mr Isa said she gave birth to a child hours after her abduction. Mr Isa said the bandits called him around 5 p.m. on Tuesday to tell him his wife had given birth to a child. I was called with her phone because when they abducted her, they went with it. Around 5 p.m, I saw her calling coming and I thought it was about the ransom negotiations but when I answered, she told me that she has given birth to a baby girl a few minutes ago, he said. The NULGE boss said the bandits have not called back after delivering the news and all efforts to reach them have now failed. He commended the security operatives in the state for what he called their efforts to save his wife. We know its from God and I believe Ill emerge stronger after this trial. There is nothing much to say but to thank God because as a Muslim, I believe that whatever happens to someone, its pre-ordained to occur, so there is nothing I can do about it, he said. READ ALSO: Mr Isa further narrated how his wife was abducted. He said when the bandits attacked the house, it took them more than 20 minutes to break the main gate. He said because his wife couldnt run away due to her pregnancy situation, family members decided to lock her in a deserted toilet and fled. When they ransacked the house but they couldnt find me, they decided to extend their search to other parts of the house and that was how they destroyed the toilet door and took her away, he said. Zamfara State has been witnessing a new wave of bandits attacks in recent weeks. Due to the spike in the attacks, the state governor said his government would arm 9500 residents with guns to fight back the bandits. Some local markets, animal markets and petroleum stations have also been shut down by the state government. The Anambra State Government says that one out of the two suspected cases of monkeypox reported in the state has been confirmed positive. Afam Obidike, the states commissioner for health, disclosed this at a news conference in Awka on Thursday. Mr Obidike, a medical doctor, said the state had been on alert mode following the report of the disease early this year across some states in the country. According to him, the state emergency preparedness and response team put all the relevant surveillance measures in place toward ending the spread of the outbreak. Few weeks ago, two suspected cases of monkeypox were reported in Anambra East, Onitsha and Oyi Local Government Areas (LGAs), out of which the case from Anambra East LGA was confirmed positive. The case is currently at the isolation centre of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, where he is receiving treatment and recovering. In light of the above, Governor Charles Soludo immediately declared the incident an outbreak and an emergency preparedness and response committee meeting was convened on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by relevant stakeholders, including the World Health Organisation (WHO) team and the United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF). They are providing necessary assistance to the state. READ ALSO: Planning for immediate response to the outbreak and surveillance, laboratory, case management, risk communication and community engagement, infection prevention and control and safe burial pillars, were activated, he said. Mr Obidike said the state government had begun the training of health personnel and response officers on enhanced active case search, sample collections and monkeypox management as well as intensifying public awareness. He urged residents not to panic and report to the hospital for proper examination whenever they notice rashes on their skin. Once it is established at the hospital, the patient will be taken to our isolation centres for treatment. We have activated all our isolation centres in the state. We urge residents to remain calm and stay safe as we mitigate this outbreak of monkeypox in the state. We shall overcome again, he said. Also speaking, Adamu Abdulnasir, Anambra state Coordinator, WHO, said the organisation would support the state in terms of outbreak response and surveillance and capacity building. Since we heard about the two suspected cases, WHO has supported in the areas of sample collection and taking the sample to the laboratory. When the results came out, we carried out contact tracing as well as case and risk management. In Nigeria so far, we have recorded 41 cases of monkeypox, with one death. The government is taking proactive measures to bring this outbreak to a stop and sensitise people on how to prevent and protect themselves, he said. Monkeypox is an uncommon disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus, which belongs to the orthopoxvirus genus in the poxviridae family. (NAN) A former House of Representatives member, Ned Nwoko, and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Joe Igbokwe, have explained why the ruling APC and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did not zone their presidential tickets to the South-east. Messrs Nwoko and Igbokwe spoke while appearing as guests in a BBC Igbo programme which was broadcast live on Facebook, Wednesday. The two dominant political parties picked their candidates outside the South-east, despite the agitations by South-east leaders that the region should be given an opportunity to produce a president for the first time in 2023. While the PDP elected a former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, from North-east, as its presidential candidate on May 28, the APC produced a former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, from the South-west, as the partys presidential candidate, 11 days later. Mr Nwoko, who hails from Igbo-speaking Idumuje-Ugboko of Delta State, said PDP decided to throw its ticket open because they were not convinced that the South-east has people with proven capacity to win the presidential election in 2023. There was a committee set up to discuss zoning. They met severally and at the end of the day, they came to one conclusion. That what is paramount to the party is to make sure that they win the next (presidential) election, he said. On the qualifications required from the then partys would-be presidential candidate, the PDP member said: And in winning the next elections, they said they were going to focus on who could help them to win the election, who has the capacity, who has the contacts, who has been able to build bridges across the country. And this was the reason the party decided not to zone the presidential ticket (to the South-east) anymore. So, what they did was to leave the ticket open and, of course, people knew that the best candidate that would help the PDP to win the next election is Turaki (Mr Abubakar). READ ALSO: Mr Nwoko, who won the PDP Senate ticket for Delta North, recalled that Mr Abubakar had promised to support a candidate from the South-east if the presidential ticket had been zoned to the region. South-easterners dont like APC Mr Igbokwe said the APC did not zone its presidential ticket to the South-east because most people from the region are not members of the party. He said people from the region hate the party. Since we started, they (South-easterners) are not in APC. It is only two states that are in APC and you cannot say the two states are strong, said the party chieftain, who hails from Nnewi in Anambra State. To be honest with you, I am an APC member. South-easterners dont like APC. Thats why they are fighting (Dave) Umahi. Thats why they are fighting Hope Uzodinma, Mr Igbokwe added. He said those who want an alternative political party should show their structure for winning the election. A total of five APC presidential aspirants from the South-east participated in the partys presidential primary. Some of the top contenders in the race from the region included Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State, a former minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, a former minister of state for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba and former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha. Mr Igbokwe said the presidential aspirants from the region were not prepared for the presidential race. They were not prepared as they ought to be. Do you know what is called bridge building? Only votes from Igbos cannot give Igbos presidency. You have to have friends. Build bridges. Repair your place and work with others so that others will work with you. Those things, we dont have them, he said in a mixture of Igbo and English languages. Mr Igbokwe said it was the collaboration between President Muhammadu Buhari and Mr Tinubu that ensured the emergence of Mr Buhari as Nigerias president in 2015. With no fatalities, Nigeria recorded 332 new coronavirus infections between June 25 and 29, 2022. While Nigeria is experiencing a significant increase in the number of infections, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has also raised an alarm that COVID-19 cases are on the rise in 110 countries, causing overall global cases to increase by 20 per cent. WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, disclosed this on Wednesday during a virtual media briefing on its official Facebook account, noting that the latest surge in infection is driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 variants of the virus. He added that theres a rise in fatalities in three of the six WHO regions even as the global figure remains relatively stable. Nigerias COVID-19 update The latest statistics released Thursday morning by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) show that Lagos State, the epicentre of the disease, accounted for more than 50 per cent of the new infections with 251 cases. The data shows that the new cases have raised Nigerias infection toll to 257,290, while the fatality toll still stands at 3,144. READ ALSO: The NCDC also noted on its website that over 3,000 people are still down with the illness while a total of 250,229 people successfully treated and discharged so far in Nigeria since the disease outbreak two years ago. Apart from Lagos State, a further breakdown of the latest cases shows that Rivers State in the South-south recorded 50 cases, followed by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with 21 cases. Kano State in the North-west reported seven cases and followed by Delta and Oyo States with two and a single case respectively. The disease centre added that eight states: Bayelsa, Ekiti, Kaduna, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Plateau and Sokoto reported no cases within the time frame. WHO speaks on COVID-19 Speaking on the increase in COVID-19 cases, Mr Ghebreyesus said the pandemic is changing, but its not over. We have made progress, but its not over yet. Our ability to track the virus is under threat as reporting and genomic sequences are declining, meaning its becoming harder to track Omicron and analyse future emerging variants, he said. He warned that the ability to track the virus is under threat globally as reporting and genomic sequences were declining. This is feasible, WHO continues to convene scientists and researchers and there has been a lot of research into this virus and understanding immunology overall, the WHO chief said. Global vaccination coverage On vaccination, Mr Ghebreyesus said: We are close to the midpoint of the year, which is the point at which WHO had called on all countries to vaccinate at least 70 per cent of the population. Reviewing the global progress on vaccination, he stated that in the past 18 months, more than 12 billion vaccines have been distributed around the world, and 75 per cent of the worlds health workers and over-60s are now vaccinated. He also cited that the Lancet estimates that 20 million lives have been saved because of vaccines but on the flip side, hundreds of millions of people, including 10s of millions of health workers and older people in lower-income countries remain unvaccinated. With only 58 countries hitting the 70 per cent target, some have said low-income countries cant make it, he said. Explaining further, he said the unvaccinated are more vulnerable to future waves of the virus, adding that the hoarding of vaccines by rich and manufacturing countries was the major barrier to access vaccines last year. The WHO chief described the development as the wavering political commitment to getting vaccines out to people and challenges of disinformation, which are thwarting the pace of inoculations at the national level. Solution The WHO boss also called for the vaccination of the at-risk groups, to be vaccinated and boosted, as soon as possible. To prevent the severity of the diseases, he said the world should target 100 per cent vaccination of older people and health workers as well as strengthen the world of immunity against COVID-19. In all countries, 100 per cent of interest groups should be vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible for the general population. It also makes sense to keep strengthening that wall of immunity, which helps lessen the severity of the disease and lowers the risk of long or post COVID conditions. Even relatively mild cases are disruptive and damaging, keeping children out of school and adults from work, which causes further economic and supply chain disruption, he said. The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, says actions are being taken to address the feelings of all party members with a view to uniting it. He said the resolve to unify Nigeria starts in the party, moves to the community and then to society. Mr Atiku, a former vice president, made these comments in a series of tweets on his official handle on Thursday. His comments come amid a rumoured crisis within the party with many members aggrieved over diverse issues. Grievances While some are angry at the partys leadership for failing to zone the presidential ticket to the South, others hold a grudge against Mr Atiku for picking Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State over the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, as his running mate. Former Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, on Wednesday, said he and some members of the PDP are angry with Mr Atiku for betraying Mr Wike. He also said they will not support him because it is their conviction that power must shift to the South. Similarly, the Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, wondered why the presidential candidate ignored the recommendations of the committee that was set up by the PDP leadership to pick a running mate. Mr Ortom said he and other party members deserve an explanation from Mr Atiku for picking Mr Okowa as his running mate. The panel, which was set up in May and chaired by him, allegedly recommended Mr Wike as running mate but Mr Atiku would later pick Mr Okowa because he could not work with Mr Wike. READ ALSO: Party to resolve issues soon While he assured that the issues would be resolved soon, Mr Atiku, in his tweets, said he loves and respects every governor, legislator, elected officials produced by the PDP and the party members. When they speak, I listen. I do not only listen. Appropriate actions have been taken, are being taken, and will continue to be advanced, he said. Since he announced Mr Okowa as his running mate, Mr Atiku has come under heavy criticisms especially from Mr Wikes associates and supporters. Some other party members have condemned the former vice president for being away on vacation when he should be helping with plans for the Osun governorship election scheduled to hold on July 15. Residents of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State on Thursday narrated how bandits attacked a mining site and killed 43 people, including 37 Nigerian security personnel. PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the bandits invaded the mining site at Ajata-Aboki community in Shiroro Local Government Area Residents said hundreds of the terrorists on motorcycles invaded the mining site unrestrained, killing and abducting people working at the site. The spokesperson, Coalition of Shiroro Associations (COSA), Salis Sabo, a lawyer, said the attack was unexpected as residents of the area had enjoyed relative peace for months, which they attributed to the successes of the security measure put in place in the area. He said as the gunmen headed towards the mining site, they passed through several villages. Mr Sabo said they reportedly told the villagers not to run, saying they did not come to attack them. He said they shot and killed a villager who refused to tell them the best way to access the mine. The terrorists are believed to be Boko Haram/ISWAP who were not initially domiciled in the area and who are not also Nigerians. Their long hair, pierced nose, and mode of operation, chanting Allahu Akbaar point to that fact. READ ALSO: They grouped themselves into four, some wearing camouflaged uniforms of the military, Mobile Police, and some Vigilante. They started to open fire after succeeding in kidnapping the expatriates silently. Seven mobile policemen were gunned down and two soldiers in the first gun battle. Later at Unguwan Maji under Erena Ward where the military had planned to ambush the terrorists being their most probable exit route. But unfortunately, the military vehicle got stuck on the way due to the bad terrain which later exposes their plans to the terrorists, Mr Sabo said. The firefight between the military and the terrorist group started at 4 p.m. till in the morning when the sound of gunshots was still heard, Mr Sabo said He said many soldiers and mobile policemen are still missing. According to the official, the mining activities have been going on there for over two years despite the security challenges in the area and the site has never been attacked. Colombia, a country similar to Nigeria: A narco-state, with high insecurity and state capture, recently held an historic presidential election that was noteworthy for electing, for the first time in twenty years, a candidate with leftist leanings and for having the highest voter turnout in electoral history at 58 per cent. In Colombia, as in Nigeria, the majority of the voters desperately want something new. Two recent elections one here in Nigeria and another across the world in Colombia are interesting for those looking for insights into and hope in the 2023 elections. The Ekiti off-cycle gubernatorial election on June 18 was important beyond knowing what states the parties would control during the general elections in 2023. It was the first election under the 2022 amended Electoral Act (the Act) and another opportunity to observe the use of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS), which did not work efficiently during the Anambra election in 2021. Section 47 of the Act mandates the use of technology for accreditation in this case, via BVAS, and it disqualifies anyone who cannot be accredited from voting. It is not unfair to characterise our relationship with technology as unsure or suspicious, particularly when it comes to government services, and there is fear that the higher than usual voter turnout expected during the general elections in 2023 will be thwarted by disenfranchisement from technology. It does not help that the decision to reschedule elections where the BVAS does not work is left to the discretion of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The Act provides that where technology for accreditation fails and a new card reader cannot be deployed, the election in that polling unit will be cancelled and another election scheduled if the Commission is satisfied that the result of the election in that polling unit will substantially affect the final results of the whole election What is the threshold for determining what will substantially affect elections or not? Is it 1,000 people not being accredited or 50? Our history of elections requires that everyone interested in credible elections should be concerned about INECs discretionary powers over accreditation and voting. The good news from Ekiti is that BVAS worked satisfactorily, with a few wrinkles to iron out. Close to a quarter of a million registered voters did not have their PVCs for the Ekiti election and it would be useful to know more about the owners of the 242,858 PVCs still with INEC e.g., was it for lack of trying and what can we tell from the spread i.e., are the majority from opposition strongholds because this is a consistent concern that needs to be verified with data, not conjecture. There are still two things of concern with Ekiti the State that added stomach infrastructure to our political lexicon: Vote buying and voter apathy. There are allegations of vote buying, with the parties reportedly paying between N5,000 and N15,000 for each vote. Asides the ethical considerations and the psychology of voters honouring illegal transactions, vote buying indicates that our votes are not secret when they should be. The candidate of the All Progressives Congress won the election with 187,057 votes a mere 5.7 per cent of the population of Ekiti, if we accept the population of the State as 3.3 million. At a time when governance is at its most ineffective, it is worrying that so few people can determine who will govern a State. The turnout in Ekiti aligns with the national average turnout of less than 35 per cent, but it is expected that when an incumbent is not on the ballot, there is a higher turnout of voters stemming from a sense of possibility for something different or even a radical departure from the norm. A total of 360,753 votes were cast in Ekiti, a little less than half of the 746,065 PVC holders eligible to vote, which is a different number from the 988,923 registered voters in Ekiti. It is one thing to register and quite another to collect the PVC which is one reason to be sympathetic to INECs desire to have a cutoff date for registration; INEC needs time to ensure PVCs are produced and distributed before the general elections. Close to a quarter of a million registered voters did not have their PVCs for the Ekiti election and it would be useful to know more about the owners of the 242,858 PVCs still with INEC e.g., was it for lack of trying and what can we tell from the spread i.e., are the majority from opposition strongholds because this is a consistent concern that needs to be verified with data, not conjecture. Massive voter turnout is our best chance to vote in a different type of public officer in 2023. It is the antidote to some of the rigging mechanisms, including vote buying, deployment of violence and ballot box snatching, as they cannot buy everyone, it is harder to deploy violence where thousands are gathered (though EndSARs tells us another story) and, there is, hopefully, a limit to the effective deployment of thugs across the country. As of June 27, INEC reported that 23,560,043 Nigerians have registered to vote. Of this, 14,137,024 are between 18 and 34 years old and 6,146,335 are students. With the extension of the voter registration timeline, we can expect even more people to register. This is an indication that the sustained advocacy for Nigerians to register to vote has worked. It could also be an inclination to what many of us feel: Exhausted by the ineffectiveness of our government and a desire for radical change. The excitement over registration is buoyed by a sense of opportunity for the presidency; for the first time since 2007, an incumbent president will not be on the ballot and the Peter Obi phenomenon indicates that when Nigerians are interested, they engage. For years, commentators have remarked that if young Nigerians participate in elections, the way they engage with Big Brother, the youth would be the determinants of our elections. 2023 provides an opportunity to see that energy translate into a voter turnout higher than the 34 per cent turnout we had in 2019. Massive voter turnout is our best chance to vote in a different type of public officer in 2023. It is the antidote to some of the rigging mechanisms, including vote buying, deployment of violence and ballot box snatching, as they cannot buy everyone, it is harder to deploy violence where thousands are gathered (though EndSARs tells us another story) and, there is, hopefully, a limit to the effective deployment of thugs across the country. Colombia, a country similar to Nigeria: A narco-state, with high insecurity and state capture, recently held an historic presidential election that was noteworthy for electing, for the first time in twenty years, a candidate with leftist leanings and for having the highest voter turnout in electoral history at 58 per cent. In Colombia, as in Nigeria, the majority of the voters desperately want something new. Ayisha Osori is the author of Love Does Not Win Elections. Your presence here is to make your family, country, the world and even God proud that you were born. Remember, discovering yourself is the first step to becoming significant and successful. The question, who are you? looks very simple but most people dont really get to answer it correctly. If I ask who you are, you will most likely tell me your name, where you are from, if you are married and the number of kids you have. You will also add where you work. But does all that information really answer the question who are you? All the responses provided would have given is information about you, but these are not enough to answer the question. Come to think of it, who are you really? My work is to try and make you understand yourself. Who you are is a question of personality, and your temperament. If you really understand who you are temperamentally, one can better relate with you, one can easily know what you like or dont like, what gets you angry and where you are naturally wired to make a lot of money. Discover Yourself Who are you? Why are you on this planet? You are like gold and as you might well know, before you can ever explore gold, you must know where to locate it first. Your money and significance is in your makeup, hidden away in who you are. I have met quite a number of people looking for jobs, and the first assignment I give them is for them is to discover themselves. That is the starting point to greatness. There are numerous stories of Nigerians who have made it big just because they discovered themselves. Lets see, Dele Momodu, who studied Yoruba for his first degree; Leke Alder, a lawyer turned brand master; Mark Angel comedy; Kenny Blaq, among others. The basic thing I want you to understand is once you have discovered yourself, you have taken the first step to becoming significant and rich. So once again, who are you? Steps to Discovering Yourself Most people have asked me, how do I discover myself? It is very simple. Answer the following questions truthfully: What are my hobbies? What interests me the most? What do people say about me? What am I passionate about? What is my temperament? I dont personally care how much you think you are making or are not making. If you are in the wrong place, you are wasting your time, money and even significance. What made Mark Angel relevant were his amazing skits! What made Alibaba famous, wealthy and friends to governors, the high and mighty, is comedy. What will make you to eventually stand out is your gift, wrapped in your temperament. Your presence here is to make your family, country, the world and even God proud that you were born. Remember, discovering yourself is the first step to becoming significant and successful. Focus On Your Interests The next thing to do is to streamline what you like. As for me, I like talking, I talk a lot but I dont want to bore people stiff. I want to give them information that will change their lives. I looked at myself very well and discovered that I like counseling and encouraging people. That means I am called to motivate people to succeed in life. This informed the course that I took to equip myself better. You must do the same thing. Discover, develop and deploy yourself. You Must Be Ready To Pay the Price Having streamlined like I did, then pay the price. If it means burning the midnight candle. If only you are ready to pay the price, you will get to the top faster than you think. Go through the process, no one is born an adult, everyone had to grow through life. So must your gift. Develop yourself and dont ever stop; that is hone your skill, be the best and dont ever stop until you beat the best. You can do it. Define Your Company You will need to define the kind of friends you need around you. Everyone does not just qualify anymore. You must choose friends and mentors who will constantly challenge you to get better. Anybody who does not understand your future is not permitted to be too close because they will kill your dreams. Words are powerful, with words your dreams can be shattered and with words they can be strengthened. The Price of Failure is Laziness You paid for the shirt that you are wearing, you paid for the phone you are using, please pay the price of success. Come to think of it, you cannot run from paying a price, nobody can. Its either you pay the price of success or you pay the price of failure. The price of failure is easy to pay but difficult to live with, while the price of success is difficult to pay but easy to live with. The price of failure is LAZINESS, while the price of success is HARD WORK. I have never seen a lazy man become successful and believe me you cannot be the first. Decide to pay the price of success today, that decision will surely make you get to become both successful and significant. You will succeed! Yemi Adetayo, a success strategist and leadership expert, can be reached at: counseloryemi@gmail.com. If Ukpo David has indeed defrauded the Ekweremadus as alleged by spokespersons and friends of theirs, then Ukpo David has learnt from the best how to exploit others. Those who defraud Nigeria every hour are the political leaders. The younger generation may end up taking back their resources from their leaders through any means possible good, bad and ugly. Two photos were to be identified on the screen of the phone. There were four Nigerians at the location in Maryland, USA. Without hesitation, three of the Nigerians identified the photo of the gentleman in suit and red tie as Ike Ekweremadu. A question followed: Is that the boy in question? The name of the boy in question is Ukpo Nwamini David. The media space has been dominated recently by news of former deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu, his wife, Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, versus Ukpo David, an unknown and nobody. In the scene somewhere is also Sonia Ekweremadu, a daughter of the Ekweremadus whose need for kidney to save her life led to the big news. Ike Ekweremadu, 60, in his social media spaces, describes himself as politician, lawyer, philanthropist, among others. Having been in the Senate for almost 20 years, he occupies one of the highest heights of political power and influence. And being wealthy comes with it. The factual barebones of the available information are that the United Kingdom (U.K.) government arrested the Ekweremadu couple allegedly for luring Ukpo David into the country to harvest his kidney under false pretence. The Ekweremadus have denied the allegation. The arrest of the prominent Nigerians and allegation have generated controversy support for Ekweremadu and claims that the process of bringing Ukpo David into the U.K. for the kidney transplant operation was done appropriately, against those who say that Ukpo David was naive, poor, tricked, and misled to a life-threatening surgery. There are many issues that arise and this article will look into some of them, especially to draw lessons for the political leadership of Nigeria. The U.K. courts will decide the case. Quite as expected, the media, including social media, has been dominated by positive stories in support of the Ekweremadus. The narratives use facts drawn from just about anywhere to show that nothing untoward was done, especially by the parents who wanted only to preserve the life of their daughter, Sonia. The stories are highly biased and reflect the one-sided use of the media in favour of the strong, powerful and wealthy. It may create public sympathy for the Ekweremadus in Nigeria. But it will have little or no influence on the legal issues and the court case in the U.K. The list of politicians who have expressed support for the Ekweremadus keeps growing. You may count Senator Smart Adeyemi, Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, Femi Fani-Kayode, Joe Igbokwe Such support is predictable. By attempting to drown out David Ukpo, a voiceless nobody, the Ekweremadus group lends stronger credence to the song, Poor Man No get Brother. But it does not add new facts or legal strength to the real issues. The best lawyers available in Nigeria and the U.K. will represent the Ekweremadus. If the couple is found guilty, the jail time will be long. Of course, no amount of funds or effort will be spared to save the Ekweremadus from possible imprisonment. However, Ukpo David, who wont have money or wealthy friends, will be represented by U.K.s prosecuting attorneys, whose main aim is to carry out their jobs properly. Where there are systems, and processes are clear and well established, the ability to influence outcomes is very little. Nigerias political leadership does not understand such a situation and will throw out more and more money only to find out at the end that there is no hiding place. It has happened in the past to Nigerian politicians or rich people who faced justice in the U.K. There are a number of pro-Ekweremadu arguments that should be examined. One of them is that Ukpo David is not under-age as claimed and that he voluntarily accepted to donate his kidney to Sonia through the planned surgery. He has used the Ekweremadu family to get into U.K. and wants to stay there, hence the change of mind, some people argue. The stated consent is explained from the side of the Ekweremadus. We are yet to see such clear evidence of consent whether written, video or audio. The voiceless nobody is yet to speak directly on the issues. The crushing poverty, deprivation and hopelessness of the youth population in Nigeria is palpable. I do not see how any young person in a similar situation to Ukpo David would not take advantage of being in Europe to attempt to have temporary, and ultimately permanent resident status in any European country. The political leadership that has misruled Nigeria and whose children do not get educated in Nigeria nor want to stay there, cannot force the young generation to stay either. If Ukpo David has indeed defrauded the Ekweremadus as alleged by spokespersons and friends of theirs, then Ukpo David has learnt from the best how to exploit others. Those who defraud Nigeria every hour are the political leaders. The younger generation may end up taking back their resources from their leaders through any means possible good, bad and ugly. While the noise and arguments and legal wrangle go on, Sonia Ekweremadu, whose kidney is failing, has been pushed to the background. Nigerias political leadership continues to go abroad for medical care. The ordinary citizens and workers are condemned to poor services, un-serviceable machines and under-paid medical staff in public health facilities. Private medical care is very expensive due to a host of reasons, including the lack of electric power, high costs of purchasing equipment, expensive security protection and continuous exodus of trained medical personnel out of the country. The price of failed leadership affects us all, sooner or later, and our privileges cannot save us. Bunmi Makinwa is the CEO of AUNIQUEI Communication for Leadership; bunmimakinwa.com. May ina omo not scald any of us is a famous Yoruba prayer. The Yoruba by that prayer acknowledges the extreme dilemma presented by a life and death situation involving a child such as the Ekweremadus might have been experiencing upon their childs health diagnosis. Our prayers should be with them and for the heavens to help resolve this matter to Gods glory and the healing of the child. That said, it is important to use this unfortunate circumstance as a teachable moment for Nigerians on the strict rules of the United Kingdom on organ transplants. Many Nigerians have rushed to share a letter purportedly written by Ike Ekweremadu to the UK Embassy to facilitate the travel of an organ donor for his child. The letter was written on the official letterhead of Ekweremadu as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Those sharing the letter hold the view that the letter is a full-disclosure instrument that ought to exonerate the Senator. Well, that is purely using the Nigerian mind to explain British rules. More than any other factor, this particular letter may have been the original trigger that raised the initial red flags about the charge of organ harvesting against the Ekweremadus. The immediate likely reaction of the British authority upon receipt of that letter was to flag it and place the Ekweremandus on covert surveillance. The hospital and its key officials would also come under covert investigation by the British police. The Visa would be granted in the hope that the suspects presence on British soil would eliminate any scintilla of doubt on legal jurisdiction as well as offer an opportunity to save the potential victim. The effective UK law on organ transplant is the Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA) which was enacted by the British parliament in 1989 and came into force, with regulations, on 1 April 1990. Choudhry et al (2003) provide clear insight into that law. It has two key components. First, it creates a series of circumstantial criminal offenses, the combined effect of which is to prohibit commercial dealings in human organs, whether procured from cadavers (dead human remains) or live donors. Thus HOTA makes it an offense for an individual in the United Kingdom to make or receive payments for the supply of or for an offer to supply an organ for transplant into another person, whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere in the world. The law also attaches criminal consequences for participating in the chain of distribution of human organs under pay-to-play circumstances. It should be stated that some Nigerians have insinuated that an offense could only have been committed if the donor was considered a child or a minor in which case he or she would not have been able to give consent. They are correct that people under 18 (16 in Scotland) cannot legally give their informed consent proving that they agree to a medical procedure under British laws but they are wrong that this is the only ground for an offense on illegal organ transplant under British laws. It is indeed instructive to mention that the UK HOTA law itself came into being as a result of the exploitation of Turkish youths regardless of their legal age by wealthy and highly-placed individuals who coerced them to donate their organs in an illegal organ harvesting and organ sales epidemic that gripped the UK in the 80s. This is why in the HOTA law for example; it is an offense to act as a broker who negotiates the sale of an organ among other serious infractions. The European Union Report on Trafficking in Human Organs (2015) produced by the Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies states that the commercial trade in human organs, including trafficking in persons for organ removal, has developed into a global problem. Also, HOTA focuses on live organ donations and generally makes it an offense either to remove an organ from a living donor or to transplant an organ from a living donor into another person unless the recipient and donor are genetically related. The Act provides a list of persons to whom an individual is deemed to be genetically related. This includes biological parents, children, siblings (including half-siblings), nephews, and nieces. HOTA however authorizes the UK Secretary of State to create an exception to the ban on unrelated live organ donation through regulations. Such an exception is created by the Unrelated Live Transplant Regulatory Authority (ULTRA) which lifts the prohibition against unrelated living donation under certain conditions. The most important of such conditions are that (a) no payment has been or will be made, and (b) the donors consent was not obtained by coercion or the offer of an inducement. The regulation also empowers ULTRA with the task of ensuring that these conditions have been complied with in each case of unrelated live organ donation. If ULTRA is not satisfied that these conditions have been met, the donation cannot take place. The implication of this is that organ donation in the UK typically operates on a level playing ground regardless of the status (economic, position, etc) of the individual. While this does not eliminate the right of persons who specifically aim to donate organs to specific individuals, the UK authority must be certain that those persons have not been coerced, forced, or induced with money or other benefits or material promises or physical and psychological threats, etc under any circumstance. This is why it would be a culture shock and an alarm bell if any UK official, especially a British High Commissioner were to receive a letter on the official letterhead of a UK cabinet minister or parliamentarian to the effect that the person was sponsoring an organ donors visa application. If such a letter could raise a red flag coming from a British official, it would trigger a tsunami-grade alarm coming from a Senator in Nigeria a country with a notorious international reputation for ritual killings with missing body parts, an unprecedented records of black market human organ trade, and an epidemic of unresolved murders and missing persons. What can save the Ekweremadus currently is if there is no evidence that the donor or his family were compensated in any form. If it is established that money was not involved and that the person concerned is of legal age and sound mind and had simply opted to donate his organ to save a life, then the Ekweremadu may even get an apology from the British authority. References United Kingdom Human Organ Transplants Act (1989) Choudhry S, Daar AS, Radcliffe Richards J, et al Unrelated living organ donation: ULTRA needs to goJournal of Medical Ethics 2003;29:169-170. Making decisions paragraphs 22 to 33, 018 years: guidance for all doctors (2007): in https://www.gmc-uk.org/outcomes-legislation European Union Report on Trafficking in Human Organs by the Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies (2015) Tunji Light Ariyomo wrote from Akure, Ondo State. Polaris Bank and the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) have partnered to provide N1 billion fund to artisans operating in Lagos state. This was disclosed at a joint media launch of the artisans funds and addressed by the Banks Executive Director, Lagos Business, Mr. Segun Opeke, on Thursday May 19, 2022. Mr. Opeke explained that the partnership with LSETF is aimed at providing the much-needed funding to create wealth and empower artisans and players within the MSME space in Lagos state who have been in business operation for a minimum of one year. The executive director further noted that Polaris Bank will be providing N500m counterpart funding in the partnership while LSETF is providing to the fund the same amount. He encouraged artisans in the state to take advantage of the facility. In her presentation at the signing off ceremony, the Executive Secretary of LSETF, Tejumola Abisoye, stated, LSETF working with the Lagos State Council of Tradesmen and Artisans and the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment is committed to making impact by ensuring it creates access to finance and sustainable job opportunities for artisans in Lagos State. We are happy to partner with Polaris Bank in ensuring that this mandate is achieved, and we know that through this fund, thousands of artisan businesses across the state can become sustainable. At LSETF, we are open to more strategic partnerships to reduce unemployment by building the capacity and improving the productivity of Lagos residents she added. We are working with Polaris Bank to grant this loan at a single digit of 9.5% per annum. This is extremely important because we want it to be clear from day one that it is affordable. We still think it is the most affordable in the market that you can have access to at the moment, she stated further. Explaining the process of accessing the artisans funds, the Group Head, Products and Market, Polaris Bank, Mrs. Adebimpe Ihekuna, said the scheme is highly subsidised at less than 1% flat per month and artisans who wish to take advantage of the facility can complete an application form; provide proof of verifiable business location with evidence of tenancy and domiciliation of business account to Polaris Bank. Applicants are also to provide business plan among other friendly terms throughout the tenor of the facility. Mrs. Ihekuna further explained that the scheme offers up to N5m for the MSMEs to be able to purchase working equipment so that even as a cobbler, vulcanizer, a barbing or hairdressing salon owner or whatever business you do, you can create value which also becomes a platform to continue to provide more employment opportunities for the youth. On her part, Director of Programmes, LSETF, Omolara Adewumi, expressed appreciation to Polaris Bank for the collaboration and the gesture of coming on board as a financial partner. She noted the role MSMEs play in creating jobs and reducing poverty. I believe the time for this kind of matching funds which focuses mainly on artisans in Lagos state is now and we know that this collaboration will be a successful one, she added. Lagos States informal economy, under which artisans are categorized, is said to employ about 5.5 million people about three-quarters of the States 7.5 million labour force out of the countrys nearly 200 million people. This figure (5.5m in Lagos alone) represents over 80 percent of the population working in the informal sector, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Despite its evident potential, the informal economy is often faced with difficulties, one of which is the lack of access to finance. Prospective applicants are encouraged to visit any Polaris Bank branch, the liaison offices of LSETF to apply, or visit https://apply.LSETF.ng/artsignup. For more information on this partnership, kindly contact smebusiness@polarisbanklimited.com or +234 1 293 1077 (Polaris Bank) and info@lsetf.ng (LSETF) About Polaris Bank Polaris Bank, adjudged the Digital Bank of the year, is a future- determining bank committed to delivering industry-defining products and services to individuals and businesses. About Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) was established by The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund Law 2016 to provide financial support to residents of Lagos State, for job, wealth creation and to tackle unemployment. For more details visit www.lsetf.ng The Kaduna State Government on Wednesday began the distribution of school uniforms and learning materials to pupils in 4,260 public primary schools and 838 learning centres across the state. Speaking at the distribution event, the Executive Chairman, Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (KADSUBEB), Tijjani Abdullahi, said that the goal was to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the state. Mr Abdullahi, who was represented by Samaila Liman, Permanent Member, Schools KADSUBEB, said that the learning materials would be distributed under the World Bank-supported Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA). He said that the BESDA programme was specifically designed to address the problem of out-of-school children, by ensuring that children were enrolled in school, remained in school, and completed their education. According to him, the provision of the learning materials is to ensure that learning is delivered with high quality. He called on stakeholders to ensure that no child is left behind. He listed some of the materials as 247,000 school uniforms, 247,000 school bags, 247,000 mathematical sets, 247,000 erasers, and sharpeners and over 1000 whiteboards, cleaners and marker packs. He said that each pupil from primary one to three in the 4,260 public primary schools in the state would get a pair of uniforms, sandals, school bag, books, mathematical set, and pencil. Other learning items in the pack include an eraser and a sharpener, adding that in addition to these materials, pupils in primary two and primary three would get a literacy book. He added that all the 51,000 learners in the 838 learning centres would receive all the learning materials. The executive chairman said that under the BESDA programme, the state government had sensitised 2,000 caregivers, to provide incentives and encouraged them to enrol their children in school. The programme also established the 838 non-formal learning centres to accommodate the 51,000 learners enrolled and engaged facilitators to teach and provide the needed care to the children, he said. Also speaking, the Deputy Governor, Hadiza Balarabe, described books as a gateway to knowledge and a warehouse to an entirely new life. Ms Balarabe, who was represented by the Special Assistant to Governor Nasir El-Rufai on Human Capital Development, Sagir Balarabe, said that the effort was part of the governments commitment to 12 years of free and compulsory basic education. As part of our commitment, we are providing free school uniforms and free school feeding to children in public primary schools. This is because the government has identified education as a major pillar in the match to a society driven by its human capital development. It is our desire, therefore, that no child of school-age should be left behind on account of lack of access or money, she said. The Commissioner for Education, Halima Lawal, commended the World Bank for the support and reiterated the governments commitment to repositioning the education sector. Mr Lawal, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Public Schools, Mercy Kude, called on parents to support their childs education by simply enrolling them in school. Also speaking, Hadiza El-Rufai, wife of Governor Nasir El-Rufai, called on relevant stakeholders to support the state government to address the menace of out-of-school children in the state. Speaking on behalf of the pupils, Abdulrahman Jibril, a Primary four pupil of Government Basic Education School, Unguwan Sarki, thanked the World Bank and the state government for the support. (NAN) A police officer caused a stir at a local police station in Nigeria when he stormed the facility and allegedly assaulted a man who was giving a statement to the police. The incident happened on June 22 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigerias South-south. The officer, identified as Ephraim Akang, serves in the Quick Intervention Unit at the police headquarters in the state. He reportedly dragged the victim to the ground and threw him into a car that belongs to a party in the case despite an appeal from police operatives in the division, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.. Another officer who came with Mr Akang had left before the situation became tense. As the situation degenerated, a police operative in the division angrily locked the gate of the police station to prevent Mr Akang from leaving with the victim. Another operative later opened the gate. Mr Akang, the officer from the headquarters, eventually sped off from the police facility B Division, Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo with the man. The incident coincided with the assumption of office by the new Commissioner of Police in the state, Olatoye Durosinmi. The victim Some officers who responded to a distress call brought the victim, Edemeka Udosen, a 62-year-old retired civil servant with the Akwa Ibom State government, to the division with a report that five men were allegedly molesting him at his residence in the city. The five men, including a former vice chairman of Onna Local Government Area of the state, Princewill Johnny, were also brought in by the officers. Mr Princewill Johnny, former vice chairman, Onna LGA, Akwa Ibom State The connection between the five men and the man allegedly assaulted at the police facility centres on some unresolved issues around the sales of Mr Udosens personal house, a twin duplex, at Osongama, a highbrow estate in Uyo, PREMIUM TIMES learnt. Mr Udosen sold the house at N60million last year, but it appears he could not figure out who bought his house and how it happened. He has no copy of the sales agreement because the people who bought the house refused to give him one. He has never met Tamunotonye Willie, the man whose name is on the agreement as the buyer of the property. His wife and his two children were not aware of the negotiation and the sale of the house until the dispute got to them. Mr Udosen got the money in tranches of N10million on six different occasions, and each time the money hit his bank account, he wired them immediately to some unknown persons. The people I sent money to, some of them N1million, some N3 million, are fraudsters, Mr Udosen told PREMIUM TIMES, Tuesday. He said he did not know how much the fraudsters took from him unless he checked his bank statement. PREMIUM TIMES asked him why he did not inform his wife and children about his decision to sell the house. I was very ill. I didnt want anything to delay me from getting the money, he responded. Mr Udosens younger brother, who did not want his name mentioned in the report because of the embarrassment, said his brother must have acted under a spell. The house was valued at N180 million, he said. He was defrauded of the money they paid him. He has sold his three cars. I was the one who paid his hospital bills. Edemekas friend asked them (the buyers) for their account details, so he could refund the N60 million to them. They rejected it, they wanted N75 million instead, he added. Violation of Police Act Meanwhile, Mr Udosen and his wife, Ekaette, had obtained an order from a Magistrates Court, on May 18, which restrained the buyers from evicting them from the property. Mr Udosen told PREMIUM TIMES he was assaulted by the men who came to his house on June 22 on the order of the former vice chairman of Onna, Mr Johnny. He said he was also assaulted at the police division by Mr Akang, the officer from the police headquarters. He (the officer) grabbed the back of my trouser, dragged me up as if I was a thief. He threw me into the car. I hit my head on the car, Mr Udosen said. I am still having a headache because of the impact on my head, he added. I was told he was dragged like a goat out of the police station and taken to Ikot Akpan Abia (police headquarters), against the directive of the DPO, his younger brother said. At the police headquarters, Mr Akang angrily threw Mr Udosen into a cell. This was the second time Mr Udosen was detained since the case was reported to the police earlier this month by the former vice chairman of Onna. He had spent a night in the cell when he was first arrested, and reportedly paid N60,000 for bail before the police released him. He was still on bail before the assault incident at the police division. Shortly before the officer from the headquarters came for Mr Udosen, Grace Nyong, an inspector at the division, had issued a police medical form for Mr Udosen to go for medical examination over the injuries he said he sustained during the alleged assault at his residence. The officer, Mr Ephraim, appeared frustrated with Mr Udosens refusal to handover the duplex to the former vice chairman of Onna who claimed he bought the house, two sources familiar with the case told PREMIUM TIMES. Each time there was a meeting between Princewill Johnny and Edemeka (Udosen) at the police station, Ephraim (Akang) would insist on getting a commitment from Edemeka on when he would vacate the house, one source said. When Mr Udosen was detained at the police headquarters the second time, Mr Ephraim allegedly told him he would be charged to court and taken to prison, unless he gave up his right to the duplex. A female lawyer, Iniubong Udoh, who is representing Mr Udosens wife, corroborated the claim that the police repeatedly threatened to send Mr Udosen to prison. She said the intimidation got to a point when an officer pushed her out of the office in a meeting at the police headquarters where she was invited for a peaceful settlement of the case. The (former) vice chairman of Onna said he is going to rubbish me because I told them there was a pending court case over the property, said Mrs Udoh, who is the secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, Uyo branch. Mr Udosens wife said there was a day a group of men led by the former vice chairman of Onna dragged her out of the house and threatened to force her to vacate the place within three days. The lawyer, Mrs Udoh, is handling another litigation at a family court on behalf of Mr Udosens two children whom she said are too young (the oldest is 14 years) to be homeless. Mr Udosens arrest and detention seemed to have violated Section 32 (2) of the Police Act 2020, which forbids the police from arresting citizens based on civil wrong or breach of contract. The officer, Mr Ephraim, declined to comment on the matter. The Divisional Police Officer of the B Division, Uyo, also declined comment. He referred our reporter to the police spokesperson in the state, Odiko Macdon. When our reporter contacted Mr Macdon, a superintendent of police, he said he was not aware of the incident at the division, and promised to find out what happened. The police spokesperson did not, however, respond to further calls and a text message from our reporter. Ridiculous charges After spending a night in the cell the second time, the police, on June 24, surprisingly charged Mr Udosen with advance fee fraud and attempted murder. He pleaded not guilty and was granted bail by the court. The charges were quite ridiculous, a friend of Mr Udosen told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday. With this, and even the way the police have been behaving, you can easily tell that they have been influenced to do what they have been doing to this man. We thank God the case has not gone the way they wanted, he said. The former vice chairman of Onna, Mr Johnny, in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, accused Mr Udosen of dribbling him over the property. Mr Johnny said he bought the property and that it belongs to him. But when asked if it was true he was fronting for some powerful woman said to be connected to the Akwa Ibom State government, he changed his claim. I bought the property for my in-law, Tamunotonye Willie, he said. He stays in Port Harcourt. He agreed to give Mr Willies telephone number to our reporter for an interview, but later declined. PREMIUM TIMES asked Mr Johnny why he did not give a copy of the sales agreement to Mr Udosen several months after the transaction. My lawyer is supposed to give him, he responded. The former vice chairman denied the allegation of assault by Mr Udosen against him and others. He said all he wanted was for Mr Udosen to hand over the duplex to him. Mr Udosens lawyer, Nsikak Akai, said the police were aware of the court order against those who bought the property. What they (police) are doing is an unlawful enterprise, he said. Udosen said he had told the buyers that the true value of his property was N120million, but that they gave him N60million only. If they give me N60million, Ill go get another place for myself and my family, he said. The embattled Nigerian senator, Ike Ekweremadu, on Thursday, appeared at the Uxbridge Magistrates Court in London where he is facing charges of organ trafficking. Mr Ekweremadu, a former deputy senate president, whose case was scheduled to be heard in court on July 7, had the case fast-tracked and heard today, Channels Television reports. Mr Ekweremadu and his wife were arrested last Thursday and charged with allegedly trafficking a young Nigerian, David Nwamini, with intention of harvesting his kidney. The Ekweremadus were denied bail and their trial was adjourned to July 7. When Mr Ekweremadu appeared in court Tuesday, the prosecutor maintained his argument that Mr Nwamini was coerced to donate his kidney and is 15 years old. PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Nigerian government, through the Nigerian Immigration Service, said on Sunday that Mr Nwamini was 21 years old. Mr Ekweremadus case has now been adjourned to the initial date (July 7). He will remain in custody after the prosecutor argued that he is an influential person and is a flight risk. READ ALSO: The couples case will now be heard at the Westminster Magistrate Court where the UK Attorney General, Suella Braverman, will determine whether the case will be tried in the country or Nigeria. On Thursday, a large delegation from the Nigeria High Commission was present in the public gallery alongside two of the senators children. The Nigerian Senate had on Wednesday resolved it will send a delegation of the committee of foreign affairs to London to see the Ekweremadus. The delegation is expected to leave on Friday. The Senate also mandated the committee on foreign affairs to engage with the British High Commission to find more details on the case. Chiamaka Okafor is a reporter at PREMIUM TIMES in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Rivers State on Wednesday arrested a physically challenged female for alleged possession of 24 sacks of 231.2kgs of cannabis sativa. The spokesperson of the agency in the state, Emmanuel Ogbumgbada, disclosed this in a statement in Port Harcourt. He said the NDLEA made the arrest when the operatives of the agency carried out a search operation at Obunku community in Oyigbo Local Government Area of the state. Mr Ogbumgbada, an assistant commander with the NDLEA, said: The command arrested one Celina Ekeke, a notorious drug dealer, with 24 sacks of cannabis sativa weighing 231.2kgs. She has been on the watch list of the agency for some time now, as she uses her deformed legs to disguise and sell illicit drugs. READ ALSO: She is presently undergoing investigation at the Rivers Command headquarters. Mr Ogbumgbada said the state commander, Ahmed Mamuda, restated his earlier warning to all drug dealers to desist from the nefarious act as the agency would surely fish them out, particularly as retired Brig-Gen. Buba Marwa, the Chairman of NDLEA, has charged the Command to go on an offensive action against all drug dealers. The spokesperson appealed to the public to provide information to the NDLEA on the activities of drug dealers to enable the agency to rid the state of hard drugs. (NAN) The Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Kelechi Igwe, says he is not planning to defect from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Labour party. His media aide, Monday Uzor, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abakaliki. A report on social media said Mr Igwe had concluded plans to dump APC. Mr Uzor described the report as false and a deliberate attempt to smear the deputy governors office and personality. It is quite unfortunate that the purveyor of the report, being an Ebonyi indigene, was deliberately attempting to heat the polity through dangerous speculations and misinformation. This is capable of undermining the peace in the state and I hereby state clearly that I remain a strong and bonafide member of APC. I have no intention to leave the party now or later, the deputy governor said in the statement. The statement said the deputy governor has enormous responsibilities and that he was busy assisting Governor David Umahi to achieve a successful transition programme in the state. The public, and (the) APC members in particular, should disregard such unfounded rumour peddled by those envious of the progress the party is making. The purveyor of that report should immediately retract it and tender an unreserved apology to the deputy governor, the statement added. (NAN) The Enugu State Government has expressed sadness over the ordeal of the former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, and his wife, Beatrice, in the United Kingdom. The London Metropolitan Police, last week, charged Mr Ekweremadu and his wife with conspiracy to traffic David Nwamini to the United Kingdom in order to harvest his kidney. Louis Amoke, media aide to the Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday. The government and the good people of Enugu State are saddened by the unpleasant news of arrest, arraignment and subsequent remand in custody of Senator Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, in the United Kingdom, the statement read in part. It said Governor Ugwuanyis thoughts and prayers were with the family of the embattled lawmaker. In this difficult time, we beseech the most merciful God to grant accelerated healing to Miss Sonia Ekweremadu, the statement added. The state government extended its profound gratitude to the Nigerian government and members of the National Assembly for their empathy, support, solidarity and legal intervention, the statement said. READ ALSO: This is coming about four days after the Ebonyi State Government expressed similar support for the lawmaker and his family. The Ebonyi State government said it was reaching out to the family of Mr Nwamini, the individual contacted by Mr Ekweremadu to donate his kidney to the senators ailing daughter. The Nigerian Senate, on Wednesday, expressed support for the senator and resolved to send a delegation of the committee of foreign affairs to London to see the Ekweremadus. More accusation Mr Ekweremadu is also accused of procuring a passport for Mr Nwamini and claiming he was 21 years old. The prosecutors said Mr Nwamini was 15 years old, and not 21. The lawmakers daughter, Miss Sonia, has a kidney-related disease and has been on dialysis. The persecutors said they believe the plan was to use Mr Nwaminis kidney on their daughter who is in need of a kidney transplant. The senators case was earlier scheduled to be heard in court on July 7, but the case was fast-tracked and heard on Thursday, June 30. When Mr Ekweremadu appeared in court on Thursday, the prosecutor maintained his argument that Mr Nwamini was coerced to donate his kidney and that he is 15 years old. The case has again been adjourned to the initial date, July 7, and will now be heard at Westminster Magistrate Court where the UK Attorney General, Suella Braverman, will determine whether the case will be tried in the country or Nigeria. The Minister of State for Transportation, Gbemisola Saraki, says the Onitsha River port is positioned to generate over N23 billion to the federal government in 30 years. Ms Saraki, during the signing of the concession of the port on Thursday in Abuja, said the port had lots of economic benefits to the country. According to her, the port will among other things, ensure the 60 per cent shipped cargoes which hitherto goes through Onne port to Onitsha will be transported directly. So there is a lot of economic growth, there is going to be a creation of wealth, creation of jobs, security and greater development. We hope it is a catalyst for other river ports, so that it will decongest other ports and bring about growth. You know the traffic on our road, the state of our roads and the tankers and freight being moved on our roads have now reduced. And so it is a very good thing and we are exceptionally proud that at long last we have achieved this, Ms Saraki said. According to the minister, the Baro, Lokoja and Oguta ports, which are at different stages of completion, will be considered after the Onitsha port. The most important thing is that we already have interest from potential investors who want to actually take over this. The Managing Director, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), George Moghalu, said the Onitsha port would reduce the volume of cargoes transported via roads to the South-east. Mr Moghalu said: Our roads are not designed to carry the weight they are carrying. Over 60 per cent of the containers that arrive Nigeria through Onne, Tin Can or Apapa port end up in Onitsha and what it translates is that these containers are moved by trailers. Onitsha port is very well positioned to play a key role in addressing this if opportunities are provided. He commended the concessioners for their efforts to bring in investors into the country. Mr Moghalu expressed hope that the concession would open up opportunities for other ports in the country to be given due considerations. Meanwhile, the Acting Director-General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Michael Ohiani, said the 30 years concession would generate over N23 billion to the government. He said: After rigorous procurement process, Universal Elysium Consortium emerged as the preferred concessionaire for the concession of Onitsha River Port. Over the 30-year concession period, the concessionaire will be responsible for all the activities and maintenance of the port. The asset along with the entire infrastructure will be returned to the authorities at the end of the concession period. The redevelopment of Onitsha River Port is seen as a boost to commercial activities in the South-east. Importers and traders from the commercial towns of Onitsha, Nnewi, Aba and Ogbete-Enugu see the relaunch as a welcome development from the federal government. The port will serve as an alternative mode of transporting goods from Lagos and Port Harcourt by road, he said. (NAN) The future of Prince William Times now depends on community support. Your donation will help us continue to improve our journalism through in-depth local news coverage and expanded reader engagement. Support SIT is the world's first blockchain-based algae biomass project offering. The project will be built utilising patented sustainable technology to deliver a pioneering green investment opportunity. Carbon credits generated by biomass projects will be tokenized as Algaecoin. LONDON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's first blockchain-based algae biomass project, built on the energy-efficient Tezos blockchain, was announced today by leading capital markets technology firm, Globacap. Developed and operated by Sustainable Impact Token (SIT) , the project will support the development, construction, and operation of algae biomass farms. The initiative will use blockchain technology to bridge the gap between two of the fastest growing investor markets in the world asset-backed finance and crypto. SIT's algae biomass farms produce high quality, non-animal protein, based on a system powered exclusively using renewable energy. These algae farms are absorbing large amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere and a net producer of renewable energy. The SIT project is currently supporting the development of a "proof of concept" algae biomass farm in Europe using patented, sustainable technology. Myles Milston, CEO of Globacap says, "Being part of this pioneering project marks an important milestone in our ongoing mission to enable frictionless asset creation and transferability. With Globacap, the capital raising process is completely digital, mostly automated, transparent, secure, and compliant. Our work with SIT and Tezos is transformational in the way this market can operate." The $5 billion algae biomass sector is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.3% during the next 5 years ( Quince Market Insights ) and the success of the project will provide the basis to expand globally. SIT provides investors with tokens issued via smart contracts deployed on the proof-of-stake Tezos blockchain, representing their preferred shares in the project. Carbon credits generated from the algae production will also be tokenized into Algaecoin, a tokenized asset representing tradable carbon credits. "By bringing agri-tech solutions and carbon credit-backed assets into private markets and beyond, we can make significant, impactful steps towards sustaining our planet for future generations," adds Milston. The SIT offering was designed to enable frictionless transferability in full compliance with securities regulation through the Tezos FA2 compliant token contracts for holding and settlement. This pioneering offering links the sustainable asset-backed and crypto investment worlds together to create a compelling blockchain-enabled investment vehicle. "As solutions to the macro challenges of food scarcity and sustainable energy production continue to be a global priority, demand for investment vehicles that can also support these objectives are increasing. We are thrilled to see Globacap choose Tezos to power this unique blockchain based, asset-backed offering," says Mason Edwards from Tezos Foundation. Tezos is an energy-efficient open source blockchain network powered by a globally decentralised network of users and validators. Companies and builders around the globe leverage Tezos for projects exploring the potential for blockchain to be a tool for sustainable innovation. Recently, Cambridge University announced the Cambridge Centre for Carbon Credits (4C) which is creating a trusted decentralised marketplace on Tezos where purchasers of carbon credits can confidently and directly fund trusted nature-based projects tying together corporate funders to conservationists, via automated and transparent global oracles. Globacap is committed to enabling adoption of tokenization for most asset classes and providing a means for digital securitisation to global capital markets. Blockchain technology enables previously illiquid investment to now be transacted efficiently in seconds instead of weeks, and with minimal overheads. Globacap's mission is to bring the archaic processes behind capital markets into the digital era by offering private placement, securities issuance, securities registry management, and liquidity products. Chairman & Founder of Sustainable Impact Token, Peter Henderson, says, "Our vision is to play our part in addressing some of the real challenges of our time how can the growing world population be fed sufficiently, nutritiously and can this ambition be achieved in a way that improves, rather than harms, the environment? We believe our approach helps on all these fronts and know that the investor community is keen to join us on the journey. "SIT presents a unique investment opportunity that is underpinned by our three core pillars: food security, renewable energy and carbon reduction. "We wanted to structure the offering using an innovative, transparent and secure approach. Investors are being offered an attractive return, in a real asset, but through digital technology and they can make their investments through fiat or crypto currencies. "Bringing the token offering to market has been amazingly smooth, which is a credit to our partners at Globacap, Tezos and Lumin Capital." To learn more about Sustainable Impact Token, visit https://sustainableimpacttokens.com/ To learn more about Globacap, visit https://globacap.com/ To learn more about Tezos, visit https://tezos.com/ About Globacap: Globacap is driving the digitisation of all assets by using technology to unlock the true potential of capital markets. It has standardised the securities landscape, enabling frictionless asset creation and transferability. Over $14 billion of private share and debt instruments are digitally administered on the platform, and Globacap has now executed over $180 million of secondary liquidity in private securities with digital, automated settlement. Globacap is regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) as an arranger and custodian and its platform can onboard investors from over 60 countries, in compliance with local regulations. For more information on how Globacap is changing the private capital markets industry, please visit www.globacap.com. About Tezos: Tezos is smart money, redefining what it means to hold and exchange value in a digitally connected world. A self-upgradable and energy-efficient Proof of Stake blockchain with a proven track record, Tezos seamlessly adopts tomorrow's innovations without network disruptions today. For more information, please visit www.tezos.com. SOURCE Globacap Versius is now routinely used by surgeons across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia & Latin America. Designed to offer high utilisation in operating rooms, Versius is being used to perform a wide variety of both routine and complex procedures across a range of specialties including gynaecology, colorectal surgery, thoracic surgery, general surgery and urology from hernia repairs and hysterectomies to radical prostatectomies and lower anterior resections. The 5,000th procedure was performed at Argenteuil Hospital, a public health centre in Paris, France, where Dr Patrick Bagan and his team performed a successful lung bisegmentectomy for cancer. Dr Patrick Bagan, Thoracic & Vascular Surgeon and Head of Department, Argenteuil Hospital, commented: "I'm honoured to reach this significant milestone with our partners, CMR and the Versius system. I'm delighted to report that this complex procedure went as planned and the patient is recovering well. In thoracic surgery, Versius has transformed how we treat lung cancer at Argenteuil and patients are seeing the benefits." "We have two Versius surgical robots here and we routinely complete many successful cases every week. Because it is small and modular, we can easily move the systems around the hospital and we regularly have two Versius procedures in different surgical specialties happening simultaneously." added Bagan. Patricia Chesnais, General Manager, France & Benelux, CMR Surgical, commented: "I'm so pleased Argenteuil Hospital is sharing this milestone with us. It has been a great partner since it became the first public hospital in France to start using Versius in 2020. This is a great opportunity to celebrate its successful robotics programme and the impact partnerships like this one are having on patients in France, Europe and the rest of the world." While manual minimal access surgery (MAS) can be complex to perform, the benefits for patients are well recognised. Versius has been designed to help patients around the world have access to the benefits of MAS. Per Vegard Nerseth, Chief Executive Officer, CMR Surgical, commented: "5,000 cases is an important milestone for us at CMR. We set out to transform surgery for patients, and we truly believe we are doing that as we expand into new countries and partner with more and more hospitals and surgeons around the world." Media Contacts: If you wish to see more, please contact CMR Surgical at: Press Office, CMR Surgical T +44(0) 1223 755801 E pressoffice@cmrsurgical.com Notes to editors: The Versius Surgical Robotic System Versius resets expectations of robotic surgery. Versius fits into virtually any operating room set-up and integrates seamlessly into existing workflows, increasing the likelihood of robotic minimal access surgery (MAS). The small, portable and modular design of Versius allows the surgeon to only use the number of arms needed for a given procedure. Biomimicking the human arm, Versius gives surgeons the choice of optimised port placement alongside the dexterity and accuracy of small fully-wristed instruments. With 3D HD vision, easy-to adopt instrument control and a choice of ergonomic working positions, the open surgeon console has the potential to reduce stress and fatigue and allows for clear communication with the surgical team. By thinking laparoscopically and operating robotically with Versius, patients, surgeons and healthcare professionals can all benefit from the value that robotic MAS brings. But it's more than just a robot. Versius captures meaningful data with its wider digital ecosystem to support a surgeon's continuous learning. Through the Versius Connect app, Versius Trainer and CMR clinical registry, Versius unleashes a wealth of insights to ultimately improve surgical care. About CMR Surgical Limited CMR Surgical (CMR) is a global medical devices company dedicated to transforming surgery with Versius, a next-generation surgical robot. Headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, CMR is committed to working with surgeons, surgical teams and hospital partners, to provide an optimal tool to make robotic minimal access surgery universally accessible and affordable. With Versius, we are on a mission to redefine the surgical robotics market with practical, innovative technology and data that can improve surgical care. Founded in 2014, CMR Surgical is private limited company backed by an international shareholder base. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1850604/CMR_Surgical_1.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1850605/CMR_Surgical_2.jpg SOURCE CMR Surgical The tie-up helps move the world closer to a net-zero carbon future TAOYUAN, Taiwan, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The board of directors of Chroma ATE Inc. has approved the investment in Taiwan-based start-up Gaius Automotive as the first step in establishing a long-term strategic partnership. Chroma will supply electric control units (ECUs) to Gaius as one of the key components for electric three-wheeled delivery vehicles. The tie-up will offer strong support to the development of Taiwan's electric vehicle (EV) industry. In light of the eventual transition to a net-zero carbon world, net-zero emissions are much more than simply an environmental issue. They are also a key issue for the future of industrial development and international competitiveness where the electrification of vehicles is seen as a critical part. Chroma's electric components can be used for every type and size of three- and four-wheeled vehicle, whether for commercial, industrial or personal use, from public-use buses, commercial delivery trucks and forklifts to passenger cars. Gaius has developed a new generation of electric tricycles for commercial logistics, with the advantages of high performance, high load capacity, high mobility, and high safety to meet the demand for zero carbon emissions in the last mile of urban delivery. Chroma has been deeply engaged in the field of electric vehicle measurement for many years, providing complete EV test solutions from power electronics, batteries and chargers to motor testing. The company has developed a variety of recyclable test solutions with innovative technologies to meet the requirements of global green initiatives, while reducing power costs, and more importantly, reducing carbon emissions to support the industry's net-zero transition. About Chroma Founded in 1984, Chroma ATE Inc. is a world-leading supplier of precision test and measurement instrumentation, automated test systems, intelligent manufacturing systems, and test & automation turnkey solutions marketed globally under the brand name Chroma. Significant markets served by Chroma include EVs, green batteries, LEDs, photovoltaics, semiconductors/ICs, photonics, flat panel displays, video displays, power electronics, passive components, electrical safety equipment, thermoelectric temperature control, automated optical inspection, intelligent manufacturing systems, cleantech and intelligent factories. About Gaius Founded in 2010, Gaius Automotive Inc. is one of 25 start-up companies worldwide selected by the French Tech Ticket program to receive funding and other support from the French government. Gaius has developed the first electric 3-wheel commercial vehicle for logistics designed to meet higher demands for superior performance and safety. The vehicle, equipped with a complete fleet management, charging and scheduling system, provides the best solution for commercial logistics. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1726896/Chroma_LOGO_Logo.jpg SOURCE Chroma ATE Inc. FKP to Compensate Stoli Group for Expenses After Case Dismissal LUXEMBOURG, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Stoli Group defeated FKP's trademark claims in Israel. The Tel Aviv District Court issued its decision rejecting the Russian state company's claim in relation to the Stolichnaya and Moskovskaya trademarks in Israel in the ongoing global legal dispute spanning two decades. The Russian state company's claim was rejected in its entirety, and it was ordered to pay a Stoli Group affiliate a total of NIS 100,000 for its expenses in connection with the proceedings. The Court rejected FKP's claim for multiple reasons including the fact that other decisions only relate to Benelux trademarks. This is another hard-fought victory for SPI Group in the more than 20-year dispute with the Russian state. The decision is far reaching and impacts Ondolia IL Ltd., the Russian state company's local distributor in Israel who previously had been importing non-Stoli bottles. This ruling makes it clear that Stoli Group owns the trademark and import rights. About Stoli Group Stoli Group was established in 2013 and is responsible for the production, management, and distribution of a global spirits and wines portfolio. Mainly known for the Stoli Vodka brand, Stoli Group has expanded to appeal to luxury on-premise and more sophisticated global consumers. Signature brands are: Stoli Vodka, elitVodka, Bayou Rum, Kentucky Owl, Villa One, Gator Bite Rum Liquers, Cenote Tequila, Tulchan Gin, Se Busca Mezcal and Stoli Group's wine division, Tenute del Mondo. With a presence across a network of more than 176 markets, Stoli Group works with a passionate team of 200 distributors around the world. Headquartered in Luxembourg, Stoli has production facilities in Spain, Italy, Argentina, and the United States, some of which are steeped in history dating back to the early part of the last century. For more information, visit stoli-group.com. Contact: Maureen Landers maureen.landers@landersmadden.com 917-886-4901 Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1440328/Stoli_Group_Logo.jpg SOURCE Stoli Group Informatics Medal awarded to the late Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah The 20 th anniversary celebration is sponsored by His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Winners of the award's 20 th edition hail from the State of Kuwait , the Kingdom of Bahrain , the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman Sheikha Aida Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah : The awards have recognized the innovation and achievements of hundreds of participants from Kuwait , the GCC and the Middle East KUWAIT CITY, June 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The late Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, as well as winners of the 20th Edition of the His Highness Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah Informatics Award will be honored in a belated ceremony on Monday, June 27th, at Bayan Palace. The 2020 Informatics Medal was bestowed upon the late Amir of Kuwait in honor of his memory and in recognition of his philanthropic leadership and dedication to information technology and sciences among other significant fields. The awards ceremony had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic which halted gatherings and large events. The nine winners of 2020 hail from the State of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman. The awarding ceremony will be sponsored by His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and attended by His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The Informatics Award was established in 2001, the first of its kind in region, and it has honored hundreds of participants, innovators and volunteers from the GCC and the Middle East in various fields such as information technology, human and community development and sciences. Speaking on the event, the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Award, Sheikha Aida Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah said that in only 20 years, there have been hundreds of participants and winners. The COVID-19 pandemic has struck all walks of life but did not deter the work of the Informatics Award and its commitment to the world of digital and information technology. "The award is able to withstand global challenges, adapt to changes and developments and preserve community and culture. Therefore, the 20th Edition was entitled "Best Technical Projects", apart from the Informatics Medal. The Award further provided a training course through the Informatics Academy to children aged 11-17 years on the basics of digital manufacturing," she stated. The winners of the 20th Edition of Informatics Award are: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - The Communications and Information Technology Commission for its project Platform for Delivery Applications via Electronic Platforms - The Communications and Information Technology Commission for its project Platform for Delivery Applications via Electronic Platforms The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia The Saudi Red Crescent Authority for its project Asfeni The Saudi Red Crescent Authority for its project The State of Kuwait - Zain in joint collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT) for its project Shlonik - Zain in joint collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT) for its project The State of Kuwait - The Public Institution for Social Security for its project Insurances Thukher - The Public Institution for Social Security for its project Insurances The State of Kuwait - Jif Company for the design and management of websites for its project Jif . - Jif Company for the design and management of websites for its project . The State of Kuwait - Fanajeen General Trading Company for its project Fanajeen - Fanajeen General Trading Company for its project The Kingdom of Bahrain - the General Directorate of Traffic of the Ministry of Interior for its project Traffic Services - the General Directorate of Traffic of the Ministry of Interior for its project The Kingdom of Bahrain - the Ministry of Education for its project Electronic Educational Portal . - the Ministry of Education for its project . The Sultanate of Oman - the Ministry of Health for its project Trassod Plus Meanwhile, the event will also host an exhibition to showcase the Informatic Awards' most prominent achievements since its establishment in 2001, including the 332 winners from 12 Arab countries with information on their projects. It will also showcase the 14 winners of the Informatics Medal, winners of the "Shift Kuwait" competition throughout the years, as well as the 486 volunteers from the State of Kuwait and other global and Arab countries. Furthermore, the exhibition will showcase other cultural activities hosted by the award during its successful career, such as the World Informatics Forum, dialogue boards, informatics bureaus, blogging competitions, and the award pavilions held at the Kuwait International Book Fair for several years. For media inquiries, please contact: Salma Tayeh : [email protected] ; mobile: 002 0100 1111 674 Logo- https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1847521/Informatics_Award.jpg SOURCE His Highness Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah Informatics Award, State of Kuwait Move follows acquisition of Spanish Insurance vendor Calculo in 2019 and will enable Sapiens to offer enhanced product offerings across the Iberian Peninsula MADRID, June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sapiens International Corporation, a leading global provider of software solutions for the insurance industry, announced today the launch of Sapiens Iberia. This is the next step in Sapiens' footprint in the Iberian market and will enable the offering of Sapiens complete insurance platform, with pre-integrated, low-code solutions and a cloud-first approach that accelerates customers' digital transformation. Sapiens first entered the Iberian market with the acquisition of Calculo in 2019, a leading vendor of insurance consulting and managed services. Established in 1966 with over 150 insurance experts and 25 insurance company customers in Spain, Calculo's team of experts is one of the largest core insurance system teams in Spain. The acquisition of Calculo enabled Sapiens to expand geographically, grow its customer base, add to a talented team of experts, and offer complementary capabilities and services to their portfolio. "The launch of Sapiens Iberia sees us widen our global footprint and enables us to offer the core Sapiens expertise and suite of products across Spain and Portugal," said Tal Sharon, Sapiens President of Life & Pension and IPELS Divisions. "We are committed to focusing our efforts on providing the highest quality products and services to our customers and in addition to adding talent, we will continue investing in our insurance solutions to maintain our technological edge." "The launch of Sapiens Iberia will offer the Iberian market access to Sapiens' innovative technology, global knowledge and extensive resources," said Diogo Moraes Sunyer, Sapiens Iberia. "We're excited for the future and are looking forward to creating new opportunities for employees, customers and prospects. Our solutions will enable the insurance industry in Iberia to become more integrated, agile and adaptive." Sapiens offers insurers across property and casualty, workers compensation and life markets the most comprehensive set of solutions, from core to complementary, including Reinsurance, Financial & Compliance, Data & Analytics, Digital, and Decision Management. The company has followed a consistent strategy of expanding its global footprint through both organic and non-organic mergers and acquisitions. These strategic partnerships, along with the recruitment of the most talented people, has succinctly enabled Sapiens' to increase market share, enter new markets and increase its business. About Sapiens Sapiens International Corporation empowers the financial sector, with a focus on insurance, to transform and become digital, innovative, and agile. Backed by 40 years of industry expertise, Sapiens offers a complete insurance platform, with pre-integrated, low-code solutions and a cloud-first approach that accelerates customers' digital transformation. Serving over 600 customers in 30 countries, Sapiens offers insurers across property and casualty, workers compensation and life markets the most comprehensive set of solutions, from core to complementary, including Reinsurance, Financial & Compliance, Data & Analytics, Digital, and Decision Management. For more information visit www.sapiens.com or follow us on LinkedIn . Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/585787/Sapiens_Logo.jpg Contact: For Sapiens Shay Assaraf Chief of Marketing, Sapiens [email protected] SOURCE Sapiens International Corporation The annual $1 million Genesis Prize, dubbed the "Jewish Nobel" by TIME magazine, honors extraordinary individuals for their outstanding professional achievement, contribution to humanity, commitment to Jewish values and the State of Israel. Dr. Albert Bourla was announced as the 9th Genesis Prize Laureate in January 2022. The award recognizes his leadership in delivering a vaccine against COVID-19, which saved millions of lives during the pandemic. The Genesis Prize also celebrates the boldness of his vision and willingness to assume risks, which enabled delivery of the vaccine in record time. In addition to honoring the vast humanitarian impact of Dr. Bourla's leadership, the award also celebrates his pride in his Jewish identity and heritage, and his strong support for the State of Israel. The President of Israel Isaac Herzog said: "Albert Bourla was not deterred by high stakes, by naysayers, by conspiracy or by politics. He believed in the vaccine, and invested every ounce of himself in realizing what seemed at the time a far-fetched fantasy. The vaccine was developed in record speed, utilizing the technology of tomorrow to successfully hold back a devastating pandemic. A study published by The Lancet just days ago, points to nearly 20 million lives saved by COVID vaccines. Indeed, the vaccine gave us freedom we thought we lost. Albert, I congratulate you and your colleagues and counterparts, who are making such a critical impact on humanity, while embracing your Jewish heritage and values, and inspiring Jewish pride." Founder and Chairman of The Genesis Prize Foundation Stan Polovets added: "To save a human life is a fundamental Jewish value. Today we honor Dr. Bourla a living embodiment of this ancient Jewish principle. We also celebrate the immense contribution of Jewish doctors who were on the frontline of the COVID pandemic for two years and who continue to save lives of people suffering in Ukraine today." The ceremony opened with a moving tribute to the people of Ukraine and appreciation to the many Israeli and international Jewish organizations who are providing humanitarian aid. The Genesis Prize Foundation premiered a video "Jews in Medicine", exploring the roots and impact of Jews on the medical field from biblical times to the modern-day fight against the COVID pandemic (LINK TO VIDEO; for more details, please see section Jewish Contribution to Medicine). 2022 Genesis Prize Laureate Dr. Albert Bourla said: "I am honored and deeply humbled to receive the Genesis Prize. Honored because I never set out to be famous, and I never imagined that I would one day be up here with the illustrious nominees and past awardeesartists, philanthropists, and statesmen and stateswomen who show the world the best that the Jewish people have to offer. And humbled because this is not my awardit belongs to all Pfizer colleagues who worked tirelessly in the middle of a global pandemic to make the 'impossible possible' and give the world a chance to return to normalcy. Every life is precious and we must confront our challenges with courage, humility and perseverance. My Pfizer colleagues lived these values, and I am proud to be here in Israel to celebrate them and their extraordinary achievement." Following the tradition established by the inaugural Genesis Prize Laureate Michael Bloomberg, Dr. Bourla announced that he will forgo the $1 million prize award and has asked the Foundation to donate the funds toward establishing the Holocaust Museum of Greece to be built in Thessaloniki. Albert Bourla was born in Thessaloniki, home to an ancient Jewish community that traced its roots to antiquity. The vibrant Jewish community of 55,000 was almost completely wiped out during the Nazi occupation. Dr. Bourla's young parents narrowly escaped death and were among only 2,000 survivors. The Greek Holocaust Museum will immortalize the history of the Greek Jewish community from antiquity to modern age. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1850725/The_Genesis_Prize_Foundation_President_Herzog_Stan_Polovets_Albert_Bourla.jpg SOURCE The Genesis Prize Foundation This statement represents the commonly-held personal views of the seven partners of Ford O'Brien Landy LLP, and no employee of the firm was asked to endorse this statement in advance of its publication. NEW YORK, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The partners of Ford O'Brien Landy LLP share in the tremendous outrage of the majority of Americans over the recent Supreme Court decisions in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen and Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Bruen struck down a century-old New York State law requiring citizens to establish a special need for self-protection in order to carry a concealed weapon, and Dobbs overturned the 50-year-old precedent set in Roe v. Wade granting women autonomy to make their own health care decisions. In Bruen, the Supreme Court for the first time held that an individual has a constitutional right to carry a concealed firearm outside of their home, expanding gun owners' rights under the guise of the Second Amendment in an unprecedented way. In Dobbs, on the other hand, the Supreme Court for the first time in this nation's history eliminated a previously recognized individual constitutional right. We reject the twisted priorities endorsed by these decisions, that the Constitution prevents New York from enacting a law requiring an individual to establish a need to carry a concealed firearm, but fails to recognize a woman's right to make perhaps the most profound decision of her life: whether or not to bear a child. As a law firm based in New York City and Austin, Texas, we are gravely concerned about the impact of both of these decisions on our communities. In our view, the Bruen decision, which invalidated a law that has been in place in New York for a century, is not mandated by the Constitution, and it will increase the probability that innocent New Yorkers will fall victim to gun violence while failing to promote public safety. The Second Amendment, by its plain language, speaks of the need for a well-regulated militia to provide for security of a free state, and was intended by its drafters to ensure that there be a counterweight to a professional standing federal army (which was considered a threat to state sovereignty in the late 18th century). Contrary to the drafters' express goal, Bruen imperils the security of the free State of New York, by striking down a long-standing regulation that both protected the lives of its citizens and those of law enforcement. We are also gravely concerned about the ramifications of Dobbs on all citizens. More than half of the states in the U.S. have already banned or are likely to ban abortion, and many of those bans have criminal penalties, including Texas. Other states are poised to enact or expand restrictions that could still make abortions difficult to obtain including bans on the procedure after a certain point in pregnancy including just six weeks, bans based on the patient's reason for the procedure, limits on the distribution of abortion pills, mandatory waiting periods, and more. And we know that these measures will disproportionately impact low-income women, women of color, and victims of sexual and other violence. And we also know that these measures will not actually eradicate abortion, but will result in women and girls seeking unsafe abortions, further putting them in harm's way. But the precedent set by the Court could lead to stripping away more rights than just a woman's right to choose. The rationale employed by the Court is plainly intended to be used to reconsider (with an eye towards revoking or limiting) the Court's prior recognitions of other civil and human rights, such as the decriminalization of same-sex relationships, the right of same-sex couples to marry, and access to safe and effective forms of contraception. The notion that the United States, in the name of constitutional restraint, would embark on a campaign of eliminating settled rights and expectations of its citizens is anathema to the meaning and ideals of our nation and its place in the world. Whatever a person's individual views about guns may be, we believe the Second Amendment was never intended to confer an individual right to carry concealed weapons without any ability by the state to impose reasonable restrictions aimed at protecting the public. And, whatever a person's individual views about abortion may be, we believe that the Constitution confers equal rights on all Americans to make their own individual health care decisions, and thus confers on women the ability to make their personal choices with dignity, to make medically-necessary and often heart-wrenching decisions in consultation with their health care providers, and to determine their own destiny, without state coercion. The partners of Ford O'Brien Landy LLP remain committed to the fight against the unabashedly political motivations of these decisions, to the fight for the imposition of much needed public safety legislation to reduce the number of firearms on our streets, and for the return of the rights granted to Americans under Roe. As a result, we have donated $10,000 to Everytown for Gun Safety and $10,000 to the National Network of Abortion Funds. The members of Ford O'Brien Landy LLP Adam C. Ford Matthew Aaron Ford Noah D. Genel Renee L. Jarusinsky Robert S. Landy Kevin J. O'Brien Alexander Shapiro For further information contact: Ford O'Brien Landy LLP 275 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: + 1 (212) 858-0040 [email protected] Website: www.fordobrien.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ford-o-brien-llp-995a5b110 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ford-OBrien-LLP-1084508568239782/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/fordobrienlaw Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Ford O'Brien Landy LLP is a limited liability partnership formed in the State of New York. MEDIA CONTACT: Katherine Jaskot, Esq. Phone: (212) 858-0040 Email: [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160412/354634LOGO SOURCE Ford OBrien Landy LLP Travelers can celebrate with $39* introductory fares RENO, NEV., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- aha!, powered by veteran ExpressJet Airlines, announced today that it will begin nonstop service between Reno and Boise, Idaho on August 31, 2022 bridging Idaho's City of Trees and the Biggest Little City with one convenient, nonstop route. "This has been the number one route that air passengers have requested since we launched aha! last October," said Tim Sieber, head of ExpressJet's aha! business unit. "We are thrilled to add Boise to our growing list of markets served with convenient, nonstop flights to all the excitement and fun that the Reno Tahoe region has to offer." aha! will fly to the Boise Airport (BOI) three times a week with 50-seat Embraer ERJ145 regional jets. The addition of Boise comes after the recently announced Idaho Falls route, which begins August 11, and will bring the number of cities served by nonstop flights from aha!'s home base at Reno-Tahoe International Airport to 11. "We are so pleased to welcome aha! to Boise," said Rebecca Hupp, Director of the Boise Airport. "Nonstop service to Reno is a route our community really wanted and we're thrilled that aha! is entering the market to answer that call." Nonstop Flights = Two Travel Days Saved Travelers can replace a six-hour drive or painful layover with a quick 80-minute nonstop flight, leaving more time for adventures and relaxation. Flights will operate each Monday, Wednesday and Friday departing Reno-Tahoe International Airport at 5:25 p.m. PT arriving at Boise Airport at 7:45 p.m. MT. Return flights will depart Boise at 8:30 p.m. MT and arrive in Reno-Tahoe at 8:50 p.m. PT. "Connecting Boise and the greater Treasure Valley to the Reno Tahoe area will have such a positive impact for our region" said Boise Mayor Lauren McLean. "Whether it means an easier trip to support our team at a Mountain West game, a quick flight for business travelers, or easy access to friends and family in the Reno areaI'm confident the nonstop service to Reno matches the needs of our community." Special Introductory Celebration Fares as Low as $39 * aha! is celebrating the launch of Boise with introductory fares of $39 each way*. These special one-way fares must be booked by August 15 and travel completed by October 31. Seats are limited and other restrictions apply. Book at www.flyaha.com or through the aha! contact center at 775-439-0888. About aha! aha! is a leisure brand of ExpressJet Airlines. aha! seeks to provide travelers in smaller communities, many who have seen air service reduced over the past decade through airline mergers, with convenient, short, nonstop flights to high-quality destinations like the Reno-Lake Tahoe region. In addition to offering value-priced, nonstop flights, aha! is partnering with area resorts, casinos and attractions to offer value-priced, "bundled" vacation packages. www.flyaha.com About ExpressJet Airlines ExpressJet Airlines operates Embraer ERJ145 regional jet aircraft and has more than 40 years of regional airline experience. ExpressJet, including its leisure brand aha!, is focused on providing travelers in smaller communities with convenient, short, nonstop flights. The company's services also include specialty charter flights among its growing route network. ExpressJet is owned by KAir Enterprises and its affiliates. www.expressjet.com Special Introductory Celebration Fares $39* airfare price is each way between Boise, ID and Reno, NV. Book by August 15, 2022, 11:59 PM Pacific Time for travel August 31 October 31, 2022. Airfare price includes all taxes and airport fees. Not valid for travel September 2-5. Offer based on availability and advance purchase. No promo code required to book. Normal charges apply for options such as checked bags, pre-boarding or seat assignments. Not valid on previously purchased itineraries and not combinable with any other offers. Management reserves all rights including cancellation or modification of this promotion without prior notice. SOURCE aha! STAMFORD, Conn., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Aircastle Limited ("Aircastle") announced today that it plans to release its first quarter financial results for the period ended May 31, 2022 on July 13, 2022, before the market opens. In connection with the financial release, management will host a conference call on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, at 9:00 A.M. Eastern time. A copy of the press release and accompanying presentation will be posted to the Investors section of the Aircastle Limited website provided below. All interested parties are welcome to participate on the live call. The conference call can be accessed by dialing (800) 458-4121 (from within the U.S. and Canada) or (786) 789-4772 (from outside of the U.S. and Canada) ten minutes prior to the scheduled start and referencing the passcode "6552351". A simultaneous webcast of the conference call will be available to the public on a listen-only basis at www.aircastle.com. Please allow extra time prior to the call to visit the site and download the necessary software required to listen to the internet broadcast. For those who are not available to listen to the live call, a replay will be available until 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time on Saturday, August 13, 2022, by dialing (888) 203-1112 (from within the U.S. and Canada) or (719) 457-0820 (from outside of the U.S. and Canada); please reference passcode "6552351". About Aircastle Limited Aircastle Limited acquires, leases, and sells commercial jet aircraft to airlines throughout the world. As of February 28, 2022, Aircastle owned and managed on behalf of its joint ventures 260 aircraft leased to 81 customers located in 45 countries. Contact: Aircastle Advisor LLC Jim Connelly, SVP ESG & Corporate Communications Tel: +1-203-504-1871 [email protected] SOURCE Aircastle Limited SANTA MARGARITA, Calif., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Randall Grahm, founder and director of winemaking at Bonny Doon Vineyard, "Bonny Doon Vineyard wines have either been twenty years too early or twenty years too late, but this orange wine is an anachronism and anomaly." The new Bonny Doon Le Cigare Orange seems to hit on something just about right. Grahm notes that orange wine is of course not made from oranges, but from white (or pink) grapes that have been partially or entirely fermented on their skins. Le Cigare Orange has, in fact, a vivid orange hue. Bonny Doon Vineyard Orange wines originated thousands of years ago in Georgia. The wines were fermented in Qvevri, or clay pots. The technique is still used today in Georgia and parts of Ukraine (Crimea). Grahm said he was initially a bit skeptical when it was suggested that Bonny Doon make an orange wine. He protested that orange wine would be "so a la mode," because people are drinking orange wine because they think that's what they should be doing, "not really thinking about whether they're actually deriving a molecule of enjoyment from the experience." There were some technical issues that needed to be addressed, mostly dealing with the question of tannin management, or how to make a wine that is not overly astringent, but still possesses adequate acidity and freshness. The grapes were picked early for lower final alcohol, and a gentle extraction of the skins was achieved through the use of rotary fermenters. A non-saccharomyces yeast pre-inoculation was done to compete (favorably) with spoilage bacteria, obviating the need for an early SO2 addition, a potential source of astringency. The varieties selected, Grenache Gris and Grenache Blanc, are both moderate in tannin (and consistent with BDV's Rhonish obsession). It could only be called one thing: Le Cigare Orange. Grahm concludes, "I'm grateful to winemaker Nicole Walsh and the Bonny Doon team for pushing me into this new and unexpected (orange) space" and for the unexpected pleasure of arriving on time (for once). "And it's a nice touch," said Grahm, "that we were able to release the new wine just in time for National UFO Day on June 24, 2022." www.bonnydoonvineyard.com Contact: Andrew Nelson 805-368-2800 [email protected] SOURCE Bonny Doon Vineyard Delivering a short speech at the West Kowloon high-speed rail station, Xi called on Hong Kong to uphold "One Country, Two Systems" unswervingly and strive for a brighter future. Xi: Hong Kong has emerged stronger after tests "It has been five years since my last visit to Hong Kong," said Xi, who visited Hong Kong in 2017 as the city celebrated the 20th anniversary of its return to China. Xi said he has been concerned about and caring for Hong Kong all along. "My heart and the central government's heart are always with the Hong Kong compatriots," he said. He said Hong Kong had withstood a series of grave tests and overcome a series of risks and challenges over a period of time, adding that the city has since emerged stronger and shown great vigor. Hailing the strong vitality of "One Country, Two Systems," he said as long as the principle is upheld unswervingly, Hong Kong will surely have an even brighter future and make new, greater contributions to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Xi will attend a meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Friday. During a meeting with HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Thursday, Xi spoke highly of her efforts to firmly implement the "One Country, Two Systems" principle and the Basic Law and her role in facilitating a major transition from chaos to order in Hong Kong. 'Resounding success' "One Country, Two Systems" is a basic policy that the Chinese government has been implementing in Hong Kong since resuming the exercise of sovereignty over it on July 1, 1997. Despite the many challenges over the past 25 years, the practice of "One Country, Two Systems" in Hong Kong has been a "resounding success," Xi said when meeting with newly elected and appointed sixth-term Chief Executive of the HKSAR John Lee on May 30. The central government's resolve to fully and faithfully implement the principle of "One Country, Two Systems" has never wavered, still less will it change, he told Lee. Xi has repeatedly stressed the need to fully and faithfully implement the principle stay committed to the basis of "One Country" and leverage the benefits of "Two Systems" well. Hong Kong has achieved remarkable development under "One Country, Two Systems" since its return to China. In 2021, Hong Kong's economy grew to 2.86 trillion Hong Kong dollars (about $364 billion), up from 1.37 trillion Hong Kong dollars in 1997. During the period, its total foreign trade in goods more than tripled to 10.27 trillion Hong Kong dollars. Hong Kong has emerged stronger as an international financial, shipping and trade center. It has been consistently rated by global institutions as one of the freest and the most competitive economies with a world-class business environment. The average life expectancy in Hong Kong in 2021 stood at 83 years for males and 87.7 years for females, compared to 76.8 years and 82.2 years, respectively, in 1997. https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-06-30/Xi-extends-congratulations-best-wishes-to-Hong-Kong-compatriots-1bhNbpwpzS8/index.html SOURCE CGTN Ashish Prasad and Warren Kruse also listed as leading eDiscovery litigation support professionals for multiple years WASHINGTON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Chambers USA has recognized HaystackID, a specialized eDiscovery services firm supporting law firms and corporate legal departments, and two of its team members for their eDiscovery litigation expertise in its 2022 Chambers Litigation Support Guide. Chambers notes, "They really help their clients to think about cyber as a program and build a program that is put in place to mitigate risk and help manage incidents when they come." Chosen as one of only 19 U.S. eDiscovery litigation support providers recognized and ranked in the guide, the company received a Band 3 rating. Chambers USA also recognized Vice President and General Counsel Ashish Prasad (Band 2) and Vice President of Forensics and Consulting Warren Kruse (Band 3) as top eDiscovery litigation support experts. Prasad and Kruse are two of only 12 U.S. professionals ranked in the guide as leading eDiscovery practitioners. "Our firm is honored to be recognized by Chambers USA as a premier litigation support provider for the fourth consecutive year," HaystackID CEO Hal Brooks said. "We also congratulate Ashish and Warren on this well-deserved recognition, which is a testament to their deep knowledge of the nuances of eDiscovery and their commitment to excellence in client service." Prasad said, "I am thrilled to have again received this coveted recognition from Chambers USA as a leading eDiscovery litigation support lawyer." Prasad has been Chambers ranked for his expertise for the past five years. According to Chambers, a source stated, "Clients value him because he has that deep perspective of not only what tech can do, but as an attorney, what the lawyers need to resolve their problems. He brings that mixture of perspectives." "I am appreciative of this recognition and of the continued support from clients, partners and peers," said Kruse, who has also been ranked by Chambers for five years. A source told Chambers, "If I call Warren, I know he is going to lead me in the right direction from a technical and investigatory perspective." Kruse added, "We look forward to continued company success as we broaden our cyber and legal discovery offerings." The Chambers Litigation Support Guide is a comprehensive guide to the leading professional services providers in key markets worldwide. Compiled by researchers and supported by hundreds of in-depth interviews with senior market leaders, the guide rates organizations and lawyers in key areas, including: + Technical Legal Ability + Professional Conduct + Client Service + Commercial Astuteness + Diligence + Commitment + Additional Qualities as Highlighted by Clients The rating system for the litigation support guide consists of banded rankings for organizations and lawyers. These banded rankings are based on surveys and significant achievements, with an aggregate rating band assigned by Chambers to those recognized as worthy of inclusion in the guide. The bands range from Band 1 (highest) through Band 6 (lowest). About HaystackID HaystackID is a specialized eDiscovery services firm that helps corporations and law firms securely find, understand, and learn from data when facing complex, data-intensive investigations and litigation. HaystackID mobilizes industry-leading cyber discovery services, enterprise solutions, and legal discovery offerings to serve more than 500 of the world's leading corporations and law firms in North America and Europe. Serving nearly half of the Fortune 100, HaystackID is an alternative cyber and legal services provider that combines expertise and technical excellence with a culture of white-glove customer service. In addition to consistently being ranked by Chambers USA, the company was recently named a worldwide leader in eDiscovery Services by IDC MarketScape, a representative vendor in the Gartner Market Guide for E-Discovery Solutions, and a Legal Technology Trailblazer by The National Law Journal. Further, HaystackID has achieved SOC 2 Type II attestation in the five trust service areas of security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. For more information about its suite of services, including programs and solutions for unique legal enterprise needs, go to HaystackID.com. HaystackID Media Contacts: Jaime Wittner [email protected] 973-407-9196 Rob Robinson [email protected] 512-934-7531 HaystackID on Social Media + Twitter (@HaystackID) + LinkedIn SOURCE HaystackID LOS ANGELES, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Tres Papalote (TP), a brand known for its quality mezcal, is featuring Chicano art on its labels thanks to their partnership with brand ambassador Cheech Marin. Cheech, an American comedian, actor, narrator, and writer, often uses his celebrity status to call attention to Chicano art, which he believes is under-represented in the art world. As the owner of the world's largest collection of Chicano art, Cheech has recently partnered with the Riverside Art Museum (RAM) in the creation of the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, set to open on June 18, 2022. As the owner of the worlds largest collection of Chicano art, Cheech Marin has recently partnered with the Riverside Art Museum (RAM) in the creation of the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture Cheech Marin, Brand Ambassador for TP Mezcal, proudly opens the Cheech Center for Chicano Art Cheech Marin is a man of many talents. He first gained recognition throughout the 1970s and 1980s for his unique and contagious comedy style. Since that time, Cheech has retained his celebrity status and has proved to be an avid supporter of Chicano art. As a brand ambassador for TP, Cheech has brought along with him his love for Chicano art and used this partnership as an opportunity to continue to bring awareness to this under-represented demographic. One way that Cheech has brought his passion for quality mezcal and his love of Chicano art together is by working with TP to showcase art from three Chicano artists on bottles of TP mezcal. The first of the three artists, Jamie Zacarias, is a well-known up-and-coming Chicano artist who created the label for the Cupreata Expression. Zacarias will be donating four framed and numbered giclee prints of Papa Agave with signed papers to the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture. Two of these prints will be entered into the silent auction while the other two will be offered for sale in the museum's gift shop. Zacarias is well acquainted with Cheech and his Chicano art center, as he is often featured as an up-and-coming artist in the Chicano art arena. In addition to the Papa Agave art by Jamie Zacarias, two other Chicano art pieces are being featured on bottles of TP. The De la Torre brothers created Koo-Koo man who is featured on the Espadin label and Marcel Alcala is responsible for the wonderful art of Senor Mexicano. As the owner of the largest Chicano art collection in the world, Cheech also helped the RAM put together a Chicano art exhibit back in 2017. It was this exhibition that helped to form the idea of a public-private partnership between RAM, the City of Riverside, and Cheech, in which Cheech would donate some Chicano art pieces from his private collection to the RAM to help establish the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture. The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture will be located in a 61,420 square foot center in Riverside's historic downtown and will showcase hundreds of pieces of Chicano art. The intention of the center is to be the epicenter of Chicano art, helping to bring awareness and create a following for Chicano artists of all kinds, including painters, sculptures, photographers, and video artists. Students and faculty from five local colleges and universities will utilize the Cheech art center to learn and research Chicano art while the museum will focus on art education and visitor engagement for all ages. The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture aims to be the hub and destination for Chicano art throughout the United States. If you would like to learn more about the mezcal brand that Cheech Marin so proudly partners with, see the Chicano art labels, or find TP mezcal in a store near you, please visit: https://www.papalotemezcal.com/ About Tres Papalote Tres Papalote is known for their high-quality mezcal, as well as their partnership with brand ambassador Cheech Marin. It's this partnership that has allowed TP to help support Chicano artists and bring awareness to this under-represented demographic through their unique labels, each of which features a piece from a Chicano artist. TP mezcal can be found in liquor stores throughout the United States and makes a great addition to margaritas or can be thoroughly enjoyed on its own. To find Tres Papalote in a store near you, visit: https://www.papalotemezcal.com/ Media Contact: Name: Lisa Marcus Email: (561)-213-2814 Phone Number: [email protected] SOURCE Cheech Center for Chicano Art The Gen Zers who took part discussed childhood memories and identity and cultural differences relating to Hong Kong and the mainland. In doing so they found that their cultural roots are strong, meaning young people can be proud bearers of their cultural memories. According to those who too part, young people from Hong Kong and the mainland not only share the same languages, but also have similar interests. For example, Cantonese songs, TV programs, Hong Kong stars and celebrities and other elements of Hong Kong pop culture are a common memory and love of Gen Zers. Gen Zers in Hong Kong and Macao also enjoy variety shows from the mainland. Those in the program said they hoped people from both Hong Kong and the mainland would cherish their shared history and culture. In addition to cultural bonds, Gen Zers in the Youth Power episode discussed the role that patriotic education should play in helping teenagers to form their attitudes and values. "I think patriotic education is important," Huang Ernuo, raised in Hong Kong, said. Huang now works for Tsinghua University in Beijing after having graduated there. "If it doesn't happen in the education system, what would happen? Where do you get your information from? Media, which can easily be influenced by business and money." Zhong Yutong, a graduate of Fudan University in Shanghai, talked of the essence of an education that cultivates a sense of identity and belonging. "(You need to know) where you came from, where your ancestors came from, where you're heading and what some of the values you want to hold to are." Many young people from Hong Kong and Macao, including some of the Youth Power guests, have gained new perspectives by studying, working or setting up a business on the mainland. Song Wei, a doctoral student at China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, said that as a Macao citizen she is proud of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. "It is an important symbol of the vigorous development of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. In the context of the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong and Macao can benefit from integration and become part of diversified industries, which will further provide more possibilities for the development of teenagers." Those who appeared on the program, having witnessed how Hong Kong and the mainland are linked economically, culturally, with personal exchanges and in other ways, said they looked forward to a more in-depth emotional bonding in the future. Chen Simo, of Taiwan, said that when she was a child she had to travel through Hong Kong whenever she traveled to and from the mainland. Direct travel between the mainland and Taiwan was officially established in 2009, making two-way, comprehensive three direct links across the Taiwan Straits a reality. Chen said she was keen to help strengthen ties between Taiwan and the mainland. "I sincerely hope that one day there will be many return flights between Taiwan and the mainland, making it as convenient for us to travel between Taiwan and the mainland as it is for us to travel between Hong Kong and the mainland." Ye Xueying, 21, of Hong Kong, who has just graduated from Wuhan University with an undergraduate degree in Chinese classics, talked of her future plans, saying: "I'll just stick to my study of the Chinese classics. I hope people can realize history is a very important part, a collective memory for everyone This is how we get to build our sense of belonging." Addressing Hong Kong people, she said: "I hope you know that antagonism does not solve anything, and hatred and hostility are not what we should pass on. I hope we can put aside (our differences) and be able to love each other. Please allow me the honor to introduce to you this wonderful place named Hong Kong. It's small, but it's big enough for dreams and love." Li Wanrong, born in Hong Kong in 1997, said: "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is only 25 years old, the same as me. We still have a lot of opportunities. We will have time to grow up. We will also face difficulties and challenges." Li, a graduate of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, hopes to become a pediatrician. No matter what challenges or difficulties we face, the important thing is to remember why we set out on our individual journey and why we would like to press on, she said. Those who appeared on the program said Hong Kong and the mainland have always been closely linked, despite the various tests they have faced. All those who took part, from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and the mainland, said they would work together to create a bright future. They hope that the next 25 years will be prosperous and smooth for Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, they said. SOURCE China Daily; Youth Power "Andy's knowledge and leadership capabilities are already having a positive impact since he joined Code Ocean," said Simon Adar, Co-founder and CEO. "He's working across all critical elements of our business in a way that's galvanizing the team and creating a sharp focus for the company's business execution and growth." Mr. Keane joining Code Ocean as Chief Operating Officer represents a major step forward for the company. He has significant experience building highly-effective teams, creating, and driving business growth. This includes his years at NVIDIA, where Mr. Keane founded the Tesla data center computing business, which now contributes more than $10 billion to the company's annual revenues. "Code Ocean is changing critical dynamics in scientific research, allowing for greater efficiency and more rapid discovery," said Andy Keane, COO, Code Ocean. "I'm excited to join Code Ocean and contribute my experience in fast growing new businesses to institute best practices for scaling sales, marketing, and product development/roll-out. I'm also focused on our long-term success, making Code Ocean an important part of our customers' work and growth." With the recent Release 2.0 of Code Ocean's Computational Lab, computational scientists create, organize and share computational research in a streamlined and automated lab. By removing overhead tasks and simplifying collaboration, researchers can focus on science. The company also recently announced $16.5 million in Series-B funding co-led by Battery Ventures and M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund. Code Ocean is currently hiring for all positions in engineering, science, marketing and sales. For more information, please visit https://codeocean.com . About Code Ocean Code Ocean is where great computational science is created, organized and shared in one place. The Code Ocean platform provides the best way for multidisciplinary scientists to standardize workflows, and to track and reproduce all computations and discoveries. By making it easier and more efficient for scientists to collaborate, Code Ocean improves reproducibility, optimizes return on IT investment, and saves time by automating repetitive functions. For more information please visit: www.codeocean.com and Twitter @CodeOceanHQ. Code Ocean Media Contact: Phillip Bergman [email protected] ; Cell: 845-728-3984 SOURCE Code Ocean ROWLEY, Mass. , June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Comstar, LLC ("Comstar") is providing notice of a recent event that may affect the security of certain information. On or about March 26, 2022, Comstar discovered suspicious activity related to certain servers within its environment. Comstar immediately took steps to secure our network, and launched a thorough investigation, with the assistance of third-party experts, to determine the nature and scope of the incident. On April 21, 2022, the investigation determined that certain systems on Comstar's network were subject to unauthorized access. However, the investigation was unable to confirm what specific information on those systems was accessed. As such, Comstar reviewed the contents of those systems to determine what information was contained therein and to whom it related for purposes of notification. The review of the systems determined information related to certain individuals was contained within. The information varied by individual but may have included name, date of birth, medical assessment and medication administration, health insurance information, driver's license, financial account information, and Social Security number. Individuals who have questions about this incident or believe they may be impacted by this incident, can contact our dedicated call center at 877-587-4280, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time except holidays, or visit our web site for more information at www.comstarbilling.com Monitor Your Accounts Under U.S. law, a consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. You may also directly contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below to request a free copy of your credit report. Consumers have the right to place an initial or extended "fraud alert" on a credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer's credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer's credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer's identity before extending new credit. If you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any one of the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below. As an alternative to a fraud alert, consumers have the right to place a "credit freeze" on a credit report, which will prohibit a credit bureau from releasing information in the credit report without the consumer's express authorization. The credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. However, you should be aware that using a credit freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, you cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on your credit report. To request a credit freeze, you will need to provide the following information: 1. Full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.); 2. Social Security number; 3. Date of birth; 4. Addresses for the prior two to five years; 5. Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill; 6. A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver's license or ID card, etc.); and 7. A copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft if you are a victim of identity theft. Should you wish to place a fraud alert or credit freeze, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below: Equifax Experian TransUnion https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit- report-services/ https://www.experian.com/help/ https://www.transunion.com/credit-help 888-298-0045 1-888-397-3742 833-395-6938 Equifax Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 105069 Atlanta, GA 30348-5069 Experian Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 TransUnion Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016 Equifax Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 Experian Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 TransUnion Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094 Additional Information You may further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps you can take to protect your personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. You have the right to file a police report if you ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide some proof that you have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and your state Attorney General. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement. For California residents: Visit the California Office of Privacy Protection (www.oag.ca.gov/privacy) for additional information on protection against identity theft. For Kentucky residents: Office of the Attorney General of Kentucky, 700 Capitol Avenue, Suite 118 Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, www.ag.ky.gov, Telephone: 1-502-696-5300. For District of Columbia residents: the District of Columbia Attorney General may be contacted at: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001; 202-727-3400; and [email protected]. For Maryland residents: the Maryland Attorney General may be contacted at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-410-528-8662 or 1-888-743-0023; and www.oag.state.md.us. Comstar is located at 8 Turcotte Memorial Drive, Rowley, MA 01969. For Massachusetts Residents: You have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this incident. For New Mexico residents: you have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in your credit file has been used against you, the right to know what is in your credit file, the right to ask for your credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting bureaus must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to your file is limited; you must give your consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; you may limit "prescreened" offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report; and you may seek damages from violator. You may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here. Identity theft victims and active duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We encourage you to review your rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by visiting www.consumerfinance.gov/f/201504_cfpb_summary_your-rights-under-fcra.pdf, or by writing Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. For New York residents: the New York Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; or https://ag.ny.gov/. For North Carolina residents: the North Carolina Attorney General may be contacted at: 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6000; and www.ncdoj.gov. For Oregon residents: Oregon Department of Justice, 1162 Court Street NE, Salem, OR 97301-4096, www.doj.state.or.us/, Telephone: 877-877-9392. For Rhode Island residents: the Rhode Island Attorney General may be reached at: 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; www.riag.ri.gov; and 1-401-274-4400. Under Rhode Island law, you have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this incident. For Washington D.C. residents: the Office of Attorney General for the District of Columbia can be reached at: 441 4thStreet NW, Suite 1100 South, Washington, D.C. 20001; 1-202-442-9828; https://oag.dc.gov. For All U.S. residents: Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20580, https://www.identitytheft.gov/#/, 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338). SOURCE Comstar, LLC JERSEY CITY, N.J, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd. announces the release of market assessment report on "Connected/Smart Drug Delivery Systems Market By Products (Connected Inhalers, Connected Auto injectors, Connected Needle-Free Injectors, Connected Pen injectors, Connected Insulin Pumps, Connected Wearable Injectors/Patch Pumps, Add-On Sensors), Therapeutic Area (Metabolic disorders, Neurological disorders, Respiratory disorders and Others), End-user (Hospitals, Clinics, and Homecare)- Assessment with Covid-19 impact, Revenue (US$ Mn) and Volume (No. of Units ) Forecast Till 2028" According to the latest research by InsightAce Analytic, the global connected/smart drug delivery systems market size is valued at US$ 799.3 Million in 2021 and it is expected to reach US$ 7190.8 Million in 2028, recording a promising CAGR of 37.4 % during the period of 2022-2028. By region, North America dominates the market with major share of global market. Request for Sample Pages: https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/request-sample/1291 Connected/smart drug delivery system uses different approaches, formulations, technologies, and devices to deliver drug to specific sites or target. Connected Smart Drug Delivery Systems help to enhance the therapeutic effect and reduce the related side effects. These devices are very useful in the treatment of respiratory diseases, diabetes and other cardiovascular disorders. Also, smart devices keep a track on dose delivery and timings and offer instant feedback to patients. COVID-19 Pandemic is significantly increasing the need of such smart (contactless) devices and hence, in future there will be high requirement of such systems, which will ultimately result in in increased demand for connected/smart drug delivery devices. In current scenario, many healthcare facilities started using digitalized and wireless devices, which are user friendly and efficient in term of accuracy. So, adding different features in the devices like remote tracking, dosage reminders, feedback for patients and patient education tools, creating various smartphone applications and user-friendly devices with low-cost connectivity, inventing new products according to patient's requirements will develop more opportunities to lead this market. Collaboration between biopharma companies and healthcare technology providers increases the likelihood that linked smart medication delivery devices will be beneficial. Leading players of this industry are Ypsomed, Nemera, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., and BIOCORP. These companies have products that aim to improve drug delivery devices for asthma and chronic lung diseases, insulin injection processes for diabetes, treatments for Alzheimer's, and emergency allergy therapies. Key Developments: In April 2022 , Pneuma Systems Corporation has developed a multifaceted business partnership with West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. with the purpose of enhancing patients' medication therapy experiences. West will employ Pneuma's unique closed-loop fluid flow management platform to create medication delivery solutions for pharmaceutical corporations and clinical end customers. Pneuma Systems Corporation has developed a multifaceted business partnership with West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. with the purpose of enhancing patients' medication therapy experiences. West will employ Pneuma's unique closed-loop fluid flow management platform to create medication delivery solutions for pharmaceutical corporations and clinical end customers. In March 2022 , Novo Nordisk recently expanded its oral medication delivery research relationship with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH). The cooperation will now last through 2026, with the scope expanded to cover the development and integration of bioelectronics, biosensors, and stimuli-responsive delivery systems. Novo Nordisk recently expanded its oral medication delivery research relationship with the ( ) and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH). The cooperation will now last through 2026, with the scope expanded to cover the development and integration of bioelectronics, biosensors, and stimuli-responsive delivery systems. In Nov 2021 , Ypsomed has introduced the YpsoMate On, which it describes as " autoinjector for prefilled syringes with integrated connection." The innovative device also contributes to the company's objective of reaching CO2-neutral production by 2030 and net-zero emissions across the whole value creation chain by 2040. Ypsomed has introduced the YpsoMate On, which it describes as " autoinjector for prefilled syringes with integrated connection." The innovative device also contributes to the company's objective of reaching CO2-neutral production by 2030 and net-zero emissions across the whole value creation chain by 2040. In Aug 2020 , Sulzer has announced the acquisition of Haselmeier, a Swiss-German medication delivery device researcher and producer, for $118 million (100 million). Haselmeier provides solutions for subcutaneous injection systems used for the safe self-administration of liquid medications. The global connected/smart drug delivery system market report covers numerous players like BIOCORP, Elcam Drug Delivery Devices (E3D), Novo Nordisk, Merck, Pneuma Respiratory, H&T Presspart, Nemera, Ypsomed Holdings, Unolife Corporation, Quio Technologies, SHL Group, Haselmeier Inc., Portal Instruments Inc, West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. , Emperra GmbH E-Health Technologies, Amiko Digital Health Limited, Cognita Labs, DIAMESCO CO., Ltd., Eitan Medical (Q Core Medical Ltd., Avoset Health, Sorrel Medical), Enable Injections, Bigfoot Biomedical Inc., Medtronic Plc, Companion Medical , Cohero Health, Inc., Propeller Health, Pendiq Intelligent Diabetes Care, Phillips-Medisize, Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD), Noble International Inc, etectRx, Aterica Inc., Findair Sp. z o. o., Recipharm AB, Aero Pump GmbH, Jiangsu Delfu medical device Co.,Ltd, and other prominent players. Curious about this latest version of report? Enquire Before Buying @ https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/enquiry-before-buying/1291 Market Segments Market Size (Value & Volume) & Forecasts and Trend Analyses, 2019 to 2028 based on Products Connected Inhalers Connected Auto injectors Connected Needle-Free Injectors Connected Pen injectors Connected Insulin Pumps Connected Wearable Injectors/Patch Pumps Add-On Sensors Market Size (Value & Volume) & Forecasts and Trend Analyses, 2019 to 2028 based on Therapeutic Area Metabolic Disorders Neurological Disorders Respiratory Disorders Others Market Size (Value & Volume) & Forecasts and Trend Analyses, 2019 to 2028 based on End-User Hospitals Clinics Homecare Market Size (Value & Volume) & Forecasts and Trend Analyses, 2019 to 2028 based on region Europe North America Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa Europe Connected/Smart Drug Delivery Systems Market Revenue (US$ Million) and Volume (No. of Units) by Country, 2019-2028 Germany France Italy Spain Russia Rest of Europe North America Connected/Smart Drug Delivery Systems Market Revenue (US$ Million) and Volume (No. of Units) by Country, 2019-2028 U.S. Canada Asia Pacific Connected/Smart Drug Delivery Systems Market Revenue (US$ Million) and Volume (No. of Units) by Country, 2019-2028 India China Japan South Korea Australia & New Zealand Latin America Connected/Smart Drug Delivery Systems Market Revenue (US$ Million) and Volume (No. of Units) by Country, 2019-2028 Brazil Mexico Rest of Latin America Middle East & Africa Connected/Smart Drug Delivery Systems Market Revenue (US$ Million) and Volume (No. of Units) by Country, 2019-2028 GCC Countries South Africa Rest of Middle East & Africa Why should buy this report: To receive a comprehensive analysis and key sales and marketing insights for global connected/smart drug delivery systems market To receive industry overview and future trends global connected/smart drug delivery systems market To analyse the global connected/smart drug delivery systems market drivers and challenges To get information on global connected/smart drug delivery systems market size value (US$ Mn) and volume (No. of Units) forecast till 2028 Major Investments, Mergers & Acquisition in connected smart drug delivery systems industry For More Customization @ https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/customisation/1291 Other Related Reports Published by InsightAce Analytic: Global Drug Infusion Systems Market Global Oxygen and Aerosol Delivery Devices Market Global Advanced Dermatology Drug Delivery Devices Market Global Peripheral Vascular Devices Market About Us: InsightAce Analytic is a market research and consulting firm that enables clients to make strategic decisions. Our qualitative and quantitative market intelligence solutions inform the need for market and competitive intelligence to expand businesses. We help clients gain a competitive advantage by identifying untapped markets, exploring new and competing technologies, segmenting potential markets, and repositioning products. Our expertise is in providing syndicated and custom market intelligence reports with an in-depth analysis with key market insights in a timely and cost-effective manner. Contact Us: InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd. Tel.: +1 718 593 4405 Email: [email protected] Site Visit: www.insightaceanalytic.com Follow Us on LinkedIn @ bit.ly/2tBXsgS Follow Us On Facebook @ bit.ly/2H9jnDZ SOURCE InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd. HAMILTON, ON, June 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - The Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC), a global leader in the development, production and commercialization of radiopharmaceuticals, has licensed [18F]PSMA-1007 from ABX- advanced biochemical compounds GmbH (Radeberg, Germany) and will hold the exclusive license to manufacture, commercialize and distribute the imaging agent in Canada. Concurrently, CPDC is also pleased to announce that it has entered into a commercial sublicense agreement with Lawson Health Research Institute (Lawson), to utilize [18F]PSMA-1007 as a critically important prostate cancer diagnostic tool for studies involving participants residing in proximity to Lawson in the London, Ontario region. This commercial sublicensing agreement builds upon CPDC's-sponsored Phase III clinical trial of [18F]PSMA-1007, which began enrolling patients in early 2021 for the diagnosis of recurrent prostate cancer. This positron-emitting tomography (PET) agent targets Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA), which is overexpressed in prostate cancer. PSMA is a membrane-bound enzyme with high expression in prostate cancer cells (a predictor for prostate cancer progression) but weakly expressed benign prostatic tissue.1 Prostate cancer is the third leading cause of death from cancer among Canadian men. In 2021, it was estimated that 24,000 Canadian men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, representing 20% of all new cancer cases. Prostate cancer is also estimated to have caused 4,500 deaths in Canadian men, or 10% of all cancer deaths in 2021 in Canada.2 According to the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, around 20-30% of men will relapse after the five-year mark following initial treatment.3 Prostate cancer recurrence following treatment is commonly determined by rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, which is a protein made by cells in the prostate gland.4 Reports indicate that PSMA-based PET may enable improved primary and metastatic tumour detection rates than the current standard of radiological imaging.1,5 Compared to other PMSA-targeted PET agents, [18F]PSMA-1007 also has the advantage of hepatobiliary excretion, which may improve detection of local recurrence and pelvic lymph node metastases.1,6,7 "We are delighted to strengthen CPDC's partnership with Lawson through this sublicense agreement for [18F]PSMA-1007." said CPDC's CEO, Bruno Paquin. "We believe this partnership will benefit patients in Ontario by providing expanded access to this important diagnostic agent, allowing for better treatment outcomes. As part of CPDC's mission to transform patients' lives by advancing high quality drugs for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, we hope to increase access of the diagnostic agent to the rest of Canada and nurture additional valued domestic partnerships." "We are excited that this novel radiopharmaceutical will be produced locally by Lawson's Cyclotron & PET Radiochemistry Facility, located at St. Joseph's Hospital. Clinical trials exploring the impact of this important new imaging agent on the care of men with prostate cancer are underway in London and this local production capacity enhances our ability to offer these trials to more men in our region." said Dr. Glenn Bauman, Radiation Oncologist, London Regional Cancer Program at London Health Sciences Centre and Associate Scientist, Lawson. "This partnership leverages the strengths of Lawson's cyclotron expertise and production capacity with that of CPDC. As the first sublicensee, access to this prostate cancer imaging tool is a significant milestone for Lawson and southwestern Ontario." said Dr. Michael Kovacs, Director, Cyclotron & PET Radiochemistry, Lawson. About the Clinical Trial CPDC's Phase 3 clinical trial (CPD-002) is a prospective, single arm, non-randomized, open label study that will enroll 100 men with suspected persistent or recurrent prostate cancer based on detectable levels of prostate serum antigen (PSA) and having negative or equivocal detection of disease by conventional imaging. The primary objective of the clinical trial is to evaluate the diagnostic performance of [18F]PSMA-1007 PET, by comparing the PET imaging results to a composite of clinical outcome information. Other objectives include assessing the safety of [18F]PSMA-1007 and the impact of [18F]PSMA-1007 PET on management of patients with recurrent prostate cancer. For additional information about the clinical trial, visit www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04644822). About Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC) The Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC) is a Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) located at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. CPDC is a private, not-for-profit company and global leader in the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation radiopharmaceuticals that was created with the support of multiple stakeholders, including the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE), McMaster University and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR). Since its foundation in 2008, CPDC has established a pipeline of products along with a robust and reliable global supply of innovative diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals used daily for the detection and treatment of human diseases such as cancer. For more information about CPDC, please visit: www.imagingprobes.ca or contact [email protected]. About ABX ABX is active in manufacturing and development of cGMP chemicals for nuclear medicine and owns one of the first approved and fully automated industrial-scale production facilities for radioactive theranostics with its own sterile testing. For more information, please visit http://www.abx.de. SOURCE Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization This year's conference motto, "Innovation, Collaboration & Sustainability", was inspired by the regional and global successes of the Croatian companies and people highlighted at the conference. This includes Bugatti Rimac CEO Mate Rimac, the maker of the fastest electric hypercar in the world; Infobip CEO Silvio Kutic, Croatia's first unicorn; Robert Herjavec, the Shark Tank standout and cybersecurity expert; and 40-time Emmy award winner, Pete Radovich. The goal of this historic gathering of Croatian unicorns, soon-to-be-unicorns and many other startups and business leaders was an opportunity to celebrate Croatian business achievements and build out the ecosystem for the opportunities which lie ahead. The conference also highlighted ACAP as the conduit for the idea generation and connecting of U.S. and Croatian companies and individuals. The outcomes of the conference were manifold. First, Croatian leading businesses and startups painted a picture of just how developed the Croatian technology start-up and entrepreneurial ecosystem is. Croatia is home to some of the world's leading technology companies (such as Rimac and Infobip). Second, the participants identified common opportunities and challenges, and continued global startup hub buildout, which includes the expanding physical presence in the U.S. market (examples include Agrivi, AirCash, Oradian, STEMI, Nanobit, TalentLyft, Entrio). Third, ACAP has become a go-to resource in growing partnerships between US and Croatian businesses, and identifying high-level talent in Croatia and the US. For more information, please contact [email protected] or visit www.croampro.com. The Association of Croatian American Professionals (ACAP) is a non-profit organization bringing together professionals, business leaders, academics, students, and community leaders. Its mission is to foster leadership and collaboration and to promote the advancement of issues relevant to the Croatian-American community. Since 2014, ACAP has hosted six annual conferences, launched 12 regional chapters in the United States and Croatia, and includes over 2,000 members. ACAP continues to expand and link together Croatians and non-Croatians from all corners of the world to network, share ideas, grow professionally and discover solutions to today's challenges. SOURCE The Association of Croatian American Professionals (ACAP) JACKSON, Miss., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- EastGroup Properties (NYSE: EGP) (the "Company", "EastGroup") announced today that it will hold its Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call and Webcast on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. On the call, Marshall Loeb, CEO, and Brent Wood, CFO, will discuss the Company's second quarter results, current operations, and earnings outlook for 2022. EastGroup plans to release financial results for the quarter after the market closes on July 26, 2022. The earnings release and supplemental information package will be posted on the Company's website, www.eastgroup.net, at that time. A live broadcast of the conference call is available by dialing 1-888-346-0688 (conference ID EastGroup) or by webcast through a link on the Company's website at www.eastgroup.net. If you are unable to listen to the live conference call, a telephone and webcast replay will be available on Wednesday, July 27, 2022. The telephone replay will be available until Wednesday, August 3, 2022, and can be accessed by dialing 1-877-344-7529 (access code 6120146). The replay of the webcast can be accessed through a link on the Company's website at www.eastgroup.net and will be available until Wednesday, August 3, 2022. EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE: EGP), a S&P Mid-Cap 400 company, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina. The Company's goal is to maximize shareholder value by being a leading provider in its markets of functional, flexible and quality business distribution space for location sensitive customers (primarily in the 15,000 to 70,000 square foot range). The Company's strategy for growth is based on ownership of premier distribution facilities generally clustered near major transportation features in supply-constrained submarkets. The Company's portfolio, including development projects and value-add acquisitions in lease-up and under construction, currently includes approximately 54.5 million square feet. EastGroup Properties, Inc. press releases are available at www.eastgroup.net . SOURCE EastGroup Properties NEW YORK, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Insight Partners published latest research study on Essential Oils Market Forecast to 2028 - Covid-19 Impact and Global Analysis - by Type (Lavender, Rosemary, Eucalyptus, Lemon, Tea Tree, and Others) and Application (Food & Beverages, Personal Care, Pharmaceuticals & Nutraceuticals, and Others). Essential oils are aromatic compounds derived from plants. The aromatic compounds in essential oils give them their unique scent and flavor. Steam distillation or mechanical processes, such as cold pressing, are used to extract essential oils. Lavender, tea tree, lemon, rosehip, and eucalyptus are some of the most widely utilized essential oils for various applications such as food & beverages, personal care, pharmaceuticals & nutraceuticals, animal feed, and pet foods. The rising demand for natural flavors and extracts due to clean-label trends is driving the demand for essential oils market. Moreover, growing demand for essential oils from spas, massage centers, and aromatherapy centers is also boosting the essential oils market. Get Exclusive Access to Sample Pages of Essential Oils Market Size - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis with Strategic Insights at: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPRE00003975/ Our report on "Global Essential Oils Market Analysis to 2028" encapsulate a detailed market analysis on key segments such as type and application of Essential Oils Market, and a deep dive statistical and qualitative analysis by geography covering five key regions and several countries. As a part of qualitative analysis report offers evaluation of key market dynamics such prevailing market driver, key challenges and opportunities that pave the path for future developments. Further, our analysis on the key competition provides a strategic viewpoint on the market initiatives, SWOT analysis, and highlights on the products and service developments of the players. Strategic Insights Essential Oils Market Report Coverage Details Market Size USD Value in 2021 Market Size USD Value by 2028 Growth rate Compound Annual Growth Rate During (2022-2028) Forecast Period 2022-2028 Base Year 2022 No. of Pages 150 No. of Tables Yes No. of Charts & Figures Yes Historical data available Yes Segments covered Type, Components, End-Use Industry and Geography Regional scope North America; Europe; Asia Pacific; Latin America; MEA Country scope US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Argentina Report coverage Revenue forecast, company ranking, competitive landscape, growth factors, and trends The report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides an overview and forecast of the global market based on various segments. It also provides market size and forecast estimates from the year 2019 to 2028 with respect to five major regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), the Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South & Central America (SAM). The essential oils market by each region is later sub segmented by respective countries and segments. The report covers the analysis and forecast of 18 countries globally along with the current trend and opportunities prevailing in the region. The report analyzes factors affecting the market from both demand and supply side and further evaluates market dynamics affecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend. The report also provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions namely, North America, Europe, APAC, MEA, and South & Central America after evaluating political, economic, social and technological factors affecting the essential oils market in these regions. Place Your Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/inquiry/TIPRE00003975/ Over the past few years, people are increasingly engaging in selfcare. Due to increasing awareness of mental wellbeing, people are practising selfcare routines. The number of spa and salon visits has increased significantly. Moreover, people are also participating in aromatherapy sessions. Essential oils are widely employed in personal care products as they are natural and high-quality aromatic ingredients. They give a characteristic essence to the products and play a specific role. For instance, lemon essential oil induces a feeling of freshness, whereas lavender essential oil promotes relaxation and calming feeling. Essential oils also help in overcoming depression, anxiety, and nervousness. Personal care products with essential oils treat skin allergies and soothe the skin. Thus, the rising trend of selfcare coupled with increasing utilization of essential oils in personal care products are some of the key factors driving the growth of essential oils market. Connect with Our Research Analyst On: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/speak-to-analyst/TIPRE00003975/ Key Recent Developments: Essential Oils Market. August 2019 , Givaudan acquired Fragrance Oils, a UK-based manufacturer of specialty oils for personal care and homecare applications. This acquisition has further strengthened its market position in the natural fragrance, extracts, and essential oils market. , Givaudan acquired Fragrance Oils, a UK-based manufacturer of specialty oils for personal care and homecare applications. This acquisition has further strengthened its market position in the natural fragrance, extracts, and essential oils market. November 2020 , Symrise AG signed a purchase agreement with Sensient Technologies Corporation to acquire their fragrance and aroma business activities. Asia Pacific is expected to register the highest growth in the global essential oils market. The rising population in countries such as India, China, and Japan, growing middle-class population, rising purchasing power, and increasing focus on self-care are some of the primary factors driving the growth of essential oils market across Asia Pacific. Moreover, growth of fragrance and personal care industry and rising inclusion of natural components and ingredients due to propelling clean-label trend is anticipated to drive essential oils market across the region. Furthermore, the presence of leading manufacturers including International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.; DSM, and Symrise actively operating in the region is also driving the growth of the essential oils market. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Essential Oils Market The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges for many industries, including the food & beverages industry. Lockdowns, border restrictions, travel bans, plant shutdowns, and other government-led safety protocols disturbed the operations of manufacturing companies. The COVID-19 pandemic also created a shortfall in production due to raw material and labor shortages, which hampered the market shares of small-scale and large-scale food and beverage manufacturers across different geographies. However, as people stayed in their homes due to stay-at-home mandates, they engaged themselves in aromatherapy and selfcare for mental wellbeing. This created significant demand for essential oils during the pandemic. However, due to supply chain disruptions, the raw materials supply was restricted which created production shortfall leading to demand and supply gap. This impacted their overall profitability. Moreover, due to operational difficulties, the manufacturers could not meet the rising demand from different industries such as food & beverages, personal care, and pharmaceuticals & nutraceuticals. However, in 2021, the manufacturers were permitted to operate with full or partial capacity. Moreover, as governments relaxed their restrictions, supply chain improved. This helped the manufacturers in overcoming the supply chain gaps. Further, the rising number of people demanding for more natural and clean flavorings, additives, and specialty fragrances is boosting the essential oils market. Click Here to Avail Lucrative DISCOUNTS on Our Latest Research Reports. We Offer Student, Enterprise, and Special Periodic Discounts to Our Clientele. Please Fill the Form to Know DISCOUNTED PRICE The report segments the global Essential Oils Market as follows: Global Essential Oils Market By Type Lavender Rosemary Eucalyptus Lemon Tea Tree Others Global Essential Oils Market By Application Food & Beverages Personal Care Pharmaceuticals and Nutraceuticals Others By Geography North America US Canada Mexico Europe France Germany Italy UK Russia Rest of Europe Asia Pacific (APAC) China India Australia South Korea Japan Rest of APAC Middle East and Africa (MEA) UAE Saudi Arabia South Africa Rest of MEA South America Brazil Argentina Rest of SAM Buy Premium Copy of Essential Oils Market Size, Share, Revenue, Strategic Insights and Forecasts 2022-2028 Research Report at: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/buy/TIPRE00003975/ Essential Oils Market - Company Profiles: Givaudan Sensient Technologies Corporation Symrise International Flavors and Fragrances Inc. Firmenich SA MANE DSM Elixarome Limited BORDAS S.A. De Monchy Aromatics Browse Latest and Related Reports: Encapsulated Flavors And Fragrances Market Forecast to 2028 - Covid-19 Impact and Global Analysis - by Product Type (Flavor Blends, Fragrance Blends, Essential Oils and Natural Extracts, Aroma Chemicals); Technology (Physical Process, Physicochemical Process, Chemical Process, Extrusion, Fluid Bed, Others); Application (Food and Beverages, Toiletries and Cleaners, Others) and Geography Food Botanicals Market Forecast to 2028 - Covid-19 Impact and Global Analysis - by Source (Plants, Algae, Lichens or Fungi); Form (Oleoresins, Dried Plants and Leaves, Essential Oils, Others); Application (Beverages, Supplements, Flavor Enhancers, Confectionery, Others); End-user (Household, Industrial) and Geography Perfume Ingredient Chemicals Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Type (Aromatic Chemicals, Essential Oils); Application (Soaps and Detergents, Cosmetics and Toiletries, Fine Fragrances, Others) and Geography Natural Fragrance Market Forecast to 2028 - Covid-19 Impact and Global Analysis - By Ingredients (Essential Oils, Natural Extracts); Application (Fine Fragrances, Personal Care and Cosmetics, Household Care, Others) and Geography Natural Ingredient Insect Repellent Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Product (Spray/Aerosol, Creams and Lotions, Essential Oils, Others); Ingredient (Citronella Oil, Catnip Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, Lemongrass Oil, Others); Distribution Channel (Supermarkets and Hypermarkets, Convenience Stores, Online Retail, Others) and Geography Oral Antiseptic Market Forecast to 2028 - Covid-19 Impact and Global Analysis - By Product Type (Cetylpyridinium Chloride Based, Chlorhexidine Gluconate Based, Hydrogen Peroxide, Essential Oils, Methyl Salicylate, Povidone-Iodine); Application (Dental Care, Oral Cleaning, Others); Distribution Channel (Supermarket/Hypermarket, Drug Store, Retail Pharmacy, E-commerce); Form (Solutions, Gels) Hops Derivative Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Chemical Composition (Alpha Acids, Beta Acids, Essential Oils, Flavonoids, Others); Application (Alcoholic Beverages (Beer), Pharmaceutical Industry, Cosmetics, Others); Distribution Channel (Store Based, Non-Store Based) and Geography Essential Oils and Plant Extracts for Livestock Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Product (Essential Oil, Plant Extract); Form (Liquid, Solid); Function (Gut Health, Immunity, Yield); Livestock (Cattle Feed [Dairy, Meat], Poultry Feed, Swine Feed, Aquatic Feed); Application (Aromatherapy, Phytotherapy) and Geography Functional Food Ingredients Market Forecast to 2028 - Covid-19 Impact and Global Analysis - by Source (Natural, Synthetic); Type (Vitamins, Minerals, Prebiotics, Probiotics, Hydrocolloids, Essential Oils, Omega-3 and 6 Fatty Acids, Carotenoids, Others); Application (Bakery and Cereals, Dairy Products, Meat, Fish and Eggs, Soy Products, Others); Purpose (Sports Nutrition, Weight Management, Immunity, Digestive Health, Clinical Nutrition, Cardio Health, Others) and Geography Microencapsulated Ingredients Market Forecast to 2028 - Covid-19 Impact and Global Analysis - by Ingredients (Pigments, Vitamins, UV Filters, Skin Lightening Components, Essential Oils, Antiaging Components, Active Ingredients); Application (Color Cosmetics, Sunscreen Lotions(UV Protection), Whitening and Lightening Creams, Anti-Wrinkle and Antiaging Creams, Other) and Geography About Us: The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We specialize in industries such as Semiconductor and Electronics, Aerospace and Defense, Automotive and Transportation, Biotechnology, Healthcare IT, Manufacturing and Construction, Medical Device, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Chemicals and Materials. If you have any queries about this report or if you would like further information, please contact us: Contact Person: Sameer Joshi E-mail: [email protected] Phone: +1-646-491-9876 More latest Food and Beverages Market Reports: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/categories/food-and-beverages Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1586348/The_Insight_Partners_Logo.jpg SOURCE The Insight Partners AUSTIN, Texas, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The families of two Texas murder victims found in 1981 are celebrating the return of the couple's missing daughter after more than 40 years. While giving her the time she needs to adjust before a planned media-free reunion later in the summer, they are already turning their joy at her discovery into good. The Clouse-Casasanta and Linn families have joined with FHD Forensics to establish a fund to help other families like theirs. The recently discovered Baby Holly as an infant with mother, 1981 Texas murder victim Tina Linn Clouse. Genealogist Allison Peacock is now partnering with Holly's family to solve other cold cases. The Dean and Tina Linn Clouse Memorial Fund will underwrite expensive DNA testing for law enforcement agencies in need of financial assistance. Donations can be made on GoFundMe or directly with FHD Forensics for a tax deduction. FHD Forensics founder and genetic genealogist, Allison Peacock with the families of Dean and Tina Linn Clouse at the Harris County Cemetery in Houston where the couple is buried. Peacock and members of both families traveled to the wooded site of their 1981 discovery, as well as the graves in March this year to advocate for missing daughter Holly Marie Clouse and reinvigorating the cold case murder investigation. Holly, now 42, was miraculously discovered this month. In what may be the oldest missing child reunion ever, Holly Marie Clouse, the child of slain New Smyrna Beach, Florida couple Dean and Tina Linn Clouse was discovered alive and well by Texas law enforcement on June 7. The couple's identification using genetic genealogy was announced earlier this year on the 41st anniversary of their discovery. That identification might never have happened if not for a grant from true crime podcast company audiochuck. "Approximately 4,400 unidentified bodies are recovered each year," informed Allison Peacock, founder of FHD Forensics. "Dean and Tina's identification highlights the gap in funding for this kind of cold case." Peacock was the genealogist that identified Tina Gail Linn Clouse. Her new company has one client with 15 John and Jane Doe identifications that need funding. "As the New York Times outlined in their article on this topic in March, the public is being called on to fill the gap for expensive DNA testing," she continued. "Crowdfunding and philanthropy are doing this right now while governmental agencies try to catch up to the availability of this new, expensive technology." "The families believe that this project will bring some sense of justice to the horrible loss of their loved ones," Peacock pointed out. "While they await the murder investigation and specific justice for themselves, they feel a sense of purpose in their mission to help others." Tina Clouse's sister Sherry Green explained why the family is embarking on this new quest. "We will never be able to express our gratitude and our feelings about finally knowing what happened to my beautiful sister," she said. "But if that miracle can be extended to others awaiting word, then we want to help do everything that can be done in their names. The family's project, formerly called The Hope for Holly DNA Project has been renamed the Dean and Tina Linn Clouse Memorial Fund on GoFundMe. Initially established to look for Holly, FHD tested and ruled out several women with compelling similarities to Holly, but who were afraid to work with law enforcement on DNA testing. The fund will be seeded next month with proceeds from certain media activities that Holly's grandmother wanted to use to help identify the nameless. "My Junior remained unidentified for more than four decades," she lamented. "We want to pay it forwardbe someone else's miracle." The premiere season of Peacock's Family History Detectives podcast launching in July will also feature exclusive family stories and interviews in an effort to raise money for the fund. The Clouse-Casasanta and Linn families' greatest hope now is to raise enough money to help return five John, Jane, or Infant Does to their families. And of course, one day, to get word that the couple's murderers have been caught. "The recent publicity around Holly's return has generated an amazing number of leads for the Texas Attorney General's new Cold Case Unit," said Peacock. "Sometimes the attention of true crime fans truly pays off!" For more information: Isabel de la Luz Cold Case Liaison (512) 270-1301 [email protected] SOURCE FHD Forensics / Family History Detectives NEW YORK, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- There is a new platform for Fans to leave reviews for Creators across social media. Fan.Reviews (fan dot reviews) Advertised as "the TrustPilot/Yelp for the Creator Economy". Fan Reviews is seeing early adopters from Patreon and Onlyfans Creators who are using the site to encourage potential fans to Subscribe and join their communities. Creators are adding their FanReview links to their LinkTrees/link aggregator tools as a "badge of honor". The company claims that allowing past subscribers to leave a positive reviews will be extremely powerful and will build trust amongst fans. FanReviews aims to be the fastest and most trustworthy way for fans to leave feedback on Creators content, which should help Creators get MORE subscribers every month. What about spammers, bullying or fake reviews? The site has built in security features which allow reviews to be flagged by anyone in the community and FanReviews employs a full time team of moderators so that abuse and spam is kept off of the platform. Creators can claim their page and flag reviews for moderation as well. FanReviews has a comprehensive 10-star review system with abilities to add badges to reviews such as 'Sells Customs', 'Frequent Poster' and other attributes which Fans want to know before they subscribe to a Creators exclusive content page. This helps Fans know what they are subscribing to before paying. The platform says they are building capabilities for Creators to also interact with Fans such as Replying to Reviews or Pinning reviews to the top of their feed. There are over 12,000 profiles in existence, and more are being created by community members every day. https://fan.reviews/creators/ The company believes the influencer/creator economy is here to stay and every economy needs a review system. Fan.Reviews seems like a very promising and early platform to enable this for creators and fans alike. Learn more about FanReviews here. https://fan.reviews SOURCE FanReviews The action has no impact on closed mortgages. Company has arranged financing to fund critical operations. PLANO, Texas, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. ("FGMC" or "the Company") today announced that the Company and affiliate Maverick II Holdings, LLC filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to protect the business while exploring all available restructuring options. The Company has begun notifying its regulators and other pertinent parties. The action has no impact on closed mortgages, which are already serviced by third parties. The Company has taken action to accommodate the maximum number borrowers who have started but not yet completed the loan process. FGMC is finalizing debtor-in-possession financing that will enable it to close and fund approved consumer loans, under existing terms and conditions. In addition, the Company has further identified one or more potential partners to provide optionality to support the pipeline of in-process loans. The debtor-in-possession financing, once approved by the Court, will also support the Company's operations, including go-forward payments to employees and vendors in the ordinary course and in accordance with bankruptcy provisions. Additionally, FGMC is in the process of developing an employee incentive and retention program, which requires Court approval. "While we have made considerable efforts to address our ongoing financial challenges related to the state of the mortgage market, we ultimately must do what is best for our borrowers and consumers," said Aaron Samples, chief executive officer of FGMC. "After careful review and consideration, the Company determined that pursuing the protections of chapter 11 is the right and responsible path at this time. As part of this process, the Company retained a portion of its workforce to manage the day-to-day business. We are requesting that the court approve a variety of motions that will promote a smooth transition for all pertinent parties while also preserving value for the benefit of the Company's stakeholders." The chapter 11 filing was necessitated by significant operating losses and cash flow challenges experienced by the Company due to unforeseen historical adverse market conditions for the mortgage lending industry, including unanticipated market volatility. The sharp and unexpected decline in performance reflects the intense pressure on mortgage originations due to the dramatic collapse of the mortgage refinance market and the weakening mortgage purchase market, which has suffered from a lack of housing inventory and increasing affordability issues. These factors have resulted in significant losses on the Company's total mortgage revenues and overall liquidity constraints. Federal law prohibits the Company from paying amounts owed with respect to obligations arising prior to the June 30, 2022, filing date, without a court order. Entities owed funds may be eligible to file a claim. For information about the claims filing process, please visit http://www.kccllc.net/FGMC. Media Contact: [email protected] SOURCE First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. TEL AVIV, Israel and ZURICH, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SHL Telemedicine Ltd. (SIX Swiss Exchange: SHLTN) ("SHL"), a leading provider and developer of advanced personal telemedicine solutions, announced today that Mr. Ehud Barak is to be appointed as Co- Chairman of SHL Telemedicine. Ehud Barak Ehud Barak, incoming Co-Chairman of SHL: "I am delighted to join SHL's senior management team. As a results of global change, telemedicine has become the standard of care in the way which medical services are provided. SHL has a proven technology, know-how, experience, and strategic cooperation with major health care institutes such as Mayo Clinic, CVS and Henry Schein in the US as well as AOK Bayern and BARMER in Germany. SHL is well positioned to improve the lives of many patients worldwide, and the way that medical services are being consumed. I intend to join SHL's international growth execution efforts mainly in the US and Germany and take part in SHL's senior management team activities as a world leader in the telemedicine field." Yariv Alroy, Chairman of SHL's board: "SHL greets Mr. Barak and is excited about his appointment as a Co-Chairman of SHL. We are convinced that Mr. Barak's engagement will support the execution and realization of our strategic global vision." Mr. Baraks' terms of engagement will be brought for approval by a Special General Meeting of the Shareholders ("SGM"), which will be summoned within the next days. Following the approval of the terms by the SGM, the board will appoint the new Co-Chairman. Further information Fabienne Farner, IRF, Phone: +41 43 244 81 42 [email protected] About SHL Telemedicine SHL Telemedicine is engaged in developing and marketing personal telemedicine systems and the provision of medical call center services, with a focus on cardiovascular and related diseases, to end users and to the healthcare community. SHL Telemedicine offers its services and personal telemedicine devices to subscribers utilizing telephonic and Internet communication technology. SHL is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SHLTN, ISIN: IL0010855885, Security No.: 1128957). For more information, please visit our web site at www.shl-telemedicine.com. Some of the information contained in this press release contains forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. SHL Telemedicine undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. SOURCE SHL Telemedicine Ltd. Since the founding of the company in 2013, GA technologies has been incorporating cutting edge technology into its service to realize a digital transformation in the trading process of real estate. The business vision of ours is "To create a world-leading company that impresses people ''. The mindset of bringing technology into our service and to use it to make a change in the traditional real estate industry has never changed since then. We are not only bringing technology into the Company but to our products. We provide our in-house developed SaaS to both real estate agencies and management companies in Japan in the aim of speeding up the digital transformation of the industry. Within that, we are promoting the concept of a complete online transaction of real estate along with the implementation of the revision of the real estate transaction amendment in May 20221 in the purpose of promoting the DX of the industry. What we are trying to achieve is to spread the idea of a pure online transaction of real estate, the so-called "Internet real estate" transaction2) in Japan. We want to make a change to the old-fashion real estate industry and to contribute to the revitalizing of the industry. GA technologies will also keep dedicating to providing the best customer experience to its customers and realizing the goal of making an open, transparent real estate transaction experience to promote the idea of "PropTech" (real estate property X technology). Significant efforts made by GA technologies Groups in promoting DX in the industry RENOSY: A one-stop online real estate transaction platform RENOSY is a comprehensive one-stop online platform that covers all aspects of real estate transactions running by GA technologies. The business concept of RENOSY is to "make real estate transaction & asset management easier". The service combines both online and offline services to provide a seamless customer experience to our users. We are bringing technology into every step of the transaction process starting from searching, consoling, and applying to the after management. The online dealing rate in the real estate industry in Japan is only 1%3 which is fairly lower compared to other industries. A significant result GA technology has achieved is to cut down on the use of paper that would have been required during the application, contracting process by moving the whole process online. We have contributed to save an average of 452 pieces of paper that are required per transaction4. GA technologies is contributing to the better customer experience of our customers and to the sustainability of the environment. GA technologies has received high points on the changes the Company has brought to the industry by the utilization of AI, big data to make a change in how the entire real estate industry works. ITANDI: The utilization of a real time database ITANDI is one of the GA technologies groups companies that focuses on the development and provision of both toB and toC products. ITANDI's prouct lines include "ITANDI BB": SaaS designed for real estate agencies (rental & lease business). "ITANDI BB": SaaS designed for real estate people to share information in real time, and last but not least a toC self-tour house hunting site called "OHEYAGO". Companies in the industry are benefiting from getting real time data by using our services. We are pushing the speed of DX in the real estate industry through our services by changing how the industry works fundamentally and to provide a transformative customer experience to the public. The online application recipient service designed by ITANDI helped management companies to manage their tenants' applications online smoothly, and to cut down an average of 5,000,000 pieces of paper that would have been required annually. 5 The honor to be named as the DX Stock 2022, It is a positive affirmation to the hard work that GA technologies has been putting into. The Company brings changes to the industry by the services built and revolutionizes how people deal with real estate transactions. About us The business vision for GA technologies has always been "creating a world-leading company that impresses people with the power of technology and innovation." The Company has been promoting the changes in the real estate industry under such a value. GA technologies group was publicly listed in the growth market (previously known as Mothers market) of Tokyo Stock Exchange 5 years after its establishment in 2013 and has been acquiring 8 other business partners as alliances in 3.5 years after its public listing. The Company established an AI strategy center of its own in 2017, this is also the very first one for companies in the real estate industry. The Company has won the DX award in 2020, 2021 and 2022, 3 years in a row, which is also the only company that has been honored with such title in the "growth market" of Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Company aims to be the pioneer in the PropTech field which takes the lead in Japan. About GA technologies Company: GA technologies Co., Ltd. Representative: Ryo Higuchi URL: https://www.ga-tech.co.jp/en/ Head office: 40F of Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower, Roppongi 3-2-1, Minato District, Tokyo Year of founding: March 2013 Capital fund: 7,224,816,203 JPY (by March 2022) What we do: Running the RENOSY service, an online, one-stop real estate service platform The development and operation of SaaS (BtoB PropTech product lines) Main sub companies: ITANDI Co.,Ltd, RENOSY PLUS Co., Ltd, Shenjumiausuan Co.,Ltd and 10 other companies Awards winning history Digital transformation Stock (DX stock award) honor: 2020, 2021, 2022; the award is hosted by Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry of Japan and Tokyo Stock Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange FT 1000: High-Growth Companies Asia-Pacific honor: 2020~2022; the award is hosted by Financial Times & Statista for the purpose of recognizing companies with high growth performance located in the Asia-Pacific region region Ranked No.23 in FT 1000: High-Growth Companies Asia-Pacific 2022 No.1 sales performance in the pre-owned apartments sector in Japan for a consecutive 3 years: 2020~2022; The research was done and published by Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. (TSR) for a consecutive 3 years: 2020~2022; The research was done and published by Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. (TSR) Great Place to Work Award ( Japan ): Ranked in as one of the companies as best workplaces among medium size companies in Japan in 2020. 2021; the award is hosted by Great Place To Work Institute Japan 1): The amendments of real estate transaction item 2 of clause 34 and other clauses accompanied has been reformed according to the" amendments for the construction and structure of a digitalized society", clause 17. 2: "Internet real estate" service refers to the business model of completing the whole process of a real estate transaction purely online (including but not limited to searching, meeting, applying and contracting etc.) It is a business model which allows every step of a real estate transaction to be done online smoothly. It is a brand-new business model in the industry along with the electronification of the important matters explanation and other related contract documents based on the law revision in 2022. (The definition was defined by GA technologies in April 2022) 3: The number was calculated based on the percentage of online transaction taken place in RENOSY marketplace business (The 10th season of 2021). The SAM (6.9 trillion Yen) of the pre-owned apartments with areas larger than 50 was excluded. 4: Researched by GA technologies https://resources.ga-tech.co.jp/Release/220422_ga_earthday.pdf 5: Researched by ITANDI https://www.itandi.co.jp/press_releases/72 For this release, please contact below: Nami (+81-90-1503-9158), Judy, GA technologies Co., Ltd. MAIL: [email protected] SOURCE GA technologies Co., Ltd. BOSTON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the first GrowBoston! cohort of 15 Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) will graduate at a ceremony attended by Midori Morikawa, Deputy Chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion, the City of Boston, Darrell Byers, CEO of Interise, and Roxann Cooke, Managing Director and Regional Director, JPMorgan Chase, New England. This innovative partnership between the City of Boston and Interise highlights the importance of creating pathways with the Supplier Diversity Office for minority business owners and their employees. Fifteen dedicated MWBE business owners located in several Boston neighborhoods; including, Dorchester, Hyde Park, East Boston, and Roslindale, were accepted into the hands-on executive education program providing entrepreneurs intensive training in business operations, and financial management, strategy, and procurement development. "The GrowBoston! program is an important tool for the City as we strive toward meeting our commitment to creating a more equitable economy through the awarding of lucrative contracts to diverse businesses," said Segun Idowu, Chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion. "Partnerships with organizations like Interise will help us foster a more inclusive economy and provide the necessary resources for our women- and BIPOC-owned businesses to grow and thrive in the years to come." Interises' proven StreetWise "MBA" curriculum has been activated within 80+ programs across the country. Successful MWBE alumni of the StreetWise 'MBA' program have seen increased revenues by 52% and an increase in full-time jobs by 40%, The GrowBoston! program is part of the City of Boston's initiative to prepare Boston-based minority- and women-owned businesses for procurement success. "We're proud to partner with the City of Boston to support the development of a strong supplier capacity-building program for MWBE small businesses as they scale and grow," said Darrell Byers, CEO of Interise. "GrowBoston! business owners will drive their companies to new heights and be more competitive in the marketplace." The program was introduced in response to a report commissioned by the city in 2021 that found that only 11 percent of Supplier Diversity Office Contracts went to businesses owned by Women or People of Color, and only 1.2 percent of those contracts went specifically to Black and Hispanic-owned businesses. The graduation is being held at JPMorgan Chase Mattapan Community Center, 1617 Blue Hill Ave. Boston, MA 02126 on June 30th from 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM. "Congratulations to this incredible group of entrepreneurs on their success and graduation from the Interise program," said Roxann Cooke, Consumer Bank Regional Director and Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase. "JPMorgan Chase is committed to closing the racial wealth gap and Interise's work is driving inclusive economic growth that is both lasting and meaningful." For more information about GrowBoston!, visit https://programs.interise.org/growboston/. Applications are already being accepted for the next cohort scheduled to begin in Fall 2022. Committed Boston-based business owners will join interactive class sessions, peer mentoring groups, and the opportunity to learn from local experts. Business owners complete the program with a customized, three-year strategic growth plan. Interise will be running the program with the city for three years. About Interise Interise (http://www.interise.org) builds diverse and inclusive local economies through small business development, supporting the growth of minority-owned small businesses and small businesses located in low- and moderate-income communities. Interise contributes to inclusive economic development through its national research on the growth of established small businesses and its award-winning business development programs. As Interise companies grow, they contribute to local job creation and build community wealth. Interise companies historically create new jobs at 5x the rate of the private sector and are responsible for the creation of over 30,000 new jobs. Interise partners with government agencies, anchor institutions, and business associations to offer the StreetWise 'MBA' program in 80+ cities nationwide. Strategic Growth Partners include the Kauffman Foundation, the TD Bank Foundation, the Wells Fargo Foundation, and the Prudential Foundation. SOURCE INTERISE "People are excited to travel again while reconnecting with family and friends in a meaningful way," said Beth Bodensteiner, senior vice president and chief commercial officer for Holland America Line. "We're seeing the pent-up demand leading to increased booking as guests realize cruising is a hassle-free way to enjoy unique destinations such as Alaska." As a bucket-list locale for many travelers, Alaska offers close-to-home departures without the need for overseas air, stunning scenery and wildlife, deep history and culture, and areas like Glacier Bay that are best reached from the water. According to AAA Washington, Seattle, Washington, is the number-one summer domestic destination in the U.S. for Washington travelers -- and the second most popular nationwide -- due in large part to the area's bustling cruise industry. During the upcoming July 4 holiday weekend, AAA Washington travel bookings reveal that the number of people traveling by trains, buses and cruise ships is expected to triple compared to 2021. Holland America Line offers round-trip from Seattle cruises to Alaska on two of its ships. "Our summer travel inquiries and bookings show people are feeling safe to explore again," said Michelle Glass, vice president of travel for AAA Washington. "Alaska is one of my favorite places to visit in the summer. A preferred partner, like Holland America Line, helps us provide clients with convenient departures to and from our own back yard to this amazing place, without the added cost of airfare." Overall, Holland America Line continues to see strong interest in cruises that are a short flight or drive from guests' homes. The cruise line visits 225 different ports in 91 different countries on sailings round-trip from the United States, serving more international destinations on cruises sailing round trip from a U.S. homeport than any other brand. The line's U.S. homeports include Seattle, San Diego, Boston and Fort Lauderdale. Holland America Line also offers more sailings to Alaska from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, than any other cruise line. "With the cost and recent challenges with air travel, we are seeing excitement and traction from guests within driving distance of our cruise homeports such as Seattle and Vancouver," said Kacy Cole, vice president of marketing and e-commerce for Holland America Line. "We recently invested in local marketing near our homeports and we're already seeing that pay off." For more information about Holland America Line, consult a travel advisor, call 1-877-SAIL HAL (877-724-5425) or visit hollandamerica.com. Editors Note: Photos are available at https://www.cruiseimagelibrary.com/c/mcssyl5i. Find Holland America Line on Twitter, Facebook and the Holland America Blog. Access all social media outlets via the home page at hollandamerica.com. About Holland America Line [a division of Carnival Corporation and plc (NYSE: CCL and CUK)] Holland America Line has been exploring the world since 1873 and was the first cruise line to offer adventures to Alaska and the Yukon nearly 75 years ago. Its fleet of premium ships visits nearly 400 ports in 114 countries around the world, offering an ideal mid-sized ship experience. A third Pinnacle-class ship, Rotterdam, joined the fleet in July 2021. The leader in premium cruising, Holland America Line's ships feature innovative initiatives and a diverse range of enriching experiences focused on destination exploration and personalized travel. The best live music at sea fills each evening at Music Walk, and dining venues feature exclusive selections from Holland America Line's esteemed Culinary Council of world-famous chefs. CONTACT: Bill Zucker, Erik Elvejord PHONE: 800-637-5029, 206-626-9890 EMAIL: [email protected] SOURCE Holland America Line TORONTO, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Humble & Fume Inc. (CSE: HMBL) (OTCQX: HUMBF) ("Humble" or the "Company"), a leading North American distributor for cannabis and cannabis accessories, is pleased to announce the detailed voting results for the 2021 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (the "Meeting"), held on June 29, 2022, which includes the election of Mark Hubler to the Board of Directors. The following five nominees were elected to the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") to serve until the next annual meeting of shareholders, or until their successors are elected or appointed. The results of the vote are as follows: Name of Nominee Votes "For" Votes "Withheld" % For % Withheld Mark Hubler 35,346,757 100,220 99.72 0.28 Shawn Dym 35,309,757 137,220 99.61 0.39 Robert Ritchot 34,463,025 983,952 97.22 2.78 Matthew Shalhoub 35,309,757 137,220 99.61 0.39 Jakob Ripshtein 35,346,757 100,220 99.72 0.28 MNP LLP, Chartered Accountants, Licensed Public Accountants were reappointed auditors of the Company to hold office until the next annual meeting, and the Board is authorized to fix their remuneration. The results of the vote were as follows: Votes "For" Votes "Withheld" % For % Withheld 37,055,969 164,016 99.56 0.44 Mr. Hubler is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Brothers, one of the largest family-owned, and leading, wine, spirits, and beer distributors, providing world class service to customers across the United States. Mr. Hubler brings extensive experience in the distribution sector, with expertise in operations in both regulated and unregulated environments, as well as in sustainability and risk management. Previous to his current role, Mr. Hubler spent 17 years in various leadership roles at Diageo North America including most recently serving as President of North America US-Spirits. Mr. Hubler also spent significant time in Non-Alcohol CPG including both Coca-Cola Enterprises and Quaker Oats where his career track included commercial roles as well as Business Analytics and Marketing. "We are very pleased to welcome Mr. Hubler as a new independent director," said Jakob Ripshtein, Chairman of Humble & Fume Inc.'s Board of Directors. "With over 35 years of experience and leadership in the beverage and beverage distribution industry, Mark possesses deep industry experience, and we look forward to gaining his valuable perspectives as a Board member." The Company has filed a report of voting results on all resolutions voted on at the Meeting on www.sedar.com. About Humble & Fume Inc. Humble & Fume Inc. is a leading North American distributor of cannabis and cannabis accessories. Humble is committed to our brand and retail partners to help grow their businesses by providing data-driven insights, proven go-to-market expertise and best-in-class distribution for cannabis and cannabis accessories. As the only fully-integrated cannabis distribution solution, Humble bridges the gap for retailers, Canadian licensed producers, American multi-state operators, and cannabis customers increasing sales penetration to maximize financial performance. With over 20 years of North American operating experience, Humble has cultivated extensive vendor and customer relationships distributing premium cannabis consumables and consumption devices. The Company is comprised of Humble+Fume / B.O.B. Headquarters Inc., Windship Trading LLC, and Humble Cannabis Solutions. SOURCE Humble & Fume Inc. BOSTON, MA, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE: BTO) (the "Fund"), a closed-end fund managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC and subadvised by Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC, announced today sources of its quarterly distribution of $0.6500 per share paid to all shareholders of record as of June 13, 2022, pursuant to the Fund's managed distribution plan. This press release is issued as required by an exemptive order granted to the Fund by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Notification of Sources of Distribution This notice provides shareholders of the John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE: BTO) with important information concerning the distribution declared on June 1, 2022, and payable on June 30, 2022. No action is required on your part. Distribution Period: June 2022 Distribution Amount Per Common Share: $0.6500 The following table sets forth the estimated sources of the current distribution, payable June 30, 2022, and the cumulative distributions paid this fiscal year to date from the following sources: net investment income; net realized short term capital gains; net realized long term capital gains; and return of capital or other capital source. All amounts are expressed on a per common share basis and as a percentage of the distribution amount. For the period 04/1/2022-06/30/2022 For the fiscal year-to-date period 1/1/2022-06/30/2022 [1] Source Current Distribution ($) % Breakdown of the Current Distribution Total Cumulative Distributions ($) % Breakdown of the Total Cumulative Distributions Net Investment Income 0.1450 22 % 0.3494 29 % Net Realized Short- Term Capital Gains 0.0000 0 % 0.0000 0 % Net Realized Long- Term Capital Gains 0.1560 24 % 0.3600 30 % Return of Capital or Other Capital Source 0.3490 54 % 0.4891 41 % Total per common share 0.6500 100 % 1.1985 100 % Average annual total return (in relation to NAV) for the 5 years ended on May 31, 2022 8.17 % Annualized current distribution rate expressed as a percentage of NAV as of May 31, 2022 7.26 % 1 The Fund's current fiscal year began on January 1, 2022 and will end on December 31, 2022. You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of this distribution or from the terms of the Fund's managed distribution plan. The Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and net realized capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income." The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this Notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes. The Fund has declared the June 2022 distribution pursuant to the Fund's managed distribution plan (the "Plan"). Under the Plan, the Fund makes fixed quarterly distributions in the amount of $0.6500 per share. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact your financial professional or call the John Hancock Investment Management Closed-End Fund Information Line at 1-800-843-0090, Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time. Effective October 1, 2021, copies of all notices informing shareholders of distributions made by the fund in excess of accumulated net investment income will be posted on John Hancock Investment Management's public website (jhinvestments.com) and on the Legal Notice System (LENS), a service offering of the Depository Trust Company (DTC) accessible by broker-dealer firms. To the extent required, notice may also be provided via press release. John Hancock Investment Management will continue to distribute paper copies of these notices by mail until March 30, 2022, after which date the notices will be delivered exclusively via the methods described above. Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined by the United States securities laws. You should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on forward-looking statements because they are subject to uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Fund's control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. An investor should consider a Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. About John Hancock Investment Management A company of Manulife Investment Management, we serve investors through a unique multimanager approach, complementing our extensive in-house capabilities with an unrivaled network of specialized asset managers, backed by some of the most rigorous investment oversight in the industry. The result is a diverse lineup of time-tested investments from a premier asset manager with a heritage of financial stewardship. About Manulife Investment Management Manulife Investment Management is the global brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 18 geographies. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We're committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com. SOURCE John Hancock Investment Management SEATTLE, June 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Kineta, Inc. ("Kineta" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel immunotherapies in oncology, announced today the appointment of Thierry Guillaudeux, PhD to Chief Scientific Officer of the Company. As Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Guillaudeux will lead Kineta's R&D team and oversee all of Kineta's innovative drug programs from discovery through clinical development. "Dr. Guillaudeux is a highly regarded immunologist and an exceptional leader, and we are pleased to recognize his contributions to the Company with his promotion to Chief Scientific Officer," said Shawn Iadonato, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Kineta. "Thierry has been the driving force in expanding Kineta's pipeline of potential best-in-class immuno-oncology products targeting VISTA, CD27 and our newly unveiled CD24 program." Dr. Guillaudeux has over 30 years of experience in immuno-oncology research and development in France and the United States. He joined Kineta in 2019 as SVP, Immuno-oncology and built a world-class research team, expanded Kineta's proprietary PiiONEER platform and advanced the Company's immuno-oncology pipeline including KVA12.1, a potential best-in-class VISTA blocking immunotherapy. KVA12.1 will be initiating Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with advanced solid tumors in Q4 2022. Prior to joining Kineta in 2019, Dr. Guillaudeux built a strong executive background in academia as an Associate Professor at the University of Rennes 1. He also headed a research laboratory at the French National Institute of Health with more than 60 employees and served as a Vice President in Technology Transfer at the University of Rennes. Dr. Guillaudeux previously served as a board member of Satt ouest valorisation and IRT bcom, two French biotechnology companies . Dr. Guillaudeux's fields of expertise are in B cell lymphoma, lung cancer and the tumor microenvironment. He has published over 40 peer-review publications and is a co-inventor of multiple patents. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Rennes and his PhD in Immuno-oncology from the University of Toulouse. He achieved his post-doctorate at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and was responsible for the sequencing of the Human Major Histocompatibility Complex I. Kineta is a clinical-stage biotechnology company with a mission to develop next generation immunotherapies that transform patients' lives. Kineta has leveraged its expertise in innate immunity with an intent to develop first or best-in-class immunotherapies that address the major challenges with current cancer therapy. For more information on Kineta please visit www.kinetabio.com, and follow Kineta on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. PiiONEER Platform is focused on developing fully human monoclonal antibodies that target novel innate immune pathways. It was designed for the discovery and development of first or best-in-class immunotherapies that address the major challenges with cancer immune resistance to current therapies. Utilization of the PiiONEER Platform results in novel, well-characterized lead antibody therapeutics that can be efficiently advanced into formal IND enabling and clinical studies. KVA12.1 is a potential best-in-class VISTA blocking immunotherapy to address the problem of immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment. It is a fully human engineered IgG1 monoclonal antibody that was designed to bind to VISTA through a unique epitope. KVA12.1 may be an effective immunotherapy for many types of cancer including NSCLC (lung), colorectal, renal cell carcinoma, head and neck, and ovarian. These initial target indications represent a significant unmet medical need with a large worldwide commercial opportunity for KVA12.1. Anti-CD27 mAb program: Kineta has developed a diverse set of anti-CD27 agonist antibodies. They are fully human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that demonstrate low nanomolar (nM) binding affinity to CD27 in humans. In preclinical studies, Kineta's selected lead anti-CD27 agonist mAbs induce T cell proliferation and secretion of cytokines involved in T cell priming and recruitment, demonstrating the ability to potentiate new anti-tumor responses. Kineta is in the final stage of lead selection and plans to nominate a clinical candidate in Q2 2022. Additional Information and Where to Find It This communication may be deemed to be solicitation material with respect to the proposed transaction between Yumanity Therapeutics, Inc. ("Yumanity") and Kineta . In connection with the proposed transaction, Yumanity intends to file relevant materials with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including a registration statement on Form S-4 that will contain a prospectus and a proxy statement. Yumanity will mail the proxy statement/prospectus to the Yumanity stockholders, and the securities may not be sold or exchanged until the registration statement becomes effective. Investors and securityholders of Yumanity and Kineta are urged to read these materials when they become available because they will contain important information about Yumanity, Kineta and the proposed transaction. This communication is not a substitute for the registration statement, definitive proxy statement/prospectus or any other documents that Yumanity may file with the SEC or send to securityholders in connection with the proposed transaction. Investors and securityholders may obtain free copies of the documents filed with the SEC, once available, on Yumanity's website at www.yumanity.com, on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or by directing a request to Yumanity's Investor Relations at (212) 213-0006 ext. 331. This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Participants in the Solicitation Each of Yumanity, Kineta and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of Yumanity in connection with the proposed transaction. Information about the executive officers and directors of Yumanity is set forth in Yumanity's Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A relating to the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, filed with the SEC on April 25, 2022. Other information regarding the interests of such individuals, who may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies for the stockholders of Yumanity, will be set forth in the proxy statement/prospectus, which will be included in Yumanity's registration statement on Form S-4 when it is filed with the SEC. You may obtain free copies of these documents as described above. NOTICE: This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements regarding Kineta's plans for pre-clinical and clinical studies, regulatory filings, investor returns, anticipated drug effects in human subjects and other statements that are not historical in nature. You are cautioned that such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties inherent in Kineta's business which could significantly affect expected results, including without limitation progress of drug development, ability to raise capital to fund drug development, clinical testing and regulatory approval, developments in raw material and personnel costs and legislative, fiscal and other regulatory measures. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Except as required by law, Kineta undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the issuance of this press release. SOURCE Kineta, Inc. Unlock exact yearly growth variance and the Y-O-Y growth rate, Read Sample Report . Key Market Segment Highlights: The luxury furniture market report is segmented by Distribution Channel (offline and online), Application (residential and commercial), and Geography (Europe, North America, APAC, MEA, and South America). The offline distribution channel segment held the largest luxury furniture market share in 2020. The segment will continue to account for the highest revenue throughout the forecast period. The growth of this segment will be attributed to the rising sales of luxury furniture through various offline media such as specialty furniture stores, department stores, discount stores, hypermarkets, supermarkets, warehouse clubs, manufacturer-branded stores, and designer stores. in 2020. The segment will continue to account for the highest revenue throughout the forecast period. The growth of this segment will be attributed to the rising sales of luxury furniture through various offline media such as specialty furniture stores, department stores, discount stores, hypermarkets, supermarkets, warehouse clubs, manufacturer-branded stores, and designer stores. Europe will be the leading region with 35% of the market's growth during the forecast period. Germany , UK and Italy are the key markets for luxury furniture in Europe . Market growth in this region will be faster than the growth of the market in MEA and South America regions. The increasing number of single-occupancy households will propel the luxury furniture market growth in Europe over the forecast period. Download sample report for insights into the contribution of other segments and regional opportunities Vendor Landscape The luxury furniture market is fragmented and the vendors are deploying growth strategies such as strategic collaborations, M&A, and partnerships to expand their R&D activities, gain access to advanced technologies, and establish a distribution network for successful product commercialization to compete in the market. To make the most of the opportunities and recover from post pandemic impact, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments. The luxury furniture market forecast report offers in-depth insights into key vendor profiles. The profiles include information on the production, sustainability, and prospects of the leading companies. Top Companies Mentioned with their Offerings Club House Italia S.p.A: The company offers luxury furniture such as Margaret bracelet armchair, Truman sofa, and more under the brand name FENDI Casa. The company offers luxury furniture such as Margaret bracelet armchair, Truman sofa, and more under the brand name FENDI Casa. Giorgio Armani Spa: The company offers luxury furniture such as TROCADERO dining table, ENYA consoles, and more The company offers luxury furniture such as TROCADERO dining table, ENYA consoles, and more Herman Miller Inc. The company offers luxury furniture such as Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, embody chair, and more. The company offers luxury furniture such as Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, embody chair, and more. Minotti S.p.A.: The company offers luxury furniture collection under the brand name Brasilia . The company offers luxury furniture collection under the brand name . MUEBLES PICO SA:The company offers luxury furniture under the brand name Georgia collection, Venecia collection, and more. Some more companies covered in this report are: Natuzzi SpA Opera Contemporary Reflex S.p.a. Rugiano srl Vaughan Bassett To gain access to more vendor profiles with their key offerings, Request Sample Report Related Reports: Pet Furniture Market by Product, End-user, and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Online Furniture Market by Application and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 RTA Furniture Market in the US by Product and Distribution Channel - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Contract Furniture and Furnishing Market in Europe by End-user and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Luxury Furniture Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of almost 5% Market growth 2021-2025 $ 7 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 3.58 Regional analysis Europe, North America, APAC, MEA, South America, Europe, North America, APAC, MEA, and South America Performing market contribution Europe at 35% Key consumer countries US, Germany, UK, Italy, and China Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Club House Italia S.p.A, Giorgio Armani Spa, Herman Miller Inc., Minotti S.p.A., MUEBLES PICO SA, Natuzzi SpA, Opera Contemporary, Reflex S.p.a., Rugiano srl, and Vaughan Bassett Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Key Topics Covered: 1 Executive Summary 2 Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 01: Parent market Exhibit 02: Market characteristics 2.2 Value chain analysis 3 Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 03: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 04: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2020 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025 Exhibit 05: Global - Market size and forecast 2020 - 2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 06: Global market: Year-over-year growth 2020 - 2025 (%) 4 Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five forces analysis Exhibit 07: Five forces analysis 2020 & 2025 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 08: Bargaining power of buyers 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 09: Bargaining power of suppliers 4.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 10: Threat of new entrants 4.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 11: Threat of substitutes 4.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 12: Threat of rivalry 4.7 Market condition Exhibit 13: Market condition - Five forces 2020 5 Market Segmentation by Application 5.1 Market segments Exhibit 14: Application - Market share 2020-2025 (%) 5.2 Comparison by Application Exhibit 15: Comparison by Application 5.3 Residential - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 16: Residential - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 17: Residential - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.4 Commercial - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 18: Commercial - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 19: Commercial - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.5 Market opportunity by Application Exhibit 20: Market opportunity by Application 6 Market Segmentation by Distribution channel 6.1 Market segments Exhibit 21: Distribution channel - Market share 2020-2025 (%) 6.2 Comparison by Distribution channel Exhibit 22: Comparison by Distribution channel 6.3 Offline - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 23: Offline - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 24: Offline - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 6.4 Online - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 25: Online - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 26: Online - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 6.5 Market opportunity by Distribution channel Exhibit 27: Market opportunity by Distribution channel 7 Customer landscape 8 Geographic Landscape 8.1 Geographic segmentation Exhibit 29: Market share by geography 2020-2025 (%) 8.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 30: Geographic comparison 8.3 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 31: Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 32: Europe - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 8.4 North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 33: North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 34: North America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 8.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 35: APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 36: APAC - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 8.6 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 37: MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 38: MEA - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 8.7 South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 39: South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 40: South America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 8.8 Key leading countries Exhibit 41: Key leading countries 8.9 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 42: Market opportunity by geography ($ billion) 9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 9.1 Market drivers 9.2 Market challenges Exhibit 43: Impact of drivers and challenges 9.3 Market trends 10 Vendor Landscape 10.1 Overview 10.2 Landscape disruption Exhibit 45: Landscape disruption Exhibit 46: Industry risks 11 Vendor Analysis 11.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 47: Vendors covered 11.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 48: Market positioning of vendors 11.3 Club House Italia S.p.A Exhibit 49: Club House Italia S.p.A - Overview Exhibit 50: Club House Italia S.p.A - Product and service Exhibit 51: Club House Italia Spa - Key news Exhibit 52: Club House Italia S.p.A - Key offerings 11.4 Giorgio Armani Spa Exhibit 53: Giorgio Armani Spa - Overview Exhibit 54: Giorgio Armani Spa - Product and service 11.5 Herman Miller Inc. Exhibit 55: Herman Miller Inc. - Overview Exhibit 56: Herman Miller Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 57: Herman Miller Inc- Key news Exhibit 58: Herman Miller Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 59: Herman Miller Inc. - Segment focus 11.6 Minotti S.p.A. Exhibit 60: Minotti S.p.A. - Overview Exhibit 61: Minotti S.p.A. - Product and service Exhibit 62: Minotti Spa - Key news Exhibit 63: Minotti S.p.A. - Key offerings 11.7 MUEBLES PICO SA Exhibit 64: MUEBLES PICO SA - Overview Exhibit 65: MUEBLES PICO SA - Product and service Exhibit 66: MUEBLES PICO SA - Key offerings 11.8 Natuzzi SpA Exhibit 67: Natuzzi SpA - Overview Exhibit 68: Natuzzi SpA - Product and service Exhibit 69: Natuzzi Spa- Key news Exhibit 70: Natuzzi SpA - Key offerings 11.9 Opera Contemporary Exhibit 71: Opera Contemporary - Overview Exhibit 72: Opera Contemporary - Product and service Exhibit 73: Opera Contemporary- Key news Exhibit 74: Opera Contemporary - Key offerings 11.10 Reflex S.p.a. Exhibit 75: Reflex S.p.a. - Overview Exhibit 76: Reflex S.p.a. - Product and service Exhibit 77: Reflex S.p.a. - Key offerings 11.11 Rugiano srl Exhibit 78: Rugiano srl - Overview Exhibit 79: Rugiano srl - Product and service Exhibit 80: Rugiano Srl- Key news Exhibit 81: Rugiano srl - Key offerings 11.12 Vaughan Bassett Exhibit 82: Vaughan Bassett - Overview - Overview Exhibit 83: Vaughan Bassett - Product and service - Product and service Exhibit 84: Vaughan Bassett - Key offerings 12 Appendix 12.1 Scope of the report 12.2 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 85: Currency conversion rates for US$ 12.3 Research methodology Exhibit 86: Research Methodology Exhibit 87: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 88: Information sources 12.4 List of abbreviations Exhibit 89: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio Eight Partner Team Extends Global IP Litigation and Transactions Capabilities Across Technology, Health and Life Science Industries AUSTIN, Texas, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- International law firm McDermott Will & Emery is pleased to announce the opening of a new office in Austin, Texas, with a team of eight intellectual property (IP) partners: Kevin Meek, Syed Fareed, Stephen Hash, Paula Heyman, Brian Oaks, Margaret Sampson, Nick Schuneman and Brett Thompsen. "Austin is a vibrant and exciting market for both clients and top talent and we are delighted to be part of its strong growth trajectoryit's a natural fit for us." said Ira Coleman, McDermott's Chairman. "In addition to this fantastic group of intellectual property expertise, there is also wonderful alignment with our power alley practicesparticularly technology, healthcare and litigationthat we very much look forward to building on." "We're focused on growth across McDermott's IP, transactions and litigation practices, with parallel concentration across the technology, health and life sciences industries," Michael S. Poulos, McDermott's head of strategy, added. "We're excited that this tailor-made IP group is launching McDermott in Austin and have no doubt that we will have more expansion developments to announce in the very near term." This group follows a series of strategic IP partner hires throughout 2021 including Simon Roberts, Jason Leonard, Maxwell "Mac" Fox, Douglas H. Carsten and Adam W. Burrowbridge. "Opening an office in the Western District of Texas allows us to take full advantage of the growing influx of patent case filings in Texas since the largest percentage of all district court patent litigation cases are now filed in Texas," William Gaede, head of McDermott's Global Intellectual Property Practice Group, noted. "This team of elite practitioners boosts our practice's strength in both IP litigation and IP transactions and is a bold move advancing our remarkable IP practice into an industry powerhouse. We are excited to see what the coming months bring as we welcome the team to our global IP platform." Kevin Meek will be appointed as the office managing partner of the new office. Health partner Amanda K. Jester will also relocate from our Dallas to Austin office at opening. "This is an incredible opportunity for this team to lay the foundation of a new office in a booming IP market and the Firm has given us the platform and support to make this both a near term and long-term success," Kevin said. "Our group was initially attracted to McDermott's global reach and the sophisticated legal talent of our new colleagues, and once we began conversations with the Firm, there were simply too many current and prospective client- and cross-practice synergies to count. We knew right away that joining McDermott just made sense." The Austin launch brings McDermott's total global office locations to 22. Read more about the Austin office here. ABOUT MCDERMOTT McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. With more than 20 locations on three continents, our team works seamlessly across practices, industries and geographies to deliver highly effective solutions that propel success. More than 1,200 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve. SOURCE McDermott Will & Emery NEW YORK, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Neuberger Berman High Yield Strategies Fund Inc. (NYSE American: NHS) (the "Fund") has announced a distribution declaration of $0.0905 per share of common stock. The distribution announced today is payable on July 29, 2022, has a record date of July 15, 2022 and has an ex-date of July 14, 2022. Under its level distribution policy, the Fund anticipates that it will make regular monthly distributions, subject to market conditions, of $0.0905 per share of common stock, unless further action is taken to determine another amount. The Fund's ability to maintain its current distribution rate will depend on a number of factors, including the amount and stability of income received from its investments, the cost of leverage and the level of other Fund fees and expenses. There is no assurance that the Fund will always be able to pay a distribution of any particular amount or that a distribution will consist only of net investment income. Due to an effort to maintain a stable distribution amount, the distribution announced today, as well as future distributions, may consist of net investment income, net realized capital gains and return of capital. In compliance with Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, a notice would be provided for any distribution that does not consist solely of net investment income. The notice would be for informational purposes and not for tax reporting purposes, and would disclose, among other things, estimated portions of the distribution, if any, consisting of net investment income, capital gains and return of capital. The final determination of the source and tax characteristics of all distributions paid in 2022 will be made after the end of the year. About Neuberger Berman Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategiesincluding equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity, real estate and hedge fundson behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally. With offices in 25 countries, Neuberger Berman's diverse team has over 2,500 professionals. For eight consecutive years, the company has been named first or second in Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management survey (among those with 1,000 employees or more). In 2020, the PRI named Neuberger Berman a Leader, a designation awarded to fewer than 1% of investment firms for excellence in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. The PRI also awarded Neuberger Berman an A+ in every eligible category for our approach to ESG integration across asset classes. The firm manages $447 billion in client assets as of March 31, 2022. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com. Statements made in this release that look forward in time involve risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the adverse effect from a decline in the securities markets or a decline in the Fund's performance, a general downturn in the economy, competition from other closed end investment companies, changes in government policy or regulation, inability of the Fund's investment adviser to attract or retain key employees, inability of the Fund to implement its investment strategy, inability of the Fund to manage rapid expansion and unforeseen costs and other effects related to legal proceedings or investigations of governmental and self-regulatory organizations. Contact: Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC Investor Information (877) 461-1899 SOURCE Neuberger Berman High quality genetics feature unique terpene profiles BOSTON , June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Number 9 Collection (www.number9collection.com), an all-natural, sustainable, sun-grown cannabis brand in Massachusetts, announced the release of its new, ultra-premium Pre-Ground Flower as part of the Sun Flower Collection. Pre-Ground Flower is a convenient option for those that appreciate the quality of a whole flower product, but want to roll or pack their own without buying pre-rolled joints or grinding it themselves. Pre-Ground pouches currently feature three popular strains in 5g and 14g resealable pouches: Early Lemon Berry a cross of Las Vegas Lemon Skunk and Member Berry RBX, is a great choice for artists looking to create - providing notes of sweet lemon, berry, orange, and grapefruit flavors. a cross of Las Vegas Lemon Skunk and Member Berry RBX, is a great choice for artists looking to create - providing notes of sweet lemon, berry, orange, and grapefruit flavors. Jelly Rancher - which has come to be one of the most coveted sativa-dominant strains, and is a great option for beginners and consumers who don't want an overwhelming high. - which has come to be one of the most coveted sativa-dominant strains, and is a great option for beginners and consumers who don't want an overwhelming high. OG Kush - a hybrid with a unique terpene profile that boasts a complex aroma. It tends to come on strong, and is often enjoyed in the back half of the day to ease stress. - a hybrid with a unique terpene profile that boasts a complex aroma. It tends to come on strong, and is often enjoyed in the back half of the day to ease stress. Apex - a high-yielding hybrid from Ethos Genetics, which crosses their Mandarin Cookies and Lilac Diesel Bx3. Plants grow large and dense colas, offering an impressive terpene profile that ranges from sweet candied lilac and lemon to grapefruit and fuel. This high-THC strain offers a classic high that will leave you in a fit of laughter. The No9 Collection features some of the most complex terpene profiles in the state. The team behind the No9 Collection includes some of the leading growers in the industry, who take great pride in cultivating superior quality, ultra-clean cannabis, with beautiful aromas and unique terpenes. Today, sophisticated cannabis enthusiasts are paying closer attention to terpene profiles, as a carefully selected blend with optimum ratios will have far better and more predictable effects. That's why the No9 Collection continues to attract more fans, as its specially curated strains are distinctively enjoyable. The No9 Collection is based in the agriculture-rich community of Wareham, MA, along Buzzards Bay. The bay's unique microclimate provides a longer growing season and the perfect setting for the cultivation of high-quality, sun-grown crops. The company is committed to environmentally-friendly farming methods including the use of on-site artesian well water, custom blended amendments, and traditional farming practices. This results in ultra-clean plants with unique characteristics. If your favorite dispensary doesn't carry the No9 Collection, ask the store manager to order some and it can usually be delivered within a few days. If you are a dispensary manager and would like to order the No9 Collection for your store, please contact us at: www.number9collection.com/contact. Cannabis may only be purchased legally through a licensed dispensary by adults at least 21 years of age. To learn more about the The No9 Collection, visit the website or follow them on Instagram or Facebook. About The No9 Collection The No9 Collection is part of the Coastal Cultivars portfolio of businesses that includes local cultivation, craft cannabis products, and retail store operations. With decades of experience in the licensed cannabis industry and both local and national expertise, the Coastal Cultivars team strives to give its customers best-in-class products and a superb retail experience. The team is proud to be part of a progressive movement working to ensure safe cannabis access for consumers, and supports sustainable cannabis cultivation through the Sun and Soil initiative. CONNECT: Website: www.number9collection.com Facebook: facebook.com/no9collection Instagram: Instagram.com/no9collection SOURCE No9 Collection Leading Duchenne Organization Submits Duchenne for Consideration for Nationwide Newborn Screening WASHINGTON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD), a nonprofit organization leading the fight to end Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Duchenne), announced that the organization submitted a nomination package to add Duchenne to the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel (RUSP) to the Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children (ACHDNC). The RUSP is a list of disorders that the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommends for states to screen as part of their newborn screening (NBS) programs. Having a disorder be added to the RUSP shows that there is clear evidence of benefit to the babies and their families for newborn screening of that condition. PPMD has been building the infrastructure for early identification of newborns with Duchenneincluding a robust therapeutic pipeline, regulatory infrastructure, and clinical care network and guidelinessince its inception and preparing for the implementation of NBS for Duchenne for almost a decade. A mandatory element of this process was the development and support of a large pilot, which was completed in October of 2021. That pilot screened more than 36,000 babies born in New York State over two years. Four babies were confirmed to have Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy, and one baby was identified as a carrier female. The New York State pilot was funded and led by a consortium of Duchenne industry partners and PPMD with a commitment to early diagnosis and intervention in Duchenne. Consortium members include PerkinElmer, Pfizer, Inc., PTC Therapeutics, Sarepta Therapeutics, Solid Biosciences, Wave Life Sciences, and PPMD. The pilot was guided by a Steering Committee comprised of representatives from healthcare professional groups, expert clinicians, and Duchenne stakeholder communities including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases, the Genetic Alliance's Expecting Health, the Newborn Screening Translational Research Network (NBSTRN), and New York State. The RUSP package submission will now initiate the ACHDNC's review process. In this review, the ACHDNC will analyze the evidence presented about the benefit of NBS for Duchenne. Considerations will include the availability of an effective test to identify newborns, the availability and need for treating young children with Duchenne, and the ability of state laboratories to do the screening. The review process for RUSP consideration typically takes more than a year and requires two key votes of experts in NBS to move forward. Niki Armstrong, PPMD's Newborn Screening Program Manager explains that the submission of the RUSP nomination package is a great achievement, and another exciting leap towards the organization's goal of having Duchenne added to NBS programs across the country. Ms. Armstrong says, "While every state chooses which diseases are included in that state's newborn screening panel, many states use the RUSP to guide their decisions. Most states also have their own separate process for evaluating which disorder to add, and some states may choose to screen for diseases even if they are not on the RUSP. Advocacy at the state level will be important to PPMD's ongoing NBS efforts to promote implementation within each state." The RUSP nomination has been led by PPMD, with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) as a co-sponsor. Recognizing the need for early diagnosis, many other partners within the community including other patient advocacy and industry organizations have provided letters of support. The RTI Early Check DMD pilot, a pilot in North Carolina led by the nonprofit research institute RTI International with funding from the MDA and Sarepta Therapeutics, and the Brigham Women's Hospital supplemental DMD newborn screening program in Boston with funding from CureDuchenne, have each contributed important data and expertise to this effort. Each pilot utilizes a slightly different approach to screening and following babies. This is important, as states often use different methods or different screening algorithms. Demonstrating that different screening algorithms work in different places provides evidence that newborn screening for Duchenne will work in diverse clinical settings. The development of a RUSP nomination package is an intense effort that requires reviewing and compiling evidence on all therapies. Multiple workgroups composed of experts in Duchenne, newborn screening, and pediatrics have contributed to these efforts over the last year. PPMD is incredibly grateful to all the experts in Duchenne and NBS who have contributed to these efforts. Founding President and CEO, Pat Furlong reflects on the importance of the organization's RUSP submission, "This is a hopeful time in Duchenne therapy development. We have a robust experimental therapy pipeline targeting multiple physiological pathways. Yet therapeutic interventions are likely to be optimally effective the earlier they can be offered. Newborn screening is the most effective way to ensure that infants with Duchenne are diagnosed early, when therapies will likely be the most beneficial." Ms. Armstrong goes on to explain how implementing NBS for Duchenne is critical to eliminating the long, expensive, and unnecessary diagnostic odyssey that most families experience, "Despite many efforts, it still takes on average at least two years of uncertainty and concern for a family to get a diagnosis of Duchenne for their child. We know that there are families where the process has taken much, much longer and that where a person lives and where they get care also influence this. Individuals with Duchenne who are diagnosed at older ages have less benefit from approved therapies and fewer opportunities to participate in research and clinical trials. Newborn screening is universal, which means it is equitable it will ensure every baby is identified in time to consider treatments or participate in clinical trials." "We are exceptionally grateful to the families, experts, and partners who have helped us to get to this point in our newborn screening efforts," shares Ms. Furlong. "Obviously no one wants their child to be diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, but I am a firm believer that knowledge is power in our fight to end the progression of this fatal disorder. Recommendation to the RUSP will enable Duchenne newborn screening to be performed across the country, resulting in early diagnosis, early intervention, and most importantly, the best possible outcomes for these babies." To learn more about PPMD's work in newborn screening, click here. About Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy Duchenne is a fatal genetic disorder that slowly robs people of their muscle strength. Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) is the largest, most comprehensive nonprofit organization in the United States focused on finding a cure for Duchenneour mission is to end Duchenne. We demand optimal care standards and strive to ensure every family has access to expert healthcare providers, cutting edge treatments, and a community of support. We invest deeply in treatments for this generation of Duchenne patients and in research that will benefit future generations. Our advocacy efforts have secured hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and won five FDA approvals. Everything we doand everything we have done since our founding in 1994helps those with Duchenne live longer, stronger lives. We will not rest until we end Duchenne for every single person affected by the disease. Join our fight against Duchenne at EndDuchenne.org and follow PPMD on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. About the Newborn Screening Translational Research Network (NBSTRN) The Newborn Screening Translational Research Network (NBSTRN) is funded by a contract from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH) to the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) with the goal of advancing newborn screening related research (HHSN275201800005C). The NBSTRN is a key component of the Hunter Kelly Newborn Screening Research Program, and provides resources for investigators engaged in newborn screening-related research including new technology development, tools for developing the clinical history of genetic disorders and new treatment development. To learn more please visit www.nbstrn.org. SOURCE Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) NEW YORK, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest market research report published by P&S Intelligence, in 2021, the global satellite launch vehicle market accounted for $6,202.0 million revenue, which is expected to surpass $8,517.9 million in 2030, progressing at a 3.6% CAGR from 2021 to 2030. The growing count of satellite launches for weather forecasting, communication purposes, military purposes, and earth observation is propelling the market growth. The commercial category dominates the market with a more than 80% share. This is attributed to the increasing launches of commercial satellites with the commercialization of space exploration programs. The rising commercial activities, such as satellite television, commercial satellite imagery, and satellite navigation, and the reducing expenses for space hardware and launch, are some key aspects of the domination of the category. Get the sample pages of this report at: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/satellite-launch-vehicle-slv-market/report-sample Moreover, nano and micro payloads hold around 95% share in the satellite launch vehicle market. The usage of nano and micro-payload launch vehicles is driven by the increase in nanosatellites and the incorporation of composites to decrease satellite weight. Launch vehicles created specifically to transport nano and microsatellites are predicted to provide market participants attractive prospects in the coming years, since it is not practical to carry small payloads in big launch vehicles, because larger rockets cost more to produce and operate. Regional Analysis North America holds a share of around 55% in the market. The regional satellite launch vehicle market growth is fueled by the existence of significant market players, the high adoption of cutting-edge technologies, and the accessibility of a huge technically competent workforce. The APAC market is predicted to advance at the highest rate, of more than 4%, in the coming years, due to the increasing satellite launches for space exploration and communication purposes. Additionally, the growing participation of private players and government investment to upgrade the 5G network significantly drive the market growth. Biggest Market Trend Is Technological Development A significant satellite launch vehicle market trend is the application of ML and AI in the development of SLVs. AI accelerates physical detection and diagnosis, which, in turn, decreases downtime and increases mission efficiency. AI can also aid in streamlining the production process, by speeding up and reducing the complexity of these vehicles' assembly and testing. Additionally, it can benefit astronomers by assisting the communication and navigational systems of SLVs. Furthermore, the evolution of small launch vehicles for carrying small satellites, which reduces operational costs and expenditures on hardware development, is another key trend in the market. Browse detailed report on Satellite Launch Vehicle Market Size, Trends, Emerging Opportunities, And Top Key Players By 2030 Satellite Launch Vehicle Market Report Coverage By Orbit GEO MEO LEO By Launch Activity Commercial Government & Military By Payload Nano and Micro (0200 Kg) Small (2011,200 Kg) Medium (1,2012,200 Kg) Large (above 2,201 Kg) By Application Communication Earth Observation & Remote Sensing Space Exploration Surveillance & Reconnaissance Regional Outlook North America Europe Asia-Pacific Rest of the World Browse More Related Reports Satellite Spectrum Monitoring Market Analysis, Emerging Trends, Key Players, Future Scope Geospatial Imagery Analytics Market Analysis, Emerging Trends, Key Players, Future Scope 5G Satellite Communication Market Analysis, Emerging Trends, Key Players, Future Scope About P&S Intelligence P&S Intelligence provides market research and consulting services to a vast array of industries across the world. As an enterprising research and consulting company, P&S believes in providing thorough insights on the ever-changing market scenario, to empower companies to make informed decisions and base their business strategies with astuteness. P&S keeps the interest of its clients at heart, which is why the insights we provide are both honest and accurate. Our long list of satisfied clients includes entry-level firms as well as multi-million-dollar businesses and government agencies. Contact: Prajneesh Kumar P&S Intelligence Phone: +1-347-960-6455 Email: [email protected] Web: https://www.psmarketresearch.com Follow Us: LinkedIn Twitter Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1224988/P_and_S_Intelligence_Logo.jpg SOURCE P&S Intelligence TUCSON, Ariz., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 6-to-3 opinion in West Virginia v. EPA, the U.S. Supreme Court reined in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's attempt to limit carbon dioxide emissions to a level that would end coal-fired generation of electricity. In the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, quoting a 1992 precedent, "it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme in Section 111(d)" of the Clean Air Act. Rather, "A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body." Noting the far-reaching implications of forcing a complete restructuring of the electricity-generating industry, Doctors for Disaster Preparedness wrote in its amicus brief: "It is unlikely that even Congress has the authority to inconvenience and control every American under the guise of improving air quality. A handful of bureaucrats in a federal agency certainly lacks that authority, and it would be unconstitutional for Congress to delegate such sweeping power to an unaccountable administrator." The DDP brief details the vast expansion of the administrative state and how it has subverted the constitutional structure of checks and balances. It warns of the impact on freedom of forcing Americans to be dependent on governmentally rationed energy. In summary, DDP states: "This usurpation by agencies of congressional power has no resemblance to anything authorized by the Constitution, and it is long overdue to rein in the runaway administrative state that political activists have captured to advance their own agenda." Doctors for Disaster Preparedness provides information to help save lives in the event of natural or man-made disasters. Contact: Jane M. Orient, M.D., (520) 323-3110, [email protected] SOURCE Doctors for Disaster Preparedness Loss of Union Jobs is an Attack on Essential Service Workers SPRINGFIELD, Ill., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Teamsters Local 916 is condemning the planned closure of Decatur Ambulance Service (DAS) by Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS), a not-for-profit religious hospital. The closure, which is scheduled for September 1, will result in 40 workers losing their jobs and five retirees losing their health care benefits. "This is an attack on working families and the communities where they live and serve," said JP Fyans, Local 916 President. "These brave men and women are out there every day saving people's lives, and HSHS is rewarding them for their service by hanging them out to dry." "We expect that HSHS will replace this ambulance service with a non-union carrier to cut costs," said Jerrime Hiser, Local 916 Vice President. "This organization claims to care about essential service workers, but all they really care about is the profit margin of a not-for-profit. We're demanding that HSHS either halt the shutdown or guarantee in writing that whoever replaces DAS assume the obligations set forth in these members' collective bargaining agreement." HSHS refuses to disclose agreements reached with potential new EMS companies to the union. DAS has proudly served the communities of Decatur, Pana and Shelbyville since 1978. Four years ago, HSHS bought out the private ambulance service. Since 1978 these men and women have proudly worked and retired as Teamsters. Teamsters Local 916 represents over 4,500 hard working men and women throughout central Illinois. For more information, go to https://teamsters916.org/. Contact: JP Fyans, (217) 522-7932 SOURCE Teamsters Local 916 Prior to The Bank of London, Tam spent five years at 10X Banking ("10X") where he served as Chief Product Officer and Chief Development Officer, playing a key role in driving the business forward, including as a Board Member, and where he was principally responsible for managing all customer relationships, product strategy, product management and business development. Instrumental in building investor and customer confidence, he positioned 10X as the transformational partner of choice for Global Tier 1 banks. Previously Tam was the Head of Digital Security and Fraud at Lloyds Banking Group, where he also served as Head of Programme Delivery for Digital Banking. Tam was responsible for the re-platforming of Lloyd's digital banking stack, as well as the design of innovative digital fraud and security controls, including the UK's first deployment of behavioural biometrics, and device ID systems. Anthony Watson, Group Chief Executive & Founder of The Bank of London, said: "Tam's wealth of knowledge and experience across banking, large-scale transformation, and programme delivery, makes him a great fit at The Bank of London. He brings a particularly unique perspective from his time at 10X, where he led both the sales and product development of their cloud bank platform to JP Morgan Chase in the UK and Europe, Westpac in Australia and other global banks. With his flair for driving innovation coupled with a strong reputation for leading with humility and empathy, Tam will provide a world-class product experience for our clients globally." Tam Holmes, Co-President & Group Chief Product Officer of The Bank of London, said: "I'm delighted to join The Bank of London at such a pivotal time. The market has been left under-served by incumbents for far too long and I'm excited to start driving forward our customer and product vision, strategy, and innovation, to build strong products and experiences that our will customers love - in the UK, the EU and beyond." NOTES TO EDITORS About The Bank of London The Bank of London launched 30th November 2021 as the sixth principal clearing bank of the United Kingdom, and only the second clearing bank in 250 years. With a $1.1 billion valuation, it is the first pre-revenue bank in history to attain 'unicorn' status upon debut. The Bank of London is a leading-edge technology company and the world's first purpose-built global clearing, agency, and transaction bank. We leverage our patented technology innovations and differentiated bank capabilities to lift economies and communities by powering the borderless economic infrastructure of the future. The bank has been established to assist banks, clearing houses, digital & traditional asset firms, governments, financial services companies from local fintechs to global institutions, payment networks and non-financial brands seeking to launch fully compliant financial products and services in-country and across-borders. With headquarters in London and offices in New York and Belfast, The Bank of London is a principal clearing bank of the United Kingdom authorised by the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority. For more information visit: thebankoflondon.com, or on Twitter and Instagram at @thebankoflondon. Photo- https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1851422/Tam_Holmes.jpg SOURCE The Bank of London The premier event for open source developers, technologists and community leaders features 75+ sessions across 9 events, furthering open source innovation and collaboration across South America and Latin America. SAN FRANCISCO, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Linux Foundation , the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced the full schedule for Open Source Summit Latin America , the gathering place for open source code and community contributors, taking place August 23-24 as a Virtual Experience. The schedule can be viewed here . Open Source Summit Latin America 2022 is a conference umbrella comprised of 9 events including LinuxCon, CloudOpen, ContainerCon, Emerging OS Forum, Community Leadership Conference and more, covering the most important and cutting edge topics and technologies touching open source today. The schedule features 75+ talks (keynote presentations, conference sessions, tutorials and more). 2022 Conference Session Highlights Include: Keynote speakers, and additional conference sessions, will be announced in the coming weeks. Attendees will have opportunities to collaborate, share information, and solve problems with other community members from across the globe, furthering open source innovation and ensuring a sustainable open source ecosystem. It is THE gathering place for open source code and community contributors in Latin America. Registration to attend is R$99 Brazilian Real and provides access to all 9 events. Members of The Linux Foundation receive a 20 percent discount off registration and can contact [email protected] to request a member discount code. Applications for diversity and need-based registration scholarships are currently being accepted. For information on eligibility and how to apply, please click here . Sponsor Sponsoring Open Source Summit gives you the opportunity to reach a diverse and multi-faceted audience of open source practitioners, in one place. For information on becoming an event sponsor, click here or email us . Press Members of the press who would like to request a press pass to attend should contact Kristin O'Connell . About the Linux Foundation Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is supported by more than 2,000 members and is the world's leading home for collaboration on open source software, open standards, open data, and open hardware. The Linux Foundation's projects are critical to the world's infrastructure including Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js, and more. The Linux Foundation's methodology focuses on leveraging best practices and addressing the needs of contributors, users and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit linuxfoundation.org . The Linux Foundation Events are where the world's leading technologists meet, collaborate, learn and network in order to advance innovations that support the world's largest shared technologies. Visit our website and follow us on Twitter , LinkedIn , and Facebook for all the latest event updates and announcements. The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see its trademark usage page: www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage . Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Media Contact Kristin O'Connell The Linux Foundation [email protected] SOURCE The Linux Foundation Edge Technology Group will help introduce Thrive's award-winning Cyber, Cloud & Automation Platform into Asia while amplifying their existing North American & UK Operations FOXBOROUGH, Mass., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Thrive , a premier provider of Cybersecurity and Digital Transformation Managed Services, announced today that it has acquired Connecticut-based Edge Technology Group , a leading global technology advisory and fully-managed IT service provider for alternative investment managers. The acquisition of Edge Technology Group adds new global offices and data centers across the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines, strengthening Thrive's international presence for all customers. Edge clients, including hedge funds, private equity firms, family offices, and asset managers across the world, will now benefit from Thrive's next-generation managed cybersecurity, collaboration, and cloud services. Thrive Founded in 2007, Edge is a global technology advisory and fully managed Financial Services IT service provider that provides advisory services and cloud computing solutions to alternative investment managers. Edge serves more than 300 hedge fund, asset managers, private equity, REIT, and wealth management clientele, providing public cloud configurations that are designed to address the distinct business needs of this disparate client base. Edge Technology Group has 265 employees that include a team of client-centered IT strategists and engineers. "Edge Technology Group is the leading Financial Industry MSP in the world," said Rob Stephenson, Thrive's CEO. "Their talented engineering and account management teams will now have access to the Thrive Automation Platform and our 24x7x365 comprehensive suite of Cybersecurity SOC services to enhance the Edge client experience." "As a founder-owned managed services provider, we are fully immersed in advancing clients' alternative investment practices via our IT advisory services and cloud computing solutions," said Jim Nekos, CEO, Edge Technology Group. "Edge is thrilled to join the Thrive family as their client-first commitment is perfectly aligned with ours and their advanced cybersecurity, automation, collaboration and managed services platform will expedite our customers' Digital Transformation journey." Through this acquisition, Thrive will now have over 1,000 employees serving clients around the world, solidifying their position as the leading technology outsourcing provider for the Financial Industry. Edge Technology Group marks the fourth acquisition by Thrive in 2022 and cements Thrive's global position as a leading technology provider delivering end-to-end managed services and unmatched expertise to drive secure digital transformation. Canaccord Genuity served as the exclusive financial advisor to Edge. Dechert LLP served as legal counsel to Court Square Capital. Alliance Bernstein, Morgan Stanley, NXT, Northwestern Mutual and Churchill provided financing for the transaction. For more information on Thrive, visit thrivenextgen.com . About Thrive Thrive is a leading provider of NextGen managed services designed to drive business outcomes through application enablement and optimization. The company's Thrive5 Methodology utilizes a unique combination of its Application Performance Platform and strategic services to ensure each business application achieves peak performance, scale, uptime, and the highest level of security. For more information, thrivenextgen.com . Thrive: LinkedIn , Twitter , Facebook, YouTube and Instagram About Edge Technology Group Edge Technology Group is a sector-focused consultancy, exclusively representing alternative investment managers globally. Edge offers fully managed IT services and complete cloud solutions. The company delivers immediate, flexible and proprietary solutions that satisfy the needs of hedge funds, private equity firms, family offices and asset managers worldwide. Edge has 8 locations across Asia Pacific, Europe and the US, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, London, New York, San Francisco, Austin and Greenwich, CT. A bout Court Square Court Square is a middle market private equity firm with one of the most experienced investment teams in the industry. Since 1979, the team has completed over 235 investments, including several landmark transactions, and has developed numerous businesses into leaders in their respective markets. Court Square invests in companies that have compelling growth potential within the business services, general industrial, healthcare, and technology and telecommunications sectors. The firm has $7.0 billion of assets under management and is based in New York, N.Y. For more information on Court Square, please visit www.courtsquare.com. MEDIA CONTACT: Patrick Reilly Zer0 to 5ive for Thrive [email protected] 732-687-4683 SOURCE Thrive Strong demand for Nearmap location data from U.S. federal agencies prompts Nearmap to stake claim as an approved vendor on the General Services Administration Contract Schedule SALT LAKE CITY, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Federal government agencies in the U.S. now have streamlined access to geospatial services and location data from leading location intelligence company Nearmap , which is now an approved contractor on the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule. The inclusion of Nearmap on the GSA schedule is significant as it provides federal agencies streamlined access to accurate and scalable aerial mapping tools, imagery, and location data to more than 80% of the U.S. population. The GSA makes it possible for government organizations to save time and money by bypassing lengthy contractual periods and utilizing standardized and pre-established pricing, terms, and conditions to procure high-quality products and services. Applications for the powerful location data intelligence and aerial imagery from Nearmap include homeland security, federal civil asset management, military asset management, infrastructure management, environmental studies, and FEMA resilience response and recovery missions. Nearmap has achieved strong momentum in the government sector, winning multiple government contracts, which include the likes of the Army National Guard and the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The inclusion of Nearmap on the GSA will only extend this reach and facilitate access. Executive Vice President and General Manager of North America at Nearmap, Tony Agresta, said: "Government agencies are hungry for the level of detail and sophistication that Nearmap location intelligence and data can add to their workflows. The addition of Nearmap to the GSA Schedule will streamline access for these agencies that rely on the most up-to-date location data to support the many critical services that government agencies provideallowing them to make better informed decisions for their constituents faster." Nearmap is widely recognized as a top location intelligence provider for state and local government organizations wishing to improve their workflows and save taxpayer resources. Most notably, Nearmap technology and content is now used in 42 of the 50 U.S. state governments for a variety of use cases. The announcement of the addition of Nearmap to the GSA Schedule further demonstrates the growth and importance Nearmap places on supporting government agencies. This announcement with the GSA comes on the heels of other significant Nearmap partnerships, including most recently: Partnership with Carahsoft Technology Corp. , the Trusted IT Solutions Provider that serves as a distributor of Nearmap data intelligence and aerial imagery through Carahsoft's network of reseller partners. Nearmap is now available through Carahsoft's SEWP V contracts NNG15SC03B and NNG15SC27B, ITES-SW2 Contract W52P1J-20-D-0042, NCPA Contract NCPA01-86, and OMNIA Partners Contract #R191902. the Trusted IT Solutions Provider that serves as a distributor of Nearmap data intelligence and aerial imagery through Carahsoft's network of reseller partners. Nearmap is now available through Carahsoft's SEWP V contracts NNG15SC03B and NNG15SC27B, ITES-SW2 Contract W52P1J-20-D-0042, NCPA Contract NCPA01-86, and OMNIA Partners Contract #R191902. Integration with America's largest provider of computer assisted mass appraisals (CAMA) for properties, Tyler Technologies. This innovative relationship provides customers with the most comprehensive property appraisal solution available in the U.S to dateallowing users to complete multiple appraisals in the time it would take to physically visit one property. Ultimately, this powerful combination delivers even more efficient and accurate property valuation and assessment processes, allowing users to remotely, and more easily, detect data changes and discrepancies in properties. About Nearmap | nearmap.com Nearmap (ASX: NEA) provides easy, instant access to high resolution aerial imagery, city-scale 3D content, AI data sets, and geospatial tools. Using its own patented camera systems and processing software, Nearmap captures wide-scale urban areas in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand several times each year, making current content instantly available in the cloud via web app or API integration. Every day, Nearmap helps thousands of users conduct virtual site visits for deep, data-driven insightsenabling informed decisions, streamlined operations and better financial performance. Founded in Australia in 2007, Nearmap is one of the largest aerial survey companies in the world and is publicly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. PR Contact Taylor Cenicola [email protected] SOURCE Nearmap Ghosts of Liberty's mission is to equip and train small groups of Ukrainians with the means to defend themselves and their families; and to financially assist veterans who want to aid in training or fighting. The organization has been privately funded by Zaal but is accepting donations and volunteers at ghostsofliberty.com . "There are times when we must act, no matter how small, to defend against the evils of our time," commented Zaal. "Putin aims to rebuild the Russian Empire, starting by erasing the Ukrainian identity and people. As Ukrainians continue to fight for their right to exist, they need all the help they can get. We can make a difference. I'm happy to do my part to support Ukraine." Shortly after the invasion, Zaal made donations to the country's defense fund and searched for other ways to help, like purchasing first aid kits and other supplies. After discussing the needs with his friend in Ukraine, Ivan, whom he graduated from business school with in 2012, he created Ghosts of Liberty. Ivan, a real estate developer, was living in Kyiv with his wife and two children until the invasion when they left the country and Ivan was called into the Territorial Defense forces. He was given a brief, several day introduction course, a rifle, and some ammunition. Because of his Marine Corps experience, Zaal was asked to do more than provide support from afar, but to come to Ukraine and train Ivan's group and an Army contingent. Through Ivan, Lance was introduced to a member of the Ukrainian Parliament working with Ukrainian Special Forces and Alpha Group, and a Ukrainian Spetsnaz group focusing on counterintelligence and combat operations. To support Ivan and the local forces, Lance went on to train 80 men in both the Army and Territorial Defense Forces, and supply 80 sets of plate carriers equipped with magazine pouches, first aid kits, grenade pouches, body armor, and some Kevlar helmets. To support the Special Forces, he purchased night vision scopes for their machine guns and rifles, bipods, and more. After returning to the U.S. in late April, after spending a month in Ukraine and financing over $40,000 in supplies, Zaal knew he needed to find a way to continue to help. "During my visit in Ukraine, I helped lead a three-week training course focused on infantry skills. I was honored to have the opportunity to get to know the men and learn Ukrainian culture, history, and perspectives," said Zaal. "I'm proud of the progress they made, humbled by their courage, and saddened by their sacrifices. Watching the men make what may be their final goodbyes to their children and wives felt unfair as I was leaving. I originally wanted to keep Ghosts of Liberty quiet, but now we're seeking more support from the public as the conflict continues." Zaal served in the Marine Corps infantry from 2002 to 2006 and completed three deployments, including two in Iraq. Later, Zaal graduated Cum Laude from The College of William and Mary in 2009, where he studied International Relations and Economics. He later earned a master's in business from the College in 2012, where he met Ivan. Before starting his business, he worked for Booz Allen Hamilton and Oracle Corporation. About Ghosts of Liberty Ghosts of Liberty is a private group of U.S. veterans who believe in liberty and the freedom of people everywhere from tyranny. The group is actively working to supply and train small numbers of citizens in Ukraine with the means to defend themselves and their families. While government aid has been great, there are still many Ukrainians without access to arms, supplies, and specialized training. Ghosts of Liberty hopes to address that gap by training the trainers and empowering small teams with what they desperately need to help fight back. For more information or to support the Ukraine effort, visit GhostsofLiberty.com. Photo Resources available upon request. Press Contact: Kristen Pollock [email protected] 407.757.7673 SOURCE US Ghost Adventures LLC At 94 years of age, United States Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Francis O'Connell spends his days living an active lifestyle in the luxury senior living community of Watercrest St. Lucie West in Port St. Lucie, Florida. After decades of serving his country in combat and leadership, O'Connell now finds the time to partake in entertainment and socializing with his fellow residents, enjoying his water-view apartment adorned with military medals and accommodations. "Our residents and associates here at Watercrest St. Lucie West truly interact as a family, and we could not be prouder of our resident hero Francis O'Connell for his outstanding military service and dedication to our country," says Diann McDonough, Community Relations Director at Watercrest St. Lucie West. After graduating from high school, O'Connell enlisted in the Army and joined the 45th Infantry Division. His unit took part in three intense, but victorious amphibious assault landings in Italy from 1943-1944. During his fourth assault in September of 1944, O'Connell and his unit were surrounded by Panzer tanks and German infantry and taken prisoner for 9 months until they were freed by Allied forces. He returned home, weighing only 80 pounds and spent 3 months in a hospital recovering from malnutrition. A devoutly religious man, Francis O'Connell never wavered in his belief that, "he survived the war and being a P.O.W. through the power of prayer from his mother, Theresa O'Connell." After his rehabilitation, O'Connell earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Brown University and rejoined the Army in 1949 with a promotion to Warrant Officer. He served in the Intelligence Division in numerous duty stations in the U.S. and internationally in Germany, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador and Brazil until his retirement from the Army in 1984. He continued in the 63rd Division of the U.S. Army Reserves as a Personnel Officer until 1989. Francis O'Connell joined the Watercrest family as a resident in March of 2022 and greatly enjoy his new home and newfound friendships in the community. Watercrest St. Lucie West is well-known in the St. Lucie area for their outstanding commitment to community partnerships, fundraising involvement, and hosting of social events throughout the year. From their annual Walk to End Alzheimer's event, to the ceremonies honoring U.S. Veterans, or the roaring Mardi Gras celebrations, the Watercrest St. Lucie West team ensures that residents, family members and guests experience engagement, interaction, recreation and culinary delight. Conveniently located at 279 NW California Boulevard, Watercrest St. Lucie West offers 102 assisted living and 26 memory care apartments with resort-style service and breathtaking lakeside views. For information, contact the community at 772-758-7472. About Watercrest Senior Living Group Watercrest Senior Living Group was founded to honor our mothers and fathers, aspiring to become a beacon for quality in senior living. Watercrest senior living communities are recognized for their luxury aesthetic, exceptional amenities, world-class care, and innovative memory care programming. A certified Great Place to Work, Watercrest Senior Living Group specializes in the development and operations of assisted living and memory care communities and the growth of servant leaders. Visit www.watercrestseniorliving.com SOURCE Watercrest Senior Living Group The accomplished author, speaker, commentator and political scientist will lead attendees on a journey through the intertwined world of politics, cybersecurity and global issues ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- (ISC) the world's largest nonprofit association of certified cybersecurity professionals today confirmed that acclaimed political scientist Ian Bremmer will deliver a keynote address as part of the closing line up at (ISC)2 Security Congress, taking place across October 10-12, 2022 in Las Vegas and live online. Bremmer's keynote joins the main Congress agenda, featuring over 100 sessions and events for attendees across three days. Ian Bremmer is a political scientist who helps business leaders, policy makers, and the general public make sense of the world around them. He is president and founder of Eurasia Group, the world's leading political risk research and consulting firm, and GZERO Media, a company dedicated to providing intelligent and engaging coverage of international affairs. Ian is an independent voice on critical issues around the globe, offering clearheaded insights through speeches, written commentary, and even satirical puppets. Ian is credited with bringing the craft of political risk to financial markets, creating Wall Street's first global political risk index (GPRI), and for establishing political risk as an academic discipline. "G-Zero," his term for a global power vacuum in which no country is willing and able to set the international agenda, is widely accepted by policymakers and thought leaders. "The keynote sessions at (ISC)2 are all about bringing the world's leading minds together with our audience to challenge convention and traditional thinking, and that's exactly what Ian brings to Security Congress," said Clar Rosso, CEO, (ISC). "In a time of international disruption driven by economic, social, military and political conflict, cybersecurity becomes both a weapon and a target. Ian will provide valuable context for cybersecurity practitioners looking to understand the global issues that impact their day-to-day roles." A prolific writer, Ian is the author of 11 books, including two New York Times bestsellers. His latest book "The Power of Crisis: How Three Threatsand Our ResponseWill Change the World" details a trio of looming global crises (health emergencies, climate change, and technological revolution) and outlines how governments, corporations, and concerned citizens can use these crises to create global prosperity and opportunity. (ISC)2 Security Congress will take place at Caesars Palace Las Vegas and feature over 100 educational and thought leadership sessions covering the hottest cybersecurity topics and issues. These include cyber liability, quantum computing, ICS/critical infrastructure, Zero Trust principles, ransomware, workforce trends, remote workforce security, supply chain security, artificial intelligence, DevSecOps and many more, delivered by esteemed industry and practitioner speakers. (ISC) members can earn 20+ continuing professional education (CPE) credits at the onsite event with an All-Access Pass or 17+ credits with a Virtual Only Pass. Early Bird registration is available through September 16. For more information about (ISC) Security Congress 2022, including the session program and how to register, please visit: https://congress.isc2.org/ About (ISC) (ISC) is an international nonprofit membership association focused on inspiring a safe and secure cyber world. Best known for the acclaimed Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification, (ISC) offers a portfolio of credentials that are part of a holistic, pragmatic approach to security. Our membership, more than 168,000 strong, is made up of certified cyber, information, software and infrastructure security professionals who are making a difference and helping to advance the industry. Our vision is supported by our commitment to educate and reach the general public through our charitable foundation The Center for Cyber Safety and Education. For more information on (ISC), visit www.isc2.org, follow us on Twitter or connect with us on Facebook and LinkedIn. 2022 (ISC) Inc., (ISC), CISSP, SSCP, CCSP, CAP, CSSLP, HCISPP, CISSP-ISSAP, CISSP-ISSEP, CISSP-ISSMP and CBK are registered marks of (ISC), Inc. SOURCE (ISC)2 April Helped Several Thousand File Taxes in Average of 15 Minutes, Accessing Millions in Refunds NEW YORK, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a successful inaugural tax season, April (April Tax Solutions Inc.), a personal income tax platform that embeds into digital financial apps, announced today that it has raised $30M in a Series A Round. The fast-growing fintech startup has gained the attention of unicorn founders and leaders in the space, with backing from Treasury , a fintech infrastructure focused fund established by the founders of Betterment and Acorns. April In addition to Treasury, the round included participation from notable tech investors and financial leaders such as QED , Nyca Partners , Team8 , Euclidean Capital and Atento Capital . The company has raised $40M since its launch in January 2022. With $204B in overpayments returned to Americans this year and an increasingly complicated tax code, embedded tax promises to be the next essential area for disruption, and April is leading that charge. Launching at the beginning of 2022, April served thousands of American taxpayers through partnerships with several financial institutions. Propel , a mission-driven fintech company, used April's tax platform to help its members file quickly and access their tax refunds. It took April users an average of 15 minutes to file their tax information, with 90% filing on mobile devices. "We're proud to partner with April as one of the few startups focusing on how to make taxes easier for everyday Americans," said Jimmy Chen, Founder and CEO of Propel. "There's a major financial opportunity for the segment of Americans we serve to have access to the funds they need and help them put food on the table." April's tax engine enables fintechs to perform tax calculations throughout the year, as data emerges. By embedding directly into a user's banking app or website, April is able to proactively fill most information needed for tax filing, saving users time and money without adding on extra costs throughout the process. April was co-founded by Ben Borodach, a former Deloitte fintech strategist who led corporate strategy for venture group Team8, and Daniel Marcous, the former CTO of the navigation startup Waze, which sold to Google for $1B in 2013, who later served as a lead data scientist at Google in Israel. Borodach and Marcous met through Team8 where they incubated the company. The co-founders have onboarded a team of 30 including renowned CPA Jody Padar, also known as "The Radical CPA," to head April's tax group. "April's main goal is to empower the taxpayer," said Borodach. "By embedding tax into the banking and financial apps that folks are already using, we can drastically reduce the tension of tax filing, helping American taxpayers avoid overpayments and attain a better grasp on their overall financial picture, with the full power of the tax code at their disposal." April will use the new funding to expand its R&D capabilities and increase operational capacity in preparation for next tax season. "Tax is a logical extension of the modern consumer finance experience and April is well positioned to assist fintechs in bringing this capability to market," said Jeff Cruttenden, who led the round from Treasury and previously co-founded Acorns and Say Technologies. As part of the funding round, Lowell Putnam, a seasoned fintech infrastructure entrepreneur, will join April's Board of Directors. Putnam was the founder of Quovo which later sold to Plaid. "Lowell's experience pioneering modern fintech infrastructure will be invaluable to guiding April into our next phase of growth," said Borodach. About April April is an intelligent tax platform that offers a fast, frictionless and rewarding tax experience. April automates the tax filing process, optimizes tax refunds and provides users with personalized, actionable tax insights to help them make smarter financial decisions all year round. April's tax engine can be embedded into any third-party platform to help fintech companies and financial institutions broaden their offerings to include tax-as-a-service, and better serve clients across their ecosystem. Learn more at Getapril.com . About Treasury Treasury is the fintech venture firm led by Eli Broverman (founder of Betterment) and Jeff Cruttenden (founder of Acorns and Say). Treasury supports financial technology companies globally. The firm is based in NYC. Media Contact: Ryan Birchmeier 1-609-425-8642 [email protected] SOURCE April Ruling is seen as limiting federal agencies' ability to address major issues. Recent polling shows that Republicans, Independents, & Democrats are united around protecting water. WASHINGTON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Supreme Court of the United States on Thursday ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency had limited authority to regulate and enforce the Clean Air Act. The ruling could also mean that the federal government's ability to enforce the Clean Water Act is now similarly limited, even as polling shows this is the opposite of what the majority of voters want. "While this decision is a setback, we are optimistic that it will not change the overwhelming momentum we are seeing from industry and community leaders who are dedicated to tackling climate change, protecting water, and ushering in a clean energy future," said Lukas Walton, chair of the Walton Family Foundation's Environment Committee, and also CEO of the Builder's Vision. "An increasing number of leaders know that the long-term benefits of acting on climate change far outweigh the costs and that inaction is the most costly scenario for our planet, our economy, and our communities." "Americans are very unified around protecting water resources, and this decision may make it harder for the federal government to enforce laws that conserve our rivers, streams, and wetlands," said Moira Mcdonald, director of the Walton Family Foundation's Environment Program. "An undeniable majority of voters support protecting water during climate change Americans want and expect leadership right now. This is a time for communities, water advocates, policymakers, and industry leaders to come together and double down on solutions that work for people and nature." Recent polling, conducted by Morning Consult , shows a majority of Americans agree climate change will alter important aspects of life in the U.S. like agriculture (76% total, 89% Democrats, and 61% Republicans), water resources (76% total, 90% Democrats, and 59% Republicans) and the economy (71% total, 87% Democrats, and 55% Republicans). The poll also shows 73% of Americans are worried about climate change and water scarcity, with at least three-in-five voters saying that drought, increased temperatures, wildfires, extreme weather, and flooding are a product of climate change's effect on water resources. Notably, Black and Hispanic voters expressed more concern about climate change's impacts on the economy (84% Black, 81% Hispanic, 68% White), health (88% Black, 78% Hispanic, 67% White), and issues around equality (69% Black voters, 62% Hispanic voters, 44% White). One-quarter of American voters believe their state will not have enough water during their grandchildren's lifetimes (the next 100 years). The numbers are even higher in western states - 55% in Colorado said their state would not have enough water in the next 100 years and 53% said the same in Arizona. "At a time when one-quarter of all Americans - and more than half of the residents in Arizona and Colorado - don't think that there will be enough water in their home states for their grandchildren, we clearly need to be doing more to protect and conserve water," said Mcdonald. Other key findings from the poll include: 74% of voters agree that political parties should find more common ground on addressing climate change (87% of Democrats, 74% of independents, and 60% of Republicans). (87% of Democrats, 74% of independents, and 60% of Republicans). 73% of voters agree that there is still time to address climate change (79% of Democrats, 70% of independents, and 70% of Republicans). (79% of Democrats, 70% of independents, and 70% of Republicans). People of color and younger people feel the most urgency on these issues : : Black and Hispanic voters agree that climate change is having a massive impact on their community . . 68% Black 58% Hispanic 43% White And that climate change is having devastating effects on the world's water resources. 77% Black 74% Hispanic 65% White 66% of younger voters (18-34) agreed that climate change is the most important issue facing the world today while only 45% of seniors (65+) agreed. To read the full poll results, visit www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/worldwaterday . Polling Methodology: The national poll was conducted between March 4-March 6, 2022 among a sample of 2005 Registered Voters across the United States. The interviews were conducted online, and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of registered Voters based on gender by age, educational attainment, race, marital status, homeownership, race by educational attainment, 2020 presidential vote, and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. The state-level polls were conducted between March 4-March 8, 2022, among a sample of 298 Registered Voters in Arizona and a sample of 300 registered voters in Colorado. The interviews were conducted online, and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of Registered Voters based on gender, age, education, race, ethnicity, marital status, homeownership, and 2020 vote choice. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percentage points. About the Walton Family Foundation The Walton Family Foundation is, at its core, a family-led foundation. Three generations of the descendants of our founders, Sam and Helen Walton, and their spouses, work together to lead the foundation and create access to opportunity for people and communities. We work in three areas: improving K-12 education, protecting rivers and oceans and the communities they support, and investing in our home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. To learn more, visit waltonfamilyfoundation.org and follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . SOURCE Walton Family Foundation "Unfortunately, in so many communities the combination of COVID-19, lack of access to technology and high costs means dental care has been unavailable to many of these children for most, if not all, of their lives," said Lauren McDonough, DMD, vice president, practice owner development, Aspen Dental, who led the trip to Guatemala. "Each one of these children has a story and a future to be able to be a small part of their story and alleviate pain or provide preventative care to impact their overall health is a true privilege." "When you have any kind of pain in your teeth or mouth, it's challenging because it can impact eating, drinking and other basic, critical needs," said Amel Rassoul, DMD, one of the dentists who participated in the trip and provided care. "We truly want to give them the best care possible and show them small ways to maintain their oral hygiene to improve their overall health." Aspen Dental's network of nearly 1,000 doctor-owned practices is intentionally located in areas with underserved populations with the goal of expanding access to quality, affordable dental care, meeting patients where they are and treating their unique challenges and needs. Since the launch of Aspen Dental's Healthy Mouth Movement in 2014, doctors and their dental care teams from nearly 1,000 Aspen Dental-branded offices have donated more than $26 million in dentistry services to nearly 35,000 veterans and people in need, around the world. For more information about the Healthy Mouth Movement, visit HealthyMouthMovement.com. About Aspen Dental Aspen Dental was founded in 1998 in New York by Bob Fontana with a simple goal in mind: to break down the barriers that doctors and patients face when it comes to dental care. Today, more than 20 years later, with nearly 1,000 Aspen Dental locations nationwide, the mission of the company remains the same to bring better care to more people. Aspen Dental is the largest group of branded dental offices in the world. For more information, visit aspendental.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. About TAG - The Aspen Group TAG The Aspen Group was built on the simple idea of bringing better health care to more people. TAG and the independent health care practices it supports operate more than 1,100 locations in 45 states through its four health care support companies: Aspen Dental, ClearChoice Dental Implant Centers, WellNow Urgent Care and Chapter Aesthetic StudioSM. Combined, the companies serve more than 35,000 patients a day and more than 8 million patients each year. TAG is headquartered at 800 W. Fulton Market in Chicago. For more information, visit teamtag.com, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. SOURCE Aspen Dental Company's non-invasive, pain management alternative technology is source of honor LINDON, Utah, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Aspen Laser Systems, LLC , an emerging global leader in the medical device industry with a focus on photomedicine, announced that The CEO Views, a respected business publication, has identified Aspen Laser Systems as one of the Top 10 Healthcare Companies of the Year 2022. Aspen Laser is being recognized for its efforts in pain management technology that provide an alternative to drugs, by using non-invasive photomedicine, referred to as Photobiomodulation Therapy (PBMT). The CEO Views June 21, 2022 issue featured an interview with Aspen Laser's CEO Charles Vorwaller, which can be found at theceoviews.com. "It's a great honor to announce Aspen Laser Systems as one of the Top 10 Healthcare Companies of the Year 2022," said Ben Johnson, Managing Editor of The CEO Views. "Our publication offers news, reports, and analysis to CTOs on cutting edge and relevant topics. We also share valuable insights from leading technology executives, like those from our interview with Charles Vorwaller. With over three decades of experience, his company Aspen Laser Systems' medical technology and products are making a significant impact on the lives of individuals suffering from chronic pain and injury." Since its founding, Aspen Laser Systems, LLC has consistently conducted research and development of innovative and unique PBMT technologies. The result? A growing number of healthcare practices - both in the United States and overseas - utilizing new laser and light (LED) therapy products that are both non-invasive and safe for chronic pain and injury treatment. PBMT works by providing energy through specific wavelengths of light that penetrate inside the body and into damaged and unhealthy cells, triggering a chemical response within the cells that result in acceleration of the healing and recovery process. For more information about Aspen Laser Systems, LLC and its approach to PBMT, please visit aspenlaser.com . About The CEO Views Published from Farmington Hills, Michigan, The CEO Views is a print and digital magazine that aims towards providing the perfect platform for entrepreneurs to connect with the industry peers while exploring and understanding innovations that are changing the technology landscape of today and moving towards a newer world. Our passion and thirst for knowledge in the field of business and technology have been the dominant reason we have emerged and continue to thrive in the marketplace. For more information, please visit theceoviews.com . About Aspen Laser Systems, LLC: Aspen Laser Systems, LLC is a medical device company and emerging global leader in innovative photomedicine technology, with a focus on photobiomodulation. Representing management with 30+ years of experience, the company provides expertise in design, manufacturing, production, and regulatory compliance. The Company's vision is to redefine pain management and recovery through ongoing research and development that will raise the standards of medical care and improve the quality of life for each individual using its drug-free photobiomodulation products, and also offers full body photobiomodulation through its subsidiary, TheraLight . In 2020, Aspen Laser Systems earned a ranking on the INC 5000 list for the first time and was the only medical laser company on the list. To learn more, please visit: aspenlaser.com . MEDIA CONTACT : Aspen Laser Systems, LLC Alan Richardson [email protected] 877-782-7736 SOURCE Aspen Laser Systems Collaboration in this important and emerging technology will accelerate electrification and reduce emissions while earning customers money REDWOOD CITY, Calif., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AutoGrid announced a collaboration with Willdan to accelerate adoption of heat pump water heaters to decarbonize buildings by replacing emissions-intensive, gas-fired water heaters. This collaboration will leverage AutoGrid's Virtual Power Plant platform to add significant levels of flexible grid capacity, starting in the CAISO energy market. The flexible capacity, when combined with other resources managed by AutoGrid's VPP platform, strengthens the grid and helps reduce the probability of blackouts during periods of peak energy demand. AutoGrid is dedicated to expanding their suite of artificial intelligence-driven energy internet applications that allow utilities, electricity retailers, renewable energy project developers, and energy service providers to deliver clean, affordable, and reliable energy in a distributed energy world. Collaboration with Willdan places heat pump water heaters into appropriate distributed energy resource (DER) programs which will have a positive impact on the environment while also providing customers with an additional revenue stream. "One of our core goals at AutoGrid is to find companies that align with our values, integrate naturally into our offerings, and help support advances in the industry," said Farshid Arman, Senior Director of Grid Services Partnerships. "This synergy will help consumers make smart choices and enroll their connected heat pump water heaters easily into DER programs." Willdan is a national company that provides comprehensive consulting, technical expertise, financing options, and energy-efficient upgrades for utilities, government agencies, and private industry. They are currently the program implementer for several energy efficiency programs on behalf of the largest utilities in California. This collaboration serves the needs of the California grid as the state is ramping up ever-more flexible energy resources to be better prepared for a potential capacity shortfall. About AutoGrid Founded in 2010, AutoGrid's mission is to accelerate access to sustainable energy in order to combat climate change. AutoGrid's artificial intelligence-driven software makes electric vehicles, batteries, roof-top solar, utility-scale wind, and other distributed energy resources (DERs) smarter. By enabling prediction, optimization, and real-time control of millions of energy assets at an unprecedented scale, AutoGrid is making the vision of a decentralized, decarbonized, and democratized new energy world a reality. With over a decade of pioneering experience across the globe, AutoGrid offers fleet owners, energy-as-a-service companies, renewable project developers, utilities, and electricity retailers the ability to build, own, operate, and participate in intelligent and scalable virtual power plants, enabling them to disrupt the dependency on fossil-fuel based energy. The AutoGrid Flex platform manages over 6,000MW of virtual power plants in 15 countries. Media Contact: Arup Barat [email protected] SOURCE AutoGrid BEIJING, June 30 -- "China resolutely opposes any form of official contacts and military links between Japan and China's Taiwan region under any pretext, and We have expressed serious concern to the Japanese side and demanded responsible clarifications from the Japanese side." said Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for Chinas Ministry of National Defense, at a regular press conference on Thursday, as he responded to the speculations that "the Japanese government might soon send its civilian official of defense ministry to station in Taiwan. The spokesperson pointed out that the Japanese side has previously made clear statement in the four political documents between China and Japan that it recognizes the government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China, and fully understands and respects the position of Chinese government that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the Peoples Republic of China, while merely maintaining non-governmental or regional contacts with Taiwan. "If the Japanese side persists in provoking troubles and attempts to make a breakthrough in its relations with the Taiwan region, or even rocks the boat in the highly-sensitive field of military security, it is bound to cause serious consequences," the spokesperson warned. The spokesperson stressed that Taiwan question concerns Chinas sovereign and territorial integrity as well as Chinas core interests. It's a major matter of principle concerning the political foundation of China-Japan relations. "We urge the Japanese side to neither send wrong signals to the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces in any form, nor interfere in Chinas internal affairs in any form, and to do more things conducive to promoting China-Japan political mutual trust as well as regional peace and stability." he said. "Since AutoLenders' founding in 1979, we've been focused on fostering a connected, forward-thinking culture," said Mike Wimmer, AutoLenders Founder and CEO. "That is why we are honored to be recognized as an NJ Top Workplaces 2022 winner for our continued emphasis on our employees. We owe our success to themour AutoLenders family." Independent and family-owned for more than 40 years, AutoLenders strives to bring its company values of stewardship and community involvement to not just its customers, but also its employees. Having ranked 6th out of 24 companies in the mid-sized category of around 400 employees, this honor serves as a testament to AutoLenders' history, and its recent efforts with youth safety through distracted-driver initiatives. Additionally, ALGO, the auto purchasing division of AutoLenders, was also named a New Jersey 2022 Top Workplaces and received a high ranking of 13 out of 56 companies in the small category of 150 employees. Founded in 2017, the New Jersey-based company quickly established its presence in the community by strengthening relationships with organizations to benefit local children in need. Today, though the first-ever direct-to-home car purchasing company serves customers nationwide, ALGO ensures that each employee feels the same value clients do. "Our employees are at the center of everything we do and I am proud to represent an organization that clearly puts their people first," said Greg Markus, President of ALGO. "Our 50-person family is keenly focused on building a supportive work environment is a fundamental aspect of ALGO that we will maintain and expand long into the future." At AutoLenders, transparency is everythingespecially when it comes to its customer relationships and low car prices. This recognition comes on the heels of AutoLenders' first-ever fully integrated advertising campaign, that details just how transparent AutoLenders is. For more information about AutoLenders and ALGO, visit www.autolenders.com and www.algonation.com or learn more on the AutoLenders YouTube channel. About ALGO ALGO, a wholly owned subsidiary of AutoLender's Liquidation Center, Inc. founded in 2017, is a fully virtual auto purchasing company that leverages an in-house algorithm to conduct on-the-spot transactions to acquire vehicles from private owners, acting as a supplementary inventory pipeline and revenue center for the company's retail/wholesale transactions. CAL and ALGO operate as direct sourcing channels for the company. For more information about ALGO, visit algonation.com. About AutoLenders AutoLenders, headquartered in Voorhees, New Jersey, was founded in 1989 and operates a family of companies which provide auto leasing services and retailing for used and off-lease vehicles. Auto Lenders has been New Jersey's #1 pre-owned car dealership for over a decade, focusing primarily on the remarketing of one-owner, low-mileage off-lease vehicles. The company's 8 showrooms in New Jersey (6) and Pennsylvania (2) operate in conjunction with a 65,000 square foot operations center located on 25 acres of property in Winslow, New Jersey. For more information about AutoLenders, visit autolenders.com. Contact: Meghan Solomon Tierney Agency [email protected] 267-907-4266 SOURCE AutoLenders Avelo base will create up to 500 jobs and top $1B in regional economic impact Avelo to open state-of-the-art Orlando flight training center Avelo inaugurates flights from MCO to Washington, D.C. and Wilmington, NC Avelo expands service from MCO to Southern Connecticut Introductory one-way fares start at $59 ORLANDO, Fla., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Avelo Airlines opened its third U.S. base today at Orlando International Airport (MCO) setting the stage for significant travel, employment and economic impact opportunities for Central Florida. The new base is expected to generate more than $250 million in short-term economic impact in Greater Orlando and top $1 billion in regional economic impact annually within the next five years. In the years ahead, this includes significant spending and tax revenue from the more than one million visitors Avelo will fly to Orlando annually. Additionally, Avelo's fast-growing Orlando presence will generate incremental spending and tax revenue from the thousands of direct and indirect jobs the airline's expanding MCO presence will contribute to the Orlando community and the state of Florida. Over the next year, Avelo expects to create up to 150 MCO-based jobs. These positions will be a combination of Avelo Crewmembers and jobs with Avelo business partners operating at MCO. Roles will include Airport Customer Service, Aircraft Technical Operations and Maintenance, Pilots, Flight Attendants and Supervisors. As the airline adds additional aircraft and routes over the next five years, Avelo expects to create up to 500 MCO-based jobs. Avelo Airlines Chairman and CEO Andrew Levy said, "Our new base will enable Avelo to serve more destinations, add more flights, operate more airplanes, fly more Customers and employ more Crewmembers in Orlando. Avelo's rapidly expanding presence here will be a significant source of new visitors to Orlando creating significant economic impact across the region. We are grateful to the City of Orlando, as well as Kevin Thibault and the Greater Orlando Airport Authority for their strong partnership as we double down on MCO and Central Florida." Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said, "The expansion of air service is vital to our community and economy and that is why Orlando is honored that Avelo Airlines has chosen Orlando International Airport as its third U.S. base. We look forward to seeing Avelo grow and create new jobs for our residents and to welcoming even more visitors to enjoy our unbelievably real, world-renowned hospitality." Greater Orlando Aviation Authority Chief Executive Officer Kevin Thibault said, "Orlando International Airport prides itself on offering the traveling public options in both airlines and destinations. What we're getting with Avelo is even more than a new connection between Central Florida and Baltimore. It is an additional access point for business to the popular northeast corridor from our region." A Rapidly Expanding MCO Fleet and Route Network Avelo will initially base three Boeing Next-Generation (NG) 737 jetliners at MCO one 147-seat 737-700 and two 189-seat 737-800s. Avelo's current systemwide fleet consists of 10 737 NGs and is expected to expand to 15 aircraft by early 2023. Over the next 12 months, Avelo plans to fly to 15 nonstop destinations from MCO. By 2027, Avelo expects to base 10 aircraft at MCO serving up to 50 nonstop destinations. With the opening of its MCO base today, Avelo now serves three popular nonstop destinations from Orlando. Southern Connecticut: Since November, Avelo has operated daily service between MCO and Southern Connecticut's most convenient airport Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN). With the opening of its Orlando base, Avelo now flies to HVN up to three times per day. One-way introductory fares start at $69*. Washington, D.C.: Beginning today, Avelo will offer seasonal service five days per week to Baltimore / Washington International Airport (BWI) through August 21, 2022. One-way introductory fares start at $59*. Wilmington, N.C.: Beginning tomorrow, Avelo will offer seasonal service three days per week to Wilmington International Airport (ILM) through November 9, 2022. One-way introductory fares start at $59*. The introductory fares for all three routes are available for purchase at AveloAir.com. New Orlando Pilot and Flight Attendant Training Center Avelo also said it is on track for converging its airline-wide Pilot and Flight Attendant training in Orlando. Initial and recurrent training for all Avelo Pilots and Flight Attendants will be facilitated by Avenger Flight Group (AFG) the world's largest privately owned commercial aviation training and simulation company. Training will begin this fall with the completion of the new Orlando training facility next spring. Previously conducted in separate locations and, at times, by separate companies, Avelo's Pilot and Flight Attendant training will now be conducted at AFG's new state-of-the-art Orlando campus. AFG provides advanced flight training solutions to airlines around the world at nearly 20 flight training centers across North America, South America and Europe. The new AFG-based training will provide opportunities for collaborative learning and training in areas such as leadership, evacuation simulations and customer service. Avelo employs nearly 200 Pilots and Flight Attendants. The airline anticipates hiring hundreds more in the years ahead many of whom will be based in Orlando. A Simple, Smooth and Reliable Alternative to Hub & Spoke Airlines Unlike conventional airline "hubs" that connect passengers between spoke cities, Avelo flies its Customers nonstop between its three "bases" and the destinations served by those three airports. In addition to Orlando, Avelo operates bases at Los Angeles' Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) and HVN. The airline has dedicated airplanes, Pilots, Flight Attendants and maintenance teams based at BUR, HVN and MCO. In contrast to the hub & spoke carriers, Avelo flights start and end every day at their respective base, providing Crewmembers with an enhanced quality of life that enables them to sleep at home every night rather than in hotels (which is typically the case at hub & spoke airlines). Avelo's base model also allows mechanics to inspect every aircraft every evening when it returns to its respective base, contributing to the airline's industry-leading reliability. In fact, since launching 14 months ago, Avelo has cancelled less than 1% of its flights. Lastly, the absence of hubs eliminates the risk of Avelo Customers missing their connection (because there are no flight connections to miss), or having their bag delayed or lost at a connecting hub (which is where most bags are mishandled). A Different, Better and More Affordable Travel Experience Amidst the crowds, long lines, lengthy walks and traffic congestion encountered at most major airports, Avelo primarily serves smaller, secondary airports. These airports are typically more convenient and offer a refreshingly smooth, quick and simple hometown airport experience. At Avelo, there are no change or cancellation fees. Additionally, Avelo offers several unbundled travel-enhancing options that give Customers the flexibility to pay for what they value, including priority boarding, checked bags, carry-on overhead bags, and bringing a pet in the cabin. Additionally, the fuel-efficient American-made 737 jetliners Avelo operates offer a more spacious and comfortable experience than the much smaller regional aircraft historically operated at the small secondary airports Avelo primarily serves. Customers may choose from several seating options, including seats with extra leg room, as well as pre-reserved window and aisle seating. Avelo is distinguished by its Soul of Service culture. The culture is grounded in Avelo's One Crew Value that promotes a welcoming and caring experience. By caring for one another and owning their commitments, Avelo Crewmembers focus on anticipating and understanding Customer needs on the ground and in the air. About Avelo Airlines Avelo Airlines was founded with a simple purpose to Inspire Travel. The airline offers Customers time and money-saving convenience, low everyday fares, and a refreshingly smooth and caring experience through its Soul of Service culture. Operating a fleet of Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft, Avelo serves 25 popular destinations across the U.S., including its three bases at Los Angeles' Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR), Southern Connecticut's Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN) and Orlando International Airport (MCO). For more information visit AveloAir.com or the Avelo Newsroom at AveloAir.com/Newsroom. Media Contact: Avelo Airlines Jim Olson [email protected] Greater Orlando Airport Authority Rod Johnson [email protected] *One-way introductory fares include government taxes and fees. The introductory one-way fares are only available on Avelo flights between now and November 7. Blackout dates will apply. The introductory fares are available on a limited number of flights and seats. A $20 charge applies to all bookings or changes made through Avelo's Customer Support Center. Additional fees for carry-on and checked bags, assigned seats and other optional services may apply. For full terms and conditions, please see Avelo's Contract of Carriage. SOURCE Avelo Airlines Accomplished Executives Bring Insight and Strategy to Leading AI Company WASHINGTON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Babel Street , the world's leading AI-enabled data-to-knowledge company, today announced that Bryan Mulholland has joined the company as Executive Vice President of Sales and Jen Snell has joined as Senior Vice President of Marketing. "Bryan and Jen bring decades of sales and marketing experience, and I look forward to the invaluable guidance they will bring to our team," said Michael Southworth, CEO of Babel Street. "Their expertise in public sector technology will help us rapidly scale the business and elevate Babel Street to a higher level of service in providing groundbreaking solutions to our customers." As EVP of Sales, Mulholland will oversee Babel Street's revenue operations, ensuring the company continues to provide critical insights and innovative solutions to customers. The Navy Seal veteran has extensive experience facilitating the sales of data management technology, information technology services, and business development strategies within the Defense and Intelligence communities. Mulholland previously held business leadership positions at Microsoft, Dataminr, and Oracle. He joins Babel Street from Denodo, where he led the company's national security practice, assisting government agencies in providing data virtualization and data fabric technology solutions. In her role as SVP of Marketing, Snell will lead and coordinate Babel Street's marketing strategy, continuing to fortify the company's position in the market as a premier provider of data-to-knowledge software. Snell's considerable experience in thought leadership, product strategy, and marketing will be crucial to Babel Street's success and future relationships with customers. Snell previously held senior marketing positions at notable technology companies, including Verint and conversational AI pioneer, Next IT. For more information on Babel Street and the leadership team, please visit: www.babelstreet.com . About Babel Street Babel Street is the world's leading AI-enabled data-to-knowledge company. The company's technology allows customers to rapidly discover and decipher the insights they need to empower their missions, regardless of origin, language or platform. Babel Street's patented analytics software transforms the most relevant insights for our customers through AI-enabled, cross-lingual, conceptual and persistent search of information from around the world. State-of-the-art linguistics technology deciphers actionable insights from public or private data sources unbound by origin or language. With Babel Street, governments and organizations empower their teams with critical and timely insights on a single pane of glass for immediate analysis, action, and mission success. Babel Street software serves as a force multiplier for customers to uncover threats and opportunities known and unknown, foreign or domestic, physical or cyber and make the world a safer, more prosperous place. Babel Street is privately held and is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area, with offices in London, Canberra and Ottawa. For more information, visit www.babelstreet.com. SOURCE Babel Street VANCOUVER, BC, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - BBTV Holdings Inc. (TSX: BBTV) (OTCQX: BBTVF) (Frankfurt: 64V) ("BBTV" or the "Company"), the leading creator monetization company with a mission to help creators become more successful, today announced that the Company will cover abortion travel costs for U.S. employees. On Friday, The U.S Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 ruling, Roe v. Wade, which protected a woman's constitutional right to abortion for nearly five decades. The decision by the court now leaves policy in regards to abortion up to individual states and is expected to lead to a ban on abortion in a number of states. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 52 percent of women of childbearing age in the U.S will now live in states where their right to abortion is at risk1. With more than 7.8 million Americans, or 6.2% of the US private sector workforce employed by foreign-based organizations2, corporate policies by international companies can have a significant positive impact for Americans. "The health and wellbeing of all our employees is our number one priority, and access to safe abortion care is inalienable when it comes to our values and policies at BBTV," comments Shahrzad Rafati, Chairperson and CEO, BBTV. "These values are borderless and without bias, as we do our best to support all of our employees with equality and equity at the forefront of our thinking." The international business community plays an important role. Enabling safe and accessible abortions is one of the ways they can leverage their policies for employees who need the procedure, but are limited by the laws of their state. Adds Ms. Rafati, "It is imperative for international organizations that have a presence in the U.S, especially those that operate in countries with strong reproductive rights, to take action and support their female employees by providing them with access to safe and legal abortion care. We have a responsibility to leverage our businesses as platforms for positive change." Footnotes 1 Guttmacher Institute, Post research, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2 AEI, Outsourced and Insourced U.S Jobs About BBTV BBTV is a global media and technology company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. The Company's mission is to help content creators become more successful. With creators ranging from individuals to global media brands, BBTV provides comprehensive, end-to-end Solutions to increase viewership and drive revenue powered by its innovative technology, while allowing creators to focus on their core competency content creation. In January 2022, BBTV had the fourth most unique monthly viewers among digital platforms with more than 600 million globally, who consumed more than 35 billion minutes of video content [1]. ( www.bbtv.com ) [1] Calculations and classifications made by BBTV based on data from Comscore's "Top 12 Countries = January 2022 comScore Video Metrix Media Trend Multi-Platform Top 100 Video Properties Report"; Top 12 countries represent ~50% of world's digital population. SOURCE BBTV Holdings Inc. SAN MARCOS, Texas, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Berry Aviation, Inc. is pleased to announce the expansion of their executive leadership team by welcoming Matt Caruso as Vice President of Business Development. Matt will be responsible for the development and execution of Berry Aviation's growth plans, strategies, and capture initiatives for new and follow-on International and Domestic business. Stan Finch, President of Berry Aviation said, "We're very fortunate to bring Matt onboard and look forward to benefiting from his business, sales, and defense aviation expertise. As Berry continues to expand into new and exciting areas of aviation, we are certain that Matt's values and management philosophy will be a big advantage to the company and for our clients." Matt comes to Berry Aviation with a wealth of knowledge and extensive experience in the aviation and defense sectors. During an extraordinary 32+ year career in the United States Air Force, Matt led service members from all branches of the military and held distinguished roles at every level of command as a combat flight engineer, enlisted aircrew member, and command senior enlisted leader. Having deployed multiple times to Afghanistan, Caruso recalled his firsthand experiences with Berry Aviation, notably "how exceptionally the Berry crews pursued their responsibilities and executed their duties as quiet professionals." In his new role at Berry Aviation Caruso signaled his intent to build upon that core company strength in order to "bring formidable, emerging technologies to market and help our customers successfully execute their missions." Matt holds an MBA in Strategic Leadership, is a dynamic keynote speaker, and participates in a number of foundations and organizations supporting the military community. He and his wife Becky have been married 30 years and are proud parents of three grown children. About Berry Aviation Berry Aviation, Inc. is a trusted leader in private aviation, with a broad portfolio that includes On-Demand Cargo, Part 135 Aerial Delivery, Part 135 Fixed Wing Night Vision Flight, Part 135 Air Ambulance, MEDEVAC and CASEVAC, Unmanned Aerial Systems, ISR, and Passenger operations. The company is a certified FAA and EASA Part 145 Repair Station and medically accredited by NAAMTA and CAMTS. With more than two dozen aircraft in its current fleet, located across seven satellite locations, Berry Aviation has conducted operations on five continents and the Pacific Islands. For more information about Berry Aviation, visit: www.berryaviation.com SOURCE Berry Aviation, Inc. American Academy of Ophthalmology looks to build momentum on national, bipartisan reform bill to ensure timely access to care SAN FRANCISCO, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- After a year of sustained advocacy from the ophthalmology community, Aetna announced this week that it will no longer require pre-approval for cataract surgeries starting July 1, 2022, except for people enrolled in Medicare Advantage in Florida and Georgia*. While it remains unclear why these two states are excluded from the rollback, the American Academy of Ophthalmology will continue its effort to protect all patients from abusive prior authorization policies. Last July, the nation's third-largest health insurer instituted a sweeping and unprecedented new policy requiring pre-approval for all physician-prescribed cataract surgeries. The policy applied equally among its members, from children born with cataracts, to adults whose cataracts interfere with their ability to drive, to people in need of emergency cataract surgery before vision-threatening retinal conditions can be treated. The impact was swift and chaotic. The Academy estimates that 10,000 to 20,000 Aetna beneficiaries had their cataract surgery unnecessarily delayed in the month of July alone. Since then, the Academy has heard countless stories of patients who were delayed or denied sight-restoring care. "Aetna's decision to impose a prior authorization requirement for cataract surgery was very difficult to understand since the indications for surgery are well established and the benefits clear," said Stephen D. McLeod, MD, CEO of the Academy. "And the immediate impact on patients subject to unnecessary delay should have been obvious: this is an incredibly common procedure with some 4 million Americans undergoing cataract surgery each year. It has an extremely high success rate with regards to safety and vision improvement, and studies have consistently shown that cataract surgery improves quality of life, lowers the risk of falls and car accidents, and is associated with reduced cognitive decline amongst older adults" The Academy teamed up with the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery to provide documented patient cases and membership data that substantiated the need for Aetna to rescind its disruptive policy. Both organizations amplified the voices of patients across the country who were harmed by unnecessary care delays and ophthalmologists whose practices struggled under a burdensome approval process that prevented needed treatment. Advocacy efforts included meeting with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to request increased oversight and working with bipartisan Congressional leaders to advance the Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2021 (H.R. 3173/S. 3018). Today, support for this common-sense legislation, which will put important guardrails around prior authorization, has grown to include more than 300 U.S. House members and 34 U.S. Senators. The legislation has been endorsed by nearly 500 patient, provider, and other advocacy organizations. "We thank the original sponsors of the bills, Representatives Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Ami Bera, MD (D-CA), and Larry Bucshon, MD (R-IN) as well as Senators Roger Marshall, MD (R-KS), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and John Thune (R-SD), for their steadfast leadership in advancing legislation that will help to ensure our nation's seniors continue to receive the high-quality, timely care they deserve," said David Glasser, MD, the Academy's secretary for Federal Affairs. If enacted, the legislation would streamline and standardize prior authorization in the Medicare Advantage (MA) program, providing much-needed oversight and transparency while protecting beneficiaries from unnecessary care delays and denials. The legislation would require Medicare Advantage plans to: Establish an electronic prior authorization (ePA) program and require MA plans to adopt ePA capabilities, including the ability to provide real-time decisions; Annually publish specified prior authorization information, including average response time and the percentage of requests approved, to improve transparency; Ensure prior authorization requests are reviewed by qualified medical personnel; and Protect beneficiaries from any disruptions in care due to prior authorization requirements as they transition between MA plans. While the Academy is encouraged by Aetna's reversal and hopeful that federal reform legislation will be enacted into law, Academy leadership remains vigilant in the ongoing battle to protect patients and physicians from abusive health insurance practices. *Cataract surgery for Florida and Georgia MA beneficiaries will still require prior authorization through iCare. SOURCE American Academy of Ophthalmology PARIS, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Binance has partnered with Khaby Lame, the Italian Senegalese creator who grew to fame through his viral TikTok videos, to join as a global brand ambassador. As the blockchain ecosystem behind the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance will partner with Khaby to increase Web3 awareness and adoption. Khaby became a sensation for his spin on "life hack" videos, navigating overly complicated scenarios without saying a word while doing the famous "Khaby move." He'll use his signature style to tackle some of the misperceptions around Web3 in this multi-year partnership. Lame will also partner on exclusive NFT collections with Binance, further enhancing the experience for his fans. "I consider my followers as my family, and I am always looking for new challenges and interesting content to share with them," said Khaby Lame, "I've been curious about Web3 for some time, and jumped at the chance to partner with a leader like Binance because it aligns perfectly with what I usually do: make complex stuff easy and fun for everyone!" "Khaby has become a cultural icon and one of the most entertaining creators globally. We love his charm and sense of humor, and think it will bring relevance and relatability as we scale Web3 adoption," said James Rothwell, Binance Global Vice President of Marketing. "With so much nuance around Web3 and misinformation in the world, it was a perfect match to have Khaby on board to help debunk some of the myths around this space." Lame is currently the most-followed creator on TikTok, with more than 142 million followers on the platform, and 78 million followers on Instagram. Follow the journey with Binance and Khaby at www.instagram.com/khaby00 and twitter.com/binance . About Binance Binance is the world's leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider with a financial product suite that includes the largest digital asset exchange by volume. Trusted by millions worldwide, the Binance platform is dedicated to increasing the freedom of money for users, and features an unmatched portfolio of crypto products and offerings, including: trading and finance, education, data and research, social good, investment and incubation, decentralization and infrastructure solutions, and more. For more information, visit: https://www.binance.com . Disclaimer: Binance.com services are not available in the United States. U.S persons should sign-up with Binance.US. SOURCE Binance HAMILTON, Bermuda, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Borr Drilling Limited (the "Company") (NYSE: BORR) (OSE: BORR) refers to its previous communication regarding its ongoing negotiations with creditors to reach mutual agreements to refinance and extend its 2023 maturities and complete such refinancing by 30 June 2022. Significant progress has been made in the negotiations with the target to put in place the right capital structure for the company going forward. A complete solution will require a further equity injection combined with debt repayments, extensions and concessions by the creditors resulting in a robust capital structure that supports a low cash break even and thereby a higher free cash generation. In order to have the required time to conclude full lock-up and commitments from all creditors, the necessary covenant waivers have been extended until 15 July 2022 by the lenders in the bank syndicate. Thus far specific proposals have been received from all creditor groups, some of which have already resulted in agreements in principle. In particular, we have agreed terms in principle for the refinancing of the senior secured bank facility in July 2022 to be funded with a mix of a new credit facility and equity/an asset sale. We will continue to work with all remaining creditors to arrive at an optimized overall financing solution, targeted to be in place by 15 July 2022. This press release does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale. Forward looking statements This press release includes forward looking statements, which do not reflect historical facts and may be identified by words such as "expect", "will" and similar expressions and include statements relating to negotiations with creditors and targets of such negotiations, capital structure, proposals from creditor groups, agreements in principle, discussions with creditors and target for arriving at a financial solution, and other non-historical statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements included herein, including risks relating to discussions with creditors including the risk that a refinancing is not agreed risks relating to the terms of such refinancing if agreed, risks relating to covenants in debt facilities and liquidity and the risk that Borr may not be able to refinance its debt maturities beyond 2023 and other risks and uncertainties described in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in our most recent annual report on Form 20-F and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements included herein. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this release. We do not undertake to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. CONTACT: Questions should be directed to: Magnus Vaaler, CFO, +44 1224 289208 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/borr-drilling-limited/r/borr-drilling-limited---update-on-refinance,c3594695 SOURCE Borr Drilling Limited Next generation zero-trust cybersecurity software eliminates network-wide device hacks and defends against critical IoT vulnerabilities MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NXM Labs, Inc., a leader in advanced cybersecurity software for connected devices, today unveiled its NXM Autonomous Securityplatform that prevents hackers from gaining unauthorized access to commercial, industrial, medical, or consumer internet of things (IoT) devices. Tested in collaboration with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology (Caltech), NXM successfully demonstrated the ability of its ground-breaking technology to enable future Mars rovers to automatically defend themselves and recover from cyberattacks. Caltech manages JPL on behalf of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NXM's engineers worked with JPL's Artificial Intelligence, Analytics and Innovation Division, Information Technology and Solutions Directorate (ITSD), along with the Robotic Surface Mobility Group in Pasadena, CA to integrate the company's software with the navigation and ground control systems of JPL's self-driving Athena test rover. During testing, NXM's software successfully detected unauthorized attempts to gain access to the rover's autonomous navigation systems, automatically protecting the vehicle from harm in real-time without impacting normal driving operations. Tests showed that NXM's platform was capable of securing millions of devices with virtually no impact on network latency and is able to operate up to 1000x faster than other decentralized platforms previously tested by the U.S. Department of Defense under simulated battlefield conditions. "NXM's technology is game-changing," said Lt. General Harry D. Raduege, Jr., USAF (Ret), former Director, Defense Information Systems Agency and CIO for the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Space Command. "NXM provides a new layer of cybersecurity that enables unified command and control, as well as data interoperability, providing an unprecedented capability that we have long sought but until now wasn't possible." Lt. General Raduege serves as an advisor to NXM. The Athena test rover was developed by JPL as part of NASA's High Performance Spaceflight Computing (HPSC) program to develop new computing technologies with vastly more capabilities than current spaceflight computers. JPL engineers harnessed the advanced computing power of the rover's off-the-shelf NVIDIA Jetson edge AI platform to develop innovative, machine learning-based applications for future Mars rovers. This includes artificial intelligence software that identifies objects of scientific interest as a vehicle traverses the Martian terrain, using vision-based navigation and path planning software to significantly increase the driving distances of energy-limited rovers. "We're thrilled to have collaborated with NASA JPL to show how our security can protect critical assets in space as well as here on Earth," said Scott Rankine, NXM's President and Co-founder. "Our unique zero-trust and zero-touch security software is chip and cloud agnostic, enabling device manufacturers and their component suppliers to easily and cost-effectively develop the industry's most trustworthy products that can be deployed rapidly and remain secure for their entire operating lifetime." About NXM NXM Labs, Inc. provides advanced security solutions for embedded devices that enable commercial, industrial and consumer products to automatically defend themselves and recover from cyberattacks. NXM offers the industry's first Zero-Trust and Zero-Touch product development software platform designed to streamline and automate security management throughout the entire OEM supply chain and product lifecycle. For more information, visit www.nxmlabs.com Media Contacts: Carmen Hughes Ignite X 650.576.6444 [email protected] Bill Sharpe SimmonsSharpe 416.825.0370 [email protected] SOURCE NXM Labs, Inc. Superior Protection Professionals is looking to help keep people safe even when their guards can't be around. TOMS RIVER, N.J., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Last week Superior Protection Professionals , a security guard agency headquartered in Toms River, NJ, donated 20 bullet-proof backpacks to the Toms River School District. "Our company was formed with the sole purpose of protecting people," company owner and retired Toms River police officer Kelly Conklin said. "Being our guards only cover NJ we wanted to help keep people safe all over the country so these bullet-proof backpacks are the perfect way to do it.". Kelly Conklin Jr. (L), Toms River Regional Assistant Superintendent Jim Ricotta, Superintendent Mike Cita, and Kelly Conklin Sr. donate bullet-proof backpacks to the Toms River Schools With the recent school tragedy in Texas, these backpacks, which can stop bullets from 95% of the guns used in gun violence in the country each year, have become hot selling items. Some companies have experienced up to an 800% increase in sales when these incidents happen. "Although our backpacks are widely used by students in schools, adults are also purchasing them as their everyday backpack. They carry them to work to have with them as a shield in the event of a shooting. Mass transit travelers use them on subways, buses, and airplanes for added protection. They mitigate the risk of getting seriously injured or dying in a shooting and increase your chances of survival. My entire family has them and no one even knows they are protective backpacks. We also sell the inserts you can put into your favorite backpack and turn it into a bulletproof one." Michael Kenny, spokesman for the Toms River Regional Schools said, "Superior Protection Professionals owner, local resident, and retired Toms River police officer- along with his son, Kelly Conklin Jr., vice president, have made an impactful gesture that will benefit our students, providing them specialty backpacks which will serve them well on their educational journey. We sincerely thank the Conklins and SPP for turning their commitment to our community into action, and for providing tangible resources to our students." Conklin goes on to say, "This isn't an easy topic to discuss by any means. It's an unfortunate fact that there are evil people with guns in this world looking to cause harm to good people. I love the fact that we can sell these all over the country and make a difference. People can protect themselves, and their loved ones, and we play a part in that. That's the foundation of our company, keeping people safe ,and now we can do it even when our guards aren't around." He also mentioned that there is funding and grants for schools to buy these and can help out with that if you contact him. SPP contact information: Cell 908-783-1939, email [email protected] Website- https://sppsecurityinvestigations.com/ SOURCE Superior Protection Professionals Dedicated health equity funding, inclusive models of care, and a new slate of top-tier care solutions for diverse health needs demonstrate Buoy's commitment to bringing inclusivity to digital health Buoy invites leaders and innovators in LGBTQ+ care and health services to expand their reach and impact through its healthcare marketplace BOSTON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of LGBTQ+ Pride this month, AI-powered health platform Buoy Health (Buoy) today announces several exciting updates to its ongoing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) efforts, including a recently-awarded grant from the AWS Health Equity Initiative. These developments further underscore Buoy's mission to create more inclusive and accessible health solutions for everyoneespecially those in underserved groupsby crafting personalized, holistic paths to care. Launched through the AWS for Health initiative at Amazon Web Services (AWS), the AWS Health Equity Initiative is a $40 million, three-year commitment that seeks to energize cloud technology innovations to tackle lingering health disparities around the globe. Buoy was recently selected to participate in this grant program to build out its data and product capabilities for users identifying as transgender or gender diverseallowing Buoy's teams to improve their demographic data collection, enhance their medical database and AI algorithms, and develop new product options that are instrumented with inclusivity by design. "Patients that identify as LGBTQ+ often face significant gaps and disparate outcomes across the US healthcare system that fail to account for the unique barriers, care considerations and clinical presentations in this community," said Adrienne McFadden, MD, JD, and Chief Medical Officer at Buoy Health. "The AWS Health Equity Initiative is one more resource we can use to deploy these vital resources toward stronger clinical guidance and more informed data sets as we work to create more equitable health systems and outcomes." Buoy's involvement with the AWS Health Equity Initiative augments the recent launch of its healthcare marketplace, which currently connects users with a wide range of care solutions across physical, mental, and specialized health needs. Working through Buoy's signature AI-driven symptom checker, users can navigate through Buoy for personalized guidance and access a tailored marketplace experience that matches them to the solution that works best for them by aligning with their unique health histories and any current healthcare plans or coverage. This focus on personalization and a wider range of choices remains core to Buoy's focus and ethos as the company seeks to drive better care solutions at more cost-effective rates for LGBTQ+ users and other historically underserved or marginalized groups. Rather than operate in siloed chains with preferred healthcare partners, Buoy seeks to offer a range of inclusive solutions through specialized providers and services, including those that are dedicated to LGBTQ+ flourishing, accessibility, and the advancement of health equity more broadly. As of today, these tailored care solutions include Health in Her HUE, Spora Health, and VitalXchange, among others. "Digital health solutions that center health equity are the future," said Ashlee Wisdom, Chief Executive Officer at Health in Her HUE. "Buoy Health is leading, not just with words, but in how it builds its technology to help patients find healthcare services and solutions that can meet their specific needs. Buoy is modeling how digital health companies can and should be leading the way in making health equity the new status quo for digital health and the larger healthcare ecosystem." McFadden added: "At a time when so many health equity innovators are looking to provide more touchpoints and access to high-quality healthcare for a diverse swathe of patients, Buoy's efforts geared toward creating an inclusive marketplace model offers a key piece to the puzzle. Now, more than ever, organizations committed to delivering quality care to underserved groups are empowered to expand their services in an environment that prioritizes the end-result for the patient and enhances patient-provider relationships across the healthcare system. We are proud to see Buoy's marketplace make such important inroads with these important health equity initiatives and look forward to growing our family of solutions on behalf of all our users." Care solutions interested in joining Buoy's marketplace can reach out here for more information. About Buoy Health Buoy is a Boston-based digital health company that provides personalized clinical guidance the moment an individual has a health concern and matching to covered care options. Developed out of the Harvard Innovation Labs by a team of doctors and data scientists, Buoy navigates people through to the healthcare they need, delivering triage at scale, and connecting them with the right care endpoints at the right time based on self-reported symptoms. Buoy works with employers, health plans, and health solutions to simplify and streamline discovery and access to the right covered care options. For more information, please visit www.buoy.com. Media contact: Finley Hines [email protected] SOURCE Buoy Health, Inc. Iconic San Dimas real estate brokerage helped pioneer the delivery of extraordinary experiences; plans continued growth and innovation in home & property investments SAN DIMAS, Calif., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CENTURY 21 Citrus Realty is commemorating its historic 50th anniversary year celebrating five decades of positively impacting the lives of people and families, the communities where they live and work and the overall local, state and national economies. The iconic CENTURY 21 Citrus Realty, the longest remaining CENTURY 21 franchise in the global network, was founded on delivering extraordinary experiences to homebuyers, sellers and property investors, and its goal for the next 50 years is to expand that by staying ahead of the market and industry through innovation and a laser-like focus on personalized, memorable moments to help their clients and customers move fearlessly into their own real estate journey. "For 50 years, the family of relentless sales professionals at CENTURY 21 Citrus Realty has been driven by a singular mission of serving real estate consumers with the best in-class quality service and care worthy of the single largest investment most people make in a lifetime," said Oscar "OJ" Rodriguez, broker owner. "Home is where the heart is, and we value and appreciate the trust people and families in our communities give us willingly knowing that our team will guide them to the best real estate outcomes possible." Since opening the doors here in San Dimas in 1972, CENTURY 21 Citrus Realty has established itself as a thought leader and innovator in the global CENTURY 21 System of 14,000 offices in 84 countries worldwide. With state-of-the-art technology and a one-stop shop of products and services available to their agents and, in return, to their clients, CENTURY 21 Citrus Realty is well-positioned to keep its leadership positioning in the market. In fact, according to Century 21 Real Estate corporate records, in the C21 System, CENTURY 21 Citrus Realty is ranked #1 in San Gabriel Valley and #2 in the state of California (as of May, 2022) and has earned the CENTURY 21 brand's prestigious Presidents, Quality Service, and Grand CENTURION awards. "As we take the time to reflect on the last five decades of CENTURY 21 Citrus Realty and its involvement with San Dimas and throughout the San Gabriel Valley, it's also important to recognize the bright future this organization has ahead of it," added Mike Miedler, president and CEO of Century 21 Real Estate LLC. "There are no better ambassadors of the CENTURY 21 brand." Rodriguez is looking for relentless sales professionals to join his real estate company and invites area residents looking for a new career, or industry professionals looking for a new home, to visit him and the CENTURY 21 Citrus Realty team at 1100 Via Verde, San Dimas, CA 91773. "We appreciate all of those who have supported us in the last 50 years, and to all who will in the years to come," added Rodriguez. "Our goal is to make every client feel uniquely special, and our 50th anniversary is a celebration of making that happen every day for the next five decades." SPECIAL FOR MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA OJ" Rodriguez, the team at CENTURY 21 Citrus Realty and President/CEO of the global franchisor Century 21 Real Estate, Michael Miedler, extend a warm invitation to you to attend its "50th Anniversary Celebration" on Thursday, June 30 from 6-10 p.m. at the company's offices at 1100 Via Verde, San Dimas, CA 91773. Please reply to Peter L. Mosca, [email protected] or call/text, 732.841.4778. About CENTURY 21 Citrus Realty CENTURY 21 Citrus Realty is an independently owned and operated franchise affiliate of Century 21 Real Estate, franchisor of the iconic CENTURY 21 brand, comprised of 146,000 independent sales professionals in approximately 14,000 offices spanning 84 countries and territories. Century 21 Real Estate has numerous websites to help answer specific consumer needs. They are century21.com, century21.com/global, century21.com/commercial, century21.com/finehomes and century21.com/espanol. Century 21 Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Anywhere Real Estate Inc. (NYSE: HOUS), a global leader in real estate franchising and provider of real estate brokerage, relocation and settlement services. 2022 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. CENTURY 21, the CENTURY 21 Logo and C21 are registered service marks owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC. Century 21 Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each office is independently owned and operated. Media Contact: Peter L. Mosca Century 21 Real Estate LLC, for CENTURY 21 Citrus Realty 732.841.4778 [email protected] SOURCE Century 21 Real Estate LLC BEIJING, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- After five years' effort and construction, the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) was finally inaugurated on June 22 and is scheduled to open on July 2, representing a new cultural landmark in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Five years ago, on June 29, 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping was present at the signing ceremony for the cooperation agreement between the mainland and the HKSAR on the development of the museum at the West Kowloon Cultural District. In a show of his care and interest in the city's cultural and art development, Xi visited the district hours after he had arrived for a three-day inspection tour during the 20th anniversary celebrations of Hong Kong's return to the motherland. Xi said that he hoped the HKSAR would carry forward traditional culture and play a role in facilitating and promoting cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and the West, and between Hong Kong and the mainland. A window into Chinese culture The already-thriving traditional Chinese culture of Hong Kong, known as "the Pearl of the Orient," is further boosted by HKPM's inauguration. With elements such as red doors decorated with golden doornails, the museum embodies the excellence of traditional Chinese culture and asserts its aspiration to become one of the world's leading cultural institutions, committed to the study and appreciation of Chinese art and culture, while advancing dialogue among civilizations through international partnerships. More than 900 treasures from the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing will be placed on rotating display for the inaugural exhibitions. Some of these pieces are being shown in Hong Kong for the first time, while others have never been shown in public before, according to the HKPM. In addition to physical institutions such as museums, Hong Kong has also been a stage for different styles of traditional Chinese theater. Inscribed onto the first national list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2006 and UNESCO's Representative List in 2009, Cantonese Opera is among the most popular. In August 2017, in order to preserve its intangible cultural heritage, Hong Kong unveiled the first representative list of 20 items, ranging from performing arts like Cantonese Opera to festival events such as the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance and the traditional craftsmanship of the Bamboo Theatre Building Technique. A fusion of East and West Hong Kong is a place where Chinese and Western cultures blend, tradition and modernity are fused, and the old and new merge to present a unique contrast. President Xi emphasized in 2018 that through its cultural diversity, Hong Kong will continue to play a special role in promoting East-West cultural exchange, facilitating mutual learning among civilizations, and building people-to-people bonds. As an international business and financial center featuring openness and diversity, Hong Kong is home to some 600,000 non-Chinese residents, many of whom have resided in the city for decades. Arthur de Villepin is one of them. He runs a gallery on Hollywood Road in the Central district on Hong Kong Island, with his father Dominique de Villepin, who served as France's prime minister from 2005 to 2007. In an interview with China Media Group (CMG), the pair said that they had dedicated the Villepin gallery's inaugural exhibition to the late Chinese-French abstract painter Zao Wou-Ki, hailing him as a good example of "reconciliation between East and West." The younger de Villepin expressed his confidence that "art and culture will both grow dramatically" in the city, and that the way "China will reveal itself to the world through its people with art is going to be extraordinary." A city that tells China's stories During a meeting with a Hong Kong delegation, President Xi said that the city, as a cosmopolitan metropolis, can tap into its extensive connections with the world, spread the best of traditional Chinese culture, and tell China's stories. TV presenter Janis Chan is one such storyteller. In the documentary "No Poverty Land," she and her team spent three months visiting 10 areas on the Chinese mainland to introduce China's poverty relief efforts, which were not widely known to the world. The work has won praise from viewers in Hong Kong, the mainland and beyond, winning for Chan the title of Best Female Host at the TVB Anniversary Awards 2021 in Hong Kong, and the role model of "Touching China 2021" on the mainland. Following these honors, she told the media that it was her who was touched. "Every person we interviewed represents the remarkable character of the Chinese people." In a recent interview with CMG, Chan said she will document more stories about China to let audiences at home and abroad know about the nation's development. https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-06-30/Hong-Kong-25-years-on-A-cultural-bond-between-China-and-the-world--1bhc01Ua5ws/index.html SOURCE CGTN DUBLIN, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "China Mobile Games 2022" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The report explains the analysis on where that growth will come from, which segments are hot now and growing, and what the impact on the holistic games industry will be. China is worth 1/3 of the world's mobile games market - and rising, and deserves the attention of games companies worldwide. Although the regulations can be challenging, if a company is dedicated to developing a hit game that fits the rules and cultural gaming preferences, there is a strong chance that the effort will pay off in China. Key takeaways from the analysis: China's domestic mobile + PC game revenue was $45.49 billion in 2021, up 5.5% YoY and is projected to reach $55.23 billion in 2026 at a 5-year CAGR of 4% domestic mobile + PC game revenue was in 2021, up 5.5% YoY and is projected to reach in 2026 at a 5-year CAGR of 4% There were 706 million gamers in 2021, down 3.7% YoY, and projected to reach 730m in 2026 at a 5-year CAGR of 0.7% in 2026 at a 5-year CAGR of 0.7% Growth of the number of gamers is slower than previously projected. This is due to youth gamers leaving the market because of the September 2021 regulatory measures, and primarily impacts the number of mobile gamers regulatory measures, and primarily impacts the number of mobile gamers In 2021 China strengthened existing regulations, temporarily halted issuing game licenses (ISBN), and shifted toward compliance and enforcement The resumption of game licensing in April 2022 is a positive sign for the market is a positive sign for the market Annual ARPU was $64.44 in 2021 and set to reach $75.60 . ARPPU is also on the rise in 2021 and set to reach . ARPPU is also on the rise Chinese game companies are playing a larger role overseas: China's export mobile + PC game revenue was $17.3 billion in 2021, up 27.3% YoY and is projected to reach $26.46bn in 2026 at a 5-year CAGR of 8.9% export mobile + PC game revenue was in 2021, up 27.3% YoY and is projected to reach in 2026 at a 5-year CAGR of 8.9% China has the most developed esports market in the world with an audience of 434 million esports fans has the most developed esports market in the world with an audience of 434 million esports fans China's 220 game related investment events in 2021 were double that of 2020 220 game related investment events in 2021 were double that of 2020 More than 16,000 metaverse-related trademarks have been filed in China What's included: A comprehensive market model and 5-year forecast through 2026 by games segment Qualitative and quantitative analysis of gamer demand, spending, behavior, and usage for mobile games Trends analysis that formed our market size and forecast data Market share estimates for game publishers and Top 10 games lists Market size & forecast Growth drivers & trends Mobile e-sports Publishers & app markets Top games Mobile devices & hardware Case studies Financial transaction events Game approvals & regulations Analysis of our proprietary survey of Chinese gamers Key Topics Covered: 1. Market Size and Forecast Mobile gamers and ARPU Forecast through 2025 2. Market Trends Growth inhibitors Covid-19 impact on mobile gaming Market trends - in depth Succeeding in the mobile games market 3. Mobile Esports and Streaming Mobile esports games revenue Mobile esports participation Streaming platforms Top mobile games on streaming platforms 4. Financial Transaction Events M&A, investment, and IPO activity 5. Publishers and App Markets Market share of game publishers Market share of game export revenue Tencent , NetEase, and ByteDance , NetEase, and ByteDance Other companies to watch Leading app markets Popular app stores Community app stores and direct download 6. Top Mobile Games and Publishers Top mobile games by revenue Top mobile games by download Top publishers by revenue and download Top mobile export games 7. Mobile Devices and Hardware Smartphone ownership and upgrades 5G and smartphones in China 8. Gamer Insights Demographics Gamer behavior by segment Player retention Discoverability Popular genres Popular games Payments Spending In-game purchases In-game ads Post Covid-19 impact Mobile game emulators 9. Getting a Mobile Game into China Value chain of a mobile game Leading publishers for import games 10. Game Licensing and Regulations Unlicensed games Game approvals Companies Mentioned 37 Interactive Activision Alibaba Apple Applovin Archosaur Games Asus Baidu BiliBili Black Shark Bohemia Interactive ByteDance Century Huatong Ciamen Feiyu CMGE Cotton Crossing Star Studio Douyi Feiyu Fengxing Net Flame Corridor FriendTimes FunPlus G-Bits Game Trigger GEE Capital Genimous Group Giant Happy Elements Hiro Capital Honor Huawei iDreamsky IGG Indra Soft iQoo Jinke Culture Keen Games Lenovo LG Lightspeed Quantam Studios Lilith Games Line Games Lingren Madfinger Maoshu Network Meizu Mengyi Technology Meta MiHoYo Mobilus Moonton Mybo Games NetEase Ohayoo Oneplus Oppo Ourpalm Perfect World Pico VR Pollarf Studio PUBG Cooporation QingCi Digital Razer RealMe Reworld game Royal Crow Samsung SeaSun Shueisha Sky Box Studio Starlark TapTap Tencent Tieqi Game TopGames Vega Games Vivo Voodoo Warner Bros XD Network Xiaomi Yahaha Studios Yongshi Technology Yoozoo Zlongame ZQ Games For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/6d6u8m 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 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets Two long-time agency leaders promoted to expand client service and future growth opportunities CHICAGO, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Colman, Brohan & Davis, Inc. (CBD Marketing), an award-winning integrated B2B marketing agency, has announced the promotion of two of its longstanding executives, Mary Olivieri and Mark Shevitz. "In their decade-long tenures at CBD Marketing, both Mark and Mary have made enormous contributions to the agency, and I am incredibly proud to announce their well-deserved promotions," said Liz Brohan, CEO at CBD Marketing. "Mary brings a highly unique viewpoint and innovative techniques to drive customer and end-user insights that help clients Market What's Meaningful and grow their business," continued Brohan. "She's also been instrumental in building CBD Marketing's culture and making us one of the best places to work." "Mark has spearheaded all research, brand development and marketing strategy to assist clients in exceeding their performance goals," added Brohan. "Together, these two dedicated leaders offer the kind of employee- and client-first thinking that is sure to contribute to the agency's continued success." Oliveri, the Direct Marketer of the Year (2018), has been promoted from EVP, Executive Creative Director to President of CBD Marketing. As the agency's new President, she will guide the agency and the creative department to further nurture and innovate their clients' exciting vision and unique brand identities. "My goal is to continue the growth trajectory of both CBD Marketing and our clients and provide new opportunities for our entire staff to rise to new levels within their own careers," explained Olivieri. "We have an incredible group of deeply creative people. With Liz, Mark, and I at the helm, we are situated for an extremely exciting future." Shevitz, an esteemed strategic branding expert and frequent presenter at industry conferences, moves from his role as EVP, Director of Client Strategy into that of Chief Strategy Officer. In his new position, Shevitz looks to further guide business, marketing, and strategy for the agency's wide variety of clients. "It's a really interesting time in the economy, workforce, and the agency world. There are a lot of cultural and economic forces at play that could provide us with new paths for taking an even more client- and industry-centric approach to what we do," said Shevitz. "Being elevated alongside Mary, who I have been partnering with for over 10 years, is makes this all the more meaningful. I'm excited to continue working with Liz and Mary to help write the next chapter of the agency." For over a decade, Olivieri and Shevitz's expertise has allowed them to help evolve the agency's proven approach to B2B marketing and expand its service offerings designed to meet the needs of clients ranging from education and financial services to manufacturing, building products, and food ingredients. With complementary perspectives and insights into effective collaboration on exponential growth opportunities, Olivieri and Shevitz's promotions will result in continuing the agency's track record for innovative strategic practices and creative campaigns. About CBD Marketing Colman Brohan & Davis, Inc. (CBD Marketing) is a Chicago-based integrated marketing and advertising agency that builds strong connections between brands and the hearts and minds of their customers. Founded in 1988, CBD serves national and global clients in manufacturing, energy, appliances, building products, education, retail, financial services, food, food ingredients and other industries. Companies and organizations count on CBD to Market What's Meaningful, building more intimate and profitable relationships in emotional and rational ways. Contact: Brett Gerrish CBD Marketing [email protected] 312-661-1050 SOURCE Colman, Brohan & Davis, Inc. Students to pursue in-demand career in cardiovascular and diagnostic medical sonography PORTLAND, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Concorde Career Colleges, Inc., a national leader in health care education with 17 campuses in eight states, has launched associate degree programs in Cardiovascular Sonography (CVS) and Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS) at its Portland campus. The accelerated programs will provide pathways for students who want to pursue in-demand health care careers as quickly as possible. The demand for professionals in diagnostic medicine is estimated to grow by 14% from 2020 to 2030, largely because of retirements and career changes, according to The Bureau of Labor Statistics.i About 12,000 openings for medical sonographers and cardiovascular technologists are projected each year. "The combination of our hands-on learning methods and our engaged faculty and staff creates a positive learning environment for students to thrive in their programs," said Concorde-Portland Campus President Siri Dixon. "By investing in our students' education, we have seen them become successful health care professionals, helping to address the national health care shortage, specifically within diagnostic medicine." Enrollment for both programs are now open. Classes for the DMS Program will begin in July 2022 and for the CVS Program in September 2022. Teaching students fundamental medical concepts through a mixture of classroom learning and hands-on training in clinical settings, both programs are fast paced and offer 960 clinical hours. Students can complete the DMS Program in as little as 20 months and the CVS Program in 21 months. The CVS program covers cardiac and vascular anatomy, physiology, techniques for preforming ultrasound imaging of various body structures, and general education topics:ii Cardiovascular Pathology Cardiovascular Pharmacology Cardiovascular Registry Review Echocardiography Electrophysiology Vascular Sonography The DMS program covers human anatomy and physiology, techniques for performing ultrasound imaging of various body structures, and general education topics:iii Abdominal Sonography Anatomy and Physiology General Vascular Sonography OB/GYN Sonography Physics and Instrumentation Registry Review Sonographic Cross-Sectional Anatomy The sonography courses will integrate didactic and clinical instruction with increasing expectations at each level, preparing students to help doctors assess conditions and guide surgical teams. Concorde-Portland has seasoned faculty who are dedicated to helping students gain the skills they need to be successful in their externships and obtain entry-level sonography positions. The Concorde-Portland campus, which offers a variety of health care programs in Oregon, is located across from the Willamette River. For more information, visit the campus website or call 971-229-4551. About Concorde Career Colleges, Inc. Concorde Career Colleges, Inc., which operates 17 campuses in eight states under the brands Concorde Career College and Concorde Career Institute, prepares America's next generation of health care and dental professionals for rewarding careers. The Concorde hybrid/blended education model combines online coursework with in-person lab classes and clinical experiences. Concorde's 25 student-focused academic programs and personalized support prepares graduates for in-demand careers in nursing, dental, respiratory, diagnostic and other health care roles. Concorde's campuses are accredited by either the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) or the Council on Occupational Education (COE). For more information, visit www.concorde.edu. i U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected national growth in job openings for medical sonographers and cardiovascular technologists and technicians between 2020-2030, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/diagnostic-medical-sonographers.htm ii https://www.concorde.edu/diagnostic-programs/cardiovascular-sonography/portland iii https://www.concorde.edu/diagnostic-programs/diagnostic-medical-sonography/portland Media Contact: Devyn Raver CBD Marketing [email protected] 312.661.1050 SOURCE Concorde Career Colleges Students to pursue in-demand career in cardiovascular and diagnostic medical sonography SAN DIEGO, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Concorde Career Colleges, Inc., a national leader in health care education with 17 campuses in eight states, has launched associate degree programs in Cardiovascular Sonography (CVS) and Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS) at its San Diego campus. The accelerated programs will provide pathways for students who want to pursue in-demand health care careers as quickly as possible. The demand for professionals in diagnostic medicine is estimated to grow by 14% from 2020 to 2030, largely because of retirements and career changes, according to The Bureau of Labor Statistics.i About 12,000 openings for medical sonographers and cardiovascular technologists are projected each year. "As a college, we measure our success by our students, knowing that their ultimate goal is to begin a career in health care and serve patients in their communities," said Concorde-San Diego Campus President Rachel Saffel. "Our new diagnostic medical programs will provide students with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to help improve point of care and deliver non-invasive solutions to the challenges they will encounter as healthcare professionals each day." Enrollment for both programs are now open. Classes for the DMS Program will begin in July 2022 and for the CVS Program in September 2022. Teaching students fundamental medical concepts through a mixture of classroom learning and hands-on training in clinical settings, both programs are fast paced and offer 960 clinical hours. Students can complete the DMS Program in as little as 20 months and the CVS Program in 21 months. The CVS program covers cardiac and vascular anatomy, physiology, techniques for preforming ultrasound imaging of various body structures, and general education topics:ii Cardiovascular Pathology Cardiovascular Pharmacology Cardiovascular Registry Review Echocardiography Electrophysiology Vascular Sonography The DMS program covers human anatomy and physiology, techniques for performing ultrasound imaging of various body structures, and general education topics:iii Abdominal Sonography Anatomy and Physiology General Vascular Sonography OB/GYN Sonography Physics and Instrumentation Registry Review Sonographic Cross-Sectional Anatomy The sonography courses will integrate didactic and clinical instruction with increasing expectations at each level, preparing students to help doctors assess conditions and guide surgical teams. Concorde-San Diego has seasoned faculty who are dedicated to helping students gain the skills they need to be successful in their externships and obtain entry-level sonography positions. The Concorde-San Diego campus, which offers a variety of health care programs in California, is located south of Greenwood Memorial Park on Imperial Ave. For more information, visit the campus website or call 619-908-1963. About Concorde Career Colleges, Inc. Concorde Career Colleges, Inc., which operates 17 campuses in eight states under the brands Concorde Career College and Concorde Career Institute, prepares America's next generation of health care and dental professionals for rewarding careers. The Concorde hybrid/blended education model combines online coursework with in-person lab classes and clinical experiences. Concorde's 25 student-focused academic programs and personalized support prepares graduates for in-demand careers in nursing, dental, respiratory, diagnostic and other health care roles. Concorde's campuses are accredited by either the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) or the Council on Occupational Education (COE). For more information, visit www.concorde.edu. i U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected national growth in job openings for medical sonographers and cardiovascular technologists and technicians between 2020-2030, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/diagnostic-medical-sonographers.htm ii https://www.concorde.edu/diagnostic-programs/cardiovascular-sonography/san-diego iii https://www.concorde.edu/diagnostic-programs/diagnostic-medical-sonography/san-diego Media Contact: Devyn Raver CBD Marketing [email protected] 312.661.1050 SOURCE Concorde Career Colleges Barbi Goldstein named one of the Top Consultants; Tricia Callahan recognized as one of the Women Leaders in Technology MENLO PARK, Calif., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Two managing directors with global consulting firm Protiviti have been recognized by Consulting magazine for their accomplishments and impact on the consulting profession. Barbi Goldstein was named to the 2022 'Top Consultants' list for Excellence in Innovation and Tricia Callahan was named to the 2022 'Women Leaders in Technology' list in the Future Leader category. Goldstein served as Protiviti's Global Innovation Leader from 2019 to 2021, where she was instrumental in driving a global approach to enhancing innovation across the firm. She is currently the firm's global strategic account manager for one of the world's largest financial services organizations. Goldstein has more than 20 years of experience providing Protiviti's financial services industry clients with tailored solutions for their risk and controls, internal audit and SOX compliance requirements. In addition, she serves on the audit committee of the Plainview-Old Bethpage School district in New York. "Despite all the disruption caused by the pandemic, Barbi significantly upgraded our global innovation program and successfully drove the adoption of design thinking for which all employees now receive training," said Cory Gunderson, executive vice president of global solutions, Protiviti and a Consulting 'Top Consultant' in 2009. "Her redesign of our global innovation sites residency program and the unexpected pivot to a virtual experience due to the pandemic was itself a masterstroke of innovation." Callahan is a leader in Protiviti's financial services security and privacy practice in the Dallas market and broader West region. She has more than 13 years of experience providing clients with cybersecurity and information security assessment and strategy and audit services and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). Callahan works closely with her IT consulting colleagues to develop specialized client services such as Protiviti's Ransomware Advisory and Recovery offering to help clients strengthen their ransomware resilience and broader cybersecurity posture. "Tricia is a dynamic leader at Protiviti, combining great intelligence and drive with insightfulness, integrity, empathy and patience," said Kim Bozzella, global leader of Technology Consulting, Protiviti and a 2021 Consulting 'Women Leaders in Technology' honoree. "These qualities enable her to consistently motivate her teams, keep them focused on their goals, and encourage them to collaborate in a way that makes our organization better while she continually strives to ensure our clients receive excellent service." Profiles of both Goldstein and Callahan are featured on the Consulting website, together with all the honorees. Protiviti was named to Consulting's 'Best Firms to Work For' annual list for the eighth consecutive year in 2021. About Protiviti Protiviti (www.protiviti.com) is a global consulting firm that delivers deep expertise, objective insights, a tailored approach, and unparalleled collaboration to help leaders confidently face the future. Protiviti and its independent and locally owned Member Firms provide clients with consulting and managed solutions in finance, technology, operations, data, digital, legal, governance, risk and internal audit through its network of more than 85 offices in over 25 countries. Named to the 2022 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list, Protiviti has served more than 80 percent of Fortune 100 and nearly 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies. The firm also works with smaller, growing companies, including those looking to go public, as well as with government agencies. Protiviti is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half (NYSE: RHI). Founded in 1948, Robert Half is a member of the S&P 500 index. Protiviti is not licensed or registered as a public accounting firm and does not issue opinions on financial statements or offer attestation services. Editor's note: photos available upon request. SOURCE Protiviti NEW YORK, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Credit Suisse is pleased to announce that the Credit Suisse Americas Foundation has awarded $400,000 to two new nonprofit partners Generation USA and Year Up . These groundbreaking programs serve the community by investing in motivated yet under-resourced young people and developing a robust and diverse talent pipeline. The organizations provide educational pathways outside of traditional four-year degrees, enhancing their students' abilities to launch promising careers. "While we have long-supported and remain committed to four-year college completion, we have become increasingly motivated to find opportunities to support the nearly 2/3 of Americans who do not choose or may not have access to this pathway," said Eric Eckholdt, Executive Director of the Credit Suisse Americas Foundation. "We completed the expansion of our Future Skills portfolio to include innovative organizations or initiatives that strive to bridge the gap between the education and employment sectors by providing additional pathways for young people to navigate toward promising careers, like apprenticeships, certifications, and two-year degrees." These grants are part of the Credit Suisse Americas Foundation's work in Future Skills, a giving program that supports educational efforts to provide young people from underserved communities with skills necessary for a strong career start in order to live choice-filled, upwardly-mobile lives. The Credit Suisse America's Foundation continues to support high-performing schools like KIPP Public Charter Schools , modern youth apprenticeships through CareerWise New York , and innovative programs such as Braven , the WakeWorks Apprenticeship program, and myFutureNC . Moreover, the Foundation is pleased to onboard these organizations that aim to further the vision of providing additional pathways to securing a family-sustaining career. "These two new groups represent a transition from a "college-for-all" to a "success-for-all" mentality," says Eckholdt. "We are excited for the opportunity to support and learn from industry leaders and changemakers who embody the spirit of this effort, which we believe is vital for both young people in America and an evolving workforce." Generation USA is a nimble organization founded by McKinsey & Company. At scale, it has the potential to provide high-level, industry credentialed training to thousands of young people. According to Generation USA, more than 75 million young adults were out of work globally even before the global pandemic, and three times as many were underemployed. Concurrently, certain jobs remain in high-demand, and 40 percent of employers say a skills shortage leaves them with entry-level vacancies. In an effort to bridge this gap, the Generation USA program aims to transform education to employment systems to prepare, place, and support people into life-changing careers that would otherwise be inaccessible. "We are proud to be a recipient of Credit Suisse's philanthropic initiatives in opening entry to a meaningful career through non-traditional pathways," says Richard Clemmons, Generation USA Interim CEO. "Through this generous funding, we'll be able to expand our reach and impact in the New York City community by providing training, support, and access to career opportunities in the high-demand tech industry." Credit Suisse is also excited to partner with Year Up, a best-in-class workforce development organization, which is committed to ensuring equitable access to economic opportunity, education, and justice for all young adultsno matter their background, income, or zip code. Year Up's intensive training program utilizes a high expectations, high support model where students learn in-demand technical and professional skills and apply them during a work-based experience with one of their 250+ corporate partners. "Credit Suisse and Credit Suisse Americas Foundation's generous support will enable motivated young adults to receive the training, support and connections to have rewarding careers at top companies," said Gerald Chertavian, Year Up Founder and CEO. "Through this partnership, we will make important progress in closing the Opportunity Divide and building a more inclusive society and a stronger economy." Press Contact Jonathan Schwarzberg, Credit Suisse, [email protected] Credit Suisse Credit Suisse is one of the world's leading financial services providers. Our strategy builds on Credit Suisse's core strengths: its position as a leading wealth manager, its specialist investment banking capabilities and its strong presence in our home market of Switzerland. We seek to follow a balanced approach to wealth management, aiming to capitalize on both the large pool of wealth within mature markets as well as the significant growth in wealth in Asia Pacific and other emerging markets, while also serving key developed markets with an emphasis on Switzerland. Credit Suisse employs approximately 50,110 people. The registered shares (CSGN) of Credit Suisse Group AG, are listed in Switzerland and, in the form of American Depositary Shares (CS), in New York. Further information about Credit Suisse can be found at www.credit-suisse.com. Disclaimer This document was produced by and the opinions expressed are those of Credit Suisse as of the date of writing and are subject to change. It has been prepared solely for information purposes and for the use of the recipient. It does not constitute an offer or an invitation by or on behalf of Credit Suisse to any person to buy or sell any security. Any reference to past performance is not necessarily a guide to the future. The information and analysis contained in this publication have been compiled or arrived at from sources believed to be reliable but Credit Suisse does not make any representation as to their accuracy or completeness and does not accept liability for any loss arising from the use hereof. SOURCE Credit Suisse Partnership will drive communication across multiple locations quickly and efficiently. JERSEY CITY, N.J., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Culinary Digital , a leading food-tech platform and Fulcrum Group LLC company, has announced a new project with Whitsons Culinary Group (Whitsons), a provider of customized dining services to public schools and more in the Northeast, to launch 'Cafe Connections' across 110 school districts. The alliance will bridge the communication gap for onsite staff allowing Whitsons to deliver real-time information and updates directly to the onsite teams. "We're growing at a very rapid rate, and the larger we get, the more challenges it presents in terms of trying to reach out to all our team members. The goal was to be in front of it and start coming up with solutions before we would have to go backwards looking for a solution," said Kelly Friend, Chief Operating Officer for Contract Management, Whitsons. Cafe Connections is the newest innovation from Culinary Digital to manage the content on screens at each school with ease, helping to develop skills and keep team members engaged. The internal digital network of up to 700 screens connects Whitsons' K-12 cafeterias across 110 school districts. Cafe Connections was inspired by the existing FD Connect, an employee communication platform for food contractors and self-operating cafeteria operation. Additionally, Cafe Connections will: Inform staff with real-time information on new products, plans, training, features, or recalls Provide responsive communication between corporate/district office and onsite teams Offer flexibility by the system to personalize messages across each district Commenting on the partnership, Abilash Krishnaswamy, VP of Products, Culinary Digital, said, "We have been partners with Whitsons Culinary Group over the last 8 years and worked on various projects involving automation and digitization of back of the office and front of the office cafeteria management functions. Cafe Connection further strengthens our already existing long-term strategic partnership." "The high-impact communication platform can be used to send day-to-day happenings including OSHA training needs, supply chain challenges, newsletters, benefits, and much more," continued Krishnaswamy. "Our motto is People, Food and Communication. Not only does this align with our goals and our company culture, but it also addresses the food part of it. Each location can share what they're doing with the food being served. It's inspiring the employees," said Friend. About Culinary Digital: Culinary Digital Inc. is a leading food-tech platform that offers an integrated suite of culinary products and technology solutions for the foodservices industry. It is a Fulcrum Group LLC company; group companies include Fulcrum Digital LLC. and Fulcrum Worldwide Pvt. Ltd. Over the last 20 years, Culinary Digital has empowered food management companies and self-operators to automate and streamline business operations, reduce food costs, and increase revenue. Our powerful set of culinary products like Culinary Suite and solutions have meticulously developed to incorporate leading business practices in the industry. For more information, visit www.culinarydigital.com About Whitsons Culinary Group Whitsons Culinary Group provides a wide range of highly customized dining services to public schools, healthcare dining and emergency services throughout the Northeast, with a strong focus on nutritious, high quality meals made from wholesome, fresh ingredients. Whitsons has a long and proud history of excellence and growth since 1979 and is setting new standards for the foodservice industry with wholesome foods and family values. For more information, visit www.whitsons.com or find us on Facebook or Twitter . SOURCE Culinary Digital CHICAGO, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Democrats for the Illinois House, the official political arm of the Illinois House Democratic Caucus, announces Executive Director Lizbeth Ramirez will be departing to pursue other opportunities. Speaker Welch thanks Ramirez for her hard work and efforts to help the House Democratic Caucus. Speaker Welch said, "Lizbeth stepped up and helped pull together a new political organization for the House Democrats. She committed to assisting with our efforts through the primary election, and I am incredibly appreciative for all that she accomplished. The caucus owes her a debt of gratitude for all of her hard work." The organization's Chief Communications Officer, TaQuoya McConnico, will take the reins as Executive Director through the upcoming general election. TaQuoya McConnico, a United States Air Force Veteran, is an award-winning communications and marketing professional and former WVON News Director. She also served as a Vice President at Teneo Strategy, a global CEO consulting and advisory firm founded. TaQuoya has received numerous awards for her work, including Verizon Wireless HQ Communications Improvement Recognition, President Obama's Call to Service Award, and The Village of Maywood Helping Hand Award. She was also named one of Chicago's Top Professionals Under the Age of 40 to watch by the Chicago Defender. "Since joining the team early this year, TaQuoya has been an integral part of the growth and the development of Democrats for the Illinois House," said speaker Welch. "I look forward to the leadership she brings in helping us continue to grow and elevate our practices, build the culture for this new and vibrant organization, and incorporate old proven methodologies with the more modern and digital era." McConnico led efforts to further build Democrats for the Illinois House including moving them further into social media and digital marketing. "I am excited to continue to serve the Democratic Caucus in this more expanded role," said McConnico. "I care about each and every one of our legislators, their successes, and the success of our Caucus and communities. I couldn't be more excited to help Speaker Welch in continuing to forge a new era for House Democrats." About Democrats for the Illinois House: Democrats for the Illinois House is the official political arm of the Illinois House Democratic Caucus. We support Democrats for the Illinois House in fighting for equality, justice, and opportunity for all. Under the leadership of House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch, Democrats for Illinois House (DIH) is dedicated to promoting the excellent work of the caucus, protecting incumbents, winning competitive races, and serving Illinoisans with integrity. The Illinois House Democratic Caucus is one of the most diverse in the nation representing African-American (22), Latinx (10), Asian American (4), Women (39) and LGBTQ+ (4) members. DIH is committed to creating an environment across the state that is inclusive and welcoming to all people. SOURCE Democrats for the Illinois House CHICAGO, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Dimethylformamide (DMF) Market by Type (Reactant and Feedstock), End-use industries (Chemicals, Electronics, Pharmaceutical, and Agrochemical), and Region (Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Europe, MEA and South America) - Global Forecast to 2027", published by MarketsandMarkets, the DMF market is projected to grow from USD 2.3 billion in 2022 to USD 2.7 billion by 2027, at a CAGR of 3.2% between 2022 and 2027. Growing demand in automotive and electronics market provide opportunities to increase the market. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=129340374 Browse in-depth TOC on "Dimethylformamide (DMF) Market" 261 Tables 38 Figures 205 Pages View Detailed Table of Content Here: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/dimethylformamide-market-129340374.html Electronics is the fastest-growing segment of the overall DMF market. For manufacturing wire enamel, condensed polyesteramide in the melted form is used, which is prepared by dissolving polyester resins in an organic solvent. In this process, many organic solvents are considered, but mostly DMF is used to make wire enamels. Similarly, DMF is used to dissolve the catalyst in epoxy laminated printed circuit boards. China is one of the largest producers of PCB boards. Huge demand from the electronics industry from China, Japan, South Korea, India, and other Asia Pacific countries is driving the use of DMF. China is the largest DMF market in Asia Pacific during the forecast period. According to Statista, the revenue generated from the appliances industry of the country is supposed to witness an annual growth rate of 9.4% between 2020 and 2024 and will amount to USD 70,388 million by 2024. The standard of living and purchasing power of its population are increasing rapidly which makes the appliances industry strong. It supports the strong development of foreign and Chinese brands. This growth of the appliances industry in the country is increasing the use of DMF. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=129340374 The key players profiled in the DMF market report are Shandong Hualu Hengsheng (China), Jiutian Chemical Group Limited (Singapore), Luxi Chemical Group Co., Ltd. (China), Shaanxi Xinghua Chemistry (China), and Shandong Jinmei Riyue Chemical Co., Ltd. (China). Jiutian Chemical Group Limited is a specialist in the fine chemical industry. It manufactures and produces DMF, methylamine, sodium hydrosulfite, and Dimethylacetamide (DMAC). It is also involved in the processing and sale of consumable carbon dioxide, oxygen-18, and deuterium-depleted water. It is one of the leading players in the DMF market globally. The company has successfully used available local resources to cater to the local as well as the global market. Also, the Singapore government has increased the investments in infrastructure to facilitate and improve the business environment, which has been accessed by the organization to drive growth. Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=129340374 Shaanxi Xinghua Chemistry Co., Ltd. manufactures and sells chemical products such as ammonium nitrate, porous ammonium nitrate, compounded fertilizers, nitric acid, and carbon-based iron powders. It is a well-established chemical manufacturer in China that accounts for the major share of the DMF market in Asia Pacific. The company has become the largest production base of ammonium nitrate, and its product sales have covered 25 provinces and autonomous regions. Browse Adjacent Markets: Specialty Chemicals Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: Adhesives & Sealants Market by Adhesive Formulating Technology (Water-based, Solvent-based, Hot-melt, Reactive), Sealant Resin Type (Silicone, Polyurethane, Plastisol, Emulsion, Polysulfide, Butyl), Application, Region - Global Forecast to 2026 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/adhesive-sealants-market-421.html Paints & Coatings Market by Resin (Acrylic, Alkyd, Epoxy, PU, Vinyl, Fluoropolymer, Polyester), Technology (Waterborne, Solventborne, Powder), Application (Architectural (Residential, Non-residential), Industrial) and Region - Global Forecast to 2026 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/paint-coating-market-156661838.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. 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Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/dimethylformamide-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/dimethylformamide.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg SOURCE MarketsandMarkets Key Highlights Offered in the Report: Information on how to identify strategic and tactical negotiation levels that will help achieve the best prices. Gain information on relevant pricing levels, detailed explanation of the pros and cons of prevalent pricing models. Methods to help engage with the right suppliers and discover KPI's to evaluate incumbent suppliers. Fetch actionable market insights on post COVID-19 impact on each product and service segments. Click Here Some of the Top Directional Drilling suppliers listed in this report: This report offers detailed insights and analysis of the major cost drivers, volume drivers, and innovations of the Directional Drilling procurement and sourcing market, which the global suppliers have been leveraging to gain a competitive edge across regions. Some of the leading Directional Drilling suppliers profiled extensively in this report include: Halliburton Weatherford International CNOOC. Fetch actionable market insights on post COVID-19 impact on each product and service segments: www.spendedge.com/report/directional-drilling-sourcing-and-procurement-intelligence-report Top Selling Report: Asset Recovery Services - Forecast and Analysis: The asset recovery services will grow at a CAGR of 9.49% during 2021-2025. Asia Asset Recovery Pte Ltd., TES-Amm Singapore Pte Ltd., and Iron Mountain Inc. are among the prominent suppliers in asset recovery services market. Click the above link to download the free sample of this report. Vulnerability Management Sourcing and Procurement Report: Vulnerability Management Procurement Market, prices will increase by 4%-6% during the forecast period and suppliers will have a Moderate bargaining power in this market. Click the above link to download the free sample of this report. Outplacement Services - Sourcing and Procurement Intelligence Report: This report offers key advisory and intelligence to help buyers identify and shortlist the most suitable suppliers for their Outplacement Services requirements. Click the above link to download the free sample of this report. To access the definite purchasing guide on the Directional Drilling that answers all your key questions on price trends and analysis: Am I paying/getting the right prices? Is my Directional Drilling TCO (total cost of ownership) favorable? How is the price forecast expected to change? What is driving the current and future price changes? Which pricing models offer the most rewarding opportunities? Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 1,200+ market research reports. SpendEdge's SUBSCRIPTION platform Table of Content Executive Summary Market Insights Category Pricing Insights Cost-saving Opportunities Best Practices Category Ecosystem Category Management Strategy Category Management Enablers Suppliers Selection Suppliers under Coverage US Market Insights Category scope Appendix About SpendEdge: SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions. Contacts: SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager Ph No: +1 (872) 206-9340 https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us SOURCE SpendEdge The tie-up helps move the world closer to a net-zero carbon future TAOYUAN, Taiwan, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The board of directors of Chroma ATE Inc. has approved the investment in Taiwan-based start-up Gaius Automotive as the first step in establishing a long-term strategic partnership. Chroma will supply electric control units (ECUs) to Gaius as one of the key components for electric three-wheeled delivery vehicles. The tie-up will offer strong support to the development of Taiwan's electric vehicle (EV) industry. In light of the eventual transition to a net-zero carbon world, net-zero emissions are much more than simply an environmental issue. They are also a key issue for the future of industrial development and international competitiveness where the electrification of vehicles is seen as a critical part. Chroma's electric components can be used for every type and size of three- and four-wheeled vehicle, whether for commercial, industrial or personal use, from public-use buses, commercial delivery trucks and forklifts to passenger cars. Gaius has developed a new generation of electric tricycles for commercial logistics, with the advantages of high performance, high load capacity, high mobility, and high safety to meet the demand for zero carbon emissions in the last mile of urban delivery. Chroma has been deeply engaged in the field of electric vehicle measurement for many years, providing complete EV test solutions from power electronics, batteries and chargers to motor testing. The company has developed a variety of recyclable test solutions with innovative technologies to meet the requirements of global green initiatives, while reducing power costs, and more importantly, reducing carbon emissions to support the industry's net-zero transition. About Chroma Founded in 1984, Chroma ATE Inc. is a world-leading supplier of precision test and measurement instrumentation, automated test systems, intelligent manufacturing systems, and test & automation turnkey solutions marketed globally under the brand name Chroma. Significant markets served by Chroma include EVs, green batteries, LEDs, photovoltaics, semiconductors/ICs, photonics, flat panel displays, video displays, power electronics, passive components, electrical safety equipment, thermoelectric temperature control, automated optical inspection, intelligent manufacturing systems, cleantech and intelligent factories. About Gaius Founded in 2010, Gaius Automotive Inc. is one of 25 start-up companies worldwide selected by the French Tech Ticket program to receive funding and other support from the French government. Gaius has developed the first electric 3-wheel commercial vehicle for logistics designed to meet higher demands for superior performance and safety. The vehicle, equipped with a complete fleet management, charging and scheduling system, provides the best solution for commercial logistics. SOURCE Chroma ATE Inc. GLASGOW, Scotland, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- EnteroBiotix, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel highly-diverse microbial therapeutics that enhance the gut microbiome, today announced the Board appointment of David Lawrence as an independent Non-Executive Director. Mr. Lawrence is an accomplished executive with over 30 years of experience in finance, M&A, business development and corporate strategy in the life sciences industry. Dr James McIlroy, CEO at EnteroBiotix, said: "I am excited that David is joining our Board. He is highly experienced and successful with deep capital markets expertise that will help to advance our fundraising objectives as we work to bring transformative novel medicines to patients battling serious diseases. David brings strong strategic acumen and a wealth of experience to EnteroBiotix. We look forward to leveraging his expertise as we advance our platform and pipeline." David Lawrence, Non-Executive Director at EnteroBiotix, said: "I am delighted to join EnteroBiotix at this important stage in the company's evolution. The microbiome space is very dynamic, and I believe that EnteroBiotix can play a major role in providing transformational microbiome-based treatment options for patients. The Board's ambition to build a major business and the opportunity to contribute to the global good is compelling." David joins the Board with immediate effect and will also support the CEO with the Company's financing strategy. David was most recently the Chief Financial Officer at Valneva, a specialty vaccine company and saw Synpromics, a Scottish based synthetic biology business, from start-up to exit in 2019. EnteroBiotix's approach is focused on advancing a pipeline of products that enhance the diversity of the microbiome to address a wide range of unmet medical needs. The Company' platform and product pipeline has potential applicability across multiple areas including immuno-oncology, infectious diseases, and other diseases of the gut-liver-brain axis. Media contacts: EnteroBiotix Kirsten McAllan [email protected] Scius Communications Katja Stout [email protected] Daniel Gooch [email protected] About EnteroBiotix EnteroBiotix is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicinal products that enhance the gut microbiome and target multiple disease indications. Established in 2017, EnteroBiotix is headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland and operates research laboratories and pharmaceutical manufacturing suites in Glasgow and Aberdeen. The company has raised around 18m in equity investment since incorporation, from investors including Thairm Bio, Scottish Enterprise, and Kineticos Life Sciences. The company has unique platform manufacturing technology and operates a brand called Number 2, which ensures the security and quality of supply of microbiota from human donors. For more details see https://www.enterobiotix.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/enterobiotix/. SOURCE Enterobiotox Deal Creates One of Nation's Largest Real Estate and Property Management Firms RICHMOND, Va., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Evernest, a national, full-service real estate and property management firm, announced today a merger with three divisions of Virginia-based Dodson Property Management. The merger will bring Dodson's divisions overseeing single-family property management, small multi-family buildings, and association management into the Evernest portfolio. Evernest Merges with Dodson Property Management to Become one of Nation's Largest Real Estate and Property Management Firms The merger includes Dodson's entire single-family portfolio of 2,450 units; 1,100 units under its Portfolio Management division of smaller multi-family buildings; and all Association Management operations, encompassing 170 associations and 15,000 units. The names of the divisions will change to Evernest. The merger is Evernest's largest to date, and adds roughly 3,550 single-family homes and small multi-family units to Evernest's portfolio. The deal boosts Evernest's overall portfolio to more than 11,000 single-family homes and apartments under management nationwide and positions Evernest as one of the largest single-family and small multi-family real estate and property management firms in America. Additionally, the deal moves Evernest into the management of homeowners and condominium associations in Virginia and Florida. "This merger is really the culmination of two companies that have a similar culture, a similar tech platform, and similar teams that have built legacies in large-scale, single-family property management," said Matthew Whitaker, Evernest Founder and CEO. "A combined company will add value to Dodson and Evernest clients through shared resources, shared values, and shared systems." The merger with Dodson places Evernest's property management and brokerage services into four new single-family markets: Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Williamsburg, Va., as well as Northern Virginia. Dodson has association management operations in Richmond, Northern Virginia, Williamsburg, and Sarasota, Fla. These markets add to the 18 national regions already served by Evernest's elite team of property managers and real estate brokers. Like Dodson, Evernest has focused in recent years on acquiring and merging operations to grow and better support owners and residents. The Dodson merger comes on the heels of 21 previous deals, either mergers or outright acquisitions, made by Evernest. Dodson is one of five deals Evernest has made in the second quarter of 2022 alone. "We have a vision for our own company's growth, and felt scale was necessary to build the best leadership team in the industry and to provide our residents and clients with all of the resources possible to ensure that they have a quality experience," said Duke Dodson, President and CEO of Dodson Companies. "We're extremely close with Matthew and the team at Evernest and have worked together over the years to build our businesses from the ground up, share best practices, and help one another grow, so we felt very comfortable in taking this big step to come together as one." Dodson's existing leadership, operations, and property/association management teams will remain in place in the markets the company serves. Both property owners and residents will experience a seamless transition, maintain the same team members they know, and see continually improving processes and systems. Publicly, Dodson signage will change to Evernest. Dodson's Commercial, Development and short-term rental divisions remain independent and are not included in the Evernest merger. Adds Whitaker: "As we expand into Virginia, and join forces with the Dodson team, we're excited to help residents, owners, and investors achieve their real estate goals and show them what a great property and association management company can be." ABOUT EVERNEST Based in Birmingham, Ala., Evernest operates in 25 real estate markets across the country. It is one of the nation's largest single-family and small multi-family investment broker and property management provider. The firm manages more than 11,000 homes for over 4,100 owners, brokers more than 1,000 investment deals annually, and has made the Inc5000 list five of the last six years. Learn more about Evernest at Evernest.co . ABOUT THE DODSON COMPANIES Dodson was founded in 2007 as a property management and real estate company dedicated to the needs of investor owners and tenants. Today, Dodson operates a commercial property management and brokerage division, Dodson Commercial; a real estate development group, Dodson Development; and a short-term rental management division. Learn more at DodsonDev.com and DodsonCommercial.com. Contact for Evernest: Spencer Sutton 205.940.6363 [email protected] Contact for Dodson: Jeff Kelley 804.397.9700 [email protected] SOURCE Evernest Biotechnology Company Set to Disrupt Synthetic and Fossil Fuel-Derived Supply Chains in Leather, Apparel and Personal Care with Scale-Up to 900 Metric Tons of Annual Activated Silk Production Volume BOSTON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Evolved By Nature, the company creating a proprietary library of Activated Silk molecules from natural silk protein, announced today it closed $120M in Series C financing, led by Teachers' Venture Growth (TVG), part of the C$242 billion Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, and Senator Investment Group, with participation from existing investors including Mousse Partners, Chanel, Jeff Vinik, The Kraft Group, Roy Disney and Emerald Development Managers. Designed to advance human health, product performance, and the circular economy, Activated Silk molecules serve as renewably sourced sustainable chemicals, bioactive ingredients and novel therapeutics for use in markets including apparel, personal care and medicine. This financing accelerates commercialization of the Activated Silk technology platform, which will move global markets away from dependence on synthetics and fossil fuel derivatives and expand the boundaries of regenerative medicine. The round coincides with the launch of Evolved By Nature's state-of-the-art, full-scale manufacturing facility, which will ramp up production volumes to 900 metric tons of Activated Silk per year. This financing advances global sales for Evolved By Nature's sustainable alternatives to the petrochemical coatings used by the leather and textile industries today. In the last year, Evolved by Nature's biodegradable, high-performance finishes have been adopted by fashion brands including Anya Hindmarch, nylon mills including Alpine Creations and Apex Holdings, and leather tanneries including Richard Hoffmans GmbH & Co. KG, Cyclica Srl and Curtidos Bengala. The funding also progresses the launch of promising, powerful Activated Silk skin barrier enhancing ingredients in both brand-owned and third-party personal care products, which serve as natural replacements to fossil fuel derivatives like petrolatum and harsh, synthetic ingredients like retinoids. In parallel, Evolved by Nature will pursue the discovery of therapeutics that effectively improve the skin and treat often overlooked conditions. "We've crossed a critical planetary boundary. Overuse of fossil fuel-derived petrochemicals has altered the biochemistry of the human body and the planet's life support systems," said Dr. Greg Altman, CEO and Co-Founder of Evolved By Nature. "With TVG's support, we can now reimagine new therapeutics and global supply chains that foster healthier relationships between industries and ecosystems, focusing first on skin treatments and high-performance coatings for leather and apparel." "With this investment, we can now make our library of Activated Silk molecules available to global development partners," added Dr. Rebecca Lacouture, President, COO and Co-Founder of Evolved by Nature, "so, together, we can enhance the performance potential of essentially any surface." Evolved By Nature's newly-minted, full-scale production facility in Walpole, Massachusetts opened in May 2022 and currently produces 150 metric tons of Activated Silk per year a 500% increase in capacity from 2021. This financing supports full operation and the capacity to generate 900 metric tons of Activated Silk per year in 2024. Based on Evolved By Nature's calculations, this would represent 900M jars of petrochemical free skincare, 150M square feet of biodegradable, polyurethane-free leather, sustainable finishing chemistry for 195M pieces of performance apparel, or a replacement for 7,200 metric tons of non-biodegradable petrochemical surfactants regularly washed into waterways via skin cleaning products. "We believe there is vast unlocked potential in utilizing silk protein to produce innovative and sustainable products of a high quality that will advance the health of people and the planet," said Olivia Steedman, Executive Managing Director of TVG. "Evolved By Nature has a compelling vision to break through new scientific boundaries to reduce our reliance on problematic chemicals and build better, more sustainable supply chains in the process. We're delighted to partner with them in executing this vision and growing their operations globally." Citigroup acted as the sole placement agent on this transaction. Nixon Peabody represented Evolved By Nature. About Evolved By Nature Founded in 2013 in Boston, MA, Evolved By Nature is a biotechnology company that creates renewably sourced solutions to human health needs. Activated Silk biotechnology leverages natural silk protein to create sustainable molecules with the potential to protect, repair, and enhance the barrier function of anything with a surface. Enabling the next generation of products that advance the health of people and the planet, Evolved By Nature has unlocked applications for Activated Silk biotechnology within textiles, personal care, aesthetic and medical treatments, therapeutics and more, with limitless possibilities. www.evolvedbynature.com About Teachers' Venture Growth Teachers' Venture Growth (TVG) focuses on late-stage venture and growth equity investments in cutting-edge technology companies worldwide. We partner with founders with bold missions, looking to expand their product offering, scale geographically, and become the leaders in their markets. We bring long-term thinking and active investing to help build better businesses and a better world. We think globally and act locally through our direct presence in San Francisco, Toronto, London and Hong Kong. TVG is part of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers'), a global investor with net assets of C$241.6 billion as of December 31, 2021. We invest in more than 50 countries in everything from equities to real estate to infrastructure and venture growth, to deliver retirement income for 333,000 current and retired teachers in Ontario. With offices in Hong Kong, London, San Francisco, Singapore and Toronto, our more than 350 investment professionals bring deep expertise in industries ranging from agriculture to artificial intelligence. We are a fully funded defined benefit pension plan and have earned an annual total-fund net return of 9.7% since the plan's founding in 1990. At Ontario Teachers', we don't just invest to make a return, we invest to shape a better future for the teachers we serve, the businesses we back, and the world we live in. For more information, visit otpp.com/teachersventuregrowth and follow us on LinkedIn. SOURCE Evolved By Nature Financial institutions and retail brands gain a new embedded finance platform to help consumers access regulated loans at point-of-sale, powered by Banking as a Service LAKE MARY, Fla., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Finastra today unveiled its embedded consumer lending solution, enabling access to traditional regulated lending options for consumers at point-of-sale (POS). Financial institutions, distributors and merchants will benefit from a platform that makes it easy for their customers to access lending options. For end consumers, Finastra Embedded Consumer Lending aims to make the buying process as frictionless as possible, providing more options to consumers and an alternative to the Buy Now Pay Later approach, which is often not applicable to high value purchases. For merchants, the BaaS platform provides access to numerous lenders and their specific products. And for financial institutions, Finastra Embedded Consumer Lending provides access to a marketplace of distributors and merchants to distribute their banking products. Jeannette Kescenovitz, Senior Director, Solution Management, Banking as a Service and Orchestration at Finastra said, "Finastra's Embedded Consumer Lending solution offers financial institutions a direct route to growth by offering loans via a merchant's digital point-of-sale. The solution builds connectivity and relationships between financial institutions and the distributor organizations that embed lending solutions at merchants' point-of-sale." Josh Williams, EVP, Chief Banking Officer at Seattle Bank said, "Banking as a Service (BaaS) is a vital component of our growth strategy and embedding loans at the consumer point-of-sale opens a new channel to provide financing to customers we couldn't have reached before. This cost-effective solution delivers consumers a safer, regulated alternative when it comes to POS financing. As our trusted partner of many years, Finastra is the ideal orchestrator as we connect and scale on our embedded finance offering." Finastra's Embedded Consumer Lending exposes APIs on Finastra's FusionFabric.cloud open platform with which third-party distributors, like Loanstar Technologies, may integrate. Loanstar Technologies offers state of the art technology to connect lenders to borrowers, creating POS consumer loans through their merchant network in numerous verticals. Andrew Turner, CEO at Loanstar Technologies said, "Working with Finastra will enable us to scale up significantly, providing access to hundreds of financial institutions, like Seattle Bank, across the US. As a trusted provider of mission-critical financial services software, Finastra will help us connect with the right bank providers to bring billions of dollars of new liquidity to fund POS loans with our merchant customers." Integrated with Finastra's lending and origination core systems and hosted on Microsoft Azure, the solution enables financial institutions to process POS loan applications, including performing identity verification, decisioning, facilitating e-sign, as well as account creation and funding (through the bank's core banking system). Using APIs and event notification systems, third-party distributors can provide real-time feedback to merchants and consumers on loan status. Notes to editors Finastra Embedded Consumer Lending product brochure Finastra Banking as a Service: Outlook 2022 | Paving the way for embedded finance Previous news releases on this topic: Finastra collaborates with Microsoft to bring embedded financing options to thousands of businesses with Banking as a Service Contact details: Caroline Duff Global Head of PR T +44 (0)7917 613 586 E [email protected] finastra.com About Finastra Finastra is a global provider of financial software applications and marketplaces, and launched the leading open platform for innovation, FusionFabric.cloud, in 2017. It serves institutions of all sizes, providing award-winning solutions and services across Lending, Payments, Treasury & Capital Markets and Retail & Digital Banking for banks to support direct banking relationships and grow through indirect channels, such as embedded finance and Banking as a Service. Its pioneering approach and commitment to open finance and collaboration is why it is trusted by ~8,600 institutions, including 90 of the world's top 100 banks. For more information, visit finastra.com. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/967510/Finastra_Logo.jpg SOURCE Finastra The platform, which will launch in Q3, increases profitability for builders and trade contractors through innovation at the jobsite COSTA MESA, Calif., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Foresite Technology Solutions, LLC (Foresite), a technology company focused on the construction industry, announced $8 million in financing in a funding round led by Gallant Capital. The funding will be used to deploy Foresite's construction platform to support builders and trades in driving efficiencies, safety, quality, training and regulatory compliance directly at the jobsite. Foresite's platform solves the biggest challenges faced by builders and trade contractors by increasing productivity, safety, and efficiency at the jobsite, while supporting training and upskilling of the trades. The platform replaces numerous manual processes and siloed technology applications while reducing inefficiencies and cost over-runs, resulting in builders and trades having an unprecedented control over project profitability. Foresite, which was founded in June, 2021, will deploy its flagship product in the third quarter of 2022. "As a lifelong veteran of the construction industry, I have witnessed the increasing complexities of managing cycle times, project budgets and quality while ensuring the jobsite remains safe and in compliance with an expanding and ever-changing regulatory environment," said John Gillett, founder and CEO of Foresite. "These are challenges we can now solve real-time by bringing Foresite directly to the jobsite and orchestrating the workflows in a non-intrusive way, driven by Artificial Intelligence, expert content, and analytical outcomes." Foresite is a complete solution platform which targets four key areas of the jobsite: efficiency and productivity; safety; quality control; and regulatory compliance. Combined with multi-language support, microburst learning content, trade-driven checklists and mobile offline accessibility. The funding will support the platform becoming the most comprehensive operations management solution in the construction industry. "We strongly believe in Foresite and are excited to support the management team through what we see will be an industry changing platform," said Anthony Guagliano, Partner at Gallant. "This purposeful technology will immediately benefit builders and trades alike." For more information, visit https://www.foresite.tech/ . About Foresite Foresite is an innovative and transformative construction platform built on 25 years of intellectual property and industry knowledge. The platform provides intelligent profitability management for field operations, serving builders, trade contractors, manufacturers, and insurers, in addition to unprecedented control over critical operational processes. Users access preconfigured content-based solutions such as workforce efficiency and productivity, logistics, safety, quality control, and regulatory compliance, rapidly driving process optimization at the jobsite. For information, visit: https://www.foresite.tech/ About Gallant Capital Partners Gallant Capital Partners is a private equity firm that invests in technology, industrial and business services companies. Gallant executes on an operationally focused investment strategy with a focus on partnering closely with companies that can benefit from its extensive industry relationships and operating expertise. The firm partners with owners, founders, family-owned companies and management teams to maximize value and long-term, sustainable growth for portfolio companies. Gallant Capital Partners was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Los Angeles. For more information please visit: www.gallantcapital.com . Media Contact Ethan Charlip PR Specialist, Head Start (609) 751-2585 [email protected] SOURCE Foresite WASHINGTON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- American Global Strategies LLC announced today that John Ratcliffe, who served as the sixth Director of National Intelligence (DNI) from 2020-2021, is joining the firm as a Senior Advisor. Mr. Ratcliffe will work with the firm's clients across the defense, aerospace, technology, cybersecurity, and private equity sectors. "John Ratcliffe is one of our nation's top national security and intelligence professionals," said Ambassador (ret.) Robert C. O'Brien, Chairman of AGS. "His leadership and experience will be a tremendous asset to our clients. I am honored to call him a friend and we are very pleased to have him onboard." "I look forward to joining the dynamic AGS team as a Senior Advisor. It was an honor to serve alongside Robert O'Brien and Alex Gray at the White House, and I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to work together with them again," said Mr. Ratcliffe. While serving as the Director of National Intelligence from 2020-2021, Mr. Ratcliffe was the leader of the U.S. intelligence community and principal intelligence advisor to the President. In recognition of his service, Mr. Ratcliffe was awarded the National Security Medal, the nation's highest honor for distinguished achievement in the field of intelligence and national security. Prior to being confirmed by the U.S. Senate as our nation's DNI, Mr. Ratcliffe served in Congress, representing the 4th Congressional District of Texas. While in Congress, he served on the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, as well as Chairman of the Cybersecurity Subcommittee on the Homeland Security Committee. Mr. Ratcliffe will continue to lecture and speak on national security, serve as Chairman of the AFPI Center for American Security and advise his private clients in addition to his work at AGS. American Global Strategies LLC is a boutique strategic advisory firm founded by former National Security Advisor Robert C. O'Brien and former National Security Council Chief of Staff Alexander B. Gray. The staff is comprised of professionals who have served at the White House, State Department, Pentagon, and on Capitol Hill. The firm's offices are in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Media Contact: Greg Smith, [email protected] SOURCE American Global Strategies Lenders using FormFree's AccountChek with LPA will immediately benefit from this enhancement once it is announced in the July publication of the Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Service Guide. ATHENS, Ga., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- FormFree announced that mortgage lenders using AccountChek verification of asset (VOA) reports in conjunction with a Freddie Mac Loan Product Advisor (LPASM) solution will soon benefit from an enhancement that takes loan applicants' 12-month on-time rent payment history into consideration when assessing eligibility for qualified first-time homebuyers. The enhancement, which is effective once announced in the Freddie Mac July Guide Bulletin, is designed to expand sustainable homeownership for the millions of Americans by taking their rent payment history into account when assessing eligibility. The expansion of rent payment history can increase the number of mortgage loan applicants who receive an Eligible/Accept recommendation in LPA. "Freddie Mac is focused on offering value to our clients and improving the borrower experience as we continue to modernize the mortgage process," said Kevin Kauffman, Freddie Mac Single-Family Vice President of Client and Partner Delivery. "FormFree has been a strong partner on this journey by helping lenders assess credit eligibility for qualified first-time homebuyers." LPA will automatically identify on-time rent payments including those made via mobile apps like Venmo, Zelle and Paypal within AccountChek VOA reports and take them into consideration when assessing eligibility for qualified first-time homebuyers. Only on-time rent payments will be considered; LPA will not assess late or missing rent payments. "Freddie Mac's move to have Loan Product Advisor consider rent payment history in its assessment is part of a much larger push for more equitable home financing practices," said FormFree Chief Customer Officer Christy Moss. "People of color, who have disproportionately low homeownership rates and are overrepresented among credit invisible consumers will be most positively impacted by this enhancement to LPA." "FormFree takes great pride in helping borrowers communicate their ability to pay and equipping lenders with the tools to confidently and efficiently verify borrower credentials," continued Moss. "We look forward to supporting Freddie Mac as it continues to deploy technology that improves access to sustainable credit for homebuyers." Lenders can leverage rent payment history assessment through LPA asset and income modeler (AIM) when they order AccountChek reports of any length, including 30-, 60-, 90- and 180-day reports. In supplying LPA with 12 months of rent payment history, AccountChek has established safeguards that ensure the collection of extended rent payment history does not expose lenders to non-rent transactions, such as large gift deposits, that occurred more than 90 days in the past. "FormFree remains committed to developing and supporting solutions that correct the racial homeownership gap," said FormFree Founder and CEO Brent Chandler. "Using FICO scores alone to evaluate creditworthiness excludes a large swath of minority homeowners who pay their rent on time and responsibly manage their finances without borrowing money from creditors. Direct source financial data is the key to understanding consumers' true ability and FormFree applauds Freddie Mac's efforts to help lenders finance homeownership more equitably." For more information, visit https://www.formfree.com/rent/. About FormFree FormFree is a market-leading fintech company whose revolutionary products AccountChek and Passport make for a more inclusive credit decisioning landscape by enabling lenders to understand people's true ability to pay (ATP). Our vision is to leverage source data and data-driven intelligence to usher in a new era of transparent, fair and liquid credit markets. To date, thousands of U.S. lenders and brokers have ordered millions of FormFree's patented verification reports representing trillions of dollars in loan verifications. FormFree delights borrowers and lenders with a paperless experience, dramatically reduces origination timelines and offers automated analysis and standardized delivery to lenders and investors using a secure ReIssueKey. For more information, visit https://www.formfree.com/ or follow FormFree on LinkedIn . Twitter: @FreddieMac @RealFormFree #mortgageindustry #fintech #digitalmortgage LOGO link for media: https://www.Send2Press.com/300dpi/22-0218-s2p-formfree-300dpi.jpg This release was issued through Send2Press, a unit of Neotrope. For more information, visit Send2Press Newswire at https://www.Send2Press.com SOURCE FormFree Committed to advancing dermatology for every skin story, Galderma continues steadfast support of Camp Wonder, an annual sleepaway camp for children with life-threatening skin diseases FORT WORTH, Texas, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Galderma is entering its tenth year of partnership with Camp Wonder. Founded by the Children's Skin Disease Foundation (CSDF), Camp Wonder is a medically-staffed summer camp program for children ages 7 to 16 with serious skin diseases. Since beginning the partnership in 2012, Galderma and the CSDF have strived to elevate awareness of these critical skin conditions impacting countless children. To date, Galderma has donated more than $1.7 million and approximately 50,000 Cetaphil products to the Camp Wonder infirmary, along with supporting on the ground annually via company volunteers. "Our 10-year commitment to Camp Wonder is an integral part of who we are at Galderma, illustrating our mission of advancing dermatology for every skin story," said Lisa Morris, General Manager of the U.S. Business Unit, Galderma. "These kids are so inspiring, and I'm honored to have the opportunity to witness this incredible program first-hand when I visit this summer. We're proud to support CSDF and look forward to doing so for many years to come." Camp Wonder was founded in 2011 by Francesca Tenconi, who herself was diagnosed with pemphigus foliaceus at age 11. Motivated by her personal experience with skin disease, she sought to create a safe space for children dealing with severe skin conditions, giving these kids an opportunity to attend summer camp when they may not have been able to otherwise given the medical needs associated with their diagnoses. "Galderma plays a crucial role in the success of Camp Wonder and our ability to offer as many children as possible this experience. They're such a unique partner in that they truly embody our organization's mission, and we've worked hand-in-hand to raise awareness of skin diseases that so often go undiscussed," said Francesca Tenconi, founder of the Children's Skin Disease Foundation. "So many families affected by skin disease face heavy financial burdens so fundraising dollars truly make all the difference. Camp, including travel, is free for each and every child who attends, thanks in large part to donations from companies like Galderma." Since its inception, more than 2,000 children have benefited from the Camp Wonder experience. This year, Camp will take place July 2 to July 8, 2022 at a new campsite near Atlanta, Georgia, where campers will have the opportunity to participate in traditional summer camp activities including horseback riding, arts and crafts, and even going to "prom." "Diseases like vitiligo, pemphigoid, Epidermolysis Bullosa, ichthyosis, ectodermal dysplasia, and Gorlin Syndrome may not be well known, but they can severely impact a child's everyday life. Camp Wonder allows these kids to forget about being 'patients' and simply be kids, giving them a week where they can escape the physical and mental challenges that come with skin disease and truly be themselves," said Dr. Lindsey Zubritsky, board-certified dermatologist and Cetaphil partner. "Cetaphil is a brand I've relied on for years, especially for my patients with the utmost sensitive skin, so I couldn't be prouder to work with Galderma to drive further awareness and education around these efforts." In addition to monetary and product donations, Galderma assists annually on the ground via a group of employee volunteers who spend the week supporting these amazing kids at Camp. Further, Galderma sponsors the annual Wonder Run, a 5K race that will take place near the company's new headquarters in Dallas this October, where 100% of registration fees and donations go directly toward the CSDF and Camp Wonder. For more information and to learn how to support Camp Wonder, follow along on Cetaphil's Instagram @CetaphilUS or visit www.csdf.org/camp-wonder . About Galderma Galderma is the pure-play dermatology category leader, present in approximately 90 countries. We deliver an innovative, science-based portfolio of premium flagship brands and services that spans the full spectrum of the fast-growing dermatology market though Injectable Aesthetics, Dermo-cosmetics and Therapeutic Dermatology. Since our foundation in 1981, we have dedicated our focus and passion to the human body's largest organ the skin meeting individual consumer and patient needs with superior outcomes in partnership with healthcare professionals. Because we understand that the skin we're in shapes our lives, we are advancing dermatology for every skin story. For more information: www.galderma.com/us . About Camp Wonder Camp Wonder was co-founded by Francesca Tenconi and Drs. Stefani Takahashi (USC Dermatology) and Jenny Kim (UCLA Dermatology) in 2001. At age 11, Francesca was diagnosed with pemphigus foliaceus, a rare skin disease. Throughout her treatment she met other kids who suffered from skin problems and wanted to find ways to help them. In May 2000 on her 16th birthday, Francesca asked friends and family to donate money to help her start a charity in lieu of giving her gifts. Four days later, the Children's Skin Disease Foundation (CSDF) was formed. CSDF joined forces with Drs. Kim and Takahashi to establish Camp Wondera summer program where children with serious and fatal skin diseases can just be kids. Additionally, CSDF provides family assistance, through Wonder Wish. For more information: www.csdf.org or follow on Instagram @csdfcampwonder. SOURCE Galderma Laboratories DUBLIN, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Geotechnical Services Market (2022-2027) by Offering, Networking Technology, Structure, End User, Geography, Competitive Analysis, and the Impact of Covid-19 with Ansoff Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Global Geotechnical Services Market is estimated to be USD 3.49 Bn in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 5.5 Bn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 9.54%. Market dynamics are forces that impact the prices and behaviors of the Global Geotechnical Services Market stakeholders. These forces create pricing signals which result from the changes in the supply and demand curves for a given product or service. Forces of Market Dynamics may be related to macro-economic and micro-economic factors. There are dynamic market forces other than price, demand, and supply. Human emotions can also drive decisions, influence the market, and create price signals. As the market dynamics impact the supply and demand curves, decision-makers aim to determine the best way to use various financial tools to stem various strategies for speeding the growth and reducing the risks. Company Profiles The report provides a detailed analysis of the competitors in the market. It covers the financial performance analysis for the publicly listed companies in the market. The report also offers detailed information on the companies' recent development and competitive scenario. Some of the companies covered in this report are AECOM, Arup, Cowi, Deep Excavation, EGS Survey, Fugro, Gardline, Geocomp, GEOKON, Geoquip Marine, HDR, James Fisher And Sons, Keller Group, Kiewit, Nova Metrix, RST Instruments, Sisgeo, Stantec, WSP, etc. Countries Studied America ( Argentina , Brazil , Canada , Chile , Colombia , Mexico , Peru , United States , Rest of Americas) , , , , , , , , Rest of Americas) Europe ( Austria , Belgium , Denmark , Finland , France , Germany , Italy , Netherlands , Norway , Poland , Russia , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , United Kingdom , Rest of Europe ) ( , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Rest of ) Middle-East and Africa ( Egypt , Israel , Qatar , Saudi Arabia , South Africa , United Arab Emirates , Rest of MEA) and ( , , , , , , Rest of MEA) Asia-Pacific ( Australia , Bangladesh , China , India , Indonesia , Japan , Malaysia , Philippines , Singapore , South Korea , Sri Lanka , Thailand , Taiwan , Rest of Asia-Pacific ) Competitive Quadrant The report includes Competitive Quadrant, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their Industry Position score and Market Performance score. The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc. Ansoff Analysis The report presents a detailed Ansoff matrix analysis for the Global Geotechnical Services Market. Ansoff Matrix, also known as Product/Market Expansion Grid, is a strategic tool used to design strategies for the growth of the company. The matrix can be used to evaluate approaches in four strategies viz. Market Development, Market Penetration, Product Development and Diversification. The matrix is also used for risk analysis to understand the risk involved with each approach. The report analyses the Global Geotechnical Services Market using the Ansoff Matrix to provide the best approaches a company can take to improve its market position. Based on the SWOT analysis conducted on the industry and industry players, the analyst has devised suitable strategies for market growth. Why buy this report? The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Geotechnical Services Market. The report includes in-depth qualitative analysis, verifiable data from authentic sources, and projections about market size. The projections are calculated using proven research methodologies. The report has been compiled through extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research is done through interviews, surveys, and observation of renowned personnel in the industry. The report includes an in-depth market analysis using Porter's 5 forces model and the Ansoff Matrix. In addition, the impact of Covid-19 on the market is also featured in the report. The report also includes the regulatory scenario in the industry, which will help you make a well-informed decision. The report discusses major regulatory bodies and major rules and regulations imposed on this sector across various geographies. The report also contains the competitive analysis using Positioning Quadrants, the analyst's Proprietary competitive positioning tool. Key Topics Covered: 1 Report Description 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Market Dynamics 4.1 Drivers 4.1.1 Rising Infrastructure Investments 4.1.2 Adoption of Geotechnical Instrumentation to Prevent Structural Failures 4.1.3 Government Regulations for Sustainable Structures 4.1.4 Growing Awareness About Benefits of Instrumentation and Monitoring Tools 4.2 Restraints 4.2.1 High Installation and Monitoring Costs 4.2.2 Technical Challenges and Operational Factors 4.3 Opportunities 4.3.1 Growing Opportunities in APAC and GCC Countries 4.3.2 Increasing Investments in Oil & Gas and Major Energy Projects 4.4 Challenges 4.4.1 Lack of Skilled Operators for Installation and Calibration of Geotechnical Instruments 4.4.2 Generation of Inaccurate Results Owing to Errors in Readings 5 Market Analysis 5.1 Regulatory Scenario 5.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Ansoff Matrix Analysis 6 Global Geotechnical Services Market, By Offering 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Hardware & Software 6.3 Services 7 Global Geotechnical Services Market, By Networking Technology 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Wired 7.3 Wireless 8 Global Geotechnical Services Market, By Structure 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Bridges & Tunnels 8.3 Buildings & Utilities 8.4 Dams 9 Global Geotechnical Services Market, By End User 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Buildings & Infrastructure 9.3 Energy & Power 9.4 Oil & Gas 9.5 Mining 10 Americas' Geotechnical Services Market 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Argentina 10.3 Brazil 10.4 Canada 10.5 Chile 10.6 Colombia 10.7 Mexico 10.8 Peru 10.9 United States 10.10 Rest of Americas 11 Europe's Geotechnical Services Market 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Austria 11.3 Belgium 11.4 Denmark 11.5 Finland 11.6 France 11.7 Germany 11.8 Italy 11.9 Netherlands 11.10 Norway 11.11 Poland 11.12 Russia 11.13 Spain 11.14 Sweden 11.15 Switzerland 11.16 United Kingdom 11.17 Rest of Europe 12 Middle East and Africa's Geotechnical Services Market 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Egypt 12.3 Israel 12.4 Qatar 12.5 Saudi Arabia 12.6 South Africa 12.7 United Arab Emirates 12.8 Rest of MEA 13 APAC's Geotechnical Services Market 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Australia 13.3 Bangladesh 13.4 China 13.5 India 13.6 Indonesia 13.7 Japan 13.8 Malaysia 13.9 Philippines 13.10 Singapore 13.11 South Korea 13.12 Sri Lanka 13.13 Thailand 13.14 Taiwan 13.15 Rest of Asia-Pacific 14 Competitive Landscape 14.1 Competitive Quadrant 14.2 Market Share Analysis 14.3 Strategic Initiatives 14.3.1 M&A and Investments 14.3.2 Partnerships and Collaborations 14.3.3 Product Developments and Improvements 15 Company Profiles 15.1 AECOM 15.2 Arup 15.3 Cowi 15.4 Deep Excavation 15.5 EGS Survey 15.6 Fugro 15.7 Gardline 15.8 Geocomp 15.9 GEOKON 15.10 Geoquip Marine 15.11 HDR 15.12 James Fisher And Sons 15.13 Keller Group 15.14 Kiewit 15.15 Nova Metrix 15.16 RST Instruments 15.17 Sisgeo 15.18 Stantec 15.19 WSP 16 Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/y5ki9p 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 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets ST. LOUIS, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Graybar, a leading distributor of electrical, communications and data networking products and provider of related supply chain management and logistics services, named Paul Woodard as District Vice President for the company's Atlanta District, effective July 11, 2022. Woodard will replace Mark Adams, who will retire from Graybar on July 1, after more than 40 years with the company. Woodard most recently served as vice president, customer operations for Incora. As District Vice President, he will lead Graybar's business operations in a territory that includes Alabama, along with portions of Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. "We thank Mark Adams for his many contributions to the company and wish him all the best in retirement," said Graybar Senior Vice President and General Manager Dennis DeSousa. "In addition, we are excited to welcome Paul Woodard to the Graybar team. Paul is a proven leader with an extensive background in sales, operations, customer experience and business management. We are confident he will play a vital role in growing our business and serving our customers in this region." Graybar, a Fortune 500 corporation and one of the largest employee-owned companies in North America, is a leader in the distribution of high quality electrical, communications and data networking products, and specializes in related supply chain management and logistics services. Through its network of more than 300 North American distribution facilities, it stocks and sells products from thousands of manufacturers, helping its customers power, network and secure their facilities with speed, intelligence and efficiency. For more information, visit www.graybar.com or call 1-800-GRAYBAR. Media Contact: Tim Sommer (314) 578-7672 [email protected] SOURCE Graybar TSX: GPR | NYSE American: GPL VANCOUVER, BC, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Great Panther Mining Limited (TSX: GPR) (NYSE-A: GPL) ("Great Panther" or the "Company"), a growing gold and silver producer focused on the Americas, reports that all proposed resolutions were passed at its Annual General Meeting (the "Meeting"), held on June 29, 2022, via virtual webcast. A total of 167,149,329 common shares of the 471,094,691 common shares outstanding were voted, representing 35.48% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Great Panther. Shareholders voted in favour of all items of business before the Meeting, including the election of all directors as follows: NUMBER OF SHARES PERCENTAGE OF VOTES CAST FOR WITHHELD FOR WITHHELD Trudy M. Curran 88,325,413 14,925,834 85.54 % 14.46 % Joseph Gallucci 88,554,030 14,697,217 85.77 % 14.23 % Alan Hair 89,490,866 13,760,381 86.67 % 13.33 % John Jennings 78,106,489 25,144,758 75.65 % 24.35 % Elise Rees 91,611,947 11,639,300 88.73 % 11.27 % Kevin J. Ross 92,231,941 11,019,306 89.33 % 10.67 % Dana Williams 88,503,147 14,748,100 85.72 % 14.28 % In addition, shareholders voted 90.36% in favour of setting the number of directors at seven, 88.80% in favour of appointing KPMG LLP as auditors, and 81.06% in favour of a resolution authorizing the Company to proceed with a share consolidation on terms to be determined by the board of directors. For more information see the Management Information Circular dated May 16, 2022, available on the Company's website at www.greatpanther.com/investors/agm. ABOUT GREAT PANTHER Great Panther is a growing gold and silver producer focused on the Americas. The Company owns a diversified portfolio of assets in Brazil, Mexico and Peru that includes three gold and silver mines, an advanced development project and a large land package with district-scale potential. Great Panther is actively exploring large land packages in highly prospective districts and is pursuing acquisition opportunities to complement its existing portfolio. Great Panther trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange trading under the symbol GPR, and on the NYSE American under the symbol GPL. SOURCE Great Panther Mining Limited Green Technology and Sustainability Market by Component (Solution, Services), Technology (AI and Analytics, Digital Twin, Cloud Computing, Blockchain), Application (Green Building, Carbon Footprint Management, Air and Water Pollution Monitoring, Weather Monitoring and Forecasting, Fire Detection, Crop Monitoring, Soil Condition/ Moisture Monitoring, Forest Monitoring) & Region - Forecast 2022 2032 NEWARK, Del., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The green technology and sustainability market is predicted to account for US$ 122.69 billion in 2032, up from US$ 13.28 billion in 2021, advancing at a CAGR of 22.4% during the forecast period (2022-2032). Businesses and communities working to move the economy toward a low-carbon future are likely to invest in long-term zero-carbon power contracts, as well as intelligent, data-driven energy solutions. The adoption of green technology and sustainable solutions is anticipated to increase as this trend picks up speed in the upcoming years. Expanding adoption of RFID sensors across industries is driving the demand for green technology and sustainability products and services. Major leading firms are increasingly choosing these solutions due to the broad adoption of smart grid technology in a range of industries and its benefits in terms of cost effectiveness, trustworthy grid integration, and technological developments in green technology. Get Sample PDF Of The Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-15112 During the forecast period, emerging countries and developing economies are expected to experience a sharp increase in this green technology and sustainability market size. One of the main drivers of the growth of the green technology and sustainability industries is the potential for technological companies to reduce the amount of carbon emissions and energy consumption produced by these wireless devices. The fact that there are so many green technology and sustainability vendors in North America is primarily responsible for the market's growth. It is projected that the Asia Pacific area will offer significant investment opportunities in the green technology and sustainability market. Key Takeaways: The green technology and sustainability market is predicted to develop at a CAGR of 22.4%, with a market share of US$ 122.69 billion through 2032. is predicted to develop at a CAGR of 22.4%, with a market share of through 2032. The green technology and sustainability market share in North America is estimated to have a CAGR of 20.8% through 2032. in is estimated to have a CAGR of 20.8% through 2032. Asia Pacific is expected to have a greater growth potential in the green technology and sustainability market during the forecast period. is expected to have a greater growth potential in during the forecast period. Based on component, the Solution segment is expected to have the biggest green technology and sustainability market . . Based on the technology, the cloud computing segment is anticipated to have the highest green technology and sustainability market share during the forecast period. during the forecast period. Based on the application, the green building segment is projected to have the greater green technology and sustainability market share during the forecast period. Browse Detailed Summary of Research Report with TOC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/green-technology-and-sustainability-market Competitive Landscape: The market for green technology and sustainability is now crowded with manufacturers who are actively competing for market share. The green technology and sustainability market is anticipated to be dominated by a small number of players. Some of the major players in the green technology and sustainability market are General Electric Wolters Kluwer N.V . . Salesforce, Inc. Microsoft Schneider Electric Engie Impact Cority (Enviance) Sensus, a Xylem brand LO3 Energy CropX Inc. Key segments By Component: Solution Services By Technology: AI and Analytics Digital Twin Cloud Computing Blockchain Others By Application: Green Building Carbon Footprint Management Air and Water Pollution Monitoring Weather Monitoring and Forecasting Fire Detection Crop Monitoring Soil Condition/ Moisture Monitoring Forest Monitoring Sustainable Mining and Exploration Others By Region: North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa & Latin America Download PDF Brochure @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/brochure/rep-gb-15112 Table of Content 1. Executive Summary 1.1. Global Market Outlook 1.2. Demand-side Trends 1.3. Supply-side Trends 1.4. Technology Roadmap Analysis 1.5. Analysis and Recommendations 2. Market Overview 2.1. Market Coverage / Taxonomy 2.2. Market Definition / Scope / Limitations 3. Market Background 3.1. Market Dynamics 3.1.1. Drivers 3.1.2. Restraints 3.1.3. Opportunity 3.1.4. Trends 3.2. Scenario Forecast 3.2.1. Demand in Optimistic Scenario 3.2.2. Demand in Likely Scenario 3.2.3. Demand in Conservative Scenario 3.3. Opportunity Map Analysis 3.4. Investment Feasibility Matrix 3.5. PESTLE and Porter's Analysis 3.6. Regulatory Landscape 3.6.1. By Key Regions 3.6.2. By Key Countries 3.7. Regional Parent Market Outlook 4. Global Green Technology and Sustainability Market Analysis 2017-2021 and Forecast, 2022-2032 4.1. Historical Market Size Value (US$ Mn) Analysis, 2017-2021 4.2. Current and Future Market Size Value (US$ Mn) Projections, 2022-2032 4.2.1. Y-o-Y Growth Trend Analysis 4.2.2. Absolute $ Opportunity Analysis TOC continued..! Speak To Our Research [email protected] https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-15112 Recent Developments: Sustainability Cloud, a carbon accounting service for enterprises, was introduced by Salesforce in September 2019 . With the aid of Salesforce's Sustainability Cloud, companies can easily measure, examine, and publish trustworthy environmental data to lower their carbon emissions. . With the aid of Salesforce's Sustainability Cloud, companies can easily measure, examine, and publish trustworthy environmental data to lower their carbon emissions. The Watson Decision Platform for agriculture was introduced by IBM in May 2019 . To give farmers insights on harvesting, spraying, planting, and ploughing, the platform blends AI, predictive analytics, IoT sensors, and weather data. About the Technology Division at Future Market Insights The technology team at Future Market Insights offers expert analysis, time-efficient research, and strategic recommendations with an objective to provide authentic insights and accurate results to help clients worldwide. With a repertoire of over 100+ reports and 1 million+ data points, the team has been analysing the industry lucidly in 50+ countries for over a decade. The team provides a brief analysis of key trends including competitive landscape, profit margin, and research development efforts. Have a Look at Related Research Reports: Lit Fiber Market Outlook is expected to reach a market valuation of US$ 4.28 Billion by the year 2022, by accelerating with a robust CAGR of 16.7% by 2022-2032 - Comprehensive Research Report by FMI NFC Reader ICs Market Growth size reached around US$ 18 Bn in 2021 and is likely to touch a valuation of US$ 50 Bn by 2032 - Comprehensive Research Report by FMI Finance Cloud Market Analysis to reach a valuation of US$ 90.11 Billion by 2032 - Comprehensive Research Report by FMI Telecom Power Systems Market Trends is likely to reach US$ 12.03 Bn by 2032 - Comprehensive Research Report by FMI Portable Monitor Market Share is likely to reach US$ 1,848.51 Mn by 2032 - Comprehensive Research Report by FMI About Future Market Insights (FMI) Future Market Insights (ESOMAR certified market research organization and a member of Greater New York Chamber of Commerce) provides in-depth insights into governing factors elevating the demand in the market. It discloses opportunities that will favour the market growth in various segments on the basis of Source, Application, Sales Channel and End Use over the next 10-years. Contact: Future Market Insights Inc. Christiana Corporate, 200 Continental Drive, Suite 401, Newark, Delaware - 19713, USA T: +1-845-579-5705 For Sales Enquiries: [email protected] Website: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/green-technology-and-sustainability-market LinkedIn| Twitter| Blogs Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1197648/FMI_Logo.jpg SOURCE Future Market Insights Hiring software leader sponsoring premiere recruiting event, EMEA General Manager will deliver Talent Makers session LONDON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Greenhouse , the hiring software company, today announced the company will be at RecFest UK 2022 in Knebworth on 7th July for the first time as both a sponsor and speaker, hosting a session on Talent Makers. In addition to being a Brand Champion sponsor at the event, Greenhouse will also have an engaging activation with a company stand and cocktail bar, welcoming event attendees to meet the Greenhouse team and learn more about how to hire for what's next. Greenhouse EMEA General Manager, Colm O'Cuinneain, will host a session on Employer Brand Stage Embracing the Talent Makers mindset: How to build a culture of great hiring. In this session, Colm O'Cuinneain will share how organisations win through a structured, inclusive and collaborative hiring process. He will also share the framework for talent making, and tips for developing exceptional talent strategies that lead to great teams. The session is available to all RecFest UK attendees. "We have seen massive growth in our EMEA customer base with 1,000 companies using Greenhouse, and we are thrilled to get together in person with the hiring community at RecFest this year," said Colm O'Cuinneain, Greenhouse EMEA General Manager. "Hiring and work in general is undergoing a seismic shift right now, and it has never been more important for leaders and hiring teams to get it right. It starts with a structured process and with taking on a Talent Maker mindset to impress candidates and make the process as fair and seamless for everyone involved as possible. That's what I'm going to be digging into on the RecFest stage." Session description Embracing the Talent Makers mindset: How to build a culture of great hiring The ability to find, attract and hire the right people has become more competitive and more vital to business growth than ever before, demanding that the entire organisation engages in hiring. That's where the Talent Makers come in - the hiring heroes and business leaders who are changing the way organisations prioritise and invest in Talent. These people-first companies are the ones that will win in their markets. In this session, Colm O Cuinneain will share how winning organisations win through a structured, inclusive and collaborative hiring process. He'll share the framework for talent making, and tips for developing exceptional talent strategies that lead to great teams. From your hiring strategy, to your employer brand, right through to your candidate experience, talent making is both a process and a mindset across your organisation. Colm draws from his own journey of scaling Greenhouse Software in EMEA, exploring how being a Talent Maker means being a hiring hero who makes the difference. What you'll gain as a talent or department leader: - Strategies for wrangling chaos in your hiring process - Tools for being a catalyst for change in attracting & retaining talent - How taking on a Talent Maker mindset will enable your organisation to become a people-first company What you'll gain as a talent practitioner: - An understanding of what it takes to be an exceptional Talent Maker and hiring partner - A measurable, inclusive process for great hiring - Strategies to reduce bias in hiring - Tools and practices to deliver more value to your business partners Over 3,500 talent acquisition and resourcing leaders attend the RecFest festival for an all-day experience of learning and connecting with peers and hiring experts in a fun, outdoor environment. For more information on Greenhouse's presence at RecFest 2022, visit our blog . About Greenhouse Greenhouse is the hiring software company. We help businesses become great at hiring through our powerful hiring approach , complete suite of software and services, Hiring Maturity methodology and large partner ecosystem so businesses can hire for what's next. Based in New York City with offices in San Francisco, Denver and Dublin, Greenhouse has 700 employees around the world supporting over 7,000 customers. Some of the smartest and most successful companies like HubSpot, Buzzfeed, J.D. Power, Booking.com, Scout24 and The Knot Worldwide use the Greenhouse hiring software platform to improve all aspects of hiring, helping them to attract top talent. Greenhouse has won numerous awards including Inc. Magazine Best Workplace (2018 2022) and Glassdoor #1 Best Place to Work, Forbes Cloud 100, Deloitte Technology Fast 500, Inc. 5000, Crain's Best Places to Work NYC and Mogul's Top 100 Workplaces for Diverse Representation (2022). 2021, Greenhouse Software, Inc. All rights reserved. "Greenhouse Hiring Maturity", "Talent Makers", and the G Logo are trademarks of Greenhouse Software, Inc. SOURCE Greenhouse Appeals court reverses nearly $3 million award, renders a take-nothing judgment HOUSTON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Texas 14th Court of Appeals has reversed a $2.7 million judgment against the Houston-based cosmetics company GHP Nail Systems, granting a take-nothing judgment against the Netherlands-based cosmetics distributor Benelux. Benelux and GHP entered into an Exclusive Distribution Agreement in 2013, with Benelux agreeing to distribute, market, sell, and advertise GHP's Haute Polish gel nail polish products in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Benelux later claimed the nail polish bottles were defective, and after failing to reach a resolution in the dispute, Benelux terminated the agreement in 2015. GHP filed suit claiming breach of contract and misappropriation after Benelux began selling its own brand of gel nail polish products. Benelux countersued for breach of contract and violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, among other claims, and was granted the $2.7 million award in 2019. However, the Court of Appeals has now ruled that the trial evidence was "legally insufficient to support a finding that Benelux suffered any damages," reversing the judgment in its entirety. Robin Harrison and Amanda Goldstein, of Houston law firm Hicks Thomas LLP, represented GHP in the trial and appeal of the case. "There were a number of claims where we thought Benelux's proof had fallen short during the trial, and the Court of Appeals agreed," said Harrison. "We're pleased with the outcome for our client." Founded in 1997, Texas-based Hicks Thomas LLP is a premier litigation firm representing plaintiffs and defendants across the nation. With offices in Houston, Austin, Beaumont, Amarillo, and Sacramento, California, the firm provides in-depth experience in cases involving oil and gas, environmental, complex commercial, toxic tort, construction, products liability, corporate governance, securities, banking, insurance coverage, transportation, trade secrets and business litigation. Visit the firm at http://www.hicks-thomas.com. Media Contact: April Arias 800-559-4534 [email protected] SOURCE Hicks Thomas LLP RICHMOND, Va., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hilb Group announced today that, effective June 1, 2022, it has partnered with Indiana-based Howe-LaGrange Insurance Agency and Reick Insurance Agency, expanding the company's growing presence throughout Indiana and the Midwest. Based in LaGrange, Indiana, Howe-LaGrange and Reick Agencies have served the area for nearly 140 years dating back to 1883 developing a strong reputation of integrity and professionalism while providing broad property & casualty offerings for their clients in both commercial and personal lines. Agency Principal Lou Zabona and his team of insurance professionals will join the Hilb Group's Midwest regional operations. "Joining the Hilb Group is an exciting step for us in continuing to grow and deliver innovative, high-quality insurance products," stated Lou Zabona. "We look forward to providing the same local, trusted service to our customers, while utilizing the national resources offered through our partnership with the Hilb Group." "Howe-LaGrange and Reick bring a rich history of expertise, and a reputation of outstanding service with long-standing relationships that align well with our growth strategy in an important market," said Hilb Group CEO Ricky Spiro. "We are pleased to welcome them to the Hilb Group and look forward to our next steps together." About Hilb Group: The Hilb Group is a leading property and casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and advisory firm headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Hilb Group is a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm. Hilb Group seeks to grow through strategic acquisitions and by leveraging its resources and expertise to drive organic growth in its acquired agencies. The company has completed more than 135 acquisitions and now has over 100 offices in 22 states. Hilb Group is rated as one of the Fastest Growing Brokers by Business Insurance, a Top P/C Agency by Insurance Journal, and one of America's Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Inc. 5000. For more information on Hilb Group's growth as well as career opportunities, please visit our website at http://hilbgroup.com. Media Contact: Peter Lobred 804.548.4629 [email protected] M&A Contact: Ryan Havermann 804.414.6508 [email protected] SOURCE The Hilb Group, LLC Ze'ev Rozov joins to scale the business globally and build on the company's high growth LONDON, NEW YORK and TEL AVIV, Israel, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- HiBob , the modern HR platform that is delivering remarkable work experiences for dynamic, mid-sized and small-enterprise businesses, and their employees today welcomes newly appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) Ze'ev Rozov. Based in London, Rozov takes charge of an increasingly global organization. Despite the current economic climate, HiBob has experienced exponential growth, doubling in size since January. Entering its fifth year of triple digit YOY growth, its customer base has grown by 133%. With operations in NAM, EMEA, APAC and Tel Aviv, a new office opening in Berlin signals further expansion into Western Europe. Rozov joins to lead and support the organization as it continues to scale globally. Designing companies around people is today more important than ever making productivity, flexibility, well-being, high retention, and culture core to any modern business growth. An efficient and progressive HR people management platform requires a reciprocal and holistic approach, which begins with employers knowing what people want in the context of what the business needs. With companies having to adjust to the current financial uncertainty, robust HR platforms that can efficiently manage people become especially critical. Ze'ev Rozov said: "I'm very happy to be joining HiBob. I join at a time when market dynamics means companies are especially in need of a good HR system that can help unlock the potential of workforces, and identify opportunities for retention. Achieving productivity through reward and incentive will retain high performers, but also attract the best talent." Ronni Zehavi, CEO & Co-Founder of HiBoB concludes: "As we continue to build our platform 'Bob' for scale, and improve cross-functional cooperation, I'm delighted to welcome entrepreneur Ze'ev to the HiBob village. With almost 30 years of international experience in tech and digital media, Ze'ev served as the COO of a HiBob customer, helping grow revenue 20x, completing 5 acquisitions and building a world-class organization. I don't doubt he will duplicate this success here." About HiBob HiBob is a modern HR platform designed for modern business. HiBob's intuitive and data-driven platform, 'Bob', was built for the way people work today: globally, remotely, and collaboratively. Over 2,300 dynamic, midsize, and multinational companies rely on Bob to connect, engage, develop and retain top talent. SOURCE HiBob "Some companies have chosen to reactively cut back in this time, but Horizon is focused on the long game," said Bill Koenigsberg, CEO and Founder of Horizon Media. "We are making strategic investments in technology and creativity platforms that meet and exceed our clients' desire to better connect their brands with consumers in more meaningful ways now and in the future. Our goal every day is to be our clients' most valued partner, and we make that possible by consistently helping to drive their business with expanded offerings, relevant innovation, and enhanced marketing and growth service capabilities that reach their audiences in new and different environments whether the metaverse, NFTs, Web3.0, experiential, data solutions or beyond." Established in 2017, First Tube is one of the pioneers in the "experiential transformation" space, combining the power of performance media with experiential, delivering a new format for brands to harness creative, experiences, content, and media all in one solution. The company has delivered substantial ROI for prominent global brands in numerous categories including CPG, DTC, financial services, media, retail, technology and more. First Tube will continue to operate as a standalone company and be led by Andrew Beranbom, CEO and Co-Founder. "Not only does the acquisition broaden our creative and innovative solutions, it's also truly symbiotic both Horizon and First Tube benefit from each other's expertise," said Donnie Williams, EVP/Chief Digital Officer, Horizon Media. "Coming on the heels of launching our metaverse- and Web3-focused unit, Chapter & Verse, earlier this month, this move significantly strengthens Horizon's position as we guide clients into web3 and the metaverse, while giving First Tube a foothold in the metaverse itself." Experiential Transformation the marketing discipline that transforms a brand's assets into dynamic content that has never been experienced before is forcing a titanic shift in the global $71 billion experiential marketing industry (per PQ Media) while helping advertisers move beyond traditional formats and create meaningful experiences. "Horizon is a market leader, driving data-driven marketing solutions, so the unique opportunity to add an exciting capability with deep expertise across their entire portfolio, while accelerating our leadership position in the market, is an easy win-win," said Beranbom. "This move enables investment in First Tube's innovation and technology road map, while ensuring we can capitalize on the massive opportunities ahead across Horizon's full portfolio." Horizon Media Horizon Media, Inc, the largest U.S. media agency according to AdAge Data Center 2022, delivers data-driven business outcomes for some of the most innovative and ambitious brands. Founded in 1989, headquartered in New York, and with offices in Los Angeles and Toronto, the company employs 2,400 people and has media investments of more than $9 billion. Horizon Media's fundamental belief is that business is personal, which drives its approach to connecting brands with their customers and engaging with its own employees resulting in industry-leading workplace satisfaction levels (Glassdoor). The company is consistently recognized by independent media outlets for its client excellence and has earned several "Best Workplaces" awards reflecting its commitment to DEI and the life and well-being of everyone at Horizon Media. About First Tube First Tube is a leading branded live experience marketing platform designed to deliver "always on" premium video content distributed at scale resulting in clear ROI. Founded in 2017 in Brooklyn, NY, FTM is a team of music experts, filmmakers, digital marketers, and technologists that have put together a full-service approach that has powered thousands of digital experiences delivering billions of views for some of the top brands in the world. SOURCE Horizon Media Study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of the treatment with the Exablate Prostate system compared to active surveillance of prostate cancer HAIFA, Israel and MIAMI, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Insightec, a global healthcare company dedicated to using acoustic energy to transform patient care, today announced that it has received FDA approval for an investigational device exemption (IDE) for a clinical comparative study of the Exablate Prostate system used to treat diseased prostate tissue. This study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of focal treatment using high intensity focused ultrasound when compared to active surveillance in men living with prostate cancer. The Insightec Exablate Prostate system uses sound waves to ablate, or destroy, targeted tissue in the prostate. The treatment is performed under Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) guidance for high resolution visualization of the patient's anatomy for precise targeting and real-time temperature monitoring. The single session treatment does not require incisions and allows patients to quickly return to normal activity with minimal complications. "We are excited to continue this important research that can impact on the standard of care for prostate cancer treatment," said Behfar Ehdaie, MD, MS, a urologic surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and principal investigator for the study. "Exablate Focused Ultrasound has been shown to provide an accurate, safe, and effective option to engage the prostate gland directly in select patients based on 2-years biopsy outcomes. The new trial will build on this success and help further enhance treatment options." "At Insightec, we are committed to the next generation of prostate cancer research and patient care," said Maurice R. Ferre, MD, Insightec CEO and Chairman of the Board. "Through technological innovation and medical advancements, there has been significant progress made in treating the prostate over the last decade, but we're not done yet. Our goal for this study is to demonstrate the clinical benefits of Exablate Prostate and provide patients with the opportunity for improved quality of life outcomes." A previous Insightec-sponsored clinical trial led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for the Exablate Prostate system reported minimal damage to adjacent structures and low rates of impact on potency and continence, supporting function and quality of life for patients. The new comparative study builds on the evidence of this clinical trial and aims to further enhance prostate treatment options and improve clinical outcomes. The Insightec Exablate Prostate system received 510(k) FDA clearance in November 2021, making way for the system to be offered to patients in a commercial facility and for further clinical studies. In January 2022, the system was used to treat prostate disease in its first US commercial patient. Results from the new study will define the role of focal therapy to delay and avoid radical therapy for men with prostate cancer and support expanded clinical adoption of the technology and increased access for patients through insurance reimbursement. To read more about Exablate Prostate FDA 510K clearance: https://insightec.com/insightec-announces-fda-clearance-for-exablate-prostate/ To read more about Exablate Prostate's first US commercial patient treatment: https://insightec.com/first-us-commercial-patient-treated-for-prostate-disease-with-insightec-incisionless-focused-ultrasound-system/ About Insightec Insightec is a global healthcare company creating the next generation of patient care by realizing the therapeutic power of acoustic energy. The company's Exablate Neuro platform focuses sound waves, safely guided by MRI, to provide tremor treatment to patients with medication-refractory Essential Tremor and Parkinson's Disease. Research for future applications in the neuroscience space is underway in partnership with leading academic and medical institutions. Insightec is headquartered in Haifa, Israel, and Miami, with offices in Dallas, Shanghai, and Tokyo. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter or visit www.insightec.com for more information. Forward-looking Statements: This document contains forward-looking statements regarding, among other things, plans, expectations, and future events. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the following words: "may," "can," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "project," "potential," "promise," "continue," "ongoing," or the negative of these terms. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from what is expressed or implied by the statements. Any forward-looking statement is based on information available to Insightec as of the date of the statement. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to Insightec are qualified by this caution. Insightec does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in circumstances or in Insightec's expectations. "Exablate," and "Exablate Neuro," as well as the "INSIGHTEC" logo, whether standing alone or in connection with the word "Insightec", are protected trademarks of Insightec. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1699588/Insightec_Logo.jpg Insightec media contact: G&S Business Communications for Insightec Marjani Williams [email protected] +1 (312) 648-6700, ext.2108 SOURCE Insightec DUBLIN, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Poultry Vaccines Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Type, Technology, Dosage Form, Disease, Route of Administration, End User" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global poultry vaccines market is expected to grow from US$ 1,844.89 million in 2021 to US$ 2,845.00 million by 2028; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.4% from 2021 to 2028. The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated lockdown for a long period led to significant adversities in different sectors, including the agriculture and other allied sub-sectors in India and several other countries. The members of the North American Meat Institute process the great majority of beef, pig, lamb, and poultry produced in the US, which is required to make the safest and finest quality meat and poultry products. According to federal guidance approved by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Priority (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), frontline meat and poultry workers should be the next priority for COVID-19 vaccination, after the healthcare workers. Members of the meat institute have distributed numerous pieces of personal protective equipment, implemented health and temperature screening, drastically altered facilities, conducted testing, provided paid preemptive leaves for high-risk and quarantined employees, and improved air sanitation and ventilation. Due to these safety measures, COVID-19 infection rates are now more than 8-times lower among meat and poultry workers than in the general population. However, limited processing capacity for poultry has negatively impacted the distribution and retail of animal products in the US. The shutdown of teaching and training institutes, competition and event venues, tourist places, and trade and sales facilities has led to a drop in demand for poultry vaccines. Chickens are not sensitive to SARS-CoV-2 infection, i.e., COVID-19. Nonetheless, the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on poultry consumption, transportation, and farming economics. Stockholders, veterinarians, farmers, and the entire poultry production chain partners need to be more involved in the current situation to fulfill consumer demands and ensure sustainable agriculture. According to a recent report prepared by P W Cargill, Merial Avian Business Unit UK and Joey Johnston, Merial Avian Business Unit, USA 2021, although the pandemic disrupted the poultry industry in Europe in 2020, it is expected to resurge in 2021. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, in June 2020, the Government of Japan (GOJ) declared a state of emergency and asked people to stay home. During these lockdowns, the demand for poultry meat gone down due to the shuttering of restaurants. According to Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India Limited, the poultry industry in India suffered great losses during the recent lockdown with Q4 FY2020 being the worst quarter in 2020. The industry incurred huge losses due to a sharp decline in sales, demand, realization, and profitability. Rumors spread on social media about poultry birds being possible vectors of SARS-CoV-2 further hampered the demand for poultry products. In January 2021, the largest bird flu outbreak in years hit chicken farmers in Asian countries, including Japan to India, further upsetting poultry prices. Since November 2020, more than 20 million chickens have been destroyed in South Korea and Japan. The growing demand for healthy chicken food in Europe, the Middle East & Africa (EMEA) encourages governments to create suitable laws and regulations for the safety of animals in the poultry business. For example, infections with Campylobacter and Salmonella species are the two most common foodborne illnesses caused by eating chicken meat. The instances of influenza H5N1 infection in humans are linked to the consumption of raw or undercooked chicken or chicken products (HPAI). Based on demands, there has been a rise in the production of poultry products in the EMEA. With the rise in demand for poultry food products, the need for vaccines is on the rise to keep poultry safe and achieve optimum yields. However, the demand is decreasing in the poorer African countries. Poultry birds are susceptible to various fowl illnesses, which cause significant economic losses to the business, particularly in poorer nations. Key Topics Covered: 1. Introduction 2. Key Takeaways 3. Research Methodology 4. Poultry Vaccines Market - Market Landscape 4.1 Overview 4.2 PEST Analysis 4.2.1 North America PEST Analysis 4.2.2 Europe PEST Analysis 4.2.3 Asia Pacific PEST Analysis 4.2.4 Middle East & Africa PEST Analysis 4.2.5 South & Central America PEST Analysis 4.3 Experts Opinion 5. Poultry Vaccines Market - Key Market Dynamics 5.1 Market Drivers 5.1.1 Increasing Prevalence of Diseases in Poultry 5.1.2 Increasing Demand for Healthy Poultry Food 5.2 Market Restraints 5.2.1 Failure of Vaccines in Poultry Production 5.3 Market Opportunities 5.3.1 Rising Growth of Market in Untapped Economies 5.4 Future Trends 5.4.1 Key Business Strategies to Enhance Market Growth in Future 5.5 Impact Analysis 6. Poultry Vaccines Market - Global Analysis 6.1 Poultry Vaccines Market Revenue Forecast and Analysis 6.1.1 Poultry Vaccines Market Revenue Forecast and Analysis 6.1.2 Global Poultry Vaccines Market - Market Potential Analysis, By Region 6.2 Company Analysis 6.2.1 Market Share Analysis of Key Players (2020) 6.2.2 Comparative Company Analysis 6.2.3 Growth Strategy Analysis 6.2.4 Performance of Key Players 6.2.4.1 Merck 6.2.4.2 Boehringer Ingelheim 7. Poultry Vaccines Market Analysis - By Type 7.1 Overview 7.2 Poultry Vaccines Market Revenue Share, by Type (2021 and 2028) 7.3 Broiler 7.3.1 Overview 7.3.2 Broiler: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 7.4 Layer 7.4.1 Overview 7.4.2 Layer: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 7.5 Breeder 7.5.1 Overview 7.5.2 Breeder: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 8. Poultry Vaccines Market Analysis - By Technology 8.1 Overview 8.2 Poultry Vaccines Market Revenue Share, by Technology (2021 and 2028) 8.3 Live Attenuated Vaccines 8.3.1 Overview 8.3.2 Live attenuated vaccines: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 8.4 Inactivated Vaccines 8.4.1 Overview 8.4.2 Inactivated Vaccines: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 8.5 Recombinant Vaccines 8.5.1 Overview 8.5.2 Recombinant Vaccines: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 8.6 Others 8.6.1 Overview 8.6.2 Others: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 9. Poultry Vaccines Market Analysis - By Dosage Form 9.1 Overview 9.2 Poultry Vaccines Market Revenue Share, by Dosage Form (2021 and 2028) 9.3 Liquid Vaccines 9.3.1 Overview 9.3.2 Liquid Vaccines: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 9.4 Freeze-Dried Vaccines 9.4.1 Overview 9.4.2 Freeze-Dried Vaccines: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 9.5 Dust/Powdered Vaccines 9.5.1 Overview 9.5.2 Dust/Powdered Vaccines: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 10. Poultry Vaccines Market Analysis - By Disease 10.1 Overview 10.2 Poultry Vaccines Market Revenue Share, by Disease (2021 and 2028) 10.3 Infectious Bronchitis 10.3.1 Overview 10.3.2 Infectious Bronchitis: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 10.4 Avian Influenza 10.4.1 Overview 10.4.2 Avian Influenza: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 10.5 Marek's Disease 10.5.1 Overview 10.5.2 Marek's Disease: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 10.6 Infectious Bursal Disease 10.6.1 Overview 10.6.2 Infectious Bursal Disease: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 10.7 Salmonellosis 10.7.1 Overview 10.7.2 Salmonellosis: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 10.8 Newcastle Disease 10.8.1 Overview 10.8.2 Newcastle Disease: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 10.9 Others 10.9.1 Overview 10.9.2 Others: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 11. Poultry Vaccines Market Analysis - By Route of Administration 11.1 Overview 11.2 Poultry Vaccines Market Revenue Share, by Route of Administration (2021 and 2028) 11.3 Drinking water (D/W) & Spray 11.3.1 Overview 11.3.2 Drinking water (D/W) & Spray: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 11.4 Intramuscular (I/M) 11.4.1 Overview 11.4.2 Intramuscular (I/M): Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 11.5 Subcutaneous (S/C) 11.5.1 Overview 11.5.2 Subcutaneous (S/C): Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 11.6 Others 11.6.1 Overview 11.6.2 Others: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 12. Poultry Vaccines Market Analysis - By End User 12.1 Overview 12.2 Poultry Vaccines Market Share, by End User, 2021 and 2028, (%) 12.3 Veterinary Hospitals 12.3.1 Overview 12.3.2 Veterinary Hospitals: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 12.4 Poultry Vaccination Centers & Clinics 12.4.1 Overview 12.4.2 Poultry Vaccination Centre: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 12.5 Poultry Farms and Hatchery 12.5.1 Overview 12.5.2 Poultry Farms and Hatchery: Poultry Vaccines Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 13. Global Poultry Vaccines Market - Geographic Analysis 14. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Poultry Vaccines Market 14.1 North America: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 14.2 Europe: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 14.3 Asia Pacific: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 14.4 Middle East and Africa: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 14.5 South and Central America: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 15. Poultry Vaccine Market - Industry Landscape 15.1 Overview 15.2 Growth Strategies in the Poultry Vaccine Market (%) 15.3 Organic Developments 15.3.1 Overview 15.4 Inorganic Developments 15.4.1 Overview 16. Company Profiles 16.1 Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH 16.1.1 Key Facts 16.1.2 Business Description 16.1.3 Products and Services 16.1.4 Financial Overview 16.1.5 SWOT Analysis 16.1.6 Key Developments 16.2 Zoetis Inc. 16.2.1 Key Facts 16.2.2 Business Description 16.2.3 Products and Services 16.2.4 Financial Overview 16.2.5 SWOT Analysis 16.2.6 Key Developments 16.3 Ceva Sante Animale 16.3.1 Key Facts 16.3.2 Business Description 16.3.3 Products and Services 16.3.4 Financial Overview 16.3.5 SWOT Analysis 16.3.6 Key Developments 16.4 BIOVAC 16.4.1 Key Facts 16.4.2 Business Description 16.4.3 Products and Services 16.4.4 Financial Overview 16.4.5 SWOT Analysis 16.4.6 Key Developments 16.5 PHIBRO ANIMAL HEALTH CORPORATION 16.5.1 Key Facts 16.5.2 Business Description 16.5.3 Products and Services 16.5.4 Financial Overview 16.5.5 SWOT Analysis 16.5.6 Key Developments 16.6 Hester Biosciences Limited 16.6.1 Key Facts 16.6.2 Business Description 16.6.3 Products and Services 16.6.4 Financial Overview 16.6.5 SWOT Analysis 16.6.6 Key Developments 16.7 Venky's India 16.7.1 Key Facts 16.7.2 Business Description 16.7.3 Products and Services 16.7.4 Financial Overview 16.7.5 SWOT Analysis 16.7.6 Key Developments 16.8 Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC 16.8.1 Key Facts 16.8.2 Business Description 16.8.3 Products and Services 16.8.4 Financial Overview 16.8.5 SWOT Analysis 16.8.6 Key Developments 16.9 Elanco 16.9.1 Key Facts 16.9.2 Business Description 16.9.3 Products and Services 16.9.4 Financial Overview 16.9.5 SWOT Analysis 16.9.6 Key Developments 16.10 Merck Animal Health 16.10.1 Key Facts 16.10.2 Business Description 16.10.3 Products and Services 16.10.4 Financial Overview 16.10.5 SWOT Analysis 16.10.6 Key Developments 17. Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/vxvwiy 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 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets BOSTON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund (NYSE: HEQ) (the "Fund"), a closed-end fund managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC (the "Adviser") and subadvised by Wellington Management Company LLP (the "Subadviser"), announced today sources of its quarterly distribution of $0.2900 per share paid to all shareholders of record as of June 13, 2022, pursuant to the Fund's managed distribution plan. This press release is issued as required by an exemptive order granted to the Fund by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund Notification of Sources of Distribution This notice provides shareholders of the John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund (NYSE: HEQ) with important information concerning the distribution declared on June 1, 2022, and payable on June 30, 2022. No action is required on your part. Distribution Period: June 2022 Distribution Amount Per Common Share: $0.2900 The following table sets forth the estimated sources of the current distribution, payable June 30, 2022, and the cumulative distributions paid this fiscal year to date from the following sources: net investment income; net realized short term capital gains; net realized long term capital gains; and return of capital or other capital source. All amounts are expressed on a per common share basis and as a percentage of the distribution amount. For the period 04/1/2022-06/30/2022 For the fiscal year-to-date period 1/1/2022-06/30/2022 1 Source Current Distribution ($) % Breakdown of the Current Distribution Total Cumulative Distributions ($) % Breakdown of the Total Cumulative Distributions Net Investment Income 0.1327 46 % 0.3571 62 % Net Realized Short- Term Capital Gains 0.1573 54 % 0.0300 5 % Net Realized Long- Term Capital Gains 0.0000 0 % 0.1929 33 % Return of Capital or Other Capital Source 0.0000 0 % 0.0000 0 % Total per common share 0.2900 100 % 0.5800 100 % Average annual total return (in relation to NAV) for the 5 years ended on May 31, 2022 3.86 % Annualized current distribution rate expressed as a percentage of NAV as of May 31, 2022 8.94 % Cumulative total return (in relation to NAV) for the fiscal year through May 31, 2022 1.65 % Cumulative fiscal year-to-date distribution rate expressed as a percentage of NAV as of May 31, 2022 4.47 % 1 The Fund's current fiscal year began on January 1, 2022 and will end on December 31, 2022. You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of this distribution or from the terms of the Fund's managed distribution plan. The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this Notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes. The Fund has declared the June 2022 distribution pursuant to the Fund's managed distribution plan (the "Plan"). Under the Plan, the Fund makes fixed quarterly distributions in the amount of $0.2900 per share, which will continue to be paid quarterly until further notice. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact your financial professional or call the John Hancock Investment Management Closed-End Fund Information Line at 1-800-843-0090, Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time. Effective October 1, 2021, copies of all notices informing shareholders of distributions made by the fund in excess of accumulated net investment income will be posted on John Hancock Investment Management's public website (jhinvestments.com) and on the Legal Notice System (LENS), a service offering of the Depository Trust Company (DTC) accessible by broker-dealer firms. To the extent required, notice may also be provided via press release. John Hancock Investment Management will continue to distribute paper copies of these notices by mail until March 30, 2022, after which date the notices will be delivered exclusively via the methods described above. Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined by the United States securities laws. You should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on forward-looking statements because they are subject to uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Fund's control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. An investor should consider a Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. Wellington Management Company LLP is an independent and unaffiliated investment subadviser to John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund. About John Hancock Investment Management A company of Manulife Investment Management, we serve investors through a unique multimanager approach, complementing our extensive in-house capabilities with an unrivaled network of specialized asset managers, backed by some of the most rigorous investment oversight in the industry. The result is a diverse lineup of time-tested investments from a premier asset manager with a heritage of financial stewardship. About Manulife Investment Management Manulife Investment Management is the global brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 18 geographies. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We're committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com. SOURCE John Hancock Investment Management "There are so many fun, unique creative ways beyond typical gifting occasions to enjoy chocolate all year long, especially this Summer," said Nathanael Hausmann, president, Laderach North America. "Whether it's making indoor or outdoor movie nights sweeter to complimenting a trip to the beach, chocolate lovers can visit any of our 40 stores across the US and Canada and hear from our 40 teams about more than 40 ways to enjoy fresh Swiss chocolate this season. Some of my favorite ways include enjoying fresh chocolate after lunch, dinner or during a summer day spent on a lake." Laderach asked its 40 teams across the US and Canada to share their favorite ways to enjoy premium fresh chocolate this Summer. From self-appreciation, special moments with a loved one, close relative or friend to elevating the family or friend get together, Laderach's staff shared the following 40 ways to enjoy Laderach chocolate: Pralines and Truffles are always a delicious treat on the way to your favorite summertime destination. Going on a nice bike ride and stopping to eat Laderach as a treat while enjoying a scenic view. Savoring a bite of FrischSchoggi at the end of a night. Sharing and enjoying fresh Swiss chocolate over a bonfire with close friends on a chilly summer night. Surprising a family member, friend, or stranger to sweeten their day. Treating yourself to your favorite Laderach chocolate as you walk through the mall. As an afternoon treat when you finish a workout, work, or any task. At the end of the day to compliment the beautiful sunset. Bringing fresh Swiss chocolate to the beach in a Laderach cooler bag to enjoy the fresh ocean breeze. Enjoying Laderach Tartufi on your way to the park a sweet truffle inspired by a Northern Italian classic made with the finest gianduja . Making hot chocolate in the morning or evening by combining Laderach milk chocolate with some warm milk. Taking a small pouch of Laderach chocolates on your front porch and just enjoying/relaxing on a nice sunny day. Making milk chocolate covered fruit from pineapple to strawberries. Satisfying that after dinner sweet tooth. While on a long boat ride with family and friends. Celebrating your best friends' wedding. With whisky on a cool summer night the single origin Madagascar 64% Laderach chocolate compliments a single malt well. Binge watching your favorite shows while eating your favorite Laderach chocolate snacks. On a boat cruise watching fireworks. Making move night sweeter with Laderach chocolate covered popcorn or savoring a single-origin chocolate tablet bar with cocoa from Ecuador or Trinidad . Attending an outdoor music concert in the park with friends. While sailing and taking in the relaxing vibes of the sea. Walking around and taking in the sights and sounds of NYC Times Square or your favorite destination of choice and enjoying Laderach's chocolate covered cornflakes as a sweet snack. With a loved one at home during a staycation . Enhancing an ice cream sundae with your favorite Laderach chocolate on top. On a cross country road trip with friends. Hiking with your favorite chocolates in a Laderach cooler bag. For any rainy summer day, a slab of FrischSchoggi is always a crowd pleaser with friends. Bringing delectable Laderach chocolate truffles as a party gift is always a must. With wine and Laderach dark chocolate hand broken FrischSchoggi or pralines a perfect pair for any dinner, a picnic or party. Making the charcuterie board even more tasty at a family or friend's birthday party with Laderach snacking chocolates. Spiffy up a camping trip with Laderach chocolate tablet bars. On a roof top party in your favorite summer city destination. Enjoy a slab of FrischSchoggi with friends at a summer house rental. Compliment the end of the backyard party or clambake on the beach. After a nice long day at the lake while watching the sunset with friends and family. Celebrate a friends' birthday party with a whole slab of FrischSchoggi confetti. On a Monday when you need something sweet to start the week. 4th of July or Canada Day party win over your friends or family with a 36-count box of pralines. And of course, enjoying Laderach fresh chocolate on a visit to Switzerland . Laderach's success and momentum to expand is only possible through the passionate drive of its diverse 1,300 employees, from over 50 nationalities who represent various backgrounds, beliefs, and lifestyles. Mutual respect, diversity, inclusiveness and freedom of expression, and transparency are at the heart of Laderach amongst its employees to make the best chocolate possible. About Laderach Chocolatier Suisse Operating since 1962, Laderach Chocolatier Suisse is a family-owned, premium Swiss chocolate company dedicated to creating sweet moments of joy in everyday life. As the largest chocolate retailer in Switzerland with approximately 1,300+ employees representing more than 50 nationalities and over 100 retail stores worldwide, Laderach has rapidly grown to 40 stores across North America in 2.5 years. Swiss quality is reflected in Laderach's control of the entire value chain from bean-to-bar-to-shop. Laderach uses only the best ingredients through strong relationships with the finest suppliers. Laderach produces over 100 varieties of chocolates, including over 20 varieties of FrischSchoggi (large slabs of fresh chocolate bark), more than 50 different pralines and truffles, dozens of confectionery specialties, and a large selection of seasonal creations. To learn more about its stores, chocolate and careers, visit www.laderach.com. CONTACT: Ryan Bowling +1 650 245 7945 [email protected] SOURCE Laderach Chocolatier Suisse By announcing the acquisition of prominent quinceanera marketplace Mi Padrino, Queenly builds on their mission of accessibility to formalwear for all your special occasions. SAN FRANCISCO, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Queenly, the leading marketplace and search engine for the formalwear industry, announced today that it has acquired Mi Padrino, a quinceanera marketplace. Mi Padrino is the top event planning platform for the Latinx community, focused primarily on quinceaneras and weddings. The Quinceanera planning app reached over 3 million families planning traditional Hispanic celebrations. 85% of their 2021 revenue came from quinceanera dress sales alone. Queenly Queenly and Mi Padrino As part of the acquisition Queenly will be gaining access to 115,000 users, over 350 quinceanera and bridal dress vendors, and over 500 quinceanera blog posts. The purchase price has not been disclosed. With the postponement of most major events and special occasions for the last two years, consumers are determined to keep their schedules intact this year. Even with the market down, fashion resale continues to thrive as shoppers look to secondhand markets for their clothing, for sustainable and cost saving reasons. Queenly is thrilled to continue to expand their inventory to make it easier than ever for their users to find the perfect dress and at a fraction of the cost of retail. "We are excited for Queenly to continue the hard work we've started in making it easier and more enjoyable to plan the Hispanic traditions that we know and love," says Kim Gamez, Founder & CEO of Mi Padrino. "We're thankful for all the families, vendors, partners, and others who helped us get to this point." Under the acquisition, Mi Padrino will completely fold into Queenly. Applying their proven model to adjacent markets, Queenly will continue to solely focus on formalwear as the platform grows into something that is much more than just prom and pageant gowns moving forward. "We are so excited to be welcoming Mi Padrino's users to Queenly," commented Trisha Bantigue, CEO and Co-Founder of Queenly, whose impressive history includes stints at Facebook, Google and Uber. "This expansion signals the continued growth and success of Queenly as the leading formalwear marketplace." "As a female minority founder, I understand the various struggles of underrepresented communities. At Queenly we thrive to make sure our company goes out of our way to support minority communities and we look forward to helping Latinx women celebrate this important milestone", says Kathy Zhou, Queenly's CTO and Co-Founder. So far Queenly has raised over $7 million from investors and as its reach expands, it is expected other forward thinkers will also get on board. With the formalwear market alone valued at $15B in North America, there is clearly much room for smart growth both in the present and well into the future. Queenly has also built solid relationships within the pageant community, with an ongoing relationship established and maintained with Miss USA, Miss Black USA and Miss Earth USA, amongst others. This is part of the company's drive to do its best to empower women, when and wherever possible. For more information be sure to visit https://queenly.com. Media Contact Catherine Fanchiang Account Manager, Pink Shark PR 815.409.1150 [email protected] About Queenly Queenly is the leading marketplace and search engine for the formalwear industry. Whether it's for prom, quinceanera, or a wedding, we help women of all ages and all sizes find the exact dress they're looking for. Founded in 2019, Queenly is the best place to find the exact dress you need for your prom, wedding, and other special occasions. Our company finds a home in a diverse and inclusive community of queens trying to push the boundaries of what it means to feel beautiful and confident in the modern agethat such traits can come in all shapes and sizes, and that together, we can embrace these beliefs wholeheartedly. SOURCE Queenly SAN FRANCISCO, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global LED driver market size is estimated to reach USD 30.8 billion by 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to witness a CAGR of 23.5% from 2022 to 2030. LEDs have evolved as an energy-efficient alternative for conventional light sources during the last decade, and their use in lighting and display segments across industries is increasing. Key Industry Insights & Findings from the report: The constant current segment is anticipated to witness a CAGR of over 23.9% from 2022 to 2030. For general lighting applications, the constant current driver is more reliable than a constant voltage driver. The lighting segment is anticipated to witness a CAGR of nearly 26.0% over the forecast period, owing to the increased investments in Europe and the Asia Pacific . and the . Asia Pacific dominated the industry contributing to over 44.0% of the global revenue in 2021. Government regulations in the Asia Pacific are likely to increase the demand for energy-efficient lighting. Read 125-page market research report for more latest industry insights, "LED Driver Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Supply Type (Constant Voltage, Constant Current), By Application (Automotive, Consumer Electronics, Lighting), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2022 - 2030", published by Grand View Research. LED Driver Market Growth & Trends LED lighting equipment is increasingly replacing traditional lighting products due to a variety of advantages, including longer life, higher energy efficiency, better environmental friendliness, miniaturization, reduced heat output, and directionality. Furthermore, the increasing number of smart buildings and homes in developed countries is driving up demand for IoT-based linked lighting systems. Several governments have initiated Smart City efforts to increase the energy savings of inhabited cities, which is expected to further boost the market. From 2017 to 2021, the demand for constant current LED drivers grew at an exponential rate; these drivers are frequently employed in high-brightness and exterior lighting applications. The LED driver's major application segment is consumer electronics; demand for LEDs has surged in the television and display panel segments. Leading manufacturers are cooperating with other companies to supply public lighting systems that are connected to remote management for energy savings and efficient maintenance in towns all over the world. For instance, in November 2021, Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. announced the launch of RadioRA 3. It is a lighting control system that connects a wide variety of connected domestic products-keypads, switches, and capacitive touch dimmers to a contemporary light bar design. RadioRA 3 revolutionized how installers and consumers experience home lighting systems with the line of wall controls, including IoT (Internet of Things) connectivity and light bar design. For applications in the low- to mid-power range, there is a growing demand for a driver with reduced power loss, a smaller system package, and lower cost while yet delivering good dependability. LED Driver manufacturers have been implementing Primary-Side Regulation (PSR) to reduce costs by removing secondary response circuitry, as well as Power-Factor Correction associated electronics, for greater power quality, to meet the criteria of cost reduction. LED Driver Market Segmentation Grand View Research has segmented the global LED driver market based on supply type, application, and region: LED Driver Market - Supply Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030) Constant current Constant voltage LED Driver Market - Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030) Automotive Consumer Electronics Lighting Outdoor Display LED Driver Market - Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030) North America U.S. Canada Europe U.K. Germany France Asia Pacific China Japan India South Korea Latin America Brazil Mexico Middle East & Africa List of Key Players in the LED Driver Market ACE LEDS Microchip Technology, Inc Cree LED GE Current, a Daintree Company Signify Holdings SAMSUNG Lutron Electronics Co., Ltd Macroblock, Inc Maxim Integrated NXP Semiconductors Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC ams OSRAM ROHM Co., Ltd STMicroelectronics N.V. Texas Instruments Incorporated Eaglerise Electric & Electronic ( China ) Co., Ltd. ) Co., Ltd. Lifud technology Co., Ltd. BOKE Drivers Co., Ltd Shenzhen Xiezhen Electronics Co., Ltd MEAN WELL Enterprises Co., Ltd. Inventronics, Inc Tridonic TCI Telecomunicazioni Italia Srl Check out more related studies published by Grand View Research: High-end Lighting Market - The global high-end lighting market size is expected to reach USD 24.32 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 6.1%, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Increasing demand for a connected lighting system has been a major factor driving market growth. The global high-end lighting market size is expected to reach by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 6.1%, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Increasing demand for a connected lighting system has been a major factor driving market growth. Energy Retrofit Systems Market - The global energy retrofit systems market size is expected to reach USD 203.12 billion by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.5% from 2020 to 2028. Increasing demand for renewable energy is expected to drive the market over the forecast period. The global energy retrofit systems market size is expected to reach by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.5% from 2020 to 2028. Increasing demand for renewable energy is expected to drive the market over the forecast period. North America LED Lighting Market - The North America LED lighting market size is expected to reach USD 14.6 billion by 2025, registering a CAGR of 9.6% over the forecast period, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Increase in the need to use sustainable energy sources among residential, industrial, and commercial end uses across U.S. and Canada is driving the market. Browse through Grand View Research's Semiconductors Industry Research Reports. About Grand View Research Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research Helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead. Contact: Sherry James Corporate Sales Specialist, USA Grand View Research, Inc. Phone: 1-415-349-0058 Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519 Email: [email protected] Web: https://www.grandviewresearch.com Grand View Compass | Astra ESG Solutions Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/661327/Grand_View_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc. CONCORD, Calif. , June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- LightRiver , the premier optical network integration solution provider for next generation, multi-vendor, Factory Built Networks and netFLEX Transport Domain Orchestration and Control Software solutions, announced today a new executive appointment of Scotty Benda as Chief Product Officer. The appointment will strengthen LightRiver's leadership team as it further maximizes market opportunities in the era of open optical networking and automation, accelerate the Company's growth and increase the scale and scope of its operations. Benda joins LightRiver with a distinguished career in telecommunications, having served in various technical and leadership roles in carrier grade transport networking, instilling trust and team work internally and externally, including as Director, Embedded Software Design and New Product Introduction; Vice President, Global Sales Systems Engineering; and General Manager of the Global Services Division. "The shift to open optical networks represents an unprecedented opportunity for LightRiver with our comprehensive 'design, deploy and automate' approach to multivendor network solutions," states Mike Jonas, President of Global Customer Operations for LightRiver. "I'm thrilled to welcome Scotty to our leadership team as we scale our platform, enhance our value proposition and accelerate toward the next phase of growth." Benda has held senior systems, software and services leadership positions at Nortel, Lucent, ONI and Ciena where he successfully led innovative growth efforts and drove improvements in product, process and delivery performance within those companies. "LightRiver has built a very strong leadership team complete with unmatched experience in its markets, a great portfolio of technologies, alliances and relationships, and is focused on the customer experience," comments Benda, "I am excited to be in this role and to contribute to the successful growth of the firm as we deliver advanced connectivity solutions for our clients." About LightRiver LightRiver is the premier provider of next generation, multi-vendor, Factory Built Networks and netFLEX vendor neutral, Optical Domain Control Software solutions. LightRiver is an expert in Packet Optical, DWDM/ROADM, MPLS and Carrier Ethernet systems and designs, engineers, commissions, automates and supports next generation, software controlled, transport networks for mission-critical clients that require the highest capacity, reliability, resiliency and manageability that today's optical communications technology can deliver. LightRiver is a portfolio company of Grain Management LLC, a leading Washington, D.C. based investment firm focused on the global communications sector, and delivers unique value with turnkey hardware and software solutions, carrier-grade quality and unparalleled customer care in multi-technology networking. For more information, visit lightriver.com . Media Contact Jaymie Scotto & Associates (JSA) +1 888.695.3620 ext. 6 [email protected] SOURCE LightRiver LiveMetric is launching LiveOne, an FDA-cleared wearable technology for health systems, health insurers, and self-insured employers to improve the care and treatment of people with hypertension and cardiovascular disease. DENVER and LUXEMBOURG, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- LiveMetric , a leader in medical wearable technology, today announced the launch of LiveOne, the world's first 510(k) U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared nano-sensor technology for monitoring blood pressure every 10 seconds. LiveOne is a wrist-worn, cuff-free solution that provides real time measurements to improve the care and treatment of people with hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. The non-invasive device requires no external calibration and continuously extracts the pressure waveform out of the radial artery. The LiveOne monitoring service will be available through health systems, health insurers, and self-insured employers for people with high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. "LiveMetric's wrist-worn, wearable blood pressure monitor is an amazing solution to the inconvenience of the current BP cuff and Holter monitor," said George Bakris, MD, Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, and Director of AHA Comprehensive Hypertension Center. "Its innovative design provides an affordable, daily monitor which empowers users to know their blood pressure from anywhere and at any time. The band makes it possible to evaluate not only a static 24-hr ABPM, but also to monitor BP over an entire week. It could also aid in our continuous research to improve diagnosis of secondary causes of hypertension that have variable BP increases." "The LiveOne device is intended to combat the worldwide epidemic of hypertension by offering patients and providers meaningful, deeply personalized health information so action can be taken in real-time," said Kelly Benning, VP, LiveMetric. "With the same ease as wearing a watch, the LiveOne device will change how hypertension and cardiovascular disease are managed and treated by offering people a thorough understanding of how their lifestyle, behavior, and medication impact their blood pressure. We are focused on bringing this to millions of users across the channels of our customer-base." A radical change to more than a century of monitoring blood pressure using cuffs, LiveMetric provides an urgently needed monitoring system to better evaluate and monitor people from anywhere and at any time. The LiveOne band, which can be used both day and night, provides an extensive volume of data points which enables clinicians and caregivers to easily evaluate trends and the likelihood of major events. For further reading please visit here Please visit livemetric.com for more information. About LiveOne The LiveOne wearable is the world's first MEMS nano-sensor-based, CE and FDA-cleared device with medical accuracy highly correlated to the arterial line. LiveOne is predicated on a unique technological approach, applying an array of high-frequency nanosensors that senses and processes actual pressure, and uses proprietary machine-learning to extract blood pressure values from the shape of the pulse waveform. Unlike the traditional cuff, it is calibration-free, making it highly convenient and easy-to-use. The LiveMetric Platform provides decision support data to both payers and caregivers to improve patient outcomes and cost efficiency. About LiveMetric LiveMetric is an innovative leader in the care and treatment of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Through the unique coupling of MEMS nano sensors with AI algorithms the LiveOne device provides BP measurements with unprecedented accuracy. The LiveMetric platform allows for third parties to manage a patient's condition through an easy integration to the LiveMetric platform. For more information, please visit livemetric.com Media Contacts Kelly Benning [email protected] (303) 990-2666 SOURCE LiveMetric Market Driver One of the main factors fueling the expansion of the LNG carriers market is the rising demand for natural gas. Due to its higher energy density than CNG, LNG is growing in popularity. It guarantees long-distance travel and makes it possible to store more natural gas in fuel tanks, which is beneficial for cars with more horsepower. Another major market trend for LNG carriers that are fostering industry expansion is a rise in consumer desire for cleaner fuels. However, one of the things preventing the market for LNG carriers from expanding is the fluctuation in oil and gas prices. For additional information related to market growth factors, Request a Sample Report Now! Major Five LNG Carriers Companies: The growing competition in the market is compelling vendors to adopt various growth strategies such as promotional activities and spending on advertisements to improve the visibility of their services. Some vendors are also adopting inorganic growth strategies such as M&As to remain competitive in the market. The report analyzes the market's competitive landscape and offers information on several market vendors, including: BW Group DSME Co. Ltd. Flex LNG Ltd. GasLog Ltd Gaztransport and Technigaz SA Golar LNG Ltd. Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. IMABARI SHIPBUILDING CO. LTD. Japan Marine United Corp. K Shipbuilding Co. Ltd Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. Maran Gas Maritime Inc. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. Find additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by vendors and their product offerings, Read Sample Report. LNG Carriers Market Geography Outlook (Revenue, USD bn, 2021-2026) North America - size and forecast 2021-2026 - size and forecast 2021-2026 Middle East and Africa - size and forecast 2021-2026 and - size and forecast 2021-2026 Europe - size and forecast 2021-2026 - size and forecast 2021-2026 APAC - size and forecast 2021-2026 North America will account for 31% of market growth. The main markets in North America for LNG carriers are the US and Bermuda. The market in this region will expand more slowly than the market in South America. Over the projection period, the market for LNG carriers in North America will develop thanks to the expansion of LNG trade. Do you want to learn about the contribution of each segment of the predictive analytics market? Get an Exclusive Sample Report Related Reports: Crude Oil Desalter Market by Product and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Floating Production Systems (FPS) Market by Type and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 LNG Carriers Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 4.43% Market growth 2022-2026 $ 3.16 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 4.06 Regional analysis North America, Middle East and Africa, Europe, APAC, and South America Performing market contribution North America at 31% Key consumer countries Qatar, Japan, Malaysia, UK, and Greece Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope Key companies profiled BW Group, DSME Co. Ltd., Flex LNG Ltd., GasLog Ltd, Gaztransport and Technigaz SA, Golar LNG Ltd., Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., IMABARI SHIPBUILDING CO. LTD., Japan Marine United Corp., K Shipbuilding Co. Ltd, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Maran Gas Maritime Inc., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Mitsui E&S Holdings Co. Ltd., Nakilat, Petroliam Nasional Berhad, Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., Shell plc, Teekay LNG Partners L.P, and Wartsila Corp. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary 1.1 Market overview Exhibit 01: Executive Summary Chart on Market Overview Exhibit 02: Executive Summary Data Table on Market Overview Exhibit 03: Executive Summary Chart on Global Market Characteristics Exhibit 04: Executive Summary Chart on Market by Geography Exhibit 05: Executive Summary Chart on Market Segmentation by Type Exhibit 06: Executive Summary Chart on Incremental Growth Exhibit 07: Executive Summary Data Table on Incremental Growth Exhibit 08: Executive Summary Chart on Vendor Market Positioning 2 Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 09: Parent market Exhibit 10: Market Characteristics 3 Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 11: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 12: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2021 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021-2026 Exhibit 13: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 14: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 15: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 16: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 4 Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five forces summary Exhibit 17: Five forces analysis - Comparison between2021 and 2026 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 18: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers Impact of key factors 2021 and 2026 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 19: Bargaining power of suppliers Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 20: Threat of new entrants Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 21: Threat of substitutes Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 22: Threat of rivalry Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.7 Market condition Exhibit 23: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2021 and 2026 5 Market Segmentation by Type 5.1 Market segments Exhibit 24: Chart on Type - Market share 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 25: Data Table on Type - Market share 2021-2026 (%) 5.2 Comparison by Type Exhibit 26: Chart on Comparison by Type Exhibit 27: Data Table on Comparison by Type 5.3 Membrane - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 28: Chart on Membrane - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 29: Data Table on Membrane - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 30: Chart on Membrane - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 31: Data Table on Membrane - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.4 Moss - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 32: Chart on Moss - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 33: Data Table on Moss - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 34: Chart on Moss - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 35: Data Table on Moss - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.5 Market opportunity by Type Exhibit 36: Market opportunity by Type ($ billion) 6 Customer Landscape 6.1 Customer landscape overview Exhibit 37: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria 7 Geographic Landscape 7.1 Geographic segmentation Exhibit 38: Chart on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 39: Data Table on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%) 7.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 40: Chart on Geographic comparison Exhibit 41: Data Table on Geographic comparison 7.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 42: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 43: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 44: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 45: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.4 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 46: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 47: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 48: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) and - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 49: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.5 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 50: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 51: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 52: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 53: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.6 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 54: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 55: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 56: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 57: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.7 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 58: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 59: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 60: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 61: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.8 UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 62: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 63: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 64: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 65: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.9 Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 66: Chart on Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 67: Data Table on Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 68: Chart on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 69: Data Table on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.10 Qatar - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 70: Chart on Qatar - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 71: Data Table on Qatar - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 72: Chart on Qatar - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 73: Data Table on Qatar - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.11 Greece - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 74: Chart on Greece - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 75: Data Table on Greece - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 76: Chart on Greece - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 77: Data Table on Greece - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.12 Malaysia - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 78: Chart on Malaysia - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 79: Data Table on Malaysia - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 80: Chart on Malaysia - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 81: Data Table on Malaysia - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.13 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 82: Market opportunity by geography ($ billion) 8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 8.1 Market drivers 8.2 Market challenges 8.3 Impact of drivers and challenges Exhibit 83: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2021 and 2026 8.4 Market trends 9 Vendor Landscape 9.1 Overview 9.2 Vendor landscape Exhibit 84: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation 9.3 Landscape disruption Exhibit 85: Overview on factors of disruption 9.4 Industry risks Exhibit 86: Impact of key risks on business 10 Vendor Analysis 10.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 87: Vendors covered 10.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 88: Matrix on vendor position and classification 10.3 BW Group Exhibit 89: BW Group - Overview Exhibit 90: BW Group - Product / Service Exhibit 91: BW Group - Key offerings 10.4 DSME Co. Ltd. Exhibit 92: DSME Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 93: DSME Co. Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 94: DSME Co. Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 95: DSME Co. Ltd. - Segment focus 10.5 Flex LNG Ltd. Exhibit 96: Flex LNG Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 97: Flex LNG Ltd. - Product / Service Exhibit 98: Flex LNG Ltd. - Key offerings 10.6 GasLog Ltd Exhibit 99: GasLog Ltd - Overview Exhibit 100: GasLog Ltd - Product / Service Exhibit 101: GasLog Ltd - Key offerings 10.7 Gaztransport and Technigaz SA Exhibit 102: Gaztransport and Technigaz SA - Overview Exhibit 103: Gaztransport and Technigaz SA - Business segments Exhibit 104: Gaztransport and Technigaz SA - Key offerings Exhibit 105: Gaztransport and Technigaz SA - Segment focus 10.8 Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. Exhibit 106: Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 107: Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 108: Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. - Key news Exhibit 109: Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 110: Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. - Segment focus 10.9 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. Exhibit 111: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 112: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 113: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. - Key news Exhibit 114: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 115: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. - Segment focus 10.10 Nakilat Exhibit 116: Nakilat - Overview Exhibit 117: Nakilat - Business segments Exhibit 118: Nakilat - Key offerings Exhibit 119: Nakilat - Segment focus 10.11 Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. Exhibit 120: Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 121: Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 122: Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 123: Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. - Segment focus 10.12 Teekay LNG Partners L.P Exhibit 124: Teekay LNG Partners L.P - Overview Exhibit 125: Teekay LNG Partners L.P - Business segments Exhibit 126: Teekay LNG Partners L.P - Key offerings Exhibit 127: Teekay LNG Partners L.P - Segment focus 11 Appendix 11.1 Scope of the report 11.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist Exhibit 128: Inclusions checklist Exhibit 129: Exclusions checklist 11.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 130: Currency conversion rates for US$ 11.4 Research methodology Exhibit 131: Research methodology Exhibit 132: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 133: Information sources 11.5 List of abbreviations Exhibit 134: List of abbreviations About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contacts Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio In a post-pandemic revival of the foundation's projects, French cardiac surgeon Dr Olivier Baron performed open-heart surgery on underprivileged Uzbek children with cardiovascular diseases TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Six Uzbek children with congenital heart conditions have received heart surgeries as part of the programme backed by Lola Tillyaeva (Till) and Timur Tillyaev's You Are Not Alone Foundation (YANAF). Visiting French cardiac surgeon Dr Olivier Baron and his Uzbek counterparts performed open-heart surgery on children with complex forms of cardiovascular diseases from Uzbekistan's Andijan, Qashqadaryo, Namangan, Samarkand and Fergana regions. Dr Baron also examined and provided consultations to over 60 children, including those who had previously undergone cardiac surgeries by French doctors. Since 2015, with the funding of the You Are Not Alone Foundation, French cardiac surgeons have carried out over 135 operations on children with complex congenital heart conditions, all of whom come from Uzbekistan's low-income families and orphanages. 21 of these operations were carried out in France with the foundation's support. The foundation's programme was briefly put on hold as the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult to provide surgeries which required doctors and patients to travel. In the second half of 2022, You Are Not Alone aims to fund more projects to help provide quality healthcare and educational opportunities to underprivileged children in Uzbekistan. "Covid-19 made many philanthropic initiatives more difficult with vulnerable people suffering the most. Fortunately, we were now able to resume our activities providing life-saving heart surgeries to children in Uzbekistan. We are grateful to Dr Olivier Baron and all other surgeons who work with us to provide children with the care they need," said Lola Tillyaeva (Till). "Giving back is a way of investing in our common future. We strongly believe that helping children achieve their full potential by providing them with healthcare and educational opportunities is the best way to invest in a better world for all," Timur Tillyaev added. About You Are Not Alone Foundation The You are Not Alone Foundation (YANAF), founded by Lola Tillyaeva and Timur Tillyaev in 2002, provides access to quality education, healthcare and psychological support to vulnerable children in Uzbekistan. The foundation's primary goal is to ensure that disadvantaged children in the country are provided with the opportunity to grow up in a safe environment and it has supported reconstruction and renovation of orphanages in Uzbekistan. Along with access to quality healthcare, the foundation also provides educational opportunities and scholarships to students, and legal and social support to children transitioning into adulthood. To learn more about YANAF's activities, please visit: https://youarenotalone.ngo/ Or follow them on: Facebook and Instagram. Contact: youarenotalone.ngo/contact/ SOURCE You Are Not Alone Foundation Virtual event draws thousands to urge Congress to improve access to care for people with lupus WASHINGTON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lupus Foundation of America's 2022 Digital Lupus Advocacy Summit , which took place June 27-29, united thousands of lupus advocates from across the country to learn from experts in the lupus field about the latest in lupus research, advocacy and care, and included advocating to members of Congress to join the fight against this terrible disease. During hundreds of phone and video meetings, and within thousands of emails and social media messages, advocates urged members of Congress to support policies that will improve access to high-quality health care, including: The Safe Step Act (HR 2163/S 464), which would prohibit dangerous step therapy, or "fail first" policies, and allow people with lupus timely access to the medications prescribed by their doctor; The HELP Copays Act (HR 5801), legislation to ban so-called "co-pay accumulators" and allow the financial assistance many people receive to count towards their health plan's cost-sharing requirements, including their deductible Establishing an out-of-pocket cap and a smoothing mechanism in Medicare Part D to limit patient costs and allow them to spread costs over the course of the year. Timely access to quality care, including the latest treatments for lupus, is critical for people living with the disease. Lupus patients and their physicians must have the ability to make decisions that meet their medical needs and are not dictated by policies that increase patient costs and limit choice. Insurance company tactics like step therapy and copay accumulator programs create needless delays and affordability concerns that can and do lead people with lupus to miss treatments, or worse, forgo treatment altogether. Affordability is similarly a concern in Medicare Part D, whose 48 million beneficiaries often face high costs without any out-of-pocket cap or the ability to spread high payments over the year. Additionally, advocates emphasized to their members of Congress the importance of funding lupus research and education programs in fiscal year 2023. Shannon Lee, who is living with lupus and serves as the Lupus Foundation of America Southern California Region Advocacy co-chair and is attending her fourth Summit shared, "Lupus impacts everyone differently. In order to improve our individual situations, we must actively participate in solutions that address the many challenges presented by this debilitating disease. The Foundation's Advocacy Summit provides us with the platform to learn, connect and advocate for ourselves, including advocating for support from our members of Congress. Our voices at the Summit can aid in improving care not only for ourselves, but for those yet to be diagnosed." "The Lupus Foundation of America Digital Lupus Advocacy Summit brings together the largest gathering of people with lupus and provides them with an immersive experience where they can learn about new lupus treatments on the horizon as well as important resources and support services that can help them live a better life with lupus. The Summit also empowers each advocate to use their voice and reach out to their members of Congress to urge them to support policies that increase funding for lupus research and education programs, and improve access to high-quality healthcare," shared Stevan W. Gibson, president & CEO, Lupus Foundation of America. In addition to the support of our donors and Board members for helping to make the 2022 Digital Lupus Advocacy Summit possible, we greatly appreciate the unrestricted grants from the following organizations: AstraZeneca, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, Bristol Myers Squib, Exagen, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Horizon Therapeutics, PhRMA. About Lupus Lupus is an unpredictable and misunderstood autoimmune disease that ravages different parts of the body. It is difficult to diagnose, hard to live with and a challenge to treat. Lupus is a cruel mystery because it is hidden from view and undefined, has a range of symptoms, strikes without warning, and has no known cause and no known cure. Its health effects can range from a skin rash to a heart attack. Lupus is debilitating and destructive and can be fatal, yet research on lupus remains underfunded relative to diseases of similar scope and devastation. About the Lupus Foundation of America The Lupus Foundation of America is the national force devoted to solving the mystery of lupus , one of the world's cruelest, most unpredictable and devastating diseases, while giving caring support to those who suffer from its brutal impact. Through a comprehensive program of research, education, and advocacy, we lead the fight to improve the quality of life for all people affected by lupus. Learn more about the Lupus Foundation of America at lupus.org . Media Contact Mike Donnelly [email protected] SOURCE Lupus Foundation of America Galbraith joins Lankenau from Duke Regional Hospital, in Durham, North Carolina, where she has served as president since 2014. She brings a wealth of progressive experience in hospital operations, strategy, marketing, and corporate communications, with over 25 years serving in world-class academic health systems. She joined Duke as public relations manager for Duke Children's Hospital in 1996 and moved to Duke Regional in 2001 as director of marketing and corporate communications. Other roles have included chief marketing and business development officer, chief hospital operations and business development officer, and vice president/COO. "We are thrilled Katie Galbraith is joining Main Line Health as the next president of Lankenau Medical Center and a member of the Senior Leadership Team," said Jack Lynch, FACHE, President and Chief Executive Officer, Main Line Health. "Katie's acumen and accomplishments in safety, quality, equity and performance metrics in care delivery and patient access will be assets that will help our System continue along its outstanding trajectory. Lankenau Medical Center has consistently been named one of the best hospitals in the region and draws patients from around the nation for its top-rated programs including the Lankenau heart Institute, and colon cancer surgery. It is home to internationally respected academic programs, medical staff, clinical research and education. Our outgoing president, Phillip Robinson has been a kind, compassionate and innovative change-maker for Lankenau and Main Line Health. We will miss him tremendously, always consider him part of the Main Line Health family and appreciate his support in this transition." Galbraith was instrumental in helping Duke Regional achieve US News & World Report's ranking in the top 12 of more than 100 hospitals in North Carolina. Other achievements include the following: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services five-star hospital in 2019 and 2020; four-star hospital in 2021 Health system Magnet designation in 2014, 2018; hospital Magnet designation from 2008 Vizient 2021 Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Award for Complex Care Medical Centers North Carolina Award for Excellence in recognition of the hospital's commitment to continuous improvement and learning as part of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program Recognition as a leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality by The Human Rights Council since 2013 Earned No. 2 nationwide in 2022 Lown Institute Hospitals Index Galbraith has been committed to safety, quality, equity and social justice throughout her career. In addition to serving as president, she served for 18 months as interim head of community health for Duke University Health System. She served as a trusted adviser and community partner, strengthening relationships and building collaboration with local government, community leaders and faith-based organizations. "Katie's work in community outreach will be of tremendous value to our ongoing mission and goals of partnering with our colleagues and neighbors near and far," said Barbara Wadsworth, DNP, RN, FAAN, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Main Line Health. "Healthcare has never been more dynamic, its current challenges never greater, and serving the full needs of patients and families never more important. We welcome Katie to the Main Line Health family and appreciate her depth of knowledge, experience and enthusiasm for the work ahead." Galbraith brings experience in growing and expanding programs, services and facilities. She oversaw the largest construction project in the history of the hospital, a $102.4 million Behavioral Health Center and Emergency Department expansion. "I am delighted to be joining the Lankenau and Main Line Health team. This is an outstanding opportunity to be part an organization with a strong commitment to excellence, to people and to community, and I look forward to serving," said Galbraith. Galbraith received her bachelor's degree from Northwestern University and MBA from Elon University. She is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Galbraith starts in September. About Lankenau Medical Center Lankenau Medical Center, the largest of the hospitals within Main Line Health, is recognized as a national leader in advancing new options to diagnose and treat illness, protect against disease and save lives. Located on a 93-acre campus just outside of Philadelphia, Lankenau Medical Center is a 389-bed, not-for-profit teaching hospital that includes one of the nation's leading cardiovascular centers; the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, one of the few freestanding hospital-associated research centers in the nation; and the Annenberg Conference Center for Medical Education, that trains over 150 new physicians each year through nationally ranked residency and fellowship programs. Lankenau has received both regional and national recognition for its excellence in providing state-of-the-art, quality care. Lankenau Medical Center has been named among the top 10 hospitals in Pennsylvania and top five in the Philadelphia metro area in U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals 201920, and was ranked as high-performing in abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, aortic valve surgery, colon cancer surgery, gastroenterology and GI surgery, geriatrics, heart bypass surgery, heart failure, hip replacement, knee replacement, lung cancer surgery and nephrology. Lankenau has achieved The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for stroke care and breast cancer care and is one of the nation's Top Performing Hospitals for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care. Lankenau has also been ranked for multiple years as one of the top 50 cardiovascular hospitals in the nation by Truven Health Analytics. Lankenau has also earned the highest distinction for excellence in nursing care, the American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet designation. About Main Line Health Founded in 1985, Main Line Health is a not-for-profit health system serving Philadelphia and its western suburbs. Main Line Health's commitmentto deliver advanced medicine for treating and curing disease, playing an important role in prevention and disease management as well as training physicians and other health care providersreflects our intent to be the region's premier choice for clinical care, research, and education. A team of more than 10,000 employees, 3,000 nurses and 2,000 physicians care for patients throughout the Main Line Health System. At Main Line Health's core are four of the region's most respected acute care hospitalsLankenau Medical Center, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Paoli Hospital and Riddle Hospitalas well as one of the nation's premier facilities for rehabilitative medicine, Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital. Main Line Health also includes Mirmont Treatment Center for drug and alcohol recovery; Main Line Health HomeCare & Hospice, which includes skilled home health care, hospice and home infusion services; Main Line Health Centers, primary and specialty care, lab and radiology, and other outpatient services located in Broomall, Collegeville, Concordville, Exton, King of Prussia and Newtown Square; Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, a biomedical research organization; and Main Line HealthCare, one of the region's largest multispecialty physician networks. Main Line Health is the recipient of numerous awards for quality care, and service, including U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals, System Magnet designation; the nation's highest distinction for nursing excellence and the Mid-Atlantic Alliance for Performance Excellence (MAAPE) Excellence Award. Main Line Health is committed to creating an environment of diversity, respect, equity, and inclusion, has proudly received awards in this area and has embraced the American Hospital Association's #123forEquity Pledge to Act to eliminate disparities in care. We are dedicated to advancing patient-centered care, education, and research to help patients stay healthy and live their best lives. SOURCE Main Line Health HOUSTON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Theresa's Research Foundation is excited to announce a new manuscript titled "Improving the Odds Together: A Framework for Breast Cancer Research Scientists to Include Patient Advocates in their Research" published today in npj Breast. An appreciation for the value of including the patient advocate voice in cancer research has increased in recent years, however, basic research scientists are often uncertain about how to establish or maintain relationships with advocates. The manuscript describes these barriers and provides potential solutions including short- and long-term goals to overcome these challenges. "When scientists partner with patient advocates, real experiences of people living with cancer inform the work at every step, rather than being an afterthought. Patients are scientists' biggest champions no one wants the work to succeed as much as we do. Our lives literally depend on it!" commented Julia Maues, patient advocate and co-founder of GRASP. "As someone who has worked with patient advocates for many years now, I'm very passionate about how patients can influence research and how much we can teach each other about how to advance progress against cancer," said Alana Welm, PhD, Professor and Senior Director of Basic Science at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah. In the summer of 2021, Theresa's Research Foundation hosted a virtual roundtable to identify opportunities to improve relationships between researchers and advocates, then presented findings during the 8th Annual Metastatic Breast Cancer Research Conference in the fall of 2021. The conference included patient advocates and research scientists who provided additional feedback. Findings from these discussions were compiled into the manuscript, which is co-authored by researchers and advocates. "Many of the research scientists in our group who work with advocates have a more patient-centric approach that helps focus their research and improve their communication skills. Our hope is that the findings in the manuscript will encourage more basic research scientists to work with patient advocates to improve cancer research and patient outcomes," said Hillary Stires, PhD, Science Policy Analyst at Friends of Cancer Research. About Theresa's Research Foundation The mission of Theresa's Research Foundation is to specifically fund research for metastatic breast cancer that provides better treatment options, improves quality of life for patients and will one day lead to a cure. Each year, the organization hosts the Metastatic Breast Cancer Research Conference hosted in collaboration with Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute to bring together a diverse audience to create a collaborative research environment with a long term goal of developing curative approaches for metastatic breast cancer. To register for the 2022 event, visit https://na.eventscloud.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=676621&. To learn more about the work of Theresa's Research Foundation, visit http://www.theresasresearch.org. Contact: Josh Newby (618) 580-0908, [email protected] SOURCE Theresa's Research Foundation On the heels of NFT.NYC, we were absolutely thrilled with the successful results of Cartography of the Mind: A Curated Sale to Benefit MAPS . Throughout the week, the physical exhibition at Christie's new gallery on 6th Avenue drew impressive crowds of enthusiastic visitors. With competitive bidding, the sale realized over $1.5 million. It was 100% sold, and 130% sold hammer over low estimate. This is a true testament to the continued strength and vibrancy of the digital art market. Nicole Sales, Christie's Business Director of Digital Art Beeple, David Choe, Sarah Meyohas, Refik Anadol, Mad Dog Jones, IX Shells, and more donated art to support MAPS. The research, education, and advocacy organization, founded in 1986, remains the leading body at the vanguard of research into potentially life-saving psychedelic-assisted therapies. Psychedelic Healing is an artistic interpretation of the MAPS logo by renowned artist Alex Grey to celebrate MAPS' 35th anniversary in 2021. It was purchased by Ryan Zurrer and donated back to MAPS for additional fundraising. As a not-for-profit, we are always looking for innovative ways to fundraise, and working with this digital art community has truly been eye-opening. We are overwhelmed by the generosity and support from Ryan, Christie's, and especially these incredible artists who put forth their art in support of our work in advancing psychedelic medicine. We have seen a significant overlap amongst people who have a passion for NFTs, blockchain, and psychedelics. All speak to the decentralized nature of experience, and we look forward to continuing to explore the intersection of both communities. Rick Doblin, Ph.D. , MAPS' Founder and Executive Director ABOUT MAPS Founded in 1986, MAPS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and educational organization developing medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana. MAPS is sponsoring the most advanced psychedelic therapy research in the world funded primarily by philanthropic donors and grantors who have given more than $130 million for research and education. About Christie's Founded in 1766, Christie's is a world-leading art and luxury business. Renowned and trusted for its expert live and online auctions, as well as its bespoke private sales, Christie's offers a full portfolio of global services to its clients, including art appraisal, art financing, international real estate and education. Christie's has a physical presence in 46 countries, throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, with flagship international sales hubs in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. It also is the only international auction house authorized to hold sales in mainland China (Shanghai). Christie's is dedicated to advancing responsible culture throughout its business and communities worldwide, including achieving sustainability through net zero carbon emissions by 2030, and actively using its platform in the art world to amplify under-represented voices and support positive change. SOURCE Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies Chicago-based marketing agency is recognized for excellence with an American Digital Design Award CHICAGO, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- c|change (pronounced "sea change"), a strategy-driven B2B marketing agency, was recognized as one of the top 10% of nearly 2,400 entrants by winning the 22nd annual American Digital Design Awards for their new website. The new website is part of the agency's recent rebrand. c|change has successfully rebranded hundreds of clients over the twenty-one years they've been in business, but this time focused the expertise inward to keep its brand in sync with the company's image, values, and personality. c|change's rebrand is visually inspired by the layering of everyday objects to build new worlds and captures dreamlike images that suggest endless creativity. In addition to the new brand itself, c|change developed a website that incorporates the new look and feel, and streamlines the user experience (UX). "Since we started c|change in 2001, we've worked hard to keep creativity at the center of everything we do," said Hugh Schulze, CEO. "And I'm proud to say that the latest evolution of our brand is evidence of that aspiration continuing to come to life."You can view the award-winning website and learn more about c|change's work by visiting https://cchangeinc.com/. About c|change c|change is a strategy-driven marketing agency based in Chicago since 2001. c|change's strategists, designers, developers, and writers are driven to deliver the greatest return on a marketing investment in the most thoughtful and meaningful ways possible. Their actions are guided by the agency's core values of Radical Optimism, Compassionate Collaboration, and Mindful Creativity and the agency's status as a Certified B Corp. CONTACT: Adrian Gershom, [email protected], 3128299794 SOURCE c|change WASHINGTON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mary T. Boyle was sworn in as a Commissioner for the Consumer Product Safety Commission today. Boyle was nominated by President Joseph R. Biden in July, 2021. Boyle has served in leadership roles at the CPSC for more than a decade, including as General Counsel. Most recently she served as the agency's Executive Director. Throughout her tenure, she has spearheaded key initiatives to protect consumers from hazardous and unsafe products, including the agency's safety efforts on safe sleep and high-powered magnets. In addition, over the years, Boyle has been instrumental in advancing the agency's enforcement efforts. Before joining the Commission staff, Boyle developed affordable housing programs for the city of Gaithersburg, Md., worked in private practice at a major international law firm, and served on Capitol Hill as a staff member for the late Congressman Stephen J. Solarz and for the Asia and Pacific Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "Mary's depth of knowledge, insight and commitment to public safety will serve her well in her new role and will be a tremendous asset to the Commission as we work to keep consumers safe from hazardous products," said CPSC Chair Alexander Hoehn-Saric. "I am grateful the Commission will continue to benefit from Mary's expertise and I look forward working with her, and with the rest of our colleagues, to improve consumer product safety for all Americans." Boyle has spent more than a decade at CPSC in senior positions across the agency, most recently as Executive Director, and was a career member of the Senior Executive Service prior to her confirmation as Commissioner. Her work has covered a broad range of issues, including policy, administration, legal advice, budgets, product recalls, civil penalty negotiations, and development of rules and regulations. As Executive Director, Boyle had responsibility for the programmatic, operational, and administrative functions of the agency. She developed the agency's budgets and operating plans, managed its regulatory portfolio, and supervised agency efforts to identify and reduce hazards to consumers. Her responsibilities also included compliance enforcement, import surveillance, and international programs and she worked both with the small business ombudsman and the consumer ombudsman to improve the agency's outreach to citizens. Prior to being named Executive Director, Boyle served as the agency's General Counsel, the chief legal officer of the agency. Her work included legal analysis and review of proposed product safety standards, substantial product hazard determinations, and administrative litigation. In addition, in conjunction with the Department of Justice, she was responsible for all Federal court actions to which the Commission was a party. Boyle received her B.A. in English from Georgetown University in 1985 and her law degree from the University of Virginia in 1991. She is a member of the District of Columbia and Maryland Bars. Boyle was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She now lives with her husband in Bethesda, Maryland. They have three adult children. https://cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2022/Mary-T-Boyle-Sworn-in-As-CPSC-Commissioner About the U.S. CPSC The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risk of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product-related incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products has contributed to a decline in the rate of injuries associated with consumer products over the past 50 years. Federal law prohibits any person from selling products subject to a Commission ordered recall or a voluntary recall undertaken in consultation with the CPSC. For lifesaving information: Visit CPSC.gov. Sign up to receive our e-mail alerts. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram @USCPSC and Twitter @USCPSC. Report a dangerous product or a product-related injury on www.SaferProducts.gov. Call CPSC's Hotline at 800-638-2772 (TTY 301-595-7054). Contact a media specialist. Release Number: 22-179 SOURCE U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission "California's political leaders listened to voters and stepped up for the future of high-speed rail," said Ray LaHood. Tweet this The agreement on a multi-year funding plan signals growing momentum for high-speed rail in California. And it comes as high-speed rail projects around the country are advancing and as Congress considers the pending budget reconciliation bill, which includes $10 billion in dedicated funding for high-speed rail projects. Additional budget support for high-speed rail in California comes as U.S. consumers are growing increasingly frustrated with spiraling gas prices as well as exorbitant airline ticket prices, flight cancellations and delays. The $4.2 billion will go toward completion of electrified high-speed rail service between Merced and Bakersfield in California's Central Valley. In addition to funding for high-speed rail, the state budget for FY 2022-23 includes $10.8 billion in major transit investments and other transportation funding. Also included in the budget is the appointment of an Inspector General to conduct audits and reviews and provide oversight of the high-speed rail project. "California's political leaders listened to voters and stepped up for the future of high-speed rail," said Ray LaHood, former U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary and Coalition Co-Chair. "I am gratified that funding for this critical legacy project will be expanded, creating new job opportunities and leading the way not only for California but for the country." A recent UC Berkeley-Los Angeles Times poll showed that 56% of California voters continue to back construction of high-speed rail, 14 years after voters approved Proposition 1A to launch the project. The $4.2 billion is part of the original bond funding from Prop. 1A. Over the past four months, the Coalition has mobilized its members to advocate for greater funding for high-speed rail in California. In a letter to Senate and Assembly leaders, the Coalition urged them to approve the $4.2 billion appropriation and give "the Biden Administration an incentive to provide significant federal investments for the project." The letter was signed by LaHood; Coalition Co-Chairs, former U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and California High Speed Rail Authority Chair Emeritus Rod Diridon; and leading businesses, unions and industry and nonprofit organizations. Completing high-speed rail in California is critical to ensure mobility for the state's growing populationprojected to reach 50 million by 2050to reduce toxic carbon emissions and to meet its ambitious clean-energy goals. Transportation accounts for 40% of California's carbon emissions; high-speed rail will remove the equivalent of more than 400,000 cars from roads each year, while helping to end dependence on fossil fuels. Any alternative to a statewide high-speed rail network, such as adding freeway lanes or airport runways, would cost more than twice as much as high-speed rail and dramatically increase carbon emissions. SOURCE U.S. HIGH SPEED RAIL COALITION WASHINGTON, June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Following is a statement by Jen Judson, President of the National Press Club and Gil Klein, President of the National Press Club Journalism Institute on the murder of Antonio de la Cruz, a reporter for the Mexican newspaper Expreso, today in Tamaulipas. "We call on the Mexican government and law enforcement to bring to justice the killers of Antonio de la Cruz the 12th journalist murdered in Mexico this year. Those who murder journalists must be arrested, prosecuted and punished. Because cases of violence against Mexican journalists are almost never solved, the state is sending a very bad message to the gangs and cartels who carry out these atrocities. De la Cruz was active on social media and regularly denounced politicians for corruption. In the same attack where he was killed, his wife was also killed, and their daughter was injured. This kind of tragedy must stop. Journalists must have better protection and when they are attacked the response from law enforcement and the government must be swift and vigorous." Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. With 3,000 members representing nearly every major news organization, the Club is a outspoken advocate for Press Freedom worldwide. The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire civic engagement. Contact: Bill McCarren, 202-662-7534 for the National Press Club SOURCE National Press Club WASHINGTON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Following is a statement from Jen Judson, president of the National Press Club and Gil Klein, president of the National Press Club Journalism Institute, on this week's actions by the Philippine government against the news site Rappler. "In a last gasp of power, the Duterte Administration did not go quietly this week, taking a final swipe at Rappler, the hard-hitting and celebrated news site founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa. The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday reaffirmed a prior order to revoke Rappler's charter as a business. Rappler is appealing this action and will continue to operate. "Thursday is a new day in the Philippines with a new Administration coming to office and we call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to quickly reverse the decisions to shutter Rappler and allow the newsroom and its journalists to operate unimpeded. We view this as an opportunity for the new Marcos government to make a good faith demonstration of its support for a free and secure democratic Philippines, of which a robust and independent press is a vital cornerstone. We look forward to a return to the rule of law in the Philippines as it relates to Rappler. We expect this will be the case. We stand by Maria Ressa." In 2020, Ressa was named the John Aubuchon International Honoree by the National Press Club, the Club's highest honor for press freedom. Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. With 3,000 members representing nearly every major news organization, the Club is a leading voice for press freedom in the U.S. and worldwide. The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire civic engagement. Contact: Bill McCarren, 202-662-7534 for the National Press Club SOURCE National Press Club NEW YORK, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The new MAD, Massive Attacks of Disruptionand not China or Russiaare the most immediate and greatest dangers to the nation, according to Dr. Harlan Ullman. But no one has recognized and thus acted to contain and prevent these potentially existential threats that, if left unchecked, will bring ruin to America and much of the planet according to Dr. Harlan Ullman. The Fifth Horseman and the New MAD How Massive Attacks of Disruption Became the Looming Existential Danger to a Divided Nation and the World at Large By Harlan Ullman LINK: "The Fifth Horseman and the New MAD: How Massive Attacks of Disruption Became the Looming Existential Danger to a Divided Nation and the World at Large" https://www.amazon.com/Fifth-Horseman-New-MAD-Existential/dp/1637581394/ Beyond traditional threats from states such as China and Russia and non-state actors employing violent extremism, can America's politics and political system withstand the assaults of the Fifth Horseman and the new MAD, Massive Attacks of Disruption? The Covid-19 pandemic, the January 6 insurrection and takeover of the US Capitol, SolarWinds cyber attacks, the Texas storms that cut power, and the blocking of the Suez Canal are harbingers of the new MAD. And the nation is unaware and unprepared to deal with them. What must be done? First, we must recognize the potentially existential dangers posed by MAD. Second, we must reorganize government to meet these dangers. Third, we need new national security strategies to protect, defend, and mitigate these new threats. Fourth, we must create a private-public partnership in a national re-investment fund that can redress many of the risks of MAD. In this transformative and highly innovative and provocative book, Dr. Harlan Ullman (Senior Advisor at Washington, DC's Atlantic Council and the prime author of "shock and awe") issues a dramatic warning about so far unrecognized existential dangers to the nation and offers a plan of action America must take if the Fifth Horseman and the new MAD are to be tamed or broken. From the rivers of the Vietnam war to boardrooms and war rooms, Dr Ullman's advice has been sought on national security, defense and foreign policy. Creator of "shock and awe" and a "brains based approach to strategic thinking," "The Fifth Horseman" explains in crisp, precise terms why the US is at such grave risk to the new MAD and what must be done to change this dangerous trajectory. For all interviews please call Ryan McCormick of Goldman McCormick Public Relations (www.goldmanmccormick.com) at 516-901-1103. SOURCE Dr. Harlan Ullman Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients showed reduction in fatigue by up to 33.3%, Long COVID patients by up to 46.8% SAN DIEGO, June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study reports significantly reduced mental and physical fatigue in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Long COVID patients, with the administration of oral Anhydrous Enol-Oxaloacetate, (AEO), a medical food and nutritional supplement. The study reports that six weeks of oxaloacetate treatment resulted in, Reduction of fatigue in Long COVID patients by up to 46.8% Reduction of fatigue in ME/CFS patients by an average of 22.5% to 33% The controlled clinical trial, using a dose escalating methodology, utilized ME/CFS patients who had been diagnosed for an average of 8.9 years and Long COVID patients with symptoms for at least 6 months. ME/CFS patients were given oxaloacetate doses of either 500 milligrams twice per day, 1,000 milligrams twice per day or 1,000 milligrams three times per day. Reduction in fatigue was dose dependent, with the smallest dose yielding a 21.7% reduction in fatigue and the largest yielding a 33.3% reduction in six weeks. Long COVID patients were given either 500 milligrams twice per day or 1000 milligrams of oxaloacetate twice per day, with fatigue reduced by up to 46.8% in six weeks. "This data is showing oral oxaloacetate treatment may play a key role in moving dysfunctional metabolic changes back towards normal functioning," says David Lyons Kaufman, MD, study coauthor and founder of the Center for Complex Diseases. "We certainly owe it to ME/CFS patients to give this treatment more investigation." Oxaloacetate, a human energy metabolite, is present in nearly every cell of the human body. Metabolomic studies in ME/CFS patients vs. normal controls indicate that oxaloacetate levels are significantly reduced in the plasma of ME/CFS patients. "For the millions of people worldwide struggling to live with chronic fatigue, this is really hopeful news," says Alan Cash, coauthor of the study published by the Journal of Translational Medicine, a Springer/Nature publication. "Amelioration of fatigue to this degree may be life changing. This could look like the difference between being stuck in bed for months and being able to get back to work, attending a wedding, and enjoying life again." The complete peer-reviewed clinical trial results are made available by the Journal of Translational Medicine. Currently, oxaloacetate is available over-the-counter in smaller doses as a nutritional supplement from several national brands. To obtain oxaloacetate at the doses present in this study, patients will need to utilize the medical food Oxaloacetate CFS under the supervision of a licensed healthcare provider. About Terra Biological LLC Terra Biological is a leader in the discovery and development of a new class of therapeutic compounds that target the metabolic environment. Established in 2006, the company has leveraged research into the cellular aging process to develop unique, small molecules that are designed to change gene expression and enhance metabolic processes. Terra Biological is a privately-held life sciences company based in San Diego, California. Author Alan Cash is an officer in Terra Biological, which funded this study and distributes oxaloacetate. Author David Kaufman, MD has no conflicts of interest. Contact: Devon Lantry, [email protected], 858-947-5722 SOURCE Terra Biological LLC HOUSTON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Tank or tankless? It's a question that homeowners looking to purchase a new water heater can get hung up on needlessly, as it turns out. They can just choose the Essency EXR, the world's first on-demand tank water heater. Sold by licensed plumbers and the nationwide network of Ferguson plumbing supply centers, the EXR combines the best of both tank and tankless operations in one powerful, practical and distinctive package. The new Essency EXR water heater features a long-lived, 55-gallon polymer tank that acts like a thermal battery to heat incoming tap water -- it is the world's first on-demand tank water heater, available now through Ferguson plumbing supply centers in an ever-expanding array of U.S. states. The mild-mannered exterior of the Essency EXR cloaks a powerhouse water heater with an 80-gallon First Hour Rating. It's innovative design makes it easy to install and operate, while providing a virtually inexhausrible supply of temperature-stable domestic hot water. Acting as a thermal battery, heat from stored water in the EXR'55-gallon, polymer tank is transferred to incoming tap water as it passes through an oversized stainless steel heat exchanger. "The EXR has a proven 80-gallon first hour rating, a capacity rating greater than any other residential water heater in its class, tank or tankless," says Scott Isaksen, national sales director for Essency Water Heaters in Houston. "The EXR produces hot water enough to handle the daily multi-tasking cycle of bathing, dishwashing, clothes-washing and sundry other tasks, while never missing a beat in terms of temperature stability either," he adds. The EXR comes complete with built-in WiFi access and a grid-ready phone app for intelligent water usage management and on-board leak detection. Homeowners can use Smart Mode to manage water use efficiently and turbo-boost water output to a staggering 100-gallon FHR capacity. Put the water heater into Vacation Mode for extended absences, and lower water temperature in real time using the Water Saver function. Since the EXR uses industry standard plumbing and electrical connections, t's a drop-in installation as a replacement for an existing tank water heater or as a first-time install in a new home and a sensible and cost-effective alternative to a tankless whole-house installation. The EXR is a great choice for a whole-house electric water heater system, says John Watts, a veteran Texas plumber and homeowner in who replaced his old tank water heater in his home with a new EXR. "I have a few teenagers in the house, and we were always running out of hot water" with the old heater, he explains. "I did my homework and found the EXR. It was a straightforward installation, and we haven't run out of hot water since and believe me, as a plumber myself, I've put the system to the test." The development lacks gas line access, so the electric option was his only practical one for a water heater and as the EXR fit right into the existing system, it was a no-brainer as far as he was concerned. "I'm very impressed with the unit," he says. For more information about Essency Water Heaters, contact a licensed plumber or plumbing contractor, or visit the Essency website at www.Essencyhome.com, or a Ferguson outlet (https://www.ferguson.com/category/essency/_/N-zcnb0q). Essency Water Heaters U.S is headquartered at 27351 Spectrum Way, Oak Ridge N., Texas 77385-2101 telephone, 888-229-6285. Contact: Doug Hovelson or Scott Isaksen Falls Agency Essency Water Heaters 612-998-0789 956-832-3751 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Essency Water Heaters 39th cloud region continues Oracle's momentum in expanding its global cloud region footprint Public and private organizations from sectors including telecommunications, financial services, and the public sector will benefit from Oracle Cloud Infrastructure's price-performance, built-in security, and disaster recovery capabilities Underscoring Oracle's commitment to sustainability across its worldwide cloud regions, the new region in Queretaro will be powered with 100 percent renewable energy by 2025 AUSTIN, Texas and MEXICO CITY, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Oracle today announced the opening of the first Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) region in Mexico, becoming the first major cloud provider to establish a dedicated cloud region in the country. The new region in the state of Queretaro will give Oracle's Mexico-based customers, partners, and developers access to a wide range of cloud services with built-in security, disaster recovery, and industry-leading price-performance. "We are excited to establish a cloud region in Mexico that will offer public and private organizations, as well as partners and developers, the opportunity to leverage OCI to grow their businesses," said Maribel Dos Santos, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Mexico. "The Oracle Cloud Queretaro region offers organizations a wide range of services, including access to emerging technologies, to help improve the customer experience and positively impact the country's ecosystem of innovation." The new Queretaro region is Oracle's 39th worldwide cloud region and will offer OCI and Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications services to help organizations in Mexico modernize their operations, manage critical data, and develop multi-cloud architectures and cloud-native applications. "The share of the technology industry in the gross domestic product of the state of Queretaro is 4.3 percent, and the opening of the new Queretaro region in our state reaffirms the momentum and interest we have in the development of this sector. In addition, as a public institution, we also rely on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure to strengthen the government services that we offer for the benefit of our citizens," said Mauricio Kuri Gonzalez, governor, State of Queretaro. High Availability Provides Customers with a Resilient Cloud Foundation OCI's next-generation architecture provides a high performing, resilient foundation for cloud services, while its physical and virtual network design maximizes performance and security. For example, each Oracle Cloud region contains at least three fault domains, which are groupings of hardware that form logical data centers for high availability and resilience to hardware and network failures. A Global Commitment to Sustainable Operations at Lower Costs As part of its ongoing focus on sustainability, Oracle has committed to powering all worldwide Oracle Cloud regions with 100 percent renewable energy by 2025, including the new Queretaro region. Oracle Helps Organizations Accelerate their Cloud Migrations The Oracle Cloud Queretaro region will provide customers throughout Mexico and Central America with access to a wide range of network partners that enable a direct and private connection through OCI FastConnect. OCI's extensive network of more than 70 regional and global FastConnect partners provides customers with dedicated connectivity to Oracle Cloud regions, OCI, and Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications services, giving them the best options globally. FastConnect provides an easy, elastic, and affordable way to create a dedicated private network connection with higher bandwidth, lower latency, and smoother performance than public Internet-based connections. Partners available at launch for the Oracle Cloud Queretaro region include Equinix, Transtelco, Telmex, Arelion, and C3ntro. Customers and Partners Welcome the New Oracle Cloud Queretaro Region Carlos Rocha, chief information officer, Banco del Bajio, said: "It is encouraging to see the increase in the availability of cloud infrastructure services in Mexico. Oracle's new cloud region will pave the way for financial services institutions to continue their digital transformation journeys, which will allow them to develop products focused on meeting the specific needs of various customer segments including companies and individuals who require speedy service and quick access to information, along with stability and security." Juan Manuel Marquez, global CIO, ECOM Trading LTD, said: "Handling complex global supply chains and logistics strategies requires a technology platform that is not only oriented toward supporting operations and IT, but also enables organizations to innovate their strategies for integrating new and emerging technologies, user-friendly solutions, significant computing power, and data security. This is made possible by the infrastructure services available in Oracle's new cloud region in Mexico." Julio Heshiki, general director, Kyndryl Mexico, said: "Kyndryl welcomes the opening of a new Oracle Cloud region in Mexico. It is an excellent opportunity to address the specific needs of businesses as they continue to embrace cloud technologies, and is a further step in Kyndryl's strategy to support its customers in moving and managing their operations to hybrid and multi-cloud environments." Amet Novillo, general manager, Equinix Mexico, said: "With changing business requirements, businesses need a new level of speed, reliability, and security for their cloud workloads. The availability of FastConnect within the Equinix Mexico data centers supports this need for our customers with high performance, low latency access to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Our primary goal is to help more customers move workloads to Oracle Cloud using FastConnect and the Equinix Fabric interconnection platform worldwide." Oracle Cloud's Expanding Global Footprint As part of Oracle's planned expansion of its cloud region footprint to support strong customer demand for OCI and Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications services worldwide, Oracle aims to open additional cloud regions in Spain, Colombia, Chile, and Israel, and plans to offer at least 44 cloud regions. Currently available Oracle Cloud regions: Asia Pacific : Tokyo ( Japan ), Osaka ( Japan ), Seoul ( South Korea ), Chuncheon ( South Korea ), Mumbai ( India ), Hyderabad ( India ), Sydney ( Australia ), Melbourne ( Australia ), Singapore ( Singapore ) Tokyo ( ), ( ), ( ), Chuncheon ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ) Americas: San Jose ( United States ), Phoenix ( United States ), Ashburn ( United States ), Toronto ( Canada ), Montreal ( Canada ), Sao Paolo (Brazil) , Vinhedo (Brazil), Santiago ( Chile ), Queretaro ( Mexico ) San Jose ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ), Sao , Vinhedo (Brazil), ( ), Queretaro ( ) Europe : Frankfurt ( Germany ), London ( United Kingdom ), Newport, Wales (United Kingdom ), Zurich ( Switzerland ), Amsterdam ( The Netherlands ), Marseille (France), Stockholm ( Sweden ), Milan ( Italy ), La Courneuve, Paris (France) Frankfurt ( ), ( ), Newport, ), Zurich ( ), ( ), (France), ( ), ( ), La Courneuve, Middle East : Jeddah ( Saudi Arabia ), Abu Dhabi and Dubai (U.A.E), Jerusalem ( Israel ) Jeddah ( ), and (U.A.E), ( ) Africa : Johannesburg ( South Africa ) Johannesburg ( ) Government: Two general U.S. Government regions, and U.S. National Security regions, three U.S. Department of Defense specific Government regions, two in the United Kingdom ( London and Newport, Wales ) The new Oracle Cloud Queretaro region will be available later this summer. About Oracle Oracle offers integrated application packages and secure and autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), visit us at www.oracle.com. Trademarks Oracle, Java, and MySQL are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation. SOURCE Oracle Mayank Taneja transitions into lead position at OSF Ventures PEORIA, Ill., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- OSF Ventures, the corporate investment arm of OSF HealthCare, begins a new era of leadership and investment as founding leader Stan Lynall begins a transition to retirement. For now, Lynall, the senior steward of OSF Ventures, will continue in a part-time role focused on portfolio management including board positions with eight portfolio companies. Founded in the last quarter of 2015, OSF Ventures is part of the Innovation strategy of OSF HealthCare, a 15-hospital system in Illinois and Michigan. Investments are focused on Series A and Series B rounds for startups with digital solutions, tech-enabled services and medical technology, including medical devices, diagnostics and therapeutics. Mayank Taneja, who joined OSF Ventures in 2016 as one of the earliest members of a high-performing team, began a new generation of leadership and stepped into the role of vice president of venture investments on June 26. Taneja has been with OSF HealthCare since 2014. He brings experience in the health care industry across multiple disciplines including the practice of medicine, working with early stage companies, supporting venture investments and innovation strategies. In addition to direct investment in 28 companies, which is its primary focus, OSF Ventures has invested in two strategically aligned health care venture capital funds: Ascension Ventures and LRV Health. In his new role, Taneja will oversee $250 million in assets across three funds. OSF Ventures has experienced nine successful exits since its launch. As director, Taneja led OSF investments and served as a board observer on several of these companies including: Current Health (acquired by Best Buy), SilverCloud (acquired by Amwell), CareSignal (acquired by LightBeam Health) and Paradigm Diagnostics (acquired by Exact Sciences). He has also worked closely with OSF executives across the system to foster innovation and advance new ideas and technologies; many that have been or will eventually be deployed within the OSF Ministry. "We know as a health care system we need to constantly innovate to serve patients and caregivers better and we are always looking for new partners who can bring value to those efforts," says Michelle Conger, OSF HealthCare chief strategy officer and CEO of OSF OnCall Digital Health. "Stan has built a strong ventures program that helped OSF HealthCare become a leader in the world of health system-sponsored investment programs, scaled through partnerships and practical collaborations with budding tech companies that brought emerging health care solutions to our clinics and hospitals, most often before they are broadly marketed and deployed." Conger adds, "I have no doubt that Mayank's expertise and reputation in the health care venture investment ecosystem will continue to advance our initiatives through new partners leveraging innovations that improve patient and provider experience, as well as individual health and wellness." Before joining the OSF Ventures team, Taneja worked with the usability services team at OSF, supporting health care startups pilot their technologies and also performed human factor studies for FDA submission. Prior to joining OSF HealthCare, Taneja worked at Zimmer Inc. in its post market risk surveillance division as part of the Zimmer Leadership Program. He also practiced internal medicine for four years in New Delhi, India. The leadership transition will also mark the beginning of investments utilizing the third and largest board-approved OSF Ventures fund of $100 million. The focus will remain on med-tech and innovative workflow solutions that ensure caregivers have what they need, particularly after the challenges of the past two-and-a-half years. Lynall adds, "As we continue to approach care in new ways, I believe Mayank will continue to excel in selecting partner startups that are focused on our strategic initiatives, engaging them on an ongoing basis offering guidance and the clinical expertise at OSF HealthCare." OSF HealthCare expects growth in AI/machine learning, precision medicine, blockchain and process automation, among other areas of innovation. Taneja believes it's an exciting time to be in a position to further OSF HealthCare efforts to become a leader in the ethical use of data and approaches such as machine learning to support prevention, early diagnosis, treatment and improved outcomes. In reflecting on his new role, Taneja says, "When I practiced medicine in India, I never imagined I would have a hand in guiding investments and connecting clinicians with opportunities to pilot revolutionary technology. I'm proud to offer strategic support that helps OSF HealthCare meet the challenges of finding better ways to care for our patients, through investments and testing tools that provide sharper imaging, AI diagnostic support for earlier and accurate diagnoses, and technology that helps our providers know their patients better, including their social needs so we can offer a more patient-centered approach to caring for them." But Taneja acknowledges the landscape is not without challenges. "As we consider new investments, we must realize we're in an era of fewer providers having to serve a growing number of patients," he says. "So it'll be critically important we invest in ways to streamline processes, prioritize patient needs and find ways to help people help themselves manage chronic conditions and stay healthier." OSF Ventures, the corporate investment arm of OSF HealthCare, invests financially, operationally, and strategically in opportunities with the potential to improve patient outcomes, enhance patient experience and reduce the cost of health care. More at osfventures.org. OSF HealthCare is an integrated health system owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, headquartered in Peoria, Illinois. OSF HealthCare employs nearly 24,000 Mission Partners in 150 locations, including 15 hospitals 10 acute care, five critical access with 2,089 licensed beds, and two colleges of nursing throughout Illinois and Michigan. The OSF HealthCare physician network employs more than 1,500 primary care, specialist and advanced practice providers. OSF HealthCare, through OSF Home Care Services, operates an extensive network of home health and hospice services. It also owns Pointcore, Inc., comprised of health care-related businesses and OSF HealthCare Foundation, the philanthropic arm for the organization. More at osfhealthcare.org. Contacts: Colleen Reynolds | Media Relations Coordinator, OSF HealthCare | cell: (309) 825-7255 SOURCE OSF Ventures Eliq, Eaton, Zen Ecosystems, NRG Energy, and more to speak at Smart Energy Summit DALLAS, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Parks Associates' smart thermostat research finds 29% of US internet households plan to buy one of these devices in the next six months. Smart Thermostat Market Assessment finds that adoption of smart thermostats has been flat for several years, at 13% of US internet households, despite owners reporting savings that meet or exceed their expectations. The international research firm today hosts the virtual session "Home Energy Management Solutions: Driving Energy Savings" at 11 am CT US, as part of the 13th annual Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, to discuss strategies to increase consumer familiarity and adoption with home energy solutions. Parks Associates: Smart Thermostat Ownership, Recent Sales, and Purchase Intentions Smart Energy Summit is sponsored by Schneider Electric, SmartThings, Rapid Response Monitoring, Zen Ecosystems, and Particle.io. "Home Energy Management Solutions: Driving Energy Savings" features an executive spotlight session featuring Nathan Ford, Director, Life Cycle Optimization, NRG Energy, Inc., and two interactive panels, "Data and Analytics: Driving Usage and Savings" and "Smart Apartments and Energy Platforms," with the following panelists: Colin Billings , CEO & Founder, Orro , CEO & Founder, Orro Bob Champagne , VP, Customer Experience Innovation, Smart Energy Water , VP, Customer Experience Innovation, Smart Energy Water Jay Lasseter , VP Sales, Landis+Gyr North America , VP Sales, Landis+Gyr North America Hakan Ludvigson, CEO and Founder, Eliq AB Advait Katarki, Business Development Manager - Connected Solutions & EV Charging Infrastructure, Eaton Blake Miller , Founder & CEO, Homebase , Founder & CEO, Homebase Wannie Park , CEO, Zen Ecosystems , CEO, Zen Ecosystems Carol Schmitt , Chief Evangelist, ESG & Energy, RealPage , Chief Evangelist, ESG & Energy, RealPage Dan Sullivan , Founder and CEO, EIQhome "Energy efficiency and sustainability are no longer for just a small subset of people but an unstoppable force, where a new tone is being set for every industry," said Hakan Ludvigson, CEO and Founder, Eliq AB. "Energy efficiency is today, more than ever, a household topic, which cannot be ignored by utilities. We are seeing significant demand for green and sustainable solutions from multiple industries right now. There is no time to lose." "The energy transition is creating incredible opportunities for the electrification of buildings as both property owners and tenants seek to reduce their carbon footprints," said Advait Katarki, Business Development Manager Connected Solutions & EV Charging Infrastructure, Eaton. "From consumer adoption of electric appliances to utilities seeking increased flexibility at the edge of the grid, housing and apartment complexes represent a great opportunity to advance electrification efforts. Innovations like Eaton's smart circuit breakers can help realize the full value of these efforts while creating new possibilities for buildings to become active participants in the grid. We are pleased to join industry thought leaders and stakeholders to present our vision for the future of building electrification and the critical role of smart home energy management technology in enabling this transformation." "Energy rates are rising dramatically, and multi-family owners need ways to control costs in common spaces, help their residents save money, and ultimately have a tangible path to carbon reduction," said Wannie Park, CEO, Zen Ecosystems. "Zen provides apartment owners and managers tools that let them immediately reduce energy costs, shift load to green energy sources, and drive ESG reporting initiatives." To register, visit the event website and apply for a Press Pass here. To request data or an interview, contact Rosey Sera, [email protected], 972-490-1113. About Smart Energy Summit Smart Energy Summit addresses the evolution of the consumer utility market, the impact of COVID-19 on energy management programs, and new opportunities to drive engagement in utility-sponsored programs. www.smartenergysmt.com Contact: Rosey Sera Parks Associates 972.996.0202 [email protected] SOURCE Parks Associates Encapsulated vitamin A product significantly outperforms commercial products CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Particles for Humanity has selected the final product and manufacturing process for its stable form of vitamin A, PFH-VAP, that will be used in commercial scaling. This achievement is a major grant milestone, triggering a $1 million payment. At the end of 2021, Particles for Humanity transitioned from lab scale development to pilot manufacturing of PFH-VAP, increasing batch size 1,000-fold. The final product was selected for commercial scaling primarily because of its superior stability, the primary driver of cost-effectiveness. A common spray drying technique was selected for the manufacturing process because it is simpler, less expensive to operate, and more widely available than alternative methods. Commercial vitamin A powder with the highest stability must be produced using a more complex process, adding expense and constraining production locations. PFH-VAP is being developed to fortify foods, like bouillon and wheat, that are widely consumed by people in Africa and South Asia, where vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is prevalent. 190 million school age children and 19 million pregnant women suffer from VAD, which causes night blindness, stunting, and death. Fortifying widely consumed foods is a proven strategy for reducing malnutrition at scale, but the instability and cost of vitamin A is an obstacle to wider adoption. In the high temperature and high humidity environments present in parts of Africa and South Asia, commercially available products in some foods, including bouillon, lose large amounts of vitamin A. This limits their ability to address VAD. In contrast, PFH-VAP has significantly better stability. After 9 months of storage in these harsh conditions, bouillon fortified with PFH-VAP contained more than twice as much vitamin A as a leading commercial formulation. Particles for Humanity conducted its pilot scale up and product selection work in partnership with LIS by Lesaffre, a leader in contract spray drying for food ingredient clients. LIS is a subsidiary of Lesaffre Company, which operates 76 production sites and distributes its solutions in 185 countries. PFH selected LIS because they have facilities to support work from R&D through commercial scaling and can produce PFH-VAP at the very large volumes needed for large scale food fortification. Work with LIS began in July 2020 at their dedicated research facility, Powder StudioTM, and PFH has continued to partner with LIS during the transition to pilot scale. "We are inspired to play a significant role in manufacturing this product, which can save many lives and contribute to the healthy growth of millions of children. We are confident in the smooth transition to commercial scale production, especially given the significant infrastructure already in place," said Francois Cachot, General Manager of LIS. Particles for Humanity transforms early-stage medical technology into products for people living in low-resource settings. It is developing a portfolio of products with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mulago Foundation, and King Philanthropies. Its rigorous product development process is based on end-user input and is focused on financially sustainable product opportunities. For more information, visit the company's website www.particlesfh.com. Please contact [email protected] for inquiries. SOURCE Particles for Humanity "American Whiskey Collective" Created to Drive Growth for Jefferson's, Rabbit Hole, Smooth Ambler and TX Whiskeys NEW YORK, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Capitalizing on the strong growth and growth potential -- of its American whiskey portfolio, Pernod Ricard is creating a dedicated business unit The American Whiskey Collective -- to manage marketing and production of its premium, challenger American whiskey brands. Ann Mukherjee, Chairman and CEO, Pernod Ricard North America, said the new entity will accelerate the company's journey to become a leading player in American whiskey in both U.S. and global markets. "American whiskey is an extremely vibrant spirits category, and our investments over the last few years in Jefferson's, Rabbit Hole, Smooth Ambler and TX have proven very successful," Mukherjee said. "Now it's time to drive even more outsized growth for these brands by managing and building a world class marketing and operations approach." The American Whiskey Collective will be led by Pernod Ricard veteran marketing leader Craig Johnson, who is appointed to Pernod Ricard USA's executive team, and Jessica Chen, a seasoned Operations executive who is named VP, Operations, American whiskies. Johnson will report to Mukherjee, and Chen will report to Pierre Joncourt, SVP, Operations, Pernod Ricard North America. The new dedicated unit will be responsible for achieving the business objectives and leading future strategy development for Pernod Ricard's American whiskey brands, while also leveraging the company's broad network to drive global growth. In recent years, Pernod Ricard created two similar entities -- the Gin Hub and House of Tequila to drive even greater success in their respective spirits categories. American whiskey volume in the U.S. has been accelerating over the last decade, shooting up from 16 million 9-liter cases in 2011 to 29.7 million in 2021, according to the Distilled Spirits Council. Exports of American whiskey also have been enjoying strong growth, with annual sales now exceeding 20 million cases. American whiskey sales are expected to account for a significant amount of Pernod Ricard USA's total volumes within the next 5-10 years, and the company's American whiskey export business also has enormous growth potential, Mukherjee said. To help achieve Pernod Ricard USA's ambitious performance goals, the American Whiskey Collective will create more uniform ways of working based on best practice sharing among brands. Said Mukherjee: "We are committed to ensuring that the infrastructure, marketing investment levels and innovation support behind each of our brands are in line with our overall ambition. The result will be further accelerated growth from a 'new fashioned' whiskey portfolio focused on pushing boundaries rather than adhering strictly to tradition." ABOUT PERNOD RICARD USA Pernod Ricard USA is the premium spirits and wine company in the U.S., and the largest subsidiary of Paris, France-based Pernod Ricard SA., the world's second-largest spirits and wine company. Pernod Ricard employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide, is listed on Euronext (Ticker: RI) and is part of the CAC 40 index. The company's leading spirits include such prestigious brands as Absolut Vodka, Avion Tequila, Chivas Regal Scotch Whisky, The Glenlivet Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Kahlua Liqueur, Malibu, Martell Cognac, Olmeca Altos Tequila , Beefeater Gin, Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal, Monkey 47 Gin, Plymouth Gin, Seagram's Extra Dry Gin, Malfy Gin, Hiram Walker Liqueurs, Midleton Irish Whiskey, Powers Irish Whiskey, Redbreast Irish Whiskey, Aberlour Single Malt Scotch Whisky; Lillet; Smithworks Vodka, Jefferson's Bourbon, Smooth Ambler Whiskey, Rabbit Hole Whiskey, Pernod and Ricard; such superior wines as Jacob's Creek, Kenwood Vineyards, Campo Viejo and Brancott Estate; and such exquisite champagnes and sparkling wines as Perrier-Jouet Champagne, G.H. Mumm Champagne and Mumm Napa sparkling wines. Pernod Ricard USA is headquartered in New York, New York, and has more than 700 employees across the country. As "creators of conviviality," we are committed to sustainable and responsible business practices in service of our customers, consumers, employees and the planet. Pernod Ricard USA urges all adults to consume its products responsibly and has an active program to promote responsible drinking. For more information on this, please visit: www.responsibility.org. Pernod Ricard Contact: Lisa DiCarlucci Director, Corporate Reputation E: [email protected] SOURCE Pernod Ricard USA As shutoffs resume after more than two years, low- and moderate-income customers will continue to have assistance with bills and may be eligible for new protections UNIONDALE, N.Y., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Utility service shutoffs for nonpayment have begun to resume across New York State, and PSEG Long Island expects to resume shutoffs on July 12. Continuing more than two years of outreach efforts, PSEG Long Island stands ready to work with customers with outstanding balances to avoid interruptions to their service. Service shutoff for nonpayment is always the last resort, and customers who are behind on their bills can still call 1-800-490-0025 to get help and protect their energy service from disconnection. "We want to reassure our customers that if they're struggling with their energy bills, we are here to help. We are ready and willing to partner with households who have fallen behind on their bills, as we have been throughout the pandemic," said Rick Walden, vice president of Customer Services, PSEG Long Island. "That commitment is not going away. We offer many programs to help people who are behind on their bills, including deferred payment agreements, low-income electric rates, and more." How customers can avoid a shutoff A deferred payment agreement, allowing qualified customers to pay down their outstanding account balance by as little as $10 a month in addition to the current bill, protects customers from shutoffs. a month in addition to the current bill, protects customers from shutoffs. Low- and moderate-income customers who receive certain externally administered financial assistance benefits and enroll in PSEG Long Island's Household Assistance Program will be protected from shutoffs until Sept. 1 . . New York State Electric and Gas Bill Relief Program - Customers enrolled in PSEG Long Island's Household Assistance Program will automatically receive a credit toward their unpaid balance through May 1, 2022 , via this new, state-run program. Currently, more than 14,000 PSEG Long Island customers will receive this credit. Customers who meet the eligibility requirements and have not yet enrolled in the Household Assistance Program have until Dec. 31 to enroll and receive this bill credit. - Customers enrolled in PSEG Long Island's Household Assistance Program will automatically receive a credit toward their unpaid balance through , via this new, state-run program. Currently, more than 14,000 PSEG Long Island customers will receive this credit. Customers who meet the eligibility requirements and have not yet enrolled in the Household Assistance Program have until to enroll and receive this bill credit. Customers who have received a payment on their PSEG Long Island account through the New York State -administered Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) also qualify for the New York State Electric and Gas Bill Relief Program. As ERAP payments continue to be received, the New York State Electric and Gas Bill Relief Program will remain open through Dec. 31 . Customers with unpaid account balances should call PSEG Long Island at 1-800-490-0025 to determine if they are eligible for these or other financial assistance programs, and to develop individualized payment agreements. "It's not too late. We know how hard it has been to manage household bills when your income has been affected," Walden said. "We want to work with our customers, make sure they know about assistance programs, and help them set up individualized payment agreements that avert a shutoff, letting them pay what they can now to prevent them from getting too far behind." What to know about shutoffs: In March 2020 , PSEG Long Island suspended all service shutoffs for nonpayment and continued this protection throughout the New York COVID-19 State of Emergency, which ended last summer. , PSEG Long Island suspended all service shutoffs for nonpayment and continued this protection throughout the New York COVID-19 State of Emergency, which ended last summer. After the state of emergency ended, PSEG Long Island extended additional shutoff protections through the end of 2021. Following the practices of several electricity and gas providers across the state, PSEG Long Island will soon resume service shutoffs for accounts that do not respond to repeated efforts to establish a payment agreement. Shutoff of service for nonpayment is a last resort that only occurs after PSEG Long Island makes multiple efforts to contact and help the customer. Customers with unpaid balances who do not already have a deferred payment agreement should call 1-800-490-0025 so PSEG Long Island can assist them. If previous outreach efforts are unsuccessful, a PSEG Long Island representative will make a final attempt to contact the customer of record, in person, to accept a payment and avoid a shutoff. When service is terminated, a service suspension notice will be left at the location with instructions on how to work with PSEG Long Island to reconnect. Customers are beginning to take action PSEG Long Island continues to partner with social service agencies and perform outreach to customers who have fallen behind on their bills, including letters informing them in advance about the resumption of shutoffs for nonpayment. For the past seven months, PSEG Long Island field representatives have been making customer visits, connecting one-on-one with residential customers who have past-due account balances to discuss payment methods, accept a payment or work out a payment plan to pay down balances over time. In that time, representatives have visited with more than 47,000 residential customers and 10,000 of those customers have entered into deferred payment agreements. PSEG Long Island representatives work with customers to find the best solution for the household. PSEG Long Island's Consumer Advocacy team also works year-round to provide customers with crucial information, utilizing email and social media, hosting educational webinars, and conducting proactive phone outreach. These outreaches also include energy efficiency tips, referrals for additional assistance for food insecurity and housing concerns, and help applying for the federally funded, statewide Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP). When a new, state-administered program was established to provide eligible households up to $10,000 in unpaid bill forgiveness in the fall of 2021, PSEG Long Island mobilized to inform as many customers as possible, hosting a series of webinars that connected with more than 1,000 customers. The Consumer Advocacy team made thousands of phone calls to encourage customers to apply. The combination of PSEG Long Island's efforts and New York State's own outreach resulted in more than 7,000 PSEG Long Island customers benefiting from this unique program receiving $20 million of the $150 million total utility aid that had been made available statewide. Where to learn more about available assistance For more information on PSEG Long Island financial assistance programs, visit https://www.psegliny.com/myaccount/customersupport/financialassistance. Programs available for customers, both internal and externally run, include: Emergency HEAP . $90 million in federal funding through Emergency HEAP was made available to help low- and middle-income New Yorkers avoid having their home heating disconnected or exhausting their heating source amid fuel price increases. This benefit has been extended through Aug. 31 . If you are experiencing an emergency, you can apply for this benefit by reaching out to your local Department of Social Services location, which you can find here: https://otda.ny.gov/programs/heap/contacts/ . in federal funding through Emergency HEAP was made available to help low- and middle-income New Yorkers avoid having their home heating disconnected or exhausting their heating source amid fuel price increases. This benefit has been extended through . If you are experiencing an emergency, you can apply for this benefit by reaching out to your local Department of Social Services location, which you can find here: https://otda.ny.gov/programs/heap/contacts/ For low-income households facing no-heat situations, the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance is also accepting applications for its heating equipment repair or replacement benefit . Eligible homeowners can now apply for up to $3,000 for repair or $6,500 for replacement of a furnace, boiler or other direct heating equipment necessary to keep the household's primary heating source working. Additionally, eligible households can receive energy efficiency services, which includes the cleaning of primary heating equipment to allow for its safe and efficient operation. You can apply for this benefit by reaching out to your local Department of Social Services location, which you can find here: https://otda.ny.gov/programs/heap/contacts/ . Eligible homeowners can now apply for up to for repair or for replacement of a furnace, boiler or other direct heating equipment necessary to keep the household's primary heating source working. Additionally, eligible households can receive energy efficiency services, which includes the cleaning of primary heating equipment to allow for its safe and efficient operation. You can apply for this benefit by reaching out to your local Department of Social Services location, which you can find here: https://otda.ny.gov/programs/heap/contacts/ Household Assistance Program PSEG Long Island's Household Assistance Program provides a monthly credit on electric bills for customers who receive benefits from specific federal and state assistance programs. Enrollment is open, and if approved, is effective for 18 months. It is also renewable. For more information, contact PSEG Long Island's Consumer Advocacy group at [email protected] or visit www.psegliny.com/myaccount/customersupport/financialassistance. PSEG Long Island's Household Assistance Program provides a monthly credit on electric bills for customers who receive benefits from specific federal and state assistance programs. Enrollment is open, and if approved, is effective for 18 months. It is also renewable. For more information, contact PSEG Long Island's Consumer Advocacy group at or visit www.psegliny.com/myaccount/customersupport/financialassistance. PSEG Long Island's Residential Energy Affordability Partnership (REAP) program can help income-eligible customers save energy and lower energy bills. It starts with a free In-Home Energy Survey and potentially free efficiency upgrades. For more information, visit https://www.psegliny.com/myaccount/customersupport/financialassistance/reap PSEG Long Island also has other tools to help customers cut their energy costs: Home Energy Analyzer a do-it-yourself online tool that uses a simulation model to validate how energy is used in the home. My Energy Profile an online suite of easy-to-use tools that can help a customer understand energy usage and how to conserve it. With this tool, customers can track energy efficiency efforts over time and see comparisons to similar homes in the area. Energy Efficiency Rebates PSEG Long Island offers rebates on products including LED light bulbs, advanced power strips and major appliances such as dryers and heat pump water heaters. For more information on HEAP and federal programs, visit https://otda.ny.gov/programs/heap/. For more information on energy and money saving programs and tips, visit https://www.psegliny.com/efficiency. PSEG Long Island PSEG Long Island operates the Long Island Power Authority's transmission and distribution system under a long-term contract. PSEG Long Island is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PSEG) (NYSE: PEG), a publicly traded diversified energy company. Visit PSEG Long Island at: www.psegliny.com PSEG Long Island on Facebook PSEG Long Island on Instagram PSEG Long Island on Twitter PSEG Long Island on LinkedIn PSEG Long Island on YouTube PSEG Long Island on Flickr Contact: Media Relations Pager 516.229.7248 [email protected] SOURCE PSEG Long Island The ten most prestigious brands of Lingerie Francaise - ANTIGEL, AUBADE, CHANTELLE, EMPREINTE, PASSIONATA, LISE CHARMEL, LOU, LOUISA BRACQ, MAISON LEJABY ET SIMONE PERELE - joined forces to present their collections in an exceptional catwalk show that paid tribute to the expertise and creativity of French Lingerie, celebrated and enjoyed all over the world. Sharing the same values and the same legacy of this century-old industry that is corsetry, the brands expressed themselves with one unique voice in a show that connected past and future, honouring liberty and self-confidence. From the corset to the symbol of emancipation that is the bra, from ultra sexy to the ultimate in comfort, French Lingerie has always shaken up traditions in its constant search for boldness and perfection through meticulous artisan craftsmanship, to enhance and beautify the body and win our hearts. The show was designed and managed by Yo Luxury Events and its founder Yorick Levesque with choreography by Cecile Chaduteau. "Despite the difficulties and ill winds of the last few years, French Lingerie successfully adapted, innovated and evolved to offer still more collections full of meaning and stories, with every effort to enhance the beauty of women all over the world." explained Alain de Rodellec, Chairman of Promincor-Lingerie Francaise. Figures: French lingerie exports represented 658 million euros in 2021 despite the Covid epidemic. With a dynamic recovery in the first quarter of 2022, French Lingerie exports posted 173 million euros for this period. Contact details: [email protected] Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1849658/RETROFUTUR_Lingerie_Francaise.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1849659/RETROFUTUR_Lingerie_Francaise.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1849660/RETROFUTUR_Lingerie_Francaise.jpg SOURCE Promincor - Lingerie Francaise Riiid's proprietary AI technology analyzes student data and content, predicts scores and user behavior, and recommends personalized study plans in real-time to help students optimize their learning potential. "We are thrilled to enter into the Latin American market with a product that can help Colombian students prepare for their high-school exit exams," said YJ Jang, CEO of Riiid. "Combined with Casa Grande's learning solutions, this new mobile app developed in cooperation with Riiid is a game changer for our youth, our school administrators, our communities, and the region," said Soraya M. Sesto, President of Casa Grande. "It will help more students advance confidently to a post-secondary academic experience, further improving Colombia's competitiveness and future productivity in a global economy." The OE SABER app was trained on past Saber 11 test taker data. Students begin their interaction with the app by answering a 16-question diagnostic test. Then the app's AI recommendation system suggests questions that will most effectively improve the student's score. Response to the app was overwhelmingly positive from the 500 students who participated in a pilot program earlier this year. Approximately three-quarters of those students said they believed the app would improve their academic performance and more than 80 percent said they would recommend the app to friends. Carlos Caicedo, the governor of the State of Magdalena, welcomed the OE SABER product and said, "This app is in line with our efforts for educational change in the Magdalena region." He continued, "This AI based solution will be very useful for the training process of our students and improving their SABER 11 test results." With its performance proven in the preliminary pilot test, about 15,900 high school students in the State of Magdalena will have the opportunity of using the app to prepare for Saber 11 in September. Starting from Magdalena, Casa Grande will expand its partnership with other states of Colombia to allow more students to experience the personalized learning solutions of OE SABER and prepare for further success. About Riiid Riiid is a global leader in AI solutions for education, backed by more than $250 million (USD) in funding and named to the 2021 CB Insights AI 100 list of the most innovative AI startups. Leveraging the power of AI, the company is driving a paradigm shift in education with technology that personalizes instruction for all students, with the aim of democratizing quality education anywhere in the world. The company provides solutions for K-12 education, postsecondary education, and corporate training. As a leading force in AI technology, Riiid has published research papers at top AI conferences including AAAI, NeurIPS, CSEDU, LAK, and others. For more information, please visit riiid.com About Casa Grande Casa Grande Interactive Communications Inc (CGIC) is a U.S.-based organization with more than 25 years of experience in 12 countries, including Colombia, Puerto Rico, the U.S., and Spain in the field of educational resources and strategies, promoting innovation and social transformation through research, creativity and education. The organization has developed teacher and youth ed-tech and performance-based education, motivation, and engagement programs, such as Uno a Uno and Tratamiento Intensivo, and several dot coms, such as Operacion Exito, Nueva Escuela Virtual, and Planificacion Turbo, that uniquely respond to the needs of}} current and the next generation of educators and learners. For more information, please visit cginteractive.com About Born2Global Centre The Born2Global Centre, operated by Born2Global, is a full-cycle service platform that supports the global expansion of promising companies. Established in 2013 under the Ministry of Science and ICT, Born2Global has been setting the standards for a successful startup ecosystem in Korea and continues to expand and transform startups so that they are engaged, well equipped, and connected with the global market. For more information, please visit born2global.com SOURCE Born2Global Centre NEW YORK, June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE: IONQ) between March 30, 2021 and May 2, 2022, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important August 1, 2022 lead plaintiff deadline. SO WHAT: If you purchased IonQ securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the IonQ class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=6703 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than August 1, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) IonQ had not yet developed a 32-qubit quantum computer; (2) IonQ's 11-qubit quantum computer suffered from significant error rates, rendering it useless; (3) IonQ's quantum computer is not sufficiently reliable, so it is not accessible despite being available through major cloud providers; (4) a significant portion of IonQ's revenue was derived from improper round-tripping transactions with related parties; and (5) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' positive statements about IonQ's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. To join the IonQ class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=6703 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.rosenlegal.com SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A. LONDON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SCC Power Plc (" SCC Power ") announced today that its Argentine subsidiary SPI Energy S.A. (" SPI Energy ") has successfully obtained financing to fund the expansion and conversion to combined cycle of the San Pedro power plant. On June 27, 2022, SPI Energy issued, through a public offering in the Argentine market, two series of U.S. Dollar-Linked senior secured notes for an aggregate principal amount of US$135,000,000 comprising its 4.00% Class 1 Senior Secured Notes due 2026, for an aggregate principal amount of US$33,499,900, and 6.75% Class 2 Senior Secured Notes due 2032, for an aggregate principal amount of US$101,500,100 (the " Notes "). The Notes are secured with first priority liens on SPI Energy's rights under the project, including the combined cycle PPA with CAMMESA, and the project's EPC contract and equipment. The expansion and conversion to combined cycle of the San Pedro plant consists on the installation of a 55 MW steam turbine, three heat recovery steam generators, an aero-condenser and various other auxiliary components which will increase aggregate plant capacity to 209 MW and enhance energy efficiency by 25%, placing San Pedro amongst the most efficient thermal generators in the Argentine power matrix. The combined cycle is expected to become fully operational by February 2024. The issuance of the Notes is a milestone in SCC Power's history, evidencing investors' support following the recent acquisition of Stoneway Capital Corporation's assets by SCC Power. About SPI Energy SPI Energy owns and operates the San Pedro simple-cycle thermal power generation plant, located in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with a total installed capacity of 154MW. The plant is equipped with highly reliable and proven Siemens technology. The company's capacity is fully contracted under long term take-or-pay PPA contracts denominated in U.S. Dollars. For more information, please contact: Hernan Cerutti [email protected] www.scc-power.com SOURCE SCC Power SecurityGen was one of four vendors shortlisted for the category by an international panel of judges made up of industry analysts, consultants, and senior executives. The Carrier Community Global Awards are arranged by Carrier Community , a global telecom industry branding and networking club for wholesale service providers and eco-system partners. The latest award was collected by Paolo Emiliani, co-founder and global head of operations at SecurityGen, who said, "Winning an award is always hugely gratifying. It's recognition of the hard work, dedication and effort that the entire team at SecurityGen invests in our technology and our work with customers. I'm honoured and tremendously proud to collect this award on behalf of my colleagues." The CC Global Award is the third telecoms industry award that SecurityGen has won in recent weeks for its ACE platform. In May, SecurityGen took home the award for vendor innovation at the Telecoms World Middle East Awards. Before that, also in May, it earned second place in the ROCCO Research Vendor Innovators Awards. Emiliani continued, "The manual methods that telecom operators have until now relied upon to assess the security of their networks and systems are no longer fit for purpose with today's increasingly complex mobile networks. What's needed instead is frequent automated inspection and testing that views the network as a whole rather than as separate components: and which is supported by the latest field research and continually updated threat databases. The SecurityGen ACE platform fulfils this pressing need among operators." Earlier in the week, as part of this year's Carrier Community Enterprise Summit, Emiliani took part in a discussion panel entitled "Enterprise 5G and Cybersecurity at the Forefront", alongside senior executives from Deutsche Telekom, Cambridge Management Consulting, AvidThink and Cato Networks. "Debating the latest issues and new ideas for mobile operators and enterprises around 5G was an enlightening, positive experience," he explained. "Private 5G networks will significantly change how business and industry harness high-speed mobile technology by enabling new mission-critical use cases across a range of different sectors." Emiliani continued, "As a cybersecurity company, SecurityGen is prepared for this change and to support the wave of innovation that private 5G will enable with an advanced level of security across the entire mobile network. Both operators and enterprises should be aware that the parameter for measuring private 5G's success is not only performance - it's performance and security as well." SecurityGen was founded in early 2022 by four telecom security veterans. Its centrepiece solution is the ACE platform, a true telecoms industry first: the first completely automated breach and attack simulation platform that is purpose-built for securing mobile networks. ACE assesses and improves the security of mobile operators by continuously testing the strength of their network defences against simulated attacks and techniques. It identifies and reports potential gaps and vulnerabilities within the operator's network, and then carries out simulations of real-world attacks on these vulnerabilities to assess their seriousness and the potential damage that an actual attack could cause. About SecurityGen Founded in 2022, SecurityGen is a global start-up focused on telecom security. We deliver a solid security foundation to drive secure telco digital transformations and ensure next-gen enterprise intelligent connectivity. Our extensive product and service portfolio provides complete protection against existing and advanced telecom security threats. Led by a group of global visionary leaders, security experts, and research analysts with a proven track record of innovation and execution, SecurityGen is headquartered in Rome and has a strong presence across Europe, Asia, LATAM, and the Middle East. www.secgen.com Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1851563/SecurityGen_Awards.jpg SOURCE SecurityGen PARIS, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE: SQNS), a leading developer and provider of 5G and 4G solutions for broadband, critical, and massive IoT, announced today the shareholder approval of Dr. Sailesh Chittipeddi to its board of directors, effective June 24, 2022. "We are pleased to welcome Sailesh to our Board and look forward to his contributions and criticality of thought, given his expertise in IoT as a senior-level executive of Renesas," stated Georges Karam, Sequans President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Sailesh Chittipeddi has served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of the IoT and Infrastructure Business Unit of Renesas Electronics Corporation since July 2019. Before joining Renesas, he served as Executive Vice President of Global Operations and Chief Technology Officer for IDT Corporation. Prior to IDT, Dr. Chittipeddi was President and CEO of Conexant Systems and served on its Board of Directors. At Conexant, he led the company in its transition from a public company to private ownership and through its debt restructuring efforts. Dr. Chittipeddi holds five degrees, including an M.B.A from the University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in physics from The Ohio State University. Dr. Chittipeddi has earned 64 U.S. patents related to a semiconductor process, package, and design and has been published in nearly 40 technical articles. "I am delighted to join the Sequans Board of Directors," said Dr. Chittipeddi. "Through our mutually beneficial partnership, Renesas has fostered a strong relationship with Sequans in product collaborations and, more recently, as shareholders. My position on the board of directors will further both companies' commitment to our mutual success." Dr. Chittipeddi will replace the seat vacated by Alok Sharma, who has stepped down from the board. Mr. Sharma joined the board in 2011. Mr. Karam stated: "On behalf of Sequans, I thank Alok for his years of service and valuable contributions to the Company. We wish him the best in his future endeavors." About Sequans Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE: SQNS) is a leading developer and supplier of cellular IoT connectivity solutions, providing chips and modules for 5G/4G massive and broadband IoT. For 5G/4G massive IoT applications, Sequans provides a comprehensive product portfolio based on its flagship Monarch LTE-M/NB-IoT and Calliope Cat 1 chip platforms, featuring industry-leading low power consumption, a large set of integrated functionalities, and global deployment capability. For 5G/4G broadband IoT applications, Sequans offers a product portfolio based on its Cassiopeia Cat 4/Cat 6 4G and high-end Taurus 5G chip platforms, optimized for low-cost residential, enterprise, and industrial applications. Founded in 2003, Sequans is based in Paris, France with additional offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Hong Kong, Singapore, Finland, Taiwan, South Korea, and China. Visit Sequans online at www.sequans.com, and follow us on Twitter and Linked In. Media Relations: Kimberly Tassin, +1.425.736.0569, [email protected] Investor Relations: Kim Rogers, Hayden IR, +1 385.831.7337, [email protected] SOURCE Sequans Communications " Since the commencement of this year's diamond drilling program at RC Gold, drilling has continued to deliver remarkable results demonstrating the continuity of gold-rich mineralization at our newly discovered Blackjack zone (see Table 1 for results to date)," stated Cor Coe, P.Geo., CEO and Director of Sitka. "Having a third diamond drill rig on site will add productivity to our planned 10,000 metre drill program while giving us capacity to test multiple high-priority targets at the same time . The focus of our fully-funded drill program at RC Gold this year is to further define the Blackjack zone with a series of step-out holes designed to better understand the parameters of the intrusion-related gold mineralization and ultimately gather sufficient data to calculate a maiden resource estimate (see Figure 1). " As drilling continues to expand the known size of the Blackjack zone, the potential of this area is becoming quite clear, especially when you consider Victoria Gold is currently mining the Eagle Gold deposit which had Measured and Indicated Resources prior to mining of 214 million tonnes grade of 0.63 g/t gold (Au) estimated at a 0.15 g/t cut-off (4.397 million ounces; Goodwin et al. 2019)(2). The Tombstone Gold Belt in the Dawson to Mayo area of Yukon is host to several multi-million ounce gold deposits in addition to the Eagle Gold deposit and the gold endowment of this district is beginning to be realized. The regional map of the RC Gold Project (Figure 3) shows the proximity and gold endowment of our peers in this area and Sitka's commanding land position within this fertile gold district. A pattern of step-out holes as shown in Figure 1 is planned to expand the zone east and west along the interpreted strike and further define the extent of gold-rich mineralization present in the Blackjack Zone. The goal of this phase of drilling is to gather sufficient data to estimate an initial gold resource. Sitka now has three diamond drill rigs currently on site to complete the planned 10,000 m diamond drill program. Table 1: Analytical Results for Previously Released Drill Holes at the Blackjack Zone Hole ID Azimuth () Dip () Length (m) From (m) To (m) Interval* (m) Au (g/t) DDRCCC-21-021 320 -45 367.5 6.0 226.1 220.1 1.17 including 11.0 187.0 176.0 1.27 43.0 71.0 28.0 1.36 80.8 184.0 103.2 1.61 80.8 81.0 0.2 35.7 81.0 81.5 0.5 9.81 120.0 170.5 50.5 2.08 120.0 126.1 6.1 4.3 123.6 126.1 2.5 6.13 150.0 170.5 20.5 2.85 DDRCCC-22-022 320 -45 364.6 46.0 319.0 273.0 0.52 including 48.0 85.0 37.0 0.76 193.0 317.0 124.0 0.81 253.0 315.0 62.0 1.21 253.0 267.0 14.0 3.85 313.0 315.0 2.0 6.36 314.0 315.0 1.0 10.15 DDRCCC-22-023 320 -61.5 285.0 4.2 210 205.8 1.01 including 46.0 137.0 91.0 1.61 47.0 48.0 1.0 10.95 68.0 69.0 1.0 13.65 125.0 126.0 1.0 16.80 DDRCCC-22-024 277 -47 204 4.5 112.00 107.5 1.44 including 16.00 82.00 66.00 2.11 24.00 35.00 11.00 3.76 66.00 67.00 1.00 7.92 80.00 82.00 2.00 35.60 DDRCCC-22-025 320 -46 389.2 19 368 349 0.71 including 25.0 246.0 221.0 1.01 109.0 129.0 20.0 3.08 111 159 48.0 1.63 111.0 113.0 2.0 15.15 158.0 159.0 1.0 9.29 177.0 179.0 2.0 3.46 209.0 246.0 37.0 1.12 223.0 225.0 2.0 4.80 310.0 322.0 12.0 1.18 312.0 314.0 2.0 4.20 * Intervals are drilled core length, as insufficient drilling has been undertaken to determine true widths at this time The 2022 winter portion of the drilling program was focused in the area of the Blackjack Zone which was first intersected by Hole 21 (DDRCCC-21-021). The Blackjack Zone occurs within the Saddle West Zone where the Blackjack Fault obliquely intersects an east-west trending extensional corridor that is defined by abundant lamprophyre dykes and a large gold-in-soil anomaly of >100 ppb and >500 ppb that covers an area of 2 kilometres by 500 metres between the Saddle West, Blackjack, Saddle and Eiger Zones (Figure 2). This extensional corridor controls the emplacement of the Saddle and Eiger intrusive stocks. The large gold-in-soil anomaly is still open in all directions and drilling to date within this corridor has demonstrated the potential for a continuous zone of gold mineralization. About the RC Gold Project The RC Gold Project consists of a 376 square kilometre contiguous district-scale land package located in the newly road accessible Clear Creek, Big Creek, and Sprague Creek districts in the heart of Yukon's Tombstone Gold Belt. It is the largest consolidated land package strategically positioned mid-way between Victoria Gold's Eagle Gold Mine - Yukon's newest gold mine which reached commercial production in the summer of 2020 - and Sabre Gold Mine's Brewery Creek Gold Mine. The RC Gold Project land package comprises five underlying properties, namely, the RC, Bee Bop, Mahtin, Clear Creek, and Barney Ridge properties*. The Company recently identified a large 500 m by 2000 m intrusion related gold system on the Property at the Saddle Eiger zone and to date has drilled 23 diamond drill holes into this system. This has been the main focus of the Company's drill programs at RC Gold in 2020, 2021 and 2022 which have returned several significant gold intercepts. including the discovery hole in the Blackjack zone in the last drill hole from the 2021 drill program, DDRCCC-21-021 ("Hole 21"). Hole 21 intersected 220.1 m of 1.17 g/t gold from surface that included 50.5 m of 2.08 g/t gold. Hole 21 was the westernmost hole drilled in the Saddle-Eiger trend and was drilled under a greater than 500 ppb gold-in-soil anomaly that was previously identified on surface. This gold-in-soil anomaly is part of the larger 2 kilometre by 500 m gold-in-soil anomaly that stretches from the Saddle Zone to the Eiger Zone and is open in all directions. Drilling in 2021 in the Eiger Zone in the easternmost area of the gold-in-soil anomaly has produced numerous significant intersections as demonstrated by Hole 9 which intersected 354 m of 0.41 g/t Au including 72 m of 0.72 g/t Au (see news release dated August 19, 2021). Sitka Gold inherited a wealth of historical and current data from these properties from work spanning the last 40 years. Recent exploration work and the compilation of historical data have defined several mineralized zones with both bulk tonnage, intrusion-related gold deposit targets and high-grade, vein- and breccia-hosted gold targets. The RC Gold Project also has a common border with Victoria Gold's Clear Creek property at its western boundary and Florin Resources' Florin Gold property at its northern boundary. * For more detailed information on the underlying properties please visit our website at www.sitkagoldcorp.com. Deposit Model Exploration on the Property has mainly focused on identifying an intrusion-related gold system ("IRGS"). The property is part of the Tombstone Gold Belt which is the prominent host to IRGS deposits within the Tintina Gold Province in Yukon and Alaska. Notable deposits from the belt include: Fort Knox Mine in Alaska with current Proven and Probable Reserves of 230 million tonnes at 0.3 g/t Au (2.471 million ounces; Sims 2018)(1); Eagle Gold Mine with current Proven and Probable Reserves of 155 million tonnes at a diluted grade of 0.65 g/t Au at the Eagle and Olive deposits (3.261 million ounces; Goodwin et al. 2019)(2); the Brewery Creek deposit with current Indicated Mineral Resource of 22.2 million tonnes at a gold grade of 1.11 g/t (0.789 million ounces; Hulse et al. 2020)(3); the Florin Gold deposit, located adjacent to Sitka's RC Gold project, with a current Inferred Mineral Resource of 170.99 million tonnes grading 0.45 g/t (2.47 million ounces; Simpson 2021)(4) and the AurMac Project with an Inferred Mineral Resource of 207.0 million tonnes grading 0.60 gram per tonne gold (3.99 millon ounces; Jutras 2022)(5). (1) Sims J. Fort Knox Mine Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, USA National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report. June 11, 2018. https://s2.q4cdn.com/496390694/files/doc_downloads/2018/Fort-Knox-June-2018-Technical-Report.pdf (2) Goodwin R, Gray P, Jutras M, Tang S, Wilbur S. Technical Report for the Eagle Gold Mine, Yukon Territory, Canada. JDS Energy & Mining Inc. December 6, 2019. https://vitgoldcorp.com/site/assets/files/6480/jds-vit-eagle-gold-ni-43-101-fs-report-20191206.pdf (3) Hulse D, Emanuel C, Cook C. NI43-101 Technical Report on Mineral Resources. Gustavson Associates. May 31, 2020. https://www.goldenpredator.com/_resources/Brewery-Creek_NI-43-101-05OCT2020-File.pdf (4) Simpson R. Florin Gold Project NI43-101 Technical Report. Geosim Services Inc. April 21, 2021. https://sedar.com/GetFile.do?lang=EN&docClass=24&issuerNo=00005795&issuerType=03&projectNo=03236138&docId=4984158 (5) Banyan Gold News Release Dated May 17, 2022 (Technical Report to be filed within 45 days of news release) https://www.banyangold.com/news-releases/2022/banyan-announces-4-million-ounce-gold-mineral-resource-estimate-for-the-aurmac-property-yukon-canada/ About Sitka Gold Corp. Sitka Gold Corp. is a fully-funded mineral exploration company headquartered in Canada. The Company is managed by a team of experienced industry professionals and is focused on exploring for economically viable mineral deposits with its primary emphasis on gold, silver and copper mineral properties of merit. Sitka currently has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the RC, Barney Ridge, Clear Creek and OGI properties in the Yukon and the Burro Creek Gold property in Arizona. Sitka owns a 100% interest in its Alpha Gold property in Nevada, its Mahtin Gold property in the Yukon and its Coppermine River project in Nunavut. Sitka is currently conducting a planned 10,000 metre diamond drill program at its RC Gold Project in the Yukon. Drilling is also currently underway at the Company's Alpha Gold Property in Nevada where up to 5,000 feet of drilling is planned. The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Cor Coe, P.Geo., Director and CEO of the Company, and a Qualified Person (QP) as defined by National Instrument 43-101. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF SITKA GOLD CORP. "Donald Penner" President and Director Cautionary and Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forwardlooking statements and forwardlooking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forwardlooking statements or information. Forwardlooking statements and information are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "appear", "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "approximate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe", "would" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements and information are provided for the purpose of providing information about the current expectations and plans of management of the Company relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such statements and information may not be appropriate for other purposes, such as making investment decisions. Since forwardlooking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, the expected timing and terms of the private placement, use of proceeds, anticipated work program, required approvals in connection with the work program and the ability to obtain such approvals. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forwardlooking statements, timelines and information contained in this news release. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. The forwardlooking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and no undertaking is given to update publicly or revise any forwardlooking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws or the CSE. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. SOURCE Sitka Gold Corp. Thomas Meyer previously played a key role in Walmart and Uber Eats drone delivery programs RENO, Nev. , June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SkyDrop continues to expand drone delivery into the restaurant and retail industries by hiring Thomas Meyer as the Vice President of Business Development to engage industry-leading brands. Thomas previously played a key role in Walmart and Uber Eats drone delivery programs. Thomas, a pioneer in the drone delivery industry, introduced the first electrically powered multi-copter to the U.S. in 2006. He was a significant part of the ground-breaking pathfinder program with BNSF railway in 2015, overseeing the first approved routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flights as the technology provider. He played a key role in Walmart's first drone delivery project in 2017, and in Uber Eats program for food delivery by drone in 2019. Thomas has a passion for drone delivery and has experienced the value of drone delivery for communities. Thomas' win-win approach to customer relationships is rooted in a deep understanding of economic and technological customer needs and the goal to provide optimized end-to-end solutions for client-specific use cases. SkyDrop's Vice President of Business Development Thomas Meyer said, "I am looking forward to working with the great team at SkyDrop, and SkyDrop's industry-leading product that has pioneered the drone delivery industry. SkyDrop and I share the vision that drone delivery connects people through accessibility, giving them more free time at their disposal, protecting the environment by reducing the carbon footprint of last-mile delivery, and positively affecting the cost of goods to consumers by lowering delivery costs." The last-mile drone delivery industry is at an inflection point with major retailers including Walmart and Amazon, among others, announcing plans to expand drone delivery operations this year. SkyDrop and Domino's Pizza Enterprises Limited (Domino's), signed an agreement earlier this year to launch the second phase of commercial drone deliveries in New Zealand. SkyDrop's technology empowers businesses to become first-movers and innovation leaders in the industry, enabling drone delivery from your local store to your door, unlocking lower delivery costs, and billions in potential new revenue. The benefits of drone delivery go beyond cost savings as it increases sales and customer loyalty by shortening delivery times, exceeding customer expectations, and saving valuable customer time. Drone delivery improves the product quality and customer satisfaction, especially with food, providing a fresher and better tasting product by getting it to the consumer faster. SkyDrop is a full-stack solutions provider of hardware and software for autonomous last-mile drone delivery and owns extensive patents. SkyDrop offers a mature, comprehensive system that includes both air and ground technology, enabling a seamless and frictionless workflow at any restaurant or store location. SkyDrop is solving the last-mile delivery problem with technology that is speedier, safer, quieter, cheaper, and greener. To contact Thomas, email: [email protected] About SkyDrop: SkyDrop (formerly known as Flirtey) is a full-stack solutions provider of hardware and software for autonomous last-mile drone delivery and owns extensive patents. SkyDrop is the pioneer of the commercial drone delivery industry, with a mission to make delivery instant for everyone, and a vision of drone delivery that is safer, speedier, quieter, cheaper, and greener. The company first made history in 2015 when it conducted the first-ever FAA-approved drone delivery in the US. Learn more at www.GetSkyDrop.com Media Kit: https://skydrop.box.com/v/SkyDropThomasMeyerJune302022 Contact: [email protected] SOURCE SkyDrop Global travel marketplace Skyscanner details the top searched destinations for Americans looking to get away this Independence Day weekend Travel expert Mark Crossey explains how to get a good deal Skyscanner . com and Skyscanner app have last minute deals for holiday weekend travel, with flexible fares and health and safety ratings highlighted in searches MIAMI, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Global travel marketplace Skyscanner is releasing July 4th travel statistics, following the continued simplification and removal of restrictions in global vacation hotspots. Top five booked domestic destinations for Independence Day travel**** New York Las Vegas Orlando Los Angeles Seattle Top five booked international destinations for Independence Day travel***** London Athens Cancun Paris Rome Pricing facts for Independence Day travel****** Average price for domestic travel is $345 Average price for international travel is $712 Mark Crossey , Skyscanner's US Travel Expert: "It is so important to contrast and compare when buying travel, especially for trips in the short term. There are still great deals on airfares for those who know how to shop around." How to hack your way to a great deal, with advice from Mark Crossey , Skyscanner's US Travel Expert: Be price smart: "Searching by multiple dates and airports will give you the best chance of a bargain. Setting up price alerts will ensure you're the first to know as prices drop with any additional discounts or added supply. You can mark a flight you're interested in and Skyscanner will email you whenever the price goes up or down." Consider all options: "The last few years have seen new destinations rise in popularity as corridors shone a light on some surprising gems. Swapping your usual break in Cancun for Florida or California could be an unexpected delight." Mix & Match to save $$: "Not just a summer fashion trend, mix and matching the airlines you choose to fly with can seriously cut costs. Fares don't have to be booked as returns, look at flying out with one airline and back with another to save money. You can easily compare prices on Skyscanner's cheapest month tool." Use the whole month tool to find the best deals: "Flight prices are all based on supply and demand. Because some dates are more popular than others, prices will vary. The 'whole month' search tool allows you to see cheap flights at a glance and pick the right deal for you. Consider traveling a day before or a day after your original departure dates, flying on less popular days of the week is always cheaper." Flex is the word: "In the past being flexible with travel might have meant flying at anti-social times to get a good price. But now with a constantly changing travel landscape, it's important to know what the change policies are on flight tickets and accommodation. These policies are highlighted on Skyscanner searches, so booking travel can be changed easily. Choosing these flexible options can sometimes be much cheaper than package deals and of course, allows for a personally tailored trip." Notes to editors **Economy class, return travel from the US, weekly search volumes week beginning January 1, 2022, compared to week beginning May 24, 2022, on Skyscanner platforms ***Economy class, return travel from the US, weekly booking volumes week beginning May 15, 2022, compared to week beginning May 24, 2022, on Skyscanner platforms **** Economy class, return travel from the US, weekly booking volumes week beginning January 1, 2022, compared to week beginning May 24, 2022, on Skyscanner platforms *****Economy class, return travel redirects (bookings) on Skyscanner platforms ******Economy class, return, international travel from the US, redirects (bookings) between March 18 June 18, 2021, on Skyscanner platforms *******Average cost for travel between July 1 and July 5, taken from prices on Skyscanner platforms for redirects (bookings) made during 2022 for economy class, return travel from the US About Skyscanner Founded in 2003, Skyscanner is a leading travel marketplace dedicated to putting travelers first. Skyscanner helps millions of people in 52 countries and over 30 languages find the best travel options for flights, hotels and car rental every month. Skyscanner is available on desktop, mobile web and its highly rated app has 100 million downloads. Working with 1200 travel partners, Skyscanner's mission is to lead the global transformation to modern and sustainable travel. For more information, visit: https://www.skyscanner.com SOURCE Skyscanner PARIS and LAUSANNE, Switzerland, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Societe Generale - FORGE (SG - FORGE), a fully integrated subsidiary of Societe Generale, providing issuers and investors with end-to-end services to issue, invest and manage digital-native security tokens registered on public blockchains, has selected METACO , a market-leading provider of digital asset management technology and infrastructure, to orchestrate its digital asset custody operations. Societe Generale is a pioneer in the Digital Ledger Technology space, with innovation sitting at the heart of the group's strategic priorities. Since 2019, Societe Generale and its subsidiary SG - FORGE structured several native security token issuances deployed on blockchain for their clients such as the European Investment Bank's (EIB) 100 million digital bond issued in 2021. Societe Generale is now offering a range of capital market products to institutional clients under a native security token format on Ethereum and Tezos with full banking level safety and regulatory compliance. The partnership enables SG - FORGE to continue setting the agenda on the integration of security tokens into traditional finance, and leverage METACO's bank-grade digital asset custody and orchestration platform, Harmonize , to further expand its offering at scale. These developments are taking place within a larger context marked by the acceleration of market digitalization using blockchain technology, notably through the forthcoming implementation of the EU Pilot Regime and which will permit the processing of security tokens through market infrastructures in compatibility with applicable EU regulations. Security tokens allow for a fully digital issuance process and lifecycle. Due to their innovative characteristics, they have the potential to significantly improve efficiency, speed and transparency in financial markets and make transactions safer and more resilient all while offering benefits similar to those of financial instruments issued in a conventional way. Jean-Marc Stenger , CEO of Societe Generale - FORGE, commented: "Bridging the digital asset industry and traditional finance requires a multifaceted approach incorporating institutional-grade technology, regulation, as well as industrial capacities. By partnering with METACO, SG - FORGE will be able to leverage their secure infrastructure to ensure that we have a solid foundation to grow our digital asset market activities." Adrien Treccani , CEO and Founder of METACO, commented: "Societe Generale plays a key role in shaping the future of finance. A leading innovator on digital securities, SG - FORGE is setting the standard for the asset class, providing a model for a fully regulated and integrated ecosystem across traditional and DLT-based systems of finance. We are proud to partner with SG - FORGE and provide our industry leading digital asset infrastructure to support the bank in its vision of bridging traditional and digital finance." Alexandre Fleury Co-Head of Global Markets Activities, Societe Generale, commented: "Leveraging on the differentiating expertise of SG - FORGE and our intimate knowledge of markets activities, this partnership shows Societe Generale' capacity to step-by-step implement a truly innovative technology, thus helping build tomorrow's global capital market distribution approach and infrastructure." A leading technology provider to top tier, regulated financial institutions in the digital asset ecosystem, METACO's infrastructure is supporting key live implementations, in various regulatory jurisdictions, including Switzerland, Germany, United Kingdom, and Singapore, with other notable projects in progress in jurisdictions such as the United States, Australia and Hong Kong. About Societe Generale - FORGE Societe Generale - FORGE, a fully integrated subsidiary of Societe Generale, licensed as an investment firm under MiFID regulation, has built an open, secure and institutional-grade framework for Security Token operations, underpinned by full banking level safety and regulatory compliance. Societe Generale - FORGE provides issuers, lead managers and investors end-to-end services to issue, invest and manage digital-native security tokens registered on public blockchains. Societe Generale - FORGE's Security Tokens are compliant with the CAST[1] open-source interoperability and securitization framework. For more information, visit www.sgforge.com and www.cast-framework.com About METACO Founded in 2015 in Switzerland, METACO is a technology company whose mission is to enable financial and non-financial institutions to securely manage their digital asset business and capitalize on the burgeoning digital asset economy. The company's core product, Harmonize, is an orchestration system for digital assets. From cryptocurrency custody and trading to tokenization, staking and smart contract management, the platform seamlessly connects institutions to the new world of decentralized finance (DeFi). METACO has established itself as the Tier 1 banking standard, trusted by and in live production with global custodians, exchanges, private and universal banks. Its software, technology and infrastructure solutions enable financial institutions to store, trade, issue and manage digital assets, with the highest possible security and agility. For more information, visit www.metaco.com [1] Compliant Architecture for Security Tokens SOURCE METACO COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Demotech, Inc. was the first to request a special session for the Florida legislature to address the litigation crisis devastating Florida's residential property insurance marketplace. Today, its team continues to review, analyze, and evaluate Q1 2022 operating results, catastrophe reinsurance programs, disaster recovery plans, catastrophe response plans, the legislation emerging from the special session at the end of May 2022, and other considerations. These factors, and others, influence Demotech's quarterly assessment of Financial Stability Ratings (FSRs) assigned to carriers writing residential property insurance in Florida. According to its President and Co-founder, Joseph L. Petrelli, "When analyzing insurer operating results, whether historical, current, or anticipated, the legislative, regulatory, and judicial environment may be considered in Demotech's review where legislation, regulations, or judicial decisions could materially impact an insurer's financial position or its ability to operate consistently given the market conditions of a particular jurisdiction. Regulatory practices or regulatory actions may affect the operating environment of insurers positively or negatively. Such actions may relate to product regulation, financial regulation, or market regulation. In some instances, legislation or judicial decisions may also alter the operating environment or risk exposures of certain insurers by altering the policyholder claims and litigation environment or the insurance regulatory environment." About Demotech, Inc. Since 1985, Demotech has served the industry by assigning accurate, reliable, and proven Financial Stability Ratings to P&C insurers and Title underwriters. Demotech was the first to review independent, regional and specialty insurers, 1989. Demotech's philosophy is to review and evaluate insurers based on their area of focus and execution of their business model rather than solely on financial size. Visit www.demotech.com for additional information. SOURCE Demotech, Inc. Joint Study by BCG and Comite Colbert Reveals That 65% of Consumers Take Into Account Companies' Commitment to Sustainable Development When Deciding on Their Purchases PARIS, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The luxury industry has shown resilience with a return to pre-COVID performance levels and an estimated sector growth of more than 6% between 2022 and 2026. Now more than ever, the industry is facing paradigm shifts in all areas: production and resources, life cycle, customer relationships, corporate responsibility, and globalization. This is reflected in the findings of Luxury Outlook 2022, a new report published by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the Paris-based Comite Colbert. The report is based on the qualitative analysis of approximately 40 luxury company executives and a survey of 2,000 luxury clients and non-clients in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. According to the report, 65% of consumers consider brands' commitment to sustainable development when purchasing luxury products, almost one out of two are interested in the concept of an online virtual store, and 80% believe luxury companies have a responsibility in the full life cycles of their products, beyond production and sale. In addition to providing a comprehensive overview of consumer perception and behavior, the report details five opportunities for luxury fashion houses that are critical to act on to become bold and responsible pioneers of change: Production & Resources: From excellence in core expertise to responsibility across the entire supply chain, the industry must perpetuate quality and accelerate innovation in view of the scarcity of resources. From excellence in core expertise to responsibility across the entire supply chain, the industry must perpetuate quality and accelerate innovation in view of the scarcity of resources. Life Cycle: From symbolic products to responsibility for the entire product life cycles, the industry most reconcile sustainability, use, rarity, and novelty. From symbolic products to responsibility for the entire product life cycles, the industry most reconcile sustainability, use, rarity, and novelty. Customer Relationship : From physical experience to digital reconciliation, the luxury industry must translate excellence into new experiences. : From physical experience to digital reconciliation, the luxury industry must translate excellence into new experiences. Responsibility: From competitive advantage to collective imperative, luxury brands must lead the ESG transition in coalition. From competitive advantage to collective imperative, luxury brands must lead the ESG transition in coalition. Globalization: From unreserved globalization to a re-evaluation of geostrategic dependencies, these companies must navigate new territories and anticipate risks. A Source of National Pride in France and Italy The French and Italian luxury industries were found to have an exceptional consumer profile in their national markets: 85% of people surveyed in France and 80% of Italian respondents consider the industry to be a source of national pride. French survey respondents believe luxury is the industry that best highlights their country. According to consumers across the countries surveyed, the luxury industry is defined by quality (according to 64% of luxury customers and 56% of non-customers), craftmanship (according to 42% of luxury customers and 41% of non-customers) and creativity (according to 38% of luxury customers and 30% of non-customers). Responsibility: From a Competitive Advantage to a Collective Imperative Insights from interviews with executives indicate that luxury brands have already initiated environmental and societal change, partly because the nature of their products has always required some form of moderation. While 62% of the industry's customers believe luxury products are durable, the industry must nevertheless do more, as 60% of consumers believe luxury should be responsible for initiating environmental and societal transition and 80% believe luxury fashion houses should commit to managing the entire life cycles of their products. Joel Hazan, managing director and partner at BCG and co-author of the report explains that "the industry is now shifting from a competitive mindset towards a coalition mindset: leading luxury companies have understood they need to work jointly on key environmental issues to come up with scaled solutions. The objective being to build on the industry DNA of exemplarity and quality to develop robust sustainable standards at industry level, shifting from a responsibility of quality towards a responsibility of transmission." One key way for luxury fashion houses to manage their products' life cycles is through the secondhand market, which has a positive impact on products' ecological footprint and gives some fashion pieces a second life decades after their first appearance. Driven by the younger generationswith 83% of Gen Z willing to rent or own their clothes only temporarilythe secondhand market is growing twice as fast as the firsthand market and is expected to reach more than 50 billion by 2025. From Physical Experiences to Digital Reconciliation The luxury industry is perceived as trailing other industries when it comes to digital, according to 65% of those surveyed. While brands are still looking for a model that combines online presence and a premium in-store experience, nearly seven out of ten people believe that the digital experience provided by luxury brands does not measure up to an in-store experience. Investing in the metaverse is an opportunity for luxury brands to ensure that they communicate with their current and future customers. Among consumers ages 18 to 34, 64% believe the metaverse facilitates the discovery of luxury brands and 59% believe the metaverse could eventually replace today's social media networks. This is most evident with Gen Z and Generation Alpha, both of which grew up and continue to spend an increasing amount of time online and represent the future consumers of luxury fashion brands. Hazan further explains, "Although the pandemic accelerated luxury brands' shift to digital, they have never been the pioneers in digital. In fact, Web2 concepts and applications have been far from the image of exclusivity and rarity conveyed by the luxury industry and thus has prevented in a way luxury companies to excel online. Yet, luxury brands must find a way to differentiate themselves as effectively online as they are able in their physical stores, by conveying their DNA in the online customer experience. In today's Web3 context, this opportunity exists to reconcile luxury and the digital experience. For example, NFTs offer the possibility to reinvent the concepts of possession and rarity, all the while creating a strong sense of belonging to an exclusive community. As for Metaverses, they are ideal spaces for personalization and creativity, which brands are starting to seize." The Globalization of Luxury Goods As cultures evolve and consumers in certain countries grow wealthier, there are new markets to be explored by luxury fashion houses. Two-thirds of the luxury goods sector's growth between 2021 and 2025 will take place outside Europe and the United States. In China, the market penetration of luxury perfume is estimated at approximately 5%, compared with 42% in Europe and 50% in the United States. It is estimated that the Chinese luxury perfume market, which ranked tenth in the world in 2020, is on track to become the second largest by 2025. Fueled by population growth and increasing urbanization, the Indian luxury market is expected to experience strong growth and reach $3.7 billion by 2026. Yet, current environmental and geopolitical contexts are forcing luxury companies to re-evaluate the risks of globalization and make sure supply chains are agile enough to adapt quickly to a more and more uncertain environment. Download the publication here. Media Contact: Alison Harry +336 1781 3559 [email protected] Methodology This report published by BCG and Comite Colbert is based on approximately 40 interviews conducted with executives from the member brands of the Comite Colbert as well as industry experts (the full list is available in the report) and a 2,000-person survey (luxury clients and non-clients) in the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland. The sample represents the populations of each in terms of age, gender, and income. About Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963. Today, we work closely with clients to embrace a transformational approach aimed at benefiting all stakeholdersempowering organizations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and drive positive societal impact. Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives that question the status quo and spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting, technology and design, and corporate and digital ventures. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, fueled by the goal of helping our clients thrive and enabling them to make the world a better place. About Comite Colbert Founded in 1954 by Jean-Jacques Guerlain, Comite Colbert brings together 90 French luxury maisons and 17 cultural institutions. Together they passionately promote, patiently transmit and sustainably develop French savoir-faire and creation in order to infuse a new sense of wonder. For more information, please visit https://www.comitecolbert.com. SOURCE Boston Consulting Group (BCG) DUBLIN, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Connected (Smart) Street Light Market (2022-2027) by Component, Energy Source, Type, Connectivity, Networking Technology, Geography, Competitive Analysis, and the Impact of Covid-19 with Ansoff Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Global Connected (Smart) Street Light Market is estimated to be USD 60.14 Bn in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 104.15 Bn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 11.61%. Market dynamics are forces that impact the prices and behaviors of the Global Connected (Smart) Street Light Market stakeholders. These forces create pricing signals which result from the changes in the supply and demand curves for a given product or service. Forces of Market Dynamics may be related to macro-economic and micro-economic factors. There are dynamic market forces other than price, demand, and supply. Human emotions can also drive decisions, influence the market, and create price signals. As the market dynamics impact the supply and demand curves, decision-makers aim to determine the best way to use various financial tools to stem various strategies for speeding the growth and reducing the risks. Company Profiles The report provides a detailed analysis of the competitors in the market. It covers the financial performance analysis for the publicly listed companies in the market. The report also offers detailed information on the companies' recent development and competitive scenario. Some of the companies covered in this report are AMS, Axiomtek, Cisco System, General Electric, Honeywell International, Huawei Technologies, Philips, Lutron Electronics, Osram Licht, Schreder, Signify, etc. Countries Studied America ( Argentina , Brazil , Canada , Chile , Colombia , Mexico , Peru , United States , Rest of Americas) , , , , , , , , Rest of Americas) Europe ( Austria , Belgium , Denmark , Finland , France , Germany , Italy , Netherlands , Norway , Poland , Russia , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , United Kingdom , Rest of Europe ) ( , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Rest of ) Middle-East and Africa ( Egypt , Israel , Qatar , Saudi Arabia , South Africa , United Arab Emirates , Rest of MEA) and ( , , , , , , Rest of MEA) Asia-Pacific ( Australia , Bangladesh , China , India , Indonesia , Japan , Malaysia , Philippines , Singapore , South Korea , Sri Lanka , Thailand , Taiwan , Rest of Asia-Pacific ) Competitive Quadrant The report includes Competitive Quadrant, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their Industry Position score and Market Performance score. The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc. Ansoff Analysis The report presents a detailed Ansoff matrix analysis for the Global Connected (Smart) Street Light Market. Ansoff Matrix, also known as Product/Market Expansion Grid, is a strategic tool used to design strategies for the growth of the company. The matrix can be used to evaluate approaches in four strategies viz. Market Development, Market Penetration, Product Development and Diversification. The matrix is also used for risk analysis to understand the risk involved with each approach. The report analyses the Global Connected (Smart) Street Light Market using the Ansoff Matrix to provide the best approaches a company can take to improve its market position. Based on the SWOT analysis conducted on the industry and industry players, the analyst has devised suitable strategies for market growth. Why buy this report? The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Connected (Smart) Street Light Market. The report includes in-depth qualitative analysis, verifiable data from authentic sources, and projections about market size. The projections are calculated using proven research methodologies. The report has been compiled through extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research is done through interviews, surveys, and observation of renowned personnel in the industry. The report includes an in-depth market analysis using Porter's 5 forces model and the Ansoff Matrix. In addition, the impact of Covid-19 on the market is also featured in the report. The report also includes the regulatory scenario in the industry, which will help you make a well-informed decision. The report discusses major regulatory bodies and major rules and regulations imposed on this sector across various geographies. The report also contains the competitive analysis using Positioning Quadrants, the analyst's Proprietary competitive positioning tool. Key Topics Covered: 1 Report Description 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Market Dynamics 4.1 Drivers 4.1.1 Increasing Development of Smart Cities 4.1.2 Increasing Demand for Energy-Efficient Systems 4.1.3 Expanding investment in LED and Smart Street Lighting 4.1.4 Growing Demand for IoT-Enabled Lighting Fixtures and Smart Lighting Solutions 4.2 Restraints 4.2.1 High Initial Setup Cost 4.3 Opportunities 4.3.1 Technology Advancements in the Smart Street Lighting such as Developments in the Wireless Technologies 4.3.2 Initiatives Taken by Utility Companies and Government Institutions 4.4 Challenges 4.4.1 Security Concern 5 Market Analysis 5.1 Regulatory Scenario 5.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Ansoff Matrix Analysis 6 Global Connected (Smart) Street Light Market, By Component 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Hardware 6.2.1 Light Source 6.2.1.1 LED Lamps 6.2.1.2 Sodium Vapor Lamps 6.2.2 Drivers and Ballast 6.2.3 Sensors 6.2.4 Switches 6.2.5 Controllers 6.3 Software 6.4 Services 7 Global Connected (Smart) Street Light Market, By Energy Source 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Solar 7.3 Traditional & Renewable Energy 8 Global Connected (Smart) Street Light Market, By Type 8.1 Introduction 8.2 CFL 8.3 Incandescent 8.4 LED 9 Global Connected (Smart) Street Light Market, By Connectivity 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Wired 9.3 Wireless 10 Global Connected (Smart) Street Light Market, By Networking Technology 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Narrowband 10.3 Medium Band 10.4 Broadband 11 Global Connected (Smart) Street Light Market, By Application 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Environmental Monitoring 11.3 Traffic Monitoring 11.4 Video Surveillance 12 Americas' Connected (Smart) Street Light Market 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Argentina 12.3 Brazil 12.4 Canada 12.5 Chile 12.6 Colombia 12.7 Mexico 12.8 Peru 12.9 United States 12.10 Rest of Americas 13 Europe's Connected (Smart) Street Light Market 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Austria 13.3 Belgium 13.4 Denmark 13.5 Finland 13.6 France 13.7 Germany 13.8 Italy 13.9 Netherlands 13.10 Norway 13.11 Poland 13.12 Russia 13.13 Spain 13.14 Sweden 13.15 Switzerland 13.16 United Kingdom 13.17 Rest of Europe 14 Middle East and Africa's Connected (Smart) Street Light Market 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Egypt 14.3 Israel 14.4 Qatar 14.5 Saudi Arabia 14.6 South Africa 14.7 United Arab Emirates 14.8 Rest of MEA 15 APAC's Connected (Smart) Street Light Market 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Australia 15.3 Bangladesh 15.4 China 15.5 India 15.6 Indonesia 15.7 Japan 15.8 Malaysia 15.9 Philippines 15.10 Singapore 15.11 South Korea 15.12 Sri Lanka 15.13 Thailand 15.14 Taiwan 15.15 Rest of Asia-Pacific 16 Competitive Landscape 16.1 Competitive Quadrant 16.2 Market Share Analysis 16.3 Strategic Initiatives 16.3.1 M&A and Investments 16.3.2 Partnerships and Collaborations 16.3.3 Product Developments and Improvements 17 Company Profiles 17.1 AMS 17.2 Axiomtek 17.3 Cisco System 17.4 Citelum 17.5 Delta Electronics 17.6 Eaton 17.7 General Electric 17.8 Honeywell International 17.9 Huawei Technologies 17.10 Hubbell 17.11 Itron 17.12 Philips 17.13 Lutron Electronics 17.14 Osram Licht 17.15 Schreder 17.16 Signify 17.17 Syska 17.18 Tech Mahindra 17.19 Telensa 17.20 Trilliant 17.21 Wipro Enterprise 18 Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/19its3 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 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets DUBLIN, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Optical Interconnect Market (2022-2027) by Product Category, Interconnect Level, Fiber Mode, Data Rate, Distance, Application, Geography, Competitive Analysis and the Impact of Covid-19 with Ansoff Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Global Optical Interconnect Market is estimated to be USD 11.53 Bn in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 21.47 Bn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 13.24%. Market dynamics are forces that impact the prices and behaviors of the Global Optical Interconnect Market stakeholders. These forces create pricing signals which result from the changes in the supply and demand curves for a given product or service. Forces of Market Dynamics may be related to macro-economic and micro-economic factors. There are dynamic market forces other than price, demand, and supply. Human emotions can also drive decisions, influence the market, and create price signals. As the market dynamics impact the supply and demand curves, decision-makers aim to determine the best way to use various financial tools to stem various strategies for speeding the growth and reducing the risks. Company Profiles The report provides a detailed analysis of the competitors in the market. It covers the financial performance analysis for the publicly listed companies in the market. The report also offers detailed information on the companies' recent development and competitive scenario. Some of the companies covered in this report are 3M Company, Acacia Communications Inc, Amphenol Corp, Accelink Technologies Co. Ltd, Broadcom Inc, Calibus Corning Inc, Fujitsu Ltd, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd, II-VI Inc, etc. Countries Studied America ( Argentina , Brazil , Canada , Chile , Colombia , Mexico , Peru , United States , Rest of Americas) , , , , , , , , Rest of Americas) Europe ( Austria , Belgium , Denmark , Finland , France , Germany , Italy , Netherlands , Norway , Poland , Russia , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , United Kingdom , Rest of Europe ) ( , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Rest of ) Middle-East and Africa ( Egypt , Israel , Qatar , Saudi Arabia , South Africa , United Arab Emirates , Rest of MEA) and ( , , , , , , Rest of MEA) Asia-Pacific ( Australia , Bangladesh , China , India , Indonesia , Japan , Malaysia , Philippines , Singapore , South Korea , Sri Lanka , Thailand , Taiwan , Rest of Asia-Pacific ) Competitive Quadrant The report includes Competitive Quadrant, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their Industry Position score and Market Performance score. The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc. Ansoff Analysis The report presents a detailed Ansoff matrix analysis for the Global Optical Interconnect Market. Ansoff Matrix, also known as Product/Market Expansion Grid, is a strategic tool used to design strategies for the growth of the company. The matrix can be used to evaluate approaches in four strategies viz. Market Development, Market Penetration, Product Development and Diversification. The matrix is also used for risk analysis to understand the risk involved with each approach. The analyst analyses the Global Optical Interconnect Market using the Ansoff Matrix to provide the best approaches a company can take to improve its market position. Based on the SWOT analysis conducted on the industry and industry players, The analyst has devised suitable strategies for market growth. Why buy this report? The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Optical Interconnect Market. The report includes in-depth qualitative analysis, verifiable data from authentic sources, and projections about market size. The projections are calculated using proven research methodologies. The report has been compiled through extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research is done through interviews, surveys, and observation of renowned personnel in the industry. The report includes an in-depth market analysis using Porter's 5 forces model and the Ansoff Matrix. In addition, the impact of Covid-19 on the market is also featured in the report. The report also includes the regulatory scenario in the industry, which will help you make a well-informed decision. The report discusses major regulatory bodies and major rules and regulations imposed on this sector across various geographies. The report also contains the competitive analysis using Positioning Quadrants, the analyst's Proprietary competitive positioning tool. Key Topics Covered: 1 Report Description 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Market Dynamics 4.1 Drivers 4.1.1 Rise in Global Deployment of Datacenters 4.1.2 Surge in Global Adoption of Cloud Computing, Big Data Analytics, and IoT 4.2 Restraints 4.2.1 High Deployment Costs of Optical Interconnects 4.2.2 Data Losses Suffered During High-Frequency Long-Distance Data Transmission 4.3 Opportunities 4.3.1 Increase in the USe of Optical Interconnects in High-Performance Computing Applications 4.3.2 Rise in Demand for Chip-Level Optical Interconnects Used in Multicore Processors and 3D Chips 4.3.3 Continuous Developments in 5G Network Infrastructures 4.4 Challenges 4.4.1 Continuous Requirement to Optimize Size of Optical Interconnects 5 Market Analysis 5.1 Regulatory Scenario 5.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Ansoff Matrix Analysis 6 Global Optical Interconnect Market, By Product Category 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Cable Assemblies 6.2.1 Indoor Cable Assemblies 6.2.2 Outdoor Cable Assemblies 6.2.3 Active Optical Cables 6.2.4 Multi-Source Agreements 6.2.4.1 QSFP 6.2.4.2 CXP 6.2.4.3 CFP 6.2.4.4 CDFP 6.2.4.5 Others 6.3 Connectors 6.3.1 LC Connectors 6.3.2 SC Connectors 6.3.3 ST Connectors 6.3.4 MPO/MTP Connectors 6.4 Optical Transceivers 6.5 Free Space Optics, Fiber, And Waveguides 6.6 Silicon Photonics 6.7 PIC-Based Interconnects 6.8 Optical Engines 7 Global Optical Interconnect Market, By Interconnect Level 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Metro and Long-Haul Optical Interconnect 7.3 Board-To-Board and Rack-Level Optical Interconnect 7.4 Chip- and Board-Level Optical Interconnect 8 Global Optical Interconnect Market, By Fiber Mode 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Single Mode Fiber 8.3 Multimode Fiber 8.3.1 Step-Index Multimode Fiber 8.3.2 Graded-Index Multimode Fiber 9 Global Optical Interconnect Market, By Data Rate 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Less Than 10 Gbps 9.3 10 Gbps To 40 Gbps 9.4 41 Gbps To 100 Gbps 9.5 More Than 100 Gbps 10 Global Optical Interconnect Market, By Distance 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Less Than 1 Km 10.3 1 Km To 10 Km 10.4 11 Km To 100 Km 10.5 More Than 100 Km 11 Global Optical Interconnect Market, By Application 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Data Communication 11.2.1 Data Centers 11.2.2 High-Performance Computing 11.3 Telecommunication 12 Americas' Global Optical Interconnect Market 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Argentina 12.3 Brazil 12.4 Canada 12.5 Chile 12.6 Colombia 12.7 Mexico 12.8 Peru 12.9 United States 12.10 Rest of Americas 13 Europe's Global Optical Interconnect Market 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Austria 13.3 Belgium 13.4 Denmark 13.5 Finland 13.6 France 13.7 Germany 13.8 Italy 13.9 Netherlands 13.10 Norway 13.11 Poland 13.12 Russia 13.13 Spain 13.14 Sweden 13.15 Switzerland 13.16 United Kingdom 13.17 Rest of Europe 14 Middle East and Africa's Global Optical Interconnect Market 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Egypt 14.3 Israel 14.4 Qatar 14.5 Saudi Arabia 14.6 South Africa 14.7 United Arab Emirates 14.8 Rest of MEA 15 APAC's Global Optical Interconnect Market 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Australia 15.3 Bangladesh 15.4 China 15.5 India 15.6 Indonesia 15.7 Japan 15.8 Malaysia 15.9 Philippines 15.10 Singapore 15.11 South Korea 15.12 Sri Lanka 15.13 Thailand 15.14 Taiwan 15.15 Rest of Asia-Pacific 16 Competitive Landscape 16.1 Competitive Quadrant 16.2 Market Share Analysis 16.3 Strategic Initiatives 16.3.1 M&A and Investments 16.3.2 Partnerships and Collaborations 16.3.3 Product Developments and Improvements 17 Company Profiles 17.1 3M Company 17.2 Acacia Communications Inc 17.3 Amphenol Corp 17.4 Accelink Technologies Co. Ltd 17.5 Broadcom Inc 17.6 Calibus Corning Inc 17.7 Fujitsu Ltd 17.8 Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd 17.9 II-VI Inc 17.10 Infinera Corp 17.11 InnoLight Technology (Suzhou) Ltd 17.12 Juniper Networks Inc 17.13 lumentum operations LLC 17.14 Molex LLC 17.15 Nvidia Corp 17.16 Smiths Interconnect Inc 17.17 Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd 17.18 TE Connectivity 18 Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/dcwlny 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 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets Sponsorship supports not-for-profit organization with over 29,000 members LINDON, Utah, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TheraLight, LLC , a rapidly growing global leader in light therapy and developer of full body LED technology, announced today that its TheraLight 360 product was recognized for performance, reliability, efficiency, ease of integration/use, and innovation with an LEDs Magazine BrightStar Award. An esteemed and experienced panel of judges from the LED and lighting design and manufacturing community recognized TheraLight, LLC as an honoree, which requires a rating score between 3.5 and 5 stars, with five being the highest rating possible. LEDs MAGAZINE Brightstar Awards Logo "On behalf of the LEDs Magazine BrightStar Awards panel, I would like to congratulate the TheraLight company on their high-scoring honoree status," said LEDs Magazine Editorial Director Wanda Lau. "This competitive program allows LEDs Magazine to celebrate and recognize the most innovative products of the past year that are advancing LED and solid-state lighting technology into various applications." LEDs Magazine's BrightStar Awards program is focused on recognizing five key factors performance, reliability, efficiency, ease of integration/use, and innovation in the design of LED-based lighting products and components, materials, systems, and applications. The June 21, 2022 issue of LEDs lists 31 honorees . Additional coverage of the honorees, complete with product summaries, will be featured in the July/August issue of the magazine. TheraLight has developed new innovation in LED technology for applications in healthcare and wellness with a non-invasive, unattended, full body photobiomodulation (PBM) system that incorporates advanced red and near-infrared (NIR) multi-wavelength, high power LEDs. "At TheraLight, our mission is dedicated to providing the best technology and products for improving the quality of life for each individual that uses our products," stated Justin Vorwaller, MBA, COO of TheraLight. "The receipt of the BrightStar Award demonstrates our commitment to this mission. The majority of our fellow award winners offer commercial and industrial applications, while TheraLight was uniquely chosen, and the only free-standing LED healthcare product to receive this award. We believe that we are at the forefront of providing an alternative to many of the pharmaceutical solutions being given for pain relief, health, and wellness, which often have side effects and fuel other patient struggles. TheraLight has tremendous potential to make a difference for individuals, employers, and healthcare professionals." About TheraLight, LLC: TheraLight, LLC is a medical device company and emerging global leader in innovative photomedicine technology. Representing management with over 30 years of experience, TheraLight delivers expertise in design, manufacturing, production, and regulatory compliance. We partner with healthcare professionals to bring the best and newest technology, as well as provide advanced training and support to maximize clinical and financial outcomes. TheraLight was started and is currently led by the founders of Aspen Laser Systems, LLC, ( aspenlaser.com ). For more information, please visit theralight.com . About LEDs Magazine LEDs Magazine provides comprehensive coverage of SSL technologies, applications, and markets and is the most trusted global resource for engineers, researchers, scientists, and technical professionals. The LEDs Magazine media brand and associated events address the needs of professionals across the entire LED and SSL supply and design chain. To learn more, please visit ledsmagazine.com . MEDIA CONTACT : TheraLight, LLC Alan Richardson 385-230-6604 [email protected] SOURCE TheraLight, LLC Clif Howard takes over from Matt Johnson as Chief Financial Officer ROGERSVILLE, Tenn., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Thread Bank and parent company Thread Bancorp, Inc. (together "Thread"), a leader in embedded-banking based in Rogersville, Tennessee, announces that Clif Howard has joined the Bank as its Chief Financial Officer. Clif replaces Matt Johnson who spearheaded Thread's financial transformation since a group of investors lead a recapitalization of Thread (formerly Volunteer Bancorp, Inc. and subsidiary Civis Bank) last May. Clif Howard, CFO, Thread Bank "We are thrilled to add Clif to our talented and experienced management team," said Thread CEO and President Chris Black. "Clif brings a wealth of experience in banking, accounting and analytics to the table. His financial acumen and leadership will help Thread move confidently into the future and further our mission to combine personalized customer service with best-in-class technology for a streamlined experience that reduces the time, effort, and mental energy of business and personal banking." A graduate of Murray State University in accounting and finance and a United States Air Force veteran, Howard comes to Thread from Nashville-based FirstBank, where he was Corporate Controller. Before that, he rose through the ranks at Franklin Synergy Bank to become Senior Vice President, Controller. "I could not be more excited to join Thread," Howard said. "The embedded-banking model that we are building is unique in our industry as it simultaneously combines modern technology and delivery mechanisms with the reliability of a trusted community bank. Adding the exceptional service and personal touch that Thread already offers will greatly benefit our existing and future clients." Howard will continue to build upon the work of outgoing CFO Matt Johnson, who came out of retirement last year to assist Thread in its reorganization and transformation. Black concluded, "We are extremely fortunate to have had the skills of Matt Johnson on our team during this critical time period following the recapitalization and are equally blessed for him to hand the baton to a professional of the quality and skill-level of Clif Howard." About Thread Thread combines best-in-class technology with a streamlined experience to reduce the time, effort, and mental energy of business and personal banking. Formerly Civis Bank and Volunteer Bancorp, Inc., Thread was recapitalized by investors with a shared vision in helping business visionaries and dreamers succeed with a financial ecosystem that is connected, contextual, and customer-first. In addition to helping to shape the future of banking through the deployment of new technologies and new methods to deliver banking products and services, Thread operates two full-service branches in East Tennessee, as well as an LPO/DPO and executive office in Brentwood, Tennessee where the holding company is headquartered. Media Contact Thread Bank [email protected] 423-272-2200 Thread Bank 210 East Main Street Rogersville, Tennessee 37857 SOURCE Thread Bank Round Led by JW Asset Management to Advance House of Brands Strategy Tyson 2.0 is Licensed in over 20 States and has Sold Over 4,000 lbs of Cannabis Flower ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Tyson 2.0 ("The Company"), iconic boxer, entrepreneur and cannabis advocate Mike Tyson's cannabis brand, has taken the nation by storm by becoming a consumer favorite in over 20 US states and Canada since its launch late last year. In that time, Tyson 2.0 has sold over 4,000 pounds of cannabis flower across North America. Today, the Company announced the close of its oversubscribed $9 Million Series A round led by JW Asset Management. Additional investors in the round include K2, Ambria Capital, Tress Capital, and Patrick Carroll. Tyson 2.0 Co-founder, President and Chairman, Chad Bronstein said, "Mike Tyson and our team believed early on that building high-quality cannabis brands and products backed by A-list celebrities would be a winning combination. Our model has shown early validation with robust sales and expansion of the brand to more than 20 states including several of the world's leading operators. The next step in our journey will require us to put more capital to work, and I couldn't think of a better set of partners than the group of investors we have assembled, highlighted by Jason Wild and the team at JW Asset Management." The raised funds will be used to acquire more celebrity intellectual property, scale marketing efforts, accelerate distribution, and further invest in the development of Tyson 2.0's house of brands strategy. "I've had the pleasure of working with and knowing Chad and Adam for many years. I am impressed with how quickly they have scaled the business becoming one of the leading national cannabis brands on the market today. With the ability to develop additional products from celebrities like Mike Tyson, Ric Flair, and more to come, I am confident the strong momentum can continue," said Jason Wild, President and Chief Investment Officer, JW Asset Management. Tyson 2.0 is also pleased to announce the appointment of Nicole Cosby as its Chief Legal and Licensing Officer. Cosby also served as Chief Data and Compliance Officer of Fyllo Group and prior to this, held the position of Senior Vice President of Standards at Publicis Group. Cosby is an attorney by trade and has a background in digital advertising/data policy and brand strategy/licensing. Bronstein concluded, "This is just the beginning, Tyson 2.0 is being sought out by some of the hottest pop culture icons who are cannabis advocates and users, and want the opportunity to share their love of the plant with their fans." For more information on Tyson 2.0, visit Tyson20.com. Tyson 2.0-branded merchandise is available for purchase at shoptyson20.com. About JW Asset Management JW Asset Management is a New York based fund manager with combined assets under management of approximately $1 billion. Jason Wild, the firm's founder and Chief Investment Officer, is a registered pharmacist and Executive Chairman of TerrAscend Corp (CSE:TER,OTCQX:TRSSF). JW Asset Management has a history of finding attractive investment opportunities across the healthcare and cannabis industries and actively invests in both public and private markets. About Tyson 2.0 Tyson 2.0 is a premier cannabis company formed with legendary boxer, entrepreneur and icon Mike Tyson. The company's mission is to produce innovative, high-quality cannabis products known for purity, precision, and wide accessibility. Providing consumers an outstanding selection of products, Tyson 2.0 is an extraordinary balance of premium and affordable, full-spectrum cannabis flower, concentrates and consumables available at retailers nationwide. Learn more at Tyson20.com. SOURCE Tyson 2.0 NEW YORK, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, FORTUNE Education published its first-ever ranking of the Best Online Master's in Cybersecurity Degrees. University of CaliforniaBerkeley took the top honors, followed by Yeshiva University (Katz), and Western Governors University. The ongoing pandemic has both been an accelerant for both the digital economy and for online education. That's why FORTUNE built a ranking of online cybersecurity programs. After all, the cyber industry was among the biggest winners of this digital transformation. UC Berkeley Tops FORTUNEs 2022 Best Online Master's in Cybersecurity Ranking FORTUNE Education Editorial Director Lance Lambert says, "The pre-pandemic world of higher education is never coming back. At least not all the way. Online education is now the preferred way to learn by many of the nation's best and brightest students. To help guide the next generation of business leaders, FORTUNE ranked the nation's best online cybersecurity programs." The combined enrollment of the 20 online cybersecurity programs on our list totals 3,064. The median base salary for students who complete UC Berkeley's online cybersecurity program is a staggering $200,000. For comparison, Harvard Business School's latest MBA class netted a median base salary of $150,500. FORTUNE's Top 10 Online Cybersecurity Programs in 2022 are: University of CaliforniaBerkeley Yeshiva University (Katz) Western Governors University Indiana UniversityBloomington Johns Hopkins University University of Arizona California State UniversitySan Marcos Robert Morris University University of San Diego Roger Williams University View the complete ranking here. The final ranking was determined using three components: a Selectivity Score, which considers the average undergraduate GPA of incoming students, as well as acceptance rates, a Success Score determined by one-year retention rates and graduation rates, and a Demand Score measuring the total size of program's most recent graduating class. View the methodology here. Curated by a team of expert journalists, FORTUNE Education is a destination for articles, insights, and ongoing reporting about what prospective students should know to make the best, most impactful decisions for their careers. FORTUNE Education also produces rankings and ratings of graduate, post-graduate, executive education, and personal and professional improvement programs, informed by FORTUNE's unparalleled understanding of which skills matter to businesses today. About FORTUNE FORTUNE drives the conversation about business. With a global perspective, the guiding wisdom of history, and an unflinching eye to the future, we report and reveal the stories that matter todayand will matter even more tomorrow. With the trusted power to convene and challenge those who are shaping industry, commerce, and society around the world, FORTUNE lights the path for global leadersand gives them the tools to make business better. For more information, visit www.fortune.com . Media Contact: Alison Klooster 646-437-6613 [email protected] SOURCE FORTUNE Media Former J&J, Anthem Executive Kate Merton, Ph.D., welcomed as executive director of first-of-its-kind, health equity-focused global innovation collaborative CHICAGO, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chicago ARC, a new venture collaborative focused on accelerating health equity solutions, has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with the University of Chicago Medicine and Sinai Chicago as the organization's first Founding Healthcare Partners. The Chicago ARC also officially welcomed Kate Merton, Ph.D., as its executive director. The Chicago ARC was founded on the belief that where you live, work, and play should be positive drivers of your health and how you receive healthcare. Chicago ARC Healthcare Partners will play a crucial role in directing and piloting new technologies to transform healthcare and improve health equity in Chicago and beyond. Areas of focus and impact for the Chicago ARC include maternal and child health, chronic disease management, rural healthcare, aging in place, behavioral and mental health, and cancer diagnosis. "We're creating an innovation community in Chicago centered on the healthcare providers and communities they serve," said Merton, who previously launched the digital health incubator for Anthem and ran the East coast region of JLABS, J&J Innovations' science incubator and accelerator lab. "With unprecedented access to and involvement from Healthcare Partners, startups will be able to direct their efforts for the greatest impact and benefit from Partner expertise and clinical networks to test, model and scale new solutions." Chicago ARC builds upon the proven ARC model (Accelerate, Redesign, Collaborate) of Sheba Medical Center a Newsweek Top-10 global hospital which brings together startups with experienced operators and an extensive healthcare partner network. The Chicago ARC is being developed as the centerpiece of the $3.8 billion health-focused of Bronzeville Lakefront development. "Health systems in Chicago and the Midwest create Sheba's North American epicenter for bringing global innovation and U.S. healthcare communities together and the Chicago ARC is bringing that community together in new ways to invite more global investment and innovation," said Dr. Eyal Zimlichman, chief digital transformation officer and chief innovation officer for Sheba Medical Center. "Now, by combining expertise and market opportunity, Chicago ARC and its Healthcare Partners will catalyze new solutions for some of our biggest healthcare challenges. Sheba Medical Center will share our experience to impact equitable healthcare and benefit from learning together with Chicago-area health systems and the community." Areas of Focus for Healthcare Partners Healthcare Partners will pilot technologies that meet the needs of healthcare professionals and the communities they serve, create a community of learning to connect local and global best practices, and promote collaboration and joint projects. In addition, organizations have prioritized areas for increased focus or additional collaboration. Kenneth S. Polonsky, MD, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean of the Biological Sciences Division at the University of Chicago: "The South Side of Chicago has experienced shrinking health care resources for many years. Partnering with the Chicago ARC creates the dual benefit of identifying and integrating global technologies that meet the needs of our patients and healthcare professionals while enabling the University of Chicago to bring its research and innovation expertise to a local and global community seeking to address health inequities. As a partner, we plan to help enhance and utilize UChicago as a community engagement and collaboration epicenter to understand -- and address effectively -- the South Side community priorities and needs." Dr. Ngozi Ezike, president and CEO, Sinai Chicago: "As the largest private safety-net health system in Illinois, the communities Sinai Chicago serves face some of the city's most severe systemic barriers and suffer the greatest health inequities. Sinai has a successful track record of working in collaboration with the communities we serve across the South and West Sides of Chicago. Working with the Chicago ARC will support Sinai in scaling our existing programs and resources to further serve our patients equitably and effectively." The Chicago ARC also presents significant opportunities for international collaboration, in a model that can be replicated in other U.S. markets. "The work Chicago ARC is undertaking with partners in Israel is an example of how Israel and the United States can share expertise to have a significant impact on the realization of equitable healthcare through innovation and community collaboration," said Yinam Cohen, Consul General of Israel to the Midwest. "The top research institutions, health systems partners, and providers of Chicago and the Midwest like those the Chicago ARC is bringing together present an excellent opportunity for Israeli startups looking to establish and expand their presence in the U.S." About Chicago ARC The Chicago ARC is on a mission to accelerate tomorrow's healthcare solutions to those in need today. Its venture collaborative provides a trusted U.S. partner for startups, accelerating market entry and growth through matched commercial opportunities, investment, and end-to-end support. The Chicago ARC will be the centerpiece of a $3.8 billion health-focused Bronzeville Lakefront along the scenic shore of Lake Michigan next to downtown Chicago and the largest convention center in the Western Hemisphere. Chicago is the top U.S. city for foreign direct investment, corporate relocations, life science VC funding growth, and female founders. The region is home to over 1,600 life science companies, three tier-1 research institutions, and over 28,000 physicians. For more information, visit https://www.chicagoarc.health/. SOURCE Chicago ARC HOUSTON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- While the U.S. Department of Justice recently updated its policy requiring federal officers to intervene if colleagues are using excessive force, Zachary D. Kaufman, an associate professor of law and political science and co-director of the Criminal Justice Institute at the University of Houston Law Center, argues that this "necessary, overdue initiative . . . doesn't go far enough." In a forthcoming law review article on police bystanderism titled "Police Policing Police," Kaufman states that the "police killings of George Floyd and at least 1,930 other Black Americans since 2015 amplified a racial reckoning and intensified demands for meaningful, overdue police reform." The DOJ policy, which takes effect July 19, is the first time in 18 years that the federal use-of-force policy has been updated. However, as Kaufman emphasized in a recent op-ed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the directive falls short in multiple ways. Among other things, it applies only to federal law enforcement, not the employees of the more the 18,000 state and local police departments across the United States. Many high-profile cases of misuse of police force have involved such non-federal officers. Through his research, Kaufman found that more than half of U.S. states have no law mandating an officer's duty to intervene. In the appendix to that article, Kaufman presents a model statute that legislatures could enact or use as a basis for strengthening their existing laws. "I propose that Congress and all state legislatures enact criminal laws mandating police peer intervention," Kaufman writes. "Introducing criminal liability for inaction could prod officers to stop their peers' serious misconduct and promote accountability for those officers who remain bystanders." Another deficiency of the DOJ policy, Kaufman argues, is that it is less effective than a law would be. Kaufman notes that the Minneapolis Police Department had an officer duty to intervene policy in place when three police officers stood by while fellow officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd. "We need an external check on police through criminal prosecution and punishment," Kaufman argues. "Given the scourge of police misuse of force in the United States, a legally enforceable officer duty to intervene should be universal." Kaufman's scholarly research on bystanders and upstanders earned support from the University of Houston's Provost's 50-in-5 Award in 2019 and the Small Grants Program in 2022. He is writing a series of articles, essays, and op-eds about bystanders and upstanders that will culminate in his next book, tentatively titled "The Law of Politics of Bystanders and Upstanders," under contract with Cambridge University Press. University of Houston Law Center media contacts: Carrie Anna Criado, UH Law Center Assistant Dean of Communications and Marketing, 713-743-2184, [email protected]; Bonnie Buffaloe, Communications Manager, 713-743-9137, [email protected]. About the University of Houston Law Center The University of Houston Law Center (UHLC) is a dynamic, top tier law school located in the nation's 4th largest city. UHLC's Health Law, Intellectual Property Law, and Part-time programs rank in the U.S. News Top 10. It awards Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) and Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees, through its academic branch, the College of Law. The Law Center is more than just a law school. It is a powerful hub of intellectual activity with more than 15 centers and institutes which fuel its educational mission and national reputation. UHLC is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. About the University of Houston The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter for excellence in undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation's fourth-largest city and one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse regions in the country, UH is a federally designated Hispanic- and Asian-American-Serving institution with enrollment of more than 47,000 students. SOURCE University of Houston Law Center Group-IB's platform understands who your attackers are and optimizes defenses against them SINGAPORE, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Group-IB, one of the global leaders in cybersecurity headquartered in Singapore, has today unveiled the Unified Risk Platform, an ecosystem of solutions that understands each organization's threat profile and tailors defenses against them in real time. Every product and service in Group-IB's now consolidated security suite is enriched with information from a Single Data Lake, which contains 60 types of sources of adversary intelligence. The Unified Risk Platform automatically configures your defenses with the precise insights needed to provide the best possible defense against targeted attacks on the infrastructure and endpoints, breaches, fraud, brand and IP abuse. PHILADELPHIA, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Berger Montague is investigating securities fraud allegations on behalf of investors who purchased the securities Unilever PLC ("Unilever" or the "Company") (NYSE: UL) between September 2, 2020 and July 21, 2021 (the "Class Period"). If you purchased the securities of Unilever during the Class Period, would like to discuss Berger Montague's investigation, or have questions concerning your rights or interests, please contact attorneys Andrew Abramowitz at [email protected] or (215) 875-3015, or Michael Dell'Angelo at [email protected] or (215) 875-3080 or visit: https://investigations.bergermontague.com/unilever-plc-/ Whistleblowers: Anyone with non-public information regarding Unilever is encouraged to confidentially assist Berger Montague's investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under this program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to thirty percent (30%) of recoveries obtained by the SEC. For more information, contact us. A recently filed lawsuit alleges that, throughout the Class Period, defendants made false and misleading statements and failed to disclose that in July 2020, Ben & Jerry's board passed a resolution to end sales of its ice cream in "Occupied Palestinian Territory," as well as the risks attendant to the board's decision. Additionally, Unilever's description of its legal risks omitted discussion of Ben & Jerry's boycott decision, which risked adverse governmental actions for violations of laws, executive orders, or resolutions aimed at discouraging boycotts, divestment, and sanctions of Israel adopted by 35 U.S. states ("Anti-BDS Legislation"). On July 19, 2021, Unilever and its hand-picked Ben & Jerry's CEO, Matthew McCarthy, finally "operationalized" the Ben & Jerry's board's resolution to boycott Israel. Ben & Jerry's announced on its website and through its Twitter account that, upon the expiration of the current licensing agreement by which its products had been distributed in Israel for decades, Ben & Jerry's would end sales of its ice cream in "Occupied Palestinian Territory" but Ben & Jerry's would purportedly continue to sell its products in Israel. On this news, the price of Unilever ADRs fell. Then, July 22, 2021, CNBC reported that the states of Texas and Florida were examining Ben & Jerry's actions in connection with the states' Anti-BDS Legislation. Being added to the list also meant that Unilever would not be able to enter or renew contracts with the state or any municipality in Florida. On this news, the price of Unilever ADRs fell more than 5%, further damaging investors. Ultimately, the states of New York, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Illinois, Colorado, and Arizona announced decisions to divest their pension fund investments in Unilever due to violations of their Anti-BDS Legislation. Berger Montague, with offices in Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., and San Diego, has been a pioneer in securities class action litigation since its founding in 1970. Berger Montague has represented individual and institutional investors for over five decades and serves as lead counsel in courts throughout the United States. Contacts Andrew Abramowitz, Senior Counsel Berger Montague (215) 875-3015 [email protected] Michael Dell'Angelo, Executive Shareholder Berger Montague (215) 875-3080 [email protected] SOURCE Berger Montague The 45-minute-long documentary is the first of its kind in China to dive into the topic of Third Space, and will include the insights of university professors, students, automobile industry experts, and media veterans. The sharings are part of the Unseen program initiated by Wavemaker China and Tongji D&I FABO that looks into the value and ecosystem transformation trends in light of the global push for artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainable development. "You need to step out of the day-to-day, you need to create the space to challenge conventions and to challenge obvious thinking, thinking about the challenge 3 days ahead, 3 years ahead," said Jose Campon, CEO of Wavemaker China. Shared mobility is not a new concept, but a vital aspect of history. As automotive enterprises now take the path of internet-driven and oriented strategies, pivoting to become future mobility service providers, it is time to rethink the definition of automobiles for the future. "Mobility goes beyond merely traveling. What have changed are space, time, mental status, and our life. The design of space in mobility in the future will become a kind of artistic practice, that will represent how our culture and behavior evolve," said Linna Zhao, producer of the documentary and Head of Thought Leadership at Wavemaker China. Future Mobility: Revolution To Reshape the Space of Traveling The first episode of the UNSEEN documentary series dives into the broadening scope and vision of Third Space and explores the strong social and cultural foundations in China that will present unique advantages in shaping the future of mobility. Intelligent and new energy vehicles are the future, but the trend is falling behind the automobile industry's expectations. With NEVs not being able to deliver true value to customers, the discussion of bridging the gap between automakers' products and consumer demands requires further insights and input. The future of cars is much more than serving as the vehicle of mobility. Looking beyond, marginalized groups such as the elderly and people with visual impairments can also become potential consumers. In addition, for the diverse groups such as Gen Z, cars can be more playful, imaginative and figurative representations of personalities. A fresh start from a human perspective centering on the needs of "people" and combining policies and trends will help foster the brand-new concept of Third Space. Although clean energy, technology and intelligence are the advantages of new energy vehicles, consumers today are still concerned mostly about the basic factor of safety. According to a Euromonitor survey, 39 percent of the respondents to its Mobility Survey were concerned about the safety of riding in an autonomous/self-driving car in 2022, easily the most pressing worry. It is time to change people's minds, reimagining future mobility, and redefining the role of transportation and vehicles. The concept of Third Space is an extension of a brighter future, where apart from offering an enhanced driving interface and passenger space, smart vehicles will also shoulder psychological demands and become the mobile Third Space. "Transportation contains more than a functional meaning that carries people from one place to another. It needs to be considered via the dimensions of cultural evolution such as time and space," noted Jeff Ding, associate professor in practice of Tongji University, College of Design and Innovation. About Wavemaker: We believe there always is a better way to grow. We positively provoke growth for our clients by reshaping consumer decision-making and experiences through media, content and technology. The Wavemaker way is globally consistent. Fueled by the world's most powerful consumer data, we understand where and how marketing can intervene decisively to help brands win more sales. Our 7,200 people across 88 markets have the deep knowledge, confidence and courage to provoke growth for some of the world's leading brands and businesses. We are a part of GroupM, WPP's global media investment management company. Discover more on wavemakerglobal.com, Twitter and LinkedIn, or follow us on Wechat at Wavemaker China. About Tongji D&I FABO: Tongji University continues to rise in the global QS Art and Design ranking from 26 in 2017 to 13 in 2020 and 2021, positioning first in Asia for four consecutive years, in addition to being selected as the "double first-class and building a world-class discipline"; All three undergraduate majors of the university have been deemed as national first-class disciplines; in 2015, it led the first "IV peak discipline" in Shanghai. Fablab O (FABO), is a member of the global MIT centered Fablab open-source laboratory network a first in China. FABO is dedicated to building China's maker innovation system, condensing the backbone of local social sustainability and economic reform, while realizing China's quantum leap from "Manufactured in China" to "Created in China". FABO is known for its cross-field joint innovation efforts as it continues to lead active exploration and practice in education, distributed manufacturing and intelligent innovation industries. SOURCE Wavemaker CHINO HILLS, Calif., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Venture MLS, the venture capital firm built to serve brokers, agents, and MLSs, has chosen Styldod to develop artificial intelligence solutions in real estate. The $1MM investment adds a new company to the Venture MLS I Fund. Styldod recently expanded its product line from virtual staging into AI. Its machine learning algorithms already identify and extract information from property photos. Upcoming AI products will process, tag, and export this image data, saving agents time when uploading MLS listings. Styldod carves a unique niche with its industry relationships. As an MLS partner from its earliest stages, Styldod can carefully tune its AI to meet practitioners' needs. "We have already seen impressive results from Styldod," said Art Carter, Venture MLS fund manager. "We believe their products can radically improve the way real estate professionals do business. It's exactly what we are looking for." Venture MLS will help drive revenue for Styldod by promoting its AI products to MLSs. This, in concert with the cash investment, will give Styldod a rare market advantage. "Styldod AI is a result of our deep passion for and desire to use cutting-edge technologies to solve the real estate industry's murkiest problems," said Styldod CEO Akhilesh Majumdar. "We have spent nearly seven years producing a solution that lets enterprises and agents harvest the full power of AI to increase their productivity." "Today, we are closer to achieving this mission than ever before," Majumdar continued. "We are delighted to welcome Venture MLS to the elite list of investors who believe in our vision of becoming an AI provider of choice for the real estate industry." About Venture MLS As the first venture capital firm created by an MLS, Venture MLS backs seed and early-stage companies within the property technology space. Venture MLS invests in companies that can leverage the unmatched experience, expertise, and connections it holds within its industry. Visit venturemls.com for more information. About Styldod Styldod is a design-technology company poised to challenge every marketing productivity benchmark in the real estate industry. Through its groundbreaking AI product suite, Styldod enables the automatic virtual staging of homes in multiple lifestyle designs, complete with automated property descriptions and enhanced interactivity across a variety of media! At enterprise scale, these tools create a marriage between retail furniture sales and residential home ownership, that keeps the real estate agent at the center of each transaction. Learn more at www.styldod.com Contact: [email protected] SOURCE Venture MLS CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- VistaPath, the leading provider of artificial intelligence (AI)-based, data-driven pathology processing platforms, today announced that it has secured $4 million in seed funding led by Moxxie Ventures with participation from NextGen Venture Partners and First Star Ventures. With this latest round, VistaPath will further advance its mission to modernize pathology labs, delivering faster, more accurate diagnoses that lead to optimal patient care. "We're excited to be working with investors who share our desire to impact the lives and clinical outcomes of patients. This funding will support full-scale development and delivery of our innovative products, as well as the expansion of our operational and technical capabilitiesallowing us to better serve the clinical and life science markets," says Timothy Spong, CEO of VistaPath. VistaPath's Sentinel is a first-of-its-kind pathology processing platform designed to seamlessly deliver a range of solutions for critical lab processes. The company's first application, released in 2021, is a tissue grossing platform that automates the process of receiving, assessing, and processing tissue samples. The platform uses a high-quality video system combined with AI to assess specimens and create a gross report 93% faster than human technicians with 43% more accuracy. Additional applications are slated to be released later this year. "Pathology is the study of disease and connects every aspect of patient care. We believe that advances in computer vision and AI can bring great improvements to the pathology industry and ultimately lead to better outcomes for patients. We believe the team at VistaPath is building a best-in-class product for pathology labs and are proud to lead this investment round", says Alex Roetter, General Partner at Moxxie Ventures. About VistaPath VistaPath is modernizing pathology labs using computer vision and artificial intelligence. They provide clients with significant quality, workflow, and strategic benefits with the overall goal of delivering improved results for pathologists, clinicians, and patients. The Sentinel is the company's first product. Learn more at vistapathbio.com . About Moxxie Ventures Moxxie Ventures is an early stage venture firm focused on backing exceptional founders who make life and work better. Moxxie is based in San Francisco, CA and Boulder, CO. Learn more at moxxie.vc . SOURCE VistaPath Organization focused on decreasing health disparities and increasing healthcare access now a standalone non-profit with independent Board of Directors WARSAW, Ind., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. (NYSE and SIX: ZBH), a global medical technology leader, today announced that the Company has created an independent 501(c)(3) for Movement is Life, Inc., a philanthropic, multi-disciplinary coalition founded by the Company in 2010, that seeks to decrease musculoskeletal health disparities among women, racial and ethnic minorities and women living in rural communities. The new non-profit organization will continue its focus on raising awareness of the impact of disparities on chronic disease management and quality of life through programs that focus on early intervention, education, behavior change and advocacy. "We're excited to take this next step in the evolution of Movement is Life as we continue on our path to address disparities in underserved communities and populations," said Mary O'Connor, MD, Co-Founder, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, Vori Health, and Chair of the Movement is Life Board of Directors. "The inaugural Movement is Life Board of Directors shares my gratitude to Zimmer Biomet for their incredible support in our growth. We are excited and eager to work together as an independent organization to accomplish our goals." The Zimmer Biomet Foundation has made a multi-year, multi-million dollar commitment to continue to support operating costs of the new organization, while enabling it to establish an independent coalition and scale its programs. "Over the past 12 years, Movement is Life has been the premier organization addressing health disparities in orthopedics. This new nonprofit status will allow the organization to expand partnerships and develop new relationships to continue the important work of the coalition," said Keri P. Mattox, Zimmer Biomet Chief Communications and Administration Officer and Zimmer Biomet Foundation Board Member. "Zimmer Biomet and the Zimmer Biomet Foundation remain fully committed to ensuring equity in care in our communities and we are pleased to have the opportunity to continue to support Movement is Life in their growth as an independent organization." Movement is Life has named the following distinguished leaders to the inaugural independent Board of Directors: Mary I. O'Connor , MD, Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer, Vori Health; Professor Emerita of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic; Chair , MD, Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer, Vori Health; Professor Emerita of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic; Chair Carla Harwell , MD, Medical Director, University Hospitals Otis Moss Jr. Health Center; Associate Professor of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine; Vice Chair , MD, Medical Director, University Hospitals Otis Moss Jr. Health Center; Associate Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine; Vice Chair Ramon Jimenez , MD; Co-founder and President, American Association of Latino Orthopaedic Surgeons; Treasurer , MD; Co-founder and President, American Association of Latino Orthopaedic Surgeons; Treasurer Charla B. Johnson , DNP, RN-BC; System Director, Nursing Informatics, Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System; Secretary , DNP, RN-BC; System Director, Nursing Informatics, Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System; Secretary Verona Brewton , Director of Minority Initiatives, Zimmer Biomet , Director of Minority Initiatives, Zimmer Biomet Michelle Leak , DEd, MBA, Operations Administrator, Mayo Clinic , DEd, MBA, Operations Administrator, Chad Phipps , Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Zimmer Biomet , Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Zimmer Biomet Rolf Taylor , Founder and Executive Director, Project Advocacy Association management company Smithbucklin, in collaboration with Verona Brewton, Zimmer Biomet's Director of Minority Initiatives, has managed the transition process to ensure seamless execution and continuation of current Movement is Life programs. Millicent Gorham has been appointed as Executive Director to lead the Movement is Life organization. More information is available at www.movementislifecaucus.com. About Zimmer Biomet Zimmer Biomet is a global medical technology leader with a comprehensive portfolio designed to maximize mobility and improve health. We seamlessly transform the patient experience through our innovative products and suite of integrated digital and robotic technologies that leverage data, data analytics and artificial intelligence. With 90+ years of trusted leadership and proven expertise, Zimmer Biomet is positioned to deliver the highest quality solutions to patients and providers. Our legacy continues to come to life today through our progressive culture of evolution and innovation. For more information about our product portfolio, our operations in 25+ countries and sales in 100+ countries or about joining our team, visit www.zimmerbiomet.com or follow Zimmer Biomet on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zimmerbiomet. Media Meredith Weissman 703-346-3127 [email protected] SOURCE Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. EQTEC PLC (AIM:EQT) said it will develop a multi-technology, waste-to-energy project at Southport Hybrid Energy Park in Merseyside with partner Wood. The technology company signed a letter of intent with Wood to collaborate on the design and deployment of a clean, waste-to-hydrogen solution during the second phase of the development of the Southport project. EQTEC recently announced a cooperation agreement with Anaergia for the first phase of the project to develop a waste processing facility, an anaerobic digestion (AD) facility, combined heat and power (CHP) engines and a 2MW battery storage facility. For phase 2 of the project, EQTEC had been working on a plan to add its synthesis gas technology to convert 25,000 tonnes of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) per year into an estimated 2.5-3.0 megawatts electricity (MWe) of clean electricity. EQTEC and Wood have now agreed to co-develop an RDF-to-clean hydrogen solution that would replace or augment the phase 2 RDF-to-electricity solution. The RDF-to-hydrogen solution would combine EQTEC's syngas technology with Wood's VESTA syngas-to-hydrogen technology. The plan is subject to further planning permission, the company noted. With both phase 1 and phase 2 solutions in place, the Southport plant is expected to export to the grid the equivalent of 20% or more of the facilitys energy requirement, EQTEC said. Commenting on the collaboration with Wood, EQTEC COO Jeff Vander Linden said: Our joint efforts at Southport with Wood will not only generate a unique, waste-to-hydrogen solution, but will also introduce the Southport community to a solution for clean, circular, sustainable energy from waste. The future of renewable energy will be a mixed economy with diverse technologies, and even the relatively compact Southport plant will demonstrate that. Such projects are at the cutting edge of innovation in the UK. We look forward to these and future opportunities with Wood to demonstrate successful, sustainable cleantech in practice." In a separate statement, EQTEC said its Deeside WTV subsidiary and Logik Developments Limited have agreed to further extend the date for completing their previously announced share purchase agreement (SPA). The SPA relates to the currently approved 182,000 tonne waste reception plant along with 2MW anaerobic digestion facility and a 9.9 MWe EQTEC Advanced Gasification Technology facility at Deeside in Flintshire. EQTEC said it is in the final stage of talks to appoint engineering company Black and Veatch for the powertrain front end engineering design (FEED) which follows the EQTEC gasification plant. It also said talks for the minimum 15mln sale of the project special purpose vehicle (SPV) are progressing, with a number of parties engaged at due diligence stage. Shares rose 2.94% to 0.53p in early trade. Capital Ltd (LSE: CAPD), the mining services company focused on the African markets, has been boosted by contract news. It has been awarded a three year drilling services contract with AngloGold Ashanti (ASX:AGG) for its Geita gold mine in Tanzania. The deal is expected to generate around US$150mln, making it the second largest award of new business in the company's history. It has also won its first contract with B2Gold Corporation at the Fekola gold mine, as well as a two year extension to a laboratory services contract with Kinross at the Tasiast gold mine in Mauritania. Chairman Jamie Boyton said: "We continue to see very strong demand across the market and today's announcement is testament to that. "We are pleased to maintain our long-standing relationship with AngloGold Ashanti at their Geita Gold Mine with the award of this revised and expanded long-term contract that will extend our relationship to almost 20 years. The full range of drilling services included in the contract is not only a reflection of our excellent operational and safety performance but also highlights our strategy to increase our service offering with long-term mine-site based clients. "We are also pleased to begin drilling services on the Tier-1 Fekola Gold Mine, one of the largest gold mines in Africa with B2Gold, our latest blue-chip customer. " Capital's shares have climbed 5.06% to 83p. 2.55pm: Crimson Tide (AIM:TIDE) in demand after upbeat comments Mobile data specialist Crimson Tide (AIM:TIDE) is riding a wave of positive news. The company behind the mpro5 platform told its annual meeting that the first half of 2022 had started well in terms of monthly recurring revenue. It said: "Our pipeline has never been stronger and this includes, for the first time, new opportunities in the United States. Our partnership with Cisco is developing in both the United Kingdom and the United States and we recently were asked to be a demonstration partner at Cisco Live in Las Vegas. "Our new version of mpro5 for the trades market is on schedule for launch in the first week of September and following testing and potential user group feedback is expected to be a compelling offering. Marketing and radio campaigns have been booked to support the launch." Its shares are up 6.98% at 2.3p. 2.05pm: SDX Energy flares up as merger partner adds cash alternative to deal Shares in oil and gas company SDX Energy PLC (AIM:SDX, OTC:SDXEF) are heading higher as its merger partner sweetened the terms of the proposed deal. Canada's Tenaz Energy had offered 0.075 new shares for each SDX share, but now it has introduced a cash alternative of 11p a share instead. The SDX board has repeated its recommendation of the deal. In the market, SDX shares are up 10.81% to 10.25p. 12.19pm: Hunting on the slide despite forecasting return to profitability Energy services group Hunting PLC (LSE:HTG) has fallen back despite the energy services group forecasting a return to bottom line profitability for the full year. The company said first half trading had been in line with management expectations, with earnings set to be in the range of US$16mln to US$18mln before any adjusting items. The second quarter saw an improvement on the first, which felt the impact of COVID-19 on its operations. It said the third and fourth quarter run rate for earnings was forecast to improve by around 20% on the second quarter result, with trading conditions continuing to show signs of increased momentum for the rest of the year. Chief executive Jim Johnson said: "Results in May 2022 confirm the group's return to bottom-line profitability, with further improvements anticipated during the remainder of the year. Clients continue to steadily increase drill spend, supported by the strong commodity price environment, indicating a further improvement in trading momentum in the second half of 2022, despite the macro-economic and supply chain constraints seen for certain components." But its shares are down 15.9% at 230p. AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: A blossoming order book, an upturn in business in the US and managements forecast of a return to a net profit in 2022 are not proving enough to support shares in Hunting as financial markets continue to fret about a recession and a possible drop in demand for oil. A cash outflow in the first quarter of $38 million is also spooking investors. "Both factors may be enough to persuade some investors to take flight. Patient portfolio builders could decide to tough it out, though, given the energy crisis is already leading to increased drilling activity both in the US and worldwide, especially as Huntings shares are already trading near ten-year lows and the stock trades on a low multiple of both asset values and past peak earnings" 11.16am: React falls after first half loss React Group PLC (LSE:REAT) shares have reacted badly to its latest results. The cleaning and hygience company said half year revenues more than doubled from 2.5mln to 5.1mln. But administrative expenses and cost of sales rose sharply, and it moved from a 74,000 profit to a 92,000 loss. It said the second half had started well, helped by the 8.5mln acquisition of LaddersFree in May. That followed a 5.5mln fundraising in April. Chief executive Shaun Doak said the company was currently trading in line with management expectations and the outlook was positive. He said: "Whilst mindful of the economic outlook, the second half has had a strong start with the acquisition of LaddersFree.. The acquisition is of significant strategic importance, and following successful integration, LaddersFree is performing in line with management expectations. LaddersFree's revenues during the months of May and June (post completion of the acquisition) have been strong and they look set for a record period of performance." But is shares are down 5.95% to 1.01p. 10.20am: Crystal Amber Fund plans 66.6mln return to shareholders Crystal Amber Fund Limited (AIM:CRS) is climbing after it said it would return more to shareholders than originally planned. The activist investor had targeted additional shareholder returns of at least 40mln or 50p a share before 30 June 2022 It paid a 10p a share dividend in February, worth 8.3mln, but then decided that June should be a target but no longer a fixed deadline. Now it says it expects to pay another 10p a share dividend worth 8.3mln by mid-August 2022 and an additional 60p a share (equivalent to 50mln) by the end of September 2022. If this aim is achieved, it will have paid a total of 80p a share or 66.6mln in the first nine months of the year. Its shares have added 5.99% to 115p on the news. 9.36am: Verditek slides after 1.52mln fundraising at a hefty discount Verditek PLC (AIM:VDTK), the solar panel specialist, has seen its shares cloud over after a fundraising. They have fallen 24% to 1.9p after it issued shares at a hefty discount to the prevailing price to raise 1.52mln. But despite the decline, they are still above the subscription price of 1.5p a share. The 101mln subscription shares represent around 22.9% of the enlarged capital. As part of the fundraising, director Gavin Mayhew subscribed for 20,000,000 shares at a cost of 300,000. Chief executive Rob Richards said: "Although raising cash via dilution is never an easy decision to take, I am delighted that over 80% of the raise has been achieved with long-term shareholders, including a director, who continue to believe in the future of the company." 8.49am: MyHealthChecked upbeat as trading beats expectations MyHealthChecked PLC (AIM:MHC) is looking healthy after a positive annual meeting statement. Trading for the first six months of the year has been stronger than expected and is ahead of budget, the home-testing healthcare company said in a statement for its annual meeting. It said: "Earlier this month we were delighted to announce a record year in terms of revenues, with the business not only performing financially, but also in terms of providing outstanding customer service and delivery. We started the new financial year in a much stronger position, and I am pleased to report that we have seen this good momentum continue into the new financial year. "The first half of the year saw us continue to support the deployment of our COVID-19 PCR nasal swab test kit for at-home use for the UK's top two high street pharmacy retailers. At the same time, we prepared for the launch of five new at-home cheek swab DNA wellness tests, all of which were made available to customers earlier this month... "Ahead of this launch, trading in the first six months of the current year has been stronger than expected and is ahead of budget. A more comprehensive trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2022 will be provided in mid-July." Its shares have climbed 7.66% to 1.56p. Elsewhere Tower Resources PLC (AIM:TRP) is up 17.65% at 0.3p. After the market closed on Wednesday, the oil and gas company unveiled a loan worth 4.42bn central African francs (US$7.1mln) from BGFI Bank Group. The funds will be used as partial financing of the NJOM-3 well on the Thali block in Cameroon. The loan should cover around 40% of the roughly US$18mln cost of the well. Meanwhile it also reported an updated resource estimate for the reservoirs connected to the NJOM-1 discovery well, which are a little higher than the estimates contained in an earlier oil reserve report. Jeremy Asher, Tower's Chairman and chief executive, said: "We are delighted to announce this step forward in the financing of the NJOM-3 well, and also in our relationship with BGFI Bank Group. "As we announced last month, the expected cost of the well has increased to approximately US$18 million, and so this facility and the US$4 million or so we have already invested, will still leave us with a balance - but a much smaller and more manageable balance - of the NJOM-3 well to finance." Tower Resources PLC (AIM:TRP) told investors it a signed term sheet with Central African brank BGFI for a 4.42bn Cameroon francs loan, equivalent to around US$7.1mln, as part of its funding arrangements for the upcoming NJOM-3 well on the Thali block, offshore Cameroon. The company said the loan would cover around 40% of the expected well cost (US$18mln) and the remainder is being covered by Towers subsidiary in Cameroon, according to a statement released after Wednesdays close. It will be a five-year loan, at 8% interest per annum though theres a moratorium on interest payments through the first year of the facility. "We are delighted to announce this step forward in the financing of the NJOM-3 well, and also in our relationship with BGFI Bank Group, said chief executive Jeremy Asher. As we announced last month, the expected cost of the well has increased to approximately US$18 million, and so this facility and the US$4 million or so we have already invested, will still leave us with a balance - but a much smaller and more manageable balance - of the NJOM-3 well to finance. We are continuing to look at financing options at the asset level within TRCSA, including with Beluga Energy and its investors, though obviously for smaller amounts than discussed previously. We are also keeping an open mind on other financing alternatives, but whichever path we follow, as we explained in May, we expect the result to be considerably more favourable for shareholders than the farmout structure previously contemplated. We plan to conclude financing discussions in the third quarter of this year, as previously intimated, and then to press on with the well. Tower noted that long lead items for the well programme have already been purchased, the social and environmental impact assessments are in place, site surveys have been done and the licence had been extended to accommodate the well schedule. NJOM-3 aims to appraise reservoirs discovered previously in the NJOM-1 well. East Star Resources Plc (LSE:EST) saw its shares nudge higher in early deals after it published rock chip results from the Dalny licence. The Kazakhstan-focused gold, rare earths and copper explorer spilt the beans on chip assay results from samples taken during geological surveys conducted over the Alatagyl target in April 2022 on the Dalny licence on the Chu-Ili Gold Belt in central Kazakhstan. The company said multiple mineralised quartz veins were identified, co-incident with large gold in soil anomaly. All of the quartz vein samples contained gold mineralisation. Assayed samples on outcropping veins ranged up to 27.4 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold (Au). "The intrusive related Alatagyl target begins at surface and has a very large surface footprint; as such, combined with historical drill results, it has the potential to be a large orebody if the grade and quantity of veins are proven up in drilling, explained Alex Walker, East Stars chief executive officer. With successful drilling results already identifying target areas in the Apmintas licence, including Novoe (63m @ 4.51g/t), Eshkilitau II (14m @ 2.54g/t) and historic results from Southern Shabdar (24.9m @ 2.86g/t), we are very excited to add yet another potential orebody to our growing portfolio," Walker added. Shares in East Star were up 1.35 at 3.85p after half an hour of trading. BEIJING, June 30 -- "Any attempt to contain China with Taiwan, or to help Taiwan reject reunification by force is futile," said Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for Chinas Ministry of National Defense, at a regular press conference on Thursday, when asked to comment on the recent so-called annual national and military security meeting, known as "Monterrey Talks", held by the US and Taiwan. According to reports, the "Monterrey Talks" discussed the US provision of arms and other military assistance to Taiwan, aiming to help Taiwan improve its asymmetric warfare capability. The US also planned to strengthen cooperation with Taiwan through the State Partnership Program (SPP) of the US National Guard. The spokesperson pointed out that the Taiwan question has always been the most important and sensitive core issue in China-US relations. If handled improperly, it may have a subversive impact on bilateral relations. He said that US President Joe Biden has promised clearly to the Chinese side that the United States does not support Taiwan independence. However, "what the US has done runs counter to what it has said. Its support and connivance for the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces are of a bad nature and have a very bad impact," he slammed. The spokesperson urged the US to abide by the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US Joint Communiques, cut off the arms sales to Taiwan and the military collusion with Taiwan, and stop any form of official exchanges and military ties with Taiwan. The spokesperson stressed that any attempt to contain China with Taiwan, or help Taiwan reject reunification by force is futile. China will continue to take firm and effective measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Pan African Resources PLC (AIM:PAF, OTCQX:PAFRY, JSE:PAN, OTCQX:PAFRF) said a definitive feasibility study (DFS) on the Mogale Gold Proprietary Ltd tailings storage facilities (TSFs) demonstrated the project's potential. Re-mining of the Mogale TSFs is expected to add about 50,000 ounces a year of production, over its 13-year mine life - equivalent to a 25% increase in Pan Africans current output. Pan African has an excellent track record of successfully commissioning and operating surface tailings retreatment operations, as evidenced by our BTRP, ETRP and Elikhulu operations, said chief executive Cobus Loots. As originally anticipated, the Mogale Gold DFS has demonstrated a compelling project, both operationally and financially. The TSFs forms part of the Mintails Mining SA (Proprietary) Ltd assets in South Africa. Mintails has the potential to further improve the groups overall AISC [all in sustaining cost], while increased annual production will move Pan African further up the ranks of mid-tier gold producers, said Loots. The DFS envisages an AISC of about US$914 an ounce over the initial 13-year-mine life and a long-term gold price of US$1,750 an ounce. It also estimated a pretax net present value for the project of about US$64.9mln and an internal rate of return of 20.1%. Construction is estimated to cost about US$161.3mln with construction capital payback estimated within 3.5 years, post commissioning. Production is anticipated to begin within 18-24 months of the start of construction. Pan African signed a conditional agreement in November 2020 to buy Mogale Gold and Mintails SA Soweto Cluster Proprietary Ltd, both owned by Mintails Mining, which was placed into provisional liquidation in 2018. READ: Pan African Resources rises as it acquires tailings retreatment projects in South Africa Pan African was given until August 2022 to complete a fatal flaw analysis, prefeasibility study and DFS, which are all now completed. Further technical work is in progress, it said. WTI $109.78 -$1.98 (August), Brent $116.26 -$1.72 (August), Diff -$6.48 +26c. USNG $6.50 -5c (July), UKNG 250.0p +10p (August), TTF 143.50 +11.645 (August) Oil price The market yesterday tried to get to grips with the release of the backlog of EIA inventory stats, I will assess it in more detail tomorrow as Im back to London today to meet with a couple of favourite companies. The refiners with a still big demand from product markets were flat out, given the there was still plenty of crude from the SPR it was a heaven sent opportunity to fill the product pipeline ahead of the Independence Day weekend. The Opec+ Ministerial meeting starts later today, I dont expect anything but continuing with the new policy of releasing c. 640/- b/d more but equally dont think they will get anywhere near this amount. Scirocco Energy Scirocco has announced that the Company received the requisite majority approval from shareholders at the General Meeting held today in respect of the proposed divestment of its interest in the Ruvuma Asset to Wentworth Resources. As a result, the two parties will seek to obtain the requisite final government and partner approvals to complete the transaction and Scirocco will provide updates on progress towards completion. The results of the shareholder vote shown in the table below have been confirmed by a poll of votes cast carried out by the Companys independent registrar present at the meeting. Total Votes ResolutionFor % Against % Withheld Total Cast 1 183,663,473 63.44% 105,856,205 36.56% 1,987,829 289,519,678 Commenting on the result of the vote, Alastair Ferguson, Sciroccos Chairman said: We are pleased that this transaction has been approved by the Companys shareholders. Completion of this deal will enable the Company to accelerate its stated growth strategy within the energy transition sector by reinvesting the firm and contingent proceeds of the transaction into the compelling opportunity pipeline that we have been developing in parallel with this sales process. Critically, approval of the deal avoids the material dilutionary impact that would have been associated with the need to fund the impending work programme on the project. We fully acknowledge that not all shareholders view this deal through the same lens as the Board and the significant majority of those shareholders who voted. We intend to engage over the coming months with all our shareholders to reemphasise the significant benefits this transaction brings in transforming Sciroccos outlook and enabling us to progress down its chosen strategic path with confidence and certainty. The key point is that this was the best deal available and the most value accretive/least dilutive option for the Company and this view has been supported by 2/3 of the votes cast. The Board is obviously aware that the deal was not supported by all shareholders, and some LTHs had other views about what the asset might be worth and the risks to realise the potential of the asset (and having been invested for so long wanted to see it through to the end come what may). But the Board has always made it clear that its strategic vision is clear and based around the opportunities within renewable energy and circular economy sectors, and the intention to build long-term value around cash generative assets within these sectors. The Board have also said that it would like to engage with all the shareholders to outline its growth strategy, which can now be accelerated with the proceeds of this deal.(when it completes) Expect Scirocco to focus on building long-term value without the cloud of uncertainty that has been hanging over the company for last 2 years as a result of the funding overhang and challenges of being a small company with exposure to an interesting but challenging development project. Angus Energy Angus has announced its interim accounts for the six months ended 31 March 2022 as set out below. Operational Highlights Saltfleetby On 24 May 2022, the Company executed a share purchase agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of the Companys current joint venture partner in the Saltfleetby Project (the Project), Saltfleetby Energy Limited, which owns a 49% working interest in the Project thereby giving Angus Energy a 100% interest in the Project. With all equipment necessary to export gas now on site, the process has been handed over to commissioning specialists. With the leak testing complete, commissioning is expected to take between one and two weeks with a target date for first gas export (ie sales) between the 7th and 12th July. Angus looks forward to providing updates via Twitter, Linked-In and RNS Reach on detailed progress through the remainder of the commissioning sequence. Geothermal The Company continues to progress its ambitions of becoming a low-cost UK producer of baseload geothermal power. The Company previously completed a desk top based study which identified an area with the highest heat flow in SW England. In July 2021 the company acquired radiometric data over the area of interest. Austinbridgeporth Limited, in conjunction with Imperial College successfully carried out a land gravity and radiometrics survey over a 35km2 area of interest. The gravity data was recorded at 200m intervals along the survey lines with spacing of 250m and a total of circa 700 stations were acquired. The newly acquired data has an increased coverage of data points compared to available data and therefore a more accurate representation of the subsurface. On the back of these results the company has entered discussions with five landowners progressed to negotiating draft heads of terms to enter into land leases. Brockham The application to the Environment Agency for permission to re-inject formation water to maintain pressure in that reservoir to gain maximum hydrocarbon recovery was issued on 02 March 2022. Subsequently the Company has recommenced oil production and water reinjection in the Portland reservoir. Current average rates of production from the BRX2-Y well are 50 barrels of oil per day (net 40 bopd to Angus) with an approximately equal amount of formation water produced and reinjected daily into BRX3. Plans for a reperforation of the BRX4-Z well in the Portland reservoir, which would also involve abandonment of the Kimmeridge layer in that well, for which planning permission was recently obtained, are being discussed with our other regulators. Balcombe Despite the West Sussex County Council Planning Officers decision to recommend approval of the Companys application for a one year extended well test at the Companys oilfield site at Balcombe the West Sussex County Councils Planning Committee has rejected the Companys planning application for an Extended Well Test. Angus strongly disagrees with their opinion and an application to appeal was submitted in October 2021. Amongst other things, the appeal references the local and national planning policies referred to by the Planning Committee and why both Angus and the Planning Officer believe the development is acceptable when it is considered against the development plan and any relevant material considerations. In summary the principle of the development has been previously accepted, the site selection represents the best environmental option and is safeguarded, energy Policy states that the domestic oil and gas industry has a critical role in maintaining the countrys energy security and is a major contributor to our economy and minerals are given great weight with the extraction of hydrocarbons seen as central to the UK energy policy in the immediate and long-term future. In light of the above and the current energy crisis we find ourselves in, the Angus management team are confident that the appeal will be overturned. Lidsey The Company completed the reprocessing and reinterpreting of the Lidsey seismic data. One of the conclusions of the work is that previous seismic mapping both underestimated the aerial extent of the reservoir and most importantly its shape. The Company therefore acquired a new line of seismic data and reprocess the existing seismic lines. The Companys seismic reinterpretation of the Lidsey field was completed and, has been subject to rigorous third party verification. The new mapping shows there to be a significant structure not dissimilar in area to the original structure considered by the previous Competent Persons Report, which continues to support a commercially significant estimate of oil in place. However, the interpretation does allow Angus to narrow its field of focus in target selection and explore low-cost options for remediation of the fields productivity centre around the reuse, workover or side-tracking of the existing wells and these will be considered with our partners in the next stage of the work. Financial Highlights The Group recorded a loss of 31.750m for the period, which included an unrealized loss of 30.459m in relation to the derivative instrument, resulting in an adjusted loss of 1.291m (2020: 1.479m). As per note 3(e) in the Audited Annual Accounts to 30 September 2021, the Group uses derivative financial instrument, to hedge its commodity price risk, such as commodity swap contracts. The Group has elected not to apply the hedge accounting on this derivative. Derivative financial instruments are recognized at fair value on the date on which the contract is entered into and subsequently measured at fair value. Derivatives are carried as financial assets when the fair value is greater than its initial measurement and financial liabilities when fair value is negative. Any gains or losses arising from the changes in fair value of the derivatives are recognised in the statement of profit and loss and other comprehensive income, as recorded in this period and further detailed in note 11 below. On 20 October 2021, and further to the RNS of 20 April 2020, detailing the terms of a 1.4m Convertible Loan Note repayable on 17 April 2022, the Company announced that the holder, Knowe Properties Limited, had agreed to extend the final mandatory repayment date by a further 12 months until 17 April 2023. The Note, which was otherwise convertible at 1p per ordinary share from 17 February 2022, will now only be convertible at the earliest of 17 July 2022. Additionally, the Company retains the right to repay the Note at any time with the additional grant of warrants at 1.3p per share as detailed in the RNS of 20 April 2020. All other terms of the Note remain the same. In consideration for this extension the Company issued to the Noteholder 11,200,000 ordinary shares (the Shares) in the Company for nil consideration. On 3 December 2021, the Company raised gross proceeds of 750,000 through the placing of 115,384,611 Ordinary Shares to certain institutional and other investors at a price of 0.65 pence per share. On 6 January 2022, the Company announced that it was undertaking a review of the strategic options. These options include, but were not limited to, a sale of the Company which will be conducted under the framework of a formal sale process in accordance with the Takeover Code On 4 February 2022, the Company raised gross proceeds of 1,400,000 through the placing of 175,000,000 Ordinary Shares to certain institutional and other investors at a price of 0.8 pence per share. On 9 March 2022, and further to the announcement of 9 June 2021, the Company announced that it had reached a settlement agreement with a financial services provider (not being the Companys broker or Nomad) with whom it has been in dispute relating to the Saltfleetby Loan Facility. As part of this settlement agreement the Company issued 39,200,000 ordinary shares. On 8 April 2022, the Company announced that whilst it will continue its strategic review at the asset level only, it has ended the formal sale process of the Company which it had commenced previously in accordance with Rules 2.4 and 2.6 of the Takeover Code. Accordingly, the Company is no longer in an offer period as defined by the Takeover Code. On 11 April 2022, the Company raised gross proceeds of 675,000 through the placing of 61,363,634 Ordinary Shares to certain institutional and other investors at a price of 1.1 pence per share. On 24 May 2022, the Company announce that it has executed a share purchase agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of the Companys current joint venture partner in the Saltfleetby Project, Saltfleetby Energy Limited, which owns a 49% working interest in the Project thereby giving Angus Energy a 100% interest in the Project. To fund the Acquisition and other working capital requirements, the Company had concurrently arranged a direct subscription with affiliates of Aleph International Holdings (UK) Limited pursuant to which Aleph has subscribed for a total of 546,000,000 Ordinary Shares in the Company at a price of 1.0989011 pence, being 6,000,000 (Direct Subscription) split into an initial unconditional tranche of 3,000,000 and a second tranche of 3,000,000 conditional on Shareholder approval. Summary of the Acquisition The Company has executed a share purchase agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of the Target from Forum Energy Services Limited. The total effective consideration payable pursuant to the SPA is the sum of 15,452,000, which comprises: 250,000 to be paid in cash at Completion; the issue of 91 million Ordinary Shares at 1.0989011 pence per share at Completion; the issue and allotment of the 546,000,000 Ordinary Shares at a price of 1.2 pence per Ordinary Share at Completion; and up to 6,250,000 in deferred consideration to be paid in instalments from net cash payments to Angus Energy from the Project through to 31 March 2025 (and subject to an upward or downward net cash adjustment) as and when those payments would have been available to SEL under the Companys Senior Debt Facility of May 2021. Following completion of the Acquisition, the Group now owns a 100% working interest in, and will continue to be the operator of, the Saltfleetby Licence. As at 31 March 2022, Angus Energy recognised 100% of the liabilities of the Debt Facility and Derivative Liability relating to the Saltfleetby Field, thereby reporting liabilities of 12 million owed under the Debt Facility and a Derivative Liability of 85.493 million. Angus Energy recognised a debtor of 6.372 million and 41.892 million in respect of these last two amounts, thereby accounting for SELs 49% interest. Following completion of the Acquisition, Angus Energy will recognise 100% of the Project revenues, costs and liabilities with no farmee interest represented. As at 31 March 2022 the Group had cash of 1,441,340. Outlook With the Saltfleetby project shortly to be flowing gas, we look forward to steady production before the drilling on the SF7 Sidetrack. As we continue to work hard to achieve this, we remain focused on delivering value from all the assets in our portfolio, which includes our Geothermal project. Together with our funding partners we are well placed to take the Company forward and achieve our objectives. Lord Clanwilliam Non-Executive Chairman Nothing much to add to the detailed financials out today, its all about Saltfleetby and imminent first gas which is most important. Victoria Oil & Gas Victoria Oil & Gas has provided the following update in relation to its Annual Report and Accounts and trading position. Annual Report and Accounts VOG announces that its Annual Report and Accounts to 31 December 2021 will not be published in advance of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) being held today at 11.00 a.m. given the financial uncertainty that the Company is in as a result of the Partial Final Award to RSM Production Corporation (RSM) by the ICC, as announced on 4 April 2022. This resulted in the temporary suspension of the Companys shares. The Company continues its discussions with RSM with a view to agreeing a post award settlement that would enable resolution of the financial uncertainty facing the Company, the audit to be finalised, the Annual Report posted to shareholders and the suspension of shares to be lifted. Included in these ongoing discussions is the proposed procedure for resolution of costs and attorneys fees. Trading Update Revenue Gaz du Cameroun S.A.s (GDC) operation in Douala, Cameroon has continued to deliver natural gas to over 30 industrial customers, supplying gas safely and continuously throughout 2021 and the year to date. Unaudited attributable revenue for calendar year 2021 was US$14.5 million (2020: U$13.2 million) representing an increase of 10% year on year. Unaudited revenue to 31 May 2022 was US$6.3million (2021 for the same period: US$6.2 million). Cash and Cash Equivalents Unaudited cash and cash equivalents at 31 December 2021 was US$2.1 million (31 December 2020: U$1.8 million). Cash as at 1 June 2022 was US$0.98 million (1 June 2021: US$2.5 million). Unaudited net debt as at 31 December 2021 was US$15.9 million (31 December 2020: US$12.8 million). Q2 2022 Operational Update will be released to the market in due course. With the fall-out from the RSM deal still under discussion it is inevitable that this is the situation, until some sort of deal is trashed out VOG remains in limbo. Orcadian Energy Orcadian has announced its intention to raise gross proceeds of approximately 1 million by means of a placing of new Ordinary Shares to certain institutional and other investors at a price of 35 pence per share. The Placing Price represents a discount of approximately 10.3 per cent. to the Closing Price of 39 pence per Ordinary Share on 29 June 2022, being the latest practicable business day prior to the publication of this Announcement. The Placing is to be conducted by way of an accelerated bookbuild process which will commence immediately following this Announcement and will be subject to the terms and conditions set out in Appendix II to this Announcement. Placing Summary Placing to raise approximately 1m (before expenses) through the issue of approximately 2,858,000 Placing Shares at the Placing Price. Placing to be conducted via an accelerated bookbuild process launching today. The Placing Shares, assuming full take-up of the Placing, will represent approximately 4.2 per cent. of the Enlarged Issued Share Capital. The net proceeds of the Placing will be applied to deliver the Companys work programme as further detailed below, and for working capital purposes. The Placing The Company intends to issue approximately 2,858,000 Placing Shares, to raise gross proceeds of approximately 1m, to participants in the Placing. The Placing Shares are expected to be admitted to trading on AIM on or around 6 July 2022. W H Ireland Limited and Shore Capital are acting as joint bookrunners in connection with the Placing. The Placing Shares are being offered by way of an accelerated bookbuild, which will be launched immediately following this Announcement, in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in Appendix II to this Announcement. Reasons for the Placing and Use of Proceeds The Company is undertaking the Placing to progress its corporate and operational strategy and the net proceeds will therefore be applied towards: On its Pilot Licence by funding progress towards the Field Development Plan; Licence Fees; and For general working capital purposes. Admission to trading Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for admission of the Placing Shares to trading on AIM. It is expected that admission will become effective and dealings in the Placing Shares commence at 8.00 a.m. on or around 6 July 2022. The Placing is not being underwritten and the Placing is not conditional on a minimum amount being raised. Orcadian are raising a modest 1m at 35p, a 10.3% discount just under a year since it came to the market at 40p. Since then much has happened and the company looks to be in a strong position, very much what you might expect for the high quality, experienced management team that it is. Clearly this is just to tide them over so to speak as they move towards the FDP on Pilot where a farm-out process is underway. The nature of any deal that they do will depend on the size of the next funding requirement for what is a low carbon development of the Pilot oilfield. SDX Energy On 25 May 2022, the boards of directors of Tenaz and SDX announced that they had reached agreement on the terms of a recommended share-for-share combination between Tenaz and SDX whereby each Scheme Shareholder will be entitled to receive 0.075 New Tenaz Shares for each 1 SDX Share. The Combination is to be implemented by means of a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement between SDX and the Scheme Shareholders under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006, with the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of SDX being acquired by Tenaz. Tenaz is today pleased to announce the introduction of a Cash Alternative that is to be made available under the terms of the Combination, through which SDX Shareholders can elect to receive cash instead of some or all of the New Tenaz Shares to which they would otherwise be entitled under the Combination. Unless otherwise defined or unless context so requires, capitalised terms used but not defined in this announcement have the meanings given to them in the Announcement. 2. The Cash Alternative SDX Shareholders may elect to receive cash instead of some or all of the New Tenaz Shares to which they would otherwise be entitled to under the Combination. Any SDX Shareholder who validly elects to only receive cash for all of their SDX Shares will receive 11 pence in cash for each SDX Share for which a valid election has been made and no New Tenaz Shares. However, SDX Shareholders may also elect to receive New Tenaz Shares in lieu of part or all of the cash consideration which they would otherwise be entitled to receive pursuant to the Cash Alternative using the following exchange ratio: for each SDX Share 0.075 New Tenaz Shares The following table shows, for illustrative purposes only, and on the bases and assumptions set out in the notes below, the financial effects of the Combination on capital value for a holder of 1,000 SDX Shares if the Scheme becomes Effective. The table shows the financial effects for both a holder who receives New Tenaz Shares in accordance with the Exchange Ratio, and a holder who makes an election for the Cash Alternative (i.e. is entitled to receive 11 pence in cash for each SDX Share held) Column (A) compares the market value of SDX Shares on 24 May 2022 (being the last Business Day prior to the commencement of the Offer Period) with the market value of Tenaz Shares as at the same date. Column (B) compares the market value of SDX Shares on the last practicable date prior to the date of this announcement with the market value of Tenaz Shares as at the same date. So, shareholders in SDX at least dont have to take the Tenaz paper and they can now take cash or a mixture of cash and paper. It may look like the devil or deep blue sea option but given how much SDX has been offered around in recent months shareholders should take the money and run. Chaos at Heathrow airport continues, as a further 30 flights were cancelled from Thursday mornings schedule due to passenger numbers exceeding the airports capacity. Passengers affected by the cancellations are expected to be rebooked onto another flight outside of peak times, meaning it may still be possible that they can fly out today. Many passengers of British Airways, which holds more than half of the airline slots at the London airport, complained about cancellations on social media. "We are expecting higher passenger numbers in today's morning peak than the airport currently has capacity to serve, and so to keep everyone safe we have asked airlines to remove 30 flights from the morning peak for today only, said a Heathrow spokesperson. Customers who were affected by the cancellations should have been contacted by their airline in advance, but some passengers did not find out until they arrived at the UKs largest airport. "We apologise for the impact this has on travel plans, the Heathrow spokesperson added, quoted in Sky News. "We are working hard to ensure everyone has a smooth journey through Heathrow this summer, and the most important thing is to make sure that all service providers at the airport have enough resources to meet demand." Despite claims from the airport that it is working hard to ensure everyone has a smooth journey, many passengers have complained at the last minute cancellations and lack of customer service. Travel writer and broadcaster Andy Mossack tweeted that there was "total chaos" and "zero customer service" at the airport on Thursday morning. Total chaos at Heathrow this morning. BA flights cancelled and zero customer service! pic.twitter.com/K3hRtiviYJ andy mossack (@andymossy) June 30, 2022 Another customer, according to the BBC, queued for four hours only to find out his flight had been cancelled at the check-in desk without prior notification, with many others complaining about poor customer service and a lack of help when trying to rebook their flights. Affected airlines include British Airways, owned by International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG), Virgin Atlantic, Air France, American Airlines and many more. Airports across Europe are also struggling to manage staff shortages, according to John Strickland, director at JLS Consulting. The manpower shortage is a complex and diverse problem certainly not confined to UK airports and airlines. We are seeing significant problems across the European sector including The Netherlands, Germany, Ireland and Scandinavia to name just a few. Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, for example, has had pilots offer to assist with security checks in order to speed up the service. There is no quick fix and advance cancellations of some services is the less-than-ideal short-term solution. Sadly, that inconveniences customers and costs airlines precious peak season revenue too. 1. FTSE 100 down almost 150 points Britain's top share index finished the last day of the month firmly lower, down 143.04 points, or 1.96%, at 7,169.28. Read more 2. Tesco goes to battle with Heinz The fall-out between Tesco and Kraft Heinz is another example of the supermarket giants often fraught relationship with its suppliers. Read more 3. Royal Mail, BT and others in strike action this year Royal Mail managers today voted heavily in favour of industrial action over pay while BT Group awaited the verdict of a strike ballot Read more 4. Hydrogen lorries to be mass-produced in Essex According to Sky News, Tevva added a hydrogen fuel cell system to its electric battery heavy goods vehicle design, with its 7.5-tonne trucks now able to drive for up 310 miles. Read more 5. UK power station operator Uniper requires German govt bail-out Unip[er warned that underlying profits (EBIT) were likely to be significantly below previous years as it is getting just 40% of the gas ordered from Russias Gazprom in the past fortnight. Read more Let's take a look ahead at some of tomorrow's news Economic updates dominate tomorrow, with Consumer Credit and Mortgage Approvals on the agenda... Read more American Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:ARR)s Chris Gibbs speaks with Proactives Andrew Scott about research funding for the processing and refining of rare earths. Gibbs explains ARRs involvement in a US consortium team, which has received US$4 million (AU$A5.5 million) in funding to focus on rare earth processing and refining technology. The funding comes on the back of news earlier this week of outstanding drill results from the Halleck Creek Rare Earth Project in Wyoming, USA. The company drilled its first nine holes for 917 metres and collected 650 core samples with results demonstrating the potential for Halleck Creek to be one of the largest rare earths deposits in North America. Plans are now underway for ARR to update the resource estimate, with the company believing its existing exploration target is significantly underestimated. Gibbs highlighted the fact that ore from Halleck Creek and its La Paz project (from which assays are currently due) will be provided to researchers to develop scalable, bio-based separation and purification of Rare Earths elements. An impression of the production facility at Muga Potash Project. Highfield Resources Ltd (ASX:HFR) is trading higher after reaching a pivotal point at its flagship Muga Potash Mine in Spain with initial construction activities underway. Construction started after the Townhall of Undues de Lerda in Aragon issued a licence for the construction of the mine gate and the declines. Shares are higher in response to the news, trading at A$0.90, an increase of 8.43% on the previous close and the company's market cap is approximately A$324.34 million. The company has signed a construction contract with Acciona Construccion S.A. for these initial works which cover: fencing of the plot; installation of the above-ground construction staff facilities; clearing and stockpiling of topsoil; excavation of the mine entrance; formation of embankments; and stabilisation of the slopes with bolts and gunite (dry gun shotcrete). Pivotal point Highfield CEO Ignacio Salazar said: We start construction at Muga with a great sense of responsibility towards our shareholders, our staff and collaborators, the banks, the community, the authorities and all stakeholders who have helped us to get to this pivotal point. We are receiving a significant endorsement from leading international banks in the financing process in this time of extreme geopolitical instability around potash supply, especially in Europe. We are working closely with the authorities and especially Navarra and Sanguesa to finalise the licensing there and will be reporting back to the market as we progress through construction. About Muga Project Highfields flagship Muga Project in Spain is forecast to be one of the highest margin potash mines in the world. The Muga project contains a measured and indicated mineral resource of 237.3 million tonnes at 12% potassium oxide. The company is targeting the relatively shallow sylvinite beds in the Muga Project area that cover about 46 square kilometres in the provinces of Navarra and Aragon. Blue Star Helium Ltd (ASX:BNL, OTC:BSNLF) has bolstered its US exploration and development expertise with the appointment of Peter Kondrat as chief operating officer, to begin immediately from his home base in Colorado. Kondrat is described as a seasoned helium executive with more than 25 years experience in the development of oil, natural gas and helium. His areas of expertise include identification, economic analysis and exploitation of new and additional helium from drilling, workover, re-completion, prospect development and deeper play testing. Kondrat was most recently president and chief operating officer of US helium exploration and production business, Tacitus LLC, which he built into a fully-fledged helium business in the Tocito Dome Field of New Mexico and sold on to the Navajo Transitional Energy Company in October 2021. Proven operator with significant expertise I have known Peter for some time, and I have observed him advance Tacitus from new play discovery through to production and eventual industry sale, Blue Star Helium managing director and CEO Trent Spry said. He is a proven operator with significant expertise in advancing all aspects of helium operations. We are very pleased to have him joining the Blue Star team and assisting in our continued exploration success and the drive towards successful development and production activities. Kondrat will manage Blue Stars on-the-ground efforts in the US from his base in Colorado. He will be responsible for deployment of all aspects of exploration, development and production activities in Las Animas, Colorado. I am excited to join the Blue Star team as it develops one of the leading helium projects in North America, Kondrat said. I am truly impressed with the prospect portfolio and acreage that Blue Star has assembled and how the business has been able to move these assets forward with multiple helium discoveries. We have an aggressive work program ahead with significant well drilling and implementation of the plan of development and I look forward to driving the companys activities towards targeted high-margin helium developments while continuing its geologic success and resource growth. Creso Pharma Ltd (ASX:CPH, OTCQB:COPHF) has secured a non-binding, non-exclusive Heads of Agreement (HoA) with leading pharma and healthcare products company, China Chemical & Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., which will introduce Sierra Sage Herbs LLC products to the Taiwanese animal healthcare market. The move gives Creso access to the Taiwanese petcare market, where spend on pet care-related products grew from US$283.2 million to US$402.9 million in 2019 alone. A move into Taiwan highlights Cresos focus on international growth, giving it an established in-country partner to potentially drive sales growth. An important relationship China Chemical & Pharmaceutical Co (CCPC) is a publicly-listed company with a market capitalisation of ~A$321 million. Founded in 1952, it is dedicated to innovation, research and development, and manufacturing of pharmaceutical and healthcare products for use in humans and animals. It has its own in-house sales team directly servicing veterinary clinics with animal medications throughout Taiwan. CCPC will select products from the Sierra Sage Herbs (SSH) range with initial focus on SSHs plant-based Animal First Aid. There is also scope for Creso and CCPC to expand the range of current and future products for collaboration. Creso Pharma and CCPC are working towards establishing a Collaborative Agreement on or before August 31, 2022. There is a two-pronged focus under the HoA. 1. Commercialise select products from Creso Pharmas target acquisition company SSH's pet care product range in the Taiwanese market. The initial focus will be on SSHs Animal First Aid product. 2. Explore further commercialisation options for current and future innovative products. Product interest extends to Animal Pain Relief, Animal Castile Wash, Bugs Be Gone and potential future innovative products from SSH/Creso Pharma's product development pipeline. Creso Pharma CEO and managing director William Lay said of the agreement: CCPC is one of Taiwans leading healthcare companies. Their products are widely used in hospitals and households throughout Taiwan, which has led to them becoming a trusted provider. "Were delighted to collaborate with such a great partner on developing a brand new market for our animal care products. We view this development as a testament to the broader opportunity we see for the Green Goo range in other international markets. Sierra and CCP look forward to collaborating Sierra Sage Herbs CEO and co-founder Jodi Scott said: Pet parents love our Green Goo products because they are all-natural, plant-based and highly effective. Were delighted with the feedback we have received from product evaluations in Taiwan and are grateful for the great work done by CCPC to get us to this stage. CCPC's Animal Health Division director Jason Wang said: We are delighted to reach this milestone in our collaboration with Creso Pharma. The all-natural Green Goo product range is right on trend with expectations from pet owners in Taiwan and we are committed to maximising the potential of these great products. Buru Energy Ltd (ASX:BRU) is expecting record revenue from its share of the pending sale of an Ungani oil cargo, with 75,000 barrels gross due to be lifted from Wyndham Port in Western Australia by crude tanker Aris today. BP Singapore Pte Ltd through a marketing agreement has purchased the crude free on board (FOB) at Wyndham to be delivered to crude oil refineries in Southeast Asia. The FOB price is based on the average dated Brent Crude Oil price, which is trading at a nine-year high following supply constraints caused in part by Russias invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions. Burus 50% revenue share of this latest crude lifting is estimated at A$5.5 million, a marked increase of A$1 million over the value of Burus previous largest lifting earlier this year in February and record revenue from a lifting. Rafael and Battmin operations Rafael Buru successfully conducted a flow test of the Rafael 1 gas condensate discovery earlier this year. As part of its systematic appraisal of the discovery, the company is planning to complete a 3D seismic survey over the structure, followed by a further flow test of the Rafael 1 well, but has been informed by its partner Origin Energy that additional time will be required for their internal approvals. This delay may lead to the deferment of the seismic survey until the dry season operational window next year. Buru is working with Origin to resolve these issues and will provide updates as they become available. Battmin The Battmin Canning Basin project is operated by Sipa Resources in a 50:50 joint venture (JV). The JV is preparing to drill four, 500-metre diamond holes to test for geophysical and structural targets prospective for lead-zinc mineralisation along the Barbwire Terrace. The access tracks and drill pads for the program have been prepared with the support of local traditional owner groups and the drill rig is expected to mobilise to site in July with an estimated four-week completion time for the four-hole program. Providence Resources PLC (AIM:PVR, OTC:PVDRF) executive chair James Menton, in todays annual results statement, said the Barryroe project can have a significant impact on Irelands security of energy supply. It comes as the timeline for Barryroe has presently stalled, with the company awaiting on the Irish government to approve an extension for the offshore licence that is host to the project. "Successful optimisation of the Barryroe Field presents a unique opportunity to develop a critically important indigenous source of oil and gas, to substitute part of the imports that will be needed to meet ongoing demand during the energy transition, Menton said. The Barryroe Field has the potential to create significant employment opportunities and provide strategic and fiscal value to the Irish economy, at no cost to the Irish taxpayer. The key barrier to progressing the project is the delay in Ministerial consent for the Lease Undertaking, to permit us to drill an appraisal well next year. Once we have the results of this appraisal well, we are confident that our development plans can be progressed rapidly and Barryroe can have a significant impact on Ireland's security of energy supply over the next two decades. It's an opportunity we cannot afford to squander as, in any scenario to 2050, there is still some level of demand for oil and gas through the duration of the energy transition to Net Zero. In its results statement, for the twelve months ended December 31 2021, the exploration company meanwhile reported a 2.369mln operating loss for the period, whilst on-paper an upward revision to the fair value of share warrants resulted in a 3.442mln profit for the year. Providence ended December with 1.923mln of cash and equivalents, and it said it had no bank or bond debt at that time. During the financial, a new management team was assembled, the strategy for Barryroe was reviewed alongside venture partners, and plans to drill the appraisal well were confirmed. Singapore-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital has entered liquidation, as the crypto bloodbath continues. Three Arrows, sometimes known as 3AC, was issued a default notice on Monday by cryptocurrency broker Voyager Digital, after failing to repay a loan of 15,250 bitcoin (roughly US$324mln) and stablecoin USDC worth US$350mln. 3AC's liquidation was also ordered by a British Virgin Islands court the same day. With bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, having plunged around 37% in June to around US$20,000 from a November peak of US$69,000, the downturn in crypto saw Three Arrows Capital follow Terraform Labs and Celsius into liquidation. Consultancy firm Teneo has been appointed as liquidators of the fund co-founded by former Credit Suisse traders Zhu Su and Kyle Davies ten years ago. In addition to US-based crypto lender BlockFi and Genesis, several creditors have already begun liquidating Three Arrows Capital positions. The first signs that not all was well at Three Arrows emerged several weeks ago, when Zhu tweeted it was in the process of communicating with relevant parties" and fully committed to finding a solution, without elaborating on any particular issue. Later, the company acknowledged heavy losses. Over US$3bn worth of cryptocurrencies were under management and a bailout was being explored, with creditors, including BitMEX, also putting pressure on them. PlantX Life said the all-day celebration included giveaways, free samples, live music, and a barbecue sponsored by plant-based food company, Future Farm PlantX Life Inc. (CSE:VEGA) announced that it has recently marked the one-year anniversary of its Squamish brick-and-mortar location with an all-day celebration, including giveaways, free samples, live music, and a barbecue sponsored by plant-based food company, Future Farm. The provider of plant-based products said as part of the one-year anniversary celebration, the company invited local vegan companies (Sea Cider, Solfeggio, and Oat of the Ordinary) to hand out samples and discuss their product lines. The event was a major success resulting in substantially increased business for our Squamish location on that date, PlantX Life founder Sean Dollinger said in a statement. With so many different verticals and revenue streams, this location is an integral part of the success we've seen over the first year, Dollinger added. PlantX noted that complimentary vegan hot dogs and hamburgers were provided to all attendees courtesy of Future Farm. Based in Vancouver, PlantX Life is the digital face of the plant-based community and its platform is the one-stop shop for everything plant-based. Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com Madrid, June 30 : The 2022 Summit of the NATO opened in Madrid amid mounting criticism of the military alliance's aggressive security policy and lingering conflicts among its members. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a press conference on Wednesday afternoon that the leaders had decided to "transform and strengthen" the alliance at a "pivotal time for our security". The decisions include strengthening NATO's forward defenses, enhancing the bloc's battlegroups on its eastern flank and increasing the number of high readiness forces to more than 300,000, the NATO chief said, adding that the leaders had also agreed on a "comprehensive assistance package" for Ukraine. At Wednesday's meeting, NATO invited Sweden and Finland to join the alliance, following Turkey's decision to lift a veto on the two countries' membership applications a day before, Xinhua news agency reported. "In any accession to the alliance, it is of vital importance that the legitimate security concerns of all allies are properly addressed," NATO leaders said in a joint declaration. Turkey had initially been blocking the Nordic states' membership bids citing their ties with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Syria's Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey labels as terrorist groups. But Turkey changed its position on Tuesday after a meeting of the leaders from the three countries together with Stoltenberg. Despite Turkey's green light, the NATO chief acknowledged on Tuesday a lingering discord, saying "there will still be conflicts within the defense alliance". With the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the increasingly tougher western sanctions on Russia, strains among NATO allies have also intensified as the prices of energy and other essential commodities continue to soar, analysts have said. The 30 NATO leaders on Wednesday also approved the military bloc's new strategic concept, which outlines its priorities and core tasks in the next decade. The document calls Russia the "most significant and direct threat" to NATO's security. Analysts say while NATO is portraying other countries as its imaginary adversaries, it is NATO itself that has been expanding its influence at the expense of other countries' security and inciting bloc confrontation with an outdated Cold War mentality. Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, noted on Tuesday that NATO's five eastward expansions after the Cold War have not only failed to make Europe securer, but also sowed the seed of conflict. "The Cold War ended a long time ago. It is necessary for NATO to reconsider its own positioning and its responsibilities, completely abandon the Cold War mentality that is based on bloc confrontation, and strive to build a balanced, effective, and sustainable European security framework in line with the principle of indivisible security," he said. Before this week's NATO summit, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Madrid on Sunday to call for peace and protest against the alliance, which they see as a threat to peace. Tunis, June 30 : Tunisia's Maritime Guard rescued 108 illegal migrants and recovered five bodies off the country's coast, Tunisia's National Guard said. "The rescue operation took place late Tuesday off the country's central-eastern coast," National Guard spokesman Houcemeddine Jbabli said in a statement on Wednesday. The rescued migrants, who were sailing to the Italian coasts, included 104 African migrants, the statement added. More than 2,000 Tunisian illegal migrants have managed to reach the Italian coasts in the first five months of this year, according to the latest figures released by the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights. Thousands of illegal migrants attempt to cross the Mediterranean annually as Tunisia is one of the main points of access to Europe through irregular channels, Xinhua news agency reported. Beirut, June 30 : Lebanese President Michel Aoun has said his country remains committed to the implementation of the UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1701, the Lebanon presidency said in a statement. "Lebanon is keen to preserve stability and security on its southern borders," Aoun added on Wednesday during a meeting at Baabda Palace with UN Special Coordination for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka to discuss indirect border negotiations with Israel in addition to cooperation with the UN in different fields. The President told Wronecka that Lebanon is following up on the matter after talks with US Senior Advisor of Energy Security, Amos Hochstein in Beirut earlier this month on the potential of resuming indirect border demarcation talks with Israel, Xinhua news agency reported. Aoun has urged Hochstein to give feedback about Lebanon's response to the US proposal on maritime border demarcation. The Resolution 1701 was adopted in August 2006 to seek a full cessation of hostilities shortly after a month of deadly warfare between Israel and Hezbollah ended with a fragile truce. Since then, the situation along the borders remained generally calm except for occasional fire exchanges between Lebanon and Israel. Lebanese officials have on many occasions called for completing border demarcation with Israel to reduce tensions on the border and allow both countries to undertake oil and gas exploration near the disputed waters. Lebanon is in dire need to begin oil and gas exploration as the country is going through a steep financial crisis. Tehran, June 30 : Indirect talks between Iran and the US held in the Qatari capital of Doha have not yet ended, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said. Another meeting between Iran's Chief Nuclear Negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani and Enrique Mora, the EU Chief Coordinator for the Iran nuclear talks, was held on Wednesday evening, Nasser Kanani added on Wednesday. "The talks in Doha have, from the beginning, been scheduled for two days. The two-day Doha talks are being held in a professional and serious climate," he said. Earlier on Wednesday, Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that the Doha talks, which started Tuesday, ended without breaking the deadlock in the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal as Washington declined to offer "guarantees for Iran's economic benefits". The talks in Doha followed several rounds of talks held in the Austrian capital since April 2021 between Iran and the remaining parties to revive the landmark deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Xinhua news agency reported. Iran signed the nuclear deal with world powers in July 2015 and agreed to put some curbs on its nuclear programme in return for the removal of US-led sanctions. But former US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran. United Nations, June 30 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced the appointment of Najat Rochdi of Morocco as deputy special envoy for Syria. Rochdi succeeds Khawla Matar of Bahrain, "to whom the Secretary-General expresses his gratitude for her efforts and dedication in the search for peace in Syria," the UN chief's office said in a statement on Wednesday. Rochdi has more than 20 years of experience in political affairs and international coordination in conflict and post-conflict areas, including through her latest assignment as deputy special coordinator, resident and humanitarian coordinator, with the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Xinhua news agency reported. Her earlier assignments include senior adviser to the special envoy for Syria, resident and humanitarian coordinator in Cameroon and deputy director of the Representative Office of the United Nations Development Programme in Geneva. Moscow, June 30 : Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addressed global food security issues during a telephone conversation with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Lavrov talked about the situation in Ukraine, with a particular focus on current issues related to the supply of agricultural products and fertilisers to global markets, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. He confirmed that Russia is ready to continue exporting food and fertilisers, despite existing complications, namely the presence of illegal Western sanctions and the disruption of global value chains due to the coronavirus pandemic, Xinhua news agency reported. The Russian diplomat reaffirmed Moscow's commitment to continuing further work aimed at reducing the threats of the food crisis in coordination with the UN. Latest updates on Global Food Crisis Moscow, June 30 : The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Norwegian Charge d'Affaires Solveig Rossebo over Norway's decision to block the delivery of goods to Spitsbergen, the Ministry said in a statement. Rossebo was informed about the "unacceptable situation around the delivery of cargos to Spitsbergen blocked by the Norwegian side that were designated for the operations of the Arktikugol federal state unitary enterprise on the archipelago," the Foreign Ministry added on Wednesday as quoted by Xinhua news agency report. As a result of the Norwegian restrictions imposed against Russian transport on the Russian-Norwegian border in April, vital goods such as food and medical equipment, which are necessary for the normal functioning of the enterprise and Russia's Consulate General on Spitsbergen, are being blocked, according to the Ministry. Russia demanded that Norway "resolve the issue as soon as possible," pointing out that such hostile actions would "inevitably lead to appropriate retaliatory measures". Khartoum, June 30 : Chairman of Sudan's ruling Transitional Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan has said that the Sudanese Armed Forces are expecting an elected government to take over running the country. "The only way is either through comprehensive national consensus or elections, but not by calls for protests and sabotage," Al-Burhan said on Wednesday during his inspection of special military units in the capital Khartoum, according to a statement by the Sovereign Council. The Sudanese leader called for exercising the right of expression through peaceful demonstrations that preserve public and private property and do not harm the interests of other citizens, Xinhua news agency reported. Khartoum and other Sudanese cities are expected to see mass protests demanding civilian rule on Thursday. A tripartite mechanism of the UN, African Union and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development is tasked with facilitating intra-Sudanese dialogue to end the country's political crisis. Sudan has been suffering a political crisis since Al-Burhan, General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, declared a state of emergency on October 25, 2021, and dissolved the Sovereign Council and the government. The African country has since been witnessing protests demanding a return to civilian rule. United Nations, June 30 : UN peacekeepers routed members of armed groups occupying Ouanda-Djalle, the Central African Republic (CAR), allowing displaced residents to return home, a UN spokesman said. Many civilians, deeply impacted by the militants' recent arrival, were forcibly evicted and living in very precarious conditions, said Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday, citing the UN mission, known as MINUSCA. Peacekeepers secured the city, and military operations continued, allowing displaced people to return to their homes, Dujarric added. "Our colleagues reiterate their call on armed groups to immediately lay down their arms, to join the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programs and to refrain from any action that could harm the civilian population," the spokesman noted. A variety of anti-government armed groups operate in the area. The spokesman did not name any group, Xinhua news agency reported. Ouanda-Djalle is 175-km south of Birao, capital of Vakaga prefecture, in the northeast of the Central African Republic. Baghdad, June 30 : The Iraqi Environment Ministry has urged the international community to help Iraq meet the challenges of climate change, official Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported. "The Iraqi people went through difficult political and economic conditions during the past decades. It is expected that climate change will exacerbate the sufferings," Environment Minister Jassim Al-Falahi was quoted on Wednesday as saying by the INA. Al-Falahi pointed out that the needed international support will help Iraq adapt to climate change in the context of economic change, Xinhua news agency reported. Earlier on Wednesday, the UN Development Programme launched a two-year climate action project in Iraq, in which Canada and Britain commit to supporting Iraqi efforts to adapt to climate change and help the Iraqi government fulfill its obligations toward the Paris Agreement. The project focuses on drought preparedness, water resource management and renewable energy development in Iraq, the INA reported. According to the UN Environment Programme, Iraq ranks the fifth most vulnerable country in the world to climate change. Last year's record low rainfall and this year's dust storms have led to water shortages, desertification, and soil erosion in the war-torn country. Manama, June 30 : Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa met with visiting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, where they stressed the two-state solution as an imperative one to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The two leaders on Wednesday said in a joint press release that it is important to return to "serious and effective negotiations" to achieve peace "in accordance with the principle of the two-state solution," which "guarantees the Palestinian people their right to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital". They also urged Iran to abide by the principles of non-interference in the affairs of Arab countries, comply with the principles of good neighbourliness, and spare the region all destabilising activities, Xinhua news agency reported. Moreover, the two sides expressed their aspiration for further cooperation in the banking, economic and commercial fields, through the establishment of joint investment platforms and more mutual visits. Lucknow, June 30 : Thirty-four years after he was killed, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has affirmed the life imprisonment awarded to a convict Bhagwati Singh a.k.a. Pappu in connection with the murder of national badminton champion Syed Modi in 1988. The bench said that there was ample evidence on record to show that Syed Modi was killed in firing by the appellant along with another accused by using a firearm. A vacation bench of Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Saroj Yadav passed the judgment on Wednesday, which it had reserved on March 21, 2022, after completing the hearing of appeal filed by the convict Pappu. Additional session judge, court number one, Lucknow, had on August 22, 2009, sentenced Pappu to life imprisonment after conducting his trial. Pappu is currently in jail. In its judgment, the bench observed, "The evidence available on record shows that co-accused Balai Singh, who died during the trial, made a disclosure statement in the presence of an independent witness that the pistol used in the murder of Syed Modi along with cartridges was given to him by convict Pappu." Later, the materials used during the crime were recovered by the investigating team. Syed Modi was shot dead on July 28, 1988, by two car-borne assailants. The CBI took up the investigation and filed a chargesheet against the then Congress MP Sanjay Sinh, Amita Kulkarni Modi, Akhilesh Singh, Balai Singh, Amar Bahadur Singh, Jitendra Singh a.k.a Tinku and Bhagwati Singh a.k.a. Pappu. All other accused, barring Pappu, were either acquitted by the courts or passed away during the trial. It was argued on behalf of Pappu that once the main accused were discharged, there remained no motive against him to kill Syed Modi and hence he should be acquitted. Considering that there was a direct eye witness who identified Pappu, the bench said, "Motive loses its importance because nobody can peep into the mind of a miscreant to know for what purpose he has committed the offence." Lakhimpur Kheri : , June 30 (IANS) In a shocking revelation, it has been found that a 19-year-old sister was responsible for the gang rape and murder of her 12-year-old sibling in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri district. The elder sister was in a relationship with a youth and the victim came to know about the affair. The elder sister asked her boyfriend and five of his friends to 'teach a lesson' to the victim. A 12-year-old girl was gang-raped and brutally murdered by six men who gouged her eyes out, before strangling her with a dupatta. The minor's mutilated body was found in a cane field. The police said that the elder sister herself took her sibling to the site where her six friends were waiting to commit the crime. Four of them took turns raping her while two ensured that no one entered the field. The woman allegedly held the victim's hands to restrain her the entire time. Superintendent of Police (SP), Sanjeev Suman, said, "The incident reveals the extent of hatred in the accused's mind for her younger sister. After her sister was murdered, she returned home and behaved as if everything was normal. When her parents started searching for their missing daughter, she told her mother that she had gone to a particular cane field to relieve herself." "All the accused are adults and have been arrested and sent to jail," the SP added. New Delhi, June 30 : Continuing its much-debated 'ease of doing business' mantra, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has sought to simplify approval procedures for infrastructure projects with exceptions, through a multi-layer speedy disposal process. Earlier in January, the Ministry had come up with a proposal to rank the State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAAs) based on the speed at which they cleared proposals and provided environmental clearance for projects. The move was justified by saying that it was aimed at "encouraging the efficiency, transparency and accountability in the functioning of SEIAAs" without diluting any regulatory safeguards. Late on Wednesday evening, the Ministry floated a notification -- Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022 -- that proposes the constitution of an Advisory Committee, a regional empowered committee at each of the integrated regional offices and a screening committee at the state/Union Territory (UT) government-level. The role of the Advisory Committee was restricted to advise or recommend with regards to grant of approval under relevant sections in respect of proposals referred to it and any matter connected with the conservation of forests referred to the Advisory Committee by the Central government. As per the notification the regional empowered committee at each of the integrated regional offices must examine the proposal referred to it under relevant clauses and recommend the grant of approval or rejection of proposals. The project screening committee will, after examination of the proposal, make recommendations to the state government or UT administration. The proposals will be accorded by the Central government in two stages namely in-principle approval and final approval, the Ministry said. The project screening committee will examine the proposal received from the state government or UT administration except proposals involving forest land of five hectares or less without going into the merit of the proposal, that the proposal is complete in all respects and the proposed activity is not in any restricted area or category for the purpose of screening and ascertaining. The in-principle approval of the proposal -- except the proposal related to de-reservation of forest area; mining involving forest land of more than 5 hectare; regularisation of encroachment and violation of the provisions of the Act, all other proposals related to linear projects, forest land up to 40 hectare and use of forest land having canopy density up to 0.7 irrespective of their extent for the purpose of survey will be examined in the integrated regional offices and disposed of in the specified manner. Srinagar, June 30 : The Indian Air Force (IAF) rescued an Israeli national from the Zanskar area of Ladakh, officials said on Thursday. The tourist was identified as Pnina Kuperman. She was in the area for trekking when she suffered breathing problems. The Israeli national was evacuated by the helicopter unit of the IAF from a remote high-altitude village Hangkar. The rescue operation was carried out amid strong winds and adverse flying conditions. Giving details of the operation, a defence spokesperson said, "On the evening of June 29, the pilots from the helicopter unit based at Air Force Station Leh, evacuated Pnina Kuperman, an Israeli national having difficulty in breathing, from a remote high altitude village called Hangkar in the Zanskar valley, braving strong winds & adverse flying conditions." The spokesperson said the patient was admitted to a local hospital and was stable now. Varanasi, June 30 : Varanasi will receive 13 new projects worth Rs 1,200 crore when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits his parliamentary constituency in July. Modi will also inaugurate around 33 ready projects worth Rs 600 crore during his visit. Divisional commissioner Deepak Agrawal and district magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma said that the final date for the Prime Minister's proposed visit has not been received from the PMO so far, but there is a possibility of his coming to Varanasi between July 7 and 10. The officials are finalising the list of projects ready for inauguration by the Prime Minister. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials that only the projects which would start operating immediately after inauguration, should be included in the list. Among 33 ready projects worth Rs 600 crore, maximum 11 are of urban development department and being executed by Smart City Limited. Officials said these 11 projects include phase-I work of Namo Ghat, bathing jetty, CNG boats, urban placemaking and infrastructure development under Lehartara-Chowkaghat flyover, market complex at Dashaswamedh and sewage projects. Besides, 22 projects of PWD, home department including new police station building, sports, electricity, higher education, women and child welfare, tourism, religious affairs and Jal Shakti departments have been included in the list. Major projects, the foundation of which will be laid by the Prime Minister, are the six-lane conversion of Lehartara BHU-Vijaya crossing worth Rs 242 crore, four-lane widening and strengthening of Kutchehari-Sandada road of over Rs 242 crore, and four-lane widening of the road from Pandeypur flyover to ring road, among others. Phase-I work of Namo Ghat is one of the 33 projects to be inaugurated by Modi in July. Lucknow, June 30 : The Yogi Adityanath government has banned processions and any kind of protest against the Udaipur incident in the state. Director General of Police (DGP) D.S. Chauhan said security has been stepped up across the state and action would be taken against anyone making provocative remarks. Additional DG, law and order, Prashant Kumar, said that permission would be needed for any religious or political function on the issue. Prashant Kumar said police are keeping vigil on social media posts from the headquarters as well as district level. "We are in touch with the central and state agencies for sharing intelligence inputs and threats and key details are being exchanged," he said. The ADG said that Uttar Pradesh Police have also opened dialogue with religious leaders to maintain social amity. The district police chiefs have appealed to citizens neither to post any comment on social media nor share any video related to the Udaipur killing. Significantly, the Kanwar Yatras are scheduled to begin in mid-July and a senior official said that the situation would be reviewed before the event. Houston, June 30 : The death toll of migrants found inside a sweltering 18-wheeler in San Antonio, a city in Texas close to the US-Mexico border, has increased to 53 following two more fatalities, according to authorities. Of the dead, 40 were male and 13 were female, Xinhua news agency quoted the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office as saying on Wednesday Authorities said the tragedy on Monday saw the highest ever death count from human trafficking near the US-Mexico border. Francisco Garduno Yanez, the head of Mexico's National Immigration Institute, told reporters on Wednesday that at least 27 victims were from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala and two from El Salvador. Three victims' nationalities remain unknown. The tractor-trailer with fake number plate was carrying 67 migrants, said Garduno. The driver of the vehicle, identified as Homero Zamorano, 45, has been taken in federal custody after he abandoned the vehicle in a desolate area and fled the scene, according to the San Antonio Express News. Two other men, both Mexican citizens, were charged on Tuesday with possessing firearms while residing in the US illegally, according to court documents and American authorities. Police arrested them at an address in San Antonio listed on the tractor-trailer's registration. Texas Governor Greg Abbott told the media on Wednesday that the state will immediately start additional truck checkpoints to target vehicles like the one found in San Antonio. The state will deploy two strike teams, each consisting of 20 troopers, to high-traffic crossing areas, he added. Hours after the migrants were found dead in the truck on Monday, Abbott blamed the deaths on what he called President Joe Biden's "deadly open border policies". "Exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful, as is political grandstanding around tragedy," Biden said in a statement on Tuesday. The President said initial reports showed that the tragedy was caused by smugglers or human traffickers. Death is a constant risk for undocumented migrants entering Texas, said a report by The Texas Tribune, noting that in 1987, 2003 and 2017, groups of migrants died of heat and dehydration in the state after being trapped in stifling containers. According to the report, hundreds more die alone or in smaller groups as desperation drives them to take fatal risks. The US Customs and Border Protection said it encountered a record number of 239,416 people along the border in May. London, June 30 : Three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray crashed out of the Wimbledon 2022 after losing 4-6, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3), 4-6 to USA's No.20 seed John Isner in the second-round here on Wednesday. In contrast to his third-round exit last year at his home Grand Slam, the Briton felt his game and his body were prepared for a second-week run this fortnight. "I could have had a good run here," the 35-year-old said in his post-match press conference. "It's one of those matches that, had I got through, who knows what would have happened." Despite abdominal issues in the buildup to Wimbledon, Murray had no physical issues on the court and briefly flashed the sort of form that twice led him to titles on the London lawns. But Isner's booming serve kept Murray's brilliance at bay, keeping points short and not allowing the Briton to sink his teeth into the match. The defeat did little to dampen Murray's confidence; such was the 20th seed's serving dominance. He found fault with his own poor serving, particularly in the opening two sets when he made 44 and 55 per cent of his first serves, but said the result did not change his view that he could still progress to the late stages at majors. "I think most of the players on the Tour would tell you that a match like that was won or lost based on a few points here and there," he reflected. "I didn't play well enough on those points tonight... Tonight's match, I don't see why it should change that view (that I can make deep major runs)." One key component to that sort of success at majors is being seeded. Murray entered Wimbledon at No. 52 in the ATP Rankings. He returned to the Top 50 two weeks ago - his highest position since 2018, but still short of earning one of the tournament's 32 seeds. "One of the reasons why improving your ranking and trying to get seeded is important (is to) avoid playing top players and dangerous guys like that early in tournaments," Murray said. He has been particularly focused on improving his ATP Ranking since he lost to World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev as an unseeded player at the Miami Open in March. Looking ahead, Murray fully intends to continue playing on the ATP Tour as long as he is "in a good place" with regard to his body. But he stopped short of guaranteeing a return to Wimbledon next year. "It depends on how I am physically. (If) physically I feel good, then we'll try to keep playing. But it's extremely difficult with the problems I've had with my body in the last few years to make long-term predictions about how I'm going to be even in a few weeks' time, never mind in a year's time," he said. New Delhi, June 30 : The offshore wind industry enjoyed its best-ever year in 2021, with 21.1 GW of new capacity connected to the grid, according to the latest Global Offshore Wind Report launched by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). India's offshore wind sector has gained momentum as a result of the Prime Minister's announcement of net-zero targets at the last UN climate change summit (COP26). At the summit, India also announced its increased ambitions of installing 500 GW of non-fossil fuels-based power generation capacity by 2030, inclusive of 30 GW offshore wind capacity. The GWEC report shows the offshore wind industry is preparing for a new era of dramatic growth as governments turn to the technology and establish ambitious new targets in their search for energy security and affordability, and strive to meet new net zero emissions ambitions. The implementation of these upgraded targets should start to deliver yet more record-breaking years from 2025 onwards. GWEC's Global Offshore Wind Report 2022, launched to coincide with the United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon, shows that governments are getting more ambitious about offshore wind. GWEC Market Intelligence revises up its outlook for 2030 by 45.3 GW, or 16.7 per cent, from last year's report and believes that 260 GW of new offshore wind capacity could be added in 2022-2030, bringing the total global offshore wind installations to 316 GW by the end of this decade. Speaking from UNOC in Lisbon, Ben Backwell, GWEC CEO, said: "It has been an astonishing year for the offshore wind sector. The governments across the world are now recognising the once in a lifetime opportunity that offshore wind represents to deliver secure, affordable and clean energy while fostering industrial development and job creation. Now we need to work to rapidly implement targets and ambitions, while building a health and afit for growth' global supply chain. "At the same time, the wind industry needs to take its place as a key custodian of a healthy ocean ecosystem, as it becomes one of the world's most important marine-based industries. "We need to work with stakeholders and communities in the ocean environment to ensure that we scale up in a way that ensures holistic cooperation and planning and ensures the highest level of harmony with biodiversity and conservation goals." Political commitment to net-zero already puts offshore wind in a vital position for reaching net-zero. The energy crisis and the Russian invasion of Ukraine has seen governments further raise their offshore wind targets as they look to secure their energy supplies. The Global Offshore Wind Report 2022 forecasts government targets will take the world to around 370 GW of capacity by 2031, close to the GWEC/IRENA Offshore Wind Energy Compact's target of 380 GW of offshore wind installations by 2030. Commenting on the report, Martand Shardul, Policy Director, Global Wind Energy Council India, said, "India's offshore wind potential and the government's enthusiasm, which is evident from the recently announced 37 GW tender trajectory, must be juxtaposed with relevant standards, regulatory frameworks, and innovative financial instruments to safeguard investments, mitigate any possible project risks and thereby drive the participation of industry leaders in tender and project implementation. "Given the emerging demand for green power, green hydrogen, and ammonia production, the successful realization of the 37 GW offshore wind trajectory is likely to play a catalytic role in boosting India's energy security and decarbonization efforts." San Francisco, June 30 : Herbert Diess, the current chairman of the board of management of the German motor vehicle manufacturer Volkswagen Group, has said that the carmaker will take the lead over Elon Musk's Tesla by 2025. During a meeting at the company's headquarters in Germany, Diess said that Tesla will lose its strength trying to ramp up two gigafactories -- one in Austin, Texas and the other in Grunheide, Germany, reports the Daily Mail. He sees this as an opportunity to take the lead, as Volkswagen is running at full capacity. "Elon must simultaneously ramp up two highly complex factories in Austin and Grunheide -- and expand production in Shanghai. That will cost him strength," he told workers on Tuesday, as first reported by Financial Times. "We have to seize this opportunity and catch up quickly -- by 2025 we can be in the lead," he added. Diess has had his sights set on Tesla for quite some time -- earlier this year he said Volkswagen is capable of selling more electric vehicles than its rival by 2025. During the presentation, Diess also mentioned that Tesla is weakening and then presented a slide with a meme that showed actor Jason Momoa representing Volkswagen creeping up behind fellow actor Henry Cavill cast as Tesla. Diess and Musk are friendly outside of the EV race, but the German executive continually notes Tesla as Volkswagen's biggest rival. Volkswagen sold 4,52,900 electric vehicles worldwide in 2021, while Tesla sold 9,30,422. It is listed fourth when it comes to electric car companies and fifth among the largest EV companies. London, June 30 : Ten European consumer groups on Thursday filed new privacy complaints against Google, alleging that Google is using deceptive design, unclear language and misleading choices when consumers sign up to a Google account to encourage more extensive and invasive data processing. Contrary to its claims, the tech giant is thwarting consumers who want to better protect their privacy, said consumer groups under the coordination of the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC). They are now taking action on suspected breaches of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). They said that Google is unfairly steering consumers towards its surveillance system when they sign up to a Google account, instead of giving them privacy by design and by default as required by the GDPR. "Contrary to what Google claims about protecting consumers' privacy, tens of millions of Europeans have been placed on a fast track to surveillance when they signed up to a Google account," said Ursula Pachl, Deputy Director General of the BEUC. "It takes one simple step to let Google monitor and exploit everything you do. If you want to benefit from privacy-friendly settings, you must navigate through a longer process and a mix of unclear and misleading options," Pachl said in a statement. In short, when you create a Google account, you are subjected to surveillance by design and by default. "Instead, privacy protection should be the default and easiest choice for consumers," the BEUC noted. A consumer can choose to create a Google account voluntarily or be obliged to create one when they use certain Google products and services. For example, they must create an account when they buy a smartphone that uses Google's Android system, which almost seven in 10 phones worldwide (69 per cent) depend on, if they want to download apps from the Google Play store. The consumer rights groups said that with only one step (Express personalisation), the consumer activates all the account settings that feed Google's surveillance activities. Google does not provide consumers with the option to turn all settings 'off' in one click. If consumers want to activate the more privacy-friendly options, this requires "Manual personalisation" -- five steps with 10 clicks and grappling with information that is unclear, incomplete, and misleading, the consumer groups alleged. "Regardless of the path the consumer chooses, Google's data processing is un-transparent and unfair, with consumers' personal data being used for purposes which are vague and far reaching," they argued. Google was yet to react to the privacy complaint. "Google is a repeat offender. It is more than three years since we filed complaints against Google's location-tracking practices and the Irish Data Protection Commissioner in charge has still not issued a decision on the case," said Pachl. "This case is of strategic importance for which cooperation among data protection authorities across the EU must be prioritised and supported by the European Data Protection Board," she added. United Nations, June 30 : An "F-Bomb" hurled by a Syrian activist struck the UN Security Council in a bid to explode the myth of its mighty prowess in enforcing peace around the world. Omar Alshogre, who was invited to speak at the Council meeting on Syria on Wednesday, delivered a compatriot's angry message: "F*** you for not being useful, for not being respectful to human lives and human rights in Syria."That was a departure from the roster of worst insults in the Council chamber that are on the lines of "war criminal", "Gobbelsian" and "genocide perpetrator". "This must be a historic first -- and particularly in the Security Council chamber," Thalif Deen, a long-time UN watcher who has been a staffer, diplomat and journalist there, told IANS. "I have never heard of the aF word' being used by diplomats in public," he said. As breaches of UN's diplomatic etiquette go, the "F-Word" episode may take its place with the 1960 shoe incident when an enraged Soviet leader Nikita Kruschev banged his footwear at the General Assembly's podium. During that incident Kruschev also let loose verbiage of outrage calling the Philippines delegation head Lorenzo Sumulong "a jerk, a stooge, and a lackey", and a "toady of American imperialism", said Deen, who is the author of "No Comment! And Don't Quote Me", a book on the lighter, and sometimes seamier, side of UN diplomacy. Alshogre spoke while seated at the chamber's horseshoe table alongside diplomats representing the Council's 15 members who did not react even when he individually attacked many of their nations. He prefaced what he said was a direct message to the Council from Karim in Idlib saying: "I am not going to filter the voices of the Syrian people. I am telling you exactly what they say. And here it comes." Karim's message, which he read out, began: "You have been acting so lame since 2011, I lost everything I ever loved I lost everything I have." And then it launched into the sentence with the expletive. Alshogre is a former political prisoner of the Hafez al-Assad government and is now a director with the Syria Emergency Task Force, which advocates for the people of the civil war-wracked nation and for peace. He castigated in very strong terms almost every member of the Council, friend or foe, although he spared India. One of the harshest attacks was directed toward the United Arab Emirates for hosting Assad and devolved into a threat against the Gulf nation. "We will make sure, I will make sure and we will find out and understand how completely devoid of morals the Emirates is. And when the people know, where will you hide? Behind Burj Khalifa? It won't be as tall, it won't be as big as your shame." The 828-metre Burj Khalifa is the world's tallest building. Alshogre questioned the US' role as a world leader and warned Washington: "You will never be able to protect your democracy, to protect the rights of your women and your school children in school if you ignore human rights elsewhere. "You are supposed to be the leader of democratic world. I don't even see you on this global arena anymore." (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis) New Delhi, June 30 : The Special Cell of Delhi Police on Thursday flew Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair to Bengaluru to recover his laptop which he used for uploading various contents on social media sites. According to police, he has allegedly formatted his electronic devices and is refusing to hand them over to police despite being repeatedly asked. "Zubair was deliberately using religion to outrage a religious group. He was doing this to gain popularity," the police has alleged. The Special Cell has said that he was evasive and not cooperating with the officials. After recovering the laptop, the police will try to access the hard disk memory to check the edited materials allegedly posted by him. The laptop will be sent for the forensic examinations at CFSL, Rohini. "My laptop and my phone storage are my personal things. They want my laptop only to harass me, only because I have been challenging what certain people have been saying, and some of those people are in power," Zubair had said through his counsel Vrinda Grover before a Delhi court. As per the FIR, accused Zubair had used a screengrab of an old Hindi movie which showed an image of a hotel, with its board reading 'Hanuman hotel' instead of 'Honeymoon hotel'. In his tweet, Zubair had written, "BEFORE 2014: Honeymoon Hotel. After 2014: Hanuman Hotel". The complainant tagging Delhi Police had written, "Linking our God Hanuman Ji with Honeymoon is a direct insult of Hindus because he is a brahmachari. Kindly take action against this." Chennai, June 30 : With the active cases in Tamil Nadu breaching the 10,000-mark, the state Public Health department has directed all the colleges and schools to strictly adhere to Covid protocols. As many as 1,285 fresh cases were registered on Wednesday prompting the health department to send an advisory to all the educational institutions. Director of State Public health department Dr. T. S. Selvavinayagam told media that the educational institutions have to be strictly monitored and the department has sent circulars to all the educational institutions to ensure that students are strictly adhering to Covid protocols. He said that across the globe people have to wear masks, keep safe distancing, and sanitise regularly to keep the disease at bay. This is in addition to the two doses of Covid vaccines to prevent getting infected. Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian while speaking to IANS explained: "The only method now is to adhere to Covid-19 protocol and we have been telling this regularly to the people of the state to wear masks, keep safe distancing and sanitise regularly. Everyone should also take the vaccines as the state health department has arranged the facility to take vaccines at the PHCs in all the nook and corners of the state." On Wednesday, the number of active cases in the state crossed the 10,000-mark for the first time since February 23, when the third wave was declining. The weekly average in the state on June 1 was 80 while on June 29 the number of fresh cases per day touched 1285. The state has also increased the number of RT-PCR tests and is presently doing 25,000 cases a day. In the first week of June, the number of RT-PCR tests was 14,000. While most people are not worried about the possibility of a fourth wave as they feel that due to the two doses of vaccination, even if they infected by the disease, the attack would be mild. However, health department is worried that if the number of cases increases, the hospitalisation will also increase as in some co-morbid cases, hospitalization becomes necessary. The Directorate of Public Health of Tamil Nadu has identified three categories of people who are not in the state records. Those who take symptomatic treatment after consulting doctors without any tests, those who test at home using the kits available and do not report, and super-spreaders who don't test and who don't take treatment and move around in the streets without masks even after having symptoms of the disease. The state health department is contemplating a strict police monitoring of people which would lead to more adhering to Covid protocols. A senior official in the state health department told IANS that a high-level meeting of the state health department in which the state health minister will also participate is being called on Thursday at the secretariat to decide on the further course of action. New Delhi, June 30 : A day after Uddhav Thackeray quit as Maharashtra Chief Minister, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said that he would join the investigation of Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a prevention of money laundering case pertaining to the Rs 1,034 crore Patra Chawl land scam. Raut was sent a second summon on Wednesday after which he decided to join the probe on July 1. On Monday, he didn't join the probe and skipped questioning. He had said he wouldn't join the investigation and had dared the anti-money laundering agency to arrest him. But now he has said that he would get his statement recorded before the ED. The ED on Monday had taken Pune businessman Avinash Bhosale into custody in the DHFL Yes Bank case. Sources had claimed that they wanted to grill Raut in this matter too. Sources also claimed that the Patra Chawl case of the ED was also linked to DHFL case. Soon after receiving the summon, Raut took to Twitter to allege that he was being victimised on the instructions of the Centre. In April, the ED had attached property linked to Raut in connection with the land scam. A property worth Rs 9 crore of Raut's associate Pravin Raut and assets worth Rs 2 crore belonging to Varsha Raut, the wife of Sanjay Raut, were attached by the ED. Pravin had eight parcels of land in Alibaug and a flat registered in the name of Varsha Raut which were attached. The ED had arrested Pravin in this connection. "We had filed a charge sheet in the matter against Pravin, Sarang Wadhawan and Rakesh Wadhawan of HDIL and Guru Ashish Construction and others were named as accused in the charge sheet," said an ED official. During the probe, the ED came to know that Pravin allegedly paid Rs 55 lakh to Varsha. This was paid from the bank account of Pravin's wife. The money was termed as proceeds of crime by the ED. It was also alleged that the travel expenses of Sanjay Raut were borne by Pravin which included his hotel stay and air tickets. Mumbai, June 30 : Television actress Kavita Kaushik is all set to make her OTT debut with crime thriller 'Tera Chhalaava'. The web show showcases five stories of love, deception and murder. The actor is quite excited about her debut and she opens up about her role in it. Kavita is a part of the story 'Happy Anniversary' in 'Tera Chhalaava' that is full of twists and turns - a husband and wife trying to gain an upper hand in a marriage full of deceit. Kavita says: "OTT is a great platform that offers you an interesting range of roles. With the chance to essay a wide range of characters to play, it's perfect for how I enjoy working now. Also, I believe finite stories or projects are what the audiences want. I'm glad to have progressed from doing a show for nine years to a medium that will allow me to do different roles that would challenge and satisfy me as an artist." The actress further shares about her character and adds: "My layered character in the project is very different from how the audience has seen me so far, so I am looking forward to their response." Sharing her shooting experience, Kavita adds: "Thankfully it was quite effortless for me as I believe one is as good as their co-actor and Kabir, being a fantastic co-actor, made it very easy for me. It was absolutely wonderful to collaborate with him. Our fun acro-yoga sessions during the free time, in between shots, kept the mood light and positive." Each episode has a different director and 'Happy Anniversary' is directed by Prabal Baruah. The anthology also features Sandeepa Dhar, Anveshi Jain, Samikssha Batnagar, Manish Goplani, Amit Behl, Dhiraj Totlani, Aabhaas Mehta, Vedika Bhandari, and Archana Vednekar. 'Tera Chhalaava' will be released on July 7 on Hungama Play. Chennai, June 30 : Actor Suriya has written to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which presents the Oscar Awards each year, accepting its invite to join it in 2022. Taking to Twitter, Suriya responded to a tweet of the Academy saying: "Thank you The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the invitation, which I humbly accept. My heartfelt thanks to all those who wished me, will always strive to make you all proud!!" The actor also thanked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin who had wished him for the unique honour. Thanking the Chief Minister in Tamil, he wrote: "Your wishes not only make me happy but also underline my responsibility. I will continue to strive to deliver good films. My heartfelt gratitude for your love." On Wednesday, Stalin, while congratulating Suriya, had said that the latter had become the first South Indian actor to receive an invite from the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to be a part of it. The invite was a recognition of Suriya's evolved acting skills and his choice of stories that were focussed on societal well being, he added. Chennai, June 30 : Director Anucharan's much-awaited entertainer 'Panni Kutty', featuring comedians Yogi Babu and Karunakaran in the lead, has been cleared for release by the Censor Board of Film Certification with a clean 'U' certificate. Lyca Productions, the firm producing the film, made the announcement on social media. On its Twitter timeline, the firm said, "'Panni Kutty' is censored with a clean 'U' and is ready to meet you all at the cinemas on July 8th." The film, whose title in English means 'piglet', has created interest for several reasons. The first among them is that director Anucharan Murugaiyan's just released web series on Prime Video, 'Suzhal -The Vortex' has garnered a lot of praise. Apart from the two comedians playing the lead, the film also has several other comedians in its cast, giving rise to hope that it will be a laugh riot. This apart, the film will mark the return of well known Tamil orator and comedian Dindugal Leoni back to the big screen. The theatrical rights of the comedy film for the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka have already been acquired by Dr Prabhu Thilak's 11:11 productions. Shot by cinematographer Sathish Murugan, Panni Kutty has music by K and been edited by director Anucharan himself. Islamabad, June 30 : The PakisAtan Telecommunication AuAAthority (PTA) took up the blocking of official accounts of Pakistani missions by India with Twitter management and demanded their restoration. Also, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned India for blocking the accounts of Pakistani missions within its boundaries, Dawn reported. The PTA termed it a "biased suppression of information" and called on the management of Twitter to reconsider their decision and restore official Pakistani accounts for viewing in India. A senior PTA official said Twitter had been asked to provide details related to the blocking of the official accounts within India territory. "The interaction with Twitter was based on basic rights related to flow of information," the official said, adding: "We need to know the justifications for the blocking, at least tell us the violations committed by these accounts so that we may not repeat those mistakes." Sources in the government said India utilised the emergency clauses in their social media rules to block the official Twitter accouAnts of Pakistani high commissions. Pakistan had earlier asked the Twitter management about standards of the platform in different countries, the sources added. The Foreign Office (FO), meanwhile, posted a tweet expressing concern that diversified thoughts were being discouraged systematically in India. The FO tweeted that diminishing space for plurality of voices and access to information in India was extremely alarming, Dawn reported. It mentioned that social media platforms must abide by applicable international norms. "We are urging @Twitter to restore immediate access to our accounts and ensure adherence to democratic freedoms of speech and expression. "Deeply concerning that #India has blocked flow of information to Indian @Twitter by withholding access to following official accounts @PakinIran, @PakinTurkey, @PakinEgypt, @PakistanUN_NY, these are in addition to many others for which access has been blocked," the Office added. Chennai, June 30 : Actors Kamal Haasan and Vikram Prabhu were among scores of people from the Tamil film industry who congratulated actor Suriya for having been invited by the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which presents the Oscar Awards each year, to join it in 2022. Taking to Twitter, actor Kamal Haasan, considered to be one of the iconic actors of the film industry, wrote: "Glad my brother Suriya treads the ground of stars. In spite of gravity, which makes wings weak. We created angels and stars. Hence be proud brother to join the crowd of excellence." Suriya responded to Kamal's tweet, saying: "Thank you anna." Only recently, Kamal had presented his favourite Rolex watch was a present to Suriya for his mind-blowing performance in the blockbuster 'Vikram'. Kamal Haasan wasn't the only one to congratulate Suriya. Actor Vikram Prabhu, the grandson of the legendary Sivaji Ganesan, too took to Twitter to congratulate Suriya. Quoting Suriya's acceptance tweet to the Academy, he wrote, "This is wonderful news anna! Congratulations! Wishing our industry's deserving work gets more recognition in the coming years! This is for Tamil Nadu. This is for India!" -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text New Delhi, June 30 : Patient listening without pre-conceived notions followed by a quick and fearless approach invariably helps in resolving issues, says veteran administrator Jarnail Singh, who turned around the crisis-ridden Manipur University in just 25 months and suggests that university officials undergo short-term refresher training to make them aware of the need to follow the rules and UGC guidelines in letter and spirit to ensure smooth functioning. Not for nothing is Jarnail Singh, an IAS officer of the 1974 batch who served in the PMO for eight years across four Prime Ministers, known as a trouble-shooter, notably as Chief Secretary of Manipur in 2004 when he restored order following violent agitations that rocked the state over the killing of rights activist Thangjam Manorama Devi, and later as the CEO of the Organising Committee of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. "I do not have anything special in me. I look at the issues at hand fairly dispassionately without any preconceived notions and also pay attention to understand the perspectives of different stakeholders. After understanding, I take decisions or advise the authorities to take a decision which I feel is reasonable. I believe in patient listening (which helps in building confidence) and quick action," Jarnail Singh told IANS in an interview of his book, 'Manipur University - Restoring Normalcy' (Konark). "Once some decision is taken, I work with determination, and fearlessly. A fearless approach helps in resolving the issues.. As I work without self-interest I work without fear," he added. When he took over as Administrator of Manipur University (MU) on the directions of the state High Court on October 12, 2018, it was lying closed as the MU community consisting of students, teachers and the staff were on indefinite strike from May 31, 2018 demanding removal of the then VC, A.P. Pandey, due to alleged mal-administration and various financial irregularities. Various efforts made by the HRD Ministry in New Delhi and the state government to resolve the issues were not successful. The 2018-19 academic session that was to begin from July/August had not started. Even the results of the second semester of academic session 2017-18 which should have been declared in June 2018 had not been declared. Some teachers and students were in judicial custody for about three weeks. The students and the teachers were demanding unconditional release of the jailed students and teachers and quashing of the FIR against them, which they claimed was false. Fearing loss of the academic year, public suits were filed in the High Court, which ordered Jarnail Singh's appointment as Administrator with full powers of the VC to restore normalcy and restart academic activities. "After joining, I had discussions with all stakeholders for four days. After hectic discussions, the state government agreed to close the cases and release the arrested students and teachers with the approval of the court. The students and teachers were released on October 16, the strike was called off the next day and normal academic activities started immediately," Singh said. As a result, MU was able to complete the semester in March 2019 and the academic session 2018-19 successfully in July 2019 by cancelling all vacations and conducting extra classes on holidays. During his 25 months in MU, Singh said, he "paid attention to complete the more than 100 days of delayed academic session 2018-19, opened six new departments (three of which had been sanctioned more than one year before), held regular meetings of the Academic Council and Executive Council, held meetings for the Career Advancement Scheme of faculty members, increased the strength of student admissions, oversaw appointment of regular and guest faculty, improved the availability of science and other laboratory equipment, signed annual maintenance contracts for upkeep of equipment, paid special attention for completion of hostel buildings and completed six hostel buildings and improved arrangements of classrooms". Why was the situation allowed to deteriorate to the extent it did? The situation would not have gone out of control if the MU administration had discussed the "reasonable demands" of the students and teachers across the table, Singh said. "Direct dialogue helps in removing misunderstandings and resolving issues. Unfortunately, the then VC used to frequently remain absent, and in his absence the in-charge VC did not have powers to take decisions on the issues. The dismissal order of A.P. Pandey, issued by the Ministry of HRD in February 2020 mentioned that he was absent for 189 days from the MU during his tenure from 26-10-2016 to 30-05-2018," Singh explained. This frequent absence and allegations of financial mismanagement should have been addressed in time, and Singh is sure that if the General Financial Rules had been followed by the MU administration, most of the allegations of financial mismanagement would not have arisen. "The entry of police in MU on 20/21 September 2018 was the tipping point after which the students and teachers hardened their stand. When the situation went out of control and neither the Ministry of HRD nor the state government was able to resolve the issues and restart the academic activities, the High Court of Manipur appointed a neutral person (myself) to restart the MU academic session and restore normalcy," Singh elaborated. What are the lessons to be learnt from his experience at Manipur University? "There are well laid out guidelines for running the academic administration, for appointments and promotion of faculty and non-faculty persons, for financial administration etc, by the Ministry of HRD (now Ministry of Education), the UGC, statutes and ordinances of the Universities, General Financial Rules. If these are followed fairly and timely by the VCs and Registrars there would be no scope for any discontentment among teachers and students and other employees," Singh explained. In almost all universities, he said, there are a number of pressure groups and the university administration should deal with their demands fairly as per the rules and statutes, adding there are various platforms and committees for this. "If the VCs perform their duties fairly and impartially, there is no possibility of escalation of any issue. I also feel that if the VC, Registrar, Finance Officer and the University Engineers are well conversant with the rules and regulations for running the academic and financial administration and follow them strictly, the university administration can be run smoothly. "It is only when some persons, particularly VCs or Registrars, think that they are above the rules, particularly the General Financial Rules, the system starts decaying. My recommendation is that university officials should be given short-term refresher course type training so as to make them aware of the need to follow the rules and UGC guidelines in letter and spirit," Singh said. In all this, Singh is satisfied with the general standard of higher education in MU. "The general standard of education in Manipur is very good. The parents are quite conscious of investing in the education of their children. The best students of Manipur take admission in MU. There is a need to strengthen the science laboratories of the different departments in MU as well as set up a Science Centre where costly science equipment could be housed and looked after well, for use by students and faculty members," he suggested. What next? What's his next project? "I am the Chief Executive Officer of Project Appraisal Consultants LLP. My specialization has been in the area of 'Project Appraisal, Risk Analysis and Risk Management' which I studied at Harvard. I have been conducting regular training programmes for professionals in Project Appraisal, Risk Analysis and Risk Management in India for professionals since 2013. So far 490 persons from 77 organisations of the Government of India and the states have attended the programmes," Singh said. The draft of his next book, co-authored by him on 'Project Appraisal, Risk Analysis and Risk Management Techniques', is with Konark Publishers. "If all goes well, it will come out soon. This book will be useful for professionals from PSUs, banks, governments and private organizations who either take decisions or process proposals for taking decisions for investments and the implementation of projects," Singh concluded. (Vishnu Makhijani can be reached at vishnu.makhijani@ians.in) Aden, June 30 : A car bomb explosion struck a motorcade of a high-ranking security official in Yemen's southern port city of Aden, a government official said. "The car bomb blast hit the convoy of General Saleh Al-Sayd, commander of the Security forces in the neighbouring southern province of Lahj when his motorcade was passing through a main street near Aden's airport," the official told Xinhua news agency late Wednesday. The source said that the explosion killed at least five guards and two pedestrians, and destroyed an armoured vehicle of the official's convoy. The security commander who was apparently the main target escaped the attack as he was sitting in another armoured vehicle, according to the source. Following the attack, local security forces were heavily deployed across Khormakser residential neighbourhood where the blast occurred and blocked roads. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast so far. Several local government and security officials were targeted in similar incidents recently in Aden and elsewhere in the war-ravaged Arab country. Considered Yemen's temporary capital city, Aden is where the Saudi-backed Yemeni government has based itself since 2015. Local authorities are trying to maintain security and stability in Aden. However, sporadic bombing incidents and drive-by shooting attacks still occur in the strategic Yemeni port city. Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Houthis seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally-recognized government out of the capital Sanaa. Los Angeles, June 30 : Rock band 'KISS' is currently the centre of jokes after their Vienna concert, the reason for the same is a little mix-up by the production team as the band's logo was displayed with an Australian flag instead of an Austrian one during their Vienna concert, reports 'Variety'. After the band wrapped its show at the Wiener Stadthalle arena, a screen displayed the phrase "KISS loves you Viennaa as fans were leaving the arena. As per 'Variety', audience members began to notice the 'KISS' logo featured the Australian flag, rather than the flag of Austria, of which Vienna is the capital. Naturally, photos of the mishap started to circulate online. The band is yet to comment and react to the slip-up in spite of the flood of photos and wisecracks being exchanged over social media in the days since the performance. The 'KISS' camp had earlier suffered a geographically related blunder as well. Last year, there was a misspelling of 'Cincinnati' (adding an extra "T") on city-specific tour shirts. The merchandise was only available at the band's August 29 show at Riverbend Music Centre in the Midwestern Queen City. 'Variety' further states that 'KISS' is currently on its 'End Of The Road' world tour, which will continue across Europe until late July. In August, the band will return to Australia, before concluding its 2022 tour dates with North American festivals in September and October. The 'End Of The Road Tour' is the band's self-proclaimed last global trek following a 'Farewell Tour' in 2000. Founding member and bassist Gene Simmons insists the 'End Of The Road Tour' is the band's final retirement send-off, out of "pride and self-respect and a love and admiration for the fans." Bengaluru, June 30 : Kannada actress Pranitha Subhash has condemned the killing of Kanhaiya Lal in Rajasthan's Udaipur for pledging support to expelled BJP leader Nupur Sharma over her controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammad. Taking to Twitter on Thursday, the actress said: "I wish I had not seen the Udaipur video. Absolute terror. The screams in the background will echo in our minds and haunt us for a long time to come. Or will it?" Pranitha wrote. She has also shared her picture holding a placard which read "Hindu lives matter" and captioned it "is anyone listening?" The actress who has acted in Telugu, Tamil filmed recently welcomed a baby. The netizens are appreciating her courage for condemning the brutal incident and raising the concerns. An active social media user, Pranitha has earlier also condemned religious fundamentalism and persecution of Hindus. More than 1.20 lakh people have reacted to her post. Meanwhile, former Karnataka Chief Minister and Janata Dal (S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy has condemned the incident and urged the government to open a separate cell to look into the issue and prevent such acts. The organisations which are provoking such acts must be booked. "When we are in the government, care should have been taken to prevent such acts. It will become difficult if the trend continues. The agencies must keep a watch on such people as its work is not to stop vehicles and check documents. The individuals and organisations with dangerous mindset should be dealt with strictly," he said. Agra, June 30 : Gangs of marauding monkeys have begun scaring tourists in the 17th century Mughal marvel, Taj Mahal. A scare has been sounded after a series of simian attacks on unsuspecting tourists visiting the iconic Taj Mahal that draws close to eight million visitors annually. Tourist guides are now warning visitors in advance to remain alert against monkeys. Last week, a video went viral of a group of monkeys snatching a water bottle from a foreign visitor. A tourist guide Ved Gautam said "we always warn our clients of sudden bovine, canine or simian attacks in and around monuments in Agra". For some time now, tourists have been avoiding lonely romantic walks along the pathways which are lined up with dense green foliage, though the CISF personnel keep an eye on the monkeys. Two years ago, catapults were used to shoo away the monkeys but after a furore by animal rights activists, catapults and sling shots disappeared. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel and the staffers of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), are at their wit's end how to cope with the simian nuisance. "Cats, dogs, monkeys, bees, are proving to be big safety menace in the Taj premises," said a local tourist guide. For a while last year, the Yogi Adityanath government mulled over a slew of measures to insulate the 17th century Mughal complex from marauding monkeys, that attack and snatch valuables from visitors. But nothing came out of the deliberations. In the city, the number of stray animals, including cows has increased several fold due to the policies of the state government. Compounding the situation there has been an acute shortage of anti rabies vaccines in government hospitals here. On Thursday, a local NGO, Satya MeV Jayate donated more than 500 vials of the ARV, to meet the crisis. Frequent attempts are made to contain the simian menace in Agra, Mathura and Vrindavan visited by thousands of tourists and pilgrims daily. A Former Divisional Commissioner engaged an NGO, Wildlife SOS, to round up 10,000 monkeys, but the plan did not materialise due to lack of permission from appropriate authorities. But now the situation is really alarming. Monkeys are seen in armies marching from one area to the other. The city has more than 50,000 monkeys. "Due to the provisions of the Wildlife Act, the monkeys can not be attacked or rounded up without adequate safeguards and precautions. Plans to shift the monkeys to other areas have failed, as no district wants to shelter them," said environmentalist Devashish Bhattacharya. Indeed, the state faces the biggest threat to peace in the form of exploding simian population in Agra and neighbouring religious shrines in Mathura district and Vrindavan. Pilgrims are almost daily attacked in Vrindavan. Usually the monkeys target spectacles or purses which are returned only when some eatables or cold drinks are offered to the monkeys, Bhattacharya added. Civic authorities seem helpless in tackling the menace. "We have written so many times to the municipal corporation, but there has been no action, an ASI official, said. "When VIPs like presidents, visit Vrindavan, Langurs are hired, but that also draws the ire of animal lovers. Every shrine has dozens and dozens of the primates. For the pilgrims -- especially women and children -- negotiating their way through the lanes has always been difficult with cows and stray dogs everywhere. Now the simian menace has compounded it," convener of Friends of Vrindavan, Jagan Nath said. Its a strange world, monkeys can attack humans, but we cannot kill or shoot them, a devotee exclaimed. Agra Development Foundation secretary, KC Jain said, "we plan to file a petition in the Allahabad High Court to demand state government's intervention. In the meanwhile, we request everyone to plant fruit bearing trees this monsoon season. On the one hand there is large scale deforestation, on the other hand trees that are being planted are basically ornamental, that can not support monkeys. The whole Agra region is infested by Vilayati Babool, Julie flora, with thorns. We have demanded that government agencies clear these trees and plant fruit bearing trees to attract the simian population." Los Angeles, June 30 : The reason behind 'Blink-182' drummer Travis Barker being admitted to a hospital following an "undisclosed" medical condition is now reported to be pancreatitis, which in doctors' opinion has been triggered by a colonoscopy, reports 'Variety'. According to 'TMZ', multiple sources connected to the family have confirmed the hospitalisation was a result of pancreas inflammation which includes symptoms like nausea, intense stomach pain and vomiting. There are no details as to when Barker had the colonoscopy, but 'TMZ' reports it was "recent." The 46-year-old and husband to Kourtney Kardashian, was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre for further care after first checking into West Hills Hospital and Medical Centre on Tuesday. 'Variety' further states that Barker's medical history involves illnesses like staph infection and cellulitis, which is a bacterial infection that can cause swelling, inflammation and pain. In 2018, he suffered blood clots in his arms, forcing a string of shows from Blink-182's Las Vegas residency to be canceled. Moreover, in 2008, Barker endured the traumatic experience of a plane crash that claimed the lives of six people; he previously opened up about how the accident left him with third-degree burns all over his body. For nearly three decades, Barker has been a pillar of the music industry. His most recent collaborations include Machine Gun Kelly and Post Malone. Bengaluru, June 30 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday virtually inaugurated Bosch India's first smart campus in Bengaluru built at a cost of Rs 800 crore. "This campus will take lead in developing futuristic products and solutions for India and for the world. I urge Bosch to think of doing more in India and set goals for the next 25 years," he said while inaugurating the Bosch Smart Campus. "It is a special year for both India and Bosch India, as the nation celebrates 75 years of Independence and Bosch celebrates a century of its presence in India. 100 years ago, Bosch came to India as a German company and now it is as much Indian as German. This is a great example of German engineering and Indian energy," he added. Over the last five years, Bosch has invested Rs 800 crore in developing the campus, which has the capacity to potentially house 10,000 associates. The 76-acre site features multiple smart solutions based on sustainability, security, and user experience for associates, visitors, and facility management. At the ceremony, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai applauded the work done by Bosch India, especially in Karnataka. "It is a pleasure to be part of the inauguration of the Spark.NXT Campus of Bosch India. The company has had its presence in the state for several decades now and it is heartening to host its India's largest smart campus here. "Karnataka, primarily Bengaluru has been a technology hub and houses largest number of R&D centres across the globe. This campus is another feather to its cap. "This campus showcases R&D capabilities both automotive and non-automotive products and services and I hope that this will elevate the city's leadership in the field of technology to a greater level," he further added. "The Spark.NXT campus will provide inspiring working conditions for associates to focus on the development of user-centric innovations for a better quality of life in India," said Filiz Albrecht, member of the board of management and director of Industrial Relations at Robert Bosch GmbH, at the opening ceremony. Speaking at the inauguration, Soumitra Bhattacharya, managing director of Bosch Limited and president of the Bosch Group, India, said: "Bosch has been part of the transformation in India for the last 100 years, and during this era we have revolutionised the mobility and the 'beyond mobility' ecosystem. "With our new Spark.NXT campus, the company continues to invest in smart and sustainable solutions that are 'Invented for life' and supports the government's vision for an Atmanirbhar Bharat." New Delhi, June 30 : Dassault Systemes on Thursday announced partnership with Skill-Lync to upskill over 10,000 engineering students and professionals in India, annually for co-branded talent transformation programmes. The collaboration aims to embed industry leading practices into the engineering curriculums by providing students with project-based learning modules, frugal engineering practices, as well as training and certifications in the latest groundbreaking technologies. "Nurturing the workforce of the future is one of our key focus areas in India and we are glad to partner with Skill-Lync in this journey. Preparing the students and young professionals by skilling them in emerging technologies will make them instrumental in boosting the economic growth and lead to a wider adoption of digitalisation across industries," said Deepak NG, Managing Director India, Dassault Systemes, in a statement. Dassault Systemes will also train Skill-Lync support engineers with more than 10 years of experience, to help them in imparting cutting edge education to the students. The partnership is focused on improving graduate employability, bridging the gap between industry and academia and empowering the workforce of the future. The content development for the coursework will involve inputs from various industry leaders. Dassault Systemes will further facilitate interaction with the industry to ensure Skill-Lync invests in building the right content. The programmes are focused on giving experiential learning to the students and professionals in different industries. One of the many highlights of the programme is the first hand experience of building electric vehicles (EV) from scratch along with masterclass videos visually presenting the EV building process for students interested in polishing their skills in the automotive industry. "With the support of industry leaders, we are trying to address the gap between the curriculum and the workplace skill requirements in the engineering domain. The transformation of India's emerging skilled workforce can be fueled by learnings through real-life simulations of the professional environment and we are focused on making such unique opportunities easily accessible for our students," said Krishna Bandaru, Chief Business Officer, Skill-Lync. Panaji, June 30 : Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on Thursday left for Mumbai to meet Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. Sources said that he held a meeting with all rebel MLAs this morning before leaving for Mumbai with a 'support letter'. Shinde told the mediapersons that he was going to Mumbai to meet the Maharashtra Governor. "I am going to meet the Governor. Rest all MLAs are here in Goa. We will let you know our next decision and steps," Shinde said. He was escorted by a police force during his travel to the Dabolim airport. Tight security was seen at the airport also. The BJP seniors leaders from Goa also were holding meetings with Shinde and the rebel MLAs since Wednesday night. He and other MLAs had landed in Goa from Guwahati on Wednesday night. Man who supported Kanhaiya Lal murder on Social media held by Noida police Image Source: IANS News Man who supported Kanhaiya Lal murder on Social media held by Noida police Image Source: IANS News Noida, June 30 : The Noida Police on Thursday arrested a man for sharing and liking a video and allegedly supporting the killing of Kanhaiya Lal, the tailor who was brutally murdered by two men in Rajasthan's Udaipur. A senior police official said the arrested accused was identified as Ashif Khan, a resident of village Chhaprauli of Noida sector 168. Noida Police had received a complaint that on Facebook, a video of Kanhaiya Lal murder was posted and Ashif was supporting and commenting in favour of the killing. The police lodged an FIR under section 505(2) and 295A of the IPC. A police team was formed to immediately nab the accused as it could have invited untoward incidents. "Ashif was held from a nearby area of the Expressway canal. We have recovered the cell phone which he used to post the message," the police said. The police said that they would produce him before the court. Kolkata, June 30 : A key CBI official of Kolkata Zone, who was heading crucial cases like post-poll violence and Bogtui massacre, has been transferred. Power corridors in West Bengal are abuzz with murmers of speculation since Thursday morning following the development. Deputy Inspector General in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Akhilesh Singh, who as the head of the agency's special branch in the Kolkata Zone was heading crucial probes like post-poll violence, carnage at Birbhum district's Bogtui village, murder of Congress councilor Tapan Kandu at Purulia's Jhalda, and rape-murder of a minor girl at Nadia's Hanskhali. He was mainly operating from CBI's special branch division located at the central government office (CGO) complex at Salt Lake in the northern outskirts of Kolkata. As per the transfer order, Singh has been transferred as deputy inspector general of CBI's newly operations special duty & research wing in New Delhi. CBI sources called it a routine transfer considering that Singh is slated to be promoted to the rank of inspector general shortly. However, some sections have already started raising questions whether his transfer at this juncture will impact the pace of investigation in these vital cases. Some of his colleagues, on strict condition of anonymity, said Singh's specialty was his methodical approach before beginning any investigation. They said that when the task of probing the post-poll violence came was given to him, the first thing that he did was to set up special camp offices in different pockets of the state considering that the different cases on this count are scattered over wide geographical locations. Singh is the second key CBI officer who had been transferred from CBI's Kolkata Zone. In the second week of the current month, the joint director in charge of the agency's anti-corruption wing, Pankaj Srivastava has been shifted out of Kolkata to New Delhi. Srivastava was in the overall charge of all the cases involving financial embezzlement like chit funds, Narada video tape scam, cattle and coal smuggling and most importantly, the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment irregularities scam. Srivastava was replaced by N. Venu Gopal, a 1995 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre. Washington, June 30 : The US House select committee investigating the January 2021 Capital riot has subpoenaed former White House counsel Pat Cipollone for the inquiry. "The Select Committee's investigation has revealed evidence that Mr. Cipollone repeatedly raised legal and other concerns about" Donald Trump's activities on January 6, 2021, and in the days that preceded, according to a statement issued late Wednesday. "While the Select Committee appreciates Mr. Cipollone's earlier informal engagement with our investigation, the committee needs to hear from him on the record, as other former White House counsels have done in other congressional investigations," the statement read. Cipollone, 56, served as White House counsel for Trump between December 2018 to January 2021, reports Xinhua news agency. He reportedly met the committee's investigators in April but did not sit for a formal recorded deposition. The subpoena was issued a day after a former White House aide testified at a high-profile public hearing held by the committee. Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, appeared at the hearing on Tuesday to provide testimony on the Capitol riot. Hutchinson told the committee that Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of his Secret Service vehicle that day when he was told he could not go to the Capitol with his supporters. Trump blasted Hutchinson amid her testimony to the ommittee, claiming that he "hardly" knows who she is. The committee held a series of public hearings this month to show the public what investigators have uncovered about the infamous incident. Trump's allies and supporters have charged the inquiry as a political "witch hunt" designed to tar the former President and the Republican Party. On January 6, 2021, thousands of individuals, mostly Trump supporters, stormed the Capitol in Washington, D.C., and disrupted a joint session of Congress in the process of affirming the 2020 presidential election results. Approximately 140 police officers were assaulted in the Capitol attack, including about 80 US Capitol Police and 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department. Authorities have linked at least five deaths to the mayhem. Four officers who responded to the attack reportedly committed suicide within the next several months. The worst attack on Congress in more than 200 years, the siege led to Trump's second impeachment by the House shortly before his term officially ended. More than 840 defendants relating to the Capitol riot have been arrested in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Department of Justice. As of June 6, approximately 255 defendants have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, including approximately 90 individuals who have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer. Approximately 185 federal defendants have had their cases adjudicated and received sentences for their involvement in the riot. Approximately 80 have been sentenced to periods of incarceration. Lucknow, June 30 : NDA's presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu will visit Lucknow on July 8 to muster electoral support from the country's largest state. According to sources, Draupadi Murmu will meet the MLAs and MPs of BJP as well as allies here. Apart from this, she will also seek support from non-BJP parties. Being the largest province of the country, Uttar Pradesh will play a key role in the presidential election. The value of one vote of an MLA is 208 and that of one MP is 700. The value of votes of 273 MLAs of the BJP and its allies and 66 Lok Sabha and 25 Rajya Sabha MPs is about 1.21 lakhs. Uttar Pradesh, therefore, has 14.88 per cent of the total votes of 10,86,431 people's representatives across the country. Former Jharkhand Governor and tribal leader Draupadi Murmu has been nominated by the NDA. The opposition has nominated Yashwant Sinha, ex-Trinamool leader and former Union Minister. Detroit, June 30 : Rajendra Bothra, an Indian-origin doctor, and three other physicians were acquitted of charges related to federal allegations they operated a Warren-based prescription drug mill, the media reported. Bothra of Bloomfield Hills the accused mastermind; along with Ganiu Edu of Southfield, Davi Lewis of Detroit and Christopher Russo of Birmingham were found not guilty by a jury, Macomb Daily reported. The verdicts followed a six-week trial in front of Judge Stephen Murphy in US District Court in Detroit. Bothra's attorney, Arthur Weiss, said he and his client are "ecstatic" over the verdict but upset that he has been in federal detention for 43 months while awaiting trial. The other defendants were free on personal bonds. Bothra was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian government in 1999. "We're glad the jury looked at the evidence and made the appropriate decision in a relatively short amount of time," Weiss said. "Where does he go to reclaim those 43 months?" Bothra was released from detention on Wednesday. Over the course of the proceedings, the India native repeatedly attempted to gain freedom while awaiting trial but was denied by the judge. US attorneys were concerned about Bothra's risk of flight since he often had visited India since moving to the US several decades ago and lied about the extent of his travel, Macomb Daily reported. Bothra owned and operated The Pain Center, based in Warren and with other locations, including in Eastpointe, and employed the other doctors. The group collectively was charged with over 50 counts, with each of them facing one count each of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, mostly the opioid Norco, and conspiracy to commit health care fraud. The other counts were distribution of controlled substances and health care fraud. Bothra faced the most counts and Edu faced the second most counts. Assistant US Attorney Brandy McMillion said the doctors handed out drugs like a "McDonald's drive thru" and compared the operation to an assembly line. She said the doctors forced patients suffering back pain to undergo radio frequency ablations on their backs in exchange for drugs, and unnecessarily prescribed back braces to patients, Macomb Daily reported. US attorneys said the defendants illicitly prescribed over 13 million pills and made false claims to illegally collect over $20 million from Medicare, over $17 million from Medicaid and over $15 million from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, from 2013 to 2018. Thiruvananthapuram, June 30 : The Congress-led opposition demanded a CBI probe into the gold smuggling case on Thursday, a day after the prime accused Swapna Suresh alleged that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan with lying in the Assembly. While interacting with media, Leader of Opposition V.D.Satheesan said the way Vijayan handed over the Solar scam case (a scam that broke out Aduring Oommen Chandy's term 2011-16) to the CBI, he should assign the gold smuggling case too. On Wednesday night, Swapna told the media that the chief minister who refused to acknowledge her in the beginning, later changed his version and said that she had visited his official residence along with UAE diplomats. "Let me tell you, I have gone to his official residence several times with UAE officials and also alone. I was allowed to walk into his residence and his office in the Secretariat without any security issues. I challenge him to release the CCTV visuals between 2016 and 2020 of his official residence and office in the Secretariat," she said. Demanding CCTV visuals, Satheesan said: "When Vijayan as the CPI-M state secretary in 2013 demanded the CCTV visuals (when allegations surfaced against Chandy), now we demand the same and challenge him to come out with the visuals of his office and official residence." "We demand that the case be handed over to the CBI," he added. Satheesan also pointed out that the opposition will now move a privilege motion against Vijayan for lying in the Assembly to questions raised by Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan. In the Assembly on Tuesday, Vijayan said Swapna is a person who is an accused in gold smuggling and other cases and the Congress-led Opposition is treating her words as the ultimate truth and using them here. He also referred to her as someone who is now being guided by Sangh Parivar forces. Swapna early this month testified before a magistrate under Section 164 (5) where she claimed that Vijayan and his wife and their daughter Veena had smuggled currency to the UAE. On Wednesday, she said it was she who had facilitated numerous meetings with the UAE Consul General at the Chief Minister's residence which was against all protocol as permission was not taken from the Ministry of External Affairs. "With regard to carrying currency in his luggage from here to the UAE, he used the diplomatic channel because here, given his position he can get through Customs and everything without any issues, but he wanted diplomatic immunity in the UAE and it was facilitated by us," said Swapna. She then turned her ire against Veena Vijayan, daughter of Vijayan, and said she was the brain behind the sale of entire Kerala's health data bank that was handed over to Sprinklr (soon after the Covid pandemic set in). "This was told to me by M. Sivasankar (the then principal secretary to Vijayan). He was very disturbed and told me that he might be in trouble. He shared all this with me because we were very close then. He was worried if he would be made the scapegoat and that he might be arrested as Veena was the master brain behind the data transfer to Sprinklr," added Swapna. She said that she has shared every detail of Veena's IT company Exalogica with the national agencies and is possession of copies of everything, including videos. Jaipur, June 30 : Four incidents of communal violence in three months in Rajasthan have shifted the attention to the intelligence failure in the desert state and now questions are being raised on the governance. The intelligence failure is being discussed all across the state after the brutal and horrific murder of Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor in Udaipur, the video of which was put on the social media. In three months, communal riots have been reported in four districts of the state and surprisingly in all these incidents, the intelligence failed to give any input to the district administration. In Rajasthan, the riots have taken place in Karauli, Jodhpur, Bhilwara and now the horrific murder in Udaipur, but the intelligence had no clue. In Karauli, stone pelting was reported on April 2 on the occasion of Ram Navami, but the intelligence had no idea about it. A total of 37 people were arrested while around 140 were booked. Some are still absconding. Several shops were set on fire. The police registered a case against 144 people but till now only 37 could be arrested. A month later, communal tension erupted at Jalori Gate in Jodhpur triggered by dispute over raising flag of a certain community, near the statue of freedom fighter Bal Mukund Bissa. Internet was suspended for four days. Around 40 people were rounded up, and as usual there was no intelligence about the communal clash. In Bhilwara, on May 5, in the Sanganer area, the fight between the two communities took the form of communal tension. Members of both the communities came on the streets. The police had to shut down Internet for two days. While twenty five people were booked, only a few have been arrested so far. After six days, there was communal tension again in Shastri Nagar area of Bhilwara. The authorities again shut the Internet for a day. Bhilwara police had no intelligence about the communal tension in the area. Rajasthan Police have formed an SIT to probe if these riots were a part of any conspiracy, a report is yet to be given to the government. Meanwhile, BJP State President Satish Poonia said that the Udaipur murder has highlighted the complete failure of the law and order as well as of intelligence in the state. He said, "The Udaipur incident shows how criminals are becoming fearless which highlights the failure of the law and order of the state government. The NIA or central agency comes only when local administration fails. If the police administration and the state government become weak, it is the Home Minister and Chief Minister who have the moral responsibility to maintain law and order. It is regrettable that the CM appealed for peace through Twitter." Kolkata, June 30 : West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has written a letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, asking her to withdraw the "most unconstitutional declaration of 'jihad' against the BJP on July 22", that she made in one of her latest public speeches. The Governor took the step after a 10-member BJP delegation, led by the leader of opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Wednesday evening met him and complained about the statement made by the chief minister at a public rally in the industrial township of Asansol in West Burdwan district on June 28. Adhikari pointed out to the Governor that in her said speech, the chief minister declared July 21, 2022, as "a day of Jihad against the BJP". Adhikari also gave a video recording of the chief minister's speech as supporting documents to his complaint. The Trinamool Congress observes its annual Martyrs' Day programme on July 22 in Kolkata. Soon after meeting the BJP delegation, the Governor wrote the letter to the chief minister requesting her to withdraw that particular term. "I cannot, but take the strongest possible exception to your statement. To subserve democratic value and constitutionalism, you are urged to forthwith withdraw this most unconstitutional declaration of 'jihad' against the BJP on 21 July, 2022. I would appreciate your immediate response to the above, the Governor's letter to the chief minister read. In the letter, he also pointed out that that statement revealed in the video was unfortunate and indicated connotational anarchy. "It defies logic and reason as to how one under the Oath of Constitution and holding the position of Chief Minister could make such pernicious declaration of 'jihad' against a political party. This is death- knell of democracy and rule of law. Nothing can be more authoritarian and undemocratic," the Governor added in the latter. According to Adhikari, the word 'jihad' means a "religious war". "So, the chief minister has indirectly declared war against those people who voted for BJP in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections. We went to the Governor to seek protection for these people," he said. The Trinamool Congress state general secretary and party spokesman Kunal Ghosh said that as usual the Governor has acted like a mouthpiece of the BJP by writing such a letter to the chief minister. "The governor has been going against his constitutional authorities again and again," he said. Chennai, June 30 : Tamil Nadu Police have so far repatriated 210 policemen who were working as orderlies at the residences of IPS officers and other senior police officers. Even retired police officers were using the services of these policemen. However, sources in the state police told IANS that about 150 policemen are yet to report back to duty. The Madras High Court in a landmark judgment on June 22 lashed out against the practice of trained, educated policemen being deployed as orderlies at the residence of senior police officers including IPS officers as also retired police officers. Justice S.M. Subramaniam of the Madras High Court in the judgment said that this practice would demoralize the police force and using a personal belonging to a uniformed service for domestic work of senior officials is illegal and amounts to misconduct. The court also pointed out that despite receiving a monthly allowance to appoint domestic help, police officers were misusing the uniformed service. Tamil Nadu DGP, C. SylendraBabu told media persons on Thursday that the state police have complied with the court orders and have directed all the SB-CID policemen to be back into their mother units. Houston, June 30 : Four men have been charged after 53 migrants died in a sweltering 18-wheeler in San Antonio, a city in Texas near the US-Mexico border, authorities said. The driver of the tractor-trailer, identified as Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, was charged on Wednesday with human smuggling resulting in death, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Local media reported he has a lengthy criminal record dating back to the 1990s, reports Xinhua news agency. Christian Martinez, 28, who was arrested on Tuesday in Palestine, Texas, was charged with one count of conspiracy to transport undocumented migrants resulting in death, the DOJ said. An investigation revealed that communications occurred between Zamorano and Martinez concerning the smuggling event, according to the release. If convicted, Zamorano and Martinez could face up to life in prison or could face the death penalty, CNN reported. On Tuesday, Juan Claudio D'Luna-Mendez and Juan Francisco D'Luna-Bilbao, both Mexican citizens, were charged with possessing firearms while residing in the United States illegally, according to court documents and US authorities. Police arrested them on Monday at an address in San Antonio listed on the tractor-trailer's registration. Craig Larrabee, Homeland Security Investigations San Antonio acting special agent in charge, described the human-smuggling event as "the worst" in the US. The tractor-trailer with a fake plate was carrying 67 migrants when it was found on Monday, Francisco Garduno Yanez, head of Mexico's National Immigration Institute, said at a press conference on Wednesday. There was no sign of water in the refrigerated tractor-trailer and no visible working air conditioning unit, according to San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood. Those found alive were hot to the touch and suffering from heat stroke and exhaustion. Temperatures in San Antonio climbed to 38.3 degrees Celsius on Monday, while the heat in the packed trailer was likely way higher than that, according to the US National Weather Service. "It's unspeakable," San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said on Tuesday. "It's a tragedy beyond explanation." Death is a constant risk for undocumented migrants entering Texas, said a report by The Texas Tribune, noting that in 1987, 2003 and 2017, groups of migrants died of heat and dehydration in the state after being trapped in stifling containers. According to the report, hundreds more die alone or in smaller groups as desperation drives them to take fatal risks. The US Customs and Border Protection said it encountered a record number of 239,416 people along the border in May. Chennai, June 30 : The visually impaired students in many parts of Tamil Nadu are facing difficulties in writing the examination as there is a huge shortage of scribes who write their exams. A college in Chennai city had recently called for scribes to help the blind students. The college has in a social media post informed that there are 94 blind students who require assistance. The blind students are in the undergraduate programme of the college. An associate professor of an undergraduate college in Chennai while speaking to IANS said: "There were no exams for the past two years and we used to get research scholars to assist the students in writing the exams, and mostly M.Phil students used to support. However, with the M.Phil course now withdrawn, that resource is also not there." The visually impaired students are in the departments of English, Tamil, Political Science, and History. The college has a student with cerebral palsy disorders and another student with orthopedic issues who require the assistance of a scribe. Another issue that is confronting the students is that except for 15- 20 visually impaired students, who are writing the exam in English the rest needs Tamil scribes which is difficult. Most of the scribes are comfortable writing in English. Interestingly school education department pays an amount of Rs 300 for a scribe to write an exam on behalf of a visually challenged student, but a scribe who is writing on behalf of a blind college student is paid only Rs 100. The teachers also suggested that a database of scribes need to be uploaded to a portal which is created by the department of Differently abled. The teachers also said that the remuneration for the scribes must be borne by the department of Differently abled and this would mean better perks for the scribes. St. Johns College, Tirunelveli has currently 17 blind students for undergraduate courses who require scribes to write the examination. A senior professor of the college said that even though only 17 blind students are in the college, it is difficult to get volunteers to write the exam for the blind students as scribes. The college authorities said that with the students not being able to bring in their own scribes and the availability of scribes much less, a data of the scribes is required and that they are paid in a decent manner. Presidency College, Queen Mary's College, and Nandanam Arts College have blind students, and the teachers in unison said that the issue has to be settled as early as possible. Mumbai, June 30 : Bollywood actress Vaani Kapoor, who is gearing up for the release of her upcoming film 'Shamshera', is extremely happy to collaborate with Ranbir, and feels that Karan Malhotra, the director of the film, is a visionary story-teller. Elaborating the same, Vaani said, "'Shamshera' is a dream project for me. To be directed by someone like Karan Malhotra, who is a visionary story-teller, is an opportunity that no actor would ever miss out on. I'm fortunate that he felt I was apt for the part. Karan is obsessed with his craft and the story that he is trying to tell. I'm a director's actor so I had an amazing time soaking in his vision and plan to make Shamshera a truly larger than life big screen spectacle." Talking about her pairing opposite Ranbir Kapoor, the actress added, "I'm also teaming up with one of the best actors of our generation, Ranbir Kapoor in the film. This is the first time that we have been paired together on screen and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that people love our chemistry in the film. Our characters have an amazing graph and I hope people love and root for it" Set in the fictitious city of Kaza, the period actioner will see Ranbir playing the titular character. Sanjay Dutt plays Ranbir's arch-enemy in this huge casting coup. About working with Sanjay Dutt, Vaani shared, "I got an opportunity to work with Sanjay Dutt and I have been a big fan of his over the years. I loved him in Agneepath. You have to wait and watch out for him in Shamshera because he is again going to give us a villain for the ages in Hindi cinema. He is just menacing and cunning and pure evil." Produced by Aditya Chopra under the banner of India's premier studio conglomerate YRF, 'Shamshera' is set to release theatrically in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on July 22. Shanghai, June 30 : Shanghai Disneyland reopened on Thursday, after more than three months of closure in the wake of a Covid-19 outbreak. Tickets were available for purchase starting from Wednesday, reports Xinhua news agency Visitors are required to present negative results of nucleic acid testing taken within 72 hours, wear masks and undergo temperature screening before entering the park. Joe Schott, president and general manager of Shanghai Disney Resort, expressed his gratitude to all the crew members for their hard work during the temporary closure of the park. He said that it is due to everyone's unremitting efforts the park can continue to welcome tourists back and offer visitors a safe and magical experience. Shanghai announced on May 17 that it had cut off the community transmission of Covid-19 in all its 16 districts. The city also resumed dine-in services at restaurants from Wednesday. New Delhi, June 30 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Udhav Thackeray resigned from the post in an emotional address on Facebook Live on June 29. Thackeray, heading the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, announced his decision after the Supreme Court refused to stay the Maharashtra Governor's direction to hold a floor test in the Assembly on June 30. The political crisis in Maharashtra had reached the Supreme Court when Shiv Sena chief whip approached the apex court challenging the Maharashtra Governor's direction. The rebellion of a large section of Shiv Sena MLAs, led by senior party leader Eknath Shinde brought the MVA government on the verge of collapse. Shinde has been claiming that he has the support of around 40 Shiv Sena MLAs and several independent legislators. The Shiv Sena with 55 MLAs, headed the MVA government. The Congress party having 44 MLAs and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with 53 legislators were the alliance partners of the MVA government. The opposition BJP has 106 MLAs in the Maharashtra Assembly having a total strength of 288 members. CVoter-IndiaTracker conducted a nationwide survey for IANS to know the people's views about Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staking claim to form the government in the state in such a situation. The survey highlighted that the majority of Indians believe that the BJP should take initiative to form the government in Maharashtra. During the survey, while 61 per cent of the respondents asserted that BJP should stake the claim to form a new government in the state, 39 per cent expressed completely different opinions on the issue. Interestingly, during the survey, while the majority of NDA voters -- 80 per cent stressed that it is the right time for the BJP to take the lead to form the government in the state, opinion of opposition voters was divided on the issue. As per the survey data, while 56 per cent opposition voters said that the BJP should not take initiative to form the government, 44 per cent spoke in favour of the BJP taking the lead to return to power in the state. Notably, during the survey, the majority of respondents from most of the social groups expressed their views in favour of the BJP staking claims to form the government. As per the survey data, 65 per cent UCH, 71 per cent OBC, 67 per cent SC and 63 per cent ST respondents spoke in favour of the BJP taking the initiative to the government. At the same time, the majority of Muslims -- 70 per cent expressed a completely different opinion on the issue. New Delhi, June 30 : Terming the murder in Udaipur as a terrorist attack, former Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore says that Gehlot government of Rajasthan is solely responsible for the incident. In conversation with IANS, Rathore said that the Chief Minister's focus is entirely on keeping his chair safe, and due to Congress' vote bank and appeasement policy, such violent incidents are happening repeatedly in the state. He holds Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot accountable for such incidents and says that if he cannot handle his responsibility, he should relinquish his position. Q. Are you (BJP) terming the incident of murder in Udaipur as a 'terrorist attack'? A. See, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot calls this incident a murder. But who films a murder? What makes a murder video viral with provocative statements? This is not a common crime. Such barbarism can only be done by dreaded terrorists struck by religious hysteria. Rajasthan has always been a peaceful state but due to Congress' vote bank and appeasement politics, such incidents are happening repeatedly. Q. Who is responsible for such incidents happening repeatedly in Rajasthan? A. It is the appeasement policy of the Gehlot government that is entirely responsible for such terrorist incidents. Terrorist organisations are flourishing in Rajasthan. Ever since this government took over, the spirits of anti-social elements are high and anarchy is at its peak in Rajasthan. During festive occasions, different laws are made for different religions. One community is banned over festivals while another is given a free hand on the timing of their festivals. The fundamentalist organisation is given security for their rallies; and now the situation has become so bad that on the demand of Congress MLAs, there are reports of even transfer of Hindu doctors from Muslim areas. Q. Why is Rajasthan government or police unable to curb such incidents? A. Because the government of Rajasthan is only trying to save its chair. The police is deployed only for the protection of MLAs and ministers. The MLAs are constantly being monitored for which leader and minister they are talking to. Who can leave their side? All of Chief Minister's attention is focused on retaining his power and position. Q. But the Chief Minister blames BJP for the situation and is demanding that Prime Minister Modi address the nation? A. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who is also the Home Minister of the state, is repeatedly running away from his responsibilities. Such violent incidents are happening one after the other in Rajasthan. It has happened in Jodhpur, in Jhalawar, in Bundi, in Alwar. The responsibility for all this lies with the Chief Minister. If he cannot handle his responsibility and has to turn to the Prime Minister, then he should give up his chair. Q. You had also alleged through a tweet that Rajasthan is on its way to become a Taliban state under Congress rule. A. The appeasement policy of Congress has emboldened jihadis. The situation in the state is very bad. Through you, we want to say that the Gehlot government should wake up to its responsibilities. He still has a year and a half to go. Hanoi, June 30 : Vietnam received nearly 602,000 international arrivals in the first six months of this year, a seven-fold increase from the same period last year, thanks to its reopening of tourism activities and resumption of international flights, the General Statistics Office said on Thursday. The number, however, still plunged 92.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, the pre-pandemic period, Xinhua news agency quoted the Office as saying. In the first half of 2022, visitors entering the country by air accounted for around 87 per cent of the total. Over the six months, more than 392,000 foreign visitors to Vietnam were from Asia, five times as high as the figure from the first half of 2021. The number of tourists from Europe, the Americas and Oceania also saw hikes of about 14 times, 33 times and 46 times, respectively, from the same period last year. Vietnam fully reopened its borders to international visitors on March 15 as part of its efforts to revive the country's tourism and economy after nearly two years of interruption due to Covid-19. The Southeast Asian received a record number of over 18 million international arrivals in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic broke out, according to the office. In 2020 and 2021, the number of international arrivals to Vietnam respectively plunged 78.7 per cent and 95.9 per cent year on year. The country targeted to serve over 5 million overseas tourists in 2022, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. Beijing, June 30 : Chaba, the third typhoon of the year, is heading toward the island province of Hainan in southern China, according to meteorological authorities. The typhoon, which formed over the central and eastern areas of the South China Sea at 8 a.m. on Thursday, was observed on waters 300 km southeast of Yongxing Island in Hainan's Sansha city, packing winds up to 65 km per hour, reports Xinhua news agency. Meteorological authorities forecast that Chaba will move northward at a speed of 10 to 15 km per hour, with slowly increased intensity. It is expected to approach the coastal areas in Hainan and Guangdong provinces this weekend. Some areas in Hainan, Guangdong and Fujian provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region will see heavy rainfalls and severe convective weather such as thunderstorms and strong winds. Chaba will likely land in the western parts of Guangdong on July 3. Meteorologists have alerted relevant areas to take preventive measures and ensure fruit and vegetable supplies. The emergency management department of Hainan has warned that ferry services in the Qiongzhou Strait might be suspended due to the typhoon. Brisbane, June 30 : The Australian state of Queensland eased several of its remaining Covid-19 restrictions on Thursday, despite the high community transmission of the virus. Queensland health authorities reported 5,286 new cases in the daily update on Thursday, bringing the state's overall tally to 1,292,709, reports Xinhua news agency. Despite such high numbers, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Queensland had remained strong so the restrictions have been eased in sensible stages. "I once again pay tribute to the resilience of Queenslanders for the strength of response to this pandemic," Palaszczuk said. Under the new guidelines, visitors to vulnerable groups such as residents of aged-care facilities, disability accommodation, and correctional facilities will no longer need to be vaccinated. Likewise, staff in high-risk settings, such as childcare centres and schools and airports, will be able to remain unvaccinated, unless requested by their bosses to get the jabs. Visitors entering Queensland from overseas will no longer need to complete a Covid-19 test on arrival and people at airports will be able to leave their masks off, although they will still have to wear them while on public transport. Bengaluru, June 30 : After being rapped by the High Court, Karnataka's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday summoned Bengaluru Urban District Commissioner J. Manjunath for interrogation in connection with the bribe case. The High Court had hauled up the ACB and called it a "centre of corruption" and "collection centre". In a setback to the ruling BJP, the bench headed by Justice H.P. Sandesh had further stated that ACB is presently headed by a tainted ADGP. The development is seen as a setback to the ruling BJP government in Karnataka. Former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy slammed ruling BJP on Thursday saying that it is a shameful that the ACB wing is headed by a tainted officer. Noting that the government is intentionally posting such tainted officers to this post, the court said it knows what all has been done in the case of former Chief Secretary Jadhav case. The investigation officer is useless, the bench had noted. DC Manjunath was questioned in connection with the raid conducted by ACB on DC's office on May 21. The sleuths have arrested deputy tehsildar Mahesh and contract worker Chetan while receiving a bribe of Rs 5 lakh in connection with giving a favourable order from the DC court on a land dispute case. It was alleged that the ACB is trying to protect DC Manjunath. It was charged that Manjunath is not named in the FIR even as accused Mahesh had given a statement that he had received bribe as per the directions of the DC. After coming across this fact, the High Court had taken ACB to task over this and later DC Manjunath was added as the accused number three in the case. While looking into the bail petition of accused Mahesh, the High Court bench stated that ACB offices in the state have become centres of corruption. Senior officers are let off and only juniors are made accused in corruption cases. The cases have to be lodged against senior officers who indulge in corruption, the bench had remarked. Vadodara, June 30 : Sitting BJP MLA from Vadodara, Yogesh Patel has threatened that Sindhrot project's additional water will not be allowed to be supplied in Raopura area, it is only for the Manjalpur area. Not only that, he is averse with the idea of Vadodara Municipal Corporation diverting Ajwa water meant for Manjalpur to Raopura and other areas. Manu Chavda, a senior journalist from Vadodara, said: "There is no doubt that the Sindhrot check dam and water supply pipeline project came up because of Yogesh Patel's efforts. But, it was with the aim to meet the water requirement of Manjalpur as well as South Zone of Vadodara city, but now Yogesh Patel is against it." "Today, it just seems to be a water supply issue, but sooner or later this will become a political issue, as Patel is against supplying water to Raopura constituency which is represented by Revenue Minister Rajendra Trivedi. If voters of his constituency do not receive water and faces shortage, this will be big political issue for the ruling party," Chavda added. Not Just Trivedi, but even councillors of 16, 17, 18 and 19 wards are unhappy with Yogesh Patel. On Wednesday evening, Patel in a meeting, informed these councillors that water from Sindhrot project will not be supplied in their wards. The project has a capacity of storing 150 MLD, but presently only 50 MLD can be used, as water lifting capacity needs to be upgraded. Presently lifted water is enough for the Manjalpur area. Manjalpur area is receiving 15 to 20 MLD water from Ajwa project, corporation had planned to divert this water to Raopura, because Manjalpur water requirement is met from Sindhrot project, but that too is opposed by Yogesh Patel. A leader from the BJP wishing anonymity said, Patel and other sitting MLAs from the city are likely to be dropped by the party in coming elections, that is why Yogesh Patel is creating issue out of nothing, so that voters get a feeling that he is fighting for them. In fact he is trying to influence party leaders so that they renominate him in the 2022 elections. New Delhi, June 30 : At least 51 per cent of industrial organisations believe that the number of cyberattacks in smart factories is likely to increase over the next 12 months. Yet, 47 per cent of manufacturers say cybersecurity in their smart factories is not a C-level concern, a report said on Thursday. According to the Capgemini report, few manufacturers have mature practices across the critical pillars of cybersecurity. The connected nature of smart factories is exponentially increasing the risks of attacks in the Intelligent Industry era. "The benefits of digital transformation make manufacturers want to invest heavily in smart factories, but efforts could be undone in the blink of an eye if cybersecurity is not baked-in from the offset," Geert van der Linden, Cybersecurity Business Lead at Capgemini, said in a statement. "The increased attack surface area and the number of operational technology (OT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) devices make smart factories a prominent target for cyber criminals. Unless this is made a board-level priority, it will be difficult for organisations to overcome these challenges, educate their employees and vendors and streamline communication between cybersecurity teams and the C-suite," Linden added. Around 53 per cent of organisations, including 60 per cent of heavy industry and 56 per cent of pharma and life sciences firms, agree that most future cyber threats will feature smart factories as their primary targets. However, a high level of awareness does not automatically translate to business preparedness. A lack of C-suite focus, limited budget, and human factors are noted as the top cybersecurity challenges for manufacturers to overcome. The research also found that, for many organisations, cybersecurity is not a major design factor; only 51 per cent build cybersecurity practices in their smart factories by default. Unlike IT platforms, all organizations may not be able to scan machines at a smart factory during operational uptime. Panaji, June 30 : Hitting out at Sanjay Raut, rebel Shiv Sena MLA Deepak Kesarkar on Thursday said here that they have not backstabbed anyone, but "a person like him (Raut) did it by giving wrong advice". He said that in Maharashtra, there was a constant tussle with the Centre, mostly ignited by Raut. "Nothing like this has happened. If we want to make progress in our state, then we need to have a good relationship with the Centre. This is our role and we are going ahead with it. Eknath Shinde has gone to Mumbai, not to demand any powerful ministries, but to see how the development of Maharashtra will take place. Leaders of both the parties (Eknath Shinde and BJP) will decide on this and we all MLAs will be with them and support their decisions," Kesarakar said in Panaji. "Now an alliance has taken place between those who have been elected by the people of Maharashtra. Hence, Sanjay Raut should stop speaking of backstabbing." Kesarkar said that they are not against the party chief Uddhav Thackeray and are ready to talk to him, if he breaks the alliance with Congress and NCP. "But this never happened. We had told him to step out of Maha Vikas Aghadi." He said that they have not taken this step for their vested interests or to get Ministries, but they have taken steps for their principles. The rebel MLA said they are still in Shiv Sena and never intended to hurt or disrespect Uddhav Thackeray. "Maharashtra had given verdict for Shiv Sena and BJP to remain united. This needed to be honoured. However, the Congress and NCP came to power, although they were defeated by the people," he added. New Delhi, June 30 : 'Hanle: India's First Dark Sky Reserve', a documentary about India's only upcoming dark sky reserve in the trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh, was premiered on YouTube on Thursday. Located near Hanle at an altitude of 4,500 metres, the Hanley Dark Sky Reserve (HDSR) is a collaboration between UT Ladakh, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Leh, and Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru and has been set up with an aim to preserve its dark skies as heritage. This is especially important as light pollution has an adverse impact on biodiversity and even in remotest places across Ladakh, the high beam lights of the moving vehicles impact the visibility near the Observatory. "This (HDSR) will aid astronomy research & even promote astrotourism and education in the region," said a scientist from IIA. HDSR has been identified as a 1,000 sq kms area around the Hanle observatory, one of the promising astronomical sites globally. "The advantages of more clear nights, minimal light pollution, background aerosol concentration, extremely dry atmospheric condition, and no interruption by monsoon are amongst," pointed out Dorje Angchuk, engineer at the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO). In fact, absence of monsoon clouds from the region was one of the reasons to establish this Observatory here as the functioning of other Observatories in south India is marred by the rainfall and clouds, said Annapurni Subramaniam, director IIA, in the film. Earlier last week, a tripartite MoU was signed between the Ladakh Administration, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru for setting up the Hanle Dark Sky Reserve as a part of the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary. At that time, Ladakh' Lt Governor R K Mathur had said that the HDSR would not only cater to the needs of the scientific community but will also contribute to the economic development of the region through astro tourism and eco tourism. Annapurni had then tweeted: "First time in the country that all stake holders (community, administration, scientists) coming together to declare a certain area as #HDSR. Looking forward to working together with all including #ARMY - sustainable development, economy, education and tourism for remote areas." Rakesh Rao, a filmmaker & a photographer, who communicates science through the visual mediums of photos and videos, has directed the film, for which he himself did cinematography and editing too. The film is available on the YouTube channel of IIA, Bengaluru. Lucknow, June 30 : Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Thursday told her party cadres that the results of the recent by-elections in Azamgarh and Rampur were 'encouraging'. She directed the leaders to strengthen the organisation at the grassroots level, so that the party can regain lost ground. Addressing a meeting of the party leaders to review the outcome of the bypolls at the party office, Mayawati directed the office-bearers of all the 18 divisions to work to expand the mass base of the party. Mayawati termed the election results as one which will infuse new energy among the workers. She said the BSP's effort to serve the cause of public interest is based on its strong ideological political base, but due to the casteist and gimmicks of the opposition, the public support failed to get converted into votes at the right time. Mayawati also directed the party leaders to remove their organisational weaknesses. Talking about the presidential elections, Mayawati explained that the BSP had decided to support Draupadi Murmu, a woman from the Scheduled Tribe society. She clarified that instead of supporting any particular party, the decision to support Murmu has been taken as the tribal community is an integral part of the BSP. The BSP president also demanded the Central and the state governments to rise above the party politics and take stern action against those instigating communal and casteist violence She also expressed serious concern over the use of money power to topple the government in Maharashtra. She said that this affects the public interest and welfare and such politics can never do any good to the country. She said it will serve the political and economic interests of only a few people. Mayawati said the Congress had played the same dirty politics with the BSP again and again in other states, including Rajasthan and now the BJP is following its footsteps. Agra, June 30 : "Rosie", a 39-year-old elephant that was illegally transported across states, has been rescued by the Forest Department in Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh. The elephant had heavy, painful spiked chains around her limbs and is suffering from severe foot ailments. Rosie was found in fragile health conditions due to years of neglect and lack of veterinary care. It has been placed under the care of Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital at Mathura to receive specialised medical treatment and nutritious food. The Uttar Pradesh Forest Department had been on the lookout for Rosie after receiving intel from wildlife conservation charity Wildlife SOS earlier this month. She was used for wedding processions and begging, and spent most of her life in excruciating pain, walking endlessly with spiked chains around her legs. Last week, following court orders that granted rehabilitation of Rosie to the Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital in Mathura, a specialised Elephant Ambulance with a team of veterinarians and elephant care staff from this facility travelled to Bhadohi to assist the UP Forest Department in bringing the elephant to Mathura. A thorough medical examination revealed that the female elephant is nearly 39-year-old, has worn out footpads and cracked toenails as a result of being forced to walk on harsh tarmac roads and other unsuitable surfaces. Additionally, she has several painful abscesses and injuries on her body. The veterinary team was equipped for providing immediate relief to the elephant during the journey. As Rosie finally meets with her freedom, and she is nursed back to health at the hospital, it will undergo specialised medical procedures like Laser Therapy, Digital Wireless Radiology and Thermal Imaging at the hands of experts at India's first and only Elephant Hospital Campus established by Wildlife SOS in collaboration with Uttar Pradesh Forest Department. Dr Ilayaraja said: "Years of neglect and abuse have taken a toll on Rosie's health. We know that her feet are in a deplorable state and her body is covered with numerous injuries. We are conducting detailed medical examinations to get a clear picture of her health and provide her with the necessary care." Baiju Raj M.V, the veterinary in-charge at this hospital said, "We are grateful for the intervention by Uttar Pradesh Forest Department to save this elephant from distress. The life of a begging elephant is riddled with pain and they suffer severe mental stress that takes years to heal. Now that Rosie has arrived safely at the Elephant Hospital, we can ensure that she gets the medical treatment and care she deserves." Neeraj Kumar Arya, Divisional Forest Officer, Bhadohi Uttar Pradesh said that "Rosie was suffering from various health issues. Due to her deteriorating health, it was decided that the elephant be urgently transferred to the Elephant Hospital." Mumbai, June 30 : Bollywood actress Sanya Malhotra will be seen opposite Rajkummar Rao in 'HIT: The First Case'. Sharing her experience of working with her co-star and collaborating with director Sailesh Kolanu, Sanya said: "I was really excited when I got to know that I would be part of HIT. I joined the sets when Raj and other actors had already shot a big chunk of the film. But it just did not feel like I am entering a set mid-way. Raj on the sets and Raj in front of the camera are two different personalities." "Of course, it depends on the mood of the character and the mood of the scene that he is in. In that way, he is very passionate and very professional. Our energies matched on the sets from day one. It was a great experience working with Raj, the director and the entire team. I am really looking forward to seeing the audience take on this thrilling journey of our film," she added. Directed by Sailesh Kolanu, 'HIT: The First Case' is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Dil Raju, Krishan Kumar and Kuldeep Rathore. The film hits the screens on July 15. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Chandigarh, June 30 : In an extensive and planned operation, the Punjab Police have busted an inter-state gang backed by gangsters, Lawrence Bishnoi and Harwinder Rinda, with the arrest of their 11 members after recovering nine weapons, Additional DGP Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) Promod Ban said on Thursday. The operation was carried out by the Jalandhar Rural Police. Those arrested have been identified as Mohammad Yaseen Akhtar, alias Jaisy Purewal, Sagar Singh, Amar Malik, Navi, Ankush Sabharwal, Sumit Jaswal, Amandeep, Shiv Kumar, Vishal, Arun Kumar and Annu. All are history-sheeters and have been facing cases of heinous crimes. ADGP Ban, who was accompanied by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jalandhar Rural Swapan Sharma, said this group was active in several neighbouring states and had been involved in crimes, including murder, attempt to murder, armed dacoity, organised extortion, dacoity, robbery, and drug smuggling. "With their arrest, Punjab Police has thwarted at least seven murders, two police custody escapes, and four armed robberies," he added. The ADGP said, as per preliminary investigations, the gang was being operated by Vikram Brar, an associate of Goldy Brar on the directions of Harwinder Singh, alias Rinda. Notably, Brar, a resident of Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, is currently residing abroad and is wanted by the police of six states. He is a classmate of Lawrence Bishnoi and is active on social media. Giving details about arrested persons, SSP Sharma said Akhtar had been missing for a year. A prodigy of Brar and Lawrence, he was involved in at least 16 criminal activities. He said another accused Ankush has six criminal cases registered against him. He is accused of providing shelter to Saurav Mahakal of Maharashtra, who was arrested by Pune Police. Along with Mahakal, he committed three crimes in Punjab, during Mahakal's two-month stay in the state. The SSP said Arun Kumar has been operating on the behest of the Lawrence-Jaggu Bhagwanpuria group. The arrested gang had planned Mani Rana's escape from the police custody during a court hearing in Una in Himachal Pradesh, he said, while adding that Sumit Jaswal was involved in doing recce and organising logistics for this escape attempt. "With the arrest of this gang, the backbone of organised criminal activities in the Doaba region has been broken," he added. In the past two months, the Jalandhar Rural Police have arrested 32 gang members affiliated with various jailed gangsters and recovered 38 weapons from their possession, an official statement said. Bengaluru, June 30 : Sleuths of Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) of Delhi Police has brought Mohammed Zubair, fact-checking website Alt News's co-founder to Bengaluru on Thursday for further investigation. Zubair has been arrested for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by a tweet from 2018. According to sources, Zubair will be taken to his residence in Frazer town locality of Bengaluru. The investigators are likely to seize his laptop and other electronic devices from his house for further investigation. Opposition leader Siddaramaiah slammed the authorities for the arrest of Zubair. "It is a desperate attempt to sabotage freedom of expression. All lovers of democracy should unite to fight the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi which is all set to implement undeclared emergency in the country," he stated. Madrid, June 30 : NATO, the worlds most powerful military alliance, has declared China as a security threat for the first time, warning that Beijings ambitions and coercive behaviour is a major challenge to the groups interests, putting its forces on a potential war-footing against Russia, media reports said. NATO's new 10-year strategic blueprint, agreed to by leaders at a summit in Spain on Thursday morning (AEST), called out the rising Asian power for conducting "malicious" cyber operations, for its strategic partnership with Russia, rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal and its efforts to dominate key supply chains, Sydney Morning Herald reported. China reacted to being labelled a threat by calling the Western alliance a "Cold War remnant" and a source of instability that is "smearing" Beijing's international reputation. Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, at the summit as part of the 'Asia Pacific 4' group of guests, said the Western world needs to reassert its democratic values. He dismissed China's criticism of NATO and declared the summit "extremely successful", Sydney Morning Herald reported. "What we've seen is the world come together in rejecting the Russian aggression on Ukraine, and also having a reassertion of our shared values of having a rules-based international order," Albanese said before leaving for Paris. "We need to reassert our democratic values and that is something that has occurred at this NATO summit." The 30-member alliance agreed to formally treat Russia as the "most significant and direct threat to the allies' security", condemning its "brutal and unlawful invasion" of Ukraine as having "gravely altered" Europe's security environment. New Delhi, June 30 : India and Japan discussed cybersecurity cooperation during the fourth India-Japan Cyber Dialogue on Thursday. The two sides discussed the important areas of bilateral cyber cooperation and reviewed the progress made thusfar in the areas of cybersecurity and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), including 5G. The Indian Delegation was led by Muanpuii Saiawi, Joint Secretary, Cyber Diplomacy Division of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), while the Japanese delegation was led by Yutaka Arima, Ambassador in-charge of Cyber Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). The Indian delegation consisted of senior officials from the MEA, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Defence, National Security Council Secretariat, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Department of Telecommunication, Indian Computer Emergency Response Team and National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre. The Japanese delegation included senior officials from the National Centre of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity (NISC), Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and MoFA. Both sides agreed to hold the next India-Japan Cyber Dialogue in 2023. Kolkata, June 30 : A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Thursday, slapped a show-cause notice to the West Bengal's Director General of Police, Manoj Malviya on charges of contempt of court. Two other Indian Police Service (IPS) officers namely former Jhargram district police superintendent, Biswajit Ghosh and the current Jhargram district additional police superintendent (headquarter), Kalyan Sarkar were also slapped notice. There three police officers will have to be present at the Calcutta High court's division bench of Sabyasachi Bhattacharya on July 30 and explain why proceedings under contempt of court charges will not be initiated against them. Justice Bhattacharya passed this ruling against the three police officers while hearing on a petition by leader of the opposition in West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari that he was stopped by police at least 20 km away from his destination while he was going to Netai in Jhargram district to attend a party programme on January 7, 2022. In his petition he also alleged that he was stopped by the police showing reasons that the ruling Trinamool Congress too was organizing a party programme at Netai and hence his entry there might disrupt law & order situation. He also alleged that the district police stopped him on January 7 this year following the instructions of the three police officers mentioned. In his argument, Adhikari's counsel said that last year in the same bench during hearing on the security aspects of the leader of the opposition, the advocate general assured on behalf of the state government that Adhikari can move freely anywhere in the state and it will be the duty of the state to make arrangement for his security. Even after that assurance from the state advocate general the leader of the opposition was stopped by police on January 7 this year from reaching his destination and hence it boils down to contempt of court. On hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Bhattacharya issued show-cause notice to the three police officials. Jaipur, June 30 : Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday met the family members of Kanhaiya Lal, who was beheaded in broad daylight inside his tailoring shop by two assailants on a crowded street in Udaipur on Tuesday. Expressing condolences, Gehlot assured all help to the family members of Kanhaiya Lal whom he handed over a cheque of Rs 50 lakh. The Chief Minister was accompanied by state Congress President Govind Singh Dotasra, Minister of State for Home Rajendra Yadav, Revenue Minister Ramlal Jat, Chief Secretary Usha Sharma and DGP Mohan Lal Lather. Gehlot told the media, "I hope that the NIA conducts a quick probe in this matter so that the guilty persons are punished at the earliest. That is what the people of the state as well as the whole country want." Gehlot said that the outrage being witnessed among the countrymen over the gruesome killing of Kanhaiya Lal shows that every citizen, irrespective of religion or caste, wants speedy justice and punishment for the culprits. "I hope that the NIA will understand this sentiment. On such an occasion, I would like to say that this is not a fight between two communities in the name of religion. A link has been found connecting the incident to terrorism. The murder has been condemned by every religion," Gehlot said. The Chief Minister also appealed to the people of the state to maintain peace. Panaji, June 30 : Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said that the state needs skill development institutions in various fields. He said that the government is contemplating upgrading engineering colleges and also the Directorate of Technical Education not just in terms of infrastructure but also skill development. The Goa Chief Minister said this while speaking at the inauguration of FSAI's Skill Development Centre (FSDC) started by the Fire and Security Association of India (FSAI) at Ponda in South Goa. "The government is making all out efforts to develop the manpower of the state into skilled manpower with the help of IIT, NIT, GIM, BITS Pilani and other engineering colleges," he said. Sawant said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a call for 'New India' formation for which futuristic education needs to be planned. He sought support and cooperation of the people and institutions to achieve this goal. The Chief Minister has urged the FSAI to start the courses given through FSDC at Industrial Training Institutes of the state government. "The government will consider giving preference to the candidates who have completed this type of government-approved courses in the Fire and Emergency Department. For that, recruitment rules will also be changed in the future," he said. Mumbai, June 30 : The new music video 'Paisa Paisa' featuring celebrated television actress Nia Sharma released on Thursday. The song is written and sung by Starboy Loc and music by Gskillz. Nia, who is quite excited about 'Paisa Paisa' that marks her 12th video, Nia said, "This being my 12th music video, I've dabbled in all kinds of genres by now. From dance numbers to heartbreak songs, I've left probably nothing. 'Paisa Paisa' sounded quirky from the title itself and the storyboard was equally fun to be a part of. I hope it finds its way into the clubs soon and leaves everyone grooving to it." Adding to that Starboy who is also seen in the video, Nia said, "It was a very different experience because this song is very unique. When it started, we didn't anticipate using Paisa Paisa as a hook line but the beat was so good that it fits perfectly. "G Skillz has done a terrific job. We first made the hook line before the lyrics of the song which was written in 15-20 mins. We stuck to our naughtiness and added a few names of the girls so that they wait to hear their names and make reels on that. Keeping our fingers crossed." The video, released on YouTube, is directed by Gaurav Mehra, and produced by BCC Music Factory and Amit Majithia. The song is available on all audio streaming platforms. Mumbai, June 30 : In a political bolt from the blue, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said it will support a new minority government led by Shiv Sena rebel group leader Eknath Shinde, who will be sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra here this evening. BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis made the stunning announcement after calling on Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari along with Shinde in the afternoon. "We have submitted a list of entire BJP MLAs, the group led by Shindeji, 16 Independents and others, with more still joining us, to the Governor," the former Chief Minister said. Accordingly, Shinde will be sworn-in alone as the CM at 7.30 p.m. and the cabinet will be expanded later to accommodate MLAs from both sides. Shinde, on his part, said he would work for the progress and development of the state "which had practically halted since the past 30 months of the previous government", and reiterated that he would follow the ideals of Bahasaheb Thackeray's Hindutva. He also thanked the BJP and Fadnavis for their large-heartedness in supporting his prospective government. Fadnavis said: "I will remain out of the government, but I shall do everything possible to make the new government a success on all fronts, and resume the developmental activities that had stopped in the past two and a half years." Earlier, in the past 9 days, the rebel camp had repeatedly asserted that while Fadnavis would be the new CM, Shinde would be the Deputy CM, but the latest developments put to rest all the claims. Fadnavis pointed out how in the MVA rule, Hindutva and Veer Savarkar were "insulted" daily, and on the last day in office, the cabinet took decision to rename Aurangabad as "Sambhajinagar" and Osmanabad as "Dharashiv". "After the Governor's letter (on floor test), the CM Uddhav Thackeray should have not held any cabinet meeting... We (however) support the renaming decisions," he said. Fadnavis also noted that despite around 170 legislators getting elected after the BJP-Sena contested the 2019 elections jointly, the Sena decided to join the NCP-Congress Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance. "In such circumstances, Shinde, who is the Sena party group leader, took a firm resolve to break the alliance with NCP-Congress. Instead of taking cognisance of the MLAs' sentiments, Thackeray followed the NCP-Congress," he added. He said there were questions being raised about fresh Assembly elections but said Shinde and BJP will give a stable alternative government to the state. Responding, Shinde expressed gratitude to the 51 MLAs for standing behind a humble leader like him amid all the big names, and assured that he would do the best of his abilities for taking the state ahead. "Fadnavis has displayed magnanimity by giving me the CM post despite the BJP having the highest number of MLAs," Shinde added, addressing the media alongside Fadnavis along other leaders. Jaipur, June 30 : Thousands of residents of Udaipur, agitated by the gruesome broad daylight beheading of Kanhaiya Lal inside his tailoring shop by two assailants on Tuesday, took out a silent march in the midst of curfew on Thursday, demanding death penalty for the accused. Scores of people from Udaipur and its adjoining areas took part in the silent march with placards and saffron flags. The rally left the municipal corporation premises and reached the district collectorate via Surajpol, Bapu Bazar, Bank Tiraha and Dehli Gate, demanding death penalty for killers of Kanhaiya Lal. The march was around 2.5 km long with people walking shoulder to shoulder. The protest was led by the Sant Samaj of Mewar. The Sant Samaj submitted a memorandum in the name of the President to District Collector Tarachand Meena demanding the sacking of the Ashok Gehlot government, imposing President's rule in the state, getting the case investigated by the NIA, giving death penalty to the killers, banning organisations like SIMI and PFI, identifying the anti-national elements living in Rajasthan and extending support to the relatives of the deceased. The protesters also demanded Rs 5 crore compensation and government jobs for both sons of Kanhaiya Lal, medical treatment of the companion who was injured while saving the deceased, along with complete security for the victim's entire family. District Collector Tarachand Meena said that the accused have been arrested, and action has been taken against the policemen who were negligent. The contacts of the accused are also being investigated. Bhubaneswar, June 30 : The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Odisha crime branch on Thursday arrested Ardhendu Das, editor of an Odia news channel, for allegedly cheating a businessman of Rs 1 crore. The EOW is yet to make any official statement on the case. The officials picked up Das from his relative's house in Nayagarh district on Wednesday night. After questioning him over several hours, Das was arrested allegedly duping Gagandeep Singh Chawla, a Delhi-based businessman, for about Rs 1 crore, police said. According to sources, the editor had a deal with Chawla for supply of equipment to set up his TV studio in October 2020. He had procured the equipment paying some advance. However, it was alleged that Das has not paid dues to the businessman. Based on a complaint lodged by Chawla, the EOW registered a case against Das on June 23. The police had served notice to the scribe, who had reportedly agreed to appear before the EOW on July 1. However, Das rubbished the charges framed against him. "We have returned many of the supplied equipment to Chawla as those were of poor quality and unusable for broadcast," Das told media persons before his arrest. Meanwhile, two more 'cheating' cases have been filed against the editor at Purighat police station in Cuttack and Badagada police station in Bhubaneswar. In both the cases, the complaints have alleged that Das has not paid their dues. Nishit Agarwal, a Cuttack based businessman has lodged a complaint against Das at Purighat police station alleging that Das has not paid about Rs 4.5 lakh dues pending against supply of furniture for his studio. Similarly, a man lodged a complaint at Badagada police station here alleging that Das has yet to pay the rent of around Rs 4 lakh against the house where his studio has been set up. "Allegations against me related to the other two cases are also false," Das claimed. The journalist further alleged that action has been taken against him intentionally for exposing the state government. He requested people to stand with him. New Delhi, June 30 : In a surprise move, the BJP has given the post of Chief Minister to Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde, in a bid to take along sena cadre and pacify the ground level workers and isolate the Thackarey family from the Shiv Sena as the rebels were claiming that they are the real outfit, sources said. The BJP's strategy is to replace the Shiv Sena with the rebels at the helm and it will lead to frustration in the Sena camp and will eventually result in two factions in the Sena itself. The Shinde faction has argued in the Supreme Court that they have not left Shiv Sena. Shinde who rose to ranks from Thane, was the protege of Anand Dighe and is a firebrand leader and has tight grip over the Thane region and is the first Sena leader who has got the Chief Minister's post after leaving the party. Earlier, Chhagan Bhujbal, Ganesh Naik and Narayan Rane left Sena for the CM's post but could not get it and are in different parties including BJP. On Thursday morning, Sanjay Raut asked Shinde, "will you get the Chief Minister's chair? It could have only happened in Shiv Sena." But now the BJP has moved in a manner to pacify the Sena cadre on the ground which could have been very aggressive and the conflict would have started with the BJP. A protege of Anand Dighe, former Thane district chief of Shiv Sena, Shinde joined politics in 1980 and was elected as councillor in 1997, and as MLA in 2004. Since then he has been continuously winning and was the Urban Development Minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. He also served as the leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly. He joined the Shiv Sena in the '80s and was appointed Shakha Pramukh of Kisan Nagar. In 2001, he got elected as leader of the house in Thane municipal corporation. Gangtok, June 30 : The Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services (AH & VS) Department of the Sikkim government asked the District Collector (DC) of Gangtok to ensure strict enforcement of the state's 2016 notification prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and use of glue traps for rodent control, officials said on Thursday. AH & VS Department Secretary P. Senthil Kumar in his letter to the DC said the glue traps, also known as glue boards or sticky types, are a type of non-lethal, extremely sticky with non-dying adhesive currently available in the market for control of rodent population and found to be widely used in grocery shops, restaurants. It is evident that such a method is not only cruel and barbaric but also contrary to the existing Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Therefore, AH & VS Department as per the direction of Animal Welfare Board of India, has issued the notification for strict implementation and the Department is making all efforts to implement this ban. Still these traps are found to be sold in the open market, hence, it would be appreciated if necessary steps are taken to curb the use and ban all such types of traps, Kumar told the DC. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India said that following its appeal, the Sikkim government took the action. "The manufacturers and sellers of glue traps sentence small animals to hideously slow and painful deaths and can turn buyers into lawbreakers," PETA India said in a statement on Thursday. It said: "PETA India commends Sikkim for taking steps to protect animals, no matter how small, and for setting an example for the entire country to follow." Noting that use of glue traps is a punishable offence under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, the PETA India said that usually made of plastic trays or sheets of cardboard covered with strong glue, they are indiscriminate killers, often catching non-target animals -- including birds, squirrels, reptiles, and frogs. Chennai, June 30 : The prices of eggs in Tamil Nadu have soared, even touching Rs 6 per egg in many parts of the state. Namakkal, the egg capital of South India, has cut short its production from 6 crore eggs per day to 5 crore as fodder prices have gone up significantly. R. Ramesh Babu, of Southern Star Egg Farm, Namakkal, told IANS, "The prices of fodder have increased more than 30 per cent and has put immense strain on the farmers. We are not even able to touch our break even cost if prices are not hiked." The hike in fodder prices has forced many poultry farmers to close down some sheds to reduce expenses. Surulinathan, a poultry farmer of Namakkal told IANS, "The price hike helps us tally out other expenses in the market. To produce a single egg, we invest around Rs 4.80 to Rs 5.10 and this cost is without our transport charges, labour, vaccination, and electricity." He said that he owned more than 1 lakh chickens and have now sold over 30 per cent of them. Surulinathan said that more than 40 per cent of farmers of Namakkal have sold their chickens to stay afloat in the industry. With the Namakkal district egg farmers cutting down the production of eggs per day by one crore, there is a shortage of eggs also as a large volume of these eggs is sold to Kerala and Karnataka. Fifty lakh eggs per day from Namakkal district are sent to Tamil Nadu noon meal scheme. Farmers said that only by hiking the egg price to Rs 6 will they reach a point of profit and hence the hike in prices. Vangli Subramanian, President of Tamil Nadu Egg Poultry farmers marketing society told IANS, "The hike in price of fodder has broken the backbone of our industry. Before the Covid pandemic lockdown, the fodder price was Rs 18 to 20 per kg but now it has risen to Rs 30 to 32 per kg. This huge rise in fodder prices has led us to increase the price of eggs as, without a hike, it will lead to the total shut down of the industry which we cannot afford to." New Delhi, June 30 : The most worrying concerns of people in India and the Indian subcontinent are related to white or yellowish lesions of skin diseases. Clinically similar disorders commonly seen in children include vitiligo, pityriasis alba (PA), and polymorphic lucite (PLE). Dermatologist Dr. Vidushi Jain, Medical Director of Dermalinks, explains the causes and treatments to keep your skin protected in the summer. A skin disorder called Pityriasis Alba, which typically affects children's faces, is very frequent. Although it has been suggested that atopic dermatitis is the source of pityriasis alba, its exact cause is uncertain. In addition to being red, pink, or white in colour, the lesions might be circular, oval, or irregular in shape. Usually, on the face and arms, many patches may be seen at once. From a few months to over a year, the rash's length can vary. Multiple lesions may occur. The lesions are obvious on those with darker skin. Patients with lighter skin will notice the rash more frequently during the summer months as their skin tans. Young children are most often affected but pityriasis alba tends to go away with time. The loss of pigment here unlike vitiligo is not permanent and recovers with time. Cure - Pityriasis alba can sometimes resolve on its own without the need for medication. To keep moisture in the skin, a moisturiser cream or lotion may be advised. To minimise inflammation and discomfort, a low-dose topical corticosteroid may also be recommended. The polymorphic light eruption is a typical post-inflammatory syndrome that most frequently affects parts of the body that are exposed to light, such as the forearms and nape of the neck. When it resolves, the skin may appear a little white in the spots. The patches are unstructured, lack distinct edges, and have very light brown colouring. It is a postponed hypersensitive reaction to UV radiation and occasionally to visible light as well. Cure - They come back every summer, and using steroid creams for a prolonged period of time to reduce the redness can sometimes leave skin with white blotches. Vitiligo is primarily distinguished from congenital skin lesions by acquired, well-defined, depigmented small to large patches on the skin, the wet areas like the mouth, genitals, and/or white hair. Numerous autoimmune illnesses are usually linked to it. The most frequent connection among kids is Hashimoto's thyroiditis. It has an incidence rate of 0.1 per cent to 2 per cent and occurs everywhere. The quality of life for those who suffer from vitiligo is significantly impacted by this serious skin condition. Although the exact causes of this syndrome are unknown, it appears that genetic, immunological, and neurological factors interact to cause it. Cure - The therapy of vitiligo includes educating and reassuring young patients and their parents about the disease, thyroid testing, avoiding trigger factors, topical medication, and proper follow-up. By using self-tanning dyes and camouflage gear, one can improve their appearance. Although unpredictable, vitiligo frequently progresses over time. Children tend to have spontaneous repigmentation the most (10-20 per cent), however, it usually only affects parts of the skin that are exposed to the sun. (IANSlife can be contacted at IANSlife@ians.in) New Delhi, June 30 : Indian architecture has always been adored and held in high regard for its par excellence. Yet India fell behind in the discourse ever since the English conquest and the subsequent years after the end of the freedom struggle. The architecture that was built during the colonial rule was mostly designed by the British architects, and the contribution of the Indian architects seldom found recognition. Besides, the architectural practices of the era were not "contextualised" as per the Indian environment. After India attained Independence, the resource was scarce and the onus was on building the economy from the scratch rather than aspiring for architectural brilliance for sustainability. But from the 1970s, the architectural practices found fresh vision in the hands of the then new-age architects, yet global recognition remained uncherished until now. For the first time, India was invited to demonstrate its architectural prowess on the prestigious podium of the London Festival of Architecture. Dikshu Kukreja, Managing Principal of CP Kukreja Architects and a world-renowned urban planner, was invited to represent India on this occasion. Kukreja presented an exhibition titled "50 Years of the Built Environment," in which he examined the evolution of Indian architecture and design practices over the last five decades. The exhibition marked the gracious presence of the eminent author and director of the Nehru Centre (London) Amish Tripathi and the Director of the LFA, Rosa Rogina, amongst other notable dignitaries. On being the first Indian representative at Europe's biggest architecture festival, Kukreja says "It brings me immense joy to see contemporary Indian Architecture being received well, globally. It is a matter that is very close to my heart. It is not just about creating buildings, but how our buildings influence society. The honour of showcasing Indian Architecture through the works of C.P. Kukreja Architects at the ongoing London festival of architecture, not only puts India on the map in terms of architecture and infrastructural development but also provides great insights for visitors from all around the world to find opportunities of foreign investments in our country in terms of infrastructure. The exhibition goes a long way in showcasing the scales and opportunities that are coming up in India in terms of urban development and this provides a promising vision for the world to consider India as a favourable investment destination." At the exhibition, Kukreja explored the landmark buildings from the 1970s and 80s which contributed to the birth of a unique architectural identity for a newly independent India. Further, he elucidated on the 1990s and 2000s architectural practices through exploratory and investigative projects, which unleashed the experimental zeal and broke the conventions-as the economic liberalisation ushered in endless possibilities in terms of new-age materials and technology. Moving into the 21st century Kukreja discussed the contemporary practices in the field of Indian architecture at the forefront of cutting-edge innovation and sustainability, while being rooted in the local context. Amish Tripathi observes "When I looked at the projects, I noticed how we could all learn from the way they've used local materials and local traditions when it came to designing their projects." Reflecting on the current situation in India, Tripathi says "Many of our Indian cities have become urban heat islands because the architecture that's being used there, is not conducive to our climate. The traditional Indian architecture acknowledges the context and climate it is placed. It is cost-effective, reduces energy consumption, and has always been environmentally friendly." (N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe can be contacted at lothungbeni.h@ians.in) New Delhi, June 30 : For the first time in India comes a destination that is the perfect combination of one of the best combinations made in heaven: chocolate and coffee. With its first coffee and chocolate laboratory, Savorworks Roasters brings a dream space to the capital for lovers of the Dolce Vita or the good life! A unique concept in the country, the recently launched coffee is a one-stop shop to a bean-to-bar and bean-to-cup experience. In one of Delhi's chicest addresses, Chhatarpur, the studio serves as the perfect caffeine-free retreat for city connoisseurs. Savorworks Roasters aims to change the way India drinks and tastes coffee, from the inside to carefully crafted experiences. Coffee roasting, cafe and chocolate shop, this atelier is reminiscent of European cafes where guests can admire the process of making a chocolate bar, from roasting the cocoa beans to making the bar, as well as the intoxicating method of making coffee. make from coffee. By sourcing the finest locally grown cocoa and coffee beans and transforming them into fine chocolate and coffee, the brand aims to revolutionise the coffee and chocolate experience in India. A labour of love by passionate couple Paweena Withyasathien and Baninder Singh, Savorworks Roasters is an SCA-certified bean-to-bar coffee and chocolate roasting company founded in 2019. Inspired by the concept that guests have a complete coffee drinking experience, not limited to just one cup, Paweena and Baninder have created a minimalist, sophisticated yet cozy space with a Scandinavian vibe. "More than the atmosphere, the idea is to give people an experience," said Paweena, co-founder and art director. A typical day at Savour work roasters is centered around varied experiences. While diners enjoy tasty dishes, they can feast on live roasting behind the glass door where coffee beans from the estates of Riverdale and Stanley in Tamil Nadu and Ratnagiri in Karnataka are roasted and made into fragrant coffee. Every coffee processed anaerobically by Savor work roasters has a story. So when you buy a Boss's Wife homemade blend, you come home with a coffee literally inspired by the boss's wife, aka Paweena! And if you're fascinated by the Honey I'm Nuts blend, opt for a special honey processed coffee that has been processed for 36 hours and dried slowly for 21 days. Other blends include Phenom, Washed Riverdale Estate et al. Savorworkroasters is very proud of its handcrafted chocolates, which are also produced in-house in the chocolate shop. It is conceptualized on the strategic sourcing of locally grown cocoa by Idukki and Annamalai and its transformation into mixed chocolate for chocoholics. There is a range of flavors that the chocolatier offers; banoffee, pina colada to a non-alcoholic gin and tonic, Savoworkroasters chocolates are a work of art. For all those who want to savour and take back home a slice of this experience, there's the retail space where they can pick up some of the finest coffees, chocolates and even the in-house desserts. "The cafe will be a place where we push our own boundaries of craft, developing a unique roast for each individual coffee and a unique flavour profile for chocolate before experimenting with coffee and chocolate as an art form into imaginative and often surprising creations," says Paweena. Along with coffee brewed right before your eyes, there's also an ice cream counter where diners can indulge in this artisanal frozen Italian dessert. Savorworks Roasters also offers a selection of specialty croissant sandwiches ranging from Caprese (sun-dried tomato pesto, bocconcini and arugula salad) to Mediterranean (roasted eggplant and zucchini, hummus) and Chicken Arrabiata (pulled chicken in arrabiata sauce, bocconcini cheese) are enough. The Affogato is the icing on the cake, literally with their signature gelato topped with freshly brewed espresso. The menu also consists of an eclectic drinks menu with original house drinks, including Aloha (passion fruit syrup, soda, and ice cream topped with espresso); Wadar (espresso over powdered charcoal and milk); CafA Brule (pre-mixed sweet latte with yuzu syrup) or Sunset (lemon juice and honey with a cold brew or espresso and cream cheese). (IANSlife can be contacted at IANSlife@ians.in) New Delhi, June 30 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday said that they arrested a Chief Engineer, South Central Railway, for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs five lakh. A senior CBI official said that the accused was identified as P.R. Suresh. The official said that they lodged a case in this respect on June 29 after receiving a complaint in this respect. It was alleged that the accused was demanding Rs 5,00,000 from a man for extending currency of the contract for construction of ROB between Uppal and Jammikunta Railway Stations in Hyderabad. The CBI laid a trap and caught the accused red handed while demanding and accepting bribe of Rs 5,00,000 from the complainant. Searches were also conducted at the premises of the accused. The arrested accused was produced before the competent Court at Hyderabad. Chennai, June 30 : Aruna Guhan, one of the young producers and Creative Directors of AVM Productions, on Thursday disclosed how actor Vijayakanth, one of the top actors in the Tamil film industry in the nineties, chose to do a risky stunt sequence all by himself without a body double for the superhit film, 'Sethupathi IPS'. Taking to Instagram, the producer posted a series of pictures shot on the sets of the film 'Sethupathi IPS' and gave details of how Vijayakanth chose to do the risky stunts all by himself. She said: "On popular request, (sharing) some trivia and a working still from 'Sethupathi IPS', 1994. "In this scene, terrorists had planted a bomb in the clock tower of this building where Ministers gathered for a meeting and Vijayakanth sir was to climb the clock tower and stop the clock to diffuse the bomb. "There was no rope-technique used, where a rope is tied around the actor's waist to lift him in the air. Thatha (Grandpa) has spoken of how Vijayakanth sir took several risks and worked so hard to execute scenes and fights without a stunt double and sure enough, it had audiences on the edge of their seats." The producer also posted the video clip of how the stunt sequence appeared in the film. New Delhi, June 30 : Associated Journal Limited, the company which owns various publications including National Herald, announced on Thursday that it has appointed a new Editor for the print and digital editions. Rajesh Jha, who has worked with various publications in the past will be the head of digital and print wing while Zafar Agha will be heading the Urdu publication of Qaumi Awaz. AJL has National Herald in English and Navjivan in Hindi. The development comes a week after Rahul Gandhi was questioned by the ED and now Sonia Gandhi has been asked to join the probe in mid July in National Herald case. Her questioning, which was scheduled on June 23, was postponed on health grounds. Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has been questioned for 51 hours in five days this month. Sonia Gandhi, who is presently admitted to the hospital for Covid-related health issues, has also been summoned in July in the same case. The Congress had protested against the ED grilling and party General Secretary Ajay Maken had said, "The agencies were pressurising those who spoke against the government, but for the leaders who joined the BJP like Himanta Biswa Sarma and others there was no ED or CBI behind them. It is the 'glow and lovely' scheme for them." He also said that a Congress delegation had also met President Ram Nath Kovind on the issue. Geneva, June 30 : The World Health Organisation has expressed concern as the recent monkeypox outbreak has spread to vulnerable people, including children, pregnant women and those with weak immune systems. While the virus did manifest earlier in children, this reportedly the first in the recent outbreak, now confirmed in more than 3,000 patients spread across over 50 countries that are both endemic and non-endemic to the infection. The increasing trend of infections, majorly seen among men who have sex with men "is likely to continue", said WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, during a media briefing. "We are starting to see this with several children already infected. "I am concerned about sustained transmission because it would suggest that the virus is establishing itself and it could move into high-risk groups including children, the immunocompromised and pregnant women," Ghebreyesus said. The WHO added that it was investigating reports of infections in children under 18 in Spain and France, while two cases have been found in the UK since May. The WHO has recently stopped short of declaring the virus an international emergency, on the advice of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee. While the global health body noted that the escalating monkeypox outbreak in more than 50 countries should be closely monitored, it said "at this stage" it does not warrant being declared a global health emergency. "Overall, in the report, they (IHR Committee) advised me that at this moment the event does not constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, which is the highest level of alert WHO can issue," Ghebreyesus said. He added the cases are, however, "clearly an evolving health threat" that the WHO is following "extremely closely" and that if the situation further evolves, he would "reconvene the meeting quickly". The WHO advised countries to increase surveillance by boosting testing as quickly as possible, assist public health agencies and health workers on the frontlines of this outbreak, and squash the stigma around the virus to help people protect themselves. It said it is also actively working with LGBTQI+ communities to reduce stigma. The global health body also asked countries to provide equitable access to counter measures like vaccines and antivirals. Latest updates on Monkeypox Virus Outbreak Kolkata, June 30 : Belur Math, the headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, on Thursday issued a strong note of objection against a recent comment by a Trinamool Congress MLA describing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the incarnation of Maa Sarada, the wife and spiritual consort of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. At a recent public rally, Nirmal Maji, a three-time Trinamool legislator from Uluberia (North) in Howrah district, described Banerjee as the incarnation of Maa Sarada. He also attributed some imaginary statements to Maa Sarada in support of his logic. According to Maji, a few days before Swami Vivekananda's death, Maa Sarada told some of Swamiji's followers that when she will be reborn, she will be reborn in Kalighat near the famous Kali Temple. Incidentally, Banerjee's residence is located near the Kali Temple in Kalighat. "Maa Sarada also said that she will be involved in sacrifice, and social and political activities. From all these calculations, it is evident that Mamata Banerjee is the incarnation of Maa Sarada," Maji said. His comments drew criticism from the followers of Shree Ramakrishna, Maa Sarada and Swami Vivekananda nationally and globally. Finally on Thursday afternoon, Belur Math's general secretary, Swami Suvirananda, issued a strong rejoinder to Maji's comments and also said that the latter's attributions to Maa Sarada do not have any historical or documentary authenticity. Without naming Maji, Swami Suvirananda said that the recent statements by a political personality about Maa Sarada's rebirth do not figure in any related publication. "No publication either from Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission or from any other publishing house has reference to such statements from Maa Sarada. I know of many monks or followers of Maa Sarada, who came in touch with her in their lifetime. They have never referred to such statements from Maa Sarada. "I do not know where the MLA concerned secured such information. His comments have hurt the greatness and legacy of Maa Sarada. We feel frustrated over her insult," Swami Suvirananda said in his statement. Since the time the rejoinder was issued by Belur Math, Maji kept himself incommunicado. However, following such a strong reaction from Belur Math, which is a rare incident, he has been isolated within his own party. Trinamool spokesman Kunal Ghosh said that such comments of flattery have in fact caused embarrassment to the party and unnecessarily dragged the Chief Minister into a controversy. "Whoever has respect towards Mamata Banerjee should refrain from making such comments," he said. London, June 30 : The theory that prior Covid infections boost up people's immunity levels, helping them to fight future variants may not be so true, as per a World Health Organisation (WHO) official. According to David Nabarro, WHO's special envoy for Covid-19, repeated Covid infection may instead increase people's risk of long Covid. "Having Covid multiple times does not build up resistance or immunity because the virus is always changing," Nabarro was quoted as saying to Sky News. It is more likely to increase your chances of getting long Covid. "The more times you get it, the more likely you are to be unlucky and end up with long Covid -- which is the thing that none of us want because it can be so serious. "It can knock people off their stride for several months," Nabarro said. Long Covid is defined as having new or ongoing symptoms four weeks or more after the start of disease. Symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, loss of concentration, and joint pain. The symptoms can adversely affect day-to-day activities, and in some cases can be severely limiting. It can linger for months and years after an infection. Earlier Nabarro said Covid has now become an "inconvenience" for most people rather than "life-threatening". He expressed concerns for elderly and those with health conditions, as well as the unvaccinated, as they "are going to be badly affected". "I'm not worried for the world in that I really do believe that a lot has been learnt and at the same time the virus is evolving," Nabarro said. "But I am worried for individuals who may be at risk because they are in the older age group or have other conditions that mean they are likely to get severely ill. "I am worried for people who decided not to be vaccinated because I think their risks are greater as well." The current rise in global infections are due to the Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5. Nabarro said that the strains are capable of "dodging past the protection" from vaccines. He urged people to be "responsible" and continue to wear masks and social distance "to protect others" - as Covid cases continue to surge, the report said. Panaji, June 30 : Rebel MLAs of Shiv Sena who are still camping in Goa, with their leader Eknath Shinde's name announced as next Chief Minister of Maharashtra, were seen dancing in Taj Resort and Convention Centre in Panaji. Shinde on Thursday had left for Mumbai from Goa. However, members from his groups are still in Goa. They chanted slogans and said that they support Eknath Shinde while dancing in the hotel. Shinde virtually addressed the rebel MLAs from Mumbai and said that he will never forget the trust they showed in him. "With the support of our MLAs (rebels) we could reach this stage. This is an ideological fight. One side there was a power, government and big leaders and on the other side I am a small worker. But these 50 MLAs trusted me, I will not forget them. I assure you that the 'experience' (of Maha Vikas Aghadi government) of the last two and half years will not be repeated," Shinde said. Rebel MLAs staying in Goa hotel, told media persons they are very happy with the new political development and Eknath Shinde becoming the Chief Minister. Peshawar, June 30 : The chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, has said that while peace talks with Pakistani negotiators are ongoing, the group will not budge on its key demand for the reversal of erstwhile FATAs merger with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Express Tribune reported. The talks are being held with the Afghan Taliban acting as mediators. The TTP is represented by Mehsud and the Pakistani side is represented by the Peshawar Corps Commander, claimed the leader of the proscribed group, Express Tribune reported. It was earlier reported in May that a Pakistani delegation led by Peshawar Corps Commander Lt General Faiz Hameed visited Kabul and reportedly held talks with the representatives of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), according to Afghan journalists and sources, Express Tribune reported. However, there was no official confirmation from either side about the development but reports suggested that it was part of a renewed push by the Afghan Taliban to broker some kind of a deal between Pakistan and the TTP. "Faiz Hameed, head of Peshawar army corps command, along with his delegation had arrived in Kabul for negotiations with the TTP," Afghan journalist Bill Sarwary tweeted, Express Tribune reported earlier. The TTP is a banned umbrella group of terrorist outfits which currently operates out of its safe haven inside Afghanistan. It has claimed credit for most terrorist attacks in Pakistan since its inception in 2007. In an interview uploaded on YouTube, the TTP chief alleged that the negotiation process is being threatened by continuing raids and arrests of TTP men by Pakistani security forces. Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud took over as TTP chief following the death of his predecessor, Mullah Fazlullah - nicknamed Mullah Radio - in a US drone attack inside Afghanistan in 2018. He further said that only "rational demands" from the Pakistani side would be accepted, referring to Islamabad's demand of laying down arms and accepting the Constitution. He added that "uncalled for demands" will not be accepted. When asked whether the TTP had suffered losses in recent attacks, Mehsud declined to reveal details. He, however, admitted infighting within the TTP saying that attacks against Pakistan and its interests were due to the group's restructuring and internal struggles between members of the group. He sought to dismiss the notion that the Afghan Taliban had persuaded Pakistan to restart negotiations. The TTP chief stated that if the talks failed, it would be "natural" for war to be waged by both sides, Express Tribune reported. The TTP chief called the reversal of FATA merger as a central demand of the outlawed group. "The success of the talks mainly relies on Pakistan, if they show seriousness and remove hurdles in meeting our demands, it could be successful". Referring to the demand by the PPP to have the dialogue process approved by parliament, the TTP leader said the two sides had already finalised their demands and added that the issue was not of concern to the TTP. "We know that the security forces are the real power centre in the state of Pakistan," the chief of the banned organisation stated, the report said. Kolkata, June 30 : West Bengal unit of the BJP has announced its new steering committee for the state panchayat polls of 2023 keeping out the party's former state president and the current vice-president Dilip Ghosh out of it. Actress turned-politician and the party MP from Hooghly Lok Sabha constituency, Locket Chatterjee, known as a close confidant of Dilip Ghosh, has also not been given any berth in the steering committee. The decision has taken many political observers in the state by surprise since in the 2018 West Bengal panchayat polls, BJP under the leadership of Ghosh as the-then state president did quite well and established itself as the principal opposition party in West Bengal replacing Left Front for the first time. However, top BJP leaders including Ghosh and the party's current state president, Sukanta Majumdar have refused to make any comment on the formation of the steering committee. However, a member of the state committee, on strict condition of anonymity that since as a national vice-president Dilip Ghosh has been burdened with so many national level responsibilities so he has been relieved of responsibilities relating to panchayat polls. BJP's Lok Sabha member from Raiganj in North Dinajpur district, Debasree Chaudhuri had been made in-charge of the said steering committee. Two other Lok Sabha members from West Bengal namely Jagannath Sarkar from Ranaghat in Nadia district and Saumitra Khan from Bishnupur in Bankura district have been made the co-in-charge of the committee. Party state general secretary and MLA from Falakata assembly constituency in Alipurduar district, Dipak Barman has been made the convener of the committee. It is learnt that West Bengal will be under special focus in the BJP's National Executive Committee meeting at Hyderabad. "Following the return of BJP leaders back to Trinamool Congress, especially the party's heavyweight MP from Barrackpore Lok Sabha, Arjun Singh, a debate has erupted in the state committee on how much the party can depend on turncoats who joined BJP from Trinamool. This matter is expected to be raised in the National Executive Committee meeting," confirmed a state committee member. New Delhi, June 30 : In another dramatic turn of events in Maharashtra, former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is set to become Deputy Chief Minister in the government headed by Shiv Sena faction leader Eknath Shinde, which is set to be sworn it shortly on Thursday. BJP President J.P. Nadda said that he has requested that Fadnavis be part of the new government. In a series of tweets, Nadda said that his BJP had shown it did not hanker for power and the Chief Ministership in 2019 but it was Uddhav Thackeray who became the Chief Minister due to his "greed for the post" and formed a government with opposition parties, "despite mandate being in favour of (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji and Fadnavis". He said that the BJP, showing its generosity and in the interests of the people of Maharashtra, has decided to make Shinde the Chief Minister and Fadnavis had also decided to join the government for the sake of service to the people of the state. Home Minister Amit Shah also, in a tweet, announced that Fadnavis had accepted Nadda's request to join the government "in the interests of the state and its people". Earlier, announcing that Shinde would be the next Chief Minister, Fadnavis had said: "I will remain out of the government, but I shall do everything possible to make the new government a success on all fronts, and resume the developmental activities that had stopped in the past two and a half years." New Delhi, June 30 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday conducted searches at thirteen locations in Shivamogga District of Karnataka in Harsha murder case. The case relates to the murder of one Harsha alias Hindu Harsha, an active member of Bajrang Dal. He was killed allegedly for his involvement in gau raksha related activities. The case was initially registered on February 21, 2022 and later the NIA took over the probe on March 23, 2022. "During the searches conducted today at the premises of the accused and suspects, various digital devices including mobile phones, SIM cards, memory cards, hard disk and other incriminating materials and documents have been seized," said the NIA official. Further investigations in the matter is on. Mumbai, June 30 : Capping off a series of startling political events of the past 10 days, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath of office to Eknath Sambhaji Shinde as the 20th Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis as the Deputy CM, here on Thursday evening. The oath-taking ceremony came a day after former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray resigned his post in the wake of a major rebellion in the Shiv Sena legislators that led to the collapse of the 31-month-old Maha Vikas Aghadi government. After a string of fast-paced developments, the BJP decided to support a minority government headed by Shinde from outside. Later, following directives of the party top brass like President J.P. Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Fadnavis - former two-time CM - finally agreed to join the new regime as the No 2 and Deputy CM. The two-member cabinet will be expanded soon with more MLAs inducted as ministers from the Shinde group of Shiv Sena and the BJP, according to party sources. Chandigarh, June 30 : Led by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Thursday passed a resolution urging the Union government to roll back the Agnipath scheme in the larger interest of the country. Moving a resolution in the House, amidst protest by two BJP members, the Chief Minister read that the unilateral announcement of the government of India to introduce the Agnipath scheme in the armed forces has witnessed widespread reactions across the country, including Punjab. "The Punjab Vidhan Sabha strongly feels that the scheme where youth will be employed in armed forces only for a period of four years and out of which only 25 per cent will be retained is neither in the interest of national security nor of the youth of this country," he said. Mann further said, "this policy is likely to create dissatisfaction among the youth who wish to serve the armed forces of the nation throughout their life". The Chief Minister reminded the House that more than one lakh soldiers from Punjab serve the armed forces and a large number of them sacrifice their lives at the altar of their motherland while safeguarding the borders of the country every year. He apprised the House that the youth of Punjab, known across the globe for their traits of valour and courage, consider it a matter of pride and privilege for them to serve their motherland by joining the armed forces. However, Mann bemoaned that this scheme has crushed the ambitions of several youths of Punjab who have been aspiring to join the armed forces as regular soldiers. The Chief Minister envisioned that the scheme also has the propensity to weaken the long standing espirit de corps of the armed forces. "The Vidhan Sabha urges the Union government to roll back the Agnipath Scheme immediately," read the resolution moved by the Chief Minister. Meanwhile, training his guns at the BJP-led NDA government for this whimsical move, the Chief Minister, while participating in the debate, dared the BJP leaders to enroll their own sons as Agniveers before supporting this anti-youth move. He said that those who are advocating this move should set an example by sending their sons first in the Army under the scheme. Mann said in this way they will get a fresh young lot of Agniveers who will be saluting their leaders in their office, after a service of four years. The Chief Minister asked the BJP leaders to explain how will the country combat its infiltrators and enemies with an 'army on rent'. He cautioned them that this move will prove fatal for the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the country in the coming times. Opposing the resolution, BJP member Ashwani Sharma said it is nothing but doing politics on the security of the country. The scheme was wrongly interpreted. "It is rather aimed at instilling discipline, skilling and patriotism in the youth," he said. Congress Legislature Party leader Partap Singh Bajwa, while supporting the resolution, said the Agnipath scheme is fraught with danger. He said a majority of the retired army officers were opposing the scheme. New Delhi, June 30 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has decided to question Riyaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad, the two prime accused in the gruesome broad daylight beheading of a man named Kanhaiya Lal inside his tailoring shop in Udaipur, in Rajasthan only. Sources in the agency said that it received crucial inputs that the accused duo could be attacked by different organisations and hence it has decided to grill them in Rajasthan to avoid any untoward incident. Earlier it was reported that the two prime accused will be brought to Delhi by the NIA for questioning. "There are many more involved in the incident. It was a larger conspiracy which was executed in a well-planned manner. Not all those involved in hatching the conspiracy to execute the killing have been arrested yet. And we don't want any untoward incident, as we have inputs that the accused might be attacked. Hence, we have postponed the plan to take them to Delhi," said a source. NIA sources claimed that accused could be part of a larger conspiracy. In 2014, Ghouse had gone to Karachi where he came in contact with the Dawat-e-Islami, a radical organisation. Since then he was in touch with them. Both the accused recorded a video after beheading Kanhaiya Lal, stating that they took revenge for insult to Islam. In the viral video, one of the two accused could be heard saying, "I will make the video viral when I accomplish my goal to teach a lesson to the accused who has shown disrespect to our God." Mumbai, June 30 : Actor Rushad Rana speaks about being a part of Hansal Mehta's web series 'Modern Love: Mumbai'. Rushad elucidated: "I did not know that I'm going to be part of the Modern Love series, I just knew that Hansal Mehta sir is making a film and I have been asked to be a part of it. I was very excited about it because I had wanted to work with Hansal Mehta sir for a very long time, in fact I had even written a message for him on Facebook once showing my eagerness to work with him." Furthermore, he added: "I've been a very big fan of the original Modern Love series so when I got to know that this is Modern Love series, I was elated." On the professional front, the actor is all set to be seen in yet another web series, 'Miya Biwi aur Murder' and Rushad is seen portraying a very different and unique character in it. Bengaluru, June 30 : Karnataka has bagged the "Top Achiever" position under the implementation of the Ease of Doing Business ranking of States/Union Territories released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Government of India on Thursday. This is the state's "Best Performance" under EoDB since the inception of this assessment. Karnataka improved its position from 17th position to the "Top Achiever" along with Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, the official statement from the Ministry of Large and Medium Industries said. Last year, after 100 per cent implementation of 187 reforms suggested by DPIIT, Karnataka faced a drastic fall in the state's ranking from 8th position in 2017 to 17th position in 2019. Commenting on the state's ranking, Murugesh R. Nirani, Minister for Large and Medium Industries said, "Karnataka is known for its industry-friendly policies and progressive reforms. The state is extensively working towards simplification of Government processes, as well as addressing feedback/ grievances." The state rose up to this rank based on its ability to better implement varied reforms across areas ranging from EoDB, to Affidavit Based Clearance (ABC). Land reforms, Central Inspection System, Single-Window Clearances to Sectoral policies" Dr E.V. Ramana Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Commerce and Industries Department, said, "Karnataka Udyog Mitra, the nodal agency for ensuring the implementation of EODB reforms in the state, has made immense efforts in ensuring the timely and effective implementation of recommendations made by DPIIT, GoI." This has been achieved in due coordination and efforts by 30+ state departments that implemented reforms across 15 areas". Gunjan Krishna, Commissioner for Industrial Development and Director, Department of Industries & Commerce, said, "We have implemented the Affidavit Based Clearance (ABC) to facilitate Ease of Doing Business (EoDB). By amending the Industrial Facilitation Act, the hurdles in establishing industries have been removed. Due to the favourable industrial environment in Karnataka, there is a tremendous response from investors across the globe to invest in the state". Kolkata, June 30 : Congress' West Bengal chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday said that he would approach the Supreme Court against the Calcutta High Court order, ruling out a CBI probe into the state government's disinvestment of its stake in erstwhile joint venture Metro Dairy Ltd. On June 13, the high court's division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj observed that since the state government did not adopt any opaque sale of shares, there was no need for any intervention by the court in the process. It also observed that the disinvestment process was neither arbitrary nor illegal. Not happy with the ruling, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has now decided to approach the apex court. Chowdhury's counsel, P.K. Chattopadhyay said that that the state government in 2017 sold its 47 per cent stake to private entity Keventer Group at a throwaway price of just Rs 85 crore and in the same year, Keventer Group sold 15 percent of this to a Singapore-based entity for Rs 135 crore. "Without any vested interest the state government would never have divested its stake in Metro Dairy at such a throwaway price. So, we wanted a CBI enquiry in the matter. But since the division bench of the Calcutta High Court did not approve that, we will be moving to the Supreme Court with the same demand," he said. Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram had appeared on behalf of Metro Dairy Ltd in the high court, but faced ire of a group of Congress-affiliated advocates when he came for the hearing. --IANS src/vd A A A London, June 30 : Two-time champion Petra Kvitova and No. 4 seed Paula Badosa of Spain won their respective women's singles second-round matches in contrasting styles as they set up a tantalising third-round clash in Wimbledon on Thursday. Czech Republic star Kvitova, who won the title in 2011 and 2014, had to quell a second set fightback by Ana Bogdan of Romania to win 6-1, 7-6(5) while Badosa enjoyed a relatively easier time in beating another Romanian Irina Bara 6-3, 6-2. Between 2010 and 2014, Kvitova did not lose before the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, since 2015, she has reached the last 32 only twice. On Thursday, it looked like Kvitova would suffer another wobble as Bogdan put up a strong fight in the second set, winning five games in a row from 6-1, 5-1 down to lead 6-5 in the second set. However, she tightened things up just in time to overcome Bogdan. Serving at 5-6, she staved off two set points, one with an ace and the next with a one-two punch, and then edged the ensuing tiebreak, according to a report on the WTA Tour. After 1 hour and 45 minutes, Kvitova finished with 40 winners, including 10 aces, to 24 unforced errors; Bogdan ultimately tallied 18 winners and only seven unforced errors. "I'm really glad that's over," Kvitova told the No.3 Court crowd after the match. "I didn't serve it out twice. I should really have lost the second set. But I somehow made it. "It was very tight. I really tried every game as hard as I could. This was a mental battle, and a few long games on my serve were mentally tough. Ana played a great match even when the second set looked terrible for her. Somehow I made it. I don't know how but I did it," Kvitova was quoted as saying by the official website. The Czech has lost twice to players ranked outside the top 100 this season and until Eastbourne last week, 2022 was turning out to be a difficult year for Kvitova -- in 11 of her first 13 tournaments, she could not win back-to-back matches. That fifth career grass title at Eastbourne came just in time for the left-hander who had lost in the first round at the Australian Open and in second at Roland Garros. Badosa, who lost her Eastbourne opener to Jodie Burrage last week, has recovered to book her place in the third round of Wimbledon for the second year in a row. The 24-year-old has reached at least that stage in five of the past six majors. The pair have played once before, with Kvitova winning 7-5, 7-5 in the second round of the 2020 Australian Open. The scoreline belies the toughness of the challenge Bara posted at times. The No.122-ranked Romanian, who was making her Wimbledon debut, engaged Badosa in several bruising rallies and wowed the No.2 Court crowd with her deft touch on the drop shot and stellar reflexes at the net. However, Bara's attempts to prevent Badosa from overpowering her often resulted in overhitting, with 23 unforced errors outweighing 14 winners and the drop shots that worked were negated by too many that sat up for Badosa to swat away easily. Badosa's serve proved to be a formidable weapon as she dropped serve only once, midway through the first set, and conceded only two points on her first delivery. France's Alize Cornet remained on course to set the record for most consecutive Grand Slam main draw appearances. The Frenchwoman - who is now tied with Ai Sugiyama on 62 - reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open in January, and returned to the third round of Wimbledon for the first time since 2016 with a 6-3, 6-3 defeat of Claire Liu. The result means that this is the first season of 32-year-old Cornet's career in which she has reached the last 32 of each of the first three Slams. Ajla Tomljanovic, who made her first major quarterfinal at Wimbledon last year, booked her place in her second straight SW19 third round with a 6-2, 6-2 win over American qualifier Catherine Harrison. The result puts the Australian into the third round of a major for the fourth time in her career. Srinagar, June 30 : All India Radio (AIR) Srinagar on Thursday started the Amarnath Yatra special broadcast from Baltal base camp. AIR established an FM transmission facility and studio facility at Baltal where daily broadcast for Yatra will be aired for 16 hours daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. This broadcast will be available for the yatris on NewsonAir app of AIR wherein a special platform for the Amarnath Yatra Broadcast has been created. The broadcast on this app will be available globally. It is available on FM 103.7 Mghz & on DTH also where it is available on AIR Urdu Service. The broadcast facility has been created under the supervision of Deputy Director General of AIR, Nillai Nayagam whereas the programme content is being supervised by the Programme Head Rabia Rasool. Programme Executive Talha Jahangir is the producer in-charge for this special transmission. This daily broadcast will be available till the Raksha Bandhan festival. Field reports from Yatra from Jammu up to Amarnath Shrine on Baltal and Pahalgam routes are being broadcast for latest updates to the pilgrims. Hourly weather updates and other requisite advisories and guidelines are being put on air at regular intervals throughout the transmission. New Delhi, June 30 : The Congress has mounted attack on the BJP over formation of a government in Maharashtra. Party General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said that the BJP has captured another government with naked display of money and muscle power. "The BJP has undemocratically and unethically captured yet another state government. Under the Modi-Shah duo, the BJP wants to capture power at any cost, either directly or through remote control. What happened in Maharashtra is shameful for Indian democracy," he said. Ramesh said that since 2014, the prime focus of the BJP has been to bring down elected governments in states rather than serve the public. "The offices of the Governors and Speakers, and agencies like ED and CBI are openly misused. Buying MLAs have become commonplace that the Finance Minister blurted out the truth when she suggested imposition of GST on horse-trading," he added referring to her gaffe while mentioning items to be brought under GST. Ramesh alleged that the BJP can go to any extent to win elections - from misuse of money power to polarization and violence. Despite using all these tactics, if the voters reject them, then they start hatching conspiracies to topple elected governments. He said that in the year 2016, the BJP brought down the Congress government in Uttarakhand in a similar way. The government elected for 5 years was reduced to a minority in four years by engineering defections. The same year, in Arunachal Pradesh, 43 out of 44 Congress MLAs were made to defect to the BJP-backed Front -- People's Party of Arunachal, under the leadership of Chief Minister Pema Khandu. Galle, June 30 : Usman Khawaja (71) and Cameron Green (77) scored half-centuries to put Australia in a commanding position against Sri Lanka on the rain-truncated second day of the first Test of the two-match series, at Galle International Stadium, here on Thursday. Australia were 313-8, leading Sri Lanka by 101 runs at stumps on Day 2 with Pat Cummins (26) and Nathan Lyon (8) unbeaten at the crease. The first session of play was washed out due to rain. The extremely windy conditions in Galle further delayed proceedings as the players spent the first session of play on day two in the dressing room. It wasn't until 1345 hrs local time that play was possible. Despite the pitch staying covered for most parts, there was huge spin on offer from the get-go. Travis Head's decision to play against the spin backfired as Dhananjaya de Silva completed a brilliant return catch to dismiss the southpaw. Usman Khawaja's dream run with the bat continued as he notched up yet another fifty. The spin and bounce on the surface continued to trouble the batters but Khawaja and Cameron Green found a way to keep the scoreboard ticking with occasional boundaries. Khawaja looked set for a big score before he became Jeffrey Vandersay's first Test wicket. Once again, Sri Lanka showed great catching -- this time Pathum Nissanka completed a great catch close in at short leg. With the pitch doing all sorts of things, Alex Carey came out and decided to fight fire with fire. The wicketkeeper-batter took the attack to the bowlers and quickly knocked off the deficit to put Australia in the lead. Green and Carey took Australia safely to tea with a lead of 21 runs. Coming out to bat in the final session in the 40s, only one of them managed to score a half-century. Green hit a four to get to his milestone in style but Carey (45) failed to do so as he was out to yet another stunning catch, this time from Dinesh Chandimal while running backwards. Green and Mitchell Starc added 37 crucial runs for the seventh wicket before both of them were back in the hut in the space of four balls. Skipper Pat Cummins came out and landed some lusty blows including one maximum that went outside the stadium. However, that six was the last bit of action on day two as bad light forced umpires to call stumps early. Brief scores: Australia 313-8 (Cameron Green 77, Usman Khawaja 71; Ramesh Mendis 4-107) lead Sri Lanka 212 (Niroshan Dickwella 58, Angelo Mathews 39; Nathan Lyon 5-90, Mitchell Swepson 3-55) by 101 runs New Delhi, June 30 : The Union Health Ministry on Thursday announced the setting up of two 50-bed hospitals with the help of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for Amarnath pilgrims. "The 50-bed hospitals have been set-up at Baltal and Chandwari by DRDO through the funds provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). For these hospitals, there is an additional requirement of staff. The surplus manpower available with MoHFW was provided to Directorate of Health Services (DHS) Kashmir for further deployment", the Health Ministry said. The Ministry has also deployed medical professionals from Central government and state government-run hospitals to assist devotees while on the way to Amarnath. The Health Ministry said that the state governments (particularly those states from where large number of pilgrims arrive) have been informed about the required arrangements along with medical preparation including services of specialist doctors as well as General Duty Medical Officers to supplement the efforts of the Jammu & Kashmir Government. For attending medical emergencies during the Yatra, health professionals including doctors and paramedics will be deployed in batches. First batch commenced from June 25 and will be deployed till July 13. Second and third batches would be from July 11 to July 28 and July 26 to August 11, 2022. The Government of J&K through DHS, Kashmir has requested for 155 medical personnel, 87 doctors and 68 paramedics. In all, 176 nominations, 115 doctors and 61 paramedics, have been received from the Central Government Hospitals and CGHS. Further, the Government of J&K also requested 11 states and Union Territories for 437 medical personnel that includes 154 doctors and 283 paramedics. "In all, 433 nominations of 214 doctors and 219 paramedics have been received from 9 states. Deployment of 428 medical personnel (211 doctors, 217 paramedics) have already been made by DHS (Kashmir) for all the three batches," the Ministry said in a statement. Kolkata, June 30 : West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday sought detailed information on the criminal cases which the state government has withdrawn against the elected parliamentarians and legislators in the state since May 1, 2021, when the Trinamool Congress came to power in the state for a third consecutive term. Dhankhar has written to Chief Secretary H.K. Dwivedi, directing the latter to submit a detailed report on this count to the office of the Governor by July 11. In the letter, the Governor has sent a strong note of caution to the Chief Secretary to avoid failure in submitting the report. "The Chief Secretary also be cautioned that his repeated failures to make available information sought earlier is a gross violation of The All India Service (Conduct) Rules, 1968 and a misconduct that cannot be overlooked. He needs to ensure that all such information be also sent by July 11, 2022 along with his explanation of failure to ensure compliance thereof," the letter read. Although the Governor did not specify the reasons as to why he sought specific information on this count, those in the state's bureaucratic circles believe that this has some connection with the post-poll violence cases in West Bengal since May 2021, which are being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). In fact, a team of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had visited the state after the Assembly polls last year and interacted with the victims of the post-poll violence. In its report, the NHRC mentioned names of many elected MLAs and MPs of the ruling Trinamool Congress. It also named a number of state ministers. The state government, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has on a number of occasions expressed displeasure over the Governor seeking information from bureaucrats or summoning bureaucrats and police officers to the Governor's house. Bhubaneswar, June 30 : In wake of the upsurge in Covid-19 cases, use of face mask has been made mandatory in Bhubaneswar, as per an order issued on Thursday. In its order, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) said that there has been a sudden increase in the number of newly-detected Covid-19 positive cases within the BMC area in the last few days which requires caution among the citizens. All citizens residing within its area as well as those visiting the city will have to wear mask appropriately while moving out and while in public places, it said. Similarly, all citizens maintain a social distance of two meters among themselves at all times while in public places. All malls, shops, store owners have been asked to ensure social distancing about two meters within their premises. The responsibility of maintenance of social distancing lies with the owner of the premises, said the BMC. The municipal corporation advised its citizens to maintain hand hygiene frequently and observe appropriate coughing/sneezing etiquette at all times. Citizens are also advised to refrain from spitting in public places. The chief executive or head of the offices of government as well as private offices will have to ensure that their employees are observing Covid appropriate behaviour in their office premises. "Any violations on the above-mentioned aspect will attract penal provisions of the Odisha Covid-19 Regulations and amendments made from time to time," the corporation warned. Odisha on Thursday logged 155 fresh Covid-19 infections, of which highest 69 cases were detected from Khurda district where Bhubaneswar city is located. On Wednesday, 161 people had tested positive for the disease. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) New Delhi, June 30 : A Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Thursday sent Riaz Akhtari and Ghaus Mohammed, the two prime accused who killed a tailor Kanhaiya Lal, to 14 days judicial custody. Both the accused were produced before the special court amid tight security. The court after hearing the contention sent them to judicial custody. The sources in the agency said that they received crucial input that both can be attacked by different organisations and hence they decided to produce them before Udaipur court. "There are many more involved in the incident. It was a larger conspiracy which was executed in a well planned manner. The people who are involved in this are yet to be caught. And we don't want any untoward incident, as we have input that accused might be attacked, hence we have postponed the plan to take them to Delhi," said the source. The source said that both had been keeping an eye on the accused for a long time. Ghaus, in 2014 went to Karachi where he came in contact with the Dawat-e-Islami organization. Since then he was in touch with them. Both the accused after hacking Kanhaiya Lal to death recorded the video saying they were taking revenge on insult to Islam. Later they posted the video on social media. In the viral video, one of the two accused could be heard saying, "I will make the video viral when I accomplish my goal to teach a lesson to the accused who has shown disrespect to our God." The incident sent panic waves across the country and Rajasthan Government immediately shut down internet service for a day to avoid untoward incident. Patna, June 30 : With relations between Bihar ruling allies not at their best, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has reportedly directed leaders of his BJP to avoid any statement against the JD-U and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. A BJP insider said that the political relation between BJP and JD-U turned sour during Agnipath agitation when BJP state chief Sanjay Jaiswal and other leaders like Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi blamed the Nitish Kumar government of not firmly tackling the largescale violence. Meanwhile, JD-U leaders like its national President Rajiv Ranjan Singh and Upendra Kushwaha have asked the Centre to rethink on that scheme. Following the tussle, the top BJP leadership had sent Pradhan to Patna to meet Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. After their meeting, Pradhan announced that Nitish Kumar will be the Chief Minister till 2025. Following the meeting with Nitish Kumar, Pradhan took a close door meeting of state BJP leaders and asked them to consult with BJP General Secretary Bhikhu Bhai Dalsania before giving any statement on the NDA government led by Nitish Kumar in Bihar. Mumbai, June 30 : Making a documentary is an art that requires passion, but, when one sets out to make a docu-series on one of the most controversial Godmen and portray their crimes, it automatically becomes a daunting task that requires dedication, commitment and sheer will. Filmmaker-journalist Naman Saraiya, who has created the recently released docu-series 'My Daughter Joined a Cult' based on self-proclaimed godman Nithyananda can corroborate the above fact. The director recently spoke with IANS about the treading the tricky road with his creation, how being a journalist influences the filmmaker in him and his views on the tussle between faith and rationale. Naman was naturally drawn to Nithyananda, who is accused of alleged sexual crimes and laying the foundation of theocratic nation of Kailasa. The filmmaker tells IANS, "The story came naturally, especially given the world we are living in and the online persona Nithyananda had created for himself. So much material, especially from his recent past, was accessible online. Also, finding survivors and ex-devotees looking to voice their stories, and trust us with it made it much easier." "I was happy to be brought on board by the team at VICE Studios, India and discovery+ who had been in conversation for a little bit, on a concept level. The reports of Janardhan Sharma and family's plight was all over the news towards the end of 2019, and helped dive deeper into the long, arduous trail of the alleged crimes of Nithyananda. It became an easy entry point," he adds. Ask him how the journalist in him comes to the rescue of a storyteller in him and he says, "It truly does cross-over! In an ever changing media landscape, especially with documentaries in the last decade or so, integrity is the most important." He further mentions, "Staying true to the stories of survivors, verifying one's sources and most importantly, using available court records and police chargesheets to frame the story was key - and we've aimed to do just that with this docu-series! Getting to amalgamate my journalism and filmmaking aspirations, while challenging, has been truly rewarding." Making a documentary requires mind-boggling levels of patience and to emotionally be a little afar from the subject matter, in the words of one of India's most successful filmmakers - Kabir Khan (New York, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, 83). How did Naman emotionally disconnect himself and be "a fly on the wall"? He responds: "Cognitive dissonance with subjects such as these isn't easy, but of utmost importance, in my opinion. I think not losing sight of the bigger picture, while focusing on the intricacies... and finding that balance is incredibly important. With a great team backing me - especially the producers, researchers and assistant directors, and editors - this became easy to do. Perhaps sharing the heaviness of the subject material with a compassionate, sensitive and keen group of collaborators made it easier than it otherwise would have been." And lastly, he shares his opinion on the debate of faith vs rationale. "Through our journey of making this docu series, we came across the most rational people who did not question certain aspects of Nithyananda's actions during their time in the cult. Obviously, we are not here to judge or question anyone's faith, but throw light on the wrongdoings laid bare for everyone to see," the filmmaker concludes. 'My Daughter Joined a Cult' is available to stream on OTT platform discovery+. Dhaka, June 30 : The International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) of Bangladesh on Thursday sentenced Pakistan-backed fugitive war criminal Md Shafi Uddin Moulana, a Razakar Bahini leader, to death for crimes against humanity during the Liberation War of 1971 at Lakhai upazila in Habiganj. Shafi, who is absconding since the beginning of the case, was the central committee secretary of East Pakistan Nezam-e-Islam, a wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. He participated in the provincial assembly elections as its candidate, according to the case records. The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Md Shahinur Islam, found the other accused guilty of the charges brought against them for committing genocide, murders, rapes, abductions and tortures during the 1971 Liberation War in Lakhai. The three other accused in the case, Tajul Islam alias Forkan, Md Jahed Miah alias Jahid Miah, and Saleque Miah alias Sayek Miah, were sentenced imprisonment until death on the same charges. The special court, however, acquitted another accused, Sabbir Ahmed, of war crime charges. According to the verdict, Sabbir, who is also on the run, got acquitted as the prosecution failed to prove the charges brought against him. The tribunal withdrew an arrest warrant it had earlier issued against Sabbir. In 1971, Shafi took the stance against the Independence of Bangladesh and worked as a close associate and collaborator for the Pakistani Occupation Army. He was also known as a leader of the 'peace committee and Razakar Bahini of Lakhai' and worked as the auxiliary force of Pakistan Army, who committed genocide, rapes and killings. Tajul, Jahed and Saleque were members of the Razakar Bahini. The tribunal's investigating agency released the final report on March 21, 2016 against the five accused per sons. The trial in the case began on February 8, 2019 with the framing of charges against the accused. ("Trail of the Tiger" tracks the personal and political journey of Uddhav Thackeray against the backdrop of the changing narrative of Hindutva, and new connotations to Hindutvas sub-national plot, with the rise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a new Hindu Hriday Samrat. It is the story of one of the biggest upheavals in Indian politics where breaking a 30-year-old alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shiv Sena joined Sonia Gandhis camp, holding Sharad Pawars finger after the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections) Uddhav Thackeray's decision to snap ties with the BJP and align with the Congress and the NCP in Maharashtra needs to be understood against the backdrop of the political narrative built by Balasaheb, revered by hardcore Hindu nationalists and Sainiks as the Hindu Hriday Samrat (monarch of the Hindu heart), and the emergence of Narendra Modi. Balasaheb claimed that the Thackerays had been proponents of Hindutva ever since his father Keshav Thackeray started a movement in 1922. Balasaheb claimed that he was only taking forward his father's push for Hindutva. But Balasaheb coloured his father's reformist Hindutva agenda an even darker saffron after the latter's death in 1973. The 1987 Vile Parle by-poll was one of the turning points in Hindutva politics. The Shiv Sena decided to contest the seat after the death of the sitting Vile Parle MLA, Hans Bhugra. It fielded the Mumbai mayor, Dr Ramesh Prabhoo, as a 'Shiv Sena independent' candidate because at the time the Sena had not yet been recognised as a political party. This was the first time Balasaheb fiercely and openly sought votes in the name of religion. In one campaign speech, he said, 'We are fighting this election for the protection of Hinduism. Therefore, we do not care for the votes of the Muslims. This country belongs to Hindus and will remain so.' A banner with the slogan 'Garva se kaho hum Hindu hain' was displayed on the dais. Balasaheb claimed that Hindutva was in danger and Shiv Sena would be its saviour. He appealed to voters to vote for the victory of Hindutva. 'You will find Hindu temples underneath if all the mosques are dug out [up]. Anybody who stands against the Hindus should be shown or worshipped with shoes,' Balasaheb said. He brought Lord Ram into the election arena too, 'We have come with the ideology of Hinduism. Shiv Sena will implement this ideology. Though this country belongs to Hindus, Ram and Krishna are insulted.' The electoral narrative appeared to work-Shiv Sena won the by-election. The defeated candidate, Congress leader Prabhakar Kunte, took the matter of the communal speeches to the Bombay High Court which declared Prabhoo's election void as per the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The court named Balasaheb for the commission of corrupt practices under the Act. Prabhoo approached the Supreme Court which upheld the high court's judgment and concluded that Balasaheb's three speeches amounted to corrupt practices under the Act. Since votes were sought in the name of Prabhoo, he too was declared a part of the corrupt practices. The Election Commission stripped Balasaheb of voting rights for six years. The Supreme Court, in its judgment, said that the offending speeches made by Balasaheb violated and eroded India's secular polity. 'We say this with the fervent hope that our observation has some chastening effect in the future election campaigns,' the court added. The Supreme Court Bench, comprising Justice Jagdish Verma, N P Singh and K Venkataswami, said that it had to record its distress at the communal speeches given by top political leaders. It added that given the likely impact of such speeches, leaders need to be more circumspect in how they address voters during campaigns. But Balasaheb had already set the tone for all hardcore Hindu nationalist leaders to follow. He even questioned the court's judgment. Balasaheb's Hindutva turned even more ferocious after the 1987 by-polls. Interestingly, the BJP was not with the Sena-or the Hindutva agenda-in this election; it had opted to support a Janta Dal candidate who championed secularism. After this election, the Sena fought and won the Aurangabad civic election, again using the Hindutva line. Thackeray led the way for the BJP on Hindutva, noted Prakash Akolkar in his book Jai Maharashtra, which documents Shiv Sena's history. The BJP was forced to abandon its Gandhian socialism after Balasaheb's strategy won the popular vote. Balasaheb did not just introduce hardcore Hindutva narrative into India's electoral politics but also placed Lord Ram at its centre, as mentioned earlier. During the Vile Parle elections, the Sena objected to how Dr B R Ambedkar spoke of Ram and Krishna in his writings, especially Riddles in Hinduism. The government of Maharashtra was publishing his collated works and the Sena objected to this. For Balasaheb, the Vile Parle election verdict was the victory of Ram and Krishna and a 'licence' for the formation of a 'Hindu Rashtra'. It was God's wish to put this 'licence' in his hands, said Balasaheb, and claimed that the process of building the Hindu Rashtra would begin from Maharashtra before spreading across India.6 Hindutva and nationalism proved to be powerful political tools and the Sena wore its 1987 victory, and the subsequent court reproof, as a badge of honour. According to Uddhav, 1987 gave a specific 'direction' to Indian politics. He claimed that the Sena propelled Hindutva politics long before the BJP. 'That election (1987) showed that India needs the Hindutva ideology and that this ideology can lead to electoral victory. Then the BJP also realised it. Honourable Advanisaheb started the rath yatra,' Uddhav said in an interview in Saamana. He pointed out that Pramod Mahajan and Gopinath Munde joined the Hindutva bandwagon after this, starting the era of the Sena-BJP alliance. After 1987, Balasaheb talked about hardcore Hindutva without worrying about the political or legal consequences. His popularity soared as the media broadcast his sensational statements to a national audience. He became, for his followers, the 'Hindu Hriday Samrat'. The year 1992 was a decisive chapter in India's politics. The demolition of the Babri mosque gave BJP a stronger hold on Hindutva. Riots broke out in Mumbai in December 1992 and January 1993, killing about 900 and injuring around 2,036. The Sena's role in the riots was highlighted by the Srikrishna Commission appointed by the Maharashtra government to probe the riots. The panel named Balasaheb in its report. Saamana was spewing fire and Mumbai was gripped by fear. It was around this time that the BJP leader Sunder Singh Bhandari claimed that the Babri mosque was demolished by the Sena cadre. Sujata Anandan, a reporter with a national wire service, called Balasaheb for a reaction to this statement and reported that he sounded 'flummoxed' when he heard about it. He asked her to call him back for a response and later said, 'Well, if my Shiv Sainiks have brought down the mosque, I can only be proud of them.' Anandan further claims that Balasaheb knew that no Shiv Sainik was present in Ayodhya during the demolition. However, Bhandari had given away an ace to Balasaheb-he became the hero of hardcore Hindus, boasting that his men demolished the mosque. This line was repeated often by Uddhav and the rest of the Sena. (Excerpted from "Trail of The Tiger: Uddhav Baalasaheb Thackeray - A Journey" by Radheshyam Jadhav, with the permission of the publisher, Bloomsbury) New Delhi, June 30 : A Delhi court on Thursday denied the request of a bank fraud accused who allegedly absconded with his family and spent over 15 years in Canada after cheating the banks, to carry the pen drive containing the charge sheet inside the jail. In the application, accused Ankur Aggarwal sought permission to carry the pen drive containing the charge sheet inside the jail so as to enable him to keep all the documents related to the case, which will result in smooth deal and portability. Denying the request, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Deepak Kumar said: "The hard copy of the charge sheet has already been supplied to the accused. Hence, no ground is made out in the application to permit the accused to carry pen drive inside the jail." However, the court allowed his other application for production before the court via video conferencing considering his multiple health ailments. In the previous hearing on June 6, the court noted that accused, along with his family, had absconded and concealed himself for about 15 years in Canada and even after coming back to India, he remained elusive for about three years or so. "The allegations against the applicant are serious in nature, alleged to be involved in economic fraud to the tune of Rs 8-9 crore, causing loss to the government banks and had absconded thereafter," its order had read. New York, June 30 : Liz Cheney, Republican and Vice-Chair of the Senate committee probing the January 6 Capitol Hill riots, has called upon Republicans to get "Rid of Trump" as she said he is a "clear and present threat to both the GOP and to American democracy at large". She reiterated ex-president Donald Trump was a "dangerous and irrational man" to whom Republicans have played willing hostages as they cannot distinguish between loyalty to Trump and the constitution. She said on Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan library at Simi Valley, California, according to USA today. Condemning Trump's seeming encouragement of rioters who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, Cheney also chided unnamed Republican leaders "who have made themselves willing hostages to this dangerous and irrational man". Speaking to a friendly crowd - organizers of the event expressed concern about hecklers - Cheney also told fellow Republicans that they stand at "the edge of an abyss" and "we must pull back." She termed the January 6 Capitol attack a "conspiracy" and that the threat was "ongoing". She went to the extent of saying Trump is "clearly unfit" for future office, citing his refusal to stop the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill by his supporters to disrupt the announcement of the 2020 verdict electing democrat Joe Bide as President. Cheney's attacks on Trump echoed those she had made months before, including during her work on the special congressional committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. The Wyoming congressperson, who has been ousted by her own Wyoming republican party at the behest of Trump, now faces maximum political peril serving on the senate committee and criticizing the ex-president. Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, faces a Republican primary challenge in August from Harriet Hageman, a well-funded attorney who has Trump's backing. Hageman called Cheney's speech ironic, saying she "is the last one who should be giving lectures about the future of the Republican Party when she is single-handedly trying to burn it to the ground". The incumbent "is using Wyoming's only House seat to further her own personal war on President Trump, while helping Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats achieve their own political goals at the same time," Hageman said in a written statement she tweeted after the speech. During a Tuesday committee hearing, Cheney led the questioning of Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide who testified that Trump was aware that some of his supporters had weapons on January 6, even as he urged them to march on the US Capitol to protest the election. Trump -- who reportedly vowed revenge on impeachment supporters -- has frequently attacked both Cheney and her father, former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney. During a rally in Wyoming in May, Trump said "the Cheney's are die-hard globalists and warmongers who have been plunging us into new conflicts for decades, spilling American blood and spending American treasure all over the world." Toward the end of her remarks, Cheney praised the young women leaders she has met, and joked about their future challenges. Said Cheney: "These days, for the most part, men are running the world - and it is really not going that well." "The reality that we face today as Republicans, as we think about the choice in front of us, we have to choose because Republicans cannot both be loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution," she said. The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Fronts : chapter of Pakistan occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK) has announced that on July 22 they will march towards Titrinote near the Line of Control (LoC) and observe a sit-in to protest against the sentence awarded to JKLF Chairman Yassin Malik on May 25 this year by the National Investigation Agency court in New Delhi. JKLF has and remains the hybrid political extension of the Pakistan military establishment. Surprisingly, the left-wing Jammu Kashmir National Awami Party (JKNAP) and its student wing Jammu Kashmir National Students Federation (JKNSF) has announced to join JKLF in the above-mentioned sit-in. This development has made me to address the issue of the reunification of PoJK with India and the sabotage we have to deal with in the process. Our struggle to get PoJK back into the folds of the Indian union is faced with four types of sabotage. They include ideological, cultural, political and strategic sabotages. Let us deal with them in the order in which I have mentioned them. The first is the ideological sabotage. During the early 1900s the Ghadar party was established by Indian expatriates living and working in the West Coast of the United States and Canada. The Ghadar Party was campaigning for freedom of India from British colonial rule. At the time it addressed every Indian colonial subject without the distinction of religion, ethnicity or language. It was not until the Morley-Minto reforms (Indian Councils Act) of 1909 had come into place that the seed of discontent among Muslims and Hindus was effectively sown into the political system of India. By the 1930s and 40s, the Indian national independence movement had already begun to show colours of communal division in the society. The ideology that Muslims and Hindus were two separate nations and therefore could not coexist or share the same geographical and political space was the fundamental ideology, known as the 'Two-Nation Theory', that founded the basis for the Partition of India in 1947. The Two-Nation Theory also served as an excuse for Pakistan to attack the independent state of Jammu and Kashmir under the false pretext that the Muslim majority had risen in revolt against the Hindu Maharaja (ruler) and wanted to join Pakistan. In PoJK, the ideological sabotage is that PoJK is Muslim majority and it is therefore natural for it to become part of Pakistan. This is an illusion. The falsehood of the idea that Islam is the bond that unites Pakistan with PoJK, is reflected in the fact that for the past 75 years Pakistan has been shying away from developing and social, political or economic infrastructure in PoJK. Quite the contrary. Pakistan has ruthlessly plundered our natural resources in order to enrich itself. The second sabotage we have to deal with is what I call the cultural sabotage. The cultural sabotage stems out of or is an extension of the ideological sabotage based on the Two-Nation Theory. Kashmir has been known for its centuries-old cultural tradition of hospitality and communal harmony known as Kashmiriyat. Since almost the 16th century both Muslims and Hindus have been jointly celebrating Muslim-Hindu religious as well as cultural festivals in the Valley. The infusion of the ideology of Two-Nation Theory in Kashmiri society has totally destroyed the most celebrated cultural heritage of the Valley and divided our people on the basis of religion. Since Pakistan attacked the independent state of Jammu and Kashmir on October 22, 1947, Islamic (read Arab) religious radicalism has replaced the tradition of Kashmiriyat. Until recently, it was an arduous task to propagate the idea that our Maharaja, Hari Singh, had actually singed an instrument of accession with India on October 26, 1947 and that legally and therefore by default the people of PoJK are actually Indian citizens living under the occupation of an 'Islamic' Pakistan. Then comes the political sabotage. At the moment, and for quite some time now, the people of PoJK have been protesting against lack of basic amenities and human rights. Every single day PoJK is jolted with protests by various sections of government and private sector. Pensioners and non-gazetted employees are demanding an increase in pensions and salaries. Doctors and paramedics are insisting for issuance of Covid-19 risk allowance. Women holding empty buckets take out rallies asking for drinking water. School children and parents are crying out for sufficient number of teachers and appropriate school buildings. Civil society and traders are observing shut downs and strikes against load shedding. In short, there is not one single sector of society in PoJK that is not out on the streets protesting, and on a daily basis. To issue a call for a march to Titrinote at the LoC and observe a sit-in at a time when the masses are fighting for their basic rights in PoJK is not only a hypocrisy on part of the JKLF but more importantly a sabotage of the political movement that has gradually begun to emerge as a result of the ongoing protest. And finally, the strategic sabotage. The fact that the JKNAP and JKNSF have decided to join the JKLF in their protest in opposition to the sentence carried out against JKLF chairman Yassin Malik in New Delhi, amounts to a strategic sabotage of the worst kind. Therefore, at a time when the JKNAP and JKNSF should have been busy organizing and developing public discontent into a movement for liberation from Pakistani occupation, they shamefully agree to become part of the fake narrative of Pakistan and end up raising their voice in support of Pakistan's proxies, who were directly involved in the promotion of the Two-Nation Theory and death of Kashmiriyat conducted by the genocide of the Hindu Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s and by diverting the anger of the people of the PoJK from Pakistan towards Indian and thus frustrating the on-going protest movement in PoJK. The so-called left wing JKNAP and JKNSF in reality have taken up a very right wing and reactionary anti-Kashmir and in the final analysis a pro-military establishment stance. It is therefore the duty of every PoJK youth, who is part of the reunification campaign, to beware of the types of sabotage we might come across and fight back patiently, consistently and persistently by explaining to the people of PoJK the true facts of history and the hollowness of the Two-Nation Theory which in actuality is based on communal hate and in essence is a negation of our centuries-old tradition of Kashmiriyat. (Amjad Ayub Mirza is an author and a human rights activist from Mirpur in PoJK. He currently lives in exile in the UK. The views expressed are personal) Guwahati, June 30 : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said the state government and the Spices Board would establish a Quality Evaluation Laboratory and Training Centre for spices at Guwahati for further developing the spices industry in the northeastern region. While inaugurating the International Buyer Seller Meet (IBSM) and Spices Conclave organised by Spices Board at Guwahati, the Chief Minister said that the state being the gateway of the northeast India, with better connectivity and fast developing infrastructural facilities, Assam can leverage its potential for becoming a major hub for post-harvest processing and value addition of spices from the region and one of the major exporting hubs. He said that steps are being taken to make the best use of schemes like PM-DevlNE, One District One Product and to convert the 'by-default organic' tag of spices to 'certified organic' or "organic by design". India produces 75 of 109 varieties of spices listed by ISO and has emerged as the world's largest producer, consumer, exporter. Assam produces nearly 3.1 lakh metric tonnes of spices annually. The northeast region has acquired special attention owing to quality of organic spices. Arunachal Pradesh's Agriculture and Horticulture Minister Tage Taki while addressing the participants of the IBSM stressed on the need for adequate technology and institutional support to further develop the spice sector of the northeastern region. In his welcome address, Spices Board Secretary D. Sathiyan said IBSM and Spices Conclave is envisaged to promote the indigenous spices of the eight northeastern states, specially the GI tagged varieties of Sikkim's Large Cardamom, Assam Karbi Anglong Ginger, Naga Mircha, Bird's Eye Chilli (Mizo Chilli), Hathei Chilly and Dalle Khursani. He said that the programme aims to create direct trade links for the indigenous, high-quality spices of the region with both national and international buyers. An exhibition highlighting the strength and capability of the region, in production and export of spices, was also organised as part of the IBSM and Spices Conclave. During the programme, Spices Board presented the Large Cardamom Productivity Awards for the years 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22. Recipients of the prestigious Padma Shri Award from the region, Trinity Saioo and Nanadro B. Marak, were also honoured during the event. Over 50 buyers attended the inaugural day of the IBSM from different parts of Europe, Africa, Australia, and Asia. The spice sellers from Assam and the other seven northeastern states participated in the two-day IBSM and spices conclave. New Delhi, June 30 : India on Thursday supplied the seventh batch of its medical assistance, consisting of 6 tons of essential medicines, to Afghanistan, as part of its ongoing humanitarian aid. The consignment was handed over to the Indira Gandhi Children Hospital, Kabul, an official statement said. In view of the urgent appeals made by the United Nations to assist the Afghan people, India has, so far, supplied 20 tons of medical assistance in seven batches, which includes essential life-saving medicines, anti-TB medicines, 500,000 doses of Covid vaccine, etc. These medical consignments have been handed over to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Indira Gandhi Children Hospital, Kabul. In order to ensure food security in Afghanistan, India has provided food assistance of 35,000 MTs of wheat. Moreover, in the wake of the recent tragic earthquake, India, as the first responder, supplied almost 28 tons of earthquake relief assistance in two relief flights. These relief consignments were handed over to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the UN World Food Programme (WFP), and the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS). Furthermore, India is in the process to ship more medical and wheat assistance to Afghanistan in coordination with the UN agencies on the ground. Bengaluru, June 30 : The Karnataka High Court on Thursday said that it is in the hands of the state Police Department to preserve its honour in connection with the Police Sub-Inspector recruitment scandal. Noting that there are many allegations regarding the PSI recruitment and police officers and middlemen are accused, the court also noted that a comprehensive investigation is required regarding the scandal. A single judge bench of Justice H.P. Sandesh directed the DGP, CID P.S. Sandhu to personally monitor the investigations as it heard the bail petitions of the accused. "Corruption with regards to the appointment of Sub-Inspectors is a serious matter. The truth must come out. The court will also monitor the progress of the investigation. The action should be initiated against the accused, irrespective of whether they are ministers or officers," the court noted. It also directed Sandhu to submit a progress report regarding the investigation on July 7. The Karnataka government had announced re-exams for 545 PSI posts following the scandal. The exams were held for these posts on October 3, 2021. The government has also ordered comprehensive analysis of answer sheets of all candidates. As many as 54,041 candidates appeared for exams. The results were announced this January. Later, the allegations surfaced that candidates who gave very poor performance in descriptive writing got maximum marks in Paper 2. However, the Police Department and the Home Minister denied any irregularities in the exams. One of the candidates filed an RTI application seeking information on OMR sheets of one of the candidates. Though the application was rejected, the OMR sheet of the candidate appeared in public domain. Police sources say that Veeresh, the candidate, had attended only 21 questions in paper 2 but got 100 marks. He was given the 7th rank. Congress MLA Priyank Kharge had alleged that more than 300 of the 545 candidates had paid Rs 70 to 80 lakh bribes to officials and ministers to become PSIs. The ruling BJP has challenged him to produce evidence before the CID. Patna, June 30 : Over two dozen students on Thursday fell ill after consuming mid-day meals in Bihar's Bhagalpur district, officials said. The incident was reported from Jhallu Das Tola Middle School in Naugachia village. Following the incident, district civil surgeon, sub-divisional officer, district education officer, block development officer and police personnel of Naugachia reached the hospital and took stock of the situation. An official said that the school administration had prepared rice, pulses and vegetables inside the premises. After consuming the meal and going inside the classroom, more than two dozen pupils in the age group of 10 to 14 complained about vomiting and loose motion. The school principal immediately took them to nearby hospitals for treatment. The official said that the students suffered from food poisoning. "We have collected the samples of food and sent them to the lab for testing. The conditions of students are stable now," he said. Srinagar, June 30 : Five terrorists linked with proscribed terror outfit LeT were arrested from J&K's Srinagar and Sopore on Thursday by police and other security forces, police said. "In Srinagar, based on specific input regarding movement of terrorists in the district, Srinagar police set up special checkpoints at various locations. On one such checkpoint laid by police and 50 RR on Sanat Nagar Chowk-Rangreth road area, one hybrid terrorist was arrested. Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition including a pistol was recovered from his possession," police said. Police said on his disclosure during questioning, an anti-terrorist operation was launched in Pampore area, during which one more hybrid terrorist was arrested. During his search, arms and ammunition including three pistols were recovered from his possession. The duo has been identified as Naveed Shafi wani, resident of Shar Shali Khrew, Pampore and Faizan Rashid Teli, resident of Kadlabal, Pampore. "Preliminary investigation revealed that the arrested duo was involved in transportation of terrorists, arms/explosive material and providing logistic support to the terrorists of proscribed terror outfit LeT in district Srinagar before as well," police said. Moreover police said six pistol magazines, 11 pistol rounds, a grenade, 16 gelatin super power sticks, cortex wire (6 mts approx), and eight detonators have been recovered from their possession. Police have registered a case and further investigation is in progress. In Sopore, on a specific input regarding movement of terrorists in the area, a joint checkpost established by police alongwith the army's 52RR and the CRPF's 177Bn) at Takyabal Krankshivan intercepted three suspicious persons who tried to flee from the spot but were apprehended. During search, an AK 47 rifle, two pistols, two magazines, 10 pistol rounds and a hand grenade were recovered from their possession. They have been identified as Rahid Mushtaq Ganie and Amir Shafqat Mir, both residents of Amargarh, and Tahir Nisar Sheikh son of Nisar Ahmad Sheikh resident of Baag-e-Rehmat, Sopore. "Preliminary investigation revealed that the trio are uncategorised terrorists of proscribed terror outfit LeT and were in constant search of an opportunity to carry out terror attacks in the area," police said. New Delhi, June 30 : Due to the appeasement politics of Rajasthan government, criminals have become fearless in the state, BJP MP from Udaipur, Arjun Lal Meena, told IANS in connection with the gruesome broad daylight beheading of a man inside his tailoring shop in Meenas constituency. In an exclusive interview with IANS, Meena said that whenever the BJP was in power in the desert state, the fear of law and order prevailed among the criminals. "Former Vice President of India, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, was the Chief Minister of the state thrice (1977 to 1980, 1990 to 1992 and 1993 to 1998). Later, Vasundhara Raje became the Chief Minister for two terms (2003 to 2008 and 2013 to 2018). But such incidents never happened during their tenure," Meena told IANS. Whenever the BJP came to power, fear of police and administration prevailed in the minds of the criminals, he said, adding that the appeasement politics of the Congress, the law and order situation has collapsed in the state, aiding the criminals. The video which went viral before and after the brutal killing in Udaipur contained threatening message to Prime Minister Narendra Mod, which is a matter of serious concern, Meena said. However, he appreciated the police for nabbing the culprits from the adjoining district within a short span of time, but he also questioned the state government and the administration's functioning. "The Congress government is in power in Rajasthan. When Kanahiya Lal (the Udaipur victim) had approached the police citing death threats issued against him, why no action was taken," Meena asked. This indicates that there is no law and order in the state, he added. Pointing at the compensation announced by the Rajasthan government, the MP said that the amount declared by the state government could not be the cost of a life. Meena also said there have been reports that one of the accused was trained in Pakistan and an organisation is involved in the incident. Such a brutal incident should not be repeated anywhere in the country, Meena appealed to the people. Patna, June 30 : A day after four of the five AIMIM MLAs in Bihar joined the RJD, party leader Tejashwi Yadav and state President Jagadanand Singh warmly welcomed them into the party here on Thursday evening. "It is a big win for our party after 4 MLAs of the AIMIM joined us. They went before Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha who officially announced in the house about them have become MLAs of the RJD. "Keeping in view the present situation of the country, they have joined the RJD. Now, the RJD is the single largest party in the Bihar Vidhan Sabha. Over the years, if any kind of merger took place in the past, the legislators generally joined the ruling party in the country. Due to the ideology and acceptance of Lalu Prasad Yadav, leaders are joining us. This is a win for ideology," Tejashwi Yadav, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said. "Due to the ideology of Lalu Prasad Yadav, the BJP did not dare to contest elections alone in Bihar. During the 2020 Assembly election, the majority of the seats of Seemanchal area were given to the Congress. We were expecting more seats from Seemanchal in the previous election but the result had not come to our expectation. Now, they (the AIMIM lawmakers) have joined us and our strength in the Seemanchal area has increased now," he added. Noting that the Seemanchal area is severely affected by floods, he said that they were concerned about it. "We will work together for the people of Seemanchal so that the fund allocated for the Seemanchal area in the budget will be spent in the welfare of people there. A large number of people believe in the ideology of Lalu Prasad Yadav and I will soon visit the region," Tejashwi Yadav said. Patna, June 30 : On the last day of the Monsoon Session of Bihar Assembly on Thursday, Land Reforms and Revenue Minister Ram Surat Rai announced to establish a locality for landless people in the state in the names of CM Nitish Kumar and PM Narendra Modi. "In Bihar, a large number of people do not have houses. Hence, funds have been allocated for them under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Then we learnt that a large number of people do not have land to construct houses. Hence, we have decided to allot land for them in Bihar and then give the funds for the construction of houses," Rai said. "The process of land allotment will start from Banka district after the monsoon. The places selected for the land allocation will be called Nitish-Modi Nagar," Rai said. Reacting to the announcement, former Chief Minister Rabri Devi said: "Earlier, the double-engine government had given charge to all MPs to develop model villages in the state. What happened to that policy? How many model villages have they developed? This government only brings policies, but never implements them on the ground. The new policy will face a similar fate." Kolkata, June 30 : The Trinamool Congress on Thursday evening received a major political jolt from its close associate in the Darjeeling hills, Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) floated by Anit Thapa, as the latter resurrected the demand for separate Gorkhaland state, just a day after clinching a massive victory in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) polls. The development came as a shocker since during the entire campaigning process for the GTA polls, the semi-autonomous council for governing the Darjeeling hills, Thapa had remained silent on the issue of separate statehood for Gorkhaland. His silence provided comfort to the Trinamool Congress, especially Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has always been against the division of the state. However, late on Thursday evening, i.e., just a day after bagging victory in 27 out of 45 seats in GTA, Thapa said that the proposal for separate statehood will be passed in the first meeting of the new board of GTA. "The proposal will be passed and sent to the West Bengal and the Union governments for clearance," Thapa said, surprising the Trinamool leadership, which did not make any comment on the issue till the filing of this report. However, the BJP and the Bimal Gurung-led Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), which has always been in the forefront of the movement for a separate Gorkhaland, welcomed Thapa's announcement whole-heartedly. According to Raju Singh Bista, BJP MP from Darjeeling, his party has always been in favour of a permanent political solution in the Darjeeling hills issue. "It's good that Anit Thapa has raised it again and I hope that the state government will finally accept the demand," he said. GJM general secretary Roshon Giri said it is good that Anit Thapa is now voicing the separate statehood demand. "The people of the hills want that," he said. Both the BJP and GJM, as well Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), had abstained from the GTA polls. Their logic was that the polls were useless without a permanent political solution to the Gorkhaland issue. New Delhi, June 30 : On the eve of the ban on certain identified items made from single use plastic (SUP), one of the industry bodies on Thursday said the manufacturers of single/standalone products made from SUP will face the most adverse impact with both business and livelihood. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has already said it would not budge and that it had given ample time for all stakeholders for migration. Plast India Foundation, an apex body of the major associations, organisations and institutions connected with the plastic industry, also demanded the government to come out with specifications for banned plastic items that can be allowed, just as it has declared for carry bags -- 75 microns for now and 120 microns thickness by December 2022. Endorsing the vision of the Prime Minister for improving the environment (through the ban), president of Plast India Foundation Jigish Doshi told IANS: "Our sector comprises a majority of MSMEs, which involves thousands of business units as well as their employees. The ban on Single Use Plastics, particularly for those business units, which manufactures single / standalone products will have an adverse impact both on the business as well as the livelihood of those people." Pointing out that the industry and the society will need viable alternatives to SUP products, Doshi said: "For plastics carry bags, it is only a matter of increasing the thickness to 120 microns but finding alternatives for plastic plates and cutleries will be a challenge unless the thickness of these items is increased in order to make them reusable / recyclable. The plastics industry is already working towards finding alternatives for thermocol based products. Similar options can be worked out, provided the government comes up with specifications for other banned items too." Doshi also said waste management through waste pickers need to be highly incentivized; the rag pickers who play a key role in this process should also be given proper incentives to ensure that plastic waste is collected and recycled. Earlier, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav had said on Tuesday: "We had given ample time from last year (August 2021) to the producers to migrate to new machines and also for the industry in general to look for alternatives. On the other hand, we have also enabled production of alternatives through the Micro, Small & Medium Entrepreneurs (MSME) sector. Plus, we have a plan laid out for 10 years, a first for itself." Yadav also said that there would not be any shifting of the date, majority are on board. The Centre has declared a ban on single use plastic from Friday. Day to day usage single use plastic items in 14 categories -- such as plastic sticks that are used in ear buds, balloons, candy, ice-cream; cutlery items such as plates, cups , glasses, forks, spoons, knives, trays; packaging / wrapping films such as that used for sweet box, invitation cards, cigarette packets, and other items such as plastic flags, PVC banners of less than 100 microns, polystyrene for decoration -- have been banned. The minimum specified thickness for polythene carry bags was 75 micron already applicable from September 2021 but it would be 120 microns from December 2022. Patna, June 30 : Tej Pratap Yadav, the elder son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, on Thursday expressed his desire for a private meeting with Bihar Assembly Speaker Vijay Sinha "for two minutes". He hinted at the meaning of the time period but did not elaborate. "I want to meet the Speaker of Bihar Vidhan Sabha for two minutes. I have some personal issues. You people know the meaning of my two minutes," he said. Though Tej Pratap Yadav did not elaborate, political circles and media understand the reference. Recently, when a journalist went to his official residence for an interview, Tej Pratap Yadav asked him to keep the gun mike and camera outside the residence so that they could do a meeting for two minutes alone. That reporter probably realised that he may fall into trouble and escaped, though Tej Pratap Yadav and his personal staff chased him some way. On that occasion, the RJD leader's action drew heavy flak from all sections. Now, his "two minute" remark has again created a flutter. Kolkata, June 30 : Anit Thapa and his political outfit, the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), will have their work cut out to rid the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) of corruption and nepotism, residents of the Hills in north Bengal feel. Thapa is probably the only politician from the Hills who didn't make Gorkhaland an issue while contesting the GTA elections. Yet, the BGPM won 28 of the 45 seats. Some Independents are also expected to back the newly-formed political outfit. After the results were announced, Thapa said that he would work for development of the region. To do this, he will have to end corruption and nepotism. The former Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leader also said that a committee would be set up to work towards a separate state of Gorkhaland. From the start, Thapa had always maintained that the kind of strife the Hills witnessed in the past was not the correct way to go about such a serious matter. "Anit Thapa does make sense. The committee that he has talked about will comprise members from all sections of society who can create a blueprint before taking up the issue in earnest with the central and state governments. The biggest problem that we face is that there is no person capable enough to lead us even if we do get a separate state of Gorkhaland. Maybe, a new face will emerge during deliberations who would work for the people," Binay Chhetri, a resident of Darjeeling said. While the Trinamool Congress that won five of the 10 seats it contested in the GTA elections, has already begun talks with the BGPM, few believe that Thapa will toe the party's line. The BGPM will not mind the Trinamool as an ally though as state assistance will be required for smooth running of the GTA that has been a mess over the last several years. It will be interesting to see what GJM supremo Bimal Gurung does now. Both the GJM and BJP-Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) combine had boycotted the GTA polls. With the emergence of leaders like Thapa, will Gurung get sidelined? And what of the BJP that has done well in the Parliamentary and Assembly elections in the Hills in recent years? The next couple of years will be very interesting for politics in the Hills. New Delhi, July 1 : Three wanted persons, including two juveniles, who were involved in a shootout at the house of an Assistant Superintendent of Jail in the national capital, were apprehended by the Delhi Police following an encounter. Jasmeet Singh, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), said that total three rounds that is, two by the accused and one by the police, were fired on Wednesday evening The police official added that Subham, 20, was apprehended along with his two juvenile associates from the main road near north west Delhi's Holambi Khurd village. "A team of Inspector Shivkumar and Inspector Pawan Kumar supervised by ACP Attar Singh got a tip off about the accused. They were wanted in a case of a shootout in Hirankudna village at the house of an Assistant Superintendent of Jail presently posted in Mandoli. The accused persons had fired at his house in order to intimidate him as he had allegedly rebuked Yudhvir alias Kala Pandit, brother of one of the juveniles who is lodged in Mandoli jail under the Jail Superintendent," Singh said. The accused wanted to teach the jail official a lesson for alleged humiliation of Yudhvir by the latter in jail. The police laid a trap to nab all the accused but Shubham and one of the juveniles started firing towards the police team to which one shot was fired by the police in retaliation. Finally all three accused were surrounded, nabbed and disarmed by the police. A case under relevant sections of law has been registered at Special Cell police station regarding nabbing of all three accused by the Special Cell team. An investigation into the case is underway. Bengaluru, July 1 : Saalumarada Thimmakka would be conferred with the title of 'Eco Ambassador' with the status of minister of state with vehicle and all the facilities to work for the cause of environment protection, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Thursday. The Chief Minister was speaking at a function to celebrate the 111th birthday of Thimmakka and present the 'National Greenery Award-2020' to the Padmashree awardee. The state government would bear the expenses of Thimmakka if she travels to other states as part of her green endeavour, Bommai said. The state information department would develop an exclusive website for Thimmakka and to spread the spirit of her good work to the entire country, a web series too would be produced on people who have dedicated their lives for the cause of environment like Thimmakka, he said. The government would soon issue the orders for allocation of 10 acres of land near Thimmakka's native village. The BDA has already gifted a site to her. The state government would also build a house for her on the site, Bommai announced. Thimmakka never expected any reward for her noble work. "We should save the environment to sustain the future generations too, instead of robbing them of the future," Bommai said. Referring to the state budget, which for the first time has an exclusive ecological budget segment with an allocation of Rs 100 crore, Bommai said it would be spent to balance the environmental degradation on an annual basis. "I am ready to grant more funds if needed," he said. Ahmedabad, July 1 : Khodaldham President Naresh Patel visited the Jagannath temple and took god's blessings there following which he attended an important meeting of Patidar leaders in Ahmedabad. Before the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections, a meeting of Patidar leaders was held on Thursday. Apart from Naresh Patel, members of six leading organisations of Patidar community were also present where they decided to work together during this meeting. The formation of an international federation of Patidars was discussed at the meeting which was attended by Naresh Patel, BJP MLA Babu Jamna Patel, Jairam Patel, Congress MP Ramesh Dudhwala, Patidar leader C.K. Patel, and Manibhai Patel. The leaders of Khodaldham and Umiyadham met at Umiya campus in the Sola area of Ahmedabad on Thursday. C.K. Patel presided over the meeting which is being considered significant to showcase the power of Patidars in the upcoming Assembly elections. In this meeting, Naresh Patel discussed the issues of Patidar community. C.K. Patel discussed the issue that other communities, including the Patidars, must also get the benefits of reservation in government jobs. He emphasised that the time had come to remind the state government of its promises if they were not fulfilled. Proper use of budget for non-reserved community was also discussed by C.K. Patel. He said that even in Patidar community, many people came from poor sections of society, so they should also get the benefits of reservation in jobs and other government schemes and programmes. New York, July 1 : An Indian-origin entrepreneur with ambitious goals of developing virtual-world technologies has been arrested and charged by federal prosecutors in an alleged $45 million investment fraud scheme that targeted more than 10,000 people. US Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite announced on Wednesday the filing of charges in a federal court in Nebraska against Neil Chandran, who owned several companies under the banner of ViRSE. The Justice Department said that Chandran was arrested in Los Angeles. The Department added that Chandran, 50, falsely promised investors an extremely high rate of returns by claiming that a consortium of wealthy persons, including two billionaires, was about to acquire one or more of his companies. But there were no such buyers or billionaires and a substantial part of the funds collected from the investors "were misappropriated for other business ventures and the personal benefit of Chandran and others," the Department said. He is charged with three counts of wire fraud, which usually involve transmitting or receiving funds in electronic transactions, and two counts of "engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property". According to court papers, Chandran gave "false and misleading information" to a person, who was not identified, and who in turn passed it on to another. That person, who was also not named, "marketed the investment opportunity to thousands of current and prospective investors through email updates and conference calls," the court papers said. Some of the investors paid for their investments using cryptocurrency, The companies that operated under the banner of ViRSE included Free Vi Lab, Studio Vi Inc., ViDelivery Inc., ViMarket Inc. and Skalex USA Inc. The companies "developed virtual-world technologies, including their own cryptocurrency, for use in the companies' own metaverse," the Justice Department added. A website with the name ViRSE had an invitation to "get a jumpstart on becoming a ViRSE Millionaire with our exclusive and limited edition ViRSEWare -- Android Devices preloaded with the beta ViRSE App Suite, and a generous bundles of ViRSE Tokens". It said that ViRSE was "the virtual universe of people, places and content accessible from any internet-enabled device on this planet". The Justice Department said that 39 Tesla vehicles as well as about 100 different assets, including real estate and other luxury vehicles, belonging to him could be forfeited depending on the verdict in the case and that many of them are being seized by authorities. This appears to be at least his second run-in with the law. In 2018 he was found guilty of fraud by a New York State court, according to an archived press release of the office of the state's Attorney General. But, according to the release, he was not given a prison sentence on the condition that he pays $761,000 in restitution to the victims in addition to paying another $2 million in a civil suit. His company involved in that suit was called Sungame and the fraud involved the sale of 3D tablets with the promise of rebating the price of $1,000, giving an education grant and providing profits from the resale of the tablets, according to the release. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis) Kiev, July 1 : Ukraine has began exporting electricity to Europe, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. "The long-awaited export of Ukrainian electricity to Europe has begun," Shmyhal wrote on Telegram on Thursday. He added that the first flow of Ukraine's electricity went to Romania at an initial capacity of 100 megawatts, Xinhua news agency reported. In the future, Ukraine aims to increase the capacity of electricity flow to Europe to 2.5 gigawatts, he said. According to Shmyhal, Ukraine has the potential to earn more than 70 billion hryvnyas (about $2.4 billion) per year from electricity exports to European countries. In March, Ukraine's electricity grid was synchronised with the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity. Tehran, July 1 : Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has said that the Caspian Sea littoral states refused to allow any foreign presence in the region. Raisi made the remarks on Thursday upon arrival at the airport in Tehran from his visit to Turkmenistan, in which he took part in the sixth summit of the Heads of state of the Caspian countries, according to the Iranian presidency's website. The Caspian Sea's resources must be protected, he said, adding that the sea belongs to the regional countries and must be managed collectively by the littoral states, Xinhua news agency reported. The Iranian President also called for greater cooperation among the Caspian Sea littoral states in the economic, cultural and environmental sectors. Commenting on his meetings with the Azerbaijani, Turkmen and Russian Presidents on the sidelines of the summit, he said the talks focused on the expansion of bilateral economic and trade relations and the implementation of the previously signed memorandums of understanding. Describing the visit as positive, Raisi said strengthening ties with neighbours is one of his administration's foreign policy priorities. During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, the Iranian President added that Tehran pursues engagement with Moscow within the framework of a strategic relationship. Trade and energy relations between Iran and Russia are at a high level, he said, noting the relations still have great potential for expansion given the two sides' respective capacities. Tehran, July 1 : The Iranian Foreign Minister described as "positive" the latest round of talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal in Doha, the Foreign Ministry said on its official website. Iran is serious about reaching "a good, robust and lasting agreement," which is at hand "if the US acts realistically," Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in a phone conversation on Wednesday evening. "We are determined to continue the negotiations until a realistic deal is reached," he added. Amir-Abdollahian also thanked Qatar for hosting the negotiations on Tuesday and Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported. For his part, the Qatari Foreign Minister called the latest EU-brokered indirect talks between Iran and the US "constructive and positive," promising Doha's efforts to get all sides back to their commitments. Iran signed the JCPOA with the world powers in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear programme in return for the removal of sanctions on the country. However, former US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact. The Iranian nuclear talks began in April 2021 in Vienna, but were suspended in March this year because of political differences between Tehran and Washington. (Helpology)Simple Einstein quote miraculously creates historys most important scienceexperts agree Helpology on YouTube will virally change entire world with most helpful knowledge of all time Albert Einstein's curiosity and childlike wonder led him to explore problems and concepts most other people didn't notice or care about. As he began to explore these ideas, his nonconformist thinking enabled him to question fundamental and widely held assumptions, which ultimately led to profound insights. He wisely observed, The BEST DESIGN is the SIMPLEST ONE that WORKS. Fifty years later, Einsteins genius wisdom inspires: The Helpology Question (h?) Whats the MOST HELPFUL & SIMPLEST WAY that WORKS? said David & Faith YAH Christian, Helpology Co-Founders and World-Leading Helpologists. The richest man in the world, Elon Musk, said: One of the really tough things is figuring out what questions to ask. Once you figure out the question, then the answer is relatively easy. The Christians explained: Helpology is the biblical & scientific study of the worlds most helpful products & services. Helpological is the MOST HELPFUL & SIMPLEST WAY that WORKS. A helpologist is one who biblically & scientifically researches, uses & recommends the worlds most helpful products & services. Further, Musk said: It is possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary. The first step is to establish something is possible, then probability will occur. I would just question things It would infuriate my parents I wouldnt just believe them when they said something cause Id ask them why. And then Id consider whether that response made sense given everything else I knew. Perhaps Musk predicted humanity needed Helpology: I came to the conclusion we should aspire to increase the scope and scale of human consciousness in order to better understand what questions to ask. Really, the only thing that makes sense is to strive for greater collective enlightenment. If you get up in the morning and think the future is going to be better, it is a bright day. Otherwise, its not. There have to be reasons that you get up in the morning and you want to live. Why do you want to live? Whats the point? What inspires you? What do you love about the future? If you go back a few hundred years, what we take for granted today would seem like magicbeing able to talk to people over long distances, to transmit images, flying, accessing vast amounts of data like an oracle. These are all things that would have been considered magic a few hundred years ago. I dont spend my time pontificating about high-concept things; I spend my time solving engineering and manufacturing problems. "Optimism, pessimism, f*** that; we're going to make it happen. As God as my bloody witness, I'm hell-bent on making it work." [Physics is] a good framework for thinking. Boil things down to their fundamental truths and reason up from there. "One particular thing that I learned at Queensboth from faculty and studentswas how to work collaboratively with smart people and make use of the Socratic method to achieve commonality of purpose." Developed by the Greek philosopher, Socrates, the Socratic Method is a dialogue between teacher and students, instigated by the continual probing questions of the teacher, in a concerted effort to explore the underlying beliefs that shape the students views and opinions. Under the Socratic method, there are various ways professors can question their students. Typically, however, the questioning usually lies at opposite ends of a spectrum. For example, a professor might pick a student at random and question them (rapid-fire) for the entire duration of the class. Here are the six types of questions Socrates posed: Clarifying concepts. Probing assumptions. Probing rationale, reasons, and evidence. Questioning viewpoints and perspectives. Probing implications and consequences. Questioning the question. Its a highly effective way to clarify and unpack one's beliefs, and to examine the assumptions, evidence, reason, etc. used to support them. It makes you active in your thinking rather than passive (e.g. when you're listening to a lecture or watching a YouTube video). The Socratic Method improves your critical thinking skills. The thing that's worth doing is trying to improve our understanding of the world and gain a better appreciation of the universe and not to worry too much about there being no meaning. And, you know, try and enjoy yourself. Because, actually, life's pretty good. It really is, said Musk. "[My biggest mistake is probably] weighing too much on someone's talent and not someone's personality. I think it matters whether someone has a good heart." I'm hopeful [children] will do things like engineering, or write books, or just, in some way, add more than they take from the world." You want to be extra rigorous about making the best possible thing you can. Find everything thats wrong with it, and fix it. Seek negative feedback, particularly from friends. Going from PayPal, I thought: 'Well, what are some of the other problems that are likely to most affect the future of humanity?' Not from the perspective, 'What's the best way to make money?'" People should pursue what theyre passionate about. That will make them happier than pretty much anything else. Its obvious the Christians are passionate about Helpology: their two YouTube channels, Helpology and Helpology Cepher, showcase a mind-blowing 25,000+ of the worlds most helpful videos anyone can watch at absolutely no cost. Its no wonder leading experts predict Helpology will go down in history as the worlds most helpful service of all time. No other single resource even comes close to the practical knowledge available through Helpology. Furthermore, Einstein said: The world we have made as a result of the level of thinking we have done thus far creates problems we cannot solve at the same level as we created them." We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Imagination is the preview of lifes coming attractions. The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination." Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them. Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind. Before God we are all equally wiseand equally foolish. I want to know Gods thoughts; all the rest are just details. "I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious." Its not that Im so smart, I just stay with problems longer. Most people say it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong; it is character. Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters. Love is a better teacher than duty. It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. Joy in looking and comprehending is natures most beautiful gift. The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives. A person starts to live when he can live outside himself. Everybody is a genius. Where the world ceases to be the scene of our personal hopes and wishes, where we face it as free beings admiring, asking, observing, there we enter the realm of art and science. All religions, arts, and sciences are branches of the same tree. Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed. "A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness." The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. True religion is real living; living with all ones soul, with all ones goodness and righteousness. Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future. Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. I believe in one thingthat only a life lived for others is a life worth living. Education is not the learning of facts; its rather the training of the mind to think. "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." I can is 100 times more important than I.Q. Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds. Never lose a holy curiosity. There are two ways to live your lifeone is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is a miracle. Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning. Moreover, the famous Greek tragedian, Euripides, who wrote ninety-two plays, said: Talk sense to a fool, and he calls you foolish. Whoso neglects learning in his youth, loses the past and is dead for the future. Silence is true wisdom's best reply. The good and the wise lead quiet lives. We must take care of our minds, because we cannot benefit from beauty when our brains are missing. A man's most valuable trait is a judicious sense of what not to believe. No man on earth is truly free; all are slaves of money or necessity. Public opinion or fear of prosecution forces each one, against his conscience, to conform. A slave is he who cannot speak his thoughts. I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees. Friendship doubles your joys, and divides your sorrows. Real friendship is shown in times of trouble; prosperity is full of friends. One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives. Do not plan for ventures before finishing what's at hand. Worse than a true evil is to bear the burden of faults that are not truly yours. Money is the wise man's religion. Judge a tree from its fruit, not from its leaves. Waste no tears over the griefs of yesterday. It is the wise man's part to leave in darkness everything that is ugly. There is no worse evil than a bad woman; and nothing has ever been produced better than a good one. The man is happiest who lives from day to day and asks no more, garnering the simple goodness of life. The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man. The wisest men follow their own direction. You will not achieve happiness if you don't work hard; and it's a shame not to want to work hard. Question everything. Learn something. In summary, David YAH Christian shared an acknowledge he made in the self-help book he wrote in 1994 when he was an atheist, entitled, How to Gain Love, Respect, Happiness, Health & Wealth: Personal Perfection of Your MindYour Personal Guide to Continuous Improvement: I want to thank the man who helped me learn how to help myself: Anthony Robbins. Finally, Robbins, the nations top life and business strategist who has inspired millions to achieve great success, said: The quality of your life is a direct reflection of the quality of the questions you are asking yourself. "Identify your problems, but give your power and energy to solutions." "Your past does not equal your future." "The path to success is to take massive, determined action." "Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process." "It's not knowing what to do; it's doing what you know." "Most people fail in life because they major in minor things." "It's what you practice in private that you will be rewarded for in public." "If you can't, you must. If you must, you can." "We can change our lives. We can do, have, and be exactly what we wish." "I challenge you to make your life a masterpiece. I challenge you to join the ranks of those people who live what they teach, who walk their talk." "Leaders spend 5 percent of their time on the problem & 95 percent of their time on the solution. Get over it, and crush it!" "Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible." "The quality of your life is the quality of your relationships." "If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you'll achieve the same results." "Every problem is a giftwithout problems we would not grow." "Where focus goes, energy flows." "I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent." "If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten." "Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers." In conclusion, never before in history has one been able to think with Einsteins genius to quickly and easily save time, energy, and money for free by applying Helpology to every area of ones life, business, or ministry by simply asking, or praying, the Helpology Question: h? Whats the MOST HELPFUL & SIMPLEST WAY that WORKS? When the solution is simple, God is answering, said Einstein. TESTIMONIALS "I appreciate David YAH Christian's Helpology. David has done an excellent job putting together very helpful videos that can assist anyone looking for powerful insights and answers to lifes problems and challenges." Brian Kluth, Bestselling Author, 40 Day Spiritual Journey to a More Generous Life & Founder, Generous Life "David YAH Christian's community service is reflective of the activity and information generated through Helpology. Personally, I recommend David as a trusted friend and professional associate. Also, I firmly believe Helpology will help countless others learn to help themselves. David is truly working from the grace of God." Brian Hautau, Internet Professional Mr. Christian is competent and professional and the quality of his work is first rate He is also a pleasant, conscientious, organized, and team-motivated individual. He possesses leadership abilities and professional acumen I strongly recommend David. Nickie Smith, Associate Faculty, MiraCosta College ... Christians maturity and motivation are demonstrated with billboard clarity in everything he applies himself to. His determination to excel as a Marine and, more importantly, a person, is noteworthy. Davids maturity has catapulted him toward goals above and beyond the normal scope Unique to his style of leadership are his backbreaking efforts to help others. His daily doses of motivation and esprit de corps are distributed throughout the office as soon as he walks into the room. His eagerness to assist others in their assigned tasks and his patient ability to teach others the job skills is, again, uncharacteristic of the average One of the first Marines to step forward when volunteers are needed, Christian is one of the finest the Marine Corps Public Affairs community has to offer. Christian is recommended with enthusiasm. Larry Holloway, Gunnery Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Coulter praises you for your enthusiasm, professionalism, and helpful can-do attitude. He calls you the cream of the crop. Well done You are clearly taking seriously the service mission For all your good work, please accept my praise. Keep it up. Youre making a difference. A.B. Davis, Brigadier General, U.S. Marine Corps "David is very intelligent, outgoing, and charismatic. ... people ... like David very much ... He is very well organized and demonstrates good critical thinking skills. He is an excellent communicator verbally and in writing. Perhaps the outstanding characteristic that David demonstrated ... was his work ethic. He always did more than was required and the work he did he did at a superior level." Emilio Antonio Nunez Jr., Associate Professor, Biola University "David YAH Christian is one of the most outgoing and enthusiastic people I have ever had the pleasure of working with. It was very evident from the first time we met that Davids infectious, positive attitude was extremely well suited to evangelizing a company in the market place. David applied himself conscientiously and constantly strove to find new and innovative ways to align the customer's interest with the interest of the company. His effervescent personality is unmatched and would serve any company well." Dan Collins, Director of Sales, Total Training, Inc. "David's great work ... is overshadowed only by his virtue as a human being ... David is driven not by a desire for riches or fame, but by a calling to serve humanity ... That's the real deal with this guy. ... He's affable, humble, and energetic. He genuinely cares about people. ... David loves to learn and is eager to expand his skill-set. ... Christian is a guy who pulls his own weight at work while expanding his career horizon through higher education. ... His Thomas Jefferson Award for Photojournalist of the Year for the entire Department of Defense (Army, Navy, Air Force & Marine Corps) ... is equivalent to winning an Oscar for top military photojournalist. ... He's a dynamo who's self-motivated enough to become self-engrossed; yet he avoids such excesses, balancing his work ethic with a heartfelt compassion for others, including his co-workers. He's always quick with a smile and an encouraging word. He's a pleasure to work with and would be a pleasure to work for." Brian LaMay, Managing Editor, The Scout Newspaper h? Whats the MOST HELPFUL & SIMPLEST WAY that WORKS? To learn more, research: h? Whats the MOST HELPFUL & SIMPLEST WAY that WORKS? To better serve its global customer base and oversee an expanding portfolio of companiesincluding DeWys Manufacturing, ReFab, DeWys Stainless Solutions, American Grower Resource, and all future acquisitionsDeWys Metal Solutions is announcing the following executive leadership promotions. Effective immediately, Chris Hawkins will be promoted to the role of Chief Operating Officer. Chris has more than 30 years of manufacturing experience and all but two of them have been with DeWys. After roles in fabrication and design & building tooling, he oversaw the companys automation, which has since become a dedicated practice with its own supporting innovation team. With more than 15 years in a leadership role, he has employed Lean practices to optimize organizational structure, processes, and equipment along with an Operational Excellence program to support lead times, sales growth, and company success. Christa Smith will be promoted to Chief Revenue Officer. Of the 20 years she has successfully guided customer service and sales teams, 16 of them have been in manufacturing. More recently, Christa has led cost estimating, customer service, sales, and marketing for DeWys. In the process, she has helped the company reach diversified markets and achieve record sales. Finally, working in close collaboration with the executive team, Christa helped scale the company for growth with improved processes and team structure. The company is also excited to be in the process of naming a Chief Financial Officer. Poised for growth, DeWys Metal Solutions was launched in 2021 to advance its strategic goals and enhance its brand identity. In just 18 months, the company has enjoyed record sales and significant CapEx investments. With the same strategic focus, each of DeWys portfolio of companies will continue to acquire talent, services, and innovation capable of meeting or exceeding its customers long-term needs. The new structure will allow us to better serve customers across our four companies, explains Mark Schoenborn, President, and Co-Owner of DeWys Metal Solutions. It will also streamline our acquisition process and push us closer to becoming a $100M multi-site company. The DeWys Metal Solutions executive team is excited and determined to advance the future of manufacturing while remaining one of the Best and Brightest Companies in West Michigan and the Nation! About the Company DeWys Metal Solutions is a complete metal solutions company. DeWys leverages talent, technology, and innovation to deliver high-quality outcomes for customers in a variety of industries. An award-winning team of 250+ team members bring extensive expertise in advanced welding, CNC machining, contract manufacturing, engineering and product development, laser cutting, manufacturing and product assembly, metal forming and bending, powder coating, precision sheet metal, stainless solutions, and turret punching. DeWys is committed to the success and safety of all stakeholders. California-based leading technology consultancy firm, Cyclotron Inc., which is known for providing streamlined, cutting-edge solutions to its customers, has just launched a brand-new customer portal for its flagship product TeamsHUB.io with the sole intent of raising product awareness among its existing customers. The new customer portal provides immediate information about its latest features, updates, and enhancements besides offering insights into stage-wise product development processes. Expressing her views on the launch of the new customer portal, Cyclotron, Inc. Jamie Ruth said, TeamsHUBs new customer portal is dedicated to our existing customers to help understand new features in TeamsHUB.io and their utility in securing and governing O365. The portal shall provide release notes, new features, roadmap, etc. to let them know our product in and out. Elaborating further, she said, With TeamsHUB.io, its always about providing streamlined, hassle-free solutions to our customers. Through our new portal, we aim to prioritize customer satisfaction by delivering superior services, such as product knowledge, and enable our loyal customers to maximize engagement and experience during collaboration. Cyclotron Groups TeamsHUB, a solution platform designed to eliminate conventional, time-consuming provisioning and cumbersome governance of Microsoft Teams and SharePoint sites, has been witnessing a massive growth in its customer base ever since its launch, including a strong renewal of its existing customers. Therefore, TeamsHUB has also launched its new website to reflect some of its brand-new features. The new customer portal is located at https://customer.teamshub.io/ About TeamsHUB TeamsHUB was founded in San Francisco in 2019 with the sole intent of helping enterprise customer automation and secure their O365 environments. It is a strategic partner to many innovative organizations in the financial, health and life sciences, public, retail, and technology sectors. Having been honored with multiple Microsoft Top Partner Awards for 2020, TeamsHub.io is Cyclotron Groups flagship product built to help companies govern, secure, adapt, and engage employees better using Microsoft Teams. For more information, visit http://www.teamshub.io http://www.cyclotrongroup.com The HeroZona Foundation is excited to announce its 17th annual, invitation-only Arizona Delegation National Update Brunch, during the 51st Congressional Black Caucus from September 28 through October 2. The event, on Saturday, October 1 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., will take place at Georgia Browns in Washington D.C. and will cover important topics related to Arizona, including the diversification of the state, economic impact and business development. After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, were thrilled to be able to bring this momentous event back to Washington D.C., said Alan AP Powell, Chairman of AP & Associates Strategic Alliances, U.S. Army Desert-Storm Veteran, and founder of HeroZona. This brunch and the Black Caucus allows Arizona to keep moving forward in the right direction, and provides important updates for African-American communities in our state. In partnership with the Penny & Robert Sarver Charitable Foundation, HeroZona will also sponsor the attendance of ten local university students through the Greater Phoenix Urban League Young Professionals YP CoNEXT program. In addition to receiving an invitation to the brunch, the students will also get tours of the Capitol, the Pentagon and the National Museum of African American History and Culture guided by event panelists and current U.S. Representatives, Ruben Gallego and Greg Stanton. APS will also sponsor the students to attend the National Newspaper Publishers Association Black Press of America 2022 National Leadership Awards Reception. Giving the future generation of leaders an opportunity to experience history as it happens at the Black Caucus is something our foundation is thrilled to do, said Robert Sarver. The young men and women who will be in attendance are the ones who will continue to make Arizona better each day. "Greater Phoenix Urban League Young Professionals is very excited to partner with HeroZona and the Sarver Charitable Foundation to take our mentees from our YP CoNext program on this once in a lifetime trip, said Ashlee Atkins, GPULYP President. This opportunity feeds into our mission to provide opportunities for personal and professional development around leadership, life skills and community involvement to aid in the transition from college students to high performing young professionals. "We are excited to be a part of this important trip that will enable some of our future leaders to get a strong glimpse of our government at work and an opportunity to interact with our elected officials there," said Derrick Hall, Arizona Diamondbacks President and CEO. The event will be moderated by Arizona Commission of African American Affairs Executive Director Cloves C. Campbell Jr. The brunch was continuously supported by deceased member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona, Ed Pastor, and HeroZona has continued the tradition the last several years. It aims to bring together the Arizona Delegation, legislature, businesses and lobbyists to highlight opportunities offered in the state. The event is supported by APS, SRP, the Arizona Diamondbacks, Andrew & Amy Cohn, Sonoran Technology, Equality Health Foundation, the Art Hamilton Group, KDL Services, the Arizona Informant Foundation and more. HeroZona Foundation has launched various community programs including Phoenix Tools 4 School, The Bridge Forum, Holiday Bike Giveaways, MLK Celebrating the Dream, Play It Forward: Engaging Our Youth Through the Arts, Veterans Reach to Teach, the HeroZona Forgotten Heroes Breakfast, the first Nielsen consumer report on veterans, the largest COVID-19 testing site for minorities and most recently, the Blue Zones Activate initiative, an effort to help make the Greater South Phoenix area a healthier and happier place to live, work, and thrive. For more information about the foundations community program partnerships visit herozona.org or follow on Facebook.com/HeroZonaOrg. About the HeroZona Foundation The HeroZona Foundation is a non-profit organization that empowers Heroes in the community through entrepreneurship, employment, and education. The group works with veterans, first responders and those that bring social good to future generations and under-served communities. The foundations mission is to create opportunities for the brave men and women who serve their country, and community, every day. For more information, please visit HeroZona.org. Society for Corporate Governance President & CEO, Darla Stuckey, has announced plans to retire on April 1, 2023, after a career in corporate governance spanning almost 35 years. Ms. Stuckey made her announcement last week in Chicago to members attending the Societys 2022 National Conference and 75th anniversary celebration. Ms. Stuckeys upcoming retirement celebrates over thirteen years at the Society and twenty-one years in other key governance and legal roles. She has served as the Societys President & CEO since 2015, and prior thereto as its EVP and General Counsel, and Senior VP, Policy and Advocacy. Prior to her employment at the Society, she was a longstanding Society member while serving as Assistant Secretary at American Express from 2004 to 2009, and at the NYSE from 1998 to 2004, ultimately as the Corporate Secretary. She began her career at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP as a summer associate in 1987. Under Ms. Stuckeys leadership, the Society refined its mission and name to reflect the broadening scope and evolution of corporate governance and its professionals, in public, private, and not-for-profit companies, encompassing ESG and other governance matters. The Society also increased its advocacy efforts in Congress and with the SEC, representing the governance practitioners viewpoint in countless rulemaking initiatives from the Dodd-Frank Act to the recent climate disclosure rule proposal. She also represented the Societys members with the academic and investor communities. During her tenure, she cemented core partnerships with corporate governance service providers and law firms. Ms. Stuckey led the creation of the Certified Corporate Governance Professional (CCGP) designation and accompanying exam, the first of its kind in the U.S. She and her team steered the Society through several market challenges, while maintaining and contributing to the Societys financial stability and membership growth. The Societys Board of Directors expresses its gratitude for her leadership, dedication and accomplishments throughout her exemplary career with the Society. It has formed a search committee and is partnering with Russell Reynolds to conduct a search for her replacement. About the Society Founded in 1946, the Society for Corporate Governance, Inc. (the "Society") is a 3,650+ non-profit member organization (Section 501(c)(6)) comprised primarily of corporate secretaries, assistant secretaries, in-house counsel, outside counsel, and other governance professionals who serve public companies of every size and industry. The Society seeks to be a positive force for responsible corporate governance through education, collaboration, and advocacy. Society members are responsible for supporting their boards of directors and executive management in matters such as board practices, fiduciary duties and responsibilities, compliance with securities laws, shareholder relations, proxy voting and annual meetings, and subsidiary management. If you want to be your own boss, Hectic is an all-inclusive platform designed to help you turn your passion, talent, and dreams into a thriving business. Were reimagining the system, demystifying self-employment, and breaking down every barrier we can. Today, Hectic announced the launch of the FreelancerOS, a platform designed for busy freelancers. The all-inclusive tool offers streamlined business management for freelancers at any stage of their journey. Hectic provides the ability to start, manage and grow a successful freelance business in one place, enabling freelance professionals to focus on increasing productivity and earning more income. As more workers turn to freelance work an estimated 130 million by 2028 they find that learning to manage a freelance business can be overwhelming. Freelancers say they spend just 52% of their time on billable work. Despite the myriad of options available to freelancers, many find themselves cobbling together a solution made up of multiple tools. This makes it challenging to keep track of everything and get an overview of the business at a glance on one dashboard. Add in the associated costs, and many who want to freelance long-term are discouraged. If you want to be your own boss, Hectic is an all-inclusive platform designed to help you turn your passion, talent, and dreams into a thriving business, Darryl Kelly, founder and chief executive officer, Hectic. Were reimagining the system, demystifying self-employment, and breaking down every barrier we can to create a world where freelancing isnt just a daydreamits a day job. And its attainable no matter who you are. As a freelancer, Hectic helps you save time and allows you to focus on client work so you can earn more money. "I can't say enough about the team at Hectic, says Matt Wright, marketing strategist. They are committed to creating a great one-stop dashboard for freelancers, and it shows. Anytime I've raised a question in chat, one of the founders is there in minutes asking questions and helping me figure out my issue. The product itself is great and really affordable compared to competitors in the space and it keeps getting better." Hectic is available on the web and via mobile and gives those who freelance a way to efficiently manage clients, projects, scheduling, accounting, invoices, proposals, contracts, and more. Users can sign up for the free version with no credit card required and move on to the paid version if they choose. In addition, Hectic offers resources to help with insurance, banking and continuing education. Freelancers often lack access to further education and training that would help them grow their businesses. 53% say they wish they had better access to learn hard, soft and freelance business skills. To help, Hectic offers its Hectic Academy featuring a series of micro-modules with short, expert-led informative videos, quick accompanying exercises, and downloadable assets, all at no cost. Pricing and availability At Hectic, our vision is to make freelancing accessible to everyone, said Kelly. Were on a mission to empower every entrepreneurial mind to turn passion into success. The Hectic Essentials plan is free no credit card is required to get started. Monthly plans include the Pro level at $11.99 per month and the Teams plan at $19.99 per month, with no annual commitments. Every user receives priority support. Hectic seamlessly connects with popular tools, including Slack, Zoom, Stripe, PayPal, QuickBooks, GSuite, and more. Visit https://www.hecticapp.com/ for more information about Hectics FreelancerOS today. About Hectic Hectic is on a mission to empower every entrepreneurial mind to turn passion into success. Its flagship platform, The FreelancerOS, offers everything freelancers need to start, manage, and grow their businesses in one easy-to-use dashboard. By providing a way for freelance workers to tackle the administrative side of freelancing, Hectic allows them to be more productive and focus on earning more money. The company offers continuing education for freelancers via Hectic Academy, as well as through its podcast and blog. Founded in 2020, Hectic is based in Boulder, Colorado, helmed by a team that works remotely. To learn more, visit Hectic online or follow us on social media, on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram. (Statistics quoted are via Edelman, Freelance Forward Report 2020) Some believe the investigation was stopped because Galya was a convenient scapegoat while others believe Galya was part of a top-secret spy ring which, if uncovered, would compromise national security. Either way, her family and the rest of America deserve to know the truth. The Colorado cold case that gripped the nation from 1969 until 1971 is now the subject of a new documentary, Love, Spies, and Cyanide, by Ocean Coast Production and Executive Producers James Norton, R.K. Price, and Michelle Loveall. Love, Spies, and Cyanide resurfaces the scandalous details of the strange disappearance of renowned University of Colorado Russian History Professor, Thomas Riha, and the death of his alleged mistress Galya Tannenbaum. In this thought-provoking highly controversial documentary, the filmmakers challenge the law enforcements original findings and explore the mysteries of one of the Cold Wars most intriguing spy vs spy cases. Professor Thomas Riha, a suspected Russian counter spy, and Galya Tannenbaum, an alleged U.S. Intelligence Agent, were entangled in a mysterious love affair before Rihas disappearance. Speculation also arose that Riha may have been bisexual, and that Galya had murdered Riha, although his body was never found. With no proof of involvement in Rihas disappearance, the single mother of four was charged with forging his name to documents and confined to the Colorado Asylum for the Criminally Insane after accepting an ill-advised insanity plea. Galyas harsh sentencing did not match the alleged crime, said Michelle Loveall, executive producer. With no one to advocate for her, Galya was indefinitely locked away. While incarcerated at the asylum, Galya died of cyanide poisoning under suspicious circumstances, although her death was quickly ruled a suicide. Many believe Galya herself was merely a victim and murdered to silence her. To this day the case remains unsolved and Galyas part in the events that unfurled is nebulous, at best, said James Norton, executive producer and Galyas only son. The filmmakers explore Galyas mysterious life and ask if she was a mastermind spy and a cold-blooded killer, or simply a single mother who like so many marginalized people of her time fell victim to her own governments prejudices or foreign enemies who silenced her. Love, Spies, and Cyanide questions why those at the highest levels of the U.S. government including the FBI and CIA abruptly abandoned their investigations shortly after Galyas death. There is an abundance of speculation and questions as to why the government did not pursue further investigation into Galyas death, said R. K. Price, executive producer and author of Love, Spies, & Cyanide: Galyas Story. Some believe the investigation was stopped because Galya was a convenient scapegoat while others believe Galya was part of a top-secret spy ring which, if uncovered, would compromise national security. Either way, her family and the rest of America deserve to know the truth. When the case reached international acclaim chaos and disparity erupted between the FBI and the CIA, causing the warring agencies to break off communications. The breakdown in communication between the government agencies lasted for decades, continuing until the tragedy of 9/11. This multi-part series also examines how the standoff between the agencies impacted national security during the height of the Cold War and for many years to follow. Congressional panels were convened. Tensions grew. Like today, relations between the U.S. and Russia were on the brink. Love, Spies, and Cyanide presents the inside story of the two enigmatic figures, explores their relationship, and brings to light new evidence surrounding these spellbinding events. Today, even 50+years later, the government still refuses to release its files which keeps one of the most talked about cases in Colorado and the nations history a deep dark secret, Norton said. Our documentary uncovers many of those secrets while searching for answers to a mystery that rocked the country then and remains unsolved today. Ocean Coast Productions Indie Producers James Norton, Michelle Loveall and R.K. Price joined forces in ways nearly as unusual as the case they have documented in this film series. In 1971 Price, a Colorado reporter at the time, broke the original story of Galyas death. He wrote a historical novel about it and Rihas disappearance. James Norton, Galyas only son, a successful California businessman, never believed his mother committed suicide. Neither does Price. Norton read Prices book but wanted a factual, not fictional account of his mothers death being told. Michelle, also a prominent California businesswoman and lover of Cold Case mysteries, stepped in. She helped bring Norton and Price together to collaborate on the production. The rest is history. Three years later and hundreds of hours of research, interviews, and filming they have a story to tell unlike none other. Vi Senior Living "Every day our employees provide exceptional service and quality care. This recognition inspires us to continue to engage, enable, and provide opportunities for our team members to learn and thrive at Vi," said Vi Livings CEO, Gary Smith. Vi, a leading national developer, owner and operator of high-end continuing care retirement communities, announced today that its 10 Vi Senior Living communities across the U.S., as well as its corporate headquarters in Chicago, have all been certified as great workplaces by the Great Place to Work Institute and its senior care partner, Activated Insights. As the global authority on company culture, the Great Places to Work Institute determines its list each year through a proprietary Trust Index employee experience survey. Led by independent analysts, the certifications are based on employee responses regarding their workplace experiences, happiness, and overall satisfaction. To determine the 2022 honorees, Great Place to Work surveyed all Vi Living employees across Vis locations and evaluated more than 60 elements of Vi Living team members experiences on the job, including employee pride in the organizations community impact, belief that their work makes a difference, and the feeling that their work has special meaning. Particular attention was paid to how employees experiences varied depending on their job role, gender, race/ethnicity, payroll status, and other characteristics to ensure that Vi is creating a great workplace for all. We are honored to receive this designation by Great Place to Work once again, said Vi Livings CEO, Gary Smith. Every day our employees provide exceptional service and quality care. This recognition inspires us to continue to engage, enable, and provide opportunities for our team members to learn and thrive at Vi. Decades of research have demonstrated that workplaces with high-trust cultures benefit from higher levels of revenue, innovation, customer and patient satisfaction, employee engagement, organizational agility, and more. Vi Living has some of the highest employee retention rates in the senior living industry, with over 30 percent of employees serving 10 or more years with the company. Since its founding more than 30 years ago, Vi has led the industry with innovative strategies to attract, cultivate and retain top talent. In May, Vi Living invested in and introduced ViHive, a proprietary, company-wide employee communication app, to help employees at all levels stay informed, connected, and engaged. Leveraging employee feedback, the custom-designed app shares the latest happenings across the organization, including community and company events, new team member introductions, new training tools and a variety of career- and benefit-related resources. The two-way communication structure ensures employees voices are heard and valued, which directly impacts job satisfaction and retention. In 2021, Vi Living introduced LifeSpeak to provide employees real-time access to mental health and total well-being resources through a comprehensive mobile app. Vi Living also offers employees a wide range of training and development programs, including tuition reimbursement, free language training, an array of company-paid certification courses, career ladders, leadership development programs as well as access to Vi Livings online university, E-Campus. Vi Living has received a variety of awards and accolades in recognition of its corporate culture and commitment to learning and development, including Chief Learning Officers LearningElite designation and Training Magazines Top 125 companies for learning for ten consecutive years, Glassdoors 2020 Best Places to Work, and Fortunes Best Workplaces for Aging Services. To learn more about employment opportunities at Vi, visit http://www.jobs.viliving.com. ### About Vi Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Vi Living operates 10 continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) across the United States. Blending the best of a five-star resort lifestyle with senior living, Vi Senior Living communities provide residents with independent living as well as a continuum of care on-site, including assisted living, memory support and skilled nursing should the need arise. With more than 30 years of experience as the owner and operator of residential communities for older adults, Vi continues to work toward providing quality environments, services and programs to enrich the lives of those they serve. About Activated Insights and Great Place to Work Activated Insights is the senior care affiliate of Great Place to Work, the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Through its aging services certification program, Activated Insights helps Great Place to Work recognize outstanding workplace cultures in the aging services industry and produce the annual Fortune "Best Workplaces for Aging Services as well as other Great Place to Work Best Workplaces lists for Millennials, Women, Diversity, Small & Medium Companies, and various regions. Through its employee engagement platform, Activated Insights helps clients create great workplaces that outpace peers on key business metrics like revenue growth, profitability, and retention. Dr. Kanwal Bawa Dr. Bawa says that women who fake satisfaction in the bedroom are cheating themselves and their partner out of true fulfillment by pretending that everything is OK. The truth will help fulfill each other's desires. Dr. Kanwal Bawa is visiting the UK July 4 though 7 to discuss the Orgasm Gap with Londoners and to educate the public about sexual and intimate wellness treatments to transform their lives. Dr. Bawas Dr. Sex Fairy podcast is in the top 10% globally. Her TikTok account skyrocketed to over 28 million views and 334,000 followers just two months after launch, featuring informative and entertaining videos on sexual and intimate wellness. Dr. Bawa says that women who fake satisfaction in the bedroom are cheating themselves and their partner out of true fulfillment by pretending that everything is OK. The truth will help fulfill each other's desires and orgasmic potential. The Orgasm Gap is a term used to describe the disparity in orgasms between sexes. Studies have used it to measure sexual satisfaction among different groups and have found that there is a considerable difference between the number of orgasms men and women are having in heterosexual relationships. The Orgasm Gap doesnt just exist between heterosexual men and women. It is interesting to note that that lesbian and bisexual women report significantly more orgasms than their heterosexual female counterparts, says Dr. Bawa. "Popular culture contributes to the issue," says Dr. Bawa. "Actors in love scenes tend to follow a predictable formula: hot, passionate and euphoric. In Emma Thompsons new film, 'Good Luck to You, Leo Grande,' she plays a widowed teacher who hires a male escort in the hope of having her first orgasm late in life, a theme seen as pushing the boundaries." Dr. Kanwal Bawa is a Cleveland Clinic trained physician in Boca Raton, Florida, coming soon to Miami and other cities. She specializes in sexual and intimate wellness, cosmetic and laser surgery, hair restoration and anti-aging treatments. She is also active in caring for the LGBTQ+ community, especially for transitioning transgender individuals. Dr. Bawa on "Good Morning Arizona" June 2022 http://www.bawamedical.com Four Peaks For Teachers 12th annual event will award $1,000 grants to 12 teachers nationwide. Nominate online today! When it comes to supporting teachers, Phoenix-based Four Peaks Brewing Co. doesnt care about state lines or boundaries. Its a key reason why, after 12 years, the Tempe, Arizona brewerys Four Peaks For Teachers campaign has grown to support teachers in five states. And now, during a national teacher shortage, Four Peaks is more committed than ever to providing K-12 educators with the supplies they need to succeed in the classroom. As a part of the 12th Annual Four Peaks for Teachers program, Four Peaks Charities aims to honor and celebrate teachers throughout the United States with its Four Peaks For Teachers Award, which is currently accepting nominations. With the mission to help teachers stock their classroom with essential supplies, 12 teachers throughout the nation will be selected to receive $1,000 grants to purchase classroom supplies. The grant competition is open to teachers nationwide, even in states where Four Peaks beer is not distributed. Nominate your favorite teacher online at http://www.fourpeaksforteachers.org/nominate. Nominations are open until June 30, 2022, at midnight. Teachers, current and former students, parents, and fellow faculty members are encouraged to nominate teachers they feel deserving. In addition to awarding $1,000 grants for school supplies to 12 teachers nationwide, Four Peaks for Teachers will be distributing free kits full of much-needed school supplies to 10,000 teachers in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. To find a Four Peaks For Teachers event near you, and to learn more about how to reserve your free teacher supply kit, please visit http://www.fourpeaksforteachers.org. Customers located outside Four Peaks distribution footprint can also make a direct, tax-deductible donation to the program at http://fourpeaksforteachers.org. Donations to Four Peaks For Teachers are managed through Four Peaks Charities, a nonprofit 501(c)(3). Four Peaks co-founder Jim Scussel created the innovative Four Peaks For Teachers program in 2011 to help reduce the financial burden on teachers in the Southwest, many of whom spend hundreds of dollars on school supplies each year without reimbursement. Were very concerned about teacher burnout, both locally and nationally, Scussel says. Here in Arizona, the number of teachers is at its lowest point since 2004. We all should support teachers in any way we can. One easy way to do that is to nominate an outstanding teacher in our national grant competition. Signs for Benesch's office space in LawCity.Com's Unitas Tower As an entrepreneurial law firm that provides top-level service to its clients, we see the metaverse as yet another avenue through which our attorneys and staff can meetand serveour current and prospective clients where they are. Meta Productions, LLC, a vertically integrated NFT-based metaverse company, is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, LawCity.Com, the first legal district in the metaverse, has signed a virtual land lease agreement with Benesch, a global business law firm with more than 300 attorneys in seven offices across the country and one in Shanghai. With the agreement, Benesch is now an anchor tenant in LawCity.Coms Unitas Tower located at 37, -58 in Decentraland, and is among the first Big Law firms to establish an office in the metaverse. We built LawCity.Com to be a legal town square where law firms and law-related companies can establish their metaverse presence and where prospective clients could learn about their legal issues and perhaps find lawyers to assist them with those issues, said Richard Grungo, Jr., a founder of LawCity.com. We are thrilled to welcome Benesch to LawCity.com as they are a firm that values innovation and forward-thinking. Their vision to be one of the first movers in the Metaverse within the legal industry, enables their prospective clients, executives and in-house counsel at businesses and other organizations in need of highly sophisticated legal services that Benesch is known for providing to not only find each other and communicate in new ways, but also help them learn best practices so as this disruptive technology takes hold, Benesch remains out in front. Founded in Cleveland in 1938, Beneschs core practice areas include corporate & securities, health care, innovations, information technology and intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation, and real estate. The firm serves a number of industries including private equity, cannabis, packaging, specialty chemicals, banking, healthcare, transportation and logistics, and energy and natural resources. In addition, the firms attorneys are known in the legal industry for providing an unmatched level of service to their clients. As an entrepreneurial law firm that provides top-level service to its clients, we see the metaverse as yet another avenue through which our attorneys and staff can meetand serveour current and prospective clients where they are, said Michael Stovsky, Chair of Beneschs 3iP (Innovations, Information Technology & Intellectual Property) Practice Group. We are excited to explore and harness the boundless possibilities the metaverse holds for business law firms to educate and communicate with their current and prospective clients. With Benesch establishing its metaverse office in the Unitas Tower, LawCity.Com takes another step toward solidifying its legal district as the definitive place in the metaverse where people and organizations in need of legal services can find anything law-related, added Grungo. We expect additional business law firms to follow in Beneschs pioneering footsteps as they realize the opportunities available to them in the metaverse for engaging with their clients. To view images of Beneschs metaverse office in the LawCity.Com Unitas tower, please visit https://bit.ly/LawCityCom_Benesch_media. About Benesch Benesch is an AmLaw 200 business law firm with offices in Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Hackensack, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Wilmington. The firm is known for providing highly sophisticated legal services to national and international clients that include public and private, middle market and emerging companies as well as private equity funds, entrepreneurs, and not-for-profit organizations. Beneschs core practice areas include Corporate & Securities, Healthcare, 3iP (Innovations, Information Technology & Intellectual Property), Labor & Employment, Litigation, and Real Estate & Environmental. Some of the industries the firm concentrates in include Private Equity, Data Security & Privacy, Specialty Chemicals, Banking, Healthcare, Polymers, Payment Systems, Transportation & Logistics, Energy & Natural Resources, Construction and Not-for-Profit. For more information, visit http://www.beneschlaw.com. About LawCity.Com LawCity.Com is a subsidiary of Meta Productions, LLC a vertically integrated NFT-based metaverse company. The company intends to continue to purchase, develop, and lease its portfolio of locations for and to the legal industry. The company plans to expand beyond Decentraland and provide access points in all metaverses. The company is focused on providing a simple and secure way for law-related services and charities to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies linked to DeFi and NFTs. As the first legal district, legal directory, and legal search engine in the metaverse, LawCity.Com will be the starting point for every avatars legal journey in the metaverse. For more information about LawCity.Com, and to access the legal district, please visit http://www.LawCity.com. Stay up to date about LawCity.Com developments and join our online communities on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The co-founders of LawCity.Com are the co-founders of Grungo Colarulo, LLC, the New Jersey-based law firm that in December 2021 opened what is believed to be the first personal injury law firm office in the metaverse, as well the first wrongful death, catastrophic injury, nursing home abuse and neglect, employment discrimination, workers compensation, and sexual abuse law firm office in the metaverse. Co-founder Richard Grungo, Jr., has been recognized as a digital pioneer in the legal industry by numerous media outlets, including the ABA Journal, Fortune, Law360, Legaltech News, and The American Lawyer. Blockchain evolution in airline management Blockchain is a versatile innovation that brings value across the entire airline industry. From finance, procurement, marketing, interlinking to secure data tracking and sharing- the possibilities are endless. Within a short span, blockchain has emerged as a revolutionary technology optimizing work processes across countless domains. HashCash Consultants chief Raj Chowdhury asserts that along with the BFSI and supply chain sector, blockchain's limitless potential is also transforming the operations of airline companies. The aviation sector features fierce competition with several companies vying for bigger market share. The only way to sustain is by offering the best features or pricing at lowest profit margins. Blockchain streamlines the workflow reducing unnecessary costs and processes. The HashCash CEO, a noted blockchain pioneer, states "Blockchain is a versatile innovation that brings value across the entire airline industry. From finance, procurement, marketing, interlinking to secure data tracking and sharing- the possibilities are endless. The underlying technology behind cryptocurrencies finds its uses across a wide field in the airline industry. Notable implementation areas include parts and maintenance tracking, customer loyalty reward programs, smart contract agreement for leasing engine or other parts, interlining and revenue distribution, slot management across airports, and more. "Aviation executives need solutions that deliver results. Blockchain heralds the change, empowering them with abilities to surpass milestones through a secure and transparent architecture," concluded Chowdhury, who had previously explained blockchain's application in carbon reduction and smart climate tech solutions. HashCash has been a global leader in blockchain innovation with products deployed in more than 26 nations across 6 continents. The US-based company achieved critical acclaim with its white label crypto exchange solutions, winning top honors in blockchain development by a worldwide business review firm. In recent times, HashCash has made contributions in crypto, remittance, and metaverse gaming across countries like the US, UAE, Vietnam, Brazil, and more. As airline businesses return to normal with revenues catching up to the pre-pandemic scenario, blockchain plays a pivotal role in maximizing their operational efficiency. Businesses seeking digital transformation and leverage growth opportunities mustn't miss out on integrating blockchain to their existing architecture. About Raj Chowdhury: Raj Chowdhury is the Managing Director of HashCash Consultants and a Blockchain pioneer. Raj pioneered the first interbank Trade Finance and Remittance implementation of Blockchain Technology between two of the largest global banks. Raj is a prominent voice in the Blockchain and Cryptocurrency space and actively engages with policymakers in this area. He is a contributor to Economic Times, Business World, and CNNMoney and advises industry leaders in the adoption of Blockchain. He is a member of Asha Silicon Valley, a nonprofit committed to education for children in emerging countries. Author of the book 'The Dark Secret of the Silicon Valley', Raj is an investor in blockchain and cryptocurrency companies and an active member of the philanthropic community. Attorney Stuart Smith Stuart H. Smith (born on September 15th, 1960), a native of New Orleans, Louisiana who was a notable environmental plaintiffs lawyer passed away in Paris, France on May 20, 2022. Smith is survived by his spouse Barry J. Cooper, Jr., mother Judith M. Smith, brother Clark M. Smith, nephews McLean Smith and Owen Smith, niece Emory Smith, his half-sister Cathy Thames and predeceased by his father Frederick Martin Smith and younger brother Whitney Smith. Smiths third great-grandfather and the grandfathers two younger brothers bearing the surnames of Toledano fought in the Battle of New Orleans 1812. Smith attended Holy Name of Jesus Catholic School in New Orleans and went on to earn a bachelors degree from Louisiana State University and a law degree from Loyola Universitys School of Law in New Orleans, where he would later establish the Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and Center for Social Justice. After working as an environmental plaintiff attorney for more than three decades and founding numerous legal partnerships, Smiths last business venture was with his life-time partner, Mr. Cooper, and the expansion of the Cooper Law Firm, LLC in New Orleans. Smiths legal career gained national recognition in the early 1990s as a crusader against the major oil corporations for environmental contamination associated with radioactive oilfield waste. Smith had been lead-counsel on more than 100 environmental contamination cases, which focused primarily on personal injury and property damages caused by wastewater and sludge discharged by oil company operations into the environment. In 1992, Smith was lead counsel in the civil action of Street vs. Chevron which pitted the family owners of a pipe-yard located in rural southeastern Mississippi against a multinational oil conglomerate. Allegedly, for years, Chevron had sent radioactive oilfield pipe to Street, Inc., for cleaning without informing the owners that the pipe contained radioactive material. Investigators from the Mississippi Division of Radiological Health found radiation from radium on the Street property 500 times the natural level. Chevron ultimately settled the case for an undisclosed amount of money in what remains one of the longest-running jury trials in Mississippi history. The New York Times newspaper previously reported on this case in December of 1990. In 2001, Smith was lead counsel in a blockbuster oilfield radiation case that resulted in a substantial jury verdict against ExxonMobil for contaminating private property it leased from the Grefer family in Harvey, Louisiana. ExxonMobil appealed the jury verdict successfully seeking a reduction in the punitive damage award and was still ordered to pay compensatory damages. At the time, it was considered the second largest jury verdict in legal history in favor of a single family against an oil company. Smith was also lead counsel in representing 4000+ commercial fishermen in 2010, whose livelihoods were devastated by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Despite multiple Molotov cocktail fire-bombs to Smiths residence in the French Quarter over a two-and-half year period during the late 1990s and a subsequent death threat all in connection with Smiths Pro Bono activities in the French Quarter, it did not deter Smiths continued Pro Bono efforts to protect the quality of life to his beloved City. The United States Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana with the assistance of city, state, and federal authorities did bring the perpetrators to justice. Smith would eventually become known as an award-winning preservationist, particularly for his defense of the residential character of the New Orleans French Quarter. Smith received the highest awards from the Vieux Carre Commission, the Elizabeth Werlein Medal in 2012, and the friends of VCPORA, namely the Schwartz-Gage Award in 2011, for his pro-bono help in preserving the historic integrity and tout ensemble of the Citys most important neighborhood. In 2015, Smiths book entitled, Crude Justice: How I Fought Big Oil and Won was published by BenBella Books of Dallas, Texas. Crude Justice is a memoir of Smiths successful legal career and reflects on his extensive jury trial experience in both state and federal courts, where he built a reputation for pioneering the field of Naturally Occurring/Technologically Enhanced Radioactive Material (NORM/TERM) oilfield waste litigation and achieving record jury verdicts for his clients. Smith has been interviewed and his cases have been covered by a variety of media outlets, including CNN's Andersen Cooper 360, BBC World News, Fox News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Lawyers Weekly USA, The Times-Picayune, The Baton Rouge Advocate, The Hill, The Associated Press, Bloomberg, National Public Radio, Radio America, and Washington Post Radio. Smith was an avid sailor and a member of the New York Yacht Club. A certified PADI Advanced Open Water scuba diver trained by Harold Baquet (a native of New Orleans). In 2013-2014, Smith with his spouse participated and completed the Oyster World Rally. Smith was also a private instrument rated pilot experienced in operating Cessna piston and Daher- Socata turboprop aircrafts. Smith had been a generous contributor to city, state, and national political campaigns for progressive democratic candidates, Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN), Louisiana Association for Justice, American Association for Justice, Greater New Orleans Foundation, a member of the Society of St. Ignatius (Loyola University New Orleans), a loyal benefactor to The Gayle and Tom Benson Cancer Center (Ochsner Medical Center in Jefferson, Louisiana), Childrens Bureau of New Orleans, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans Film Society, New Orleans Ballet Association, New Orleans Opera Association, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, French Quarter Fest, Southern Rep Theater and other non- profits. Funeral services are being held at Holy Name of Jesus Church, 6367 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118 on July 7, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. (CST). Donations to the Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents & Associates (New Orleans, Louisiana) at https://vcpora.org/donate/ in lieu of flowers. My intention is to actively mesh my existing professional distinctions with HHAs ongoing mission of providing safe and affordable housing for the income challenged while actively advocating financial independence and self-sufficiency for the participants of HHA, says Darr. Cupid Alexander comes to HHA after nearly 20 years of working with housing authorities across the country in Oregon, Washington, and Texas. His priorities have exemplified community-centered proactive housing solutions for the most income-restricted people. In 2017, Mr. Alexander was the recipient of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment (NAHRO) National Emerging Leader award and is now a current NAHRO board member. Most recently, he was the Assistant Director of Housing and Planning for the City of Austin, TX. A citys most important and valuable infrastructure is its people, says Alexander. I look forward to serving HHA residents to create sustainable and thriving communities. With our dedicated staff and community partners, including our regional government leaders, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and the caring residents of Houston we will fulfill the critical mission of HHA. Khadija Darr is an accomplished affordable housing finance executive with a demonstrated history of effectively directing fiscal operations through strategic planning and managing financial resources. She joins HHA after her previous role as CFO for the Lake County Housing Authority in Illinois, and brings over 15 years of experience in the financial industry. Ms. Darr holds an MBA, a Masters in Public Administration, and a Masters in Accounting. I consider myself an agent of change, more particularly an agent of organizational change, says Darr. My intention is to actively mesh my existing professional distinctions with HHAs ongoing mission of providing safe and affordable housing for the income challenged while actively advocating financial independence and self-sufficiency for the participants of HHA. Mr. Alexander and Ms. Darr will join HHA on July 5, 2022. About Houston Housing Authority: HHA provides affordable homes and services to more than 60,000 low-income Houstonians, including over 17,000 families housed through the Housing Choice Voucher Program as well as another 5,700 living in 25 public housing and tax credit developments around the city. HHA also administers one of the nations largest voucher programs exclusively serving homeless veterans. To learn more about HHA, our services, programs, and job opportunities visit HousingforHouston.com. A Johnny Depp penthouse where he once lived with Rebecca Heard is for sale. Where Real Estate Is Never Boring! Junes Top 10 Celebrity Real Estate News Britney Spears: New House & Husband Brand-new bride Britney Spears has a new home too. Soon after getting hitched to actor Sam Asghari, the newlyweds splurged on a $11.8 million home in Calabasas, California. The 11,650-square-foot home on 1.6 acres was built in 2008 and comes with a 55-foot pool, 2,000-square-foot patio, and a guest home. Calabasas has attracted a slew of celebrities in recent years, including much of the Kardashian family. Johnny Cashs California Home He Helped Design It Johnny Cash often sang about the hills and flowers and wide-open spaces, and he lived it too. In 1961, Johnny built a 4,500-square-foot home in rural Casitas Springs, California as his quiet place to escape from the rock 'n roll lifestyle. Johnnys former home is for sale at $1.795 million. Johnny & Ambers LA Love Nest For Sale With all the notoriety Johnny Depp and Amber Heard attracted during their headline-making court case, what better time for a new owner to put the Depp-Heard love nest on the market? Though only married for 15 months, the Los Angeles building was their home and, according to the listing agent, the one-bedroom penthouse was where they spent a good amount of their time. Johnnys former LA apartment is for sale - priced at $1.765 million. The King of Queens Lives In Florida & Sells Mansions Kevin James bought and sold his first Delray, Florida beach home in 2016 making a quick profit over $7 million. Now he is doing it again listing another Delray beach home he bought in 2021 for $14 million. His current home, built in 2020 with six bedrooms, 11,502 square feet and ocean views from almost every room, is listed at $19.95 million. Neil Patrick Harris Sets Harlem Record On the set of the popular sitcom How I Met Your Mother, Neil Patrick Harris met David Burtka. A few years later, the pair wed and moved to Harlem where they lived with their twin sons, Harper and Gideon, and bought and restored a gorgeous five-story Harlem brownstone. Their Harlem home recently sold for $7.1 million - setting a new price record for the historic neighborhood. Matt Lauer Sells Former Richard Gere Home It took a couple of years but former Today show host Matt Lauer has sold his Hamptons waterfront home. Matt bought the 12-bedroom estate from Richard Gere for $36.5 million in 2016 and listed it in 2019 for $44.8 million. Prior to Lauers purchase, Gere had the home priced as much as $65 million. The main house, Strongheart Manor, was built in 1902 for silent-film star Robert Edeson. Ariana Grande Scores Some of Cameron Diaz Home Collection Ariana Grande has been on a bit of a home-buying surge in the last few years, including an Ellen DeGeneras Montecito home she bought in 2020. Cameron Diaz has also been collecting homes, and Ariana just paid $4.9 million for one of Camerons Hollywood Hills homes. Kristen Stewart Sells Malibu Beach Home It took two years but Kristen Stewart has sold her Malibu beach home. Kristen was asking $9.5 million for the five-bedroom, 5,800-square-foot home but settled at $8.3 million. Colin Jost Sells Longtime Bachelor Pad Since he married Scarlett Johansson in 2021, Colin Jost had no need for his longtime bachelor's pad. The Saturday Night Live anchorman just sold his New York duplex for $2.32 million. 'Big Bang' Star Looking For Big Bucks 'Big Bang' star Simon Helberg has listed his Loz Feliz home for $9.875 million. Simon bought the home three years ago for $6.9 million. Features include six bedrooms, pool, guesthouse and is certified as a Monarch Butterfly Waystation. Simon recently bought another home in Pasadena for $8.4 million, where he is living. For more celebrity home news and celebrity home video tours, visit TopTenRealEstateDeals.com. The 2021 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Coupe, for sale at Lamborghini of Austin Supercar enthusiasts, collectors, and anyone that likes automobiles can own a piece of history...the 2021 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Coupe. Supercar enthusiasts, collectors, and anyone that likes automobiles can own a piece of history. The 2021 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Coupe, which can be found for sale right now, at Lamborghini of Austin, is an incredibly rare find. There are only hundreds of them in existence. The Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Coupe has made quite an impression on the automotive world. Car and Driver magazine gave it a rare and coveted 10 out of 10 rating. How did Lamborghini carry out this feat? Some of the features, specifications, and performance figures help to answer that question. They include: An incredibly powerful 6.5-liter V8 engine. It produces 759 horsepower and 531 foot-pounds of torque. 7-speed automated manual. This smooth-shifting transmission allows drivers incredible precision in timing their gear changes. It puts power to all four wheels, which creates tremendous traction. Driver safety systems. The Aventador SVJ has stability control, side-impact beams, fixed rollover protection, and more. Keeping the driver safe while maximizing performance is a big part of the Lamborghini design philosophy. Unbelievable performance statistics. The SVJ puts up amazing numbers, including a zero to sixty mile per hour time of just 2.8 seconds. It can reach one hundred miles per hour faster than the average vehicle can make it to sixty miles per hour, which is an astonishing 6.0 seconds. It has a top speed of 217 miles per hour and can pull 1.1 gravities on the skid pad. Not to mention, the 2021 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ is beautiful inside and out. The designers and engineers at Lamborghini create art and apply it with scientific precision. Individuals who would like to learn more about this vehicle or any other in the Lamborghini family of cars can visit the dealership website at http://www.lamborghiniaustin.com. Interested parties may also contact Lamborghini Austin by dialing 833-331-0322, or by visiting the dealership at 4108 North Lamar Boulevard in Austin, Texas. Dani Weckstrom, Founder of Limitless Life Real Estate I created Limitless Life Real Estate to give people access to exclusive listings, an extensive professional network, and timely marketing strategies in a relaxed environment. Limitless Life Real Estate today announced its partnership with Side, the only real estate technology company that exclusively partners with high-performing agents, teams, and independent brokerages to transform them into market-leading boutique brands and businesses. The alliance will ensure that Limitless Life Real Estate, a company that specializes in South Floridas luxury property market, is powered by the industrys most advanced platform. Limitless Life Real Estate was founded by Dani Weckstrom, whose first two listings after earning his license in 2017 were high-end waterfront Fort Lauderdale properties. Facilitating just north of $20 million in transaction volume since then and $17 million in 2021 alone, Weckstrom brings to Limitless Life Real Estate a professional background spent entirely in sales as well as access to a global network, lucrative listings, and advanced technology. Limitless Life Real Estate serves buyers, sellers, and investors in South Florida luxury real estate, including Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. As determined as Ive always been to implement the best tools, enhance the client experience, and have expert command of this business, I want people to have fun and enjoy the process, too, Weckstrom said. I created Limitless Life Real Estate to give people access to exclusive listings, an extensive professional network, and timely marketing strategies in a relaxed environment. Partnering with Side will ensure Limitless Life Real Estate remains on the cutting edge of the evolving real estate market while continuing to deliver premium services to its clients. Side works behind the scenes, supporting Limitless Life Real Estate with a one-of-a-kind brokerage platform that includes proprietary technology, transaction management, branding and marketing services, public relations, legal support, lead generation, vendor management, infrastructure solutions, and more. Additionally, Limitless Life Real Estate will join an exclusive group of Side partners, tapping into an expansive network from coast to coast. After my first meeting with Side, it was clear this team was the right choice for me, Weckstrom said. Sides unparalleled marketing, technology, support, and platform provide me with the luxury of the brokerage Ive always wanted without the liability of having an independent entity. About Limitless Life Real Estate From Miami high-rises to waterfront Palm Beach estates, Limitless Life Real Estate has one foot firmly planted in the most exclusive local property markets and the other in creating a friendly, relaxed real estate experience for its clients. Limitless Luxury agents aim for simplicity to successfully facilitate any deal while combining their heightened experience and knowledge with their trustworthiness and diligence. Headquartered in Miami, Limitless Life Real Estate serves buyers and sellers throughout South Florida, including Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. For more information, visit http://www.limitlessliferealestate.com. About Side Side is a behind-the-scenes brokerage platform that exclusively partners with top-performing agents, teams, and independent brokerages to create and grow their own boutique brands without the cost, time, or risk of operating a brokerage. Sides proprietary technology platform and premier support solutions empower its agent partners to be more productive, grow their business, and focus on serving their clients. Side is headquartered in San Francisco. For more information, visit http://www.sideinc.com. Mark Guillaudeu, Winner 2022 Best USA Sommelier Competition Best USA Sommelier Association (BUSA), a not-for-profit created by top industry professionals to support and promote the role of the sommelier in the United States, is pleased to announce the winner of the USA National Finals held on June 14, 2022, in Hermann, Missouri. After nine hours of exams during which the six finalists competed in French, Spanish and English (meeting the requirements of competing in a non-native language), the six judges chose a new U.S. national champion sommelier: Mark Guillaudeu. The daylong competition included challenging blind tastings of classic wines, as well as fortified wines from around the world, and aged spirits; a tough theory examination that required intimate knowledge of wine grapes and regions, spirits, cocktails and cigars; and a high-paced service exam. Guillaudeu will represent the United States in the world competition to be held in Paris in 2023. Two runners-up were also chosen: first runner-up, Dustin Chabert, the previous U.S. national champion, and second runner-up, David Berube. The BUSA Finals were judged by six seasoned professionals: Cheryl Stanley (Cornell University), Andrey Ivanov MS, Alejandro Ferris, Doug Frost MS, MW, Evan Goldstein MS and Sara d'Amato. The 2022 competition was held in Hermann, MO, one of the most important 19th century American wine regions. The competition took place in the historical cellars and the old grounds now owned by the Hermannhof Winery, created by George Husmann, a foundational figure in American wine, in both Missouri and Napa Valley. BUSA would like to thank Hermannhof Winery, the competitors, judges and professional sommeliers who supported the competition finals as well as renowned Chef Bernie Lee of Akar Restaurant in St. Louis for providing remarkable meals throughout. Please visit the BUSA website for updates on all upcoming events congratulations to Mark Guillaudeu, Best USA Sommelier 2022, and to all the finalists who competed this year: 2022 Winner Best Sommelier USA Finals: Mark Guillaudeu (Commis, Oakland, CA) 2022 First Runner-up: Dustin Chabert (Chicago, IL) 2022 Second Runner-up: David Berube (Restaurant Daniel, New York, NY) Eduardo Bolanos (The Wine House, Los Angeles, CA) Max Goldberg (Maybourne Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA) Kaysie Rogers (Flagler Steakhouse at The Breakers, Palm Beach, FL) Press Contact For more information about Best USA Sommelier Association (BUSA), the U.S. chapter of Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI), and to schedule an interview with Doug Frost, President, reach out to Helen Gregory at helen@gregoryvine.com. Visit http://www.BestUSASommelier.com, the official website for membership details and organization guidelines. (from left to right) 2019 Winners: Army Veteran Don Shirley, Army Veteran Michael Foster, Marine Corps Veteran David Alexander, Air Force Veteran Jimmy Weeks, Navy Veteran Tawnya Caldwell This business has allowed for my wife and I to spend time together after retiring from the Army and to work from anywhere at any time. The corporate headquarters team feels like an extension of our franchise as they and the other franchise owners truly make us feel as if we are part of their family. Leading travel agency franchise Dream Vacations is recruiting military veterans to enlist in its 11th annual, award-winning Operation Vetrepreneur: Become Your Own General contest. The number one franchise opportunity for veterans will be awarding two veterans a free franchise as part of the nationwide contest that since 2012, has given away 56 franchises valued at nearly $700,000 dollars. One grand prize winner will also receive a 2023 Dream Vacations National Conference cruise cabin. This years contest begins on Friday, July 1, 2022, and runs through Monday, Sept. 5, 2022. Our commitment to our nations veterans is forever ongoing, and we strive to support our military heroes and their families every way we can, said Drew Daly, senior vice president and general manager of Dream Vacations. Our annual Operation Vetrepreneur contest is just one small way we show our gratitude to veterans by making it easy for them to pursue their dreams of business ownership, prosperity and success for their families no matter their location. The Dream Vacations franchise contest is open to former members of any of the six branches of the U.S. military (Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps Space Force and Coast Guard) who are retired, off active duty and/or honorably discharged prior to the contest start date and are residents of the U.S. To participate, candidates must complete an online entry form and an introductory phone interview with a Franchise Development Manager. Candidates will be required to submit a candidate profile, business plan and video. Finalists will be invited to participate in follow-up phone interviews before winners are selected. The entry form and all contest details can be found at https://www.operationvetrepreneur.com. Two winners will be notified in September 2022. Each grand prize is valued at $12,300 and includes a complimentary Dream Vacations franchise with a waived $10,500 initial start-up fee and monthly service fees. After completing Dream Vacations New Franchisee Training, the winners will be armed with all the tools and knowledge they need to begin their next journey as small business owners creating dream vacations. I am so honored to have won a Dream Vacations travel franchise. It is truly a life-changing experience, said Grant Springer, Army Veteran and 2013 Operation Vetrepreneur: Become Your Own General winner from Edgewater, Md. Dream Vacations is a company that gives back to the military community and offers many incentive programs to assist veterans in transitioning back to civilian life. We have owned our Dream Vacations franchise almost nine years, and as a Veteran, our only regret is that we didnt do it earlier. This business has allowed for my wife and I to spend time together after retiring from the Army and to work from anywhere at any time. The corporate headquarters team feels like an extension of our franchise as they and the other franchise owners truly make us feel as if we are part of their family. According to the Department of Defense, more than 200,000 military veterans are entering the civilian workforce each day, and Dream Vacations recognizes that franchising provides a unique opportunity to leverage the traits gained in the military and translate them to entrepreneurship. This includes teamwork, decisive thinking, leadership and self-discipline to name a few. Those who have served in the Armed Forces also have an innate desire to serve others and see the world, which are important aspects of being a successful travel franchise owner. Military veterans and Gold Star families interested in starting a work-from-home business immediately can purchase a Dream Vacations travel agency business now at a 30 percent discount, receive an enlistment package valued no less than $5,000 and will have their administrative fees waived which is valued at $1,350. In addition to having access to the Command Center, an internal portal with veteran-specific training and veteran-themed marketing assets, all veterans and Gold Star families receive a waived training fee for a business partner and the ability to hire active-duty military spouses and veterans as associates at a discount. Additional veteran incentives include the ability to move residences and stay in business, travel discounts for military customers and access to veteran networking groups. The only travel franchise to receive a 5 STAR-ranking from the International Franchise Associations VetFran initiative, Dream Vacations proudly supports military veterans and is consistently recognized by leading industry publications as a veteran-friendly franchise. Dream Vacations was named Entrepreneur magazines top franchise for veterans in 2021, and in the category, has ranked either first or second out of 150 franchises nationwide since 2017. Other recent number one rankings include Military Times and Forbes. In 2022, Dream Vacations was named the No. 1 travel agency franchise by Entrepreneur magazine for adapting and evolving when facing the unique challenges and changes that shaped the franchise industry over the last year. Additional recognitions include inclusion on G.I. Jobs annual Hot Franchises for Veterans, US Veterans magazines Top Veteran-Friendly Companies, USA Todays 50 Top Franchises for Military Veterans and recognition by MSC Cruises in its Seaside Salute Award. The Operation Vetrepreneur: Become Your Own General program won gold from the Travel Weekly Magellan Awards and the IFA Franchising Gives Back Awards. Military veterans with a passion for travel and entrepreneurship who are interested in opening a Dream Vacations travel franchise and want to be considered as a candidate for the Operation Vetrepreneur: Become Your Own General contest, please visit https://www.operationvetrepreneur.com or call 888-249-8235. About Dream Vacations Travel agents with the top-ranked home-based travel agency franchise Dream Vacations have the resources to plan and create seamless vacation experiences for their customers while offering the best value. A member of the International Franchise Association, Dream Vacations is part of World Travel Holdings and has received partner of the year, a top-ranking status, by all the major cruise lines as well as national recognition for its support of military veterans. For more information about Dream Vacations, visit http://www.dreamvacationsfranchise.com. Like Dream Vacations on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DreamVacationsFranchise, follow on Twitter at @Dream_Franchise and watch its videos at http://www.youtube.com/DreamVacationsBusiness. Begins July 1st, 2022, at 12:01 a.m. ET and ends September 5th, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Void where prohibited by law. Must be 18 or older at the start of the Contest, have a computer and internet connection, be a legal resident of the US or DC and a former member in good standing of one of the six branches of the U.S. military who is retired, off active duty and/or was honorably discharged prior to the start date of the Contest. If selected as winners, Contestants must commit to a 5-year Dream Vacations home-based franchise, which requires attendance at a New Franchisee Training Class and a starting investment capital (for more information, go to http://www.dreamvacationsfranchise.com or call 888-441-2542). Only one (1) submission per contestant. To enter, complete the online entry form on our website (http://www.operationvetrepreneur.com). If qualified and selected to move to the next round after a phone interview, Semi-Finalists must submit a video, Dream Vacations candidate profile, video, and a minimum 300 - 1,200-word business plan. Submissions must comply with the Submission Guidelines in the Official Rules. Only complete, valid submissions will be accepted. Sponsored by Dream Vacations, 1201 W. Cypress Creek Rd. Ste. 100, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309. See [http://www.OperationVetrepreneur.com for complete Rules and details. ### [Ling's] commitment to the truth and long career studying humankind give her a unique perspective to share with our community. We are lucky to be able to engage with her in this exclusive setting. - Dan LaBert, NAILBA CEO The National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA) today announced that their 2022 Summer Symposium will include a special discussion with renowned journalist and author, Lisa Ling, sponsored by Legal & General America. At the virtual event, which will take place on August 2 and 3, Ling will discuss breaking misconceptions and building client trust. Currently executive producer and host of This is Life on CNN, Ling also executive produced and hosted Our America on OWN: the Oprah Winfrey Network, and has spent her storied career as an investigative journalist. Her incredible experiences include embedding in a Midwest town ravaged by an onslaught of heroin, witnessing the manifestation of PTSD in returning veterans of war, and profiling Americans living beneath the poverty line for the first time. As the former field correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show and contributor to ABC News' Nightline and National Geographic's Explorer, Ling has reported from dozens of countries, covering stories about gang rape in the Congo, bride burning in India, the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, and the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang in Central America, among other issues that are too often ignored. We are deeply thankful to Legal & General for bringing Lisa Ling to NAILBA this summer, said NAILBA CEO, Dan LaBert. Her commitment to the truth and long career studying humankind give her a unique perspective to share with our community. We are lucky to be able to engage with her in this exclusive setting. About the Summer Symposium Since COVID-19 began, NAILBA has offered a complimentary virtual Summer Symposium. Fresh topics and non-commercialized content have made the panel discussions, 1:1 video interviews, and interactive booths very popular with NAILBAs audience of 400,000 BGA/IMO/FMO and independent producers. The 2022 Summer Symposium will focus on topics impacting BGAs and industry partners, as well as supporting BGA and advisor success. Financial services professionals may register at no cost at https://nailbaengage.vfairs.com/. ## About NAILBA The National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA) is the premiere insurance industry organization promoting financial security and consumer choice through the use of independent brokerage distribution. NAILBA serves as the national association of life, health and annuity insurance distributors. For more information, visit http://www.nailba.org. Emiliano Delucia, Chief Technology Officer, PLACE, and Abby Powell, Chief Marketing Officer, PLACE "Their skills are necessary to execute our internal strategies designed to help our partners scale while developing consumer- facing initiatives that deliver on our promise to make homeownership easier." - Chris Suarez, co-founder of PLACE PLACE, the industry's only all-in-one technology and business services platform powering the top 20% of real estate agents regardless of brokerage, announced today the hiring of a Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Emiliano Delucia, and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Abby Powell. Both Delucia and Powell have extensive backgrounds in technology product development and B2C marketing strategy, respectively. The two will play a pivotal role in scaling PLACEs already successful real estate technology and business services platform and its suite of real estate technology products, including Brivity. Emiliano has experience as a tech leader for Red Ventures, where he ran some of the biggest consumer online brands in the world, like Bankrate.com. This is exactly what PLACE needs to further our vision of becoming the technology platform for agents and consumers alike, PLACE Co-Founder Ben Kinney said. Abby's experience leading iconic brands like Dr Pepper will help us cement PLACE as a household name. Partnering with Emiliano and Abby is a win for the entire PLACE family, said PLACE Co-Founder Chris Saurez. Their skills are necessary to execute our internal strategies designed to help our partners scale while developing consumer-facing initiatives that deliver on our promise to make homeownership easier. As CTO, Delucia will help guide PLACE through pivotal growth phases of its proprietary technology. Prior to PLACE, Delucia served as the Executive Vice President and Head of Technology and Engineering at Red Ventures, directing tech for the Financial Services Division. He brings more than two decades of experience delivering scalable software applications for both startups and legacy corporations, such as Halliburton. I joined PLACE for the unique opportunity to help shape the future of technology for the only all-in-one real estate technology and business services platform, Delucia explained. Its exciting to help real estate professionals run more profitable and efficient businesses while also significantly impacting how consumers buy, sell, and own homes. Powell joins PLACE from Keurig Dr Pepper, where she most recently led the marketing efforts for iconic brands like Dr Pepper, Crush, and Schweppes, as well as strategic initiatives and marketing planning for the beverage portfolio. Prior to Keurig Dr. Pepper, she served as the VP of Marketing for Reckitt and in numerous leadership roles at PepsiCo, leading marketing and innovation for many of the household brands, including Lays, Doritos, Finish detergent, and Frenchs mustard. Powells ability to strategize and execute go-to market strategies will allow PLACE to grow its roster of top-producing partners and drive new brand initiatives that attract both agents and consumers searching for simplified real estate solutions. I was immediately attracted to PLACE because of its distinctive role in the market and the true value provided to both the real estate agent and the consumer, said Powell. I look forward to telling the PLACE brand story and am excited to join such a talented team that is building tools and technology to simplify homeownership. Founded in 2019, PLACE has already made a name for itself in real estate, start-up and prop tech circles. In late 2021, PLACE closed its Series A round led by Goldman Sachs for $100 million resulting in a $1 billion valuation. The organization continues to grow with over 130 PLACE partner teams and 584 employees. About PLACE PLACE, the industrys only fully integrated technology and business services platform, powers high-performing real estate agents and their teams to become more efficient, increase profitability, and provide superior customer value. For more information, please visit place.com or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Two veteran-founded teams are combining forces to support the health of post-combat active duty military soldiers and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. While approximately 15% of veteran and military populations have had post-traumatic stress disorder (also called PTSD), the prevalence of PTSD more than doubles to 37% among those with traumatic brain injuries. The latest statistics show that, due to invisible injuries related to PTSD, it is six times more dangerous for an American soldier to return home from war than it is for him or her to be actively engaged in combat, shared, Cary Reichbach, U.S. Army Veteran and Founder of Grey Team, Our job is to help our veterans receive the care they deserve, and to provide peace, passion and fulfillment. Grey Team, a U.S. non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the personal health and wellness of both active-duty soldiers and military veterans, uses a combination of holistic healing technologies as well as reinstating a passion of life and purpose, to completely redefine what it means to be a U.S. military veteran. Grey Team has a special program, called Operation Phoenix, which helps military veterans learn to effectively train their minds and bodies, optimize their nutrition, decelerate their fight or flight response, and enable psychological recovery from the effects of war. In support of Operation Phoenix, Grey Team is working with Seraphina Therapeutics, which is co-founded by a military family and husband-wife, physician-scientist team. Seraphina is providing fatty15, their award-winning pure C15:0 supplement, to help support the health and wellness of Operation Phoenix participants. C15:0, also called pentadecanoic acid, is an odd-chain saturated fatty acid that has recently emerged as the first essential fatty acid to be discovered since omega-3 and omega-6. While fatty15 has been shown to improve metabolic, immune, heart and liver health at the cellular level by strengthening cell membranes and repairing mitochondria, it also naturally activates receptors (called PPAR alpha and delta) throughout the body and brain that can provide benefits relevant to protecting brain health and better handling stress. In addition to the growing science around how C15:0 can support both physical and mental health, we continue to receive inspiring testimonials from our customers, including fellow veterans, on how fatty15 is helping to improve their lives, shared Dr. Eric Venn-Watson, who is Seraphina Therapeutics co-founder, a Navy physician, and a 3-war combat veteran. We are proud to be partnering with Grey Team on Operation Phoenix to support the long-term health and welfare of our military and veteran communities. The origin story behind C15:0 has important ties to the military. C15:0 was initially discovered as an essential nutrient by Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson while working to continually improve the health and welfare of U.S. Navy dolphins. This discovery, and how helping Navy dolphins may just help save the world, was recently featured as a TEDx San Diego talk. Grey Team, a U.S. non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the personal health and wellness of both active-duty soldiers and military veterans. Grey Team's highly successful Operation Phoenix (the "Operation") leverages the most cutting-edge medical, nutritional, and wellness technologies to support the rehabilitation and wellness of both active-duty soldiers and military veterans. The Operation has helped alleviate mental and physical suffering caused by post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, chronic physical pain, and lifestyle choices. More information can be found at http://www.greyteam.org. Seraphina Therapeutics, Inc. is a health and wellness company dedicated to advancing global health through the discovery of essential fatty acids and micronutrient therapeutics. Through rigorous breakthrough science, the company develops fatty acid supplements, food fortifiers, and nutritional interventions to strengthen cells, keep mitochondria working and advance cellular homeostasis to counter age-related breakdown. With its team of industry-leading scientists, Seraphina Therapeutics challenges long-held approaches to nutrition, enabling the creation of novel health products designed to support quality of life. For more information, please visit seraphinatherapeutics.com and fatty15.com. Vincent Elejorde in Costa Mesa at South Coast Plaza for Pride Month Content Collaboration Travel Costa Mesa follows Vincent Elejorde, an LGBTQ+ content creator, as he visits some of his favorite Costa Mesa destinations during Pride month. In our third installation of this community relations initiative, Travel Costa Mesa follows Vincent Elejorde, an LGBTQ+ content creator, as he visits some of his favorite Costa Mesa destinations during Pride month. Vincent selected two ally-owned businesses to feature, South Coast Plaza, and worked with OC PRIDE on a fourth feature for an LGBTQ+ owned business in Costa Mesa, Strut Bar & Club. The features will be shared on Travel Costa Mesas social media channels and blog throughout the month of June in honor of Pride month. Each business had their own exciting connection to Vincent and we look forward to sharing these stories. This exclusive content has been appearing throughout the month of June on the Travel Costa Mesa blog at travelcostamesa.com/blog, Instagram @travelcostamesa, and on Facebook @travelcostamesa. SOUTH COAST PLAZA 3333 Bristol St. Costa Mesa, CA 92626 (800) 782-8888 http://www.southcoastplaza.com/ http://www.instagram.com/southcoastplaza/ SEABIRDS AT THE LAB 2930 Bristol Street Costa Mesa, CA 92626 (714) 549-2594 http://www.seabirdskitchen.com/ http://www.instagram.com/seabirdskitchen/ WORK IN PROGRESS 2944 Randolph Avenue Suite 1 Costa Mesa, CA 92626 http://www.wipgoods.com/ http://www.instagram.com/wipgoods/ STRUT BAR & CLUB 719 W. 19th Street Costa Mesa, CA 92627 (949) 536-4389 http://www.strutoc.com/ http://www.instagram.com/strutorangecounty/ ABOUT VINCENT ELEJORDE Vincents passion for creativity was sparked at a young age with fashion & beauty being at the forefront. Dreaming of finding his way into the industry he began expanding his knowledge of photography, shooting photos for friends and perfecting his craft. As his passion grew, so did his clientele including top influencers/content creators and large-scale brands like Revolve and H&M, as well as photo spreads in publications like Vogue. ABOUT OC PRIDE Orange County LGBT Prides mission is to strengthen the identity of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community within Orange County. OC Pride will unite LGBTQ+ people, empower them to live openly with pride and promote respect for all. Part of that is celebrating their vibrant culture, traditions and enduring spirit. OC Pride also helps provide opportunities to foster tolerance, awareness, safety and support in the LGBTQ+ community while forging alliances with the Orange County public at large. OC Pride is a 501(c)(3) non-profit LGBTQ+ Pride festival and parade. Committed to funding community projects, hosting events, and raising awareness and understanding with and for the LGBTQ+ family. The 2022 OC Pride parade and festival was held in Santa Ana on June 25th, with celebrations throughout Orange County this month. # # # Located in the heart of Orange County in Southern California, with a population of approximately 113,000, Travel Costa Mesa was established in 1995 with the primary goal of promoting tourism to the city and to fund programs and activities that benefit the hotel and motel businesses within the city of Costa Mesa. For more information on travel to the city of Costa Mesa, visit http://www.travelcostamesa.com or follow @travelcostamesa on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Travel Costa Mesa is a 501(c)(6). Sterling Heights Housing Commission joins the MITN Purchasing Group The Sterling Heights Housing Commission invites all potential vendors to register online. The Sterling Heights Housing Commission announced it has joined the MITN Purchasing Group and will be publishing and distributing upcoming bid opportunities on the system. bidnet directs MITN Purchasing Group connects nearly 275 participating agencies from across Michigan to a large vendor pool and streamlines the bid and vendor management process. The Sterling Heights Housing Commission invites all vendors to register online with the MITN Purchasing Group to access its upcoming solicitations by visiting http://www.bidnetdirect.com/mitn/sterlingheightshousingcommission. The Sterling Heights Housing Commission joined the purchasing group in May. The Sterling Heights Housing Commission will utilize the system to streamline the purchasing process including bid management, bid distribution and vendor relations. The MITN Purchasing Group is a single, online location for managing sourcing information and activities and provides local Michigan government agencies the tools needed to minimize costs and save time throughout the purchasing process. Before joining the MITN Purchasing Group, the Sterling Heights Housing Commission was distributing their bids through email. In joining the MITN Purchasing Group, the Sterling Heights Housing Commission looks to save time and reach out to more vendors automatically. The MITN Purchasing Group expands an agencys vendor pool and enhances vendor competition without increasing distribution costs. In addition to the existing vendors on the MITN Purchasing Group, all vendors looking to do business with the Sterling Heights Housing Commission can register online: http://www.bidnetdirect.com/mitn/sterlingheightshousingcommission. The Sterling Heights Housing Commission invites all interested bidders to register today. Registered vendors can access all open bids, related documents and files, additional addendum and award information. In addition, the MITN Purchasing Group offers a value-added service to notify vendors of new bids targeted to their industry, all addenda and advance notification of expiring term contracts. Registered vendors have access to not only the Sterling Heights Housing Commission bid opportunities, but all participating agency bids. Our valued vendors can now save time and paper. Plus, they not only have direct access to our open bids, but those from other agencies throughout the state. We invite all of our current vendors to register on the MITN Purchasing Group to start receiving business opportunities, stated Niki Jubenville, Executive Manager of the Sterling Heights Housing Commission. Vendors may register on the MITN Purchasing Group: http://www.bidnetdirect.com/mitn/sterlingheightshousingcommission. bidnet directs vendor support team is available to answer any questions regarding the registration process or the bid system at 800-835-4603 option 2. Other local Michigan government agencies looking to switch from a manual bid process, please contact the MITN Purchasing Group for a demonstration of the no-cost sourcing solution. About the Sterling Heights Housing Commission: The Sterling Heights Housing Commissions mission is to provide safe, decent and sanitary housing conditions for very low-income families and to manage resources efficiently. The Sterling Heights Housing Commission is to promote personal, economic and social upward mobility to provide families the opportunity to make the transition from subsidized to non-subsidized housing. About bidnet direct: bidnet direct, powered by mdf commerce, is a sourcing solution of regional purchasing groups available at no cost to local government agencies throughout the country. bidnet direct runs regional purchasing groups, including the MITN Purchasing Group, across all 50 states that are used by over 1,600 local governments. To learn more and have your government agency gain better transparency and efficiency in purchasing, please visit https://www.bidnetdirect.com/buyers Sarah Mackey could not find any Sudoku puzzle at the time of the COVID-19 lockdown and so, she decided to create her own and added crossword puzzles for fun for the whole family and different social events. Under Pressure Puzzles (published by AuthorHouse) is an all-in-one book that teases readers brains, test their skills with crossword, word search and number search puzzles. The object of this game is to see how quickly they can place the numbers zero to eight in each three by three square box horizontally and vertically without conflict. We all need to think again. We have lost some of our ability to think individually because of the ready assistance of the information stored in our cell phones. This book is family, church, party and shower oriented, Mackey says. When asked what she wants readers to take away from the book, Mackey answers, for them to be able to think again and challenges them to remember the good ole days, ways, songs, etc. It gives guidance and hope. For more details about the book, please visit https://www.authorhouse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/830241-under-pressure-puzzles Under Pressure Puzzles By Sarah Mackey Softcover | 8.5 x 8.5in | 126 pages | ISBN 9781665532631 E-Book | 126 pages | ISBN 9781665532648 Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble About the Author Sarah Mackey is an encourager by nature. She was born in Moss Town on the island of Exuma in the Bahamas. She is a twin and the ninth of 11 children. She is the author of Under Pressure Poems of Deliverance. AuthorHouse, an Author Solutions, Inc. self-publishing imprint, is a leading provider of book publishing, marketing, and bookselling services for authors around the globe and offers the industrys only suite of Hollywood book-to-film services. Committed to providing the highest level of customer service, AuthorHouse assigns each author personal publishing and marketing consultants who provide guidance throughout the process. Headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana, AuthorHouse celebrates over 23 years of service to authors. For more information or to publish a book visit authorhouse.com or call 833-262-8899. Walter Cortina Martinez at the High School for Recording Arts receiving the Mel Reeves Memorial Scholarship plaque from HSRA, faculty member, Haben Ghebregergish. "With the Mel Reeves Memorial Scholarship, we will honor, respect, and keep his fighting spirit alive in our community for many years to come," remarked Dr. Crutchfield. "We lost a champion 'for all that's right' this year. I would typically tell a family member, "I am sorry for your loss, but in Mel's case, I would honestly say I am sorry for our loss. He was a friend and a patient (with permission), and one of the last things he told me was that he wanted me to publish an article on Covid and the importance of getting vaccinated. He was unable to get vaccinated, and it was now too late. With labored breathing from his hospital bed, he suggested that my son, Charles IV, interview me on the topic. As an editor of the Spokesman-Recorder newspaper, he told me that he would edit, review, and publish it within an hour of receiving it. Mel did not make it, but the important article, and one of Mel's last assignments, was published. It was typical Mel, always looking out for others and anyone who might need help. That is why we developed the Mel Reeves Memorial Scholarship for students at the High School for Recording Arts in St. Paul, MN. to continue to follow the path the Mel had blazed." commented Charles E. Crutchfield III, MD "Mel was dedicated to serving his community. A self-described "hellraiser," Mel worked as a community organizer to bring people together on behalf of community members experiencing injustice. a Mel also served the community through his work as a community editor and journalist for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, one of the longest-serving Black-run newspapers in the nation. With his writing, Mel took on the systems that created the inequity he fought against in the streets and called attention to issues that needed attention." reported the Spokesman-Recorder Newspaper. Education is a proven pathway to success in America. The High School for Recording Arts captures the at-risk youth both in and out of school and skillfully guides them on a pathway to high school graduation. A remarkable endeavor. David Ellis, Chancellor, and Co-Founder of the remarkable High School for Recording Arts, commented, "We have had an excellent relationship with the Crutchfield Dermatology Foundation for many years. They have supported the school in many ways, including scholarships for the kids. When Tony Simmons, the Executive Director of the High School for Recording Arts, informed me that Dr. Crutchfield and the Crutchfield Dermatology Foundation were developing a Mel Reeves Memorial Scholarship, I immediately thought of the senior student Walter Cortina Martinez. Mel Reeves was a friend of mine. We go way back. I could see a bit of Mel's spirit in the young Walter Cortina Martinez. As an outstanding High School for Recording Arts student, Walter also interned at The Minneapolis Foundation. He advocated and spoke to Minnesota state legislators and influenced legislative change that provided jobs for teens during the pandemic. Not only that, but Walter also founded Bridgemakers, a mentorship-based leadership program for Twin Cities youth seeking to break poverty, violence, and miseducation cycles. "When I was told I had been nominated for Mel Reeves Memorial Scholarship, I started learning about Mr. Mel Reeves. What an inspiration and loss for our community. He was a tireless fighter for all that was right. Mr. Reeves always fought hardest for those in our community who needed his help the most. I am sorry I never met him, but his story will be with me and inspire me for life. I am the first member of my family to graduate from high school. My brother is flying from Mexico to attend my graduation. As I graduate from the High School for Recording Arts this year, I will do my best to carry a portion of the torch he bore for so many years. I am humbled and honored to receive the Mel Reeves Memorial Scholarship, " Walter Cortina Martinez commented. "After meeting Walter, I am confident he is the right person for the scholarship. I have discussed with Tracey Williams-Dillard, the CEO/publisher of the Spokesman-Recorder newspaper, and David Ellis, the Program Founder of the High School for Recording Arts, the real possibility of making this an annual event. With the Mel Reeves Memorial Scholarship, we will honor, respect, and keep his fighting spirit alive in our community for many years to come." remarked Dr. Crutchfield. About Charles E. Crutchfield III, M.D.: Charles E. Crutchfield III, MD is a board-certified dermatologist, Clinical Professor of Dermatology at the University of Minnesota Medical School, and a Benedict Distinguished Visiting Professor of Biology at Carleton College. He also has a private practice, Crutchfield Dermatology, in Eagan, MN. He received his MD and Master's Degree in molecular biology and genomics from the Mayo Clinic and completed a Dermatology Residency at the University of Minnesota. Black Enterprise magazine has selected him as one of the top 10 dermatologists in the United States. He has received the Karis Humanitarian Award from the Mayo Clinic, and Minnesota Physician's Journal recognized Dr. Crutchfield as one of Minnesota's 100 Most Influential Healthcare Leaders. Dr. Crutchfield specializes in treating skin-of-color and has been selected by physicians and nurses as one of Minnesota's leading medical and aesthetic/cosmetic dermatologists for the past 20+ years. In 2022, Dr. Crutchfield was chosen as a Health Care Hero by Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal awarded a Distinguished Alum of Carleton College and the Dean Diehl award at the University of Minnesota Medical School for making outstanding professional contributions to the Medical School, the University, and the community. Dr. Crutchfield has been an expert health care columnist for Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder Newspaper since 2013. He is the consulting team dermatologist for the Minnesota Twins, Vikings, Timberwolves, Wild, and Lynx. Dr. Crutchfield is an active member of the American and National Medical Associations and past President of the Minnesota Association of Black Physicians. He can be reached at CrutchfieldDermatology.com or by calling 651-209-3600. University of Massachusetts Global's Board of Regents has selected lifelong scholar and education leader Dr. David Andrews as its new chancellor. UMass Global already has a well-developed and best-in-class portfolio of online and competency-based programs. I look forward to working alongside the faculty and staff and building upon these innovations," new UMass Global Chancellor David Andrews said. University of Massachusetts Global announced today that Dr. David Andrews has agreed to serve as the universitys next chancellor. The Board of Regents offered the position to Andrews after conducting a national search for an executive with an entrepreneurial mindset, experience managing an online adult-focused university, a commitment to diversity, and a student-centered approach to leadership. Dr. Andrews has an exemplary record as a professor, faculty leader, and well-recognized thought leader, said Regent Katherine Newman, co-chair of the search committee and system chancellor for academic programs at University of Massachusetts. His lifelong devotion to teaching and learning, coupled with his gifts as an imaginative administrator, will serve Dr. Andrews and his colleagues well as UMass Global cements its international reputation as a leading university for working learners from all walks of life. Andrews is the second chancellor in the history of UMass Global, having served in an interim role since May 2022. UMass Global, a private nonprofit university formerly known as Brandman University, affiliated with the public UMass system in September 2021, a move intended to connect a distinguished land grant institution with a first rate university designed to help students achieve their educational goals while holding down jobs and raising their families. Andrews will be empowered to develop a strategy for UMass Global to grow its enrollment of working adults in New England and throughout the United States and abroad. This is the time for bold action, Andrews said. UMass Global already has a well-developed and best-in-class portfolio of online and competency-based programs. I look forward to working alongside the faculty and staff and building upon these innovations. Without question, the university will soon emerge as the leading open access institution of service to the traditionally underserved. Andrews also serves as president of the National Laboratory for Educational Transformation. He previously held the chief academic officers post at Versidi, a Bertelsmann Education Group venture focused on developing its Teach Us program to help prospective teachers in several states qualify for employment with local school districts. He has considerable experience leading complex higher education organizations. UMass Globals Board of Regents has found a top-tier academic leader in Dr. Andrews, UMass President Marty Meehan said. Dr. Andrews knows the ins and outs of delivering high quality academic programs via in-person and fully online modalities while navigating the fast-changing public and private higher education sectors, all driven by a passion to serve the underserved. Andrews served as president of National University from 2016 to 2021, overseeing the introduction of Nationals first doctoral degrees, enrollment growth from about 30,000 to some 45,000 students, and a 10-year accreditation from the WASC Senior College and University Commission. He previously led the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University as its dean from 2010 through 2016. U.S. News and World Report twice, in 2014 and 2015, honored the school as the nations best Graduate School of Education during Andrews tenure. Andrews also led substantial growth in the schools online offerings, with 60% of School of Education enrollees having online courses on their schedules five years after the school lacked any online offerings. At Johns Hopkins, Andrews also held a professorship in the Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health and oversaw the universitys participation in the establishment of the first public school to be constructed in East Baltimore for local children in more than a quarter century. Andrews has also held multiple professorships and deanships at The Ohio State University, where he served as the founding dean of the College of Education and Human Ecology and launched the universitys international service-learning initiatives. Prior to that, he taught as a member of the faculties of the University of Oregon and Oregon State University. Andrews is a first-generation college graduate. He earned an associate degree at Pensacola Junior College in 1975 and completed a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Auburn University in 1977. He proceeded to earn a Master of Arts in Child Development at Kansas State University in 1980 and completed his Ph.D. in child development at Florida State University in 1983. Many UMass Global students are first-generation students themselves or have had challenging higher education experiences before enrolling with us, said Regent Don Kilburn, co-chair of the search committee and CEO of UMass Online. Dr. Andrews has spent his life in academia, but he remembers what its like to be starting in college. Under his leadership, UMass Globals identity and purpose as a student-centered institution will be secure. ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS GLOBAL University of Massachusetts Global, formerly Brandman University, is a private, nonprofit institution accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission. The university offers undergraduate, graduate, credential, and certificate programs designed to be relevant to more than 90 career paths. UMass Global serves nearly 23,000 students, about 16,000 of whom are enrolled in academic credit programs, at 25 physical campuses in California and Washington, as well as online. UMass Global offers fully online courses for students anywhere in the United States and for military personnel serving abroad. For more information, visit the universitys website. Inspirational Daily Devotional: a heartfelt message of faith for daily reflection. Inspirational Daily Devotional is the creation of published author Willie Pinson. Pinson shares, Greeting once again in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. How many of you know God can use any circumstance for the good of his will? Im a prime example. I truly can witness the truth of that fact. Lifes journey took me places Ive never been before. This journey brought me to a dead-end road. Just before the dead-end road was two paths, a left path and a right path. The left path was a dark path that represented death, the walls of a coffin. The right path had a light afar off. This light represented life. As I pause for a moment, I chose the right path. This path was the walls of corrections. Behind these walls, I found God and got a close, intimate relationship with him. I was placed behind the walls of correction for three years. The first two years I was transformed into a new person. God changed me by creating in me a new heart and a new spirit and a new way of thinking. He changed my heart of stone into a humble heart. As my intimacy with God grew, I began to have a great appreciation for Almighty God for saving a wreck like me. Over the two years of studying and applying Gods Word to my life, I grew to be a servant for the Lord. Beginning the third year of correction, I asked God for permission to do a devotional book in His name. As I prayed about my request during my morning devotion, God led me to the Book of Jeremiah 30:12. He conformed to me through the prophet Jeremiah. The Holy Spirit began to work on my behalf. I was inspired by God after he lead me to the Book of Jeremiah. I decided I would name the book Inspirational Daily Devotional. I let the Holy Spirit lead the entire portion of the book. I was delighted in God using me as one of his servants. So many of Gods people will be blessed and inspired by this book. God doesnt make any mistakes. Thank you! Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Willie Pinsons new book will encourage and inspire as readers reflect on each inspired message. Pinson draws from his own journey of faith in hopes of aiding others to find and nurture a connection with God. Consumers can purchase Inspirational Daily Devotional at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about Inspirational Daily Devotional, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. More than ever, consumers want to understand and align with a companys purpose, values and identity and today, it's a new generation of brand builders who are delivering to those needs. Athletes dont sell merch anymore, they build fashion brands From Tom Brady, to Russell Westbrook, the Williams sisters, Roger Federer, and Megan Rapinoe, high-profile athletes are launching their own fashion labels and giving themselves full financial and creative control. Perhaps inspired by the success of the Jordan brand, athletes are creating full collections tied to their own creative direction and eschewing the more standard licensing deal for jerseys, shoes, and other merchandise. BoF Rose owns the summer, heres how it became a lifestyle brand The NY Times covers how Joey Wolffer of Wolffer Estate wines has turned its summer in a bottle rose into a symbol of the in-season Hamptons life. Wolffer is on pace to sell more than 100,000 cases of its rose this year. In 2014, they sold under 2,000. The rapid growth comes from rebranding pink wine and rose as, a glass of liquid sunshine, and as intrinsic to the Hamptons lifestyle as Provence-style dry rose is to the St. Tropez lifestyle. NY Times Sky High Farm Workwear represents the future of what brands could be Sky High Farm Workwear (SHFWW) is a new clothing brand that exists solely to donate its profits to financially support Sky High Farm, a nonprofit organization and farming collective committed to supporting food sovereignty by donating 100% of all of its produce grown and livestock raised. The brands goal of supporting the associated farm, rather than making, say, its investors richer, raises the question: can a brand look and feel like a brand, while acting in an entirely new, different, and better way? SHFWW Get this Weekly Debrief as an email SUBSCRIBE to the PSFK Newsletter The eight recipients of the 2022 Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions are recognized for their groundbreaking work across diverse areas of psychological science. In recent months, each of them sat down with APSs Charles Blue for a lively conversation on Under the Cortex, the APS podcast. The Spence Award recognizes APS members who have made transformative early career contributions to psychological science. It is named in honor of Janet Taylor Spence, the first elected APS President, who developed new approaches to research and epitomized the spirit of crossing disciplinary boundaries with work on topics ranging from schizophrenia to developmental psychology to gender bias. Heres the full collection of interviews with the 2022 recipients. You can also hear them, along with dozens of other Under the Cortex episodes, through your favorite podcast app. Brian Anderson, Texas A&M University, investigates what captures human attention and how that influences behavior. I consider myself a perception scientist, he said in his podcast interview. I want to know what people tend to look at when they view the world in front of them and why, and, more specifically, how the way they process their world changes with learning. Oriel FeldmanHall, Brown University, merges multiple different fields, including behavioral economics and social psychology, with imaging and psychophysiological techniques to investigate the brain mechanisms that support these complex processes. Im curious about how people make prosocial decisions under uncertainty, she said on Under the Cortex. How do they decide to help another person, to punish, or to withhold punishmentall while not knowing what choice is the best choice at hand? Brett Ford, University of Toronto, examines the basic science and health implications of how individuals think about and manage their emotions. From her podcast interview: Im really interested in understanding how people can help protect themselves and their own well-being, but also, most recently, in understanding how our individual emotionsand how we manage them and think about themcan help us protect our communities as well. Antonia Kaczkurkin, Vanderbilt University, researches the neurobiological mechanisms that contribute to the etiology of internalizing disorders. I integrate a bunch of different measures, including things like neuroimaging, psychophysiology and behavior, to really develop a comprehensive understanding of the basic mechanisms underlying anxiety and depressive disorders, she said on Under the Cortex. I want my research to contribute to our knowledge about these neurobiological differences to improve treatment outcomes. Neil Lewis, Jr., Cornell University, studies how the interplay between peoples identities and social contexts influence peoples motivation to pursue their goals, and their success in goal-pursuit efforts. Im most interested in how the unequal nature of the society that we live in affects the way that we think, he said. For example, I live in the United States, which is a country that continues to be highly segregated by race and class and where resources are distributed in highly unequal ways. And so, despite living in the same country, people end up having wildly different life experiences. Im curious about what that does to their minds. Patricia Lockwood, University of Birmingham, explores the neurocognitive foundations of social learning and decision-making across the lifespan and in psychiatric and neurological disorders. were trying to understand the cognitive, computational and neural mechanisms that determine how we learn and decide in social situations, she said. One thing that were really interested in is how these processes change across the lifespanhow they might be different from when were a young adult to when we enter older age. Jason Okonofua, University of California, Berkeley, examines social-psychological processes that contribute to inequality. I am most interested in investigating the power of empathyhow it can apply to so many situations, and how it can provide real world benefits and outcomes for things that have been difficult to bring change in, like equity, he said on Under the Cortex. In education, for instance, empathy can protect teachers from the influence of stereotyping and prejudice and how they engage or interact with their students, including those who are much more likely to be suspended or expelled from school, as Black students have been shown to be. Kai Chi (Sam) Yam, National University of Singapore, researches judgment and decision-making, leadership, organizational behavior, and business ethics. Since the early years of psychology, he said on Under the Cortex, psychological research has focused on how humans interact with humans. More recently, theres a new field research called mind perception, of which Im a proud part. We look at how humans interact with other living entities such as animals, as well as nonliving entities such as robots, technology, and algorithms. Learn more about the APS Awards Program, including lifetime achievement awards and awards for early-career researchers, in the APS Awards and Honors section. Browse the complete collection of podcasts on Under the Cortex. Feedback on this article? Email apsobserver@psychologicalscience.org or login to comment. Click through to see our tributes to some of the talented and inspiring children's book authors and illustrators who have died this yearall of whom leave behind rich legacies. Ashley Bryan Award-winning childrens book author and illustrator, fine artist, and educator Ashley Bryan, widely known for his passion for poetry and vibrant retellings of folktales and spirituals rooted in the Black oral tradition, died peacefully on February 4 while staying with relatives in Texas. He was 98. Huntley Fitzpatrick Young adult author Huntley Fitzpatrick, known for her realistic contemporary teen romances, died on April 8 following a long illness. She was 58. Lani Forbes Rising YA sci-fi and fantasy author Lani Forbes died on February 3 in Boise, Idaho, following a nine-month battle with neuroendocrine cancer. She was 35. Shirley Hughes Award-winning British author-illustrator Shirley Hughes, best known for her picture books capturing the everyday experiences and emotions of young children in her realistic watercolors, died on February 25 at her home in London. She was 94. Steve Jenkins Award-winning childrens author and illustrator Steve Jenkins, widely praised for his distinctive and detailed cut- and torn-paper collages depicting animals and the natural world, died on December 26 at age 69, of a splenic artery aneurysm. Leonard Kessler Prolific childrens book illustrator and painter Leonard Kessler, known for his wide range of early readers, picture books, and concept books, died on February 16 at his home in Sarasota, Fla. He was 101. Patricia MacLachlan Award-winning childrens book author Patricia MacLachlan, widely lauded for her spare, realistic stories about everyday family life, died on March 31 at her home in Williamsburg, Mass. She was 84. Jim Murphy Award-winning childrens book author Jim Murphy, best known for his carefully researched nonfiction documenting dramatic events in history through the experiences of young people of the time, died suddenly on May 1 at his home in Woodstock, N.Y. He was 74. Childrens Institute 10, the ABAs first in-person event since the pandemic began, took place in Phoenix, Ariz., June 2022. Weve put together highlights from some of the professional development panels and discussions, which offered strategies for childrens booksellers. Banned Books: Turning Challenging Conversations into Community The rise in censorship is on the minds of every bookseller and librarian, and a Ci10 panel on book banning raised questions of how to address disagreements online and in person. Panelists talked about how to respond when customers (or trolls) questioned a book, how to sustain positive engagement with the reading community, and how to get books into readers hands even as titles are removed from schools and libraries. Lexi Beach, co-owner of Astoria Bookshop (Queens, N.Y.), expressed that book bans have influenced her buying. Customers want to find out more or support the author, she said. I need to have more than one copy of Gender Queer in stock, and that does sometimes mean more sales. People come into your bookstore with their own baggage and their own trauma, said Mack Burner, the YA buyer at Bookworm of Edwards (Edwards, Colo.). He believes books can be safe spaces to process ideas. He gave as an example Jewell Parker Rhodess Ghost Boys. I sold it to basically everyone who walked in the door; I billed it as police brutality for middle graders, kind of getting to the punch before they could, he said. He also recommended Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendis Stamped from the Beginning. Yes, these books deal with big scary real-world issues, but theyre in the middle grade category. A phrase I use a lot is emotionally appropriatethese books are written for kids, who are at different developmental levels, Beach responded. Panelists considered loaded terms like trigger warning and content warning, leading ABA moderator Gen de Botton to comment, I love calling it a heads-up warning. We dont want people to be frightened, we want people to be engaged and have the knowledge before they go into the book. Sometimes, a store visitor attempts to harangue staffers or pick a fight. On the topic of confrontations, the panelists and audience conferred about the safety of staff and the desire to retain customers. What do you do when you see that someone you work with is cornered? asked Casey Morissey, one of three buyers at Greenlight Bookstore (Brooklyn, N.Y). In these kinds of situations, Burner turns to an employee manual. You need to be prepared to protect your staff in that interaction, he said. Floor managers need to be on board. We dont have a hierarchy of decision-making [for ordinary situations], but we do have a tiered when-shit-hits-the-fan policy. Often a situation resolves itself when the individual leaves and never returns, Burner said. If the garbage wants to take itself out, Im OK with that. But I also think there are some people who come in and want to share their opinion [and they remain customers]. We did a de-escalation training through the ABA, Morissey offered. Right to Be, an organization formerly known as Hollaback!, offers free virtual de-escalation training resources for the public as well as customized training for businesses on responding to harassment, conflict resolution, bystander intervention, and resilience. The Center for Anti-Violence Education also provides workshops on de-escalation and active bystander intervention. As far as keeping books availableespecially in places like Florida, where one bookseller bemoaned recent removals of LGBTQ+ content from schools and librariesthe panelists stressed the importance of handselling, staying up-to-date on content, and being politically engaged. Read books and share them with the people who need them, Beach said. Burner added, Focus on what makes a book do good in the world rather than what makes it different. An audience participant from Georgia said her stores banned book fair was the best offsite event weve ever done. We ran out of books. We got people saying, Youre selling pornography. But they came to the bookstore, and they couldnt find it. NodB Idea Exchange: Adding Value to Services We give a lot of things away for free, said Heather Hebert, owner of Childrens Book World (Haverford, Pa.) at the discussion on adding value to bookstore services. But its not bad to say we want to make a profit, not bad to say I work hard at this. Time is money. Her co-presenter, Kathy Burnette, owner of Brain Lair Books (South Bend, Ind.) assured the attendees, You know stuff that other people dont, and said by all means they should demand fees for research consultation, curated gift boxes, supplying books to school events, and other services rendered. Bookstore T-shirtslike Burnettes read books, drink coffee, fight evil shirt, which she sported at Ci10s Drag Queen Storytimecan generate community and promote a brand. Customers want to help you save the world, Burnette said. At the idea swap, booksellers discussed ways to monetize storytime without charging for a ticket: businesses might co-sponsor; advertisers can pay a fee to list an event in bookstore newsletters; some daycare centers schedule paid field trips to bookstores; caregivers will shell out for a themed storytime (Rapunzels coming next week. Pay 20 bucks a kid to have a princess read them a story and you get a coupon for a fancy cupcake down the street, said one attendee). Booksellers discussed earning a small profit from book clubs by asking members to pay an enrollment fee if they do not buy their book(s) from the store; by gradually grandfathering in book clubs that pre-exist any new enrollment policy; and by offering clubs a discount or reserved meeting space if they order six or more books. Attendees emphasized putting policies in writing and treating them as rules: When things are in writing, its not a conversation, its a communication. Magic words can include, We have to put everything in writing now or my accountant/lawyer/advisor needs me to do it this way, Burnette said, as a way of attributing a fare to a higher power. Hebert described a subscription service in which a bookseller sent a self-addressed stamped postcard in each box to enable kids to write back to the store (the bookseller paid for the stamps). The returned postcards are gratifying, and one attendee piped in to say that she formatted the return postcard as a staff pick, so that it became easy to hang as a shelftalker. When a bookseller lamented that customers may move on if other stores still offer things for free, Burnette had a kind but firm response. Youre thinking about it wrong, she said. What value are you bringing to the table? Your customers are your customers because of you. Again, you dont have to charge for everything, but if you think this thing takes me so much time, that is the place to start. NodB Doing Well by Doing Good: Community Partnerships to Strengthen Your Network and Your Bottom Line A standing-room-only crowd packed the panel on Doing Well by Doing Good, suggesting the appeal of community organizing among Ci10 attendees. Partnerships with local companies and organizations do not happen overnight, said Verlean Singletary, owner of Da Book Joint (Chicago), who went through a six-month process to become a vendor with Chicago-area public schools. Singletary asserted that conversations result in generosity from organizations who need services or just want to support your store. Emails are ineffective, she added. Youre just going to have to suck it up and get on the phone! Jennifer Kraar, childrens buyer at City of Asylum (Pittsburgh, Pa.) recommended that in order to gain recognition, booksellers need to brag about the mission of their store and, when forging connections, research your partnershipsmake sure your partners are inclusive. Bragging is important, agreed Lupe Penn, youth and schools manager of Bookmarks (Winston-Salem, N.C.), who recommended nudging partner organizations to share their successes and inclusive practices on their platforms. You still need to run a business while saving the world, she said, so set clear boundaries while you are doing good things. Laurie Gillman, owner of East City Bookshop (Washington, D.C.), recommended getting word out about a store mission by providing comp tickets to big author events, hosting in-store educator nights, setting up donation opportunities for recommended charities or schools, and sharing publisher swag from reps. Personal invitations and takeaways for those unaware of a stores mission will make a connection maybe you didnt have before. Even inexpensive things can signal values to browsers; a shelftalker can name an educator who needs a particular book in their classroom. Other topics included outreach to healthcare networks, anti-racist groups, and nonprofits, which often have grant money to serve the community; starting a teen advisory council of avid readers who would love to write reviews for store shelves; and participating in large companies book clubs. Opening the channels of communication is the first step, Singletary stressed. Word of mouth helps a store do well and do good. NodB Listening Is Reading: Audiobooks, Literacy and Accessibility During a discussion on audiobooks, panelists Amanda Ackley at The Bookmatters in Cincinnati and former executive director of the Blue Manatee Literacy Project; Cathy Berner, childrens/YA specialist and events coordinator at Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston; and Gen de Botton, senior childrens bookselling program and education manager at ABA spoke about the need to normalize audiobook listening as a valid form of reading with its own advantages and benefits for young readers. They also offered facts and resources that booksellers can share with their customers. Pushing back against the claim that audiobooks dont count as reading, de Botton emphasized that listening is learning and reading. Its the first language skill we acquire, she said, and 85% of what we learn is through listening. A childs listening comprehension can be two or more grade levels ahead of their reading comprehension. Therefore, audiobooks are a way of leveling the playing field, allowing readers to understand more advanced content and to go at their own pace by pausing and rewinding the story as needed. Ackley stressed that the developmental benefits of reading aloud continue as a child grows. Its not just important for babies. Berner added that hearing words pronounced helps kids learn new vocabulary in context, through the narrators vocal cues. This can be especially helpful if the child reads along with the audiobook. The variety of narrators/voice actors also exposes kids to accents and voices they may not otherwise hear in their day-to-day lives. When you hear a book read by someone else, thats an added layer of interpretation, she said. Its another connection to the text. Ackley said that some kids may not have access to physical books at home, and downloading audiobooks may be easier. Also on the subject of accessibility, Berner said that audiobooks can be a crucial alternative for readers with dyslexia, ADHD, and other learning differences. De Botton agreed, saying, If a customer says their child is a reluctant reader, its important to determine: are they reluctant, or are they having difficulty? Thats where audiobooks can help. Berner said that audiobooks are a good option for parents and guardians who may not have time to read aloud to their kids. You can listen in the car or, as she did with her own kids, while getting ready for school. Booksellers in the audience offered suggestions such as setting up a listening station with headphones in your store, so customers can sample audiobooks. Another idea was to turn off the background music and put on an audiobook instead. The panelists also shared some of their favorite audiobooks for various age ranges. Picture Books Particularly for reading along with the physical book: The Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena, read by Lizan Mitchell Paolo, Emperor of Rome by Mac Barnett, read by Edoardo Ballerini Thank You, Omu by Oge Mora, read by LaQuita James Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, read by Peter Schickle Going Down Home with Daddy by Kelly Starling Lyons, read by Daxton Edwards The Napping House by Audrey Wood, read by Melissa Leebaert Middle Grade The Best Man by Richard Peck, read by Michael Crouch. (Berner recommended any audiobook read by Crouch.) Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds, read by Reynolds et al. (Berner said not to listen while driving. You will cry!) The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo, read by Finty Williams Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome, read by Dion Grahame Fish in a Tree by Lynda Hunt, read by Kathleen McInerney The Weirdies by Michael Buckley, read by Kate Winslet Young Adult With the Fire on High, written and read by Elizabeth Acevedo. (De Botton said that listening to poetry can open up the world for readers who may otherwise be intimidated by the form.) Heist Society by Ally Carter, read by Angela Dawe Firekeepers Daughter by Angeline Boulley, read by Isabella Star LaBlanc Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, read by Rebecca Lowman and Sunil Malhotra The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, read by Bahni Turpin Anything written and read by Kwame Alexander Family The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, read by Andy Serkis The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, read by Jesse Bernstein Recommended Resources The panelists touted Libro.fm and its Audiobook Listening Copy program, encouraging booksellers to tell their publisher reps that these resources are vital and to keep them coming. E.K. Harness the Power of BookTok to Drive Sales Five panelists discussing how to reach readers through BookTok played to a packed house at Ci10. Samantha Fox, director of digital marketing at HarperCollins Childrens Books, came prepared with a slide deck on the sales growth of 297 top-trending titles from 2.8 million units in 2019 to 11 million units already in 2022. YA-specific numbers have seen 17% growth this year, and although Fox cannot say for sure, she feels the upward trend correlates to the rise of BookTok among young users. Its not plateauing, just getting bigger, she said. How does one create a viral BookTok that lures teens to a bookstore? Let your personality shine, said author Victoria Aveyard. They want to know that your passion and values and interests align with theirs, and they care about where the products theyre purchasing are coming from. The audience needs to know us before theyre willing to buy from us, Fox concurred. She gave a metaphorical example: You have a party to go to, and youre in the middle of a book you want to just keep reading. We all have that book-nerd friend we can text to complain about the annoying social obligation. BookTok is that book-nerd friend. You are not afraid to handsell books, [and with BookTok,] you just do it on video, said Candace Huber, owner of Tubby & Coos Mid-City Book Shop (New Orleans). People want to see raw footage of you talking to a camera. Hubers BookToks range from very simple (I literally showed a Book Shop list of queer pirate books and used a trending sound of somebody doing a queer pirate shanty) to scripted skits (my most viral video ever was me re-enacting a man who came into my bookstore saying only men read genre fiction. Show your raw self.). Author Alisha Rai loved the second example: If you do difficult-customer skits, those are my potato chips. Alexa Butler, manager of Beach Books (Seaside, Ore.), seconded Butler: Show yourself unloading your freight or another day-to-day thing, she said. Make a time-lapse video of you putting up a display. Everyone began tossing in examples of what Aveyard called day-in-the-lives. Show people how you can find the price of a book inside of a barcode, those triangles with an S in them, strippable vs. not, Huber said. The general public doesnt know that stuff. Or duet authors on TikTok; Ive gotten so many virtual events just by being friends with authors on Twitter. (I dont know who needs to hear this, but always tag the authors and the publishers, Aveyard chimed in.) Interestingly, the BookTok sessions most amusing moment was not virtual at all. Fox saluted a bookseller who had garnered hundreds of thousands of likes for simply praising her three favorite titles. Its just so wholesome, everybody can relate, she said. Butler knew the work too: Claire was so passionate about the book, so genuine about her recommendation, she nodded. An audience members hand shot up. Thats us! cried Alana Haley, marketing coordinator at Schuler Books (Grand Rapids, Mich.). Bookseller Claire Avins has become a BookTok sensation for her recommendations, and judging from the panelists awareness, the community is eating it up. In conclusion, Fox listed four BookTok takeaways: Community engagement creates ROIs. Initial indicators of engagement are views. Be unique. Be yourself. NodB Currently in production, the three-part documentary series explores the story of how self-styled lawyer and Bulgarian businesswoman Ruja Ignatova, dubbed The Queen of Crypto scammed investors out of billions of dollars in less than three years through her cryptocurrency brainchild, OneCoin. At her peak, Ignatova presented OneCoin on stage in Wembley stadium, hosted lavish parties in Dubai and New York, whilst indulging in glitz and glamour at the expense of her investors. At the height of this frenzy in October 2017, she boarded a flight to Athens along with the riches of her clientele and vanished.Crypto Queen peels back OneCoin's shiny facade to unveil the untold corruption, money laundering, death threats and sheer greed in a huge, growing, and mostly unregulated sector of international finance. Filmed across multiple countries, and with insights from intelligence experts, defrauded investors and former OneCoin employees, Crypto Queen also features exclusive contributions from Jonathan Levy, an attorney/solicitor who has represented efforts to secure $11 billion in compensation from OneCoin, and Timothy Curry, one of the first to warn about the scam.Crypto Queen is created and produced by Tondowski Films and DARE Pictures in association with Lone Wolf Studios, with Sky Germany and Channel 4 on board as broadcast partners. The series is directed by filmmaker Rudolph Herzog working closely with writer and journalist Raid Sabbah. Executive producers are Alex Tondowski, Ira Tondowski, and Derren Lawford. Stephen Morse and Max Peltz. from Lone Wolf Studios are co-executive producers.Commenting on the documentary, D ARE Pictures founder & CEO Derren Lawford said: OneCoin is a truly transnational scandal which straddles the worlds of cryptocurrency and corruption with the charismatic and enigmatic Ruja Ignatova at the centre of quite possibly the biggest scam in modern times. I'm a huge fan of Tondowski Films and Rudolph Herzog and couldn't think of better creative partners for DARE's debut commission. Having Sky Germany , C4 and Fremantle on board speaks to the huge international and commercial potential of this premium project packed full of surprise revelations. Last week, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm held a closed-door meeting with a group of oil and gas executives to discuss ways to mitigate rising energy costs. The meeting was prickly at best, as the Administration has unsuccessfully tried to blame oil and gas CEOs for price gouging as energy prices continue to spike heading into a busy travel weekend, despite the fact many of Bidens own policies are not alleviating the problem. Solutions from the White House have ranged from the comically naive like White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre demanding oil companies to simply produce more oil to the reckless when Jean-Pierre touted the Presidents willingness to use emergency wartime powers under the Defense Production Act to lower costs at the pump. It seems that instead of utilizing the vast wealth energy resources our country has to offer, the Administration is bent on using ineffective approaches that wont have a durable impact on the cost of energy. Recently, Secretary Granholm visited the Bayou Choctaw Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in Louisiana ahead of additional oil releases. Despite the daily releases of 1 million barrels of oil per day, some estimates indicate gas prices could still reach an average of $6 per gallon nationwide this summer. As much as President Biden deflects blame, his policies make the problem worse. The solution requires the President to reverse his assault on fossil fuels and commit to concrete, long-term solutions promoting investment in domestic energy production. Beginning his first day in office, President Biden has been hamstringing fossil fuel producers. The Administration canceled the Keystone XL pipeline, suspended new offshore lease sales in Alaska and the Gulf, reduced acreage available for federal leasing, and imposed burdensome regulations on new energy production and infrastructure. All these actions and others, create uncertainty for investors and add to upward pressure on prices. Now, Democrats are straining to fix the problem the President helped create. Take for example one new proposal in Congress. Senator Whitehouse (D-RI) and Representative Khanna (D-CA) have introduced a bill targeted at oil company profits known as the Windfall Profits Tax, which would impose a 50 percent tax on the difference between the current sale price of a barrel of oil and the average price of a barrel of oil from 2015-2019, which is approximately $66 per barrel and apply to companies who produce or import at least 300,000 barrels of oil per day. This was unsuccessfully tried in 1980 under President Carter, which resulted in lower domestic production and a higher reliance on imports. In the long run, this approach could have the reverse of the stated objective and instead reduce the production of oil which limits supply. On the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, President Bidens unlawful release of 180 million barrels of oil from the SPR only reduces national security, but not gasoline prices. Despite the Presidents SPR commitment, the average price of gas has surpassed $5. Congress created the SPR through the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA) following the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo. The SPR is intended to provide reserve supplies of crude oil to counter severe energy supply disruptions. The EPCA authorizes the Secretary of Energy to release oil reserves only when there are emergency shortages caused by a sever interruption of imported or domestic supply, or an act of sabotage, terrorism, or act of God such as hurricanes, none of which has occured. In the years since, Congress has authorized non-emergency drawdowns primarily for upgrades to the SPR facilities, but never for offsetting high prices absent a severe supply disruption. The current high prices at the pump are a real national concern, but playing politics with a national security asset is not the way to address the problem. When Energy Secretary Granholm visited the SPR facility just outside of Baton Rouge, Congressman Garrett Graves (R-LA) made this point clear: the SPR was not established to mitigate bad energy policy. It is designed for use in natural disasters and historical events such as the [1973] OPEC oil embargo against the United States. The Presidents SPR release is a failed and misguided attempt at a short-term fix that will not actually lower prices or stimulate domestic energy production. While harming the nations ability to respond to a real severe supply disruption, gas prices are even higher than before the SPR release. This highlights the fundamental problem with what President Biden and Congressional Democrats are actively pushing to confront our countrys energy crisis: policies based on the false claim of short-term price relief while rejecting all long-term plans utilizing our countrys abundant energy resources. Oil and gas production is extremely capital intensive and investments are recovered only after several years. For energy producers to deploy their capital, policy makers must instill confidence in the long-term recovery of those investments. However, this Administration is sending the opposite signal by imposing policies toward driving oil and gas companies out of business. Reducing gasoline prices requires new pipeline infrastructure projects, lower regulatory burdens, and expedited permitting decisions for onshore and offshore leasing. Instead of targeting an industry that powers the American economy and provides millions of jobs, energy companies and workers should be supported. Instead of attacking fossil fuels, this Administration should focus on promoting domestic energy production in order to deliver reliable and affordable energy to the American people. Mark R. Robeck is a former Deputy General Counsel for Energy Policy at the United States Department of Energy. JB Smoove and Melissa Fumero will announce the nominations for the 74th annual Primetime Emmy Awards. ADVERTISEMENT The Television Academy said in a press release Thursday that Smoove, 56, and Fumero, 39, will unveil this year's nominees at a virtual ceremony July 12. Television Academy chairman and CEO Frank Scherma will join Smoove and Fumero at the ceremony, which will stream live on Emmys.com at 8:30 a.m. EDT. "It's been another exceptional year of television with an abundance of remarkable programs and performances," Scherma said. "We are thrilled to have JB and Melissa on board to help us celebrate the extraordinary shows, producers, storytellers and talent that continue to shape and elevate our dynamic medium." The Primetime Emmys will take place Sept. 12 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The awards show will air at 8 p.m. on NBC and also stream live on Peacock. Smoove is a writer, actor and comedian who plays Leon Black on Curb Your Enthusiasm, while Fumero is an actress who portrayed Amy Santiago on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The pair will star together in the upcoming Netflix comedy series Blockbuster. Nikki Glaser: Good Clean Filth, the comedian's first HBO stand-up special, is set to debut on July 16. ADVERTISEMENT The show was taped late last year at the Paramount Theater in Denver. "Nikki Glaser takes on a range of topics in her brutally-honest yet conversational style," the cable network said about the special in a press release Wednesday. "Whether she's dishing about sex, outlining the do's and dont's of dating (and how to trick someone into marriage), or oversharing about her (not-so-private) parts, Glaser delivers an hour of unapologetic and no-holds-barred comedy... not for mere shock value, but to be open about topics often considered 'taboo.'" In addition to hosting and executive producing the Max Original reality dating series FBOY Island, she also emceed the 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted and headlined the 2019 Netflix comedy special, Bangin'. Her other credits include Not Safe with Nikki Glaser on Comedy Central and Nikki & Sara Live on MTV. By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 06/30/2022 ADVERTISEMENT 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! ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. eliminated Jordan Betscher and Thiago Pacheco and determined Season 17's Top 8 dancers during the performance show Wednesday night on Fox.Jordan, a 24-year-old jazz dancer from Cincinnati, OH, and Thiago, an 18-year-old contemporary dancer from Miami, FL, were sent home by judges Stephen "tWitch" Boss, Leah Remini and JoJo Siwa after the pair had fallen into the bottom-four dancers based on an in-studio audience vote.The other two dancers who landed in the bottom four were Carter Williams, a 20-year-old Latin/ballroom dancer from Sandy, UT, and Thiago's partner for the night, Alexis Warr, a 22-year-old Latin/ballroom dancer from Orem, UT.At the end of the Top 10 performance show, tWitch revealed the judges had decided to save Carter and Alexis and advance them in the competition."We have [made a choice]," tWitch announced when revealing the judges' verdict."This is [hard]. I do no like doing this at all. But let me say this, is that no matter what happens here, all of y'all are still a part of the legacy. You still made your mark on this stage."TWitch drove home the point how making a connection when dancing is "so important.""You can be the most phenomenal dancer, but if you don't find that spark to connect with the audience and have them engage and invest in your journey, it's going to be really tough, and this goes beyond just the competition," the judge explained.TWitch reminded the four dancers how it's the audience voting for them and that's why connecting matters."So, with that being said, the dancers that are leaving us tonight are Jordan and Thiago," tWitch concluded.Thiago said in his final words how he was "so happy" to be a part of the competition and to have met many new friends."I just hope that they can keep putting their hearts out on the stage, and I know that I did my best and I know that Jordan here did her best too," Thiago said.Jordan apparently learned her routine in only three hours because she wasn't feeling well and had a temperature."Coming back from having a moment where you didn't know if you were going to be able to dance tonight, I had the best partner and we came out here and killed the stage," Jordan said. "I'm very happy that I'm leaving on that note."Wednesday night's performance show featured five brand new pairings performing dances as part of a "travel the globe" theme.Jordan, who had also been in jeopardy of going home last week, and Beau Harmon, a 23-year-old specialty dancer from Kennesaw, GA, danced a Viennese waltz choreographed by Dancing with the Stars pros Sasha Farber and Emma Slater JoJo said the dance was executed "beautifully," and tWitch said Jordan had finally found a way to stand out. Beau had also stepped up and rose to the challenge, according to tWitch."Jordan, you did what a champion does, and you bring it when it matters," Leah noted.Thiago and Alexis performed a Broadway number.TWitch said Alexis had taken to a number of different styles in the competition and he loved watching the routine; however, he said there was something he wasn't connecting to and maybe the couple's storytelling ability was the problem.Leah pointed out how the judges wanted Thiago to be more "out" and he didn't have anything to prove. She asked him to believe in himself a little bit more and not be so protected when onstage.JoJo disagreed, saying the dancers were clean, precise and did "exactly what they were supposed to do." She also said she appreciated Thiago's feminine moments in the dance.Carter and Anna took the stage with a salsa dance.Carter was told he brought the energy and had connected with the judges and the audience, but tWitch asked Carter to "dial into the movement as well as the attitude."The Top 8 finalists who will dance again next week on are Beau; Carter; Alexis; Anna Miller, an 18-year-old contemporary dancer from San Ramon, CA; Ralyn Johnson, an 18-year-old contemporary dancer from Walker, LA; Essence Wilmington, a 20-year-old hip-hop dancer from Davenport, IA; Keaton Kermode, a 20-year-old contemporary dancer from Fairland, IN; and Waverly Fredericks, a 21-year-old contemporary dancer from New York, NY.is hosted by Cat Deeley Leah stepped in as a judge beginning with the Top 12 performances this season after actor and former Glee star Matthew Morrison was fired from the show due to an incident involving one of the female contestants. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Camp is a place to make friends, have fun, and enjoy traditions from a long time ago. At the Green Mountain Girls Camp, on the last night, the groups get to enjoy two special traditions that date back more than 50 years. During the day the campers collect pieces of nature and place them on a You are the owner of this article. Vermont Voices Vermont Voices: 'If we value these rights, we have to fight for them' The lead negotiator for the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union announced Wednesday evening that a tentative contract has been reached with its support staff for a four-year deal. NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) Two people and a dog were helped to shore by bystanders after their small single-engine plane landed in the Quinnipiac River late Thursday afternoon, authorities said. The couple was flying to New Bedford, Massachusetts, when the plane's engine began to sputter. Sean Scanlon, executive director of Tweed New Haven Airport, told reporters the pilot radioed the control tower and was instructed to land at Tweed. However, the pilot felt it wasnt possible and landed in the river instead. Connecticut State Police / Contributed Photo DEEP RIVER A local man is accused of assaulting an 11-year-old boy on a bike Monday, according to state police. Police were alerted to the incident around 6 p.m. Monday. The boys mother called police and reported that her son had been assaulted by a man while he was riding his bike on Main Street, state police said. Troopers met with the boy at his home and were shown video evidence of the incident, state police said in a criminal information summary. WINSTED Thanks to the unprecedented number of animal shelters that have joined the efforts to help in the rescue of more than 160 cats, two ferrets and a dog, only about 50 remain in the towns care, according to Town Manager Josh Kelly. Weve had an unprecedented number of shelters involved with the response to this crisis, he said in a social media post. A majority of the cats, at this point, have been placed in shelters, with a bit under 50 remaining in the Towns care at the moment. At the same time, more cats still are being caught at the Moore Avenue home where a hoarding situation was reported less than two weeks ago. They are being taken to Winsteds temporary shelter at the Batcheller School, Kelly said, and donations are needed for their care. Batcheller closed at the end of the school year, and the Mary P. Hinsdale School is scheduled to reopen in August after an extensive renovation. The timing of the closure was an opportunity to use the schools gym as a shelter. A veterinarian was on hand at Batcheller to examine the animals, and a number of them had upper respiratory infections. None of the animals was neutered or spayed. Town officials including Social Services Coordinator Katie Vaill, Kelly, members of the Board of Selectmen, Mayor Todd Arcelaschi, the animal control officer and the states Animal Emergency Response Team were involved in the effort. Then the outreach from a number of shelters began, Kelly said. The CT Cat Connection, Friends of Berlin Animal Control, Paws 4 Life Animal Rescue of CT, Meriden Humane Society, Ferret Association of CT, Paws Cat Shelter CT, Chimera Sanctuary & Rescue, The Queenie Foundation, Animal Haven and Purr in Torrington all have taken a number of the rescued animals to their respective facilities. The town on Monday invited residents to visit the school shelter and apply to adopt an animal. The cats that remain at the Batcheller School, including three very young kittens and a nursing mother, still need help, Kelly said. They have big vet bills that still have to be paid, as we work hard to make sure these cats are safe, healthy and cared for, he said. We continue to accept, and greatly appreciate, monetary donations. Those cats will be available for adoption once they are in good health. Anyone interested in future adoption of them or other remaining animals can email Kelly at townmanager@townofwinchester.org or reach out to one of the shelters has already has taken some of the cats. To make a donation, checks can be mailed to the Town of Winchester, Town Hall, 338 Main St., Winsted, CT 06098. Cash or checks can be dropped off at Town Hall. Put Animal Care in the memo. Kelly thanked everyone who is or has helped. The work is far from done, but we wouldnt have come this far without you, he said. TORRINGTON Planning & Zoning Commission members are ready to present their zoning regulations for cannabis, in particular dictating where new businesses will be allowed in the city, and the public will have a chance to weigh in on the plans. Manufacturing businesses are allowed primarily in the industrial park zone. Retail sales will be allowed in various sections of the business zones such as East Main Street, South Main Street and Winsted Road. City Planner Jeremy Leifert reviewed a map indicating areas where retail cannabis businesses and manufacturing or wholesale businesses would be allowed, during a recent PZC meeting. The downtown business district is not included because of its connection to residential areas, places of worship, schools and public parks. The downtown district, Leifert said, isnt just a commercial area. Everything around here is around a park or a school, for example, he said. Those areas have to be considered. Leifert explained that adult-use (recreational) retail cannabis use will be allowed as a modification to the citys Alternate Incarceration and Medical Marijuana Dispensary Overlay Zone, Section 4.16 in the zoning regulations, which is intended to provide an overlay zone, or floating zone where alternate incarceration facilities and medical marijuana dispensaries can be located. According to the regulation, The overlay zone will provide conditions and safeguards to protect the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Torrington (and) will guide the development of medical marijuana dispensaries in Torrington. The intent is to minimize the impact of such development on neighbors and abutters in adjacent more restrictive zones while at the same time recognizing the important services these facilities may provide to the residents of Torrington. The overlay zone is specific to cannabis uses, and is only allowed within the Local Business, Industrial and Industrial Park zones, Leifert said. It would not be allowed in the Downtown District zone, or any residential zones. The overlay zone contains specific rules regarding both medial and adult-use cannabis sales, and each applicant will require public notices and public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission. Weve reviewed what other towns are doing, and weve talked to folks at the Department of Consumer Protection, to get an idea of whats being allowed, he said. We decided that the simplest way to have control over whats coming in was to create and adopt this overlay zone. It gives us more flexibility. An addition to the regulation, Leifert said, is that a manufacturing business also can have an accessory retail store, with a maximum of 500 square feet. When we talk about recreational sales of cannabis, theres a piece of the regulations that allow for sales in the industrial zone, he said. I thought it was important to have that in there. An ordinance banning smoking in city areas was approved in May by the City Council. The ordinance addresses the use of cannabis and other smoking materials in the citys parks and recreation areas, and was developed by the Ordinance Committee. A public hearing preceded the approval, with little input from the public. The PZC set its public hearing on the regulations for 7 p.m. July 20. Timing-wise, we wont likely make a decision at the July meeting, Leifert said. Well take the input well receive, and well make a good, thoughtful decision in August. There are four areas in this overlay zone where retail cannabis sales will be allowed, and an applicant will be able to apply to open a business in those areas, Leifert said. Once an applicant finds a property, they need to apply for a special exception use permit, but once their application process is finished, the state still has to approve it, he said. The state has also changed the cap for the number of allowed businesses. Initially, that allowance was based on population. The legislature took that out, and I think thats making officials kind of nervous, Leifert said. But I think weve done our regulation in a sensible way. Torringtons moratorium on new cannabis businesses, which was established in 2021, ends in September. Yeang Sothearin has been under investigation since his arrest in 2017. Former RFA reporters, Yeang Sothearin (right) and Uon Chhin (left) stand in front of the appeals court June 30, 2022 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia An appellate court in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh upheld a lower courts decision not to return the passport of Yeang Sothearin, citing an ongoing investigation into the former RFA editor and reporter, he told RFA. Yeang Sothearin, who also worked as a news anchor for RFAs Khmer Service, was taken into custody in November 2017 along with Uon Chhin, who was an RFA photographer and videographer. They were charged with illegally collecting information for a foreign source after RFA closed its bureau in the capital in September that year amid a government crackdown on independent media. They have since been charged with additional crimes. If convicted of the first charge, they could face a jail term of between seven and 15 years. They remain out on bail but in legal limbo after a series of appeals have been rejected by courts. Yeang Sothearin said the courts decision would prevent him from visiting his ailing father, an ethnic Cambodian living in southern Vietnam, or participating in NGO activities outside of Cambodia. I told the court that it has been five years, it is a long time and I dont know when it will end, Yeang Sothearin told RFAs Khmer Service. There is no indication from the judge of when the investigation will end and they wont tell me when my passport will be returned, so how can I live? I will use my rights to demand [my passport], he said. He said that he will appeal again by taking the case to Cambodias Supreme Court. The decision not to return the passport violates Yeang Sothearins rights because the case has been delayed for many years and has not yet reached conclusion, Ny Sokha, president of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (Adhoc) told RFA. He said the delay affects both Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin. We dont see any indication that they want to avoid the court or flee overseas. They have houses here and they want the freedom to travel to make a living. I dont see any reason to restrict their freedom, he said. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong China's President Xi Jinping speaks following his arrival via high-speed rail across the border in Hong Kong on June 30, 2022, for celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China. AFP Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday ahead of the 25th anniversary of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rule, saying the city had "risen from the ashes" under a draconian national security law that left former opposition lawmakers under house arrest and journalists shut out of official events. "Hong Kong has withstood challenge after challenge and won many a battle in recent years," Xi told a crowd who turned out to greet him waving national flags and cheering, at the start of what observers said will be a heavily stage-managed trip subject to citywide security measures. "Hong Kong has lived through turbulent times and risen again from the ashes to renewed vigor," said Xi, who arrived by special train with first lady Peng Liyuan on Thursday. As he spoke, former pro-democracy lawmaker Avery Ng tweeted that he had been placed under house arrest, likely for the duration of Xi's visit, a form of treatment usually meted out by state security police to mainland Chinese dissidents during important political events. "I am now in prison," Ng wrote, adding "#ifyouknowyouknow" and a salty Cantonese epithet referring to somebody's mother. Ng took to social media to livestream about the anniversary instead, telling followers: "This is the first time this has happened ... I'm sitting here at home with nothing to do ... I can't go out." Organizers of the city's once-traditional July 1 protest march said it wouldn't be going ahead, citing conversations with the national security police, who are spearheading a citywide crackdown on peaceful political opposition and public criticism of the authorities. "Today, some volunteers and friends from the League of Social Democrats were spoken to by the national security police," LSD chairwoman Chan Po-ying said in a statement earlier this week. "We have assessed the situation, and there will be no demonstration on July 1," Chan wrote on June 28. "We hope you can forgive us. We are in a difficult situation." Police guard a closed road outside the West Kowloon station in Hong Kong on June 30, 2022, after Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Hong Kong to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China taking place on July 1. Credit: AFP Roadblocks and station closures Xi's visit has also prompted a huge deployment of police at roadblocks near the 25th anniversary ceremony venue. People and vehicles heading to the area around the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre will be stopped and checked, while footbridges and flyovers along the route of Xi's motorcade will be closed, police told journalists. The MTR subway station serving the venue was closed on Thursday, and will reopen after the ceremony on Friday, while a no-fly zone has been set up over the whole the city's iconic Victoria Harbour, including for drones. Xi's itinerary includes visits to the Hong Kong Science Park, dinner with outgoing chief executive Carrie Lam and top officials, and meeting carefully selected "people from all walks of life" in Wanchai. The Chinese leader, Hong Kong's top officials and Xi's entourage will remain in a bubble throughout, to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Xi, Peng and their entourage wore masks on arriving at the West Kowloon high-speed rail terminus. Exiled former pro-democracy lawmaker Ted Hui said the reality of life in Hong Kong is very far from Xi's claims, and that Beijing's promise to allow Hong Kongers to run the city under "one country, two systems," had come to nothing. "Xi Jinping called 'one country, two systems' a good system ... but the people of Hong Kong feel very differently," Hui told RFA. "The human rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Basic Law have completely disappeared." "Hong Kong is part of one country, and one system now," Hui said, adding that many have yet to recover from the trauma of the crackdown on the 2019 protest movement, during which police violence sparked an international outcry. "He says Hong Kong has been reborn from the ashes, but I only see anger in Hong Kong; anger and hatred for the [CCP] regime," he said. Hui said Xi's visit is the first by a high-ranking Chinese leader during which protests and demonstrations have been banned. "The relationship between the people and the government has been lost," Hui said, adding that bans on protests were a symptom of the CCP's cowardice in the face of criticism. "This never used to happen in Hong Kong, only mainland China, but now it's happening today in Hong Kong," he said. "Does the lack of [public] dissent mean success, or the end of freedom? It's a huge step backwards." Hui said those who greeted Xi were hired for the role in the manner of movie extras, and had nothing to do with regular Hong Kongers. The Hong Kong Journalists' Association (HKJA) said only a selected number of media outlets were invited to apply for accreditation to cover the anniversary celebrations. "Similar handover official events in the past were open to media registration without requiring invitations," the group said in a statement on its website, saying it was "deeply concerned" by the move. "At least 10 well-known local online and overseas media outlets, news agencies as well as photo wires were not invited nor allowed to sign up for the events, making them unable to report from the handovers official events," the HKJA said in a June 16 statement. The government replied on June 29, saying the decision was a balance as far as possible between the needs of media work and security requirements," government broadcaster RTHK reported. The government declined to comment on accreditations for individuals or organizations. Meanwhile, London mayor Sadiq Khan said the crackdown on Hong Kong had been "devastating," pledging to do everything in his power to help Hong Kongers fleeing the crackdown to start new lives in the British capital. The Greater London Authority said it had set up the Migrant Londoners Hub to provide Hong Kongers arriving under the British National Overseas (BNO) passport and visa scheme. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Taiwanese NGO worker Lee Ming-Cheh was released from Chishan Prison in the central Chinese province of Hunan on April 15 after serving nearly five years for "attempting to subvert state power. Lee, a course director at Taiwan's Wenshan Community College, was a lifelong activist for Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which Beijing vilifies as a separatist group that rejects Chinas claim over the democratic island. Among the accusations he faced at Hunans Yueyang Intermediate People's Court was that he set up social media chat groups to vilify China. Lee has been invited to Washington, D.C. to testify before the U.S. Congress and other institutions about human rights conditions in Chinese prisons, the role of international pressure in helping him get slightly better treatment while in jail, and Beijings expansion of repressive tactics to Taiwan and around the world. He was unable to enter the U.S., however, because the Chinese-made COVID vaccines that he received while he was in prison are not recognized and approved by the World Health Organization and therefore do not meet Centers for Disease Control regulation for entry. He spoke to Hsia Hsiao-hwa and Paul Tuan of RFA Mandarin about his prison experience, which he describes as field research into Chinas human rights situation. Lee stressed to RFA that constant activism on his behalf by his wife, American and Taiwanese supporters and U.S. and European Union government entities helped him during his incarceration. On his trial: Since Xi Jinping took office, mine was the only subversion of state power case that was tried in public. There is an upside of an open trial. The prosecutor must lay out the evidence clearly. They cannot smear me as a spy, nor can they claim that I went to China for prostitution. None of the incriminating evidence that China has presented in court was about what I actually did in China. The public trial turned out to be a display of evidence that China has violated freedom of speech globally. China provided self-incriminating evidence. In political cases, there would be a rehearsal before the trial. The attorneys and the prosecutors rehearsed the entire process of a trial. Even the defense lawyer (who was the then-Hunan delegate to the NPC) that the Chinese government has hired for Peng Yuhua, the co-defendant of the case, questioned how the national security agency can list social media app chat groups as formal organizations and fabricated stories about these groups having solid structures and specific job assignments. On isolation under observation: The prison guards would not let you have any contact with the outside world. There was no formal arrest. There was no lawyer representation. You were not allowed access to any books, magazines, televisions. You were just under full arrest. Twenty-four hours a day, you were being watched by a two-person team, even when you went to the bathroom or took a shower. It caused tremendous psychological stress. Many political prisoners in China suffer from mental health issues because they were severely restricted in terms of their residence locations and conditions of their living quarters. I am very fortunate. Under pressure from the international society, (the situation) only lasted for two months. The damage inflicted on ones mind and body fits what the United Nations considers as psychological torture. On prison food and water that left him with polyps in his gall bladder when he was released: The doctor said what I ate and drank over the past few years had been too dirty. In Chishan Prison, we drank water from the Dongting Lake. There was a lot of sediment in the boiled water. Even the prison guards would not drink it. Many prisoners who served longer terms have suffered from diseases such as urethral stones and kidney stones because of the poor living conditions. On a letter-writing campaign for Lee led by NGOs in Taiwan: In Chinas domestic propaganda, these people (activists) were cooperating with the US imperialism power and mobilizing color-scheme revolutions to destroy peace in China. If the police officers did not know me, they might have really believed that I was a vicious villain who would become violent when interacting with someone. Yet if you write letters to prisons, the police would know that many people care about this prisoner and that they should not treat him with excessive force. A saying in China goes like this, there is no unconditional love; there is no unconditional hatred. The fact that so many strangers are writing to this person who they do not know would make the prison guard and the warden think again: This person may not be as vicious as theyd thought he would be. Taiwanese activist Lee Ming-cheh (center) appearing in Yueyang Intermediate People's Court, in central China's Hunan Province, Nov. 28, 2017. Credit: Yueyang Intermediate People's Court On regular visits from his wife, Lee Ching-yu, until the COVID-19 pandemic halted them: Many families of Chinese political prisoners were deprived of the visitation rights to meet with their loved ones. My wifes visits helped me physically and mentally. I am able to disclose the obsolete practices in the Chinese prisons. The visitations also allowed me to be more than just an inmate but someone who advocates for human rights and conducts field research on human rights. On Chinas creeping extension of repressive policies and censorship to self-ruled Taiwan and beyond: China is acting to extend its jurisdiction beyond its borders to Taiwan, over which China has never ruled. China also used comments collected on the Internet as its evidence to find me guilty of subversion of state power. China clamps down on freedom of speech and on the use of Internet. It extends its jurisdiction to anyone in the world who uses Chinese social media apps. On Chinas crackdown against human rights lawyers, NGO activists and other rights defenders: Ever since Xi Jinping took office, many were found guilty of subverting state power and sent to prison. Specifically, if you look at these NGO activists, none of them were against the CCP. None of them were trying to overthrow the rule of the CCP. They just told the people in power to follow their own rules and run the country in accordance with the law. They told the people that they could use the law as their weapon to safeguard their legal rights. They were only trying to build a civil society to fully practice in accordance with the law. However, they were charged with such serious crimes. This indicates that the Chinese government is afraid of its citizens demand to govern the country in accordance with the law. This clearly proves that the Chinese Communist Party regime fundamentally suppresses the peoples demands. There is no way that it will run the country in accordance with the law. Translated by Min Eu. Citizens in Laos are calling for accountability after learning that gasoline smugglers and enablers in the government are defrauding the country out of taxes on 700 million liters (about 185 million US liquid gallons) of gasoline per year, sources told RFA. Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh revealed the extent of gas smuggling in an address to the National Assembly last week. Laos is mired in perhaps its worst gasoline shortage in its history, exacerbated by rising prices, a lack of foreign currency and a rapid depreciation of Laos currency, the kip. According to our internal report, around 1.2 billion liters of gasoline is imported to our country [each year]. However, when we check with the exporters of both Thailand and Vietnam, they are sending us around 1.9 billion liters of gasoline, Phankham Viphavanh said. Where are those 700 million liters? he asked, accusing state officials and companies of corruption. Members of the government who allow smugglers to get out of paying taxes should be punished, said Laotian sources, all of whom requested anonymity for safety reasons. This is an act of corruption. Those who want money will do whatever they can to get it and this will lead to a leak in government revenue, a citizen of the capital Vientiane told RFA Lao. If the government can prevent this kind of problem, it will be better for the country. If they can find out the government officials and whoever else is involved, they should all be fined and fired, the source said. Another source told RFA that the countrys lax law enforcement allows corruption to flourish. There is no strong punishment for corrupt government officials in Laos. They just transfer them to other offices somewhere else. I am not sure if there will ever be a strong punishment for them, the second source said. They are too flexible over this matter in Laos. If the government is serious about curbing corruption, they can do it and it will be good for our country. We have laws, but at this moment the laws can do nothing. A Lao analyst told RFA that Laos needs to set up an investigative committee to go after corrupt officials and expose them to the public. There is no accountable investigation and punishment from the relevant authorities, the analyst said. It is common to hear leaked information that the government found some people involved with revenue collection, but there is no punishment. This is why nobody is afraid of the law and the corrupt officials will just get more money. A proposal to immediately punish corrupt officials instead of reeducating them is under consideration at the National Assembly after it was introduced last week by Assemblywoman Valy Vetsaphong, who is also the deputy president of the Lao National Chamber of Industry and Commerce. A Lao official who declined to be named said that the gasoline smuggling issue is under investigation. They are finding ways to solve this problem. The gasoline shortage still continues and it is a big headache for the government, the official said. We have already negotiated with our Thai trade partners to bring in more gasoline, but it will take time to return to normal. According to a May 2022 report from Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Laos imports around 100 million to 120 million liters of fuel a month on average. Thus, it costs around $600 million to $700 million to import enough fuel for one year. However, prices are actually double in Laos due to the increasing price of oil on the world market. Closed for price gouging Gas stations in Laos that allegedly attempted to capitalize on the gasoline shortage by increasing prices have been closed for cheating their customers, sources told RFA. The authorities inspected all the gas stations in this province and found that three of them had been overcharging, an official of the Industry and Trade Department of the northern province of Luang Namtha told RFA. They were selling gas at about 2,000-3,000 kip [$0.13-0.20] higher than the government price per liter. Our province has rules that control gas prices so we suspended those three gas stations, he said. There are however many gas stations that can only get fuel by buying it from abroad, and to do that, they need dollars or Thai baht. Due to a shortage of foreign currency, businesses cannot get as much as they need at the official rate from banks, so they must pay more for foreign currency from other sources. This, in turn, forces them to raise gas prices. We understand that the pumps get foreign currency from other sources and at higher rates but we have rules to abide by too, the official said. The owners of the three pumps will be fined 5 million kip [$333]. A gas station owner in the town of Luang Namtha linked higher gas prices with higher exchange rates. We cant get foreign currency from the banks, so we get foreign currencies from private money exchange outlets at much higher rates. We cant sell gas at the prices set by the government, well lose a lot of money, he said. The gas shortage has forced small gas stations to close in Vientiane, leaving only the big companies in business, a motorist in the city told RFA. Only the large ones like Petroleum of Thailand and the Lao state fuel enterprise are able to be open, the motorist said. Authorities of the Industry and Trade Department of Champassak Province in southern Laos also inspected all gas stations in the province between June 21 and 28 and found seven gas stations were selling gasoline at higher prices. According to the newspaper of Champassak Province, the authorities put locks on each gas pump, booked and fined the owners and sent them for reeducation. According to the GlobalPetrolPrices.com website, the average price of gas in Laos was 28,070 kip per liter, or $7.13 per gallon as of June 27. Translated by Phouvong. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Anti-junta groups have targeted the project because it could provide the military income. Members of the PDF cremate the bodies of two people killed in a June 21 military raid on of Moe Gyoe Pyin (North) village. At least nine civilians are dead, and dozens are missing after a month of military raids on villages near a China-backed copper mine in Myanmars Sagaing region that prodemocracy paramilitaries had threatened to destroy because it could provide income for the junta, residents said Wednesday. Sources in Sagaings embattled Salingyi township told RFA Burmese that at least seven residents of Done Taw, Moe Gyoe Pyin (North), Ton, and Hpaung Ka Tar villages were killed, and three others reported missing following junta troops raids from June 15-25. Two men from Salingyis Ywar Thar village were taken hostage by the military on May 25 and later killed, they said. Speaking on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal, a resident of Moe Gyoe Pyin (North) told RFA that Tin Soe, 46, and Wa Gyi, 47, were killed when the military shelled his village early on the morning of June 21, before setting fire to homes there later that day. They came in so fast; some people were not able to escape, and some were trapped, the resident said. As they were killing people and burning houses, no one dared to stay. We just had to flee. The resident said that around 20 people were taken hostage during the raid and that the bodies of the two victims were discovered after the troops left the following day. Other sources from the area told RFA that the body of 30-year-old Sai Myat Soe from Sar Htone village was found mutilated on June 26 near Hpaung Ka Tar village. Junta troops attacked the Salingyi villages of Nat Kyun and Htan Taw Gyi as recently as Tuesday, residents said, forcing inhabitants to evacuate and seek shelter. A woman who had to flee her home during Tuesdays raid said she was separated from her family members during the ordeal and doesnt know what became of them. I went back to the village today hoping things had calmed down, but just as we arrived at the village, soldiers came in from the other side through the forest, while others approached from the river. We had to leave right away, she said. My whole family is on the run and Im worried whether Ill ever see them again or if Ill be able to go back to my house. I cant stop worrying because [the soldiers] were burning the villages. Sources claimed that the raids were conducted by military units based in a compound run by Chinas Wanbao Mining Ltd., which operates the Letpadaung Copper Mine a joint venture between the Chinese government and the junta that has been suspended for the 16 months since the military seized power in a Feb. 1, 2021 coup. Other villages targeted in the raids included Lin Sa Kyet and Wadan, they said. The raids follow an April 21 warning issued by 16 local Peoples Defense Force (PDF) paramilitary groups that the Letpadaung copper project would be attacked because it could provide income for the junta. Attempts by RFA to contact junta Deputy Minister of Information Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun went unanswered Wednesday. He has previously rejected reports of military raids, as well as allegations of civilian deaths and acts of arson by junta troops. Caught in the crossfire Members of the local anti-junta Peoples Defense Force (PDF) paramilitary group have said they are reluctant to intercept the raids for fear of causing civilian casualties while the military holds hostages. However, the group has attacked military units stationed within the copper project compound and recently destroyed a power line connected to the site. Wanbao has strongly condemned attacks in the region, saying in a statement that its presence has nothing to do with the ongoing civil unrest in Myanmar and demanding that armed groups in the area refrain from targeting its employees. A member of the anti-junta Salingyi Revolution Army (SRA) said that Myanmars shadow National Unity Government (NUG), to which local PDF forces have sworn loyalty, has never ordered attacks on Wanbao or its employees. We havent attacked Wanbao, only the military units housed in the compound, said the SRA fighter, who also declined to be named. Of course, some of [Wanbaos] equipment might get destroyed in the chaos, but our NUG government has not instructed us to attack Wanbao and we would never do it on our own. The local defense groups are following the guidelines and instructions of the NUG. In an interview on May 29, Zaw Min Tun told RFA that all governments have a responsibility to protect foreign investment on both legal grounds and for reasons of security. He said at the time that the militarys use of force to clear the territory was aimed at protecting the Chinese project. Thet Oo, a member of the prodemocracy Salingyi Multi-Village Strike Steering Committee, told RFA that the junta has deployed two military columns for clearance operations in the Letpadaung area, indicated that it is clearly concerned with defending the Chinese project. But he said that his and other PDF units in the area do not want the mine to resume operations because profits from the project will be used by the junta to fund its repression of Myanmars people. According to local sources, military raids have forced around 20,000 residents of 25 villages near the project site to flee their homes and take shelter in the jungle. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. The boys mother and younger brother had been critically injured in an attack last month. The remnants of artillery shells which hit Madap village on May 23. A 14-year-old boy was killed by heavy artillery shelling on Wednesday at Madap village, Mindat township in Myanmars southern Chin state. Yaw Man, a member of the Mindat (Township) Peoples Administration, told RFA a shell fired by the Mindat-based Ka La Ya infantry Battalion 274, exploded near a house in Madap village, killing the boy on the spot. The military councils Infantry Battalion 274 is 16 miles away from Madap village, Yaw Man told RFA. Both the army and Madap village are on the top of the mountains. The army and the village are closer [as the crow flies] between the tops of the mountains. The artillery shell landed in front of the victims house in Madap village. It exploded and struck the 14-year-old boys heart. He died on the spot. The 14-year-old boy, killed when a shell exploded near his house on Wednesday. CREDIT: Mindat (Township) People's Administration The dead boy was the brother of an 11-year-old boy who was hit by heavy artillery fired by junta troops on May 23. The younger boys right leg was completely severed. The boys mother was also critically injured in the May blast. Calls to the military council spokesman by RFA to ask about civilian casualties went unanswered. Also on Wednesday an artillery shell fired by the military battalion based in Mindat township landed in Kyar In Nu village near Madap village, destroying a house and some livestock, according to residents. Mindat township was the site of the earliest armed resistance to the coup council and the junta has hit back, targeting villages believed to have housed or aided the rebels. Last year on June 16, three people were killed when a heavy artillery shell fired by junta forces exploded in Mui Twi village, Mindat township. The policy is a key tool in the governments efforts to forcibly assimilate Uyghurs through coerced labor. A worker watches as a machine processes cotton yarn at a Huafu Fashion plant, as seen during a government organized trip for foreign journalists, in Aksu in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, April 20, 2021. Chinas efforts to turn its far-western Xinjiang into a manufacturing powerhouse could force more Uyghurs to work against their will and make it harder to track whether the countrys exports are made with forced labor, according to a new report from a Washington, DC-based research group. The Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), which studies global conflict and transnational security issues, said China is establishing industrial parks, providing more financial assistance from state-owned enterprises, and connecting manufacturers within its borders as part of a long-term objective to bolster supply chains. The Chinese government is undertaking a concerted drive to industrialize the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), which has led an increasing number of corporations to establish manufacturing operations there, the report says. This centrally-controlled industrial policy is a key tool in the governments efforts to forcibly assimilate Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples through the institution of a coerced labor regime. The 25-page report, titled Shifting Gears: The Rise of Industrial Transfer into the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, analyzes publicly available data and case studies to detail the political nature of Chinas industrial transfer in the Xinjiang, the patterns through which it takes place, and the scale at which abuses in the region are embedded within Chinese and global supply chains. Forced labor is a major component of these human rights abuses, the report says. It occurs not only within extrajudicial detention centers and through the placement of detainees in factories but also through the threat of detention to pressure Uyghurs into jobs across XUAR and throughout China. Both state-owned and private corporations are significant perpetrators of human rights abuses, implementing coercive working conditions, indoctrination and mass surveillance. The main mechanism for the central governments industrialization drive in the XUAR is a program to pair Xinjiang counties and municipalities with wealthier provinces and municipalities on the east coast. The effort began 25 years ago and was expanded in 2010, the report says. Government bureaus in the coastal provinces design and implement programs in their respective partner localities in the XUAR and help train Uyghur workers to build loyalty and obedience to the Chinese Communist Party, the report says. The central government wants economically dynamic east coast cities to reproduce their successful export-led growth model in the region by attracting manufacturers through low labor costs and subsidized land, electricity and freight fees, the report says. For example, the Yining Textile Industry Zone, containing two industrial parks the Yining County Home Textiles and Garment Industrial Park and the Yining County Weaving Industrial Park, in Ghulja (in Chinese, Yining) prefecture was constructed under the pairing program of Nantong, Jiangsu province, a major textile production hub in eastern China. The Yining zone is linked with the Jiangsu Nantong International Home Textile Industrial Park, the largest home textile distribution center in the world. As of March, about 20 Nantong-based textile companies had set up operations in the Yining Textile Industry Zone, the report says. At least 1,000 people work in the Yining industrial park, including those sent via organized labor transfers from the surrounding county, according to the report. Several ethnic Kazakhs have testified that they were forced to work in a factory in the park after being released from a detention camp. A guard tower and barbed wire fences are seen around a facility at the Kunshan Industrial Park in Artush in northwestern China's Xinjiang region, Dec. 3, 2018. Credit: Associated Press Modern industrial workers The industrial transfer policies have increasingly focused on four prefectures in the southern half of the XUAR with concentrated Uyghur populations and relative economic isolation that the Chinese government sees as problematic to its assimilation goals, says the report. The government sees the mass detention campaign and the establishment of a police state as prerequisites that allow Chinese manufacturing companies to feel secure enough to move into XUAR, it says. In turn, these manufacturers move Uyghurs from their farms and villages to factories and industrial parks where they can be monitored, indoctrinated and transformed into modern industrial workers. Since 2017, Chinese authorities have ramped up their repression of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities throughout the XUAR, detaining up to 1.8 million members of these groups in internment camps. The maltreatment also includes severe human rights abuses, torture and forced labor as well as the eradication of linguistic, cultural and religious traditions. Credible reports by rights groups and the media documenting the widespread abuse and repression in the XUAR have led the United States and some parliaments in Western countries to declare that the Chinese governments action amount to a genocide and crimes against humanity. The Center for Advanced Defense Studies analyzed Chinese corporate data of tens of thousands of companies based in the XUAR, publicly available trade data, and government and media reporting to show how manufacturers there are linked to local governments and companies in eastern China. The group said that subsidiaries and partner companies in China make it hard to track whether goods originated from Xinjiang and were produced by forced labor. The U.S. enacted the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in December 2021 to strengthen an existing ban on the importation of goods made wholly or in part with forced labor into the country and to end the use of forced labor in the XUAR. The act, which took effect on June 21, creates what is referred to as a rebuttable presumption that assumes goods made in Xinjiang are produced with forced labor and thus banned under the U.S. 1930 Tariff Act. The law requires U.S. companies that import goods from the region to prove that they have not been manufactured at any stage with Uyghur forced labor. But the report said the structure of Chinese industrial policy, where goods are shipped and reshipped within its borders, will make enforcing forced labor laws difficult. [A]s long as the flow of goods produced in the region to exporters elsewhere in China is left unaddressed, tainted goods will continue to enter global supply chains, the report warns. Global stakeholders must improve due diligence and enforcement efforts to ensure they are not enabling forced labor and oppression in the Uyghur region. Workers walk next to a tractor during the planting of a cotton field, as seen during a government organized trip for foreign journalists, near Urumqi in northwestern China's Xinjiang region, April 21, 2021. Credit: Associated Press Economically beneficial to Uyghurs? The report also disputed claims by Chinese leaders that their industrialization policies are good for the people of Xinjiang. [W]hile the Chinese government frames moving industry into the region as economically beneficial to the Uyghurs, you can see from the statistics of the leadership in these companies that its really a pattern of Han Chinese corporate officers and owners, Nicole Morgert, a human right analyst who wrote the report, told RFA. And then what you have is the Uyghurs working in the factories, so this is not really serving to empower Uyghurs. [I]n many cases, we have evidence that theyre being forced to work in these factories, she said. When you look at the statistics on the corporate leadership, you see that its that people with Turkic names are highly underrepresented, particularly in companies that are above a certain level of value. Companies that import products from China must step up efforts to trace their supply chains to ensure they are not sourcing products from the XUAR or working with firms that support the repression of Uyghurs, says the report. Doing so will require a more comprehensive understanding of the ways state and private corporations are complicit in Chinas ongoing campaign of human rights abuse against Uyghurs, it says, adding that stakeholders can easily trace the ties by understanding the three pathways through which industry in the XUAR is connected to eastern China. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. International groups are increasing pressure on the Vietnamese government to release anti-coal campaigner Nguy Thi Khanh, the director of civil society organization the Green Innovation and Development Centre (GreenID). On Tuesday U.S.-based NGO Oil Change International (OCI) voiced its support for the campaign, demanding her immediate release. Our message to the government of Vietnam is that you cannot jail leading activists and claim to be a climate leader. You will never silence influential voices who speak out against the dirty fossil fuel business. The more you imprison people, the more you empower others, the group said in a news release. The OCI also called on the Vietnamese government to release three other environmental activists, Mai Phan Loi, Dang Dinh Bach, and Bach Hung Duong. All four are serving prison sentences on tax evasion charges. Nguy Thi Khanh, 46, was sentenced to 24 months in prison by the Hanoi People's Court on June 17. The other three were sentenced to between two and a half and five years in prison. OCI's Asia program director, Susanne Wong urged G7 leaders, who met in Germany this week, to use their influence to "protect the rapidly shrinking civil society space in Vietnam" and "ensure that just transition packages with the Vietnamese government include provisions to protect civil society engagement in climate discussions and to guard against the use of administrative laws to silence activists. Four days before OCIs announcement, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Activists, an alliance of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), issued a statement calling on the international community to speak out about the cases along with those of other human rights activists. It also expressed concern over the Vietnamese government's frequent use of tax evasion charges as a weapon to silence activists. The coalition urged individuals and organizations around the world to write to the Vietnamese government, calling on it to end its crackdown on human rights and environmental activists, release those serving prison sentences and ensure all activists are able to operate without fear of reprisal. Andrea Giorgetta, director of FIDH's Asia Office, said it was important to give environmentalists the freedom to speak out. Environmental activists such as Khanh play a vital role in ensuring that environmental rights and principles are part of the Vietnamese governments policies, which have historically followed a top-down approach without any genuine public consultation and input, he said. The jailing of Khanh and the other environmental activists represents a worrying escalation by Hanoi in the repression of civil society. Khanh, Bach, and Loi were not hardcore government critics - their organizations in fact sought to engage the Vietnamese government with regard to the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. Their imprisonment shows that in Vietnam nobody is safe from government persecution. Giorgetta said it appeared that the Vietnamese government was adopting subtler tactics to escape international criticism. Perhaps Hanoi believes that the use of tax laws as opposed to the enforcement of draconian national security legislation will not trigger international condemnation. But the harsh prison sentences imposed on Khanh, Bach, and Loi for tax evasion show that Hanoi considers environmental activists to be as dangerous as dissidents, and that they must all be silenced. Five months after Vietnam sentenced Mai Phan Loi, Dang Dinh Bach, and Bach Hung Duong to prison and nearly two weeks after the trial of Nguy Thi Khanh, the campaign for their release has snowballed. There are now three governments, the United States, Britain, and Canada, as well as various NGOs including the Climate Action Network (CAN), voicing their opposition to the activists conviction and calling for their immediate and unconditional release. The United Nations Human Rights Office and the UN Environmental Programme also issued a statement on April 22 expressing deep concern about the imprisonment of human rights and environmental protection activists for alleged "tax evasion" in Vietnam. The U.S. Presidents climate envoy John Kerry and his European Union counterpart Frans Timmermans issued a joint call on June 26 demanding the release of Khanh and other environmental activists imprisoned in Vietnam. On June 23 Vietnam's Foreign Ministry rejected international criticism of the case against Khanh, insisting that her prison sentence was legal. SOFIA -- If ambassadors are tasked with fostering warm ties between their home country and host nation, then Eleonora Mitrofanova is not doing her job. Since taking up the post of Russian ambassador to Bulgaria in 2021, Mitrofanova has managed to anger much of the Balkan nation, despite deep, historical ties. She has apparently referred to Bulgarians as Western lackeys, using a crude term, as relations between the West and Russia plunged over the Kremlin's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, launched on February 24. And she has met with a former Bulgarian lawmaker who has been accused in the past by Sofia of spying on behalf of Russian interests. Mitrofanova, 69, has also upped the embassy's social media game, mostly to defend and spread disinformation about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and tar those who oppose it. For that, many Bulgarian politicians have been calling for her to go for months now. But Mitrofanova's name was not on the list of the 70 Russian diplomats that Sofia announced on June 28 were to be expelled in a further blow to bilateral ties. The move, announced by the Foreign Ministry and outgoing prime minister, was the largest expulsion of Russian diplomats by Sofia in recent years and more than halves the size of Moscow's diplomatic corps in the Balkan country. "Bulgaria is going to expel 70 Russian diplomats. Our [security] services identified them as people who worked against our interests," Prime Minister Kiril Petkov told reporters on June 28. Those identified as a "threat to national security" must leave by July 3, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said. Several European countries have expelled Russian diplomats following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, with Moscow responding in kind by expelling European diplomats. Petkov has taken an unusually strong stance against Russia for a country that enjoyed close ties with Moscow during the communist era and has long been a draw for Russian tourists. He sacked his defense minister in February for refusing to call what Russia describes as "a special military operation" against Ukraine a "war." Bulgaria had already expelled 10 Russian diplomats in March for breaching diplomatic protocol. Though an EU and NATO member, Bulgaria was once a staunch ally of the Soviet Union under communism and still has close cultural, historical, and economic ties with Russia. Seasoned Diplomat A seasoned Russian diplomat, Mitrofanova was appointed as Moscow's ambassador to Bulgaria in January 2021. In the past she served as Russia's permanent representative to UNESCO, the UN's cultural agency, between 2009 and 2016, as well as an ambassador-at-large for the Russian Foreign Ministry. Before taking up her post in Sofia, Mitrofanova headed Rossotrudnichestvo. Established in 2008, the agency is officially tasked with advancing Russian interests abroad, engaging and organizing what Moscow calls "compatriots living abroad." Its activities in organizing local ethnic Russian groups abroad have sparked suspicion from host governments in the past. On February 25, just a day after the start of the Russian war in Ukraine, Mitrofanova met with Nikolai Malinov, a former Bulgarian lawmaker and the head of a pro-Russian lobby group in Bulgaria. In 2019, Malinov traveled to Moscow to personally receive an award from President Vladimir Putin. In 2019, Bulgarian prosecutors charged Malinov with money laundering and handing over state secrets to two Russian-based organizations that have close ties to the Kremlin and Russia's secret services. Days after meeting with the accused Russian spy, Mitrofanova found herself at the center of a media storm over social media remarks that many Bulgarians took as a crude insult. 'Lackeys Of The West' Mitrofanova announced on the Russian Embassy's Facebook page on February 28 that the diplomatic mission now also had a Telegram channel to better combat the "information aggression from Washington and its Euro-Atlantic bases," she claimed Russia was facing. She didn't stop there, but accused Bulgarians of being lackeys of the West, using the term "bedpans," the contraption used in hospitals to catch human waste. Outraged, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry sent an official note to the Russian Embassy on March 2, demanding the removal of offensive social media postings and an apology, neither of which the embassy did. Mitrofanova also compared Russia's invasion of Ukraine to the 1877-1878 Russo-Turkish war, which paved the way for Bulgaria's liberation after five centuries of Ottoman rule. Mitrofanova claimed the Bulgarian people supported the Kremlin, unlike their "absolutely pro-American" government, in a video address on Liberation Day on March 3, a national holiday in Bulgaria to commemorate the Balkan state becoming independent in 1878 after the Russo-Turkish war. Just two days before Mitrofanova's assessment of the Bulgarian zeitgeist, a public opinion poll by the respected Alpha Research group showed a growing number of Bulgarians with a negative attitude toward Putin and Russia. In March, Stefan Tafrov, a seasoned Bulgarian politician and a former ambassador to the UN, called on the Bulgarian government to expel Mitrofanova, saying that her actions and words contradict the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which, among other things, offers diplomats immunity from local law. On April 6, Democratic Bulgaria, a member of the outgoing coalition, demanded that Mitrofanova be declared persona non grata after Foreign Minister Teodora Genchovska accused her of interfering in Bulgarian domestic politics. As of June 30, Mitrofanova had yet to comment publicly on the latest Bulgarian order to expel the Russian diplomats. Prime Minister Petkov, whose pro-Western government collapsed in a no-confidence vote in parliament on June 22 after just six months in office, said on June 29 that the Russian Embassy in Sofia had "temporarily stopped working." "Most of these people were working directly for the foreign services and their diplomatic role was only a cover," Petkov said. "When foreign governments try to interfere in the internal affairs of Bulgaria, we have clear institutions that are ready to react. We expect a full plane with 70 people to fly back to Moscow on Sunday (July 3)." Written in Prague by Tony Wesolowsky based on reporting by RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service, including Ivan Bedrov Iran says it is ready for more indirect talks with the United States to overcome the last hurdles to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Iran's ambassador to the United Nation told the UN Security Council on June 30 that the Iranian negotiating team was "ready to engage constructively again to conclude and reach agreement. Majid Takht Ravanchi said the ball was in the U.S. court, and if the United States "acts realistically and shows its serious intention to implement its obligations, the agreement is not out of reach. Ravanchis remarks came a day after indirect negotiations between Iran and the the United States ended in Qatar after failing to make significant progress. Ravanchi described the Qatar talks as serious and positive and said Tehran would contact the European Union coordinators for the next stage of talks. Iran's Foreign Ministry said earlier that it was still possible to overcome differences and reach an agreement to salvage the pact. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian tweeted on June 30 that, despite a failure to reach an agreement in two days of talks that ended on June 29, "we are ready to reach a good, robust and lasting deal." The three European countries that signed the deal urged Tehran to seize an offer that is on the table to revive it. Britain, Germany, and France told the UN Security Council that negotiations to restore the pact have resulted in a viable deal being on the table since early March" and they regretted that Iran has refused to seize this diplomatic opportunity and continued its nuclear escalation." They called on Iran to "stop and reverse its nuclear escalation, return to full cooperation with the [International Atomic Energy Agency] and seize without further delay the offer on the table, which would benefit the Iranian people and nation." The Security Council met to discuss the latest report by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the implementation of a council resolution that enshrines the nuclear deal. During the most recent talks in Doha, EU envoys bounced between negotiating teams from Washington and Tehran as they sought a breakthrough that would kickstart broader talks that broke down in March. Since then, Iran has shut off the surveillance cameras of international inspectors at its nuclear facilities and now has enough high-enriched uranium to potentially make at least one nuclear bomb if it chose to do so. Each side blamed the other for the lack of progress in Doha, with Washington saying Iran continues to raise issues "wholly unrelated" to the deal, while Tehran says the Washington's insistence on excluding any guarantee for Iran's economic benefits was the main impediment. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell last week traveled to Tehran in a push to resuscitate negotiations over Irans nuclear program. EU countries have been forced to find oil suppliers other than Russia as they seek to lower their reliance on Russian energy amid the war in Ukraine. Under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran agreed to limits on its controversial nuclear program in exchange for relief from punitive sanctions imposed by the West. But the arrangement began to fall apart in 2018 when then-President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the deal. Washington subsequently reimposed crippling sanctions on Tehran, while the Iranian government backed away from some of the commitments laid out in the deal. Iran has been engaged for more than a year in negotiations in Vienna with Britain, Germany, France, Russia, and China directly -- and the United States indirectly -- to revive the deal. Negotiators were reportedly close to a new agreement in March, but the talks abruptly stalled in April, with Tehran and Washington blaming each other for failing to take the necessary political decisions to settle remaining issues. One of them is Tehran's insistence that Washington remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps from its list of designated foreign terrorist organizations. With reporting by Reuters and AP The Norway-based watchdog Iran Human Rights says it has found evidence that 10 people convicted of various charges had their punishments meted out in a mass execution on June 29 at the Rajai-Shahr prison in the city of Karaj. In a statement dated June 30, the group said eight of those executed had been convicted of murder, while the ninth had been convicted of sodomy and the tenth of rape. Farhad Meisamy, a civil activist who has been in the same prison for more than four years, wrote in a note earlier this month that "about 200 executions are carried out in this prison every year." As of June 28, 239 executions had been recorded in Iran this year, including more than three a day over the past month, according to Iran Human Rights, a pace that puts Iran within reach of the 517 executions it carried out in 2017. "There is no evidence of any dramatic changes [in crime rates] that would explain this," Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of the rights watchdog told RFE/RL by telephone. Furthermore, he added, Iranian authorities are aware that capital punishment is not an effective deterrent to violent crimes or drug offenses, "so the aim is not to fight crime or deter crime." Amiry-Moghaddam noted that the wave of executions recorded in May, when 50 prisoners were put to death, coincided with the start of mass protests over rising food prices in southwestern Iran. Some human rights sources, including the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), have previously stated that more than 85 percent of executions in Iran are carried out "in secret and without official and public information." With writing and reporting by Ardeshir Tayebi TBILISI -- Tens of thousands of Georgians rallied on the streets of Tbilisi, angered by what the opposition sees as the governments failure to make progress on reforms that can boost the Caucasus countrys hopes of joining the European Union. Participants of the July 3 event, organized by the Shame civic movement and other pro-democracy groups, also displayed support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, which occupies segments of Georgian territory captured in a short 2008 war. Protesters holding flares and waving Georgian and EU flags and banners blocked traffic on the central Rustaveli Avenue and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and for a new government of national accord to be formed. Georgia has been gripped by protests after EU leaders last month deferred Tbilisi's membership candidacy, recognizing it as a perspective member but insisting that candidate status could only be granted as soon as set priorities are met" and widespread reforms are put in place. While deferring on Georgia, the EU at the same time formally agreed to take the historic step of making Ukraine and Moldova candidates for EU membership in the midst of the war in Ukraine and Moscows bitter denunciations of the two countries intensions. Garibashvili has said his government is "mobilized" to meet the requirements set by Brussels "so that we get candidate status as soon as possible." No immediate estimate on the number of rally participants was available, but an estimated 120,000 people took part in each of two previous rallies in the Georgian capital. In one demonstration, Shota Digmelashvili of the Shame movement read out a manifesto and announced the launch of a new popular movement that will include opposition parties, civil society organization, journalists, and labor unions to make demands on the government. The manifesto asserted that the countrys main obstacle on its European path is Bidzina Ivanishvili," the billionaire founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party who is widely believed to be the top decision-maker in the South Caucasus country even though he does not hold office. In May, the European Parliament passed a nonbinding resolution calling on the EU to impose sanctions against Ivanishvili for his "destructive role" in Georgia's politics and economy. Ivanishvili insists he has retired from politics. In a Facebook statement, rally organizers called on Ivanishvili to "relinquish executive power and transfer it, in a constitutional manner, to a government of national accord." The statement said a new government could "carry out the reforms required by the EU, which will automatically bring us the status of an EU membership candidate." "A next stage of our protests begins today. We will not disperse." The government led by the Georgian Dream party has been hit by increasing international criticism over perceived backsliding on democracy, damaging its EU hopes. The European Commission said the conditions that Tbilisi must fulfill include ending political polarization, progress on media freedom, judiciary and electoral reforms, and "de-oligarchization." Georgian Dream officials insist they are following democratic principles and accused the opposition of "plans to overthrow the authorities by organizing anti-government rallies." Opinion polls show that at least 80 percent of the Georgian population favor plans to join the EU, as well as NATO, amid perceived threats from Russia. Georgias aspirations to forge closer ties with the West have long angered Russia. Tensions culminated in Russia's invasion of Georgia in 2008 after which Russia recognized South Ossetia and another region, Abkhazia, as independent countries and stationed thousands of its soldiers in those areas. With reporting by AFP CBD capsules are relatively new in the market, so we shared the four best CBD capsules to help you stay relaxed and sleep better. An SES 22 communications satellite was launched into orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday. The said satellite will offer C-band television and data services in the United States. At 5:04 p.m., the rocket blasted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral. On Thursday, June 30, a backup launch chance is accessible inside the same window. According to Fox 35 Orlando, the Falcon 9 first-stage rocket used for this flight was also used to launch one Starlink mission. SpaceX Falcon 9 Successfully Brings SES-22 Communications Satellite to Space Florida Today mentioned that SpaceX Falcon 9 launched SES 22 communications satellite into orbit on its fifth mission of the month and 27th of the year for Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES. Launch Complex 40 served as the launch site for the 230-foot tall rocket's on-time liftoff at 5:04 p.m. ET. United Launch Alliance will launch its Atlas V rocket next to it at Launch Complex 41. The first stage rocket of the Falcon 9 performed a somersault during SpaceX's flight on Wednesday. The rocket returned for a successful landing on the company's "A Shortfall of Gravitas" drone ship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, around 8.5 minutes after launch. The first stage of the rocket separated after lifting it out of the dense lower atmosphere, and while the second stage continued its ascent to space, the first stage made a flawless landing on an offshore barge. The SES-22 satellite was deployed into an elliptical "transfer" orbit 33 minutes after launch, following two second-stage engine firings. The satellite will be propelled by onboard engines into a circular geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the equator during the ensuing several weeks. From there, it will spin in time with Earth, enabling the use of fixed antennas on the ground. In a few days, the drone ship will return with the booster to Port Canaveral. SpaceX will likely repair it and use it again for another flight. ALSO READ: NASA, SpaceX Push Back International Space Station (ISS) Cargo Mission Yet Again; See New Launch Date SES, the payload client for the flight on Wednesday, was the first commercial enterprise to launch with SpaceX in March 2017. According to SpaceX site host Jessie Anderson, the corporation has successfully launched 103 Falcon 9 booster re-flights since 2017 after launching the SES 22 mission. About SES-22 Satellite The first of six satellites that SES has ordered, which Thales Alenia Space built, is called SES-22. It was ordered as part of a Federal Communications Commission initiative to allow emerging 5G broadband networks to use the lower portion of the C-band spectrum, which has previously been used by radio and television relay stations. To create a place for 5G communications, CBS News said SES-22 and comparable satellites would work in the upper portion of the C-band spectrum. Companies competing for 5G spectrum licenses will pay SES and other existing C-band satellite operators back for the price of developing and launching additional satellites. "SES 22 is a C-band satellite, so it's part of our program of C-band clearing in the U.S.," Christophe De Hauwer, SES's chief strategy and development officer, told SpaceFlightNow. "It's a C-band-only satellite. It will be launched to 135 degrees west, which is the location we are replenishing, from where we will provide mostly TV and radio services over the U.S., but also some data services over the country," he added. The telecom corporation SES, located in Luxembourg, will run SES-22. SES officials said the satellite will deliver TV and radio to "millions of American homes and provide other critical data transmission services." "SES-22 is expected to start operations by early August 2022," the company told Space.com. RELATED ARTICLE: SpaceX to Reuse Dragon Spacecraft Fleet After Rocket Booster from NASA Crew-1 'Leaned' Check out more news and information on SpaceX in Science Times. Turo Inc. operates an online platform that allows car owners to rent out their own vehicles. But because the company doesnt own the cars itself, its not a car-rental company, a state appeals court says so it doesnt have to pay San Francisco for a permit to operate at San Francisco International Airport. Turo is based in San Francisco and operates in other U.S. states, Great Britain and Canada. Like rental companies, it charges fees to renters, provides insurance and sets rules for smoking and other conduct in the vehicles. Turos entire business consists of enabling the public to rent motor vehicles, the First District Court of Appeal observed Tuesday. But it said the definition of a car renter under California law someone who has a contract for lease or hire of a passenger vehicle from a rental company applies only to companies that own or control the rented vehicles, and not to a business like Turo that arranges rents of vehicles owned by others. In addition, the court noted, state law says that if a driver damages a rented vehicle, the driver is responsible for the costs of repair, plus towing and storage charges. These limits presume that the rental company owns or controls the rented vehicle, which is not the case for Turo, Justice Marla Miller said in the 3-0 ruling. The court overturned a 2020 decision by Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman holding Turo responsible for rental fees at SFO. The case is somewhat similar to disputes over whether ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft are in the business of transportation, as state regulators contend, or merely provide technology for drivers and passengers to use, as the companies maintain. A number of courts have classified them as transportation companies, increasing regulation and allowing their drivers to be considered employees rather than contractors, an issue now under review in a state appeals court. But Miller said the Turo case was different because the car-rental law contains the word rent, which applies, she said, only to companies that rent their own vehicles. Turo, founded in 2009, describes itself as the worlds largest car-sharing marketplace, with 217,000 vehicles on its online platform as of March 31. Spokesperson Steve Webb called the ruling a major win for Turo and peer-to-peer car-sharing in California and said it could influence courts in other states that are considering similar cases. The company is willing to pay a fee to local governments but should not be charged as much as car-rental firms, said Lou Bertuca, another Turo spokesperson. We dont get the same benefits they do, he said. Theres no train that takes you to (Turo vehicles), no signage. 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. Jen Kwart, spokesperson for City Attorney David Chiu, said no decision has been made yet on whether to seek review in the state Supreme Court. Turos unpermitted activities negatively impact SFOs operations and unfairly undercut the rental car companies at the airport with which Turo competes, she said. Regardless of (Tuesdays) decision, other aspects of San Franciscos lawsuit will move forward. SFO still has the authority to regulate Turos conduct on airport property whether or not it is deemed a rental car company. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko - The famous forests of Big Basin Redwoods State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains will partially reopen to the public next month, allowing visitors to see some of the worlds tallest trees for the first time since the park was ravaged by wildfire two years ago. California state parks officials said in May that they had done enough post-fire rehabilitation to begin welcoming people back this summer, but just Thursday did they announce an opening date of July 22. Because much of the park remains strewn with charred, wobbly trees and services are limited, only small numbers of visitors will be granted entry through a newly established day-use reservation system. The CZU Lightning Complex fires, which began in August 2020, burned 97% of the popular park. The historic village with its visitor center, museum and dozens of rustic buildings was completely destroyed. The park is the oldest in the state system, established in 1902 near the small town of Boulder Creek. The area that will open for visits is the main grove of ancient redwoods that formerly served as the park headquarters. Highway 236, which runs through the park and has been inaccessible for the 5 miles that wind through Big Basin, will also fully reopen July 22. Visitors will have access to about 20 miles of fire roads and trail, including the famous Redwood Loop and Dool Trail. A temporary kiosk to provide information and primitive restrooms will be set up. The coastal section of Big Basin, near the town of Davenport, reopened last year and does not require a reservation. While the damage to park infrastructure was extensive and vast stands of Douglas fir and tan oak were razed, more than 90% of the parks mature redwood trees are estimated to have survived the blaze, including the roughly 30 named trees at the parks core. People will be surprised by what they see, said Chris Spohrer, state parks superintendent in the Santa Cruz area. There will be a lot of sadness around some of the built features that were lost, but there will be optimism about the recovery of the forest. Already, new plants, including colorful displays of wildflowers, have emerged on the forest floor where sunlight now shines in areas that, before the wildfire, were left dark by the thick canopy of trees. 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 new reservation system will begin taking bookings July 1. Initially, just 45 reservations will be taken per day, coinciding with the number of allotted parking spots at the park. State parks officials say they will expand the number of reservations available as the post-fire recovery work continues. People traveling to the park by bicycle or bus will not need a reservation. The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District plans to provide three bus trips to the park daily on weekends, according to state parks officials. The park department remains in the early stages of planning for a complete rebuild of Big Basins visitor facilities. Instead of reconstructing services at the heart of the park, where they could pose a problem for the old-growth trees, parks officials are planning to site the headquarters about 3 miles to the east in an area known as Saddle Mountain. Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander On a misty night in the late 1980s, Dan Moss was driving north on Highway 1 along the cliffs at Devils Slide near Pacifica when a deer crossed in front of his car. He swerved to avoid the animal, and his car began to skid toward the side of the highway. Then, in a second, he was over the edge. Moss dropped 50 feet down a nearly 200-foot cliff toward the water, totaling the vehicle before he climbed back up the jagged rock face and sought help. He was lucky. He survived with just two broken ribs and a scar on his head. About 30 years later, his son, Richard Moss, 22, was driving the same stretch of road in the early morning of May 25, 2017. A traffic camera inside the Tom Lantos Tunnels near Devils Slide captured his blue Hyundai Tiburon going through, but Richard was never seen again. Nearly a year later, after a lengthy search for him had ended, a beachgoer found his vertebra on Montara State Beach about 200 yards away. Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle That spot there, if you're not paying attention, you can go straight ahead into the ocean, and there's nothing to stop you, Dan Moss said of the area where officials believe his son went off the road. There was no barrier. There was no guardrail. Between Pacifica and Montara on the western flank of the continent, Devils Slide is archetypal California, a beautiful stretch of coastline with stark, rocky cliffs descending into deep blue surf. Officially, it runs 1.3 miles along the water, but many locals refer to a larger span from the tunnels to the Montara city limit as Devils Slide. For decades, the postcard-worthy landscape has befuddled engineers and terrorized drivers with its winding asphalt atop eroding bluffs. Dozens of people have driven off the road, many plummeting to their deaths on the rocks or in the surf below. In 2013, Caltrans opened the Tom Lantos Tunnels, which bypassed a particularly treacherous stretch of the highway and promised to make the road safer. Yet, at least 9 people have died in accidents in the area around and just south of Devils Slide since the tunnels opened, according to the California Highway Patrol and Bay Area news reports. Today, according to Caltrans, this section of roadway has an accident rate more than 50% higher than the statewide average for similar highways. Now, the state transportation agency is considering a new series of barriers along Highway 1 in the area near Devils Slide in an effort to curb accidents and prevent deaths. If environmental plans and contracts are approved on schedule, construction will begin in January 2024. Dan Stegink, a volunteer rescue diver who for 30 years has helped search for missing people believed to have gone over the cliffs, said many factors can cause a person to drive off the road. Theres the weather, people who are unfamiliar with the coast, a sharp right angle, the fog, sudden text messages and some gorgeous scenery, he said. But if it was a safe place, all these accidents wouldn't be happening within 600 yards of each other. Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle For as long as people have been traveling through Devils Slide, the road has been a problem. Before a road traced the cliffs, people moving between San Francisco and the coastal area where Pacifica and Montara now stand traversed dangerous routes over the San Pedro and Montara mountains. In 1879, officials started carving a more direct path the first coastal thoroughfare in the area that would become known as Devils Slide. California State Route 1 opened in 1937, but the road was constructed without emergency shoulders and rockslides were common, especially during the rainy season. Just three years later, officials temporarily closed the Devils Slide section of the highway because of frequent landslides. CARLOS AVILA GONZALEZ / SFC CARLOS AVILA GONZALEZ Left: In 1998, San Mateo County Sheriff's Rescue team members check the cliffside on Devil's Slide where a rental van went over the edge, ejecting the driver who was not found after witnesses said they saw him in the water. Right: The crumpled rental truck lies in the pounding surf. Photos by Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle Top: In 1998, San Mateo County Sheriff's Rescue team members check the cliffside on Devil's Slide where a rental van went over the edge, ejecting the driver who was not found after witnesses said they saw him in the water. Above: The crumpled rental truck lies in the pounding surf. Photos by Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle As more vehicles began traversing the road, more began falling from its edge. During the 1960s, rescue attempts were so common that the Pacifica Fire Department regularly trained its teams in mountain climbing to tackle the formidable cliffs. Officials and residents began advocating for a safer alternative to the highway in the 1970s, but action was slow. Meanwhile, the accidents continued. A review of news reports from 1990 through 2021 indicates at least 10 rescues and 30 deaths including six people presumed dead after a minivan drove off the cliff in 1992 or roughly one fatality per year. California Highway Patrol tracks fatalities only back to 2010, three years before the tunnels opened. Its data counts 167 collisions and eight deaths over the past 11 years, with seven occurring after the tunnels debuted. But these statistics don't account for every death: CHP doesn't track missing persons cases or incidents classified as suicides, and some victims and vehicles are never recovered. Richard Moss, who officials initially believed had gone missing, is still not accounted for in the CHP data. The only reason we know that Richard died there is because of the effort that we all put into the search, Dan Moss said. But how many people have gone into that water and nobody knew? Cars now enter the tunnels and pass through the hillside instead of skirting the bluffs, and the former coastal roadway has become a popular hiking trail. But outside and just south of the tunnels, eroding cliffs with steep drops to the ocean and a lack of permanent barriers means the area around Devils Slide remains dangerous. The crumbling shoulder can prevent drivers from recovering after they leave the pavement, and vehicles continue to go off the highway past the tunnels and a half-mile south at Gray Whale Cove. There's really only one specific location that I know of where the cars have been going off consistently, said CHP spokesman Mark Andrews, referring to Gray Whale Cove. There is no barrier, there is a raised embankment. Depending on the speed of the car or the angle that it's traveling at, it could potentially avoid the embankment without much of anything to keep it from going over. Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle But, he added, as long as you're not distracted or doing something else, you're going to follow the roadway generally 99.9% of the time. However, in the last two years, the Devils Slide area and Gray Whale Cove, near where Richard Moss died in 2017, have been the site of three fatal incidents and a pair of dramatic rescues. Yuri Kim, 54, of San Francisco died on Aug. 31, 2020, when her vehicle went off the road at Gray Whale Cove. Two months later, motorcyclist Ion Bolea, 26, of South San Francisco, died after going over the same cliffs. On Sept. 15, 2021, Anthony Colonnese Jr., 73, of San Francisco, was killed when his car veered off the road near the tunnels. Most recently, in November, a man was rescued from the bluffs at Gray Whale Cove after he drove off the highway and crashed into the ocean just south of the tunnel. Many arent as fortunate as that driver. If a person makes it all the way to the water, it's pretty rare that they survive, Stegink said. The vast majority of these people were going about their daily lives on their way to work or home, and they never saw it coming. Quite frankly, it could happen to anyone. Caltrans laid out the stakes in its report about the proposed safety measures: If these issues are not addressed, there is a risk that vehicles may continue to drive off the highway, causing severe injury or death to motorists and passengers as well as Caltrans maintenance workers. Courtesy Glenda Cota / Courtesy Glenda Cota Courtesy Glenda Cota / Courtesy Glenda Cota Left: Glenda Cota and her fiance Jason Affolter, who died on April 27, 2004, after his car went off the roadway near Devil's Slide. Right: Cota with her son Jason, named after his father. Photos provided by Glenda Cota Top: Glenda Cota and her fiance Jason Affolter, who died on April 27, 2004, after his car went off the roadway near Devil's Slide. Above: Cota with her son Jason, named after his father. Photos provided by Glenda Cota On the morning of April 27, 2004, Jason Affolter, a 23-year-old father-to-be, left his Moss Beach home, driving north along Highway 1 to his construction job in Pacifica. Twenty minutes later, his fiancee, Glenda Cota, heard helicopters overhead. Oh, no, she thought, something must have happened on Devils Slide. Affolters car had gone off the road just south of Devils Slide, plunging 200 feet into the ocean. His body washed up on shore two months later, just days before his son was born. A year later, Caltrans broke ground on the Tom Lantos Tunnels, which would bypass a mile of landslide-prone slopes and avoid one of the roads most dangerous sections. "Now it's going to be a boon for people who used to take this road with trepidation," Caltrans spokesman Jeff Weiss told The Chronicle in 2005. "It's a happy moment to be able to put Devil's Slide behind us." Caltrans had begun lobbying for a bypass around Devil's Slide in 1971, but local property owners and environmentalists, who wanted to preserve the natural beauty of the area, fought to prevent construction. The issue stalled until the 1990s, when hazardous weather caused several major closures of the highway, including mudslides in 1995 that shuttered it for months and sparked a vehement debate about how best to fix the highway. Some of the discord was recorded in letters to The Chronicle: In 1995, Greg Bayol, then head of public affairs for Caltrans, sent a verse to famed Chronicle columnist Herb Caen about the ongoing challenges of maintaining the road: "Since Herby was a little kid / The road at Devil's Slide has slid / Fixing and patching that road's a hassle / Never getting it done like a bypass'll / But we'll keep paving and spending the dough / Never once saying We told you so! Chad Ziemendorf/The Chronicle Opponents of the tunnels said the project was not sufficiently planned and would not adequately prevent deaths and landslides in the area. The major issue is that we will not have safe and adequate transportation with a tunnel, period, Mary Ann Sabie, the co-chairwoman of the committee against the project, told The Chronicle in 1996. The tunnel fixes one mile. Devil's Slide is 3.5 miles long.'' In November 1996, San Mateo County voters approved the tunnel project. Caltrans, which had advocated for a mountain bypass, changed its position and agreed that a tunnel was the best and most economical method to address the problems at Devils Slide. The only realistic option was a tunnel, said Nicholas Sitar, a UC Berkeley professor of civil and environmental engineering. And the only unusual thing about it is that it took them 30 years to finally decide to do it. Boring for the two 30-foot-diameter tunnels began in September 2007. The nearly mile-long tunnels opened to drivers on March 26, 2013, with well-lit corridors, heat and carbon monoxide sensors and 24-hour video monitoring. This puts the spotlight on the coast," Cherise Hale McHugh, the executive director of the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce, told The Chronicle at the time. "It's going to be easier and safer to get here, and we don't have to worry about our road falling into the ocean every six to eight years." Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle The Tom Lantos Tunnels were built to make the road safer and they have but the danger in the area south of Devils Slide has continued. According to the CHP, in the two years before the tunnels opened, there were 29 incidents, including 16 injuries and one fatality. In the two years after, from 2013 to 2015, there were 42 incidents nearby, including 16 injuries and two fatalities. Sitar said the tunnels have made a meaningful difference in road safety. But the cliffs south of Devils Slide, near Gray Whale Cove, are still the site of off-the-road incidents and deaths. Glenda Cota thinks the safety measures haven't been enough. Courtesy of Dan Moss / Courtesy of Dan Moss Courtesy of Dan Moss / Courtesy of Dan Moss Left: Dan Moss with his wife Kathleen Penfold and son Richard. Richard Moss died May 25, 2017, after his car went off the road on Highway 1 near Devil's Slide in San Mateo County. Right: Richard Moss at age 22. Photos provided by Dan Moss Top: Dan Moss with his wife Kathleen Penfold and son Richard. Richard Moss died May 25, 2017, after his car went off the road on Highway 1 near Devil's Slide in San Mateo County. Above: Richard Moss at age 22. Photos provided by Dan Moss I was a child when there were talks about creating a tunnel for the parts that were thought to be more dangerous. And then it was built and just left at that, Cota said. People thought that sufficed, even though there were still multiple and constant deaths. Four years after the Tom Lantos Tunnels opened, Richard Moss drove through the southbound corridor and disappeared. Two days after they learned their son was missing, Dan Moss and Richards stepmother, Kathleen Penfold, flew from their home in Hawaii to look for him. Dan Moss circulated fliers, recruited volunteers at town halls and created the Finding Richard Moss Facebook page, which grew into a community of about 1,500 people offering tips and support in the search for his 22-year-old son. Desperate, Dan Moss rented a helicopter and flew up and down the coast. The sheriffs department deployed drones, boats and divers to search the ocean for Richard or his vehicle, and local fishermen used sonar to scan for remains. Richards friends, a tight-knit group of skateboarders in El Granada, also joined the effort. Courtesy Dan Moss / Courtesy Dan Moss Courtesy Dan Moss / Courtesy Dan Moss Left: In July 2017, about a month after Richard Moss went missing, his AAA card washed up on Montara State Beach. Soon after, searchers found pieces of his blue Hyundai Tiburon. Right: His vertebra washed up about a year later. Photos provided by Dan Moss Top: In July 2017, about a month after Richard Moss went missing, his AAA card washed up on Montara State Beach. Soon after, searchers found pieces of his blue Hyundai Tiburon. Above: His vertebra washed up about a year later. Photos provided by Dan Moss But for weeks there was no trace of Richard. In early July, more than a month after he had vanished, Richards AAA card washed up on Montara State Beach. Soon after, searchers found his cars wheel with the brake still attached at the north end of the beach. Then the vehicles front bumper. It was pretty evident that Richard died in the crash going over Devil's Slide, Dan Moss said. So we turned our energy towards Caltrans. Dan Moss connected with a group of people who had lost loved ones on Highway 1 near Devils Slide, and together they protested at the suspected site of the accident, demanding that Caltrans make the road safer. It wasn't until meeting Dan that we really felt like we could have our voices heard and show up in numbers, making it hard to ignore the effects of the losses caused by the unsafe part of Highway 1 at Devils Slide, Cota said. Following the demonstrations, Caltrans installed 36-inch-high temporary concrete barriers to replace the shorter stone wall where Richard and several others had gone off the road. Dan Moss believes the barriers have prevented other people from going over the cliffs where Richard likely died, but accidents are still happening nearby. After the deaths of Kim and Bolea at Gray Whale Cove in quick succession in 2020, concerned residents began advocating more fiercely for additional safety measures. That year, Caltrans installed an additional 140 feet of temporary barriers along the bluffs at Gray Whale Cove as a safety enhancement measure, and the agency said it would develop a long-term plan to address the persistent problems. Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle Late last year, as the tunnels approached their 10th anniversary, Caltrans unveiled a new safety project on Highway 1 to replace or install 11 taller and bulkier see-through barriers along the road between Devils Slide and Montara. The proposed barriers, which will replace temporary k-rail barriers and metal beam guardrails, include an updated guardrail system and two kinds of concrete blockades all with gaps that allow for scenic views. As of June this year, the project was in the planning and estimates phase. Final designs and permissions are expected to be completed in August 2023, with construction beginning in winter 2024. It's finally happening, Dan Moss said of the project. What happened to Richard can happen to anybody. I would rather have (drivers) hit the barrier and crash the car in the roadway. Yeah, you got to get a new car, but that's easy, right? You can't get a new life. Caltrans project manager Kerry Morgan said officials expect the project to prevent at least 13 off-the-road incidents over 10 years. I'm incredibly grateful to Caltrans for making it happen. But for me, ultimately, the question will always be, what took so long for it to happen? Cota asked. This has been an issue since way before me and long before all these other deaths that could have been avoided. Glenda Cota and her son Jason, who turned 18 in June, now live in Arizona, but they occasionally return to Half Moon Bay. It's hard to hate such a beautiful place, Cota said. I grew up there thinking it was the most beautiful part of California, with the sunset and endless ocean by the gorgeous cliffside. You're literally at the end of California thats what you're seeing on that road. Cota told her son early on about his father and the accident at Devils Slide that took him away. Its really hard raising a son as a single parent, Cota said. Regardless of how much time goes by, you'll be left with a certain amount of what-ifs and should've, could've. I can't help thinking about how things would be now if they panned out differently, but we continue to move on and live our lives. Jason, whos named for his father, has been learning to drive, but he has some anxiety, especially about the idea of driving Highway 1 around Devils Slide. He hopes that he gets closure the first time that he drives on that road and finishes what his dad didn't, Cota said. As a mother, knowing that the road is safer than it has ever been gives me a lot of comfort. After several unsuccessful searches in 2017, Dan Moss gave up on finding Richard. I'm not interested in taking him out of the water anymore, he told volunteers then. All I would probably end up doing is cremating him and then putting him back in the same place. So lets just let him rest in peace. More than 200 people attended Richard Mosss memorial in Half Moon Bay on Aug. 27, 2017. A second service was held a few weeks later in Waialua, Hawaii, where Richard attended his last three years of high school. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations be made in Richards name to the Tony Hawk Foundation. Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle Dan Moss now lives on Oahu, more than 2,000 miles from Devils Slide. The last time he was in San Mateo County was four years ago, when he collected his sons ashes and closed his bank accounts. But he returned to California this June to visit family, friends and Richard at his resting place marking the fifth anniversary of his sons death. He drove along Highway 1 and paused at a turnout north of Montara State Beach where steep bluffs lead down to a sandy beach shore the same spot where he had protested for a safer road years ago. This time, he threw flowers into the Pacific. Though he doesnt regularly drive the road anymore, hes still concerned about the risk to those who travel it during their daily commutes and continues to champion more safety measures. I'm pretty strong about this stuff. I'm not going to let it go, he said. Two skateboards shaped like a cross adorn the side of a skate ramp in a beachside parking lot in El Granada, a village about 7 miles south of Devils Slide, where Richard and his friends often skated. The memorial is dedicated to Richard, his name written in large letters surrounded by heartfelt messages from loved ones: Skate in paradise. We love you! If you approach the memorial on a sunny weekend afternoon, someone might walk up and ask, Did you know Richard? Parents and policymakers will now know which public school students across California have the most prepared and experienced teachers, and perhaps more importantly, which do not. State education officials unveiled a new data platform Thursday offering the first comprehensive look at teacher qualifications and experience levels, including information by county, district and school. The state release offers a snapshot of teacher quality amid what experts fear is a growing teacher shortage, one exacerbated by the pandemic and an aging workforce, with the percentage of fully qualified teachers likely to drop in the years go come. The numbers could push state and local policymakers to ramp up recruitment and retention efforts to ensure qualified teachers enter the profession and stay, while also providing incentives for fully credentialed teachers to take jobs in some of the harder-to-staff schools. There is no question that well-qualified teachers are among the most important contributors to a students educational experience, said state Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond, in a statement. With this data, we can focus on measures to assist our educator workforce as they strive to provide high-quality teaching to all students, especially our most vulnerable students. Still, the data from the 2020-2021 school year confirms what many education officials, academics and parents already knew: The qualifications of teachers vary greatly by district and school. Across the state, some students are far more likely to have fully credentialed and experienced teachers while others often in communities of color or low-income areas have interns, temporary teachers or others who arent fully qualified teaching them. Students in Oakland overall, for example, are more likely the latter. In the East Bay district, just under 58% of the districts teachers were fully credentialed to teach their students, compared to 85% statewide and 81% in San Francisco Unified. Oakland Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammel said it is important to recognize that the data not be viewed in a vacuum, adding that in some cases, the best teacher for the position might be one still earning their credential, but would be counted in the ineffective category. I have the utmost respect for all of our teachers, whether they are currently credentialed, teaching outside of their subject area or in the process of getting their credential, she said, in statement. I know first-hand that a qualified person for the job might not be fully credentialed. I started my career at OUSD as an emergency credentialed teacher and am forever grateful for that alternative pathway into the field of education. The state data separates those not fully credentialed into several categories, including credentialed teachers teaching out of their field of expertise; interns, and ineffective teachers. Ineffective teachers included those without a credential, waiver or permit, as well as long-term substitutes and those with short-term waivers or permits, a category that would typically mean no formal teacher preparation experience. The platform also notes when there is incomplete data or a credential is not needed for a position. The state based the data on the number of full-time equivalent, or FTE teachers, rather than the actual number of educators, given that some teach part-time. In Oakland, 27% of classroom teachers were considered ineffective, compared to 3.6% statewide and 5.4% in San Francisco. Yet even in a large urban district like Oakland, the numbers varied greatly among schools, with more than 62% of the 46 FTE teachers considered ineffective at Coliseum College Prep compared to none among the 18 teachers at Cleveland Elementary. San Francisco Unified saw similar patterns, although to a lesser degree. 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. There are some hard to fill positions, such as teachers with bilingual and special education credentials, where we focus on alternative pathways to certification while also teaching, said Deputy Superintendent Gentle Blythe. Whether they are fully credentialed or on their way to being fully credentialed, SFUSD invests a lot in supporting educators through paid professional development, one-on-one coaching and other types of capacity building. The newly available numbers on teacher qualifications are a combination of state Department of Education statistics and data from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. The first numbers available are from the first full school year of the pandemic, 2020-2021, during which most students remained in distance learning for much or all of the year and many districts grappled with teacher resignations and illness related to COVID-19. The data was released due to a a 2020 state law requiring greater transparency about teacher quality. State officials said that since this is the first look at the data, its a baseline with no valid comparison prior to the pandemic. Experts also note that Californias teaching workforce is facing a wave of retirements as well, with 40% of the teacher workforce 50 or older. Many of those 60 and older are expected to retire within the next 5 to 10 years, according to the Learning Policy Institute. We do know that the teacher shortage existed prior to the pandemic and COVID-19 put an added strain on schools, said Scott Roark, state Department of Education spokesman. There is more work to be done to hire, train and retain teachers. Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker President Biden has the legal authority to end former President Donald Trumps Remain in Mexico policy, which has required tens of thousands of immigrants seeking asylum to remain south of the border in dangerous conditions while awaiting decisions on their applications, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The decision did not immediately end Remain in Mexico, which began in 2019, but it set aside lower-court rulings that upheld the policy. States defending the program can ask the lower courts to restore it but only under the Supreme Courts broader view of the current administrations authority to allow asylum-seekers into the United States. The majority opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts was joined by Justice Stephen Breyer in his final case before retiring Thursday, ending 28 years on the court. The vote was 5-4 to overturn the lower-court decisions. But one of the dissenters, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a Trump appointee, said she agreed with Roberts view of the law and contended only that it was premature to decide the issue now. And even if lower courts end Remain in Mexico, the Mexican border will still be closed under another Trump policy, known as Title 42, which has blocked northward immigration based on the former administrations contention that it would increase the spread of COVID-19. Biden has sought to end that policy as well, but lower courts have refused. The issue is still on appeal. While repeal of the policy is an important step forward ... the Biden administration and Congress must do more to protect the lives of people seeking safety, said Blaine Bookey, legal director of the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies at UC Hastings in San Francisco. It is long past time for the government to end illegal Title 42 expulsions of asylum seekers and establish a fair and humane asylum process at the southern border. In announcing Remain in Mexico, the Trump administration said it was needed to maintain control of the border and to reduce entries of undocumented immigrants. But immigrant rights groups said the policy was a death sentence for numerous migrants who had little protection from gangs in Mexico. Two years ago, the advocacy group Human Rights First said it had documented more than 1,000 public reports of torture, rape, murder and other violent attacks against asylum-seekers forced to wait in Mexico. The Biden administration immediately sought to repeal Remain in Mexico, but lower federal courts left the policy in place in a suit by the states of Texas and Missouri. They argued that federal law required the government to hold undocumented immigrants in detention while their cases were pending and to expel all those it could not detain because of a lack of detention facilities the vast majority of those entering the country. The Supreme Court had left those rulings in place while it considered the case. But Roberts said federal law since 1996 has declared that the government may expel immigrants it cannot detain. That means the government has discretion about whether to let them remain in the U.S., he said. He noted that Congress has never approved enough funding to keep all asylum-seekers behind bars while awaiting decisions on whether they can stay in the country. And by requiring the U.S. to return large numbers of non-Mexican nationals to Mexico, lower courts imposed a significant burden upon the Executives ability to conduct diplomatic relations with Mexico, the chief justice said. He cited a federal appeals court ruling that authorized a lower-court judge to oversee the Biden administrations negotiations with Mexico. Asylum allows an immigrant to remain in the country, obtain a work permit and eventually apply for citizenship. Under treaties that the United States has signed, it is granted to foreigners who can show a well-founded fear of persecution in their homeland for reasons such as race, religion, political views and membership in a particular social group. Before Remain in Mexico, asylum-seekers were generally allowed to remain in the U.S. until a final decision on their cases. If they persuaded an asylum officer that they had a credible fear of persecution, they were usually released from detention, either to a family member or other sponsor, or simply by promising to show up for their final hearing. Such promises were kept in the great majority of cases, according to government records. Roberts was joined by Breyer and the courts two other liberals, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, as well as conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh. In a separate opinion, Kavanaugh said that when the case returns to a lower court, the Biden administration must explain its decision to release immigrants into the U.S. when there is no room to detain them. But he also said courts must be deferential to the presidents (constitutionally authorized) foreign policy judgments. 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. In dissent, Justice Samuel Alito said federal law requires the government to expel undocumented immigrants if it cannot hold them in custody. Under Thursdays ruling, Alito said, the government may forgo that option altogether and instead simply release into this country untold numbers of aliens who are very likely to be deported to their home country when their asylum cases are heard. This violates the clear terms of the law, but the court looks the other way, said Alito, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch. The American Civil Liberties Union welcomed the ruling. While, as noted in the decision, the case will return to the district court, the Biden administration can and should move forward swiftly to finally terminate remain in Mexico for good a result that has been long, and unjustly, delayed, said ACLU attorney Judy Rabinovitz in a statement from the organization. The case is Biden v. Texas, 21-954. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko Yalonda M. James/San Francisco Chronicle Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon for what her staff described as political engagements scheduled for Thursday in Los Gatos and San Francisco. Details about the events were not provided by Harris aides, but local news organizations reported that she was scheduled to attend a high-dollar fundraising event in Los Gatos. After striking down restrictions on carrying concealed firearms in California and other states, the Supreme Court told an appeals court Thursday to reconsider the legality of California's ban on gun magazines that can hold more than 10 cartridges. The courts order, in an appeal by an affiliate of the National Rifle Association, signaled the potentially broad impact of its June 23 ruling overturning laws that require gun owners to show a special need for self-defense in order to carry the weapons outside the home. In the 6-3 ruling, Justice Clarence Thomas said a state seeking to justify limits on gun ownership or possession must prove its law is part of the historical tradition, dating back as early as the colonial period. California lawmakers banned the sale of guns with large-capacity magazines in 2000 and the purchase of them in 2013. Both those laws were declared unconstitutional in 2019 by U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez of San Diego, but remain in effect while under review by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Thursdays order involved a separate law, approved by the states voters in 2016, that prohibited possession of the magazines. Benitez blocked that law, in a suit by the NRA affiliate and five gun owners, but it was reinstated by the appeals court last November. In the 7-4 ruling, Judge Susan Graber said the law interferes only minimally with the core right of self-defense, as there is no evidence that anyone ever has been unable to defend his or her home and family due to the lack of a large-capacity magazine. Since 1968, Graber said, large-capacity magazines have been used in about three-quarters of shootings in the United States that caused 10 or more deaths, and in all shootings causing 20 or more deaths. She cited one study that found mass killers fired an average of 99 shots and others that said most gun-using homeowners fired two to three shots in self-defense. In dissent, Judge Patrick Bumatay said the court was allowing California to ban magazines commonly owned by millions of law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes and offering a blank check to lawmakers to infringe on the Second Amendment. The NRA-affiliated California Rifle and Pistol Association used a similar argument in its appeal to the Supreme Court. These gun magazines are widely owned and standard-issue for handguns and long guns typically owned for self-defense, attorneys C.D. Michel and Paul Clement said in a February filing asking the court to overturn the Ninth Circuit ruling. They said California is dispossessing citizens of lawfully acquired and constitutionally protected property without any compensation. On Thursday, the court ordered the Ninth Circuit to reconsider its decision under the standards announced by last weeks concealed-carry ruling. Meanwhile, California legislators are examining new restrictions on carrying concealed firearms in public. While the Supreme Court has forbidden the state to require evidence of a special need for self-defense a requirement that has effectively blocked all such permits in large urban areas lawmakers are considering proposals to set a minimum age limit of 21 for concealed carry and to ban it by those with serious criminal records or domestic violence restraining orders, or by anyone in a school, government building, park, playground or public transit system. Four males three adults and a 17-year-old were arrested on suspicion of committing a string of home invasion robberies, including two incidents in which they allegedly tied up and assaulted older couples while robbing them, San Jose police said Thursday. The men, identified as 19-year-old Armando Manzano, 19-year-old Daniel Mendez and 23-year-old Eduardo Santiago, were allegedly involved in three separate home invasions in San Jose. The name of the juvenile suspect was not released. On May 31, police responded to a home on the 600 block of North Capitol Avenue around 3:50 p.m., where they found that an older couple had been tied up with belts and violently assaulted by the suspects, according to a San Jose police press release. The men fled in the victims vehicle and allegedly used it for a second home invasion shortly after in the 1000 block of Summerdale Drive, where they allegedly held a man and his 15-month-old child at gunpoint. The suspects allegedly threatened to shoot the child before forcing the man to withdraw money from his bank. During the third incident, at the 4000 block of Bolero Drive on June 7, the suspects allegedly held another older couple at gunpoint and violently assaulted them. One of the victims contacted the police during the incident, and two of the suspects were detained while fleeing the scene. Manzano, who was previously arrested for allegedly evading police, had been released from jail the day prior to the third alleged invasion. Santiago and the 17-year-old boy were identified as suspects and arrested at their residences after police recovered various stolen property inside the homes. 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. Santiago, Manzano and Mendez were in custody at the Santa Clara County Main Jail, police said. Jordan Parker (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jordan.parker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jparkerwrites Hundreds of teachers and employees with Oakland Unified School District did not receive their deferred paychecks due to a delay in processing one of two payrolls Thursday morning, according to district officials. The payroll delay affected up to 1,700 employees within the district, OUSD spokesperson Ericka Doolittle said in a statement Thursday morning. Some teachers shared their frustrations with the school district on social media. If you know an OUSD teacher, check in on them today. Many of us did not get paid due to some kind of payroll issue, Erin Ronhovde wrote Thursday on Nextdoor. Keith Brown, president of the Oakland Education Association, which represents about 2,700 educators, said several upset educators alerted the union of the delay Thursday morning. OUSD teachers and employees can defer part of their salaries to receive paychecks during the summer break, said Brown. These are educators who depend on being paid to pay mortgage and rent and support their families, Brown said Thursday. We have a teacher retention crisis where we have educators living paycheck-to-paycheck, so this is not what we need at this time. Doolittle said district officials submitted payrolls to Union Bank, which approves the districts payroll checks, on time, but the transfer to associated banks was delayed. 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. Payroll director Nicole Caldwell has been in contact with Union Bank ... since early this morning, said Doolittle, adding that employees who bank with Union Bank received their paychecks on time. It is anticipated that deposits to other banking institutions will be posted today; however, we are unable to confirm the exact timing by bank, Doolittle said. Jessica Flores (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jessica.flores@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jesssmflores Electric-car maker Tesla was sued again Thursday, this time by a group of current and former African American workers at its Fremont factory who say they were subject to racist graffiti, slurs and harassment they said the company and managers knew about but did nothing to stop. The complaint lists more than a dozen current and former Tesla workers, but also lists dozens of Tesla employees as defendants. It was not immediately clear if any of the employees had signed mandatory arbitration agreements, which Tesla has used in the past, or how that could affect the ability to bring the case in state court. The plaintiffs, have been subjected to offensive racist comments and offensive racist behavior and discipline by colleagues, leads, supervisors, managers, and/or Human Resources personnel on a daily basis, the suit said. Tesla, which is owned by Elon Musk, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment and has not for more than a year, amid reports its public relations and press department was dismantled last year. When a similar suit alleging a culture of racialized abuse at the companys Fremont production facility was brought earlier this year by state regulators, the company responded with a preemptive blog post saying it took racial discrimination seriously, investigated claims and terminated those it found responsible. Jasmine Wilson, the first named plaintiff in the suit filed Thursday, worked as a quality inspector at the plant from August 2021 to March 2022. During that time she was the target of racial epithets and cat-calling from leads, supervisors and managers many of whom assumed she was a production associate because she was African American, and admonished her for not doing that job and wearing the uniform for that role, according to the filing. She was also subjected to sexualized comments about her body by a production associate identified as Lavell Doe, who was joined by two others identified as Victor Doe and Nora Doe. When Wilson reported the incidents, the human resources department was skeptical of her claims and a promised investigation never materialized, the suit said. Its hard to imagine a workplace culture that these hardworking people had to endure day after day, having to live through racist comments and abusive behavior, said plaintiffs attorney Mike Arias. Hearing story after story of employees being subjected to this level of disgusting and threatening behavior and language is still almost unbelievable. Another plaintiff, Teri Mitchell, was terminated after about a month of work during which she and other African American employees were called racial epithets including Blackies and Darkies on a regular basis, according to the filing. Mitchell was hired as a production associate, but the filing said that she received insufficient training and that many of the people in her section did not speak English and she was unable to communicate with them. When she requested a transfer from her supervisor, she said in court papers that she was retaliated against, being told, It is rare for Blacks to work here. I dont know how long you will be able to stay here, among other racialized remarks. The lawsuit said she was later transferred but showed up to work one day to find her access badge had been deactivated and was later told she was no longer needed. 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. Racial slurs were also scrawled on Tesla restroom walls along with swastikas and KKK, which attorneys said were left up for months at a time without the company taking them down or addressing the issue. Plaintiffs including Tyron Aghedo were allegedly given more strenuous positions than non-minority workers. Assigned to work on the cars front end, a task which normally rotates out every couple of hours because of its physical intensity, Aghedo and other African American employees allegedly worked there 12 hours a day, while non African American employees were allowed to change over to doing other work throughout the day. When Aghedo complained about the unfair treatment, he allegedly was assigned to even more labor-intensive tasks and was eventually passed over for a promotion in favor of a non African American person. Tesla has been hit with a spate of similar lawsuits in recent years, including one where a federal jury in San Francisco awarded $137 million in damages to the plaintiff, a Black man and former Tesla contractor named Owen Diaz who said he suffered racialized abuse similar to what was described in Thursdays lawsuit. That amount was later reduced to $15 million by Judge William Orrick. Diaz has been granted a new trial, but only to redetermine what the settlement award should be. Chase DiFeliciantonio is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: chase.difeliciantonio@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ChaseDiFelice This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate San Franciscos Trouble Coffee, pioneer of the fancy toast trend and a beloved neighborhood coffee shop, has closed after 15 years in the Outer Sunset. The owners of the nearby DamnFine pizzeria have taken over the 4033 Judah St. business, co-owner Laura Seymour confirmed. They plan to open DamnFine Coffee there by Saturday morning, serving coffee, pastries and eventually pizza by the slice. Trouble owner Giulietta Carrelli declined an interview. Since opening the tiny coffee shop blocks from Ocean Beach in 2007, she built a unique, tight-knit community through espresso, whole coconuts and inch-thick slices of toast covered in cinnamon sugar or avocado. Trouble became known for its toast and is largely credited with launching the artisan toast craze, though what the trend became couldnt be further from the anti-establishment vibe at Trouble. A chalkboard manifesto sat outside the shop for years, and to-go coffee cups and decals were decorated with phrases like live fast, die old, thrash or die and build your own damn house in Carrellis handwriting. Shes been outspoken about her diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder and its role in her path to opening Trouble, including in a popular This American Life episode. Trouble Coffee later expanded to San Franciscos Bayview neighborhood and Oakland; both locations have since closed. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle Seymour, an Outer Sunset resident, has been frequenting Trouble since its earliest days. She said it was surreal when Carrelli asked if she and partner Colin OMalley (who also owns Sunset Cantina next door to DamnFine) wanted to take over the space. I hold it very near and dear. Its bittersweet even for me, she said of Trouble. Were excited to honor the legacy but also add our own spin on it. DamnFine Coffee will serve espresso and coffee made with beans roasted for them specifically. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. Critically: Will there still be toast? The answer is yes, but it will be different. The new cafe will serve cinnamon-sugar and avocado toast on fresh-baked focaccia. There will also be pastries courtesy of Black Jet Baking Co. in Bernal Heights. Eventually, Seymour said, they plan to add Sicilian pizza by the slice and Italian sodas made with fresh syrups. Theyve already been getting into the coffee game at DamnFine farther up Judah Street, where they recently started serving breakfast, lunch and espresso during the day. They hired any Trouble employees who wanted to stay on with the new business, Seymour said. DamnFine Coffee will keep the same hours as Trouble, daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Elena Kadvany (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: elena.kadvany@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ekadvany Yet another important, historic Napa Valley winery changed hands from its founding family to a large corporation this week. Joseph Phelps Vineyards, whose Insignia blend is largely responsible for the success of proprietary Bordeaux-style blends in California, announced on Wednesday that it had been acquired by Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which also controls Napas Newton Vineyards, Colgin Cellars and Domaine Chandon. Heres my full story on the sale. Its the latest in a recent string of Napa estate grabs: The Disney family sold Silverado Vineyards to the fast-expanding empire of mogul Bill Foley; a South Korean retail chain bought Shafer Vineyards; Treasury Wine Estates purchased Frank Family Vineyards. This moment isnt an anomaly; California wineries are always selling to new owners. Still, every once in a while its worth pausing to consider the cumulative effect of these ownership changes. In Napa Valley, the impact of every brand sale is especially profound, given the valleys relatively small size its got less than half the grape acreage of Lodi and the fact that its essentially planted out, with very little room for new vineyards. So the footprint of Napas wine industry is more or less fixed. Now, the power players who want a share of it must move their pawns around. Its an expensive game: Silverado went for an estimated $150 million, Shafer reportedly for $250 million, Frank Family for $315 million. (And you thought buying a single-family house in the Bay Area was expensive.) At these prices, theres a limited pool of viable buyers. Thats why, much of the time, its the same roster of players who make moves. With more than 500 wineries in Napa County, it might seem far-fetched that any single purchase could matter very much. Yet it does: Over time, with each corporate takeover of a family-run estate, especially those as important to Napas identity and history as Phelps, the character of Napa Valley changes a little bit. But we have to ask: Is corporate winery ownership necessarily a bad thing? Leaving aside general arguments about the concentration of corporate interests, I believe there is something unique about wine that makes it, at its core, a business suited to families to multi-generational families. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. Theres a simple reason for this. Wine requires land, which requires environmental stewardship. A vintner has the strongest incentive to care well for their land if they know it will be where their children and grandchildren live, and how their descendants make their living. Responsible farming makes better wine; its also essential to incentivize it as climate change progresses. Of course, corporations can farm responsibly, and many do, but the motivations are different when families are in charge. The modern wine industry in Napa is basically half a century old, depending on how you define it. (One common marker for the beginning of this modern era is 1966, the year that Robert Mondavi Winery was founded.) Given the speed of M&A activity in the last decade alone, its not difficult to imagine that within another 50 years Napa Valleys winery ownership may have shifted starkly and permanently away from families. Maybe then well look back on the 20th and early 21th centuries as a transitory, innocent age in Napa Valley, before the corporations took over. UPDATE: Here are the July 1 updates on COVID in the Bay Area and California Californias COVID-19 cases remain stubbornly high, with the Bay Areas rate of infections continuing to outpace other regions across the state. Now we face the prospect that the emerging BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants could extend or even worsen the current surge into the summer. Targeted vaccination campaigns narrowed disparities in COVID death rates in California, especially for the Latino community. But will officials pick the right candidate for vaccinations next fall, when they expect a renewed surge of the coronavirus? Latest updates: One in 3 Americans in areas with high COVID levels, including the Bay Area About 33% of the U.S. population now lives in an area designated to have high community COVID levels, including every county in the Bay Area, according to data published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is the highest proportion of Americans falling under the worst tier on the agencys risk map since the CDC updated its metrics in February. The agency assigns the levels based on new cases and hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, plus the percent of inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. The CDC urges anyone living in an area classified as having high levels to wear masks in public spaces and take other measures to avoid the virus. Fauci praises Paxlovid for keeping him out of the hospital Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top pandemic advisor to the White House, expressed gratitude for the antiviral drug Paxlovid, even though he experienced a rebound COVID-19 infection earlier this week, saying the medication effectively kept him out of the hospital. Paxlovid did what it was supposed to do, Fauci, 81, said in an interview with the New York Times. He also suggested that his initial course of the drug likely reduced the severity of his symptoms, even though he had to miss his daughter Megans wedding. Fauci said he finished his second course of Paxlovid on Wednesday and felt much better except for a little bit of a stuffy nose. The CDC does not recommend taking a second course of the drug for rebound infections but says patients should isolate themselves again for at least five days. I think there is understandable confusion when people hear about people rebounding, Fauci said. Dont confuse that with the original purpose of what Paxlovid is meant for. Its not meant to prevent you from rebounding. Its meant to prevent you from being hospitalized. Im 81 years old, I was at risk for hospitalization, and I didnt even come close to being sick enough to be hospitalized. Justice Thomas erroneously states COVID vaccines made with aborted children Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Thursday repeated a debunked claim that COVID vaccines are produced with cells from aborted children in his dissent on a case involving 16 New York health care workers who sought a religious exemption from vaccine mandates. Writing on behalf of himself and Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, Thomas said the plaintiffs were within their rights to object on religious grounds to all available COVID-19 vaccines because they were developed using cell lines derived from aborted children. The messenger RNA vaccines available in the United States, produced by Pfizer and Moderna, do not contain any aborted cells. The drug makers did use cells obtained from elective abortions decades ago during the vaccine testing and development process, a common practice that was also used to test rubella and chickenpox vaccines. Because I would address this issue now in the ordinary course, before the next crisis forces us again to decide complex legal issues in an emergency posture, I respectfully dissent, Thomas wrote. FDA recommends BA.4, BA.5 component in vaccine booster doses Following a meeting with its vaccine advisory committee earlier this week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday formally requested that COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers seeking to update their formulas should include an omicron BA.4 and BA.5 spike protein component to create a two component (bivalent) booster vaccine, so that the modified vaccines can potentially be used starting in early to mid-fall 2022. As we move into the fall and winter, it is critical that we have safe and effective vaccine boosters that can provide protection against circulating and emerging variants to prevent the most severe consequences of COVID-19, the agency said in a statement. Supreme Court declines to hear case challenging vaccine mandates The Supreme Court declined on Thursday to take up a case involving a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health care workers in New York that does not offer an exemption for religious reasons, the Associated Press reports. The courts action follows a decision in December in which the justices declined an emergency request to halt the requirement. At the time, doctors, nurses and other medical workers who said they were being forced to choose between their jobs and religious beliefs. New York is one of three states, along with Maine and Rhode Island, that do not accommodate health care workers who object to the vaccine on religious grounds. Free COVID-19 test kits on offer at Marin County Fair After two cancelled years, the annual Marin County Fair returns for the Independence Day weekend at its usual location near the Civic Center and Veterans Memorial Auditorium. The outdoor-only event runs June 30 to July 4 and features the usual favorites, from concerts and roaming performers to carnival rides, food and drinks, and nightly fireworks. In a sign of the times, the Marin County Public Health department will be giving away free COVID-19 test kits at the fair, one per family, while supplies last. The kits will be available at the Healthy Fair, Healthy Marin patio next to the auditorium. They could be as popular as the Ferris wheel or the funnel cakes. Metallicas European tour disrupted by COVID Metallica canceled a concert on its European tour after a member of the bands family tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday. The Bay Area hard rock band did not specify if it was a band member who was infected but scrapped its show at Frauenfeld Rocks in Switzerland last night. It is with a very heavy heart that we are announcing that we will not be appearing at Frauenfeld Rocks in Switzerland today, as unfortunately, a member of the Metallica family has tested positive for COVID, the band said in a social media post. We are beyond sorry to disappoint those of you planning to attend this show. Read more about the cancellation 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. The latest surge isnt over: New variants may lift case numbers again Two new highly infectious and immune-evasive coronavirus variants are now dominant in the United States, according to estimates released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and together they likely will drive the Bay Areas long spring surge well into summer, health experts say. Its become apparent that the pandemic pattern people have become accustomed to over the past two and a half years a rise in cases over several weeks, followed by a relatively short plateau and then a rapid drop isnt playing out this time. Read more about what impact BA.4 and BA.5 both subvariants of omicron will have in the Bay Area, where cases appear to be climbing again after several weeks of sluggish decline. BA.4, BA.5 driving up global COVID cases following brief reprieve, WHO says The number of weekly COVID-19 cases globally has increased for the third consecutive week, after a declining trend was observed since the last peak in March 2022, the World Health Organization reported Wednesday. The agencys latest epidemiology report says there were over 4.1 million cases reported worldwide last week, an 18% increase as compared to the previous week. The WHO said rapid-spreading BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of omicron are making up an increasing proportion of sequenced samples. This pandemic is changing but its not over, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a briefing. We have made progress, but its not over. COVID mutating in ways that could make it resistant to treatments Several naturally occurring mutations of Mpro, the main protease of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, could soon increase its resistance to antiviral treatments such as Paxlovid, according to a study published Wednesday in bioRxiv. Taken together, this study identified several nirmatrelvir (Paxlovid) resistant hot spots that warrant close monitoring, while highlighting the future risk of mutants with multiple substitutions at these sites, the authors said. Many health experts believe mutations in newer variants such as BA.4 and BA.5 may be causing in increase in rebound infections. Eric Topol, executive vice president of Scripps Research and a prominent voice on the pandemic, indicated on Twitter that this could be the case with Dr. Anthony Fauci, who on Tuesday announced he is on his second round of Paxlovid after again testing positive for the virus. Pandemic made people unhappier than ever, poll suggests The second year of the COVID-19 pandemic was harder than the first, with people reporting a sharp rise in daily negative thoughts and a decrease in positive experiences, according to Gallups latest annual global update on emotions. A survey of 127,000 adults in 122 countries addressing five primary emotional touchstones found that in 2021 and the first few months of 2022, about 42% said they experienced worry, 41% experienced stress, and 31% physical pain. About 28% of the respondents reported feeling sadness and 23% anger. All five emotions, except anger, showed marked increases from 2020 when they were already at or near record highs. The people surveyed also said that feelings of enjoyment, smiling and the sensation of being well-rested had vanished over the past year. First reported case of a person getting COVID from a cat Researchers in Thailand say they have documented the first confirmed case of a pet cat infecting its owner with coronavirus, according to a report in Nature. Weve known this was a possibility for two years, Angela Bosco-Lauth, an infectious-disease researcher at Colorado State University in Fort Collins who was not involved in the study, told the journal. The study was published earlier this month in Emerging Infectious Diseases by infectious-disease researcher and physician at Prince of Songkla University in Hat Yai, southern Thailand, said a veterinarian in Thailand was diagnosed with COVID-19 after being sneezed on by an infected cat owned by an infected patient. Genetic study supported the hypothesis of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from the owner to the cat, and then from the cat to the veterinarian. Researchers say that such cases of cat-to-human transmission are probably rare. Experimental studies have shown that infected cats dont shed much virus, and shed for only a few days, Leo Poon, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong, told Nature. SLOVIANSK, Ukraine (AP) Russian forces withdrew from a strategic Black Sea island Thursday, potentially easing the threat to the vital Ukrainian port city of Odesa, but kept up their push to encircle the last stronghold of resistance in the eastern province of Luhansk. The Kremlin portrayed the pullout from Snake Island as a goodwill gesture. But Ukraines military claimed it forced the Russians to flee in two small speedboats following a barrage of Ukrainian artillery and missile strikes. The exact number of troops was not disclosed. Unable to withstand the impact of our artillery, missile and aviation units, the Russian occupiers have left Snake Island. The Odesa region is completely liberated, the Ukrainian military said in its regular social media update Thursday evening. A senior Ukrainian military official, Oleksiy Gromov, earlier said Kyiv was planning to deploy troops to Snake Island, but did not specify a timeline. At the moment, we control (the island) with the help of our weapons: long-range artillery, rocket units and aviation, Gromov said. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the withdrawal was intended to demonstrate that Moscow isn't hampering U.N. efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor for exporting agricultural products from Ukraine. Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of blockading Ukrainian ports to prevent exports of grain, contributing to a global food crisis. Russia has denied that and said Ukraine needs to remove mines from the Black Sea to allow safe navigation. Turkey has sought to broker a deal to unblock grain exports. But the talks have dragged on, with Kyiv expressing fear that Russia will exploit the removal of the mines to attack Odesa. Snake Island sits along a busy shipping lane. Russia took control of it in the opening days of the war in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that although the pullout did not guarantee the Black Sea regions safety, it would significantly limit Russian activities there. Step by step, we will push (Russia) out of our sea, our land, our sky, he said in his nightly address. It was unclear if the evacuation of Snake Island meant a change in Moscow's designs on Ukraine's biggest port, which is crucial for shipping grain to Africa, the Middle East and other parts of the world. It's also the headquarters of the country's navy. The island shrouded in myth since ancient times early on took on legendary significance for Ukraine's resistance to the Russian invasion, when Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back, "Go (expletive) yourself. Ukraine has celebrated the story with patriotic fervor, issuing a postage stamp in commemoration. The island's Ukrainian defenders were captured by the Russians but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange. After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there and its air defenses. At a NATO summit in Madrid, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson billed the Russian pullout as a sign that Ukraine will prevail in the war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin. "In the end it will prove impossible for Putin to hold down a country that will not accept occupation, Johnson said. Meanwhile, Moscow kept up its push to take control of the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. It is focused on the city of Lysychansk, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in Luhansk province. Russian troops and their separatist allies control 95% of Luhansk and about half of Donetsk, the two provinces that make up the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas. Ukraine said the Russians were shelling Lysychansk and clashing with Ukrainian defenders around an oil refinery on its edges. The Ukrainian military said Thursday evening that Russia had seen partial success that day around the plant, some 17 kilometers south-west of the city. They made no reference to claims that attacking forces had been able to cross the strategic Siverskiy Donets river and enter the city from the north. Zelenskyy said in his nightly address that the situation in the Donbas remained the toughest and extremely difficult. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian reconnaissance units trying to enter Lysychansk on Wednesday were repelled. He said the Russians were trying to block a highway used to deliver supplies, and fully encircle the city. The Russians have thrown practically all their forces to seize the city, Haidai said, but denied that Lysychansk had been encircled. Nevertheless, Haidai noted that as of Thursday evening, evacuations from the city were impossible due to heavy shelling and mined access roads. Earlier, the Ukrainian military said it was not planning a retreat from Lysychansk. A representative of Russia-backed separatists in Luhansk claimed that pro-Russian forces entered Lysychansk Thursday, after a perilous river crossing which, if true, would be a significant development. 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. Military analysts previously told the AP that Russian forces had little chance of crossing the river without major losses due to the defenders' elevated positions. It was impossible to immediately verify the accuracy of the statements by Andrey Marochko, who heads the armed forces of the self-proclaimed, unrecognized separatist territory, to Russia's Interfax agency. There was no official confirmation from Moscow or Kyiv. In other developments: Ukraine's president hailed the launch Thursday of Ukrainian electricity exports to E.U. member state Romania, which Zelenskyy called only the first stage of a process that may see a significant part of the Russian gas consumed by Europeans replaced by Ukrainian energy. - U.S. President Joe Biden said his administration will send an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, including rockets and advanced air defense systems. In his nightly address, Zelenskyy thanked Biden for the move, saying that the equipment soon "will go to the frontline to work for Ukraine, to defend freedom. Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who held talks with Putin on Thursday a day after visiting Ukraine, said he handed the Russian leader a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He did not elaborate. A senior Russian official warned that Moscow could consider Western sanctions as a cause for war. Under certain circumstances, such hostile measures could be perceived ... even as a casus belli, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy secretary of Russias Security Council, said in a speech at a legal forum. Speaking on a visit to Turkmenistan on Thursday, Putin said his goals in Ukraine haven't changed since the start of the war. He said they were the liberation of the Donbas, the protection of these people and the creation of conditions that would guarantee the security of Russia itself. He made no mention of his original stated goals to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine. As you can see, the troops are moving and reaching the marks that were set for them for a certain stage of this combat work. Everything is going according to plan, Putin said. Funerals were scheduled Thursday for some of the 18 people confirmed killed in a Russian airstrike Monday on a busy shopping mall in the central city of Kremenchuk. Crews searched the rubble for 20 still missing. Sweden announced plans to send more military aid to Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons and mine-clearing equipment. Sweden was invited this week to join NATO, a process that could take months. Iranian state media said Thursday Iran has proposed expanding financial exchanges with Russia and cooperating in the energy field. Both countries are under heavy Western sanctions. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Putin met on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine. The Berkeley where Darris Young works today in a downtown co-working space isnt the same diverse East Bay city where he grew up. Berkeleys Black population has been nearly cut in half since 1980, as Youngs family and friends first left for more affordable nearby locales such as El Cerrito and Antioch. More and more, he said, loved ones are heading for distant destinations such as Atlanta. Its a sorrowful trend that the nonprofit director hoped to slow by advocating for a first-of-its-kind $500 million Black Bay Area Regional Housing Fund a state budget proposal that has so far taken a backseat to other priorities in a year marked by steep competition for a record $98 billion surplus. After two years of rhetoric about racial equity and a revival of debate about reparations, Young and dozens of local groups backing the idea maintain that officials would be wise to consider the experimental proposal in the states most expensive region. There is a reckoning, said Young, director of organizing for Black health at the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative, or BARHII. And that reckoning needs to be recognized by our leaders. The proposed housing fund would provide $325 million in direct financial support, including down-payment assistance for Black home buyers and capital for Black housing developers. About $75 million would go to community planning efforts to keep Black residents in the region, and another $75 million would be allocated to build capacity at Black-led community groups working on housing issues. The fund was not included in an initial $308 billion budget deal approved by the Legislature late Wednesday. Supporters are hopeful at least a portion of the funds could still be allocated through more complex last-minute negotiations, or in a future budget. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle There were major investments in housing, but there was not the level of commitment necessary in the Black community, Democratic Assembly Member Lori Wilson, who represents parts of Solano and Contra Costa counties, said at a news conference last Monday. California must do more to right the wrongs of the past. From the legacy of redlining and deed restrictions barring Black homeownership to enduring wealth gaps and predatory financial practices, the causes of the regions racial housing divide are many. The symptoms are still glaring. San Franciscos Black population has plummeted 43% and Oaklands 40% since 1980, census data shows. Black Oaklanders account for up to 70% of the citys homeless population. Across California, 37% of Black families own their homes a decline from 1960, when many forms of discrimination were still legal, the California Housing Finance Agency found. In the nine-county Bay Area, the Black homeownership rate is an even lower 34%, according to an analysis of federal data by the Bay Area Equity Atlas, slightly more than half the rate of the 63% of white residents who own their homes. While the disparities are decades in the making, the idea for a fund explicitly targeting these racial gaps stems from a Bay Area Black Regional Housing Advisory Taskforce, or Black HAT, that emerged after the uprisings after the 2020 murder of George Floyd. Among the funds more than three dozen backers are housing advocacy groups, civil rights groups including the NAACP, local politicians, Black developers and urban planning groups such as SPUR. There have been a lot of kitchen table conversations all across the Bay about people who are moving, said BARHII Executive Director Melissa Jones. It feels like all of that has come together. The goal of a large, one-time Black Bay Area housing fund, Jones wrote in a letter to lawmakers this spring, is to create a virtuous cycle of development, where Black-led organizations plan, build and own housing to serve the community. As it stands, Jones added, Black residents have been stripped of access to wealth, fueling a 30-year trend where Federal Reserve researchers note that Black U.S. families accumulate 12 cents in wealth for every $1 garnered by a white family, for an average $23,000 net worth for Black families compared with $184,000 for white families. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle 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. For affordable housing advocates such as Nikki Beasley, executive director of Richmond Neighborhood Housing Services, the challenge is preserving and adding housing options while prices are high and resources are limited. Her group hoped to use money from the proposed housing fund to continue its work acquiring small-scale buildings to convert them to affordable housing, moving away from large public housing complexes such as San Franciscos notorious Geneva Towers. It should not be an objective of having concentrated poverty, Beasley said, adding that her group works to advance both affordable rentals and longer-term home ownership. In Oakland, Alan Dones still marvels at how his father found a way in the 1970s to build the citys first high-rise constructed by a team of Black contractors. Today, as managing partner of his own development firm, Strategic Urban Development Alliance, Dones said it is still a challenge for Black developers to compete for large public contracts and cobble together funding for large-scale projects. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle With the proposed Black housing fund, his firm stands to gain $10 million toward a tentatively approved $200 million Mandela Station project more than a decade in the making. In a historically Black area decimated by crisscrossing freeways, the project would add 760 homes and 300,000 square feet of offices, plus space for food trucks, local retail and art to the neighborhood around the West Oakland BART Station a way, as he sees it, for Black developers, construction crews and businesses to benefit after years of turmoil. Until then, despite his inbox full of grand pronouncements about racial equity, Dones cant help but notice how few developers who look like him are winning the contracts reshaping his hometown, for better and for worse. I sit here in Oakland, and I see a skyline thats growing, Dones said. I see homeless camps that grow even faster. Lauren Hepler (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hepler@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LAHepler A proposal to shift $60 million in excess property tax revenue to San Franciscos schools drew passionate support as well as angry opposition Wednesday during a public hearing. If approved by city supervisors, the Student Success Fund ballot initiative, which would amend the City Charter, would be on the November ballot. If voters back the ballot measure, the fund would support school and community programs to improve academic achievement or provide social-emotional services to students. The city and district would determine which programs or proposals would get the money, while also evaluating whether those efforts are effective, said Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who co-authored the measure. We are failing a shocking number of students, Ronen said, citing subpar literacy rates at schools across the district. It is a shame and it is a disgrace, and every adult should be doing something about it. The strict oversight of the fund would be embedded in the citys charter, she said. That includes ensuring the fund makes a difference and guaranteeing the long-term availability of the money. Administrative costs would be limited, and it could not be used to simply backfill the districts budget or solely fund salaries. The district has faced a significant shortfall, requiring cuts and adjustments of up to $125 million out of a $1 billion budget in the coming academic year This is not a fund to fix the financial problems of the district, Ronen said. This money is for kids, it is for students, and it is for kids and students only. While there was near-unanimity among speakers on the idea of a fund to support city schools, some city labor groups opposed the current funding plan, which could mean more layoffs or other cuts to city staff in the case of a recession. Incoming schools Superintendent Matt Wayne, making his first political appearance in the city, said he strongly supports the creation of the fund. Im coming in with a clear mandate to focus on student success, he said. We need resources to improve student outcomes, and this Student Success Fund makes clear the city is coming together to provide those resources. Kim Tavaglione, executive director of the San Francisco Labor Council, reminded supervisors that the plan could make city workers vulnerable to job losses and that during the Great Recession, city workers paid a hefty price. The money for the fund would come from an unusual funding source. 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. San Francisco is among a handful of counties that collect more property tax revenue than needed to meet state funding requirements for schools. Typically, most counties require additional state funding. The counties with that excess property tax revenue currently get to keep it and use it for any purpose. Under the current version of the proposed ballot measure, the city would use it to cover the Student Success Fund. If the state decides to pull those excess funds from the counties, other revenue would flow into the fund, Ronen said. That could mean using some of the recently approved Overpaid Executive Tax to help ensure the fund does not go away. Many labor representatives supported the idea of the fund, but recommended that the measure be amended to stop funneling money into the education fund if the state takes away the excess property tax revenue. These schools have been starved to death and cut to the bone, Ronen said. If you take the fund away suddenly, then you end up worse off than you were in the first place. If supervisors push the measure through committees, a final vote is expected in July. Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Jilltucker The California Assembly passed a bill Thursday that could help pave the way for San Francisco to open a supervised drug consumption site after years of advocacy by supporters and hand-wringing over federal laws, which still prohibit such sites. The bill allows San Francisco, Oakland, and Los Angeles city and county to approve organizations to operate overdose prevention programs where people can use drugs under the supervision of trained staff and receive referrals to substance use disorder treatment. Participants would get clean supplies but bring their own drugs. San Francisco politicians and harm-reduction advocates have long pushed for this intervention as the city faces a drug overdose crisis that killed more than 1,500 people since the start of 2020 nearly two people a day. Supporters said they believe these sites will save lives, pointing to evidence from studies of sanctioned sites in other countries and an unsanctioned one in the U.S. In New York City, where a nonprofit has run two sites since November without legal repercussions, staff had reversed 263 overdoses by May. Opponents argued that sites enable drug use when the emphasis should be on creating more treatment or mandating it in drug courts, curbing supply and pushing for harsher consequences for dealers of fentanyl, a factor in a majority of overdose deaths. Assembly Member Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) who carried the bill for its author, state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), agreed with other interventions, but countered that people will use drugs regardless, often in public. Haney said hes witnessed people die of overdoses on the sidewalk in front of his home in the Tenderloin. Most of us would prefer that people just dont use drugs at all and they seek treatment, but addiction is an illness, and we have to reach people wherever and however we can with interventions, and we cannot help someone seek treatment when they are no longer breathing, he said. This is not the only solution, this is not the one thing that will stop the fentanyl or opioid epidemic in our state, but it will help, and it will save lives. The vote was 42-28. The passage followed an impassioned, nearly hour-long debate where two members shared stories of losing their brothers to addiction. The bill will return to the state Senate for a concurrence vote, where its expected to pass, and then head to Gov. Gavin Newsom. His team didnt respond to a request for comment about whether he would sign it. Former Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill in 2018, but Newsom said at the time that he was open to a pilot program. Wiener said he hoped San Francisco would very quickly open one or more of these sites. Every overdose death is preventable, he said in a statement. Right now, we are letting people die on our streets for no reason other than an arbitrary legal prohibition that we need to remove. The bills passage doesnt mean that San Francisco will immediately move to open a supervised consumption site, but the big news, along with the potential settlement in a federal case related to these sites, could clear some hurdles and provide more legal backing for the city. Mayor London Breed said last year that she was determined to open a site, and the Board of Supervisors even approved the purchase of a building that could host it in December, but plans stalled as the city continued talks with the Department of Justice, frustrating advocates. Haney told The Chronicle that our city has taken a position that we want the state law to pass first before opening a site. City officials were mum on possible next steps. We fully support SB57 and are eager to see the bill passed and signed into law, said Jen Kwart, a spokesperson for the City Attorneys Office. Breeds spokesperson Jeff Cretan said the city was proud to support the bill but didnt provide details on if or when San Francisco would open a site. Removing state restrictions to allow certain cities and counties like San Francisco to implement overdose prevention programs is a key step in our efforts to help people struggling with addiction, and we are hopeful that the Governor will sign this bill, Cretan said. In the meantime, we will continue to work with the Department of Justice on finding a path forward around the remaining federal issues so we can soon open an Overdose Prevention Program in San Francisco. The city is also closely watching the outcome of a legal case, United States v. Safehouse, that could shape its next moves. In the case, the Department of Justice, under former President Donald Trump, charged a supervised consumption site a Philadelphia nonprofit wanted to open under the crack house statute that bars any place from operating with the sole purpose of using or selling drugs. 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. Under the Biden administration, the Department of Justice is now in settlement talks with Safehouse that could conclude as early as this summer. If it did, it could signal to San Francisco that the city would not be prosecuted if it moved forward with opening a site. The state law would also shield medical professionals who worked at such sites from facing criminal charges under any drug laws and prohibit professional licensing boards from revoking their licenses. Assembly members opposed to the measure pushed back that there was no mandate for treatment at the site or to test drugs brought in, and complained that another bill for harsher penalties for fentanyl dealing didnt make it out of committee. Any site could face backlash from neighbors. Under the proposed law, sites would have to go through a public hearing process to open, provide reasonable security and make a good neighbor policy to address complaints. Cities would also commission a peer-reviewed study on the impact of the site. Some San Franciscans already oppose the potential location for a site on Geary Street that supervisors approved buying in December. While most callers in public comment supported the location, some neighbors expressed concern afterward that the site would encourage drug dealing without more enforcement. Haney argued that overdose prevention programs would bring drug use off our streets and parks and out of peoples doorsteps and address complaints about kids walking by needles. A review of 22 studies on overdose prevention sites found that they may reduce the risk of death and improve access to care while not increasing crime or public nuisance to the surrounding community. The law would allow the three cities to operate supervised consumption sites until January 2028. Mallory Moench (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mallorymoench A woman looks online for information about abortion pills. Soon, theres a knock on the door. Local authorities had subpoenaed Google for all such searches performed in their jurisdiction. Another woman visits a friend who is suspected of performing illegal abortions. Police find the woman through a geofence warrant that harvests data on smartphone users who were in the friends vicinity. Such scenarios might read like dystopian fiction, but they could soon become commonplace, according to abortion activists and privacy advocates. In the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, pressure is mounting for Silicon Valley companies to change how they collect and store sensitive information, amid fears that peoples online activities could leave them vulnerable to prosecution in states where abortion is banned. The looming threat of antiabortion surveillance is going to demonstrate to millions of Americans why privacy protections are vital for all of us, Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, also known as STOP, said in an email. Cahn co-wrote a report called Pregnancy Panopticon, Abortion Surveillance after Roe. Law enforcement and prosecutors increasingly cast digital dragnets, using reverse warrants focused on location data or search histories, even when they dont have specific people in their sights. Moreover, theres a concern that bounty hunters might use digital tools ranging from social media posts to purchased location data in pursuit of those involved in abortions, motivated by new monetary rewards in some states. Companies, especially tech companies, capture a truly absurd amount of data on people, said Katharine Trendacosta, associate director of policy and activism at San Franciscos Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to defend digital privacy. A big concern, she said, is that a handful of behemoths dominate the digital landscape: Google for search; Amazon for hosting websites; Google and Apple for smartphones; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok for social media. With there being so few companies that have so much data, its too easy for government officials to go to one place and get all of this data on not just one person but many people, Trendacosta said. Google is cited by many as particularly troubling. It tracks where each of its hundreds of millions of smartphone users go, and routinely shares (that information) with government agencies, according to a letter sent to the company by 42 Democratic members of Congress, led by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Rep. Anna Eshoo of Palo Alto, written May 24, in anticipation of the expected overturning of Roe v. Wade. We are concerned that, in a world in which abortion could be made illegal, Googles current practice of collecting and retaining extensive records of cell phone location data will allow it to become a tool for far-right extremists looking to crack down on people seeking reproductive health care, the lawmakers wrote. They urged Google to stop unnecessarily collecting and retaining customer location data from Android phones. Google, which did not return The Chronicles requests for comment, said last summer that the number of geofence warrants it received had soared to 11,554 in 2020, up from 8,396 the year before and 982 in 2018. It did not say how often it complies with these warrants that ask for information on anyone who was in a specific area at certain times. Several other major tech companies told The Chronicle in emailed statements that they value customer privacy, although none discussed any specific changes they might make in light of abortion bans. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said it scrutinizes all government data requests and complies only when it believes it is legally required to do so. Meta said it notifies users about government requests for their data unless prohibited by law or in exceptional circumstances, such as a child at risk of harm. Twitter said it will continue to assess legal demands judiciously and maintain a transparent approach to what data we collect, how it is used, and when it is shared. Snap, which owns Snapchat, said: We dont stockpile private messages and we dont publicly showcase a timeline of everything users have ever posted, noting that its default is to delete Chats and Snaps and to turn off location data. Amazon, Apple, Uber and Lyft did not reply to requests for comment. Cahn from STOP has a range of suggestions for ways tech companies can help protect their users. To start with, companies should evaluate the risk that the data they collect, store and share could be used for abortion prosecutions, he said. A crucial step, he said, would be for companies to stop storing individualized location records. Google, the biggest example, ideally should delete all such data, he said, but at least it should switch to saving non-individualized data. Advertising companies should disable abortion profiling, he said. For instance, data brokers currently can buy lists of pregnant women to target ads to them. Then theres the huge question of responding to authorities legal demands for information. Companies should also update their terms of service to refuse to honor a subpoena for user content, requiring a full warrant, Cahn said. They should also pledge in their terms of service to actively litigate against every abortion-related warrant. They may ultimately lose in most cases, but such resistance could deeply slow down the dragnet. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Cynthia Conti-Cook, a tech fellow at the Ford Foundation who studies the potential use of technology surveillance in abortion-related prosecutions, said she worries about data stored on users own devices. Authorities can extract that information with digital forensic tools if they have the phone. She suggests that no one voluntarily hand over their phone to anyone for anything. From online searches to text messages, email receipts to location data, so much of our data can be potentially used to criminalize pregnant people, she said in an email. In states that criminalize abortion, individuals will experience an escalation of surveillance and a heavier reliance on digital forensic tools by those agencies and prosecutors to unearth evidence of someones intent when they, for example, appear at a state run hospital reporting a miscarriage. The examples that opened this story not only are plausible, but they echo some real-life cases in which digital surveillance was used to prosecute women who experienced pregnancy loss. Unfortunately, this is not some nightmare scenario weve dreamed up, but something that has already happened even with Roe v. Wade on the books, said Emma Roth, staff attorney at the National Advocates for Pregnant Women. Two specific cases: Latice Fisher of Mississippi was charged with second-degree murder in 2018 after a stillbirth, based in part on her search history for abortion medication. Charges were eventually dropped. Purvi Patel of Indiana was convicted of feticide and felony child neglect in 2015 after visiting an emergency room after a miscarriage. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison based in part on text messages to a friend about having ordered abortion medication. Her conviction was overturned on appeal. These examples show that police and prosecutors are already weaponizing peoples personal data, use of technology, and electronic communications to bring cases against them, Roth said. She expects data weaponization to become even more common both because the rate of criminal prosecutions of pregnancy outcomes will rise dramatically and also because of the ever-expanding nature of the surveillance state and the fact that prosecutors now have new tools at their disposal. She and others suggest that users research ways to shield their identities and activities online, but ultimately she said the tech companies need to step up, even if it means losing some revenue. When fundamental human rights are on the line, those are more important than any profits, Roth said. I would hope companies would be able to recognize that. Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid The California Department of Justice says it wrongly made public the personal information of perhaps hundreds of thousands of gun owners in up to six state-operated databases Sonny Barger in 2012 at a ride to celebrate the 55th anniversary of his membership in the club. (Julie Platner/The New York Times) Improving weather is aiding the battle against a Sierra Nevada wildfire that has forced evacuation of several hundred people from their homes and injured seven firefighters Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi looks at Pope Francis as he celebrates a Mass on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, in St. Peters Basilica at the Vatican on Wednesday. The Arena, a column from The Examiners Al Saracevic, explores San Franciscos playing field, from politics and technology to sports and culture. Send your tips, quips and quotes to asaracevic@sfexaminer.com . Sign up for his weekly newsletter here . And follow him on Twitter @alsaracevic . Lincoln Mitchell has written numerous books and articles about The City and the Giants. Visit lincolnmitchell.com or follow him on Twitter @LincolnMitchell This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BEIJING (AP) Shanghai is moving to allow in-person dining and reopening its Disney Resort theme park as domestically transmitted cases of COVID-19 in Chinas largest city remain at zero following a more than two-month lockdown. Chinese officials hail their hardline zero-COVID policy for stemming the growth of cases and deaths from the virus, despite the enormous cost to the Chinese economy and international supply chains reliant on Chinas manufacturing and shipping abilities that have been thrown askew. China has repeatedly defended the policy and indications are it will maintain zero-COVID at least through the spring of 2023, when President Xi Jinping is expected to be installed for a third five-year term as head of the worlds second-largest economy and a rising competitor to the United States in the Indo-Pacific region. In remarks carried by the official Xinhua News Agency, Xi on Wednesday said China's policies against the virus have protected peoples lives and health to the greatest extent." Xi was speaking during a visit to the central city of Wuhan, where the virus was first detected in late 2019 before the outbreak of the pandemic that has killed more than 6.3 million people worldwide, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University in the United States. If China had adopted the herd immunity' policy or a hands-off approach, given its large population, the country would have faced catastrophic consequences," Xinhua quoted Xi as saying. Even if there are some temporary impacts on the economy, we will not put peoples lives and health in harms way, and we must protect the elderly and the children in particular, Xi said, according to Xinhua. Having associated himself so closely with zero-COVID, any backdown by Xi would be seen as a political liability as he seeks to ensure his further control of domestic power and influence abroad. China's tough approach, which involves lockdowns on hundreds of millions of people, mass testing costing billions of dollars and quarantines upending thousands of lives are the most economical and effective, Xinhua reported Xi as saying. Xi also warned against any tendency to let down guard, grow weary of the fight, or slacken prevention and control efforts." Despite the loosened restrictions, a negative test result on your mobile phone is still required for access to most public spaces in Shanghai and other cities. Shanghai resident Amber Liu said she had long been hoping to leave the city for Chinese holiday destinations, such as the tropical island beaches of Sanya or the mountains and deserts of Yunnan, Tibet, and Xinjiang. Quarantine restrictions still made that difficult, if not impossible, she said. Its a tricky kind of normalcy, Liu said. I think life is surreal now. It feels like theres still a long way to go before a full recovery. Everyone is resigned to the situation. LONDON (AP) The British monarchy's publicly-funded spending rose by 17% to 102.4 million pounds ($124 million) in the past year, with the renovation of Buckingham Palace taking up a large part of the expenses, royal accounts published Thursday showed. The palaces annual Sovereign Grant report showed that royal spending went up by 14.9 million pounds compared to the previous year. Critics described the spending as excessive amid Britains cost-of-living crisis. Property maintenance accounted for a big chunk of the spending about 64 million pounds because of a 10-year project to overhaul pipes, wiring and electricals at Buckingham Palace. Costs for official tours also went up, as the royals returned to making overseas visits after the lifting of coronavirus restrictions. The most expensive official royal tour in the past year was the trip taken by Prince William and his wife, Kate, to the Caribbean in March that cost about 226,000 pounds. The trip, meant to boost Commonwealth ties, was instead marred by protests, calls for slavery reparations, and photo opportunities criticized as a throwback to colonialism. The Sovereign Grant is public funding to support the official duties of Queen Elizabeth II and other costs such as official travel, staff for working royals and the upkeep of occupied palaces. The amount of the grant 86.3 million pounds in 2021-22 is based on a proportion of profits from the Crown Estate, a vast collection of property across the U.K. The amount is equivalent to costing 1.29 pounds per person in the country. Britain's royals also have other sources of income, including from tourists paying to visit royal palaces. The Daily Mirror tabloid questioned the royal spending on its front page with a headline reading: 100M for the royals? Record payout for The Firm as nation feels pinch. And anti-monarchy campaign group Republic said the expenditure was too much. As always, while the rest of us face a cost-of-living crisis and continued squeezes on public services, the royals walk off with hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers money," the group's chief executive Graham Smith said. Palace officials have said Prince Charles and the royal family pay close attention to rapidly soaring living costs and are extremely conscious" of the crisis. The annual financial report was published amid heightened scrutiny of Charles' finances, with recent news reports claiming the heir to the throne had been given millions of pounds in cash in a suitcase and carrier bags by the former prime minister of Qatar. The Sunday Times reported the prince was given a total of 3 million euros ($3.2 million) by Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani. Charles' office said the donations were passed immediately to one of the princes charities and that appropriate governance was carried out. The newspaper did not allege that anything illegal was done, and Charles' office denied any wrongdoing. Still, Charles' spokespeople said Wednesday: that is then and this is now," stressing he would never again handle large cash donations. For more than half a decade, with the situation as it has evolved, this has not happened and it would not happen again," a palace official who was not named in line with palace policy told British media. London police are investigating a separate allegation that people associated with another of the princes charities, the Princes Foundation, offered to help a Saudi billionaire secure honors and citizenship in return for donations. Clarence House has said Charles had no knowledge of any such offer. A 47-year-old Cuban citizen has been sentenced to prison for his involvement smuggling narcotics to three cities in an operation dubbed The World is Yours, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Juan Suarez-Pupo pleaded guilty on March 29 to conspiring to distribute large quantities of marijuana and cocaine, according to court documents. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo sentenced Suarez-Pupo to 144 months in federal prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Authorities said Suarez-Pupo was described as a leader within the drug trafficking organization and that he oversaw smuggling operations in both Texas and Florida. Suarez-Pupo also had connections to supply sources in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. During the sentencing hearing, Suarez-Pupos extensive involvement in drug trafficking and his prior conviction of human smuggling was noted. Co-defendant and Laredo resident Charlie Gonzalez, 36, was previously sentenced to 135 months for his role in the conspiracy to smuggle narcotics to Houston, Dallas and Louisville, Kentucky. Like Suarez-Pupo, Gonzalez was a leader within the drug trafficking organization and he had significant involvement. In addition, Marmolejo imposed a sentencing enhancement against Gonzalez for threatening the life of the federal agent who arrested him. Additional co-defendants Ildefonso Martinez Jr., 40, of Laredo, and Jesus Antonio Trevino-Cabrera, 43, of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, were also previously sentenced for their involvement. They received prison terms of 36 and 26 months, respectively. The investigation on a drug trafficking organization operating in Laredo began in April 2019. Authorities seized 1,355 pounds of marijuana and 22.04 pounds of cocaine. They also seized $26,000 in drug proceeds. The marijuana had an estimated street value of approximately $400,000 while the cocaine was worth $250,000. The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces operation with the assistance of the U.S. Border Patrol and the Laredo Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Day prosecuted the case. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Richard Stein thought he was just going to have a family picnic by the lake and hangout with his grandchildren Thursday morning. But what he couldnt understand is why he needed to bring his U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary uniform with him. His wife, Tania, played it off telling him it would impress the grandsons as theyd never seen his uniform. Even when they pulled up at Lake Conroe Park, it didnt occur to him that all of the people gathered by the lakeside were there for him. On Thursday morning, a day after turning 75, Steins family with support from Montgomery County Precinct 1 and the Lake Conroe Park administration, surprised him with a bench dedication recognizing his 20 years of service to the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary on Lake Conroe. On YourConroeNews.com: Boating season shifts into high gear over Memorial Day weekend The new bench at Lake Conroe Park commemorates his 20 years of service to the unit with a plaque and gives him a place to sit and look out on the lake and boaters that hes kept safe for two decades. Stein knew he wanted to do something to celebrate his 20 years with the unit, but the surprise his family pulled off was way over the top of anything he expected. My gosh, this is unbelievable. I cant believe you were able to pull this off, he said as he took a seat on the bench for the first time. The family worked with Commissioner Robert Walker and Lake Conroe Park superintendent Cliff Williams for months to have the bench installed right next to the waters edge. Tania said theyve always been a water family. Both Richard and Tania grew up around the Great Lakes of Michigan. Stein served in the U.S. Coast Guard in his younger years and even served aboard the USCG Mackinaw boat. The Mackinaw served as an ice breaker on the Great Lakes and allowed for ships to get through said Tania. Stein did home remodeling in Michigan but when the market dried up there, the family came to Texas in 1976. The first lake they visited was Lake Conroe which at the time was only three years old. On YourConroeNews.com: Major development planned for Lake Conroe We wanted to check the water clarity here compared to the Great Lakes, Tania said. The Great Lakes water clarity is much clearer than that of Lake Conroe, but still the family decided Lake Conroe would fit them just fine. Now they have spent 45 years enjoying Lake Conroe for boating, fishing and more. And next month Stein will mark 20 years with the USCG Auxiliary Flotilla 6-9, Lake Conroe, where hes been on many safety patrols, taught boating safety classes, participated in many missions with the Coast Guard, helped in weather emergencies and participated in search and rescue or search and recovery missions for those in peril on Lake Conroe. His daughter, Michelle McManus, told those gathered their family leisure trips on Lake Conroe often came with a rescue mission. One time when she and her now husband, Kevin, were first dating, they came upon an overturned boat in a storm. Stein asked Kevin to jump into the water and get to the men in the water and bring them back to the boat. Then he had Kevin get on top of the overturned boat so they could tow it back to shore. Now Kevin has second thoughts about family boat trips. Stein told a story about how right at Lake Conroe Park during Hurricane Harvey, a 20-foot boat had floated up into Lake Conroe Park on land right near where the pavilions are. Stein took a picture because a sign near the dock said No boats allowed. Tania also tells the story about the time her husband and their son, Paul, saved two boaters from boat explosion in June 2013. The two were at a marina and a group of four people were launching their boat as the Steins were returning with their boat. Stein heard a sound he knew wasnt right. He yelled at the people to get off the board and they jumped off into the water. No sooner than he warned them the back of the boat exploded, she said. The men had not properly aired out the boat and friction occurred in the motor. On YourConroeNews.com: With 6 fatalies, 2021 one of the deadliest years for Lake Conroe His love of water and knowledge of boating have made him a natural-born rescuer, McManus said. Al Ohliger, who had 17 years with the Lake Conroe unit and is now getting back into the group, said Stein is a super coxswain and a qualified examiner and a super volunteer. A coxswain is the boat operator and in charge of those on the boat. Ohliger said he and Stein have had many saves together over the years. With the Fouth of July weekend upon us and the increase in Lake Conroe traffic, members of the USCG Auxiliary Flotilla 6-9, Lake Conroe offered some tips on safety on Lake Conroe this holiday weekend while supporting their friend Stein. Members of the USCG Auxiliary Flotilla 6-9, Lake Conroe conduct boating safety classes monthly, help patrol the lake when needed and offer safety tips when they see a boater or jet ski rider who might be out of regulation. They also help with search and rescue and search and recovery, support events held on the lake, assist in weather emergencies and assist the U.S. Coast Guard when needed. Randy Hall, the commander of the USCG Auxiliary Flotilla for Lake Livingston, said probably the most important thing he can say about safety on the lake this holiday weekend is to wear a life jacket. Between Lake Conroe and Lake Livingston Ive made about 42 recoveries and not once has the person on the bottom of the lake been wearing a life jacket, he said. They work, but youve got to wear them. He said lake patrols and Game Wardens take life jackets, kill switches for boats and jet skis and children not wearing a life jacket very seriously. On YourConroeNews.com: Lake Conroe neighbors build boat, sail down the Ohio River Its all about safety and it starts with a life jacket, he said. Also good to keep in mind are new rules regarding boats and using the kill switch device. Hall explained the kill switch device is attached to the boaters wrist and in the event that the boater is thrown into the water or enters the water and there is not a qualified operator in the boat, the kill switch cuts the motor to the boat. Hall described situations where people are thrown from a boat and the boat keeps going in what they call a circle of death and as the boat circles it will eventually hit anyone nearby in the water. Also be mindful of fuel level. Make sure you leave with a full take of fuel. Then theres a thirds rule. Use up a one third of the fuel for fun or whatever you want to do on the lake, save a third tank of fuel for getting back on shore and the last third of fuel is for emergencies, Hall said. He said its also good to make sure if you plan to leave the boat that the boat is securely anchored, beached or tied off. Hes had recoveries where couples have exited the boat to cool off in the water and the breeze kept pushing the boat further and further from them and they couldnt keep up. Ohliger also pointed out a situation that occurs especially on Fourth of July weekend on Lake Conroe. Most of the people going out on Fourth of July go out when its still daytime and then they stay on the lake until after dark to watch the fireworks, Ohliger said. The boat headlights are not meant to be used in open water as they can distract other boaters. So the auxiliary unit often escorts boaters back to shore following the fireworks show. In preparation for the 2021 Fourth of July holiday, Precinct 1 Constable Phillip Cash signaled to how Independence Day weekend is historically one of the busiest on the lake. Patrol staff, game wardens and officials from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will be out in full force this weekend. Cash encouraged the use of designated and knowledgeable drivers on boats as he explained most watercraft wrecks involve intoxication. As for Stein, his wife doesnt think hell be off the water anytime soon. Hell never be off the water for long, its just in his blood, Tania said. See http://www.uscgauxlakeconroe.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/CGAux.LakeConroe for more about the USCG Auxiliary Flotilla 6-9, Lake Conroe. shernandez@hcnonline.com PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Three people involved in a gang-related shootout in a residential neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island, last year that left nine people injured have been sent to prison, state Attorney General Peter Neronha said Thursday. George Rios, 19, Jordanny Britto, 21, and Reynaldo Rivera, 20, all of Providence, were sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty in Superior Court to charges including assault with a dangerous weapon with a criminal street gang enhancement, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence and carrying a pistol without a license. Rios and Britto were sentenced to serve 12 years each behind bars with an additional 20 years suspended with probation, while Rivera was sentenced 10 years to serve plus 20 years suspended with probation, the attorney general said. The cases against three other people involved in the shootout, in which more than 50 shots were fired, remain pending. These three individuals turned a peaceful Providence neighborhood into their own personal shooting range," Neronha said in a statement. Such conduct is incredibly dangerous, far too often deadly, and remains a principal focus of our prosecutorial resources. The long sentences imposed by the court here should send a strong message that gun violence will bring the most serious consequences." The gunfire was the result of an ongoing gang dispute, authorities said. Rios, Britto and Rivera were among four members of the Get Money Family gang who, just before 7 p.m. May 12, 2021, approached a home in the city in a pickup truck, authorities said. They jumped out of the vehicle and started firing at people on the home's front porch, who were associated with the rival Lakeside gang, authorities said. At least two people on the porch, including a juvenile, returned fire, police said. Several bullets struck a home across the street. Nine people were injured eight by gunfire and one by flying glass police chief Col. Hugh Clements said at the time. Rios, Britto and Rivera were among the injured, and after the shootout they returned to their pickup and drove themselves to the hospital. Investigators searched the targeted home and found more than 500 rounds of ammunition in various calibers, as well as 12 pistol and rifle magazines, four of which were large-capacity magazines able to hold over 30 rounds. Such large-capacity magazines were recently outlawed in Rhode Island. They also found several guns, including one ghost gun and some that had had their serial numbers removed, authorities said. The city is a safer place with these criminals behind bars, Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare said. GULFPORT, Miss (AP) LGBTQ advocates say the recent fatal shooting of a 27-year-old Black transgender woman along Mississippis Gulf Coast reflects a disturbing pattern of violence against an already marginalized group. According to the Human Rights Campaign, Shawmayne Giselle Marie's death on June 21 is at least the 18th violent killing of a transgender or gender-nonconforming person this year in the U.S. The violence we face is one of the devastating results of ongoing stigma and discrimination, said Tori Cooper, director of community engagement for the Human Rights Campaign's Transgender Justice Initiative. "We deserve to live our lives fully without discrimination or violence. Marie was shot at the Emerald Pines Apartments in Gulfport, Mississippi and died at the scene. Police arrested Makhari Seven Gasaway, 20, of Gulfport, for the killing. Marie's sister, who was also shot, was taken to an area hospital for treatment, according to the Sun Herald. Police said the shooting occurred after Marie and Gasaway argued, and Gasaway pulled a gun and started shooting. There has been an increased threat of gun violence for transgender people of color, gun safety groups said. Her death is yet another reminder of the disproportionate impact of gun violence on Black transgender women, said Tracy Sexton, a volunteer with the Mississippi chapter of Moms Demand Action, a gun safety group. Moms Demand Action referenced data from Everytown for Gun Safety, an organization with which it partners to promote gun reform. Since January 2017, there have been 191 killings of transgender individuals in America, with 73% of those slayings committed with a gun, according to Everytown. The organization also said that 73% of those gun homicides of transgender people were of Black trans women. Currently Reading Alert: Judge temporarily blocks Kentuckys near-total abortion ban that was triggered by Supreme Courts Roe v. Wade ruling MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Authorities evacuated a portion of the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis on Thursday after responding to reports of a fire and possible explosion. No injuries were immediately reported. The Minneapolis Fire Department tweeted about 3:30 p.m. that firefighters were responding to a fire in the basement of a building on campus. As they were extinguishing that fire, they received reports of a sewer explosion that blew manhole covers out. Authorities were monitoring buildings for natural gas leaks and have evacuated a portion of the campus. The fire department tweeted that the incident was likely a flammable gas spill rather than natural gas in the sewer. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that the fire began in the basement of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house. Fire Chief Bryan Tyner told the newspaper that early indications suggest gasoline in sewer system caught fire and blew out the manholes. He said the department and CenterPoint Energy were working to confirm that. We dont want (gasoline) to get in the sewer system, Tyner said. We dont even know how it got there. A voicemail message left with the fire department wasnt immediately returned. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear on Thursday denounced a Kentucky law designed to impose a near-total ban on abortions as extremist, pointing to the lack of exceptions for rape and incest victims as he pushed back on an issue that Republicans have made a policymaking priority. Beshear plunged into the debate after a state judge temporarily suspended enforcement of the state's so-called trigger law. The 2019 measure took effect halting abortions in Kentucky after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last Friday to end federal constitutional protections for abortions. The ruling by Jefferson County Circuit Judge Mitch Perry on Thursday allowed abortions to resume in Kentucky. There are two abortion clinics in Kentucky both in Louisville, the state's largest city. Beshear, who faces a tough reelection campaign next year, was asked repeatedly about the now-blocked trigger law during his weekly news conference. Several Republicans already running for governor are playing up their opposition to abortion. Beshear supports abortion rights but with reasonable restrictions, which he's previously said would apply to late-term abortion procedures. The governor's criticism of the trigger law was aimed at what's missing from the measure. The trigger law is an extremist law that the vast majority of Kentuckians disagree with," he said. "It provides zero exceptions for victims of rape and incest, giving them no options despite the fact that they have been harmed and what theyre going through is ... absolutely zero fault of their own. The trigger law was enacted when Beshear was the state's attorney general. Kentucky's current attorney general, Republican Daniel Cameron, is defending the trigger law in court. He said the ruling temporarily blocking the measure had no basis in the state constitution. Later Thursday, Cameron asked the state Court of Appeals to block the lower court ruling that suspended the trigger law and another Kentucky law that attempted to prevent abortions at six weeks of pregnancy. That measure was previously halted by a federal court. Cameron is among the Republicans vying to challenge Beshear in the 2023 election. We will do everything possible to continue defending this law and to ensure that unborn life is protected in the commonwealth, Cameron said in a statement. State GOP spokesperson Sean Southard noted Thursday that some Democrats in the Republican-dominated legislature voted for the trigger law. He asked whether Beshear thinks those Democrats are so-called extremists. Beshear said that during his tenure as attorney general, he encountered rape and incest cases involving girls. Under the trigger law, they would have zero options and thats wrong, he said. Right's right and wrong's wrong, no matter who voted what way, the governor said. In comments directed at his Republican critics, the governor added: Do they believe that its not extremist to remove every option from rape and incest victims? Will they look them in the eye and tell them that?" This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) The California Assembly on Thursday approved a controversial bill allowing Los Angeles, Oakland and San Francisco to set up places where opioid users could legally inject drugs in supervised settings. The move follows more than a year of legislative consideration, with proponents saying it would save lives and detractors saying it would enable drug addiction. The Assembly's approval sends the bill back to the state Senate for final consideration in August, after lawmakers return from a monthlong summer recess. Senators approved a slightly different version more than a year ago, with no votes to spare. The idea is to give people who would use drugs anyway a location to inject them while trained staff are available to help if they suffer accidental overdoses. The move comes amid a national opioid crisis and spike in overdose deaths particularly if users inadvertently ingest drugs spiked with fentanyl. New York City in December opened the first two publicly recognized overdose prevention sites in the United States, intervening in more than 150 overdoses, although its operation does not have federal approval to operate. Rhode Island approved testing such centers for two years. The U.S. Justice Department under the Biden administration recently signaled it might be open to allowing the sites with appropriate guardrails, a turnaround from the Trump administration that won a lawsuit blocking a safe consumption site in Philadelphia. The measure passed the Assembly on a 42-28 vote, one more vote than needed. But it had bipartisan opposition amid a sometimes personal debate. Two members, Carlos Villapudua and Freddie Rodriguez, disclosed that their brothers had each died of complications from drug abuse, and they were among Democrats who spoke against the proposal. This is not the one thing that is going to stop the fentanyl or opioid epidemic in our state, but it will help. It will help, and it will save lives, said Democratic Assemblyman Matt Haney, a former San Francisco supervisor who represented the troubled Tenderloin neighborhood and carried the bill in the Assembly. But some members of each party said the sites only make things worse, as lawmakers cited dueling statistics from locations in other nations. Sending our kids the message that Hey, were going to help you manage your drug addiction is not the answer, said GOP Assemblyman Kelly Seyarto. About 700 San Franciscans died of accidental drug overdoses in 2020, a record. Those deaths far exceeded the number of individuals who died of COVID-19 in 2020, when 261 deaths from the coronavirus were recorded, San Francisco Mayor London Breed noted. She cited skyrocketing drug overdose rates in her declaration of an emergency in the Tenderloin neighborhood. Los Angeles County was on pace to have 1,000 opioid deaths last year, though not all such deaths come from injections. Across the nation, drug overdose deaths exceeded 100,000 from April 2020 to April 2021, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including about 10,000 Californians. SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) Religious leaders and others in Savannah, Georgia's oldest city, called Wednesday for the police chief's resignation and a federal investigation into local officer-involved shootings, including one last week that left a Black man dead. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said it is independently investigating Friday's fatal shooting of a man who officers spotted walking around midday in the middle of a street. The man, Saudi Arai Lee, 31, of Savannah, lived in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred. Family after family are crying because of sons or their daughters shot down by this police department and it must stop, Elder James Johnson, founder of the activist group Racial Justice Network, said at a news conference Wednesday. I dont know if its the training or a fear of a Black man, but seems like they shoot and ask questions later, and we cannot and will not tolerate this," he said. Officers approached Lee to speak with him, the GBI said. The agency said Lee immediately showed them his wallet, saying it contained his weapons permit, and then lifted his shirt and removed a weapon from a holster. Authorities said a short chase followed and that Lee was shot by Savannah Police Officer Ernest Ferguson, who is white. Officials said emergency medical aid was rendered but Lee was later pronounced dead at a hospital. This man had a legal concealed weapons permit and still was shot down. It should never be a death sentence (for) a Black man for carrying a weapon, Johnson said. The officer who shot Lee was placed on administrative leave, Savannah police spokeswoman Bianca Johnson said in an email, The Savannah Morning News reported. The paper said Ferguson has been with the department since March 2021. GBI agents said a handgun and a holster were recovered from the scene. Results of the GBI's investigation will be given to a local district attorneys office for review, the agency said. Lees killing was the fifth officer-involved death in Savannah this year, the newspaper said. Elder James Johnson called for Police Chief Roy Minters resignation and said a federal probe should be opened into the officer-involved shootings in the city. There will be a series of protests in front of this police department to demand that this police chief step down, he said, adding, we dont think that hes doing a good job in training his officers. The police spokeswoman, in an email to The Associated Press, said the department would not comment on the community call for a federal probe and for the chief's resignation. She reiterated the department's previous statement, confirming it had contacted the GBI to conduct a thorough and independent investigation into Friday's shooting. She also said the department's Internal Affairs Division had separately launched an investigation into the actions that occurred that day. Both investigations are ongoing independently of one another at this time. Once the GBI concludes its investigation, the case will be handed over to the DAs Office to make a final determination, the statement said. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Dozens of people experiencing homelessness in Alaska's largest city will now camp at a city-owned site where bears recently tumbled through belongings, as a major local shelter closes. The Sullivan Arena, which provided shelter for hundreds of people nightly for more than two years, is closing Thursday. The use of Anchorage's Centennial Campground as a place for people to stay is seen as a stopgap measure with indoor shelters full and Mayor Dave Bronson's administration clearing illegal campsites, citing fire danger, the Anchorage Daily News reported. On Wednesday, the sound of an air horn blasted through the campground as a black bear and two cubs sauntered into the site. Individuals who were camping there and local health department workers tried to scare the bears off with the horn, shouts and claps. Jimmie Hartley said he plans to string cans filled with gravel on a fishing line around his site to warn him of approaching bears. Many of those who were arriving at the campground from Sullivan Arena had minimal gear. At the campground office Wednesday, local Parks and Recreation Director Mike Braniff and campsite staff discussed the issues they face as the campground shifts from hosting recreational campers to providing a place to stay for those with few supplies, limited camping experience and some with mental and physical health challenges and substance abuse issues. One major question is determining how many people the campground can safely accommodate, along with site rules, Braniff said. "Right now, were not allowing any fires here, he said. Food safety and bear safety is at the top of our list. Alaska Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist Dave Battle warned campground workers and Braniff that they would face further bear encounters without strict enforcement of safety measures. The city is planning to have bear-safe food storage bins but it wasn't clear when they would arrive or how they would be shared. Some of those at the campground arrived from illegal campsites cleared by police and city workers. Some came after hearing they could stay there legally with access to water and bathrooms. People can stay at the campground for 14 days on a city voucher. It's unclear what happens then. City officials have said they are working on a plan. Construction of a planned shelter will not be complete until later this year. Arthur Smith, who arrived Wednesday from a recently cleared encampment, said he would stay "as long as I can. Ive been camping for five or six years. I want housing. EDWARDSVILLE A homeless Collinsville man was charged with being a sex offender at a home daycare facility. Michael E. Totty, 57, listed as homeless out of Collinsville, was charged June 28 with child sex offender-have connection with day care, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Illinois State Police. According to court documents, on June 27 Totty, a registered child sex offender, allegedly was at a home day care facility while it was being used for child care. Court records show Totty was charged with child pornography in 2009 and was sentenced to two years in prison. In 2012 he was convicted of failure to report change in address/employment. The Illinois State Police Sex Offender Registry noted he was 43 and the victim was 12 at the time of the offense. Bail was set at $50,000. Totty was also charged on May 12 with unlawful failure to register as a sex offender (second subsequent offense), a Class 2 felony. According to court documents, on May 11 Totty failed to register with the Collinsville Police. Other felony charges filed Tuesday by the Madison County States Attorneys Office include: Richard K. Hardy, 41, of Florissant, Missouri, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of weapons, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. According to court documents, on June 27 Hardy allegedly had a loaded and accessible Glock 19X 9 mm handgun in a vehicle without a valid concealed carry permit. Bail was set at $20,000. Glen Sills, 26, of Ferguson, Missouri, was charged with aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department. On June 27 Sills allegedly was driving a Volkswagen Passat when he attempted to flee from a Granite City police officer, reaching speeds in excess of 21 miles above the posted speed limit. Bail was set at $10,000. HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) A Connecticut judge has approved a $9 million settlement between the state and the brother of a man who was abused numerous times at the state's maximum-security psychiatric hospital, lawyers in the case announced Thursday. The abuse scandal involving patient William Shehadi at Whiting Forensic Hospital in 2017 led to the arrests of 10 employees, the firings of nearly three dozen workers and reforms at the state-run facility in Middletown, which treats patients including people found not guilty by reason of insanity. Antonio Ponvert III, a lawyer for Shehadi and his brother, Albert Shehadi, said the settlement amount in the state court case was the largest ever paid by the state to a single person. Several employees sued by Albert Shehadi in federal court also agreed to undisclosed settlements. Our goal in bringing these lawsuits was to hold abusers and State officials accountable for the torture of a profoundly vulnerable human being who depended upon them for treatment and care, Ponvert said in a statement. Also as part of the state lawsuit, a former top official at Whiting settled for $100,000, according to court documents. The state attorney general's office, which represented Whiting, released a statement saying This was a very difficult case, and the state and the parties can move forward now that it has been resolved. Judge Barbara Bellis approved the settlement Tuesday, after it received legislative approval earlier this year. William Shehadi was committed to the hospital in 1995 after being found not guilty by reason of insanity in the killing of his father in Greenwich. Ponvert said cameras recorded more than 50 incidents of William Shehadi being abused, including a nurse gyrating his groin on Shehadi's face, and workers dousing him with liquids, throwing food at him and forcing him to wear a diaper on his head. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate If you start at Enigma, just off the corner of Central Avenue and 11th Street in Floridas St. Petersburg with its spotlights casting a two-story rainbow on a Spanish-style stucco facade and head west about a half-a-mile, youll hit Cocktail. Then its Mixers at Old Key West a block further. The Garage, Punkys and Lucky Star Lounge follow in near rapid succession. Head a few Blocks up and theres Our Bar. With legislation like the Dont Say Gay bill and last years transgender girls sports ban, the Sunshine State has a shadowy reputation for how it treats the LGBTQ community. Yet in a one square-mile radius of one city in Florida, youll find about just as many gay bars as you will in the entire state of Connecticut. Turns out, that might be a good thing. David Kleman has owned Partners, a gay bar in New Haven, for about 25 years. Its been around for almost 50. But back in the '80s, Kleman worked the bar and has, for more than 40 years, watched how the nightlife culture for the LGBTQ community has shifted in Connecticut and around the country. Kleman said he remembers a time when gay bars were a refuge for a marginalized community that was often physically and verbally assaulted. Years ago, if you were gay you just wouldnt walk into some place, so you would go to a gay bar or a leather party or a drag show, Kleman said. We get married now and have kids. Weve been integrated in society very well. Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media According to Out Leadership, an LBGTQ business network, Connecticut ranks second in its LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index of LGBTQ friendly states. In the '80s, Kleman said, Partners clientele was almost entirely gay. Now he said theres a near-even split. He said thats because the LGBTQ community isnt as marginalized in Connecticut as it is in other parts of the country. Be careful what you wish for, Kleman said with a laugh. In Connecticut gay people are comfortable going everywhere. Gay people are more comfortable walking into any club or any bar. And hes not alone. Titus Abad, a 29-year-old gay man from New London County, said gay bars in Connecticut are somewhat of a dying breed because mainstream culture has become more accepting of the community. Which, he said, was always the goal. Theres a question of do we really need the gay bars anymore, Abad said. We have more rights than we used to. And we had to fight for them. The generations before us paved the way. We dont need the gay bars as much because were not physically threatened the way we used to be though it still happens. We are equal and thats what gay bars have always been about. But now other bars are doing that as well. Perceptions Photography / Contributed photo Kleman said many of New Havens nightlife establishments are now owned by people in the LGBTQ Community and the tolerance for intolerance is nearly non-existent within the nightlife scene. The thing is, Kleman said, straight people are more comfortable with us too. When more people come out, it makes it easier for people to understand the different communities. [The nightlife scene] is good right now. People are accepted everywhere. Business is good and people are out. I dont we need to see much of a change. But to stay consistent as things around are a little unsettling. Kleman said change for the worse is on a lot of gay peoples minds following Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas concurring opinion in a ruling that overturned the abortion and privacy protections of the Roe v. Wade decision. Thomas said the court should reconsider all of this Courts substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell. Those are key cases that established protections for things like a couple's right to access contraception, same-sex intimacy and same-sex marriage. That, Abad said, is part of why gay bars still hold an important place in an incrementally accepting society. Abad grew up in Groton, one of Connecticuts smaller cities. He came out at 18. Being able to have a known safe place where he was surrounded by likeminded individuals or those who had walked similar paths, was crucial. Cassandra Day / Hearst Connecticut Media I struggled with it (coming out) in high school. Once I did, though, I felt pretty welcome, Abad said. But it took time. I was always able to find solace and community at local coffee shops in downtown Mystic or The Brass Rail (a now-closed gay bar) in New London. It was imperative for me to have that. While Kleman says old-time gay bars like Partners are still around, LGBTQ inclusion has become part of the bar and restaurant scene. In Norwalk, Troupe 429 offers near daily drag shows at the gay-owned establishment. Owner Casey Fitzpatrick credits shows like Ru Pauls Drag Race with propeling the scene forward while allowing people to better understand and respect the art of drag. As for the future, Fitzpatrick wants to see more of that inclusivity. "I grew up in Connecticut, and plan to raise my family here. Id love to see more small businesses owned by queer people," Fitzpatrick said. "The individual towns of Connecticut should support and encourage this, and there needs to be more programs to help our community." Abad agrees. He said New London has embraced drag as well with performances by the Sea Queens at Port of Call in Mystic. Dockside in New London does shows as well. Seeing that happening in Mystic, seeing places open and have drag performances is so exciting, Abad said. Ive always said Mystic needed two things a tattoo shop and drag or a gay bar. Now its like more places are waking up where they dont necessarily need a gay bar, but these drag shows are popping up. Still, Abad worries that people will view the LGBTQ community as a monolith without accepting the intersectionality of the many smaller communities that make its whole. He hopes to see more LGBTQ events and inclusion beyond drag shows. He said as long as rights remain under attack, and even if Connecticut can be safe place for many, efforts at inclusion and understanding should abound. Just because someone might be transgender doesnt mean they love drag, Abad said. People get boxed into this idea of what gay is and what trans is. I want there to be more businesses willing to showcase and have outreach, poetry readings, bands, anything our towns and government can do. Even a little helps. Below, check out five gay bars and drag clubs in Connecticut. Troupe429 Norwalk Troupe429 on Wall Street, Wednesday, March 18, 2020, in Norwalk, Conn. Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media For the past five years, Casey Fitzpatrick and Nicholas Ruiz have owned and operated Troupe429, a gay-owned bar in Norwalk that puts on drag shows almost daily. The bar hosts resident drag queens like Sienna Rose and Robin Fierce who regularly perform as well as special guests such as "RuPaul's Drag Race" stars Tina Burner, Aquaria and Miz Cracker. Outside of hosting resident drag queens who regularly perform, the bar packs "troupers" in for a number of prominent stars in the national community, such as "RuPaul's Drag Race" icons Tina Burner, Aquaria and Miz Cracker. Anyone looking to celebrate Pride beyond June in Norwalk need only step into Troupe429, where Fitzpatrick promises "lots of drag shows, rainbows and gay good times." Troupe429 is located 3 Wall St. in Norwalk. Tuesday-Thursday: 6 p.m.-1 a.m., Friday-Saturday: 6 p.m., Sunday 6 p.m.-1 a.m. Partners Cafe New Haven View this post on Instagram A post shared by Partners new haven (@partners_cafe_) Open seven days a week, Partners Cafe has been serving patrons in New Haven since 1974. The bar and nightclub has specials every day of the week including "Two for Tuesdays" and "Strobelight Saturdays." Partners also hosts a number of special events and themed evenings throughout the month. Partners Cafe is located at 365 Crown St. in New Haven. Sunday-Thursday: 8 p.m.-1 a.m., Friday-Saturday: 8 p.m.-2 a.m. Trevi Lounge Fairfield Drag performers Tiana Maxim Rose, of New Haven, at left, and Lucia Virginity, of Thomaston, take selfies. before the start of the Drag Race for Governor fundraiser at Trevi Lounge in Fairfield, Conn., on Friday, Aug. 10, 2018. Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media Named one of the best LGBTQ+ bars in the U.S. by Tasting Table, Trevi Lounge is an LGBTQ+ bar and safe space in Fairfield. The space hosts a number of weekly events including karaoke on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Wacky Wednesday, "Fairfield County's only weekly LGBTQ+ open stage." Trevi Lounge has also hosted a number of "Hit Play" themed nights in recent months including shows dedicated to Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Beyonce. Trevi Lounge is located at 548 Kings Highway Cutoff in Fairfield. Tuesday-Thursday: 7 p.m.-1 a.m., Friday-Saturday: 7 p.m.-2 p.m., Sunday: 7 p.m.- 1a.m. 168 York Street Cafe New Haven View this post on Instagram A post shared by 168 York Street Cafe (@168yorkstreet) One of the oldest gay bars in the state, 168 York Street Cafe is nestled into brownstone building near the Yale campus. 168 York Street Cafe hosts drag events, dance parties and even serves up a variety of dishes, including BBQ on Sundays during the summer. The cafe is also known for its charitable efforts, donating proceeds to local organizations at the door on Thursdays and Sundays, which it has done for over the past 20 years, according to its website. 168 York Street Cafe is located at 168 York St. in New Haven. Tuesday: 3 p.m.-11 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday: 3 p.m.-12 a.m. Friday: 3 p.m-1 a.m. Saturday-Sunday: 5 p.m.-2 a.m. BROOKSVILLE, Maine (AP) A Maine superfund mining site is receiving $21 million in Environmental Protection Agency funding to expedite contamination cleanup efforts. The Callahan Mine superfund site in Brooksville originally received $9 million from the bipartisan federal infrastructure bill passed in November last year, but an additional $12 million has now been approved to address the contamination at the site, the EPA said in a statement Tuesday. Its a priority for EPA to get this site off the Superfund backlog list. Cleaning up this site is key for the Brooksville community to develop alternatives for potential future uses in this area, New England's EPA director David Cash said in the statement. Brooksville site has been on a priority list for the EPA since 2002 and has been waiting for funding since the current cleanup phase in 2019. The funding is a part of a larger plan the agency has to help cleanup superfund sites in communities across the country. WARSAW, Poland (AP) A patched-up dispute between the European Union and Poland over judicial independence revived Thursday when a top EU official said new Polish regulations did not meet expectations, threatening the flow of billions of euros in recovery funds to Warsaw. The new regulations that abolish a controversial, politicized body that disciplined judges were signed into law by Polish President Andrzej Duda and will take effect July 15. But they introduce a new body of judicial accountability, to be appointed by the president. Poland is also expected to take other steps, or milestones, to ensure judicial independence before it could receive any of the frozen funds totaling about 36 billion euros ($39 billion). Vera Jourova, Vice-President of the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, said the new regulations do not meet the required criteria and the funds will not be paid before Poland's judges have their independence guaranteed in a legally binding way. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Poland will fight to defend its point of view. I am of good faith that at the end of this year, or early next year, the first recovery funds will be disbursed for specified projects in Poland, Morawiecki said. He also used the current threat to Europe's security posed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine as an argument for overcoming discords and disputes. Media reports say Morawiecki is facing harsh criticism from his ruling right-wing Law and Justice party whose members and ministers say he had not consulted with them on the terms agreed on with the EU. The commission has conditionally approved Poland's recovery plan, which is a step toward the disbursement of the frozen funds. But the changes that are to take effect next month are largely seen as superficial and retaining political control over judges. The EUs chief executive, Ursula von der Leyen, warned this month that no money will be disbursed if Poland fails to reach the milestones which are: abolishing the disciplinary chamber, rewriting its rules and allowing judges sanctioned or suspended by the chamber to have their cases reviewed. Von der Leyen has faced criticism from centrist lawmakers in the European Parliament who argued that paving the way for disbursement of funds to Poland was premature as Warsaw has failed to address most EU conditions. The Disciplinary Chamber, to be abolished next month, has cost Poland dearly. The European Court of Justice fined Poland last tear a record 1 million euros per day for failing to dismantle it. A Florida teen is being credited with putting a child predator behind bars. In January, Zachary Spiegel, 38, started talking to who he believed was a 14-year-old girl named "Shayla" online. But in reality, "Shayla" was a fictional persona created by a 16-year-old boy who was trying to find child predators in the area. "Here you have a 16-year-old boy wanting to take the matter into his own hands and find these child predators in his area, and he found one," Callahan Walsh, a child advocate with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said. Court documents show Spiegels messages with Shayla, trying to persuade her to meet him for sex in his car, graphic conversations and images. Authorities said the two never met up due to Spiegel being pulled over by police during a traffic stop that day, but the boy went to police who then took over as Shayla. Then on Jan. 20, authorities arrested Spiegel at his home in Jensen Beach, Florida, after finding him in possession of the cellphone he had used to communicate with Shayla. Spiegel was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of trying to entice a teenage girl for sex online. While Walsh said he takes his hat off to that 16-year-old boy for wanting to catch Spiegel, he cautions other people from doing the same thing because the predators they encounter could be dangerous. He encourages people to report exploitation if they see it happening, but to leave the hunting and investigating up to law enforcement. BERLIN (AP) The German government on Thursday presented plans to make it easier for transgender people to legally change their name and gender, ending decades-old rules that require them to get expert assessments and a court's authorization. Under the planned self-determination law, adults would be able to change their first name and legal gender at registry offices without further formalities. The existing transsexual law, which took effect in 1981, currently requires individuals to obtain assessments from two experts whose training and experience makes them sufficiently familiar with the particular problems of transsexualism and then a court decision to change the gender on official documents. Over the years, Germany's top court has struck down other provisions that required transgender people to get divorced and sterilized, and to undergo gender-transition surgery. The existing law breathes the spirit of the '70s, Germany's minister for families, Lisa Paus, said. At the time, the state wanted to help people who were considered psychologically ill, and it set high hurdles for this. The current requirements are not just lengthy and expensive; they are also deeply humiliating, but above all they are completely superfluous, Paus told reporters in Berlin. The proposed new rules provide for minors ages 14 and older to change their name and legal gender with approval from their parents or guardians; if they don't agree, teenagers could ask a family court to overrule them. In the case of children under 14, parents or guardians would have to make registry office applications on their behalf. Paus said that after a formal change of name and gender is registered, no further changes would be allowed for a year, a provision intended to ensure the seriousness of the desire to change. The proposed legislation focuses on individuals' legal identities; it does not involve any revisions to Germany's rules for gender-transition surgery, The minister said the regulation also would allow fines in cases where information on a person's gender or name change is disclosed without their permission. The key points of the plan published Thursday also include an unspecified amount of compensation for transgender and intersex people who were affected by bodily harm or forced divorces under previous legislation. It is time for us to apologize to the affected for this injustice and compensate them, Paus said. Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said he's confident that new legislation incorporating the changes will be brought to the Cabinet later this year. It will then require approval by parliament's lower house, in which Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition of three socially liberal parties has a comfortable majority. The change is the second in a series of planned liberalizing reforms that Scholz's government has tackled since taking office in December. Last week, lawmakers voted to end a ban on advertising abortions that led in the past to doctors being prosecuted for providing information about the procedure to potential patients. The coalition government aims to produce legislation later this year to legalize the sale of cannabis for recreational purposes. It also wants to ease the path to German citizenship, lift restrictions on dual citizenship and reduce the minimum age for voting in national and European Union elections from 18 to 16. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Manu Fernandez/AP Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Show More Show Less 3 of 3 ATHENS, Greece (AP) Greece has sent a letter of request to the United States to buy a squadron of F-35 fighter jets, the countrys prime minister said Thursday, part of efforts to bolster its defense capabilities amid continuing tensions with neighboring Turkey. Speaking to reporters in Madrid during a NATO summit, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Greece intended to buy a squadron of the Lockheed Martin-made F-35s, with a possible option for a second squadron. SPRINGFIELD Illinois has launched a new program to help investigate gun crimes. Crime Gun Connect will digitize gun records, making it easier for law enforcement agencies to trace crime-gun records. To solve crimes committed using firearms, we are turning more and more towards technology and increasing information sharing opportunities to help expand the reach and coordination of law enforcement agencies and the justice system, said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. ISP created a portal that has grown over the years into a one-stop-shop where law enforcement can get intelligence for crime-gun related enforcement, and now includes the Crime Gun Connect tool, he said. Attorney General Kwame Raoul said the existing process requires requests on paper, slowing investigations. Crime Gun Connect was developed in collaboration with the state police and Everytown for Gun Safety. The searchable digital database contains more than 100,000 crime gun trace records dating back to 2009, using data from about 200 Illinois law enforcement agencies. More than 60% of firearms recovered from Illinois crime scenes originate out of state, Raoul said, making the new platform essential in monitoring gun trafficking. The platform is available to Illinois law enforcement agencies enrolled in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) eTrace system that have opted in to collective data sharing through eTrace. Collective data sharing allows agencies to share crime-gun trace records with other participating agencies. Kathleen Sances, President and CEO of the Gun Violence Prevention PAC said tracking the flow of illegal guns, and going after straw purchasers, were proven strategies to reduce gun violence. "This portal will enhance the ability of all law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute illegal gun trafficking and gun crimes in Illinois," she said. "Under the new bipartisan federal gun law signed by President Biden, straw purchasers are now subject to 15-year federal prison terms. Illinois new gun data portal can help turn these stricter statutory sentences into reality helping stop the flow of illegal guns to gangs and others engaged in criminal violence." This joint development by the Attorney General and the State Police is the exact kind of cooperative law enforcement effort that Illinois needs. Illinois also has launched a free online resource that lets the public access crime-gun data online. Available on the Attorney General's website, it also provides aggregate totals of crime-gun recoveries by region and illustrates how many of the firearms were first sold by out-of-state retailers. JERUSALEM (AP) Palestinian gunmen opened fire at Jewish worshipers on Thursday at a flashpoint holy site in the occupied West Bank, wounding an Israeli military officer and two civilians, the Israeli army said. The Palestinian official news agency Wafa said a Palestinian teenager was wounded by live fire and 16 others by rubber bullets in clashes with Israeli forces at the site near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, a frequent point of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. DOVER, Del. (AP) A Delaware judge on Wednesday struck down a small towns ordinance mandating burial or cremation of fetal remains. The ruling by Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster came in a lawsuit filed by Democratic Attorney General Kathleen Jennings against the southern Delaware town of Seaford. The town council passed the ordinance in December after Planned Parenthood opened a facility in Seaford in September, its first clinic in southern Delaware since a Rehoboth Beach location closed in 2011. Laster noted that the case did not involve any federal constitutional rights or any Delaware law regarding abortion, and was not affected by recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings on abortion. Instead, he wrote, the states argument relied on Delawares laws regarding disposal of human remains. In Delawares governmental hierarchy, the state is the senior sovereign. The city is the junior sovereign. Because the ordinance conflicts with Delaware law, it is preempted, Laster wrote. Laster noted that state law requires an official record of death before human remains can be cremated or interred. An official record of death can be issued for fetal remains only if they result from a miscarriage and either weigh more than 350 grams (12.5 ounces) or otherwise indicate a gestational stage of 20 weeks or more. Fetal remains that do not meet that criteria are not considered a dead body under Delaware law and must be incinerated as pathological waste. However one might view aborted remains for ethical, moral, or religious purposes, they do not constitute a dead body under Delawares statutory regime, Laster wrote. Aborted remains therefore cannot be buried or cremated. Despite Lasters explanation that the case had less to do with abortion than with state laws regarding disposal of human remains, Jennings seized on the ruling to attack what she described as a wave of extremist, draconian laws unleashed by the U.S. Supreme Court. Jennings also described Seafords ordinance as a cruel and frankly hateful policy, having previously labeled it anti-choice. The ordinance made clear that women have the right under state and federal law to get an abortion, while also noting that courts have held that the disposal of fetal remains can be regulated. Jennings argued that the ordinance would pose a hardship on women by forcing them to pay for burial or cremation, even though a woman could opt not to select either option. In that instance, the abortion facility would be left to decide, at its expense, how and where to dispose of the remains. This ordinance is part of a national wave of anti-abortion policies funded by extremists who would have our country dragged fifty years into the past, Jennings said when the lawsuit was filed in January. Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. John Carney on Wednesday signed a bill further broadening access to abortions in Delaware. The bill allows physician assistants, certified nurse practitioners and nurse midwifes to perform abortions before viability. It also includes various legal protections for abortion providers and patients, including out-of-state residents receiving abortions in Delaware. Those provisions include protections from civil actions in other states relating to the termination of a pregnancy, and protecting individuals from extradition to other states for criminal charges related to terminating a pregnancy. The Texas woman accused of killing her alleged romantic rival has been apprehended in Costa Rica after a weekslong manhunt, the U.S. Marshals Service announced Thursday. Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, 34, is accused of fatally shooting San Francisco elite cyclist Moriah "Mo" Wilson on May 11 while Wilson was in Austin for a cycling competition. After being questioned by authorities, Armstrong was released and went on the run. Armstrong was taken into custody Wednesday at a Santa Teresa Beach hostel in Provincia de Puntarenas. In a statement, the Marshals Service said they plan on taking her back to the United States to face a murder charge. "The Marshals Service elevated the Kaitlin Armstrong investigation to major case status early in this investigation, which likely played a key role in her capture after a 43-day run," U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Texas Susan Pamerleau said in a statement. "This is an example of combining the resources of local, state, federal and international authorities to apprehend a violent fugitive, bring an end to that run and hopefully a sense of closure to the victims family." According to the Marshals Service, the yoga teacher and real estate agent killed Wilson, a champion mountain biker who lived and worked in San Francisco from 2019 until recently. On May 11, Wilson was staying with a friend in Austin to prepare for an upcoming race. That evening she allegedly went swimming with Armstrong's boyfriend Colin Strickland, a fellow racing competitor and alleged former romantic partner of Wilson. Wilson was later found by her friend at the apartment, bleeding and unconscious in the bathroom with multiple gunshot wounds to the torso, before being pronounced dead by first responders. Authorities have painted the murder as motivated by jealousy. The complex details of the alleged love triangle-turned-murder involving recently purchased guns, text messages, lies and an anonymous tipster were revealed in a seven-page arrest warrant on May 19. In the warrant, an anonymous caller allegedly told police that on discovering Strickland and Wilson were romantically involved, Armstrong "became furious and was shaking with anger" and said she wanted to kill Wilson. Armstrong reportedly had a previous warrant out for her arrest after skipping out on payment for a Botox procedure in 2018. That warrant enabled police in Austin to bring her in for questioning the day after Wilson's killing, though she was released after questioning without being charged. Police say they tracked Armstrong to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on May 18, four days after she was seen carrying a yoga mat through Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. U.S. Marshals According to investigators from the Marshals Service and Homeland Security, they recently discovered Armstrong allegedly used a fraudulent passport to board United Airlines Flight 1222 from Newark on May 18. She landed in San Jose, Costa Rica, later that day, and has allegedly been living in the area up until her capture yesterday. An Olathe, Kansas, couple has decided to sue Amtrak after Monday's deadly train derailment. Passenger cars derailed after Amtrak's Southwest Chief 4 struck a dump truck at a passive railroad crossing. A passive crossing means it did not have flashing lights or automatic gates. Four people died, including the dump truck driver, and 150 others were taken to hospitals with various injuries. "They have gone through something that's going to impact them for the rest of their life," said attorney Kristofer Riddle, of the Clifford Law Offices in Chicago. Riddle said that he's been contacted by a Kansas couple and other people affected by Monday's tragedy. He said plans to file a series of lawsuits against Amtrak. "At the end of the day, we're going to know what happened, why it happened and we're going to work really hard to prevent something like this from happening again," Riddle said. Mike Spencer owns farmland right next to the railroad. After working the last few years to get the crossing upgraded with lights and a gate, he was told it was going to happen last fall but it never did. He even provided sister station KMBC with video showing a train going by that crossing to show how dangerous it is. "This is something that I had predicted was going to happen. I mean, it was just inevitable, the writing was on the wall. I just can't believe it was so neglected," Spencer said. "That makes it all the more tragic, and not only that, that really does indicate that this is a known dangerous area," Riddle said. One challenge facing passengers thinking about suing is when they bought their tickets, they agreed to give up their right to take any issues to court. Instead, Amtrak could force those people to arbitration. It would mean somebody hired by Amtrak would decide the merits of any case against the railroad. A 20-year-old woman was fatally shot Wednesday evening in New York's Upper East Side as she pushed her baby in a stroller, police said. Police said a man wearing a black sweatshirt and sweatpants approached the woman near the corner of east 95th street and Lexington Ave., and shot her at close range before fleeing. Officers arrived to find the woman with a gunshot wound to the head. Emergency responders brought her to a hospital five blocks away, where she was pronounced dead about an hour later. Police did not immediately release the victim's name and said an investigation is underway. When contacted by The Washington Post early Thursday, a public information officer with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) said there were no updates. News of the brutal killing was trending on social media early Thursday. Some Twitter users appeared surprised that it occurred in the Upper East Side, an affluent Manhattan neighborhood - though the exact area where the victim was shot is at the border between the Upper East Side and east Harlem - while others alleged a double-standard in the response to gun violence affecting more well-to-do parts of the city. New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) said the killing illustrated how gun violence can affect all families, whether they "are on the Upper East Side, or East New York, Brooklyn." At 8:23 p.m. local time, law enforcement responded to a report that someone had been shot opposite 164 E. 95th street, near a primary school and a playground, Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said during a news briefing late Wednesday. They arrived to a find the 20-year-old woman, unconscious with a gunshot wound to the head. Emergency medical responders took her to the nearby Metropolitan Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 9:20 p.m. Sewell said a preliminary investigation revealed "that the 20-year-old victim was pushing an approximately 3-month-old in a baby stroller on east 95th street, when an unknown person approached her and fired a single shot into her head from a very close range." "Immediately after the shooting, the suspect fled the scene on foot, heading eastbound on east 95th street," she added, calling on the public to share any information they may have with the NYPD. City Council member Julie Menin, who represents the district where the shooting occurred, said the baby was in good condition and confirmed that the victim was the baby's mother. She said the incident may have been related to domestic violence. The mayor said the killing highlighted the danger of "the over-proliferation of guns on our street." Police in New York say the overall number of shootings in the city is down year-on-year - though the latest data show crime increased in each of the seven categories indexed by the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Police recorded 45 murders in New York in May, compared to 41 at the same time last year. New York residents are increasingly concerned about crime and how to stop it - a debate that is also set to dominate the November midterm elections. It was a central issue of the recent mayoral race, with Adams, a former police officer, pledging to tackle gun violence. He has since made public safety a priority, as New York has tightened its gun laws in responses to high-profile mass shootings. The U.S. Supreme Court last week struck down a New York state law requiring a special need for carrying a weapon, a ruling that is likely to make it easier to carry guns in some of the nation's biggest cities. CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) Mexicos president said Thursday that the killing of a reporter in the northern border state of Tamaulipas the 12th so far this year in Mexico may be linked to local politics. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said federal prosecutors have taken over the investigation of the killing of reporter Antonio de la Cruz as a crime against freedom of expression. De la Cruzs daughter was critically wounded in the attack Wednesday in the Tamaulipas state capital and was fighting for her life at a local hospital. On Thursday, one of the reporters colleagues said De la Cruz had been asked, apparently by state authorities, to remove some of his tweets. On Twitter, Antonio criticized the state government a lot and criticized the government, said fellow reporter Carlos Manuel Juarez. He even told me at one point that they had asked him to take down some critical tweets that he put up. Juarez described the fear that reporters in Tamaulipas feel after the killing. The state has long been dominated by drug cartels. It is very dangerous not to know where the attack came from, and our colleagues feel very exposed. We don't know if it is simply a political matter, Juarez said at the president's morning press briefing. Lopez Obrador said the decision to take over the case (by federal prosecutors) was made because it became known that there had been criticism of local authorities. De la Cruz, 47, was a reporter for the local newspaper Expreso for almost three decades. The newspaper issued a print edition Thursday in black, with De la Cruz's photo and the word Justice! on the front page. This is clearly an attack on freedom of expression," said Expreso's director, Miguel Dominguez. We live in a state where there has been a wave of violence for more than a decade, and that has also affected the press," Dominguez said. Unfortunately, we have had to become used to working in these conditions and take extra precuations, and consider carefully whether we are going to publish something or not. Almost all of Tamaulipas' recent governors have faced accusations of corruption, ranging from money laundering to aiding drug cartels. De la Cruz's death brought to 12 the number of journalists killed this year in the country, the deadliest for the Mexican press and the deadliest for any country outside a war zone. De la Cruz was shot in a car in front of his house in Ciudad Victoria, the state capital, by a man on a motorcycle. His daughter was in the vehicle with him and was wounded. Expreso covers all kinds of news in the city, including security issues. De la Cruz reported on rural and social topics such as water shortages. He also covered the Citizens Movement political party and its local deputy, Gustavo Cardenas Gutierrez, who condemned the killing. Expreso has been targeted over the years. In 2012, one of the worst years of drug cartel violence, a car bomb exploded in front of the newspapers building. In 2018, a cooler with a human head inside was left at the newspaper, with a warning not to report on violence in the city. Almost every trip teaches me something about myself, the world and what not to do next time. Here are three hard-won travel lessons that may help you learn from my mistakes. COBBLING TOGETHER FLIGHTS ISNT WORTH THE SAVINGS Whenever possible, I book nonstop flights. Nonstops may cost a bit more, but they avoid the inconvenience of layovers and the stress of possibly missing a connection. Sometimes, of course, nonstop flights arent available or affordable. What you dont want to do, I learned through bitter experience, is try to save money by booking flight legs with different, unaffiliated airlines especially if youre dealing with luggage or customs. In 2017, my husband, daughter and I flew to London and then Barcelona, Spain. That part went fine; it was coming back that became a nightmare. The Barcelona-to-London flight was delayed. When we landed at Heathrow Airport in London, we learned we had to pick up our luggage at baggage claim, go through customs , check our bags at another airlines ticket counter in a different terminal , get through security and sprint to the gate to make our connection all in about an hour. Somehow, incredibly, we made our flight home, but my heart didnt stop pounding until we were well over the Atlantic Ocean. Now I make sure to book through a single airline and its partners. Our luggage is checked through to our final destination, and flight delays become the airlines problem to fix. ENSURE YOURE INSURED For years I blithely traipsed around the world, not thinking about what might happen if I got sick or injured far from home. Then my father suffered a stroke while visiting his sister in Florida. The medical evacuation flight to get him back to his home in Washington state, with the required attendant and other necessary medical care, would have cost over $100,000. Sadly, he never recovered enough to make such a flight. But I realized how vulnerable Id been, especially traveling in places with poor medical care. Now I make sure that whenever were away from home, we have travel insurance that includes medical evacuation. If were traveling outside the U.S., I ensure we have health insurance coverage as well. These days, travelers also have to worry about COVID-19. Although the U.S. has dropped its requirement that incoming travelers produce a negative COVID-19 test , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises against traveling if you have symptoms or test positive. That could mean a week or two of unexpected hotel and meal costs, so I make sure our travel insurance covers COVID-related expenses and that the travel delay portion has a high limit such as $250 per person per day. Other things can go wrong on a trip: flight delays and cancellations, lost baggage, accidents in rental cars. I charge all of our travel on credit cards that provide coverage for such minor disasters. I particularly like the kind of rental car coverage thats primary , meaning that your auto insurer never needs to know you caused an accident or damaged the rental car. Many cards offer secondary coverage , which typically means your insurer has to be notified and the card pays only what your insurance doesnt, according to the Insurance Information Institute. This is a lesson I didnt have to learn the hard way: The one time a rental car agency tried to bill me for a door ding, I notified my credit card company. I have no idea if the claim was paid or dropped; I just know that I didnt have to deal with it after that. BEWARE THIRD-PARTY BOOKING SITES Many credit cards offer general travel rewards that you can transfer to the issuers airline and hotel partners. But some credit card companies also offer their own travel portals. These function a lot like online travel agencies such as Expedia and Orbitz, allowing you to search among various travel providers and then book using your points. I dont typically use online travel agencies, because I think I get better customer service by booking directly. But earlier this year I decided to give the travel portal option a whirl and lived to regret it. The flight I booked from Los Angeles to Vienna with my credit card points had a stopover in Istanbul. A few weeks after booking, I got an email that the leg from Istanbul to Vienna was canceled. I logged on to the airlines site, expecting to be offered options to rebook the canceled leg. Instead, I got a message that my itinerary could not be modified. When I called the airline, a customer service agent told me I needed to call the credit card company. When I called the credit card company, I was told I needed to talk to the airline. I tried emailing to get the issue resolved, with the same result. Finally, in desperation, I reached out on Twitter. It took a few more rounds of finger-pointing, but eventually I was able to cancel the booking, get my points back and swear off ever using a travel portal again. _________________________________________________ This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Liz Weston is a columnist at NerdWallet, a certified financial planner and the author of Your Credit Score. Email: lweston@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @lizweston. RELATED LINK: NerdWallet: 10 easy tricks for saving money on travel RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Most of the legislation passed earlier this year by the divided Virginia General Assembly and signed into law by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin will take effect Friday. That includes measures that lifted a sweeping ban on facial recognition technology, expanded hunting on public lands, and added a new criminal penalty for marijuana possession. Here is a look those measures and other notable legislation: NEW MARIJUANA PENALTY Through the budget, lawmakers created a new criminal misdemeanor for possessing more than 4 ounces (113 grams) but not more than 1 pound (454 grams) of marijuana in public. In 2021, the General Assembly then fully controlled by Democrats legalized adult possession of up to an ounce (28 grams) of marijuana and laid the groundwork for retail sales to begin in 2024. Possession of more than an ounce but less than a pound was previously punishable as a civil violation with a $25 fine. This year's change drew an outcry from civil rights and marijuana justice advocacy groups, who opposed the creation of a new criminal penalty. FACIAL RECOGNITION Virginia policymakers opted to lift a ban enacted only a year ago on the use of facial recognition technology by most police agencies. The new law allows police agencies to use the technology in certain circumstances, including to help identify an individual when they have reasonable suspicion that the person committed a crime. It can also be used to help identify crime victims or witnesses, sex trafficking victims and unidentified bodies in morgues. The new legislation explicitly bars the use of facial recognition for surveillance or monitoring. FOIA ROLLBACK Lawmakers this year rolled back a recent reform intended to expand public access to certain law enforcement files in closed criminal investigations. Under the new law, the disclosure of such records to the press and general public will no longer be mandatory under the states public records law. Instead, disclosure will again be up to the discretion of the law enforcement agency. The change, which supporters said would increase protections for crime victims and their families, drew opposition from some relatives of crime victims and attorneys who work on wrongful convictions. PARENTAL SAY IN CLASSROOM MATERIALS By January, local school boards will have to adopt policies for notifying parents about instructional material containing sexually explicit content. Thats thanks to a GOP-sponsored law that picked up enough Democratic support in the state Senate to pass. The law also requires that parents be allowed to review any instructional materials with explicit content and that students be given an alternative assignment if a parent so requests. HUNTING ON SUNDAYS A bill permitting hunting on public land on Sundays is set to take effect, as long as the hunting takes place more than 200 yards (180 meters) from a place of worship. COCKTAILS TO GO Lawmakers extended for two years the ability of certain businesses to sell mixed drinks for off-site consumption. Virginia's rules were relaxed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in a move intended to offer struggling restaurants and bars a lifeline. The ability to sell to-go cocktail sales had been set to expire July 1 and was extended through July 1, 2024. This year's legislation also created a third-party delivery license that will be necessary to deliver alcoholic beverages purchased by consumers from retail licensees. The license was created to address safety issues including age verification, according to a news release from the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority. CATALYTIC CONVERTERS A new law toughens the penalty for stealing catalytic converters. The emission control devices have become popular targets for thieves in the past two years as prices for the precious metals they contain have skyrocketed. The legislation makes tampering with or stealing a catalytic converter a Class 6 felony, which is punishable by up to five years in prison. It was previously a misdemeanor. The legislation also requires people who sell catalytic converters to show identification, which the purchaser must record. SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONTENT Another new law aims to crack down on unsolicited sexually explicit pictures and videos. The measure makes any adult who knowingly transmits an intimate image electronically to another adult without their consent subject to financial damages. Under the bill, a court may also restrain the sender from sharing such pictures or video again. HELENA, Mont. (AP) The state of Montana's largest department is getting new leadership, Gov. Greg Gianforte said Thursday. Adam Meier is leaving as director of the Department of Public Health and Human Services on Aug. 12 due to an ongoing family health issue, the governor's office said in a statement. He will be succeeded by Charlie Brereton, the health department's chief of staff and Gianforte's health care policy advisory. Meier assumed leadership in February 2021 over the agency that includes child and family services, developmental services, Medicare and Medicaid coverage, public health and safety and senior and long-term care. His agency was responsible for implementing legislation that prohibited discrimination based on vaccination status as some employers sought to mandate COVID-19 vaccines. He helped improve availability of addiction treatment and helped reorganize the agency to better serve Montanans, Gianforte said. The agency which has a $3 billion annual budget and 3,000 employees has faced criticism. During Meier's tenure, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services investigated the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs several times after finding the psychiatric facility put patients in jeopardy, contributing to the deaths of at least four patients. Another patient had died in August 2021 after staff ignored her complaints that she couldnt catch her breath. CMS found hospital officials did not properly investigate her death. The hospital was being allowed to correct deficiencies until a patient was physically assaulted in March, causing serious injuries. CMS then stopped reimbursements for the state hospital. The state hospital's administrator was transferred out of his position in May, when the hospital was at least $7 million over budget because it had to hire traveling nurses at higher cost to meet staffing needs. The state recently contracted for an outside review of health department agencies, starting with the state hospital. Despite navigating many challenges, I am proud of what weve accomplished during the first 18 months of the Gianforte administration. DPHHS is well positioned to continue addressing issues that have long plagued the health and human services ecosystem here in Montana," Meier said in a statement. ATLANTA (AP) Georgia's highest court on Thursday threw out a murder conviction for a once-prominent Atlanta attorney who fatally shot his wife as they rode in an SUV, saying the jury should have had the option of a misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter charge. Claud Tex McIver, 79, was convicted of felony murder, aggravated assault, influencing a witness and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in the September 2016 killing of his wife 64-year-old Diane McIver. He was sentenced in 2018 to serve life in prison for felony murder, five years for influencing a witness and a suspended five-year sentence for the gun charge. The Georgia Supreme Court reversed his convictions for felony murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony but affirmed his conviction for influencing a witness. We conclude that the trial court erred in refusing McIvers request to charge on the lesser grade of involuntary manslaughter, because the charge was authorized by law and some evidence supported the giving of the charge, Presiding Justice Michael Boggs wrote in the unanimous opinion. That means McIver is entitled to a new trial on the overturned charges. McIver attorneys Don Samuel and Amanda Clark Palmer said they were delighted by the ruling He was deprived of a fair trial because the jury was not given the opportunity to find that the shooting was entirely the result of negligence, as opposed to an intentional killing, they said in an emailed statement. He was entitled to a fair trial and did not get a fair trial. We look forward to showing the next jury that he is not guilty of murder. McIver has about two months left to serve on the witness tampering charge, though the state parole board could decide to let him out sooner, Clark Palmer wrote in an email. She said they plan to file a motion for bond and ask that he be released right away. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will evaluate the case and make a decision on how to proceed in the near future, spokesperson Jeff DiSantis said in an email. McIver was charged and tried under Willis' predecessor. During his trial in the spring of 2018, no one disputed that McIver shot his wife. The question for jurors was whether they believed he meant to do it. Prosecutors alleged he killed his wife because he coveted her money. Defense attorneys refuted that, saying McIver deeply loved his wife and her death was a tragic accident. The jurors in his trial acquitted McIver of malice murder but found him guilty of felony murder. Felony murder means a killing happens during the commission of another felony, in this case aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. That means the jury found that he intentionally shot his wife, and that led to her death. The McIvers were wealthy and well-connected. He was a partner at a prominent labor and employment law firm and served on the state election board. She was president of U.S. Enterprises Inc., the parent company of Corey Airport Services, where she had worked for 43 years. Dani Jo Carter, a close friend of Diane McIver, was driving the couples Ford Expedition the evening of Sept. 25, 2016, as the three returned from a weekend at the McIvers horse farm about 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Atlanta. Diane McIver was in the front passenger seat and Tex McIver was in the back seat behind his wife. With traffic heavy on the interstate, Carter exited in downtown Atlanta. McIver said, Girls, I wish you hadnt done this. This is a really bad area, and asked his wife to get his gun from the center console and hand it to him. A short while later, McIver fired the gun once, striking his wife in the back. Carter drove to a hospital where Diane McIver died. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) The North Carolina State Board of Elections rejected the Green Partys petition for their candidates to appear on November ballots Thursday, citing its ongoing fraud investigation that questions the validity of more than 2,000 signatures that party officials turned in to qualify. The board denied the North Carolina Green Party bid in a 3-2 party-line vote, with three Democrats voting against certification and two Republicans voting in favor. The decision will lead the left-leaning Green Party to miss Fridays deadline to nominate candidates, meaning the Democratic, Republican and Libertarian parties will be the only ones with candidates for races like U.S. Senate, House and the state legislature. Michael Bitzer, a politics professor at Catawba College in Salisbury, said if the Green Party had received certification, it might have divided progressive voters and paved the way for GOP victories in tight races, including the hotly contested Senate race between Democrat Cheri Beasley and Republican U.S. Rep. Ted Budd. The Green Party is the more progressive, more liberal side of North Carolina politics, Bitzer said this week. Democrats could see a real concern about the Green Party spoiling efforts for Beasley and perhaps other candidates. Green Party representatives earlier this year submitted more than 22,000 signatures to the board. County boards of election validated just under 16,000 of those signatures seemingly catapulting them over the 13,865-signature threshold set in state law. But several county boards in May alerted the state board of irregularities, elections board Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said, and the number of questioned signatures were enough to cast doubt on the outcome. She cited examples on submitted petition lists of similar handwriting, incomplete personal information including partial dates of birth, and duplicate voters. We feel like there is a cloud over how many signatures are valid, Bell said at Thursdays board meeting. Theres just a lot of concern around what were finding, and the amount of irregularities and possible fraud that have been identified already within the signature pages that we have received. The board said the investigation also identified 145 signatories who sought to revoke their signatures, three individuals who claim they did not sign the petition and several signatures from deceased voters. What this seems to indicate to us is a submission of signature sheets from when the Green Party had a petition effort prior to 2018, Bell said. Katelyn Love, legal counsel to the board, said the investigation could warrant criminal action for those found guilty of signing the name of another individual. Republican board members Tommy Tucker and Stacy Four Eggers pushed the board to vote Thursday, despite Chair Damon Circostas recommendation to delay the review and allow more time for the investigation. Prior to Thursdays meeting, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee acknowledged contacting signatories on the Green Partys petition to request they retract their signatures. The DSCC is working to get Beasley and the party's other Democratic Senate candidates nationwide elected in November. Were reaching out to voters to ensure they have not been deceived, DSCC spokesperson Amanda Sherman Baity said. Other outside organizations, including Elias Law Group, an influential Democrat-aligned law firm that serves as the DSCCs general counsel, submitted letters alerting the board of some discrepancies included in the investigation. Oliver Hall, a lawyer for the Green Party, accused the board of kowtowing to the Green Partys political opponents, calling the decision an anti-democratic effort to suppress voter choice. The board is selectively relying on evidence submitted by partisan operatives acting for their own political advantage and disregarding the facts in the record as they recognize them, Hall said in an interview after the meeting. The campaign of Matthew Hoh, who was considered the Green Party's U.S. Senate candidate, wrote in an email that it will continue and explore all options for its rightful place on the ballot. ___ Schoenbaum 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. RENO, Nev. (AP) A candidate for Nevada governor who lost this month's Republican primary election by just over 11 percentage points, or nearly 26,000 votes, will pay for a statewide recount after he objected to the outcome and made numerous unproven claims about the election process. Nevadas Secretary of State told county clerks Wednesday to begin conducting a recount this week, at a cost of $190,960 to Reno attorney Joey Gilbert. Gilbert had 26.7% of the vote on June 14, trailing Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, who won 38.4% in a crowded primary field for the Republican governor nomination on June 14. Gilbert has not conceded and will pay $190,960 for the recount. Gilbert, who was present outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, has repeatedly challenged the primary election results, alleging workers did not properly verify signatures or monitor ballots, among many other claims. Gilbert's team has not offered any proof for the claims and his team did not respond to emailed questions from The Associated Press on Wednesday. County clerks and officials across the state have said that the election was conducted fairly. Across the state on Wednesday, election officials submitted estimates for how much each recount would cost. In Washoe County, the states second largest county, it will cost Gilbert just over $84,000. Several other local Republican candidates joined Gilbert in filing for a recount but ultimately rescinded their filings, spokesperson Bethany Drysdale said. Washoe County will have a team work 12-hour shifts until the recount is complete, Drysdale said. A representative from Dominion Voting Systems will be present and there will also be a certification board. In rural Nye County, with a population just over 50,000, it will cost $600 for two staff members to come in. All 17 counties have five days to complete the recount. We were all preparing for it, said Sam Merlino, Nye Countys clerk. We all had a feeling theres going to be an election contest or recount. During his campaign, Gilbert had repeated false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. And in a Facebook video posted to his page two days after the election, Gilbert urged his supporters to submit affidavits that they voted for him. He said it was not about his loss but election integrity overall, an issue that was central to his campaign. I just think right now, based on what Ive seen, this is a mess, Gilbert said in the video. These elections, the way theyve been run, its like Swiss cheese. Theres too many holes. For Republicans, Gilberts apparent rejection of the results reflect growing challenges two years after many in the party embraced disproven claims of election fraud. Party leaders wants to encourage voting while also appealing to the tens of thousands who backed Gilbert and distrust elections. The day after the election, state GOP chair Michael McDonald who rejected the results of the 2020 election rebuked Gilbert and said it was time to unite behind Lombardo in a rare instance of criticism of the far-right within the state party. The election is over. Its been called. Joe Lombardo has won. We need to come together and unite, he said, calling Gilberts reaction emotional. In the two weeks since, Gilbert has talked about filing a lawsuit. In a Facebook Live video posted Tuesday, he offered a reward to anyone who could provide smoking gun evidence to prove corruption. Lombard, who is endorsed by Trump, will face Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak in what is projected to be a toss-up race. Every legitimate news outlet has called this race for Sheriff Joe Lombardo, and its clear that the people of Nevada have spoken, Lombardo spokesperson Elizabeth Ray said in a statement the week after the primary. Like Sheriff Lombardo said, no matter who you voted for last week, hes ready to listen to you, work for you, and fight for you as your Republican nominee. Despite contesting the results of his own race, Gilbert congratulated Republican senate candidate Adam Laxalt and Republican secretary of state candidate Jim Marchant for their Republican primary victories on the same ballot. Laxalt co-chaired Trumps reelection campaign in Nevada and led failed court challenges to overturn the states 2020 election results based on false election fraud claims. In February, Marchant told voters at a candidates forum that their vote hasnt counted in decades. Lombardo led Gilbert in statewide polls leading up to the primary. Dozens of angry voters last week urged county commissioners in Clark and Washoe counties to vote against certifying the tallies, describing their own experiences at the polls and repeating conspiracy theories that nearly derailedcertification in New Mexico earlier this month. Last week, two county commissioners in Esmeralda County conducted a hand count of all 317 ballots cast after the commission delayed the initial certification by one day. All county commissions certified the vote by the Friday deadline. The most famous recount in modern Nevada history came in 1998 when Sen. Harry Reid won reelection by 428 votes against Republican Rep. John Ensign in a recount that lasted for six weeks in Washoe County. The election night results there had Reid winning by 459 votes, but a recount and a series of challenges made Reid the official winner by 428 votes. ___ AP writer Scott Sonner contributed to this report. Stern 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. Follow Stern on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gabestern326. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) New Zealand's government has declared that American far-right groups the Proud Boys and The Base are terrorist organizations. The two groups join 18 others including the Islamic State group that have been given an official terrorist designation, making it illegal in New Zealand to fund, recruit or participate in the groups, and obligating authorities to take action against them. The U.S. groups are not known to be active in New Zealand, although the South Pacific nation has become more attuned to threats from the far right after a white supremacist shot and killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two Christchurch mosques in 2019. The New Zealand massacre inspired other white supremacists around the world, including a white gunman who killed 10 Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in May. In the U.S., the State Department only lists foreign groups as terrorist entities. But the Proud Boys were last year named a terrorist group in Canada, while The Base has previously been declared a terrorist group in Britain, Canada and Australia. In a 29-page explanation of the Proud Boys designation published Thursday, New Zealand authorities said the group's involvement in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021 amounted to an act of terrorism. The statement said that while several militia groups were involved, it was the Proud Boys who incited crowds, coordinated attacks on law enforcement officers and led other rioters to where they could break into the building. The statement said there are unlinked but ideologically affiliated chapters of the Proud Boys operating in Canada and Australia. New Zealand authorities argued that before the Capitol attack, the Proud Boys had a history of using street rallies and social media to intimidate opponents and recruit young men through demonstrations of violence. It said the group had put up various smoke screens to hide its extremism. Earlier this month, the former leader of the Proud Boys, Henry Enrique Tarrio, and four others linked to the group were charged in the U.S. with seditious conspiracy for what federal prosecutors say was a coordinated attack on the Capitol. The indictment alleges that the Proud Boys conspired to forcibly oppose the lawful transfer of presidential power. The five are scheduled to stand trial in August in Washington, D.C.s federal court. Asked by media Thursday in New Zealand if the Proud Boys weren't better known for protest actions rather than extreme violence, New Zealand Police Minister Chris Hipkins said: Well, violent protests attempting to overthrow the government, clearly there is evidence of that. In making its case against The Base, New Zealand authorities said a key goal of the group was to train a cadre of extremists capable of accelerationist violence. The statement said founder Rinaldo Nazzaro has repetitively counselled members online about violence, the acquisition of weapons, and actions to accelerate the collapse of the U.S. government and survive the consequent period of chaos and violence." CONCORD, N.H. (AP) The state-managed COVID-19 mobile vaccination clinics and homebased vaccination program are ending, to coincide with the end of federal funding, New Hampshire officials said Thursday. The clinics began in July 2021 with one mobile vaccination van, and eventually increased to seven teams. Over 700 vaccination clinics were hosted and 37,000 doses were administered through the program. ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York Democrats are considering enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, possibly as part of a broader amendment that would also prohibit discrimination based on gender expression. Lawmakers held a special legislative session Thursday that Gov. Kathy Hochul called primarily to pass an emergency overhaul of the state's gun permitting rules after they were struck down by a Supreme Court ruling. But the Democrats were talking privately about whether to also use the emergency session to launch the process of amending the state constitution to protect the right to abortions. State law currently allows abortions up to the 24th week of pregnancy, but abortion rights supporters say they want a guarantee that a future legislature won't be able to pass more abortion restrictions. Even in a blue state like New York, however, some Democrats have been hesitant to start the process of amending the constitution amid opposition from pro-life Catholic groups. Theres a narrative thats taken hold among Democratic leadership that somehow they cant win on this issue, said Katharine Bodde, New York Civil Liberties Union assistant policy director. Hochul, a Democrat running for her first full term as governor in November, has vowed in campaign ads to protect the right to abortion in the state constitution. Lawmakers and advocates are also debating the best way to spell out abortion protections. One approach would be to protect abortion rights indirectly. Leaders of NYCLU and Planned Parenthoods New York chapter have proposed an amendment they say would guarantee abortion rights by prohibiting discrimination based on pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes. That amendment could also prohibit discrimination based on disability, sex, national origin, gender identity and gender expression. Backers say the intent would also be to create legal grounds for barring the government from trampling on transgender rights, among other things. Right now, the Equal Protection Amendment in the state constitution currently prohibits discrimination based on race, color, creed or religion. Mike Murphy, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, said lawmakers are considering a combination of both approaches: passing an amendment that explicitly protects abortion rights, and also adding sex, gender identity and other protections to the constitution. Leaders of the New York State Catholic Conference have expressed concern about the possibility that a constitutional change would weaken protections for health care workers who, for religions reasons, dont want to provide abortions or gender transition care. Health care workers with religious concerns are already somewhat protected under federal and state law, but Catholic Conference Executive Director Dennis Poust said those protections aren't enough. Federal conscience protection is limited based on certain funding streams and is dependent totally on federal enforcement since there is no private right of action, Poust said in an email. It does not extend to forced referrals or to anything related to gender transition. The process of amending the state constitution takes time. Any amendment approved by the legislature this year would have to be approved a second time in a subsequent legislative session, next year. The proposed amendment would then go before voters in a statewide referendum. The NYCLU's Bodde said changing the constitution would be worth the effort. We are filing gaps where the federal Constitution has shrunk protections over the past 50 years, Bodde said. And we are maintaining the balance of religion within our state constitution. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WARSAW, Poland (AP) A year after migrants started crossing into the European Union from Belarus to Poland, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and top security officials visited the border area on Thursday to mark the completion of a new steel wall. On Friday, Polish authorities will also lift a state of emergency along the border that has blocked journalists, rights workers and others from witnessing a human rights crisis. At the very least, 20 migrants have died in the area's freezing forests and bogs. The Polish government characterizes the wall as part of the fight against Russia; human rights defenders see it as representing a huge double standard, with groups of white Christian refugees from Ukraine made up mostly of women welcomed but predominantly male Muslims from Syria and other countries rejected and mistreated. The first sign of the war in Ukraine was (Belarus President) Alexander Lukashenko's attack on the Polish border with Belarus, Morawiecki told a news conference. It was thanks to (our) political foresight and the anticipation of what may happen that we may focus now on helping Ukraine, which is fighting to protect its sovereignty, Morawiecki said. As Poland opened its gates to millions of Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion, work was well underway to build the 5.5-meter (18-foot) high wall along 186 kilometers (115 miles) of its northern frontier with Belarus. It still needs electronic surveillance systems to be installed. It's meant to keep out asylum seekers of a different type: those fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa, who were encouraged to try their luck by Belarus authoritarian regime a close ally of Russia as part of a feud with the EU. One of the asylum-seekers was 32-year-old Ali, who left Syria late last year after reading on social media that the easiest way into the EU was to fly to Belarus and walk into Poland. Ali, from a village outside Hama in western Syria, flew to the Belarusian capital, Minsk, and set out to find an unguarded spot in the forest where he could sneak over into the EU. I was looking for a place where I can live in safety, away from the oppression and hopelessness back home, he said in an interview this week with The Associated Press in Berlin. Ali, who didn't give his last name, fearing repercussions for his family, was not prepared for the violence and sub-zero temperatures that awaited him in the vast forests and swamps. There were nights when I went to sleep on the bare ground in the woods thinking I would not wake up again, Ali said. If you give a lift to a refugee at the Ukrainian border you are a hero. If you do it at the Belarus border you are a smuggler and could end up in jail for eight years, said Natalia Gebert, founder and CEO of Dom Otwarty, or Open House, a Polish NGO that helps refugees. Belarus had never before been a key migration route into the EU until its President Alexander Lukashenko began encouraging would-be asylum-seekers in the Middle East to travel to Minsk. Soon, people from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and African countries flocked to the EU's eastern edge, entering Poland and neighboring Lithuania and Latvia. EU leaders accused Lukashenko of waging hybrid warfare in revenge for the bloc's sanctions over the regime's treatment of dissidents. Polands government says Russia is complicit, given Lukashenkos alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Though migration slowed in the winter, people continued to try to enter the EU through Poland, a route seen as less dangerous than crossing the Mediterranean Sea, where many have drowned in past years, Gebert said. Ali, whose small makeup business in Syria was destroyed when Sunni extremists learned he belonged to the Alawite religious minority, says he got pushed back six times by Polish border guards. But Belarusian guards beat him, stole his money and forced him to take off all his clothes in the middle of the winter. He wanted to give up and return to Minsk, but the guards wouldn't let him. They made him and others lie on the cold ground, screamed at them, approached closely with a snarling dog and kicked Ali repeatedly in the chest. Polish border patrol officers broke his phones SIM card, he said. He went without water and food for days, lost in the swamps. A Human Rights Watch report this month said Poland unlawfully, and sometimes violently, summarily pushes migrants and asylum-seekers back to Belarus, where they face serious abuses, including beatings and rape by border guards and other security forces. Amnesty International has also detailed serious human rights abuses. While some Poles support the governments tough stance, many border region residents have throughout the winter and spring sought to help migrants trapped in the forest, several requiring medical help. A play that premiered in Warsaw this week, "Responsibility," asks how Poland can accept millions of Ukrainians while withholding help to thousands of others. One character asks: Why does the Polish state demand that a child from Aleppo sits in a bog in sub-zero temperatures and withhold the aid it gives the child from Mariupol? Ali spent 16 days in the forests, before he and others used pliers to open a hole in a border fence. Some villagers gave him food and water, but soon he was apprehended by police and taken to a detention center. Over the next three months, he was moved through several closed camps. Guards carried batons and stun guns, he said, and every time before they moved him to a different camp they made him and other detainees strip naked in public. Nobody addressed him by his name, but by an identification number. In March, he was handed his papers and taken to the Debak center for foreigners in Otrebusy southwest of Warsaw, where he was told: Go away, go to Germany. Ali arrived in Berlin in April and applied for asylum. Rights activists and psychologists have documented his account and also those of other asylum-seekers who say they suffered abuse by both Belarusian and Polish border guards. I feel better here. People call me by my name again, Ali said. But I'm worried all the time that the Germans will send me back to Poland. ___ Grieshaber reported from Berlin. ___ Follow APs migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Tiger King star Bhagavan Doc Antle has been charged with buying or selling endangered lemurs, cheetahs, and a chimpanzee without the proper paperwork, federal prosecutors in South Carolina said Thursday. The latest charges are on top of money laundering counts, where authorities said Antle tried to hide more than half a million dollars made in an operation to smuggle people across the Mexican border into the U.S. Antle is featured prominently in Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, a 2020 Netflix documentary miniseries that focused on tiger breeders and private zoo operators in the U.S. The series focused heavily on Oklahoma zoo operator Joe Exotic, who also was targeted for animal mistreatment and was convicted in a plot to kill a rival, Carole Baskin. The U.S. Endangered Species Act requires permission to buy or move any endangered species in captivity and prosecutors said Antle, two of his employees and owners of safari tours in Texas and California all broke the law. Charles Sammut, the operator of Vision Quest Ranch in Salians, California, exchanged two red ruffed lemurs with Antle in June 2018, federal prosecutors said. The allegations in the indictments are littered with misinformation," Sammut told The Associated Press by phone Thursday. Sammut said he wouldn't specify what was wrong because he had a criminal case now pending, but added he felt the problems would be cleared up soon. Antle was also charged with exchanging a chimpanzee with Franklin Drive Through Safari in Franklin, Texas. Owner Jason Clay didn't return a phone message and a lawyer was not listed in court records. Sammut, 61, and Clay, 42, are each charged with wildlife trafficking and violating the Endangered Species Act. If convicted, they face up to five years in prison. Court documents said Antle, 62, and Myrtle Beach Safari employee Meredith Bybee also bought or sold two young cheetahs, although details about who else was involved in the alleged transaction were not in the federal indictments. Antle's lawyers did not respond to an email Thursday and court records didn't list a lawyer for Bybee, 51. Antle and another employee, Andrew Jon Sawyer, 52, were charged earlier in June with money laundering. Prosecutors said the men wrote $505,000 worth of checks that were supposed to be for construction work at Myrtle Beach Safari but in reality were payments to help smuggle people from Mexico into the United States. Antle tried to hide the scheme by inflating tourist numbers at his 50-acre (20-hectare) wildlife tropical preserve, prosecutors said. Prosecutors also said he had previously used bulk cash receipts to purchase animals for which he could not use checks. Animal rights advocates long have accused Antle of mistreating lions and other wildlife. He was indicted in Virginia in 2020 on animal cruelty and wildlife trafficking charges. In Virginia, Antle is facing two felony counts of wildlife trafficking and conspiracy to wildlife trafficking charges, as well as 13 misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act and animal cruelty charges tied to trafficking lion cubs. Those charges are scheduled to go to trial next month. Antle has a history of recorded violations, going as far back as 1989, when he was fined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for abandoning deer and peacocks at his zoo in Virginia. Over the years, he has more than 35 USDA violations for mistreating animals. ___ Follow Jeffrey Collins on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate PHOENIX (AP) Development attorney Karrin Taylor Robson called for leaving behind the 2020 election and focusing on the future while former news anchor Kari Lake doubled down on the lie that former President Donald Trump lost because of fraud as the Republican candidates for governor squared off in a raucous debate Wednesday. Robson gave a nod to the widespread belief among Republican primary voters that something was amiss in 2020 and refused to say whether she would have certified the results, but she stopped short of saying the election was fraudulent. She said Democrats are focused on the future, and Republicans should be too. I believe the elections werent fair, Robson said. She accused liberal judges of changing the rules late in the cycle and the media and big tech of suppressing conservative voices. But I am focused on 2022 because the left is 10 steps ahead of us, she said. I will do everything I can to ensure Arizona is in Republican hands for the 2024 election when we can take back the White House. Lake, who was endorsed by Trump and has focused much of her campaign on the lie that the 2020 election was marred by fraud, said she would not have certified what she called a corrupt election. President Joe Biden "lost the election and he shouldnt be in the White House, Lake said. Lesser-known candidates Scott Neely and Paola Tulliani Zen agreed with Lake that the election was corrupt. Federal and state election officials and Trumps own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the election was tainted. The former presidents allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed. The race is taking clearer shape with one week to go before early voting begins. Polling has shown Lake leading for the entirety of the campaign, but former U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon's decision Tuesday to drop out could shake things up and give Robson a boost in a one-on-one race against Lake. Salmon threw his support to Robson hours before the debate on Wednesday. All four contenders began throwing barbs almost immediately and continued throughout the hourlong debate. The candidates talked over and constantly interrupted one another. We need a leader with a record of accomplishment, not a career talker with the teleprompter, Robson began, taking a dig at Lake's 27-year career in television news. She repeatedly called her leading rival Fake Lake. We do need someone whos a grownup, and someone who calls names is not a grownup, Lake said later. Under repeated questioning from debate moderator Ted Simons of Arizona PBS, Robson agreed that she does not represent a radical change from outgoing Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. She said Arizona has posted a strong recovery from the economic downturn brought on by the pandemic and spoke supportively of his COVID-19 policies. In hindsight, when you see that he angered as many people on the left as the right, he probably got it about right, Robson said. Lake, by contrast, said Ducey kept businesses closed for far too long and should not have allowed local governments to require masks. Eventually we realized that this is destroying our economy, hurting people and we didnt need to have those masks, Lake said. Salmon dropped out this week after determining he had no chance of pulling out a victory in the GOP primary, and said he did not want to drain votes from Robson. I'm going to work my tail off to get Karrin Taylor Robson elected as governor of Arizona because I actually believe that with all the challenges that we have as a state ... we can't afford to get it wrong," he said on KTAR radios Mike Broomhead show. Salmon ticked off major campaign issues such as border security, K-12 education and water supplies that he said were incredibly existential issues to us as a state. "And I believe that we've got to have somebody that actually has a track record of getting things done," Salmon said. And somebody we can trust as a real true conservative like Karrin Taylor Robson. Term limits bar Ducey from running again in 2022. Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and former Nogales Mayor Marco Lopez are seeking the Democratic nomination. ___ This story has been updated to correct the last name of debate moderator Ted Simons. MOSCOW (AP) The lower house of Russias parliament gave final approval Thursday to a bill that would allow the banning of foreign news media in response to other countries' actions against Russian news outlets. The Kremlin-controlled State Duma approved the bill on its final, third reading. The equally pliant upper house of parliament is set to quickly rubber-stamp the measure before Russian President Vladimir Putin signs it into law. Russia has repeatedly complained in recent months that Western countries were improperly restricting Russian media by banning their operation or denying visas to their journalists. In early June, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called in representatives of American media, including The Associated Press, to warn that they could be denied renewal of their visas and accreditation. The new bill also allows Russias prosecutor general to cancel the registration of media outlets for disseminating illegal, dangerous, unreliable publicly significant information or information expressing clear disrespect for society, the state, the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as aimed at discrediting the Russian armed forces. Many foreign news organizations suspended or curtailed their operations in Russia following the passage in March of a law calling for up to 15 years in prison for reports seen as discrediting the Russian military. The Russian Foreign Ministry in May ordered the closure of the Moscow bureau pf the state-funded Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in response to Canadas ban on RT, a Russian state-controlled broadcaster. In February, as Russia built up troops along Ukraines border, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle was ordered to close in Moscow after Germany banned the broadcast of RTs German-language programs. Russia in recent years has persistently clamped down on independent journalism. Following the start of the Ukraine conflict, many significant independent news media shut down or suspended operations. They included the Ekho Moskvy radio station and the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, whose editor, Dmitry Muratov, was last years co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LIVERMORE, Calif. (AP) Sonny Barger, the leather-clad fixture of 1960s counterculture and figurehead of the Hells Angels motorcycle club who was at the notorious Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Speedway, has died. He was 83. Barger's death was announced on his Facebook page late Wednesday. If you are reading this message, youll know that Im gone. Ive asked that this note be posted immediately after my passing, a posting said. Ive lived a long and good life filled with adventure. And Ive had the privilege to be part of an amazing club. The post said that I passed peacefully after a brief battle with cancer. Barger's former attorney, Fritz Clapp, told The Associated Press that Barger had liver cancer and died Wednesday night at home in Livermore, California. Barger composed the post placed on the Facebook page managed by Barger's wife, Zorana, he said. Ralph Sonny Barger was a founding member of the Oakland, California, chapter of the Hells Angels in 1957 and was present at its most infamous moment the 1969 Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Speedway during which bikers hired as security staff fatally stabbed a concertgoer who pulled a gun on one of their members. The Hells Angels were typically depicted by the media as the dark fringe of the 1960s counterculture, embracing freedom, drugs and rock music, but also crime and violence. But Barger, the unofficial spokesman for the Hells Angels, downplayed their outlaw reputation. They say we're organized crime, but if you took every Hells Angel on the face of the Earth and got rid of them you wouldnt drop the crime rate in the world one-tenth of one percent, he said in a 2000 interview for Heads magazine. Were a little drop in the bucket. Theres more cops committing crimes than Hells Angels. Bargers own arrest record included charges ranging from drunken driving to attempted murder. He served 13 years in various prisons, according to news reports. He claimed that one of his most satisfying experiences was his acquittal in 1980 on a count of racketeering, and the declaration of a mistrial on a charge of conspiracy to violate the racketeering law. But in 1988, a jury found Barger guilty of conspiracy to violate federal firearms and explosives laws in plots to kill members of a rival gang. He was sentenced to a six-year term at the Phoenix Federal Correctional Institution and was released in 1992. Barger capitalized on his notoriety. He wrote three books about his life and philosophy, including a best-selling autobiography, Hells Angel. A chapter title in one of his books was Nothing states your position more clearly than a punch in the face. He also wrote two novels. Sonny Barger Productions operates a website and sells clothing. A high school dropout at 16, Barger grew up in Oakland and joined the Army in 1955 with a forged birth certificate. He was kicked out with an honorable discharge after the forgery was discovered. He started the Hells Angels with friends and soon learned there were other Hells Angels clubs in California. Barger helped unify the clubs. He served as the main character in Hunter Thompsons 1966 expose Hells Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. Hes smart and hes crafty and he has a kind of wild animal cunning. He was clearly the most competent person around, Thompson wrote. Of the Altamont killing, Barger argued that the Hells Angels acted in self-defense. The club member charged in the incident was acquitted. The stabbing was captured by a camera crew filming the documentary Gimme Shelter. Barger underwent a laryngectomy in the early 1980s for throat cancer, which he attributed to a long, three-pack-a-day cigarette habit. Thereafter, he breathed through a plastic valve in his neck, and covered the vent to speak. Live your life the Sonny Barger way? I dont recommend it, he wrote in the opening lines to his 2005 book Freedom: Credos from the Road. ___ Biographical material compiled by former AP reporter Gary Kane. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW DELHI (AP) Sri Lanka's strategic location has attracted outsized interest in the small island nation from regional giants China and India for more than a decade, with Beijing and its free-flowing loans and infrastructure investments widely seen as having gained the upper hand in the quest for influence. But Sri Lanka's economic collapse has proved an opportunity for India to swing the pendulum back, with New Delhi stepping in with massive financial and material assistance to its neighbor. There is no such thing as charity in international politics, said Sreeram Chaulia, who heads the School of International Affairs at O.P. Jindal University in Sonipat, India. The intent is to drive China away from Indias backyard and restore the balance in New Delhis favor. Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million, sits off the southern coast of India on the Indian Ocean shipping lanes through which China receives the vast majority of its imported oil from the Middle East. As part of Chinese President Xi Jinpings Belt and Road Initiative to pump money into infrastructure projects across Asia and Africa, former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa took on many loans, including $1.1 billion to build a port in his home region of Hambantota despite the plan having been rejected by an expert panel. When the deep-water port failed to generate the foreign revenue needed to pay China back, Sri Lanka in 2017 was forced to hand the facility and thousands of acres of land around it to Beijing for 99 years giving China a key foothold directly opposite regional rival Indias coastline. That stoked India's ongoing concerns about Chinas growing influence in South Asia, particularly in smaller countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal and Maldives. Concerns over China's increasing regional assertiveness deepened in 2020 when Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed in deadly skirmishes on the disputed Himalayan Ladakh border. In its maritime approach, Beijing's military focus is currently more on the South China Sea and the Pacific, while its interest in Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean appears to be more economically motivated, said Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, a London-based analyst with the International Institute for Strategic Studies. On the security side for China it's not a priority, but it is an emerging opportunity for China to bolster its influence in South Asia and ... to counter India's influence, he said. Caught in between is Sri Lanka itself which, like many others in the region, needs both China and India, whose combined population is nearly 3 billion people, Roy-Chaudhury said. It's not black and white, he said. The leaders of these countries have to be pro-India and pro-China at the same time. Sajith Premadasa, the current Sri Lankan opposition leader, emphasized that while the country is extremely grateful for India's help in the current crisis, the government needs to ensure that Sri Lanka's sovereignty and political independence are not impacted by the situation. What Sri Lanka should do always is to ensure our own national interests in order to maximize our own national interests, he told The Associated Press. We should work with everyone in international society, irrespective of which power group or power bloc anybody belongs to. Sri Lanka has been rocked by protests since April after its foreign currency reserves ran dry, leading to widespread food and fuel shortages and power cuts, with demonstrators calling for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the brother of Mahinda Rajapaksa who was elected in 2019. In May, Mahinda, who had been appointed prime minister, himself resigned, but Gotabaya has clung to power. Gotabaya inherited an economy already in a slump after a series of attacks in early 2019 by Islamic extremists caused a dramatic drop-off in tourism, a major source of income, and enormous foreign debt from infrastructure projects, many bankrolled by Chinese money and commissioned by brother Mahinda. But a series of unwise economic decisions made the situation worse, and it was further exacerbated by the global coronavirus hitting the tourism sector again, while the war in Ukraine has driven up food and fuel costs. The government now owes $51 billion and is unable to make interest payments. It has suspended repayment of $7 billion in foreign debt due this year out of $25 billion to be repaid by 2026, pending the outcome of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund on a rescue package. China, Sri Lanka's third largest creditor after Japan and the Asian Development Bank, accounts for about 10% of its debt. China has offered to lend more on favorable terms but has balked at forgiving some of Sri Lanka's debt, possibly over concerns it would prompt other borrowers across Asia and Africa to demand the same relief. But Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took office after Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned, has said that Sri Lanka has not been able to access $1.5 billion in loans offered by China, because Beijing has made the money contingent on the country having enough foreign reserves for three months. Beijing has also promised to play a positive role in Sri Lanka's talks with the IMF and is providing some 500 million yuan, about $75 million, in humanitarian aid, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijan. Meanwhile, India has stepped in with millions of dollars worth of rice, milk powder, medicine and other humanitarian aid, as well as diesel fuel and gasoline. India has also extended Sri Lanka a $4 billion credit line on favorable terms that has been widely credited with helping the country's crisis from worsening, even as Wickremesinghe last week declared the economy had completely collapsed. Wickremesinghe, who has served as prime minister several times before, is seen as pro-India, though he has limited leverage in his current role with Gotabaya Rajapaksa remaining president. While the Rajapaksa family is considered pro-China, and with the general perception that China has been partially responsible for the country's problems, the political winds seem to be shifting in India's favor, Chaulia said. India has not been actively promoting the perception that Chinese loans contributed to the crisis in Sri Lanka, but it also has not fought it, seeing the idea of a Chinese debt trap as an advantageous narrative for it regionally. India is not worried if this message comes across, Roy-Chaudhury said. New Delhi has recently succeeded in wresting away some of Beijings important projects in Sri Lanka, which is also a major destination for Indian exports. In March, Sri Lanka finalized a joint venture with India to develop a solar power plant in the island nation. That same month, Colombo also terminated a contract with a Chinese company to build a $12 million wind farm in the country and offered it to an Indian rival. While India is trying to maintain its strategic footprint in Sri Lanka, its main aim appears to be to minimize Chinese hold in the country, said K C Singh, a former Indian foreign secretary and a strategic affairs expert. Coming to Sri Lanka's aid also fits neatly into Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Neighborhood First foreign policy initiative, which focuses on cultivating and sustaining relations with nearby countries, and it is also in Indias self interest not to have a neighboring country like Sri Lanka collapse into chaos, Roy-Chaudhury said. But at the same time India does not want to find itself in a position where it is stuck alone with an economic bailout, so it has been pushing Sri Lanka to turn to the IMF and asking for other countries to help. In security terms, yes, it would want to be a preferred security partner, Roy-Chaudhury said. In economic terms, I think it would want to be one of a number of countries providing economic reassurance or support. _____ Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press journalists Krutika Pathi in New Delhi, Joe McDonald in Beijing, and Krishan Francis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, contributed to this report. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) As Tennesseans prepare to enjoy fireworks and cookouts over the long weekend, a long slate of new state laws affecting transgender athletes, which books can be in school libraries, homeless camps, and harsh criminal sentences will go into effect Friday. In Tennessee, July 1 is the start of a new fiscal year and the mark of when many newly passed bills begin to be implemented. The state's GOP-controlled General Assembly and Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed off on hundreds of bills earlier this year during the annual legislative session. Lee also let several take effect without signing them. Here's a look at some of the notable laws they approved. BUDGET The $52.8 billion spending plan for 2022-23 includes a one-month sales tax holiday on groceries planned for August, a $750 million boost to K-12 schools and $100 million in violent crime reduction grants. It also has a $121 million break to waive the state portion of vehicle registration tag fees over the next year, which comes down to $23.75 per vehicle. Other breaks will eliminate $9.7 million worth of a professional privilege tax for doctors and will provide $68 million for one-year broadband tax relief. HOMELESS CAMPING Tennessee will become the first U.S. state to make it a felony to camp on local public property such as parks a move critics say is designed to target homeless encampments. The law requires that violators receive at least 24 hours' notice before an arrest, but the felony charge is punishable by up to six years in prison and the loss of voting rights. It will also be a misdemeanor for camping around highways any time not just overnight also, requiring a warning first. Lee let the bill become law without signing it, saying he thinks there's a better way of addressing the issue. The new law comes after Tennessee made it a felony in 2020 to camp on most state-owned property, as long as the place is not designated for people to camp there. TRUTH IN SENTENCING Despite concerns from the governor's office and criminal justice advocates, lawmakers passed a bill that will lengthen criminal sentences and potentially increase incarceration costs. Known as the so-called truth in sentencing bill, the measure will require serving entire sentences for various felonies, which legislative leaders argue ensures justice for victims. Those include attempted first-degree murder, vehicular homicide resulting from the drivers intoxication, carjacking and especially aggravated robbery. Separately, 12 other offenses would require inmates to serve at least 85% of their sentences. Those range from reckless homicide, aggravated arson, voluntary manslaughter to possessing or aggravated kidnapping. As a sign of his unease with the bill, Lee allowed it to go into law without his signature sparking harsh rebukes from GOP legislative leaders who argue the new law will hold those who break the law more accountable. SCHOOL LIBRARIES School libraries were a common target among Republican lawmakers this year in Tennessee and nationwide, with many accusing librarians of providing inappropriate materials to students and demanding more transparency in how books were selected and removed from schools. After introducing a flurry of bills, the Tennessee Legislature ultimately moved to let the state's politically appointed textbook commission remove books from public school libraries statewide. The panel will have veto power when people appeal decisions by local school boards in book removal challenges. Meanwhile, under a separate law, school libraries will be required to post their contents online and regularly review their policies to ensure materials are age-appropriate and suitable. TRANSGENDER ATHLETES Last year, Lee signed off on banning transgender athletes from participating in girls sports. Even though none of the supporters could point to an incident where this has become an issue in Tennessee, lawmakers returned this year to add harsh penalties against schools that violate that ban. Furthermore, Tennessee will now ban transgender athletes from participating in female college sports. PIPELINES A new law strictly limits the ability of local governments to stop oil and gas pipelines and other fossil fuel infrastructure projects in their jurisdictions. MOSCOW (AP) A leading economic expert in Russia was detained Thursday on embezzlement charges as part of a high-profile case that some observers saw as linked to purges targeting members of the country's liberal elite. Investigators accused Vladimir Mau, the rector of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, embezzling funds from the institution, a leading school for public servants. Mau denied the charges. LONDON (AP) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will host New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in London on Friday for talks on security and boosting bilateral ties. The meeting comes after both leaders attended the NATO summit in Madrid this week. Johnson's office said he and Ardern will discuss security challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region and the situation in Ukraine. They are also expected to discuss tackling online disinformation and deepening bilateral trade ties as well as agree on new measures to boost the two countries' ties in scientific research. The partnership between the U.K. and New Zealand makes both of our countries safer and more prosperous," Johnson said in a statement. We are working side by side to address new and evolving threats that threaten to undermine stability and sovereignty in Europe and the Indo-Pacific. The U.K. and New Zealand signed a free trade agreement in February following a similar deal with Australia in late 2021. Johnson said the agreement slashes red tape, cuts tariffs on exports and creates opportunities for British businesses to travel and trade. But British farmers have said eliminating tariffs for agricultural products would expose sectors like beef, lamb and dairy to unfair competition. JUBA, South Sudan (AP) The head of the United Nations mission in South Sudan urged the East African country's transitional government Thursday to set a date for elections as time passes. Nicholas Haysom told journalists in the capital, Juba that with barely eight months remaining in the transitional period agreed by political parties, "I am urging south Sudanese leaders to do everything necessary to move the country out of transition and conduct free, fair, creditable and peaceful elections. A 2018 peace deal that binds President Salva Kiir and his deputy Riek Machar in a unity government encourages authorities to hold elections before February 2023. The international community has long hoped a vote would usher in a democratically elected government in the worlds youngest country. A timetable for the polls must be availed in advance for the international community to support the process well, Haysom said, adding that without a date nobody will really commit to supporting the elections and the South Sudanese will not get into the frame of mind which is necessary for elections. The government has yet to reconstitute an electoral commission and implement key judicial reforms and Kiir and Machar are known to have different opinions on the matter. Kiir, South Sudan's president since independence from Sudan in 2011, says general elections will take place as planned in 2023 despite delays in implementing the roadmap. Machar insists elections cannot be free and fair unless key provisions in the 2018 deal are fully implemented. Another opposition figure, Lam Akol, has voiced skepticism about the chances of a fair vote in a country plagued by sporadic violence. But Haysom said Thursday that elections can still happen if authorities create the right circumstances. Its not only technical arrangements and logistical planning thats necessary for elections to take place. What is also required is a free and open political environment, he said. There were high hopes for peace and stability once South Sudan gained its long-fought independence from Sudan. But it slid into ethnic violence in December 2013 when forces loyal to Kiir, a Dinka, started battling those loyal to Machar, a Nuer. Numerous attempts at a durable peace failed. The civil war killed nearly 400,000 people and displaced millions. Intense international pressure followed the 2018 deal, and in February 2020 a coalition government led by Kiir, with Machar as his deputy, was formed. SEATTLE (AP) The Washington Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously overturned a mans conviction for assaulting police officers, blasting a series of racist remarks by the prosecutor who handled the case. During jury selection in the trial against Joseph Zamora, Garth Dano, who was then the elected prosecutor in central Washingtons Grant County, repeatedly asked prospective jurors how they felt about illegal immigration, border security and crimes committed by illegal immigrants even though Zamora was a U.S. citizen and the case had nothing to do with those topics. The questions invoked racist stereotypes that violated Zamoras right to a fair trial, the justices said. They also expressed concern with the vicious beating officers gave Zamora, which left him comatose. Chief Justice Steven Gonzalez noted that the jury was asked to decide, among other things, whether Joseph Zamora, a United States citizen, assaulted a police officers knuckles with the back of his head. This case was not remotely related to immigration lawful or unlawful, Justice Charles Johnson wrote for the court. The apparent purpose of the remarks was to highlight the defendants perceived ethnicity and invoke stereotypes that Latinxs are criminally and wrongly in the country, are involved in criminal activities such as drug smuggling, and pose a threat to the safety of Americans. The decision introduced a new rule in Washington that when a prosecutor flagrantly or apparently intentionally appeals to a jurors potential racial or ethnic prejudice, bias, or stereotypes, it requires automatic reversal of any conviction. Previously, prosecutors had a chance to demonstrate that race-based misconduct did not affect the outcome of the case and was harmless. Dano was elected in 2014 as the prosecutor of Grant County, a fruit-growing region with large populations of migrant workers. A critic of Democratic Gov. Jay Inslees coronavirus restrictions, he resigned in December, citing personal reasons. At the trial court level, Dano told the judge, who expressed concern about his line of questioning, I in no way intimated or was suggesting to the jury that the defendant is not a citizen of the country or is here illegally. He did not immediately return an email from The Associated Press seeking comment on the ruling. Zamoras encounter with Moses Lake police came on the night of Feb. 5, 2017, when he was walking through a foot (30.5 cm) of snow to his nieces house. A neighbor saw him, thought he looked suspicious and called police to report a possible car prowler; there was no evidence that any cars had been broken into, and the justices said Zamora was guilty of nothing more than walking while high. Officer Kevin Hake responded and stopped Zamora in his nieces yard. When Zamora did not respond to Hakes questions and turned to walk away, Hake grabbed him, fearing he might have a weapon. The officer shoved him to the ground and jumped on him, putting him in a chokehold, shooting pepper spray into his mouth and eyes, and punching him about 100 times before shoving the barrel of his gun down Zamoras throat, according to an account filed by Zamoras attorney. The officer said Zamora tried to take his gun. Several other officers arrived, further pepper-spraying, punching and using a Taser on him, and said Zamora had resisted and kicked at them. A neighbor testified that Zamora had not resisted or fought with Hake, and that he was face-down in the snow as other officers beat him. The neighbor testified that he saw one officer using a chokehold on Zamora even after he had been hog-tied, and he heard Zamora use words that have become familiar since the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by Minneapolis police in 2020: I cant breathe. When paramedics arrived, Zamora had no pulse. It took them seven minutes to revive him; he was taken to a hospital and remained in intensive care for about four weeks. He tested positive for methamphetamine and marijuana, and a search of his jacket following his arrest turned up a pocketknife. A use-of-force review by the Moses Lake Police Department found no wrongdoing by the officers. Hake left the department four months after the incident and was no longer working in law enforcement by the time of the trial. The Supreme Court said it had serious concerns that a citizens mistaken report of vehicle prowling led to a violent altercation with police officers that almost resulted in the death of the defendant who was guilty of nothing more than walking while high on drugs. But the reason it overturned Zamoras convictions for two counts of third degree assault of a law enforcement officer was the prosecutors questioning of potential jurors. Dano repeatedly asked members of the jury pool if they thought the U.S. had enough border security and how they felt about crimes committed by unlawful immigrants. When one responded that she did not think it was just illegal immigrants who were committing crimes, he asked a follow-up. Could you make room for the possibility that someone who a loved one or family member of somebody who was either killed or had problems with somebody thats been previously deported or criminally is wrongly in the country, that that happens to them, and that they feel like we need more border security, can you make room for that? he asked. The Superior Court trial judge, John Antosz, was so concerned with such remarks that he asked Zamoras defense attorney, outside the presence of the jury pool, why he wasnt objecting. The attorney responded that he didnt think the prosecutors questions helped the states case. In his opening statement, the attorney told jurors that Zamora was not an immigrant. CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) The West Virginia National Guards full-time response to the COVID-19 pandemic will end Friday, Gov. Jim Justice said. Justice first activated the National Guard to assist with the states pandemic response in March 2020. Among their duties, guard members have transported supplies, staffed COVID-19 testing and vaccine sites, disinfected vehicles and facilities, and assisted health departments with data entry. They did an unbelievable job and they continue to do that every day, Justice said at a news conference Thursday. Justice said 60 guard members will remain on active duty through September to assist the states Joint Interagency Task Force. The Texas Tribune is coming back to the Permian Basin with an event Thursday at Odessa College. The Tribune will present The Great Student Resignation at noon in Odessa -- a free in-person and virtual event on declining enrollment in higher education, who is being left out and what the long-term impacts could be. According to the Tribune, Texas higher ed lost 75,000 students between 2019 and 2021. The panel will include Sandra Woodley, president of the University of Texas Permian Basin; Gregory Williams, president of Odessa College and Scott Muri, superintendent of Ector County Independent School District. Evan Smith, the Texas Tribune CEO, will moderate the event. For Smith it will be a return to Odessa-Midland, where he has conducted conversations with former Congressman Mike Conaway and state legislators, including state Rep. Tom Craddick. The following is a question-and-answer with Evan Smith about the The Great Student Resignation, which will be held at the Saulsbury Campus Centers Zant Community Room, Room 222, at 201 W. University Blvd., Odessa. -- MRT: What made Odessa the right location for this conversation about higher education? Evan Smith: The Permian Basin is an incredibly important part of Texas. The challenges for higher ed are magnified outside of the biggest cities. We picked an area of the state where the challenges are great and where the need to set the table of opportunity for everybody is great. There are very important institutions of higher education in the Permian and it's a place we've been many times to do events. In some ways, all of those roads converged, and this is where we decided to go. MRT: What do you like about this panel? Evan Smith: I wanted to have community colleges reflected alongside four-year institutions because, until the pandemic, more than 50% of higher ed enrollment was in community colleges. For years and years, when you talk about higher ed in Texas, you're really talking about community colleges because community colleges have had significant enrollment. Now they've dropped below 50%, but it's still very significant. I think UT Permian Basin is one of the underappreciated and undervalued regional campuses of one of the big university systems. Sandra Woodley, the president, is a real star in the constellation of higher ed leaders. Gregory Williams and Odessa College have been recognized nationally for being among the best at what they do. We don't know Scott Muri, the school district superintendent, very well at this point -- we're going to get to know him well on Thursday -- but what they have done to create a college-going culture is significant. I'm excited about the combination of these three leaders and I think they represent all sides of the conversation that we intend to have. MRT: Is there a region-specific question you really want to ask? Evan Smith: One of the reasons that higher ed enrollment has dropped is because at a moment of economic anxiety -- and certainly over the last three years, we've had that -- job opportunities that pay well are a disincentive for kids to continue their education. No place has that been more the case than in the Permian where there are billboards and job opportunities all over the place advertising high-paying jobs in oil and gas that have distracted attention away from higher ed and toward just getting to work. The price of oil is over $100 a barrel. Kids leaving school, choosing between higher ed and going to work in the oil and gas industry, have a real incentive to be paid significantly well choosing option two. It is region-specific. I want to understand how much oil and gas, and opportunities in that industry, hurt the conversation around higher ed. MRT: When researching the topic was there something that took you by surprise? Evan Smith: UT Permian Basin and Odessa College may not be as bad off as some other colleges, including community colleges in other places. I'm interested in talking to these two leaders about what's working as well as what's not working. -- Note: The Texas Tribune is the only member-supported, digital-first, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. Online: www.texastribune.org/ Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday blamed President Joe Biden for the deaths of 53 migrants discovered in an abandoned tractor-trailer in San Antonio Monday night. Flanked by armed National Guardsmen and law enforcement leaders in Eagle Pass, Texas, the Republican leader claimed Biden's border policies had spurred human trafficking attempts such as the one that ended in a tragic mass casualty event on a Bexar County roadside. Because of the way that the Biden administration is not enforcing immigration laws, its attracting people and enticing people to make this very dangerous trek and lose their lives, Abbott said. The governor's remarks come after he spent billions over the past year pursuing a litany of enhanced security measures along Texas' southern border. Among these policies was an initiative aimed at inspecting every commercial truck crossing the southern border. Abbott discontinued the inspection initiative after a week and a half, announcing historic agreements with leaders of several northern Mexico border states aimed at stemming the flow of undocumented immigrants into the U.S. But the newly-stuck agreements, which rely on Mexican leaders conducting inspections on Mexicos side of the border, have yielded no measurable decline in the number of migrants entering the U.S., according to one expert who spoke with the Texas Tribune. Every data point weve seen about migration into Texas from Mexico shows that migrants are getting to the border in the same numbers as before, Adam Isacson, a regional security expert at the Washington Office on Latin America, told the Tribunes James Barragan. Theres no numerical evidence that its had any numerical impact on migrant flows. Abbott also criticized Biden's funding of U.S. Customs and Border Patrols operations. Many of these deaths could be prevented if Biden simply fully funded the border patrol operation of the United States of America, Abbott said. Biden in March requested a 13 percent increase in funding for CBP over its 2021 budget, including a specific provision aimed at adding 300 more officers to the 60,000-person agency, the New York Times reported. Abbott did not mention April agreements with Mexican border leaders during Wednesday's press conference. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles voted Thursday to collect fingerprints from all car dealers in the state, KXANs Matt Grant reported. Dealers already on the books in Texas will be fingerprinted upon the renewal of their licenses. New dealers will have to pay a $38.25 fee as part of their application to the Texas DMV. The new rule will be active as of Sept. 1, 2022. The measure comes following KXANs investigation into widespread paper vehicle license plate fraud. KXAN found that fraudulent dealers can access the Department of Motor Vehicles dealership database. The result has been a $200 million illicit business in which people in Texas are able to distribute cars with fake information to all 50 states, giving those who commit crimes an easy shield from law enforcement, according to KXANs reporting. Stacy Gillman, a car dealer in the Houston area and beyond, was the only DMV board member to vote against the fingerprinting measure. Gillman owns 10 dealerships across four Texas cities, KXAN reported. The fingerprinting rule comes following the resignation of the head of the Texas DMV in February. NBC 5 aired an investigation in November detailing how people have used Texas previously existing paper plates system to commit a variety of crimes using vehicles adorned with fraudulent tags. People can use falsified tags to evade law enforcement by attaching them to unregistered vehicles and perpetrating crimes using those cars. "Texas is leading the way in the volume of paper tags that are being fraudulently issued across the country," a Houston Division FBI agent told KXAN in December. Gov. Greg Abbott held his first press conference in Eagle Pass on Wednesday, June 29, since 53 immigrants died after they were left in a semi-truck trailer on Monday, June 27. His response: more truck checkpoints along South Texas and Texas Department of Public Safety "strike teams." Abbott also continued to blame President Joe Biden and his administration's policies "enticing" immigrants to cross the border, following up his tweet from the night the immigrants were discovered at the 9600 block of Quintana Road. The death toll of the immigrants found in the back of a semi-truck on Monday, June 27 now sits at 51 as of Wednesday morning, June 29, as a new report says the truck might have been "cloned." Betancourt Trucking and Harvesting owner Felipe Betancourt Sr. said that the immigrants were in a Volvo semi-truck that was copied to look like one of their commercial vehicles, the Express-News reported Tuesday, June 28. The owner of the Alamo, Texas-based company said that whoever obtained the vehicle copied everything from the color to the identifying number with the federal and state departments of transportation. After San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin was recalled earlier this month, a huge number of national publications wrote stories suggesting the election was proof of a broader backlash against criminal justice reforms sparked by the murder of George Floyd. Telling such a tidy story requires ignoring how many criminal justice reformers actually won their races across the Bay Area on June 7, often against steeper odds than Boudin's opponents faced. Take Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton, a reform-minded incumbent who easily beat back a well-funded challenger lobbing attacks similar to those deployed against Boudin. Becton's challenger, Mary Knox, called her soft on crime and claimed that her office had created a culture of lawlessness that prompted a viral shoplifting incident at a Walnut Creek Nordstrom similar to the videos coming out San Francisco. Both Becton and Boudin are members of the progressive Prosecutors Alliance of California, a group that also includes Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, who is facing a recall attempt of his own. Like Boudin, Becton has de-emphasized incarceration in favor of diversion programs for those facing mental health and substance abuse issues. Yet Becton defeated Knox by double digits (56.4% to 43.6%) on a night Boudin lost by double digits. How? It's not because Contra Costa County is further left than San Francisco County; President Joe Biden beat former President Donald Trump 71.6% to 26.3% in Contra Costa, while winning 85.3% to 12.7% in San Francisco. The opposition to Becton was well-funded, with six-figure contributions coming from the Contra Costa County Deputy Sheriff's Association. (In 2021, Becton secured a conviction against a former sheriff's deputy who shot and killed an unarmed motorist during a low-speed chase.) In an interview with SFGATE, Becton attributed her win to balanced messaging of holding people accountable for crime while still pursuing reform. Boudin, whose policy record is very similar to Becton's, attempted this messaging in the months leading up the recall, but was unsuccessful. His supporters blame the well-financed recall campaign drowning out Boudin's counterarguments, but Boudin's past statements that were deemed dismissive of crime concerns did him no favors. Becton had few, if any, of these highly publicized remarks. SFGATE talked to Becton about her campaign, property crime concerns, the future of progressive prosecutors and more. The interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. SFGATE: Lets start with the broader context of June 7, which is that you won on the same night Chesa Boudin was recalled in San Francisco. National outlets rushed to call it the death of criminal justice reform in California. Why did you win when he didn't? Becton: First of all, it's important to acknowledge that every community has different dynamics and needs. Here in Contra Costa, when I was elected four years ago, I promised to do three things differently. One: hold everyone including law enforcement accountable for their actions. Two: increase transparency in the DA's Office, and three: innovate beyond incarceration. I was very clear on my goals and delivered on all three. Everybody wants to feel safe in their communities and homes, and I made sure that message came through loud and clear. We're focused on serious and violent crimes, making sure there are resources there and also maintaining a robust unit that supports victims. I made sure people understood the need to reimagine the criminal justice system to work for everyone and not just a few while maintaining public safety. We showed that the last 30 years of approaches havent worked, and that the one-size-fits-all decimated communities and relegated Black and brown people to second-class citizenship. We worked hard in that space to say there's a better way. We increased efforts into prevention of crime and alternatives to incarceration for low-level offenses where we got people into mental health or substance abuse treatment instead of incarcerating them. We showed that it's possible to have the complete package and it resonated well. SFGATE: You talk about striking a balance between messaging public safety and reform, which Boudin did try to do. Did he do that too late? What could he have done differently? Becton: It's hard for me to speak to whether his message resonated, its not a space I feel comfortable evaluating. There were a lot of different factors. He walked into the door when the pandemic first started, and that exacerbated certain conditions. There are dynamics in San Francisco that we just dont have in many other counties. I can't say which messages of his resonated or didnt, I can only opine on the feedback I received in my own county. SFGATE: When you were campaigning, what were people most concerned about? Which reforms of yours were the most popular? Becton: Especially in past year, if we've heard anything loud and clear, it's that people made it clear there is a desire for public safety. Weve had highly publicized smash-and-grabs and people, no matter what community they were in, were alarmed by those. Everyone wants to feel safe. I think thats the messaging we leaned into, that we intend to make public safety a high priority. We talked about our efforts with task forces to focus on violent crime. The other thing that really resonated was increasing accountability and transparency. On officer-involved shootings, there wasn't much transparency before I came in. I made a pledge in 2018 to make sure we prepared thorough reports about investigations and their legal conclusions that we then published on our website. We talked a lot about accountability for public officials and members of law enforcement who abused their power. That resonated with citizens. SFGATE: So about those Nordstrom smash-and-grabs, do you think progressives need to take property crime more seriously? Theres often this urge to say its not as important as other issues. Becton: There was never an attempt to create a false narrative on the work we did there. Our response to those incidents was swift. We made sure that everyone apprehended was hit with felony crimes including organized retail theft. That's one of the few places we have 100% filing rate. Everyone who is apprehended for that crime gets prosecuted. I was on the phone with at least six prosecutors in the region, knowing that if someone did that crime in Contra Costa today, they could be in Santa Clara tomorrow. We decided that wed pool resources and intelligence to make sure we all take a very organized approach to understanding retail theft and prosecuting it. Everyone Im aware of who was apprehended was prosecuted. We wanted to send a clear message on what's been a nationwide topic. MediaNews Group/Orange County Re/MediaNews Group via Getty Images SFGATE: Circling back to accountability for law enforcement, how much of the vitriol directed at you was a result of you charging the sheriffs deputy do you think? Does this campaign look different if that never happens, as far as the law enforcement mobilization against you goes? Becton: Its a hard question to answer, but it certainly was a huge part of the anger generated by law enforcement. Even after a jury found him guilty and the judge gave lengthy reasoning for why prison was appropriate, the sheriff blasted me for charging the deputy. It certainly didn't go over well and that was talked about on the campaign trail, but my message of accountability won out. SFGATE: Do you still have a good relationship with law enforcement agencies in Contra Costa County? Becton: I have to. We work hand-in-hand every day. Its how we bring accountability, and working with police chiefs is how we bring safety to the community. They may not like everything I do, but we continue to work together. On law enforcement accountability, I will continue to be transparent, thorough and fair in these types of cases. I also do not accept contributions from law enforcement unions. It creates a conflict of interest when you're investigating those cases and in a position to prosecute, but you have those same unions supporting the defense. I support legislation that would, at the very least, require a prosecutor to recuse themselves from those cases if they're getting law enforcement union money. SFGATE: What advice do you have for progressive prosecutors currently in power, progressive challengers to incumbent DAs or for people more broadly who are afraid that criminal justice reform efforts are in danger? Becton: Make sure you have multifaceted approach to ensuring you're holding people accountable. Make sure your office is transparent and that you're thinking outside the box for new and innovative approaches that move us beyond a reliance on incarceration. Squarely center your approach on crime prevention and put in place alternatives to incarceration, especially for mental illness and drug abuse. We can have accountability for certain crimes without incarceration, and we have to message that these alternatives work. Progressives around the country should recognize that change doesnt come quickly, and this is not always an easy space to be in. We have work to do still, and I'll continue to work with the community to make Contra Costa County safe and fair for everyone, not just a select few. A San Francisco man was found dead in a lake by the Tahoe Rim Trail on Wednesday afternoon just days after his campsite was found in disrepair, his sister confirmed to SFGATE. Jia Huang, a 32-year-old who worked for PG&E as a senior data scientist, embarked on a solo backpacking trip from Mount Tallac on the Tahoe Rim Trail on Wednesday, June 22, according to a digital flyer distributed by Lai Wong, his sister. On Monday afternoon, a hiker spotted Huangs tent turned upside-down and seemingly abandoned, along with a food canister, a backpack and a wallet, on the north side of Lake Aloha near the Rubicon Trail. When the tent was still upside-down the next morning, the hiker reached out to authorities to report Huang's disappearance based on the ID in the wallet. Wong received a call from police later that day. Huang did not pick up any of Wong's calls, she said in a Facebook post earlier this week. After a two-day search for Huang by the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office search and rescue unit, Wong confirmed to SFGATE that her brother was found in the lake. We are saddened to hear of the death of our coworker, Jia Huang, and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and colleagues," a PG&E spokesperson told SFGATE in a statement Thursday afternoon. "He was a senior data scientist who had worked for PG&E for 10 years." The company declined to provide further details about Huang. The timeline of his disappearance remains unclear. The El Dorado County Sheriffs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from SFGATE. Classroom C inside the eggshell white building at the corner of Masonic and Geary in San Francisco is where the SF Municipal Transportation Agency runs its training and development for new bus operators. On a recent Wednesday morning, there was barely an empty chair as the room buzzed with anticipation. For the first time ever, an operator graduation was open to press, and SFGATE took one of the last seats in the back. The classroom's furnishing was basically barren. A poster on the wall states, "Is marijuana legal for you? No,'' and besides the doors painted burgundy, there isnt much for the fluorescent lights to shine on. But whats keeping this room aglow are the 37 sharply dressed operators gearing up for graduation. This is the biggest class since COVID, said Julie Kirschbaum, the director of transit, during her remarks. This is vital to the recovery of our region. If Muni doesnt work, the city doesnt work. The new operators had just completed their 10-week course but were reminded that their education wasnt going to end today. This is your biggest enemy, Roger Marenco said while holding up an iPhone for all to see. Marenco is the president of the Transport Workers Union Local 250A, and he kept his comments short, reminding the graduates to prioritize safety and that theyre in a culture of awareness. Some of these operators were commercial drivers before who were accustomed to moving materials and other inanimate objects. Now their load talks to them as theyre transported to schools, hospitals and jobs. The operators each wore crisp jackets and pants with pleated lines. (Muni offers them a uniform allotment of four pants and five shirts.) Theyre required to wear either a red or black tie. Bow ties permitted. Theyre told that theyre ambassadors of the city and they need to look the part. Stay this sharp and go that extra mile, Kirschbaum said. The class representative is a new operator from Vallejo named Steffan Shortridge. He read a poem about education to his peers and offered some fellow words of celebration. When I was a kid and saw those 60-foot articulated buses, I used to call them slinky buses, he said to a room of chuckles. Weve now learned the Muni way. SFMTA Photo | SFMTA.com/Photo As he spoke, a small spiral notebook was passed around from graduate to graduate in which each person wrote down their contact information. The group excitedly shared how they planned to remain in touch. For the ceremony, SFMTA officials formed a handshake line at the top of the class as the names in the Operator Graduation 04TM22 were called. Name by name, they came up to receive their certificates and handshakes. When names were called, cheers and applause ensued as if a bandleader were calling out each musician on the stage. Upon returning to their chairs, some of the graduates took a pause to study their certificates, holding it out in their arms and inspecting it with great care. They spelled my name wrong! someone yelled, garnering some laughs. The operators come from all over the Bay Area Antioch, Oakland or from the city itself and they took the job for a variety of reasons. Muni is on a hiring spree at the moment and looking to fill out its operators budget. The compensation ranges from $28 hourly at the start up to $40. SFMTA Photo | SFMTA.com/Photo Sheila Robson is from Sausalito and said the job was an opportunity to continue working. They didnt discriminate against my age, she said, noting that shes 63. Tomika Brown from Oakland will drive the 60-foot bus. I was afraid of it at first but grew to love it, she said. The big turns are easy on the long buses, but she said the tight turns are the hardest. She credits the training for helping her determine the reference points to easily make the sharp turns. Born in San Francisco, Edward Samonte has used Muni for 68 years and calls himself a late bloomer for finally getting behind its wheel. After learning how to operate a bus, Ive become better at driving my personal vehicle because Im more aware of whats around me, he said. If you use the Five Keys, youll be OK. The Five Keys came up frequently throughout the graduation ceremony. It refers to a five-point verbal system started by Harold L. Smith, who founded an influential driving school in the 1950s that stressed the importance of driver safety and avoiding accidents. Each Muni driver walked away from their graduation with the Five Keys memorized: aim high in steering, get the big picture, keep your eyes moving, leave yourself an out and make sure they see you. SFMTA Photo | SFMTA.com/Photo The Muni fleet is split into 11 divisions that span a century of city transit technology. There's the Presidio Division (first opened in 1912) that oversees the 40-foot trolley buses, and the more recent Islais Creek Division that opened in 2013 to tend to the 60-foot hybrid buses. Each of these graduating operators will work out of one of these divisions. One of the most difficult routes is near Lake Merced along Sloat Boulevard, where a long line of parked RVs create a tight squeeze for the buses. And the tightest turn is on 6th Street and Harrison. For popular lunch spots among operators, Shortridge said that Working Girls' Cafe on Mission Street or the nearby Super Duper Burgers are favorites. Omozele Biggins started as a Muni operator 26 years ago and is now a training manager. She said that the 10-week course is split between classroom time for learning about the equipment and weeks in the field for training. She takes three students at a time for driving lessons out at the Cow Palace, where theres a lot of space to practice. Its an active job, theres a new class starting every five weeks, and Biggins is already underway with her next class of operators. WFO PHOENIX Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, June 29, 2022 _____ DUST STORM WARNING BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED Dust Storm Warning National Weather Service Phoenix AZ 602 PM MST Wed Jun 29 2022 The National Weather Service in Phoenix has issued a * Dust Storm Warning for... Southwestern La Paz County in west central Arizona... Central Yuma County in southwestern Arizona... Eastern Imperial County in southeastern California... * Until 730 PM MST/730 PM PDT/. * At 602 PM MST/602 PM PDT/, a wall of dust was along a line extending from 22 miles south of Kofa Wildlife Refuge to 13 miles northwest of Tyson to 9 miles northwest of Tacna to near Wellton to 18 miles southwest of Mohawk, moving west at 20 mph. HAZARD...Less than a quarter mile visibility with strong wind in excess of 40 mph. SOURCE...Trained weather spotters. IMPACT...Dangerous life-threatening travel. * This includes the following highways... AZ Interstate 8 between mile markers 11 and 40. AZ Route 95 between mile markers 33 and 64. Locations impacted include... Fortuna Foothills, Wellton, Blaisdell, Ligurta, Kinter and Tacna. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Dust storms lead to dangerous driving conditions with visibility reduced to near zero. If driving, avoid dust storms if possible. If caught in one, pull off the road, turn off your lights and keep your foot off the brake. Motorists should not drive into a dust storm. PULL ASIDE STAY ALIVE! _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO PHOENIX Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, June 29, 2022 _____ DUST STORM WARNING BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED Dust Storm Warning National Weather Service Phoenix AZ 657 PM MST Wed Jun 29 2022 The National Weather Service in Phoenix has issued a * Dust Storm Warning for... Southwestern La Paz County in west central Arizona... Southwestern Yuma County in southwestern Arizona... Southeastern Imperial County in southeastern California... * Until 830 PM MST/830 PM PDT/. * At 656 PM MST/656 PM PDT/, a wall of dust was along a line extending from 9 miles east of Yuma Proving Ground to 9 miles southeast of Martinez Lake to Kinter to near Fortuna Foothills to near Ligurta to 16 miles south of Wellton, moving west at 20 mph. HAZARD...Less than a quarter mile visibility with strong wind in excess of 40 mph. SOURCE...Doppler radar. IMPACT...Dangerous life-threatening travel. * This includes the following highways... AZ Interstate 8 between mile markers 1 and 13. CA Interstate 8 between mile markers 70 and 96. AZ Route 95 between mile markers 29 and 34, and between mile markers 62 and 68. Locations impacted include... Yuma, Somerton, Gadsden, Martinez Lake, Fortuna Foothills, San Luis, Gordon's Well, Algodones Dunes, Andrade, Winterhaven, Araby and Yuma Proving Ground. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Dust storms lead to dangerous driving conditions with visibility reduced to near zero. If driving, avoid dust storms if possible. If caught in one, pull off the road, turn off your lights and keep your foot off the brake. Motorists should not drive into a dust storm. PULL ASIDE STAY ALIVE! _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Some Vietnamese businesses specializing in producing molds, bicycle and motorbike parts, standard mechanical parts, power cable, plastic technical rubber parts are quite promising since their products both satisfy domestic demands and are welcomed in other countries like Japan. However, the productivity of local enterprises in the support industry is rather limited due to a lack of capable, high-quality human resources, low investment in equipment, and insufficient information of international low-cost raw material suppliers. The establishment of the three support centers aims at assisting industrial manufacturers and enterprises of the support industry to innovate themselves, to carry out technological transfers, and to increase added value for the participation in the global supply chain. In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is accelerating trading connections between Vietnamese export companies for support industry products and Japanese enterprises via the Vietnam Trade Office in Japan and the ASEAN Japan Center (AJC). By Minh Xuan Translated by Huong Vuong Channels in District 4 of HCMC are cleaned from waste World Bank has warned that CC is now the direst threat to human beings, bringing along extreme disasters like flooding, heat waves, land slide, wildfire. In Vietnam in 2020, flooding and land slide in the Central region caused a damage of US$1.52 billion. They are the result of over-exploitation of natural resources, deforestation, exhaust fumes emission from human activities. Statistics from the Vietnam Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change (under the Natural Resources & Environment Ministry) reveal that by 2050, if the sea level increases by 18-30cm, Vietnam will lose about 2 percent of its GDP. Its agriculture will bear the most damages, seeing a drop of 13.5 percent in its added value and a loss of $43 billion from 2020-2100. In 2100, if the sea level rises by 100cm, 6.3 percent of the surface area of Vietnam will be lost, while the affected proportions of the railway system, national roads, and provincial roads will be 4 percent, 9 percent, and 12 percent, respectively. The Mekong Delta will experience the most severe damages, at 52.39 percent; followed by the Red River Delta at 31.4 percent and the Central coastal area at 9.1 percent. Vietnam will face a high chance of non-economic damages like declining health, relocated economic zones, land loss due to land slide, culture loss due to destruction of local architecture, degraded biodiversity. Aware of that, Vietnam has so far launched various solutions, campaigns to cope with and fight against CC. Functional agencies are encouraging the public to replace fossil fuel with renewable energy like solar power, wind power, biomass. Agricultural activities are now changing to more environmentally friendly ones. Sustainable forestry development programs integrate initiatives to reduce GGE due to forest loss and degradation. More remarkably, Vietnam has given its commitment at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). Accordingly, Vietnam commits to reducing its net emission to 0 by 2050 via the application of such measures as policies to monitor manufacturing activities and mitigate GGE for each type of business establishment, technological transfers to use production lines that release less greenhouse gas. Vietnam is at the same time conducting research for the development of the carbon market. Director of HCMC Urban Environment Co. Ltd. Huynh Minh Nhut stated that to effectively reduce GGE, there must be close cooperation in the community, along with propaganda campaigns for citizens to classify waste at source, recycle used items, when possible, in order to decrease the waste amount transported to landfills, and in turn reducing their carbon footprint. Vice Chairman of HCMC Peoples Committee Vo Van Hoang shared that the city is under unrelenting pressure of CC, such as sea level rise, underground water decrease, urban subsidence. Adding to that is environmental pollution caused by manufacturing activities, creating a burden on the outdated infrastructure of the city. Obviously, sustainable development is the only choice of HCMC at present. Many critical projects have been launched: smart city establishment, digital transformation, traffic planning, anti-flooding planning, sewage treatment, transformation from labor-intensive economy to innovative one, and encouragement of circular economy. Deputy Director of the HCMC Department of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Thi Thanh My informed that in April 2022, the city collaborated with World Bank to form a taskforce for comprehensive and sustainable development. The taskforce will focus on 8 projects, most of which focus on promoting low-carbon-emission urban areas, addressing policy problems with related state agencies, ministries, and the Central Government. By Minh Hai Translated by Huong Vuong Rediscover Vietnam is co-held by Thien Minh Group and national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines for travel promotion in Australia. (Photo: VNA) Called Rediscover Vietnam, the event was co-held by Thien Minh Group and national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, with more than 80 travel firms and tour operators across Australia in attendance. It was the last of a series of travel promotion events held in multiple countries, including the UK, Germany, France, the US, Japan and the Republic of Korea. Thanh said the number of Australian arrivals in Vietnam and vice versa hit a record high of 600,000 in 2019 before the Covid-19 broke out globally. Given that the two countries established a Strategic Partnership in 2018 and bilateral ties continued to grow despite the pandemic, travel between Vietnam and Australia will be on a rise and surpass pre-pandemic records in the coming years, he said. The Vietnamese diplomat pledged to provide all possible conditions for Australian travelers and travel agencies to gain access to the Vietnamese market and explore the Southeast Asian country. According to Truong Tran Ngoc Hung from Vietnam Airlines, shortly after Vietnam reopened the borders, the carrier has resumed regular flights to 15 international destinations, including Australia. The airline is operating seven direct flights connecting Vietnam and Australia weekly. The number of flights will be increased to 11 in July and 16 in October, he added. He noted that the travel demand between the two countries has risen quickly with seat occupancy at around 87 percent on average, 8 percent higher than pre-Covid-19. Rebecca George, Market Manager Australia at SLC Representation, said Australia has seen surging searches for tours to Vietnam. Australian travelers have been increasingly interested in Vietnam and want to make it their next destination. Vietnams easing of Covid-19 control measures will help its tourism industry gain advantages over other countries, she said. Vietnamplus Page Content In May, the U.S. State and Treasury departments and the FBI released a joint advisory warning about the inadvertent hiring of North Korean IT workers by American companies. This is part of a broader push to make companies aware of potential sanctions violations. "There's been a couple of prosecutions lately of Chinese and Korean malicious cyber actors," said Kevin Gaunt, an attorney with Hunton Andrews Kurth in Washington, D.C. "Over the past year and a half or two years, there's been more of a push to educate [as well as] guidance issued on sanctions-related threats across the board." Overlook Sanctions at Your Own Risk While many companies may already have systems in place to focus on anti-bribery compliance or customs issues, sanctions issues are often overlooked, at a company's own risk. "North Korea is an embargoed country, meaning that U.S. persons, such as U.S.-incorporated entities or any U.S. citizens and permanent residents, are prohibited from doing business with North Korea, in most circumstances," said Kerry Contini, an attorney with Baker & McKenzie in Washington, D.C. "So if they hire a North Korean IT worker [who] is based in North Korea and lives in North Korea, that could be a sanction violation." Deliberately Hiding Identities North Korean IT workers set out to intentionally conceal their identities to get hired by U.S.-based companies, using a variety of methods to fool hiring managers. Sometimes, the North Korean workers are based physically outside of North Korea or will hire locals to serve as a fake front in the job application process. "Over the past two years, with the pandemic, there's been a lot more remote work. It's a lot more commonplace" to hire remote workers, Gaunt said. Because of that, it can help to take basic precautions to make sure the IT worker who is being hired is who the person should be. North Korean IT workers will deploy virtual private networks to hide their IP address, create resumes with false references and job histories, set up websites with fake portfolios, and use other methods to conceal who they really are. "If you're not doing an in-person interview or face-to-face exchange of resumes, it's a little bit easier to pull off an intentional concealment of your identity," Gaunt said. Smaller and midsize companies, in particular, might be more vulnerable to being fooled by North Korean IT workers simply because the companies don't have the systems in place to check references and resumes. "You're focused on what your needs are, how much you have to pay to do it, how long, how quickly somebody can turn it around. A lot of the times, especially in smaller or medium-size companies, there's not necessarily the additional scrutiny on hiring a contractor," Gaunt said. "Hiring companies aren't necessarily thinking, 'I might be getting scammed by a North Korean IT worker.' " Penalties and Sanction Compliance Programs Companies should take the advisory as a warning to be more careful about sanctions violations because the penalties can be steep. Common sanctions penalties can be about $330,000 per violation, or twice the value of the transaction, whichever one has a higher value. This number can rise for a willful violation and can result in imprisonment for individuals who knowingly violate sanctions. "This really just underscores the importance of compliance programs," Contini said. "Sanctions compliance programs are extremely important, and that would include all of the kind[s] of basic elements that you would normally include in a compliance program." Having processes in place that allow companies to identify and address red flags that come up in the hiring process, as well as educating hiring managers about what they should be looking out for, are key to prevent inadvertent sanctions violations. Although this advisory only addresses North Korean IT workers, the issues at the root of the advisory and the lessons that can be learned should be heeded by all companies that could potentially violate sanctions in hiring. "As more of these types of guidance come out from the government, it's going to be harder and harder for U.S. companies to say they didn't know," Gaunt said. Katie Nadworny is a freelance writer in Istanbul. Takeaway: Under the Railway Labor Act, federal jurisdiction may exist over a seemingly minor disciplinary issue if the discipline was allegedly based on anti-union animus. Page Content A union established Railway Labor Act (RLA) discrimination when an offsite brawl resulted in the suspension of members of its leadership but not a pro-railway member, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen is a labor union representing more than 5,000 Union Pacific engineers. It is made up of a number of local units or divisions. Division 192 is the exclusive representative for Union Pacific employees in and around El Paso, Texas. During early 2021, tension arose within the division over the union's stance on "shoves." Engineers take shoves when they accept extra shifts at the request of the railroad. The union took a position against taking shoves, but one engineer continued taking them. Two Division 192 officers, the local chairman and vice local chairman, confronted the engineer about his behavior via text message and the division's Facebook page. Mounting tensions ultimately erupted into an off-duty fistfight before a union meeting. The meeting was scheduled at a local restaurant. The pro-shove engineer arrived a half hour before the start time. A number of the division's officers, including the local chairman and vice local chairman, had already arrived and were chatting in the parking lot. The engineer approached the vice local chairman and allegedly struck him repeatedly until he fell to the ground. The local chairman and other division members attempted to separate the parties, and a shouting match ensued. In the tumult, the engineer crossed back over to the vice local chairman, who had risen to his feet, and allegedly punched him until he collapsed again. The two were finally separated, and the meeting took place without the engineer or the vice local chairman. Almost two months later, the engineer filed a complaint with Union Pacific, alleging that he had been threatened and physically assaulted by the local chairman and the vice local chairman in retaliation for taking extra shifts. A company supervisor met with the engineer about the incident and took statements from two other employees. One of these employees wrote that he had witnessed part of the altercation and helped to diffuse the situation. The other employee was not present at the time of the altercation but said that he also took shoves and had been subject to similar harassment by the vice local chairman. About a week later, Union Pacific indefinitely suspended the local chairman and vice local chairman without pay. It also suspended three other union officers and one more union member. The engineer's initial report did not allege that those four individuals were directly involved in the fight; rather, they were simply bystanders. Union Pacific did not take their statements before disciplining them. All six individuals received notices of investigations stating that they would be subject to disciplinary proceedings that could result in termination. The local chairman and vice local chairman were charged with violating two Union Pacific policies prohibiting violence in the workplace and discourteous, immoral or quarrelsome behavior, and the other four bystanders were charged with failing to take any action to stop the fight or report the incident to management. The engineer was not suspended or issued a notice, even though it is Union Pacific's policy to discipline every participant in a physical altercation. It also did not discipline the other engineer who witnessed the fight, even though he had not made any effort to report the incident. The suspension of six union members effectively barred all the members of Division 192's leadership team from the premises. The officers claimed that they could not perform most union duties remotely. Within days of the suspensions, the union sued Union Pacific in federal court, alleging that it retaliated against the union for its shove policy in violation of the RLA, which prohibits interference with union activity. The union sought an injunction requiring Union Pacific to end its investigation and reinstate the suspended employees. Union Pacific filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, arguing that the dispute needed to be arbitrated. The district court granted the preliminary injunction and denied the motion to dismiss. Union Pacific appealed to the 5th Circuit. On appeal, the 5th Circuit found that the district court had jurisdiction because of the evidence of anti-union animus by Union Pacific. It ruled that the district court had not abused its discretion in granting an injunction to the union. Union Pacific argued that the union was not likely to succeed on its interference claim. The court found that the evidence that members of the union's active-duty leadership had been suspended and two pro-shove employees were not supported the finding of a likelihood of success. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., 5th Cir., No. 21-50544 (Apr. 13, 2022), petition for rehearing en banc denied (May 10, 2022). Jeffrey Rhodes is an attorney with McInroy, Rigby & Rhodes LLP in Arlington, Va. The 48th G7 Summit, an international association of the worlds advanced economies, was held from 26 to 28 June 2022 in Schloss Elmau, Krun, Bavarian Alps, Germany. Group of Seven (G7) leaders met in the Schloss Elmau national monument, nestled in Germanys Bavarian Alps. Leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the European Union, were present. Well, the goals of the G7 summits are to strengthen international economic and security policies and progressive discussion of crucial global issues such as climate change and gender equality. For the 2022 summit, the preliminary plan of G7 was the war in Ukraine and the requirement to cement a united Western bloc as per a senior fellow Stewart M Patrick of the Council on Foreign Relations. The discussions were focused on reducing Europes dependency on Russian energy. Presence of India at the G7 summit As Germany hosted the G7 meeting, the German presidency set its programme Progress towards an Equitable World five primary goals: a sustainable planet, economic stability & transformation, healthy lives, investment in a better future, and strong together. Germany also invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as leaders from Indonesia, South Africa, Senegal, and Argentina. These countries discussed climate change, energy, and other issues for the developing democratic nations like food security, health, counter-terrorism, gender equality, and democracy. With protesters in Bavaria clamoring against global inaction in the face of the imminent climate crisis, the leaders discussed the matter of climate change and energy with the guest countries. Apart from the worldwide infrastructure initiative, the group decided to lend aid towards energy transition to India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Senegal in the form of Just Energy Transition Partnerships, which is already being implemented in South Africa. But at a time when energy prices were skyrocketing, it was a hard sell for the leaders to convince other nations to abandon their coal furnaces and gas pipelines. However, the three-day meeting concluded with a commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, even as they agreed to close collaboration with developing countries to boost clean energy and resilience through new initiatives, comprising its commitment to Just Energy Transition Partnership with India. Climate club ties up private & public sectors The German president has proposed the idea of a climate club, which, as with the net-zero and nature compact pledges, looks to build a global alliance among countries to deepen collaboration on delivering on their Paris Agreement pledges. The climate club would involve governments working with the private sector across three core pillars: Putting a price on pollution Greening heavy industry Increasing trade of low carbon products To achieve an entirely or predominantly decarbonized electricity sector by 2035, the discussion pointed out that emission from coal power generation is the single most significant cause of global warming. The implications of 2035 power sector decarbonization mean phasing out coal power in G7 and EU member countries would avoid 1.9 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, which is more than the combined total CO2 emissions from all Southeast Asian countries. On industrial decarbonization opportunities with G7, Deepak Sriram Krishnan, Associate Director, WRI India's Energy Program, said India could try and negotiate the transitions related to thermal power plants as well as coal mining. "A second area of transition, which is of critical importance for us, is our industrial sector, especially the MSMEs. Given that a significant number of them are exporting to markets like the G7 or are part of supply chains of companies, which may have their headquarters in the G7 countries. It would also be important to try and negotiate for financial flows and technology transfer for the industrial sector decarbonization as well." On how G7 dragged its feet on climate action and commitment, Vaibhav Chaturvedi, Fellow, Council for Energy Environment & Water (CEEW), said, "Cooperation on climate change mitigation and adaptation was one of the important issues for the G7 discussions. "India's ambitious mitigation targets warranted a solid commitment from the G7 countries on climate finance for India, through a Just Energy Transition Partnership. The outcome from the summit on this front has been disappointing. Looks like rich countries are again dragging their feet, rather than acting fast to support India's ambition. "India will have to continue to ramp up pressure on the developed world to deliver fast on climate finance through various channels." In an edition of siliconindia, Syed Fahad, Executive Director, Golden Hatcheries, said, With the alarming rise of global warming and its subsequent harmful effects on the climate, the homeostatic balance of the earth has reached its breaking point. It is high time for businesses to mend their ways by switching over to eco-friendly Energy sources. Knowledge of computer applications is crucial in the digital era, whether you need to create a presentation for a school assignment or aspire to get a high-paying job. However, the preliminary computer training provided at schools cannot cover in-depth knowledge in different areas. Here, computer courses come to the rescue. Leading Computer Institute in Thane like iFuture Technologies offer varied computer courses both beginner and advanced. Beginner courses provide an overview of the corporate world of Information Technology. In-depth/advanced courses include computer courses on Dot Net, MS Office, Java and more. These institutes also offer internship opportunities and placement after you successfully complete the chosen courses. Here are the benefits of taking up computer courses and the trending career opportunities they can help you access. Benefits of Taking Computer Classes Boost Employability If you know how to use a computer, your value to a prospective employer will increase. Even for ordinary jobs, you must know the most common applications of computers. These include, for example, applications under MS Office Suite and G Suite. Enhance Job Skills Computer skills are a primary requirement for most jobs now. In almost every job, you need basic skills to type and enter data. You should also know the basics of using an operating system. Often, you are expected to be familiar with office productivity applications like spreadsheets and word processors. Even non-office jobs can need you to have some computer training. As a retail cashier, you need to work with complex point-of-sale kiosks. In a factory position, you may need to log the work hours or enter production information daily on a computer. Increase Productivity Computers help boost your work's speed. So, learning their proper usage can help you increase your productivity. For instance, if you can compile data from many Excel worksheets, department heads can receive valuable data faster, says Forbes magazine. Advance Career Would you like to be stuck working in the same company forever? With computer skills, you can access better career opportunities. Career Opportunities with a Computer Qualification Computer courses can open up a range of trending career opportunities like: Java Web/Android/EE Developer Data Science Data Analyst Big Data Engineering Big Data Analysis Cybersecurity Web Designing Software Development Computer Hardware Engineering and Networking Blockchain Machine Learning and Cloud IT Support Specialist System Support Specialist Help Desk Technician Service Desk Analyst Technical Support Specialist Where can you get computer courses? Among various modes, the most flexible one is online. It would be completely remote, suitable in the current situation. Also, it would save time and cost of travel. You only need to have a reliable computer and internet connection. Due to these benefits, the market for online education in India is growing considerably. It is expected to rise at a CAGR of 20% between 2022 and 2026, says Technavio. In India, online computer classes in Thane are one of the best. Indias future unicorns, including Shiprocket, Zepto, Turtlemint, Pepperfry, Juspay and Ather Energy, are currently worth $49 billion, a 36% jump in value compared to last year, a report by Hurun Research Institute showed. The report by the research house is a ranking of privately held Indian startups that were founded after the year 2000, worth at least $200 million and expected to turn unicorn in the next 2-4 years. Unicorns are privately held startups valued at $1 billion or more. In just one year, the number of unicorns in the country has grown by 65% in 2021...Probably the pandemic has hastened the disruption of traditional businesses and helped in the ascendancy of the startups, said Anas Rahman Junaid, managing director and chief researcher, Hurun Research Institute According to the report, Hurun has classified 17 startups, including logistics platform Shiprocket; quick commerce entity Zepto; insurtech player Turtlemint; electric vehicle venture Ather Energy; financial services provider Vivriti Capital; mobility startup Rapido and financial software platform Clear (formerly ClearTax), which are expected to attain unicorn valuations in the next two years. The report lists the likes of furniture startup Pepperfry; payment infrastructure providers Juspay and Mswipe Technologies, as well as buy-now-pay later startup ZestMoney to reach unicorn valuations in the next four years. There are some concerns in the global economy that can impact the valuations and capital raising ability of Indian startups. Moreover, some Indian startups are also going for layoffs and cost-cutting measures, Junaid said in the report. The startup ecosystem has seen a sharp slowdown in venture funding and many startups including Unacademy, Vedantu, Udaan and Meesho have fired employees to conserve cash and extend their runway. Global investors such as Sequoia Capital have also cautioned entrepreneurs about turbulent financial markets, signalling a reluctance among investors to write large cheques. We believe that there could be a blip in the growth story in the short run...The pinch felt in the valuation exercise and extra scrutiny of deliverables could help in broad-basing the system, Junaid added. Sequoia, which invested in 39 probable unicorns in 2021, is the most active investor in the ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2022, followed by Tiger Global with stakes in 27 future unicorns. Sequoia has some big companies in its kitty like Classplus, DeHaat, Porter, Progcap and CityMall, the report said. Bengaluru has the third-highest number of tech startups in the world followed by Delhi-NCR and Mumbai, it said. The cumulative revenue of future unicorns increased by 65% in FY21 to Rs 16,448 crore, according to the report. The report highlighted that 15 companies featured in the ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2022 have a woman co-founder. Analysing top sectors that have a high valuation, the report named fintech followed by ecommerce, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and edtech as sectors with the highest cumulative valuations. Fintech segment has a cumulative valuation of $11,550 million, ecommerce has a valuation of $6,130 million and SaaS has a valuation of $2,900 million, the report showed. There are 27 fintech future unicorns in India and more than 50% of the fintech future unicorns are in the consumer lending business, it said. 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! Humm founder Andrew Abercrombie will once again become the consumer lenders chairman and former bank CEO Stuart Grimshaw will join the board after the collapse of a deal to sell its buy now, pay later arm saw all other directors resign. Abercrombie, who was Humms chairman until last December, will again steer the companys board after a tumultuous few months, which culminated in the collapse of a deal to sell its consumer finance arm to Ahmed Fahours Latitude Financial. Humm founder Andrew Abercrombie will once again become chair of the company. Abercrombie, who is also the biggest shareholder in Humm with a 23 per cent stake, had openly campaigned against the sale, arguing it undervalued the consumer business and urging shareholders to vote against it. The other directors told shareholders several weeks ago that Humm and Latitude had mutually agreed to abandon the deal due to major market disruption. The board later said the fall in Latitudes share price had sunk the value of the deal. During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, most of us have come to appreciate the valuable and dangerous work done by the riders and drivers for home-delivery services such as Uber and Deliveroo. But many of these workers are still treated as second-class citizens when it comes to wages and conditions. Because the delivery companies treat them as contractors rather than employees, they are not guaranteed an hourly wage, and they are not covered by standard rules on workers compensation. However, since at least 2020, when four home delivery drivers died on Sydneys roads in just a few months, unions have campaigned to bring delivery drivers in from the cold. It has been slow going. Companies argued that gig economy workers are different from workers in other industries because they can choose when they want to work, and normal industrial relations rules should not apply. I attended South by Southwest for the first time in 1998 and I was hooked, Daniels said. It was love at first sight from the moment I arrived at Austin Airport where there was live music being performed in the terminal. I was energised with a combined sense of possibility, innovation and discovery. My world felt bigger and my horizons broader. Put simply, I want every person that attends South By Southwest to feel the same way I did in 1998. Colin Daniels, managing director of SXSW Sydney, said the event would gather the largest group of inspiring international thinkers, creators, innovators and performers ever seen in Sydney at one time. In a coup for Destination NSW, the lead government agency responsible for tourism and major events, South by Southwest (SXSW) will be brought from Austin, Texas, to Sydney in October 2023. Sydneys live events calendar will receive a major boost next year with the addition of a new global music, talks and film festival to help drive the states culture-led, post-lockdown comeback. Focusing on the creator industries in the Asia Pacific region, SXSW Sydney would celebrate whats next in culture, tech, and the regions thriving creative economy - with the city to play host to more than 1000 experiences encompassing keynote speakers, inspiring panels, summits, product demonstrations, artists performances, screenings, live gaming sessions and myriad networking events and parties. Rapper Joey bada$$ performs at The Mohawk during SXSW in Austin, Texas. Filmmaker Baz Luhrmann endorsed the Sydney edition: The thing about South By Southwest is it removes the line between what is music, what is film, what is gaming. What its really about is what is creativity, what is culture, but the idea that you bring this confluence of all these cultural elements together in a city like Sydney. And when I think about the fact that we are positioned so much on the Asian Pacific Rim, and that we are at [the] crossroads, I cant even imagine how exciting its going to be to have South By Southwest in the only other place in the world to have it, in Sydney. Event producer for SXSW Sydney Geoff Jones said: Put simply, SXSW is the Olympics of events for the creator industries, and we are thrilled to bring this legendary festival of gaming, music, screen, tech and innovation to Sydney in 2023. The Sydney edition will be the first time the festival has left its home state of Texas since its launch in 1987. It will comprise 1000 sessions, screenings, and performances, activations, and parties across the city with the Sydney convention centre as the anchor point. Daniels said there was a place at the table for kitchen start-ups and garage bands as well as multinational companies trying to change the world. The world may well be heading to another Arab Spring thanks to a perfect storm of food crises, which we know from history can result in massive social unrest. Twelve years ago, simultaneous grain harvest shortages in Ukraine, Russia and China all rooted in extreme weather events led to the tripling of the spot price for wheat, and drove unrest across the Middle East and North Africa. These events became a trigger for the Syrian war, whose subsequent mass displacement of people almost brought down the European Union and was a decisive issue in the Brexit decision. A daily wage laborer waits for work at a wholesale market in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Monday. The country is experiencing crippling food and fuel shortages. Credit:AP Right now, the world faces shortages of basic commodities, rising prices, crops devastated by extreme weather, a grain trade disrupted by war, and looming famine, especially in East Africa. The world will face more challenges to political order as it gets hotter and drier, and becomes harder to produce food for a growing population. In light of this, Australia needs to understand the risks and implications for its own food security, and for the food security of the world. The causes of the present food crisis are well known. Even before the war in Ukraine, which in some ways is also a war about energy politics in Europe, global food prices were heading for record highs, driven in part by the fact COVID-19 has disrupted supply chains. More young people are dying in traffic incidents than from diseases or self-harm, as experts say small changes to speed limits and road design would make a significant difference to the road toll. Australian research has shown young people aged 10 to 24 worldwide were more likely to die from traffic incidents including car, motorcycle and pedestrian collisions than any other cause. Young people are more likely to die in road accidents than from disease or self-harm. Credit:Anna Kucera While the number of deaths attributed to road fatalities in the age group decreased by a third between 1990 and 2019, the analysis showed the rate of decline was slowing in high-income countries, while deaths and injury rose in lower income countries. As other causes of death and disability have been addressed, these transport injuries have been stalling, said the lead author, UNSW researcher Dr Amy Peden. NSW Transport Minister David Elliott has called on his former colleague John Barilaro to withdraw from a US trade posting, as scrutiny over the controversial appointment intensifies. The former NSW deputy premier was earlier this month appointed to the $500,000-a-year-job, which he created as trade minister, prompting two separate inquiries and backlash from members of the Perrottet government. Amid mounting questions about the process leading to the appointment, Trade Minister Stuart Ayres has also confirmed Barilaro contacted him to express interest in the job before public advertisements were made late last year. Transport Minister David Elliott has called on former deputy premier John Barilaro to withdraw from the job. Credit:Jessica Hromas/Nick Moir On Thursday morning, Elliott said it was his strong view Barilaro should not be taking up the trade position in New York. Queensland will ban plastic microbeads, polystyrene packing peanuts, plastic-stemmed cotton buds and the mass release of helium balloons by next year and disposable coffee cups are on borrowed time. A proposed five-year roadmap will see the items replaced by September 1, 2023, in an effort to phase out single-use plastics. More plastic items, including polystyrene packing peanuts, will be banned from next year. Disposable coffee cups will also soon be phased out. Credit:James Alcock Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said minimum standards would be introduced for heavy plastic bags requiring reusability testing. Single-use plastics are problematic, and Queenslanders have made it clear they want to give more of them the punt, Scanlon said. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size It came out of the storm; a sudden wall of water as tall as a 10-storey building. On deck, explorer Jules Dumont dUrville estimated the wave loomed at least 30 metres high and it was bearing down on his ship the Astrolabe fast. Somehow, they made it back to shore, losing just one man on that dangerous crossing of the Indian Ocean in 1826. But when Dumont dUrville, known as Frances Captain Cook, and his crew later recounted the tale of the monster wave, no one believed them. As far as the scientists of the 19th century were concerned, what theyd seen was impossible: no wave could reach more than nine metres. For centuries, ships disappearances at sea were blamed on pirates or misadventure, and stories of giant waves dismissed as readily as legends of sea monsters. Then in 1995, a sensor on a Norwegian oil rig captured proof of what Dumont dUrville had faced: a wave 26 metres tall, more than twice the size of any recorded in the area in the hours before taller even than the hypothetical waves scientists then believed could only happen once every 10,000 years. That same year, when the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 was struck by a 27-metre tall wave en route from the UK to New York, scientists had to admit something else: these so-called rogue waves arent just possible, they happen relatively frequently. Facing down that 1995 wave, the QE2 captain said it looked as if they were headed for Britains White Cliffs of Dover. So, what are rogue waves exactly? And are we getting any better at predicting (and outlasting) them? A cruise ship, reportedly in waters near Australia, was hit by steep wave so big the crew in the bridge fell as the ship plunged down the trough. Credit:Shorex71 What are rogue waves? Today, the monster wave of sailors nightmares has a formal scientific definition: a rogue wave is at least twice as high as recent waves around it. It can rise and disappear quickly out of a stormy sea, but it can come out of nowhere too in calm waters. ANU theoretical physicist Professor Nail Akhmediev, who has been working to predict rogue waves through equations, says survivors will sometimes describe otherwise good sailing weather, clear skies before the monster wave appears. Such phenomena can even swallow rescue helicopters as they swing down to the water. Advertisement In more than 40 years at sea, marine engineer Karsten Petersen says he never saw a more terrifying wave than the monster that crashed on deck during a voyage across the Pacific Ocean from Singapore to the US in 1977. From the bridge, he managed to photograph it (below) snapping some of the worlds few images of a rogue wave. When the water crashed on deck, more than 22 metres above sea level, Petersen, now retired, recalls the heart-stopping moment they werent sure if the ship was underwater or still afloat. Looking out of the bridge windows was like looking into a water tank, he says. No sky, no horizon, no ship in front of you only water. But like a miracle, the white mist cleared, and the tanker pressed on through the wild seas, although with heavy damage. The tanker Stolt Surf faces a huge wave in 1977. The photo was taken from the bridge 22 metres above sea level, which the wave then crashed on top of, leaving a twisted metal gangway above deck and wreckage below. Credit:Karsten Petersen / www.global-mariner.dk Peter van Duyn also spent many years sailing the world: captaining ships, weathering hurricanes and cyclones and skirting icebergs, in the 1970s and 80s before rogue waves were accepted science. Ive seen some big, big waves, he says. But back then there was no proof and it is hard to judge the exact size on the bridge of a ship. When you got back on land, theyd just say you were dreaming. Rogue waves are not tsunamis those waves are triggered by a large displacement of water due to an event such as an earthquake, volcanic eruption or landslide. They affect the entire water column. At sea, you might not even notice a tsunami wave rolling under you but near the shore, as it enters the shallows, those waves can climb to terrifying heights, often kilometres wide. Rogue waves, meanwhile, are generally thought of as those at the surface, although Akhmediev says there are also giant, unexpected waves deep below, sometimes called rogue internal waves. They found the sub split into three parts on the bottom of the sea but it hadnt been attacked by anything or anyone. Advertisement Its believed one such monster tore apart an Indonesian submarine and killed all 53 on board just in 2021 in the Bali Sea. That wave may have been up to 100 metres tall. There was no other explanation, says Akhmediev of the tragedy. They found the sub split into three parts on the bottom of the sea but it hadnt been attacked by anything or anyone. The area is a known hotspot for such sea turbulence, scientists say, and satellite images taken at the time also revealed waves on the surface, likely ripples from a giant wall of water surging below. Aside from eagle-eyed sailors, Akhmediev says there are now many ways to detect rogue waves, from measuring pressure at the bottom of the ocean to special buoys drifting the seas gauging wave heights. Loading If you counted out all the ocean waves one by one, its estimated that one wave out of every 10,000 would be a rogue, he says. So there would be at least 10 of them at any one time in the ocean. Of course, luckily, theres not that many ships out there [compared to the vast ocean], so not many will encounter them. In 2004, scientists using satellite data from the European Space Agency spotted at least 10 significant rogue waves, each 25 metres or higher, within just three weeks. At the time, the agency said rogue waves were likely to have sunk most of the 200 supertankers and container ships over 200 metres long that had gone down in severe weather over the previous two decades. Sometimes, in a phenomenon known as the three sisters, giant waves will strike in threes. In 2010, two people were killed when three such rogues hit the Louis Majesty cruise ship off the coast of Spain. Advertisement Rogue holes can be even steeper than the rogue wave, and very dangerous too this great hole opening suddenly in the sea. The first didnt do much damage but the second and third blew out the glass and flooded into multiple decks, Akhmediev says. Multiple rogue waves were also to blame for the 1998 Sydney to Hobart yacht race tragedy in those wild waters, six lives and five boats were lost. Then in 2012, Akhmediev and his colleagues proved the existence of another oddity: rogue holes, the inverse of a rogue wave where the depth of the trough (the waves lowest point) can be twice as big as its crest (top). So they can be even steeper than the rogue wave, and very dangerous too this great hole opening suddenly in the sea, he says. Katsushika Hokusais iconic print, Under the Wave off Kanagawa, depicts a large wave often misidentified as a tsunami but likely showing a rogue wave. How do rogue waves form? If weather forecasting is complicated, oceans are an even more complex beast, Akhmediev says. The wind whips up waves, driving them across the seas for thousands of kilometres. But everything from the geography of bays and ocean floor to the movements of the Earth and moon even the amount of salt in the swells can affect how these waves form. Still, there are two main schools of thought to explain rogue waves in physics. The simplest is known as linear theory. It argues that when two wave crests meet they can merge into one wave twice as big (just as a trough meeting a crest can cancel it out and flatten the sea). Sometimes different columns of waves or wave trains will collide, often when different currents run into each other, forming huge waves for short periods. Advertisement Think of cars travelling at speed, says Akhmediev. Every now and then, theres a pile-up. At certain hotspots, scientists can see this in action. The most infamous is off the southeast coast of Africa, says van Duyn, where the fast-moving Agulhas current collides with waters from the Indian and Southern oceans. This can have an amplifying effect on the waves, making them steeper, like focusing light from a magnifying glass. When scientists at Oxford recreated that 1995 wave that hit the oil rig near Norway, known as the Draupner wave, in a tank in the lab, they saw something that looked remarkably similar to the great wave depicted by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai in his iconic 19th-century print. But they also found that the dynamics of how waves break change when two peaks crisscross. If they meet at the right angle, sometimes they can line up to a rogue. This linear theory does not explain many elements of waves, though, including why some rogues form on seemingly calm waters in the middle of nowhere. And we know waves dont act in a nice linear way, where the size of a rogue is in perfect proportion to the waves it came out of, says Akhmediev. Thats why he and many mathematicians are increasingly looking to the strange world of quantum physics for an explanation. All particles act like waves, after all, even on a subatomic level, he says. Under their non-linear theory, waves not directly interacting can sometimes share energy. Like cars, they carry enormous amounts of energy, he says. And sometimes it can grow, leeching out from other surrounding waves and concentrating into a single rogue. Advertisement The $2.1 billion fleet of Guardian-class patrol boats Australia has given to Pacific nations to strengthen regional security has been plagued by design flaws, including carbon monoxide leaks, throwing into question whether the vessels can remain at sea. Under the program, Australian ship maker Austal will deliver 22 of the 39-metre boats by 2023 to 12 Pacific Island nations, including Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Fiji and Timor-Leste, to combat illegal fishing and transnational crime. Australia has donated Guardian-class patrol boats to Pacific nations that have subsequently developed a series of problems. Credit:Defence The decision to give the vessels to Pacific neighbours was originally taken by the Turnbull government in 2016 as part of the so-called Pacific Step-up. Three significant design flaws have emerged: in February 2021, cracked coupling was discovered between the engine and the gearbox; and in May 2021, the ships sick bays proved to have poor ventilation. Former deputy premier John Barilaro has quit his controversial role as newly appointed US trade commissioner, conceding his appointment was a distraction and untenable. Barilaros decision follows almost two weeks of intense scrutiny of the NSW governments handling of his appointment to the $500,000-a-year job, which has triggered two separate inquiries and backlash from his former colleagues. Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro has stepped down from the US appointment. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer In a statement late on Thursday Barilaro said he believed his appointment would continue to be a distraction and not allow this important role to achieve what it was designed to do. It is clear that my taking up this role is now not tenable with the amount of media attention this appointment has gained, he said. NSW Trade Minister Stuart Ayres received the approval of cabinet to maintain overseas trade commissioners as public service appointments, in a bid to keep the roles at arms length from politicians. The process behind the recruitment for the lucrative roles has been under fierce scrutiny since the controversial appointment of former deputy premier John Barilaro as US trade commissioner earlier this month. Investment and Trade Minister Stuart Ayres said withdrawing from the role was an option for John Barilaro to consider. Credit:Jessica Hromas As the new trade minister last year, Ayres took to the strategy subcommittee of cabinet a proposal to ensure the appointment process for the $500,000-a-year roles stayed with the public service. The Herald can confirm the subcommittee of cabinet, which includes senior ministers and Premier Dominic Perrottet, endorsed his plan. Ayres on Thursday confirmed he rejected an initial cabinet decision, made days before former premier Gladys Berejiklian resigned in October, to make the overseas roles ministerial appointments. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Hong Kong for its 25th anniversary of Chinese rule, his first trip to the city since overseeing twin crackdowns on political dissent and COVID-19 that risked the territorys future as an international commercial centre. Xi pulled into West Kowloon Station on Thursday afternoon with his wife, Peng Liyuan, after taking the high-speed rail link from mainland China, according to the South China Morning Post. China hasnt released Xis itinerary, but he is expected to stay overnight in the neighbouring tech hub of Shenzhen, as Hong Kong experiences its worst COVID surge since April - some 2000 cases were recorded on Wednesday. Students march with a Chinese national flag during a flag-raising ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of Hong Kongs return to Chinese rule at Scientia Secondary School in Hong Kong on Thursday. Credit:Bloomberg A closed-door banquet hosted by outgoing leader Carrie Lam that Xi was expected to attend on Thursday evening was cancelled due to virus concerns, the Sing Tao newspaper reported. The Chinese leader will return to the former British colony on July 1 to swear in her successor as Hong Kong chief executive, John Lee, a former police official and security minister. The trip marks Xis first outside mainland China in almost 900 days, after his COVID-zero policy restricted his travel to domestic engagements, and led Hong Kong to close its own borders. Its the first time during the pandemic that Xi has set foot in a city openly operating with thousands of COVID cases evidence of Xis determination to signal Chinas firm control of the once freewheeling territory. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Famine is not a word United Nations officials use lightly. But as Russias invasion of Ukraine stokes a full-blown global food security crisis, humanitarian workers are sounding the alarm. Some 49 million people in 43 countries were just one step away from famine, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in May. And a failure to open key Ukrainian ports that have been blocked because of the war would lead to famine and destabilisation and mass migration, said David Beasley, head of the UNs World Food Programme. Tens of millions of people are staring into an abyss. Historians credit rapid increases in the cost of staples such as bread with triggering, or at least contributing to, many popular revolts. But why has war in Ukraine caused such a serious food emergency? And could food shortages spark conflict in other parts of the world? What gets out of Ukraine is being rerouted from ports around Odessa to others including this one, Constanta, in Romania. Credit:Getty Images Why has war in Ukraine had such a big effect on the global food system? Russia and Ukraine provide nearly an eighth of all the calories traded worldwide, according to the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute. In 2021, produce from Ukraine fed about 400 million people. Russia was the worlds biggest exporter of wheat and Ukraine the fifth-biggest. Some 50 countries depend on Russia, Ukraine or both for more than 30 per cent of their wheat imports, the UNs Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates. Ukraine supplies half the worlds sunflower seed oil. Russia is the worlds biggest exporter of fertiliser. Advertisement Fighting in Ukraine has trashed farming and stopped grain from leaving storage facilities while warehouses storing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of grain have been destroyed. And the Black Sea ports through which most Ukrainian grain is exported have been blocked. While Russias food exports continue, their production and transport has been interrupted by international sanctions imposed following the invasion. Loading The knock-on effects are global. Farming is heavily dependent on fuel, for instance, which has skyrocketed in price in the conflicts wake. Fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides have shot up in cost. Food supply disruptions have caused international alarm, says University of NSW food security expert Dr Monika Barthwal-Datta. A number of countries have introduced export restrictions that have further reduced supply for international trade, and put upward pressure on global prices, she says. By chance, poor weather conditions in some parts of the world have prevented farmers from ramping up production in response to the crisis. In May, the worlds second-biggest wheat producer, India, banned wheat exports after unseasonable heat affected grain production, sending local prices soaring. Were already seeing riots and protesting taking place as we speak. David Beasley, head of the UNs World Food Programme Climate change is playing a part. An acute shortage of food in Madagascar in mid-2021 caused by prolonged drought was dubbed the worlds first climate change famine. This is an area of the world that has contributed nothing to climate change, Beasley said, but now, theyre the ones paying the highest price. Advertisement Barthwal-Datta also notes the impacts of climate change heatwaves, cyclones, floods are experienced unevenly. Unfortunately, those who are the most poor and marginalised, and least equipped in terms of resources to deal with these changes, will be the ones most adversely affected by the consequences of climate change. Meanwhile, the current global food price spiral threatens to spill over into political unrest. A 2011 academic study found the timing of violent protests in North Africa and the Middle East in 2008 and again in 2011 as part of the Arab Spring uprisings coincided with large peaks in global food prices. Beasley has warned the UN Security Council of widespread destabilisation. In 2007 and 2008, we all witnessed what happened when pricing gets out of control, he said. There were over 40 nations with political unrest, riots and protests. Were already seeing riots and protesting taking place as we speak. Which countries are worst affected? Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen are the worst hunger hotpots identified in a report by the UNs Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Food Programme in June. Food security in all six is classified as catastrophic. Somalia, which is grappling with an historic fourth consecutive failed rainy season, relies on Ukraine and Russia for about 90 per cent of its wheat imports. More than 7 million people, almost half the countrys population, now face crisis-level food insecurity or worse. The report identified 10 more nations with deteriorating critical conditions, mostly in western and central Africa. Sri Lanka, where rising food and energy prices have triggered a financial crisis, and Ukraine itself were in June added to the growing list of hunger hotspots. Advertisement Dane Moores, policy manager at aid agency World Vision Australia, says a food crisis years in the making has reached a tipping point. He warns the situation means aid agencies will have to stop feeding the hungry, so they can concentrate on the starving. When not even crisis is as bad as it gets: How the international scale for food security problems works A scale to rate regional food security problems called the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is widely accepted by the international community. The first phase is minimal and is colour-coded pale green on maps produced by the IPC. Vulnerable households are still able to meet essential food and non-food needs without resorting to atypical and unsustainable strategies such as selling basic assets. At phase two - titled stressed and coded yellow - families are receiving only minimal nutrition requirements and are unable to afford basic non-food expenditures without engaging in stress-coping strategies. In phase three crisis, coded orange an elevated share of the population is acutely malnourished because households are experiencing food consumption gaps or are meeting only basic food needs by selling assets essential to their livelihoods. Phase four is deemed an emergency and is red. Widespread food scarcity results in high rates of acute malnutrition and excess deaths, or families are able to ward off starvation only by resorting to extreme measures. In this phase, urgent action is needed to save lives and livelihoods. The six worst affected nations identified by this months UN hunger hotspots report now have large populations at phase four. To reach phase five famine three horrific benchmarks are required: first, one in every five households must have an extreme lack of food and other basic needs; second, more than 30 per cent of children must be suffering from acute malnutrition; and third, at least two out of every 10,000 people must be dying each day from starvation. In the IPC system, famine is colour-coded brown. People displaced due to the drought stand around in a camp on the outskirts of Dollow, Jubaland, in Somalia hoping for aid and assistance. Credit:Getty Images What does a famine look like? Since the mid-1970s, parts of Africa have been hardest hit by food emergencies. In 1984, footage of famine in Ethiopia shocked the world and seeded a new style of celebrity activism with the Band Aid hit single Do They Know Its Christmas? and the 1985 Live Aid concerts. I saw the dreadful consequences of famine first-hand while reporting at the Dadaab refugee camp near the Somalia-Kenya border in 2011. The desolate camp was swamped by tens of thousands of Somalis who had left their homes in search of food. The camp was growing so quickly that relief organisations struggled to cope; death was everywhere. One of the many desperate people I encountered was a young mother, Ladhan Waraq, who had lost her eight-year-old daughter, Malyun, on the day I met her. She had been sick for a long time, Waraq told me after returning from the grave, a fresh mound of red dirt covered with thorn bushes in a makeshift cemetery nearby. Advertisement Another of her daughters, five-month-old Sahlan Mohamad, was also stricken by malnutrition. An aid worker with me called an ambulance and the mother and daughter were taken to a stabilisation ward in one of the camps hospitals, overflowing with malnourished children. Ladhan Waraq with her daughter Sahlan Mohammed on the outskirts of Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, near the Somalian border, in 2011. Credit:Jacky Ghossein Muhammad Abduli, the grim-faced community leader who introduced me to Waraq, told me at least 40 children from his small community had been buried in a makeshift camp cemetery in the previous two months. This graveyard has filled up, and we are starting a new one, he said. The UN later estimated the 2011 Somalia famine killed almost 260,000 people, half of them under the age of five. Many people dont realise how bad it has to get for famine to be declared, says Moores. Its not just large proportions of people going hungry, its actually large proportions of people literally dying from starvation. It is that ultimate, extreme deprivation of food. So far this century, two famines have been declared: Somalia in 2011 and South Sudan in 2017. Advertisement New York: Britains Prince Andrew should be the FBIs next target, lawyers for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell urged the day after the British heiress was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by a New York court. The FBI asked in 2019 to interview the Duke of York over his involvement with Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre, but, according to them, he refused to co-operate. He is still said to be a person of interest to the federal agency. Prince Andrew pictured with Virginia Giuffre, then Virginia Roberts, at the home of Ghislaine Maxwell, right, in London in 2001. Giuffre, who now lives in Australia, claimed she was groomed by Maxwell, 60, as a minor to be sexually abused by Epstein and Andrew. The Queen has stripped her 62-year-old son of His Royal Highness status, military titles and royal patronages. He largely withdrew from public life earlier this year after a reported $US12 million ($17 million) out-of-court settlement with Giuffre. He has always denied the allegations. PHILIPSBURG:---The Committee of Public Health Social Development and Labor (CVSA) of Parliament will meet on June 30, 2022. The Committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday at 11.00 hrs. in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelminastraat #1 in Philipsburg. The Minister of Public Health, Social Development, and Labor (VSA) will be present. The agenda points are: 1. Status of the amendment to the ordinance regulating the short-term contract (IS/077/2021-2022 dated October 10, 2021) 2. Current status of the Mental Health Sector in Sint Maarten 3. Presentation on Policies and Ordinances that directly relate to Mental Health Sector 4. Discussion on the areas for improvement, specifically as it relates to ordinances and policies (IS/471/2021-2022 dated January 19, 2022) Agenda point 1 was requested by MP G.C. Pantophlet and agenda points 2, 3, and 4 were requested by MP A.J.G. Romou. Members of the public are invited to the House of Parliament to attend parliamentary deliberations. All persons visiting the House of Parliament must adhere to the house rules and all health and safety protocols, including the wearing of a mask. The House of Parliament is located across from the Court House in Philipsburg. The parliamentary sessions will be carried live on TV 15, Soualiga Headlines, via SXM GOV radio FM 107.9, via Pearl Radio FM 98.1, the audio via the internet www.sxmparliament.org, www.pearlfmradio.sx, and www.youtube.com/c/SintMaartenParliament PHILIPSBURG:--- Leader of the Party for Progress (PFP) leader Mellissa Gumbs in her address to parliament indicated that her faction intends to submit a motion of no confidence against the Minister of VROMI Egbert Jurendy Doran. Gumbs in her presentation to parliament in round one explained the reasons that her faction has decided to such the motion. She referred to the report submitted on the Systemic Investigation on the garbage contracts tender process. The MP said that based on the contents of the Ombudsman report it can clearly be seen as bid-rigging, especially with the contents of the Terms of Reference for the tender. PFP MP Raeyhon Peterson said the Minister operates a Gestapo management of the Ministry of VROMI. He said civil servants that do not do what the Minister wants to get a warning letter. He said there is blatant nepotism since he has issued land to friends and family while securing contracts for persons within NV GEBE. Independent Member of Parliament Christopher Emmanuel in his presentation said he was not surprised by the Ombudsman report as he asked questions regarding the bidding process for the garbage contracts. Members of Parliament asked the Minister several questions regarding the Ministry of VROMI mainly the tender procedures he met when he took office and what has he had done to change the procedure since there was no policy in place. The Minister asked the Parliament of St. Maarten for a period of two weeks to prepare the answers. He informed parliament that his ministry is short-staffed and that he would need the time to do the necessary research in order to provide the parliament of St. Maarten with the answers to the questions they posed. Chairlady of Parliament Grisha Heyliger Marten tried to force the Minister to answer the questions immediately and even questioned him if he needed two weeks to answer 21 questions. The Minister maintained his stance that he needed a minimum of two weeks to put the answers together, he informed the chairlady that he should be granted the time he asked for since the rules of order nor the constitution of St. Maarten have not changed. PHILIPSBURG:--- The authorities from Aruba and Curacao made a request to the Dutch Ministry of Defence to support them during and after the storm that will pass the islands in the coming hours. They responded quickly and made personnel and resources available. On the island of Curacao, today started the 'partnered' performance of the Police Force of Curacao (KPC) together with the Military Force of Curacao (CURMIL). Mobile patrols are carried out from 4 KPC neighborhood offices with the aim of obtaining situational awareness so that the KPC-established crisis center can respond adequately by deploying personnel and resources where it is needed. In addition, if necessary, support can be provided in the evacuation of people and resources, the removal of injured persons, the performance of transport tasks, static and dynamic traffic management, and law enforcement. In Aruba, there are 50 marines and material on standby, in order to support the local authorities where necessary with transport capacity, assistance with emergency services, and provision of logistic resources. The countries take the initiative themselves, around the coordination and management of the assignments and Defence supports where necessary with people and resources. In addition to the Defence resources already deployed, it is possible to scale up if necessary. Supporting local authorities is one of the three main tasks of the Dutch Defence forces in the Caribbean. They focus on immediate (emergency) aid during and after the storm passage. For now, the assistance ends on Friday 1 July in the afternoon. If the situation so requires, military assistance can be extended. Mawson Expands Exploration Search Radius in Finland Mawson Gold Limited (aMawsona) or (the aCompanya) (TSX:MAW) (Frankfurt:MXR) (PINKSHEETS: MWSNF https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/mawson-gold-ltd/ ) announces updates to its exploration strategy expanding the search radius to encompass a large prospective, but untested, area of its 18,000 ha 100% owned-Rajapalot gold-cobalt project in northern Finland. Highlights: Majority of Mawsona?s 18,000 ha land package is underexplored Search radius to be expanded to encompass an approximate 5,000 ha area between 1A Moz AuEq Rajapalot inferred resource, and the ~10A km long subcropping Rompas system which reported a drilling highlight of 6 m at 617 g/t Au (Figure 1) Drone and ground based magnetic surveys have recently been undertaken to identify structural controls dated 1.78-1.8 billion years, responsible for ~5 Moz Au in recent Finnish discoveries Follow-up testing of the basement rocks immediately beneath shallow till by BOT drilling, with permitting in progress Mr. Fairhall, CEO, states aWhilst we are busy pulling together the PEA over Rajapalot, we are challenging our geologists to make the next million ounce discovery. Mawson controls a large land package in Lapland, with material discoveries on the eastern and western edges of the property. Nevertheless, huge swathes of the project remain undrilled and under explored due to a thin veneer of glacial sediments that average 3-5 metres thick covering 99% of the tenured area. The recently completed magnetic surveys allow us to efficiently identify the most prospective host rocks for more detailed investigation; the same rocks have delivered approximately 5A Moz of gold discoveries in Finland in recent years, including over 1 Moz AuEq already on the propertya. Over the last three years Mawsona?s knowledge of the age of structural control of mineralization has improved significantly through systematic analysis of its 1 Moz AuEq Rajapalot inferred resource, its Rompas discovery (Figure 1), as well as knowledge gained through peer discoveries such as Rupert Resources 3.9 Moz Au Ikkari. Age data on these three significant discoveries indicates commonality with a Lapland-wide regional gold mineralization event dated 1.78-1.80 Ga. Furthermore, dating has shown that this is not just a Nordic gold event, rather it is part of significant worldwide gold mineralizing period that includes the Homestake in South Dakota, USA and Callie in the Northern Territory, Australia. Mawson has a significant land holding and untested anomalies in the 5,000 hectares between the Rajapalot resource area and the 10 km long Rompas gold system (Figure 1), where it believes there are zones of this same host coincident with significant structural intensity (a key gold precipitation driver). To efficiently evaluate the potential of this large area, a drone-based aeromagnetic survey (outlined red area in Figure 1) has just been completed with results expected in the next few weeks. Mawson geoscientists will take these new drone aeromagnetic data and combine it with ground-collected magnetic data to produce a detailed structure-hosted mineralization target map focusing follow up exploration efforts. Initially this will involve sampling the upper surface of the basement rocks immediately beneath shallow till, using a technique known as base of till drilling (aBOTa). BOT drilling is a proven technique in Fennoscandia, and was the critical breakthrough in the Ikkari discovery, which was the result of following up aa single anomalous base of till sample of 0.2 ppm Aua. Technical Background and Qualified Person The Qualified Person, Dr Nick Cook, Chief Geologist of Mawson Gold, and a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, has reviewed and verified the technical contents of this release. Gold equivalent aAuEqa = Au+(Co/1005) based on assumed prices of cobalt US$23.07/lb and gold US$1,590/oz. Details of Mawsona?s Inferred Mineral Resource can be read in the Companya?s news release dated August 26, 2021. About Mawson Gold Limited (TSX:MAW, FRANKFURT:MXR, OTCPINK:MWSNF) Mawson Gold LimitedA is an exploration and development company. Mawson has distinguished itself as a leading Nordic Arctic exploration company with its 100% owned flagship Rajapalot gold-cobalt project in Finland, and right to earn into the SkellefteA North gold project in Sweden. Mawson also owns 60% of Southern Cross Gold Ltd (ASX:SXG) which in turn owns three high-grade, historic epizonal goldfields covering 470 km2 in Victoria, Australia. Forward-Looking Statement This news release contains forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, \forward-looking statements\). All statements herein, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Although Mawson believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. 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. Mawson cautions investors that any forward-looking statements 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: capital and other costs varying significantly from estimates; changes in world metal markets; changes in equity markets; ability to achieve goals; that the political environment in which the Company operates will continue to support the development and operation of mining projects; the threat associated with outbreaks of viruses and infectious diseases, including the novel COVID-19 virus; risks related to negative publicity with respect to the Company or the mining industry in general; reliance on a single asset; planned drill programs and results varying from expectations; unexpected geological conditions; local community relations; dealings with non-governmental organizations; delays in operations due to permit grants; environmental and safety risks; and other risks and uncertainties disclosed under the heading \Risk Factors\ in Mawson\-s most recent Annual Information Form filed on www.sedar.com. While these factors and assumptions are considered reasonable by Mawson, in light of managementa?s experience and perception of current conditions and expected developments, Mawson can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.A Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Mawson disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. EnWave Sells EU-GMP 10kW REVa Machine to Pharmaceutical Cannabis Cultivator in Europe EnWave Corporation (TSX-V:ENW | FSE:E4U) (aEnWavea, or the \Company\ https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/enwave-corp/ ) announced today that it has received a purchase order for an EU-GMP (European Union a Good Manufacturing Practice certified) 10kW Radiant Energy Vacuum (REVa) dehydration machine from an unnamed pharmaceutical cannabis company. The machine will be used to dry cannabis for medical consumption and for the creation of a wide range of derivative products. These products will be distributed into the European Union (EU) and legal worldwide markets. A A The facility is located in a region with optimal climates for pharmaceutical cannabis cultivation. A Using a combination of natural agricultural methods, automated processes, and scientific precision, the cultivator is aiming to achieve the highest standards by improving patientsa? lives and revolutionising modern medicine with an incredible range of applications. A About EnWave EnWave is a global leader in the innovation and application of vacuum microwave dehydration. From its headquarters in Vancouver, BC, EnWave has developed a robust intellectual property portfolio, perfected its Radiant Energy Vacuum (REVa) technology, and transformed an innovative idea into a proven, consistent, and scalable drying solution for the food, pharmaceutical and cannabis industries that vastly outperforms traditional drying methods in efficiency, capacity, product quality, and cost. With more than forty-five royalty-generating partners spanning twenty countries and five continents, EnWavea?s licensed partners are creating profitable, never-before-seen snacks and ingredients, improving the quality and consistency of their existing offerings, running leaner and getting to market faster with the companya?s patented technology, licensed machinery, and expert guidance. In addition, EnWave established a Limited Liability Corporation, NutraDried Food Company, LLC, to manufacture, market and sell REV-dried snack products within North America, including the popular Moon CheeseA brand, and serve as a co-manufacturer for third parties. EnWavea?s strategy is to sign royalty-bearing commercial licenses with food and cannabis producers who want to dry better, faster and more economical than freeze drying, rack drying and air drying, and enjoy the following benefits: Food and ingredients companies can produce exciting new products, reach optimal moisture levels up to seven times faster, and improve product taste, texture, color and nutritional value. Cannabis producers can dry four to six times faster, retain 20% more terpenes and 25% more cannabinoids, and achieve at least a 3-log reduction in crop-destroying microbes. Learn more at EnWave.net. EnWave Corporation Mr. Brent Charleton, CFA President and CEO For further information: Brent Charleton, CFA, President and CEO at +1 (778) 378-9616 E-mail: bcharleton@enwave.net A A A A A Dan Henriques, CFO at +1 (604) 835-5212 E-mail: dhenriques@enwave.net A In Europe: Swiss Resource Capital AG Jochen Staiger info@resource-capital.ch www.resource-capital.ch Safe Harbour for Forward-Looking Information Statements: This press release may contain forward-looking information based on management\-s expectations, estimates and projections. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about the Company\-s strategy for growth, product development, market position, expected expenditures, and the expected synergies following the closing are forward-looking statements. All third-party claims referred to in this release are not guaranteed to be accurate. All third-party references to market information in this release are not guaranteed to be accurate as the Company did not conduct the original primary research. These statements are not a guarantee of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, 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. 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. Calibre reports high grade drill intercepts at its Gold Rock project, Nevada; Advances technical studies with positive metallurgical results Calibre Mining Corp. (TSX: CXB; OTCQX: CXBMF) (aCalibrea or the aCompanya https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/calibre-mining-corp/ ) is pleased to provide this update to the ongoing 35,000-metre drilling program at its 100% owned Gold Rock project located in the Battle Mountain Eureka gold trend, Nevada. The Federally permitted project is located within a prospective 78 km2 land package with numerous high-priority targets open for discovery and resource expansion. Highlight Results from the Ongoing Multi-Rig Drill Program North Pit Zone 01 g/t Au over 45.7 m in hole GR21-002; 0.99 g/t Au over 18.3 m in hole GR21-001; 45 g/t Au over 38.1 m in hole GR21-008; 1.75 g/t Au over 19.8 m in hole GR22-037; and 74 g/t Au over 35.7 m in hole GCM21-001; 0.71 g/t Au over 16.8 m in hole GR22-038. Central Zone 94 g/t Au over 18.0 m in hole GCM21-002; 0.64 g/t Au over 35.1 m in hole GR21-027; 26 g/t Au over 35.1 m in hole GR22-031, 2.19 g/t Au over 44.2 m in hole GR21-021; 53 g/t Au over 18.3 m in hole GR22-001; 1.64 g/t Au over 19.8 m in hole GR22-024; and 00 g/t Au over 24.4 m in hole GR22-025; 0.90 g/t Au over 18.3 m in hole GR22-030; South Pit Zone 10 g/t Au over 18.3 m in hole GR22-005; 3.36 g/t Au over 22.9 m in hole GR22-007; and 40 g/t Au over 27.4 m in hole GR21-025; 1.61 g/t Au over 35.1 m in hole GR21-029. Darren Hall, President and Chief Executive Officer of Calibre, stated: aIt is exciting to see continued high grade intercepts over significant widths across the primary project areas, in addition to significant potential across the 16.5 km mineralized trend. Drill results from 2021 and to date 2022 have intercepted grades higher than the reported indicated mineral resource average grade of 0.66 g/t gold. Encouraging metallurgical results demonstrate the mineralization is amenable to heap leaching with favorable recoveries and leach cycles.A We continue to advance infill drilling and technical studies to support permit applications in the near term and enable reserve declaration at the end of 2022. Gold Rock was not included in our recently released multi-year outlook of forecast gold production (see news release dated June 22, 2022).a Technical Study Highlights Calibre recently completed a comprehensive metallurgical characterization and testing program of 15 PQ core holes, key results include: The Joanna limestone formation is the primary Carlin-style gold mineralization host; Joanna oxide material crushed to 80% minus A inch produced a minimum column leach recovery of 86% with Joanna decarbonitized material producing 96% recoveries; Test results demonstrate fast leaching with a projected commercial primary leach cycle of 30 days; The oxide material percolates well and has high rock strength requiring no agglomeration; Cyanide consumption is projected to be low at 1 pound/ton and lime to be 3 pounds/ton; Based on the data, a process facility consisting of standard open circuit three stage crushing, heap leaching and gold recovery in a typical ADR plant is under design; Geotechnical drilling is complete for this phase of the project; Permit level design of the heap leach pad and associated ponds is nearing completion; and Calibre expects Mineral Reserves to be included in a year end 2022 technical report. Gold Rock is a federally approved project and technical work is ongoing in support of state permitting which is anticipated to take between 12-18 months which is expected to commence in Q3 2022. Link 1 a Figures Link 2 a Drilling Tables Quality Assurance/Quality Control Calibre Mining maintains a Quality Assurance/Quality Control (aQA/QCa) program for all its exploration projects using industry best practices. Key elements of the QA/QC program include the insertion of assay standards, blanks, and duplicates in the sample stream to ensure the assay lab results are within specified performance levels. Down hole deviation surveys are provided by International Directional Services, utilizing a surface recording gyroscope, and by trained drill crews operating a north seeking gyroscope supplied by REFLEX. RC drilling was performed by Boart Longyear of Salt Lake City, Utah and Alford Drilling from Elko, Nevada. Assays were performed by ALS, Reno where fire assays were determined on a 30-gram charge with an AAS finish. An additional cyanide leach assay was also completed. ALS carries ISO/IEC 17025:2017 certification. Qualified Person The scientific and technical information contained in this news release was approved by David Schonfeldt P.Geo, Calibre Mininga?s Corporate Chief Geologist and a \Qualified Person\ under National Instrument 43-101. About Calibre Mining Corp. Calibre is a Canadian-listed, Americas focused, growing mid-tier gold producer with a strong pipeline of development and exploration opportunities across Nevada and Washington in the USA, and Nicaragua. Calibre is focused on delivering sustainable value for shareholders, local communities and all stakeholders through responsible operations and a disciplined approach to growth. With a strong balance sheet, no debt, a proven management team, strong operating cash flow, accretive development projects and district-scale exploration opportunities Calibre will unlock significant value. Notes All holes were drilled at angles of -50 to -90 degrees at azimuths designed to intersect targeted structures as nearly as possible to perpendicular. Consequently, most intercepts reported here are believed to be approximately true width.A Some holes deviated along limbs of folds and consequently do not represent atrue widthsa?. The Company conducts a significant QA/QC program which includes the insertion of assay standards, blanks, and duplicates in the sample stream to ensure the assay lab results are within specified performance levels. Down hole deviation surveys are provided by International Directional Services, utilizing a surface recording gyroscope, and by trained drill crews operating a north seeking gyroscope supplied by REFLEX. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information This news release includes certain aforward-looking informationa and aforward-looking statementsa (collectively aforward-looking statementsa) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation.A All statements in this news release that address events or developments that we expect to occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are identified by words such as \expect\, \plan\, \anticipate\, \project\, \target\, \potential\, \schedule\, \forecast\, \budget\, \estimate\, \intend\ or \believe\ and similar expressions or their negative connotations, or that events or conditions \will\, \would\, \may\, \could\, \should\ or \might\ occurA Forward-looking statements necessarily involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond Calibrea?s control. For a listing of risk factors applicable to the Company, please refer to Calibrea?s annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2021, available on www.sedar.com. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect Calibrea?s forward-looking statements. Calibrea?s forward-looking statements are based on the applicable assumptions and factors management considers reasonable as of the date hereof, based on the information available to management at such time.A Calibre does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or managementa?s beliefs, expectations or opinions should change other than as required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. TinOne Reports First Results from Drilling its Great Pyramid Project, Tasmania, Australia TinOne Resources Inc. (TSX-V: TORC) (\TinOne\ or the \Company\) is pleased to provide the first drill results from its Great Pyramid Tin (Sn) project located in the tier one mining jurisdiction of Tasmania, Australia. Highlights: All holes returned Tin-bearing intersections and provide support for historical drill data Mineralised zones shown to extend beneath historical resource Highly encouraging intersections include: 22GPRC003 returned 25% Sn over 39 metres 22GPRC005 returned 29% Sn over 23 metres 22GPRC006 returned 19% Sn over 30 metres 22GPRC007 returned 30% Sn over 21 metres Results have been received for 764 metres of the Companya?s ongoing 5,500 metre drilling program at its Great Pyramid project in Tasmania, Australia. These results represent complete results for seven Reverse Circulation (RC) drill holes and partial results for one additional RC hole.A Assays are being fast tracked and average laboratory turnaround to-date has been 23 days. Drilling commenced at the Great Pyramid project on April 27, 2022, with three drill rigs currently operating on site, including two Diamond (DD) rigs and one RC rig.A The initial program consists of approximately 5,500 metres and has several objectives: Test the depth and lateral extensions of the historical resource; Test a large-scale IP chargeability anomaly adjacent to the historic resource; and, Obtain grade and continuity data utilising modern drill and analytical techniques, within the area of the historic resource. aWe are extremely pleased to report our first results from our Great Pyramid tin project so quickly after listing,a commented Chris Donaldson, Executive Chairman.A aThe results have demonstrated robust grade continuity within the historical resource at grades equal to or above historical grades. In addition, the results provide further confidence that mineralisation extends below the historical resource. Ongoing work will fill gaps in the data coverage, particularly at depth, and allow us to develop our grade distribution model and build our geological interpretation to integrate with the extensive historical database.a Results reported here are predominantly from the upper portions of the project area within the historical resource1 area and demonstrate consistent tin grades over substantial thicknesses (Table 1). Mineralised intersections were also encountered beneath the historical resource1 area (Table 1, Figure 3) and demonstrate that in certain areas mineralisation extends to depth below the historical resource1 area, consistent with historical drill data2. In addition to the RC drill results reported here, an additional 1,102 metres of diamond drilling has been completed within, lateral to and beneath the historical resource area.A Drill core processing is underway with an initial 209 metres of core despatched to the laboratory.A To-date these diamond holes have intersected alteration and mineralisation over variable thicknesses up to 120m beneath the historical resource area (Figures 4, 5, 6). About the Great Pyramid Tin Project Geological Setting The Great Pyramid deposit is located around a topographical feature known as Pyramid Hill and is hosted by Silurian to Devonian Mathinna Supergroup sandstones.A The mineralization is formed by closely spaced sheeted northeast trending, cassiterite (SnO?) bearing veins associated with silicification and sericite-pyrite alteration. The deposit style and regional comparisons suggests that a tin-fertile granite exists at depth below the deposit, however this has not been encountered in drilling and the deposit is open at depth. Geological interpretation indicates that certain sedimentary units within the folded Mathinna Supergroup sediments are more favourable hosts and diamond drilling being undertaken by the Company during the current campaign, combined with numerical modelling, will assist in developing a deeper understanding of controls on grade for follow up drilling. The deposit is currently known over a strike length of more than 500 metres with an average width of approximately 150 metres. The depth extent of the deposit is unknown with only nine historical drill holes greater than 150 metres deep. These rare deeper holes encountered encouraging tin mineralization to depths of approximately 300 metres below surface2. Historic Resources and Drill Data1 The previous owners of the Great Pyramid project estimated an Inferred Resource reported under the JORC 2012 guidelines. This resource contains approximately 10,000 tonnes of tin at a grade of 0.2% tin (Table 2). The estimation utilised close spaced historic percussion (~85%) and lesser diamond drill holes with drill spacing in the estimation area typically 15 x 30m and locally closer. Although the resource is defined by close spaced drilling, the resource was classified by the previous owners as Inferred due to the historic nature of the data.A The estimate was reported in the independent geological report prepared by Mining One Pty Ltd for TNT Mines Ltd, dated June 26, 2017. The Inferred Resource was estimated using Multiple Indicator Kriging method of 1.5 metre down-hole composites within a mineralized domain interpreted from tin grade. The estimate is restricted to the area of close spaced drilling and 90% of the resource occurs within 40 metres of surface. Although the limited deeper drilling has encountered mineralized material this was not included in the resource. Additional drilling utilising modern drill techniques, analytical techniques and QA/QC will be required to re-estimate the resource and report under NI 43-101. 1The reader is cautioned that the above referenced aInferred Resourcea estimates are considered historical in nature and are based on prior data and reports prepared by previous property owners. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves and TinOne is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. Significant data compilation, re-drilling, re-sampling and data verification may be required by a qualified person before the historical estimate on the Great Pyramid property can be classified as a current resource.A There can be no assurance that any of the historical mineral resources, in whole or in part, will ever become economically viable. In addition, mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.A Even if classified as a current resource, there is no certainty as to whether further exploration will result in any inferred mineral resources being upgraded to an indicated or measured mineral resource category. 2Data regarding historical drilling is sourced from Mineral Resources Tasmania online database (MRTMap). In addition, data for 18GPD001 has been sourced from a public announcement by previous owners TNT Mines, November 15, 2018. However, the ahistorical drill dataa are considered historical in nature and are based on prior data and reports prepared by previous property owners. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical data as current and TinOne is not treating the historical data as current. There can be no assurance that any of the historical drill data is representative. Quality Assurance / Quality Control Drill core and RC samples were shipped to ALS Limited in Brisbane, Australia for sample preparation and for analysis. The ALS, Brisbane facilities are ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC 17025 certified. Tin and tungsten are analysed by ICP-MS following lithium borate fusion (ALS method ME-MS85), overlimit results are reanalysed by XRF (ALS method XRF15b).A Forty-eight element multi-element analyses are conducted by ICP-MS with a four-acid digestion (ALS method ME-MS61). Control samples comprising certified reference samples, duplicates and blank samples were systematically inserted into the sample stream and analyzed as part of the Companya?s quality assurance / quality control protocol. About TinOne TinOne is a TSX Venture Exchange listed Canadian public company with a high-quality portfolio of tin projects in the Tier 1 mining jurisdictions of Tasmania and New South Wales, Australia. The Company is focussed on advancing its highly prospective portfolio while also evaluating additional tin opportunities. A A TinOne is supported by Inventa Capital Corp. Qualified Person The Companya?s disclosure of technical or scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Stuart Smith., Technical Adviser for TinOne. Dr. Smith is a Qualified Person as defined under the terms of National Instrument 43-101.A Contact Information: For more information and to sign-up to the mailing list, please contact: Chris Donaldson, Executive Chairman Tel: (604) 813-3931 Email: info@tinone.ca In Europe: Swiss Resource Capital AG Jochen Staiger info@resource-capital.ch www.resource-capital.ch 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. SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release includes certain aForward?Looking Statementsa within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and aforward?looking informationa under applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words aanticipatea, abelievea, aestimatea, aexpecta, atargeta, aplana, aforecasta, amaya, awoulda, acoulda, aschedulea and similar words or expressions, identify forward?looking statements or information. These forward?looking statements or information relate to, among other things: the development of the Companya?s projects, including drilling programs and mobilization of drill rigs; future mineral exploration, development and production; the release of drilling results; and completion of a drilling program. Forward?looking statements and forward?looking information relating to any future mineral production, liquidity, enhanced value and capital markets profile of TinOne, future growth potential for TinOne and its business, and future exploration plans are based on managementa?s reasonable assumptions, estimates, expectations, analyses and opinions, which are based on managementa?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. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the price of gold and other metals; no escalation in the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic; costs of exploration and development; the estimated costs of development of exploration projects; TinOnea?s ability to operate in a safe and effective manner and its ability to obtain financing on reasonable terms. These statements reflect TinOnea?s respective current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of other assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward?looking statements or forward-looking information and TinOne has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: the Company\-s dependence on early stage mineral projects; metal price volatility; risks associated with the conduct of the Company\-s mining activities in Australia; regulatory, consent or permitting delays; risks relating to reliance on the Company\-s management team and outside contractors; risks regarding mineral resources and reserves; the Company\-s inability to obtain insurance to cover all risks, on a commercially reasonable basis or at all; currency fluctuations; risks regarding the failure to generate sufficient cash flow from operations; risks relating to project financing and equity issuances; risks and unknowns inherent in all mining projects, including the inaccuracy of reserves and resources, metallurgical recoveries and capital and operating costs of such projects; contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties; laws and regulations governing the environment, health and safety; the ability of the communities in which the Company operates to manage and cope with the implications of COVID-19; the economic and financial implications of COVID-19 to the Company; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or development activities; employee relations, labour unrest or unavailability; the Company\-s interactions with surrounding communities and artisanal miners; the Company\-s ability to successfully integrate acquired assets; the speculative nature of exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities or grades of reserves; stock market volatility; conflicts of interest among certain directors and officers; lack of liquidity for shareholders of the Company; litigation risk; and the factors identified under the caption aRisk Factorsa in TinOne\-s management discussion and analysis. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward?looking statements or forward-looking information. Although TinOne has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. TinOne does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward?looking statements or forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information, other than as required by applicable law. Sibanye-Stillwater to achieve majority shareholding in Keliber, and proposes to increase its shareholding further to 80% Sibanye-Stillwater* (Tickers JSE: SSW and NYSE: SBSW https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/sibanye-stillwater-ltd/ ) acquired an initial 30.29% shareholding (aInitial Investmenta) in Keliber Oy (aKelibera), as announced on 23 February 2021, by way of a phased equity investment and is pleased to announce that it intends to exercise its pre-emptive right to increase its shareholding in Keliber to 50% plus 1 share (athe Pre-emptive Offera). Keliber is a Finnish mining and battery chemical company which owns the Keliber project, an advanced lithium hydroxide project located in the Kaustinen region of Finland which intends to sustainably produce battery grade lithium hydroxide utilising its own ore. Simultaneous with the Pre-emptive Offer, the Company will also make a voluntary cash offer to minority shareholders of Keliber, other than the Finnish Minerals Group, which could initially increase its shareholding in Keliber to over 80% (athe Voluntary Offera). The Finnish Minerals Group, a Finnish State-owned holding and development company which manages the Statea?s mining industry shareholdings, is the second largest shareholder in Keliber behind Sibanye-Stillwater with a current circa 20% shareholding. Subsequent to completion of the Voluntary Offer, a capital raise by Keliber (athe Capital Raisea) will be executed. If required post the above-described transactions, an equalization mechanism may be implemented such that Sibanye-Stillwater achieves its targeted 80% shareholding in Keliber. The Pre-emptive Offer, the Voluntary Offer and the Capital Raise collectively comprise athe Transactiona. A *Through its subsidiary a Keliber Lithium (Pty)Ltd Transaction rationale Subsequent to the Initial Investment, Keliber has completed a definitive feasibility study (aDFSa) which has confirmed the quality and inherent value of the Keliber project. This positive DFS is underpinned by a 31% increase in Mineral Reserves, as announced by Keliber on 15 September 2021. In addition, there has also been a significant improvement in the fundamental outlook for the lithium market. Subject to the receipt of outstanding permits, Keliber is aiming to be the first fully integrated lithium producer in Europe with full production of approximately 15,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per annum and direct market access to European markets from the Port of Kokkola where its fully permitted1 lithium chemical plant is based.A A Finland is an attractive, low risk mining jurisdiction (top five jurisdiction in the Fraser Institute) and has developed a National Battery Strategy that outlines the objectives for the country to become a competitive, competent and sustainable player in the international battery industry. Europe is rapidly becoming a leading hub for the manufacture of and market for batteries and electric vehicles. Kelibera?s location in Finland enables efficient transport of lithium hydroxide to European customers. 1 Fully permitted, but stakeholders have right to appeal the permit approval process Transaction overview and terms The Transaction sequence for Sibanye-Stillwater and the Finnish Minerals Group achieving this dual proposed shareholding in Keliber comprises: As per the Keliber shareholders agreement, the fair market value (aFMVa) of the Keliber Project was determined by the average valuation of two independent investment banks namely BMO Capital Markets Ltd and RBC Capital Markets LLC Sibanye-Stillwater implementing the Pre-emptive Offer to increase its shareholding in Keliber to 50% plus 1 share for a cash consideration of a146 million, being the FMV (less 5%) of the Keliber project Sibanye-Stillwater intends to implement the Pre-emptive Offer on 11 July 2022 following an Extraordinary General Meeting (aEGMa) which is required to approve the issue of shares to Sibanye-Stillwater for both the Pre-emptive Offer and the Capital Raise Simultaneously, Sibanye-Stillwater will launch the Voluntary Offer If all minority shareholders (save for the Finnish Minerals Group) accept the Voluntary Offer, the total consideration for the Voluntary Offer will amount to a196 million (excluding transfer tax which is payable by Sibanye-Stillwater)(based on 1,258,901 Keliber shares held at the FMV per share), with Sibanye-Stillwatera?s shareholding increasing to 86.1% and the Finnish Minerals Group retaining a shareholding of 13.9% Subsequent to the Voluntary Offer, the Capital Raise will be executed to achieve a circa 50:50 debt to equity ratio. The maximum possible total cost of the Capital Raise to Sibanye-Stillwater is around a104 million and will be dependent on the extent to which minorities accept the Voluntary Offer made by Sibanye-Stillwater and the extent to which minorities and the Finnish Minerals Group participate in the Capital Raise The Transaction therefore entails a maximum possible cost to Sibanye-Stillwater of a446 million (excluding transfer tax), of which a possible maximum of a250 million in equity will be contributed by Sibanye-Stillwater. Conventional debt facilities are currently being advanced with third party lenders to at least match the a250 million equity contribution to fund construction of the project.A Sibanye-Stillwater anticipates that all aspects of the various transactions described above will be completed by 13 February 2023, being the effective date. Conditions Precedent The following are the conditions precedent in respect of the various aspects to the Transaction: Approval by the South African Reserve Bank of the Transaction 50% of Keliber shareholders (including Sibanye-Stillwater and the Finnish Minerals Group) voting in favour of the project financing, including both the equity and debt components, to be proposed by the Keliber board at the EGM The Voluntary Offer is subject to the passing of resolutions at the EGM approving the Pre-emptive Offer and the Capital Raise The absence of a material adverse change The Capital Raise is subject to the successful exercise of the Pre-emptive Offer by Sibanye-Stillwater Categorisation of the Transaction The Transaction constitutes a Category 2 transaction for Sibanye-Stillwater in terms of Section 9 of the JSE Limited Listing Requirements and accordingly no Sibanye-Stillwater shareholder approval is required. Neal Froneman, CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater, commenting on the proposed transactions said, aThis is a further significant step in our strategy to build a unique global portfolio of green metals in a value accretive manner. We look forward to partnering with our Finnish stakeholders to build the Keliber project, which will be the first mining and metallurgical operation in Europe to deliver high quality, low-cost lithium hydroxide with a low carbon footprint and will be ideally placed to deliver critical metals into the growing European battery industry.a For more information on the Keliber project refer to https://www.sibanyestillwater.com/business/green-metals/keliber-lithium-project/. About Sibanye-Stillwater Sibanye-Stillwater is a multinational mining and metals Group with a diverse portfolio of mining and processing operations and projects and investments across five continents. The Group is also one of the foremost global PGM autocatalytic recyclers and has interests in leading mine tailings retreatment operations. For more information, visit our website at www.sibanyestillwater.com FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the asafe harboura provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this announcement may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as awilla, awoulda, aexpecta, aforecasta, apotentiala, amaya, acoulda, abelievea, aaima, aanticipatea, atargeta, aestimatea and words of similar meaning.A These forward-looking statements, including among others, those relating to Sibanye-Stillwater Limiteda?s (aSibanye-Stillwatera) future business prospects, financial positions, production and operational guidance, climate and ESG-related statements, targets and metrics, plans and objectives of management for future operations and ability to complete or successfully integrate ongoing and future acquisitions, are necessarily estimates reflecting the best judgement of Sibanye-Stillwatera?s senior management. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Sibanye-Stillwater that could cause its actual results and outcomes to be materially different from historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. As a consequence, these forward-looking statements should be considered in light of various important factors, including those set forth in Sibanye-Stillwatera?s 2021 Integrated Annual Report and annual report on Form 20-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on 22 April 2022 (SEC File no. 333-234096). These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this announcement. Sibanye-Stillwater expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statement (except to the extent legally required). South Africa: Eastern Cape communities receive forestry plantations Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Makhotso Sotyu has handed over forestry plantations to communities in Mount Fletcher in the Eastern Cape as part of governments efforts to transform the economy and create jobs. The transfer of the management of these plantations will go a long way to improve the livelihoods of the Batlokoa and Makhoba communities. This will also create jobs and I would like to urge the youth and women to seize this opportunity, she said on Thursday. The combined extent of these plantations is approximately 362.31 hectares. The management of Lehana and Fort Usher plantations were handed over to the Batlokoa community while the management of Makhoba plantation was handed over to Makhoba community. The handing over of these plantations is in line with the provisions of the National Forests Acts (NFA), 1998 (Act No.84 of 1998). Forestry is one of the leading sectors in our economy that has the capacity and capability to continuously contribute to the growth of this country. As part of the initiatives to support that growth, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has been leading a process to develop the forestry sectors Masterplan, Sotyu said. The Masterplan which focusses mainly on interventions that will improve investments and transformation in the sector includes the transfer of plantations to allow government to focus on policy and regulation of the sector in efforts to let it strive. The Plan was approved in 2020 to ensure transformation, growth and development in the sector. The transferring plantations agreement is the outcome of discussions between the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure with several municipalities to facilitate that all lease-expired state land, should be recommissioned back for forestry commercial plantations. The historic handover supports government priority of economic transformation and job creation as proposed by the Forestry Master Plan, which aims to ensure inclusive growth and transformation while attracting the necessary investment to develop the sector, creating economic and employment opportunities in especially rural areas. The Plan balances environmental, economic and social benefit from the forestry resources, the Department said. The Deputy Minister said her department will provide the necessary support that is required to make these plantations a viable business in the future. The department will work with the affected communities to develop a plan that will ensure the management of these resources in a sustainable manner going forward, Sotyu said. Where feasible, the communities will be linked with interested industry role-players in a fair and transparent manner. These industry role-players should be viewed as strategic partners who will then assist with additional expertise and resources to recapitalise plantations. This will be their contribution as part of the Masterplan, and we hope that they will assist when they are called to in this regard. Negotiations and discussions as well as the associated processes are often protracted and complex, but ultimately, we have reached the goal of empowering our communities, the department said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-06-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Lin-Manuel Miranda receives award at Greenwich International Film Festival Greenwich Lin Manuel Miranda came to Greenwich last week to accept his Changemaker Award from the Greenwich International Film Festival. Miranda attended a private cocktail reception in town and did a talkback with audience members that was led by with Sara Elisa Miller, director of philanthropy and special projects for the Miranda Family Fund. The Greenwich International Film Festival awarded Lin-Manuel Miranda its highest honor at a private event in Greenwich after the award-winning creator of the famous musical Hamilton had to cancel his appearance at the festivals annual gala in May. On the day of the gala, however, Miranda canceled due to a health issue. His father, Luis Miranda, and Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, a family friend, accepted on his behalf. Its such a thrill to receive the Greenwich International Film Festival Changemaker Award, Miranda said in a statement provided to Greenwich Time. Our goal at The Miranda Family Fund has been to widen the doors for emerging artists of color, and we do this through partnerships with organizations like The Eugene ONeill Theater Center here in Connecticut, Woolly Mammoth Theater, The Telsey Office and Rhode Island College, among others. WASHINGTON (AP) About half of Americans believe former President Donald Trump should be charged with a crime for his role in the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, a new poll shows. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 48% of U.S. adults say the Republican former president should be charged with a crime for his role, while 31% say he should not be charged. An additional 20% say they dont know enough to have an opinion. Fifty-eight percent say Trump bears a great deal or quite a bit of responsibility for what happened that day. The poll was conducted after five public hearings by the House committee investigating Jan. 6, which has sought to paint Trumps potential criminal culpability in the events that led to deadly insurrection. But it was taken before Tuesdays surprise hearing featuring former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. Her explosive testimony provided the most compelling evidence yet that the former president could be linked to a federal crime, experts say. Views on Trump's criminal liability break down predictably along party lines, with 86% of Democrats but only 10% of Republicans saying Trump should be charged with a crime. Among Republicans, 68% say he should not be charged and 21% say they dont know. Still, the fact that nearly half the country believes he should be prosecuted is a remarkable position for the former president, pointing to the difficulties he could face if he makes another run at the White House in 2024. For Ella Metze, a South Carolina Democrat, Trump's culpability has been clear from the beginning, when he urged his supporters to march to the Capitol on the morning of Jan. 6 and fight like hell. It was meant to provoke violence because he kept encouraging them," the 86-year-old told The Associated Press. "As it happened, I watched it all and I just thought why doesn't somebody stop this? Why doesn't he stop this? Chris Schloemer, a Texas independent, agreed Trump holds responsibility for egging on the crowd with his baseless claims of election fraud. But, the 61-year-old doesn't lay the blame solely on Trump. Schloemer feels Republicans in Congress have a hand in what happened that day, too: I feel like people were afraid of Donald Trump, especially Republican politicians, and so they wouldnt rein him in, and I think that just emboldened him." And he's not alone. While views of Trumps role have not changed since December, Americans are somewhat more likely now than they were then to say Republicans in Congress were significantly responsible for the events of Jan. 6. Forty-six percent say that now, up slightly from 41% in December. An additional 21% say GOP lawmakers had some responsibility and 30% say they were not responsible. The change in the share saying Republicans in Congress have a large amount of responsibility was driven mostly by Democrats and independents. Ulysses Bryant, a Democrat from Florida, said while he always believed Trump and the rioters should be charged with a crime, he hadnt known of the involvement of congressional Republicans until he began to follow the hearings. Close to 6 in 10 Americans 56% say they followed news about the congressional hearings. A smaller but still sizeable share -- 42% -- say they watched or listened. The nine-member panel, comprising seven Democrats and two Republicans, has worked around the clock for the past year to investigate the connection between Trump and his allies and the violence and chaos that ensued on the Capitol. The public hearing phase of their investigation is meant to put all of that investigative work on display to the American public in an effort to create a historical record of what occurred. Seventy-five percent of Democrats and 42% of Republicans say they followed news about the hearings. More Democrats than Republicans also say they tuned in, 58% to 27%. The first of the public hearings, which began in early June, received high ratings for TV viewership, though subsequent hearings have received more modest ratings. Kathlyn Keller, a retired investment banker from San Francisco, is one of the GOP voters who has tuned into the hearings and still believes Trump holds no responsibility for the events of that day. The 83-year-old thinks the only people who should be charged are those who brought weapons to the Capitol, or anyone who got into the building and caused damage inside. Trump absolutely shouldnt be charged with anything, she told the AP. Nonetheless, the committee plans to continue its congressional probe and present new evidence in the coming weeks to its many viewers, including the most important one: Attorney General Merrick Garland. Regardless of public opinion about Trump's likely criminal involvement, lawmakers continue to face a stark reality: While they can investigate Jan. 6 and issue subpoenas to gather information, only the Justice Department can bring criminal charges. But there are clear signs in recent weeks that the Justice Department appears to be escalating its probe of pro-Trump efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Federal agents on Wednesday seized the cellphone of Trump lawyer John Eastman, who was the architect behind a plan to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence into rejecting the electoral college results. Last week, authorities searched the Virginia home of Jeffrey Clark, who was known at the Justice Department to champion Trumps false claims of election fraud. Agents also served subpoenas to the Republican Party chairmen of Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, three states that went for Democrat Joe Biden and where Trump allies created slates of alternate electors intended to subvert the vote. And Republicans in two other states Michigan and Pennsylvania disclosed they had been interviewed by the FBI. ___ The poll of 1,053 adults was conducted June 23-27 using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4 percentage points. ___ AP writer Hannah Fingerhut contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate STAMFORD Abdul Rahim, entrepreneur and a "founding father" of the Stamford Islamic Center, died Tuesday after a two-month battle with liver cancer. He was 70. For about four decades, Rahim quietly helped guide Stamford's Muslim community from its infancy. Alongside other local Muslims in the 1990s, Rahim purchased a small house on Outlook Street that became one of the local centers of religious life. Islamic center members believe the mosque, founded in 1998, to be the first built from the ground up in lower Fairfield County. Of the community he helped create, "he was a pillar," Stamford Islamic Center Presiden Talay Hafiz said Wednesday at Rahim's funeral, which drew more than 100 mourners to a service held on the mosque roof. Easmin Begum, one of Rahims eight daughters, said Rahim was an orphan from Bangladesh who dreamed of coming to America. He left his village, Bahkthiyar Para in Chittagong, in his mid-20s to make money across the ocean. Rahim's wife, Nurun Naher Begum, and nine young children stayed behind. He worked as a cook on a ship, then landed in New York, his daughter said. Ultimately, Rahim moved to Milford, where he worked at a Greek restaurant. Easmin Begum said the hours were long and brutal, but they also helped lead her father toward one of his biggest professional accomplishments: opening Lucy's Pizza on the West Side with the help of his longtime friend and business partner Mohamed Shahjahan. Shajahan also helped found the Stamford Islamic Center. "For a South Asian man to be making Italian pizza so well was beyond astonishing," Begum said. The money he made by working at Lucy's helped Rahim create his own "American dream," his daughter said, and it also helped him bring his family to Connecticut. Once the household came stateside, the youngest child a son was born. But if hard work was one cornerstone of his life, piety was the other, his daughter said. Before he flew his young family to the United States, they made a stop at the cradle of Islam: Mecca, Saudi Arabia. All Muslims must make a pilgrimage to the holy city at least once in their lives; Rahim fixed on having his children make that journey before moving to the other side of the globe. With his family in the United States and his financial future secured thanks to his small business and subsequent investments, his loved ones say he set his mind to serving his community, whether in Stamford or Bangladesh. Begum said her father helped build Baitun Noor Jama Masjid, a mosque in his home country. He "built roads, homes, served the less fortunate," she said. It was integral to both his character and his faith. Rahim is survived by his wife, Nurun Naher Begum, and 10 children: Rozina Begum, 47; Noor Begum, 45; Sultana Sharif, 37; Emran Rahim, 35; Kamrun Mannan, 34; Nazmun Begum, 32; Easmin Begum, 30; Nasrin Begum, 28; Nazma Akter, 27; and Abdul Nurun, 23. His biggest goal in life was to see those children educated, Easmin Begum said. "He embedded in our mind that education is the way of life," she continued. He said that all his children ultimately made him proud, she remembered. The lines between the Rahim family home and the mosque itself are blurred. There is no gate between their backyard and the Islamic center's roof, only a gap in the wood fence. After the funeral service, mourners filtered freely between the funeral service and the backyard. During the later stages of his illness, Begum remembers her father ambling from his home to the yard and to the mosque. In those moments, he'd take a deep breath "out of fulfillment," she said. His community was his life, she explained after the service, and the Stamford Islamic Center would always be a monument to that life, no matter how many years went by. "It's the end of an era," Stamford Islamic Center President Hafiz replied, "But also the beginning of a new one." veronica.delvalle@hearstmediact.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate PHOENIX (AP) Donald Trump on Wednesday endorsed the Republican running against Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, who last week gave powerful testimony to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. Bowers, who is blocked by term limits from seeking another term in the Arizona House, is running for an open seat in the state Senate. Trump praised his GOP primary rival, former Sen. David Farnsworth, for supporting the lie that the 2020 election was marred by fraud. Bowers must be defeated, and highly respected David Farnsworth is the man to do it, Trump said in his endorsement. He will straighten things out and secure your Border. In his testimony last week, Bowers walked through what started with a Trump phone call on a Sunday after he returned from church. The defeated president laid out a proposal to have the state replace its electors for President Joe Biden with others favoring Trump. I said, Look, youre asking me to do something that is counter to my oath, Bowers testified. Bowers insisted on seeing Trumps evidence of voter fraud, which he said Trumps team never produced beyond vague allegations. He recalled Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani later told him, Weve got lots of theories, we just dont have the evidence. Bowers earned national acclaim with his folksy recitation of the pressure he faced from Trump and his allies, including angry and noisy protests outside his home as his adult daughter lay dying inside from an extended illness. His performance also drew scorn from Trump allies. Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward tweeted her own support for Farnsworth the next day. Bowers said in an interview with The Associated Press that day that he thinks the voters will back him because of his honesty. Frankly, we feel good that this will will bring out a large independent group who finally see somebody that they feel they can put some confidence in as Republicans" Bowers said. I think thats our strongest part. The Legislature's 2022 session ended last week and early ballots will be mailed out next week for the Aug. 2 primary. Bowers said he's focused on winning the seat in the east Phoenix suburb of Mesa. He said the voters will decide whether it is him or Farnsworth they want in the state Senate. But its not David Farnsworth it's Donald Trump, Bowers said. David is just a surrogate. And if they want Donald Trump in this position, they they should vote for David. Bowers did make some waves when he told the AP before he testified in Washington last week that he would vote for Trump again if the choice were between him and President Joe Biden. That comment ended up in national headlines, since it came in the same interview where he called the former president's efforts to overturn the 2020 election unconstitutional. He said that Trump's actions have hurt the nation and created distrust in elections, which he said are fair. He has worked to clarify that remark since it was published. He told the AP that he's even more opposed to Trump after appearing before the commission investing the Jan. 6 attack on Congress. He said he was floored while hearing first hand what Trump did to other officials, including pushing Georgia Secretary of State Brad Brad Raffensperger to find the 11,000 votes Trump would need to reverse is loss in the Peach state. I want a robust, open, fair, honest primary election, and I want choices other than Donald J. Trump, Bowers said. And there are some great choices available, and I hope we can get them over a finish line and not him. Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu highlighted on Thursday that supplementing the allied troops in Romania favours Romania's security interests. "It is one of the most important decision this summit has made and which is obviously in favour of Romania's security interests, as we have constantly sought in the recent period to consolidate the deterrence and defence posture on the Eastern Flank, and the summit has made decisions in this respect in the continuation and based on the very important decision that, again, we obtained in the March 24 Summit, namely that on the creation of those four new battlegroups, on Romania's territory included, which balances NATO's approach in respect to the Eastern Flank," Aurescu said on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Madrid. Aurescu stressed that at the moment there is a uniform approach on the Eastern Flank. "Based on this achievement Romania obtained through Romania's President at the March 24 Summit, the Summit these days has decided to additionally consolidate this posture, and it is being done round the possibility of enhancing the troop level on the Eastern Flank in respect to the battalion forming the battlegroup, through the possible transformation of this battalion in battle brigade, which means that if the military authorities consider it necessary, depending on the threat level they assess, then the battlegroup will go from the battalion level to the brigade level," Aurescu explained. He added that the new concept on the consolidation of the defence and deterrence posture on the Eastern Flank also consider the allotment of precise forces, which will strengthen the allied presence on Romania's territory, if necessary. "In case there is an attack from a third state, then the forces on Romania's territory will ensure the first response, and meanwhile, in an extremely short interval, the forces that have already been deployed for the respective country will come to support this activity of defence on the respective territory," the minister said. Among the Summit documents, according to Aurescu, there is also the decision to pre-position equipment and arms on the territory of each allied state from the Eastern Flank, which ensures a more efficient defence. The exact details of these decisions will be established in the period ahead by the military authorities. "It is very important that we have a concept, which fundamentally transforms the defence and deterrence posture on the Eastern Flank and makes it more efficient," Aurescu also said. The Foreign Minister appreciated that the Madrid NATO Summit Declaration including the term of Forward Defence is an achievement of Romania. "It is for the first time when this term is included in a document of a NATO summit," Aurescu showed. Tasks have been established for the military authorities to further develop the Alliance's concept regarding defence in the maritime area. "There are decisions that have already been taken as well in respect to the air component of the defence on the Eastern Flank," the Foreign Minister said. Defining the Black Sea as NATO strategic interest area will certainly have an impact in the security context in the region, he also showed. "This shows that NATO will further prioritarily focus on this region. This means that more resources will be allotted in the future, a central role will be granted to everything that means the strategic projection of the North Atlantic Alliance ten years ahead from now, a period during which the new strategic concept will function," Aurescu explained. Moreover, he showed that at Romania's proposal the strategic concept also includes the mention on Russia as being a main and direct threat to Euro-Atlantic security. Among the Summit decisions there will be the enhancement of the NATO response forces from 40,000 to 300,000 servicemen and the consolidation on a brigade level of the battlegroups of the allies on the Eastern Flank, where there will also be pre-positioned additional quantities of military equipment and materials. U.S. President Joe Biden announced within the Summit a consolidation of the U.S. military presence and capacities in Spain, Poland, Romania, in the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), in the UK, Germany and Italy. "We're gonna maintain an additional rotational brigade which is 3,000 fighters and another 2,000 personnel combat team here in Europe, headquartered in Romania," Joe Biden said. AGERPRES At the NATO summit in Madrid on Thursday, President Klaus Iohannis reconfirmed Romania's support for NATO's co-operation with the European Union. He participated, Tuesday to Thursday, in the summit meeting of NATO heads of state or government in Madrid. According to the Romanian Presidential Administration, on Thursday, President Iohannis reconfirmed Romania's active support for consolidating and deepening co-operation with partners, both with those in the Eastern Neighbourhood and with those in the Southern Neighbourhood. He also highlighted the malicious actions of third-party actors in the Southern Neighbuorhood, as well as their impact on NATO's objectives and interests, and called for increased NATO support to strengthen the partners' capabilities. The Black Sea region was and continues to be a platform for Russia to spread its power to the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel region. Iohannis underlined Romania's continued support for NATO's increased commitment to its southern partners and for NATO's continued involvement in international counter-terrorism efforts, given that terror remains one of the main threats to Euro-Atlantic security. He pleaded for intensified support from the world community and the importance of unity in supporting those vulnerable to the fragmentation of food supply chains, especially southern partners, and gave assurances about Romania's active involvement. Iohannis spoke about Romania's support for NATO's co-operation with the European Union, welcoming the unprecedented level of interaction and practical co-operation between the two organisations. He also mentioned the significance of solidarity and complementarity between the two organisations in providing support to Ukraine saying that Romania supports the adoption, as soon as possible, of a new NATO-EU joint declaration that will highlight a common crisis management approach. Iohannis also underscored the importance of strengthening resilience and responding to cyber and hybrid threats, as well as technological innovation, to adapt the alliance to the challenges of the future. He voiced Romania's interest in staying connected to the developments in this area, in the spirit of the active profile that has consecrated Romania since its accession to the Euro-Atlantic bodies. On Wednesday, Iohannis attended the first formal meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of heads of state or government that addressed Russia's military invasion of Ukraine and its long-term regional, Euro-Atlantic and global implications. At the meeting, the new NATO Strategic Concept, the Summit Declaration, measures for strengthening and streamlining NATO's posture of deterrence and defence on the eastern flank were adopted, and a decision was made to increase support for Ukraine and other partners - Moldova and Georgia. Also on Wednesday, the Romanian chief of state attended the second formal meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of heads of state or government, with the participation of leaders from Australia, Finland, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Sweden, Georgia and the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission. NATO leaders discussed, together with partners who share the same vision, global challenges and threats, including the assertiveness of authoritarian actors, including China, and the articulation of a common position towards them, with a view to preserving and consolidating a rules-based international order. On Thursday, the third meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of heads of state or government was dedicated to challenges and threats in the Southern Neighbourhood. The meeting addressed latest developments in the fight against terrorism, ways to ensure food security and respond to other challenges in NATO's Southern Neighbourhood, as well as opportunities for NATO support for the defence capabilities of its Southern partners. During the summit on Wednesday evening, Iohannis attended a transatlantic dinner offered by the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, and on Thursday, in the signing ceremony of a NATO Innovation Fund Letter of Commitment marking the approval by the attending leaders of a charter for Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA). According to the Presidential Administration, for Romania, the summit, in which President Klaus Iohannis actively participated, was of particular importance, from the perspective of the fundamental decisions that strengthen security and defence on NATO's eastern flank and in the Black Sea region. "These aspects match all the objectives pursued by Romania at this moment of reference in the history of the alliance, that have been fully fulfilled," the Presidential Administration release also reads. AGERPRES COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Once prominent and soon-to-be disbarred South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh has been indicted again, this time prosecutors saying his crimes extended to an eight-year money laundering and painkiller ring with a friend and former client charged with trying to help him commit suicide. Murdaugh wrote 437 checks worth $2.4 million that Curtis Eddie Smith cashed over eight years, keeping some of the money for himself and giving the rest for wide-ranging illegal activities, according to indictments handed up last week and unsealed Tuesday. That illegal activity included a "distribution network" for the painkiller oxycodone, according to prosecutors, who did not specify any of the other possible crimes. Both men were charged with possessing, manufacturing or distributing narcotics, but court records did not provide additional details. It's the 16th indictment against Murdaugh on charges ranging from lying to police and trying to arrange his own death to stealing money from clients to arranging a $4.3 million in wrongful death settlements for a housekeeper who died in a fall at his home, then not giving her family a dime. But still unsolved are the shooting deaths of Murdaugh's wife and younger son outside their home in June 2021. Their killings are not referenced in any of the new indictments and both Murdaugh and Smith have adamantly said they had nothing to do with them. Murdaugh and Smith started laundering more money and stopped taking precautions to avoid detection about three months before the killings, said Creighton Waters, the chief of the state Attorney General Office's State Grand Jury Division. Waters did not give any more details at Smith's bond hearing Tuesday. Murdaugh is also awaiting a formal order revoking his law license. He decided to not fight the state Supreme Court's decision last week, which ends the legal career of a member of a prominent family that has dominated the legal scene in tiny Hampton County for nearly a century. Murdaughs father, grandfather and great-grandfather were the areas elected prosecutors for 87 years straight. Murdaugh, 54, was charged in the latest indictments with criminal conspiracy and possessing, manufacturing or distributing narcotics. Most of the indictments were against Smith, who met Murdaugh when he needed a lawyer for a worker's compensation suit. After his law firm discovered he was stealing money, Smith is the man Murdaugh said he called when he wanted someone to kill him so his surviving son could collect a $10 million life insurance policy. Smith's shot only grazed Murdaugh's head on the side of a two-lane road last September, police said. Both men were charged last year in that incident. Smith, 61, now faces four counts of money laundering, three counts of forgery, possessing, manufacturing or distributing narcotics. trafficking in methamphetamine and other charges. Each money laundering charge on its own carries up to 20 years in prison. At his bond hearing Tuesday, Smith told the judge he was pulled into the scheme not by his own choice and he looked forward to clearing his name. His bond was set at $250,000. Smith's lawyer said he is not sure his client can afford it. "Were just going to have to wait and let more facts come out, Jarrett Bouchette said. As weve seen over the last year or so, things have changed over time that werent what they initially appeared to be. The indictments said Murdaugh wrote almost all the checks for Smith for under $10,000 to avoid federal requirements that banks report large transactions. Smith forged the names of both his daughter and his girlfriend over the eight years he handled Murdaugh's checks, prosecutors said. Smith is the third associate and friend of Murdaugh to face criminal charges. The state grand jury also has indicted another attorney and banker, saying they helped Murdaugh take money from clients. In 81 indictments against Murdaugh, prosecutors say he stole at least $8.4 million. He also faces a growing numbe r of civil lawsuits. Earlier this month, the anniversary of the June 7, 2021, deaths of Murdaughs wife, Maggie, 52, and son, Paul, 22, passed with no arrests and no additional information from the State Law Enforcement Division. Its agents have revealed little beyond the fact that the two were shot outside their Colleton County home and Murdaugh called 911, saying he discovered the bodies. Murdaugh has said he was visiting his mother and ailing father when his wife and son were killed. Murdaugh has been in jail since October on $7 million bond for the various financial charges. Follow Jeffrey Collins on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Millions of seniors today get much or all of their retirement income from Social Security. If you're still working but planning for retirement, you're probably factoring those benefits into your calculations. Unfortunately, those benefits may end up being stingier than expected. That's because Social Security may be forced to cut benefits as early as 2035. In the coming years, Social Security is expected to owe more money in benefits than it collects in revenue. A big reason is that baby boomers are expected to exit the workforce in droves, thereby cutting the program's primary revenue stream -- payroll taxes. Social Security has trust funds it can tap to keep up with scheduled benefits, but once those funds run dry, significant cuts will be on the table. Meanwhile, in their latest report, the Social Security Trustees estimated that the program's trust funds will be out of money by 2035. That's a year later than their initial projection. But it still means benefit cuts are something that current and future Social Security recipients may need to grapple with. But are benefit cuts guaranteed to happen? No. In fact, lawmakers have a prime opportunity to prevent a universal reduction in Social Security benefits. But whether they're able to act in time is a different story. Benefit cuts are preventable The fact that Social Security is facing an income shortfall isn't news. And at this point, lawmakers need to get serious about finding a solution to address that shortfall. But if they act quickly enough, benefit cuts may be preventable. What can lawmakers do? For one thing, they can implement changes that pump more revenue into Social Security. As mentioned earlier, the program anticipates reduced revenue due to baby boomers retiring and not paying in via taxed wages. But raising the wage cap for workers could help compensate for that. Right now, earnings above $147,000 a year aren't taxed for Social Security purposes. Raising that limit is a fairly easy way (albeit an unpopular one among the wealthy) to boost Social Security's revenue. Another option lawmakers can look at is pushing back full retirement age to collect benefits. Right now, that age is 67 for those born in 1960 or later. Moving it to 68 or 69 isn't unreasonable, given today's longer life expectancies, and that alone could help with Social Security's financial crunch. These are just two of several proposals on the table that could help Social Security. To be clear, benefit cuts do not have to be a given. But to avoid them, lawmakers need to take action, and soon. In the meantime, if you're still working, gear up for benefit cuts by boosting your savings rate to compensate. If you pump more money into your 401(k) or IRA but benefits aren't slashed, guess what? You'll just have that much more savings on hand for your senior years. But that way, you'll also have some protection in case benefits cuts end up being everyone's unwanted reality. The $18,984 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $18,984 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. ST. LOUIS Design-build company Clayco and law firm Brown & Crouppen will reimburse travel expenses for employees seeking abortions, the companies said this week. Brown & Crouppen, one of the Midwests largest personal injury firms, said it will cover travel expenses up to $2,500 for employees or their immediate family member who seek an abortion. The St. Louis law firm employs more than 275 people. Clayco Executive Chairman and founder Bob Clark told employees in an email Wednesday that the company will support womens health care choices, including reimbursing those who have to travel for abortion services. This is an unacceptable slap in the face to achieving progress, equality, and equity, he said in the email. I want you to know that we will support womens healthcare choices, including with reimbursement of travel expenses where necessary as part of existing health benefits coverage, and will also continue our commitment to a process that protects the privacy of every individual. The move is in response to the U.S. Supreme Courts overturn of landmark Roe v. Wade that led many states, including Missouri, to ban abortion. Clayco is based in Chicago but employs thousands of people in the St. Louis-area. Its a gut punch to women, Clark told the Post-Dispatch on Thursday. America is becoming dangerously close to becoming an autocracy, and its generally understood that women are going to be pushed out of the workforce. In Missouri, abortion is now banned except in medical emergencies. Missouri does not allow exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape, incest or human trafficking. Abortion is legal in Illinois. Clayco and Brown & Crouppen are two of the first privately held companies in the St. Louis region to say publicly they would cover travel costs. Publicly traded companies with a presence in the area, including Boeing and Amazon, have said that they will also cover costs. Its always dangerous to take a political position, said Clark, who is Catholic. But for me, I dont care. 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. NEW YORK Facing regulatory and political pressure, Facebook and Alphabet Inc.s Google in recent years committed a combined $600 million to support news outlets globally many of them local or regional enterprises foundering in a digital age. Thousands of media outlets received financial and other support for everything from fact checking and reporting to training, according to the tech giants announcements. Some publishers express gratitude for contributions they say are essential as advertising revenue has plunged. But several media analysts and news business executives told Reuters that the funding set to last three years does not nearly compensate for the tens of billions of dollars publishers lost as the tech companies gobbled up the digital advertising market. Google and Facebook accounted for 54% of U.S. digital advertising revenue in 2020, according to eMarketer, a market research company. Some critics dismissed the projects, including contributions of $300 million from each company, as a way to blunt complaints from publishers and generate good PR. Both tech companies face battles over compensation for news content worldwide, as well as antitrust lawsuits from regulators and publishers. This occasional benevolence is a drop in the bucket, said Maribel Perez Wadsworth, publisher of Gannetts USA Today and president of USA Today Network, which participates in a fact-checking program sponsored by Facebook. News publishers are not looking for charity. Were simply requesting a fair shot and a level playing field. Emily Bell, director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University, said the money is vital to newsrooms in the short-term. But theyre not given at a level which really has a lasting effect on the field, and it isnt really changing anything. The tech giants told Reuters that they are genuinely committed to helping local and regional outlets, and both will continue to offer support after the $600 million initiatives expire in coming months. The goal of the Facebook Journalism Project, as it is known, is to help publishers effectively transition to and prosper in todays digital world where they have to find a very specific audience in order to be successful, said Campbell Brown, head of news partnerships at Facebook. Google is oriented around making sure that theres a healthy and vibrant ecosystem of quality journalism, said Ben Monnie, the companys director of global partnerships. Reuters participates in initiatives funded by both Google and Facebook. Under the Facebook Journalism Project, for instance, Reuters received funding to develop a digital media training course for journalists. Neither Facebook nor Reuters would disclose the amount of money allocated. Both Facebook and Google have made contributions to the news industry apart from the $600 million. For instance, the companies dedicated $1 billion each last year in grants and deals to pay a range of media worldwide for content. As part of that commitment, Google pays publishers such as Reuters to create and curate content for its News Showcase snippets for its News and Discover apps. The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, which is largely funded by the corporate foundation of Thomson Reuters, announced in 2020 that it received about $19 million in grants from Google and $4 million from Facebook. Both Facebook and Google say publishers benefit just from using their platforms, which deliver traffic that helps drive advertising revenue and subscriptions. We are a free service that is available to anyone to post content, Brown said. Publishers participation suggests they are getting value from the platform without us making these additional investments. Where did the money go? Facebook, a social media goliath, and Google, by far the worlds most popular search engine, generated $607 billion in advertising revenue during the last three years, according to company filings. The companies are among the biggest corporate funders of the global news industry. The two platforms have released limited information so far about how the $600 million in grants and services has been spent, often offering broad descriptions or examples without financial details. Google has publicly identified buckets of spending worth about $198 million including $81 million aimed at elevating quality journalism such as training on how to use Google products in reporting. The company, which said it expects to spend the full $300 million by years end, lists over 6,250 news partners in the project, ranging from the Associated Press and BuzzFeed News to the Cook Islands News in the South Pacific. Facebook has said that its $300 million has been fully spent, more than half of it in support of local news. The companys public announcements account for $80.3 million, a quarter of which went to a program that helps local newsrooms attract more digital subscribers. A company spokesperson, Adam Isserlis, said the project also includes proprietary deals with publishers, the details of which are confidential. Several news executives said they are prodding the tech giants to pay more for content and to further prioritize original reporting. Facebook and Google say they have already changed their algorithms to do just that. Meanwhile, some publishers see a lifeline. An executive at the Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina, said a Google-funded training lab helped the paper determine the volume and price of digital subscribers that would cover expenses. At Cityside, a nonprofit in Oakland, California, co-founder Lance Knobel said he used $1.56 million from Google to help launch and support an online local news website, Oaklandside. I honestly think their big interest is that they want a healthy news environment, he said. Friend and foe Other publishers are dissatisfied or ambivalent, viewing the tech goliaths as both friend and foe. The companies have a huge impact on outlets advertising revenues because their algorithms determine whether an article shows up prominently in a Google search or on Facebooks news feed. Google runs one of the largest online advertising exchanges for digital ads that are bought and sold automatically via software programs. Since Google competes as both the biggest buyer and seller on that exchange, it can steer business to itself, some publishers and other critics have alleged. In the United States alone, digital and print ad revenue for newspapers fell to $14.3 billion in 2018 from $49.4 billion in 2005. On June 7, under a settlement with Frances antitrust watchdog, Google agreed to share more data with ad buyers broadly - therefore reducing some of its competitive advantage over publishers. Google and Facebook face other legal challenges. The Nation, a progressive U.S. news website, and West Virginia-based newspaper company HD Media are among publishers to file antitrust lawsuits against one or both tech giants in recent months. U.S. authorities have filed antitrust suits against both as well, and some states have accused Google of unlawfully dominating the process of placing ads online. In responses to some of the suits, the companies dismissed claims that their business practices hurt publishers. Google said people use the company because they choose to, not because theyre forced to. Frank Blethen sees things differently. The Seattle Times publisher said his paper has participated in programs backed by Google and Facebook. But if they hadnt monopolized advertising and gamed search the way they have, newspapers would still be making money, he said. Ian Froeb Ian Froeb is the restaurant critic for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Ian Froeb Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today The Shorty of Shortys Smokehouse in Waterloo is the late grandfather of co-owner Anthony Hassler. Shorty hated his given name, Orville, and he was, in fact, short. Hassler liked the simplicity of Shortys and the irony. Shorty was the only man in Hasslers family who didnt cook. His nickname now graces one of the St. Louis areas best barbecue restaurants. Shorty is also an inside joke about pants. Hassler and his business partner, Brandon Bauza, wear the same size even though Bauza is 6 inches shorter. An especially open-minded observer might wonder if the duo shares some mystical connection even beyond their combined skill at both brawny central Texas brisket and sticky Kansas City ribs. Growing up in Washington, Missouri, Hassler went to school with Bauzas future wife; while growing up in Waterloo, Bauza went to school with Hasslers. Hassler and Bauza became friends while working together in the aviation industry, bonding over their love of barbecue. Bauza was new to smoking meats, Hassler told me in an interview, so I was gonna show him everything that I knew all my recipes, all my rubs, all my sauces, all my techniques because I grew up in a trailer park, (and) there was not a day that barbecue wasnt being brought up or made in a trailer park, you know. Its just kind of how it goes, especially in Missouri. The duo had already decided to open a barbecue restaurant together when the aviation industry suddenly accelerated their planning. Another firm purchased their company, leading both men to need new jobs. They knew exactly where they wanted to open the restaurant: the historic City Hotel building in picturesque downtown Waterloo. This space was in disarray, Hassler said, but the location next to Stubborn German Brewing Co. was ideal. He and Bauza undertook the renovations themselves. Bauza also found a new job in aviation in the meantime, while Hassler focused on the restaurant and, in his spare time, built and sold smokers to make ends meet. (To anticipate your question, the restaurant uses an Old Hickory Pits smoker as its main engine, not one of Hasslers custom rigs.) Shortys opened in February 2019. I wish I could say I didnt make my first visit until more than three years later because of how badly the pandemic has scrambled my reviewing schedule, but I just plain whiffed on this one. More broadly, aside from highlighting Gallaghers fried chicken, I havent given Waterloo enough attention. I aim to change that beginning this week at Shortys and continuing later this month with a review of Pie Hard Pizzeria. Hassler told me Bogarts Smokehouse in Soulard was an inspiration for the vibe he and Bauza wanted for Shortys. Their dining room is more spacious than Bogarts and the overall appearance is very different, but I think I get what he meant. Bogarts doesnt look like any other barbecue restaurant, and neither does Shortys, with its gastropub-like pairing of exposed brick and wood on one hand and its 80s-movie decor (Ghostbusters, Back to the Future) on the other. You order from the counter at the back of the dining room. Bauza worked this station on my visits, and each time I ordered brisket, he asked if I preferred the fatty end or the lean. I chose fatty, of course, and he cut the meat confidently into thick slices encrusted with gnarled, peppery bark and jiggly with succulent fat. Hassler calls Shortys barbecue Monroe County style, and the restaurant moves with a swagger you notice only in its wake. Hickory is the wood used with all of the meats here sticklers for tradition might want to jump to the next paragraph now even the brisket. It imbues the beef with a smokiness ever so slightly more intense than central Texans preferred post-oak would, and the brisket is no less compelling for the adaptation. After your first bite of Shortys smoked turkey, you might think hickory smoke is all the lean meat has going for it. Dont grab those squeeze bottles of barbecue sauce just yet. With each next bite, the smokiness and the natural turkey flavor yield to a surprising richness thanks to the steamed butter Hassler and Bauza infused into the meat near the end of its time in the smoker. A more subtle trick benefits the pulled pork. After pulling apart the meat, Hassler and Bauza pour its own juices over it, and they top each serving with a dusting of their dry rub. Now, instead of trying to put together the perfect bite of luscious meat and peppery bark, you dig into a considered, complete dish. Is Shortys pulled pork such a revelation that it overshadows the ribs? Maybe. Pulled pork rarely commands the spotlight ribs seem to earn by birthright. These are very good ribs, though, mopped with sauce while being smoked. (Hassler spent his very early years in Kansas City and nods to that tradition.) The bark is glazed but not saucy, and the meat yields from the bone with a proper tug. Not hidden on the menu, but not as prominent as the main meats and the selection of platters and sandwiches, is Shortys jalapeno-cheddar sausage. Add a single link to your order. This sausage snaps twice: the first juicy bite and the delayed smack of the chile, a delightful and delicious pork whiplash. Shortys sides dont stray from barbecue convention, but they hit the mark you want: crackling pork rinds; crisp potato chips with a kernel of chew at their heart; macaroni sauced to order with a velvety cheese sauce made with Gouda cold-smoked in-house. On Mondays, Shortys opens for lunch only and doesnt serve barbecue. Instead, Hassler and Bauza grind the trimmings from the previous weeks brisket the restaurants biggest seller and cook up double smash burgers as meaty and juicy as any of this inescapable species in the metro area. I discovered the burger promotion by accident when I visited on Monday, intending to try more brisket and ribs, a coincidence far less remarkable than Hassler and Bauzas cosmic connections, but far more practical. How much Pulled pork sandwich, with two sides $10.75 Brisket platter, with two sides $16 Half rack of ribs, with two sides $20 Where Shortys Smokehouse, 121 South Main Street, Waterloo More info 618-939-7665; shortyssmokehouse.com Menu Barbecue, including brisket, pulled pork and ribs Hours Lunch and dinner Wednesday-Sunday, smash-burger lunch Monday (closed Tuesday) The First Course by Ian Froeb Get weekly insight, news and tips on St. Louis' thriving dining scene from Ian Froeb. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. After the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision last week, the country has been reeling. Though the information was leaked two months ago, June 24 was a shocking and dismaying moment, as abortion rights took a step back and access to reproductive health care was instantly in peril in many states. Its hard to know what to do in times like these, but knowing and understanding the history of the fight for reproductive health care and the reality of what illegal abortion looks like can be a helpful foundation. Thats why Audrey Diwans film Happening, feels so timely in this moment, despite taking place in France in the 1960s. Based on an autobiographical novel by Annie Ernaux, Happening depicts the illegal abortion she obtained as a college student in France. Diwan depicts Annes journey with a forthright clarity, and the film, which won the Golden Lion at the 2021 Venice Film Festival, is urgent and necessary. Its newly available on VOD, so rent it for $6.99 on Amazon. We often forget that Dirty Dancing, one of the greatest summer movies of all time, is also an abortion movie. The moment that brings Johnny (Patrick Swayze) and Baby (Jennifer Grey) together is the abortion that Penny (Cynthia Rhodes) needs. Baby steps in to take her place in the dance contest while shes recovering, and a favorite dance movie was born. Its a romantic, funny and utterly charming film with one of the best endings of all time and its about the necessity of abortion access. Rent it for $1.99 on all digital platforms. Abortions have been happening since people have been getting pregnant, and they will continue to happen. Theres no way to ban abortion one can simply ban safe, legal abortion. Thats made apparent in Celine Sciammas towering period romance Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), which is the story of two women falling in love in 19th-century France. One of the subplots involves Sophie (Luana Bajrami, who also co-stars in Happening), the ladys maid of Heloise (Adele Hanele), who becomes pregnant and, with the help of Heloise and Marianne (Noemie Merlant), seeks an abortion from a local midwife. Its a small but utterly significant moment of the film. Stream it on Hulu or Kanopy. Mike Leighs Academy Award-nominated 2004 film Vera Drake stars Imelda Staunton as a kindly woman providing abortions in 1950s England who is prosecuted for her work helping young girls out. The film is a stark look at the way that abortion has been criminalized in the past. Its available for rent on all platforms for $2.99. Romanian director Christian Mungius 2007 film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is oft-cited in the pantheon of great, and bleak, films about abortion. Set in communist Romania in the final years of the Ceausescu era, it tells the story of two friends attempting to procure an illegal abortion and the immense struggle that they go through during that process. Stream it on Kanopy or Criterion Channel, or rent for $3.99 on Amazon. Similarly, Eliza Hittmans 2020 film Never Rarely Sometimes Always also features two young friends, American high-schoolers, who set out to New York City in hopes of procuring an abortion for a pregnant teenager. Stream it on Cinemax Go or Amazon Freevee, or rent it on other platforms. Finally, a documentary, After Tiller, which carefully examines the work of doctors who perform late-term abortions and the women who seek such procedures and why. The 2013 film looks at late-term abortions after the murder of Dr. George Tiller by an anti-abortion terrorist in church. Youll never look at late-term abortion or abortion in general the same way. Stream it on Tubi or Kanopy, or rent it elsewhere. WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court said Thursday the Biden administration can scrap a Trump-era immigration policy to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration courts, a victory for a White House that still must address the growing number of people seeking refuge at America's southern border. The ruling will have little immediate impact because the policy has been seldom applied under President Joe Biden, who reinstated it under a court order in December. It was his predecessor, Donald Trump, who launched the Remain in Mexico policy and fully embraced it. Two conservative justices joined their three liberal colleagues in siding with the White House. Under Trump, the program enrolled about 70,000 people after it was launched in 2019. Biden suspended the policy, formally known as Migrant Protection Protocols on his first day in office in January 2021. But lower courts ordered it reinstated in response to a lawsuit from Republican-led Texas and Missouri. Dynamics at the border have changed considerably since Remain in Mexico was a centerpiece of Trump's border policies. Another Trump-era policy that remains in effect and was not a part of Thursday's ruling allows the government to quickly expel migrants without a chance to ask for asylum, casting aside U.S. law and an international treaty on grounds of containing the spread of COVID-19. There have been more than 2 million expulsions since the pandemic-era rule, known as Title 42 authority, was introduced in March 2020. In May, a federal judge in Louisiana prevented the Biden administration from halting Title 42, in a case that may ultimately reach the Supreme Court. The court's decision Thursday was released on the same day that the justices dealt the administration a blow in an important environmental case about the nation's main anti-air pollution law. That ruling could complicate the administration's plans to combat climate change. The heart of the legal fight in the immigration case was about whether U.S. immigration authorities, with far less detention capacity than needed, had to send people to Mexico or whether those authorities had the discretion under federal law to release asylum-seekers into the United States while they awaited their hearings. After Bidens suspension of the program, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ended it in June 2021. In October, the department produced additional justifications for the policys demise, but that was to no avail in the courts. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that an appeals court erred in holding that the federal Immigration and Nationality Act required the Government to continue implementing MPP. Joining the majority opinion was fellow conservative Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump-appointee, as well as liberal justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Kavanaugh also wrote separately and noted that in general, when there is insufficient detention capacity, both releasing asylum-seekers into the United States and sending them back to Mexico are legally permissible options under the immigration statutes. The Department of Homeland Security said it welcomed the ruling and that it will continue our efforts to terminate the program as soon as legally permissible. It added in a statement that it continues to enforce Title 42 and our immigration laws at the border and administer consequences for those who enter unlawfully. Cornell University law professor Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration expert, said the Biden administration does not need to take any further action to end the policy, but that Texas and Missouri can pursue a challenge over whether the administration followed appropriate procedure in ending the program. In a dissent for himself and fellow conservatives Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the practice of releasing untold numbers of aliens into the United States violates the clear terms of the law, but the court looks the other way. Justice Amy Coney Barrett said she agreed with the majority's analysis of the merits of the case but would have sent the case back to a lower court for reconsideration. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement that the decision was unfortunate. He argued it would make the border crisis worse. But its not the end. Ill keep pressing forward and focus on securing the border and keeping our communities safe in the dozen other immigration suits Im litigating in court. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, said the decision would only embolden the Biden Administrations open border policies." Since December, the administration has registered only 7,259 migrants in "Remain in Mexico." U.S. authorities stopped migrants 1.2 million times on the Mexico border from December through May, illustrating the policy's limited impact under Biden. About 6 of every 10 people in the program are Nicaraguans. The administration has said it would apply the policy to nationalities that are less likely to be subject to the broader Title 42 policy. Strained diplomatic relations with Nicaragua makes it extremely difficult for the U.S. to expel people back to their homeland under Title 42. Immigrant advocates acknowledged that a relatively small number of asylum seekers arriving on the southwest border are affected by the MPP program with which the court ruling dealt. Still, advocates and Democrats were among those cheering the decision as were those waiting in Mexico. Oscar Rene Cruz, a taxi driver from Nicaragua who is in a Salvation Army Shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, said after the ruling: We are all very happy, waiting to see what is going to happen now with us, we know the program has finished but we havent been told what they are going to do with us." Cruz added: I wish this will be over soon. Nobody wants to stay here in Mexico. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat, said in a statement that those fleeing violence and persecution to seek asylum as they are entitled to by law should not be forced to remain in places that have been deemed dangerous and unsafe while they wait for their day in court. Jacob Lichtenbaum, staff attorney for the immigrant rights group CASA in Maryland, called the ruling a "major victory for safety, compassion, and the rule of law." But Rep. John Katko of New York, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, said the program was a critical tool to help manage arrivals on the southwest border and the current administration lacks a plan to address the issue. The case is Biden v. Texas, 21-954. Spagat reported from San Diego. Associated Press writers Amy Taxin in Orange County, California, Jorge Lebrija in Tijuana, Mexico, and Alan Fram in Washington contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. THURSDAY, June 30, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it has asked vaccine makers to update their COVID-19 booster shots to target the Omicron subvariants known as BA.4 and BA.5. The two highly contagious subvariants now account for more than half of all new COVID cases in the United States. "As we move into the fall and winter, it is critical that we have safe and effective vaccine boosters that can provide protection against circulating and emerging variants to prevent the most severe consequences of COVID-19," Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in an agency news release. "Vaccine manufacturers have already reported data from clinical trials with modified vaccines containing an Omicron BA.1 component and we have advised them that they should submit these data to the FDA for our evaluation prior to any potential authorization of a modified vaccine containing an omicron BA.4/5 component," Marks added. "Manufacturers will also be asked to begin clinical trials with modified vaccines containing an omicron BA.4/5 component, as these data will be of use as the pandemic further evolves." The agency's decision mirrors the recommendation made Tuesday by its vaccine advisory panel that updated COVID-19 booster shots used this fall should protect against Omicron and its highly contagious subvariants. Pfizer and Moderna are expected to start producing reformulated doses this summer, the New York Times reported. During the expert panel meeting, Pfizer said a shot aimed at the subvariants could be ready for use in early October, while Moderna said it would be able to offer a similar shot in late October or early November. The vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna typically take about three months to produce doses of any reformulated shots, the Times said. Given how fast the virus changes, lengthy human trials may have to be abandoned in favor of more laboratory tests and animal tests, the Times added. That's because human trials can take up to five months, which can make the vaccine obsolete before it's ever released to the public. Both Pfizer and Moderna have been testing updated booster shots that target the Omicron variant, with early trial results showing the tweaked shots boost protection against Omicron. But since then, BA.4 and BA.5 have surfaced and are spreading. "Omicron is clearly in the rearview mirror," Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccine expert with Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told the Times. An Omicron booster isn't necessary unless it works against the newest Omicron subvariants, but "I haven't seen evidence of that," he said. Even the FDA said in a briefing document prepared for the advisory committee meeting that the bivalent booster targeting the original virus and Omicron is "already somewhat outdated." But Dr. Kelly Moore, president of Immunize.org, a nonprofit that works to increase vaccine rates, told the Times that an accelerated process is already used to update the flu vaccine each year. Although this is the first time the process would be used with COVID vaccines, they have been safely given to hundreds of millions of people, she noted. Updating them might call for "very well-educated guesswork," she said, that is "appropriate for the circumstances." Still, the chance exists that the virus will change again and make the updated vaccines ineffective. Dr. John Beigel, a clinical research director at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, told the Times, "They [the new vaccines] may be old news by the time the fall comes." In any event, a broad swath of the population will be offered booster shots, said Dr. Arnold Monto. He's a public health professor at the University of Michigan who chairs the FDA advisory panel. "We know there's waning. We have to boost, and it's better to boost with something more relevant" than the existing vaccines, Monto told the Times. But Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of the FDA vaccine advisory panel, countered that idea. "Hospitalizations are down. Deaths are way down because we are protected against serious illness. That's what matters," Offit told the Times. Only those over 70, and those over 50 with serious underlying conditions, will likely need a fall booster shot because COVID can have serious consequences for these people, Offit added. More information Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on COVID vaccines. SOURCES: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, news release, June 30, 2022; New York Times Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. THURSDAY, June 30, 2022 (HealthDay News) In a ruling that will curb efforts to fight climate change, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday limited the Environmental Protection Agencys ability to regulate carbon emissions from power plants. The 6-3 decision comes as scientists are warning about the growing threat posed by global warming. It could potentially extend to other actions taken by administrative agencies, the New York Times reported. As with several recent high court rulings, the ruling came with the three liberal justices dissenting. They said the decision strips the EPA of the power to respond to the most pressing environmental challenge of our time. In her dissent, Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the court had substituted its own policy judgment for that of Congress. "Whatever else this court may know about, it does not have a clue about how to address climate change," she wrote. "And let's say the obvious: The stakes here are high. Yet the court today prevents congressionally authorized agency action to curb power plants' carbon dioxide emissions." The case -- West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 20-1530 -- asked justices to decide whether the Clean Air Act allowed the EPA to issue sweeping regulations across the power sector and whether Congress must speak with particular clarity when it allows agencies to address major political and economic questions. The Times said it appears the ruling would limit the EPAs ability to regulate the energy sector beyond controlling emissions at individual power plants. It may also put an end to controls such as the cap-and-trade system, unless Congress acts. The issue dates to the Trump Administrations Affordable Clean Energy Rule, which was struck down by a federal appeals court on the last full day of his presidency. That rule would have relaxed restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the rule was based on a fundamental misconstruction of the relevant law, prompted by a tortured series of misreadings. The E.P.A. has ample discretion in carrying out its mandate, the decision concluded. But it may not shirk its responsibility by imagining new limitations that the plain language of the statute does not clearly require. At that time, the panel did not reinstate the 2015 Obama-era regulation known as the Clean Power Plan, which would have required utilities to move away from coal toward renewable energy, while instructing states to draft plans to eliminate carbon emissions, the Times said. The Supreme Court blocked that plan in 2016 while lawsuits from the coal industry and conservative states were heard. That ruling had also cleared the way for the Biden administration to issue stronger restrictions, the Times noted. Thursdays Supreme Court ruling could extend beyond environmental policy and limit power at other administrative agencies, the Times added. The court had previously ruled that two federal agencies could not impose certain rules during the pandemic. For example, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could not impose a moratorium on evictions and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration could not require large employers to have their workers vaccinated or undergo testing, the Times noted. As the ruling was announced, the president of the American Medical Association (AMA) reaffirmed the group's support for policies that reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions aimed at carbon neutrality by 2050. "As physicians and leaders in medicine, we recognize the urgency of supporting environmental sustainability efforts to help halt global climate change and the devastating health harms that it is sure to bring," Dr. Jack Resnick Jr. said in a statement. "Despite this ruling, we will continue to do our part to protect public health and improve health outcomes for our patients across the nation," he added. More information The United Nations has more on climate change. SOURCE: The New York Times, June 30, 2022; U.S. Supreme Court, June 30, 2022; American Medical Association, news release, June 30, 2022 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. Magical creatures swarm the shelves, lounge on tables, grin, grimace and stare, with eyes sparkling. Sea slugs and cephalopods from oceans depths exist side by side with ancient dinosaurs frilled, horned and flying. Woodland rabbits and foxes hang with family pets. These peaceable kingdoms from crochet artist Jennifer Starbird enchanted young and old viewers alike at an early June Macklind Market. Starbird, who holds a masters degree in archaeology from the University of Illinois in Chicago, took up crocheting after the birth of her son. I loved archaeology. My area of study was South America, but when I had kids it wasnt realistic to leave the country every summer to go on a dig, she says. I needed something to keep myself occupied. A crochet stitch in time She didnt have a kindly grandmother who taught her to crochet. My mother did a lot of sewing, but I wanted something more manageable, and without the big machine, she says. Given the whimsical nature of her work, we asked if Starbird was her given name, or one she chose. My father gifted me with that name, she says, and he loves what Im doing. She didnt make yarn sculptures right out of the box. I started with scarves, bags the usual things. Three years ago I made a dragon using a Crafty Intentions pattern, she says. Megan Lapp, the owner and designer at Crafty Intentions, inspired me to branch out. Hooked on amigurumi The articulated sculptural style Starbird used to make Lapps pattern, amigurumi, appealed to her. The style originated in Japan a few decades ago and quickly took hold with people who crocheted and knitted around the world. Starbird soon began creating her own patterns after she finished the dragon for various creatures on land and sea, for animals close at home and in the wild. She also makes patterns of extinct creatures and lesser-known animals as befits her scientific background. Not all soft yarn critters are warm and fuzzy. Her current design in process and testing, the mosasaurus, has been fun for her and could end up a favorite. Its an extinct marine reptile, she says. They last roamed the seas 62 to 88 million years ago, give or take a few. Her collection of dinosaurs is impressive, too, and would make great stuffies for any little paleontologist, but she most often sells her pieces as sculptures. The larger pieces have armatures of florist wire well-wrapped to prevent them from sticking through and to make them poseable, she says. Although many people purchase her handmade yarn sculptures, crochet enthusiasts download Starbirds highly detailed patterns from her site on Ravelry, an online knit and crochet community where crafters can buy and sell patterns and find resources. Coloring her world Starbird uses vibrant colors in her creations, often crocheting multiple colors into a piece. I always use really good yarn, she says. The technique I use to for mixing colors is called intarsia. Most of my crochet work is done with a 4-millimeter hook while maintaining an even tension. Welcome to crochet world The crochet world is really a nice community, she says. I keep in touch through Facebook and Instagram with people who want to see what Ill design next and what pieces are available, she says. When I have a new pattern, Ill put out a call for testers. I use five or six people who have four weeks to make the piece and suggest edits. I want my patterns to be right. What started as a keep busy moment has turned into a business for Jennifer Starbird, one that allows her curiosity about the world and its creatures free reign for her to create. She also uses her talents close to home when she crochets her custom pet sculptures. Cats, dogs, geckos, cockatiels, ferrets Ive made them all. Her own pets, Mango the cat and Mira the dog, are much-loved members of her family. Starbird Creations Artist Jennifer Starbird Age 42 Family Starbird and her husband, Josh, have two children, a a 13-year-old son and a 9-year-old daughter. They have a large orange cat named Mango. They also live with Mira, a dog the family adopted who was rescued from a hoarding situation. Her name at the rescue group was Miracle. Home Webster Groves What she makes Three-dimensional yarn sculptures of common and uncommon animals, sea creatures, family pets, dragons, unicorns and more made in the Japanese amigurumi style. She also sells detailed downloads of her interesting crochet patterns for her creatures. Where to buy Starbirds yarn sculptures and patterns are available at her Etsy store, Starbird Creations STL. She also answers inquiries on her Facebook page and on her Instagram page. She also sells at local markets and pop-up shows. How much Photo detailed patterns with complete directions sell for $5 to $6. Her amigurumi-style pieces range from $15 to $150. Larger pieces, like the big cat and dragon, are in the $200 range Joe Holleman Joe Holleman is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Joe Holleman Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today The recent purchase of a low-power STL television station by Gray Television, which bought KMOV (Channel 4) in December, is just one of a number of purchases the Atlanta-based media company has made in recent months. And while KMOV honchos are not commenting on the acquisition, a recent article in TV News Check, an industry publication, notes that the company is looking at expanding its Spanish-language programming. In the last year, Gray has bought about 40 low-power stations to establish a foothold into Spanish-language broadcasting in the Southeast U.S. and other markets, the article said. Gray has taken advantage of the opportunity to acquire efficiently priced TV stations that it can use to build out Telemundo and other Spanish-language television services in underserved markets, the piece reports. Earlier this month, Gray paid $1 million for KDTL (Channel 16), a low-power station that now broadcasts mostly religious programming and had been owned by the Word of God Fellowship in Texas, federal filings show. Your weekly capsule of local news, life advice, trivia and humor from Post-Dispatch columnist Joe Holleman. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Tony Messenger Tony Messenger is the metro columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Tony Messenger Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Erin Bulfins daughter, and her dog, Daisy, used to play dress up. Skylar was 7 at the time. She wore a Scooby Doo costume. Daisy, a terrier mix the Webster Groves family adopted from a shelter, wore a pink tutu. They did everything together, Bulfin says of her daughter and Daisy. They were constantly with each other. That companionship ended shortly after Christmas in 2019. On Dec. 26, Daisy nipped at Skylar as they were playing with a new toy. Bulfin and her husband, Edward Nea, took their daughter to the hospital, where she needed stitches on her nose. While there, Bulfin, a teacher in the St. Louis Public Schools, looked up on Google what to do when your dog bites somebody. The situation was traumatic, and I didnt want animal control officers to take our dog. I wanted to make sure we did the right thing. I wanted to protect my daughter and Daisy, Bulfin says. One of my biggest fears was that they would euthanize her. After doing research and calling her veterinarian, Bulfin determined the best thing was to take Daisy to the shelter operated by St. Louis Animal Care and Control for a 10-day hold. She called animal control and they agreed that was the right thing to do. The next day, Nea took Daisy there. Workers filled out the paperwork and Nea signed it. He asked if they could come visit during the 10 days, and the workers told him they could. Nea made it clear they wanted Daisy back after 10 days. That night, Bulfin called a cousin who was a veterinarian. She found out that if her house was set up for it, she could do the 10-day hold at home. The next morning, she went to animal control to pick up Daisy and make new arrangements. Daisy was already dead. Heres how the lawsuit that Bulfin later filed in federal court describes what happened next: Rather than holding Daisy for ten (10) days, the individual Defendants, acting alone and in concert with others, unlawfully seized Daisy by immediately euthanizing her within minutes of her relinquishment, in clear contradiction to local ordinances and to St. Louis Countys official policies, it alleges. At no time did Ms. Bulfin request or authorize ACC or the individual Defendants to euthanize Daisy. In fact, Ms. Bulfin and the person temporarily relinquishing Daisy to ACC, for purposes of complying with state and local quarantine ordinances, both expressly stated in no uncertain terms that they did not want Daisy to be euthanized. When Bulfin and Nea found out their dog had been killed, they were horrified. They didnt have the heart to tell Skylar. Instead, they told her a version of the Daisys gone to the rescue farm story that so many parents have told their children when a pet dies. Eventually, Skylar overheard her older siblings talking about what happened. I was in complete shock, Bulfin remembers. I felt like I was going to be sick. They didnt offer any explanation or apology. Bulfin hired lawyers Dan Kolde, who specializes in animal cases, and Mark Pedroli, who has recently been doing battle with St. Louis County government over wrongful deaths at the county jail. According to court records, rather than apologize for their mistake, St. Louis County has consistently said it did nothing wrong, going so far as to countersue Nea at one point. U.S. District Court Judge John Bodenhausen dismissed that lawsuit as meritless. Bulfins lawsuit has uncovered a pattern of what Pedroli and Kolde, in court filings, call fraud related to animal deaths: County workers consistently require people bringing dogs to the shelter to sign an inaccurate form that says they consent to euthanasia, even when they explicitly have said the opposite. Its ghoulish, Pedroli says. Its like a house of horrors. An audit found similar patterns. The administration of St. Louis County Executive Sam Page has said they plan to privatize the shelter, in part because of the audits findings. That audit, which recommended high priority changes to the countys animal shelter operation, came out before Daisy was killed. Bulfin didnt even get to see her dog to say goodbye. The shelter decapitated Daisy and sent her head to a state veterinary lab to be tested. Pedroli and Kolde had to fight for more than a year to get those documents from St. Louis County, at one point getting the judge to admonish county attorneys for delays and obfuscation. County Counselor Beth Orwick declined to comment because the litigation is pending. Bulfin didnt want to be where she is now, with this lawsuit headed to a trial, and her family having to relive the horror of Daisys untimely death. We thought they would issue us an apology, she says. That didnt happen at all. They attacked my husband. They made outrageous claims. They keep embellishing these bizarre stories about what happened. Its scary to me that they have control over all these other living beings that they dont care too much about. They have no idea what theyre doing. From City Hall to the Capitol, metro columnist Tony Messenger shines light on what public officials are doing, tells stories of the disaffected, and brings voice to the issues that matter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. UPDATED at 7:45 a.m. Thursday with makeshift memorial at scene CLAYTON The 13-year-old driver who crashed into a tree in Florissant, killing three young boys this week, had taken a relatives SUV without permission a vehicle that used to be a Hillsdale police K-9 unit, police said Wednesday. The driver was the only one to survive Mondays fiery crash. He is being held by juvenile authorities on three counts of manslaughter. By Thursday morning, a makeshift memorial sprang up around the scorched tree where the vehicle caught fire. Someone left balloons and teddy bears. Scrawled into the tree was the message, "Watch over us," a heart and Lil Randy. Another message read, "Let the innocent children live on." Florissant police havent named the boy who was driving the SUV or released names of any of the boys who died. The driver and a 9-year-old victim were cousins, police said. Two 13-year-old boys also died. They were not related to anyone in the vehicle. None of the victims has been positively identified by the medical examiners office; it might take dental records or DNA to do that officially. Meanwhile, Florissant police officers have spoken with the boys family members, who are experiencing tremendous hurt, police said on social media. The four boys were in a vehicle that crashed about 1:45 a.m. Monday in the 100 block of South New Florissant Road. The SUV burst into flames. They were in a former police vehicle one that the Hillsdale Police Department used to use for its K9 officer. It was a 2011 Ford Expedition that had been sold to a tow company, police disclosed Wednesday. The SUV was then legally purchased by a relative of the 13-year-old boy who was driving it Monday. The boy took the SUV without his relatives knowledge, police said. Even though the Hillsdale police SUV had been decommissioned, police said, the vehicle still was equipped with the K-9 partition behind the rear seat, separating it from the rear cargo area. It wasnt clear from the police announcement if that partition had any impact in the rescue efforts. Police officers had tried to get to the boys but couldnt because of the fire, a police spokesman said. Speed and inexperienced driving contributed to the crash, Florissant police said. Police havent divulged how fast the accident-reconstruction team thinks the SUV had been traveling. South New Florissant Road has a speed limit of 35 mph, but neighbors say traffic routinely ignores that posted limit. Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. JEFFERSON COUNTY Authorities on Thursday said they believe an inmate found dead in the Jefferson County Jail hanged himself Wednesday evening. The sheriffs office said it was investigating the death of Korey L. LeGrand, 32, of Farmington, Missouri. Police said he was found dead in his cell around 8 p.m. "with evidence suggesting he hung himself." All the inmates in the area were locked in their own cells at the time and there were no other signs of violence, police said. LeGrand had been in custody for a week in connection to various felony and misdemeanor offenses in Jefferson and St. Louis counties, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. Authorities said a jail psychologist visited with LeGrand after a court appearance the day prior to his death but said there were no indicators to suggest he was suicidal. A jail mental health professional visited with inmates Wednesday night during the investigation, but no one said they had talked to LeGrand before his death. The sheriffs office said it will conduct an internal review to determine any procedure violations and to discover areas for improvement. The St. Louis Public Schools board has hired a consultant to run its citywide plan for education, more than a year after school closures prompted the project. Virginia-based People Are Everything received a one-year contract for $500,000 to produce a plan for the number and location of schools in the city, where the population of children has been steadily dropping. Laverne Morrow Carter, the groups leader, has degrees from St. Louis University and Washington University and experience evaluating health and social issues across 12 states. I do not take on projects that rehash problems, Carter said Wednesday at a meeting of SLPS Citywide Plan for Education committee. Carters group is expected to produce an action plan by June 2023 that isnt just going to sit on a table, Carter said. Thats not in my values. Thats not the type of work Ive done for 40 years. Superintendent Kelvin Adams called on the St. Louis School Board to create a citywide plan in 2021 following the closure of seven schools for low enrollment. Enrollment in the district last year fell below 19,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. An additional 12,000 students attend charter schools in the city, which are publicly funded but operate independently from the district. The Arch Community charter school in the Hyde Park neighborhood closed this summer with 100 students. One new charter school, Voices Academy, is scheduled to open in fall 2023. A previous effort to transform the citys public education system fell apart last August after SLPS board members accused outside groups of undermining the district. Adams and Mayor Tishaura O. Jones were co-chairs of Better Futures advisory council. Both pulled out following backlash from the school board. In October, the SLPS board launched the citywide plan committee, led by board members Alisha Sonnier and Antionette Cousins and including Alderman Carol Howard, 14th Ward, and Wilford Pinkney, the citys director of children, youth and families. Jones temporarily halted her administrations involvement with the citywide plan in February, until all the school systems SLPS, charter, parochial, independent (are) at one table as equal partners to address concerns of every family. Organizers with the citywide plan include charter school leaders Candice Carter-Oliver, CEO of Confluence Academies and Gerry Kettenbach of the University of Missouris charter sponsorship office, Cousins said earlier this month. Posted at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 30. Stay up to date on life and culture in St. Louis. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. JEFFERSON CITY A political action committee controlled by former U.S. Sen. John Danforth plans to spend up to $20 million to support an independents bid for the Senate this November. The Missouri Stands United PAC, in a news release, said it was spending $3 million on direct mail, radio, TV and digital advertising through July 17, with more ad spending on deck. The ad blitz is to boost John F. Wood, a former investigator for the Jan. 6 committee who launched his campaign Wednesday. To make the Nov. 8 ballot, Wood must turn in 10,000 signatures to the Missouri secretary of states office by Aug. 1. I enthusiastically back John Woods candidacy, Danforth said in a statement. We will be working to ensure voters across Missouri know who John is and urging them to take the first important step in support for a new way in our politics: sign a petition to get John on the ballot. With this PAC, we will be able to explain to Missourians why an Independent candidate is the best path forward for our state and why John is the best Independent candidate, he added. The release said the PAC began running ads on Monday with Danforth calling on Missourians to support an independent for Senate. The PAC would unveil new ads backing Wood in the coming days, according to the release. Danforth said in February that a center-right independent with a message of unity must run for Missouris open U.S. Senate seat, which is being vacated by retiring U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, a Republican. Wood, who worked in Danforths office early in his career, in an interview Tuesday trained criticism on the two leading candidates in the Democratic and Republican primaries, Eric Greitens and Lucas Kunce. Both have used militaristic language, with Greitens pretending to hunt political opponents in a campaign ad and Kunce comparing himself to a grenade. I think that that (Greitens) advertisement is an embarrassment to our state, and its dangerous, Wood said Tuesday. Lucas Kunce, who looks like hes got a good shot at being the Democratic nominee, has described himself as being a hand grenade, and said just pull the pin and roll me into the Senate so I can blow things up, Wood said. I know that rhetoric may motivate a small group of people, but I dont think its what the vast majority of Missouri voters want. Kunce, in a statement Wednesday, said Bring. It. On. in response to Woods candidacy. His campaign derided Wood as a Republican in sheeps clothing and an anti-choice Clarence Thomas clerk, referring to one of the five Supreme Court justices who overturned the constitutional right to an abortion last week. Wood clerked for Thomas and at the U.S. Court of Appeals. Kunces campaign also called Wood a Chamber of Commerce mega-lawyer. Wood was brought onto the Jan. 6 committee by the Republican co-chair, Rep. Liz Cheney. Before joining the committee, Wood worked as general counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Posted at 6 a.m. Thursday, June 30. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CLAYTON A judge has ordered St. Louis County to pay more than $245,000 in retirement benefits to Councilman Tim Fitch, a former county police chief, and allow Fitch to start drawing his police pension again for the remainder of his term. St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Medler issued the order Thursday, rejecting the countys argument that retirement ordinances barred Fitch from drawing a pension while he held another salaried role in county government. The county stopped paying Fitch, a Republican, his roughly $85,000-a-year pension on Jan. 1, 2019, after he was seated as the 3rd District representative on the council. Under county retirement ordinances, retirement benefits are suspended if a pensioner returns to a salaried position with the county. Council members are paid $20,000 a year. After failing to get council support in 2019 to revise the ordinance, Fitch sued the county in February for at least $254,000 in retirement benefits and interest. Fitch has argued the ordinance only applies to full-time, merit positions and that council seats are elected, part-time offices exempt from the merit system. Medler, in his order issued Thursday, appeared to agree, noting that council members dont devote 30 or more hours per week, that Fitch works for a full-time private company, and that language in the charter provides councilmembers hold a term of office rather than employment. Plainly stated, Chief Fitch is not an employee of St. Louis County, Medler said. Medler also ruled that county laws dont require councilmembers to participate in a pension plan offered to the legislative body, and said they were designed to prevent a person from earning a full-time salary while accruing time in the same County pension plan and receiving pension benefits for prior County service all at the same time. Any ambiguity, Medler said, should be construed in favor of the retiree, or pensioner. Medler added that language in the county pension ordinances that a participant shall receive the respective benefits, didnt give the county discretion, unless Fitch clearly didnt qualify for it. ... Chapter 204 of the St. Louis County Ordinances and the St. Louis County Charter do not give Respondents discretion to refuse to pay Chief Fitch his vested Police Pension, Medler wrote. Rather, the plain meaning of the ordinances and charter, and every principle of statutory construction, mandate that Chief Fitch has an unequivocal right to receive his Police Pension while serving as a member of the County Council. Medler declined to award Fitch interest from his pension but did allow his attorney to file a motion requesting payment from the county for legal fees. Fitch, in a tweet, said he was pleased. Im pleased that the Court determined I should receive the pension I earned for over 31 years as a St. Louis County police officer and that future County Council members will not lose their rightfully earned pension benefits because they choose to continue to serve their community, he said. County spokesman Doug Moore said in a statement, The county respectfully disagrees with the judges interpretations and is considering all options at this time. County Counselor Beth Orwick had sought outside legal aid for the case, under advisement by Medler that it constituted a conflict of interest for her office. But a majority on the County Council critical of Page twice rejected Orwicks request to hire outside attorneys. Fitch retired from the police force in 2014 with 31 years of service, including the last six as chief. He will depart the council in 2023 after deciding not to seek reelection to a second term. Posted at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 30. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Nassim Benchaabane Reporter covering St. Louis County politics. Born in Algeria but grew up in St. Louis. Previously reported for The Associated Press in Jackson, Mississippi, and at the Wichita Eagle in Wichita, Kansas. Follow Nassim Benchaabane Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today MENDON, Mo. In March 2021, a small group of men met at a rural railroad crossing in northern Missouri that locals had long been complaining about because of its steep grade and lack of visibility. A farmer leading the effort to improve the crossing was among those who gathered at the Porche Prairie Avenue Crossing southwest of Mendon. All three Chariton County commissioners were there, along with a safety official with the Missouri Department of Transportation and a representative from a local engineering firm. In the wake of Mondays deadly Amtrak derailment that killed four people and injured 150, last years meeting at the crossing has taken on new meaning and importance. Not only for the desperate call to fix and improve the crossing but also for the fact that no one did. We had high hopes that something was going to get done there, said Paul Speichinger, a Chariton County farmer, who wasnt at the meeting but has complained about the crossing over the years. We really hoped and anticipated that wed have something done last fall, and the commissioners have been on the officials to get something done. But it fell on deaf ears. In fact, their efforts ran into a wall of state bureaucracy, The Star has found. That meeting at the crossing last year did possibly prompt the state, in July 2021, to place the crossing high on its priority list to make it safer. But that didnt mean the fix would come anytime soon. Unbeknownst to the community, because of budget constraints and the slow pace of government projects, any safety improvements would still have been years away. Although residents complained about the crossing for years, BNSF Railway, the railroad that owns the track, told The Star that the Missouri Department of Transportation had not even up to the day of the crash contacted them to conduct an official review of the site that required before any repairs are initiated. I can tell you that we have not been contacted over this crossing to work on a diagnostic review, said BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent. That is a critical step of this process to move forward. You cant just, you know, have somebody out there say, Hey, I think we need gates, and the next day we show up with some gates. Thats not how that works. You have to go through that process. The Missouri Department of Transportation has authority over public railroad crossings and runs the states railroad safety program. A MoDOT spokeswoman confirmed that although MoDOT alerted BNSF earlier this year that the crossing has been put near the top of its priority list to be fixed, the agency had not yet contacted the railroad to conduct a review of the site. It was approved last July (as a priority) and our staff reached out, MoDOT spokeswoman Linda Wilson Horn said Tuesday of BNSF. The diagnostic review has not been scheduled yet. Did MoDOT drop the ball? For residents like Mike Spencer, who farms 1,600 acres around what he has long viewed as a potentially deadly crossing, word of the states inaction came as a shock. He was the Mendon resident who last year stood at the crossing with the county commissioners, an area engineering firm representative and a MoDOT railroad safety specialist. Spencer said he initiated the meeting with MoDOT in the expectation that the state and BNSF would soon fix the dangerous crossing. Everyone MoDOT, the commissioners, the engineering representative agreed that changes needed to be made. They were right on board, Spencer said of the commission members. They were like, Oh yeah, this has got to be fixed. We are going to do whatever we can. Presiding Commissioner Evan Emmerich has notes from that meeting. He detailed how the crossing was very steep and needed to be addressed. And that it is difficult to see at that location because the gravel road and railroad intersect at an angle. MoDOT still has the crossing on their list to repair, Emmerich wrote in his notes. But no timeline was given to us. After that meeting, Spencer and others in the community felt change was coming. Soon. But then Spencer would check in with the state month after month and nothing was happening. He said he was first led to believe that the project was stalled because of MoDOT budget constraints. He said he was later told by MoDOT that the crossing construction had been tabled, leading him to surmise that the delays were due to the railroad. Earlier this year, he asked if the tall brush surrounding the tracks could at least be removed, because it obscured drivers views of oncoming trains. Still nothing happened. Residents continued to complain as recently as last month. The Chariton County Commission emailed MoDOT about the brush on May 23. When MoDOT didnt respond, the commission emailed BNSF a week later. As recently as Monday, Spencer was placing full blame for the crash on BNSF for not fixing the crossing. Now Im wondering if MoDOT didnt drop the ball on us, Spencer said, and maybe nothing was ever in the works to get anything done. A couple of years For its part, the agency said it was in the process of correcting the crossing. But because of the way the system works, nothing was going to happen immediately. The first step is for the state to identify a potentially dangerous crossing and decide it is a priority to be fixed. That happened for the Mendon crossing in July 2021. The next step is to schedule a diagnostic review. In a review, officials from the railroad, MoDOT and the government body that owns the road visit the crossing and determine what is required to make it safe. Together, they then draw up a plan for whatever is needed: lights, bells, railroad gates, changing the grade of the road, perhaps even eliminating the crossing. None of that happens fast. It usually takes a couple of years to have a plan and designs ready for a contractor to do the work, Horn of MoDOT said. The actual construction adds even more time. MoDOT, Horn said, has limited funds to improve crossing safety. It has $7.5 million a year, receiving $6 million each year in what are known as Section 130 funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation, and $1.5 million through a state fund. Because each crossing improvement project costs $400,000 on average, the state can only add lights, gates, bells, or do road repairs on 20 crossings a year. According to a draft version of the Missouri Highway-Rail Grade Crossing State Action Plan, the state has nearly 6,600 rail crossings. Of those, 1,600 do not have lights and gates. In the five years between 2016 and 2020, 37 people have been killed and 89 injured at crossings in Missouri. Tremendous wreck Spencer does not hold BNSF blameless in this weeks deadly wreck. The railroad, he said, has long been aware of the steep grade at the crossing, making it difficult for trucks or heavy farm equipment to climb to the top of the tracks and over. According to the presiding commissioners notes, the commission first spoke to Spencer about the crossing in December 2019. He has been in contact with the railroad but said they were not being very cooperative, Emmerich wrote. The dump truck involved in Mondays wreck was owned by MS Contracting in Brookfield. It was hauling a load of shot rock to a nearby levee under repair by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. On Monday, Spencer was at a restaurant in Columbia when his phone erupted with calls and texts about the crash at the crossing. The derailed train cars spilled into his fields. I texted him, Spencer said of the MoDOT rail official he had worked with. I said, OK, the crossing that weve been concerned about and that you all said wasnt going to get completed: Now its going to make national news because I understand theres been a tremendous wreck. Hes not texted or called me or nothing. 2022 The Kansas City Star. Visit kansascity.com. JEFFERSON CITY Despite having a more than $1 billion surplus in the states general checkbook, Gov. Mike Parson used his veto pen Thursday to slash more than $640 million in spending sought by Missouri lawmakers. The Republican governor targeted more than three dozen priorities inserted into the $49 billion spending plan by lawmakers who argued in May that the states revenue was healthy enough to expand the budget. Among the cuts were $500 million for tax rebates for Missouri taxpayers, $83 million for a new training facility for state highway patrol officers and $10 million for charter schools to maintain their facilities. The rebate plan would have sent up to $500 rebates to taxpayers earning up to $150,000 annually, but Parson said the concept was flawed. There were smaller projects on the chopping block too, including $4.5 million to build new sidewalks in the Affton School District in south St. Louis County. Democratic Sen. Doug Beck, who represents the district, said he would work to find the money in future budgets. I am disappointed these federal dollars will not be used to meet such a clear need in our community, Beck said in reaction to the veto. A $1 million earmark for a youth film camp also was bumped out of the spending plan. Those reductions came as the governors budget office reported that net general revenue growth was up a robust 14.9% for the fiscal year, which ended Thursday. Despite the reductions, Parson signed the bulk of the budget that was sent to him by lawmakers, including money to help boost the pay rate for Missouris low-paid teachers. We want to thank all of the legislators who helped pass this historic budget that cements our states strong financial position and provides tremendous opportunities for Missourians, both today and tomorrow, Parson said. Informed by the needs of Missourians all across the state, we have once again passed a balanced and conservative budget that benefits every Missourian. With record revenues, strong economic performance, and significant sums of Missourians federal tax dollars returning to our state, this session we met the moment and approved strategic investments that will serve generations of Missourians, he added. Under the plan, teacher salaries would rise to a base level of $38,000 annually from a national low rate of $25,000. The cost: $37 million. School districts also will get an infusion of $214 million to cover a portion of busing costs, marking the first time in 30 years the state has fully funded its share of the program. The additional funding for schools is aimed at addressing staffing shortages that have led to almost one-fourth of the states school districts going to four-day school weeks. Big-ticket items like the states Medicaid program are fully funded under the plan. The cost to fund the voter-approved expansion of the MO HealthNet program is pegged at $2.5 billion. Nursing homes will get $200 million as the state increases the rates it pays to the facilities to care for low-income Missourians. Higher education also scored added dollars for both operating costs and construction projects. The budget earmarks $100 million to repair and upgrade rural roads as part of a request from Parson. Cities also could tap into a $75 million cost-sharing program for road and bridge construction projects. The Jefferson County Port Authority would receive $25 million to expand its port, which is being eyed for a container shipping terminal. Negotiators also budgeted $2.4 million to restore Amtrak service between St. Louis and Kansas City to two round trips per day. The budget also sets aside $49.5 million to pay for a settlement with correctional officers, who successfully sued to force the Department of Corrections to pay overtime costs. The original jury award was more than double that amount. The spending plan also funnels $500 million to shore up the Missouri State Employees Retirement System. Missouris state-operated nursing homes for military veterans will receive enough funding to fully reopen after spending the last year operating at a limited capacity because of a shortage of nurses and staff. At the Department of Mental Health, the budget includes more than $16 million for a mental health hotline program similar to the 911 hotline for emergency calls. One of the few losers in the budgeting process was Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who failed to get $500,000 to hire five attorneys in the solicitor general unit. The decision was a bipartisan rebuke for Schmitts aggressive series of lawsuits against school districts over their mask rules. The budget includes a $3 billion budget for construction projects and other individual initiatives using federal American Rescue Plan Act funds. That plan includes $6 million to tear down the dormant Jamestown Mall and another $23 million for a new law enforcement center in St. Louis County. Both projects were pushed by Sen. Brian Williams, D-University City. The University of Missouri-St. Louis campus is in line for a makeover. The budget sets aside $40 million in matching funds for a so-called Campus of the Future involving multiple new buildings and demolition of old facilities. Posted at 5 p.m. Thursday, June 30. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. ST. LOUIS Two appointees to a new independent city jail oversight panel won approval on their second try from the Board of Aldermen on Thursday. Mike Milton, a former official with the nonprofit Bail Project that worked to bail out low-income people arrested in the city, was confirmed, 15-0. But eight members signaled their lack of support by voting present. One of them, Alderman Sharon Tyus, 1st Ward, complained that Milton had also been part of the campaign to close the city Medium Security Institution on the north side, also known as the workhouse. Its a mistake, Tyus said. I dont like the fact that we dont have any place for people (incarcerated) to exercise now. The Rev. Darryl Gray, a civil rights activist and an unsuccessful candidate for alderman and state representative in recent years, was approved, 15-1, with five voting present. Tyus, one of the present votes, attacked Gray for his efforts to get voters to pass Proposition R, a city charter amendment, in April. The proposition, which shifts ward redistricting from aldermen to a new independent panel and imposes tougher conflict-of-interest rules on board members, was opposed by several aldermen who say the new regulations are confusing. Gray was on a five-person committee steering the gathering of signatures on petitions that qualified the measure for the ballot. Alderman Jesse Todd, 18th Ward, spoke Thursday on Grays behalf, saying he had been active on issues in the ward. Milton is among six appointed to the new jail board by Mayor Tishaura O. Jones while Gray is one of three named by the chairman of the aldermanic Public Safety Committee, currently Joe Vaccaro, 23rd Ward. The others were approved by aldermen in April, although one, former acting city health director Pam Walker, resigned in protest because of the boards failure then to back Milton and Gray. Walker said after Thursdays vote that she again wants to serve on the panel, which has yet to start work, and is rescinding her resignation. A mayoral spokesman, Nick Desideri, said later that because Jones had never accepted the resignation, Walker will be able to take part after all. The oversight panel will look into complaints about the citys downtown jail, formally called the City Justice Center. Legislation setting up the panel was passed last December; it was proposed by a committee named by then-Mayor Lyda Krewson to investigate inmate disturbances at the jail. In April, Milton was rejected by the board, with 10 voting in favor, 10 voting present and seven others not voting. Among those voting present on Milton then were then-board president Lewis Reed, Jeffrey Boyd and John Collins-Muhammad. Each is now facing federal corruption charges and has resigned. Desideri said the vote Thursday is an example of how Jones office and aldermen are working together in a new era of City government. Vaccaro, who appointed Gray, didnt seek a vote then on Gray and had the appointment sent back to his committee for further vetting. Vaccaro in an interview said he did so because Gray wouldnt have gotten enough favorable votes because of aldermen upset with Prop R, which had just been passed the previous week. Gray is among the defendants in a lawsuit filed by three aldermen challenging the measure. Milton currently is executive director of the Freedom Community Center, which he has said allows crime victims to meet with perpetrators in a neutral space and helps them to reconcile while coming up with a plan to repair the problem. Tyus on Thursday complained about comments made by Gray and Milton on social media after they failed to win board approval in April. Gray said on Twitter then that the action of those on the board who excluded the only two Black men from the Detention committee is the reason why we need proposition R and Ward reduction. Posted at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 30. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our 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 wife of the dump truck driver killed Monday is suing the rural Missouri county where the Amtrak train crash happened and a railroad official for wrongful death. Billy Barton II, 54, of Brookfield, was killed when the train collided with his truck in Mendon, about 115 miles northeast of Kansas City. His wife, Erin Barton, filed the lawsuit against Chariton County and Mariano Rodriguez, a BNSF roadmaster who managed the train tracks which are owned by BNSF Railway. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Chariton County Circuit Court, accuses Rodriguez and the county of negligence. The Chariton County Commission did not respond to a request for comment. An attorney for Rodriguez was not listed in court records. The crossing where the collision happened known as Porche crossing had impaired visibility and did not allow drivers approaching it to see an oncoming train, the lawsuit said. The area also allegedly had brush, trees and vegetation that blocked the view. On Wednesday, The Star reported that one month before the crash, the county commission had alerted the state that overgrown brush was obstructing drivers views. The intersection did not have lights, bells or arms to warn drivers of an approaching train, a recommendation the National Transportation Board has encouraged since 1998. The lawsuit alleges Rodriguez either knew or should have known that the Porche crossing posed a grave danger to the public due to the geometry of the crossing, according to the petition. It also says Chariton County is responsible for inspecting, repairing and maintaining the roads, which includes the approach to Porche crossing. The crash was reported at about 12:43 p.m. Monday, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. A minute before, Barton was attempting to drive through the crossing but did not see or hear the train, the lawsuit said. The Amtrak train was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago and carrying approximately 275 passengers and 12 crew members. About 150 people were injured. The three passengers on the train who died were identified as Rachelle Cook, 58, and Kim Holsapple, 56, both of De Soto, Kansas; and Binh Pham, 82, of Kansas City. Cook and Holsapple were declared dead at the scene, the highway patrol said. Pham was pronounced dead Tuesday at a hospital in Columbia. Some of the passengers were taken to Northwestern High School in Mendon after the crash. Several there told The Star of a harrowing experience as they expressed gratitude for the response of emergency medical workers and thanks to escape with their lives. The NTSB is investigating the crash. Chair Jennifer Homendy said Wednesday that the train was traveling at 87 mph when it struck a dump truck at the railroad crossing. The speed limit was 90 mph. Investigators were examining the slope of the incline at the intersection, among other factors, though they had ruled out mechanical issues. On Thursday, injured passengers and Phams family took the first steps in filing a lawsuit. Erin Barton is asking for in excess of $25,000 in damages. 2022 The Kansas City Star. Visit kansascity.com. The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that had provided a constitutional right to abortion. The ruling is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states, although the timing of those laws taking effect varies. Some Republican-led states will ban or severely limit abortion immediately, while other restrictions will take effect later. In anticipation of the decision, several states led by Democrats have taken steps to protect abortion access. The decision also sets up the potential for legal fights between the states over whether providers and those who help women obtain abortions can be sued or prosecuted. Here is an overview of abortion legislation and the expected impact of the courts decision in every state. ALABAMA Political control: Alabama has a Republican-controlled legislature and a Republican governor who want to ban or restrict access to abortions. Background: In 2019, Alabama lawmakers approved what was then the most stringent abortion ban in the country, making it a felony to perform an abortion at any stage of pregnancy with no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. The only exception would be when the womans health was at serious risk. A federal judge issued an injunction, under the precedent of Roe v. Wade, blocking the state from enforcing the law. In 2018, voters agreed to amend the Alabama Constitution to say the state recognizes the rights of unborn children and does not protect the right to an abortion or require the funding of abortion. A 1951 law made it a crime, punishable by up to 12 months in prison, to induce an abortion, unless it is done to preserve the life or health of the mother. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Abortions became almost entirely illegal in Alabama on Friday. A 2019 state abortion ban took effect making it a felony to perform an abortion at any stage of pregnancy, with no exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest. All three clinics stopped providing abortions Friday morning under fear of prosecution under the 1951 state law. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson hours later granted Alabama's request to lift an injunction and allow the state to enforce the 2019 abortion ban. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said it is now a felony to provide an abortion in Alabama beyond the one exception allowed in the 2019 law, which is for the sake of the mothers health. Doctors who violate the law could face up to 99 years in prison. Marshall said the state would also move to lift other injunctions that blocked previous abortion restrictions, including a requirement for doctors who perform abortions to have hospital admitting privileges. Whats next: Some Republican lawmakers have said they would like to see the state replace the 2019 ban with a slightly less stringent bill that would allow exceptions in cases of rape or incest. Proponents said the 2019 ban was deliberately strict in the hopes of sparking a court challenge to Roe. ALASKA Political control: Republicans currently hold a majority of seats in the state Legislature, but the House is controlled by a bipartisan coalition composed largely of Democrats. Fifty-nine of the Legislatures 60 seats are up for election this year. Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican who believes life begins at conception, is seeking reelection. Background: The Alaska Supreme Court has interpreted the right to privacy in the state constitution as encompassing abortion rights. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: The U.S. Supreme Court's decision is not expected to immediately affect abortion rights in Alaska, given the existing precedent in the state. Whats next: Voters in the fall will be asked if they want to hold a constitutional convention, a question that comes up every 10 years. Many conservatives who want to overhaul how judges are selected and do away with the interpretation that the constitutions right to privacy clause allows for abortion rights see an opportunity in pushing for a convention. Recent efforts to advance a constitutional amendment through the Legislature have been unsuccessful. ARIZONA Political control: Both legislative chambers are controlled by Republicans, who regularly pass abortion restrictions that for the past eight sessions have been quickly signed by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, an abortion opponent. Background: Arizona law allows abortion through about 22 weeks, but the Legislature passed a 15-week abortion ban in March mirroring the Mississippi law that was contested before the Supreme Court. It was to take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourned on June 24. Current restrictions include bans on abortions because of gender and a 2021 law that makes it a felony for a doctor to terminate a pregnancy because the child has a survivable genetic abnormality. Arizona also has a pre-statehood law still on the books that would ban all abortions, although it has not been enforced since Roe was decided. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Ducey has argued in media interviews that the law he signed in late March takes precedence over the total ban that remains on the books. But the law he signed specifically says it does not overrule the total abortion ban in place for more than 100 years. Ducey is term-limited and leaves office in January. Abortion providers across the state stopped all procedures after the court ruled because of concerns that the pre-Roe ban could put doctors, nurses and other providers at risk of prosecution. Republican state Attorney General Mark Brnovich said on June 30 that the pre-statehood law could be enforced, putting him at odds with the Republican governor. Brnovich said he would seek to remove an injunction in place since shortly after 1973s Roe decision. Also on June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Arizona to enforce a ban on abortions done solely because the fetus has a genetic abnormality. A federal judge blocked that part of the 2021 Arizona law last year, saying it was unconstitutionally vague, but will now have to reconsider that decision. Hes also being asked again to block a personhood provision that grants rights to eggs and fetuses, which medical providers worry could be used to bring various charges for harming an unborn child. Whats next: Abortion-rights supporters in Arizona have launched a long-shot bid to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution. Rolled out weeks after the draft U.S. Supreme Court decision showing Roe could be overturned was leaked, backers must collect more than 356,000 signatures by July 7 to get the initiative on the November ballot. Voters would then be able to decide. ARKANSAS Political control: Arkansas legislature is controlled by Republicans who have supported dozens of abortion bans and restrictions in recent years. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson also has supported bans on abortion with some exceptions. Hes term-limited and leaves office in January. Republican nominee Sarah Sanders, press secretary to former President Donald Trump, is widely favored in the November election to succeed him. Background: Arkansas already had a law banning most abortions 20 weeks into a womans pregnancy, with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. The state has several other bans that have been struck down or blocked by courts in recent years, including an outright abortion ban enacted last year that doesnt include rape or incest exceptions. That ban has been blocked by a federal judge, and the state has appealed. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Arkansas has a law it enacted in 2019 that bans nearly all abortions now that Roe is overturned. That ban, along with the outright ban thats been blocked by a federal judge, only allows exceptions to protect the life of the mother in a medical emergency. Hutchinson has said he thinks bans should include rape and incest exceptions, but he has not called on the Legislature to add those to either of the bans. Whats next: Hours after Fridays ruling, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge signed certification that Roe had been overturned. That certification allows the states trigger ban to take effect immediately. The only exception in that ban is to protect the life of the mother in a medical emergency. The Legislature isnt scheduled to meet until January, but Hutchinson is considering calling a special session to take up tax relief proposals. The Republican governor said Friday he does not plan on asking lawmakers to consider adding rape and incest exceptions to the states ban. CALIFORNIA Political control: Democrats who support access to abortion control all statewide elected offices and have large majorities in the state Legislature. Background: California outlawed abortion in 1850, except when the life of the mother was in danger. The law changed in 1967 to include abortions in the case of rape, incest or if a womans mental health were in danger. In 1969, the California Supreme Court declared the states original abortion law to be unconstitutional but left the 1967 law in place. In 1972, California voters added a right to privacy to the state constitution. Since then, the state Supreme Court has interpreted that right to privacy as a right to access abortion, allow minors to get an abortion without their parents permission and use public funding for abortions in the states Medicaid program. California now requires private health insurance plans to cover abortions and does not allow them to charge things such as co-pays or deductibles for the procedure. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Abortion will remain legal in California prior to the viability of a fetus. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has vowed to make California a sanctuary for women who live in other states where abortion is outlawed or severely restricted. The number of women who travel to the state for abortions is expected to rise significantly. Whats next: The state Legislature is considering 13 bills that would strengthen or expand access to abortion. The bills are based on a report from the Future of Abortion Council, which Newsom formed last year to study reproductive rights in California. They include proposals that would help pay for women from other states to come to California for abortions, ban enforcement of out-of-state civil judgments on California abortion providers and volunteers, and increase the number of people who can offer abortions by authorizing some nurse practitioners to perform the procedure without the supervision of a doctor. Lawmakers also plan to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that would explicitly guarantee the right to an abortion and contraceptives. COLORADO Political control: The Democrats who control the Colorado Legislature support access to abortion, as does the states Democratic governor. Background: A 1967 state law legalized abortion up to 16 weeks of pregnancy. Abortion has been accessible ever since, despite repeated legislative attempts and ballot initiatives to restrict or abolish the procedure. Colorado voters have consistently rejected such initiatives, the latest in 2020 that would have banned abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy. In 2022, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a law placing the right to abortion in state statute. The law guarantees access to reproductive care before and after pregnancy and bans local governments from imposing their own restrictions. It also declares that fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses have no independent rights. Abortion rights advocates plan a 2024 ballot initiative to add abortion rights to the state constitution and repeal a 1980s constitutional amendment that bans public funding for abortion. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: The decision wont have any immediate impact on Colorado law -- but providers are preparing for a surge of out-of-state patients. Democratic House Majority Leader Daneya Esgar says lawmakers must consider how to invest in a health care workforce to ensure Colorado has the capacity to meet that anticipated demand. Colorados health department reports there were 11,580 abortions in the state in 2021; of those 14% were for non-residents. More than 900 of those non-residents were from Texas, Wyoming and Nebraska. Whats next: Its impossible to predict how many more patients from states surrounding Colorado will potentially seek care now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned. But the Texas law could induce more people to come. Oklahoma now has an early pregnancy abortion ban; Utah and Wyoming have trigger laws banning abortion now Roe is overturned; the Kansas Constitution protects abortion rights, but Republican lawmakers placed on an August primary ballot an initiative to overturn it. CONNECTICUT Political control: Democrats who control the Connecticut General Assembly support access to abortion, as does the states Democratic governor. Background: Connecticut passed a law in 1990 giving women the legal right to abortion. Having passed with strong bipartisan support, it was lauded at the time for being a rare compromise between abortion rights advocates and opponents. It affirmed a womans unqualified right to an abortion prior to viability of the fetus, as well as later-term abortions necessary to preserve the life and health of the pregnant woman. It also repealed state laws predating Roe v. Wade that had made it a felony to have an abortion or to perform one and required that patients under 16 receive counseling about their options. This year, Gov. Ned Lamont signed legislation to protect medical providers and patients from out-of-state legal actions. The same law allows advanced practice registered nurses, nurse-midwives or physician assistants to perform aspiration abortions in the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, a Democrat, has vowed to challenge any attempt to nullify Connecticuts abortion rights law. Lets not mince words. They will come for us, Tong warned abortion rights supporters during a recent news conference. We will fight that effort tooth-and-nail. Any court, any place, Connecticut will be there and will fight. The state is already involved in major abortion cases across the country. And while Connecticut is surrounded by mostly pro-abortion states, its still bracing for out-of-state patients seeking abortions now that Roe has been overturned. Whats next: Connecticuts new law protecting abortion providers from other states bans takes effect on July 1. It creates a legal cause of action for providers and others sued in another state, enabling them to recover certain legal costs. It also limits the governors discretion to extradite someone accused of performing an abortion, as well as participation by Connecticut courts and agencies in those lawsuits. Theres discussion of possibly amending the states constitution to enshrine the right to abortion, making it more difficult to overturn, but that would be a multi-year process. DELAWARE Political control: Democrats control the governors office and both chambers of the legislature in Delaware and have taken several steps to ensure access to abortion. Background: In 2017, Delaware became the first state following the election of President Donald Trump to codify the right to an abortion. A bill signed by Gov. John Carney, a Catholic, guarantees the unfettered right to an abortion before a fetus is deemed viable. The law defines viability as the point in a pregnancy when, in a physicians good faith medical judgment, there is a reasonable likelihood that the fetus can survive outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures. The law also allows abortion after fetal viability if, in a doctors good faith medical judgment, abortion is necessary for the protection of the womans life or health, or if there is a reasonable likelihood that the fetus cannot survive without extraordinary medical measures. The law eliminated existing code restrictions on abortions, much of which had already been declared unenforceable by Delawares attorney general in 1973 following the Supreme Court rulings in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. In April of this year, Carney signed a bill allowing physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses to prescribe abortion-inducing medications including mifepristone and misoprostol. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: In Delaware, the privacy protections of Roe v. Wade are codified in state law, guaranteeing residents have access to legal abortion services even if Roe were to be undone at the federal level, Democratic lawmakers noted earlier this month in unveiling legislation further broadening access to abortions. The bill, which is likely to pass before the end of June, allows physician assistants, certified nurse practitioners and nurse midwifes to perform abortions before viability. It also includes various legal protections for abortion providers and patients, including out-of-state residents receiving abortions in Delaware. Those provisions include protections from civil actions in other states relating to the termination of a pregnancy, and protecting individuals from extradition to other states for criminal charges related to terminating a pregnancy. Whats next: According to state health officials, 2,042 abortions were performed in Delaware in 2019, with 1,765 involving Delaware residents and 277 involving nonresidents. Delaware is not likely to see a huge influx of women traveling from out of state to get abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned, given that neighboring Maryland and New Jersey also have liberal abortion-access laws. In neighboring Pennsylvania, where Republicans control both chambers of the Legislature, future abortion access could hinge on the outcome of this years gubernatorial contest. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Political control: The local government in the nations capital is completely controlled by Democrats, with a Democratic mayor and the D.C. Council split between Democrats and nominal independent politicians, who are all, invariably, Democrats. Background: Abortion is legal in the District of Columbia at all stages of pregnancy, a status that was upheld in the 1971 Supreme Court case United States v. Vuitch. However, the U.S. Congress has oversight power over D.C. laws and Congress has already banned the city from using local funds to pay for abortions for women on Medicaid. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Elected officials in Washington, D.C., fear Congress could move to restrict abortion access, particularly if Republicans recapture the House of Representatives in midterm elections later this year. President Joe Biden could theoretically veto such a move, but that protection is subject to political calculations and is not guaranteed. Whats next: Local officials have pledged defiance against any sort of Congressional move to restrict local abortion access. The D.C. Council is considering legislation that would declare Washington, D.C., a sanctuary city for those coming from states where abortion is banned. According to federal data, most of the women getting abortions in Washington already are coming from out of state. Those numbers could increase, particularly if new Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin moves to restrict abortion access in neighboring Virginia. FLORIDA Political control: Republicans control both chambers of the Florida Legislature and this year passed a ban on abortions after 15 weeks, which was signed into law by the states Republican governor. Background: Abortion was legal in Florida until the 24th week of pregnancy, though lawmakers have been tightening access in recent years with bills requiring a one-day waiting period and requiring parents of a pregnant minor to be notified before an abortion can be provided. This year, in anticipation of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, the Legislature passed a ban on abortions after the 15th week, except to save the mothers life, prevent serious injury or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. It does not allow for exemptions in cases where pregnancies were caused by rape or incest. Gov. Ron DeSantis called the legislation the most significant protections for life that have been enacted in this state in a generation. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: The decision places Floridas 15-week ban on firm legal ground, at least under federal law. However, the legislation is being challenged in state court on arguments that it violates a guarantee of the right to privacy under the state constitution. Whats next: Floridas 15-week ban took effect July 1, but it will be in place only temporarily after a judge ruled that it "violates the privacy provision of the Florida Constitution. The law will be in effect only until the judge signs his written order, something that is expected to happen within the week. Although only about 2% of Floridas abortions take place after 15th week, abortion rights advocates have expressed concern over declining access to the procedure not only for Floridians but for residents from nearby Southern states where restrictions have historically been stricter than in Florida. GEORGIA Political control: Georgia has a Republican legislature and governor who support abortion restrictions, but all are up for election this November. Republicans are likely to retain legislative control, but theres a possibility a Democrat could become governor. Background: Georgia lawmakers in 2019 passed a law by one vote that would ban most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, when fetal cardiac activity can be detected. The measure is unlike other so-called heartbeat bills in that it also contains language designating a fetus as a person for certain state-law purposes such as income tax deductions and child support. A federal judge quickly put the law on hold and in 2020 struck it down, saying it was unconstitutional. The state appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 11th Circuit said it would wait to rule on the appeal pending a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Mississippi case. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: The day the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Georgias attorney general asked the 11th Circuit to reverse the lower courts ruling and allow the states abortion law to take effect. That same day, the 11th Circuit directed the parties to file briefs within three weeks addressing what effect, if any, the Supreme Court decision has on the Georgia appeal. If the law takes effect, it would ban the large majority of abortions that currently take place in Georgia about 87%, according to providers. The change could happen in the middle of tightly contested races in Georgia for governor and U.S. Senate. Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and challenger for governor Stacey Abrams say they want to secure abortion rights. Republican Senate challenger Herschel Walker and incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp support restrictions. Whats next: Some Republican lawmakers and candidates want Georgia to go further and ban abortion entirely, but Kemp is unlikely to call a special session before this Novembers general election. Lawmakers are likely to consider further action when they return for their annual session in January. The Legislature or courts will have to sort out whether the provisions designating a fetus as a person are workable. HAWAII Political control: Hawaiis governor is a Democrat and Democrats control more than 90% of the seats in the state House and Senate. Background: Hawaii legalized abortion in 1970, when it became the first state in the nation to allow the procedure at a womans request. The state allows abortion until a fetus would be viable outside the womb. After that, its legal if a patients life or health is in danger. For many years, only licensed physicians could perform the procedure. Last year, the state enacted a law allowing advanced practice care nurses to carry out in-clinic abortions during the first trimester. This helps women on more rural islands who have been flying to Honolulu to obtain abortions because of doctor shortages in their communities. The law allows the nurses to prescribe medication to end a pregnancy and to perform aspiration abortion, a type of minor surgery during which a vacuum is used to empty a womans uterus. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Existing Hawaii law allows abortions, but Gary Yamashiroya, a spokesperson for the state attorney generals office, has said the attorney general was carefully considering measures Hawaii might take to protect and strengthen reproductive rights if Roe ended. No matter the outcome, our state remains committed to reproductive freedom and choice, he said. Whats next: Political support for abortion rights is strong. Anti-abortion bills are rarely heard at the state Legislature. When they have been, they havent made it out of committee. Gov. David Ige issued a statement supporting abortion rights when the Supreme Courts draft opinion overturning Roe leaked. No matter what the Supreme Court decides, I will fight to ensure a womans right to choose in the State of Hawaii, he said. The Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women earlier this month said 72% of the state Senate and 53% of state House members signed a pledge supporting abortion rights. IDAHO Political control: Republicans hold super-majorities in the House and Senate and oppose access to abortion, as does the states Republican governor. Background: Following the U.S. Supreme Courts 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, Idaho passed a law generally allowing abortions in the first and second trimester up to viability at about 23 to 24 weeks. The law allows abortions after viability only to protect the mothers life or in cases of nonviable fetuses. This year, lawmakers passed a Texas-style ban prohibiting abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy and authorizing family members to sue medical providers for performing an abortion. That law is on hold following a challenge by Planned Parenthood. The Idaho Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in August. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: It triggers a 2020 Idaho law banning all abortions except in cases of reported rape or incest, or to protect the mothers life, to take effect in 30 days. Under the law, the person performing the abortion could face a felony prosecution punishable by up to five years in prison. In cases of rape or incest, the law requires pregnant women to file a police report and provide a copy of the report to the provider prior to an abortion. If the Idaho Supreme Court upholds the states Texas-style abortion ban and Roe v. Wade is tossed aside, a medical provider who performs an abortion in Idaho could face a lawsuit and criminal charges. Whats Next: Pregnant women seeking abortions will have to travel out of state; the nearest abortion providers would be in Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Colorado. Planned Parenthood is renting space in the town of Ontario on the Idaho-Oregon border and says its preparing for an influx of patients seeking abortions. Some Republican lawmakers in Idaho might propose new legislation in January to outlaw abortion pills and emergency contraception. ILLINOIS Political control: Illinois is overwhelmingly Democratic with laws providing greater access to abortion than most states. Democrats hold veto-proof supermajorities in the House and Senate, and the Democratic first-term governor seeking reelection this year, J.B. Pritzker, has promoted peaceful street protests to protect the constitutional right to an abortion. Background: Abortion is legal in Illinois and can only be restricted after the point of viability, when a fetus is considered able to survive outside the womb. Medical science determines viability at 24 to 26 weeks, but the Illinois law does not specify a timeframe, saying a medical professional can determine viability in each case. Abortions are also allowed after viability to protect the patients life or health. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: It won't change access to abortion in Illinois. After the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, the Illinois Abortion Act of 1975 legalized abortion but enacted a trigger law that would reinstate the ban if Roe were overturned. That trigger law was repealed in 2017 in legislation that also required Medicaid and state employees group health insurance to cover abortions. The 2019 Reproductive Health Act replaced the 1975 law, large parts of which were never enforced because they were found to be unconstitutional. Whats next: Like other states providing access to abortions, Illinois has seen a steady influx of patients crossing the state line for abortions in recent months and those numbers are expected to increase. Planned Parenthood of Illinois says it expects to handle an additional 20,000 to 30,000 patients in Illinois in the first year following the reversal of Roe. INDIANA Political control: Indiana has a Republican-dominated Legislature and a Republican governor in favor of restricting abortion access. Background: Abortion in Indiana is legal up to about 20 weeks, with some provisions for medical emergencies. Before an abortion, patients must undergo an 18-hour waiting period. Medical providers must tell patients about the risks involved in abortion and must say the fetus can feel pain around 20 weeks, which is disputed. Providers must report complications related to abortion; failure to report can result in a misdemeanor, 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Federal courts have blocked several restrictions in Indiana, including an attempt to ban a common second-trimester abortion procedure and a law that would have required doctors to tell pregnant women about a disputed treatment to potentially stop a drug-induced abortion. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: No immediate changes came from the decision, but the states Republican attorney general has asked federal judges to lift orders blocking several state anti-abortion laws. Those include one aimed at prohibiting abortions based on gender, race or disability, and another banning a common second-trimester abortion procedure that the legislation called dismemberment abortion. Whats next: Republican legislative leaders said they expected lawmakers to act on tightening Indianas abortion laws during a special legislative session starting July 6 but gave no details about what restrictions would be considered. Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb called the Legislature into a special session to take up a tax refund proposal, although state law allows legislators to consider any subject. The session can last up to 40 days. ___ IOWA Political control: Iowas legislature is controlled by Republicans who want to ban or restrict abortion access and a Republican governor who agrees and is up for reelection this year. Background: Iowa allows most abortions until the 20th week of pregnancy, when theyre banned except to save a patients life or prevent a substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function. In 2018, the state Supreme Court declared access to abortion a fundamental right under the state constitution, granting stronger protections to abortion rights than the U.S. Constitution. The states high court, now with a conservative majority, overturned that decision June 17, thus allowing a state law requiring a 24-hour waiting period to go into effect immediately. That requirement is being challenged in district court. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Nothing is expected to change immediately in Iowa. The GOP-controlled Legislature has been working to get an amendment on the ballot in 2024 that would declare the state constitution does not grant a right to abortion but, with Roe overturned, Iowa lawmakers can ban abortion without completing that lengthy process. Whats next: Now that the Iowa Supreme Court has struck down its 2018 ruling, the state Legislature can convene a special session this summer and pass abortion restrictions. Republicans could still move to get the constitutional amendment on a public ballot in 2024. KANSAS Political control: Kansas has a legislature controlled by Republicans who want to ban or restrict access to abortions but a Democratic governor who supports access and is up for re-election this year. Background: Under current law, Kansas does not ban most abortions until the 22nd week of pregnancy, when theyre allowed only to save a patients life or to prevent a substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function. The state Supreme Court in 2019 declared that access to abortion is a fundamental right under the state constitution, granting stronger protections to abortion rights than the U.S. Constitution does currently. State law, however, doesnt allow providers to dispense abortion medications through telemedicine consultations. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Nothing will change immediately in Kansas. The state Supreme Court blocked enforcement of a 2015 legislative ban on a common second-trimester procedure, and abortion opponents fear a host of other rules could fall to legal challenges in the near future. The GOP-controlled Legislature responded by putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot during the Aug. 2 primary, when turnout is expected to be much lower than in a general election and will likely see a higher proportion of Republicans voting. The amendment would declare that the state constitution does not grant a right to abortion. It would allow lawmakers to restrict abortion as much as the federal courts will allow . Whats next: If voters approve the amendment, the Legislature would still have to approve the new restrictions, and lawmakers are out of session until January 2023. They can call themselves in to special session with two-thirds majorities, but theyre likely to wait until after voters decide in the November general election whether to give Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly a second term. KENTUCKY Political control: Republicans have a supermajority in the Kentucky Legislature and have been restricting abortion rights since the 2016 election over the vetoes of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who supports abortion rights and will seek a second term in 2023. Background: Kentucky bans abortions after 20 weeks, but all abortion services were temporarily halted in April after the legislature imposed new restrictions and reporting requirements on the states two abortion clinics. The clinics, both in Louisville, said they suspended abortions because state officials hadnt written guidelines on how to comply with the new law. Noncompliance could result in stiff fines, felony penalties and revocation of physician and facility licenses. Abortions resumed after a federal judge temporarily blocked key parts of the law, including a provision banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Abortion services in Kentucky immediately became illegal under a trigger law enacted in 2019. The measure contains a narrow exception allowing abortion to prevent the death or permanent injury of a pregnant woman. Kentuckians will be able to vote this November on a proposed amendment declaring there is no right to an abortion in the state constitution. Whats next: Abortion-rights activists say the suspension of abortion services in April foreshadowed what would happen in Kentucky and other Republican-leaning states if Roe v. Wade was overturned. It likely ends several legal challenges pending against other Kentucky abortion laws including a 2018 measure that abortion-rights supporters say would effectively ban a standard abortion method in the second trimester of pregnancy. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in March that Kentuckys Republican attorney general, Daniel Cameron, can defend the measure that was struck down by lower courts. LOUISIANA Political control: Louisianas legislature is controlled by Republicans who want to ban or restrict abortion access. Its Democratic and Catholic governor also opposes abortions, though he supports exceptions for victims of rape or incest. Background: Voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2020 stating that a right to abortion and the funding of abortion shall not be found in the Louisiana Constitution. Of the about 2 million people who voted, 62% approved the amendment. Abortion had been legal in Louisiana through the 19th week of pregnancy. After that, it was legal only if the fetus would die anyway or if continuing the pregnancy would threaten the mothers life or health. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Louisiana has a trigger law that immediately outlaws abortions. There is no exception for rape or incest. The only exception is if there is substantial risk of death or impairment to the woman. Earlier this week, Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, signed a bill updating various aspects of the law and subjecting abortion providers to up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $100,000. Edwards office said the bill allows the use of emergency contraception for victims of rape and incest prior to when a pregnancy can be clinically diagnosed." Edwards signed another bill that would require the doctor to certify that a drug used for abortion was being prescribed for another medical reason. The bill makes it illegal to deliver abortion medication to a state resident by mail-order, courier, or as a result of a sale made via the internet. Whats next: Louisianas three abortion clinics in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Shreveport were no longer providing abortions to patients as of Friday and instead are recommending pregnant patients seeking the procedure to go to states where it remains legal. MAINE Political control: Both chambers of the Maine Legislature, which has adjourned, are controlled by Democrats. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has vowed to protect the right to an abortion, saying she will fight with everything I have to protect reproductive rights. Background: A Republican governor in 1993 signed a Maine law affirming the right to abortion before a fetus is viable. After that, abortion is only allowed if the life or health of the mother is at risk, or if the pregnancy is no longer viable. In 2019, lawmakers eliminated a physician-only rule and Mills signed it into law, allowing nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other medical professionals to perform abortions. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Nothing will change in Maine. Any attempt to restrict abortions when lawmakers reconvene next year would face fierce pushback. Abortion providers, meanwhile, said there could be an influx of patients seeking abortions from states that outlaw the procedure. Whats next: Any major changes are unlikely unless former Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican, unseats Mills and Republicans take control of both chambers of the Legislature in November. LePage, a Catholic who opposes abortion rights, has said its up to lawmakers to address the abortion issue as they see fit. MARYLAND Political control: Marylands legislature is controlled by Democrats who expanded abortion access this year by ending a restriction that only physicians can provide them and requiring most insurance plans to cover abortion care without cost. The legislature overrode Republican Gov. Larry Hogans veto of the bill in April. Background: The right to abortion is protected in Maryland law. The state approved legislation in 1991 to protect abortion rights if the Supreme Court should ever restrict access. Voters approved the right in 1992 with 62% of the vote. Maryland law prohibits restrictions on abortion prior to viability. Maryland does not have a gestational limit. After viability, clinicians make the determination, based on clinical standard of care. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Nothing will change immediately in Maryland law. Whats next: Marylands new law that will enable nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and physician assistants to provide abortions with training is set to take effect July 1. However, $3.5 million in state funding to provide training isnt mandated until fiscal year 2024. Hogan, who is term limited, has indicated he will not approve the money sooner. Some nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and physician assistants already have received training on medication abortion and will be able to provide those services starting next month. MASSACHUSETTS Political control: The Democrats who control the Massachusetts Legislature support access to abortion, as does the states Republican governor, although they differ on specific policies. Background: Massachusetts once had a contentious relationship with abortion in part due to the powerful influence of the Catholic Church, which opposes it. In recent years, that influence has waned and Massachusetts has become a strong supporter of abortion rights. In 2018, in anticipation of the conservative tilt on the U.S. Supreme Court, the state removed an 1845 abortion ban from its books that was not enforced. Two years later, Democratic state lawmakers clashed with Republican Gov. Charlie Baker who says he supports access to abortion over an effort to codify abortion rights into state law, allow abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy in cases where the child would not survive after birth, and lower from 18 to 16 the age at which women could seek an abortion without consent from a parent or guardian. Lawmakers passed the bill dubbed the Roe Act over Bakers veto. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Baker has vowed to fight to keep abortion legal in Massachusetts, but it is his last year in office. Both Democratic candidates for governor state Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz and Attorney General Maura Healey support abortion rights. Republican candidate Geoff Diehl said he believes in the need to protect human life wherever and whenever possible. Fellow GOP candidate Chris Doughty said he would not seek any changes to our states abortion laws. Whats next: There is little chance Massachusetts will restrict abortion rights. Baker signed an executive order June 24 barring state agencies from assisting another states investigation into people or businesses for receiving or delivering reproductive health services that are legal in Massachusetts. The state also wont cooperate with extradition requests from states pursuing criminal charges against such individuals. The state House of Representatives has approved a bill later that is similar to the governors executive order. It would add protections into state law for individuals seeking abortions and providers so they would not be subject to actions taken by other states. MICHIGAN Political control: Both chambers of Michigans legislature are controlled by Republicans who want to ban or restrict abortion access, but the states Democratic governor supports access. Background: A dormant 1931 law bans nearly all abortions in Michigan but it hasnt been enforced since Roe v. Wade. The law made it a felony to use an instrument or administer any substance with the intent to abort a fetus unless necessary to preserve the womans life. It has no exceptions in cases of rape and incest. Anticipating that Roe could be overturned, Planned Parenthood of Michigan filed a lawsuit challenging Michigans ban. A state judge suspended the law in May, saying it violates the states constitution. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel, both Democrats, hailed the decision. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: The injunction granted in the Planned Parenthood case ensures that abortion does not immediately become illegal. Planned Parenthood of Michigan and other supporters hope the injunction indicates abortion rights in the state will be preserved. But in a statement to The Associated Press, Nessels office said given the ongoing lawsuits, we cannot speculate what the state of abortion rights will be in Michigan after Roe. Whats next: Whitmer also filed suit asking the states Supreme Court to declare the 91-year-old law unconstitutional. It has not acted yet. Michigan abortion rights supporters hope to put the issue on ballots this fall. Their proposed constitutional amendment would affirm the right to make pregnancy-related decisions without interference, including about abortion and other reproductive services such as birth control. The Reproductive Freedom for All committee needs to collect about 425,000 valid voter signatures by July 11 to make the November ballot. The measure would become law if voters approved it. The issue also is expected to shape statewide elections Whitmer and Nessel are both up for reelection in the fall and legislative races. MINNESOTA Political control: The Minnesota Legislature is divided; Anti-abortion Republicans control the Senate and Democrats have the House, but the majorities are slim in both chambers, so control will be up for grabs in the November elections. Most legislative Democrats support abortion rights. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz has said no abortion ban will ever become law while hes governor. But he faces a challenge this year from Republican Scott Jensen, who opposes abortion rights. Background: Abortion is legal in Minnesota up to the point of fetal viability, around the 24th week of pregnancy. The state has some restrictions, including a 24-hour waiting period with state-mandated counseling, both parents generally must be notified prior to a minor getting an abortion, and only physicians can perform abortions. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Nothing will change immediately in Minnesota because the state Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that the state constitution protects abortion rights. If Republicans take control of both chambers, they could put a constitutional amendment on the ballot as soon as 2024 to reverse that ruling, but its not clear yet if they would take that path. Minnesota governors cant block constitutional amendments with vetoes. But amendments are hard to enact because they require the backing of most of the citizens voting in that election, not just those voting on the amendment. Leaving the ballot blank counts as a no. Whats next: Providers are preparing for a surge in women coming from other states to get abortions. Sarah Stoesz, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, said before the ruling that her organization was fortifying its delivery systems, including telemedicine. Dr. Sarah Traxler, the groups medical director, has said demand in Minnesota is expected to rise by up to 25%. MISSISSIPPI Political control: Republican Gov. Tate Reeves and leaders of the Republican-controlled Mississippi Legislature have been working for years to chip away at abortion access. Background: Mississippi already had a law banning most abortions at 20 weeks, although the states lone abortion clinic offered the procedure only through 16 weeks. The state tried to enact a law in 2018 to ban most abortions after 15 weeks. That law is the basis for the case that the Supreme Court has now used to overturn Roe v. Wade. A federal district judge blocked Mississippis 15-week law from taking effect in 2018, and an appeals court agreed. The Supreme Court agreed to take the case in 2021. Justices heard arguments in December, with the Mississippi attorney generals office saying the court should overturn Roe v. Wade. Mississippi has one abortion clinic, and it stops offering abortions at 16 weeks. Reeves was lieutenant governor in 2018, when Mississippi tried to enact the 15-week ban, and in 2019, when the state tried to enact a six-week ban. Mississippi law does not allow providers to dispense abortion medications through telemedicine consultations. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Mississippis only abortion clinic, Jackson Womens Health Organization, is expected to close by early July unless a judge blocks a trigger law. The clinic filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the 2007 law that bans most abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned. That law is set to take effect July 7. Abortions still would be allowed if the womans life is endangered by the pregnancy or if the pregnancy was caused by a rape that was reported to law enforcement. Any person who knowingly performs or attempts to induce an abortion, except the pregnant woman, could be punished by up to 10 years in prison. Whats next: Mississippis 2007 law says the state attorney general must publish a notice in a state administrative bulletin after the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Mississippis ban on most abortions will take effect 10 days after that publication. MISSOURI Political control: Both GOP Gov. Mike Parson and the Republican-led Legislature support laws against abortion. Background: Missouri law previously allowed abortions up until 22 weeks of pregnancy. But a 2019 state law banned abortions except in cases of medical emergency, contingent upon the U.S. Supreme Court overturning its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Under that Missouri law, performing an illegal abortion is a felony punishable by 5 to 15 years in prison, though women receiving abortions cannot be prosecuted. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: The 2019 law contained a provision making it effective upon notification by the attorney general, governor or Legislature that the U.S. Supreme Court had overruled Roe v. Wade. Moments after Fridays Supreme Court decision, Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Gov. Mike Parson filed the necessary paperwork for Missouris law to kick in. State statutes were subsequently updated online Friday saying the abortion-ban law had taken effect. Whats next: Some Missouri residents wanting abortions are likely to travel to neighboring states, including Illinois and Kansas. A new Illinois logistics center near St. Louis helps women from out of state find travel, lodging and childcare if they need help getting to the area for an abortion, and it connects them with funding sources. The Kansas Supreme Court in 2019 declared that access to abortion is a fundamental right under the state constitution. Even without the ban in Missouri, the number of Missouri patients seeking abortions in Kansas has gone up in recent years, increasing about 8% from 2020 to 2021. MONTANA Political control: The Republicans who control the Montana Legislature and Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte want to limit access to abortion. Background: Abortion used to be legal in Montana up until viability, or about 24 weeks of pregnancy, but the state Legislature passed a bill in 2021 to reduce that to 20 weeks, arguing that is when the fetus can feel pain. That law, along with one that requires chemical abortions to be done with in-person medical supervision, are being challenged in court. A state judge temporarily blocked enforcement in October 2021 while the challenges move through the courts. The state has asked the Montana Supreme Court to vacate that injunction and overturn a 1999 Montana Supreme Court opinion that found the states constitutional right to privacy guarantees a womans access to abortion care. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: The effect is unclear because of the unresolved legal challenges to the 2021 state legislation. Montana does not have an abortion ban that was triggered when Roe v. Wade was overturned, but the Legislature could seek to further restrict access in the next session. Whats next: The Montana Supreme Court will issue a decision on the preliminary injunction. The Montana Legislature also passed a referendum to ask voters this November whether they support a state law to require abortion providers to give lifesaving treatment to a fetus that is born alive after a botched abortion. Opponents argue federal law already offers those protections. NEBRASKA Political control: Nebraska has an officially nonpartisan legislature with a Republican majority, but not a super-majority that would let the party unilaterally pass an abortion ban. Democrats appear to have enough votes to block such a bill, but just one defector could swing the vote. Nebraskas Republican governor vehemently opposes abortion. Background: Nebraska allows most abortions until the 22nd week of pregnancy, although a few small towns have voted to outlaw the procedure within their borders. The state requires doctors to be physically present when patients take the first of two drugs that are used in medication abortions. Lawmakers have rejected attempts to allow abortion medications to be administered remotely, which would provide easier abortion access in rural areas. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: A ruling that lets states set their own abortion laws will trigger an immediate push by Nebraska conservatives to ban the procedure, but its not clear whether they could do it this year. Unlike other conservative states, Nebraska doesnt have a trigger law that automatically outlaws abortion. Gov. Pete Ricketts and other top Republicans have said theyll seek a special legislative session, but its not clear whether they have enough votes to pass anything. Whats next: If Ricketts calls a special session, attention will likely shift to state Sen. Justin Wayne, an Omaha Democrat who has declined to specify where he stands on abortion. Wayne was notably absent from a vote on the issue this year; his support would give Republicans the super-majority they need to enact a ban. He has struck deals with senators from both parties in the past. If a proposed abortion ban fails during a special session or if no special session is called, the issue will likely become a factor in the November election. NEVADA Political control: Nevadas governor and state attorney general are Democrats who are up for reelection this year. Democrats control the state Senate and Assembly. Background: Nevada voters enshrined the right to abortion in the state constitution in 1990. The law says a pregnancy can be terminated during the first 24 weeks, and after that to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person. It would take another statewide vote to change or repeal the law. Most Republican candidates for Congress, governor, state attorney general and other statewide posts say they oppose abortions. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Here in Nevada, overturning Roe would not be felt immediately, state Attorney General Aaron Ford said in a position paper released after the draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion became public. Ford noted that a federal ban on abortion would supersede state law and said it would be naive not to recognize that some people want to ban abortions or make them more difficult to obtain. But he said his office will fight attacks on abortion rights, rights to birth control access and rights for LGTBQ people. Gov. Steve Sisolak on June 28 signed an executive order protecting abortion patients and providers from prosecution by other states. State agencies are barred from assisting other states in investigations of people who come to Nevada from other states for abortions. The order also protects providers from discipline and having their license revoked. Whats next: Anti-abortion advocates are not expected to focus on trying to repeal Nevadas abortion law. But they will seek laws affecting waiting periods, mandatory counseling or requiring parental notification or consent. Melissa Clement, executive director of Nevada Right to Life, said she believes there is strong support for parental involvement. NEW HAMPSHIRE Political control: New Hampshire has a Republican governor and the GOP controls the 424-member Legislature. All face reelection this fall. Background: Any abortion restrictions New Hampshire had on the books before Roe v. Wade were not enforced after the landmark 1973 ruling, and they were repealed altogether in 1997. The state had no restrictions until January, when a ban on abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy was enacted. In June, an exemption was added for cases in which the fetus has been diagnosed with abnormalities incompatible with life. Anticipating the Supreme Court action, Democrats this year tried unsuccessfully to enshrine abortion rights into state law and the state constitution. Gov. Chris Sununu calls himself pro-choice and says he is committed to upholding Roe v. Wade, but he also has boasted Ive done more on the pro-life issue than anyone. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Nothing will change immediately in New Hampshire. The Legislature wont return until fall, when there will be a one-day session to take up vetoed bills, and it would take a two-thirds majority vote to introduce new legislation then. Whats next: The majority leader of the New Hampshire House has said the public should not expect Republicans in the Legislature to further tighten state abortion laws. But anti-abortion lawmakers who have filed bills in the past are expected to try again. Democrats are urging Sununu to call a special session of the Legislature to codify abortion rights into state law, but both he and Republican legislative leaders say there is no need. NEW JERSEY Political control: Democrats control both houses of the state Legislature and the governorship. Gov. Phil Murphy started his second consecutive term this year. Background: Murphy ran for reelection on the promise that he would sign legislation to enshrine abortion rights into state law, and he fulfilled that promise in January. The measure also guaranteed the right to contraception and the right to carry a pregnancy to term. It stopped short of requiring insurance coverage for abortions, something advocates had sought. Instead, it authorizes the state Banking and Insurance Department to study the issue and possibly adopt regulations if a need is discovered. Under Murphys predecessor, Republican Chris Christie, state funds to womens clinics, including Planned Parenthood, were slashed. Murphy restored those and has been a strong supporter of abortion rights. New Jersey doesnt have any significant restrictions on abortion, such as parental consent or a mandatory waiting period. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Officials, including the governor, have said the end of Roe would not lead to any rollback of abortion services in the state. Instead of hoping for the best, we prepared ourselves for the worst, Murphy said in May, addressing reports of a leaked draft of a Supreme Court ruling. What's next: A week after the Supreme Courts ruling, Murphy signed two bills aimed at protecting the right to abortion for out-of-state residents and barring extradition of providers and patients to states that have prohibited the procedure. Another bill that would require health insurance companies to cover abortion services and set aside $20 million for access to the procedure remains pending in the Legislature. The bill would set aside $5 million for an abortion training program, $5 million for a health security grant and $10 million for health care facilities. ___ NEW MEXICO Political control: The Democrats who control the New Mexico Legislature support access to abortion, as does the states Democratic governor. Several conservative Democratic state senators who voted against the repeal of the abortion ban in 2019 were ousted from office in 2020 by more socially progressive primary challengers. Background: In 2021, state lawmakers repealed a dormant 1969 statute that outlawed most abortion procedures as felonies, thus ensuring access to abortion even after the federal court rolled back guarantees. Albuquerque is home to one of only a few independent clinics in the country that perform abortions in the third trimester without conditions. An abortion clinic in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, is just a mile from the state line with Texas and caters to patients from El Paso, western Texas and Arizona. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: There will be no immediate change in New Mexico now that the high court has overturned Roe v. Wade. It is unclear if Democrats, who control the state Legislature, will pursue additional guarantees to abortion access when lawmakers convene in January. Possible avenues of legislative reform include enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution, which requires approval by voters. Abortion rights activists say the states equal rights amendment could be harnessed to guide more public funding for abortion-related programs. Raul Torrez, the district attorney in Albuquerque and the Democratic nominee for attorney general, is urging lawmakers to take further steps to protect access to abortions, including protections for women coming from other states. The state Republican Party said its time to elect more anti-abortion candidates to the Legislature. Whats next: The state can expect to continue to see a steady influx of people seeking abortions from neighboring states with more restrictive abortion laws. It already hosts patients from Texas and Oklahoma where among the strictest abortion bans in the country were introduced this year. NEW YORK Political control: The Democrats who control the New York Legislature support access to abortion, as does the states Democratic governor. Background: Abortion has been legal in New York state since a 1970 law was passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller. The law allows abortions within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy or to preserve the mothers life. The 2019 Reproductive Health Act removed abortion from the states criminal code, codified Roe v. Wade and allowed abortions after 24 weeks if a fetus isnt viable or to protect the mothers life or health. Lawmakers have passed laws extending legal protections for people seeking and providing abortions in New York. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Roe v. Wade protections are enshrined in state law. New York is planning to give abortion providers $35 million this year to expand services and boost security in anticipation of an influx of out-of-state people seeking abortions once any ruling comes down. Its unclear how many more people from neighboring states could travel to New York to receive abortion care. New York had 252 facilities providing abortions as of 2017, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights. Whats next: Planned Parenthood and civil liberty groups are urging lawmakers to start the process of passing a constitutional amendment protecting access to abortion care in case a future Legislature repeals the state law. NORTH CAROLINA Political control: Republicans hold majorities in the state House and Senate, but the party lacks the margins to defeat a veto by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, a strong abortion-rights supporter. Since 2017, Cooper has vetoed a born-alive abortion measure and a bill prohibiting abortion based on race or a Down syndrome diagnosis. He cant seek reelection in 2024 due to term limits. Background: A 1973 North Carolina law that banned most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy is currently unenforceable after federal judges struck it down as unconstitutional in 2019 and 2021. Instead, abortions can be performed until fetal viability. A state law approved in 2015 provides for post-viability abortions only in a medical emergency, which means the woman would die or face a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment without the procedure. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, the 20-week ban could be restored. Legal experts say formal action would have to be taken to cancel the earlier court rulings striking it down. On the day of the ruling, Republican legislative leaders asked state Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat and abortion rights supporter whose agencys lawyers defended the 20-week law, to act. Otherwise, they said they would seek to intervene. In a response Friday, Stein didnt commit to going to court, telling lawmakers that his offices attorneys are conducting a thorough legal review that may take weeks to complete. Whats next: Republican General Assembly leaders didnt consider additional abortion restrictions in their legislative session that ended July1. The party will likely intensify its efforts in this year's elections to gain the five additional seats it needs for veto-proof margins. Cooper and other Democrats already are making abortion rights a key campaign issue. Abortion politics also are expected to figure into two state Supreme Court elections in November. Republicans would gain a majority on the court if they win at least one of them. NORTH DAKOTA Political control: North Dakota has a legislature dominated by Republicans who want to ban abortion, and the GOP governor had hoped to see Roe v. Wade wiped off the books in favor of states rights. Background: The state has passed some of the nations strictest abortion laws, including one that would have banned abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can happen before a woman knows she is pregnant. The law never took effect because the states lone abortion clinic successfully challenged it in court. One failed Republican proposal would have charged abortion providers with murder with a maximum sentence of life in prison. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: North Dakota has a trigger law that will shut down the states sole abortion clinic in Fargo after 30 days. That 2007 state law makes it a felony to perform an abortion unless necessary to prevent the pregnant womans death or in cases of rape or incest. Violators could be punished with a five-year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine. Whats next: The owner and operator of the Red River Womens Clinic in Fargo said she would explore all legal options to ensure abortion services are available in North Dakota. Should that fail, clinic leader Tammi Kromenaker plans to move across the river to Moorhead, Minnesota, where abortion has not been outlawed. Planned Parenthood says it can provide abortions in Moorhead until Kromenaker gets up and running. OHIO Political control: The Ohio Legislature is controlled by Republicans who support restricting or banning abortions, and the Republican governor backs those efforts. He is up for reelection this year against a former mayor who supports abortion rights. Background: Before Friday's ruling, Ohio did not ban most abortions until the 22nd week of pregnancy; after that theyre allowed only to save a patients life or when their health is seriously compromised. But the state imposes a host of other restrictions, including parental consent for minors, a required ultrasound, and in-person counseling followed by a 24-hour waiting period. Abortions are prohibited for the reason of a fetal Down syndrome diagnosis. Ohio also limits the public funding of abortions to cases of rape, incest or endangerment of the patients life. It limits public employees abortion-related insurance coverage and coverage through health plans offered in the Affordable Care Act health exchange to those same scenarios. Clinics providing abortions must comply with a host of regulations. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: A ban on most abortions at the first detectable fetal heartbeat became the law in Ohio hours after the ruling. Enforcement of Ohios 2019 heartbeat ban had been on hold for nearly three years under a federal court injunction. The state attorney general, Republican Dave Yost, asked for that to be dissolved because of the high courts ruling, and U.S. Judge Michael Barrett agreed hours later. Two trigger bills are on hold in the Legislature, but a key legislative leader has said he anticipates needing to write new legislation after the decision is reversed that more carefully reflects the actual ruling. That all but certainly would not happen until lawmakers return to the capital after the November election. Whats next: Activists are considering how to help Ohioans get abortions elsewhere. They may also mount a statewide ballot initiative that would embed the right to an abortion in the state constitution, though that could not happen before next year. Abortion opponents are weighing strategies for imposing a statewide abortion ban. OKLAHOMA Political control: Republicans in Oklahoma have a supermajority in both chambers of the Legislature and a Republican governor up for reelection this year who has vowed to sign every pro-life legislation that came across my desk. Background: Abortion services were halted in Oklahoma in May after Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill that prohibits all abortions with few exceptions. The ban is enforced by civil lawsuits rather than criminal prosecution. Republican lawmakers have been pushing to restrict abortion in the state for decades, passing 81 different restrictions since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: It will have little practical effect given that abortions are no longer being provided in Oklahoma. Oklahoma also has a trigger law that outlawed abortion as soon as Roe was overturned. Whats next: Given the fierce opposition to abortion from the governor and Legislature, Oklahoma will continue to prohibit the practice if states are given the option to do so. Meanwhile, abortion providers who had been operating in the state are taking steps to help patients seek abortions out of state, including coordinating funding for these women and developing a referral network of therapists to help address complications before or after a woman receives an abortion. OREGON Political control: The Democrats who control the Oregon Legislature support access to abortion, as does the states Democratic governor. Background: The Oregon Legislature passed a bill legalizing abortion in 1969. In 2017, Gov. Kate Brown signed into law a bill expanding health care coverage for reproductive services, including abortions, to thousands of Oregonians, regardless of income, citizenship status or gender identity. Oregon does not have any major abortion restrictions and it is legal at all stages of pregnancy. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: The Guttmacher Institute has estimated that Oregon will experience a 234% increase in women seeking abortions arriving from out of state, especially from Idaho. In March, Oregon lawmakers approved $15 million to expand abortion availability and pay for abortions and support services such as travel and lodgings for residents and out-of-state patients. Whats next: Brown said after the draft Supreme Court decision was leaked that access to abortion is a fundamental right and that she will fight to ensure access to abortion continues to be protected by state law in Oregon. Democratic state lawmakers recently formed the Reproductive Health and Access to Care Work Group of providers, clinics, community organizations and legislators that will make recommendations for the 2023 legislative session and beyond. Recommendations may include proposals to protect, strengthen, and expand equitable access to all forms of reproductive care. PENNSYLVANIA Political control: Republicans who control the Pennsylvania Legislature are hostile to abortion rights, but the states Democratic governor is a strong supporter and has vetoed three GOP-penned bills in five years that would have added restrictions beyond the states 24-week limit. The race for governor this year could tilt that balance. Background: Abortion is legal in Pennsylvania under decades of state law, including a 1989 law that was challenged all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. That produced the landmark Planned Parenthood v. Casey ruling that affirmed the high courts 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion nationwide, but also allowed states to put certain limits on abortion access. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Gov. Tom Wolf has vowed to protect access to abortion for the remainder of his time in office, through January. Running to replace him is the states Democratic attorney general, Josh Shapiro, who supports abortion rights, and Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who has said he supports banning abortion altogether, with no exceptions. The Legislature is expected to remain in Republican hands next year. Abortion clinics in some parts of the state already are experiencing fallout from the ruling. Less than a week after it came out, a clinic in Pittsburgh was flooded with patients who suddenly lost appointments in Ohio, the clinic director said. Clinic representatives are warning that Pennsylvanians will have a harder time finding appointments because of rising demand from out-of-state residents. Whats next: Legislation to outlaw abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat which can happen at six weeks, before many women even know they are pregnant has passed a House committee and is awaiting a floor vote. The state Supreme Court is considering a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers aiming to overturn a 1982 law that bans the use of state dollars for abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. In response, Republican lawmakers are advancing a proposed amendment that would declare there is no constitutional right to an abortion in Pennsylvania or to public funding for an abortion. RHODE ISLAND Political control: The Democrats who control Rhode Islands General Assembly support access to abortion, as does the Democratic governor. Background: Rhode Islands governor signed legislation in 2019 to enshrine abortion protections in case the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade. The law says the state will not restrict the right to an abortion prior to fetal viability or after if necessary to protect the health or life of the pregnant woman. It repealed older laws deemed unconstitutional by the courts. The Rhode Island Supreme Court upheld the 2019 law in May, just two days after the Supreme Court draft opinion was leaked suggesting that a majority of the justices were prepared to overturn Roe. Abortion opponents had argued the law violates the state constitution. In 2020, there were 2,611 abortions in Rhode Island, according to the state health department. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Rhode Islands attorney general believes the 2019 Reproductive Privacy Act will continue to protect access to abortion. Planned Parenthood Votes! Rhode Island also said abortion will remain legal regardless of the decision because the right was codified in state law. Whats next: On the Monday after the Supreme Court decision, Rhode Islands Democratic governor said he will sign an executive order to shield abortion providers in the state from lawsuits by anti-abortion activists in other states. McKees office didnt have a date for the signing, but said the governor wants to act as soon as possible. Two of his opponents in September's Democratic primary for governor, Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea and Matt Brown, had urged McKee to sign such an order. They also want state lawmakers to return for a special session to add abortion coverage to Rhode Islands Medicaid program and to the insurance coverage for state employees. Legislative leaders said they plan to address abortion coverage next year because it has financial implications and wasnt included in this year's budget. SOUTH CAROLINA Political control: South Carolina has a Republican governor, and its General Assembly is dominated by the GOP. However, the party doesnt quite have the two-thirds majority in either chamber needed to overcome procedural hurdles or a veto if a Democrat wins the 2022 gubernatorial election. Background: In 2021, South Carolina passed the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act that requires doctors to use an ultrasound to try to detect a fetal heartbeat if they think a pregnant woman is at least eight weeks along. If they find a heartbeat, they can only perform an abortion if the womans life is in danger, or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. The law is currently tied up in a federal lawsuit. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a federal judge allowed the state to begin enforcing the 2021 law. Planned Parenthood and others dropped their lawsuit, but the organization said it would continue to perform abortions in South Carolina under the parameters of the new law. Whats next: The South Carolina General Assemblys regular session ended in May, but Republican leaders had agreed they could return for a special session to take up more restrictive abortion bills if the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. They have yet to announce a special session, despite Friday's ruling. Some Republican lawmakers have opposed a complete abortion ban, especially without exceptions for victims of rape and incest. SOUTH DAKOTA Political control: Republicans hold super-majorities in both Statehouse chambers. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem is up for reelection this year and has been an ardent opponent of abortion rights. Background: South Dakota law bans abortions except if the life of the woman is at risk. The state had only one clinic that regularly provided abortions, a Planned Parenthood facility in Sioux Falls. The Legislature has worked over the years to make it more difficult for women to get abortions, passing mandatory waiting periods and requiring them to review and sign paperwork that discourages them from ending their pregnancies. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: South Dakotas trigger law immediately banned abortions except if the life of the pregnant woman is at risk. Whats next: Noem has called for a special session to craft laws under the new legal landscape now that Roe v. Wade is overturned. She hasnt commented on specific legislation, but lawmakers have floated proposals that would make it more difficult for women to seek an abortion out of state. However, South Dakota voters rejected outright bans in 2006 and 2008, and abortion rights advocates are preparing for a similar referendum on abortion access. The ban on abortions could eventually be challenged through a citizen-initiated ballot measure. TENNESSEE Political control: Tennessee has a Republican governor who is consistently vocal about his opposition to abortion. The GOP holds a supermajority in the state legislature and has steadily chipped away at abortion access. Background: In 2020, Tennessee passed a law banning most abortions when the fetal heartbeat can be detected at about six weeks, before many women know theyre pregnant. The measure has never been enforced because it was promptly blocked by a federal court. On June 28, a federal appeals court let it take effect. Tennessee voters approved an amendment in 2014 declaring that the states constitution doesnt protect or secure the right to abortion or require the funding of an abortion, and empowering state lawmakers to enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion. State law also doesnt allow providers to dispense abortion medications through telemedicine consultations. There are six abortion providers in Tennessee. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: The states attorney general, a Republican, has said a trigger law will go into effect in mid-August that bans all abortions in Tennessee except when necessary to prevent death or serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function. Doctors could be charged with a felony for providing an abortion under the law. Whats next: Tennessees attorney general has said the trigger law will take precedence over the 2020 law banning most abortions at about six weeks. Meanwhile, Republicans are expected to continue to have supermajority control after this years midterm elections. Reproductive rights activists say they will direct patients seeking abortion to clinics in Illinois if Roe v. Wade is overturned, or to Florida, which would ban abortions at 15 weeks. North Carolina and Virginia also could be options for women in eastern Tennessee. TEXAS Political control: The GOP has commanding majorities in the Texas Legislature and has controlled every statewide office for nearly 30 years. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is up for reelection in November and is favored to win a third term. Background: Texas has given the nation a preview of the landscape of abortion access without the protections enshrined in Roe v. Wade. A new Texas law banning most abortions after about six weeks before many women know they are pregnant took effect in September and makes no exceptions in cases of rape or incest. Because of how Republicans wrote the law, which is enforceable only through lawsuits filed by private citizens against doctors or anyone who helps a woman obtain an abortion, Texas has essentially outmaneuvered decades of Supreme Court precedent governing a womens constitutional right to an abortion. State data shows the number of abortions performed in Texas roughly two dozen clinics fell by half in the five months after the law came into effect compared to the same period a year earlier. Effect of the Supreme Court ruling: Texas had more than 40 abortion clinics in 2012 before a decade of Republicans chipping away at abortion access began forcing providers to close. Without Roe v. Wade, Texas plans to ban virtually all abortions 30 days after the Supreme Court issues its judgment in the case, which could take about a month. Abortions would only be allowed when the patients life is in danger or if they are at risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function. Whats next: Many Texas women have already traveled out of state for abortions since the law took effect, but they would likely have to travel much farther now that Roe is overturned as more states outlaw abortion. Some Republican lawmakers also want to punish companies that help their Texas-based employees get abortions elsewhere, although its unclear how much support that idea will have when the Legislature returns in 2023. UTAH Political control: Utah is deeply conservative and the Legislature is controlled by a Republican supermajority. Background: The state has been restricting abortion for years, including a ban after 18 weeks passed in 2019 thats now blocked in court. The following year, lawmakers passed a trigger law that would outlaw nearly all abortions if Roe v. Wade was overturned. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: The trigger law banning nearly all abortions became enforceable Friday evening, after the legislative general counsel certified the Supreme Court ruling to lawmakers. It does have narrow exceptions for rape and incest if those crimes are reported to law enforcement, and for serious risk to the life or health of the mother, as well as confirmed lethal birth defects. Whats next: Utah law makes performing an abortion a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. While its aimed primarily at providers, lawmakers have acknowledged that a woman who self-administers an abortion, including through medication, could potentially face charges. VERMONT Political control: The Vermont Legislature is controlled by Democrats, but Republican Gov. Phil Scott is a firm supporter of abortion rights. Background: Vermont has a 2019 law guaranteeing the right to an abortion and voters will consider a proposal in November to amend the state constitution to protect abortion rights. Also in 2019, the Vermont Legislature began the process of amending the constitution to protect abortion rights, known as the Reproductive Liberty Amendment or Proposition 5. Vermonts proposed amendment does not contain the word abortion. Proponents say thats because its not meant to authorize only abortion but also would guarantee other reproductive rights such as the right to get pregnant or access birth control. Opponents say vague wording could have unintended consequences that could play out for years. Lawmakers approved the proposed amendment in February, leading the way for a statewide vote. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Nothing will change immediately in Vermont. Whats next: Vermont voters will cast ballots in November to decide if the state will amend its constitution to protect abortion rights. VIRGINIA Political control: Virginia has a Republican governor who says he would support new state-level restrictions on abortion. Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Friday that he will seek legislation to ban most abortions after 15 weeks. Youngkin told The Washington Post he has asked four antiabortion Republican lawmakers to draft the legislation. He told the Post that a cutoff at 20 weeks might be necessary to build consensus in the divided Virginia legislature, where Republicans control the House and Democrats control the Senate. Youngkin generally supports exceptions to abortion restrictions in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is in danger. Background: In recent years, when Democrats were in full control of state government, lawmakers rolled back abortion restrictions. They ended strict building code requirements on facilities where abortions are performed and did away with requirements that a patient seeking an abortion undergo a 24-hour waiting period and ultrasound. Advocates said the changes would make Virginia a haven for abortion access in the South. Republican victories in the November elections shook up the states political landscape, but Senate Democrats defeated several measures that would have limited abortion access during the 2022 legislative session. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: There will be no immediate change to abortion laws in Virginia now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned. Some abortion providers expect to see an uptick in patients seeking care in Virginia from neighboring states with trigger laws that would ban abortion. Whats next: The future of abortion access is Virginia is murky. Senate Democrats say they intend to continue blocking attempts to roll back abortion access, though they control the chamber by the narrowest possible margin and have one caucus member who personally opposes abortion and says he is open to new restrictions. Republicans also have a narrow hold on the House, with several moderate members. Every seat in the General Assembly will be on the ballot in 2023. WASHINGTON Political control: The Democrats who control the Washington Legislature support access to abortion, as does the states Democratic governor. Background: Abortion has been legal in Washington state since a 1970 statewide ballot referendum. Another ballot measure approved by voters in 1991 declared a womans right to choose physician-performed abortion prior to fetal viability and further expanded and protected access to abortion in the state if Roe v. Wade was overturned. And in 2018, the Legislature passed a measure that would require Washington insurers offering maternity care to also cover elective abortions and contraception. Earlier this year, Gov. Jay Inslee signed a measure that grants specific statutory authorization for physician assistants, advanced registered nurse practitioners and other providers acting within their scope of practice to perform abortions. Supporters say the move is designed to help meet the demand from the potential influx of out-of-state patients. That same measure also prohibits legal action by Washington state against people seeking an abortion and those who aid them. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: The state will use every available tool to protect and preserve Washingtonians fundamental right to choose, and protect the rights of anyone who wants to come here to access reproductive health care, said Attorney General Bob Ferguson, a Democrat. Data from the Washington state Department of Health from 2020 shows that of the 16,909 abortions performed in the state that year, 852 involved non-residents. The majority of those people came from neighboring states such as Idaho and Oregon. Whats next: Its impossible to predict how many more non-resident patients will potentially seek care in Washington now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, but the increase will likely be in the thousands, said Jennifer Allen, CEO of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates. The state has more than 30 in-person abortion clinics, though the vast majority are in western Washington along the Interstate 5 corridor. WEST VIRGINIA Political control: West Virginia has a legislature controlled by Republicans who want to ban or restrict access to abortions. Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, opposes abortion access and has signed two anti-abortion laws since taking office in 2017. Background: Prior to the Supreme Court ruling, West Virginia law banned abortion after the 20th week of pregnancy unless a patients life is in danger or they face substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function. The state has several other abortion restrictions that include: requiring patients seeking abortions to wait 24 hours after undergoing legislatively mandated counseling that is designed to discourage a woman from ending a pregnancy; requiring minors to get parental permission; banning the use of telemedicine to administer a medication abortion; and prohibiting abortions on the grounds that the child will be born with a disability. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: West Virginias only abortion clinic announced after the Supreme Courts ruling that it would immediately halt abortion services out of concern that staff could be prosecuted under a state law banning abortion that dates back to the 1800s. Charleston-based Womens Health Center of West Virginia Executive Director Katie Quinonez said it would be impossible for the clinic to continue performing abortions with such a law on the books. Under that law, providers who perform abortions can face felony charges and three to 10 years in prison, unless the abortion is conducted to save a patients life. The law makes no exceptions for rape or incest. In 2018, West Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment to declare patients do not have the right to abortion and banning state funding for abortions. Whats next: State officials have not said formally how the 19th century abortion ban will be enforced. Abortion is addressed in numerous statutes in West Virginia state code, including the 20-week ban passed in 2015 that acknowledges the right to abortion access in the state. State Senate President Craig Blair and Speaker of the House Roger Hanshaw, both Republicans, said legislative attorneys are reviewing each statute on the books to determine how they apply" in light of the high court's decision. No lawmakers have commented on whether they intend to outlaw medication abortion. The governor has said he will not hesitate to call the Legislature into a special session if the states abortion law needs to be clarified. Quinonez said while her clinic is not currently performing abortions, it will remain open to continue to provide reproductive care, such as birth control and diagnosis, and to treat sexually transmitted diseases. She said the clinic will help women travel to other states for abortions through its abortion fund. ___ WISCONSIN Political control: Wisconsin has a legislature controlled by Republicans who want to ban or restrict access to abortions but a Democratic governor who supports access and is up for reelection this year. Background: Wisconsin has allowed most abortions until the 22nd week of pregnancy to save the health or life of the mother. A woman seeking an abortion must meet with a counselor and doctor before obtaining an abortion and wait at least 24 hours before having it done. Anyone under age 18 must have an adult relative over age 25 with them to obtain an abortion. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, it is presumed that a state law passed in 1849 making an abortion a felony offense could go into effect, and doctors have halted procedures. However, Wisconsins Democratic attorney general argues that the law is so old that its unenforceable. The language allows a woman to legally destroy her own fetus or embryo and grants immunity if an abortion is needed to save a womans life and is performed at a hospital. Another state law, passed in 1985, prohibits abortions performed after a fetus reaches viability -- when it could survive outside the womb -- conflicting with the 1849 ban. Whats next: Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit June 28 against Republican leaders of the state Legislature, arguing that the 1849 abortion ban conflicts with a 1985 law that prohibits abortion either after 20 weeks or at the point of fetal viability. His lawsuit says the 1985 law should take precedence. Republican lawmakers are expected to attempt to clarify the 19th century law during next years legislative session to ensure a ban is in place, even as that issue is being argued in the courts. Lawmakers efforts would be stymied if Democratic Gov. Tony Evers wins reelection. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican, said he supports a rape exception to an abortion ban, but also said the overturning of Roe could prompt Republican lawmakers to consider other reproductive issues, such as contraception. WYOMING Political control: Wyoming has one of the most Republican legislatures in the U.S. and a long tradition of libertarian-type if not always social or religious conservatism. That may be changing. In March, Republican Gov. Mark Gordon signed into law a bill that would ban abortion in nearly all instances should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. Background: Current Wyoming law allows abortions up to when a fetus might be able to survive on its own outside its mothers body. The law does not specify when that happens, but it is generally considered to be at around 23 weeks into pregnancy. Wyoming currently doesnt allow abortions after then except to protect the mother from substantial risk to her life or health. Wyoming Republicans have traditionally taken a hands-off approach to abortion but have proven more willing to limit the practice lately. The number of Democrats in the Legislature has dwindled from 26 in 2010 to just nine out of 90 total seats now. A 2021 law requires physicians to provide lifesaving care to any aborted fetus born alive. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: The new state law that bans abortion only provides exceptions in cases of rape or incest or to protect the mothers life or health, not including psychological conditions. Though Wyoming has no abortion clinics, abortions still occur. Ninety-eight took place in Wyoming in 2021, according to state officials. Whats next: A planned womens health clinic in Casper that would have been the only one offering abortions in the state was on track to open in mid-June but an arson fire May 25 delayed those plans by around six months. Clinic founder Julie Burkhart said Friday that, despite the ruling, she still plans to open the clinic and will continue to seek legal means to keep abortion legal in Wyoming. Police continue to look for a suspect in the arson investigation, and have offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Associated Press statehouse reporters from across the U.S. contributed. For APs full coverage of the Supreme Court ruling on abortion, go to https://apnews.com/hub/abortion Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a case that could dramatically change the way elections for Congress and the presidency are conducted by handing more power to state legislatures and blocking state courts from reviewing challenges to the procedures and results. The justices will consider whether state courts, when finding violations of their state constitutions, can order changes to federal elections and the once-a-decade redrawing of congressional districts. The case probably will be argued in the fall. This case could profoundly alter the balance of power in states and prevent state courts and agencies from providing protections for people's right to vote, said Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine. There's a wide range of ways the court could rule on this. Taken to its extreme, it would be a radical reworking of our system of running elections. In the most extreme example, lawyers said, if the Supreme Court were to rule that no entity besides state legislatures can set rules regarding federal elections, that could stop a governor from vetoing election bills or a state court from blocking rules that set up different voting hours in urban and rural precincts. Jason Torchinsky, a Republican lawyer who wrote a legal brief urging the high court to take the case, said it is absurd to think the Supreme Court would ultimately allow that. He noted that as recently as 2015, the court agreed that legislatures do not have absolute power in elections, ruling that Arizona's voter-approved redistricting commission could legally take the authority away from lawmakers to draw district lines. I don't think you can take the theory as far as the legislatures alone can do whatever they want, Torchinsky said. The problem is we have these rogue state courts. The case, an appeal from North Carolina Republicans, challenges a state court ruling throwing out the congressional districts drawn by the General Assembly that seemingly would have made GOP candidates likely victors in 10 of the states 14 congressional districts. The Supreme Court has never invoked what is known as the independent state legislature doctrine, but four of the court's conservative justices have expressed interest in taking on the subject. One of them, Justice Clarence Thomas, was among three justices who advanced it in the Bush v. Gore case that settled the 2000 presidential election. It only takes four of the nine justices to agree to hear a case. A majority of five is needed for an eventual decision. The issue has arisen repeatedly in cases from North Carolina and Pennsylvania, where Democratic majorities on the states highest courts have invoked voting protections in their state constitutions to frustrate the plans of Republican-dominated legislatures. The case comes as state courts have become increasingly involved in redistricting, the consequence of a 2019 decision in which the Supreme Court said federal courts could no longer handle claims of illegal partisan gerrymandering. Initially, in cases in states such as North Carolina and Pennsylvania, that hurt Republicans and helped Democrats. But courts in Democratic-dominated states including Maryland and New York then threw out maps as Democratic gerrymanders, leaving Republicans with a slight edge at the end of the once-a-decade congressional redistricting process. The high court already has another significant redistricting case on its to-do list for the fall, a reconsideration of how the Voting Rights Act requires majority-minority districts to be drawn to ensure marginalized groups have a chance at electing their preferred representatives. But the North Carolina case has implications far beyond redistricting, The independent state legislative doctrine could also hold that state courts cannot stop legislatures from imposing any restrictions they want on congressional voting or even the selection of electors who choose the president of the United States. North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore, who filed the appeal to the high court, cheered the news that the case will be heard. This case is not only critical to election integrity in North Carolina, but has implications for the security of elections nationwide," Moore, a Republican, said in a statement. Voting rights groups were furious. In a radical power grab, self-serving politicians want to defy our states highest court and impose illegal voting districts upon the people of North Carolina, said Bob Phillips of Common Cause, North Carolina, which brought the lawsuit that overturned the GOP-drawn maps. We will continue to stand up for the people of our state and nation as this case goes to the U.S. Supreme Court. We must stop this dangerous attack on our freedom to vote. Associated Press writer Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. PHOENIX (AP) Development attorney Karrin Taylor Robson called for leaving behind the 2020 election and focusing on the future while former news anchor Kari Lake doubled down on the lie that former President Donald Trump lost because of fraud as the Republican candidates for governor squared off in a raucous debate Wednesday. Robson gave a nod to the widespread belief among Republican primary voters that something was amiss in 2020 and refused to say whether she would have certified the results, but she stopped short of saying the election was fraudulent. She said Democrats are focused on the future, and Republicans should be too. I believe the elections werent fair, Robson said. She accused liberal judges of changing the rules late in the cycle and the media and big tech of suppressing conservative voices. But I am focused on 2022 because the left is 10 steps ahead of us, she said. I will do everything I can to ensure Arizona is in Republican hands for the 2024 election when we can take back the White House. Lake, who was endorsed by Trump and has focused much of her campaign on the lie that the 2020 election was marred by fraud, said she would not have certified what she called a corrupt election. President Joe Biden "lost the election and he shouldnt be in the White House, Lake said. Lesser-known candidates Scott Neely and Paola Tulliani Zen agreed with Lake that the election was corrupt. Federal and state election officials and Trumps own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the election was tainted. The former presidents allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed. The race is taking clearer shape with one week to go before early voting begins. Polling has shown Lake leading for the entirety of the campaign, but former U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon's decision Tuesday to drop out could shake things up and give Robson a boost in a one-on-one race against Lake. Salmon threw his support to Robson hours before the debate on Wednesday. All four contenders began throwing barbs almost immediately and continued throughout the hourlong debate. The candidates talked over and constantly interrupted one another. We need a leader with a record of accomplishment, not a career talker with the teleprompter, Robson began, taking a dig at Lake's 27-year career in television news. She repeatedly called her leading rival Fake Lake. We do need someone whos a grownup, and someone who calls names is not a grownup, Lake said later. Under repeated questioning from debate moderator Ted Simons of Arizona PBS, Robson agreed that she does not represent a radical change from outgoing Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. She said Arizona has posted a strong recovery from the economic downturn brought on by the pandemic and spoke supportively of his COVID-19 policies. In hindsight, when you see that he angered as many people on the left as the right, he probably got it about right, Robson said. Lake, by contrast, said Ducey kept businesses closed for far too long and should not have allowed local governments to require masks. Eventually we realized that this is destroying our economy, hurting people and we didnt need to have those masks, Lake said. Salmon dropped out this week after determining he had no chance of pulling out a victory in the GOP primary, and said he did not want to drain votes from Robson. I'm going to work my tail off to get Karrin Taylor Robson elected as governor of Arizona because I actually believe that with all the challenges that we have as a state ... we can't afford to get it wrong," he said on KTAR radios Mike Broomhead show. Salmon ticked off major campaign issues such as border security, K-12 education and water supplies that he said were incredibly existential issues to us as a state. "And I believe that we've got to have somebody that actually has a track record of getting things done," Salmon said. And somebody we can trust as a real true conservative like Karrin Taylor Robson. Term limits bar Ducey from running again in 2022. Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and former Nogales Mayor Marco Lopez are seeking the Democratic nomination. This story has been updated to correct the last name of debate moderator Ted Simons. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. WASHINGTON The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the Biden administration properly ended a Trump-era policy forcing some U.S. asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico. The justices' 5-4 decision for the administration came in a case about the Remain in Mexico policy under President Donald Trump. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the decision and was joined by fellow conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh as well as the court's three liberal justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. President Joe Biden suspended the program on his first day in office in January 2021. But lower courts ordered it reinstated in response to a lawsuit from Republican-led Texas and Missouri. The current administration has sent far fewer people back to Mexico than did the Trump administration. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican, has made his challenge to the Biden policy a key issue in his campaign for U.S. Senate, and had celebrated lower court victories in the case. He asserted that Biden policy had created an unmitigated crisis at our southern border. The heart of the legal fight was about whether immigration authorities, with far less detention capacity than needed, had to send people to Mexico or whether they had the discretion under federal law to release asylum-seekers into the United States while they awaited their hearings. About 70,000 people were enrolled in the program, formally known as Migrant Protection Protocols, after President Donald Trump launched it in 2019 and made it a centerpiece of efforts to deter asylum-seekers. After Bidens suspension of the program, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ended it in June 2021. In October, the department produced additional justifications for the policys demise, to no avail in the courts. The program resumed in December, but barely 3,000 migrants had enrolled by the end of March, during a period when authorities stopped migrants about 700,000 times at the U.S.-Mexico border. Democratic-led states and progressive groups were on the administrations side. Republican-run states and conservative groups sided with Texas and Missouri. The case is Biden v. Texas, 21-954. KINSHASA, Congo The remains of Congos independence hero and first Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba will be laid to rest in Kinshasa Thursday. The interment in a specially-built mausoleum will be marked by a speech by Congos President Felix Tshisikedi. The ceremony is being held on Congos Independence Day holiday marking the day in 1960 when the country became independent from Belgium. Lumumba is widely hailed as the nationalist activist who helped to end colonial rule. He became the countrys first prime minister and was assassinated within a year in 1961. The ceremony for the interment of Lumumbas remains a gold-capped tooth comes after Belgium returned them to Congo earlier this month. A casket holding the tooth was taken around the country to allow citizens to pay their respects, including at his birthplace in Onalua village in Sankuru province. For many in Congo, Lumumba is a symbol of the positive developments the country could have achieved after its independence. Instead, it became mired in decades of dictatorship that drained its vast mineral riches. After agitating for an end to colonial rule, Lumumba became the newly independent Congos first prime minister in 1960. But historians say he was a victim of the Cold War. Lumumba promoted leftist policies and when he reached out to the Soviet Union for help in putting down a secessionist movement in the mineral-rich Katanga region, he quickly fell out of favor with Belgium and the United States. A military coup toppled Lumumba who was arrested, jailed and later killed. Lumumbas assassination by separatists in January 1961 cleared the way for the rise to power of Mobutu Sese Seko who ruled the country, which he later renamed Zaire, for decades until his death in 1997. Even though Lumumbas killers were Congolese, questions have persisted over the complicity of Belgium and the United States in his death because of his perceived Communist ties. Immediately after his killing, Lumumbas body was dismembered and dissolved with acid in an apparent effort to keep any grave from becoming a pilgrimage site. A gold-capped tooth was all that remained and was kept by the Belgian police commissioner who oversaw the destruction of Lumumbas body. In 2016 the tooth was seized by Belgian officials from the police commissioners daughter. The relic of Lumumba was returned to Congo after the visit earlier this month of Belgiums King Philippe who expressed regrets for his nations abuses in Congo when it was a Belgian colony. Since the draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization was leaked in May and now since the U.S. Supreme Court has officially released its decision overruling Roe v. Wade legal pundits and law professors are adding to the confusion and chaos. Overturning nearly 50 years of protections for abortion rights was bad enough, but now these scholars and political influencers are speculating that birth control is banned, too, in Missouri. As a result, Planned Parenthoods phones have been inundated with patients asking whether it is true that they cant get birth control anymore. Frustratingly, none of the pundits has asked us lawyers and providers who work to provide sexual and reproductive health care every day in the state of Missouri. To be clear, birth control remains legal in Missouri. Lets separate fact from fiction. Is it true extreme anti-abortion politicians are taking aim at birth control next? Most certainly. We are already seeing legislative attempts to ban birth control. But the latest speculation that overturning Roe also means certain birth control methods are illegal is categorically false and finds no support in current law. Missouri law defines abortion in two ways. The first says the act of using or prescribing anything, including a drug, with the intent to destroy the life of an embryo in the womb is an abortion. No method of birth control affects an embryo that has already implanted in the uterus, so birth control is not an abortion under this first definition. Under the second definition of abortion in Missouri law, abortion is also the intentional termination of the pregnancy by using or prescribing anything with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth or to remove a dead unborn child. Birth control does not terminate a pregnancy it prevents one. As any lawyer knows, you have to read a law in context, including by reviewing the whole statute. Missouri law has long prohibited any person from performing or inducing an abortion except a physician, and the statutes require an abortion to be done only in state-licensed abortion clinics or hospitals. Missouri has also long required that before any abortion, a patient has to undergo a state-mandated counseling session in a clinic or hospital at least 72 hours before the abortion, during which the patient must also undergo a state-mandated invasive vaginal exam. These restrictions are backed up by criminal penalties and are still on the books. If birth control is an abortion-inducing drug or device, these criminal restrictions wouldve applied before the Supreme Court overruled Roe last Friday. But they didnt then, and they dont now. You can get emergency contraception and IUDs at local pharmacies, hospitals, government-run health centers, and yes, at Planned Parenthood. If these pundits were correct, it would have also meant the state itself has run afoul of a state law prohibiting public funds from being expended for the purpose of performing or assisting an abortion, because the Legislature provides state funds for birth control through Medicaid and other programs. But of course that is not true. There is a lot of fear in this moment and understandably so. The Supreme Court has upended nearly 50 years of well-established constitutional law, and at least one Supreme Court justice has indicated a desire to undo the right to access contraception. But claiming that birth control has been quietly and suddenly banned in Missouri unnecessarily adds to the fear and anxiety that patients bring to our health centers. I urge every person who has a platform to use it responsibly in this moment. This is not an academic exercise, or an opportunity to fear-monger around an agenda. Missourians lives and health are on the line. Especially now, as we face a public health crisis created by the Supreme Court, we must focus our attention on ensuring Missourians have access to accurate information so they can access the health care we all deserve. This is why we at Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri have not stopped providing birth control. In fact, our doors remain open for the full spectrum of sexual and reproductive health care with one exception abortion, a loss in service forced upon us by five justices who have irreversibly written reproductive-capable people out of the Constitution. Richard Muniz is the general counsel of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri. Previously, he was a staff attorney in Planned Parenthood Federation of Americas Public Policy Litigation and Law department. St. Louis County Executive Sam Page cant seem to get a break from upheaval within his administration. A long series of embarrassments, scandals and mismanagement crises have forced him into a constant defensive mode at a time when he can least afford it politically amid a tight Democratic primary challenge by one of his most relentless critics, attorney and ex-lobbyist Jane Dueker. Before getting into the latest scandal, lets stipulate that no one should expect Page to police his senior staffers 24 hours a day to ensure theyre not doing blatantly stupid things. But in an office probably within hearing distance of Pages ninth-floor executive suite in Clayton, his chief of staff, Calvin Harris, apparently was recording video of himself in a sex act with a woman. Harris resigned abruptly on Wednesday. Dueker could hardly have asked for a more generous gift ahead of the Aug. 2 primary. All she has to do is sit back and watch Pages reelection bid implode under the weight of its own embarrassment. Previous examples abound of how badly Page has managed his staff and chosen top-level advisers who brought him nothing but trouble. His previous chief of staff, Winston Calvert, bullied and berated members of the County Council to the point that some rebelled. He mishandled a major discrimination lawsuit that wound up costing the county millions of dollars. Doug Moore, a former Post-Dispatch reporter who leads Pages communication team, embarrassed the county executive with a harshly worded text-message exchange with a county police commander, Troy Doyle, accusing Doyle of extortion. Doyle sued the county for racial discrimination after he was passed over for the police chiefs job. Pages campaign adviser and occasional spokesman, Richard Callow, is a left-wing troll who ranks (along with Dueker) among the most abrasive and annoying figures in St. Louis public affairs in bizarre contrast to Pages well-cultivated image as a kindly progressive do-gooder. Calverts departure created the vacancy that Harris filled. Now, only six months into the job, Harris is gone as well. The county executives fallback position when confronted with major embarrassments is to hide behind personnel exceptions or medical privacy laws to avoid having to explain, for example, why he disciplined his acting health director or why inmates kept dying while under county jail custody. Dueker has challenged Page to multiple debates. Instead of engaging her directly, Page delegated Callow to respond Wednesday with an emphatic no. That should surprise no one. A politician who is proud of his decisions and unafraid to defend his record should have no problem engaging an opponent in a debate. But since Page cant claim a personnel exception or medical exemption to avoid Dueker, his next best option is to steer clear of her in any public forum in apparent hopes that voters wont interpret his avoidance as cowardice. Israel has joined a U.S. sponsored regional air defense network called MEAD (Middle East Air Defense Alliance). Israel is a vital component of MEAD, which includes other Middle East nations, like Saudi Arabia and the UAE that have purchased American air and missile defense systems like Patriot and THAAD. MEAD makes sense with Israeli participation because Israel not only purchased Patriot, but also developed a similar but superior system called Davids Sling as well as the unique Arrow anti-ballistic missile system. Israel also developed and uses Iron Dome against rocket and mortar attacks as well as new systems that can detect and destroy low and slow cruise missiles which Iran has successfully used to evade Saudi air defenses and attack oil infrastructure targets. Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been regularly attacked by Iranian ballistic missiles and cruise missiles launched by Iran-backed Shia rebels in northern Yemen. This need for Israeli air defense systems played a role in the 2020 American sponsored effort to secure diplomatic recognition of Israel by Arab states in the Middle East, and led to Israel exporting some air defense systems to the UAE for protecting commercial aircraft from missile attacks. After the diplomatic breakthrough, MEAD became a real possibility at the end of 2020 after Israel conducted two weeks of anti-aircraft system tests in the eastern Mediterranean against targets simulating multiple missile and rocket threats. To handle this kind of multiple threat attack Israel ran successful tests demonstrating three different air-defense systems communicating with each other using a centralized target detection and fire control network to take down multiples of different types of targets. This new fire-control network enabled each air-defense system to successfully attack targets it was best capable of destroying. This test also showed that Iron Dome was capable of destroying an incoming cruise missile. Other incoming weapons included unguided rockets, a simulated ballistic missile and UAVs. The test was mainly about proving that a new integrated sensor and fire control system worked. The integrated system provided a single 3-D picture of the battlefield by combining data from the American Missile Defense Satellite early warning system plus the local radar systems used by Iron Dome, C-Dome (Iron Dome mounted on Israeli corvettes and offshore natural gas extraction platforms), Davids Sling (formerly Magic Wand), and Arrow, the Israel based ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) system. Such an integrated system was needed to protect Israel from a massive Iranian attack using rockets, explosives-laden UAVs and cruise missiles launched from Lebanon and Gaza as well as IRBMs (Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles) launched from Iran and shorter-range ballistic missiles launched from Syria or (illegally) Iraq. The IRBM interception capabilities of Arrow had already been tested in 2017 and Davids Sling had been used against incoming missiles from Syria in 2018. Iron Dome has intercepted over 2,400 rockets, mortar shells and UAVs since 2011 and demonstrated its ability to deal with cruise missiles during the December tests. Detecting and taking down cruise missiles is a new capability for Iron Dome and C-Dome. This new capability was seen as essential for Iron Dome because these can come from any direction and used in large numbers in a single attack. Iron Dome is designed to deal with such mass attacks by rockets and, using the new integrated command and control system, it was found that the target data could quickly and successfully be used from other radar systems. In early 2017 Israel successfully completed a final round of tests for its Davids Sling anti-aircraft/missile system and began deploying it in late 2017. At the same time the new Arrow 3 completed its final tests and was cleared for mass production as the version of Arrow that can intercept the longer-range Iranian IRBMs. Iron Dome has a unique feature in which the radar system computes where the incoming rocket will land. If the rocket will not hit an inhabited area, it will be ignored. Otherwise, one or two interceptor missiles will be fired. Davids Sling adopted some of that technology for its anti-missile mode. The Davids Sling Stunner missile can be used against larger rockets that will be aimed (by Syria, Hamas or Hezbollah) at large urban areas, and these will almost always get a Stunner fired at them. Davids Sling is expected to eventually replace the 17 Hawk anti-aircraft batteries as well and, eventually, the six Patriot batteries. Davids Sling is very similar to Patriot and one option is to offer Davids Sling components as upgrades for existing Patriot equipment. Stunner is already available as a Patriot upgrade because Stunner has a max range of 300 kilometers, which is longer than Patriot. Many of the Davids Sling technologies were developed jointly by American and Israeli firms with Patriot upgrades in mind. The Stunner missile's long range allows two Davids Sling batteries to cover all of Israel. A Davids Sling battalion would have three batteries each with six truck mounted launchers (each with four missiles), a radar vehicle and control vehicle. Arrow 3 was earlier tested in the Eastern Mediterranean against Israeli ballistic missile warheads launched from high-flying jets. In 2019 Arrow was also tested from the American PSCA (Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska) in Kodiak, Alaska against three different ballistic missile targets. Israeli Sparrow ballistic missile targets are often used for testing the ABM capabilities of Davids Sling, Patriot and Arrow. These targets are missiles carried to a high altitude by an F-16, F-15 or a large transport aircraft. When launched, the missiles fly higher and then plunge earthward at a speed and trajectory nearly identical to that of a ballistic missile warhead. This provides an adequately similar target for testing anti-ballistic missile systems. The 2020 tests completed a decades-long Israeli effort to provide an integrated air defense system that makes the most of their numerous innovative air defense weapons. MEAD needs a networked system and the only one that incorporates the latest Israeli and American air defense tech is what Israel successfully tested at the end of 2020. There followed a year of discussions and negotiations between the U.S., Israel and major Arab partners in the anti-Iran alliance. Arab members of MEAD were not announced initially because Saudi Arabia had to determine if Saudi public opinion would tolerate belonging to MEAD. The Saudis have been a leader in anti-Israel rhetoric since the 1950s and only in the last two decades, as the Iranian threat grew, did Saudi political and business leaders realize that they needed Israel as an ally, not an alien entity that must be removed from the Middle East. The Saudis are the guardians of the most holy of Moslem pilgrimage sites and Saudis are proud of that. Some Saudis are still unwilling to accept Israel as a valued neighbor and ally. So far, the Saudis have established informal but effective diplomatic, intelligence and military links with Israel. To use MEAD the Saudis would have to go public with their acceptance of Israel. Thats risky for the Saudi government but so is staying out of MEAD. In southeast Asia, the Philippines has ordered more warships from South Korea. This time it is six OPVs (Offshore Patrol Vessels). This came after a competition involving proposals from Australia, Turkey and several other nations. The South Korean entry was the export version of the new HDP-1500 OPV. The export version is customizable but the basic features are an 81 meter (260 foot), 1,700-ton ship with a top speed of 38 kilometers an hour and endurance of 28 days. There are accommodations for 51 personnel, including the 41 crew. Standard armament consists of a 76mm cannon and four CIWS (Close In Weapons Systems) for missile defense and other threats within a few thousand meters of the ship. There is a landing pad and hangar for a helicopter. Under the helipad there is space for additional weapons or equipment in four cargo spaces. The HDP-1500 can be equipped with anti-ship missiles or to hunt and attack submarines as well for mine-clearing. The Philippines needs the OPVs to patrol the South China Sea waters that China is seeking to steal from the Philippines. These OPVs are not the first warships purchased from South Korea. There are two South Korean frigates and two corvettes. South Korea has also sold warplanes to the Philippines as well as other military equipment. South Korea has also donated some weapons, including warships, to the Philippines, which is an ally in the coalition opposing Chinese expansion throughout the region. Donations were recently retired South Korean ships like the two Pohang-class corvettes. The first one was delivered in 2019 as an incentive for the Philippines to order more new corvettes and frigates from South Korea. The 1,200-ton Pohangs are small ships, with 24 built in the 1980s. They are old ships but well-armed and can stay at sea for about ten days at a time. Filipino crews were impressed because the South Korean ships compared favorably to donated American warships. Since the 1990s South Korea has become a major developer, manufacturer and exporters of modern weapons. At home, South Korea builds most of the warships, artillery and armored vehicles for their own armed forces as well as a growing number of the helicopters and combat aircraft. South Korea is now the sixth largest arms exporter worldwide and the tenth largest economy. Giving away retired warships is customary with the existing providers of warship exports. In the last decade the first generation of South Korean built warships were ready for retirement from South Korean service. With some refurbishment and upgrades, these retired ships are good for another decade of service with less affluent navies that can use them. TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / June 30, 2022 / Tsodilo Resources Limited ("Tsodilo" or the "Company") (TSXV:TSD)(OTCQB: TSDRF)(FSE:TZO) is pleased to announce that at its Annual Meeting of shareholders held on June 30, 2022, the following directors were elected: James M. Bruchs, Thomas S. Bruington, Jonathan R. Kelafant, Blackie Marole and Mark Scowcroft. Appointment of Auditors The shareholders also approved the appointment of Crowe MacKay LLP, Vancouver, Canada, as auditors of the Company. Grant of Stock Options Under the terms of its Stock Option Plan, Tsodilo granted incentive stock options to five directors, four employees and an advisor to purchase an aggregate of 1,000,000 common shares of Tsodilo exercisable at CDN$ 0.29. These options vest as to 25% effective July 1, 2022, and 25% on each of the sixth, twelfth and eighteenth-month anniversaries of the date of the grant. The options are valid for five years. About Tsodilo Resources Limited Tsodilo Resources Limited is an international diamond and metals exploration company engaged in the search for economic diamond, metal deposits and industrial stone at its Bosoto (Pty) Limited ("Bosoto"), Gcwihaba Resources (Pty) Limited ("Gcwihaba") and Newdico (Pty) Ltd. ("Newdico) projects in Botswana. The Company has a 100% stake in Bosoto (Pty) Ltd. which holds the BK16 kimberlite project in the Orapa Kimberlite Field (OKF) in Botswana and the PL216/2017 diamond prospection license also in the OKF. The Company has a 100% stake in its Gcwihaba project area consisting of five metal (base, precious, platinum group, and rare earth) prospecting licenses all located in the North-West district of Botswana. The Company has a 100% interest in its Newdico industrial stone project located in Botswana's Central District. Tsodilo manages the exploration of the Newdico, Gcwihaba, and Bosoto projects. This press release may contain forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements pertaining to the use of proceeds, the impact of strategic partnerships and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals) are forward- looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward- looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Companyto differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, 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. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, changes in equity markets, changes in general economic conditions, market volatility, political developments in Botswana and surrounding countries, changes to regulations affecting the Company's activities, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, exploration and development risks, the uncertainties involved in interpreting exploration results and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration business. Any forward-looking statement 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 statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements 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. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, uncertainties relating to availability and cost of funds, timing and content of work programs, results of exploration activities, interpretation of drilling results and other geological data, risks relating to variations in the diamond grade and kimberlite lithologies; variations in rates of recovery and breakage; estimates of grade and quality of diamonds, variations in diamond valuations and future diamond prices; the state of world diamond markets, reliability of mineral property titles, changes to regulations affecting the Company's activities, delays in obtaining or failure to obtain required project approvals, operational and infrastructure risk and other risks involved in the diamond exploration and development business. Any forward-looking statement 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 statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward- looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to their inherent uncertainty. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. This news release may contain assumptions, estimates, and other forward-looking statements regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and are subject to factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, which may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: James M. Bruchs Head Office Website Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Telephone +1 416 572 2033 http://www.TsodiloResources.com [email protected] Facsimile + 1 416 987 4369 SOURCE: Tsodilo Resources Limited View source version on accesswire.com: HSBC analyst Yuqian Ding reiterated a Buy on Chinese electric vehicle company NIO Inc. (NYSE: NIO) on Thursday, raising the ... I'm a New Customer I'm a Returning Customer E-mail Address (or username, if registered via mobile device) Password FILE PHOTO: Model Y cars are pictured during the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, March 22, 2022. Patrick Pleul/Pool via REUTERS By Hyunjoo Jin and Akash Sriram SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Tesla Inc is expected to end its nearly two-year-long run of record quarterly deliveries as a prolonged COVID-related shutdown in Shanghai hit its production and supply chain, highlighting the risks of its reliance on China. While Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has been pursuing the acquisition of social media platform Twitter Inc, his crown jewel, Tesla, has grappled with production glitches in China and slow output growth at new factories in Texas and Berlin. Analysts expect Tesla to report deliveries of 295,078 vehicles for the second quarter as early as Friday, according to Refinitiv data. Several analysts have slashed their estimates further to about 250,000 due to China's prolonged lockdown. This would be down from its record deliveries of 310,048 the preceding quarter, marking Tesla's first quarter-on-quarter decline in deliveries since the first quarter of 2020. The world's most valuable automaker has posted record deliveries every quarter since the third quarter of 2020, weathering pandemic and supply-chain disruptions better than most automakers. China has been instrumental in Tesla's rapid increase of vehicle production and Musk has praised workers there for "burning the 3 a.m. oil." But China's prolonged zero-COVID lockdown - Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called it Tesla's "albatross" this quarter - caused deeper disruptions to output than Musk predicted. Tesla's low-cost, lucrative Shanghai factory produced roughly half of the company's total cars delivered last year, and Ives estimated the shutdown wiped out about 70,000 units in the quarter. Musk said in April that Tesla's overall vehicle production in the second quarter would be "roughly on par" with the first quarter, driven by a China rebound. But he recently said Tesla had a "very tough quarter," citing production and supply-chain challenges in China. Musk also said Tesla's new factories in Texas and Berlin are "gigantic money furnaces" losing billions of dollars as they struggle to increase production quickly. He said the carmaker's supply-chain problems are not over and keeping the factories running remains a concern. "The key question is the magnitude of the (China production) decline and whether the Fremont (California) factory was able to help support volumes," CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson said. He expects volumes to rebound strongly in the second half of the year, as Tesla boosts production at the Shanghai factory with the easing of a COVID-19 lockdown. Gene Munster, managing partner at venture capital firm Loup Ventures, was cautious about the outlook, saying the third quarter will be difficult for Tesla and other tech firms, citing a risk of recession. Tesla has been laying off hundreds of employees in the United States, after Musk early this month told executives that he had a "super bad feeling" about the economy and needed to cut about 10% of staff at the electric car maker. Nevertheless, Musk has said demand for Tesla vehicles remains strong. Tesla shares have fallen 37% since early April, hurt by Musk's Twitter deal and the China lockdown. Tesla shares were down 0.3% at $683.26 on Thursday. Musk, a prolific Twitter user who this week passed the 100 million follower mark, has not been tweeting for over a week. Cowen analyst Jeffrey Osborne said in a report, "investors are growing fatigued with Elon's rants" on the Twitter saga, politics and other topics. "Many we speak to are questioning if we have reached 'peak Elon.'" (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco and Akash Sriram in BengaluruEditing by Ben Klayman and Matthew Lewis) By Svea Herbst-Bayliss BOSTON (Reuters) - Aerojet Rocketdyne shareholders on Thursday elected the eight-person board slate headed by Chief Executive Officer Eileen Drake, the company said in a statement, ending one of the most bitterly fought proxy contests of the year. Based on preliminary results, Drake's slate won more than 75% of the votes cast, with Drake herself winning more than 83% of the vote, the statement said. The eight-person slate nominated by Executive Chairman Warren Lichtenstein received roughly 25% of the vote. The meeting was held earlier this morning and lasted only minutes, said people familiar with the event. Drake and Lichtenstein, whose Steel Partners and affiliates own more than 5% of the U.S. rocket maker's stock, have been battling each other since the collapse of a planned $4.4 billion merger with Lockheed Martin Corp earlier this year. "A difficult and costly fight has brought us to this point, but the time has come today to plot a positive path and work with all our shareholders, including Steel Partners, to maximize value," Drake said in a statement. She also thanked Lichtenstein and other departing board members for their service. Evercore, Paul Hastings, Gibson Dunn, King & Spalding, Ballard Spahr, Richards Layton & Finger and DF King advised Drake. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Josie Kao) Nam Tai Property Inc. (NYSE: NTP) today announced the immediate appointment of Zhou Chongqing to the Companys Board of Directors (the Board). In addition, the Company announced that Jeffrey Tuder and Paula J. Poskon have resigned from their director positions, resulting in a reduction of the Board to eight members. Michael Cricenti, Nam Tais Chairman, commented: We are pleased to welcome Mr. Zhou to the Board. In addition to having a deep understanding of China and its various markets, Mr. Zhou possesses additive experience in corporate governance and real estate. He also has valuable knowledge of Chinas business and public sectors. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Jeff and Paula for their service and commitment to Nam Tai. Zhou Chongqing Biography Zhou Chongqing, age 63, is a Chinese national with a diverse background that spans accounting, corporate governance and real estate. He is currently an independent director of Wenfeng World Chain Development Co., Ltd. and has also served as a director of Nantong Jiangshan Agrochemical & Chemicals Co., Ltd. Some of his previous experience includes serving as a Deputy Section Chief, Section Chief and Reform Office Director of Nantong Commerce Bureau (Trade Bureau), as Assistant Director and Assistant Investigator of Nantong Trade Bureau, and as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Nantong State-owned Real Estate Group and the Nantong Grain and Oil Group. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements included in this announcement, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as may, might, can, could, will, would, anticipate, believe, continue, estimate, expect, forecast, intend, plan, seek, or timetable. These forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, may include projections of our future financial performance based on our growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business and the industry in which we operate. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations about future events. There are several factors, many beyond our control, which could cause results to differ materially from our expectation. These risk factors are described in our Annual Report on Form 20-F and in our Current Reports filed on Form 6-K from time to time and are incorporated herein by reference. Any of these factors could, by itself, or together with one or more other factors, adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition. There may also be other factors currently unknown to us, or have not been described by us, that could cause our results to differ from our expectations. Although we believe the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. These forward-looking statements apply only as of the date of this announcement; as such, they should not be unduly relied upon as circumstances change. Except as required by law, we are not obligated, and we undertake no obligation, to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements that might reflect events or circumstance occurring after the date of this announcement or those that might reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. ABOUT NAM TAI PROPERTY Nam Tai Property Inc. is an owner-operator of commercial real estate projects across China. The Company currently maintains two industrial complex projects, with one in Guangming, Shenzhen and one in Bao'an, Shenzhen. Learn more about the Companys portfolio and strategic priorities by emailing our investor relations team. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005311/en/ For Shareholders: Longacre Square Partners Greg Marose / Ashley Areopagita, 646-386-0091 [email protected] / [email protected] Source: Nam Tai Property Inc. FRANKFURT, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today marks the 10th anniversary of European DataWarehouse (EDW), Europes first securitisation repository, established in 2012 as part of the European Central Banks ABS Loan-Level Initiative. In its first decade of operating as a market infrastructure, EDW has strengthened its position as Europes first securitisation repository through its registration by both the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Since 2012, EDW has not only facilitated the centralisation, transparency, and standardisation of European loan-level data for the securitisation market, but has also contributed to countless consultations and regulatory initiatives that have shaped the disclosure frameworks in both the EU and UK financial markets. Reflecting on 10 years of progress, Dr. Christian Thun, CEO of EDW said, EDWs success has been achieved through the hard work and dedication of our team members and the continuous optimisation of our reporting solutions to meet ever-changing market needs. I take great pride in what we have accomplished over the last decade, and I want to thank all those who have accompanied us on our journey thus far. EDW Chairman, Prof. Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo, continued, As we celebrate this important milestone, I am even more enthusiastic about the many opportunities we have to contribute to the future and evolution of Europes securitisation market. As a founding EDW shareholder who worked closely with the ECB in establishing EDW in 2012 as a centralised repository, I speak on behalf of the market in congratulating EDW on its role in helping to restore a safe European securitisation market, said Steve Gandy, former Managing Director and Head of Private Debt Mobilisation, Notes & Structuring at Santander Corporate & Investment Banking. EDW is funded and owned by 16 leading market participants including banks, rating agencies and professional organisations. In 2018, European DataWarehouse Limited was established in the United Kingdom and operates as a 100% subsidiary of its parent company, European DataWarehouse GmbH. About European DataWarehouse European DataWarehouse (EDW) is a Securitisation Repository designated by both the European Securities and Markets Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. It was established in 2012 as the first Securitisation Repository in Europe to facilitate the collection, validation, and dissemination of standardised loan-level data for Asset-Backed Securities and private whole loan portfolios. EDW stores loan-level data and corresponding documentation for investors and other market participants. Operating as a market infrastructure, EDW aims to increase transparency and restore confidence in the ABS market. Through EDW's data, users can analyse underlying portfolios in a more efficient way and compare portfolios on a systematic basis. For the latest updates from European DataWarehouse, follow us on LinkedIn or visit our websites www.eurodw.eu / www.eurodw.co.uk View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005066/en/ European DataWarehouse GmbH Carla Scarsella Marketing & Communications Manager Tel. 49 (0) 69 50986 9320 Email: [email protected] Source: European DataWarehouse TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Americas Gold and Silver Corporation (the Company) (TSX:USA; NYSE American: USAS) is pleased to announce that the nominees listed in the management proxy circular dated May 17, 2022 (the Circular) for the Companys annual and special meeting of Shareholders held June 29, 2022 (the Meeting) were elected as directors of the Company at the Meeting and to welcome Christine Carson to the Board of Directors. Detailed results of the vote for the election of directors held at the Meeting yesterday in Toronto as well as the results for other matters voted on at the Meeting are set out below. We welcome Christine to the Board of Directors and look forward to benefitting from her experience and entrepreneurship stated Darren Blasutti, President and CEO. Christine brings a wealth of pragmatic, corporate governance expertise and is expected to immediately enhance the overall governance of the Company. Ms. Carson is the sole founder and CEO of Carson Proxy Advisors Ltd., a proxy solicitation firm that specializes in executing shareholder communications, proxy solicitation and corporate governance strategies for Canadian public companies. She has spent over 20 years advising publicly traded companies on a wide variety of special situations and issues, including proxy battles, hostile take overs, M&A, consent solicitations, corporate governance, executive compensation, and shareholder proposals. She has counseled numerous Boards of Directors, CEOs, corporate secretaries, corporate counsels, investor relations professionals and has spoken at industry conferences on the complexities of influencing shareholder voting in Canada. Prior to founding Carson Proxy, Ms. Carson was involved in establishing two successful proxy solicitation firms and a Transfer and Trust Company in Canada. Nominee Votes For % For Votes Withheld % Withheld Alex Davidson 58,016,850 98.35% 971,231 1.65% Darren Blasutti 55,941,503 94.84% 3,046,578 5.16% Christine Carson 57,998,797 98.32% 989,284 1.68% Alan Edwards 58,091,564 98.48% 896,518 1.52% Bradley R. Kipp 58,072,700 98.45% 915,381 1.55% Gordon Pridham 58,069,684 98.44% 918,397 1.56% Manuel Rivera 58,027,520 98.37% 960,561 1.63% Lorie Waisberg 57,968,960 98.27% 1,019,121 1.73% At the Meeting, the following resolutions as set out in the Circular, were passed as ordinary resolutions of the Companys shareholders (i) fixing the number of directors on the Companys Board at eight persons; (ii) appointing PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditors of the Company for the ensuing year and authorizing the Directors to fix their remuneration; (iii) re-approving of the Companys Deferred Share Unit Plan, as amended by the amendments all as more particularly described in the Circular; (iv) re-approving of Companys Restricted Share Unit Plan and (v) re-approving of the Companys Stock Option Plan. The results of these matters considered at the Meeting are reported in the Report of Voting Results as filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) on June 30, 2022. A total of 75,271,089 the Companys common shares were voted, representing 41.69% of total shares issued and outstanding as at the record date for the Meeting. About Americas Gold and Silver Corporation Americas Gold and Silver Corporation is a high-growth precious metals mining company with multiple assets in North America. The Company owns and operates the Relief Canyon mine in Nevada, USA, the Cosala Operations in Sinaloa, Mexico and manages the 60%-owned Galena Complex in Idaho, USA. The Company also owns the San Felipe development project in Sonora, Mexico. For further information, please see SEDAR or www.americas-gold.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005847/en/ Stefan Axell VP, Corporate Development & Communications Americas Gold and Silver Corporation 416-874-1708 Darren Blasutti President and CEO Americas Gold and Silver Corporation 4168489503 Source: Americas Gold and Silver Corporation MIAMI LAKES, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE: BKU) announced today that financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2022 will be made public in a news release on Thursday, July 21, 2022 prior to the market opening. A conference call to discuss quarterly results will be held at 9:00 a.m. ET that day with Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Rajinder P. Singh, Chief Financial Officer, Leslie N. Lunak and Chief Operating Officer, Thomas M. Cornish. The earnings release and supplemental information will be available on BankUniteds Investor Relations page prior to the call at https://ir.bankunited.com. The live webcast can be accessed via the Event Calendar section of the Investor Relations page at https://ir.bankunited.com/event-calendar. The Company suggests participants to sign in at least 15 minutes in advance of the call. To participate by telephone, participants will receive dial-in information and a unique PIN number upon completion of registration at https://register.vevent.com/register/BI46cdf2737b4a45dc8e0f6a39d5fdf9c1. For those unable to join the live event, an archived webcast will be available in the Investor Relations page at https://ir.bankunited.com approximately two hours following the live webcast. About BankUnited BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE: BKU), with total assets of $36.3 billion at March 31, 2022 is the bank holding company of BankUnited, N.A., a national bank headquartered in Miami Lakes, Florida that provides a full range of banking and related services to individual and corporate customers through banking centers located in the state of Florida and in the New York metropolitan area and Dallas, Texas. BankUnited also offers certain commercial lending and deposit products through national platforms. For additional information, call (877) 779-2265 or visit www.BankUnited.com. BankUnited can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/BankUnited.Official and on Twitter @BankUnited. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005896/en/ BankUnited, Inc. Leslie Lunak 786-313-1698 [email protected] Source: BankUnited, Inc. RIVERWOODS, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) plans to report its second quarter 2022 results after the market closes on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. The earnings release will be available through Discover's Investor Relations website at https://investorrelations.discover.com. A conference call to discuss the firm's results, outlook and related matters will be held on Thursday, July 21, 2022, at 7:00 a.m. Central Time. The live audio webcast will be accessible to the general public through Discovers Investor Relations website at https://investorrelations.discover.com. An audio replay will be available on the website following the call. About Discover Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) is a digital banking and payment services company with one of the most recognized brands in U.S. financial services. Since its inception in 1986, the company has become one of the largest card issuers in the United States. The company issues the Discover card, America's cash rewards pioneer, and offers private student loans, personal loans, home loans, checking and savings accounts and certificates of deposit through its banking business. It operates the Discover Global Network comprised of Discover Network, with millions of merchants and cash access locations; PULSE, one of the nation's leading ATM/debit networks; and Diners Club International, a global payments network with acceptance around the world. For more information, visit www.discover.com/company. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005866/en/ Investor Contact: Eric Wasserstrom Investor Relations 224-405-4555 [email protected] Media Contact: Robert Weiss Public Relations 224-405-6304 [email protected] Source: Discover Financial Services TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- dynaCERT Inc. (TSX: DYA) (OTCQB: DYFSF) (FRA: DMJ) ("dynaCERT" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of the annual and special meeting of its shareholders, which was completed today (the "Meeting"). The Meeting was held virtually via TSX Trust Company's virtual meeting platform. A total of 107,783,677 common shares of the Company (each, a Common Share), representing 28.25% of the total Common Shares outstanding, were represented in person or by proxy at the Meeting. dynaCERTs shareholders voted in favor of all items of business put forward at the Meeting, being the election of all nominated directors and the reappointment of BDO Canada LLP as the auditors of the Company. The votes in respect of each of these items were held via ballot, the results of which were as follows: Description of Matter Voted Upon Result of Vote Votes by Ballot Votes For # (%) Votes Against/Withheld # (%) 1. Amendment to resolution fixing the number of directors from seven (7) to five (5) Passed 101,865,187 (100.0%) Nil 2. Ordinary resolution fixing the number of directors at five (5) Passed 98,961,567 (97.15%) 2,903,620 (2.85%) 3. Ordinary resolution approving the election of the following nominees as directors of the Corporation James Payne Jean-Pierre Colin Wayne Hoffman Richard Lu Amir Farahi Elected Elected Elected Elected Elected 98,680,420 (96.87%) 68,725,492 (67.46%) 98,059,560 (96.26%) 87,492,015 (85.88%) 83,395,133 (81.86%) 3,192,971 (3.13%) 33,147,899 (32.54%) 3,813,831 (3.74%) 14,381,376 (14.12%) 18,478,258 (18.14%) 4. Ordinary resolution approving the appointment of BDO Canada LLP as auditors of the Corporation Passed 95,126,793 (88.26%) 12,648,780 (11.74%) Completion of Review On April 4, 2022, the Company announced that the Company's audit committee had engaged independent legal counsel to assist them in examining the validity, legal standing, enforceability, and potential future recoverability of certain related party and other transactions as disclosed in note 24 of the Company's audited financial statements in respect of the financial year ended December 31, 2021. The review by the Audit Committee is now complete and the following is a summary of some of the findings and conclusions of the review. The Audit Committee, in consultation with its independent counsel, conducted a detailed review of each of the items referenced in the aforementioned note 24. This process included reviews of all documents, communications, correspondence, resolutions and supporting materials relating to each item, in addition to conversations between the Audit Committee's counsel and members of the Company's management. The Company is reporting on the following salient points from the Audit Committee's findings: (a) Related Party Transactions Regarding loans granted to assist in the exercise of options and warrants, it was determined that such loans are unsecured and repayable on demand following provision of reasonable notice. As each of the option plan participants and warrant holders whose payments are outstanding have acknowledged their debt to the Company, it is anticipated that payment would be forthcoming following the issuance of a demand. Demands have now been issued and enforcement should not be necessary. One of the option loans was repaid during the course of the review being completed. Regarding the Company's $250,000 equity investment in Galaxy Power Inc., it was confirmed that the Company continues to hold 500,000 shares in the capital of Galaxy Power. In the absence of any further agreements entered into around this investment, the Companys rights in respect of its investment are limited to the rights of a common shareholder. Though there are no written restrictions on the Companys interest in Galaxy Power being diluted, management of Galaxy Power has confirmed that the Company's 20% interest will not be diluted in connection with any of its preliminary financing activities. The Companys shares in Galaxy Power are also subject to restrictions on transfer. Regarding the Company's $150,000 loan to Galaxy Placements, it was confirmed that such loan is subordinate, unsecured, bearing interest at 10% per year (prorated and calculated monthly) and maturing on December 31, 2023. All interest payments owing to date have been made. Repayment of this loan and interest is subordinate to the claims of all other creditors of Galaxy Placements and cannot result in a capital deficiency for Galaxy Placements. (b) Other Transactions The Company continues to hold 20% of the outstanding voting shares of KarbonKleen and its $725,000 loan to KarbonKleen matured on December 31, 2021. There have been no units rented under the rental program with KarbonKleen to date and KarbonKleen no longer has exclusivity in the United States. KarbonKleen's financial position is disclosed in the Company's financial statements, with no revenues having been recognized in the quarter ended March 31, 2022. Regarding the royalty agreement among DISH (the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary), Corsario Ltd. and GP Logix Inc., it was noted that the agreement contemplated that a Joint Development and Commercialization Committee consisting of representatives of DISH, Corsario and the Company was to be established to oversee the development of the FreightTech platform. Having reviewed the Audit Committee's findings at the Board level, the Company has noted certain procedural errors in connection with some of the transactions reviewed and has concluded that certain weaknesses in the Company's internal controls have become apparent. These include the following: In connection with option and warrant exercises by officers/ directors/employees of the Company), certain Treasury Orders were signed and issued without full payment for underlying shares, as payment was evidenced by loans. Certain loans were extended to optionees/warrant holders (who are officers/ directors/employees of the Company) without prompt reporting to the Board and CFO at the time of such loans and without adequate loan / security documentation, though such loans were subsequently ratified by the Board. Reporting of such share issuances and loans and related party transactions to the CFO and Audit Committee was only after such transactions were given effect to. The Board had adopted a resolution in respect of related party transactions that was weak insofar as it delegated approval for transactions that are not material (below $250,000 (which is the threshold for materiality used in the Company's financial statements)) to the Investment Committee. Certain select transactions were entered into based upon discussions among Board members where Board approval could have been better documented. Having reviewed the findings of the Audit Committee and considering the internal control weaknesses noted thereby, the Company has adopted the following remedial measures: The Company has ceased the process of allowing option exercises without full payment of the exercise price in cash. The Company has requested repayment of all option and warrant loans based upon either: negotiated repayment schedules; or the return of shares for cancellation. The Company is communicating with applicable regulatory authorities regarding the administration of the Company's stock option plan. The Company is reviewing and refining its process for the issuance of securities in consultation with its corporate legal counsel in connection with all future issuances of securities, which includes a prohibition on the issuance of shares without full payment in cash. The Board and the CFO will be provided with notification of all issuances and proposed issuance of securities (including confirmation of full (cash) payment of exercise/issuance prices). Board approval will be required for all related party transactions and other transactions that are not within the ordinary course of the Company's business and the prior resolution allowing for Investment Committee approval below a certain materiality threshold has been amended and replaced accordingly. Any material impairments of related party transactions require approval from the Audit Committee and the Board of Directors. The Company is reviewing its internal control documentation with its internal control consultant and will take such additional actions as are necessary or desirable to remedy the identified weaknesses. Galaxy Power and the Company will be entering into an agreement to provide an anti-dilution covenant, whereby Galaxy Power will confirm its verbal commitment that the Company's 20% interest shall not be diluted through any preliminary financing activities of Galaxy Power. About dynaCERT Inc. dynaCERT Inc. manufactures and distributes Carbon Emission Reduction Technology for use with internal combustion engines. As part of the growing global hydrogen economy, our patented technology creates hydrogen and oxygen on-demand through a unique electrolysis system and supplies these gases through the air intake to enhance combustion, resulting in lower carbon emissions and greater fuel efficiency. Our technology is designed for use with many types and sizes of diesel engines used in on-road vehicles, refrigerated trailers, off-road construction, power generation, mining and forestry equipment, marine vessels and railroad locomotives. Website: www.dynaCERT.com. READER ADVISORY Except for statements of historical 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. In particular, forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to the remedial steps outlined following the review of certain transactions by the Company's audit committee. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance of achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: uncertainty as to whether our strategies and business plans will yield the expected benefits; availability and cost of capital; the ability to identify and develop and achieve commercial success for new products and technologies; the level of expenditures necessary to maintain and improve the quality of products and services; changes in technology and changes in laws and regulations; the uncertainty of the emerging hydrogen economy; including the hydrogen economy moving at a pace not anticipated; our ability to secure and maintain strategic relationships and distribution agreements; and the other risk factors disclosed under our profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking information to conform such information to actual results or to changes in our expectations except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Neither The Toronto Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the The Toronto Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the release. On Behalf of the Board Murray James Payne, CEO View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220629006037/en/ Jim Payne, CEO & President dynaCERT Inc. #101 501 Alliance Avenue Toronto, Ontario M6N 2J1 +1 (416) 766-9691 x 2 [email protected]dynaCERT.com Investor Relations dynaCERT Inc. Nancy Massicotte +1 (416) 766-9691 x 1 [email protected]dynaCERT.com Source: dynaCERT Inc. ROI DNA and GetIT Join the Hotwire Group to Drive Greater Scale of Reputation, Relationship and Revenue Services in North America and Asia-Pacific. SYDNEY--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Enero Group Limited (ASX: EGG) today announced two major acquisitions to accelerate the growth of leading global technology communications consultancy Hotwire. ROI DNA, a leading B2B digital marketing agency offering a revenue accelerating suite of services to some of the worlds most significant technology companies, will further extend and transform Hotwires capabilities in North America. Additionally GetIT, APACs leading marketing agency specialized in B2B technology, will extend Hotwires client services towards digital marketing, brand strategy, reputation management, and public relations through its offices in Singapore, India, Malaysia, and Japan. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005835/en/ Enero Accelerates Hotwires Digital Marketing Transformation Capabilities into Global Offering with Two Major Acquisitions in USA and APAC. Featuring Anol Bhattacharya, CEO of GetIT, Heather Kernahan, Global CEO of Hotwire, Brent Scrimshaw, CEO of Enero Group and Matt Quirie, CEO of ROI DNA. (Photo: Business Wire) Continuing Eneros aggressive growth trajectory and focus on creating a portfolio of complementary brands and services, ROI DNA and GetIT will become part of the Hotwire Group to advance the consultancys network of global businesses with a combined team of more than 500 employees and 14 offices around the world. As Hotwire businesses, ROI DNA and GetITs leadership teams will continue their core focus of driving greater scale and modern digital capabilities for high-growth and innovative technology companies in North America and APAC. These acquisitions further strengthen Hotwires tech expertise and innovation with global reputation, relationship, and revenue services. As a key Enero brand, Hotwire continues to deliver strong momentum, particularly in North America, said Brent Scrimshaw, CEO of Enero Group. Adding sophisticated performance marketing capabilities in North America and APAC will create a global network of performance marketing expertise. This will unlock further opportunities for Hotwire to deepen their partnerships with some of the worlds leading technology companies. Combining world class communication skills to expedite reputation, relationships and revenue, these acquisitions will continue to accelerate Eneros growth trajectory and positioning as a creative technology company. These acquisitions complement Hotwires 2021 acquisition of McDonald Butler Associates in the UK, and will allow the teams to rapidly scale services to innovative technology companies in North America and APAC, navigating complex reputation issues, building business-impacting stakeholder relationships, and delivering revenue growth on a larger scale. Weve already seen the impact that helping our clients with the right mix of services can have, said Heather Kernahan, Global CEO of Hotwire. The addition of ROI DNA and GetIT to our portfolio allows us to accelerate our reputation, relationship, and revenue services globally while adding performance marketing to provide a unique marketplace offering, which we believe is the key to success in the current tech landscape. The acquisitions enable us to support clients with both long-term brand awareness and near-term sales results, but its more than just the clients. Enero and Hotwire already attract and retain some of the best talent globally and aim to be the best working experience for all our teams we are excited to bring this level of commitment to the whole employee to the ROI DNA and GetIT teams. ROI DNA offers a full stack of digital marketing services that have generated over $12B in revenues for clients including AWS Marketplace, Loom, Cockroach Labs, Elastic, and Salesforce. With over a decade of experience, ROI DNA has more than 150 employees in North America. Along with its high performing team and clients, ROI DNA also brings several top tier partnerships including the Google International Growth Program, Google Premier Partner, 6sense Premier Partnership, and Drift Platinum partnerships. We started ROI DNA to drive ginormous results for our clients and to create a differentiated culture that asks each person to bring their whole selves, think outside the box, do it right, and have a hell of a lot of fun doing it, said Matt Quirie, CEO of ROI DNA. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to join forces with Hotwire to advance both of these missions for seamless, rapid scale. GetIT is a B2B technology marketing specialist providing telecom, IT, and tech marketers with strategic advisory services, martech, products, and programs that create end-to-end marketing success. The acquisition of GetIT will launch Hotwires owned office network across Asia, including Singapore, India, Malaysia, and Japan with a client portfolio that includes high-profile tech brands such as AWS, Oracle, Fortinet, Fujitsu, Cisco, Google Cloud and Trend Micro. For ROI DNA and GetIT, becoming part of Hotwire creates significant additional opportunity for clients and people. For clients, working with the Hotwire Group will bring more opportunity to drive thought leadership, strategic consultancy, and growth across a wider set of communications and revenue generating expertise. As part of a global organization, ROI DNA and GetIT employees will now have the opportunity to work on broader marketing and communications briefs in more locations around the world. Weve been able to grow rapidly across Asia with a clear market differentiator of delivering long-term value paired with short-term results, said Anol Bhattacharya, CEO of GetIT. Now, were excited to expand our horizons and partner with global teams and opportunities at Hotwire. Effective immediately, ROI DNA will operate as ROI DNA, a Hotwire Company. Matt Quirie, ROI DNA CEO and the extended leadership team will continue in their current roles. GetIT will operate as GetIT, a Hotwire Company. Anol Bhattacharya, GetIT CEO and the extended leadership team will also continue in their current roles. About Hotwire Hotwire is the global technology communications consultancy. Founded in 2000, we operate a worldwide network of wholly owned offices serving a range of clients from scale ups to established multi-nationals. We unleash the possibilities of innovative technology through integrated communications that ignite curiosity, spark action and fuel success. We do this using our proprietary methodology which is underpinned by robust insight and strategy, purposeful creative, integrated planning and a core emphasis on measurement and evaluation. For more, please visit www.hotwireglobal.com About Enero Enero Group is a specialist portfolio of marketing, technology and communications businesses listed on the ASX (Australian Stock Exchange) that includes creative agency BMF, PR and integrated communications agencies Hotwire and CPR, digital & experiential agency Orchard and adtech platform OB Media. For more information, please visit www.enero.com. About ROI DNA ROIDNA, part of Hotwire Global and The Enero Group, is a full-service digital marketing agency delivering category-leading solutions to accelerate revenue for leading brands worldwide. From crafting bespoke ABM experiences for Fortune 500 companies to developing and designing future-proofed websites for hyper-growth companies, the agency focuses on driving radically successful outcomes for their B2B clients. Technology-led, ROIDNA has developed exclusive top-tier partnerships with 6sense, Google, and Drift, helping drive over $12B in revenue for leading tech innovators including Elastic, Mollie, Drift, Salesforce, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Cockroach Labs. Launched in 2009, ROIDNA is a culture-first company built on doing it right, being inventive, encouraging employees to bring their whole selves, and maintaining a strict zero asshole policy. They exist to make a ginormous impact on their clients, their team, and the entire digital marketing world. For more information, please visit www.roidna.com About GetIT GetIT is focused on crafting compelling stories for global B2B enterprise technology, cloud and regional telecom businesses. We design and execute strategic and impactful campaigns by utilising our expertise in demand generation, lead nurturing and customer retention, and our emphasis on achieving marketing ROI. We leverage our customised AI/ML products and platforms, extensive knowledge of the technology landscape, key buyer considerations, and vendor marketplace to deliver best-in-class solutions for companies such as AWS, Telekom Malaysia, Google Cloud, Orange Business Services, StarHub, Palo Alto Networks, NTT, Fujitsu, Fortinet, F5, Oracle and Hitachi Vantara. For more information, please visit https://getit.marketing/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005835/en/ Enero: Abigail Dawson Group Communications Director [email protected] +61 415 169 987 Hotwire, ROI DNA and GetIT Laura Macdonald Co-President, Hotwire [email protected] +1 415 691 1735 Source: Hotwire SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Inszone Insurance Services: a rapidly growing, national provider of benefits, personal and commercial lines insurance, announced today the appointment of Lisa Hermann as Vice President of Carrier Relations. Lisa Hermann joined Inszone Insurance in December 2021 after the merger with Lamb, Little & Co. With more than 35 years of leadership experience at several top Chicago area insurance agencies, Ms. Hermann is a veteran in the insurance industry. Dedicating the past 25 years to Lamb, Little & Co, she has built a strong client base and was an equity partner in the business. In 2006 she was elected to the agencys board of directors where she was responsible for agency operations and carrier relationships in addition to developing new clients. During her tenure with the agency, she participated in several insurance company agency councils working in tandem with other agents and insurance company leaders on various initiatives. Ms. Hermann is a graduate of Augustana College, in Rock Island, IL where she obtained her BA in Liberal Arts. She also earned a masters degree from Minnesota State University, in Mankato, MN. Additionally, Ms. Hermann holds a professional designation Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and has participated on several committees with her local chapter. In my short time with the company, I have been impressed by the quality of our people, and the strength of our culture and our carrier relationships. I see incredible potential in Inszone, and Im looking forward to helping grow the company, said Ms. Hermann. I am excited to welcome Lisa to the Inszone Insurance Family, said Norm Hudson, CEO of Inszone Insurance. Her track record, depth of experience in the insurance industry and firsthand knowledge of running a company makes her an ideal leader to manage and continue to build our carrier relationships. About Inszone: Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Sacramento, California, Inszone is a full-service insurance brokerage firm which provides a broad array of property & casualty insurance, along with employee benefits solutions. With a strong, experienced management team, Inszone continues to grow organically, as well as through acquisitions. With 31 locations across California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Missouri, Texas and Illinois, the company is looking to further expand throughout the United States. For more information about Inszone, please visit www.inszoneinsurance.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005286/en/ Inszone Insurance Norm Hudson CEO 916-995-0234 [email protected] Source: Inszone Insurance Services Report commissioned by SambaNova uncovers top challenges in deploying AI. These include: Keeping up with the pace of AI (78%); Recruiting staff with appropriate skills and knowledge (70%); Finding and customising the right algorithm models (67%) LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SambaNova Systems, the company delivering the industrys only comprehensive software, hardware, and solutions platform to run AI and Deep Learning applications, today announces the results of new research into AI adoption within financial services organisations in the UK. The study of enterprise leaders sought to understand the challenges when delivering AI-based solutions during a period of accelerated change and transformation. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005275/en/ (Graphic: Business Wire) AI is becoming a huge driver of value to businesses and is set to contribute trillions to the global economy over the next decade, said Marshall Choy, SVP Product at SambaNova. Progressive business leaders are realising the value of AI. However, benefiting from it requires technology teams to deliver; this is where difficulty surfaces for most organisations in the financial sector. The data from the study shows that over three-quarters of finance technology leaders in the UK are already adopting AI models and algorithms. However, the study uncovered a number of clear challenges, from skills to technical, that are facing banking leaders today. Top three UK enterprise challenges highlighted in the research include: Keeping pace with the speed of model and data growth 78% Hiring staff with appropriate skills in AI/ML 70% Finding or customising models and algorithms 67% Choy commented on the findings: The research shows that financial services decision-makers understand the value they can derive from AI today. The rapid pace of innovation has presented challenges to technology teams in keeping up. Skills have become the limiting factor for AI implementation in banking For banking leaders, AI is a driver of business value, and more than half (56%) said that AIs business impact will be transformational or significantly improve the business over the next 12-24 months. For technology leaders in financial services, finding skilled staff across all technology disciplines is difficult. However, the challenge is particularly acute in the specialist field of AI. 52% of IT managers reported that they have the budget to hire additional resources for their AI teams while 70% said that hiring the skilled staff is challenging. Over half (52%) said that retention is a challenge too. Youd be hard-pressed to find an area of technology that is being developed more intensely than AI, especially around large language models such as GPT, said Chris Kenny, General Manager, EMEA at SambaNova. The opportunity these models deliver is there for the taking, although technology teams often dont have the resources or expertise to take advantage of the opportunity. For enterprises struggling to deliver on business leaders demands, deploying AI as a service is a fast track, a scalable way to avoid falling behind their competitors, continued Kenny. AI is already here at most financial organisations. Notes to the editor: The research surveyed 125 financial services enterprise leaders between May 20, 2022 and May 30, 2022. To receive the survey data please email [email protected] . About SambaNova Systems: AI is here. With SambaNova, customers are deploying the power of AI and deep learning in weeks rather than years to meet the demands of the AI-enabled world. SambaNovas flagship offering, Dataflow-as-a-Service, is a complete solution purpose-built for AI and deep learning that overcomes the limitations of legacy technology to power the large and complex models that enable customers to discover new opportunities, unlock new revenue, and boost operational efficiency. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, SambaNova Systems was founded in 2017 by industry luminaries, and hardware and software design experts from Sun/Oracle and Stanford University. Investors include SoftBank Vision Fund 2, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Intel Capital, GV, Walden International, Temasek, GIC, Redline Capital, Atlantic Bridge Ventures, Celesta, and several others. For more information, please visit us at sambanova.ai or contact us at [email protected]. Follow SambaNova Systems on Linkedin. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005275/en/ Tom Fry Resonance, for SambaNova Systems [email protected] +44 208 819 3170 Virginia Jamieson SambaNova Systems [email protected] 011-650-279-8619 Source: SambaNova Systems VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- NFT Technologies Inc. (NEO: NFT | Frankfurt: 8LO) (the Company or "NFT Tech"), a leading technology company working to mainstream decentralized ownership, NFTs and the metaverse for public markets, announced today its proposed acquisition (the Transaction) of Sherwa Online Services (Sherwa), a private company responsible for the development of the Sherwa gaming platform (Sherwa Platform). The Sherwa Platform is a gaming platform that creates a space where gamers can join and interact with a gaming community, participate in community events and make connections between players to enhance any form of online play. Following the release of its gaming platform, Sherwa turned its focus towards building unique Web3 applications and products to help bring Web2 gamers into Web3 P2E gaming. In the past, Sherwa has partnered with major developers like Riot Games and Epic Games Store to facilitate better gaming experiences for their players. In P2E gaming, players are the most valuable asset and with this acquisition, NFT Tech is gaining access to more than a million of dedicated users, said Wayne Lloyd, Executive Chairman of NFT Tech. The negotiation power this gives NFT Tech in partnership and business discussions with play to earn games cant be quantified in words. Were extremely excited to bring these users into P2E. Exciting times to explore the opportunities in the space with such a large pool of gamers when we look at leaders in the ecosystem, like Axie infinity that have 300k monthly active users but have a fully diluted market cap of $4.2B US. NFT Techs ability to deliver Web3 projects for blue-chip brands, together with Sherwa's access to more than 1 million gamers worldwide, will aid the company in meeting its long-term ambition to help transform the gaming industry. Through the combined offering of NFT Techs new gaming platform and the new addition of Sherwas gamer base, NFT Tech will be better able to provide some of the largest gaming studios with an opportunity to gain players fast by offering them competitive rewards. Were very happy to join NFT Tech, said Luiz Persechini, CEO and Co-Founder at Sherwa. The move from Web2 to Web3 gaming is extremely interesting and exciting to us. The team at NFT Tech are visionaries, and exactly what our team needs to grow our business. Weve already worked with large gaming publishers like Riot and Epic games and are excited to bring our relationships and expertise into this growing trend within gaming. Last week, Epic games announced that they will support P2E gaming on their platform of over 160m users, as well as the listing of the first NFT game on the Sherwa Platform, Grit. This move represents the strength of the P2E gaming space within both gaming in general and crypto and highlights the direction the microtransaction economy is going in: instead of simple transactions between players and game developers, transactions between players themselves are increasingand developers take a cut. Games like CS:GO are a prime example, where players can earn skins for completing a match, then sell the skins for real money. The CS:GO skin industry is valued at $50B, with billions of dollars worth of skins changing hands between players yearly. The fee per transaction on CS:GO is 10%. Additionally, Discord, primarily a gaming chatting platform that allows players to talk over voice with other players, is valued at $15B US. NFT Tech and current shareholders of Sherwa entered into a binding letter of intent with respect to the Transaction on June 16, 2022, which is subject to several conditions to completion, including entering into a definitive agreement. On closing of the Transaction, NFT Tech is expected to issue an aggregate of 2,500,000 common shares, issued pro rata to the shareholders of Sherwa in exchange for acquiring all of the issued and outstanding shares of Sherwa. Under the terms of the Agreement, NFT Tech will assume Sherwas outstanding related-party loans and expects to settle such loans on closing. About Sherwa Founded in 2018 by Luiz Persechini, Andre Gross and Pedro Vasconcellos, Sherwa is a startup created to develop smart solutions for the modern gamer, in a safe environment and with the necessary support to ensure gamers fun. Headquartered in Canada, the company is gamer-owned and gamer-focused. In April 2022, Sherwa reached the milestone of 1,000,000 downloads. Find Sherwa online: sherwa.gg twitter.com/sherwaglobal About NFT Tech NFT Tech works to develop infrastructure, assets, real estate and IP in the metaverse, build and generate revenue from P2E and M2E games, and bring insights and benefits to the public markets. By bridging the gap between traditional capital markets and the Web3 space, NFT Tech is mainstreaming decentralized ownership, NFTs, and the metaverse. Current projects include founding the GOAT Guild and Fuku. Find NFT Tech online: twitter.com/nfttech medium.com/@nfttechnologies nfttech.com Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Information This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws with respect to the Company. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by words such as "believe," "project," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan," "may," "should," "will," "would," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements relating to completion of the acquisition of Sherwa and closing date thereof; benefits realized from the Transaction; expansion of the Company's NFT developments and product offerings; potential benefits and demands for direct-to-consumer NFT projects; potential benefits, development and acceptance of web3 and related applications; plans for accelerating growth and transformation of gaming industry; and the continued and strengthening public acceptance of NFTs, P2E Games and related offerings. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements and information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release including, without limitation, the risk factors described in the Prospectus. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable laws. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. The Neo Exchange has not reviewed or approved this press release for the adequacy or accuracy of its contents. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (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 (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005883/en/ Wayne Lloyd, Executive Chairman [email protected] Source: NFT Technologies Inc. MILAN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News: NHOAs (Paris: NHOA) Global Engineering Center in Milan was visited yesterday by the Hon. Mark McGowan, Premier of Western Australia; Treasurer; Minister for Public Sector Management; Federal-State Relations. The Hon. McGowan was greeted by Mr. Carlalberto Guglielminotti, NHOA Group CEO, and by Mr. Giuseppe Artizzu, NHOA Energy CEO and Group General Manager. NHOA was delighted to host the Hon. Mark McGowan during his Reconnect WA mission. This visit comes on the back of the important 200MWh project in Kwinana, for which NHOA Energy, NHOA Groups Global Business Line dedicated to energy storage, was selected to provide a battery energy storage system, which will contribute to the additional security and stability of Western Australians power system. NHOA presented to Hon. McGowan its view on the development of the battery value chain in Western Australia and its ambitious plan in this direction. NHOA Energy, through its rapidly expanding regional headquarters in Perth, will support Western Australia Governments push towards the energy transition favoring the growth of cutting-edge expertise, technologies and intellectual properties in the region. McGowan Government is focusing and investing many resources to significantly reduce Western Australia carbon emissions and progress towards net zero emissions. Western Australia Government committed to cut its emissions by 80% below 2020 levels by 2030 and this because of the transition out of coal-fired power generation by 2030, important investments are foreseen including energy storage, to ensure emissions reduction, continued grid stability and affordability. We were honored to meet Hon. McGowan in Milan. Western Australia has an exceptional potential to lead the energy transition not only in the Continent but also in the wider Asia-Pacific region, both in terms of sustainable transformation of the energy system and establishment of a world-class battery value chain. NHOA looks forward to supporting Western Australia in its leadership bid, and is ready to play a pivotal role in the development of the sector, commented Mr. Giuseppe Artizzu. * * * NHOA NHOA S.A. (formerly Engie EPS), global player in energy storage and e-mobility, active in the construction of the largest fast and ultra-fast charging infrastructure in Southern Europe, develops technologies enabling the transition towards clean energy and sustainable mobility, shaping the future of a next generation living in harmony with our planet. Listed on Euronext Paris regulated market (NHOA.PA), NHOA forms part of the CAC Mid & Small and CAC All-Tradable financial indices. NHOA, with offices in France, Spain, United States and Australia, maintains entirely in Italy research, development and production of its technologies. For further information, go to www.nhoa.energy follow us on LinkedIn follow us on Instagram View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220629005988/en/ Press Office: Claudia Caracausi and Davide Bruzzese, Image Building, +39 02 89011300, [email protected] Institutional Relations and Financial Communication: Chiara Cerri, +39 337 1484534, [email protected] Source: NHOA MIDLAND, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ProPetro Holding Corp. (ProPetro) (NYSE: PUMP) today announced that it will issue its second quarter of 2022 earnings release on Tuesday, August 2, 2022 after the close of trading. ProPetro will host a conference call on Wednesday, August 3, 2022 at 8:00 AM Central Time to discuss its second quarter results. To access the conference call, U.S. callers may dial toll free 1-844-340-9046 and international callers may dial 1-412-858-5205. Please call ten minutes ahead of the scheduled start time to ensure a proper connection. The call will also be webcast on ProPetros website, www.propetroservices.com. A replay of the conference call will be available for one week following the call and may be accessed toll free by dialing 1-877-344-7529 for U.S. callers, 1-855-669-9658 for Canadian callers, as well as 1-412-317-0088 for international callers. The access code for the replay is 1560734. About ProPetro ProPetro Holding Corp. is a Midland, Texas-based oilfield services company providing pressure pumping and other complementary services to leading upstream oil and gas companies engaged in the exploration and production of North American unconventional oil and natural gas resources. For more information visit www.propetroservices.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005687/en/ Josh Jones Director of Finance [email protected] 432-276-3389 Matt Augustine Investor Relations [email protected] 432-848-0871 Source: ProPetro Holding Corp. MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rio Tinto today announced, in partnership with Corona Canada, the launch of Canadas first specially-marked, low carbon beverage can, manufactured by Ball Corporation. The cans, now available through a pilot in Ontario, were made using aluminium from Rio Tinto and leveraging ELYSISTM technology. As part of this limited release, 1.2 million cans were produced with a QR code to inspire consumers to learn more about the cans low carbon footprint. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220629005236/en/ The Corona Canada specially-marked, low carbon beverage cans are being piloted in Ontario (Photo: Business Wire) This pilot is a step towards putting a fully traceable beverage can in the hands of consumers. In the future, Rio Tinto will leverage insights from its START initiative to allow consumers to use QR codes to see exactly how their products were made from mine to market including sustainability data. Currently, around 70 per cent of the aluminium used in cans produced in North America is made with recycled aluminium1. Pairing this recycled metal with Rio Tintos low-carbon aluminium made with renewable hydropower and metal produced using the direct greenhouse gas emissions free ELYSISTM smelting technology reduces carbon emissions by more than 30 per cent2. Corona Canadas Marketing Vice President Andrew Oosterhuis said: As a brand, Corona believes we have a responsibility to be an ally to our environment, recognizing that change needs to start within our own production lines as a tangible way we can help protect paradise and reach our ambitious sustainability goals. By continuing to introduce market-leading technologies in the beverage space, were leading by example for other companies and their suppliers to innovate and drive meaningful change for our environment. Rio Tintos Head of Sales and Marketing Tolga Egrilmezer said: Leveraging insights from START, we look forward to putting more information into the hands of consumers, so they can see how we are partnering with leading brands like Corona to help deliver more sustainable supply chains and products. These specially-marked, low carbon beverage cans will showcase the responsibly produced aluminium Rio Tinto delivers, bringing together renewable hydropower and the innovation of zero carbon ELYSISTM smelting technology. This launch builds on a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2020 between Rio Tinto and Corona Canadas parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), to work with supply chain partners to bring AB InBev products to market in cans made from aluminium that meets industry-leading sustainability standards. The cans are now available through LCBO and select grocery stores in Ontario, while supplies last. For more information on the specially-marked, low carbon Corona beverage cans, please visit: www.coronaextra.ca/ca_en/SustainabilityPrograms. 1 Source: The Aluminum Can Advantage: Sustainability Key Performance Indicators, The Aluminum Association, November 2021 2 Compared to current Corona Extra cans using traditional manufacturing techniques in North America 30 Notes to editors ELYSIS is a technology company created through a partnership between aluminium industry leaders Rio Tinto and Alcoa, with support from Apple and the governments of Canada and Quebec. ELYSIS is scaling up a revolutionary technology that enables the production of metal without direct carbon dioxide emissions during the aluminium smelting process, instead emitting pure oxygen. The technology uses inert anodes to replace the carbon anodes traditionally used during electrolysis, the process used to make primary aluminium. Learn more at www.elysis.com. In 2021, Rio Tinto launched START, a new standard in transparency, traceability and provenance for the aluminium industry. Using secure blockchain technology, START provides key information about how Rio Tinto aluminium was made, covering ten criteria: carbon footprint, water use, recycled content, energy sources, community investment, safety performance, diversity in leadership, business integrity, regulatory compliance and transparency. Through START, Rio Tinto empowers its customers and theirs to make a more sustainable choice. About Corona Canada: First brewed in 1925, Corona is a pioneer in the beer industry by being the first to use a transparent bottle showcasing its purity and high quality to the world. No Corona is complete without the lime. Naturally adding character, flavour and refreshment, the lime ritual is an integral part of delivering an experience that is truly unique to Corona. The brand is synonymous with the beach and celebrates time outdoors. It invites people to pause, relax and disconnect to reconnect with our essential nature. For more visit https://www.coronaextra.ca Corona Canada has an ongoing commitment to environmental conservation and continuously improving the sustainability of its production practices. Last year, Corona Canada piloted a new type of revolutionary packaging for six-pack beer bottles becoming the first global beverage brand to use 30 per cent surplus barley straw and 70 per cent recycled paper fibres to create an innovative carboard packaging solution. Additionally in 2021, Labatt Breweries of Canada also announced another technology-based packaging advancement with the introduction of KeelClip a state-of-the-art packaging system that will use 65 per cent less cardboard than our previous cardboard carton which will be used on Corona six-pack beer cans. Category: Canada View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220629005236/en/ Rio Tinto Simon Letendre M +514 796 4973 [email protected] Labatt Breweries of Canada Veronica Bart M +647 926 5028 [email protected] Rio Tinto plc 6 St Jamess Square London SW1Y 4AD United Kingdom T +44 20 7781 2000 Registered in England No. 719885 Rio Tinto Limited Level 7, 360 Collins Street Melbourne 3000 Australia T +61 3 9283 3333 Registered in Australia ABN 96 004 458 404 riotinto.com Source: Rio Tinto Study reveals first-ever structure of a non-viral endogenous reverse transcriptase (eRT) Human endogenous retrovirus-K (HERV-K) RT shows striking similarity to HIV RT Findings enable structure-based drug discovery for eRTs CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ROME Therapeutics, a biotechnology company harnessing the power of the dark genome for drug development, today announced a new publication in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) which describes the first-ever X-ray crystallography structure of an endogenous reverse transcriptase specifically human endogenous retrovirus-K (HERV-K) reverse transcriptase (RT). The structure unlocks therapeutic opportunities for RT inhibitors in cancer, autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases. A significant portion of the human genome is made up of endogenous retroviruses, which are associated with a range of serious diseases, including cancer. In this publication, we describe for the first time the crystal structure of an endogenous reverse transcriptase, one known as HERV-K RT, and show that it has remarkable similarities to HIV RT, a well-known tractable drug target, said Dennis Zaller, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of ROME. This achievement is a milestone in the dark genome field and sheds light on opportunities for structure-based drug design based on established anti-viral targets present in the human genome. This work is the result of a great collaboration between ROMEs exceptional structural biology team and world-leading crystallographers. Repetitive elements in the genome, such as HERV-K, are frequently over-expressed in cancer and elicit biological viral mimicry responses that can alter the tumor microenvironment. Anti-viral drugs with activity against endogenous retrovirus-derived repeats can have therapeutic benefit, as illustrated by a recent study from ROMEs scientific co-founders published in Cancer Discovery showing that a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor designed for HIV-1 (3TC) led to clinical benefit in 9 of 32 patients with late-stage colorectal cancer. These findings demonstrate the potential of molecules designed for activity against repeat-encoded targets, such as eRT, the first therapeutic target announced by ROME in November 2021. This study marks a significant step forward in our understanding of endogenous retroviruses and how they could be targeted to treat disease, said Eddy Arnold, Ph.D., Resident Faculty Member at the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine (CABM), Board of Governors Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rutgers University and Scientific Advisory Board member at ROME. Characterizing the structure of HIV RT was a critical turning point in designing novel medicines to combat that deadly virus. Similarly, deeper insights into human endogenous RT could pave the way toward a new class of therapies for cancer and other serious diseases. About ROME ROME Therapeutics is developing novel therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases by harnessing the power of the dark genome, vast stretches of uncharted genetic material that represent more than 60% of the human genome. With several drug targets identified and multiple discovery programs underway, ROME is moving rapidly to leverage this new frontier in biology. To lead this exploration, ROME has assembled a team of world-class leaders across fields including oncology, immunology, virology and machine learning. ROME is based in Cambridge, Mass. For more information, please visit www.rometx.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220627005670/en/ Media Lisa Qu Ten Bridge Communications [email protected] Investors Monique Allaire THRUST Strategic Communications [email protected] Source: ROME Therapeutics AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SailPoint Technologies Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SAIL) (SailPoint), the leader in enterprise identity security, today announced that its stockholders voted to approve SailPoints pending acquisition by Thoma Bravo, a leading software investment firm, at SailPoints special meeting of stockholders held earlier today. The final voting results on the proposals voted on at the special meeting will be set forth in a Form 8-K filed by SailPoint with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, after certification by SailPoints inspector of elections. As previously announced, under the terms of the merger agreement, SailPoint stockholders will receive $65.25 in cash per share of SailPoint common stock they own. The transaction is currently expected to close in the second half of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals. Upon completion of the transaction, SailPoints shares will no longer trade on the NYSE, and SailPoint will become a private company. About Thoma Bravo Thoma Bravo is one of the largest private equity firms in the world, with more than $114 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2022. The firm invests in growth-oriented, innovative companies operating in the software and technology sectors. Leveraging the firms deep sector expertise and proven strategic and operational capabilities, Thoma Bravo collaborates with its portfolio companies to implement operating best practices, drive growth initiatives and make accretive acquisitions intended to accelerate revenue and earnings. Over the past 20 years, the firm has acquired or invested in more than 380 companies representing over $190 billion in enterprise value. The firm has offices in Chicago, Miami and San Francisco. For more information, visit www.thomabravo.com. About SailPoint SailPoint is the leading provider of identity security for the modern enterprise. Enterprise security starts and ends with identities and their access, yet the ability to manage and secure identities today has moved well beyond human capacity. Harnessing the power of our deep expertise combined with machine learning, the SailPoint Identity Security Platform delivers the right level of access to the right identities and resources at the right timematching the scale, velocity, and environmental needs of todays cloud-oriented enterprise. SailPoints intelligent, autonomous, and integrated solutions put identity security at the core of digital business operations, enabling even the most complex organizations across the globe to build a security foundation capable of defending against todays most pressing threats. More information is available at www.sailpoint.com. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on SailPoints current expectations, estimates and projections about the expected date of closing of the proposed transaction and the potential benefits thereof, its business and industry, managements beliefs and certain assumptions made by SailPoint and Thoma Bravo, all of which are subject to change. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and often contain words such as expect, anticipate, intend, plan, believe, could, seek, see, will, may, would, might, potentially, estimate, continue, expect, target, similar expressions or the negatives of these words or other comparable terminology that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes. All forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, and are not guarantees of future results, such as statements about the consummation of the proposed transaction and the anticipated benefits thereof. These and other forward-looking statements, including the failure to consummate the proposed transaction or to make or take any filing or other action required to consummate the transaction on a timely matter or at all, are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such statements and, therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any such statements and caution must be exercised in relying on forward-looking statements. Important risk factors that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to: (i) the completion of the proposed transaction on anticipated terms and timing, including obtaining regulatory approvals, anticipated tax treatment, unforeseen liabilities, future capital expenditures, revenues, expenses, earnings, synergies, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition, losses, future prospects, business and management strategies for the management, expansion and growth of SailPoints business and other conditions to the completion of the transaction; (ii) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on SailPoints business and general economic conditions; (iii) SailPoints ability to implement its business strategy; (iv) significant transaction costs associated with the proposed transaction; (v) potential litigation relating to the proposed transaction; (vi) the risk that disruptions from the proposed transaction will harm SailPoints business, including current plans and operations; (vii) the ability of SailPoint to retain and hire key personnel; (viii) potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the proposed transaction; (ix) legislative, regulatory and economic developments affecting SailPoints business; (x) general economic and market developments and conditions; (xi) the evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes under which SailPoint operates; (xii) potential business uncertainty, including changes to existing business relationships, during the pendency of the merger that could affect SailPoints financial performance; (xiii) restrictions during the pendency of the proposed transaction that may impact SailPoints ability to pursue certain business opportunities or strategic transactions; and (xiv) unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, acts of terrorism or outbreak of war or hostilities, as well as SailPoints response to any of the aforementioned factors. These risks, as well as other risks associated with the proposed transaction, are more fully discussed in the Definitive Proxy Statement filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. While the list of factors presented here and the list of factors presented in the Definitive Proxy Statement are considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward looking statements. Consequences of material differences in results as compared with those anticipated in the forward-looking statements could include, among other things, business disruption, operational problems, financial loss, legal liability to third parties and similar risks, any of which could have a material adverse effect on SailPoints financial condition, results of operations, or liquidity. SailPoint does not assume any obligation to publicly provide revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005826/en/ Investor Relations ICR for SailPoint Brian Denyeau, 512-664-8916 [email protected] Media Relations for SailPoint Jessica Sutera VP, Corporate Marketing, 978-793-0085 [email protected] Media Relations for Thoma Bravo Megan Frank Thoma Bravo Communications [email protected] (212) 731-4778 Abigail Farr FGS Global [email protected] (646) 957-2067 Source: SailPoint Technologies Holdings, Inc. Roswig Brings 20+ Years of Financial Experience Across Blackstone, McKinsey, and GE to Leading Mobile Gaming Platform SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Skillz (NYSE: SKLZ), the leading mobile games platform bringing fair and fun competition to players worldwide, announced today that veteran finance executive Jason Roswig has been hired as the companys President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Roswig will join the company on August 8, 2022 from Blackstone, where he served as Managing Director. He will replace the current Skillz CFO, Ian Lee, who is stepping down to pursue other opportunities. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005864/en/ Skillz Hires Jason Roswig as President and CFO (Graphic: Business Wire) Jason is a true leader who will be dedicated to bringing both financial and operational excellence to Skillz. I couldnt be more excited about him joining our leadership team, said Andrew Paradise, CEO and founder of Skillz. As President and CFO, Roswig will report directly to Paradise and oversee the companys finance and operations functions, including accounting, investor relations, FP&A, tax, corporate development, administration, and strategy. I am thrilled to join a company as unique as Skillz and maximize its full potential. I am also deeply passionate about making Skillz the best place to work for top talent in the industry, said Roswig. Formerly Managing Director in Blackstone's Private Equity and Portfolio Operations groups, Roswig had oversight of the financial and operating performance of Blackstone's technology portfolio. Prior to that, he served as an Expert Associate Partner in McKinsey & Company's Corporate Finance and Organization practices, providing and implementing recommendations on growth, mergers & acquisitions, and post-close value creation opportunities. Prior to McKinsey, Roswig spent 12 years at the General Electric Company in a variety of Finance and Corporate Development executive roles in the United States, Germany, and China. About Skillz Inc. Skillz is the leading mobile games platform with a mission to bring out the best in everyone through competition. The Skillz platform helps developers build multi-million dollar franchises by enabling social competition in their games. Leveraging its patented technology, Skillz hosts billions of casual esports tournaments for millions of mobile players worldwide, and distributes millions in prizes each month. Skillz has earned recognition as one of Fast Companys Most Innovative Companies, CNBCs Disruptor 50, Forbes Next Billion-Dollar Startups, and the number-one fastest-growing company in America on the Inc. 5000. www.skillz.com Source: Skillz Inc. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005864/en/ Media Contact [email protected] Source: Skillz Inc. DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sunflower Bank announces the expansion of its Community Affairs Office focused on the institutions community lending, service and investment opportunities. The Community Affairs Office is led by Danny Spears, Director of Community Reinvestment, with regional efforts coordinated by Community Development Officers (CDO), Becca Maxwell, Doris Ortiz, Gloria Sanderson, and Kyle Stingley. The Community Affairs Office partners with local bank leadership and community organizations to ensure a tailored response to community needs and provide solutions that favorably impact economic opportunities in the Banks markets. Activities include increasing community engagement, soliciting community feedback, and seeking out community service, investment, and lending opportunities. Sunflower Bank and our community banking model are built on the foundation of knowing that our value and our goal is to create opportunities and programs that go beyond basic banking products and services. Weve expanded the Community Affairs Office to ensure we maintain the needed level of support for our communities and our local teams, as we continue to grow across our multi-state region. As an organization, we believe in the power of connection for our customers and in our communities. We are extremely proud of our teams and our accomplishments in this regard, stated Mollie Carter, Sunflower Bank Executive Chairman. Danny Spears joined Sunflower Bank in 2021 as Director of Community Reinvestment. He has over 15 years of professional experience in the banking industry with over a decade managing Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)-related efforts. He was previously with a $200 billion regional bank with a multi-state footprint where he worked extensively in developing community reinvestment programs and strategies, while managing CRA compliance. At Sunflower Bank, Spears works with leadership to develop and implement programs that address the banking and credit needs of the communities the Bank serves. I am excited to be with Sunflower Bank and for the opportunity to lead this CRA program to become a best-in-class, industry model. We have a long community history at Sunflower Bank and we will continue our efforts to ensure a strong connection across our footprint. Our Community Development Officers are a driving force for these initiatives, said Spears. The expansion of the Community Affairs Office reflects the recent growth of Sunflower Bank through its merger with Pioneer Bank. With a focus on further enhancing the Banks CRA program and providing guidance to internal staff on achieving the programs goals and objectives, the following CDOs contribute throughout the Banks geographic footprint: Becca Maxwell, Colorado and Kansas; Doris Ortiz, Arizona and New Mexico; Gloria Sanderson, Texas; and Kyle Stingley, National Community Development Lending. Sunflower Bank is committed to serving the credit needs of, and empowering, communities including low- and moderate-income geographies and persons, small businesses, and organizations focused on community development. Through safe, sound, and prudent banking practices, enhanced by the efforts of the Community Affairs Office, the Bank will strive to meet the credit needs of the communities it serves. About Sunflower Bank Operating as Sunflower Bank, First National 1870 and Guardian Mortgage, Sunflower Bank, N.A. provides financial solutions to the individual communities it serves. With $5.7 billion in assets as of March 31, 2022, headquarters in Denver, bank locations in five states, and mortgage capabilities in more than 40 states, Sunflower Bank, N.A. provides a full range of relationship-focused services to meet personal, business and wealth management financial objectives. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. First National 1870 and Guardian Mortgage are divisions of Sunflower Bank, N.A. To learn more visit SunflowerBank.com, FirstNational1870.com or GuardianMortgageOnline.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220629005934/en/ Jeanne Lipson VP, Marketing Manager 915.881.6785 [email protected] Source: Sunflower Bank TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Bay is pleased to announce that today, the agreement reached with the union representing the associates at its Scarborough Distribution Centre was ratified. The agreement, which is in line with current increases in the sector, benefits The Bay by providing further cost certainty over the next three years. We are pleased with the outcome, which benefits The Bay and provides our associates with a fair, reasonable and meaningful wage increase, said Iain Nairn, President and CEO of The Bay. It is unfortunate that we ended up in unnecessary strike action, which did not lead to any further financial benefit for associates. Ultimately, we are happy we were able to come to a swift resolution and we are looking forward to our associates returning to their paid employment quickly. Nairn added, We remain focused on serving our customers with great products, and speedy delivery, from coast to coast. We are grateful for their patience and loyalty over the past week. ABOUT THE BAY Through a digital-first, purpose-driven lens, The Bay helps Canadians live their best style of life. The Bay operates thebay.com featuring Marketplace, one of the largest premium life & style digital platforms in Canada, with a seamless connection to a network of 85 Hudson's Bay stores. The Bay has established a reputation for quality and style through an unrivalled assortment of products and categories including fashion, home, beauty, food concepts and more. Follow us on our social media channels: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok. The Bay and Hudsons Bay operate under the HBC brand portfolio. Founded in 1670, HBC is North Americas oldest company. The signature stripes are a registered trademark of HBC. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005933/en/ THE BAY MEDIA OFFICE: Tiffany Bourre DVP, Communications, PR & Heritage [email protected] Source: Hudson's Bay Company GOSSELIES, Wallonia, Belgium--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News: TheraVet (ISIN: BE0974387194 - ticker: ALVET) (Paris: ALVET) (Brussels: ALVET), a pioneering biotechnology company specialising in the management of osteoarticular diseases in pets, presents its half-year operational update ending June 30, 2022. Enrico Bastianelli, Chief Executive Officer of TheraVet, commented: During this first half of the year, TheraVet achieved very important business milestones. Concerning BIOCERA-VET, in addition to the partnership agreement for BIOCERA-VET SmartGraft, we signed 3 distribution contracts, covering now three out of the five biggest vet markets in Europe: France, United Kingdom & Ireland and Spain. Furthermore, thanks to the efforts of the team, the whole BIOCERA-VET line is now distributed, making available the most comprehensive line of bone substitutes on the vet market. Key operational events of the period Distribution Agreement for the BIOCERA-VET product line in France On January 18, 2022, the Company announced the signing of a non-exclusive commercial distribution agreement for its BIOCERA-VET bone substitutes in France with the veterinary co-operative Centravet, one of Frances leading wholesalers/distributors of animal health products. The agreement covered the bone substitutes BIOCERA-VET Bone Surgery and BIOCERA-VET Osteosarcoma. Positive results of BIOCERA-VET - Bone Surgery in arthrodesis in a larger patients cohort On February 4, 2022, the Company announced the presentation of BIOCERA-VET clinical data in bone fusion surgical procedure1 at 6th World Veterinary Orthopaedic Congress (WVOC) and 49th Annual Conference of the Veterinary Orthopedic Society (VOS) 2022. The results were extremely well received and was granted the Best Poster Presentation Award by the WVOC/VOS committee. The Company also announced the confirmation of the excellent efficacy and safety results: - Larger cohort of animals (doubling the number of animals treated with BCV: n= 20 vs. n=10 at 4 weeks and n=27 vs. n=13 at 8 weeks); - Bone fusion scores for BIOCERA-VET at 4 and 8 weeks comparable to autologous bone graft; - No complication related to BIOCERA-VET (0% vs. 25% for autologous bone graft) These results therefore confirmed the positioning of BIOCERA-VET Bone Surgery as a valuable alternative to autologous bone graft in joint bone fusion. Partnership agreement broadening BIOCERA-VET product line with a biological bone graft, BIOCERA-VET SMARTGRAFT On February 7, 2022, the Company announced an exclusive partnership with Industrie Biomediche Insubri SA (IBI, Switzerland) expanding TheraVets bone substitutes portfolio with a new and complementary biological bone graft product line, BIOCERA-VET SmartGraft. With its new product line, TheraVet will provide the veterinary market with a unique and standardized biological bone graft solution combining quality with availability. Commercial launch of BIOCERA-VET Bone Surgery and Osteosarcoma in United Kingdom and Ireland On March 15, 2022, the Company announced the commercial launch of BIOCERA-VET Bone Surgery and Osteosarcoma in United Kingdom and Ireland. This milestone propelled TheraVet into the 3rd largest European market with more than 16 million companions (dogs and cats) and into one of the fast-growing veterinary markets with an expected CAGR2 of +9.5% up to 2026. In 2020, the companion animal services market represented 6.2 billion, of which 2.1 billion dedicated to veterinary care. With over 23% of companion animals covered by health insurance, the UK is one of the European countries with the highest coverage behind Sweden. Distribution agreement for BIOCERA-VET in United Kingdom and Ireland On May 10, 2022, the company announced the signing of an exclusive distribution agreement with Veterinary Instrumentation (Vi), a global animal-health company specialising in orthopaedics & surgical instrumentation. This agreement represents a significant step forward for the distribution of BIOCERA-VET product line in United Kingdom and Ireland. This distribution agreement includes the products recently added to TheraVet bone substitutes portfolio i.e., BIOCERA-VET Bone Surgery Ready-To-Use, BIOCERA-VET Osteosarcoma Ready-To-Use, BIOCERA-VET Granules and BIOCERA-VET SmartGraft. Vi will leverage its own sales and marketing strike force in the veterinary field to promote and distribute the BIOCERA-VET products in UK & Ireland as from June 2022. Distribution agreement for the full range of BIOCERA-VET product line in Spain On May 30, 2022, the Company announced the signing of an exclusive distribution agreement with Nuzoa, a leading Spanish company in the distribution of veterinary products and services. This agreement represents a significant step forward for the distribution of BIOCERA-VET product line in Spain, one of the five biggest European pet markets (with France, United-Kingdom, Germany and Italy), with about 6.73 million of dogs and 3.7 million of cats. This partnership enables the Company to launch in Spain ~6 months ahead of schedule. This agreement covers the entire BIOCERA-VET portfolio, i.e., BIOCERA-VET Bone Surgery RTU, BIOCERA-VET SmartGraft, BIOCERA-VET Granules, BIOCERA-VET Osteosarcoma RTU. Nuzoa will leverage its own sales and marketing force in the veterinary field to promote and distribute the BIOCERA-VET products in Spain as from September 2022. Commercial launch of the whole BIOCERA-VET line in Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Spain, UK & Ireland and in United States. On June 2, 2022, the Company announced the commercial launch of the whole BIOCERA-VET portfolio, i.e., BIOCERA-VET Bone Surgery RTU, BIOCERA-VET SmartGraft, BIOCERA-VET Granules, BIOCERA-VET Osteosarcoma RTU in Belgium, France, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as in Spain Distribution is ensured by wholesalers and distributors in Belgium (Covetrus), France (Centravet), United Kingdom & Ireland (Veterinary Instrumentation) and in Spain (Nuzoa, as from September 2022) as well as through TheraVets brand new webshop www.bioceravet.com. On June 30, 2022, the Company announced the commercial launch of its BIOCERA-VET products including BIOCERA-VET Bone Surgery Ready-to-Use, BIOCERA-VET Granules and BIOCERA-VET Osteosarcoma Ready-To-Use in United States of America, the largest companion animal health market with about 89 million dogs, 104 million cats and a pet ownership above 50%. The Company will initially focus its marketing and commercial efforts on the states of Texas, Florida and Carolinas. These four states were selected as they gather more than 20% of US orthopedic specialists and some of the highest pet ownership rate of the US, as it is ranging from 56 to 59% and as TheraVet has currently its main collaborations with important Key Opinion Leaders in Texas and in the Carolinas. Next key operational events for the second half of the year The next key Company milestone is to expand the commercialization of BIOCERA-VET to Germany, the biggest European pet market, with ~25 million dogs and cats. Additionally, with the objective to always improve its portfolio, the Company will pursue the development of BIOCERA-VET combined with antibiotics and prepare its commercialization later in the year. As with sales and revenues targets, these milestones could be affected by the current geopolitical and socio-economic conditions. But despite this, the Company remains confident in its ability to reach its objectives. The Company continues its efforts on the European pivotal clinical study assessing VISCO-VET in canine osteoarthritis. After the late approval3 of the clinical study by the competent authorities, the set-up and initiation of sites in Portugal and Poland are now completed. However, the delays in patient recruitment communicated in the annual report published last Avril 6, 2022 is only slowly improving. Indeed, despite the setup of corrective measures, the recruitment rate is so far not reaching the target. In Poland, one of the main recruiting countries, the proximity with Ukraine and the massive influx of refugees is the main cause. In other countries, as reported by veterinarians, it is the abnormally high routine workload related to the significant increase of pet ownership and pet treatments since COVID pandemic period that does not allow to increase the time dedicated to clinical studies. Therefore, VISCO-VET development plan is now expected to suffer delay of several months as compared to the initial development plan. Cash update Available cash on June 30, 2022, is 3.50 million compared to 7.25 million on June 30, 2021. The Company's tight management allows its cash to cover 2 years of operational activities. Next financial update Half-year Financial Results of 2022, on September 9, 2022 About TheraVet SA TheraVet is a veterinary biotechnology company specialising in osteoarticular treatments for companion animals. The Company develops targeted, safe and effective treatments to improve the quality of life of pets suffering from joint and bone diseases. For pet owners, the health of their pets is a major concern and TheraVets mission is to address the need for innovative and curative treatments. TheraVet works closely with international opinion leaders in order to provide a more effective response to ever-growing needs in the field of veterinary medicine. TheraVet is listed on Euronext Growth Paris and Brussels, has its head office in Belgium (Gosselies) with a US subsidiary in Texas. For more information, visit the TheraVet website or follow us on LinkedIn / Facebook / Twitter 1 Arthrodesis 2 Compound annual growth rate 3 Set-up and initiation of Poland and Portugal was expected in 4Q2021 however due administrative delay of competent authorities not related to VISCO-VET product evaluation, this step was only achieved in 2Q2022 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005665/en/ TheraVet Chief Operating Officer Sabrina Ena [email protected] Tel: +32 (0) 71 96 00 43 Chief Corporate Officer Julie Winand [email protected] NewCap Investor Relations and Financial Communications Theo Martin / Olivier Bricaud [email protected] Tel: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 Press Relations Arthur Rouille / Ambre Delval [email protected] Tel: +33 (0)1 44 71 00 15 NewCap Belgique Press Relations Laure-Eve Monfort [email protected] Tel. : + 32 (0) 489 57 76 52 Source: TheraVet FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is pictured on the wall of the new OPEC headquarters in Vienna March 16, 2010. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader By Maha El Dahan, Alex Lawler and Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) -OPEC+ said on Thursday it would stick to its planned oil output hikes in August but avoided discussing policy from September onwards as prices have risen on tight global supplies and worries that the group has little ability to pump more crude. Thursday's meeting of the group that includes Saudi Arabia, Russia and other major oil producers was held days before U.S. President Joe Biden travels to the Middle East, including Riyadh where he is expected to press the kingdom for more oil. At its last gathering on June 2, OPEC+ decided to increase output each month by 648,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July and August, up from a previous plan to add 432,000 bpd per month. Washington welcomed the June 2 decision for a faster production rise, after months of Western pressure on OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Oil prices rocketed to their highest levels since 2008 after the United States and Europe imposed sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine in February, which Moscow calls a "special military operation". Prices has slipped since then but were still above $115 on Thursday on tight supply and concerns that OPEC states had little extra capacity to raise output swiftly. [O/R] French President Emmanuel Macron said this week that he had been told Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the only two OPEC states considered to have significant spare capacity, could barely raise output. (Reporting by OPEC Newsroom; Editing by Jason Neely and Edmund Blair) Great Panther Mining Limited (NYSE: GPL) announces that it has entered into a Share Purchase Agreement (the "Agreement") with Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd. ("GSilver") to sell 100% of the Company's Mexican subsidiary Minera Mexicana El Rosario S.A. de C.V. ("MMR"), which holds the Guanajuato Mine Complex (the "GMC"), the Topia mine, and the El Horcon and Santa Rosa projects, all located in Mexico. "This is a strategic transaction that places the GMC and Topia mines in the hands of an operator who is well positioned to unlock additional value from the assets and maintain a strong commitment to employees and local stakeholders," stated Alan Hair, Chair and Interim CEO. "Furthermore, GSilver's processing and tailings facilities in the district provide the platform for a near-term re-start of operations at the GMC. "The sale of the Company's silver mines in Mexico will allow us to focus on maximizing the full potential of the Tucano Gold Mine in Brazil and complete the pivot to gold started by the Company in 2019. Our capital allocation priorities are focused on Tucano as this is where we see the greatest value creation potential for our stakeholders. We expect Tucano to return to steady-state production in the second half of the year and intend to continue investing into unlocking value both from the underground as well as the regional potential of the district. Our long-term objective is to grow further in Brazil. Divesting the Mexican silver assets best positions the Company to achieve these goals." Under the terms of the Agreement, GSilver will purchase MMR for a total upfront consideration of US$14,700,000 million plus up to US$2 million in additional payments, payable as follows: US$8,000,000 cash payable on closing A total of 25,787,200 common shares of GSilver valued at approximately US$6,700,000 based on current trading prices US$500,000 upon producing 2.5 million ounces of silver from the GMC and Topia US$750,000 upon the price of silver closing at or above US$27.50 per ounce over a 30-day period in the two years following the Agreement US$750,000 upon the price of silver closing at or above US$30.00 per ounce over a 30-day period in the two years following the Agreement In conjunction with closing, MMR will repay the balance outstanding of the Samsung lead concentrate prepayment facility, and accordingly Samsung will release the pledge of MMR shares associated with this facility. Great Panther has engaged GenCap Mining Advisory Ltd. as its sole financial advisor and McCarthy Tetrault LLP and RB Mexico Law-Abogados as its legal advisors in connection with the Agreement. Closing of the Agreement, expected in the third quarter of 2022, is subject to satisfaction of certain conditions including receipt of all requisite third-party and regulatory approvals. By Dawn Chmielewski (Reuters) - NBCUniversal said on Thursday it completed the highest-grossing upfront advertising sales period since its acquisition by Comcast Corp with commitments exceeding $7 billion, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. The media company said in a statement its approach of combining local, national and digital advertising sales through a single platform fueled the results. NBCU said the pharmaceutical industry increased spending by 40%. Travel also rebounded, with spending increasing 30%. The company also reported nearly 20% growth in spending on digital platforms and streaming. Its ad-supported Peacock service doubled its upfront commitments to more than $1 billion. Comcast acquired NBCUniversal, which operates the NBC broadcast network and cable channels including USA Network and Bravo, in 2013. (Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski; Editing by Richard Chang) Skye Bioscience, Inc. (OTCQB: SKYE) has received regulatory approval to begin its first-in-human Phase 1 clinical study of SBI-100 Ophthalmic Emulsion ("SBI-100 OE") from the Australian Human Research Ethics Committee ("HREC"). SBI-100 OE is a patented drug representing a new class of therapeutics to potentially treat glaucoma. The primary endpoints for this randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled Phase 1 study of SBI-100 OE are an assessment of safety and tolerability of the drug in healthy volunteers. The secondary endpoint is an assessment of pharmacokinetics. The study will also measure changes to intraocular pressure. A total of 48 subjects will be administered SBI-100 OE or placebo in single ascending dose (SAD) and multiple ascending dose (MAD) arms. Preliminary top-line data is expected in Q4 and final data in Q1 of 2023. In the study, each arm will consist of three cohorts of eight subjects, six receiving SBI-100 OE and two receiving placebo. In the SAD arm, each subject will be administered a single 35uL drop to one study eye of placebo or SBI-100 OE at concentrations of 0.5%, 1.0% and 2.0% of active drug in cohorts one, two, and three, respectively. In the MAD arm, each subject will receive two drops per day over five days using the respective dose levels of the SAD arm. A Safety Review Committee will monitor the study and review safety data before approving escalation to the next cohort. "After submitting our clinical trial protocol to HREC in March, we are pleased to receive their approval and look forward to assessing SBI-100 Ophthalmic Emulsion for the first time in humans," said Tu Diep, Chief Development Officer of Skye. "Decades of research have established the role of cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1R) in lowering IOP, however, there has been no CB1R agonist therapeutic agent approved by a regulatory agency to treat glaucoma. No other company has methodically created a patented molecule and proprietary formulation - representing a new class of therapeutic drug - to improve the inherent positive attributes of natural cannabinoids while limiting potentially negative systemic effects, and with the goal of enhancing the treatment of glaucoma beyond today's approved drugs. "Achieving these goals is Skye's focus. We have not only created a drug with this ambition but we have also navigated the complexities of synthetic manufacturing and conducted extensive preclinical assessments, and now we are embracing the rigors of the clinical and regulatory processes to validate our drug." The Phase 1 study will be conducted in the clinical trial facility of CMAX Clinical Research in Adelaide, Australia ("CMAX"). Conducting the Phase 1 clinical study in Australia qualifies Skye to receive a tax credit of up to 43.5%. Next Steps Submission of Clinical Trial Notification to Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration. This submission is prepared and will be filed now that HREC approval has been obtained. Site visit and training. Skye will train the study investigators and CMAX's clinical study staff on the clinical protocol and procedures and ensure that the pharmacy understands how to appropriately handle the drug formulation. Clinical trial material (CTM) production. The manufacturing process of SBI-100 OE requires very specific and specialized equipment, consumables and excipients that cannot be easily substituted. Global supply chain constraints delayed or limited access to certain components of the manufacturing process and delayed CTM production, which was originally scheduled to be completed in early June. We are working with our contract manufacturer, Pharmaceutics International Inc., to finalize logistical and scheduling details. We expect to complete Phase 1 CTM production in July. Secure DEA export license and deliver CTM to Australia. Skye has secured the import license required for a controlled substance from the Australian Department of Health. We require an export license from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency but must complete CTM production before submitting our application. There can be variability in the timing of the DEA's review and issue of an export license. We do not expect to receive this license earlier than August, after which delivery of drug product to Australia will be expedited. Subject screening, enrollment, and first dosing. Recruitment of study participants will begin after the prior listed steps are substantially completed, since subjects must be administered drug within 28 days of enrollment. Taking into account the listed variables, Skye is aiming to dose the first subject in August. Reporting of study data. Skye expects to report preliminary topline data in Q4 2022, with final data to be reported in Q1 2023. "Glaucoma is still an inadequately treated disease that has lacked pharmacological innovation for decades. There is a need for new classes of therapeutics with differentiated mechanisms of action and we have strong conviction in the potential of our novel drug based on relevant independent research and our preclinical data," said Punit Dhillon, CEO and Chair of Skye. "This study will be the first time a novel cannabinoid prodrug will be topically delivered into human's eyes using a nanoemulsion formulation, and marks an important step in the development of SBI-100 Ophthalmic Emulsion to demonstrate the safety of this approach. Importantly, this study may also provide initial insights into this drug's effect on IOP. "In parallel, we aim to submit an investigational new drug (IND) application, which is not dependent upon Phase 1 data, with the FDA by year-end for our planned US-based Phase 2 in 2023 to assess efficacy and safety in patients with glaucoma." Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE: UHS) announced today that, due to a significant shortfall in operating results experienced during April and May of 2022, as compared to the comparable periods included in our previously provided annual operating results forecast, we are revising our forecast for the year ended December 31, 2022. Based upon our consolidated results of operations for April and May of 2022, we estimate that our adjusted net income attributable to UHS will approximate $2.05 to $2.15 per diluted share for the three-month period ended June 30, 2022. The lower than expected earnings projected for the second quarter of 2022 was due primarily to lower than expected patient volumes, revenues and income generated at our acute care hospitals. During April and May of 2022, our acute care hospitals experienced a significant decline in COVID-related patients, as compared to the first quarter of 2022. The decrease in COVID-related patient volumes during the second quarter of 2022 was not offset by an equivalent increase in non-COVID-related patients resulting in significant shortfalls in revenues and earnings as compared to our original forecasts for that period. Although the decreased patient volumes at our acute care hospitals has relieved some of the staffing shortages and related cost escalations previously experienced at those facilities, recovery from the effects of the labor pressures has been occurring at a somewhat slower pace than expected. During April and May of 2022, patient volumes, revenues and income generated at our behavioral health care facilities were also below our expectations. However, the shortfalls from internal expectations experienced within our behavioral health segment were relatively consistent with those experienced during the first quarter of 2022. In the announcement of our financial results for the first quarter of 2022 (as released on April 25, 2022), we indicated that, given the continued uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the healthcare staffing shortage and its unfavorable impact on our labor costs and behavioral health patient volumes, we may make reductions to our 2022 full year operating results forecast at a future date if the unfavorable operating trends experienced during the first quarter of 2022 did not improve. Based upon the operating trends and financial results experienced during April and May of 2022, as discussed above, along with our financial results for the first quarter of 2022, we are decreasing our guidance ranges for the year ended December 31, 2022 for each of the following: (i) net revenues; (ii) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation & amortization, and the impacts of other income/expense and net income attributable to noncontrolling interests ("Adjusted EBITDA, net of NCI"), and; (iii) adjusted net income attributable to UHS per diluted share ("Adjusted EPS-diluted"). The tables below include our revised 2022 operating results forecasts for the year ended December 31, 2022, as well as our original 2022 operating results forecast which was previously disclosed on February 24, 2022. Revised Forecast Original Forecast For the Year Ended For the Year Ended December 31, 2022 December 31, 2022 Low High Low High Net revenues $13.235 billion $13.371 billion $13.424 billion $13.694 billion Adjusted EBITDA, net of NCI $1.635 billion $1.712 billion $1.830 billion $1.927 billion Adjusted EPS - diluted $9.60 per share $10.40 per share $11.90 per share $12.90 per share (Consensus sees Q2 EPS of $2.79 on revenue of $3.32 billion and FY EPS Of $11.69 and FY revenue of $13.49 billion) Our revised 2022 forecasted net revenues are estimated to be approximately $13.235 billion to $13.371 billion, representing decreases of 1.4% to 2.4% as compared to our original 2022 forecasted net revenues. Our revised 2022 forecasted Adjusted EBITDA, net of NCI, is estimated to be approximately $1.635 billion to $1.712 billion, representing decreases of 10.7% to 11.2% as compared to our original 2022 forecasted Adjusted EBITDA, net of NCI. Our revised 2022 forecasted Adjusted EPS-diluted is estimated to be $9.60 per share to $10.40 per share, representing decreases of 19.3% as compared to our original 2022 forecasted Adjusted EPS-diluted. Our revised operating results forecast for the balance of 2022 assumes that staffing vacancies and the corresponding premium pay expenditures will continue to sequentially decline in the second half of the year and that non-COVID patient volumes will incrementally improve, although both at a slower pace than our original forecast anticipated. We believe these assumptions will be bolstered by our continuing recruitment and retention initiatives, by changes to our historical patient care models, by other cost cutting measures and by aggressive contractual negotiations and renegotiations with our managed care payers. In addition, during the second half of 2022, we also expect sequential improvement in startup losses incurred during the first half of 2022 at newly constructed and recently opened acute care and behavioral health hospitals. Included in our revised operating results forecast for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the original forecast, is a $28 million increase in depreciation and amortization expense which includes additional depreciation expense expected to be incurred at one of our acute care hospitals located in California on which a major renovation project has commenced. The renovation plans for this facility, which includes construction of a new seven-story tower, requires demolition of a significant portion of the existing building over the next few years. Adjusted EPS-diluted and Adjusted EBITDA net of NCI, are non-GAAP financial measures and should be examined in connection with net income determined in accordance with GAAP as presented in the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including our Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 and our Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. Please see the schedule of Supplemental Non-GAAP Disclosures - 2022 Revised Operating Results Forecast, as included herein for additional information and a reconciliation to the financial forecasts as computed in accordance with GAAP. In addition, the 2022 revised forecasted amounts exclude the impact of future items, if applicable, that are nonrecurring or non-operational in nature including items such as, pre-tax unrealized gains/losses resulting from changes in the market value of shares of certain marketable securities and other potential material items including, but not limited to, reserves for various matters including settlements, legal judgments and lawsuits, potential impacts of non-ordinary course acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures or other strategic transactions, costs related to extinguishment of debt, gains/losses on sales of assets and businesses, potential impairments of goodwill and long-lived and intangible assets, other amounts that may be reflected in the current financial statements that relate to prior periods, and the impact of share repurchases that differ from included assumptions. It is also subject to certain conditions including those as set forth below in General Information, Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors and Non-GAAP Financial Measures, including the likelihood that our future operations and financial results may continue to be materially impacted by developments related to COVID-19 and labor pressures caused by the nationwide shortage of nurses and other clinical staff and support personnel, as discussed herein. General Information, Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors and Non-GAAP Financial Measures: One of the nation's largest and most respected providers of hospital and healthcare services, Universal Health Services, Inc. has built an impressive record of achievement and performance. Growing steadily since our inception into an esteemed Fortune 500 corporation, our annual revenues during 2021 were approximately $12.6 billion. In 2022, UHS was again recognized as one of the World's Most Admired Companies by Fortune; ranked #297 on the Fortune 500; and in 2021, ranked #307 on Forbes' list of America's Largest Public Companies. Our operating philosophy is as effective today as it was upon the Company's founding in 1979, enabling us to provide compassionate care to our patients and their loved ones. Our strategy includes building or acquiring high quality hospitals in rapidly growing markets, investing in the people and equipment needed to allow each facility to thrive, and becoming the leading healthcare provider in each community we serve. Headquartered in King of Prussia, PA, UHS has over 89,000 employees and through its subsidiaries operates 28 acute care hospitals, 336 behavioral health facilities, 41 outpatient facilities and ambulatory care access points, an insurance offering, a physician network and various related services located in 39 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. It acts as the advisor to Universal Health Realty Income Trust, a real estate investment trust (NYSE: UHT). For additional information visit www.uhs.com. FILE PHOTO: The new GM logo is seen on the facade of the General Motors headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., March 16, 2021. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo By Aditi Shah NEW DELHI/SHANGHAI (Reuters) -General Motors (GM) said on Friday it had called off the sale of a shuttered Indian plant to China's Great Wall Motor after they failed to obtain regulatory approvals, amid a tougher stance by New Delhi towards investments from Beijing. GM struck a deal in January 2020 to sell the plant to Great Wall, with the Chinese SUV-maker expected to pay up to $300 million as part of a broader plan to invest $1 billion to establish a presence in India's growing car market. The agreement, which was extended twice, expired on June 30. "We have been unable to obtain the required approvals within the time frame of the deal," George Svigos, executive director of communications at GM International, told Reuters. "Our strategy in India remains unchanged and we will now explore further options for the sale of the site," he said, adding the company "hopes to achieve a price that reflects the value of the asset". "Great Wall Motor will keep its attention to the Indian market in the future and continue looking for new opportunities," the Chinese automaker said in a statement on Friday, while confirming the termination of the plant deal. The Indian government did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. GM's deal with Great Wall was agreed just months before India toughened its stance in April 2020 on investment from neighbouring countries including China, making them the first major casualty of the move that has held up billions of dollars of capital inflow in sectors such as automobiles and technology. This was part of a broader crackdown by India on businesses with Chinese links amid worsening diplomatic relations. Separately, New Delhi also banned more than 300 Chinese mobile apps, including TikTok, over security concerns. "It is hoped that the relevant countries will properly honor their commitment to openness and cooperation and provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for foreign investors, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Reuters when asked to comment on the matter. The move draws a line under a more than two-year effort by GM and Great Wall, forcing the U.S. firm to restart its hunt for a buyer while it continues to spend money on maintaining some machinery and tooling in the factory. Asked if the plant could be used to make electric vehicles, Svigos said it was suitable for a number of industrial uses, including by non-automotive companies, and GM would explore all options. GM, which stopped selling cars in India at the end of 2017, has already sold its other plant to SAIC Motor Corp, where the Chinese automaker builds cars under its British brand, MG Motor. This will also send Great Wall back to the drawing board on its plans to enter India, which it considered an important part of its global strategy to break into new markets like Latin America, Thailand and Brazil. Last year, Great Wall re-allocated to Brazil a portion of its $1-billion investment earmarked for India and reassigned some of its staff after delays in winning government approvals. (Reporting by Aditi Shah, Zhang Yan, Martin PollardEditing by Mark Potter and Kim Coghill) Files Petition for Review with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Will Argue SEC Violated Administrative Procedure Act and Securities Exchange Act of 1934 NEW YORK, June 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grayscale Investments, the worlds largest digital currency asset manager, today announced that its Senior Legal Strategist, former U.S. Solicitor General, and partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson, Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., filed a petition for review with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on behalf of Grayscale challenging the decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to deny conversion of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) (OTCQX: GBTC) to a spot Bitcoin ETF*. Since 2013, Grayscale has worked to build the worlds largest Bitcoin investment vehicle: GBTC. Grayscale has voluntarily filed registration statements with the SEC that have increased information available to investors, and subjected these products to increased SEC oversight. Grayscale has also worked proactively for years to provide investors with full disclosures and risk factors about GBTC and its expansive crypto investment product family. Grayscale supports and believes in the SECs mandate to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets and facilitate capital formation -- and we are deeply disappointed by and vehemently disagree with the SEC's decision to continue to deny spot Bitcoin ETFs from coming to the U.S. market, said Michael Sonnenshein, Grayscales CEO. Through the ETF application review process, we believe American investors overwhelmingly voiced a desire to see GBTC convert to a spot Bitcoin ETF, which would unlock billions of dollars of investor capital while bringing the worlds largest Bitcoin fund further into the U.S. regulatory perimeter. We will continue to leverage the full resources of the firm to advocate for our investors and the equitable regulatory treatment of Bitcoin investment vehicles. As Grayscale and the team at Davis Polk & Wardwell have outlined, the SEC is failing to apply consistent treatment to similar investment vehicles, and is therefore acting arbitrarily and capriciously in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, added Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., Grayscale Senior Legal Strategist and former U.S. Solicitor General. There is a compelling, common-sense argument here, and we look forward to resolving this matter productively and expeditiously. Grayscales comment letter campaign during the 240-day review period resulted in record-breaking 11,400+ total submissions to the SEC, with over 99.0 percent demonstrating support for the conversion. *We use the generic term ETF to refer to exchange-traded investment vehicles, including those that are required to register under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 40 Act), as well as other exchange-traded products which are not subject to the registration requirements of the 40 Act. About Grayscale Investments Grayscale enables investors to access the digital economy through a family of secure, regulated, and future-forward investment products. Founded in 2013, Grayscale has a proven track record and deep expertise as the worlds largest digital currency asset manager. Investors, advisors, and allocators turn to Grayscales private placements, public quotations, and ETFs for single asset, diversified, and thematic exposure. Grayscale products are distributed by Genesis Global Trading, Inc. (Member FINRA/SIPC, MSRB Registered) or Foreside Fund Services, LLC. For more information, please follow @Grayscale or visit grayscale.com. Media Contact Jennifer Rosenthal [email protected] Washington, D.C., June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a blockbuster 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) sweeping claim of regulatory authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA). The Court stated that EPA could not satisfy the major questions doctrine nor point to clear congressional authorization to devise carbon emissions limits. The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, filed an amicus brief in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, supporting the Petitioner States challenge against EPA. EPA argued that its statutory authority should be read broadly, and that the CAA grants the agency a license to order the wholesale restructuring of the power industry in order to address climate-change concerns. But the Court held that any such major restructuring implicates the major questions doctrineunder which Congress is presumed not to have authorized major regulatory activity unless it has issued a clear statement to that effect. The Court noted that the CAA includes no such clear statement. Writing for the six-justice majority, Chief Justice Roberts said, it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme in Section 111(d). A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body. In his concurrence, Justice Gorsuch wrote that the Court applies the major questions doctrine when interpreting federal statutes, in part because doing so ensures that all legislative power is exercised by Congress, not by unaccountable federal bureaucratswho are not authorized by the Constitution to exercise Congresss legislative power. Gorsuchs concurrence cites NCLA founder and CEO Philip Hamburgers work three times. NCLAs amicus brief argued that the essence of the American Republic is that the people are bound only by laws enacted by their representatives. The major questions doctrine, a canon of statutory interpretation that secures this fundamental freedom holds that Congress must make major national policy decisions, not by administrative agencies. The Court correctly held that decarbonization of the energy industry is a major policy decision that Congress has not expressly made. NCLA commends the Court for its decision but is concerned that the major questions doctrines reasoning might be misused by lower courts to decide that Congress may divest its legislative power if it does so knowingly and expressly. The majority opinion contains no such suggestion, but neither does it expressly disavow Congresss authority to divest legislative power. When enacting the Constitution, the people gave to Congress, and Congress alone, the power to legislate, most centrally the power to make binding rulesthose limiting their liberty. The major questions doctrine is a clear-statement principle to enforce the over-arching constitutional principle that Congress should not readily be interpreted to have delegated its legislative power. But when Congress does act knowingly and expressly, the doctrine must not in any way be deemed to authorize divesting massive legislative power. NCLA released the following statements: The court reached the right outcome, but on strange reasoning. It seems to be saying: If Congress is going to violate the Constitution (by divesting massive legislative power), it must do so knowingly and clearly. As if that somehow would be a cure! Philip Hamburger, Chief Executive Officer, NCLA The Court agreed with NCLA that Congress did not grant EPA authority to restructure the entire power industry. And we are gratified that Justice Gorsuchs concurring opinion emphasized a point on which NCLAs amicus brief focused: if Congress through the Clean Air Act really had granted EPA the unbounded authority to regulate energy production it was asserting, the legislation would have violated the Constitutions mandate that all legislative power must be exercised by Congress. Rich Samp, Senior Litigation Counsel, NCLA At heart, this decision is a victory for democracy: the major decisions affecting peoples lives are to be made by the peoples representatives in Congress, not by unelected bureaucrats. Just in time for the anniversary of our nations freedom, the Court has gifted the American people a renewal of their democracy. Brian Rosner, Senior Litigation Counsel, NCLA For more information, visit the amicus brief page here. 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. ### Judy Pino New Civil Liberties Alliance 202-869-5218 [email protected] Source: New Civil Liberties Alliance BEVERLY, Mass., June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LexaGene Holdings, Inc., (OTCQB: LXXGF; TSX-V: LXG) (LexaGene or the Company) announces, further to its news release on June 28, 2022, the Company has been granted a management cease trade order (MCTO) under National Policy 12-203 Management Cease Trade Orders (NP 12-203) imposed against certain insiders of the Company, precluding them from trading securities of the Company. The MCTO will be in effect until the Companys annual financial statements for the year ended February 28, 2022, its related managements discussion and analysis and CEO and CFO certifications (collectively, the Annual Canadian Financial Filings) are filed on or before August 29, 2022. The Company is working on the audit and related procedures required to complete the Annual Canadian Financial Filings, and expects to be able to file the Annual Canadian Financial Filings within the next five to six weeks. The Company will provide updates as further information relating to the Annual Canadian Financial Filings becomes available. The Company confirms that it will satisfy the provisions of the alternative information guidelines under NP 12-203 by issuing bi-weekly default status reports in the form of news releases for so long as it remains in default of the above-noted filing requirements. The Company confirms that there is no other material information relating to its affairs that has not been generally disclosed. Other than as disclosed herein, the Company is up to date in its filing obligations. To learn more about LexaGene and the MiQLab System or subscribe to company updates, visit www.lexagene.com, or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn. For inquiries: 800.215.1824 | [email protected] or [email protected] On Behalf of the Board of Directors Dr. Jack Regan Chief Executive Officer & Chairman Investors: [email protected]800.215.1824 About LexaGene Holdings Inc. LexaGene is a molecular diagnostics company that develops molecular diagnostic systems for pathogen detection and genetic testing for other molecular markers for on-site rapid testing in veterinary diagnostics, food safety and for use in open-access markets such as clinical research, agricultural testing, and biodefense. End-users simply need to collect a sample, load it onto the instrument with a sample preparation cartridge, enter sample ID and press go. The MiQLab system delivers excellent sensitivity, specificity, and breadth of detection and can return results in approximately two hours. The unique open access feature is designed for custom testing so that end-users can load their own real-time PCR assays onto the instrument to target any genetic target of interest. The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains forward-looking information, which involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectation. Important factors -- including the availability of funds, the results of financing efforts, the success of technology development efforts, the cost to procure critical parts, performance of the instrument, market acceptance of the technology, regulatory acceptance, and licensing issues -- that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations as disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time to time on SEDAR (see www.sedar.com). Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The company disclaims any intention or obligation, except to the extent required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Source: LexaGene Holdings Inc Washington, D.C., June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The New Civil Liberties Alliance and Latham & Watkins have authored an opening brief on behalf of Michelle Cochran in the much-anticipated Supreme Court case, SEC v. Michelle Cochran, which will determine whether federal district courts have jurisdiction to hear structural constitutional objections to administrative proceedings. Ms. Cochran, a CPA from Dallas, TX, is challenging the constitutionality of the Securities and Exchange Commissions (SEC) in-house Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) and requests that her case be heard before a real Article III federal court that is competent to decide the claims at issue. Ms. Cochrans specific objection is that ALJs are executive officers insulated from accountability by multiple layers of protection from removal by the Presidenta regime the Supreme Court has deemed to violate Article II of the Constitution, which vests executive power in the President and charges him with a duty to take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed. First charged by SEC in 2016, Cochran has already endured one full trial before an unconstitutional ALJ that has since been voided. SEC employees play judge, jury, and prosecutor in agency proceedings, so unsurprisingly, the agency wins the vast majority of the cases it brings in house. SECs administrative proceedings can take such a crushing personal, financial, and reputational toll that most targets are forced to settle, even if they protest their innocence profusely. The general jurisdiction that Congress granted district courts is a vital safeguard for individuals seeking to enforce their constitutional rights against the government. But in this case, SEC has tried to block federal court jurisdiction, insisting that Congress, in passing the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, implicitly blocked its administrative proceedings from any judicial scrutiny until the SEC has decided to conclude themwhen it is too late to vindicate Ms. Cochrans right to avoid undergoing an unconstitutional adjudication. In the SECs illogical view, those caught up in the agencys machinery must endure years of proceedingssuperintended by the very official they claim is unconstitutionally unaccountablebefore they may set foot inside a federal courthouse. This notion makes no senseno one should have to undergo an unconstitutional adjudication that is predestined to be set aside once challenged in court afterward. When Ms. Cochran filed suit in January 2019, five federal courts of appeal had permitted SECs backward regime. In December 2021, the Fifth Circuit sitting en banc ruled in Ms. Cochrans favor and correctly rejected SECs troubling theory of implicit jurisdiction-stripping, thus creating a circuit split. NCLA and Latham & Watkins argue that the Fifth Circuits judgment should be affirmed, and that the Supreme Courts analysis can beginand endwith a straightforward reading of the statutory text and structure, which does not say a word about divesting district courts of jurisdiction over structural constitutional challenges to administrative proceedings. NCLAs lead counsel on the case, Peggy Little, successfully argued it before the en banc Fifth Circuit. Latham & Watkins partner Greg Garre, a former Solicitor General of the United States, is Counsel of Record at the U.S. Supreme Court. He will present oral argument for Ms. Cochran there later this year. NCLA and Latham & Watkins released the following statements: The Fifth Circuit correctly ruled that neither the text nor the structure of the Exchange Act stripped federal courts of their duty to protect individuals from unconstitutional agency action. The Supreme Court should affirm that landmark decision course-correcting at least six errant circuit courts that flouted Supreme Court precedent. Peggy Little, Senior Litigation Counsel, NCLA As explained in our brief, the SECs implicit jurisdiction-stripping theory has no basis in the statutory text, Supreme Court precedent, or common sense. And it unjustly deprives individuals like Michelle Cochran from access to one of the most important bulwarks against unconstitutional governmental actionfederal district courts. The Supreme Court has previously recognized the importance of upholding immediate judicial review in this precise context, and it should do so again here. Gregory G. Garre, Partner, Latham & Watkins For far too long, SEC has wielded its flawed theory of implicit jurisdiction-stripping to close federal district courts and force targets like Ms. Cochran to endure unconstitutional administrative proceedings. Times up for SEC and its unlawful ALJs. This case will ensure federal courts are available to vindicate constitutional rights. Mark Chenoweth, President and General Counsel, NCLA For more information visit the case page here or watch the case video here. 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. ### Judy Pino New Civil Liberties Alliance 202-869-5218 [email protected] Source: New Civil Liberties Alliance Toronto, Ontario, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Halcones Precious Metals Inc. (Halcones) and Pinehurst Capital II Inc. (TSXV: PINH.P) ("Pinehurst") are pleased to announce that Halcones has closed a non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") of units (the "Units"). The Offering follows the closing of Halcones subscription receipt offering (please see Pinehursts press release dated June 24, 2022 for further details). Under the Offering, Halcones issued an aggregate of 713,334 Units at a price of $0.30 per Unit (the "Issue Price") for gross proceeds of $214,000. Each Unit is comprised of one common share of Halcones (a Halcones Common Share) and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a Halcones Warrant). Each Halcones Warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one Halcones Common Share at a price of $0.40 for a period of 24 months following the date hereof. As previously announced, on January 25, 2022, Halcones and Pinehurst entered into an amalgamation agreement, as amended on May 20, 2022 (the Amalgamation Agreement) setting out the terms of the reverse take-over of Pinehurst by the shareholders of Halcones by way of a three-cornered amalgamation with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pinehurst incorporated under the laws of the Province of Ontario (the RTO). Pinehurst, as the resulting issuer following the completion of the RTO (the Resulting Issuer), will continue the business of Halcones under the name Pinehurst Precious Metals Corp. or such other name as determined by Halcones. Each Halcones Common Share and each Halcones Warrant will be immediately exchanged for one common share of Pinehurst and one common share purchase warrant of Pinehurst (each on a post-Consolidation basis). Pursuant to the Amalgamation Agreement, prior to completing the RTO, Pinehurst common shares shall be consolidated on the basis of 0.4716981 post-consolidation Pinehurst common shares for each one pre-consolidation Pinehurst common share (the Consolidation). All securities issued under the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period of four-months and one-day. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering for the exploration of the Carachapampa project in Chile and for working capital and general corporate purposes. For further information, please contact: David Rosenkrantz Pinehurst Capital II Inc., CEO e: [email protected] p: 416-865-0123 Lawrence Guy Halcones Precious Metals Inc., Director e: [email protected] p: 416-930-7660 Cautionary Notes This press release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, forward-looking statements) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this press 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 press release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: the Offering and certain terms and conditions thereof; the use of proceeds from the Offering, and corporate and regulatory approvals. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; and the delay or failure to receive shareholder, director or regulatory approvals. 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 the forward-looking statements and information contained in this press release. Except as required by law, Halcones assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change. The TSXV has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The securities referenced herein have not been, nor will be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from U.S. registration requirements. This release does not constitute an offer for sale of securities in the United States. Source: Pinehurst Capital II Inc. NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif., June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pinnacle Mergers and Acquisitions represented both the buyer and seller in the sale of Ocean Honda of North Hollywood. Owned by Victory Automotive Group, it changed ownership on June 22, when Joe Shuster and Ted Bessen purchased the dealership now known as Honda of North Hollywood. Bill Scrivner, founder and CEO of Pinnacle, represented the buyers in the transaction and said, "It was a pleasure working with Joe Shuster and Ted Bessen once again. We represented Joe and Ted in the sale of Honda in Downtown LA in 2020. That transaction took three years to complete because of a construction project that was going on in the middle of the buy-sell process. We all got to know each other very well during those three years, so Pinnacle was proud to help Joe and Ted get back into the Honda business in 2022." Mike Sims, President of Pinnacle Mergers and Acquisitions, represented the seller, Victory Automotive Group. Victory Automotive Group celebrated 25 years of business in 2022 and is the 14th largest dealer group in the United States with 49+ locations nationwide. Pinnacle has represented Victory in more than 10 previous transactions. Pinnacle Mergers and Acquisitions, a nationwide automotive dealership brokerage firm out of Frisco, Texas, has assisted in the sale of other dealerships in southern California, including Rock Honda of Fontana, Long Beach Toyota, Hyundai and Chevrolet in Long Beach, Audi of Calabasas, Mercedes-Benz of Encino, Lexus of Mission Viejo, and W.I. Simonson Mercedes-Benz of Santa Monica, to name a few. About Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions has decades of experience facilitating successful sell-side and buy-side auto dealership brokerage transactions. The experience we have gained over the last 29 years and 700-plus transactions, as intermediaries, for those who want to buy a car dealership or place a new car dealership for sale, is unparalleled in the industry. Learn more at PinnacleMergers.com. For more information, contact [email protected]. Related Images Image 1: Pinnacle Mergers and Acquisitions North Hollywood Honda Dealership Sells This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Pinnacle Mergers and Acquisitions Pinnacle Mergers and Acquisitions Source: Pinnacle Mergers and Acquisitions NEW YORK, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Priority Bicycles, leaders in low-maintenance bicycles, announces the Cruise the Coast summer tour designed to allow residents and vacationers to experience its market-leading, Gates belt-driven coastal beach cruiser first-hand in its natural habitat. In partnership with Gates Carbon Drive, the Cruise the Coast branded van and trailer will make over 40 stops up and down the East Coast with a complete demo fleet of its innovative, beach-ready cruiser - the Coast. "Beachgoers have believed that cruisers are synonymous with a heavy, rusty, dirty experience, but this tour is all about showing people in these communities that there is a better option," says Connor Swegle, CMO of Priority Bicycles. "There is nothing better than when people hop on a Priority Coast with a Gates Carbon Drive for the first time and feel how light, smooth, and durable it is. The tour is an investment, but as an online brand, we can have a big impact bringing the Priority and Gates experience into the communities where our riders live and play." With 42 stops across 15 states, the tour kicked off in Burlington Vermont, with events at lifestyle locations and key Priority Bicycles partners including Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, DE; Drifters Bike Rental in St. Augustine, FL; Good Pedals in Panama City Beach, FL; the Coquina Surf Jam in Brant Beach, NJ; and at Priority Bicycles' hotel fleet partners - The Loutrel in Charleston, SC and Esme Hotel in Miami. Full tour and event schedule is available here. "Priority is the leading belt drive bicycle manufacturer in North America with a full line of bicycles built around our Gates Carbon Drive belts, and we are excited to help spread the word of Priority's low maintenance bikes on what will surely be a fun, interactive summer tour," says Joe Menzel, Vice President - Global Mobility at Gates Corporation. "First-hand test rides will allow for folks to experience that 'aha moment' and will surely bring a new understanding to what it means to ride a beach cruiser that is 100% built for the beach." The Priority Coast bicycle model is at the core of the Cruise the Coast tour, featuring the smooth-riding, grease-free Gates Carbon Drive belt over a traditional metal chain, a rustproof aluminum frame and fork, fully sealed internal hub, stainless steel bearings, and a slew of details designed to cruise beach boardwalks and beyond. Complementing the summer tour, test riders, passersby, and online viewers from afar can participate in promotional Cruise the Coast giveaways. Details on the online promotion are available online and will roll out on social channels throughout the tour. Watch the Cruise The Coast Summer Tour video here. Priority Bicycles Media Contact: Akimbo Communications, Casey Raymer, [email protected] Related Images Image 1: Priority Bicycles Cruise The Coast Tour Cruise the Coast Tour This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Priority Bicycles Cruise The Coast Tour Priority Bicycles Cruise The Coast Tour Source: Priority Bicycles PORTLAND, Maine, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rarebreed Veterinary Partners, a thriving community of veterinary hospitals whose goal is to deliver exceptional patient care, outstanding client service, and an amazing employee experience, announced the acquisition of Massachusetts-based veterinary group Vet's Best Friend (VBF). The deal adds 47 locations to Rarebreed's 71-practice community, making it one of the largest practice groups in the country. The company will be headquartered in Portland, Maine, and is majority backed by Revelstoke Capital Partners. The combined company is one of the most well-capitalized veterinary health platforms in the U.S., positioned for rapid future expansion through acquisition and building veterinary hospitals. Sean Miller, COO, commented, "The acquisition of VBF represents a major milestone for Rarebreed and the veterinary community. Our goal has always been to reimagine the veterinary experience by creating a working environment where team members feel supported, valued, heard and happy to come to work every day. As we strengthen our community, in a measured and thoughtful way, the closer we are to reaching that goal." VBF CEO Jeff Wilson added, "I am very excited to begin our relationship with Rarebreed. Vet's Best Friend and Rarebreed are similar mission-based organizations that are highly focused on our people. By joining together, we will be able to accelerate our mission throughout the veterinary industry." Rarebreed and VBF share a common purpose: to take care of the people who take care of pets. We believe that when you take care of your team, excellent patient care will follow. Both companies reject the one-size-fits-all partnership model, instead working with hospital owners to create a relationship that works for them. The combined company, which includes general practice, urgent care, and specialty emergency hospitals, will work to create a broad network that values healthcare teams and offers the innovation and cutting-edge technology necessary to expand, improve, and optimize service. "We are thrilled to welcome the VBF team to Rarebreed," said Dan Espinal, CEO. "Their vision to take care of the people who take care of our pets mirrors our own. Together we will be able to positively impact the lives of more veterinary team members from Florida to the northeast corner of Maine. I look forward to working together to improve medical outcomes, bettering the lives of veterinary healthcare teams." ## About Rarebreed Rarebreed is the industry-leading technology-enabled operator of veterinary practices to create the employer of choice, one partnership or team member at a time. We pride ourselves on building trusted, lasting relationships with our partner hospitals, with goals to provide top-notch patient care, world-class client service, and an unparalleled work experience. We continue to build a broad network of practices that values healthcare teams by offering them the tools necessary to grow, improve, and reimagine the veterinary experience. For more information, visit www.rarebreedvet.com. About Vet's Best Friend Vet's Best Friend acquired and operated veterinary practices with a singular mission to take care of the people who take care of our pets. http://vetsbestfriend.com Rarebreed is the registered service mark of Rarebreed Veterinary Partners. For further information: Media Contact Sarah MillsDirector of Marketing & CommunicationsRarebreed Veterinary Partners[email protected] This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Source: Rarebreed Veterinary Partners COLLINGWOOD, Ontario, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Limestone Boat Company (the Company) (TSXV: BOAT | OTCQB: LMSBF) owner and builder of Aquasport Boats, Limestone Boats and Boca Bay Boats announced today that its board of directors has approved the grant of an aggregate of 4,745,000 stock options (each, an "Option") to certain directors, officers, employees of the Company in accordance with the Company's omnibus equity incentive plan. Each Option will be exercisable into one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Share") at a price of $0.12 per Share for a period of five years from the date of the grant. This Option grant makes up part of the compensation and retention incentives anticipated by the Company's omnibus equity incentive plan. For the first time since acquiring Ebbtide Holdings LLC in May of 2021, the Company expects to grant Options to members of the leadership team, as well as to floor supervisors, managers, and direct labour in the Companys Tennessee manufacturing operations. Options are also expected to be granted to members of the Board of Directors in lieu of cash compensation in calendar year 2021. No such Options will be granted to the Chief Executive Officer or Chair of the Company. About The Limestone Boat Company LimitedThe Limestone Boat Company owner and builder of Aquasport Boats, Limestone Boats and Boca Bay Boats - is publicly traded on the Toronto Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol BOAT and on the U.S.-based OTCQB Venture Market under the ticker symbol LMSBF. They are headquartered in Collingwood, Ontario with a 145,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in White Bluff, Tennessee. The company is backed by a large, skilled labor force and dealer partners throughout the United States and the Canadian Great Lakes Region. For more information, contact: Bill Mitoulas | Investor Relations800-720-2395[email protected]www.limestoneboatcompany.com Source: The Limestone Boat Company Limited For immediate release 30 June 2022 Serabi Gold plc (Serabi or the Company) Unaudited interim results for the three month period ended 31 March 2022 Serabi Gold plc (AIM:SRB, TSX: SBI), the Brazilian focused gold mining and development company, today releases its unaudited results for the three month period ended 31 March 2022. A copy of the full interim statements together with commentary can be accessed on the Companys website using the following link https://bit.ly/3A9o7VPo7VP Financial Highlights Post tax profit of US$1.73 million a small decrease compared with 2021(US$1.91 million) Earnings per share of 2.28 cents compared with 2.96 cents for the same three month period of 2021. EBITDA of US$2.05 million (2021: US$4.8 million) reflects US$2.9 million revenue reduction following lower than forecast production levels Net cash outflow from operations (after mine development capital of US$1.1million) of US2.5 million (2021: US$4.7 million inflow). Net cash and cash equivalents of US$6.9 million (31 December 2021: US$12.2 million) Average gold price of US$1,844 per ounce received on gold sales during the period. (2021: US$1,763) Cash Cost for the three month period of US$1,483 per ounce (2021 full year: US$1,090 per ounce) All-In Sustaining Cost for the three month period of US$1,810 per ounce (2021 full year: US$1,429 per ounce) US$5.0 million unsecured loan twelve month taken out in May 2022 to provide additional short term working capital. Key Financial Information SUMMARY FINANCIAL STATISTICS 3 months to 31 March 2022 US$ 3 months to 31 March 2021 US$ Revenue 12,885,020 15,828,812 Cost of sales (9,273,472) (8,976,167) Gross operating profit 3,611,548 6,852,645 Administration and share based payments (1,559,142) (2,050,291) EBITDA 2,052,406 4,802,354 Depreciation and amortisation charges (1,171,888) (1,163,802) Operating profit / (loss) before finance and tax 880,518 3,638,552 Profit / (loss) after tax 1,729,603 1,906,906 Earnings per ordinary share (basic) 2.28c 2.96c Average gold price received (US$/oz) US$1,844 US$1,763 As at 31 March 2022 US$ As at 31 December 2021 US$ Cash and cash equivalents 6,932,625 12,217,751 Net assets 90,586,685 79,885,501 Cash Cost and All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) 3 months to 31 March 2022 12 months to 31 December 2021 Gold production for cash cost and AISC purposes 7,061 ozs 33,848 ozs Total Cash Cost of production (per ounce) US$1,438 US$1,090 Total AISC of production (per ounce) US$1,810 US$1,429 Clive Line, CFO of Serabi commented, Post tax profit for the period at US$1.7 million was down 10% on the result for the same period of 2021 reflecting the 13% reduction in gold production achieved in the quarter and the 20% reduction in ounces sold with 6,675 ounces sold in the period compared with 8,346 in the same quarter of 2021. A sale that had been scheduled for this first quarter was delayed in its shipping date and would have otherwise provided an additional US$2.0 million of revenue in the quarter. This revenue will be recognised in the second quarter. Combined with production for April and May of 2022 totalling almost 5,900 ounces and with continuing excellent progress being made on the development of Coringa we are therefore expecting a strong result for the second quarter of the year. Lower production has also impacted the cash cost and AISC for the period. Had initial average production guidance been achieved (9,500 ounces per quarter) the comparable figures could have been approximately US$1,070 and US$1,345 per ounce respectively. With improved production levels in the second quarter, it would be expected that these average unit production costs will reduce. The acquisition of additional mining fleet has been a major objective for the first part of the year. US$2.0 million of new fleet has been acquired in the first 6 months either as outright purchase or through supplier finance arrangements and all of the mobile mining fleet that had been identified as being required is now on site and operational. Two new underground drill rigs are being delivered in the coming weeks and will boost the efficiency of the underground resource and mine planning drill programmes. In May 2022, we completed a 12-month unsecured loan for US$5 million with one of the major Brazilian banks. This additional working capital offsets the unexpected reduction in revenue and cash for the first quarter of 2022 and, whilst we are continuing to restrict some discretionary expenditure to offset the lower revenues anticipated for the rest of the year, this should allow the Company to continue its progress with the development of Coringa until such time as the longer-term funding for the main project development and site construction is in place. The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. . The person who arranged the release of this statement on behalf of the Company was Clive Line, Director. Enquiries: Serabi Gold plc Michael Hodgson Tel: +44 (0)20 7246 6830 Chief Executive Mobile: +44 (0)7799 473621 Clive Line Tel: +44 (0)20 7246 6830 Finance Director Mobile: +44 (0)7710 151692 Email: [email protected] Website: www.serabigold.com Beaumont Cornish Limited Nominated Adviser and Financial Adviser Roland Cornish / Michael Cornish Tel: +44 (0)20 7628 3396 Peel Hunt LLP Joint UK Broker Ross Allister / Alexander Allen Tel: +44 (0)20 7418 9000 Tamesis Partners LLP Joint UK Broker Charlie Bendon / Richard Greenfield Tel: +44 (0)20 3882 2868 Camarco Financial PR Gordon Poole / Emily Hall Tel: +44(0) 20 3757 4980 Copies of this announcement are available from the Company's website at www.serabigold.com. Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange, nor any other securities regulatory authority, has approved or disapproved of the contents of this announcement. The following information, comprising, the Income Statement, the Group Balance Sheet, Group Statement of Changes in Shareholders Equity, and Group Cash Flow, is extracted from the unaudited interim financial statements for the three months to 31 March 2022. Statement of Comprehensive Income For the three month period ended 31 March 2022 For the three months ended 31 March 2022 2021 (expressed in US$) Notes (unaudited) (unaudited) CONTINUING OPERATIONS Revenue 12,885,020 15,828,812 Cost of Sales (9,273,472) (8,976,167) Depreciation and amortisation charges (1,171,888) (1,163,802) Total cost of sales (10,445,360) (10,139,969) Gross profit 2,439,660 5,688,843 Administration expenses (1,445,953) (1,992,594) Share-based payments (112,125) (68,100) Gain on sales of assets disposal (1,064) 10,403 Operating profit 880,518 3,638,552 Foreign exchange loss 176,586 19,014 Finance expense 2 (1,839) (65,543) Finance income 2 104,780 Profit before taxation 1,160,045 3,592,023 Income and other tax income/(charges) 3 569,558 (1,685,117) Profit after taxation 1,729,603 1,906,906 Other comprehensive income (net of tax) Exchange differences on translating foreign operations 8,859,456 (3,472,358) Total comprehensive profit /(loss) for the period(1) 10,589,059 (1,565,452) Profit per ordinary share (basic) 4 2.28c 2.96c Profit per ordinary share (diluted) 4 2.25c 2.85c (1) The Group has no non-controlling interests, and all losses are attributable to the equity holders of the parent company. Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2022 (expressed in US$) As at 31 March 2022 (unaudited) As at 31 March 2021 (unaudited As at 31 December 2021 (audited) Non-current assets Deferred exploration costs 41,624,903 28,715,969 34,857,905 Property, plant and equipment 30,748,907 23,755,812 27,575,335 Right of use assets 4,481,942 3,009,604 2,600,631 Deferred taxation 1,456,454 579,878 1,224,360 Taxes receivable 824,172 1,169,621 605,125 Total non-current assets 79,136,378 57,230,884 66,863,356 Current assets Inventories 10,271,853 6,243,802 6,973,207 Trade and other receivables 3,247,685 5,709,937 2,307,458 Prepayments and accrued income 3,592,942 1,195,793 2,316,669 Cash and cash equivalents 6,932,625 15,945,065 12,217,751 Total current assets 24,045,105 29,094,597 23,815,085 Current liabilities Trade and other payables 6,860,327 6,333,201 5,624,511 Interest bearing liabilities 769,698 3,825,290 290,060 Accruals 378,868 290,058 397,400 Total current liabilities 8,008,893 10,448,549 6,311,971 Net current assets 16,036,212 18,646,048 17,503,114 Total assets less current liabilities 95,172,590 75,876,932 84,366,470 Non-current liabilities Trade and other payables 499,042 83,838 427,663 Interest bearing liabilities 935,698 669,688 444,950 Deferred tax liability 998,092 861,430 Derivative financial liabilities 60,175 165,495 Provisions 3,090,450 1,314,548 2,581,431 Total non-current liabilities 4,585,905 3,066,166 4,480,969 Net assets 90,586,685 72,810,766 79,885,501 Equity Share capital 11,213,618 11,213,618 11,213,618 Share premium reserve 36,158,068 36,158,068 36,158,068 Option reserve 1,187,473 1,241,144 1,075,348 Other reserves 14,114,049 11,145,669 13,694,731 Translation reserve (59,788,714) (67,477.316) (68,648,170) Retained surplus 87,702,191 80,529,583 86,391,906 Equity shareholders funds 90,586,685 72,810,766 79,885,501 The interim financial information has not been audited and does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in Section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. Whilst the financial information included in this announcement has been compiled in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) this announcement itself does not contain sufficient financial information to comply with IFRS. The Group statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021 prepared in accordance with international accounting standards in conformity with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The auditors report on these accounts was unqualified. The auditors report did not contain a statement under Section 498 (2) or 498 (3) of the Companies Act 2006. Statements of Changes in Shareholders Equity For the three month period ended 31 March 2022 (expressed in US$) (unaudited) Share capital Share premium Share option reserve Other reserves (1) Translation reserve Retained Earnings Total equity Equity shareholders funds at 31 December 2020 8,905,116 21,905,976 1,173,044 10,254,048 (64,004,958) 79,514,298 57,747,524 Foreign currency adjustments (3,472,358) (3,472,358) Profit for the period 1,906,906 1,906,906 Total comprehensive income for the period (3,472,358) 1,906,906 (2,699,842) Shares issued in the period 2,308,502 14,252,092 16,560,594 Transfer to taxation reserve 891,621 (891,621) Share option expense 68,100 68,100 Equity shareholders funds at 31 March 2021 11,213,618 36,158,068 1,241,144 11,145,669 (67,477,316) 80,529,583 72,810,766 Foreign currency adjustments (1,170 ,854) (1,170 ,854) Profit for the period 8,043,058 8,043,058 Total comprehensive income for the period (1,170 ,854) 8,043,058 6,872,204 Transfer to taxation reserve 2,549,062 (2,549,062) Share options exercised in period (368,327) 368,327 Share option expense 202,531 202,531 Equity shareholders funds at 31 December 2021 11,213,618 36,158,068 1,075,348 13,694,731 (68,648,170) 86,391,906 79,885,501 Foreign currency adjustments 8,859,456 8,859,456 Profit for the period 1,729,603 1,729,603 Total comprehensive income for the period 8,859,456 1,729,603 10,589,059 Transfer to taxation reserve 419,318 (419,318) Share option expense 112,125 112,125 Equity shareholders funds at 31 March 2022 11,213,618 36,158,068 1,187,473 14,114,049 (59,788,714) (87,702,191) 90,586,685 (1) Other reserves comprise a merger reserve of US$361,461 and a taxation reserve of US$13,752,588 (31 December 2021: merger reserve of US$361,461 and a taxation reserve of US$13,333,270). Cash Flow Statement For the three month period ended 31 March 2022 For the three months ended 31 March 2022 2021 (expressed in US$) (unaudited) (unaudited) Operating activities Post tax profit for period 1,729,603 1,906,906 Depreciation plant, equipment and mining properties 1,171,888 1,163,802 Net financial income/(expense) (279,527) 46,529 Loss/(gain) on asset disposals 1,064 (10,403) Provision for taxation (569,558) 1,685,117 Share-based payments 112,125 68,100 Taxation Paid (127,649) Interest Paid (20,226) (211,180) Foreign exchange (loss) / gain (139,928) Changes in working capital (Increase)/decrease in inventories (1,899,699) 100,649 (Increase/decrease in receivables, prepayments and accrued income (1,747,341) 758,558 Increase in payables, accruals and provisions 317,743 72,697 Net cash (outflow)/inflow from operations (1,451,505) 5,790,397 Investing activities Purchase of property, plant and equipment and assets in construction (968,887) (377,152) Mine development expenditure (1,065,885) (1,073,153) Geological exploration expenditure (469,250) (800,841) Pre-operational project costs (1,141,582) (661,608) Acquisition payment for subsidiary (3,000,000) Acquisition of other property rights (99,550) Proceeds from sale of assets 13,157 12,239 Net cash outflow on investing activities (3,632,447) (6,000,065) Financing activities Issue of ordinary share capital (net of costs) 12,162,950 Repayment of convertible loan (2,000,000) Payment of convertible loan arrangement fee (300,000) Payment of finance lease liabilities (187,317) (177,733) Net cash (outflow) / inflow from financing activities (187,317) 9,685,217 Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (5,271,269) 9,475,549 Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 12,217,751 6,603,620 Exchange difference on cash (13,857) (134,104) Cash and cash equivalents at end of period 6,932,625 15,945,065 Notes 1. Basis of preparation These interim condensed consolidated financial statements are for the three-month period ended 31 March 2022. Comparative information has been provided for the unaudited three-month period ended 31 March 2021 and, where applicable, the audited twelve month period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021. These condensed consolidated financial statements do not include all the disclosures that would otherwise be required in a complete set of financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the 2021 annual report. The condensed consolidated financial statements for the periods have been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34 Interim Financial Reporting and the accounting policies are consistent with those of the annual financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2021 and those envisaged for the financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2021. Accounting standards, amendments and interpretations effective in 2021 The Group has not adopted any standards or interpretations in advance of the required implementation dates. The following Accounting standards came into effect as of 1 January 2022 Effective Date Property, Plant and Equipment Proceeds before Intended Use (amendments to IAS 16) 1 January 2022 Onerous Contracts- Cost of Fulfilling a Contract (Amendments to IAS 37) 1 January 2022 Annual Improvements to IFRS Standards 2018-2020 1 January 2022 Reference to Conceptual Framework (Amendments to IFRS 3) 1 January 2022 The adoption of these standards has had no effect to date on the financial results of the Group. The updated standard Property, Plant and Equipment Proceeds before Intended Use (amendments to IAS 16) which is effective 1 January 2022 will impact the Group as it develops the Coringa mine. At such time as the Group generates revenues from the processing of ore from Coringa in future periods, this will be reflected as operational revenue of the business and the Group will account for the costs incurred in relation to this income as a cost of sale. Previously, under IAS16, the sales would have been treated as a deduction from the cost of bringing an item (or items) of property, plant and equipment to the location and condition necessary to be capable of operating in the manner intended by management. There are a number of standards, amendments to standards, and interpretations which have been issued that are effective in future periods and which the Group has chosen not to adopt early. Effective Date IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts, including Amendments to IFRS 17 1 January 2023 Classification of Liabilities as Current or Non-current (Amendments to IAS 1) and Classification of Liabilities as Current or Non-current Deferral of Effective Date 1 January 2023 These financial statements do not constitute statutory accounts as defined in Section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. (i) Going concern At 31 March the Group held cash of US$6.9 million with a further receipt of US$1.6 million for a sale of copper/gold concentrate due to be received in early April having been delayed from March following late changes in sailing schedules. The reduction in cash reflects the continued development expenditure of Coringa during the quarter, and the reduced level of sales revenue generated in the period as a result of lower production. The Group has advised that in light of the issues encountered in the mining of the Julia Vein at Sao Chico, it has reduced its production guidance for the remainder of 2022 whilst it reconfigures the Julia Vein for selective mining and undertakes further evaluation and development of other sectors of the Sao Chico deposit. This will reduce revenue for the rest of 2022 and will therefore impact on the ability of the Group to generate positive cash flow for the rest of 2022. Management have already taken actions to reduce some of the operational costs and is evaluating further options to generate additional gold production to improve cash generation. This includes the transportation and processing of high grade ore recovered from the current mine development being undertaken at Coringa. The first trucks began transporting ore during May 2022. In addition, in the short term, the Group has arranged a US$5 million unsecured loan with a Brazilian bank for an initial 12 month period to ease any immediate working capital pressure. These funds were received during May 2022. The Directors have prepared an operational plan and cash flow forecast based on their best judgement of the operational performance of the Group for the next 18 months using economic assumptions that the Directors consider are reasonable in the current global economic climate. This plan assumes, inter alia, that during the rest of 2022 and for 2023, the Group will be successful in mining higher levels of gold from its Palito orebody than it originally planned for and will continue to generate a limited level of gold production from Sao Chico, albeit at lower levels than 2021 and those previously planned for 2022, due to the issues encountered at the Julia Vein. In addition, the Group will, as a temporary measure, transport Coringa ore for processing at the Palito Complex. To manage costs, discretionary expenditures will be minimised including further regional exploration drilling which has now been suspended. Although the Groups near-term operational plan incorporates the processing of some of the ore recovered from the planned development of the Coringa mine at the Palito complex, in the longer term it remains the intention to construct a gold processing plant at Coringa. The estimated cost of the full-scale development of the Coringa project reported in the Coringa PEA, including necessary mine development, the erection of a gold processing plant and other site infrastructure was estimated to be approximately US$24.7 million before sustainable positive cash flow is achieved. While the Group plans to restrict development activity to a level that can be supported by available financial resources, in order to fund the longer term continued development of Coringa including a gold processing facility, and repay the Groups debt, which comprises a 12 month, US$5 million bank loan maturing in May 2023, the Group intends to obtain additional funding. This funding may be generated from a variety of sources which could include a combination of bank debt, royalty, streaming of gold and copper revenues, new equity capital and cash flow from the current operations. The Group has been successful in raising funding as and when required in the past and the Directors consider that the Group continues to have strong support from its major shareholders who been supportive of and provided additional funding when required on previous occasions. As such, whilst the expenditure on the development of Coringa will be incurred over a period of nine to twelve months it is the intention of management that firm commitments for the majority of this funding must have been secured and there is strong confidence that the balance of any remaining financing requirement is available prior to commencing the full-scale development. Whilst recognising the uncertainty that has been created by the need to adjust the operational plan during the first half of the year and the lower levels of gold production that are now forecast as a result, the Directors and management are confident of their ability to raise additional finance and that the Groups operations will perform at the levels that they now anticipate over the next 18 month period. However, an inability to raise new finance, unplanned interruptions or further reductions in gold production, unforeseen reductions of the gold price or appreciation of the Brazilian Real could adversely affect the level of free cash flow available to the Group. These material uncertainties may cast significant doubt upon the Groups ability to continue as a going concern and therefore its ability to settle its debts and realise its assets in the normal course of business. Notwithstanding these material uncertainties, the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in existence for the foreseeable future and have concluded it is appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements. The financial statements do not include the adjustments that would result if the Group was unable to continue as a going concern. 2. Finance expense and income 3 months ended 31 March 2022 (unaudited) 3 months ended 31 March 2021 (unaudited) US$ US$ Interest expense on secured loan (18,041) Interest expense on convertible loan (47,502) Amortisation of arrangement fee (150,000) Other (1,839) (1,839) (215,543) Gain on revaluation of warrants 104,780 Interest income Net finance expense 102,941 (215,543) 3. Taxation The Group has recognised a deferred tax asset to the extent that the Group has reasonable certainty as to the level and timing of future profits that might be generated and against which the asset may be recovered. The deferred tax liability arising on unrealised exchange gains has been eliminated in the three-month period to 31 March 2022 reflecting the stronger Brazilian Real exchange rate at the end of the period and resulting in deferred tax income of US$932,133 (three months to 31 March 2021 charge of US$891,621). The Group has also incurred a tax charge in Brazil for the three-month period of US$362,575 (three months to 31 March 2021 tax charge - US$1,685,117). 4. Earnings per Share 3 months ended 31 March 2022 (unaudited) 3 months ended 31 March 2021 (unaudited) Profit attributable to ordinary shareholders (US$) 1,729,603 1,906,906 Weighted average ordinary shares in issue 75,734,551 64,390,594 Basic profit per share (US cents) 2.28 2.96 Diluted ordinary shares in issue (1) 76,901,221 66,907,264 Diluted profit per share (US cents) 2.25 2.85 (1) Based on 1,166,670 options vested and exercisable as at 31 March 2022 (31 March 2021: 2,516,670 options) 5. Post balance sheet events On 19 April 2022, the Company advised that dilution in the Julia Vein which forms part of the Sao Chico deposit and which is being mined by mechanised long hole open stoping was higher than expected as a consequence of the presence of parallel and cross cutting faults and intrusive dykes which post-date the ore. This level of faulting appears to be unique to the Julia Vein. The Company advised that it would introduce selective open stoping, the method used successfully on the Palito orebody, and which over time is expected to improve grades by minimising dilution through greater selectivity in the mining. 1,000 ounces of production which had been scheduled from Sao Chico in February by long hole, would now be mined selectively during the second quarter and over the rest of the year. The Company further advised that as a result of the decision to mine selectively on the Julia Vein, the reliance on production ounces would, in the near term, focus on the Palito orebody, with operations at Sao Chico focusing more on mine development with a view to a return to planned production levels later in the year and into 2023. In the short term the Company advised that it would be focusing on producing profitable ounces and maximising operational cashflow rather than production growth for the rest of the year. The Company reduced production guidance for 2022 from the previously declared level of 36,000 to 38,000 ounces to being in the region of 30,000 ounces. On 17 May 2022, the Company completed a US$5.1 million unsecured loan arrangement with a Brazilian bank. The loan is repayable as a bullet payment on 12 May 2023 and carries an interest coupon of 6.6 per cent. Except as set out above, there has been no item, transaction or event of a material or unusual nature likely, in the opinion of the Directors of the Company, to affect significantly the continuing operation of the entity, the results of these operations, or the state of affairs of the entity in future financial periods. Qualified Persons Statement The scientific and technical information contained within this announcement has been reviewed and approved by Michael Hodgson, a Director of the Company. Mr Hodgson is an Economic Geologist by training with over 26 years' experience in the mining industry. He holds a BSc (Hons) Geology, University of London, a MSc Mining Geology, University of Leicester and is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and a Chartered Engineer of the Engineering Council of UK, recognising him as both a Qualified Person for the purposes of Canadian National Instrument 43-101 and by the AIM Guidance Note on Mining and Oil & Gas Companies dated June 2009. Assay Results The assay results reported within this release include those provided by the Company's own on-site laboratory facilities at Palito which may not have been independently verified. Serabi closely monitors the performance of its own facility against results from independent laboratory analysis for quality control purpose. As a matter of normal practice the Company sends duplicate samples derived from a variety of the Company's activities to accredited laboratory facilities for independent verification. Based on the results of this work, the Company's management are satisfied that the Company's own facility shows good correlation with independent laboratory facilities. The Company would expect that in the preparation of any future independent Reserve/Resource statement undertaken in compliance with a recognised standard, the independent authors of such a statement would not use Palito assay results but only use assay results reported by an appropriately certificated laboratory. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this announcement are, or may be deemed to be, forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are identied by their use of terms and phrases such as believe, could, should envisage, estimate, intend, may, plan, will or the negative of those, variations or comparable expressions, including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors current expectations and assumptions regarding the Companys future growth, results of operations, performance, future capital and other expenditures (including the amount, nature and sources of funding thereof), competitive advantages, business prospects and opportunities. Such forward looking statements reect the Directors current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements including risks associated with vulnerability to general economic and business conditions, competition, environmental and other regulatory changes, actions by governmental authorities, the availability of capital markets, reliance on key personnel, uninsured and underinsured losses and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Although any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are based upon what the Directors believe to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such forward looking statements. ENDS Source: Serabi Gold plc Li mineralization (spodumene) drilled to a vertical depth of 70 m at the Discovery Dyke; spodumene-bearing dykes, up to 22-m wide, located 600 m to the East of the Discovery Dyke Thunder Bay, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2022) - Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV: BEX) ("Benton") and Sokoman Minerals Corp. (TSXV: SIC) (OTCQB: SICNF) ("Sokoman") together, (the "Alliance") are pleased to report the final assay results from the 1,025-m reconnaissance drilling program carried out this past winter and report on recent trenching from the Kraken Pegmatite Field on the Golden Hope Joint Venture Property in southwest Newfoundland. Table 1: Significant Drill Results - Kraken DDH # Length m Az. Dip From (m) To (m) Length m* % Li2O GH-22-01 209.0 325 -45 47.80 56.20 8.40 0.95 incl. 48.90 53.40 4.50 1.52 incl. 52.60 53.40 0.80 1.76 GH-22-05 179.0 145 -45 2.50 18.70 16.20 0.43 incl 2.50 3.50 1.00 1.30 and 11.00 12.80 1.80 1.10 99.00 114.10 15.10 0.31 incl 100.00 101.75 1.75 0.94 GH-22-06 38.0 145 -45 3.50 5.00 1.50 0.32 Hole lost at 38 m * Core lengths - believed to be 90% of reported lengths. Benton's President and CEO Stephen Stares, states: "We are pleased to now have our camp, drill, and equipment on-site and operational. The stripping on the East dyke has shown excellent spodumene mineralization and has exposed geological contacts to help understand the orientation and behavior of the dykes in this area. With several prospective targets to test, we are excited to get our Phase 2 program underway on the East dyke in the coming days." Sokoman's President and CEO Tim Froude, comments: "We have learned a great deal from the recon drill program about the Discovery Dyke area and we will use that information, coupled with ongoing trenching data, to plan the Phase 2 program which will start imminently. We have already exposed a significant spodumene-bearing dyke in the eastern portion of the Kraken swarm that last year's sampling returned an assay of 1.93% Li 2 O and this is where Phase 2 drilling will begin. We wish to emphasize that we have just scratched the surface with the exploration to date and that we have extensive work ahead of us to establish the limits of the dyke swarm." The winter drilling program and current trenching program have located a significant swarm of lithium-rich pegmatite dykes flanking the regional Bay d'Est Fault. Important structural information was obtained in the drilling showing the dykes, at least in the Discovery Dyke area, are relatively flat-lying, as opposed to vertical to subvertical, the original concept for the reconnaissance drill program. As a result, three of five holes (GH-22-02, -03, -04) did not intersect the target Discovery Dyke. Flat-lying dykes are potentially important as significant lithium (spodumene) mineralization at Piedmont Lithium's Piedmont project in North Carolina is found in flat-lying dykes, which link subvertical dipping dykes. Active trenching exposes spodumene dyke 600-m east of Discovery Dyke - Kraken Pegmatite Swarm To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3657/129575_a7d97836147319fc_004full.jpg Given the results of the recon drill program, the Alliance has mobilized an excavator to expose the dykes to ensure that all drill holes are oriented optimally to test the in situ spodumene-bearing dykes in the upcoming program. Recent trenching on a surface exposure that gave a grab sample assay of 1.93% Li 2 O (November 9, 2021 news release), which is located approximately 600 m to the east of the Discovery Dyke, has exposed the thickest dykes encountered at Kraken (up to 22 m in apparent thickness). In addition, spodumene crystals up to 15-cm long (see photos) are noted in this outcrop, substantially larger than the few centimetre lengths at the Discovery Dyke. These dykes show dips, mainly subvertical to steeply to the south, as well as possibly flat-lying. Folding is also noted. Pegmatite Dyke Exposure 600-m East of Discovery Dyke; Spodumene Crystals up to 15 cm Long To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3657/129575_a7d97836147319fc_005full.jpg The Kraken Pegmatite Field has been sampled over a strike length of 2,200 m and has an apparent width of 1,200 m, with historical assessment reports indicating pegmatite dykes up to 6 km along trend. Gold analyses from the host sericite schist units, which carry variable pyrite gave only weakly anomalous values, however, the drilling has tested only 100 m of the 60-km-long structure and the drilling targeted the pegmatite dykes, not gold prospective zones, defined by geochemistry or prospecting, along the Bay d'Est Fault. All samples are shipped to Activation Laboratories in Ancaster, Ontario for multi-element analysis including lithium, tantalum, cesium and other rare/critical metals by Sodium Peroxide Fusion ICPOES + ICPMS. Gold is analyzed by the fire assay method. A total of 1,165 drill core samples were cut and delivered for analysis. The property lies along the Baie d'Est fault system, a gold prospective fault structure in southern Newfoundland, that extends through the Sokoman / Benton licences. The Alliance continues to evaluate historical data for significant gold and lithium mineralization and will restart ground prospecting and follow-up exploration in the near future. QP This news release has been reviewed and approved by Timothy Froude, P.Geo., a Director of Benton Resources Inc. and President and CEO of Sokoman Minerals Corp. Mr. Froude is a 'Qualified Person' under National Instrument 43-101. COVID-19 Protocols To ensure a working environment that protects the health and safety of the staff and contractors, Benton and Sokoman will continue to use best practices in the course of performing our work programs and will follow any future federal or provincially mandated or recommended COVID-19 guidelines. About Benton Resources Inc. Benton Resources Inc. is a well-funded mineral exploration company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol BEX. Following a project generation business model, Benton has a diversified, highly-prospective property portfolio in Gold, Silver, Nickel, Copper, and Platinum Group Elements, and most-recently Lithium assets, and currently holds large equity positions in other mining companies that are advancing high-quality assets. Whenever possible, BEX retains Net Smelter Return (NSR) royalties for potential long-term cash flow. Benton has also recently entered into a 50/50 strategic alliance with Sokoman Minerals Corp. (TSXV: SIC) through three large-scale joint-venture properties including Grey River Gold, Golden Hope, and Kepenkeck in Newfoundland that are now being explored. About Sokoman Minerals Corp. Sokoman Minerals Corp. is a discovery-oriented company with projects in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The company's primary focus is its portfolio of gold projects: flagship, 100%-owned Moosehead, Crippleback Lake (optioned to Trans Canada Gold Corp.) and East Alder (optioned to Canterra Minerals Corporation) along the Central Newfoundland Gold Belt, and the district-scale Fleur de Lys project in northwestern Newfoundland, that is targeting Dalradian-type orogenic gold mineralization similar to the Curraghinalt and Cavanacaw deposits in Northern Ireland, and Cononish in Scotland. The company has also entered into a strategic alliance (the Alliance) with Benton Resources Inc. through three large-scale joint-venture properties including Grey River Gold, Golden Hope and Kepenkeck on the island of Newfoundland. Sokoman now controls independently and through the Alliance over 150,000 hectares (>6,000 claims - 1,500 sq. km), making it one of the largest landholders in Newfoundland, Canada's newest and rapidly-emerging gold district. Sokoman also retains an interest in an early-stage antimony/gold project (Startrek) in Newfoundland, optioned to White Metal Resources Inc., and in Labrador, the company has a 100% interest in the Iron Horse (Fe) project that has Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) potential. Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on Sokoman's property. For further information, please contact: CHF Capital Markets Thomas Do, IR Manager Phone: 416-868-1079 x 232 Email: [email protected] Benton Resources Inc. Stephen Stares, President & CEO Phone: 807-475-7474 Email: [email protected] Sokoman Minerals Corp. Timothy Froude, P.Geo., President & CEO Phone: 709-765-1726 Email: [email protected] Website :/www.bentonresources.ca,/www.sokomanmineralscorp.com Twitter : @BentonResources,/@SokomanMinerals Facebook : @BentonResourcesBEX,/@SokomanMinerals LinkedIn :/@BentonResources, @SokomanMinerals THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Alliance's expectations; risks related to gold price and other commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Alliance's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Alliance's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Alliance does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Alliance's expectations or projections. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/129575 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2022) - Bravada Gold Corporation (TSXV: BVA) (FSE: BRTN) (OTCQB: BGAVF) (the "Company" or "Bravada") reports that the Company will be extending the exercise period of a total of 6,434,000 share purchase warrants, all of which are exercisable at $0.12 per share (collectively, the "Warrants"). The Warrants were issued on July 23, 2018, pursuant to a private placement (see news release NR-07-18) and are scheduled to expire on July 23, 2022. The Company proposes to extend the expiry by one (1) year, and accordingly, the new expiry date for the warrants will be July 23, 2023. All other terms and conditions of the Warrants remain unchanged. The Warrant extension is subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. Wind Mountain Program Update Bravada's two-pronged approach to adding value at its wholly owned Wind Mountain gold/silver project in Nevada is progressing as planned after minor delays due to contractor availability. Thirteen reverse-circulation (RC) holes were drilled during 2021 to in-fill a shallow, under-drilled portion of the existing resource with results successfully demonstrating higher-grade concentrations of gold and silver. A resource update is underway and will form the basis of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for a Phase 1 "Starter Pit" with studies to be released in early Q3 2022. This part of the program should upgrade the quality of shallow mineralization already discovered. Renewed RC drilling at Wind Mountain is expected to begin on July 5th or 6th. Three or four holes, approximately 4,000' (1,200m), are planned from newly permitted drill sites to test beneath a zone of banded quartz veins intersected in December 2020 and followed up along strike in mid-2021. The vein zone is interpreted as a potentially important zone of upwelling, referred to as a feeder zone. Evidence includes the first banded quartz veins intersected in hole WM20-102, which intersected 1.5 metres of 269.0g/t Ag and 0.404g/t Au within a thicker interval of banded quartz veining together with anomalous gold and silver. Four 2021 holes traced the banded vein zone beneath mine waste and gravel cover for approximately 330 metres, but the holes shallowed and did not test deeper in the vein zone than did WM20-102. The new sites and larger RC drill rig should be able to test the vein zone approximately 150m deeper than the existing vein intersection. This part of the program is designed to test for high-grade gold and silver mineralization that is often found in upwelling/feeder zones of low-sulfidation deposits worldwide, a potential "game changer" for the project. WM Feeder Target Cross Section Silver To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5343/129645_7e508d71b47acbba_001full.jpg About Bravada Bravada is an exploration company with a portfolio of high-quality properties in Nevada, one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world. Bravada has successfully identified and advanced properties with the potential to host high-margin deposits while successfully attracting partners to fund later stages of project development. Bravada's value is underpinned by a substantial gold and silver resource with a positive PEA at Wind Mountain, and the Company has significant upside potential from possible new discoveries at its exploration properties. Since 2005, the Company signed 32 earn-in joint-venture agreements for its properties with 19 publicly traded companies, as well as a similar number of property-acquisition agreements with private individuals. Bravada currently has 10 projects in its portfolio, consisting of 810 claims for approximately 6,500 ha in two of Nevada's most prolific gold trends. Most of the projects host encouraging drill intercepts of gold and already have drill targets developed. Several videos are available on the Company's website that describe Bravada's major properties, answering commonly asked investor questions. Simply click on this link https://bravadagold.com/projects/project-videos/. Joseph Anthony Kizis, Jr. (AIPG CPG-11513) is the qualified person responsible for reviewing and preparing the technical data presented in this release and has approved its disclosure. -30- On behalf of the Board of Directors of Bravada Gold Corporation "Joseph A. Kizis, Jr." Joseph A. Kizis, Jr., Director, President, Bravada Gold Corporation For further information, please visit Bravada Gold Corporation's website at bravadagold.com or contact the Company at 604.684.9384 or 775.746.3780. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. These statements are based on a number of assumptions, including, but not limited to, assumptions regarding general economic conditions, interest rates, commodity markets, regulatory and governmental approvals for the company's projects, and the availability of financing for the company's development projects on reasonable terms. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, the timing and receipt of government and regulatory approvals, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. Bravada Gold Corporation does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/129645 Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2022) - Grizzly Discoveries Inc. (TSXV: GZD) (FSE: G6H) (OTCQB: GZDIF) ("Grizzly" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company is currently reviewing proposals for core drilling during the 2022 exploration season. The Company is permitted for initial drilling programs at its Motherlode and Dayton Prospects in the Greenwood area, BC and is currently in the process of obtaining the required permits for drilling at the Robocop Project near Grasmere, BC. Dayton and Motherlode Targets Grizzly is anticipating that the drilling program will likely commence at Greenwood in August and will begin with drilling at either the Dayton copper-gold-silver (Cu-Au-Ag) porphyry target near Rock Creek or at a number of skarn related targets in and around the historical Motherlode Pit area 3 km northwest of the town of Greenwood. All the drill targets are road or trail accessible and located close to excellent infrastructure. Once permits are received for drilling at the Robocop Project either a second drill rig will be engaged to complete the Robocop drilling or the rig engaged for the Greenwood drill program will be shifted to the Robocop Project. The Dayton IP2 target (an induced polarization chargeability anomaly) was tested by Grizzly with a single hole in 2011 and intersected potassic altered volcanics and intrusives with a near surface intersection of 0.15% Cu and 0.43 g/t Au (or 0.4% CuEq*) over 51 m core length starting at a depth of 3m. The Motherlode skarn targets are comprised of Au-Ag-Cu +/- lead-zinc (Pb-Zn) in proximity to the historical producing Motherlode Mine, which produced significant amounts of Cu, Au and Ag. Prior drilling by Grizzly about 700 m north of the historical open pit intersected up 17.15 grams per tonne (g/t) Au, 41.7 g/t Ag, along with , 0.56% Pb and 1.51% Zn over 1.5 m core length. Other Exploration The 2022 surface exploration program for the Greenwood Precious-Battery Metals Project and the Robocop Battery Metals Project will comprise soil and rock sampling, along with ground geophysical surveys followed by drilling at both projects in southern BC. Grizzly will focus efforts at a number of new and existing high-priority battery metals targets at Robocop (copper, cobalt and silver) and precious metals - battery metals targets at Greenwood (gold-silver-copper and other based metals). The ground exploration will be focused on or near prospective targets to be drilled during 2022 as well as a number of other high priority exploration targets. Recent geophysical results have outlined large areas with anomalous geological potential for new discoveries at both projects. Surface exploration has commenced for the 2022 program with ground crews currently conducting prospecting and soil sampling in the Rock Creek area. Other targets to be examined and sampled this year in the Greenwood Project area with a view of determining additional drilling targets include the Prince of Wales Au-Cu skarn target and the Mabel Jenny Cu-Au skarn/porphyry target in the Copper Mountain area, the Attwood - Overlander skarn and epithermal precious metal targets in the vicinity of the Lexington and Golden Crown mines east of the town of Greenwood, and the Sappho alkalic porphyry/skarn target with Cu-Au-Ag and significant platinum (Pt) and palladium (Pd). Prior drilling by Grizzly intersected up to 1.0 g/t Au, 4.65 g/t Ag, 0.03% Cu and 0.3% Zn over 30 m core length at the Prince of Wales Target at Copper Mountain, and up to 0.31% Cu, 0.75 g/t Au, 0.34 g/t Pt, 0.39 g/t Pd and 6.57 g/t Ag over 6.5 m core length at the Sappho Target south of the town of Greenwood near the US border. Brian Testo, President and CEO of Grizzly Discoveries stated "We look forward to the start of the 2022 program after completing a significant financing that will allow us to complete our long awaited drill programs at the Robocop Battery Metals Project and at our Greenwood Precious Metals-Battery Metals Project. Grizzly has significant potential for new copper-cobalt and copper-precious metal discoveries during a time when demand for battery metals is surging due to the shift to renewable energy sources and electric vehicles. We are looking forward to commencing an initial Phase 1 program over the next couple of months to isolate drill targets in preparation for a Phase 2 - 2022 drill testing. The geology of the Robocop and Greenwood areas has the potential to yield world-class discoveries." *CuEq calculated suing a price of $US1,750 per oz Au and $US4.00 per pound for Cu Warrants and Options Exercised Between June 8 and June 30, 2022, the Company issued 480,000 Common Shares for proceeds of $36,000 upon the exercise of outstanding warrants and 300,000 common shares upon the exercise of options for proceeds of $15,000. As of June 30, 2022, the Company has 135,222,667 common shares issued and outstanding. The technical content of this news release and the Company's technical disclosure has been reviewed and approved by Michael B. Dufresne, M. Sc., P. Geol., P.Geo., who is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. ABOUT GRIZZLY DISCOVERIES INC. Grizzly is a diversified Canadian mineral exploration company with its primary listing on the TSX Venture Exchange focused on developing its approximately 66,000 ha (approximately 165,000 acres) of precious and base metals properties in southeastern British Columbia. Grizzly is run by 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: 604-282-6372 Email: [email protected] 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/129653 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2022) - Idaho Champion Gold Mines Canada Inc. (CSE: ITKO ) (OTCQB: GLDRF)(FSE: 1QB1) ("Idaho Champion" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the completion of the second and final tranche of a private placement offering. As part of the closing of the final tranche, the Company issued 14,612,500 units for gross proceeds of $738,786*. *All amounts expressed are in Canadian dollars. Combined with the first tranche, Idaho Champion raised and issued 25,691,710 units for an oversubscribed total of $1,292,746. The non-brokered private placement of up to 20,000,000 units was offered at a price of $0.05 per unit for gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000. Each unit consisted of one (1) common share and one (1) non-transferable purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional common share at a price of $0.10 for a period of 24 months from the date of issue. The proceeds of the financing will be used for the funding of an exploration program at the Idaho Champion Cobalt Projects in Idaho, USA, and for general working capital purposes. In connection with the final tranche, the Company paid a cash finders' fee of $34,400 and issued 688,000 finders' warrants, representing 8% cash and 8% non-transferable warrants. Completion of the private placement and payment of any finders' fees remain subject to the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange ( the "CSE"). The participation by two of the directors of the Company in the financing constitutes a "related party transaction" pursuant to 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 formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 contained in Section 5.5(b) and Section 5.7(1)(b) of MI 61-101, respectively, on the basis that (i) no securities of the Company are listed or quoted on any of the markets specified in Section 5.5(b) of MI 61-101 and (ii) the fair market value of the securities issued to related parties pursuant to the financing does not exceed $2,500,000, along with the other applicable circumstances contained in section 5.7(1)(b) of MI 61-101. In accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws, all securities issued pursuant to the private placement with be legended with a hold period of four months and one day from the date of issuance. About Idaho Champion Gold Mines Inc. Idaho Champion is a discovery-focused exploration company that is committed to advancing its 100%-owned highly prospective mineral properties located in Idaho, United States. The Company's shares trade on the CSE under the trading symbol "ITKO", on the OTCQB under the trading symbol "GLDRF", and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol "1QB1". Idaho Champion is vested in Idaho with the Baner Project in Idaho County, the Champagne Project located in Butte County near Arco, and four cobalt properties in Lemhi County in the Idaho Cobalt Belt. Idaho Champion strives to be a responsible environmental steward, stakeholder and contributing citizen to the local communities where it operates. Idaho Champion takes its social license seriously, employing local community members and service providers at its operations whenever possible. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Jonathan Buick" Jonathan Buick, President and CEO For further information, please visit the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com or the Company's corporate website at www.idahochamp.com. For further information, please contact: Nicholas Konkin, Marketing and Communications Phone: (416) 567- 9087 Email: [email protected] THIS PRESS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY ANY SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION, NOR SHALL THERE BE ANY OFFER, SALE, OR SOLICITATION OF SECURITIES IN ANY STATE IN THE UNITED STATES IN WHICH SUCH OFFER, SALE, OR SOLICITATION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. Cautionary Statements Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider has reviewed or accepted responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business of the Company. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of the Company, including suggested strike extension. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based on are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws. NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/129687 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2022) - Kuya Silver Corporation (CSE: KUYA) (OTCQB: KUYAF) (FSE: 6MR1) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of its annual general and special meeting of shareholders held on June 29, 2022 (the "Meeting"). The Company put forward the following resolutions to be voted on by shareholders at the Meeting, all of which were approved: (1) the appointment of Davidson & Company LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, as auditor to hold office until the next annual meeting of shareholders at a remuneration to be fixed by the Board; (2) the adoption of a 10% rolling equity incentive plan (the "Plan") that will replace the existing stock option plan; and (3) the election of David Stein, Dale Peniuk, Maura Lendon, Andres Recalde, and Javier Del Rio as directors to hold office until the next annual general meeting of the Company or until their earlier resignation. Private Placement The Company also announces that it has closed the second and final tranche of its non-brokered private placement previously announced on April 21, 2022 (the "Private Placement"). The final tranche consisted of 151,000 units ("Units") at a price of $0.90 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $135,900. Together with the first tranche, the Company issued 804,334 Units and raised $723,900.60. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Private Placement for general working capital purposes. Each Unit consists of one (1) common share (each, a "Common Share") in the capital of the Company and one-half of one (1/2) transferable common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Common Share at a price of $1.20 per Common Share until the date that is two (2) years from the date of issuance. The Private Placement constituted a "related party transaction" as defined in Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Securityholders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"), as related parties of the Company acquired an aggregate of 134,222 Units. Following the acquisition, David Stein, President and CEO, holds 9,539,914 Common Shares or 20.69%, and Maura Lendon, Chair of the Board, holds 47,322 Common Shares or 0.10%. The Company is relying on the exemptions from the valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as the fair market value of the participation in the Private Placement by insiders does not exceed 25% of the market capitalization of the Company, as determined in accordance with MI 61-101. The Company did not file a material change report in respect of the related party transaction at least 21 days before the closing of the Offering, which the Company deems reasonable in the circumstances in order to complete the Offering in an expeditious manner. Equity Incentive Awards The Company further announces that, pursuant to the Plan, it has approved the grant of 700,000 restricted share units ("RSUs") to certain officers and employees. The RSUs are subject to vesting, and at each vesting date, convert into Common Shares for no additional consideration. Debt Settlement Lastly, the Company has also completed a debt settlement with one arm's-length creditor, which will result in an aggregate of USD$18,000.00 of indebtedness being retired in consideration for the issuance of 26,000 Units at a price of $0.90 per Unit (the "Debt Settlement"). The Private Placement, RSUs and Debt Settlement are subject to Canadian Securities Exchange approval. All securities issued in connection with the Private Placement, RSUs and Debt Settlement are subject to a hold period expiring four months and one day from the date of issuance. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of, the securities mentioned in this news release in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. This news release does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The securities mentioned in this news release have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and such securities may not be offered or sold within the United States absent registration under U.S. federal and state securities laws or an applicable exemption from such U.S. registration requirements. About Kuya Silver Corporation Kuya Silver is a Canadianbased mineral exploration and development company with a focus on acquiring, exploring, and advancing precious metals assets in Peru and Canada. For more information, please contact the Company at: Kuya Silver Corporation Telephone: (604) 3984493 [email protected] www.kuyasilver.com Reader Advisory This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information," including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs, and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company. The words "may," "would," "could," "will," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "must," "next," "potential," "progress," and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking information. Investors are cautioned that statements including forward-looking information are not guarantees of future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking information as a result of various factors, including but not limited to fluctuations in market prices, successes of the operations of the Company, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market, and business conditions. There can be no assurances that such forward-looking information will prove accurate, and therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of the risks and uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada 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/129680 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2022) - LevelJump Healthcare Corp. (TSXV: JUMP) (OTCQB: JMPHF) (FSE: 75J) ("LevelJump" or the "Company"), a Canadian leader in B2B telehealth solutions, is pleased to announce that at its annual and special meeting of shareholders held on Tuesday, June 28, 2022 (the "Meeting"), all matters placed before the Meeting were overwhelmingly approved including: (1) the re-election of Mitchell Geisler, Robert Landau, Gary Prihar, Richard Jagodnik and Jackie Glazer as directors; (2) the re-appointment of Clearhouse LLP as auditors; (3) the approval of the shares for debt transaction; (4) the approval of the Company's Omnibus Fixed Equity Incentive Plan; (5) the continuance of the Company to Ontario under the OBCA. Each item of business was approved by more than 95% of the shares eligible to vote on each matter, with the exeption of item (4) which was approved by 72%. About LevelJump Healthcare LevelJump Healthcare Corp., (TSXV: JUMP) is building a national telehealth medical company and brand, currently by providing teleradiology (remote radiology) services to its client hospitals and imaging centers. Additionally, JUMP owns and operates independent healthcare facilities (IHF's) focused on diagnostic imaging. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF LEVELJUMP HEALTHCARE CORP. Mitchell Geisler, Chief Executive Officer [email protected] (833) 840-2020 CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to the Company's business plans and the outlook of the Company's industry. Although the Company believes, in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release and the Company assumes no responsibility to update them or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances other than as required by applicable securities laws. The Company undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of the Company, Canadian Teleradiology Services, Inc., their securities, or their respective financial or operating results (as applicable). Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The securities being offered 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 U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor in any other jurisdiction. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/129695 South Korean Subsidiary, NBM Korea Co., Ltd., to Receive Series A $3 Million CAD Strategic Investment from South Korean Automotive Parts Manufacturer, Automobile & PCB Inc. ("A&P"), for 40% Stake Active Cooperation Regarding Silicon Anode Commercialization Effort, Mass Production Facility Construction, Network Expansion, and Other Joint Projects Parent Company, NEO Battery Materials Ltd., Protected from Shareholder Dilution as No Common Shares or Warrants Issued NBM Korea in Discussion with South Korean Financial Institutions for Next Debt or Equipment Purchase Financing to Advance Commercial Plant Efforts Utilize Business Network of YSP and Yongsan, A&P's related companies, that Directly Supplies to Hyundai, Kia Motors, and BYD Auto Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2022) - NEO Battery Materials Ltd. (TSXV: NBM) (OTCQB: NBMFF) ("NEO" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company's South Korean subsidiary, NBM Korea Co., Ltd. ("NBM Korea"), has signed an agreement to receive a strategic investment of 3 billion KRW, or $3 million CAD, from Automobile & PCB Inc. ("A&P") for a 40% stake. The proceeds from the Series A financing will be used to optimize commercialization efforts and to advance the first phase of the Korean silicon anode mass production facility for EV lithium-ion batteries. The investment is scheduled to close by July 1, 2022. Following the announcement of the strategic MOU with A&P on June 8, 2022, NBM Korea has successfully secured a strategic investment and collaboration opportunity after holding positive discussions and qualifying a strict due diligence process. NEO and A&P, along with Yongsan and YSP, will cooperate to commercialize all NBMSiDE" products and construct the Silicon Anode Commercial Plant. Both parties will actively seek to undertake joint projects and expand their network within the automotive and lithium-ion battery business. The Series A strategic financing allows the shareholders' value of the parent company, NEO Battery Materials Ltd., to be protected without dilution from any issuances of common shares or purchase warrants. Funds received from A&P will be solely used by the South Korean subsidiary, NBM Korea. Mr. Spencer Huh, President and CEO of NEO, commented, "Despite difficulties and headwinds in both the financial markets and economy, NEO Battery Materials is highly excited about this meaningful achievement of NBM Korea's $3 million Series A financing to advance mass production to the next step. In particular, we strongly believe that NBM Korea will create additional synergies through strategic business relationships with A&P and its related parties, Yongsan and YSP, that hold a proven operating history of over 40 years in the automotive industry." "With the $3 million secured, NBM Korea is under discussion with financial institutions in South Korea to obtain debt or equipment purchase financing for the next phases of the mass production facility. Through this achievement, NEO will focus on optimization and concurrently proceed with the process design in order," added Mr. Huh. A&P and its related parties will actively support NBM Korea to pursue debt financing from financial institutions and other forms of strategic synergies through utilizing their extensive business network. Figure 1 From the Left: Mr. Spencer Huh, CEO of NEO Battery Materials Ltd., and Mr. Hak Soo Jeon, CEO of A&P Inc. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4661/129583_9adfe2f8f4882947_001full.jpg July Webinar NEO will be holding a webinar in the middle to end of July. Management will discuss the ongoing corporate activities related to the commercialization efforts, mass production plant, financing, and other related activities. The registration link will be provided in a subsequent news release. About Automobile & PCB Inc. Automobile & PCB Inc is a public company listed on the Korean Exchange and currently listed on the main board, KOSPI. A&P has annual revenues of CAD $70M with an operating income of CAD $6.8 M from its automotive parts business. A&P also retains a 100% subsidiary for its PCB business with yearly revenues of CAD 65M. Yongsan, another related company of A&P, has 43 years of corporate history in the automotive industry. With annual revenues of CAD $600M, it has 17 production sites across 5 countries (Korea, China, US, Mexico, and India). Customers include Hyundai, Kia Motors, Suzuki (Japan), and 4 Chinese automotive companies including BYD Auto and Great Wall. About NEO Battery Materials Ltd. NEO Battery Materials Ltd. is a Vancouver-based company focused on electric vehicle lithium-ion battery materials. NEO has a focus on producing silicon anode 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 [email protected] 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/129583 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2022) - NINE MILE METALS LTD. (CSE: NINE) (OTCQB: STVGF) (FSE: KQ9) (the "Company" or "Nine Mile") is pleased to announce it has received final permit approval from the NB Department of Energy & Mining for its two (2) borehole EM ("BHEM") surveys at its recently completed stage #1 drill program at its flagship Nine Mile Brook VMS Project in Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick ("BMC"). Nine Mile drilled one DDH specifically for the BHEM survey to define the Target Zone #1 VMS Body and any additional stacked, clustered, or mineralized subsurface bodies/folds in the area. The second DDH for the BHEM survey is 250m to the north (Target Zone #2) and is located along a proposed horizon just south of the California Lake Group target contact area. These DDH's are approximately 200m+ in length and were specifically located away from the target body in order to obtain a clean, uninterfered electronic analysis of the area. They typically reach 720 degrees in all directions and with the two (2) DDH's we expect very good coverage for an estimated 600m area. Figure 1 To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7335/129535_172504548427da98_001full.jpg Nine Mile has awarded the contract to Eastern Geophysics Ltd. ("Eastern") based out of Nova Scotia, and who are the premier geophysics company in the Maritimes. Initially, Eastern will lay out a 400 x 400-meter loop then survey the boreholes with a highly advanced Crone Time Domain Pulse EM system will provide a 3D analysis along the extent of the prospective horizon, a surface distance of over 750 meters. To assist in defining the optimum survey parameters, 18 drill core samples from 3 different drill holes have been shipped to EarthEx Geophysical Solutions ("EarthEx") in Selkirk, Manitoba for physical properties analysis including electromagnetic conductivity, electrical resistivity and chargeability, density, porosity and magnetic susceptibility. The samples submitted included both Cu and Pb/Zn mineralization in addition to samples of the country rock. EarthEx will review the data and characterize the groups properties, the samples of country rock providing the necessary contrast to the mineralized bodies facilitating target definition at Target Zone #1 and elsewhere on the property. This data will not only assist in defining the survey parameters, it will also allow for more accurate inversion and modeling. Daniel Card, President and Chief Geophysicist of EarthEx will be coordinating with Brian d'Entremont, General Manager at Eastern, to define the location of the 400 x 400-meter loop and ideal survey frequencies. The following image taken from the Crone Geophysics website shows the wide range of conductivities that can be detected by the Crone system. VMS Style deposits will be within the High Conductivity spectrum of the analysis. Figure 2 To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7335/129535_172504548427da98_002full.jpg "The BHEM survey is key to defining additional subsurface mineralization in Target Zone #1 which we believe exists along the prospective horizon. The results from the survey and the physical property information will also provide ideal baseline data when exploration commences immediately to the north within the larger and highly prospective California Lake Group of rocks that crosscuts the project area, "stated Gary Lohman, B.Sc., P. Geo. who acts as the Company's Qualified Person, a member of Nine Mile's Technical Advisory Committee. Eastern Geophysics expects to mobilize the week of July 11th, 2022 from their Nova Scotia location. They will complete the BHEM survey in 5-6 days and will deliver their interpretated report, images, and summary shortly thereafter. Patrick J Cruickshank, MBA - Director & member of Technical Advisory Committee stated, "EarthEx Geophysical Solutions has been integral in the recommendation of Eastern Geophysics, survey design and DDH location definition and will integrate the raw survey data directly and apply their proprietary processing and interpretation, into the Nine Mile Brook VMS Project exploration model. We are proceeding with our disciplined technology centric exploration program, and this is the final piece in the phase #1 3D model which should be completed after this BHEM survey data is collected. We should have all VMS mineralized targets defined very shortly on the Nine Mile Brook VMS Project not just recently drilled Target Zones #1 & #2. This VMS project has multiple systems and many high priority defined targets. We look forward to sharing this information shortly." The disclosure of technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements as set out in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and reviewed and approved by Gary Lohman, B.Sc., P. Geo. who acts as the Company's Qualified Person, a member of Nine Mile's Technical Advisory Committee, and is not independent of the Company. About Nine Mile Metals Ltd.: Nine Mile Metals Ltd. is a Canadian public mineral exploration company focused on VMS (Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag and Au) exploration in the world-famous Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick, Canada. The Company's primary business objective is to explore its three VMS Projects: Nine Mile Brook VMS Project; California Lake VMS Project; and the Canoe Landing Lake (East - West) VMS Project. The Company is focused on exploration of Minerals for Technology (MFT), positioning for the boom in EV and green technologies requiring Copper, Silver, Lead and Zinc with a hedge with Gold. ON BEHALF OF NINE MILE METALS LTD. "Charles MaLette" CEO, President, Director & Secretary T: 604-428-5171 E: [email protected] Forward-Looking Information: This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business of Nine Mile. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of Nine Mile. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "will," "may," "would," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "could" and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this press release include that (a) EarthEx will review the data and characterize the groups properties from 18 drill core samples from 3 different drill holes, and that his data will not only assist in defining the survey parameters, it will also allow for more accurate inversion and modeling, (b) Daniel Card, President and Chief Geophysicist of EarthEx will be coordinating with Brian d'Entremont, General Manager at Eastern, to define the location of the 400 x 400-meter loop and ideal survey frequencies, (c) Eastern Geophysics Ltd. will lay out a 400 x 400-meter loop then survey the boreholes with a highly advanced Crone Time Domain Pulse EM system that will provide a 3D analysis along the extent of the prospective horizon, a surface distance of over 750 meters, (d) Eastern Geophysics expects to mobilize the week of July 11th, 2022, that they will complete the BHEM survey in 5-6 days and will deliver their interpretated report, images, and summary shortly thereafter, and (e) the BHEM survey is key to defining additional subsurface mineralization in Target Zone #1 which we believe exists along the prospective horizon. Although Nine Mile believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because Nine Mile can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/129535 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2022) - Pure Energy Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: PE) (OTCQB: PEMIF) ("Pure Energy" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that Mr. Mao Yuankai has been appointed to the board of directors of Pure Energy Minerals. Mr. Mao represents Lithium X Corp. which holds an 11.9% equity position in Pure Energy. Mr. Mao graduated from the University of Tasmania, and has more than 10 years' experience of business management. He has rich investment and trading experience in non-ferrous metal products and minerals, and has good relationship with large international traders such as Glencore PLC and Trafigura. Mr. Mao currently serves as a Director of Lithium X Energy Corp., Chairman Assistant of Tibet Summit Resources Co., Ltd. and Chairman of Potasio Y Litio De Argentina S.A. As well, the Company sincerely thanks Ms. Hua Huang for her contributions as a prior board member and wishes her well in her future endeavours. "Pure Energy is very pleased to welcome Mr. Mao as a board member and we look forward to working with him in the future," stated Mary Little, director of Pure Energy. About Pure Energy Pure Energy Minerals is a lithium resource developer that is driven to become a low-cost supplier for the growing lithium battery industry. Pure Energy has consolidated a pre-eminent land position at its Clayton Valley Project in the Clayton Valley of central Nevada for the exploration and development of lithium resources, comprising 950 claims over 23,360 acres (9,450 hectares), representing the largest mineral land holdings in the valley. Pure Energy's Clayton Valley Project adjoins and surrounds on three sides the Silver Peak lithium brine mine operated by Albemarle Corporation. Pure Energy's strategic partner, Schlumberger Technologies Corporation ("SLB"), is the operator of the Clayton Valley Project. In May of 2019, Pure Energy and SLB signed an Earn-In agreement over the CV Project which requires significant investment by SLB at the Project, to include the design and construction of a pilot plant capable of processing lithium-bearing brines for high-quality lithium hydroxide monohydrate ("lithium hydroxide" or "LiOHH2O") and/or lithium carbonate products at a specified rate. SLB plans to utilize both in-house and commercially available technology in the design of the CV pilot plant. SLB's costs, technical parameters and ultimate technology are anticipated to differ from the published PEA. For further details regarding SLB's participation, please refer to Pure Energy's Annual General and Special Meeting Management Information Circular dated April 4, 2019, available on SEDAR.com. On behalf of the Board of Directors, "Mary L. Little" Director, Pure Energy Minerals Ltd. CONTACT: Pure Energy Minerals Limited (www.pureenergyminerals.com) Email: [email protected] Telephone - 604 608 6611 Cautionary Statements and Forward-Looking Information The information in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry. Forward-looking statements in this release may include future exploration and development on the Clayton Valley Project. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of 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/129697 Paid press release content from The Financial Capital. The StreetInsider.com news staff was not involved in its creation. Digital business cards have a display page containing your contact, professional details, and other relevant information. Individuals can share their digital business cards within their network to develop more connections and connect with potential customers. Pune-based QR code management platform QRCodeChimp introduced digital business cards for their customers. Digital business cards can create substantial value for marketing agencies and HRs. Marketing agencies and HR teams are the target customers. This ensures complete security and allows one to create in bulk with white labeling options. "We are already developing the best digital business cards in the market for our customers. 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There are multiple benefits associated with using digital business cards. Some of them include: - The user does not need to have the technical knowledge to create this digital card for their professional needs. - The company lets the users customize the card as per their preferences, like decorating their QR code to make it visually appealing. - One can add their business logo to the digital business card QR code. - A user can develop sub-accounts and folders for managing the QR codes, share these folders with others, and even see the folder-level analytics. - The bulk uploading feature helps users to create multiple QR codes at once. - It comes with an analytics dashboard for tracking the QR code scans, time-wise, device-wise, and location-wise analytics, and then one can evaluate the QR codes seamlessly. For more details, visit https://www.qrcodechimp.com/digital-business-card. About QRCodeChimp: TezMinds Software Pvt Ltd. of Pune introduced QRCodeChimp, a platform for managing QR codes, in 2019. It is a one-stop shop for designing and managing QR code campaigns is QRCodeChimp. More than 2,25,000 users, including Fortune 500 companies, educational institutions, marketing agencies, and freelancers, are currently using QRCodeChimp to interact with their target audience. Contact Info: Name: Mayuri Bangar Email: Send Email Organization: Tez Minds Software Pvt. Ltd. Website: https://www.qrcodechimp.com/ Release ID: 89077499 If you detect any issues, problems, or errors in this press release content, kindly contact [email protected] to notify us. We will respond and rectify the situation in the next 8 hours. Avelo base will create up to 500 jobs and top $1B in regional economic impactAvelo to open state-of-the-art Orlando flight training centerAvelo inaugurates flights from MCO to Washington, D.C. and Wilmington, NCAvelo expands service from MCO to Southern ConnecticutIntroductory one-way fares start at $59 ORLANDO, Fla., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Avelo Airlines opened its third U.S. base today at Orlando International Airport (MCO) setting the stage for significant travel, employment and economic impact opportunities for Central Florida. The new base is expected to generate more than $250 million in short-term economic impact in Greater Orlando and top $1 billion in regional economic impact annually within the next five years. In the years ahead, this includes significant spending and tax revenue from the more than one million visitors Avelo will fly to Orlando annually. Additionally, Avelo's fast-growing Orlando presence will generate incremental spending and tax revenue from the thousands of direct and indirect jobs the airline's expanding MCO presence will contribute to the Orlando community and the state of Florida. Over the next year, Avelo expects to create up to 150 MCO-based jobs. These positions will be a combination of Avelo Crewmembers and jobs with Avelo business partners operating at MCO. Roles will include Airport Customer Service, Aircraft Technical Operations and Maintenance, Pilots, Flight Attendants and Supervisors. As the airline adds additional aircraft and routes over the next five years, Avelo expects to create up to 500 MCO-based jobs. Avelo Airlines Chairman and CEO Andrew Levy said, "Our new base will enable Avelo to serve more destinations, add more flights, operate more airplanes, fly more Customers and employ more Crewmembers in Orlando. Avelo's rapidly expanding presence here will be a significant source of new visitors to Orlando creating significant economic impact across the region. We are grateful to the City of Orlando, as well as Kevin Thibault and the Greater Orlando Airport Authority for their strong partnership as we double down on MCO and Central Florida." Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said, "The expansion of air service is vital to our community and economy and that is why Orlando is honored that Avelo Airlines has chosen Orlando International Airport as its third U.S. base. We look forward to seeing Avelo grow and create new jobs for our residents and to welcoming even more visitors to enjoy our unbelievably real, world-renowned hospitality." Greater Orlando Aviation Authority Chief Executive Officer Kevin Thibault said, "Orlando International Airport prides itself on offering the traveling public options in both airlines and destinations. What we're getting with Avelo is even more than a new connection between Central Florida and Baltimore. It is an additional access point for business to the popular northeast corridor from our region." A Rapidly Expanding MCO Fleet and Route Network Avelo will initially base three Boeing Next-Generation (NG) 737 jetliners at MCO one 147-seat 737-700 and two 189-seat 737-800s. Avelo's current systemwide fleet consists of 10 737 NGs and is expected to expand to 15 aircraft by early 2023. Over the next 12 months, Avelo plans to fly to 15 nonstop destinations from MCO. By 2027, Avelo expects to base 10 aircraft at MCO serving up to 50 nonstop destinations. With the opening of its MCO base today, Avelo now serves three popular nonstop destinations from Orlando. Southern Connecticut: Since November, Avelo has operated daily service between MCO and Southern Connecticut's most convenient airport Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN). With the opening of its Orlando base, Avelo now flies to HVN up to three times per day. One-way introductory fares start at $69*. Washington, D.C.: Beginning today, Avelo will offer seasonal service five days per week to Baltimore / Washington International Airport (BWI) through August 21, 2022. One-way introductory fares start at $59*. Wilmington, N.C.: Beginning tomorrow, Avelo will offer seasonal service three days per week to Wilmington International Airport (ILM) through November 9, 2022. One-way introductory fares start at $59*. The introductory fares for all three routes are available for purchase at AveloAir.com. New Orlando Pilot and Flight Attendant Training Center Avelo also said it is on track for converging its airline-wide Pilot and Flight Attendant training in Orlando. Initial and recurrent training for all Avelo Pilots and Flight Attendants will be facilitated by Avenger Flight Group (AFG) the world's largest privately owned commercial aviation training and simulation company. Training will begin this fall with the completion of the new Orlando training facility next spring. Previously conducted in separate locations and, at times, by separate companies, Avelo's Pilot and Flight Attendant training will now be conducted at AFG's new state-of-the-art Orlando campus. AFG provides advanced flight training solutions to airlines around the world at nearly 20 flight training centers across North America, South America and Europe. The new AFG-based training will provide opportunities for collaborative learning and training in areas such as leadership, evacuation simulations and customer service. Avelo employs nearly 200 Pilots and Flight Attendants. The airline anticipates hiring hundreds more in the years ahead many of whom will be based in Orlando. A Simple, Smooth and Reliable Alternative to Hub & Spoke Airlines Unlike conventional airline "hubs" that connect passengers between spoke cities, Avelo flies its Customers nonstop between its three "bases" and the destinations served by those three airports. In addition to Orlando, Avelo operates bases at Los Angeles' Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) and HVN. The airline has dedicated airplanes, Pilots, Flight Attendants and maintenance teams based at BUR, HVN and MCO. In contrast to the hub & spoke carriers, Avelo flights start and end every day at their respective base, providing Crewmembers with an enhanced quality of life that enables them to sleep at home every night rather than in hotels (which is typically the case at hub & spoke airlines). Avelo's base model also allows mechanics to inspect every aircraft every evening when it returns to its respective base, contributing to the airline's industry-leading reliability. In fact, since launching 14 months ago, Avelo has cancelled less than 1% of its flights. Lastly, the absence of hubs eliminates the risk of Avelo Customers missing their connection (because there are no flight connections to miss), or having their bag delayed or lost at a connecting hub (which is where most bags are mishandled). A Different, Better and More Affordable Travel Experience Amidst the crowds, long lines, lengthy walks and traffic congestion encountered at most major airports, Avelo primarily serves smaller, secondary airports. These airports are typically more convenient and offer a refreshingly smooth, quick and simple hometown airport experience. At Avelo, there are no change or cancellation fees. Additionally, Avelo offers several unbundled travel-enhancing options that give Customers the flexibility to pay for what they value, including priority boarding, checked bags, carry-on overhead bags, and bringing a pet in the cabin. Additionally, the fuel-efficient American-made 737 jetliners Avelo operates offer a more spacious and comfortable experience than the much smaller regional aircraft historically operated at the small secondary airports Avelo primarily serves. Customers may choose from several seating options, including seats with extra leg room, as well as pre-reserved window and aisle seating. Avelo is distinguished by its Soul of Service culture. The culture is grounded in Avelo's One Crew Value that promotes a welcoming and caring experience. By caring for one another and owning their commitments, Avelo Crewmembers focus on anticipating and understanding Customer needs on the ground and in the air. About Avelo Airlines Avelo Airlines was founded with a simple purpose to Inspire Travel. The airline offers Customers time and money-saving convenience, low everyday fares, and a refreshingly smooth and caring experience through its Soul of Service culture. Operating a fleet of Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft, Avelo serves 25 popular destinations across the U.S., including its three bases at Los Angeles' Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR), Southern Connecticut's Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN) and Orlando International Airport (MCO). For more information visit AveloAir.com or the Avelo Newsroom at AveloAir.com/Newsroom. Media Contact:Avelo AirlinesJim Olson[email protected] Greater Orlando Airport AuthorityRod Johnson[email protected] *One-way introductory fares include government taxes and fees. The introductory one-way fares are only available on Avelo flights between now and November 7. Blackout dates will apply. The introductory fares are available on a limited number of flights and seats. A $20 charge applies to all bookings or changes made through Avelo's Customer Support Center. Additional fees for carry-on and checked bags, assigned seats and other optional services may apply. For full terms and conditions, please see Avelo's Contract of Carriage. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/avelo-airlines-new-orlando-base-takes-flight-301578831.html SOURCE Avelo Airlines LONDON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hilco Global is excited to report that Cath Kidston has announced new funding from Hilco Capital ("Hilco"), an operating company of Hilco Global, to support the dynamic next phase of the company's growth. The investment from Hilco will also see funds affiliated with Baring Private Equity Asia ("BPEA") exit its stake in the business. Marty Wikstrom, Non-Executive Chair at Cath Kidston, said: "Brexit, followed by the COVID pandemic, created a number of challenges for the consumer industry. Thankfully, we have been able to successfully navigate those challenges and, with the help of BPEA, reposition the company for growth. The company's flagship store in Piccadilly is growing rapidly and performing close to pre-pandemic levels, and orders from our International and UK Franchisees and Wholesale Partners grew 40% for the fiscal year ending March 2022. "I am pleased that the Hilco team will commit the resources to enable Cath Kidston to accelerate its growth. Hilco's large and experienced UK team has considerable expertise in branded fashion and consumer businesses. We expect to invest further in ecommerce, and thanks to Holly Marler, who joined the company in 2021 as Creative Director, our new product ranges are perfectly placed to appeal to both existing and new customers." Hilco Capital confirmed: "We have long admired the Cath Kidston brand and are extremely pleased to have been chosen to take the company on the next stage of its journey." Terms of the transaction were not announced. About Hilco Capital:Headquartered in London, Hilco Capital (www.hilcocapital.com) is a multidimensional financial services company providing a range of restructuring services to businesses and insolvency practitioners, as well as investing in stressed situations throughout the UK, Europe, Canada, and Australia. Hilco Capital has significant capabilities in the stressed and distressed retail, manufacturing, wholesale, and distribution sectors. Hilco Capital is part of US based Hilco Global (www.hilcoglobal.com), the world's leading authority on maximizing the value of business assets by delivering valuation, monetization, advisory and capital investment solutions to an international marketplace. Hilco Global operates more than twenty specialized business units offering services that include asset valuation and appraisal, retail and industrial inventory acquisition and disposition, real estate, and strategic capital equity investments. About Cath Kidston Cath Kidston is a British lifestyle brand, founded in 1993 by the eponymous Cath Kidston. The brand taps into a playful, nostalgic feeling through its distinctive print narrative and meaningful products. A celebration of craft and heritage, the designs are imagined and painted in London and the products, including bags, accessories, homewares, fashion and kids, are distributed globally. The brand's mission is to inspire customers with everyday joy. About Baring Private Equity Asia Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) is one of Asia's largest private alternative investment firms, with USD 21 billion of FPAUM. BPEA manages a private equity investment program, sponsoring buyouts and providing growth capital to companies for expansion or acquisitions with a particular focus on the Asia Pacific region, as well as dedicated funds focused on private real estate and private credit. The firm has a 25-year history and over 220 employees located across 10 offices in Beijing, Delhi, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney, and Tokyo. BPEA is a responsible investor that seeks to create value for all stakeholders through a sustainable approach to investing. The firm is a signatory to the UNPRI (United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment) and is committed to action within its own business and the companies in which it invests to drive sustainability across a range of issues, from climate change to social concerns to effective governance. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cath-kidston-secures-new-funding-for-growth-from-hilco-capital-an-operating-company-of-hilco-global-301579217.html SOURCE Hilco Global BEIJING, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As Hong Kong celebrates the 25th anniversary of its return to China, the "One Country, Two Systems" policy is hailed as a fundamental guarantee for the city's prosperity and stability. Chinese President Xi Jinping, who arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday for the anniversary celebration, said facts have proven the great vitality of "One Country, Two Systems," which guarantees Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability and ensures the well-being of the Hong Kong compatriots. Delivering a short speech at the West Kowloon high-speed rail station, Xi called on Hong Kong to uphold "One Country, Two Systems" unswervingly and strive for a brighter future. Xi: Hong Kong has emerged stronger after tests "It has been five years since my last visit to Hong Kong," said Xi, who visited Hong Kong in 2017 as the city celebrated the 20th anniversary of its return to China. Xi said he has been concerned about and caring for Hong Kong all along. "My heart and the central government's heart are always with the Hong Kong compatriots," he said. He said Hong Kong had withstood a series of grave tests and overcome a series of risks and challenges over a period of time, adding that the city has since emerged stronger and shown great vigor. Hailing the strong vitality of "One Country, Two Systems," he said as long as the principle is upheld unswervingly, Hong Kong will surely have an even brighter future and make new, greater contributions to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Xi will attend a meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Friday. During a meeting with HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Thursday, Xi spoke highly of her efforts to firmly implement the "One Country, Two Systems" principle and the Basic Law and her role in facilitating a major transition from chaos to order in Hong Kong. 'Resounding success' "One Country, Two Systems" is a basic policy that the Chinese government has been implementing in Hong Kong since resuming the exercise of sovereignty over it on July 1, 1997. Despite the many challenges over the past 25 years, the practice of "One Country, Two Systems" in Hong Kong has been a "resounding success," Xi said when meeting with newly elected and appointed sixth-term Chief Executive of the HKSAR John Lee on May 30. The central government's resolve to fully and faithfully implement the principle of "One Country, Two Systems" has never wavered, still less will it change, he told Lee. Xi has repeatedly stressed the need to fully and faithfully implement the principle stay committed to the basis of "One Country" and leverage the benefits of "Two Systems" well. Hong Kong has achieved remarkable development under "One Country, Two Systems" since its return to China. In 2021, Hong Kong's economy grew to 2.86 trillion Hong Kong dollars (about $364 billion), up from 1.37 trillion Hong Kong dollars in 1997. During the period, its total foreign trade in goods more than tripled to 10.27 trillion Hong Kong dollars. Hong Kong has emerged stronger as an international financial, shipping and trade center. It has been consistently rated by global institutions as one of the freest and the most competitive economies with a world-class business environment. The average life expectancy in Hong Kong in 2021 stood at 83 years for males and 87.7 years for females, compared to 76.8 years and 82.2 years, respectively, in 1997. https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-06-30/Xi-extends-congratulations-best-wishes-to-Hong-Kong-compatriots-1bhNbpwpzS8/index.html View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cgtn-one-country-two-systems-ensures-hong-kongs-prosperity-stability-301579018.html SOURCE CGTN SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS, Brazil, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Embraer (B3: EMBR3, NYSE: ERJ) signed an agreement with Toyota do Brasil in order to embrace Toyota Production System (TPS) principles and concepts in its industrial operations. The initiative aims to eliminate waste, obtain operational efficiency, and increase value generation for stakeholders. During the first phase of this joint work, a team of TPS specialists from Toyota Brazil will immerse themselves in Embraer's daily work to evaluate and suggest improvements for the company's main manufacturing area at the Ozires Silva Unit, located in Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Paulo. "Bringing Toyota to execute this work reinforces Embraer's commitment to focus on business excellence and sustainable growth," said Francisco Gomes Neto, CEO of Embraer. "It will be an excellent opportunity to exchange knowledge and accelerate the usage of the Lean philosophy in the production systems, while strengthening practices already conducted by the Embraer Enterprise Excellence Program, the P3E." "TPS is a methodology that can contribute to different scenarios and occasions. More than efficiency and productivity, the TPS can provide solutions that allow industry and other sectors to continuously improve their processes, which is one of Toyota's pillars worldwide. There is still a possibility that we can contribute to the ESG agenda," said Rafael Chang, President of Toyota do Brasil. Since 2007, Embraer has been following the Lean philosophy as a business strategy that spreads P3E principles, concepts, and practices. This program is responsible for leading transformations in an integrated way, paving the path for the entire company to make big steps in improving its processes. This system of excellence aims at safety first, quality always, and deliveries on timeall at the best cost. A reference in the concept of Industry 4.0, Embraer has made immense progress at the forefront of manufacturing technologies with digital, integrated, and low environmental impact factories, with continuous improvement of processes and adaptation of technology for people and operations. From 2022, the company's goal is to grow carbon neutral and, by 2024, have 100% of energy coming from renewable sources in Brazilian operations. About Toyota Production System (TPS)Developed and refined over decades, since the beginning of the 21st century, TPS is a management philosophy that helps to optimize business results with a focus on safety, logistics and process management, always with quality and at a low cost. It is a system that seeks to expose and solve problems in the most diverse environments and situations, and that can be applied, therefore, to any activity in an organization. Among the main TPS concepts that will be worked on in partnership with Embraer are just in time - which aims to create a continuous flow of manufacturing and greater partnership with suppliers for the efficient use of parts and resources, avoiding excess of inventories and waste - and the jidoka which aims to improve the quality and added value of work executed in a factory. About EmbraerA global aerospace company headquartered in Brazil, Embraer has businesses in Commercial and Executive aviation, Defense & Security and Agricultural Aviation. The company designs, develops, manufactures and markets aircraft and systems, providing Services & Support to customers after-sales. Since it was founded in 1969, Embraer has delivered more than 8,000 aircraft. On average, about every 10 seconds an aircraft manufactured by Embraer takes off somewhere in the world, transporting over 145 million passengers a year. Embraer is the leading manufacturer of commercial jets up to 150 seats and the main exporter of high value-added goods in Brazil. The company maintains industrial units, offices, service and parts distribution centers, among other activities, across the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/embraer-establishes-an-agreement-with-toyota-to-maximize-efficiency-in-its-production-system-301579250.html SOURCE Embraer S.A. Two National Leading Providers in Revenue Cycle Staffing Solutions Joining Forces PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- GHR Healthcare ("GHR"), the parent company of seven strategic staffing brands spanning healthcare, wellness, travel nursing, and education, has officially acquired Meleeo, based in Tampa, Florida. The acquisition expands GHR's ability to provide specialized Revenue Cycle Workforce Solutions to its current and growing client base in the healthcare industry. Meleeo, founded in 2015, works with clients across the United States, focusing on staff augmentation, streamlining processes and mid-revenue cycle solutions and helping improve the overall health of a healthcare system's revenue cycle. The addition of Meleeo compliments the existing GHR family of brands, with two of the leading mid-revenue cycle solution providers joining forces to deliver more robust solutions for current clients, future clients and consultants. "The merging of Meleeo into our GHR RevCycle Division, brings together two powerhouse companies in the Case Management, Coding, and CDI space," said John Quirk, CEO of GHR Healthcare. "The combined expertise of these entities makes us the true leader in RevCycle staffing." Managing Partner of Meleeo, Brian McNally commented, "Combining forces with GHR Revenue Cycle allows us to maintain our identity via our shared values and commitment to excellence while expanding our capabilities to assist our clients in tackling today's challenges." Barry Matthews, VP of GHR Revcycle Workforce added, "This strategic acquisition is extremely exciting for GHR RevCycle." It will expand our capabilities of providing staff augmentation and managed services within CDI, Remote UR & Case Management. . . our combined companies will create incredible opportunities for growth as a leading provider of mid-Revenue Cycle Solutions." https://www.ghrrevcycle.com ABOUT MELEEO Based in Tampa, FL, supporting hospitals and Health Systems nationally, Meleeo has experienced explosive growth since its inception in 2015, making the INC. 5000 three consecutive years. Meleeo exclusively supports Case Management, Utilization Management and Clinical Documentation performance improvement initiatives with specialized talent and advisory services. https://meleeo.com ABOUT GHR HEALTHCARE Founded in 1993, GHR Healthcare has helped thousands of healthcare facilities, school districts, and community-based organizations meet their staffing needs. The Company's brands include General Healthcare Resources, GHR Travel Nursing, GHR RevCycle Workforce, GHR Education, GHR Human Services, GHR Technology and GHR Search. GHR provides a variety of workforce solutions to clients nationwide, including MSP and RPO solutions, contingent, per diem, contract, travel, direct hire and interim services. www.ghresources.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ghr-healthcare-acquires-meleeo-301578999.html SOURCE General Healthcare Resources Exhibition honors the noble stances of late Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah: Sheikha Ayda Al Sabah. History of Informatics Medal awarded to prominent digital innovators, such as Bill Gates and Dr. Belgacem Haba. Exhibition was held in parallel to the Informatics Awards ceremony under the auspices of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- His Highness Sheikh Salem Al Ali Al Sabah Informatics Award held an exhibition entitled 'The Journey of the Award' to showcase its achievements since its establishment in 2001 and to honor the late Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah. The exhibition was held parallel to the Informatics Award ceremony that took place June 27 at Bayan Palace. The 2020 Informatics Medal was awarded to the late Emir of Kuwait in recognition of his philanthropic leadership and dedication to information technology and sciences. During the ceremony, prizes were also awarded to innovative digital projects from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Sultanate of Oman and the State of Kuwait. Around 486 volunteers from 21 countries, including the above mentioned states as well as the United Arab Emirates, the State of Qatar and Palestine, were also recognised at the exhibition. The Informatics Award relied heavily on the efforts of those local and regional volunteers who contributed in substantially making Kuwait and the region stronger in the digital industry. It is worth mentioning that The Informatics Medal was also awarded to dignitaries and organizations that made a difference in the world, such as Bill Gates, who is the pioneer of innovations that launched the communications revolution and introduced computers to the world. The medal was also given to the great African and Arab electronics scientist Dr. Belgacem Haba, as well as the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Smart Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the most famous and largest institute for the production of innovative technologies in the world. Speaking at the event, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Award, Sheikha Ayda Salem Al Ali Al Sabah said: "The exhibition honors the noble stances of late Emir of Kuwait who had blessed us with his generous patronage for 14 years with his wisdom, continuous guidance and support and his presence in most of the award ceremonies He deserves from us all honor, appreciation and reverence." She noted that Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah was visually represented throughout the exhibition. Sheikha Ayda Al-Sabah added that the exhibition is a living witness to the Informatics Award's national, Arab and international impact and role in preparing for a developed technical society that Arab countries feel the urgent need for. 'The Journey of the Award' Exhibition was divided into five pavilions and noted the award's important accomplishments to date, as well as its aspirations for more advancement in the field of information technology and digital applications. The Informatics Prizes pavilion showcased the winning projects such as websites, smart applications and technical systems that were invented by individuals, government and private agencies and civil societies of Arab countries. The 'Shift (See) Kuwait' pavilion enabled visitors to interactively learn about the country and all aspects of Kuwaiti life and people. The Informatics Academy pavilion showcased the technical and educational free courses provided to Kuwait's youth, which taught them the basics of digital manufacturing and enabled them to invent smart projects that offer important services to the community. Moreover, the Global Informatics Forum pavilion revealed the participation of scientists from all over the world and highlighted the latest smart inventions of the digital mind, their dialogues and recommendations. Meanwhile, the Awareness and Cultural Activities pavilion attracted visitors because of the vitality of the topics it presented in the eight discussion boards, the six informational bureaus held by the award, and the hosting of senior specialists and those interested in information affairs. Last Monday's event further celebrated the winners of the 20th Edition of Informatics Award which are: The Kingdom of Bahrain The General Directorate of Traffic of the Ministry of Interior for its project Traffic Services, represented by Director General of Traffic, Brigadier General Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Abdulwahab Al Khalifa. represented by Director General of Traffic, Brigadier General Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Abdulwahab Al Khalifa. The Ministry of Education for its project Electronic Education Portal, represented by Dr. Majid bin Ali Al Nuaimi, Minister of Education. The Sultanate of Oman The Ministry of Health for its project Trassud+ represented by Dr. Fatma bint Mohammed al Ajmi, Undersecretary for Administrative, Financial and Planning Affairs in MoH. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia The Communications and Information Technology Commission for its project Platform for Delivery Applications via Electronic Platforms represented by Deputy Governor Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Jarbou. represented by Deputy Governor Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Jarbou. The Saudi Red Crescent Authority for its project Asefeni represented by Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Rasheed The State of Kuwait The Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT), in joint collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Zain, for its project Shlonik, represented by The Director General CAIT, Haya Ahmed Al Wadani. represented by The Director General CAIT, Haya Ahmed Al Wadani. The Public Institution for Social Security for its project Insurances Dhukhr (treasure), represented by General Manager Mishaal Abdulaziz Al Othman. represented by General Manager Mishaal Abdulaziz Al Othman. Jif Company for the design and management of websites for its project Jif , represented by Ahmed Nader Marafie. , represented by Ahmed Nader Marafie. Fanajeen General Trading Company for its project Fanajeen, represented by partner and founder Abdulaziz Adnan Al Shalfan. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1851164/HH_Crown_Prince_at_the_exhibitions.jpgPhoto: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1851163/HH_Crown_Prince_and_HE_Sheikha_Ayda_Al_Sabah.jpgPhoto: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1851162/Winners_presenting_to_HH_Crown_Prince.jpgLogo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1847521/Informatics_Award.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-humanitarian-leader-and-bill-gates-among-the-informatics-award-20---year-journey-exhibit-301578630.html SOURCE His Highness Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah Informatics Award, State of Kuwait TSX: GPR | NYSE American: GPL VANCOUVER, BC, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Great Panther Mining Limited (TSX: GPR) (NYSE-A: GPL) ("Great Panther" or the "Company"), a growing gold and silver producer focused on the Americas, reports that all proposed resolutions were passed at its Annual General Meeting (the "Meeting"), held on June 29, 2022, via virtual webcast. A total of 167,149,329 common shares of the 471,094,691 common shares outstanding were voted, representing 35.48% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Great Panther. Shareholders voted in favour of all items of business before the Meeting, including the election of all directors as follows: NUMBER OF SHARES PERCENTAGE OF VOTES CAST FOR WITHHELD FOR WITHHELD Trudy M. Curran 88,325,413 14,925,834 85.54 % 14.46 % Joseph Gallucci 88,554,030 14,697,217 85.77 % 14.23 % Alan Hair 89,490,866 13,760,381 86.67 % 13.33 % John Jennings 78,106,489 25,144,758 75.65 % 24.35 % Elise Rees 91,611,947 11,639,300 88.73 % 11.27 % Kevin J. Ross 92,231,941 11,019,306 89.33 % 10.67 % Dana Williams 88,503,147 14,748,100 85.72 % 14.28 % In addition, shareholders voted 90.36% in favour of setting the number of directors at seven, 88.80% in favour of appointing KPMG LLP as auditors, and 81.06% in favour of a resolution authorizing the Company to proceed with a share consolidation on terms to be determined by the board of directors. For more information see the Management Information Circular dated May 16, 2022, available on the Company's website at www.greatpanther.com/investors/agm. ABOUT GREAT PANTHER Great Panther is a growing gold and silver producer focused on the Americas. The Company owns a diversified portfolio of assets in Brazil, Mexico and Peru that includes three gold and silver mines, an advanced development project and a large land package with district-scale potential. Great Panther is actively exploring large land packages in highly prospective districts and is pursuing acquisition opportunities to complement its existing portfolio. Great Panther trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange trading under the symbol GPR, and on the NYSE American under the symbol GPL. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/great-panther-announces-2022-agm-results-301579048.html SOURCE Great Panther Mining Limited Bookings to the Great Land hit the highest levels since pre-pandemic; AAA Washington declares Seattle the top domestic summer destination for statewide residents SEATTLE, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With pent up demand and the U.S. Independence Day travel rush approaching, premium cruise line Holland America Line is reporting a surge in interest for Alaska, experiencing the highest booking levels for Alaska cruising to the bucket list travel destination during the month of June since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Alaska cruising is growing as travelers look to explore again. "People are excited to travel again while reconnecting with family and friends in a meaningful way," said Beth Bodensteiner, senior vice president and chief commercial officer for Holland America Line. "We're seeing the pent-up demand leading to increased booking as guests realize cruising is a hassle-free way to enjoy unique destinations such as Alaska." As a bucket-list locale for many travelers, Alaska offers close-to-home departures without the need for overseas air, stunning scenery and wildlife, deep history and culture, and areas like Glacier Bay that are best reached from the water. According to AAA Washington, Seattle, Washington, is the number-one summer domestic destination in the U.S. for Washington travelers -- and the second most popular nationwide -- due in large part to the area's bustling cruise industry. During the upcoming July 4 holiday weekend, AAA Washington travel bookings reveal that the number of people traveling by trains, buses and cruise ships is expected to triple compared to 2021. Holland America Line offers round-trip from Seattle cruises to Alaska on two of its ships. "Our summer travel inquiries and bookings show people are feeling safe to explore again," said Michelle Glass, vice president of travel for AAA Washington. "Alaska is one of my favorite places to visit in the summer. A preferred partner, like Holland America Line, helps us provide clients with convenient departures to and from our own back yard to this amazing place, without the added cost of airfare." Overall, Holland America Line continues to see strong interest in cruises that are a short flight or drive from guests' homes. The cruise line visits 225 different ports in 91 different countries on sailings round-trip from the United States, serving more international destinations on cruises sailing round trip from a U.S. homeport than any other brand. The line's U.S. homeports include Seattle, San Diego, Boston and Fort Lauderdale. Holland America Line also offers more sailings to Alaska from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, than any other cruise line. "With the cost and recent challenges with air travel, we are seeing excitement and traction from guests within driving distance of our cruise homeports such as Seattle and Vancouver," said Kacy Cole, vice president of marketing and e-commerce for Holland America Line. "We recently invested in local marketing near our homeports and we're already seeing that pay off." For more information about Holland America Line, consult a travel advisor, call 1-877-SAIL HAL (877-724-5425) or visit hollandamerica.com. Editors Note: Photos are available at https://www.cruiseimagelibrary.com/c/mcssyl5i. Find Holland America Line on Twitter, Facebook and the Holland America Blog. Access all social media outlets via the home page at hollandamerica.com. About Holland America Line [a division of Carnival Corporation and plc (NYSE: CCL and CUK)]Holland America Line has been exploring the world since 1873 and was the first cruise line to offer adventures to Alaska and the Yukon nearly 75 years ago. Its fleet of premium ships visits nearly 400 ports in 114 countries around the world, offering an ideal mid-sized ship experience. A third Pinnacle-class ship, Rotterdam, joined the fleet in July 2021. The leader in premium cruising, Holland America Line's ships feature innovative initiatives and a diverse range of enriching experiences focused on destination exploration and personalized travel. The best live music at sea fills each evening at Music Walk, and dining venues feature exclusive selections from Holland America Line's esteemed Culinary Council of world-famous chefs. CONTACT: Bill Zucker, Erik ElvejordPHONE: 800-637-5029, 206-626-9890EMAIL: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/holland-america-line-sees-a-surge-in-demand-for-alaska-cruising-301579127.html SOURCE Holland America Line Hot Dog Council announces return of Hot Dog Ambassador competition WASHINGTON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Name a better duo we'll wait. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (NHDSC) and the National Mustard Museum joined forces this summer to create the ultimate "Sausage and Mustard Pairing Guide," just in time for July's National Hot Dog Month and Independence Day. July 4th is the single biggest hot dog consumption day of the year as Americans enjoy an estimated 150 million hot dogs, part of a summer where people consume an estimated seven billion hot dogs. "Mustard and sausages are about as classic a combo as peanut butter and jelly, cheese and crackers, or limes and coconuts," said Eric Mittenthal, President of the NHDSC. "There's a reason why mustard was voted America's No. 1 condiment on hot dogs and sausages." "The natural pungency of mustard seed combined with the acidic bite of its vinegar base is the perfect offset to the savory richness of meats, from roasts to all cured meats," said Barry Levenson, Founder and Curator of the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin. "It is no surprise that the rise of French's Mustard in the early 1900's paralleled the explosive growth of hot dogs in America no surprise to the German immigrants who in fact started many of our country's mustard and sausage companies, many thriving to this day." With a combined 400-plus years of culinary experience, 10 accomplished chefs collaborated to match 17 delicious sausage types with 17 of the world's finest mustards. Here are the results. Pairings ranged from classics like Beef Frankfurters + Yellow Mustard, to more adventurous options like Cajun Brats + Sweet Maple Mustard. Americans spent more than $7.5 billion on hot dogs and sausages last year in U.S. supermarkets alone, according to the NHDSC. The Council said this pairing guide was specially-crafted so that consumers can get the most out of each bite. "Our sampling adventure was certainly a culinary celebration and we hope this guide will help make your own celebrations even better," the chefs wrote in the pairing guide. Additionally, the NHDSC announced the return of the heavily-anticipated Hot Dog Ambassador contest, in which hot dog enthusiasts from around the world will have the opportunity to prove why they belong amongst hot dog royalty. This year's contest will require participants to post photo(s), video(s) or a combination on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #HotDogAmbassador2022, and a convincing caption explaining why you deserve the Ambassadorship. Aside from bragging rights, winners will receive a $100 giftcard and hot dog SWAG. More details will be posted on the NHDSC website and Facebook + Instagram accounts throughout the month of July. Contact Casey Kammerle with any questions. Additional hot dog and sausage resources, culture, and fun facts are available at www.hot-dog.org, and more information about the National Mustard Museum is available at www.mustardmuseum.org. About the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council: Established in 1994 by the American Meat Institute, the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council serves as an information resource to consumers and media on questions related to quality, safety, nutrition and preparation of hot dogs and sausages. The Council also celebrates hot dogs and sausages as iconic American foods. About the National Mustard Museum: The National Mustard Museum collection has grown to more than 6,500 mustards from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, along with hundreds of items of mustard memorabilia. On display is the exquisite Gibbons Collection of sterling silver and porcelain mustard pots (above), antique tins & jars, vintage advertisements, as well as information on the history of mustard, how it is grown & produced, and its nutritional properties and medical history. Located in bustling downtown Middleton, Wisconsin, just outside Madison, it is truly a shining temple to the undisputed 'King of Condiments.' For more information, contact Barry Levenson (606) 831-2222, or visit www.mustardmuseum.org. CONTACT: Casey Kammerle (202) 587-4253 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hot-dog-council-national-mustard-museum-team-up-for-sausage--mustard-pairing-guide-in-time-for-national-hot-dog-month-301579100.html SOURCE National Hot Dog and Sausage Council With the new funding Medsien will expand its sought-after suite of personalized Remote Care Management Services to more patients across the United States SAN FRANCISCO, June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Medsien connects patients, providers, and care partners in one comprehensive platform to provide better access to care outside doctors' offices. Today, more than 150 million people in the United States have a chronic condition comprising 90% of the nation's $3.3 trillion annual healthcare costs. Medsien's $4.3M funding round is led by Merus Capital and Naples Technology Ventures, with participation from Candou Ventures. This investment round will enable Medsien to expand operations and its world-class team, scale programs to meet demand, extend its range of products and services, and bring support to more practices and health systems - all while bringing better healthcare (improved outcomes, patient and provider satisfaction) throughout the country. Medsien has previously raised $1M in funding. A typical member of Medsien's care management programs is Dorothy, a 79-year-old grandmother who lives alone with type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, hyperlipidemia, and takes over 12 medications. She has been part of the program since 2019 and has been able to lower her A1C and improve her health and medication adherence. She has always been thankful to her care partner for keeping her healthy. Medsien's early success has already made it the most favored solution for many health care practices. It is the only remote care management service that all stakeholders love - positively impacting organizations, providers, and patients. Adaptable programs and technology allow Medsien to serve a wide variety and range of clients and its efficient and cost-effective operations, and proven clinical improvement for patients have primed it for rapid expansion and growth. "We partnered with Medsien in November of 2020. Medsien has become a wonderful extension of our practice. They have helped us create more revenue without adding additional work to our staff. Their services have also improved our patient's compliance with their individual care goals. The service has helped us to have a better line of sight to our patient's health and wellbeing when they're not in the office, and the patients have reported back how much they enjoy and look forward to their call with Medsien staff." Dr. Krause, Family Physician Medsien brings together a network of empathetic care partners all over the country who deliver passionate, personalized care to members every day. Medsien plans to hire hundreds of care partners in the coming years providing a favorable, flexible alternative for the fastest-growing healthcare job sector in the United States. Medsien care partners develop strong relationships with their patients. An essential part of the care partner-patient relationship is being a trustworthy advocate. As a health care professional, helping patients navigate the healthcare system and coordinating care with their health professionals requires that you be a "medical friend" to whom that patient can talk openly and honestly. "Medsien's founders have built a set of technology-enabled services that are highly valued by patients, doctors and other industry stakeholders and that is ready for explosive growth in the coming years," said David Rangel, General Partner at Merus Capital. "We are proud to have partnered with Hamed and Sina." "We're excited to partner up with Medsien and its experienced management team, in a very exciting market where Medsien's value-add surpasses all other providers and increases the patient-care by a high percentage. The technology platform and services provided by Medsien should pique the interest of any healthcare provider and institution", said Mike Abbaei, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Naples Technology Ventures. Medsien founders, Hamed Ahmadi and Sina Torabi, met in Seattle in 2018 and decided to join forces and found Medsien. Hamed, a Computer Science Ph.D., was a tenured engineering leader in the San Francisco Bay Area who has built and scaled products to millions of users. Sina is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for healthcare and more specifically senior care. They both realized that care delivery hasn't changed for centuries and they could make a significant impact using cutting-edge technology. "Our patients' happiness and satisfaction drive us. Nothing could motivate us more than our patients' appreciation of our work. Like when our patient sends us a picture of his newly born grandson and thanks us for helping him with his health. Our vision is to provide better access to care to everyone in America and worldwide. We want to see a world where no chronic condition is an obstacle to a happy life." Medsien Co-Founder & CEO, Hamed Ahmadi Medsien Overview: Medsien is the leading provider of Remote Care Management solutions and services across the United States. Medsien is a venture-backed health technology company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. https://www.medsien.com/ Investors Overview: Merus Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm founded by former M&A leaders at Google and Microsoft. Merus empowers ambitious teams in building tomorrow's industry-defining platforms. The firm partners with founders that possess unique industry and customer insights, an unwavering commitment to product innovation, and a relentless focus on execution. Naples Technology Ventures is a Venture Capital Firm that invests in early-stage technology and services companies. NTV looks for companies that show strong value-add and demonstrate being in emergent and/or expanding markets with both Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) and/or a Services-based model. NTV focuses on investments in Series Seed and Series A+ rounds. Candou Ventures is an early seed round firm focused on supporting entrepreneurs with unique and defensible ideas. They are uniquely positioned to help shape your plans into investible businesses, fund your seed round, and then help you raise money from tier 1 VCs. Contact: [email protected] | (855)-MEDSIEN (633-7436) View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/leading-remote-care-management-platform-medsien-raises-4-3-million-seed-round-to-help-150-million-americans-get-better-care-301578390.html SOURCE Medsien, Inc. Artists including Beeple, David Choe, and Alex Grey donated art inspired by personal experience and the potential of psychedelic healing Cartography of the Mind represented the single-largest sale of art to benefit MAPS in its 30+ year history of philanthropic art sales represented the single-largest sale of art to benefit MAPS in its 30+ year history of philanthropic art sales Select pieces will be exhibited at Psychedelic Science 2023, marking the first time digital art will be exhibited in the extensive Psychedelic Science galleries and exhibits SAN JOSE, Calif., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) has announced that Cartography of the Mind: A Curated NFT Sale raised $1,569,960. Proceeds of the auction, presented by Christies in collaboration with Ryan Zurrer, founder of Dialectic and Vine Ventures, will benefit MAPS. On the heels of NFT.NYC, we were absolutely thrilled with the successful results of Cartography of the Mind: A Curated Sale to Benefit MAPS. Throughout the week, the physical exhibition at Christie's new gallery on 6th Avenue drew impressive crowds of enthusiastic visitors. With competitive bidding, the sale realized over $1.5 million. It was 100% sold, and 130% sold hammer over low estimate. This is a true testament to the continued strength and vibrancy of the digital art market.Nicole Sales, Christie's Business Director of Digital Art Beeple, David Choe, Sarah Meyohas, Refik Anadol, Mad Dog Jones, IX Shells, and more donated art to support MAPS. The research, education, and advocacy organization, founded in 1986, remains the leading body at the vanguard of research into potentially life-saving psychedelic-assisted therapies. Psychedelic Healing is an artistic interpretation of the MAPS logo by renowned artist Alex Grey to celebrate MAPS' 35th anniversary in 2021. It was purchased by Ryan Zurrer and donated back to MAPS for additional fundraising. As a not-for-profit, we are always looking for innovative ways to fundraise, and working with this digital art community has truly been eye-opening. We are overwhelmed by the generosity and support from Ryan, Christie's, and especially these incredible artists who put forth their art in support of our work in advancing psychedelic medicine. We have seen a significant overlap amongst people who have a passion for NFTs, blockchain, and psychedelics. All speak to the decentralized nature of experience, and we look forward to continuing to explore the intersection of both communities.Rick Doblin, Ph.D., MAPS' Founder and Executive Director ABOUT MAPS Founded in 1986, MAPS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and educational organization developing medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana. MAPS is sponsoring the most advanced psychedelic therapy research in the world funded primarily by philanthropic donors and grantors who have given more than $130 million for research and education. About Christie's Founded in 1766, Christie's is a world-leading art and luxury business. Renowned and trusted for its expert live and online auctions, as well as its bespoke private sales, Christie's offers a full portfolio of global services to its clients, including art appraisal, art financing, international real estate and education. Christie's has a physical presence in 46 countries, throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, with flagship international sales hubs in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. It also is the only international auction house authorized to hold sales in mainland China (Shanghai). Christie's is dedicated to advancing responsible culture throughout its business and communities worldwide, including achieving sustainability through net zero carbon emissions by 2030, and actively using its platform in the art world to amplify under-represented voices and support positive change. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/maps-raises-nearly-1-6-million-in-christies-nft-auction-301579133.html SOURCE Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies WASHINGTON , June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Members of the public are invited to explore the many ways space science helps families, communities, and our nation better understand our home planet and become more climate resilient through hands-on and virtual activities during NASA Day at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival Saturday, July 2, on the National Mall in Washington. "NASA explores our own planet Earth, using the unique vantage point of space to observe how our planet's oceans, atmosphere, land, and ice work together as an Earth system," said Karen St. Germain, Earth Science Division director at NASA Headquarters. "These observations grow our understanding of our planet's changing climate. That understanding means the agency can deliver more actionable science to inform decision makers from global leaders to city mayors seeking to mitigate, adapt to and respond to those climate changes." Throughout the day, agency representatives will participate in various speaking events and activities. In addition, NASA will host a free, public exhibit featuring information about science, live demonstrations, and other family friendly activities. The following is a list of activities taking place throughout the day (all times Eastern): 2 p.m. Sustainable SeafoodLawrence Friedl, associate director of NASA's Earth Applied Sciences Program, joins chefs and other speakers at the Foodways Kitchen to discuss how NASA Earth science data is used by anglers, farmers, and decision-makers to support sustainable practices. 3 p.m. What is Sustainable Food Production?NASA satellites play an increasingly important role in monitoring crops and their environmental conditions. St. Germain will moderate a panel discussion with leading subject matter experts, including John Piotti, president of American Farmland Trust; Jack Algiere, director of agroecology at Stone Barns Center; Seth Goldman, co-founder of PLNT Burger; and Mark Allison, a nationally renowned chef. The panel will stream live. 3 p.m. Oysters and NASAWhat does NASA have to do with the ocean? Find out at the Foodways Kitchen as we discuss the intersection of oysters, the Chesapeake Bay, and NASA. The following events will be ongoing: The Pocket Cinema will showcase NASA videos that dive into the science behind the global temperature record, explore the world's remote poles, and describe how agency data is used to support food security. The video playlist is available online. Join team members at the People Powered Science station with family-focused, hands-on demonstrations of Earth science observations and emerging technology, linking NASA's global research directly to our backyards and neighborhoods. A full schedule of events and more information about the festival are available here. NASA's vantage point from space gives the agency a unique view of our home planet. For more than 50 years, agency satellites have provided open-source and publicly available data on Earth's land, water, temperature, weather, and climate. For more information about NASA's Earth science programs, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/earth View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasa-shares-climate-earth-science-resources-at-folklife-festival-301578306.html SOURCE NASA LOMPOC, Calif., June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation thanked House appropriators for continuing to stress the need to implement proven, safe and humane fertility control but urged lawmakers to make greater investments in this key tool needed to keep wild horses and burros managed on the range. The House Interior Appropriations Committee on Wednesday approved a $44.8 billion bill for Fiscal Year 2023 that includes $156 million for the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program -- a $19 million increase over the program's 2022 budget. The allocation includes up to $11 million "for research on reversible immunocontraceptive fertility control and its administration." Congress approved the same amount for "administration of and research of reversible immunocontraceptive fertility control" for 2022. Return to Freedom (RTF) continues to emphasize that $11 million is a fraction of what is necessary in order to create a successful fertility control program in the West, one which replaces removals as the agency's primary management tool and saves taxpayer dollars over the long run. "We applaud the Committee for continuing to support proven, safe and humane fertility control," said Neda DeMayo, president of RTF, a national nonprofit wild horse and burro advocacy organization. "However, we are concerned however that the fertility control language allows BLM to use the $11 million for research when there are decades of data to support scaling up existing fertility control now. We hope that the House and Senate will revise this language in the final funding package." "Delaying the use of readily available fertility control shown to be proven, safe and humane by decades of peer-reviewed science will only continue kicking the can down the road with the agency's failed and inhumane practice of removing wild horses and burros from their rightful rangelands," DeMayo added. The bill's accompanying report language "directs the Bureau to develop plans that ensure they can administer fertility control, conduct targeted removals from the most heavily and impacted population areas, expand long-term off range holding and any alternatives, and increase adoptions. To better accomplish these goals, the Bureau should establish public/private partnerships, to include working with veterans and wild horse organizations, to implement a robust immunocontraceptive fertility control program. The Committee's direction to focus planning on fertility control is positive, as is a call for increased public-private partnerships that RTF has modeled and advocated for over two decades. The Committee's direction to increase long-term holding also has the potential to be positive. It further directs a multi-agency Wild Horse Task Force to "examine how to increase off-range holdings that can sustain year-round grazing by many horses." RTF has repeatedly called for captive wild horses and burros to be moved from holding corrals to more natural and cost-effective pastures. The Committee also directs the BLM to update it on the "efficacy of identifying and relocating horses to different Herd Management Areas," which RTF supports over removals to off-range holding, and especially with an emphasis on keeping family bands and herds together. RTF has advocated heavily for relocation projects as an alternative to fracturing herds and sending the horses to off-range holding corrals. Though RTF's goal is to end removals as BLM's primary wild horse management tool, the Committee's direction to focus removals "from the most heavily and impacted population areas," if put into practice, would be a noteworthy break with what often appears to advocates as a failure to ecologically prioritize where wild horse and burro roundups are conducted. The BLM has spent resources removing large numbers of horses from areas where they are most easily trackable. These are areas that are actually ideal for fertility control projects immediately as opposed to massive removals. Additionally, to continue removing horses with nowhere for them to go and without managing the reproduction of the horses left on those ranges has proven to increase reproduction and repeated removals within five years. The bill contains other positive language supported by RTF, including: --Continuing a prohibition on BLM and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) selling wild horses and burros to slaughter or euthanizing healthy equines. --Repeating Congress's demand that "all removals are conducted in strict compliance with the Bureau's Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program and any population growth suppression strategies must be proven, safe, and humane." --Calling for a multi-agency Wild Horse Task Force to review BLM's fertility control efforts and reviewing BLM's Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) "to make sure there are no weaknesses that would jeopardize the welfare of these animals." RTF continues to push for changes in the AIP's $1,000 cash incentive, which has resulted in an unknown number of wild horses and burros being held for a year until title is transferred, then sold at auctions frequented by kill buyers who ship equines to Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses. --Emphasizing to the USFS "the importance of screening adopters and purchasers to ensure the welfare and safe outcomes for the horses and burros adopted and sold by the agency." --Directing BLM to ensure the program is at full staffing capacity. The agency has had one staff person to review contracts, further slowing the implementation of needed fertility control. Another example: a lack of sufficient staff was found to be among the BLM policy violations a report found at Canon City, Colo., off-range holding corrals in the wake of the deaths of 145 horses there this spring. The Committee directs the $71 million Species Management Research Program to supplement that funding to "significantly progress research on reversible immunocontraceptive fertility control for wild horses and burros." The bill includes $1 million for the Foundation for America's Public Lands with a direction that it be used to assist BLM with "the challenge of wild free-roaming horses and burros" but provides no other instructions for its use. While the bill's guiding report language contains a number of potential positives for wild horses and burros, the bill problematically affirms the BLM's May 2020 report to Congress: a vague and often self-contradictory plan of aggressive roundups with little use of fertility control before reaching the agency's arbitrarily set "Appropriate Management Level" (AML): its population target for wild horses and burros. This is a continuation of BLM's failed approach of management by removal of wild horses while failing to address reproduction. Population modeling by RTF and other stakeholders has shown that immediately implementing fertility control alongside any removal that BLM conducts is the only way to catch up with and stabilize herd growth so that on-range management can replace removals. If BLM does not implement fertility control immediately, in a robust way, to slow (not stop) population growth, then the agency will continue to chase and briefly achieve its AML on some of the 177 Herd Management Areas, only to soon return to remove more wild horses and burros from their home ranges. During Fiscal Year 2021, BLM removed 13,666 wild horses and burros from the range compared to just 1,160 fertility control treatments out of an agency-estimated 86,189 wild horses and burros on the range. For Fiscal Year 2022, BLM has set out to remove "at least" a record 19,000 wild horses and burros while treating just 2,300 with fertility control. This comes with 58,314 captive horses and burros in off-range holding as of May. Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation (RTF) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to wild horse preservation through sanctuary, education, conservation, and advocacy since 1998. It also operates the American Wild Horse Sanctuary at three California locations, caring for more than 450 wild horses and burros. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates about wild horses and burros on the range and at our sanctuary. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rtf-urges-congress-to-invest-in-wild-horse-fertility-control-press-harder-for-its-use-301578386.html SOURCE Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation Over 85 percent of SoCalGas scholarship recipients are minority students majoring in STEM, accounting and finance LOS ANGELES, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced that 25 students from Central and Southern California have been awarded funds from the 2022 SoCalGas Scholarship Program. For the first time, the utility has partnered with Scholarship America to provide multiyear scholarships for students studying science, technology, engineering, math (STEM), accounting or finance. Scholarships are eligible for renewal for the next three years totaling over $300,000 in available funds. The students were evaluated on their academic achievements, community involvement and personal statements addressing the utility's sustainability actions in support of California's clean energy goals. With 87 percent of this year's recipients identified as minority students, SoCalGas' scholarship program continues to help create new opportunities for diverse and underserved scholarship recipients. "Education is a key avenue to help people succeed, and these SoCalGas scholarships will help those with the highest needs," said Los Angeles City Councilmember Joe Buscaino. "During my decade as a Councilmember and prior career with LAPD, I saw firsthand how education created a path towards a better future for low-income Angelenos." "We greatly appreciate the ongoing SoCalGas Scholarship Program which paves the way and offers new opportunities for many residents in Kern County," said Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh. "The investment of SoCalGas in higher education and workforce development brings much-needed support in transforming the future of our community." "I want to thank SoCalGas for always championing our people and helping open doors for many within our communities," said Diahna Garcia-Ruiz, board president at Central Union High School District. "Year after year, I am amazed at what SoCalGas does for our communities. This is a tremendous opportunity for our students who lack financial support these scholarships will aid them and help drive their future." "Our youth are the driving force of the future. The goal of our scholarship is to nurture this group and help build the important foundation that will help prepare them for professional opportunities and higher education," said Andy Carrasco, vice president of communications, local government, and community affairs at SoCalGas. "We understand that rising educational costs can be stressful, and we want to help alleviate those worries as much as possible to allow our students a brighter future." Matthew Torre, a graduate from Patriot High School in Jurupa Valley who will be pursuing a degree in Management Science and Engineering with a minor degree in statistics at Stanford in the fall said, "I am truly honored to be selected for such a prestigious and generous scholarship. It has always been a dream of mine to attend a top University and to do so with the help of this scholarship, is a dream realized for me. I am proud to represent my community and SoCalGas as part of the Stanford Class of 2026." Aisha Siddiqi, a graduate from Foothill High School who will be pursuing an environmental science degree at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York said, "It's an honor to receive the SoCalGas Scholarship this year. It has been a wonderful adventure so far in pursuing my dreams to help our environment. I cannot wait to expand my knowledge in the coming years at RIT thanks to this scholarship. Wanda Barahona, a graduate from Augustus Hawkins Critical Design and Gaming High School who will be attending the University of California, Los Angeles with a major in computer science said, "I am so excited to attend college this fall. I've always participated in many extracurriculars throughout high school such as robotics which ultimately helped shaped my love for video games. Thank you to SoCalGas for granting me this scholarship that will allow me to continue pursuing my passions." Aaron Dukes, a graduate from Bakersfield High who will be attending Bakersfield College with a major in Biology and Chemistry said, "I am grateful for the funds that this scholarship will provide as I continue to pursue my passion in the sciences. Prior to attending college this fall, I was part of the Kern Medical Research Assistant Program I'm excited to see how my education will help me continue to give back to my community here." The program is administered by Scholarship America, the nation's largest designer and manager of scholarship, tuition assistance, and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor, and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America's evaluation team. Since the program's inception in 2001, the utility has awarded more than 2,200 scholarships totaling over $3 million in funding. Students who plan to attend a community college or trade school will receive a $1,000 scholarship and students who plan to attend a university, or 4-year college will receive a $5,000 scholarship. Awards are renewable for three years or until a bachelor's degree is earned, whichever occurs first, on the basis of satisfactory academic performance for a total of up to $20,000 per recipient. In 2021, the utility invested $2.3 million in educational programs with over $500,000 spent in funding towards scholarships for students throughout our service territory. SoCalGas' Scholarship Program is part of the company's ASPIRE 2045 sustainability goals to increase diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace and the communities it serves, including a commitment to invest $50 million to drive positive change in diverse and underserved communities over the next five years. About SoCalGas Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, and increasingly renewable gas service to 21.8 million consumers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California. Gas delivered through the company's pipelines will continue to play a key role in California's clean energy transitionproviding electric grid reliability and supporting wind and solar energy deployment. SoCalGas' mission is to build the cleanest, safest and most innovative energy company in America. In support of that mission, SoCalGas aspires to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its operations and delivery of energy by 2045 and to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply to core customers with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste created by dairy farms, landfills, and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for customers. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra (NYSE: SRE), an energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/socalgas-awards-more-than-300-000-in-scholarships-over-the-next-three-years-to-central-and-southern-california-students-pursuing-higher-education-301578916.html SOURCE Southern California Gas Company The premier event for open source developers, technologists and community leaders features 75+ sessions across 9 events, furthering open source innovation and collaboration across South America and Latin America. SAN FRANCISCO, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced the full schedule for Open Source Summit Latin America, the gathering place for open source code and community contributors, taking place August 23-24 as a Virtual Experience. The schedule can be viewed here. Open Source Summit Latin America 2022 is a conference umbrella comprised of 9 events including LinuxCon, CloudOpen, ContainerCon, Emerging OS Forum, Community Leadership Conference and more, covering the most important and cutting edge topics and technologies touching open source today. The schedule features 75+ talks (keynote presentations, conference sessions, tutorials and more). 2022 Conference Session Highlights Include: Keynote speakers, and additional conference sessions, will be announced in the coming weeks. Attendees will have opportunities to collaborate, share information, and solve problems with other community members from across the globe, furthering open source innovation and ensuring a sustainable open source ecosystem. It is THE gathering place for open source code and community contributors in Latin America. Registration to attend is R$99 Brazilian Real and provides access to all 9 events. Members of The Linux Foundation receive a 20 percent discount off registration and can contact [email protected] to request a member discount code. Applications for diversity and need-based registration scholarships are currently being accepted. For information on eligibility and how to apply, please click here. SponsorSponsoring Open Source Summit gives you the opportunity to reach a diverse and multi-faceted audience of open source practitioners, in one place. For information on becoming an event sponsor, click here or email us. PressMembers of the press who would like to request a press pass to attend should contact Kristin O'Connell. About the Linux FoundationFounded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is supported by more than 2,000 members and is the world's leading home for collaboration on open source software, open standards, open data, and open hardware. The Linux Foundation's projects are critical to the world's infrastructure including Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js, and more. The Linux Foundation's methodology focuses on leveraging best practices and addressing the needs of contributors, users and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit linuxfoundation.org. The Linux Foundation Events are where the world's leading technologists meet, collaborate, learn and network in order to advance innovations that support the world's largest shared technologies. Visit our website and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook for all the latest event updates and announcements.The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see its trademark usage page: www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Media ContactKristin O'ConnellThe Linux Foundation[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-linux-foundation-announces-conference-schedule-for-open-source-summit-latin-america-2022-301579264.html SOURCE The Linux Foundation $5 will be donated to Farm Rescue for each flag requested QUINCY, Ill., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Titan International, Inc. (Titan) is excited to kick off its second annual "Flags Over Harvest" campaign to support American farmers and their commitment to buying American-made Titan and Goodyear Farm Tires. Building on the success of last year's campaign, Titan will again be giving away a free American flag for farmers to display on their equipment during harvest season. For each flag requested, Titan will donate $5 to Farm Rescue a nonprofit organization that plants and harvests crops free of charge for family farmers who have suffered a major illness, injury or natural disaster. "Agriculture is at the heart of who we are at Titan," said Paul Reitz, Titan President and CEO. "As the only farm tire and wheel company headquartered in the U.S., we feel a special connection to farmers and appreciate their decision to buy American-made tires because it supports thousands of U.S. jobs to keep the nation running. By partnering with Farm Rescue again, we look forward to raising more money to assist farmers in need." Last year, Titan raised $4,500 for Farm Rescue as part of its inaugural "Flags Over Harvest" campaign and has a goal to raise more funds this year. Titan's history with the "Flags Over Harvest" campaign includes donating to Farm Rescue in 2019 to assist farmers affected by major spring floods in the Midwest and in 2020 to help farmers dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. We will also be partnering with them at the Farm Progress Show, Husker Harvest Days and the Iowa State Fair. "Farm Rescue is honored to be a recipient of the 'Flags Over Harvest' campaign once again this year," said Bill Gross, Founder and President of Farm Rescue. "Last year's funds helped give farm families a chance to continue their livelihood. In 2021, Farm Rescue and its army of volunteers were honored to extend a helping hand to 121 families across our 7-state service territory. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Titan International, Inc. with the goal of helping America's farm families in times of crisis." Visit titan-intl.com/flags to claim a free American flag; Titan will make a $5 donation to Farm Rescue for each flag requested. Tag Titan on its social channels with the hashtag #FlagsOverHarvest2022. About Titan International, Inc. Titan International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI) is a leading global manufacturer of off-highway wheels, tires, assemblies and undercarriage products. Headquartered in Illinois, the company produces a broad range of products to meet the specifications of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and aftermarket customers in the agricultural, earthmoving/construction and consumer markets. In the United States, the company produces two distinct tire brands Goodyear Farm Tires and Titan Tires. About Farm Rescue Farm Rescue was founded in 2005 and has helped nearly 900 families since its inception. The organization's mission is to help farmers and ranchers who have experienced a major illness, injury, or natural disaster by providing the necessary equipment and volunteer labor to perform time-sensitive services. Applications for assistance are currently being accepted and can be obtained at 701-252-2017 or www.farmrescue.org. 2022 Titan International All Rights Reserved. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/titan-kicks-off-its-2022-flags-over-harvest-campaign-to-help-american-farmers-301579242.html SOURCE Titan International, Inc. Exhibit (a)(2) AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO TRUST INSTRUMENT This Amendment No. 1 to Trust Instrument (this Amendment), effective as of June 27, 2022, is made with respect to the Trust Instrument, dated as of April 8, 1994 (the Trust Instrument), of Matthews International Funds, a Delaware statutory trust (the Trust). Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Trust Instrument. WITNESSETH THAT: WHEREAS, the Trustees desire to amend the Trust Instrument to clarify the ability to the Trust to process redemptions for Series that are treated as exchange traded funds (ETFs) in the manner provided in the registration statement for those ETFs and as permitted by applicable law; and WHEREAS, Section 11.8 of the Trust Instrument allows the Trustees, without a shareholder vote, to approve amendments to the Trust Instrument except in circumstances not applicable to this Amendment. NOW, THEREFORE, the Trust Instrument is hereby amended as specified below: A. Section 9.2 is hereby amended and replaced in its entirety with the following text: Section 9.2 Redemptions . (a) Except to the extent provided in (b) below, in case any holder of record of Shares of a particular Series desired to dispose of his Shares or any portion thereof, he may deposit at the office of the transfer agent or other authorized agent of that Series a written request or such other form of request as the Trustees may from time to time authorize, requesting that the Series purchase the Shares in accordance with this Section 9.2; and the Shareholder so requesting shall be entitled to require the Series to purchase, and the Series or the Principal Underwriter of the Series shall purchase his said Shares, but only at the Net Asset Value thereof (as described in Section 9.3 of this Article IX) . The Series shall make payment for any such Shares to be redeemed, as aforesaid, in cash or property from the assets of that Series and payment for such Shares shall be made by the Series or the Principal Underwriter of the Series to the Shareholder of record within seven (7) days after the date upon which the request is effective. Upon redemption, Shares shall become Treasury Shares and may be re-issued from time to time. (b) All Shares of any Series that is treated as an exchange traded fund (referred to as an ETF Series) shall be subject to redemption and redeemable in accordance with and pursuant to procedures or methods prescribed or approved by the Trustees. The Trust shall redeem the Shares of any ETF Series or Class thereof at the price determined as hereinafter set forth, at such offices or agencies and in accordance with such conditions, not inconsistent with the 1940 Act, regarding the redemption of Shares as may be described in the applicable Prospectus. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Trustees may specify conditions, prices, and places of redemption, and may specify binding requirements for the proper form or forms of requests for redemption of any Shares of an ETF Series or Class. In the case of any ETF Series or Class now or hereafter authorized, if so determined by the Trustees, Shares of such an ETF Series or Class shall be redeemable only in aggregations of such number of Shares and at such times as may be determined pursuant to procedures or methods prescribed by or approved by the Trustees from time to time with respect to such ETF Series or Class. The number of Shares comprising an aggregation for purposes of redemption or repurchase shall be referred to herein as a Creation Unit and collectively, as Creation Units. The Trustees shall have the unrestricted power to alter the number of Shares constituting a Creation Unit by resolutions adopted at any regular or special meeting of the Trustees. Each holder of a Creation Unit aggregation of an ETF Series or Class, upon request to the Trust in accordance with such procedures as may from time to time be in effect, shall be entitled to require the Trust to redeem all or any number of such holders Shares standing in the name of such holder on the books of the Trust, but in the case of Shares of any ETF Series or Class as to which have been determined that such Shares be redeemable only in Creation Unit aggregations, only in such Creation Unit aggregations of Shares of such ETF Series or Class as in effect from time to time. To the extent permitted by law, the Trustees may retain the proceeds of any redemption of Shares required by them for payment of amounts due and owing by a Shareholder to the Trust or any ETF Series or Class. B. The Trust Instrument will otherwise remain in full force and effect. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned officer of the Trust hereby certifies that the Trustees have approved this Amendment effective on the date first stated above. MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL FUNDS By: /s/ John P. McGowan Name: John P. McGowan Title: Vice President and Secretary 2 Exhibit (d)(21) MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL FUNDS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT THIS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT (this Agreement) is made as of the 30th day of June, 2022, by and between MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL FUNDS, a Delaware statutory trust (the Trust), on behalf of each series of the Trust listed in Appendix A hereto, as may be amended from time to time (individually, a Fund and collectively, the Funds), and MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC, a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware (the Advisor or MICM). WITNESSETH: WHEREAS, the Trust is an open-end management investment company, registered as such under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act); WHEREAS, the Trust is authorized to issue shares of beneficial interest in separate series with each such series representing interests in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets of the Trust; WHEREAS, the Advisor is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the Advisers Act), and is engaged in the business of supplying investment advice, investment management and administrative services as an independent contractor; WHEREAS, the Trust desires to retain the Advisor to render advice and investment management to the Funds pursuant to the terms and provisions of this Agreement, and the Advisor is interested in furnishing said advice and investment management; and 1 WHEREAS, the Trust, on behalf of the Funds, wishes to retain the Advisor to perform certain administrative services on behalf of the Funds, and the Advisor is interested in furnishing those services, subject to the oversight of the Trusts Board of Trustees. NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the covenants and the mutual promises hereinafter set forth, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound hereby, mutually agree as follows: 1. Appointment of MICM . (a) Advisory Services . The Trust hereby appoints and employs the Advisor and the Advisor hereby accepts such appointment and employment to render investment advice and investment management with respect to the assets of the Funds for the periods and on the terms set forth in this Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of the Trusts Board of Trustees. (b) Administrative Services . The Trust, on behalf of the Funds, hereby appoints MICM to provide or perform the administrative services specified in Section 2(b) on behalf of the Funds. MICM accepts the appointment and agrees to furnish through its own organization, or through third-party service providers (the Service Providers), as the case may be, those administrative services as part of its Investment Management Fee as described in Section 8 of this Agreement. MICM agrees that the administrative services required to be furnished hereunder shall be furnished in compliance with all relevant provisions of state and federal law, and in compliance with all applicable rules and regulations of all relevant regulatory agencies, including, without limitation, the 1940 Act, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the 1934 Act), the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and the conduct Rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. 2. Duties of MICM . (a) Advisory Duties. 2 (i) General Duties . The Advisor shall act as investment adviser to the Funds and shall supervise investments of the Funds on behalf of the Funds in accordance with the investment objectives, programs and restrictions of the Funds as provided in the Trusts governing documents, including, without limitation, the Trusts Trust Instrument and By-Laws, or otherwise and such other limitations as the Trustees may impose from time to time in writing to the Advisor. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Advisor shall: (i) furnish the Funds with advice and recommendations with respect to the investment of each Funds assets and the purchase and sale of portfolio securities for the Funds, including the taking of such other steps as may be necessary to implement such advice and recommendations; (ii) furnish the Funds with reports, statements and other data on securities, economic conditions and other pertinent subjects which the Trusts Board of Trustees may reasonably request; (iii) manage the investments of the Funds, subject to the ultimate supervision and direction of the Trusts Board of Trustees; (iv) provide persons satisfactory to the Trusts Board of Trustees to act as officers and employees of the Trust and the Funds (such officers and employees, as well as certain trustees, may be trustees, directors, officers, partners, or employees of the Advisor or its affiliates) but not including personnel to provide distribution services to the Funds; and (v) render to the Trusts Board of Trustees such periodic and special reports with respect to each Funds investment activities as the Board may reasonably request. (ii) Brokerage . The Advisor shall place orders for the purchase and sale of securities either directly with the issuer or with a broker or dealer selected by the Advisor. In placing each Funds securities trades, it is recognized that the Advisor will give primary consideration to securing the most favorable price and efficient execution, so that each Funds total cost or proceeds in each transaction will be the most favorable under all the circumstances. 3 Within the framework of this policy, the Advisor may consider the financial responsibility, research and investment information, and other services provided by brokers or dealers who may effect or be a party to any such transaction or other transactions to which other clients of the Advisor may be a party. It is also understood that it is desirable for the Funds that the Advisor have access to investment and market research and securities and economic analyses provided by brokers and others. It is also understood that brokers providing such services may execute brokerage transactions at a higher cost to the Funds than might result from the allocation of brokerage to other brokers on the basis of seeking the most favorable price and efficient execution. Therefore, the purchase and sale of securities for the Funds may be made with brokers who provide such research and analysis, subject to review by the Trusts Board of Trustees from time to time with respect to the extent and continuation of this practice to determine whether each Fund benefits, directly or indirectly, from such practice. It is understood by both parties that the Advisor may select broker-dealers for the execution of the Funds portfolio transactions who provide research and analysis as the Advisor may lawfully and appropriately use in its investment management and advisory capacities, whether or not such research and analysis may also be useful to the Advisor in connection with its services to other clients. On occasions when the Advisor deems the purchase or sale of a security to be in the best interest of one or more of the Funds as well as of other clients, the Advisor, to the extent permitted by applicable laws and regulations, may aggregate the securities to be so purchased or sold in order to obtain the most favorable price or lower brokerage commissions and the most efficient execution. In such event, allocation of the securities so purchased or sold, as well as the expenses incurred in the transaction, will be made by the Advisor in the manner it considers to be 4 the most equitable and consistent with its fiduciary obligations to the Funds and to such other clients (iii) Delegation . The Advisor may delegate certain of its duties under this Agreement with respect to a Fund to one or more investment advisers or participating affiliates that control the Advisor, are controlled by the Advisor or are under common control with the Advisor (each, an Advisory Affiliate), provided that the services rendered by any Advisory Affiliate will be subject to the oversight of the Advisor and the ultimate authority of the Trusts Board of Trustees. Any such delegation will be made pursuant to a written agreement, subject to the approval of the Trusts Board of Trustees to the extent required by applicable law, and in accordance with applicable requirements of the 1940 Act, the Advisers Act the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder and other then-applicable regulatory requirements. The Advisor is solely responsible for payment of any fees or other charges to an Advisory Affiliate arising from such delegation, and the Trust shall have no liability therefor. (b) Administrative Services . MICM will provide or perform, either directly or through Service Providers, the following administrative services on behalf of the Funds on a regular basis which shall be daily, weekly, or as otherwise appropriate, unless otherwise specified by the Trust: (i) Oversee the activities of the Funds transfer agent, accounting agent, custodian and sub-administrator; (ii) Assist with the calculation of the net asset value of each Fund on a daily basis; (iii) Oversee each Funds compliance with its legal, regulatory and ethical policies and procedures; and 5 (iv) Assist with the preparation of agendas and other materials drafted by the Funds third-party sub-administrator for the Trusts Board meetings. (v) Respond to shareholder communications; (vi) Coordinate shareholder mailings, which includes transmitting proxy statements, annual and semi-annual reports, prospectuses, and other correspondence from the Funds to shareholders as required by applicable law; (vii) Provide periodic communications and investor education materials to shareholders, which may include communications via electronic means such as electronic mail; (viii) Provide certain shareholder services not handled by the Funds transfer agent; (ix) Communicate with investment advisers or broker-dealers whose clients own or hold shares in the Funds; and (x) Provide such other information and assistance to shareholders as may be reasonably requested by such shareholders as required by applicable law. 3. Best Efforts and Judgment; Standard of Care. (a) Advisory Services . The Advisor shall use its best judgment and efforts in rendering the advisory services to the Funds as contemplated by this Agreement. (b) Administrative Services . MICM and the Service Providers shall be under no duty to take any action on behalf of the Funds except as specifically set forth herein or as may be specifically agreed to by MICM or the Service Providers with the Trust in writing. In the performance of the duties contemplated by Section 2(b), MICM and the Service Providers shall be obligated to exercise due care and diligence and to act in good faith and to use their best efforts. Agreements with Service Providers shall provide for at least the same standard of care, indemnification coverage, confidentiality, 6 requirements for use of information about the Funds, and other material requirements to which MICM is subject under this Agreement. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing or of any other provision of this Agreement, neither MICM nor any Service Provider shall be liable for delays or errors or losses of data that result from acts or war or terrorism, national emergencies or catastrophes directly affecting MICM or Service Provider, but such relief from liability shall not extend to delays, errors, or losses of data that result from power failures or other contingencies that typically are addressed by contingency or emergency plans meeting industry standards. 4. Independent Contractor . The Advisor shall, for all purposes herein, be deemed to be an independent contractor, and shall, unless otherwise expressly provided and authorized to do so, have no authority to act for or represent the Trust or the Funds in any way, or in any way be deemed an agent for the Trust or for the Funds. It is expressly understood and agreed that the services to be rendered by the Advisor to the Funds under the provisions of this Agreement are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Advisor shall be free to render similar or different services to others so long as its ability to render the services provided for in this Agreement shall not be impaired thereby. 5. Advisors Personnel . The Advisor shall, at its own expense, maintain such staff and employ or retain such personnel and consult with such other persons as it shall from time to time determine to be necessary to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the staff and personnel of the Advisor shall be deemed to include persons employed or retained by the Advisor to furnish statistical information, research, and other factual information, advice regarding economic factors and trends, information with respect to technical and scientific developments, and such other information, advice and assistance as the Advisor or the Trusts Board of Trustees may desire and reasonably request. 7 6. Reports by Funds to Advisor . Each Fund will from time to time furnish to the Advisor detailed statements of its investments and assets, and information as to its investment objective and needs, and will make available to the Advisor such financial reports, proxy statements, legal and other information relating to each Funds investments as may be in its possession or available to it, together with such other information as the Advisor may reasonably request. 7. Expenses . During the term of this Agreement, except for (i) the Investment Management Fee payable under this Agreement; (ii) interest, taxes and governmental fees (including, but not limited to, income, excise, transfer and withholding taxes and any accrued deferred tax liability); (iii) expenses of a Fund incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities, commodities or other financial instruments and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions; (iv) dividends and other expenses on securities sold short; (v) expenses associated with securities lending, including the fees of the securities lending agent; (vi) expenses incurred in connection with any distribution plan adopted by the Trust with respect to a Fund in compliance with Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, including distribution fees; (vii) acquired fund fees and expenses; (viii) litigation expenses; and (ix) any extraordinary expenses (which, for the avoidance of doubt, do not include expenses related to the organization of any subsidiary for a Fund or the ongoing corporate expenses of maintaining such subsidiary), the Advisor shall pay all of the expenses of each Fund, including but not limited to: (a) Salaries, Expenses and Fees of Certain Persons. Adviser (or its affiliates) shall pay all salaries, expenses, and fees of the Trustees and officers of the Trust who are officers, directors/trustees, partners, or employees of Adviser or its affiliates; 8 (b) Assumption of Trust Expenses. The payment or assumption by Adviser of any expense of the Trust that Adviser is not required by this Agreement to pay or assume shall not obligate Adviser to pay or assume the same or any similar expense of the Trust on any subsequent occasion; (c) Preparing, Printing and Mailing of Certain Documents. The costs of preparing, setting in type, printing and mailing of prospectuses, prospectus supplements, Statements of Additional Information, annual, semiannual and periodic reports, and notices and proxy solicitation materials required to be furnished to shareholders of the Funds or regulatory authorities, and all tax returns; (d) Registration Fees and Expenses. All legal and other fees and expenses incurred in connection with the affairs of the Funds, including those incurred with respect to registering the Funds shares with regulatory authorities, listing the Funds for trading on a national securities exchange, and all fees and expenses incurred in connection with the preparation, setting in type, printing, and filing with necessary regulatory authorities of any registration statement and prospectus, and any amendments or supplements that may be made from time to time, including registration, filing and other fees in connection with requirements of regulatory authorities; (e) Custodian and Accounting Services. All expenses of the transfer, receipt, safekeeping, servicing and accounting for the Funds cash, securities, and other property, including all charges of depositories, custodians, and other agents, if any; (f) Independent Accountant and Trust Counsel Fees and Expenses. The charges for the services and expenses of the independent accountants and legal counsel retained by the Trust, for itself, on behalf of the Funds; (g) Transfer Agent. The charges and expenses of maintaining shareholder accounts, including all charges of transfer, bookkeeping, and dividend disbursing agents appointed by the Trust on behalf of the Funds; 9 (h) Trade Association Fees. Any membership fees, dues or expenses incurred in connection with the Trusts membership in any trade association or similar organizations, as approved by the Trustees on behalf of the Funds; (i) Bonding and Insurance. All insurance premiums for fidelity and other coverage, as approved by the Trustees; (j) Shareholder and Board of Trustees Meetings. All expenses incidental to holding shareholders and Trustees meetings, including the printing of notices and proxy materials and proxy solicitation fees and expenses; and (k) Pricing. All expenses of pricing of the net asset value per share of each Fund, including the cost of any equipment or services to obtain price quotations. To the extent the Advisor incurs any costs by assuming expenses which are an obligation of a Fund as set forth herein, such Fund shall promptly reimburse the Advisor for such costs and expenses, except to the extent the Advisor has otherwise agreed to bear such expenses. To the extent the services for which a Fund is obligated to pay are performed by the Advisor, the Advisor shall be entitled to recover from such Fund to the extent of the Advisors actual costs for providing such services 8. Investment Management Fee . (a) The Funds shall pay to the Advisor, and the Advisor agrees to accept, as full compensation for all services furnished or provided to the Funds pursuant to this Agreement, an annual investment management fee not to exceed the per annum percentage of the average daily net asset value of the Funds shares, as set forth in the Fee Schedule attached hereto as Appendix B (the Management Fee), as may be amended in writing from time to time by the Trust and the Advisor. (b) Each Fund shall pay to the Advisor within five (5) business days after the end of each calendar month a monthly fee at the annual rate using the applicable Management Fee calculated 10 based on the actual number of days of that month and based on the Funds average daily net asset value for the month. The net asset value shall be calculated in the manner provided in each Funds prospectus and statement of additional information then in effect. (c) The initial Management Fee under this Agreement shall be payable on the first business day of the first month following the effective date of this Agreement and shall be prorated as set forth below. If this Agreement is terminated prior to the end of any month, the Management Fee to the Advisor shall be prorated for any month during which this Agreement is not in effect for a complete month according to the proportion that the number of calendar days in the month during which the Agreement is in effect bears to the number of calendar days in the month, and shall be payable within ten (10) days after the date of termination. (d) The Advisor may, but is not required to, reduce all or a portion of the compensation or reimbursement of expenses due to it pursuant to this Agreement and may agree to make payments to limit the expenses which are the responsibility of the Funds under this Agreement. Any such reduction, reimbursement, or payment (collectively, subsidies) shall be applicable only to such specific subsidy and shall not constitute an agreement to continue such subsidy in the future. Any such subsidy will be agreed to prior to accrual of the related expense or fee and will be estimated daily and reconciled and paid on a monthly basis. The Advisor may seek reimbursement of any subsidies made by the Advisor either voluntarily or pursuant to a contract. The reimbursement of any subsidy must be sought no later than the end of the third fiscal year following the year to which the subsidy relates. The Advisor may not request or receive reimbursement for any subsidies before payment of the ordinary operating expenses of the Funds for the current fiscal year and cannot cause the Funds to exceed the limitation to which the Advisor has agreed in making such reimbursement. 11 (e) The Advisor may agree not to require payment of any portion of the compensation or reimbursement of expenses otherwise due to it pursuant to this Agreement prior to the time such compensation or reimbursement has accrued as a liability of the Funds. Any such agreement shall be applicable only with respect to the specific items covered thereby and shall not constitute an agreement not to require payment of any future compensation or reimbursement due to the Advisor hereunder. 9. Fund Share Activities of Advisors Members, Officers and Employees; Code of Ethics. (a) The Advisor agrees that neither it nor any of its members, officers or employees shall take any short position in the shares of the Funds. This prohibition shall not prevent the purchase of shares of the Funds by any of the officers and members or bona fide employees of the Advisor or any trust, pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for such persons or affiliates thereof, at a price specified by the prospectus for the applicable Fund, which may be the current market price for Fund shares, and as allowed pursuant to the 1940 Act and the rules promulgated thereunder. (b) The Advisor represents that it (i) has adopted a written code of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act and Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act; (ii) has provided the Funds with a copy of the evidence of the adoption of the code of ethics by the Advisor; and (iii) will furnish such reports to the Funds as are required by Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act. The Advisor agrees to provide the Funds with any information required to satisfy the code of ethics reporting or disclosure requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and any rules or regulations promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) thereunder (the Sarbanes-Oxley Act). To the extent the Advisor adopts or has adopted a separate code of ethics or amends or has amended its code of ethics to comply with such rules or regulations, the Advisor shall provide the Funds with a copy of such code of ethics and any amendments thereto. 12 10. Conflicts with Trusts Governing Documents and Applicable Laws . Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the Trust or the Funds to take any action contrary to the Trusts Trust Instrument or By-Laws, or any applicable statute or regulation, or to relieve or deprive the Board of Trustees of the Trust of its responsibility for and control of the conduct of the affairs of the Trust and the Funds. 11. Indemnification . (a) The Funds agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Advisor and its officers and directors from all taxes, charges, expenses, assessments, claims and liabilities (including, without limitation, liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (1933 Act), the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the 1934 Act), the 1940 Act, and any state and foreign securities laws, all as amended from time to time) and expenses, including (without limitation) reasonable attorneys fees and disbursements, arising directly or indirectly from any action or thing which the Advisor takes or does or omits to take or do (i) at the request or on the direction of or in reliance on the advice of the Funds or (ii) upon oral or written instructions from an officer of the Funds, provided that the Advisor shall not be indemnified against any liability to the Funds or to the Funds shareholders (or any expenses incident to such liability) arising out of the Advisors own willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of its duties and obligations under this Agreement. (b) The Advisor agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Funds, the Trust and its officers and Trustees from all claims and liabilities (including, without limitation, liabilities arising under the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act, the 1940 Act, and any state and foreign securities laws, all as amended from time to time) and expenses, including (without limitation) reasonable attorneys fees and disbursements, arising directly or indirectly from any action or thing which the Advisor or a Service 13 Provider takes or does or omits to take or do which is in violation of this Agreement, not in accordance with written instructions given by an officer of the Trust, in violation of written procedures then in effect, or arising out of the Advisors or a Service Providers own willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties and obligations under this Agreement. (c) The Advisor shall provide such security as is necessary to prevent unauthorized use of any on-line computer facilities. The Advisor agrees to release, indemnify and hold harmless the Trust and the Funds from any all direct or indirect liabilities or losses resulting from requests, directions, actions, or inactions of or by the Advisor, its officers, employees or agents regarding the redemption, transfer or registration of the Funds shares for accounts of shareholders. Officers of the Advisor will be available to consult from time to time with officers of the Trust and the Trustees concerning performance of the Advisors duties contemplated by this Agreement. (d) No provision of this Agreement shall be construed to protect any Trustee or officer of the Trust, or partner or officer of the Advisor, from liability in violation of Sections 17(h) and (i) of the 1940 Act. 12. Non-Exclusivity . The Trusts employment of the Advisor is not an exclusive arrangement, and the Trust may from time to time employ other individuals or entities to furnish it with the services provided for herein. In the event this Agreement is terminated with respect to any Fund, this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect with respect to all other Funds listed on Appendix A hereto, as the same may be amended. 13. Term . This Agreement shall become effective in respect of each Fund as of the date listed in Appendix A (as amended from time to time), contingent upon the approval of this Agreement by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval, and shall remain in effect for a period of two (2) years, in each case unless 14 sooner terminated as hereinafter provided. This Agreement shall continue in effect thereafter for each Fund for additional periods not exceeding one (l) year so long as such continuation is approved for each Fund at least annually by (i) the Board of Trustees of the Trust or by the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each Fund and (ii) the vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not parties to this Agreement nor interested persons thereof, cast in person (or otherwise as permitted under regulatory guidance issued by the SEC) at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. 14. Termination . This Agreement may be terminated by the Trust on behalf of any one or more of the Funds at any time without payment of any penalty, by the Board of Trustees of the Trust or by the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of a Fund, upon sixty (60) days prior written notice to the Advisor, and by the Advisor upon sixty (60) days prior written notice to a Fund. The Advisors indemnification obligations under Section 11(b) shall survive the termination of this Agreement. 15. Termination by Assignment . This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of any transfer or assignment thereof, as defined in the 1940 Act. 16. Transfer , Assignment. This Agreement may not be transferred, assigned, sold or in any manner hypothecated or pledged without the affirmative vote or written consent of the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each affected Fund. 17. Entire Agreement . This Agreement, including all Appendices hereto, as the same may be amended from time to time, shall constitute the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, relating to the subject matter hereof. 15 18. Severability . If any provision of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute or rule, or shall be otherwise rendered invalid, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. 19. Notice . Any notice under this Agreement shall be given in writing, addressed and delivered or mailed postage prepaid, to the other party at the principal office of such party. 20. Definitions . The terms majority of the outstanding voting securities and interested persons shall have the meanings as set forth in the 1940 Act. 21. Limitation of Trust Obligations . The Advisor agrees that the Trusts obligations under this Agreement shall be limited to the Funds and to their assets, and that the Advisor shall not seek satisfaction of any such obligation from the shareholders of the Funds nor from any trustee, officer, employee or agent of the Trust or the Funds. 22. Nonpublic Personal Information . Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary, the Advisor agrees on behalf of itself and its directors, partners, officers, and employees (a) to treat confidentially and as proprietary information of the Trust and the Funds (i) all records and other information relative to the Trust and the Funds and their prior, present, or potential shareholders (and clients of said shareholders) and (ii) any Nonpublic Personal Information, as defined under Section 248.3(t) of Regulation S-P (Regulation S-P ), promulgated under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (the G-L-B Act), and (b) not to use such records and information for any purpose other than the performance of its responsibilities and duties hereunder, or as otherwise permitted by the privacy policies adopted by the Trust and the Funds, Regulation S-P or the G-L-B Act, except after prior notification to and approval in writing by the Trust. Such written approval shall not be unreasonably withheld by the Trust and may not be withheld where the Advisor may be exposed to civil or criminal 16 contempt proceedings for failure to comply after being requested to divulge such information by duly constituted authorities, or when so requested by the Trust. 23. Anti-Money Laundering Compliance . The Advisor acknowledges that, in compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended, the USA PATRIOT Act, and any respective implementing regulations (collectively, the AML Laws), the Trust has adopted an Anti-Money Laundering Policy. The Advisor agrees to comply with the Trusts Anti-Money Laundering Policy and the AML Laws, as the same may apply to the Advisor, now and in the future. The Advisor further agrees to provide to the Trust and/or the Funds such reports, certifications and contractual assurances as may be requested by Trust and/or the Funds. The Trust and the Funds may disclose information respecting the Advisor to governmental and/or regulatory or self-regulatory authorities to the extent required by applicable law or regulation and may file reports with such authorities as may be required by applicable law or regulation. 24. Certifications; Disclosure Controls and Procedures . The Advisor acknowledges that, in compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the implementing regulations promulgated thereunder, the Funds are required to make certain certifications and have adopted disclosure controls and procedures. To the extent reasonably requested by the Trust or the Funds, the Advisor agrees to use its best efforts to assist the Trust and the Funds in complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and implementing the Funds disclosure controls and procedures. The Advisor agrees to inform the Trust and the Funds of any material development related to the Trust or the Funds that the Advisor reasonably believes is relevant to the certification obligations of the Funds under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. 25. Name of Advisor . The parties agree that the Advisor has a proprietary interest in the name Matthews, and the Trust agrees to promptly take such action as may be necessary to delete from its corporate name and/or the name of the Funds any reference to the name of the Advisor or the name Matthews, promptly after receipt from the Advisor of a written request therefore. 17 26. Captions . The captions in this Agreement are included for convenience of reference only and in no way define or limit any of the provisions hereof or otherwise affect their construction or effect. 27. Governing Law . This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of California without giving effect to the conflict of laws principles thereof; provided that nothing herein shall be construed to preempt, or to be inconsistent with, any federal law, regulation or rule, including the 1940 Act and the Advisers Act, and any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. [Signature Page Follows] 18 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed and attested by their duly authorized officers, all on the day and year first above written. MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL FUNDS MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC By: /s/ John P. McGowan By: /s/ Theresa Noriega-Lum Name: John P. McGowan Name: Theresa Noriega-Lum Title: Vice President and Secretary Title: Chief Financial Officer 19 APPENDIX A MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL FUNDS FUND SCHEDULE (as of June 30, 2022) Fund Effective Date Matthews Emerging Markets Equity Active ETF June 30, 2022 Matthews Asia Innovators Active ETF June 30, 2022 Matthews China Active ETF June 30, 2022 MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL FUNDS MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC By: /s/ John P. McGowan By: /s/ Theresa Noriega-Lum Name: John P. McGowan Name: Theresa Noriega-Lum Title: Vice President and Secretary Title: Chief Financial Officer Date: June 30, 2022 Date: June 30, 2022 20 APPENDIX B MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL FUNDS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT FEE SCHEDULE (effective June 30, 2022) The Management Fee for each Fund is as follows: Fund Investment Management Fee Matthews Emerging Markets Equity Active ETF 0.79% of average daily net assets Matthews Asia Innovators Active ETF 0.79% of average daily net assets Matthews China Active ETF 0.79% of average daily net assets MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL FUNDS MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC By: /s/ John P. McGowan By: /s/ Theresa Noriega-Lum Name: John P. McGowan Name: Theresa Noriega-Lum Title: Vice President and Secretary Title: Chief Financial Officer Date: June 30, 2022 Date: June 30, 2022 21 Exhibit (e)(19) ETF DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT This Distribution Agreement (the Agreement) is made this 30th day of June 2022, by and between Matthews International Funds d/b/a Matthews Asia Funds, a Delaware statutory trust (the Trust) having its principal place of business at Four Embarcadero Center, Suite 550, San Francisco, California 94111, and Foreside Funds Distributors LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the Distributor) having its principal place of business at Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101. WHEREAS, the Trust is a registered open-end management investment company organized under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act) with separate and distinct series (each series a Fund and collectively the Funds) registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 1933 Act); WHEREAS, the Trust intends to create and redeem shares of beneficial interest (the Shares) of each Fund on a continuous basis and list the Shares on one or more national securities exchanges (together, the Listing Exchanges); WHEREAS, the Distributor is registered with the SEC as a broker-dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the 1934 Act), and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA); WHEREAS, the Trust desires to retain the Distributor to (i) act as the principal underwriter of the Funds with respect to the creation and redemption of creation units (as that term is used in Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act, Creation Units) of each Fund, and (ii) hold itself available to review and approve orders for such Creation Units in the manner set forth in the Trusts Prospectus; and WHEREAS, the Distributor desires to provide the services described herein to the Trust subject to the terms and conditions set forth below. NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises and undertakings herein contained, the parties agree as follows: 1. Appointment. The Trust hereby appoints the Distributor to serve as the principal underwriter of the Funds with respect to the creation and redemption of Creation Units of each Fund listed in Exhibit A hereto (as may be amended by the Trust from time to time on written notice to the Distributor) on the terms and for the period set forth in this Agreement and subject to the registration requirements of the federal securities laws and of the laws governing the sale of securities in the various states, and the Distributor hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to act in such capacity hereunder. 2. Definitions. Wherever they are used herein, the following terms have the following respective meanings: (a) Prospectus means the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information related to the Funds and constituting parts of the Registration Statement of the Trust under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act as such Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information may be amended or supplemented and filed with the SEC from time to time; (b) Registration Statement means the registration statement for the Funds most recently filed from time to time by the Trust with the SEC and effective under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, as such registration statement is amended by any amendments thereto at the time in effect; (c) All other capitalized terms used but not defined in this Agreement shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. 3. Duties of the Distributor (a) The Distributor agrees to serve as the principal underwriter of the Funds in connection with the review and approval of all Purchase and Redemption Orders of Creation Units of each Fund by Authorized Participants that have executed an Authorized Participant Agreement with the Distributor and Transfer Agent. Nothing herein shall affect or limit the right and ability of the Transfer Agent to accept Fund Securities, Deposit Securities, and related Cash Components through or outside the Clearing Process, and as provided in and in accordance with the Registration Statement and Prospectus. The Trust acknowledges that the Distributor shall not be obligated to approve any certain number of orders for Creation Units. (b) The Distributor agrees to use commercially reasonable efforts to provide the following services to the Trust with respect to the continuous distribution of Creation Units of each Fund: (i) at the request of the Trust, the Distributor shall enter into Authorized Participant Agreements between and among Authorized Participants, the Distributor and the Transfer Agent, for the purchase and redemption of Creation Units of the Funds, (ii) the Distributor shall approve and maintain copies of confirmations of Creation Unit purchase and redemption order acceptances; (iii) upon request, the Distributor will make available copies of the Prospectus to purchasers of such Creation Units and, upon request, the Statement of Additional Information; and (iv) the Distributor shall maintain telephonic, facsimile and/or access to direct computer communications links with the Transfer Agent. (c) The Distributor shall ensure that all direct requests to Distributor for the Prospectus, Statements of Additional Information, product descriptions and periodic fund reports, as applicable, are fulfilled. 2 (d) The Distributor agrees to make available, at the Trusts request, one or more members of its staff to attend, either via telephone or in person, Board meetings of the Trust in order to provide information with regard to the Distributors services hereunder and for such other purposes as may be requested by the Board of Trustees of the Trust. (e) The Distributor shall review and approve, prior to use, all Trust marketing materials (Marketing Materials) for compliance with SEC and FINRA advertising rules and will file all Marketing Materials required to filed with FINRA. The Distributor agrees to furnish to the Trusts investment adviser any comments provided by FINRA with respect to such materials. (f) The Distributor shall not offer any Shares and shall not approve any creation or redemption order hereunder if and so long as the effectiveness of the Registration Statement then in effect or any necessary amendments thereto shall be suspended under any of the provisions of the 1933 Act or if and so long as a current prospectus as required by Section 10 of the 1933 Act is not on file with the SEC; provided, however, that nothing contained in this paragraph shall in any way restrict or have any application to or bearing upon the Trusts obligation to redeem or repurchase any Shares from any shareholder in accordance with provisions of the Prospectus or Registration Statement. (g) The Distributor shall work with the Transfer Agent to review and approve orders placed by Authorized Participants and transmitted to the Transfer Agent. (h) The Distributor agrees to maintain and preserve for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act, such records as are required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1(d) under the 1940 Act. The Distributor agrees that all records which it maintains pursuant to the 1940 Act for the Trust shall at all times remain the property of the Trust, shall be readily accessible during normal business hours, and shall be promptly surrendered upon the termination of the Agreement or otherwise on written request; provided, however, that Distributor may retain all such records required to be maintained by Distributor pursuant to applicable FINRA or SEC rules and regulations. (i) The Distributor agrees to maintain compliance policies and procedures (a Compliance Program) that are reasonably designed to prevent violations of the Federal Securities Laws (as defined in Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act) with respect to the Distributors services under this Agreement, and to provide any and all information with respect to the Compliance Program, including without limitation, information and certifications with respect to material violations of the Compliance Program and any material deficiencies or changes therein, as may be reasonably requested by the Trusts Chief Compliance Officer or Board of Trustees. 4. Duties of the Trust. 3 (a) The Trust agrees to create, issue, and redeem Creation Units of each Fund in accordance with the procedures described in the Prospectus. Upon reasonable notice to the Distributor and in accordance with the procedures described in the Prospectus, the Trust reserves the right to reject any order for Creation Units or to stop all receipts of such orders at any time. (b) The Trust agrees that it will take all actions necessary to register an indefinite number of Shares under the 1933 Act. (c) The Trust will make available to the Distributor such number of copies as Distributor may reasonably request of (i) its then currently effective Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and product description, (ii) copies of semi-annual reports and annual audited reports of the Trusts books and accounts made by independent public accountants regularly retained by the Trust, and (iii) such other publicly available information for use in connection with the distribution of Creation Units. (d) The Trust shall inform Distributor of any such jurisdictions in which the Trust has filed notice filings for Shares for sale under the securities laws thereof and shall promptly notify the Distributor of any change in this information. The Distributor shall not be liable for damages resulting from the sale of Shares in authorized jurisdictions where the Distributor had no information from the Trust that such sale or sales were unauthorized at the time of such sale or sales. The Distributor acknowledges and agrees that the Trust reserves the right to suspend sales and Distributors authority to review and approve orders for Creation Units on behalf of the Trust. Upon due notice to the Distributor, the Trust shall suspend the Distributors authority to review and approve Creation Units if, in the judgment of the Trust, it is in the best interests of the Trust to do so. Suspension will continue for such period as may be determined by the Trust. (e) The Trust shall arrange to provide the Listing Exchanges with copies of Prospectuses, Statements of Additional Information, and product descriptions to be provided to purchasers in the secondary market. (f) The Trust will make it known that Prospectuses and Statements of Additional Information and product descriptions are available by making sure such disclosures are in all marketing and advertising materials prepared by the Trust. 5. Fees and Expenses. (a) The Distributor shall be entitled to no compensation or reimbursement of expenses from the Trust for the services provided by the Distributor pursuant to this Agreement. The Distributor may receive compensation including without limitation reimbursement from the Investment Adviser related to its services hereunder or for additional services as may be agreed to between the Investment Adviser and Distributor. 4 (b) The Trust shall bear the cost and expenses of: (i) the registration of the Shares for sale under the 1933 Act; and (ii) the registration or qualification of the Shares for sale under the securities laws of the various States. (c) The Distributor shall pay (i) all expenses relating to Distributors broker-dealer qualification and registration under the 1934 Act; and (ii) the expenses incurred by the Distributor in connection with routine FINRA filing fees. (d) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the Distributor and its affiliates may receive compensation or reimbursement from the Trusts Investment Adviser with respect to any services performed under this Agreement, as may be agreed upon by the parties from time to time. The Trust shall bear any costs associated with printing Prospectuses, Statements of Additional Information and all other such materials. 6. Indemnification. (a) The Trust agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Distributor, its affiliates and each of their respective directors, officers and employees and agents and any person who controls the Distributor within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act (any of the Distributor, its officers, employees, agents and directors or such control persons, for purposes of this paragraph, a Distributor Indemnitee) against any loss, liability, claim, damages or expense (including the reasonable cost of defending any alleged loss, liability, claim, damages or expense and reasonable counsel fees incurred in connection therewith) (Losses) that a Distributor Indemnitee may incur arising out of or based upon (i) the Distributor serving as Distributor for the Trust pursuant to this Agreement; (ii) the allegation of any wrongful act of the Trust or any of its directors, officers, employees or affiliates in connection with its duties and responsibilities in this Agreement; (iii) any claim that the Registration Statement, Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information, product description, shareholder reports, Marketing Materials and advertisements specifically approved by the Trust and Investment Adviser or other information filed or made public by the Trust (as from time to time amended) included an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein (and in the case of the Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information and product description, in light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading under the 1933 Act, or any other statute or the common law; (iv) the breach by the Trust in material respect of any obligation, representation or warranty contained in this Agreement; or (v) the Trusts failure to comply in any material respect with applicable securities laws. (b) The Distributor agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Trust and each of its Trustees and officers and any person who controls the Trust within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act (for purposes of this paragraph, the Trust and each of its Trustees and officers, and its controlling persons are collectively referred to as the Trust Indemnitees) against any Losses arising out of or based upon (i) the allegation of any 5 wrongful act of the Distributor or any of its directors, officers, employees or affiliates in connection with its activities as Distributor pursuant to this Agreement; (ii) the breach in material respect of any obligation, representation or warranty contained in this Agreement by the Distributor; (iii) the Distributors failure to comply in any material respect with applicable securities laws, including applicable FINRA regulations; or (iv) any allegation that the Registration Statement, Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information, product description, shareholder reports, any information or materials relating to the Funds (as described in section 3(e)) or other information filed or made public by the Trust (as from time to time amended) included an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements not misleading, insofar as such statement or omission was made in reliance upon, and in conformity with information furnished to the Trust, in writing, by or on behalf of the Distributor. In no case (i) is the indemnification provided by an indemnifying party to be deemed to protect against any liability the indemnified party would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement, or (ii) is the indemnifying party to be liable under this Section with respect to any claim made against any indemnified party unless the indemnified party notifies the indemnifying party in writing of the claim within a reasonable time after the summons or other first written notification giving information of the nature of the claim shall have been served upon the indemnified party (or after the indemnified party shall have received notice of service on any designated agent). Failure to notify the indemnifying party of any claim shall not relieve the indemnifying party from any liability that it may have to the indemnified party against whom such action is brought on account of this Section unless failure or delay to so notify the indemnifying party prejudices the indemnifying partys ability to defend against such claim. The indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate at its own expense in the defense or, if it so elects, to assume the defense of any suit brought to enforce the claim, but if the indemnifying party elects to assume the defense, the defense shall be conducted by counsel chosen by it and satisfactory to the indemnified party. In the event that indemnifying party elects to assume the defense of any suit and retain counsel, the indemnified party shall bear the fees and expenses of any additional counsel retained by them. If the indemnifying party does not elect to assume the defense of any suit, it will reimburse the indemnified party for the reasonable fees and expenses of any counsel retained by them. The indemnifying party agrees to notify the indemnified party promptly of the commencement of any litigation or proceedings against it or any of its officers or directors in connection with the purchase or redemption of any of the Creation Units or the Shares. (c) No indemnified party shall settle any claim against it for which it intends to seek indemnification from the indemnifying party, under the terms of section 6(a) or 6(b) above, without prior written notice to and consent from the indemnifying party, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. No indemnified or indemnifying party shall 6 settle any claim unless the settlement contains a full release of liability with respect to the other party in respect of such action. This section 6 shall survive the termination of this Agreement. (d) The Trust acknowledges and agrees that as part of its duties, Distributor will enter into agreements with certain authorized participants (each an AP and collectively the APs) for the purchase and redemption of Creation Units (each such agreement an AP Agreement). In the negotiation of AP Agreements, an Authorized Participant may insert and require that Distributor agree to certain provisions in an AP Agreement that contain certain representations, undertakings and indemnification that are not included in the form-of AP Agreement (each such modified AP Agreement a Non-Standard AP Agreement) To the extent that Distributor is requested or required to make any such representations, undertakings and/or indemnification mentioned above, the Trust shall indemnify, defend and hold the Distributor Indemnitees free and harmless from and against any and all Losses that any Distributor Indemnitee may incur arising out of or relating to (a) the Distributors actions or failures to act pursuant to any Non-Standard AP Agreement ; (b) any representations made by the Distributor in any Non-Standard AP Agreement to the extent that the Distributor is not required to make such representations in the form-of AP Agreement; or (c) any indemnification provided by the Distributor under a Non-Standard AP Agreement. In no event shall anything contained herein be so construed as to protect the Distributor Indemnitees against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders to which the Distributor Indemnitees would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of Distributors obligations or duties under the Non-Standard AP Agreement or by reason of Distributors reckless disregard of its obligations or duties under the Non-Standard AP Agreement. 7. Representations. (a) The Distributor represents and warrants that: 1. (i) it is duly organized as a Delaware limited liability company and is and at all times will remain duly authorized and licensed under applicable law to carry out its services as contemplated herein; (ii) the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement are within its power and have been duly authorized by all necessary action; (iii) its entering into this Agreement or providing the services contemplated hereby does not conflict with or constitute a default or require a consent under or breach of any provision of any agreement or document to which the Distributor is a party or by which it is bound; (iv) it is registered as a broker-dealer under the 1934 Act and is a member of FINRA; and (v) it has in place compliance policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violations of the Federal Securities Laws as that term is defined in Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act. 7 2. All activities by the Distributor and its agents and employees in connection with the services provided in this Agreement shall comply with the Registration Statement and Prospectus, the instructions of the Trust, and all applicable laws, rules and regulations including, without limitation, all rules and regulations made or adopted pursuant to the 1940 Act by the SEC or any securities association registered under the 1934 Act, including FINRA and the Listing Exchanges. (b) The Distributor and the Trust each individually represents that it maintains an anti-money laundering program (AML Program) that meets the requirements of anti-money laundering laws and regulations applicable to it and that at a minimum, (i) designates a compliance officer to administer and oversee the AML Program, (ii) provides ongoing employee training, (iii) includes an independent audit function to test the effectiveness of the AML Program, (iv) establishes internal policies, procedures, and controls that are tailored to its particular business, (v) provides for the filing of all necessary anti-money laundering reports including, but not limited to, currency transaction reports and suspicious activity reports, and (vi) allows for appropriate regulators to examine its anti-money laundering books and records. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Trust acknowledges that the Authorized Participants are not customers for the purposes of 31 CFR 103. (c) The Distributor and the Trust each individually represent and warrant that: (i) it has procedures in place reasonably designed to protect the privacy of non-public personal consumer/customer financial information to the extent required by applicable law, rule and regulation; and (ii) it will comply with all of the applicable terms and provisions of the 1934 Act (d) The Trust represents and warrants that: 1. (i) it is duly organized as a Delaware statutory trust and is and at all times will remain duly authorized to carry out its obligations as contemplated herein; (ii) it is registered as an investment company under the 1940 Act; (iii) the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement are within its power and have been duly authorized by all necessary action; (iv) its entering into this Agreement does not conflict with or constitute a default or require a consent under or breach of any provision of any agreement or document to which the Trust is a party or by which it is bound; (v) the Registration Statement and each Funds Prospectus have been prepared, and all Marketing Materials shall be prepared, in all materials respects, in conformity with the 1933 Act, the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations of the SEC (the Rules and Regulations); and (vi) the Registration Statement and each Funds Prospectus contain, and all Marketing Materials shall contain, all statements required to be stated therein in accordance with the 1933 Act, the 1940 Act and the Rules and 8 Regulations; (vii) all statements of fact contained therein, or to be contained in all Marketing Materials, are or will be true and correct in all material respects at the time indicated or the effective date, as the case may be, and none of the Registration Statement, any Funds Prospectus, nor any Marketing Materials shall include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the case of each Funds Prospectus in light of the circumstances in which made, not misleading; and (viii) except as otherwise noted in the Registration Statement and Prospectus, the offering price for all Creation Units will be the aggregate net asset value of the Shares per Creation Unit of the relevant Fund, as determined in the manner described in the Registration Statement and Prospectus; 2. it shall, from time to time, file such amendment or amendments to the Registration Statement and each Funds Prospectus as, in the light of future developments, shall, in the opinion of the Trusts counsel, be necessary in order to have the Registration Statement and each Funds Prospectus at all times contain all material facts required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances in which made, not misleading. The Trust shall not file any amendment to the Registration Statement or each Funds Prospectus without giving the Distributor reasonable notice thereof in advance, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall in any way limit the Trusts right to file at any time such amendments to the Registration Statement or any Funds Prospectus as the Trust may deem advisable. The Trust will also notify the Distributor in the event of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Trust shall not be deemed to make any representation or warranty as to any information or statement provided by the Distributor for inclusion in the Registration Statement or any Funds Prospectus; 3. upon delivery of Deposit or Fund Securities to an Authorized Participant in connection with a purchase or redemption of Creation Units, the Authorized Participant will acquire good and unencumbered title to such securities, free and clear of all liens, restrictions, charges and encumbrances, and not subject to any adverse claims and that such Fund and Deposit Securities will not be restricted securities as such term is used in Rule 144(a)(3)(i) under the 1933 Act; and 4. (i) the Prospectus is effective, no stop order of the SEC has been issued, no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or, to its knowledge, are being contemplated; (ii) the Prospectus conforms in all material respects to the requirements of all applicable law, and the rules and regulations of the SEC thereunder and does not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact 9 required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; (iii) the Shares, when issued and delivered against payment of consideration will be duly and validly authorized, issued, fully paid and non-assessable and free of statutory and contractual preemptive rights, rights of first refusal and similar rights; (iv) no consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any court or governmental agency or body is required for the issuance and sale of the Shares, except the registration of the Shares under the 1933 Act; (v) Shares will be approved for listing on a national exchange; (vi) any and all Marketing Materials prepared by the Trust in connection with the offer and sale of Shares shall comply with applicable law, including without limitation, the provisions of the 1933 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder and applicable requirements of FINRA, and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact related to a Fund or the Shares or omit to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; and (vii) it will not name an Authorized Participant in the Prospectus, Marketing Materials, or on the Funds website without the prior written consent of the Authorized Participant, unless such naming is required by law, rule, or regulation. 8. Duration, Termination and Amendment. (a) This Agreement shall be effective on the date set forth above, and unless terminated as provided herein, shall continue for two years from its effective date, and thereafter from year to year, provided such continuance is approved annually (i) by vote of a majority of the Trustees or by the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund and (ii) by the vote of a majority of those Trustees who are not parties to this Agreement or interested persons of any such party cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. This Agreement may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, as to each Fund (i) by vote of a majority of those Trustees who are not parties to this Agreement or interested persons of any such party or (ii) by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, or by the Distributor, on at least sixty (60) days prior written notice. This Agreement shall automatically terminate without the payment of any penalty in the event of its assignment. As used in this paragraph, the terms vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities, assignment, affiliated person and interested person shall have the respective meanings specified in the 1940 Act. (b) No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated except by an instrument in writing signed by both parties. 9. Notice. 10 Any notice or other communication authorized or required by this Agreement to be given to either party shall be in writing and deemed to have been given when delivered in person or by confirmed facsimile, email, or posted by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the following address (or such other address as a party may specify by written notice to the other): (i) To Foreside: (ii) If to the Trust: Foreside Funds Distributors LLC Matthews International Funds d/b/a Attn: Legal Department Matthews Asia Funds Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100 Attn: Legal Department Portland, ME 04101 Four Embarcadero Center, Suite 550 Telephone: (207) 553-7110 San Francisco, California 94111 Facsimile: (207) 553-7151 Telephone: (415) 788-7553 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] With a copy to: [email protected] 10. Choice of Law. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the state of Delaware, without giving effect to the choice of laws provisions thereof. 11. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. 12. Severability. If any provisions of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid, in whole or in part, then the other provisions of this Agreement shall remain in force. Invalid provisions shall, in accordance with this Agreements intent and purpose, be amended, to the extent legally possible, in order to effectuate the intended results of such invalid provisions. 13. Insurance. The Distributor will maintain at its expense an errors and omissions insurance policy adequate to cover services provided by the Distributor hereunder. 14. Confidentiality. 11 During the term of this Agreement, the Distributor and the Trust may have access to confidential information relating to such matters as either partys business, trade secrets, systems, procedures, manuals, products, contracts, personnel, and clients. As used in this Agreement, Confidential Information means information belonging to one of the parties that is of value to such party and the disclosure of which could result in a competitive or other disadvantage to such party. Confidential Information includes, without limitation, financial information, proposal and presentations, reports, forecasts, inventions, improvements and other intellectual property; trade secrets; know-how; designs, processes or formulae; software; market or sales information or plans; customer lists; and business plans, prospects and opportunities (such as possible acquisitions or dispositions of businesses or facilities). Confidential Information includes information developed by either party in the course of engaging in the activities provided for in this Agreement, unless: (i) the information is or becomes publicly known through lawful means; (ii) the information is disclosed to the other party without a confidential restriction by a third party who rightfully possesses the information and did not obtain it, either directly or indirectly, from one of the parties, as the case may be, or any of their respective principals, employees, affiliated persons, or affiliated entities. The parties understand and agree that all Confidential Information shall be kept confidential by the other both during and after the term of this Agreement. Each party shall maintain commercially reasonable information security policies and procedures for protecting Confidential Information. The parties further agree that they will not, without the prior written approval by the other party, disclose such Confidential Information, or use such Confidential Information in any way, either during the term of this Agreement or at any time thereafter, except as required in the course of this Agreement and as provided by the other party or as required by law. Upon termination of this Agreement for any reason, or as otherwise requested by the Trust, all Confidential Information held by or on behalf of Trust shall be promptly returned to the Trust, or an authorized officer of the Distributor will certify to the Trust in writing that all such Confidential Information has been destroyed. This section 14 shall survive the termination of this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a party may disclose the others Confidential Information if (i) required by law, regulation or legal process or if requested by the SEC or other governmental regulatory agency with jurisdiction over the parties hereto or (ii) requested to do so by the other party. 15. Limitation of Liability. This Agreement is executed by or on behalf of the Trust with respect to each of the Funds and the obligations hereunder are not binding upon any of the trustees, officers, nominees, agents, employees or shareholders of the Trust individually but are binding only upon the Fund to which such obligations pertain and the assets and property of such Fund, as provided in the Declaration of Trust. Separate and distinct records are maintained for each Fund and the assets associated with any such Fund are held and accounted for separately from the other assets of the Trust, or any other Fund of the Trust. The debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses incurred, contracted for, or otherwise existing with respect to a particular Fund of the Trust shall be enforceable against the assets of that Fund only, and not against the assets of the Trust generally or any other Fund, and none of the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses incurred, contracted for, or otherwise existing 12 with respect to the Trust generally or any other Fund shall be enforceable against the assets of that Fund. The Trusts Agreement and Declaration of Trust is on file with the Trust. 16. Use of Names; Publicity. The Trust shall not use the Distributors name in any offering material, shareholder report, advertisement or other material relating to the Trust, in a manner not approved by the Distributor in writing prior to such use, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld. The Distributor hereby consents to all uses of its name required by the SEC, any state securities commission, or any federal or state regulatory authority. The Distributor shall not use the names Matthews International Funds, Matthews Asia Funds or Matthews International Capital Management, LLC in any offering material, shareholder report, advertisement or other material relating to the Distributor, other than for the purpose of merely identifying the Trust as a client of Distributor hereunder, in a manner not approved by the Trust in writing prior to such use; provided, however, that the Trust shall consent to all uses of its name required by the SEC, any state securities commission, or any federal or state regulatory authority; and provided, further, that in no case shall such approval be unreasonably withheld. The Distributor will not issue any press releases or make any public announcements regarding the existence of this Agreement without the express written consent of the Trust. Neither the Trust nor the Distributor will disclose any of the economic terms of this Agreement, except as may be required by law. 17. Exclusivity Nothing herein contained shall prevent the Distributor from entering into similar distribution arrangements or from providing the services contemplated hereunder to other investment companies or investment vehicles. 18. Governing Language. This Agreement has been negotiated and executed by the parties in English. In the event any translation of this Agreement is prepared for convenience or any other purpose, the provisions of the English version shall prevail. 13 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers designated below as of the date first set forth above. Foreside Funds Distributors LLC Matthews International Funds d/b/a Matthews Asia Funds By: /s/ Teresa Cowan By: /s/ John McGowan Teresa Cowan, President John McGowan Vice President and Secretary 14 EXHIBIT A Funds Matthews Emerging Markets Equity Active ETF Matthews Asia Innovators Active ETF Matthews China Active ETF Exhibit (e)(20) FORM OF AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT AGREEMENT Matthews International Funds d/b/a Matthews Asia Funds This Authorized Participant Agreement (the Agreement) is entered into by and between Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the Distributor) and __________ (the Participant) and is subject to acceptance by The Bank of New York Mellon (the Transfer Agent), as transfer agent for Matthews International Funds d/b/a Matthews Asia Funds (the Trust), a series trust offering certain portfolios of securities that operate as exchange-traded funds (each a Fund and collectively the Funds). Capitalized terms used but not defined herein are defined in the current prospectus for each Fund as it may be supplemented or amended from time to time and included in the Trusts Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as it may be amended from time to time, or otherwise filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (together with such Funds Statement of Additional Information incorporated therein, the Prospectus). The Distributor provides services as principal underwriter of the Funds acting on an agency basis in connection with the distribution of shares of beneficial interest of each Fund (the Shares). As specified in the Prospectus, the Shares of any Fund offered thereby may be purchased or redeemed only in aggregations of a specified number of Shares referred to therein and herein as a Creation Unit. The Transfer Agent has been retained to provide certain transfer agency services and to be the order taker with respect to the purchase and redemption of Creation Units of Shares. This Agreement is intended to set forth certain procedures by which the Participant may purchase and/or redeem Creation Units through the Federal Reserve/Treasury Automated Debt Entry System maintained at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (the Federal Reserve Book-Entry System) and the Continuous Net Settlement (CNS) clearing processes of National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC) (as such processes have been enhanced to effect purchases and redemptions of Creation Units, the CNS Clearing Process) or, outside of the CNS Clearing Process, the manual process of The Depository Trust Company (DTC). Nothing in this Agreement shall obligate the Participant to create or redeem one or more Creation Units of Shares, to facilitate a creation or redemption through it by a Participant client, or to sell or offer to sell the Shares. The parties agree as follows: 1. STATUS, REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF PARTICIPANT (a) The Participant represents and warrants that it has the ability to transact through the Federal Reserve Book-Entry System and, with respect to orders for the purchase of Creation Units (Purchase Orders) or orders for redemption of Creation Units (Redemption Orders and, together with Purchase Orders, the Orders), (i) through the CNS Clearing Process, because it is a member of NSCC and a participant in the CNS System of NSCC, and/or (ii) outside the CNS Clearing Process, because it is a DTC participant (a DTC Participant). Any change in the foregoing status of the Participant shall automatically and immediately terminate this Agreement. The Participant shall give prompt written notice of any such change to the Distributor and the Transfer Agent. 1 The Participant may place Orders either through the CNS Clearing Process or outside the CNS Clearing Process, subject to the procedures for purchase and redemption set forth in the Prospectus and Section 2 of this Agreement. (b) The Participant represents and warrants that: (i) it is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC, and it is a member in good standing of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), or it is exempt from registration, or it is otherwise not required to be registered as, a broker-dealer or a member of FINRA; (ii) it is registered and/or licensed to act as a broker or dealer, as required under all applicable laws, rules and regulations in the states or other jurisdictions in which the Participant conducts its activities, or it is otherwise exempt; and (iii) it is a Qualified Institutional Buyer, as defined in Rule 144A under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 1933 Act). The Participant agrees that it will: (i) maintain such registrations, licenses, qualifications, and memberships in good standing and in full force and effect throughout the term of this Agreement; (ii) comply with applicable FINRA rules and the securities laws of any jurisdiction in which it sells Shares, directly or indirectly, to the extent such laws, rules and regulations relate to the Participants transactions in, and activities with respect to, the Shares; and (iii) not offer or sell Shares of any Fund in any state or jurisdiction where such Shares may not lawfully be offered and/or sold. Any change in the foregoing status of the Participant shall terminate this Agreement. The Participant shall give prompt written notice of any such change to the Distributor and the Transfer Agent. (c) In the event Shares are authorized for sale in jurisdictions outside the several states, territories and possessions of the United States and the Participant offers and sells Shares in such jurisdictions and is not otherwise required to be registered or qualified as a broker or dealer, or to be a member of FINRA as set forth above, the Participant nevertheless agrees to observe the applicable laws, rules and regulations of the jurisdiction in which such offer and/or sale is made, to comply with the full disclosure requirements of the 1933 Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder, and to conduct its business in accordance with the FINRA rules, to the extent the foregoing relates to the Participants transactions in, and activities with respect to, the Shares. (d) The Participant understands and acknowledges that the method by which Creation Units will be created and traded may raise certain issues under certain interpretations of applicable U.S. federal securities laws. For example, because new Creation Units of Shares may be issued and sold by a Fund on an ongoing basis, a distribution, as such term is used in the 1933 Act, may occur at any point. The Participant understands and acknowledges that some activities on its part, depending on the circumstances, may result in it being deemed a participant in a distribution in a manner which could, under certain interpretations of applicable law, render it a statutory underwriter and subject it to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the 1933 Act. The Participant also understands and acknowledges that dealers who are not underwriters, but who effect transactions in Shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of Shares, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. For the avoidance of doubt, the Participant does not admit to being an underwriter of the Shares. 2. EXECUTION OF PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION ORDERS (a) All Orders must comply with the procedures for Orders set forth in the Prospectus and in this Agreement, which includes the attachments. The Participant, the Distributor, and the Transfer Agent 2 each agrees to comply with the provisions of the Prospectus, this Agreement, and the laws, rules, and regulations that are applicable to it in its role under this Agreement. If there is a conflict between the terms of the Prospectus and the terms of this Agreement, the terms of the Prospectus control. (b) Phone lines used in connection with Orders will be recorded. The Participant hereby consents to the recording of all calls in connection with the Orders, provided that the Participant may reasonably request that the recording party promptly provide to the Participant copies of recordings of any such calls, which have been retained in accordance with the recording partys usual document retention policy. If a recording party becomes legally compelled to disclose to any third party any recording involving communications with the Participant, to the extent legally permitted to do so, such recording party shall provide the Participant with reasonable advance written notice identifying the recordings to be disclosed, together with copies of such recordings, so that the Participant may seek a protective order or other appropriate remedy with respect to the recordings or waive its right to do so. (c) The Participant understands that a Creation Unit generally will not be issued until the requisite cash and/or the designated basket of securities (the Deposit Securities), as well as any applicable Transaction Fee, as described in the Prospectus and/or disclosed by the Transfer Agent to the Participant subject to any limitation as prescribed in the Prospectus, and Taxes (as defined below), are transferred to the Trust on or before the settlement date in accordance with the Prospectus. (d) In the case of each Fund that invests in international or global securities, the Participant understands and agrees that the Trust has caused the Funds custodian (the Custodian) to maintain an account with the applicable sub-custodian for such Fund in the relevant foreign jurisdiction to which the Participant shall deliver (or cause to be delivered) the Deposit Securities for itself or the cash value: (i) in connection with any Purchase Order for Creation Units; (ii) with any appropriate adjustments as advised by such sub-custodian or Fund; and (iii) in accordance with the terms and conditions applicable to such account in such jurisdiction. (e) With respect to any Redemption Order, the Participant acknowledges and agrees on behalf of itself and any party for which it is acting to return to a Fund any dividend, distribution, or other corporate action paid to it or to the party for which it is acting in respect of any Deposit Security that is transferred to the Participant or any party for which it is acting that, based on the valuation of such Deposit Security at the time of transfer, should have been paid to the Fund. With respect to any Redemption Order, the Participant also acknowledges and agrees on behalf of itself and any party for which it is acting that a Fund is entitled to reduce the amount of money or other proceeds due to the Participant or any party for which it is acting by an amount equal to any dividend, distribution, or other corporate action to be paid to it or to the party for which it is acting in respect of any Deposit Security that is transferred to the Participant or any party for which it is acting that, based on the valuation of such Deposit Security at the time of transfer, should be paid to the Fund. With respect to any Purchase Order, each Fund acknowledges and agrees to return to the Participant or any party for which it is acting any dividend, distribution, or other corporate action paid to the Fund in respect of any Deposit Security that is transferred to the Fund that, based on the valuation of such Deposit Security at the time of transfer, should have been paid to the Participant or any party for which it is acting. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF TRANSFER AGENT 3 Solely with respect to Orders submitted through the CNS Clearing Process, the Participant hereby authorizes the Transfer Agent, or its designee, to transmit to the NSCC on behalf of the Participant such instructions, including share and cash amounts as are necessary with respect to the purchase and redemption of Creation Units, and Orders consistent with the instructions and Orders issued by the Participant to the Transfer Agent. The Participant agrees to be bound by the terms of such instructions and Orders as reported by the Transfer Agent or its designee to the NSCC as though such instructions were issued by the Participant directly to the NSCC. 4. MARKETING MATERIALS AND REPRESENTATIONS. (a) The Participant represents and warrants that it will not make any representations concerning a Fund, the Trust, Creation Units or Shares, other than those consistent with the Prospectus or any Marketing Materials (as defined below) furnished to the Participant by the Distributor. (b) The Participant agrees not to furnish, or cause to be furnished by it or its employees, to any person, or to display or publish, any information or materials relating to a Fund, the Trust or the Shares, including, without limitation, promotional materials and sales literature, advertisements, press releases, announcements, statements, posters, signs or other similar materials (Marketing Materials), unless (i) such Marketing Materials: (a) are either furnished to the Participant by the Distributor, or (b) if prepared by the Participant, are consistent in all material respects with the Prospectus, and clearly indicate that such Marketing Materials are prepared and distributed by the Participant, and (ii) Participant and such Marketing Materials prepared by the Participant comply with applicable FINRA rules and regulations. The Participant shall file all such Marketing Materials that it prepares with FINRA, if required by applicable laws, rules or regulations. (c) The Distributor represents and warrants that (i) the Prospectus is effective, no stop order of the SEC has been issued, no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or, to its knowledge, are being contemplated; (ii) the Prospectus conforms in all material respects to the requirements of all applicable law, and the rules and regulations of the SEC thereunder and does not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; (iii) the Shares, when issued and delivered against payment of consideration thereof, as provided in this Agreement, will be duly and validly authorized, issued, fully paid and non-assessable and free of statutory and contractual preemptive rights, rights of first refusal and similar rights; (iv) no consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any court or governmental agency or body is required for the issuance and sale of the Shares, except the registration of the Shares under the 1933 Act; (v) Shares will be approved for listing on a national exchange; (vi) any and all Marketing Materials prepared by the Trust and provided to the Participant in connection with the offer and sale of Shares shall comply with applicable law, including without limitation, the provisions of the 1933 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder and applicable requirements of FINRA, and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact related to a Fund or the Shares or omit to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; and (vii) it will not name the Participant in the Prospectus, Marketing Materials, or on the Funds website without the prior written consent of Participant, unless such naming is required by law, rule, or regulation. 4 (d) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the term Marketing Materials shall not include (i) written materials of any kind that generally mention a Fund without recommending the Fund (including in connection with a list of products sold through Participant or in the context of asset allocations), (ii) materials prepared and used for the Participants internal use only, (iii) brokerage communications, including correspondence and institutional communications, as defined under FINRA rules, prepared by the Participant in the normal course of its business, and (iv) research reports; provided, however, that any such materials prepared by Participant comply with applicable FINRA rules and regulations and other applicable laws, rules and regulations. 5. TITLE TO SECURITIES; RESTRICTED SHARES The Participant represents and warrants on behalf of itself and any party for which it acts that Deposit Securities delivered by it to the Custodian and/or any relevant sub-custodian in connection with a Purchase Order will not be restricted securities, as such term is used in Rule 144(a)(3)(i) of the 1933 Act, and, at the time of delivery, the Fund will acquire good and unencumbered title to such Deposit Securities, free and clear of all liens, restrictions, charges and encumbrances, and not be subject to any adverse claims. 6. CASH COMPONENT The Participant hereby agrees that, in connection with a Purchase Order, whether for itself or any party for which it acts, it will make available on or before the contractual settlement date (the Contractual Settlement Date), by means satisfactory to the Trust, and in accordance with the provisions of the Prospectuses, immediately available or same day funds estimated by the Trust to be sufficient to pay the Cash Component next determined after acceptance of the Purchase Order, together with the applicable Transaction Fee. Any excess funds will be returned following settlement of the Purchase Order. The Participant agrees to ensure that the Cash Component will be received by the issuing Fund in accordance with the terms of the Prospectuses, but in any event on or before the Contractual Settlement Date, and in the event payment of such Cash Component has not been made in accordance with the provisions of the Prospectuses or by such Contractual Settlement Date, the Participant agrees in connection with a Purchase Order to pay the amount of the Cash Component, plus interest, computed at such reasonable rate as may be specified by the Fund from time to time. The Participant shall be liable to the Custodian, any sub-custodian, or the Trust for any amounts advanced by the Custodian or any sub-custodian in its sole discretion to the Participant for payment of the amounts due and owing for the Cash Component. Computation of the Cash Component shall exclude any Taxes or other fees and expenses payable upon the transfer of beneficial ownership of the Deposit Securities, which shall be the sole responsibility of the Participant and not the Trust. 7. PAYMENT OF CERTAIN FEES AND TAXES (a) In connection with the purchase or redemption of Creation Units, the Participant agrees to pay the Transaction Fee as applicable to the Participants transaction. The Trust reserves the right to adjust any Transaction Fee subject to any limitation as prescribed in the Prospectus and upon reasonable advance notice to the Participant. (b) In connection with the purchase or redemption of Creation Units, the Participant acknowledges and agrees that the computation of any cash amount to be paid by or to the Participant shall exclude any 5 taxes or other fees and expenses payable upon the transfer of beneficial ownership of Shares or Fund Securities (as such term is defined in the Prospectus). The Participant shall be responsible for any transfer tax, sales or use tax, stamp tax, recording tax, value added tax or any other similar tax, fee or government charge (collectively, Taxes) applicable to and imposed upon the purchase or redemption of any Creation Units made pursuant to this Agreement. To the extent the Trust or its agents pay any such Taxes or they are otherwise imposed in connection with transactions effected by the Participant, the Participant agrees to promptly reimburse and pay such party for any such payment, together with any applicable penalties, additions to tax or interest thereon, unless such penalties, additions or interest were the result of the applicable partys gross negligence, fraud or willful misconduct. This section shall survive the termination of this Agreement. 8. ROLE OF PARTICIPANT (a) Each Party acknowledges and agrees that, for all purposes of this Agreement, the Participant will be deemed to be an independent contractor and will have no authority to act as agent for the Funds or the Distributor in any matter or in any respect under this Agreement. The Participant agrees to make itself and its employees available, upon reasonable request, during normal business hours to consult with the Funds or the Distributor or their designees concerning the performance of the Participants responsibilities under this Agreement. (b) The Participant agrees as a DTC Participant and in connection with any purchase or redemption transactions in which it acts on behalf of a third party, that it shall extend to such party all of the rights, and shall be bound by all of the obligations, of a DTC Participant in addition to any obligations that it undertakes hereunder or in accordance with the Prospectuses. (c) The Participant represents that from time to time, it may be a beneficial owner of Shares (Beneficial Owner). To the extent that it is a Beneficial Owner, the Participant agrees to irrevocably appoint the Distributor as its attorney and proxy with full authorization and power to vote (or abstain from voting) the Participants beneficially owned Shares with no input from the Participant. The Distributor will vote (or abstain from voting) the Participants beneficially owned Shares in the same proportion (or abstentions) as the other ben Exhibit 99.1 Sibanye Stillwater Limited Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa Registration number 2014/243852/06 Share codes: SSW (JSE) and SBSW (NYSE) ISIN ZAE000259701 Issuer code: SSW (Sibanye-Stillwater,the Company and/or the Group) Registered Address: Constantia Office Park Bridgeview House Building 11 Ground Floor Cnr 14th Avenue & Hendrik Potgieter Road Weltevreden Park 1709 Postal Address: Private Bag X5 Westonaria 1780 Tel +27 11 278 9600 Fax +27 11 278 9863 Website: www.sibanyestillwater.com MARKET RELEASE Sibanye-Stillwater to achieve majority shareholding in Keliber, and proposes to increase its shareholding further to 80% Johannesburg, 30 June 2022: Sibanye-Stillwater* (Tickers JSE: SSW and NYSE: SBSW) acquired an initial 30.29% shareholding (Initial Investment) in Keliber Oy (Keliber), as announced on 23 February 2021, by way of a phased equity investment and is pleased to announce that it intends to exercise its pre-emptive right to increase its shareholding in Keliber to 50% plus 1 share (the Pre-emptive Offer). Keliber is a Finnish mining and battery chemical company which owns the Keliber project, an advanced lithium hydroxide project located in the Kaustinen region of Finland which intends to sustainably produce battery grade lithium hydroxide utilising its own ore. Simultaneous with the Pre-emptive Offer, the Company will also make a voluntary cash offer to minority shareholders of Keliber, other than the Finnish Minerals Group, which could initially increase its shareholding in Keliber to over 80% (the Voluntary Offer). The Finnish Minerals Group, a Finnish State-owned holding and development company which manages the States mining industry shareholdings, is the second largest shareholder in Keliber behind Sibanye-Stillwater with a current circa 20% shareholding. Subsequent to completion of the Voluntary Offer, a capital raise by Keliber (the Capital Raise) will be executed. If required post the above-described transactions, an equalization mechanism may be implemented such that Sibanye-Stillwater achieves its targeted 80% shareholding in Keliber. The Pre-emptive Offer, the Voluntary Offer and the Capital Raise collectively comprise the Transaction. *Through its subsidiary Keliber Lithium (Pty)Ltd Transaction rationale Subsequent to the Initial Investment, Keliber has completed a definitive feasibility study (DFS) which has confirmed the quality and inherent value of the Keliber project. This positive DFS is underpinned by a 31% increase in Mineral Reserves, as announced by Keliber on 15 September 2021. In addition, there has also been a significant improvement in the fundamental outlook for the lithium market. Subject to the receipt of outstanding permits, Keliber is aiming to be the first fully integrated lithium producer in Europe with full production of approximately 15,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per annum and direct market access to European markets from the Port of Kokkola where its fully permitted1 lithium chemical plant is based. Finland is an attractive, low risk mining jurisdiction (top five jurisdiction in the Fraser Institute) and has developed a National Battery Strategy that outlines the objectives for the country to become a competitive, competent and sustainable player in the international battery industry. Europe is rapidly becoming a leading hub for the manufacture of and market for batteries and electric vehicles. Kelibers location in Finland enables efficient transport of lithium hydroxide to European customers. 1 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 6-K REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the month of June 2022 Commission File Number: 001-39519 Vitru Limited (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Rodovia Jose Carlos Daux, 5500, Torre Jurere A, 2nd floor, Saco Grande, Florianopolis, State of Santa Catarina, 88032-005, Brazil +55 (47) 3281-9500 (Address of principal executive office) Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F: Form 20-F X Form 40-F Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): Yes No X Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): Yes No X SIGNATURE Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. Vitru Limited By: /s/ Carlos Henrique Boquimpani de Freitas Name: Carlos Henrique Boquimpani de Freitas Title: Chief Financial Officer Date: June 30, 2022 EXHIBIT INDEX Exhibit No. Description 99.1 Notice of 2022 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders 99.2 Proxy Statement 99.3 Form of Proxy Card Exhibit 99.1 Vitru Limited (the "Company") NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE COMPANY ________________________________________________________________________________ Notice is hereby given that an Annual General Meeting of the Company (the "AGM") will be held at the offices of the Company located at Rodovia Jose Carlos Daux, 5500, Torre Jurere A, 2nd floor, Saco Grande, Florianopolis, State of Santa Catarina, 88032-005, Brazil and virtually on August 4, 2022 at 11:00 am (Sao Paulo time). The AGM will be held at the offices of the Company in accordance with Cayman Islands law, but we strongly encourage shareholders to submit a proxy or, if they wish to attend in person, to participate in the AGM in a virtual form. The Company will also be hosting the meeting live via the Internet. To attend the meeting via the Internet as a shareholder, please visit https://web.lumiagm.com/224321184 and be sure to have the password and control number indicated on your proxy card available. If you wish to attend the meeting as a guest, please visit https://web.lumiagm.com/224321184 and follow the instructions provided to attend as a guest (note that participants joining via this method will be logged as observers and will not have the ability to vote or participate). The AGM will be held for the purpose of considering and, if thought fit, passing and approving the following resolutions: 1 to resolve, as an ordinary resolution, that the Company's financial statements and the auditor's report for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2021 be approved and ratified; 2 to resolve, as an ordinary resolution, to re-elect as members of the Board of Directors of the Company: (i) Ms. Aline San Lee Sun (as an independent member of the board of directors); (ii) Mr. Carlos Eduardo Martins e Silva; (iii) Ms. Claudia Jordao Ribeiro Pagnano (as an independent member of the board of directors); (iv) Mr. Edson Gustavo Georgette Peli; (v) Mr. Fernando Cezar Dantas Porfirio Borges; (vi) Mr. Lywal Salles Filho; and (vii) Mr. Rivadavia Correa Drummond de Alvarenga Neto (as an independent member of the board of directors); and 3 to resolve, as an ordinary resolution, to elect as members of the Board of Directors of the Company: (i) Mr. Wilson de Matos Silva; and (ii) Mr. Weslley Kendrick Silva. Their respective profiles are included in the Schedule to this Notice. The AGM will also serve as an opportunity for shareholders to discuss Company affairs with management. The Board of Directors of the Company (the Board) has fixed the close of business on June 27, 2022 as the record date (the Record Date) for determining the shareholders of the Company entitled to receive notice of the AGM or any adjournment thereof. The holders of record of the common shares of the Company as at the close of business on the Record Date are entitled to receive notice of and attend the AGM and any adjournment thereof. The Board recommends that shareholders of the Company vote FOR the resolutions at the AGM. Your vote is very important to the Company. Whether or not you plan to attend the AGM, please promptly complete, date, sign and return the enclosed proxy card attached to this Notice. By order of the Board /s/ Claudia Jordao Ribeiro Pagnano Name: Claudia Jordao Ribeiro Pagnano Title: Director Dated: June 30, 2022 Registered Office: c/o Maples Corporate Services Limited PO Box 309, Ugland House Grand Cayman KY1-1104 Cayman Islands 2 Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Vitru Limited Shareholder Meeting to be Held on August 4, 2022 Our proxy statement and our 2021 annual report on Form 20-F can be accessed, free of charge, on the Investor Relations section of the Companys website at https://investors.vitru.com.br/ and on the SECs website at https://www.sec.gov. By inserting the control number to be provided to you on your Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or proxy card at www.voteproxy.com for registered shareholders and at www.proxyvote.com for street shareholders, you will have instructions on how to access our proxy materials, and on how to vote via the Internet, mobile device or by proxy card. If you own shares in street name, meaning that your shares are held by a bank, brokerage firm, or other nominee, you may also instruct that institution on how to vote your shares. 3 NOTES IF YOU HAVE EXECUTED A STANDING PROXY, YOUR STANDING PROXY WILL BE VOTED AS INDICATED IN NOTE 2 BELOW, UNLESS YOU ATTEND THE AGM IN PERSON OR SEND IN A SPECIFIC PROXY. 1 A proxy need not be a shareholder of the Company. A shareholder entitled to attend and vote at the AGM is entitled to appoint one or more proxies to attend and vote in his/her stead. 2 Any standing proxy previously deposited by a shareholder with the Company will be voted in favour of the resolutions to be proposed at the AGM unless revoked prior to the AGM or the shareholder attends the AGM in person. 3 If two or more persons are jointly registered as holders of a share, the vote of the senior person who tenders a vote, whether in person or by proxy, shall be accepted to the exclusion of the votes of other joint holders. For this purpose, seniority shall be determined by the order in which the names stand on the Company's register of shareholders in respect of the relevant shares. 4 A shareholder holding more than one share entitled to attend and vote at the AGM need not cast the votes in respect of such shares in the same way on any resolution and therefore may vote a share or some or all such shares either for or against a resolution and/or abstain from voting a share or some or all of the shares and, subject to the terms of the instrument appointing any proxy, a proxy appointed under one or more instruments may vote a share or some or all of the shares in respect of which he is appointed either for or against a resolution and/or abstain from voting. 5 No business shall be transacted at the AGM unless a quorum is present. As set out in the articles of association of the Company, a quorum for a general meeting consists of any one or more persons holding or representing by proxy not less than one-third of the aggregate voting power of all shares in issue and entitled to vote. No person shall be entitled to vote at the AGM unless he is registered as a shareholder of the Company on the record date for the AGM nor unless all calls or other sums presently payable by him in respect of such shares have been paid. 4 Schedule Aline San Lee Sun is an independent member of our board of directors, a position she has held since October 12, 2021. Mrs. Sun has over 30 years of experience in financial markets, including being the co-founder and chief executive officer of Guide Investimentos from 2013 to 2020. She was also a consultant at Pacifico Asset Management from 2011 to 2013, a superintendent in the asset management team at Itau Unibanco from 2009 to 2011 and at Unibanco from 2004 to 2009, a senior product manager at Bank Boston from 2000 to 2004, a senior trader at Banco BBM in Rio de Janeiro and at BBM Securities in New York from 1996 to 1999, and a trader at Banco Icatu S.A. from 1993 to 1996. She has a bachelors degree in business economics from the Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro, a Certificate of Special Studies in Administration Management at Harvard Business School, and a certificate from the Advanced Boardroom Program for Women at Saint Paul Escola de Negocios. Carlos Eduardo Martins e Silva is a member of our board of directors, a position he has held since July 13, 2021. Mr. Martins e Silva is a partner at Vinci Partners where he focuses on private equity. He has actively participated in the raising, investing, monitoring and divestment of three private equity funds that together invested a total of U.S.$1.6 billion in more than 30 companies. He has served on the boards of directors or fiscal councils of Cemar, Ceagro, Los Grobo, Burger King, Vitru, Uniasselvi, Dominos, Grupo CURA and Vero. Since 2021 he has also been a member of the deliberative council of the Brazilian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (Associacao Brasileira de Private Equity & Venture Capital ABVCAP). He has also held executive positions at portfolio companies of Vinci Partners, including serving as the chief financial officer Sollus and Los Grobo, and as the chief executive officer of Uniasselvi (on an interim basis) and Dominos between 2018 and 2020. Before joining Vinci Partners, Mr. Martins e Silva was an equity research analyst at Credit Suisse where he participated in several initial public offerings between 2006 and 2007. Previously, he worked as an equity analyst at Banco Modal. He holds a bachelors degree in economics from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and from the Universita degli Studi di Bologna. Claudia Jordao Ribeiro Pagnano is an independent member of our board of directors, a position she has held since September 2, 2020. Ms. Pagnano has been an independent member of the board of directors of Vix Logistica SA serving their board, audit committee, ESG and people committee and market committee. She also acts as an independent member of the board at Brado Logistica, a company which is part of Grupo COSAN in Brazil. She is also a consulting member of Security SA and a pro bono member of Cruz Vermelha do Brasil Sao Paulo Chapter, the largest nonprofit humanitarian organization in the world. Ms. Pagnano is also one of the nine founders of WCD (Women Corporate Directors), Brazil chapter, a non-profit foundation that aims to increase the participation of women in positions of boards of directors. Prior to that, she was Chief Executive Officer at Abrakidabra, Chief Commercial Officer at Gol Linhas Aereas, Managing Director of the Brazilian Division of Brazil Foods-BRF, Chief Marketing Officer and Private Label Vice-President of Grupo Pao de Acucar, Chief Marketing Officer at BankBoston and Unibanco, Consumer Films Business Director for Brazil and Latin America at Eastman Kodak Company and Marketing Category Director at Colgate Palmolive. Ms. Pagnano holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Marketing from Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing, including extension courses in Finance from Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV) and has also received a certificate in Digital Transformation & Innovation from the University of California, Berkeley in 2018. Edson Gustavo Georgette Peli is a member since September 2, 2020 and has served as the Chairman of our board of directors since July 13, 2021. Mr. Peli has previously served on the board of directors of Vitru Brasil, a position he has held since October 2015. In addition to our company, Mr. Peli currently serves on the boards of directors of Ri Happy Brinquedos S.A. Mr. Peli was also a Managing Director at The Carlyle Group, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, focusing on buyout investment opportunities primarily in Brazil and other selected South American countries. Mr. Peli joined The Carlyle Group in 2008 and was involved in investing and managing over U.S.$1.5 billion in equity investments in the healthcare, consumer and retail, and education sectors. Mr. Peli stayed with The Carlyle Group until its operations in Brazil were acquired by SPX Capital in May 2021, where he is currently a Partner. Prior to joining The Carlyle Group, Mr. Peli worked in investment banking at Credit Suisse Brasil S.A., or Credit Suisse Brazil, from December 2004 to January 2008, where he was involved in 5 mergers and acquisitions and capital markets, having participated in over 30 completed transactions across several sectors. Prior to his time at Credit Suisse Brazil, Mr. Peli worked in credit risk at Banco Citibank S.A., or Citi Brazil, from February 2004 to December 2004. Mr. Peli holds a bachelor of science degree in Business Administration from Escola de Administracao de Empresas de Sao Paulo/Fundacao Getulio Vargas with a specialization program in Corporate Finance and Capital Markets at the University of Texas at Austin. Fernando Cezar Dantas Porfirio Borges is a member of our board of directors, a position he has held since September 2, 2020. Mr. Borges has previously served on the board of directors of Vitru Brasil, a position he has held since October 2015. In addition to our company, Mr. Borges currently serves on the boards of directors of Ri-Happy Brinquedos S.A., Estok Comercio e Participacoes Ltda., or Tok & Stok, USS Solucoes Gerenciadas S.A. and Grupo Madero and is Vice Chairman of the board of directors of the Brazilian Association of Private Equity & Venture Capital, or ABVCAP, a member of the board of EMPEAEmerging Market Private Equity Association and of LAVCA Latin American Private Equity & Venture Capital Association. Mr. Borges was also a managing Director and head of the Carlyle Groups South American buyout group focused on private equity investment opportunities in South America. He joined The Carlyle Group in 2007 and was involved in The Carlyle Groups investments in portfolio companies in Brazil. Mr. Borges stayed with The Carlyle Group until its operations in Brazil were acquired by SPX Capital in May 2021 where he is currently a Partner. Prior to joining The Carlyle Group, Mr. Borges was a managing director at AIG Capital Partners and chief executive officer of AIG Capital Investments do Brasil, being responsible for managing AIGs private equity activities in Brazil. Prior to his time at the AIG Capital Group, Mr. Borges was a director of Bozano, Simonsens private equity division, where he was responsible for managing a private equity fund sponsored by Bozano, Simonsen Group and Advent International. Cumulatively, Mr. Borges has 18 years of private equity experience in Brazil, having participated in more than 20 transactions in the region. Mr. Borges holds a graduate degree from the Bologna Center of the School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor of the arts degree in international relations from Universidade de Brasilia. Lywal Salles Filho is a member of the board of directors a position he has held since September 2, 2020, and of the strategic committee of Vinci Partners. Mr. Salles Filho has previously served on the board of directors of Vitru Brasil, a position he has held since October 2015. He is also one of the directors of ANBIMA and sits on the board of Cecrisa S.A. Between 2010 and 2013, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of UBS AG for Brazil. Prior to that, he was Senior Managing Director of Itau Unibanco S.A. in charge of its domestic and international Private Bank businesses and led the investment product committee of the Capital Market Sector. He was also the Chairman of the board of Banco Itau International and of Itau Securities in the U.S., and Chief Executive Officer of Banco Itau (Suisse) in Zurich. Mr. Lywal held also several senior positions at Citibank N.A., in the US and in Brazil including being the Latin America Regional CEO of the Affluent Client Segment. Previously, he spent 15 years at The Chase Manhattan Bank N.A in Hong Kong, the U.S. and in Latin America. He has a B.S. in economics and a Postgraduate certificate in Economics Engineering, both from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. He also has a M.S. degree in Administration from Syracuse University, New York. Rivadavia Correa Drummond de Alvarenga Neto is an independent member of our board of directors, a position he has held since September 2, 2020. Dr. Drummond is Clinical Assistant Professor at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, Faculty Lead for Arizona State Universitys new M.S. degree in Innovation & Venture Development. Prior to joining the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, Dr. Drummond was an original partner and board member of the Anima Educational Group Brazil, he was a Visiting Associate Professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, China. Dr. Drummond is also founding partner and Executive Director of Rivadavia & Associates. Dr. Drummond was a post-doctoral fellow and visiting scholar at the University of Toronto, Canada, in 2009, holds (i) a PhD in Information Studies, I-School from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), in which he had his PhD Dissertation nominated for the award Best Brazilian Dissertation in the field, (ii) a MSc in Information Studies, I-School, from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), (iii) an MBA in International Business, from the Catholic University of Minas Gerais and (iv) a bachelors degree in Business from the Federal University of Minas Gerais. 6 Wilson de Matos Silva is a founder and former dean of Unicesumar. He was also a founder of the educational group Colegio Objetivo Unidade Maringa. Prior to this, Mr. de Matos Silva was a University Professor at the state university of Universidade Estadual de Maringa-PR and at Universidade Paranaense. Mr. de Matos Silva has a bachelors degree in mathematics from Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina as well as a specialization in advanced calculus from Universidade Estadual de Londrina. Weslley Kendrick Silva is the former Head of Institutional Relations at Unicesumar. Mr. Kendrick Silva has a law degree from Unicesumar, as well as a post-graduate degree in marketing. In addition, Mr. Kendrick Silva has a post-graduate degree in strategic management of third-party organizations from Faculdade Cidade Verde and a masters degree in leadership from Southeastern University. 7 Exhibit 99.2 Vitru Limited c/o Maples Corporate Services Limited PO Box 309, Ugland House Grand Cayman KY1-1104 Cayman Islands PROXY STATEMENT General The board of directors of Vitru Limited (the Company or we) is soliciting proxies for the annual general meeting of shareholders (the AGM) of the Company to be held on August 4, 2022 at 11:00 am (Sao Paulo time). The AGM will be held at the offices of the Company located at Rodovia Jose Carlos Daux, 5500, Torre Jurere A, 2nd floor, Saco Grande, Florianopolis, State of Santa Catarina, 88032-005, Brazil and virtually. However, we strongly encourage shareholders to submit a proxy or, if they wish to attend in person, to participate in the AGM in a virtual form. The Company will also be hosting the meeting live via the Internet. To attend the meeting via the Internet as a shareholder, please visit https://web.lumiagm.com/224321184 and be sure to have the password and control number indicated on your proxy card available. If you wish to attend the meeting as a guest, please visit https://web.lumiagm.com/224321184 and follow the instructions provided to attend as a guest (note that participants joining via this method will be logged as observers and will not have the ability to vote or participate). On or about June 30, 2022, we first mailed to our shareholders our proxy materials, including our proxy statement, the notice to shareholders of our AGM and the proxy card, along with instructions on how to vote using the proxy card provided therewith. This proxy statement can also be accessed, free of charge, on the Investor Relations section of the Companys website at https://investors.vitru.com.br/ and on the SECs website at https://www.sec.gov. By inserting the control number to be provided to you on your Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or proxy card at www.voteproxy.com for registered shareholders and at www.proxyvote.com for street shareholders, you will have instructions on how to access our proxy materials, and on how to vote via the Internet, mobile device or by proxy card. If you own shares in street name, meaning that your shares are held by a bank, brokerage firm, or other nominee, you may also instruct that institution on how to vote your shares. Record Date, Share Ownership and Quorum Only the holders of record of common shares (the Common Shares) of the Company as at the close of business on June 27, 2022, Eastern Time (the Record Date) are entitled to receive notice of and attend the AGM and any adjournment thereof. No person shall be entitled to vote at the AGM unless it is registered as a shareholder of the Company on the Record Date for the AGM. As of the close of business on the Record Date, 28,581,199 Common Shares were issued and outstanding. A quorum for a general meeting consists of any one or more persons holding or representing by proxy not less than one-third of the aggregate voting power of all shares in issue and entitled to vote. Voting and Solicitation Each Common Share issued and outstanding as of the close of business on the Record Date is entitled to one vote at the AGM. Each resolution to be put to the vote at the AGM will be approved by an ordinary resolution (i.e. a simple majority of the votes cast, by or on behalf of, the shareholders attending and voting at the AGM). Voting by Holders of Common Shares Common Shares that are properly voted, for which proxy cards are properly executed and returned within the deadline set forth below, will be voted at the AGM in accordance with the directions given. If no specific instructions are given in such proxy cards, the proxy holder will vote in favor of the item(s) set forth in the proxy card. The proxy holder will also vote in the discretion of such proxy holder on any other matters that may properly come before the AGM, or at any adjournment thereof. Where any holder of Common Shares affirmatively abstains from voting on any particular resolution, the votes attaching to such Common Shares will not be included or counted in the determination of the number of Common Shares present and voting for the purposes of determining whether such resolution has been passed (but they will be counted for the purposes of determining the quorum, as described above). Proxies submitted by registered shareholders and street shareholders (by returning the proxy card) must be received by us no later than 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on August 3, 2022, to ensure your representation at our AGM. The manner in which your shares may be voted depends on how your shares are held. If you own shares of record, meaning that your shares are represented by book entries in your name so that you appear as a shareholder on the records of American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC (AST) (i.e., you are a registered shareholder), our stock transfer agent, this proxy statement, the notice of AGM and the proxy card will be mailed to you by AST. You may provide voting instructions by returning a proxy card. You also may attend the AGM and vote in person, subject to our above request that, if you wish to attend in person, you do so virtually. If you own Common Shares of record and you do not vote by proxy or in person at the AGM, your shares will not be voted. If you own shares in street name (i.e., you are a street shareholder), meaning that your shares are held by a bank, brokerage firm, or other nominee, you are then considered the beneficial owner of shares held in street name, and as a result, this proxy statement, the notice of AGM and the proxy card will be provided to you by your bank, brokerage firm, or other nominee holding the shares. You may provide voting instructions to them directly by returning a voting instruction form received from that institution. If you own Common Shares in street name and attend the AGM, you must obtain a legal proxy from the bank, brokerage firm, or other nominee that holds your shares in order to vote your shares at the meeting and present your voting information card. Revocability of Proxies Registered shareholders may revoke their proxy or change voting instructions before shares are voted at the AGM by submitting a written notice of revocation to our Investor Relations Department at [email protected] and [email protected], or a duly executed proxy bearing a later date (which must be received by us no later than the date set forth below) or by attending the AGM and voting in person. A beneficial owner owning Common Shares in street name may revoke or change voting instructions by contacting the bank, brokerage firm, or other nominee holding the shares or by obtaining a legal proxy from such institution and voting in person at the AGM. If you are not planning to attend in person our AGM, to ensure your representation at our AGM, revocation of proxies submitted by registered shareholders and street shareholders (by returning a proxy card) must be received by us no later than 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on August 3, 2022. PROPOSAL 1: APPROVAL AND RATIFICATION OF THE COMPANYS FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND THE AUDITOR'S REPORT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021 The Company seeks shareholder approval and ratification of the Companys 2021 audited consolidated financial statements (the Audited Accounts), which have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, in respect of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. A copy of the Companys Audited Accounts is included in the Companys 2021 annual report on Form 20-F which is available on the Companys website at https://investors.vitru.com.br/ and on the SECs website at https://www.sec.gov. The affirmative vote by the holders of a simple majority of the votes cast, by or on behalf of, the shareholders attending and voting at the AGM is required for this proposal. If proxies are properly submitted by signing, dating and returning a proxy card, Common Shares represented thereby will be voted in the manner specified therein. If not otherwise specified, and the proxy card is signed, Common Shares represented by the proxies will be voted in favor of this proposal. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR THE APPROVAL AND RATIFICATION OF THE COMPANYS FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND THE AUDITORS REPORT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021. PROPOSAL 2: RE-ELECTION OF DIRECTORS Pursuant to Article 21.2 of the Articles of Association, the Companys board of directors is eligible for re-election, therefore, the Company seeks shareholders approval for the appointment, for a two (2) year term, of the following directors: Ms. Aline San Lee Sun (as an independent member of the board of directors); Mr. Carlos Eduardo Martins e Silva; Ms. Claudia Jordao Ribeiro Pagnano (as an independent member of the board of directors); Mr. Edson Gustavo Georgette Peli; Mr. Fernando Cezar Dantas Porfirio Borges; Mr. Lywal Salles Filho; and Mr. Rivadavia Correa Drummond de Alvarenga Neto (as an independent member of the board of directors), in each case to serve in accordance with the Companys Memorandum and Articles of Association. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR THE RE-ELECTION TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE ABOVEMENTIONED NOMINEES. PROPOSAL 3: ELECTION OF DIRECTORS Pursuant to Article 21.4 of the Articles of Association, the Company seeks shareholders approval for the appointment, for a two (2) year term, of the following directors: Mr. Wilson de Matos Silva and Mr. Weslley Kendrick Silva, to serve in accordance with the Companys Memorandum and Articles of Association. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR THE ELECTION TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE ABOVEMENTIONED NOMINEES. COMPANY INFORMATION A copy of our 2021 annual report on Form 20-F, along with a copy of this proxy statement, can be accessed, free of charge, on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at https://investors.vitru.com.br/ and on the SECs website at https://www.sec.gov. OTHER MATTERS We know of no other matters to be submitted to the AGM. If any other matters properly come before the AGM, it is the intention of the persons named in the enclosed form of proxy to vote the Common Shares they represent as the board of directors may recommend. By Order of the Board of Directors, Dated: June 30, 2022 Exhibit 99.3 ----------------- - 0 VITRU LIMITED Proxy for Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on August 4, 2022 Solicited on Behalf of the Board of Directors I/We______________________________________________________________________ Please Print Name(s) of ________________________________________________________________________ Please Print Address(es) being (a) shareholder(s) of the Company hereby appoint ___________________________________ of ____________________________________ or failing him/her ___________________________________ of ____________________________________ or failing him/her the duly appointed chairman of the Meeting (the Chairman), with full power of substitution and power to act alone, as proxies to vote all the Common Shares which the undersigned would be entitled to vote if personally present and acting at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Vitru Limited (the Company), to be held on August 4 , 2022 at 11 : 00 am (Sao Paulo Time) at the offices of the Company located at at Rodovia Jose Carlos Daux, 5500 , Torre Jurere A, 2 nd floor, Saco Grande, Florianopolis, State of Santa Catarina, 88032 - 005 , Brazil, and at any adjournments or post - ponements thereof, as follows : (Continued and to be signed on the reverse side) 1 . 1 14475 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS OF VITRU LIMITED NOTICE OF INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS : The Notice of Meeting, proxy statement, proxy card and our annual report on Form 20 - F are available at https://investors.vitru.com.br/ Please sign, date and mail your proxy card in the envelope provided as soon as possible. RN PROMPTLY IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE. PLEASE MARK YOUR VOTE IN BLUE O THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE "FOR" PROPOSALS 1, 2 AND 3. PLEASE SIGN, DATE AND RETU R BLACK INK AS SHOWN HERE x Please detach along perforated line and mail in the envelope provided. 00030300003000001000 4 080422 August 4, 2022 GO GREEN e - Consent makes it easy to go paperless . With e - Consent, you can quickly access your proxy material, statements and other eligible documents online, while reducing costs, clutter and paper waste . Enroll today via www . astfinancial . com to enjoy online access . 1 . Resolution : To resolve, as an ordinary resolution, that the Company's financial statements and the auditor's report for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2021 be approved and ratified . 2 . Resolution : To resolve, as an ordinary resolution, to re - elect as members of the Board of Directors of the Company : (i) Ms . Aline San Lee Sun (as an independent member of the board of directors) ; (ii) Mr . Carlos Eduardo Martins e Silva ; (iii) Ms . Claudia Jordao Ribeiro Pagnano (as an independent member of the board of directors) ; (iv) Mr . Edson Gustavo Georgette Peli ; (v) Mr . Fernando Cezar Dantas Porfirio Borges ; (vi) Mr . Lywal Salles Filho ; and (vii) Mr . Rivadavia FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO SPECIFY YOUR CHOICES BY MARKING THE APPROPRIATE BOXES . WHERE A CHOICE IS NOT SPECIFIED, THE PROXIES WILL VOTE YOUR SHARES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS' RECOMMENDATIONS . Correa Drummond de Alvarenga Neto (as an independent member of the board of directors). FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN 3 . Resolution : To resolve, as an ordinary resolution, to elect as members of the Board of Directors of the Company : (i) Mr . Wilson de Matos Silva ; and (ii) Mr . Weslley Kendrick Silva . If you do not complete this section, your proxy will vote or abstain at his/her discretion, as he/she will on any other business that may be raised at the AGM. Notice is hereby given that an Annual General Meeting of the Company (the "AGM") will be held at the offices of the Company located at Rodovia Jose Carlos Daux, 5500, Torre Jurere A, 2nd floor, Saco Grande, Florianopolis, State of Santa Catarina on August 4, 2022 at 11:00 am (Sao Paulo time). Whether or not you plan to attend the AGM in person, please promptly complete, date, sign and return the enclosed personalised proxy card attached to this Notice in the enclosed, pre - addressed envelope provided for that purpose so that your vote is received before 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) on August 3, 2022. EMAIL - [email protected] FAX - 718 - 765 - 8730 MARK X HERE IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND THE MEETING. To change the address on your account, please check the box at right and indicate your new address in the address space above . Please note that changes to the registered name(s) on the account may not be submitted via this method . Signature of Shareholder Date: Signature of Shareholder Date: Note: Please sign exactly as your name or names appear on this Proxy. When shares are held jointly, each holder should sign. When signing as executor, administrator, attorney, trustee or guardian, please give full title as such. If the signer is a corporation, please sign full corporate name by duly authorized officer, giving full title as such. If signer is a partnership, please sign in partnership name by authorized person. PROXY VOTING INSTRUCTIONS RN PROMPTLY IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE. PLEASE MARK YOUR VOTE IN BLUE O THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE "FOR" PROPOSALS 1, 2 AND 3. PLEASE SIGN, DATE AND RETU R BLACK INK AS SHOWN HERE x Please detach along perforated line and mail in the envelope provided IF you are not voting via telephone or the Internet. 00030300003000001000 4 080422 COMPANY NUMBER ACCOUNT NUMBER ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS OF VITRU LIMITED August 4, 2022 NOTICE OF INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS : The Notice of Meeting, proxy statement, proxy card and our annual report on Form 20 - F are available at https://investors.vitru.com.br/ INTERNET - Access www . voteproxy . com and follow the on - screen instructions or scan the QR code with your smartphone . Have your proxy card available when you access the web page . TELEPHONE - Call toll - free 1 - 800 - PROXIES ( 1 - 800 - 776 - 9437 ) in the United States or 1 - 718 - 921 - 8500 from foreign countries and follow the instructions . Have your proxy card available when you call . Vote online/phone until 11 : 59 PM EST on August 3 , 2022 . MAIL - Sign, date and mail your proxy card in the envelope provided as soon as possible . VIRTUALLY AT THE MEETING - The meeting will be hosted live via the Internet this year . To attend the meeting via the Internet please visit https : //web . lumiagm . com/ 224321184 (password : Vitru 2022 ) and be sure to have available the control number . IN PERSON - You may vote your shares in person by attending the Annual General Meeting . GO GREEN - e - Consent makes it easy to go paperless . With e - Consent, you can quickly access your proxy materials, statements and other eligible documents online, while reducing costs, clutter and paper waste . Enroll today via www . astfinancial . com to enjoy online access . 1 . Resolution : To resolve, as an ordinary resolution, that the Company's financial statements and the auditor's report for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2021 be approved and ratified . 2 . Resolution : To resolve, as an ordinary resolution, to re - elect as members of the Board of Directors of the Company : (i) Ms . Aline San Lee Sun (as an independent member of the board of directors) ; (ii) Mr . Carlos Eduardo Martins e Silva ; (iii) Ms . Claudia Jordao Ribeiro Pagnano (as an independent member of the board of directors) ; (iv) Mr . Edson Gustavo Georgette Peli ; (v) Mr . Fernando Cezar Dantas Porfirio Borges ; (vi) Mr . Lywal Salles Filho ; and (vii) Mr . Rivadavia FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO SPECIFY YOUR CHOICES BY MARKING THE APPROPRIATE BOXES . WHERE A CHOICE IS NOT SPECIFIED, THE PROXIES WILL VOTE YOUR SHARES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS' RECOMMENDATIONS . Correa Drummond de Alvarenga Neto (as an independent member of the board of directors). FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN 3 . Resolution : To resolve, as an ordinary resolution, to elect as members of the Board of Directors of the Company : (i) Mr . Wilson de Matos Silva ; and (ii) Mr . Weslley Kendrick Silva . If you do not complete this section, your proxy will vote or abstain at his/her discretion, as he/she will on any other business that may be raised at the AGM. Notice is hereby given that an Annual General Meeting of the Company (the "AGM") will be held at the offices of the Company located at Rodovia Jose Carlos Daux, 5500, Torre Jurere A, 2nd floor, Saco Grande, Florianopolis, State of Santa Catarina on August 4, 2022 at 11:00 am (Sao Paulo time). Whether or not you plan to attend the AGM in person, please promptly complete, date, sign and return the enclosed personalised proxy card attached to this Notice in the enclosed, pre - addressed envelope provided for that purpose so that your vote is received before 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) on August 3, 2022. EMAIL - [email protected] FAX - 718 - 765 - 8730 MARK X HERE IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND THE MEETING. To change the address on your account, please check the box at right and indicate your new address in the address space above . Please note that changes to the registered name(s) on the account may not be submitted via this method . Signature of Shareholder Date: Signature of Shareholder Date: Note: Please sign exactly as your name or names appear on this Proxy. When shares are held jointly, each holder should sign. When signing as executor, administrator, attorney, trustee or guardian, please give full title as such. If the signer is a corporation, please sign full corporate name by duly authorized officer, giving full title as such. If signer is a partnership, please sign in partnership name by authorized person. (Tribune News Service) The Air Force is taking new steps toward construction of child care centers nationally plans that include Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center has contracted for the construction of the first of what is expected to be four Air Force installation child development centers (or CDCs) this year, the center said in a release Wednesday. But future efforts will include construction of new centers at Joint Base San Antonio Fort Sam Houston and Lackland locations, Texas, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, an AFIMSC release said, citing Christian Harper, AFCEC military construction project manager. The AFIMSCs Air Force Civil Engineer Center, with the Air Force Services Center, led the award of a $27 million project recently to construct a new child development center at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. In the past two years, Congress either has approved or is in the process of approving a total of $53 million for a pair of child centers, according to U.S. Rep. Mike Turners office. Recently, $29 million has been secured in the fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act for construction of a center for school-age children on Wright-Patterson, Turners office said. The Air Force identified both centers as unfunded priorities in military construction budgets in the past two years. The center approved in last years defense budget will serve 100 children, relocating them from an aging Riverside facility off Wright-Patterson, according to Turner. Modern and safe childcare infrastructure is critical to building resilient families and ensuring children of Airmen and Guardians are well taken care of while their parents serve our nation, Lt. Col. Gary Moore, deputy director of the Air Force Civil Engineer Centers Facility Engineering Directorate, said in the new release. Were collaborating with partners across the Air Force enterprise to provide sustainable infrastructure solutions for on-installation child care for the Air and Space Forces missions. Construction at Sheppard Air Force Base is expected to be complete in April 2024. Questions about plans for construction of Wright-Pattersons planned centers were sent to representatives of the base and Turner. (c)2022 the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio) Visit www.daytondailynews.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A North Dakota National Guard airman was killed in a motorcycle accident Tuesday. Master Sgt. Brandon Sola, 36, died in the accident on I-95 near West Fargo, N.D. Sola, a Velva, N.D., native, has been a member of the North Dakota Air National Guards 119th Wing, nicknamed the Happy Hooligans, since 2003. We will always remember Brandons commitment to the National Guard and to law enforcement., said Maj. Gen. Al Dohrmann, North Dakota adjutant general, in a news release. We offer our sincere condolences to his family, friends and fellow Airmen during this tragic time. Sola worked full-time as chief of police in Carrington, N.D. Carrington Mayor Tom Erdmann said Sola was an enthusiastic and welcomed leader in his community. Brandon worked each and every day for the safety of our community. Together we mourn his death and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends, Erdmann said. Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See more stories here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. WASHINGTON Nearly 40,000 troops in the Army National Guard were still unvaccinated against the coronavirus as the deadline passed for them to receive the shots or face being discharged from the service as mandated by the Defense Department. About 88.2% of the total National Guard force was fully vaccinated as of Monday, with another 0.7% having had at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the service. However, there could be some Guard members who have received their shots but not yet submitted their proof of vaccination, Guard spokeswoman Nahaku McFadden said Thursday. Soldiers and airmen are still providing civilian documentation to be entered into their electronic health record, so the numbers may be higher than what we are currently seeing in the military system, McFadden said. The deadline, which was Thursday, primarily affects the Army National Guard. The Air Force required Air National Guard members to be fully vaccinated by Dec. 2. Approximately 11.4% of the roughly 336,000 Army National Guard troops or more than 38,000 members had not received a dose of the shot as of Monday, according to the National Guard. Though the Air National Guards deadline passed more than six months ago, roughly 6% of the Air National Guard or about 6,300 airmen remained unvaccinated as of Tuesday, according to the Air Force. The Air Force has issued 214 medical exemptions and 869 administrative exemptions to the vaccine mandate for Air National Guard members, according to the service. Those service members are not included in the unvaccinated count. Comparatively, about 3% of active-duty soldiers and 1.4% of active-duty airmen are unvaccinated. The Army National Guard had the latest deadline of all the services by several months. Deadlines for active-duty service members passed Nov. 2 for the Air Force and Space Force, Nov. 28 for the Navy and Marine Corps, and Dec. 15 for the Army. The Army, which is responsible for determining how to deal with the Guard troops who have not been vaccinated, is expected to release information about its plans Friday. Were going to give every soldier every opportunity to get vaccinated and continue their military career, Lt. Gen. Jon Jensen, director of the Army Guard, said in a statement Thursday. Were not giving up on anybody until the separation paperwork is signed and completed. The active-duty Army began separations in March, about three months after the service deadline to get vaccinated. Since then, 1,037 soldiers have been separated, 3.464 reprimands have been issued, and 3,228 temporary and permanent exemptions have been granted. The Air Force had separated 672 active-duty airmen for refusing the vaccine as of Monday, according to the service. No data was available on how many Air Force National Guard or Reserve members had been separated to date. The federal government will not pay unvaccinated Guard members starting Friday, the Pentagon has said. That means they wont be paid when activated under federal status, which includes monthly drill weekends. Unvaccinated Guard members will also not be allowed to participate in federal missions, such as certain assignments to the U.S.-Mexico border. However, troops might be eligible for pay while performing duties under their state assignments, depending on the state. The governors of Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, Alaska, Iowa, Mississippi and Nebraska have formally asked the Pentagon not to enforce the mandate for Guard members, with some of them filing lawsuits. Last week, District Judge J. Campbell Barker in the Eastern District of Texas decided not to issue a preliminary injunction that would have delayed the mandates enforcement for Texas National Guard members until an ongoing lawsuit between the state of Texas and the federal government is settled. The courts decision means Guard members in Texas must still meet the federal deadline to be eligible for federal pay, though the lawsuit is ongoing. That lawsuit, filed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, argues the federal government should not be able to override the decisions of the governor, who declined to order Texas National Guard members to receive the vaccine while under state duty status. Because plaintiffs have not shown a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of their claims, the court need not consider the other requirements to obtain a preliminary injunction, Barker wrote in his decision issued June 24. The same happened when Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt filed a similar lawsuit in November, and an Oklahoma District Judge denied their request for a preliminary injunction the following month. (Tribune News Service) As soon as the whoops, whistles and applause erupted as Rear Adm. Charles Chip Rock stepped to the lectern, it was clear it wasnt going to be a traditionally solemn change of command ceremony at Navy Region Mid-Atlantic. With lots of laughter and joking memories of Navy friends from a 35 year career like the pair of shoes one friend still owed him after a particularly enthusiastic night of partying years ago Rock turned over command of a region with 14 Navy installations in 20 states, from Wisconsin east to Maine and south to North Carolina, to Rear Adm. Scott Gray. Instead of the usual speech from a military boss or senior mentor, he asked daughter Ashley to be the keynote speaker and she said he made her promise not to talk about him. But she did, just to mention the most important thing: How amazing you can serve so many people while still being an incredible father, she said. She said she wasnt going to recite the usual list of awards and medals and accomplishments those werent what leadership was about, to her. Real leadership is the success of people around you, she said. My dad has spent the last 35 years making it better for other people. Rock, who forged stronger connections between the many Hampton Road Navy installations and local communities, put in a longer-than-usual four years at the region, through the peak of the pandemic. The Navy, America ... we got through this together, he said. He said the region made progress on housing, though there is still much to be done, and said he was proud of helping boost the Navys exceptional families, mental health services and the regional staffs workforce. He mentioned the exceptional families program the Navys effort to help family members with special needs several times during his speech. That, like asking his daughter to give the keynote speech, reflected something important to him: It is all about the the family, he said. They are service members, too. dress@dailypress.com 2022 Daily Press. Visit dailypress.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (Tribune News Service) A federal jury in San Diego convicted four of five former U.S. naval officers of conspiracy, bribery and fraud on Wednesday, capping a four-month long trial and a decade-long investigation of the worst corruption scandal in the history of the Navy. After deliberating over parts of three weeks, jurors convicted former Capts. David Newland, James Dolan and David Lausman and former Cmdr. Mario Herrera of conspiracy to commit bribery, receiving bribes, and conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud due to their entanglements with Singapore-based military contractor Leonard Glenn Francis. Lausman was also convicted of obstruction of justice for destroying a computer hard drive with documents and emails from his time as the commanding officer of the aircraft carrier George Washington. The jury deadlocked and reached no verdict on charges against a fifth defendant, former Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless. The verdict ended a lengthy trial the only one in the sprawling prosecution that began with opening statements on March 2. The evidence jurors were shown featured reams of documents including emails and invoices, testimony from federal agents, and testimony from other Navy officials caught in the scandal who had pleaded guilty and agreed to give evidence against others in exchange for a potentially lighter sentence. Prosecutors laid out what is now, after nearly a decade of "Fat Leonard" indictments and more than two-dozen guilty pleas, a familiar litany: Francis nicknamed for his girth showered gifts of fancy meals, prostitutes, high-end hotel rooms and other perks on Navy officers from 2006 through 2014. In return, they did his bidding, such as providing ship schedules for the Navy's Seventh Fleet and trying to steer Navy ships to ports around Southeast Asia that Francis and his company, Glenn Defense Marin Asia, controlled. Once there, he gouged the Navy on services, including fuel, supplies, sewage disposal, security, shore transportation and more. Francis admitted to defrauding at least $35 million from the U.S. Navy. The trial included an extraordinary, three-day-long hearing mid-trial to get to the bottom of allegations that federal prosecutors had illegally withheld information from defense lawyers. It was one of several motions that defense attorneys filed during the course of the trial contending prosecutors had committed misconduct and a mistrial should be declared. But U.S. District Court Judge Janis Sammartino has not issued any formal rulings on the motions filed by lawyers unusual in any trial but especially so in such a high-profile case. The most recent was filed even while the jury deliberated, arguing that the government had not disclosed that a key case agent had made inaccurate statements in a sworn arrest warrant affidavit in a strikingly similar case a year ago. That motion and the others are still pending, frustrating defense lawyers. "Our view is this case should never have gone to the jury," Joseph Mancano, the lawyer for Newland, said during a hearing June 22 outside the presence of the jury. And he criticized how federal prosecutors have handled the case. "The layers of prosecutorial misconduct in this case are mind-boggling," he told the judge. But, in response, government lawyers said that nothing the defense raised in the motions were enough to halt the case. "None of the issues individually or collectively arise to 'flagrant misbehavior' or have caused 'substantial prejudice' to the defendants," prosecutors wrote. The arguments over the withheld information was not the biggest surprise in the trial. In a stunning move, the scandal's namesake, Francis, who pleaded guilty in 2015 and met hundreds of times with agents and prosecutors as part of his cooperation agreement, was not called to testify. The government gave no explanation, and indeed it did not have to. But there was plenty of speculation. Some centered on a multi-part podcast Francis recorded that was released before trial. In hours of recordings he bragged about his influence and reach. At one point in an excerpt defense attorneys played several times for the jury he appeared to throw a cloud over the pending case. "I can't say my story," Francis told an interviewer in his deep baritone voice, "because if I tell you my story, if I tell them my story, then the government hasn't got a case against all those other guys." Another reason: Years ago Francis testified in a deposition for a court-martial of a Navy fighter pilot charged with accepting bribes. While the judge in the case did not accept a defense lawyer's argument that Francis perjured himself under cross-examination, he acquitted the pilot of the most serious charges against him, which relied on Francis's testimony. Also not called to testify was a second key player, former Cmdr. Jose Sanchez, who has also pleaded guilty and, like Francis, is awaiting sentencing after helping prosecutors. That meant the case against the five men relied heavily on emails, phone and billing records, and other documentary evidence. Other corrupt officers who pleaded guilty, such as Edmund Aruffo and Stephen Shedd, were called to testify, but defense lawyers in closing arguments urged jurors to consider the sizable hole made by Francis' absence as a sign of the weakness in the government's case. Defense lawyers put on only a handful of witnesses, attacking the government case via cross-examinations. In closing arguments that stretched over several days, they assailed the government's reliance on cooperating witnesses angling for shorter sentences. They said the emails presented by prosecutors were presented out of context and insinuated wrongdoing by simply connecting the former officers to Francis or his company. The highly unusual mid-trial hearing centered on information about one prostitute. Right as the trial got under way, federal agents had conversations with the woman, named Ynah, who was allegedly paid by Francis to have sex with defendant Lausman. But the woman denied to agents she had sex and said she slept on the couch in the hotel room of an officer. She also admitted she lied to Francis about having sex, so she could get paid. Ynah declined requests to come to San Diego from the Philippines to testify. No information on this conversation was given to defense lawyers, which they said violated longstanding legal obligations of prosecutors to turn over information that could help show a defendant was not guilty. Sammartino, the judge, halted testimony in the trial for a hearing in which the chief prosecutor on the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Pletcher, had to take the extraordinary step of testifying on the stand to defend his actions. In the end Sammartino didn't sanction prosecutors. The convicted defendants and their lawyers declined to comment after the verdicts were read to a nearly packed courtroom, filled with family and friends of the defendants on one side and a legion of federal agents and prosecutors on the other. Thomas O'Brien, the lawyer for Loveless, asked Sammartino to acquit his client after the jury was dismissed, arguing the government had "thrown everything it can" against Loveless and was unable to convince the jury. Pletcher objected to that, and Sammartino declined to make an immediate ruling. The U.S. Attorney's Office issued a brief news release about the verdict late Wednesday but did not comment on its significance or say whether Loveless would be retried. Outside of court, O'Brien said the government should not seek to retry his client. "After four months of trial and several weeks of deliberations the jury failed to convict Admiral Loveless on any counts," he said. "This case should be dismissed." Sentencing for the four men was set for Oct. 11, but a series of post-trial motions from defense lawyers are expected to be filed before then. The trial could very well mark the end of the sweeping Fat Leonard investigation. Since the indictment in this case was handed down in March 2017, the investigation has slowed down markedly. Four people were indicted after this case but they each pleaded guilty before trial. Francis is set to be sentenced on July 14. Since 2018 he had been living in a kind of house arrest at a secret residential location while receiving treatment and care for medical problems, including renal cancer. 2022 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Visit sandiegouniontribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A U.S. Navy sailor died last week in Hawaii from injuries sustained in Japan, according to his obituary in a Pennsylvania newspaper. Petty Officer 3rd Class Bailey Gorman, 23, of Sayre, Pa., died June 22 at the Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu of injuries he received in Yokosuka, Japan, according to his obituary in The Daily Review, of Towanda, Pa., on Tuesday. Gorman was stationed aboard a ship homeported at Yokosuka Naval Base and no one else was involved in his death, Naval Forces Japan spokeswoman Cmdr. Katie Cerezo told Stars and Stripes by email Thursday. We mourn the loss of every sailor, she said. Out of respect for his family, we will not comment further. Gorman graduated from Sayre Area High School in 2017, joined the Navy in October 2019 and completed his basic training at Navy Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Ill. He was stationed at Dahlgren Navy Base in Virginia in 2021, according to his obituary. Gorman, an Aegis Combat System fire controlman, deployed to Yokosuka Naval Base in early 2022, the obituary states. SAN DIEGO (Tribune News Service) In a boon for employment, General Dynamics-NASSCO has been awarded $600 million by the Defense Department to begin preparing for the construction of three huge Navy ships at its yard on San Diego Bay. About $500 million will go toward acquiring steel and other materials to build a pair of Lewis-class replenishment oilers that will be named after former members of the U.S. Supreme Court. One will be called Thurgood Marshall, the other Ruth Bader Ginsburg. NASSCO also will receive $100 million to begin initial work on an as-yet unnamed Expeditionary Sea Base, or ESB, a ship that can do everything from operating Special Forces missions to conducting airborne mine countermeasure activities. The three vessels, each which are close to 800 feet in length, will collectively cost nearly $2 billion. The contracts will keep the shipyard busy with Navy construction work into 2027. NASSCO has 3,500 employees who build Navy and commercial vessels, and repair Navy ships. It is the last major shipbuilding company left on the West Coast. The NASSCO team is excited to work with our Navy partners to ensure the success of both historic programs which are critical in supporting the Navys forward presence, NASSCO President Dave Carver said in a statement. The news comes less than a week after the Navy christened the John Canley, the fourth ESB thats been built at NASSCO. A fifth ESB, known as the Robert E. Simanek, is under construction. NASSCO also is currently building two Lewis-class oilers named after Earl Warren, the late Supreme Court justice, and Robert F. Kennedy, the late U.S. senator. The company is preparing to build two other oilers. One will bear the name of the late Lucy Stone, a suffragist and abolitionist, and the late Sojourner Truth, an abolitionist and womens rights activist. All Lewis-class oilers are named after renowned civil rights leaders and social justice activists. 2022 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Visit sandiegouniontribune.com . ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Tribune News Service) A new class of Naval Academy midshipmen arrives at the academy this week as the institution holds Induction Day. Roughly 1,200 members of the class of 2026 began arriving in groups at 6:30 a.m. Thursday at Alumni Hall where they were to go through stations to receive a uniform, a haircut and be taught how to properly salute. Induction Day, known as I-Day, will culminate with inductees participating in an oath of office ceremony at 6 p.m. in front of Bancroft Hall. After the ceremony, plebes, the term used for new midshipmen, will say goodbye to their families until Plebe Parent weekend Aug. 11 to 14. One of those 1,200 new midshipmen who will take the oath is Jackson Nguyen, 18, of Huntsville, Ala. Nguyen is the son of retired Army Col. Thomas Nguyen a 1986 graduate of Annapolis High School who went on to serve nearly three decades in the Army. Im just so proud to be able to carry on a lineage of service thats been going on in my family since World War II, Jackson Nguyen said in an interview ahead of I-Day. Nguyen has spent much of his life moving between military bases with his family. He said he was excited to follow in the footsteps of his father, mother and sister all of whom have served or are currently serving in the Army. I knew I wanted to do something different than the Army so getting into the Naval Academy gave me an opportunity to fulfill my goal of service at the highest level, he said. Being here [in Annapolis] just resonates with me. Nguyens family immigrated to America in 1975 during the Vietnam War just weeks before the capital of Saigon fell. Thomas Nguyen was eight years old. The family ended up in Annapolis. After graduating from Towson University in 1990, the elder Nguyen was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army and retired as an Army colonel with 27 years of active duty service. Now its his sons chance to serve his country, Thomas Nguyen said, though he never required Jackson to do so. There was never any pressure for my children to join the military but Im extremely proud of Jackson deciding to go to such a great institution and I cant help but reflect on how amazing life is in coming full circle, Thomas Nguyen said. And the depth of this moment hasnt been lost on his son either as Jackson Nguyen understands how much the military has given his family. An opportunity to give back is such an honor in my opinion, Nguyen said. I know that my family came from tough beginnings, so its awesome to give back and to do it here is such a blessing. Nguyen is as prepared for this next stage of life as he could be. Not only has he seen the military life first hand but he is reporting to the Naval Academy after spending the last year at the Peddie School, a college preparatory school in Hightstown, New Jersey. I dont think I can ever truly be ready but Im certainly prepared, Nguyen said. Once he gets situated Nguyen also plans to run cross country as he did in high school back in Alabama. Ultimately he, like so many other midshipmen, wants to end up in a cockpit flying fighter jets but concedes even if that doesnt work out the Navy has copious opportunities that would satisfy him. Though the family now lives in Alabama, they try to return to Annapolis each year. The waterfront city will always be home to him, Thomas Nguyen said, now it has even more meaning. I come back here once or twice a year, when I can anyway, because its where my heart is but now I have extra incentive to visit the city since Jackson will be here, Nguyen said with a smile. I-Day concludes Thursday when plebes muster on Stribling Walk and are led into Bancroft Hall. The grueling six-week Plebe Summer then officially begins. (c)2022 The Capital (Annapolis, Md.) Visit at www.hometownannapolis.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A Navy reservist who was illegally fired from his job as a vice president of a Florida company while serving on active duty will receive compensation. In a statement issued Wednesday, the Justice Department said the amount of lost pay that Tapesouth Inc. will give Lt. Cmdr. James Radtke is $2,500. The company also agreed to train its employees on the federal law requiring employers to hold open the jobs of military reservists who take leave to fulfill their service obligations. Radtke is assigned to a patrol squadron in Jacksonville, Fla. In March 2020, he told Tapesouth that he would be away on active duty between April and July of that year. Toward the end of his deployment, he told the company he would soon return to his position as vice president of operations. Instead, Tapesouth terminated his employment, in violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act. Given the sacrifices that service members already make every day and the uncertainties they face during their military service obligations, it is simply inexcusable when employers violate USERRA, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in the statement. CAIRO Sudanese security forces shot eight people to death during anti-coup protests Thursday, a medical group said as thousands marched to denounce the countrys military rulers and demand an immediate transfer of power to civilians. The Sudans Doctors Committee said in a tweet that six people were fatally shot when police fired live ammunition at protesters in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, the Sudanese capital. Across the Nile River in Khartoum, another person died from a gunshot wound in the head and a child died after being shot in the chest, according the group, which tracks casualties during protests. The identities of the eight were not immediately known. Also in Khartoum, police fired tear gas at thousands of demonstrators trying to reach the Republican Palace, the military's seat of power in the heart of the city. Videos showing thousands waving Sudanese flags and running under clouds of tear gas were posted on social media. Other videos show demonstrators raising banners reading No Negotiations! No Partnership reiterating their opposition to any power-sharing deal with the military rulers. Sudans leading pro-democracy groups Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change and the Resistance Committees had called for nationwide protest Thursday to reiterate their demands for a reversal of the Oct. 25 military coup. The takeover upended the East African countrys short-lived transition to democracy following the 2019 ouster of longtime autocratic ruler Omar al-Bashir. Thursday's protests also fell on the third anniversary of a 2019 mass rally that forced the generals to sit down at the negotiating table with pro-democracy groups and eventually sign a power-sharing agreement that was expected to govern Sudan during a transitional period, until general elections were to be held. The coup last October scuttled this arrangement. Were very, very much gravely concerned by the continued use of excessive force by the government security forces in Sudan as they respond to protests and especially what weve seen today, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New York. It is imperative that people be allowed to express themselves freely and peacefully, and security forces in any country should be there to protect peoples right to do that, not to hinder it. Meanwhile, the London-based internet advocacy group, NetBlocks, said internet access was disrupted across many mobile and fixed-line internet providers in Sudan on Thursday, including state operator Sudantel, leaving national connectivity at only 17% of its ordinary level. Cuts to internet services have been routinely recorded ahead of most anti-coup protests. NetBlocks recommends against the use of network disruptions and social media restrictions to counter protests, given their disproportionate impact to fundamental rights including freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, said the London-based group. The October coup triggered near-weekly street demonstrations, which authorities have met with a deadly crackdown that has so far killed 111 people, including Thursdays casualties. Among those killed were 18 children, according to the Doctors Committee. Hundreds of people, including prominent politicians and activists, have been detained, although many have been released recently as part of trust-building measures. Since the coup, the U.N. political mission in Sudan, the African Union, and the eight-nation east African regional Intergovernmental Authority in Development group have been trying to broker a way out of the political impasse. Earlier this month, the leading pro-democracy group finally agreed to sit with the generals in a meeting that was brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia. However, no breakthrough has materialized from these talks. UNITED NATIONS The U.N. special envoy for Congo warned Wednesday that the M23 rebel group has increasingly acted as a conventional army during escalating military action in the country's volatile east and could threaten the U.N. peacekeeping force charged with protecting civilians. Bintou Keita urged the U.N. Security Council to fully back regional efforts to defuse tensions between Congo and Rwanda over M23 rebels and other armed groups that have raised fears of war between the neighboring countries. She also urged Congo and Rwanda to seize the opportunity to resolve their differences at an upcoming summit hosted by Angola's President Joao Lourenco in the capital, Luanda. Eastern Congo, which borders Rwanda, lives with the daily threat from dozens of armed groups that jostle for a piece of the region's rich mineral wealth, which the world mines for electric cars, laptops and mobile phones. The M23, one of the most notorious rebel groups, surged into action this year and captured a key trading town in eastern Congo this month. Congo has accused Rwanda of supporting the M23, which Rwanda has long denied. Each country has accused the other of recent incursions. On June 20, east African leaders meeting in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, responded to the threat of war by instructing a new regional force to deploy in eastern Congo and ordering an immediate cease-fire. Keita told the Security Council that "during the most recent hostilities, the M23 has conducted itself increasingly as a conventional army rather than an armed group." "The M23 possesses firepower and equipment, which is increasingly sophisticated, specifically in terms of long-range fire capacities, mortars and machine guns as well as precision fire against aircraft," she said. "The threat that this poses both for civilians" and U.N. peacekeepers "who have a mandate to protect them is evident." The M23 offensive has had a major impact on civilians, causing the death of 23 people including six children in May and June, and displacing more than 170,000, the U.N. special representative said. Keita warned that if the M23 continues "its well-coordinated attacks" against the Congolese army and the U.N. peacekeeping force known as MONUSCO "with increasing conventional capabilities, the mission may find itself confronted by a threat that goes beyond its current capabilities. She also cited threats from other armed groups. As government forces and the U.N. peacekeeping body shifted troops to focus on the M23, Keita said other armed groups "sought to take advantage of the resulting security vacuum," increasing attacks in North Kivu and Ituri provinces that killed more than 150 civilians between May 28 and June 17. Keita later told reporters that deployment of the regional force authorized at the Kenya meeting should complement U.N. peacekeepers: "The most important element and feature for us is coordination, coordination, coordination." Fortunately, she said, the regional force will be based in Goma, eastern Congo's largest city, where U.N. peacekeepers have a coordination center with the Congolese army. She also stressed the importance of the regional force's commitment to human rights. Keita said MONUSCO has been informed that the regional force's headquarters will be deployed by the end of July and its troops should come sometime in August. U.S. deputy ambassador Richard Mills told the council the United States insists that the regional force's deployment be closely coordinated with U.N. peacekeepers and conducted under international law and existing Security Council sanctions resolutions. Keita said she was encouraged by the commitment of Congo's government to pursue consultations with armed groups and encourage them to lay down their arms and join a national disarmament program, adding that several groups expressed their willingness. Julienne Lusenge, president of the Congolese organization Female Solidarity for Integrated Peace and Development, told the council about the impact of the worsening conflict in the east on women, saying mothers are cooking "soil to feed their children instead of boiling corn or soya." Lusenge also told the story of a woman whose family mortgaged land to pay $700 to ransom a relative. She was kidnapped when she went to deliver the money, forced to cook the entrails of a man who had been killed that were fed to prisoners, and repeatedly raped. After being released, she was detained by another group as she headed home, held as a sexual slave and forced to cook and eat human flesh. She escaped, returned to her village, and learned the family member she went to ransom had been murdered. Lusenge urged the Security Council to end "any ambiguity of what is happening in the east," saying U.N. experts have shown Rwanda's involvement with the M23. And she urged increased protection for civilians to prevent deaths and sexual violence against women and girls, medical and psychological support for survivors, and strengthened dialogue to end the violence and restore stability to eastern Congo. MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan Visiting U.S. Air Force stealth fighters and their air combat exercises this summer more than doubled the noise complaints from the community around this air base south of Hiroshima. The Air Force in June deployed 18 F-35A Lightning IIs from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, and 10 F-22 Raptors from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, as part of its Agile Combat Employment training. The F-35s started flying from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni on June 6 and the F-22s on June 15 and both will be training until mid-July, according to a news release on the Iwakuni city website. Deployment of visiting aircraft is a concern since it greatly affects the lives of the residents when it is as many as this, the city news release stated. Consequently, the city received 457 noise complaints between June 1 and Tuesday, Kazuhiko Saiki of the citys base affairs administration section told Stars and Stripes by phone Wednesday. He broke that number down to 234 complaints from June 1 to June 14 and 223 complaints from June 15 to Tuesday. By contrast, the city received 457 complaints in May and 173 complaints in June 2021, Saiki said. Complaints typically fall off in June, when the Navys Carrier Air Wing 5 is at sea with the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, he said. The wing is stationed at MCAS Iwakuni when the Ronald Reagan is at its homeport at Yokosuka Naval Base. Whether here, in the United States, or elsewhere, we do everything in our power to mitigate the impact our training has on the residents in and around our community, to include those on the base, base spokesman Maj. Joshua Diddams told Stars and Stripes by email Tuesday. He listed steps the base takes to mitigate the noise. Measures such as making every effort to honor our normal airfield hours; recognizing and avoiding flying during especially noise sensitive events near our flight operation areas; conducting straight-in full-stop measures when appropriate; and flying at higher altitudes than the lower ones that we are permitted to in order to have less noise impact, are all examples of everyday efforts we make to mitigate the impact of our training, he said. The city measured the loudest jet noise on June 18 at 101 decibels, Saiki said. The loudest measurement in May was 94.9 decibels and in April was 100.1 decibels, according to data on the citys website. Both aircraft types can produce about 146 decibels, according to a 2009 noise report by the Naval Research Advisory Committee. By comparison, an ambulance siren 100 feet away produces about 100 decibels, according to a 2018 noise study by the Department of Defense. The city receives complaints primarily by email and phone, Saiki said. The city counts complaints by the same person each time if they are made at different times of the day and are spread apart, he said. Residents in areas over 75 decibels qualify for government assistance for soundproofing on their homes, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport office website. About 18,000 homes of 18,700 that qualify for soundproofing in Iwakuni have been completed, according to the Chugoku-Shikoku Defense Bureau spokesman. In 2019 the Hiroshima High Court awarded nearly $6.8 million as compensation for aircraft noise to 653 residents living near the air base who say they suffered from the noise. Diddams said MCAS Iwakuni tries to balance its readiness requirements with the impact its flight operations have on the community. Responsible stewardship is important to us, Diddams said in his email. We fully understand and are sensitive to the fact that our training has an impact upon our host community. FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii The Rim of the Pacific maritime exercise kicked off Wednesday in Hawaii, one day after the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln steamed into Pearl Harbor for the biennial drill. Navies from 26 nations are participating in RIMPAC, which runs to Aug. 4 in waters near Hawaii and Southern California. Thirty-eight ships, four submarines, more than 170 aircraft and roughly 25,000 personnel are expected to participate in the exercise, according to the Navy. Participating are forces from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Navy has not yet released an official list of ships joining the drills, but it has tweeted out the arrival of vessels over the past week. Navies and ministries of participating nations have also posted updates on ships on their way. Among the U.S. ships involved are the Abraham Lincoln, the Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Monsoor and the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Sampson. Three of the U.S. Navys unmanned surface vessels Nomad, Sea Hunter and Ranger will also take part in the drills. South Korea has sent three ships and one submarine, while Australia has brought three ships. Japan is participating with two destroyers. This years RIMPAC, which returns in full after a significant downsizing in 2020 due to the pandemic, comes amid rising tensions with China. China participated in RIMPAC in 2014 and 2016 but was disinvited in 2018 over its ongoing efforts to militarize portions of the South China Sea. Chinese military aircraft also routinely fly into Taiwans air defense zone. Earlier this month, Chinas Foreign Ministry emphasized Beijings claim to sovereignty over the Taiwan Strait, a narrow strip of sea separating the Chinese mainland from Taiwan. China regards the island, which has a democratically elected government, as a renegade province that must at some point come under Beijings rule. The U.S. military continues to sail and fly through the strait, which it regards as international waters. RIMPAC brings an influx of visitors that is a boon to Honolulus restaurants and bars, but not everyone welcomes the biyearly gathering. An online petition by the Pacific Peace Network titled Cancel RIMPAC 2022 The Worlds Largest and Most Dangerous Naval War Maneuvers had garnered 2,650 signatures as of Wednesday. RIMPAC dramatically contributes to the destruction of the ecology and aggravation of the climate crisis in the Pacific region, the petition states. RIMPAC war forces will blow up decommissioned ships with missiles endangering marine mammals such as humpback whales, dolphins and Hawaiian monk seals and polluting the ocean with contaminates from the vessels. Land forces will conduct ground assaults that will tear up beaches where green sea turtles come to breed. The Navy has not announced the specifics of drills planned for the next month, but past RIMPAC exercises included the sinking of decommissioned ships and amphibious landings near Marine Corps Base Hawaii. Chinas quelling of democracy in Hong Kong should serve as a warning to Taiwan, according to an American professor who was in the former British colony when it was handed over to the communists 25 years ago. China is holding a series of events to commemorate the July 1, 1997, handover of the city by the United Kingdom, including the installation of John Lee as the islands chief executive. In 2019 the former security chief led a harsh crackdown on pro-democracy protests. Events in Hong Kong since 2019 show that Taiwan should be wary of promises from Beijing regarding reunification, said Cord Scott, 53, a professor of history, government and film for the University of Maryland Global Campus Asia on Okinawa. China regards self-governing Taiwan, which split from the mainland in 1949, as a renegade province that must be brought back into the fold, by force, if necessary. Taiwan, unlike Hong Kong, has its own military and is separated from the mainland by the 110-mile-wide Taiwan Strait. In Hong Kong, a city of 7.4 million, ruling authorities backed by Beijing imposed a national security law after subduing the pro-democracy protests. Free speech and free assembly were limited, pro-democracy activists jailed or exiled and candidates for public office trimmed to those deemed acceptable to Beijing. Thats not what people were told to expect after the handover, Scott said to Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday. A Baylor teaching fellow at Hong Kong Baptist College from 1993-1994, Scott was in a pub across the road from Government House watching on television when the Union Jack was lowered, he said. Government House was the British governors residence at the time; today its the Hong Kong chief executives residence. There was kind of a tension in the air, Scott said. People were asking Whats going to happen? Chinese officials at the time promised nothing would change. Under the terms of the handover Hong Kong was supposed to become a special autonomous region making its own decisions for 50 years, he said. But changes started immediately. For example, British money featuring Queen Elizabeth II was taken out of circulation, Scott said. At around 6 a.m. on July 1 the Peoples Liberation Army sent a column over the border, he said. He recalled a Chinese soldier standing in front of the building that had housed the former Royal Navy headquarters. Hong Kongs status as a global financial center has been shaken by Chinas crackdown on its liberties, Damien Horigan, a University of Maryland Global Campus professor of business law said by phone Thursday. There are questions over judicial independence and the free flow of information there, he said. Hong Kong was supposed to be held up as a kind of role model, but things have started to change under [Chinese President] Xi Jinping, Horigan said. People in Taiwan are nervous. 3:30 p.m. Monday, July 4, Japan time: Happy Independence Day. Boy, ol Aere simply doesnt want to walk away quietly. Were not expecting any significant fireworks from Aere, still a tropical depression as of Monday morning, but southwestern Japan and the Tokyo area can expect some gusty winds and scattered showers as Aere zooms through the area. At 9 a.m., Aere was about 250 miles southwest of Sasebo Naval Base, moving northeast at 12 mph with 35-mph sustained winds and 46-mph gusts at center. Sasebo remained in Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness Storm Watch into Monday afternoon. If Aere stays on present heading, Joint Typhoon Warning Center projects it to pass 32 miles southeast of Sasebo at mid-morning Tuesday, weaken slightly as it hurtles 15 miles southeast of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni at mid-evening Tuesday, then make its way back over water in the northwest Pacific Ocean after it passes 47 miles south of Yokosuka Naval Base at 11 p.m. Wednesday. *** 9:30 p.m. Sunday, July 3, Japan time: U.S. bases on Okinawa reverted to seasonal Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 4 at 8:30 p.m., as announced by Kadena Air Bases 18th Wing. Sasebo Naval Base remains in TCCOR Storm Watch as a precaution. *** 7:30 p.m. Sunday, July 3, Japan time: Aere has been downgraded to a tropical depression, continues moving north on course to pass through Japans main islands Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing a forecast of showers and gusty winds to Sasebo Naval Base, Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and the Tokyo area. Sasebo has directed Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness Storm Watch, while U.S. bases on Okinawa remain in TCCOR Storm Watch, just in case. *** 7:45 a.m. Sunday, July 3, Japan time: Though Tropical Storm Aere continues moving away from Okinawa, its those pesky backside wind and rain bands that are continuing to pelt the island with assorted nastiness, in the way of showers, some heavy, gusty winds and a bit of lightning hither and yon. At 6 a.m., Aere was 71 miles northwest of Kadena Air Base, moving northwest at 13 mph. U.S. bases on Okinawa remained in Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness Storm Watch overnight Saturday into Sunday. Kadenas 18th Wing Weather Flight projects 29-mph sustained winds and 40-mph gusts for the island over the next several hours, courtesy of those peripheral rain bands. Japanese weather forecast calls for between a 50- and 80-percent chance of showers the rest of the day. If Aere stays on present course, Joint Typhoon Warning Center projects it to gradually weaken and arc northeast, passing just south of Sasebo Naval Base at 7 a.m. Tuesday and Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni 12 hours later as a tropical depression. Even the Tokyo area could feel some residual effects as Aeres remnants pass through on Thursday. *** 2 a.m. Sunday, July 3, Japan time: Forecast closest point of approach by Tropical Storm Aere to Okinawa has come and gone. That said, theres still plenty of wind and rain to come thanks to Aeres backside rain and windbands. Aere made landfall over Kayo on Okinawas northeast coast, 37 miles east-northeast of Kadena Air Base, at about midnight, according to Kadenas 18th Wing Weather Flight. Joint Typhoon Warning Centers latest forecast indicated Aere peaked at 46-mph sustained winds and 58-mph gusts as it made landfall. U.S. bases on Okinawa remained in Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness Storm Watch through Saturday evening into Sunday morning. The overnight forecast calls for showers, heavy at times, with isolated thunderstorms, through Sunday and continuing on and off into Monday. If Aere keeps on its present heading, Joint Typhoon Warning Center projects it to weaken as it moves north, then make a right turn and pick up speed as it passes over Sasebo Naval Base at 2 p.m. Tuesday and Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni 14 hours later as a tropical depression. *** 8:15 p.m. Saturday, July 2, Japan time: Were starting to feel the effects of Tropical Storm Aere in the form of showers and high winds. The heaviest is forecast for early Sunday morning as Aere passes Okinawa to the east-northeast and the backside wind and rain bands smack the island. At 6 p.m., Aere was about 92 miles southeast of Kadena Air Base and moving at a fast clip, north-northwest at 18 mph, holding steady at 52-mph sustained winds and 63-mph gusts. The east quadrants typically the worst of the four, should remain off shore as Aere passes 58 miles east-northeast of the island at about 10 p.m., according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centers latest forecast track. Here is the latest wind-forecast timeline for Aere from Kadenas 18th Wing Weather Flight. U.S. bases on Okinawa remain in Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness Storm Watch. Between 1 to 3 inches of rain are forecast: -- Onset of 40-mph sustained winds: Began at 7:30 p.m. -- Onset of 58-mph sustained winds: Not forecast at this time. -- Peak 52-mph sustained winds and 63-mph gusts for Okinawa, 46-mph sustained winds and 58-mph gusts for Kadena: Midnight. -- Sustained winds subsiding below 40 mph: 6 a.m. Sunday. If Aere remains on current heading, JTWC projects it to peak at 58-mph sustained winds and 75-mph gusts after making closest point of approach, move north into cooler waters where it will gradually weaken, then make a sharp right turn, passing over Sasebo Naval Base at 2 p.m. Tuesday and Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni 12 hours later as a tropical depression. More to follow. *** 1:30 p.m. Saturday, July 2, Japan time: Wont be long now. Showers, isolated thunderstorms and gusty winds set to pick up Saturday afternoon and evening on into Sunday morning. The heaviest of winds should be off shore of Okinawa to the east-northeast, but it should still be quite a messy weekend. Here is the latest wind-forecast timeline for Aere from Kadena Air Bases 18th Wing Weather Flight. U.S. bases on Okinawa remain in Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness Storm Watch. Between 2 and 3 inches of rain associated with Aere are forecast: -- Onset of 35-knot (40-mph) sustained winds: 7 p.m. Saturday. -- Onset of 50-knot (58-mph) sustained winds: Not forecast at this time. -- Peak 45-knot (52-mph) sustained winds, 55-knot (63-mph) gusts for Okinawa, 40-knot (46-mph) sustained winds, 50-knot (58-mph) gusts for Kadena: Midnight Saturday. -- Winds subsiding below 35-knot (40-mph) sustained: 6 a.m. Sunday. At 9 a.m., Tropical Storm Aere was 208 miles southeast of Kadena and it had put the pedal to the metal, moving north-northwest at 18 mph, holding steady at 52-mph sustained winds and 63-mph gusts at storms center. If Aere continues on present heading, Joint Typhoon Warning Center projects it to peak at 58-mph sustained winds and 75-mph gusts, with the worst of it in the east quadrants, off the coast for the most part. JTWC projects closest point of approach to be 40 miles east-northeast of Kadena at 11 p.m. Saturday. Once past Okinawa, Aere is forecast to keep moving northwest for another day, then start to weaken as it curves northeast, passing just south of Sasebo Naval Base at 2 p.m. Tuesday and Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni 15 hours later as a weak tropical storm or tropical depression. *** 7:30 a.m. Saturday, July 2, Japan time: As Tropical Storm Aere closes in on Okinawa, little has changed regarding forecast wind speeds and rainfall for the island in the coming two days. Here is the latest wind-forecast timeline for Aere from Kadena Air Bases 18th Wing Weather Flight. U.S. bases on Okinawa remain in Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness Storm Watch. Between 1 and 3 inches of rain associated with Aere are forecast: -- Onset of 35-knot (40-mph) sustained winds: 6 p.m. Saturday. -- Onset of 50-knot (58-mph) sustained winds: Not forecast at this time. -- Peak 45-knot (52-mph) sustained winds, 55-knot (63-mph) gusts for Okinawa, 40-knot (46-mph) sustained winds, 50-knot (58-mph) gusts for Kadena: 1 a.m. Sunday. -- Winds subsiding below 35-knot (40-mph) sustained: Noon Sunday. Weather Flight officials forecast the strongest winds for northeastern Okinawa between 11 p.m. Saturday and 3 a.m. Sunday. At 3 a.m., Aere was 306 miles southeast of Kadena, headed north-northwest at 12 mph and had strengthened slightly, to 52-mph sustained winds and 63-mph gusts at center. If Aere stays on present course, Joint Typhoon Warning Center projects it to pass 29 miles east-northeast of Kadena at midnight Saturday, packing 63-mph sustained winds and 81-mph gusts at center. From there, Aere is forecast to gradually weaken as it heads north through cooler waters, curve northeast and pass almost directly over Sasebo Naval Base at 4 p.m. Tuesday and Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni 15 hours later as either a weak tropical storm or tropical depression. More to follow. *** 12:30 a.m. Saturday, July 2, Japan time: Tropical Storm Aeres forecast track has edged a bit further east again, taking its Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecast closest point of approach a bit further away from U.S. bases on Okinawa. At 9 p.m., Aere was 366 miles southeast of Kadena Air Base and had put the foot down on the gas pedal some, moving north at 14 mph, holding steady at 46-mph sustained winds and 58-mph gusts at center. U.S. bases on Okinawa remained in Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness Storm Watch through Friday evening into Saturday morning. If Aere stays on present course, JTWC projects it to strengthen to 58-mph sustained winds and 75-mph gusts as it curves northwest, then passes 43 miles east-northeast of Kadena, over Cape Hedo at the islands northeastern end, at 2 a.m. Sunday. From there, Aere is forecast to peak at 63-mph sustained winds and 81-mph gusts at mid-evening Sunday, then arc northeast, gradually losing its punch as it grazes the northwest coasts of Kyushu and Honshu Islands in southwestern Japan, passing 29 miles northwest of Sasebo Naval Base at 1 p.m. Tuesday and 52 miles northwest of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni 15 hours later. More to follow. *** 8:15 p.m. Friday, July 1, Japan time: Heres the latest wind-forecast timeline for Tropical Storm Aere from Kadena Air Bases 18th Wing Weather Flight. U.S. bases on Okinawa remain in seasonal Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 4. Between 1 and 3 inches of rain is forecast. -- Onset of sustained 35-knot (40-mph) winds: 6 p.m. Saturday. -- Onset of sustained 50-knot (58-mph) winds: Not forecast at this time. -- Peak sustained 45-knot (52-mph) winds, 55-knot (63-mph) gusts for Okinawa, sustained 40-knot (46-mph) winds, 50-knot (58-mph) gusts for Kadena: 3 a.m. Sunday. -- Sustained winds subsiding below 35-knot (40-mph): Noon Sunday. Joint Typhoon Warning Center projects closest point of approach by Aere to Kadena to be 29 miles east-northeast at 3 a.m. Sunday. Showers and isolated thunderstorms are expected throughout the forecast period into Monday. At 3 p.m., Aere was 436 miles south-southeast of Kadena, heading north at 7 p.m. and had strengthened slightly, to 46-mph sustained winds and 58-mph gusts at center. Aere is forecast to peak at 58-mph sustained winds and 75-mph gusts as it makes closest point of approach. From there, JTWC projects Aere to arc gradually north to northeast through the Tsushima Strait between Koreas southeast coast and southwestern Japan, passing 39 miles northwest of Sasebo Naval Base and 66 miles southeast of Pusan as a mild tropical storm, 40-mph sustained winds and 52-mph gusts. More to follow. *** 2:15 p.m. Friday, July 1, Japan time: Here is the initial wind-forecast timeline for Tropical Storm Aere courtesy of Kadena Air Bases 18th Wing Weather Flight. U.S. bases on Okinawa remain in seasonal Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 4. Between 1 and 3 inches of rain is forecast. -- Onset of sustained 35-knot (40-mph) winds: 9 p.m. Saturday. -- Onset of sustained 50-knot (58-mph) winds: Not forecast at this time. -- Peak sustained 45-knot (52-mph) winds, 63-mph gusts for Okinawa, sustained 40-knot (46-mph) winds, 50-knot (58-mph) gusts for Kadena: 2 a.m. Sunday. -- Sustained winds subsiding below 35-knot (40-mph): Noon Sunday. Joint Typhoon Warning Center projects closest point of approach by Aere to Kadena to be 20 miles east-northeast at 2 a.m. Sunday. Showers and isolated thunderstorms are forecast throughout the forecast period into Monday. *** 12:30 p.m. Friday, July 1, Japan time: Aere has been upgraded to a tropical storm, has lurched a bit east, but remains on track to pass over Okinawa early Sunday morning as a severe tropical storm, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centers latest forecast. At 9 a.m., Aere was 470 miles south-southeast of Kadena Air Base, moving east-northeast at 9 mph and had strengthened to 46-mph sustained winds and 58-mph gusts at center. U.S. bases on Okinawa remained in seasonal Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 4 through Friday morning into early afternoon. If Aere continues on its present course, JTWC projects it to resume a northwesterly path, pass 20 miles east-northeast of Kadena at 1 a.m. Sunday packing 63-mph sustained winds and 81-mph gusts at storms center. After moving north of Okinawa, Aere is forecast to peak at 69-mph sustained winds and 86-mph gusts just shy of Category 1-equivalent typhoon strength. Aere is projected to weaken rapidly as it moves further north, making landfall over the south coast of the Korean peninsula at mid-afternoon Tuesday as a tropical storm, degrading further as it moves inland. More to come. *** 7 a.m. Friday, July 1, Japan time: Tropical Depression 05W has strengthened slightly and remains on course to pass over Okinawa at mid-evening Saturday as a tropical storm. At 3 a.m., 05W was 480 miles south-southeast of Kadena Air Base, moving northwest at 5 mph with 35-mph sustained winds and 46-mph gusts. U.S. bases on Okinawa remained in seasonal Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 4 overnight Thursday into Friday. Should 05W stay on present heading, Joint Typhoon Warning Center projects it to keep moving north-northwest, peak at 58-mph sustained winds and 75-mph gusts at mid-afternoon Saturday, just before passing 6 miles east-northeast of Kadena at about 7 p.m. Saturday. Kadenas 18th Wing Weather Flight forecast continues to call for showers and isolated thunderstorms throughout the July 4th weekend, with tropical-storm conditions Friday afternoon and evening into Saturday, east to southeasterly 20-mph winds and 40-mph gusts. Once past Okinawa, 05W is forecast to gradually weaken, move due north and then northeast, grazing the southeast coast of the Korean peninsula, passing over Kimhae International Airport at mid-afternoon Tuesday as a tropical depression. Model-track guidance is a bit varied, while the GFS and CMC forecast ensembles generally agree on a track similar to that of JTWC. More to follow. *** 12:45 a.m. Friday, July 1, Japan time: As we bid June a fond farewell and enter the Independence Day holiday weekend, we welcome the fifth numbered tropical cyclone of the northwest Pacifics typhoon season. And it appears on target to pass over Okinawa this weekend as a mid-range tropical storm. At 9 p.m., 05W was 535 miles south-southeast of Kadena Air Base, headed north-northwest at 5 mph, with 29-mph sustained winds and 40-mph gusts at center. U.S. bases on Okinawa remained in seasonal Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 4 through Thursday evening into Friday. Kadenas 18th Wing Weather Flight forecast calls for tropical-storm conditions Friday evening into Saturday morning, with easterly winds of 20 mph gusting to 40 mph Friday afternoon and evening, shifting southerly Saturday morning. Isolate rain showers are forecast the rest of the July 4th weekend. If 05W continues on present course, Joint Typhoon Warning Center projects it to pass 13 miles east-northeast of Kadena at 2 p.m. Saturday, packing 52-mph sustained winds and 63 mph gusts at center. Model-track guidance and the GFS forecast ensemble best track concur with a track over Okinawa. JTWC forecasts it to peak at 58-mph sustained winds and 75-mph gusts at mid-evening Saturday just after closest point of approach to Okinawa, then diminish gradually as it heads north and northeast through the Tsushima Straits as a tropical depression late Tuesday evening. If 05W becomes a named storm, it would be called Aere, which stands for wait for it storm. You cant make up stuff like that. *** 2 p.m. Thursday, June 30, Japan time: Looks like it could be one of those on-and-off rainy-type next couple of days, with heavy day-long rain possible Saturday and Sunday, the peak of the July 4th Independence Day weekend. U.S. bases on Okinawa remain in seasonal Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 4. Regarding 98W Invest, Kadena Air Base's 18th Wing Weather Flight says for the moment, it appears it may be more of a rain than wind event, they're not expecting to accelerate TCCOR; but prudent to bear in mind, that can change at any time. This is weather we're talking. Here are what the GFS and ECMWF forecast ensembles are showing regarding 98W Invest. In basic agreement on a zig-zag walk northwest, with something of a spread among solutions. For now, expect showers and isolated thunderstorms through the rest of Thursday into Friday. Already, weve seen masses of those type of clouds moving our way from the southeast. As one once told me in my early years in the Pacific and my first couple of visits to Okinawa, if you dont like the weather, wait five minutes. 2 a.m. Thursday, June 30, Japan time: The picture is coming into better focus regarding tropical disturbance 98W Invest and proximity to Okinawa this coming weekend. The bad news: It does appear as though it should pass close if not directly over the island. The good news: For the moment, it doesnt look like it could be a knock-down, drag-out typhoon, though this is weather were talking. Here is what the GFS, CMC and ECMWF model ensembles are projecting. Its still a young disturbance and these might change, though the Joint Typhoon Warning Center reports that the ensembles are in tight agreement. Here are the Kadena Air Base 18th Wing Weather Flight and local Japanese forecasts. U.S. bases on Okinawa remain in seasonal Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 4. That may or may not change, depending on forecast winds. If were looking at winds of 58 mph or greater, yes, we could see accelerated TCCORs. That is up to the forecast and any TCCOR calls made by the 18th Wing commanding officer, who speaks in one voice for the island regarding TCCORs. *** 9 p.m. Wednesday, June 29, Japan time: A tropical disturbance, labeled 98W Invest, is developing south-southeast of Okinawa. Joint Typhoon Warning Center reports that at 8 p.m., 98W was 675 miles south-southeast of Kadena Air Base and forecast to track northwest while gradually developing over the next day to two days. Its far too early to tell how strong it might become as it heads northwest. Model track guidance shows it coming close to Okinawa. Military and Japanese forecasts call for showers and isolated thunderstorms during the upcoming July 4th Independence Day weekend. More to follow. ROME U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Pope Francis on Wednesday and received Communion during a papal Mass in St. Peters Basilica, witnesses said, despite her position in support of abortion rights. Pelosi attended the morning Mass marking the feasts of St. Peter and St. Paul, during which Francis bestowed the woolen pallium stole on newly consecrated archbishops. She was seated in a VIP diplomatic section of the basilica and received Communion along with the rest of the congregants, according to two people who witnessed the moment. Pelosis home archbishop, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, has said he will no longer allow her to receive the sacrament in his archdiocese because of her support for abortion rights. Cordileone, a conservative, has said Pelosi must either repudiate her support for abortion or stop speaking publicly of her Catholic faith. Pelosi has done neither. She called the recent Supreme Court ruling removing constitutional protections for abortion an outrageous and heart-wrenching decision that fulfils the Republican Partys dark and extreme goal of ripping away womens right to make their own reproductive health decisions. And she has spoken openly about the Catholic faith, including at a diplomatic reception at the residence of the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See on Tuesday evening marking Independence Day. Speaking to a crowd of ambassadors, Vatican officials and other Rome-based Americans, Pelosi noted the Catholic virtues of faith, hope and charity and the important role they play in the U.S. Embassys mission. Faith is an important gift, not everyone has it but it is the path to so many other things, she told the crowd. Pelosi met with Francis on Wednesday before the Mass and received a blessing, according to one of the Mass attendees. A photo released by the Vatican showed Pelosi and her husband, Paul Pelosi, greeting Francis off to the side of the basilica. Francis has strongly upheld the churchs opposition to abortion, and on Wednesday said church leaders must continue to care for human life. But in his homily, Francis also instructed the new archbishops to welcome everyone into the church, including sinners, and to not remain pinned to some of our fruitless debates. So many times we become a church with open doors, but only to send people away, to condemn them, he said. After the Mass, Pelosi visited the SantEgidio Community, a Catholic charity close to Francis where she met with refugees helped by the group. At an event to award the charity with $25,000 in State Department funding, Pelosi referred to the need to preach the Gospel with actions, not just words. We had the pleasure of attending Mass this morning with His Holiness and many many many leaders of the church, Pelosi said. In the spirit of St. Francis, which is the name of His Holiness and my city of San Francisco, I thank you for preaching the Gospel, sometimes using words. While Francis presided over the Mass, he did not distribute Communion himself and Pelosi received the sacrament from one of the many priests who distributed it. From the time he was archbishop in Buenos Aires, Francis has rarely distributed Communion, precisely to prevent the sacrament from becoming politicized. Last year, President Joe Biden, another Catholic who also supports abortion rights, said after meeting with Francis that the pontiff told him to continue receiving the sacrament. Biden later received Communion during a Mass in a Rome church that is under the authority of Francis as bishop of Rome. Pelosis partaking of the sacrament inside the Vatican during a Mass presided over by the pope was even more significant, and a sign of Francis unwillingness to refuse Communion. Francis has described the Eucharist as not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak. Asked about some U.S. bishops who wanted to refuse Biden the sacrament, Francis told reporters during an airborne press conference in September that priests shouldnt be politicians and condemn their flock but should be pastors who accompany the faithful with tenderness and compassion. There was no immediate public response from Cordileone, the San Francisco archbishop, who this week is hosting a liturgy conference that has been in the Catholic news because of its organizers and sponsorship deals. The Vatican has not ruled on the specific matter of Communion and politicians supporting abortion in a major teaching document, though the churchs in-house canon law says people in a situation of persistent sin shouldnt be allowed to receive Communion. It has also issued guidelines for the behavior of Catholics in political life, exhorting them to uphold principles consistent with church doctrine. The then-head of the Vaticans doctrine office, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger the future Pope Benedict XVI told U.S. bishops in 2004 that priests must deny the sacrament if a politician goes to receive Communion despite an obstinate persistence in manifest grave sin, including the sin of consistently campaigning for permissive abortion laws. Ratzinger wrote a confidential letter outlining the principles to U.S. bishops in response to their question about whether to deny Communion to John Kerry, who was the Democratic nominee for president. In the end the bishops ignored Ratzingers advice and voted instead for the policy currently in place allowing bishops to decide themselves whether to withhold it. ___ Paolo Santalucia and Alessandra Tarantino contributed. WARSAW, Poland A year after migrants started crossing into the European Union from Belarus to Poland, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and top security officials visited the border area on Thursday to mark the completion of a new steel wall. On Friday, Polish authorities will also lift a state of emergency along the border that has blocked journalists, rights workers and others from witnessing a human rights crisis. At the very least, 20 migrants have died in the area's freezing forests and bogs. The Polish government characterizes the wall as part of the fight against Russia; human rights defenders see it as representing a huge double standard, with groups of white Christian refugees from Ukraine made up mostly of women welcomed but predominantly male Muslims from Syria and other countries rejected and mistreated. "The first sign of the war in Ukraine was (Belarus President) Alexander Lukashenko's attack on the Polish border with Belarus," Morawiecki told a news conference. "It was thanks to (our) political foresight and the anticipation of what may happen that we may focus now on helping Ukraine, which is fighting to protect its sovereignty," Morawiecki said. As Poland opened its gates to millions of Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion, work was well underway to build the 5.5-meter (18-foot) high wall along 186 kilometers (115 miles) of its northern frontier with Belarus. It still needs electronic surveillance systems to be installed. It's meant to keep out asylum seekers of a different type: those fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa, who were encouraged to try their luck by Belarus' authoritarian regime a close ally of Russia as part of a feud with the EU. One of the asylum-seekers was 32-year-old Ali, who left Syria late last year after reading on social media that the easiest way into the EU was to fly to Belarus and walk into Poland. Ali, from a village outside Hama in western Syria, flew to the Belarusian capital, Minsk, and set out to find an unguarded spot in the forest where he could sneak over into the EU. "I was looking for a place where I can live in safety, away from the oppression and hopelessness back home," he said in an interview this week with The Associated Press in Berlin. Ali, who didn't give his last name, fearing repercussions for his family, was not prepared for the violence and sub-zero temperatures that awaited him in the vast forests and swamps. "There were nights when I went to sleep on the bare ground in the woods thinking I would not wake up again," Ali said. "If you give a lift to a refugee at the Ukrainian border you are a hero. If you do it at the Belarus border you are a smuggler and could end up in jail for eight years," said Natalia Gebert, founder and CEO of Dom Otwarty, or Open House, a Polish NGO that helps refugees. Belarus had never before been a key migration route into the EU until its President Alexander Lukashenko began encouraging would-be asylum-seekers in the Middle East to travel to Minsk. Soon, people from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and African countries flocked to the EU's eastern edge, entering Poland and neighboring Lithuania and Latvia. EU leaders accused Lukashenko of waging "hybrid warfare" in revenge for the bloc's sanctions over the regime's treatment of dissidents. Poland's government says Russia is complicit, given Lukashenko's alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Though migration slowed in the winter, people continued to try to enter the EU through Poland, a route seen as less dangerous than crossing the Mediterranean Sea, where many have drowned in past years, Gebert said. Ali, whose small makeup business in Syria was destroyed when Sunni extremists learned he belonged to the Alawite religious minority, says he got pushed back six times by Polish border guards. But Belarusian guards beat him, stole his money and forced him to take off all his clothes in the middle of the winter. He wanted to give up and return to Minsk, but the guards wouldn't let him. They made him and others lie on the cold ground, screamed at them, approached closely with a snarling dog and kicked Ali repeatedly in the chest. Polish border patrol officers broke his phone's SIM card, he said. He went without water and food for days, lost in the swamps. A Human Rights Watch report this month said Poland "unlawfully, and sometimes violently, summarily pushes migrants and asylum-seekers back to Belarus, where they face serious abuses, including beatings and rape by border guards and other security forces." Amnesty International has also detailed serious human rights abuses. While some Poles support the government's tough stance, many border region residents have throughout the winter and spring sought to help migrants trapped in the forest, several requiring medical help. A play that premiered in Warsaw this week, "Responsibility," asks how Poland can accept millions of Ukrainians while withholding help to thousands of others. One character asks: "Why does the Polish state demand that a child from Aleppo sits in a bog in sub-zero temperatures and withhold the aid it gives the child from Mariupol?" Ali spent 16 days in the forests, before he and others used pliers to open a hole in a border fence. Some villagers gave him food and water, but soon he was apprehended by police and taken to a detention center. Over the next three months, he was moved through several closed camps. Guards carried batons and stun guns, he said, and every time before they moved him to a different camp they made him and other detainees strip naked in public. Nobody addressed him by his name, but by an identification number. In March, he was handed his papers and taken to the Debak center for foreigners in Otrebusy southwest of Warsaw, where he was told: "Go away, go to Germany." Ali arrived in Berlin in April and applied for asylum. Rights activists and psychologists have documented his account and also those of other asylum-seekers who say they suffered abuse by both Belarusian and Polish border guards. "I feel better here. People call me by my name again," Ali said. "But I'm worried all the time that the Germans will send me back to Poland." ___ Grieshaber reported from Berlin. ISLAMABAD Afghanistan's Taliban rulers held a gathering Thursday of some 3,000 Islamic clerics and tribal elders for the first time since seizing power in August, urging those at the meeting to advise them on running the country. Women were not allowed to attend. The Taliban, who have kept a complete lock on decision-making since taking over the country, touted the gathering in the capital of Kabul as a forum to hear a range of voices on issues facing Afghanistan. But all those who addressed the assembly and, it appeared, the overwhelming majority of attendees were Taliban officials and supporters, mostly Islamic clerics. The United States and most of the international community have shunned the Taliban government, demanding it be more inclusive and respect women's rights. However, the conference seemed less a nod to that pressure than an attempt by the Taliban to bolster their legitimacy as rulers, at a time when the former insurgents are struggling to deal with Afghanistan's humanitarian catastrophe and are cut off from international financing. A powerful earthquake earlier this month that killed more than 1,000 people in eastern Afghanistan only further underscored the Taliban's limited capabilities and isolation. Overstretched aid groups already keeping millions of Afghans alive rushed supplies to the quake victims, but most countries responded tepidly to Taliban calls for international help. "The ulema (Islamic clerics) and tribal elders have responsibility to advise and guide their Islamic system, because we can make progress based on your advice," the Taliban defense minister, Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, told the assembly. "We need the advice of ulema, and any opinion and advice by them will be respected," he said. Women were not allowed to attend, although media reports suggested that the reopening of the girls' schools would be discussed. The Taliban's supreme leader earlier this year banned girls after sixth grade from attending school and issued a decree requiring women in public to cover themselves completely, except for their eyes. The Taliban's Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi told state broadcaster RTA on Wednesday that male delegates would represent women. "When their sons are in the gathering it means that they are also involved," he said. At one point, gunfire was heard near the heavily guarded assembly venue. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid later told reporters that security forces fired on someone suspected to have a hand grenade, but that "there is nothing of concern." A full list of attendees was not announced publicly, nor was the agenda for the gathering. Muhajid said two clerics and a tribal elder from each district in Afghanistan were in attendance. It was not known how the attendees were chosen. Hanafi touted the event as a forum for different views, and "a positive step for stability and strengthening national unity across the country." The gathering was held in the Loya Jirga Hall of Kabul's Polytechnic University. A Loya Jirga is a gathering of tribal leaders and prominent figures, a traditional Afghan way for local leaders to have their grievances heard by rulers. However, the Taliban notably did not call the gathering a Loya Jirga, instead titling it "the Great Conference of Ulema," the term in Islam for religious scholars and clerics. Multiple clerics took the podium, urging support of the Taliban rule. "The establishment of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan is the result of the blood of thousands of martyrs," said Mawlavi Subhanullah Farooqi, an Islamic scholar from Takhar province, referring to the Taliban's 20-year war against U.S. forces and the now-ousted U.S.-backed Afghan government. "So we all must respect the blood of our mujahedeen and support the government," he said. The international cut-off of Afghanistan's financing has deepened the country's economic collapse and fueled its humanitarian crises. Millions in the country rely on international aid to have enough food to live. The meeting comes as finance and central bank officials from the Taliban-led government are meeting with U.S. officials in Qatar to discuss economic and aid issues following last week's earthquake. The Washington Post first reported Tuesday that senior Biden administration officials are working with the Taliban leadership on a mechanism to allow Afghanistan's government to use its central bank reserves to deal with the country's severe hunger and poverty crises while erecting safeguards to ensure the funds are not misused. WELLINGTON, New Zealand New Zealand's government has declared that American far-right groups the Proud Boys and The Base are terrorist organizations. The two groups join 18 others including Islamic State that have been given an official terrorist designation, making it illegal in New Zealand to fund, recruit or participate in the groups, and obligating authorities to take action against them. The U.S. groups are not known to be active in New Zealand, although the South Pacific nation has become more attuned to threats from the far right after a white supremacist shot and killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two Christchurch mosques in 2019. The New Zealand massacre inspired other white supremacists around the world, including a white gunman who killed 10 Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. In the U.S., the State Department only lists foreign groups as terrorist entities. But the Proud Boys were last year named a terrorist group in Canada, while The Base has previously been declared a terrorist group in Britain, Canada and Australia. In a 29-page explanation of the Proud Boys designation published Thursday, New Zealand authorities said the group's involvement in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021 amounted to an act of terrorism. The statement said that while several militia groups were involved, it was the Proud Boys who incited crowds, coordinated attacks on law enforcement officers and led other rioters to where they could break into the building. The statement said there are unlinked but ideologically affiliated chapters of the Proud Boys operating in Canada and Australia. New Zealand authorities argued that before the Capitol attack, the Proud Boys had a history of using street rallies and social media to intimidate opponents and recruit young men through demonstrations of violence. It said the group had put up various smoke screens to hide its extremism. Earlier this month, the former leader of the Proud Boys, Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, and four others linked to the group were charged in the U.S. with seditious conspiracy for what federal prosecutors say was a coordinated attack on the Capitol. The indictment alleges that the Proud Boys conspired to forcibly oppose the lawful transfer of presidential power. The five are scheduled to stand trial in August in Washington, D.C.'s federal court. Asked by media Thursday in New Zealand if the Proud Boys weren't better known for protest actions rather than extreme violence, New Zealand Police Minister Chris Hipkins said: "Well, violent protests attempting to overthrow the government, clearly there is evidence of that." In making its case against The Base, New Zealand authorities said a key goal of the group was to "train a cadre of extremists capable of accelerationist violence." The statement said founder Rinaldo Nazzaro "has repetitively counselled members online about violence, the acquisition of weapons, and actions to accelerate the collapse of the U.S. government and survive the consequent period of chaos and violence." WASHINGTON After years of inaction, lawmakers and advocates in 2018 rallied around an ambitious plan to modernize the sprawling, government-run health care system for veterans, which still treats many patients in hospital wards built before World War II. A commission, mandated that year by Congress, was tasked with weighing recommendations from the Department of Veterans Affairs for each of its 1,200 hospitals and clinics across the country and holding hearings in affected communities. The southward migration of veterans from the Northeast and Midwest, the shift from costly inpatient to outpatient care and the age of each building would factor into whether facilities would be urged to close, reduce service or shift patients into private care. VA would finally catch up to modern private hospitals, saving billions of dollars it spends each year to shore up its aging health care facilities, proponents of the plan argued. But a long-sought realignment of the countrys largest health care system was killed this week by bipartisan political resistance through a short news release from 12 senators who said they would not approve the nine nominees up for confirmation to establish the Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) Commission. And a costly four-year effort to reposition VA in an increasingly competitive health care market fell victim to the principle that, just as all politics is local, so, apparently, is any decision to shift services for a constituency as crucial as veterans. The lawmakers indicated that the politically explosive recommendations VA made in March made moving forward impractical. We share a commitment to expanding and strengthening modern VA infrastructure in a way that upholds our obligations to Americas veterans, the senators, led by Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., wrote in their release Monday. We believe the recommendations put forth to the AIR Commission are not reflective of that goal, and would put veterans in both rural and urban areas at a disadvantage. The release said lawmakers were committed to a continued push to help VA invest in 21st century [health-care] facilities for veterans. Lawmakers in both parties had expressed misgivings about a process they felt was flawed from the start. The data VA relied on to assess the hospitals was several years old and collected before the coronavirus pandemic, potentially skewing the number of patients and physicians in a community to appear lower than they really were. The White House also was slow to nominate the nine-member commission, with the final member announced only last week. That left a too-tight window to complete its work by an early 2023 deadline, lawmakers argued, as well as uncertainty about whether a nominee would face pressure to weigh in on the recommendations in order to be confirmed. But by halting the commission and the sweeping plan released by VA Secretary Denis McDonough with recommendations to build about 80 new clinics, hospitals and nursing homes of varying sizes and close a net of three major hospitals and dozens of clinics with unused inpatient beds, the lawmakers left the agency with no blueprint to modernize its aging system, current and former officials said. President Biden has insisted that our Veterans in the 21st century should not be forced to receive care in early 20th century buildings, Melissa Bryant, VAs acting assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs, said in an email. She noted that the median age of VA hospitals is nearly 60 years. Whatever Congress decides to do with the AIR Commission, we will continue to fight for the funding and modernization that our veterans deserve, Bryant wrote. VA leaders going back years have said they are burdened by the need to maintain as many as 1,000 underused clinics and hospitals, some of which have more staff than patients, at significant cost. Closing them would require approval from Congress. When the commission was created as part of the larger Mission Act, conservatives said the government would reduce wasteful expenses and shift more veterans health care to the private sector. Democrats, including McDonough, embraced the possibility of caring for more veterans in communities where theyre moving. We saw it as an opportunity, said one VA official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue. In a commitment to new investment, President Joe Biden requested about $18 billion in new money for VA construction in an early version of his infrastructure plan, although the money was eventually left out of the law. But even before McDonough released his recommendations, members of Congress who were briefed on possible reductions to service in their districts went on the offensive, some holding rallies in opposition, others issuing defiant statements that previewed the battle to stave off reductions. The American Federation of Government Employees, the union representing more than 200,000 VA staff, pressured Democratic allies in Congress to oppose feared job losses. Republicans, most of whom voted for the Mission Act, became sensitive to local concerns that veterans would lose access to doctors, as the plan called for closing or rebuilding 35 large hospitals in 21 states. Its a total lack of courage, Robert McDonald said of the decision to kill the commission, citing the midterm elections in November. Its obvious whats behind it. Theres an election coming up. Elections are local. McDonald, who was VA secretary for several years under President Barack Obama, had tried to close a sparsely used hospital in South Dakota, only to see the Trump administration cancel the plan soon after taking office following objections from Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D. Robert Wilkie, President Donald Trumps second VA secretary, also expressed disappointment with this weeks decision. We have to build a VA where the veterans live now, not where they lived in 1945, he said in a text message. The VA dollar is being stretched to the breaking point and dissolving the commission does not help. Its unclear if lawmakers who still support the commission have any options. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., who with Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., opposed the decision, said in a statement Wednesday that he is still assessing how to move forward as the law requires. The fact remains that there is a serious and growing mismatch between the VA health care system as we know it today and how, and where, it needs to evolve for the future, Bost wrote. Darin Selnick, a senior adviser for Concerned Veterans for America who led efforts at VA and later the Trump White House to create the commission, said the Biden administration left VA to issue recommendations with no structure to vet them, opening the process to political resistance. Anytime a legislator hears they might close a facility in their district they go ballistic, Selnick said, but if you had had a commission in place that wouldnt have mattered. He emphasized that VAs plan was only a set of recommendations that could have been changed. An official with the American Legion predicted dire consequences of inaction. Veterans are going to lose, said Chanin Nuntavong, the groups executive director of government and veteran affairs. Old infrastructure needs to be repaired or replaced. Veterans care will be degraded by a lack of technology and unsanitary conditions while construction costs go through the roof. Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See more stories here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Tribune News Service) A group of Tennessee National Guard members, who face being forced out of the service by the U.S. Department of Defense on Thursday over their refusal to get mandated COVID-19 vaccines, along with their supporters pleaded publicly with Gov. Bill Lee on Wednesday to take actions, including suing the federal government if necessary, to prevent their dismissal. On June 30, hundreds of your Tennessee National Guard soldiers under an illegal, improper order by the Biden administrations Department of Defense in defiance of natural law and the United States Constitution are scheduled to be dismissed from service due to refusal to accept a COVID-19 vaccination, read a petition presented to the state Capitol office of Lee by several dozen Guard members, their families and friends. It is your duty before God and the citizens of the great state of Tennessee, sir, to help these men and women. Please stop them from being fired, sir! the petition tells Lee, a Republican. The governor was not in the office to accept the petition. Ricky Shelton, a Tennessee National Guard captain from Grainger County who is a member of the 230th Sustainment Brigade out of Chattanooga, helped lead the effort. Several Republican lawmakers voiced support for the guard members as well. Standing outside the governors office suite, Shelton told the Chattanooga Times Free Press he had been unsuccessfully trying to meet with Lee. Theyve ignored and theyve ignored and diverted and tried to avoid whether its an event we invited them to or whatever it may be, said Shelton, who along with comrades and other supporters rallied earlier on Legislative Plaza before the state Capitol. So theyve avoided us like a plague. He said he had been in back-and-forth conversations with Lee Chief of Staff Joseph Williams to set up a meeting, but it had not come through by Wednesday. Rep. Jerry Sexton, R- Bean Station, was among a group of Republican lawmakers joining the protesters on Legislative Plaza for their rally. He later accompanied them into the Capitol to Lees offices. Were here to stand with the Tennessee National Guard to support them and their effort to not take the vaccine and to encourage our governor and attorney general to do all that they can do, whatever they can to push back against this, Sexton told the Times Free Press. They dont need to lose their jobs. And we dont need to lose them, you know, in our defense. Lee Communications Director Laine Arnold later issued a statement to the Times Free Press. The COVID-19 vaccine mandate is a Department of Defense requirement, the statement said. But we have approved every personal and religious exemption brought forward by members of the Guard. We have also advocated to the DoD that personnel who sought an exemption should receive that same exemption federally, and we are awaiting their response. In the meantime, we have no plans to terminate or dishonorably discharge personnel. Shelton said he personally objects to the COVID-19 vaccines because, he added, human tissue from aborted fetuses were used to develop or make the vaccines. The groups requests to Lee include: Publicly condemning firings of Tennessee National Guard members who are scheduled to be terminated due to their refusal of the COVID-19 vaccine. They also want Lee to do everything in your power to help those members. Immediately order Tennessee National Guard Adjutant General and Maj. Gen. Jeff Holmes to halt the discharge of the men and women refusing the vaccinations. Ask Tennessee Attorney General Herb Slatery to file suit on behalf of the Tennessee National Guard members and coordinate with other states attorneys general to file an emergency injunction against the Department of Defense, forcing them to reverse adverse actions against any National Guardsman for refusal to vaccinate. We pray that you find it in your heart and your character to take action. Please join us in fighting for the men and women of the Tennessee National Guard, the petition adds. According to The Associated Press, up to 40,000 Army National Guard soldiers across the country or about 13% of the force have not yet taken the mandated COVID-19 vaccine, and as the deadline for shots looms, at least 14,000 of them have flatly refused and could be forced out of the service. Guard leaders say states are doing all they can to encourage soldiers to get vaccinated by the time limit. And they said they will work with the roughly 7,000 who have sought exemptions, which are almost all for religious reasons. You are their commander-in-chief, the petition says to Lee. We implore you to do everything within your power to fight for these dedicated men and women. To date, sir, you have been silent. We implore you to be silent no more. Shelton told the Times Free Press that after this now, honestly, I dont care what happens to me. Because this is more important because we were always taught to take an oath to defend our soldiers. And if their health is being affected and nobodys stepping up for them, it is my duty to do that. And I will walk through hell with a can of gasoline in each hand and back for my soldiers if I had to, Shelton added. (c)2022 the Chattanooga Times/Free Press (Chattanooga, Tenn.) Visit at www.timesfreepress.com PRINCETON, W.Va. (Tribune News Service) Flags across West Virginia will soon fly at half staff after the public was informed Wednesday that West Virginia native Hershel Woody Williams, the nations last surviving World War II Medal of Honor recipient, had died. Williams was 98. I ask all West Virginians to join Cathy and I in praying for Woody, his family, friends, loved ones, and the entire military community across West Virginia and the United States of America, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said. Pray that, while the weight of this loss is profound, we all will be able to take solace in the fact that Woodys contributions to our nation inspired generations, cultivated similar bravery, and saved lives. Woody Williams will go down in history as one of the greatest West Virginians who ever lived, and we salute him for everything he gave to our state and our nation. Justice has offered for Williams to lie in state in the Capitol, and has also offered a state funeral to be held for Williams at the state Capitol. The governor then announced that he would be signing a proclamation to lower all United States and West Virginia flags to half-staff statewide to honor. The governor said this proclamation would be issued once a funeral date was announced. Woody Williams was born on a dairy farm in 1923 at Quiet Dell, W.Va. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served in the Battle of Iwo Jima with the 21st Marines, 3rd Marine Division. During the battle, Williams displayed valiant devotion to duty and service above self as he enabled his company to reach its objective. Williams actions, commitment to his fellow service members, and heroism were recognized on Oct. 5, 1945, when he received the Medal of Honor from President Harry Truman at the White House. Mercer County Commissioner Bill Archer remembered encountering Williams for the first time when he came to Princeton for a Marine Corps League meeting. I did the introduction there at the first of it. At the end of my presentation, I took off and started to leave and Woody stopped me, physically stopped me, from going out the door, Archer said. He told You understand the importance of a Gold Star Family Monument? I said yes, I do. He said that Mercer County needs you to do this and said in no uncertain terms thats what he wanted me to do. Williams showed Archer how to start the process, and in October 2020, a Gold Star Family Monument was dedicated outside the Memorial Building in Princeton. Recently, Williams had been accelerating the dedication of new monuments while he could still do it. He was just a remarkable person, Archer said. He really shared freely his experiences in the war and in peace. and he worked with the veterans who were going through that adverse challenge of trying to get back to civilian life. He worked very closely with them,and its all been a mission to him to try to help those of us who are civilians to demonstrate our support for those who made the supreme sacrifice, also to remember all those who served no matter what their duty station was or what the requirements of their service was. To date, Woody Williams and his foundation are responsible for establishing 102 Gold Star Families Memorial Monuments across the United States with more than 73 additional monuments underway in 50 states and one U.S. Territory. The first was dedicated in the Donnel C. Kinnard Memorial State Veterans Cemetery in Institute. The monument at the West Virginia State Capitol is the largest. Another local person who worked with Williams is retired Marine Master Sgt. Dayton C. Meadows III, who has Mountain Memories Retreat near Flat Top. The site is known for the 20- by 30-foot American flag that flies along Interstate 77. Williams was present when the flag was dedicated in August 2016. Meadows said that besides receiving the Medal of Honor, Williams worked with the Veterans Administration as a counselor. A VA medical center in Huntington is named after him, and a Navy ship, the USS Hershel Woody Williams bears his name. Meadows said that he admired Williams for his patriotism and considered him an inspiration. The guy was amazing, Meadows said. U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D- W.Va. released a statemen. Woody Williams was the embodiment of a true American hero. Americans like Woody answered the call to serve our great nation and their sacrifices allow us to enjoy the freedoms we hold dear, Manchin said. Gayle and I are devastated by the loss of our dear friend who meant so much to so many across our great state and entire nation. We join all West Virginians in praying for Woodys family, friends and loved ones during this difficult time. U.S. Rep. Carol Miller, R- W.Va., joined her colleagues in honoring Williams. Today, we have lost an American hero. Woody Williams embodied the Greatest Generation. The Americans who volunteered to fight for their country. As a Medal of Honor recipient, Woody never quit helping his country and those who served, Miller said. (c)2022 the Bluefield Daily Telegraph (Bluefield, W.Va.) Visit at bdtonline.com The woman was shocked to discover that while they had being seeing each other, Hughes was already on the Sex Offenders register for an attack on a 17-year-old Christian Hughes, who was found guilty on two counts of raping the woman at his Co Laois apartment, had denied the charges. It meant the 41-year-old woman had to face a gruelling cross-examination over two days during the Central Criminal Court trial. I felt I was guilty, I felt like I was the one who had committed the crime, not him, she told the Sunday World this week. Details of Hughess crimes were heard at a recent sentence hearing. The court was told that he had attacked the woman, with whom he had been in a relationship. She was shocked to discover that while they had being seeing each other, Hughes was already on the Sex Offenders register for an attack on a 17-year-old in 2007. On that occasion he assaulted the teenager, who had been sleeping rough, after offering her a place to stay. She also pointed out that Hughes, unlike her, never had to take the stand and defend his version of events to the jury, which is his legal right. Hughess victim speaks to Sunday World reporter Eamon Dillon The attack happened in August 2016 after the couple had a meeting with a social worker. While Hughes, who had previously been convicted of head-butting the woman, accepted sex had taken place, he claimed it had been consensual. During her evidence, she described how she had told him no several times but he continued and, while horrified, she froze a little as she tried to resist. At one point during the second rape Hughes bit the woman on the shoulder. She was eventually able to leave the apartment and immediately called gardai. This week, she told the Sunday World how Hughes had gradually become more controlling and coercive as the relationship went on. After going through the experience of a criminal trial, she said she has eventually come out of the entire ordeal a stronger person. Christian Hughes Him being locked up might save another woman going through the same experience, she said. I didnt think Id find it so hard, to be honest. I was the one who was questioned for two days solid. I had to re-live the whole horrific experience. I was torn apart completely, one hundred per cent torn to shreds. I thought if I can get through this, I can get through anything. She admits she wasnt in court when the jury came back with a guilty verdict on one of the rapes during a second day of deliberations. Id had enough, I was shattered from it all, she revealed. The whole trial thing does shatter you. If someone had told me he was going to go free for the whole thing, it would have shattered me. The woman first met Hughes when she was standing at a bus stop and they got chatting after she commented on his dog. Soon, he helped her find an apartment to live in close to his own place, and within six months had proposed to her. It knocked me for six, she said, when told Hughes had a previous conviction for sexual assault. So much happened in the space of six months it is hard to process. What bothers me the most is that he seemed nice at the start. He was abusive, even in the sense that if I went out to a shop he wanted to know who I had spoken to. The woman tells her story to Sunday World reporter Eamon Dillon She said he followed her on occasion to the shop where she worked. It was intimidating, even my co-workers got freaked out by him. There were warning signs. I should have run, but I didnt. I suppose I felt vulnerable at the time. Her victim impact statement was read out in court, in which she described the long-lasting effects the ordeal has had on her. I was left a nervous wreck for years going into [town] for fear of bumping into Christian following the rape. My self-confidence was shattered. I lived in fear all the time. I couldnt eat or sleep properly, I only left the house when I had to. She said that even passing through the town where the attack happened left her with a feeling of dread. I saw him once [when I was] with my mum, he called out to me a few times. I ignored him. My home life and relationships are badly affected. My life will never be the same again. I am constantly looking over my shoulder. I have problems trusting people. He was abusive, controlling and manipulating in our relationship. He kept things about his past from me and he was very secretive. He only revealed to me he was imprisoned for 10 months for sexual assault and was on the sex register when he had to. He seemed nice at the start but slowly revealed his true colours. People tried to warn me about him. I wish I had listened. My life will never be the same again thanks to him. He tried to destroy everything good in my life, he even wanted to know who I talked to or met up with. custody I hope he knows the unfixable damage he has done to me. I am not the same person I was. I never will be, thanks to Christian. Hughes, who has been in custody since his conviction in March, is due to be sentenced next month. Eamon Goodfellow paid for fixers in Romania and the Philippines to arrange for children to be abused while he watched online Paedophile Eamon Goodfellow paid money to fixers in the Philippines and Romania who he hoped would arrange for the abuse of a seven-year-old and an eight-year-old as he watched from his home thousands of miles away. Passing sentence on the 50-year-old, Judge Michael Simon said: Advances in technology have brought great benefits to society as a whole. But he said they had also created the circumstances in which certain types of criminal behaviour could be easily committed. Goodfellow, originally from Co Armagh, appeared for sentence yesterday at St Albans Crown Court having been convicted earlier this year of two offences of attempting to cause or incite the sexual exploitation of a child. Chat logs found on his computers showed he was seeking children under 13 years old. The offences were committed in 2017 and it was the following year, in June 2018, that he was arrested at his home in St Albans after the National Crime Agency (NCA) found evidence of his payments to the abusers. Following his conviction, Martin Ludlow from the National Crime Agency said: Goodfellow made it very clear that he has sexual interest in young children in these chat logs. He attempted to arrange for the most horrific abuse of vulnerable children thousands of miles away from him for his own gratification. He was helped by facilitators whose motive is to make money. This kind of financially-driven offending is a key threat to the UK. Using a laptop and iPhone, Goodfellow of Apex House, Camp Road, St Albans, had set about trying to organise the abuse of the youngsters. In fact, no child was actually abused after negotiations with the fixers abroad broke down. But his online activities came to the notice of the NCA and his arrest followed. Goodfellow had previously run comedy nights in Nantwich, Cheshire. Yesterday, his barrister Adam King said the comic had lived a lonely life and had found it difficult to form romantic relationships after leaving Northern Ireland and coming to England . He said were it not for the availability of pornography online, Goodfellow might not have gone down the dark path adding but here he is today. Mr King said as a result of his offending he had lost almost all of his friends and half of his family. When he is released from prison he said his client will have no job, money or accommodation. He said it had been a fantasy that had got out of control. In the past, Goodfellow had his own stand-up show Humour Trafficking where a publicity poster read: So funny its illegal. He continued to crack gags on paedophilia, incest and pornography before his case came to St Albans Crown Court. Online he joked about a young comedian being too ugly for the child molesting Moors murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. The comedian also worked for the lottery firm Camelot. Camelot employees said they felt sick to know that Goodfellow was present at family parties. A spokesperson for Camelot said: We were unaware of the charges until the conviction. We immediately suspended the employee and the matter is subject to Camelots internal disciplinary process. Judge Simon told Goodfellow: These offences amount to nothing less than abuse on demand Goodfellow was told he would serve half of the sentence before being released on licence. In addition he was told he would be made the subject of sexual harm prevention order which will run for 10 years and his name will go on the sex offenders' register for life. The judge ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the laptop and iPad. Following an investigation by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, he was jailed for eight years on March 15, 2018. A TRUCK driver serving an eight-year sentence for money laundering for a criminal organisation has been spared extra jail time after being caught with a phone in his prison cell. Father of two Paul Carew, 45, with an address at Saggart Court Lodge, Saggart, Co. Dublin, pleaded guilty today to possessing a contraband mobile phone in his cell in Mountjoy Prison. Dublin District Court heard prison officers found it during a search on October 28 last year. Garda Deirdre Gill told Judge John King that the officers recovered a "small black mobile on his person". He had five prior criminal convictions, including two for money laundering offences. Following an investigation by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, he was jailed for eight years on March 15, 2018. Garda Gill exhibited the phone in court and said it was "basic" and did not contain a history. She also accepted Carew co-operated and had not come to further attention. Defence solicitor Luke Staines told the court his client had it to remain in contact with his wife out of worry for a sick relative hospitalised and requiring constant treatment. Garda Gill confirmed Carew gave the same explanation when she charged him. READ MORE: Dublin man involved in theft of 35k and assault of escorts was star rugby player READ MORE: Man (20s) arrested after gardai seize 325,000 worth of cocaine in Dublin raid Judge King heard he had been in the prisons progression unit, but the discovery of the phone led to "lockdown". The defence pleaded with the judge not to add to his current prison term and to note he pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. Judge King imposed a four-month term consecutive to his existing sentence but suspended it on the condition he did not re-offend and remained of good behaviour for two years after his release date. Legal aid was granted. His previous charges, which resulted in the eight-year term, were for having 600,000 in crime proceeds. Sergeant David Ennis said the image was of a female aged around eight to 11 years, and just her body was visible. A WOMAN who brought an inappropriate picture of a young girl to a garda station to complain about it ended up being accused of possession of child pornography. Ethel Noonan (42) was acquitted when a court heard she was reporting the image to gardai so they could investigate it after it was given to her at a medical conference. Gardai said they were forced to arrest Ms Noonan when she tried to leave the station with the image after she became irate when they questioned her about it. Judge Bryan Smyth found her not guilty and dismissed the case at Dublin District Court. Ms Noonan, of St Laurences Road, Clontarf, had denied the charge. The court heard she went to Clontarf Garda Station last November 18 with a printed image of a juvenile, to report its distribution. Garda James Quinlan said Ms Noonan told him she got the image while attending a medical conference in America in 2016. Private He asked why she had not reported it before and said there was no explanation. Ms Noonan was invited into a conference room to discuss it in private. Sergeant David Ennis said the image was of a female aged around eight to 11 years, and just her body was visible. READ MORE: Dublin man involved in theft of 35k and assault of two sex workers is jailed READ MORE: Man (50s) arrested by gardai investigating bribery in the retail sector Sgt Ennis said Ms Noonan became irate with questions, snatched the image back, rolled it into a ball and decided she was going to leave the station, which forced his hand in arresting her. Her reply was that it was not an offence to have an image for the purpose of reporting it . Defence solicitor Daniel Hanahoe said Ms Noonan had gone in with the image and alerted gardai to it. It had come in a bundle of documents at a conference and she felt it was an inappropriate image and wanted to report it. He said it was not an offence to possess an image for the purpose of the prevention, investigation or prosecution of offences under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act. A recent study by University of Limerick found that 59pc of Travellers believed they were stopped by gardai because of their ethnicity A recent study looking at Irish Travellers access to the justice system found that 59pc of those surveyed believed they were stopped by gardai because of their ethnicity. Travellers also reported believing gardai thought they were the "lowest of the low" , while a third said they did not have trust in the courts. This afternoon at a Policing Authority meeting, Garda chief Drew Harris said the findings were "very concerning" and that they needed to take time to review the recommendations. However, he said he could not accept that gardai profiled people based on their ethnicity, without carrying out their own inquiries first. "I don't believe we do undertake racial profiling and I'm not in a position to accept that that's an allegation for An Garda Siochana," he said. Mr Harris added that the finding was made and that there must be recourse for the organisation to make a response to it. "I don't accept that a report that we haven't been able actually to form a view of and then make a response to it, that I must accept that finding, he said. "We have to do our own inquiry. Racial profiling is a very serious allegation to level against An Garda Siochana, and before I accept that, I want to be certain of the reasons why I'm accepting that allegation. He said that the Garda's human rights group is liaising with the report's authors to examine its findings and recommendations The study, from the University of Limerick, surveyed one in 100 Travellers in Ireland, with almost 60pc saying they were stopped because of their ethnicity. Almost half of these stated the location of the stop contributed to their conviction that they were ethnically profiled, while some also recalled being called k****ers by gardai and having their attempts to report crimes dismissed. Mr Harris also said that some of the statistics around trust in the force from the Traveller community were "stark" and needed to be addressed. "I accept the seriousness of the deficit there is in our relationship with the Traveller community and trust they have in An Garda Siochana and most seriously their reluctance to report matters and report being a victim of crime, he said. The report also said that 50pc of Travellers surveyed reported that gardai entered a home they were in without a warrant or invitation in the past five years. Drew Harris said there were allegations made and they were working their way through these to determine what happened, but said there can be legitimate reasons for gardai entering a dwelling without a warrant. He added that they are currently creating short films to publish on social media which will explain various Garda powers including stopping vehicles, requesting documents, arresting people and searching a premises. The meeting was told that this was to inform not just the Traveller community but wider society on how Garda powers are used. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris. Picture: Collins Colin Keegan Assistant Garda Commissioner Pat Clavin also gave an update on the functions of the force's Anti-Corruption Unit. He said the unit expects to receive an additional 20 gardai and four sergeants following a number of departures due to promotions, and that he was "pleasantly surprised" by the number of reports they were getting. The senior garda also said they now have a legal basis to carry out drug testing of gardai. This, he said, will include all garda applicants pre-selection, all student gardai, and 5pc of all garda personnel randomly on a yearly basis. Mr Clavin said that this will include members of all ranks and garda staff, and that he expects the regulations to be in place by September. Failing a drug test could merit dismissal, while failing to submit to drug testing will also lead to serious misconduct proceedings Many witnesses were a result of two true-crime documentaries that aired about the death of Sophie Improvements in DNA testing and new witness statements have prompted a dramatic Garda statement last night that keeps alive the prospect of a trial in the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. A review of the file formerly submitted to the DPP has found clear new avenues for investigation with the result that a full-scale reassessment will be undertaken. Detectives have examined potential new evidence over the past 12 months and also interviewed a number of potential witnesses, many in the wake of two high-profile documentaries on the case screened by Sky TV and Netflix. Now, gardai are about to conduct a full review of the case file the third time such a review has been conducted in 20 years. One area seen as promising is the development of M-Vac technology that has proved adept at extracting DNA lying deep in rock surfaces that cannot be detected through the ordinary swabbing technology that was in place 25 years ago. Gardai still possess the bagged and bloody rock and concrete block that were used to bludgeon the 39-year-old filmmaker to death on the night of December 23, 1996, at her holiday home in Toormore, near Schull in Co Cork. She was the mother of Pierre Louis Baudey-Vignaud, then a child, who last year appealed on The Late Late Showfor people to come forward with information relating to the murder of his mother. There was a response to that call, while other statements were collected in the wake of the Netflix and Sky documentary series. Both had huge audiences in Ireland, with the Netflix series reaching high ratings in several countries abroad. One of allegations made which was revealed by the Irish Independent was a claim that a person had admitted to helping to deal with bloodied clothes in the wake of Sophies murder. Local investigators are understood to have obtained supporting evidence relating to circumstances around the claim. The new investigation will involve a full review of the original case file including witness statements, a detailed analysis of potentially new evidence submitted since 2019, and a consideration of any new forensic or technical examinations that may be appropriate. This complete cold-case reinvestigation will lead to recommendations for officers pursuing the still-active ongoing investigation. It is now conceivable that the developments on two fronts, old and new, could lead to a revised and comprehensive file, with further corroboration of central allegations being forwarded in time to the DPPs office for a fresh decision on whether to prosecute. The decision to open a cold-case review came after Ian Bailey (64), who has been the focus of repeated extradition requests by the French authorities, formally wrote to the Garda Commissioner last year seeking such a review. He said it would exonerate him from involvement in the brutal crime. The Manchester-born poet and freelance journalist was convicted in absentia of Sophies killing in 2019 by a Paris court, and sentenced to 25 years imprisonment. The Irish courts have refused to grant his extradition. He has repeatedly protested his innocence and claims the Paris trial was a travesty. Reacting to the news last night, Mr Bailey said: Its what I asked for and called for over 12 months ago. I am therefore clearly delighted to hear that my request has been acceded to. I have always said that if I can co-operate in any meaningful way with anything to do with this case, I am happy to. Mr Bailey was twice arrested for questioning by gardai in relation to their investigation in 1997 and 1998 but was released without charge on both occasions. Last December, Sophies family led by her son Pierre Louis Baudey-Vignaud staged a private memorial in Paris to mark the 25th anniversary of her death. Mr Baudey-Vignaud now spearheads the campaign to see justice done for his mother. His eldest daughter was named Sophie in honour of her grandmother. The Taoiseach last month called the case a continuing stain on Irish society. The case was also raised with the Taoiseach by French president Emmanuel Macron on a visit to Ireland. He appealed for the self-confessed suspect, Ian Bailey, to come to France for a new trial. Ms du Plantier was savagely beaten to death as she fled a suspected intruder at outside her home on December 23, 1996, just hours before she was due to fly back to France to spend Christmas with her family. She died after a frenzied attack in which she was beaten with a heavy rock after apparently being chased down a laneway from her home as she tried in vain to flee her attacker. The savagery with which she was attacked shocked both locals and veteran gardai, with around 50 blows being inflicted. No one has ever been charged with the killing in Ireland. They have been admitted to hospital where, it has been reported, medics have removed 12 bullets from one of the men and 13 from the other Two Northern Ireland men have been caught attempting to smuggle 240 bullets of drugs drugs into the Maldives by concealing them within their bodies. The Criminal Court on the islands has ordered that both men are kept in custody for five days until the drugs they had swallowed are removed from their bodies. According to local media, police have accused each man of hiding approximately 120 bullets of drugs by swallowing them. They have been admitted to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), where, it has been reported, medics have removed 12 bullets from one of the men and 13 from the other. As they were admitted to IGMH, the Criminal Court ruled in their absence that they were to be kept under custody for five days, the English language media site Edition.mv reports. The court ordered the police to summon both of them to court after the drugs were removed from their bodies. The site adds that while smuggling drugs has been going on for a long time they are often seized because of a report received or because of suspicions (raised) within the airport. "We have seen 8,826 registrations for stem cell donations in a week, a spokesperson for the charity said Almost 9,000 people in Northern Ireland have signed up to be potential stem cell donors in the past week after the family of a 14-year-old battling leukemia told their story. The blood cancer charity DKMS said there had been a spike in registrations from here, with the organisation normally receiving five to ten a week. Instead, at least 8,800 people have registered following the appeal by the Greer family. Daniel Greer from Newry is currently in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Belfast after receiving the devastating diagnosis earlier this month. Doctors have told the boy he will require a bone marrow transplant which may save his life and his family have now started campaigning to get people across Northern Ireland to sign up to the donation register. In a statement, the charity told the BBC they had seen an incredible spike as a result of the story being shared. "We have seen 8,826 registrations for stem cell donations in a week, compared to a typical week of five to 10 registrations from Northern Ireland, a spokesperson for the charity said. "We would actively encourage anyone who has registered to return the home swabbing kit as soon as possible. "We know 18 to 30-year old men are often selected as the first choice of donor - if anyone in that age group has not registered, we would encourage them to do so. "We have been touched by Daniel's story, he is young and it is upsetting but there is an opportunity for him to live a normal life again if we can find a matching donor." The cancer was first spotted in Daniel after the teenager began complaining of back and neck pain around a month ago. Speaking to BBCs Talkback show earlier this week, mum Anne described it as like waking up in a nightmare. All I could say is I would appeal for anyone who is eligible to sign up to the bone marrow registry, she said. Anybody who is listening to this who is thinking this is terrible. If you were put in the position we are finding ourselves in, if you would take a bone marrow or stem cell donation from a complete stranger - you should be on this register. I hope this message goes out far and wide. To register as a potential donor, go to www.dkms.org.uk to sign up. It was heard at her funeral that her organs will be donated to save the lives of others The funeral of a Donegal child who died in a tragic pool accident in Spain has been told she seemed to walk and dance through the air. At the funeral mass for Grace Mary Sweeney (7), of Dunfanaghy, who passed away last Wednesday, Fr John Joe Duffy spoke of the heartache suffered by the family and friends of the kind-hearted young girl. As reported by Donegal Live, young Grace Mary, who was a pupil at Faugher National School, also had her organs donated so she could save the lives of others. At the service in St. Michaels Church, Creeslough, Fr Duffy said: You are surrounding them with your love by keeping them very much in your heart. "We do not gather to pray for Grace but rather to her and ask her now from Heaven where she is to give strength to her mum, family, aunts, uncles, cousins and godparents Read more Irish child who died in Spanish pool named as funeral details announced Speaking of Grace Marys character, he continued: "Her feet never touched the ground, there was that specialness about her. She seemed to walk and dance through the air. She was very clever, she was always telling stories. She brought so much joy, happiness and so much love into your lives, full of hugs and cuddles. She was so kind-hearted and always put others before herself. "She loved being the girly girl, loved nail polish, pretty colourful clothes and loved her hair long. That is why the family are wearing bright colours this morning and wearing her favourite colour pink. She enjoyed school and had so much fun with her friends." Grace Mary passed away in Majorca after an incident at a hotel in the Calas de Mallorca area last Monday. It is understood lifeguards pulled her from the pool before performing CPR on her. It was reported that paramedics managed to get Grace Mary breathing again before getting her to Son Espases Hospital, but she tragically passed away two days later. Earlier this month five-year-old Corey Aughey from Belfast died after falling into a hotel pool in Majorca. The company who overpaid have now hired lawyers to try and track the man down and get their cash back The man who works for a well-known meat company, Cial, was paid 165,398,851 Chilean pesos (170,360) instead of his usual take-home pay of 500,000 Chilean pesos (515). After a person in administration at Cial noticed the error, and pointed out to their manager that a staffer had been paid 286 times more than they were due, management contacted the worker in question. It was reported by Chilean newspaper Diario Financiero that the company then approached the man and kindly asked him to repay the money. Chilean pesos The worker agreed to go to their bank the next day and send the money back to Cial. When the man failed to show up the next day, and refused to answer his phone or return messages, managers at the firm began to worry. When they finally got in contact with the worker, he claimed he had slept in and would go to the bank that very day. A few days later, on June 2, he handed in his letter of resignation to the firm and hasnt been seen since. Now the company has had to lawyer up in the hopes of finding the man as they desperately try to recover their lost money in what they consider to be a crime of misappropriation. "Why didnt she curtsy?? It was one of the greatest privileges I had as FM of NI to curtsy to members of the royal household including HM the Queen" Queen Elizabeth II receives First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon during an audience at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. Picture: PA PA Scotlands First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has come under fire from Arlene Foster for bowing to the Queen instead of curtsying during a recent meeting in Edinburgh. She met the Queen at the Palace of Holyroodhouse on Wednesday alongside Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone, just 24 hours after the SNP leader revealed plans for a second Scottish independence referendum next October. Former Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster tweeted about the recent royal interaction and said that meeting the Queen was one of the greatest privileges she had during her role within the Northern Ireland Executive. She tweeted: "Why didt [sic] she curtsy?? It was one of the greatest privileges I had as FM of NI to curtsy to members of the royal household including HM the Queen." Some Twitter users hit back at the GB News presenters accusations on the interaction. One said: Because its respectful to both parties but not subservient. You see Nicola like most normal self-respecting people knows we are all equal and that no one human or group is any more entitled than another. Said another: Its not obligatory. When the Queen was in Belfast several years ago and met lots of local people in St Georges Market no one was required, asked or obliged to curtsy to her, including me. We had a rehearsal the day before and all this was discussed, said another, while one person said it was an anachronistic and clumsy gesture. Because its an anachronistic and clumsy gesture that has no place in the modern world. In case you haven't noticed (you haven't have you?) this is the twenty-first century, added another. The Royal Family's website states that curtsying is not obligatory when meeting the Queen or a member of a the royal family. "There are no obligatory codes of behaviour when meeting The Queen or a member of the Royal Family, but many people wish to observe the traditional forms. For men this is a neck bow (from the head only) whilst women do a small curtsy. Other people prefer simply to shake hands in the usual way. "On presentation to The Queen, the correct formal address is 'Your Majesty' and subsequently 'Ma'am,' pronounced with a short 'a,' as in 'jam'. For male members of the Royal Family the same rules apply, with the title used in the first instance being 'Your Royal Highness' and subsequently 'Sir'. "For other female members of the Royal Family the first address is conventionally 'Your Royal Highness' and subsequently 'Ma'am'." Dempsey Lewis, formally known as Dempsey Hawkins, was convicted of murdering Susan Jacobson in New York in 1976, when he was just 16-years-old. During the time in which Susan's body was missing, he participated in searches with her family, leading them away from the area whenever they got close to where her body was hidden. Crime Word Podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Soundcloud. Now in his sixties, Dempsey said he felt relief when police came to arrest him two years after Susan's grisly murder and says the violent memories of that fatal day still haunt him. After spending more than four decades behind bars in the United States, the London-born, New York-raised man was deported to England in 2017 as part of his parole conditions. Now, he says, he would like to continue re-building his life here in Ireland. MORE EPISODES Episode 120: The New York murderer who wants to move to Ireland Episode 119: The story of Joe Joyce jnr - bare-knuckle boxer to slash-hook killer On Tuesday (28 June) the Blink-182 drummer was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The musician was accompanied by his wife, Kourtney Kardashian. On Tuesday, June 28, the Blink-182 drummer was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The musician was accompanied by his wife, Kourtney Kardashian. The reason for Barkers hospital visit was originally unknown. However, according toTMZ, sources connected to the family have confirmed his attendance was due to an inflamed pancreas, which doctors believe was triggered by a colonoscopy. Symptoms of pancreatitis can include nausea, intense stomach pain, and vomiting. Details of when he underwent the colonoscopy havent been made public. The Independenthas contacted Barkers representative for comment. Earlier reports stated Barker first attended West Hills Hospital after experiencing a health issue, but was then transferred to the larger Cedars-Sinai by ambulance. The same day, the 46-year-old had shared a tweet that read, God save me. Following the news, Barkers 16-year-old daughter Alabama shared a post to her Instagram Stories, seemingly in response. Please send your prayers, she wrote, adding a wide-eyed emoji. Barker and Kardashian were officially married at a courthouse in Santa Barbara, California in May. Later in the month, they held their primary celebration in Portofino, Italy. The wedding was attended by the famous Kardashian family, including mother Kris Jenner and sisters Kim, Khloe, Kylie and Kendall. Kardashians three children, Mason, Penelope and Reign, were also present. Daniel Hutchinson From The Hutch The recent furore over how Christian schools should cater for their LGBTQIA+ students has forced me to confront my own identity and beliefs. Frankly or Francine as the case may be everyone should walk a mile in someone elses shoes, no matter how pointy and uncomfortable they may be. Its called empathy. But first, you need to pick a gender. Im lucky there because Im comfortable with all the various components that were included in the original packaging. There were no leftover nuts or bolts, just one or two screws loose. God doesnt make mistakes, of course, but Im convinced some of the minions putting the flatpacks together dont always read the instructions. Anyone who has ever assembled something as simple as a bicycle will know that it is not unusual to be left with extra bits and pieces or have bits missing that should be there. And humans are way more complicated. Sex education Next, you need to choose a sexual preference. You can choose as many as you like, or none if you want. For a while there, after a redundancy, my go-to song was Gloria Gaynors I will Survive. Apparently this song could make me gay. Its not that much of a stretch really because Im rather fond of myself and Ive already established that Im a man. Finding someone just like me would be brilliant. We would both be right all the time, with the same expectations over housework, nights out, lawn maintenance and meals. I dont even care which side of the bed I sleep on. Sadly, it seems Im one of a kind. And you would think my wife would be deliriously happy about that. The only issue is that my personality often acts as a contraceptive. I have been reliably informed that what I am rhymes with anchor. Theres no W in LGBTQIA+ so I guess its covered by the +. So I dont even get my own letter. The higher power Now, all that is left to consider is the spiritual side and fortunately I have been thinking about that a lot lately. I was basically a heathen child until my parents were born again in the 1970s. By the time the 1990s rolled around I was well on the way to being a heathen again. Its only in recent years that Ive started pondering my spirituality. And only because my mother asked me what my spiritual beliefs were. Its not just Mum who thinks its a good idea to have a healthy spiritual life, Alcoholics Anonymous also swears by it, although I cant tell you who told me that. They reckon a higher power can restore us to sanity. Having a Higher Power sounds great so now its just a matter of finding one. As a big science fiction fan, Im leaning towards an intelligent alien lifeform, preferably a friendly one with a wormhole that I can use for travel purposes. I really do like the idea that we are not alone in the universe. Finding the right place So that brings us to the empathy part. How would an alien-embracing self-lover who was born with male bits and identifies as a male get on at a Christian school? I dont think there is a massive leap there when it comes to ideology, so probably quite well. The age might raise a few eyebrows on the PTA though, so Ill almost certainly get pelted with food that is past its use-by date. Clearly, I should be at university studying astronomy. And you could argue that if your personal traits dont align with the special charter of a Christian school then you should go somewhere else too. However, high schools are places where young people crystallise their own ideas about who they are and in New Zealand you are legally entitled to do that, without prejudice. Christian values and faith are valuable tools to teach but Im a big believer in giving people the space to come to their own conclusions or they might just throw the whole lot away. No doubt many people who find they dont fit the mould seek out a more nurturing environment, but they should also feel free to stay. Either way, thank God for the Bill of Rights. daniel@thesun.co.nz New Zealanders lack confidence in social media companies to keep them safe and are highly concerned about youth being exposed to harmful or inappropriate content. A Classification Office report about what New Zealanders see on screen and online shows people support regulation of harmful online content. "More and more people are online and, in particular, young people are living more of their lives online," says acting chief censor Rupert Ablett-Hampson. "We also know that that online life now includes the consumption of content on many more platforms, including social media platforms like Tik Tok and Instagram, and there isn't substantive regulation over that content at the moment." The report found 83 per cent of people are concerned about harmful or inappropriate content in social media, video-sharing sites or other websites. Ablett-Hampson says the survey data shows a "significant shift" between people being able to make choices in what "regulated media", like television shows and movies, is consumed and the challenges of preventing exposure to harm through other mediums. "I thought it was telling that 33 per cent of people had seen content that directly promotes or encourages violence towards others on things like race and culture and religion and sexuality," he says. Similarly, 20 per cent of the survey's respondents have seen online content that encourages self-harming behaviours. The research came at a good time because the government has commissioned a review of media and online content regulation, says Ablett-Hampson. He says it aims to design and implement a new approach to content regulation that minimises the risk of harm to New Zealanders. "People have told us there's a lot that can be done to make things better including stronger regulation, better technical solutions, education, and tech/social media companies to take more responsibility and we hope these insights will help inform the government review." Ablett-Hampson says the report is more directed towards children and young people "because that's the focus" of the Classification Office. However, he "completely" agrees that all New Zealanders are vulnerable to harmful content exposure. "I think that a lot of the misinformation that resulted in the Covid hesitancy, and the protests at Parliament ... arose directly as a result of material that was imported into New Zealand via social media platforms." Online harm is "particularly prevalent" in New Zealand, with some "really direct experiences", he says, which includes things like the 15 March mosque attacks. On Tuesday, Ablett-Hampson banned a pseudo-documentary using extensive footage from a livestream of the attacks, which also had a voiceover claiming the attacks were fabricated. In an interim decision, he classified it as objectionable content and it is an offence for anyone to download, view or share it. The 33-minute-long video acted as a second part to a piece that was banned in February. A final decision on the content's ban will be issued within 20 days. -RNZ. Fencing contractors say ordering materials two to three months in advance is now the new normal. Demand has been outstripping supply for timber products across the country due to the housing boom and supply chain issues caused by Covid 19. Fencing Contractors Association president Phil Cornelius says after two years of delays fencing companies are getting better at ordering product in advance. "Because demand is so high you need to pre-empt what you're going to need weeks out. Because some contractors have jobs backed up they have to pre-order three months out so they know they have the product sitting there. "I guess contractors have had it so good for so long , you know if they needed something they could go get it but that's all changed since Covid." Cornelius says the supply of timber does seem to be getting better. "The wood's there - it's just taking longer for it to go through the mills. Some of the more common products like the number one and two rounds and the 2.4 metre and 2.7 metre strainers can be harder to get simply because everyone wants them, but the wait isn't too bad. "A lot of contractors are stockpiling. We have a few extra battens and posts in the yard so that if I go to the timber mill and they say, 'Oh, we're a couple of weeks away', well, hopefully I've got something on standby so that if I've got a job I can at least make a start." Fencing contractors usually see a slowdown of business over winter, but this year lots of operators are still really busy, he says. "Right across the country it's still really busy, but the bad weather is holding people up. So some companies have a bit of work backed up and of course getting materials and getting them delivered is holding some people up as well." -RNZ/Sally Murphy. The woman entrusted with the care of five-year-old Malachi Subecz has been sentenced to life imprisonment for his murder, with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years. It was offending Justice Paul Davison said was bereft of any humanity whatsoever ... nothing less than torture. Michaela Barriball, 27, was sentenced at the High Court in Rotorua on Thursday after pleading guilty to one charge of murder, plus charges of ill-treatment of a child, injuring with intent to injure and failing to seek medical attention. Her sister Sharron Barriball, 37, was also sentenced to six months home detention after earlier pleading guilty to one related charge of perverting the course of justice. Before sentencing the court heard nine victim impact statements, including from Malachis uncle Peter Menzies. Malachi died in my arms 42 hours after life support was turned off. From that moment confidence and happiness died too, I just hate you for taking his life. He said once Michaela pleaded guilty, and he became aware of the full details of his nephew's ordeal, he collapsed The hatred and terror has never left me, he said. My mind constantly returns to what you did to him ... I do not regard you as a human being. Those who knew and did nothing are almost as bad and should be similarly punished. Another uncle, Shane Cotter, placed a photograph of Malachi in front of him before addressing Michaela directly. He said he was in state care himself, unseen and unheard and a victim of unspeakable abuse. He also spoke of the family regret that unlike me, rescued from my nightmare, he paid the ultimate price. Despite the efforts of his family Malachi was allowed to stay in the care of monsters. Justice Davison also detailed Michaelas numerous claims that various injuries were the result of clumsiness, or accidents. Lies upon lies upon lies. Malachi Subecz died in Starship Hospital on November 12, 2021. Photo: Supplied. Assaults on a daily basis Details of Malachis murder while under Oranga Tamariki care, and the appalling catalogue of suffering he endured before his death, caused outrage and prompted Childrens Minister Kelvin Davis to launch a review of all Government departments which could have intervened before his murder. It was also later revealed that his abuse was known about by a daycare, and photographed, before his death, and a further Stuff investigation found the daycare was under no legal obligation to inform anyone of their concerns. Over 18 pages, the police summary of facts presents a harrowing account of Malachis treatment up to his eventual murder in November last year, noting assaults on a daily basis. It started in June when he was placed in the care of Michaela. Michaela Barriball at the High Court in Rotorua where she was sentenced for the murder of five-year-old Malachi Subecz. Christel Yardley/Stuff. This was both at the defendant Michaela Barriballs and biological mothers request, the summary said. His care was formalised at the Tauranga Family Court in September with Michaela named as his temporary Additional Guardian. The summary notes she was also resisting applications being made by the deceaseds biological family for them to obtain custody of him. Home for Malachi became a relocatable cabin at Michaelas family address in Tauranga, where she also sometimes lived in what was described as a volatile relationship with her partner, an overstayer in New Zealand. Both Michaela and Malachi used the main house, which was also home to her father, for showers and eating meals. Michaela was unemployed at the time, and receiving Ministry of Social Development cash to take care of Malachi. The summary said she would assault him daily, including slaps to the head, face, body and by pushing him by his chest into walls and the ground. He also began to soil himself, prompting Michaela to punish him by stripping him to his underwear and locking him outside. Other punishments included making Malachi stand for extended periods, and depriving him of food. On the day of his death on 12 November 2021 the deceased was visibly skinny and underweight, the summary said. He weighed 16kg, the same weight recorded at a medical appointment in November 2019 when he was three years old. Malachis uncle Peter Menzies and auntie Helen Menzies. In his victim impact statement Peter said he collapsed when he discovered the full horror of his nephews ordeal. Photo: Jericho Rock-Archer. The summary also includes details of Malachi being slammed against walls, repeatedly struck on the face and held underwater in a bath. The deceased, when allowed up for air, asked her to stop, but she forced his face under the water again, the summary said. Later, she was heard yelling while the deceased was screaming. He was burnt under a shower with water that was measured at 73 degrees, and left screaming on a sheet in the lounge room of the house. One burn was described as being caused by an object being pressed into the skin, and others were found on his forehead. The summary also detailed text messages Michaela sent to her partner in the wake of the burning, telling him hes in so much pain and cant take him to hospital. She also texted His mum asking for a video call but when she ring then Ill say [to] her no data and later, Im gonna kill that c*** if I ever see his ugly duckling face again. She sent a message to her father Chris Barriball to say she would not take Malachi to hospital cause of the bruises on his face from bumping into shit would make it look bad for me. Chris earlier told Stuff he loved his daughter, and that since the murder people had been looking at me like I am dangerous or something. The summary also noted Malachi was in obvious pain when Michaela took him to a family function in October. Several family members noticed the scabbed-over burn on his head and became concerned that he was being abused. The defendant Michaela Barriball assured them that he had burnt himself in the shower and had already been seen by a doctor, the summary said. At no stage did the defendant Michaela Barriball take the deceased for any medical assistance. Voice calls with his biological mother around this time assured her everything was going well. On November 1, 2021, the day scheduled for a final Family Court hearing, Michaela inflicted multiple blunt force head injuries on Malachi, before carrying him to the main house, unconscious and suffering from seizures. She later told ambulance staff he had fallen over while getting changed for school and had a fit. Malachi was taken to Tauranga Hospital, before being airlifted to Starship Hospital in Auckland. He was placed into an induced coma before dying on November 12. He was found to have acute malnutrition, a brain bleed, burns, a black eye, bruising on his chin, jaw, elbows, hip, left thigh and abrasions indicative of grabbing and fingernail cuts. The cause of death was ruled as blunt force head injury. Michaela later told police she had a great bond with the deceased, and claimed his injuries were the result of falls and trips. Michaela Barriball's sister Sharron Barriball, who was sentenced after pleading guilty to one charge of perverting the course of justice. Photo: Christel Yardley/Stuff. She also texted her partner before police arrived at Tauranga Hospital. So bub if I go to prison Im very sorry for that OK, she said. But you move on OK dont wait for me to come out. She also called her partner, father and sister to tell them Malachi had died, adding Looking at about 10 years. The summary of facts included numerous text messages, most sent to her partner, including one in which she said she hated his guts. Another said everyone always sorry for him [Malachi] but not for me. /Suff. Police have confirmed one has died following a fatal crash on Amohau Street, Rotorua. The street is now open according to the NZ Transport Agency. "One person has died following an earlier crash on Amohau Street (SH30A), Rotorua, near Te Ngae Road," says a police spokesperson. NZ Transport Agency says the road is "fully open again," after the emergency. "Thank you for your patience this morning," says a NZ Transport Agency spokesperson. Police say the road was closed earlier this morning while emergency services were responding to the scene. EARLIER 10:22am: Emergency services are responding to a report of a crash on Amohau Street, near Te Ngae Road. A motorbike has crashed into a power pole, says a police spokesperson. "The road is being closed in both directions. "Diversions are being put in place and motorists are asked to avoid the area, if possible, or expect delays." The road is closed between Te Ngae Road and Fenton Street. Directions are as follows: Westbound traffic: left to Sala St (SH30), right to Fenton St, left to Amohau St to return to SH30A. Eastbound traffic in reverse. Heavy vehicles should use SH30 and SH5 via Sala St, Hemo Rd, Old Taupo Rd in both directions. 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. Santos selects HiberHilo to monitor the worlds remotest oil and gas wells HiberHilo will be used to monitor 70 remote oil and gas wells, providing real-time performance and safety data AMSTERDAM, Netherlands 29 June 2022: Santos, one of the largest oil and gas producers in Australia and the largest oil and gas producer and exporter of Papua New Guinea (PNG), has selected Hibers HiberHilo satellite-powered remote well-monitoring solution to ensure the safety and environmental security of numerous oil and gas wells in PNG. We are delighted that Santos has selected HiberHilo to improve the sustainability and safety of their well monitoring activities, said Hiber CEO Roel Jansen. Our ability to offer this solution anywhere in the world at low cost and minimal installation complexity makes it economically feasible for operators to connect their most remote wells and gain valuable insights, 24/7. Oil producers that implement HiberHilo are seeing a 10x return on their investment in terms of cost savings. Santoss vast production portfolio includes some of the remotest operations in the world. The interior of PNG is mountainous, heavily forested, and sparsely populated. There is virtually no infrastructure, few roads, and extremely limited communications and power infrastructure. ?Until now, Santos monitored remote wells manually, which meant flying in teams by helicopter to take measurements at least once a month. Even the more accessible wells were a logistical challenge, requiring off-road trucks to drive several hours through the rainforest. With an annual budget of around $2 million for well monitoring that yielded sporadic and insufficient well data, Santos was eager to reduce costs, better manage risk, and boost overall operational efficiency. Santos had previously experimented with various digital well-monitoring solutions; all of these had turned out to be too expensive, too complex, or simply didnt work. HiberHilo proved to be a viable solution: affordable and easy to install, and capable of operating in even the remotest locations. The deal signed with Hiber enables Santos to install HiberHilo on 70 wells initially, with the possibility to add more wells in the future. This industry-proven solution uses low-cost, low-power satellite connectivity to gather performance and safety data from wells in remote, off-grid locations. HiberHilo advances Santoss sustainability goals by helping the company monitor remote wells more closely above and beyond what is required by PNG regulations. HiberHilo helps Santos prevent incidents by catching issues such as a leak or pressure build-up at an early stage so interventions can be planned to mitigate pollution or costly production downtime. In addition, HiberHilo helps Santos reduce its carbon footprint and improve its crew safety by reducing helicopter and truck trips to wells. ?HiberHilo is a comprehensive IoT-as-a-service solution for the oil and gas industry developed by Hiber in a joint venture with WTS Energy. It gathers data from sensors on wells and relays it in real time to a secure online dashboard via Inmarsat's global satellite network for IoT. 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. RiderZone BHPian Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Punjab Posts: 323 Thanked: 2,465 Times Bitcoin, and why I haven't bought any Bitcoin, and why I haven't bought any Here I do not want to discuss the technical aspects of cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, if it's legit or not. I only want to talk about the attitude of a low-level investor like me towards buying Bitcoin. Throughout this piece, I'll use Bitcoin and crypto interchangeably, because again I'm not concerned with the details, but only the bigger picture. My aim here is not to insult crypto enthusiasts, I will attempt to be as logical as possible, but it's hard. Although I want to believe that I have made a logical choice by not investing in Bitcoin, the reasons behind that choice are sentimental to put it mildly. I will try to explain those reasons while trying to be as respectful as possible. For most of my life I've had little to no savings, and lived paycheck to paycheck. It's only relatively recently that I've had the thought of putting something away for the future. I first thought of investing in Bitcoin when it was at the $5000 level, 2017 I believe. But the reasons for me not investing then are more or less the same as they are now. The reason I'm writing this piece is because with the crypto price crash, a lot of people are considering investing in these coins. I'm just trying to remind myself why I didn't do it. The motivation: I am not an ambitious person, and I've been quite happy with what little money I had. However, back in 2013 a friend of mine met with a road accident which took away his entire family. I was one of the first people called for help, and was involved in the whole hospitalization nightmare. He had no relatives nearby, so the staff asked us to deposit funds to begin the treatment. I had nothing in my account, and another friend paid the charges. Ironically, during this time I was living the extremely high risk lifestyle of a motorcycle tourer, routinely riding 1000+ kms a day like a jackass. Until that moment, because of the stupidity of youth, I hadn't even considered something like this could happen to me, but then the bulb finally lit. At that point of course I was way behind my friends in terms of savings, so the natural idea to catch up was simple: High risk investments. Sure my friends already have a corpus of 50 lacs while I don't even know what "corpus" means, but if I invest a couple of lacs in Bitcoin and they multiply 20 times over, Bob's your aunty. The reason I didn't buy Bitcoin was laziness mostly. I knew that it's nearly impossible to make those sort of gains in real life, the only way to have a slight chance would be to try and understand the market, and keep an eagle eye on things. I didn't have the time or the interest to care about either of those, and once I stopped fantasizing about being a multi-millionaire, I realized that I was being an idiot. Crypto may or may not be a scam, it may or may not be semi-legal gambling, but it's undeniable that some people have made some money out of it. I just wanted to make some money too, but investing in it without any real knowledge of the market, and then expecting 10000% returns, was being just a bit too dumb, even for me. Fear of poverty combined with jealousy of friends and a pinch of intense greed is not ideal as far as investment motivations go. The people: Like any other rational human being I firmly believe that we are ruled by a race of shape-shifting alien reptlie elites who control our thoughts with 5G and chemtrails. When Bill Gates or Warren Buffett say that they don't like Bitcoin, I naturally ignore them and tell them "Have Fun Staying Poor". On the other end of the spectrum however, the people who like Bitcoin and tell us to buy it can be slightly shady sometimes too. This is of course not the recommended way to decide where to invest your money, but over the years I have followed a lot of accounts on Twitter who are into Bitcoin. Being able to observe their behavior from the outside without being part of the community has actually been quite an interesting experience, and what little interest I had in crypto died as soon as all of them started photoshopping laser eyes into their profile pictures. The argument can be made that I don't have to like other Bitcoin investors if all I really care about are my own profits, but the fact is that it makes a difference, to me. The cringe factor of these people using phrases like HODL and DeFi and WAGMI is too damn high. On top of that the toxic positivity that they operate on is scary. I remember reading somewhere that the people behind the Nigerian Prince email scam are actually pretty good with English, but the reason they use broken sentences and obviously incorrect words is because they are smart. By making their emails look like obvious scams, they are only contacted by people who are really easy to scam. It's essentially a self-filtering mechanism that reduces the effor they need to put in significantly. That's the sort of vibe I get from these Bitcoin influencers. Take one look at the Quote: #Bitcoin is a swarm of cyber hornets serving the goddess of wisdom, feeding on the fire of truth, exponentially growing ever smarter, faster, and stronger behind a wall of encrypted energy. But like the Nigerian Prince email scam, I believe this is by design. The type of tweets Saylor puts out are designed to appeal to a very specific kind of person, and that's someone who is willing to put money into something on pure faith, motivated by FOMO, a distorted sense of how the world works, and a severe lack of social intelligence. Now, there of course are some very intelligent people who have gamed the crypto system and made impressive profits, but I'm not concerned with them in this article. I am an average man, and it's the point of view of an average man that I'm trying to explain. The people and culture surrounding crypto is genuinely repulsive to someone like me, to the point that even if I know that being practical and unemotional about it could make me good money, I'm still physically incapable of doing it. The people who want to influence me to buy crypto want me to focus on what Bitcoin is and how it's better than fiat money or something, but what they don't seem to understand is that I can't even get past their face and the things that come of it. They are selling something, but their personality gives me the creeps. It seems obvious that what Bitcoin needs is liquidity, which can only happen if a large number of normies like me invest in it. However, the methods employed by crypto influencers seem paradoxical to me. All they really appeal to is greed and fear, everything they say is a call to some primal emotion, which obviously alienates people like me who are looking for at least some semblance of logic in our investment strategies. Their strategy of attracting investments screams SCAM to me, but millions of people have invested because of them, so perhaps they know what they're doing. If you're someone who's succesfully gambled with crypto, I have big respect for you. "Behti Ganga mein haath dhona" is easy to say, but not so easy to do. For people like me with limited attention spans however, Bitcoin continues to be a trillion dollar red flag. Here I do not want to discuss the technical aspects of cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, if it's legit or not. I only want to talk about the attitude of a low-level investor like me towards buying Bitcoin. Throughout this piece, I'll use Bitcoin and crypto interchangeably, because again I'm not concerned with the details, but only the bigger picture.My aim here is not to insult crypto enthusiasts, I will attempt to be as logical as possible, but it's hard. Although I want to believe that I have made a logical choice by not investing in Bitcoin, the reasons behind that choice are sentimental to put it mildly. I will try to explain those reasons while trying to be as respectful as possible.For most of my life I've had little to no savings, and lived paycheck to paycheck. It's only relatively recently that I've had the thought of putting something away for the future. I first thought of investing in Bitcoin when it was at the $5000 level, 2017 I believe. But the reasons for me not investing then are more or less the same as they are now. The reason I'm writing this piece is because with the crypto price crash, a lot of people are considering investing in these coins. I'm just trying to remind myself why I didn't do it.I am not an ambitious person, and I've been quite happy with what little money I had. However, back in 2013 a friend of mine met with a road accident which took away his entire family. I was one of the first people called for help, and was involved in the whole hospitalization nightmare. He had no relatives nearby, so the staff asked us to deposit funds to begin the treatment. I had nothing in my account, and another friend paid the charges.Ironically, during this time I was living the extremely high risk lifestyle of a motorcycle tourer, routinely riding 1000+ kms a day like a jackass. Until that moment, because of the stupidity of youth, I hadn't even considered something like this could happen to me, but then the bulb finally lit.At that point of course I was way behind my friends in terms of savings, so the natural idea to catch up was simple: High risk investments. Sure my friends already have a corpus of 50 lacs while I don't even know what "corpus" means, but if I invest a couple of lacs in Bitcoin and they multiply 20 times over, Bob's your aunty.The reason I didn't buy Bitcoin was laziness mostly. I knew that it's nearly impossible to make those sort of gains in real life, the only way to have a slight chance would be to try and understand the market, and keep an eagle eye on things. I didn't have the time or the interest to care about either of those, and once I stopped fantasizing about being a multi-millionaire, I realized that I was being an idiot.Crypto may or may not be a scam, it may or may not be semi-legal gambling, but it's undeniable that some people have made some money out of it. I just wanted to make some money too, but investing in it without any real knowledge of the market, and then expecting 10000% returns, was being just a bit too dumb, even for me. Fear of poverty combined with jealousy of friends and a pinch of intense greed is not ideal as far as investment motivations go.Like any other rational human being I firmly believe that we are ruled by a race of shape-shifting alien reptlie elites who control our thoughts with 5G and chemtrails. When Bill Gates or Warren Buffett say that they don't like Bitcoin, I naturally ignore them and tell them "Have Fun Staying Poor". On the other end of the spectrum however, the people who like Bitcoin and tell us to buy it can be slightly shady sometimes too.This is of course not the recommended way to decide where to invest your money, but over the years I have followed a lot of accounts on Twitter who are into Bitcoin. Being able to observe their behavior from the outside without being part of the community has actually been quite an interesting experience, and what little interest I had in crypto died as soon as all of them started photoshopping laser eyes into their profile pictures.The argument can be made that I don't have to like other Bitcoin investors if all I really care about are my own profits, but the fact is that it makes a difference, to me. The cringe factor of these people using phrases like HODL and DeFi and WAGMI is too damn high. On top of that the toxic positivity that they operate on is scary.I remember reading somewhere that the people behind the Nigerian Prince email scam are actually pretty good with English, but the reason they use broken sentences and obviously incorrect words is because they are smart. By making their emails look like obvious scams, they are only contacted by people who are really easy to scam. It's essentially a self-filtering mechanism that reduces the effor they need to put in significantly. That's the sort of vibe I get from these Bitcoin influencers.Take one look at the Twitter feed of crypto whale Michael Saylor, and you'll know exactly what I mean. In case you'd prefer not to burn a hole through your eyes, here's his pinned tweet:What does that mean? It means absolutely nothing. He channels the spirit of Deepak Chopra on a daily basis to write stuff like this. Saylor is, unfortunately, the most visible face of Bitcoin. Dude's been all over Fox News and CNN the last few days desperately trying to convince everyone that he being some 1.5 Billion dollars in loss is just fine and not a problem at all. Ignoring the giant conflict of interest problems here, the fact is that people like Saylor make it more or less impossible for semi-literate people like me to buy Bitcoin, I do not want to associate myself with anything that man touches.But like the Nigerian Prince email scam, I believe this is by design. The type of tweets Saylor puts out are designed to appeal to a very specific kind of person, and that's someone who is willing to put money into something on pure faith, motivated by FOMO, a distorted sense of how the world works, and a severe lack of social intelligence.Now, there of course are some very intelligent people who have gamed the crypto system and made impressive profits, but I'm not concerned with them in this article. I am an average man, and it's the point of view of an average man that I'm trying to explain. The people and culture surrounding crypto is genuinely repulsive to someone like me, to the point that even if I know that being practical and unemotional about it could make me good money, I'm still physically incapable of doing it.The people who want to influence me to buy crypto want me to focus on what Bitcoin is and how it's better than fiat money or something, but what they don't seem to understand is that I can't even get past their face and the things that come of it. They are selling something, but their personality gives me the creeps.It seems obvious that what Bitcoin needs is liquidity, which can only happen if a large number of normies like me invest in it. However, the methods employed by crypto influencers seem paradoxical to me. All they really appeal to is greed and fear, everything they say is a call to some primal emotion, which obviously alienates people like me who are looking for at least some semblance of logic in our investment strategies. Their strategy of attracting investments screams SCAM to me, but millions of people have invested because of them, so perhaps they know what they're doing.If you're someone who's succesfully gambled with crypto, I have big respect for you.is easy to say, but not so easy to do. For people like me with limited attention spans however, Bitcoin continues to be a trillion dollar red flag. Batch It Ultra is our flag ship comprehensive Batch Image Processor. This current version 6 has been totally redesigned and rewritten from bottom up to support the latest Windows Operating System. It now comes in two editions which natively supports the 32 Bit and 64 Bit Windows. The Key Features of Batch It Ultra 6 includes Batch Resizing. It supports popular resizing methods which includes Downsizing By Pixels, Upsizing By Pixels, By Percentage, By Ratio, By Cropping and By Frame. You can resize the photos while retaining its original Ratio Aspect or perform a batch cropping to remove any undesirable borders especially when the documents are being scanned. In order to allow you to fine-tune the resultant photos, Batch It Ultra offers you the option to utilize different Resampling Algorithm to enhance the image quality. The Resizing By Frame method allows you to keep the same width and height dimensions while keeping the same ratio aspect for all your images by padding the smaller dimensions with the frame color. Resizing By Frame can either downsize or upsize the pictures to fit. In order to save you time, you can use Batch It Ultra to resize the same images into 3 different sizes in a single run. You can use this to make adjustment to your original file and save an additional two more sizes for perhaps for different screen displays or as thumbnail photos. Resizing By Frame Batch Format Conversion. It supports importing of images of many commonly used formats such as JPEG, PNG, Adobe RAW (DNG), Canon RAW (CR2 & CR3), FujiFilm RAW (RAF), Nikon RAW (NEF), Olympus RAW (ORF), Panasonic RAW (RW2), Pentax RAW (PEF), TIFF (Single Page), BMP, JPEG 2000, PCX, Windows HD Photo, GIF, TARGA, DIB, RLE, PIX, Truevision Vista Graphic, Portable Bitmap, GFI Fax, Adobe Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, Dr Halo Cut and Kodak PhotoCD. It supports export to JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, JPEG 2000, PCX, PBM, PPM, PGM, TARGA and Windows HD Photo Formats. 48 Bit Color Depth Support for TIFF Images. Apart from the 1 Bit, 2 Bits, 4 Bits, 8 Bits and 24 Bits Color Depth for the supported images, we also support 48 Bit Color Depth for TIFF. Image Effects. Apart from resizing the images, Batch It Ultra has a comprehensive toolbox to enhance your photos. This includes Sharpen, Sharpen More, Blur, Blur More, Brightness, Contrast, Old Photo effect, Emboss, Negative, Grayscale, Auto Equalize, Red, Green, Blue, Drop Shadow, Red Eye Removal, Round Corners and Borders. It also offers the option to create a tiled image. Batch Filename Changer. It supports batch renaming of all your image files to a name which would be more relevant to you. It allows you to add a prefix and/or suffix to the existing filename, Add a running number to the images and even change the way the new filename would appear based on your preferences. It comes with several macros such as file dates which can be used to generate the new filenames. You can utilize the Smart Replace method to change certain text within the original filename to something else. This will allow you to rename your image files to something more descriptive.Now this support is extended to all types of files so you can use it to rename your videos or document files. Batch Text Captioning. Text Captions can be copyright text, descriptions or captions which you can add to the images. Batch It Ultra offers 14 different location options to where you want to add the Text Captions on the image, this includes Diagonal, Top (Left, Middle, Right), Center (Left, Middle, Right), Bottom (Left, Middle, Right) and Vertical Left Bottom Up, Vertical Left Top Down, Vertical Right Bottom Up and Vertical Right Top Down. There is also two Random options if you do not know where you want to add the text captions. You could even have it add a border to place the text caption in. You can add up to 3 text captions to the images by using static text or one or more of the built-in macros. Text Caption Transparency is also supported. Batch Watermark Support. The Watermark Supports allow you to add PNG and GIF logos as your watermark in all the 9 locations. You can add up to three Watermarks options so you would never be out of options. Contact Sheet Support. Contact Sheet can be useful tool especially when you want a lot of photos which you want to show or carry along with you. Batch It Ultra allows you to either print a contact sheet or save it into a JPG, PNG or Multipage TIFF file. Backing Up. We believe in backing up original files as any changes made to them would be irreversible and as such, we included the option to Backup all Images on the list to a ZIP file. Settings Profile. Batch It Ultra provides you with a comprehensive number of options to set up your images the way you like them and it would be troublesome to set them up for your different clients or work. This is where Settings Profile comes in. Once you are happy with the settings you made, you can save the Settings using the Save Settings Profile button which would save all the settings used as a XML file. You can make as many files as you want and be able to load them to computer running Batch It Ultra v6 without having to set everything up all over again. Loading Images. It is relatively easy to load images to Batch It Ultra. You have 4 options available to you to do so. Load Files would allow you to selectively add one or more images to the list. Load Folders would allow you to include an entire folder of images with the option to include all sub folder files. Dragging and Dropping from Windows Explorer would allow you to add both Files and Folders of files to the list. And new in Batch It Ultra 5 is the option to load a CSV or Text File of File Names and Captions which you can create using a text editor or a spreadsheet.New is v5.21 is the ability to use the Windows Contextual Menu's Send To to add files to the Batch It Ultra's File Listing. 32 and 64 Bit Support. There is now two version of Batch It Ultra v6 available, one which is a native 32 Bit application for those using a 32 Bit Windows Operating System and another version which is fully 64 Bit for the 64 Bit Windows Operating System. The 64 Bit version takes advantage of the increased memory and is able to work faster and more efficiently and handle even bigger images without breaking a sweat. Command Line Support. The Command Line and Server license would allow you to control Batch It Ultra via a command line or run as a process through another program or script. What just happened? It seems Asrock wants to be ahead of the pack when it comes to getting ready for Raptor Lake. Intel's new processors don't arrive until later this year, but the Taiwanese firm has already announced BIOS updates for its 600-series motherboards that add support for the 13th-gen CPUs. And, as some of these boards use DDR4, Asrock has confirmed that Intel will keep supporting the memory type rather than going down AMD's Zen 4 path and switching to DDR5-only. "Asrock has announced BIOS updates for its Intel 600 series motherboards to support the soon-released Intel desktop processors," reads the announcement. Asrock's list covers Z690, H670, B660, and H610 chipset boards, several of which use DDR4 rather than DDR5, confirming the memory type's compatibility with Raptor Lake. This comes after a leaked list of Asrock's flagship Z790 and mid-range H770 motherboards included both DDR4 and DDR5 variants. Raptor Lake's support for DDR4 was always expected. The upcoming processors share the same LGA 1700 socket as Alder Lake, and both generations of CPUs work on 600- and 700-series boards. AMD's Zen 4 architecture, meanwhile, will only support DDR5. And while prices of the newer memory are falling, the modules remain more expensive than their DDR4 counterparts. Asrock's early announcement is likely a marketing ploy that makes it one of the first 'Raptor Lake ready' companiesexpect other board makers to quickly follow suit. Raptor Lake, expected in Q3 or Q4, will increase Alder Lake's maximum number of Efficiency cores (Gracemont) to 16, bringing the total max core count to 24. The chips are also rumored to feature boost clocks that reach 5.8 GHz. What just happened? Russia reportedly fined Airbnb, Pinterest, UPS, and Twitch for not storing data they collected from Russian users on servers located within its borders. The same law led to the country completely blocking LinkedIn several years ago. According to a new report, a Moscow court has fined several Western companies for refusing to store personal data collected from Russian citizens on servers located in the country. Airbnb, Pinterest, and Twitch have reportedly been fined 2 million roubles ($38,113) each, with UPS receiving a 1 million rouble ($19,057) fine. These sums sound a bit ludicrous considering that all of these companies reported multi-billion dollar revenues last year. Russia's data localization law entered into effect in 2015, mandating that any tech company operating in the country store all data on Russian users on local servers. It's not the first time fines have been handed down to companies due to this law. In 2021, Russian authorities fined WhatsApp 4 million rubles ($53,880 at the time), Facebook 15 million rubles ($201,975), and Twitter 17 million rubles ($290,444). In 2016, the social network LinkedIn got banned within the country for violating the same law. Roskomnadzor, Russia's communications regulator, announced last month that it had also opened a case against Apple. The company faces a fine of up to 6 million roubles as this would only be its first offense. Convincing companies to store user data on servers within Russia might prove to be a challenging task, especially considering the sanctions the country is facing. IBM and Microsoft have been laying off most of their employees in Russia, with the latter even blocking users in the region from downloading Windows from its website. Press Release June 29, 2022 Dela Rosa to ROTC critics: Military is the primary protector of the people SENATOR Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa has rejected insinuations that the mandatory ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps), which he intends to resurrect, will fail and will only lead to militarization. In an interview with ANC on Tuesday, Dela Rosa urged critics of ROTC to focus more on the positive aspects of the program. "If we'll just only focus on the negatives, kung anong kasamaan tungkol dito sa programang ito, then we will not end up with our ROTC program," he said. The former top cop reiterated that he would refile his bill for the return of the mandatory ROTC, which will require all male and female Grade 11 and 12 students to undergo military training, when the 19th Congress opens on July 25. But he quickly allayed fears that the return of ROTC is a prelude to militarization. "That will never happen. Civilian supremacy is still supreme over the military. Ang atin lang ay magre-ready lang tayo. Why are you apprehensive about militarization? If militarization is good for our defense... bakit kayo matatakot sa term na militarization kung 'yan ay paghahanda para sa depensa ng ating bansa? Hindi tayo dapat matakot because the military is our protector, nasa Constitution 'yan. The military is the primary protector of the people," Dela Rosa said. He assured the primary purpose of ROTC is to train and prepare the Filipino youth to defend the country since the Filipino citizens are mandated under the Philippine Constitution to defend the state. "Number one, we have impending threat coming from China with their presence in the West Philippine Sea and we need to be proactive. 'Wag tayong maghintay at maging sitting duck. We have to prepare, we have to train our youth to defend our land. It is mandated in our constitution that all citizens should be ready to defend the state. Plus the discipline that we will be getting from ROTC, that the youth will be getting from ROTC, we really need ROTC to be back," he said. The Mindanaoan Senator said that while his Mandatory ROTC bill is different from the initial proposal of Vice President-elect Sara Duterte, which is a 2-year mandatory military training patterned after South Korea's program, he is willing to co-author her proposal if she wants to make it a law. Dela Rosa said the Filipino youth should develop in their hearts and minds a sense of patriotism and nationalism, noting that the security of the country is unsure because of the fluid geopolitics around the world. "What happened to Russia invading Ukraine kahit na mga kadugo nila 'yan, mga relative nila 'yan, can also happen here in the Philippines. We have the threat coming from China. So, we must be prepared... We are a very small nation, and our regular military needs the support of a reserve military component in case foreign aggression happens. So that's all we are after," Dela Rosa said. Under his proposal, there will be a Grievance Board composed of representatives from the Departments of Education and the National Defense, which can investigate motu-proprio cases of abuse and corruption in the ROTC program. The lawmaker also noted that the importance and worthiness of the ROTC program have already been proven since its introduction in 1935 through the National Defense Act of 1935, which was the Commonwealth Act No. 1, during the time of President Manuel L. Quezon. Why it matters: The ongoing crypto winter has affected more than exchanges and hopeful investors that were optimistic about the evolution of digital assets. Elsewhere, the sharp drop in value for major cryptocurrencies has had an unexpected positive effect: it wiped out a large chunk of the stolen funds that North Korea has been using for its nuclear missile program. Back in 2018, a Singapore-based US citizen and member of the Ethereum Foundation advised North Korea on how to use cryptocurrencies to work around US sanctions. Now he's looking at over five years in prison, while the country amassed millions worth of cryptocurrencies that have helped fund its nuclear weapons program. However, a lesser-known consequence of the recent crash of the crypto market is that North Korea's holdings also took a nose dive. According to a recent UN report, the country relies heavily on stolen digital tokens for its weapons development and testing activities, so any significant fluctuations in price can put them on the back burner. This week, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis told Reuters that old North Korean crypto holdings it has been monitoring are now worth an estimated $65 million a sharp drop in value from $170 million in the span of just six months. The funds were obtained from at least 49 state-sponsored hacks performed between 2017 and 2021, and they likely represent only a small amount of the total that has yet to be laundered. Earlier this year, the US Treasury along with Chainalysis and Elliptic confirmed suspicions that North Korea's Lazarus Group was behind one of the largest cryptocurrency heists to date. No less than $615 million worth of ETH and USDC tokens were stolen from the Ronin network that acts as infrastructure for a popular game called Axie Infinity. However, those funds have since lost almost two-thirds of their value. To put things in perspective, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons estimates that North Korea spends around $640 million per year on developing and maintaining its nuclear arsenal. Converting stolen cryptocurrencies to cash is not exactly easy, and brokers who are willing to make a deal offer well below market value. Couple that with the current crypto crash and it's easy to see why North Korea is already looking for alternative ways to fund its missile program, such as smuggling coal to China. When pressed for comment, country representatives at its London embassy dismissed the report as "totally fake news." A hot potato: Epic's fight with Apple over forcing it to use its payment system is really about getting out of paying App Store commissions. As such, the case has prompted several regulators to look into passing laws that force Big Tech giants like Apple and Google into allowing off-platform payments. The problem is that efforts have only driven prices up for the consumer and have not prevented Apple or Google from still collecting their dues. On Thursday, Apple announced that it would allow South Korean app makers to use third-party payment platforms. The move complies with recently introduced and quickly passed legislation in the country. Google also changed its payment guidelines after Korean officials passed the law last November. However, the changes come with a few caveats that will likely affect customers and developers alike. For one, external payment platforms must be approved by Apple. There are currently only four service providers that developers can use KCP, Inicis, Toss, and NICE. Apple set up an approval request page on its developer website. Cupertino will review and authorize services on a case-by-case basis. South Korea ignored all the noise about the Apple-Google duopoly being overwhelmingly powerful, passed a law, and now people can buy stuff in apps without having to pay any app store tax.https://t.co/xPvez47uv4 Vlad Savov (@vladsavov) June 30, 2022 Second, Apple takes no responsibility for issues, refunds, or other problems related to using a third-party service. If customers need to resolve an issue, it will be left between them, the developer, and the payment provider, which could be a hassle for all involved. Customers will also be unable to take advantage of Apple-centric services like Family Sharing and Ask to Buy parental controls. Lastly, while lawmakers intended to unshackle developers from Big Tech's payment ecosystems, it comes at a price. The rule does not get the developer out of paying the Apple Tax. Instead, Apple charges a reduced 26-percent rate for all transactions. The reduced rate is in line with what Google did with the Play store, which has already shown the consequences. Developers using payment methods outside Google Play have passed the added costs on apps and subscriptions to Korean Android consumers. Dutch dating app makers discovered the same situation with a similar Netherlands law. There is no logical reason to assume it will be any different for Korea's Apple users. Through corporate social responsibility or CSR software, companies can further emphasize their social responsibility, whether they are advocating people's rights, conserving the environment, or striving to reduce inequality on a global scale. Socially responsible organizations portray more appealing images to both consumers and shareholders. On the other hand, investors rely on ESG platforms or environment and social and governance factors to determine the sustainability of the assets they will be investing in. While both ESG and CSR software influence a company's impact on society and environment, the main distinction is that CSR is a business model employed by individual firms. In contrast, ESG is a criterion used by investors to examine a company and assess if it is worth investing in. Both will play a role in building responsible branding. For that, we list down the best CSR software, with some additionally incorporating ESG platforms to appeal to both investors and customers. What Is CSR in Software? Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR software helps businesses manage humanitarian initiatives and volunteer activities. It allows them to track and measure the impact and effectiveness of their CSR programs. As mentioned, these programs aim to support the community and establish a purpose-driven workplace culture. What Is ESG Software? ESG software comprises comprehensive data collection, tracking, management, and reporting on key indicators. These indicators may include energy and water usage, waste production, carbon emissions, occupational safety, health metrics, etc. Similar to the CSR management platform, the process of ESG from start to finish is automated, thus saving valuable time and effort and reducing the risk of human error. Best CSR Platforms To assist you in measuring and managing your Corporate Social Responsibility, we have compiled a list of the best CSR platforms. A few also contain ESG platforms and more features. Work your way through our review, starting with Alaya: #1 Alaya Alaya is a one-stop-shop CSR software designed to create a purpose-driven culture. It uses a digital platform to connect and motivate your team to take good action from anywhere. It also serves to unite your business through a common purpose and set of values. You may further inspire staff and instill a sense of accomplishment by accumulating points. You may do anything from estimating the impact of your activities to tracking volunteering sessions, contributions, participation rate, and more. In just a few clicks, you can see how many of your employees participate, how many hours they contribute, and the effect you're having as a company. To demonstrate the effectiveness of your program, share your reports with stakeholders internally and externally in an easy-to-use style. Customizations allow you to place your brand at the heart of the platform. Simply connect the platform to your business pillars or initiatives while giving workers a voice. Then, using Alaya's worldwide nonprofit network, easily merge your existing nonprofit affiliates or reach out to new ones. Key Features and Benefits Interactive employee engagement activities wherever they are Helps build shared values across your team Generates reports on your CSR actions immediately Exports reports and shares them with shareholders/investors Reports carbon emissions made by business travels Portal for donations and integrates with NGO partners Customization option to incorporate company branding #2 Millie Millie enables you to establish a simple, adaptable, and cost-effective CSR software. You may create a culture of giving regardless of your budget. Help your workers and the organizations that inspire them. It centralizes and simplifies all your employee giving and match activities, rather than monitoring it across inboxes and spreadsheets. Accept donation matches with just one click and streamline your nonprofit approval procedure. Millie's social impact software is intended to allow any of your workers, regardless of team or office location, to partake in your matching program. Invite overseas groups to participate in your donating initiatives if your company has a worldwide presence. Engage your staff electronically and globally. Organize staff around specific events or causes. You may construct campaigns around certain NGOs or establish new projects to push CSR goals with a customizable design. Maintain your community influence regardless of the conditions by providing volunteer opportunities for your workers to participate individually, in groups, remotely, or in person. Create gorgeous event pages for each volunteer opportunity with the volunteer builder. Track hours and see the effect on your team. Key Features and Benefits Employee donation matching Keeps your CSR budget on track Empowers employee participation across the globe Mobilizes your employees on your campaigns Builds a community by launching initiatives Volunteer builder and a gamified way of engaging volunteers #3 KindLink KindLink is a one-stop CSR platform that includes employee engagement and impact reporting. They assist corporations and nonprofits in connecting and managing their corporate social responsibility, fundraising, volunteering, and supporter relations, as well as measuring and sharing their sustainability effect. With it, you can optimize the potential of your CSR initiative by building a workforce that people are pleased to be a part of. Attract, retain, and grow the greatest employees by improving your CSR operations' visibility, involvement, and management. KindLink's CSR software provides CSR managers with a consolidated picture of all campaigns and initiatives. Fundraising, volunteering, gift matching, global Payroll Giving, ESG & SDG tracking, and other activities are all managed through a single user-friendly digital platform. CSR Software Features Empowers and inspires your colleagues: Encourage an internal proactive attitude toward doing good. Employees may use their unique KindLink profiles to organize and promote their philanthropic activities, from fundraising to gaining new skills by volunteering at opportunities found on their Marketplace. They may quickly share their experiences and achievements thanks to integrations with social sites. Showcases the benefit of your CSR: Increase critical stakeholder buy-in by demonstrating the beneficial impact CSR has on staff morale and brand reputation. KindLink provides the data and resources you need to demonstrate the benefit of CSR to your business. Efficient internal communication: Easily organize, plan, and communicate any project. Its direct interfaces with collaboration technologies like Microsoft Teams, Yammer, and Slack reduce time and effort by automatically updating, notifying, and directing employees. Data collection and overview: KindLink can help you streamline your CSR data collecting and reporting. Run any charity or environmental campaign, keeping track of everything from, online donations, volunteer hours, to CO2 offset. Plus, its simple reporting dashboard provides a comprehensive picture of your employees' efforts and quickly compiles yearly CSR reports. Built for global goals: Managing CSR initiatives across worldwide offices would not be an issue since KindLink's CSR software supports several offices and currencies. It interacts with your company's "single-sign-on" security system and delivers widgets compatible with any intranet platform. Besides, any non-profit that benefits from your contributions can upload their impact story updates straight to your corporate profile page on the KindLink platform. View and share the measurable results of your CSR and ESG activities. Integrations with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Microsoft Teams, Yammer, Slack, SharePoint, and other platforms make spreading the message across the world and internal channels simple. Businesses are increasingly being assessed on their ethos and effect rather than their cash line. With the entire world watching, KindLink provides an accessible and highly functional ESG platform for measuring, sharing, and celebrating your ESG and SDG accomplishments. ESG Platform Features Barometer for business performance: Display your ESG performance and watch investors and internal stakeholders sit up and take notice. It offers straightforward interpretation and reporting of your corporate responsibility performance data, making it simple for everyone engaged in the company's success to obtain a quick sense of where things stand. Record and report Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): Track, organize, and show all of your SDG data in one user-friendly platform. Maintain social responsibility at the heart of your company's development by demonstrating concrete progress and improvement to stakeholders. Displays all business initiatives: KindLink can track and show any sort of corporate donation, including fundraising, matching CO2 offset, leased office space, contributed items, hours volunteered, kWh energy saved, and more. The non-profits you support can also record and share data on the effect you helped facilitate so that you can understand the full scale of your influence. You may motivate positive action from workers and other stakeholders by displaying the positive change they are a part of using KindLink's ESG platform. Emphasize your progress toward defined targets, demonstrate the real-world effect of your initiatives as a business, and get everyone coming together to help your business accomplish its goals. Benefits Combining all community and sustainability management features in one platform: from volunteering, donations, fundraising, matching, grant management, to CO2 tracking, and energy consumption. NGO software for direct impact reporting from non-profits lets you share their impact story to spread awareness Public-facing profile for marketing purposes to easily share the message across the world Integrates with internal toolsto help your employees communicate efficiently Collects data and see them consolidated in one dashboard, and access to immediate CSR reports Designed to help your business on a global scale Aims to both empower and inspire your current and future employees to operate within your shared values Tracks and records ESG and SDGs to attract investors Displays all business community and sustainability initiatives KindLink, therefore, is a platform with a purpose. It builds a community where you can connect with colleagues and friends and witness the good you do in the world. So don't pass up the opportunity to begin your social and environmental responsibilities with a reliable partner, and book a demo here. #4 Spark by Benevity Spark by Benevity is another option to explore for accessing CSR software with a purpose at work that helps people give, volunteer, and take action on the social causes they care about. It provides you with a single platform to manage your social impact efforts while engaging more of your workers in doing good. You don't have enough hours in the day to get everything done. Spark allows you to refocus on strategy and outcomes. The automation and administration solutions will assist you in streamlining day-to-day activities and managing large-scale initiatives. Then, using pre-built programs, you may mobilize staff around major awareness dates and crises. You may also bring your work in by integrating it with your existing tools and systems, such as Workday and Okta. With its comprehensive reporting, you can gain vital insight into the effectiveness of your program and share all the good you're doing with your organization and communities. You can also access industry benchmarking, which allows you to examine how your program compares to other purpose-driven businesses. With Spark, your employees will feel as though your CSR program was designed specifically for them. They will have more opportunities to do good and more options for who they support, generating a feeling of purpose that will increase involvement. It creates social effects through charitable contributions, volunteering, and good acts. It is also globally accessible with a platform available in 22 languages and nearly every currency, as well as on PC and mobile. Key Features and Benefits Automation and administration features to streamline CSR activities Uses pre-built initiatives and mobilizes staff around different dates and crises Integrates with other workspace tools and gains access to comprehensive reports Real-time data and industry benchmarking Available in 22 languages and both in desktop and mobile apps #5 Selflessly Another CSR program that lets you monitor, coordinate, and celebrate your giving throughout the year is Selflessly. Through donating and volunteering, it assists small and medium-sized enterprises in developing a purpose-driven culture. Selflessly's giving platform saves time by instantly tracking donations, providing matching opportunities, and making donation administration easier. With hundreds of volunteer options, including virtual possibilities, the Selflessly platform makes it simple for your workers to connect with a meaningful cause. It provides fast access to your organization's contributions through unique backend reporting capabilities that reveal how your organization spends its time. Purpose-driven reporting helps you to motivate your staff while also building greater brand loyalty. Connecting your community to your mission not only provides a measurable ROI but also contributes to and fosters a culture of giving back. For that, you receive an easy-to-use dashboard, and reporting lets you examine the impact of your brand in real-time. Then, in an instant, all team members may view fast, actionable things. Key Features and Benefits Tracks donations, offers matchmaking capabilities, and manages CSR projects easily Allows you to invite volunteers, whether physically or virtually Lets your employees do a good thing on their own Offers detailed reports on the dashboard and comprehensive reporting to assess your CSR initiatives Easy to implement for businesses in all sizes and industries Businesses dedicated to making the world a better place are more likely to recruit top talents and attract more investors. This demonstrates how crucial it is for employees to take on social responsibility. CSR initiatives also contribute to a more productive and happy work environment for workers. Your company's personnel and investors may, likewise, grow with the help of an ESG platform. You may achieve all of these and more using our top 5 CSR platforms, which establishes your social responsibility worldwide. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Chinese scientists suggested building a hospital facility to care for just three children - Amy and the twin sisters Lulu and Nana - the first genetically modified humans in history. It is worth noting that these names only serve as pseudonyms to protect the kids. Scientist He Jiankui was responsible for modifying the embryos' genomes with the CRISPR technology to stop them from inheriting HIV from their dads. Nature reported in February that two well-known bioethicists in China are urging the establishment of a research facility tasked with safeguarding the very first kids born with a modified genome. Although scientists have well received the suggestion, many are worried that the proposed strategy would result in excessive surveillance of the CRISPR children. The two scientists are Qiu Renzong from the Chinese Academy of Social Science in Beijing and Lei Ruipeng from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan. They suggest that He, including the Southern University of Science and Technology and the government, should shoulder the main financial, legal, and other responsibilities for the children's health and welfare. What Happened In the Experiment? He was optimistic that he had made a scientific breakthrough with his experiment. However, after announcing his project in 2018, the public did not receive him well. He claimed that he genetically engineered IVF embryos, placed them in a woman's womb, and caused the birth of twin girls, and the following year the third CRISPR baby was born. He was brought under home arrest and later imprisoned as a result of the experiment's widespread condemnation. A Chinese court found the researcher guilty in December 2019 and declared that he had "deliberately" broken medical laws and "rashly applied gene editing technology to human assisted reproductive medicine," according to a report by MIT Technology Review. Additionally, China's Xinhua news agency reported that the Chinese court ruled that he and his team "crossed the bottom line of ethics in scientific research.". In April, Jiankui was reported to have been released from prison. Read also: Human Protein Delivers mRNA to Body, CRISPR Pioneer Develops SEND to Treat Several Diseases The Project's Revelation The children's DNA was modified by the scientists from the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen using CRISPR, a flexible genetic engineering technology, to make them immune to HIV infection. In November 2018, during a global genome-editing symposium in Hong Kong, MIT Technology Review learned of the presence of the CRISPR baby experiment. He promptly uploaded multiple videos on YouTube revealing the birth of the fraternal twins, whom he called Lula and Nana. The experiment received harsh condemnation both outside and inside China. According to MIT's report, scientists noted that genome editing had little medicinal value and might have brought abnormalities into the girls' genomes. Related Article: CRISPR Technology Now Tracks When Cancer Would Spread in the Body! This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Climeworks, a Switzerland-based technology company, is allotting construction parameters for its next massive Direct Air Capture (DAC) plant situated in Hellisheii, Iceland. The firm announced the push yesterday, June 28, in a blog post that heralds a coming facility capable of capturing 36,000 tons of CO2 per year. Climeworks is aptly calling its next DAC plant merely "Mammoth." There are several various Direct Air Capture companies within the climate industry, including the likes of Mission Zero, Heirloom, Noya, Verdox, and more. While they may offer similar if not somewhat competitive strategies in their approach to CO2 capture, evidence suggests that more efforts within the space are sorely necessary. According to the International Energy Agency (IAE), all but a mere 20 strong DAC facilities exist throughout the globe, capturing an average of 0.01 million metric tons a day - less than a drop in the bucket in atmospheric greenhouse gas emission levels. Climeworks, which was initially founded in 2009, aims to combat these ever-so-rising levels through sophisticated facilities like its forthcoming Mammoth. The company's existing DAC plant, Climeworks' Orca, came to life back in September 2021. Several of the largest companies in the world, including Microsoft, The Economist, Accenture, Shopify, and more, assisted in its completion. Orca boasts a CO2 capture rate of up to an annualized 4,000 tons, nine times less than its newest counterpart. Related Article: Energy Dome Vies to Officially Commericalize World's First CO2 Battery for Long-Term Energy Storage Given both facilities' locations in Hellisheii, which houses the ON Power Geothermal Park, energy to power both plants isn't an issue. The locale offers the perfect power potential for both Mammoth and Orca to separate CO2 from the air by utilizing renewable energy. Following separation, the CO2 is safely stored in a nearby building that mixes the gas with water before being shot deep into the earth. It eventually turns into solid rock after about two years. This strategy allows Climeworks immense promise in its efforts to limit greenhouse gasses, as Iceland's subterranean sector is a volcanic wasteland filled with a multitude of cracks and holes to stuff CO2 into. Since 2017, Climeworks has partnered up alongside CO2 storage company Carbfix in its CO2-to-stone storing method, entirely limiting the potential of building new pipeline networks for transporting CO2. According to the firm's press release, Mammoth isn't expected to be fully operational until construction is completed within 18-24 months. It is the company's 18th project and acts as a stepping stone in the world of DAC technology, a veritable proving ground for extended success in combating CO2 levels. Mammoth's construction comes on the heels of the firm's more recent acquisition of $650 million in an equity round, which took place in early May. As mentioned previously, Climeworks isn't the only company pushing headlong into the CO2 capturing business. Carbon Engineering is also working on the world's largest Direct Air Capture facility, which will be set in Texas and is slated to launch in 2025 officially. Its plant will boast 1 million tons of CO2 capture potential yet utilizes a very different strategy in capturing CO2 from ambient air. It will most likely use both natural gas and renewable energy to power its process and will also be used in tandem with oil reserve retrieval due to the project's connection with petroleum firm Occidental. Read Also: A Research Engineer Built a Device That Can Generate Power Globally for Years 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. (Photo : Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images) Legal and information technology (IT) experts are debating how state-wide reproductive control laws would affect personal information protection following the overturn of the landmark Roe v. Wade case. Digital Evidence Is Still The Primary Documentation Used By Prosecutors in Violations of Reproductive Health Laws Recent criminal cases utilizing digital evidence to prosecute crimes shed light and provide insight into how law enforcement can proceed amidst the recent US Supreme Court decision. There are numerous cautions on the internet that single points of digital health data, such as facts from a period tracking app or Google Maps indicating a visit to Planned Parenthood, might be used against someone in criminal prosecution. Experts who have reviewed situations in which people have been charged for offenses believe those concerns are mostly unfounded. Law enforcement has been mainly concerned with proof that someone willfully committed a violation of the legal framework set by Roe v. Wade overturned. A period tracker can only show that someone became pregnant and subsequently stopped being pregnant, not that they had an abortion. Instead, prosecutors frequently depend on a digital paper trail produced by inspecting a suspect's smartphone. That includes text messages, emails, and search histories that reveal someone was looking for an abortion, according to Cynthia Conti-Cook, a Ford Foundation fellow who wrote an influential article on digital evidence used in abortion cases. Authorities have utilized search histories as proof of intent in cases involving persons suspected of unlawfully performing their own abortions. That means that almost any type of digital communication might be used as evidence. However, not all digital communication is easily obtained by law enforcement via formal requests or subpoenas. Law enforcement can access unencrypted data, but they can only examine end-to-end encrypted messages transmitted by applications like Signal by directly accessing a user's smartphone. Not All Applications Handle User Data Carefully and Securely Prosecutors have not prioritized the sort of information that period-tracking apps store. However, some applications that gather health data handle it more securely than others, and it's hard to anticipate all of the ways prosecutors would use sensitive information to prosecute someone. Many period-tracking applications keep patient data on a centralized server. This informs both law enforcement and dangerous hackers about where they may go to obtain all user information. Some applications claim to anonymize users' accounts, but it's typically feasible to reverse such measures. Some period trackers, such as Flatcracker Software's Period Plus app, save all user information on the user's phone. Hospitals and other healthcare institutions keep extensive records of their patients. While there are federal regulations in place regarding how that data is stored, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), it is unclear how much of that will prevent health care workers from turning over abortion information to law enforcement in a post-Roe world, according to Sara Geoghegan, a law fellow at the Electronic Privacy Information Center. That implies prosecutors might take a doctor's or nurse's records on what a specific patient stated about their pregnancy status. However, it does not appear feasible that law enforcement could perform wide-ranging searches for all records at a hospital where a patient discussed abortion. Related Articles: Roe v. Wade: US Supreme Court Ruling to Potentially Affect Tech and Your Online Privacy, Here's How 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Tesla employees' attendance is now being monitored by the giant automaker, as claimed by a worker who anonymously. (Photo : Patrick Pleul - Pool/Getty Images) Tesla CEO Elon Musk talks during a tour of the plant of the future foundry of the Tesla Gigafactory on August 13, 2021 in Grunheide near Berlin, Germany. The US company plans to build around 500,000 of the compact Model 3 and Model Y series here every year. The individual shared this detail via the Blind, a popular app that allows workers in various companies to share their experiences without sharing their identities. Previously, Elon Musk announced that he wants all Tesla workers to start going back to their physical offices. Those who will not comply might be laid off. Now, the EV maker may be taking its efforts to the next level by tracking the attendance of employees and checking those who haven't badged in for the past 16 days or a month. Tesla Employee Attendance Now Being Observed! According to Business Insider's latest report, the Tesla employee posted a screenshot of an automated email from Tesla on Tuesday, June 28. (Photo : PHILIP PACHECO/AFP via Getty Images) SpaceX founder Elon Musk addresses members of the media during a press conference announcing new developments of the Crew Dragon reusable spacecraft, at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California on October 10, 2019. Also Read: Tesla, Polestar, Other EV Manufacturers, Recorded Significant Quality Declines According to 2022 Report The anonymous person claimed that if you click the email, it will direct you to the official email address of your Tesla boss. After that, you will be required to send an explanation for your absence. In the message, Tesla said that they will understand why employees are not able to go back to their employees since they are either sick, on a vacation, or still traveling. But, the automaker added that workers still need to provide clear reasons why they were not able to badge in. "This feels wrong. I can't quite put it into words why it bothers me, it feels like it's an overstep. It's controlling. Its disrespectful," said the Tesla staff. Is Attendance Monitoring Really Too Much? For the anonymous employee who shared the latest attendance monitoring of Tesla, it is too much for him to handle. Aside from him, other staff also shared their disappointment, saying that Tesla has the right to order employees to return to offices, but tracking their badges is a bad move. On the other hand, other said that it will also be hard for managers and ICs to implement this kind of process. If you want to see more of their concerns, you can visit the official Tesla Blind forum. Recently, Elon Musk announced that Tesla Gigafactory Berlin and Texas are losing billions. Meanwhile, the Tesla Megapacks will soon remove Hawaii's last coal plant to make way for green energy innovation. For more news updates about Tesla and its upcoming activities, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Tesla Lays Off 200 Autopilot Workers in San Mateo-Why? This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The NASA James Webb Space Telescope is on its way to releasing its first set of images for the public to see, and the space agency and the team behind the space surveyor captured a deeper look at the universe. There are massive expectations from James Webb now that it has reached its target location where it would stay and feed the world with new information, beginning with the latest releases this July. NASA James Webb Telescope: Deeper Photos of the Universe Coming (Photo : JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images) Klaus Pontoppidan, project scientist in the Webb mission office, holds a model as he speaks during an interview ahead of the James Web Space Telescopes launch at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 3, 2021. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is on its way to bringing its first set of images of outer space, and this time, it set its sights on the deeper part of the universe, a place that nobody had seen before. According to a Media Teleconference from NASA, it is less than two weeks before the first images from James Webb will arrive for the public to see. According to NASA's Twitter announcement, there was an update from the space team for James Webb regarding this venture, and it addressed the upcoming information that the space telescope gathered. The company's upcoming showcase of the James Webb would reveal the deepest image and information behind for the public's knowledge. Read Also: NASA James Webb Telescope: Exoplanet Covered in Lava Oceans is the Next Target Research What to Expect in the Deeper Photos from James Webb? NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in the teleconference that James Webb captured a deeper photo of the universe, and it is a new sight for all, as this one was never seen before. The space agency aims to bring these images in two weeks, and it would be in early July when the public would have to obtain what it seeks to show regarding the space around us. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope What the NASA James Webb Space Telescope brought the world in the past months is only a taste of its capabilities and entire mission, as the team has more to give the public in future ventures. Last mid-June, the James Webb is only on its way to its target location that will bring a better view of the universe, and it aims to give more information about it and reach farther places. Despite the space telescope only beginning its journeys now and in its early stages, it has already faced a massive challenge to its operations, and it is with the recent micrometeoroid hit it took to its body. James Webb did not sustain significant damages that would hinder its operations for the world, as the spacecraft expected experiences like this. NASA's James Webb is one of the most significant spacecraft for the space agency now and is because it will be the next-generation modern telescope in space to bring much information for them. James Webb is a powerful telescope for the world, and it aims to unravel new information about the universe, particularly for a deeper look than before. Related Article: NASA James Webb Telescope's NIRISS Modes Aims to Capture Crisp Images of the Universe This article is owned by TechTimes Written by Isaiah Richard 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Google released a better version of its "Switch to Android" application that will help migrate users from a different system to the famous OS of the company that focuses on sweet treats for its name. Most of its applications may be for the people coming from Apple's iOS to Android for Pixels, but it now allows many brands to use the service as long as they are in Android 12 or the latest. Google's 'Switch to Android' App, Available for All Android 12 (Photo : Google Official Blog) A significant technology bridge is coming to deliver data from smartphone systems like the iOS to Android, and Google released this new version of the "Switch to Android" app for this venture. It is now available for all users sporting the Android 12 version and is ready to receive the data from their old devices down to their new phones. Google revealed in a new blog post that it is extending its support for more Android 12 devices, aiming to deliver more on their experience for the device. Most of the process is self-explanatory, and it does not need much of a manual override for this, as it is mostly plugged and played for the users. It would be able to transfer files like photos and videos, messages, contacts, app data, and more to the public. Read Also: [Gadget Battle] Best Android Phones of 2022 Is 'Switch to Android' App a Helpful Tool for Migration? Switch to Android is a helpful tool if one is intended to replace their iPhones with Android devices in the present, and it would allow people to do it via USB cables or wirelessly with WiFi. According to Engadget, it comes alongside the new update from Meta for WhatsApp, particularly with its migration of the app data from different devices altogether. Google's Android and its Features Google wants you to experience what Android has to offer, aiming to better one's experience by helping them transition from Apple to its mobile phone operating system. The Mountain View-based company wants people to experience the system, and it developed a tool to help migrate from one phone to another, reducing the manual inputs with "Switch to Android." Android is currently at its version 13.2.1 under the beta experience, giving a sneak peek to all under the trial system that is available on their devices. The Android 13, also known as the "Tiramisu," aims to deliver more on its processes and use better than what the Android 12 offered for users, as it will better suit the Tensor chip and its application for Qualcomm and MediaTek. Users wanting to experience Android will get a chance to switch in the easiest and most convenient way for them, and it is through the use of an app that will help accommodate users despite coming from the iOS. Before, it was only available for specific models of Android, but now everyone under version 12 has a chance to receive the data from other devices. Related Article: Google Finds ISPs Helping Attackers Spread Hermit Spyware on IOS and Android This article is owned by TechTimes Written by Isaiah Richard 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. "If you find a squirter marry her." (Photo : PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images) People walk past the Radio Shack in downtown Washington, DC, March 16, 2017, one of the 365 locations that Radio Shack intends to close by early April due to their second chapter 11 bankruptcy case in two years. That's what RadioShack recently tweeted recently that made a lot of people think that it got hacked, according to Mashable. Gone are the days when RadioShack is the place your dad and even your grandparents buy their stuff. Radioshack has changed-it is now a blockchain company that has launched its own crypto exchange, the Radio Shack Swap. The company also has its own token called $RADIO, currently trading at around a penny. RadioShack is still selling electronics, but if you visit their website, it is now a cryptocurrency platform. And it's because of this why the company started tweeting more hip content. This isn't also the first time RadioShack has gone viral. On June 16, it tweeted, "who else high af rn." Then on June 28, it tweeted "Taking the second half of an edible after feeling nothing from the first half is always a bad idea. This chocolate bar got me out here fighting for my life." Taking the second half of an edible after feeling nothing from the first half is always a bad idea. This chocolate bar got me out here fighting for my life. RadioShack (@RadioShack) June 28, 2022 Also Read: Cryptocurrency Is Like A Ponzi Scheme, Says Indian Reserve Bank Official About REV RadioShack was acquired by Retail Commerce Ventures (REV) in 2020 that saved the company after a tumultuous period. When REV got the company, it only had 400 physical retail locations from its peak of 7,300. REV is owned by Tai Lopez and this isn't his first take in the crypto space. He launched his own line of NFTs earlier this year that got him into controversies. Still, if REV is successful in its crypto vision for RadioShack, it's likely that other companies will follow in its footsteps. Lopez has acquired a number of legacy brands over the years, such as Dressbarn, Modell's Sporting Goods, Pier1, and more. Cryptocurrency Today In a world where everything is moving toward blockchain and cryptocurrency, it's nice to see that even big corporations are taking the initiative to capitalize on this. It's still surprising that a company like Radioshack is on this bandwagon but hey, why not? RadioShack is also one of the many legacy brands that's moving to blockchain. If you're following the space, you might have heard that Kodak is doing something similar by leveraging the power of blockchain technology. Perhaps these established brands are taking this new direction to revitalize their brand. Certainly, it's a novel way to breathe life into a company that has been struggling for years. The increased adoption of blockchain tech and cryptocurrency is just the start. People are actively buying, selling, and trading cryptocurrency, which is encouraging. And it won't stop there. Companies will continue to adopt cryptocurrency and blockchain tech in their businesses. As with any new technology, it's just a matter of time. Related Article: RadioShack's Cryptocurrency Project Targets 'Old School' Customers-Making it Mainstream? This article is owned by TechTimes Written by April Fowell 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A Canadian who previously worked as an IT expert for the Canadian government has pleaded guilty to being a high-level hacker. He also admitted to being a member of a Russian cyber-crime group. Canadian Pleads Guilty to NetWalker Hack On Wednesday, June 30, Sebastien Vachon-Desjardins, from Quebec, Canada, has agreed to plead guilty in a Florida court. The 34-year-old was affiliated with the NetWalker ransomware crew, which has attacked hospitals, businesses, municipalities, universities, and schools. When Vachon-Desjardins was arrested, the authorities discovered that he was in possession of $27 million in Bitcoin, according to TechCrunch. The case represents an example of a successful arrest and prosecution of a hacker working for a Russia-based cyber-crime group. Also Read: New Ransomware Gang GoodWill Feeds 'Poor Kids' with KFC or Pizza Through its Victims The US court documents state that Vachon-Desjardins was one of NetWalker's most prolific affiliates. The evidence gathered by police shows that the suspect went on a hacking spree between April and December 2020 and was able to attack 17 Canadian companies and other businesses around the world. NetWalker operated ransomware as a criminal service business, offering its software and extortion website to people who wish to hack other businesses. Russian Leaders of NetWalker The leaders of NetWalker are still at large, and according to Vachon-Desjardins, they communicate online to ensure that their dangerous malware does not infect Russian computer systems, or those of former Soviet countries, which are now members of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Affiliates like Vachon-Desjardins are responsible for identifying and attacking high-value victims with the group's ransomware. NetWalker developers and affiliates split the ransom or, if their victim does not pay, they share the money that they made from selling the stolen data of the victim, according to BBC. Vachon-Desjardins' Arrest Vachon-Desjardins was arrested in Canada in January 2021 and has subsequently extradited following an investigation in the United States into the cyber-crime group, which dismantled its online operation and uncovered a database of affiliate details. He revealed to the NetWalker group had more than 100 members, including affiliates, who extorted at least $40 million from its victims. In one incident, the hacking group extorted $1.14 million from a university in the United States that is trying to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, according to Security Week. A NetWalker attack on the Dusseldorf University Clinic in September 2020 is also said to have contributed to the death of a patient who had to be relocated to another hospital for their treatment. The victims would find a note on their computers saying that their files are encrypted by NetWalker. The note will also notify the victim that the encryption algorithms of the group are strong and that their files are well protected, and the only way to get the files back is to cooperate and get the decrypter program. Police seized several computers and storage devices, including 719 Bitcoin that is worth around $27 million and cash from Vachon-Desjardins' house. The Canadian hacker is a former IT consultant for Canada's public works and government services department. On his LinkedIn profile, he says he has worked for several government agencies since 2010, and cites expertise in responding to cyber-security incidents. Vachon-Desjardins also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit computer fraud and one count of transmitting a demand in relation to damaging a protected computer, but the court did not proceed with the two charges. The hacker will be sentenced at a later date, and he could face up to 10 years in prison. Related Article: Google Claims Chrome OS Can Combat Ransomware Better Than Windows and MacOS-How Secure Chromebook Is? This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Sophie Webster 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Google is now facing a massive number of GDPR complaints on its end as users signing up for its accounts say that the company is deceptive and invasive of people's data. The signup process leaves the people no choice but to answer and comply with Google in their creation, or they will not get the account they need. The process asks many questions to them, and it is "extensive," says the public. Google Face GDPR Complaints about its Account Creation Process (Photo : Unsplash/Solen Feyissa) Google The General Data Protection Regulation law (GDPR) received complaints from the public regarding Google's account creation, and it talks about how the company is invasive in its processes. Users allegedly claim that Google is asking many things on its signup process, which is supposedly an easy and fast way to get ahold of its features. According to TechCrunch, consumer rights groups are now going against the American company for its ways and observation of the account creation process, coming off as overbearing to the public. According to the complaint, the signup process must be straightforward in its conditions regarding the requirements and procedures for its account access. Read Also: Google is Helping Companies Become Aware of their Carbon Footprint With its New Tool. Google: Is It Deceptive and Invasive in the Signup? The investigation is not yet here, and there is no saying if Google violated the EU's top data protection law that aims to protect consumers from acts like these from Big Tech companies. The consumer group and user's complaints aim to make the internet company liable for its actions that affect the public that creates an account with Google. Google's Many Disputes Now Before you experience the Google Suite and many of its offers via the internet, users need to have a Google account that will help them access the tech company's features online. One of the most essential apps of Google now is Gmail, and the experience brings a lot to the public, including an AI for the system. In the United States, Google is now facing a massive case against it, and it focuses on the data sale of its users to third-party companies that ask for information regarding their subscribers. The investigation is ongoing and aims to determine if these Big Tech companies went on to give others the user data that is against many laws. Now, Google is facing another dispute, but this time it is with the European Union under the GDPR bill. Users should not feel exploited for creating accounts in different services, and it should not ask them about personal matters as it would be for their use of the company's other services. The allegations against Google are massive, and it may have to change many things once it is found guilty of the complaints against the company. Related Article: Google 'Switch to Android' App Available for All Android 12 Phones-Is It Time to Switch? This article is owned by TechTimes Written by Isaiah Richard 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. While G7 participants already have detailed plans for their shift toward renewable energy from 2030 up to 2050, Australia, a G20 participant, also has a timeline of its own. A 30-year roadmap was released, and it estimates an investment of $12.7 billion is needed for the country's plans. Australia's 30-Year Roadmap Towards Using Renewable Energy Revealed According to the story by Gizmodo, a 30-year roadmap for Australia's Integrated System Plan was released by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). The roadmap calls for both an essential as well as efficient investment directed toward the National Energy Market (NEM). This roadmap comes at a significant time since, just recently, the NEM had to be shut down by AEMO. This resulted in the suspension of competitive pricing for energy retailers as well as fixed price settings. Sun Cable's Plans to Build the Biggest Solar Project in the World Before its closure, energy providers were warned regarding drastically increasing its energy prices. The warned energy providers include the likes of Revamped Energy, as consumers were told to look for better deals from other providers. Just recently, a solar power generation plant, Sun Cable, received approval for investment in order to build in the Northern Territory. The company plans to build the "biggest solar project in the world." AEMO's Details Regarding the Shift in Energy AEMO released a tweet detailing their 30-year roadmap regarding investments for the NEM. As per the CEO of AEMO, Daniel Westerman, the country is already experiencing a complex, rapid, and even irreversible transformation when it comes to energy. Developed through deep industry collaboration with over 1,500 stakeholders, AEMO today published its 2022 Integrated System Plan outlining a 30-year roadmap of investments for the National Electricity Market. https://t.co/8PuAijyFxb pic.twitter.com/alkwcgpO4z AEMO (@AEMO_Energy) June 29, 2022 The CEO noted that Integrated System Plan informs the transformation of energy in Australia based on an "optimal development path" regarding essential transmission investments, which will efficiently help enable low-cost, firmed renewable energy to be able to replace the coal generation in existence. The Transition Would Provide a $28 Billion Net Market Benefit and Require a $12.7 Billion Investment The transmission projects are expected to deliver net market benefits amounting to $28 billion, which would be a 2.2 times return of its required investment, $12.7 billion. This is just 7% of the total generation, storage, and network investment in the NEM. As reported by ABC News, AEMO is calling for a total investment of $12.7 billion in order to build out the grid and focus on five different projects, including the Sydney Ring, Humelink, New England REZ, VNI West, Transmission Link, and Marinus Link. Read Also: 'Flying Hotel That Never Lands': AI Sky Cruise Ship Will Use Nuclear Energy to Fly in Luxury NEWM's Future and Its Involvements AEMO, along with its stakeholders, have been considering NEM's future calling it the step-change scenario, which involves "technical innovation, aging power plants, policies, economics, energy security anmd consumer choice." A large part of the move is to be able to shift energy sources towards renewables. More details regarding AEMO's 30-year plan were detailed on its official website. Related Article: G7 Countries Commit to 'Predominantly Decarbonize' Electricity by 2035 Eliminating Coal Power by 2030 This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Urian B. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. T-Mobile's 5G Home Internet service is now expanding to more U.S. cities, specifically Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Colorado. (Photo : Photo by ALASTAIR PIKE/AFP via Getty Images) The T-Mobile logo is seen outside a shop in Washington, DC, on July 26, 2019. - US antitrust authorities approved the USD 26 billion merger of T-Mobile and Sprint in a deal that brings together the third- and fourth-largest wireless operators as the industry moves toward deployment of superfast 5G networks. (Photo by Alastair Pike / AFP) "The Uncarrier is expanding 5G Home Internet to 81 more cities and towns in five states, providing millions with a new option for fast, reliable internet," said the telco company. T-Mobile said that more than 1 million households are still unable to gain internet access in the five states included in their 5G Home Internet expansion effort. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet Expands To More US Cities According to 9To5Mac's latest report, T-Mobile's 5G Home Internet service is really helpful since it allows users to have a cheaper option but quality internet service. If you are a new customer, you can have up to 15 days of a free trial. After that, you can subscribe to the service for only $50 per month. (Photo : Photo credit should read JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images) A Deutsche Telekom T-Mobile logo hangs under pink umbrellas at the stand of the German telecommunications giant at the 2014 CeBIT computer technology trade fair on March 10, 2014 in Hanover, central Germany. Great Britain is partner country of the fair considered as the world's biggest high-tech fair running from March 10 to 14, 2014. Also Read: T-Mobile's New Travel Perks Include Gas Discount at Shell, Unlimited In-Flight Wi-Fi and Fast International Data What makes this interesting is that new users can have this for life. Meanwhile, if you are a Magenta Max plan subscriber, you can get the 5G Home Internet service cheaper, which is $30 every month. But, if ever you decide to cancel this broadband service, T-Mobile will still help you by giving up to $500 credit. Now, if you are living in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, or Iowa and not yet subscribed to T-Mobile's 5G Home Internet service, here are the cities that already have the broadband option. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet Expansion Availability T-Mobile's official press release confirmed that a total of 81 U.S. cities now have their budget-friendly internet service. These include the following: Oklahoma Ada Ardmore Bartlesville Duncan Durant Missouri Branson Fort Leonard Wood Hannibal Jefferson City Columbia Iowa Atchison Coffeyville Dodge City Emporia Hutchinson Lawrence These are just some of the cities that can already access T-Mobile's 5G Home Internet service. If you want to see the complete list, you can visit this link. To ensure that your location already has T-Mobile's 5G Home Internet service, you need to visit this link. After that, you must click the "Check Availability" button. Once you are on the next page, you are required to provide your physical home address and phone number. After that, just wait for T-Mobile's call or text updates. Meanwhile, T-Mobile's 5G tech now allows users to install movies in just a few seconds. On the other hand, T-Mobile's $95,000 prize money was received by students with startup ideas. For more news updates about T-Mobile and other telco giants, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: T-Mobile Voice Over 5G Rolls Out! Here's Where it is Available This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. (Photo : Photo by VERONIQUE DUPONT/AFP via Getty Images) Tesla Chairman and CEO Elon Musk unveils the new "Semi" electric Truck to buyers and journalists on November 16, 2017 in Hawthorne, California, near Los Angeles. This week, a rare Tesla Semi electric truck emerged from hiding to transport pre-assembled Superchargers to the Laguna Seca racetrack in California. Tesla Semi Truck Seen by the Public After Years of Delay The company hardly ever makes public appearances with the electric semi-truck because the Tesla Semi program is currently three years behind schedule. While it awaits the arrival of its 4680 battery cells in bigger volumes, the company only created a small number of them at a facility in Nevada, and it hasn't yet shifted to mass manufacturing. Although Tesla has made strides in establishing low-volume production of an electric semi-truck in Nevada, the automaker confirmed last year that customer deliveries of the Tesla Semi had been delayed. New prototypes have been sighted in Gigafactory Nevada in recent months. Nevertheless, Tesla has consistently asserted that it will be its own best client when it comes to the Tesla Semi, and it is already making good use of the few electric trucks it possesses. The manufacturer has previously delivered Model 3 cars to clients using its Tesla Semi electric truck. More recently, the company invested $13 million in equity to purchase auto-hauling trucks and trailers. They published some photographs of one of its prototype semi-electric trucks carrying Tesla automobiles last month. In addition to this, Tesla has published a video of the electric truck being used to transport pre-assembled Superchargers to the Californian racetrack Laguna Seca: Installing pre-assembled Superchargers at Laguna Seca pic.twitter.com/TZ9DkwTpqM Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) June 29, 2022 Previously, Tesla used pre-built Supercharger stations to speed up the rollout of the fast-charging stations. By the end of 2021, the company had increased from having 23,277 Superchargers at 2,564 stations to having 31,498 Superchargers at 3,476 stations. That is increasing at a rate of 35% annually. Tesla once installed a new Supercharger in just eight days by shipping the chargers in a pre-fabricated system with the charging stalls and cabinets resting on concrete footings. The company is also constructing a station at the Laguna Seca racetrack. This track is well-liked by EV owners, particularly Tesla performance car owners in California who cannot push their cars to the limit on public roads. Tesla owners frequently utilize the racetrack as a yardstick for the highest-performance electric car models, such as when the Model S Plaid broke the EV record last year. A fast-charging station at the track will be very helpful because electric vehicles operate at their peak when they are fully charged. And now, perhaps for the first time, an electric vehicle-the Tesla Semi electric truck-delivered the charging station for electric automobiles. Tesla Speeds Amidst Series of Layoffs All of these advancements, however, take place against the backdrop of Tesla's enormous layoffs. According to those familiar with the situation, Tesla recently laid off hundreds of personnel on its autopilot team when the electric car company closed a California site. According to the person privy to the report, the majority of the roughly 200 employees let go were hourly workers, which came as a surprise considering that Tesla had previously reported headcount reductions aimed at paid roles. Elon Musk has revealed a strategy to increase hourly employment. Teams in San Mateo were assigned to analyze client car data relating to Autopilot driver-assistance technologies and doing data labeling. Many of the employees were data annotation specialists, all hourly roles, according to one of the sources who asked not to be identified because they were talking about private information. Prior to the layoffs, the office had roughly 350 employees, some of whom had already been relocated to a nearby site in recent weeks, according to the sources. The latest moves mark a shift after a surge in hiring in recent years to fortify Tesla's position as the EV market leader. The company, now based in Austin, Texas, had grown to about 100,000 employees globally as it built new factories in Austin and Berlin. Related Article: Polestar is a Worthy Tesla Contender, But Investors Should Wait Due to Troubling IPO 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. San Jose-based startup Drako Motors announced today the new production of a so-called "Super-SUV" that affords a whopping 2,000 horsepower and boasts a 1.9 second 0 to 60. The firm itself likens this beast of an EV to a cosmic craft, as they state in a press release to TechCrunch it feels "less like a car and more like a spaceship." EV SUVs have no sooner become a mainstay in the industry, witnessed via the likes of Ferrari, Hyundai, Mustang, Volkswagen, and plenty more. Yet, as Drako motors explicitly state, the Dragon Super-SUV is something of an outlier, witnessed most prominently in its DriveOS Quad Motor Powertrain, which is nestled alongside Drako's DriveOS architecture. The Dragon not only has three suspension stages but also is bolstered by an individual torque control. On the SUV's official website, Drako details the vehicle's entire being "sculpted almost entirely from carbon fiber," and that the Dragon interior is one with "Europe's finest leather, exuding luxury and comfort." It fits a total of five passengers and has a so-called "world-beating luxury and performance." Related Article: Polestar is a Worthy Tesla Contender But Investors Should Wait Due to Troubling IPO Little else is known about Drako's forthcoming Super SUV. According to TechCrunch, which spoke with a company spokesman, the SUV will be "priced competitively." The firm's previous iteration, the Drako GTE, came in at a whopping $1.25 million and remained among the most prominent electric supercars on the block. All but a mere 25 exist in the world, and Drako has remained tight-lipped on specific sales data behind its GTE. As mentioned previously, SUVs have no sooner flooded the market. While not every iteration has been met with immense promise, witnessed via the likes of Ford's Mustang Mach-E, which was hit with stop-sale due to safety defects earlier this month. Additionally, Jaguar is slated to unveil not one but three high-end electric SUVs by 2025, and Cadillac just launched its 2023 Lyriq EV, which has already been awarded some stellar reviews. In other words, Drako and its Dragon Super-SUV have some tough competition ahead of them, one that may well be too tough to handle in an economic climate that is somewhat shaky. Its Dragon might be the firm's leap into the big time, mirroring similar tech gurus like Tesla and Polestar, but if it can make that leap remains to be seen, given little available information existing on the firm's GTE. Drako explained that more information about the Dragon Super-SUV would be unveiled later this year, and vehicle reservations are coming soon. The company's website also features a registration form for those interested in reserving the Dragon. Read Also: 'Flying Car:' LEO Flight's Alpha eVTOL Hypercar Can FLY In Style 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Apple is reportedly releasing a second-gen iPad which will have an OLED display. In order for the Cupertino firm to launch this upcoming gadget, there's a need to look for a potential supplier of the OLED technology. According to the reports, Samsung Display and Ulvac are currently working with one another to bring the Gen 8.5 deposition machine, which will be used for the new iPad. Apple Suppliers Now Working on OLED-Equipped iPad (Photo : Henry Ascroft from Unsplash) Apple suppliers for the second-gen OLED iPads will reportedly start the price negotiation. As discovered by The Elec, Samsung Display and Ulvac from Japan will finally settle the negotiation regarding the pricing of the OLED deposition equipment. This technology will be placed for Apple's upcoming iPad. According to the article, the South Korean tech giant will be finalizing its decision about the negotiation in July. At the time, it will supply Apple with the needed OLED panels for the next-gen tablets and laptops. Speaking of the Gen 8.5 substrates, it's deemed to be more economical than the Gen 6 substrates that are currently contained on smartphones. Regarding the deposition machines, Samsung Display wants a price of nearly $310 million (400 billion won). It says that it's the only vendor that can purchase the said machines for the iPad. Meanwhile, Ulvac wants around $540 million (700 billion won) for every unit of the machines. Related Article: Apple iPad OLED 2022: Next Year Models to Receive New Display, Leaving Behind IPS LCD a.k.a. 'Liquid Retinas' Mass Production of Gen 8.5 OLED Panels In another story from Macrumors, Samsung Display could likely roll out the mass production for the Gen 8.5 OLED displays in the latter part of 2024. Over the past year, the iPhone maker has made a huge transition when it comes to the displays of its devices. On its MacBooks and iPads, it shifted to using mini-LED. However, it's not the end goal of improvement for the company. In the next few years, we expect that the OLED will be used for certain products. According to the tech site, OLED panels boost the contrast ratio of the device. Thus, it paves the way to ever-lasting battery life for Apple's products. Additionally, it relies on self-emitting pixels, and backlighting is no longer needed here. As we see, the next-gen Apple Watch and iPhones have been utilizing this special display for a while. In the past, Apple sought help from Samsung and LG Display when it came to the Gen 6 OLED. The 12.9-inch and 11-inch iPad Pro models had taken advantage of this technology. Using a more advanced OLED panel is the way to go for Apple if they want to compete with other handheld brands. If the supposed launch of the OLED displays for the iPads will take place in 2024, we expect the next release to happen in 2025. Read Also: Apple: 2022 MacBook Air M2 to Release by July 15 According to Sources This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joseph Henry 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. I didnt expect it at all: Polyakova - on being elected to the FINA commission, leaving for the USA at the age of 17 and her attitude to the fight for medals A birding tour group member uses her binoculars to search for birds high in the trees. Musks presence on Twitter is so forceful that even his absence is noticed: He hasnt tweeted since June 21, leaving his admirers resorting to online speculation about the billionaires whereabouts. Typically, though, Musk serves up what his audience wants, emulating and fine-tuning Trumps strategy to build his fan base and brands. Musk and Trump are both effective at flooding the zone, said Inga Kristina Trauthig, a senior research fellow at The University of Texas at Austin. They hammer straightforward opinions repeatedly, she said, whether its Musks recent fixation with decreases in global birth rates or Trumps frequent claims of a deep-state conspiracy working against his agenda. I call Twitter a typewriter. I go: Watch this. Boom, I press it, and within two seconds, We have breaking news. Donald Trump, 2019 Flooding the zone is an approach popularised by Steve Bannon, Trumps onetime political strategist. In 2018, Bannon told author Michael Lewis that the real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit. With this kind of onslaught, accuracy is less important than persistence. Their narratives are not nuanced. Theyre not complicated, said Trauthig, whose research focuses on how emerging technologies are used in political communication. Simple stories Those simple stories often frame the men as victims of politically motivated attacks, often timed to unflattering news stories. Musk, for example, speculated in May that Democrats would unleash a dirty tricks campaign against him because of his support of Republicans and the next day, Business Insider reported allegations of sexual misconduct against him, which he dismissed as a hit piece designed to interfere with the Twitter acquisition. Trumps social media habit had singularly high-stakes consequences, with his tweets used to disseminate misinformation and to attempt to overturn his failed re-election bid. Still, Musks missives have a certain importance, shaping the investment decisions and world view of his acolytes. Both found massive online reach, with Trump notching 88.9 million Twitter followers before he was kicked off the platform, and Musk counting some 100.3 million followers. Musks Twitter acumen evokes Trumps in another pointed way: He has a penchant for seizing the daily news cycle and reframing it. For Trump, tweets were often simple media commentary he watched cable news voraciously, and delighted in mocking the ratings of the Oscars and the NBA. Others, though, were huge news: He fired his secretary of state by Twitter and even tweeted his own Covid-19 case. I call Twitter a typewriter, Trump said in 2019. He recalled one tweet declaring that Israel has sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a post that bucked a longstanding US position. I go: Watch this. Boom, I press it, and within two seconds, We have breaking news. Musks tweets can blot out chatter about Teslas plunging stock price and his Twitter deal or any effort to wriggle out of it. One Sunday in June, for example, he tweeted Fathers Day wishes, said he was still buying Dogecoin and that he feels swindled every time he drinks LaCroix sparkling water. Sowing distrust Both men use the platform instinctively and gravitate to topics that will thrive there. Trump amplified conservative media to stoke feuds that underpin the US culture war. Musk, in between announcements about his companies, has weighed in on remote work, video games and the media, which he accuses of skewing too negative. He and Trump have sought to cultivate followings that trust them and distrust mainstream news outlets. Flooding the zone with simple stories: Musk has indicated he would welcome Trump back to the social platform. Credit:Evan Vucci Followers closely hang on every word. Musk tweets cryptically, such as in April when he tweeted a blank space for a word followed by is the Night spurring a flurry of speculation and sleuthing about whether the first word was tender, indicating he planned to make a tender offer for Twitter. Trump was less coy, but his tweets were still heavily dissected, such as his infamous unfinished one about negative press covfefe. Musk, Tesla and a representative for Trump didnt respond to requests for comment. Notorious tweets Still, their impulsivity online has sometimes blown up spectacularly. Trump lost his Twitter megaphone in January 2021 in the aftermath of the fatal swarming of the Capitol, when the company determined his tweets violated its policies around glorifying violence. The scope of Trumps involvement in the rally is still coming to light. A former aide testified on Tuesday that Trump urged security to let armed people into the protest, demanded he join them at the Capitol and grabbed at the wheel of the presidential SUV to redirect it. Loading Musk landed himself in trouble with a 2018 tweet in which he falsely claimed to have lined up financing to take Tesla private. That led to an agreement with the Securities & Exchange Commission in which he and Tesla each agreed to pay $US20 million in civil fines over the tweet. More recently, Musks own workforce has chafed at his online theatrics. On June 16, SpaceX fired employees who were behind an open letter condemning the behaviour of Musk, their CEO, as a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us, particularly in recent weeks. About 4.3 billion tonnes of carbon could result from a 50-year extension to Australias most polluting project but only 8 per cent of that figure could be subject to the countrys net-zero by 2050 target. The Woodside-run North West Shelf natural gas project outside Karratha in the north-west of Western Australia is the single largest industrial emitter for Australia in 2020-21, according to the Clean Energy Regulator. The states independent Environmental Protection Authority, which advises the WA government, has recommended the state approve it to continue running until 2070 as long as the project steadily reduces operating emissions. Woodside is only allowed to produce 128.2 million tonnes of net carbon emissions over 50 years as part of the EPAs conditions for approval. Without intervention the project in the Pilbara region would produce 385 million tonnes of carbon over its extension lifetime through production, otherwise known as scope 1 emissions, at the Karratha Gas Plant. Its worth noting that companies in the UK trial have opted to participate, meaning leaders at the firms support the idea and have sold employees on it. But beyond the trial, companies are increasingly using flexible work arrangements. A recent study in the UK found advertisements for four-day week positions jumped by 90 per cent in June from the previous year. Anna Yukhtenko, a 30-year-old senior games analyst at Hutch, said shes getting the same amount of work done and the four-day schedule is a big part of why shes sticking around at a time when her skills are in demand and she could switch jobs. Her colleague Chris Hohbein, 39, has a 90-minute commute from Cambridge. The new schedule means more time with his son and he said he feels more refreshed after the three-day weekends. In general, people work less these days than they did in past decades. But perceptions around hard work and dedication to the job are hard to shake, particularly in the US. For many, being at your desk for long hours is a sign of productivity. And with the US economy in turmoil, some companies may seize on that to take a harder line on bringing employees back to the office. Elon Musk recently said remote work was no longer acceptable and that employees should be in the office at least 40 hours a week. The push back to the office is bumping up against pressure from employees who want flexible schedules. In Silicon Valley, the ride-sharing app Bolt made the move to a four-day schedule, while crowdfunding platform Kickstarter launched a trial in recent months. In Japan, industrial conglomerate Panasonic introduced an optional four-day schedule this January, while UK consumer goods company Unilever did a year-long trial in New Zealand. Minneapolis-based Sarah Goff-Dupont, 43, got approval to experiment with a four-day schedule last summer, along with several of her colleagues at Atlassian, a software company. Packing all of her work between Monday and Thursday was initially hard, but eventually paid off, with more time for her two kids, who are now 8 and 11. My first thought after reading your question was that your negative and grumpy feelings are completely understandable and justified. I wonder whether its not you and other frustrated workers that have to change, but your organisation and other companies doing the same thing. My workplace seems to regularly launch new staff values and organisation goals. I find it hard not to adopt an attitude of we have seen and done this all before. What are your tips for avoiding these negative and grumpy feelings? I asked Dr Wouter Vleugels, a senior lecturer at the Deakin Business School, to offer his advice. He told me that, for a lot of organisations, the gap between how they see themselves and what they really are can be vast. That creates problems with the process youve described. Many organisations essentially struggle to understand their own core values and culture, and what it is that truly sets them apart from their competitors. What we often see is some sort of a disconnect between a companys aspired or espoused values and their actual values. Many organisations like to think they score high on diversity, integrity, being human-centred. However, discrepancies often emerge between what managers believe their organisational culture is like, and how this culture is truly experienced on the work floor through company processes, procedures, daily interactions with organisational representatives, etcetera. Vleugels says that one simple way for everyone to avoid this feeling of futility is for organisations to practise what they preach. Ideally, organisations present themselves in an accurate way. Recruitment and selection research indicates that if employees are not being given a realistic preview of what the work environment is like including the organisations values and goals they risk becoming disappointed and disillusioned a few months into the job. Its something we call the honeymoon hangover effect. Tens of thousands of NSW public and Catholic school teachers have walked off the job together for the first time in decades, demanding reduced workloads and a pay rise above the 3 per cent on offer. It is the third time this year NSW teachers have gone on strike, vowing to take their fight for higher wages all the way to next years state election. Thousands of Catholic and public school teachers marched to state parliament on Thursday. Credit:Brook Mitchell The education department said it estimated about 550 public schools were closed on Thursday as a result of the 24-hour strike, while at least another 1000 faced significant disruption. About 20,000 teachers marched down Macquarie Street to state parliament on Thursday morning in the first joint rally involving the Catholic and public sector since 1996. The NSW Teachers Federation said thousands more marched in regional locations including 3000 in Newcastle and 2500 in Wollongong. Mark Elkhouri thought that creative idol Kanye West following his College Dropout Burgers business on Instagram could be a stamp of approval, but then a letter from Wests lawyers arrived showing the artist was far from rapt. The cease and desist notice has forced Elkhouri to paint over a mural of the US rapper, also known as Ye, at the store in Melbournes north-east and erase a crowned teddy bear logo inspired by artwork from Wests debut College Dropout album. College Dropout burger owner Mark Elkhouri has received a cease and desist letter from Kanye Wests lawyers. Mark was forced to paint over a mural, change the name of the burgers and change the logo at his Ivanhoe business. Credit:Joe Armao The Ivanhoe store is also abandoning menu names playing on West song titles, including a fried chicken burger called Golddigger, a breakfast burger named Good Morning, and a Cheezus burger named after album Yeezus. Its pretty hard being a Kanye West fan with this situation, we have to respect his wishes and move forward, Elkhouri said. Victoria and NSW will pay a huge economic and political price for the COVID-19 pandemic, losing potentially hundreds of millions of dollars worth of GST and seats in parliament to other parts of the country. New population estimates for the nations two largest states show a shortfall of 101,000 Victorians and 95,000 people across NSW, paving the way for a re-jig of the $79 billion GST pool and a loss of federal representation. More than 100,000 residents have left Melbourne in recent years. Credit:Scott McNaughton If Victoria does not turn around the population crash it suffered through COVID-19, it could lose an unprecedented two federal electorates in boundary redistributions, while NSW is on track to lose one. Western Australia could reclaim the electorate it lost before the 2021 election as well as millions in additional GST payments. The Australian Bureau of Statistics this week released the 2021 census. That information was used to update the nations estimated population as at June last year at 25.6 million. This was 50,000 lower than the bureau had expected when it last updated its forecasts. I would like to remind you of the presidents words that the Russian Armed Forces do not work with civilian targets, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. Video of the attack showed the charred remains of buildings in Serhiivka, about 50 kilometres south-west of Odesa city. Ukrainian media said a resort area was also hit. Ukrainian authorities said Russian missile attacks on residential buildings in the port city of Odesa killed more than a dozen people. Credit:AP It came after Russia said it had decided to withdraw from Snake Island as a gesture of goodwill to show Moscow was not obstructing UN attempts to open a humanitarian corridor allowing grains to be shipped from Ukraine. The Ukrainian military claimed it had forced the Russians to flee the outcrop in two small speedboats following a barrage of Ukrainian artillery and missile strikes. The exact number of troops was not disclosed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailing the strategic win: It does not yet guarantee security. It does not yet ensure that the enemy will not come back, he said in his nightly video address. But this significantly limits the actions of the occupiers. Step by step, we will push them back from our sea, our land and our sky. In contrast, however, Ukrainian forces were desperately hanging on against Russias superior firepower in the city of Lysychansk. This image shows a burning pier and buildings on the northern end of Snake Island, in the Black Sea, on Thursday. Credit:Maxar Technologies via AP Russian artillery shelled from different directions while the Russian army approached from several sides, regional Governor Serhiy Gaidai said on Ukrainian television. The superiority in firepower of the occupiers is still very much in evidence, Zelensky said. They have simply brought in all their reserves to hit us. A senior Ukrainian military official, Oleksiy Gromov, earlier said Kyiv was planning to deploy troops to Snake Island, but did not specify a timeline. Loading At the moment, we control [the island] with the help of our weapons: long-range artillery, rocket units and aviation, Gromov said. Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Lieutenant general Igor Konashenkov said the withdrawal was intended to demonstrate that Moscow wasnt hampering UN efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor for exporting agricultural products from Ukraine. But that was before Fridays strike on the apartment building in Odesa. Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of blockading Ukrainian ports to prevent exports of grain, contributing to a global food crisis. Russia has denied that and said Ukraine needs to remove mines from the Black Sea to allow safe navigation. Turkey has sought to broker a deal to unblock grain exports. But the talks have dragged on, with Kyiv expressing fear that Russia will exploit the removal of the mines to attack Odesa. Snake Island sits along a busy shipping lane. Russia took control of it in the opening days of the war in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa. Ukraines biggest port is crucial for shipping grain to Africa, the Middle East and other parts of the world. Its also the headquarters of the countrys navy. This WorldView-1 satellite black and white image shows the southern end of Snake Island with a destroyed tower and burned vegetation in several locations. Credit:Maxar Technologies via AP The island shrouded in myth since ancient times early on took on legendary significance for Ukraines resistance to the Russian invasion, when Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back, Go [expletive] yourself. Ukraine has celebrated the story with patriotic fervour, issuing a postage stamp in commemoration. The islands Ukrainian defenders were captured by the Russians but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange. After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there and its air defences. Loading At a NATO summit in Madrid, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson billed the Russian pullout as a sign that Ukraine will prevail in the war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the end it will prove impossible for Putin to hold down a country that will not accept occupation, Johnson said. Meanwhile, Moscow kept up its push to take control of the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. It is focused on the city of Lysychansk, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in Luhansk province. Russian troops and their separatist allies control 95 per cent of Luhansk and about half of Donetsk, the two provinces that make up the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas. Ukraine said the Russians were shelling Lysychansk and clashing with Ukrainian defenders around an oil refinery on its edges. Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said Russian reconnaissance units trying to enter Lysychansk on Wednesday were repelled. He said the Russians were trying to block a highway used to deliver supplies, and fully encircle the city. The Russians have thrown practically all their forces to seize the city, Haidai said, but denied that Lysychansk had been encircled. Nevertheless, Haidai noted that as of Thursday evening, evacuations from the city were impossible due to heavy shelling and mined access roads. Earlier, a representative of the Ukrainian military said it was not planning a retreat from Lysychansk. Loading Pointing to a portion of the law allowing the EPA to regulate pollutants that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare, Justice Elena Kagan wrote in her dissenting opinion: Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases fit that description. Erin Tinerella, who lives in Chicago but is in Washington DC for an internship, protests against the US Supreme Courts decision. Credit:AP Was a carbon rule already on the books for power plants? Nope. And thats what made this case so strange from the start. During then president Barack Obamas last year in office, the Supreme Court blocked his administrations rule to cut power plants carbon, called the Clean Power Plan, from taking effect. The Trump administration replaced the plan with a more lenient version, but it, too, was blocked by an appellate court on his last day in office. Normally, judges wait for regulators to act. But this high court decided to hear the case before the Biden administration could weigh in with its own proposal. Twenty years ago, theres no way that court would ever have taken this case, said Sambhav Sankar, a senior vice president at the environmental law group Earthjustice. Its just not a real case. Do the companies that operate coal-fired power plants want this? Not necessarily. A group of electric utilities serving more than 40 million people, some of which have divested from coal, told the court its decision to even hear the case is premature and untethered to actual circumstances driving change in the power sector. In reality, utilities have been closing coal plants over the past decade in the face of competition from cheaper forms of energy such as gas-fired generators, solar farms and wind turbines. In their own brief, Apple, Tesla and other major tech firms investing in renewable energy agree that stable, nationwide rules on emissions are needed to accelerate that trend. Regardless of what the decision looks like, we do not anticipate much near-term impact on the power sector, Christine Tezak, managing director of the independent research group ClearView Energy Partners, wrote in a note on the court case. But many companies in the coal business are firmly on the side of West Virginia, which led the court case against the EPA. A trade group called Americas Power which consists of coal-mining firms, barge operators and equipment manufacturers as well as some electric utilities argued in its own brief that the EPA must be reined in since coal is necessary for keeping energy prices low and the grid reliable. This is not a case in which business is on one side, to be sure, said Jonathan Adler, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University. What does the Biden administration do now? Good question. Both the White House and the EPA said the administration is reviewing the decision. Our lawyers will study the ruling carefully and we will find ways to move forward under federal law, White House spokesman Abdullah Hasan said in a statement. But EPA officials have already signalled they have other tools for cutting pollution from power plants. The agency, for instance, is working on new rules to compel power plants to cut down the emissions of smog-forming pollution blown across state lines and to stop toxic contaminants in ash pits from leaching into drinking water. Taken together, the new regulations may make running coal plants more costly to operate. But the agencys ability to meaningfully and directly regulate carbon dioxide the chief driver of global warming from power plants smokestacks is now kneecapped after the Supreme Courts decision. What does this decision mean for the planet? It puts the country even further off track from Bidens goal of running the US power grid on clean energy by 2035 and making the entire economy carbon-neutral by 2050. Local efforts on global warming only go so far. About four in 10 Americans live in a state, city or territory that has committed to reaching 100 per cent clean electricity by the middle of the century at the latest, according to an analysis by the League of Conservation Voters. Even achieving Bidens nationwide aims alone wouldnt stop climate change, as the United States is responsible for one-seventh of annual carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels. China has double the share. But Biden has always aimed to lead by example when it comes to countries cutting emissions. That kind of diplomacy just got harder, especially with world leaders scrambling for new sources of fossil fuels after Russias invasion of Ukraine. The United States Air Force is issuing this notice to advise the public of its intent to seek comments on the release of the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Sentinel (formerly known as the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, or GBSD) basing action and Minuteman III demilitarization at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming; Malmstrom AFB, Montana; and Minot AFB, North Dakota. The public hearings will provide the public the opportunity to understand and comment on the potential environmental consequences of the proposed Sentinel (GBSD) weapon system, which will modernize and replace Minuteman III flight systems, weapon system command and control, and launch systems (including silos, control centers, and other ground infrastructure). It will also address Sentinel (GBSD) and Minuteman III support locations at Hill AFB, Utah; the Utah Test and Training Range, Utah; and Camp Guernsey, Wyoming. "As the Air Force celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, the Minuteman III Weapon System has been and will continue to be integral to our Nation's defense," said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. "As we look ahead to the next 75 years, investing in nuclear modernization is as relevant as ever and we are committed to transitioning to the Sentinel, which will ensure our Nation is ready to provide strategic deterrence for tomorrow." The public hearings will be used to further identify issues to be addressed in the environmental analysis. To effectively define the full range of issues and concerns evaluated in the EIS, the Air Force invites participation and comments from interested local, state, and federal agencies and interested members of the public. The Air Force plans to hold seven in-person public hearings at the dates, local times and locations below: * July 19, 5:30 pm: MHA Nation Powwow Grounds, New Town, N.D., 58763 * July 21, 5:30-8:30 pm: Minot Municipal Auditorium, Old Armory Room, 430 3rd Avenue Southwest, Minot, N.D., 58701 * July 26, 5:30-8:30 pm: Mansfield Center for the Performing Arts, Missouri Room, 2 Park Drive South, Great Falls, Mont., 59401 * July 28, 3-6 pm: Central Montana Fair, Fergus County Fairgrounds, 153 Fairgrounds Road, Lewistown, Mont., 59457 * Aug. 2, 5:30-8:30 pm: Kimball Junior/Senior High School, 901 South Nadine Street Kimball, Neb., 69145 * Aug. 3, 5:30-8:30 pm: Prairie High School, County Road 133, Raymer, Colo., 80742 * Aug. 4, 5:30-8:30 pm: Laramie County Community College, ANB Bank Leadership Center (inside the Clay Pathfinder Building), 1400 East College Drive, Cheyenne, Wyo., 82007 Additionally, there will be two virtual public hearings via Zoom. To register for the virtual hearings, visit https://www.gbsdeis.com/. Registration will be available starting July 1. . Aug. 8, 5-8 pm CDT . Aug. 9, 5-8 pm MDT More information on Sentinel (GBSD) and MMIII demilitarization EIS environmental impact analysis process can be found on the project website at https://www.gbsdeis.com/ and https://www.afgsc.af.mil/Sentinel-GBSD/. The project website can also be used to submit comments. Comments will be accepted at any time during the public hearings process. However, to ensure the Air Force has sufficient time to consider public input in the preparation of the final EIS, comments should be submitted by Aug. 15. Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images You know whats in high demand these days? Names for skin-care brands, apparently. Earlier this month, Hailey Bieber was sued after naming her new skin-care collection Rhode by a clothing brand of the same name. And now, Kim Kardashian is facing a similar suit. Her new skin-care line, SKKN, which launched earlier in June, recently became the subject of a lawsuit accusing her of infringing on the trademarked name of a Brooklyn-based Black-owned small business called Beauty Concepts, which provides salon services under the title SKKN+. The dispute first surfaced a year ago when Beauty Concepts founder Cydnie Lunsford sent a cease and desist letter to Kim after her corporation, Kimsaprincess, filed trademark applications for SKKN by Kim and SKKN. According to the letter, SKKN+ has operated under the name since 2018 and filed a trademark application on March 28, 2021 two days before Kim filed one for SKKN by Kim. (Her application for SKKN was filed a few months later, on July 9.) At the time, Kims lawyer, Michael G. Rhodes, responded to the letter, telling TMZ that our hat is off to Ms. Lunsford but the question at hand is one of trademark law and weve not done anything deserving of legal action by her, adding that he was hopeful that we can smooth things over once both sides speak. TMZ also noted that Kims team locked down SKKN.com and @SKKN social-media handles in December 2020. Now, per TMZ, Beauty Concepts has filed a lawsuit accusing Kim of infringing on its trademarked name. Per TMZs review of the legal documents, the lawsuit claims Kims new brand is confusing its customers and that her team ignored the requests it made in its cease and desist letter. The lawsuit also reportedly emphasizes that Beauty Concepts is a small Black-owned business that managed to open up a brick-and-mortar store after surviving the pandemic. In response, Rhodes released a lengthy statement to TMZ, which called Beauty Concepts lawsuit a shakedown effort and provided his own account of the events: When Beauty Concepts sent its cease and desist letter, it was a one-person shop offering facials from a single Brooklyn location with no signage and, to his knowledge, sold no products under the SKKN+ name. Rhodes says his team declined to drop the name after the cease and desist letter, and Beauty Concepts tried to challenge the trademark application at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office but was rejected under the premise that skkn just means skin. Rhodes claims his team tried to find a solution several times, but Beauty Concepts kept demanding a lot of money. He concluded that the lawsuit is less about the law of trademarks and more about trying to leverage a settlement by threatening to harm Ms. Kardashians name and reputation. Speaking of Kims reputation: Considering her long history of appropriating Black culture, ignoring the requests of a Black-owned brand doesnt exactly come as a shock. Twitter users have also pointed out that SKKN by Kim bears a striking resemblance to the name of Lori Harveys skin-care line, SKN by LH. This isnt the first time Kim has been asked to rename one of her business endeavors. In 2019, the city of Kyoto urged her to rethink naming her shapewear brand Kimono, explaining the cultural significance of the garment. Sounds like it might be time to get her ass up and think of a new name? Stay in touch. Get the Cut newsletter delivered daily Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. Press Release June 29, 2022 De Lima: Hontiveros is best suited to lead the Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima congratulated Sen. Risa Hontiveros for her assumption as the leader of the opposition after Vice President Leni Robredo passed the leadership to her. De Lima, a social justice and human rights champion, maintained that Hontiveros's impeccable integrity, gravitas, courage, character and passion are what the Filipino people truly need amid these trying times. "Congratulations on your oath-taking as a re-elected Senator and on your assumption as our new leader in the opposition, as declared by no less than VP Leni Robredo," she said in a handwritten letter to Hontiveros. "These milestones have come at a most opportune time in our nation's political history, a propitious period which the ancient Greeks called 'kairos'. And, I cannot think of anyoneother than youwho is best suited to embody the role of a genuine 'fiscalizer' in the Senate, and a leading light of the democratic opposition," she added. Last June 27, three days before she steps down from office, Robredo administered the oath of office of Hontiveros, passing the baton of leading the opposition to the latter who emerged victorious in her reelection bid. "You are now the highest elected official sa oposisyon, and lahat kami masaya na ikaw 'yung natitirang humahawak ng ating bandila," Robredo told Hontiveros. De Lima said she is "100% certain" that Hontiveros will not only succeed, but also excel in her newly minted mission. "The Risa that we've known all these yearschampion and exemplar of social justice, gender equality, good governance, peace and development-will be the same Risa (plus, plus!) that we will respect and admire even more in the days that lie ahead," De Lima said. The former justice secretary further thanked Hontiveros for the things she does for the country and the Filipinos. "Thank you, Risa, for all that you've been doing and everything that you'll do for our country and people. Maswerte ako that you are my friend and sister. Please be assured of my steadfast support and fervent prayers," she said. "Tanggapin mo ang aking yakap at laging pag-aalala sa 'yo. May God bless, keep and sustain you. Please take care always," she added. Yahoo! Lifestyle recently reported that producers had approached multiple women whose partners had recently passed, asking if they wanted to apply for the dating show. Melissa, a friend of one of the alleged widows, slammed the show saying: They are looking for a widow and messaging all the ladies that have and are going through this trauma, and some are very recent. Nine has since put this rumour to rest by releasing a statement to Daily Mail Australia, denying the claims. In a very short response, the networks statement read: The casting of the next season of MAFS is not targeting those who have recently lost their partner. The Ohio Court Backlog Reduction Program is making $10 million in grants available to help courts throughout the state process quicker their backlog of cases. (Courtesy Ohio Department of Public Safety) $10 Million to Help Ohio Courts Process Backlog of Cases Quicker Ohio is spending up to $10 million in a move to reduce the backlog of court cases that has piled up mostly because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Governor Mike DeWine announced on June 29 the launch of the Ohio Court Backlog Reduction Program, a new project aimed at helping local courts process the increasing numbers of court cases quicker. The Office of Criminal Justice Serviceswhich is under the Ohio Department of Public Safetyhas begun accepting applications for the new program. A total of $10 million is available to help courts reduce the time-to-disposition of pending matters, remove barriers to timely resolution of cases, and apply creative solutions to improve case flow. This new grant program is part of Ohios comprehensive approach toward supporting every aspect of our criminal justice system, DeWine said in a statement. Court caseloads are increasing as local law enforcement works aggressively to hold criminals accountable. We want to help our courts handle current backlogs and prevent future case accumulations. The program is part of the $250 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which DeWine and the Ohio General Assembly dedicated to first responders last year to help address issues caused by the pandemic, including increases in violent crime, and decreases in staffing levels in criminal justice fields. Projects eligible for government money include virtual competency assessment teams, and technology to simplify bench warrant processing. Grants can also be used to recruit court staff, fill vacancies, or reinstate positions that had been eliminated due to the pandemic. Those who are eligible for one or two-year projects that can go back as far as April 1, include municipal or county courts, courts of common pleas, domestic relations, juvenile, and probate or appellate courts. Cases in courts have been postponed or pushed back at least three times since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. It happened again as recently as January 2021 when northeast Ohios Cuyahoga County experienced an increase in Covid cases, according to information from the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. This has resulted in cases taking a longer expected amount of time for defendants and victims across the Greater Cleveland area. Most in-person trials and court proceedings throughout Ohio resumed in April 2021, but some still were being held remotely. Statistics in Cuyahoga County show that the cases filed, terminated, or completed are increasing. In 2020, there were 9,090 cases terminated. In 2021, there were 11,046, according to the monthly reports completed by Judge Brendan Sheehan, who also is the administrator for the courts judges. Through April 30, 2022, there have been 4,546 cases processed. Since the court proceedings returned in April 2021, weve seen a steady stream of cases being resolved, a worker in the Cuyahoga County Prosecutors Office told The Epoch Times on June 29. Sherry Clouser, the administrator for the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas west of Cleveland, told The Epoch Times that during Covid, the court had the technology to hold hearings and civil proceedings virtually, but continued holding trials with precautionary measures in place. Right now, our numbers have been about the same, and we havent experienced so much of an additional backlog, Clouser said. Other problems caused by the delays have been jail populations increasing following indictments by county grand juries, and civil cases being delayed because of criminal cases taking a priority, according to information from DeWines office. Israeli soldiers clash with Palestinians at the entrance of Duma village near the West Bank city of Nablus, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2015. (Majdi Mohammed/AP Photo) 3 Injured, Including Israeli Military Officer, During Clashes With Palestinians at Contested Holy Site Three people, including an Israeli military officer and two civilians, have been wounded after Palestinian gunmen opened fire at Jewish worshipers who were praying at a contested holy site in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, according to officials. The officerShomron Regional Brigade Commander, Col. Roi Zweigwas injured after the army returned fire on the gunmen, according to local reports which cite Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Zweig was evacuated and taken to a hospital for medical treatment, according to the IDF. At least 21 others sustained bruises or suffered from tear gas inhalation during clashes with Israeli forces, including children who were taken to hospital, according to Israeli officials. The Palestinian official news agency Wafa said a Palestinian teenager was wounded by live fire during the incident, while 16 others were wounded by rubber bullets during clashes with Israeli forces at the site near the northern West Bank city of Nablus. The heavily-contested site has frequently seen conflicts and attacks erupt between Israelis and Palestinians. Jewish worshipers believe that the biblical Joseph is buried on the slope of Mount Gerizim in Nablus, while Palestinians say its the tomb of a Muslim Sheikh named Yousef Dawiqat. Jewish worshipers escorted by the Israeli military often visit the shrine to pray. The Yesha Council, an umbrella organization representing Jewish Israeli settlers in the West Bank, called Thursdays incident a terror attack that should be a red flag for our decision-makers in a statement. Continued Violent Clashes Firing machine guns at Jewish worshipers in a holy place crosses an ethical line and indicates a loss of deterrence. We will not give in to any Arab shooting or violence, and will continue praying in our holy places, the statement read. The latest incident at the contested site comes after a Palestinian teen was killed and at least 15 Palestinians were wounded in clashes with the military near the shrine in May, according to Wafa. Violent demonstrations also erupted across the West Bank in May after Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, was fatally shot on May 11 while on assignment in the area. The Palestinian American reporter was wearing a press vest when she was shot in the head while reporting on a raid by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. She was rushed to the hospital where she was later pronounced dead, according to reports. Gabrielle Stephenson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. People place flowers and candles at a makeshift memorial where a tractor-trailer was discovered with deceased illegal immigrants inside, near San Antonio, Texas, on June 29, 2022. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images) 4 Arrested, 2 Charged Over Deadly Smuggling Operation That Left 53 Dead in Texas Four people have now been arrested in connection with the people-smuggling operation that resulted in the deaths of 53 people in the back of a sweltering semi-trailer near Americas southern border, according to the Department of Justice. Homero Zamorano, 45, was charged on Wednesday with one count of alleged alien smuggling resulting in death, and Christian Martinez, 28, was charged with one count of alleged conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death. If convicted of the crimes, both Zamorano and Martinez face up to life in prison or possibly the death penalty. Zamorano was identified as the trucks driver after Laredo Sector Border Patrol provided Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents with surveillance footage of the truck driving through an immigration checkpoint. Law enforcement officers work at the scene where people were found dead inside a trailer truck in San Antonio, Texas, on June 27, 2022. (Kaylee Greenlee Beal/Reuters) The driver could be seen wearing a black shirt with stripes and a hat. HSI agents confirmed Zamorano matched the individual from the surveillance footage and was wearing the same clothing, the DOJ said in a statement. Meanwhile, a Texas court heard that authorities identified Martinez by investigating cellphone communications he had with Zamorano about the smuggling operation, the department said. Two Mexican nationals, Juan Francisco DLuna-Bilbao and Juan Claudio DLuna-Mendez, were arrested on Monday. The men were arrested on firearm-related offenses after exiting a San Antonio property listed as the registered address of the truck used in the smuggling operation. Victim Deaths Increase The number of deceased individuals from the attempted people-smuggling operation has increased to 53 since it was discovered on Monday. Authorities were alerted to the situation by 911 calls. San Antonio police responded to the calls and discovered multiple people, many dead and some incapacitated, strewn across the ground and in the nearby brush, and some still inside the trucks trailer, the DOJ said. Officers said their bodies were hot to the touch after temperatures at the location had swelled to a high of 103 degrees Fahrenheit (around 39 degrees Celsius). A man pays his respects at the site where officials found dozens of people dead in a semitrailer containing suspected illegal immigrants in San Antonio, Texas, on June 28, 2022. (Eric Gay/AP Photo) San Antonio police officers found and detained Zamorano, who was hiding in the brush near the truck after he attempted to abscond. Among the victims were 22 Mexican nationals, seven Guatemalan nationals, two Honduran nationals, and 17 of unknown origin but suspected to be illegal aliens, the DOJ said. The nationality make-up of the victims had not previously been fully known. The illegal immigrants were identified with digital fingerprint technology. 3 methods to reduce your wrinkles and protect your organs Facial wrinkles are not only a sign of aging, but can also reflect the health status of our organs. Reducing wrinkles can even protect our organs. The skin is the largest organ of the human body, and the health of the body is often reflected on the surface of the skin. When a person is sick, or often anxious and worried, not only will their gastrointestinal absorption capacity become poor, their qi (i.e. vital energy) and blood circulation will also become stagnant, which is not conducive to the growth of radiant and elastic skin. If the skin is unable to retain water, and the fascia does not have sufficient capacity to restore water, wrinkles will form on the face. According to Dr. Mandy Lin, director of Dingyan Taipei Clinic, which specializes in traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, the following common facial wrinkles represent health problems in different parts of the body: Forehead Wrinkles and Cardiovascular Disease In Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicine, forehead wrinkles suggest sadness and anxiety. Sadness, anxiety, and other emotions cause the body to secrete more stress hormonecortisol. And too much cortisol will increase the chance of cardiovascular diseases. Modern medical research has also found that the deeper and more forehead wrinkles one has, the higher risk of death from cardiovascular diseases. The European Society of Cardiology published a study, in which 3,200 participants between the ages of 32 and 62 were assigned scores by physicians, according to the number and depth of their forehead wrinkles. A score of zero meant no wrinkles, while a score of 3 meant many deep wrinkles. Researchers tracked these participants for up to 20 years and found that people with a wrinkle score of 1 had a slightly higher risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases than those without wrinkles. After excluding factors such as age, blood pressure, and blood lipid levels, the risk of death was almost 10 times higher for those with wrinkle scores of 2 and 3, in comparison with those with a score of zero. Research suggests that relatively deep forehead wrinkles may be a sign of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a pathological condition, in which blood vessels become hardened, narrowed or even blocked due to the accumulation of lipids and the thickening of their lining, resulting in the formation of atheromatous plaques. Atherosclerosis is a common cause of cardiovascular diseases. The formation of forehead wrinkles is associated with collagen loss and oxidative stress caused by excess free radicals, which can also lead to atherosclerosis. In addition, the blood vessels in the forehead are very small, so they may be more sensitive to plaque formation, which means that forehead wrinkles may be one of the early signs of vascular aging. Eyebrow Wrinkling and Spleen Fatigue In Ayurvedic facial diagnosis, wrinkles in the center between the eyebrows suggests a suspicious personality, while the wrinkles on the left eyebrow side signifies spleen fatigue, and the right side represents liver fatigue. A person with a fatigued liver and spleen is also prone to have liver and spleen diseases. In addition, traditional Chinese medicine also believes that negative emotions are related to the liver and spleen. The liver can be harmed by anger, and the spleen can be harmed by prolonged contemplation. Furthermore, people who are angry and overly worried are naturally prone to frowning and even forming wrinkles. Bags Around the Eyes and Lacrimal Grooves Eye bags may be caused by what traditional Chinese medicine refers to as heavy dampness in the body and poor metabolism. It is related to water retention. Dr. Lin explained that the skin around the eyes is the thinnest and most fragile part of the face. So if theres too much moisture in the body, the skin around the eyes will easily protrude out, forming bags under the eyes. Too much dampness in the body will also affect the spleen. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the spleen is responsible for digestion, absorption, and transportation of nutrients, and is the source of the bodys vitality and biochemistry. Excessive dampness will cause the spleen to malfunction, causing all bodily functions to be in a suboptimal health state. In addition, under-eye puffiness is partly caused by stress and will first manifest as dark circles under the eyes. Dark circles are related to poor circulation around the eyes, which leads to excessive tissue fluid around the eyes. According to Dr. Lin, under-eye bags are caused by the severity of dark circles to a certain extent. There are two reasons for excessive fluid around the eyes: Nasal allergy Stress and poor sleep: This can cause an increase in intracranial pressure, making the circulation path from the head to the neck very tight, resulting in poor circulation. Therefore, when dark circles appear under the eyes, it means that there are nasal allergies and sleep problems that need to be resolved, so as not to deteriorate into eye bags. Crows Feet and Eye Disease The formation of crows feet is related to eye diseases, and the main cause is the overuse of the muscles around the eyes. When peoples eyes are unable to see things clearly, they tend to squint unconsciously. And the overuse of orbicularis oculi muscles causes muscle hypertrophy, which makes it easy to form the lines at the end of the eyes when smiling. Horizontal Wrinkles on the Nose, Between the Eyes Horizontal wrinkles on the part of the nose between the eyes suggest fatigue of the heart. According to Dr. Lin, this type of horizontal lines are mostly found in women who are fragile and get tired easily. Nasolabial Folds on the Cheeks People with nose allergies often blow their noses and use their upper lips and nasal muscles repeatedly. Once these muscles become hypertrophic, they tend to form grooves around the cheeks, such as nasolabial folds and lacrimal grooves. In Ayurveda, deep nasolabial folds at the corners of the mouth often suggest reproductive problems. In men, they may be related to sexual performance; and in women, they might be a warning sign for diseases of the ovaries and uterus. Wrinkles on the Chin The wrinkles on the chin suggest stress and are related to depression. Dr. Lin explained that when a person wants to talk but cannot, the tension around their lips will rise; and people who often smile bitterly will use their chin a lot. 3 Moves to Reverse Wrinkles and Improve Organ Health Rome was not built in a day, so is the formation of wrinkles. Even if the aforementioned health problems (such as atherosclerosis, nose allergies, and liver and spleen fatigue) are treated and improved, it can only prevent the already formed wrinkles from continuing to deteriorate. Dr. Lin explained that in addition to physical health, emotions, and overuse of local muscles, other causes include localized dehydration of the fascia and dryness of the skin, which can stiffen the wrinkles that have already formed. To reverse the structural changes in the fascia and skin, and to restore their moisture and elasticity, it takes time and a number of methods. By using the following three methods, you can tone the organs while improving wrinkles. Facial Cosmetic Acupuncture Facial cosmetic acupuncture can directly adjust the tension of facial muscles and fascia, improve the dehydration of fascia, reverse wrinkles and even smooth them out. A 2018 South Korean research review showed that facial acupuncture is effective in reducing the number and size of wrinkles, as well as improving blood circulation in the face, improving skin condition and reducing the size of the face. A 2020 US review of several studies found that facial acupuncture may improve skin laxity associated with aging and also reduce the size of wrinkles. Facial aesthetic acupuncture works primarily on the fascia, which has no obvious role in the presentation of facial expressions. However, it plays a very important role in making the contours of the face look natural, refreshed, toned, and elastic. Having performed more than 35,000 acupuncture sessions, Dr. Lin explained that the energy system of both traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, whether it is the meridians or chakras, is at the fascia level. Therefore, by improving the fascia of the face through cosmetic acupuncture, the local energy circulation will be improved. Moreover, in traditional Chinese medicine, the internal organs and facial features have a corresponding relationship, and they influence each other through the meridians, or the channels of energy flow. When the face is well adjusted, the internal organs are all taken care of, she said. Tendon Hydration Taking collagen and hyaluronic acid supplements can hydrate the fascia. Collagen and hyaluronic acid also exist in natural foods. According to Dr. Lin, some people feel that taking collagen is ineffective, but its not meant to work immediately. It seeks to slowly fill the fascia with water to avoid wrinkle formation. Skin Moisturization The skin can be moisturized with lotions, treatment masks, and other care products. Lotions can also be used as an emollient for face massage to avoid wrinkle formation due to exerting too much force. Some people do their own facial massage, but end up pulling loose the skin around their mouth and eyes, reminded Dr. Lin. Avoiding Bad Habits That Cause Wrinkles Whether you use skin care products or cosmetic acupuncture, your appearance will eventually age and wrinkles will form, as you get older. However, avoiding the following behaviors can prevent the early appearance and deterioration of wrinkles, and make you look younger than your peers. A sedentary lifestyle and bad posture: People who spend a lot of time on their cell phones and computers may have a hunched back, stiff shoulders, and neck, and the tension in the fascia of the shoulders and neck then extend to the head. When the tension of the cervical fascia becomes high, it becomes a very strong force that pulls the face downward. Overtraining: On the other end, some people engage in exercises of overly high intensity. Dr. Lin pointed out that excessive training will affect the fascial tension adjustment, so exercise intensity should be moderate, and going beyond the limit is as bad as falling short. Insufficient water intake and unhealthy eating habits: Insufficient water consumption will cause the skin fascia to dehydrate; eating too much food high in salt can also easily make the body dehydrate; and frequent consumption of baked, fried, and/or spicy food will increase the free radicals in the body, thus accelerating the bodys aging. Bad lifestyle habits: Staying up late, smoking, being over exposed to the sun are all behaviors that will accelerate skin aging and cause the early generation of wrinkles. Epoch Health articles are for informational purposes and are not a substitute for individualized medical advice. Please consult a trusted professional for personal medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment. Have a question? Email us at AskADoctor@epochtimes.nyc Bill Hable was 47 when he started building himself a boat. Now the former mechanical engineer from Bloomer, Wisconsin, is 84 years old and still working on it. The magnificent 41-foot wooden schooner is kept in a large boathouse Hable built at his home. Every week, three days a week, he takes himself into the shed and immerses himself in the mammoth, decades-long project. So when is it expected to be done? Dont ask, Hable told The Epoch Times. I dont know if Ill ever get it done. Talking to the skilled craftsman, it quickly became apparent the appeal of his undertaking lay in the journey, more so than the destination. The purpose of it was to get physical exercise, he said. (Courtesy of Judith Hable) Left: (Courtesy of Jesse Yang via Love Wisconsin); Right: (Courtesy of Judith Hable) In the fall of 1984, Hable was an engineer with a desk job. He worked his way through college helping build and repair boats, and later found himself with 70 acres of land, cutting firewood, and relishing the activity. I had always wanted to build a boat, but I never got around to it, he recalled. I didnt get enough exercise, so I said, well, why dont I build this boat Ive always dreamed about? Hable decided the vessel should be big enough to allow him to retire free of debt. So on January 4, 1985, he went into his woods and cut down the first trees for his schooner. Then I cut more trees, and milled the lumber for about 75 to 80 percent of it, he said. It was supposed to be 15 years I wanted to retire at 62. Well, Im 84 now and Im not retired yet. Estimated to weigh around 24,000 pounds when it finally hits the water, and holding beds for seven people, the vessel has taken a ton of time and money. When asked how much he has spent on it, Hable shrugs. (Courtesy of Jesse Yang via Love Wisconsin) (Courtesy of Judith Hable) I did not keep track of time, money, or anything else. Ill tell you why: its been worth it and I didnt want to I didnt care, he said. If I had a guess, Id say Ive probably spent $70,000$80,000. I spent a lot on epoxy glue, and hardware. And I bought a diesel motor that was quite expensive. Hable and his boat have received a good deal of attention over the decades. Were located right in Bloomer, next to a restaurant and a bar. People come over and talk to me all the time, he said. I get visitors from literally all over the world. Sometimes, different groups make arrangements to come in, and Hable takes them on a tour. I taught at the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire, for nine years. So I like to teach, and I enjoy doing that, the engineer explained. Crediting his education, Hable says he had a very, very good industrial arts teacher in high school who taught him woodworking, and some of the skills he still uses today. He also spends a lot of time just figuring things out. (Courtesy of Judith Hable) (Courtesy of Judith Hable) You spend about a third of your time just thinking about how youre going to do things, he told the newspaper. The most difficult part to build was the frame for the transit. Hable got a stack of books to help him, but says they each gave conflicting advice. I did not like any of the answers. So I sat, literally sat and thought for two weeks. And I finally got it built and it came out perfect, he recalled. Hable met his wife who was born in upstate New York and is talented in floral design artwork while he was at college. But clearly, his sailboat project he prefers to work on solo. About 95 percent of the time, it was just me. But for three months in the summertime, he said. over three summers, my brother and my cousin would come and help strip-plank the boat. You cant use epoxy in the wintertime because its too cold. (Courtesy of Judith Hable) (Courtesy of Jesse Yang via Love Wisconsin) The ultimate plan, Hable says, is to take the finished item to an island in the middle of the local yacht club, where he already has a 49-foot sailboat. Thats where I plan to launch it if I ever get around to it. The work is just taking longer than expected and slowing up a little bit, he shared. So what takeaways can this modern-day Noah share from his 37 years of constructing the beautiful-looking boat? I think that people should look at exercise as doing something that is useful he said. If youre running or walking and all you get is worn down shoes theres nothing to show for it. Youve got to be able to think about whether it would be wonderful to do something, something of value, said Hable. I tried running and walking and lifting weights and I hated it. So thats why I decided to build a boat, which I love. He added: I still love doing it. Sometimes I get a little bit bored. But then you get that small increment done and you pat yourself on the back and you go sit at the house and grab a beer. Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Inspired newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter Abandoning God May Lead to Disastrous Consequences Commentary While the Australian legal tradition cannot lay claim to the historical depth it has in the United States; it was nevertheless built on solid religious foundations. The island nation has remarkable Christian influencesstarting with the first British fleet departing for Australia in 1787 when Captain Arthur Phillip was instructed to enforce due observance of the Christian religion and to take such steps as were necessary for the celebration of public worship. Of course, this does not mean that people from other religions were not welcomed or that there was any obligation for those living in the land to belong to the Christian religion or, indeed, any religion at all. However, Governor Phillip appreciated the role of religion, and Christianity especially, as the bases for an ordered and civilised society. While the role of Christianity in Australias history is irrefutable, when these important facts are mentioned, they are often critiqued and brushed aside with contempt. After all, the religious makeup of Australia has changed remarkably over the last 50 years, and the recent 2021 census shows Australians are less religious than ever. For the first time, fewer than half of Australians identify as Christian. In fact, only less than 44 percent of the population now profess to be Christian, down from 52 percent five years earlier and 61 percent in 2011. When the first census was conducted in 1911, 96 percent of Australians self-identified as Christian. The move away from this religion has accelerated rapidly over the past decade, although it has been in steady decline since the 1960s. In the census of 1961, only 0.7 percent of Australians identified as having no religion. But now, almost 40 percent of Australians say they have no religious beliefs. Based on current trends, the number of irreligious people will exceed the number of Christians by the time the next census is conducted in 2026. The Founding of Australia. By Captain Arthur Phillip R.N. Sydney Cove, Jan. 26th 1788, painted 1939, oil by Algernon Talmage. (Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons) Why Religion Is Beneficial for Society It is now an appropriate time for an accounting of the tangible human and social benefits of religion and the recognition of the potential disadvantages to Australia becoming a less religious society, given the growing number of Australians saying they have no religious belief. Rodney Stark is one of the worlds leading authorities on the sociology of religion. For many years this Pulitzer Prize nominee was a sociology professor at the University of Washington. He has authored more than 150 scholarly articles and 32 books, including several widely used sociology textbooks. In an attempt to rise above the din of the culture wars and to focus exclusively on the facts, Stark, in his book Americas Blessings: How Religion Benefits Everyone, Including Atheists, aspired to measure the effects of religious belief on a society. Comparing less religious and irreligious people, Stark concluded that religious people: Are much less likely to commit crimes at all ages. Are far more likely to contribute even to secular charities, to volunteer their time to socially beneficial programs, and to be active in civic affairs. Enjoy superior mental healththey are happier, less neurotic, and far less likely to commit suicide. Enjoy superior physical health, having an average life expectancy more than seven years longer than that of the irreligious. Express a higher degree of satisfaction with their marriage and are substantially less likely to abuse their spouses and children. Perform better on standardised achievement tests and are far less likely to have dropped out of school, which is especially true for ethnic minorities. Are far less subject to being on unemployment or welfare. What Is Lost With the Decline of Christianity Therefore, Australians should carefully consider how much they might be losing as a society by becoming less religious. Values come to us trailing their historical past, and when we attempt to cut all links to that past, we risk cutting the lifelines on which those values essentially depend. For example, when a significant majority of Australians embraced the Christian religion, there was a general agreement on fundamental moral questions. Our law reflected the moral principles of Christianity, which required equality before the law and the protection of inalienable rights to life, liberty, and property. The task of political leaders was basically to uphold these objective principles that used to underpin our legal system and protect us from arbitrary government. But Australia has now witnessed an increasing antagonism to anything that can be remotely associated with the Christian religion. According to Michael Quinlan, professor and dean at Notre Dame Law School, contemporary attitudes to Christianity in Australia and the examples provided indicate that Australia is in the process of endeavouring, at a very accelerated pace, to disentangle the law from its Christian roots. A man wearing a face mask walks before the Harbour Bridge in Sydney, NSW, Australia, on July 22, 2020. (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images) This perhaps explains the appallingly submissive attitude of most Australians during the pandemic. This issue may be explained by the spectacular decline of belief in God and the practice of religion. Arguably, the decline of Christianity resulted in the establishment of a secular state that involves a more faithful acceptance of government as an all-powerful protector of the community. As such, all explanations given by government chief medical officers, whose advice politicians then impose on a submissive population with a great level of zealotry, are entirely accepted with no further questioning. No Human Accountability Without God I have also noted how many of my fellow citizens have developed an utterly distorted view of government or what governments can do for them. Such people now expect almost everything to come from the state. They blindly worship at the altar of the almighty state, expecting their benevolent rulers to act as their ultimate saviours and protectors. Such people have an unshakable faith in the government. They sincerely believe the powerful state is the ultimate provider of all good things. Call it a form of idolatry if you wish. There is little doubt in my mind that the decline in the importance of religion is also associated with a corresponding belief that reliance on science will solve all peoples ills and societal problems. This is contradictory because at the heart of all science lies the conviction that the universe is orderly, a conviction that made most of the towering figures of the modern scientific method not just deists but, in fact, theists. As noted by Oxford mathematics professor John C. Lennox, their belief in God, far from being a hindrance to their science, was often the main inspiration for it, and they were not shy of saying so. As can be seen, there is an inevitable consequence in embracing an irreligious view of human nature and turning away from religion. When religion is more comprehensively eradicated from Australias culture and society, it will be quite difficult to ignore that without a belief in God, there is also no final human accountability. Or, as the Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky stated in The Brothers Karamazov: If God does not exist, everything is permitted. This can lead to disastrous consequences, and I sincerely fear for the future of Australia. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The statue of the 16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln is seen inside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on Feb. 12, 2009. (Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images) Abraham Lincoln Bust, Gettysburg Address Plaque Removed From Cornell University Library After Complaint A bust of President Abraham Lincoln and a plaque of the Gettysburg Address have been removed from a Cornell University Library following a complaint, according to reports. Randy Wayne, a professor of biology at Cornell, said the library had removed the display, after someone complained, according to the higher education news website, College Fix. The bust of Lincoln and the bronzed plaque of the Gettysburg Address, one of the most revered and widely quoted speeches in American history, had been displayed in the Ivy League schools Kroch Library since 2013. Abraham Lincolns famous speech was first delivered in 1863 at the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the site of one of the bloodiest and most decisive battles of the American Civil War. The battle claimed the lives of over 7,000 soldiers from July 1 to July 3 and injured 50,000 more, more than in any other battle of the war. Wayne told College Fix in an interview that he frequently visited the library and had noticed several weeks ago that both the bust and plaque were no longer on display. Its been there since I can remember, he said, adding that librarians could not explain why the two historic pieces had been removed when he asked, but they said a complaint had been made about them. An Incredible Speech The Gettysburg Address is an incredible speech, he said.We have a handwritten copy in Lincolns hand. It is known as the Bancroft Copy. It comes with an envelope signed by Lincoln (using his franking privilege), and a letter to Bancroft, thanking him for requesting a copy of the address to put in a book to be sold for charity. I show these documents to my class, as well as the heavy iron manacles worn by slaves. Yes, we have a Lincoln legacy that has been inspirational to me and my students. To take his words (and bust) out of the hallway says something about our love of liberty. Photos that Wayne shared with The Fix showed that there is now a blank white space in the library where the objects used to sit. A Cornell communications member has said that the Lincoln display was temporary. President Lincolns bust was part of a temporary exhibit on the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. The bust was on display in the Rare and Manuscript Collections from 2013 to 2021, Rebecca Valli, director of media relations at Cornell University, told Fox News Digital in a statement on Tuesday. Cornell proudly possesses one of five known copies of the Gettysburg Address in Lincolns hand. The original is safely sequestered, with a digital facsimile on permanent display. Additionally, five electronic Lincoln exhibitions are available for 24/7 viewing online, Valli added. During the protests and riots of summer 2020 following the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police officers, a number of statues and exhibits honoring historical American figures were attacked or defaced. According to a survey conducted by the Montgomery, Ala.-based Southern Poverty Law Center, a total of 168 Confederate symbols were removed across the United States in 2020 following the demonstrations. The Epoch Times has contacted Cornell University for comment. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, flanked by state and local law enforcement officials, speaks to media in Eagle Pass, Texas, on June 29, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) After 53 Die in Smuggling Tragedy, Texas Governor to Start Truck Checkpoints on Highways EAGLE PASS, TexasThe Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) will be setting up random highway checkpoints to inspect trucks following the deaths of 53 illegal immigrants who were being smuggled in the back of a tractor-trailer earlier this week. Weve seen increased brazenness by cartels that feel empowered, because we do not have a federal government thats pushing back against those cartels and their illegal activity, Gov. Greg Abbott said at a June 29 press conference in Eagle Pass, one of the busiest regions for illegal border crossings in the country. And of course, the worst thing of all is the catastrophic death that we have witnessed. DPS Director Steven McCraw said state troopers will assist civilian inspectors in setting up checkpoints along the main highways running from the TexasMexico border to San Antonio, Houston, and other major hubs. Often, illegal aliens wade or are rafted across the Rio Grande into Texas and, while avoiding Border Patrol, are taken to stash houses to await vehicle transport further into the United States. McCraw said he also plans to deploy DPS special agents to identify stash houses near the border, which is very important to disrupting Mexican cartel operations. The truck that was carrying the illegal immigrants who died in San Antonio passed through a Border Patrol highway checkpoint 30 miles north of Laredo on Interstate Highway 35, McCraw told The Epoch Times. The checkpoint often has two truck lanes and three car lanes operating simultaneously. Tom Homan, the former chief of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told The Epoch Times that smugglers will turn off the freezer unit in refrigerated trucks to give the appearance that its an empty trailer and that theres no need for a secondary inspection. The refrigeration was turned off in the truck in San Antonio and there was no water inside, even as the mercury topped 100 degrees. The truck passed through a Border Patrol checkpoint, it was not inspected. It was not inspected because the Border Patrol does not have the resources to be able to inspect all of the trucks, Abbott said. Many of these deaths could be prevented if Biden simply fully funded the Border Patrol operation of the United States of America and implemented the policies that the Border Patrol needs in order to do their real job. And the real job is not the paper processing work that theyve been assigned to do. President Joe Biden called the deaths in San Antonio horrifying and heartbreaking, and he vowed to crack down on the criminal smuggling organizations. Exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful, he added. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on June 28, The fact of the matter is the border is closed, which is in part why you see people trying to make this dangerous journey using smuggling networks. Since Biden took office, the number of illegal crossings has hit multiple record highs. Border Patrol has apprehended more than 3.2 million illegal immigrants since January 2021, according to Customs and Border Protection data. Four people have now been arrested in connection with the truck smuggling operation that resulted in the 53 deaths, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Homero Zamorano, the driver of the truck, was charged on June 29 with one count of alien smuggling resulting in death, and Christian Martinez, 28, was charged with one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death. If convicted, both Zamorano and Martinez face up to life in prison or potentially the death penalty. Two Mexican nationals, Juan Francisco DLuna-Bilbao and Juan Claudio DLuna-Mendez, were arrested on June 27. The men have each been charged with three firearm-related offenses after exiting a San Antonio property listed as the registered address of the truck used in the smuggling operation. Both had overstayed their B-2 visas. Air Canada planes sit on the tarmac at Pearson International Airport during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on April 28, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette) Air Canada to Cut Flights This Summer Due to Unprecedented Strains on Travel Operations Air Canada is cancelling more than 15 percent of its daily flights this summer as the industry struggles with unprecedented and unforeseen strains on its operations amid an overwhelming travel resurgence. The move will see the airline cutting 77 round trips (or 154 flights) on average per day in the months of July and August. Air Canada is currently operating on average about 1,000 flights a day. Four routes will be temporarily suspended, between Montreal and the cities of Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Kelowna, and one between Toronto and Fort McMurray, the company said in an email on June 30. Most of the flights affected are to and from our Toronto and Montreal hubs. These will be mostly frequency reductions, affecting primarily evening and late-night flights by smaller aircraft, on transborder and domestic routes. The airline stressed that international flights are unaffected, but will be subjected to a few timing changes to reduce flying at peak times and to even out the customer flow. In a message to customers on June 29, chief executive Michael Rousseau said it was not an easy decision for him. Regrettably, things are not business as usual in our industry globally, and this is affecting our operations and our ability to serve you with our normal standards of care, he said. The COVID19 pandemic brought the world air transport system to a halt in early 2020. Now, after more than two years, global travel is resurgent, and people are returning to flying at a rate never seen in our industry. Rousseau said the surge in travel has caused unprecedented and unforeseen strains on all aspects of the global aviation system, causing recurring flight delays and congestion in airports around the world. Compared to other industries that are also struggling to restart due to the unclog supply chains and pent-up demand, Rousseau said Air Canada foresaw those challenges and was taking steps during the pandemic to be prepared for the rapid restart. Yet, despite detailed and careful planning, the largest and fastest scale of hiring in our history, as well as investments in aircraft and equipment, it is now clear that Air Canadas operations too have been disrupted by the industrys complex and unavoidable challenges, he said. The result has been flight cancellations and customer service shortfalls on our part that we would never have intended for our customers or for our employees, and for which we sincerely apologize. Travel Delays Airlines and the federal government have been scrambling to respond to scenes of endless lines, flight disruptions, lost luggage and daily turmoil at airportsparticularly at Toronto Pearson International Airporta problem the aviation industry has blamed on a shortage of federal security and customs officers. On June 10, the federal government announced the suspension of random COVID-19 testing at all airports for vaccinated travellers until the end of the month. The development came as airports and industry groups had asked for the program to be dropped in recent weeks. Airports and airlines have said they are dealing with significant congestion due to the various COVID-19 travel mandates, leading to long waits for travellers. On June 29, the Public Health Agency of Canada announced that random testing will continue to be paused until mid-July. However, travellers are still required to submit their travel information within 72 hours before arrival in Canada through the ArriveCAN app, regardless of their vaccination status. Rousseau said in order to stabilize its operations, Air Canada will need to make meaningful reductions to its summer schedule in order to reduce passenger volumes and flows to a level we believe the air transport system can accommodate. This was not an easy decision, as it will result in additional flight cancellations that will have a negative impact on some customers, he said. But doing this in advance allows affected customers to take time to make other arrangements in an orderly manner, rather than have their travel disrupted shortly before or during their journey, with few alternatives available. The Canadian Press contributed to this report. Apple Daily headquarters building in Tseung Kwan O in Hong Kong on June 22, 2021. On the first anniversary of Apple Daily ending its operation, online media found WiseNews, a news database providing electronic newspaper search services for Hong Kong public libraries, has completely removed all the reports by Apple Daily. (Adrian Yu/The Epoch Times Apple Dailys News Clippings Deleted From Hong Kong Libraries; June 4 Disappearing From Library Search According to Article 27 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong residents have the right to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom to publish. However, under the new political situation, the authorities have been secretly removing a large number of books and news reports without disclosing the relevant lists. Apple Daily was the first one on the chopping block. Apple Daily was a 26-year-old news outlet in Hong Kong that supported democratic activism before it was shut down by the National Security Law of Hong Kong. Marking the first anniversary of Apple Dailys closure, an online media, hk.feature, found that WiseNews, a news database that provides electronic newspaper clipping search services for Hong Kong public libraries, has deleted all the news reports by Apple Daily. Since WiseNews also provides paid services to teachers and students, as well as primary and secondary schools, and tertiary institutions all over Hong Kong, the eradication of Apply Daily news might be a hint of its disappearance from the public domain. Founded in 1996, Apple Daily was suspended on June 24, 2021, after several of its senior executives and journalists were accused, charged, and detained. The last print of its physical newspaper was released on June 24, 2021. A few days later, local journalists discovered that public libraries in Hong Kong under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), had removed all the newspaper and physical copies of Apple Daily, Next Magazine, and books that were published by its founder, Jimmy Lai Chi-ying. A year later, from the follow-up report of hk.feature, books, magazines, or any other publications by Apple Daily, including Jimmy Lais book Dawn of the Entrepreneur, which was recommended by the Library Resource Selection in 2015 and available for rental, had been taken down by the National Security Law. The library staff did not deny that these sorts of publications have been pulled off the shelves and sent away. As for other physical publications, when searched using the keyword Apply Daily in the Hong Kong Public Library search system, although 54 results were found, most of them belonged to the section of leisure and practical studies for further education. Almost none of them were related to politics. The online media suspected LCSD was wiping out Apple Dailys political publications. The media reporters used the search system provided by WiseNews in the library and found nothing under Apple Daily, or the time that any of the data was deleted. Another search result was revealed using the keyword June 4th; it had lost 7.27 percent of its original clippings since the removal of Apple Daily. The cumulative loss was 14,143 results. If categorized by Hong Kong Districts, the loss is even more devastating at 17 percent. As of writing this article, news agencies which remained in the current search results of June 4th in Hong Kong libraries, were mostly run by leftist pro-government outlets, including Wen Wei Po, Ta Kung Pao, Oriental Daily, and the like, and the only traditional paper seen was Ming Pao. According to public records, WiseNews was founded in 1998, as an information content provider in the Greater China region. The agency is headquartered in Hong Kong, with branches in Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Macau, Taipei, and Taichung. In 1999, WiseNews was sponsored by the Government Innovation and Technology Fund; it also established strategic partnerships with large enterprises such as Microsoft. As of June 2017, WiseNews has over 470,000 content sources, containing more than 59 billion articles, and it is growing rapidly at 68 million articles per day. Due to its massive news database, many teachers and students in Hong Kong pay to use the news search service provided by WiseNews. Herb Wesson (C) attends the City Of Los Angeles's Black History Month Celebration at Los Angeles City Hall, in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 4, 2020. (Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images) Attorney General OKs Lawsuit Against Herb Wessons Appointment to LA City Council LOS ANGELESA legal challenge against City Councilman Herb Wessons legitimacy in temporarily holding the office was able to move forward after approval by a state official last week. California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta issued an opinion June 22 authorizing a request from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California (SCLC) that challenges Wessons interim position representing Council District 10which covers the neighborhoods of Arlington Heights, Koreatown, Mid-City, Olympic Park, Palms, South Robertson, West Adams, West Pico, and Wilshire Center. Wesson, who previously represented the district on the council from 2005 to 2020, was appointed in February and started attending council meetings the following month to replace Mark Ridley-Thomas, who was removed from the seat due to federal indictment charges. But Bonta said in his opinion the Christian group raised considerable questions about Wesson and whether his appointment violated the City Charter, which is the citys governing legal code. According to the charter, councilors are limited to three terms, each spanning four years. Since Wesson already reached the maximum term limit, the group sued the city on those grounds. We conclude that substantial questions of law exist as to whether Wessons appointment to the Los Angeles City Council was lawful, the opinion read. Further, the public interest will be served by allowing the proposed [legal challenge] to proceed. Some residents in the district claimed Wesson was appointed in secret in February and was not elected by constituents. We believe that he is illegally holding office, and thats why we wanted to keep the status quo and put no one in there until Mark Ridley-Thomas criminal trial came around. Attorney for the SCLC of Southern California John Sweeney told the Los Angeles Times. After the council unanimously approved the appointment in late February, the group filed a lawsuit stating Wesson has termed out. In March, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mary Strobel cleared the way for Wesson to begin serving as a temporary replacement. However, Strobel did not rule on whether he is eligible to serve again. She said the group needs permission from Bonta before the case can continue, according to Sweeney. City Council President Nury Martinez said in a statement defending Wessons appointment that the district wanted a trusted voice on this council, and their choice was Herb Wesson. Ridley-Thomas, who was previously on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, was indicted on bribery, conspiracy, and fraud charges last October. He allegedly conspired with a University of Southern California deanduring his time as a supervisorto give county money to the school for his son to be accepted by its graduate program with a full scholarship and a paid professorship. Wesson is representing the district until Dec. 23 in the councils original plan. If Ridley-Thomas is found not guilty or his charges are dropped before then, Wesson will have to step down earlier. The miraculous ease and effectiveness of auriculotherapy In the face of pain, the common treatment method in hospitals is to use painkillers, but many patients pain doesnt get relieved after taking them, and the painkillers also bring side effects. There are many examples of using auriculotherapy for pain, which is fast and effective, and has no side effects. Curing a Stiff Neck in 3 Days An office worker woke up one day with a stiff neck, which was immobile and painful. As a result, she even had difficulty checking her blind spots while driving. This woman came to visit the traditional Chinese medicine clinic of Professor Johnathan Liu, registered acupuncturist. Liu first needled one acupuncture point on her hand, and at the same time, put several ear seeds (i.e. seeds from the Vaccaria plant, a type of traditional Chinese herbal medicine) on her ear acupuncture points corresponding to the cervical spine. After one treatment session, she said that her neck was no longer painful, and approximately 80 percent of her necks range of motion was restored. After applying ear seeds for three consecutive days, the lady recovered completely. Rapid Recovery From Acute Lumbar Sprain A man injured his lower back while shoveling snow and was unable to move, he had an acute lumbar strain. After receiving acupuncture treatment on his hands and having ear seeds put on several of his auricular acupuncture points, the patient was able to move around at the clinic on the same day. Overjoyed, he commented, This is amazing! There are many other similar examples that Liu and doctors like him could share. In addition to pain, the stimulation of auricular acupuncture points is very effective in treating digestive disorders, pregnancy reactions, insomnia, anxiety, endocrine disorders, cardiovascular disorders, and hypertension. And its even effective in helping one quit smoking, and lose weight, as well as eliminating drug and alcohol addiction. Ear Acupuncture Points Correspond to Every Organ in the Body The development of auriculotherapy is the result of collaboration between Eastern and Western scholars. Dr. Paul Nogier, a French neurologist and physician who is known as the father of modern auricular therapy, discovered that the distribution of acupuncture points on the ear resembled an inverted fetus, so he first announced the concept of an inverted fetus map on the auricle at the Marseille Acupuncture Conference in France in 1956. Dr. Nogiers auricular acupuncture point chart was introduced to China in 1958 with 42 acupuncture points. The chart was then studied and improved by the traditional Chinese medicine community. In the 1990s, through the collaboration of Eastern and Western academics, the World Federation of Acupuncture Societies (WFAS) published a chart with as many as 200 auricular acupuncture points (including approximately 85 in common clinical use) located in 14 areas of the ear. Earlobe: corresponds to the head and face Antitragus: corresponds to the head and brain Area between the antitragus and the antihelix: corresponds to the brain stem Tragus: corresponds to the throat, inner nose and adrenal glands Antihelix: corresponds to the trunk, including the spine Superior crus of antihelix: corresponds to the lower extremities Inferior crus of antihelix: corresponds to the hips and buttocks Scapha: corresponds to the upper extremities Triangular fossa: corresponds to the pelvis and genitourinary organs Cymba of auricular concha: corresponds to the abdominal cavity and the organs inside it, such as the digestive tract, large and small intestines, spleen, liver, kidney and bladder Cavity of auricular concha: corresponds to the thoracic cavity and the organs inside it, such as the heart, lungs, trachea and bronchi Crus of helix: corresponds to the thorax and diaphragm In other words, the ear can map to all the organs of our body. A Crease in the Earlobe May Signify Coronary Heart Disease The ear is not only therapeutic, but can also help diagnose diseases. If we experience a certain symptom, such as discomfort in the cervical spine, we can press and rub the acupuncture points on the ear that correspond to the cervical spine. At this moment, if we feel soreness, it may mean that there is a problem with our cervical spine. At the same time, pressing on these ear acupuncture points can relieve the tension in the neck. Therefore, some manifestations of the ear can be used as a basis for early diagnosis, which is even more effective than blood tests and CT scans. In the 1970s, there was a very interesting study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Sanders T. Frank, director of respiratory medicine at Garfield Hospital, discovered that an earlobe crease could help in the early detection of coronary heart disease. For this reason, the crease is also known as Franks Sign. In this study, 19 out of 20 people with earlobe creases had one to six risk factors for coronary heart disease, including high cholesterol, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, smoking, and a family history of cardiovascular disease. Many studies have since been conducted to confirm this association. Another study was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, referring to one case. A 59-year-old male patient with hypertension had exertional angina pectoris (chest pains due to coronary heart disease). However, his electrocardiogram showed no significant abnormalities. Subsequently, a coronary angiogram was performed and revealed severe coronary stenosis, which led to the placement of two stents. Interestingly, his bilateral earlobes had long had Franks Signs. Former President George W. Bush Jr. was diagnosed with coronary artery disease on August 6, 2013, at a hospital in Dallas, Texas, and had a stent implanted. He had had Franks Signs in both of his earlobes long before that. If President Bush Jr. had noticed these creases earlier, examined his heart problem in depth, and treated it early, he might have recovered quickly without the need for a stent. We can also determine diseases by the color, shape, flaking skin, and angioplerosis (filling of the blood vessels) of the ear. For instance: Flaking skin: Dermatological and endocrine disorders may be involved. Color changes: Red signifies an acute reaction; dark red or gray often signifies a chronic disease. Filled blood vessels: They often reflect poor circulation and ischemia. Morphological changes: If nodules and/or striated protrusions appear on the ear, it may indicate a substantial lesion in one of the organs, such as a tumor or uterine fibroid. If there are depressions, it may signify atrophy of the organs. For example, if there is kidney atrophy, depressions may appear in the kidney reflex area of the ear. For example, if there are blood vessels filling up in the area of the ear corresponding to the heart, it may be a sign of coronary heart disease; if an obvious nodule with a reddish color appears, it may be a warning sign of an acute heart attack. Nodules often imply a more serious condition than angioplerosis. In the area of the ear corresponding to the lungs, if a large nodule with a bright red color appears, it often signifies an acute outbreak. If the nodules color is dark, then it signifies chronic pneumonia or pulmonary fibrosis. How to Use Auriculotherapy Yourself There are many methods in auriculotherapy. Professor Liu has recommended a very simple one. You can take some Vaccaria seeds and press them with your fingers onto the ear acupuncture points to stimulate them by using the principle of physical pressure. If you dont have such seeds, you can also use your fingers or a small massage wand (with a blunt tip) to apply pressure. One doctor in China even does it with a matchstick. You keep pressing the points until you feel a little sore. Here are some common auricular acupuncture points that you can press on your own. You can press each point 30 times in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening. Improving Coronary Heart Disease and Hypertension People with hypertension can massage the Jiaogan (AH6a), Pizhixia (AT4; subcortex), and Heart Points on their ears Patients with coronary artery disease can massage the Jiaogan (AH6a), Pizhixia (AT4; subcortex), and Shenmen (HT7) Points. Massaging these acupuncture points can regulate the balance of the bodys autonomic nerves, and make the parasympathetic nerves rise and the sympathetic nerves calm down. At this time, it can reduce tension and anxiety, and cardiovascular and other organs will also be functioning in a more stable manner. Massaging these areas can also regulate the bodys energy system to re-establish its balance. However, these methods are used for regular maintenance and disease prevention, not for first aid. Treating Colds and Nasal Congestion If you have caught a cold or have a stuffy nose, you can press and rub the Shenshangxian Points (TG2p; adrenal gland) 30 times until your ears feel a little sore and swollen. The Shenshangxian Points on the ears have many functions, including improving the bodys immunity, regulating blood pressure, and effectively treating nasal congestion. If you are experiencing headaches or dizziness, you can press and rub the tips of the ears without a precise area, just by using your thumbs and index fingers. Relieving Sore and Dry Eyes In addition to pressing the acupuncture points around the eyes, you can also press the liver area on the ear. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is said that the liver meridian opens to the eyes, meaning that the liver meridian is responsible for a healthy vision. So, if your eyes happen to be dry and red, you can press the liver areas and the eye areas on your ears to improve your vision. Health Secrets in the Ears In the process of exploring life, human beings have made many discoveries beyond our awareness. The aforementioned French neurologist, Dr. Nogier, once discovered that several of his patients had small burns on their ears. He further learned that a doctor had been using the cauterization method to treat sciatica with great effect. This aroused Dr. Nogiers attention, and he began to study auricular therapy in 1951. In the 1990s, many Chinese and Western academics realized that the auricular acupuncture points on the ear are indeed highly regulating to the corresponding organs of the body, and they explained that auricular acupressure treats diseases through the parasympathetic nervous system. When a person is nervous, his or her sympathetic nerves act to speed up the bodys metabolism, while the parasympathetic nerves act as a counterbalance, suppressing the overexcitement of the bodys organs and giving them the necessary rest. In ancient China, the philosophy of Taoism and traditional Chinese medicine promoted peacefulness and inaction. In this kind of state, the parasympathetic nerves can function most effectively to put the body in balance. In fact, auricular acupuncture is used to stimulate this effect. In traditional Chinese medicine, the ear is not just an organ of hearing. In terms of meridian theory, the meridians are a network of six Yang meridians (large intestine, small intestine, bladder, San Jiao, gallbladder, and stomach) and six Yin meridians (liver, heart, spleen, lung, kidney, and pericardium). All six Yang meridians pass through the ear, and all six Yin meridians are connected to the ear through channels and collaterals. From this point of view, all the meridians of the body are actually connected to the ear. The theory of meridians is enlightening to scholars from all over the world. What we see with our naked eyes is only the surface of the human body, and the inner mechanism of the human body is full of mysteries that are still waiting to be explored. Epoch Health articles are for informational purposes and are not a substitute for individualized medical advice. Please consult a trusted professional for personal medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment. Have a question? Email us at AskADoctor@epochtimes.nyc An undated photo of the Union flag flying above the Victoria Tower and the Palace of Westminster in London. (Jonathan Brady/PA) Babies Banned From House of Commons Even If They Are Good as Gold The House of Commons Procedure Committee has announced a permanent ban on MPs bringing their babies into the chamber. It comes after Labour MP Stella Creasy brought her 3-month-old son, Pip, into the chamber during a debate. She said he was as good as gold but she later received an email reminding her of the ban on babies. The Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, ordered a review of the rule in November and Creasy said she hoped it would allow parenting and politics possible to mix. Labour MP Stella Creasy holds her baby daughter, Hettie, in the House of Commons in London as she contributes to a debate on June 4, 2020. (House of Commons/PA) At the time Conservative MP Alicia Kearns said the chamber was no place for a baby and added, In no professional workplace would you feed your baby in a meeting with your chief executive, or in a pitch to new clients, or on a stage in front of shareholders. On Thursday, reacting to the outcome of the review, shadow defence secretary John Healey said, In the chamber I think its reasonable, if thats what the speaker decides, that we concentrate on the debates. The chair of the Procedure Committee, Conservative MP Karen Bradley, said: On the balance of evidence received, the committee recommends that current rules remain and members should not bring babies into the House of Commons Chamber or Westminster Hall proceedings. Call for House of Commons Commission To Take Stock Bradley said: Many of the issues raised in our inquiry relate to the intersection between members personal and professional circumstances. We join the Women and Equalities Committees recent calls for the House of Commons Commission to take stock of recommendations made in this space in recent years. The Procedure Committee stands ready to advise the House on any consequences for procedure and practice in the Commons. The committee also agreed to make it a permanent feature that MPs on maternal leave, or indeed paternal leave, were able to vote by proxy and this would also be available for MPs who were experiencing serious long-term illness. Bradley said, We now call on the government to schedule a debate in the coming weeks to give the House a chance to debate whether proxy voting should be extended in this way, as a pilot and subject to a review. In Canada babies are allowed into the parliamentary chamber and in 2018 a video of Karina Gould, a Liberal federal minister, breastfeeding during a debate went viral. President Joe Biden receives a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in the South Court Auditorium in the White House on Sept. 27, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Biden Administration Inks $3.2 Billion Deal With Pfizer for 105 Million COVID Vaccine Doses The Biden administration signed a new agreement with Pfizer and partner BioNTech on June 29 for 105 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine for a fall vaccination campaign, in a deal valued at $3.2 billion. The contract includes doses for both adults and children, as well as supplies of a retooled Omicron-adapted vaccine thats currently pending approval by federal health authorities, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a statement. We look forward to taking delivery of these new variant-specific vaccines and working with state and local health departments, pharmacies, health care providers, federally qualified health centers, and other partners to make them available in communities around the country this fall, said HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn OConnell. Pharmaceutical firms have been developing vaccines for the Omicron variant that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says is the dominant strain in the United States. This agreement will provide additional doses for U.S. residents and help cope with the next COVID-19 wave. Pending regulatory authorization, it will also include an Omicron-adapted vaccine, which we believe is important to address the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, Sean Marett, chief business and chief commercial officer of BioNTech, said in a statement. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to issue a decision in the coming days following a June 28 meeting in which external advisers recommended modifying the vaccines to better target the Omicron coronavirus variant. Under the new Pfizer contract, the U.S. government has the option to buy an additional 195 million doses, bringing the total up to 300 million, according to HHS. Over the past 18 months, we have procured and delivered more than 750 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine nationwide, contributing to two-thirds of American adults being fully vaccinated, OConnell said. The CDC recently recommended everyone older than 6 months old get the COVID-19 vaccine, expanding eligibility for nearly 20 million additional children in the United States. Surveys show that a majority of parents with children younger than 5 will wait until more information becomes available, wont have their children vaccinated unless the vaccination becomes mandatory, or will never have their children vaccinated against COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Under the new Pfizer deal, the U.S. government is set to pay more than $30 per dose on average, which is substantially higher than the $19.50 it paid in its initial Pfizer contract. Pfizer said in May that it expects about $32 billion in COVID-19 vaccine sales for 2022, a figure that reflected agreements signed before the newly announced contract with the U.S. government. On June 23, Pfizer approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.40 per share. A U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter taking part in the U.S.-led Saber Strike exercise flies over Estonia on June 6, 2018. (Ints Kalnins/Reuters) Biden Administration Throws Support Behind Potential F-16 Sale to Turkey MADRIDThe Biden administration threw its support on Wednesday behind the potential sale of U.S. F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, a day after Ankara lifted a veto of NATO membership for Finland and Sweden. Celeste Wallander, Assistant Secretary for Defense for International Security Affairs at Pentagon, told reporters on a call that strong Turkish defense capabilities would reinforce NATOs defenses. The United States supports Turkeys modernization of its fighter fleet because that is a contribution to NATO security and therefore American security, she said. These plans are in the works. And, they need to be worked through our contracting processes, she added. Turkey made a request in October to the United States to buy 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes. Washington had not previously openly expressed any opinion on the sale aside from saying all weapons sales would have to go through the necessary legal process. In March, the State Department wrote a letter to some members of the U.S. Congress who had opposed the sale, saying appropriate U.S. defense trade ties with Turkey would serve U.S. interests. Wallanders comments come on the heels of an 11th hour deal struck on Tuesday between Turkey, Finland and Sweden after four hours of talks, averting an embarrassing impasse at the gathering of 30 NATO leaders that aims to show resolve in the face of Russias invasion of Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden, speaking before his meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid praised Erdogans efforts to help strike a deal with the Nordic countries. I want to particularly thank you for what you did, Biden said. The three nations signed a deal under which Ankara lifted its block on Finnish and Swedish membership, while the candidates pledged not to support the Kurdish militant PKK and YPG groups, or the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, which Turkey blames for a failed 2016 coup attempt. U.S. officials pushed back against any suggestion that Washington was backing the warplane request to remove Turkish objections to the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO. The U.S. did not offer anything to Turkey and was not asked for anything by Turkey as part of its agreement with Finland and Sweden, a senior administration official said. The official said U.S. officials were engaged in ongoing technical talks about Turkeys request to buy U.S. F-16 fighter jets. Congress would have the final say about any such sales. Erdogan, before departing for Madrid on Tuesday but after a phone call with Biden, criticised the United States over the F-16 sale, saying it was stalling Ankara. In his brief remarks before his meeting with Biden, Erdogan did not bring up the F-16 issue but expressed his pleasure to meet Biden after a long while. Their meeting lasted about an hour. The two leaders had last met in person in October 2021 and spoke on the phone earlier this year. The sale of U.S. weapons to NATO ally Turkey became contentious after Ankara acquired Russian-made defense missile systems, triggering U.S. sanctions as well as Turkeys removal from the F-35 fighter jet program. By Humeyra Pamuk and Andrea Shalal Biden: Drivers Must Pay More for Gas As Long as It Takes to End Russia War President Joe Biden on Thursday said that American motorists should expect to pay elevated prices for gasoline until the RussiaUkraine war is over. In a press conference following the NATO summit in Madrid, Biden was questioned about how long people should pay higher gas prices. How long is it fair to expect American drivers and drivers around the world to pay a premium for this war? a New York Times reporter asked Biden. As long as it takes, Biden said in response, so that Russia cannot in fact defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine. This is a critical, critical position for the world, he added, again blaming the elevated gas prices on the RussiaUkraine conflict. Biden and his fellow Democrats have claimed Russia is to blame for the high prices, although they have rarely mentioned U.S. sanctions targeting Moscow or his well-documented policy efforts to restrict oil and gas production inside the United States. Gas prices started rising soon after Biden took office in January 2021, and they continued on that path well before Russias invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022. The reason why gas prices are up is because of Russia. Russia, Russia, Russia, Biden also stated. The reason the food crisis exists is because of Russia. Oil Production Also during the news conference, the president said he will not ask Saudi Arabia to raise its oil production when he visits the kingdom in July. Reports earlier this year indicated that he would ask Saudi Arabia and other top oil-producing nations to increase their supply to deal with supply issues. Data provided by auto club AAA shows that the average U.S. price for a gallon of regular gasoline stands at around $4.87 as of Thursday morning. Thats about a 9-cent decline from last Thursday, although it represents a 25-cent increase from one month ago. The national average on June 30, 2021, according to AAA, was $3.12 per gallon. Earlier this month, Biden blamed U.S. oil companies, including ExxonMobil and Chevron, for the price spike and threatened to take executive action against the industry in a letter that was sent to the CEOs of major petroleum firms. The missive triggered pushback from both Exxon and Chevron, who accused the Biden administration of taking a hospital position against the fossil fuel industry by limiting drilling. In the short term, the U.S. government could enact measures often used in emergencies following hurricanes or other supply disruptionssuch as waivers of Jones Act provisions and some fuel specifications to increase supplies, ExxonMobil said in a news release earlier this month. At the same time, Biden administration officials have said that Americans should purchase electric vehicles to deal with the elevated gas prices. According to Kelly Blue Books April 2022 figures, the average price for a new electric vehicle is over $65,000meaning theyre cost-prohibitive for most Americans and especially those who cannot afford a new car. Republicans have said that Bidens green energy agenda and policies targeting the American oil and gas sectors are the reason why gas prices have reached record levels. After taking office last year, Biden signed a series of executive orders limiting new drilling leases on federal lands, ending federal subsidies for fossil fuels, and killing the Keystone XL pipeline. President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair speaks with reporters as he arrives for a caucus meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 22, 2022. (The Canadian Press/ Patrick Doyle) Bill Blair Denies Pushing Gun Control Agenda in Talks With RCMP Commissioner on NS Mass Shooting Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair says he didnt push the Liberals gun-control efforts by pressuring RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki to release sensitive information during the investigations into the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting. Blair and Lucki are at the centre of a controversy sparked by a document released earlier this month by the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC), an inquiry that is looking into the April 2020 shooting in Nova Scotia that left 22 people killed. The document included notes from RCMP Superintendent Darren Campbell that said, in an April 28, 2020 teleconference, Lucki had criticized senior RCMP managers who refused to make public sensitive information about the guns used in the killings. In his letter, Campbell raised concerns about Lucki stating that she had promised the minister of public safety and the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) that the RCMP would release the information, saying it would jeopardize the investigations. At the time of the shooting, the Liberals government was about to announce the banning of hundreds of types of what they labelled assault-style firearms, which entered into force on May 31, 2020. At No Time Did I Cross That Line Blair, who was the public safety minister at the time of the shooting, denied linking the Liberal governments gun-control measures to the mass shooting, saying that he had a number of conversations and briefings from the RCMP and the RCMP Commissioner, but they didnt talk about releasing information about the firearms involved. I know very clearly the line between government responsibility for governance and oversight of the RCMP and giving directions in any way, he told reporters in a press conference on June 29. And at no time did I cross that line, or any member of my government cross that line, in giving direction to the Commissioner of the RCMP. In a June 21 statement, Lucki also denied any interference in the investigations into the mass shooting but didnt directly dispute the claim that she asked for the information on firearms to be released. On June 28, the MCC released additional documents on the investigation, including an email letter to Lucki from the Nova Scotia RCMP strategic communications director at the time, Lia Scanlan. In her letter, dated April 14, 2021, Scanlan corroborated Campbells claims that Lucki had promised Blair and the PMO to release information about the guns used in the 2020 mass shooting. Eventually, you informed us of the pressures and conversation with Minister Blair, which we clearly understood was related to the upcoming passing of the gun legislationand there it was, Scanlan wrote. She also touched on the April 28, 2020 teleconference between the RCMP H Division (Nova Scotia) and RCMP headquarters in Ottawa. The reason for the meeting was unclear, although I suspected it may have had to do with guns, given I was asked if Darren [Campbell] could speak about the guns less than two hours before the press conference was scheduled to take place, Scanlan wrote. On June 29, Conservative public safety critic Raquel Dancho and a number of her parliamentary colleagues released a joint statement saying that the testimonies from the senior RCMP officials have indicated Lucki was under pressure that came right from the top. Canadians deserve answers. The Liberals must fully participate in this investigation without delays or games. We need to hear from all involved, right up to the Prime Ministers Office. Anything less is a cover-up, said the statement. Lee Harding and Noe Chartier contributed to this report. Security personnel recover the body of a migrant in the area between Kufra city and Chadian border with Libya June 28, 2022. (Courtesy of Kufra ambulance service head Ibrahim Belhasan /Handout via Reuters) Bodies of 20 Migrants Found in Libyan Desert 2 Weeks After Last Contact TRIPOLI, LibyaThe bodies of 20 migrants who got lost in the Libyan desert near Chad have been found, the ambulance service said on Wednesday, showing pictures of them lying around a black pickup truck on the sand. The bodies were discovered by a truck driver travelling through the desert and were recovered on Tuesday about 320 km southwest of Kufra and 120 km from the border with Chad. The driver got lost and we believe the group died in the desert about 14 days ago since the last call on a mobile phone there was on June 13, Kufra ambulance chief Ibrahim Belhasan said by phone. Two of the bodies were Libyans and the others were believed to be migrants from Chad crossing illegally into Libya, Belhasan said. Libya has become a major launching point for migrants seeking to reach Europe via the dangerous route across the desert and over the Mediterranean. However, despite the conflict, its oil-based economy is also a draw for migrants seeking work. By Ahmed Elumami British Education Secretary U-Turns on School Power Grab After Lords Backlash Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has ordered a U-turn on the governments Schools Bill after a rebellion in the House of Lords ordered a rethink, following accusations of a Whitehall power grab. Under the plans, all schools must become academies, but a scathing rebellion from the Lords, including from former Prime Minister Margaret Thatchers architect of education, warned it would give Whitehall unrestricted control over education. The British governments Schools Bill, which is currently in the committee stage in which bills are considered line by line, is a wide-reaching piece of legislation that aims to raise schooling standards across the country by increasing attendance and improving safeguarding. Academies In a letter to the Lords on Thursday, academies minister Baroness Barran said that the government would be removing clauses 1 to 4 and Schedule 1 of the bill, which would have introduced new standards that all academies would need to follow, as well as extending the laws for maintained schools to academies. In England, academies are publicly funded schools that operate outside of local authority control. Students take a break between classes at Park Lane Academy in Halifax, northwest England on March 17, 2021. (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images) In the letter, Barran said that the government was grateful for the scrutiny of the bill in the Lords, adding that the government recognises the concerns about the possible future use of these powers that are not in line with our intention of preserving academy freedoms. Those aspects have been criticised in the Lords. Former academies ministers Lord Nash and Lord Agnew, alongside Thatchers education secretary Lord Baker of Dorking, tabled amendments to the bill over their concerns that academies would lose their freedoms under the new draconian provisions. Baker, who held the role from 1986 to 1989, has said of the Schools Bill that constitutionally, it is an abomination. It is unacceptable and I am amazed that a Conservative government have done it, he added. During the second reading in May, Baker warned that Its a real grab for power by the Department for Education [DfE]. You must remember that the DfE since 1870 has never run a school. Now theyre going to take complete control over the education system. And so I think they should be watched. While the issue of academies is still ongoing, parents who home educate are worried about how the Schools Bill strengthens the powers of authorities to issue fines and force children into mainstream schools if they dont comply with the rollout of a new mandatory register. Some of the penalties for non-compliance to this register, or failure to provide all information requested, could lead to a 2,500 ($3,040) fine or up to 3 months imprisonment. James Laurie, aged 8, is assisted in his online work by his mother Laurette as he continues home schooling, in London, on Jan, 25, 2021. (Leon Neal/Getty Images) Wendy Charles-Warner, co-chair of Education Otherwise, a charity across England and Wales that promotes and supports the right of a parent or guardian to home educate, told The Epoch Times that removing a few clauses doesnt go far enough and that she wanted the bill to be taken down entirely. The clauses that are being removed are only the clauses that affect academisation. There are two whole sections in the Bill that radically affect home education and families, she said. And they need to be paired down to nothing, they need to be removed, the whole thing was shoddily put together, it was not based on evidence and the need for registration for home-educated children has never been evidenced by this government. They need to take it away and they actually need to do their research and come back with answers, said Charles-Warner. Concerns A Department for Education spokesperson said: As we work towards all schools in strong academy trusts, we have been clear that the current regulatory system must evolve to retain parents confidence and make sure every school in every trust is helping their pupils fulfil their potential. We therefore remain committed to the Schools Bill putting clear academy trust standards on a legal footing, and allowing for the government to intervene directly in the rare cases of academy trust failure. The spokesperson added that the review of academy trusts, which involves an expert advisory group running parallel to the bill, will propose what the standards should be and how intervention should work. But we are listening to concerns from peers about how the provisions in the bill would operate in practice, and will make sure the bill protects and strengthens the fundamental freedoms academies enjoy, the spokesperson said. That is why we are supporting the temporary removal of clauses 118 from the bill, in advance of bringing back revised clauses later in the bills passage through Parliament. PA Media contributed to this report. People wait in line to check in at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on May 12, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette) Canada Extends COVID-19 Border Restrictions Until at Least Sept. 30 The federal government says it will extend its existing COVID-19 restrictions for travellers entering Canada, including the use of its ArriveCAN app, until at least Sept. 30. Random COVID-19 testing will continue to be paused at all airports until mid-July for fully vaccinated travellers, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) announced on June 29. The pause on testing, which was introduced on June 11 and slated to end this month, was extended to allow airports to focus on streamlining their operations, the health agency said. With the extension, PHAC said the Canadian government will move forward with its plans to relocate COVID-19 testing for air travellers outside of airports to test provider stores, pharmacies, or by virtual appointment. Mandatory random testing will continue at land border points of entry with no changes, the agency added. Travellers who are not fully vaccinated will continue to be tested on the first and eighth days of their mandatory 14-day quarantine unless exempted. Meanwhile, all travellers are still mandated to submit their travel information within 72 hours before arrival in Canada through the ArriveCAN app, regardless of their vaccination status. Outside a state-owned coal-fired power plant near the site of a large floating solar farm project on June 14, 2017 in Huainan, Anhui Province, China. The floating solar field is built on part of a former coal mine. The solar farm now produces enough energy to power 15,000 homes. Officials say they are planning more projects like it, in an area where long-term intensive coal mining has led to large areas of ground sinking and environmental degradation. China remains the planet's top emitter of greenhouse gases and accounts for about half of the world's total coal consumption. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) China Further Loses Price Advantage as EU Votes to Impose a Carbon Tax After a two-week hiatus, the European Parliament finally passed the revised Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Consequently, China further loses its price advantage in exporting carbon-intensive products to Europe, a second blow to the countrys exports after 32 nations stopped preferential tariff treatment at the end of 2021. CBAM aims at ensuring an equivalent carbon price for domestic and imported production on selected goods, and thereby encouraging the EUs trading partners to reduce their carbon emissions. On June 22, the European Parliament passed three key climate bills, including the Emissions Trading System (ETS) reform, the CBAM, and a new Social Climate Fund. CBAM will become the worlds first carbon tariff bill if the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union reach a final agreement in the ongoing negotiations. The UK is now following the EUs lead, and the United States had previously urged the G7 countries to push forward with the new bill. In fact, when the debate on CBAM was almost at a standstill at the European Parliament, Chinas state-run media expressed joy and optimism, as the United States and Europe are Chinas two largest export markets. Trading data in 2020 showed that Chinas total exports to Europe even surpassed that of the United States that year. In 2021, Chinas exports to the EU amounted to 472 billion euros (about $498.82 billion), accounting for 15 percent of Chinas total exports and 25 percent of EU imports, and a year-on-year increase of 37 percent. The amended version of CBAM expanded the scope to cover additional products. In addition to steel, cement, oil refining, organic chemicals, and fertilizers, targeted by the previous version, the new bill added plastics, hydrogen, and ammonia. Moreover, indirect emissions, such as those necessary to generate electricity for manufacturing, are also included. All these measures paint a grim picture for Chinas exporting sector. As the worlds factory, China accounted for 30 percent of the global manufacturing output in 2021. Most of its exports are energy-intensive products with high carbon emissions and high energy consumption, making them the main targets of CBAM. The bill covered several major industries in China, such as cement, steel, plastics, and fertilizers. Based on the initial version of CBAM proposed on July 14 last year, which covered steel, cement, aluminum, fertilizer, and electricity, carbon tariffs could affect 275.7 billion Yuan (about $41.21 billion) worth of Chinas exports to Europe, which comprise 12 percent of Chinas total exports to Europe. If Chinas steel and aluminum industries pay 2 billion to 2.8 billion yuan (about $300 million to $420 million) of carbon tariffs each year, it would increase the cost of steel by $97.5 to $103.1 per ton, and increase the cost of aluminum by $642 to $733.8 per ton, according to a 2021 report by Chinas Innovative Green Development Program (iGDP). European Aluminum, an industry association, said in a recent report that the carbon intensity of the primary aluminum production in Europe (EU, EFTA, UK) is approximately 6.8 kilograms of CO2 per kilogram of aluminum produced compared to a global average of 16.1 kilograms of CO2 and a Chinese average of 20 kilograms of CO2. In the first five months of this year, Chinas exports to the EU totaled $226.84 billion, a year-on-year increase of 17.4 percent; of which, organic chemicals covered by CBAM totaled $9.19 billion; chemical industry and related industrial products $18.17 billion; steel and steel products $2.71 billion and $5.48 billion respectively, and aluminum and aluminum products with high carbon emissions totaled $2.69 billion, according to the latest data from Chinas General Administration of Customs of China. Unite Belt and Road Countries to Counter US and Europe: CCP Experts In response to the EUs carbon tariffs, Lin Boqiang, director of the China Energy Policy Research Institute of Xiamen University, published a column on May 28, saying that once the EU carbon tariffs are implemented, it will bring additional costs to Chinas exports to Europe, especially energy-intensive products, weakening Chinas competitiveness in all related industries. Developed countries such as the United States and Europe will continue to introduce similar policies, forming green trade barriers for Chinas export industries, he said. Chinas iGDP also warned in its report that CBAM will not be Chinas only green trade threshold, implying that more trade restrictions are on the way. Lin suggested that the Chinese authorities should strengthen negotiations with developed countries such as the United States and Europe, and emphasize Chinas position as a developing country. Previously, the CCP took advantage of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR), a principle formulated by the UN to address climate change, to give itself more time to reach carbon neutrality. CBDR stipulates that all states are responsible for addressing global environmental destruction yet not equally responsible. However, in November last year, almost all developed countries, including the 27 EU countries, abolished Chinas GSP trade benefits as a developing country. In response, Lin suggested that the Chinese authorities use diplomatic means to solve the climate problem and unite countries along the Belt and Road and other developing countries such as BRICS to jointly counter the pressure exerted by developed countries. CBAM will be implemented on Jan 1, 2023, with a transition period that runs to the end of 2026. The official levy will be imposed in 2027, one year later than the original version. Students hold the US flag and sing the Star-Spangled Banner at Hong Kong University in Hong Kong on September 20, 2019, as they rally for the US Congress to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. (Anthony Wallace/ via AFP Getty Images) China Viewed Unfavorably for Its Human Rights Abuses: Pew Research Unfavorable views of China are shared among the majority of 19 countries surveyed by the Pew Research Center. Human rights issues are the top reason for the negative view of the Communist regime. In the 2022 Pew Research Center global survey released on June 29, negative views of China remain at or near historic highs in many of the 19 countries surveyed. Across the 19 countries surveyed, a median of 68 percent of respondents say they have an unfavorable view of China. Criteria of Concern The respondents identified concerns about four issues relating to China: Chinas policies on human rights, Chinas military power, economic competition with China, and Chinas involvement in the politics in their country. Among 19 nations, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Sweden have the worst views of China, more than 80 percent of respondents in each country holds a very unfavorable opinion of China. Chinas policies on human rights top the publics concern and are tied to the unfavorable view of the country. A median of 79 percent of respondents across the nations say those policies are a serious problem, and 47 percent say they are a very serious problem. Tibetans, Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Hongkongers, Southern Mongolians, Taiwanese, and Chinese Democracy Activists join together to call on governments to stand against the Chinese Communist Partys suppression of freedom, democracy, and human rights, in front of the United Nations headquarters in New York City on Oct. 1, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Chinas military power is seen as a serious problem by a median of 72 percent of respondents. It is seen as a relatively more important problem in the Asia-Pacific region. In Japan and Australia particularly, a majority of respondents are very concerned about Chinas military. The countries where bilateral relations are deteriorating tend to suspect Chinas involvement in their domestic politics. This view is particularly shared in places like South Korea, Australia, the United States, and Japan. Human Rights Versus Economics In nearly all places surveyed, for those who see Chinas human rights policies as a very serious problem, the public favor promoting human rights regardless of economic consequences. A February Pew survey showed similar results among the American respondents: 70 percent, both Republican and Democrat, say the United States should try to promote human rights in China, even if it harms economic relations between the two countries. When asked the first things that come to mind about China, one-in-five Americans mentioned human rights, including 3 percent who specifically mentioned the Xinjiang region and the Uyghurs who live there, genocide, or concentration camps, the Pew research reported. Wang Xiang contributed to this report. A man walks beside a statue of Confucius at the Confucius Temple in Beijing, China, on Sept. 28, 2010. (LIU JIN/AFP via Getty Images) Chinas Great Philosophers Would Despise What Mao and the CCP Created Commentary When the author of The Coming Collapse of China, Gordon Chang, predicted the imminent demise of the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) rule two decades ago, he argued that regimes collapse when people are no longer afraid and think theyre no longer alone. Changs forecast has yet to materialize. The state that Mao Zedong built is still in business. But two facts are worth noting. First, it took the Soviet Union 74 years to implode and disappear, and a year before it happened, few analysts saw it coming. At this moment, the CCPs reign of terror in Beijing is just 73 years old. In Chinas extensive history, seven or eight decades is a mere flash in the pan. Second, Maos CCP is wildly out of step with the Chinese philosophies that long dominated the countrys intellectual and cultural climate, namely, Taoism and Confucianism. If Changs prediction eventually proves true, we will someday assess the regime of Mao and his ideological successors as a deadly aberration in Chinese political and ethical thought. The late Austrian School economist, historian, and political theorist, Murray Rothbard, identified the founder of Taoism, Lao-tzu, as the first libertarian intellectual. Rothbard wrote: For Lao-tzu the individual and his happiness was the key unit and goal of society. If social institutions hampered the individuals flowering and his happiness, then those institutions should be reduced or abolished altogether. To the individualist Lao-tzu, government, with its laws and regulations more numerous than the hairs of an ox, was a vicious oppressor of the individual, and more to be feared than fierce tigers. After referring to the common experience of mankind with government, Lao-tzu came to this incisive conclusion: The more artificial taboos and restrictions there are in the world, the more the people are impoverished. The more that laws and regulations are given prominence, the more thieves and robbers there will be. Confucius was a 6th century B.C. contemporary of Lao-tzu and even more influential over the centuries. For challenging elitist authoritarianism, he was revolutionary in his day. He spoke of the Mandate of Heaven, the notion that rulers must exercise power lightly and justly or Heaven would see to it that the people overthrew them. Confucius defended the right of rebellion against tyrants, whereas Mao and his successors brook no dissent and crushed resistance with calculating brutality. Chinese philosopher Confucius, or Kung Fu-tzu, (551 479 BC), circa 500 B.C. (Rischgitz/Getty Images) Mao believed that all power flows from the barrel of a guneffectively an exaltation of force and a might makes right perspective. By contrast, both Taoism and Confucianism emphasize harmony and mutual respect. The founders of those ancient but enduring philosophies would be horrified to know that a Chinese leader starved and slaughtered 65 million of his countrymen to impose a system cooked up by a degenerate German scribbler named Karl Marx. Maos bloody Cultural Revolution of the 1960s tried to cement his virulent Marxism as the sole ideology of China. His objective was to eliminate the Four Olds of custom, culture, habit, and ideas. Lao-tzu and Confucius never called for the violent imposition of their ideas to the exclusion of others. Traditional Chinese philosophers like Lao-tzu and Confucius were culture-makers. Mao was the ultimate cultural nihilist, an enemy of culture itself. Whereas true culture spontaneously bubbles up among people as they interact, the artificial social arrangements that Mao sought to create in cultures place were top-down, narcissistic, and savage. It represented one maniacs delusions far more than it reflected consensus or pluralistic institutions. Even though leaders after Mao drifted from the most extreme and doctrinaire of Maoist ideas and practices, they all staunchly rallied (and still rally) around the one-party, authoritarian state as the locus of wisdom. They tolerate no threat to their monopoly on power. As he enters the second decade of his tenure, the current CCP leader, Xi Jinping, is ratcheting up oppression as he forms his own cult of personality. He heads an evil autocracy that persecutes minorities, arrogates total power to itself, and suppresses those who dare challenge its barbarity. The teachings of Lao-tzu and Confucius aimed to achieve humane conditions and a virtuous people. The self-serving propaganda of the CCP is in a completely different league, aimed at maintaining power at seemingly any cost. Of all the important Chinese philosophers, my personal favorite is Mencius. Born two centuries after Confucius, he is regarded by scholars as nearly the equal of Confucius in his influence. It is, in fact, through the more prolific Mencius that we understand Confucius himself. Mencius interpreted Confucius and took the elders teachings to their logical conclusionsto what lovers of liberty today identify as an ancient version of 19th century classical liberalism. A portrait of Mencius from Portraits of the Sage. Teacher Exemplar for a Myriad Generations: Confucius in Painting, Calligraphy, and Print Through the Ages (exhibit). Taipei: National Palace Museum. (Public Domain) Writing at Libertarianism.org in 2020, Paul Meany explained that Mencius believed individual growth was a very personal thing. It is far better to encourage it than to compel it: Similarly to Confucius, Mencius believed that the government existed to cultivate a virtuous citizenry. This at first sounds like a recipe for an overbearing authoritarian regime of paternalism, and yet Mencius beliefs do not remotely resemble those of a totalitarian. Mencius did not agree with heavy-handed, top-down approaches. Mencius, writes Meany, held economic views that Adam Smith defended some 2,000 years later. The Chinese philosopher argued against government monopolies and price-fixing. He defended free trade and opposed warfare as a means to national prosperity. He expected government officials to act with fairness, justice, and integrity: Mencius held those in power to strict standards. Like Confucius, Mencius believed leaders ought to be of the highest ethical character, given that their example would filter down to the rest of the population. If leaders did not practice ethical conduct, they could corrupt an entire society. If leaders did not keep clean moral characters or failed to fulfill their duties, it was morally permissible for them to be removed from office and replaced, by force if necessary. The followers of Taoist and Confucian thought rarely succeeded in securing the kind of minimal and benevolent state they wrote about. Governments are experts at thwarting, at least temporarily, the goals of those who wish to put the state in its proper place. But no Chinese scholar worth his salt would argue that Chinese culture hasnt been profoundly shaped over the centuries by these two philosophies. Moreover, there can be little doubt that if Lao-tzu, Confucius, or Mencius could pronounce judgment on todays Chinese regime, they would express profound contempt. The CCP has surely lost any mandate from Heaven if it ever had one. The day the CCP dies is the day when from beyond the grave, great-thinking men like Lao-tzu, Confucius, and Mencius will smile in unqualified approval. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. People are standing in front of a closed real estate agency in Anxin county in China's Hebei province on April 3, 2017. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Chinas Surge in Foreclosures Could Collapse Housing Market: Expert In recent days, a post saying mainland China has more than 10 million foreclosed homes has caused a stir on social media. Official data shows a sharp surge in foreclosures in recent years. Experts have pointed out that this indicates the possibility of a housing market collapse and a financial crisis for local governments. On June 25, a Twitter post citing information from Chinas Bank Financial System Risk Control Conference revealed that nearly 40 million homes mortgages havent been paid nationwide, and there are currently more than 10 million foreclosed homes being auctioned. Its caused heated discussion on Twitter and has drawn attention to the surge of foreclosures in China. According to a report released by Chinas National Finance and Development Laboratory, the number of foreclosures skyrocketed from 500,000 homes in 2019 to more than 1.6 million in 2021. Since the beginning of this year, the COVID-19 outbreak has resurged in China. Under the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) zero-COVID policy, many cities have been locked down, leading to an economic recession. News of corporate layoffs, salary cuts, and falling housing prices have been constant. Meanwhile, the foreclosures of business and private properties have been a trending topic on social media. As early as January this year, Han Fuling, a professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics, posted on Chinese social media Weibo, The tide of foreclosures is really coming: 2022 just began, and the four major banks have already sued 200,000 homeowners for failure to pay their mortgages. Mainland Chinese media 21st Century Business Herald reported that according to the transaction data of the China Index Research Institute as of June 25, the transaction volume of the property market in top-tier Chinese cities in June fell by 16.1 percent compared with the same period last year; the second-tier cities fell by 17.5 percent compared with the same period last year. Mr. Chen, a mainland Chinese banking system employee, told The Epoch Times, Its hard to know the real data on the unpaid mortgages and foreclosures in China, but if this (more than 10 million foreclosed homes) is the case, I wouldnt be surprised. After all, the current economic situation is not good and peoples lives are difficult. Coupled with the downturn in the real estate market, there will definitely be a large number of people who cannot pay mortgage and foreclosures. A major mainland Chinese finance media First Finance and Economics said that failure to pay mortgage loans by homeowners is not the main reason for the increase in the number of foreclosure homes, as the growth of commercial and industrial foreclosure houses far exceeds that of ordinary residential ones. A man is walking past a closed real estate agency in Rongcheng county in Chinas Hebei province on April 3, 2017. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Regarding the surge in foreclosures, U.S.-based current affairs commentator Wang He told The Epoch Times, This shows that Chinas economy is already in a very dangerous situation. Real estate accounts for about 8 percent of Chinas annual GDP growth, plus the related industries, they make up 20 percent to 30 percent of Chinas GDP. The Chinese communist regime has recently passed around an order to stabilize the real estate market. Mainland Chinese media reported that on June 24, two district governments in Qingdao city of Shandong Province jointly issued an official document pressing residents to buy homes. The statement read, Anyone who maliciously refuses to buy a house, and is found out to have a huge savings in the bank, the officials will have a talk with them to remind [them to buy homes]. Wang He said, About 1/3 of the local governments fiscal revenue comes from the sale of land. If the sales of houses are difficult, the land sales are even more so. Thats why they came up with the strange measure to have an official talk with people who maliciously do not buy houses. It shows that the collapse of local governments finances is the biggest crisis in China. Luo Ya and Cheng Jing contributed to the report. China's leader Xi Jinping gestures as he speaks upon his arrival via high-speed rail in Hong Kong on June 30, 2022. (Selim Chtayti/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Chinas Xi Arrives in Hong Kong for 25th Anniversary of Handover Chinese leader Xi Jinping left mainland China on June 30 for the first time in 29 months to travel to Hong Kong, amid criticism from world officials about the regimes suppression of the former British colony. Xis visit is to mark the 25th anniversary of Hong Kongs handover to Chinese Communist Party rule. In a brief speech at the Hong Kong West Kowloon train station on June 30, Xi said Hong Kong had overcome many challenges over the years and had been reborn from the ashes with vigorous vitality. He later met with more than 160 officials and Beijing supporters. The last time Xi visited the city was on July 1, 2017, when he swore in Carrie Lam as the citys fourth leader. But unlike his previous trip, this time Xi didnt have to face mass rallies, since most prominent pro-democracy activistssuch as Nathan Law and Joshua Wong, who were part of the 2017 protestare either behind bars or have been forced into exile. Beijing implemented a draconian national security law in Hong Kong in June 2020 that wiped out dissent in the once-thriving global financial hub. A special unit of the Hong Kong police provides security in the citys Wan Chai District on June 30, 2022. (Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images) Police have ramped up security by closing high-speed rail terminals and other sites across the city ahead of Xis arrival. They have also designated security zones, sealed off roads, and enforced a no-fly zone for July 1. More than 10 journalists from local and international media outlets had their applications to cover the July 1 events rejected earlier this week on security grounds. COVID Concerns Chinese authorities havent released the details of Xis schedule, but hes likely to spend the night in Shenzhen, a neighboring mainland Chinese city, and return to Hong Kong the following day to attend the July 1 events. On July 1, Xi is expected to attend the inauguration ceremony for the citys new government, led by John Lee, a former security chief. Lee, like his predecessor, is on the U.S. sanctions list for curtailing the citys autonomy and freedoms under the national security law. The two-day visit also marks Xis first known trip outside mainland China in 2 1/2 years. The Chinese leader, poised to secure an unprecedented third term in office at an important party conclave this autumn, hasnt stepped out of the country since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. The regime has implemented a strict zero-COVID policy in both the mainland and Hong Kong. In preparation for Xis visit to Hong Kong, thousands of guestsincluding top officials, lawmakers, and diplomatschecked into quarantine hotels earlier this week and have taken daily nucleic acid tests as part of COVID-19 precautions. Hong Kong has recently seen a rise in COVID-19 infections, with 2,358 COVID-19 cases registered on June 30. Human Rights Criticism The highly choreographed visit comes amid growing international condemnation of the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) human rights abuses, such as the suppression of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. The latest criticism came from the Group of Seven leaders, which includes the United States, Canada, the UK, Germany, Italy, France, and Japan. During a summit on June 28, the G-7 called on the CCP to honor its commitments by restoring the rights, freedom, and autonomy of Hong Kong. The call on Beijing to uphold its international obligations was joined by the co-chairs of the CongressionalExecutive Commission on China on June 30. On this 25th anniversary of Hong Kongs handover, we stand with all those seeking to restore the democratic freedoms and lively civil society that made Hong Kong one of the worlds most vibrant cities, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Rep. James P. McGovern (D-Mass.) stated. They noted that the Chinese regime has broken its promises in recent years by imposing a sweeping and draconian national security law and revamping the electoral system so that only Beijing loyalists can govern the city. Press freedom has also been curtailed, as independent news outlets, including the popular Apple Daily and Stand News, have been forcefully shuttered. At least 10,500 Hongkongers have been arrested for political and protest-related offenses since June 2019, while more than 113 people are currently facing national security charges, according to the statement. As of January, at least 65 civil society organizations have disbanded or left the city for fear of persecution under the Beijing-imposed national security law, the chairs said, adding that the trend accelerated in the second half of 2021. The Associated Press contributed to this report. An AI robot with a humanistic face is pictured during a photocall to promote the forthcoming exhibition entitled "AI: More than Human," at the Barbican Centre in London on May 15, 2019. (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images) Chinese Military Relies on American Computer Chips to Advance AI Technology: Georgetown University Report The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) is largely dependent on computer chips designed by American companies for its progress in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, according to a new report by researchers at Georgetown University. The authors of the study, published in June, analyzed 24 public contracts awarded by PLA units and state-owned defense enterprises in 2020, sifting through thousands of purchasing records to find out exactly how the Chinese military comes to acquire AI chips. They found that the PLA is placing orders for AI chips designed by companies in the United States and manufactured in Taiwan and South Korea, despite efforts by both the Trump and Biden administrations to limit technology exports to the Chinese military. Those AI chips could effectively bolster the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in its efforts to be a world leader in AI. Of the 97 individual AI chips identified in public PLA purchase records, nearly all were designed by Nvidia (which currently dominates the AI chip market), Xilinx (now AMD), Intel, or Microsemi, according to the report. By comparison, we could not find any public records of PLA units or state-owned defense enterprises placing orders for high-end AI chips designed by Chinese companies, such as HiSilicon (Huawei), Sugon, Sunway, Hygon, or Phytium, the authors noted. The report comes as China continues to make great strides with its advanced machine learning systems, which are powered by AI chips, and plans to become a global leader in AI by 2030. Competitive Advantage Such technology could give the CCP a stronger competitive advantage over the United States, particularly in terms of its military, which could become one of the most capable in the world. According to a 2017 plan released by Beijing titled New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan, China has ambitious goals with regard to developing AI, including achieving major breakthroughs in basic theories for AI by 2025. Those breakthroughs, according to the document, will be so significant that some technologies and applications achieve a world-leading level and AI becomes the main driving force for Chinas industrial upgrading and economic transformation. By 2050, China also hopes that the AI industry will enter into the global high-end value chain. This new-generation AI will be widely used in intelligent manufacturing, intelligent medicine, intelligent city, intelligent agriculture, national defense construction, and other fields, while the scale of AIs core industry will be more than 400 billion RMB ($59.8 billion) and the scale of related industries will exceed 5 trillion RMB (over $747 billion). The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) will profoundly change human society and life and change the world, the 2017 plan states. To seize the major strategic opportunity for the development of AI, to build Chinas first-mover advantage in the development of AI, to accelerate the construction of an innovative nation and global power in science and technology, in accordance with the requirements of the CCP Central Committee and the State Council, this plan has been formulated. Increased Restrictions While the Chinese militarys progress in artificial intelligence largely depends on its ability to obtain AI chips, both the Trump and Biden administrations have attempted to curtail technology exports to military end-users in China through various restrictions and policies. During his time in office, President Donald Trump expanded the China-specific military end user rule so that it applied to basic semiconductors, semiconductor production equipment, and other items, restricting those items from being exported to China, and banned Americans from doing business with multiple Chinese technology companies, citing national security concerns. President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has substantially increased restrictions on American investments in a string of Chinese companies, particularly those tied to the defense or surveillance technology sectors. However, the authors of the Georgetown University study note that current policies put in place by the United States government are insufficient to limit Chinese military access to AI chips. Instead, they suggest that the Biden administration adopt new export control measures in an effort to keep the powerful AI chips from falling into the hands of the PLA. Ultimately, effectively limiting Chinese military progress in AI and other cutting-edge technologies will require the U.S. government to adopt novel forms of export control, which extend well beyond the current focus on visible end-uses and end-users, the authors wrote. At the same time, the U.S. government should seek to improve its own situational awareness by better harnessing open-source information and sharing relevant export information with allies and partners. Chinese leader Xi Jinping, is served tea as he speaks during a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on April 8, 2022. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) Chinese Stock Markets Plunge as Xi Calls for Sticking to Zero-COVID Policy The Chinese leader warned against 'herd immunity' strategy News Analysis Chinas Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) and Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) slumped on June 29 following Chinese leader Xi Jinpings speech in Wuhan. He stressed the need to strictly enforce the zero-COVID policy and warned against herd immunity in dealing with the pandemic. Xi delivered the speech in the early afternoon of Tuesday in Wuhan city, ground zero of the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost immediately, investor confidence seemed to have dropped as the SZSE and SSE reacted accordingly to Xis remarks on enforcing the strict COVID policy. The SZSE shed 286 points or 2.2 percent. The SSE fell 1.4 percent. Hong Kongs Hang Seng Index was also affected, dropping 1.88 percent. Medical workers spray antiseptic outside the main gate of the Shanghai Stock Exchange Building in Shanghai, China, on Feb. 3, 2020. (Yifan Ding/Getty Images) Xi Calls for Sticking to Zero-COVID Policy Xis visit to Wuhan in central Chinas Hubei Province was meant to promote Chinas technological self-reliance. But its noteworthy that Xi mainly focused on the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) zero-COVID policy. Xi praised the CCPs handling of the pandemic and claimed their COVID policy is the cheapest and most effective strategy compared to other countries measures to contain the pandemic, according to state-run media Xinhua. However, Xi admitted that the current measures had not slowed COVID in the country. At present, the epidemic hasnt stopped. We have to work hard to prevent the virus imported from overseas, and at the same time be alert of the relapses inside China, Xi said. Since mid-2020, the CCP has claimed that viruses from overseas cause COVID infections. For example, on April 14 this year, authorities in the capital city of Beijing blamed imported goods for causing an outbreak. Xi Warns Against Herd Immunity State-run Xinhua also reported that Xi told the local provincial and municipal government officials on Wednesday: China has a big population. If we take the herd immunity policy to curb the epidemic, the consequences will be disastrous. According to official data, Chinas population is over 1.4 billion, although some scholars believe the number should be around 1.25 billion to 1.28 billion. People with a two-three hour pass from their residential compounds speak with locked down residents during a COVID-19 lockdown in the Jingan district of Shanghai on May 27, 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images) In contrast to Chinas zero-COVID policy, many countries use the herd immunity approach to curb infections. Herd immunity, also called community immunity, is when a large part of the population is immune to the virus by vaccination or limited contact with the virus. Although not every single individual is immune, the group as a whole is protected from the virus. The difference between Chinas zero-COVID policy and the herd immunity approach is clear. Since January 2020, lockdowns have continued in several Chinese cities. Meanwhile, many countries have gradually eased their pandemic measures. The quarantines may have caused the virus to spread in locked-down communities and neighborhoods. The shortages in food and medicines have made it difficult for the residents. In April, a starving Shanghai resident wanted to get arrested for breaking quarantine rules so he could get fed in prison. He claimed he didnt receive food for four days while he was sealed in his apartment. This was not an isolated case, as many people in Shanghai and other cities reportedly suffered from starvation due to the lockdowns. Detrimental Effects of Zero-COVID Policy In his speech in Wuhan, Xi ordered the regime to strictly enforce the zero-COVID policy even though it affects the economic development, according to Xinhua. The strict pandemic measures include the following. Shipping and delivery restrictions are imposed in areas hard-hit by COVID, such as the provinces of Guangdong, Liaoning, Zhejiang, and Shandong. If a citizen receives an international package, his or her travel activities are monitored within seven days, and their health code color is changed to yellow. Foreign visitors are required to quarantine at designated facilities upon arrival. Imported products such as frozen foods are subjected to COVID testing. In the past months, the Chinese regime locked down 25 million people in Shanghaia major global financial huband its economy took a hit. According to official data, the output of Shanghais industries, located at the heart of manufacturing in the Yangtze River Delta, shrank 61.5 percent in April from a year earlier. The city may have lost at least 27.7 billion yuan (about $4.13 billion) in April, according to a Shanghai netizen. The lockdowns have affected Chinas economy. The real estate market, which contributes 25 percent of Chinas GDP, has been trending downward in recent months. Foreign investors continued to reduce their holdings of Chinese bonds in May for the fourth consecutive month. The draconian measures have caused humanitarian disasters due to the lack of medical support. For example, elderly people and those needing emergency care were denied medical services. In addition, numerous suicides were reported in the media. An employee walks past the logo of the ABC located at the main entrance to the ABC building located at Ultimo in Sydney, Australia, on June 5, 2019. (AAP Image/David Gray) Completely out of Order: Scholar Asked by Australian Broadcaster Not to Make Anti-China Statements An Australian academic revealed that he was asked not to make anti-China comments before an interview with the Australian national broadcaster, the ABC. Dr Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Institute for Strategic Studies (ASPI), a think tank funded by the Australian government, was interviewed by ABCs Radio National program on June 25 about the race to develop solar power in space. Davis alleged that the request was made by a producer who assisted with the interview. This person then said to me, Oh, look, weve come under a lot of pressure because were seen to be anti-China, so can you please not make any anti-China statements? Davis told The Australian. The actual request was completely out of order, in my opinion, he said. You dont ask someone not to have freedom of speech, which is what this person was asking me to do. The Ambassadors Visit to ABC Headquarters The request came after the Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian visited ABCs headquarters in Sydney on June 23. In a press release issued on June 24, Beijings embassy in Australia published photos of Xiaos visit to the national broadcaster and called for more positive reporting on China. Photos posted by Chinas Embassy in Australia showing Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian meeting staff at the ABC headquarters. (Chinese Embassy Australia) This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia, the embassy wrote in Chinese. It is hoped that ABC will give full play to its unique advantages in information dissemination, introduce and report China-Australia relations in a more rational and objective way, and make positive contributions to enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples. Davis said that after reading the press release about Xiaos visit to ABC, he couldnt avoid putting the two things together. Thats where the pressure has come from, he said. This is the first time Ive had someone actually say, Can you please not say something essentially anti-China? ABCs Response ABC Radio National responded to the comments by Davis saying that the academic had misunderstood the producers request. The national broadcaster explained that the focus of the story was on space solar technology, rather than further discussion of geopolitics. Before the interview, the producer explained that Greg Sheridan (The Australians foreign editor) had just been on that mornings program talking about the Chinese ambassadors speech, including making criticisms of China, the ABC told The Australian. Unfortunately, it appears this was misconstrued as being a request to not criticize China, which was not the intention. The Epoch Times also reached out to ABC Radio National for comment but did not receive a response. The Ambassadors Speech Sheridan was referencing Xiaos June 24 speech on China-Australia relations at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). During his speech, Xiao denied that Beijing had imposed trade sanctions on Australia, saying the measures were due to dumping complaints from Chinese companies and the Chinese publics dissatisfaction with Australia calling COVID-19 the China virus. Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian gave a speech at UTS in Sydney, Australia, on June 24, 2022. (The Epoch Times) The concerns have been misrepresented as preconditions, Xiao said, referring to a list of 14 grievances by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to the Morrison government in November 2020. However, the Ambassadors speech was interrupted continually by a series of protests calling for action on Tibet, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Uyghurs, and human rights abuses in China. Drew Pavlou, head of the Democratic Alliance party and an anti-CCP activist, was among the protestors who were evicted by the security guards immediately. In response to the Ambassadors speech at UTS, Greg Sheridan said Xiaos claim that theres no trade ban imposed by the Chinese government is complete and absolute baloney. However, it indicates the way the trade bans will end, just as the Beijing government didnt announce the imposition of the trade bans, he told ABC on June 25. So it wont announce the lifting of the trade bans, partly because the Chinese Communist Party government can never admit that it got anything wrong, or even that its making a course correction of itself. Australian Solar Farms Exposed to Chinas Slave Labour Supply Chains In the ABC program, Dr Malcolm Davis pointed out that China has recognized the potential value and currently investing in renewable energy, like wind, wave, and solar power. There are currently several international projects to develop a solar power station in space that aims to tap the energy of the suns rays without interference from the atmosphere, or any seasonal or night-time loss of sunlight, he said. It seems that China might be leading the pack as well. However, there are concerns that forced labour in Chinas solar manufacturing industry has driven down the cost. Protestors attend a rally for the Uyghur community at Parliament House on March 15, 2021 in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Sam Mooy/Getty Images) At least six in every 10 of Australias largest solar farms have sourced solar panels from supply chains vulnerable to Chinas Uyghur forced labour programmes, an investigation by The Epoch Times found out. Nationals Senator Matt Canavan said he was worried that many groups had been pushing for solar power without considering the ethical implications of Chinas forced labour campaign. There are multiple and credible reports that China has used slave labour to artificially suppress the cost of solar panel production, Canavan told The Epoch Times. It is outrageous that many claim that solar power is cheap without disclosing the potential that this could be due to the oppression of the proud Uyghur peoples. A man walks with a stroller as people stand in line outside the Martin B. Retting, Inc. guns store , in Culver City, Calif., on March 15, 2020. (Mario Tama/Getty Images/TNS) Data Breach Exposes Private Info of All California Concealed-Carry Permit Holders By Gregory Yee From Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELESA data breach has exposed the personal information of every person with a California permit to carry a concealed weapon, authorities said Tuesday. The California Department of Justice suffered the breach as part of the launch of its 2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal, according to the Fresno County Sheriffs Office, which said it was informed of the leak Tuesday by the California State Sheriffs Association. This public site allows access to certain information, however, personal information of concealed carry weapon permit holders is not supposed to be visible, the Sheriffs Office said in a statement. This includes, but is not limited to a persons name, age, address, Criminal Identification Index number and license type (Standard, Judicial, Reserve and Custodial). The breach affects all concealed weapons permit holders in California, the Sheriffs Office said. Justice Department officials pulled down the dashboard site along with all related links after learning of the breach, but it is possible that some private information was posted elsewhere online. It is unknown exactly how much time the information was accessible, the Sheriffs Office said. California Atty. Gen. Rob Bontas office told law enforcement it is working with urgency to determine the breachs scope and plans to contact permit holders to directly advise them. Bontas office will institute a program to mitigate harm or damages that permit holders suffer as a result of the breach, according to the Sheriffs Office. We are investigating an exposure of individuals personal information connected to the DOJ Firearms Dashboard, the attorney generals office said in a statement. Any unauthorized release of personal information is unacceptable. We are working swiftly to address this situation and will provide additional information as soon as possible. The Fresno County Sheriffs Office urges anyone whose information was compromised by the breach to visit www.fresnosheriff.org/report-a-crime-online and submit a report. Further information was not available Tuesday night. 2022 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Democratic Activists Buy Up Spanish-Language Media With Soros Funds to Win Latino Votes: Brazilian Journalist The recent launch of a Spanish-language media company partially financed by billionaire George Soros, and the startups almost immediate acquisition of 18 Spanish-language radio stations, was aimed at shifting voting preferences in Latino communities, said Brazilian journalist Paulo Figueiredo. The new startup, Latino Media Network (LMN), launched in early June by activists Stephanie Valencia and Jess Morales Rocketto, will focus on content creation, talent incubation, and distribution across multiple platforms to reach the Latino market, according to a company statement. The two founders have secured $80 million in capital from investors including Lakestar Finance, an investment group affiliated with Soros Fund Management, the statement said. The new company almost immediately signed a deal to purchase 18 radio stations in 10 cities from coast to coast in a $60 million all-cash deal, the statement read. Upon the transition of the stations, scheduled to be completed in late 2023, the network will be able to reach nearly a third of the U.S. Latino population in large cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, Chicago, Dallas, and others. Figueiredo told EpochTVs Crossroads program that the new media company aims to win back Latino votes for the Democratic Party through propaganda using funds provided by the investment firm tied to George Soros. According to a recent survey (pdf) by YouGov, a British international pollster, Trump would have 39 percent of the Latino votes while Biden would have 28 percent among the Hispanic population in the 2024 presidential election, so the left is losing Latino votes in America, Figueiredo said. No one ever thought this was possible, he said. Then-President Barack Obama won 71 percent of Latino votes in the 2012 election, according to Pew Research Center. The Democratic Party strategy was to change the demographics in America to make sure Latinos became the majority of the country, Figueiredo said, citing a book by Ann Coulter, a conservative author. Then, if Democrats have the majority of the Latino votes, they would win all elections forever, he explained. Republican Lawmakers Take Action Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Tom Cotton (R-Ariz.), together with three Republican House Representatives, sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in June expressing their concerns about the planned takeover of the Spanish-language radio stations by LMN, which they called a partisan organization. The lawmakers pointed out in the letter that LMNs funding comes mostly from Democrat partisans including an investment firm tied to leftwing billionaire George Soros. They also stressed that the company leaders lack experience in broadcasting. Due to these issues, the signatories requested the FCC to scrutinize the deal. Valencia, a co-founder of the new media company, served as one of the senior advisers to President Barack Obama through his presidential campaign and both terms in office and worked as the deputy Latino Vote Director on Obamas 2008 campaign. She also was an aide to the Secretary of Commerce during the Obama administration. During her career, Valencia served on the boards of three organizations, including The Latino Victory Project. Her co-founder, Rocketto, served as the political director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and was a chair of the organizations feminist campaign for immigration reform. She is also an alumna of Hillary for America, Obama for America, the Democratic National Committee, and other organizations such as the AFL-CIO, the federation of labor unions, and the New Organizing Institute, the organization responsible for training the Democratic Partys digital organizers, currently dissolved. The stations implicated in this sale are pillars of their local community, the letter said. For example, Radio Mambi serves a vital role in South Florida, offering listeners critical coverage of the dictatorship in Cuba and local news reporting. In some cases, these [stations] are among the last media outlets dedicated to, and staffed by, the local community. The hostile takeover by LMN would destroy those long-standing community connections. Takeover of Radio Station by Conservatives Halted Seeing diminishing support from Hispanic voters for Democrats socialist policies, the progressive politicians, instead of overhauling their own unpopular policies, try to win Latino votes through propaganda based on far-left ideologies and silencing conservative voices who challenge the leftist propaganda, the letter stated. The letter also reminds the FCC that in April 2021, the all-Democrat Congressional Hispanic Caucus took action to stop the sale of a single AM radio station in Miami. One of the Caucus members commented on the purpose of their action at that time, saying To win in 2022 this must stop! according to the letter. In April 2021, ATV Holdings Trust, which owns the America TeVe network and three TV stations in the Miami market, proposed to buy Radio Caracol, a Spanish-language news-talk station, with an intention to rebrand it and add a lineup of conservative talk hosts to its program, according to Inside Radio. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus voiced its concerns over the dismissal of one of the top Caracol hosts and claimed that after the acquisition the station would spread misinformation among the local Hispanic community, Inside Radio reported. The FCC dismissed the transfer due to a request of the stations seller and the deal was halted, according to the same source. Latino Political Preferences Latinos in general like big government, especially when it distributes money to people, but on the other hand they oppose the woke agenda due to their religious beliefs, Figueiredo said. Latinos are in vast majority Christians of some sort, either Catholics or Protestants and Evangelicals, he said. They do not approve of abortion, particularly late-term abortion, or the transgender ideology being pushed on children. Most countries in Latin America have leftist governments, with the exception of Brazilwhich will hold an election this yearUruguay, Paraguay, and Ecuador, Figueiredo said. The leftwing candidates in Latin America try to follow the socialist woke agenda used in the United States, Canada, and Europe, but it has not been well-received in the Latin nations, the journalist said. For example, introducing racial division seems strange to Brazilians, as there was no racial segregation in Brazil, said Figueiredo, who said he ran away from Brazil when it was ruled by socialist president Dilma Rousseff. Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who advanced socialist policies during his presidency and is running for reelection this year, faced horrible backlash for saying that police officers were not human beings, Figueiredo said. Thats like a step over defund the police, but its the same ideology. Brazilians like their police like Americans do and call the police for assistance if needed, Figueiredo said. America should know that most of the economic policies that the Democratic Party pushes forward in America have been tried in Latin America for several years, several times, Figueiredo said. And the result is catastrophic. Its a disaster. He gave examples of Venezuela and Argentina which both used to be rich countries but have been destroyed very fast by leftist policies. Sometimes [it] may look like America is indestructible. It is not. It takes centuries to build a country, to build a society as great as ours here in America, but it takes just a few years to destroy it. We should learn American history, learn why this country is better, and Im not afraid to say this. America is better than the rest of the countries in America and in the world. Latino Americans should not embrace the same policies that destroyed their home nations and made them leave to try a better life in the United States, Figueiredo said. Ella Kietlinska Reporter Follow Ella Kietlinska is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on U.S. and world politics. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference held at the Assault Brigade 2506 Honorary Museum in Hialeah, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) DeSantis Probe of Human Traffickers Cleared by Florida Supreme Court The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday gave permission to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to order a statewide probe into alleged human trafficking activities aided by transnational crime organizations (TCOs). The court approved DeSantiss request to impanel a statewide grand jury for an initial duration of 12 calendar months to investigate TCOs and their affiliates who allegedly smuggle peopleespecially childrenacross the southern border, according to court records reviewed by The Epoch Times. The statewide grand jury would independently investigate the criminal activities alleged in the petition, including human smuggling, kidnapping, and laundering of illegal substances, and make recommendations on current laws and law enforcement methods if deemed necessary, according to the petition. Judge Ellen S. Masters, Chief Judge for the Tenth Judicial Circuit, will preside over the grand jury. The purpose of the grand jury will be to investigate individuals and organizations that are actively working with foreign nationals, drug cartels, coyotes, to illegally smuggle minorssome as young as 2 years oldacross the border and into Florida, DeSantis said during a press briefing on June 17. Many children who are smuggled are assaulted, raped, kidnaped, and/or killed, the petition reads. They are used to traffic drugs and weapons, as well as launder money. The petition continued by citing government data that Border Patrol agents have apprehended over 108,000 unaccompanied children who had illegally crossed the border in fiscal year 2021. Almost all unaccompanied minors are being smuggled up from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, or El Salvador, according to Customs and Border Protection data. Once apprehended, unaccompanied children are processed by Border Patrol and transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), usually within 72 hours. HHS then places the child with a sponsor, who often is a family member of the child, according to the petition. According to a June 17 press release on the governors website, the grand jury would also investigate local governments that are aiding this smuggling scheme by intentionally violating state law, which requires them to cooperate with the federal government on immigration matters. The petition names Miami-Dade County as one of the government bodies under investigation. According to reports from federal law enforcement, however, MiamiDade County is refusing to honor federal requests to take custody of criminal aliens in MiamiDades detention facilities, including aliens arrested for attempted murder, domestic violence by strangulation, assault with a deadly weapon, and lewd and lascivious behavior on a minor, the petition states. Miami-Dade appears to be basing this unlawful conduct on fraudulent use of the victim and witness exception. DeSantiss petition comes as a part of what his office announced as a three-part measure to protect Floridians from the dangerous impacts of the Biden Border crisis. The two other parts include assembling a strike force of state and local law enforcement personnel to tackle illegal border activities and signing into law a bill (SB 1808) that will prohibit government agencies from contracting with any common carrier facilitating the resettlement of illegal aliens into Florida. Charlotte Cuthbertson contributed to this report. The Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is seen at the theme park in Lake Buena Vista, Fla, Aug. 30, 2021. (John Raoux/AP Photo) Disneys Globe-Trotting Tour Sells Out Before Tickets Were Open to Public Tickets for Disneys luxury globe-trotting trip in 2023 sold out during a presale event before they were open to the publichowever, Disney fans who missed out can still join the waitlist. Adventures by Disney announced its 24-day Disney Parks Around the World tour earlier this month. During the trip, participants will enjoy a private jet experience and visit all the 12 Disney theme parks in the world, including Anaheim, Paris, San Francisco, Cairo, Agra, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Florida, and Shanghai. The exclusive trip offered 75 seats and was scheduled to open for public booking on June 28, 2022. However, all the tickets were snapped up by Disneys VIP customers during a presale event on June 20. Most tickets were booked by previous Adventures by Disney guests. Were told that demand among those residents and members far exceeded available slots, and theres already a lengthy waitlist for guests who are interested in booking the experience, wrote Tom Bricker on Disney Tourist Blog. In addition to Disney parks, the travelers on the tour will also be able to visit several world-famous landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower in France, the pyramids of Ginza in Egypt, and the Taj Mahal in India. The tour spans six different countries, with experts and Disney staff providing stories and information specific to each site. The guests will travel in a VIP-configured Boeing 757 operated by Icelandair with long-range capabilities that allows for direct flights. The private jet will also be staffed with both a physician and chef. The trip runs from July 9 to Aug. 1, 2023 and includes visits to 31 sites. Guests are required to be 12 years of age or older to go on the tour. Tickets started at $109,995 per person. Disney fans can call (855)-996-2442 to join the waitlist. Click here for more information. Signage is seen at the United States Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, on Aug. 29, 2020. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters) Dual Citizen Pleads Guilty to Illegally Shipping US Technology to Iran An IranianAmerican dual citizen pleaded guilty on June 28 to conspiring to illegally export U.S. goods, technology, and services to the Islamic Republic, officials said. Kambiz Attar Kashani violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by shipping goods and technology to Iran without obtaining legal authorization from the U.S. Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), according to court documents. The 44-year-old man and his co-conspirators used two United Arab Emirates (UAE) companies to evade U.S. export laws by procuring electronic goods, technology, and services from U.S. technology companies for end-users in Iran, including the Government of Iran, prosecutors alleged. Technology illegally transferred to Iran from the United States could be used by terrorists, which is why the FBI and its partners devote significant resources to these investigations, Alan Kohler Jr., the assistant director of the FBIs counterintelligence division, said in a January statement that announced Kashanis arrest. The Department of Justice said on Tuesday that Kashani, who was arrested in Chicago, is facing a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and has already agreed to pay a $50,000 fine, in addition to any forfeiture owed. Prosecutors allege that Kashani acted under the direction of an arm of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), which has been classified by OFAC as a specially designated national, signifying the bank is acting for, or on behalf of, known terrorist organizations. Matthew G. Olsen, an assistant attorney of the DOJs national security division, said Kashani repeatedly lied to a number of American companies to conceal his intention to ship items to Iran, which allowed him to illegally obtain information technology for the CBI and other Iranian entities. Joseph R. Bonavolanta, a special agent-in-charge of the FBIs Boston field office, said officials believe Kashani gained financially by strengthening the economy of one of the worlds most infamous state sponsors of terrorism while also bypassing crucial laws designed to protect U.S. security interests. According to the U.S. government, the CBI has assisted and sponsored the Lebanon-based Shia terrorist group Lebanese Hizballah and the Qods Force of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps by providing financial, material, or technological support. The DOJ said Kashani and his co-conspirators procured electronic goods and technology from numerous U.S. companies, including businesses located in Brooklyn and Massachusetts, between February 2019 and June 2021. Kashani and his co-conspirators intentionally concealed from the U.S. companies that they intended to ship the items to Iran, falsely claiming that the UAE front companies would be the ultimate end-users, prosecutors said. The DOJ did not name Kashanis accomplices. From NTD News Elon Musk's Twitter profile on a smartphone placed on printed Twitter logos in this picture illustration taken on April 28, 2022. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters) Elon Musk Silent on Twitter for a Week As Elon Musks Twitter following sprinted past the 100-million mark this weeka milestone the billionaire shares with Barack Obama, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Katy Perry, and Cristiano Ronaldohis followers are noticing atypical behavior: he is not posting. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, while vocal on some of the most contentious headlinessuch as the Clinton campaigns Spygate scandal, media silence on Jeffrey Epsteins sex trafficking case, and union influence on the Democratic Partystayed uncharacteristically quiet on Twitter for a week amid several high profile events his followers would normally expect him to comment on. These events include the most consequential ruling impacting the abortion debate in the United States in half a century, plus other things more relevant to Musk himselfhis June 28 birthday and cuts to the Tesla workforce, and the closure of its California office. 145 Tweets Per Week According to Axios, the rocket-and-automotive engineer-in-chief posted an average of 145 tweets and retweets per week over the five weeks leading up to June 16, the day SpaceX employees sent a letter to the companys executive board complaining about their CEOs Twitter posts. Musks Twitter streak slowed down after June 16, Axios reported. Elons behavior in the public sphere is a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us, particularly in recent weeks, the letter reads, first reported by The New York Times on June 16. Some of the complaining employees were fired a day after the publishing of the New York Times article, reported the news agency. Musk alluded to the firing decision in response to another Twitter users post on June 17. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 17, 2022 Musks last posts were tweeted on the same day as the Twitter board unanimously approved his 44-billion-dollar offer on June 21. Not long after, Musk told attendees of the Qatar Economic Forum that there were a few unresolved matters before he could seal the deal, including fake accounts, shareholder approval, and debt financing. Andrew Moran contributed to this article. Enrollment in Chinas Military Academies Declines Amid CCPs Increasingly Militant Posture With continuing tensions across the Taiwan Strait, Chinas military academies saw an enrollment slump despite a downward admission score requirement in recent years. Several Chinese news media reported on the dilemma of the military academies inability to meet annual enrollment mandates. In 2022, dozens of military colleges and universities in China are scheduled to enroll 15,000 students, 2,000 more than that last year. Enrollment expansion, reduced admissions scores, and priority admission at a state-owned institution, did not attract enough students. One of the top Chinese Communist Partys (CCPs) military academies, the National University of Defense Technology in Changsha, Hunan Province, has lowered admission scores for years. In 2019, its first batch of science undergraduate admissions scores was 665 points; in 2020, it was down to 652 points; and in 2021, slid to 646 points. This years admissions score has not yet been finalized, but the score line in some regions is already lower than last year. In China, admissions scores vary by region. Shrinking enrollment in military schools first happened in 2019, which might be linked to the CCPs ambition of unifying Taiwan and an increased likelihood of a military conflict in the Indo-Pacific region, according to some experts. In early January 2019, CCP leader Xi Jinping delivered a strongly worded speech, claiming that unification with Taiwan would be the first task of the CCP in the future. Xi also told the Taiwanese people that independence of Taiwan is the end of the road, a threat that clearly indicates that if they reject the CCPs peaceful reunification, war will be inevitable for the democratically-ruled island. Two days later, in a central military committee meeting, Xi stressed that the CCP is in a period of vital strategic opportunities that need to strengthen awareness and preparation for war within the military and to ensure a quick and effective response to the event of war. The year 2019 marked a watershed year also for military colleges to enter a mode of readiness. The Chinese people all know that their children will face war and death if they go into the military, current political affairs commentator Gao Fengyi told The Epoch Times, citing that no one wants to be sent to die on the battlefield. Such statements make it difficult to recruit people for the CCPs military schools and army. Russias invasion of Ukraine earlier this year added to CCPs thoughts on waging a potential war. A soldier of the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) takes a selfie in front of a J-10 jet fighter ahead of the Airshow China 2014 in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, on November 10, 2014. (Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images) On June 21, 29 Chinese military aircraft flew into Taiwans air defense zone, including 17 fighter planes, six bombers, two airborne early warning planes, one anti-submarine plane, one electro-detection plane, one electronic interference plane, and one air refueling plane. The CCPs move appeared to be an attempt to flaunt its ongoing war preparedness after it repeatedly announced its hardline stance on Taiwan earlier in June. Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe claimed on June 12 that if Taiwan moves toward independence, the CCP will fight a war at any cost. Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a June 13 press conference that China has sovereignty over the Taiwan Strait. On the same day, the CCP released a non-war military action plan for the army, which provides the legal basis for the regime to conduct non-war military operations abroad. The CCPs coercion of Taiwan is pressing and the United States will continue to assist Taiwan in improving its self-defense, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin emphasized in a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an Asian security conference in Singapore, on June 11. Gao told The Epoch Times that the CCPs frequent belligerent moves in recent years are the main reason for enrollment declines in military colleges in China. Fearing the imminence of war, most parents keep their children out of military service for safety concerns, and students with high scores also tend to not apply to military schools or become soldiers, Gao said. Ellen Wan contributed to this article. FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks to members of Congress in Washington on May 25, 2022. (Bonnie Cash/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) FBIs Response to Attacks on Pregnancy Clinics Undergoes Scrutiny Dozens of attacks on churches, pregnancy crisis centers, and pro-life groups around the nation have drawn an FBI investigation and questions from lawmakers about whether the Biden administration is doing enough to stop them. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to FBI Director Chris Wray this week calling for a briefing on the issue and urging Wray to ensure these violent attacks are recognized by the FBI and are being properly investigated for what they arecases of abortion-related violent extremism. There have been at least 40 violent attacks on crisis pregnancy centers, religious institutions, and other pro-life entities since the Dobbs leak and before the Court even issued its final opinion, Grassley wrote. This violence continues to cause injury, damage to property, and interruption of constitutionally protected worship services all across the nation. In fact, it substantially accelerated last weekend, after the opinion was issued. Current threats from abortion extremists are impending, serious, and dangerous, he added. Ranking member Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on voting rights on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 20, 2021. (Bill Clark/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) Pro-life groups say they fear the attacks will escalate into worse violence. They argued the media has given little attention to the attacks, which took off after the controversial leak of an early draft of the Supreme Court opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade weeks before the official decision was released. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs vs. Jackson Womens Health that there is no constitutional right to an abortion and that the states have the right to decide their own respective abortion policies. I applaud Sen. Grassley for his efforts to protect pro-life pregnancy centers, churches, and other institutions, said Eric Scheidler, executive director for the Pro-Life Action League. It is critical that the FBI thoroughly investigate the rash of attacks on pro-life groups since the Dobbs draft was leaked, which have only intensified since the official ruling came down. The media have largely ignored these attacks, which dont fit their narrative, but if law enforcement doesnt step up, vandalism may escalate to physical violence and even homicide. Others called on the Biden administration to keep the groups safe. More than 40 pregnancy centers and churches have been attacked in the wake of the Supreme Courts decision overturning Roe v. Wade, said Peter Breen, vice president and senior counsel for the Thomas More Society. But theres been a media blackout on this violence, and pro-abortion politicians refuse to acknowledge it. We expect the Biden administration to do just as much to protect pro-life pregnancy resource centers as it would for abortion facilities. Recent reports show hackers have targeted states passing stricter anti-abortion measures. Other attacks have included arson, broken windows, and graffiti. The FBI told The Center Square in a statement they are investigating the attacks. The FBI is investigating a series of attacks and threats targeting pregnancy resource centers and faith-based organizations across the country, the FBI press office said in a statement. The FBI takes all threats seriously and we continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners and will remain vigilant to protect our communities. We would like to remind members of the public that if they observe anything suspicious or have information about potential threats to report it to law enforcement immediately, call their local FBI field office, or submit a tip to tips.fbi.gov. By Casey Harper Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis displays the signed bill that he says increases protections for unborn children. (Screenshot, Gov. Ron DeSantis Facebook Page) Florida Judge Delays 15-Week Abortion BanDeSantis is Not Surprised PUNTA GORDA, Fla.A circuit judge declared Floridas 15-week abortion ban unconstitutional by delaying it and Gov. Ron DeSantis said the decision was not unanticipated. Leon Circuit Judge John Cooper ruled on June 30 that the new law signed by DeSantis in April was unconstitutional and that it was temporarily delayed, but would only take effect after he issued a written ordermeaning it could still take effect on July 1. We knew that was likely going to be what was decided in that case, the governor said at a June 30 press conference in Sanford. It was not, of course, something that we were happy to see. Shortly, after the legislation was signed into law, attorneys for the ACLU and Planned Parenthood sued to stop the law and asked the court for an injunction. A Planned Parenthood facility in Anaheim, Calif., on September 10, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) They argued the law violates the right to privacy provided in the states constitution which was approved by the voters in 1980. In the past, court cases have affirmed the right of privacy extended to a womans right to obtain an abortion. Staff attorney for the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, Whitney White said Floridas 15-week ban would force people to carry pregnancies against their will. This ban defies the will of the people and rights that Floridians have relied on for decades, she said in a released statement. Everyone deserves the ability to access the abortion care they need and well continue fighting for that right with every tool at our disposal. Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said there is a glimmer of hope for abortion access in Florida. This decision could not come at a more crucial time, she said in a released statement. As abortion bans ripple across the country Floridians need to be able to access care at home. Stephanie Fraim, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida said that abortion bans are dangerous. We are grateful this court recognized that it is an unconstitutional intrusion on our patients and providers medical decisions, she told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement. Once the ban is blocked, Florida abortion providers will be able to offer patients who decide to have an abortion the care they need here at home. Under the new law that was to go into effect on July 1 abortion providers would face fines, imprisonment, and the loss of their medical license. The plaintiffs witness testified that the restrictions could interfere with the bond between a patient and their physician and their ability to provide the best medical course of action. The state argued that it would have a minimum impact since more than 96 percent of abortions occur before 15 weeks and nothing in the law would prevent a woman from getting an abortion early. In fact, they said in court, it would probably motivate women to seek abortions earlier. Also, the state said it had a compelling interest to limit abortions because of the risk, mortality, and mental health of the mother. Additionally, the fetus has the potential to feel pain after 15 weeks. Coopers decision comes one week after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 50-year-old national right to abortion law Roe v. Wade, putting the decision of abortion rights back to the states. DeSantis went on to say that the state would continue to fight for the unborn through continuing the legal battle. These are unborn babies that have a heartbeat, they can feel pain, they can suck their thumb and to say that the state constitution mandates things like dismemberment abortions, I just dont think thats proper, he said. The Ford logo at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, on Jan. 15, 2019. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters) Ford Motor Follows Tesla Locking in Lithium Supply With Australian Miner Liontown U.S. auto giant Ford Motor Co. has followed in the footsteps of Tesla and Koreas LG Energy Solution after striking a deal with Australias Liontown Resources for the lithium supply for the next five years. The move comes as automakers scramble to secure the supply of the valuable commodity as the global pursuit of net-zero pushes up demand for the critical mineral, which has driven prices to new heights. On June 29, the Western Australia-based Liontown announced that a five-year deal had been finalised with Ford Motor for the supply of 75,000 dry metric tons of spodumene concentrate in the first year, followed by 125,000 tons in the second year and 150,000 per annum in the remaining three years. Spodumene concentrate is a source of lithium important for EV battery development. Our disciplined approach to our offtake strategy has enabled us to build a customer base of tier-1, globally significant customers in the EV battery supply chain, validating Kathleen Valleys status as a globally relevant lithium asset, according to Tony Ottaviano, CEO of Liontown, in an investor update (pdf). The mineral will come from Liontowns Kathleen Valley Lithium Project, of which it has full ownership over. Ford will provide a $300 million loan to help develop the project. Driving Global Decarbonization Around 90 percent of Kathleen Valleys slated total production (450,000 metric tons per annum) will be shared between the Ford deal and earlier agreements with LG Energy Solution and Tesla. In February, Tesla signed a five-year deal with Liontown securing 100,000 dry metric tons of spodumene for the first year and 150,000 dry metric tons for each of the remaining four years. Lisa Drake, vice president of Fords EV Industrialization, said the latest deal would help the carmaker deliver two million EVs annually to its customers by 2026. This is one of several agreements were working on to help us secure raw materials to support our plan to deliver EVs for customers around the world and meet our environmental, social and governance commitments, she said in the statement. The latest deal comes days after the worlds fifth-largest automaker, Stellantis upped its stake in Australian lithium miner Vulcan Energy Resources. As the climate change movement takes off in developed countries, demand for lithium has soared as governments and businesses push for greater electrification of car networks, as well as larger battery storage to support electricity grids. This, in turn, has driven up the price of the mineral from around US$17,000 per metric ton in 2021 to US$78,032 per metric ton in 2022. Former SNP MP Natalie McGarry arriving at Glasgow Sheriff Court for sentencing, in Glasgow, Scotland, on June 30, 2022. (Lesley Martin/PA) Former SNP MP Who Betrayed Trust Jailed for 2 Years for Stealing 25,000 A former MP with the Scottish National Party has been jailed for two years for embezzling 25,000 ($30,350) from the SNP and the Women For Independence (WFI) pressure group. Natalie McGarry, 40, was convicted of embezzlement last month following a retrial at Glasgow Sheriff Court. In the May 2015 general election she unseated the Labour MP for Glasgow East, Margaret Curran, with a 30 percent swing in what was a landslide victory for the SNP across Scotland. But a few months later discrepancies were discovered within the WFI accounts and it later emerged that McGarry, who was the groups treasurer, had set up a Scottish independence crowdfunder so that money from the PayPal account went straight into McGarrys personal bank account. The court heard McGarrywho earned more than 80,000 ($97,200) a year as an MPhad personal financial difficulties and was often loaned money by friends and relatives. Society Has a Right to Expect the Highest Standards Sentencing her on Thursday, Sheriff Tom Hughes said he had no choice but to send her to jail for the very serious charges she had been convicted of, and told her, Its quite clear that society has a right to expect the highest standards from those who seek and eventually achieve high public office. Through your role in these offences, you have not only betrayed the trust placed in you by others, but your standards have fallen well short of those the public should have a right to expect from MPs, he added. She was convicted of embezzling 19,974 ($24,268) from WFI between April 26, 2013 and Nov. 30, 2015, and embezzling 4,661 ($5,663) from the Glasgow regional association of the SNP between April 9, 2014 and Aug. 10, 2015. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon smiles after casting her ballot in the general election at Broomhouse Community Hall in Broomhouse, Scotland, on May 7, 2015. (Scott Heppell/AP Photo) In his mitigation speech, her lawyer Allan Macleod said she had withdrawn from life itself and was focused on caring for her 4-year-old daughter. Murdo Fraser, a Conservative MSP, wrote on Twitter: Justice is served, but what an absolute tragedy for all involved. A young girl left seeing her mother go to jail. Inconsistencies in Justice System Chris McEleny, general secretary of the Alba Party, wrote on Twitter: Natalie McGarry sentence exposes inconsistencies in justice system again. There was a case of a man in Greenock charged with over 50k fraud. He got a 9 month sentence whereas a mother is separated from her child for 2 years when she is of no threat whatsoever to society. McGarry pleaded guilty in 2019 but her conviction was later quashed because the appeal court judges felt she had made the plea in circumstances which were clearly prejudicial to her. During the six-week retrial, Scotlands former Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said she reported McGarry after noticing a shortfall in the WFI accounts. The Epoch Times has contacted the SNP for comment. Earlier this week SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said she planned to hold a second referendum on independence for Scotland in October 2023. PA Media contributed to this report. The front page of a USA Today newspaper is seen at a convenience store in Washington on Aug. 6, 2019. (Alastair Pike/AFP via Getty Images) Former USA Today Opinion Editor Says Its Leaders Need to Return to Older Values FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va.Former USA Today Deputy Editorial Page Editor David Mastio spoke out a few days ago about his demotion in August 2021 over his Twitter post that only women can get pregnant. The top leaders of Gannett and USA Today need to take control of their newsrooms and return to the older values, or theyre going to pay the price, Mastio told The Epoch Times. Earlier in June, the newspaper chain with more than 200 dailies decided to cut back most of its editorial pages. According to a Washington Post report, reader surveys of Gannett, USA Todays parent company, showed that the opinion pages had lost relevance in the age of the internet. In the same article, Kristen DelGuzzi, opinion editor at USA Today and Mastios former boss, told The Post that the opinion pages hadnt evolved along with the industry. Mastio said he found DelGuzzis comment to be a lie and untrue, the final trigger for him to speak up months after leaving the newspaper in March. I saw it as an insult to all of the people who had tried to evolve and adapt to the internet, he said. I saw it as an insult to all the conservative editorial pages that had been shut down, all the conservative columnists that had been laid off, all of the people that made opinion pages good at Gannett, before corporate cost-cutting made our opinion pages irrelevant. Mastio identifies as a conservative based on his views on abortion, taxes, and school choice, and hes open with his disdain of former President Donald Trump. DelGuzzi hasnt responded to a request from The Epoch Times for comment. Impossible to Be Both Local and Ideological Mastio said Gannett reporters became increasingly liberal because the company hired young reporters to replace more experienced and expensive journalists. These reporters, fresh out of college, come from an overwhelmingly liberal environment. And they just want to bring what feels comfortable to them into the newspaper, he said. He described Gannetts evolvement as one small step at a time. The problem he saw was that the companys leadership didnt have the spine to demand these young reporters adapt to USA Todays values. So they changed USA Today to make it more like its reporters. According to Mastio, Gannetts business model is local and community reporting, owning more than 200 newspapers nationwide. And by going far to the left, theyre cutting out half or more of the people in that neighborhood and city who wont want to read them, he said. Its a contradiction in their business plan. They either want to be local, or they want to be ideological. You cant be both and succeed. Silent No More Mastio hadnt spoken out until now, except for a Twitter post on March 11, when he left the company and joined a new online video media outlet, StraightArrowNews.com. At last, I am able to say what I couldnt before: People dont get pregnant, but women do, he wrote on Twitter. His original Twitter post in August that people dont get pregnant, but women do came after USA Today had just replaced pregnant women with pregnant people. He said the LGBTQ employee resource group (ERG) and newsroom diversity committee, which he viewed as a source of identity politics within the company, were the main forces behind the language change. Months before that, in May, the newspaper also published Pregnant people: Transgender, nonbinary parents give birth, too. The ERG and Committee wanted him fired. Instead, he was demoted and later given a warning that if he stepped out of line again, his employment would be terminated. At the direction of senior management, he also deleted his original August Twitter post and others to keep his job at USA Today. He had had top editors support despite complaints from the staff before last August, the first time he was told that he couldnt speak his opinions. Mastio was glad to have spoken out: I feel relieved. I needed to say something for a long time. He had chosen to be silent for months because he had a family to support and then had to focus on his new job at StraightArrowNews.com. I think as journalism goes off the rails and big companies like Gannett go off the rails, more of us need to speak out, he said. People who think journalism is about the facts and being honest with our readers need to stand up for the values that made journalism important and influential, and these [values] are increasingly being abandoned by our industry. Tamara Lich, one of the organizers of the Freedom Convoy protest seeking an end to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions, speaks at a news conference in Ottawa on Feb. 3, 2022. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) Freedom Convoy Organizer Tamara Lich Will Remain Behind Bars to Await Bail Hearing on July 5 Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich will remain in jail until July 5, when a full-day bail hearing will be held. Lich was initially set to attend a bail hearing on June 29, but following a series of delays, the court announced on June 30 that a full-day hearing will be held on July 5 instead. Lawyer Eric Granger, who is representing Lich, said she is eager for the opportunity to regain her liberty at the earliest opportunity, but July 5 is the earliest date that a bail hearing could be accommodated for the new charge. It is unfortunate that what this means is that a woman who still has no criminal record, remains presumed innocent of all chargeswhere the only new charge shes been arrested on is a single charge of breaching a single bail conditionwill be on her ninth day in custody since her arrest before she even gets the opportunity to regain her liberty, Granger told The Epoch Times in an email. On June 27, Lich was rearrested in her hometown of Medicine Hat, Alberta, due to a breach of court conditions and was to return to Ottawa to appear in court, the Ottawa Police Service said in a Twitter post on June 28. The post said the arrest was made on a Canada-wide warrant. Lich was first arrested in Ottawa on Feb. 17 for her role in organizing the truckers Freedom Convoy protest that called on the federal government to end the COVID-19 vaccine mandate and other pandemic-related restrictions. She was charged with counselling to commit mischief and obstructing police, among other charges. She was denied bail on Feb. 22 in a decision by Ontario Court Justice Julie Bourgeois, who said that Lichs detention was necessary for the protection and safety of the public. Lich appealed the decision, and after spending 18 days in jail she was released on bail on March 7 after Ontario Superior Court Justice John M. Johnston overturned Bourgeois decision. He said Bourgeois ruling was too subjective in its assessment of the gravity of Lichs offences, weighing them against the impacts on Ottawas residents rather than other offences in the Criminal Code. In late April, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) selected Lich as the winner of its 2022 George Jonas Freedom Award, and she attended an award ceremony in Toronto on June 16. But Crown prosecutor Moiz Karimjee said in May that by agreeing to attend the ceremony, Lich had breached her bail conditions that prohibit her from setting foot in Ottawa, and that she should be sent back to jail to await trial. On May 25, Ontario Superior Court Justice Kevin Phillips decided that Lich didnt breach her bail condition, saying that she had a low risk of re-offending after having had a taste of jail. Earlier this week, Granger told The Epoch Times that not much information about Lichs arrest was available, saying the court documents simply reflect a warrant in the province of Ontario alleging a breach of a non-communication condition. Andrew Chen Follow Andrew Chen is an Epoch Times reporter based in Toronto. George Washington University Rejects Students Demand, Keeps Justice Thomass Teaching Job Frustrated by the role Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas played in overturning Roe v. Wade, progressively minded students at George Washington University (GW) launched a petition calling for a revoking of Thomass teaching position at the institutions law school. Thomas has lectured at GW since 2011. According to the university, he is set to teach this fall a constitutional law seminar aimed at helping students get a more complete story of famous Supreme Court cases by exploring additional facts that are lesser known about the social and political context surrounding the courts decisions. The class is co-taught with Greg Maggs, a professor who clerked for Thomas and retired Justice Anthony Kennedy. Last week, originalist Thomas joined in a 6-3 majority decision to overrule the Supreme Courts 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion at a national level. The new decision doesnt outlaw abortion, but instead hands the question of abortion access back to individual states. In his concurring opinion, Thomas suggested that the high court should reconsider cases that were decided by the same logic that Roe was decided, including Lawrence v. Texas of 2003, which decriminalized consensual gay sex, and Obergefell v. Hodges of 2015, which established a constitutional right to gay marriage. The mere suggestion that the high court should revisit these decisions motivated progressive students at GW to circulate an online petition calling for Thomass removal from the law faculty. With the recent Supreme Court decision that has stripped the right to bodily autonomy of people with wombs, and with his explicit intention to further strip the rights of queer people and remove the ability for people to practice safe sex without fear of pregnancy, it is evident that the employment of Clarence Thomas at George Washington University is completely unacceptable, read the petition. The petition further claims that Thomas has allegedly created an unsafe environment for GW students, as well as for students at thousands of campuses across the country. Make your voice heard and help us kick Clarence Thomas out of Foggy Bottom, the petition reads. The effort has garnered over 7,000 supporting signatures at the time of publication. Not all students at GW agree with the petition. The GW chapter of the College Republicans have condemned the effort, arguing that college students are meant to be exposed to ideas that are different from their own. GW College Republicans is strongly opposed to the recent petition calling for Justice Thomas to be removed from the GW Law faculty, the organization said in a statement to The Epoch Times. One of the principal assets of our school is learning from figures across the ideological spectrum. While many students at GW are displeased with [Thomass] rulings on particular cases, the free exchange of ideas and opinions should be valuednot discouragedat an institution of higher learning like ours, the statement continued. Removing Justice Thomas from the university will do the greatest disservice to those most fervently propagating this petition. In a statement released on Tuesday, university leaders said that Thomas is going to teach his class this fall as scheduled, even though his views do not represent the views of either the George Washington University or its law school. Justice Thomas has been a consistent critic of the Courts legal philosophy on substantive due process for many years, GW Provost Christopher Bracey and Law School Dean Dayna Matthew said. Because we steadfastly support the robust exchange of ideas and deliberation, and because debate is an essential part of our universitys academic and educational mission to train future leaders who are prepared to address the worlds most urgent problems, the university will neither terminate Justice Thomas employment nor cancel his class in response to his legal opinions. Like all faculty members at our university, Justice Thomas has academic freedom and freedom of expression and inquiry, they added. The petition comes as pro-Roe advocates on social media barraged Thomas, the only sitting black justice on the nations highest court, with racial slurs and derogatory terms, such as the n-word, coon, slave, and Uncle Tom. Over the weekend, Uncle Clarence became trending on Twitter after it was used by actor Samuel Jackson, who is black. Read More Video: Virginia Governor Appears to Advocate for Killing Live Babies After Birth Hows Uncle Clarence feeling about Overturning Loving v Virginia??!! Jackson wrote, referring to the 1967 case that declared the ban on interracial marriage to be unconstitutional. Thomas is married to Ginni Thomas, a white woman and conservative activist. Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos announces new food labelling in Ottawa on June 30, 2022. Canada will require that companies add nutrition warnings to the front of pre-packaged food with high levels of saturated fat, sugar or sodium, starting in 2026. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick) Health Canada Warning Labels to Exclude Ground Meats, Says Health Minister Canadians will see warning labels for foods high in saturated fat, sodium, or sugar, but none on ground meats, the federal health minister announced today. Theyll be placed on pre-packaged foods that contain more than 15 per cent of the suggested daily value of saturated fat, sugars, or sodium. For pre-packaged meals, the warnings will only go on items with more than 30 percent of the recommended daily intake. The government said the labels are meant to help Canadians eat healthier, as the so-called nutrients of public health concern have been linked to conditions such as cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced the new labelling at a news conference on June 30. Research shows that a simple, clear, symbol on the front of food packages will help consumers choose foods lower in saturated fats, sugars, and/or sodium. This type of nutrition labelling has also been used in other parts of the world with great success, Duclos said at an Ottawa grocery store. For example, after Chile introduced front-of-package symbols, it is estimated that household food purchases contained 37 percent less sodium and 27 percent less sugar just 18 months after implementation. Duclos said ground meat would be exempted due to a very important discussion that included MPs, experts, and industry leaders. The resulting decision means ground meat would not get a warning label, just as it would be for muscle cuts. [T]here were some proposals to distinguish between the two but at the end for clarity and avoiding all sorts of confusion and to treat the two types of meat equally we end up with this result, which both the farmers and the consumers will appreciate, he said. Pushback on Labelling The proposed labels were at the centre of controversy earlier this month. Ranchers and some provincial governments voiced opposition to putting warning labels on ground pork and beef. Other countries with similar policies had not placed warnings on ground meats. Health Canada had already decided to exempt milk, many cheeses, and fruit. Packages of sugar and salt will also be exempt, as the government said including labels on such products would be redundant. Francis Drouin, parliamentary secretary to the minister of agriculture and agri-food, credited the agriculture industry for its resilience during the pandemic and explained the rationale for the foods that would be excluded. These exemptions were made for technical, practical, and health-related reasons, said Drouin, accompanying Duclos at the press conference. Single-ingredient ground meats are also being exempted, recognizing that they are as nutritious as whole cuts. This approach will ensure that consumers can make informed choices. The Canadian Cattlemens Association had said the labels would vilify ground beef. President Reg Schellenberg welcomed the exemption. Canadian families rely on ground beef as a nutritious and affordable food staple and an important contributor to food security. We are pleased with Health Canadas decision to omit ground beef from requiring a misleading warning label, Schellenberg said in a written statement. The rules are slated to come into force in 2026, which the government said gives companies time to manage the costs of adjusting their packaging. The Canadian Cattlemens Association launched Dontlabelmybeef.ca to rally Canadians against the proposal. This morning the CCA emailed supporters to notify them of the results. Because of your ongoing support and action, the Government of Canada reversed its decision to put a warning label on ground beef, an important, nutritious staple in households across the country, said the CCA in an email. Thank you for stepping up to ensure Canadians continue to have access to affordable, accessible, and whole, nutritious foods, like ground beef. The CCA welcomed its supporters to celebrate by snapping a photo of themselves eating a burger on Canada Day and tagging CCA in a social media post with an #Ilovecanadianbeef hashtag. With files from the Canadian Press A special unit of the Hong Kong police provides security in the city's Wanchai district, as Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrives in Hong Kong to attend celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China, on June 30, 2022. (Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images) Heightened Restrictions in Hong Kong for Xi Jinpings Expected Visit Hong Kong has implemented heightened security measures ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinpings expected visit for the 25th anniversary of the former British colonys return to Chinese rule. On top of road closures and traffic controls, small unmanned aircraft have been banned throughout Hong Kong during the visit between June 30 and July 1, police announced on June 28. Citing security concerns, the Information Services Department (ISD) has also excluded an extended list of journalists from attending the events. In addition, the League of Social Democrats, one of Hong Kongs last remaining active pro-democracy groups, was summoned by the national security police and told not to hold any protest on the 25th anniversary of the citys handover. Chinese regime leader Xi Jinping speaks following his arrival via high-speed rail across the border, for celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the citys handover from Britain to China, in Hong Kong on June 30, 2022. (Selim Chtayti/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Media Denied Coverage The ISD requested media organizations replace some journalists who had signed up to cover the official handover events. The new requirements announced on June 28 made it impossible for the media to replace journalists as they were requested to provide compulsory daily nucleic acid test results from June 26, the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) said in a Facebook post. The ISD required select media on June 16 to sign up for a maximum of 20 journalists and photographers to cover the events. However, the ISD tightened its rules by only allowing one reporter from each company to cover the inauguration and flag-raising ceremony. At least seven major local and foreign media organizations have been affected by the change, including Ming Pao, Hong Kong 01, South China Morning Post, Now TV, and Agence France-Presse. As a result, these media may have no journalists covering the event because they also need to provide negative COVID-19 test results from June 26. Furthermore, the reporters covering the inauguration were required to stay in isolation hotels from June 29. The HKJA expressed its disappointment with the changes made by the Hong Kong government for such a historical event. Prior to the changes, in a June 16 statement, the HKJA said it was extremely concerned that only selected media may attend the official festivities. The HKJA has learned that at least [10] well-known local online and overseas media outlets, news agencies, as well as phone wires were not invited nor allowed to sign up for the events, making them unable to report from the handovers official events, the statement reads. Similar Handover official events in the past were open to media registration without requiring invitations. A police officer and sniffer dog (C) search the bags of media personnel near West Kowloon Station, as Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrives in Hong Kong to attend celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the citys handover from Britain to China, in Hong Kong on June 30, 2022. (Isaac Lawrence/AFP via Getty Images) No Protests or Rallies Citing tough circumstances, Chan Po-Ying, chairwoman of pro-democracy group League of Social Democrats, said it would not organize any protests on July 1. In a Facebook post, Chan said that the national security police had contacted some volunteers on June 28, which was believed to have pushed the group to cancel its scheduled protest on July 1. On the same day, Police Assistant Commissioner Lui Kam-ho said at a press conference that the police had received no applications for public meetings. The League of Social Democrats has held yearly July 1 protests since 2003. It is one of the few social-democratic groups that remain active after the implementation of the national security law in Hong Kong. However, the police had banned the groups planned pro-democracy rally on July 1 in 2020 and 2021, citing public gathering restrictions during the pandemic. Security Zones Hong Kong police said that cone security zones will be set up at the venues where Xi will stay, visit, and pass by. Outside these venues will be security zones, adding that a series of security measures will be implemented to ensure the security of these official events. Lui said the department is duty-bound to ensure Xi Jinpings personal safety and security and safely manage the events that Xi will attend. The security measures cover both the road traffic system and the flying zones in Hong Kong, with aircraft and flying objects restricted from entering certain zones. In addition, small unmanned aircraft will be banned over the entirety of Hong Kong. After conducting a risk assessment, the force also decided to designate the entire area in Hong Kong as a small unmanned aircraft restricted flying zone temporarily, the government announced. On June 28, the citys Transport Department reiterated that special traffic and transport arrangements will be implemented in the vicinity of Wan Chai North until July 1 to facilitate the celebration events. A total of 23 bus routes terminating and 30 passing bus routes will be diverted or truncated. The Ottawa Police station on Elgin Street is seen in Ottawa, on Feb. 1, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang) Higher Fines, More Police in Ottawa for Canada Day Weekend, City Says The City of Ottawa has promised strict enforcement of new, hefty fines as it heads into Canada Day weekend. A tweet from the Ottawa By-law account on June 29 publicized the new $1000 fines for things such as unusual noise, shouting, public urination or defication, encumbering a highway, or idling. Please be advised, a number of fine amounts have been increased so as to ensure a safe and respectful Canada Day.https://t.co/RICrgRnHVa #OttCity #OttNews pic.twitter.com/HQOcfbUHzI Ottawa By-law (@OttawaBylaw) June 29, 2022 A City of Ottawa press release notified residents that a motor-vehicle control zone in the downtown area would be maintained until Monday, July 4, which would bar the passage of any vehicles that were part of a rally, protest, or demonstration. Street parking will not be allowed in that part of the city whatsoever. While the City of Ottawa respects the fundamental right to protest, the City is responsible for ensuring residents and visitors feel safe in our community. Canada Day is a celebration of our people and values. The City upholds those values: a diversity of minds, perspectives, cultures and lived experiences, and denounces any displays of hate and racism, said the press release. Sometimes we see people who disregard these same values, and this can affect everyone differently. A Twitter post by Ottawa police said they had issued 120 parking tickets and towed 28 vehicles by 8 am on June 30. The police told CBC that as of 9 am, the totals had grown to 154 tickets and 44 vehicles. Ottawa police tweeted the day before that they had intercepted a small convoy of vehicles in the Pinecrest and Hwy. 417 area, and issued tickets. The related offences were not cited in the post. In a separate release, Ottawa police added, We will not allow for conditions that led to the unlawful protests in February to reoccur and said they will bring in extra police from other forces as they gear up for an increased level of protests and demonstrations. Carleton University criminologist Darryl Davies says he finds the new fines excessive, citing alternatives such as providing a sufficient number of portable toilets to keep people from relieving themselves wherever they can. I think the increase in fines is unwarranted. Canada Day is a time to celebrate and show patriotism, Davies told the Epoch Times. I found it interesting that in the past there were a lot of people under age who were carrying booze with them and who were drinking alcohol underage and yet I find no mention of this in the notification issued by the City, he added. Educating the young and those most at risk of causing trouble is the way to proceed. Simply increasing penalties and threats has not worked, and will not work, in the 21st century. Its an archaic and ineffective way of disseminating information to the public. Veteran Protesting Mandates Arrives in Ottawa James Topp, a veteran who has marched from the west coast to protest vaccine mandates, is marching in Ottawa today. Peoples Party of Canada (PPC) leader Maxime Bernier and hundreds of others joined Topp this morning for the last leg of his journey, some carrying signs in support of Topp or protesting vaccine mandates. Interim Ottawa police chief Steve Bell said on June 27 they were working with Topp to allow his march to take place safely and lawfully. His journey will finish at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider at 6 pm tonight. Freedom groups have planned a Freedom Family Picnic in Strathcona Park in Ottawa on Canada Day. Topp is scheduled to speak at the picnic. According to the Twitter account Live from the Shed a March to Freedom will start from Parliament Hill at 3:30 p.m. July 1, with speeches and live music on Parliament Hill from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Florida's Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo speaks during a press conference at the University of Miami Health System Don Soffer Clinical Research Center in Miami, Fla., on May 17, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) House Subcommittee Misleads About Floridas Stance on COVID-19 Vaccines for Children: Florida Surgeon General The Florida surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, on June 29 accused the office of Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, of having issued misleading statements about various matters related to Floridas attitude and actions toward COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5. Florida is the only state that did not join a preordering system for COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5 that President Joe Bidens administration opened in early June, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre noted on June 16. Following the news, Clyburn issued a letter on June 17 (pdf) urging Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to order the vaccines for the age group, or explain via a staff briefing to be held no later than June 30 why the state didnt preorder the vaccines. June 17 was also the same day the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5. The staff briefing was held on June 28, after which the congressional subcommittee issued a press release on June 29 in which Clyburn accused DeSantis of having taken steps to impede access to lifesaving coronavirus vaccines for Floridas children, and made it harder for parents across the state to get their children vaccinated. Clyburn also said in his statement that DeSantis had promoted anti-vaccine misinformation that is making it harder for parents to make fully informed decisions on how best to protect childrens health. DeSantis had previously said at a press conference on June 20, We recommend against [vaccinating babies]. We are not going to have any program where were trying to jab 6-month-old babies with mRNA. Thats just the reality. Florida does not recommend, nor distribute, shots for babies, Christina Pushaw, DeSantiss press secretary, previously stated on Twitter. Health care providers that want the vaccines can obtain them and any parent who wants it for their child can get it. Clyburn in his letter asserted: Coronavirus vaccines have proven to be extremely safe and highly effective at reducing the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Now that they have been authorized for young children, all parents must be given accurate information on the vaccines benefits and must have the freedom to vaccinate their children without needless barriers put in place by politicians like Governor DeSantis. Subcommittee Chairman Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) speaks during a hearing before House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis at Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 23, 2022. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) The press release said that Floridas decision not to pre-order the vaccines may have delayed vaccinations for the children under 5, and that more than 30,000 Florida children under 5 still may not have access to coronavirus vaccines. Ladapo, in a two-page letter he sent Clyburn on June 29 in response to the press release, wrote, It is unfortunate that the information you released is perpetuating confusion among the public. Parents are in the best position to make these decisions for their children. Florida remains committed to making recommendations based on data and sciencenot ideology. Florida Never Limited COVID-19 Vaccine Access: Ladapo Ladapo said that the press release from the subcommittee provided blatantly false statements that distract from legitimate public health efforts. Using our good-faith meeting as a launching pad for political attacks shows why people trust Floridaand not the federal government, he wrote on Twitter. He said in the letter to Clyburn, Information regarding the meeting released to media outlets earlier today mischaracterizes the conversation and we welcome the opportunity to clarify. The Florida Department of Health never limited vaccine access in Florida at any point since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that Florida had determined that preordering was unnecessary due to a low demand for COVID-19 vaccines for children, Ladapo said. Preordering vaccines was done previously when supply was low and demand was high among high-risk populations such as those aged 65 and above, he noted. Ladapo also said the states health department saw inefficiencies in previous pre-orderings of COVID-19 vaccines and so determined that the process is cumbersome and no longer needed. Rather than assuming demand, by allowing the vaccine providers to gauge their individual needs and directly order, it allowed for more efficient resource management and distribution, he said. While the Department chose not to engage in the pre-ordering process, providers were never restricted from ordering, Ladapo noted, adding that pediatricians began ordering vaccines on June 17 when the EUAs were granted. Providers started receiving orders as early as June 21, 2022, which is further evidence for why the pre-ordering process is not needed, Lapado added. States that pre-ordered this vaccine will likely be left holding a significant amount of product due to the lack of demand. A 3-year-old girl sits on the lap of her mother and gets a sticker from the nurse after receiving her first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at UW Medical CenterRoosevelt in Seattle, Washington, on June 21, 2022. (David Ryder/Getty Images) Reaffirms COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance, Policy in Florida The Florida surgeon general also reaffirmed his decision to recommend against COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5. There are no data that prove this vaccine is more effective than the placebo in reducing severe illness and other clinically meaningful outcomes in this age group, Lapado wrote. There is also inadequate data regarding the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine. He said studies continue to show a risk of heart inflammationmyocarditis and pericarditisacross multiple age groups but especially in adolescents and young males. The Florida Department of Health disagrees with the FDAs and the CDCs recommendation of the COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5, Ladapo wrote. Manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech have failed to meet the burden of proof for vaccine efficacy and safety such that the products benefits outweigh the risks for the age group under 5, he said. The surgeon general noted that Florida has always ensured COVID-19 vaccines and treatments are widely available, but never mandated. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey in April found that 18 percent of parents of children under 5 would get their children COVID-19 vaccines right away as soon as the vaccines received EUAs, Ladapo pointed out. He noted that Florida transitioned from an emergency COVID-19 response to an endemic phase which shifts health care back to private providers and the normal stream of health care, and that the state expects doctors to manage COVID-19 on a case-by-case basis. Doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine and vaccination record cards await pediatric patients at UW Medical CenterRoosevelt in Seattle, Washington, on June 21, 2022. (David Ryder/Getty Images) The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, in a statement on Twitter, said that Ladapos letter did not dispute a single fact in the press release and called Ladapos statements made at the staff briefing on June 28 dangerous rhetoric. At yesterdays briefing, Dr. Ladapo made clear neither he nor Gov. DeSantis believe Florida parents should have the choice to vaccinate their children against the coronavirus at county health departments, the primary point of care for 33,000 Florida kids, the statement reads. The same subcommittee had noted in its press release that Ladapo said he does not believe that the Florida Department of Health should be on the back of health care providers to provide access to a product we dont agree with. Cai Qi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CCP) Central Committee and secretary of the CCP Beijing Municipal Committee, attends the closing session of the National People's Congress in Beijing on March 15, 2019. (Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images) Chinese Censors Delete Senior Officials Reference to Timeline of Zero-COVID Controls A senior Chinese officials reference to Beijings COVID strategies in the next five years has been removed from Chinese social media, causing fear and anger. In the next five years, Beijing will resolutely, unremittingly, do a good job in normalizing pandemic prevention controls, the state-backed Beijing Daily originally reported on June 27, quoting the citys party chief, Cai Qi. Cai is widely considered a close political ally of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The city will implement high-quality regular PCR tests, and screening at key points, and strictly inspect entries in residential communities, work units, and public institutions, said Cai, according to Beijing Daily. The quotes are from Cais address at the citywide congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which convenes every five years. The conference is a run-up to the CCPs 20th national congress that happens in October. Backlash The reporting sparked fears and anger on Chinas Twitter-like social media Weibo. Domestic internet users vented their pent-up frustrations in social posts, focusing on the words In the next five years. [The reference] shocked countless average persons, posted Yu Fei, former deputy chief of the Institute of China Private-Sector Companies. A netizen named Traveler Passing Moon Wheel Mountain noted, However, the few words that triggered a small incident signal that most people can no longer stand the current COVID controls for an additional five years, except when they feel the risk of death or critical conditions. Afterward, the Beijing Daily deleted the reference to time, keeping the rest of Cais speech intact; and other state outlets followed suit. For the time being, Chinas leading search engine Baidu shows no hashtag saying In the next five years. Hours later, Zhao Jingyun, chief of the Beijing Daily, made a clarification in his circle of friends, describing the contentious phrase as an operational error. It was added by accident by our reporter, claimed the chief, attributing the unintended addition to a pre-made reporting framework by the reporter involved. The official did not offer a formal apology, though he wanted people to stop reposting the previous version of the story. However, this interpretation has not quelled public doubts. A netizen named VanTalk dismissed Zhaos clarification to his friends as insincere, arguing that the published story must have undergone multiple reviews. Some observers are skeptical about the previously stated number of years, asking why five, and hinting the number is coincidentally the same as Xis potential third 5-year term as Chinas leader. Xi is striving to achieve his goal of winning a third term, though critics hold his administration responsible for Chinas worsening economy, foreign relations, and human rights abuses since he became the Chinese leader in 2012. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A health worker scans the health code of a local resident for COVID-19 test results in the Pudong district of Shanghai on June 11, 2022. (Liu Jin/AFP via Getty Images) Shanghai Residents Adjust to Lockdown Easing Up As lockdown measures in Shanghai ease, residents are experiencing some unusual situations as the city is not yet back to normal. Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee Li Qiang declared victory in the battle to protect the big Shanghai, at the once-every-five-year municipal CCP representatives meeting on June 25. Shanghai Municipal Health Commissions daily report showed no new cases on June 24 and June 25. However, on June 26, the Shanghai Municipal Health Commissions data showed 4 new domestic cases. In his speech, Li Qiang did not mention the zero-COVID policy, the draconian lockdown, or the mandatory PCR testing of 25 million people. Li attributed the victory to the absolute correctness of the CCP Centrals leadership and the incomparable advantage (over the West) of the socialist system. The Chinese Edition of The Epoch Times spoke to several Shanghai residents on June 25 about life after the declared victory over COVID. A gentleman from Pudong District, last name Wang, told The Epoch Times, the government says theyve won the battle, even though they lost, they still say they won. The Party always advances from one victory to the next. When was the last time they admitted their mistakes? Why dont they talk about the economic losses? The Covert Dine-in Experience Wang said that life in Shanghai is far from normal because everywhere one goes, one has to show their digital health code which is linked to the PCR test results, and dining-in is still not allowed in most restaurants. In fact, people jokingly describe the experience of eating in a restaurant to be as stimulating and secretive as a thief sneaking into someones house. In order to keep their businesses going, many restaurants came up with creative ways to allow people to covertly dine in. They cover their windows and shut their doors so the restaurant appears to not be in business or only fulfilling carry-out orders. But inside, people are dining secretly and quietly. A restaurant in Shanghai with customers and two guards standing outside a window that has privacy glass in June 2022. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times) A picture showing a restaurant with all the lights off and privacy glass windows went viral online. A few customers are eating, while a waitress is standing behind a closed door listening, trying to figure out whats happening outside the restaurant. Looking through the privacy glass, one can see two people dressed in neon yellow security vests outside. Some customers are looking at the window. One netizen described what happened when he went to a hotpot restaurant. The door was closed. So he asked a person who was standing outside the door, can I dine in? The person said, only close friends are allowed in. The netizen asked, how can I be your close friend? The man said, we just spoke, arent we close friends already? General Dissatisfaction Wang also said that government wants to revive the economy, but people arent buying anything other than necessities. Since the prices have risen over 50 percent, many households are struggling, Wang said. Another Shanghai resident Mr. Gu said, They say there is no COVID anymore, but why are there still many communities locked down? No other countries would say they won the battle against a virus. Only the CCP, everything they do is great, glorious, and correct. They can turn disasters into opportunities for self-praising. Many people died but not because of COVID. Some could not get timely medical care. Some committed suicide because they lost their jobs and could not pay their mortgage. But many CCP officials became rich because of COVID. Now police are everywhere. This isnt a normal country, but a big police state, Gu told The Epoch Times on June 25. Divorce Rate Jumps From April 1 to June 1, life under lockdown has been the touchstone of some marriages. Thepaper.com reported earlier this month that appointments for divorce was trending on Wechat, a Chinese Twitter-like social media platform. Another media report said that the line to register for divorce after the lockdown is similar to that for PCR testing during the lockdown. Shanghai Morning News on June 8, 2022 shows a TV screen at a local government agency listing the pending divorce applications. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times) A blogger named Luofeng Huashi posted three reasons for divorces after the lockdown. First, the couple had decided to divorce prior to the lockdown. Second, by spending so much time together, they cant stand each other any longer. The third reason is that by spending so much time together, one party accidentally discovered the other partys affair. The flag of Iran in front of the building of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Headquarters ahead of a press conference by Rafael Grossi, Director General of the IAEA, about the agency's monitoring of Iran's nuclear energy program in Vienna on May 24, 2021. (Michael Gruber/Getty Images) Iran May Face New EU Sanctions If Nuclear Deal Collapses, UK Minister Says If the Iranian regime doesnt agree to a nuclear deal soon, the UK will consider all options with its allies, including imposing E.U. sanctions, a British minister said on Thursday. The comments came after MPs warned that the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran is imminent, but a weak nuclear deal probably isnt worth the paper its written on. Earlier this month, the governments of the UK, France, and Germany said they were ready to conclude a deal that would restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) despite the fact that the Iranian regime was installing additional advanced centrifuges and declared it would end all JCPOA-related transparency measures. MPs said on Thursday that the continued efforts to engage with the rogue regime increasingly seem futile, and proposed the government should forget about a deal and restore sanctions instead. The JCPOA, signed in 2015, enshrined the cessation of many sanctions against Iran in exchange for the delaying of its nuclear program and giving up most of its enriched uranium. The deal started to fall apart since the United States pulled out in 2018, saying the Iranian regime had been hiding its secret nuclear weapons program for years. Iran officially declared in 2020 that it would no longer abide by the JCPOA limits following the United States killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. No Benefit to Revive JCPOA, MPs Warn Parliament on Thursday unanimously voted to express grave concern at the imminent prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran; call on the government to tighten the terms of the JCPOA by trying to extend the sunset clauses and enact a stricter monitoring regime; and retain Iranian terrorist organisations as well as adding Irans other destabilising activities in the region onto the UKs proscribed list. Conservative former minister Robert Jenrick, who proposed the motion with former Labour whip Steve McCabe, warned that Iran is now on the verge of possessing a nuclear bomb. Jenrick said intelligence suggests that Iran has enough enriched uranium for at least two nuclear weapons, adding, They have progressed far beyond the parameters of the JCPOA. Jenrick argued that restoring the old deal doesnt have any of the benefits we once thought it would, saying: The JCPOAs time has been and gone, the Rubicon has been crossed. McCabe and Conservative David Jones were skeptical about the utility to keep engaging with Iran, suggesting the UK and its allies should refer the regime to the UN Security Council in order to reinstate the pre-JCPOA sanctions. The MPs argued that the sunset clauses in the deal meant it would begin to fade away in 2023, with the plausible prospect of a new Republican U.S. administration pulling out again, therefore theres little benefit in reviving the deal, while doing so would weaken the UKs relationships with Israel, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, and others which had been pleading with the UK government not to proceed with the deal. Withdrawing the United States from the JCPOA in 2018, former U.S. President Donald Trump criticised the Obama-era deal as a horrible, one-sided deal that should have never been made. All Options on the Table if JCPOA Fails Speaking on behalf of the government, Foreign Office minister Vicky Ford told Parliament that she shares their grave concerns over the potential for a nuclear-armed Iran. But she also insisted that a restored JCPOA would provide a foundation for international diplomatic efforts to ensure that Irans nuclear program remains peaceful in the long term. The minister promised that the Iranian regime will not get a better deal than whats currently on the table, and the government will prioritise getting the extension of the sunset clauses and enabling a stricter monitoring regime if Iran returns to the JCPOA. But she also stressed that if a deal is not struck soon, the JCPOA will collapse. And we will then, in that scenario, carefully consider all options in partnership with our alliesoptions that may include E.U. sanctions, the minister said. Proscribe IRGC as Terrorist Organisation Jenrick also called for the UK government to proscribe Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, describing it as Irans premier agent for terrorism. Speaking of media reports that said the United States is considering removing the IRGC from its foreign terror list as a concession in order to revive the JCPOA, Jenrick said delisting the group would be a grave miscalculation and a great dishonor on the part of the Biden administration. He also said the UK supporting such a deal, whichlegitimises the very organisation that funds Hamas and Hezbollah, would make a mockery of the UKs efforts to proscribe Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist groups. Ford said the government does maintain a range of sanctions that constrains IRGCs destabilising activity throughout the region. The minister said the UKs list of proscribed terrorist groups is kept under constant review, but declined to speculate on possible future designations. Oil and Gas Jenrick also criticised E.U. High Commissioner Josep Borrell and French President Emmanuel Macron over an ill-advised pivot toward Iranian oil and gas when the E.U. desperately tries to wean itself off Russian hydrocarbons after Russias invasion of Ukraine. Visiting Tehran last week, Borrell said that he was convinced that there is enormous potential in the bilateral relations between the E.U. and Iran, starting from tradeincluding oil and gasto many other issues. A French presidency official reportedly said on Monday at the G7 summit in Germany that all options should be explored to source oil and gas, including talks with Iran and Venezuela. Jenrick said the West cant afford to end its dependency on one rogue regime merely by pivoting towards the religious fundamentalists in Tehran, arguing it would be ridiculous that the UK invests so much time, effort, and energy in defeating Russia only to get cozy with Tehran, Venezuela, or other authoritarian regimes. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (L) speaks during a joint statement with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, at the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, in Jerusalem, on June 20, 2022. (Maya Alleruzzo/AP Photo) Israeli Parliament Votes to Dissolve, Country Now Heads to 5th Election in 4 Years The Israeli Parliament voted to dissolve itself on Thursday, triggering new elections to be held in November and marking the countrys fifth election in three-and-a-half years. The unlikely coalition, which saw eight parties from the left, center, and right united in their goal to keep then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu out of power, had in recent weeks been plagued by internal politics and members quitting, in turn making it harder to pass legislation. Thursdays 920 vote brings Prime Minister Naftali Bennetts governing coalition to an end, meaning the former prime minister served one of the shortest terms in Israeli history. He will stand down at midnight and his coalition partner and former defense minister, Yair Lapid, will step in as interim prime minister and lead a caretaker government on Nov. 1, when new elections will be held. The dissolving of the countrys Parliament, also known as the Knesset, comes as economic and regional security problems continue to mount in the nation, prompting political instability. It also paves the way for former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently on trial for corruption, to return to power. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing. Recent polling shows his Likud party is on track to win the most number of seats in the next Parliament. However, his right-wing bloc is still unlikely to get the 61 seats needed to form a ruling government, Axios reported. The Experiment Failed Speaking of the coalition, Netanyahu told Parliament ahead of Thursdays vote, They promised change, they spoke of healing, they carried out an experimentand the experiment failed. Thats what happens when you take a fake-right along with a radical left, and mix it up with the Muslim Brotherhood and [Arab-led party] Joint List, Netanyahu said. Meanwhile, Bennett, who together with Lapid formed the government of change which toppled Netanyahu in June 2021 after more than 12 years in power, has said he will not be running in the upcoming election. The outgoing prime minister said it was time to step back a little and look at things from the outside. Bennett and Lapid, meanwhile, said in a statement earlier this week that they had done everything we could to save this government, noting that moving to dissolve the Knesset was not an easy moment but we took the right decision. We didnt leave any rock unturned, the outgoing prime minister said. Last Friday, I understood that when the settlements law expires there will be chaos. We couldnt let that happen. Therefore we decided to go for election in order to prevent that. The dissolving of the Israeli Parliament comes just weeks before President Joe Biden is set to visit the country, while the United States has vowed to support Israel despite the nation heading toward its fifth round of elections. The strength of our relationship does not depend on who sits in the Oval Office. It doesnt depend on who sits in the prime ministers chair in Israel, State Department Spokesman Ned Price told reporters on June 21. This is a strategic partnership between our two countries. It will continue to be a strategic partnership between our two countries in the coming weeks, in the coming months as the process plays out. Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid (L) speaks to outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, during a meeting at the Knesset (parliament), in Jerusalem on June 30, 2022. (Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images) Israels Bennett Hands Premiership to Foreign Minister Lapid, Wont Seek Reelection Outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett handed over Israeli premiership to Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday after lawmakers voted to dissolve parliament (Knesset). The Knesset dissolution followed the collapse of Bennetts ruling coalition and opened the way for a Nov. 1 election that will be Israels fifth in less than four years. Accompanied by their wives, Bennett and Lapid held a reduced handover ceremony at the prime minister office in Jerusalem. Bennett stood down at midnight to be replaced by his coalition partner, Lapid, who will lead the government during what is expected to be a fierce election battle with opposition leader and ex-premier Benjamin Netanyahu. Bennett, a former army commando and tech millionaire, will not run in the election. In a statement late on Wednesday, he said his government had left a thriving, strong and secure country and had shown that parties from different ends of the political spectrum could work together. Netanyahu, ousted just over a year ago by Bennetts unlikely coalition of parties from both the right and left as well as from Israels Arab minority, has vowed a return to power at the head of the right-wing Likud party. While opinion polls currently show Likud to be the strongest political party, they show no clear winner from the election, leaving Israel facing months of political uncertainty. U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chair of the House Jan. 6 panel, delivers closing remarks alongside Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) during the sixth hearing on the Jan. 6 investigation in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington on June 28, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Jan. 6 Panel Subpoenas Former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone The House select committee investigating the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has subpoenaed former White House Counsel Pasquale Pat Cipollone for deposition testimony on Wednesday. The Select Committees investigation has revealed evidence that Mr. Cipollone repeatedly raised legal and other concerns about President Trumps activities on January 6th and in the days that preceded, said the Democrat-led panels chair and vice chair, Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), in a joint statement. While the Select Committee appreciates Mr. Cipollones earlier informal engagement with our investigation, the committee needs to hear from him on the record, as other former White House counsels have done in other congressional investigations. Any concerns Mr. Cipollone has about the institutional prerogatives of the office he previously held are clearly outweighed by the need for his testimony. The panel seeks to compel Cipollone to appear on July 6, after the former White House counsel informally met with them in April but was not deposed. In a letter to Cipollone, Thompson said the panel had credible evidence that Cipollone had knowledge regarding Trumps awareness and involvement in certain activities and conspiracies to subvert the 2020 vote certification process (pdf). Thompson wrote that the panel was left with no choice but to subpoena Cipollone, who they said was uniquely positioned to testify but has declined to cooperate. The subpoena was issued after Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to President Donald Trumps chief of staff Mark Meadows, testified to the committee on June 28. Trump and Secret Service members have disputed some of Hutchinsons testimony. Hutchinson told the panel that Cipollone raised legal concerns around Trumps involvement in activities on Jan. 6 and that he urged the White House to take certain actions. Referencing Hutchinsons testimony, Cheney took to Twitter to call on Cipollone to testify on the record. Its time for Mr. Cippollone to testify on the record. Any concerns he has about the institutional interests of his prior office are outweighed by the need for his testimony, she wrote. As we heard yesterday, WH counsel Pat Cippollone had significant concerns re. Trumps Jan. 6 activities. Its time for Mr. Cippollone to testify on the record. Any concerns he has about the institutional interests of his prior office are outweighed by the need for his testimony. Rep. Liz Cheney (@RepLizCheney) June 29, 2022 Jordan Peterson speaks at the 2018 Student Action Summit at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 20, 2018. (Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0) Jordan Peterson Suspended by Twitter Over Post Referring to Transgender Actor Bestselling author and psychologist Jordan Peterson has been barred from Twitter after he made comments related to a transgender actor, his daughter Mikhaila Peterson said on the platform. Wow. @jordanbpeterson got a twitter strike, she wrote. No more twitter until he deletes the tweet. Definitely not a free speech platform at the moment @elonmusk. The Twitter post featured screenshots of the comments Jordan Peterson had made about Canadian actor and producer Elliot Page, the Juno star whose name was Ellen Page prior to December 2020. Remember when pride was a sin? And Ellen Page just had her breasts removed by a criminal physician, Peterson wrote on June 22 while also sharing a Twitter post from the New York Post on the same day about how Page is proud to introduce trans character on a Netflix series called Umbrella Academy. Umbrella Academy incorporated the gender change of Page into its third season, where the character Vanya was renamed Viktor. Netflix told The A.V. Club in late March that Pages character was set to come out as transgender in season 3 and be henceforth known as Viktor Hargreeves. Violated Company Rules In screenshots shared by Mikhaila Peterson on Wednesday, Twitter said that the post from her dad violated the companys rules on hateful conduct. You may not promote violence against, threaten, or harass other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease, Twitter said. Twitter said it temporarily limited some of Jordan Petersons account features, such that he can only browse Twitter and only send direct messages to his followers. [N]o Tweets, Retweets, Fleets, follows, or likes, Twitter said. Your account will be restored to full functionality in: 12 hours and 0 minutes, the company added. You can start your countdown and continue to Twitter once you: Delete the content that violates our Rules. Twitter also provided an option to contact its support team in the event that Peterson believes the company made a mistake. Meanwhile, on Jordan Petersons Twitter page, the company had in place of the Twitter post: This Tweet violated the Twitter rules. Peterson Will Never Delete Post Dave Rubin, a political commentator and host of The Rubin Report, said that Peterson told him he will never delete the Twitter post. The insanity continues at Twitter. @jordanbpeterson has been suspended for this tweet about Ellen Page. He just told me he will never delete the tweet, Rubin said. Paging @elonmusk PragerU, a nonprofit producing conservative educational videos, on Wednesday launched a petition to free Jordan Peterson. Twitter continues its assault on free speech. PragerU has been fighting against Big Tech censorship for years. Now our friend and PragerU presenter Jordan Peterson is the latest to get locked out of his Twitter account and we need to show our support for him, the group said on its petition website. Twitter locked Jordans account and demanded that he delete the offending tweet in order to have his account reinstated, reads the message. Jordan Peterson is one of the most respected and greatest thinkers in the world today. He has made several videos with PragerU that showcase his brilliant mind and impart wisdom for living a good life. Were collecting signatures from our PragerU audience to send to Twitter and demand that they stop censoring Jordan Peterson and others. Lets show Jordan that we support him and his right to free speech. PragerU stands with Jordan Peterson. Everyone should have access to what he has to say. To claim that his opinion is hateful, promotes violence, or threatens or harasses anyone is an outright lie. Do not allow Twitter to get away with this. Peterson is known for his book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, which has topped bestseller lists in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. On Jun 26, 2022, people are retrieving flags due to concerns of more possible vandalism in areas of Hong Kong. (Photo by The Epoch Times) As July 1st Approaches, Many CCP Flags Defaced in Hong Kong July 1 is the anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China. As the date approaches, Hong Kong becomes a sea of red, decorated with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) flags and Hong Kong regional flags. However, many of the five-star CCP flags and the bauhinia flags of Hong Kong have been defaced or stolen. Scholars believe that it is a manifestation of anger toward the CCP and its installed Hong Kong government. Hong Kong Police were called to multiple estates in Ping Shek and Ngau Tok Kok in Hong Kong to investigate cases of the CCP flags being defaced or stolen. The Hong Kong Police have classified the cases as insulting the CCP flag and theft, and has handed the cases over to the third Criminal Investigation Team of the Sau Mau Ping Police District for follow-up. As of writing this report, no one has yet been arrested. Reporters of The Epoch Times went to one of the buildings in Ping Shek Estate. People in the estate were collecting the flags and packing them up. The reporters found out that the neighborhood committee was concerned about the flags again being destroyed and ordered them to be away. It is understood that the flag-hanging mission was carried out by the Kowloon East Chao-ren Association, which belongs to the pro-establishment camp. According to the associations response to the medias query, about 11,500 CCP flags and Hong Kong regional flags will be hung all over the estates. Scholar: What is Imposed Will Not be Respected Professor Chung Kim-wah, scholar and former assistant professor in the Department of Applied Social Sciences at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said in an interview with the Epoch Times that a national flag and its anthem will only be respected by the people if the government and social system are respected by the people. But right now it is the opposite in Hong Kong. The government essentially is using legislation to accuse any Hongkongers of insulting the CCP flag. Not only is it not appealing to the people of Hong Kong, but some are even disgusted by it. Chung said that in the past few years, whenever there was a CCP flag hanging, or CCP anthem playing, disapproving boos followed. Raising a sea of red CCP flags, which places the communist regime above the people, will not gain more respect from Hongkongers. On the contrary, it will just feel like an additional imposition on Hongkongers. The fact that red flags are hanging everywhere is distasteful and offensive to Hongkongers, Chung said. Besides, it affects the aesthetics of the city, it should also be considered whether everyone enjoys the view. Has the government ever asked how Hongkongers would feel? Chung is not surprised that flags have been vandalized. Why doesnt the government follow what Beijing did during the Beijing Olympics to stop people from disrespecting, and raging at the CCP flag? Chung asked. Wong Wai-kwok, former assistant professor at the Department of Politics and International Relations at the Baptist University of Hong Kong, shared that it needs to be mutually understood and agreed upon to hang the flags in public. The government should not disturb or destroy peoples living environment in the name of patriotism or the handover of Hong Kong. When talking about insulting the CCP flag, Professor Wong said pro-Beijing groups also effectively did the same thing as those who were defacing them. The nation-loving participants would litter and trash CCP flags everywhere after their events, filling the streets with torn up CCP flags; Some people just chucked them in the bin. So theres a double standard when it comes to punishing those who disrespect or insult the CCP flag. [Is it ok] as long as you are government-friendly? When asked whether such accusations would restrict freedom of expression, Professor Wong asked, Why cant a national flag be insulted? Just as a national or country leader can be criticized. Why would a citizen love a corrupt government that kills and tortures its people? Wong believes that Hongkongers have the right to express dissatisfaction in their own way, like damaging a copy of a national flag. Wong added, Only totalitarian countries will use a national symbol to restrict freedom of speech and freedom of expression. Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, testified Tuesday before the Jan. 6 committee that then-President Donald Trump lunged at two Secret Service agents and tried to grab the steering wheel to go to the Capitol. Larry Elder and Kash Patel, the former chief of staff to Trump Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, discussed the credibility of Hutchingsons testimony. The Larry Elder Show is sponsored by Birch Gold Group. Protect your IRA or 401(k) with precious metals today: LarryForGold.com * Click the Save button below the video to access it later on My List. Follow EpochTV on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/EpochTVus Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/EpochTV Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@EpochTV Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/epochtv Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EpochTVus Gab: https://gab.com/EpochTV Telegram: https://t.me/EpochTV Telegram: https://t.me/EpochTV In this handout provided by the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. (R) administers the Constitutional Oath to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson (L) in the West Conference Room of the Supreme Court on June 30, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Fred Schilling/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via Getty Images) Ketanji Brown Jackson Sworn In as Supreme Court Justice Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in on June 30 as the successor to retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, becoming the 116th justice to serve on the high court. Jackson, 51, took two oaths in the West Conference Room at the Supreme Court building in Washington. She took the Constitutional oath from Chief Justice John Roberts, and the judicial oath from Breyer. With a full heart, I accept the solemn responsibility of supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States and administering justice without fear or favor, so help me God, Jackson said in a statement issued by the Supreme Court. I am truly grateful to be part of the promise of our great Nation. I extend my sincerest thanks to all of my new colleagues for their warm and gracious welcome. Roberts welcomed Jackson to the court and our common calling. The ceremony was streamed live on the courts website. Its the first time four women will be on the Supreme Court at the same time. Jackson was confirmed in April when the Senate voted 5347 on her nomination. Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Susan Collins (R-Maine) were the three GOP senators to join all Democrats in confirming her. I have dedicated my career to public service because I love this country and our Constitution and the rights that make us free, Jackson said in remarks after the vote earlier this year. While Jackson will be able to begin work immediately, the court has finished the bulk of its work until the fall, apart from emergency appeals that occasionally arise. That will give her time to settle in and familiarize herself with the roughly two dozen cases the court already has agreed to hear starting in October, as well as hundreds of appeals that will pile up over the summer. The Supreme Court issued final opinions earlier on June 3o after a momentous term that included overturning Roe v. Wade and expanding the right to carry a concealed firearm outside the home. One of those decisions limited how the Environmental Protection Agency can use the nations main anti-air-pollution law to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. A day before Jacksons swearing-in, Breyer, 83, who was nominated to the high court by former President Bill Clinton, sent a letter to President Joe Biden informing him that his official final day was June 30 and said he was honored to be a judge in an effort to maintain our Constitution and the Rule of Law. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The steadily worsening problem of antibiotic-resistant pathogens cause for grave concern in the medical community has researchers working overtime to discover solutions. But several studies raise hope that Manuka honey may hold the key to combating MRSA and other drug-resistant strains. In one study conducted at Cardiff Metropolitan University and published in 2012 in Microbiology, researchers moved closer to understanding the mechanisms by which honey inhibits the formation of biofilms difficult-to-treat communities of bacteria and helps to clear chronic wounds. Manuka Honey Quickly Incapacitates Infection-Causing Bacteria Researchers found that Manuka honey produced in New Zealand and Australia has the ability to attack a common bacteria, Streptococcus pyogenes, often responsible for chronic infections, as well as the destruction of skin grafts. In fact, it took only modest concentrations of honey to kill 85 percent of the biofilms in a Petri dish within two hours. And, S. pyogenes isnt the only pathogen susceptible to honey numerous studies demonstrate that Manuka honey is antiviral, antifungal, and active against 80 different species of bacteria, including E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. The team noted that there are no instances of any type of honey-resistant bacteria on record. Remarking that honey was both cheaper and safer than conventional drugs, they called for its use as a complementary therapy in conjunction with antibiotics. Manuka Honey Not Only Treats Bacterial Infections It Can Prevent Them From Developing in the First Place Researchers discovered that honey disrupts the interaction between S. pyogenes and a protein called fibronectin, which exists on the surface of damaged cells. The fibronectin acts as a fixative or glue, allowing bacteria to stick to wounds. Honey disrupts the bond of two different types of fibronectin, known as Sof and Sfbl. But honey is not just a one-trick pony when it comes to its tools for fighting infection and healing long-standing wounds. According to research presented in 2014 at the 247th meeting of the American Chemical Society, honey also uses hydrogen peroxide, acidity, and antioxidant flavonoids and polyphenols such as caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, and ellagic acid to inhibit bacteria. In addition, it employs an osmotic effect, in which its high percentage of sugar draws water from bacterial cells, dehydrating and then killing them. To form biofilms, bacteria use a communication system called quorum sensing; by interrupting this system, honey works as a signal jammer, preventing biofilms from developing. Honey Accelerates Wound Repair Plus so Much More Of course, Manuka honey can be used for more than wound healing. University of Maryland Medical Center reports that it may be taken to alleviate laryngitis, sore throats, pharyngitis, and cough. Honey has also been used in folk medicine and Ayurveda to promote digestion, relieve constipation, and soothe acid reflux. Naturally, you shouldnt use honey to treat medical conditions unless under the guidance of a trusted medical professional. But, theres no doubt, raw honey is highly-effective at promoting optimal health. With All the Different Brands and Varieties, How Do I Know Which Honey to Choose? Natural health experts all seem to agree: its best to opt for raw, unfiltered organic honey, available in health food stores and online. Manuka honey, of course, is considered the queen of healthful honeys and well worth the extra expense but local, raw honey can be just as effective in many cases. Avoid filtered supermarket honey; many contain antibiotics and (surprise!) high fructose corn syrup. In addition, the bee pollen has been removed. Raw, organic honey, on the other hand, still retains all its vitamins, nutrients, antioxidants, and pollen. In addition to its potent germ-fighting properties and its value as a safe and trusted home remedy for minor ills, raw honey is a delicious alternative to refined white sugar. So, bottom line, always look for raw honey and buy as local a variety as you can get. Republished from NaturalHealth365 Sources for this article include: NIH.gov ScienceDaily.com ScienceDaily.com NIH.gov Anti-abortionist protesters have protested outside the Jackson Women's Health Organization, nicknamed the Pink House, in Mississippi for decades. (Matt McGregor/The Epoch Times) Mississippi Takes Center Stage as State That Triggered Actions Leading to Overturn of Roe v. Wade In the state central to where Roe V. Wades upending began, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch enacted the states trigger law on June 27 that bans abortion 10 days after Fitch certified the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling. Mississippis laws to promote life are solid and thanks to the Courts clear and strong opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, they can now go into effect, Fitch said in a press release. As we have said throughout this case, Roe v. Wade presented a false choice between a womans future and her childs life. As we proceed in this post-Roe world, the people of Mississippi and of all the states will be able to fully engage in the work of both empowering women and promoting life. I am grateful that the Court has given us this opportunity. Once the ban takes effect on July 7, anyone who performs or attempts to perform an abortion will be charged with a felony punishable with a prison sentence of up to 10 years. Exceptions apply to cases of rape, incest, or the pregnancy endangering the mothers life. The Supreme Court ruling upheld a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, in addition to overturning Roe. The ruling also reversed Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which argued that states couldnt impose restrictions on abortion before a fetus became viable outside the womb, though it didnt specify when viability outside the womb occurred. Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization (JWHO) is named for Dr. Thomas Dobbs, the Mississippi state health officer for the Mississippi Department of Health. Dobbs wasnt involved in the case that was initially named Jackson Womens Health Organization v. Currier, named for Dr. Mary Currier, the health officer preceding Dobbs. The Jackson Womens Health Organization in Mississippi filed the lawsuit that set the chain of events in motion leading up to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. (Matt McGregor/The Epoch Times) Where It Began The JWHO in Jackson, Mississippi, the states only operating abortion clinic, sued the state over the Gestational Age Act, which only allows for abortions after 15 weeks of gestation for medical emergencies or severe fetal abnormality. The Gestational Age Act was signed into law in March 2018 before JWHO filed suit against the state, challenging the constitutionality of the legislation, arguing that the law went against the courts 1973 Roe V. Wade ruling that women had a constitutional right to abortion based on the premise of the right to privacy as a constitutionally protected right. Those who are pro-life, and many legal scholars have argued that the Supreme Courts interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment providing a fundamental right to privacy, protecting a womens right to abortion, was too great a leap of interpretation. A U.S. District Court Judge Carlton Reeves, appointed by former President Barak Obama, ruled in favor of JWHO in November 2018, which blocked the 15-week ban. In December 2018, the state appealed Reeves decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which later upheld Reeves decision. The state then appealed the Fifth Circuits decision to the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2020, which ruled in favor of the state and overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24. Pro-abortionists set up outside Jackson Womens Health Organization. (Matt McGregor/The Epoch Times) Conflicting Narratives The narratives leading up to the Roe v. Wade 1973 decision, in addition to its overturning, are fraught with inconsistencies, according to constitutional scholars and media analysts. In a documentary on Roe v. Wade by The Federalists Society, a conservative and libertarian legal organization, Professor of Law at Antonin Scalia Law School Helen Alvare, said, It had the perfect state of facts even though, we now know, they were a lie. They claim that Norma McCorvey was raped. That was not the case. But it seemed to be the most sympathetic possible case. McCorvey, also known as Jane Roe, claimed she had been raped by black men, which is why she said she wanted to have the abortion. She later said this was a lie in a televised report, claiming that she had become a Christian and regarded her role in the case for the pro-abortion movement as a mistake. Then, before she died in 2017, she said in the documentary AKA Jane Roe that she had lied about that as well, adding that she was paid to say that she had lied about being raped. Better Racial Elements Margaret Sanger, founder of the American Birth Control League that later became Planned Parenthood, also had a controversial past, suggesting a belief in population control methods such as eugenics and race-based selection, according to historical documents. In a 1923 New York Times article documented by 700 Club Interactive, Sanger is reported to have referred to human beings as weeds in a statement on eugenics, saying, It means the release and cultivation of the better racial elements in our society, and the gradual suppression, elimination, and eventual extirpation (destruction) of defective stocksthose human weeds which threaten the blooming of the finest flowers of American civilization. In 1939, according to the 700 Club Interactives documentary on Sanger, she launched The Negro Project, an initiative formed on the pretense of better health and family planning for poor blacks in the south, though critics of the program argued it was an attempt to limit the black race. Sanger, according to the documentary, had once even spoken before the Klu Klux Klan and has since been praised by Hillary Clinton. Law enforcement outside the Jackson Womens Health Clinic. (Matt McGregor/The Epoch Times) Abortion Quota Abby Johnson, the former clinic director for Planned Parenthood, said in the documentary that people who work for Planned Parenthood are trained to overlook Sangers alleged racism. In several interviews, Johnson explained why she left Planned Parenthood. I believed we were doing the right thing, she said in an interview with Steven Crowder. In 2009, we were buildingits now in operationthe largest abortion facility in the western hemisphere we were building an abortion facility that would abort babies through 24 weeks pregnancy for any reason. That was problematic for me because I knew we were in the point of viability for babies. Months later, she said she was instructed by her supervisor to double her abortion quotathe number of abortions that we had to sell to women coming in. And then, a few months later, I was asked to come in and assist during an ultrasound-guided abortion procedure, Johnson said. Ultrasounds are not typically used during the actual abortion procedure. Theyre used before so that you can date the pregnancy so that you know how much to charge the woman for an abortion, but then the ultrasounds are rolled away and the abortion itself is actually done in a blind manner. Johnson referenced several state laws that allow for abortions to be done up until the date of birth for any reason, such as in New York and Colorado, which stepped out of the bounds of the former pro-abortion slogan, safe, legal, and rare, later criticized by pro-abortionists as outdated, before changing it to safe and legal under the invocation of their right to get an abortion at any time. Where Life Begins States like Texas have passed laws restricting abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. Where life begins has been an arguing point for both pro- and anti-abortionists. Despite medical advancements that have brought insights into the nature of life, neither side seem to have come to an agreement on when a fetus becomes a sentient being, though when people die, their death is usually determined by the cessation of their beating heart. Some would argue that a heartbeat is a reasonable sign of life, while others argue that life begins at conception. Pro-abortionists argue that life doesnt begin at conception or with a heartbeat, only until he or she has taken his or her first breath of air outside of the womb. Were Proud to Do Abortions Diane Derziz, the owner of JWHO, gave a press conference on June 24 in response to the court ruling outside of the Pink House, where anti-abortionists have protested for decades. Law enforcement and escorts guide those wanting to get an abortion in and out of the parking lot of the building, where Derziz said they will continue until July 7. It has begun, she said. Within the next few days, within the next few weeks, and within the next year, youll see half of all the states in the United States of America not have abortion services within its border. JWHO has also opened Pink House West in Las Cruces, New Mexico. She recapped the pro-abortion argument stating that only the disenfranchised will now be prohibited from having abortions, causing them to resort to risky illegal abortion methods, while the wealthy go on to have safe access. This is going to hit the most vulnerable women, Derzis said. If youre a woman of privilege, you can get a flight to New York and be home by dinner. Derziz said shes been in the business of abortions for 46 years and that shes not giving up. We do abortions, and were proud to do abortions, Derziz said. Mysterious Lights Spotted Off California Coast Identified by Coast Guard Mysterious lights that appeared in the sky over San Diego on Monday have been identified as flares being used for military exercises, according to authorities. A group of strange objects exhibiting strong light was spotted over the Pacific Ocean late on June 27, leaving residents baffled with questions and causing quite a stir on social media. Its still happening, going on about an hour now. Multiple floating lights over the ocean. Very still, very bright. Orange, reddish light. Patterns of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, Gabe Gunlock, an eyewitness living in Mission Hills, wrote on Twitter, adding a video of the phenomenon that had sparked speculation online about UFOs. Gunlock told ABC News that he lives near the airport and hes familiar with seeing lights from aircraft, but he added that there was something unusual about the objects he saw that night floating off of the coast. The social media post quickly gained attention among San Diego locals and has since been watched over 235,000 times. On Tuesday, the San Diego Police Department told the network that the floating lights were actually flares being used for military exercises. The U.S. Coast Guard also said that they believe the flares were launched by the U.S. Navy as a training exercise, KGTV reported. A spokesperson for the maritime security agency explained that the reason for the flares to remain in the sky for a prolonged period of time is so that distress signals can be seen. Although officials described the floating lights, some people have remained skeptical, speculating the flashing lights that stayed in the sky for roughly 20 minutes were not flares. Realistically if they were flares you would see them flickering, Jan Brown told KGTV. These were not flickering. They were not moving, and there was a light breeze. The orange lights were spotted from multiple neighborhoods over San Diego, and were reportedly also seen as far away as Tijuana, Mexico. It had to be miles and miles off of the coast, it was burning extremely bright, Gunlock said. From NTD News An honour guard holds a Russia flag during preparations for a welcome ceremony for Russian President Vladimir Putin outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on June 8, 2018. (Jason Lee/Reuters) NATO Allies: West Needs to Reassert Its Values to Counter SinoRussia Alliance UK and Australia speak out on Russian and China at NATO summit Leaders from the UK and Australia have told the NATO summit that the West needs to assert its values globally, or they will risk seeing China and Russia continue to test the rules-based international order. This comes as NATO issued a declaration saying it will include China in its new strategic concept after identifying the Asian nation challenged the alliances interests, security, and values and sought to undermine the rules-based international order. Highlighting the critical nature of the Ukrainian conflict to the continuation of global peace, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss noted that what was happening in Europe could easily be replicated in the AsiaPacific region. Australia understands very much that what is playing out there has consequences in our own route. If an authoritarian state can attack a sovereign national state, and seek to enforce its will through brutal military power, then that has implications for the entire region, he said at the NATO summits open forum. So its got to be seen in that in that context, as well, which is why Australia, along with our friends here in NATO, see that we need to reassert our values in return. The Australian prime minister said he believes China is intrinsically tied to the Ukrainian conflict, with Russia using the partnership without limits with China to shore up their invasion plans. (L to R) Australias Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japans Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and South Koreas President Yoon Suk-yeol pose for a group photograph during the NATO summit at the Ifema congress centre in Madrid, on June 29, 2022. (Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP via Getty Images) As Russian forces were being mobilised on borders, while the Olympic Games were going on, you had the partnership without limits signed between Russia and China, and that was part of the process leading up to the Russian invasion. And that, I think, shows how interconnected China and Russia were, Albanese said. China seeks to be the most powerful nation in the world. Thats what were seeing playing out here. Just as Russia seeks to recreate a sort of Russian or Soviet Empire, the Chinese regime is seeking friends, whether it be Russia or in the region, through financial through economic support to build up alliances and to undermine what has historically been the Western alliance in the Pacific. China Could Make a Strategic Miscalculation Echoing the Australian prime ministers comments, Truss said the Ukrainian conflict was intrinsically tied with the threat to global peace, saying that the West needed to defeat Russia to send a message to Beijing. My very strong message is we have to defeat Russia first and negotiate later, and I completely agree with the Australian prime minister that we need to think very carefully about the messages were sending to President Xi. Weve seen increased collaboration between Russia and China, and we know that China is watching closely, they expanding their military capability and there extending their global influence, Truss said. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss speaks to MPs in the House of Commons, London, on June 27, 2022. (PA Media/House of Commons) I do think that with China extending its influence through economic coercion and building a capable military, there is a real risk that they draw the wrong idea, which results in a catastrophic miscalculation, such as invading Taiwan. And that is exactly what we saw in the case of Ukraine as a strategic miscalculation by Putin. Truss also spoke freely on the topic of helping Taiwan defend itself, saying that it was so important that the free world work together to help ensure Taiwan is able to defend itself. She noted that the UK was working to make sure Taiwan had meaningful participation in international organisations and had strong economic ties with Taiwan. This isnt just about hard security, Truss said. Its also about economic security. I think the lesson weve learned also from the Ukraine crisis is the increased dependency of Europe on Russian oil and gas contributed to a sense in which Russia felt enabled to invade Ukraine because they knew itd be very difficult for Europe to respond. The foreign secretary called on the alliance members to also remember not to become strategically dependent on China and to make sure that allies around the world have alternatives to China. We also need to learn that lesson, I believe, with China, of not becoming strategically dependent on China, and in fact, making sure that we have strong alternatives. And not just that the free world has strong alternatives that also allies such as the Pacific Islands, that the prime minister was talking about. Allies in Southeast Asia, allies in Africa and the Caribbean also have alternatives to Chinas economic investment. Chinas Economic Coercion and Diplomatic Bullying The comments from Albanese and Truss come as Beijing has subjected Australia to economic coercion through trade sanctions on wheat, wine, barley, coal, seafood, honey, wood, and meat products. It has also delivered a 14-point list of grievances it said would need to be addressed before diplomatic relations could be normalised. Australia has pushed back on Beijings demands, with the prime minister repeatedly saying that even with the change of government that our values dont change, our compassion and a trade-off our values for short-term economic interest will not be done, either. Chinas new ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, has said the country is bearing the brunt of Chinas displeasure for banning Chinese state-owned telecoms company Huawei from the countrys 5G network over security concerns and the call for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus. But Australia isnt alone in earning the Chinese regimes ire. Truss noted in the forum that Beijing was also starting to put pressure on non-Asian-pacific countries such as the UK and on international organisations like NATO. Its certainly very worrying that China is now making statements about NATO; its making statements about the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, she said. New Hampshire Governor Vetoes Ivermectin Bill New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu has vetoed a bill that would have made ivermectin available in the state without a prescription. The Republican governor vetoed the bill on June 24, the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Some fellow Republicans questioned the timing. It certainly seemed like a convenient way to bury a veto of a bill that won support from the vast majority of Republicans in New Hampshire, J.R. Hoell, co-founder of the conservative watchdog group RebuildNH, told The Epoch Times. Hoell is a former four-term House Republican who plans to seek reelection after a four-year hiatus from the New Hampshire Legislature. Earlier this year, the New Hampshire Department of Children Youth and Family tried to take custody of Hoells 13-year-old son after a nurse reported him for giving human-grade ivermectin to the teen months earlier. Several states have introduced bills to make human-grade ivermectin available without a prescription at brick-and-mortar stores. Currently, it can be ordered online from another country. In April, Tennessee became the first state to sign such a measure into law. New Hampshire lawmakers were first to introduce the idea. Both chambers of the states Republican-controlled Legislature approved the bill. In his statement explaining the veto, Sununu noted that there are only four other controlled medications available without a prescription in New Hampshire and that each was only made available after rigorous reviews and vetting to ensure before being dispensed. Patients should always consult their doctor before taking medications so that they are fully aware of treatment options and potential unintended consequences of taking a medication that may limit other treatment options in the future, Sununu said in his statement. Sununus statement is very similar to testimony given by Paula Minnehan, senior vice president of state government regulations for the New Hampshire Hospital Association, at hearings on the measure. Minnehan also placed emphasis on the review that went into the four prescription medications the state made available under a standing order. They include naloxone, the generic name for Narcan, which is used to counter opioid overdoses, hormone replacement therapy drugs, and a prescription version of the morning-after pill. It also includes a collection of smoking cessation therapy drugs such as Chantix, which has been linked to suicide, depression, and other neuropsychiatric conditions. Last year, Pfizer, the leading maker of the FDA-approved drug, conducted a voluntary recall of Chantix. Narcan has also been linked to deaths caused by severe withdrawals that have led to acute respiratory distress. Rep. Melissa Blasek, a Republican co-sponsor of the New Hampshire ivermectin bill, told The Epoch Times that one could veto any drug-related bill under the pretense of overdose concerns. The reality is you can overdose on Tylenol, she said. Ivermectin has one of the safest track records of any drug. The use of human-grade ivermectin became controversial when some doctors began promoting it for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. Government agencies including the FDA and CDC issued warnings against its use while groups such as Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance heavily promoted it. Some doctors were disciplined for prescribing human-grade ivermectin for COVID-19 including a Maine doctor whose medical license was suspended by the state. According to several published reports, 3 billion doses of human-grade ivermectin have been safely prescribed worldwide. Though disappointed, Blasek said she wasnt surprised by Sununus veto given his track record on other COVID-related bills including a bill born out of what some lawmakers saw as an overuse by Sununu of his ability to issue emergency orders under the pandemic. The measure sought to automatically expire the use of emergency orders by New Hampshires governor after the third use of the authority, making them renewable only upon approval by either the House or Senate. Following his veto of the bill, Blasek referred to Sununu on social media as a Republican suicide bomber with a veto pen. In his criticism of the governors veto, Hoell said that Governor Sununu should take a basic course in science before he vetoes a bill for medication safer than Tylenol. Sununu has also been heavily criticized by fellow Republicans for vetoing a bill that would have banned schools from instituting mask mandates and for pushing for the acceptance of $27 million worth of federal monies earmarked to promote the COVID-19 vaccine. During a hearing on the money in October 2021, eight New Hampshire residents who protested the acceptance of the money were arrested, most of them while they were sitting quietly in their seats. The state dropped the case against them earlier this month without filing charges. Enrique Tarrio, head of the Proud Boys, is escorted out of the area after arguing with counter-protestors at a 'Stop the Steal' protest outside of the Georgia State Capital building in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 21, 2020. (Megan Varner/Getty Images) New Zealand Designates the Proud Boys and the Base as Terrorist Entities New Zealand has formally designated the U.S.-based groups the Proud Boys and the Base as terrorist organisations. The move was approved by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on June 20 and publicly announced in the countrys official government newspaper, New Zealand Gazette, one week later. The Proud Boys is a fraternal group that described itself as anti-social-justice warriors and the Base is a neo-Nazi group. They join 20 others on New Zealands designated terrorist entity list, including Islamic Jihad, the Irish Republican Army and Shining Path. The New Zealand government has no information that suggests the two groups operate within the country. Any person who deals with the property of, or makes property or financial or related services available to, the entities listed below may be liable to prosecution for an offence under sections 9 and 10 of the TSA (Terrorism Suppression Act), Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said. Furthermore, any institution or person who suspects that property is owned by either entity is required to report the existence of that property to the commissioner of police. Reasons for Terrorist Designation The Proud Boys involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach and its extreme right-wing ideology, according to New Zealand authorities, met the criteria for the terrorist designation. Five Proud Boys members, including former leader Enrique Tarrio, were charged in early June by federal prosecutors with seditious conspiracy. Tarrio was not at the Washington D.C. protests on Jan. 6 but pleaded guilty to burning a Black Lives Matter flag and for the possession of two high capacity, .556 caliber firearm magazines, according to charging documents. Four members have pleaded not guilty, while a sixth member pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers. New Zealand authorities allege that the Proud Boys engaged in the violent attack on the Capitol Building. Prior to the Capitol breach, New Zealand authorities describe the groups activities as mainly engaging in political and personal intimidation, for example waving its flag to incite violence against ideological opponents. The group is known to regularly confront and fight with members of Antifa, a far-left, anarcho-communist network. Meanwhile, the Base was deemed a terrorist entity for its intention to bring about a race war that would lead to the collapse of democratic government, as well as its plan to shoot and kill civilians and police at a gun rights rally in Virginia on Jan. 20, 2020. In the explanation document, the Base is described as being both neo-Nazi and extremist right-wing, despite the two ideologies being polar opposites. Canada also lists the Proud Boys as a terrorist organisation, while the Base is already designated a terrorist group by the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) does not consider the Proud Boys organisation a domestic terror group, according to Director Christopher Wray. Well, I dont think we have treated the Proud Boys itself as a domestic terrorism group, he said in March 2021. Zachary Stieber contributed to this report. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (R) arrives for the NATO summit at the Ifema congress centre in Madrid, Spain, on June 29, 2022. (Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty Images) New Zealand PM Pushes for Nuclear Disarmament and Calls out China Human Rights Abuses at NATO Event New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has called for nuclear disarmament and criticised China for its human rights abuses in her speech at the NATO summit in Madrid. This crossroads that the world finds itself at should be the basis for us to put a halt in the production of weapons that create our mutually assured destruction because the alternative is unfathomable, she said. Ardern said New Zealand bore the scars of decades of nuclear testing and, because of this, remains proudly nuclear-free. Talks around Russias invasion of Ukraine have taken centre stage during the event, where NATOs first Strategic Concept document in a decade was approved. New Zealand is not a member state of the NATO military alliance but has been a partner country for a decade. The prime minister emphasised that while New Zealand had been invited, they were not here to expand our military alliances. Aotearoa New Zealand has a fiercely held independent foreign policy, she said. We are also one of the oldest and most stable liberal democracies. She added that the New Zealand government makes its foreign policy intervention calls in response to the undermining of humanity. And on that basis, we are unequivocal. The war in Ukraine is wrong, Ardern said. Ardern decried the Russian invasion but also urged NATO members against allowing the legacy of the war to become an arms race or a more polarised and dangerous world. Our solidarity with Ukraine must be matched by an equal commitment to strengthen international institutions, multilateral forums, and disarmament, she said. (L to R) Australias Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japans Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and South Koreas President Yoon Suk-yeol pose for a group photograph ahead of an Indo-Pacific Partners meeting during the NATO summit at the Ifema congress centre in Madrid, on June 29, 2022. (Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP via Getty Images) China Recognised as a Threat In NATOs Strategic Concept, China was formally branded as a security threat for the first time and criticised for using economic leverage to create strategic dependencies and enhance its influence. The PRC (Peoples Republic of China) employs a broad range of political, economic, and military tools to increase its global footprint and project power while remaining opaque about its strategy, intentions, and military build-up, the document said. Ardern followed by calling out China for becoming more assertive and willing to challenge international rules and norms. Here, we must respond to the actions we see. We must stand firm on the rules-based order, call for diplomatic engagement and speak out against human rights abuses at all times when and where we see them, she said. NATOs view of the Chinese Communist Partys increasing threat was evident through the invitation of its Asia-Pacific partners, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea, to participate in the summit for the first time. Swiss drugmaker Novartis' logo is seen at the company's plant, in the town of Stein, Switzerland, on Oct. 23, 2017. (Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters) Novartis Loses Patent Appeal Over $2.8 Billion Multiple Sclerosis Drug Against Chinese Pharma A U.S. appeals court overruled its prior decision, deciding that the patent for Novartis AGs blockbuster drug Gilenya was invalid. The decision dealt a blow against the Swiss pharmaceutical company as it potentially paves the way for the introduction of cheaper generic versions of the drug. Though the drug made $2.8 billion in 2021 globally, this was already a drop in revenue compared with previous sales due to increased competition, the company reported. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed its own 2020 ruling (pdf) in Novartiss lawsuit against the Chinese drug maker, HEC Pharm Co. on June 21. HEC was sued by Novartis (pdf), along with other drug makers in 2018, for filing for the right to market a generic of the Gilenya drug even though the drug was still patented. Other drug makers have since entered confidential agreements with Novartis, allowing these manufacturers to launch generic Gilenya prior to the patent expiry of December 2027. HEC lost the lawsuit in 2018, as well as subsequent appeal cases in 2020 and January 2022. However, the Chinese drug maker has now managed to reverse the outcomes in their favor. The appealed case revolved around Gilenyas 405 patent (pdf), which includes methods for treating relapsing multiple sclerosis with a specific dose of the medication. The patent called for daily administration of Gilenyas 0.5 mg. However, the patents specification fails to mention to not administer loading doses, which are higher or more frequent doses at the start of treatment. Instead, it describes administering fingolimod (Gilenya) at regular intervals, the court documents show. Because the 405 patent fails to disclose the absence of a loading dose, the district court clearly erred in its earlier decision, Chief Judge Kimberly Moore wrote in the appeals courts latest verdict. Nevertheless, not every judge agreed with the reversal, circuit judge Richard Linn dissented, arguing that the panel majority applied a higher standard to the case than it should have. The renewed decision by the divided panel revives hope for Chinese drug maker HEC Pharms appeal to make a generic version of the multiple sclerosis drug, which is currently set to be patented until December 2027. In a statement released on June 21, Novartis wrote that it intends to vigorously defend the validity of the patent and is considering all available options. Since the formal mandate closing the appeal case has not been closed, Novartis said that they believe HEC and other filers are not permitted to launch a generic version of Gilenya at this time. Novartis initially sued HEC in a Delaware federal court in 2018, after the Chinese company filed for approval of a Gilenya generic with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with other drug makers. The application was approved in 2019. Gilenya has been a commercial success for Novartis. It was the companys third best-selling drug, making $2.8 billion in revenue in 2021 according to company reports (pdf). HEC was also previously sued in 2014 by Eli Lilly for applying to market the generic of Efficient tablets, for which Eli Lilly had an exclusive license. According to HEC Pharm GmbHs website, research and development is the engine of the company, with more than 1,500 scientists working on the development of generics, new pharmaceutical products and biologicals. The products currently for sale on the companys website are only generic drugs. Official Cause of Death Confirmed for 3 Americans Found Dead at Bahamas Resort The three U.S. citizens found dead at the Sandals resort in the Bahamas in May died from carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the Royal Bahamas Police on Wednesday. We can officially confirm that all three of the victims died as a result of asphyxiation due to carbon monoxide poisoning, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a statement to news outlets. This matter remains under active investigation. The source of the carbon monoxide was not clear. Michael Phillips, 68; Robbie Phillips, 65; and Vincent Chiarella, 64; were found unresponsive at Sandals Emerald Bay in Great Exuma on May 6. Chiarellas wife, Donnis, was hospitalized in critical condition and was reportedly discharged from a Miami-area hospital after several weeks. Her current health condition is not currently known. Despite initial speculation, Bahamian authorities have concluded that the cause was an isolated incident in one standalone structure that housed two individual guest rooms and was in no way linked to the resorts air conditioning system, food, and beverage service, landscaping services, or foul play, the Sandals resort said in a statement to news outlets in May. Sandals, an exclusive resort, added that detectors for carbon monoxidean odorless gashave been installed in all guest rooms at Sandals Emerald Bay and although not mandated in any Caribbean destination where we operate, detectors will be installed in all guest rooms throughout the portfolio. More Details Sandals Emerald Bay in Great Exuma, Bahamas, on June 4, 2016. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Sandals) And the company recently told news outlets that it has taken additional measures such as engaging environmental safety experts to review its systems. About a month ago, authorities in the Bahamas suspected that it was carbon monoxide poisoning that killed the three American tourists, although few details were provided and it was not officially confirmed. None of the three Americans showed any signs of trauma, according to the Royal Bahamian Police, which also ruled out foul play. Theres still some investigations ongoing at the Sandals resort. We also have the pathologists in-country who have done their job and samples were sent to a very reliable lab in the United States, Dr. Michael Darville, the minister of health for the Bahamas, told Eyewitness News at the time. Several days after their deaths were confirmed, the U.S. Department of State issued a statement that it is closely monitoring the situation. We can confirm the death of three U.S. citizens in the Bahamas. We are closely monitoring local authorities investigation into the cause of death. We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance. Out of respect for the privacy of the families, we have nothing further to add at this time, an agency spokesperson told media outlets at the time. Sandals has not immediately responded to a request for comment. Former Oklahoma Speaker of the House and current bank CEO T.W. Shannon speaks to the press following his advance to the U.S. Senate primary runoff election in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on June 28, 2022. (Jeff Louderback/The Epoch Times) Oklahoma Senate Primary Runoff Narrows A Crowded GOP Field After deciding among 13 candidates in the Oklahoma U.S. Senate special GOP election primary on June 28, voters will now choose between two. U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin received the most support with 43.6 percent and former Oklahoma Speaker of the House T.W. Shannon finished second at 17.5 percent, Decision Desk HQ reported. Since no one surpassed the 50 percent mark, Mullin and Shannon will meet in a runoff on Aug. 23 to determine who will win the Republican nomination in a battle to replace Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe. The 87-year-old Inhofe took office in 1994 and was elected to a fifth term in 2020 before announcing in February that he will retire, effective Jan. 3, 2023. Kendra Horn, who served as a U.S. representative in Oklahomas 5th Congressional District from 2019 to 2020, was unopposed in the Democratic primary and will face the winner of the runoff in November. Libertarian Robert Murphy and independent candidate Ray Woods are also on the ballot. Campaign Reset Mullin and Shannon agree that the runoff represents a reset in the campaign since Oklahomans will hear from two choices instead of 13. Its like starting a new campaign, Mullin told The Epoch Times. He was first elected to Oklahomas 2nd Congressional District in 2013. You only have one opponent instead of 12, and it is important to reach as many people as possible since, typically, runoffs have a lower voter turnout. Shannon, who served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 2006 to 2014, and was Speaker of the House from 2013 to 2014, pointed out that Mullin had a head start with fundraising and money from the D.C. establishment and that the runoff provides more time to build awareness. For us, its important to get out there and tell our story, Shannon said at his watch party at the Will Rogers Theatre in Oklahoma City on June 28. Im a conservative, a Christian, and a capitalist. That message still resonates, especially when I am running against someone entering his second decade in D.C. On June 29, Shannon told reporters that Markwayne is a friend but there are differences between us. Im an America First and Oklahoma Always candidate. He (Mullin) is part of the D.C. establishment, said Shannon, a former co-chair of Black Voices For Trump. We have a uniparty in D.C. that works together. Washington takes care of Washington. I will push against the woke agenda for Oklahomans and Americans. Mullin Oklahoma Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) talks to voters at a primary day campaign event on June 28 in Oklahoma City. (Jeff Louderback/The Epoch Times) A former professional mixed martial arts fighter who owns Mullin Plumbing and Mullin Farms, among several other businesses, the 44-year-old Mullin held a comfortable lead in the polls and owned a 3-to-1 advantage in fundraising over the other candidates. I ran for Congress the first time because I was fed up with how much it was costing our company to comply with simple state and federal regulations, Mullin told The Epoch Times. A bunch of bureaucrats who have never created a job in their life try to tell us how to run our businesses. Mullin said he decided to run for Senate to combat President Joe Bidens flurry of executive orders. In the lower chamber, we really deal with the legislative side of things. The Senate helps determine how federal agencies affect us, Mullin explained. Bureaucrats are making it almost impossible to create jobs they want to be created because of regulations from agency officials. Heads of agencies are confirmed by the Senate. That is where the fight is. When Republican Sen. Tom Coburn announced his resignation in 2014, Shannon ran for that seat but lost to James Lankford in the primary. Lankford won the general election that November. On the same night that Mullin and Shannon advanced to a runoff, Lankford defeated two challengers in the other Oklahoma Republican Senate primary. The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales, and Larry J. Sabatos Crystal Ball rate the special election and Lankfords bid for reelection as either Solid Republican or Safe Republican. Shannon Shannon stepped away from politics at the age of 36, finished his law degree at Oklahoma City University, and became CEO of Chickasaw Community Bank in Oklahoma City. Earlier in his career, Shannon was a staffer for former Republican U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts and current Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Cole. A member of the Chickasaw tribe, Shannon has received $1.7 million from the Oklahoma Conservative Alliance, a super PAC that is exclusively backing him. America is home of systemic opportunity, not systemic racism, Shannon told The Epoch Times. The far-left narrative says that, unless youre from a specific zip code and of a specific heritage, then America doesnt work for you. Im proof that narrative is a lie. I was elected to the state legislature when I was 33 years old and then became the states youngest Speaker of the House. Now Im the CEO of a bank, Shannon added. That only happens in America. Deep Red State Oklahoma is a deep red state. Donald Trump won Oklahoma with 65 percent of the vote in 2020. Mullin and Shannon are pro-Trump, but the former president has not made an endorsement in the race. Mullin and Shannon have similar views on multiple topics, including religious values, protecting the Second Amendment, and standing against abortion. Even before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade earlier this month, both candidates were outspoken supporters of the pro-life movement. Shannon called Planned Parenthood the true face of White supremacy in America in a May campaign ad and posted on Twitter that Black babies have been targeted by the abortion lobby and the Dems since day one. Dont you dare say Black Lives Matter til you admit that black babies matter. In the ad, Shannon stood outside a Planned Parenthood location and called founder Margaret Sanger a vile racist because of her belief in eugenics that Shannon says frequently focused on black people. 400,000 Black babies killed every year since Roe v. Wade, Shannon said in the ad, which featured a graphic that read, Just like they planned. Dont tell me black lives matter until these lives matter, Shannon said at the end of the ad. Unequal Abortions According to 2019 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 629,898 legal abortions were reported by 47 states. The figure does not include California, New Hampshire, Maryland, and Washington D.C. Pew Research reports that in Washington D.C. and the 29 states that provide racial and ethnic data on abortion to the CDC, 38 percent of all women who underwent an abortion in 2019 were non-Hispanic black, though 2020 U.S. Census numbers indicate that black people comprise 12.4 percent of the population. CDC data from 2019 also indicates that black women are five times more likely to have an abortion than white women. Latina women are twice as likely, the information shows. A birth control advocate and eugenics proponent, Sanger launched a New York City birth control clinic in 1916 that later became Planned Parenthood. The reality is their founder wanted to exterminate black people, Shannon told reporters in May. In this day of where Democrats want to cancel everybody whose ever been associated with anything evil, or ever been associated anything that even appears to not be politically correct, there was a woman who created an organization to exterminate black people. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt speaks after signing into law a prolife bill in Oklahoma City, Okla., on April 12, 2022. (Sue Ogrocki/AP Photo) In April, Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 612 into law, which bans abortion in the state, except in the case of a medical emergency. Under the legislation, performing or attempting to perform an abortion can, in most cases, result in a felony accompanied by a maximum fine of $100,000, as many as 10 years in state prison, or both. In May, Stitt signed the Oklahoma Heartbeat Act, or Senate Bill 1503, which became effective immediately and prevents abortions as soon as a doctor can detect a fetal heartbeat, which can happen as early as six weeks into pregnancy. The most important thing our government can do is protect its citizens, and that especially includes the sanctity of life, Shannon told The Epoch Times at his watch party. Thats exactly what we should be doing as a society, and as representatives of the people. Mullin and his wife, Christie, have six children, three of whom are adopted. I thank God every day that the mothers who chose to give birth to our three adopted kids that we love so much didnt take the abortion route, Mullin told The Epoch Times at a primary election day kickoff event at Hideaway Pizza in Oklahoma City. It is hard to understand why anyone would say, Its just a fetus, and end that life. Were going to save all our future leaders, our future teachers, our future pastors, our future world-changers. Were going to give every kid thats in the womb an opportunity to succeed in life, Mullin added. The Roe v. Wade decision is a positive start, but we need to keep fighting to make sure that no baby can be killed. Mullin in Congress Mullin has taken action regarding abortion-related topics in recent months. Responding to the five fetuses that were discovered in Washington D.C. and speculated to have perished because of partial-birth abortions, Mullin introduced the Partial-Birth Abortion is Murder Act in April. On June 7, a militant pro-abortion group called Janes Revenge vandalized a pregnancy center in Asheville, N.C., and left threatening words in graffiti vowing violence. The same organization has reportedly taken credit for more than a dozen attacks in recent months at churches and pregnancy centers. Mullin was one of the Congressional Republicans who urged the Department of Homeland Security to classify Janes Revenge as a domestic terrorist organization. Its past time the Biden Administration quits with the complacency and investigates these members for exactly what they are: domestic terrorists, Mullin told reporters. Leading up to the June 28 special election primary, Mullin was criticized by opponents for not appearing at a debate jointly conducted by TV stations in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Mullin decided to remain in Washington D.C. to vote on a bill that featured gun control restrictions. The bill was approved, 224-202. Mullin joined most Republicans in voting against the legislation. The residents of the 2nd Congressional District elected me to represent them and uphold Oklahoma values, and that is what I did, Mullin told The Epoch Times. It was a lose-lose situation because, if I was there (at the debate), critics would have said I should have been in D.C. instead of campaigning. I made the choice of doing the job I was elected to do. Mullin will debate Shannon before the Aug. 23 runoff, according to Tulsas KOTV News on 6. When asked about a debate with Mullin in an interview with News on 6 on June 29, Shannon smiled and said, Anytime, anywhere. That is part of your duty as an elected officialto face voters and ask them for their vote. Thats what weve done up to now and we will do it in the runoff for sure. When told that Mullin said he will debate, Shannon said, Lets go. The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is pictured on the wall of the new OPEC headquarters in Vienna on March 16, 2010. (Heinz-Peter Bader/Reuters) OPEC+ Sticks to Oil Output Policy, Avoids Debate on September Plans LONDONOPEC+ said on Thursday it would stick to its planned oil output hikes in August but avoided discussing policy from September onwards as prices have risen on tight global supplies and worries that the group has little ability to pump more crude. Thursdays meeting of the group that includes Saudi Arabia, Russia, and other major oil producers was held days before President Joe Biden travels to the Middle East, including Riyadh where he is expected to press the kingdom for more oil. At its last gathering on June 2, OPEC+ decided to increase output each month by 648,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July and August, up from a previous plan to add 432,000 bpd per month. Washington welcomed the June 2 decision for a faster production rise, after months of Western pressure on OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Oil prices rocketed to their highest levels since 2008 after the United States and Europe imposed sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine in February, which Moscow calls a special military operation. Prices have slipped since then but were still above $115 on Thursday on tight supply and concerns that OPEC states had little extra capacity to raise output swiftly. French President Emmanuel Macron said this week that he had been told Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the only two OPEC states considered to have significant spare capacity, could barely raise output. By Maha El Dahan, Alex Lawler, and Ahmad Ghaddar A homeless encampment off Ross Street in Santa Ana, Calif., on May 10, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Orange Countys Mixed Response to Homelessness: Grand Jury Report A recent Orange County Grand Jury report showed mixed success in the countys effort to address homelessness through the Continuum of Care, a series of nonprofits and government agencies tasked with ending homelessness in the region, with local concern remaining at an all-time high. Though the county has over 5,700 homeless individuals, according to the 2022 point-in-time count, it is still about 17 percentor about 1,100 peopleless than the previous count in 2019 (pdf). The county has taken several strategies to decrease these numbers, with varying degrees of success. Among strategies reported to be working successfully is prevention investments, whereby funding to pay rent and utilities, as well as housing vouchers, reportedly increased the financial stability of individuals identified as in danger of becoming homeless. Be Well staff members assist two homeless individuals in Irvine, Calif., on June 8, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) According to the report, more homeless individuals were successfully housed through increased outreach efforts, such as police homeless liaison officers specially trained to assist homeless people to connect with needed resources, such as clinical detox programs and housing. Some of these officers, however, have experienced significant injuries while assisting these communities. In Westminster, a homeless liaison officer was violently hit over the head with a metal chair by a homeless individual during their June 18 outreach event, leading to her hospitalization and extended medical leave. She has a severe concussion right now, were not sure when shell be fully recovered, Westminster Police Chief Darin Lenyi told The Epoch Times. Its just really terrible. According to Lenyi, law enforcement has found a drastic increase in homeless individuals wielding deadly weapons, including guns and knives. This has made the jobs of homeless liaison officers more difficult. Were still trying to figure out where and how theyre getting these guns [firearms] are extremely expensive for a homeless person to get ahold of, Lenyi said. Despite these challenges, the county reports that more homeless individuals were reached through trust-building and outreach efforts resulting in increased numbers being sheltered overall compared to 2019 statistics. The report goes on to state the main reasons homeless individuals resist assistance from outreach programs, namely a lack of trust from previously broken promises from program staff, and lack of freedom to walk in and out of shelters without arranged transportation. Homeless individuals chat together in Santa Ana, Calif., on June 28, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) The Continuum of Care is funded through a variety of federal, state, and county grants. Currently, the countys annual contracts for shelters cost just over $30 million per year, with permanent housing costing over $16 million per year, according to the report. Federal funds comprise over half the funds available to the county at over $60 million, over $29 million in state funds, and over $28 million from the countys own funds. Emergency shelter beds available to the homeless increased, providing more help to the unhoused. Permanent shelter housing opportunities also increased through newly increased federal vouchers and permanent supportive housing developments built in cities like Anaheim and Santa Ana, among others. These developments are often built through re-purposing older structures, such as outdated motels. Based on the reports overall findings, the grand jury found that South Orange County cities lack low threshold emergency shelters, resulting in more homeless encampments. Additionally, too many homeless who are severely and persistently mentally ill or suffer from addiction end up incarcerated instead of more appropriate placements, such as clinical intervention. A homeless encampment in Santa Ana, Calif., on Oct. 5, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Costs continue to play a pivotal role in the countys homeless epidemic. The county continues to spend significant funds on homeless individuals in jail and the criminal justice system. When these expenditures are included, Orange County homeless costs were an estimated $1.6 billion in the 20212022 fiscal year, according to the report. Transitional-aged youth are also listed as a vulnerable population once they age out of foster care, often becoming homeless and needing assistance finding housing. As such, the report recommends leveraging funding to persuade South Orange County cities to open a regional, low-threshold emergency shelter for the homeless, in addition to the Laguna Beach Friendship Shelter by July 2023. Findings from the report also push for additional funding for mental health and addiction care programs for supervised care and treatment leading into the 20222023 fiscal year. Estimates for these costs remain unlisted. Housing opportunities for transitional-aged youth leaving foster care are also recommended. The Continuum of Care has worked with Orange Countys 34 cities and unincorporated areas to address homelessness since 1998. It is comprised of local governments, county departments and agencies, non-profits, faith-based organizations, and much more. Over 3 Million SoCal Residents Traveling This Weekend: Auto Club LOS ANGELESAs the Independence Day weekend approaches, southland freeways and airports started getting a lot busier Thursday with millions of residents traveling. For many, it is the first time they will hit the road in nearly two years. The Automobile Club of Southern California estimates nearly 3.3 million Southern California residents will be traveling for this weekend, the third-highest for a Fourth of July holiday, behind only 2019 and 2018. According to the Auto Club, 2.7 million Southern Californians will drive to their destinations for the long weekend, while 426,000 will fly. About 168,000 will travel by other means, such as bus, train, or cruise ship. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) officials said they expect to see as many as 115,000 departing passengers passing through the airport each day Thursday through Saturday, and again next Tuesday and Wednesday. As many as 90,000 departing passengers are anticipated on Sunday and Monday. We expect the Independence Day holiday weekend to be the busiest weve had in more than two years, and we want to make sure our guests know about the tools available that can make every part of their journey easier and faster, Justin Erbacci, CEO of Los Angeles World Airports, said in a statement. Erbacci suggested a few things that can help the trip to start more smoothly. Spending just a few minutes online to check traffic conditions, pre-book parking and review any recent communications from your airline can ensure you have a great start or end to your summer vacation. Airport officials also urged travelers to arrive early and check traffic conditions in the terminal area using the Twitter site @FlyLAXstats. Travelers were also urged to book airport parking in advance at parking.flylax.com. At Ontario International Airport, passenger traffic is expected to be 13 percent higher than it was during the July 4 holiday period in 2019. More than 75,000 travelers are anticipated from July 15, an increase from 66,727 passengers who flew into and out of Ontario during the same period three years ago, according to Ontario International Airport Authority officials. Atif Elkadi, chief executive officer of the Ontario International Airport Authority said travelers driving to Ontario airport can take advantage of the online reservation system to pre-book parking at discounted rates close to the airports passenger terminals. Across the country, 48 million people are expected to be traveling for the holiday, according to the Auto Club, with the vast majority reaching their destination by drivingdespite near-record-high gas prices. As of June 30, the gas price in California is sitting at $6.289 for a gallon of regular, while the national average is sitting at $4.857 per gallon. The top destinations for Southern California residents are expected to be Las Vegas, San Diego, the Grand Canyon, Mexico, and Yosemite. The Transportation-analytics firm INRIX recommended that motorists should avoid driving on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday afternoons, which are expected to be the peak of the traffic for 5, 10, 405, and 57 freeways. INRIX recommended that people do their driving early in the morning. Some people are also likely to be traveling overseas. We expect that the recent lifting of the COVID testing requirement for air passengers re-entering the U.S. will continue the increase in demand for international vacation bookings that we are already seeing this summer, Heather Felix, the Auto Clubs vice president of travel products and services, said in a statement. A 'for sale' sign hangs in front of a home in Miami, Fla., on June 21, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Over 40 Percent of Homes See Prices Drop in Multiple Local Housing Markets With home sellers realizing that buyers are no longer able to afford houses at current prices and mortgage rates, they are adjusting expectations and prices are dropping in multiple housing markets across the United States, according to real estate brokerage Redfin. In Provo, Utah, 47.8 percent of homes for sale saw prices go down in May, the highest among 108 metropolitan divisions analyzed by Redfin, the firm announced in a June 21 news release. Tacoma, Washington, saw 47.7 percent of homes reduce prices; Denver saw 46.9 percent; Salt Lake City saw 45.8 percent; Sacramento, California, saw 44.3 percent; Boise, Idaho, saw 44.2 percent; Ogden, Utah, saw 42.6 percent; Portland, Oregon, saw 42 percent; Indianapolis saw 41.9 percent; and Philadelphia saw 41.2 percent. In total, over 10 percent of home sellers dropped their prices in all 108 metropolitan areas. In 53 of those areas, more than 25 percent of home sellers cut their prices. In a video uploaded to Twitter on June 28, Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather blamed high home prices and rising mortgage rates for creating affordability challenges. Mortgage payments on a typical home are up 42 percent compared to 2021, she said, predicting a cooling down of the housing market. Fairweather points out that there are two kinds of sellers in the market today. The first group already knows that the market has cooled while the second group is learning about the market changes as they go through the selling process. The former wants to sell quickly before the market slows further and theyre willing to price slightly below comparable homes in their neighborhood right away, and the latter may have to drop their price if their home doesnt attract buyers within a few weeks. As more sellers come to terms with the slowing market, fewer homes will have price drops, Fairweather said in the Redfin news release. Affordability Crisis American homebuilders have grown more pessimistic about the state of the housing market during the past six months, with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) declining in June. In a troubling sign for the housing market and broader #economy, home builder confidence posted its sixth straight monthly decline in June, falling two points to 67, in the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, the lowest HMI reading since June 2020, NAHB said in a June 15 tweet. According to data from the NAHB Housing Affordability Index, the median price of existing single-family homes rose from $346,200 in April 2021 to $397,600 in April 2022. The qualifying annual income needed to be approved for a mortgage jumped from $56,832 to $82,416 during this period. Mortgage rates rose from 3.11 percent to 5.05 percent, monthly payments on mortgages increased from $1,184 to $1,717, and the share of payment as a percentage of income went up from 16.2 percent to 22.9 percent. Pennsylvania state Sen. Scott Martin, a Republican, discussed a measure to limit exposure of sexually explicit content in Pennsylvania schools during a meeting of the Senate Education Committee at the state capital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in June 2022. (Courtesy Pennsylvania Senate GOP) Pennsylvania Legislation Would Give Parents Say Over Sexual Content in Schools In response to parental outrage over sexually explicit school library books and class curriculum, two measures that were approved by the Pennsylvania Senate this week seek to provide parents with transparency and control over access to these materials. Books such as Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe; Its Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris; and Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel have been found in elementary school through high school libraries in Pennsylvania and across the nation. Some have been required reading in certain classes. In words and explicit illustrations, the books depict oral sex, recreational drug use without consequence, LGBT themes, political activism, and anti-Christian themes. The measures sponsors, state Sens. Scott Martin and Ryan Aument, both Republicans, advanced Senate Bill 1277 in a 3020 vote. It would require schools to identify sexually explicit content in curriculum and materials and notify parents that their childs coursework includes such content. Parents would be able to opt their children out of the sexualized curriculum, and they would be able to request that their children not be able to check out such books from the library. The graphic nature of the images in these books is so extreme that adults would be prohibited from viewing it in the workplace, Aument said on the Senate floor. Opponents of this bill continue to defend these books, saying that they reflect the full multicultural nature of the world and that they are inclusive and affirming to our kids. Last I checked, providing pornography to elementary school children isnt inclusive. Its disgusting. And its wrong. Pennsylvania state Sen. Ryan Aument, a Republican, argues for parents to have control over the sexual content their children may encounter in school materials. (Courtesy Pennsylvania Senate GOP) He challenged anyone to review images in these books and affirm that they think 6-year-olds should have unrestricted access to them without their parents knowledge. If a student drew images that were this explicit, they would be suspended. If a student brought in a book from a home with these explicit images, they would be reprimanded, Aument said. Early Gender Identity Lessons Would be Banned The two state senators also advanced Senate Bill 1278 in a 2921 vote. It would prohibit classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation for pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students. Thats consistent with the timeline for when the existing academic standards on general sex education begin, which is in sixth grade. It is about making sure parents are included and informed about what is going on with their child at school, and not intentionally being kept in the dark, Martin said on the Senate floor. Senate Bill 1278 is about providing parents with an opportunity to view any surveys or questionnaires in advance and opting their child out if they wish. It is about saying it is not appropriate to seek out the opportunity to teach young children between the ages of pre-K and fifth grade about sexual orientation or gender identity in the classroom, especially without the parents knowledge. Now, if a student is having questions or concerns about their own identity or orientation and initiates the conversation with school personnel, they are not prohibited from having that conversation and getting the student the relevant services. But again, the parents need to be informed. Somewhere along the line, someone began to think that all parents may not be understanding or that somehow the parents would not have their childs best interests in mind. I firmly believe that the vast majority of parents love and support their children and want to be involved in getting them whatever help they may need. He also noted that if theres a serious concern about parental abuse or abandonment of a child, the school is exempt from providing that notification, but if the school is that concerned about the childs well-being, they should contact child protective services. Both senators have heard from concerned parents. A school district in Chester County instructing elementary school teachers to withhold information from parents about children questioning their gender; a teacher reporting that a Philadelphia school was permitting volunteers to talk to elementary school students about LGBTQ issues without parental knowledge; and mothers of first grade students in Allegheny County suing their school district for teaching about gender dysphoria without parental knowledge or consentthese are just a small sample of the dozens of complaints weve received from concerned parents around the Commonwealth, the senators said in a joint statement. While we may not agree on what moral, ideological, and religious values to teach or not to teach our children, we can certainly agree that it should be up to the parent to decidenot the government. The measures now move to the House Education Committee. Gov. Tom Wolf and his Commission on LGBTQ Affairs denounced SB 1278, calling it a Dont Say Gay measure similar to legislation recently enacted in Florida. We at the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs know that the guise of calling LGBTQ people and topics age inappropriate is really just fearmongering, Rafael Alvarez Febo, executive director of the LGBTQ Affairs Commission, said in a statement referring to Pennsylvanias SB 1278 and the Florida legislation. Bills like these will cause LGBTQ teachers to have to conceal their identities and strip any resources available for LGBTQ youth out of schools. Even more alarming, these bills have emboldened far-right hate groups to mobilize to commit violence against LGBTQ people. Wolf is expected to veto SB 1278, but its unclear how hell respond to SB 1277. Pfizer Vaccine for Kids Under 5 Edging Towards Approval in Australia Australia is close to approving COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged between six months to five years after the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) granted provisional determination to Pfizer. This will be the first step to gaining registration on the Register of Therapeutic Goods for Pfizer, along with Modernas SpikeVax. Approval and potential supply in Australia would only commence should the vaccine be approved as safe and effective by the TGA and recommended for administration to this age group by the [Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation], according to a statement from the TGA. It does not mean an application for use in this age group has been made, and it does not mean any subsequent application would be approved. The body said it would carry out a rigorous assessment of the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Currently, the Pfizer vaccine has only been approved for Australian children aged five and over. Australia Adjusting to New COVID-Normal The country is on track to record its 10,000th death from COVID-19, with the current death toll at 9,886. Health authorities are also concerned that the winter season could see Australians catch the virus a second time. Dr. Kerry Chant, the chief health officer of New South Wales, said there was no evidence that new sub-variants of COVID-19 could lead to severe illness, but there was evidence that they are better at evading the bodys immunity. So it is vital that anyone who is eligible for a booster dose who hasnt yet received it does so as soon as possible, she said in comments obtained by AAP. While the state government of Queensland has discarded vaccine mandates in several industries including hospitals, aged care facilities, prisons, schools, and disability accommodation. As we move to the next stage of the pandemic, we will be adjusting our approach in relation to mandatory vaccinations, according to Yvette DAth, the Queensland health minister, in a press release. While the Northern Territory government will soon close its Howard Springs quarantine facility. The Howard Springs quarantine camp, also known as the Centre for National Resilience, is Australias largest quarantine facility and attracted international controversy when an Australian woman described her time there like being in prison, according to an interview with British news site UnHerd. Pro-2nd Amendment Groups Ask Court to Block NYCs Proper Cause Concealed Carry Permit Rule In light of the latest U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found New York states proper cause requirement for a concealed weapons permit to be unconstitutional, pro-Second Amendment groups are seeking to block a similar permit regulation in New York City, which they say is just as bad if not worse. The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), along with the Firearms Policy Coalition and five private citizens, on June 29 filed a motion in a federal trial court in New York City. They asked the court to stop the city from enforcing its own proper cause rule, which was established in the early 20th century, following the same logic of the newly invalidated state law. In light of the Supreme Courts ruling that New York States good cause mandate is unconstitutional, we felt compelled to file this action because the citys proper cause requirement is just as bad if not worse, said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb in a press release. Two of our plaintiffs previously held carry licenses in New York City for decades, but in 2020, both were denied renewal on the grounds they lacked proper cause,' Gottlieb said, arguing that it would be an insult to the nations highest court if the city were to allow the unconstitutional rule to live on. The City adopted this restrictive and completely arbitrary regulation more than a hundred years ago, Gottlieb said. And we should not have to drag the city kicking and screaming into the 21st Century, and into compliance with the Second Amendment and the recent Supreme Court ruling. In a 63 decision, penned by Justice Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional for New York state to demand concealed weapons permit applicants to justify their need. Specifically, the courts conservative majority held that this rule violates the Constitution by preventing law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in public for self-defense. At least two states, namely California and New Jersey, have scrambled to react to the June 23 decision by telling law enforcement agencies to cease applying proper cause or good cause rules. It is the Attorney Generals view that the courts decision renders Californias good cause standard to secure a permit to carry a concealed weapon in most public places unconstitutional, wrote California Attorney General Rob Bonta in a June 24 legal alert. Permitting agencies may no longer require a demonstration of good cause.' A similar directive came from New Jerseys Acting Attorney General Matthew Platkin, who wrote that the Supreme Court decision prevents New Jersey from continuing to require a demonstration of justifiable need in order to carry a handgun. In New Jersey, concealed carry permits are rarely issued to ordinary citizens because theyre required to prove they have an urgent need based on a special danger to their life. In New York, however, Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams have shown little willingness to back off on gun policies. Hochul, who on June 6 signed 10 Democrat-backed gun control bills into law, called for a special session of the Legislature where we will explore a wide range of legislative options that will keep us in compliance with this ruling. The session was scheduled to take place on the June 30. Meanwhile, Adams claimed the ruling will put New Yorkers at further risk of gun violence, adding that city hall will continue to do everything possible to work with our federal, state, and local partners to protect our city. Those efforts will include a comprehensive review of our approach to defining sensitive locations where carrying a gun is banned, and reviewing our application process to ensure that only those who are fully qualified can obtain a carry license, Adams said. We will work together to mitigate the risks this decision will create once it is implemented, as we cannot allow New York to become the Wild West. Pro-life leaders Kristan Hawkins (C) and Penny Nance (R) celebrate the overturn of Roe v. Wade in Washington on June 24, 2022. (Courtesy of Students for Life of America) Pro-Life Groups Plan for Post-Roe World The end of Roe v. Wade marks a great victory for U.S. pro-life groups, but its not the end of their fight against abortion. Roe v. Wade mandated that the government couldnt regulate abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, couldnt regulate the protection of fetal life in the second 14 weeks, and could only protect fetal life after viability. Now abortion is once again a legislative issue. The Supreme Courts overturn of Roe v. Wade gave U.S. pro-life groups the high ground in the upcoming political battles over abortion. Even so, theyll likely face new difficulties as well. At this point, the end of Roe still feels surreal to many in the pro-life movement. Youre pinching yourself for a while. When you work for something for close to 50 years and then it happens, it takes the psyche a little while to adjust, said Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life. Taking the High Ground One of the most important aspects of the Supreme Court ruling that theres no constitutional right to abortion is the way law shapes moral boundaries, Pavone said. Often, women assume that because abortion is legal, its also a moral decision to make, he said. The mother who is thinking about abortion is often thinking about it only because she knows its legal. We dont find that abortion is the kind of a decision that a woman will crawl over broken glass in order to get it. If the law frowns on abortion, women choose it less often. In Pavones experience, many women dont pursue abortion if theres even a slight legal obstruction. Theyre very ambivalent about their abortion, he said. National Right to Life Committee President Carol Tobias agreed with that assessment. She noted that women who are pressured by their boyfriends or families to get abortions might feel protected by the law. I saw a woman writing recently that if it had been illegal, she wouldnt have done it, Tobias said. Now that abortion can be illegal, people are more likely to think its immoral, she said. Its also more likely that discussions over abortion will explore its morality instead of stopping at its legality. You start getting into the discussion of, every abortion ends the life of another human being, Tobias said. Pro-life protesters celebrate the overturning of Roe v. Wade in Washington on June 24, 2022. (Courtesy of Students for Life of America) More Children Across the United States, 22 states have passed or will soon pass laws that ban or restrict abortion. According to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, one in five pregnancies ended in abortion in 2020. The same year saw nearly 1 million abortions performed. Its unclear exactly how much the end of Roe v. Wade will decrease these figures. But Pavone estimated that even if the number of abortions decreases massively, the number of new babies wont increase by the same margin. Many women who get abortions get multiple abortions, he said. Some find themselves getting abortions again because of a cycle of guilt. The mom who has an abortion, very often she feels guilty. She wants to have a replacement pregnancy, so she gets pregnant again. And then she doesnt feel worthy to have the child, and she repeats the abortion, Pavone said. Almost half of the abortions in America are repeat abortions. Now many women who live this pattern will likely have their first child and stop getting abortions or new pregnancies, he said. Birth rates will likely go up as well. Pregnancy centers are already gearing up for more new babies, Pavone said. But Hugh Brown, president of the American Life League, said he doesnt expect the overturn of Roe will save many lives. Companies such as Amazon offer free flights to abortion states for their employees, and its likely going to be easy to cross state borders to get abortions, he said. An America thats halfway pro-life is functionally pro-abortion. Is that going to result in less deaths? More than likely not, Brown said. Changing Laws Pro-life leaders also say that the end of Roe v. Wade will intensify the legislative debate over abortion. Its likely that Congress and state governments will see more legislation for abortion restrictions soon, Pavone said. He noted that future abortion laws likely wont be outright bans. Instead, politicians will likely regulate abortion. Were more likely to see some gestational limits that enjoy very strong public support, even among people who say theyre pro-choice, Pavone said. Perhaps the most ambitious pro-life goal is a nationwide abortion ban. But pro-life leaders have mixed opinions on whether its possible anytime soon. To get a nationwide ban on abortion, the Senate would likely have to end the filibuster, Tobias said. But this change would also make it easier for Democrats to pass extreme pro-abortion legislation. A confrontation between pro-life supporters and pro-abortion protesters in Washington on June 26, 2022. (Nathan Worcester/The Epoch Times) I dont see the filibuster in the Senate being removed anytime soon, she said. I mean, were using it now to stop several horrible, horrible anti-life pieces of legislation coming through the Senate, including tax funding of abortion. Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins told The Epoch Times in an email that her organization hopes to change public opinion on abortion laws after the end of Roe. Most Americans are confused about what Roe v. Wade meant, according to Hawkins. Americans say they favor Roe v. Wade when polled, but the majority of Americans also support some restrictions on abortion that Roe didnt allow. Radical abortion supporters have been in charge of the abortion debate for almost 50 years, with now stale talking points used for generations. One of those is that most people loved Roe v. Wade and loved abortion, she said. If you like any limits on abortion, you didnt like Roe. Current polls show that seven out of 10 Americans support limits on abortion, Hawkins said. As an organization that has more conversations with the generation targeted for abortion than any other pro-life group, weve seen the need for education to help people understand the fine print behind the words support for abortion, she said. Roe Rebound? In politics, a big win can sometimes temporarily hurt the winners. Historical example suggests that ending Roe v. Wade will galvanize abortion supporters and leave pro-life supporters complacent. But none of the pro-life leaders interviewed by The Epoch Times said they were experiencing a drop in funding. Perhaps that is because its well known in the pro-life community that our students are on campuses daily fighting for this generation and for their children, and that we are active in every state working to pass pro-life laws or oppose policy that would hurt women and their children, Hawkins said of Students for Life of Americas fundraising success. Putin: Russia Will Respond If NATO Sets Up Infrastructure in Finland, Sweden MOSCOWPresident Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would respond in kind if NATO deployed troops and infrastructure in Finland and Sweden after they join the U.S.led military alliance. With Sweden and Finland, we dont have the problems that we have with Ukraine. They want to join NATO, go ahead, Putin told Russian state television after talks with regional leaders in the central Asian ex-Soviet state of Turkmenistan. But they must understand there was no threat before, while now, if military contingents and infrastructure are deployed there, we will have to respond in kind and create the same threats for the territories from which threats towards us are created. He said it was inevitable that Moscows relations with Helsinki and Stockholm would sour over their NATO membership. Everything was fine between us, but now there might be some tensions, there certainly will, he said. Its inevitable if there is a threat to us. Putin made his comment a day after NATO member Turkey lifted its veto over the bid by Finland and Sweden to join the alliance after the three nations agreed to protect each others security. The move means Helsinki and Stockholm can proceed with their application to join NATO. Putin added that the objectives of what Moscow calls its special military operation in Ukraine remained unchanged, that its goal was to liberate eastern Ukraines Donbass region and create conditions to ensure Russias security. He said Russian troops had advanced in Ukraine and that the military intervention was going as planned. There was no need, he said, to set a deadline for an end to the campaign. Gov. Gen. Mary Simon delivers the Throne Speech in the Senate in Ottawa, Nov. 23, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick) Quebec Group Goes to Court Over Gov Gen Mary Simons Lack of French A group of Quebecers is going to court to argue that Mary Simons appointment as governor general should be invalidated because she isnt fluent in French. The group, led by historian Frederic Bastien, is asking the Quebec Superior Court for a declaratory judgment stating that Simons appointment violates Charter provisions declaring Canada to be bilingual. The former Parti Quebecois leadership candidate says choosing a governor general who doesnt speak one of the countrys official languages is an insult to francophones and a signal that bilingualism doesnt matter. His group is relying on judicial precedent in New Brunswick, where French-speaking Acadians recently challenged the appointment of a unilingual anglophone lieutenant-governor on similar grounds. A judge ruled in April that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau violated constitutional language protections when he appointed Brenda Murphy, but the judge added that striking down the nomination would cause a constitutional crisis. Simon speaks English and Inuktitut and has promised to learn French, but Bastien says the government should have chosen one of several qualified Indigenous candidates who speak both official languages. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk speaks during a press conference in Burleigh Heads, Australia on November 15, 2021 . (Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images) Queensland Premier Will Address Public Service Integrity Report Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is expected to face a barrage of questions when she addresses the media two days after the release of a damning integrity review. Professor Peter Coaldrakes landmark report handed down late on Tuesday pointed to a tolerance of bullying within the states public service and a reluctance to deviate from the perceived official government line. Palaszczuk issued a statement committing to adopting all 14 of the reviews recommendations within hours of its release but is still to respond in person. In the face of calls for her to do so on Wednesday, she sent out a second statement explaining she had undergone a two-hour dental procedure that could not be delayed. I am in the office working but unfortunately it means I am unable to conduct a media conference this afternoon, the premier said. I will be available to the media at 9 a.m. on Thursday. Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman conceded on Wednesday that she had been aware bullying complaints within the public service had been made from time to time. However, the extent of Prof. Coaldrakes findings had come as a surprise to her. Like any review you learn things, and we have said its unacceptable, she said. Queenslanders can have faith now that the premier has acted so swiftly and so strongly to accept these recommendations. The report also called for the reigning-in of access and influence of lobbyists, including an explicit ban on dual hatting of professional lobbyists during election campaigns. The Liberal-National opposition backed the reports recommendations, with leader David Crisafulli seeking to link integrity issues directly to Palaszczuks leadership. The premier must front the media today and show why she can lead the government out of the mess she has created, he said. Crisafulli said a poor culture was having a direct impact on the governments ability to deliver services. Katters Australia Party welcomed the reports release but said it would do little to settle the concerns, while the Greens described its recommendations as band-aid solutions to a systemic level of interference in the public service. Premier Palaszczuks original statement said she embraced the report and would not have asked Prof. Coaldrake to conduct the review had she not wanted reform. Roe V Wade Overturn Misunderstood Australian Liberal Senator Says As Ruling Reignites Debate in Australia An Australian Liberal senator has defended the US Supreme Courts overturn of the Roe v Wade ruling that largely legalised abortion, saying the decision is profoundly empowering for democracy despite being largely misunderstood by the public as the ruling reignites the abortion debate in Australia. It comes after the US Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling powered by its conservative majority, upheld a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Australias Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has criticised the overturn, calling it a setback for women and their right to control their own bodies and their lives. The sentiment was echoed by the federal Minister for Women Katy Gallagher, who told ABC Radio National on Monday the ruling reinforces the need to remain vigilant because hard-fought-for wins before our Parliament can be taken away easily. Pro-abortion activists (R) argue with pro-life activists in front of the Supreme Court in Washington on June 26, 2022. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images) Judicial Activism However, outgoing Queenslands Liberal Senator Amanda Stoker argued that the US Supreme Courts decision is misunderstood because the ruling does not mean abortion has been banned in the US. It simply means that state parliaments, elected by and accountable to the citizens of that state, will be able to make their own decisions on the issue, in line with the values of those citizens, Stoker told The Epoch Times. That is profoundly empowering for the democratic process. The Liberal senator, a former prosecutor at Queenslands Director of Public Prosecutions, noted that overruling Roe v Wade corrects the error made in 1973. She said it was when the US Supreme Court found a right to abortion in the Constitution even though it was not stated anywhere in the document. Such judicial activism takes authority to make decisions on contentious matters like abortion away from citizens and puts it in the hands of unelected, unaccountable judges, Stoker added. Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito wrote on behalf of the majority that Roe v Wade and its later reaffirmation, Planned Parenthood v. Casy, were exceptionally weak and an abuse of judicial authority. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives, he stated. Pro-life protesters celebrate the overturn of Roe v. Wade in Washington on June 24, 2022. (Courtesy of Students for Life of America) Roe v Wade Reignites Abortion Debate in Australia In the wake of the overruling of Roe v Wade, hundreds of Australians on Monday gathered in front of the US Consulate in Perth, Australia, as part of nationwide solidarity abortion rights rallies. Stoker said, the tragedy of the polarised nature of the public discussion of this issue is that as a nation, we miss the opportunity to engage with the underlying factors that make abortion appealing to some. Instead, we should ask: how can we better support women and families to confidently proceed with a pregnancy, even if were unplanned? That is a conversation that would make our society better. Australia has fully decriminalised abortion in all states, with South Australia becoming the last jurisdiction to remove abortion from the criminal codes in 2021. Under Victoria and Queenslands law, women are allowed to have an abortion up until the childs birth based on their physical, psychological and social circumstances. Stoker warned such radical abortion laws have very few safeguards to ensure it is not administered as an act of coercive control or as a further disadvantage to an already vulnerable woman. Employees walk at Barry Callebaut production site in Wieze, near Brussels, on June 30, 2022. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images) Salmonella Outbreak Shuts Worlds Largest Chocolate Factory in Belgium The Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut has paused production at a plant in Belgium, after discovering a salmonella-positive lot, the company confirmed on June 30. In a statement, the Zurich-based company said all products manufactured since June 25 in Wieze, a village in East Flanders, have been placed on hold. The facility, which Barry Callebaut says is the worlds largest chocolate factory, produces around 270,000 metric tons of cocoa and chocolate products annually. Its unclear how many, if any, products of the salmonella-affected lot have actually reached consumers, Korneel Warlop, a spokesman for Barry Callebaut, told AFP. The company noted that its currently working to contact customers that may have received products affected by the contamination. The Belgian factory supplies chocolate products to brands including Nestle, Hershey, Mondelez, and Unilever; it doesnt make chocolates to be sold directly to consumers. Warlop told the news service that most of the products discovered to be contaminated are still on site. Additionally, the factory has also asked customers to block any shipped products as a precaution. Barry Callebaut informed the Belgian food authorities (FAVV) about the incident and has taken the precautionary measure to stop all chocolate production lines and to block all products manufactured since the time of testing, the company stated on its website. The entrance to the Barry Callebaut production site in Wieze, Belgium, on June 30, 2022. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images) Quality experts identified lecithin as the source of the contamination, the company said. Lecithin is a yellow waxy substance that is used for smoothing food textures and repelling sticking materials. As lecithin is used in all chocolate production, we have taken the precautionary measure to stop all production lines, the chocolate maker said. The company continues to investigate the root cause analysis and risk assessment. Barry Callebaut will now take the time to continue with the very diligent root cause analysiskeeping the FAVV informed in the process, it said. When that is completed, the lines will be cleaned and disinfected before resuming the production process. The firm described the incident as a very exceptional case, explaining that it was able to quickly identify the contamination because there are nearly two dozen employees working on food safety. In our local site in Wieze, we train our people to recognize food safety risks, the company said. More than 1,000 employees work at the Belgian factory, while international production reaches more than 36 countries worldwide. The discovery at the Wieze plant comes after Ferrero Group was granted conditional authorization to restart its production lines in mid-June after Kinder products in the UK were recalled in April over an outbreak of salmonella at a Ferrero plant in Belgium. The Ardennes Ferrero factory in Arlon, Belgium, on April 8, 2022. (Erik Lalmand/BELGA/AFP via Getty Images) Belgian health authorities ordered the Italian confectionery group to suspend all production at its plant in Arlon in late April, after an investigation into dozens of cases of salmonella linked to the companys Kinder chocolates. After Salmonella was detected in the Arlon plant, Ferrero has taken concrete actions to ensure that a situation like this does not happen again, the company said in a June 17 statement announcing the restart of production. More than 1,000 Ferrero employees and independent specialists have been working at the plant continuously, it stated. More than 1,800 quality tests have been completed, 10,000 parts dismantled and cleaned, and significant investments made. This includes the replacement of multiple pieces of equipment as well as the installation of 300 meters of new pipeline. From NTD News SCOTUS to Hear Case That Could Give State Legislatures, Not Judges, Power to Regulate Elections The 'independent state legislature doctrine' is a longtime favorite of conservative legal thinkers and Republicans The Supreme Court decided on June 30 to hear an important new case that Republicans hope will re-empower state legislatures to make rules for redistricting and governing congressional and presidential elections. Republicans say the U.S. Constitution has always directly authorized state legislatures to make rules for the conduct of elections, including presidential elections. Democrats say this idea, encompassed by the Independent State Legislature Doctrine, is a fringe conservative legal theory that could endanger voting rights. The Supreme Court has reportedly never ruled on the doctrine. The doctrine, if endorsed by the high court, could allow state legislatures to select presidential electors in disputed elections, something critics decry as a threat to democracy. Election law expert J. Christian Adams, a former U.S. Department of Justice civil rights attorney who now heads the Public Interest Legal Foundation, an election integrity group, praised the Supreme Court for granting the case, which he said was very important. It means that the Court may take up all the nonsense that has been occurring over the last 10 years, Adams told The Epoch Times by email. In a series of Twitter posts, Democratic Party attorney and election law activist Marc Elias denounced the courts decision to hear the case. The Supreme Court will hear a case next term that may validate the dangerous independent state legislature theory, Elias wrote. Congress must enact comprehensive voting rights and anti-subversion legislation before its too late, he wrote, adding the future of our democracy is on the docket. The doctrine has been in the news because conservative Republican activist Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, sent emails to 29 Republican state lawmakers in Arizona urging them to choose the states presidential electors despite the disputed popular vote tallies showing Democrat Joe Biden had won the state, The Washington Post reported June 10. The emails were sent Nov. 9, 2020, after media outlets had called the Arizona race for Biden. The efforts by Republicans to change the result in Arizona were unsuccessful and ultimately the states 11 votes in the Electoral College were awarded to Biden. In her emails, Ginni Thomas, a supporter of then-President Donald Trump, asked Arizona legislators to stand strong in the face of political and media pressure and asserted that the responsibility to select electors was yours and yours alone. Lawmakers, she wrote, had the power to fight back against fraud and ensure that a clean slate of Electors is chosen. The emails attracted the attention of the U.S. House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, security breach at the U.S. Capitol that delayed official congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election by several hours. Democrats also say there is a conflict of interest because Justice Thomas will participate in the court case about the independent state legislature doctrine. Through her lawyers, Ginni Thomas is resisting committee demands that she testify in the ongoing probe that many Republicans, including Trump, say is a sham. Tim Moore, a Republican who is the speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, explained why he supports the doctrine. The U.S. Constitution is crystal clear: state legislatures are responsible for drawing congressional maps, not state court judges, and certainly not with the aid of partisan political operatives, Moore said in March when he launched an appeal of the Supreme Court of North Carolinas order redrawing the states electoral map against the wishes of the states GOP-majority legislature. We are hopeful that the Supreme Court will reaffirm this basic principle and will throw out the illegal map imposed on the people of North Carolina by its highest court. It is time to settle the elections clause question once and for all. The elections clause in Article 1 states: The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof. The presidential electors clause in Article 2 states gives each state the power to appoint presidential electors in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct. Three Supreme Court justices have said the doctrine applied in the Bush v. Gore case that resolved the disputed 2000 presidential election. In an unsigned order issued on June 30, in Moore v. Harper, court file 21-1271, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. The justices did not explain why they decided to hear the case, which is their usual practice when deciding which appeals to take on. For such a petition to be granted, at least four of the nine justices must agree. The case is expected to proceed to oral argument in the courts upcoming term that begins in October. Moore filed his petition (pdf) with the court on March 17. It was preceded by an emergency application seeking to stay a Feb. 14 ruling by the Supreme Court of North Carolina that required the state to modify its existing congressional election districts for the 2022 primary and general elections. Respondent Rebecca Harper is one member of a group of 25 individual North Carolina voters. On March 7, the Supreme Court turned away (pdf) the stay application. In an opinion concurring in the denial of the stay, Justice Brett Kavanaugh invoked the so-called Purcell principle, writing that the high court has repeatedly ruled that federal courts ordinarily should not alter state election laws in the period close to an election. Sen. McConnell Responds to Bidens Latest Call to Abolish the Senate Filibuster Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) signaled Thursday that Republicans will not support President Joe Bidens advocating for abolishing the filibuster to pass a bill to codify Roe v. Wade. The foremost thing we should do is make it clear how outrageous this decision was, Biden said during remarks in Spain on Thursday. I believe we have to codify Roe v. Wade in the law, and the way to do that is to make sure that Congress votes to do that. That move drew a rebuke from Republicans, namely McConnell who said Bidens claim was unmerited and dangerous. Attacking a core American institution like the Supreme Court from the world stage is below the dignity of the president, McConnell told reporters. Hes upset that the court said the people, through their elected representatives, will have a say on abortion policy. That does not destabilize democracyit affirms it. By contrast, it is behavior like the presidents that undermines equal justice and the rule of law. McConnell was the majority leader when three of then-President Donald Trumps Supreme Court nominees were confirmed by the Senate: Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. The three were instrumental in striking down Roe v. Wade last week. And McConnell was the majority leader when the Senate blocked then-President Barack Obamas attempt to nominate Merrick Garland, who is now the attorney general, to the Supreme Court after Justice Antonin Scalias death. Its the single-most consequential decision Ive made in my public career, McConnell told Bloomberg on Wednesday of blocking Garland from the court. The GOP senator suggested that the decision was, in part, responsible for the Supreme Courts ruling last Friday. Filibuster Comments Bidens comments to abolish the filibuster echo remarks that he made earlier this year when he supported ending the 200-year-old Senate rule to pass a Democrat-backed voting law. During the 2020 campaign, Biden often said he doesnt support abolishing the filibuster, which was set up to protect the minority partys interests in Congress. The one thing that has been destabilizing is the outrageous behavior of the Supreme Court of the United States, Biden said at a NATO summit in Spain. And overruling not only Roe v. Wade, but essentially challenging the right to privacy. Weve been a leader in the world in terms of personal rights and privacy rights. And it is a mistake, in my view, for the Supreme Court [to] do what it did. Meanwhile, when asked last week about potentially expanding, or packing, the Supreme Court with Democrat-nominated justices, a Biden spokespreson said hes not considering it. Left-wing groups and lawmakers have called to pack the Supreme Court with more justices and to abolish the filibuster to pass favored legislation in the 5050 Senate. Ive been asked it beforeand I think the president himself about expanding the court, Jean-Pierre told reporters over the past weekend. That is something that the president does not agree with. That is not something that he wants to do. Sexual Stalinism in Nashville Schools Commentary Sometimes, its hard to believe I live in a red state, or if there are any red states other than Gov. Ron DeSantiss Florida where the leadership actually looks out for the peoplethose that voted them into office in the first place. My wife recently shared an email with me that came to her inbox from Cindy Goddard, the chair of the Davidson County (contiguous with Nashville) chapter of the Moms4Liberty. I quote with Ms. Goddards permission: On another note, Metro [Nashville] teachers are required to take training in DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion). Some, if not all, are doing that training this week. I talked to a teacher friend of mine tonight after the training. Metro teachers had homework, and she said she kept missing a question that she could not figure out. Finally, she realized the question was, Is gender an internal instinct? She kept answering NO. That was the question she missed. They wanted the answer to be YES. She stated that in order to continue with the test and finish the homework, they were REQUIRED TO ANSWER yes. So, every Metro teacher has now stated (or will soon state) that gender is an internal instinct. Does anyone find that to be a problem? Er, yesanybody sane. Nevertheless, our new New American Stalinistsin the tradition of the original Stalin who, for his malign purposes, declared war on genetics in favor of Trofim Lysenkos bizarre theoriesare positing their truths about sexuality. Obey them or forfeit your right to teach (and likely future employment along with it). And forget freedom of speech in a democracy. Thats so 18th century. It was over long before Twitter and Facebook slammed it to the ground and stomped on it. Teachers, heres the truth you are now required to convey. Gender is internal, something you make up for yourself, and therefore is fluid. It doesnt have to do with genitalia, hormones, or even chromosomes. You are what you think you are, for the moment anyway. Biology has nothing to do with destiny and the book of GenesisAdam and Eve and all thatis an ancient myth devised by religious fanatics to oppress us. So if your students are getting puberty blockers or hormone treatments or even genital surgery, dont be alarmed. Encourage them. And speaking of puberty blockers, so what if no one really knows what they do to the human brain? Even if it is a phase, these kids are depressed! Youve got to do something, right? Now, Nashville is known to be a blue cityarent they allso no one should be completely surprised that such absurd reactionary swill is being promulgated in its schools for political purposes. But above city government, governors have a fair amount of control of their states public educational system, as does Gov. Bill Lee here in red Tennessee. He would have the power, as would state Commissioner of Education Peggy Schwinn, to stop Stalinist educational indoctrination of this nature, if they so desired. So far, little has happened. As we have seen, similar attempts are being made in the educational systems of nearly every stateand have been for decadesto evolve them into being exclusively progressive indoctrination camps, if they arent already. And many, in not most, are. Not even the Chinesewho spend more time on actual education, the foolsdo it as well and with such assiduous devotion as American educators. The grand irony of all this endless diversity, equity, and inclusion brainwashing we live with is that, consciously or not, fad or not, it works to exacerbate the very thing it says it is trying to diminish. By accusing people of bigotry where it doesnt exist, they create bigotry. Was that their real intention all along? Quite possibly. I dont know. But as products of our moribund and biased educational system themselves, its hard not to be suspicious. But speaking of understanding and education, I would suspect only a few readers knew what I was referring to when I mentioned Lysenko. Its not your fault in the slightest. Though it should be, now more than ever, Soviet history is barely touched upon in most of our high schools. The teachers themselves dont know enough about it to teach it. And this lack of knowledge increases as the wokeness of the teachers increasesor is rammed down their throats. The story of Lysenko, Stalins favored scientist, would be particularly instructional to todays world because of its monumental misuse of science similar to what we are seeing before our eyes now in a number of situations, including COVID-19, of course. Heres just a sample from Wikipedia (still good in this instance). I would suggest you read it all if you havent. In 1940, Lysenko became director of the Institute of Genetics within the USSRs Academy of Sciences, and he used his political influence and power to suppress dissenting opinions and discredit, marginalize, and imprison his critics, elevating his anti-Mendelian theories to state-sanctioned doctrine. Soviet scientists who refused to renounce genetics were dismissed from their posts and left destitute. Hundreds if not thousands of others were imprisoned. Several were sentenced to death as enemies of the state, including the botanist Nikolai Vavilov. Lysenkos ideas and practices contributed to the famines that killed millions of Soviet people; the adoption of his methods from 1958 in the Peoples Republic of China had similarly calamitous results, culminating in the Great Chinese Famine of 1959 to 1962. As the French say, Fauci avant la lettre. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem signs a bill into law banning outside spending on elections, in Pierre, S.D., on March 16, 2022. (Courtesy of the Office of the South Dakota Governor) South Dakota Republicans Stand Strong at Their Convention Commentary The successes of South Dakota are the result of a strong Republican Party. The South Dakota state GOP convention was held on June 2325 in Watertown, South Dakota. By Saturday, there were over 600 delegates registered and certified from 59 of South Dakotas 66 counties. The main convention organizer was Dan Lederman, the state GOP chairman; the convention host, chairman, and facilitator was Ried Holien, mayor of Watertown. While there were no official themes for the convention, unofficially the focus included: 1) a celebration of the Roe v. Wade decision, including praise for former President Donald Trumps nominations of U.S. Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, without which the decision would have been impossible; 2) the example set by the state during the pandemic, including no lockdowns or mandates, less than 2 percent unemployment, ranked number two on the list of top moving destinations in 2021, record tourism in 2021 and continuing this year, and continued business expansion across the state; 3) the positive results of adherence to Republican principles of low taxes and regulations and personal and economic freedoms; 4) concerns about election integrity, as expressed by some elected officials and many delegates; and 5) the need to fight against the Biden administrations continuing authoritarian encroachment on state and individual rights, including red flag laws, land grabs, and unlawful federal mandates. June 23 On Thursday, the primary focus was on establishing the rules of the convention, which were debated and voted upon in an open forum. Committee meetings were held to address the state GOP platform, proposed resolutions, election training, and site selection for future conventions. Thursday also included an after-hours BBQ at a local resort that featured a keynote speech by Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. She echoed many of the unofficial themes above, particularly the shining example of the state under the leadership of Gov. Kristi Noem. Ronna McDaniel, Chair of the Republican National Committee, at the CPAC convention in National Harbor, Md., on Feb. 28, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) June 24 The days first event was a breakfast speech by South Dakotas lone U.S. representative, Dusty Johnson. He discussed Republican principles, efforts to thwart House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats, and the expectation of great things if the Republicans win the majority in November. The general session on Friday focused on debating, modifying, and approving the party platform and the proposed resolutions. From the platform, these are the key principles of the South Dakota Republican Party that were approved at the convention: Individual Liberty: The rights of American citizens proceed from God, not the government. Government authority proceeds only from the consent of the people. Individuals, including the unborn, have the intrinsic right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We affirm the sanctity of all human life. Limited Government: Federal, state, and local governments should be transparent and limited to their respective roles as essential to inherently governmental functions. Personal Responsibility: Individuals and families are responsible for their behavior. Public policy should encourage and empower their efforts to provide for their own health, safety, education, moral fortitude, and personal wealth. Property Rights: We support private property rights as guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Tribal Relations: We believe the best interests of all South Dakota citizens will result from working cooperatively with tribal governments. Peace Through Strength and Rule of Law: National security, national sovereignty, public safety, the right to self-defense, the rule of constitutional and statutory law, and civil justice should be preserved without excessive undue burden on civil liberty. U.S. Congressman for South Dakota Dusty Johnson and Gov. Kristi Noem place yard signs in a Sioux Falls neighborhood on June 4, 2022. (Jann Falkenstern/The Epoch Times) Eight resolutions were debated and approved, including a resolution thanking Trump, a resolution expressing strong support for the reelection of Noem, Johnson, and Sen. John Thune, and a resolution affirming the sanctity of life. Friday also included a John Thune luncheon, during which the senator gave a speech that explained how the Republican minority in the Senate has prevented truly disastrous proposed Democrat legislation from being passed, including the federalization of voting laws and the Biden administrations Build Back Better initiative. Of course, there was no mention of the Republican failure to stop the passage of the gun control law signed by President Joe Biden on Saturday that many people, such as Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), consider unconstitutional. June 25 Saturday was devoted to nominating and electing Republican candidates for down-ballot statewide offices. A main responsibility of the state convention is to screen and nominate candidates for whom no party primaries are held, including lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, chairman of the state public utilities commission, and commissioner of schools and public lands. Once elected by delegates at the convention, these people become the Republican candidates for those offices during the general election in November. The South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre, S.D., on June 29, 2007. (Runner1928/CC BY-SA 4.0) These candidates were unopposed and elected by acclamation: Auditor: Rich Sattgast (incumbent). Treasurer: Josh Haeder (incumbent). PUC chairman: Chris Nelson (incumbent). Schools and public lands: Brock Greenfield. The results for the contested elections were as follows: Secretary of state: Monae Johnson 61 percent; Steve Barnett (incumbent) 39 percent. Attorney general: Marty Jackley 53 percent; David Natvig 47 percent. Lieutenant governor: Larry Rhoden (incumbent) 56 percent; Steve Haugaard 44 percent. Miscellaneous The 2024 state GOP convention will be held in Pierre, while the 2026 convention will be in Rapid City. The discussions among elected officials, candidates, party officials, and delegates during the convention were vigorous and spirited. Differences were debated emotionally in some cases but without rancor. Despite those differences, unity prevailed as the attendees dispersed. Much of the discussions centered on ensuring election integrity and the moral dilemma presented to Democrats surrounding the repeal of Roe v. Wade, including opportunities to convert pro-life Democrats to the Republican Party. Many delegates were already aggressively working toward that end on registered Democrats and independents in their various circles of family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors. Election integrity was also a hot topic, especially among the delegates. Those who had seen the documentary 2000 Mules were particularly incensed about the need to ensure election integrity in South Dakota, including scrubbing voter registration rolls in all counties. Lastly, this author attended the convention as a delegate and precinct committeeman. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Pro-life supporters celebrate outside the Supreme Court in Washington on June 24, 2022. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images) Split in Stance Over Roe v. Wade Reversal Among Corporate Executives Corporate executives have shown divided opinions over the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) verdict striking down the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision. Some have rebuked the overturn, while others have chosen to stay mum about the subject. Aaron Levie, CEO of cloud-based content management platform Box, expressed his disappointment with the June 24 ruling that will hand back matters of abortion to the state level, and shared on Twitter the companys statement that affirms its commitment to provide critical reproductive healthcare services to its employees. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said she believes reproductive rights are human rights that every woman should be entitled to, and called the SCOTUS decision to pass legislative powers on abortion laws back to the states a devastating setback. As a CEO, I recognize there are a spectrum of opinions on the SCOTUS ruling today. As a woman, its a devastating setback. I personally believe every woman should have a choice about how and when to become a mother. Reproductive rights are human rights, she wrote. In response to the Supreme Courts decision, Googles chief people officer Fiona Cicconi informed the companys staff that U.S. benefits plan and health insurance covers out-of-state medical procedures that are now not available where an employee lives and works. Googlers were also told that they can apply for relocation without justification, in an email reported by The Verge. California, the state where the companys headquarter is located, has made it clear that they will continue with their pro-abortion policies. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg hasnt yet made any comment on the ruling. Meanwhile, Metas departing chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg took to Facebook to condemn the decision a huge setback and called for a fight against it. For ourselves, our daughters, and every generation that follows, we must keep up the fight. Together, we must protect and expand abortion access, she wrote. At the same time, Meta, citing its policy that prohibits social, political, and sensitive conversations, warned employees against discussing the issue on its internal system. Otherwise, their messages will be deleted. Apple CEO Tim Cook has also been silent on the matter. But the company has reportedly notified staff members that it is up to them to make their own decisions in relation to reproductive health, and its medicare plan will cover out-of-state travel where necessary to access such procedures. According to eBay, its benefits were enhanced starting June 8, allowing employees and their dependents to be compensated for travel expenses within the United States in order to seek abortion care if it is not readily available where they live, Techcrunch reported. Netflix applies the same policy, stating it will offers travel reimbursement coverage for U.S. full-time employees and their dependents who need to travel for cancer treatment, transplants, gender-affirming care, or abortion through our U.S. health plans. With that, each employee and their dependents are eligible for up to $10,000 in lifetime allowance for each health service. Yet to Comment Among the Big Tech companies, Twitter declined to comment. Elon Musk, the platforms to-be owner, has also yet to comment on the ruling. Yet, Tesla has made clear that their companys benefits cover out of state travel expense for employees seeking an abortion. Joining the list of those that have not voiced an opinion in the aftermath of the verdict are Walmart, Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines and Wendys, The New York Times reported. The study from consumer research company Forrester attributed the hesitation to weigh in on the debate to the fear of an adverse reaction that could emerge afterwards. Bannon Asks Judge to Delay Contempt of Congress Trial, Citing Jan. 6 Hearing Publicity Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon has asked a federal judge to delay his trial over contempt of Congress charges by three months due to the Jan. 6 House select committees hearings garnering too much publicity, making it unlikely that a jury would be impartial. Bannon was indicted in November 2021 by a federal grand jury on two counts of contempt of Congress stemming from his failure to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. The former adviser had refused the subpoena, asserting a right to executive privilege as a former White House staff member. After failing to hand over the requested documents and make an appearance before the House committee, lawmakers referred Bannon to the Department of Justice (DOJ) which decided to pursue a criminal case against him. Bannons trial was set to start on July 18 but his lawyers, in a motion filed in a U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on June 29, asked that the trial be delayed until October. When trial was scheduled, neither the Court nor the parties were aware of the June and upcoming July media blitz by Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, the motion states, noting that the Committee had hired a television executive to produce maximum public impact. James Goldston, the former president of ABC News, is helping the committee with its televised hearings, a move that has been criticized by a group of House Republicans. Maximize Public Impact In addition, the Select Committee scheduled its initial public hearing during prime timeagain, to maximize public impact when presenting purported investigative findings,' the motion reads. Public impact is not limited to the hearings themselves, but to the media coverage that magnified the hearings. In Washington, DC, where trial will take placeand where the acts alleged in the Indictment took placeevery major media outlet treated the hearings as a top news story, the attorneys continued, adding that every person accused of a crime is guaranteed a fair trial under the U.S. Constitution. Bannons attorneys also pointed to the fact that the DOJ had recently agreed to delay the trial of five leaders of the Proud Boys after they argued they would be unlikely to receive a fair trial due to the media attention surrounding their case. The motion goes on to state that Select Committee members have made inflammatory remarks about the culpability of President Trump and his closest advisers, including Mr. Bannon, and have broadcast to millions of people their purported findings on issues that may prejudice the minds of jurors in this case. Those broadcasts have been repackaged and re-broadcast in countless forms, creating a saturation of the information sources available to Washington, D.C. residents. Under the circumstances, a continuance is warrantedto allow the effects of the Select Committee hearing coverage a chance to subside, it adds. Bannons attorneys added that the July 18 trial date was an aggressive schedule given the complex legal issues involved and should thus be delayed. Bannons motion to delay the trial comes after former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson delivered testimony to the Jan. 6 Committee in a last-minute hearing on June 28. Hutchinson, who served as an aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, claimed that the White House was aware of the fact that things might get real, real bad on Jan. 6, 2021. Meadows himself has refused to cooperate with the House Committees subpoenas. In June, the DOJ announced that Meadows wouldnt face charges. Peter Thiels New Venture Aims to Lure Companies Away From Environmental Justice Activism As the Walt Disney Company, Coca-Cola, Google, Microsoft, the Atlanta Falcons, and other high-profile corporate entities involve themselves in public controversies over hot-button social topics and pursue market strategies and internal policies based on Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) principles, some asset managers increasingly wonder how to invest capital in a way that wont compromise their fiduciary duty to shareholders who are seeking the highest possible returns. The trend of woke corporate governance is so pervasive and its divisiveness and effects on the bottom line are so hard to ignore that two ambitious entrepreneurs, Vivek Ramaswamy and Anson Frericks, co-founded a new investment firm, Strive Asset Management, in May. Backed by venture capitalist Peter Thiel and Bill Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital, Strives role is to foster and support corporations operating free from ESG and D&I imperatives and in accordance with more traditional criteriaor as the financial firms website reads, Our mission is to restore the voices of everyday citizens in the American economy by leading companies to focus on excellence over politics. In the view of Strives founders, the need for an asset management firm pushing an alternative to woke ESG and D&I-based strategies and governance has been particularly acute, as what have long been familiar, indeed iconic, names in the corporate universe have pushed a socially conscious stance that has alienated consumers who never thought twice about spending money on those brands in the past. Activist CEOs BlackRocks CEO Larry Fink is on record as having issued warnings that BlackRock will vote against directors of companies not deemed to have made sufficient progress in the implementation of environmentally conscious and sustainable policies and practices, and in the reporting of such practices. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink attends a session at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 23, 2020. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images) The heads of prominent corporations have heeded the call from activist investors and taken bold public stances to signal their virtue. Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey has joined the heads of other firms in publicly denouncing the state of Georgias new and stricter voting requirements and policies. In April, the Walt Disney Co. took a public stand against Floridas law barring the instruction of young pupils in kindergarten through third grade in topics relating to gender identity, derided by critics as its Dont Say Gay bill. In response to Disneys stance, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis moved to revoke the corporations long-held status as a self-governing entity under Florida law with its own infrastructure and emergency services, among other perquisites. These are the types of self-serving public stances that may help the CEOs look progressive and with-it in 2022, but undermine the corporations purpose of bringing Americans together behind iconic brands and maximizing value for shareholders, Strives founders believe. The ESG and D&I approach isnt without its defenders. Ultimately, such stances arent at odds with profitability in an environment where the market acts as the final judge of how CEOs conduct themselves, said Lisa Vioni, CEO of Hedge Connection, a marketing platform for asset managers established in 2005. I think that over time, the market tells us whether a decision by a company is a good or a bad one. Institutional investors will do their research, whether on Disney or any other company that has decided to make a change based on an ESG principle and then make an investment decision. If the market thinks that the change is a bad idea, it will be reflected in the price of that companys stock, Vioni told The Epoch Times. Whos on the Board? Just as importantly, CEOs who signal their companys stance on a sensitive topic arent being divisive so much as acknowledging the sensitivities of growing numbers of consumers who wont take well to what they perceive as callousness or indifference on the part of the brands they patronize. Vioni sees this dynamic play out increasingly in the investment space, where hedge funds raise capital from foundations, endowments, corporate pensions, and other institutional investors, whose investment committees must answer to people on whom ESG-related topics have a direct and daily impact. These investors are being asked to think about topics like the composition or diversity of the company into which they are investing. Are there women or minorities in senior-level positions or on the board? They are being asked by their constituents to consider these matters as part of their due diligence because it is important to them, she said. In Vionis view, CEOs who make socially conscious decisions are acknowledging an issue of basic fairness and equal representation in a market where about 90 percent of the money allocated to hedge funds still goes to roughly 10 percent of the managers out there. There is a huge number of emerging managers, women and diverse, who are not able to even get their foot in the door to tell their story to allocators, she said. The Question of Merit Vioni believes that ESG investing doesnt compromise meritocracy and that people arent looking for handouts. Its more sensational for the media to spin the message in a way that insinuates that these emerging managers feel entitled to an allocation because they are women or have minority status. Of course they want to raise capital. But these managers only expect to get an investment if they can compete, she said. For others, such as Ramaswamy, the disconnect between the woke views and agendas of many corporate CEOs and the values of ordinary U.S. consumers is too acute to trust in the logic of the market to right everything without an alternative asset manager that explicitly eschews the ESG stance. I think we need more institutional shareholders in the marketplace to deliver a different message to corporate America from the one CEOs are hearing today, he told The Epoch Times. From the large asset managers, they are hearing one message, one monolithic perspective. In reality, those large asset managers represent a diverse base of clients, some of whom have a different point of view than the one the asset managers are promoting on their behalf. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on June 15, 2022. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images) In Ramaswamys view, the doctors, nurses, service-sector employees, and other ordinary Americans who funnel their money into asset managers end up paying the pricequite literally at the pumpwhen ESG-guided decisions result, for example, in an oil company producing less oil than it could. Their own 401K accounts are contributing to these higher prices because theyre giving to firms like BlackRock that are advocating for [ESG]. So what we really need is a diverse voice or set of voices that better represent the perspective of everyday citizens, the end owners of capital. We just dont have those in the marketplace. Thats one of the defining mismatches of our time, he said. Ramaswamy sees the role of Strive as fostering a revitalized moment in America, as well as telling companies to end their focus on divisive social and political agendas. He said he has been pleased with the reception that Strive has been met with in the market since its launch, as reflected in the firms wooing of high-level talent, such as Matt Cole, who recently joined Strive as a head of products and investments after 16 years as an investment manager and investment officer at CalPERS. Coles wife has also joined Strive as a director of marketing and communications. I had a good track record at CalPERS, managing a portfolio of about $70 billion of assets. What really attracted me and my wife to Strive was the fact that we were passionate about the fiduciary issues that Strive was tackling, Cole told The Epoch Times. When we first met the Strive team in May over Zoom, we were finishing each others sentences regarding Strives mission. It was a literal dream team for the issue. Quiet Majority Cole said he based his decision partly on a ton of reputable research indicating that a clear majority of Americans dont think that corporations should be involved in politics and social issues. On the asset management side, this isnt a left-wing or right-wing issue but a matter of pure math, he said. If you think about profitability theory, any time that there are constraints on an asset manager that say, You cant invest in X, or we really want you to invest in Y, whether its an explicit or implicit constraint, and the board is asking you questions every day, you have to fill out 100-page surveys, you have to answer how youre incorporating ESG into your investment process, this incentivizes the manager to make decisions that could be outside the realm of maximizing profits, he said. Cole alluded to figures suggesting that Disneys approval rating has fallen dramatically, having fallen to the 65th spot on a list of major corporations in the aftermath of its woke stance on the Florida educational controversy. If you have angered half the country, there are going to be fewer people going to parks and consuming your products, he said. Cole used the further example of an oil company operating in a market where ESG guidelines shape strategy. Consider what Vivek says about oil and gas companies, when you have an activist investor on the board, with the support of BlackRock, State Street, or Vanguard, demanding that you go from a projection in the next five years of increasing oil output to decreasing oil. Clearly, if they were producing more oil, theyd be making a profit. Theyd have more oil to sell when theres not enough to go around, he said. Cole noted that he believes that Strive will have an advantage over competitors, as it removes such constraints from gifted asset managers. I dont think Strive will be the answer for everyone; there will be people who wish Strive were more political one way or the other. Strive is an important part of the movement, but I think its also happening with political leaders. Trustees of pension funds and state attorneys general are speaking out. At least now the issue is getting the attention it deserves, he said. Supreme Court Allows Biden Administration to End Trumps Remain in Mexico Asylum Policy The Supreme Court gave the Biden administration the green light on June 30 to end the Trump-era Remain in Mexico policy that requires non-Mexican asylum-seekers arriving at the southern border to wait in Mexico for processing. President Joe Bidens decision to nix the program didnt violate a 1996 migrant detention law, the court held, noting that the administrations memorandum rescinding the program should have been examined by the lower courts. The 54 opinion (pdf) in Biden v. Texas, court file 21-954, was written by Chief Justice John Roberts and comes as record numbers of illegal aliens are streaming across the U.S. border with Mexico, overwhelming the capacity of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to deal with them. Robertss opinion was joined by Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Brett Kavanaugh. Breyer, 83, retired from the court at noon on June 30 and was replaced by Biden appointee Ketanji Brown Jackson. Kavanaugh also filed a separate concurring opinion. Justices Samuel Alito and Amy Coney Barrett both filed separate dissenting opinions. Texas and Missouri had argued that Biden broke the law by ending the program. Upon taking office, Biden cut off enrollments in the program, part of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) created by Congress under then-President Bill Clinton. In 2018, the Trump administration said it would enforce the program to crack down on the practice known as catch-and-release, in which individuals would make fraudulent asylum claims knowing they would be released into the United States and be able to stay for years before their court appearance. Under Biden, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a memorandum on Jan. 20, 2021, saying it would suspend new enrollments in the [MPP] pending further review of the program. Aliens who arent already enrolled in MPP should be processed under other existing legal authorities, it reads. Days later, Biden signed three new executive orders aimed at undoing Trump-era immigration policies. One of them, Biden said, orders a full review of the previous administrations harmful and counterproductive immigration policies, basically across the board. But in August 2021, at the urging of the two states, Texas-based U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee, ordered the government to enforce the MPP policy until lawfully rescinded. The Biden administration had failed to properly justify ending the policy and to uphold a 1996 law requiring the detention of certain migrants, the judge held. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit affirmed Kacsmaryks ruling. On May 2, the Supreme Court took the unusual step of asking the attorneys involved in the case to provide post-hearing submissions to the court. Both the Biden administration and the two states opposing it in the high-stakes litigation filed briefs arguing that the court does have the power to decide the central legal questions in the case, The Epoch Times reported. In his new opinion, Roberts wrote that the Governments rescission of MPP did not violate section 1225 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and reversed the decision of the lower court, remanding the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. By incorrectly interpreting the section as a command, the appeals court needlessly injected itself into administration affairs and imposed a significant burden upon the Executives ability to conduct diplomatic relations with Mexico, Roberts wrote. The district court would force the administration to the bargaining table with Mexico, over a policy that both countries wish to terminate, and to supervise its continuing negotiations with Mexico to ensure that they are conducted in good faith. The law doesnt allow the lower court to tie the hands of the Executive in this manner, the chief justice wrote. In his dissent, Alito wrote that even though Congress gave the administration the option of returning inadmissible aliens to Mexico while they await proceedings in this country, the Biden DHS instead violated the law by releasing in the United States an untold numbers of aliens who are very likely to be removed if they show up for their removal hearings. This practice violates the clear terms of the law, but the Court looks the other way, he wrote. Christopher Hajec, director of litigation at the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), a nonprofit public interest law firm that filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, shared his views on the new ruling. We are certainly disappointed with the Courts decision today, Hajec told The Epoch Times by email. We think it was wrong on the merits and wrong on jurisdiction. Nevertheless, there are two silver linings. On the merits, the Court made clear that the lower courts in this case have yet to decide, and should decide, whether Bidens extreme parole policies are lawful. We think they clearly are not. Also, on jurisdiction, the Court still left open a path for states and other parties to get relief from Bidens disastrous immigration policies, though that path is narrower than before. Judy Rabinovitz, special counsel with the American Civil Liberties Unions Immigrants Rights Project, praised the ruling. The Supreme Court was right to reject the spurious argument that this cruel policy is statutorily required, Rabinovitz said in a statement. While, as noted in the decision, the case will return to the district court, the Biden administration can and should move forward swiftly to finally terminate remain in Mexico for gooda result that has been long, and unjustly, delayed. The U.S. Department of Justice didnt respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment. Supreme Court Narrows EPAs Ability to Regulate Carbon Dioxide Emissions The Supreme Court ruled 63 on June 30 that the Clean Air Act doesnt give the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) widespread power to regulate carbon dioxide emissions that a popular theory says contribute to global warming. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the courts majority opinion (pdf) in West Virginia v. EPA, court file 20-1530. Roberts was joined by the courts other five conservatives. The courts three liberal justices dissented. While capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible solution to the crisis of the day, Roberts wrote, quoting a 1992 precedent, it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme in Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body, he wrote. West Virginia and 18 other states challenged the authority the Clean Air Act provides the EPA. In 2016, the Supreme Court overturned the Obama-era Clean Power Plan (CPP), which expanded controls over the industry. Next, the deregulation-minded Trump administration reversed course, easing control on the industry with its Affordable Clean Energy Rule (ACE Rule). On Jan. 19, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down the ACE Rule, restoring some of the EPAs authority in American Lung Association v. EPA (pdf). The court held that the EPA, under Trump, had misconstrued section 7411(d) of the Clean Air Act. In the new opinion, the Supreme Court reversed the D.C. Circuit decision and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. In Justice Elena Kagans dissent, she criticized the court majority for a decision she said strips the EPA of the power Congress gave it to respond to the most pressing environmental challenge of our time, citing Massachusetts v. EPA (2007). Climate changes causes and dangers are no longer subject to serious doubt. Modern science is unequivocal that human influencein particular, the emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxidehas warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.' Whatever else this Court may know about, it does not have a clue about how to address climate change. And lets say the obvious: The stakes here are high. Yet the Court today prevents congressionally authorized agency action to curb power plants carbon dioxide emissions. The Court appoints itselfinstead of Congress or the expert agencythe decision maker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who previously told The Epoch Times that the EPA is trying to transform itself from an environmental regulator into a central energy planning authority, praised the Supreme Court. For many years, weve argued that EPA only had a narrow bit of authority to regulate carbon emissions, Morrisey, a Republican who brought the appeal, said at a press conference. I think that the court today amplified that point. And once again, they also made clear that when you have something this big, something with vast economic and political significance, then that represents an extraordinary question. And that means Congress needs to step in, as opposed to the unelected bureaucrats. We know that over the last year and a half, the Biden administration has tried to run roughshod over the American economy with respect to its energy agenda. We want to make sure that the Biden agenda is limited by basis of what Congress authorized these agencies [to do], he said. Our founders envisioned that Congress and not the unelected bureaucrats should make decisions about the major issues of the day. They didnt want to just have these unelected bureaucrats reach out and try to seize power where it didnt exist, Morrisey said. U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) criticized the ruling and the six conservative justices. As the devastating impacts of climate change are becoming ever-more present, it is mind boggling and deeply alarming that the Supreme Court today has decided to hamstring the EPAs authority to regulate greenhouse gases. This ruling not only restricts the agencys ability to limit air pollution from the second-largest source of emissions in America, it also undermines the landmark Clean Air Act that gave it such authority, the senator said. Make no mistake, with this devastating ruling in West Virginia v. EPA, the conservative majority of the Court continues to take our country backward and more worrisome, it opens the door to far-reaching implications for how other federal agencies generally create regulations to implement existing legislation moving forward. The Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa on May 11, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick) Supreme Court Will Not Hear Appeal by Convicted BC Sex Trafficker Reza Moazami The Supreme Court will not hear an appeal from a British Columbia man convicted of trafficking 11 female victims, including underage girls, for sex. Reza Moazami, who was sentenced to 23 years in prison, had sought leave to appeal a September decision by the B.C. Court of Appeal. That court dismissed his appeals of his 2014 conviction on 30 prostitution-related offences, as well as a later conviction on an attempt to obstruct justice by attempting to influence the testimony of a witness. Moazami had sought those appeals on the grounds that the behaviour of a former Vancouver detective, Jim Fisher, who investigated his case may have interfered with his right to a fair trial. Fisher pleaded guilty in 2018 to breach of trust for kissing a 21-year-old victim in Moazamis case as well as sexual exploitation and breach of trust involving a 17-year-old girl who was a victim in a separate prostitution-related case. As is customary, the high court did not give reasons for its decision released today on Moazamis leave to appeal. Professional wine judging isnt all that it seems to be. It sounds like a lot of fun, but it rarely is and its also hard work. And it usually involves at least 10 years of experience before you even understand how to be a decent judge. Any particular wine is really a reflection of how winemakers choose to impose their will on various grape varieties, which can prevent Mother Nature from having anywhere near as much impact as she once had. Im relatively savvy about California regional characteristics, similar to the topic addressed here a week or two ago in a column titled Regional Palates. That article said East Coast wine buyers appreciate Chianti far more than do people on the West Coast because of their upbringing and because of transportation limitations decades ago. This essay is slightly different from that. While I was judging a set of pinot noirs, I began to notice certain regional aromas, which played a part in the way the wines seemed. One was interesting: it seemed to be from the Russian River Valley because it had some of that regions characteristic strawberry aroma. Another wine was slightly more citrusy and its aroma had leafy elements. I thought it was from Santa Barbara because of the leafy-ness. When the wines were revealed, the one I thought came from Russian River actually came from Carneros. That was a surprise I rarely get strawberries from there. And the wine I assumed was from Santa Barbara actually came from the Anderson Valley in Mendocino, a region I almost never see leafy characteristics from. In spite of the fact that Ive been judging wine for 41 consecutive years now, none of this surprised me. No matter how good a taster is, Mother Nature has a way of confounding the best of our visions and sensory memories. Learned wine knowledge is a shifting target. No matter how experienced a person is, there is only so much that the brain can retain and adjust for such as vintage variations, winemakers aberrational strategies and the human factor. Were all imperfect. All this tells me, of course, is that when we consume a bottle of wine, looking at the label has a tremendous way of giving us information we need to formulate an opinion based on what went into the wines manufacture. If the bottles label says its from New Zealand, for example, our brain expects it likely will be tart. All of New Zealand is buffeted by winds from both its coasts, which leads to higher acidity. Thats one reason that New Zealand sauvignon blanc is occasionally slightly sweet to offset the high acidity that almost all such wines have. There is thus a benefit in knowing that no matter how much wine knowledge we acquire, it will be inadequate in many cases to draw any particular conclusion. Especially if a wine was served to us blind. It is for a good reason that people who have exalted wines rarely serve them blind. Without knowing a great wine is supposed to be great, we often dismiss it until we see the label, when we begin to see its greatness. Tasting wine blind is a fun game that can lead us to insights we might not conclude if we saw the label first. But to fully appreciate a wine, blind tasting only takes us so far. Wine of the Week: 2021 Balletto Rose of Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley ($20) This excellent Sonoma County producer has long made a delicate pink wine from some of the best pinot noir fruit growing just west of Santa Rosa. This wine is one of the best it has ever made, with beautiful aromas of peach and watermelon. It is pretty dry on the palate, making it perfect for the patio or to pair with appetizers. COPYRIGHT 2022 CREATORS.COM The United States and Texas state flags fly outside the state Capitol building on July 12, 2021 in Austin, Texas. (GettyImages) Texas GOP Votes on Holding Referendum on Secession 'Texit' riding growing wave of support as part of backlash against woke agenda Texas GOP delegates earlier this month voted on a platform item urging the state legislature to put Texit, the movement to secede from the United States, on the ballot in 2023. With their rough-and-tumble independent streak, secession has long been a theme for Texans and the state Republican conference from June 16 to June 18 again raised the issue. Now, amid a polarized political landscape in America and increasing tension over federal overreach, it looks like Texit is getting more traction. At the convention the party platform contained a plank under the heading of State Sovereignty, stating federal legislation infringing upon the rights of Texas should be opposed and nullified. Couy Griffin, co-founder of Cowboys for Trump, rides a horse in New York City on May 1, 2020. (Jeenah Moon/Getty Images) The state sovereignty platform item wasnt new, but the call to put Texit on the ballot was. The plank urged the state legislature to pass a bill requiring a referendum on the issue in the 2023 general election. Texans would determine whether or not the state of Texas should reassert its status as an independent nation, according to the document. The results of the delegate vote on platform items should be released this week, according to the state GOP. Texas broke away from Mexico in 1836 and became an independent republic before being annexed by the United States in 1845. Texas voted to secede in 1861 along with Southern states over states rights and questions over the expansion of slavery into western territories, ultimately leading to the Civil War. During Reconstruction, the United States readmitted Texas into the union in 1870. Legal scholars say Texas had no right to secede, but some folks in the Lone Star State beg to differ and point to the authority granted in the Texas Constitution. A Border Patrol agent provides medical assistance to an illegal immigrant who has heat-related issues, while other agents apprehend a large group of illegal immigrants near Eagle Pass, Texas, on May 20, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) State Rep. Steve Toth (R-Woodlands) told The Epoch Times that extremism is pushing Texas to act, though its unlikely to get on the ballot next year. For example, instead of accepting the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling on Roe v. Wade, some in the federal government are talking about setting up abortion camps on federal land. The Left has done everything they can to jump off the cliff, he said. They are the ones pushing Texas into doing something extraordinary. Daniel Miller, president of the Texas Nationalist Movement, told The Epoch Times that the added language in the Republican platform is significant for Texit. Definitely, its a breakthrough, Miller said, adding that while some may portray the Texit movement as a fringe idea, his organization of more than 400,000 members includes people on both sides of the aisle. Neo-Marxist ideologysuch as Critical Race Theory, which critics say substitutes race for class struggle to destroy traditional American societyis partly responsible for a spike in Texit interest, Miller said. His organization poses the question: Would Texas do it all over again if given a chance? Abortion rights activists protest outside of the U.S. Supreme Court, during the March for Life in Washington. The passage of abortion restrictions in Republican-led states and a corresponding push to buttress abortion rights where Democrats are in power stem from the same place: Changes in the composition of the high court. (Jose Luis Magana/AP) If we wouldnt vote to join the union now, why in the world would we vote to stay? Miller asked. Barbara Chapman, a Republican delegate from Weatherford, told The Epoch Times she favors seceding because it would allow Texas to control its border, drill its oil and gas, and stop abortion. This world is out of control, she said. Im all for it. I have hopes for Texas. We have our way of life. The Texit movement picked up steam in 2021 after State Rep. Kyle Biedermann (R-Fredericksburg) filed a bill to create a referendum on whether Texans should create a joint legislative committee to develop a plan to achieve Texas independence. The bill was never taken up for a vote and died. In a statement, Biedermann pointed to the authority to secede granted to Texans in the states constitution. The document says Texans have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think expedient. For decades, the promises of America and our individual liberties have been eroding. It is now time that the people of Texas are allowed the right to decide their own future, Biedermann said in a statement. Texit went mainstream this spring in the Republican gubernatorial primary race. Two main challengers, former Texas GOP chair Allen West and former state Rep. Don Huffines, favored allowing Texans to vote on independence. Ultimately, both candidates lost to incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott. But many have long questioned the legality of seceding. The case law most frequently cited against secession is the 1869 Texas v. White decision. The U.S. Supreme Court held that the United States is an indestructible union from which no state can secede, even if ratified by the majority of Texans. But Miller argues that Texas v. White was based on the wording in the Preamble to the Constitution, which has no power according to a later 1904 case Jacobson v. Massachusetts. Though it is unlikely that Texas could find the votes in the state legislature to get the provision on the ballot in 2023, the question remains whether President Joe Biden would let Texas leave without a fight. If a headline in the Washington Post is any indication, a divorce might be mutually agreeable: Opinion: Texas Republicans want to secede? Good riddance. After all, Democrats would see an advantage in letting Texas leave with its 38 electoral votes. No Republican would likely be elected to the U.S. presidency in the near future. Miller said Texas, with the ninth-largest economy in the world, could operate and care for itself more efficiently on its own. The idea that the federal government wouldnt let Texas leave the union sounds like something an abusive spouse or a dictator would say, he said. This isnt a Mother-May-I, he added. Migrants who illegally crossed the Rio Grande River walk along concertina wire in Eagle Pass, Texas, on May 22, 2022. (Allison Dinner/AFP via Getty Images) Texas Military Investigating Loaded M4 Carbine Found in Unguarded Truck A loaded M4 carbine was found unattended in a vehicle this week and is thought to belong to Texas Military Department (TMD) soldiers. But an unattended weapon is the least of border security activist Kelly Perrys worries. Perry lives in Kinney County where the southwest Mexico-Texas border spans 13 miles. Im more concerned about the drugs, and the kids, and the humans, and the state of Texas just being destroyed here where I am, she said. We can only catch so many [illegal] migrants. All the rest of them are coming through. Border patrol is outnumbered. Perry made the comments in response to reports that Marianna Wright, director of the National Butterfly Center, recovered an unsecured firearm from an unlocked vehicle on the side of a road near Mission, Texas. It should have never been left, Perry told The Epoch Times. I see its not a safe thing, but so many of the illegals have guns anyway. The TMD confirmed Wrights report in an email. A weapon was left unsecured in a vehicle during the apprehension of illegal migrants, TMD public affairs staff told The Epoch Times. This incident remains under investigation. The Texas Military Department remains committed to providing safety and security along our southern border. Wright did not respond to requests for comment. Instead, she posted critical comments and photos of the weapon on Twitter on June 27. In the name of public safety, I removed the weapon from the abandoned, unlocked vehicle on the side of the road and secured it where Texas National Guard was able to reclaim it, she wrote. She said they didnt even realize it was missing when they returned to the truck. Mission is a border town located in the Rio Grande Valley, one of the busiest sectors for illegal border crossings. During May, border officials apprehended more than 239,416 illegal immigrants along the southern border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data. Reached by phone, Sen. Bob Hall (R-Texas) was reluctant to blast TMD soldiers. I know those soldiers are trying their best down there with all the limitations thats on them, Hall told The Epoch Times. They are armed but they cannot return fire. Thats an absolute last resort. Hall is a member of the Texas Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs and Border Security. The last two weeks have just been a total nightmare, Perry added. We were inundated with illegals destroying the fields of crops. They walked through the watermelon patches. They ate the watermelons. They broke them. They did everything. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) did not respond to requests for comment. They probably saw somebody, or a couple of migrants, take off in the brush and pulled over, Hall said. They jumped out and went after them. They were doing their job. Try hauling a weapon while running through the brush and all its going to do is slow you down. Wrights discovery coincided with the tragedy this week of more than 50 illegal immigrants who died trapped in a scorching hot tractor trailer in San Antonio. Its just total chaos with anybody coming across and my biggest concern is what few of the folks that are non-Hispanic that weve caught. Among them are a huge number of Middle Eastern men coming acrossbetween [the ages of] 18 and 35 and very fit, Hall added. That probably worries me more than anything else. Police and other first responders work the scene where officials say dozens of people have been found dead and multiple others were taken to hospitals with heat-related illnesses after a semitrailer containing suspected illegal immigrants was found in San Antonio, Texas, on June 27, 2022. (Eric Gay/AP Photo) Death Toll Rises to 53 After Illegal Immigrants Found Dead in Abandoned Truck in Texas SAN ANTONIOIn the chaotic minutes after dozens of illegal immigrants were found dead inside a tractor-trailer sweltering under the Texas sun, the driver tried to slip away by pretending to be one of the survivors, a Mexican immigration official said Wednesday. The American truck driver, along with another U.S. citizen and two other men, remained in custody as the investigation continued into the tragedy that killed 53 people in the nations deadliest smuggling episode on the U.S.Mexico border. Federal prosecutors said two of the suspects, including the driver, face charges that carry a potential sentence of life in prison or the death penalty if convicted. Two more people died Wednesday as the death toll slowly climbed since the discovery of 46 bodies Monday at the scene near auto salvage yards on the edge of San Antonio. The truck had been packed with 67 people, and the dead included 27 from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala, and two from El Salvador, said Francisco Garduno, chief of Mexicos National Immigration Institute. Officials had potential identifications on 37 of the victims as of Wednesday, pending verification with authorities in other countries, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiners Office. Forty of the victims were male, it said. Identifying the dead has been challenging because some were found without identification documents and in one case a stolen ID. Remote villages where some of the illegal immigrants came from in Mexico and Central America have no phone service to reach family members and fingerprint data has to be shared and matched by the governments involved. Javier Flores Lopezs family was waiting to find out whether he was on the truck. He had returned home to see his wife and three small children in southern Mexico and was going back to Ohio where his father and a brother live and he worked in construction. He is now among the missing and his cousin, Jose Luis Vasquez Guzman, is hospitalized in San Antonio, the family said. The tragedy occurred at a time when huge numbers of illegal immigrants have been coming to the United States. Illegal immigrants were stopped nearly 240,000 times in May, up by one-third from a year ago. While its not clear when or where the illegal immigrants boarded the truck bound for San Antonio, Homeland Security investigators believe it was on U.S. soil, near or in Laredo, Texas, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) told The Associated Press. Members of law enforcement investigate a tractor trailer in San Antonio, Texas, on June 27, 2022. (Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images) The truck went through a Border Patrol checkpoint northeast of Laredo on Interstate 35 on Monday, Cuellar and Mexican officials confirmed. It was registered in Alamo, Texas, but had fake plates and logos, Garduno said. Officials in Mexico also released a surveillance photo showing the driver smiling at the checkpoint during the more than two-hour trip to San Antonio. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that state troopers would set up additional truck checkpoints on highways, but he did not say how many. Authorities were looking into whether the truck had mechanical problems when it was left next to a railroad track. The driver was apprehended after trying to disguise himself as one of the illegal immigrants, Garduno said. Federal prosecutors identified the driver as Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, who was charged with smuggling resulting in death. Zamorano lives in suburban Houston and is originally from the Texas border city of Brownsville, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office in San Antonio. He faces the most serious charges along with Christian Martinez, 28, who is accused of conspiracy and allegedly communicated with Zamorano about transporting the illegal immigrants. Martinez was arrested in East Texas and will be transported to San Antonio. Zamorano was scheduled to have his first court appearance Thursday. It was not immediately known if either suspect had an attorney. The alleged driver of a truck carrying dozens of illegal immigrants, identified by Mexican immigration officials as Homero N, drives through a security checkpoint in this surveillance photograph in Laredo, Texas, on June 29, 2022. (National Institute of Migration/Handout via Reuters) Two other men who are not U.S. citizens were also arrested on charges of illegal weapons possession. Prosecutors say investigators found the men at a San Antonio address where the truck was registered. Some of the more than a dozen people transported to hospitals were found suffering from brain damage and internal bleeding, according to Ruben Minutti, the Mexico consul general in San Antonio. Illegal immigrants typically pay $8,000 to $10,000 to be taken across the border, loaded into a tractor-trailer and driven to San Antonio, where they transfer to smaller vehicles for their final destinations across the United States, said Craig Larrabee, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio. The death count from Mondays tragedy in San Antonio was the highest ever from a smuggling attempt in the United States, he said. Four years ago, 10 died in 2017 after being trapped inside a truck parked at a San Antonio Walmart. In 2003, the bodies of 19 illegal immigrants were found in a sweltering truck southeast of the city. Temperatures in San Antonio on Monday approached 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), and those taken to the hospital were hot to the touch and dehydrated, authorities said. It wouldnt have taken long for the temperature inside the truck to become deadly, said Jennifer Vanos, an assistant professor at Arizona State University who has researched child deaths in hot vehicles. The tractor-trailer likely would have been hot even before anyone got inside and because of the high humidity, lack of air flow, and so many people inside, their sweat couldnt evaporate to cool their bodies and they would have dehydrated quickly, she said. Identifying the victims was painstaking because among the pitfalls were fake or stolen documents. Mexicos foreign affairs secretary identified two people Tuesday who were hospitalized in San Antonio. But it turned out one of the identification cards he shared on Twitter had been stolen last year in the southern state of Chiapas. Haneydi Antonio Guzman, 23, was safe in a mountain community more than 1,300 miles (2,092 kilometers) away from San Antonio when she began receiving messages from family and friends anxious over her fate. Thats me on the ID, but I am not the person that was in the trailer and they say is hospitalized, Antonio Guzman said. My relatives were contacting me worried, asking where I was. A quiet effort is underway to maximize profits by manipulating the genes of food animals The health conscious and safe food advocates are well aware of genetically modified organisms (GMO) such as the corn that Monsanto designed to withstand heavier exposures to its juggernaut herbicide Roundup. Less publicized, however, are GMO food animals. Judging from ongoing research, the companies making these creatures hope they will increasingly find their way onto Americans plates in the years ahead. The AquAdvantage salmon was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2015, but other GMO animals are under development. The AquAdvantage salmon was created by inserting the coding sequence from a Chinook salmon growth-hormone gene under the control of an antifreeze protein promoter and terminator from the eel-like ocean pout into wild Atlantic salmon. Designed to grow twice as fast as normal salmon, it was the first GMO animal approved by the FDA. According to a food industry website, the Counter, the AquAdvantage salmon is sold in Canada, but more than 85 grocery chains, food service companies, restaurants, and seafood companies have pledged to boycott it for both food safety and environmental reasons. In addition to concerns about the product itself, the safety of wild salmon populations is threatened by such GMO animals if they escape. (Think Jurassic Park.) While both the FDA and the AquAdvantage (AAS) salmons creator, AquaBounty, claim the GMO salmon is safe to eat, the FDA briefing packet disseminated for 2010 hearings revealed such red flags as a higher incidence of jaw erosion and focal inflammation (infection) seen in the AAS salmon; no way to determine if greater allergy risks existed because of the excessive culling of abnormal AAS salmon; and a possible increase in the level of IGF-1, insulin-like growth factor-1, in the AAS salmon. Moreover, FDA food scientists and outside experts who had been called in for the hearings noted unexplained discrepancies, omitted data, and overall substandard science presented by those promoting the AAS salmon. More FDA GMO Approvals In 2020, the FDA approved the second GMO animal, an intentional genomic alteration (IGA) in pigs. The lab-created animal, called a GalSafe pig, is designed to eliminate a substance found on the surface of pigs cells called alpha-gal sugar that could cause people with alpha-gal (AGS) syndrome to have an allergic reaction. AGS sensitizes someone to allergic reactions to beef, pork, and lamb usually after a tick bite. The GMO animal was created by removing the gene for alpha-1, 3-galactosyltransferase, which attaches alpha-galactose sugars to cell surfaces, Medpage Today reported. GMO animals are already used in the laboratory. In the 1980s, transgenic mice were created by inserting human genes and a sheep with human genes was created in 1997. GMO animals are also used in medical and non-food applications. In 2009, the FDA approved an anti-clotting drug made from goats that had the human gene for antithrombin inserted and linked to their DNA. More Livestock Genetic Engineering In 2006, research published in the journal Nature Biotechnology describes the generation of cloned pigs that express a humanized Caenorhabditis elegans gene, fat-1, encoding an n-3 fatty acid desaturase, in order to produce pork with more good omega-3 fatty acids and less bad omega-6 fatty acids that are usually found in meat. In 2010, researchers created a GMO pig by adding mouse and E. coli phytase genes to its DNA, and the creature was approved in Canada. Dubbed the Enviropig, it was said to produce less phosphorus in its urine and feces and be less destructive to the environment but the pigs were killed in 2012 when funding ran out. In addition to creating animals that are more environmentally friendly or that have better nutritional profiles for human consumption, in 2007, United Kingdom scientists at the Roslin Institute, near Edinburgh, announced that they had produced genetically modified chickens to lay eggs that contain cancer-fighting drugs according to the BBC. Some of the birds have been engineered to lay eggs that contain miR24, a type of antibody with potential for treating malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer. Others produce human interferon b-1a, which can be used to stop viruses replicating in cells, the news agency reported. Once youve made the transgenic birds, then its very easy; once youve got the gene in, then you can breed up hundreds of birds from one cockerelbecause they can be bred with hundreds of hens and you can collect an egg a day and have hundreds of chicks in no time, said Dr. Helen Sang, lead scientist on the project. Overseas GMO Animals In 2011, scientists at the China Agricultural University introduced human genes into dairy cows to produce milk closer in composition to that of humans. They hoped the milk from GMO cows would be sold in supermarkets and positioned it as an alternative to formula and human breast milk for babies. Soon after, scientists in Argentina also created a cow with human genes to approximate human breast milk, and scientists from New Zealand added a mouse gene to a cow to produce allergy-free milk. When the human/cow GMO animals were announced, Helen Wallace, executive director of the biotechnology monitoring group GeneWatch UK, told the Telegraph: We have major concerns about this research to genetically modify cows with human genes. There are major welfare issues with genetically modified animals as you get high numbers of stillbirths. Wallace also questioned whether the milk could be harmful to some people with no large clinical trials having been conducted. Others question the morality of adding human characteristics to animals. More GMO Animals Likely to Come Before FDA So far, the AquAdvantage salmon, the GalSafe pig, and the GMO goat have been FDA approved, and genetic engineering of food animals looks set to ramp up as meat producers seek to maximize profits and modify animals to crowded growing conditions, consumer appetites, and marketing possibilities. Genome editing has been found to be a valuable tool for lightening the hair and coat color to better adapt dairy cattle to rapidly changing climatic conditions, Giuseppe Ambrosi, European Dairy Association president, told Dairy Global. These are the findings by researchers from the AgResearch Centre in New Zealand. High-producing Holstein Friesian dairy cattle have a characteristic black and white coat, often with large proportions of black. Compared to a light coat color, black absorbs more solar radiation. Earlier this year, National Hog Farmer wrote that genetic engineering has the potential to transform how we improve livestock with genetics increasing agricultural productivity (more food for more people in our community and elsewhere). While the article hints that genetic engineering could cut down on antibiotic usage, many operations are already using vaccines to that end. GMO dairy cattle have been developed to grow without horns by taking DNA from the genome of Red Angus cattle, which suppresses horn growth, and inserting it into the cells of a Holstein bull. Pigs resistant to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) have been genetically engineered and researchers have been trying to genetically engineer cows that are immune to the terminal, prion-caused disease known as mad cow after the worldwide outbreaks in the early 2000s. While stopping disease is a worthy goal, many animal diseaseslike the current avian influenza epidemicare caused or worsened by crowding and unsanitary conditions. Conclusion The development of genetically engineered food animals will likely increase because the GMOs represent greater profits for big meat producers when they adjust animals to their bottom line rather than their practices to better suit animal welfare and human safety. However, like GMO crops, many environmental and food groups distrust the products (sometimes called Frankenfoods) and raise legitimate questions about their safety, purpose, and who is driving the aggressive GMO agenda. Moreover, the objections to GMO cropstampering with nature for human advantageare magnified when it comes to animals. Creating new animals for a dedicated human use is a mechanistic use of animals that seems to perpetuate the notion of their being merely tools for human use rather than sentient creatures, the Humane Society of the United States says. That may be an understatement. MoveOn activists call for the impeachment of Justice Clarence Thomas outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on March 30, 2022. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for MoveOn) The Cry-Baby Leftist Mind Commentary Modern progressives assume moral and intellectual authority. Consequently, their supposedly superior ends naturally justify almost any means necessary to achieve them. Among the elite, the Democrats blue-wall states were once considered a testament to the wisdom of the Electoral College. When that wall crumbled in 2016 to Donald Trump, the Electoral College suddenly was blasted as a relic of our anti-democratic founders. The nine-person Supreme Court was once beloved. On issues like abortion, school prayer, same-sex marriage, pornography, and Miranda rights, the Left cheered the Court as it made the law and ignored legislatures and presidents. Republican Court picksHarry Blackmun, William Brennan, Anthony Kennedy, Sandra Day OConnor, Lewis Powell, John Roberts, David Souter, John Paul Stevens, Potter Stewart, and Earl Warrenwould often flip leftward. How could they not be swayed by the greater brilliance of their liberal colleagues? From affirmative action to Roe v. Wade to Obamacare, apostate Republican justices for a half-century greenlighted legislating from the bench. In response, was there any serious right-wing talk of packing the court with six additional justices to slow down its overreaching left-wing majorityor of a mob massing at the home of a left-wing justice? Certainly not. But now? Suddenly a narrow constructionist majority has returned matters of abortion to the states. And the once-beloved Court is being slandered by leftist insurrectionists as illegitimate. Every sort of once unthinkable attack on the courts is now permissible. Confidential draft opinions are leaked illegally. A senior senator threatens justices by name at the doors of the Court. The homes of justices are surrounded by heckling protestors. And the very life of a justice is threatened by a would-be assassin close to his home. Consider also the Senate filibuster. Former President Barack Obama not long ago ranted that it was racist and a 180-year-old relic. Obamas logic was infantile. When Democrats were in the Senate minority, he was giddy that the filibuster could slow down the Republican majority. Indeed, while a senator, Obama himself filibustered the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. When Democrats were in the majority, however, a pouting Obama blasted the filibuster as a racist, Jim-Crow roadblock. Can the January 6 committee issue some universal declaration that defeated candidates should not question the integrity of an election, much less call for it to be ignored? Apparently not. In 2016, a defeated Hillary Clinton claimed the winner, Trump, was illegitimatethis from the architect of the entire Russian collusion hoax. Clinton then trumped her own inflammatory rhetoric by urging Joe Biden not to accept the 2020 tally of the balloting if he lost. Former President Jimmy Carter agreed that Hillary Clinton won the 2016 election and Trump was thus illegitimate. Hollywood actors appeared in commercials, insurrectionary style, urging Republican electors to renounce their constitutional duties and instead elect Clinton. On racial matters, the Left is most intellectually bankrupt. During the recent confirmation hearings of African American nominee to the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson, the Left alleged that tough questioners were racists and sexists for bullying Jackson. Yet she got the kid-glove treatment compared to the character assassinations of past conservative nominees. Brett Kavanaugh was smeared as teen-aged rapist and targeted by former Democratic media heartthrob Michael Avenatti, now an imprisoned felon. Currently, loud mobs of affluent, young white women have been circling the home of African American Justice Clarence Thomasjust one of five court justices who voted to let the states decide the status of abortion. Thomas did not write the majority opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade, but then again, leftists have a toxic fixation with blacks who do not appreciate their condescension. In the left-wing mind, the buffoonish Capitol riot on January 6 was an insurrection. Yet the much larger May 31, 2020, riot that sought to storm the White House grounds and sent the president into a bunker was the sort of mob violence that was not going to stop in the words of now Vice President Kamala Harris. The recent pro-abortion mob assault on the Arizona state senate, the Left insists, was an apparent cry of the heart. What would the Left do if after 2022 midterms a Republican-majority Congress emulated its own infantile tantrums? Imagine new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) tearing up a President Joe Biden State of Union address on live television. How about the House impeaching Biden twice, even as a private citizen in 2025? Envision a 22-month, $40-million investigation of the entire Biden quid pro quo, corrupt family syndicate? What if McCarthy booted left-wing congressional representatives from key select committees? And what if conservatives showed up screaming at the gates of one of Obamas three mansions? How odd that leftists are destroying the very customs and traditions whose loss will come back to haunt them when the Democrats lose the Congress in November. Cry-baby tantrums wont win over the public. These nonstop puerile meltdowns have turned off most Americans who tire of whiny narcissistic hypocrites. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The Simple But Forgotten Open Air Factor in Infection Control Documented in medical journals for almost two centuries but seemingly forgotten nowadays, breathing fresh outdoor air could be key to defending against airborne bacteria and viruses, including COVID-19, a leading infectious disease expert from the Australian National University (ANU) suggests. Professor Peter Collignon, a co-author of a paper on the subject, said in a release on Wednesday that outdoor air has germicidal properties that can dilute and limit the spread of pathogens and even kill airborne viruses. This is why being outdoors helps protect people from contracting COVID-19, he said. The infectious diseases physician and microbiologist said that the pathogen-fighting agent in outdoor airknown as the Open Air Factoris continually neglected in public health as a form of infection control, despite documented evidence of open-air therapy being utilised to treat tuberculosis in the first decade of the 20th century, as well as treat soldiers infected wounds during the First World War. Collignon stressed that from the end of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century, it was widely believed that outdoor air had disinfecting and therapeutic properties. During the First World War, a British surgeon found that putting patients outside and then leaving their infected wounds open to fresh air greatly improved recovery. In two or three days, the wounds lost their odour and began to look clean again, Collignon said. In addition, the paper points out that during the 1918-19 influenza pandemic, patients nursed outdoors reportedly recovered in greater numbers than those indoors in hospital wards. Rediscovering the Benefits of OAF in Infection Control While it is currently unclear how to preserve the health benefits of outdoor air in indoor spaces like hospitals and public areas, Collignon is calling on medical authorities to commission research into whether it is possible and, if so, how it might be achieved. This could potentially include rediscovering open-air wards, such as during the First World War, to help patients and staff in hospitals, or finding new ways to improve indoor ventilation techniques with fresh air from outside, he said. The OAF will likely also help in reducing the transmission of many infections in schools, homes, offices, and larger buildings. Collignon went on to say that several decades ago, hospitals and other buildings were designed to prevent infections from spreading, whereas today, they are not. For example, windows are smaller, ceilings are lower, cross ventilation can be difficult if not impossible, and balconies and verandas are not as common as they once were, he said. Fresh air is no longer considered to be germicidal or therapeutic for hospital patients or, for that matter, anyone else. It is perhaps time to examine how we used to design and ventilate buildings for health. If this is ignored, just as the OAF continues to be, the costs to society could be large. High ceilings and large windows improve ventilation in homes. (Baird & Warner) Recommendations for Research Collignons paper outlines a number of recommendations for further investigation into the benefits of OAF, including a program of testing the effect of OAF on established and novel pathogens, experiments to determine if and for how long the OAF can be preserved indoors, and a review of building design, with a focus on increased exposure and access to outside air to improve infection control and patient recovery. But we need to also recognise that there is already sufficient evidence to show that public health generally would improve if more emphasis was placed on increased exposure to outdoor air, the study says. Adolescence is a crazy stage in life. Its when immature teens act bizarrely to impress their peers, when hormones kick in, and awkward, changing bodies seem strange to their owners. Boys and girls look at themselves in the mirror and question their identity. Its a confusing time. Just ask Denise Shick who as a young girl roleplayed as boy in the privacy of her bedroom. Her traumatic relationship with her dad who wanted to be a woman led her to that, and made her contemplate suicide. Meeting her kind, wonderful husband, Mark, in high school was a heaven-send. Now 59, Denise is a mother and a minister. Yet she cant help wondering how her days of adolescent confusion might have ended in todays world. Tragically, she thinks. If I was a child today, the school would help me transition, she told The Epoch Times. What a mistake that would have been. That has happened in B.C., Canada, where a fathers 14-year-old daughter was shown transgender videos in school and then identified as a male. Against her dads wishes, she received transition hormone therapy. She had no qualms about being a girl before the class, her dad said. But gender counselors aided changing her name; she got puberty blockers and hormone treatment; he got 6 months in jail for speaking out. Denise as a child and later as a grown woman. (Courtesy of Denise Shick) If I was in school today, and I went to my teacher with those thoughts, how many times would I be told, Oh honey, youre really transgender? she said, adding that between 8897 percent of these children outgrow that gender confusion. But here we are, societys saying, Here, take this drug. Lets sign you up for a double mastectomy. She has made her lifes work dismantling harmful ideologies that target the young. Denises own experience began one lovely summer day in 1972 when her dad sat her down on the porch (while her mom was at work) and told her he wanted to be a woman. She was 9. She recalled thinking at the time: Why is he telling me this, his daughter, just a kid, understanding as hes telling me that he had been sexually molested? He disclosed how he guilted Denises mom into buying him womens underclothing. There were so many adult details that he gave me, she added. I was just left feeling the loss of a dad. I didnt feel like I had a dad any longer because he wanted to become this woman. (Left) Denise in grade one, before her dad told her he wants to be a woman; (Right) Denises dad. (Courtesy of Denise Shick) Denise entered puberty. Her body developed, while her fathers maladies deepened, as did the rift between them. The stares, the looks that he would give me you wouldnt understand unless youd seen it like it went right through you, she said. I didnt feel comfortable in my body, developing. I didnt feel comfortable in being a girl around my dad. It came to the point where I would take my makeup, or dresses, anything that was feminine, to school and change there or put my makeup on at school. She soon found her clothes and bathing suit in places around the house, in the attic, in his truck. She heard a sound while in the bathroom and saw his eye through a peephole hed made. It made me feel sick inside. It made me feel like he was sucking my joy of accepting myself and my femininity, she said. It was a real fight for my own sanity at this point. By the time I was in ninth grade, I considered suicide. Then there was sexual abuse. She described him chasing her around the house, pushing her down, and groping her developing body as though he wished it were his own. One time, he slapped her face so hard her glasses flew off and broke. Denise found herself in a place of darkness and fog, indulging in alcohol abuse, and imagining what it would like to be a boy. If God made a mistake and dad should have been a girl, how did I know that I wasnt supposed to be a boy? she pondered. To take that into my imagination for two years: of what I would look like, my mannerisms in my bedroom, I would play out how I would walk, what I would do for career, and, of course, I would marry a girl. Those days of self-distortion finally evaporated in high school, when Denise met Mark. Id just kind of sworn boys off. I wasnt interested. But I agreed to meet him, she said. He didnt appear to be one of those that would look at your body or try to get you in bed, in a sense. He wanted to get to know who I was as a person, and that was the first time I experienced that. Denise from her pre-teenage years to age 15. (Courtesy of Denise Shick) They fell in love, but haunting their relationship was a question; Mark saw the distance between Denise and her dad. He finally confronted her and wouldnt take no for an answer. So she told him. I figured hed run for the hills. But instead, Mark looked at me and he said, Okay, she said. There was just a calmness around him. We returned shortly after this time of sharing to my home and Mark walked in the house. My dad was there. And he just started talking to him like he always had. It amazed me how I can tell him all this garbage and it didnt stop him from being, in a sense, a friend at the level that he could. By their wedding day, Denise hoped the past was now past. It wasnt. Holding out his arm to walk her down the aisle, her dad said, It should be me in that gown. Inside, I was just screaming. I was devastated, said Denise. Why is he telling me this on my wedding day, almost as if an attempt to ruin it?! Sadly, the chasm between Denise and her dad never mended, but grew further apart; years later, he announced he was leaving to live the life he always wanted the life of becoming Becky. When he turned around I could see the changes that he had made, she said. He was trying to look like his mother. Denise at age 18 with her husband, Mark. (Courtesy of Denise Shick) She added, I just told him, then I am saying goodbye to my dad, because I dont know this person. And you are telling me you no longer want to be my dad. My heart grew very angry and very cold toward him. A woman of faith, Denises heart sought a place of forgiveness, what amounted to a spiritual battle. But, sorting through the abuse, confusion, pain, and hate she wanted to bury their relationship it took time. When her dad grew ill with esophageal cancer, she went to him, but he was already comatose. She sympathizes, knowing hed been abused and bullied as a boy. His older brothers dressed him in his sisters clothes and stuffed him in a closet and did other mean things, she said. The old saying, Hurt people hurt people, I have found all too common to be true, she said. Through the the tornado that seemed to come through his life, one event after another, and understanding the trauma and how that impacts the psychological well-being of any child, you can find peace in the end. Denises dad chose to lead the life he had always wanted under the name Becky. (Courtesy of Denise Shick) Today, Denise wants to break the cycle of abuse by clearing away an obfuscation of truth nobody knows how swayable young minds are like someone whos come through. Children know not whats best, nor how they best fit into society. Proper framing starts in the family. Now, deconstruction of the family structure has become an aim, she said, which will lead to a world where the government would become more like the parent. With so many Western interests sympathizing with communistic ideologies, postmodernism, or identity politics, the traditional family unit is under assault. Chinas Cultural Revolution pitted children against parents, husbands against wives, encouraging them to report on each other, thus fracturing the very fabric of society. Todays identity politics are strikingly similar, replacing parents with government. Were already seeing schools that do not notify when a child is identifying as something with LGBTQ, Denise added. Not being responsible to let the parents know whats happening with their child. Today, we have parents that are taking care of a home, providing the food, but once [the children] go to school, theyre the governments. Denise Shick runs Help 4 Families ministry and has also helped file an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in 2015 in opposition to same-sex marriage. Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Inspired newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter On July 8, 2021, in the democratic primary election case, more than 47 people were interrogated for the second time in the West Kowloon Magistracy. (Song Bi-long/The Epoch Times) To Plead Guilty or Not Guilty: Hong Kong Activists Share Their Thoughts In this article, we report the views of three Hong Kong activists who had faced court cases, two were charged with offenses in connection to the civil protests in 2019/20, the other faced charges in related to the June 4th candlelight vigil in 2020. We explored their decisions on whether to plead guilty, or not guilty, and the reasons for their choice. In 2019, a series of demonstrations in Hong Kong, known as the Anti-extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement (the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests) broke out in Hong Kong. Many protesters were arrested, charged, and subsequently sentenced. According to the information provided to the Hong Kong Legislative Council by the Secretary for Security, Chris Tang Ping-keung, on April 27, 2022: By Feb. 28, 2022, a total of 10,277 people had been arrested, of whom 1,172 were convicted. From the time that the National Security Law came into effect on June 30, 2020, up until March 2022, 175 people had been arrested on suspicion of endangering national security, with eight convictions to date. In the case of the pan-democratic camp primary election, 53 people were arrested in early January 2021, 47 of them were charged with conspiracy to subvert state power. Some of the defendants were not released on bail and have been in custody for more than a year. As these cases have just been referred to the High Court for trial, it is expected that the trial will not start until the middle of next year at the earliest. Imprisoned before trial has become the new normal. As a former British colony, Hong Kong inherited the tradition of British Common Law, and applies the principle of presumption of innocence, that is, suspects or defendants must be presumed innocent until proven guilty at trial. According to Article 25 of the Basic Law, all Hong Kong residents are equal before the law, and Article 87 of the Basic Law provides that all persons are presumed innocent until convicted by a judicial authority. However, in the past two years or so, cases of imprisonment before trial or being forced to plead guilty have been occurring, and there have been criticisms that the Hong Kong National Security Law violated the common law presumption of innocence, and that it reflected the CCPs disregard for human rights granted by the Basic Law. What is behind this new normal? The Epoch Times interviewed three people who had been there, former League of Social Democrats Chairman Ng Man-yuen, former Tsuen Wan District Councilor Chiu Yan-loy, and former Eastern District Councilor Chan Wing-tai, who shared their thoughts and experiences. Ng: It is a False Accusation Ng Man-yuen had just been released at the end of April 2022. He said that he chose to plead guilty. Prior to his trials, nine people who had been charged with organizing an unauthorized assembly and knowingly participating in an unauthorized assembly for the protest on August 18, 2019, had been sentenced to between 8 and 18 months in prison. Ngs case was to be presided over by the same judge. He figured that since all the arguments had been presented by the nine defendants in the above mentioned cases, he didnt think that he would have a different outcome. So, he decided to plead guilty. He estimated the sentence that he would have and prepared his family for it. He said, I knew that I would violate this law, but because we did not agree with this law, so we all decided to do it. Although Ng pleaded guilty, he did not think that he had done anything wrong, he said. He pleaded guilty out of the following considerations. First, it would lessen the sentence and save a lot of legal fees, he said. It is a false accusation. He added. Knowing that the regime has all the resources to play the law and that he will lose in the end and end up with a longer sentence, he decided that he might as well plead guilty. This is a very personal decision, he admitted. However, he pointed out, in the process of trial, at least we let the world know that this is how the courts in Hong Kong interpreted the law. Some people may criticize that one should not kneel down just like that, but Ng felt that they may not understand the pressure the defendant is under. Ng believed that people would understand eventually and history will prove that they are innocent. Chiu: I Dont Think I Have Done Anything Wrong In the afternoon of the 33rd anniversary of June 4th, former Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China committee member Chiu Yan-loy walked slowly from Victoria Park to Causeway Bay MTR station with six white roses and four red roses. As soon as he stepped into the area of Sogo Department Store, he was surrounded by the police and then expelled from Causeway Bay. Two years before, on the same day, Chiu and 24 others were charged with inciting others to knowingly participate in an unauthorized assembly and knowingly participating in an unauthorized assembly, and were sentenced to eight months in prison. He was released on February 23 this year. Chiu reflected on his experience. I think this is actually a political prosecution. I really dont think I have done anything wrong. He said, in the past three years, the miscarriage of justice under political suppression seems to have become very common. However, common does not mean that it is right, he added. During his time in prison, he met many protesters. He said, Many of them pleaded guilty, but they are not admitting any wrongdoing on their part, including me. The reason why people pleaded guilty was because they wanted to complete the sentence sooner and go home. When you dont plead guilty and continue to fight, the sentence would be longer, and you may not actually be able to achieve what you want for your dream, he said. Chan: Pleading Guilty is a Technicality Former Eastern District Council member Lancelot Chan Wing-tai was charged with inciting others to knowingly participate in an unauthorized assembly. The case relates to the day before the July 1 March in 2020, organized by Civil Human Rights Front but was unauthorized by the police. All seven defendants in the same case pleaded guilty, except Chan. His hearing will be conducted at the end of June. He said, I will not plead guilty for one-third reduction on sentence. I do not believe that I am guilty. However, Chan noted that many activists who have been charged, have been remanded in custody in the past two years. He can understand why they would choose to plead guilty, as the time in prison could be used to count toward the sentence; and the sentence could be deducted by one-third. Chan felt that people had too many misunderstandings about those who pleaded guilty. He believed that it was due to mental pressure, as well as the astronomical legal fees, not to mention that they are dealing with regime crimes, where the red line is difficult to determine, even for the regime itself. Not all of them are Tonyee Chow Hang-tung (a barrister and social activist), who can handle her own defense. Chan added. Prime Minister Boris Johnson holds a news conference at the end of the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, on June 30, 2022. (Stefan Rousseau /PA Media) UK Defence Spending to Rise to 2.5 Percent of GDP by the End of This Decade: Johnson Britain will increasing its defence spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by the end of the decade, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced. The pledge could amount to an extra 55.1 billion ($67 billion) cumulatively over the rest of the decade in order to reach the 2.5 percent goal in 2030, based on forecasts of the size of the economy by the Office for Budget Responsibility. Speaking as the NATO summit in Madrid drew to a close on June 30, the prime minister said: We need to invest for the long term in vital capabilities like future combat air whilst simultaneously adapting to a more dangerous and more competitive world. The logical conclusion of the investments on which we propose to embark, these decisions, is that well reach 2.5 percent of GDP on defence by the end of the decade. Cost of Freedom Johnson said the cost of freedom is always worth paying, citing the economic shock caused by Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine. Unless we get the right result in Ukraine, Putin will be in a position to commit further acts of aggression against other parts of the former Soviet Union more or less with impunity, he said. That will drive further global uncertainty, further oil shocks, further panics, and more economic distress for the whole world. The UK is counting its support for Ukraines resistance within its defence spending, taking the current level to around 2.3 percent of GDP. At the summit, Johnson announced a further 1 billion ($1.2 billion) in military aid to Ukraine, a significant increase on the 1.3 billion of military assistance already provided. Too Little Too Late Johnsons promise to increase the defence budget was made after he came under pressure from senior Cabinet ministers and military chiefs to boost defence spending. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on June 28 that the UK needs to boost its investment in defence before it is too late. But Johnsons new pledge has failed to silence critics. Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative MP who chairs the Defence Select Committee of the House of Commons, said it is too little, too late. He also condemned Johnson for going ahead with planned cuts to the size of the British army, writing on Twitter, This is NOT the time to cut the Army by 10,000. Julian Lewis, a Conservative MP who chairs Parliaments Intelligence and Security Committee, described the spending increase as feeble, accusing the prime minister of an inability or unwillingness to face up to the gravity of the current crisis. PA Media contributed to this report. British army personnel teach members of the Ukrainian armed forces how to operate a multiple-launch rocket systems, on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England, on June 25, 2022. (PA Media) UK Pledges Further 1 Billion in Military Support to Ukraine The UK has announced another 1 billion ($1.2 billion) in military aid to Ukraine, a significant increase on the 1.3 billion of military assistance already provided to help the country resist the Russian invasion. The extra support was announced at the NATO summit in Madrid by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who said the Russian invasion continues to take Ukrainian lives and threaten peace and security across Europe. UK weapons, equipment, and training are transforming Ukraines defences against this onslaught. And we will continue to stand squarely behind the Ukrainian people to ensure Putin fails in Ukraine, Johnson said. The announcement brings the total UK military support since the outbreak of war to 2.3 billion ($2.8 billion)more than any country besides the United States, according to the UK government. Talking to Sky News on June 30, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss called Russian President Vladimir Putin an appalling dictator. We have to make it our absolute priority to stop this war and to push Vladimir Putin and the Russian troops out of Ukraine, Truss said. Real and Constant Support The promise of extra military support comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged NATO leaders to do more to help his country resist the Russian invasion. At the summit, the UK promised funding for capabilities including sophisticated air defence systems, drones, and electronic warfare equipment. UK officials said the new support package represents the first step in enabling Ukraine to go beyond their valiant defence against the illegal Russian invasion to mounting offensive operations against Russian ground forces in order to restore Ukrainian sovereignty. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UKs commitment to Ukraine is real and constant. This military assistance will help them intensify their fight against Russian aggression and ensure they have the defence capabilities they need, Wallace said. Irresponsible Course At the summit, NATO invited Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance and pledged a seven-fold increase from 2023 in combat forces on high alert along its eastern flank against any future Russian attack. In reaction, Putin said Russia would respond in kind if NATO set up infrastructure in Finland and Sweden. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov condemned NATOs irresponsible course, which he said was ruining the European architecture, or whats left of it. I have a great deal of doubt as to whether the upcoming period will be calm for our north European neighbors, he told reporters on June 29. PA Media and Reuters contributed to this report. Ukraines New Status as EU Candidate Member a Dangerous Game to Play Commentary The European Council has now accepted the applications of Ukraine and Moldova to become candidate member countries of the European Union (EU). The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, welcoming the award of candidate membership, described it as a unique and historic moment in his countrys relationship with the 27 members of the EU and that Ukraines future is within the EU. However, full membership for Ukraine is years and possibly decades away. This is because membership is only granted when the candidate country is able to satisfy the Copenhagen Criteria for membership. These criteria include a functioning market economy, a stable democracy supported by the rule of law, and the acceptance of all EU legislation and the common currency, the Euro. Article 2 of the Treaty on the European Union also requires that respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights are prerequisites for becoming a full member of the EU. Depending on their specific circumstances, a candidate country may thus be required to overhaul its legislation to ensure its compatibility with the EU legal system, including the principle of the supremacy of European law and acceptance of the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union, and to strengthen their infrastructure and administration. As a candidate country, Ukraine is thus effectively sitting in the waiting chamber, anticipating and hoping to be invited into the embrace of the EU. The Ukrainian flag flutters alongside the European Union flag outside the European Parliament headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on Feb. 28, 2022. (Francois Walschaerts/AFP via Getty Images) Wrong Decision at the Wrong Time Professor Marc De Vos, a former Dean of Law at Macquarie University, writing in the Belgian Trends magazine and commenting on the haste with which this has been done, rhetorically asks the question of whether Ukraine would have been offered candidate status if there had been no war with Russia. He argues that, in offering candidate status to Ukraine, the European Council, on the advice of the EU Commission, has made the wrong decision at the wrong time. To bolster his argument, he refers to the severe internal divisions in Ukraine, the lack of a democratic tradition, the abject poverty of the country, and the high incidence of corruption. More importantly, the EU decision, in fanning the embers of a cold war with Russia and penalising that countrys invasion of Ukraine, might provoke Russia into retaliation. Indeed, the award of candidate status to Ukraine might be interpreted by the Kremlin as yet another piece in an attempted encirclement of Russia by the European Union and by NATO. This sentiment is not altogether preposterous in view of the fact that both Finland and Sweden have applied to become members of NATO and the constant stream of weapons made available by the EU to the Ukrainian army. The Case of Turkey The rushed award of candidate country status is reminiscent of Turkeys association agreement with the then European Economic Community on Sept. 12, 1963. This agreement, known as the Ankara Agreement, evolved in 1999 into the recognition of candidate status on an equal footing with the other candidate states. However, thus far, full membership has not been bestowed on Turkey, even though negotiations for the status were commenced on Oct. 3, 2005. There are many reasons for Turkeys failure to secure full membership. Specifically, its dismal human rights record and autocratic rule are notable obstacles to satisfying the requirements and expectations of the EU. Turkeys case is a reminder that Ukraines and Moldovas path to full membership is arduous and unpredictable. The European Union, in conferring candidate membership on Ukraine, may well be guilty of speciously raising the hopes of this unfortunate countrya case of virtue signalling at its worst. De Vos argues that if Ukraine were to become a full member of the EU, the EU would also need to take on the history of the relationship between Ukraine and Russia. This is a daunting prospect that could be likened to purchasing a debt-ridden company: not only does the purchaser gain possession of the company, but it is also saddled with its debts while hoping that all will turn out for the better in the future. Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council via video link in Moscow on June 22, 2022. (Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Kremlin via Reuters) Seized as Justification for Russias Actions? De Vos describes the award of candidate member status to Ukraine as a geopolitical game of poker because it is merely a symbolic expression of sympathy for the abominable suffering endured by the heroic Ukrainian army and people. As expected, Russia will be able to point to this development as a justification for hardening its resolve to subdue Ukraine and to break what it regards as the encirclement of its country by the West. Interestedly, the award of candidate status provides unexpected opportunities to Russia because it may now have compelling but specious reasons for continuing the conflict and expanding its special military operation. Russia might consider and exploit the signing of a peace agreement, whereby Russia could claim sovereignty over the Crimean peninsula, the Donbas region, and the corridor linking it to Mariupol and Odessa in exchange for recognising and guaranteeing the sovereignty of the rest of Ukraine and its membership in the Union. This opportunity explains the subdued response of Russia to the award of candidate membership to Ukraine. But, for the West and NATO, this award represents a dangerous geopolitical game of poker that could potentially engulf the world in another devastating World War with no clear winner. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Workers clear debris at a shopping center that was damaged in a Russian rocket attack in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, on June 29, 2022. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo) Ukrainians Search for 20 Missing After Russia Strikes Mall KREMENCHUK, UkraineRussian forces battled Wednesday to surround the Ukrainian militarys last stronghold in a long-contested eastern province as shock reverberated from a Russian airstrike on a shopping mall that killed at least 18 people in the center of the country a day earlier. Moscows battle to wrest the entire Donbas region from Ukraine saw Russia forces pushing toward two Luhansk province villages south of the city of Lysychansk while Ukrainian troops fought to prevent their encirclement. Britains Defense Ministry said Russian forces were making incremental advances in their offensive to capture the city. Lysychansk is the last major area of the province under Ukrainian control following the retreat of Ukraines fighters from the neighboring city of Sievierodonetsk. Russian troops and their separatist allies control 95 percent of Luhansk and hold about half of Donetsk region, the other province that makes up the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas. The latest assessment by the Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington, said the Ukrainians were likely in a fighting withdrawal to seek more defensible positions while draining the Russian military forces of manpower and resources. Meanwhile, crews continued to search through the rubble of the shopping mall in Kremenchuk where Ukrainian authorities say 20 people remained missing. Authorities in the city declared three days of mourning. The blast from Tuesdays airstrike was so powerful, relatives may not be able to recover any trace of their loved ones remains. Ukrainian State Emergency Services press officer Svitlana Rybalko told The Associated Press that along with the 18 people killed, investigators found fragments of eight more bodies. It was not immediately clear if the body parts meant there were more victims. A number of survivors were being treated for injuries such as skull fractures and severed limbs. The police cannot say for sure how many (victims) there are. So we are finding not the bodies but the fragments of bodies, Rybalko said. Now we are clearing at the very epicenter of the blast. Here, we practically cannot find bodies as such. Several families stood by what was left of the Amstor shopping center Wednesday morning in hopes of finding missing loved ones. One young woman sat cross-legged on the ground weeping behind dark sunglasses, This is pure genocide, local resident Tatiana Chernyshova said while going to lay flowers at the site. Such things cannot happen in the 21st century. Peaceful people suffer. We need to engage everyone to help stop the war, help us fight these scumthese Russian aggressors, Chernyshova said. It needs to be stopped by any means possible. Psychologists working at the site with families told the AP they were trying to help people come to terms with their loss. A hospital nurse pushes a wheelchair carrying a woman wounded by the Russian rocket attack at a shopping center in a city hospital in Kremenchuk in Poltava region, Ukraine, on June 28, 2022. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo) We are trying to help them release their emotions now, as later it becomes harder and much more painful, said one psychologist, who did not give his name as he was not authorized to speak to the press. After the attack on the mall, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of becoming a terrorist state carrying out daily terrorist acts. On Wednesday, he reproached NATO for not embracing or equipping his embattled country more fully. The open-door policy of NATO shouldnt resemble old turnstiles on Kyivs subway, which stay open but close when you approach them until you pay, Zelenskyy told NATO leaders meeting in Madrid, speaking by video link. Hasnt Ukraine paid enough? Hasnt our contribution to defending Europe and the entire civilization been sufficient? He asked for more modern artillery systems and other weapons and warned the leaders they either had to provide Ukraine with the help it needed to defeat Russia or face a delayed war between Russia and yourself. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Wednesday dismissed what she claimed was the Ukrainian governments blatant provocation in trying to blame the mall missile strike on Russias military. All these fakes, unfortunately, were replicated and distributed, Zakharova said. Britains Defense Ministry said there was a realistic possibility the missile strike on the shopping center was intended to hit a nearby infrastructure target. Russian planners highly likely remain willing to accept a high level of collateral damage when they perceive military necessity in striking a target, the ministry said. It is almost certain that Russian will continue to conduct strikes in an effort to interdict the resupplying of Ukrainian front-line forces. Russias military also is experiencing a shortage of more modern precision strike weapons that together with the professional shortcomings of their targeting planners is compounding civilian casualties, the British ministry said. In southern Ukraine, a Russian missile strike in the city of Mykolaiv killed at least four people and injured five after a missile hit a multi-story apartment building Wednesday, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said. Mykolaiv is a major port in Ukraines south and seizing itas well as Odesa further westwould be key to Russias objection of cutting off Ukraine from its Black Sea coast. Russias Defense Ministry said in a statement that the missile strike on Mykolaiv targeted a base for training foreign mercenaries, as well as ammunition depots. Russian forces have been regularly pummeling Ukrainian weapons and munitions depots, oil storages, and other facilities across Ukraine. Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Ukraines capital, Kyiv, urged the NATO leaders in Madrid to do whatever it took to stop the war, saying that if Ukraine is defeated, youre going to be next. If its not going to be stopped now, all of us are going to be affected. The free world, the so-called free world is going to be affected. And NATO and the world society needs to learn how to act fast, Klitschko said. Separately, European Union leaders approved Wednesday a 600-million euro ($631 million) package to address food security issues brought on by the Ukraine war. The money, from European Development Fund reserves, will be earmarked for African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries. Britain is imposing sanctions on Russias second-richest man and a cousin of President Vladimir Putin. Vladimir Potanin, owner of the Interross conglomerate, has continued to amass wealth while backing Putin, acquiring Rosbank and shares in Tinkoff Bankonith in the period following the invasion of Ukraine, a U.K. government statement said Wednesday The statement said Putins cousin, Anna Tsivileva, and her husband, Sergey Tsivilev, have significantly benefited from their relationship with Putin. Tsivileva is president of the JSC Kolmar Group coal mining company, and Tsivilev is governor of the coal-rich Kemerovo region. By Francesca Ebel and Yuras Karmanau Rescuers and firefighters work in a damaged residential building, hit by Russian missiles in Kyiv on June 26, 2022, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine.(Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images) US Blacklists 5 Chinese Companies for Allegedly Aiding Russian Army The Biden administration has added five Chinese companies to its economic blacklist for allegedly supporting Russias military and defense industrial base, blocking them from U.S. technology. The U.S. Department of Commerce said in a June 28 statement that the companies had supplied ties to Russian entities of concern before Moscow launched its attack on Ukraine on Feb. 24 and continue to contract to supply Russian entity listed and sanctioned parties. Todays action sends a powerful message to entities and individuals across the globe that if they seek to support Russia, the United States will cut them off as well, Alan Estevez, undersecretary of commerce for industry and security, said in the statement. The Commerce Department placed a total of 36 entities from nine countries on the entity list, effectively restricting U.S. companies from exporting or transferring products or technology. The five Chinese businesses added to the blacklist are Connec Electronic Ltd., King Pai Technology Co. Ltd., Sinno Electronics Co. Ltd., Winninc Electronic, and World Jetta (HK) Logistics Ltd. Three of the firms also have offices in other countriesincluding Russia, Vietnam, Lithuania, and Britainalthough the Commerce Department called them entities with substantial/primary operations in China. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian expressed Beijings firm opposition to the move at a press briefing on June 29. ChinaRussia Ties The action comes amid growing concern among Western officials over the burgeoning alliance between Beijing and Moscow since Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin first announced a no limits partnership on Feb. 4. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping pose for a photograph during their meeting in Beijing on Feb. 4, 2022. (Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images) Since the Ukraine invasion, Beijing has repeatedly refused to condemn Moscows attack, despite growing calls from the United States and its allies. Western officials have warned that Beijing had signaled intent to provide Moscow with economic and military aid for its war effort. That prompted President Joe Biden to warn Xi during a March video call of unspecified consequences should the Chinese regime support Russias military. National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on June 28 that Washingtons priority with Beijing regarding the war in Ukraine is to ensure that the regime doesnt provide military equipment to Russia. No. 2 is that they not engage in wholesale or systematic undermining or evasion of U.S. sanctions, he said en route to the NATO summit in Madrid. Thus far, we have not seen China act in a way inconsistent with those two principles and certainly not at scale with respect to the economic relationship. The announcement marks the first time the Biden administration placed Chinese businesses on the blacklist for aiding Russias war effort since the February invasion. The Commerce Department also called out two Chinese entities that have been on the entity list since 2018 for having supported, and continued to support Russias military since the invasion of Ukraine. The two companies are China Electronics Technology Group Corp. 13th Research Institute (CETC 13) and its subordinate institution, Micro Electronic Technology in China. Both are part of the state-owned defense conglomerate CETC. Commerce officials didnt specify what the Chinese businesses had done. The move came after Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo warned in March that Chinese companies could be essentially shut down if they contravened U.S. sanctions against Russia by supplying Moscow with chips and other supplies. The Chinese regime has refused to join international sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. It has consistently taken the position that global financial actions against Russia are invalid, thus providing Russia with a vital economic lifeline in Chinese markets. Beijing continues to heavily censor talk of the war on social media in mainland China and declines to refer to it as a war or invasion, parroting Moscows stance that it is a special military operation. Washington has vowed to closely monitor compliance and enforce the regulations. We will not hesitate to act, regardless of where a party is located, if they are violating U.S. law, said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Thea Rozman Kendler. Andrew Thornebrooke and Reuters contributed to this report. Steel coils produced at the NLMK Indiana steel mill in Portage, Ind., on March 15, 2018. (Scott Olson/File Photo via Getty Images) US Steel to Make $150 Million Investment in Iron Range Operations By Mike Hughlett From Star Tribune U.S. Steel plans to invest $150 million in a new Iron Range facility that would make taconite pellets tailored for electric arc steel mills. The Pittsburgh-based company said Tuesday it plans to break ground this fall on the facility, which will be located at one of its two taconite plants, either Minntac in Mountain Iron or Keetac in Keewatin. At the same time, U.S. Steel has proposed selling its Granite City, Ill., steel mill to SunCoke Energy, which would then build an on-site pig iron facility. The new pig iron plant in Illinois would essentially consume the new type of taconite pellets that U.S. Steel intends to produce in Minnesota. U.S. Steels new Iron Range pellet operation will make DRor directed-reducedgrade taconite pellets, which are a key feedstock for producing iron used in electric arc furnaces. Electric arc mills have traditionally used scrap metal, but are increasingly utilizing direct reduced iron, which has a much higher iron content than a traditional taconite pellet. Taconite plants on the Iron Rangeincluding U.S. Steelsprimarily produce iron pellets that are used in the traditional blast furnaces. Electric arc furnaces are now the primary source of U.S. steel production. Our conviction remains that steel mined, melted, and made in America is vital to our national and economic security, said David Burritt, U.S. Steels chief executive, said in a press statement. We are strategically investing in our raw materials that will feed the advanced steel mills of today and tomorrow, making us increasingly self-sufficient. U.S. Steel said it would sell its DR-grade pellets to third-party manufacturers of direct-reduced iron (DRI) or hot-briquetted iron (HBI), the latter a premium version of the former. The company said it could also use the DR pellets for a DRI or HBI facility of its own. The non-binding letter of intent with SunCokea raw material processor that operates a coke oven at U.S. Steels Granite City plantallows SunCoke to build the pig iron production facility as well as acquiring the two blast furnaces there. Coke, made from coal, is an essential element in traditional steelmaking. SunCoke would produce the pig iron specifically for U.S. Steel, which the steelmaker could use for its own growing fleet of electric arc furnaces. U.S. steels new DR facility would be the second such operation in northeastern Minnesota. Cleveland Cliffs. In 2019, Cliffs invested $100 million in upgrades to its Silver Bay taconite production plant to produce DR-grade pellets. However, Cliffs idled its Silver Bay taconite operations this spring. Cliffs is the largest taconite mine operator in Minnesota; U.S. Steel is second. 2022 StarTribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Veteran James Topp (L) and his group walk on a rural road west of Ottawa, as the driver of a car waves, on June 29, 2022. On Topp's left is epidemiologist Dr. Paul Alexander. (Noe Chartier/The Epoch Times) Veteran James Topp Inches Closer to Ottawa War Memorial in Journey From Vancouver by Foot to Protest COVID Mandates KANATA, OntarioLooking at James Topp walking along the rural roads of Kanata Wednesday, one wouldnt guess he was about to complete his arduous trek from Vancouver to Ottawa. It was just another day of getting down to business and putting more miles under his belt. And so Topp, a military veteran, current reservist, and RCMP civilian employee, pushed along country roads west of Ottawa with between 20 and 40 associates and followers in tow throughout the day, including his core team who had been with him from the beginning. Along the way, motorists often pulled over to give Topp a handshake or a hug. Some supporters waited along the route and joined the march for a few kilometres. Topp undertook his 4,300-kilometre walk from the Terry Fox statue in downtown Vancouver to the War Memorial in Ottawa to protest vaccine mandates, which have impacted him in both the military and the RCMP. It was a relatively easy day for Topp and the group, walking a meagre 27 kilometres from Dunrobin to Bells Cornera piece of cake compared to those days when they logged over 50 kilometres. Despite the short day, it was still a grind for those who had developed blisters or were nursing other injuries. The supporters come from all over. Some joined Topps team back in Vancouver, while others tagged along from Winnipeg. Not all have been affected by the vaccine mandates, but many have: soldiers, a nurse, an early childhood educator. Veteran James Topp stops his march to take a picture with a supporter in Kanata, Ont., on June 29, 2022. (Noe Chartier/The Epoch Times) Taking Stock For Topp and his crew of 12, it was time on Wednesday to take stock of the journey, a stones throw from the finish line. I want to celebrate all the people who have participated in this journey to get me here because it wasnt just me doing this, it was a number of folks who rotated through marching, driving, managing, calling people, sending letters, Topp told The Epoch Times while walking in the rain. Its a shame that more people arent paying attention to this because theres this amazing story of a group of people that came together. Topp said he believes he has accomplished what he set out to do back in February, noting a meeting he had with MPs on June 22. That meeting was made possible by thousands of people he met along the way, he said, who contacted their MPs to let them know about Topps effort. The MPs did what theyre supposed to do, they listened to people in their ridings and they acted on their behalf. Thats how the system is supposed to work, Topp said. The meeting in Ottawa was attended by around 20 Conservative MPs, some of whom have been very vocal against federal COVID-19 restrictions. Topp hopes that his advocacy has helped nudge the government in recently deciding to suspend its vaccine mandate in federally regulated workplaces and for travel. The veteran said he has not thought about what comes next for him, as all his mental energy is focused on finishing the task. Dan Jones (L), part of James Topps team, walks with the Canadian flag on a rural road west of Ottawa on June 29, 2022. (Noe Chartier/The Epoch Times) Dan Jones, whos been with Topp since the start, has given this some thought and he wants to keep working toward a better world. Whats next for me is carry on, he told The Epoch Times. I want to promote unity, and we need everybody in the world to come together and join forces and sit down peacefully together and help each other. Jones said it feels amazing to be almost done and to accomplish a goal. Even though I never walked the whole wayI spent more time injured than notstill, were reaching the end and Im still on my two feet. I still have two feet. It was a wonder at the beginning there. The group will depart for the last leg of the journey Thursday morning at 10 a.m. from Bells Corner. They expect to arrive at the War Memorial in downtown Ottawa in the late afternoon. Military veteran James Topp walks with supporters toward his last stop, the War Memorial in Ottawa, on June 30, 2022. (Noe Chartier/The Epoch Times) Veteran on Cross-Country Trek for Freedoms Joined by 1,000 Supporters on Last Leg of Journey: Photo Report OTTAWAMilitary veteran James Topp was joined by over 1,000 supporters on June 30 as he arrived in Ottawa on the way to his final stop, the War Memorialmore than four months after he began his walk across Canada from the Terry Fox statue in downtown Vancouver on Feb. 20. Military veteran James Topp poses for photos with supporters in Ottawa on June 30, 2022. (Noe Chartier/The Epoch Times) Military veteran James Topp walks with supporters toward his last stop, the War Memorial in Ottawa, on June 30, 2022. (Noe Chartier/The Epoch Times) Topp was put on leave without pay for choosing to not receive a COVID-19 vaccine as a civilian in an RCMP detachment, and also encountered problems with the Canadian Armed Forces, where he served 28 years, for the same reason. The military has charged him for speaking publicly against federal vaccine requirements while in uniform. The veteran embarked on his trek across the country to protest against COVID-19 mandates. Bain de foule as we say in French. (Crowd bath?) #jamestopp meets supporters in Hogs Back Park. @CanadaMarches pic.twitter.com/ahA1ZnijGs Noe Chartier (@NChartierET) June 30, 2022 Military veteran James Topp walks with supporters toward his last stop, the War Memorial in Ottawa, on June 30, 2022. (Noe Chartier/The Epoch Times) On June 22, Topp met with around 20 Conservative MPs as he was getting closer to Ottawa. The journey has been arduous, physically challenging, but at the same time, it has allowed me to connect with my fellow Canadians in a way that I never would have thought possible, he told them. As he arrived in Ottawa on June 30 after a 4,300-kilometre trip, over a 1,000 supporters joined him on the last leg of his trek, with many approaching him to take photos, shake his hand, or give him a hug. Wejo, Ford Bond to Enable End-to-End Insurance Offerings Wejo Group Limite has collaborated with Ford Motor Company in Europe, which gives Wejo access to personalized connected vehicle data from Ford vehicles across the continent. Wejo is a leader in Smart Mobility cloud and software solutions for connected, electric, and autonomous vehicle data. What Happened As part of this collaboration, Wejo leverages Fords end-to-end data consent process helping the insurance company gain consent from the customer to access the personalized vehicle data such as vehicle location, speed, and mileage. Once provided, that consent passes back to Ford through Wejo to release the data for analysis and insight. The connected vehicle data (CVD) passes back to the insurer to establish usage-based end-to-end car insurance policies that appeal to the customer based on their safe driving or limited mileage. Why Does It Matter The partnership supports providing data and insights to insurance providers that leverage user-based intelligence for end-to-end insurance. Insurance providers, in turn, can leverage the data to understand driving behaviors better and drive efficiencies, including by minimizing fraud. The partnership focuses on defined data sets explicitly created for end-to-end insurance in Europe. These data sets, coupled with Wejos broad range of capabilities and experience in interpreting historical and real-time connected vehicle data, including over 76.7 billion journeys to date collected from approximately 13 million connected vehicles, create an opportunity for deep insights and understanding, as well as furthering its promise of data for good. Providing actionable data insights to insurance providers is another example of how Wejo is expanding into additional markets and demonstrating new use cases for OEMs and insurance companies to monetize connected vehicle data for good, said Richard Barlow, founder, and CEO, of Wejo. Graeme Stevens, Manager, Third Party Enablement at Ford of Europe, said: At Ford, we believe in the power of harnessing connected vehicle data. Through the insights our vehicles and customers can provide us, with full consent, we are able to better understand driving behaviors and ultimately make the insurance experience a much more tailored and cost-effective experience for our customers. By Anusuya Lahiri 2022 The Epoch Times. The Epoch Times does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. In mid-June 2022, Israel experienced a sudden 70% spike in seriously ill COVID patients. The spike is being blamed on a new variant mutated from Omicron, referred to as BA.5., which is thought to be more resistant to vaccines than previous strains In Pfizers pediatric trial, six of the children, aged 2 to 4 years, in the vaccinated group were diagnosed with severe COVID, compared to just one in the placebo group. So, the shot may actually cause more severe infection in young children Data from Modernas trial also suggest the shot makes adults more prone to repeat COVID infections, thanks to an inhibited antibody response Pfizers pediatric trial reveals the shots raise, rather than lower, the risk of reinfection (meaning catching COVID more than once). In all, 12 of the children in Pfizers trial were diagnosed with COVID twice within the follow-up period (one to four months). Of those, 11 had received two or three jabs; only one unvaccinated child got COVID twice COVID-19 is more than twice as prevalent among the boosted, compared to those who quit after the initial series. Those with a primary series plus one or two booster shots are catching the infection at a rate of 119.94 per 100,000, while those with the primary series only have an infection rate of 56.44 per 100,000 Believe it or not, were now at the point where even mainstream media are reporting that COVID-19 is more prevalent among the boosted, compared to those who quit after the initial series. That doesnt mean that sanity is returning; its just interesting that theyre not able to ignore it completely, even though their efforts to rationalize it teeter on the verge of lunacy. June 6, 2022, CBS News reported:1 As COVID-19 cases began to accelerate again this spring, federal data suggests the rate of breakthrough COVID infections in April was worse in boosted Americans compared to unboosted Americans Meanwhile, federal officials are also preparing for key decisions on future COVID-19 vaccine shots In the short term, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky recently told reporters that her agency was in talks with the Food and Drug Administration about extending the option for second boosters to more adults. If Walenskys logic makes your brain feel like its been beat with a meat mallet, youre not alone. Its so beyond irrational as to be inexplicable. If boosters make you more prone to infection, is giving boosters to more people really the prudent answer? Three Doses Makes You More Infection-Prone Than Two Overall, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions new COVID dashboard2 show boosted Americans are catching COVID at nearly twice the rate of the unboosted a statistic John Moore, professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College, attributes to the boosted feeling more protected than they actually are, and therefore taking fewer precautions.3 Considering we know that masks, social distancing and lockdowns dont work to prevent infection spread, Moores explanation is flimsy at best. Its far more reasonable to conclude that the COVID injections are the problem. According to the CDC, the unvaccinated still account for a majority of positive COVID tests, at a rate of 188.2 per 100,000 as of April 23, 2022. Those with a primary series plus one or two booster shots are catching the infection at a rate of 119.94 per 100,000, while those with the primary series clock in at a rate of 56.44 per 100,000. Of course, CBS is careful to note that The new data do not mean booster shots are somehow increasing the risk of COVID, but rather that the shift underscores the growing complexity of measuring vaccine effectiveness at this stage of the pandemic.4 CBS also misleadingly claims that while the boosted have more than double the rate of infections of the unboosted, its still but a fraction of the levels among unvaccinated Americans. However, 120 (rounded up from 119.94) is hardly but a fraction of 188. At 64% of the unvaccinated rate, using the term a fraction of seems like an intentional attempt to downplay just how common COVID is getting among the boosted. COVID Jab Also Causes Repeat Reinfections In related news, Pfizers pediatric trial reveals the shots raise rather than lower the risk of reinfection (meaning catching COVID more than once). In his Substack article,5 Finally Proven: Pfizer Vaccine Causes COVID Reinfection, Disables Natural Immunity, Igor Chudov a businessman and mathematician6 points to the black-and-white data on page 38 of the documentation7 submitted to the FDA for its COVID jab Emergency Use Authorization request for use in children 6 months through 4 years of age. Heres a screen shot with Chudovs markings and notes: In all, 12 of the children in Pfizers trial were diagnosed with COVID twice within the follow-up period, which ranged from one to four months. Of those, 11 had received two or three jabs; only one child in the placebo (unvaccinated) group got COVID twice. So, what caused vaccinated children to develop a disproportionate amount of repeat infections? The vaccine, of course. Its a randomized controlled trial, after all, Chudov writes.8 Thanks to Pfizer, we finally know that COVID reinfections are real and that their vaccine causes them by disabling natural immunity. A little caveat is that Pfizer made the trial purposely complicated (because it is a resuscitated FAILED trial where they added one more booster dose and more kids). Pfizer vaccinated the control group. This complication somewhat affects the 6-23-month age category, but still shows obvious vaccine failure. The 2-4-year-old group is much less complicated: all reinfections happened in the vaccinated participants, five of six were from the first-vaccinated group. All of these participants received 3 doses of assigned study intervention, except for one participant who received two doses. We have a smoking gun that reinfections are vaccine driven. This post-jab reinfection anomaly has also been stressed by Dr. Clare Craig, a diagnostic pathologist,9 who reviewed some of the most damning data from Pfizers pediatric trial in a recent video (below). Moderna Data Also Show Repeated Infections Are Likely Data from Modernas trial also suggest the shot makes adults more prone to repeat infections, thanks to an inhibited antibody response. A preprint study10,11 posted on medRxiv April 19, 2022, found adult participants in Modernas trial who got the real injection, and later got a breakthrough infection, did not generate antibodies against the nucleocapsid a key component of the virus as frequently as did those in the placebo arm. Placebo recipients produced anti-nucleocapsid antibodies twice as often as those who got the Moderna shot, and their anti-nucleocapsid response was larger regardless of the viral load. As a result of their inhibited antibody response, those who got the jab may be more prone to repeated COVID infections. These findings are further corroborated by data from the U.K. Health Security Agency. It publishes weekly COVID-19 vaccine surveillance data, including anti-nucleocapsid antibody levels. The report12,13 for Week 13, issued March 31, 2022, shows that COVID-jabbed individuals with breakthrough infections indeed have lower levels of these antibodies. Pfizers Data Do Not Support Use in Children Another crucial piece of information that Craig highlights in her video is that of the 4,526 children enrolled in the trial, a whopping 3,000 dropped out. Pfizer does not explain this highly suspicious anomaly. Oftentimes, trial participants will drop out when side effects are too severe for them to continue. Drug companies will also sometimes exclude participants who develop side effects theyd rather not divulge. This is one of those nasty loopholes that can skew results. Here, we dont know why two-thirds of the participants were eliminated, and on that basis alone, this trial should be deemed null and void, Craig says. Pfizers pediatric trial data also show that: Six of the children, aged 2 to 4 years, in the vaccinated group were diagnosed with severe COVID, compared to just one in the placebo group. So, the likelihood the shot is causing severe COVID is higher than the likelihood that its preventing it. The only child who required hospitalization for COVID was also in the vaccinated group. In the three weeks following the first dose, 34 of the children in the vaccinated group and 13 of the unvaccinated children were diagnosed with COVID. That means the childrens risk of developing symptoms of COVID within the first three weeks of the first dose actually increased by 30%. These data were ignored. Between doses two and three, there was an eight-week gap, and the vaccinated arm again experienced higher rates of COVID. This too was ignored. After the third dose, incidence of COVID was again raised in the vaccine group, and this was ignored as well. In the end, they only counted three cases of COVID in the vaccine arm and seven cases in the placebo group. They literally ignored 97% of all the COVID cases that occurred during the trial to conclude that the shots were effective in preventing COVID. More Evidence of Vaccine Failure Theres really no shortage of evidence indicating the COVID shots are a complete failure and should be stopped immediately. One example I havent reviewed in previous articles is the difference between Portugal and Bulgaria. In his article, Chudov14 presents the following graph from Our World in Data, which shows the rate of new COVID cases in these two countries. The vaccination rate in Portugal is 95%, whereas Bulgarias is 30%. Guess which country has the higher COVID case rate? The graph speaks for itself. In mid-June 2022, The Times of Israel also reported15 a sudden 70% spike in seriously ill COVID patients from one week to the next. According to Reuters COVID data tracker,16 Israel has administered enough doses to vaccinate 100.4% of its population with two doses, so it has one of the highest vaccine uptake rates in the world. Despite a significant increase in antibodies after the fourth vaccine, this protection is only partially effective against the Omicron strain, which is relatively resistant to the vaccine. ~ Professor Gili Regev-Yochay In mid-January 2022, Israel reported17 a fourth dose (second booster) was only partially effective against Omicron. Lead researcher, professor Gili Regev-Yochay, told reporters, Despite a significant increase in antibodies after the fourth vaccine, this protection is only partially effective against the Omicron strain, which is relatively resistant to the vaccine. The latest spikes in both Israel and Portugal are being blamed on a new variant mutated from Omicron, referred to as BA.5.18 According to The Times of Israel,19 coronavirus czar Dr. Salman Zarka said the new variant BA.5 is quickly gaining traction and is more resistant to vaccines than previous strains. So, whats Israels answer? More shots to encourage herd immunity and more mask wearing. Natural Immunity Versus the COVID Jab An analysis of the Omicron wave in Qatar is also illustrative of vaccine failure. June 21, 2022, The Epoch Times reported20 on the study,21 published the week before in the New England Journal of Medicine. In summary: People with previous infection (natural immunity) and no COVID jab had 50.2% immunity against symptomatic BA.1 infection (a subvariant of Omicron) for at least 324 days. Against the BA.2 variant, natural immunity was 46.1% People with no previous infection (no natural immunity) who got two doses of the Pfizer shot had immunity against BA.1 infection ranging from 16.4% on the low end to 5.4% on the high end on day 268 after the last dose. The average was -4.9%. Against the BA.2 variant, immunity was -1.1% on average. Most entered the negative ranges around the six-month mark The effectiveness of three doses and no previous infection against BA.1 was 59.6%, which persisted for at least 42 days (the extent of the follow-up). Against BA.2, immunity topped out at 52.2% Though the authors conclusion was that there were No discernable differences in protection between vaccination and natural immunity, ask yourself which you would rather have: 50% immunity for at least 10 months, or 50% immunity for about six months followed by an increased risk of infection (negative protection) thereafter? Clearly, if your goal is to avoid infection, you would avoid anything that will immediately or in the future raise your risk. Yet, in the upside-down world we now find us in, the answer continues to be: Get another shot. As discussed in FDA and Pfizer Knew COVID Shot Caused Immunosuppression, Pfizers trial data also reveal theyve not ruled out the risk of antibody-dependent enhancement, and vaccine-associated enhanced disease (VAED) is listed22 as an Important Potential Risk. (ADE and VAED are two terms that basically refer to the same thing worsened disease post-injection.) So, not only are you at increased risk of COVID infection, and repeated reinfections, if you get the jab especially if you get boosted but you may also experience more severe illness, which is the opposite of what anyone would want. U.K. government data show that, compared to the unvaccinated, those who have received two doses are:23 Up to three times more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 Twice more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 Three times more likely to die of COVID-19 Final Thoughts In closing, its clear there are no long-term benefits to the COVID jabs, only risk. How much more data do we need before our health agencies snap to and start protecting public health? I dont have an answer to that question, seeing how nothing works the way its supposed to anymore. Our health agencies have been captured by the drug industry and have basically gone rogue. They ignore even the most basic rules and ethics nowadays. Something will clearly need to be done about that, but until then, the best advice I have is to take control of your own health and make decisions based on actual data rather than corporate press releases. If youve already taken one or more COVID jabs and now regret it, first, the most important step you can take is to not take any more shots. Next, if you suspect your health may have been impacted, check out the Frontline COVID-19 Critical Care Alliances (FLCCC) post-vaccine treatment protocol, I-RECOVER,24 which you can download from covid19criticalcare.com in several different languages. Originally published Sources and References Whats the biggest threat to North America and Europe? The U.S. says its China. But the worlds biggest military alliance gives a different answer. As Beijing rapidly expands its military, could the power balance in Asia shift towards China? Thats as questions rise over whether Washingtons aid to Ukraine will impact its commitment to Taiwan. We spoke with expert Greg Copley for answers. A recent coal purchase is making headlines over an unusual payment method. The transaction is between an India-based company and a Russian coal supplier, and is valued in the millions. Costco is recalling hundreds of thousands of solar umbrellasall of them made in China. Reports say a malfunction can cause them to catch fire. And, protests in Central Chinas Henan province. Thats over $6 Billion in customer money, stuck inside local banks. Topics included: Nato: Russia is a direct threat Biden Met With Japan, S. Korea Leaders During Nato India to Pay for Russian Coal in Chinese Yuan Costco Recalls 400k China-made Umbrellas Chinese Banks Freeze Deposit Money, Trigger Protests Nepal Protests Chinas Border Encroachment Will China Surpass U.S. Military Power in Asia? Have other topics you want us to cover? Drop us a line: chinainfocus@ntdtv.org And if youd like to buy us a coffee: https://donorbox.org/china-in-focus Subscribe to our newsletter for more first-hand news from China. Follow China in Focus on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChinaInFocusNTD Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@chinainfocus Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/chinainfocus Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NTDChinainFocus Gab: https://gab.com/ChinaInFocus Telegram: https://t.me/ChinainFocusNTD Click the Save button below the video to access it later on My List Crowds at the Expo 67 Worlds Fair in Montreal on May 22, 1967. Although Expo 67 was the main centennial year celebration, events to commemorate Canadas achievements, history, and cultural heritage were held across the country to mark the 100th anniversary of Confederation. (CP Photo) William Brooks: Canada Day 2022: Restoring the Bonds of Nationhood Commentary In the year 1967, Canada celebrated its 100th birthday. At the time, little dampened the spirit of citizens who turned out to commemorate a century of Confederation. Native-born Canadians took pride in remembering their countrys history and traditions. New Canadians openly acknowledged the merits of the democratic nation they had chosen to join. More recently, among our best-schooled intelligentsia, expressing feelings of national pride has become much less fashionable. There is scant tolerance for those who look back favourably on epic tales of explorers, pioneers, sailors, soldiers, settlers, priests, farmers, workers, entrepreneurs, and political leaders who contributed to the founding of the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867. Canada Day fireworks no longer shine light on national affections. They blow them up! The nations past has been deconstructed and judged by more progressive minds to be tragically flawed and systemically racist. We are said to have an exploitative colonial history unworthy of preservation. Anti-Nationalism and the Left Following the fall of the Iron Curtain in the late 20th century, global integration became an increasingly popular objective among international policy experts. Neo-Marxist Western intellectuals equated nationalism with fascism. Davos nabobs proposed a superior morality guided by a Great Reset of the world order. The left contended that global problems like climate change, inequity, migration, racism, and poverty called for borderless solutions. As a result, a one-world government paradigm came to occupy the centre of academic thought. Universities in North America and Europe routinely advertise for positions in global governance, a term that few would have recognized even a decade ago. By and large, Canadian elites became predisposed to renounce the idea of nationhood. In 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau articulated this when he told the New York Times Magazine that Canada could be the first post-national state. There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada, said our prime minister. Charles Foran, a prominent member of Canadas Laurentian literary elite, agreed entirely. Writing in The Guardian he said: First and foremost, post-nationalism is a frame to understand our ongoing experiment in filling a vast yet unified geographic space with the diversity of the world. Citizen Movements in the North Atlantic Triangle More recently, Canadas long-standing partners in the North Atlantic Triangle have begun to resist the ascendency of anti-nationalist globalism. Common men and women in the UK and America have rediscovered the traditional spirit of nationhood. Britains vote to leave the European Union and the rise of the MAGA movement in the USA heralded a return to a more patriotic stage in the history of our founding peoples. Early in the cold, pandemic-afflicted winter of 2022, a nationalist spirit also emerged in Canada. Truckers from across the country launched a series of protests against draconian vaccine mandates and restrictions that were putting thousands of them out of work. Somehow, this Freedom Convoy produced national emotions that Canadians had been suppressing for decades. Hundreds of vehicles formed convoys, rolled though the provinces, and converged for a rally in Ottawa on Jan. 29. The convoys were joined by legions of citizens who disregarded the ideologically prescribed diversity imperatives that have been pushing Canadians apart. The truckers and their supporters were mostly working- and middle-class Canadians. They raised the flag, sang O Canada, and gave citizens a renewed sense of solidarity. More imaginative political leaders might have spoken with the truckers and seized the opportunity to bring the nation together. Instead, the Ottawa protesters were vilified by the regime media, harassed by Ottawa police, and finally crushed by a para-military-style emergency measures operation. The Virtue of Nationalism From Brexit and MAGA to the Canadian Freedom Convoy, recent events are forcing a crucial debate between proponents of global governance and supporters of independence and self-determination. In his 2018 book The Virtue of Nationalism, Israeli scholar Yoram Hazony contends that a world of sovereign nations is the best option for those who care about personal and collective freedom. Hazony points out that only decades ago, nationalism was routinely associated with broad-mindedness and generosity of spirit. Woodrow Wilsons Fourteen Points along with Roosevelt and Churchills Atlantic Charter were seen as beacons of hope for mankind. And this he wrote, precisely because they were considered expressions of nationalism, promising national independence and self-determination to enslaved peoples around the world. Canadian nationalism once flourished under leaders like Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir Wilfred Laurier. In other lands, nationalist leaders like Mahatma Ghandi won wide acclaim for steering their people toward sovereignty and freedom. It is through these nationalist traditions, Hazony argues, that we can limit both internal tribal conflicts and foreign imperial dominance. Free nations allow human differences and innovation to thrive. Make a Commitment to National Renewal Our obsessive focus on diversity over unity has produced tragic levels of resentment, distrust, division, and anxiety. Post-nationalists, who support the vision of diverse tribal territories overseen by the genius of Beijings communist military empire, are destroying confidence in Canadian nationhood. Last year, woke outrage over Canadas colonial history and the possible location of unidentified human remains in graveyards of former indigenous residential schools inspired a Cancel Canada Day campaign. Statues were toppled and Canadian flags flew at half mast for months. Canadians need to begin restoring common national bonds from the bottom up. Love of country is not some bizarre political pathology that grips people to no good end. Nationalists believe that the world is governed best when free and independent countries are permitted to cultivate their own traditions and pursue their own interests without interference from hostile ideological empires. From a guy who was around to celebrate Canadas 100th birthday in 1967, here are 10 potential commitments Canadians might consider on July 1, 2022. Epoch Times readers will certainly be able to come up with some of their own: Learn more about Canadas history, especially from books and authors that predate the radical 1960s. My high school text was Building the Canadian Nation by George W Brown. Conrad Blacks more recent Rise to Greatness: The History of Canada from the Vikings to the Present is outstanding. Find out what your children or grandchildren are being taught about Canada in school, and if you dont like it, do something about it. Connect with people that regime journalists tell you to dislike. You never know what you might learn. Be resolute in sticking by your family, your friends, and your country. Work hard and be careful with your money. You could set an example for our government. Support a political party that supports the Canadian people. If you cant find the job you want immediately, take work weve been told Canadians wont do. It could lead to something better. Dont believe everything you hear from government experts or the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Dont live your life in fear of the next pandemic. Get on with it. Take a moment to pray for and honour the intrepid men and women of the 2022 Freedom Convoy. This year, Canadian truckers reminded us all that the power of the people is often more impressive than the people in power. Happy Canada Day! Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. News analysis Last weeks 6 to 3 Supreme Court decision to remand decisions about abortions back to the purview of each state has put fertility and abortion rights center stage. On the one side, pro-life activists are celebrating the victory of seeing Roe v. Wade overturned while pro-abortion activists feel a terrible blow has been dealt to womens rights. I am the youngest of nine children. I am also Chinese. In China you dont have the luxury to debate about whether abortion is a necessary evil, a fundamental human right, or a sin. When you are a woman in China, the state decides for you. Using Abortion for Family Planning The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) calls abortion family planning. When I was born in the 1960s, Mao Zedong, the founder of the Peoples Republic of China, believed it was womens duty to the state to have as many children as possible. Chairman Mao wanted to increase the population because he needed a strong army to fight the Americans. So Mao encouraged women to give birth. I was born during the last wave of that pressure to procreate. Then the CCP made an abrupt policy change. In the late 1970s, they decided they had too many people in China. By 1980 they had implemented a one-child-only policy for the Han people, the majority ethnicity in China. The brutality of this policy is difficult for anyone who grew up in the West to understand, I think. The CCP enforced their one-child policy by any means. This has included everything from demanding families to pay social maintenance fees that could catapult them into poverty, to forcing women to abort their at-term fetuses, forcing sterilization on young, fertile women, and even burning down the houses of families that did not comply. A Mechanized Weapon The Chinese states birth-planning was a mechanized weapon. The CCPs National Population and Family Planning Commission employed 85 million people part time and half a million full-time, according to journalist Mei Fong, author of the 2017 book, One Child: The Story of Chinas Most Radical Experiment. Many of these employees were essentially spies: tasked with tracking the fertility of their neighbors and reporting any suspicious behavior to the authorities. But that was not all. Other state agencies, including the police, had internal units dedicated to family planning. If they found out a woman was pregnant with a second child, the police would take her by force to an abortion clinic. As Fong revealed in her book, in just one year, 1983, the CCP forced 20 million women to undergo sterilization. Twenty million people is more than the population of the entire state of New York. Post-Natal Infanticide Some women who got pregnant by mistake or wanted a second child would try to get around the restrictions by going into hiding. Government officials would do everything they could to track them down. If they were caught, they would be forced into have late-term abortions. Post-natal infanticide was also a common practice. The doctors would inject poison directly into the babys skull to kill it, one lawyer, Chen Guangcheng, from Linyi city in Shandong, now living in the United States, told a reporter last year. Chen said that if the abortion failed or a family exceeded the one-child rule, The doctors strangled or drowned those babies. Lisas Story My wife and I have a close friend named Lisa. Her daughter is 24 and her son is 22. She lives in Canada now but her children were born in China. When she got pregnant for the second time, 22 years ago, she had to go into hiding. The family planning police went to all the places they suspected she was hiding to try to find her. It was like a horror movie. Her son was born a crime. He lived his young life as a non-registered person, which meant that he could not go to school, until Lisa and her husband did well in business so that they had enough money to bribe school officials. Lisa and her husband were the lucky ones. But they are still traumatized by that experience, all these years later. Pressuring Women to Have More Children By 2013, the CCP had announced that 336 million abortions and 196 million sterilizations had been done under their one-child policies, according to The Guardian. This brutality went on for decades. Then, in late 2015, the end of the one-child policy was announced. The CCP decided the population was declining and China needed more children. They backpedaled on the one-child policy. Starting in 2016, the Chinese government began allowing families to have two children. In fact, couples were pressured into have two children even when they only wanted one. In a surprising move in May 2021 the CCP got even less restrictive. Premarital sex is shamed in China, as is abortion before marriage; but married couples in China were suddenly permitted to have up to three children. There is no choice in China. There is no respect for human life. A womans body and her womb are tools for the CCPs ideologya way for them to exercise their power both domestically and internationally. Your Body Is the Property of the Chinese State In China, to this day, your body does not belong to you. Your unborn child is not a sovereign being. Both your body and your child are the property of the state. Its important to be able to debate when life begins, the importance of choice, and whether each state should decide how to implement healthcare or if the central government should be in control. But those of us who have lived through and been terrorized by CCP policies want people in the West to know how much worse it could get. Forced abortion and infanticide have no place in a free and fair democracy. Most people understand that. But with the increasing erosion of freedomsoften perpetuated by the so-called woke culturethe West may be heading down a slippery slope. The free world must not silence open discussion or clamp down on the right to protest and assemble openly. Whether you support life or choice, we must speak out against the barbaric practices of the CCP. Womens wombs must not be weaponized. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A cardboard cut-out of Chinese president Xi Jinping holding a yellow umbrella, the symbol of the movement, is seen outside a tent used by pro-democracy protesters at the Admiralty protest site on Nov. 13, 2014, in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's high court authorized police to arrest protesters who obstruct bailiffs on the three interim restraining orders. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) Xi Jinpings Visit to Hong Kong: 400 Guests Emails Leaked Commentator: 30,000 police officers deployed With just a day to go before the 25th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kongs sovereignty on July 1, it is widely rumoured that Chinese leader Xi Jinping will visit Hong Kong for two days on June 30 and July 1 to administer the oath and swear-in of the new government officials. The trip will include visiting the Science Park. Several media outlets recently reported that the Home Affairs Bureaus Celebration Coordination Office did not use the blind carbon copy function when sending out an email on June 26 to the guests attending the event about the pandemic prevention measures, thus leaking the personal emails of more than 400 guests. Those include the Chief Secretary for Administration-designate (and current Director of the Chief Executive Office), Eric Chan Kwok-ki; Executive Council member-designate, Eliza Chan Ching-har; and a host of Legislative Councillors. CCP Media Did Not Mention Going to Hong Kong On June 25, the mouthpiece of Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Xinhua News Agency announced that Xi Jinping, the leader of CCP, will attend the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Hong Kongs sovereignty handover and the inauguration ceremony of the sixth government of the Hong Kong government. Compared with five years ago, this years CCP media press release lacks the specific date of Xis visit to Hong Kong, the words going to Hong Kong and inspection are also missing. The recent rebound of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, with nearly 2,000 daily confirmed new cases, aroused lots of people within Hong Kongs political circles to speculate whether Xi would only attend the event by video. Visit Hong Kong For 2 Days Based on multiple media sources, Xi is expected to take the high-speed rail to Hong Kong for the event on June 30 and July 1, but will return to Shenzhen on the same day and will not stay overnight in Hong Kong. On the evening of June 30, Chief Executive Carrie Lam initially scheduled a banquet at the Government House to entertain Xi, the current and incoming key officials would also be present. On July 1, Xi will attend the celebration to swear in the 6th Chief Executive and key government officials. In addition, it is rumoured that Xi will visit the Shatin Science Park. The Science Park Facilities Management Office issued a notice stating that an Innovation and Technology Event will be held in the Science Park on June 30, and many companies in the Science Park have arranged for their employees to work from home on that day. In order to strengthen the prevention of the pandemic, some government officials have been in hotels for so called closed-loop management since June 27. The outgoing Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, already started to stay at the Wanchai Grand Hyatt Hotel on June 27. The other officials also stayed at the Wanchai Renaissance Harbour View Hotel and the Grand Hyatt Hotel. They can continue to use the point-to-point mechanism to return to the office for work, but they can only attend the meetings by video and have to dine in office only. Commentator: Innovation and Technology Zone promotion Some predict Xi may take this chance to propose plans for the Nansha Innovation and Technology Zone. Current affairs commentator Stephen Shiu Yeuk-yuen said that Xi plans to visit the Science Park to express the importance that he attaches to innovation and technology. He will also make a keynote speech, intended to drive and hope to boost the confidence of Hong Kong from the outside world. The key message is likely to be, Look, Hong Kong has been managed well, and it has a bright future! Shiu estimates that Xis speech may also refer to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau cooperation plan, which intends to combine Guangzhou Nansha, Hong Kong and Macau into an innovation and technology zone. However, he predicts such a plan will be another unfinished project and suffer the same fate as Xis Xiongan New Town programme in Beijing: started fervently, stopped halfway, and remained unfinished until you know when. All the above predictions notwithstanding, on June 14, Raymond Siu Chak-yee, current Commissioner of Police, revealed that the police had started planning the security work for the 2022 July 1st event since the beginning of 2021. To ensure a foolproof event, his force will be in full mobilisation mode and are always in full alert. Special commando units, support staff, auxiliary police and the likes are deployed. Additional civilian staff members will also be on duty to look out for suspicious persons or objects. According to the previous, when Hu Jintao visited Hong Kong in 2012, the force dispatched nearly 3,000 police; when Xi Jinping visited Hong Kong in 2017, they dispatched nearly 10,000. Stephen Shius analysis: According to Raymond Sius general mobilization statement, if Xi visits Hong Kong on July 1, 2022, there will be nearly 30,000 police officers deployed, a tenfold increase. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LITCHFIELD A Connecticut attorney charged with manslaughter told a police dispatcher he shot the man in the head after he was assaulted and threatened in the parking lot of his local law firm, according to a 911 call immediately following the June 2021 incident. Attorney Robert Fisher, 76, was breathing heavily when he called 911 on June 7, 2021 to report he had just shot another man in the head in the parking lot of his Litchfield law firm on West Street, according to 911 calls obtained Wednesday by Hearst Connecticut Media Group through a public records request. A man just assaulted me and I shot him, Fisher told the dispatcher, according to the five-minute recording. Hes lying on his back on the pavement bleeding, I shot him in the head, Fisher told the dispatcher, according to the recording. Focus on your breathing, the dispatcher said. Where is the gun now? Its on top of my car, I just put it there, Fisher responded. Fisher, a Goshen resident, was charged May 4 with first-degree manslaughter with a firearm in the death of 39-year-old Matthew Bromley, of Torrington. The shooting occurred after Bromley began arguing and hitting the attorney, witnesses said, according to Fishers arrest warrant. But bystanders told investigators they did not believe Fisher was in any immediate danger and the altercation had stopped when the attorney pulled out a gun, according to witness accounts in the arrest warrant affidavit. Fisher was ordered last month by a Litchfield Superior Court Judge to surrender his firearms. He is free on $50,000 bond. Fisher claims the shooting was in self-defense and even the forensic evidence in the warrant supports our position, his attorney William Conti said during his arraignment last month in Litchfield Superior Court. Conti also said Fisher will enter a plea of not guilty when he next appears in court on July 8. Fisher was already in the process of transferring his firearms to his daughter when the judge told him he couldnt possess them while the case is pending, Conti said. Bromley had followed Fisher before parking and approaching the attorney as he was sitting in his car, Fisher said in a statement to police. According to witness accounts, Bromley approached Fisher and began arguing with him before slapping and punching the older man while saying he wanted to kill him because he had ruined his life, the warrant stated. His face was totally angry, enraged and he seemed crazy to me, Fisher said in the statement to police, according to the warrant. I immediately became fearful for my safety and my life and I knew I needed to defend myself. During the 911 call, Fisher said a man followed me into the driveway, opened my door, punched me in the face and said he was going to kill me. Fisher mentioned that his face was swollen and bleeding, but he was doing better than the other man, who he described to the dispatcher as breathing but otherwise not moving, according to the 911 recording. The attorney also informed the dispatcher that he had a gun permit. It all happened so fast, he said. He told me he was going to kill me, Fisher told the dispatcher. He said I was going to burn in hell. Fisher later told investigators he had pulled out his gun expecting Bromley to back off, but instead the younger man tried to grab his arm so he shot him, the warrant said. Witnesses told police they did not see Bromley grab for Fisher once the gun had been drawn, the warrant said. The men were about 5 to 6 feet apart when Fisher first lifted the gun and pointed it at Bromleys neck, the warrant said. A neighbor who also called 911 to report the incident could see Fisher standing over Bromleys body, but didnt witness the shooting. Theres a guy lying in the back parking lot, hes on the ground bleeding. It looks like he was shot in the head, the man told the dispatcher in a separate 911 call. It remains unclear how and why the altercation started. According to the arrest warrant, the two mens only known previous interaction came weeks earlier when Bromley called the law firm and briefly spoke with Fisher about purchasing his mothers home that was in foreclosure. A Vietnam veteran, Fisher is a partner in Cramer & Andersons Washington Depot office, according to the practices website. He focuses mostly on residential and commercial real estate law along with land use law and environmental matters. Staff writer Christine Dempsey contributed to this story. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) A Danish Parliament-appointed commission has harshly criticized the country's government for its decision to cull millions of healthy mink at the height of the coronavirus pandemic to protect humans from a mutation of the virus. The 2020 decision to wipe out Denmark's entire captive mink population had stirred strong controversy, particularly as the necessary legislation to allow such a drastic move was put in place more than a month after the cull had started. In its report released Thursday, the commission said Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was grossly misleading during a Nov. 4 press conference when she announced that all mink infected and healthy animals alike should be culled. The report also criticized other top Danish officials. The culling of up to 17 million animals was ordered after a mutated version of the coronavirus was found in farms in northern Denmark and infected 11 people. Although there was no evidence that the mutated version was more dangerous, the government said it moved proactively. Frederiksen, who heads a minority Social Democratic government, has insisted that she didnt know the decision was unlawful, saying it was based on a very serious risk assessment. The commission also said in its 1,649-page report that Mogens Jensen, the minister in charge of farming who eventually resigned over the mink cull, gave incorrect information. The findings could ultimately mean that lawmakers decide whether current or former members of government should get a reprimand or face impeachment proceedings that are rarely used in Denmark. Although that could take days, if not weeks, the publication of the report was top news in Denmark. Frederiksen who with other key officials has been interviewed by the commission set up in December 2020 is scheduled to hold a press conference Friday on the issue. The three-member commission also recommended in its report that 10 top civil servants should face disciplinary actions. Frederiksen's government announced the cull in early November 2020. Jensen resigned Nov. 18, hours after a first probe made it clear that the necessary legislation wasnt in place , and the government scrambled to build political consensus. On Dec. 25, 2020, a parliament majority finally voted the legislation enabling the culling . The following month, lawmakers granted mink farmers a compensation of nearly 19 billion kroner ($2.7 billion). Danish mink farms were the worlds biggest supplier of mink fur, accounting for 40% of global production. Most of exports went to China. ___ Follow APs coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) The mother of a U.S. military veteran who went missing after he traveled to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia has spoken with her son by telephone, the family said Wednesday. Lois Bunny Drueke, of Tuscaloosa, answered a call from what appeared to be a Russian exchange and talked to son Alex Drueke on Tuesday for nearly 10 minutes in their first conversation since he and Andy Huynh, another Alabama veteran who traveled to Ukraine, were captured after a fight earlier this month in Ukraine. Apparently at the prompting of his captors, Drueke said the people holding him were anxious to begin negotiations and that he had food, water and bedding, Bunny Drueke said in a statement released by her family. He sounded tired and stressed, and he was clearly reciting some things he had been made to practice or read, but it was wonderful to hear his voice and know hes alive and alright, she said. Drueke said he hadn't been in contact with Huynh for several days, according to the woman. The United States has said both men should be protected as prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. Huyhn's fiance, Joy Black, said his family was thrilled the Drueke was able to speak with his mother. We are still hoping to get a similar communication from Andy, she said. Druke and Huynh didn't return to a meeting spot after their group came under heavy fire in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border on June 9. The two traveled separately to help Ukraine and became buddies there in part because of their shared Alabama background, relatives have said. The U.S. State Department said it was looking into reports that Russian or Russian-backed separatist forces in Ukraine had captured at least two American citizens. If confirmed, they would be the first Americans fighting for Ukraine known to have been captured since the war began Feb. 24. The announcement that U.S. Steel is considering the sale of the iron-making side of its Granite City Works facility would mean the closure of much of the steel-processing side of the plant and the elimination of about 1,000 jobs starting in 2024. On Tuesday the company announced tentative plans to sell the two blast furnaces at the U.S. Steel-Granite City Works to SunCoke Energy Inc., which operates a facility in Granite City providing coke for operation, and the signing of a non-binding letter of intent with the other company. Dan Simmons, president of United Steelworkers of America Local 1899 called the announcement a betrayal of workers. Company officials said it was a necessary move and part of a larger company-wide strategy. The local represents about 1,400 union workers at the plant and as well as 500 more at other local companies. "Our conviction remains that steel mined, melted, and made in America is vital to our national and economic security," David B. Burritt, president and CEO of U.S. Steel, said in a prepared statement. We are strategically investing in our raw materials that will feed the advanced steel mills of today and tomorrow, making us increasingly self-sufficient," he said. "Its another way that were supporting domestic manufacturing, simplifying complex global supply chains, addressing the sustainability demands of our customers, and ultimately creating profitable steel solutions for people and the planet." State Rep. Amy Elik, R- Fosterburg, called the news "devastating. These are good-paying union jobs," she said. "We cant keep losing manufacturing jobs. Our state needs to do everything it can to create more jobs in the Metro East. I am fully committed to growing our manufacturing base right here in the Metro East and will continue to support policies that do just that. The announcement was met by concern from elected and business officials. "Any announcement with US Steel has a big impact on the region, Granite City Mayor Michael Parkinson said in a released statement. Like many elected officials, I am evaluating the impact to Granite City. Preliminary reports initially call for more investment and property taxes for us with potential long-term job impact more on the Metro-East region, he added. We need to build a strong Granite and region so working with our elected officials is important for me." Rosemarie Brown, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce of Southwestern Madison County, said they found out about U.S. Steels plans Tuesday from press releases by the company and United Steel Workers of America. Steel manufacturing has been a vital part of this area and has benefited our entire region since 1895, she said in a released statement. However, we are not blind to the fact that change is inevitable. This Chamber will continue to look at the future with cautious optimism, as we continue to work tirelessly for our business community and our dedicated workforce. SunCoke has been operating the coke plant, a vital part of the steelmaking process, since it was built in about 2009. In one form or another Granite City Works has been a major presence in the city since the 1890s. As part of the agreement SunCoke would build a 2-million-ton granulated pig iron production facility. U.S. Steel would supply the iron ore for the facility from its mines and have the right to 100 percent of the pig iron production for the next 10 years. The pig-iron would be used in production at electric arc furnaces (EAF) at other locations. If everything goes according to plan, permitting and construction would take about two years. Jobs would not be impacted until that was completed, tentatively in 2024. The company is placing a great deal of emphasis on EAFs. Part of the reason for the switch is that EAFs are more carbon-friendly, and part of the companys plans to reduce emissions. Amanda Malkowski, media relations manager for Pittsburg-based U.S. Steel, confirmed Wednesday that the move would eventually mean the closure of much of the steel-processing side of the Granite City plant and the loss of two-thirds of the jobs at the facility. She said the Galvalume Finishing Line would continue operating, but other steelmaking operations will eventually idle, specifically citing the hot strip mill. Being self-sufficient as a company is really critical, she added. We want to have control of our supply of pig iron as much as possible. The deal with SunCoke, if it goes through, would give us 100 percent of the pig iron production. Simmons said the announcement has "grave future implications" for the members of the United Steelworkers employed by USS at its Granite City Works, as well as all Granite City residents. The announced potential agreement could cause the permanent shutdown of the steel making and finishing operations at the Granite City Works, he added. The result will be the permanent loss of close to 1,000 jobs at The Mill. He called the potential shutdown a betrayal by U.S. Steel that would abandon Granite City workers responsible in part for its record profitability. Simmons said the company relied on the activism and support of its employees and Granite City residents during the fight against the dumping of foreign steel on American markets. As essential workers during the COVID epidemic, he said workers contributed towards the record profits of the company. He said Granite City Works is a very efficient plant, but U.S. Steel now fails to meet its obligation" to invest in it. Instead, he said, the firm will take the wealth created by its workers and invest in facilities in Arkansas while closing steel operations here. Simmons called on the company to meet with union officials to discuss alternatives to the drastic impact on workers and the community The steel mill has been in operation in one form or another since the mid-1890s. It was originally part of the National Enamel Stamping Corp., or NESCO, which produced the enameled granite-ware that gave the city its name. After World War II demand for enamelware was drastically reduced and the industry eventually faded. But the mill remained as Granite City Steel and was later taken over by National Steel Corp. At its peak employment in the late 1970s, the mill and related operations had more than 2,500 workers. However, a major downturn in the steel industry in the early 1980s cause major restructuring. Yet while there were far fewer workers, production increased as the operation became much more efficient. In the early 2000s National Steel went into bankruptcy and sold its assets to U.S. Steel. Because it sold assets only, U.S. Steel did not have to take on any of the legacy costs that had plagued the steel industry for decades. Because of market conditions, the plant has been idled twice, in 2009 and 2015. In 2018 then-President Donald Trump visited the facility after putting tariffs in place that company officials said were directly responsible for the facilitys full reopening. According to the American Iron and Steel Institute, an industry trade group, U.S. Steel production year-to-date is about 44.16 million net tons, a decrease of 2 percent over last year. ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) Gunmen attacked a local mining site in northcentral Nigeria, killing many security personnel and abducting some workers including four Chinese nationals, authorities said on Thursday. The attackers on Wednesday evening invaded the mining site in Shiroro council area of Niger state which is prone to such attacks and opened fire on those present before fleeing with some staffers including the Chinese, according to Emmanuel Umar, the state commissioner for security. A security team deployed to respond to the attack engaged the terrorists and there was a yet-to-be-determined number of casualties from both sides, said Umar. Locals and authorities in Shiroro told The Associated Press that bodies are still being recovered and the death toll remains unclear because of how remote the area is. The Niger governor's office said in a different statement that many security personnel lost their lives in the attack. Security forces mobilized reinforcement for the manhunt of the remaining terrorists and rescue of the injured victims including security personnel that sustained various degrees of injuries have been taken to a government medical facility in the state for treatment, the official said of the attack in the state which borders Abuja, Nigerias capital. Authorities did not disclose the name of the company, the latest affected in attacks targeting foreigners over the years in Nigeria though not as frequent as they used to be. Three Chinese nationals were abducted in a similar attack in Niger state earlier this year while working at a hydroelectric power plant. In November, Chinese authorities issued a travel advisory warning their citizens and companies against travel to high-risk areas in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. Wednesdays attack is the latest incident in a cycle of violence that has claimed hundreds of lives in the past year. A growing kidnap-for-ransom syndrome has also seen more victims held in captivity for months, including dozens kidnapped in a train attack near the capital city in March. The state of Nigerias security has deteriorated under President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired military general who became president in 2015. Frequent attacks in the northwest and northcentral parts of Nigeria are blamed on armed groups that authorities have said are mostly young semi-nomadic herdsmen from the Fulani tribe in conflict with farming communities over limited access to water and land. Some of the rebellious herdsmen are now working with Islamist extremist rebels in the country's northeast in targeting remote communities. BANGKOK (AP) Japanese beverage giant Kirin Holdings plans to transfer its stake in Myanmar Brewery to the joint venture in a share buyback transaction. That will leave its local partner Myanma Economic Holdings Plc. with full control of the company. Kirin said the share buyback agreement took into account its employees and other stakeholders and would be the fastest way to exit the venture. Human rights groups criticized the move. Kirin said in an emailed statement that it had no intention" to give 100% control of Myanmar Brewery to Myanma Economic Holdings, or MEHL, however the deal will leave MEHL as the only shareholder until it finds its next joint venture partner." Kirin announced shortly after a military takeover in February 2021 that it intended to pull out of the brewery venture, but reported various problems in reaching an agreement with the local partner on how to withdraw. The latest plan was the best of three options that also included liquidating the brewery or selling its stake to another company, it said. The transfer of the 51% stake held by Kirin Holdings Singapore Pte, a subsidiary of Kirin Holdings, will give Myanma Economic Holdings full control of Myanmar Brewery. Kirin said it was withdrawing from another venture, Mandalay Brewery, under a similar arrangement. The U.S. Treasury designated Myanma Economic Holdings Public Co. Ltd. and Myanmar Economic Corporation Limited (MEC) for sanctions in March 2021, noting that the military controls significant segments of the countrys economy through those holding firms. The companies dominate key industries including trading, natural resources, alcohol, cigarettes, and consumer goods, providing vital revenue to the military, it said. Human rights advocates have been urging foreign investors to leave ventures in Myanmar to avoid complicity in paying taxes or revenue to entities controlled by the military-led leadership, which faces widespread public opposition to its takeover. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a private organization that tracks government killings and arrests, says more than 2,000 civilians have been killed by Myanmars security forces since the army takeover. The military also is battling anti-government guerrillas in the countryside. At the same time, sales of stakes in such ventures to state enterprises like MEHL have drawn criticism. The decision to hand control of Myanmar Brewery and Mandalay Brewery to Myanma Economic Holdings Ltd. is a windfall for the Myanmar military and will ensure a continued stream of revenue to finance atrocity crimes," Yadanar Maung of the group Justice for Myanmar said in a statement. The responsible move is to deny funds to the Myanmar military and remedy negative impacts to workers through compensation," the statement said. The deal requires approval by the Myanmar government. Estimates of the loss and income from the share transfer were still subject to change, Kirin said. MOMENTUM, A United State Agency For International Development - funded International health partner, in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria is set to repair over 20 Obstetric Fistula patients free in Ebonyi State. The development was part of a 3-week training on Obstetric Fistula management and treatment for some medical Doctors in the State. The training which kicked off on Monday at the National Obstetric Fistula Centre, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State Capital, targeted 15 surgeons. Speaking to our correspondent at the venue of the event, the Clinical Specialist for Momentum Safe surgery Project in family planning and Obstetrics, Dr Bartholomew Odio, decried the high prevalence of Vesicovaginal fistula cases in Nigeria in general, and Ebonyi State in particular. He noted that inadequate specialist doctors in the field has continued to pose serious challenge in fistula treatment and management in the country, adding that the training was aimed at building the capacity of the doctors to help tackle the menace. Odio explained: "Momentum Safe surgery Project in family planning and and Obstetrics is a USAID- funded project implemented by Engender Health. "Our three focus areas include Safe ceaserian surgery, Fistula prevention and management and female genital mutilation prevention and management. "Nigeria has fistula prevalence of about 150, 000 cases, with annual incidence of about 12,000. "About 20 facilities where Fistula repair is being done, every year, they repair about 5,000 cases. "So, you can see that at that rate, it will take us up to 30 years to finish the backlog, talk less of the new ones. "The Federal Ministry of Health developed a training manual to train doctors and nurses. "We are here in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, and also the State government to test run that manual. "We are training about 15 Doctors on how to repair fistula. "Also, we are going to use this opportunity to repair fistula cases, and we are planning to repair between 20 and 25 cases during this period." The Lead facilitator in the training, and the Project Director, Evangel Vesicovaginal Fistula Centre, Associate Professor Sunday Leman, observed that the major cause of fistula in Nigeria was prolonged and obstructed Labour. Leman said: "When women go into labour and stay for much longer time, two to three days, it leads to devitalization of tissues around the bladder and the vagina which could degenerate, leading to leakage of urine. He however, noted that the high prevalence of fistula in Ebonyi State particularly, was due to surgeries by quacks and inexperienced medical practitioners, and advised women to avoid patronizing quacks for Caesarean section. "But specifically in Ebonyi State, studies have shown that caesarean section is the main cause of fistula. "Where the Doctor is qualified, appropriate medical equipments may be lacking. "That often result to complications leading to fistula" Leman stressed. The Lead facilitator who said he was designated by the Federal Ministry of Health and International partners to produce the training manual, further noted that the training has both the theoretical and practical sessions which would be used to repair the fistula patients. The representative of the Federal Ministry of Health, Joy Angwa, explained that the training manual was developed with support from UNFPA and the West African Health Organization, while Engender Health was collaborating with the Ministry to pilot the training with the document. "The essence is to identify and fill possible gaps, so that at the end of this training, it will be a generally acceptable as a national training document for doctors and nurses on Obstetric fistula, Angwe said. Angwe, from the Fistula branch of the Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja, noted that apart from such trainings and free repairs with International partners, the Federal Ministry of Health has developed other policies and programmes to help curb fistula. "We have our National Strategic framework that outlined the seven priority areas of prevention, treatment, research, communications, rehabilitation, among others. "We also work around the States on supportive supervision, awareness and sensitization. "Right now, the Ministry has a proposal to establish more National fistula centres, at least one in each of the senatorial zones with a National regional centre proposed in Ibadan. The Ministry has also written to the State Ministries of Health to establish and maintain at least, one fistula unit in a government hospital in the State" she enumerated. One of the participants, a consultant Obstetrician Gynaecologist, Dr. Nkiruka Nwidagu, expressed happiness with the training, adding that knowledge was a dynamic phenomenon. She noted that many women were down with fistula at the centre, deserving care, and advised people against bad Obstetric practices. Nwidagu, in charge of Obstetric and Gynaecology unit of NOFIC, Abakaliki, stressed that ending fistula demands collective effort. Momentum has its Project in 5 States in Nigeria: Ebonyi, Sokoto, Kebbi, Bauchi and FCT, but the training was being piloted only in 2 States: Ebonyi State, for Doctors, and Bauchi for Nurses. President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated his promise to have a free hand in the forthcoming general elections in Nigeria. President Buhari made this disclosure while speaking on Wednesday night in Lisbon, Portugal. He said his administration is committed to ensure that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) delivers peaceful, transparent, free, fair and credible elections next year. The President who spoke at a meeting with representatives of Nigerians living in Portugal, said with the conclusion of the primaries of the political parties, all eyes are now on the 2023 elections in Nigeria. We also look forward to a smooth transition to the next government. As I have said before, our Administration will not compromise on doing the right things and the welfare of Nigerians, home and abroad, the President was quoted. Referencing the last governorship elections in Anambra and Ekiti State, the President noted that this administration has proven consistently its zero tolerance for interference in elections and insistence that Nigerians should be allowed to vote for the party and candidate of their choice. He also cautioned the diaspora against the use of social media to insult and incite from a safe and anonymous distance, urging thempl to always promote Nigerias unity. In his words, The world is a global village and technology has shrunk the world even more. Although you reside beyond Nigerias boundaries you can engage easily with the country. In fact, we see the impact of that engagement clearly on social media. This platform has empowered Nigerians in the diaspora and given you great influence. As we have seen, however, social media can be a force for good as well as a force for evil. Many countries, including our own have had to take strong measures against some social media platforms to curb their excesses and prevent them from destabilizing our societies. I, therefore, call upon you to use social media responsibly. We all want the best for our country and people, so let us strive to build, unite and prosper our nation and people and not to insult and incite from a safe and anonymous distance. President Buhari expressed delight in the successful involvement of the Diaspora in various fields such as agriculture, health care, education, ICT, and the food industry in Nigeria. He noted that many countries, including Nigeria, have shown that their diaspora can be a veritable engine for growth and development. In every field of human endeavour, be it the creative industries, sports, health, academia, Nigerians in the diaspora have thrived and leveraged on their skills to raise our countrys profile higher, economically, socially, technologically and culturally. It is for these reasons that this Government established the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) to facilitate and support your engagement with our country for a win-win outcome in our effort to keep Nigerians united at home and abroad. You must continue to be our ambassadors-at-large in your comportment, actions and character. You must excel and be the best in all your endeavours. While here, you must also not forget home as you are the example we want to project to the rest of the world. The Nigerian military has pledged its readiness to prioritize conflict management and reduce civilian harm in face of the insurgency. The Commandant National Defence College Nigeria Rear Admiral Murtala Bashir, during a workshop on the protection of civilians in a challenging environment organized by the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC)in collaboration with the Alumni Association of the National Defense College (AANDEC), said violence against civilians is an unintended consequence of conflict however he stated that civilians harm perpetrated by security forces will not be tolerated. One of the ways to Mitigate civilians harm is this kind of workshop training where we get the middle officers who are in the theatre of operation to sensitize them on their primary responsibility of protecting the civilians. "We are totally against Human rights abuses by security agencies. The Armed Forces of Nigeria does not condone such irresponsible acts. Anyone that does that will not go free," he warned. Speaking, the Country Director, CIVIC Nigeria, Mr Benson Olugbuo, stressed that the protection of civilians in a security environment is of utmost importance due to the prevalence of conflict across the country. He urged security agencies to keep to their duty of ensuring the protection of lives and properties while mitigating possibilities of civilian harm during security operations. He said: In cases of the unavoidable arm, the military should make it formal by owning up to it and ensuring that it doesnt happen again and those who were harmed should be given the needed support to go back to the former status there were. "If you dont have civilians, there is no need for security agencies hence security agents should intentionally ensure they prioritize the protection of civilians," he added. Olugbuo noted that the reason for the workshop is to ensure that the military obeys the rules of engagement during security operations. Speaking on Civilians arming themselves against the bandits, he reminds us that the law permits civilians to arm themselves as long as its licensed but the problem is where everyone is allowed to have arm and no regulation is a recipe for disaster "The provisions of the law should still be followed knowing too well that it is the primary responsibility of the state to protect lives and property. If the state has failed, let them tell the citizens so that they can take care of their security but as long as theres a security agency, the issue of having guns should be regulated," he further said. The CIVIC boss reiterated that it is the primary responsibility of the government to protect the lives and properties of the citizens, but said in situations where they are inactive or unable to do that, they should unregulate what is currently regulated. Also speaking, Air Commodore Darlington Abdullahi (rtd), President Alumni Association of the National Defence College, called on the civilians to collaborate with the military by sharing credible information and effective communication that would help fight the insurgents He said, The kind of harm civilians face, needs to be minimised thats why we want to encourage the middle-level officers of the military, police and other paramilitary agencies to endeavour to protect civilians as much as possible because they look up to the security agencies for protection and if we fail them, they will begin to lose hope in the society. "Communications between the military and the civilians need to be effective. The civil populist must learn to communicate with security agencies, especially in terms of information dissemination. The civil populists must not harm the security agencies by giving the information that is dangerous to the military in terms of revealing Military locations to the insurgents, he concluded. On 10th June 2022, the Kenya government, citizens and political leaders were all in a song and dance because the then newly elected Prescient of somalia had now allowed Kenya to begin exporting miraa to Somalia. Kenya's miraa export to Somalia had been banned by the out-going Somalia President due to some diplomatic tiffs between Kenya and Somalia. Yes, it is good this business has been restored but what are it is benefits to Pan- African socio-economic welfare? Miraa, a naturally growing herb in Kenya and Ethiopia is a drug which affects the brain of the user. Long consumption of miraa alters consciousness of the user, causes; insomnia, disconnected brain functionality , impaired sexuality, addictiveness and poor quality in public decision making. Some academic researches on miraa have revealed that there is strong positive correlation between continued use of miraa and poor academic as well as professional performance, involvement in petty crimes, domestic violence, traffic offenses as well as poor quality of public life. Hence, Kenya as a country that supports pan African spirit in the social economic sense , should not find it economically logical to celebrate extensive export of miraa to Somalia. Somalia is now in economic tartars. It has no currency, no stock exchange market, a dysfunctional central bank, it has the highest number of illiterate population in the world, it has smallest number of hospitals, it has no local professionals, it has a no factories, no girls' schools, no tvet institutions, it has poor security, poor state of infrastructure, it has zero percent of vaccination against polio, negative attitude towards family planning and zero tolerance to modern reproductive health services. Thus, it is more logical for Somalia to give priorities to import things that can improve welfare and quality of life of its people, but not to import miraa which will make the youth of somalia to become helpless junkies. Yes, miraa is a source of income for the people of Meru County in Kenya. But we should not build Meru by destroying Somalia. Meru County can still export milk , coffee, meat, expatriates, technicians, potatoes, nurses, and teachers to Somalia, not necessarily miraa. Thus, Kenya must soul-search its trade relationship with Somalia to find a morally palatable business to do with Somalia but not to impose a socially destructive drug like miraa to the young people of Somalia. Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State was reported to have departed Turkey for France to meet the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Environment and Water Resources, Joe Igbokwe, disclosed this on his Facebook handle on Thursday. Igbokwe said while they were on social media abusing everybody, Wike has gone to France to meet Tinubu. He said: While they are on Social Media abusing everybody Gov Wike goes to France to meet Asiwaju. Abuse, calling names, hate and bigotry are no strategy. They hated and abused PMB since 2015 and now they have transferred the aggression to Asiwaju. We wait and see. Governor Wike, a Peoples Democratic Party presidential aspirant in the just concluded primary, had been at a loggerhead with the PDP since he lost the presidential ticket to Atiku Abubakar. Atiku jettisoned Wike when he chose Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta as running mate. His associates and friends, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue on Tuesday said he was still praying and fasting to know if God wanted him to support Atiku or not. Similarly, former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose had also declared that, in 2023, it is southern presidency or nothing. Expanding NATO squares up to Russia as Putin slams imperial alliance MADRID: The United States vowed yesterday (June 29) to reinforce Europes defences in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine, as NATO declared Moscow the Wests greatest threat - prompting Vladimir Putin to lash out at the alliances imperial ambitions. RussianUkraineviolencedeathmilitarypolitics By AFP Thursday 30 June 2022, 08:34AM (From left) Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finlands President Sauli Niinisto, Swedens Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde posing for pictures after signing a memorandum during a NATO summit in Madrid yesterday (June 29). Photo: AFP Meeting in Madrid, NATO leaders said Russia is the most significant and direct threat to allies security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area. This came as NATO welcomed Sweden and Finland as invitees to join the alliance, and US President Joe Biden announced new deployments of US troops, ships and planes. Biden boasted that the US move was exactly what Putin didnt want - and Moscow, facing fierce resistance from Ukrainian forces equipped with Western arms, reacted with predictable fury. Putin accused the alliance of seeking to assert its supremacy, telling journalists in the Turkmenistan capital of Ashgabat that Ukraine and its people are a means for NATO to defend their own interests. The NATO countries leaders wish to... assert their supremacy, their imperial ambitions, the Russian president added. NATO leaders have funnelled billions of dollars of arms to Ukraine and faced a renewed appeal from President Volodymyr Zelensky for more long-range artillery. Ukraine can count on us for as long as it takes, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said, announcing a new NATO strategic overview that focuses on the Moscow threat. The document, updated for the first time since 2010, warned that the alliance cannot discount the possibility of an attack on its members. No problem Today in Madrid, NATO proved it can take difficult but essential decisions. We welcome a clear-eyed stance on Russia, as well as the accession for Finland and Sweden, Ukraines foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said. Sweden and Finland, which abandoned decades of military non-alignment in response to the invasion to seek NATO membership, were officially invited in yesterday. Putin dismissed the move as no problem. We dont have problems with Sweden and Finland like we do with Ukraine... They can join whatever they want, he said in Ashgabat. In Ukraine, officials said that Russian missiles had hit civilian housing and businesses in and around the cities of Dnipro, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv, leaving at least seven dead and 14 wounded. The Russian defence ministry said the Kharkiv attack had hit Ukrainian command centres and a training base for foreign mercenaries. And it said it had inflicted severe casualties on Ukrainian troops defending the town of Lysychansk in Lugansk, one of the two provinces that make up the large eastern Donbas region. The frequency of the shelling there is enormous, the regional governor of Lugansk, Sergiy Gaiday, said in televised comments yesterday, adding that the evacuation of some 15,000 civilians still in the city might be dangerous at the moment. Lugansk and Donetsk, also in the Donbas, are breakaway states that have escaped Kyivs control since 2014. Moscow recognised their independence in February - and yesterday Russias ally Syria became the only other nation to do so. The move prompted Zelensky to immediately break off ties with Damascus. There will no longer be relations between Ukraine and Syria, he said in a video posted on Telegram. In Kremenchuk, the town where a Russian missile on Monday destroyed a shopping centre and killed at least 18 civilians, clearing operations continued. A giant crane was working near the site of impact, and in the rubble-strewn parking area shopping trolleys piled with clothes and household goods lay abandoned. Western leaders have dubbed the Kremenchuk strike a war crime. Russia says it hit a depot storing Western arms, and Putin yesterday denied Moscows forces were responsible for the strike on the shopping centre. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said that 144 of their soldiers, most of them former defenders of the Azovstal steelworks in the southern port city of Mariupol, had been freed in a prisoner swap with Moscow. Exactly what he didnt want Moscows invasion triggered massive economic sanctions and a wave of support for Zelenskys government, including deliveries of advanced weapons, as well as the reinforcement of Europes defences. Washington has announced that it will shift the headquarters of its 5th Army Corps to Poland. An army brigade will rotate in and out of Romania, two squadrons of F-35 fighters will deploy to Britain, US air defence systems will be sent to Germany and Italy, and the fleet of US Navy destroyers in Spain will grow from four to six. Thats exactly what he didnt want but exactly what needs to be done to guarantee security for Europe, Biden said, of Putins efforts to roll back Western influence and re-establish influence or control over territories of the former Russian empire. Britain also pledged another US$1.2 billion in military aid for Ukraine yesterday, including air defence systems and drones. And Norway said it would donate three multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine, following similar decisions made by Britain, Germany and the United States. Meanwhile, Indonesian President Joko Widodo became the first Asian leader to visit Kyiv since Russia invaded on Feb 24. Zelensky said he had accepted an invitation to attend the upcoming G20 summit in Bali, depending on the security situation - and on the guest list. It is not clear whether Putin will be invited in November, with some capitals pushing for his exclusion. Special insurance coverage for COVID-19 patients to end BANGKOK: Medical services for COVID-19 patients must be paid for by their own or by pre-existing health insurance schemes after Thailand enters a post-pandemic stage tomorrow (July 1), the government said. CoronavirusCOVID-19health By Bangkok Post Thursday 30 June 2022, 08:19AM Photo: Bangkok Post. National Health Security Office (NHSO) deputy secretary-general Attaporn Limpanyalert said yesterday (June 29) the Public Health Ministrys plan to declare the country in a post-pandemic stage tomorrow would return medical services to normality. This meant that COVID-19 infected people would have to rely on their own health insurance coverage for medical services, or pre-existing schemes such as social security or the universal health care programme, reports the Bangkok Post. Before transferring patients to other hospitals, patients conditions would be assessed and the COVID-19 illness would be treated like a common cold, Dr Attaporn said. During the pandemic, many people fell ill, prompting state agencies to mobilise support from the private sector. At the time, COVID-19 patients could seek treatment at hospitels or elsewhere. As the situation improves, the treatment system has to be adjusted because COVID-19 is not as severe as before, said the NHSO deputy secretary-general. Since early 2020, more than B150 billion had been used for COVID-19 treatment, he added. During a meeting of the NHSO board on July 4, the free distribution of Covid-19 antigen test kits (ATK) at pharmacies would be reviewed, and might be scrapped or extended. According to the Department of Disease Controls criteria, ATK tests will be taken only when people develop symptoms, not as a frequent precaution as in the past. On Demand We have a new story every day on the front page of thephuketnews.com. Also like us on our Facebook page (facebook.com/thephuketnews) and be the first to watch all the new stories. Finally you can watch any segment, any time by going to thephuketnews.com/tv where all the stories are listed for you to enjoy. All our programs can be enjoyed in High Definition when watching on the internet. In-Room VDO FILE - A man walks near an advertisement of a Kirin brand beer in Tokyo on Aug. 25, 2020. Kirin Holdings will sell its shares in Myanmar Brewery to the joint venture with Myanma Economic Holdings Plc., the Japanese beverage giant said in a statement Thursday, June 30, 2022. Have an interesting bit of news youd like to see mentioned in the Along the Way column? Email it to Natasha Connolly at news@thesunchronicle.com. Russian forces are battling to surround the Ukrainian militarys last stronghold in a long-contested eastern province, as shock still reverberates from a Russian airstrike on a shopping mall that killed at least 18 people The Supreme Court says the Biden administration can scrap a Trump-era immigration policy to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration courts MEXICO CITY (AP) The Nicaraguan government closed 101 more civic and charity groups Wednesday, including the local branch of the Missionaries of Charity established by Mother Teresa. The closures were approved by the countrys congress and bring to 758 the number of non-governmental organizations shuttered in Nicaragua over the last four years. The government claims the groups didnt comply with a 2020 requirement to register as foreign agents. President Daniel Ortega started cancelling groups he viewed as having ties to the opposition, but now the government seems intent on wiping the landscape clean of any organization it does not control. The government announced an additional 100 groups will be targeted for closure soon. The Missionaries of Charity had been in Nicaragua for 34 years, opearting a children's center, a home for girls and a facility for the elderly. The misionaries offered children music and theater classes, as well as vocational training for child victims of violence. The closures have been aimed at a wide breadth of groups, among them the Society of Pediatrics, the Nicaraguan Development Institute, the Confederation of Nicaraguan Professional Associations and the Nicaragua Internet Association. Also already closed were the Cocibolca Equestrian Center, the western city of Leons Rotary Club and the Operation Smile Association that financed free surgeries for children with cleft lip and cleft palate until it was cancelled in March. A prominent businessman associated with that group had participated in anti-government protests in 2018. Many organizations were dedicated to helping the most marginalized in a country suffering from extreme economic precariousness. Ortegas government arrested dozens of political opposition leaders, including most of the potential presidential candidates, in the months before his re-election to a fourth consecutive term last year. His government has accused nongovernmental groups of working on behalf of foreign interests to destabilize his government. Tens of thousands of Nicaraguans have been chased into exile. NEW YORK (AP) The OPEC oil cartel and allied producing nations decided Thursday to boost production of crude by an amount that will likely do little to relieve high gasoline prices at the pump and energy-fueled inflation plaguing the global economy. The increase of 648,000 barrels per day in August still leaves the world thirsty for oil as it rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic and runs up against the inability of the 23-member OPEC+ alliance to meet its production quotas. OPEC+, which includes Russia, confirmed the decision from its last meeting. Before that, it had been adding about 432,000 barrels per day monthly to put oil back on the market after cutting production dramatically during the height of the pandemic. The increase was seen as a gesture largely by OPEC leader Saudi Araba to U.S. President Joe Biden, who soon afterward planned his first trip to the kingdom as president where oil production is likely to be a topic next month. Biden, facing political pressure at home, has been urging oil-producing countries to open the taps and help bring down gasoline prices for American drivers. Gasoline prices worldwide have reached painful highs. In the U.S., they surpassed $5 a gallon for the first time this month before dipping in recent days as global oil prices fell on fears of a recession. Biden has been under pressure to do whatever he can to reduce prices, including urging Congress to suspend gas and diesel taxes and releasing oil from strategic reserves, although many experts say theres little he can do. OPEC, on the other hand, could help lower prices by increasing production in theory. But many oil-producing countries are struggling to produce as much as the groups decisions set out. Nigeria and Angola have longstanding shortfalls, while Russia has been losing some of its production because Western customers are shunning its oil, either from fear of sanctions or because they dont want to be associated with the war in Ukraine. According to data collected by the International Energy Agency, OPEC+ production fell 2.8 million barrels per day below the agreed level in May. The production agreement gives laggards until the end of the year to make up their quotas. Only very few of them are likely to be able to achieve this though, either because of limited capacities (especially Angola and Nigeria) or because of sanctions (Russia), wrote commodities analyst Carsten Fritsch at Commerzbank in a research note. The question therefore is whether countries with spare capacities such as Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates will be allowed to step into the breach. Yet doubts have spread in the market about exactly how much spare capacity even the Saudis or the UAE have. And for those two to increase their market share at the expense of other cartel members might be a tough sell. As of May, surplus production capacity in non-OPEC countries decreased by 80% compared with 2021, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Surplus capacity is oil production that can be brought online within 30 days and sustained for at least 90 days. In 2021, about 60% of the surplus production capacity was in Russia, but much of that was eliminated as of May 2022 due to sanctions, the agency said. Russias war in Ukraine is contributing to high oil prices fueling inflation around the world. At a summit of the Group of Seven leading economies this week, the U.S. pushed for a price cap on Russian oil imports to try to blunt the price spikes and reduce money from oil sales flowing into the Kremlins war chest. The European Union, a key importer of Russian energy, also has approved a ban on 90% of Russian oil imports by years end. After the OPEC+ meeting, U.S. benchmark oil traded down 0.7% on the day, to $109.09 per barrel. That is more than 40% higher than at the start of the year. International benchmark Brent crude drifted 0.4% lower, to $115.83 per barrel. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate YPRES, Belgium (AP) British and Canadian authorities have given seven soldiers killed more than a century ago in World War I a full military burial after their remains were discovered during a gas pipeline construction near Ypres, Belgium. The soldiers were found in two separate burial sites near the Belgian town at the heart of the Flanders Fields, where in 1914-18 hundreds of thousands perished in a muddy, shell-churned hellscape. The ceremony took place Thursday at the New Irish Farm Commonwealth War Grave near Ypres. In total, 63 sets of World War I soldiers' remains were uncovered by archaeologists during the work between 2014 and 2016. We remember, we reconnect with Private John Lambert. He was a mechanic making 40 cents a day ... signed up to make one dollar a day and immediately gave 60 cents a day to his sister," said Reverend Gary Watt, referring to one of the soldiers, Canadian Private John Lambert of the Newfoundland Regiment. Lambert was identified through DNA. He died on 16 August 1917. He exaggerated his age in order to answer more willingly and more readily the call to serve freedom and democracy, Watt continued. Private John Lambert had common sense of the common good. He knew that complacency would not stop the robbing of freedom. Five of the remains were from unknown British soldiers, and one unknown German soldier was also reburied. Archaeologists have discovered artifacts that link the unknown soldiers to Britain and Germany. The evolution of DNA technology has allowed for the identification of more and more unknown soldiers from World War I. Earlier this month, a great-great-nephew of English poet William Wordsworth who was recently identified by DNA research was given a funeral ceremony in France, 105 years after he died. ___ Samuel Petrequin in Brussels contributed. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate CAIRO (AP) Sudanese security forces shot eight people to death during anti-coup protests Thursday, a medical group said as thousands marched to denounce the countrys military rulers and demand an immediate transfer of power to civilians. The Sudans Doctors Committee said in a tweet that six people were fatally shot when police fired live ammunition at protesters in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, the Sudanese capital. Across the Nile River in Khartoum, another person died from a gunshot wound in the head and a child died after being shot in the chest, according the group, which tracks casualties during protests. The identities of the eight were not immediately known. Also in Khartoum, police fired tear gas at thousands of demonstrators trying to reach the Republican Palace, the military's seat of power in the heart of the city. Videos showing thousands waving Sudanese flags and running under clouds of tear gas were posted on social media. Other videos show demonstrators raising banners reading No Negotiations! No Partnership reiterating their opposition to any power-sharing deal with the military rulers. Sudans leading pro-democracy groups Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change and the Resistance Committees had called for nationwide protest Thursday to reiterate their demands for a reversal of the Oct. 25 military coup. The takeover upended the East African countrys short-lived transition to democracy following the 2019 ouster of longtime autocratic ruler Omar al-Bashir. Thursday's protests also fell on the third anniversary of a 2019 mass rally that forced the generals to sit down at the negotiating table with pro-democracy groups and eventually sign a power-sharing agreement that was expected to govern Sudan during a transitional period, until general elections were to be held. The coup last October scuttled this arrangement. Were very, very much gravely concerned by the continued use of excessive force by the government security forces in Sudan as they respond to protests and especially what weve seen today, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New York. It is imperative that people be allowed to express themselves freely and peacefully, and security forces in any country should be there to protect peoples right to do that, not to hinder it. Meanwhile, the London-based internet advocacy group, NetBlocks, said internet access was disrupted across many mobile and fixed-line internet providers in Sudan on Thursday, including state operator Sudantel, leaving national connectivity at only 17% of its ordinary level. Cuts to internet services have been routinely recorded ahead of most anti-coup protests. NetBlocks recommends against the use of network disruptions and social media restrictions to counter protests, given their disproportionate impact to fundamental rights including freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, said the London-based group. The October coup triggered near-weekly street demonstrations, which authorities have met with a deadly crackdown that has so far killed 111 people, including Thursdays casualties. Among those killed were 18 children, according to the Doctors Committee. Hundreds of people, including prominent politicians and activists, have been detained, although many have been released recently as part of trust-building measures. Since the coup, the U.N. political mission in Sudan, the African Union, and the eight-nation east African regional Intergovernmental Authority in Development group have been trying to broker a way out of the political impasse. Earlier this month, the leading pro-democracy group finally agreed to sit with the generals in a meeting that was brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia. However, no breakthrough has materialized from these talks. ALTON YWCA is offering free community tutoring sessions Thursdays July 7-Aug. 8 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at YWCA, 304 E. 3rd Street in Alton. The program includes Math and Reading instruction for grades K-6, lunch, a fun enrichment activity and a snack. Content builds upon previous session instruction, so attendance at each session is highly recommended. Sessions are designed to focus on the development of Math and Reading skills as well as social emotional skills. Research shows that students lose approximately one to two months worth of reading and math skills over the summer, with the loss being greater in math than reading. Dorothy Hummel, YWCA Executive Director, said she is proud of the collaborations with Scholars on the Rise Tutoring, the Alton based Summer Lunch program and financial support from Phillips 66 Wood River Refinery. "It is wonderful to see area teachers and volunteers come back year after to serve these students," she said. I have been going to Community Tutoring program for three years now," Sam Herring, East Elementary 4th grader said. "I really like going because it is fun. I get a chance to make new friends and we learn new games. I also get to practice my school skills in the summer, so I dont forget things. Mrs. Wallace is not only the best third grade teacher ever, she is a great principal at the YWCA for tutoring. She is very funny and I like spending time with her. All of the teachers that work there are super sweet and kind. Everyone makes us feel safe and cared for each time I go! Funding for the Community Tutoring program is available from a grant from Phillips 66 Wood River Refinery and Madison County government. Registration is available at http://tiny.cc/ywcacommtutoring or by calling 618-465-7774. It was a carnival of the bizarre. As soon as I stepped out of my vehicle, I saw a F--- Biden flag flying next to someones RV. A pickup nearby had the same message painted on both its doors with firearms forming each letter. Then I saw someone walk by wearing a T-shirt that said, Jesus Christ is my savior and Donald Trump is my president. Nearby, a booth was selling bumper stickers that said FU46 (Biden is our 46th president). I thought of the words of Jesus who said in Matthew 5:22: If you say that someone is worthless, you will be in danger of the fires of hell. On June 25, I covered my first Donald Trump rally. But it was hardly my first presidential event. Ive covered rallies for Bill Clinton, both Bushes and Barack Obama. But the Trump rally in Mendon was different. Im an evangelical Christian. Im a rural voter. And Im a white male who supports limited government and low taxes. Statistically, I ought to be right in the middle of the Trump sweet spot. Sorry, folks. Im not there. For the life of me, I dont understand the obsequious devotion many have for our 45th president. Mike Lindell, the CEO of My Pillow, spoke at the Trump rally of his Christian faith, overcoming his addiction to crack cocaine and becoming a successful businessman. As annoying as I find his television ads, I have to say I find his personal story uplifting. After all, Christianity is about redemption. But then I saw T-shirts being hawked that read: Joe and the Hoe Gotta Go. Why are they calling Kamala Harris a hoe? Its obviously a racist pejorative too often hurled at Black women. Some might say its a reference to her long-ago affair with San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. I dont condone adultery. But Trump has had multiple extramarital affairs during his lifetime and his supporters seem willing to look past those. And in the case of Lindell, the forgiveness of his past sins is celebrated along with his support for Trump. I thought of Jesus words in John 8:7 when a woman caught in the act of adultery was thrown in front of him in the temple court. The religious leaders demanded that she be stoned. But Jesus said, "Whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her." I was perplexed enough by this seeming dichotomy that I asked a Trump supporter about it. His name is David Blumenshine, and he coordinates GOP gubernatorial hopeful Darren Baileys campaign for much of central Illinois. He also was at the rally. I asked him, as a believer, if he was OK with the F- Biden flags all around us. My wife and I aren't, uh, real pleased about it, but you know, it is what it is. We have a First Amendment for a reason. I agree that Trump and his supporters have every right to say those things. But that doesnt mean theyre constructive, unifying or good for the country. Back when I was a college student, then-vice president George H.W. Bush said after a debate, "We tried to kick a little ass last night," in his face-off with Democratic vice-presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro. Americans were outraged at the crudeness of the statement and dismayed that such words would come from the lips of a sitting vice president. In our post-Trump political world, such a statement would hardly raise an eyebrow. Many in the crowd were ebullient over the U.S. Supreme Courts recent rulings overturning Roe v. Wade and expanding gunowner rights. Trump promised he would appoint justices who supported such measures and he delivered. Those are political accomplishments his supporters can point to when explaining their support for the 45th president. All politicians cite their accomplishments, but few have the devotion that Trump draws. A chaplain gave the invocation for the rally. During the prayer, which was interrupted multiple times by cheers, the pastor expressed dismay at the blurring of lines of masculinity and femininity. Hours later, Trump was critical of the transgender movement. But in between, the crowd was entertained with such songs as Macho Man and YMCA by the Village People. In my more than 35 years in the news business, Ive never covered an American political rally like this one. The closest I have come was in 1999 in Havana, Cuba. I had traveled there with Gov. George Ryan, and Fidel Castro held an impromptu news conference. A reporter asked the dictator, who had ruled for 40 years, if it was about time for there to be an election. Castro walked out of the news conference and stood before a crowd of hundreds, perhaps thousands, who had waited in the heat to see him. Castro yelled, Is it time for an election? The crowd in unison shouted No! No! No! And then they chanted, Fidel, Fidel, Fidel. It was unlike anything I have witnessed until this past week. As Trump cited his accomplishments, the crowd responded with their own chant, Thank you, Trump. Thank you, Trump. Thank you, Trump. My mind was transported back to Havana, and once again, I thought: This is a personality cult. FILE - Providence Police investigate a shooting on Carolina Avenue on May 13, 2021, in Providence, R.I. Three people involved in a gang-related shootout in a residential neighborhood of Providence, R.I., last year that left nine people injured have been sent to prison, said State Attorney General Peter Neronha Thursday, June 30, 2022. A Rhode Island resident previously convicted of bank robbery has pleaded guilty to being in possession of a gun that a juvenile used to accidentally shoot himself in the knee FILE - A shark is seen swimming across a sand bar on Aug. 13, 2021, from a shark watch with Dragonfly Sportfishing charters, off the Massachusetts' coast of Cape Cod. Megan Winton, of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, said Wednesday, June 29, 2022, that July is when white sharks appear in earnest, with sightings peaking from August through October. Rhode Islands governor signed legislation Wednesday setting the most ambitious target in the nation to require the state to be powered completely by renewable energy Making head or tail of the Governments manufacturing strategy is quite hard. In a flurry of decision-making, it has come out fighting in defence of jobs, capacity and the public interest in the steel industry. But at the same time it is giving the provisional green light to deals involving national security in the middle of a war against a ruthless enemy in Europe. Previously neutral states, including Sweden and Finland, are knocking on the door of Nato, and defence budgets are being ratcheted up. Going cheap: The government has given the green light to private equity ghouls Advent to take over Ultra Electronics and it is set to allow Meggitt to fall into the hands of Parker Hannifin So what is the UK doing? It has backed private equity ghoul Advents takeover of the masters of submarine detection, Ultra Electronics. And it is ready to allow aerospace engineer Meggitt to fall into the hands of US competitor Parker Hannifin. For good measure, the UKs world-leading satellite specialist Inmarsat is warming up to be swallowed by US rival Viasat. Even if the national security risks of these deals are put to one side, the commercial downside for Britain is manifold. Intellectual property will fall into overseas hands, the supply chain for the UKs advanced defence industries weakened, the corporate tax base enfeebled and headquarters services undermined. The London Stock Exchanges status will be diminished. So what is the thought process guiding the Government? In the case of steel, it is ready to intervene whatever the economic and political costs. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng made no secret of his determination to support production in the UK standing by to rescue companies within the Liberty Steel group should they fall into insolvency. And he has indicated that the Government will provide direct energy subsidies to steelmakers should the surging cost threaten their existence. International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan is gung-ho about keeping out cheap overseas imports which might undermine jobs in Yorkshire, Humberside and South Wales. So much so, that the UK is willing to join the long list of World Trade Organisation sinners who run rings around global commerce rules. It was the retention of punitive tariffs which finally led ethics adviser Lord Geidt to resign from Downing Street, saying he had been put in an odious position. The contrast between the willingness to run roughshod over trade rules to preserve the steel industry and the pusillanimous approach to takeovers of firms vital to the UKs security could not be starker. Kwarteng is making the would-be buyers of Ultra, Meggitt and Inmarsat climb through many hoops. Rather than imposing detailed conditionality, simply blocking the deals would make more sense. He may be determined to show Britain is open to business and foreign investment. But we know how well that worked out when Arm Holdings was sold to SoftBank. The UK is engaged in an act of self-harm. Boycott foiled Who would have thought posh ice cream could become a hot geopolitical issue? The attempt by the Vermont-based board of Ben & Jerrys to ban sales of its product in Israel because of availability on the West Bank has been thwarted. Unilever has sold the brand in Israel to Avi Zinger, owner of American Quality Products, its locally-based licensee. The product will remain the same but marketed under its Hebrew and Arabic names in Israel and the West Bank. Now that Unilever is no longer the owner of Ben & Jerrys in the Holy Land, the Vermont board is deprived of a say. Unilever makes clear it has no truck with anti-Semitism or the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. It will continue to work in Israel where it employs 2,000 people. As it refocuses on healthier living, could this be a signal about the future place of its booming ice cream brands? Only asking. Lucky winners Some 24 hours after Camelot sought to convince the world that it was robbed of the National Lottery by the Gambling Commission, the courts have come down firmly in favour of challenger Allwyn. That paves the way for the Czech operator to begin the technological challenge of modernising or reconfiguring 44,000 terminals across the land as well as digital infrastructure. Good causes should not be made to wait. Kwasi Kwarteng faced a mounting backlash after he cleared the way for the second foreign takeover of a British defence firm in a week. The Business Secretary said he was minded to accept the 6.3billion acquisition of Coventry-based Meggitt by US industrial conglomerate Parker Hannifin. The move came less than a week after he supported the 2.6billion takeover of Ultra Electronics by US private equity group Advent International, which also bought Cobham in 2020 for 4billion. Defence deal: Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said he was minded to accept the 6.3bn acquisition of Coventry-based Meggitt by US industrial conglomerate Parker Hannifin The prospect of another UK defence firm falling into the hands of an overseas buyer drew a swift backlash from Conservatives concerned such sales will jeopardise national security. Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said he was utterly against the Meggitt takeover. Meggitt, which has 9,000 staff, including 2,300 in the UK, makes parts for RAF fighter jets including the Typhoon and F-35 as well as for passenger aircraft made by Boeing and Airbus. Rival Ultra makes parts for nuclear submarines and kit to hunt submarines. The sale of a third strategically important UK firm satellite maker Inmarsat also looks set to be approved. Tory grandee Lord Heseltine, a defence secretary under Margaret Thatcher, fumed: No other country in the world of which Im aware allows its technology base to be taken over by foreign companies. Labour shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the Government needed to secure assurances on protecting British jobs, technology and future investment in the UK. He added: Yet again we are seeing great British firms being sold to overseas buyers, raising questions about our long-term resilience and strategic capabilities. We need an industrial strategy that promotes and protects our fantastic defence industries. Viasat board shake up The US buyer of Inmarsat has reshuffled its team as it closes in on the 5.6billion takeover. Satellite firm Viasat has shifted its chief executive Rick Baldridge to a new vice-chairman role, to focus on the remaining steps to closing the Inmarsat acquisition. Viasat is awaiting for approval for the deal from regulators around the world including Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, who is reviewing it under the National Security and Investment Act. Kwarteng has faced pressure to block the deal amid fears strategic industries are being hollowed out. Inmarsat is Britains leading satellite firm and considered a strategic asset. Kwartengs tentative approval of the Meggitt deal came after Parker Hannifin offered to honour existing contracts with the Ministry of Defence as well as ensuring most of the companys board were UK-based and that some of its military technology would be kept in Britain. But these are unlikely to assuage concerns the Government is overseeing the hollowing out of the UK defence industry. After last weeks decision to back the takeover of Ultra, Tory MP Bob Seely, a member of the foreign affairs select committee, said a balance was needed between being an attractive and open economy on one hand, and protecting intellectual property, our industrial base and sensitive defence firms on the other. He said he was not sure the UK had the balance quite right yet. Kwarteng is under pressure to block the takeover of satellite company Inmarsat by US-based Viasat after shareholders backed a 5.6billion buyout this year. Criticism about the purchase of British defence firms by foreign buyers has grown following the 4billion swoop on Blackburn-based Cobham by Advent in 2020, a move which led to a break-up of the historic group. Fears Ultra could share the same fate rose after it emerged Advent was drawing up plans to break it up if a takeover is signed off. The Government can block takeovers on national security grounds under the National Security and Investment Act which was enacted this year. Carter Family Fold shows are held on Saturday nights. Doors open at 6 p.m. and music begins at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults; $2 for children 6 to 11 and children 6 and under are free. For more information, go online to http://www.carterfamilyfold.org. Kingsport, TN (37660) Today Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 69F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Courtesy PIP COLONIE Protective Industrial Products Inc., which distributes items such as safety vests, helmets and specialty gloves, is moving into its new 60,000-square-foot headquarters office at Airport Park on British American Boulevard, which represents a doubling of its office space. Founded by Joe Milot and Wellson Tao, the company has grown rapidly since its start in the Capital Region in 1984. ALBANY The U.S. Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of the convictions of executives and SUNY Polytechnic Institute founder Alain Kaloyeros in the so-called "Buffalo Billion" bid-rigging case when the court begins its new term in the fall. In a case related to the same scandal, the court on Thursday also agreed to hear arguments from Joseph Percoco, a former top aide to ex-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo who contends his March 2018 bribery and wire fraud convictions should also be overturned. In the Kaloyeros case, the court agreed to hear development executive Louis Ciminelli's appeal of his July 2018 conviction for federal wire fraud. His attorneys, as well as those representing Kaloyeros and Steven Aiello, another development executive convicted at the same trial, argue the "right to control" theory of the federal government's case was flawed. The theory, when applied to wire fraud, holds that anyone who denies necessary fiscal information to an entity is criminally culpable for denying it the right to control its economic decisions. While the court agreed to take on Ciminelli's specific case, the convictions of all three men could be impacted by the court's eventual decision. Michael Miller, the New York City attorney representing Kaloyeros, declined to comment Thursday, deferring to Ciminelli's attorney Michael Dreeben, who will be the lead lawyer in arguing the case before the Supreme Court. Our team is gratified that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear Mr. Ciminellis case, which will allow the court to address our challenge to the validity of the right-to-control theory used in the prosecution," Dreeben told the Times Union. "We look forward to presenting our position to the court in full briefing and argument. Dreeben, of the Washington, D.C., law firm of O'Melveny & Myers, has significant Supreme Court experience. He worked in the Department of Justices Office of the Solicitor General for three decades and was deputy solicitor general for the Justice Department for 24 years, arguing more than 100 cases before the Supreme Court on behalf of the U.S. government. Ciminelli, Kaloyeros and Aiello are serving federal prison terms; Percoco was released from prison last year. Kaloyeros, once one of the state's highest-paid employees, asked the high court to hear his case after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit last year rejected his request for the judges on that court to toss out his conviction in the federal bid-rigging case. He was arrested in 2016 and charged with wire fraud in a bid-rigging scheme involving two upstate construction firms. At trial in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the jury determined he steered state business to upstate contractors and major Cuomo donors who were eventually awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in construction contracts for SUNY Poly-related projects in Syracuse and Buffalo. Although federal prosecutors couldn't prove that Kaloyeros profited from the scheme, they were able to convince the jury that he had deceived the board of the Fort Schuyler Management Corp., a nonprofit that managed the school's development projects outside of its Albany campus, during the process that led to the selection of the two companies, LPCiminelli of Buffalo and COR Development of Syracuse. The right-to-control theory of wire fraud is only recognized as law in a few federal circuits including the Second Circuit in Manhattan, where Kaloyeros was tried. Lawyers for Kaloyeros and the others hope that the Supreme Court would take up the case in order to clear up the inconsistencies between circuit courts. In taking up Percoco's appeal, the court will consider whether as it was phrased in his attorneys' February filing with the court "a private citizen who holds no elected office or government employment, but has informal political or other influence over governmental decision-making, owe a fiduciary duty to the general public such that he can be convicted of honest-services fraud?" Percoco, who served as Cuomo's executive deputy secretary, was convicted in 2018 of three counts, including solicitation of bribes that were paid to him by developers in his private capacity as a "consultant" or provided to his wife in the form of a "low-show" teaching job. Percoco's defense argued that many of the favors he provided to those companies were executed during a period of time when he was away from government service and was managing Cuomo's 2014 re-election campaign, and therefore should not be implicated by the honest services statute. Prosecutors, however, argued in that trial that Percoco was working regularly out of Cuomo's Executive Chamber offices in Manhattan, and remained an influential member of the governor's inner circle. The former governor, who resigned last Augusts amid allegations of sexual misconduct, has said he thought his longtime confidant was merely doing "transition work" as he moved from his taxpayer-funded role to campaign work. After Cuomo's re-election, Percoco returned to his Executive Chamber role before leaving for good the following year. Like Kaloyeros and the rest of the defendants, he was arrested in September 2016. The court has already chopped down the scope of the honest services statute in a case with implications for New York state government: After former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno was convicted under the law in 2009, a high court decision in an appeal brought by a former Enron executive resulted in a new trial where Bruno was acquitted. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Update 2:30 a.m.: The governor issued a proclamation calling for an extraordinary session on Friday, July 1, that not only now includes a response to the Supreme Court case on concealed carry, but also on an equal rights constitutional amendment. "We refuse to stand idly by while the Supreme Court attacks the rights of New Yorkers," Hochul said in a tweet at 2:24 a.m. "I am issuing a proclamation to add equal rights to the Legislature's extraordinary session agenda to enshrine the right to abortion access in the state constitution." Update, 2 a.m.: State senators headed home for the night just after 1 a.m. They plan to return at 9 a.m. to vote on the gun legislation, and, likely, a version of the abortion-focused "Equality Amendment." The decision comes more than 12 hours after elected officials were expected to return to Albany to address a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the right of lawful gun owners to carry concealed weapons. Senate Republicans read draft bill language before Senate Democrats called it a night. Republicans were irked by the language and the manner in which it arrived to them. Democrats were frustrated with how long the night went, looking toward debates on mayoral control of New York City schools as a factor. "For the governor to call us down here with no bill. She had days to prepare it. That tells you all you needed to know. It's all politics and not about policy," state Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt said Thursday night. He added that he thought it would "not withstand legal scrutiny." Democrats have remained committed to their proposed policies. Throughout the day, they said they were spending time ensuring it met legal standards under the ruling from the Supreme Court. Hochul said Wednesday they were working with experts and think tanks on the framework for stricter gun laws to keep New Yorkers safe. "It is one thing to have a gun for your family's protection in your home," Hochul said Wednesday. She pointed to extensive background checks needed to acquire a pistol permit for a residence, but compared that to potentially looser laws for carrying a gun in public. "That is a whole different ball game and that is what I would consider more like the old Wild West," Hochul said. "Well, this is not the Wild West. This is New York state." The Assembly has yet to adjourn. Republicans in the conference said that they still had not been given draft language, expressing frustration about the process. "Welcome to Albany," an Assembly Republican chimed in, coffee in hand, shortly before 2 a.m. in the nearly empty Capitol building. Update,11 p.m.: A bill on "mayoral control" was delivered to Gov. Kathy Hochul. Lawmakers are hopeful that it is a sign legislation on guns, which is what they specifically came to Albany for Thursday, will now be moving before midnight. Although state officials have not spoken publicly about the role mayoral control may have been playing in slowing down the process, they have suggested in private conversations it was at the crux of the delay. Mayoral control allows New York City Mayor Eric Adams to oversee the school system. The controversial policy was extended by Albany lawmakers last month, but it shortchanged elements Adams was looking for in it. Adams, instead, was seeking for "chapter amendments" on the bill, something Hochul would need to negotiate for with the Legislature. It was not immediately clear to what extent any significant chapter amendments were agreed upon. Once a bill is delivered, it is generally expected to be signed by the governor. Over the last hour, since the bill on mayoral control was delivered, lawmakers and state officials walking around the Capitol have expressed more optimism that the gun legislation is moving closer to the final drafting process. Earlier in the evening, state Sen. Brian Kavanagh, D-Manhattan, said mayoral control was not the reason he was aware legislation related to concealed carry permits had yet to be introduced. Instead, he said, it had to do "ongoing discussions about the technical details." "The people working on the gun bill are working diligently on that," said Kavanagh, who is among the lawmakers working on it. He expected the gun legislation to be ready by midnight. Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said around 10:50 p.m. that the process was moving "closer" and that she expected further action tonight. Earlier in the evening, prior to the mayoral control bill being delivered, state officials were beginning to wonder whether they would need to return in the morning instead of being to able to finish their work tonight. Update, 6 p.m.: Lawmakers have yet to release bill language on the gun issue. Votes on anything appear to be hours away, at best. A potential alternate version of the "Equality Amendment" is also in discussion. It would retain the thrust of the original proposal but is framed in a way that leaves less legal concern for those worried the constitutional amendment could infringe on people's religious rights. The Capitol has been relatively quiet, too. No advocates or activists have held major rallies inside. For the most part, the hours have been defined by lawmakers in talks behind closed doors. When then the elected officials have walked by their respective chambers, they, too, ask around if anything has changed. The lone Democrat to address the full press corps Thusday was State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, D-Brooklyn. The lawmaker has been a leading voice in the state Senate on gun issues for the Democratic majority. "We're continuing to have serious discussions, because the implications are hard to overstate," Myrie said. "We want to ensure we're doing this in a constitutional way, in a way that comports with the court's opinion and those details really do matter." He explained that there's general agreement on the overall structure of the policy, but the hang up can mostly be attributed to working through the language to be in compliance with the ruling from the Supreme Court. Republican lawmakers throughout the day have railed at a "dysfunctional" Albany, in which they're called back for a certain issue but details remain unreleased to both them and the public. GOP elected officials have pegged their concerns over the process as a reason why there should be a change in leadership. The gubernatorial and Assembly primaries just passed on Tuesday, state Senate primaries are on Aug. 23 and the general election is Nov. 8. More below on the background leading into today's extraordinary session. ALBANY State lawmakers have returned to the Capitol to respond to a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that struck down its century-old laws on who can acquire a concealed carry permit for a firearm. The specific bill language had yet to be released earlier Thursday. Remaining unknown is whether lawmakers will also agree to pass the first step in a constitutional amendment to further enshrine the right to an abortion also in response to a Supreme Court ruling this month. The state Senate gaveled in just before 1 p.m. Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado presided over the chamber for the first time since assuming the role a month ago. Earlier this week he won the Democratic primary. "Extraordinary times calls for an extraordinary session," Delgado said as he opened the session. Lawmakers are projecting it to be a long day as they attempt to finish their work before the upcoming July 4 holiday weekend. State officials expect a long day. The Senate may start debate on legislation as early as 3 p.m., although that was the hopeful time frame first floated by officials. Debate on a bill could last hours. Republican lawmakers have generally opposed further restrictions on lawful gun owners, asserting the focus on public safety should center on illegal guns and the bail laws they claim have contributed to the state's surging crime rate. Additional debate could carry the day well into the evening if multiple bills are introduced to remedy Democratic concerns on guns. Also, floor debate on an abortion amendment could also stretch into the evening. What's so extraordinary? Just like last year, the Legislature was called back by Gov. Kathy Hochul for what's known as an "extraordinary session." In this scenario, lawmakers return for a specific cause, offered by the governor in her proclamation calling for the session. In this case that meant responding to the Supreme Court ruling on the concealed carry permits, New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which was filed on behalf of two Rensselaer County residents. Lawmakers are typically in session for the first half of the year. This year, the state Senate finished its work on June 2 and the Assembly finished on June 4. They technically never "gavel out" of session; an Albany lawmaker typically goes into the chamber every day to keep the chamber open. As long as session is in, lawmakers can come to Albany and vote on proposed bills. Regardless of their technical ability to come back and vote whenever needed, lawmakers generally do not unless called upon by the leaders. If lawmakers came back on their own, without direction from the governor, it would be known as a "special session" in Albany lingo. Both could happen Thursday. First, lawmakers will work on Hochul's request to address gun legislation. After that, they may "gavel out" of the extraordinary session and then "gavel in" to a special session to address abortion-related issues, if the legislation is supported in the respective Democratic conferences in the Senate and Assembly. What's going on regarding guns? Hochul offered an outline of her administration's views on the Supreme Court ruling striking down New York's conceal-carry permit system for lawful gun owners. "The Supreme Court decision was a setback for us, but I would call it a temporary setback," Hochul said Wednesday during a meeting of the Interstate Task Force on Illegal Guns. The proposed changes in state law include restricting where someone with a concealed carry permit can bring their firearm and the training and screening they need to acquire it. The banned locations would include government buildings; health and medical facilities; places where children gather, including day care centers, parks, zoos and playgrounds; public transportation; polling places; educational institutions; and any private property or business that does not have a sign that explicitly says that concealed carry is welcomed there. State officials expect to tighten the requirements for storing a firearm in a vehicle. It would likely need some type of locked box for it to be legally stored. A gun owner would need at least 15 hours of in-person training, including on a firing range, to receive a conceal-carry permit. State officials also are seeking to require background checks for all purchases of ammunition for guns that need a permit. State lawmakers recently passed legislation that would require a permit for not only the purchase of a pistol, but also a semi-automatic rifle; the action came in response to the Buffalo mass shooting. What about abortion? A constitutional amendment is in play to enshrine the right not only to an abortion but to same-sex marriage and other issues for classes that may face discrimination for their race, gender or sexual orientation. Progressive lawmakers and activists pushed for it to be passed before the end of the scheduled session earlier this month, but debate over whether it could unintentionally compromise religious rights held it up. Hochul signed a set of abortion-related legislation into law on June 13, in anticipation of the Supreme Court's decision. Advocates vocalized that it did not go far enough to protect the right to an abortion something they want Democrats to pursue while they hold super-majority in the Legislature. Following the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade last week, the push to pass a constitutional amendment to protect the right to an abortion regained momentum. It received another push when state Attorney General Letitia James recently informed Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie that she saw no legal impediments in the wording of the proposed amendment. The urgency to pass the amendment is based on a time clock for how long it takes to pass a constitutional amendment in New York. If it is not passed by early August, it would not be able to appear on a ballot in 2024's election. Advocates worry that without it passing this year, it would delay that process to 2026. The amendment could potentially still reach voters by 2025, an off-cycle low turnout election; proposed constitutional amendments for voting rights were soundly rejected by New York voters in November's election. The version reviewed by James' office includes language that would guarantee that "no person shall be denied equal rights" based on their "race, color, ethnicity, national origin, disability, or sex including pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression." The amendment is sponsored by state Sen. Liz Krueger and Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright, both Manhattan Democrats. It also states that "nothing in this section is intended to alter or diminish the existing protections for region set forth in articles three and eleven of this constitution." A different version of the amendment could also take shape, modeling a similar constitutional amendment that voters in California previously passed. In 2019, the right to an abortion was codified into state law through the Reproductive Health Act, which Stewart-Cousins pushed for when Democrats took over the majority. A constitutional amendment would protect against a reversal of that state law should Republicans regain the majority. (The state Assembly has been controlled by Democrats since 1975.) A constitutional amendment would not inherently protect the state from a federal law that prohibits the right to an abortion. This is a developing story and will be updated throughout the day. New Instrument Allows Researchers To See Inside Minerals July 29, 2022 Raman spectrascopes laser lights interact with mineral specimens for in-depth analysis Dr. Nicole Hurtig displays the open sample chamber of the new Raman microscope recently installed in a lab within the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources on the New Mexico Tech campus. SOCORRO, N.M. While most people observe minerals by their size, shape, color, and properties, a new instrument is allowing scientists at New Mexico Tech to look deep inside minerals to understand their composition and how they form. This powerful new instrument, the high-resolution confocal Raman microscope, is now installed within a New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources lab and is available for mineral and material analyses. Nicole Hurtig, Ph.D., assistant professor of geochemistry, is the principal investigator on a research team for the lab that includes four Tech faculty from three departments and the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, namely Drs. Alexander Gysi, Nikolai Kalugin, Daniel Jones, and Gayan Rubasinghege. Dr. Nicole Hurtig examines a computer screen that displays the spectra, or wavelengths, emitted by a mineral being analyzed using the Raman microscope. Its cool because its a state-of-the-art-instrument, she said. We will be able to do a broad range of research. There are not a lot of labs that have this kind of setup. One of our lasers is in the lower UV range (266 nm), which allows us to also work on organic materials such as hydrocarbons, crude oil, and bitumen, early life signatures in old rocks or Martian samples, or organic acids in soils. We really want to push the envelope with its capabilities. A $397,000 Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Grant from the National Science Foundation allowed New Mexico Tech to acquire the new Horiba LabRAM HR Evolution confocal Raman microscope, which will be used for a broad range of applications by faculty and students from the fields of geology; mechanical, material, and mineral engineering; biology, and chemistry. The instrument also will be used by the Bureau to assist collectors who are seeking to identify and analyze their minerals. A key and welcome feature of the Raman is that it can look at a whole specimen it does not have to be ground up to be analyzed. When I talk with mineral collectors, they are so excited, Dr. Hurtig said. Because we dont have to destroy the mineral. We can actually do analysis and get a lot of information out of it such as the chemical composition and bonding of a mineral as well as looking at small mineral and fluid inclusions. Its a great tool for characterization of gemstones. The Raman has within it a green laser light and an ultraviolet laser that are guided by mirrors to highly concentrate their light on specimens. The laser light interacts with the mineral, exciting the materials, allowing researchers to see the molecules and their binding structure, and producing spectras, which are compared with reference materials for identification and analysis. Dr. Nicole Hurtig presses on the smart table used within the Raman lab at the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. The table cushions any vibration felt within the lab to protect the Raman microscope, a high-precision instrument used for mineral analysis. One of the Ramans uses includes a combination with a heating and cooling microthermometry stage looking at microscopic inclusions of water and gases within minerals providing information on the fluid chemistries and temperatures and pressures at which they formed. This research has important implications to help guide our understanding for looking at processes that make ore deposits that can be mined for valuable resources such as copper (Cu), gold (Au), tellurium (Te), rare earth elements (REE), and many others. Combining the Raman microscope with a hydrothermal diamond anvil cell will allow new research on REE speciation in crustal fluids, led by Drs. Alexander Gysi, Laura Waters, and Hurtig and supported by a $2.7 million U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Basic Energy Science Grant (DOE-BSE). Dr. Hurtig said that the instrument helps researchers understand how minerals form. We want to be better at finding [resources] today, she said. How they form is a really important part of the puzzle to solve. So far other researchers at Tech have been using the Raman laboratory for their work, but an effort is underway to work through the Mineral Museum to provide mineral analysis as part of an outreach effort. Contact Dr. Hurtig for more information at nicole.hurtig@nmt.edu. On Tuesday, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro and Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) announced plans to establish a Behavioral Health Center of Excellence at MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie. The center, which has been in discussion for nearly a year, will provide psychiatric and substance use care for patients in the county and surrounding areas. Mental wellness affects everyone, every family and individual whether its momentary or diagnosed, whether its codiagnosis or substance use disorder, said Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro. The last gap, even here in Dutchess, is the inpatient services necessary. We dont want our services to plateau or our commitment to stall. The county is home to a stabilization center, has a mobile crisis intervention team, a 24/7 hotline number, and an empowerment center. The last piece of creating the Behavioral Health Center of Excellence will be lifesaving, said Molinaro. Dutchess County will provide $3 million in funding for the project, which will update the hospitals inpatient behavioral health units, including shared community spaces and nursing stations in these areas. The funds will bring 20 additional permanent inpatient behavioral health beds, increasing the total number to 60. Its more than simply adding more beds, said Molinaro. The goal here is to fill a critical gap in the spectrum of services beyond simply offering inpatient beds. We need a welcoming and inclusive environment for those dealing with mental wellness issues. WMCHealth has been working towards delivering more inpatient behavioral health options throughout the Hudson Valley again. Last month, the hospital network and Ulster County announced that 20 inpatient mental health beds would be brought back to the expanded HealthAlliance Hospital in Kingston. In April of 2020, WMCHealth shut down 40 inpatient mental health beds and 20 chemical detoxification and rehab beds at the hospital following a state order mandating hospitals increase available bed capacity to meet pandemic requirements. Ulster County has lacked hospital inpatient psychiatric services ever since, during which time suicides doubled and fatal opioid overdoses rose by 93 percent. Related: Inpatient mental health services are returning to Ulster County In Dutchess County, staff from the Department of Behavioral & Community Health will embed at the Behavioral Health Center of Excellence, which will allow discharged patients an opportunity to learn more about the continuum of care programs the county offers. We will be able to connect individuals with social services support, job training, community-based services that theyll need as they re-enter the community, but can take advantage of while theyre at the center itself, said Molinaro. The creation of the new center still requires the approval of the New York State Department of Health and Office of Mental Health. Following that, WMCHealth will work to finalize the design and planning for renovations. Construction will be phased in order to avoid temporarily needing to take a significant number of inpatient beds offline for an extended period. We hope this is a model that can be replicated, said Molinaro. We also think its the right relationship. County governments cant be hospitals, but we certainly can provide the service support and the money to advance hospital-based care. The center is expected to be operational by the end of 2023. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Jolene Olsen has worked at Northern Rivers for seven years and witnessed the drastic drop in available foster parents in upstate New York throughout the pandemic. The need for homes has increased exponentially over the last two years. We feel were nearly hitting a crisis point, said Olsen, a home finder at Northern Rivers, an Albany-based nonprofit whose role is to recruit, train, and certify foster families throughout the Capital Region. Agencies like Northern Rivers are struggling to recruit individuals and families to become foster parents for children needing placement. I stress to people that this foster care crisis is in our community, your community, everywhere, Olsen said. I dont think people realize the crisis is here and its happening in their backyard. Olsen is a foster parent herself, and as a home finder works to assist with placing foster children, providing general support to foster parents. Our homes are full, and other offices and county homes are full, Olsen said. The children end up getting pushed further away from their hometowns because there are no foster homes available. Contributing factors in the decrease of foster parents vary. They include a need for caregivers who can provide mental health and behavioral support, the need for a diverse group of foster parents, and foster parents open to accepting adolescents. COVID has affected all of this, and day care is in a huge crisis right now, Olsen said. People are stressed managing their own families and to take on more kids is a lot, Olsen said. According to the New York State Office of Children and Family Services website, 6,161 children were admitted into foster care in New York state in 2021. Northern Rivers has used social media to spread awareness about the need for foster parents, and they hope that word will get out and more families will be involved so foster youth can have placements. "Organizations like St. Catherines are looking to attract foster parents to its agencies to create opportunities for children to be housed in home-like setting," said Frank Pindiak, executive director of St. Catherines Center for Children. "One of St. Catherines big initiatives is focused on kinship care, where we support family members who have opened up their homes to child relatives in need. Their emphasis on kinship care along with foster parents is supported by the Family First Prevention Services Act, a federal law passed in 2018 to help children to be put in the care of family members instead of the foster care system. According to data from the Office of Children and Family Services, in 2021, Albany County had 220 children placed in foster care. There were also 140 children released from care that year. Currently, there are 275 foster children with Northern Rivers in foster homes, with a capacity for around 300 homes in total. But with the revolving door between admissions and discharges, Northern Rivers is searching for many more foster parents to bridge the gap so they can have enough space to accommodate them. Foster parents are the backbone of the child welfare system, said Bill Gettman, CEO of Northern Rivers. When referrals for placement are made, they are sent to multiple agencies such as Berkshire Farm Center, The House of the Good Shepherd, and St. Catherines Center for Children. If no one has placements available, the child could be placed in a home far away from their home of origin. Agencies also reach out to other counties to see if they have any options. Depending on age, the child could go into a group home if there is no foster home. It takes a village; these kids are in need, said Jeanette May, a foster parent and respite care worker for Northern Rivers. This is not easy work, but its definitely rewarding, May said. Every case Ive had, looking back, Ive learned something and I pray for all of these kids. May has been a certified foster parent for just over a year, and has already had three full-time placements within that time. She made contact with Northern Rivers to become a foster parent, and trained for 12 weeks to be certified and have her first placement. I learned a lot, May said. Its so hard to identify with where they came from and what theyve been through. Info Box: Northern Rivers: Website: https://www.northernrivers.org/ Contact Number: (518.) 426-2600 St. Catherine's Center for Children: Website: https://www.st-cath.org/ Contact Number: (518) 453-6700 See More Collapse After those placements ended, May took time to reconnect with her sense of self but also was determined to continue to help children in need of placement through part-time respite care. Respite care is another service for foster families where part-time foster parents can provide a break for the families by fostering a child short-term. Stipends are given for the care of each child fostered to cover living expenses and vary depending on the age and need of the child. The Office of Children and Family Services sets the stipend rate, and the counties pay the costs. They then get reimbursed by the state. Foster families are doing their best but also need a break, and I get it, May said. Theres just not enough of us (foster parents) and theres a lot to do. Anyone interested in becoming a foster parent can reach out to the Northern Rivers website and find support from their various locations. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ALBANY The citys good-cause eviction law, the first of its kind in the state, was struck down Thursday in a decision that may lead to the overturning of similar legislation across New York. State Supreme Court Judge Christina Ryba ruled in favor of several landlords who argued the law violated state law that guided tenant-landlord relationships. Rybas decision knocked down one of Mayor Kathy Sheehans signature pieces of legislation, part of a larger package of housing-related laws that was heralded by housing advocates across the state as a model for other cities to follow. Advocates of good-cause eviction measures have argued that they prevent predatory rent hikes and give tenants greater power in lease negotiations. Landlords have argued they amount to rent control and infringe on their property rights. Benjamin Neidl, the attorney for the landlords who filed the lawsuit, said his clients applauded the decision. In Albany, this decision will restore the balance of rights between tenants and landlords as current state law intends, he said. Sheehan's office released a statement saying it was "deeply disappointed" by the ruling. As unprecedented rent increases are driving up housing costs and disproportionally impacting low-income residents the most, Mayor Sheehan is deeply disappointed by this decision and we are reviewing all options available," said David Galin, Sheehan's chief of staff. Housing Justice For All, a coalition of housing advocates, condemned the ruling and called on state legislative leaders to pass a statewide version of the bill. This decision is a direct attack on Albany residents who overwhelmingly support Good Cause Eviction and robust tenant protections," said Cea Weaver, the group's campaign coordinator, in a statement. "It undermines our democracy and puts thousands of families at risk of losing their homes." The city's Common Council passed the good cause law, 9-2, almost a year ago. The legislation had several components, including a requirement that landlords could not evict or refuse to renew a lease with a tenant unless they met one of 10 possible conditions including ongoing failure to pay rent and causing a property to be deemed a nuisance. It also included language that limited rent increases to 5 percent, with some exceptions. A group of landlords filed a lawsuit several months later, arguing that the law improperly tried to regulate rental rates and evictions at the local level. The city responded that there was no state law preventing local governments from establishing conditions for landlords to meet in an eviction case. Rybas decision found that the citys law was in conflict with state law because it created an impediment to landlords access to courts and limited remedies provided under state law. She found that imposing a good cause requirement as a prerequisite to eviction when the tenant has no valid lease is in direct conflict with" state law. The court found that the law also conflicted with other elements of state law related to landlord-tenant relationships. The decision may have implications for other cities that followed Albany in passing similar legislation. A good cause bill in the state Legislature has repeatedly failed to advance. In a statement, state Sen. Rob Ortt, the leader of the chamber's Republican minority conference, called the decision "good news for private property and free enterprise. ... Similar laws across the state should be struck down as well." *A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the statewide housing advocacy group Housing Justice For All. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate TROY A Rensselaer County jury acquitted Jahquay Brown of murder but convicted him of second-degree manslaughter Thursday for his role as the wheelman in the Sept. 13, 2020 drive-by shooting that left 11-year-old Ayshawn Davis dead. Brown, 22, of Cohoes, faces an indeterminate sentence of 5 to 15 years in state prison at his sentencing on Aug. 31. If he'd been convicted of second-degree murder, the top charge against him, he faced 25 years to life. Jurors had been deliberating since Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. Brown showed no obvious emotion as the jury forewoman read the verdict to County Judge Jennifer Sober at about 2:45 p.m. "My best guess, my educated guess, is that the jury had a hard time believing that he was a full, participating member in this act and that he had equal culpability as the shooter and I think the jury made that distinction by convicting him of manslaughter rather than the murder," Brown's lawyer, Robert Molloy, told reporters. "I think it's a fair verdict." Molloy, an attorney with the county's Conflict Defender's office, did not call any witnesses. He said Brown was happy to not be convicted of the murder charge but noted Brown still was convicted of a serious offense. During the trial, Molloy did not contest that Brown drove the vehicle used in the killing, but argued there was no proof Brown knew the shooter would fire a gun out the window. Prosecutors did not allege that Brown intentionally planned to kill the child. They charged him with displaying a depraved indifference and wanton disregard for human life by acting in concert with the alleged shooter, whom they identified as Joseph Evans. Evans, known as Joe Buckz, has not been charged in the case. Manslaughter in the second-degree is when someone "recklessly causes" the death of another person. Rensselaer County District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly told reporters she was disappointed in the verdict. "We prosecuted this as a depraved indifference murder because we felt that we had all of the proof necessary. Obviously, the jury saw it differently," the district attorney said. "They have held him responsible for Ayshawn's death, so we feel happy that the family can hold onto that. But again, we're disappointed that (jurors) didn't view the evidence the same way that we did." She said the child's family was also disappointed in the verdict, but is still dealing with the loss of the child. Ayshawn's mother, Latoya Alston, died in January at 38. "They're grieving and I think this is just one small piece in their grief," Donnelly said. Asked if Evans faced possible charges in the boy's killing, Donnelly said, "This investigation will continue." Chief Assistant District Attorney Matthew Hauf presented potentially devastating evidence against Brown. Police found a .40 caliber handgun in a backpack in his home that was revealed to be the same gun used in the killing. The major contributor of DNA on the gun matched Browns DNA profile with a less than one in 320 billion chance of it being from another person. And Brown admitted to police in an interview that he drove the blue Honda Accord to the shooting. In addition, Bluetooth technology showed Browns cellphone was in the car before and after the shooting. Davis, a boy beloved in his neighborhood and who worked at Jimmys Pizzeria in Lansingburgh, was an unplanned casualty of a bloody feud between rival gangs one group affiliated with uptown Albany in West Hill, the other in Troy, according to people with knowledge of the case. Brown, who lives in Cohoes and is known as Jabba, was affiliated with uptown Albany gang members, authorities said. On the night Davis was killed, Brown and Evans were at a memorial in Cohoes for a recently slain friend, Tyshawn Q. Daniels, known as Boogie, when they saw Troy rivals mock Daniels' death in a Facebook Live post, prosecutors said. To exact revenge, Brown got behind the wheel of the Accord. Evans, armed with a .40 caliber handgun, got in the backseat. The two then went to Troy seeking to find the rivals, whom they blamed for Daniels death, Chief Assistant District Attorney Matthew Hauf said in closing arguments on Wednesday. Hauf said Evans fired five shots from the car on Old Sixth Avenue. The child, standing outside a building, was struck in the head about 11:20 p.m. The bullet pierced the boys skull, killing him. CENTREVILLE, Ala. (AP) An Alabama deputy sheriff died Thursday, a day after after being shot by a fleeing suspect, authorities said. Deputy Brad Johnson, 32, was pronounced dead Thursday afternoon, District Attorney Michael Jackson said. Its been said that a coward dies a thousand deaths, but a hero but one. Brad Johnson was a hero, Bibb County Sheriff Jody Wade told reporters at a news conference. Law enforcement officials said Johnsons family is donating his organs. Wade said Johnson will continue to save lives. The shooting happened Wednesday afternoon in Bibb County. Two deputies were chasing a suspect in a stolen vehicle when the man fired at the deputies, shooting both and critically wounding Johnson, Jackson had said earlier. Authorities said the other wounded deputy had since been released from a hospital. The suspect in the shooting, Austin Hall, 26, was captured Thursday morning after he was found hiding inside a tent, Jackson said. Hall will be charged with two counts of capital murder one for Johnson's death and another for shooting into a vehicle resulting in a death and one count of attempted murder for the shooting of the other deputy, Jackson said. It was not immediately known if Hall has an attorney who could speak on his behalf. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey called Johnson a hero. Today, all of Alabama grieves the loss of one of our heroes in blue, Bibb County Deputy Brad Johnson. At only 32 years old, he served in law enforcement for several years and was engaged to be married," Ivey said in a statement. BETHLEHEM Some residents are petitioning for a referendum vote on the town's planned purchase of farmland off Route 9W. Steve Peterson, who successfully petitioned for a referendum last year on the town's proposed "road diet" for Delaware Avenue now has a new target: the Town Board's recent historic decision to purchase over 300 acres of farmland for agricultural protection purposes. Within days of the Town Board vote, Peterson posted on his Facebook page, It's Our Town - Bethlehem NY, that he was beginning to collect signatures to force a townwide vote on the issue at either a special election or the November general election. Peterson needs a minimum of 866 signatures to get a referendum vote; on Saturday, he posted that he and other supporters got 100 signatures on their first day of petitioning. Peterson did not immediately respond to a Times Union request for comment Wednesday. However, his Facebook page expressed concern over the purchase price of the farmland and said that residents should have an opportunity to voice their opinions. The land owner, George Haseotes of Milltowne Plaza, Inc., has been working with the town for three years to preserve the land, and agreed to sell the parcels to the town for $3 million $1 million less than the appraised value. The towns farms and forests fund, which is primarily funded by a share of the town's surplus budget, will cover $2 million of the purchase. The remaining cost will be funded from capital accounts. Last year's referendum vote resulted in the Delaware Avenue road project being turned down 53 percent to 47 percent. The project would have reduced a busy 1.3-mile stretch of Delaware Avenue that connects the hamlet of Delmar to Albany from four lanes to two with one turning lane. Town officials said the project was meant to reduce crashes and improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, but some businesses along the stretch were concerned it would cause traffic back-ups and affect customer volume. But Bethlehem Supervisor David VanLuven said he's not concerned about the farmland issue if it goes to the ballot. He said "inaccurate information" was spread about the Delaware Avenue project last year, which he hopes will be countered by more accurate information this year. VanLuven also cited a 2018 town survey where 79 percent of respondents said open space protection was highly important to them, and 91 percent said protecting farmland in Bethlehem was highly or somewhat important to them. "I am happy to have a referendum on this," VanLuven said. "The response Ive been getting from residents has been overwhelmingly positive. People love that when they drive 9W that they drive through farmland for a good portion of that drive." With the purchase of the farmland, the town will be placing an agricultural easement on the property to ensure the land remains used for agriculture, not residential or commercial development. Once the easement is established, the town will move on to sell most of the property, perhaps to another farm or to a nonprofit that could establish a young farmer incubator program. VanLuven stressed that the future of this land would likely go to development if the purchase were to not go through. "The alternative to protecting those farms is happening right now on the northwest corner of 9W, where more than 90 apartments are being built," he said. "Do we want to have the apartments spread all the way through the Thruway, or a park and farmland for generations to come?" ALBANY A Rensselaer County correctional officer was arraigned Wednesday on charges of sexually abusing an incarcerated woman. Sean Morrissey, 51, was an officer at the Rensselaer County Correctional Facility in September 2018 when he allegedly sexually abused a woman being detained by the federal government. A press release from U.S. Attorney Carla Freedman of the Northern District of New York said Morrissey rubbed her genitalia "with the intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, or arouse or gratify the sexual desire of a person." The alleged incident took place between Sept. 7 and 21. Morrissey was arraigned in Albany Wednesday. A trial is being scheduled for his case. If convicted, Morrissey could face a maximum of two years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and supervised release of up to one year. Morrissey was arrested by the Rensselaer County Sheriff's Office on Sept. 26, 2018, on charges of official misconduct, forcible touching and sexual abuse. At the time of his arrest, the sheriff's office said he was suspended without pay. The U.S. Supreme Court's decisions last week to revoke women's constitutional right to an abortion and gut New York's concealed carry handgun permit laws make it urgent that state lawmakers do what they can to respond to and counter those ill-advised rulings when they return to Albany on Thursday. And it's critical that they get it right. Sloppiness would be disastrous. Gov. Kathy Hochul called the emergency session to address the Supreme Court's decision to strike down the more than 100-year-old New York law that required people seeking to carry a gun concealed outside their home to provide a reason, such as a dangerous job. Although it was hardly a panacea, it helped control the proliferation of handguns in one of the nation's most densely populated states. However wrongheaded and potentially dangerous the view of the court's conservative majority may be, New York is, for the foreseeable future, stuck with it. But there are steps it can still take to keep New York from reverting to the Wild West. The state may, for example, strengthen its criminal and mental health background check and gun training requirements. There has also been talk of requiring gun owners to carry liability insurance. It can broaden the definition of gun-free zones and make it presumptive that they include schools, restaurants, bars and most other businesses. The Legislature might anticipate, too, the possibility that the court will eventually entertain a case on open carry of firearms, something a civil society absolutely does not need. Lawmakers this week should also try to address the flaws in the state's "red-flag" system, under which police, family members, and certain other parties can apply to a court to temporarily bar a dangerous person from possessing firearms. Following the May 14 mass shooting in Buffalo, Ms. Hochul directed State Police to step up requests for extreme risk protection orders, only to have some courts insist that troopers show up with an attorney. Attorney General Letitia James initially resisted the idea, but is now said to be talking with the governor on ways to address the requirement. The money seems to be there: Just-approved federal gun legislation included $750 million to help states implement red-flag laws. On abortion, the Legislature has a straightforward task: Amend the state constitution to protect the right to an abortion that's already in state law. Passage this year would allow the required second passage in 2023 and a referendum that November. Sign up for the Observation Deck newsletter Read the latest Times Union opinion, perspective and letters to the editor on Mondays by signing up for our Observation Deck newsletter. It's right for the governor and lawmakers to move quickly on both of these fronts, but they must also act deliberatively, as we saw in their rush following the Buffalo massacre. The legislation they enacted included a ban on ordinary civilian possession of body armor except, it turned out, of the very type that the suspect in the shooting was wearing. Clearly, this sloppy oversight needs fixing. Add it to the list of must-dos for a Legislature that the people of New York rely on to be a bulwark against a reactionary court that is quite likely just getting started imposing its agenda on the American people. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ALBANY Lawmakers are returning to the Capitol Thursday for an "extraordinary session" to address any fallout from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the right of someone to carry a concealed firearm, but there is also a push to take further action in response to the court's recent decision overturning Roe v. Wade. The abortion issue includes state Attorney General Letitia James' opinion that there are no legal issues with a proposed "Equality Amendment" that could further solidify the right in New York to an abortion, same-sex marriage and other rights under the states constitution, according to a source familiar with the matter. The support may have cleared the path for the amendment to be taken up by lawmakers during this week's special session, although elected officials would not disclose the details of their deliberations on Wednesday afternoon. If the amendment makes it onto the agenda Thursday, it would mark an unlikely turnaround for an amendment that appeared to be on hold until next year after lawmakers left Albany earlier this month at the end of their scheduled legislative session without reaching a consensus on it. The urgency to pass the amendment is based on a time clock for how long it takes to pass a constitutional amendment in New York. If it is not passed by early August, it would not be able to appear on a ballot in 2024's election. Advocates worry that without it passing this year, it would delay the long process to 2026. The amendment could potentially still reach voters by 2025, an off-cycle low turnout election; voting rights constitutional amendments were soundly rejected last year during the off-cycle election. James spoke with the offices of state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie in recent days to assuage legal concerns, according to sources. Certain lawmakers have raised concerns about whether the potential constitutional amendment would infringe on or suppress religious rights as a result of unintended consequences. Gov. Kathy Hochul affirmed her strong support for the amendment on Wednesday when asked about the issue. "Just want to get it done," said Hochul, who encouraged lawmakers to finish negotiations on any unresolved issues over language. "I want them to work it out." Hochul has campaigned on pushing for a constitutional amendment to protect the right to an abortion. She won her Democratic primary with over two-thirds of the vote of the electorate on Tuesday. "With so much at stake and Roe v. Wade on the chopping block, governors are the last line of defense to protect abortion and in New York the Republican candidates want to strip it away," stated a TV ad for Hocul that was released last month. The TV ad, which mirrors other campaign messaging, adds, "but Kathy Hochul won't let that happen." "She's working to amend the state constitution so that no matter how the Supreme Court rules in Washington, your right to a safe abortion is protected in New York," the narrator on the Hochul campaign ad says. Hochul has balanced two pledges to voters on abortion: She is working on a constitutional amendment to protect the right to an abortion and said that while she's in office the state won't be able to roll back abortion rights. The push for the amendment is based on a concern by some advocates about what could happen if Hochul is not governor. Advocates on the issue, like Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts and the New York Civil Liberties Union, are pressing the issue while Democrats control the Legislature and the executive chamber. A constitutional amendment protecting the right to an abortion would insulate it from rollbacks if the leading elected officials in office in New York decide they want to alter the law the 2019 Reproductive Health Act, which codified the right to an abortion in state law but not within the constitution. A constitutional amendment in New York though would not protect against a national ban on abortion that could come down from Washington, according to Vincent M. Bonventre, a professor at Albany Law School. "If the federal government outlawed marriage equality or outlawed abortion, then New York can't really do anything about that," said Bonventre, explaining that federal law supercedes state law, even if it is in the state's constitution. The scenario NYCLU and other advocates play out as happening, outside of a political regime change in New York, is the U.S. Supreme Court rolling back other rights, like same sex marriage or intercourse. The constitutional amendment would provide broad protection against any of the potential rollbacks in a variety of equal rights issues. The majority justices that ruled to overturn Roe V. Wade returning the issues of abortion to state's elected representatives explicitly noted in their ruling it only applies to abortion. The Equality Amendment, sponsored by state Sen. Liz Krueger and Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright, both Manhattan Democrats, would guarantee that "no person shall be denied equal rights" based on their "race, color, ethnicity, national origin, disability, or sex including pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression." The amendment is framed to protect those rights under a standard of equality instead of the traditional, and now crumbling, standard of privacy. New language, updated this week, adds a clause intended to explicitly protect religion: "Nothing in this section is intended to alter or diminish the existing protections for region set forth in articles three and eleven of this constitution." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ALBANY The U.S. Supreme Court for now will not overturn New York's vaccine mandate for health care workers, leaving in place a policy that had been challenged for its failure to provide religious exemptions for those who faced the loss of their jobs because they declined to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. Three justices Samuel A. Alito Jr., Neil M. Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas objected to the court's decision not to review the New York mandate, which allows for those with medical exemptions to continue working without being vaccinated but not those with religious objections. Before he resigned in August, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo had directed that all health care workers in New York, including staff at hospitals and long-term care facilities, be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Initially, Cuomo had required workers at state-run hospitals to be vaccinated. On Aug. 16, when he announced the expanded mandate, the governor said 25 percent of the state's approximately 450,000 hospital workers were not vaccinated. The number of health care workers who have since been vaccinated has increased significantly many choosing to do so because they had faced termination. Christopher A. Ferrara, a lead attorney in the federal case filed in Utica last year on behalf of 17 medical workers, had sought an injunction halting the mandate. He argued the state's failure to consider religious exemptions violated their constitutional rights. Similar cases were filed across the state on behalf of medical workers. Ferrara, from the Thomas More Society, a nonprofit law firm headquartered in Chicago, had cast medical workers as "front line heroes in dealing with COVID (who) cannot suddenly be treated as disease-carrying villains and kicked to the curb by the command of a state health bureaucracy." In the wake of the Supreme Court's announcement that it will not to hear the case, Ryan W. Hickey, an assistant attorney general handling the matter for the state, wrote a letter to the U.S. District Judge David N. Hurd requesting that the court move forward in reviewing the state's motion to dismiss the federal complaint. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who inherited the legal battle following Cuomo's resignation in August, issued a statement last year saying she would defend the mandate. The workers' challenge had largely centered on the fact coronavirus vaccines were "developed using cell lines derived from aborted children," Justice Thomas noted in a dissent filed in response to the court's decision this week not to hear the case. While the research and development of the vaccines relied on the use of fetal-tissue cells from abortions, the production of the vaccines relies on lab-replicated fetal cells not aborted fetal DNA. However, the plaintiffs contend their religious beliefs prevent them from consenting to receive vaccines that were "tested, developed or produced with fetal cells line derived from procured abortions." The mandate was briefly shut down last year by U.S. District Judge David N. Hurd in Utica. In a 27-page decision, he said the state offered "no adequate explanation" as to why a health care worker who qualified as "medically exempt" from vaccination could be afforded the ability to submit to daily testing before each shift and wearing a fitted N95 mask, but that "reasonable accommodation" was not extended to a worker with a "sincere religious objection." "Nor have defendants explained why they chose to depart from similar healthcare vaccination mandates issued in other jurisdictions that include the kind of religious exemption," he added. Hurd had concluded that there was a good possibility the plaintiffs would prevail at trial on their argument that the state's mandate does not meet the requirements for religious accommodations under the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, and that it violates the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause because it allows for medical exemptions but not those based on religion. Thomas' dissent issued Thursday echoed those arguments. A federal appellate court reversed Hurd's decision, and the Supreme Court declined to grant an emergency review of that action in December. Thousand of health care workers, many citing religious exemptions, were subsequently suspended and faced termination. In February, the state Department of Health, citing the potential for critical staffing shortages, announced it would not enforce a mandate that was set to go into effect that month requiring eligible health care workers to receive a booster shot or face potential suspension or termination from their jobs. "In order to avoid potential staffing issues and give health care workers more time to get boosted, the state will no longer enforce the booster requirement that will go into effect on Feb. 21," the department said at the time. Although the agency said it would review the situation in three months, the booster mandate was never revived. Joseph R. Sellers, president of the Medical Society of the State of New York, issued a statement last year saying the organization continued to support mandatory vaccinations for health care workers. These vaccination requirements are essential to protecting public health, particularly the immunocompromised, the elderly, and those too young to receive the vaccination," he said in a statement. "No major religious denomination opposes vaccinations, and the (U.S.) Supreme Court has for over 100 years upheld vaccination requirements to protect the public health. Moreover, it has proven very effective at significantly raising the vaccination rate of health care workers." A former Downing Street chief of staff and architect of the Good Friday Agreement has accused the British government of destroying its trust with the Irish government over the Northern Ireland Protocol. Jonathan Powell, who worked for Tony Blair and was involved in negotiations that forged the Good Friday Agreement, said the relationship between both governments was terrible. Mr Powell told the Oireachtas Good Friday Agreement committee an Irish parliamentary committee that the compromises made in the 1998 accord had been upended by the impact of Brexit. He said trust was vital to negotiations and had been crucial in the years leading up to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. He accused British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government of casually destroying something through vandalism, and trashing the UKs reputation. We spent a decade building trust, but the current (British) government is spending its time destroying trust. It is catastrophic. The relationship is terrible but it can be restored quickly, Mr Powell said. Any new British government would do its best to rebuild relationships as it is so important. He said the main casualty of the fallout over the Northern Ireland Protocol would be the regions peace process. The former British diplomat also said he was concerned it would induce a permanent political crisis that could prevent the re-establishment of the powersharing institutions in Northern Ireland. Mr Powell said he fears it will take the departure of Mr Johnson before serious negotiations take place between the UK and the EU. Boris Johnson decided to opt for a border in the Irish Sea something Theresa May had said no British Prime Minister could live with in order to get a (Brexit) deal, Mr Powell told the committee. This option is certainly massively better than a border on the island of Ireland, which would be disastrous for the GFA (Good Friday Agreement), but it cannot be denied that it undermines the unionist sense of identity to have a border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. Unfortunately for the unionists, no-one in six years of trying has been able to suggest an alternative. The current British government has embarked on a policy of escalation by threatening to unilaterally abrogate the NI Protocol which they themselves negotiated and signed. As a result, they have broken international law and undermined the UKs international reputation, alienated our allies in North America and Europe at a moment when we need them more than ever and potentially triggered a trade war when the world economy is struggling. The main casualty will be the NI peace process itself. That does not mean we are inevitably destined to return to the Troubles, but rather that it is likely to result in the institutions remaining broken for the foreseeable future, leaving NI without a viable government. The solution is perfectly obvious. The (British) government should be trying to de-dramatise the issue, rebuild trust with the EU and its other allies and negotiate solutions to the undoubted practical problems raised by the protocol. Fianna Fail TD Brendan Smith described Mr Powells comments as stark. It is a stark message from a former senior British diplomat, Mr Smith added. Its worrying for us because as it has been said, relationships between Ireland and Britain are at a low level. Mr Powell also accused the British government of attempting to redefine consent and the cross-community consensus and agreement as contained in the peace accord. He warned that changing the terms of the Good Friday Agreement would undermine its whole basis. It is dangerous to start changing powersharing at this stage given how sensitive it is. It is not wise to undermine consent and cross-community consent, he added. I worry when I see the British Prime Minister taking the terms and adapting them into what he wants politically as opposed to what the Good Friday Agreement states. He also warned that ignoring loyalists and their concerns about the Northern Ireland Protocol would be a terrible mistake. Ignoring loyalism and politicians using them as cannon fodder is a big mistake for the future. Offer a way for loyalism, he added. I think its important to do that and politicians should all try and reach out to loyalism and encourage them down the route. Ignoring loyalists is a terrible mistake. Irish politicians have been much better engaging with loyalists than any British politician and British politicians should try harder. In this quick post we roundup local news that might not be controversial but is still worth a peek. Check TKC news gathering . . . Harvesters having trouble supplying product to food pantries Harvesters supplies 760 agencies in the Greater Kansas City Area with food. Now facing several issues, Harvesters is canceling or cutting back orders. Jordyn Davila gets food at the drive-through pantry on Mondays at Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church in Overland Park.She brought along her five children and even two dogs."It's just awesome that there are opportunities for stuff like this, to be able to help anybody in need, no judgment, no questions asked," Davila said. 90-year-old dies in tractor crash in Johnson County, Missouri KINGSVILLE, Mo. - A 90-year-old man died after being ejected from a tractor in a crash in Johnson County, Missouri, Wednesday afternoon. William Brunner was pronounced dead at the scene after his John Deere tractor traveled off the right side of the road and hit a tree. A hospital in St. Joseph, Missouri, wages a legal war against the local newspaper A legal dispute over the firing of a hospital employee has escalated into a battle pitting one of the largest employers in St. Joseph, Missouri, against the city's daily newspaper. Heartland Regional Medical Center - which operates as Mosaic Life Care - earlier this month deposed both the reporter who covered the dispute for the St. 1 person killed in Independence building fire Thursday KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A fatal fire around noon Thursday in Independence, Missouri, is under investigation. Independence fire crews responded to a building fire in the 20200 block of East 17th Street Court North and noted smoke showing upon arrival. By 12:46 p.m., the city of Independence posted on social media that the fire was under control. Vacant Scarritt School slated for reuse Abby Hoover Managing Editor The Scarritt Elementary School at 3509 Anderson Ave., closed in 2010 during the "right sizing" of the Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS), is being listed for sale and reuse. After years of sitting "mothballed" without utilities, the site of the old Scarritt School was declared surplus in 2022. Deadline approaching to register in Missouri for August primary election KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The 2022 election season is almost upon us. For Missourians, people will need to be 17 and a half years old to be able to register to vote but must be 18 years old by the time of the election to vote. Voters need to be a U.S. Missouri farmer: Community had been working to improve railroad crossing MENDON, Mo. - The railroad crossing where an Amtrak train collided with a dump truck Monday that led to the deaths of three people was an apparent target of improvement for both members of the community and Missouri officials. The train, Amtrak's Southwest Chief from Los Angels to Chicago, struck a dump truck shortly after 12:40 p.m. Widow files first wrongful death lawsuit in Missouri Amtrak train crash KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The widow of a truck driver killed in the Amtrak train crash and derailment in Missouri has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. Attorneys for Erin Barton, wife of Billy Barton II, filed the suit against Chariton County and BNSF roadmaster Mariano Rodriguez. Serta Simmons Bedding will close Kansas City-area plant as part of manufacturing shifts - Kansas City Business Journal Serta Simmons Bedding will close a Kansas City-area manufacturing facility, a move that will affect 70 jobs. The move is part of a larger reorganization that has included the closing of at least two other facilities. Boulevard declares Chiefs center Creed Humphrey the official protector of tailgates A day after his birthday, Kansas City Chiefs Offensive Lineman Creed Humphrey has announced a partnership with Boulevard Brewing Co.The partnership names Humphrey, the official protector of tailgates throughout the Midwest.Boulevard says the announcement marks the official launch of its "Protect Your Tailgate" campaign set to kick off this fall. Fan guide to Kenny Chesney concert at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kenny Chesney drought is almost over for country music fans. After postponing his tours in 2020 and 2021, Chesney brings his "Here and Now 2022" tour to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium over the 4th of July weekend. Tickets to the concert are still available. Developing . . . The old school Sunflower State politico is the front runner in his contest and this has the newspaper fuming. Here's their money line in one of many screeds targeting the contender . . . "Kobach has spent the last decade trying and failing to prove the existence of voter fraud. Either hes wrong about the scope of the problem, or hes right and simply lousy at ferreting it out. Neither possibility suggests that he is right for the job of being the states top lawyer. More likely, Kris Kobach is another Jan. 6 disaster waiting to happen." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . There's a bit of house cleaning underway amid the local government elite today . . . Before we get started, let's share a truism and our takeaway from this hot mess . . . THESE VERY SAME HAPLESS LOCAL LEADERS & JOURNALISTS CONSPIRING TO REMOVE MAKINEN FROM THE ATA LAUDED HIM JUST A FEW YEARS AGO!!! An example of progressive high praise . . . "The Head Of Kansas City's Bus System Lost His Sight But Has A Clear Vision For Free Public Transit" Hint . . . Robbie never had an original idea about transit in his life . . . He has made a career of being used by more powerful & strong-willed politicos. Today he's being sacrificed because free bus rides are going poorly. Tragically, Makinen's removal should've taken place back in 2018 after Mike Sanders was earned a trip to the federal pen. However . . . Now that the ATA is suffering widespread claims of mismanagement and can't seem to give away free rides. A former crony of a convicted felon is taking the fall. Just a quick observation . . . We don't really blame Makinen for this hot mess that was created by so many political enablers who have been terrified to change the status quo and can only offer their bad ideas that serve to make matters worse. After talking with old buddies from The Star . . . JimmyC noted . . . "It doesnt look good for Makinen, who has led the ATA the last several years and, before that, served as chairman of the ATA board an unpaid position." The social justice angle connected to incentives . . . Specifically, Former KCPS honcho Mark Bedell raised concerns about the Kansas City Area Transportation Authoritys foray into economic development projects. That agency, which does not fall under control of city leadership, allows developers to shop around for tax incentives and is not subject to recent incentive reform measures, Bedell said. Let me be clear: Adding another agency, especially one that operates as covertly as the RideKC Development Corporation has, will halt any progress the City and the School District have made and will likely squash any hope our region has for more equitable development practices, the superintendent wrote. Financial decisions are moral decisions. Bedells letter was sent to elected and appointed city leaders, transit agency leaders and board members and U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. Officials with KCATA could not immediately be reached for comment. A few found memories are worth considering . . . "Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders appointed him to be the countys representative on the KCATAs board of commissioners. Makinen had been one of Sanders right hands early in his administration, serving on a number of public boards and, thanks to his friendly, jovial nature, acting as the county executives liaison to the mayor and top officials of cities in eastern Jackson County." Postscript on that connection . . . Former Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders To Spend 27 Months In Federal Prison Read more on today's inevitability via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . Kansas City schools superintendent warns against KCATA giving development incentives Outgoing Kansas City Public Schools Superintendent Mark Bedell issued a stark warning about the future of local development in a Wednesday letter to civic leaders and elected officials. Specifically, Bedell raised concerns about the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority's foray into economic development projects. Makinen out tomorrow as ATA president and CEO? Today may well be Robbie Makinen's last day as head of the Area Transportation Authority. On June 16, I reported that I'd heard Mayor Quinton Lucas wanted Makinen out and also wanted Tom Gerend, executive director of the Streetcar Authority, to replace him. I think it's likely that at least the first half of that... Under pressure from Kansas City officials, bus agency CEO is being forced from job When Kansas City officials announced they would replace 84,000 old-fashioned cobra-head streetlights with energy-efficient LEDs last year, there was one big problem that got no mention. The city didn't have the $20 million-plus to pull off the job when the City Council voted 11-1 in January to move forward. KCATA leader's job in peril after funding dispute with KC - Kansas City Business Journal The leader of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority probably will lose his job after trying to refuse to provide agency funds to replace streetlights. CEO Robbie Makinen fought a more than $20 million request for funding led by City Manager Brian Platt and Public Works Director Michael Shaw, according to The Kansas City Star . TKC addendum . . . One of our KICK-ASS TKC READERS found this image from Kenya and we think it might apply and serve the Kansas City discourse as well. Developing . . . 3,700 Ontarians over 60 have died since mid-December, despite narrative that COVIDs worst was over, Toronto researchers reveal. Desperate for COVID vaccine, some parents of children under 5 are making the trek to the U.S. border How much does it cost to fuel up in Toronto? By Jeff Murphy, June 29, 2022 Jacqueline Faria, left, and Matthew Garver are being recognized by the Global National Academic Advisement Association (NACADA) with awards for their outstanding work in advising University of Central Missouri students. WARRENSBURG, MO After honoring a University of Central Missouri faculty member in 2021 with the Global National Academic Advisement Associations (NACADA) Outstanding Advisor Award, WARRENSBURG, MO After honoring a University of Central Missouri faculty member in 2021 with the Global National Academic Advisement Associations (NACADA) Outstanding Advisor Award, NACADA this year is recognizing both a faculty and staff member with one of its prestigious honors. Matthew J. Garver, Ph.D., is receiving the Global NACADA Outstanding Advisor Award Faculty Advising Role, and Jacqueline Faria is being honored with the Global NACADA Outstanding Advisor Award Primary Advisor Role. Through their recognition, UCM claims two of only four awards that are presented annually by NACADA specifically for outstanding academic advising. This is a stellar achievement in a very competitive field. Being chosen as the top advisor out of more than 14,000 members worldwide is nothing short of awesome, but to bring both of these awards home to UCM, is absolutely amazing and wonderful, said Ken Schueller director of Student Success at UCM. I believe it speaks volumes about the quality of faculty and staff we have serving our students, and in perhaps a more general sense, the outstanding university that we are all privileged to call ours. The award for faculty recognizes individuals whose primary responsibilities are related to academic advising services to students. To qualify, a recipient must spend at least 50 percent of their time doing research or teaching at an institution, and have at least three years of professional experience in those areas. Nominees for the staff award must spend at least half of their time on direct delivery of advising to students, and have also served in an advisement role for three calendar years. Garver, serves as interim chair and associate professor in the School of Nutrition, Kinesiology, and Psychological Science, and Faria is a student success advisor in the College of Health, Science and Technology (CHST). They were most recently recognized as NACADA Region 7 award recipients, representing an area that includes colleges and university professionals in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. Prior to their regional recognition, Garver received Missouri Academic Advising Association (MACADA) honors in fall 202, Because Faria serves on the MACADA Board of Directors, she could not be considered for state recognition, but was able to participate in the other awards programs. Both honorees received Outstanding Academic Advisor Awards at UCM in spring 2021. Phillip Bridgmon, Ph.D., provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, praised the NACADA honorees most recent achievements, noting, This is fantastic news. Im very impressed by our colleagues for winning these awards, but certainly not surprised. That our colleagues compete and win these awards on a regular basis I think is also a testament to their focus and professionalism. We are all beneficiaries of their commitments, and these contributions are very important to our entire academic community. Faria became an academic success advisor in 2017, and she has served in that capacity for six years. She began her service at UCM in February 2015 as an office professional for the International Center. In 2016, she became the student services coordinator for CAST, where she worked closely with CHST advisors. In her current role, she serves students in the Schools of Technology; Aviation; Communication, History and Interdisciplinary Studies. I can't express what this accomplishment means to me. I think many of us doubt if we are making a difference in the lives of students, but achievements like this show the hard work and dedication that goes into serving the UCM community. This award represents the support my office has given me as a professional and our students' appreciation for what Success Advising can offer, Faria said. It has been extraordinarily touching to receive comments of support and encouragement from my students through this process. Seeing that they care about me as much as I care about them is inspiring. I can't think of a better way to spend my days than helping our wonderful students to reach their potential and achieve their goals." A resident of Blue Springs, Garver joined UCM in 2016, currently serving as interim chair and associate professor in the School of Nutrition, Kinesiology, and Psychological Science, where he will become chair of Nutrition, Kinesiology and Health on July 1. He is a faculty mentor to students in the Bachelor of Science and Master of Science programs in Kinesiology in which he has previously served as coordinator. In addition to being honored by NACADA, Garver has received other institutional awards. Most recently he was nominated for the Faculty Mentor of the Year Award (2020), and he was UCMs recipient of the Missouri Governors Excellence in Education Award in 2018. Garver commented on his recognition stating that it is often difficult to know what kind of impact his efforts are having on students. It was rewarding to read comments from nominators that demonstrate his work is meaningful, he noted. The award is a testament that long days and impassioned investment are worth it, he said. I purpose each day to try to make a difference to one or more people students, staff, colleagues, or campus visitors maybe this award reflects that intention. Garver and Faria continue a tradition of outstanding academic advisors at UCM. Including their recognition, six individuals have been honored nationally by NACADA since 2015 for their outstanding efforts to help students succeed in their college education. In 2021, Krystle Gremaud, assistant professor and program coordinator for Career and Technical Education in the School of Professional Education and Leadership, became the first UCM recipient of NACADAs Outstanding Advising Award Faculty Advising. Other individuals to be recognized nationally in previous years include individuals who have the primary role as Academic Success Advisors: Paula Brant, 2015; Jennifer Pint, 2016, and Natalie Peirce, 2017. These awards are in addition to a number of Certificate of Merit Awards that were earned in this recognition program by university members since 2015. On a local level, earlier this spring UCM honored two Outstanding Academic Advisors. One of them was Kerri Lynn, a staff member at the Success Advising Center who advises and mentors students in Anthropology, Speech Language Pathology, Criminal Justice and Criminology, Child and Family Development, Crisis and Disaster Management, International Studies, Modern Languages, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Social Work. The other honoree was Melissa Abner, Ph.D., associate professor and program coordinator in Fashion: Textiles and Clothing in Business, who works with students in the Bachelor of Science in Fashion, Fashion Merchandising Minor, and Apparel and Textiles Merchandising Certificate in CHST. Both campus members will have the opportunity to be considered for other awards related to academic advising, beginning with MACADA this fall. Russians tried to knock the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine out of the newly liberated localities in Kherson region by paired Mi-8 helicopter raids, but the attack was repulsed. A group attack of enemy helicopters in the north of Kherson region was repulsed by portable anti-aircraft missile systems. Ukraines Air Force launched seven airstrikes by assault aircraft and helicopters on a command and observation post, a concentration of enemy forces and equipment, as well as two ammunition depots along the front line, the Operational Command "South" posted on Facebook. Meanwhile, the enemy fired rockets at Odesa region. One rocket was destroyed, five more attacked the Black Sea coast in Izmail area. Thanks to the limited use of the coastal strip, no casualties were reported. In the Black Sea, the operation on Zmiinyi Island continues, the destruction of another Russian Pantsir-S1 air defense missile system was confirmed. ol An extensive investigation by Amnesty International has concluded that Russian military forces committed a war crime when they deliberately struck the Mariupol drama theatre in March, killing at least dozen people and likely many more. In a new report, Children: The Attack on the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theatre in Mariupol, Ukraine, the organization documents how the Russian military likely deliberately targeted the theatre despite knowing hundreds of civilians were sheltering there on 16 March, making the attack a clear war crime, the organization reports based on the results of interviewing witnesses, studying numerous photos, as well as scientific calculations. Amnesty Internationals Crisis Response team interviewed numerous survivors and collected extensive digital evidence, concluding that the attack was almost certainly carried out by Russian fighter aircraft, which dropped two 500kg bombs that struck close to each other and detonated simultaneously. Amnesty International commissioned a physicist to build a mathematical model of the detonation, to determine the net explosive weight of the blast which would be required to cause the level of destruction seen at the theatre. Many people were injured and killed in this merciless attack. Their deaths were likely caused by Russian forces deliberately targeting Ukrainian civilians, said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty Internationals Secretary General. As reported, Mariupol experiences one of the biggest humanitarian disasters caused by Russia's aggression. The city was almost completely destroyed as a result of enemy shelling. The destruction of the drama theater, sheltering hundreds of people, became one of the most tragic pages in the history of the city's defense. Today, Mariupol has no normal power, water, and gas supplies. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, up to 22,000 civilians have died in the city. Currently, more than 100,000 residents remain in blocked Mariupol. ol Russian troops conduct an offensive near Verkhniokamyanka and assault operations in the area of the Lysychansk oil refinery, battles are ongoing. This is stated in the latest report of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the Russian invasion as of 06:00 on June 30, published on Facebook. "In Donetsk direction, the enemy, with the support of artillery, is trying to block the town of Lysychansk and take control of a section of Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway. The invaders fired at civilian infrastructure in the areas of Lysychansk, Verkhniokamyanka and Siversk, launched an airstrike near Vovchoyarivka," the report reads. In Volyn and Polissya directions, the units of the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus continue to stay in the border areas of Brest and Gomel regions. According to available information, the military commissariats of these regions are studying the possibilities of covert mobilization of the population. There are no significant changes in Siversky direction. In Kharkiv direction, the enemy continues to defend the previously occupied positions. The invaders opened fire from tanks, mortars, tube and rocket artillery on the districts of Kharkiv city, the localities of Pytomnyk, Ukrainka, Peremoha, Dementiyivka, Prudianka, Korobochkyne, and Rubizhne. The defenders resolutely suppressed an attempted enemy assault in the area of Dementiyivka. The occupiers retreated. Airstrikes were launched near Prudianka and Verkhniy Saltiv. In Slovyansk direction, the enemy regroups its troops and defends itself. The invaders fired artillery on Mazanivka, Dibrivne, and Krasnopillia areas. In Kramatorsk direction, the enemy did not conduct active hostilities, firing artillery on the Ukrainian positions. In Bakhmut direction, shelling near Berestove, Pokrovske, and Zvanivka and an airstrike in Pokrovske area were recorded. Ukrainian soldiers stopped the offensive and inflicted significant losses on the occupiers in the areas of Klynove and Novoluhanske, as well as repulsed the assault towards the Vuhlehirsk TPP. In both cases, the enemy retreated. In Avdiivka, Kurakhove, Novopavlivsk, and Zaporizhzhia directions, the enemy shelled Vodiane, Avdiivka, Marinka, Vuhledar, Poltavka, Novoukrainske, Novosilka, and Orikhove areas. The invaders launched airstrikes on the Ukrainian positions near Avdiivka and Shcherbaky. The Russians tried to assault Pavlivka area but failed and retreated. In the Southern Buh direction, the enemy continues to systematically shell civilian and military infrastructure and regroups its troops. The Russians launched missile and air strikes in the areas of Kniazivka, Potiomkino, and Bereznehuvate, conducted aerial reconnaissance. The threat of missile strikes on the region's critical infrastructure remains. Two Kalibr sea-launched cruise missile carriers are on alert in the Black Sea. ol Czech specialists have developed and designed the Bivoj unmanned aerial vehicle, which will be available to the Ukrainian Army in the near future. This was reported by Radio Prague, according to Ukrinform. The Czech side intends to present the drone to Ukraine, Jablotron co-owner Dalibor Dedek, who supports the campaign to arm Ukraine, told reporters. The developer company does not disclose its name for security reasons. "The main task of the drone is to transmit accurate data that allows Ukrainian artillery to ensure high precision results," said Dedek, who through the Ukrainian embassy helped establish contact between the producer and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Read also: Baykar Makina to donate three drones to Ukraine The Ukrainian team that will operate the drone has already undergone training. It is noted that the UAV is equipped with a video camera and can be flown by a single operator. As Ukrinform reported, Slawomir Serakowski, an acclaimed Polish public figure, political scientist, and journalist, announced a fundraiser to acquire a Bayraktar TB2 strike drone for Ukraine. Britain will almost double its military support to Ukraine with an extra 1 billion (over $1.2 billion), to help the country move to offensive operations. The uplift in funding, to be announced by Boris Johnson at the NATO summit in Madrid on Thursday, will go toward air defense systems, uncrewed aerial vehicles, electronic warfare equipment and thousands of pieces of vital kit for Ukrainian soldiers, his office said in an emailed statement, Bloomberg reports. It brings the total UK military support since the outbreak of the war to 2.3 billion ($2.8 billion), which the government says is more than any country other than the US. The statement reads that the additional equipment is the first step in enabling Ukraine to go on the offensive against Russian ground forces, in order to restore sovereignty. The UK last week also announced a new training program to the Ukrainian armed forces. The military support is in addition to the 1.5 billion of humanitarian and economic support provided to Ukraine since February, the UK said. As reported, the NATO summit is held in Madrid on June 28-30. ol Just three months after the visa-free energy regime was launched, Ukraine began to export electricity towards Europe, namely to Romania. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Today, from 01:00 a.m., such exports were launched to Romania. The initial volume is 100 megawatts. The visa-free energy regime with the EU, which has been launched since March 2022, is giving a comprehensive and practical result. During the first day, Ukrenergo National Power Company generated UAH 10 million from the sale of access to the interstate connection, Shmyhal wrote. In his words, Ukraines electricity export potential towards Europe is up to 2.5 gigawatts. This way the state budget will receive more than UAH 70 billion per annum. After Ukraines victory in the war, this will allow us to significantly increase investments in the energy sector and renovate it according to the best EU standards. The energy sector will become one of the drivers in recovering our economy, as it has already become a driver of our integration into the EU, Shmyhal stressed. A reminder that, on March 16, 2022, Ukraine officially joined the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E). mk The annual general meeting of PJSC Gazprom shareholders decided not to approve the distribution of the company's profit and dividends for 2021. This was reported by the company press service via Telegram. "Shareholders have decided that in the current situation, it would be impractical to pay dividends in 2021," commented Famil Sadygov, Gazprom's deputy chief. At the same time, the value of Gazprom's shares has fallen 30% since the start of trading at the Moscow Stock Exchange in the wake of the move. In the next few hours, the stock price somewhat recovered so the fall stands at 27%. In May, the executive board recommended dividends at RUB 52.53 per share for 2021. As previously reported, in June, Gazprom informed companies from Austria, Germany, and Italy about the reduction in gas supplies. At the same time, Gazprom cut gas flows along the Nord Stream pipe to 67 million cubic meters per day (60% of the target figure). Lithuanias Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said that the country will continue to implement the terms of the fourth package of EU sanctions against Russia and stop the transit of other goods to Kaliningrad Oblast from July 10, when the restrictions are set to come into effect. That's according to Ukrinform citing Delfi. "Yes, the way we are currently complying with the sanctions that came into effect on June 17," Simonyte said, answering the question of whether other sanctions will be implemented. According to the Lithuanian PM, Lithuanian Railways clients have already been warned. "Carriers were informed that from July 10, certain guidelines regarding sanctions will come into force, so that they do not load cargo after that date," she said. It is noted that since June 17, EU sanctions on the transportation of steel and ferrous metals through the territory of Lithuania to Russias Kaliningrad Oblast have been in effect. From July 10, restrictions on the transit of cement, alcohol, and luxury goods will be imposed, and the ban on coal and other solid fossil fuels will be enacted on August 10. As reported by Ukrinform, the Russian Foreign Ministry has recently summoned Lithuanian Charge d'Affaires Virginia Umbrasene, to express protest against the decision of the Lithuanian authorities to ban the transit of a vast range of goods to Kaliningrad Oblast. The Russian ministry urged to immediately repeal the transit ban. At the same time, it was reported that Russia reserves the right to act to "protect its national interests." Later, Lithuania's Foreign Ministry handed Russian temporary Charge d'Affaires in Vilnius Sergey Ryabokon a note explaining the restrictive measures imposed by the EU on some categories of goods in transit to Kaliningrad. During the meeting, the information spread by the Russian side that Lithuania has banned the transit of passengers and goods that are not subject to the EU sanctions was refuted. Ukraine severs diplomatic relations with the Syrian Arab Republic and initiates the procedure of imposing a trade embargo after Syria recognized the "independence" of the "LPR" and "DPR". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine strongly condemns the decision of the Syrian Arab Republic to recognize the so-called independence of the temporarily occupied territories in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, reads the statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. The Ukrainian diplomats consider this decision to be an unfriendly act against Ukraine, an encroachment on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state, and a gross violation of Ukrainian law, the UN Charter, and the fundamental norms and principles of international law. There is no doubt that the Syrian regime is trying to give pseudo-subjectivity to the Russian occupying administrations in Donetsk and Luhansk at the behest of its Kremlin curators, the statement underscores. In response to this unfriendly act, Ukraine declares the severance of diplomatic relations with Syria without the severance of consular relations, in accordance with Article 2 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations done in Vienna on 24 April 1963. The Ukrainian Side is also initiating the procedure of imposing a trade embargo on Syria, as well as imposing other sanctions on Syrian legal entities and individuals. "Our position is clear we respond as harshly as possible to any attempts to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and we protect national interests by all available means, including on the diplomatic front," emphasized Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. The Ministry notes that in connection with the crimes of the regime of Bashar Al Assad against the Syrian people, the Ukrainian side closed the Embassy of Ukraine in Damascus back in 2016 and ordered the closing of the Embassy of Syria in Ukraine in 2018. Protection of the interests of Ukrainians in Syria is carried out by the Embassy of Ukraine in Lebanon. As reported, on June 29, the Syrian Arab Republic officially recognized the "independence and sovereignty" of the so-called "LPR" and "DPR" created by Russia in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. ol President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed increasing defense support for Ukraine with President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Continuing dialogue with Germany held talks with Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Discussed increasing defense support for Ukraine. We appreciate German people's solidarity on our path to the EU & support in countering aggression. Thanked for condolences over the inhuman attack on Kremenchuk, Zelensky posted on Twitter. Earlier, President Zelensky discussed strengthening sanctions against Russia and reconstructing Ukraine with Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern. ol United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson believes that Russias shameful retreat from Snake [Zmiinyi] Island shows Ukraines ability to fight back. The relevant statement was made by Reuters, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. If you wanted evidence of the amazing ability of the Ukrainians to fight back to overcome adversity and to repel the Russians then look at what has happened just today on Snake Island, where again Russia has had to cede ground, Johnson told a news conference at the NATO Summit in Madrid. Johnson expressed confidence that Ukraine will hold up against the aggressor state. In the end it will prove impossible for Putin to hold down a country that will not accept his rule, Johnson added. According to Sky News, Johnson also vowed to continue to intensify military support for Ukraine no matter how difficult it may be. It is only logical and right to continue to support Ukraine in the way that we are and, indeed, to continue to intensify that military support, Johnson said. A reminder that, after another stage of Ukraines military operation on Snake Island, Russian troops hastily evacuated the remains of their garrison from the island. Photo: AA mk News Editor Madelyn Weirich has worked with The University Star since May 2021. She is double majoring in Journalism and Spanish and will graduate in 2024. Her favorite beats to cover are political activism, local government and women's rights. June 30 2022 The Scottish Design Awards have marked 25 years of celebrating creativity at its best from around the country at an anniversary dinner. Marking a return to live events the gathering celebrated not only today's best examples of architecture and design but yesterday's greats, surfacing past winners from every year back to the formation of the awards in 1998. Supported by media partner Urban Realm this year's event saw Anderson Bell + Christie walk away with the architecture Grand Prix for Fielden Street, praised by judges for its attention to detail. The Design Grand Prix meanwhile was awarded to BRC Imagination Arts for the Johnnie Walker Visitor Centre, heralded as a 'celebration moment' on a street which has long needed some good news. Across the design divide architecture chair Allan Murray, founding director of Allan Murray Design, opted for Ostro Passivhaus, an energy-efficient home designed by architect-clients Paper Igloo. He said: It sends all the right messages about energy. It's full of light, beautiful spaces and energy which kick it into the clear blue water. Urban Realm editor John Glenday remarked: "The Scottish Design Awards are restored to all four dimensions for our return to a live event format, which paid tribute to the past, present and future of creativity in all its forms. "The tick of a clock can leave even the coolest among us perspiring on deadline day but ensures the steady flow of new people, fresh ideas and upstart practices to challenge the old order. Equally, the Scottish Design Awards are not just a snapshot of today's best but a continuum from yesterday's greats to tomorrow's stars, all of whom we must nurture." With one eye to the future, this year's programme also recognised Sammi Duong as the young designer of the year for 'delivering a signature style in a corporate world of briefs'. Amy Knowles-Brown meanwhile was named young architect of the year for adhering to process, not just aesthetics. Brown & Brown Architects rounded off the headline awards with the practice of the year honour. A full list of award winners is available over at the Scottish Design Awards. Bernhard Schlagheck, the Ambassador of Federal Republic of Germany to Pakistan called on Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to discuss matter of mutual interests ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Jun, 2022 ) :Bernhard Schlagheck, the Ambassador of Federal Republic of Germany to Pakistan called on Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to discuss matter of mutual interests. According to the press release, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq warmly welcomed the Ambassador of Federal Republic of Germany to Pakistan, Bernhard Schlagheck. The Minister stated that Pakistan and Germany enjoy a friendly and cordial relationship and a lot potential exist to enhance the relationship between both nations. Minister further stressed on the potential sectors in which collaboration is needed and highlighted special areas of cooperation between both nations including; climate change, renewable energy and energy efficiency. Minister further apprised the Ambassador about the solarization projects to save fuel and development of environmentally safe energy for government offices, residence and buildings. He also briefed the ambassador about the development projects in Balochistan including electrification of villages and solarization of tube wells. The Ambassador appreciated the effort of the Government of Pakistan in signing and implementing multiple projects that are beneficial for the development of both nations. Both sides decided to schedule more meetings to discuss various areas of cooperation and explore ways of effective implementation of existing projects. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Madrid, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Jun, 2022 ) :Britain pledged another 1 billion ($1.2 billion) in military aid to Ukraine to help it fend off Russia's invasion, including air-defence systems and drones. The fresh funds will bring Britain's total military support to Kyiv since the start of the war in late February to 2.3 billion, Downing Street said in a statement. The package includes "sophisticated air-defence systems, uncrewed aerial vehicles, innovative new electronic warfare equipment and thousands of pieces of vital kit for Ukrainian soldiers," it said. This will be a "first step" to allow Ukraine to go beyond its "valiant defence" efforts and move towards "mounting offensive operations" to regain territory. "UK weapons, equipment and training are transforming Ukraine's defences against this onslaught," the statement quoted him as saying. "And we will continue to stand squarely behind the Ukrainian people to ensure Putin fails in Ukraine."Britain was one of the first nations to provide Ukraine with lethal military aid such as anti-tank missiles in response to Russia's invasion. It has also been involved in training Ukrainian soldiers. Quito, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Jun, 2022 ) :The Ecuadoran government said late Wednesday it would restart talks with Indigenous-led protesters, mediated by the Catholic Church, as a fresh state of emergency was issued more than two weeks into disruptive and often violent daily rallies against rising living costs. To "return peace to the Ecuadoran people, we have decided to accept the mediation now offered by the Episcopal Conference of Ecuador (CEE)," government minister Francisco Jimenez said. Without revealing when the talks might begin, Jimenez said the CEE would arrange the details of the negotiations, "so that we can arrive at a final solution in this conflict." Discussions to end the protests that have rocked the South American country were suspended Tuesday -- on what would have been their second day -- after the government blamed the death of a soldier on demonstrators. And as protesters took to the streets again Wednesday, President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency in four of the 24 provinces where the "most violence is concentrated." The state of emergency did not include the capital, where most of an estimated 14,000 protesters have congregated. Chanting "We don't want 10 cents, we want results," a reference to fuel price concessions offered by the government, several hundred people demonstrated in the city center, which was blocked off by police, metal fencing and razor wire. A protester with a traditional red poncho leading a group of men with makeshift shields addressed the rest by megaphone: "If we need to sleep here... we will." Lasso has imposed a month-long state of emergency on the provinces of Azuay, Imbabura, Sucumbios and Orellana, the general secretary of presidential communication said. The aim is to create a "security zone" -- enforced by military and police and where demonstrations are banned -- around the country's oil wells and to protect food, medicine and fuel supplies in those provinces as well as oxygen used in hospitals. Lasso on Saturday lifted a previous state of emergency in six other provinces -- including Pichincha, where the capital lies -- in one of several concessions to protesters. The government had called off talks after the military said Tuesday that a soldier died and five police and seven soldiers were injured in an attack by demonstrators on a tanker truck escort in the country's east. Lasso, hours before surviving an impeachment vote, then accused Conaie leader Leonidas Iza of self-serving politics and vowed "we will not negotiate with those who hold Ecuador hostage." It was the powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie) -- credited with unseating three presidents between 1997 and 2005 -- that called the protests. But government minister Jimenez struck a different tone Wednesday evening in announcing a return to negotiations. "The goal of the national government is firstly to guarantee peace to Ecuadorans, and in pursuit of that standard, we will not abandon efforts that allow us to arrive at that long-awaited peace," he said. The protests, which began on June 13, have been costly, with losses of some $50 million per day to the economy, according to the government, which has warned oil production -- already halved -- could come to a complete halt soon. The nationwide show of discontent over deepening hardship comes in an economy dealt a serious blow by the coronavirus pandemic. Indigenous people make up more than a million of the South American nation's 17.7 million inhabitants. The protesters want fuel price cuts, jobs, food price controls and more public spending on health care and education. Over the weekend, Lasso announced other concessions in a bid to unlock talks, including a 10-cents-per-gallon cut in diesel and gasoline prices to $1.80 and $2.45, respectively. That received short shrift from protesters, who want a reduction to $1.50 for diesel and $2.10 for gasoline. Five demonstrators have died and hundreds on both sides have been wounded in clashes between the security forces and protesters blockading roads and disrupting supply lines. Doha, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Jun, 2022 ) :Indirect talks in Qatar's capital between Iran and the US on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal have "not yet" yielded the progress the EU had hoped for, the EU coordinator said late Wednesday. The indirect negotiations in Doha are an attempt to reboot long-running European Union-mediated talks in Vienna on a return to the 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers. EU coordinator Enrique Mora said late Wednesday that "two intense days of proximity talks" in Doha had "not yet" yielded the progress that the EU team had hoped for. "We will keep working with even greater urgency to bring back on track a key deal for non-proliferation and regional stability," he added on Twitter, posting a photo of himself meeting with Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri. The comments came after Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said that the talks would last only two days. "The talks in Doha, which are taking place in a professional and serious atmosphere, were scheduled for two days from the beginning," Kanani said. The parties have "exchanged views and proposals on the remaining issues", he added. No time-limit had previously been announced on the talks, which have been taking place in a Doha hotel with special envoy Robert Malley heading the US delegation. An EU source told AFP that the discussions, which come two weeks before US President Joe Biden makes his first official visit to the region, were supposed to last several days. Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had said Iran was "serious" about finalising a deal in Doha, but that it wouldn't cross its "red lines". "If the American side has serious intentions and is realistic, an agreement is available at this stage and in this round of negotiations," he was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA earlier Wednesday. IRNA has previously described the "red lines" as lifting all sanctions as related to the nuclear agreement, creating a mechanism to verify they have been lifted, and making sure the US does not withdraw once again from the deal. The US State Department said that the indirect consultations had been ongoing Wednesday in Doha, but said it had nothing immediately to say about the talks. A State Department spokesperson said the US was prepared to return to the deal, but reiterated calls for Tehran "to drop their additional demands that go beyond" the scope of the pact. Doha, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Jun, 2022 ) :Indirect talks in Qatar's capital between Iran and the US on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal have concluded with "no progress made", a State Department spokesperson said late Wednesday. The negotiations in Doha were an attempt to reboot long-running European Union-mediated talks on a return to the 2015 agreement between Tehran and world powers. No time limit was previously announced on the most-recent negotiations, which had been taking place in a Doha hotel with special envoy Robert Malley heading the US delegation. But by Wednesday night, a US State Department spokesperson said the "indirect discussions in Doha have concluded". "While we are very grateful to the EU for its efforts, we are disappointed that Iran has, yet again, failed to respond positively to the EU's initiative and therefore that no progress was made," the spokesperson told AFP in an email. EU coordinator Enrique Mora had earlier said the parties engaged in "two intense days of proximity talks" in Doha that had "not yet" yielded the progress the EU team sought. "We will keep working with even greater urgency to bring back on track a key deal for non-proliferation and regional stability," he said on Twitter earlier in the day, posting a photo of himself meeting with Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri. The comments came after Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said that the talks would last only two days. The parties have "exchanged views and proposals on the remaining issues", he said. An EU source told AFP that the discussions, which come two weeks before US President Joe Biden makes his first official visit to the region, were supposed to last several days. Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had said Iran was "serious" about finalising a deal in Doha, but that it wouldn't cross its "red lines". "If the American side has serious intentions and is realistic, an agreement is available at this stage and in this round of negotiations," he was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA earlier Wednesday. IRNA has previously described the "red lines" as lifting all sanctions related to the nuclear agreement, creating a mechanism to verify they have been lifted and making sure the US does not withdraw once again from the deal. Washington has "made clear our readiness to quickly conclude and implement a deal on mutual return to full compliance", the US State Department spokesperson said after indirect talks concluded. "Yet in Doha, as before, Iran raised issues wholly unrelated to the JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal) and apparently is not ready to make a fundamental decision on whether it wants to revive the deal or bury it," the spokesperson said. Differences between Tehran and Washington have notably included Iran's demand that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be removed from a US terror list. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Kyiv, Ukraine, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Jun, 2022 ) :Ukraine's army on Thursday hailed the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Black Sea's Snake Island, which was captured in the first days of Russia's invasion. "I thank the defenders of Odessa region who took maximum measures to liberate a strategically important part of our territory," Valeriy Zaluzhny, the Ukraine military's commander-in-chief, said on Telegram. "Unable to withstand the fire of our artillery, missile and air strikes, the occupiers left Snake Island," Zaluzhny said. Moscow had said earlier it was leaving the island as a "goodwill gesture", to allow Kyiv to ship agricultural products from Ukraine. "They always downplay their defeats this way," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter. He also called on Ukraine's western allies to provide more weapons "so that we liberate more of our lands". Ukrainian presidential aide Mikhaylo Podolyak said on Twitter: "So, in order for Russia to show its goodwill, we have to beat it up regularly."Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing its grain, contributing to a global food shortage caused by grain exports blocked in Ukrainian ports. Snake Island became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance after a radio exchange went viral at the start of the war, in which Ukrainian soldiers used an expletive in rebuffing a demand by a Russian warship to surrender. (@FahadShabbir) Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood met with Bhutanese ambassador designate Rinchen Kuentsyl (non-resident) on Thursday and discussed matters of mutual interest ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Jun, 2022 ) :Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood met with Bhutanese ambassador designate Rinchen Kuentsyl (non-resident) on Thursday and discussed matters of mutual interest. The Foreign Secretary underlined Pakistan's desire to further strengthen friendly ties with Bhutan and upgrade cooperation in trade, tourism and people-to-people contacts. He stressed importance of close cooperation in multilateral fora including South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Jun, 2022 ) :COMSTECH, Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD), Royan Institute, Mustafa (pbuh) Science and Technology Foundation and Sindh Innovation, Research, and education Network jointly organized an international webinar on "Genomic Characterization of Neuromuscular Disorders in Pakistan" on Wednesday. This was the third webinar of the PCMD-Royan Institute webinar series. This webinar series is a joint venture of PCMD and Royan Institute, Iran. It is held physically in Pakistan and Iran and people around the world join these webinars online. COMSTECH, Mustafa (Peace Be Upon Him) Science and Technology Foundation and Sindh Innovation, Research, and Education Network provide support in the organization of these webinars. Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan, Associate Professor at the Dr. Panjwani Center conducted this webinar. He talked about the genomic characterization of neuromuscular disorders in Pakistan. He said neurological disorders are a heterogeneous group of disorders, they affect the peripheral and central nervous system. Dr. Ishtiaq talked about neuromuscular disorder and presented the current status of the prevalence of this disorder in Pakistan. He said Pakistan lies in the region which is under high burden of neuromuscular disorder and the basic reason is consanguineous marriages. Dr. Ishtiaq mentioned that neurological conditions pose a great diagnostic challenge due to complex clinical presentation, phenotypic overlap, and rare disorders. He said that next generation sequencing and bioinformatics are very helpful in diagnosing neurological disorders. Dr. Ishtiaq said that Jamil-ur-Rahman center for genomics research center at the ICCBS is the first genomics facility of Pakistan. He said this center is providing training to researchers from all over Pakistan. Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan is Associate Professor at the Dr. Panjwani Center. He is Ph.D. from the H. E. J. Research Institute of Chemistry, ICCBS, University of Karachi, and is post-doctorate from the Beijing Genomics Institute, Shenzhen China, and the Sanger Wellcome Institute, Cambridge. His research group is working on microbial, viral, and human disease genomics. During the current pandemic, his group carried out genomic surveillance studies on SARS-CoV-2 and contributed to informed decision-making at the national level. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Iran insisted Thursday that a revived nuclear agreement with major powers remains achievable even as European powers backed Washington in urging Tehran to budge following talks in Qatar Tehran, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Jun, 2022 ) :Iran insisted Thursday that a revived nuclear agreement with major powers remains achievable even as European powers backed Washington in urging Tehran to budge following talks in Qatar. The United States said it was "disappointed" and that there was "no progress made" after two days of indirect talks with Iran brokered by an EU envoy in the Qatari capital Doha. But Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said he believed the talks had been "positive" and a deal could still be reached. "We are determined to continue negotiating until a realistic agreement is reached," he said after a phone call with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who hosted the indirect talks. "Our assessment of the recent round of talks in Doha is positive," he said. "I insist on the fact that we are making serious efforts to reach a good, solid and lasting agreement," said Amir-Abdollahian. "An accord is achievable if the United States is realistic." The two days of talks, in which the EU mediators shuttled between Iranian and US delegations, were intended to reboot wider negotiations between Iran and major powers in Vienna which have been stalled since March. The talks aim to bring the United States back into a 2015 deal jettisoned by the Donald Trump administration in 2018 by lifting the sweeping economic sanctions he imposed in exchange for Iran's return to full compliance with the limits set on its nuclear activities. President Joe Biden's administration has "made clear our readiness to quickly conclude and implement a deal on mutual return to full compliance", a US State Department spokesperson said after the talks wrapped up in Qatar. "Yet in Doha, as before, Iran raised issues wholly unrelated to the JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal) and apparently is not ready to make a fundamental decision on whether it wants to revive the deal or bury it." Differences between Tehran and Washington have notably included Iran's demand that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be removed from a US terror list, a decision taken by Trump whose Republican Party is certain to denounce any shift by Biden. At the United Nations, Britain, France and Germany -- which remain in the nuclear deal -- said that Iran should take a deal that had been brokered in March and reverse steps away from compliance with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). "We call upon Iran to stop and reverse its nuclear escalation, return to full cooperation with the IAEA and seize without further delay the offer on the table, which would benefit the Iranian people and nation," France's UN envoy, Nicolas de Riviere, told reporters alongside his British and German counterparts. "Iran's nuclear programme is now more advanced than at any point in the past," he said. "Unfortunately, it is our understanding that at the meeting which ended yesterday in Doha, Iran once again refused to seize the opportunity and, instead, made new extraneous and unrealistic demands." China and Russia, whose relations with the West have deteriorated over the Ukraine invasion, also support a revival of the nuclear deal. "We must do everything to revive it," said Russia's deputy ambassador, Dmitry Polyanskiy, also rejecting any "pressure on Iran."The talks in Doha came just two weeks before Biden makes his first visit to the region as president, with trips to Iran's foes Israel and Saudi Arabia. The early 1900s were an exciting time across the world, with rapid advances in the steel, electric and automobile industries. The industrial changes also mark an inflection point in our climate. According to an international team of researchers led by the University of South Florida (USF), the sea level has risen 18 centimeters since the start of the 20th century. The study, featured on the cover of the July 1 issue of Science Advances, works to identify preindustrial sea levels and examines the impact of modern greenhouse warming on sea-level rise. The team, which includes USF graduate students, traveled to Mallorca, Spain home to more than 1,000 cave systems, some of which have deposits that formed millions of years ago. For this study, they focused on analyzing deposits from 4,000 years ago to present day. The team found evidence of a previously unknown 20 centimeter sea-level rise that occurred nearly 3,200 years ago when ice caps melted naturally over the course of 400 years at a rate of 0.5 millimeters per year. Otherwise, despite major climatic events like Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age, the sea level remained exceptionally stable until 1900. The results reported in our study are alarming, said lead author Bogdan P. Onac, geology professor at USF. The sea-level rise since the 1900s is unprecedented when compared to the natural change in ice volumes over the last 4,000 years. This implies that if global temperatures continue to rise, sea levels could eventually reach higher levels than scientists previously estimated. To create the timeline, the team gathered 13 samples from eight caves along the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. The deposits are rare only forming near the coastline in cave passages that were repeatedly flooded by sea water, making them accurate markers of sea-level changes overtime. Each deposit holds valuable insight into both the past and future, helping researchers determine how quickly the sea level will rise in the coming decades and centuries. The samples were taken to the University of New Mexico and University of Bern in Switzerland, where special instruments were used to determine their age by uranium-series method. Over time, uranium decays into other elements such as thorium and lead, allowing researchers to create a timeline of the sea level documented in each deposit. A complex software at Harvard University helped generate predictions using various ice models and Earths parameters to showcase an accurate history of the sea level. These predictions are essential because they allow researchers to estimate past global mean sea level, which is key in addressing future sea-level rise. If humans continue to be the main driver and the temperature increases 1.5 degrees in the near future, there will be irreversible damage, Onac said. There will be no turning back from that point on. Based on ice mass loss from the Antarctic and Greenland, the average sea-level rise since 2008 is 1.43 millimeters per year. Permanent flooding from the rising sea level wont happen overnight, but Onac says it will be seen more and more during storm surges and hurricanes. With nearly 40 percent of the worlds population living within 62 miles of a coast, the rising sea level could be catastrophic with substantial societal and economic impacts. Even if we stop right now, sea level will continue to rise for at least a couple of decades, if not centuries, simply because the system is warmed up. In June, Onac received a new research grant from the National Science Foundation to continue his research to predict future sea-level rise due to global warming. The grant will allow Onac to expand the research further into history by 130,000 years and create a better understanding of sea level globally. Starting in September, Onac and his team will begin analyzing cave deposits from around the globe, including Italy, Greece, Mexico and Cuba. This study was conducted in collaboration with the scientists from Harvard University, University of New Mexico, University of the Balearic Islands, University Rome Tre, Rutgers University, Australian National University, Los Alamos National Laboratory and University of Bern. As Haitians hold a procession in honor of Sr. Luisa DellOrto who was killed in an armed attack in Port-au-Prince on Saturday, Bishop Pierre-Andre Dumas of Anse-a-Veau and Miragoane diocese upholds the late nuns work as a point of reference for the Church in Haiti. By Benedict Mayaki, SJ Sr. Luisa DellOrto, a Little Sister of the Gospel of Charles de Foucauld, was killed on Saturday in Haiti, after falling victim to an armed attack during which she was critically injured. She was rushed to the hospital where she died shortly after. The 64-year-old nun, originally from Lomagna, in Italys Lecco district, had lived in Haiti for twenty years, dedicating her life to the service of the poor and street children. Pope Francis praised her service during his Angelus on Sunday, saying that she made her life a gift to others, even to the point of martyrdom as he offered his condolences to her family and religious community. Procession in honor of Sr. Luisa In the wake of the tragic death of the nun, a crowd of Haitians from the neighbourhood where she lived held a procession on Wednesday to the site of the armed attack that led to her death in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital. Sister Luisa died just two days shy of turning 65 years, and the crowd that gathered in her honor, made sure to remember her birthday. On Thursday afternoon, a Mass will be celebrated in her parish, with the presence of her earthly remains. Her home parish in Lomagna, Lecco, in Italy, also gathered for the recital of the Rosary on Monday, led by Archbishop Mario Delpini of Milan. Read also 26/06/2022 Pope Francis praises work of nun killed in Haiti Pope Francis expresses his condolences to the family and to the religious community of Sister Luisa DellOrto, who was killed in Haiti on Saturday Not afraid to serve In an interview with Vatican News' Federico Piana, the Bishop of the Haitian Anse-a-Veau and Miragoane diocese, Bishop Pierre-Andre Dumas, remembered the nun for her courageous service, even in dangerous neighbourhoods. The Bishop recalled that Sr. Luisa worked in a difficult and violent area in the outskirts of the capital, Port-au -Prince an area that the Church had indicated to have high levels of violence. Yet, he continued, Sister Luisa was not afraid to go to the most infamous slum to bring to concrete help to everyone. Service to the poor and the Church Sr. Luisas work with the poor made her popular in the neighbourhood. She was the backbone of Charles House, which provides shelter for street children in the impoverished slums of the Haitian capital. The nun was also well integrated into the diocese and the Church in Haiti. She taught philosophy at the dioceses Notre Dame Seminary and at the Salesian Center for Higher Education (CESADES). Bishop Dumas said that Sr. Luisas work strengthened the Church in Haiti. First, he explained, she worked very well on the education of young children, creating, for example, dance classes and bringing out the hidden aptitudes of children and young people, enhancing them with professionalism. Sr. Luisa with some young people Secondly, the Bishop added, She empathized with the poor. For our local Church she became a point of reference also because hers was an existence lived in martyrdom: a discreet person who made no noise but embodied the true values of the Gospel. We could also appreciate all this when she was a formator at the major seminary, an excellent job that lasted more than twenty years." Maddalena Boschetti, a lay fidei donum missionary in Haiti for almost 20 years, also remembered Sr. Luisa for her service to the poor. She was one of the friends who accompanied me the most, helped me during these years," said Boschetti. A missionary friend, chosen by the Lord who called her and asked her to live, not just to die, but to live for her poor, for the neediest people in this country." Insecurity and social instability in Haiti Though the motive for the killing of Sr. Luisa is unclear, Haiti, one of the countries with the most severe poverty levels in the Western hemisphere, has had challenges with insecurity and social instability. The devastating earthquakes in 2010 and 2021 have also dealt a huge blow to the countrys economic health. Bishop Dumas explained the situation on the ground, noting that there is a chronic lack of basic necessities and a climate of social instability that Haiti has been experiencing for a long time. He added that clashes between clans have also worsened the situation of insecurity to boot and kidnappings and murders occur with worrying frequency. In the face of this, the Bishop said that the Church has been channeling efforts towards establishing peace among the factions in conflict. "For too long," said Monsignor Dumas, "the Haitian people have been suffering; we need to give them a real chance for redemption. There are some signs of hope on the horizon: many are realizing that this is not the way forward. Those who have responsibilities must be able to find solutions, while also listening to the advice of the Church." Thailand scrambled F-16s after a Myanmar jet involved in clashes with anti-coup fighters violated its airspace, officials said Thursday, as a regional envoy urging dialogue visits Yangon. Fighting in eastern Myanmar has escalated since a putsch last year ousted a civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, with thousands fleeing to Thailand to escape the violence according to the United Nations. The conflict has sparked concern among Myanmar's neighbours, with a special envoy from regional block the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) beginning a visit on Wednesday to try to kickstart talks between the army and the opposition. Bangkok deployed two fighter planes after "an unidentified aircraft crossed into Thailand in Tak province" before disappearing from radar, the Royal Thai Air Force said in a statement. Thailand's air attache in Yangon has been asked to "coordinate with related agencies in Myanmar to send a warning and find preventive measures in the future", the air force added. An official in Tak province told AFP that "a few bullets" had landed across the border in Thailand during fighting in Myanmar on Wednesday. "We have sent a warning message to Myanmar yesterday and today" regarding the air incursion, said the official, who requested anonymity. Authorities in Tak were providing basic shelter and food for around 300 people who had fled across the border, he said. Myanmar's military has carried out airstrikes and artillery shelling during five days of "fierce fighting" in neighbouring Kayin state, said Major General Saw Nerdah Mya of the Karen National Defence Organisation, one of a number of armed groups resisting the country's security forces. The clashes come as Cambodian foreign minister and ASEAN envoy Prak Sokhonn visits Myanmar for five days in an attempt to revive stalled diplomacy between the junta and rebels. There are no details on who he will meet but the junta has said he will not be allowed to see Suu Kyi, who was moved from house arrest to solitary confinement in jail last week. Almost 700,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since the toppling of Suu Kyi's government last year, the UN said in May. Following the coup dozens of "People's Defence Forces" (PDF) have sprung up to fight the junta, surprising the military with their effectiveness, analysts say. Kayin state near the Thai border has seen heavy fighting, with PDF fighters conducting operations alongside troops from the Karen National Defence Organisation, an established rebel group who have expressed support for anti-junta fighters. Show more Show less The Group of Seven offers developing countries an alternative to Chinas so-called Belt and Road Initiative. Hello and welcome to VOA Asia Weekly. I'm Chris Casquejo in Washington. That story is coming up. But first, making headlines. Indonesian President Joko Widodo met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before heading to Russia to meet leader Vladimir Putin in the hope of reviving peace talks. U.S. President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid. This is the first time South Korea attended the NATO summit. It announced it will establish a mission in the Western Military Alliance. China's Foreign Ministry spokesman defended preventing Taiwan from joining the U.N. Ocean Conference after the pacific island nation of Tuvalu, an ally of Taiwan, withdrew from the conference. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived Thursday in Hong Kong ahead of celebrations marking 25 years since the city was turned over from Britain to China. Fuel supplies are nearly exhausted in debt-ridden Sri Lanka. The country sent two government representatives to Russia to negotiate for fuel. An ASEAN regional envoy for the crisis in Myanmar wrote a letter to the countrys military leaders urging them to end deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyis solitary confinement and return her to house arrest. The Group of Seven leaders launched a $600 billion global infrastructure initiative they say will compete with Chinas Belt and Road Initiative. But analysts say this ambitious proposal has some issues. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Austria, with reporting from Patsy Widakuswara in Washington. This week, the Group of Seven leaders launched a $600 billion global infrastructure initiative they say will compete with Chinas Belt and Road Initiative. But analysts say this ambitious proposal has some issues. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Telfs, Austria, with reporting from Patsy Widakuswara in Washington. The G-7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment plans to offer developing nations $600 billion in infrastructure funding by 2027, as an alternative to Chinas massive Belt and Road Initiative. President Joe Biden unveiled the proposal at the G-7 summit in Germany. "What we're doing is fundamentally different because it's grounded on our shared values of all those representing the countries and organizations behind me. It is built using the global best practices: transparency, partnership, protections for labor and the environment." A third of the funding comes from the U.S. and the rest from other wealthy G-7 nations using modest government investments and establishing high standards designed to leverage private sector financing. The initiative is a relaunch of the Build Back Better World plan, announced by G-7 leaders last year. The West had really been asleep at the wheel for a number of years on this use of connectivity infrastructure connectivity as a means of extending foreign policy influence. And so they are now coming together on a united project to sort of push this. The G-7 plan will focus on digital connectivity, gender equity, health security, climate and energy security areas seen as not yet dominated by Chinas investments. Its billed as a better alternative than BRI, which has been criticized as debt trap diplomacy that Beijing employs to expand its influence. But meeting Western standards of labor and environment may prove challenging for countries. Due to the level of ease of Chinese investments these are often quite attractive, because at the end of the day when you're a developing country, you want the infrastructure now. Beijing slammed the initiative as a "zero-sum game approach. "We oppose the moves that advance geopolitical calculations and smear the Belt and Road Initiative in the name of promoting infrastructure development." In the nine years since it was launched, nearly 150 countries have signed up for Chinas BRI so far totaling over 2,600 projects with a combined value of $3.7 trillion, according to data analysis firm Refinitiv. Anita Powell, VOA News, Telfs, Austria. Visit our website voanews.com for the most up-to-date stories. This is VOA Asia Weekly. Filipino journalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa said that the Philippines government is affirming a previous order to shut down Rappler, the news website she co-founded. Rappler gained notoriety for its reporting of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody crackdown on illegal drugs. Ressa said Rappler will stay in business until all legal appeals are exhausted. Finally on VOA Asia Weekly, an Indonesian villager captured a crocodile measuring more than four meters using just a thin rope. Video of Usman and his son wrangling the mighty croc went viral in Indonesia. Conservation officials took the crocodile to release it in a less populated area. Thanks for watching VOA Asia Weekly. Im Chris Casquejo. See you next week. The head of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, in a rare television interview, has outlined concerns about Chinas economic and military ambitions. Information is power, and the head of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service has for the first time appeared on national television to explain how his secretive organization operates, in a bid to publicly explain its workings as it celebrates its 70th anniversary. ASIS is one of six intelligence agencies overseen by senior members of the government in Canberra and the defense department. It is Australias equivalent to Britains MI6 and the CIA in the United States. ASIS director, Paul Symon, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that a heightened geostrategic environment was its number one security challenge. He noted that terrorism remained a threat, especially in the Middle East and Afghanistan, which continued to be a very dynamic and difficult environment. He said he is concerned about unrest in Sri Lanka and potential dangers for people if they fall in the hands of human traffickers as they try to make their way into Australia. Symon said his agency was working hard to keep the government in Canberra informed of Chinas strategic ambitions in the Pacific. China has, with its growing power, we think a range of economic, military, political aspirations and I think its impossible right now to say exactly what that end state is, or end point is for them," said Symon. "I think its our job in the Secret Intelligence Service to obtain, through agent access, through people who are willing to share the secrets of countries around the region, what they are thinking and what they are doing and then share that with our government, but also help the region understand what is going on as well. Beijing recently signed a security pact with Solomon Islands, a strategically located Pacific archipelago north-east of Australia. China failed to persuade other Pacific Island nations to join a broad regional accord, but it has struck individual agreements with Kiribati and Samoa. In response, Australias recently elected center-left government has intensified its diplomacy in the region, promising stronger action on climate change. Beijing said it was not in competition with other countries for influence in the Pacific. It has, in the past, accused Australia of anti-China hysteria as bilateral relations deteriorated over various political and trade disputes. Analysts have said Canberras attempts to reset relations with Beijing will require delicate diplomacy. China is Australias biggest trading partner, but a longstanding military alliance with the United States is the bedrock of Australias national security. Canberras various spy agencies include the Australian Security Intelligence Organization and the Office of National Assessments. Three of the six intelligence agencies are operated within the Department of Defense. Their job includes providing the information to help the Australian government navigate various geopolitical challenges. China is offering to help silence the guns in the Horn of Africa, an ambitious undertaking given the multiple conflicts in the region, and an indication that Beijing may be moving away from its traditional non-interference stance towards more active diplomatic engagement. Chinas special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Xue Bing, made the offer last week at a peace conference organized by Chinese officials in Addis Ababa. The Chinese government has historically avoided getting involved in foreign disputes, but some observers see the event as evidence that Beijing seeks to rival the U.S. as an international conflict mediator. Others saw it more as a pragmatic move by a major investor in the region to keep its interests safe. The conference itself did not get into specific proposals for resolving several ongoing security crises, but the Chinese envoy said Beijing wants to become more involved. This is the first time for China to play a role in the area of security, said Xue, who was appointed to his position earlier this year, adding that Beijing wants a more important role not only in trade and investments but also in the area of peace and development. China has some 400 construction and manufacturing projects worth over $4 billion in Ethiopia alone, according to the United States Institute of Peace. However, Ethiopia has been mired in vicious ethnic conflict since 2020, with the federal government in Addis Ababa fighting rebel forces in the northern Tigray region. Peace talks are set to begin soon, but theres disagreement between the warring factions over who should serve as mediator, the African Union or Kenya. As Africas largest single-country trade partner, China acknowledges the economic necessity of stability in regional anchor countries such as Ethiopia, Fonteh Akum, executive director of the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies, told VOA. Much of the rest of the region is also in crisis. Northern neighbor Eritrea has been murkily involved in the war in Tigray, while Ethiopias eastern neighbor, Somalia, has been ravaged by conflict and Islamist insurgency for decades. To the west, South Sudan is navigating a tenuous peace after years of civil war, while Sudan recently underwent a military coup. Just this week, the Sudanese and Ethiopian armies clashed over a disputed border region. So China has its work cut out for it, and its not the first country to try. Washingtons own Horn of Africa envoy, David Satterfield, stayed only three months in the job before quitting earlier this year. President Joe Bidens envoy before him, Jeffrey Feltman, lasted less than a year. The joint statement released at the end of Chinas peace conference which was attended by foreign ministry officials from regional countries and during which no specific conflict was even discussed was extremely vague. It said only that all parties had agreed to maintain peace and stability. I think despite the holding of this peace forum its not clear what they can offer in terms of mediation to the federal government and the other Ethiopian conflict actors, said William Davison, senior Ethiopia analyst at International Crisis Group. It isnt clear that theres the political commitment from Beijing, or the understanding of the political complexities, or the diplomatic capacity to really get involved in talks, he told VOA. Washington has placed sanctions on Ethiopia, much to the annoyance of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who has also described China as Addis Ababas most reliable friend. Chinas ambassador to the United Nations spoke out against imposing sanctions at the U.N. Security Council last year. Theres concern in Addis about so-called Western meddling and the U.S. pushing its agenda onto Ethiopias civil war, Davison said. So it wouldnt be a surprise if Ethiopia preferred the far more non-interfering approach of China in the context of peace talks. Adhere Cavince, an independent Kenyan international relations analyst, concurred, saying some Western interventions in the Ethiopian conflict had not been very kindly received. The U.S. responded with sanctions, with conditions, with threats and this is quite different from what the Chinese are saying, he told VOA, referring to the fact that China is focused on development rather than human rights concerns. The Chinese Communist Party has always maintained that stability is necessary for development and the Horn region is a key part of its global infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China has funded railways and highways in Kenya, built the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, and constructed a railway from landlocked Ethiopia to Djibouti where it also has set up its first overseas military base. It will be looking to protect this strategic base as well as shipping lanes and its own nationals working in the region. From an economic perspective, stability in the region will help China to move deeper in eastern Africa, which is a center point of its BRI in Africa, said Christian Geraud Neema Byamungu, an analyst at the China-Global South Project. Whether they can do it by offering economic integration and development projects, Neema Byamungu said, is another question. The conflicts in the region are not only economically rooted, theyre also socially and culturally rooted and this is one of the areas where China lacks experience, he told VOA. Still, it seems China wants to send a message to Washington that it, too, can help foster stability abroad. Mediation with Chinese characteristics might look quite different however, with a focus not on human rights and democratization but economic development. A recent column on Africa in Chinas state-affiliated Global Times newspaper suggests as much, positing that as a good thing. Although some Western countries like the US also offer mediation in the region, China has an advantage compared to them, which is that China never takes sides or interferes with regional countries domestic affairs, it read. But analysts dont think this will necessarily play in Chinas favor, particularly in Ethiopia. Its neutrality wasnt well received by the Tigray people, who didnt have a representative present at the peace conference, noted Neema Byamungu. Davison said as China has always supported the government of the day, its unlikely that the other actors, most notably the Tigray regional leadership, would be interested in China playing a mediating role. But for Cavince, the Horn of Africa countries are simply welcoming of what the Chinese are proposing on the basis of the fact that it is not confrontational, it is not forceful, it is based on mutual consent. Whether China is going to be successful in its mediation efforts in Africa is a question whose time hasnt come, it lies in the future, he said. U.S. President Joe Biden thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday for dropping his objections to the bids by Sweden and Finland to join NATO, leading the way for the military alliance to expand even closer to Russia. I want to particularly thank you for what you did putting together the situation with regard to Finland and Sweden, Biden told Erdogan during a one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Madrid. Youre doing a great job. In response, speaking through an interpreter, Erdogan said that Bidens pioneering in this regard is going to be crucial in terms of strengthening NATO for the future, and its going to have a very positive contribution to the process between Ukraine and Russia. Turkey, Finland and Sweden on Tuesday signed a memorandum deepening their counterterrorism cooperation, addressing Ankaras concerns that the two Nordic countries are not doing enough to crack down on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union, the U.S. and others. Finland and Sweden also agreed not to support the Gulenist movement, led by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, which Turkey blames for a failed 2016 coup attempt and other domestic problems. Helsinki and Stockholm will also end support for the so-called Kurdish Peoples Defense Units (YPG) in Syria, part of the U.S.-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting against the Islamic State group. Additionally, Sweden agreed to end an arms embargo against Turkey that dated to its 2019 incursion into Syria. Invitation to join NATO With Turkey withdrawing its veto, NATO formally invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance earlier Wednesday. It sends a very clear message to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. We are demonstrating that NATOs doors are open, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, characterizing the invitation process as the quickest in history. Helsinki and Stockholm will bring great military capability and strategic outlook to the alliance, said Jim Townsend, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy, now at the Atlantic Council. Both nations because they were neutral they had to spend a lot of money and make a lot of effort to be a very professional force because they weren't in an alliance. They had to depend on themselves, Townsend told VOA. It took the wolf being at the door for those nations to come in. The two countries applied to join in May, but the process began months earlier during the initial phase of Russias invasion of Ukraine, with Biden reaching out to the leaders to discuss the possibility of joining NATO, a senior U.S. administration official told reporters Tuesday. Since then, the U.S. has been painstakingly working to try and help close the gaps between the Turks, the Finns and the Swedes, the official said. All the while trying, certainly in public, to have a lower-key approach to this so that it didn't become about the U.S. or about particular demands on the U.S., he said, referring to Ankaras long-standing request to purchase U.S. F-16 fighter jets. Biden phone call The official denied that Ankara made the warplane request a precondition to withdraw its objections. However, he noted that Biden conveyed Tuesday during a phone call to Erdogan his desire to get this other issue resolved, and then you and I can sit down and really, really talk about significant strategic issues. The day after Ankara lifted its veto, the administration announced its support for the potential sale of the fighter jets. Celeste Wallander, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs at the Pentagon, told reporters that Washington supports Ankaras effort to modernize its fighter fleet. That is a contribution to NATO security and, therefore, American security, she said. In 2017, despite American and NATO opposition, Turkey signed a deal to purchase the S-400 Russian missile defense system. In response, Washington issued sanctions and kicked Ankara out of its newest, most advanced F-35 jet program. Since then, Turkey has sought to purchase 40 modernized F-16s, which are older models of the American fighter jets, and modernization kits for another 80 F-16s. Wallander said any F-16 sales need to be worked through our contracting processes. A deal would likely require approval from Congress. Ukraine grain In their meeting, Biden also thanked Erdogan for his incredible work to establish humanitarian corridors to enable the export of Ukrainian grain to the rest of the world amid the war. We are trying to solve the process with a balancing policy. Our hope is that this balance policy will lead to results and allow us the possibility to get grain to countries that are facing shortages right now through a corridor as soon as possible, Erdogan said in response. Turkey has played a central role in negotiations with Kyiv and Russia to increase the amount of grain that can get out of Ukraine. Tens of millions of people around the world are at risk of hunger as the conflict disrupted shipments of grain from Ukraine, one of the worlds leading producers. Earlier this month, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met his Russian counterpart to discuss unlocking the grain from Black Sea ports but failed to reach an agreement. Hurdles remain, including payment mechanisms and mines placed by both Moscow and Kyiv in the Black Sea. Turkey has suggested that ships could be guided around sea mines by establishing safe corridors under a U.N. proposal to resume not only Ukrainian grain exports but also Russian food and fertilizer exports, which Moscow says are harmed by sanctions. The U.N. has been "working in close cooperation with the Turkish authorities on this issue," said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric. VOA's Henry Ridgwell contributed to this report. Brazilian - Wood Pellets ENplus A1, species, Pine/Eucalyptus, origens, Brazil, South America, in bags 15KG, product of reflorestation area, 100% certified FSC, certified number CSAGRO ( FSC-C111754 ) company certified FSC since 2012 product in accordance with EUTR 2013 regulations, we are primary manufacturer we export to global market FOB/CFR/CIF A day after indirect talks between the United States and Iran on a return to the 2015 nuclear deal ended unsuccessfully, diplomats said Thursday that Tehran has brought new demands to the table. "We understand that not only has Iran not taken up the offer on the table, but that it also added yet more issues which fall outside the JCPOA, with maximalist and unrealistic demands, Frances U.N. envoy, Nicolas de Riviere, told a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. He, and other diplomats, did not detail what those new demands were. The Security Council meets twice each year to review implementation of the nuclear deal, which it endorsed in a resolution. The 2015 landmark agreement provided Iran with sanctions relief in exchange for limits on its nuclear program. Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons. Under the Trump administration, the United States pulled out of the JCPOA in 2018 and reimposed sanctions. In 2019, Tehran resumed advancing its nuclear program, enriching uranium beyond permitted thresholds, among other steps. In addition to Iran, the remaining parties to the deal are Britain, China, France and Russia, plus Germany. Doha talks The European Union holds a coordinator position. It served as the intermediary in the indirect talks in the Qatari capital of Doha earlier this week between U.S. special envoy Robert Malley and Irans chief negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani. EU Ambassador Olof Skoog told the council that from the coordinators perspective, they believe there is a good deal on the table, arrived at after more than a year of multilateral negotiations, and the space for further significant changes has been exhausted. That deal has been sitting on the table since March. This is not a bilateral deal between Iran and the United States, Skoog emphasized. Very tough political choices had to be made by all JCPOA participants and the United States to reach the current delicate balance in the text. He expressed concern negotiations could ultimately fall apart. My message is seize this opportunity to conclude the deal, based on the text that is on the table. The time to overcome the last outstanding issues, conclude the deal and fully restore the JCPOA is now, Skoog said. Irans envoy said its team has negotiated in good faith and been flexible, and blamed Washingtons unrealistic and rigid approach for the current impasse. Our negotiating team is ready to engage constructively again to conclude and reach a deal, Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi told council members. The ball is in the United States court, and if the U.S. acts realistically and shows serious intention to implement its obligations, the agreement is not out of reach. No 'real urgency' seen from Iran Washingtons envoy expressed frustration with Iran following Doha and a visit to Tehran by the European Unions foreign policy chief last week. In light of these efforts, we were all the more disappointed that, in High Representative [Josep] Borrells visit to Tehran on Saturday, and in the indirect discussions the EEAS [the European Unions diplomatic corps] conducted in Doha this week, Iran continued to make demands that go well beyond the JCPOA, Deputy U.S. Ambassador Richard Mills said. Iran has yet to demonstrate any real urgency to conclude a deal, end the current nuclear crisis and achieve important sanctions lifting. Mills said a deal could be finalized only if Iran drops its additional demands that go beyond the scope of the JCPOA. The ball is in Irans court and the choice to move back towards full implementation of the JCPOA rests with Iran, he said. With each party urging the other to move first, it remains unclear whether the 2015 deal can be revived. Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr., son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, became the 17th president of the Philippines Thursday, successfully fulfilling his familys mission to return to power 36 years after a peoples uprising toppled his father. With more than 31 million votes, Bongbong as he is popularly known snatched the presidency in the countrys most consequential election in May. Marcos, 64, ran on a campaign of national unity, which was an invitation to forget the atrocities of his fathers dictatorial regime while propagating a collective nostalgia for the supposed golden era of the country. Critics say his victory can be attributed to decades-long historical revisionism efforts by the family and massive disinformation on social media platforms. President Rodrigo Duterte skipped the inauguration, held at the steps of the National Museum, where past presidents were also sworn in, but the two met inside the palace before the noon swearing in. In what his camp touted as a simple and solemn inaugural rite, Marcos promised the Philippine people he would deliver. You picked me to be your servant to enable changes to benefit all. I fully understand the gravity of the responsibility that youve put on my shoulders. I do not take it lightly but Im ready for the task, he said in his first speech as president. Marcos also praised his father, while saying he was not there to talk about the past, which his family has tried hard to whitewash and to avoid during the heated campaign. I once knew a man who saw what little had been achieved since independence in a land filled with people with the greatest potential for achievement, and yet they were poor. But he got it done. Sometimes, with the needed support. Sometimes, without, Marcos said. So, will it be with his son. You will get no excuses from me, he added. Marcos leads his family in returning to Malacanang Palace, the seat of power in the Philippines and the official residence of the president, which they left three decades ago to escape the angry mob of Filipinos. His election sealed the deal for the familys return to power, which they have worked on since Marcos Sr. died in September 1989 while in exile in Hawaii. His mother, former first lady Imelda Marcos, who became synonymous with extravagance, made two attempts at the presidency. It is estimated that the Marcos family plundered $10 billion from the publics coffers during their 21-year rule in the Philippines. Subsequent administrations elected after the restoration of democracy recovered only half of it. Jina Godoy, 56, joined fellow Marcos supporters in rejoicing at the victory of Marcos Jr. at a satellite celebration in the capital, Manila. I hope corruption will be removed or lessened, Godoy told VOA. I hope he will fulfill his promises, but I think he will do it because his father did it. When asked about the Marcos familys corruption issues, Godoy said, I dont believe that. Some Filipinos are concerned that the Marcos family, now in control of the Philippines, wil abuse their power to unlock cash and assets they have stashed in offshore accounts. It is also feared that the second Marcos presidency will be as brutal as the first. Bonifacio Ilagan, a martial law survivor, led other activists who survived torture and human rights abuses during the Marcos regime in taking an oath to "guard against tyranny, falsehoods, and the trampling of people's rights and livelihood." Its a nightmare, Ilagan said before a group of aging activists and their young supporters at a shrine for martial law victims, But this is our reality now. We need to accept it. Can you imagine we were young when we fought Marcos Sr.? Now Im 70 and were facing Marcos Jr. Its hard to accept. The group vowed to resist all forms of historical revisionism and called on Marcos to recognize and atone for the human rights violations during his fathers regime. A U.S. federal court found Marcos Sr. was responsible for human rights abuses in the Philippines and has ordered the compensation of some 7,500 victims. At another anti-Marcos protest in a historic public plaza, activists denounced the political alliance between Marcos and Duterte, and vowed to resist what they expect will become an extension of Dutertes tyrannical rule that saw killings of some 30,000 people in the name of a war on drugs. I don't think that Macos is the legitimate president of the Philippines, Charm Maranan, an activist with Defend Southern Tagalog, told VOA. The last election has been muddled with electoral fraud, there have been accounts of cheating, of widespread corruption and of widespread voter disenfranchisement. The Commission on Elections has denied there was cheating during the election despite reports of irregularities from international observers. In the next six years, we plan on continuing to fight, continuing to resist all attacks against the people and hopefully, a lot more Filipinos and a lot more of our fellow countrymen will be joining our fight and our struggle, she added. A U.N. investigative panel is calling on the government of Ethiopia to end conflict-related rights violations on its territory and bring the perpetrators of crimes to justice. The commission has submitted its first report to the U.N. Human Rights Council. The three-member International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia reports that violations of international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law continue and appear to be committed with impunity. Commission chair Kaari Betty Murungi said the panel is alarmed by ongoing atrocities against civilians, including events reported in the Oromia region. This is a reference to the recent killings of an estimated 250 people, mostly from the Amhara ethnic group, allegedly by the rebel Oromo Liberation Army. Any spread of violence against civilians, fueled either by hate speech or incitement to ethnic-based or gender-based violence, are early warning indicators and a precursor for further atrocity crimes, Murungi said. These and the protracted humanitarian crisis including blockades to food and medical aid, supplies and services pose grave risk to the Ethiopian civilian population and to people in the region. The commission was established last December at a special session on the human rights situation in Ethiopia since Nov. 3, 2020. That was when the governments military offensive in Tigray began in response to attacks by the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF). Ethiopia has rejected as unwarranted the adoption of the resolution that established the commission. Ethiopia's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Zenebe Kebede Korcho, however, has told the council his government will cooperate with the commission despite ongoing reservations. He said discussions have begun. The country is now turning a page, Korcho said. The government of Ethiopia has decided to seek peaceful end to the conflict. An inclusive national dialogue is launched to address political problems across the country. The government has taken numerous confidence-building measures. The ambassador said his government has declared an indefinite humanitarian truce in northern Ethiopia. As a result, he noted humanitarian assistance is reaching all those in need. The commission said it has begun its work and welcomes the cooperation of the Ethiopian government. The commission adds it believes it can contribute to furthering accountability for the many violations that have occurred since the start of the conflict in Tigray and that are still ongoing. Israel is headed for new elections a fifth time in three years after parliament voted 92-0 to dissolve itself and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett resigned. Bennett's former coalition partner, Yair Lapid, is set to take over as acting prime minister until elections November 1. Bennett, appearing emotional, handed power to Lapid, in a ceremony at the prime minister's office. "I'm passing you the sacred baton and the responsibility for the State of Israel. I hope you protect it and that God will protect you," Bennett said. Lapid said that he will do whatever he can to make sure the State of Israel remains Jewish and democratic. Before the ceremony, Lapid visited Israel's Holocaust Memorial to honor his late father, a Holocaust survivor. In a statement, Lapid said he promised his father that he will always keep Israel strong and capable of defending itself and protecting its children. The outgoing government was an eight-party coalition that included parties from the right and the left. For the first time in Israel's history, it included an Arab party the four-seat Raam headed by Mansour Abbas. Several weeks ago, Bennett lost his narrow coalition majority when two hardline lawmakers defected, making it impossible to govern. Israel now heads to its fifth election in three years. Lapid's main challenger will be former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His right-wing Likud party is the largest party in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, but he was not able to put together a coalition. He is also on trial on several corruption charges. Netanyahu showed that he intends to run a negative campaign in his reaction to the Knesset dispersal. He said the Bennett government had failed and that it was a combination of fake right and radical left. The political turmoil comes just weeks before U.S. President Joe Biden is set to visit Israel and Saudi Arabia for talks on improving regional security. Israeli analysts say Lapid is not expected to make any major decisions about Iran or other issues. But Israel will be caught up in yet another election campaign, which could make progress on a regional defense alliance more elusive. Israel on Wednesday moved closer toward its fifth election in less than four years, plunging it deeper into political uncertainty as it grapples with rising living costs amid renewed international efforts to revive a nuclear deal with Iran. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced he would not run in the upcoming election but would retain his position as alternate prime minister after his coalition partner Yair Lapid takes over as head of the caretaker government. "I leave behind a thriving, strong and secure country," he told reporters on Wednesday. "We proved this year that people with very different opinions can work together," he added, referring to his ideologically diverse coalition. Last week, Bennett moved to disperse parliament after a series of defections made his ruling coalition no longer tenable. The final vote on the bill to dissolve the Knesset, which was set to happen by midnight, was delayed until Thursday by the many amendments filed, Israel's public broadcaster Kan radio said. Amendments were submitted by parties across the political spectrum. Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman said his party was blocking the dispersal bill to advance a metro project, and the Arab-led Joint List party said it was hoping a holdup would lead to the expiration of regulations that extend legal protections to settlers in the occupied West Bank. Once the calling of a snap election gets the Knesset's final approval, Israel's center-left foreign minister, Yair Lapid, will take over from Bennett as prime minister of a caretaker government with limited powers. But even with lawmakers grappling over the exact election date, either Oct. 25 or Nov. 1, the campaign has become dominated by the possible comeback of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Lapid and Bennett ended Netanyahu's record 12-year reign a year ago by forming a rare, ideologically mixed alliance that included an independent Arab party for the first time. The government lasted longer than many expected but faltered in recent weeks amid infighting. Netanyahu, now opposition leader, has been delighted by the end of what he has called the worst government in Israel's history. He hopes to win a sixth term in office despite being on trial for corruption on charges he denies. Surveys have shown his right-wing Likud party leading the polls but still short of a governing majority despite the support of allied religious and nationalist parties. A Kentucky judge on Thursday blocked the state from enforcing a ban on abortion enacted in 2019 that was triggered after the U.S. Supreme Court last week overturned the constitutional right to it nationwide. Jefferson Circuit Judge Mitch Perry issued a temporary restraining order at the request of two abortion clinics, including a Planned Parenthood affiliate, which challenged that law and another that bars abortions after six weeks of pregnancy that can come before a woman realizes she is pregnant. Abortion services had halted in the state since Friday, when the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had guaranteed the right of women to obtain abortions, clearing the way for states to enact bans. Florida In Florida, meanwhile, Circuit Court Judge John Cooper was expected to rule later on Thursday on whether to block a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy from taking effect on Friday, following a hearing in Tallahassee. Several groups, including Planned Parenthood affiliates and Florida abortion clinics, filed a lawsuit arguing the state constitution protects women's right to an abortion for up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. The 15-week limit, which mirrors the Mississippi law at the heart of the U.S. Supreme Court case that reversed Roe, was signed into law in April by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. With a federal right to abortion no longer guaranteed, abortion rights groups and clinics have rushed to state courts seeking to slow or halt Republican-backed restrictions on the ability of women to terminate pregnancies that are now taking effect or are poised to do so in 22 states. Elsewhere State courts in Texas, Louisiana and Utah have temporarily blocked bans in those states since last week. There are 13 states that, like Kentucky, enacted so-called "trigger" laws designed to take effect if Roe v. Wade was overturned, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights advocacy research group. Kentucky's trigger ban has only limited medical exceptions permitting abortion only to prevent the death or serious, permanent injury to a woman. The decision is temporary, though, and a further hearing is scheduled on Wednesday on the clinics' request for an injunction to further block enforcement of the laws. "We're glad the court recognized the devastation happening in Kentucky and decided to block the commonwealth's cruel abortion bans," Planned Parenthood said in a statement. State Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican, said in a statement that Perry had no basis under Kentucky's constitution to allow the clinics to resume performing abortions. "We cannot let the same mistake that happened in Roe v. Wade, nearly 50 years ago, to be made again in Kentucky," he said. "We will be seeking relief from this order." With Roe no longer law, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday also threw out lower federal court rulings that had invalidated abortion limits in Arizona, Arkansas and Indiana. For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 9:02 p.m.: Russia is using inaccurate missiles from old Soviet stocks for more than 50% of its strikes in Ukraine and the rate of the strikes has more than doubled in the last two weeks, a brigadier general in Ukraine's armed forces said Thursday. Russian missiles have hit an array of targets in Ukraine in recent days, Reuters reported, killing one civilian at an apartment block in Kyiv on Saturday and at least 18 more at a shopping center in the central city of Kremenchuk on Monday. Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, denies targeting civilians and says it only hits military infrastructure. Brigadier General Oleksii Hromov told a news conference on Thursday that Russia was trying to hit military and critical infrastructure, but that the use of old, less accurate Soviet missiles was leading to significant loss of civilian life. His analysis diverged from that of some Ukrainian politicians who accuse Russia of deliberately striking civilians to sow panic. 8 p.m.: The situation in Lysychansk, a city in eastern Ukraine under Russian attack, is "extremely difficult" with relentless shelling making it impossible to evacuate civilians, the regional governor of Lugansk said Thursday, Agence France-Presse reported. "There is a lot of shelling and from multiple directions. The Russian army is approaching from different directions towards Lysychansk," Serhiy Haidai said in a video posted on Telegram. Russia's forces remain at the outskirts of the city where there is currently no street fighting, he said. Haidai dismissed claims by pro-Russian separatists fighting alongside Moscow's forces who claim to control half of the city situated across the river from Sievierodonetsk, which was captured by the Russian army last week. 7:02 p.m.: The U.S. Treasury Department said Thursday it has blocked a $1 billion Delaware-based trust connected to sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Abusaidovich Kerimov, The Associated Press reported. The move comes after the U.S. seized a $325 million superyacht the 348-foot-long Amadea tied to Kerimov earlier this month. The size of the trust and the complexity of the investigation made this a unique case, according to the department. "Even as Russian elites hide behind proxies and complex legal arrangements, Treasury will use our broad enforcement authorities, as well as our partnerships through the REPO Task Force, to actively implement the multilaterally coordinated sanctions imposed on those who fund and benefit from Russia's war against Ukraine," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. 6 p.m.: At least 20 people have been confirmed dead in Russias missile strike on the Kremenchuk mall, with many missing and likely killed and dozens wounded in the mid-afternoon strike by a Russian guided AS-4 anti-ship missile. Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertys Current Time has the story of the survivors. 4:45 p.m.: Amos Hochstein, President Joe Bidens point man for global energy problems, says he knows that transitioning away from the climate-wrecking pollution of fossil fuels is the only way to go. He advocates urgently for renewable energy, for energy-smart thermostats and heat pumps. But when it comes to tackling the pressing energy challenges presented by Russias war on Ukraine, Hochstein also can sound like nothing as much as the Wests oilfield roustabout, taking a giant pipe wrench to the worlds near-crisis-level energy shortfalls. We have to face the reality that today Europes system is dependent on gas, Hochstein told The Associated Press. It was a relatively rare public account from an envoy whose work normally is behind the scenes. And I need to make sure that people in the winter have heating, and they have electricity. 4 p.m.: Kyiv says about 2,000 orphans have been forcibly taken to Russia following its February 24 invasion of Ukraine. The government says it wants these children back. But Moscow is introducing new laws that will fast-track Russian citizenship for Ukrainian children and ease adoption procedures for Russian families. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has this report. 3:15 p.m.: Western fashion brands are conspicuous by their absence at a gleaming new shopping center on the outskirts of Moscow and customers say they scarcely miss them, Reuters reported. Following Moscow's decision to send thousands of troops into Ukraine at the end of February, international fashion brands from Adidas (ADSGn.DE) to Zara (ITX.MC) have paused operations in Russia, while Nike (NKE.N) is one of the handful to commit to a definitive exit from the market. "I am neutral on this, whether we have them or not," shopper Alexandra Moskunova told Reuters at the mall in Khovrino. "I can happily do without them." 2:30 p.m.: At a press briefing Thursday, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric was asked about a Russian ship taking grain from Berdyansk, an occupied area of Ukraine, and whether it had anything to do with U.N. efforts to negotiate grain exports from the war-torn country, VOAs U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer reported. Dujarric responded, No. This is not part... as far as I know, part of the Secretary-General's efforts. He continued, The discussions on that effort to bring Ukrainian grain and Russian grain and fertilizer out to the global markets are continuing at a rather intense clip, and I have nothing else to addNo, I do not have any information about that grain. 2:16 p.m.: 2:04 p.m.: Russia summoned Britain's ambassador to Moscow to protest Prime Minister Boris Johnson's remarks about President Vladimir Putin and the remarks of another British official about top Russian government figures. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. Russia told Ambassador Deborah Bronnert that it "firmly" opposed the boorish statements of the British leadership regarding Russia, its leader, official representatives of the authorities, as well as the Russian people, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday. "In polite society, it is customary to apologize for remarks of this kind," it said, scolding Britain for the "unacceptable insulting rhetoric." Johnson said on June 29 in comments to German broadcaster ZDF that Russias military aggression against Ukraine was "a perfect example of toxic masculinity." He said that, if Putin were a woman, I really don't think he would've embarked on a crazy, macho war of invasion and violence in the way that he has. 1:37 p.m.: 1:08 p.m.: Early on in Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, many, like Chernihiv resident Valentyna, believed civilian areas should be relatively safe even in cities under fire. She learned the opposite on March 16, while standing in line for bread alongside dozens of hungry neighbors. Artillery fire hit the crowd, badly injuring her and killing her husband and 13 others. Its not that Im scared to go there now," she told Current Time, a co-production of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and VOA. "It just gives me the shudders, so I can't go there, she said. 12.31 p.m.: Turkeys president is hailing his countrys joint memorandum with Sweden and Finland over their NATO accession as a victory, The Associated Press reported. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that all of Turkeys sensitivities had been included in the 10-article agreement. The deal signed Tuesday removed Turkeys objection to the Nordic countries NATO membership. But Erdogan added that if Sweden and Finland did not fulfill their promises, Turkey could still block their membership by not ratifying the deal in the Turkish parliament. Erdogan claimed after the NATO summit ended that Sweden had promised to extradite 73 terrorists to Turkey and crack down on the financing and recruitment activities of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, and its extensions. However, the Nordic countries only said they would address those requests in accordance with the European Convention on Extradition and gave no firm number in the written agreement. 12:00 p.m.: NATO leaders promised more military aid to Ukraine and declared Russia a "direct threat" at their June 29-30 summit in Madrid. The leaders of the 30-member Western military alliance were gathering amid Moscow's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertys Editor Rikard Jozwiak was in the Spanish capital for the meeting and has these four takeaways at the end of the NATO Summit. 11:48 a.m.: Russias top prosecutor will be empowered to shut down media from countries that ban or restrict Russian news organizations under a law passed by the lower house of parliament on Thursday. The bill - following bans by some Western governments on Russian media they regard as mouthpieces for President Vladimir Putin and cheerleaders for his war in Ukraine - creates a legal basis for Moscow to retaliate against the media of any country that restricts the activity of Russian journalists, according to Reuters. Under the bill, such media will lose their accreditation and be banned from operating in Russia or distributing content there. These measures would only be lifted when the country in question allows Russian media to work without restrictions. 11:30 a.m.: 10:56 a.m.: A multinational task force created in March as part of Western efforts to press Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine says it has blocked or seized more than $30 billion worth of assets owned by Russian oligarchs, VOAs Masood Farivar reported. In addition to confiscating luxury yachts, jets, mansions and other assets belonging to allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the task force, known as REPO, says it has frozen about $300 billion in Russian Central Bank reserves. 10:24 a.m.: French President Emmanuel Macron says France is ready to send more troops to Romania if needed as part of the NATO mission to bolster forces on its eastern flank following Russias invasion of Ukraine, The Associated Press reported. France already has around 500 soldiers and an air defense system deployed in Romania. Macron said the assets can be reinforced at very short notice. Macron, speaking at a news conference Thursday following the NATO summit in Madrid, said Frances financial, humanitarian and military support for Ukraine will continue as long as needed. 10:08 a.m.: 9:54 a.m.: Closing the NATO summit in Madrid on Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden described the meeting as historic, according to The Associated Press. The world has changed, changed a great deal since then, Biden said told a press conference. The three-day summit included the Biden administration announcing plans to permanently bolster the U.S. military presence in Europe, an agreement between Turkey, Finland and Sweden to pave the way for the accession of Nordic nations into NATO, and the alliance updating its strategic concept reflect that Chinas coercive policies are a challenge to the Western blocs interests. Biden said his administration will soon provide another $800 million in security assistance for Ukraine to fight Russias invasion. He said the new aid would include advanced air defense systems, counter battery radars, and additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, that the administration has already sent to Ukraine. Biden said Thursday the package will be formally detailed by his administration in the coming days. Biden says Americans should expect to pay higher gas prices as long as it takes so Russia cannot, in fact, defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine. Russias invasion of its neighbor last February is blamed for driving up the oil price. This is a critical, critical position for the world, Biden said. Hes talking with U.S. allies about setting a cap on the price of Russian oil, limiting how much money that Moscow can make from its exports. The White House provided a link to the press conference, which begin at the 1:09:52 mark on the linked video. 9:43 a.m.: NATO leaders have agreed to put over 300,000 troops on high alert from mid-2023, up from 40,000 currently, to counter Russia, the country designated by the alliance as posing the greatest threat over the next decade. Reuters provided the details of the current force "posture" and the plans to update it to deter any future Russian attack on NATO's eastern flank, as well as to react to other crises on the alliance's southern borders. 9:30 a.m.: 9:06 a.m.: Evidence suggests twin Russian airstrikes deliberately targeted a theater being used as a shelter in the besieged city of Mariupol, the rights group Amnesty International said in a report released Thursday. The report condemned the attack as a war crime. Amnesty said there was no evidence that the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater was a base of operations for Ukrainian soldiers and every indication that it was a haven for civilians seeking protection from weeks of relentless shellings and airstrikes. The March 16 airstrike devastated the building, collapsing its rear and side walls directly onto a field kitchen used as a community gathering space for food, water and scarce news about evacuations and the war. City officials initially estimated around 300 dead. An Associated Press investigation found the attack may have killed closer to 600 people inside and outside the building. Most of the two dozen survivors and witnesses AP interviewed put the number even higher. Researchers for Amnesty International identified 12 of the dead. 8:55 a.m.: 8:37 a.m.: Ukraine cut diplomatic ties with Syria after Damascus recognized the independence of the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced the decision on June 29 in a video posted on Telegram. "There will no longer be relations between Ukraine and Syria," Zelenskiy said, adding that the sanctions pressure against Syria "will be even greater. Donetsk and Luhansk, commonly known as the Donbas, currently are at the center of the fighting in the war Moscow launched in February shortly after recognizing their separatist-controlled districts as independent. 8:15 a.m.: 8:02 a.m.: Some captured members of Ukraine's Azov Regiment will face trial, the speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament said on Thursday, a day after Russia's top court postponed a decision on whether to brand the unit as a terrorist entity, according to Reuters. Vyacheslav Volodin, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, said Russia would carry out a "substantial investigation" into every member of Azov to find out "who was involved in what." Those who are determined to have "blood on their hands" will face trial, the State Duma speaker said in a post on Telegram. The Azov Regiment, part of Ukraine's National Guard, was founded in 2014 as one of many volunteer militias to fight pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. Its fighters were feted as national heroes for defying Russian forces who laid seige on the city of Mariupol for weeks. 7:51 a.m.: 7:32 a.m.: Russia's Deputy Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that in certain circumstances, sanctions against Moscow may be seen as an act of aggression and a justification for war, Reuters reported. "I would like to point out once again that under certain circumstances such hostile measures can also qualify as an act of international aggression. And even as a casus belli (justification for war)," Medvedev said, adding that Russia has the right to defend itself. Russia has faced a barrage of crippling economic sanctions from Western countries in response to its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, which it calls a "special military operation". Medvedev, a former Russian president who was once seen as a liberal, has emerged as one of the most hawkish proponents of the war, delivering a series of scathing denunciations of the West. 7:14 a.m.: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg held a press conference at the NATO Summit in Madrid on Thursday. 7:07 a.m.: The West must learn from its mistakes in failing to deter Russia's invasion of Ukraine and apply those lessons to "protect peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait", British foreign minister Liz Truss said on Thursday, according to Reuters. Tensions between Taiwan and China, which claims the democratically-ruled island as its own territory, have risen in recent years as China steps up military activities near Taiwan to pressure it to accept Chinese rule. Truss said the West, and in particular countries in the Indo-Pacific region, had to make sure Taiwan was defended. "We need to learn the lessons of Ukraine, which was that we could have ensured that Ukraine had the defensive capability earlier," Truss told LBC radio. 6:52 a.m.: The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has issued interim measures instructing Russia to hold off on carrying out any capital punishment against two Britons who surrendered after they fought alongside Ukrainian troops in eastern Ukraine, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. 6:33 a.m.: A former U.S. soldier captured in eastern Ukraine said he did not fire a single shot while fighting for the Ukrainian side, in a plea for leniency from Russian-backed separatist authorities who will determine his fate. In a video interview with Russia's RIA state news agency released on Wednesday, Alexander Drueke said his fighting experience in Ukraine was limited to the day he was captured outside Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. "My combat experience here was that one mission on that one day," said Drueke, Reuters reported. "I didn't fire a shot. I would hope that would play a factor in whatever sentence I do or don't receive." Drueke, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and fellow American Andy Huynh, from Hartselle, Alabama, went missing this month. Russian state media later showed video interviews with the pair, saying they had been captured by the separatists. Two British citizens and a Moroccan were sentenced to death by a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine this month after being caught fighting for Ukraine. 6:24 a.m.: NATO Spokeswoman Oana Lungescu on Thursday tweeted an information graphic explaining NATOs new force model, which leaders adopted at the NATO Summit in Madrid this week. Lungescu said it will provide more troops at higher readiness, pre-assigned to specific defense plans. She added that it will improve NATOs ability to respond at very short notice to any contingency. 6:13 a.m.: Russia's Defense Ministry said on Thursday its forces had destroyed a Ukrainian military control center near the city of Dnipro in a missile strike on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Alongside other regions of Ukraine, the central city of Dnipro and the surrounding Dnipropetrovsk region has seen an uptick in Russian shelling in recent days. 6:07 a.m.: 5:58 a.m.: At a signing ceremony on Thursday, NATO leaders launched a new Innovation Fund, described as the worlds first multi-sovereign venture capital fund. "This fund is unique," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement. "With a 15-year timeframe, the NATO Innovation Fund will help bring to life those nascent technologies that have the power to transform our security in the decades to come, strengthening the Alliances innovation ecosystem and bolstering the security of our one billion citizens." The Fund will invest 1 billion euros in early-stage start-ups and other venture capital funds developing dual-use emerging technologies of priority to NATO, the statement said. These include: artificial intelligence; big-data processing; quantum-enabled technologies; autonomy; biotechnology and human enhancement; novel materials; energy; propulsion and space, it added. 5:49 a.m.: Pope Francis on Thursday implicitly accused Russia of "armed conquest, expansionism and imperialism" in Ukraine, calling the conflict a "cruel and senseless war of aggression," Reuters reported. The pope, speaking to a delegation of Orthodox leaders in Rome, referred to the conflict as one pitting Christians against one another. Both Russia and Ukraine are predominantly Orthodox Christian but there is a sizeable Catholic minority in Ukraine. "Reconciliation among separated Christians, as a means of contributing to peace between peoples in conflict, is a most timely consideration these days, as our world is disrupted by a cruel and senseless war of aggression in which many, many Christians are fighting one another," the pope said. It was the second consecutive day that the Pope spoke on the Ukraine conflict. On Wednesday he condemned the bombing of a crowded shopping center in the city of Kremenchuk, the latest in string of "barbarous attacks" against Ukraine. 5:38 a.m.: A merchant ship with 7,000 tons of grain has left the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Berdyansk, the first such shipment from the port since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in late February, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. 5:28 a.m.: China opposes the blacklisting of Chinese firms by the United States and will take the necessary measures to protect them, Reuters reported Thursday, citing the commerce ministry. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration added five companies in China to a trade blacklist on Tuesday for allegedly supporting Russia's military and defense industrial base, flexing its muscle to enforce sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. China hopes the United States will correct its wrongdoings immediately and stop cracking down on Chinese firms, the ministry spokesperson Shu Jueting said at a regular press conference. 5 a.m.: Reuters reported that Russian forces have withdrawn from Snake Island off Ukraine's coast in the Black Sea as a "gesture of goodwill," the defense ministry said Thursday. The ministry said the move showed Russia is not impeding United Nations efforts to organize a humanitarian corridor to export agricultural products out of Ukraine. Snake Island, which Russia occupied on the first day of its invasion, achieved worldwide fame when Ukrainian border guards stationed there rejected a Russian warship's demand for their surrender. The head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy's office, Andriy Yermak, also said on Thursday that Russian forces had withdrawn from the island, a strategic Black Sea outpost. "KABOOM! No Russian troops on the Snake Island anymore. Our Armed Forces did a great job," Yermak wrote on Twitter. Reuters was not immediately able to verify Yermak's statement. 4:22 a.m.: The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. think tank, said in its latest assessment that Russia may be preparing to annex areas of southern Ukraine and may be planning a false flag event at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The update said Russia would use any incident at the power plant to accuse Ukraine of mishandling nuclear facilities. Additionally, Russia is continuing attacks on Slovyansk, in and around Lysychansk and north of Kharkiv City, the update said. 3:30 a.m.: Britain should continue to build trade ties with China but it must avoid becoming strategically dependent on it, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Thursday. Asked whether Russia's invasion of Ukraine had prompted the British government to review its ties with China, Truss told BBC television: "We do need to be cautious in dealing with China." "We know that China has used economic coercion against countries," she said. "Of course, we should continue to trade with China. But we need to be careful not to become strategically dependent on China." 3 a.m.: NATO leaders are meeting Thursday in Madrid for the final day of a summit that has included approving a new Strategic Concept for the alliance, naming Russias aggression, systemic challenges posed by the Peoples Republic of China and the deepening strategic partnership between the two countries as its main priorities. In this document, the Western military alliance that was formed after World War II defined Russia as the most significant and direct threat and for the first-time addressed challenges that Beijing poses toward NATOs security, interests, and values. 2:34 a.m.: The latest intelligence update from the U.K. defense ministry said current ground combat is likely focused around the Lyschansk oil refinery as Ukrainian forces hold their positions in the city and Russian forces move in from the Popasna direction. 1:45 a.m.: Many Ukrainians thought civilian areas were off limits when Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. However, as the war raged for months, civilians werent spared. This Chernihiv resident shares her personal story with Current Time TV. 1:07 a.m.: U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines cited Russian President Vladimir Putin as a destabilizing factor in the world today, VOA's Jeff Seldin reports. 1:05 a.m.: Trade through Lithuania to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad could return to normal within days, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as European officials edge towards a compromise deal with the Baltic state to defuse a row with Moscow. Kaliningrad, which is bordered by European Union states and relies on railways and roads through Lithuania for most goods, has been cut off from some freight transport from mainland Russia since June 17 under sanctions imposed by Brussels. European officials are in talks about exempting the territory from sanctions, which have hit industrial goods such as steel so far, paving the way for a deal in early July if EU member Lithuania drops its reservations, said the people, who declined to be named because the discussions are private. The row over the Russian exclave's isolation is testing Europe's resolve to enforce sanctions imposed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, fueling fears of an escalation after other restrictions pushed Russia to default on its debt. 12:02 a.m.: Hundreds of Ukrainian troops have completed military training in Britain, including on the Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) the British government is supplying to help counter Russian artillery tactics, Reuters reported. Media were invited to film Ukrainian troops loading and firing 105mm light guns during exercises in southern England, one part of a British-led program that has trained more than 450 Ukrainian armed forces with support from New Zealand. The training is part of a wide-ranging international support package following Russia's invasion on Feb. 24, as the West seeks to help Ukraine repel Russian forces by providing increasingly advanced weapons systems and skills to use them. Some information in this report came from Reuters. Tanzanian authorities say violent clashes on June 10 between police and ethnic Maasai people they were trying to evict from a conservation area left one officer dead and scores of Maasai shot and wounded. While rights groups have condemned Tanzanian authorities for what they call unlawful evictions, some Maasai families say they had no choice but to move from their ancestral home to a reservation 600 kilometers away. Saiboku Laizer, 63, has found a new home in eastern Tanzanias Handeni township. Its about 600 kilometers south of his ancestral land in the Ngorongoro Conservation area. Laizer has three wives and 20 children. In this new environment, he is worried about the fate of their long-preserved traditions, including living in a traditional Maasai bomas (huts). Laizer said that in Ngorongoro, the laws were strict, and people were instructed about what to do with their land, so they had much time to invest in their traditions. But for now, he added, the traditions of living in bomas and living with many cattle may suffer. He is among the Maasai who have left their land after a government eviction that has sparked protests and a violent police crackdown. Government officials say the Maasai are being asked to voluntarily leave their homes, located in parts of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. They also say the goal of the eviction is to protect a conservation area from a growing Maasai population and their cattle. But activists say they are being forced out to make way for trophy hunting and conservation zones. Onesmo Ole Ngurumwa, the executive director of Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition, said they have been advising citizens to sit together with the government and write down their recommendations, and they have done that. The challenge comes on the governments side, he said. The government, he said, didnt seem want or to pay attention to any recommendations. Instead, he said, it simply continued with the strategies it has already planned. About 27 Maasai families already have shifted from Ngorongoro to Msomera village, where the government provides those evicted with a house and land where they can let their cattle graze. Msomera Village chairperson Martin Oleikayo said the presidents plan to move Maasai from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is for the benefit of all the country, adding that the revenue collected from tourism activities from the conservation area benefits all citizens. Meanwhile, Laizer is adjusting to a new life and a new home. But he is worried about those more than 300 families that remain in the area, who are reluctant to leave the only home they have ever known. NATO leaders concluded their three-day meeting in Madrid Thursday with the Western security alliance strengthening its defense against Russian aggression, warning of global challenges posed by China and inviting neutral countries Finland and Sweden into the group. U.S. President Joe Biden described the summit as historic. The last time NATO drafted a new mission statement was 12 years ago, Biden said, referring to a document also known as the alliances Strategic Concept. At that time, it characterized Russia as a partner, and it didn't mention China. The world has changed, changed a great deal since then, and NATO is changing as well. At this summit, we rallied our alliances to meet both the direct threats that Russia poses to Europe and the systemic challenges that China poses to a rules-based world order. And we've invited two new members to join NATO, Biden said. Biden reiterated that Russian President Vladimir Putins war on Ukraine has only strengthened NATO. He tried to weaken us, expected our resolve to fracture but he's getting exactly what he did not want, Biden said. He wanted the Finland-ization of NATO. He got the NATO-ization of Finland. On Wednesday Putin dismissed the imminent expansion of the Western alliance. With Sweden and Finland, we don't have the problems that we have with Ukraine. They want to join NATO, go ahead," Putin told Russian state television. But they must understand there was no threat before, while now, if military contingents and infrastructure are deployed there, we will have to respond in kind and create the same threats for the territories from which threats towards us are created, he warned. As it sets to expand, NATO leaders agreed on a massive increase in troop deployments across Europe. A total of 300,000 soldiers will be placed at high readiness across the continent starting next year to defend against potential military attacks by Moscow on any member of the alliance what Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg characterized as the most serious security crisis since the Second World War. To bolster NATOs defense, the United States is also set to establish a permanent headquarters for the U.S. 5th Army Corps in Poland, add a rotational brigade of 3,000 troops and 2,000 other personnel to be headquartered in Romania, and send two additional squadrons of F-35 fighter jets to Britain. Reaffirming commitments made by other Western leaders, Biden said the U.S. will stand firm against Russias aggression. He offered little indication the conflict would conclude anytime soon, suggesting that Americans would have to bear high gas prices longer. As long as it takes, so Russia cannot in fact defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine," he said. China challenge Biden said the summit has brought together democratic allies and partners from the Atlantic and the Pacific to defend the rules-based global order against challenges from China, including its abusive and coercive trade practices. NATO leaders have also called out the deepening strategic partnership between Beijing and Moscow as one of the alliances concerns. Beijing is not providing military support for Russias war on Ukraine, but Chinese leader Xi Jinping has stated support for Moscow over sovereignty and security issues. The country continues to purchase massive amounts of Russian oil, gas and coal. Biden noted that for the first time in the transatlantic alliances history, Asia Pacific leaders from Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea participated at the summit. With the reemergence of great power conflict, a strategic competitor sitting in each region, and an evolving Russia-China relationship, there are many common challenges that European and Asia-Pacific partners must discuss together, said Mirna Galic, senior policy analyst on China and East Asia at the United States Institute of Peace. Galic told VOA these include issues already being worked on, such as cyber defense, maritime security and space, as well as those that will require some new thinking, such as intermediate-range nuclear forces, missile defense, inter-theater deterrence and defense, and how to push back on great power use of force in contravention of international norms. The last is certainly relevant to the Russian invasion of Ukraine but also has parallels with China and Taiwan, which is why Ukraine is seen as more than a European security issue, Galic said. In his remarks at the end of the NATO summit, Biden also touted the Wests latest counter to Chinas multi-trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). We also launched what started off to be the Build Back Better notion, but it's morphed into a Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, he said referring to the Build Back Better World initiative announced at the 2021 meeting of the Group of Seven leaders in Cornwall, UK and relaunched earlier this week as the PGII at the G-7 summit of leading industrialized nations in Krun, Germany. Officials say PGII will offer developing nations $600 billion in infrastructure funding by 2027 and be a better alternative to Chinas BRI that critics have characterized as debt trap diplomacy. As NATO leaders met in Madrid this week, Ukraine demanded new heavy weapons to defeat Russia's invasion. Here's a look at what Ukraine says it needs and what other countries have promised and delivered. Ukrainian demands Addressing NATO leaders by video link Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he urgently needed more advanced weapons. "By providing them to us, you can completely break Russia's tactics to destroy cities and terrorize Ukrainian civilians," he said. Ukraine said it needed a tenfold increase in the supply of weapons to counter Russia's huge arsenal of artillery. NATO is not supplying heavy weapons to Ukraine, explained Jim Townsend, former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy. "That's not NATO itself as an institution providing things. It doesn't have them. But its allies do," Townsend told VOA. "And so, NATO has been very supportive of allies providing that assistance if they can. There's an absorption rate and a training rate that has to be met as well, in terms of timing." More US aid U.S. President Joe Biden said a new package of military support was on its way to Ukraine. "Again, the United States is leading the way," Biden told reporters Thursday in Madrid. "We've provided Ukraine with nearly $7 billion in security assistance since I took office. In the next few days, we intend to announce more than $800 million more, including new advanced Western air defense systems for Ukraine, more artillery and ammunition, counter-battery radar, additional ammunition for the HIMARS [High Mobility Artillery Rocket System] multiple-launch rocket systems we've already given Ukraine, and more HIMARS from other countries, as well." Training The United States and Britain have supplied several Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) to Ukraine. In Britain this week, more than 450 Ukrainian troops completed training on these systems, which are considered crucial in countering Russian artillery. British army Captain James Oliphant, who oversees the training program, said the systems will provide new capabilities to Ukrainian forces. "It's another component to their own balance. It's a force multiplier. Because it's a truck vehicle, their rocket systems are wheeled. It's going to give them more mobility, which is going to aid in their survivability. It's an ammunition that's able to punch up to 84 kilometers," Oliphant said. The U.S. has supplied other heavy weapons, including self-propelled howitzers, armored vehicles, drones, and air defense and missile systems. Britain Britain pledged an extra $1.3 billion in military aid for Ukraine at the summit, taking its total contribution to $2.8 billion second only to the United States. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was vital that other Western partners step up to support Ukraine. "I think that if Ukraine were to be crushed or forced into a bad peace, the consequences for freedom around the world would be appalling. And that view is shared by everyone in NATO," Johnson said. France France announced plans to send additional self-propelled Caesar long-range artillery systems. Ukraine is reported to have deployed these on the Black Sea coast close to Snake Island, which Russian forces abandoned Thursday after repeated Ukrainian attacks. "The Caesar artilleries we have [given] 12 of them right now, and six will be added are among the most appreciated equipment by the Ukrainian army. They're also among the most credible equipment, considering their range and their efficiency," French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters at the summit Thursday. Germany, Poland and Slovakia Germany has pledged to deliver 15 anti-aircraft tanks in July after repeated delays, while Spain is considering sending around 40 German-made Leopard tanks though Berlin would have the final say. Poland said it had already supplied Ukraine with $1.7 billion worth of arms and military equipment, including Soviet-era T-72 tanks, self-propelled howitzers and surface-to-air missiles. Slovakia donated its S-300 air defense system to Ukraine in April. NATO While not supplying heavy weapons, NATO agreed on a long-term package of military support for Ukraine at the Madrid summit. "This included security communications, fuel, medical supplies and body armor, equipment to counter mines and chemical and biological threats, and hundreds of portable anti-drone systems," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday in Madrid. "It is also very clear that allies are prepared for the long haul because they [Ukrainians] are fighting for their independence. But they are also fighting for values which are important for NATO, fundamental for NATO the sovereignty, territorial integrity of every nation. And, therefore, this matters for our security," Stoltenberg said. Falling short? But as the war enters its fifth month, the West still has not supplied heavy weapons in the numbers that Ukraine says it needs, said Fabrice Pothier, a former head of policy planning at NATO. "There is a political calculation that we should give a bit more but not so much that somehow we can feed and trigger an escalation that gets out of control. And in a way, I understand the logic. But I think it's profoundly wrong, because fundamentally, that means we are asking Zelenskyy to fight with one hand [behind] the back," Pothier told VOA. The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. As NATO leaders met in Madrid this week, Ukraine demanded new heavy weapons to defeat Russias invasion. So what has been promised and what has been delivered? Henry Ridgwell reports. Camera: Henry Ridgwell. New Zealand has designated the U.S. right wing groups the Proud Boys and The Base as terrorist organizations, making it illegal for New Zealand residents to fund or support either organization. New Zealand Police Minister Chris Hipkins formally announced the designation at a news conference Thursday in Wellington as the government published a 29-page explanation. Hipkins said the groups involvement in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021, amounted to an act of terrorism. He said the violent protests attempting to overthrow the [U.S.] government," clearly provide enough evidence of the threat the group poses. The statement said that while several militia groups were involved in the January 6 insurrection, it was the Proud Boys that incited crowds, coordinated attacks on law enforcement officers and led other rioters to where they could break into the building. Hipkins said, These are white supremacist terrorist groups, and we don't believe, and I don't think New Zealanders believe that any New Zealander should be enabling and supporting them." Canada has designated both the Proud Boys and The Base terrorist groups, while Britain and Australia have labeled The Base an extremist organization. A top New Zealand police official approved the designation on June 20, but the declaration wasnt published by the government until Monday. Prime Minister Jacinda Arderns office said New Zealand actively reviews and regularly updates its terrorist blacklist, which also includes groups such as Islamic State and the Africa-based al-Shabab. It isnt clear whether either far right group has a significant presence in New Zealand, but authorities said The Base had attempted to expand into neighboring Australia. The Washington Post reports former New Zealand Attorney General Christopher Finlayson said in an email response that officials were following standard process and that many groups on Wellingtons terrorism list were not active in the country. Some information for this report was provided by the Associated Press. As Europe seeks to wean itself off Russian natural gas, Algeria, Niger, and Nigeria have revived a decades-old, multi-billion-dollar gas project. The Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) could send up to 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Europe from Nigeria to Algeria and on to Europe. Analysts note the project faces many challenges. Nigerias petroleum minister, Timipre Sylva, said funding for the project will come from Europe and that authorities are already holding talks with European firms and countries. Sylva said a committee set up by the countries was already conducting a feasibility study to build a 4,128-kilometer-long gas pipeline from southern Nigeria to Algeria via Niger. The landmark decision to revive the project followed a two-day joint meeting held in Abuja last week by petroleum authorities from the three African nations. The committee will meet at the end of July. Revival of the project was lauded by the African Energy Chamber, a group that promotes cross-border cooperation in the continents energy industry. More praise comes from Abuja-based energy expert Emmanuel Afiami. "It actually shows that Africa is trying as much as possible to position itself to possibly see how well they can help Europe cover the energy demand issues," Afiami said. "Beyond this, this particular project will actually mean a lot for the three African countries involved, the benefits to local economies." The initiative was initially conceived more than 40 years ago but renewed interest comes amid Russia's war on Ukraine and efforts by Europe to slash Russia'a energy income. African energy experts like Afiami say that with demand for natural gas rising, the TSGP project could transform Africa's energy future if properly implemented. Public finance analyst Isaac Botti said political will has been a challenge and still can be. "For me I think the major challenge is the political will of these countries to embark on this huge deal," Botti said. "For example, the pipeline project between Nigeria and Ghana which has also been stalled over time was as a result of political will, not unavailability of resources to do that. Part of the problem is also that we are too reliant on easy money." In April, EU delegates met with Nigerian officials in Abuja and held talks about diversifying Europe's sources of energy. Earlier in June, Nigerian authorities directed state-run oil company Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to implement a deal on a gas pipeline to Europe through Morocco. Authorities are also planning to transport more gas from southern to northern Nigeria and build a major gas turbine in Abuja. Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech said on Wednesday they signed a $3.2 billion deal with the U.S. government for 105 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine, which could be delivered as soon as later this summer. The deal includes supplies of a retooled omicron-adapted vaccine, pending regulatory clearance, according to Pfizer. Drugmakers have been developing vaccines to target the omicron variant that became dominant last winter. The average price per dose in the new deal is over $30, a more than 50% increase from the $19.50 per dose the U.S. government paid in its initial contract with Pfizer. Some of the vaccine earmarked for adults included in the contract will be in single-dose vials, which are more expensive to manufacture but reduce waste of unused shots from open vials. "We look forward to taking delivery of these new variant-specific vaccines and working with state and local health departments, pharmacies, healthcare providers, federally qualified health centers, and other partners to make them available in communities around the country this fall," U.S. Department of Health and Human Services official Dawn OConnell said in a statement. Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday recommended a change in the design of COVID-19 booster shots for this fall in order to combat more recently circulating variants of the coronavirus. The U.S. government also has the option to purchase up to 195 million additional doses, bringing the total number of potential doses to 300 million, the companies said. The new contract should boost 2022 vaccine sales for Pfizer and BioNTech, which share profits from the shots. Pfizer has forecast COVID-19 vaccine sales of $32 billion this year. Analysts, on average, have forecast 2022 sales of around $33.6 billion for the shots. The U.S. government has distributed close to 450 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the United States since it was first authorized in December 2020, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 350 million of those doses have been administered. Because the Biden administration was unable to line up more COVID-19 funding from Congress earlier this month, it was forced to reallocate $10 billion of existing funding to pay for additional vaccines and treatments. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the money to pay for doses in this new contract comes from that funding. Seven protesters were shot to death in Sudan on Thursday, medics said, as large crowds took to the streets despite heavy security and a communications blackout to rally against the military leadership that seized power eight months ago. In central Khartoum, security forces fired tear gas and water cannons in the afternoon as they tried to prevent swelling numbers of protesters from marching toward the presidential palace, witnesses said. They estimated the crowds in Khartoum and its twin cities of Omdurman and Bahri to be at least in the tens of thousands, the largest for months. In Omdurman, witnesses reported tear gas and gunfire as security forces prevented protesters from crossing into Khartoum, though some later made it across. The protests in the capital and other cities marked the third anniversary of huge demonstrations during the uprising that overthrew long-time autocratic ruler Omar al-Bashir and led to a power-sharing arrangement between civilian groups and the military. Last October, the military led by General Abdel-Fattah Burhan toppled the transitional government, triggering rallies demanding the army quit politics. Some of Thursday's protesters carried banners calling for justice for those killed in previous demonstrations. Others chanted, "Burhan, Burhan, back to the barracks and hand over your companies," a reference to the military's economic holdings. In the evening, protesters in Bahri and Khartoum said they were starting sit-ins against Thursday's deaths, one of the highest single-day tolls to date. June 30 also marks the day Bashir took power in a coup in 1989. "Either we get to the presidential palace and remove Burhan or we won't return home," said a 21-year-old female student protesting in Bahri. It was the first time in months of protests that internet and phone services had been cut. After the military takeover, extended internet blackouts were imposed in an apparent effort to weaken the protest movement. Staff at Sudan's two private sector telecoms companies, speaking on condition of anonymity, said authorities had ordered them to shut down the internet once again on Thursday. Phone calls within Sudan were also cut, and security forces closed bridges over the Nile linking Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri, another step typically taken on big protest days to limit the movement of marchers. On Wednesday, medics aligned with the protest movement said security forces shot to death a child in Bahri during neighborhood protests that have been taking place daily. Thursday's seven deaths, five in Omdurman, one in Khartoum and another child in Bahri brought the number of protesters killed since the coup to 110. There were many injuries and attempts by security forces to storm hospitals in Khartoum where the injured were being treated, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said. There was no immediate comment from Sudanese authorities. The United Nations envoy in Sudan, Volker Perthes, called this week on authorities to abide by a pledge to protect the right of peaceful assembly. "Violence against protesters will not be tolerated," he said. Military leaders said they dissolved the government in October because of political paralysis, though they are yet to appoint a prime minister. International financial support agreed with the transitional government was frozen after the coup and an economic crisis has deepened. Burhan said on Wednesday the armed forces were looking forward to the day when an elected government could take over, but this could only be done through consensus or elections, not protests. Mediation efforts led by the United Nations and the African Union have so far yielded little progress. South Koreas president warned a NATO summit of the threat to universal values at a time of new conflict and competition, a reference to Russias aggression in Ukraine and Chinas engagement with Russia, a South Korean official said. President Yoon Suk-yeol became the first South Korean leader to attend a NATO summit, joining national NATO leaders as an observer at a meeting in Spain as Russian forces intensified attacks in Ukraine. As a new structure of competitions and conflicts is taking shape, there is also a movement that denies the universal values that we have been protecting, Yoon said in a speech on Wednesday, according to a South Korean official. Yoon, while he did not identify Russia or China, said the international community was facing complex security threats that a single country could not solve, the official cited Yoon as saying in his speech that was not made public. He was referring to the Ukraine war, and as most other participating countries did, he raised concern about Russias responsibility for the war and Chinas responsibility in the international community, the official, who declined to be identified, said on Thursday. South Korea is a staunch U.S. ally and hosts some 28,000 U.S. troops. It has also developed a crucial economic relationship with China, South Koreas largest trading partner. Yoon, like his predecessors, will have to balance those two relationships while at the same time facing a belligerent North Korea developing its arsenal of nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them. Yoon hopes to build relations with NATO members in the face of an unpredictable international situation and promote international cooperation on North Koreas nuclear ambitions, South Korean officials said before the summit. South Koreas approach to NATO comes as the alliance is looking east towards a region it refers to as the Indo-Pacific, a new focus that Yoon welcomed, the official said. NATO in its new strategic concept unveiled on Wednesday, for the first time described China as a challenge to NATOs interests, security and values, as an economic and military power that remains opaque about its strategy, intentions and military build-up. Yoon, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, also attending the NATO summit as an observer, met and agreed that the progress of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs posed serious threats to not only the Korean peninsula but also East Asia and the world. Chinese state media had warned against South Korea and Japan attending the NATO summit and criticized the alliances broadening partnerships in Asia. North Korea said this week that NATO involvement in the Asia-Pacific region would import the conflict raging in Europe. Australia and New Zealand also attended the summit, making four observers from the region. The South Korean official said the four were exploring their own Indo-Pacific strategies. At the heart of that, there are concerns and various dilemmas about China, the official said. Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Robert Birsel Afghanistan's Islamist Taliban arranged Thursday a men-only conference of about 3,500 mostly clerics and tribal elders from across the country in an apparent bid to demonstrate their hold on power and domestic legitimacy. The three-day, closed-door conference began in Kabul amid tight security in the wake of a recent spike in Islamic State-claimed terrorist attacks in the Afghan capital and elsewhere in the war-torn South Asian nation. The insurgent-turned-ruling group seized power last August, when the United States and NATO partners withdrew their final troops from Afghanistan after almost two decades of military intervention, but the world has not yet recognized the interim Taliban government. Acting Taliban Defense Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, while addressing Thursday's inaugural session, urged participants to share their advice and suggestions to help strengthen the government so it can deal with foreign policy issues. "You can see that even after completing almost one year, no country be it Muslim, non-Muslim, neighboring or regional has formally recognized this regime," Yaqoob said. "My fundamental demand from you all is to courageously formulate a fatwa (decree) for us that helps us end our shakiness in terms of resolving our external problems and bridge any differences that, God forbid, may arise in future between us and the (Afghan) nation," the defense minister said without elaborating. The Taliban's harsh treatment of women and girls and a lack of political inclusivity in governance have kept the global community from granting diplomatic recognition to the new Afghan rulers. The Islamist group has suspended secondary education for most teenage female students, ordered women to wear face coverings in public and barred them from traveling beyond 70 kilometers without a close male relative. The U.S. and the world at large have been urging the hardline group to reverse some of its curbs on women and ensure inclusive governance if it wants them to consider the Taliban's demand for diplomatic recognition. Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, later in the day, briefed reporters about the opening proceedings, saying women were not invited to the meeting because it was organized on the request of independent participating scholars and the government had nothing to do with attendees nor the agenda of the event. Mujahid said Hibatullah Akhundzada, the reclusive Taliban chief, "may" also attend the ongoing Kabul gathering, but he shared no further details. Taliban leaders have rejected calls for removing the restrictions on women, insisting they are in accordance with Afghan culture and Islamic Shariah law. Acting Taliban Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi argued on Wednesday that women's participation in the huddle was taking place as their male family members would attend. Critics questioned the effectiveness and legitimacy of the grand scholars' meeting in the absence of women, almost 50% of the country's estimated 40 million population. "Durable peace and reconciliation also requires inclusive administration represented by all political, religious and ethnic groups," said Richard Bennett, the U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan. "It is vital that national ethnic religious and linguistic minorities, including minority women in Afghanistan, are included in all decision-making processes," Bennett remarked at an online seminar Tuesday. Rina Amiri, the U.S. special envoy for Afghan women, girls and human rights, while addressing the seminar, suggested rights-related issues would require engagement with the new rulers in Kabul. "We try to identify very specific measures that the international community can consider and can try to move forward and also how we can press the Taliban to do more because they are right now the reality in the country," Amiri said. Torek Farhadi, a former Afghan official and political commentator, is skeptical about the outcome of the meeting. "An allegiance from 3,000 selected guests by (the) Taliban in a meeting will not help fix any of the problems (facing the country), nor confer any internal or external legitimacy to (the) Taliban," Farhadi told VOA. "The book of God in Islam is gifted to women and men equally. Depriving women to have a voice in society is going against the precepts of Islam." The Taliban takeover and their subsequent installation of an all-male interim government prompted Washington and other Western countries to immediately halt financial assistance to largely aid-dependent Afghanistan, seize its foreign assets worth more than $9 billion, mostly held by the U.S., and isolate the Afghan banking system. The action and long-running terrorism-related sanctions on senior Taliban leaders have thrown cash-strapped Afghanistan into a severe economic upheaval, worsening an already bad humanitarian crisis blamed on years of war and persistent drought. Maxym Kudryashov and his family fled Mariupol with their daughter in their arms and loved ones buried in the yard of their destroyed house. They are among the lucky refugee families who managed to get out of Mariupol and get to Rivne in western Ukraine. For VOA, Omelyan Oshchudlyak has more from Rivne. Some of the video was filmed by Yuriy Dankevych. In the chaotic minutes after dozens of migrants were found dead inside a semitrailer sweltering under the Texas sun, the driver tried to slip away by pretending to be one of the survivors, a Mexican immigration official said Wednesday. The driver and three other men remained in custody as the investigation continued into the tragedy that killed 53 people the nation's deadliest smuggling episode on the U.S.-Mexico border. Federal prosecutors said two of the suspects, including the driver, face charges that carry a potential sentence of life in prison or the death penalty if convicted. Two more people died Wednesday as the death toll slowly climbed since the discovery of 46 bodies Monday at the scene near auto salvage yards on the edge of San Antonio. The truck had been packed with 67 people. Among the dead were 27 people from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala and two from El Salvador, said Francisco Garduno, chief of Mexico's National Immigration Institute. Officials had potential identifications on 37 of the victims as of Wednesday, pending verification with authorities in other countries, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office. Forty of the victims were male, it said. Hard to identify Identifying the dead has been challenging because some were found without identification documents and in one case a stolen ID. Remote villages, where some of the migrants came from in Mexico and Central America, have no phone service to reach family members, and fingerprint data have to be shared and matched by the governments involved. Javier Flores Lopez's family was waiting to find out whether he was on the truck. He had returned home to see his wife and three small children in southern Mexico and was going back to Ohio where his father and a brother live and where he worked in construction. He is now among the missing and his cousin Jose Luis Vasquez Guzman is hospitalized in San Antonio, the family said. The tragedy occurred at a time when huge numbers of migrants have been coming to the U.S., many of them taking perilous risks to cross swift rivers and canals and scorching desert landscapes. Migrants were stopped nearly 240,000 times in May, up by one-third from a year ago. While it's not clear when or where the migrants boarded the truck bound for San Antonio, Department of Homeland Security investigators believe it was on U.S. soil, near or in Laredo, Texas, U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar told The Associated Press. The truck went through a Border Patrol checkpoint northeast of Laredo on Interstate 35 on Monday, Cuellar and Mexican officials confirmed. It was registered in Alamo, Texas, but had fake plates and logos, Garduno said. Officials in Mexico also released a surveillance photo showing the driver smiling at the checkpoint during the more than two-hour trip to San Antonio. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Wednesday that state troopers would set up additional truck checkpoints on highways, but he did not say how many. In April, Abbott gridlocked the 1,200-mile Texas border for a week by requiring every truck entering the state to undergo additional inspections as part of his ongoing fight with the Biden administration over immigration policy. Authorities were looking into whether the truck had mechanical problems when it was left next to a railroad track. The driver was apprehended after trying to disguise himself as one of the migrants, Garduno said. Driver from suburban Houston Federal prosecutors identified the driver as Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, who was charged with smuggling resulting in death. Zamorano lives in suburban Houston and is originally from the Texas border city of Brownsville, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Antonio. He faces the most serious charges along with Christian Martinez, 28, who is accused of conspiracy and allegedly communicated with Zamorano about transporting the migrants. Martinez was arrested in East Texas and will be transported to San Antonio. Zamorano was scheduled to have his first court appearance Thursday. It was not immediately known if either suspect had an attorney. Some of the more than a dozen people transported to hospitals were found suffering from brain damage and internal bleeding, according to Ruben Minutti, the Mexico consul general in San Antonio. Migrants typically pay $8,000 to $10,000 to be taken across the border, loaded into a semitrailer and driven to San Antonio, where they transfer to smaller vehicles for their final destinations across the United States, said Craig Larrabee, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio. The death count from Monday's tragedy in San Antonio was the highest ever from a smuggling attempt in the U.S., he said. Ten people died in 2017 after being trapped inside a truck parked at a San Antonio Walmart. In 2003, the bodies of 19 migrants were found in a truck southeast of the city. Temperatures in San Antonio on Monday approached 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), and those taken to the hospital were hot to the touch and dehydrated, authorities said. U.N. investigator Thomas Andrews is warning that Myanmars military junta is increasing its brutal campaign of violence, resorting to massacres, and widespread human rights violations to maintain its iron grip. The report has been submitted to the U.N. human rights council. The United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Thomas Andrews, is calling on the outside world to act to bring Myanmars military leaders to account. He warns failure to take needed action will cause irreparable harm to the population and be a death sentence for untold numbers of people. He said conditions in the country have worsened since he last reported to the council three months ago. Andrews said the ruling generals have accelerated their bloody campaign against political opponents, killing more than 2,000 civilians, and arbitrarily arresting and imprisoning more than 11,000. He said junta forces have relentlessly bombed villages with fighter jets, killing men, women, and children. I regularly receive reports of new massacres of unarmed civilians. Victims often include children and those who are physically unable to flee the advance of soldiers and military-backed militias. In my view these repeated attacks on civiliansas well as other grave human rights violationsconstitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, he said. Andrews said Myanmars children are among the most frequent victims of this crisis. He reports more than a quarter million children have been displaced by junta attacks, hundreds have been killed or maimed, and more than 1,400 arbitrarily detained. Since last years military coup, he said 142 children have been tortured. He said they have been beaten, cut, stabbed, and subjected to other horrific physical and mental abuse. He said they have been subjected to mock executions and sexually assaulted. At least 61 children are currently being held hostage by the junta to force adult family members who support the opposition to give themselves up 33,000 children could die of preventable deaths this year alone, merely because they have missed routine immunizations, said the U.N. special rapporteur. Andrews warns conditions in Myanmar will keep deteriorating if other countries continue to ignore the situation. He calls for international action. He said the Security Council must consider a resolution concerning Myanmar. He urges members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to impose economic and diplomatic sanctions on Myanmars military leaders. Myanmar did not respond to the report because the United Nations does not recognize the legitimacy of the current government. The top U.N. official for the Democratic Republic of the Congo said Wednesday that the resurgent M23 rebel group in the countrys east is well-armed and equipped, posing a growing threat to civilians. During the most recent hostilities, the M23 has conducted itself increasingly as a conventional army, rather than an armed group, said Bintou Keita, head of the U.N. Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known as MONUSCO. The M23 possesses firepower and equipment, which is increasingly sophisticated, specifically in terms of long-range fire capacities mortars, machine guns, as well as precision fire against aircraft, she said in remarks to the Security Council. The M23 was defeated by Congos army (FARDC) and special MONUSCO forces in 2013. But in November 2021, its forces began to reemerge. Congolese officials blame neighboring Rwanda, saying it supports the group, which claims to be protecting the Tutsi minority in eastern DRC. Rwandas government is Tutsi-led but denies any link to the rebel group. At the Security Council, Congolese Ambassador Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja called for the M23s unconditional withdrawal from the DRC. He also urged strong condemnation of those who support the group beginning with the state of Rwanda and its president. This is an unfounded accusation, Rwandas envoy Claver Gatete responded. MONUSCO has more than 16,000 troops and police in Congos east. But Keita warned they may soon be outgunned by the rebels. Should the M23 continue its well-coordinated attacks against FARDC and MONUSCO with increasing conventional capabilities, the mission may find itself confronted by a threat that goes beyond its current capabilities, she said. The United Nations has called on the group to cease all hostilities and disarm. In the past three months, the U.N. has recorded nearly 1,000 civilian deaths and scores of injuries in the provinces of North and South Kivu and Ituri because of attacks by armed groups and their clashes with security forces. The militants seek to control lucrative trade in sought-after minerals, including gold, tungsten, copper and cobalt, which are abundant in the east. As Congolese security forces and U.N. peacekeepers have redeployed to respond to the M23 threat, Keita said, other armed groups have exploited the security vacuum, including the Allied Democratic Forces and the Cooperative pour le developpement du Congo-Zaire (CODECO). Civilians suffering The U.N. has chronicled abuses including looting, rape and murder. Displacements have soared in the east, with 700,000 people forced from their homes since the beginning of 2022. Just imagine mothers are cooking dust, soil, to feed their children instead of boiling corn or soya, said Julienne Lusenge of the Ituri-based womens NGO Female Solidarity for Integrated Peace and Development. Speaking to council members via video, Lusenge read the horrifying testimony of one woman who was kidnapped by CODECO militants when she went to pay a ransom for a captive relative. It was a trap. They brought me there, they tied me up, they beat me, they undressed me. They slit the throat of a Nande man, they pulled out his entrails and asked me to cook them, Lusenge said, reading the womans statement. They then fed all of the prisoners human flesh. The womans ordeal did not end there. Late at night, we went to another camp. I was raped all night long, and I was subjected to other physical abuse, she said. Released by CODECO a few days later, the woman was then taken by another group in a different village as she made her way home. She was held as a sex slave for several days and again was asked to cook and eat human flesh. When she finally arrived home, she discovered the relative whose release she had been trying to secure had already been murdered. Regional stabilization force The resurgence of the M23 has led to a deterioration in relations between the DRC and Rwanda. On May 27, the Congolese government declared M23 a terrorist movement, accused Rwanda of supporting the rebels and suspended RwandAir flights to the DRC. At an African Union summit the next day, Senegalese President Macky Sall, chairman of the AU, met with the two presidents and offered Angolan President Joao Lourenco, chair of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, to mediate between them. Last week, East African leaders agreed to deploy a regional security force to help restore order in the eastern Congo and ease tensions. Kenya is slated to lead the force, the size of which has not been announced. The U.N.s Keita told reporters she has been told the forces headquarters will be deployed by the end of July, and troops will follow in August. I would urge East Africa Community leaders to prioritize dialogue-based approaches to the crisis, U.S. envoy Richard Mills told the council. The United States insists that the deployment of any additional force in eastern DRC must be closely coordinated with MONUSCO, and it must be conducted in conformity with the parties respective commitments under international law, including international humanitarian law. He said it must also be done in line with existing Security Council sanctions resolutions, and the council should be formally notified before it is deployed. The United States and Afghanistans ruling Taliban concluded a two-day meeting in Doha, Qatar, Thursday, the first in-person talks between the two sides in more than three months. Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West and Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi led their respective delegations at the negotiating table. The U.S. halted the dialogue in March when the hard-line Islamist group abruptly decided against allowing all teenage Afghan girls to resume secondary school education. Muttaqis spokesman, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, wrote on Twitter after the Doha meeting that West was accompanied by senior U.S. Treasury Department and White House representatives. The U.S. side discussed, among other issues, the status of frozen Afghan reserves with the Taliban team, which included Finance Ministry and officials from the central bank of Afghanistan. FM Muttaqi expressed gratitude to the U.S. for announcing $55 million in humanitarian aid to earthquake victims, reiterating release of Afghan assets & lifting of sanctions, Balkhis tweet said. Balkhi said the foreign minister stressed that engagement with his government should be cooperative and positive instead of pressure tactics to achieve progress. The Taliban statement quoted West as saying Washington preferred engagement and sought a stable Afghanistan. The U.S. envoy said his country did not support any armed opposition in Afghanistan and called such actions detrimental to that country. Balkhi said the two sides expressed satisfaction with the talks and agreed to continue such meetings. He added that Muttaqi renewed his governments commitment that it would not allow anyone to use Afghan territory to harm neighboring and world countries. There were no immediate comments from the U.S. administration. Earlier, a State Department spokesperson defended the revival of diplomatic engagement with the Taliban, saying pure isolation cannot help Washington achieve its objectives there. The spokesperson told VOA the Biden administration was focused on advancing U.S. interests in Afghanistan such as human rights, counterterrorism, economic stabilization, the reopening of all schools and safe passage for Afghans who worked with U.S.-led international forces before the August Taliban takeover. We are advancing these interests through engagement. We cannot achieve our objectives with a policy of pure isolation, the spokesperson said. None of these engagements should be seen as legitimizing the Taliban or its so-called government but are a mere reflection of the reality that we need to have such discussions in order to advance U.S. interests. $7 Billion still frozen in US The Doha meeting took place amid reports American officials are working with the Taliban on a mechanism to allow the Afghan central bank to use $7 billion in frozen funds held in the United States to deal with a hunger crisis stemming from years of war and persistent drought in the country. U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order in February aimed at freeing half the $7 billion, to be used to benefit the Afghan people. The rest would be held for ongoing terrorism-related lawsuits in U.S. courts against the Taliban. The State Department spokesperson confirmed to VOA that the Biden administration is working to help find an appropriate mechanism that can serve as a steward of the $3.5 billion that President Biden set aside. The spokesperson added that Washington is "urgently working to address complicated questions about the use of these funds to ensure they benefit the people of Afghanistan and not the Taliban. The Taliban takeover prompted foreign governments, led by the United States, to suspend development and security aid to the country. The strict enforcement of long-running sanctions on Taliban leaders has debilitated the Afghan banking sector and fueled economic troubles. The United Nations warns that more than half of the countrys estimated 40 million people need emergency humanitarian assistance. During talks in Doha, officials said, the U.S. delegation also discussed with the Taliban ways to help people in Afghanistan in the aftermath of last weeks earthquake. The powerful June 22 quake killed at least 1,150 Afghans, including at least 155 children, and destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes in hardest-hit southeastern Paktika and Khost provinces, according to Taliban officials and global aid agencies. The Biden administration announced Tuesday it will give nearly $55 million in immediate humanitarian assistance to people in Afghanistan affected by the calamity, including essential food items, clothing, cooking utensils, blankets, jerry cans, and sanitation supplies to prevent waterborne diseases in the disaster-hit areas. The United States has been the largest humanitarian donor to the conflict-torn country and has committed more than $774 million in relief assistance over the past year. The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan last August as American and NATO troops withdrew from the country and subsequently installed an all-male government. No foreign government has yet recognized the Taliban rule, citing its lack of inclusivity and concerns about terrorism and human rights, particularly restrictions on womens rights to education and work. In addition to suspending secondary education for most teenage girls, the Taliban have ordered women to wear face coverings in public and barred them from traveling beyond 70 kilometers without a close male relative. Taliban leaders have rejected calls for removing the restrictions on women, insisting they are in accordance with Afghan culture and Islamic Shariah law. Fears that Russias invasion of Ukraine would spur China to take a similar approach to Taiwan do not appear to be playing out, at least not yet, according to the top U.S. intelligence official. Chinese President Xi Jinping quite clearly sees reunification of Taiwan as a goal, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told an audience in Washington late Wednesday, adding Xi continues to prefer doing that peacefully as opposed to using military force. "There are not indications that he is currently intending to take Taiwan by military force even as he is planning for the potential, Haines added. Senior U.S. defense officials have repeatedly warned about Chinas increasing aggressiveness in and around the South China Sea and Taiwan, and a military buildup larger than any seen since World War II. Those concerns were echoed Wednesday by NATO, which accused Beijing of "bullying its neighbors and threatening Taiwan. China is not our adversary, but we must be clear-eyed about the challenges it represents," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at the alliances summit in Madrid. "We see a deepening strategic partnership between Moscow and Beijing, and Chinas growing assertiveness and its coercive policies have consequences for the security of allies and our partners," he added. The U.S. Commerce Department on Wednesday placed export restrictions on five Chinese companies for providing military-related support to Russia. Asked about the restrictions, Haines echoed the concerns. "They've tried very hard to quite publicly not take a critical stance of Russia, she said. "Yet at the same time what we do see is that they are helping the Russians in a variety of ways behind the scenes." Other top U.S. officials have previously said there has been no evidence of direct Chinese government support for Russias military efforts in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has no intention of relinquishing his desire to control all of Ukraine but appears to understand that his once-vaunted military may not be able to give him what he wants, at least for now. The latest analysis, shared by the top U.S. intelligence official late Wednesday, further suggests there may be an opening to bring the current fighting in Ukraine to an end, even if Russia sees it only as a chance to better position itself for future conquest. We assess at this stage that their [Russias] ground forces have been degraded to the point where it will take them years to get back to where they were," Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said late Wednesday, during a discussion in Washington hosted by the Silverado Policy Accelerator and tech giant Google. "Even their near-term military objectives are really not capable of being achieved by their military right now," Haines said. It is entirely plausible, from our perspective, that depending on how things develop over the coming months and so on that he [Putin] is convinced that there is value in effect, coming to some sort of agreement." U.S., European and NATO leaders have repeatedly voiced their support for Ukraine and backed it up with billions of dollars in weapons systems and other security aid that has allowed Ukrainian forces to blunt Russias invasion, which initially focused on capturing the capital of Kyiv. But while Western nations have said Ukraine will decide how and when to end the war, U.S. officials have expressed hope for an eventual negotiated settlement. Haines comments would seem to explain the thinking that a deal may eventually be possible. But she admitted that Putins coming to terms with the reality of his failed blitzkrieg is not a sign any settlement is imminent. We also, to be clear, don't see right now an opportunity for both sides to come to a peaceful agreement," she said. Instead, Haines warned Russias forces appear to be focused on taking as much territory as they can in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine while consolidating control of territory it has taken in the south. "Russia thinks if they are able to crush really one of the most capable and well-equipped forces in the east of Ukraine, that they believe that will lead to a slump in the Ukrainian resistance and that will give them greater opportunities," she said. In comments at a separate Washington conference earlier Wednesday, Haines said Russia controls about 20% of Ukraine along a conflict line that stretches for 1,100 kilometers. In short, the picture remains pretty grim and Russia's attitude toward the West is hardening," she said. Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told U.S. President Joe Biden and other Group of Seven leaders he would like to see the war over by the end of this year. Zelenskyy has also said he wants to see all of Ukraine liberated, including Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014 following a swift invasion. In the meantime, U.S. and British military officials have described Russian gains in eastern Ukraine as incremental with officials warning that Russian forces are paying a heavy price. "The Ukrainians are making them pay for a very small piece of ground, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Monday. There are also indications that Ukrainian forces, while strategically ceding ground in places like Sievierodonetsk have started to mount a resistance against Russian occupation forces in the southern city of Kherson. Reporting suggests the Ukrainians have been successful in liberating several small towns northwest and west of Kherson, showing that despite tactical success by the Russians, they continue to hold on," the defense official said. Initial reports also indicate that Ukrainian forces have put four U.S.-provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, to good use, with another four systems set to enter Ukraine in the coming weeks. But, in response, Russia has launched a growing number of missiles against Ukraine. On Wednesday, Russia launched new attacks, with the mayor of Mykolaiv, a river port just off the Black Sea, saying eight missiles landed there, including one that hit an apartment building, killing four people and wounding five. "There is fighting everywhere," Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said. The Russians are taking the city of Lysychansk building by building, he said. Russia on Wednesday also responded to NATOs decision to formally invite Finland and Sweden to join the alliance. Putin told Russian state television that his goals for what the Kremlin has called a "special military operation" in Ukraine remains to liberate the Donbas. He further warned that Russia would respond in-kind to any attempts by NATO to place troops and military infrastructure in Sweden or Finland. They want to join NATO, go ahead," Putin said. "But they must understand there was no threat before, while now, if military contingents and infrastructure are deployed there, we will have to respond in kind and create the same threats for the territories from which threats towards us are created." Despite Putins warnings, the top U.S. intelligence official said there were no indications Russia was itching for another fight. We don't expect that it [NATO expansion] will result in something that is truly confrontational largely because, frankly, they're pretty focused on Ukraine," Haines said, noting Moscow has instead engaged in ongoing influence operations and disinformation campaigns aimed at the Swedish and Finish people. It may result in them shifting their posture over a long time, she said. We'll just have to see." Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters. For Breshna Salaam, the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan last year meant a return to the same extreme poverty she and her mother had experienced under the Taliban's first time in control of the country. In 1996, the Taliban fired Salaam's mother from a public service job, denying the widow and her daughter their only source of income. In August 2021, with her mother retired, the Taliban fired Salaam from a job at the Ministry of Agriculture. Deprived of work and education in her own country, she applied for graduate programs abroad and was offered a scholarship at New York University. "I cried out of happiness when I received news of the scholarship," Salaam told VOA. But her happiness did not last long. First, she had to pay more than $2,000 in bribes to get a new passport and a short-term visa to Pakistan, where she needs to submit a student visa application at the U.S. embassy. The embassy in Afghanistan remains closed since the Taliban entered Kabul last year. "I had to literally beg relatives and friends for money to pay for the passport and the Pakistani visa," she said. And, there are more expenses she has to cover. "I have to buy a flight ticket to Islamabad, pay for my accommodation in Islamabad, have to pay $510 for U.S. visa fees, and finally, if I'm given a visa, I will have to buy my ticket to New York," said Salaam, adding that she had no means to pay all the required expenses on her own. Staff at her U.S. university contributed $350 for her SEVIS fee, a payment to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security required from all international students before they submit an F-1 student visa application. Students also have to pay a $160 F-1 visa fee to the U.S. embassy. Both fees are non-refundable, even if the visa is denied. Calls for help unanswered Over the past four months, more than 500 U.S. academics and human rights activists have signed at least two appeal letters to the White House and the Department of State calling for assistance for Afghan scholars, particularly women, who strive to come to the United States to continue their education. "We are deeply concerned about the lives and well-being of these Afghan academics, especially women," reads a June 21 letter signed by academics from more than 20 U.S. colleges and universities. It is addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The letter criticizes the delays and rejections of student visas for Afghan scholars even while a fully funded stipend and scholarship is provided by the inviting university and calls on Blinken to personally intervene "to rectify this shameful situation." "We have received no response to the letter," Chloe Breyer, executive director of the Interfaith Center of New York and a signee of the letter, told VOA. In a separate letter sent to U.S. President Joe Biden in February, more than 450 academic organizations and individuals made a similar call for support for at-risk Afghan scholars. "Please help facilitate access to our colleges and universities for the many Afghan scholars and students, who deserve our continued support and investment," the letter asked Biden. "We have received no updates from the U.S. government," Edward Liebow, executive director of the American Anthropological Association, told VOA. More than 80,000 Afghans have come to the U.S. over the past 10 months, mostly through Operation Allies Welcome, a U.S. government program designed to resettle former U.S. Afghan allies and at-risk individuals. U.S. officials have repeatedly voiced support for Afghan women and minorities whose fundamental rights are reportedly violated under Taliban leadership. Visa fees Already one of the poorest countries in the world, Afghanistan has plunged deeper into poverty over the past 10 months largely due to a cessation of foreign development aid, rampant unemployment, and international banking and economic sanctions imposed on the Taliban leadership. Afghan women, deprived of work and education, are particularly suffering the brunt of the harsh poverty, aid agencies say. To help Afghan scholars, U.S. academics have called on the Department of State to waive the student visa fees. "The cost of J-1 visas for academics and F-1 for students is a non-refundable fee of $160, a considerable challenge to most applicants, with further expense for those with family, each of whom pays the same fee," said Breyer. A spokesperson for the Department of State said there is no exception in visa fees for Afghan students. "The department does not have the authority to waive visa fees on an ad hoc basis and the department's regulations contain no exemption from the payment of visa fees that would apply to Afghan students, in general," the spokesperson told VOA. For Breshna Salaam, the SEVIS and visa fees are as much an impediment to her education as are the Taliban's outright denials of her right to work and learn. "I hear a lot from U.S. officials in the media that they support the right of Afghan women and girls to education and work, but it would be good to see some actions like waiving student visa fees for Afghan women or making the visa process a little easier so we don't have to travel to a third country only to submit a visa application," Salaam said. More than 914,000 international students were enrolled at U.S. academic centers in 2021, of which 354 were from Afghanistan, according to the Institute of International Education. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived Thursday in Hong Kong ahead of celebrations marking 25 years since the city was turned over from Britain to China. Xi arrived by high-speed train on what is believed to be his first trip outside of mainland China since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The July 1 handover anniversary was long marked by protests, but such demonstrations are not expected this year amid high security and the ongoing pandemic. China has cracked down since mass pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019, including the imposition of a sweeping national security law. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. Head of Public Diplomacy in South Africas International Relations Deparment says only 2,300 Zimbabweans have applied for the regularization of their status in that country after the government indicated six months ago that it will end the Zimbabweans Special Exemption Permits by the end of this year. In a tweet, Clayson Monyela said, South Africa has allowed a 12 months grace period for the 178,412 ZEP holders to regularise their stay in South Africa. It's been 6 months & only 2,301 visa & 3,014 visa waiver applications have been received by @HomeAffairsSA. Where are the rest? A special team at DHA is handling the process. Monyela added that the ZEP were never meant to be permanent ZEP holders can avoid being separated from loved ones, losing jobs, closure of bank acc by applying & complying with South African laws. Indications are that most ZEP holders dont have specialized skills needed to apply for other visas. At the same time, South Africas Home Affairs Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, attacked the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) for challenging the ministrys decision to terminate the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits. In a statement, Motsoaledi said, In an open and transparent democracy, organs of civil society have an important role to play. Most of the times, they do so in the national interest. However, at times, some of them can be a stumbling block in the implementation of Governments rational and lawful decisions, which are in the national interest. The recent surprising court action launched by the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) is a perfect example of the destructive role that some non-governmental organisations (NGO) are capable of. Motsoaledi said his ministry has always engaged the HSF regarding some of the challenges faced by the Department in the past. The Minister has engaged with HSF on several occasions with positive outcomes. Since the announcement of the decision of the Minister not to extend the exemption granted to Zimbabwean nationals, he has engaged with several members of civil society with a view to manage the consequences of his decision collectively. This time around, the HSF was conspicuous by its silence. Little did the Minister know that the HSF was behind the scenes planning the so called public interest court action. Theres a disturbing and growing trend by some NGOs to sabotage the polycentric and policy laden decisions taken by Government by using the courts. This development must be nipped in the bud as soon as possible. South Africa is now under the dictatorship of some of the NGOs with some having faceless and dubious funders. Their ultimate aim is to assist in the dislodgement of government of the day from power by all means available. He said the decision of the Minister not to extend the exemptions granted to Zimbabwean nationals has been widely supported by South African citizens. The HSF, in its desperate bid to blackmail the nation, is twisting the support for the Ministers decision by the majority of South African citizens as being xenophobic. Nothing could be further from the truth. The HSF access to the courts is guaranteed in the Constitution. However, this should not be a licence to abuse the Bill of Rights by some armchair critics, who have no idea of the sacrifices and deaths of many freedom fighters, while they sat in the comfort of their homes because of the colour of their skin. They now claim to be champions of the human rights of the African people in whole continent. The HSF is now conveniently playing the victim card by alleging that it is being threatened. We have no evidence of the alleged threat. If it is true, the Minister does not condone and strongly condemns such threats. On the contrary, it is public knowledge that the Minister was openly threatened after taking the decision. Death threats were issued against him publicly. Motsoaledi said the Minister and the Department of Home Affairs will vigorously defend the lawful, reasonable and rational decision of the Minister. We cannot be expected to throw up our hands in despair and fail the people of South Africa. Having said that, the Ministers door is always open for constructive engagement, rather than waste the ever shrinking Government resources to defend unnecessary court challenges. The Minister hopes that sense will prevail and that the HSF will opt for engagement than embark on a spurious court action, which can only lead to further tensions between citizens and foreign nationals. If HSF has the interests of Africans in the continent at heart, the Minister expects it to play its constructive role in assisting the affected Zimbabwean nationals to apply for one or the other visas provided for in the Immigration Act. The Minister calls upon all affected Zimbabwean nationals to ignore the false hope created by the HSF and adhere to the procedures outlined by the Department in various public notices and communication. Russias defense ministry announced Thursday its withdrawal from Ukraines Snake Island. Russia had used the Black Sea island near the port city of Odesa as a staging ground after seizing it in the early stages of the war it launched in late February. Thursdays announcement came after attacks by Ukrainian forces against Russias positions on the island. Russia said its move was a goodwill gesture and showed that it was not getting in the way of U.N. efforts to establish a corridor for exporting Ukrainian grain products. The head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiyys office, Andriy Yermak, confirmed the withdrawal of Russian forces from the island. No Russian troops on the Snake Island anymore. Our Armed Forces did a great job, Yermak said in a Twitter post. Also Thursday, Britain announced another $1 billion in aid for Ukraine. Prime Minister Boris Johnsons office said the money would go toward air defense systems, uncrewed aerial vehicles and vital equipment for Ukrainian troops. It represents the first step in enabling Ukraine to go beyond their valiant defense against the illegal Russian invasion to mounting offensive operations against Russian ground forces in order to restore Ukrainian sovereignty, the prime ministers office said in a statement. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is grateful for the security assistance, calling Britain a true friend and strategic partner. We appreciate the consistent, leadership support for in countering Russian aggression, Zelenskyy tweeted. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters. The Belgian police carried out a raid on the NATO Kleine-Brogel air base, laying hold of a laboratory producing ecstasy. Several people were arrested, then released under their diplomatic immunity. This base is home to U.S. nuclear weapons. Photo: Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock/Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock If you dont know Randall Emmett for his empire of geezer teaser movies that (briefly) feature older stars like Bruce Willis and Al Pacino, you might recognize the Hollywood producer as the ex-fiance of Lala Kent from Vanderpump Rules. But per a June 30 report from the Los Angeles Times, Emmett is also known for something else: the alleged mistreatment of multiple women, assistants, and business partners. The Times lengthy report includes several allegations of abuse and fraud against Emmett, who denied all claims through a spokeswoman. According to the Times, several women have accused Emmett of inappropriate behavior that took place online or in person. One aspiring actress alleged that he said she would have to perform sexual favors in order to get acting work with him. Over a period of three years, the producer allegedly received massages and oral sex from her, digitally penetrated her, and masturbated while she stood nude in his office. Emmett reportedly later signed a settlement agreement to pay her about $200,000 (though he has denied doing so). Lala Kent alleges that Emmett tackled her and knocked her to the ground when she tried to grab his phone and prove that he was cheating on her. That was when I knew, for sure, that there was a lot he was hiding, Kent said in the piece. Additionally, he allegedly paid women to sign nondisclosure agreements that kept his sexual relationships secret. One woman who initially told the Times that she signed two of these agreements later stated via Emmetts lawyer that she had lied to paint the worst possible picture of Randall. Before her retraction, she had alleged to the Times that Emmett had mistreated a friend of hers, Samantha Rakell. Emmetts team also provided a sworn statement in which Rakell said she previously lied to Times reporter Amy Kaufman to make Emmett look abusive yet according to the Times, no one from the outlet had ever interviewed her. Emmetts team also provided a sworn statement from one of McCarthys friends, Samantha Rakell, claiming that she too had lied to me. In McCarthys initial interview with The Times, shed alleged that Emmett had mistreated Rakell. But I'd never even interviewed Rakell. Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) June 30, 2022 The Times also spoke with ten of his former assistants, who accuse him of a range of allegations including asking them to transport drugs, deliver payments to women, and put thousands of dollars in charges on their personal credit cards. Randall was different from being just a mean boss, former assistant Martin GBlae said. He made people do dangerous things and illegal things. You had to be his punching bag and his mule. GBlae, a Black man, alleged that he had been tasked with transporting a safe that he didnt initially know contained a big bag of cocaine. A source close to Emmett said assistants were reimbursed for their credit-card charges, but GBlae, who left in September 2020, alleges that he has yet to be fully paid back for his expenses as Emmetts assistant. Meanwhile, Emmett and his company are reportedly facing almost 12 lawsuits that total to more than $25 million outstanding loans and disputed payments. The Times obtained copies of lucrative contracts that offer the stars of Emmetts movies including Willis, Pacino, Robert De Niro, and more vacations and lavish accommodations, despite allegations behind the scenes that the company was struggling to pay crew and other staff. We also reviewed contracts between Emmett's co. and Bruce Willis, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Mel Gibson and Megan Fox. De Niro got $11 million for 8 days of work, plus two vacations (1 wk at Ritz in Puerto Rico, 2 wks in Caribbean w/ $100K expenses paid) for himself and his fam. pic.twitter.com/48tmcQZXpe Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) June 30, 2022 Last year, the Writers Guild of America West won $541,464 against Emmetts company after filing a claim for writers who alleged that they were shortchanged for work on one of his projects. His normal mode of business is being sketchy, said Teresa Huang, one of the writers involved. He just spins all these plates in the air and doesnt care how they crash. Per the Times, Emmett responded to Huangs statement by chalking the allegations up to a smear campaign orchestrated by Kent as part of the custody dispute over their child. This week on our favorite show, Rich Women Doing Things, the rich women did things. They had birthday parties featuring the casts of both of their television shows with a $500 cake shaped like an aqua Birken even though you know it was mostly rice-crispy treats and fondant and probably tasted like a box of stale Nilla Wafers you found in the basement of Blue Stone Manor. They did photo shoots for their new brand of hair extensions where they held the bounties of a dozen scalps in their hands and the end of each one looked like Beetlejuices shrunken head at the end of the movie. They listened to their husbands say Norfolk like it was Nor-fuck and everyone laughed and laughed and laughed as if Borat just said Ah-my wiiiiiiiiiffffff. Mostly what the rich women did, however, was freak out about Diana. But before we get to Diana, we must interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to test the emergency broadcast system. The emergency is that this season is boring and the test is Sheree Zampino, a friend of Garcelles whom we met briefly last season. (For the record, she pronounces her name as if it rhymes with Marie, so not the same as our once and future champion Sheree Whitfield.) Sheree was married to Will Smith, whom Garcelle dated, and wears a fringed caftan to birthday parties, so you know that she knows all the lyrics to both Get Jiggy With It and the Threes Company theme song. Sheree just busts out of nowhere and now you cant avoid her, like targeted ads for baby seats the day after you ordered a pregnancy test from Amazon. Its like the producers got back from that drawn-out Mexican vacation, confiscated all of the womens phones, and did FaceTime screen tests with anyone who answered and had a little personality. Ali Landry, apparently, did not make the cut, but she was pretty enough to get name-checked when arriving early to Garcelles birthday party with the Kung Minkoffs. Sutton, a Kookaburra sitting in an old gum tree, does a lot of weird shit this episode. I cant get a read on this woman. Whenever I try to figure out her behavior, I feel like a vampire must feel when he looks in the mirror. That she shows up at Dorits, eats a jalapeno cookie, then talks about her hormone implant that balances out her testosterone should all make sense, but when you try to take it apart, it makes as much sense as a community-college course on differential equations. Why is she doing any of these things? Does one have an effect on the rest? Is this really about not getting a good seat on the private jet? Yes, yes, it is. But Suttons pettiness is matched only by Dianas, and the two of them are racing to a microscopic level of pettiness like theyre Ant-Man and the Wasp trying to bone on a lube molecule. Diana sends a text message to the group chain saying that shes on bed rest because shes been bleeding for eight months after four surgeries to save her uterus. Even though everyone reads the text like its The Emoji Movie 2: Rashomon, all we get is that she spelled Garcelle wrong and wanted to tell everyone about her limping uterus so that Garcelle wouldnt think she was rude. Jesus. A billion eye rolls and then send your assistant down the block to the Amazon Fresh to pick up another case of eye rolls and leave the store without paying because the robot overlords are watching our every move. Diana thinks that Garcelle called her rude when what she said was she thought her shooting down Dorit when she was asking about her book that is really a hooker catalogue was rude. (Hooker Catalogue is the name of my since-deleted Tumblr.) Because of this text, everyone thinks that Diana will skip Garcelles party just like Denise Richards did. (Im with Erika; there was no way she was showing up knowing the cameras were going to be there and she might have to talk about Brandi Glanvilles cooch to the other women.) First to arrive are Crystal and Rob. Then were joined by Erika in a short leopard dress and a ponytail that just got out of the mens steam room at the West Hollywood Crunch. (IYKYK.) Then we get the real winners of this party, Kyle and Dorit, who show up looking like they are a bunch of D-list X-Men dressed up for the Hellfire Gala. Kyle is wearing what is essentially a one-piece bathing costume with two boob strips and a fabric sheer that is supposed to be a skirt. Mutant power: The splits. Dorit is dressed in the skin of an old boa constrictor fashioned into a jumpsuit complete with gloves. Mutant power: A prehensile ponytail. Just as everyone is settling into their spots and playing the home game of Is It Cake?, Diana Jenkins and her man-husband Asher arrive, both wearing the pelts of a recently slaughtered Snuffleupagus and at least one ridiculous hat but possibly two. There is also a $250,000 diamond Birkin in the mix, snickering at the nearby dessert. Diana gives Garcelle a passive-aggressive gift of her book, which is now out of print. Garcelle would never pull an Erika Jayne and throw that book in the trash. Shes probably the one selling a used copy on Amazon for as much as a Birkin cake costs. Everyone is a little surprised to see Diana considering her uterus was falling out and sending WhatsApps to the text chain, but she tells Kyle she isnt there to jab at people; she is there to drop nukes. Yes, she has an agenda, and that agenda is pissing off everyone. Sutton, an ATM that dispenses twice as much money as it should, takes the bait and asks Diana to go for a chat. She starts with, Youre supposed to be on bed rest, but youre here, which is confusing, and you should clear that up. Should she? She doesnt owe anyone an explanation. Why is it any of Suttons business? The rest of the conversation, however, I feel a little bit bad for Sutton. Diana unhinged her jaw and swallowed that woman in one bite. Maybe she should have been wearing Dorits outfit? Im sure plenty of people at home were like, Yassssss, hunty. Dra-MA ma-MA. Snatch that bitch. [Three clacks of a fan.] Get her, Jade. Boots the house down gag sickening, 100,000 doll hairs. I think this might have been the most boring fight in all of Housewives history. Sure, Sutton tries to say something, and Diana says, Bop Bop Ba, and starts mocking her. Sure, she calls Sutton fake. Sure, she also calls her boring and then makes fun of Garcelle and is generally awful. The problem is she was awful to no end. Her awfulness is bland on the face of it. When Diana starts mocking her, Sutton says she cant have a conversation. Do I find Suttons fawning and sincerity tiring? Yes. But Diana has to at least listen to it. Thats what shes getting paid for. Instead, she showed up determined to be mean to Sutton, and she was. Rip the mask off that monster cause the Scoobies have solved this crime. Nothing is interesting here. Diana is just being mean for its own sake. She is not responding to anything Sutton has said or done; shes being exactly what Sutton called her: an asshole. If there is going to be a fight, I want both sides to make points. I want people to have a point of view. Not Diana; shes just like a classroom bully. When we watched her signature line in the trailer Do you want a new villain? Here I am. it seemed like an interesting provocation. Now that we see it in context, it put me to sleep faster than going to the opera on an edible. A real villain does not call herself a villain. An interesting villain doesnt even think shes a villain. She thinks shes the hero and people just dont understand her. Diana is not giving us layers, she is not giving us sense, she is not giving us vulnerability. Sutton calls her a soulless person, which is the one insult a drunk Kyle Richards Umansky cannot abide by. But as soon as Diana sat down on that couch and chose violence for no good reason, we saw her soul leak out of her body like so much steam from a kettle, making a lot of noise on the way out but ultimately containing nothing. Here's how you turn a democracy into an autocracy. Follow these steps: --Identify a group of citizens to vilify as The Enemy; it can be an ethnic group, immigrants, a political group/party, or other, such as the LGBTQ+ community. Identify them as threats to the nation and stir up anger against them so that the public will support you as the protector of the nation. Invoke religion to set the standards men and women must meet to be considered legitimate citizens and not part of The Enemy. --Take control of the media so that only your messages reach your citizens. --Take control of your courts; appoint judges who will make rulings that accomplish your goals. --Take control of your elections. Everybody has the right to vote, but when the votes are counted, you always have a comfortable majority, the bigger, the better. --Modify your constitution so that you can control society and make sure that you or your partners continue as national and regional leaders for years and years. If you're lucky, your courts or legislative leaders can simply interpret your constitution and laws as you desire so that there's no need for public input. It works! See Victor Orban in Hungary, Rencip Erdogan in Turkey, and Vladimir Putin in Russia for examples of elected leaders who have turned their countries into autocracies by using these techniques. Thank goodness we don't see this occurring in these United States. If we did, it would be great cause for alarm, especially for our nation's younger generations. Imagine what kind of future they would face. Wait a minute . . . To The Eagle: Im not for abortion; Im not against guns, but I am for using sensible choices and freedom for such choices. Republicans are right, Outlaw guns; only outlaws have guns, but outlaw abortion, you will go to back alleys, coat hangers, Mexico or unregulated drugs. Guns will never be gone or will abortions. Once again the minority wins; remember 45 did not win majority, nor did Bush. Together with sleazy conduct of Mitch McConnell, they now account for five of nine justices. The last three had no qualms of deceiving (lying) at their confirmation hearing, though I think Susan Collins was the only one to believe it. In my opinion, the Supreme Court of the US is now an extension of political parties appointing them. The Electoral College is in my opinion far outdated from its intended purpose. Citizens United in my opinion is an abomination, I can still see Roberts shaking his head. Many people with perceived rights had better read Thomas words on the decision; he wants to take us way back and actually invited lawsuits to be filed so he could rule on same-sex marriage, interracial marriage and contraception. Perhaps he wants to get rid of his cuckoo wife. Interracial marriage in the United States has been fully legal in all states since the 1967 Supreme Court decision? Sadly the big corporations and conglomerates are cheering on the class warfare, while continued greedy use of our resources, the American worker. Now that abortions are illegal, the country is sure to pass maternity leave, healthcare for all, equal rights, equal pay, preschool, kindergarten, free education, voting rights, create immigration system to address the worker shortage and such other important laws? Oh! Thats right, the minority party is against all those "for the people" laws, able to stop it, due to filibuster. Sadly all these laws are passed or rejected by mostly old white men who have all they need and more, and who often are only there to get more. Remember how many elected Republicans went back to their states, bragging about passing infrastructure, while actually voting against. I know the response Ill get when making this next statement: This isnt the country I emigrated to in 1957 (so go back from where you came). I am vested in this country and am as needed here as anyone else. So speak up in November; the only real voice that should be loudly heard. Poul Toftemark Rosburg Rome's state and city-run museums free on first Sunday of the month. State museums and archaeological sites in Rome and across Italy will be open for free on Sunday 3 July thanks to the Domenica al Museo initiative. The nationwide free entry scheme is held every first Sunday of the month in tandem with the monthly free entry for Rome's city-run museums. This means that practically all museums and archaeological sites in Rome will be free to visitors this Sunday, however some museums such as Galleria Borghese require advance booking. The initiative also gives free access to temporary exhibitions currently underway in the city's museums, with the exception of the Robert Doisneau show at the Ara Pacis. The Italian culture ministry encourages the wearing of masks when visiting museums however it is not obligatory. For details of participating museums see ministry website. Photo credit: ColorMaker / Shutterstock.com. Villa Aurora goes under the hammer again after failing to sell twice at auction earlier this year. An historic Rome villa with the world's only known ceiling painting by Caravaggio goes up for sale a third time, on 30 June, after two previous court-ordered auctions this year failed to attract a single bid. The new reserve for the Casino di Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi, better known as Villa Aurora, has been slashed a second time in a fresh attempt to find a buyer. Its original asking price on 18 January was a colossal 471 million, reduced by around 20 per cent to 376 million on 30 April. The third online auction starts at 15.00 on Thursday, via a website that deals with bankruptcy property, with a minimum opening offer of 226 million. Caravaggio ceiling mural at Villa Aurora The courts have stipulated that whoever purchases the property protected under Italian cultural heritage laws must spend a further 11 million on restoration costs. The sale is the result of a bitter inheritance battle following the death in 2018 of Prince Nicolo Boncompagni Ludovisi, whose family has owned the property near Via Veneto for the last 400 years. The dispute is between the prince's three sons from his first marriage and his third wife, the American-born Princess Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi, 72, who spent much of the last two decades renovating the 2,800-sqm property with her late husband. The prince's sons contested their father's will, which the princess says entitles her to live in Villa Aurora for the rest of her life and, that if sold, the proceeds would be split between her and her stepsons. After the two parties failed to reach an agreement, the courts ordered that the 11-bedroom villa be put up for auction. Under Italian law, the government has a 60-day window to exercise its right of first refusal after a sale agreement to a private buyer, however even with the newly reduced price the state may be unable, or unwilling, to purchase the property. Entrance gates to Villa Aurora In addition to the Caravaggio mural, the villa contains frescoes by Guercino, works by Bril, Domenichino, Pomarancio and Viola, a staircase by architect Carlo Maderno, and a statue attributed to Michelangelo. Despite being privately owned, the unique property has been accessible to the public, with guided tours given by Princess Rita. Earlier this year, the villa was due to open its doors for the annual FAI Spring Days initiative. However the visit was cancelled at the last minute, reportedly against the wishes of the princess, after the prince's sons refused to give authorisation, according to Il Giornale dell'Arte. Marco Magnifico, president of the Fondo Ambiente Italiano (FAI), believes that public access to the villa, even on a limited basis, should be ensured in the future, amid hopes that the state might step in to acquire the villa. "Private property is a right" - Magnifico told Il Giornale dell'Arte - "but if such an important and unique building in the history of art were used as a personal home, without allowing a visit to the public, it would be a crime." For detailed information about the villa and its sale see Antigone article by Prof. Corey Brennan while for further insights into the property's rich history, in English, see the Archivio Digitale Boncompagni Ludovisi. Placeholder while article actions load U.S. blocks natural gas facility from reopening Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight A U.S. pipeline safety regulator on Thursday said it found unsafe conditions at a Texas liquefied natural gas export facility and will not allow owner Freeport LNG to restart the plant until an outside analysis is complete. A June 8 blast and fire knocked out Freeport LNGs Quintana plant, which exports about 15 million tonnes per year of the chilled fuel. The preliminary finding by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) indicated a restart could not happen before September at least. Continued operation of Freeports LNG export facility without corrective measures may pose an integrity risk to public safety, PHMSA said in its preliminary report. The report on the second-biggest U.S. LNG export plant indicates further global shortages and higher prices in Europe and Asia. The loss of Freeports exports comes amid reduced gas flows to Europe from Russias Nord Stream pipeline, and as Chinas LNG demand is recovering from covid-19 shut-ins. A Freeport LNG spokesperson declined to comment immediately. Advertisement Closely held Freeport LNG has said the likely cause of the blast was an over-pressurized pipeline and that the plants ability to chill natural gas into a liquid for export was not damaged. About 70 percent of the Freeport LNG plants exports in the past few months went to the European Union and Britain, with France, Turkey and Netherlands among the largest European importers this year. Reuters Ports, dockworkers work to avert strike A labor contract for 22,000 U.S. West Coast dockworkers is on the verge of expiring, opening the door to strikes, lockouts or work stoppages but both sides still appear willing to avoid such disruptions amid the busiest season of the year for shipping. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the more than 70 employers represented by the Pacific Maritime Association started May 10 negotiating a fresh contract for longshoremen across 29 ports in California, Oregon and Washington. While the current agreement ends Friday, the groups have recently said theyre unlikely to reach a deal before then and reaffirmed neither side is preparing for a strike or lockout. Advertisement The ports handle just under half of the containers entering and leaving the United States and are the principal gateway for shipments to and from China, the biggest source of American merchandise imports illustrating the high-stakes nature of the negotiations. Last November, the ILWU declined an offer by the PMA to extend the current contract until July 2023. The current pact was originally set to end in 2019 but was lengthened after roughly two-thirds of union members voted to do so in exchange for higher wages and pensions. Bloomberg News Drugmaker Endo International said on Thursday that it has missed a $38 million interest payment, amid discussions with a group of unsecured bondholders that have urged the company to avoid filing for bankruptcy. Endo, which has been weighed down by litigation over the opioid epidemic in the United States, has discussed the possibility of filing for bankruptcy protection in several recent public filings. Other pharmaceutical companies that have filed for Chapter 11 to address opioid claims include Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, and Mallinckrodt, a generic opioid manufacturer that recently emerged from bankruptcy. Advertisement U.S. farmers planted more corn than they had initially planned to this year in order to take advantage of strong prices for the grain, the government said on Thursday. The U.S. Departyment of Agriculture said in a report that corn plantings totaled 89.921 million acres and soybean plantings totaled 88.325 million acres. Analysts were expecting the report to show corn acreage at 89.861 million and soybean acreage at 90.446. From news services GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court has held that the Environmental Protection Agency lacks authority to order reduced emissions to fight climate change. Yes, you read that right. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight In an opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts, the conservative justices said that Congress had not authorized a 2015 rule adopted by the agency aimed at shifting energy use from coal to natural gas and from fossil fuels to renewables. Climate change now joins abortion, guns, and church and state in the list of high-profile, emotionally charged topics on which the justices have issued landmark conservative opinions this term. In the process of issuing its opinion, the court sidestepped the famous Chevron doctrine. That doctrine says the courts must defer to agencies reasonable interpretation of laws passed by Congress. Under Chevron rules, the court could have said that, since Congresss grant of statutory authority to the EPA was ambiguous, it would allow the Barack Obama-era EPA regulation applying that grant to stand. Advertisement Instead, the court articulated and embraced for the first time what is in effect a new doctrine of administrative law, which it called the major questions doctrine. Under that doctrine, the court held, when an agency finds what the court considers to be a new power in a vague grant of statutory authority from Congress, the court must hesitate before concluding that the grant of power in fact exists. While hesitating, the court will check to see if Congress has made a clear statement with regard to the grant of power. If there is no clear statement, the court will conclude that the agency lacks authority under the law. If you parse the major-questions doctrine carefully, you can see that it is in tension with the Chevron doctrine. Major-questions doctrine applies to a vague grant to congressional authority; Chevron doctrine applies to ambiguous laws. Advertisement Hence, the major-questions doctrine appears to take a very large bite out of the Chevron doctrine. As the court formulated it, the new doctrine basically says that, if the courts think that a given expansion of authority is a big deal a judgment that leaves plenty of room for discretion then the Chevron doctrine wont apply. From the standpoint of those who have feared that this court would explicitly announce that it was overturning Chevron doctrine, todays result has a dual message. The good news is that, as is Robertss preference, the courts did not explicitly overturn the nearly 40-year-old doctrine. Chevron lives at least for now. That means lower courts, especially the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, which does much of the administrative-law appeals work, can still use Chevron to decide run-of-the-mill cases. The bad news is that, using the superseding doctrine of major-questions as a workaround, courts unsympathetic to agency action now have a tool to overturn administrative regulations rather than deferring to the agencies. Advertisement To make matters worse, major-questions doctrine could easily be understood as a further step toward the eventual abolition of Chevron doctrine. That is the sense you get from reading the concurrence by Justice Neil Gorsuch, the most vocal opponent of Chevron, who filed a concurrence joined by Justice Samuel Alito. The point of Gorsuchs opinion was to describe the major-questions doctrine as grounded in the Constitutions principle of giving legislative authority to Congress, not to agencies located within the executive branch. For Gorsuch to say that major-questions doctrine is based in the Constitution is to say that the court should never take the position that Congress has delegated its lawmaking power to the agencies. On that formalist theory of the separation of powers, Chevron makes little sense. If Congress passes laws and the courts interpret them, there is no obvious role for agencies that apply the laws to get deference in doing so. Yet that theory that Congress may give agencies the authority to interpret ambiguous statutes is the orthodox understanding of why the Chevron doctrine is consistent with the Constitution, long ago articulated by Justice Antonin Scalia. Advertisement In dissent, Justice Elena Kagan, joined by the courts two other liberals, did not mince words. She insisted that the major-questions doctrine was a new invention of the court, despite Robertss characteristic claim to have found it in precedent. She invoked Chevron, albeit delicately, probably because she didnt want to wave a red flag in front of the bull. In a passage that will be much quoted, Kagan pulled back from a famous statement (at least famous among statutory interpretation experts) she made in a 2015 lecture at Harvard Law School, where she used to be dean. At the time, Kagan, speaking of methods of statutory interpretation, said, Were all textualists now. The line, echoing Thomas Jeffersons statement in his first inaugural that We are all Republicans we are all Federalists, was understood and probably meant as a peacemaking gesture an attempt to consolidate statutory interpretation practice as between liberals and conservatives. Advertisement Times have changed. Kagan, a pragmatist who once sought to build bridges, now sees the conservative majority as truly outcome-oriented. After quoting herself on textualism, she wrote: It seems I was wrong. The current Court is textualist only when being so suits it. When that method would frustrate broader goals, special canons like the major questions doctrine magically appear as get-out-of-text-free cards. She concluded her opinion with a devastating observation: The Court appoints itself instead of Congress or the expert agency the decisionmaker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening. More From Noah Feldman on the Supreme Court in Bloomberg Opinion: Supreme Court Makes Immigration Lockup Harder to Escape: Noah Feldman Ending Roe Is Institutional Suicide for the Supreme Court: Noah Feldman Advertisement Supreme Court Just Made New Yorks Streets Meaner: Noah Feldman This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A professor of law at Harvard University, he is author, most recently, of The Broken Constitution: Lincoln, Slavery and the Refounding of America. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Almost a decade before Mississippi passed the law that would result in the pro-life movements greatest victory overturning Roe v. Wade anti-abortion advocates suffered a major loss there. In 2011, they attempted to ban abortions through a ballot measure, Initiative 26, that legally defined life as beginning at the moment of fertilization. No exception. Voters overwhelmingly rejected it, 58% to 42%. Such a personhood initiative may have seemed like a fringe idea for Mississippians and others back then, but it is now very much a reality in a post-Roe world. In fact, these and other restrictive measures at the state level could be the next battleground in which case, the fight over Initiative 26 offers some valuable lessons. I was just a normal Mississippi girl, going to college. And then I was abducted and raped, says a White woman named Cristen Hemmins in a TV ad against the measure. Initiative 26 doesnt make any exceptions for rape or incest, she says. I dont trust the government. I trust Mississippi families and women to make these important decisions. Its perfectly acceptable to be pro-life and against Initiative 26. Advertisement The message worked by embracing the complex and nuanced feelings around abortion. In another TV spot, Republican Governor Haley Barbour called the measure concerning. Another featured a woman who would have died had she not ended an ectopic pregnancy. There were almost a dozen ads that featured doctors, nurses, pastors and others. They touted conservative values while underscoring the real-life consequences, such as putting a mothers life at risk, losing access to birth control and criminalizing women. The successful campaign depended on a highly organized and broad coalition, including medical and religious groups that had never worked together and werent aligned on every issue, says Nsombi Lambright, who ran Mississippians for Healthy Families, one of the lead organizers. The video ads targeted White communities. In Black communities, she says, organizers went door to door and into churches to deliver the same messages in person. In the end, voters rejected Initiative 26 even as they elected a Republican governor. And the coalition that helped defeat Initiative 26 disbanded and moved on. Unfortunately, Lambright says, that paved the way to where we are now. Advertisement Even today, the nurses and doctors associations arent flexing their political muscle the way they did in 2011. Those are the people who would have the weight with the governor and with the power structure in Mississippi, she says. Now that Roe has been struck down, they have less cover in Mississippi and elsewhere. Going forward, says Lambright, the influence of the medical and religious communities will be crucial for delivering the kind of message about abortion that worked so well in one of the countrys most conservative states. In red states, the debate will likely focus on exceptions to a ban on abortion, or whether its acceptable to allow abortions before six weeks. In blue states such as California, the debate will be over whether any limitations are put in place after 15, 18 or even 24 weeks. Purple states are the Wild West the politics of abortion lends itself to extremes. Advertisement This November, at least five states will have ballot measures dealing with abortion rights the most in a single year since 1986. Voters in Kansas and Kentucky will be asked to approve a constitutional amendment saying there is no state right to abortion; in Vermont and California, they will be asked to approve an amendment saying that there is. In Montana, voters will decide on a law that states an infant born alive is a legal person and that health-care providers must provide appropriate medical care or risk being charged with a felony. Abortion-rights activists at the state level are staffing up and are more open to different approaches than they were a decade ago, says Jessie Hill, a law professor at Case Western University who has represented abortion-rights supporters. But she adds: Its starting way too late. While Democrats can and should try to organize voters around reproductive rights in advance of Novembers elections, winning a 60-seat Senate majority to enshrine a constitutional right to abortion is unlikely. This is going to be a long and chaotic fight. Advertisement The pro-choice side has been more focused on a national picture and a national strategy. The other side has been building infrastructure in the states and figuring out what works, Hill says. Thats what its going to look like if theres going to be a successful pro-choice movement after Dobbs. Would voters in Mississippi defeat a personhood initiative by 16 percentage points in 2022 or 2024, as they did in 2011? Probably not. Nevertheless, expect to see the approach from that campaign replicated in other states as the abortion debate evolves in the years ahead. More From Bloomberg Opinion: How Abortion Pills Changed the Political Debate in Ireland: Clara Ferreira Marques After the Supreme Court Breaks Roe, Who Picks Up the Pieces?: Therese Raphael Adoption Is Not a Substitute for Abortion: Kami Rieck Advertisement Whats Not Going to Happen After Roe Falls: Ramesh Ponnuru This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Julianna Goldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist who was formerly a Washington-based correspondent for CBS News and White House correspondent for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Four decades ago, the Catholic Church inspired the movement that helped overthrow Ferdinand Marcos. Now, as the autocrats son begins his own presidential term, the Churchs sway over politics doesnt come close. Few figures can step into the vacuum left by the nations towering public figure of the late 1980s, Cardinal Jaime Sin, who became a key architect of the People Power Revolution. While about 80% of Filipinos are Catholic, attendance at Mass is waning. The clergy has suffered some big defeats, chiefly the passage of landmark legislation in 2012 that made contraception more widely available to the poor. In recent years, the Church has lost ground to more conservative Christian organizations that resemble megachurches in the US. These highly disciplined congregations with their own media networks, even stadiums delivered block votes to Marcos Jr., known as Bongbong, in Mays election. They did the same for outgoing leader Rodrigo Duterte six years earlier.I spoke to Jayeel Cornelio, an associate professor at Ateneo de Manila University, who specializes in religion and social change, about the developments in Filipino society, governance and economics that diminished the clout of Catholicism. The following transcript is lightly edited for clarity and length. Daniel Moss: What role does the Catholic Church play in the Philippines today and how does that compare with 1986, when Bongbongs father was toppled and fled to exile in the US? Jayeel Cornelio: Things have changed dramatically. We can no longer attribute to the Church the role it had. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was the only institution credible enough to contest the power of the state in the form of Ferdinand Marcos. Today, the state is not the enemy. Duterte hasnt been seen as the enemy by the wider public. You can say the same about Bongbong, even if some in the church frame him as the embodiment of the enemy. The influence is there, but is based mainly on issues like divorce, gender equality and same sex marriage. The population is still predominantly conservative on these moral issues, and the church echoes and articulates public sentiment. But when it came to showdowns like the passage of the Reproductive Health Act in 2012 or favoring this or that candidate, people dont look to the church that much. The emerging churches are important. The rising stars of religion in the Philippines are megachurches like Iglesia Ni Cristo and Kingdom of Jesus Christ, led by a televangelist called Apollo Quiboloy. Are they ominous stars, good omens or bad omens? They are very influential even though they are religious minorities. Advertisement DM: Is this because the emerging churches are more tightly organized and less sprawling than the Catholic church? JC: They are tightly organized with reliable social control mechanisms that can monitor peoples political behavior. While INC says it doesnt do bloc voting they simply endorse and everyone follows surveys and exit polls show that about 70% of INC followers adhere. If you ask INC members, they will say its not bloc voting, just exercising unity. But from the point of view of a sociologist, that is precisely how bloc voting works. You are being watched and you toe the line. In KJC, it might be a bit different because they are based in Davao and have a connection with Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter Sara, the new vice president. Both are from Davao. INC is more than 100 years old and has mastered the art of political influence. I dont think anyone took the KJC seriously. But given money and Davao, the stars have aligned. DM: Why are these groups on the ascent while the Catholic Church appears to be in relative decline? Advertisement JC: Let me qualify that question a little bit. These groups are influential, but not necessarily popular. In that sense, the Catholic Church still has the space to maneuver politically. They tried doing that in recent months, with some priests and nuns turning pink, the campaign color of Leni Robredo, Marcoss main opponent, in the recent campaign. However, they are misreading the population. The Church is coming from this prophetic sense of who they are. Because of Cardinal Sins giant status in the 1980s, they are still behaving very old school. I think their influence lies somewhere other than the national stage. DM: Are the megachurches inherently conservative or are they merely sensing a winner and then getting on board? Should we think of Donald Trumps support among evangelical Christians in 2016 as a kind of template? JC: For Quiboloys group, the time has come to exercise influence because of the Duterte family. INC, by contrast, has been powerful for some time now. They dont really explain their theological reasons for supporting a candidate. In the US, despite Trumps lifestyle, his three marriages, people would say they support Trump because he wanted to recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital, put conservatives on the Supreme Court and so on. You dont pick up anything so sophisticated from these groups in the Philippines. When INC was just starting in the early part of the 20th century, they were small. It was very important for them to align themselves with powerful politicians to protect them from persecution. Their view is that they need allies in politics. Its partly a matter of backing someone who is going to win. But INC has also endorsed people who dont win. They do consult members and their members were inclined to back Bongbong. DM: During the People Power Revolution of 1986, the support of the Church was critical. Was that just a product of the unique circumstances of that time? JC: The Catholic Church had a moral gravitas in the 1980s and lent it to Cory Aquino, who succeeded Marcos, Sr. as president. It was the only organization that could mobilize on that scale. And that didnt happen overnight. Even during the 1970s and 1980s, parishes had begun organizing, especially those disenfranchised by the military. By 1986, the time was right for Cardinal Sin to make his move. Its important to remember that as late as the 1970s, the church was dilly-dallying on how to react to Marcos. Some clerics believed in what they called critical collaboration. They opted for a kind of middle course, where they worked with the government while criticizing some things. During this phase, Sin thought Marcos was a reasonable man who could be influenced. I suspect this is how many bishops view Bongbong. Advertisement Ultimately, Church leaders came to the realization that martial law was a lethal regime and opposition was the only credible path, especially after Benigno Aquino was assassinated. History can teach a lesson. Maybe the national stage isnt where they should be concentrating now and should return to the community level. A big majority of Filipinos, most of whom are Catholic, voted for Bongbong. All the pontification fell on deaf ears.More From Bloomberg Opinion: TikTok Is the New Front in Election Misinformation: Tim Culpan The Powerful Machine That Brought Marcos to Victory: Daniel Moss Marcos Comeback Runs on Manipulated Nostalgia: Clara F. Marques This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Daniel Moss is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian economies. Previously, he was executive editor of Bloomberg News for economics. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Russias February invasion of Ukraine has driven about a third of the nations 41 million people from their homes. More than 5 million of the displaced have left Ukraine for other European countries, producing the fastest moving refugee crisis since World War II, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Theyve been well-received so far in Europe, where the war in Ukraine triggers a specter of Russian expansion that is part of the collective memory. The European Union granted them the right to live, work and receive social services in any of its 27 member states for as long as three years. Theres no guarantee the welcome wont fade, however, as it did for asylum-seekers from the Middle East, Asia and Africa during a crisis in 2015. 1. Where have Ukrainians gone? Poland is the No. 1 destination. The Polish government set up reception points along the 500-kilometer (311-mile) shared border, with citizens mobilizing to help. Poles and Ukrainians have similar cultures and languages. Despite being the aggressor, Russia was the second-largest destination. Other border states Romania, Hungary, Moldova and Slovakia also served as major landing zones. But as the war ground on, refugees increasingly relocated beyond the frontier areas, fanning out across Europe, with Germany the most popular haven. The UN has registered more than 2 million border crossings into Ukraine since the wars start but noted that people may have been moving back and forth amid a volatile situation. Advertisement 2. What explains the positive reception? For Europeans, the war in Ukraine is nearby. It evokes Cold War memories of a Moscow determined to dominate the eastern part of the continent. Also, Ukrainians are predominantly White and Christian. The earlier wave of refugees was made up largely of Muslim Arabs and Asians from Syria, Iraq, North Africa and Afghanistan, and they arrived at a time when European fears of Islamic extremism were high. The Ukrainian refugees are mainly women, children and the elderly, given that Ukraine restricts men of military age 18 to 60 from departing. Those in 2015 were mostly men. So far, even far-right, anti-immigration nationalists such as Frances Marine Le Pen have taken a welcoming approach. Not all the refugees were treated equally, however. Members of Ukraines Roma minority encountered discrimination after escaping to neighboring countries. 3. Will the welcome last? Advertisement Thats unclear. There were also outpourings of solidarity during the 2015 crisis in many countries, especially early on. Donations to aid agencies spiked, and populations heaped pressure on governments to do more to help. But as the refugee crisis continued, far-right nationalists stoked anti-migrant sentiment. A number of EU countries temporarily tightened border controls, while others erected fences along sections of their frontiers to keep people out. If its different this time, shared culture may not be the only factor. Another element is the EUs shrinking population. Even before the war started, Poland and the Czech Republic leaned on Ukrainians as a source of labor. Some Ukrainian companies have already started to relocate production to the bloc. 4. Whats the EU offering the refugees? The bloc for the first time activated its Temporary Protection Directive, a mechanism adopted in 2001 to respond to a mass influx of displaced people coming from outside the EU. It allows Ukrainian refugees to stay for as long as a year in member states, with the possibility of two additional yearlong extensions, and waives the usual requirement of a lengthy application process to achieve refugee status. The refugees are promised access to a residence permit, housing, education, work, medical care and social benefits including a means of subsistence if necessary. Advertisement 5. What are other countries doing? In the UK, Ukrainians whove been offered accommodation by an approved local sponsor are eligible to live and work in the country for as many as three years and to access health care, education and government benefits. Canada, home to a large Ukrainian diaspora, launched a pathway to fast-track applications for temporary residence for refugees. And the US committed to taking in as many as 100,000 people fleeing the fighting and unveiled a streamlined application process for those with connections to America. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Administrators at Oak Hill High School in Fayette County, West Virginia, are attuned to potential violence. If a student scrawls a threat on the bathroom wall about shooting someone, which happens in schools on occasion, staff will set up a mobile unit of metal detectors in the schools yellow-brick entranceway. Since April, though, the metal detectors have been replaced by slimmer-looking scanners that use ultra-low frequency magnetic fields to scan students bags and pockets for weapons. The detectors, sold by a publicly traded security company in Waltham, Massachusetts, called Evolv Technology Holdings, use algorithms that have been trained to identify any kind of gun or knife. If the machines do spot something, they will draw a box around an image of the suspected student and alert school officials. The system costs about $30,000 a year to use, according to Gary Hough, superintendent of the Fayette County school district. Students flow straight through it, he said. They understand what they have to do. Advertisement In the wake of a steady increase of school shootings in the US, schools are eager to find ways to better protect their students, even as overall incidents of violence have dropped in the last two decades. But the steps they are taking risk reinforcing an unhealthy culture of surveillance without actually preventing violence. Hardening is the lingo used by lawmakers and educators, who are adding metal detectors, armed security, high metal fences and bulletproof glass. And there is a lot of new technology available to buy: new types of weapons sensors, facial-recognition software and even drones. Schools and colleges in the US spent an estimated $3.1 billion on security products in 2021, compared with $2.7 billion in 2017, according to Omdia, a market-research company. The result: Schools are morphing into high-security facilities that increasingly resemble prisons. Advertisement You can argue that educators dont have much choice. School shootings are becoming a fact of life and lawmakers have done little to limit access to guns. But among the huge volumes of literature on conducting risk assessments, there is little guidance on how schools should check that new surveillance tools are actually making a difference, researchers have said. How does Oak Hill High measure the success of its new sensors? A lack of incidents, said Hough. The schools old metal detector setup was slow and caused long lines that snaked out onto the sidewalks. The lines not only made students late, but also left them vulnerable to a potential attack, Hough said. He added, I think success comes by making parents feel comfortable. There is a trade-off to putting the grown-ups minds at ease. A 2016 study by Johns Hopkins University on school safety technology made a startling discovery. There was actually very little evidence that extra cameras and weapons scanners prevented violent events at schools, including mass shootings. There was also little indication that they helped mitigate those events. Advertisement A study in 2019 by researchers at New Mexico State University and the University of Toledo reached a similar conclusion. After looking at research and policies between 2000 and 2018, they found no empirical evidence that spending hundreds of millions of dollars on hardening schools lowered gun violence. Both pointed to a common cycle: Horrific incidents spurred new funding with a short spending window, prompting schools to buy technology to show they were doing something, according to the Johns Hopkins study. But there can be unintended consequences to doing something. A 2017 study by University of Florida Levin College of Law found that schools with higher proportions of Black students were more likely to rely on intense surveillance measures than did other schools, even when evidence suggested the extra safety concerns were unwarranted. That fuels a broader problem of Black students being punished more harshly than white students for similar offenses. Advertisement Increasingly intense surveillance at schools also sends a message to students that they are dangerous and prone to illegal activity, disrupting feelings of trust between students and the school, according to the University of Florida research. Instead of feeling safe, that study showed students felt a heightened sense of danger and disillusionment through constant passivity and compliance with the surveillance tech, further eroding students Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.(1) A day after the Uvalde shooting, Texas Governor Greg Abbott held a news conference where he recommitted to the states hardening plans for schools that were passed in 2019, after another school shooting in Houston. Those plans provided $100 million in funding for extra CCTV cameras and bulletproof glass. But Abbott was praising a bill that had ultimately failed to stop the killing of 19 children last month. Surveillance technology doesnt address the underlying cause of school shootings, and there is little evidence that it protects children from violence. But it does soothe adults nerves. Hough, the Fayette County superintendent, recalled an incident in April when someone posted on Instagram a threat to kill the school principal. News of the threat spread quickly among his students. Advertisement Normally that would have prompted about half the schools kids to stay at home on the request of their parents, he said. Not this time. Parents reminded one another on Facebook that the school had just installed Evolvs cutting-edge scanners. The next day, nearly all the schools 3,000 students turned up, according to Hough, who dismissed the notion that the scanners are a form of surveillance. It was a very normal day. It is hard for schools to critically evaluate technologys impact on well-being something so difficult to measure outside of academic research especially when childrens lives appear to be at stake. But the price of hardening schools wont go away. Absent effective gun reform, surveillance of American children is becoming a fact of life, and their parents have little choice but to accept the consequences. More From Writers at Bloomberg Opinion: Advertisement Actually, Elon, You Can Count Twitter Bots. Heres How: Tim Culpan AIs Next Big Thing Is Fake Data: Parmy Olson Music Labels Are Spending Too Much Time on TikTok: Trung Phan (Corrects spelling of Fayette Countys school superintendent.) (1) School officials can use evidence they would never have been able to legally obtain outside of school when making a case of wrongdoing to prosecutors. Various Supreme Court decisions have held that US schools are not required to obtain a search warrant, meet probable cause or have an individualized suspicion about a students activities before conducting a search. These decisions allow school officials to legally create intense surveillance environments in their schools, according to the 2017 University of Florida study. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Parmy Olson is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering technology. A former reporter for the Wall Street Journal and Forbes, she is author of We Are Anonymous. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Reports of NATOs brain death were greatly exaggerated, it turns out. That was the memorable diagnosis French President Emmanuel Macron offered for the transatlantic alliance in 2019. But as the 30 allies and two future ones powwow in Madrid this week, an updated health check suggests the exact opposite appraisal. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Far from comatose, NATO is today more vital and vigorous than its been since the height of the Cold War. It remains the greatest guarantor of security in the West and the entire free world. It is without doubt the most successful alliance in history. When Macron was speaking off the cuff in 2019 a time so recent in years and yet so distant in events the allies had a lot to worry about. One concern was a US president, Donald Trump, who disdained Americas partners and cast doubt on NATOs theretofore sacrosanct mutual-defense clause, and thereby its power to deter aggression. Advertisement Another worry was NATOs mission drift. The original threat from the Soviet Union between 1949 and 1991, Russia thereafter appeared to wane. China and climate change werent on the official list of adversaries yet. The case for out of area operations from the Balkans to the Horn of Africa had often been flimsy. The credit for curing this identity crisis belongs, of course, to Russian President Vladimir Putin. By becoming exactly the kind of threat NATO was founded to defend against, he proved his erstwhile appeasers wrong and the Cassandras right. Putins attack on Ukraine this year has been so brutal, irrational and inhumane that all allies have remembered NATOs raison detre: deterrence of Russia, and if it comes to that defensive war against it. The immediate outcome of the Madrid summit will therefore be the refortification of NATOs entire eastern front facing Russia and its accomplice, Belarus. Its members will also increase their military spending. That includes, at long last, Germany. Advertisement Above all, the alliance will expand, by adding two militarily strong and geographically strategic members: Finland and Sweden. Both countries long prided themselves on their neutrality, but now want the safety of NATOs Article 5 an attack on one is an attack on all. In return, they can help turn the Baltic Sea into a NATO lake, the better to defend the most exposed allies Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The backstory to this Scandinavian enlargement highlights another difference between 2019 and 2022. It is that NATO once again, as during the Cold War, benefits from American leadership. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, had been blocking the accession of Finland and Sweden, accusing both of coddling Kurdish groups he considers terrorists. In exhausting negotiations between the three countries, Turkey has now extracted enough concessions from the Nordics for Erdogan to drop his veto. Sweden and Finland will apparently clamp down on Kurdish organizations, but without sacrificing the rule of law in individual cases. Advertisement The decisive nudge appears to have come from US President Joe Biden, who gave his Turkish counterpart a good talking to. Biden is loath to reward autocrats and thats what Erdogan is nowadays with one-on-one time. But this week Biden reminded Erdogan of the bigger geostrategic picture, while publicly keeping his role deliberately below the radar. This is the opposite of the approach taken by Trump, who relished causing discord at maximum volume. The allies wont be able to resolve all vexing questions this week. Its far from clear how they should deal with China, a potential adversary in the future, or climate change, the meta-problem that will cause countless conflicts to come. Nor is it obvious how exactly NATO and the European Union, which is also trying to strengthen its internal military cooperation, should overlap. Above all, NATO must in secrecy war-game the worst scenario: What if Putin uses nuclear weapons? That said, the alliance deserves accolades. It is containing the kind of aggressor it was built for, and thereby keeping its allies as safe as they can be. Jens Stoltenberg, NATOs secretary general, said it best. Putin wanted less NATO; instead, hes getting more of it. Good. Advertisement More From This Writer and Others at Bloomberg Opinion: Russian Kaliningrad Is a Microcosm of Europes Woes: Andreas Kluth How to Break Russias Blockade of Ukraines Black Sea Ports: Tara Lachappelle The West Must Move East for NATO to Survive: Hal Brands This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Andreas Kluth is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering European politics. A former editor in chief of Handelsblatt Global and a writer for the Economist, he is author of Hannibal and Me. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Theres a simple technical fix for the exam cheating that landed Ernst & Young with a $100 million fine from the US Securities & Exchange Commission this week. But the problems exposed by this episode go deeper than poorly constructed online tests that were, ironically, designed to assess ethical awareness. The audit profession has an issue with fraud in its own backyard. A significant number of EY US employees taking the ethics component of the Certified Public Accountant tests obtained the answers beforehand from 2017 to 2020, the SEC found. These were in the form of a key say, B, D, A, C. The obvious way to prevent such cheating is by randomizing the order of the answer choices, or by giving each examinee different questions. The testers have finally caught up with this particular wheeze. The more draconian response would be to scrap multiple-choice ethics tests altogether given good conduct should be common sense. That would be a step backwards. If such tests were so easy, people wouldnt cheat. Advertisement In any case, the challenges extend far beyond examination protocols whether in ethics or more practical aspects of accounting. Cheating by auditors is worryingly prevalent. In February, a US accounting watchdog fined PricewaterhouseCooperss Canadian partnership $750,000 for weak controls that saw more than 1,200 employees participate in improper answer sharing in internal tests from at least 2016 to early 2020. Rival Big Four auditor KPMG paid a $50 million penalty in 2019 after the SEC found it had used stolen information to prepare for regulatory inspections, while some of its auditors manipulated an internal server to lower the pass mark in training exams. And these cheating situations may simply be the ones we know about. As so often in corporate scandals, the institutional response is typically as bad as the misconduct itself. Many EY employees knew what was going on and didnt report it. EY suggested to supervisors it had no issues with cheating despite receiving information to the contrary and hindered the SECs probe, the agency said. Advertisement For its part, EY says its remedial actions have been thorough, extensive, and effective. Still, theres a cultural issue here that needs to be addressed, and this is where other firms can learn lessons too. Culture comes from the top and EYs US partnership has new leadership taking over this week. Thats a start. However, in very large firms such as the Big Four auditors, imposing a unified culture from on high isnt easy. What counts is having the right governance structures to ensure the organization jumps on problems as soon as they materialize and deals with regulators openly. EYs US partnership has a small independent committee specifically responsible for advising on things that affect audit quality including culture. If this was effective, the SEC wouldnt be ordering the firm to hire two outside consultants to review its ethics policies and further review EYs disclosure failings. Advertisement That imposition points to the value of audit partnerships having a deep bench of weighty non-executives who can function as a sort of internal regulator. Obviously, EY doesnt answer to external shareholders, but it looks like it could learn something from public-company governance. As EY considers separating its audit and consulting businesses, the episode is a reminder that the issues in the Big Four go beyond policing conflicts of interest between those two activities. While auditing is seen as less well-paid than other financial careers early on, it can still be lucrative so the incentives to bend rules to climb higher are there. If EY slims into a dedicated audit firm, it will have a chance to reset its culture. Even then, it wont be as easy as A, B, C. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Chris Hughes is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals. Previously, he worked for Reuters Breakingviews, the Financial Times and the Independent newspaper. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Leonardo Del Vecchio, who died this week at the age of 87, was the stuff of capitalist legend. Put into an orphanage by his widowed mother because she could not afford to feed him, he went on to build not only the worlds largest eyewear group, EssilorLuxottica SA but the modern eyewear industry as we know it. He turned a functional medical device for eyesight correction into a luxury good with the plus sized margins that go with it. In the process, he made himself a fortune of $26 billion and became a financial and cultural force in his native Italy. It wasnt without controversy. EssilorLuxotticas dominance attracted accusations of anti-competitive activity and price gouging. And Del Vecchios mettle was just as steely. In one interview I did with him in 2014, he dismissed Google Glass with the short phrase: It would embarrass me going around with that on my face. In another interview over lunch in 2019, he explained in four words why he would win a wrangle with top managers at Essilor: It is my life. He was victorious. What follows such a figure? Advertisement He was one of the last surviving of the Italys remarkable postwar generation of entrepreneurs who included Michele Ferrero, the founder of the company behind Nutella, and Wanda Ferragamo, the matriarch behind the fashion brand Ferragamo. The last surviving members of that cohort are the fashion moguls Giorgio Armani and Luciano Benetton, both 87. Recent history suggests that what comes after Italys founding titans will, at best, be anticlimax. Ferrero has become another largely faceless multinational based out of Luxembourg. Ferragamo has sunk into diminishing relevance among the big fashion brands amid reports of disputes over strategy among the many heirs. With Italys post-pandemic economy promised 260 billion euros in European Union funding, Del Vecchio called for his compatriots to use the infusion to make revolutionary choices that would stem their countrys decline. His own attempt at post-pandemic revolution was to take stakes in and force management change in Milanese financial groups that once dominated Italy but now have a dwindled relevance. He was thwarted. It was a rare misstep into an industry he did not know. Advertisement His death will most likely allow rivals all non Italian to bloom now freed from the long competitive shadow he cast in the modern eyewear industry he created. The bosses of competing companies had been betting on Del Vecchios mortality in the last decade. In that period, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE and Kering SA, the French luxury conglomerates, have both set up eyewear factories near Del Vecchios headquarters in the Dolomites. They can fairly expect EssilorLuxottica to lose some of its footing without its visionary founder, if only temporarily. Del Vecchio had six children from three wives and spent the last decade trying to get his house in order in terms of shareholder structures for his heirs. As for the company itself, he dispatched several chief executives in his last years before settling on Francesco Milleri, a former IT consultant. Corporate governance experts say that Del Vecchios real heirs are the tech founders who created and remain the single most powerful shareholders in the monolithic new companies theyve created. Del Vecchio owned more than 60% of Luxottica shares and even after its merger with French lensmaker Essilor, he remained undisputed king of the board with 32%. Italians can be proud that Del Vecchio was the pattern for Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and even Bill Gates. In a fitting and perhaps fateful collaboration, Zuckerberg and Del Vecchios companies announced a deal last year to create Ray-Ban smart glasses. Advertisement It Italy itself, his legacy is unassailable. But his death poses a challenge to the business class. Del Vecchios success was borne of raw meritocracy. With an unstinting focus on Italian manufacturing and creativity, he created a niche and then sold it to a global market. That kind of vision is less in evidence nowadays. The countrys largest listed companies are either financial institutions or state-owned energy and infrastructure groups. Italys stock market accounts for 3.7% of the MSCI index of European stocks, down from 6.2% in 2000, according to Morgan Stanley. Only six companies feature among the worlds 1,000 biggest public corporations. This decline has been accelerated by the relatively small size, on average, of Italian companies, a heavy reliance on bank loans that make them more vulnerable to economic shocks plus a baroque profusion of red tape, according to the OECD. Thats led some entrepreneurs to decamp to countries with more liquid stock markets, or give up all together. Italian automaker Fiat, Italys largest private employer, merged first with Chrysler in 2014, and then last year with French Peugeot before being rebranded Stellantis NV. The combined companys corporate seat is in Amsterdam and its primary listing in New York. Since 2015, tiremaker Pirelli & C SpAs biggest shareholder has been ChemChina, a state owned giant. The Versace family chose to let its holdings be acquired by the US group behind Michael Kors. All of this hinders business. But though their numbers are dwindling, nearly a third of Italian firms are classified as high growth based on sales, more than in most big European countries. Among them, Moncler SpA, purveyor of puffa jackets, and IMA Group, which specializes in the design and manufacture of packaging. Advertisement These may be the ultimate standard bearers of Del Vecchios legacy. More From This Writer and Others at Bloomberg Opinion: A Big Win for Italy as Its Old Boys Club Goes Down to Defeat: Rachel Sanderson The ECB Needs a Bazooka to Close Bond Spreads: Marcus Ashworth Italys Romance with Meritocracy Has Been On-Again, Off-Again: Adrian Wooldridge This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Chinas specialized policy banks were designed to help the government achieve its long-term goals in areas where profit-driven banks might be reluctant to lend. Beijing can also draw on them when theres a pressing short-term need to boost the economy. This year, as China tries to pull itself out of a Covid-induced economic weak patch, the government is calling on them for national service yet again. 1. What are they? They are the China Development Bank, The Export-Import Bank of China and Agricultural Development Bank of China. The three were set up in 1994 to provide targeted loans to areas seen by authorities as needing help. Each is state-funded and under the direct leadership of the nations cabinet. Their main areas of lending are: CDB: Infrastructure, urbanization, industry upgrade and equipment manufacturing, poverty relief and development Advertisement Eximbank: Foreign trade and cross-border investment, Belt and Road infrastructure projects abroad, helping small- and medium-sized companies go global ADBC: Finance the building of reserves of key agricultural products, rural infrastructure, shantytown redevelopment, agricultural firms Financing extended by them to developing countries also has made China the worlds top government creditor over the past decade. 2. How are they used to prop up the economy? Beijing asked the policy banks in early June to provide $120 billion in funding for infrastructure projects as part of broader efforts to support Covid-hit businesses. As China struggles to meet its economic growth target of around 5.5% -- which is already well under last years rate of 8.1% -- more such measures are expected. Following an economic downturn beginning in 2014, the CDB accelerated funding for a shantytown renovation campaign, which stabilized the economy and fueled a property boom. Advertisement 3. Where does the money come from? Unlike the commercial lenders that vie for deposits from the public, the policy banks mainly source their funds by issuing bonds with higher credit ratings than commercial banks. Those bonds are highly desirable as they can be used as collateral for borrowing from Chinas central bank, thereby keeping borrowing costs low for the policy banks. Part of the funding for shantytown projects was allocated to CDB directly from the central bank in what it referred to as Pledged Supplementary Lending, a new tool that became a regular part of Chinas monetary policy. 4. Dont we have the Big Four banks for that? While Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., China Construction Bank Corp., Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., Bank of China Ltd. can also be urged to perform national service of channeling funds into certain areas, they are essentially profit-driven commercial banks that can be quite picky when it comes to selecting borrowers and projects. The policy lenders however, operate on a non-profit basis and are often recruited to pour cheap funds into projects that are less attractive financially but matter to the longer-term development of the economy. Advertisement 5. Are they unique to China? Yes and no. There are equivalents in more developed economies too, such as the Export-Import Bank of the United States and Germanys Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau, as well as regional ones like the Asian Development Bank. But Chinas policy banks are of a much larger scale and play a bigger role in the countrys more state-directed economy. However, China lacks tailor-made rules for its policy banks, which are regulated like commercial banks. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load FALLS CHURCH, Va. A pair of lawsuits that for years has plagued Virginias largest school system with allegations that it ignored students accusations of sex assaults are back in front of federal judges. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight One of the lawsuits includes allegations of horrific abuse suffered by a student at a Fairfax County middle school and was the basis for a 2014 federal investigation. The lawsuits attracted low-level attention when they were filed before the pandemic and became caught up in appeals. Now, both cases are moving forward again at a time when schools responses to alleged sex assaults are receiving more intense scrutiny, as evidenced by the national attention in neighboring Loudoun County. The middle schooler filed an amended complaint earlier this month after the school boards efforts to block her suit were rejected. Her ordeal began in October 2011, according to the lawsuit, when she was a seventh grader at Rachel Carson Middle School in Reston. A classmate started telling others that hed engaged in sexual activity with the girl, identified only by her initials in the lawsuit. Advertisement As rumors spread, she started to face harassment and name-calling at her locker in hallways. Then, she alleges, a boy at the school began routinely sexually assaulting her sometimes with others joining the assault and threatening her to remain silent. The assaults occurred over a period of months, according to the lawsuit. The girl was evaluated by a nurse who confirmed scarring consistent with anal rape, but a police detective the former school resource officer at Rachel Carson dismissed the activity as consensual. School officials continued to downplay and minimize the alleged assaults as consensual, even though the girl was 12 and was pleading with administrators and counselors for protection while the supposedly consensual relationship was ongoing. She also alleges that on school grounds, a group of boys forced her into a closet and sexually assaulted her. Advertisement Eventually, in 2012, the girls mother filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Educations Office of Civil Rights. After a two-year investigation, the school system entered a voluntary resolution agreement in which it admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to improve its tracking and responses to allegations of sexual assaults. The lawsuit was filed in 2019. It has been hung up until now because the school system objected to her filing under a pseudonym. The school system appealed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, which unanimously ruled in the girls favor. In a statement, Fairfax County Public Schools says it cooperated fully with the investigation and noted that police and prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges. The school system also said the girls allegations in the most recent complaint are more severe than what she first reported to school officials. Advertisement We continue to believe the senior staff acted appropriately and lawfully in addressing this familys concerns 11 years ago, the school system said in the statement. The other lawsuit involves a girl at Oakton High School who said she was sexually assaulted by a boy on a bus during a school band trip. That case went to trial in 2019. A jury found in the school systems favor, ruling that the girl had been assaulted but did not give the school system proper notice of what had happened to her. On appeal, though, the 4th Circuit ruled 9-6 in favor of the girl and sent the case back to Alexandria for a new trial. The appellate ruling has turned a case that seemingly hinged at trial on a he-said-she-said question of whether the girl was assaulted into a case that could significantly alter the scope of Title IX, the 50-year old law that bars discrimination based on sex in education. Advertisement The dissenting justices said school systems shouldnt be held liable for a sexual assault unless they had some reason to know beforehand that the perpetrator posed a risk. Judges who ruled in favor of the Oakton student said the school system should not be entitled to one free rape before it can be held liable for its policies and procedures. Alexandra Brodsky, a lawyer with Public Justice, which is representing the Oakton student, said shes especially concerned that a purportedly progressive school board in Fairfax County authorized pursuit of a legal strategy that, while it could help it win its case against the Oakton student, could set a dangerous precedent that weakens students protections from abuse. Fairfax County is asking the Supreme Court to gut Title IX protections for sexual assault survivors, Brodsky said. Advertisement Brodsky said there is now greater public awareness of schools failure to support students who report sexual assaults and sexual harassment, particularly in Fairfax County, the nations 10th largest school system. Students at high schools across the county staged walkouts protesting administrative inaction to student claims. Two school principals have been charged criminally with failing to report alleged sex crimes to police, as required by law. Much of that scrutiny has been driven by conservative political activists. In Loudoun County, the school system faced intense backlash over its handling of alleged sex assaults, which became a national rallying point on conservative news outlets in part because the perpetrator in two of those cases was a boy wearing a skirt. Brodsky said that while transphobia drove some of the attention to the issue in Loudoun, I dont think that means that there isnt good faith, bipartisan concern about these issues. ... Protecting students from sexual abuse should be a nonpartisan issue. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load THE HAGUE, Netherlands International Criminal Court judges have issued arrest warrants for three men wanted on suspicion of committing war crimes during the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, the court announced Thursday. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine. ArrowRight The Hague-based court opened an investigation in 2016 into the conflict, which killed hundreds and left thousands of civilians displaced. Russia invaded Georgia after violence broke out between separatist groups and Georgian forces. In 2021, the European Court of Human Rights concluded that grave human rights abuses occurred on Russian-held territory. The three wanted men Lt.-Gen. Mikhail Mindzaev, Gamlet Guchmazov and David Sanakoev served in the government of the Russian-backed self-declared republic of South Ossetia. In a June 24 ruling released Thursday, a panel of judges concluded there was reasonable grounds to believe that each of these three suspects bears responsibility for war crimes. Advertisement Human Rights Watch welcomed the warrants. The 2008 conflict over South Ossetia took a terrible toll on civilians, many of whom continue to pay the price, said Rachel Denber, deputy director of the rights groups Europe and Central Asia Division. The ICC warrants are an important step, which has been a long time coming, to hold individuals implicated in the campaign of violence that forced nearly 20,000 ethnic Georgians from their homes to account. Mindzaev and Guchmazov held the top positions at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of South Ossetia, while Sanakoev served as the breakaway regions presidential representative for human rights. Mindzaev and Guchmazov face charges of unlawful confinement, torture and inhuman treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, hostage-taking, and the unlawful transfer of civilians. The alleged crimes took place Aug. 8-27, 2008, the court said. Advertisement Sanakoevs arrest warrant includes charges of hostage-taking and unlawful transfer of civilians. There are reasonable grounds to believe that civilians perceived to be ethnically Georgian were arrested in the South Ossetian part of Georgia, and subsequently detained, mistreated, and kept in harsh detention conditions, the court said in a statement. Judges estimated that about 170 people, including women and the elderly, were rounded up and confined at the detention center known as the Isolator. The prisoners were later used as a bargaining tool by Russia and the South Ossetian de facto authorities, and used for an exchange of prisoners and detainees. As a result of the exchange, the detainees were forced to leave South Ossetia, the International Criminal Court judges said. The ICC is a court of last resort that takes on cases when national authorities are unwilling or unable to launch prosecutions. ICC prosecutors are currently investigating alleged crimes in several countries, including in the ongoing war in Ukraine. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load PARIS Evidence suggests twin Russian airstrikes deliberately targeted a theater being used as a shelter in the besieged city of Mariupol, the rights group Amnesty International said in a report released Thursday. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine. ArrowRight The report condemned the attack as a war crime. Amnesty said there was no evidence that the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater was a base of operations for Ukrainian soldiers and every indication that it was a haven for civilians seeking protection from weeks of relentless shellings and airstrikes. The March 16 airstrike devastated the building, collapsing its rear and side walls directly onto a field kitchen used as a community gathering space for food, water and scarce news about evacuations and the war. City officials initially estimated around 300 dead. An Associated Press investigation found the attack may have killed closer to 600 people inside and outside the building. Most of the two dozen survivors and witnesses AP interviewed put the number even higher. Advertisement Researchers for Amnesty International identified 12 of the dead. Those who bore witness saw bodies, remains of bodies. And thats how we can try to reconstruct. But the truth is that we will never know the truth. We will never get the final figure. And what is more or horrifying for me is that we will never know the whole names, said Oksana Pokalchuk, Amnestys director general for Ukraine. The Amnesty team interviewed 52 survivors and first-hand witnesses, about half of whom were either in the theater or nearby. Using satellite imagery from that morning, they determined that the sky was consistently clear enough for any pilot to see the word CHILDREN written in giant Cyrillic letters in the buildings front and back. Physicists and weapons analysts examined imagery of the debris and determined that two 500 kilogram bombs dropped from a Russian jet were the most likely munition. Their finding was consistent with the testimony from multiple witnesses who told The Associated Press they had heard two explosions. Advertisement Thursdays report suggested the toll was not as high as the one cited by either AP or the city, citing some witnesses who believed the building had emptied due to evacuations in the two previous days. However, while two days of evacuations from Mariupol on March 14 and 15 had indeed emptied the theater, newcomers immediately filled the space again, according to nearly all the witnesses interviewed by the AP, including a family that arrived on the morning of March 16 to find no space for them and a man who worked at the check-in area on the ground floor. AP created a 3D model of the buildings floorplan reviewed repeatedly by direct witnesses, most from within the theater, who described in detail where people were sheltering. All the AP witnesses said at least 100 people were at the field kitchen just outside, and none survived. They also said the rooms and hallways inside the building were packed. Advertisement By the time the theater was struck, Mariupols thousands of residents had been without electricity, running water or Internet for over two weeks. Families lost touch with each other, and many remain out of touch to this day, giving people no way to learn whether a loved one is alive or dead. A Telegram chat for people seeking out the missing has thousands of names from Mariupol, and the toll of the war on the city will likely never be known. In the days after the airstrike, Russian forces took control of the city center. The theater was bulldozed and any remains were taken to the ever-growing mass graves in and around Mariupol. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load SLOVIANSK, Ukraine Russian forces withdrew from a strategic Black Sea island Thursday, potentially easing the threat to the vital Ukrainian port city of Odesa, but kept up their push to encircle the last stronghold of resistance in the eastern province of Luhansk. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine. ArrowRight The Kremlin portrayed the pullout from Snake Island as a goodwill gesture. But Ukraines military claimed it forced the Russians to flee in two small speedboats following a barrage of Ukrainian artillery and missile strikes. The exact number of troops was not disclosed. Unable to withstand the impact of our artillery, missile and aviation units, the Russian occupiers have left Snake Island. The Odesa region is completely liberated, the Ukrainian military said in its regular social media update Thursday evening. A senior Ukrainian military official, Oleksiy Gromov, earlier said Kyiv was planning to deploy troops to Snake Island, but did not specify a timeline. Advertisement At the moment, we control (the island) with the help of our weapons: long-range artillery, rocket units and aviation, Gromov said. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the withdrawal was intended to demonstrate that Moscow isnt hampering U.N. efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor for exporting agricultural products from Ukraine. Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of blockading Ukrainian ports to prevent exports of grain, contributing to a global food crisis. Russia has denied that and said Ukraine needs to remove mines from the Black Sea to allow safe navigation. Turkey has sought to broker a deal to unblock grain exports. But the talks have dragged on, with Kyiv expressing fear that Russia will exploit the removal of the mines to attack Odesa. Snake Island sits along a busy shipping lane. Russia took control of it in the opening days of the war in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa. Advertisement Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that although the pullout did not guarantee the Black Sea regions safety, it would significantly limit Russian activities there. Step by step, we will push (Russia) out of our sea, our land, our sky, he said in his nightly address. It was unclear if the evacuation of Snake Island meant a change in Moscows designs on Ukraines biggest port, which is crucial for shipping grain to Africa, the Middle East and other parts of the world. Its also the headquarters of the countrys navy. The island shrouded in myth since ancient times early on took on legendary significance for Ukraines resistance to the Russian invasion, when Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back, Go (expletive) yourself. Advertisement Ukraine has celebrated the story with patriotic fervor, issuing a postage stamp in commemoration. The islands Ukrainian defenders were captured by the Russians but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange. After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there and its air defenses. At a NATO summit in Madrid, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson billed the Russian pullout as a sign that Ukraine will prevail in the war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the end it will prove impossible for Putin to hold down a country that will not accept occupation, Johnson said. Meanwhile, Moscow kept up its push to take control of the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. It is focused on the city of Lysychansk, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in Luhansk province. Advertisement Russian troops and their separatist allies control 95% of Luhansk and about half of Donetsk, the two provinces that make up the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas. Ukraine said the Russians were shelling Lysychansk and clashing with Ukrainian defenders around an oil refinery on its edges. The Ukrainian military said Thursday evening that Russia had seen partial success that day around the plant, some 17 kilometers south-west of the city. They made no reference to claims that attacking forces had been able to cross the strategic Siverskiy Donets river and enter the city from the north. Zelenskyy said in his nightly address that the situation in the Donbas remained the toughest and extremely difficult. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian reconnaissance units trying to enter Lysychansk on Wednesday were repelled. He said the Russians were trying to block a highway used to deliver supplies, and fully encircle the city. Advertisement The Russians have thrown practically all their forces to seize the city, Haidai said, but denied that Lysychansk had been encircled. Nevertheless, Haidai noted that as of Thursday evening, evacuations from the city were impossible due to heavy shelling and mined access roads. Earlier, the Ukrainian military said it was not planning a retreat from Lysychansk. A representative of Russia-backed separatists in Luhansk claimed that pro-Russian forces entered Lysychansk Thursday, after a perilous river crossing which, if true, would be a significant development. Military analysts previously told the AP that Russian forces had little chance of crossing the river without major losses due to the defenders elevated positions. It was impossible to immediately verify the accuracy of the statements by Andrey Marochko, who heads the armed forces of the self-proclaimed, unrecognized separatist territory, to Russias Interfax agency. There was no official confirmation from Moscow or Kyiv. Advertisement In other developments: Ukraines president hailed the launch Thursday of Ukrainian electricity exports to E.U. member state Romania, which Zelenskyy called only the first stage of a process that may see a significant part of the Russian gas consumed by Europeans replaced by Ukrainian energy. - U.S. President Joe Biden said his administration will send an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, including rockets and advanced air defense systems. In his nightly address, Zelenskyy thanked Biden for the move, saying that the equipment soon will go to the frontline to work for Ukraine, to defend freedom. Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who held talks with Putin on Thursday a day after visiting Ukraine, said he handed the Russian leader a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He did not elaborate. Advertisement A senior Russian official warned that Moscow could consider Western sanctions as a cause for war. Under certain circumstances, such hostile measures could be perceived ... even as a casus belli, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy secretary of Russias Security Council, said in a speech at a legal forum. Speaking on a visit to Turkmenistan on Thursday, Putin said his goals in Ukraine havent changed since the start of the war. He said they were the liberation of the Donbas, the protection of these people and the creation of conditions that would guarantee the security of Russia itself. He made no mention of his original stated goals to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine. As you can see, the troops are moving and reaching the marks that were set for them for a certain stage of this combat work. Everything is going according to plan, Putin said. Funerals were scheduled Thursday for some of the 18 people confirmed killed in a Russian airstrike Monday on a busy shopping mall in the central city of Kremenchuk. Crews searched the rubble for 20 still missing. Advertisement Sweden announced plans to send more military aid to Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons and mine-clearing equipment. Sweden was invited this week to join NATO, a process that could take months. Iranian state media said Thursday Iran has proposed expanding financial exchanges with Russia and cooperating in the energy field. Both countries are under heavy Western sanctions. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Putin met on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine. GiftOutline Gift Article We tried several times to ask the question, What are you going to do when the whole coast is in flood? Because thats happened many times before [when La Nina has taken hold] and we couldnt get them to understand, Trevan said. Loading Well, I suspect they understand now, because thats exactly what happened in February. Trevan said the turnover in senior SES leadership - seven commissioners in the past 10 years - and in salaried officers in the Northern Rivers meant no one had an understanding of what was needed in the region. On Thursday, Saffin also questioned what plans the SES had devised for itself and the community in the advent of a flood higher than the 1974 levels in the Northern Rivers. A catastrophic flood higher than the previous 1974 and 1954 levels has long been predicted for Lismore. In 1993, a report by engineers Sinclair Knight, commissioned by Lismore City Council, found that 16.5 metres was a probable maximum flood height in Lismore. The Lismore Floodplain Risk Management plan of 2014 anticipated a 14-metre flood. The Lismore City Local Flood Plan - which is overseen by the SES and the local emergency management committee, which is made up of all the emergency service heads and the local council - recognises a probable maximum flood height of 15.9 metres, but it does not deal with the consequences of a flood higher than 12.4 metres. This meant that it did not contemplate, for example, the flooding of Fromelles Manor aged care facility, on the edge of the flood zone, where 63 residents were stranded for hours on February 28. Everybody keeps talking about this flood as being unprecedented, Saffin said. If you read all the literature, if you read all the studies, it has been predicted that we [Lismore] could have big floods, even up to over 16 metres. [Unprecedented] is used almost as an excuse as to why certain actions are not taken. Unprecedented becomes almost, Well, we couldnt have done this any better. Well, you can. During the February flood event, the SES was relying on forecasts from the Bureau of Meteorology to organise its response. Those forecasts have been criticised as inaccurate and out-of-date by the time the SES received them. The rescue organisations means of identifying the location of victims primarily through its emergency hotline and triple zero was overwhelmed once the floodwater hit Lismore, undermining its ability to co-ordinate the safety and wellbeing of the wider community. Authorities also struggled to respond to the needs of the downriver towns and villages of Woodburn, Broadwater, Coraki and Wardell, which were hit by floodwater more than 24 hours after Lismore was inundated. A senior representative in the multi-agency response working inside the Incident Control Centre in Lismore described how the management team was overwhelmed, playing catch-up, making decisions ad hoc and unable to forward plan. In the ensuing chaos, a major communication breakdown occurred within the SES on February 28, when a call went out for residents with boats to assist in the rescue operation. However, SES headquarters in Wollongong tried to shut the request down, a source inside the Incident Control Centre in Lismore said. Loading Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg told the Herald that he was rebuked by a senior SES officer for posting on his councils Facebook page the call for the community to assist in the rescue. The community ignored the SES managements about-face. Volunteer local SES units lost communication with the Incident Control Centre for long periods of time during the disaster. Ed Bennett, a member of the Lismore local SES unit who joined in 1964, told a NSW parliamentary hearing that many lives would have been lost without the tinnie army of community rescuers. Their arrival, however, also created safety concerns and led to confusion about who had been rescued. Elsewhere in the Northern Rivers, community members often found themselves acting alone, particularly in the Tweed Valley, the Byron Shire and the Richmond Valley. Loading Rescues were co-ordinated by groups through social media networks, enlisting hundreds of volunteers, including high-profile surfers Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson on jet-skis, and TripADeal founder Norm Black, who brought in helicopters to save people trapped by landslides and from isolated, flooded properties. Member for Tweed Geoff Provest told the parliamentary inquiry that the SES co-ordination was absent during the disaster. We had $2 million worth of marine rescue boats all keen and ready to go but they werent tasked. Why? Because they werent trained in floodwater, but they were trained in driving through the bar when it has 10-foot seas. I was actually loading food and stuff into peoples boats. We had well over 100 community members with their boats. The concern I had as the local member of parliament was that I had no idea whether the two guys in front of me in the tinnie had fuel, had lifejackets, knew what they were doing, and I was basically saying, Head there until somebody waves you down. The NSW upper house inquiry into major flooding across NSW was told by government agencies and other volunteer organisations that SES requests for rescue resources were delayed. NSW Marine Rescue said they were not contacted until March 1, however, Fire and Rescue NSW told the Herald that they responded to an SES request for rescue boats, technicians and a pump four days before the flood, sending them to the Northern Rivers on February 25. Other agencies with boats and jet skis refused to allow their untrained staff or unsuitable boats to enter the floodwater, fearful any fatal mishap would land them before the courts or worse in jail. NSW SES Commissioner Carlene York told the parliamentary inquiry: We need to raise the bar about what is the worst case scenario for a flood in these areas into the future, and that will be taken into account in our decision-making, our warnings and our information that goes out to the public. A flight test of a hypersonic missile system in Hawaii has ended in failure due to a problem that took place after ignition, the US Department of Defence said, delivering a fresh blow to the program. It didnt provide further details of what took place on Wednesday (US time), but said in a statement sent by email the Department remains confident that it is on track to field offensive and defensive hypersonic capabilities on target dates beginning in the early 2020s. A common hypersonic glide body (C-HGB) launching from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii in 2020. The Pentagon is developing hypersonic war-fighting capabilities. Credit:US Navy/AP An anomaly occurred following ignition of the test asset, Defence spokesman Navy Lieutenant Commander Tim Gorman said in the statement. Program officials have initiated a review to determine the cause to inform future tests. he said. While the Department was unable to collect data on the entirety of the planned flight profile, the information gathered from this event will provide vital insights. If you know of local business openings or closings, please notify us here. PREVIOUS OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS Air Products and Chemicals Inc.'s chosen warehouse developer, Prologis Inc., will have to wait until July 13 for a final decision by Upper Macungie Township's zoning hearing board on 2.61 million square feet of warehouses. Chubby's of Southside Easton has added Krispy Krunchy Chicken to its offerings and name. Curaleaf Holdings Inc., which operates in the U.S. and Europe, will open a medical-marijuana dispensary at 1801 Airport Road, Hanover Township. Habitat for Humanity, which has "ReStores" that sell new and lightly used furniture, has leased 30,000 square feet at the South Mall. Nat Hyman's bid to convert an old warehouse at 938 Washington St. in Allentown into 48 apartments did not win zoning hearing board approval this week after neighbors said more housing would make an on-street parking shortage worse. Members 1st Federal Credit Union opened a new branch this week at 5605 Hamilton Blvd, Trexlertown. It's one of five planned for the Lehigh Valley. A Turkish restaurant has relocated from one downtown to another, taking its fresh ingredients and cozy atmosphere from Nazareth to 200 Main St., Tatamy. The Tennessee Titans have chosen Allentown-based Shift4 Payments to handle payments at Nissan Stadium. Wells Fargo Bank held ribbon-cutting at its downtown Allentown branch at 740 Hamilton St. The Wiz Kidz outlet at the Madison Farms residential/retail development in Bethlehem Township will hold a grand reopening and ribbon-cutting at noon on July 15. Bad Biscuit Company, which offered breakfast with scratch-made biscuits, freshly baked pastry and local, small-batch artisan coffee, said it will cease operations at 16 Columbia Ave. in Reading after its July 1 hours. FastBridge Fiber has announced it will build an all-fiber cable network that will offer ultra-fast internet in the Reading area. Hamid Chaudhry has said he no longer plans to move forward with pursuing a food truck park he previously proposed on the site of the former Sheetz convenience store and gas station in Exeter Township at 6600 Perkiomen Ave. (Route 422 East). The Maxatawny Township Planning Commission has OK'd a proposal for a Mavis Discount Tire store in the Kutztown Road shopping center that features a Giant supermarket. Valentino's Italian restaurant has gotten Maxatawny Township's approval to remain open when the state transportation department takes one-third of its parking lot to build a traffic roundabout at the intersection of Route 222 and Long Lane. Pocono Mountain Harley-Davidson, under new ownership, will hold a "Grand Re-Opening Bash" July 9 and July 10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sauce West End plans to open in a former Rita's Italian Ice, just off Route 209 across from the Tractor Supply store in Brodheadsville. The Surgery Center of Pottsville, which offered medical procedure services for 16 years in Cressona Mall. will close June 28. Wells Fargo has closed its branch office in Langhorne, near the intersection with Maple Avenue. The latest PrimoHoagies location in New Jersey held a grand opening at 1930 State Route 57, Hackettstown. A new Tractor Supply Co. store in Warren County will have its grand opening in the former Toys 'R' Us store in Pohatcong Plaza on July 9. Hunter Pocono Peterbilt plans to move Pocono Township operations to Stroudsburg. Coal Winery and Kitchen at 81 Broad St., Bethlehem, has closed as its owner searches for a new location for the business, according to its Facebook page. Lowhill Township supervisors approved a 312,120-square-foot commercial warehouse and distribution center on a 43.4-acre tract on the west side of Route 100, south of the Kernsville Road intersection. The Mint Gastropub at 1223 W. Broad St., Bethlehem, announced that it has temporarily closed to undergo a merger with a "well-known restaurant group" from Bethlehem. The Slatington Farmers Market opened its 28,000-square-foot showroom, which includes space for 53 vendors, as well as a 4,000-square-foot event space. St. Luke's University Health Network opened a new pediatric inpatient unit next to the eight-bed pediatric intensive care unit at St. Luke's University Hospital Bethlehem. 25th Asian House opened at the location of the former Tin Tin Chinese restaurant in the 25th Street Shopping Center in Palmer Township. The Chick-Fil-A in Broadcasting Square shopping center in Spring Township was razed to make way for a new, expanded facility for the popular chicken sandwich restaurant. Plans for drive-thru locations of a Chipotle and a Starbucks at the intersection of Ivy League Drive and Kutztown Road were rejected by Maxatawny Township planners. Cumru Township plannes reviewed preliminary plans for NorthPoint-Morgantown Commerce Center, a 738,720-square-foot warehouse to be built on 75.2 acres at Morgantown Road (State Route 10) and Freemansville Road. Kutztown University has plans to expand its historic Poplar House to 13,161 square feet with an addition around its side and back, but keep the 129-year-old structure intact. A wine store and beverage outlet could be coming to a new two-unit building along the commercial strip of Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East in Lehighton, Carbon County. ChristianaCare, a Delaware health care organization, has announced it will buy the former Jennersville Hospital in West Grove, Chester County. Garden of Health Inc. celebrated the opening of the food bank's new warehouse at 201 Church Road, North Wales, in Montgomery County. Silverline Trailers Inc. opened its first location in Pennsylvania and in the Northeast at 223 Porter Road, Pottstown, where it sells utility, cargo, dump, equipment and car hauler trailers. A new smoothie and bowl restaurant, Sips & Berries, opened at 285 Maple Ave., Harleysville, in Montgomery County. Terrain on the Parkway offers 160 new 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments at 1625 Lehigh Parkway East in Allentown. Lehigh Valley native Don Wenner is moving his real estate investment and finance firm DLP Capital from Bethlehem to Allentown at 835 W. Hamilton St. While Wells Fargo has been the leader in closing banks lately, it will hold a ribbon-cutting for its new downtown Allentown office at 740 Hamilton St. on June 30. If you're in the market for sterling silver jewelry, minerals and semi-precious gemstones, C& I Minerals is now operating at the South Mall at 3300 Lehigh St. in Allentown. The Allentown-based utility company PPL Corp. bought a major Rhode Island utility. Ownership at Martellucci's Pizzeria in Bethlehem has changed, but Paul and Donna Hlavinka and their family are running the pizza place at 1419 Easton Ave., just as it has been operated for 49 years. Dr. Jacob Kasprenski's new Kasprenski Family Eye Care opened at 1088 Howertown Road, Catasauqua. Josie's New York Deli in downtown Easton closed early in the COVID-19 pandemic, but a June 13 Historic District Commission meeting approved a request for a new sign at its building at 14 Centre Square. Zekraft cafe has opened its second location in the Easton Silk Mill in Easton. The first Zekraft restaurant was opened in Bethlehem. The restaurants' menus change frequently, with a focus on local ingredients. Manta Massage at 319 Main St., Emmaus, will hold its grand opening on July 10 starting at 11 a.m. The former Iron Lakes Country Club, constructed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, will operate at 3625 Shankweiler Road in North Whitehall Township under its new name, The Club at Twin Lakes. Prologis, a titan in the logistics industry, will own and operate three warehouses proposed in Upper Macungie Township at the former Air Products headquarters campus at 7201 Hamilton Blvd. Lehigh Valley Health Network ceremonially opened its first Carbon County hospital a $78 million, 100,578-square-foot facility at 2128 Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East in Mahoning Township. Pocono Township commissioners voted to accept Swiftwater Solar's preliminary final plan for the $111 million, 80-megawatt field on a private 644-acre site on top of Bear Mountain that would include about 200,000 solar panels. Firetree Ltd. wants to expand its in-patient rehab operation at the former Sands Ford auto dealership at 440 N Claude A Lord Blvd. (Route 61), Pottsville. A Dunkin' in Schuylkill County located at 400 Terry Rich Blvd., St. Clair, has become just the fourth location of the donut and coffee chain to go entirely digital. The Conservatory music school in Bucks County will close after 34 years, and school officials say the COVID-19 pandemic is the cause. The nonprofit, located at 4059 Skyron Drive, Doylestown, will close June 30. A Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Arby's will be built on the site of the former Ahart's Market on Route 22 in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce offices and the Unity Bank Center for Business & Entrepreneurship will be located at 119 Main St., Flemington. Honeygrow opens Quakertown location, next to Chipotle on Route 309, on June 3. Dunkin' reopens remodeled restaurant at 1174 MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township Muse Modern Med Spa at 325 Fifth St. in Whitehall Township will hold a grand opening June 4. Around Again, a consignment store, opened at 154 S. Main St., Phillipsburg Steak and Steel Hibachi, a restaurant in the works at 44 W. Walnut St., Bethlehem, still plans on opening late this summer. Take It Outdoors Recreation Hub has moved to a spot along the Schuylkill River Trail at Riverfront Park in Pottstown, Montgomery County Pedego Electric Bikes has a new outlet in Lambertville, N.J. at 13 N. Union St. Amanda Vachris has opened a new Keller Williams Real Estate office at 15 St. John St. in Schuylkill Haven. Easton's new West Ward Market will open Wednesday and be open on Wednesday's through the summer from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The market, created by the Greater Easton Development Partnership, will sell fresh produce on 12th Street, next to Paxinosa Elementary School. Ciao Sandwich Shoppe is adding a second location, this time on College Hill in Easton. Ciao plans to open at 325 Cattell St. in late summer. Ciao already operates in downtown Easton at 12 N. Third St Ma's Crepes and Cakes will hold a grand opening and ribbon-cutting June 16 at 46 W. Broadway, Jim Thorpe. The celebration starts at 5 p.m., with the ribbon cutting at 5:45 p.m. Bethlehem's Back Door Bakeshop will reopen as a wholesale operation at 7 E. Church St. in the city's historic district. The business was open for nine years as a retail outlet at Broad and Center streets, before announcing in March that it would close the storefront April 3 and "go back to its origins as a wholesale business." The Beef Baron on Catasauqua Road in Bethlehem is closed indefinitely for renovations The Brothers That Just Do Gutters are opening a new location in Allentown at 1302 N. 18th St. St. John Chrysostom Academy, an Orthodox school serving grades 1-9 starting this fall, held a grand opening at its St. Francis Center, Bethlehem, campus. Easton Commons, a shopping center anchored by Giant Foods at 2920 Easton Ave., Bethlehem Township, has a new name: The Shops at Bethlehem. Carbon County is getting a taste of Brazil at Uai Brasil BBQ at 315 Lehigh Ave. in Palmerton. The Keystone Pub in Bethlehem Township, at 3259 Easton Avenue, has reopened after a lengthy and expensive renovation. The Trading Post Depot opened at 401 Northampton St., Easton. The rustic furniture store makes custom tables for dining rooms, desktops, conference centers and more. The Easton area has a new gym: Homemade Fitness at 444 Cedarville Road in Williams Township. Il Gaetano Ristorante opened at its 665 Columbus Ave., Phillipsburg, location. Ciao! Sandwich Shoppe to open second location on College Hill in Easton, replacing The Kettle Room Rene and Grisellies Benique have opened Ezekiel 47 Cafe at 10 S. Fifth Ave., off Fifth and Penn avenues, in West Reading. Alter Ego Salon and Day Spa in Emmaus is holding a grand opening Sunday, May 22, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a ribbon cutting at noon. Origen Latin Fusion has opened at the site of the former Tomcat Cafe in Sinking Spring, Berks County. Sellersville Senior Residences will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony May 24. The Bucks County affordable-housing community for adults 55 and older has 50 apartments, with eight allocated for people with behavioral health needs. The House and Barn in Emmaus has opened its Shed outdoor dining and cigar bar area. The House and Barn is at 1449 Chestnut St. in Emmaus. Realtor Amanda Vachris and the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting at Vachris's new Keller Williams Real Estate office at 15 St. John St., Schuylkill Haven, at 4 p.m. on May 24. Il Gaetano Ristorante will hold a grand opening on Friday, May 20, at 5:30 p.m. The 665 Columbus Ave., Phillipsburg. First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union will hold a grand opening at its new headquarters in Trexlertown, 6126 Hamilton Blvd., on May 18. Vinyl Press Signs & Graphics has relocated within Emmaus. The new site is 15 S. Second St., not far from the former Sixth Street location. Pedro's Cafe in Emmaus to close SV Sports (formerly Schuylkill Valley Sports) to close Quakertown location Flemington DIY will host a Grand Re-Opening on May 14 at 26 Stangl Road, Flemington. The celebration will kick off at 10 a.m. Elpedios Ristorante at Seipsville opened at 2912 Old Nazareth Road in Easton. The restaurant is open Wednesday through Sunday. Uai Brazil opened at 315 Lehigh Ave, Palmerton, offering both a seated or buffet option. Colombian Mex Restaurant opened at 107 E Union Blvd in Bethlehem, offering traditional Colombian cuisine. Precision Ink opened at 161 W Berwick St. in Easton. King Wing opened a location in Bethlehem at 129 E. Third St., serving wings and sandwiches. Today Mostly sunny and comfortable with low humidity. Tonight Becoming partly cloudy overnight. Another nice evening for 4th fireworks! Tomorrow Becoming mostly cloudy and turning more humid with a couple of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. 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Travel on the tube in central London and you will see photos of Tom Felton, the actor who played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter franchise, plastered all over escalator walls. His video performance is the main selling point for The Gunpowder Plot the latest immersive experience to land on London this year presented by Layered Reality and Historic Royal Palaces. Immersive experiences are in right now, and visitors in London are spoilt for choice with everything from Monopoly Lifesized, to Doctor Who: Time Fracture and now this a high-budget dramatization of a significant period in Britain's history, featuring virtual reality (VR) headsets. The result is a somewhat badly executed, disappointing hour and 40 minutes. The central question is whether Guy Fawkes was a hero or a villain. For anyone who has not lived natively, this question has no context Bonfire Night is a UK-specific holiday. Visitors in the attraction take on the role of Catholics fleeing persecution under James VI's Protestant regime and get tied up in a complex network of spies and double agents. The narrative is difficult to grasp without prior knowledge of UK history and can easily become a glorified game of hide and seek which, while fun, loses much of its meaning. If The Gunpowder Plot is intended to be a tourist attraction, it would do well to more accessible to anyone with no prior knowledge of British history or culture. Having said that, the script does introduce historical tidbits from the Gunpowder Plot in an interactive way, but much of the writing is exaggeratedly sentimental and historical simplistic. Many of the actors' emotional, dramatic moments are greeted with ambivalence or chuckles from the audience. There is an interesting thread throughout the experience about religious violence, and the audience are asked whether an act of terrorism that kills thousands of people is worth it to make a statement about Catholic oppression. This could have been politically pertinent except that the audience are not emotionally invested in the characters' lives, so the idea of blowing up Parliament becomes a bit of a joke, with most people laughing and cheering their support. In terms of the immersion itself, Tahra Zafar's costumes and Tim McQuillen-Wright's set and props do well to create a sense of time travel and Simon Reveley's immersive video content builds a story all around you. Figures of authority wear ruffs and elaborate dresses and jailed dissidents cower in dirty and worn prison garments. Audiences put on disguises, duck around obstacles, crack codes and hide inside secret cupboards. It's a lot of fun, although this critic found the experience of hiding in a priest hole terrifying, being constantly on edge in case someone stormed in. Perhaps that aspect is more suited to braver souls. The immersion does a good job of putting the audience on edge. On the whole, the live elements work well. The performers commit to their roles and deliver thought-out performances. They bring the story to life and add a sense of urgency that makes the audience feel like a part of the action, as well as giving us entertaining duels choreographed by fight director Kevin McCurdy. Alongside the performances, Adrienne Quartly's sound effects and music, and Robbie Butler's lighting create tension and a feeling of danger around you, which is pleasant for thrill-seekers but again, terrifying for jumpy cowards like this critic. Disappointingly, over half of the virtual reality headsets this critic put on did not work, were full of static, or were uncalibrated so that the action was off-centre. Given the central place that VR takes in the experience, the headsets should be better maintained. The live elements worked much better. All in all, the experience is a bit of fun and a bit of a thrill, but it doesn't leave a lasting impression. There is some interesting political commentary with the discussion of terrorism, but it doesn't go very far. The main thrust is you come in, do the tour, take photos, have a drink and leave. It is an enjoyable enough commercial attraction, but it doesn't go much deeper than that. LIVERMORE, Calif. (AP) Sonny Barger, the leather-clad fixture of 1960s counterculture and figurehead of the Hells Angels motorcycle club who was at the notorious Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Speedway, has died. He was 83. FILE - Hells Angels founder Ralph "Sonny" Barger and his wife Sharon are shown after his release on $100,000 bond in San Francisco, Aug. 1, 1980. Barger, the leather-clad figurehead of the notorious Hells Angels motorcycle club, has died at age 83. Barger's death was announced late Wednesday, June 29, 2022, on his Facebook page. Barger composed the post placed on the Facebook page managed by his current wife, Zorana. (AP Photo/Robert Houston, File) LIVERMORE, Calif. (AP) Sonny Barger, the leather-clad fixture of 1960s counterculture and figurehead of the Hells Angels motorcycle club who was at the notorious Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Speedway, has died. He was 83. Barger's death was announced on his Facebook page late Wednesday. FILE - Ralph "Sonny" Barger, president of the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels, is pictured in 1967. Barger, the leather-clad figurehead of the notorious Hells Angels motorcycle club has died at age 83. Barger's death was announced late Wednesday, June 29, 2022, on his Facebook page. (San Francisco Examiner via AP, File) If you are reading this message, youll know that Im gone. Ive asked that this note be posted immediately after my passing, a posting said. Ive lived a long and good life filled with adventure. And Ive had the privilege to be part of an amazing club. The post said that I passed peacefully after a brief battle with cancer. Barger's former attorney, Fritz Clapp, told The Associated Press that Barger had liver cancer and died Wednesday night at home in Livermore, California. Barger composed the post placed on the Facebook page managed by Barger's wife, Zorana, he said. Ralph Sonny Barger was a founding member of the Oakland, California, chapter of the Hells Angels in 1957 and was present at its most infamous moment the 1969 Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Speedway during which bikers hired as security staff fatally stabbed a concertgoer who pulled a gun on one of their members. The Hells Angels were typically depicted by the media as the dark fringe of the 1960s counterculture, embracing freedom, drugs and rock music, but also crime and violence. But Barger, the unofficial spokesman for the Hells Angels, downplayed their outlaw reputation. They say we're organized crime, but if you took every Hells Angel on the face of the Earth and got rid of them you wouldnt drop the crime rate in the world one-tenth of one percent, he said in a 2000 interview for Heads magazine. Were a little drop in the bucket. Theres more cops committing crimes than Hells Angels. Bargers own arrest record included charges ranging from drunken driving to attempted murder. He served 13 years in various prisons, according to news reports. He claimed that one of his most satisfying experiences was his acquittal in 1980 on a count of racketeering, and the declaration of a mistrial on a charge of conspiracy to violate the racketeering law. But in 1988, a jury found Barger guilty of conspiracy to violate federal firearms and explosives laws in plots to kill members of a rival gang. He was sentenced to a six-year term at the Phoenix Federal Correctional Institution and was released in 1992. Barger capitalized on his notoriety. He wrote three books about his life and philosophy, including a best-selling autobiography, Hells Angel. A chapter title in one of his books was Nothing states your position more clearly than a punch in the face. He also wrote two novels. Sonny Barger Productions operates a website and sells clothing. A high school dropout at 16, Barger grew up in Oakland and joined the Army in 1955 with a forged birth certificate. He was kicked out with an honorable discharge after the forgery was discovered. He started the Hells Angels with friends and soon learned there were other Hells Angels clubs in California. Barger helped unify the clubs. He served as the main character in Hunter Thompsons 1966 expose Hells Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. The Free Press | Newsletter Shelley Cook | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Hes smart and hes crafty and he has a kind of wild animal cunning. He was clearly the most competent person around, Thompson wrote. Of the Altamont killing, Barger argued that the Hells Angels acted in self-defense. The club member charged in the incident was acquitted. The stabbing was captured by a camera crew filming the documentary Gimme Shelter. Barger underwent a laryngectomy in the early 1980s for throat cancer, which he attributed to a long, three-pack-a-day cigarette habit. Thereafter, he breathed through a plastic valve in his neck, and covered the vent to speak. Live your life the Sonny Barger way? I dont recommend it, he wrote in the opening lines to his 2005 book Freedom: Credos from the Road. ___ Biographical material compiled by former AP reporter Gary Kane. Dorota Blumczynska is slight and loquacious. Standing at five-foot-two (and , shes quick to specify), the CEO of the Manitoba Museum thrums with energy. The air around her seemingly shimmers as she chats up a storm, excavating childhood memories while her hands move lightning fast, chopping, slicing and dicing, pausing for breath only to taste for seasoning, playfully bantering with her daughters. Whats on your plate? It is often the simplest of foods that evoke the strongest of emotions. That first cup of tea as dawn breaks, standing still before life comes crowding in. The perfumed sweetness of a fuzzy peach. A grilled cheese scarfed down in a rush between activities, leaving your tongue slightly burnt. The smell of buttery popcorn, salty on lips as you lean in for a first kiss at the cinema. Whats On Your Plate is a new monthly series delving into the memories a dish reignites. If we are what we eat, then who are you? click to read more It is often the simplest of foods that evoke the strongest of emotions. That first cup of tea as dawn breaks, standing still before life comes crowding in. The perfumed sweetness of a fuzzy peach. A grilled cheese scarfed down in a rush between activities, leaving your tongue slightly burnt. The smell of buttery popcorn, salty on lips as you lean in for a first kiss at the cinema. Whats On Your Plate is a new monthly series delving into the memories a dish reignites. If we are what we eat, then who are you? The series would not have been possible without the generosity of staff at Red River Colleges Paterson GlobalFoods Institute who kindly permitted us to use the kitchens of Janes restaurant. Close Dorota Blumczynska is slight and loquacious. Standing at five-foot-two (and , shes quick to specify), the CEO of the Manitoba Museum thrums with energy. The air around her seemingly shimmers as she chats up a storm, excavating childhood memories while her hands move lightning fast, chopping, slicing and dicing, pausing for breath only to taste for seasoning, playfully bantering with her daughters. "I have been eating Zurek my entire life," she says, referring to the soup bubbling gently on the stovetop. "We didnt have that much in terms of belongings when we left Poland. We werent able to bring special objects. But food is the kind of thing you dont have to physically transport. Its the kind of thing you can reinvent." A recipe doesnt need to be written down. It can travel with you, trapped in your tastebuds, tapped into when you stand by a stove. A memory triggered when a smell hits your nose or a texture glides across your tongue. The crackle garlic makes as it sizzles in oil has the same transportive power as that of Prousts madeleine. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Dorota Blumczynska, CEO of the Manitoba Museum, with her daughters Maya (right), 7, and Kala, 10, share a traditional Polish soup that has fermented rye flour base. "When I have this soup at the table, I sit with the members of my family who are no longer with me. With my mother and my grandmother and their families," Blumczynska says. Polish in origin, Zurek is a distinctly sour broth made from a base of fermented rye flour, robustly seasoned with garlic, generously flavoured with marjoram and swimming with three kinds of meat. Its a lavish dish, Blumczynska explains, often served at times of celebration such as Easter and Christmas. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The rye flour base must be made a week ahead of time so it has time to ferment. "I actually had to start this soup a week ago. You make a paste mixture that you set aside in a jar, and it ferments and sours and takes on an amazing and very layered taste and rich aroma," she says. Blumczynska chats as her daughters Maya, 7, and Kala, 10, meticulously peel the papery skin of three bulbous heads of garlic, a mammoth task they take on cheerily, chatting amiably with each other as they handle the cloves. The sisters are experts; this is nothing new for them, as the family often cooks together. "We always help mama at home," Kala says while Maya grapples with a particularly stubborn clove. Their brother Isiah, 16, also often joins in with the cooking. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Dorota Blumczynska goes over her recipe for the fermented rye flour base that is key to making Zurek. "Cooking together is absolutely central in our home. Its an opportunity to celebrate who we are. I think theres a way to weave my heritage and weave in my childrens mixed heritage as we talk about the presence and importance of food in our lives," Blumczynska says. Blumczynska arrived in Canada in 1989 as a privately sponsored refugee, together with her parents and siblings. She was seven when she left Poland and before landing in Winnipeg had endured 14 months in a camp in Eastern Germany. "Its amazing the things you can talk about when you are spending that much time together in the preparation of food. We talk about culture and identity; they ask me about my childhood. We talk about their father being Tamil and we get to explore what it means to have parents who come from two different places, what it means for them as an identity to be Canadian." MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Zurek has no shortage of garlic. The trio are very close; they huddle together, arms touching as Blumczynska instructs them on what to do next. There is constant chatter lots of questions about who we are and why theyre there and why we are all so interested in this soup and in "mama" herself, the last query making Blumczynska roll her eyes at the cheek of it all. "Food is the thing that pauses the quickness of life and busies our hands giving us the chance to think or talk or just silently be together. It is wonderful invitation to dialogue. Its not directive, its not imposing. It doesnt tell you how the conversation is going to unfold. It lets you improvise and move through emotions and topics and hopes and dreams," she says. "My mum passed away when I was 16. As a teenager, I didnt have the appreciation of the importance of food sustaining a culture. I didnt have the wherewithal to think about watching and writing recipes. A number of years ago I went to her youngest sister to teach me and show me everything she does, and the recipe I make is her recipe." MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Dorota Blumczynska tastes the Zurek and makes adjustments as she goes. The Zurek is ready. Its pale and creamy and speckled with green, evidence of dried marjoram floating on top. The children crowd their mother, spoons already dipped in as they scoop out chunks of meat. This soup is a thread running through Blumczynska snaking its way back to Poland. Every time she makes it for her family she tightens that string, hitching her to her roots, the memory of what she left behind making her present all the sweeter. The chatter stills, silence broken only by the sound of (polite) slurping. They close their eyes, all three transported to a place Blumczynska left when she herself was a little girl. av.kitching@winnipegfreepress.com Urszula Walczaks Zurek recipe MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Clockwise from left: Ingredients for Zurek included fermented rye flour base, garlic, salt, marjoram, bay leaves, raw pork sausage, smoked sausage and smoked bacon rind. FOR THE SOUR FLOUR MIXTURE 375-500 ml (1 1/2 to 2 cups) warm water Dice-sized cube of fresh yeast 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) natural rye flour 2 cloves garlic, sliced FOR THE SOUP 10 white sausage, fresh or frozen 2 smokies 2-3 bay leaves Salt and pepper to taste 250 g (1/2 lb) sauteed bacon with fat 250 ml (1 cup) cream 10 to 15 cloves fresh minced garlic (or to taste) 125 ml (1/2 cup) marjoram For the sour flour Take a very large jar, and add the yeast, 375 to 500 ml (1 1/2 to 2 cups) warm water, the rye flour and the two sliced garlic cloves. Cover with a cloth and place in a warm spot for one week to ferment. Place a bowl under the jar: it will overflow. NOTE: You can freeze some of this fermented mixture for future use. For the soup: Fill a large pot with 1.5-2 litres of water. Add the white sausages, smokies, and 2-3 bay leaves. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Remove sausages and place on ice or snow to stop the cooking process. To the simmering water, add the sour flour mixture, salt and pepper to taste, the bacon and fat, the minced garlic, cream and marjoram. Cut up the sausages and smokies, add back to the soup, make sure everything is reheated, soup is done. Serve with fresh rye bread with butter. Enjoy! Researchers examining the threat of emerging COVID-19 strains predict Omicron BA.5 will account for nearly 70 per cent of cases by Canada Day. People leave a COVID-19 vaccination clinic, Wednesday, April 6, 2022 in Montreal. Researchers examining the threat of emerging COVID-19 strains predict Omicron BA.5 will account for nearly 70 per cent of cases in much of the country by Canada Day. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz Researchers examining the threat of emerging COVID-19 strains predict Omicron BA.5 will account for nearly 70 per cent of cases by Canada Day. Modelling expert Sarah Otto of the Coronavirus Variants Rapid Response Network says the fast-spreading subvariant is on track to dominate infections across the country. The University of British Columbia professor predicted a July wave, peaking in August. "The last sequence data was mid-June but the projections for July 1 would be: roughly 13 per cent (of cases are) BA.4, and 69 per cent BA.5," said Otto, co-lead of the computational biology and modelling arm of the network, also known as CoVaRR-Net. "I'm referring to it as a third Omicron wave because I've lost count of all of the other waves." The head of Ontario's COVID-19 advisory group also suspected BA.5 to be the main driver nationally, and pointed to several indicators that suggest it is already responsible for more than half of his province's reported cases. Dr. Fahad Razak said the strain is especially adept at evading immunity from vaccination and prior infection, leading to "a very fast rise." A national breakdown of variants by the Public Health Agency of Canada charted a dramatic jump earlier this month, with BA.5 responsible for 14.6 per cent of COVID-19 cases identified through whole genome sequencing as of June 5, up from 7.1 per cent the previous week. Quebec's public health director Dr. Luc Boileau said Wednesday that BA.2.12.2 remains the dominant strain in that province, but that BA.5 is gaining ground faster than others. Those two Omicron cousins, combined with BA.4, make up more than three-quarters of Quebec infections. Here's a look at what we know about BA.5. IS IT MORE SEVERE? It appears to be no more or less severe than previous strains, said Razak, but several issues make it difficult to say whether a jump in BA.5-fuelled cases will also affect hospitalizations. He noted the Canadian population now boasts a mix of two, three and four doses of vaccines different vaccines were used depending on eligibility, and the timing of vaccinations varied, which all affects where immunity stands today. Meanwhile, the recent surge of infections layered on even more immunity, with possibly half of Canadians or more infected in the last six months. "It makes it very difficult to know what happens when you have this subvariant, which is mutated but still part of the Omicron family as it comes through. Will it trigger another rise in hospitalizations? I think it's very hard to say," said Razak. Otto noted that BA.4 and BA.5 appear to primarily infect the upper airways versus the lower lungs leading to less severe cases on average than pre-Omicron variants. "My prediction is that the cases are going to go up, hospitalizations are going to go up, but my current hope is that it won't be as bad as the BA.2 wave," she said, adding there was not enough data yet to know for certain. At the pace BA.5 has been growing, she said BA.5 is now about five times more common in Canada than BA.4. "Pretty soon, it will just be the BA.5 wave," said Otto, also a member of B.C.'s COVID-19 modelling group, and an external modelling group of the Public Health Agency of Canada. WHY IT'S A CONCERN While Canadians have higher immunity than ever before, this new subvariant is radically different than what came before, said Razak, making reinfection more likely. "It's mutated enough that even if you got infected with the original Omicron wave that just came through in the spring, the virus surface looks sufficiently different that your immune system doesn't recognize it, and another infection is happening again." Most fully vaccinated people infected by BA.5 experience a mild bout of COVID-19, Razak said, but high-risk groups including immunocompromised individuals and the elderly are still at greater risk of falling severely ill. Even mild COVID-19 can be very disruptive, added Razak, who got sick despite being triple vaccinated and found it hard to work. "I was really not feeling back to normal for three or four weeks. And I have many, many friends and colleagues who are in a similar kind of risk category with very low risk for hospitalization, yet the infection really affected us in terms of our family lives, our work lives," he said. Then there's the threat of long COVID-19, a still largely mysterious condition in which some symptoms linger months later, such as fatigue, brain fog, shortness of breath and general pain, he said. WHAT CAN INDIVIDUALS DO? The best thing an individual can do is get fully vaccinated, stay outside as much as possible when socializing or interacting with others, and wear a mask as much as you can when indoors, said Razak. "This no longer is a black-and-white situation where it's all or nothing. Public health measures, many of them have been lifted and so you really have to look at how can you as an individual, reduce your risk," said Razak. "And get vaccinated to the full extent possible, knowing that there's probably a new generation of vaccines, which are more tuned to Omicron which have greater protection that are going to be available, potentially as early as the fall." Masks can play a part to lessen the blow of BA.5, even if mask mandates have dropped in many circumstances, said Otto. "The weather report is not great right now for COVID. And the weather is about to turn bad and we should act accordingly." Otto also said now is the time to get up to date on vaccines, especially seniors, many of whom were boosted in December and January and would have low protection unless they've had a fourth dose. "That would be my one really strong call: Anybody that has any health susceptibility, anybody who's older, they should be getting the boosters that are available to them right now and so that they are protected in this wave coming in," she said. WHATS NEXT? Vaccines in development now are trying to match the strains currently circulating, said Razak. "More doses are in our future," he said. The Free Press | Newsletter 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. Razak says the version of the virus circulating now has mutated so much "it's barely recognizable compared to what emerged two years ago." "It's not a failure of the original vaccines. They were very effective for what they were supposed to achieve. They still give you protection against severe disease, it just means we've been able to advance the science to give you something even better." In the meantime, Otto called on public health officials to be blunt about what this summer could look like without ongoing measures to contain infections as cases rise. "I think the public doesn't know that the BA.5 wave is really upon us in Canada. Public health officials should make that a lot clearer. And they should be encouraging the public to ramp up the protective measures that we all know work masking, (opening) those windows, socializing outdoors. We should just be prepared." With files from Morgan Lowrie in Montreal This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 29, 2022. MONTREAL - Consumer rights advocates are demanding Air Canada provide compensation to many of the hundreds of thousands of passengers whose summer flights it cancelled but whether the airline plans to concede remains up in the air. Air Canada planes sit on the tarmac at Pearson International Airport during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette MONTREAL - Consumer rights advocates are demanding Air Canada provide compensation to many of the hundreds of thousands of passengers whose summer flights it cancelled but whether the airline plans to concede remains up in the air. Canada's largest carrier said Wednesday night it will cut more than 15 per cent of its departures in July and August as the country's flight network sags under an overwhelming travel resurgence. The move will see more than 9,500 flights, or 154 per day on average, dropped from the airline's schedule already operating at just 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. The flights link mainly to the airline's Toronto and Montreal hubs, and run along domestic or Canada-U.S. routes. No international flights other than those to the United States were among the cull. "This Canada Day weekend will be difficult," CEO Michael Rousseau told employees in a memo dated Thursday and obtained by The Canadian Press. "I wish I could promise you that the measures we are taking will mean an easy summer ahead. While they will certainly provide some relief, it will take time and effort and we likely won't see the full benefit until the latter part of July." Sylvie De Bellefeuille, a lawyer with Quebec-based advocacy group Option consommateurs, says many customers are "absolutely" owed compensation under Canada's passenger rights charter. The Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), which took force in 2019, require compensation distinct from refunds of between $400 and $1,000 for a cancellation or significant delay that is "within the carriers control," should the traveller opt to reject the rebooking, and in some cases when they accept it. "I believe it is the decision of Air Canada to cancel the flights," De Bellefeuille said. "Therefore people should have a right of compensation." While Rousseau apologized for cancellations and "customer service shortfalls," the CEO also said in an email to travellers the schedule reduction stemmed from strains on the "global aviation system" which falls outside Air Canada's control calling them "unprecedented and unforeseen." Gabor Lukacs, president of the Air Passenger Rights advocacy group, said airlines have "oversold their capacity" in a bid to compensate for two years of battered bottom lines. "Even if there were physical seats available on the aircraft, there wasn't a pilot, there wasn't a flight attendant, there weren't gate agents," he said, adding that a dearth of federal security and customs officers posed further challenges. "These are cancellations that are within the carrier's control ... Airlines may claim otherwise, but those claims hold no water." Air Canada said in an email that customers are notified of cancellations automatically, "and this process is underway." "Some we are able to rebook immediately while for others we will continue to search for alternatives and will advise them if options become available," said spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick. Customers can request a refund at any time, he said. Air Canada did not answer questions around whether the schedule slim-down was within its control, stating that it "will meet its obligations under APPR." The sudden rollback stands in contrast to the approach of WestJet Airlines Ltd., whose chief executive told The Canadian Press it gradually scaled back its summer schedule through the spring to land at 32 per cent fewer trips in and out of Toronto's Pearson airport in July than in 2019. Air Canada's stock fell six per cent or $1.03 to close at $16.04 on Thursday, deepening a decline from more than $21 per share at the start of the month. Jacques Roy, a professor of transport management at HEC Montreal business school, said the Montreal-based company's revenues will take a hit, even if consolidating passengers on fewer flights boosts efficiency. This is definitely not good news for Air Canada. It's their peak season that's the most lucrative quarter of the year, and for the past three years it's been negative, he said. At least 400,000 passengers will likely be affected, he added. Cathy Gray booked a family trip to Scotland months ago, and has already seen her flight rescheduled once. "We have booked and paid for a car rental and accommodation and are dreading what we anticipate will happen with our August-September flights schedules and the domino effect on our plans," she said. "All of this could have been avoided had the airlines not been so greedy. It's a disgrace." The volume of passenger angst was evident on Air Canada's website, which was flooded with travellers' checking their summer flight status. "We are currently experiencing technical issues that may prevent you from retrieving your booking online," stated an alert at the top of the airline's homepage posted Wednesday night. The Free Press | Newsletter 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. Under federal regulations, passengers are owed alternate travel arrangements or a refund traveller's choice if they were informed more than two weeks in advance that their flight was cancelled or delayed by three hours or more for reasons within the carrier's control. If the trip was cancelled within 14 days or less, passengers are owed $1,000 for a cancellation or delay of nine hours or more, and between $400 and $700 for delays of three to nine hours. No matter how long the notice, a passenger who opts to reject a rebooking should receive $400 in compensation, on top of a refund. The airline must aim to rebook passengers on a flight on its network that takes off within nine hours of the original departure time. If it can't, it must offer to book them on another airline network "as soon as feasible," free of charge, according to the passenger rights charter. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2022. Companies in this story: (TSX:AC) BERLIN (AP) The rust-colored tower rising from an industrial site near the banks of Berlin's Spree river looks nothing like the sleek flasks Germans use for coffee, yet its purpose is similar: to provide some warmth throughout the day, especially when it's cold outside. A vast thermal tank to store hot water is pictured in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, June 30, 2022. Power provider Vattenfall unveiled a new facility in Berlin on Thursday that turns solar and wind energy into heat, which can be stored in a vast thermal tank and released into the German capital's grid as needed, smoothing out the fluctuating supply problem of renewables. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) BERLIN (AP) The rust-colored tower rising from an industrial site near the banks of Berlin's Spree river looks nothing like the sleek flasks Germans use for coffee, yet its purpose is similar: to provide some warmth throughout the day, especially when it's cold outside. With a height of 45 meters (almost 150 feet) and holding up to 56 million liters (14.8 million gallons) of hot water, utility company Vattenfall says the tower will help heat Berlin homes this winter even if Russian gas supplies dry up. It's a huge thermos that helps us to store the heat when we dont need it, said Tanja Wielgoss, who heads the Sweden-based company's heat unit in Germany. And then we can release it when we need to use it. While district heating systems fueled by coal, gas or waste have been around for more than a century, most aren't designed to store significant amounts of heat. Instead, they burn as much fossil fuel as needed, contributing to the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving global warming. By contrast, the new facility unveiled Thursday at Vattenfall's Reuter power station will hold water brought to almost boiling temperature using electricity from solar and wind power plants across Germany. During periods when renewable energy exceeds demand the facility effectively acts as a giant battery, though instead of storing electricity it stores heat. Journalist are seen inside a vast thermal tank to store hot water in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, June 30, 2022. Power provider Vattenfall unveiled a new facility in Berlin on Thursday that turns solar and wind energy into heat, which can be stored in a vast thermal tank and released into the German capital's grid as needed, smoothing out the fluctuating supply problem of renewables. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) Sometimes you have an abundance of electricity in the grids that you cannot use anymore, and then you need to turn off the wind turbines, said Wielgoss. Where we are standing we can take in this electricity. The 50-million-euro ($52 million) facility will have a thermal capacity of 200 Megawatts enough to meet much of Berlin's hot water needs during the summer and about 10% of what it requires in the winter. The vast, insulated tank can keep water hot for up to 13 hours, helping bridge short periods when there's little wind or sun. It will also be able to use other sources of heat such as that extracted from wastewater, said Wielgoss. While it will be Europe's biggest heat storage facility when it's completed at the end of this year, an even bigger one is already being planned in the Netherlands. Berlin's top climate official, Bettina Jarasch, said the faster such heat storage systems are built, the better. Due to its geographic location the Berlin region is even more dependent on Russian fossil fuels than other parts of Germany," she told The Associated Press. "Thats why were really in a hurry here. The war in Ukraine and the energy crisis teach us that we need to be faster, said Jarasch. First of all to become climate neutral," she said. And secondly, to become independent (of energy imports). Figures released Thursday by Germany's utility industry association BDEW shows efforts to reduce natural gas use are having an effect. Consumption of gas dropped by 14.3% in the first five months of this year compared to the same period in 2021. The Free Press | Newsletter 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. Part of the decline was due to milder weather, but the industry group said even accounting for warmer temperatures there was a measurable drop that it attributed to bumpier economic conditions, appeals from the German government to save energy and individuals' personal efforts. Wielgoss said she was confident that Vattenfall's customers won't go cold this winter, despite the looming gas squeeze from Russia as Moscow retaliates for Western sanctions by reducing the gas flowing through key pipelines. Consumers in Germany are very well protected, she said. So they for sure will not suffer any shortages. But of course, we plead with everybody to really start saving energy. Each kilowatt hour we save is good for the country, she added. ___ Follow AP's climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) A Danish Parliament-appointed commission has harshly criticized the country's government for its decision to cull millions of healthy mink at the height of the coronavirus pandemic to protect humans from a mutation of the virus. FILE - Heavy machinery is used by members of Danish health authorities, assisted by members of the Danish Armed Forces in disposing of dead mink in a military area near Holstebro, Denmark, on Nov. 9 2020. A Danish Parliament-appointed commission has harshly criticized the country's government for its decision to cull millions of healthy mink at the height of the coronavirus pandemic to protect humans from a mutation of the virus. (Morten Stricker/Ritzau Scanpix via AP) COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) A Danish Parliament-appointed commission has harshly criticized the country's government for its decision to cull millions of healthy mink at the height of the coronavirus pandemic to protect humans from a mutation of the virus. The 2020 decision to wipe out Denmark's entire captive mink population had stirred strong controversy, particularly as the necessary legislation to allow such a drastic move was put in place more than a month after the cull had started. In its report released Thursday, the commission said Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was "grossly misleading" during a Nov. 4 press conference when she announced that all mink infected and healthy animals alike should be culled. The report also criticized other top Danish officials. FILE - Heavy machinery is used by members of Danish health authorities, assisted by members of the Danish Armed Forces, in disposing of dead mink in a military area near Holstebro, Denmark, Nov. 9 2020. A Danish Parliament-appointed commission on Thursday June 30, 2022, has harshly criticized the country's government for its decision to cull millions of healthy mink at the height of the coronavirus pandemic to protect humans from a mutation of the virus. (Morten Stricker/Ritzau Scanpix via AP, File) The culling of up to 17 million animals was ordered after a mutated version of the coronavirus was found in farms in northern Denmark and infected 11 people. Although there was no evidence that the mutated version was more dangerous, the government said it moved proactively. Frederiksen, who heads a minority Social Democratic government, has insisted that she didnt know the decision was unlawful, saying it was "based on a very serious risk assessment." The commission also said in its 1,649-page report that Mogens Jensen, the minister in charge of farming who eventually resigned over the mink cull, gave "incorrect information." The findings could ultimately mean that lawmakers decide whether current or former members of government should get a reprimand or face impeachment proceedings that are rarely used in Denmark. The Free Press | Newsletter 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. Although that could take days, if not weeks, the publication of the report was top news in Denmark. Frederiksen who with other key officials has been interviewed by the commission set up in December 2020 is scheduled to hold a press conference Friday on the issue. The three-member commission also recommended in its report that 10 top civil servants should face disciplinary actions. Frederiksen's government announced the cull in early November 2020. Jensen resigned Nov. 18, hours after a first probe made it clear that the necessary legislation wasnt in place , and the government scrambled to build political consensus. On Dec. 25, 2020, a parliament majority finally voted the legislation enabling the culling . The following month, lawmakers granted mink farmers a compensation of nearly 19 billion kroner ($2.7 billion). Danish mink farms were the worlds biggest supplier of mink fur, accounting for 40% of global production. Most of exports went to China. ___ Follow APs coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic BEIJING (AP) Shanghai is moving to allow in-person dining and reopening its Disney Resort theme park as domestically transmitted cases of COVID-19 in Chinas largest city remain at zero following a more than two-month lockdown. A visitors carrying Disney memorabilia outside the Disney Resort theme park, Thursday, June 30, 2022, in Shanghai. Shanghai is moving to allow in-person dining and reopening its Disney Resort theme park as domestically transmitted cases of COVID-19 in China's largest city remain at zero following a more than two-month lockdown. (AP Photo/Chen Si) BEIJING (AP) Shanghai is moving to allow in-person dining and reopening its Disney Resort theme park as domestically transmitted cases of COVID-19 in Chinas largest city remain at zero following a more than two-month lockdown. Chinese officials hail their hardline zero-COVID policy for stemming the growth of cases and deaths from the virus, despite the enormous cost to the Chinese economy and international supply chains reliant on Chinas manufacturing and shipping abilities that have been thrown askew. China has repeatedly defended the policy and indications are it will maintain zero-COVID at least through the spring of 2023, when President Xi Jinping is expected to be installed for a third five-year term as head of the worlds second-largest economy and a rising competitor to the United States in the Indo-Pacific region. In remarks carried by the official Xinhua News Agency, Xi on Wednesday said China's policies against the virus have protected peoples lives and health to the greatest extent." Xi was speaking during a visit to the central city of Wuhan, where the virus was first detected in late 2019 before the outbreak of the pandemic that has killed more than 6.3 million people worldwide, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University in the United States. If China had adopted the herd immunity' policy or a hands-off approach, given its large population, the country would have faced catastrophic consequences," Xinhua quoted Xi as saying. Even if there are some temporary impacts on the economy, we will not put peoples lives and health in harms way, and we must protect the elderly and the children in particular, Xi said, according to Xinhua. The Free Press | Newsletter 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. Having associated himself so closely with zero-COVID, any backdown by Xi would be seen as a political liability as he seeks to ensure his further control of domestic power and influence abroad. China's tough approach, which involves lockdowns on hundreds of millions of people, mass testing costing billions of dollars and quarantines upending thousands of lives are the most economical and effective, Xinhua reported Xi as saying. Xi also warned against any tendency to let down guard, grow weary of the fight, or slacken prevention and control efforts." Despite the loosened restrictions, a negative test result on your mobile phone is still required for access to most public spaces in Shanghai and other cities. Shanghai resident Amber Liu said she had long been hoping to leave the city for Chinese holiday destinations, such as the tropical island beaches of Sanya or the mountains and deserts of Yunnan, Tibet, and Xinjiang. Quarantine restrictions still made that difficult, if not impossible, she said. Its a tricky kind of normalcy, Liu said. I think life is surreal now. It feels like theres still a long way to go before a full recovery. Everyone is resigned to the situation. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) North Carolinas hemp industry appears to have avoided a shutdown, as the General Assembly gave its final approval Wednesday to legislation that would make its products permanently exempt from the states controlled substances law. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) North Carolinas hemp industry appears to have avoided a shutdown, as the General Assembly gave its final approval Wednesday to legislation that would make its products permanently exempt from the states controlled substances law. The Senate voted 41-2 for a House measure that means the production and sale of industrial hemp and products derived from hemp like CBD can still be lawful. The bill now goes to Gov. Roy Cooper's desk for his expected signature. The Free Press | Newsletter Shelley Cook | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Without the approved language, North Carolinas industrial hemp program approved in 2015 as a pilot and now operated through a federal production program would have to shut down at the end of June. Making the hemp exception permanent would allow the U.S. Department of Agriculture to continue operating the program. There are more than 1,500 licensed hemp producers in the state, according to the state Department of Agriculture. Both chambers had passed legislation containing the language, but House Republicans wouldn't pass a broader Senate farm bill with the conforming hemp legislation. That Farm Act also received final legislative approval earlier Wednesday. Many GOP members remain suspicious of hemp and CBD products as reflected in the fact that more than two dozen Republicans in the chamber voted against the hemp measure that got final approval. Sen. Brent Jackson, a Sampson County Republican, expressed frustration with his colleagues in the House for the delay, saying they had sent the language over to the House nearly a month ago. The legislation differentiates marijuana, which would still remain unlawful, from hemp and hemp products, which contain a very low amount of the chemical that gives the high to marijuana users. LONDON (AP) The British monarchy's publicly-funded spending rose by 17% to 102.4 million pounds ($124 million) in the past year, with the renovation of Buckingham Palace taking up a large part of the expenses, royal accounts published Thursday showed. FILE - A dog walker passes a quiet Buckingham Palace, in London, March 23, 2021. Royal accounts show the British monarchys publicly-funded spending rose to 102.4 million pounds ($124 million) in the past year, with the renovation of Buckingham Palace taking up a large part of the expenses. The palaces annual Sovereign Grant report showed that royal spending went up by 14.9 million pounds, or 17%, compared to the previous year, a report published Thursday, June 30, 2022 showed. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, file) LONDON (AP) The British monarchy's publicly-funded spending rose by 17% to 102.4 million pounds ($124 million) in the past year, with the renovation of Buckingham Palace taking up a large part of the expenses, royal accounts published Thursday showed. The palaces annual Sovereign Grant report showed that royal spending went up by 14.9 million pounds compared to the previous year. Critics described the spending as excessive amid Britains cost-of-living crisis. Property maintenance accounted for a big chunk of the spending about 64 million pounds because of a 10-year project to overhaul pipes, wiring and electricals at Buckingham Palace. Costs for official tours also went up, as the royals returned to making overseas visits after the lifting of coronavirus restrictions. The most expensive official royal tour in the past year was the trip taken by Prince William and his wife, Kate, to the Caribbean in March that cost about 226,000 pounds. The trip, meant to boost Commonwealth ties, was instead marred by protests, calls for slavery reparations, and photo opportunities criticized as a throwback to colonialism. The Sovereign Grant is public funding to support the official duties of Queen Elizabeth II and other costs such as official travel, staff for working royals and the upkeep of occupied palaces. The amount of the grant 86.3 million pounds in 2021-22 is based on a proportion of profits from the Crown Estate, a vast collection of property across the U.K. The amount is equivalent to costing 1.29 pounds per person in the country. Britain's royals also have other sources of income, including from tourists paying to visit royal palaces. The Daily Mirror tabloid questioned the royal spending on its front page with a headline reading: 100M for the royals? Record payout for The Firm as nation feels pinch. And anti-monarchy campaign group Republic said the expenditure was too much. As always, while the rest of us face a cost-of-living crisis and continued squeezes on public services, the royals walk off with hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers money," the group's chief executive Graham Smith said. Palace officials have said Prince Charles and the royal family pay close attention to rapidly soaring living costs and are extremely conscious" of the crisis. The Free Press | Newsletter 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 annual financial report was published amid heightened scrutiny of Charles' finances, with recent news reports claiming the heir to the throne had been given millions of pounds in cash in a suitcase and carrier bags by the former prime minister of Qatar. The Sunday Times reported the prince was given a total of 3 million euros ($3.2 million) by Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani. Charles' office said the donations were passed immediately to one of the princes charities and that appropriate governance was carried out. The newspaper did not allege that anything illegal was done, and Charles' office denied any wrongdoing. Still, Charles' spokespeople said Wednesday: that is then and this is now," stressing he would never again handle large cash donations. For more than half a decade, with the situation as it has evolved, this has not happened and it would not happen again," a palace official who was not named in line with palace policy told British media. London police are investigating a separate allegation that people associated with another of the princes charities, the Princes Foundation, offered to help a Saudi billionaire secure honors and citizenship in return for donations. Clarence House has said Charles had no knowledge of any such offer. MADRID - Canada will be sending more troops to Latvia as part of a pledge to upgrade and strengthen the NATO battlegroup it is leading there, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the NATO Summit in Madrid on Wednesday, June 29, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson MADRID - Canada will be sending more troops to Latvia as part of a pledge to upgrade and strengthen the NATO battlegroup it is leading there, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday. The Canadian-led NATO battlegroup is made up of about 2,000 troops, including 700 Canadians, and is one of eight such units based in eastern Europe designed to deter and defend against any Russian invasion. Canada signed an agreement on the sidelines of a major NATO summit on Wednesday to upgrade the battlegroup to a brigade, which entails adding more troops and equipment to bolster its ability to fight. Defence Minister Anita Anand said at the time that it was too early to confirm how many members of the Canadian Armed Forces would go. The prime minister also stopped short of giving an expected number. Anand said Wednesday that Canada would work with the 10 allied partners operating in Latvia to determine the capabilities the brigade needs before deciding how may troops will be needed on the ground. That work has begun but is still in the early stages, she said. The Canada-led battlegroup is the most multinational battlegroup in NATO, which Trudeau described as an advantage that could serve as a model for others. "In Latvia, we are actually redefining a concept that is so important to NATO, which is interoperability," Trudeau said in a statement from Moncloa Palace in Madrid, where he had an official visit with Spanish President Pedro Sanchez on Thursday. "Making sure that all these friendly allied militaries, who do things slightly differently with sometimes slightly different equipment, can actually work together harmoniously is not just important to be able to do in times of conflict it's actually an added advantage that we have if we do it right," he said. In his final address of the summit, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the western military alliance has a core responsibility to keep the war in Ukraine from spilling into other countries, while making clear to Moscow that it would protect every inch of NATO territory." Trudeau's attendance at the NATO summit capped a nine-day trip that included previous stops in Rwanda and Germany for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting and G7 and was heavily focused on Russia's war in Ukraine. To that end, the prime minister on Thursday announced more military equipment for Ukraine, saying Canada is in the final stages of talks to supply Ukraine with up to 39 armoured combat support vehicles to help it fight off Russia. He also pledged to give Ukraine six Canadian-made drone cameras, to complement the roughly 50 cameras sent earlier this year. Trudeau said his government's decision to send drone cameras and armoured combat vehicles was based on conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his government's ministers, who asked for these types of military equipment. "These exceptional cameras built in Canada that go into drones have been incredibly useful in protecting Ukrainians and pushing back against Russia's illegal invasion," Trudeau said. "The light armoured vehicles that we will be sending over will be extremely effective as well." The armoured vehicles are part of an order of about 360 modern, new transport units originally intended for the Canadian Armed Forces, a Canadian government official said in a briefing in Madrid that was provided on the condition they not be named. They will be used in combat zones to transport Ukrainian troops, who currently have just lightly armoured vehicles. The planned equipment purchase means Canada is on track to have spent the $500 million set aside in the 2022 budget for military support for Ukraine. The prime minister also confirmed that a new NATO centre of excellence for climate change and security will be located in Montreal, and that Canada plans to host the North American office for a network of NATO innovation hubs called the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA). "Russia's illegal, unjustifiable and horrific invasion of Ukraine requires us all to stand together," said Trudeau. "That was very, very clear from this meeting here in Madrid that all of us have already committed to being there to support Ukraine because they are fighting not just for their own territory but our democracies." Canada announced at the outset of the NATO summit it would build up its diplomatic presence in central and eastern Europe by converting existing offices in Estonia, Lithuania and Slovakia into full-fledged embassies with resident ambassadors and strengthening the Canadian presence at the embassy in Latvia. The prime minister also said Canada will take part in the G20 summit expected to take place in Bali in November, even if Russian President Vladimir Putin goes too. Trudeau said he expects all G7 countries, which also includes the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, to take part even if Russia remains a full-fledged member of the G20. He says the conversations about the global economy that will take place at the G20 summit are "too important," and Canada needs to counteract the voice that Russia will have around that table. The Free Press | Newsletter 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. "Its too important that we be there to counteract the voice and the lies that Russia will perhaps be putting forward," Trudeau said. "There is a number of months still to go before that, and anything can happen." The NATO meeting followed a Group of Seven summit in the Bavarian Alps in Germany, where leaders pledged other support for Ukraine, including humanitarian assistance. Before that, the prime minister was in Kigali, Rwanda, for a meeting of Commonwealth heads of government whose countries were feeling the global impacts of the war, including the energy crisis and threat of famine. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2022. Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version suggested Defence Minister Anita Anand said it was too early to confirm whether additional Canadian troops would be deployed to Latvia. It also contained the wrong word in a quote attributed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Many communities are reimagining Canada Day celebrations to recognize Indigenous Peoples, as the country continues to reckon with its legacy following the discovery of possible unmarked graves at former residential schools. Signs are pictured on Parliament Hill prior to Canada Day, in Ottawa on Monday, June 27, 2022. Many communities are reimagining Canada Day celebrations to recognize Indigenous people as the country continues to reckon with its legacy following the discovery of possible unmarked graves at former residential schools. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Many communities are reimagining Canada Day celebrations to recognize Indigenous Peoples, as the country continues to reckon with its legacy following the discovery of possible unmarked graves at former residential schools. "Being Canadian is engaging with these really difficult things," said Sean Carleton, an assistant professor of history and Indigenous studies at the University of Manitoba. "Being Canadian, in this moment, does mean reflecting on the history of colonialism and residential schools as a way of trying to establish new, better, stronger relations moving forward." Organizers from coast to coast say they are trying to balance celebrations of Canadian pride with reflections on the countrys difficult history with Indigenous people. Some events were silenced last year amid a sense of collective grief after possible graves were located on the former site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia. More possible graves have been found across the country in the year since. On Canada Day last year in Winnipeg, thousands of people took to the streets dressed in orange in honour of residential school survivors in a demonstration that led to the toppling of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth statues on the grounds of the Manitoba legislature. This year, organizers of the big Canada Day celebration at the Forks an important site for Indigenous peoples in downtown Winnipeg have renamed the event "A New Day," cancelled fireworks and promised events that are to be reflective as well as celebratory. The decision has been controversial locally, but Carleton praised organizers for listening to what Indigenous people in the city requested. The holiday itself is recent. Canada Day was created in 1982 to replace Dominion Day, which celebrated Confederation and Canadas connection to the British Empire and the imperial project. Carleton said national holidays are an opportunity to continually define who we want to be as Canadians and don't have to be static. In developing plans for Saskatoon, Canada Day project director Shad Ali started by looking at the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions recommendations and consulting with Indigenous partners. He was encouraged to use the holiday as an opportunity to educate people about the countrys true history. Increasing awareness about injustices helps build the nation that Canada should be, Ali added. "I want that to be a nation that remains strong and free, a nation that we want to stand on guard for," Ali said, holding back tears. "Thats the place I, as an immigrant, chose to make my life in." Organizers in Vancouver have renamed their event "Canada Together" and adopted the theme "weaving together the fabric of a nation." The intention for the day is to gather, celebrate, learn and share. The 36th annual event at Canada Place at the Port of Vancouver often included Indigenous programming in the past, but this year organizers worked collaboratively with representatives from the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations to create the day's events, said Gillian Behnke, manager of community relations and events with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. "We had a lot of support from the local nations. They said: 'Yes, we see this as an event that should go forward, but with a different intention,'" she said. Organizers have committed to working collaboratively with First Nations in Canada Day planning going forward. Halifax will also have a re-envisioned event that was developed in collaboration with Indigenous communities. It aims to honour the traditions of the Mikmaq Nation and celebrate Indigenous communities, said Cheryl Copage-Gehue, the city's Indigenous community engagement adviser. Last year, events were cancelled and residents were encouraged to use the time for reflection. Copage-Gehue, who is Mi'kmaq from Sipekne'katik First Nation, said this year's event is a chance to interact with peace and friendship the true intent of the original treaties. "It's an opportunity to learn from our collective tragic pasts and how we can move together forward and make this a better place for our Indigenous and settler communities to live together." The Free Press | Newsletter 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. Education about colonialism and residential schools must be included in any Canada Day event, said Lisa Howell, a professor at the University of Ottawa and one of the organizers of the Reimagine Canada Day project. The project was developed by educators and Indigenous members after the discovery of the possible graves and provides a self-guided tour around Ottawa to learn about the countrys history. "Theres a myth among Canadians that colonialism is something in our past and that myth stops us from understanding the inequities and injustices that are ongoing today," she said. Howell said people can continue to take pride in being Canadian. But they must also recognize that building a better and more equitable relationship with First Nations, Inuit and Metis people is part of that identity. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2022. With files from Dirk Meissner in Victoria OTTAWA - A person accused in a sexual assault trial does not have the right to ambush their accuser with private records like medical files or personal journals in a bid to discredit them, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday, as it upheld expanded rape shield laws passed by the federal government in 2018. Justices of the Supreme Court pose for a photo sitting in the Supreme Court following a welcoming ceremony, Thursday, October 28, 2021 in Ottawa. The Supreme Court of Canada will issue a constitutional ruling today about extensions to Canada's rape shield laws that were enacted after the high profile trial of former CBC radio personality Jian Ghomeshi.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld OTTAWA - A person accused in a sexual assault trial does not have the right to ambush their accuser with private records like medical files or personal journals in a bid to discredit them, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday, as it upheld expanded rape shield laws passed by the federal government in 2018. The decision relates to verdicts by appeals courts from two separate sexual assault cases one in British Columbia and one in Ontario both of which had said the changes made to rape shield laws four years ago affected an accused's right to a fair trial. In the top court's 6-3 decision, a majority of justices disagreed, overturned those decisions and upheld the 2018 legislative changes to the Criminal Code as "constitutional in their entirety." The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees an accused a right to a fair trial, including that they are presumed innocent until proven guilty. It does not, the majority ruling says, "guarantee the most favourable procedures imaginable for the accused." The rights of a complainant, and the public, must weigh on the fairness of a trial as well, the court said. Rape shield laws began appearing in Canada four decades ago to prevent a complainant in a sexual assault case from having evidence of their sexual history used to discredit them. The Criminal Code says evidence of a complainant's prior sexual activities that are unrelated to the charges at hand can only be admitted with permission of a judge following a private hearing, and cannot be used to infer that the complainant is less trustworthy or more likely to have consented. In 2018, the Liberals expanded the definition of what that evidence includes to add communications of a sexual nature such as emails and videos, as well as documents about the complainant that are in the possession of the accused. That latter group can include a complainant's diary, her medical records or personal letters. They also granted a complainant the right to participate in the screening hearing with the judge and be represented there by a lawyer. The changes were recommended in a 2012 Senate report. However, they weren't introduced until 2017, after the high-profile trial of former CBC personality Jian Ghomeshi raised questions about the defence's use of private emails sent by a complainant to contradict her earlier testimony that she had not contacted Ghomeshi after the alleged assault. The majority opinion in Thursday's ruling says the law doesn't provide an accused the right to proceed with an "unfair or irrelevant cross-examination only because they consider it to be their most effective strategy. "In this case, ambushing complainants with their own highly private records at trial can be unfair to complainants and may be contrary to the search for truth," the decision reads. The judges said while progress has been made by Parliament to balance the rights of an accused to a fair trial with the public interest, and the rights of a complainant to dignity, equality and privacy, "more needs to be done. "Statistics and well-documented complainant accounts continue to paint a bleak picture," the ruling says. "Most victims of sexual offences do not report such crimes; and for those that do, only a fraction of reported offences result in a completed prosecution." Dalya Israel, executive director of Women Against Violence Against Women Rape Crisis Centre in Vancouver, which intervened in the case, said "overall we're really happy" with the result. She added there are still potential loopholes, as survivors are likely to be excluded from discussions between a judge and legal counsel about exactly what is, and is not, a private record. But she said the court's acknowledgment that there is still work to do to protect the rights of complainants "gives us hope that change is possible." Dawne Way, who represented the complainant who appealed the Court of Appeal for Ontario's decision on the evidence laws, said her client is "absolutely thrilled about it." "I think that my client has been incredibly courageous in taking this all the way up to the Supreme Court," she said. "You know, she did that on behalf of all sexual assault complainants in Canada." The Free Press | Newsletter 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. Daniel Brown, a defence attorney and vice-president of the Criminal Lawyers' Association, which was an intervener in the case, said the court decision is "disappointing" because it lacks clarity on what specific records must be included in the screening process, and could add significant amounts of time to the court process. What if, Brown asked, there are hundreds of thousands of text messages between spouses who are later in court in a sexual assault case: Does the defence have to ask the judge have to go through every message to determine admissibility in case one of those messages later becomes relevant to the defence? "We're going to spend days of court time examining particular messages and determining, 'does this meet this broad definition of privacy that the Supreme Court has articulated?" Brown said allowing a complainant to participate in the screening process, with a lawyer, gives a complainant in a sexual assault case access to information that could help tailor the evidence they give on the stand, knowing what the defence is going to ask about. "It gives the complainant an unfair advantage that doesn't exist in any other criminal case." This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2022. A retired priest accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl at a Manitoba residential school more than 50 years ago is banned from doing ministry work. A retired priest accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl at a Manitoba residential school more than 50 years ago is banned from doing ministry work. Arthur Masse, 92, is charged with indecent assault for alleged abuse between 1968 and 1970 at the Fort Alexander Residential School in Sagkeeng First Nation. La Societe historique de Saint-Boniface Father Arthur Masse. Masse continues to live at a retirement home in St. Boniface, after being released with conditions following his arrest by the RCMP earlier this month. He faces disciplinary action from the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the Catholic religious order he belongs to. "No Oblate who has been credibly accused of abuse is allowed to participate in ministry work, and that will continue to be the case as he faces these charges," Rev. Ken Thorson, a leader with the Ottawa-based OMI Lacombe Canada, wrote in an email to the Free Press on Wednesday. "As part of our congregational commitment to the larger community, we are available to speak with local authorities and will accept any guidance on the safest practices as Arthur Masse awaits his trial. "During this period, he will continue to live (at the retirement home), under the supervision of his superior." Masse is required to check in with his superior "a few times" per day, primarily at meals and group prayer. "Given his advanced age, all of his activities are supervised within the retirement home," Thorson wrote. A Free Press reporter visited the facility in an attempt to speak to Masse. After taking an elevator to an upper floor, the homes executive director returned and said Masse was "not available." Multiple retired OMI priests are among the residents of the building, which offers independent and assisted living. Masse has lived there since his retirement in 2005. He was appointed a co-director of the facilitys Oblate community, according to a May 2020 newsletter. "While the home includes laity and religious residents, his wing is dedicated to the latter," Thorson wrote. Last week, teacher and artist Victoria McIntosh, 63, spoke to the Free Press about Masse, who is charged with sexually assaulting her. She said she is tired of carrying shame and she wants to educate people, especially younger generations, about residential schools. "Im on my healing journey, but Ive accepted that some of these wounds are so deep Im going to be healing until I take my last breath," she said. Born in tiny Ferland, Sask., Masse started teaching at residential schools in 1957, spending time at three sites in Manitoba Pine Creek (Camperville), Fort Alexander and Brandon according to the Oblates internal records. He also taught at the Fort Frances and McIntosh residential schools in northern Ontario. Before retiring, Masse worked as a director of an elder care community in Winnipeg from 2001 to 2005. Residential school survivors are planning to attend Masses first court appearance in Powerview on July 20. He was charged after a decade-long Manitoba RCMP investigation into allegations of abuse at the Fort Alexander school. More survivors have come forward with allegations of abuse since the indecent assault charge was announced at a Manitoba RCMP news conference June 17. "The new reports made to police are being investigated," spokeswoman Tara Seel wrote in an email Wednesday. "As this is an ongoing police investigation, we will not provide information about who we have spoken with or what investigational avenues we are taking. "I can confirm for you that no new charges have been laid." Thorson said OMI Lacombe Canada is "fully committed" to co-operating with police. The Manitoba Metis Federation is carrying out its own investigation into the time Masse spent in the Metis villages of Duck Bay and Camperville. The Oblates operated 48 residential schools in Canada, including one in Kamloops, B.C., where the suspected unmarked graves of 215 children were identified in May 2021. OMI Lacombe Canada has apologized to residential school survivors who were sexually abused. The Free Press | Newsletter 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. "An educators first responsibility is to safeguard students and respect their inherent dignity, and it greatly saddens me that this was not always the case for Oblate priests," Thorson wrote. "Our foremost concern is the protection of minors and vulnerable persons." The group has created a safeguarding policy which aims to protect young people and hold its members to standards of conduct. The policy includes training for staff and guidance on how to swiftly report allegations of sexual abuse. "Furthermore, the policy makes clear that vowed Oblates are to be held to the highest moral, ethical, and pastoral standards to provide safe spaces in all the communities in which we minister," Thorson wrote. "Once again, we wish to apologize to the complainants who have brought forward their stories and emphasize our sincerest commitment to creating safe environments with appropriate oversight so that these tragic incidents never repeat themselves." chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @chriskitching Derek Hay is about to achieve a lofty goal. The 63-year-old will donate blood for the 200th time on July 1. I was either going to do my 200th on Canada Day or on my birthday. Since I hit 100, Ive been trying to motivate others to go. Ill celebrate by posting it on Facebook to try and convince other people to give blood once in a while. Hay has been donating since his senior year of high school. While he doesnt personally know anyone who has needed a blood transfusion, he takes pride in helping others. Its a warm, fuzzy feeling to know youre possibly saving a life. One day, there might come a time where I need blood, or my daughter, so I will give now and hopefully, somebody will give if we ever need it. There were other benefits, too. When I was in high school, they had a donor clinic come, so my friends and I went. When I was in university, they paid me to donate and I used the money to buy beer. My father was also giving blood at the time. We made a little competition of it and it continued from there. It always seemed like a good thing to do and each donation can save up to three lives, so that is great. They also have doughnuts for donors from time to time. Hay donates roughly every eight weeks and his O-negative blood has been used for transfusions for babies and other patients in need. His milestone comes at an important time, as Canadian Blood Services desperately needs donors. Over Canada right now, the regular donor base is down 31,000 donors, making it the lowest its been in a decade, said Brett Lawrence, community development manager for Canadian Blood Services in Winnipeg. We need 100,000 new donors each year. Its hard to get people to donate during the summer because people are on vacation and its easy to forget the importance of blood donation, but donation during the summer is more important than ever. The organization has 75 openings for July long weekend and more than 16,000 available slots for the month. About one in two people in Canada is eligible to donate blood, but only one in 81 does. Theres a very small amount of people maintaining an entire countrys blood supply, Lawrence said. The need for blood comes after the pandemic when fewer people were donating due to safety reasons and as people travel during the summer. If someone is in a car collision, they may need up to 50 units of blood. A leukemia patient could use up to eight units of blood for one week of treatment. There are a variety of scenarios that the blood is used for and we need to remind people that the need is still there. The Free Press | Newsletter 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. Kevin Wiersema started donating blood five years ago and tries to go as often as he can. When I started, I didnt have time to donate my time to charity work, but I knew the easiest way I could give back to the community would be to donate blood, he said. I always try to explain to people how quick and easy it is to book an appointment and donate. Within five minutes of walking in the door, you are giving blood. The act of donating was put in perspective for him when a friends family member needed blood. Once I saw that, I realized not only that its important to donate to give back to the community, but that this has directly impacted people I know. Every time I donate, I post about it on social media and try to get others to go. Canadian Blood Services encourages others to book an appointment to donate at blood.ca for their Winnipeg location at 777 William Ave. bryce.hunt@freepress.mb.ca The City of Winnipegs largest union is asking its members to vote for a strike mandate. The City of Winnipegs largest union is asking its members to vote for a strike mandate. In a bargaining update, Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500 officials say they cant recommend the citys latest proposed collective agreement. "While the offer contains some improvements we could support, we are still miles apart on the issue of wages," notes the statement, which was posted on the unions website. The union is now asking the 4,600 city employees it represents to vote for a strike mandate. If they do, the vote will give the unions negotiating committee permission to set a strike date if further negotiations dont resolve the labour dispute. However, a vote in favour of the mandate wouldnt guarantee a strike will take place. Gord Delbridge, president of CUPE Local 500, told the Free Press the citys latest offer is "just not acceptable," as the cost of goods soars higher. "There (are) many (city) positions that have sub-standard wages People need to see a wage increase to maintain their standard of living. Everything from food, housing, gas has all gone up and people need to afford (these things) to be able to live," Delbridge said Thursday. In April, the union wrote an email to city council members that demanded immediate talks on raising wages for 311 staff, including some paid $14.11 per hour. At the time, Delbridge said low pay was preventing the city from hiring more 311 employees, who are desperately needed to reduce soaring wait times at the civic information service. The wait for 311 calls surged to an average of 11 minutes, 42 seconds in 2021, up from 5:27 in 2020, while some residents have reported waits that exceed two hours. The union leader declined to reveal the wage level the city is proposing, nor the raise CUPE would prefer, stating that information must first be shared with the workers themselves. The union would prefer to reach a resolution through bargaining and avoid job action, since that would disrupt several city services, Delbridge stressed, noting CUPE represents staff in many different departments, including some who work at libraries and pools, along with others in the public works and water and waste divisions. "There would most certainly be major disruption. Our main objective is to get a fair wage and not be on strike," he said. The union is frustrated it hasnt yet managed to come to an agreement with the city, Delbridge said. Negotiations started more than 18 months ago. The Free Press | Newsletter 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. "Thats far too long (while) people are struggling in this current economy." CUPE members will vote on the strike mandate July 11 and 12. In a statement, the city said more bargaining dates are scheduled in July. "We are aware of CUPEs intention to hold a strike mandate vote in the coming weeks. The city is committed to negotiating in a fair and reasonable manner with CUPE, and is hoping for a successful conclusion to collective bargaining," it said. joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga A Winnipeg couple has been waiting 48 days for their suitcase to be returned, after the bag was lost during a flight to Ireland amid post-COVID-19 lockdown chaos at airports. A Winnipeg couple has been waiting 48 days for their suitcase to be returned, after the bag was lost during a flight to Ireland amid post-COVID-19 lockdown chaos at airports. Catherine Roberts and husband Bob flew to Dublin via Toronto with WestJet and Aer Lingus for a European vacation to celebrate her 70th birthday. "It sounds like a trivial thing compared to whats going on in the world, but it really did ruin our trip," said Roberts. "It was like this black cloud over us on the trip." After many calls, emails and airport visits in an effort to track down the bag, Aer Lingus informed the couple Thursday the suitcase had been found at Dublin Airport and will be sent to Winnipeg. "I said, I hope youre telling me the truth, because weve heard it so many times," said Roberts, who fears the bag will not arrive. "Im not confident about it at all," she said. "I just feel like weve been getting the runaround. I feel like Ive been lied to the whole time." The couple had to pay $60 to check the bag on a WestJet flight out of Winnipeg on May 15. The suitcase contains most of their clothes, including rain gear they were planning to wear on a seven-day cruise from Southampton, England, to Norways fjords. It also contains cards from family and friends, which Roberts was planning to open when she celebrated her birthday on the ship. The holiday got off to a bad start. Roberts said the couple missed a connecting flight at Toronto Pearson International Airport because the flight from Winnipeg arrived late. WestJet staff rebooked the pair on an Aer Lingus flight departing the next day. The couple then went to the baggage claim, where the suitcase was nowhere to be found. Staff from Calgary-based WestJet and Aer Lingus, Irelands national carrier, assured the pair the bag would be on the flight to Dublin, said Roberts. However, it didnt turn up at the baggage carousel in Dublin, where the couple realized the missing piece was part of a larger problem. "There were hundreds of bags just sitting there," said Roberts. Unclaimed suitcases have piled up at airports in Europe and Canada, as the travel industry struggles to cope with a surge of passengers amid a shortage of staff following the end or easing of COVID-19 restrictions. After failing to find their bag at Dublin Airport, Roberts and her husband filled out a form and started making calls. They failed to get answers when they returned to the airport the next day. ETHAN CAIRNS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Bob and Catherine Roberts were forced to skip scheduled tours and put off other plans in Dublin while trying to track down the suitcase. The couple spent about $400 on new travel essentials, including a suitcase, clothes, jackets and toiletries, while carrying on with the trip. "We only had the shirts we were wearing," said Roberts, noting the couple washed those shirts in a hotel room sink before buying new ones. "The next day, we put on our damp shirts and went down to (the stores)." They were forced to skip scheduled tours and put off other plans in Dublin while trying to track down the suitcase. Roberts continued to worry while on the cruise. "I couldnt wait to get off the ship to start phoning to ask about my bag," said Roberts, who didnt get any answers before flying back to Winnipeg on May 31. Roberts said WestJet staff checked a computer system, which indicated the bag was due to arrive on a flight from Toronto. The couple waited at the baggage carousel, but the suitcase didnt turn up. An online tracking system indicated June 4 the bag had been found and was being prepared for delivery. Roberts got her hopes up, but again the bag didnt show up. She said the same website stated June 9 there was no record of her suitcase, leaving her puzzled. After more calls, a WestJet employee informed her June 11 the matter was transferred to Aer Lingus. Feeling like she was starting from scratch, Roberts contacted Aer Lingus, which sent an email June 21 saying it would "fast track" the search. An employee then called to say the bag had been found in Dublin and it would be sent back to Canada. After waiting more than a week, Roberts was told the same thing Thursday. Her husband is open to taking the matter to small claims court, as they consider potential avenues for compensation. The Free Press | Newsletter 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. "Wed like to know if anybody else would like to join us in a lawsuit," he said, noting many passengers have suffered similar ordeals recently. In an email, WestJet spokeswoman Denise Kenny apologized to the couple for the disruption and "any miscommunications." Citing International Air Transport Association guidance, she said Aer Lingus is taking the lead on locating the suitcase, with WestJet providing support. A spokesperson for Aer Lingus was not available for comment. chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @chriskitching Complications have delayed plans to open a new orthopedic operating room at Concordia Hospital, as the province looks to send patients who need hip and knee surgery out of province. Complications have delayed plans to open a new orthopedic operating room at Concordia Hospital, as the province looks to send patients who need hip and knee surgery out of province. Provincial executive director of Manitobas diagnostic and surgical recovery task force David Matear said a fifth operating room scheduled to open at Concordia Hospital by the end of the calendar year is now on track for the start of the 2023-24 fiscal year in April. Surgeon reflects on impact of pandemic SHANNON VANRAES / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Dr. Tom Turgeon at the Concordia Hip and Knee Institute. Posted: 3:00 AM Apr. 4, 2022 An unexpected pang of grief hit orthopedic surgeon Dr. Thomas Turgeon after learning a new operating room would open at Concordia Hospital in a matter of months. The Winnipeg physician was forced to hold back tears while reflecting on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on his patients and the distress of being unable to help those languishing on wait lists. Read Full Story Matear attributed the setback to the work-up time needed to get the refurbished surgical suite up and running. "So, if we take that into consideration, the time that it takes to put that in practise, to put everything together, the timeline takes us to the beginning of fiscal year 23-24," Matear said during the task forces monthly update at the John Buhler Research Centre on the Health Sciences Centre campus. The province must recruit a new orthopedic surgeon, complete an estimated $700,000 in renovations, add four in-patient beds at Concordia Hospital before patients can go under the knife in the new operating room. Additional investments in anesthesia staff are also needed to run the operating room. Matear said four anesthesia clinical assistant students will begin their program this September as part of a previously announced plan to train and hire up to 13 new ACAs over the next three years. The operating room would increase capacity for joint-replacement surgery by approximately 1,000 cases annually at a cost of $4.9 million. Despite the setback, task force chair Dr. Peter MacDonald said his team intends to meet or exceed the roughly 5,000 hip and knee surgeries performed in the 2019 fiscal year, before the pandemic hit Manitoba. A yet-to-be-determined proportion of those 5,000 people will be sent out of Manitoba to receive their surgery, MacDonald said. "Some patients may prefer to wait rather than go out of province, so were not sure how many patients actually would be keen on going out of province rather than waiting for their surgeons," MacDonald said. "That will clarify over time, so I cant give you an exact proportion, but our goal is to definitely decrease the backlog by exceeding the 2019 number." RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Despite the setback, task force chair Dr. Peter MacDonald said his team intends to meet or exceed the roughly 5,000 hip and knee surgeries performed in the 2019 fiscal year before the pandemic hit Manitoba. The task force is hammering out an agreement with Sanford Health Fargo in North Dakota to accept orthopedic surgery patients while negotiations are underway with other out-of-province providers for knee, hip and other surgical procedures. Sanford Health Fargo has been performing spinal surgery for Manitobans since the spring. To date, 27 patients have received their surgery at Sanford, eight are in the queue and another 84 are being processed as part of the program, Matear said. "Were seeing the increased volume there as we would expect over time," Matear said. "We are actively working on increasing the service lines that Sanford can help us with but also with other partners as well." Matear said the first hip and knee patients could be sent out of province by the end of the summer, depending on a facilitys ability to accept Manitobans. Overall, the task forces approach to tackle the estimated 102,000 to 128,000 backlogged cases is to "catch up and keep up," Matear said. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES David Matear attributed the setback to the work-up time needed to get the refurbished surgical suite up and running. "We are looking at how we will expand our health-care system over the long term and therefore in the short term, how we can flex our current system to be able to accommodate increased capacity, and the remainder, really, were looking for out-of-province," he said. The Manitoba government will begin to publish its own backlog estimates later this summer. Previously, advocacy association Doctors Manitoba provided monthly estimates of surgeries and procedures missed over the course of the pandemic. On Tuesday, the group adjusted its estimate to be between 102,000 and 128,000 (down at least 38,000 cases) to account for procedures and tests that are no longer needed. MacDonald said the new online dashboard will be routinely updated to include information on surgical and diagnostic wait times. "This will give Manitobans a broad view of the work that were doing, where weve made progress and where we still have improvements to make," he said. "A target is really important for two reasons: first its a clear signal to the task force and to the health system about governments commitment to ensure that appropriate resources are mobilized to address the backlog. Second, what it does is give patients who are waiting, hope." Dr. Kristjan Thompson Doctors Manitoba board chair Dr. Kristjan Thompson said he is happy to see monthly, transparent reporting by the task force, but reinforced the need for the Progressive Conservative government to set a date to clear the backlog. "A target is really important for two reasons: first its a clear signal to the task force and to the health system about governments commitment to ensure that appropriate resources are mobilized to address the backlog. Second, what it does is give patients who are waiting, hope," Thompson said. Opposition health critic Uzoma Asagwara said the task forces update made it clear the government is not doing enough to get patients care. "Not only have they refused Doctors Manitobas urgent plea to set an end date to clear the backlog, but they have broken their promise to have a fifth operating room open at Concordia by the end of the year," the NDP MLA said in a prepared statement. danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca The Forks is ratcheting up security measures in the wake of recent acts of violence that put multiple victims in hospital. The Forks is ratcheting up security measures in the wake of recent acts of violence that put multiple victims in hospital. Officials decided Wednesday night to increase the size of its internal security team and request additional resources from the Winnipeg Police Service and the non-profit Downtown Community Safety Partnership, said Clare MacKay, vice-president of strategic initiatives at the downtown site. "We constantly monitor and adjust our security protocols and procedures, so while were not immune to crime, we do have the ability and responsibility to react quickly, to add additional resources to our already really robust, 24/7 security presence on site," MacKay said. Two men were stabbed and a woman was assaulted outside The Forks Market early Wednesday. Officers found three victims, all in their 20s, around 12:30 a.m. Two men who had been stabbed were rushed to hospital in critical condition, but both were later upgraded to stable condition. The third victim, a woman, hadnt been stabbed but was treated for minor injuries, police said. Officers, including the tactical team, located six suspects four youths and two adults but police have not yet announced any charges. On Monday, a father and daughter were assaulted in broad daylight directly outside the market building. Officers quickly arrested the suspects. All will face robbery-related charges. In May, Kyle James Craik, 27, became a homicide victim after he was assaulted in the parkade on the grounds. Such attacks are "extremely rare," MacKay said. The Free Press | Newsletter 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 move to boost security comes ahead of Canada Day,when thousands are expected to gather on the 54-acre site for a July 1 event called Its a New Day at The Forks. "We add and morph and change our security protocols throughout the year," MacKay said. "Obviously, a Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. when its -29 C is not the same as a July 1 when its 25 C and there are thousands of people coming. So when there are large-scale events, we do add to our security complement and work with the Winnipeg Police Service to supplement that." MacKay would not reveal specific details, but said the increase will remain in place as required. erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @erik_pindera A woman who was wanted in two unrelated slayings in Winnipeg, committed months apart, has been arrested. A woman who was wanted in two unrelated slayings in Winnipeg, committed months apart, has been arrested. Leah Carol Clifton, 34, was arrested at a home on the 500 block of Spence Street on June 24. She has been charged two counts of second-degree murder and was detained in custody. Leah Carol Clifton (Police / Handout) The Winnipeg Police Service homicide unit first accused Clifton along with two other suspects, Amos Joe Kematch, 27, and Tanisha Caitlin Flett, 26, who were arrested in February and March, respectively in the killing of Heather Marie Cheyane Beardy, 26. Clifton was named as a suspect in that homicide on March 10. Beardy was found dead in an apartment on the 400 block of Furby Street on Feb. 2. On May 19, Doris Lydia Trout, 25, was found dead in a Kennedy Street apartment complex. Homicide investigators identified two suspects in Trouts slaying, including Clifton. On June 7, Meagan Leigh Beaulieu, 27, was charged with second-degree murder and two court breaches. The two slayings were unrelated, but police said Clifton was an acquaintance of both victims. All were involved in the drug subculture. Police spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon said Thursday police waited to announce Cliftons arrest because investigators had to contact the victims families. "Theres a list of steps and people who have to be contacted, and all of the next-of-kins had not yet been notified," she said. "We have to hold off just in case somebodys out of town or unavailable." Clifton was identified as a suspect at a police news conference in mid-June. Const. Claude Chancy appealed for the publics help and surveillance photos of the alleged killer were released. The Free Press | Newsletter 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. Clifton has been convicted of numerous theft charges and breaches of conditions, but no violent offences, court documents show. While on the lam, Clifton had outstanding charges for possessing property obtained by crime and two breaches of undertakings dating to Jan. 18. During an August 2016 hearing on charges of break-and-enter theft and theft of a motor vehicle, Clifton was sentenced to 10 months. Court was told she had been addicted to drugs and alcohol since the age of 13. erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @erik_pindera Because of Canada Day and my upcoming dream vacation to Toledo (I might be making that part up), this will be the final Head Start bulletin until July 11. David Fuller will then handle this newsletter for a little more than a week. The Bank of Canada stopped issuing $1 bills 35 years ago today, replacing them with $1 coins that became known as loonies. A NATO summit in Spain, focused on Russia's war in Ukraine, is expected to end today. The alliance was rebuked by Moscow and Beijing after it declared Russia a direct threat and said China posed serious challenges to global stability. The first Countryfest in three years kicks off in Dauphin today. As we look forward to Canada Day, Winnipeg has found itself clutching its pearls once again in its bid to be seen as something other than the nations most racist city. In the process, it seems fine to demonstrate its misogyny. Opinion As we look forward to Canada Day, Winnipeg has found itself clutching its pearls once again in its bid to be seen as something other than the nations most racist city. In the process, it seems fine to demonstrate its misogyny. The ridiculous debate over whether we will have or not have "Canada" Day at the Forks, or instead a "reimagined" celebration, came to a head last week. To quote a release from The Forks board of directors, the original intent to take Canada Day out of the July 1 party was to allow Winnipeggers to "recognize and celebrate the day together. It is a celebration of The Forks as a historic gathering place, combined with many accessible ways for everyone to learn about our past and how we can continue to build a better country for the future." Of course, the cynic in me wonders if what The Forks was really trying to do was alleviate the potential for protest following last years debacle at the legislature. A statue of Queen Victoria was beheaded and destroyed beyond repair following a demonstration over the discovery of what was presumed to be unmarked graves of Indigenous children at residential schools. Prominent politician and former University of Winnipeg president Lloyd Axworthy was miffed, to say the least, by the announced changes: "There is a pattern developing where we almost are awkward to call ourselves Canadians." And then Winnipeg mayoral candidate Jenny Motkaluk tweeted: "On July 1st, I will be proudly celebrating Canadas birthday because I love my country unconditionally. I guess I cant do that at The Forks because Ive recently learned that its canceled." And thats when Winnipeg showed its misogynist side. Because, it seems, Axworthy can say these kinds of things, but Motkaluk apparently cant. Nope. While Axworthy received some criticism for his comments, Motkaluk faced an immediate and venomous backlash, including (as a National Post story pointed out) a response calling her a "dog whistling ct." Gee, I wonder why more women dont run for office? A white man says, "As citizens, we need every so often a place celebrate who we are as a community," and hes given all manner of courtesy. A white woman says, "I love my country," and shes the target of obscenities. Listen, this is not an endorsement of Motkaluk. But lets be clear: the decision by The Forks to "reimagine" Canada Day was a complete and total media disaster. So much so that the board had to issue a statement claiming it "never intended to minimize or eliminate the idea of Canada Day" In other words, both Motkaluk and Axworthy were saying what other people in this city were thinking. And theres no need to clutch our pearls. It has been 30 years since weve had a female mayor in this city. Susan Thompson served from 1992 to 1998 and was responsible for bringing the Pan Am Games to this city as well as dealing with the 1997 "Flood of the Century." Since then, no other woman has been able to break through the glass ceiling, although Paula Havixbeck, Judy Wasylycia-Leis, MaryAnn Mihychuk, Shirley Timm-Rudolph, Natalie Pollock and Marianne Cerilli have all made valiant attempts. The Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Gardener What you need to know now about gardening in Winnipeg. A monthly email from the Free Press with advice, ideas and tips to keep your outdoor and indoor plants growing. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. This time around, two women have put their names forward. Motkaluk and Rana Bokhari, the former Liberal Party leader. For both these women, it will be a hard slog. The columnists seem so far to be more interested in the reappearance of Glen Murray, who has once again decided that he wants to be our mayor, after leaving the job two years into his last term in 2004 to (unsuccessfully) run federally for the Liberals. Then he became a Liberal MPP in Ontario. Then he ran as the leader of the Green party. And now hes back home. Can you imagine a woman doing that and then returning to Winnipeg with the temerity to run for mayor? You cant because you know she would never be taken seriously. Oh, but Murray has no problem coming back to save us from ourselves. Much of whats going to be written about the mayoral campaign lies ahead. The summer is time for each candidate to prepare their policy and sell it one-on-one to media and at community barbeques and farmers markets. After Labour Day, there will be debates organized by various outlets, and candidates will face off against each other to demonstrate why their campaign is superior. As the campaign unfolds, be aware of how women are evaluated differently then men. Think about how your own biases play a role in how you perceive their capabilities. If you dont like what a woman has to say, imagine it being said with a mans voice. If it sounds better that way, then youre the problem. Shannon Sampert is a communications consultant and former politics and perspectives editor at the Winnipeg Free Press. She was the Eakins Fellow for the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada for winter 2022. shannon@mediadiva.ca The message to Russian President Vladimir Putin is abundantly clear in the decision of the North Atlantic Alliance to expand to 300,000 from 40,000 the number of military personnel prepared to move quickly to repel an attack on an alliance member. The decision shows the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will quickly and forcefully defend its members. The message to Russian President Vladimir Putin is abundantly clear in the decision of the North Atlantic Alliance to expand to 300,000 from 40,000 the number of military personnel prepared to move quickly to repel an attack on an alliance member. The decision shows the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will quickly and forcefully defend its members. MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Russian President Vladimir Putin may take umbrage against defensive measures designed to block his imperial intentions, but he has no reasonable grounds for fearing NATO will invade his country. Mr. Putin and his ruling circle in Moscow might see weakness or lack of resolve in the failure of NATO to confront Russias invasion force in Ukraine. NATO countries are providing weapons, training and money to support Ukraines army, but since Ukraine is not a NATO member, they have not sent their own military forces under NATO command to drive back the Russian invaders. The announcement this week by NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg of a massive increase in the alliances rapid reaction force shows the alliance will hit back quickly and hard if Russia attacks one of the Baltic states or another eastern European NATO member in an effort to reconstruct the old Soviet empire. SUSAN WALSH / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES The announcement this week by NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg of a massive increase in the alliances rapid reaction force shows the alliance will hit back quickly and hard if Russia attacks one of the Baltic states or another eastern European NATO member. Those countries are nervously watching Russias cruel, relentless war against Ukraine and wondering if they are next on Mr. Putins list. The alliance created its 13,000-member NATO Response Force in 2002, requiring each member state to specify which of its military personnel would be available for quick deployment. The force was expanded to 40,000 members in 2014 and now is being further expanded to 300,000. This is a paper army in the sense that most of the personnel are in their home countries serving local needs. Training and planning work, however, ensures it can quickly turn into a fighting force at the behest of the Supreme Allied Commander for Europe. A few of those troops could be in battle on two days notice, a few more within a week and the rest over a period of months. Canada already has about 700 personnel in Latvia as part of a battle group preparing to defend that country against an eventual Russian invasion. Canada already has about 700 personnel in Latvia as part of a battle group preparing to defend that country against an eventual Russian invasion. The Free Press | Newsletter 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. Expansion of this paper army threatens no one because its purpose is purely defensive. Mr. Putin may take umbrage against defensive measures designed to block his imperial intentions, but he has no reasonable grounds for fearing NATO will invade his country. The alliance should press ahead with expanding its response force and with admission of Finland and Sweden to NATO membership. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded assurances about Swedish suppression of Kurdish terrorist groups before he would support Swedish membership; he should recognize, however, that his appeals for help against terrorists will be heard more sympathetically after Sweden joins the alliance. Russia is a far greater danger to Turkey and every other NATO member than a few Kurdish refugees in Sweden. Russia is a far greater danger to Turkey and every other NATO member than a few Kurdish refugees in Sweden. NATO is the largest defensive military alliance in the world. After 73 years of operation, it stands as a strikingly successful system of collective security. It is achieving in part the purpose the United Nations organization was intended to achieve when it was created 77 years ago the preservation of international peace. NATO has not yet stopped Russias aggression against Ukraine, but it is already achieving far more in that direction than the UN, which cannot lift a finger without Russias permission. Since Russia wields veto power in the UN Security Council, it can never become a means of stopping Russian aggression. The Class of 2022 is being celebrated with traditions that are both old, including the highly anticipated return of in-person convocations where diplomas are delivered by hand, and new the distribution of special stoles to Indigenous students. The Class of 2022 is being celebrated with traditions that are both old, including the highly anticipated return of in-person convocations where diplomas are delivered by hand, and new the distribution of special stoles to Indigenous students. "When I was a kid, I wasnt very proud of my culture but as the years have passed, Ive learned to love myself and my culture, so being able to represent that is huge for me," said Grace McKay, an Ojibwa student who graduated from Oak Park High School this week. JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Grace McKay, 18 (left) and Ava Suru, 17, co-chairs of the Medicine Wheel Committee on Oak Parks student council after their convocation ceremony at RBC Convention Centre. McKay donned a matching convocation cap and gown in royal blue, one of her schools colours, to cross a stage at the RBC Convention Centre on Tuesday. The 18-year-old also wore a new piece of complementary academic regalia around her neck. For the first time in Oak Parks history, school leaders this year have gifted Grade 12 graduates who self-identified as First Nations, Metis and Inuit with a silky scarf, on which there are illustrations of an eagle feather, inukshuk, beaded flower and bison. Shaftesbury High School, a neighbouring Grade 9-12 building, also started the annual practice in 2021-22. Shaftesbury teacher Rebecca Chambers initially raised the idea to design custom stoles for Indigenous seniors in the Pembina Trails School Division. Chambers, an alum of Red River College Polytechnic, is frequently invited back to her alma mater to sing the national anthem at post-secondary convocations. In recent years, she has noticed Indigenous graduates sporting red stoles with pride in event crowds a new development since the Metis educator and musician completed her studies and wanted to replicate the beauty for her high school students. A team at Shaftesbury contacted a Metis graphic designer about their vision and desire to include elements in a nod to both their school and division colours and logos, as well as First Nations, Metis and Inuit culture. Once the design was complete, Chambers shared it with her colleagues at Oak Park. As Chambers watched her students enter the event in their sashes, she said she was surprised that she was overcome with so much emotion. JESSICA LEE Grace McKay, 18, (in blue) a co-chair of the Medicine Wheel Committee on Oak Park's student council, with her family after her convocation ceremony at RBC Convention Centre. (Jessica Lee / Winnipeg Free Press) "We had shifted a very important and very traditional ceremony in a way that enriched the ceremony to make it contextualized with who our students are, where we teach, and (acknowledged) that teaching and learning has been going on on this land for thousands of years and were continuing that," she said. Chambers noted the custom is important because it provides Indigenous learners with a way to proclaim their identity since they do not always have a space to do so in their academic lives in part, because there are so few of them. Five Indigenous students graduated from the roughly 175 Grade 12 pupils at Shaftesbury in 2021-22. Oak Parks graduating class included 10 Indigenous students. Learners from both schools received their stoles at a special honouring ceremony at a park near The Passage a historic site that was once occupied by bison herds on Monday. Elders, dancers and residential school survivors were in attendance at the first-of-its-kind event in Pembina Trails. "What a great way to set the stage and set a very visual example of success. In literature, having high expectations of students for success is one of the top determinants of student achievement. I cannot think of a better way to do this," said Catherine Birch, principal at Shaftesbury. Seven Oaks, Winnipeg, Louis Riel and St. James-Assiniboia are among the local divisions that host graduation powwows to celebrate their Indigenous graduates. Some of the schools in those districts already distribute stoles to Indigenous graduates. JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A special grad stole designed by Oak Park High School students to denote special status in academic or extracurricular achievements. "Im just really happy to be alive right now to bear witness to people who are trying to find ways to celebrate the successes of Indigenous students," said Frank Deer, associate dean of Indigenous education at the University of Manitoba. The Free Press | Newsletter 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. A commitment to reconciliation requires a commitment to raising awareness about the Canadian-Indigenous experience and celebrating Indigenous peoples accomplishments, Deer said. Oak Park graduate Ava Suru, who is Metis, said she was speechless Tuesday. After collecting her thoughts, the 17-year-old described walking across the stage wearing something she helped design as "a really proud moment." Suru and McKay, co-chairwoman of their student councils medicine wheel committee this year, had the opportunity to weigh in on the design of their stoles. They adjusted the Shaftesbury design to reflect Oak Parks community. Immediate family members, cousins and other relatives of McKay, who hail from Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation and Rolling River First Nation cheered all of the graduates on in ribbon skirts and shirts. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie WAUPUN A Wisconsin Economic Development Council Community Development Investment Grant will support Waupuns downtown redevelopment plans, according to Waupun City Administrator Kathy Schlieve. Schlieve announced the $134,000 award Tuesday night at a Committee of the Whole meeting at City Hall. It had to do with the redevelopment of the south side of the 400 block of East Main Street, and specifically the former Rock Shop, said Schlieve. It was a joint application involving the city and what is now the Stone + Suede shop at 417 E. Main St. The shop stands between two lots created by the demolition of two derelict buildings that were razed about a decade ago. The long-time Rock Shop was recently purchased and was renovated at a substantial cost. The building had fallen into significant disrepair and the owners completely renovated the space, she said. It was a complete overhaul from top to bottom. They recently had a soft opening and are officially open for business. The grant funds improvements to the building, as well as to the city-owned parks on both sides of it and the alley and parking area behind it. Theres a portion of the grant that stays with the city to help with some public improvements as well, said Schlieve. Theres also a portion that goes to support all of the renovations that occurred within that building as a catalyst project. The overall goal is to mesh with our improvement plans for the downtown while still preserving some of the historical integrity of the downtown district itself, which includes that building. She added, Its an investment in creating jobs and theyve created a really beautiful little store. Schlieve describes the shop as a lifestyle brand store, with home goods, clothing and more. According to their website (https://stoneandsuede.design), The store is a place to gather and shop. Stone + Suede offers quality clothing and accessories for the whole family, unique home decor and design services, clean beauty and skincare, and a gorgeous space to hang out with friends and family and enjoy a beverage while shopping. We commit to creating a standard you can expect. Visit us at our brick and mortar location in downtown Waupun. The grant was submitted in March. We submitted the grant, there were questions back and forth with WEDC and authorization on work began shortly thereafter, Schlieve said. At this point were formalizing the agreements that were made and approved months ago. The grant comes on the heels of substantial developments in the citys business park, and builds on projects beginning elsewhere in the community. Success breeds success, said Schlieve. Were seeing more investment occur and thats a positive for sure. 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. BURLINGTON A Burlington man allegedly sexually assaulted a group home resident. Brian K. Matheson, 38, of the 600 block of Foxtree Circle, was charged with a felony count of second-degree sexual assault and a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct. According to a criminal complaint: At 10:22 a.m. on Saturday, an officer was sent to a residence in the 300 block of McHenry Street for a sexual assault. The residence is a group home for people with disabilities. Upon arrival, the officer met with a woman who said Matheson entered her apartment and sexually assaulted her. She told him to get out and he eventually left. The officer then spoke to another resident who said he and Matheson left the Log Cabin Tavern at 233 W. Jefferson St. around 2:30 a.m. and walked back to his apartment. He went to bed and Matheson was still up talking to his roommate. The officer spoke to Matheson who said he knew that everyone who lived in the building had a disability. He confirmed being at the bar until 2:30 a.m. and coming back to the residence, but he claimed he did not stay long and did not sexually assault a resident. Matheson was given a $1,000 cash bond in Racine County Circuit Court on Monday. A preliminary hearing is on July 6 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave., online court records show. Victory has been achieved for the cause of life. Many thought theyd never see this day, but Roe v. Wade has been overturned. Much of the nation sat frozen in time while hearing or reading the news. It was cathartic to hear the decision after nearly 50 years of the pro-life movement steadfastly and arduously working toward this goal. It marked a momentous occasion sought on behalf of the more than 60 million American babies who lost their lives to abortion since the 1973 case. This is a great moment for people to rally on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves. On June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, about a Mississippi law that outlawed abortion after 15 weeks. The Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling, affirming the ability to enforce the law. Most importantly, the court stated, the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, the authority to regulate abortion belongs to state representatives. It also referred to faulty historical analysis in Roe v. Wade. There is sure to be much more discussion. It wasnt unexpected because a draft of the opinion was leaked several weeks ago. Several reports of violence, including a fire set in Wisconsin Family Actions Madison office, followed the release. So both sides were prepared for last weeks decision. The Madison Planned Parenthood Clinic stopped scheduling abortions as of June 25. The victory was not complete for the pro-life movement, because the action simply returns jurisdiction to the individual states. A number of states still allow abortions, including neighboring Illinois. Outright bans based on recent legislation became the standard in several others. Many states will be grappling with the next steps in their own abortion laws. In Wisconsin, the prevailing law on abortion, written in the vernacular of 1849, refers to intentionally destroy(ing) the life of an unborn quick child. Quick meant you could tell the baby was alive by detectable movement. Three main entities in Wisconsin spearhead the sanctity of life effort: Wisconsin Right to Life, Pro-Life Wisconsin and Wisconsin Family Action. The executive directors of all three organizations have indicated the language and details of this law need to be brought up to date. Several law enforcement agencies and state Attorney General Josh Kaul have stated they will not enforce law, and this disregard should be considered when voting this fall. The issue of legality of abortion will be debated in the next legislative session. The biggest question is whether we will have a governor willing to stand with the unborn. Current Gov. Tony Evers tried to convene a special session of the Legislature to attempt to secure abortion rights, so we know he doesnt stand with those who cannot speak for themselves. Last Friday, I attended a pro-life rally on the steps of the state Capitol, not far from a large assemblage of abortion advocates. Some of us would not be dissuaded by the large and vocal group. For the most part, the groups remained separate, though we did have an occasional group of hecklers trying to talk over our speakers. Let us hope everyone remains peaceful in the days and weeks ahead. The pro-abortion movement focuses on maintaining options for pregnant women, and now the debate about what is a woman seems to be settled. Many opine men arent allowed to have an opinion on the matter. There often seems to be a disconnect that the tiny human developing inside the mother is actually a person. Its not a clump of cells or some benign object. We can all certainly agree tragic circumstances sometime result in an unplanned pregnancy. What the abortion movement must seek to understand is that a child has no control over how it was conceived. Abortion creates an additional victim. It often seems simple for the pro-life movement to simply state abortion should never happen. There are pregnancies whose circumstances are often very complex. What we need to remember is to have compassion and understanding. We need to support unplanned pregnancies. The adoption process needs work to make it smoother and more affordable. The page has turned on Roe v. Wade. Its gone. Perhaps June 24, 2022, will take on as much significance as Jan. 22, 1973, and a new chapter in this age-old debate begins as we have a renewed opportunity to celebrate new life. Frostman lives in Baraboo: scfrostman@gmail.com. Light-bender recognised with scholarship Engineering student exploring optics and photonics is among Optica Women Scholars to receive a generous award and international mentorship. Alice Drozdov, a Masters candidate at the Wits Optical Communication Lab in the School of Electrical and Information Engineering is part of the first cohort of female students described as exceptionally talented in the field of optics, a field in engineering where women are even more scarce than in other engineering fields. The top 20 students were announced by the Optica Foundation located in the United States and will each receive approximately R160 000 and mentorship from experts in the field. Launched in January 2022, the scholarship seeks to empower and recognise the next generation of female leaders who study light science and technology. More than 160 applications from 36 countries were submitted to the Foundation. Selection committee member and former president of Optica, Janet Fender, has expressed her delight at the caliber of applicants and her confidence in the class of 2022. When I came up in the world of optics, women peers and role models were rare. I was thrilled to see the outstanding applicants for this program. These scholars will be peers to each other and mentors to the generation coming next, says Fender. The excited Drozdov wants to maximise on the opportunities ahead as she expands her knowledge. Prior to the scholarship, Drozdov was selected to attend the Subsea Fibre Optical Communication School from 10 to 16 July 2022. Drozdov already has three articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and her Masters research is titled Modal Diversity for Long-Range Wireless Optical Communication and seeks ways in which to improve the reliability of wireless optical systems. In a nutshell, I am researching a method that will assist in mitigating the effects of atmospheric turbulence (the reason why stars twinkle) on a laser beam. Studies into the behaviour of light are critical, especially in high-tech communications and the health sectors, among other places. Her supervisor, Dr Mitchell Cox who is the co-founder and principal investigator at the Wits Optical Communication Lab, the site of the innovative work, explains that Alices leading-edge research uses unique patterns of light (called optical modes) to improve the range and reliability of optical links. In principle, one day we could simply manufacture special pieces of glass which are used to create and detect these special patterns. Imagine making an existing wireless optical communication system better by simply adding a small piece of holographic glass? Their vision is to facilitate a digitally inclusive smart future using wireless optical technology. In many places around the world existing connectivity is not fast, reliable, or cheap enough to sustain online activities that many of us take for granted. We are researching and developing long-range wireless optical technology which we hope will help bridge the digital divide in situations where existing technologies like fibre are not currently viable. The digital divide is not their only driver. Future 5G and 6G installations will require a massive increase in infrastructure, and fibre is often expensive to install, especially in cities where it isnt already present. This is an opportunity for fibre, without the fibre, concludes Mitchell. Drozdov is preparing for this future and is active in recruiting young people into the field. She is part of the Wits Optics Student Chapter that aims to spread awareness about science, and more specifically optics. As the social media manager, she curates content disseminated via their channels. She was one of the coordinators of the 2021 Wits EIE Womens Conference. As an undergraduate student she worked as a laboratory assistant during vacation work and assisted in designing a mirror that moves according to the deflection of a laser beam. As a Masters student, she is a teaching assistant tutoring second and third years in her stream. Although she has a packed schedule, she enjoys orienteering and has won two contemporary dance competition with her friends. Instagram handles: @WitsOptics and @WitsOCLab Students from the University of Johannesburg treat a patient using China's acupuncture in the teaching clinic of the school in Johannesburg, South Africa, Sept. 17, 2021. [Xinhua] BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhua) China's acupuncture is enjoying growing popularity in BRICS countries. "Acupuncture has become a common medical treatment and is regarded as the 'Oriental magic needle,'" said Hui Qing, vice president of the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies. Hui runs a clinic in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil. Alici, 50, is one of the regular visitors to the clinic, who has made the 30 minute-acupuncture a part of her life. Every month, she takes an eight-hour night-bus ride from her home in Minas Gerais to Sao Paulo to attend the clinic. She was first hit with rheumatoid arthritis a decade ago, resulting in severe joint pain and difficulty walking. A friend recommended she try acupuncture at Hui's clinic. She followed the friend's advice and found her pain was gradually eased, an outcome she wasn't expecting. "This kind of story happens every day in Brazil," Hui said. The treatment is not only gaining popularity in Brazil. Since 1998, more than 300 cerebral palsy patients from Russia have been treated at the Shanxi Cerebral Palsy Rehabilitation Hospital, according to Guo Xinzhi, former president of the hospital. More than 10 doctors have also been sent by the hospital to aid the Republic of Dagestan and the Chechen Republic, curing more than 4,000 cerebral palsy patients, Guo added. At the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, acupuncture has become one of the top 15 most popular courses since it started in 2020. More than 1,000 students applied for courses related to acupuncture that year, but only 45 were admitted. In 2022, of 7,000 applicants, only 58 students won places. Saurabh Sinha, vice president of University of Johannesburg, said that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and acupuncture are important components of complementary medicine that can improve health-care in South Africa. For students from remote and underprivileged areas of South Africa, these medical skills will play a positive role in improving local health services when they return home to work, he added. Acupuncture not only helps improve local health services in South Africa, but also plays an important role in strengthening the relationship between China and India. In the heart of Ludhiana, India, lies the Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis Health and Education Center, a hospital dedicated to acupuncture treatment. The hospital dean, Dr. Inderjit Singh, has been practicing acupuncture for more than 48 years. Dr. Singh said that, in the 1930s, Indian doctors Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis and Dr. B.K. Basu joined the Indian medical team to aid China in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Dr. Kotnis died on the mission, aged 32. In 1957, Dr. Basu visited China again. Troubled by sinusitis for a long time, he experienced acupuncture treatment and received obvious therapeutic effects. Dr. Basu decided to study acupuncture and bring the ancient Chinese medical treatment back to his country. After returning to India, he used acupuncture to treat patients and at the same time trained more acupuncturists. "I was one of his students at the time," Dr. Singh said. The hospital has now grown from a small clinic with only one room and two beds to a prestigious hospital with more than 200 doctors and 39 acupuncture beds. Almost 2,000 patients receive acupuncture treatment there every year. The hospital won its fame by word of mouth, for it charges low fees and often conducts free medical-treatment activities. Many patients from New Delhi, Bangalore and other places visit the hospital for treatment. Dr. Singh's two daughters and one of his sons-in-law are now also acupuncturists. He said he would carry forward the work of Kotnis and Basu through acupuncture to bring together the people of India and China. "Acupuncture has become an important bridge between China and India," he said. Dr. Singh is not alone in believing in the power of acupuncture to join nations in a common endeavor of great value. Liu Baoyan, president of the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies, said, "Acupuncture has gradually gained recognition in more countries, and some BRICS countries have incorporated acupuncture into their national medical systems. In the future, acupuncture is bound to make greater contributions to the construction of a community of common health for mankind." Hui Qing, vice president of the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies, performs acupuncture treatment for her patient Alici at her clinic in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil, June 21, 2022. [Xinhua] (Source: Xinhua) Milford is a small coastal city situated in New Haven County in the US State of Connecticut. The city lies on Long Island Sound northeast of the mouth of the Housatonic River, between New Haven and Bridgeport. Milford also includes the village of Devon and the municipality of Woodmont, with a diverse mix of neighborhoods, three walkable centers, historic districts, plenty of parks, and over 17 miles of coastline situated just 60 miles from Manhattan. Geography And Climate Of Milford Aerial view of Milford city center and harbor. Image Credit: makemake via Wikimedia Commons Milford covers a total area of 65.08 sq. km, of which 56.73 sq. km are occupied by land, and 8.35 sq. km are covered by water. The town hosts 17 miles of Long Island Sound coastline from the south, which winds its way to meet the Wepawaug River in the middle of town. The city is surrounded by Stratford from the west, Orange from the northeast, and West Haven from the east. The climate in Milford is continental, with warm and humid summers, and very cold snowy winters, with cloudy skies all through the year. The temperature fluctuates between -5 C and 28 C and is hardly below -12 C or above 31 C. For tourists, the best time to visit Milford for warm-weather activities is between June and September. Brief History Of Milford A waterfall with a church in the background in the center of Milford, Connecticut. Editorial credit: Joe Tabacca / Shutterstock.com The land which currently composes Milford, Orange, and West Haven was obtained in 1639 from Ansantawae, chief of the local Paugussets (an Algonquian tribe), by English settlers associated with the modern New Haven Colony. Initially, the area was named "Wepawaug," which is the small river that streams through the town and has given its name to many streets in both Milford and Orange. During the Revolutionary War, the Milford area of the Boston Post Road served as a significant passage connecting other important coastal cities. The path got obstructed by Continental forces, and Fort Trumbull was built to defend the town. The Liberty Rock statue celebrates the site of the blockage. In 1822, the town started developing, and in due course, the remaining area of Milford was occupied through shipbuilding, farming, and oystering, with a small subset of manufacturing facilities that grew in the town. On the other hand, Milford also thrived as a beach resort attracting New Haven and Bridgeport residents. Later on, in 1903, the southeastern area of the town was chartered as the Borough of Woodmont, which was included in the town of Milford when chartered, to be eventually incorporated as the City of Milford in 1959. The Population And Economy Of Milford A view of Milford marina, walking path, colorful townhouses, and walking bridge in Milford, Connecticut, on a grey, gloomy day. The population of Milford is estimated to be around 53,336 residents as per the latest US Census. Of these, 88.08% of the residents were born in the United States, and 63.57% had been born in Connecticut. Moreover, 3.88% of the residents are not US citizens, with the most significant percentage coming from Asia. The economic development in Milford has increased the area of the city while it added both opportunities and overcrowding. Today, Milford is in the issue of balancing between land development and keeping a natural environment, especially with the citys location at the mouth of the Housatonic River and adjacent to the Long Island Sound. Currently, the leading sectors in the Milford economy are healthcare and social assistance services, followed by manufacturing and retail trade. From another business perspective, the average annual income of a Milford resident is $40,797, undergoing a 6.3% sales tax and a 5.5% income tax. Top Attractions In Milford Silver Sands State Park Silver Sand Beach at sunset in Silver Sands State Park, Milford, Connecticut. Covering almost 300 acres of land, Silver Sands State Park is situated on Long Island Sound. The park hosts an incredibly varied range of grounds, including dunes, a forest, a marsh, and a beach. In addition to enjoying the time around the beach, visitors are attracted to enjoy a picnic or stroll along the trails that run around the park. Moreover, the park also hosts a 14 -acre bird conservation area that protects wading birds like egrets and herons, making it a popular attraction to bird watchers. Walnut Beach Walnut Beach at Milford, Connecticut. Walnut Beach is considered one of Milford's most popular summer destinations, as it features a fishing pier and one of the state's longest boardwalks. Walnut Beach is located close to Charles Island, which is reachable by walking across a sand bar during low tide. Moreover, the beach offers shaded areas, pavilions, and picnic areas. In addition to the above destinations, the city offers a wide range of restaurants, shops, and a stunning harbor distributed between its quaint historic Downtown, and the Devon Center, both of which are considered major walkable shopping and charming dining experiences in the city. Milford was named as "Small City with a Big Heart," as the city has succeeded in stretching into a 17-mile frontage on Long Island Sound, which is the longest stretch of coastline in the state, laced with 13 beaches interrupted only by a few marinas and a yacht club. Moreover, every weekend a specific event or festival takes place in Milford, from the single-day events to casual meetings on the green, concerts, and outdoor movie nights for kids in the summer. Old Saybrook is a small town situated in Middlesex County in the US State of Connecticut. The town lies on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Connecticut River and acts as a trade, retail, and small industrial hub of the lower Connecticut River Valley. The town endorses the economic and business development of the area, where the retail environment is thriving, with four shopping centers as well as many retail shops along Main Street and Boston Post Road. Scenic views and brisk air have always been the main features of Old Saybrook, which is a perfect spot for a vacation or a place to call home. Geography And Climate Of Old Saybrook Beachfront cottages and homes on Long Island Shore in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Old Saybrook town spreads over a total area of 55.8 sq. km, of which 38.8 sq. km are occupied by land, and 17.0 sq. km are covered by water. The town is surrounded by New Haven from the west, New London from the east, Middletown and Wallingford from the north, and Long Island Sound from the south. The climate in Old Saybrook is continental, with warm and humid summers, and snowy and windy winters, with partly cloudy skies all through the year. The temperature fluctuates between -4 C and 27 C and is hardly below -12 C or above 31 C. For tourists, the best time to visit Old Saybrook for warm-weather activities is between June and September. Brief History Of Old Saybrook Saybrook Breakwater Light in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Saybrook Colony was founded in 1635 at the mouth of the Connecticut River in what is currently Old Saybrook and its surroundings. John Winthrop, the son of the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was assigned as a Governor by the group that declared possession of the land by an act of transfer from Robert Rich, the Second Earl of Warwick. In 1644, Fenwick merged the colony with Connecticut Colony a few miles up river. Later, in 1647, Major John Mason took command of the colony of Saybrook Fort, which restrained the critical trade and supply path to the upper river valley. The fort was mysteriously set on fire, but another better fort was constructed nearby. In 1852, the General Assembly established the separate town of Old Saybrook from Saybrook. Old Saybrook was divided again in 1854 and got incorporated as a town when the northern division became the town of Essex. The Population And Economy Of Old Saybrook The population of Old Saybrook town is estimated to be around 10,481 residents as per the latest US Census. Around 89.57% of Old Saybrook Center residents were born in the United States, with 59.73% of them having been born in Connecticut. Moreover, almost 10.53% of those residents are not US citizens, with the largest percentage of them originating from Europe. Old Saybrooks economic structure relies on healthcare and social assistance, as well as retail trade as top contributors to the business of the town. Moreover, other sectors like educational services, manufacturing, and construction support the economy as well. From another economic perspective, an average annual income of an Old Saybrook resident is around $44,251, undergoing a sales tax rate of 6.4% and an income tax rate of 5.5%. Top Attractions In Old Saybrook The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Image Credit: Vincent Oneppo via Wikimedia Commons Harveys Beach Harveys Beach is considered to be one of the best beaches in Connecticut, as it is a popular, well-known destination for its white sands, in addition to activities for guests, including fishing, boating, and swimming. The beach measures around 100 yards in length and offers a variety of amenities like on-site lifeguards and childrens playgrounds. Saybrook Home Saybrook Home is located at the beginning of Main Street in historic Old Saybrook. The original building was constructed in 1799 and was the home of Captain Ambrose Whittlesey. The site was previously known as Saybrook Country Barn and is one of New Englands attractions for retail shopping, offering customized shopping experiences in its 42,000 sq ft area. Moreover, Old Saybrook hosts many walkable parks like Great Cedars Conservation Area, Gardiner's Landing & Fort Saybrook Monument Park, and Pequot Swamp Pond Trail. In addition to the Old Saybrook's historic downtown, which has inspired many Hollywood visions of Americana, with its spotless sidewalks that host dog walkers, strollers, and joggers. Framed by the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound from both sides, Old Saybrook represents the essence of small-town living. A great sense of history and maritime culture can be felt throughout the area, with over 100 homes selected with historical worth. Weather Alert ...HEAT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 9 PM CDT THURSDAY... * WHAT...Daily heat index values of 100 to 110 degrees expected. * WHERE...Portions of southwest Indiana, southeast Missouri, western Kentucky, and southern Illinois. * WHEN...From 11 AM this morning to 9 PM CDT Thursday. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses to occur. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Heat index values today will top out around 100 to 105 degrees. The peak of the heat will occur Tuesday through Thursday, when daily heat index values will reach 105 to 110 degrees. Daily chances for isolated thunderstorms will provide limited relief from the heat. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. && Weather Alert ...HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM MONDAY TO 1 PM CDT THURSDAY... * WHAT...Heat index values up to 109 expected. * WHERE...Portions of southwest Indiana, southeast Missouri, western Kentucky, and southern Illinois. * WHEN...From 11 AM Monday through Thursday afternoon. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses to occur. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Daily chances for isolated thunderstorms will provide brief relief from the heat. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. && Medieval brooch discovered in Wrexham officially declared as treasure A coin hoard of Roman date and a medieval silver brooch found in north east Wales have been declared treasure by Ms Katie Sutherland, Assistant Coroner for North Wales (East & Central). The Roman silver coin hoard (Treasure Case 20.08) was discovered by Wayne Jones while metal detecting on a pasture field in Halkyn Community, Flintshire on 14t June 2020. It contains 13 silver denarii minted between AD 64 and AD 117. The first coin in the hoard is a denarius of the Emperor Nero (AD 54-68) and the last is a denarius of the Emperor Trajan (AD 98-117). The hoard was probably buried a short time later, at around AD 117-125. Halkyn Mountain was an important Roman lead mining site. A Roman lead pig (ingot), discovered in 2019 in Rossett, has been chemically linked to lead from Halkyn Mountain, and other evidence of early-Roman lead mining and smelting has been discovered in North-East Wales and at nearby Chester. The burying of this hoard might therefore be linked to mining activities in the area. Alastair Willis, Senior Curator of Numismatics and the Welsh Economy, Amgueddfa Cymru National Museum Wales, said: This coin hoard adds to a growing body of evidence for Roman activity in and around Halkyn during the first and second centuries AD, which is likely to have been primarily related to lead mining on Halkyn Mountain. Sophie Fish, Museums, Culture and Heritage Manager for Flintshire said: This is an extremely exciting find from our Roman past. It is interesting to imagine who the coins belonged to and what goods were purchased with the currency. We hope to be able to display them in Mold Museum as part of a new display on Roman activity across Flintshire. A small silver annular stirrup brooch (Treasure Case 19.42) of medieval date was discovered by Scott Bevan on 14th October 2019, whilst metal detecting on an arable field in Erbistock Community, Wrexham. The brooch frame is decorated with fine transverse bands inlaid with black niello, a metal alloy with sulphur. The dagger-like pin has incised decoration as well as two stirrups, curved protrusions extending at the pin-head end, which were to prevent snagging. This brooch dates from the thirteenth- or early fourteenth century. Sian Iles, Curator of Medieval and Later Archaeology at Amgueddfa Cymru National Museum Wales, said: Medieval silver annular brooches like the Erbistock example are increasingly recorded in Wales, thanks to reporting through the Treasure Act 1996 and the Portable Antiquities Scheme. This continual enrichment of evidence enables us to build a strong picture of the ways personal identities were being expressed Medieval Wales, through the wearing of jewellery and other personal adornments. Wrexham County Borough Museum & Archives is interested in acquiring the brooch for their collection, following an independent valuation by the Treasure Valuation Committee. Over 50 calls were made to town centre police in the last 24 hours. In Thursdays (30 June) daily police update, Wrexham Inspector Luke Hughes said: The last 24hrs are best described as steady but a few incidents of note from the 53 calls for service we received. Also just to let you know Ill be circulating some CCTV of our pram bandits in the next day. It appears they have travelled out of the area having travelled in around a week or so ago. 09:42hrs: Female causing a disturbance in a shopping area, known to local officers and feeling low, officers engage and calm her down, still no excuse for behaving this way in public. But she has a lot of ongoing issues at present, referrals will be made to local support services, enforcement to be taken if this behaviour continues. 10:16hrs: I mentioned yesterday a theft in the town centre, looks like two occurred the same time, some more detective greenery from outside a shop on Lord street, enquiries ongoing. 10:38hrs: Male now causing issues on Lord Street, similar social issues to the female, same response and taken away from the situation and referrals will be made. So much of our time these days is taken up with mental health and welfare concerns. 11:58hrs: Call from a bank in town we have an agreed protocol if any vulnerable persons enter and appear to be making unusual transactions it triggers an immediate response, on this occasion it appeared to be in order, however in the past we have managed to detain suspects that have been exploiting people and trying to facilitate large bank transfers and withdrawals. 12:10hrs: Domestic occurrence leading to the arrest of one male. 12:25hrs: Sighting of a wanted male this leads officers on an extensive foot chase focusing in the area of Bryn Offa, Victoria Road & Ruabon road. Male was detained, 1-0 on the foot chases of the day. Im reassured we do win some. 13:50hrs: Theft from parked vehicle in the area of Felin Puleston seems the informant went for a walk and on her return two bags have been stolen and a window broken. Quite a rare crime at the moment, maybe once a fortnight, likely an opportunist, I am reassured nothing of value stolen, but the damage clearly very frustrating for the victim. 15:28hrs: The stolen van from yesterdays up date is located on Overton way recovered for forensics examination. 15:59hrs: Sighting of another wanted male extensive police response and search in the Caia park areas resulting in his safe arrests. Another winning foot chase 2-0. Top result. 18:40hrs: RTC in town centre vehicle v bollards no injury reported. 03:24hrs: Suspicious male seen in the vicinity of a property, possible opportunist snooping around area search conducted no sighting. 04:07hrs: Three people enter late night shop, two distract staff and third takes washing powder and dishwashing powder. Clearly hoping for a clean getaway sorry I couldnt resist follow up CCTV will be conducted today. The two hours of testimony Tuesday by former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson provided an indelible picture, from an inside source, of the effort by Donald Trump to stage a political coup on January 6, 2021, stop the congressional certification of his election defeat, and remain in office as a fascist dictator-president. Along with top aides like his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his chief of staff Mark Meadows, Trump expected that after he addressed a rally outside the White House and told the crowd of supporters, including hundreds of armed fascists, to march on the Capitol, he would accompany them, place himself at the head of the mob, enter the House chambers where the counting of electoral votes was underway and seize control. Vice President Mike Pence and the assembled legislators would be given two choices: Either ratify Trumps overturning of the 2020 election results and his remaining in power, or be killed. As Trump said, hearing the Hang Mike Pence chants from his supporters, He deserves it. There is little doubt what the congressional Democrats would have done. They would have capitulated, seeking some face-saving operation like a referral of the disputed election to a vote by the House of Representatives, conducted according to the procedure of one vote for each entire state delegation, thereby guaranteeing Trumps victory. Afterwards, the Democrats and the corporate media would have portrayed the outcome as being in accordance with the Constitution, and any legal challenge would have been rejected by Trumps stooges on the Supreme Court. That the coup failed owes not at all to opposition from the Democratic Party, and certainly not to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, who was appealing for the would-be dictator to go on national television and call off his own coup. The U.S. Capitol under siege by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021. CC BY 4.0] [Photo by Tyler Merbler It seems clear, however, that large sections of the military-intelligence apparatus were watching and waiting, aware of the coup plot but not joining in until it became clearer who would prevail. Trumps failure to reach the Capitolunder circumstances that remain to be clarifieddeprived the mob of on-the-spot leadership and led to its energy being dissipated until police reinforcements arrived, after long delays, to clear the building. There are vital questions posed by the latest revelations, and all of the information brought forward by the six televised hearings held so far by the House Select Committee on the January 6 attack. Who were Trumps accomplices and co-conspirators? An action as far-reaching as a coup detat in the United States could not be the work of an individual, even a president. Trump required dozens, if not hundreds and thousands of co-conspirators, willing to break the law and trample on the Constitution. Hutchinsons testimony identified Meadows, Giuliani and seven Republican representatives as inquiring about or actively seeking presidential pardons for their actions on January 6, a clear indication of consciousness of guilt. But there must be many more. What was the role of the military-intelligence apparatus? No coup can succeed without the active support or passive consent of the armed forces. For more than three hours, the Pentagon delayed approval of the dispatch of National Guard troops to defend the Capitol. No credible explanation has been given for this delay. Neither acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller nor any high-ranking uniformed officer has given public testimony about their actions on January 6. What were they doing? Who were they in contact with? What discussions were held? What was Trump doing in the Oval Office as the attack unfolded? According to Hutchinson, chief of staff Meadows told her several times during those hours that Trump wanted to be alone in his office. Who was he calling, and what did they discuss? He was certainly speaking to members of Congress who were inside the besieged Capitol. What did they discuss? Was he in direct contact with elements in the crowd who had attacked the building? Was he in contact with leaders of the military-intelligence apparatus? What did they discuss? Why was the Capitol so lightly defended, and who ordered the stand-down? The threats of violence on January 6 were not made in secret but widely publicized on the internet and even in the corporate media. There had been previous incidents of violence, including dress-rehearsal attacks on state capitols and the fascist plot to kidnap and kill Michigans Democratic governor. Yet the Capitol Police were under no extraordinary alert, and there was no preemptive mobilization of the police and military, as there certainly would have been if Trump had won the election and there were threats of a left-wing protest against the certification of his victory. What was the Democratic Party doing before the attack? It was clear to the Democrats what Trumps intentions were. He had made no secret of his defiance of the election results, and Biden had said, months before the election, that Trumps possible rejection of an election defeat was his greatest concern. But after the election Biden and the Democrats spread complacency, suggesting that there was no substance to Trumps refusal to concede, only his psychological inability to admit defeat. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the top official in Congress, took no action to fortify the Capitol before the certification vote, which Trump was publicly targeting for attack. What was Biden doing on January 6? As president-elect, Biden began to receive national security briefings from November 30 on (after an initial delay due to Trumps refusal to concede defeat). Biden was privy to all the information available to the intelligence apparatus about the threatened violence on January 6, which could not have come as a surprise to him. Yet he said nothing for hours. Why not? Why didnt he go on television as soon as the dimensions of the attack became apparent and denounce it? Was he in contact with the military-intelligence leadership and, like them, biding his time? Why, when he finally did speak out publicly, was it in the form of an appeal to Trump rather than to the American people? The comments of House Select Committee members after the hearing and the press coverage which ensued combine to bury these vital political questions, reducing everything to the small change of Trumps personal conductDid he grab the wheel of his protective vehicle, or attack his Secret Service bodyguard, or smash his dinner plate against the wall? The leading press voices trivialize the hearing, with the Washington Post editorializing, Jan. 6 testimony shows that Donald Trump is unhinged. Voters must listen. And the New York Times, which did not even write an editorial, published a news analysis headlined, A President Untethered: In the final, frenzied days of his administration, Donald J. Trumps behavior turned increasingly volatile as he smashed dishware and lunged at his own Secret Service agent. At most, the commentary revolves around whether Trump can be or will be criminally indicted for his actions or about the impact of these revelations on the upcoming midterm elections. Neither the media nor the Democrats care to discuss what the consequences would have been if Trumps coup had been successful. What would America have looked like on January 7, 2021? Or on January 20, 2021, with the peaceful transition of power forestalled? Or today? The revelations about January 6 cannot, however, be put back in the bottle. The majority of Americans now believe, according to most polling, that Trump should be indicted and prosecuted for his actions. The Socialist Equality Party fully embraces that sentiment. The Democratic Party is fearful that in the event of a trial of Trump, there would be evidence coming out of the vast extent of the conspiracy, including large sections of the Republican Party, those whom Biden declares to be his colleagues and friends. That is why the investigation into January 6 has been dragged out over nearly 18 months, with the most explosive revelations delayed until now. Even the latest exposure seems due to the desire to weaken Trump and his political faction in the November elections, not to alert the American people to the mounting danger to their democratic rights. But in every capital around the world, capitalist governments understand very well that the United States, the most powerful and heavily armed country in the world, came within minutes of a successful coup, which was forestalled only by bad luck and incompetence on the part of the coup plottersand that the coup plotters are all at liberty to try again. The latest revelations are a powerful vindication of the contemporaneous warnings made by the World Socialist Web Site and the Socialist Equality Party. In the months leading up to the election, and with increasing force afterwards, we sought to alert the working class to the threat to democratic rights from Trumps open preparations for authoritarian rule. Within hours of the coup, David North, editorial chairman of the WSWS and national chairman of the SEP, wrote: What occurred yesterday was the outcome of a carefully planned conspiracy. It was instigated by Donald Trump, who has been working with a gang of fascist conspirators strategically positioned within the White House and other powerful institutions, departments and agencies of the state. The conspiracy utilized the well-known techniques of modern coups. The plotters identified the meeting of the Congress to ratify Bidens Electoral College majority as the propitious time for action. The assault was prepared by weeks of lying claims by Trump and his minions that the 2020 election had been stolen. North noted the weak defenses of the Capitol, the lack of response by the military, the pathetic spinelessness of the Democratic Party, and Bidens remarkable appeal for Trump to call off the insurrection, which North aptly characterized as Bidens Hitler, do the right thing speech. The next day, the Socialist Equality Party issued a statement calling for an open, public, televised, live-streamed investigation into all aspects of the events of January 6, 2021, the first-ever attempt by a president to overthrow the American government and establish a dictatorship. Eighteen months later, this political demand must be raised with redoubled force. Events in the United States continue to demonstrate that the capitalist political system is so thoroughly dominated by the forces of extreme political reaction that it is impossible to address urgent social problems or protect basic democratic rights except through a revolutionary social struggle against the entire establishment. From the deadly mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24 and the Supreme Courts decision last week banning abortion, to the 53 immigrant deaths from an overheated trailer in Texas on Monday, the reactionary dynamic of American capitalist politics is on display. The Republican Party, increasingly dominated by fascists, stakes out a position of unprecedented extreme reaction. No matter their legislative minority and regardless of the unpopularity of their right-wing goals, they proceed ruthlessly, breaking democratic norms, trampling opposition and employing the language of civil war. The Democratic Party adapts to the Republicans and offers compromise after compromise in the name of bipartisanship with their Republican colleagues. No matter the size of their legislative majority and regardless of how popular their position may be, they are thwarted by the smallest of obstacles and their entire agenda is derailed by a single senator, an errant federal judge or by the Senate parliamentarian. The facts that are emerging from San Antonio, Texas, are nightmarish. The immigrant death toll has now risen above 50, with the known victims coming from Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. A worker at a nearby job site told the press that he ran to the trailer on Monday evening after hearing screams coming from the area. San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said at a press conference Monday night that the trailer contained stacks of bodies that were hot to the touch. Temperatures in the area reached a high of 103 degrees Fahrenheit earlier in the day, and those immigrants who were still alive were suffering from extreme heat exhaustion and dehydration. Were not supposed to open up a truck and see stacks of bodies in there, Hood said. None of us come to work imagining that. According to reports in the Mexican and Central American press, the victims were impoverished workers and small farmers attempting to escape deep poverty and violence that has devastated the region after over a century of US imperialist exploitation and war. The immigrants were forced to enter the United States illegally because both big business parties have spent billions of dollars militarizing the border in recent decades. Their deaths are not merely a tragedy, but a great social crime against the international working class. The Republican Party responded by demanding a vicious attack on the rights of immigrants and the further militarization of the border. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a fascist supporter of Trump, blamed Biden for the deaths, tweeting: They are a result of his deadly open border policies. They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law. Tom Homan, former director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under Donald Trump, said: Together with open borders, catch-and-release, and no chance of being deported, the most vulnerable people in the world will put themselves in the hands of criminal cartels to seek the promise that Biden and [DHS Secretary Alejandro] Mayorkas have made. There are increasing calls for Mayorkas to resign on the grounds that even the record level of deportations under Biden is not enough. The Biden administration responded to these criticisms by pledging additional crackdowns on immigrants. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said yesterday that the fact of the matter is the border is closed. Secretary Mayorkas responded by pledging further police-military action at the border: We will work alongside our partners to hold those responsible for this tragedy accountable and continue to take action to disrupt smuggling networks. In reality, the Biden administration has continued Trumps crackdown on immigrants, arresting more undocumented people in 2021 than Trump ever did in a single year. Biden has continued to enforce Donald Trumps invocation of Title 42 provisions, effectively stopping immigration at the southern border under the auspices of public health. As the New York Times recently admitted, Bidens immigration policies mean that despite Mr. Bidens campaign pledges for a changed approach to immigrants, border controls remain largely the same as they were under President Trump. In April 2022, the Democratic Party proved unable to overcome lower court opposition to Bidens eventual attempt to revoke the titles restrictions. A Trump-appointed district court judge in Texas issued a ruling requiring Title 42 remain in place, and the Biden administration accepted the ruling without a political fight while it appeals to the Supreme Court, where it will inevitably lose. Similarly, another Trump-appointed district court judge ruled last week that it was illegal for Biden to implement any restrictions on deportation arrests based on length of time in the country or prior criminal record. On the latter decision, the New York Times wrote that it renders millions of people vulnerable to deportation. Despite the fact that Biden is clothed in enormous power and is backed by congressional majorities, his administration has expended little to no political capital opposing the fact that two far-right, unelected lower court judges appointed by a coup plotter are forcing the implementation of Trumps immigration policy. The Biden administration made a further political concession to the far-right on Monday by dropping the nomination of Ed Gonzalez for ICE director. For months, Trump-backers in the Republican Senate have blocked Gonzalezs nomination on the grounds that he criticized Trumps attacks on immigrants. While serving as sheriff of Harris County, Texas, a position which he still holds, Gonzalez also ended a partnership with ICE. Opposition to Gonzalez came from the far-right, but the nomination was crushed by the Democratic Party, which pulled Gonzalezs nomination because at least three Senate Democrats did not support him. ICE agents constitute a bulwark within the state for Trumps ongoing fascist plotting. Their union endorsed Trump in the 2020 election. The Democratic Partys fecklessness on questions involving democratic rights stands in stark contrast to their ruthlessness in prosecuting the interests of American imperialism on a world scale. The Biden administration has conducted the war against Russia in Ukraine with an alacrity and resolve that brooks no opposition. It doles out billions of dollars in weapons to far-right forces in the Ukrainian government without any public discussion about the potential implications of a military confrontation with Russia. It deploys thousands of soldiers to Russias western borders, employs recklessly belligerent language, threatens its detractors and suppresses and censors opposition domestically. In response to every blow from the right, the Democratic Party, including figures like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, claim that the solution is voting for more Democrats. The Democratic Socialists of America asserts that the Democrats can be pressured from below to take a firm stand against the Republican right. Nothing could be further from the truth. The response of the Democratic Party to the tragic crime in San Antonio makes plain that the fight for basic democratic rights can only take place through the development of a movement against the Democratic and Republican Parties. Efforts by groups like the DSA to work within the Democratic Party are efforts to trap growing social opposition and harness it behind the Democratic Partys reactionary political aims. The two-party system is a reactionary and anti-democratic trap. By design, it cannot be reformed from within. Third parties are banned from the ballot and ignored by the corporate media. A handful of senators from unpopulated western and midwestern states dominate the Senate. The filibuster gives a veto to the most extreme elements within the legislature. The Supreme Court issues reactionary decisions and its justices are not impeached even when implicated in Trumps coup attempt of January 6. The social interests of masses of working people find no expression in this rotten capitalist political setup. The interests of the international working class can only be given voice through a mass socialist movement independent of the state and capitalist parties. The protection of basic democratic rights including abortion and the rights of immigrants requires the socialist transformation of society. In recent weeks, COVID-19 cases and deaths have surged in Taiwan, with tens of thousands of new infections occurring daily. This is the result of Taipeis decision to remove virus mitigation measures and to allow the deadly virus to run rampant. The corporate media has hailed Taipeis actions as part of the agenda of placing profits before lives and also to demonize Beijings zero-COVID policy. COVID-19 vaccination in Hsinchu, Taiwan (Image: Wikimedia) As of Tuesday, Taiwan officially recorded 311,253 cases for the previous week, the most throughout all of Asia. This was more than three times as many as Japan, which recorded the second-largest number of cases in Asia in that period, according to the Worldometer website. Taiwan was surpassed globally only by the far more populous countries of Germany, the United States, France, Brazil, and Italy. Given the increased use of the more unreliable rapid antigen tests in Taiwan, it is almost certain that the actual number of cases is much higher. Taken as a percentage of population, the outbreak in Taiwan, with 23.9 million people, reveals an even more tragic situation. A total of 980 people, or 41 people per million, have died in the past week alone, one of the highest per capita rates in the world. Throughout the course of the pandemic, 6,448 people have died from COVID-19 in Taiwan, the vast majority in the last two months. By contrast, mainland China, with a population of over 1.4 billion people, has had just 5,226 deaths, and none since the end of May when Beijing successfully halted a major outbreak in Shanghai. The decision to allow COVID-19 to run rampant is being portrayed as a response to the latest outbreak that began in April. Falsely claiming that 99.5 percent of cases were mild or asymptomatic, Premier Su Tseng-chang stated that month, We will not lock down cities like Shanghai did, but we also wont remove our masks or stop taking virus prevention measures. However, the decision had been made long before that to abandon all mitigation measures. According to Nikkei Asia on April 15, an anonymous Western diplomat in Taipei, concerned about the impact of COVID restrictions on big business, stated that the government told us three months ago they had decided to open up But we have seen very little progress. In other words, Taipeis claim that cases in the current outbreak were mild and therefore had allowed the island to remove restrictions is fraudulent. Instead, Tsai Ing-wens government was looking for an excuse to lift restrictions that would not anger the population, with many still favoring restrictions. A poll at the end of April found that 46.3 percent of people favored a zero-COVID policy while 45 percent supposedly supported living with the virus. Anti-Beijing propaganda undoubtedly played a role in decreased support for mitigation measures from earlier in the pandemic. All of this is before the introduction of the highly contagious and immune-evading BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants to Taiwan. On Monday, Taiwans Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced that it had discovered 61 cases of BA.4 and BA.5 infections in travelers arriving from abroad, between June 10 and 18, bringing the total number to 126. While no cases of domestic transmission of these subvariants have been recorded yet, it is only a matter of time. Despite the fact that the two subvariants have been driving a new surge of COVID-19 cases around the globe, this has not caused the Tsai government to rethink its lifting nearly all mitigation measures, including quarantine procedures for those testing positive and for both close contacts and overseas travelers. While quarantine for people with positive tests has been cut to seven days, that of close contacts has been reduced to three days with four days of self-monitoring. The definition of a close contact has also been scaled back to include only those living together or working in close proximity. On May 3, the same day new COVID cases officially soared to 23,128 on the island, Taipei announced it would reduce its 10-day quarantine requirement for new arrivals to seven days. By the end of the month, the island saw a record-high of 94,610 new daily cases on May 27. On June 15, the requirement was slashed further to three days. All of this means the quarantines are largely useless and will likely be scrapped in the near future. The contrast between Beijings widely popular zero-COVID response on the mainland and Taipeis decision to allow the deadly virus to tear through the population is stark. While Beijings policy has saved millions of lives and successfully contained outbreaks, Tsais government and her ruling Democratic Progressive Party is sacrificing the population to the interests of global finance capital. Led by Wall Street, the ruling classes around the world have denounced Beijings zero-COVID approach, complaining about the impact on the global economy. The Washington Post, for example, wrote on April 29, as the outbreak in Taiwan gained steam, The mounting economic cost and human toll of Chinas unflinching zero covid policy has given ammunition to those who believe a shift to living with the virus is inevitable. The Taiwanese bourgeoisie, however, is not simply bending to pressure from foreign capital. Its earlier promotion of virus restrictions was not based on concern for the population, but out of fear that allowing the virus to run rampant would lead to widespread anger in the working class, similar to the mass discontent that was expressed during the 20022004 SARS epidemic. Now with the widespread promotion of anti-mainland sentiment in the establishment media contrasting with Taiwans very successful approach, in the words of the Guardianin May, Taipei feels it can lift restrictions, while drawing a false equivalence between virus elimination measures and authoritarianism. This is also the tactic Washington is using to blame China for the growing economic crisis around the world, contrasting the supposedly democratic Taiwan to mainland China. In doing so, Washington is seeking to challenge the One China policy that states that Taiwan is a part of China, which the US formally acknowledges. Throughout the course of the pandemic, first under Trump and then Biden, Washington has falsely accused Beijing of being responsible for the pandemic while holding up Taiwan as an example to be followed, thereby challenging Beijings legitimacy. The mounting toll of infections and deaths gives the lie to these claims and underscores the criminal character of the let-it-rip policy being pursued by virtually every government around the globe including in Taiwan and the US. Immigrant detainee workers are on strike in at least two California immigrant prisons, after mounting violations and labor abuses, according to reports received by Northern California Public Radio Station KQED, which received information about the strike directly from detainees. The U.S. Immigration and Enforcement Processing Center operated by GEO Group, Inc. (GEO) in Adelanto, California. [AP Photo/Richard Vogel] Unsafe working conditions and heinously low wages have propelled the strike. Workers, who are defined as housing porters, reported cleaning bathrooms and dormitories for the nominal wage of $1 a day, despite the $15 an hour minimum wage in California. The two private federal immigrant detention centers in California where the strikes are occurring are operated by the GEO Group, Inc., one of the largest private prison corporations in the United States. According to statements from detainees to KQED, the migrants in Golden State Annex in McFarland (near Bakersfield in Central California) have been striking since June 6 and in the Mesa Verde Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center in Bakersfield since April 28. They are demanding to be paid the minimum wage, as well as sanitary and safe working conditions. Strikers at Golden State Annex noted in their statement, We are being exploited for our labor and are being paid $1 per day to clean the dormitories. Meanwhile, private prison corporations like The GEO Group receive tens of millions each year to accommodate us detained in ICE custody. The GEO is a sprawling international corporation raking in a revenue of $551 million in the first quarter of 2022 and operates security facilities in the US, United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa, according to its own website. These labor strikes are happening as Californias Division of Occupational Safety and Health, also known as Cal/OSHA, is investigating the unsanitary conditions at the Golden State Annex in McFarland due to a complaint filed by the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice last month on behalf of seven detainees. The complaint accuses GEO of maintaining unsafe facilities, with large spots of black mold in the showers and black fibrous dust particles pushed into the dormitorys air through HVAC vents. Mold spores in the air can cause asthma, allergic rhinitis, eczema, respiratory infections such as bronchitis and more, according to the California Department of Health. Doctors for one of the seven detainees in the complaint, Vladimir, discovered a spot on his lung through an X-ray. He told KQED, I am afraid because my lung has been impacted. I have problems breathing. The dust and mold are bad for our health, and unfortunately, we are in a place where it feels that they dont care about our health. GEO has replied to the workers protest by denying there is a strike at either facility, telling KQED, Choosing not to participate in a voluntary program cannot constitute a labor strike. This claim shows the corporations unwillingness to even acknowledge the grievances of their exploited labor force or even the most rudimentary of workers rights. While GEO is given millions of dollars from the US government to barbarically detain immigrants, they exploit the cheap labor of these immigrants and force them to return their paltry wages for basic necessities that are marked up in prison commissaries. Akin to a company store, this cycle can only be compared to forced labor. COVID-19 has ripped through jails and prisons for migrants and non-migrants alike across the country throughout the pandemic, highlighting the disregard for human life by the ruling class. Like all the other state-run and for-profit facilities, GEO has flagrantly deprived detainees of basic safety measures during the pandemic, with more than half of all detainees at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Facility in Bakersfield testing positive for COVID-19 in 2020 due to lack of safety measures, resulting in a class action lawsuit that earned the victims settlements, according to the Bakersfield Californian. Seeking to tamp down popular anger sparked by the exposure of these conditions, President Joe Biden signed an executive order barring the Department of Justice from renewing contracts with for-profit prisons. This resulted in private prison corporations such as GEO shifting more attention and resources to immigration detention facilities which do not fall under the ban. The GEO and the private prison industry have spent considerable amounts of capital on politicians who enact policies that result in more immigrants getting detained and, therefore, guarantee more profits for the corporation. According to the National Immigration Justice Center, ICEs more than 200 immigrant detention centers were given $3 billion for maintenance by Congress in 2021. Between January 2017 and April 2020, 39 adults died in ICE custody or quickly after being released. Prison labor is a sizeable economic force in the United States. A June 15 report by the ACLU revealed that prison workers produced $11 billion worth of goods and services annually, with compensation ranging between a punishing 13 cents to 52 cents per hour. More than half of this wage is spent by prisoners on hygiene products and medical care. Of the prisoners polled, 70 percent said they could not afford basic necessities, and 76 percent said they work under the threat of punishment. Prison workers in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas do most of their work without any compensation at all. The inhuman conditions in federal prisons have also sparked a hunger strike by 80 inmates at the federal prison in Sheridan, Oregon, according to federal public defender Lisa Hay. She claims that inmates should be released due to inhumane conditions that are unconstitutional. At least six inmates have died in the Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan since March 2020, allegedly not due to COVID-19. The dangerous conditions forced upon immigrants and refugees, caused by the policies enacted by Democrats and Republicans and currently enforced by the Biden administration, have resulted in repeated tragedies and reflect a deep hostility to the working class. The Biden administration has continued Donald Trumps Remain in Mexico policy and has arrested more immigrants in 2021 than any single year of the Trump presidency. On June 27, at least 51 undocumented immigrants died crammed into a truck in 103 degree Fahrenheit temperatures in San Antonio, Texas, trying to avoid the Border Patrol and to escape the conditions of their home countries resulting from the intervention of US imperialism. This comes just a few days after Spanish and Moroccan police took the lives of 37 refugees and injured hundreds attempting to cross the Moroccan border into the Spanish exclave of Melilla. The massacre took place right before a NATO summit held in Madrid, where the PSOE/Podemos government demanded that NATO consider migration as a hybrid threat, in order to justify stepped-up repression of refugees and imperialist actions in Africa. On June 13 it was announced that the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in favor of the Biden administrations challenge of the three lower court rulings that entitled non-citizens to a potential bail hearing while waiting for their objections to deportation to be resolved. These reactionary rulings will result in countless immigrants, who are no threat to society and pose no risk of fleeing, to be trapped and incarcerated, while private corporations exploit their labor through force. Earlier this June, Australias Home Affairs Minister Clare ONeil went to Sri Lanka to demand that President Gotabaya Rajapakses despised regime stop desperate asylum seekers from leaving their home country, showing the anti-refugee sentiments of the ruling class in Australia. In 2021, a record 86 million people were estimated to have been forcibly displaced from their homes, a testament to the impact of imperialism and income inequality around the world. The capitalist ruling elite in every country reacts to this reality with disregard for human rights and hostility to the working class through increased measures of oppression against immigrants and refugees. The militarization of the US-Mexico border and the crackdown on basic human rights for immigrants do not speak to the strength of US imperialism but its weakness and desperation. The working class is an international class and must unite across capitalist borders in order to fight these atrocities and uphold the right of workers to live and work where they please, free from harassment and repression. In office less than six weeks, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has fully committed his Labor government to the rapidly escalating US-NATO war against Russia and the extension of the offensive to China, which Washington regards as the main threat to its global hegemony. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol, from left, pose for media in a group photo of Indo-Pacific partners nations during the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, on Wednesday, June 29, 2022. [AP Photo/Manu Fernandez] At the NATO Leaders Summit in Spain, Albanese aligned himself behind the statements of US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the lead-up to the event, calling for a stepped-up war against Russia. In a speech, Albanese gave an iron-clad commitment that Australia would be in the forefront of standing up for sovereignty through its actions in both Europe and the Indo-Pacific region. Albanese specifically hailed the formation of a NATO-affiliated Asia-Pacific Four, consisting of the four closest allies of the US in the regionJapan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australiawhose leaders were invited to the NATO summit for the first time, where they held an inaugural meeting of the grouping. Albanese said the presence of the AP4 signified that there are also issues in our own region that need to be dealt with. The AP4 is a frontline component of the expansion of NATOs operations from Europe to confront China, on the other side of the strategically critical and resource-rich Eurasian landmass. NATOs new strategic concept, adopted by its 30 leaders, brackets China with Russia as an alleged threat to the global order. It denounces the deepening strategic partnership between the PRC [China] and the Russian Federation and their mutually reinforcing attempts to undercut the rules-based international order run counter to our values and interests. Referring to the intensifying conflict between the US and China, Albanese declared: We recognise there is strategic competition in our region, and Australia is not afraid to stand up with all the countries of our region for an open, inclusive, and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Under my government, it will be through Australias actions that you will see our resolve. Albanese linked the US-NATO war against Russia, triggered by goading Moscow into a reactionary invasion of Ukraine, to the mounting campaign by the US and its allies to ignite a similar war against China, possibly over Taiwan. By supporting peace and sovereignty in Europe, we are underscoring our iron-clad commitment to these norms in our own region, the Indo-Pacific. He told a NATO gathering: Just as Russia seeks to recreate a Russian or Soviet empire, the Chinese government is seeking friends, whether it be through economic support to build up alliances to undermine what has historically been the Western alliance in places like the Indo Pacific. This is under conditions in which Biden has ramped-up US ties with Taiwan, undermining the 50-year-old One China policy of recognising Beijing as the government of all of China, including Taiwan. He has declared that the US would defend the island militarily if China sought to reunify it with the Chinese mainland. Australia shared a common purpose with NATO, Albanese stated, in supporting democracy, peace, and security and upholding the rule of law, whether it is in this region or ours. These are code words for upholding the global order imposed by Washington on the back of the defeat of German and Japanese imperialism in World War II. By engaging with NATO and by strengthening our global partnerships, we are steadfast in fighting for our core values of fairness, and for the sovereignty of all states, big and small. Not just in the Indo-Pacific, but around the world, Albanese said. What is meant by this fighting was underscored the previous day by the new head of Britains armed forces, General Sir Patrick Sanders. The British Army must be prepared to engage in warfare at its most violent, he declared, in order to fight and win against Russia. Biden had sent a similar message. At a joint press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez ahead of the summit, he accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of genocide. Biden said Putins objective was to eliminate Ukrainian culture and Russias invasion of Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe. In an interview with the Australian Financial Review en route to the NATO summit, Albanese said that, as prime minister, he had no option but to travel to NATO and other such summits. World events, at what he described as the most significant point in history in many decades, drove home that Australia was not isolated from aggression like that of Russia. In that interview, Albanese declared his governments readiness to expand the $285 million in military assistance to Ukraine, as well as the $60 million in humanitarian aid, offered by the previous Liberal-National Coalition government. He boasted that Australia was already the largest non-NATO contributor. Such increased expenditure will be on top of the vast rise in military spending involved in the AUKUS pact signed by the Coalition government with the US and UK last September, featuring the purchase of nuclear-powered attack submarines, hypersonic missiles and other advanced weaponry. That means cutting essential social spending, including on health, education, aged care, disability services, as already foreshadowed by Treasurer Jim Chalmers. As if to highlight the deliberate development of a wartime atmosphere, Albanese stopped off on the way to the summit for a photo shoot with about 50 Australian troops at the Al Minhad desert base outside Dubai from where Australias operations in the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were based. From the very day they took office, Albanese and his senior ministers have engaged in a hectic series of overseas missions to support the Biden administrations escalation of its confrontation with China. Albaneses trip is his third since the May 21 election, starting with his rush to the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) summit with Biden and the Japanese and Indian prime ministers in Tokyo to step up their alliance against China. Then he went to Indonesia to defend the AUKUS pact, against the grave concerns in Jakarta and other Southeast Asian capitals about AUKUS setting off a regional arms race. Next month Albanese will continue the offensive by attending the Pacific Islands forum of Southwestern Pacific government leaders in Fiji, where China will also dominate discussions. Last Sunday night, just before flying out of Australia for the NATO summit, Albanese set the tone for the meeting in Fiji by conducting a phone conversation with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manesseh Sogavare. On his arrival in Spain, Albanese gave some indication of the ongoing browbeating of Sogavare. He told reporters: Prime Minister Sogavare reconfirmed his position that Australia remains the security partner of choice, a statement that he made of course, to Foreign Minister Wong. During the campaign for the May 21 election, Albanese and Penny Wong, now the foreign minister, denounced the Coalition government for not stopping Sogavare signing a vague security treaty with China. Wong declared it was the worst foreign policy blunder in the Pacific since the end of World War II. After the Quad summit, she quickly flew to Honiara to warn Sogavare against any military arrangements with China. Without any public debate or consultation, and despite having been elected with the support of less than a third of the voters, the Labor government is moving rapidly. It is going even further than its predecessor, Scott Morrisons hated Coalition administration, to place the population on the frontline of a potentially catastrophic third world war, ignited by the US against two nuclear-armed countries, Russia and China. Democratic and Republican primary elections were held in seven states Tuesday, with the outcome confirming the two main trends of the 2022 election campaign so far: the dominant role of pro-Trump fascists in the Republican Party and the primacy of the Democratic Party establishment over challenges from left candidates backed by Bernie Sanders or Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. The main contests Tuesday were in Illinois, Colorado and New York, with primaries of lesser significance or runoffs affecting only a few nominations in Nebraska, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah. In the Illinois primary, the evolution of the Republicans into an ever more openly fascist party was bolstered in the most important contest by the support the ultra-right candidate for governor received from the Democrats, based on the narrowest electoral calculations. Another significant factor was the obscene amount of money involved. The intervention of three billionaires, one Democratic and two Republican, made it one of the most expensive primary elections on record. State Senator Darren Bailey, who embraces Trumps stolen election lies and opposes mask wearing and abortion rights, took about 57 percent of the Republican vote and will face sitting governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, in the general election in November. Bailey is an open racist and semi-fascist, having referred to Chicago as a hellhole, and has advocated partition of the state to exclude its largest city. Naturally, he had Trumps endorsement. Richard Irvin, former mayor of Aurora and criminal defense attorney, who was supported with $50 million in campaign contributions, took 15 percent of the vote, trailing a lesser known candidate, venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan, by a margin of 0.7 percentage points. Last Saturday, Trump appeared in Quincy, Illinois to support Baileys campaign and that of the extreme right-winger and open admirer of Adolf Hitler, US Representative Mary Miller. At that event, Miller referred to the US Supreme Courts overturn of Roe v. Wade last Friday as a victory for white life. Miller, who took 57 percent of the vote, defeated the more moderate Republican Rodney Davis, who took 43 percent of the vote, in the recently redrawn 15th district that created a contest between two Republican members of Congress. Davis had voted to certify the 2020 election results and supported the formation of an independent bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 attack on the Capitol, which was blocked by a filibuster in the Senate. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., speaking at a news conferencel in Washington on July 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik File) Battle of the billionaires Citadel hedge fund founder and billionaire Ken Griffin backed Irvin in the Republican gubernatorial primary with $50 million, accounting for a reported 90 percent of his total campaign cash. Irvin then passed funds on to other Republicans. Griffin, the richest man in Illinois, has reportedly become the largest single Republican mega-donor in the US. Dick Uihlein, the billionaire head of ULINE shipping and office supplies, backed Bailey with about $9 million directly and $8 million to a political action committee, and also gave $3 million to Mary Millers campaign. Pritzker himself is a billionaire, part of the family which inherited the Hyatt Hotel fortune. He spent $175 million on his first election in 2018, and is expected to spend even more this year. In a cynical and reckless move, Pritzker directed $37 million, via the Democratic Governors Association, towards the nomination of Bailey against Irvin, on the presumption Bailey will be easier for him to beat in the general election in November. Thus the Democrats are actively assisting in the consolidation of the Republican Party into a more openly fascist organization. Pritzker and the Democrats funded ads that portrayed Irvin, who is African American, as too moderate for the Republican Party nomination, and, along similar lines, funded ads underscoring Baileys right-wing extremist politics, both aimed at ginning up Republican votes for this fascist. The DGA also ran ads attacking Irvin from the right, portraying the former criminal defense attorney as soft on crime, ads which Pritzker defended in media interviews in April. Irvins campaign told the press the DGA spent $26.8 million in advertising to support Bailey and defeat Irvin, with Pritzker himself contributing more than $6 million. In his concession remarks, Irvin referred to the Democrats intervention in the Republican primary and seemed to throw his support behind the extremist wing of the party: Listen, I hope this governor is wrong in his assessment that he can easily defeat the opponent he paid tens of millions of dollars to face. But if this governor is correct and if he does easily prevail, we as citizens must rise up. Republicans nominated the Uihlein-backed candidate for Illinois attorney general, Thomas DeVore, over the candidate Griffin supported, Steve Kim. DeVore, who campaigned on his support for guns, came to prominence for opposing COVID-19 mitigations and vaccines, having filed lawsuits against Governor Pritzker over the statewide masking policies, and against Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and other school district leaders for encouraging teachers to get COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccine policy is often referred to as a mandate in the press, but as the WSWS reported, it was not a mandate. Employees could opt out, and instead submit to weekly testing, while continuing to work as before. Voter turnout was extremely low, indicating widespread alienation from the billionaire vs. billionaire contests. Turnout in the states largest city, Chicago, was reported as 20 percent, or about 300,000. In Democratic contests for congressional seats, Representative Sean Casten, a former Republican and green capitalist, defeated Representative Marie Newman, whose campaign was torpedoed by ethics charges related to her having hired a would-be primary opponent to forestall a challenge. The two representatives were thrown into the contest against each other by redistricting. In the first congressional district in south side Chicago, where incumbent Democrat Bobby Rush is retiring, Jonathan Jackson, a son of the Reverend Jesse Jackson Jr., won a contest among more than a dozen candidates. In the newly created third district, embracing part of Chicagos west side, Delia Ramirez won the Democratic nomination. In the seventh district, also on the south side, Rep. Danny Davis barely retained his seat against a progressive challenger, Kina Collins. Democratic Socialists of America member Anthony Joel Quezada won a seat on the Cook County Commission. Results in Colorado and New York In Colorado, a Democratic Party effort to boost more right-wing candidates in the Republican primaries for US Senate, governor and the newly created Eighth Congressional District all failed. Ron Hanks, a state legislator who marched on January 6, 2021 to the US Capitol, lost his bid for the US Senate nomination to businessman Joel ODea, who will face incumbent Democrat Michael Bennet in November. Greg Sanchez, a former mayor of Parker, Colorado, lost the gubernatorial nomination to Heidi Ganahl, a regent of the University of Colorado, who will face incumbent Governor Jared Polis in November. Another fascist Republican failed to win nomination for secretary of state, the top statewide election official. Tina Peters, the former clerk of Mesa County, is an advocate of Trumps stolen election lies who faces seven felony counts for breaking into voting machines seeking evidence of election fraud. She finished a poor third. The fascist representative Lauren Boebert easily won renomination in her Third Congressional District, which covers the largely rural western and southern parts of the state. Just before the vote, Boebert remarked that she was tired of this separation of church and state junk. According to the Founding Fathers, she said, the church is supposed to direct the government. In New York state, sitting Governor Kathy Hochul easily won the Democratic Party nomination over two opponents, including one, New York City public advocate Jumaane Williams, who had the support of the pseudo-left. Hochuls chosen running-mate for lieutenant governor, two-term representative Antonio Delgado, won the nomination over Ana Maria Archila, a candidate backed by Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. Primary contests for congressional seats in New York have been pushed back to August 23 because of late court-ordered changes in the boundaries of congressional districts. Two disgraced Republican congressmen were defeated or replaced in other votes. In Nebraska, Representative Jeff Fortenberry resigned his seat after being convicted of lying to the FBI about illegal foreign campaign contributions. Republican State Senator Mike Wilson won the special election to replace him. In Mississippi, Representative Steven Palazzo was defeated in a runoff for the Republican nomination by Sheriff Mike Ezell. Palazzo faced ethics charges over misuse of congressional and campaign funds. The overturn of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision has sparked mass protests across the United States and outrage throughout the world. As the WSWS stated: For the first time in American history, the Supreme Court eliminated a fundamental constitutional right broadly recognized and supported by the overwhelming majority of the countrys population. A group of unelected, extreme right-wing Christian judges suddenly made abortion illegal for hundreds of millions of people. The ruling sets a precedent for further attacks on basic rights and freedoms, including access to contraception and protections for same-sex relationships. The attack on these rights, while it is sharpest in the US, is by no means a purely American phenomenon. Internationally, the ruling class is promoting far-right forces in order to divide and suppress working people, who are beginning to fight back against the never-ending attacks on their living standards, the expanding imperialist war, and homicidal let it rip pandemic policies. New Zealand National Party leader Christopher Luxon (Image: Christopher Luxon Facebook) The US Supreme Court ruling threw New Zealands conservative National Party, the main parliamentary opposition, into something of a crisis. It lifted the lid on the anti-abortion views espoused by a majority of its members of parliament, including leader Christopher Luxon. Soon after the overturn of Roe v. Wade, National MP Simon OConnor posted on Facebook: Today is a good day, in large lettering surrounded by love hearts. Among those who liked the message were fellow party member Simeon Brown and far-right activist Chantelle Baker. Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki, notorious for anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-LGBT demagogy, applauded OConnors stance and invited him to join the church. Several hours later, after Luxon spoke to OConnor, the post was removed. The party went into damage control, with Luxon issuing a statement saying the post was taken down because it was causing distress and does not represent the position of the National Party. OConnor later told the media he had deleted it because the comments were getting worse and worse and it was very clear to me that people were distressed. Thousands of furious responses to OConnor appeared on social media, including calls for his resignation. A typical comment in the r/newzealand Reddit forum, which received hundreds of upvotes, stated: US politics and conservative religious views can f right off. How can you honestly look at how they are treating womens rights and think yeah thats pretty good ae. Others wrote that notwithstanding Luxons assurances, the National Party cannot be trusted to keep abortion legal. Luxon, who is a fundamentalist Christian, was asked by Newshub last December whether he thought abortion was tantamount to murder. He replied in the affirmative: Thats what a pro-life position is. Luxon could become the next prime minister if the National Party wins the 2023 election. A Roy Morgan poll published on June 7 found support for National at 40 percent, compared with just 31.5 percent for the ruling Labour Party. While this reflects the lack of popular support for both these parties of big business, National would be able to govern if it formed a coalition with the far-right ACT Party. Abortion was only fully legalised in New Zealand in 2020. Prior to that, women had to gain approval for the procedure by declaring that the pregnancy posed a danger to their mental or physical health, or on other grounds such as incest or foetal abnormality. The 2020 Abortion Legalisation Bill was opposed by 51 out of 120 members of parliament (42.5 percent), including 35 of the National Partys 55 MPs at the time. While the Labour Party-led government has criticised Luxons anti-abortion views, in 2020 Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern allowed a conscience vote on the issue. Nine Labour MPs voted against legalising abortion, including Nanaia Mahuta, now the foreign affairs minister. Mahuta has tried to cover her tracks by hypocritically tweeting that the overturn of Roe v. Wade is draconian and does not support the right of women to choose. Seven members of the right-wing nationalist NZ First Party, which played a major role in the Labour-led coalition government at the time, also voted against the law change. In contrast to parliament, popular sentiment is overwhelmingly in favour of abortion rights. The 2021 Gender Attitudes Survey, conducted by Research NZ, found that 74 percent agreed that a woman should have the right to choose whether or not she has an abortion. This had increased from 66 percent in the 2016 survey, demonstrating that most peoples views are becoming more progressive. This correlates with declining religious beliefs: in the 2018 Census, nearly half the population, 48.2 percent, recorded no religion, up from 41.9 percent in 2013. The entire political establishment, however, is lurching to the right. Labours support has plummeted from over 50 percent in the 2020 election, to just over 30 percent in recent polls, as its policies have produced a social and healthcare crisis for the working class. The Labour-led government, which includes the Green Party, has used the pandemic to engineer an historic transfer of wealth to the rich, through bailouts, tax breaks and quantitative easing. Living costs are soaring as wages remain stagnant, leading to a reported 30 percent increase in demand for food banks. A speculative housing bubble has produced a windfall for investors and the banks, while pushing up rents. Meanwhile, the government has implemented the demands of big business and the far-right, including Destiny Church and the New Conservatives, for the removal of vaccine mandates, mask mandates in schools, and other public health measures. As a result, COVID-19 is out of control, killing more than 10 people each day and placing extreme pressure on the underfunded public health system. The Ardern government is spending millions to integrate New Zealand into the US-NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, and to prepare for war against China. It has sent NZ troops to Europe to train Ukrainian forces, and is helping to arm the countrys military, in which far-right extremists play a major role. A series of recent incidents show that right-wing extremists have been emboldened. In February a Russian church in Auckland and a Russian-owned shop in Christchurch were vandalised, and a suspected arson damaged the Contemporary China Research Centre at Victoria University of Wellington. This month, an LGBT community centre in Tauranga was destroyed by arson, and a gay church in Greymouth was defaced with homophobic and antisemitic graffiti. The policies of war abroad, and record levels of social inequality and mass infection at home, are not compatible with democratic rights, in New Zealand any more than in the United States. The US Supreme Court ruling must serve as a warning to workers in every country that the defence of basic rights, including the right to abortion, requires a fight by the working class for the socialist reorganisation of society. General enthusiasm over the prospects of imperialism, furious defence of it and painting it in the brightest colourssuch are the signs of the times, wrote Lenin in his work Imperialism, which analysed the driving forces of the First World War. Left Party top candidate and party chairwoman Janine Wissler The supremacy of finance capital over society and the struggle between the great powers for the division of the world in the First World War had, as the leader of the October Revolution emphasized, caused the propertied classes to go over entirely to the side of imperialism. It would be hard to more aptly characterize the Left Party Congress in Erfurt last weekend. In the midst of the escalating NATO proxy war in Ukraine, which increasingly poses the direct threat of a third world war, the Left Party has abandoned its rhetorical criticism of NATO and stepped forward as a party of war. The party congress was dominated by a hysterical atmosphere in which one speaker after another demanded, to the applause of the delegates, a harder line towards Russia. Here are only a few examples: Gerhard Trabert, the Left Party candidate in the election for Germanys federal president earlier this year, declared: One thing is important to me. Please do not condemn those who are in favour of arms deliveries. I personally have been a doctor in so many relief operations where I have had the experience that the civilian population, in particular, can only be protected against the aggressiveness of a despot by being able to counter something militarily. Thuringian Minister President Bodo Ramelow, who was celebrated prominently at the party congress as the only left minister president in Germanys 16 federal states, made it clear that the Left Party as a party of government is already involved in the supply of arms. Nobody should think that we can decide freely at this level in the end, he said. If the question is whether weapons are orderedand weapons come from Thuringiathen the question is whether I can permit myself to refuse. Ramelows clear answer was No. Putin and Russia had to be stopped. In the style of a right-wing, anti-Russian NATO militarist, he said: I am in favour of finding solutions alongside Ukraine, but also alongside Moldova. So that Russia does not take Transnistria, no one should advocate that Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk become Russian territory. His speech culminated in the statement that the world definitely needs a German power that leads if it ever again wants to refer to the former Social Democratic Party (SPD) Chancellor Willy Brandt and make pledges about peace, disarmament or a non-aggression pact. This statement could hardly be clearer. In all essentials, the Left Party supports the foreign policy of the German government which is using Putins reactionary invasion of Ukraine, provoked by the decades-long NATO offensive against Russia, to return to an aggressive great power policy of war. Just a few days before the Left Party Congress, SPD leader Lars Klingbeil emphasized in a keynote speech on foreign policy that Germany must have the ambition to be a leading power again after almost 80 years of restraint. Klingbeil also referred to Willy Brandt. He already knew that the foundations for a powerful peace policy are also military strength and capability. A group of young Left Party members from the Left Party Youth Solid group was especially aggressive in spreading war hysteria and #MeToo allegations at the congress. For example, 19-year-old Sofia Fellinger described all previous contributions that had not explicitly spoken out in favour of arms deliveries as intolerable in an angry speech. Everyone speaks about peace, she said. Peace comes, but not if you let people die. Peace does not come from hugging tanks. Addressing all those who are so remote from reality, she advised them to go to their Ukrainian comrades who are currently fighting and dying. It is not known whether and how many delegates accepted Fellingers invitation, but the party leadership was only too willing to give these fighting comrades a platform. In a greeting to the congress, Olena Slobbodian, a representative of the Ukrainian left party Sozialny Rukh, boasted: Our comrades are now defending Ukraine as part of the armed forces and territorial defense. In other words, they fight arm in arm with far-right militias such as the Azov Battalion and act as NATO proxies against Russia. Provocatively, Slobbodian asserted: The Ukrainian women are very disappointed by the attitude of Germanys ruling circles, which are in every respect evading practical support for Ukraine. The so-called German military aid for Ukraine was so meagre that it can only provoke a sad smile and sarcastic jokes in Ukraine, she added. In fact, Germany is now one of the largest arms suppliers to Kiev. Significantly, German self-propelled PzH 2000 howitzers arrived in Ukraine during the week of the party congress. According to Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), the training of Ukrainian soldiers on the Cheetah flak tanks and training on the promised multiple rocket launchers are also underway. Further deliveriesincluding the IRIS-T air defense system and tank swaps with Eastern European statesare being worked on at full speed. The goal of NATO and the German government, a military victory over Russia, is essentially shared by the Left Party. At the party congress, the Russian opposition member Oxana Timofeeva, a professor at the European University in Saint Petersburg, declared, A ceasefire is impossible, because it would result in the occupation of Ukrainian territory by Russian troops under the terms of the aggressor. The only way to end this war is for Ukraine to win. For this, it needs the consistent support of other countries, the support of the European Union. For her clear words, Timofeeva was celebrated on social media by leading Left Party representativesincluding the partys former federal affairs officer and security policy spokesman Matthias Hohn. One of the Left Partys key tasks is suppressing any criticism of NATO and the imperialist goals behind the war offensive. The foreign policy spokesman and founding father of the Left Party, Gregor Gysi, shouted to the delegates: Of course, the US is now trying its hand at supplying weapons against Russia. Of course, they now want to weaken Russia. The responsibility, however, lies with the Russian leadership. One should not condemn the war and immediately afterwards say but, and thereby relativize the condemnation of the war. The main motion of the party executive, which was passed at the party congress, follows this line. While Russia is described as a geostrategic center of power in fossil capitalism, which uses a nationalist, militaristic and autocratic great power ideology, it says of NATO: Especially in the Eastern European states, the desire for membership in NATO has grown due to the Russian war of aggression. The war has thus supposedly given NATO new legitimacy. The Left Party self-critically declares that in the past it had paid too little attention to imperial wars beyond NATO, such as Russias military interventions in Chechnya and Syria. Russia has for years been pursuing a policy aimed at keeping the post-Soviet states under the influence of Russia, by attempting to establish authoritarian vassal regimes orif this does not succeedto destabilize the states. There is nothing progressive about the Putin regime. It represents the interests of a mafia oligarchy that has enriched itself enormously since the reintroduction of capitalism by the Stalinist bureaucracy 30 years ago. But the Left Partys main motion turns reality upside down. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, NATO has been systematically encircling Russia. Not only does it destabilize, it conducts wars of aggression and regime-change operations that are contrary to international law and have destroyed entire countries and cost millions of lives. Putins invasion of Ukraine is reactionary, but in Eastern Europe the imperialist powers are the aggressors. In early 2014, Washington and Berlin, supported by fascist forces such as the Svoboda Party and the Right Sector, organized a coup in Ukraine to install an anti-Russian regime. The NATO powers first provoked the invasion of Russia, and now they continue to escalate the confrontation on a daily basis. They aim to militarily subjugate and dismember the resource-rich and geostrategically crucial country so that it can be exploited and dominated by the imperialist powers. The newly elected party leadershipabout which the WSWS will write separatelyhas the task of controlling the growing opposition to this madness and passing on the costs of war to the working class. Already, wherever it governs at the state level with the pro-war and pro-austerity SPD and Greens, the Left Party implements social attacks and brutally pushes ahead with the rearmament of the police and secret services. But the party is increasingly hated by workers and young people. The shroud of its decline hovered over the entire party congress. After catastrophic electoral defeats at the federal and state level and internal power struggles, Gysi warned the Left Party on its 15th birthday that it faces an existential crisis. This admission does not change anything about the political course of the party, which articulates not the interests of the workers but those of the capitalist state and the wealthy middle classes who fear nothing more than revolutionary struggles by the working class. In her speech, party leader Janine Wissler, who was re-elected with just under 58 percent of the vote, said she was strongly in favour of tougher sanctions and trade war measures against Russia. She is fully aware that this will have dramatic consequences for the working populationnot only in Russia, but also in her country and worldwide. We were often against sanctions in past conflicts for good reasons, because they hit large sections of the population, she said. She continued: We are in favour of targeted sanctions against oligarchs and the military-industrial complex if they are consistently enforced. A gas embargo would have dramatic consequences for the population and would lead to dramatic social upheavals, she warned. But it was right to reduce dependence on gas and fossil fuels. In order to conceal the essentially right-wing capitalist policy of her party, Wissler peppered her speech with a few social phrases and even claimed at the end that the Left Party would stand in the tradition of the socialist movement, in the tradition of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. What an absurdity! Luxemburg and Liebknecht were revolutionary Marxists who paid with their lives for their tireless and principled struggle against imperialism and war and for the conquest of power by the working class. The Left Party, on the other hand, was always a bourgeois party that defended German capitalism and imperialism and was rewarded for this with ministerial posts and government subsidies worth millions. It was founded in the summer of 2007 through the merger of two bureaucratic apparatuses, the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and the Election Alternative Labour and Social Justice group (WASG), both of which had decades of experience in the suppression of the working class. The PDS was the successor to the Stalinist state party in East Germany (German Democratic Republic), which co-organized German unity on a capitalist basis in 1990 and immediately afterwards assumed governmental functions in the new federal states. The WASG was initiated by long-standing SPD and trade union officials with the aim of absorbing the social anger about the Agenda 2010 austerity policies of SPD Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schroder. Alongside Gysi, the initiative for the merger came from Oskar Lafontaine, one of the most experienced bourgeois politicians, who had previously held leadership positions in the government and the SPD for 40 years. He has since left the Left Party. The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (SGP) has regarded the Left Party as an opponent of socialism and the working class from the outset, unlike pseudo-left tendencies such as Marx21, from which Wissler emerged. This is now undeniably clear. A party that aggressively takes the side of imperialist war policies is what it isa right-wing, pro-imperialist party of war. Workers and young people must draw the necessary political conclusions from the party congress in Erfurt. The struggle against the danger of a third world war requires the construction of an international anti-war movement based on the working classin Russia, Ukraine, Germany, throughout Europe and in the US and worldwidewhich fights for the overthrow of capitalism and the socialist reorganization of society. The only party representing this program is the SGP, the German section of the International Committee of the Fourth International. 30 June 2022 Dear Comrade: Thank you for your letter of 28 June and its enthusiastic response to the establishment of a new section of the International Committee in Turkey. The formal expansion of the work of the ICFI is, whatever the country or region, an important political milestone. But it is a source of special satisfaction that it has become possible to make this advance in the country where Trotsky, having been exiled from the Soviet Union, so decisively developed the struggle against the Stalinist regime on a world scale and initiated the founding of the Fourth International. During the visit with the comrades of Sosyalist Esitlik Grubu to the island of Prinkipo, one could not help but be deeply moved by the awareness of Trotskys monumental historical achievement. But we could also draw satisfaction from the fact that we are continuing the work that Trotsky initiated on Prinkipo, and that Trotsky would have been in complete solidarity with the political principles and program of the International Committee. Leon Trotsky at his desk in Prinkipo The experience of our comrades in Turkey is certainly, as you write, of great significance for the development of a section of the International Committee in Russia and throughout the former Soviet Union. We worked patiently to create, on the basis of a unified conception of the entire historical experience of the Fourth International, a firm foundation for the establishment of a new section. The resolution of the Sosyalist Esitlik Grubu deserves the most careful study. The SEGs recognition of the political authority of the ICFI should not be understood in a merely organizational sense. The political authority of the ICFI is based on its historical association with the defense of the foundational principles and program of Trotskyism. The SEG resolution identified the essential historical content of the continuity of Trotskyism: 4. Only the ICFI represents the political continuity of the world Marxist/Trotskyist movement. This continuity goes back to the founding of the Left Opposition under the leadership of Leon Trotsky in 1923 to defend the strategy and program of the world socialist revolution against nationalist Stalinist degeneration. It was this strategy and program that guided the October Revolution in 1917 led by the Bolshevik Party in Russia under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky. 5. The founding of the Fourth International in 1938 under the leadership of Trotsky after the collapse of the Communist International paving the way for the Nazis to come to power in Germany in 1933; the founding of the International Committee in 1953 by orthodox Trotskyists led by James P. Cannon of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in the US against the revisionist-liquidationist tendency led by Michel Pablo and Ernest Mandel; the political struggle by the British Trotskyists led by Gerry Healy against the unprincipled reunification with the Pabloites in 1963; and the struggle of the American Trotskyists led by David North in 1982-86 against the national-opportunist degeneration of the Workers Revolutionary Party (WRP) in Britain and the regaining the control of the IC by orthodox Trotskyists, constitute critical turning points in this political continuity. Continuity is not conferred upon an organization through some sort of formal proclamation, let alone in the manner of a British knighthood. A young organization must establish its continuity with the antecedent history of the Trotskyist movement by taking up the fight, in the present, against the opponentsStalinist, Pabloite, state capitalist, social democratic, labor, petty-bourgeois radical, anarchist, bourgeois nationalist, and liberal reformistof revolutionary Marxism. This fight is conducted on a theoretical, political, and organizational plane, and is always directed toward establishing the complete and unconditional political independence of the working class from the bourgeoisie. However difficult and contradictory the process, the political movement that conducts this struggle expresses with ever increasing clarity the continuity of Trotskyism and, thereby, moves into alignment with the objective trajectory of the world socialist revolution. Great historical events, such as those through which we are now passing, reveal the essential class nature of a political organization and the interests that it serves. Of course, the response of an organization to a great crisis is conditioned by its antecedent history. The outbreak of the US-NATO proxy war against Russia has rapidly exposed the state-capitalist and Pabloite organizations as contemptible agents of American and European imperialism. Their theory of Russian imperialismclosely associated with Shachtmanism and related varieties of state capitalist conceptionsnow serves as an ideological justification for support to US and European imperialism and their lackeys in the Ukrainian regime. In an attack on the International Committee, Oleg Vernyk of the Ukrainian Socialist League (USL) (an affiliate of the International Socialist League-ISL) writes: We are well aware that in this confrontation with two imperialisms, Western imperialism and Russian imperialism, Ukraine only plays one role: the role of victim. It is difficult to imagine a more absurd and deceitful statement. The Ukrainian victim is a regime that was brought to power by a coup in 2014 that was financed and organized by the United States, using local fascist organizations to provide the necessary military force. During the last eight years, the US and NATO have carried out the training and arming of the Kiev regime in preparation for war against Russia. Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers were directly trained by the United States in the years leading up to the war. In a report posted on June 25, the New York Times wrote: Representative Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat on the House Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, said in an interview that the relationships Ukrainian commandos developed with American and other counterparts over the past several years had proved invaluable in the fight against Russia. The scale of US/NATO support for Ukrainealready measuring in the many tens of billions of dollarsis without historic precedent. According to the Times: The commandos are not on the front lines with Ukrainian troops and instead advise from headquarters in other parts of the country or remotely by encrypted communications, according to American and other Western officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters. But the signs of their stealthy logistics, training and intelligence support are tangible on the battlefield. Several lower-level Ukrainian commanders recently expressed appreciation to the United States for intelligence gleaned from satellite imagery, which they can call up on tablet computers provided by the allies. The tablets run a battlefield mapping app that the Ukrainians use to target and attack Russian troops. On a street in Bakhmut, a town in the hotly contested Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, a group of Ukrainian special operations forces had American flag patches on their gear and were equipped with new portable surface-to-air missiles as well as Belgian and American assault rifles. What is an untold story is the international partnership with the special operations forces of a multitude of different countries, Lt. Gen. Jonathan P. Braga, the commander of U.S. Army Special Operations Command, told senators in April in describing the planning cell. They have absolutely banded together in a much outsized impact to support Ukraines military and special forces. To claim, in the face of these facts, that Ukraine plays only one role: the role of victim is a blatant and contemptible falsification of reality in the interests of imperialism. The political basis of Vernyks endorsement of the imperialist war follows: However, we members of the USL/ISL have as our basic principle the defense of Ukraine as a political subject, the defense of its working people, the defense of the unconditional right to self-determination of the Ukrainian people and the struggle for the preservation of the integrity of the state. This one paragraph exposes the USL (and its ISL sponsors) as reactionary nationalists and bitter opponents of the Marxist theory of the state. It is an ABC of Marxism that the state is an instrument of class rule. How, then, can the struggle for the integrity of the state be reconciled with the defense of its [Ukraines] working people? Of course, Vernyk makes no mention of the fact that the Ukrainian capitalist regime is utilizing the opportunity provided by the war to abolish laws and regulations protecting workers that date back to the Soviet era. Nor does Vernyk ever explain why the alleged unconditional right to self-determination applies only to Ukraine as defined by the Kiev regime, but not to the predominantly Russian-speaking populations in Eastern Ukraine and Crimea. The reactionary basis of Vernyks defense of the Ukrainian regime is most starkly revealed in his attempt to rebrand the fascist Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and its military wing, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, as a politically heterogeneous movement that included progressive tendencies. Vernyk writes that in the history of the right-wing political formation of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, there were endless transformations, cracks, radical changes in its slogans, certain inclinations to the left and to the right, cooperation with Hitler and the war on two fronts, among many other events. To this we must add the creation of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in 1943 and the massive entry to that organization in 1939 of the communists of western Ukraine that miraculously escaped total extermination by the Stalinist regime. All of this forms part of Ukraine's history that is often characterized as extremely complex, controversial and ambiguous. Vernyk leaves out of his discussion of this complex, controversial and ambiguous history any mention of the central role played by the OUN and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army as collaborators of the Nazis in the genocidal extermination of Ukrainian Jews and the mass murder of Poles. Seeking to sow political confusion, Vernyk promotes the anti-Marxist national chauvinist tract written in 1948 by Petro Poltava, who was then a leading ideologist of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. In a reprehensible attempt to politically rehabilitate the OUN as an organization that included genuinely left-wing tendencies that espoused a form of socialist-tinged nationalism, Vernyk claims that Poltava represented a tendency towards democratization that was beginning to emerge within the ranks of the OUN (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists), toward the ideas of the left and the incitement to a simultaneous war against German national socialism and against Stalinism. Vernyk goes so far as to claim that Poltavas pamphlet annuls all the arguments of Russian propaganda and its ICFI lackeys regarding the assertion that any nationalist liberation movement in Ukraine should be considered, without exception, a far-right current and Nazi. Let us review the text by Poltava that has inspired Vernyk and the USL/ISL. It is titled, Our Teaching about the National State. The pamphlet begins with an explicit denunciation of the Marxist theory of the state and nation as wrong and tendentious. Poltava wrote: Their [The Marxists] view that nations will be able to manage without states in the future is utopian, fantastic, and lacking any basis in reality. In all Marxist theory about the state there is a clear effort to deny that the state has any significance for the people and for humanity in general, as well as any attempt to present history as nothing more than a class strugglewhich, as we have already stated, is totally incorrect. Insisting on the essentially ethnic basis of the state, Poltava inveighed against the existence of multinational states. He declared: Obviously states of this type should not exist; they should be restructured as soon as possible. The practical implications of this argument were demonstrated by the OUN in its genocidal attacks on Jews and Poles. Poltavas text is suffused with reactionary nationalist mysticism: We nationalists believe in this eternal truththat an independent national state is the only form of political organization that guarantees a people the best conditions for all-round development of its spiritual and material resources. Without its own national state, that is, without a state extending over all its ethnic territory, a people cannot fully develop. At the conclusion of the text, Poltava declared that the Bolshevik USSR is an implacable enemy of individual subject people and humanity in general. Why does Vernyk draw inspiration from this reactionary anti-Marxist ideologue? Clearly, his aim is to create an ideological and political bridge to the present-day Ukrainian nationalists, falsely attributing a progressive content to the war being waged by the Kiev regime in alliance with US and European imperialism. Toward this end, Vernyk dishonestly attempts to portray Trotsky as an ally of Ukrainian bourgeois nationalism. Vernyk cites a brief passage from Trotskys 1939 essay, Problem of the Ukraine, in which he defended the slogan, in opposition to the Stalinist regime, of A united, free and independent workers and peasants Ukraine. [Italics in the original]. Vernyk conveniently and duplicitously leaves out of his discussion of Trotskys 1939 article any reference to passages in which Trotsky vehemently condemned any collaboration with and concession to the organizations and parties of reactionary Ukrainian bourgeois nationalism. Trotsky wrote: The Ukraine is especially rich and experienced in false paths of struggle for national emancipation. Here everything has been tried: the petty-bourgeois Rada, and Skoropadski, and Petlura, and alliance with the Hohenzollerns and combinations with the Entente. After all these experiments, only political cadavers can continue to place hope in one of the fractions of the Ukrainian bourgeoisie as the leader of the national struggle for emancipation. The Ukrainian proletariat alone is capable not only of solving the taskwhich is revolutionary in its very essencebut also of taking the initiative for its solution. The proletariat and only the proletariat can rally around itself the peasant masses and the genuinely revolutionary national intelligentsia. Trotsky concluded his essay with the following timely warning: At the beginning of the last imperialist war the Ukrainians, Melenevski (Basok) and Skoropis-Yeltukhovski, attempted to place the Ukrainian liberation movement under the wing of the Hohenzollern general, Ludendorff. They covered themselves in so doing with left phrases. With one kick the revolutionary Marxists booted these people out. That is how revolutionists must continue to behave in the future. The impending war will create a favorable atmosphere for all sorts of adventurers, miracle-hunters and seekers of the golden fleece. These gentlemen, who especially love to warm their hands in the vicinity of the national question, must not be allowed within artillery range of the labor movement. Not the slightest compromise with imperialism, either fascist or democratic! Not the slightest concession to the Ukrainian nationalists, either clerical-reactionary or liberal-pacifist! No Peoples Fronts! The complete independence of the proletarian party as the vanguard of the toilers! As is to be expected from this politically bankrupt opportunist, Vernyk attempts to cover up his capitulation to the Ukrainian bourgeoisie with pathetic slanders against the International Committee. He writes that a United States citizen, Mr. David North, has been defending the interests of Russian imperialism and its propaganda apparatus on issues related to Ukraine. According to Vernyk, I accepted this assignment when it became clear that official Russian propaganda no longer has sufficient informational space within the American media or any other country in the western orbit. Does Vernyk actually imagine that such nonsense will be believed by anyone? But I must note that his accusation has an ironic character, inasmuch as the primal sin of which the International Committee and I personally are guilty, in the eyes of the Pabloites, has been our relentless exposure of the counterrevolutionary character of Stalinism. This included the ICFIs work on Security and the Fourth International, which unmasked the agents of the Stalinist bureaucracy in the Trotskyist movement. Moreover, at a time when the Pabloites were singing the praises of Gorbachev, the International Committee was warning that his policies would result in the culmination of the Stalinist betrayal of the October Revolution, that is, the restoration of capitalism. The Putin regime is the reactionary resurrection of a bourgeois state that emerged out of the 1991 dissolution of the USSR. But the opposition of the International Committee to this regime, including its invasion of Ukraine, is from the socialist left, not the imperialist right. Precisely because its opposition to the Putin regime is rooted in its antecedent struggle of the Fourth International against Stalinism and the various revisions of the Trotskyist analysis of the Soviet Union (both Pabloite and state capitalist), the International Committee analyzes the current war in the historical context of the dissolution of the USSR, which proved a political disaster for the Ukrainian, Russian and international working class. The way out of this disaster, from which the present war emerged, is to be found not in alliance with US-NATO imperialism or with Putins capitalist regime; but only through the unified struggle of the Ukrainian, Russian and international working class against all the warring states. The working class in Russia as well as in Ukraine must uphold the principle: The main enemy is at home. These comments on Vernyk might serve, perhaps, as an illustration of how the International Committee upholds the defense of Trotskyism. In the relentless exposure of the enemies of Marxism, the International Committee continues the great historical work of the Fourth International and, on this basis, educates the working class and prepares it for the fulfillment of its revolutionary tasks. It is our hope that the initiative of our comrades in Turkey will serve as inspiration for the efforts of socialists in Russia and Ukraine to expand the work of the International Committee and raise the banner of Trotskyism in their countries and throughout the former Soviet Union. With Trotskyist greetings, David North On Tuesday, nurses across New South Wales (NSW) took part in strike action against a state government industrial agreement offer which mandates significant real wage cuts and would further entrench the intolerable conditions in the healthcare sector. As the WSWS reported, the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) did everything it could to prevent a unified mobilisation of nurses, much less other health workers, or joint action with the states public and Catholic school teachers who are striking today. Striking nurses exit Sydney Town Hall on June 29, 2022 [Photo: WSWS] Instead it held a stopwork meeting in Sydney, streamed to seven other locations. The union promoted the Labor Party as an alternative to the state Liberal-National government, even they both have an identical position in support of wage suppression and budget austerity. The event underscored the role of the union as an enabler of the government attacks on workers. Its role is to isolate workers and sow demoralisation, in an attempt to end the dispute and force through yet another sell-out agreement. This underscores the importance of the Socialist Equality Partys call for nurses and other health workers to take matters into their own hands, through the formation of independent rank-and-file committees, and a political struggle against the entire establishment, including the Labor Party. The WSWS spoke to John, a mental health community nurse, who attended the Sydney stopwork meeting. He explained: The main problem in community nursing is large caseloads. Theres a lot of frustration and concerns of practical risks as a result of these caseloads. A woman I work with has a caseload of 40 clients, clinicians feel that 25 is a good size, do the maths. If you have a large number of people to work with you cant do your role, which is to try and improve peoples ability to manage their lives. There are high risks involved. Three or four years ago a staff member who conducted a home visit was severely assaulted and ended up dying as a result of their injuries. During the stopwork meeting, NSWNMA general secretary Brett Holmes opposed a motion from the floor for nurses to demand an annual pay rise of seven percent. Even this figure would be beneath the rapidly rising cost of many essential items. John said: It is clear the leadership does not want their strategies questioned. But the vote did get quite strong support. It was largely a delegates meeting, it wasnt really a mass meeting. Consequently, the delegates lined up behind the leadership, but you could hear the underswell of support for seven percent, which passed. Holmes claimed if you go for seven percent, you will get nothing as a result of pushing too hard. Asked about the SEP statement addressed to striking nurses and teachers, John said, I think the idea of rank-and-file committees seems to be the only alternative. The response from the membership for the vote indicates that there are a lot of people prepared to fight for things. But they still put up with the union as the leadership and people think the only way is through enterprise agreements. It is hard for a lot of people to conceptualise something different to the unions and capitalism. The massive wealth of the small percentage of the ruling class continues to grow. They are the ones who decided to get stuck into the Russians in the Ukraine. They see it as an investment for a control of resources. They wouldnt invest in social services or social welfare. They want to end up with the balkanisation of Russia. It is the same playbook in Yugoslavia, but on a bigger scale. Then they will turn to China, he said. Debbie, a nurse from western Sydney with fifteen years experience, said: Were constantly working extra hours now. There are not enough staff and not enough beds. Its impacting on patient safety. Its been like this for years, but its gotten worse with COVID. We used to have lots of nurses coming over from England and elsewhere, but weve had none of that for the past two years. A lot of older nurses are retiring because theyre getting burnt out and they just cant take it. Peter, another Sydney nurse, said: Im here today because we need to decide our next step. The NSW government did not say anything about nurse-to-patient ratios in their budget last month, theyre opposed to them. We need these ratios because without them the hospital does not have the obligation to ensure there are enough nurses for patients. Sometimes were quite short-staffed, and without the ratio, theres no legal recourse for us to demand adequate staffing. Its a question of safety, for patients and for nurses. This is nothing new, its been going on for a long time. Sophie [Photo: WSWS] Sophie, a Sydney nurse, said: A lot of people have resigned over the last two years. Were just constantly short-staffed. It makes it harder to care for patients. Some of us are having to work more overtime, we try to share it around. But when staff leave, theyre not always replaced. So many are leaving that its probably hard to replace them. Asked about the claims from Labor and Liberal-National governments and the media that the pandemic is a thing of the past, Sophie replied: Its definitely not over. It may feel like its over for people who arent in healthcare but we are seeing it every single day and its overwhelming the hospitals. The media get over a topic and they just move on, even if the issue is not resolved. Asked if anything had changed as a result of the limited stoppages called by the union, Sophie stated, Not that I can see. We knew this would be the case. We just have to keep pushing for it. Sophie had heard about a teachers strike this Thursday. Asked why the nurses and teachers were not striking on the same day, she said, Im really not sure. She agreed that there should be unified action. Thats a really good idea, we all face the same issues. Martin [Photo: WSWS] Martin, who provides physical education programs to public schools, was walking by the Sydney Town Hall where the stopwork meeting was held. He expressed support for the nurses, as well as the SEPs call for a unified struggle of health workers and educators. Its hard for teachers, its hard for nurses, all of us are working harder, but pay is not going up. Teachers I know are really struggling. They struggle to manage their time, to prepare and to teach. They have a major responsibility. Its hard enough to take care of one kid, theyre taking care of 30 kids. The stress level is huge. Theyre not working six or eight hours a day, theyre working ten or more hours, several of them unpaid. People should go out there and speak there mind and stand their ground. We need teachers and doctors and nurses. They play a key role in our society. The Health Workers Rank-and-File Committee (HRWFC) is fighting to organise nurses and others throughout the sector, for a genuine struggle in defence of pay and conditions, including through unity with teachers, rail staff and other sections of workers. It can be contacted here: sephw.aus@gmail.com In remarks at the NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain, US President Joe Biden announced a sweeping increase in US troop deployments to Europe as part of a plan by NATO to militarize the continent for its ongoing war with Russia and escalating conflict with China. The NATO summit formally invited Sweden and Finland to join the alliance, effectively doubling NATOs land border with Russia and consummating the military alliances decades-long eastward expansion. Speaking Wednesday, Biden praised the decision of the governments of Sweden and Finland to move away from neutrality and the tradition of neutrality. Biden announced that the US would send another 20,000 troops to Europe, bringing its total deployment there to 100,000. He pledged to increase the number of US Navy destroyers stationed in Spains Naval Station Rota to six. He also announced the formation of a permanent US military headquarters in Poland, marking an unprecedented US military inroad into a former Warsaw Pact country. He also announced an additional rotational brigade of 5,000 personnel headquartered in Romania, as well as sending two additional F-35 fighter squadrons to the UK and the stationing of additional air defense systems in Germany and Italy. Biden declared: NATO is ready to meet threats from all directions, across every domain: land, air and the sea. The announcement is the largest military expansion in Europe in decades, the Wall Street Journal commented. Critically, the summit announced the publication of a new NATO strategic concept, defining Russia as the most significant and direct threat to the allies security. Russia was previously classified as a strategic partner in NATOs 2010 strategy document. For the first time, the NATO strategic concept also targeted China, declaring that it posed a challenge to the alliance. Individual NATO members pledged unlimited support to the war effort, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declaring that Germany would continue to arm Ukraine intensivelyfor as long as it is necessary to enable Ukraine to defend itself. Significantly, the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand joined the summit, leading Foreign Affairs to comment that battle lines are being drawn that could last for generations. The UK is expected to expand its troops stationed in Estonia from 1,000 to 1,700. The Guardian noted, In total, eight frontline Nato battlegroups stretching from Estonia to Bulgaria, once designed to act as small initial defence force, are expected to be increased in size to a brigade level of 3,000 to 5,000 troops. The overwhelming response in the US media and political establishment to Bidens further commitment of blood and treasure to the war effort was enthusiastic support. Hailing NATOs plans to expand its fighting forces seven-fold, the Washington Post declared that if Ukraines steadfast resistance and the Wests firm stance continue, success will follow. The New York Times, for its part, praised the would-be dictator Donald Trumps calls for the expansion of US military spending, declaring in an editorial that Trump wasnt wrong to call for Europe to spend more on its military. The Times concluded, In this fateful moment, NATO must take a serious look not only at deterring Russia but also at itself, its purpose and its readiness to really share that burden. The NATO summit also marked a significant shift in the use of the war in Ukraine to more aggressively target China. On Wednesday, the White House added five Chinese companies to a blacklist for allegedly helping the Russian war effort. The Commerce department claimed that the companies continue to contract to supply Russian entity listed and sanctioned parties. Warning that this was only the beginning, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan Estevez said, Todays action sends a powerful message to entities and individuals across the globe that if they seek to support Russia, the United States will cut them off as well. In a critical admission, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged that NATO had been expanding its forces in preparation for conflict with Russia for years, declaring, The reality is also that we have been preparing for this since 2014. That is the reason that we have increased our presence in the eastern part of the alliance, why NATO allies have started to invest more in defense, and why we have increased [our] readiness. Indeed, NATOs European members along with Canada have increased military spending by between 1 percent and 6 percent every year since the 2014 US-backed coup in Kiev. Five months after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the central war aims of the US and NATO are emerging clearly. In an interview with CNN over the weekend, moderator Jake Tapper asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken whether Russia was taking over significant sections of the country. In response, Blinken downplayed the significance of Ukraine losing whole swaths of its territory, declaring, lets not confuse the tactical with strategic. He added, [w]hats really important is the strategic proposition that Putin will not succeed in what hes tried to achieve. Hes also tried to divide NATO. Were about to go to a NATO summit, where the alliance is going to show greater unity, greater strength than in my memory. In other words, the strategic goal of the United States in provoking Russia to invade Ukraine was to create the conditions for a massive rearmament of Europe, under American aegis. The immediate targets of this rearmament will be Russia and China, but the massive land forces being mobilized will be used no less at home than abroad. Are you a GM Subsystems worker? Fill out the form at the end of the article and tell us us what you think about the UAWs cancellation of the strike, the tentative agreement and what your working conditions are like. We will protect your anonymity. GM Flint Assembly [Photo: WSWS] The United Auto Workers union announced that it was calling off a strike Thursday morning by 700 General Motors Subsystems employees, shortly before the walkout had been scheduled to begin, stating it had reached a tentative agreement with the company. Workers had been set to walk out at four GM plants in Michigan Thursday at 10 a.m., having been kept on the job by the UAW without a contract since May 2021. GM Subsystems is a wholly owned subsidiary of GM, employing material handlers and warehouse workers. Under an arrangement with the UAW, GM Subsystems employees do the work formerly done by GM workers but for far lower wages. Neither GM Subsystems nor the UAW have provided any details of the agreement. UAW Vice President for GM Terry Dittes stated in a letter announcing the deal, Details will be forthcoming and will not be released until ratification at all four locations is conducted. The letter cynically added, This negotiation was drawn out and hard fought. We look forward to presenting the tentative agreement to members for their ratification. The secrecy shrouding the agreement and the entire negotiations process can only mean that the UAW is once again planning to try to ram through a sellout agreement which will keep GM Subsystems workers mired in poverty. Subsystems and other GM workers should organize now to demand the immediate release of the full contract, not just self-serving UAW highlights, and at least a week to study and discuss the agreement before any vote. As of Wednesday night, no indication of the impending strike had been posted on the UAWs web site, with the aim of keeping its hundreds of thousands of members in the dark on the struggle. The UAW executives were undoubtedly anxious to avert a strike by GM Subsystems workers since it could have quickly impacted production at several of GMs major plants. Subsystems workers had been set to walk out at the Flint Assembly plant, which produces highly profitable pickup trucks; the critical Lake Orion plant, which produces the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV; and the Lansing Grand River Assembly plant, which produces Cadillacs and the Chevrolet Camaro. Workers had also been scheduled to strike at GMs flagship electric Factory Zero plant in Hamtramck, currently idled through late July, which produces the GMC Hummer pickup and Hummer SUV. An anonymous UAW representative nervously told the Detroit Free Press that a strike could shut down production in a matter of hours depending on what GMs plan is. That means it could idle the 500 workers at Lear and 300 to 400 at Flint Metal and ... 5,500 at Flint Assembly. The struggle at GM Subsystems takes place amid a growing wave of militancy among autoworkers, which is increasingly taking the form of a direct rebellion against the UAW. On Monday, auto parts workers at Ventra Evart in Michigan voted down a UAW-endorsed contract by nearly 95 percent. CNH farm and heavy equipment workers in Wisconsin and Iowa, meanwhile, have been on strike for nearly two months, fighting to reverse concessions previously imposed by the UAW. The UAW had already made clear its intentions to sabotage a strike by Subsystems workers should one take place. On Wednesday, UAW Vice President Dittes had released a letter ordering GM workers to cross picket lines. As a General Motors employee covered by Paragraph 117 of 2019 UAW-GM National Agreement, you must continue to report to work in the event of a strike by the Subsystems unit, the letter stated. In addition, you may not take part in the picketing that will accompany a strike. A separate letter addressed to maintenance workers employed by Aramark at the plants states they may honor picket lines if you choose. The letter by UAW Vice President for GM Terry Dittes ordering autoworkers to cross picket lines if GM Subsystems workers strike The 2019 GM contract cited by Dittes was the illegitimate product of the UAWs sellout of the six-week-long strike of 46,000 GM workers, which had won the support of auto and other workers internationally. Within weeks of the UAW ramming the contract through in October, then-UAW President Gary Jones would resign in disgrace, and later plead guilty for his role in embezzling autoworkers dues. Among other UAW officials who negotiated and signed the 2019 agreementwhich sanctioned the closure of the Lordstown, Ohio assembly plant and other factorieswere Derik and Justin Jewell. They are the sons of former UAW Vice President for Fiat Chrysler Norwood Jewell, who was charged and convicted in early 2020 for his role in a million-dollar bribery scheme in the UAW. As is widely known by autoworkers, the 2019 Big Three contracts, not to mention a series of brutal contracts before them, were negotiated in bad faith, with the process overseen by criminals who were either on the take from the companies or rampantly stealing workers dues. With the cooperation of the UAW, GM has used GM Subsystems to create in effect yet another tier of hyper-exploited workers. Subsystems workers generally start at just $15 an hour and top out at $17 an hour, about half the pay for first-tier assembly workers, who make around $31 an hour. In 2018, UAW Vice President for General Motors Cindy Estrada, with the support of the leadership of UAW Local 5960 at the Lake Orion plant, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) behind workers backs allowing the replacement of 150 full-time workers with lower wage workers. The UAW claimed that such a deal was necessary to save jobs. The UAWs secret agreement with the company provoked outrage among workers when it was revealed. In May 2018, workers angrily confronted union officials at a packed meeting over the deal. A letter was circulated by workers beforehand denouncing the UAWs actions, stating: The time to act is now against the mistreatment and mismanagement of our collective workforce. Both the UAW and GM have decided that it is in our best interest to outsource the materials department without first consulting the membership here at Orion Assembly. Our local leadership admittedly signed the MOU in February and withheld this information from us. This is at a minimum a violation of our right to fair representation and collective bargaining. The Lake Orion plant was initially slated for closure as part of the Obama administrations restructuring of the auto industry following the 2008 market crash. Lake Orion reopened in 2011 under a UAW-stamped sellout agreement. GM reversed the decision to close its Detroit-Hamtramck factory after the UAW handed over concessions in the 2019 contract. GM then axed its remaining 800 employees and re-tooled to begin production on electric vehicles. The facility opened in November 2021 and, like Lake Orion and many other Big Three plants, includes a multi-tiered pay scale for its employees. In the scramble to dominate electric vehicle technologies and markets, the automakers are accelerating their attempts to lower wages and further undermine workplace protections. In addition to GMs use of Subsystems workers in its EV operations, Ford Motor Company has been working to extract concessions from workers in Germany and Spain. The company has collaborated closely with the German and Spanish unions and works councils to pit workers in a fratricidal race to the bottom in the name of saving jobs and winning new EV models. Whether in Europe or the US, the pro-corporate unions have repeatedly shown their willingness to offer up cost cuts and create new categories of low-paid workers, as long as the flow of dues money is maintained. Striking plant workers cheer outside the General Motors assembly plant in Bowling Green, Ky, Monday, Sept. 16, 2019. [AP Photo/AP/Bryan Woolston] A Stellantis Jefferson North worker in Detroit told the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter that GM Subsystems workers deserve support. But thats not the UAW Internationals position. They are divide and conquer for the glory of the money GM will give them. I cant believe I pay for this crap. A retired GM worker said, When we were on strike, we finally had the company ready to come to the table. The UAW didnt even bother to get COLA back; we got NOTHING from that strike. The UAW is a wolf in sheeps clothing, he continued. The union leaders are part of the oligarchy now. Nothing good will come without a struggle. The working class must unite against the ownership class. GM Subsystems workers should take their cue from fellow UAW members at Ventra, a subsidiary of Flex-N-Gate, who have organized a rank-and-file committee to demand substantial wage increases and the removal of the bargaining committee that negotiated the sellout agreement workers voted down Monday. At the same time, the struggle of GM Subsystems workers requires the active support of workers throughout the Big Three and auto parts plants. Contrary to the endless efforts of the UAW bureaucracy to divide and weaken workers, it will only be through a common fight that the tier system and lowering of wages will finally be reversed. On Wednesday government officials released the results of their preliminary investigation along with the names of those who died in Mondays Amtrak train crash outside of Mendon, Missouri, located about 100 miles northeast of Kansas City. Front of the Amtrak train after colliding with a dump truck on Monday, June 27, 2022. The crash injured over 150 people and killed at least four. As of this writing, at least four people have died and over 150 were injured, making Mondays crash one of the largest by casualties in US history. The fatal derailment was entirely preventablethe collision occurred at an uncontrolled/passive rail crossing, meaning that there were no lights, no bells, or other electronic communication devices to warn vehicle drivers that a train was approaching. The crossing, which was identified by local residents years ago as being extremely dangerous, also did not have any barriers to prevent vehicles from crossing the tracks as a train was approaching. Several interviews with local farmers and results from the preliminary government investigation have unquestionably confirmed that Mondays accident was not only preventable, but predicted in advance by residents who had to contend with the dangerous tracks on a daily basis. These warnings, delivered to Missouri state government and BNSF railroad officials went unheeded for years. Amtrak has confirmed that the train, en route from Los Angeles to Chicago, was carrying 275 passengers and 12 crew members when it crashed into the back of a dump truck that was attempting to cross the unprotected track at roughly 12:43 p.m. Monday. In a press conference held on Wednesday, Jennifer Homendy, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), said it does not appear that there were any mechanical faults with the train or the tracks themselves. After recovering the trains black-box, NTSB investigators determined the train was traveling at a speed of 89 miles per hour, a quarter mile before the crash, which is a mile below the speed limit. According to investigators, Amtrak workers spotted the truck on the tracks at this time and started blowing the train horn in an attempt to warn the dump truck. At the time of the collision investigators say the train was traveling at 87 mph. Once the train struck the back of the dump truck, virtually obliterating the vehicle, the driver, Bill Barton II, 54, of Brookfield, Missouri, was ejected from the truck and died at the scene of accident. Derailed Amtrak train outside of Mendon, Missouri. The other deceased victims identified Wednesday were all passengers who died from injuries sustained during the derailment of the train. Rochelle Cook, 58, and Kim Holsapple, 56, according to a GoFundMe, were sisters from De Soto, Kansas who were looking forward to going on a family trip to Chicago, their first one in a long time. Rochelle and Kim, were traveling with their mother and niece/daughter who were also hospitalized in the collision. Binh Phan, 82, survived the derailment but died from injuries at the hospital on Tuesday. In her press conference, Homendy reiterated that the NTSB had recommended since 1998 that all train crossings in the US be upgraded from passive crossings to active or protected crossings. Homendy claimed that about half of the crossings in the US were still passive. We still dont see action on that. Its been 24 years and that recommendation is still as important today as it was in 1998. Lives could be saved, Homendy said. The Kansas City Star found that according to the Missouri Department of Transportations (MDOT) Office of Multimodal Operations, which oversees rail service in the state, half of of the states 3,800 public highway-rail crossings are unprotected. From 2017 to 2021 the Star found that MDOT had improved the safety features at approximately 20 of those crossings, or about five a year. At this pace, all of Missouris passive crossings will be upgraded by the year 2302. On MDOTs website the agency claims that only crossings with extreme amounts of train and vehicle traffic or other sign distance problems will receive lights/gates because the need is great. In other words, there is no money to have safe rail crossings in the US. A Missouri state report issued in February noted that the crossing where Mondays accident occurred was slated for upgrades. The estimated cost of the project was about $400,000. Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, which owns BNSF, has seen his wealth increase from an estimated $96 billion in 2021 to $118 billion this year. Buffetts $22 billion increase in wealth in the last year alone could pay to upgrade about 55,000 of the estimated 81,000 unprotected railroad crossings in the US. Last year there were more than 2,100 train collisions in the United States according to the Federal Railroad Administration, leading to 236 fatalities and 662 injuries. In the last 10 years, 2,720 people have died and over 9,650 have been injured in train collisions. In several damning interviews with the Kansas City Star, local Mendon farmer Mike Spencer revealed his multi-year effort to have safety features installed at the dangerous crossing, to no avail. Spencer told the Star that he and other members of the community had been in contact with BNSF railroad, which owns the tracks, a safety engineer from the Missouri Department of Transportation, a county commissioner and a railroad engineer. Spencer said that there were three uncontrolled crossings, including the site of Mondays crash, that he and others had identified as needing safety improvements. I was under the impression that this was going to be fixed starting in July of last year, Spencer told the Star. They (BNSF/MDOT) promised me July 1st, they were going to fix three of these crossings. The farmer recalled that by the time November 2021 came around, nothing was done, yet he was told by government officials not to put any pressure on anyone. Spencer said he called MDOT again in January, only to be told that the issue had been tabled and that nothing would be done in the foreseeable future. Spencer, who said if it was up to him he would have fixed it himself, called again to ask if he could cut the brush back because no one would be able to see the train. Spencer said that he never got a response. I predicted this was going to happen, Spencer said. I was certain that this was going to happen, it was just a matter of time. I had already talked to several of the neighbors around here. Thats the reason I posted it on Facebook. On June 11, less than three weeks before the crash, Spencer posted a video on Facebook of a BNSF train crossing the intersection. In the post he wrote: We have been on the [railroad] for several years about fixing the approach by building the road up, putting in signals, signal lights, or just cutting the brush back. ... If you cross here with a vehicle stop, approach very slowly, then look both ways there are 2 tracks and around 85 trains go through there everyday. Speaking to the Star after the crash Spencer said, They knew it was unsafe. They had determined that. That was pretty much a no-brainer. Pointing to the profit-driven interests that trump all other considerations in capitalist society, Spencer said, They for whatever reason, I dont know, didnt want to spend the money. I think it totally could have been avoided, he added. This is on the railroads shoulders. This is on the railroads shoulders. They have known this is a problem. ... They were concerned, but not concerned enough to do anything. On the eve of the NATO summit focusing on war against Russia in Ukraine as well as confronting China, top officials from Turkey, Sweden and Finland agreed on Tuesday in Madrid to a trilateral memorandum of understanding allowing Stockholms and Helsinkis entry into the military alliance. After a meeting attended by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finlands President Sauli Niinisto and Swedens Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, a memorandum was signed by the foreign ministers of these countries. (Left to right, back row) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson. (Front row) Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto and Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde sign a memorandum in which Turkey agrees to Finlands and Swedens membership in the defense alliance in Madrid, Spain, on June 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) Stoltenberg declared: The door is openthe joining of Finland and Sweden into NATO will take place. Seeking to present this decades-long imperialist alliance of war and destructionfrom the Balkans to the Middle East and Central Asiaas a so-called tool for security, he claimed that Finnish and Swedish membership in NATO is good for Finland and Sweden, it is good for NATO, and it is good for European security. In his doorstep remarks yesterday at the ongoing Madrid summit he announced that the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO would be unprecedentedly quick, within few weeks. In exchange for the Swedish and Finnish commitments over Ankaras demands, the Turkish government withdrew its veto on their NATO membership. Turkey was demanding that Sweden and Finland stop supporting the Kurdish nationalist Peoples Protection Units (YPG) in Syria, as well as the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which the Turkish government bans as terrorist groups. The Turkish ruling class considers it of strategic importance to prevent the emergence of any Kurdish state led by the YPG on its borders, and has been preparing a new military operation against Kurdish militias since late May. The US-backed agreement sharply exposes the hypocrisy of the imperialist powers on justifying the war offensive against Russia in the name of defending human rights and Ukraines right of national self-determination. Coming at a time of escalating state repression against Kurdish media and politicians in Turkey, this agreement gives the green light to a new offensive against the YPG in Syria, which, as before, will lead to hundreds of thousands of displaced people and thousands of deaths. According to the memorandum, Finland and Sweden will not provide support to YPG/PYD [Democratic Union Party in Syria], and the organization described as FETO [Fethullahist Terrorist Organization] in Turkey. Fethullah Gulen is the US-based preacher whom Ankara blames for the NATO-backed 2016 coup attempt against the Erdogan government. The memorandum also states that Finland and Sweden commit to prevent activities of the PKK and all other terrorist organizations and their extensions, as well as activities by individuals in affiliated and inspired groups or networks linked to these terrorist organizations. Sweden has committed to end its arms embargo to Turkey, which it launched against Ankaras military invasion in Syria targeting the YPG militias in 2019. Both countries also promised to address Turkeys pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects expeditiously. Yesterday, Ankara announced that it would seek to extradite 33 alleged members of the PKK or FETO from Finland and Sweden. In exchange to these commitments, Turkey confirmed its long-standing support for NATOs Open Door policy, and agrees to support at the 2022 Madrid Summit the invitation of Finland and Sweden to become members of NATO, effectively removing the only obstacle to the opening of a northern front against Russia. Any new membership of the alliance needs confirmation by all members. With this provocative move, essentially planned in Washington, Berlin and London, the entire Scandinavian region is to be transformed into a potential war zone in a conflict with Russia. In May, the Finnish and Swedish governments seized on Russias reactionary invasion of Ukraine to justify their application to join NATO, abandoning their long-standing policies of official neutrality. Finland shares a 1,300 km border with Russia, while Sweden has a significant position in the Baltic Sea, and both countries have been increasingly rearmed by NATO powers against Russia in the last period. One of the most important messages from [Russian] President Putin... was that he was against any further NATO enlargement. He wanted less NATO. Now, President Putin is getting more NATO on his borders, Stoltenberg said on Tuesday evening. With this statement, the NATO chief more or less admitted that NATOs decades-long eastward expansion targeting Russia consciously sought to provoke the Kremlin to invade Ukraine so the US-led alliance could further escalate its confrontation with Russia. The agreement on NATO enlargement comes just days after it was acknowledged that NATO forces, including those from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France and Lithuania, are directly involved in the war against Russia in Ukraine. As the NATO powers continue to massively arm Ukraine, Stoltenberg said the military alliance would increase its high readiness forces sevenfold, from 40,000 to 300,000, deploying tens of thousands of additional troops as well as countless tanks and aircraft directly to Russias border. Moreover, in line with Washingtons great power conflict national strategy, NATO is adopting a new strategy, taking concrete steps towards targeting not only Russia, but also Chinaboth vast nuclear-armed countries with massive resources of raw materials critical to the imperialist re-division of the world. With the leaders of four Asia-Pacific countriesAustralia, New Zealand, Japan and South Koreaattending the NATO summit, Stoltenberg declared that the summit would directly address China for the first time, citing the challenges that Beijing poses to our security, interests, and values. As Erdogans office declared on Tuesday that Turkey has made significant gains in the fight against terrorist organisations, and Turkey got what it wanted, Swedish Prime Minister Andersson said it was a very good agreement. She added that We will continue our fight against terrorism and as NATO members also do so with closer cooperation with Turkey. In a statement, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said, Our joint memorandum underscores the commitment of Finland, Sweden and Turkey to extend their full support against threats to each others security. Leaders of the major imperialist powers expressed their satisfaction with the deal. Congratulations to Finland, Sweden, and Turkey on signing a trilateral memorandum a crucial step towards a NATO invite to Finland and Sweden, which will strengthen our Alliance and bolster our collective securityand a great way to begin the Summit, US President Joe Biden wrote on Twitter. Although there was no public US involvement in negations between Turkey, Sweden and Finland, The final push to resolve the dispute started early Tuesday morning, when President Biden called Mr. Erdogan to urge him to seize the moment on the eve of the summit, according to the New York Times. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the deal on Twitter, writing: Fantastic news as we kick off the NATO Summit. Sweden and Finlands membership will make our brilliant alliance stronger and safer. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock expressed her governments relief that Turkey had ended its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO. The main Turkish bourgeois opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) also welcomed the agreement. Yurter Ozcan, the CHP representative to the US, tweeted, The AKP government took the right decision by abandoning its token veto. Earlier, CHP spokesperson Faik Oztrak said, As CHP, we would of course be pleased to see NATO strengthened, but Turkeys interests come first. While this agreement confirms the Turkish bourgeoisies deep-rooted commitment to imperialism and the NATO alliance, it also underlines the bankruptcy of Kurdish nationalisms orientation towards the United States and the European powers. In late May, Meral Dans Bestas, a leading deputy of the Kurdish nationalist Peoples Democratic Party (HDP), declared, The Kurdish issue can be solved inside Turkey. You cannot solve this issue by blackmailing NATO and vetoing Sweden and Finland. Of course, we do not think that these countries will enter into narrow negotiations. Because both Sweden and Finland have a democratic system, a fair judicial system, and freedom of thought and expression. The conflict between the Turkish and Kurdish bourgeoisie, both pro-NATO and pro-imperialist, is purely tactical. Both are hostile to the democratic aspirations of the Kurdish people. Amid the growing danger of a third world war, only the revolutionary unification of the working class across the Middle East and internationally can fight against war and defend democratic rights on the basis of a socialist program. A U.S. judge has denied The Bail Projects request for a preliminary injunction thawould halt a new law which limits who charitable bail organizations can let out of jail from being enforced starting July 1 as the group challenges the statute in court. Judge James Hanlon in his decision said The Bail Project has not shown a likelihood of success on the merits to justify a preliminary injunction, for the new law, and denied the groups request. The decision means the legislation will go into effect as planned Friday, rather than being paused until the ongoing lawsuit is resolved. New Indiana laws: Permitless carry gun bill, vaping tax and more The Bail Project filed the suit against the state in May after House Bill 1300 was signed, saying the law infringes on the organizations constitutional rights. The new law prevents charitable bail groups from bailing out anyone charged with a violent crime in Indiana and anyone with a past conviction for a violent crime, then charged with any new felony. April Angermeier, right, gets ready to take a photo of Kathleen Merchant, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. Angermeier is with The Bail Project. The national nonprofit is now in Indianapolis. It pays the bail for low-level offenders who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford bail and would have to await trial in jail. Merchant was one of the people helped by The Bail Project. They paid her $500 bail to get her released in June, 2019. Her case has since been dismissed. Nonprofits, the law also holds, who bail out more than three people in a 180-day period would have to pay a $300 certification fee every two years under the legislation. Groups that receive grant funding from the state and local governments would be barred from bailing indigent people out of jail. In its complaint, the Bail Project and the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana said the law violates the groups First Amendment rights because the organization considers paying bail expressive advocacy work. The organization maintained the group exists to argue that cash bail is harmful and unnecessary. More: Cash bail disproportionally harms Black, Latino Hoosiers in Marion County justice system, study shows The suit also contends the law raises an equal protection issue by only restricting who charitable groups can bail out, while both commercial bondsmen and an accused persons family and friends can continue to pay bail for people implicated in violent crimes in the state. Story continues Bail Project case 'still alive' says attorney for ACLU of Indiana Ken Falk, ACLU of Indianas legal director, said the courts decision merely means the law will not pause from going into effect July 1 as the case continues in court. This case is still alive and the court will be considering the merits of our argument about the far-reaching first amendment and equal protection implications of the new law, Falk said. The law was proposed in response to growing violent crime in Indianapolis after instances in which people released on bail were later accused of committing violent acts. The Bail Project came under scrutiny following such reports. An IndyStar investigation published earlier this year found times when The Bail Project was blamed for letting out people later accused of murder when the person had last been freed by a commercial bail agent or a friend. Investigation: How a media frenzy and Republican politics led to a new law targeting The Bail Project Furthermore, IndyStars analysis of 225 murder cases in Marion County since The Bail Projects inception in 2018 showed bond agents bailed out 10 people later accused of murder, compared with the groups three people in that same timeframe. Supporters of the law argued it will align the Bail Project with the commercial industry by requiring the group to register under the Department of Insurance. Bondsmen, they argued, have the ability to track down defendants accused of violent crimes who skip court dates. Opponents have said it will unfairly impact lower-income people from getting out of jail as they await trial. Contact Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com or 317-503-7514. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana charitable bail law injunction denied in Bail Project case Editor's note: This page recaps the news from Ukraine on Friday, July 1. Follow here for the latest updates and news from July 2 as Russia's invasion continues. Russian forces deliberately dropped two 1,000-plus-pound bombs on the Mariupol theater that was being used as a shelter March 16, resulting in a mass killing of civilians that amounted to a war crime, according to evidence cited in a report by the rights group Amnesty International released Thursday. Amnesty said there was no indication the theater was a base of operations for Ukrainian soldiers but rather served as refuge for civilians seeking protection from weeks of relentless bombardment. The report comes days after a Russian airstrike in a shopping mall on the central Ukraine city of Kremenchuk killed at least 18 and wounded dozens, drawing international condemnation. Russian authorities have denied targeting the mall. The Amnesty team interviewed 52 survivors and first-hand witnesses, about half of whom were either in the theater or nearby. Using satellite imagery from that morning, the organization determined the sky was consistently clear enough for any pilot to see the word CHILDREN written in huge Cyrillic letters in the buildings front and back. Accounts of the death toll have varied. Mariupol officials initially estimated around 300; an Associated Press investigation determined closer to 600 may have been killed. The Amnesty report could only confirm a dozen deaths while adding "it is likely that many additional fatalities remain unreported.'' USA TODAY ON TELEGRAM: Join our Russia-Ukraine war channel to receive updates straight to your phone Latest developments The Treasury Department said Thursday it has blocked a $1 billion Delaware-based trust connected to sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Abusaidovich Kerimov, who's also linked to a $325 million superyacht the U.S. seized earlier this month. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said "toxic masculinity'' helped trigger the war in Ukraine, saying that if Russian President Vladimir Putin were a woman, "I really don't think he would've embarked on a crazy, macho war of invasion and violence in the way that he has." Story continues Germanys vice chancellor, Robert Habeck, said Thursday he suspects Russia won't resume natural gas deliveries to Europe through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline after planned maintenance work in July, complicating the winter outlook. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council, cautioned Thursday that Moscow could see Western sanctions as a justification for war, calling the restrictions "boorish and cynical" and bordering on "economic war." At least 18 killed in missile strike on Odesa apartment building KYIV, Ukraine At least 18 people were killed and 30 were wounded in a missile strike on an apartment building in southern Ukraines Odesa region, authorities said Friday. It came a day after Russian troops abandoned their positions on Snake Island off the coast of Odesa that has become a symbol of stiff Ukrainian resistance to Russia's invasion. Sergei Bratchuk, a spokesman for Odesa's military administration, said the missile strike on the nine-story apartment building was launched by aircraft in the Black Sea. At least two of the dead were children and three kids were rescued from the rubble. Ukrainian civilians are being killed and injured every day by Russian missile strikes and artillery shelling. On Monday, at least 18 people were killed and dozens were injured in a missile strike on a shopping mall in Kremenchuk, in central Ukraine. One-thousand people were in the mall when the missile struck and at least 20 people are still missing. Kim Hjelmgaard At least 18 people were killed in a missile strike on an apartment building in Ukraines Odesa region, authorities said. Captors of two American veterans in Ukraine want to talk release, report says The captors of two American veterans held as prisoners after joining Ukraine's side in the war against Russia want to negotiate their release, according to a New York Times report citing relatives of one of the men. Lois Drueke, mother of 39-year-old Alex Drueke, said the State Department informed her it had received two calls in the last week from her son relaying the captors' desire to establish talks, the newspaper said. She also said he told the department they were being detained by Russian-backed separatists from the self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic. Alex Drueke and 27-year-old Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, both from Alabama, were captured June 9 near the northeastern city of Kharkiv after volunteering to fight for Ukraine. Both times, he was clearly reading from a script or being prompted to say that his captors, who are the D.P.R., want to engage in negotiations for his and Andys release, Alex Drueke's aunt, Dianna Shaw, told the newspaper. Russia pulls forces out of strategic Snake Island Russia withdrew its forces Thursday from Snake Island, a strategically important island that sits along a busy shipping lane in the Black Sea and has come to symbolize Ukrainian resistance to the invasion. The island gained international attention in February when a Russian warship demanded Ukrainian troops surrender or face bombardment and the soldiers responded with expletives. The soldiers were captured and later freed during a prisoner exchange. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov called the withdrawal from Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island off Ukraines port of Odesa a "goodwill gesture" to demonstrate that the country is not interfering with the United Nations' attempts to secure space for Ukraine to export agricultural products. Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russia of blockading ports and exacerbating a global food crisis. After the Russians took control of Snake Island, the Ukrainian military relentlessly attacked their forces. Ukraines military said Russian troops fled the island after being bombarded by Ukrainian artillery and missile strikes. Biden previews $800 million more in military aid to Ukraine President Biden said Thursday the U.S. will announce $800 million in additional military aid to Ukraine in the next few days. The assistance will include new advanced air defense systems, more artillery, counter-battery radars and more ammunition, Biden said at a press conference during the conclusion of NATO's annual meeting in Madrid. "We are going to stick with Ukraine, and all of the alliance are going to stick with Ukraine as long as it takes to in fact make sure they are not defeated,'' he said. Biden used the same terms when asked Thursday how long Americans can expected to pay for the elevated gas prices that have resulted from the war and measures to hold Russia accountable. As long as it takes, so Russia cannot in fact defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine, he said. Earlier in the summit, NATO declared Russia the most significant and direct threat to its members peace and security, vowing to bolster support for Ukraine in the conflict. NATO summit closes with vow to 'protect every inch' of its territory Amid the threat of Russian aggression spilling beyond Ukraine, the head of NATO said it was imperative for the growing alliance to remain united. NATO's three-day summit in Madrid closed Thursday with encouraging signs after Turkey dropped its objection to Sweden and Finland being invited to join, but also the realization that, in the words of Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, We live in a more dangerous world'' because of the Russian invasion. He sent a strong message to the Kremlin, which hoped the war would help splinter the bloc, saying that it would "protect every inch of NATO territory. Putin still aims to claim most of Ukraine, US intelligence chief says Russian President Vladimir Putin has not changed his goals in Ukraine even though they don't seem realistic, the top U.S. intelligence official said Wednesday. Avril Haines, the Director of National Intelligence, foresees a long, grinding struggle in which Russia retains the parts of the eastern Donbas region it already controls and consolidates its hold over the south by the fall but likely doesn't get beyond that. Speaking at an event in Washington, Haines said Putin has effectively the same political goals that he had previously, which is to say that he wants to take most of Ukraine and push it away from NATO. We perceive a disconnect between Putins near-term military objectives in this area and his militarys capacity, a kind of mismatch between his ambitions and what the military is able to accomplish, she said. Russia continues to make incremental advances in Lysychansk, the last city in Luhansk province it doesn't command. The invading forces and their separatist allies control 95% of Luhansk and about half of Donetsk, which make up the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas. Contributing: The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine updates: Mariupol theater bombing a war crime, Amnesty says LONDON Unilever, parent of brands ranging from Dove and Ponds to Magnum and Hellmanns, said Wednesday it has reached a new distribution arrangement in Israel for Ben & Jerrys, a year after the brand pulled out of the region. Unilever, which notched 52.4 billion euros in revenue last year, and is the second largest company in WWD Beauty, Inc.s annual Top 100 ranking, said Wednesday the new deal will ensure the ice cream stays available to all consumers. More from WWD The deal rolls back a decision by Ben & Jerrys to terminate distribution in the West Bank. Ben & Jerrys, which is owned by Unilever but has an independent board, said last July that it was pulling distribution from the Occupied Palestinian Territory because selling in the region was inconsistent with our values, and we also hear and recognize the concerns shared with us by our fans and trusted partners. At the time, Ben & Jerrys said it planned to stay in Israel through a different arrangement. Unilever, which was criticized by some in the investor community for the way it handled Ben & Jerrys decision, confirmed that it sold the ice cream maker business interests in Israel to the current Israel-based licensee, Avi Zinger, the owner of American Quality Products Ltd. Earlier this year, Zinger had filed suit against Unilever and Ben & Jerrys in a New Jersey court for breach of contract and wrongful termination. The new arrangement means Ben & Jerrys will be sold under its Hebrew and Arabic names throughout Israel and the West Bank under the full ownership of its current licensee. In a statement, Unilever clarified that when it purchased Ben & Jerrys in 2000, the ice cream brand and its independent board were granted rights to make decisions about its social mission. Unilever, however, reserved primary responsibility for financial and operational decisions, and said it had the right to enter into the Israel arrangement. Story continues In a report issued in January, RBC noted that Unilever was the target of ongoing backlash from parts of the investor community due to Ben & Jerrys political boycott. Other analysts have speculated that if Unilever were to spin off its food and beverages division, it would have a hard time offloading Ben & Jerrys due to its independent board. No other majority-owned companies at Unilever operate with independent boards. Unilever said that over the past year it has been listening to perspectives on this complex and sensitive matter, and believes this is the best outcome for Ben & Jerrys in Israel. The review included extensive consultation over several months, including with the Israeli Government. The company said that it rejects completely and repudiates unequivocally any form of discrimination or intolerance. Antisemitism has no place in any society. We have never expressed any support for the Boycott Divestment Sanctions movement and have no intention of changing that position. The Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement describes itself as working to end international support for Israels oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law. Unilever said it is very proud of its overall business in Israel which supplies household products to people across the country. Unilever said its Israel division employs around 2,000 people of diverse backgrounds, has four local manufacturing plants, and works with a network of around 2,000 local suppliers and service providers. Over the last decade, the company said it has invested around 250 million euros in its business in Israel. We look forward to continuing to make a positive contribution to Israels economy and society for many decades to come, and hope that Israelis and Palestinians can reach a peaceful resolution of their conflict. Last July, during its first-half results presentation, Unilever management said that it was aware of the decision made by the independent board of Ben & Jerrys; that the ice cream makers decision did not come as a surprise; and that Unilever remained fully committed to selling its products in Israel. Ruja Ignatova, the so-called Cryptoqueen, has now been named a most-wanted fugitive by the FBI. The FBI added Ignatova to its 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list for allegedly defrauding investors of more than $4 billion through OneCoin, a cryptocurrency company she helped found in 2014. The move comes after Europol added Ignatova, 42, to its most-wanted list earlier this year. "It's an important tool for us, the top 10 list," FBI Assistant Director Michael Driscoll told reporters during a news briefing Thursday. "We think the public is in the best position to help." PHOTO: The FBI has added 'Cryptoqueen' Ruja Ignatova to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. (FBI) Ignatova, a Bulgarian lawyer, claimed to have invented a cryptocurrency to rival Bitcoin. She and others allegedly made false statements while soliciting investments and promoted OneCoin through a multi-level marketing strategy, according to the FBI. OneCoin also claimed to have a private blockchain, as opposed to a public and verifiable one that other virtual currencies have, and the value of OneCoin was determined by the company rather than market demand, the FBI said. The FBI alleges that Ignatova ultimately persuaded investors to give her billions of dollars, capitalizing on the buzz around cryptocurrencies, before disappearing in 2017 after a federal warrant was issued for her arrest. "She's got a lot of money and she hit the road pretty quick," Driscoll said. Video: FTC report reveals rise in cryptocurrency scams MORE: Pizza, mutant apes and a sea of NFTs: Web3 is here Investigators believe Ignatova may have been tipped off that she was under investigation by U.S. and international authorities. On Oct. 25, 2017, she traveled from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Athens, Greece, and has not been seen since, according to the FBI. Ignatova was indicted in February 2018 on one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and securities fraud. PHOTO: The FBI has added 'Cryptoqueen' Ruja Ignatova to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. (FBI) Ignatova is the only woman on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list and is the 11th in its 72-year history, said the FBI, which is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to her arrest. She was known to travel throughout Eastern Europe and the Mideast and may have had plastic surgery to alter her appearance, the FBI said. Story continues While speaking at an event in London in June 2016, Ignatova told the crowd she believed OneCoin would become the "no. 1 cryptocurrency worldwide." Though in an email with her co-founder, Ignatova reportedly described an exit strategy for OneCoin as, "Take the money and run and blame someone else for this..." according to federal prosecutors. MORE: Colorado to become the first state to accept cryptocurrency as payment for taxes Several others also have been charged in connection with OneCoin, including Ignatova's brother, Konstantin Ignatov, who ran the business after she disappeared from public view. He was arrested in March 2019 on a wire fraud conspiracy charge stemming from his role in the "international pyramid scheme," federal prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty to multiple felonies and is awaiting sentencing. Attorney Mark Scott was convicted in 2019 for his role in laundering $400 million worth of fraud proceeds on behalf of OneCoin leadership and is awaiting sentencing, prosecutors said. Karl Sebastian Greenwood, another OneCoin co-founder, is awaiting trial on fraud charges. 'Cryptoqueen' Ruja Ignatova added to FBI's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Rep. Liz Cheney, vice chair of the House Jan. 6 committee, put her full support behind the testimony of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson a day after her stunning testimony in front of the panel. While some supporters of former President Donald Trump are trying to discredit Hutchinson, Cheney on Wednesday called her testimony an "unbelievable example of bravery and of courage and of patriotism in the face of real pressure." Separately, the Wyoming Republican described Trump as a "domestic threat" and warned Republicans they stand at "the edge of an abyss" and "we must pull back." "We have to choose, because Republicans cannot both be loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution," Cheney said during an address at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. Her speech came just hours after the Jan. 6 committee wasted no time after Tuesday's stunning hearing in getting out another subpoena. The panel subpoenaed Pat Cipollone, White House attorney under former President Donald Trump, on Wednesday. It marks the committee's 101st subpoena. Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide to Trump and chief of staff Mark Meadows, revealed in testimony Tuesday that Cipollone warned the president could be charged with every crime imaginable, such as obstructing Congress or election fraud if he joined the mob. But the subpoena sets up another potential clash between Congress and the White House that could ultimately reach the Supreme Court. Several of Trumps aides have defied subpoenas under claims of executive privilege by arguing their communications must remain confidential. Meadows and former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro defied their subpoenas. The House cited both for contempt and the Justice Department is prosecuting Navarro but not Meadows. Congress negotiated an agreement with Trumps previous counsel, Don McGahn, for testimony during the Russia investigation rather than test at the Supreme Court whether he could be compelled to testify. Story continues Explosive testimony: What did Jan. 6 witness Cassidy Hutchinson say about Trump? How does it compare to other evidence? Jan. 6 committee could make criminal referral to DOJ for witness tampering, Cheney says Rep. Liz Cheney said during an interview on Good Morning America that the House Jan. 6 committee may make criminal referrals to the Justice Department for those it believes are trying to influence witness testimony. As Tuesdays hearing concluded, Cheney said the committee had evidence former President Donald Trumps circle had tried to influence witness testimony. Asked by ABCs Jonathan Karl to identify who was responsible, Cheney declined to comment. It gives us a real insight into how people around the former president are operating and the extent to which they believe they can affect the testimony of witnesses before the committee, and its something we take very seriously, she said. Its something people should be aware of. Its a very serious issue and I would imagine the Department of Justice would be very interested in and take that very seriously as well. Nearly half of Americans want Trump charged for role in Jan. 6: poll Almost half of Americans think former President Donald Trump should be charged with a crime for his role in the Jan. 6 attacks, according to a new poll. Overall, 48% of Americans think Trump should be charged with a crime, while 31% say no, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted after the first five hearings of the House Jan. 6 committee. Another 20% say they don't know enough. Responses were highly partisan, with 86% of Democrats supporting criminal charges compared with 10% of Republicans. During Tuesday's hearing, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson said Trump knew the mob was armed at his rally on Jan. 6, 2021, and he directed that armed mob to the U.S. Capitol. Hutchinson said she was in the room with Trump and his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, during the moments leading up to the insurrection. Earlier this month, an ABC News/Ipsos poll found nearly six out of 10 Americans want former President Donald Trump criminally charged in connection with the Capitol riot. - Merdie Nzanga, Candy Woodall Secret Service prepared to testify in response to Hutchinson Secret Service officials mentioned in former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinsons testimony Wednesday are prepared to testify before the House Jan. 6 committee. The agency said Wednesday that it would make all involved parties available for further testimony after Hutchinson recounted a story about former President Donald Trump attempting to grab the steering wheel of his vehicle and assaulting an agent when he was told they would not take him to the Capitol. Bobby Engel, the former head of Trumps detail, and Anthony Ornato, Trumps deputy chief of staff for operations, both were named in Hutchinsons testimony. Hutchinson said Ornato told her about the incident in the presidential vehicle and that Engel, who was present for the conversation, didnt correct it. Both men previously have testified before the committee. Trump and his associates have sought to discredit Hutchinson and her testimony. Trump, Giuliani complain about House committee Former President Donald Trump and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, each railed against the investigation Thursday and continued to question the credibility of star witness Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide. Hutchinson testified Tuesday that Trump was unconcerned about police reporting people with rifles and pistols in the area near where he would give his speech Jan. 6 because he wanted a larger crowd. Her whole story was made up, including the fact that I wanted guns to be standing all around me, during my speech, Trump said in his statement. Who would want that?! Giuliani criticized two members of the committee Reps. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Adam Schiff, D-Calif. and urged other members of the panel to resign. Schiff led the first impeachment against Trump on charges related to his dealings with Ukraine. The biggest liar appearing at the J6 witch hunt is Adam Schiff a/k/a Shifty Schiff. He said he had evidence of Russian Collusion that didnt exist, Giuliani wrote. Liz Cheney has daddy issues The other members should resign in protest. - Bart Jansen Kinzinger: When 'you try a coup ... you have to pay for that' Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill, one of only two Republicans on the Jan. 6 committee, told comedian Stephen Colbert on the "The Late Show" that President Donald Trump was aware he'd lost the election but tried to "overcome the will of the American people." He also said that Trump must be held responsible for the Jan. 6 attacks. "When you try to overthrow the will of the people, and you try a coup in the United States government, you have to pay for that, period," Kinzinger said. During Tuesday's hearing, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson said that Trump knew the mob was armed at his rally on Jan. 6, 2021, and th he directed that armed mob to the U.S. Capitol. Hutchinson was in the room with Trump and his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, during the moments leading up to the insurrection. Merdie Nzanga, Candy Woodall Who is Mark Meadows?: Meet Trump's chief of staff who defied Jan. 6 committee subpoena Who is Liz Cheney?: House Republicans' No. 3, daughter of a VP, Trump critic What does Hutchinsons testimony mean for Trump and his closest advisers? Former White House Aide Cassidy Hutchinsons explosive testimony on Wednesday revealed new allegations about what former President Donald Trump and his closest advisers knew about the potential for violence on Jan. 6 and how the former president reacted to defiance of his order to take him to the Capitol. Trump and his allies already have disputed Hutchinsons account and began a campaign to attack her personally. Heres more about what Hutchinson told the committee and what it could mean for Trump and his inner circle. Cheney: 'Absolutely confident' in ex-White House aide's testimony Rep. Liz Cheney said in an interview with ABC News, broadcast Thursday on "Good Morning America," that she is confident in the testimony of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson as former President Donald Trump and those around him try to discredit her. I think that what Cassidy Hutchinson did was an unbelievable example of bravery and of courage and of patriotism in the face of real pressure, said Rep. Liz Cheney, the committees top Republican, told ABC News Jonathan Karl. I am absolutely confident in her credibility. Im confident in her testimony. The committee is not going to stand by and watch her character be assassinated by anonymous sources and by men who are claiming executive privilege. Hutchinson told the committee on Tuesday that White House officials, including Trump, knew about the potential for violence on Jan. 6 and moved forward anyway with a rally that preceded the riot at the Capitol. She also recounted a story she was told by a Secret Service official about Trump attempting to grab the steering wheel of the vehicle that was taking him back to the White House over his orders to take him to the Capitol. Cheney said the committee has spoken to Bobby Engel, the former head of Trumps detail, and Anthony Ornato, Trumps deputy chief of staff for operations, but welcomed additional testimony under oath. The Secret Service said Wednesday that the two men were prepared to testify. Cassidy Hutchinson, top former aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, testifies at the House Jan. 6 committee on June 28, 2022. She also said she looks forward to the testimony of Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone, for whom the committee has issued a subpoena. I think this is an instance where the presidency, the American people, where weve been through something weve never been through before and the very real and significant chance that there was behavior under way about which Mr. Cipollone expressed significant legal concerns and I think he has an obligation to testify, she said. Secret Service's side: Secret Service: Officials willing to testify after Jan. 6 witness said Trump lunged, grabbed wheel Trump's White House counsel Cipollone called to testify The Jan. 6 committee's subpoena of former White House attorney Pat Cipollone came just one day after the committee heard groundbreaking testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, who served as a senior aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Hutchinson revealed, among other things, that Cipollone was concerned that Trump would be exposed to a number of criminal charges for inciting a riot on the Capitol. "The Select Committees investigation has revealed evidence that Mr. Cipollone repeatedly raised legal and other concerns about President Trumps activities on January 6th and in the days that preceded," Reps. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the committee's chair and vice chair, said in a statement. Chelsey Cox This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jan. 6 live updates: Cheney defends Hutchinson testimony Correction: An earlier version of the story misstated seven individuals as signatories on the letter calling for reproductive rights. Those individuals had not reviewed the letter before their names were added by an organizer of the letter. The story and headline thus misstated the number of signatories. Business leaders are circulating a letter they plan to deliver to the governor to ask to protect reproductive rights, the first public effort by Indiana businesses to collectively mobilize in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. The letter is currently being circulated among business leaders by Jon Gilman, a tech entrepreneur behind the software company Clear Software, and others. Gov. Eric Holcomb has urged the Indiana General Assembly to further restrict abortion rights when it convenes for a special session July 25. The growing list, which was shared with IndyStar ahead of its public release, included more than 60 signatures. IndyStar has learned not all of the signees have given final approval to be named on the current draft. It is unclear if or when the final version of the letter will be delivered to Holcomb. For subscribers: Indiana special session on abortion, taxpayer refund pushed back to end of July The letter as written currently would tell the governor "we strongly urge you not to take this path." The letter states further abortion restrictions would make Indiana an "impossible choice" for companies committed to building an inclusive work place and will make it more difficult to attract and retain top talent. "Women business owners, executives and rising leaders have already begun making plans to leave Indiana," the letter states. "Collectively, we support the protection of womens reproductive rights," the letter reads. "Not only is this the right thing to do for our fellow Hoosiers, its best for business." Story continues Some of the state's largest, most prominent and powerful employers, though, are noticeably absent from the letter. More from IndyStar: 'Abortion is health care': What Supreme Court reversal means for doctors, nurses, patients Companies such as Eli Lilly, Cummins and Roche have not taken action. IndyStar has confirmed they have not added their names to the letter currently circulating. A spokesperson for the software company Salesforce said the company was aware of the letter but had not approved its inclusion in any draft. He did not comment on whether they will support the letter calling for reproductive rights in Indiana now or in the future. This is a departure from those companies' past practice of taking public positions on pressing social issues including racial equity and police brutality, and LGBTQ rights, such as fighting against Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Indianapolis-based entrepreneur Jenny Vance posted a call-to-action on LinkedIn.com for business leaders to stand up for reproductive rights. She signed on to the letter. "There's a massive amount of business leaders who understand the implications of this legislation and the promise of the governor what he's proposing to do, what that will do to their female employees directly, how it will impact their families and how it will impact our local economy," Vance, SalesJen's CEO and founder, said in an interview with the IndyStar. "Backwards-looking legislation impacts our ability to attract talent," she said. 'Businesses carry a lot of weight': Companies remain largely silent In Texas, Salesforce set an example for how companies can respond to states banning abortions, promising to help relocate concerned employees to states with better access to reproductive care. But it's unclear if Indiana companies will do the same. In total, IndyStar reached out to nine large employers in Indiana for their response to the possibility Indiana will further restrict or ban abortion rights. Only two, Salesforce and Kroger, have voiced commitment to expanding reproductive care benefits. Jon Mills, a spokesperson for Cummins, said the company supports employees making health care decisions on what the employees believe is right for them. Mills said Cummins currently provides employee health care benefits that cover elective reproductive procedures and medical travel benefits. But he would not say if abortion is covered by current benefits or if Cummins would lobby for abortion rights. In past years, Cummins has dived into pressing social issues, both acting alone and joining other Indiana corporations in speaking out against racism, discrimination, social injustices, attempts to roll back voting rights, anti-Asian hate crimes, and laws targeting same-sex couples. Mills said the company does not get involved in every issue. "We have a thoughtful and rigorous process before engaging on issues," he said. "We only engage when we have standing and credibility on the issue and if the issue effects our ability to run our business, effects our employees or affects a core value of our company." Why aren't big employers doing more Speaking to IndyStar at the abortion rights rally, Indiana University human resources employee Taylor ODay, 26, said that she thinks corporations have an obligation to say something, given how much money, power and voice they have. The reality is a majority of the people want this, (abortion rights), and we are their consumers, she said. They wouldnt be businesses if it werent for us. At bare minimum, they owe it to us to speak out and give the people what they want. She said consumers can vote with their wallets, and she would absolutely boycott a company for being anti-abortion rights. Katie Blair, the ACLU Indiana policy and advocacy director, told IndyStar, "We know that businesses carry a lot of weight in the state and that their voices have changed the outcome of terrible bills moving through Indiana state legislature." Vance said she too felt the weight of the corporate silence in the initial aftermath of the SCOTUS decision. "It just seemed really quiet and part of me was like, Where was the uproar in our business community?" said Vance, who had joined tech leaders in signing a letter asking then Gov. Mike Pence to veto Indiana Religious Freedoms and Restoration Act. Passed in 2015 by the state's Republican-majority legislature and lauded by religious conservatives, RFRA was met with backlash from business leaders who said it could lead to LGBTQ discrimination. They successfully called for a fix that would protect the LGBTQ community. Vance feels a similar mobilization could be effective now in keeping reproductive health care rights intact in Indiana. In the days following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Vance said she realized that business leaders were sharing conversations and concerns privately. As they talked, her belief that businesses could rally around reproductive rights was renewed. Vance said companies should be focused on political lobbying before a legislative change takes place. "That's what they should be talking about, and advocating before this forest fire starts in our state," she said. It's unclear if the state's largest corporations are advocating behind the scenes given their general silence on the issue of abortion. Indiana Chamber President and CEO Kevin Brinegar told IndyStar his organization, which advocates on behalf of businesses, does not intend to take a policy position on abortion during the special session. "A position has to be discussed, debated, reviewed and voted on by our board of directors," Brinegar said. "They're not scheduled to meet until the fall before the regular legislative session." But for many businesses, not all social issues are equal, said MK Chin, an associate professor of management at Indiana Universitys Kelley School of Business, who researches the political responses of corporations. One theory is that the public has little interest in CEOs taking a stand on abortion rights. Chin cited a Stanford University survey that abortion ranked lower than the environment, gender issues, LGBTQ rights, domestic violence and pay equity when asked what people wanted to see in CEO activism. Stanford's research from 2018 found that abortion, along with gun control, is one of the more contentious issues for CEOs to speak out on. That research, which Chin cited, found about 37% of the public favored CEOs speaking out on abortion while 39% did not. In comparison, more than 50% favorably viewed CEOs speaking out about issues involving race. Supporters of abortion rights and anti-abortion rights gather for a protest at the Indiana Federal Courthouse on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, in Indianapolis. Employers play pivotal role if people must travel out of state for abortion care In states that ban abortion, the last line of access for people who are seeking a safe abortion is to travel out of the state. Employers play a pivotal role in that, given the system of employer -provided health insurance. Workers across Indiana told IndyStar they are calling on companies to expand health coverage and pay for travel expenses for out-of-state abortion care. "Companies should step up in this case, because the government is failing," said Hannah May, a 30-year-old Navy contractor whose eyes filled with tears as she spoke to the IndyStar about how "nerve-wracking" it would be to become pregnant at this uncertain moment. Behind her, protesters chanted "we dissent." Like May, many other women suffer from health complications that make it dangerous to conceive and may require an abortion to save their lives. She wants to have a kid, she said. But in the event something goes wrong, she does not have adequate health care benefits from her employer or choices to keep herself safe. What if I have a C-section? What if other complications happen? What if I almost die? Hoosiers gathered to protest the leaked opinion of the Supreme Court considering overturning the ruling of abortions Tuesday, May 4, 2022, at Monument Circle in Indianapolis. Protestors for abortion-rights were met with counter protesters in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade. Workers call on companies to act Many of America's largest companies have announced they will cover travel expenses for employee abortions, including Salesforce, Kroger, Zillow, Uber, Lyft and Bank of America. Some employers are holding off making public statements until after the Indiana state legislature makes a decision. "Until we see specific state legislation, it's too premature for us to determine if or how IU might be impacted," Indiana University spokesman Chuck Carney told IndyStar in an email. At an abortion rights rally on June 25, protestors wanted to know: Would their employers cover out-of-state reproductive care if abortion gets banned in Indiana? Would they get paid time off if they need to receive and recover from an abortion? If forced to carry the child to term, would they be given adequate parental leave? Emergency medical technician Hannah Rider, 24, criticized health care companies lack of response. Her own employer, an ambulance company she declined to name for fear of retaliation, has been silent on the issue. In her work, she transports victims of sexual assault and patients suffering from pregnancy complications or miscarriage. She knows abortion access is a safety issue. Because we work in health care, we are supposed to provide care for people on the worst days of their lives, care when they need it the most, she said. To turn a blind eye to the gross miscarriage of justice, and the stepping back of decades in health care, its inexcusable. Hoosiers gathered to protest the leaked opinion of the Supreme Court considering overturning the ruling of abortions Tuesday, May 4, 2022, at Monument Circle in Indianapolis. Protestors for abortion-rights were met with counter protesters in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade. Labor unions' responses Employees across Indiana are starting to mobilize around reproductive rights, albeit tentatively. Unions can bargain for better benefits from employers. Those without unions can negotiate better benefits through employee resource groups, which can "have a lot of power," according to ACLU's Katie Blair. Rider, the EMT worker at the abortion rights rally, said she plans to advocate for her company's workplace safety committee to take on abortion access as an issue. Lynne Murphy, the president of Unite Here, said the union that represents food workers is planning to organize its members to knock on doors to fight for abortion access. Genie Kastrup, President of SEIU Local 1, which represents security guards and janitors, called on state officials to protect abortion rights. "The social and economic consequences for working families especially Black and Brown women will be destructive," she said in a statement. "... Local 1 members are ready to mobilize in numbers reproductive rights are a labor issue." But labor power just isn't what it once was in Indiana. Membership has severely shrunk, first hit with automation and then a series of union-breaking laws. The statewide association of unions, Indiana State AFL-CIO, which represents nearly 300,000 workers, is waiting to see what lawmakers propose before taking action and is standing behind its national president's statement supporting abortion access, said its president Brett Voorhies. Nationally, the president of the AFL-CIO Liz Shuler, condemned the reversal of Roe v. Wade. "Today's decision by the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade is a devastating blow to working women and families across the country," said Shuler. "We strongly believe that everyone should have control over their bodies, including decisions over personal reproductive health." Workers: End of Roe reveals flaws in current worker benefits system In addition to asking for employees to help cover costs of out-of-state abortions, if abortion is banned in Indiana, workers renewed a call for better child care and parental leave benefits. Ab Harris, 20, told IndyStar at the abortion rights rally that banning abortion and forcing people to carry fetuses to term is dangerous because support for parents and children are woefully inadequate. "If they're going to force their employees to have kids, they need to at least make sure that they'll be able to harbor those children properly and keep them safe," Harris said. The Roe decision has also exposed existing issues within the health care system, ACLU Indiana policy director Blair told IndyStar. Contract employees and others without adequate employer-provided health insurance will be the worst of the worst off as abortion rights are stripped from the constitution. May, the protestor who suffers from health complications that would make pregnancy dangerous, is a third-party contractor for the federal government. "How am I supposed to tell these employers that I wish to start a family, when they give me so little to seek the health care that I would need?" May told IndyStar. She only receives four weeks maternity leave and no word from her employer if they will provide more reproductive benefits. "Not to mention, most companies do not wish to hire a pregnant person because they see it as a detriment to the company." Contact IndyStar reporter Alexandria Burris at aburris@gannett.com or call 317-617-2690. Follow her on Twitter: @allyburris. Contact IndyStar reporter Ko Lyn Cheang at kcheang@indystar.com or 317-903-7071. Follow her on Twitter: @kolyn_cheang. Contact IndyStar reporter Binghui Huang at 317-385-1595 orBhuang@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Binghuihuang. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana employers to call for abortion rights, largest companies silent Fresh pizza and salad on glass table terrace outside in Italy with tomato sauce vegetables and two glasses of red wine bottle Getty Images Traditionally, the world of wine pairing has mostly been reserved for fine-dining affairs. Bold reds accompanying juicy slabs of steak, silky whites alongside fatty cuts of fish, and sparkling roses complementing soft, pungent cheeses have adorned dinner tables for hundreds of years. But if you haven't noticed, the wine world has gone through a tremendous amount of change over the past couple decades, and the job of a great sommelier has expanded into pairing vino with everything from sandwiches and fried foods to barbecue and clambakes. One of the most fun challenges for a somm is to delve into the world of pizza pairings. Alongside wines, pizza has had a revolution of its own this century, and toppings run the gamut from fruits and seafood to vegan cheese and meats. To get a better handle on the best way to pair wine with pizza, we asked a few expert sommeliers from Italy. The first is Danilo Fantini, the food and beverage manager and head sommelier at Toscana Resort Castelfalfi, a five-star oasis in the heart of a more than 2,000-year-old village in Tuscany. The other wine wizard is Leonardo Lazzerini, the food and beverage director and sommelier at Il Borro, a dreamy Tuscan spot owned by the Ferragamo family with an organic vineyard, luxe suites, and mouthwatering cuisine. Take note, as these two wine connoisseurs will help you find the perfect pairing for your next pizza party. Travel + Leisure: In the broadest sense, what wines pair best with pizza? Danilo Fantini: "When it comes to white pizza with dairy products and/or cheese, it makes sense to pair a wine with strong acidity in order to create a sense of harmony with the fatness found in dairy. An example is Arneis della Langhe, Greco di Tufo, or Casa Poggio I Soli 2020 (Estate of Castelfalfi). For a red-based pizza, I suggest a white wine with medium structure that can play off the acidity of the tomato, such as a chardonnay or an Ansonica. Also, a red that has delicate tannins pairs nicely, like the Il Poggio Nero 2019 (Estate of Castelfalfi)." Story continues Leonardo Lazzerini: "The world of pizza is anything but simple. From the ultra-thin crust to the thicker focaccia and the multiple choice of ingredients, I would follow just two simple rules that can make the pizza and wine pairings easy to understand: White-based pizza can be matched with white wines with a sustained acidity or sparkling wine. A red-based pizza's best marriage, instead, will be with silky tannin red wines that are able to attenuate the acidity of the tomato." When it comes to Italian-style pizzas tonda, al taglio, pinsa, pizza alla pala, Napoletana, fritta, Siciliana what are some ideal pairings? LL: "For tonda and al taglio, a young barbera versatile vino with soft tannins and juicy fruit flavors (north of Italy). For Roman pinsa, a vermentino from the coast of Tuscany (unoaked) with that enhanced sapidity, fresh and floral. For pizza alla pala, Tuscan rose is a perfect match, made with sangiovese, or even syrah, which is surprisingly an incredible grape to cultivate in Tuscany. Neapolitan pizza here we can't go wrong saying that the compatriot ancient white grape falanghina is the best match. For pizza fritta, some bubbles are surely needed to clean the palate, so [try] Franciacorta or Trento DOC, or even a sparkling wine made with sangiovese grapes, like our Bolle di Borro. And for Sicilian pizza, a young red Etna wine volcanic, elegant, rich in fruit, and Nerello Mascalese-based." Obviously, not all pizzas are tomato-based. Do you have pairing ideas for pesto, pizza bianca, Hawaiian, or seafood-based pizzas? DF: "For pesto-based pizza, vermentino Poggio I Soli 2020 (Estate of Castelfalfi). On white pizza and pizza bianca with ricotta, a cabernet sauvignon 2011 (Estate of Castelfalfi) or cabernet franc spumantizzato." LL: "For Hawaiian pizza (with pineapple), fruits call for more fruits, and so a gewurztraminer would be the best pairing. But a rose with some longer maceration on skin would also do a great job. When it comes to seafood pizza with clams, a sauvignon blanc whose flavors can range from floral to fruity and sometimes even vegetal can clean the palate with a fresh acidity and minerality." How about Americanized pizzas? What pairs well with a New York slice, Detroit-style pies, or Chicago deep dish? LL: "For a New York slice, both a crispy sauvignon blanc or dry rose. A Detroit-style [pizza], more chewy and rich in salsa, will match with a Lambrusco di Sorbara. For Chicago deep dish, as the name suggests, this is more a dish than a pizza and will require a complex wine like a Chianti or medium-body cabernet." If you have meat on your pizza pepperoni, prosciutto, etc. are there different wine recommendations? DF: "Absolutely. For meats on pizza, a red wine with a good structure and delicate tannins is ideal for the fatness found in the ingredients. I recommend a Chianti Cerchiaia Reserve 2019 (Estate of Castelfalfi)." LL: "Some options would be a Chianti Classico Tuscany DOCG, a Langhe Nebbiolo DOC, a Pinot Nero Alto Adige DOC, or a pinot noir from Oregon." If you're strictly vegetarian, or like a lot of vegetables on your pizza, do you have specific wine pairings for that? DF: "For pizza with vegetables, I recommend a sauvignon blanc due to the aromatic nature of veggies." LL: "I would suggest a white wine with an aromatic expression and structure such as a Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi." There are pizzas made with gluten-free crusts do you have thoughts on wine pairings based on that? LL: "There are no restrictions on the use of wine on gluten-free pizzas. In terms of taste, it depends on how it's stuffed, but if the gluten-free crust is not as good as a regular one, let's make sure to order a very good wine to save the dinner." Instead of wine, do you have any pairings for pizza with an Aperol spritz? LL: "Absolutely, and for some southern areas of Italy, that represents a classic combination for a beloved Italian aperitivo or pizza dinner. Perhaps a pizza rich in protein [with a] more rustic crust, topped with buffalo mozzarella from Campania, salmon, confit tomato, and courgettes, and lightly marinated in oil. Aperol spritz is a cocktail with a simple preparation, but on a gustatory level, it can be combined with different flavors or even wine. In fact, during summertime, a rose Aperol spritz will offer a completely new level of fun to the pizza matching." DF: "My suggestion is Castelfalfi blond beer, which is chilled and sparkling." Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker in March 2022 (Getty Images) Kourtney Kardashian is keeping a bedside vigil after her husband, Travis Barker, was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles on Tuesday following reports of pancreatitis. While neither of the pair have shared a public update on the situation, sources connected to the family have reported that his admission relates to an inflamed pancreas which may have been triggered by a colonoscopy. Now, an insider has told People that Kardashian wont leave his side. They said: Kourtney was worried yesterday. They both were. Travis was suffering from extreme stomach pain and could barely walk. They added that the Blink-182 drummer had been receiving the best care in hospital, with medical staff focusing on pain management. Fans of the star were left worried after the 46-year-old posted an update on Tuesday which simply read: God save me. God save me Travis Barker (@travisbarker) June 28, 2022 While some commentators felt the post was simply a recitation of Machine Gun Kelly lyrics, others interpreted it as a genuine plea for divine help. His post was followed 24 hours later by an Instagram Story published by his 16-year-old daughter, Alabama, asking her followers for their prayers. Please send your prayers, she wrote, adding a wide-eyed emoji. Alabama also posted a photo to TikTok showing her holding her fathers hand while he lay in the hospital bed. According to Page Six, the post was captioned: Please say a prayer and was swiftly deleted. The oldest Kardashian sister and Barker became Instagram official in February 2021, before announcing their engagement in October of the same year. In April 2022, the couple had the first of three wedding ceremonies in Las Vegas. Weeks later, the couple confirmed they had exchanged views in a courthouse in Santa Barbara in California. And at the end of May, the couple had their third and final ceremony in a lavish celebration in Portofino, Italy, in front of friends and family. Photo credit: Chris Jackson - Getty Images Prince William and Kates March tour to the Caribbean was meant to celebrate the Queens Platinum Jubilee but ended up becoming notable for the controversy and criticism it attracted. And today, royal accounts have shown that the eight-day visit to Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas cost the UK public 226,383 (approximately $274,ooo) in charter and scheduled flights for the couple and their entourage. The figure was revealed as part of the royal households annual financial review which sees them outline how the lump sum it receives from the UK Treasury has been spent in the previous financial year. A total of 4.5 million was spent on travel from April 2021 to March 2022 and individual trips costing more than 15,000 each have been itemized by the Palace. The Cambridges trip to the Caribbean was the most expensive itemized bill but other large costs included; 138,457 for Prince Charles visit to Barbados last November to take part in the ceremony to mark the country becoming a republic; 123,541 to fly Prince Charles and Camilla to Jordan and Egypt earlier the same month for an official visit, and 42,601 for a charter flight for them to go to the G20 Leaders conference in Rome followed by COP26 in Glasgow along with staff trips ahead of time. The royal train was also responsible for some hefty costs, with the Queens visit to Edinburgh via Croy, north Lanarkshire last July costing 46,442. Her trip to Cardiff last October on the train cost 28,934. While the cost of the Cambridges flights to the Caribbean may seem substantial, it does not represent the total bill for the whole trip. Ahead of the visit, Kensington Palace said that it would be paid for by a combination of the host countries, the Sovereign Grant, and Britains Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. In May, the Independent reported that a freedom of information request revealed that 41,000 of Jamaican taxpayers money was spent on hosting the couple at events including a state dinner. Story continues The annual Sovereign Grant report primarily outlines how the royal household has spent the lump sum it receives from UKs public purse for the previous financial year. The money is used for royal travel and the running and maintenance of official royal residences and work. This latest report covers the period from April 2021 to March 2022, during which time the royals received 86.3 million, 34.5 million of which dedicated to the ongoing 10-year refurbishment of Buckingham Palace. You Might Also Like U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer Announces His Retirement - Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images The Supreme Court couldnt manage to end its disastrous summer session without promising more horrors to come. The highest court in the land announced on Thursday that it will determine this fall whether state legislatures can conduct elections as they see fit, regardless of whether they are in violation of the state constitution and free of oversight of state courts. More from Rolling Stone The case in question, Moore v. Harper, was brought by Republicans in North Carolina after the states Supreme Court rejected their bid to gerrymander the congressional map in the partys favor. State Supreme Courts have also recently rejected maps drawn by Republicans in Pennsylvania, and Democrats in New York and Maryland, as The Washington Post points out. North Carolina Republicans are arguing that their map should have been allowed to stand, citing the independent state legislature theory, which holds that state legislatures can essentially do whatever they want when it comes to federal elections. If the Supreme Court to rule in the North Carolina GOPs favor this fall, Republican-controlled legislatures across the country (there are 30 of them, compared to 20 controlled by Democrats) could have free rein not only to chop up congressional maps, but to implement a bevy of other voter restrictions with little to no oversight. Republicans in Pennsylvania, for instance, including GOP gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano, have proposed throwing out voter rolls and requiring every citizen to re-register to vote. Voter ID, eliminating early or mail-in voting, and other restrictive measures have been floated elsewhere. Republicans would have a far easier time implementing some of these measures if they didnt have to deal with the pesky inconvenience of their state constitutions. Story continues Theres one other pretty significant way in which the power of state legislatures has been debated lately: Trumps scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election was predicated upon conservative state legislatures appointing alternate slates of electors declaring him the winner despite the states citizens voting for President Biden. Its unclear to what extent a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court this fall might allow Republicans to orchestrate a similar scheme in 2024. It certainly wouldnt hurt their chances, though. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) expressed alarm at the courts decision to take up the case, and what it could mean for future elections. We are witnessing a judicial coup in process, she tweeted. If the President and Congress do not restrain the Court now, the Court is signaling they will come for the Presidential election next. All our leaders regardless of party must recognize this Constitutional crisis for what it is. Best of Rolling Stone Click here to read the full article. A 14-year-old tiger has died from health complications after contracting COVID-19 at an Ohio zoo, officials said. Jupiter, a 14-year-old Amur tiger, passed away on Sunday after officials at the Columbus Zoo confirmed that he had developed pneumonia which was caused by the COVID-19 virus. On Wednesday, June 22, Jupiter was reported by his care team to be acting ill. (He was not interested in eating, and was reluctant to stand, move or interact with keepers.), the zoo wrote in a statement on social media. When this continued into the next day, Jupiter was anesthetized for examination and treatment. Initial exams suggested an infection, and treatment was started. MORE: Oakland Zoo begins experimental COVID-19 vaccine program on its wildlife To complicate matters, Jupiter had been dealing with long-term treatment of some chronic underlying illnesses, said the Columbus Zoo, and this made him more susceptible to the COVID-19 virus. Unfortunately, Jupiter did not improve with this treatment and remained reluctant to move and eat, officials continued. The following day, he was given additional treatments and had more diagnostic testing. PHOTO: Jupiter, a 14-year-old Amur tiger, passed away on Sunday, June 26, 2022, after officials at the Columbus Zoo confirmed that he had developed pneumonia which was caused by the COVID-19 virus. (The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium / Facebook) Jupiter passed away on Sunday and is the first animal at the Columbus Zoo to succumb to COVID-19, the zoo said. Jupiter's care team remembers him as a big and impressive tiger who loved fish, sleeping in the habitats cave, playing with cardboard boxes, and interacting with another favorite itema 75-pound firehouse plus sign that was heavy for keepers to move but something he carried around like it weighed nothing, said the Columbus Zoo. His care team also fondly remembers the trust they built with Jupiter over time through training and how he was always very friendly with the female tigers, Mara and Natasha. MORE: 8 big cats confirmed tested positive for coronavirus at NY zoo Jupiter was born on July 9, 2007, at the Moscow Zoo in Russia but eventually ended up at the Columbus Zoo on March 19, 2015, after spending the first half of his life at the Zoo Dvur Kralove in the north of the Czech Republic. Story continues Jupiter leaves quite a legacy and sired nine cubs during his life -- six of which were born at the Columbus Zoo -- which officials say has contributed to the future of Jupiters endangered species. MORE: Elephant killed in zoo enclosure by another bull elephant who attacked him while he slept Employees at the Columbus Zoo require their staff working with cats, great apes, otters and wolverines -- among other species -- to wear masks whenever they come within six feet of the animal as a precautionary measure. Said the zoo: Jupiter will be greatly missedPlease keep our Asia Quest team in your thoughts. 14-year-old tiger dies after contracting COVID-19 at zoo originally appeared on abcnews.go.com On April 4, the U.K.s development finance institution, Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) Group, formally changed its name to British International Investment. As part of the name change, the development finance institution (DFI) announced that it surpassed its pledge to invest 2 billion in Africa over the last two years. It was a reminder of the series of work BII had accomplished on the continent leading to this point: over 600 portfolio businesses with a value of $4.2 billion. Nigeria is its biggest investment market in Africa, with a portfolio of $570 million. Within this period, the impact investor backed several firms in various sectors like banking, trade, private equity and venture capital. Some deals include $300 million direct equity in DP World, $75 million direct debt in Stanbic IBTC Bank, $100 million in Standard Chartered, a $20 million investment in Verod Cap and a $15 million investment in the TLcom TIDE Africa Fund. In a new development, BII said it will invest between 1.5 billion and 2 billion yearly from 2022 and 2026 in Africa, parts of Asia and the Caribbean. But narrowing this to just Africa, the impact investor is looking to mobilize $6 billion into the continent across these five years, Benson Adenuga, the firms head of office and coverage director for Nigeria, told TechCrunch in an interview. We want to do a lot in Africa. Africa is one of the key strategic markets for BII. It has been since inception, as it continues to be even with our current strategy for 2022 to 2026, Adenuga said. The key reason for that is youve got over a billion people in Africa, the level of developmental needs across Africa is very significant. We see a very significant role that DFIs like us who have the experience, capital and skill sets to support development can bring to the table. BII has adopted a strategy to make calculated, not sporadic, investments across key sectors: infrastructure, financial services, manufacturing, food and agriculture, health, education, and real estate and construction. The strategy is to divide countries into four categories based on market development and specific risk profiles. They include mature, powerhouse, stable and fragile markets. What we do in each country is a function of where the country stands, noted the director. In matured markets such as South Africa, Adenuga said BII will have an on-the-ground presence and offer its full suite of services ranging from climate finance, funding for financial inclusion, and equity and debt financing. BII will have offices in powerhouse markets like Nigeria, Egypt and Kenya and offer equity and debt financing to projects in these countries. For stable markets such as Ghana, BII will get representative offices that will provide investments with the option to go all-in if there are noticeable upsides. And in fragile markets, BII will work through intermediaries and partners to make investments across key sectors on its behalf. We offer these across the countries and deploy using various instruments, ranging from equity to debt and everything in between. That is how we tend to approach Africa. Progress so far: Banks, VC firms and startups Around 57% of the African population have little or no access to financial services and one primary goal of BIIs involvement and investments in Africa is to bring more people into the financial stratosphere. In its dealings so far, the impact investor is not only constructing avenues to increase financial inclusion but also increasing opportunities for women because they tend to be more financially excluded than men. In February, FirstBank, one of Nigerias largest banking groups, received a $100 million credit facility from the impact invest to lend to small and medium businesses in the country. Adenuga said 30% of that money is earmarked specifically to women-owned and led SMEs. BII has also provided investment to TLcom Capital, one of the largest pan-African venture capital firms. This January, TLcom reached the first close of its $150 million second fund; BII contributed $10 million of that money. This investment follows the impact investors $15 million commitment to TLcom Capitals first fund of $71 million. TLcom Capital is just one of the many firms where BII is a limited partner. It has put money into VC and PE firms like Sawari Ventures, AfricInvest, Novastar Ventures, Verod Capital and Ezdehar Management. Investing in startups through these firms made sense for BII, considering it isnt traditionally structured to take on early-stage risk by partaking directly. However, it becomes hard to ignore some of these businesses as they enter growth-stage phases and need more capital most times beyond what venture capital firms can provide to scale. BII has upped its game by investing directly in such businesses. We have operated as a growth capital company, with at least $10 million of investment and higher. There are several innovative businesses in early stages that we could not support before, said Adenuga. But we see a market gap when it comes to startups with a proven concept, a product on the market that is acceptable and needs more capital; we then come in and co-invest with our fund managers directly in the businesses. An example is its investment in B2B e-commerce platform TradeDepots $110 million (equity and debt) Series B round. In previous rounds, BII had invested indirectly through Novastar Ventures as a limited partner, but in the growth round, BII invested $5 million directly with Novastar on the startups cap table too. BII and Novastar Ventures also backed TeamApt, a Nigerian fintech, in its $30 million+ Series B last year. The impact investor invested about $5 million. Other African startups that have received money directly from BII include M-KOPA, Paymob, Apollo Agriculture and Pylon. Big plans for climate finance This week, BII announced its $20 million investment in Moove, a mobility fintech democratizing access to vehicle ownership in Africa. The company provides revenue-based vehicle financing and financial services to Uber drivers. However, unlike the other equity rounds, the Moove deal is a four-year structured credit investment. BII said the funding will enable Moove to purchase and import brand new fuel-efficient cars into Lagos, which will be leased to drivers who can earn their way to asset-ownership over three to four years. In an interview with TechCrunch last year, Moove co-CEO Ladi Delano said at least 60% of the vehicles the company finances will be electric or hybrid in the coming years. This grand plan of a company that has raised over $200 million in equity and debt fits well with BIIs climate finance objectives. It is one reason the impact investor is interested in the mobility company, according to Adenuga. He said over the next five years, at least 30% of BIIs total new commitments by value will be in climate finance. It is the first time BII is making clear, explicit targets for climate finance, a development that will make it one of Africas largest climate investors. Last week, BII, which has offices in numerous African countries, announced plans to invest up to $200 million in hydropower projects across the continent alongside Norfund and Scatec. It follows other climate-focused projects BII has been involved with, such as New Forests and Energy Access Relief Fund -- and smaller commercial ones like Lumos and Greenlight Planet. What were looking to do is to invest in businesses that lead to a reduction in emission, that support adaptation and resilience, and also help businesses to be able to adapt to the impact of climate finance, the director said. When we talk about climate finance, people tend to think about just investing in solar panels and renewable energy; it is that and much more. For example, climate-smart agriculture and green buildings are something that we will look at. In mobility, things like electric vehicles, converting from diesel to CNG or clean-energy vehicles those are some things that we will support as well. So its a comprehensive set of investments that we will try to do, which is quite critical for us. The four Republicans running for Arizona governor offered voters their visions for the state's future and more than a few digs at their opponents in a PBS debate Wednesday. Voters will choose among the four candidates Kari Lake, Scott Neely, Karrin Taylor Robson and Paola Tulliani Zen in the Aug. 2 primary election. Early voting begins July 6. Between the bickering and interrupting, they laid out their ideas on water, education, election trustworthiness, abortion and other issues, seeking to portray themselves as ready to lead the state. Those who already know something about Lake and Taylor Robson got a sense of the front-runners' leadership style and personality, while Neely and Zen had to make the most of what is likely the most exposure they'll get during the campaign. More: GOP candidates for Arizona governor mostly take aim at one another in debate Ultimately, the debate featured more style than substance, but wasn't completely devoid of substantive policy talk. Here are five takeaways from Wednesday's Republican gubernatorial debate: 1. Candidates came ready to fight Observers will remember this debate as contentious, with candidates sniping at and talking over each other repeatedly throughout the 55-minute event. Robson threw out the first insult in her opening statement, criticizing Lake's career as a TV anchor by telling viewers they don't want a "career talker with a teleprompter" as governor. Lake soon followed with her own offensive, calling a Robson Taylor a "coward" on COVID-19 policies. (From left) Paola Tulliani Zen, Scott Neely and Karrin Taylor Robson pose for a group photo before a debate with Republican candidates ahead of the Aug. 2 primary election for the Arizona governor's office in Phoenix. They kept up a steady stream of insults throughout the debate, accusing each other of lying about the other's record. Neely and Zen focused their heat on the two front-runners; Neely threw in numerous barbs and kept talking over Lake and Taylor Robson, prompting rebukes from moderator Ted Simons. All four candidates began talking at once as they argued whether the state's economy has come "roaring back," as Taylor Robson claimed. Simons whistled loudly to get their attention. Story continues The veteran host of the "Arizona Horizon" current events show on PBS appeared exasperated at times but tried to keep order with a dash of joviality. "No," he told Zen during her last words, "you can't respond to a closing statement!" For subscribers: Next governor could decide future of abortion law. Where do candidates stand? 2. Frontrunners are actually similar Lake and Taylor Robson, far ahead of the other two in polls, went after each other with what seemed like genuine dislike. Yet in parsing their statements, their positions on many issues are quite similar. They both consider Arizona's southern border with Mexico a major problem, both are pro-business, both pro-life and both prepared to fight "critical race theory" in public schools. They even live near each other in the same Biltmore-area neighborhood. Karrin Taylor Robson walks toward elevators as journalists ask her questions after a debate with Republican candidates ahead of the Aug. 2 primary election for the Arizona governor's office on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, in Phoenix. Their opinions about the 2020 election and whether Biden won fairly show the widest difference. Lake, who's endorsed by Trump, made multiple false claims about massive election fraud in 2020, including the idea that the partisan audit ordered by the state Senate last year "proved" the election was rigged. The audit's final report made no such claim and actually confirmed Biden's win in Maricopa County. Robson Taylor stuck to the same non-committal argument that she has during her campaign, claiming unfairness in the election without specifically stating that Biden isn't the legitimate president. The leading candidates also showed a different side of themselves at the debate. Lake was more restrained than she is at rallies and other speaking engagements, saying that the governor needs to be a "grown up and somebody who calls names is not a grown-up," for instance. Off the debate stage, she habitually calls other Republicans she doesn't like "RINOs" (Republican in name only) or worse. Robson Taylor, meanwhile, appeared far less scripted than the public may know her from TV ads. At least twice during the debate, she uttered, "Fake Lake," in an apparent attempt to rattle Lake. Scott Neely (right) and Kari Lake (left) listen as Ted Simons, moderator and Arizona PBS host, explains the rules before a debate with Republican candidates ahead of the Aug. 2 primary election for the Arizona governor's office on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, in Phoenix. 3. About that current GOP governor ... Robson Taylor praised Ducey's economic skill, and Lake offered a few kind words for the current governor. But if Ducey was watching, he likely felt run over a few times by the criticisms from Lake and Neely. Lake, a strong critic of COVID-19 protocols, slammed Ducey for ordering the closure of businesses, schools and churches. "You don't have to be a business CEO to understand you don't take someone's livelihood away," she said. Lake, Neely and Zen took Ducey to task for not having the "backbone," as Zen put it, to keep Arizona fully open during the pandemic. Neely, seeming to draw on a conspiracy theory, accused Ducey of helping "the oligarchs," growing businesses like Home Depot whose "stocks went through the roof" while his own business was forced to close. 4. Second-tier candidates get spotlight Neely and Zen, both polling near the bottom of the race, enjoyed a significant platform to air their ideas and grievances before a statewide audience. Their comments made for some of the more entertaining moments of the night. Zen mentioned her Italian roots several times and interjected a "Mama mia!" as she tried to finish talking over interruptions, and questioned whether state leaders were being honest about the state's water shortages. Election guide: 2022 primaries U.S. Senate | Governor |Secretary of state|Legislature | Treasurer | County attorney |Attorney general| Superintendent | Corporation Commission | District 1 | District 3 | District 4| District 5| District 6|District 8| District 9 | City council She also showed a serious side, advocating for using public money to send children to private school, bolstering her point with her own family's experience. Her grandchildren are driven 20 miles currently to go to the school of their parents' choice, she said, and she related that her son did much better in his studies after transferring out of a public school. Neely played up his "average guy" personality, knocking Robson Taylor for marrying a multimillionaire developer and saying she runs a small business. Robson Taylor actually does own a small business she founded a land-use strategy firm after leaving DMB Associates, one of the most prominent developers in the Valley. Her family also is politically connected and successful in its own right. He claimed Lake was "part of the corruption" because Republican Party of Arizona Chair Kelli Ward unfairly "endorsed" her. (Ward has promoted Lake but not formally endorsed her.) When Lake snarkily responded that he's usually not invited to events because he's "polling at zero," Neely shot back enthusiastically, 1%!" 5. What the candidates didn't address Amid the ruckus and rhetoric, the candidates never got around to several major issues that the next governor will face. Candidates talked about being pro-Second Amendment, but didn't discuss Biden's gun-control plans and how Arizona might push back on them. They didn't discuss the state's affordable housing problems, immigration policy details or health care. And they didn't talk about Matt Salmon. The former congressman dropped out of the race this week and endorsed Taylor Robson. Reach the reporter at rstern@arizonarepublic.com or 480-276-3237. Follow him on Twitter @raystern. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Republican governor candidate debate: 5 things to know A state appeals court has voided the conviction of an Ulster, Pennsylvania man who fatally struck a state Department of Transportation maintenance worker in 2019 in Tioga County, New York. The Appellate Division of State Supreme Court, Third Judicial Department, reversed the verdict against Lawrence Faucett, who was convicted of criminally negligent homicide, a felony, in February 2020 in the death of Dennis "Matt" Howe, 45, of Owego. Howe's widow believes the ruling sends the wrong message about highway safety. "I lost my husband, the children lost their father, a mother lost her son and so many others have been impacted from this tragedy," Alycia Haus said. The fatal crash happened March 13, 2019 between Exit 63 to Lounsberry and Exit 62 to Nichols on state Route 17, while a DOT crew was performing highway safety work. Tioga County Sheriff's deputies said the tractor-trailer operated by Faucett struck a DOT vehicle parked on the side of the road while passing by the work zone. A week after the crash, Howe, who was sitting in the DOT vehicle, died. Dennis Matthew Howe, center, with his children, Dalton and Bre. Local5 ways to create a safe space for your dog during July 4 fireworks displays For subscribersGoat milk soap soothed her daughter's eczema. She transformed her farm to help others EducationWhere kids, students can eat free this summer in Broome and Tioga counties Howe's crew was filling potholes and had the highway reduced to one lane of traffic on the day of the crash, with Howe's vehicle equipped with signage to warn motorists of the upcoming work, according to court documents. Faucett was traveling 70 mph in a 65 mph zone, testimony indicated. A breathalyzer test administered after the crash indicated he did not have any alcohol in his system. Following his conviction, Faucett was sentenced to 21 days of incarceration, five years probation and 250 hours of community service. He could have faced up to four years in state prison, but state law also allows for less severe sentences based on the circumstances. Story continues Faucett appealed the conviction, arguing prosecutors did not supply adequate proof of "blameworthy conduct"beyond a failure to notice Howe's vehicle in time, and traveling slightly above the speed limit. The appellate panel agreed. "The evidence at trial clearly established that defendant failed to see the victim's vehicle stopped on the shoulder until it was too late, and such failure to perceive resulted in the fatal accident," the court decision stated. "Although such failure resulted in the victim's tragic death, it does not constitute criminally negligent homicide." Howe had been a DOT employee for 13 years at the time of his death. In October 2019, then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed legislation designating the portion of Route 17 where the crash took place as the Dennis "Matt" Howe Memorial Highway. Haus said her husband's death is a perfect example of why people need to pay attention while driving and abide by the slow down and move over law. "The reason for this law is to protect our workers, make them feel safe while working on our roads and to make sure they are able to make it home to their families," she said. "Unfortunately if there [are] no consequences for their actions, it will just continue to happen and I hope that no other family has to go through what our family has endured." Follow Jeff Murray on Twitter @SGJeffMurray. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Appeals court throws out conviction of man in fatal Tioga County crash The Caesar salad is a simple and beloved classic crunchy romaine lettuce, creamy anchovy-laced dressing, and a generous supply of croutons that combine for a textural, super-savory masterpiece. In this episode of F&W Cooks, chef Claudette Zepeda honors the salad's roots in Tijuana, Mexico, with her recipe for Baja-Style Caesar Salad, which includes traditional ingredients and a few personal twists. "The Baja Caesar salad obviously being from Tijuana, the border region, this is a salad that's near and dear to my heart," she says. Zepeda swaps out Parmesan cheese for aged Cotija, which she includes in the dressing and also uses as a garnish for the salad. She also tops it with chicharrones instead of croutons, crumbling the fried pork rinds on top for an extra crunchy, salty punch. As she makes the recipe, she demonstrates how to prepare it tableside, which is how the salad is served in Tijuana. This show-stopping salad is ready in just 15 minutes. To make the recipe at home, read on for Zepeda's method and follow along with the video above. First: the Dressing The dressing is key in Caesar salad. Zepeda starts hers by whisking together finely chopped garlic cloves, finely chopped oil-packed anchovy fillets, and Dijon mustard ("you can't get fancy with it," she says about the mustard) in a medium bowl. The Worcestershire sauce and fresh lime juice not lemon juice! are whisked in next. After that, whisk in the pasteurized egg yolk, black pepper, and kosher salt. The olive oil goes in next; you'll want to slowly stream it in while whisking constantly in order to achieve a thick and creamy dressing. Finally, whisk in some Cotija cheese. Baja-Style Caesar Salad Recipe Greg Dupree Build the Salad After the dressing is done, add the romaine leaves (separated from small romaine lettuce hearts) to the bowl and toss 'em so they're evenly coated. Then, all that's left is dividing the lettuce among four plates and adding the garnishes. Zepeda notes that in Tijuana, you'd use croutons made from a baguette, but she opts for the crunchy chicharrones. With a final shower of grated Cotija, the Baja-Style Caesar Salad is ready to eat. "Wow," Zepeda says after trying the salad. "That's my youth in a bite." The supply chain crisis just keeps topping itself (pun intended). Remember last summer, when we were scrounging for Heinz ketchup packets to use on our takeout food? How about earlier this summer, when Huy Fong Inc., maker of Sriracha, warned consumers it doesn't have enough chili peppers to make its famous hot sauce until at least this fall? Now comes news that Europe is experiencing a mustard shortage, and there's concern it might hit the U.S. as Americans descend on grocery stores to stock up for their Fourth of July cookouts. What's behind the latest condiment crisis? Climate change and to a lesser degree the 4-month-old war in Ukraine are the biggest culprits. So will we be blue because there's no yellow on our Fourth of July hot dogs and hamburgers? Read on to see whether the mustard shortage will be felt here. KFC Finger Sporks: How to get new finger-friendly utensils Stuffed: How to make Cheesecake Factory's stuffed cheddar burger at home Why is there a mustard shortage? Neither McCormick, which makes French's mustard nor Kraft Heinz, which owns Grey Poupon, expect there will be a shortage of their products because they were able to source mustard seeds from alternate suppliers. "The simple answer is that the mustard shortage results from drought conditions realized across the majority of western Canada and northern U.S., which is the primary growing region for mustard seed," Allen Sass, president of Wisconsin Spice, tells USA TODAY in an email. He adds that in 2020, fewer acres were set aside for growing mustard, a trend that has carried forward. Because there are fewer mustard plants yielding fewer seeds, production has dropped by as much as half and mustard producers are being forced to pay a premium for available seeds. Kraft Mac and Cheese gets a makeover: Product changes name, packaging Grill tips: 5 things to know for grilling the perfect, juicy burger on a propane grill Where do we get our mustard seeds? Canada is the world's top mustard exporter, supplying 75% of global imports and 90% of the seeds used in North American production, Sass says. The U.S. provides only about 10% of North American seed needs. Story continues "The world depends on Canada's mustard seed, and given the aforementioned lack of supply relative to historical demand, the global marketplace is seeing the impact of this shortage," he says. According to Tridge, a food and agriculture research firm, Germany and India also ranked among the top five global exporters as of 2020, along with two countries that happen to be at war with each other right now: Russia and Ukraine. But Sass says the U.S. hasn't traditionally depended on mustard supply from either. Forget 'Dry January': Alcohol-free beer, wine, cocktails are available year round and are gaining popularity Be inconspicuous: Taking an alcohol break? Giving it up completely? Here's how to be inconspicuous How is mustard made? Mustard seeds are crushed into powder to release the elements that give the condiment its pungent taste and aroma, according to MadeHow.com. That powder is combined with water, wine or vinegar at food processing plants. If it's being sold in the spice aisle, it's left in powdered form. The color of the seeds being used varies depending on which form of mustard is being produced. For instance, the bright yellow mustard you find at most fast-food restaurants comes from yellow seeds, while Dijon uses brown and black. German mustard uses all three. Is it affecting all kinds of mustard? "Brown mustard seed used in manufacturing Dijon and deli or spicy brown styles of mustard has seen the greatest impact," Sass says. "But, given the ubiquitous and high consumption of yellow mustard seed, this type of mustard seed has seen the greatest deviation in supply relative to demand." Will the U.S. feel the shortage? France 24, a state-owned broadcaster, reports the shortage is already noticeable in that country, which is the birthplace of Dijon mustard and one of the countries most associated with the condiment. The U.K. is expected to feel it next. The question is whether it will spread to the U.S. Kraft Heinz, which owns Grey Poupon, and McCormick, which makes French's mustard, don't foresee empty shelves in U.S. grocery stores. "As soon as our Grey Poupon team identified a potential supply issue, we immediately worked to identify other sources of brown mustard seed in different parts of the world," Kraft Heinz said in a statement to USA TODAY. Likewise, McCormick says it was able to see the problem coming and act proactively. McCormick & Company is not experiencing shortages of mustard seed which we attribute to our resilient global supply chain and strong sourcing capabilities," it told USA TODAY via email. "Frenchs Mustard will be on store shelves for consumers to enjoy. How long is the shortage expected to last? Not long. Thankfully, Sass says, "the next harvest is around the corner August in the U.S. and September in Canada. So far, growing conditions have generated optimism toward a more average yield. Further, acres allocated to mustard seed in Canada and the U.S. have increased sharply in 2022." But he cautions that "even though harvest is just a few months away, there is a long way to go in terms of weather obstacles." But absent major weather catastrophes, Sass says, "overall, were optimistic that supply coming out of the 2022 harvest will cover demand, but mustard markets are expected to remain tight in the year ahead." Not the Sriracha! Hot sauce in short supply due to chili pepper shortage This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mustard shortage: Why is it happening? Will it hit US? What to know The bottom line for the Supreme Courts ruling to take away the constitutional right to choose to have or not to have an abortion is this: it abolishes a right every American woman had just days ago. Thats the right to choose what to do with their own bodies. Is there any more personal, more fundamental right? Steve Israel A womans decision about what to do with her body is so incredibly and intensely personal, that I, as a man, cant fully understand it. But I will never forget the time many, many years ago when a dear friend agonized over her ultimate decision to end an unwanted pregnancy (not from me). She cried and shook as I walked her to the doctors office and couldnt put into words how she felt. But at least that young unmarried woman, who wasnt a girlfriend, could choose what to do with her own body, after she thought and thought about her choice. Now that the Supreme Court has decided to leave the right to an abortion up to each state, millions of women wont even be allowed to decide what to do with their bodies if they become pregnant because some evil creep they dont know, dont love or dont like raped them. They wont be allowed to choose what to do with their own bodies even if their father, uncle or brother impregnated them. Because of that Supreme Court decision, abortions are now outlawed in at least 10 states even for rape or incest. At least two states Texas and Oklahoma have laws that allow virtually anyone to sue people who help women get an abortion. The decision by the courts conservative majority could also mean the end of other incredibly personal freedoms for millions of us. Thats because one justice in the majority Clarence Thomas wrote that previous Supreme Court decisions allowing now-established individual rights like the right to use contraception and marry someone of the same sex should be reviewed since those decisions were based on the same interpretation of the 14th amendment as the right to abortion. Story continues So what can we do to make sure the right to choose what to do with your own body remains a right in states like New York where abortion still is legal? What can we do to try to change laws in states that, because of that Supreme Court decision, now tell a woman she cannot choose what to with her own body? We must use one right that hasnt been taken away from us. We must vote. We must vote for candidates who vow to uphold our right to choose. We must vote for them not just in state and national elections, but in the most local contests for town and village officials. Thats where many of the officials who will run for higher office and create, enforce or uphold the laws banning abortion get their start. Once some of these officials hold state office, they can try to create voting districts through gerrymandering, which assures that officials with the same views, from the same political party, hold office for years. If we dont like what the candidates say about a womans right to choose, we shouldnt choose them. Steve Israel, a longtime editor and columnist, can be reached at steveisrael53@outlook.com This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Supreme Court ruling on abortion moves into personal rights: Israel ALBANY, N.Y. Gov. Kathy Hochuls administration on Thursday denied a key permit for a gas powered cryptocurrency mining operation in the Finger Lakes, saying the facility spews too much planet-warming pollution to be allowed under the states climate law. The decision by the state Department of Environmental Conservation on the Greenidge gas plant is the latest step in New York to curb the pollution from cryptocurrency mining facilities that have started to proliferate across upstate New York for the growing industry. We are applying a new law to a new operation which had significant increases in emissions almost tripling emissions, DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos told POLITICO in an interview Thursday. The company itself was unable to demonstrate that it could come into compliance with the law. Hochul faced political pressure to deny the permit, but delayed it until after Tuesday's gubernatorial primary that she convincingly won. She is also being pushed to sign a measure to put a moratorium on any other new fossil powered cryptocurrency mining projects in New York. The 106 MW Greenidge gas plant hosts a large-scale Bitcoin mining facility, with about 17,000 miners. The plant has faced aggressive opposition from many local residents, lawmakers and winemakers in the region. Greenidge Generation Holdings Inc., the company running the plant that employs about 50 people, said they plan to appeal the decision and that it will keep operating as usual while the process plays out in a statement Thursday. We believe there is no credible legal basis whatsoever for a denial of this application because there is no actual threat to the States Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) from our renewed permit," the company said in a statement. "This is a standard air permit renewal governing emissions levels for a facility operating in full compliance with its existing permit today. It is not, and cannot be transformed into, a politically charged cryptocurrency permit." Story continues Environmental advocates and other opponents of the project argue the increased emissions from the cryptocurrency mining threaten achievement of New Yorks sweeping Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The measure requires emissions to be slashed 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2030 and 85 percent by 2050. DEC agreed in a letter explaining the decision to deny a renewal of the plants Title V emissions permit. The agency also said the company failed to provide any justification for a reliability or other need for the project given that it would interfere with the states climate goals, and that the purpose of the plant had changed significantly since the original permit was issued in 2016 for the plant. Any increase in emissions at this point makes it challenging for us to hit our targets which are very ambitious, Seggos said. As a slice of total emissions, this is but one operation but we are looking economywide and we need to begin putting in place these strategies to reduce emissions as quickly as possible. Advocates who had pushed for the denial of the renewed permit praised the decision. "Governor Hochul and the DEC stood with science and the people, and sent a message to outside speculators: New York's former fossil fuel-burning plants are not yours to re-open as gas-guzzling Bitcoin mining cancers on our communities," said Yvonne Taylor, vice president of Seneca Lake Guardian in a statement. Greenidge has 30 days to pursue an administrative appeal of the permit denial. If it does not appeal, operations at the plant, which employs about 50 people, would have to cease. The decision has significant implications for the states efforts to enforce the climate law, and may also alarm manufacturers, hospitals, universities, power companies and other businesses looking to renew their Title V permits. Seggos said the decision was narrowly tailored to the new cryptocurrency mining taking place at the plant. DEC previously rejected two air permits to repower fossil fuel plants, building new gas turbines. The Greenidge plant was not seeking to build any new power generation, but instead sought to keep running the existing turbine at higher levels than in previous years while keeping emissions within previously permitted limits. DECs decision letter notes that the actual emissions have increased since 2016, when the original permit was issued, and 2020, when the climate law was passed. That increase is because Greenidge substantially altered the primary purpose of the plant. A renewal would enable the company to continue to increase greenhouse gas emissions for the benefit of its own behind-the-meter operations, the letter states. The DEC rejected arguments from Greenidge that the plant is only a fraction of the states total emissions and that a permit expiring before 2030 cant interfere with the states 2030 emissions goals. Achieving the Statewide GHG emission limits will require substantial action prior to 2030, including to transition the energy sector away from its reliance on fossil fuels, the letter states. Even during the permit term, the Facilitys continued operation for the purpose of providing energy behind-the-meter to its cryptocurrency mining operations would make achievement of the Statewide GHG emission limits more difficult. The crypto mining now uses about 45 megawatts of the capacity of the 106 MW gas plant. When it runs, the plant is consistently selling power to the grid as well. Greenidge was built in the late 1930s as a coal plant. It went out of service in 2011 and the new owners received state subsidies to convert to gas in 2017 when natural gas power was viewed as a bridge rather than a dead end for the planet. They then turned to Bitcoin to increase profits in 2020. The plant is owned by publicly traded Greenidge Generation Holdings, which also has digital currency mining operations in South Carolina. The DEC had delayed the decision on a renewed permit again in March, citing a high volume of comments and an offer from Greenidge. Greenidge offered to cut its emissions 40 percent from current permitted levels by 2025 and be a zero emissions facility by 2035. Thats ahead of deadlines in the states climate law. But those proposals are not sufficient, and the company failed to justify a need for the project, the department found. Greenidge said the department did not engage on that proposal. "They chose to pass up the opportunity to materially improve the environment, choosing instead to burden New York taxpayers with the expense of funding a lengthy administrative and judicial battle that could have easily been avoided," the company said in the statement. Greenidge has increased the amount of pollution it spews into the air and the water it sucks in from the lake and dumps at a higher temperature into a trout stream since it began mining cryptocurrency in 2020. Greenidge expected its actual, on-site carbon dioxide emissions in 2022 and beyond to be 520,386 metric tons annually, according to filings. Emissions in 2019 were 65,607 metric tons and lower than 200,000 in the two prior years. Environmental groups have also raised concerns about the water quality and aquatic life impacts. Like many combustion plants located on shorelines, Greenidge sucks up water for cooling and dumps it back at an elevated temperature. MADRID President Joe Biden vowed Thursday the U.S. and its NATO allies would back Ukraine "for as long as it takes" in its war with Russia. Russia is paying "a very, very heavy price" for its decision to invade Ukraine, Biden said, during a news conference in Madrid at the close of a six-day trip to Europe, which included a summit of NATO leaders. Earlier this month, Moscow defaulted on its national debt for the first time in a century and its economy has suffered because of sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its NATO allies. Biden said Russia has lost its "international standing" and suffered another military setback with its withdrawal of forces from Snake Island, a strategically important island that sits along a busy shipping lane in the Black Sea and has come to symbolize Ukrainian resistance to the invasion. "I don't know how it's going to end," Biden said of the war, "but it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine." That's a wrap. Here's what you missed NATO leaders declared Russia as the most significant and direct threat to their members peace and security and vowed to strengthen their support for Ukraine. Biden pledged to boost U.S. military strength in eastern Europe, including establishing a permanent presence in Poland and enhancing rotational deployments in the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The U.S. said it also is sending two additional F-35 squadrons to the UK, stationing two more destroyers in Spain and will improve defense capabilities in Germany and Italy. Before his arrival in Spain on Tuesday, Biden huddled with leaders of the worlds economic powerhouses at the Group of Seven summit in Germany. G7 leaders moved closer to capping the price that countries can pay for Russian oil as a way to restrict Putins cash flow and bring down prices at the pump. 'A KICK IN THE GUT': Finland's, Sweden's drive to join NATO a defeat for Putin, a win for the West Story continues President Joe Biden takes a selfie with Malta's Prime Minister Robert Abela, right, during a visit to the Prado museum with heads of state and dignitaries in Madrid, Spain, on Wednesday, June 29, 2022. MAKING PUTIN PAY: G-7 nations move closer to price cap for Russian oil; US official says group eyes Putin's cash flow The latest NATO expansion: NATO leaders have formally invited Sweden and Finland to join the alliance. The invitation comes after Turkey dropped its objections to the Nordic nations membership. Months to go: Final approval could still be months away because the legislative bodies of all 30 NATO countries must vote to accept their membership. Food security: Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on the sidelines of the NATO summit Wednesday. Biden praised the Turkish leader for dropping his opposition to Finland and Sweden joining the NATO alliance and lauded Erdogan's work to address food insecurity stemming from the war in Ukraine. Biden calls Roe v. Wade ruling 'outrageous' Biden's trip to Europe was largely overshadowed by domestic issues, including a Supreme Court decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion and blockbuster testimony before the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, mob attack against the Capitol. In his news conference, Biden said the Supreme Court ruling on abortion has been "destabilizing." Weve been a leader in the world in terms of personal rights and privacy rights, and it is a mistake in my view for the Supreme Court to do what it did, he said. The day before Biden left Washington, the Supreme Court handed down a 6-3 ruling last Friday that overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion. Biden called the ruling "outrageous" and said Congress must change the decision by codifying Roe v. Wade into law. Boosting oil production not the purpose of Saudi Arabia trip Biden said his trip to Saudi Arabia next month is not aimed at getting the crown price to increase Saudi oil production to combat rising fuel costs in the U.S. Thats not the purpose of the trip, Biden said, adding that the trip will focus on the broader Gulf region. Im in Saudi Arabia, but its not about Saudi Arabia. Biden has faced criticism for planning to meet with Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents. Biden said he expects he will see the crown prince and King Salman, but theyll be part of a much larger meeting. The president noted that his trip to the Middle East begins with a visit to Israel to affirm the unbreakable bond between it has with the U.S. CAN HE SUCCEED? Facing upheaval at home, Biden seeks to keep NATO military alliance behind Ukraine Francesca Chambers and Michael Collins cover the White House. Follow Chambers on Twitter @fran_chambers and Collins @mcollinsNEWS. Contributing: Joey Garrison This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NATO: Biden vows U.S. will stand with Ukraine 'for as long as it takes' The NATO logo is pictured during a panel discussion prior to the NATO alliance summit in London, Dec. 3, 2019. Credit - Tobias SchwarzAFP/Getty Images When, in 2019, French President Emmanuel Macron warned NATO risked becoming braindead, objections were pro forma rather than passionate. President Donald Trump had just pulled American forces out of northern Syria without consulting the bloc, from which he had repeatedly threatened to withdraw. Fellow NATO member Turkey invaded north-eastern Syria soon after, displacing hundreds of thousands. Speaking with The Economist, Macron expressed serious doubts that NATOs Article 5which declares that an attack on one member nation is an attack on allstill applied. Fast forward a few years and the fate of Europe hinges on NATO more than any time since the fall of the Soviet Union. Even historically neutral nations like Sweden and Finland have applied to join the bloc, seeing Article 5 as their best guarantor of security and sovereignty. At a landmark summit in Madrid on June 28-30, NATO unveiled a new once-in-a-decade Strategic Conceptits broad mission statementamid a radical beefing up of defenses, raising its Rapid Response Force from 40,000 to more than 300,000 troops. Russia, unsurprisingly, was picked out as the most significant and direct threat to Allies security, though Chinasome 3,700 miles from the Atlanticwas also named as a source of systemic challenges. On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden also announced increased American troop deployments across Europe. NATO is strong and united, Biden said. Read More: The 2022 NATO Summit Could Be the Most Important in Recent Decades. Heres Why Its a remarkable rebirth spurred by Russian President Vladimir Putins Feb. 24 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which ripped up the international order and put European nations on high alert. But even earlier, NATOs role had swelled to match Putins belligerence. Before he annexed Crimea in 2014 a, NATOs eastern members hosted no foreign troops. Afterward, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland received small battle groups of around a thousand each to symbolically ensure that any Russian aggression would be against NATO forces, too, thus triggering a full-scale response. Story continues Building on these symbolic deployments, discussions at Madrid involve expanding these defenses into brigades that can actually repel a Russian invasion. NATO is also discussing a comprehensive assistance package to train and equip the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In addition, four new battle groups are being established in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia, reflecting a growing focus toward the Black Sea region. NATO members collectively are seeing a radical boost of defense spending. Its unlikely this is what Putin envisaged when he ordered his tanks into Ukraine. Its also something of a paradox, since NATOs expansion in recent years fed Putins paranoia, providing a ready excuse to invade a sovereign neighbor. As unjustified as that escalating bloodshed remains, Putin can point to several red lines crossed. Now, the bloc is expanding its remit under U.S. direction to include containing a resurgent Chinanotably, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand attended Madrid as observers for the first time. The risk is that past missteps may be repeated yet again: in 1919, after the end of World War I, Hitler leveraged German anger regarding onerous World War I reparations to justify his Third Reich. With Russia already calling the expansion deal destabilizing, some wonder whether a more powerful NATO risks cleaving the world into antagonistic factions. NATOs shifting mission NATO was founded amid the Cold War in 1949 by North American and European allies on a basis of mutual military assistance in the event of aggression by the Soviet Union, which had its equivalent Warsaw Pact group of allies. Despite the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, NATO has since undergone five stages of expansion, while engaging in military operations in the Balkans, Middle East, and Africa. Following the Soviet collapse, NATO and Moscow frequently cooperated. Russia was instrumental in helping NATO negotiate an end to the 1992-1995 Bosnia War and then joined the peace accord implementation force. Still, its telling that Russia refused to have its troops serve under NATO Command, instead officially deploying under U.S. Commanda fudge since U.S. General George Joulwan was commander for both. Read More: Japan and South Koreas Attendance at the Upcoming NATO Summit Could Worsen Global Tensions Given its founding mission, Russia always remained suspicious about NATO expansionespecially regarding Ukraine. When NATO was negotiating to admit Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary in 1997, it was made explicitly clear to Russia that Ukraine was off-limits, says Robert Hunter, U.S. Ambassador to NATO at the time. It was fully understood by everybody that Ukraine would not be in NATO. Hence, we had a NATO-Ukraine charter, which codified the relationship between the bloc and a nation that was always intended to be outside. Victoria Nuland, current U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, had her first meeting with a senior Russian official named Vladimir Putin a year later. My memory of that first meeting in 1998 [is that] Putin was still in the place of, maybe a different kind of Russia and a different kind of NATO could be aligned, she tells TIME. Several rounds of NATO expansion continued thereafter, during which the Kremlin grumbled but basically bit its teeth. Putin served two terms as President before temporarily handing the reins to his longtime ally, Dmitry Medvedev, who in 2008 proposed a new European Security Treaty into which NATO members and Russia could be subsumed. However, the Bush Administration rejected it wholesale. I thought [that] was a mistake at the time, frankly, says Nuland. We should have just talked, even if it was just to keep the conversation going. Former Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland testifies during a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee June 20, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. T Alex WongGetty Images Hunter is more blunt: Beginning in 2008, people in power in Washington decided Russia lost the Cold War so screw them, which was stupid, he says. President George W. Bush attended a NATO summit in Bucharest that year proposing an action plan for Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO. Other members were aghast, cognizant of the clear red lines that would cross by including former key Soviet states to NATO. But to save George Bush from looking stupid when he went home, says Hunter, they added the phrase: [Ukraine and Georgia] will become NATO members to the summit declaration]. Adds Hunter: But everybody knew it really meant never. Nevertheless, at every NATO summit thereafter, this addendum was repeated like a self-fulling prophecy. Putin used this for his own purposes, says Hunter. But we stupidly played into his hands. On Nov. 21, 2013, Ukrainians led enormous protests at Maidan Square in Kyiv against the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovychs sudden decision not to sign an association agreement with the E.U., instead choosing closer ties to Moscow. The protests continued for three months. Nuland, then Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, was controversially seen glad-handing protesters and even handing them cookies. Then a phone conversation between Nuland and U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt, during which the pair discussed preferred candidates for a post-Yanukovych administration, was leaked online, presumably by Russian agents. It led Putin to accuse the U.S. of sponsoring a coup in Ukraine, which he later twisted to justify his annexation of Crimea. More from TIME Putin repeated this accusation during the press conference following his summit with U.S. President Joe Biden in Geneva in June 2021. At that meeting, Putin bore the hallmarks of his COVID-19 isolation, say observers. His team arrived on a different airplane, didnt see him before it started, and complained quite openly to their U.S. counterparts that they didnt get much briefing time. So [Putin] was already his own consigliere then, says one source present. By November, Russias full-scale invasion plans for Ukraine were picked up by U.S. intelligence amid a huge troop build-up on Ukraines borders. Nuland was among those charged with talking Putin down. In the very first conversations after we caught wind of Russias plans, [we affirmatively] say nobodys putting offensive [weapons] in Ukraine [that threaten Russia], she says. And we also say to him that were not going to slam the door to NATO, but theyre not getting in anytime soon. So whats the problem? Some speculate Putins war in Ukraine was an attempt to solidify his position domestically, or to cement his political legacy, and NATO expansion provided a convenient pretext. You never knew with Putin, says Nuland, whether this narrative of grievance was politically expedient for him because he needed the external enemy to justify the arms build-up, to justify keeping the military busy, to have an enemy to explain why we couldnt get along. Or whether he actually believed it. Or the third variant: that it was politically expedient at the beginning and then he talked himself into it. Read More: How NATO Is Responding to Russias Invasion of Ukraine After all, China by any measure is a more immediate threat to Russiagiven the long shared border and Chinas increasingly potent army. Yet today, Russia and China have declared themselves friends without limits. American historian Timothy Snyder, writing in The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America, says that the West was chosen as an enemy precisely because it represented no threat to Russia. North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) leaders at a meeting room on day two of the NATO summit at the Ifema Congress Center in Madrid, Spain, on Wednesday, June 29, 2022. Valeria MongelliBloomberg/Getty Images The New NATO In Madrid, NATOs new Strategic Concept attempts to clarify policy on several global issues, such as climate change, cyber-security and the militarization of space. The new Strategic Concept confirmed that Article 5 did not only apply to overt military kinetic force, but could also be invoked for cyber attacks, attacks from space and hybrid campaigns, such as cutting off energy and spreading disinformation. NATO has wrestled with these things over recent years, but never have come to a declared definition, in part because nothing has ever been that intense, says Hunter. But the priority in Madrid is how to end the war in Ukraine and ensure such bloodshed cannot happen again. On Wednesday, Finland and Sweden were invited to join NATO after Turkey dropped its objection after the two nations agreed to clamp down on the activities of alleged Kurdish separatists operating within its borders. I think theyll join within 2022, says Nuland. And they will be welcomed with open arms. Both nations have significant and powerful militaries. The addition of Finland also adds 830 miles of NATO border to Russia, effectively making the Baltic Sea a NATO lake, says Stuart Crawford, a defense analyst and former Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are calling for NATO divisional headquarters to be stationed in each country alongside more munitions and heavy weaponry. In the short term, at least, theres little sign this expansion is lowering the temperature. Lithuania is currently in conflict with Moscow about Russian supplies having been denied access to Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave sandwiched between it and Poland, in compliance with E.U. sanctions. Estonia has reported repeated incursions by Russian military helicopters into its airspace in recent days. On June 25, Putin threatened that he might give Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally, Russian nuclear weapons and nuclear-capable missiles. Most tellingly, however, NATO will continue to refocus its attention on China. The attendance of Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand as observers in Madrid affirms this shifting remit. Beijings backing of Russia has naturally sharpened a focus on China. Yet analysts are split whether this is a positive development. NATO in the last five years spent a lot of time talking about China, but were they really ready when Russia invaded a neighbor? says Lyle Goldstein, director for Asia engagement at the Washington D.C.-based Defense Priorities think tank and a visiting professor at Brown University. Its a fair critique. Crawford says that NATO may have failed to prevent conflict in Europe but this is because no member has yet been attacked. You could look at Putins attack on Ukraine as the preemptive strike to stop Ukraine joining NATO, which would leave him in an even weaker position, he says. Still, that naturally raises the question of how Beijing might retaliate should the U.S. continue drawing its Asian neighbors closer to NATO. At the Shangri-la Dialogue security summit in Singapore on June 11, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III insisted we do not seek a new Cold War, an Asian NATO, or a region split into hostile blocs. But when Asian security becomes chiefly about containing China, just like European security became purely about deterring Russia, that is exactly what risks manifestingthat Beijing decides they are so isolated by Western security architecture that they have no choice but to try and destroy it. The closer South Korea and Japan align with NATO, the closer China is certain to align with Russia, says Goldstein. For Hunter, its a risk of the lessons of history being forgottenand not for the first time. Back in the 1990s, world leaders knew nothing is going to work if you push Russia away, says Hunter. You dont want to do what happened to Germany in 1919. It was very clearly understood. That is, until it wasnt. Authorities on the Upper East Side in New York block off the scene where a young mother was shot and killed while pushing a stroller (ABC 7 New York/Video screengrab) A young mother walking with her baby in New York was shot and killed after a gunman attacked her from behind, authorities say. At about 8:30pm on Wednesday night, near Lexington and East 95th Street, a 20-year-old woman pushing her months-old child in a stroller was approached from behind by a hooded gunman, who then fired one fatal shot into the back of her head, police say. The shocking murder came just days after the Supreme Court struck down a New York law that requires people to demonstrate a particular need for carrying a gun in order to get a license to carry one in public. The justices said the requirement violates the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. During a news conference following the shocking murder, New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell the victim was rushed to Metropolitian Hospital in crtitical condition. She was pronounced dead approximately an hour after arriving, he added, without identifying the victim. The child, who was in the stroller at the time of the attack, was reportedly unharmed, officials said. The suspect remains at large and is described as having been dressed in all black and a hooded sweatshirt. There was no word on a possible motive. The brazen murder took place in one of the citys most affluent neighbourhoods and just blocks away from a playground, where kids playing reportedly heard a loud boom that they only later processed as being a gunshot when they saw the terrible scene that had unfolded, according to the DailyMail.com. I was really confused, because I thought maybe this was fireworks. But then I realized that no, this is serious and that there was a gunshot, a 10-year-old girl in the area told the Mail. Later in the evening, New York City Mayor Eric Adams attended a press conference at the scene of the violent crime and laid the blame of the stunning murder at the feet of the citys problem of the over-proliferation of guns on our streets. When a woman is pushing a baby carriage down the block, and is shot at point-blank range, it shows just how this national problem is impacting families, Mr Adams said, according to CBS News. It doesnt matter if you are on the Upper East Side, or East New York, Brooklyn. The oversaturation of guns endangers people. On Thursday, in a 6-3 decision, the justices of the Supreme Court determined that the New York law that required people who seek to carry a concealed weapon to receive a permit, considered to be one of the countrys most restrictive laws, to be unconstitutional. The decision is expected to ultimately allow more people to legally carry guns on the streets of the nations largest cities including New York, Los Angeles and Boston and elsewhere, as about a quarter of the US population lives in states expected to be affected by the ruling, the high courts first major gun decision in more than a decade. With files from the Associated Press No one understands where Kamala Khan came from more than Sana Amanat. As a Marvel Comics editor in 2014, Amanat co-created the Muslim superhero now known as Ms. Marvel alongside writer G. Willow Wilson, artist Adrian Alphona, and editor Steve Wacker. These days, she's a producer on the Ms. Marvel series currently streaming on Disney+. She knows firsthand how complex the creation of such an instant icon is. That made Amanat the perfect person to catch up with at this point in Ms. Marvel's run, when the show is clearly delving into Kamala's deep roots not just in her hometown of Jersey City, but also in Pakistan and even other dimensions. Following Kamala's trip to Karachi on this week's episode, we talked to Amanat about the Red Daggers, djinn, and intergenerational family relationships. Check out an edited version of that chat below. MS. MARVEL Marvel Studios Aramis Knight plays Kareem, a.k.a the Red Dagger, on 'Ms. Marvel' ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Sana, a couple years ago I talked to you, Willow, and Saladin Ahmed when you guys were ending the initial run of the Ms. Marvel comic. We talked then about how instantly iconic the character was, but now that this show is out there in the world I wanted to check in with you. I see you on Twitter sometimes sharing the joy of the show. How would you say you're feeling? SANA AMANAT: Yes, I think joy is the best way to describe it. It's been a very long journey, obviously. I mean God, it was back in 2013 when we did the first announcement, and now here we are almost 10 years later and the show has become this global thing, which I certainly never expected. Willow and I always joke about how back then we were like, 'well, okay, we'll get a few issues.' Now here we are doing a show with a whole cast of people directors, producers, actors who are so invested in it. It was just a little idea that grew from there. I am so grateful and I feel really lucky. But joy is exactly the word. I feel like a lot of people are celebrating the show and it's just so much fun just seeing their reactions. Even the small things like, 'oh, we love the music,' or other stylistic choices that we made that were quite intentional. I just love that people are really resonating with it. Story continues EW: Speaking of stylistic choices, this show is very colorful! Obviously, this week's episode was in Karachi, so we got all the colors and flavors of Pakistan. But even when it's in a New Jersey mosque, the show just looks so colorful. The MCU definitely has a diversity of tones, but some shows and movies can feel more gray than others. How did you all decide on a different style for Ms. Marvel? AMANAT: We intentionally went in being like, 'okay, we're going to do a brighter show.' We always knew that and would just be like, 'how bright can we go? How much can we get away with?' while making sure it still felt like it was in the MCU. But I mean, that's what I loved about the comics was the brightness of it. You know the comics, Christian. There's the Marvel style and then there are all these other comics that we try more experiments with and that's kind of what we did with Ms. Marvel. We wanted the imagery of the show to feel like Adrian Alphona, Jamie McKelvie, Ian Herring, Nico Leon, and all these amazing artists who came together on the comic. We wanted the show to feel like it was their world come to life. It's also a credit to our directors, who would constantly be like, "see, this isn't a regular MCU show, this is our show." And they would just show us the bright lockers and all the time. They would show us the comic and really appreciate how much they paid homage. EW: I've been curious about how the show was going to explain Kamala's powers, because in the comics she's an Inhuman but the Inhumans aren't as big of a priority for Marvel anymore like they were in 2014-2015. The shift to djinn as her background is really interesting. When it comes to your work with the showrunners and directors, how do you guys decide what to carry over from the comic and what to change? AMANAT: I switched over to Marvel Studios two and a half years ago. I came on for this project, specifically to shepherd it into production, and work with the writer's room that [head writer] Bisha [K. Ali] and her team put together. They were trying to steep the story in a different kind of mythos that was one linked to larger MCU stories, but also linked a little bit to the lore of Islamic and Asian mythology. My first thought when I came in was, "well, people are going to be really mad we changed these powers." I was very aware of what we were walking into. But supervising producer Jenna Berger understood that the show needed to have a balance of what made the comic so special and unique, while at the same time evolving it and making it a true adaptation. That was Kevin's first challenge to me. He was like, "can you adapt this? You're so close to the comic, do you think you can adapt this?" I think I took up to that challenge of saying, "Okay, well, the thing that captivates me the most was this story about Kamala and her lineage and her past." There were only a few issues that were done about it in the comics. I told Bisha, "no matter what we do, the story of the show is this lineage," which we didn't really delve into in the comics. Yet, there's a lot of things that they did pull from the comics that, so the essence of the comics are in the show. I think that's really how we found that balance. The MCU version of Kamala's powers really match the colorful style of the show we were just talking about. It seems like we're no longer in the era where Jeremy Renner would be cast as Hawkeye and now every comic with Hawkeye has to draw him so he looks like Jeremy Renner. It feels like now fans and creators are all a little more comfortable having the comics be their thing and the MCU be their thing, they're related but different. It doesn't seem like Kamala's comic book powers are going to be changing anytime soon. AMANAT: I hope not! I hope they stick to what they got. I think inherently, there's a lot of similarities as it is just in terms of the ancestry in the comics. She comes from an alien, you know what I mean? Ms Marvel 23 Marvel Comics Kamala Khan teams up with Kareem a.k.a Red Dagger on the cover of 'Ms. Marvel' #23 by Valerio Schiti and Rachelle Rosenberg. This episode introduces another character from the comics, Kareem a.k.a Red Dagger (Aramis Knight), and expands this whole Order of Red Daggers. What do you like about this character and concept? Sabir Pirzada, who's the writer of this episode and actually one of our supervising producers as well, is just a huge fan of Red Dagger. He came in like, "yo, Red Dagger's so cool." We made fun of him a little bit. I love Sabir so much, but he's just like, "yeah, this is the guy." I completely agree, I think Red Dagger is super awesome. I was very excited when the writers were like, "oh, we're going to tell a Pakistan episode." Going to Pakistan feels like a season 2 thing, and we did it in one season. Great aggressive move on the writers. I know Kevin was very excited about that in particular. I'm a huge fan of the Red Daggers. I love making them an order. The only thing is, if you asked me what I wish that we had more time for, it would be delving into the backstory of The Order of the Red Daggers, because there's a lot more that we were percolating on that we just didn't have time to shoot, frankly. But I love their team-up. I know everyone's talking about there being a romantic interest, but there isn't right now. Okay? Everyone's like, "really, three boys?" But we intentionally pulled back on that. The larger intention was showcasing that Kamala has been idolizing these heroes in the Western world that look nothing like her. Then she goes back to her roots and she meets these individuals who've just worked really hard to be good at what they are. There's a line that Waleed [Farhan Akhtar] says, about how the red scarf is for anyone who's willing to put it on, it's just a representation of what they're trying to do. I think that's what Waleed is trying to say: "First of all, it doesn't really matter what you look like. It doesn't really matter about code names or armor or what kinds of clothes that you're wearing as long as you're linked to something much greater." That's really what I think the whole point was bringing in Waleed and Kareem into this show. Kamala is a proud Jersey girl and wears that on her sleeve, literally. But with this episode, we're really seeing how Pakistan and her extended family are just as much a part of her heritage. The cliffhanger ending even sends her back to the time of the Partition. Why did you want to connect her to this history? I think it's always interesting to understand the different worlds that you belong to and what your relationship is to all of them. I think everyone should analyze their relationship to the place in which they are residing, to the place in which their families have come from, and the history behind all of it. That really gives you, not necessarily a sense of who you actually are, but it gives you the tools to be able to decide what kind of person you want to be. I love that the show took time to explore the relationship not just between Kamala and her mom (Zenobia Shroff), but also between her mom and grandmother Sana. Those are some of my favorite scenes in the show. At one point some people were worried it was slowing down the episode, but I was adamant. By the way, I did not name the character Sana, the sweetheart writers did that. It was a very sweet tribute to me before I joined the project. I'm like, "guys, my name's on this everywhere. We don't" But it was just very sweet. Samina Ahmed, who plays the grandmother, is a delight. She's a true joy and she's a lovely person. She reminds me of my family and my grandmother. That scene was so important. It was kind of laying down how this moment in time, Partition, really did lay out a lot of loss and trauma. I think also in any type of big, traumatic, historical events, the women are forgotten. You talk about the men, but the women are sort of forgotten. These are sort of the remnants of kind of what's left after a moment like that and how the relationships are affected by it. Is there a deliberate resonance between the real-life legacy of Partition that created all these refugees and this legacy of trauma, and what we're hearing about the Noor and the way that they're separated from their home? So far the Clandestines have come across pretty evil, but is that an intentional shading? I'm glad you caught that, very lovely observation. I was like, "are people going to get that or no?" Ultimately, this is a story about identity. How do you understand your identity without understanding what home is and what home means to you? The Clandestines are an interesting foil in that regard, because you are talking about people being displaced, and then there are these people and here's how they interpret their displacement. There's a much larger metaphor there and I want to see what people think of it. I'm really interested in the post wrap-up conversations about this entire show. Because it's very layered, you're talking about South Asian character, but you're also talking about a Muslim character. So, I think we intentionally tried to tell a story of what it means when you lose your home and how you try to create a new one. I mean, it's what Kamala's parents did. They came to a new country, they created a home for themselves here. And yet, Kamala feels like she doesn't understand what that means. So, there's certainly a lot of parallels and very intentionally so. The next episode is going to be an interesting one. Full disclosure, it's the episode I'm most nervous about. I think it's really great, but we took some risks with that episode. So, I'm curious to know how people are going to respond to it. Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. Related content: Justice Breyer to retire from Supreme Court; Ketanji Brown Jackson to make history Associate Justice Stephen Breyer said his retirement from the Supreme Court will be effective Thursday after the court issues its final set of rulings for this term. In January, Breyer informed Biden that he would step down at the end of the term in the summer if his replacement was confirmed by the Senate. Breyer is one of three justices of the court's liberal wing, who dissented from a ruling last week that overturned the constitutional right to an abortion established by the court in its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Ketanji Brown Jackson, a former public defender who rose to become a judge on a powerful federal appeals court, will make history when she is sworn in early Thursday afternoon as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court and the 116th justice overall. She will be joining three women, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett the first time four women will serve together on the nine-member court. In his own words: Justice Breyer's notable majority opinions and dissents History making: Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmed by Senate as first Black woman on Supreme Court Prefer to listen? Check out the 5 Things podcast: New York bill in response to Supreme Court gun ruling may pass New York will ban people from carrying firearms into many places of business unless the owners put up a sign explicitly saying guns are welcome, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday. The Democrat said she and legislative leaders have agreed on the broad strokes of a gun control bill that is poised to pass as soon as Thursday, just days after the Supreme Court struck down the state's handgun licensing law. Due to the court's ruling, New Yorkers will, for the first time in more than a century, be able to get a license to carry a gun outside the home for personal defense. Previously, it was hard to get an unrestricted handgun license unless you worked in law enforcement or security. But Hochul said she also wanted to protect the rights of property owners who decide they don't want firearms on the premises. "We're going to protect the rights of private property owners (and) allow them to not have to be subjected to someone walking into their workplace or a bar, restaurant with a concealed weapon," Hochul said. Story continues Rep. Liz Cheney goes back to Wyoming after hearings to debate GOP foes Republican Rep. Liz Cheney is returning to Wyoming after a busy week of hearing public testimony before the House Jan. 6 committee to debate Republican primary challengers in Sheridan on Thursday. The televised debate will feature Cheney and four challengers, none as well known as attorney Harriet Hageman, who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Facing a backlash among Republicans in deep-red Wyoming, Cheney will likely draw criticism for investigating Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election and his encouragement of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The state Republican Party last year censured Cheney and voted to not recognize her as a Republican. Even so, Cheney out-raised Hageman by a well over 2-to-1 margin over the first three months of 2022. On Wednesday, Cheney urged her party to rid itself of Trump, calling the former president a clear and present threat to the GOP and to American democracy at large during an address at the Ronald Reagan Library in California. NBA's free-agent frenzy: Dominoes fall as teams, players make moves On the eve of NBA free agency, a pair of superstars declined the player options on the final years of their contracts to become unrestricted free agents. However, James Harden (Philadelphia 76ers) and Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards) appear likely to return to their old teams on new deals. Wednesday was the deadline for Harden, Beal and others to make decisions on their player options ahead of free agency. Players that declined their options can begin negotiating with teams when the free agency moratorium opens Thursday at 6 p.m. ET. This year's free-agency period may be short on blockbuster moves as relatively few contenders have salary cap space to offer max contracts. So, it will be interesting to see which teams improve through trades in the offseason. Guard Zach LaVine is the most prominent unrestricted free agent available, and it would be a serious blow to the Chicago Bulls' effort to compete in the Eastern Conference if he leaves. If you're driving for the July Fourth holiday, leave now A record 42 million people are expected to take Fourth of July road trips this year, according to AAA, and if you're one of them, you're likely to be stuck in traffic. Drivers should expect some of the worst travel delays during on Thursday and Friday afternoon as commuters leave work early and mix with holiday travelers. Here are the best times to travel for the holiday weekend, according to transportation data company Inrix: Thursday: Before 7 a.m. or after 8 p.m. Friday: Before 10 a.m. or after 9 p.m. Saturday: Before noon or after 7 p.m. Sunday and Monday, meanwhile, are expected to have low congestion all day. So plan ahead, and leave early. Contributing: The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ketanji Brown Jackson, New York gun bill, Liz Cheney: 5 things to know Thursday ERIC BARADAT Weeks after very public online beefing roiled the newsroom, Washington Post management on Thursday issued a new set of guidelines for using social media. The main takeaway: Think before you post. Social media platforms can be useful as a reporting tool and strengthen our ability to find new audiences, but it is important to remember that social media accounts maintained by Washington Post journalists... inevitably reflect upon The Posts reputation and credibility, began the internal memo emailed to staffers on Thursday and obtained and reviewed by The Daily Beast. Post journalists should not feel compelled to engage or broadcast on social media platforms, except for those whose roles explicitly require it. Post journalists who choose to use these platforms will be expected to do so responsibly. According to the new guidelines, which had no specific attribution, A Post journalists use of social media must not harm the editorial integrity or journalistic reputation of The Post. With the great power of a blue checkmark and added followers comes our collective responsibility to protect that integrity and reputation, the papers brass reminded staffers. The memo specifically mentioned being more mindful of retweets, likes, or sharesundoubtedly a reference to political reporter Dave Weigels retweet of a sexist post that got him suspended and kicked off a weeks worth of drama within the paper. The Post did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday on its new policy. The Washington Post Dumpster Fire Is Still Raging Liz Seymour, the Posts deputy managing editor for news operations and planning, thanked staffers in an email for all their help and input received in the policys drafting, which went into effect Thursday. It came three weeks after executive editor Sally Buzbee said the paper would update its social media policiespolicies that eventually led to Weigels suspension and the firing of political reporter Felicia Sonmez. Story continues Your thoughts and suggestions were critical to these efforts, Seymour wrote. Furthermore, again in the wake of this months internal drama, the memo added that It is not appropriate to use your social media account to air personal grievances with an individual or to mention a company in a way that could be construed as unwarranted criticism or seeking favor or special treatment. The values that define a Washington Post journalist professionalism, empathy, collegiality and a focus on the facts should be demonstrated on our social media accounts and in our interactions with colleagues, competitors and our broader audience, it said. Social media is not the platform to engage in disputes with your colleagues. The outlet has had a two-year and often fraught relationship with developing a new social policy, one that preceded Buzbees leadership. A committee of nine reporters on the Posts national desk had provided recommendations for redeveloping its past social media policies, which dated back to 2011, but many of those had not been incorporated. The April 2020 memo from the committee, which was sent to then-national editors Steven Ginsberg and Lori Montgomery, was leaked to reporter Ben Smith two months later. The memo also made sure to remind employees not to become leakers. Employees can and should have the expectation that internal editorial communications will not be made public, it said. There may be occasions when The Post, in the interest of providing transparency about our work, will publish internal materials on an external platform. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. KITTERY, Maine Wind and wave conditions have delayed the salvage operation to raise and bring to shore the "TOO Elusive," a 70-foot Marlow yacht that was destroyed by fire and sank June 18 in the vicinity of the Wentworth Marina in New Castle. Coast Gaurd Lt. Ryan Koroknay said winds were blowing nearly 20 mph in the area surrounding the wreck Thursday, and the operation likely will be rescheduled for next week. The blaze and and the experience of the three people aboard the yacht who leaped into the water with their two dogs captured the attention of boaters and Seacoast residents. A local lobsterman lobstrman rescued them as smoke was seen for miles. The burned yacht drifted into Maine waters, sinking under about 80 feet of water about a mile south of the K2R buoy where it has remained since, according to authorities. We feel comfortable that pollution is mitigated, Koroknay said. Our risk is very low of leaving it where it is now. Here's an update on Thursdays operation call-off and a look at what boaters and interested residents can expect when it is rescheduled: Where do salvage efforts stand after Thursday's postponement? Beginning at first light, around 5:30 a.m., on Thursday, a crew of divers and salvage operation members headed out to the wreckage to begin work. According to Koroknay, between 15 and 20 people were out on the water helping with the operations beginning phase. Ten airlift bags, which will be inflated to help the yacht rise to the surface, were rigged to the vessel. Around 9 a.m., the salvage company and divers met with the various state and regional agencies monitoring the operation to debrief on the weather and wave conditions. Theres just risk involved with once it's on the surface and we start moving it around, Koroknay said of the yacht. They just want to have good weather and good control. Current weather forecasts for Friday and Saturday are likely pushing back the salvage operation to next week, Koroknay said. The Coast Guard will monitor the wreckage day-by-day, though he noted there has been no change in regard to the limited fuel leakage. Story continues Everything is basically the same as it has been for days now. Divers have been on it. Basically its status quo, he said. The 200-yard radius around the wreckage barring boaters from approaching has officially been lifted, though Koroknay urged boaters to continue staying away from the sunken vessel. The barrier will be reinstated when the salvage operation resumes. How are the yacht owners doing? Arthur "Kitt" Watson, left, Diane Watson and the couple's friend and mate Jarod Tubbs are grateful to be alive following a fire off the coast of New Castle that destroyed the 70-foot Marlow yacht known as "Elusive" Saturday, June 18, 2022. "Its one of the saddest days of our lives," said Arthur "Kitt" Watson, one of the yacht owners. "We want everyone in the area to know that we are so sorry this happened." Kitt, 66, his wife Diane, 57, and Jarrod Tubbs, 33, their friend and longtime mate aboard the "Elusive," lost not only the yacht, but their home. They lived on the boat with their two Goldendoodle dogs, Palma and Nancy. The family, and the dogs, escaped the inferno by jumping into the water. They were rescued by local Good Samaritans. 'Like a fire-breathing dragon': Yacht fire survivors on terror before jumping into water What time will the yacht salvage operation happen? Kittery Harbormaster John Brosnihan had expected it to begin Thursday, June 30 at first light, about 5:30 a.m. All agencies involved are now awaiting a new date. "The salvage company, Riverside and Pickering Marine Contractors, have been doing prep work this week," he said. "They have had divers down and determined the position of the boat and created a plan to bring it up." How will the yacht be moved and where will it go? Kitt Watson contracted a local commercial salvage company to survey the wreck site and develop a salvage plan to raise the remains of the vessel and ensure any further environmental impact is mitigated. Koroknay, public affairs official for the Coast Guard's Northern New England sector, said the yacht is estimated to weigh 110,000 pounds or less. "That is hard to pin down because the boat caught fire," he said. "The fiberglass resin of the hull can become sponge-like when burnt, and can take on water, so there is some unknown there." Portsmouth Fire Department members respond to a 70-foot Marlow yacht on fire off the coast of New Castle Saturday, June 18, 2022. Seacoast news: Download the Seacoastonline mobile app and the Fosters.com mobile app to stay connected. Significant preparation is required for the salvage operation. "Rigging, preparations have been ongoing," Kokornay said Wednesday. "Staging is happening. Cranes, barges, divers are ready to go. We will have skimmers and about 1,000 feet of boom ready to handle any release of diesel fuel. I think the plan is a good one and has considered all the contingencies we can anticipate. There are always unknowns, and hopefully we don't run into problems." Float bags, which Brosnihan likened to giant balloons, will be attached to the yacht by divers. They will be inflated and the boat brought to the surface. "They will float it into shallower water," Koroknay said. "Side tow barges will help with that. A crane will be used to put the boat onto a barge." The barge will bring the "Elusive" to Riverside and Pickering Marine Contractors in Newington. Amber Lagace, spokesperson for New Hampshire State Police, said the yacht will remain there, for now, as evidence in the ongoing investigation by New Hampshire authorities, the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board. Kokornay said he anticipates it will be an all-day operation. Watson said the cost won't be known until the operation is over and he is working with his insurer on coverage. Child care at shipyard: 47 Portsmouth Naval Shipyard families lose child care. This military policy is the reason. What is known about the yacht's position and potential fuel leaks? According to a Maine Department of Environmental Protection statement, a hydrographic and survey team "found the remains of the vessel to be standing on its stern/transom with the bow sticking straight up. This was deemed a dangerous salvage operation due to the positioning of the wreck and associated stability concerns coupled with the depths and currents in which the divers must operate. Diesel fuel was also found to be slowly leaking and creating a light/variable sheen that was determined to be non-recoverable and was evaporating and dissipating." Local Coast Guard vessels have continued to monitor the last known position of the vessel and due to the prevailing sea conditions, no larger sheen was immediately apparent, officials said. On Friday, June 24, a professional dive team used a remotely operated underwater vehicle to take high resolution digital images of the wreck to determine connection points and assess the location of the fuel tanks. The Coast Guard and Brosnihan, the Kittery harbormaster, reported seeing at one point a light diesel fuel sheen in the vicinity of the wreck site that was again determined to be non-recoverable and was evaporating and dissipating. No shoreline impact had been reported as of Wednesday. Independence Day celebrations: Here's a list of July 4 fireworks, events in Seacoast NH and southern Maine for 2022 What should local boaters expect? A safety perimeter Kittery sent out a notice from the harbormaster to residents, asking boaters to stay out of the water in the area during the removal. Brosnihan said it is for the safety of the divers and crews working in the area. "There will be a 200-yard radius around the work areas at all times," Koroknay said. "There are concerns for the safety of all and we cannot have other boats trying to get close. There will be law enforcement personnel on hand, assuring the perimeter is kept secure." Crews from the Coast Guard, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, and Maine Department of Environmental Protection continue to monitor the situation and will be on hand during the removal operation. Also involved are Maine Marine Patrol, Riverside and Pickering Marine, and US Ecology of Portsmouth, the environmental firm hired to do any cleanup if it is needed. "This is team effort, with private, state, local and federal agencies involved," Kokornay said. "There are a lot of stakeholders, and I want to applaud the efforts of all to work together for this delicate, complex operation." NOAA issues environmental facts on diesel fuel A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientific support coordinator provided the following diesel fuel facts to address concerns of the public: * When spilled in open water and unconfined, most diesel will evaporate or naturally disperse within a few days. Under these conditions, there is seldom a surface oil for responders to recover. This is particularly true for typical spills from a vessel with 500-5,000 gallons, even in cold water. * Diesel is not very sticky or viscous, compared to black oils. When small spills do strand on the shoreline, the oil tends to penetrate porous sediments quickly, but is also washed off quickly by waves and tidal flushing. Thus, shoreline cleanup may not be needed for small spills. * Diesel fuel is a contaminant of concern due to its recognized aquatic toxicity in marine environments, however given the size of this spill and the fact that it was in open water, fish kills are very unlikely. * Given the fact that diesel fuel dissipates quite quickly on the surface, negative impacts to birds are very unlikely as well. Reporter Ian Lenahan contributed to this article. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Yacht fire: 70-footer to be pulled from water in Maine, brought to NH Santiago Ochoas reporting for the Yakima Herald-Republic is possible with support from Report for America and community members through the Yakima Valley Community Fund . For information on republishing, email news@yakimaherald.com. Favian Isaiah Oseguera makes his preliminary appearance via Zoom in Yakima County Superior Court Tuesday, June 21, 2022. Oseguera is accused of threatening to kill a Sunnyside store employee in what police and prosecutors have characterized as a hate crime. Jasper Kenzo Sundeens reporting for the Yakima Herald-Republic is possible with support from Report for America and community members through the Yakima Valley Community Fund . These stories can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspapers city editor . A Mexican immigration official says that in the chaotic minutes after dozens of migrants were found dead inside a tractor-trailer sweltering in the Texas heat, the driver tried to slip away by pretending to be one of the survivors Another possible Tri-Cities cougar sighting. What to do if you see one. The Grant County Sheriff's Office has lifted all evacuations east of Soap Lake, Washington, that had been in effect Tuesday because of a wildfire The Colstrip power plant in southeast Montana employs about 360 people and is partially owned by Puget Sound Energy. It will be up to states to implement their own climate measures after Thursdays U.S. Supreme Court decision. To the editor Friday's ruling was a shock, but it certainly is not the final word. While Roe v. Wade guaranteed reproductive choice, reversing Roe v. Wade guarantees that women in nearly half the states in America will not have a choice. That's the difference. Roe didn't force anyone to do anything. Taking away the right to safe, reproductive care does. The bottom line is, women's bodies should never have been governed in the first place. Men's bodies aren't. According to the United Nations, bodily autonomy is a basic human right. By purposely impeding access to all available reproductive choices, and in some cases, criminalizing those choices, a woman no longer has bodily autonomy. In Arkansas since the Supreme Court decision on Friday, even in cases of rape and incest, a woman will now be forced to carry a child to term. No exceptions for rape or incest. If that isn't a loss of bodily autonomy and a human rights violation, I don't know what is. So maybe Justice Alito was right about one thing. It's no longer a constitutional issue now. In fact, it shouldn't even be a state issue. Maybe instead, it requires a call for investigation by the UN's High Commissioner. LISA HARMON Yakima Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. The project to renew Budapests Nyugati railway station has been awarded European Union funding, a state secretary at the Ministry of Technology and Industry (TIM) said after a meeting of EU transport officials in Lyon. Hungarys National Transport Centre (NKK) has been awarded 2.8 million euros for the upgrade of the Nyugati station, David Vitezy said on Facebook. Meanwhile, he said a project to build new train stations in southern Budapest had been rated excellent by the European Commission. However, because the projects environmental permit was revoked earlier this year, a decision on its financing has been delayed until a new permit is obtained, Vitezy said. The state secretary called the project the most important rail link between the eastern and western part of the country. MTI Photo: Zoltan Mathe The 6th Debrecziner Gourmet Festival invites you for an unforgettable taste journey in the heart of the picturesque 'Great Forest', between 1 - 3 July. The countrys best restaurants and chefs gather in Debrecen on the first weekend of July, to show where the top of gastronomy stands in Hungary today. Among the best restaurants of the Association of Stylish Rural Restaurants (SVET) and Debrecen, star chefs and guest exhibitor restaurants from Budapest will also present themselves. Whether its fine dining restaurants, bistros or food trucks, you can be sure theyre constantly looking for new ways to present their dishes in creative methods. In addition to mouth-watering bites, exciting textures and special pairings of ingredients, the three-day event represents artisanal beers, quality wines and exciting cocktails . Founded in 2018, The Debrecziner Gourmet Award will be hosted again this year, the votes of our beloved guest will decide on who will be the best exhibitor of the festival. Exhibitors: Szomszed Bisztro Panificio Il Basilico Bortarsasag Meating Boutiq Bar Sarreti ChiliFarm A Leves + Borsod Burger DiVino Debrecen Kis Padlizsan vegan bisztro Schwarz Bistro The Fishmonger Budaorsi Halpiac Jardin Cukraszda Rednekk BBQ & Bar Grillakademia IKON Debrecen Black Sheep Roastery & Coffee Babka Budapest Vegallomas Bistro & Wine Makvirag Cukraszda Gleda Vendeglo Duck You Foodtruck Csakhal Bisztro Bestillo Palinka Wok to Box NPK BEEF Buborekbar Torley Horgonyzo Kisvendeglo Tiszalok Discounted Tickets until 30th June! Friday (day 0) day ticket logo imprinted tasting glass included -1.990 Ft https://bit.ly/3NW9CrP Saturday day ticket logo imprinted tasting glass included 2.200 Ft https://bit.ly/3NZCorC Sunday day ticket logo imprinted tasting glass included- 2.200 Ft https://bit.ly/3tjqwsP 3-day pass logo imprinted tasting glass included 5.000 Ft https://bit.ly/3zmqDrs 3-day VIP pass logo imprinted tasting glass included 20.000 Ft https://bit.ly/3mj4pie More: kolcseykozpont.hu Abhishek is an independent photographer and an educator for more than 15 years currently based out of Budapest. He is one of India's topmost acclaimed commercial photographer & a filmmaker. Abhishek is an independent photographer and an educator for more than 15 years currently based out of Budapest. He is one of India's topmost acclaimed commercial photographer & a filmmaker. His work has been published from mainstream trade magazines to in-flight magazines. With his work being published in Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Conde Nast - India, The History Channel-New York, NBC News, France TV Studio & The TeleGraph Media Group. Abhishek has also been a Photography Brand Ambassador for many brands like Panasonic Lumix & Nikon. As a photography mentor, he has mentored and shared his knowledge in more than 350 photography workshops for many imaging brands, lead more than 30 photography expeditions across the globe. He has trained more than 5000 photographers. Officially worked for prestigious organizations like the Indian Air Force, Mumbai International Airport, he has created some really dynamic and viral videos on YouTube in the field of aviation. 1. When did you arrive in Hungary and what brought you here? I arrived in Budapest in August 2020, It was not an easy decision to shift the entire business operations from India to Hungary, that too in middle of Pandemic but me and wife believed that it could be very good move not just for business but also for my child. As the schools in India were not showing any signs of reopening because of the increase in COVID cases and on the contrary Hungary was reopening businesses as well as schools, we thought of relocating to Budapest can refuel our business and childs education. Hungary being centrally located in EU along with lower cost of living were the two major factors because of which we decided on the country. 2. Have you ever been an expatriate elsewhere? New Zealand is the only place apart from Hungary where I spent almost an year but Budapest is very unique and different from NZ in many ways. Though I loved the scenic country of NZ, Budapest offers more diverse variety of experiences especially for a photographer like me. 3. What surprised you most about Hungary? Though the list is very long but three things that I love about Hungary and Budapest: First, the food is just too good. The taste of some of the cuisines really reminds of Indian flavours like Goulash, Chicken Paprikas and Langos are very close to some of the Indian cuisines. My initially impressions before coming to Hungary was that I may have some difficulty in finding Indian flavours but was surprised to see that it was not at all a problem here. Second thing I was surprised about the flawless public transportation system, I have never encountered overly crowded bus or tram even during the peak office hours. Third thing is people, yes they do take their own sweet time to open up but then once they do that, they are very warm and show lot of acceptance towards foreigners. 4. Friends are in Budapest for a weekend - what must they absolutely see and do? Apart from visiting some famous sightseeing locations like Buda Castle, St, Stephens Basilica or Fishermans Bastion I strongly recommend my friends to spend time at Tihany Village, Miskolc-Lillafured are simply amazing places too. Holloko is another place which they should really consider during Easter as the village gives absolutely an amazing experiences during Easter festival. 5. What is your favourite Hungarian food? Goulash and Cat Fish Paprikas. 6. What is never missing from your refrigerator? After coming to Hungary, various types of Paprika is something you will always find in my refrigerator. 7. What is your favourite Hungarian word? No such favourite but I personally do use Koszonom and Szia a lot because these are the only two words I can pronounce well. 8. What do you miss most from home? My friends and my motorcycle. 9. What career other than yours would you love to pursue? Since I am a photographer and a filmmaker but I really like to try my hand in acting. Just want to know how it feels to be on the other side of the camera and being directed by a professional DOP or Director. 10. What's a job you would definitely never want? Any desk job which requires hours of work on excel or spreadsheets. I love photo editing and editing films, I can do that for hours but other than that I cannot spend lot of time on computer or laptop. 11. Where did you spend your last vacation? Our last vacation was in Maldives, before pandemic. 12. Where do you hope to spend your next holiday? Though there are many destinations in Croatia, Italy, Norway where I would like to spend time but as its just been a year in Hungary, I would first like to explore Hungary extensively in every season. Spend few days in some remote villages in Hungary is something I would love to do in coming months. 13. Apart of temptation what can't you resist? Pistachio ice cream. 14. What was your favourite band, film, or hobby as a teen? Being a photographer and filmmaker I love all kind of music and films. No favourites as such when it comes to band but yes in films I have many from Blood Diamond to Forrest Gump, from Saving Private Ryan to the latest Top Gun. I started doing photography as hobby when I was a teen and it is now a passion. 15. Red wine or white? Red wine but only when I have a company. 16. Book or movie? Movie 17. Morning person or night person? Early morning is what I prefer for my work but then there are times when me and wife had late-night discussions over many social and professional topics. 18. Which social issue do you feel most strongly about? There are two social issues which worries me regarding the future of our children like: increasing Civil Rights and Racial Discrimination and Climate change. I have been doing commercial photography from last 15 years but now would really like to raise these issues as a photographer. I am now seeking opportunities to work with organizations and agencies actively involved in bringing out these issues. 19. Buda or Pest side? They day I explored the Buda side, I fell in love with the locality. Pest is good for me to spend a day with family and friends at restaurant or a sightseeing location but to live I prefer Buda. 20. What would you say is your personal motto? Perfection is boring. Getting better is where all the fun is. Kawasaki officials say comments in a published report stating that labor issues at its plant in Lincoln are causing delays in the delivery of rail cars to New York City are not true. The New York Daily News reported Monday that Metropolitan Transit Authority officials are unhappy with the pace of rail cars being delivered from Lincoln to New York and are blaming that on labor problems and mismanagement. The MTA approved the purchase of 535 state-of-the-art, next-generation R211 subway cars from Kawasaki in 2018, in a contract valued at the time at $1.4 billion. They were supposed to go into service next summer, but that has been pushed back to January 2025. The company is also 17 months behind schedule on cars for the Long Island Rail Road, an MTA subsidiary, according to the newspaper. The Daily News reported that Jim Allen, head of rolling stock for the Long Island Rail Road, said during an MTA committee meeting Monday that Kawasaki would hire employees only to have them leave after a week, leading to a "real systemic problem." Siu Ling Ko, chief mechanical officer for NYC Transit, was quoted as saying Kawasaki loses about 45 workers every month from its rail car operation, while Joseph Devito, the MTAs independent engineering consultant, said the company's problems have forced MTA to provide "constant oversight and supervision." A Kawasaki official told the Journal Star that it meets monthly with all of its customers to provide status updates and recently hosted MTA officials. "Last week we hosted NYC Transit members at our facility and we successfully completed the first car review for the R211T open gangway subway cars, which is a large milestone in the progress of the project," Jason Hellbusch, corporate director of administration for Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp. U.S.A., said in an emailed statement. "Joint understanding is key to progress and during this last visit by NYC Transit we provided a detailed update regarding status and progress of the project, which included supply chain and manpower status." But it appears something must have been lost in translation for the MTA officials to come away with the impression that Kawasaki has labor problems. "The New York Daily News article does correctly highlight that a major reason for delays has been supply chain issues," Hellbusch said. "However, we take exception to the comment regarding labor problems at Kawasaki here in Lincoln. We currently have sufficient manpower for all projects in our facility and we continue to hire personnel as our production rate increases." Hellbusch acknowledged that Kawasaki, like many other companies, faces challenges finding enough workers in the current labor market. Nebraska's 1.9% unemployment rate in May was tied for lowest in the country, while Lincoln's metropolitan area unemployment rate is among the 20 lowest in the country. The company in July 2020 announced an expansion, partially driven by the startup of the R211 contract, that would require it to hire 550 new employees. Hellbusch said Kawasaki is committed to fulfilling its contracts with MTA, and the agency appears committed to the company, despite the quotes from officials. The Daily News reported that MTA plans to exercise an option to buy an additional 640 subway cars from Kawasaki later this year, largely because the company is one of only two that it works with. The universe of competent, qualified car builders that are in the U.S. are down to two. Were all very mindful of some of those consequences, said MTA chairman Janno Lieber. What were trying to do is help Kawasaki get back on the straight-and-narrow. Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz. Toyota is a name that is generally associated with SUVs in the Indian market. The company has been selling Fortuner and Land Cruiser in India for quite some time. However, the Japanese brand has always kept itself away from a mid-size SUV that could take on the likes of Hyundai Creta, Jeep Compass, MG Hector, Tata Harrier and more. This time around, Toyota is planning to address the aforementioned names by entering the C-SUV space. The company is bringing an all-new product to Indian showroom floors. It has been releasing teasers every second day to garner some buzz around the upcoming Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder. Slated to shed veils tomorrow, heres everything that you should expect from it. Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder - Design & dimension Dimensionally, the Urban Cruiser Hyryder is expected to be a larger car than the Hyundai Creta. Well, a length of around 4.3 metres could be on cards. The design will be radical, we can confirm. Teaser videos have revealed that a pair of slim LED DRLs will sit beneath the bonnet, whereas the headlamp assembly will sit on the bumper. Large wheel arches on the sides, along with a pair of slender-looking tail lamps on the rear, will accentuate the overall appeal of the Toyota Hyryder. Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder - Interior & features Internally codenamed D22, the Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder is supposed to offer a spacious cabin. It will even be a loaded one. Features like a 360-degree parking camera, electric sunroof, powered front seats, automatic climate control, large touchscreen infotainment unit and more will be a part of the deal. Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder - Engine & gearbox The Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder will differentiate itself from its opponents through a hybrid powertrain. While a 1.5L NA petrol motor will be standard on the Hyryder, it will be offered in two formats - mild-hybrid and strong-hybrid. The latter will help Toyota claim a segment-leading mileage figure. A total of three transmission options are expected to be made available on the Hyryder - 5-speed MT, 6-speed AT, and CVT. The distinction doesnt come to an end just yet. The Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder will even offer the option of an AWD layout. Also read - 2022 Maruti Suzuki Brezza launched in India at Rs 7.99 lakh - Deets here Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder - Price & rivals In our market, Toyotas newest SUV will rival a host of models, namely Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Tata Harrier, Mahindra XUV700, Volkswagen Taigun, Skoda Kushaq, MG Hector, and Jeep Compass. The prices could start from Rs 12 lakh and go up to Rs 20 lakh (ex-showroom.) Nearly one lakh people of Odisha live in the United Arab Emirates. Direct air connectivity between Dubai and Bhubaneswar has been their long-pending demand. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced that direct flights will be operated between Bhubaneswar to Dubai very soon. Patnaik made this announcement while addressing the Odia diaspora in Dubai on June 29. The chief minister's private secretary VK Pandian, who is accompanying Patnaik on the foreign tour, said that the Odisha government has already proceeded with a viability gap funding (VGF) plan for direct flight services between Dubai and Bhubaneswar. VGF is a grant provided to support infrastructure projects that are economically justified but fall short of financial viability. While attending the program, Chief Secretary SC Mohapatra said that the Odisha government will give subsidies to airlines willing to operate direct flights from Dubai to Bhubaneswar under the VGF scheme. Also read: Deoghar airport receives aerodrome licence from DGCA, gets permit for commercial flight ops In that arrangement, the government provides subsidies to flight operators for a period of three to six months for new destinations, expecting that the operations would be financially viable within that period. Once the air route becomes economically viable, the government need not give subsidies to the airlines, Mohapatra said. The scheme was introduced for international flights from Bhubaneswar to Malaysia and Thailand two years ago. Later, it was extended to domestic flights, official sources said. (With inputs from PTI) Live TV Once a major player in the Indian aviation space, Jet Airways has not flown since April 17, 2019, and is being revived under the ownership of the Jalan-Kalrock consortium. Last month it got its air operator certificate revalidated by the aviation safety regulator DGCA. The airline is currently in discussions with aircraft manufacturers and lessors to lease 6-8 planes, including some of those which were to be delivered to Russian carriers prior to the Ukraine war, as it gets ready for the relaunch, according to sources. Moreover, the airline is also negotiating with airport operators to secure slots with "good" timings, they said. "Aircraft availability is always an issue but now due to the Russia-Ukraine war, aircraft which were to be delivered to Russia are also available in the market along with those leased planes which were flying in Russia," a source told PTI. He said the airline is negotiating with Boeing, Airbus, and the lessors, adding that "discussions are at a very high level and an announcement is expected to be made very soon." According to the source, Jet Airways is looking to lease 6-8 aircraft by December. Jet Airways confirmed that the airline is in advanced discussion with the lessors and original equipment manufacturer (OEMs) but did not share specific details. Also read: Direct flights to operate between Bhubaneswar-Dubai very soon: Odisha CM "We have no comment to give other than we will share our fleet plans when they are finalized and we are ready to share. We are in advanced discussions with multiple lessors and all three OEMs," Jet Airways CEO, Sanjiv Kapoor told PTI. "However, it will be the only single type of fleet either Airbus or Boeing. Both are in contention at this stage," the source said, adding that the airline can relaunch operations as early as September, once the aircraft deal is signed. He said for the acquisition of a large number of aircraft, first an initial pact will have to be signed with the aircraft maker as the "competition" between Boeing and Airbus is very clear. "A decision on this is yet to be taken. But when it is taken, it will be quickly implemented," he said. According to the source, the airline has also decided not to retain the aircraft currently in its fleet and instead dispose of them. Also read: Deoghar airport gets permit for commercial flight ops, PM Modi likely to inaugurate it on July 12 Stating that it will initially be domestic services only, the source said Jet Airways is mulling flying to Mumbai, Goa, and Bengaluru, among others, from its new base in Delhi, he said the network planning is yet to be finalised as the airline is looking for airport slots. "We have got some slots but some fine-tuning such as appropriate timing is being done and the airline may announce this also. So everything is in a positive direction," as per the source. In aviation parlance, a slot is an authorisation to either take off or land at a particular airport on a particular day during a specified time period. (With inputs from PTI) Live TV New Delhi: Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Thursday approved Google's proposed acquisition of a minority stake in telecom major Bharti Airtel. The deal has been cleared on the basis of modifications offered by the acquirer, according to an official release. Google International LLC and Airtel have entered into an investment agreement to buy a minority and non-controlling stake of 1.28 per cent of equity share capital in the telecom player. Along with the investment agreeement, both companies through their affiliates have also entered into certain commercial deals. The parties also intend to enter into certain other commercial arrangements in future, as per the release. (ALSO READ: Banks well-positioned to withstand even severe stress scenarios: RBI Governor) Deals beyond a certain threshold require approval from the regulator, which keeps a tab on unfair business practices in the market place. (ALSO READ: New Wage Code: Employees to get salary, FnF settlement in 2 days! Details here) Google International LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Google LLC. The latter is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. Benchmark indices ended on a flat note on Thursday as fag-end selling wiped out intra-day gains amid weak global trends. The BSE benchmark Sensex slipped 8.03 points or 0.02 per cent to settle at 53,018.94. During the day, it had gained 350.57 points or 0.66 per cent to 53,377.54. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty fell 18.85 points or 0.12 per cent to close at 15,780.25. Tech Mahindra was the biggest laggard in the Sensex pack, dropping 2.09 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, HCL Tech and M&M. (ALSO READ: Banks well-positioned to withstand even severe stress scenarios: RBI Governor) In contrast, Axis Bank, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC, Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries were among the prominent gainers, rising up to 1.74 per cent. (ALSO READ: Lenskart acquires Japanese eyewear firm Owndays: 5 things to know about mega-deal) "Asian and European markets struggled to regain footing amid global recession fears, leading to a resurgent US dollar, which benefitted from safe-haven demand. FII selling nearing exhaustion provided comfort to the jittery Indian market," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong ended lower, while Shanghai settled in the green. European markets were trading lower in mid-session deals. The US markets ended on a mixed note on Wednesday. "The undertone remains bearish due to weak global cues and persistent foreign fund outflows. There is so much uncertainty that traders don't want to risk placing huge bullish bets," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd. In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge declined by 0.74 per cent and smallcap index dipped 0.54 per cent. Among the BSE sectoral indices, metal fell by 2.18 per cent, followed by auto (1.25 per cent), basic materials (1.20 per cent), realty (1.17 per cent), consumer discretionary goods & services (0.90 per cent), IT (0.84 per cent), teck (0.64 per cent) and industrials (0.48 per cent). Finance, utilities, bank and capital goods were among the gainers. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.04 per cent to USD 116.2 per barrel. The rupee rebounded from its all-time low to close 5 paise higher at 78.98 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 851.06 crore on Wednesday, as per exchange data. New Delhi: Omnichannel eyewear unicorn Lenskart has taken a majority stake in Japanese eyewear brand Owndays. Peyush Bansal, Co-Founder, and Group CEO at Lenskart, said that he sees Lenskart and Owndays sharing the same set of values-centred around enriching customers lives and caring for people in the companys communities, as well as continuous learning. We also have very complementary skill sets," he added. Owndays was founded by Co-founders CEO Shuji Tanaka and COO Take Umiyama in 2008. "Owndays has been recognized as the eyewear brand of choice across multiple countries in Asia ever since we opened our first overseas store, in Singapore in 2013," said Tanaka. 5 things to know about Lenskarts acquisition of Owndays: 1. The acquisition deal is reportedly around $400 million. 2. The deal will help Lenskart to reach 13 markets in Asia. Owndays currently has around 460 stores in the region. 3. These markets include India, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan. 4. Tanaka and Umiyama will continue to be shareholders and lead the management team, which will continue to operate as a separate brand. 5. The current major shareholders L Catterton, Mitsui and Principal Investments will exit their positions to Lenskart. Lenskart with its 300 people engineering team, estimated to scale up to 500 people in FY23, will help build a stronger online and Omni experience for Owndays. The company said it will continue its rapid expansion in India and South East Asia to serve the mass to mid-premium segments while Owndays scales swiftly to cater to premium segments. Founded in 2010, Lenskart ships over 10 million pairs of eyewear every year and has over 20 million app downloads, 300 home eye test representatives as well as over 1,100 stores across India, Singapore, and Dubai. The company is backed by Falcon Edge Capital, SoftBank, KKR, Temasek, Premji Invest and Kedaara Capital, among others. (ALSO READ: Rupee relatively better placed than other global currencies against dollar: FM) -- With IANS Inputs, NEW DELHI: The second season of 'Masaba Masaba' will arrive on Netflix on July 29, the streamer announced Thursday (June 30). The upcoming chapter of the slice-of-life series, based on fashion designer Masaba Gupta's life, will see the title character tackle new highs and new lows. Veteran actor and Masaba Gupta's mother Neena Gupta will also reprise her role, alongside Neil Bhoopalam and Rytasha Rathore. "Tackling new paths in their careers, new (and old) love interests, grief, emotions and competition - the mother- daughter duo (Neena - Masaba) gear up for a memorable ride. Season 2 sees these powerful women fix their crowns and reclaim the reins on their lives and navigate through new terrains," Netflix said in a press release. In the promo released by the makers, we see Masaba take a pregnancy test inside a bathroom while her mom Neena Gupta and her best friend, played by Rytasha Rathode wait outside. Looking at the tensed expression on Masaba's face, it appeared that she might had something more to share with her actres mom. Sharing the release date announcement promo, the fashion designer and actor wrote, Looking for something to motivate you to get outta bed on a gloomy rainy day? Well. Ive got some news that might just do the trick Masaba Masaba season 2 , coming to you on 29th July only on @netflix_in See the promo here: The second season of the series is directed by Sonam Nair and showrun by Ashvini Yardi of Viniyard Films. Yardi said she is blessed to collaborate with Netflix on another season of 'Masaba Masaba'. "I always say, with Masaba Masaba, I had a vision - and I was sure I needed to find the right people to bring it to life. We were lucky to find a service like Netflix to collaborate with on this project, because the fit was so perfect! "The love from season 1 was overwhelming and we've come back bigger and better this time around. The authenticity and heart remain throughout but we've brought in new and exciting elements this time around, and we can't wait for audiences to take this journey with us again!" the showrunner said in a statement. Bringing this series to life was an unforgettable experience, said Nair. "When Ashvini Yardi brought Masaba Masaba to me, it was an idea, an idea I fell in love with immediately, and I was sure it was going to bring a host of good feelings with it. Bringing this series to life for me, was an experience I'll never forget. "I got to experiment and work with not only a great service like Netflix but also incredibly dedicated, honest and talented actors. Season 2 is a pivot into newer regions but with the same amount of heart and I can't wait for audiences to see it," the director, known for the 2013 teen drama film "Gippi", added. Kusha Kapila, Kareema Barry, Barkha Singh, Ram Kapoor, and Armaan Khera are the new additions to the series cast. The first season 'Masaba Masaba', which debuted in August 2020 on Netflix, had received favourable reviews from both critics and audiences. (With PTI inputs) Live TV Nunwan: The annual Amarnath Yatra began on Thursday as a batch of about 2,750 pilgrims left the base camp here for the cave shrine that houses the naturally formed ice-lingam in the south Kashmir Himalayas. Deputy Commissioner Piyush Singla flagged off the pilgrimage at the Nunwan base camp in the Anantnag district's Pahalgam. The journey -- most of it on foot -- takes about three days with night halts at Sheeshnag and Panchtarni along the route. Notably, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch of 4,890 pilgrims from the Jammu base camp on Wednesday. After flagging the holy Yatra, Deputy Commissioner Piyush Singla told PTI that all arrangements have been made to ensure smooth conduct of the 43-day pilgrimage, adding, "The endeavour is to make sure that the pilgrims feel secure and visit the shrine peacefully." Notably, Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has made a provision for an online 'darshan' of the naturally formed ice lingam. Officials reportedly said that this year, the pilgrimage is expected to see higher-than-usual attendance as it is being held after a gap of three years. A pilgrim with the first group of pilgrims en route to the holy cave told ANI, "We are happy to have made it to the yatra this year which was delayed due to the pandemic; eagerly waiting to offer prayers to Baba Bholenath." J&K | We are happy to have made it to the yatra this year which was delayed due to the pandemic; eagerly waiting to offer prayers to Baba Bholenath, says a pilgrim pic.twitter.com/oBbmb8CTwB ANI (@ANI) June 30, 2022 In 2019, the Yatra was cancelled midway ahead of the Centre abrogating Article 370 provisions of the Constitution. The pilgrimage did not take place in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Amarnath Yatra strengthens our faith in goodness of mankind: Manoj Sinha Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha said the annual Amarnath Yatra strengthens the faith in the goodness of mankind and its successful conduct is the duty or every citizen of the Union Territory. Sinha said this at a meeting with leaders of political parties in Srinagar on Wednesday. "The Amarnath Yatra is a reflection of our composite culture and people belonging to all the faiths are contributing to making it successful. The pilgrimage strengthens our faith in the goodness of mankind and its successful conduct is the responsibility of every citizen of Jammu and Kashmir," PTI quoted Sinha as saying. According to an official spokesperson, all the leaders at the meeting observed that the pilgrimage is like a big festival and a celebration of "Kashmiriyat", and said every citizen of the Union Territory will ensure warm hospitality and comfort of the pilgrims. The leaders appealed to the people for their continuous support and assistance in the conduct of the yatra, which is the pride of Jammu and Kashmir and a reflection of unity in diversity, the spokesperson said. Sinha apprised the meeting of the arrangements put in place for the yatra, besides the special places identified at all yatra camps for selling local products, including the famous art and handicraft of Jammu and Kashmir. The leaders who participated in the meeting included National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami, Muzaffar Hussain Baig, Muzzafar Shah, Altaf Bukhari, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president G A Mir, BJP chief for Jammu and Kashmir Ravinder Raina, Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen and G M Shaheen. People's Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti did not attend the meeting. Notably, security personnel have been deployed along the Baltal and Pahalgam routes. New security pickets have been set up to ensure that subversive elements do not succeed in disrupting the pilgrimage, officials told PTI, adding that drone surveillance and RFID chips are also a part of the three-tier security arrangements for pilgrims. The Amarnath Yatra will culminate on August 11, coinciding with Raksha Bandhan. (With PTI Inputs) New Delhi: AIMIM leader Imtiyaz Jaleel on Wednesday (June 29, 2022) slammed the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government's decision to rename Aurangabad city as Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad as Dharashiv, and said that they are setting a great example of "cheap politics". "Aurangabad has its history and no one can erase it," the AIMIM MP from Aurangabad said and alleged that MVA leaders had used the name of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj for reaping political dividends. "The ball is now in the court of the Central government. We will explore all options against this decision and we may take to the streets also," he said. Taking potshots at Uddhav Thackeray, who resigned as Maharashtra Chief Minister after a week-long drama of resort politics, Jaleel said, "It is time to spit on the leaders of Congress and NCP. We respected the chief minister but he would have gone (from the government) in a better manner. A few days back, the CM had said the government would develop Aurangabad before renaming it. Is the development done?". As they began losing power they took this decision...I want to tell Uddhav Ji that history can't be changed, can change names...You're setting a great example of cheap politics. Only people can decide which name of Aurangabad will stay:Imtiaz Jaleel,AIMIM MP from Aurangabad(29.6) pic.twitter.com/nKVHgdxNM5 ANI (@ANI) June 30, 2022 Chatrapati Sambhaji, the son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was tortured to death on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb's tomb is located in Aurangabad. Alleging that the name of Chhatrapati Sambhaji is being used for political gains, Jaleel questioned the approval to the proposal to rename Aurangabad on the day when the MVA government is about to lose the power. He was apparently referring to the floor test directed by the Maharashtra Governor on Thursday. New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday accused the BJP government of capturing power "unethically" by use of money and muscle power, and condemned it for destablising democratically elected governments. In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said after coming to power at the Centre in 2014, the focus of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been to capture power in the states and bring down the elected governments rather than serve the people. "We strongly condemn the way BJP is destabilising both democratically elected governments and democratically installed governments. This is not only an insult to democracy, but also an insult to the people who voted against the ideology of BJP," he said in a statement. "Through the naked display of money and muscle power, the BJP has undemocratically and unethically captured yet another state government. Under the Modi-Shah duo, the BJP wants to capture power at any cost, either directly or through remote control. What happened in Maharashtra is shameful for Indian democracy," he said. The party's statement comes on a day rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister of Maharashtra. In a move that stunned political pundits and potentially checkmated the Shiv Sena, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday announced that Shinde will be the next chief minister of Maharashtra. Ramesh further alleged that offices of the Governors and Speakers, and agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are openly misused, adding that buying MLAs has become so commonplace that the Finance Minister blurted out the truth today, when she suggested imposition of GST on horse-trading. "The BJP can go to any extent to win elections - From misuse of money power to polarisation and violence. Despite using all these tactics, if the voters reject them, then they start hatching conspiracies to topple elected governments," he said. The Congress leader said in 2016, the BJP brought down the Congress government in Uttarakhand in a similar way, where due to Congress MLAs leaving the party, the government elected for five years was reduced to a minority in four years. In Arunachal the same year, 43 out of 44 Congress MLAs defected to the BJP-backed People's Party of Arunachal Pradesh under the leadership of Chief Minister Pema Khandu. In the 2017 assembly elections in Manipur, the Congress party emerged as the single largest party by winning 28 out of 60 seats, he said, adding that the BJP had only 21 seats, but the Congress was not given a chance to prove its majority. A similar game happened in Bihar in the year 2017 when the BJP unethically toppled the Grand Alliance government that lasted 20 months. In 2019, the Congress-JDS coalition government was toppled in a similar way in Karnataka. In March 2020, when coronavirus struck the country, the BJP hatched a political conspiracy in Madhya Pradesh. "When the world was preparing to deal with the challenge of coronavirus, the BJP government was busy toppling the government elected by the people. To win the Rajya Sabha elections in the year 2020, eight MLAs of Gujarat Congress were made to join the BJP. In the year 2021, something similar was seen in Puducherry as well. Even before the assembly elections, the BJP toppled the Congress government in the state," Ramesh alleged. The Congress leader added that the BJP tried to form governments in an unethical manner on the basis of money power - first in Maharashtra and then in Rajasthan. In November 2019, Devendra Fadnavis took oath along with 10 NCP MLAs at midnight, but then had to step down from power. In Rajasthan, the BJP tried to mislead 19 Congress MLAs, but their machinations failed and the Congress government continues to serve the people of Rajasthan, he added in the statement. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Zee News staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) CLAT 2022: The Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) will release the first CLAT merit list today June 30, 2022. Candidates who have registered for counselling will be considered for the first seat allotment. Following the allocation, clients can accept and reserve their seats or request an upgrade. They can also withdraw from the admissions process by selecting the exit option. CLAT 2022 was held on June 19, 2022, and the consortium released the results on June 24, 2022. CLAT 2022 scores will be accepted by 22 national law colleges for admission to 5-year LLB and LLM programs. Following the release of the merit list, NLU will provide qualified students with three options. Students can then lock the seat or request an upgrade based on their preferences. Candidates may also choose to withdraw from the admissions process, but they will be ineligible to participate in subsequent rounds. CLAT 2022: How to check seat allotment result Visit the official website of consortium - consortiumofnlus.ac.in Login using a registered mobile number and password Open the allotment status to know about the college allotted CLAT 2022: Options for seat allotment Accept the CLAT 2022 allocation Candidates may accept seats allotted in the first round of seat allocation. If candidates book their seats in the first seat allotment, they will be unable to participate in subsequent seat allotments. To reserve their seats, they must pay fees to the designated NLUs. CLAT 2022 was held on June 19, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The registration for counselling ended on January 27, and the varsity has prepared five provisional seat allotment lists. New Delhi: As monsoon finally reached the national capital today (June 30), many areas of Delhi including the newly-inaugurated Pragati Maidan tunnel, ITO, Ring Road and Delhi-Meerut expressway, witnessed waterlogging. In the wake of a heavy downpour, traffic was hit and vehicles were stuck for several hours in several parts of the city. Moreover, city border areas like the Delhi-Noida border, Chilla border, UP Gate and Delhi-Gurugram road also reported traffic snarls due to heavy showers on Thursday morning, as per PTI. Delhi Traffic Police had to close Pul Prahladpur underpass for vehicular movement on Mehrauli-Badarpur Road which increased commuters' worries. The waterlogging-affected areas included Pragati Maidan tunnel, Delhi-Meerut Expressway near Vinod Nagar, Pul Prahaladpur underpass, Rao Tula Ram flyover, Sadar Bazar, AIIMS underpass, Aurobindo Marg, near Chirag Delhi flyover, Som Bazar Najafgarh, IP Estate in front of WHO building, under Zakhira flyover, Jahangirpuri Metro station, Loni Road roundabout and Azadpur market underpass. #WATCH | Delhi witnesses severe waterlogging & traffic snarls in several parts, amidst a heavy downpour. Visuals from near AIIMS. pic.twitter.com/eYOM3eJcYP ANI (@ANI) June 30, 2022 Delhi traffic police took to Twitter to issue warnings about the jams and provide the latest traffic update amid the deluge. "Movement of traffic has been restricted at Anand Parbat T-point, Zakhira underpass Inderlok. Both the carriageways are closed due to water logging. Commuters coming from West Delhi may take left turn from Inderlok and turn towards Ring Road via Keshavpuram, Britannia Chowk," they said. Azadpur Chowk to reach their destinations. Inconvenience is regretted. Efforts are afoot to decongest the area and DJB pumps are working to pump out the water. PWD staff is on the ground to eradicate the problem.(2/2) June 30, 2022 "Azadpur Chowk to reach their destinations. Inconvenience is regretted. Efforts are afoot to decongest the area and DJB pumps are working to pump out the water. PWD staff is on the ground to eradicate the problem," the Delhi traffic police added in another tweet. Issuing a warning for those travelling to and from South Delhi, they informed in another tweet, "In South District the following stretches are heavy and may be avoided. Aurobindo marg from IIT to Adhchini both carriageways. MB road from Khanpur T-Point to Tughlak fort both carriageways. Outer Ring Road from Chiragh Delhi to Savitri Flyover." As per the latest update by Delhi Traffic Police, the traffic has been cleared at Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Setu in the carriageways going from Lodhi Underpass and AIIMS towards Sarai Kale Khan and DND. Meanwhile, in view of the heavy showers, the Public Works Department (PWD) has established a Central Control Room to keep an eye on 10 critical waterlogging sites in Delhi through CCTV cameras. (With agency inputs) New Delhi: Water supply will remain affected in many parts of Delhi on Thursday (June 30) due to Haryana releasing less water in the Yamuna and two canals, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) said on Wednesday. The water level in the Wazirabad pond stood at 666.8 feet, the lowest since 1965, as against the normal of 674.5 feet. Besides less water is being received from Haryana through the Carrier Lined Canal (CLC) and the Delhi Sub Branch (DSB), the utility said. Operations at the Wazirabad and Chandrawal WTPs have been hit. Water supply will remain affected till the situation improves, it said. Chandrawal and Wazirabad have a treatment capacity of 90 MGD and 135 MGD, respectively. Water supply to be hit in northeast Delhi, west Delhi, central Delhi and other areas Water will be available at low pressure in northeast Delhi, west Delhi, north Delhi, central Delhi, south Delhi, including Delhi Cantonment, and New Delhi Municipal Council areas, the DJB added. The DJB's water supply capacity increased to 990 MGD earlier this year, but the utility hasn't been able to touch this mark for over a month, primarily due to Haryana releasing less water in the river, according to officials. Delhi Jal Board has done rationalization of water in whole Delhi. The water production has been affected adversely in Chandrawal and Wazirabad Water Treatment Plants. The water supply will be available at low pressure in the morning and evening of 30.06.2022#DJB4U June 29, 2022 The utility had on June 18 written another letter, the ninth time since April 30, requesting Haryana to release water from the Somb, a tributary of the Yamuna, in addition to increasing the flow in the river and the two canals. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier this month requested Haryana to release additional water in the Yamuna on humanitarian grounds. Delhi requires around 1,380 MGD of water, while the DJB supplies around 990 MGD. Haryana supplies a total of 610 million gallons of water a day to Delhi through two canals -- CLC (368 MGD) and DSB (177) -- and the Yamuna (65 MGD). CLC and the DSB are supplied water from Hathni Kund via Munak canal and Bhakra Beas Management Board. Besides, Delhi receives 253 MGD from Uttar Pradesh through the Upper Ganga Canal, and the rest is drawn from ranney wells and tube wells installed across the city. New Delhi: Putting an end to a week-long drama of resort politics, where Maharashtra cabinet minister Eknath Shinde and other rebel Shiv Sena MLAs stayed in luxury hotels in two BJP-ruled states, Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday (June 29) resigned as Maharashtra Chief Minister. The 62-year-old Shiv Sena president tendered his resignation minutes after Supreme Court refused to stay Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's direction to the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to take a floor test in the Assembly on Thursday. Here's a look at how Maharashtra political crisis unfolded: Process for change of regime started with rebellion of Eknath Shinde-led camp The process for the change of regime in Maharashtra started with the rebellion of around 40 of 55 Shiv Sena MLAs under Eknath Shinde's leadership last week. They camped in a posh hotel in Gujarat's Surat immediately after the Maharashtra MLC election results and then stayed in Assam's Guwahati for several days to decide their political strategy. Devendra Fadnavis meets Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari Maharashtra's political crisis escalated after BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis met Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Tuesday (June 28). Fadnavis had asked Koshyari to order a floor test of the two-and-a-half-year-old MVA government, claiming it had lost the majority. Maharashtra Guv calls for a special session of Assembly to hold a floor test As the rebellion in the Shiv Sena by senior minister Eknath Shinde and other MLAs continued, Koshyari on Wednesday called for a special session of the Assembly on June 30 to hold a floor test of the Uddhav Thackeray government. "A special session of the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha (legislative Assembly) shall be summoned on June 30 (Thursday) at 11 am with the only agenda of a trust vote against the chief minister, and the proceedings shall be concluded in any case by 5 pm," Koshyari had written to Maharashtra Legislature's Principal Secretary in a letter dated June 28. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has written to state Assembly secretary to convene a special session of the State Assembly on June 30, with the only agenda of a trust vote against CM Uddhav Thackeray pic.twitter.com/9M5htIIE9R ANI (@ANI) June 29, 2022 Sanjay Raut terms Maharashtra Guv's order for a floor test as 'unlawful', MVA moves SC Subsequently, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut termed the Maharashtra Governor's order for a floor test as "unlawful" and the Maha Vikas Aghadi, the coalition of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, approached the Supreme Court against the floor test. Floor of house only way to settle these issues of democracy: SC While hearing Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu's plea against Maharashtra Governor's direction for a floor test, the Supreme Court observed that the floor of the House is the only way to settle these issues of democracy. A vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala asked senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Sunil Prabhu, how can the floor test impact the disqualification process or interfere with the powers of the speaker to conduct disqualification proceeding. Uddhav Thackeray resigns as Maharashtra CM Minutes after the Supreme Court refused to stay Maharashtra Governor's direction to the MVA government to take a floor test in the Assembly, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray resigned from his post. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray tendered the resignation of his post to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Raj Bhavan Mumbai. The Governor accepted the resignation and asked Shri Thackeray to officiate as Chief Minister until alternate arrangements are made. pic.twitter.com/lK1lgR5Jhg Governor of Maharashtra (@maha_governor) June 29, 2022 During a webcast, the Shiv Sena chief said that he was "not interested" in playing the numbers' game and also informed that he is quitting as a member of the Legislative Council. Thackeray said he had no regret in leaving his post. "Let the rebels who grew politically because of Shiv Sena and Balasaheb Thackeray get joy and satisfaction of pulling down his son from the post of chief minister," Uddhav Thackeray was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. "I don't want to get into the numbers' game. It would be shameful for me to see if even one of my own party colleagues stands against me," he said. Thackeray thanked Congress president Sonia Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar for their cooperation and support while running the MVA government. "Congress leader Ashok Chavan told me that if the rebels want, Congress would get out of the government and extend outside support. Those who were expected to ditch me, stood by me while my own left me," he expressed. All eyes are now on the return of a BJP-led government as it is the single-largest party in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly with 106 MLAs. Leader of the Opposition, Devendra Fadnavis, who met BJP's top brass twice in a week in Delhi, is most likely to be sworn in as the Maharashtra Chief Minister for the third time. Eknath Shinde created a storm in Marathi politics. And that's the reason Uddhav Thackeray resigned from the post of Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Wednesday night. BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis announced his name as the new chief minister after he submitted his proposal to form the government at Raj Bhavan on Thursday. Shinde will be sworn in at 7.30 pm. But who is this Eknath Shinde? What is the story of his rise in Maharashtra politics? Eknath Shinde, 58, started his life as an auto driver. Uddhav Thackeray's father Balasaheb Thackeray was the political guru of Eknath Shinde. He has slowly taken over the steering hand of the Maharashtra government. It was because of him that Uddhav Thackeray's Government fell. His inspiration was Balasaheb Thackeray. Eknath Shinde, hails from Satara in Maharashtra, started his career with student politics. He had left Satara for politics in Thane, the Shiv Sena's main stronghold. In Maharashtra, Shinde says hindutva politics should be learnt from Balasaheb. He also said he can never betray Hindutva politics. Also Read: Maharashtra still in the hands of 'Shiv Sena', Check the probable list of Cabinet ministers in Eknath Shinde's government At first, he said that 10 MLAs of the Shiv Sena were with him, then the number increased to 21 and from Gujarat to Guwahati, Eknath Shinde claimed that he had the support of 40 Shiv Sena MLAs. One-third of the team is on his side. Meanwhile, sources said he had spoken to Uddhav Thackeray over the phone. He has offered Uddhav to leave the Congress and the NCP and join hands with the BJP. But Uddhav did not agree. Shinde used to drive an auto for a long time before joining the Shiv Sena. He also started the party's workers' union. Then there was no looking back for Eknath Shinde. In 1997, he won the municipal corporation elections. His two children, Dipesh and Shubhada, both of them died due to drowning. After recovering from this sad day, he became the leader of the corporation in 2001. He has been given important responsibilities in Thane. He also won the 2004 assembly elections. He faced the challenge for the first time in 2005. And so he succeeded. Since then, the Shiv Sena has become very dependent on Shinde. Shinde's position further increased when Balasaheb Thackeray's nephew Raj Thackeray quit the party in 2006. Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Thursday attributed the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra to an "effect" of the Hanuman Chalisa, whose planned recitation by an MP-MLA couple had triggered a controversy in the adjoining state. He said it was for the first time in the country that a government had collapsed on the issue of 'Hindutva'. "My country is changing. It is happening for the first time that a government has fallen in the name of Hindutva. The collapse of the MVA government in Maharashtra is an effect of the Hanuman Chalisa... In 40 days 40 MLAs left the party (Shiv Sena)," Mishra told reporters at his residence while reacting to political developments in Maharashtra. Independent Lok Sabha member Navneet Rana and her MLA-husband Ravi Rana were arrested in April 23 by the Mumbai Police after the couple announced they would recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's private residence 'Matoshree', which had angered Shiv Sena workers. Referring to Shiv Sena MP and chief spokesman Sanjay Raut, Mishra, a senior BJP leader, said the former had claimed that the rebel MLAs had been kidnapped ('agua ho gaye'), but the fact was they had turned 'bhagwa' (saffron). To a question, Mishra said people should ask leaders of the Shiv Sena, and not the BJP, why their MLAs had deserted the party. New Delhi: India recorded 18,819 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours and 39 deaths, data from the Union health ministry showed. As many as 13,827 patients recovered from the infection. The total active Covid cases crossed the one-lakh mark at 1,04,555. The total number of deaths in the country is now at 5,25,116. The country has witnessed a jump of more than 4,000 cases in just 24 hours. On Wednesday India logged 14,506 new Covid cases taking the total tally of such cases to 4,34,33,345, and that of the active cases to 99,602, according to the Union Health Ministry data. India recorded 30 deaths due to coronavirus, and with it the death toll has climbed to 5,25,077 on Wednesday. Active cases yesterday comprised 0.23 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.56 per cent, the health ministry said on Wednesday An increase of 2,902 cases has been recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload on Wednesday, suggesting an upward trend. JEE Main 2022 session 2: The National Testing Agency (NTA) will conclude the JEE Main 2022 session 2 registration today 30 June 2022. The direct link for JEE Main session 2 registration 2022 is available at jeemain.nta.nic.in. Candidates are advised to visit the official website to fill out the JEE Mains application form 2022 for phase 2 at the earliest. As per the National Testing Agency, NTA' schedule, candidates can apply for JEE Mains July Session 2022 till 9:00 pm today. They can also get more details on the official website - jeemain.nta.nic.in. JEE Main 2022 Session 2 will be conducted on several days just like JEE Mains Session 1. The National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct the session 2 for JEE Mains, 2022 from July 21 to 30, 2022 in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode. JEE Main 2022 Session 2: Here is how you can apply - Visit the official website -- jeemain.nta.nic.in - Register by filling in the email address and mobile phone number. - Filling in the online application will generate an application number - Using the system generated application number, complete the JEE Main 2022 session 2 application form - Upload scanned documents including photograph and signature - Pay the application fee online - Submit the JEE Main application - Download, save and print the confirmation page JEE Main 2022 Session 2: Necessary documents For Registration - Photograph - Signature - Category certificate (if applicable) - PwD certificate (if applicable). Alongside the Session 2 registrations, please note that JEE Main 2022 Session 1 has concluded on June 29, 2022. All students are now looking forward to the JEE Mains Answer Key, result. The dates concerning Advance Intimation of Examination City, downloading of Admit Cards, and declaration of Result will be displayed on JEE (Main) portal. The Candidates are advised to keep an eye on the official websites of NTA nta.ac.in and jeemain.nta.nic.in for the latest updates. New Delhi: A leopard cub was found roaming in the under-construction towers of AVJ Heights Housing Society in Zeta I, Greater Noida, as per Tricity Today. The management committee of the society has alerted the residents of the animal. As per the report, the management committee told the residents that the forest department officials have been informed. Meanwhile, those living in the towers adjacent to AVJ Heights captured the videos of the leopard cub. An atmosphere of panic spread among the residents after the news of the leopard cub being spotted spread. The children have been banned from playing in the park. The management committee of AVJ Heights Society has also requested the parents not to allow their children to wander out of the house. Further, they asked the residents to remain careful till the animal is caught, the report added. The political battle in Maharashtra, which began after the revolt of Shiv Sena MLAs, has come to an end with the Supreme Court's verdict on Wednesday. After three-and-a-half hours of hearing, the Supreme Court refused to stay the Governor's direction to conduct the floor test. Shortly after the court's verdict, Uddhav Thackeray went live on social media and announced that he would quit the CM's post and the Legislative Council membership. 144 MLAs are required for a majority Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP Chief Chandrakant Patil, who were present with BJP and independent MLAs at a Hotel in Mumbai after Uddhav Thackeray's resignation, served sweets to each other. Now the BJP, being the single largest party (106) under Fadnavis's leadership, can stake claim to form the government. Eventually the magic figure is 144 MLAs for a majority. The BJP has the support of 156 MLAs. In fact, in 2019, the BJP and Shiv Sena had contested the election together, but there was a difference of opinion between the two parties over becoming the CM. On November 12, the president's rule, which was lifted overnight on 23rd, Fadnavis formed the government along with NCP's Ajit Pawar, but resigned on the third day itself. Now the BJP has equalized the account. Atmosphere of happiness in the BJP There is an atmosphere of happiness in the BJP camp after Uddhav Thackeray's resignation as CM. The path to form the government under the leadership of Devendra Fadnavis has been cleared. However, Eknath Shinde will play a key role in the formation of the government. Eknath Shinde will take a decision to form a new government after Uddhav's resignation. Reacting to Uddhav Thackeray's resignation, rebel Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar said, "his resignation is not a matter of happiness for us. They were our leaders. Kesarkar said that now we will hold a meeting with all our MLAs and take whatever decision is taken in the interest of Maharashtra." Mumbai: Uddhav Thackeray has stepped down as chief minister of Maharashtra. Facing a floor test in assembly amid a political crisis facing the MVA government, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray submitted his resignation to state Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in Raj Bhavan on Wednesday. While the Governor accepted the resignation and asked Uddhav Thackeray to continue as CM until an alternate arrangement is made, questions have been raised also about Thackeray's hold over Shiv Sena. "I am resigning as the Chief Minister," Uddhav had said. He also announced his resignation as MLC. The MVA government in Maharashtra has been facing a political crisis after a revolt in Shiv Sena. The rebel MLAs led by Eknath Shinde had been camping in Guwahati. In his media address to people earlier, Thackeray said that he was not going away forever and will once again sit in Shiv Sena Bhavan. Thackeray, whose party`s internal revolt brought down the three-year-old MVA government, said he came to power in "an unexpected manner" and was "going out in a similar fashion".Thackeray also announced his resignation as MLC."I had come (to power) in an unexpected manner and I am going out in a similar fashion. I am not going away forever, I will be here, and I will once again sit in Shiv Sena Bhavan. I will gather all my people. I am resigning as the CM and as an MLC," he said. Meanwhile, Eknath Shinde has claimed he is "Balasaheb Thackeray's Shiv Sainik" and that he will never betray the ideals of the Shiv Sena founder. "We are Balasaheb's staunch Shiv Sainiks ... Balasaheb has taught us Hindutva .. We have never and will never cheat for power and will never abandon the teachings of Balasaheb and Dharmaveer Anand Dighe Saheb," Shinde, the Maharashtra Cabinet Minister, had tweeted in Marathi. Uddhav Thackeray had slammed Shinde's claim that they were true followers of Balasaheb's ideology. Uddhav launched a scathing attack on purported attempts by the rebel group to christen itself after the party founder-patriarch, the late Balasaheb Thackeray. "Don't invoke my Dad's name, use your father's name, to win the elections," said a livid Thackeray. With Eknath Shinde claiming the support of at least 39 MLAs, Uddhav's hold over the party in itself comes under the scanner. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reviewed the landslide situation caused due to incessant rainfall in Manipur with Chief Minister N Biren Singh and assured full possible support from the central government. "Spoke to Manipur CM Shri @NBirenSinghJi and reviewed the situation due to a tragic landslide. Assured all possible support from the Centre. I pray for the safety of all those affected. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon," PM Modi tweeted. As many as 13 persons were killed after a massive landslide struck near a railway construction camp in Manipur's Noney district, officials told media persons today. Spoke to Manipur CM Shri @NBirenSingh Ji and reviewed the situation due to a tragic landslide. Assured all possible support from the Centre. I pray for the safety of all those affected. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 30, 2022 "We`re working hard but because of rains and other factors, this happened. It is the main Tulum station where the train was supposed to stop. Maybe because of heavy ongoing work, some seismic disturbance may have taken place. 13 bodies have been taken out," said DGP P Doungel. So far, 19 people have been rescued and are being treated at Noney Army Medical unit. Evacuation of critically injured is in progress but bad weather and fresh landslides are hampering rescue operations, the CPRO said. The North-East Frontier Railway CPRO said the landslide triggered by incessant rains caused damage to the Tupul station building of the ongoing Jiribam - Imphal new line project. "Landslide also stuck the track formation, camps of construction workers and rescue operations is in progress," the NF Railway CPRO said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke to Chief Minister N Biren Singh and Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. He said that two more teams of NDRF are on their way to Tupul. Shah said rescue operations are underway with National Disaster Response Force personnel at the site of the incident which took place on Wednesday at midnight when the landslide hit the construction camp."Spoke to CM @NBirenSingh and @AshwiniVaishnaw in the wake of a landslide near the Tupul railway station in Manipur. Rescue operations are in full swing. A team of NDRF has already reached the spot and joined the rescue operations. Two more teams are on their way to Tupul," Shah tweeted. Meanwhile, Manipur CM visited Tupul to take stock of the unfortunate landslide situation and expressed gratitude to Shah for calling him to assess the situation and assured all possible assistance."Visited Tupul to take stock of unfortunate landslide situation. I`m thankful to Hon`ble HM Shri Amit Shah Ji for calling me to assess the situation and assured all possible assistance. A team of NDRF has already reached the site for the rescue operation," the Chief Minister tweeted. Meanwhile, Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh convened an emergency meeting to monitor the situation closely. "Called an emergency meeting to assess the situation of the landslide in Tupul today. The search and rescue operation are already underway. Let`s keep them in our prayers today. Ambulances along with doctors have also been dispatched to assist in the operation," Singh tweeted.The incident took place on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday near the company location of 107 Territorial Army of Indian Army deployed near Tupul Railway Station in Noney district for protection of the under-construction railway line from Jiribam to Imphal. According to an official statement, full-scale rescue operations are in progress by columns of the Indian Army and Assam Rifles. "The available engineer plant equipment on site has been pressed into the rescue efforts," officials said. The injured individuals are being treated at Noney Army Medical unit."Evacuation of the critically injured personnel is in progress. The flow of Ijai river has been affected due to the landslide," said officials.Following the incidents, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh convened an emergency meeting to monitor the situation. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Zee News staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) Amaravati: Special Chief Secretary Rajat Bhargava (Tourism and Culture) on Thursday inspected the arrangements for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bhimavaram town in Andhra Pradesh on July 4, to unveil the statue of legendary freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Union Tourism and Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy and others will attend the event. Rajat Bhargava said arrangements were in full swing for the Prime Minister's visit. Four helipads have been readied while the Special Protection Group personnel were taking care of security measures, he added. The Prime Minister will reach Vijayawada airport at Gannavaram by a special flight from Hyderabad and fly by helicopter to Bhimavaram in West Godavari district. From 11 am to 12.15 pm, Modi will take part in the commemoration ceremony of the 125th birth anniversary of Alluri Sitarama Raju. The Prime Minister will unveil a 30-ft bronze statue in Bhimavaram Park and address a public meeting. He will fly back to New Delhi from Vijayawada airport at 1.10 pm, according to the tentative schedule released by the Prime Minister's Office. Union Minister for Tourism and Culture G Kishan Reddy sent an invitation to Telugu Desam chief N Chandrababu Naidu to attend the event. Kishan Reddy also spoke to Chandrababu over phone and the latter informed that TDP state president K Atchannaidu would represent him at the event. The Union Minister also invited film star and former Union Minister K Chiranjeevi to Alluri's 125th birth anniversary celebrations. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Zee News staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi: Rain lashed Delhi and parts of NCR, bringing relief from heat and intense humidity. The temperature dropped to 29.2 Celsius. The India Meteorological Department has predicted that on Thursday, weather conditions are favourable for further advance of monsoon in several parts of India. "Conditions are favourable for further advance of monsoon into remaining parts of the Arabian Sea and Gujarat, some parts of Rajasthan, remaining parts of Madhya Pradesh, entire Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh and some parts of Jammu and Kashmir, some parts of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, entire Delhi during next 24," IMD said. IMD further predicted that rainfall with thunderstorms/lightning with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur over West Madhya Pradesh from June 30 to July 2 and in east Madhya Pradesh from June 30 to July 1. "Scattered to fairly widespread rainfall with thunderstorm/lightning with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall very likely over West Madhya Pradesh during 30th June-02nd July; East Madhya Pradesh on 30th June & 01st July and isolated heavy rainfall over Chhattisgarh during 30th June-02nd July; 2022," IMD said. According to IMD prediction, "Isolated heavy rainfall likely over Odisha from June 30 to July 4, Jharkhand on June 30; Bihar from June 30 to July 2. Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is also likely over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim on June 30. Earlier on June 18, the weather turned pleasant in Delhi after the national capital received rainfall. Last year, the IMD had forecast that the monsoon would arrive in Delhi nearly two weeks before its usual date. However, it reached the capital only on July 13, making it the most delayed in 19 years. Asked about the delay in the arrival of the monsoon in Delhi, the senior scientist said a gap of around five days is considered normal. "However, we did not see any major weather system developing in the Bay of Bengal (which could have pushed the monsoon forward). This year, it has mainly been a wind-driven monsoon," senior IMD scientist RK Jenamani said. According to IMD data, the monsoon covered Delhi 29 times in June and 33 times in July in the last 62 years. TS SSC Results 2022: The Telangana Board of Secondary Education will declare the TS SSC result 2022 today June 30, 2022. Telangana 10th result 2022 will be posted on the official website, bse.telangana.gov.in. Students can access Telangana state board 10th result 2022 by entering their hall ticket numbers. Patlolla Sabitha Indra Reddy, Telangana state education minister, will release the TS SSC exam results on June 30 at 11.30 a.m. Students who took the TS SSC exams can check their TS 10th result 2022 at bse.telangana.gov.in and bseresults.telangana.gov.in. The TS SSC exams 2022 were held this year from May 23 to June 1, 2022. LIVE UPDATE: Telangana SSC Class 10 results 2022 TODAY Students must secure 35% in each subject to pass the Telangana SSC exam. ALSO READ: HPBOSE 10th Result 2022: Himachal Pradesh Board class 10th result DECLARED at hpbose.org- direct LINK for marks memo here TS SSC Result 2022: Here is how you can check result via official website Visit the official website bse.telangana.gov.in. Click the link "TS SSC results 2022" on the homepage. Enter the hall ticket number as well as the captcha code. Select the 'find result' tab. The TS 10th class result 2022 will be displayed on the monitors. Make a note of it for future use. The Telangana Board of Intermediate Education (TSBIE) Intermediate 1st and 2nd year exam results was released on June 28, 2022. A total of 63.32 percent of students passed the first-year exam, and 67.7 percent passed the second-year exam. New Delhi: The anonymous Twitter handle that led to the arrest of fact-checker and Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, has been deleted and does not exist on the microblogging site anymore, PTI reported quoting Delhi police. "We are trying to identify and trace the usage of the Twitter account to ascertain the reason behind him or her deleting the account. However, we suspect that the person must be scared after the matter came to the limelight," a source said. The account, which had only one follower at the time of Zubairs arrest, went past 1,200 followers in just one night. The co-founder of the fact-checking website was arrested by the Delhi Police on Monday for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through one of his tweets posted in 2018 related to Lord Hanuman. The post that got Mohammed Zubair arrested "The Twitter handle namely Hanuman Bhakt @balajikijaiiin had shared a tweet against another Twitter handle in the name of Mohammed Zubair@zoo_bear, in which it has been tweeted by Zubair that 'Before 2014: Honeymoon Hotel. After 2014: Hanuman Hotel' and has shown a picture of a signboard of a hotel named "Honeymoon Hotel" changed to "Hanuman Hotel," the FIR read. According to the first information report, @balajikijaiiin tweeted: "Linking our God Hanuman ji with Honey Moon is direct insult of Hindus because he is brahmchari. Kindly take action against this guy." Mohammed Zubairs custody extended A Delhi court on Tuesday extended Zubair's custodial interrogation by four days. On June 20, a case against Zubair was registered under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, language etc.) and 295A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), KPS Malhotra, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations), had said. According to the DCP, Zubair was arrested in connection with one of his tweets that had a questionable image with the purpose of deliberately insulting the god of a particular religion. Mohammed Zubair's financial transactions to be examined The Delhi Police on Wednesday wrote to multiple banks seeking information about bank account details and other financial transactions of fact-checking website Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair who is under police custody over an "objectionable" tweet, officials said. We are currently focusing on the source of donation and other financial transactions made into the bank accounts associated with Alt News. We have evidence that in the last three months, a transaction amounting to Rs 50 lakh was made into one of the accounts. We are further analysing the transactions made from multiple bank accounts," a senior police officer said. (With PTI inputs) Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday (June 30) appealed to people to maintain peace in view of the Udaipur beheading case. Gehlot took to social media and tweeted, "I want to assure you that no criminal will be spared irrespective of any religion or community." Notably, the Chief Minister chaired an all-party meeting on the incident on Wednesday. Ashok Gehlot, who also announced financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh to the dependent family of the deceased, termed the incident a "terrorist act", adding that links of the accused in the case have been traced to international organisations involved in illegal activities. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot assured the people of the state that no one will be spared irrespective of their religion or status if their involvement is found in the crime, adding that he is bound to maintain peace. He also appealed to people from different walks of life including religious Gurus and social activists from different social organisations and sought their cooperation in maintaining peace in the state. Udaipur beheading case | Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot appeals to people to maintain peace "I want to assure you that no criminal will be spared irrespective of any religion or community," he tweets pic.twitter.com/nb6auWLBlT ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) June 30, 2022 He also asked people to dial 100/101 in case they found any untoward incident that may spoil peace and harmony in their areas. On Wednesday, he termed the incident a "terrorist act", and said that links of the accused in the case have been traced to international organisations involved in illegal activities. The guilty will be given strict punishment without any delay, he added. Also read: Udaipur killing LIVE: No criminal will be spared, says CM Ashok Gehlot Notably, two men with a cleaver murdered the tailor, Kanhaiya Lal, in Udaipur and posted videos online that said they were avenging an insult to Islam, triggering stray cases of violence in the Rajasthan city, a part of which was placed under curfew. The parties, including the BJP, unanimously said such acts have no place in a civilised society and demanded strict punishment for those involved in the crime, an official statement said. They also appealed to the people of the state to maintain peace and harmony and said acting with restraint in this situation is the right way. A resolution condemning the incident was also passed at the all-party meeting. Gehlot said the case is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and that the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Rajasthan Police are coordinating with the NIA. He also condemned the assault of a policeman in Bheem town. The cop was slashed with a sword during a protest march in Rajsamand district's Bhim town, where police used tear gas to stop a stone-pelting mob from advancing towards a mosque. Rajasthan Assembly Speaker C P Joshi urged representatives of all parties to ask their booth-level workers to maintain peace. We all should set the example of Rajasthan in the country by maintaining peace, he said. He also suggested the prevention of cybercrime, monitoring of content on social media and creating a strong cyber intelligence system. Those who attended the meeting include Arun Chaturvedi and Ramlal Sharma from the BJP, Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra, Rashtriya Lok Dal MLA Subhash Garg, RLP president Pukhraj. CPIM MLA Balwan Poonia, CPIM secretary Amraram, CPI secretary Narendra Acharya, Kisan Mahapanchayat leader Rampal Jat, independent MLA Rajkumar Gaur, and independent MLA Sanyam Lodha also attended the meeting. (With PTI Inputs) Udaipur Murder: After the gruesome cold-blooded killing of a Hindu tailor in Udaipur, the ruling Congress held a meeting of all political parties in Rajasthan on Wednesday to discuss on the future course of action. In the meeting all the parties, including Congress and BJP, strongly condemned the brutal murder and appealed for peace and restraint, PTI reported quoting the official sources. The all-party meeting was chaired by Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot in Jaipur. The chief minister also announced financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh to the dependent family of the deceased, who was identified as Kanhaiya Lal. The Hindu tailor was killed over a social media post supporting Nupur Sharma. Here are some key highlights from the all-party meeting The parties unanimously termed the killing a "terrorist act. Gehlot said that the links of the accused in the case have been traced to international organisations involved in illegal activities The parties, including the BJP, unanimously said such acts have no place in a civilised society and demanded strict punishment for those involved in the crime, an official statement said. They also appealed to the people of the state to maintain peace and harmony and said acting with restraint in this situation is the right way. A resolution condemning the incident was also passed at the all-party meeting. Gehlot said that the case is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and that the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Rajasthan Police are coordinating with the NIA. The chief minister also condemned the assault of a policeman in Bheem town. The cop was slashed with a sword during a protest march in Rajsamand district's Bhim town, where police used tear gas to stop a stone-pelting mob from advancing towards a mosque. Gehlot announced financial aid of Rs 50 lakh to the kin of Kanhaiya Lal. Rajasthan Assembly Speaker C P Joshi urged representatives of all parties to ask their booth-level workers to maintain peace. He also suggested the prevention of cybercrime, monitoring of content on social media and creating a strong cyber intelligence system. Lauding the state police for swift action in the case, Director General of Police M L Lather said both the criminals were arrested within four hours of the incident. Other criminals involved in the conspiracy have also been taken into custody and a case has been registered against them, he said. (With PTI inputs) Udaipur Murder case: As the outrage against the beheading of a Hindu tailor Kanhaiya Lal in Rajasthans Udaipur intensifies, IANS reported that the two perpetrators of the brutal Udaipur murder were planning to kill another businessman in the city. According to IANS, the killers of Kanhaiya Lal have links with the proscribed terror outfit IS. The businessman was saved because he was out of town. The father of the businessman told the media that his son had posted content supporting Nupur Sharma on June 7. A complaint was filed against him and he was arrested, but released within a day. Since June 9, different people started coming to his shop. Sensing trouble, the businessman stopped visiting his shop and left the city for the time being. Police officials said that the accused were part of a conspiracy to carry out serial blasts in Jaipur on March 30. Both the killers arrested Meanwhile, NIA sources said that both arrested accused may be taken to Delhi for interrogation and their mobile and electronic devices will be sent for forensic examination. The NIA team is seeking help from cyber and forensic teams to get details related to social media, including posts and chats, of both the accused. In fact, their links with Dawat-e-Islam are also being probed as they were allegedly connected with Al sufa, a remote sleeper organisation of IS, through Pakistan-based Dawat-e-Islami Mohammad Riaz. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken five more suspects into custody. Sources said that more arrests will be made in this case. Protest at Kanhaiya Lals murder spot Outraged by the brutal killing, a large number of protestors gathered at the spot where Kanhaiya Lal was beheaded by the killers in Udaipur. #WATCH | A large number of people protest against the Udaipur murder incident in Rajasthan's Udaipur#KanhaiyaLal, a tailor was beheaded by two men on June 28 for allegedly posting content in support of suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma pic.twitter.com/IMkFhqDjRY ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) June 30, 2022 Meanwhile, Markets remained closed in most of the parts of Jaipur on Thursday following a bandh call given by a traders' body and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to protest the brutal killing of a tailor in Udaipur. Elaborate security arrangements have been made in view of the bandh, officials said, adding that emergency services are exempted. (With IANS inputs) New Delhi: Condemning the murder of a tailor in Rajasthans Udaipur, Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Thursday (June 30) said the killers have crossed all limits of humanity and hence should be given such a punishment that will set an example for the entire country. "These people crossed all limits of humanity. Such a murder and the manner in which it is been executed shook everyone. They have been caught. Through fast track court, they should be given such a punishment, which be an example for the entire country," he told ANI. Further, Pilot said that those responsible for the gruesome murder of tailor Kanahiya Lal should be "be traced and finished permanently". "We will have to reach the core of it, the team has been constituted for the same. Names of Pakistan-based organisations are coming to the fore and other details of the two accused are also coming to light. People and organisations responsible for this need to be traced and finished permanently," he was quoted as saying by ANI. The Congress leader said that like Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan is also a border state and if there are links outside the country, they should be probed. "Besides Kashmir and Punjab, Rajasthan too is a border state. If there are links across the border, we need to reach the bottom of it. If there are other people who are similarly influenced or in touch with them, it will have to be probed deeply," Pilot told the news agency. Meanwhile, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met Kanhaiya Lal's family today. He told reporters after meeting the family that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will soon file a charge sheet in the case. "The National Investigation Agency (NIA) should take up this case in a fast track court. The charge sheet should be filed as soon as possible so that punishment can be awarded," Gehlot said. (With agency inputs) Even though she has spend so many years in politics, it has been proved that she is equally skilled in the work of the household. This time, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also spoke about her skills in agriculture. From a young age, she grew up working hard, grew paddy in the field, cut paddy, sell the same and also tasted potato chops with that money. Mamata attended an administrative meeting in Durgapur on Wednesday. That's where she made that comment. Mamata said, "I can plant rice, and I can also harvest it. I'll plant the best rice than everyone else, I can harvest that too." Talking about his childhood experience, she added, "I used to sell rice and buy potato chops." The Chief Minister was also seen in a lighter mood at the administrative meeting of Durgapur on this day. She asked DG Manoj Malviya if the state had anything to say there. But as soon as he started talking, Mamata stopped him in the middle. She said, "Our DG is very calm. I think our DG look exactly like Uttam Kumar. Isn't it?" Mamata's comment made everyone present at the meeting laugh. Ahead of the panchayat elections, Mamata is also seen giving a message to the party to concentrate on the work before that. She said, "If the roads in the village are bad, no one will get votes, keep in mind. If the road is good, people will be happy to vote." She also commented that she would stand by herself and carry bricks on her head if needed. Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis is most likely to take oath as the new Maharashtra Chief Minister later today, a day after Uddhav Thackeray resigned as states chief minister after losing the Supreme Court battle challenging Governor's order to face a floor test. According to sources, Fadnavis is likely to take oath around 7 PM tonight. It also emerged that Shiv Sena rebel MLA Eknath Shinde is also expected to be sworn in as Deputy CM. If reports are to be believed, only 2 people will be taking oath tonight. Latest reports claimed that Fadnavis and Shinde are on their way to meet Governor BS Koshyari at the Raj Bhavan. After taking the oath, the duo is also expected to hold a joint press conference. Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde, who arrived in Mumbai from Goa on Thursday afternoon, met senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis at the latter's official residence in south Mumbai to discuss the formation of the next government in Maharashtra following the collapse of the MVA dispensation a day ago. Shinde and Fadnavis held a brief meeting at the latter's residence before both of them headed to the Raj Bhavan along with several BJP leaders. They will submit the letters of the supporting MLAs to Governor B S Koshyari to stake a claim for government formation, BJP leaders said. The BJP has said that it has the support of a total of 170 MLAs, including those from Shinde's rebel faction. The Mumbai police had made heavy security arrangements in view of Shinde's arrival in the city. Roads were emptied so that Shinde's cavalcade faces no hindrance while going to 'Sagar', the official bungalow of Fadnavis located at Malabar Hill in south Mumbai. Joint Commissioner of Police (law and order) Vishwas Nangre Patil led the cavalcade himself while other police officials stood guard throughout the route for quick movement and also to ensure that there were no protests by Shiv Sena supporters, an official said. "Shinde, who landed at Mumbai airport by chartered flight this afternoon, was escorted by the senior police officials from the airport to South Mumbai. Traffic on the route was stopped to facilitate the passage of Shinde's convoy," officials said. Shinde was seen waving to supporters throughout the route. Some Shiv Sena workers, who tried to hold a protest outside 'Sagar', were detained, the officials added. In the Maharashtra Assembly, the BJP has 106 MLAs. The MVA strength before the revolt in the Sena was 152 Sena (55), NCP (53), Congress (44). Smaller parties and Independents, the Others, account for the remaining 29. Mumbai: BJP national president J P Nadda on Thursday said that the partys central leadership wants Devendra Fadnavis to be part of the incoming new government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Speaking to ANI, Nadda said, BJP's central leadership has decided that Devendra Fadnavis should become a part of the Govt. So, made a personal request to him and Central leadership has said that Devendra Fadnvais should take charge as Deputy CM of Maharashtra" #WATCH | "...BJP's central leadership has decided that Devendra Fadnavis should become a part of the Govt. So, made a personal request to him and Central leadership has said that Devendra Fadnvais should take charge as Deputy CM of Maharashtra..," BJP national president JP Nadda pic.twitter.com/Gxmt4zurym ANI (@ANI) June 30, 2022 The remarks from the BJP national president came shortly after Fadnavis said that he wont be part of the new Maharashtra government and announced that rebel Eknath Shinde will be the new chief minister. Fadnavis's announcement defied expectations that he would return as chief minister with the support of the Shinde faction. Shinde alone will take oath of office at 7.30 pm, and cabinet expansion will take place later, Fadnavis said at a press conference at Raj Bhavan premises after meeting Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari along with Shinde. "I will not betray the faith Fadnavis has placed in me," Shinde told the media. The BJP will extend support to Shinde's group, said Fadnavis, a former chief minister and currently the leader of the opposition in the Assembly. BJP is the single largest party in the legislature. "I will be out of government but will ensure smooth functioning of the government which is coming as an alternative after Uddhav Thackeray resigned," Fadnavis said. Sena (rebels), as well as BJP MLAs and some independents, will be sworn in as ministers during the expansion, he added. This was not a battle for power but for principles and Hindutva ideology, he said, adding that the BJP was against imposing elections on the state at this juncture. There was unrest in the Shiv Sena ranks as alliance with Congress and NCP was an insult to the mandate of the 2019 Assembly polls when Sena and BJP had fought the polls together, he said. "Uddhav Thackeray aligned with parties (Congress and NCP) whom (Sena founder) Bal Thackeray opposed all his life," Fadnavis claimed. The Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance was "corrupt" and two ministers of that government are in jail for corruption and money laundering charges, the BJP leader said. Shiv Sena MLAs were facing problems in their constituencies as the MVA allies were hurting their prospects, Fadnavis said. Congress and NCP leaders in the constituencies of Shiv Sena leaders were being given government funds, he claimed. Speaking later, Eknath Shinde, MLA from Kopri-Panchpakhadi in Thane city, said he took the decision (to rebel against the MVA government) with support of 50 MLAs for the development of the state and "there was no personal interest involved." "There were limitations to the functioning of the MVA," he said. Shinde, who was a senior minister in the Thackeray government, lauded Fadnavis for giving up the opportunity to become CM, saying the BJP leader showed large-heartedness in making "Balasaheb Thackeray's Shiv Sainik" the next CM. When 50 MLAs take a decision, it calls for introspection, he said, without naming Uddhav Thackeray. New Delhi: The BJP's surprise decision to back Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde as Maharashtra's next chief minister underlines its aim to bring aboard its Hindutva bandwagon the regional sentiments plank traditionally identified with its former ally, with the party's eyes firmly set on the bigger battles of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the state elections the same year. Once a junior ally of Shiv Sena which advocated a more unabashed form of Hindutva, the BJP now virtually owns it and hopes Shinde will help the BJP, in its elevated position, to identify with the regional sentiments, which the Sena always championed. The strategic move will also bolster the BJP's push to decimate the Uddhav Thackeray-led party by depriving it of its pet Hindutva and ethnic sub-nationalism plank. The pull of rank and file Shiv Sainiks towards the Shinde faction may also gain strength with one of them at the top post, BJP insiders said. With Marathas, the state's most dominant caste considered more sympathetic to the parties like the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena, Shinde will also help the BJP in wooing the community that he comes from. As the fight between the two Sena factions intensify in the coming weeks and months, including before the Election Commission, the rise of Shinde, a grassroots Maratha politician always identified with his party's planks of Hindutva and ethnic sub-nationalism, may hurt the prospects of Uddhav Thackeray. "It is a very strategic move. It appears to be a plan of a much larger strategy where the aim is to weaken the Shiv Sena and take it out of the hands of Thackerays," said Maharashtra-based political scientist Sanjay Patil, who has studied the party for his PhD. "Using Shiv Sena slogans, its people and by appointing a Maratha CM, the BJP is posing the toughest challenge to the Thackeray brand in the history of Maharashtra. There is an attempt to separate Thackerays from Shiv Sena, but it wouldn't be easy as Sena and Thackeray were always the same in the imagination of Marathi people," he said. "As Sena's ideology was broadly based on two planks: religion (Hindutva) and region (Marathi Manoos), now the attempt is that everything gets submerged into the larger plank of Hindutva and should be bigger than nativism," he added. There is also a view that the BJP may have tried to hedge its bets as the matter is still technically in court, and it remains an open guess how the battle between the two Sena factions will play out politically as the brand Thackeray can't be written off. The BJP's move, however, has also come with its own share of headaches. Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is seen as the party's face in the state and a key leader behind the rebellion in Shiv Sena, was apparently left unhappy with the leadership's choice of Shinde. He announced that he will not be part of the new Cabinet but was prevailed upon by the top brass to join it. Political observers also pointed out that Shinde, whose faction has around 50 MLAs (including independents) to the BJP's 106, leading the government may have its own pitfalls. Political benefits of the leaders of rebel factions or the smaller party running the government with the support of a big party have been mixed. S Gurumurthy, an RSS sympathiser and editor of Tamil political weekly Thuglak, lauded the BJP's move to pick Shinde as chief minister as "strategically brilliant and politically large-hearted". It has shocked political pundits seeing a BJP conspiracy behind the revolt in Shiv Sena, he said. MUMBAI: BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said that rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde will be the new chief minister of Maharashtra and that he ''will stay out of the government'', contrary to popular perception and media reports. Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde will be the new chief minister of Maharashtra, Fadnavis said while addressing a joint press conference on Thursday. After the swearing-in ceremony today, we will have a cabinet expansion and Shiv Sena and BJP leaders will take the oath. I will stay out of the government, Fadnavis said. After the swearing-in ceremony today, we will have a cabinet expansion and Shiv Sena and BJP leaders will take the oath. I will stay out of the government: BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis pic.twitter.com/o6OnBk5ROS ANI (@ANI) June 30, 2022 Hailing Shinde, Fadnavis said that Eknath Shinde is the group leader of Shiv Sena who wanted to end the alliance with Congress and NCP but Uddhav Thackeray did not oblige. Attacking Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Fadnavis said that in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, people voted for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance but that mandate was insulted and the Maha Vikas Aghadi government was formed. Shiv Sena formed an alliance with those who are against Hindutva & Savarkar. Shiv Sena insulted the mandate of the people, Fadnavis alleged. Justifying the rebellion within the Shiv Sena, Fadnavis said, "Shiv Sena MLAs were demanding that the alliance with Congress and NCP should be ended but Uddhav Thackeray ignored these MLAs and gave priority to MVA alliance partners, that's why these MLAs intensified their voices. Speaking in his turn, Shinde said that ''the decision that we have taken is committed to Balasaheb's Hindutva and for the development work in the constituencies of our MLAs. We have 50 MLAs with us." He further said that "we went to former CM Thackeray with our constituency's grievances & development work along with advising him on the need for improvement as we started realizing that it would be difficult for us to win the next elections. We demanded a natural alliance with BJP." The dramatic announcement came after Fadnavis and Shinde met Governor B S Koshyari at Raj Bhavan. It was considered a foregone conclusion that Fadnavis will become the CM for the third time, in alliance with the Shinde-led Sena rebels. However, Fadnavis said Shinde will be sworn in as CM at Raj Bhavan at 7.30 pm on Thursday. "We have submitted a list to the Governor of all the BJP MLAs, the group led by Shindeji, 16 Independents and others, with more joining us soon," said Fadnavis. Accordingly, Shinde will be sworn-in alone as the CM on Thursday at 7.30 pm at the Raj Bhavan; later, the cabinet will be expanded to accommodate MLAs from both sides. "I will remain out of the government, but I shall do everything possible to make the new government a success on all fronts, and resume the developmental activities that had stopped in the past two-and-a-half years," Fadiavis said. New Delhi: Arjun Kapoor and Malaika Arora return back from their trip to Paris in the wee hours of Thursday. They walked out of the Mumbai airport together and looked dapper cool. The paps as usual were there and captured the couple's arrival, also, a few fans attempted to take pictures with Malaika. The crowd rushed towards her but before the mob could begin, her beau Arjun Kapoor managed the whole gathering and protected Malaika. He then took her hand and walked out of the airport. Malaika can be seen wearing a chic jacket with a matching pair of pants and a tube top. On the other hand, Arjun was seen wearing a casual tee with black pants. Both the actors wore masks and set an example for their fans to stay healthy and protected. Malaika and Arjun were in Paris to celebrate Arjun's birthday. The couple treated fans almost every day with adorable and cosy updates from their trip to the city of Love. Arjun and Malaika have been dating for a while now. The couple made their relationship official in 2019 when they stepped out together at the screening of India's Most Wanted. Malaika was earlier married to Arbaaz Khan and they have a son together, Arhaan Khan. On the work front, Arjun is all set for the release of his upcoming film 'Ek Villain 2' alongside John Abraham, Tara Sutaria and Disha Patani. Live TV NEW DELHI: Hollywood star Johnny Depp has not been offered an apology deal worth $300 million. One of the representatives of the `Pirates of the Caribbean` star has denied the existence of any such deal saying, "This is made up," reports NBC News. A media report had earlier said that after Depp won his defamation suit against Amber Heard, Disney offered the deal plus an apology letter to Depp with the request to return to the `Pirates of the Caribbean` franchise. The NBC News report further states that Depp, who has played Captain Jack Sparrow in all the five `Pirates` movies, the latest being the 2017 film `Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales`, has declined to be part of the franchise irrespective of how lucrative the offer is. The actor had made the statement in the court. At one point during the trial, Heard`s attorney Ben Rottenborn asked the actor, "The fact is, Mr Depp, if Disney came to you with $300 million and a million alpacas, nothing on this earth would get you to go back and work with Disney on a `Pirates of the Caribbean` film? Correct?" Depp replied in affirmative, "That is true, Mr. Rottenborn." A Virginia jury later ruled that Heard was liable for defaming Depp. The jury awarded $10 million to Depp in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Penney Azcarate later reduced the punitive damages to $350,000, which is the state`s statutory cap or legal limit, making his total damages less than $10.4 million. Back in May, `Pirates` producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who is now working on two more films, was asked if Depp would be back for future projects. He told `The Sunday Times`, "Not at this point. The future is yet to be decided." NEW DELHI: Bollywood actress Swara Bhasker has received a death threat in a letter following which Mumbai police have launched an investigation, an official said on Wednesday. The letter, written in Hindi, directly threatened the actress of dire consequences and was filled with abuses agianst insulting Veer Savarkar. The letter was signed in the end as 'Is desh ke naujawan'. As per the official, the letter was sent to her residence located at Mumbai's Versova. After receiving the letter, Swara Bhasker approached Versova police station two days back and lodged a complaint against unidentified persons, PTI quoted the official saying. "Based on the complaint, we have registered a non-cognisable offence against unidentified persons," he said adding that the investigation is on. Swara Bhasker is known to be quite vocal about the socio-political issues plaguing the society. In 2017 she had posted a tweet that read, "Savarkar APOLOGISED To the British govt. pleaded to be let out of jail! That's not 'Veer' for sure..." In 2019, she had posted another tweet with a video, "The planned construction of a most cowardly 'braveheart' Understanding 'Veer Savarkar'. The planned construction of a most cowardly 'braveheart' Understanding "Veer" Savarkar https://t.co/0MZ9nGO3sX via @YouTube Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) April 18, 2019 Recently, the 'Tanu Weds Manu' actress took to Twitter to condemn the Udaipur incident where a tailor was beheaded in broad daylight for offering his support to Nupur Sharma over her controversial statement on Prophet Mohammad. "Despicable and utterly condemnable.. The perpetrators should be dealt with promptly and strictly, as per law! Heinous crime.. Unjustifiable! As one often says.. if you want to kill in the name of your God, start with yourself! Sick sick monsters! #UdaipurHorror," she had tweeted. Despicable and utterly condemnable.. The perpetrators should be dealt with promptly and strictly, as per law! Heinous crime.. Unjustifiable! As one often says.. if you want to kill in the name of your God, start with yourself! Sick sick monsters! #UdaipurHorror https://t.co/bvf5T2sr0l Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) June 28, 2022 For the unversed, earlier this month, Bollywood actor Salman Khan and his father and veteran screenwriter Salim Khan had also received a death threat through an anonymous letter. Live TV New Delhi: Zendaya's boyfriend, Tom Holland, recently made sure to show his support for the actor's stunning social media images from the latest cover of 'Vogue Italia.' According to Fox News, in the pics, Zendaya was dressed in a sparkling silver Valentino dress. She described it as "such a dream shooting this cover" with famed photographer Elizaveta Porodina, and her 'Spider-Man' co-star commented with a row of heart-eyed emojis. Apart from Holland, Hailey Bieber also commented on one stunning black and white image. "Sheesh," she wrote. Jodie Turner-Smith added, "wowwwwwww angel this is just so incredibly stunning." Zendaya and Holland have mostly kept their relationship out of the public eye through the years. They first began working together in 2016 in Marvel's 'Spider-Man: Homecoming', which was released the following year. The pair also starred together in the MCU flick 'Far From Home' and the most recent Spider-Man installment, 'No Way Home.' Previously during an interview with a magazine, Holland spoke out about the lack of privacy celebrities have when it comes to dating. "One of the downsides of our fame is that privacy isn`t really in our control anymore, and a moment that you think is between two people that love each other very much is now a moment that is shared with the entire world," he said in November. Zendaya, who grew up in Northern California, admitted she lives a "pretty normal life" despite her status as one of Hollywood`s most coveted stars and praised her fans for "understanding" her need for living with some sense of normalcy. The former Disney channel star became the youngest Best Actress Emmy Award winner in 2020 for her role as Rue on the HBO drama "Euphoria," and admitted she feels "incredibly grateful," as per Fox News. NEW DELHI: R Madhavan is gearing up for the release of his film 'Rocketry: The Nambi Effect'. The '3 Idiots' actor has been extensively promoting his upcoming biographical drama, which is based on the life of scientist Nambi Narayanan. However, days before the film hits the screen, the actor has been hitting the limelight for not so good reaons. The actor was recently trolled after he misquoted the number of Indian people on Twitter. A social media user had shared a video to slam Madhavan for stating that only 25 Lacs people in India are on Twitter, instead of 250 lakh. His now-deleted tweet read, "Madhavansplaining: This @ActorMadhavan is spewing non stop nonsense to promote his film and it is only getting more and more laughable with every passing day. Isnt there any other way to promote his film than this?" However, instead of getting offended, Madhavan chose to gave it back to the Twitter user with a powerful reply. He wrote, "Easy bro.. you are a sportsman.. I am exhausted sleep deprived, so said less than 25lakhs instead of 250 lakhs .. but the point was it still less that 1.7% of the population which was my point .. why so much venom bro.. not good for your sport." R Madhavan trolled for 'ISRO used panchang' remark R Madhavan was recently made fun of when he mentioned that ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) used the panchang, a historical almanac based on planetary positions, to launch the Mars Orbiter Mission earlier this month. At a promotional event of his upcoming film 'Rocketry: The Nambi Effect' in Chennai last week, Madhavan had said the 'panchang' has a celestial map of calculations on the positions of planets, how their gravitational forces act, its effects, the solar flares, etc. Which was used while working towards inserting the Mars Orbiter Spacecraft into orbit in 2014. A video from the event went viral on social media over the weekend with many users calling out the actor, in response to which Madhavan tweeted: "I deserve this for calling the Almanac the 'Panchang' in tamil. Very ignorant of me. Though this cannot take away for the fact that what was achieved with just 2 engines by us in the Mars Mission. A record by itself. @NambiNOfficial Vikas engine is a rockstar (sic)." Among those who hit out at Madhavan for his comments was noted Carnatic vocalist TM Krishna. Taking a jibe at the actor's statement in his tweet, Krishna shared the link to Mars Orbiter Mission profile from ISRO's official website. Rocketry: The Nambi Effect Madhavan, best known for films such as 'Rehnaa Hai Tere Dil Mein', '3 Idiots', 'Tanu Weds Manu' and 'Vikram Vedha', said he is proud and satisfied of his first film 'Rocketry: The Nambi Effect' as a director. He has written, produced and acted in 'Rocketry', a biopic on Nambi Narayanan, a former scientist and aerospace engineer of the Indian Space Research Organisation, who was falsely accused of espionage. The film's trailer was recently showcased at Expo 2022 Dubai where it received a positive response from the audience. The ISRO's Mangalyan mission was India's first interplanetary mission. ISRO's K Sivan said the Mangalyan mission was initially meant for only 6 months. India became the first country to reach the Martian orbit in the first attempt in 2014. "I started the film at the end of 2016 and it will be released in 2022. It has taken six years. Not just my role but I am satisfied with the way the film has turned out compared to the script we had written. So, it is as close to the script as possible. That is our victory," he was quoted by PTI. Releasing on July 1 in theatres worldwide, Madhavan said the film will have a substantial release in terms of screen count. 'Rocketry: The Nambi Effect' was shot simultaneously in Hindi, Tamil, and English and will be dubbed in Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada languages. New Delhi: IF the Modi government implements four labour codes on wages, social security, industrial relations and occupation safety, health and working conditions from tomorrow (July 1), there could be a lot of changes in terms of salary restructuring, PF and gratuity component, working hours and Earned Leaves as per media reports. If these labour codes are implemented, the new wage code will impact all the mentioned aspects. Since these are now early speculations, nothing concreted should be infered till the government officially notifies the rules. Till now, 23 states have pre-published draft rules on these laws, while the Centre has completed the process of finalising the draft rules on these codes in February 2021. The central government had notified four labour codes, namely, the Code on Wages, 2019, on August 8, 2019, and the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 on September 29, 2020. Since labour is a concurrent subject, the Centre wants the states to implement these as well in one go, as has been reported earlier. Reduced in-hand salary after implementation of Wage Code The government's notification on Code on Wages 2019 may reduce the take-home pay while components like PF and Gratuity might rise. This is based on the grounds that the new wage code mentions provision entailing that the employee's basic salary will be at least 50 percent of his/her net monthly CTC. Hence, if this provision comes into effect, it will mean that employees will not be able to get more than 50 percent of his/her net monthly salary in form of allowance. Higher PF after implementation of Wage Code This also means that there will be a consequent rise in gratuity and PF contribution of the employee. Hence, while the take home pay of the employees may be reduced, the Gratuity and PF component may rise. 12 hours work-week Experts also believe that the new draft will impact the working hours of employees with some media reports saying that employees may be allowed a four-day workweek but they will have to work for 12 hours on those four days. The labour ministry has apparently made it clear that 48-hour weekly work requirement is a must. Big changes in Earned Leave policy after new wage code implementation The biggest change could be seen in cases of Earned Leave. Government departments now allows 30 holidays in 1 year, defense employees get 60 holidays in 1 year. Employees can cash up to 300 holidays on carry forward, however the Labor union is demanding to increase number of holidays to 450 in new code. At present there are 240 to 300 holidays in different departments. Employees can take these holidays in cash only after 20 years of service. After two years, pilgrims will finally get to participate in the festival of Lord Jagannath in Puri, Odisha. The Odisha government expects 10 lakh pilgrims to gather at the temple town this year. Hence, to provide convenient and comfortable travel to the passengers, the Indian Railways will be running 205 special trains for the Rath Yatra in Odisha's Puri from July 1, an official of the East Coast Railways (ECoR) said. The special trains will run from Shalimar near Kolkata, Jagadalpur in Chhattishgarh, and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, besides different parts of Odisha, connecting Puri, the official said. Arrangements have been made for facilitating easy movement of passengers on the days of Rath Yatra, Bahuda Jatra, Sandhya Darshan, and Suna Bhesa, he said. Rath Yatra Special trains full schedule: - 08907/08908 Visakhapatnam-Puri- Visakhapatnam Rath Yatra Special: This special train will leave from Visakhapatnam at 1430hrs on 30.06.2022 and will arrive at Puri at 0115hrs on 01.07.2022. - 08911/08912 Junagarh Road-Puri- Junagarh Road Rath Yatra Special Express via Sambalpur & Talcher Road: The train will leave Junagarh Road at 1100hrs on 30.06.2022. - 08418/08417 Gunupur-Puri- Gunupur Rath Yatra Special Express from Gunupur: The train will leave at 2330hrs on 30.06.2022 - 08909/08910 Jagadalpur-Puri-Jagadalpur Rath Yatra Special Via Rayagada & Vizianagaram: The train will leave Jagadalpur at 1830hrs on 30.06.2022. - 02891/02810 Bhubaneswar-Puri- Bhubaneswar Rath Yatra Special: It will leave from Bhubaneswar at 1005hrs and in return will leave Puri at 1510hrs between July 1 to July 11, 2022. - 08931/08932 Sambalpur-Puri-Sambalpur Rath Yatra Special via Naraj Marthapur & Talcher Road: The train will leave Sambalpur at 2130hrs on 30.06.2022 and in return, will leave Puri at 2025hrs on 01.07.2022 Check the full list HERE In an aim to ensure the safe conduct of the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, 180 platoons of police and over 1,000 officials would be deployed in and around Puri during the festival, Odisha DGP Sunil Bansal said. Also read: RRTS corridor: Tunnel construction begins from Anand Vihar towards Sahibabad Adequate police personnel are being mobilised in the town so that the devotees can have safe darshan of the deities, he said after holding a meeting to review security arrangements for the festival. (With inputs from PTI) Live TV Udaipur: The family of Kanhaiya Lal, the tailor who was brutally murdered by two men for avenging insult to Islam, on Thursday demanded justice for the deceased and the strictest punishment for his killers, saying they should be hanged. The family said this to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who along with the state's top officials and Congress MLAs visited them at their home in Udaipur. He also handed over a cheque of Rs 51 lakh to the family as compensation. Speaking to the media after his visit, Gehlot said he would speak to Home Minister Amit Shah as well and request that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) complete its probe in the case within a month. This is a heinous murder that has shaken not just the state but the entire country, he said and went on to commend the state police for swiftly arresting the accused and finding out their international links. Our police did a good job; arrested accused & found international links, which is why NIA came into the picture... We'll appeal to take this case via fast track. We want NIA to be time-bound & punish the guilty within a month. We'll cooperate with them: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot pic.twitter.com/2kXn6OKc70 ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) June 30, 2022 The victim's son said the Chief Minister has assured the family that they will get state protection. He demanded that the killers be hanged. We have demanded security. My father was not provided security but we should be provided. We have been assured of the same. The culprits should not be given anything less than a death sentence: Yash, son of Kanhaiya Lal who was beheaded on June 28 by two men in Udaipur, Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/9JmmVpfQON ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) June 30, 2022 "Nothing less than that, the accused must be hanged to death," he said. The Chief Minister informed us that two cops have been suspended for negligence and action might be taken against others as well, he said. "They have even lived in Karachi for 45 days, there's a link," he said, as relatives around the son tried to dissuade the media from questioning him saying the community leaders will answer questions as the son is just a boy. As outrage spirals over Kanhaiya Lal's murder, stone-throwing erupted briefly today during a protest march by hundreds in Udaipur. The riot police moved in to control the crowds. Lal, a tailor, was on Tuesday killed by two men who had posted videos online that said they were avenging an insult to Islam. The incident triggered stray cases of violence in Udaipur and a curfew was clamped in seven police station areas of the city. Lal was cremated on Wednesday in the presence of a large number of people. Heavy deployment of police has been made in Udaipur to maintain law and order and two Additional Director General, one Deputy IG and other senior officials are camping in the city to monitor the situation, officials said. Thousands of people on Thursday took part in a protest rally here against the gruesome murder of Lal. The 'Sarv Hindu Samaj' rally was called by Hindu organisations and was held peacefully from the Town Hall to the collectorate with the permission of the district administration. (With Agency Inputs) New Delhi: Garena Free Fire releases redeem codes on everyday basis. The 12-digit redeem code consists of alphabets and numbers. Players can get rewards such as skins for in-game weapons and characters to improve their gaming experience. Garena Free fire is banned in India. However, if you are located outside India, you can access the reward codes and redeem them. For that you will be required to visit official Garena Free Fire reward site and log in to your Facebook, Google, Twitter IDs to access the Free Fire redemption page. (Also read: Google Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro features listed on ecommerce website: Details here) Check out the Garena Free Fire Redeem Codes for June 30, 2022 U8S47JGJH5MG FFAC2YXE6RF2 FFBBCVQZ4MWA B3G7A22TWDR7X ZZATXB24QES8 FFIC33NTEUKA 4ST1ZTBE2RP9 ETH8WN8S4YSV RHW2YWQ4YDPH RAYA6AWMFA7S MCPTTZXZZC5R FF7MUY4ME6SC SARG886AV5GR VNY3MQWNKEGU MHM5D8ZQZP22 X99TK56XDJ4X ZZATXB24QES8 FFIC33NTEUKA VNY3MQWNKEGU (Also read: Shocking! Ex-Amazon Web Services engineer hacked data of 10 crore customers) How to Redeem Garena Free Fire codes for today, 30 June 2022 Step 1: Go to the official Garena Free Fire redemption portal Step 2: Log in on the portal with either your Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Google, VK, or Huawei ID. Step 3: Enter a redeem code in the designated text box. Step 4: Click on the Ok button to get free rewards in your game account. (Disclaimer: Garena Free fire is banned in India. Hence we advise people to adhere to government rules) Madrid: NATO has for the first time singled out China as one of its strategic priorities for the next decade, warning about its growing military ambitions, confrontational rhetoric toward Taiwan and other neighbours, and increasingly close ties to Russia. While Russia's war against Ukraine has dominated discussions at the NATO summit, China earned a place Wednesday among the Western alliance's most worrying security concerns. "China is substantially building up its military forces, including nuclear weapons, bullying its neighbours, threatening Taiwan ... Monitoring and controlling its own citizens through advanced technology, and spreading Russian lies and disinformation," Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said after presenting NATO's ten-year Strategic Concept. "China is not our adversary," Stoltenberg said, "but we must be clear-eyed about the serious challenges it represents." The strategic document directed its harshest language at Russia, but the mere mention of China was significant; the 2010 document did not discuss China. The official turn by NATO puts the world's largest military alliance based on the United States armed forces on guard against a country with the world's second-largest economy and rapidly growing military, both in numbers and in top-notch technology. "One of the things that (China's) doing is seeking to undermine the rules-based international order that we adhere to, that we believe in, that we helped build," said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. "And if China's challenging it in one way or another, we will stand up to that." China has yet to condemn Russia's four-month long war against Ukraine and has criticized sanctions brought against Moscow by NATO members. Also Read: President Putin warns Sweden, Finland over NATO troops and infrastructure A year ago, Russia and China extended a friendship treaty promising even more "strategic cooperation" in defending their common interests. That was followed up in November with an agreement to strengthen their military ties. Weeks before Russia's February invasion, Chinese leader Xi Jinping hosted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for a summit at which they pledged a partnership that had "no limits." Western leaders are concerned that Russia's aggression in Ukraine could embolden China to be more assertive over Taiwan. China considers Taiwan a part of its territory with no right to independent recognition as a state or representation on the world stage. Speaking at an event in Madrid that was not part of the NATO summit, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that unless China is checked "there is a real risk that they draw the wrong idea which results in a catastrophic miscalculation such as invading Taiwan," referring to the self-governing island that China claims as a province. However, in a move interpreted to show it was somewhat uneasy over the war in Ukraine, China voted to abstain in a United Nations motion to demand Russia halt its attack. China has greatly increased its diplomatic reach via foreign investment, above all in central Asia and Africa. Now it is seeking to match that with greater military might, especially in the South China Sea where it has built bases on disputed islands. The U.S. Navy has pushed back by conducting drills in those waters. The gathering of world leaders in Madrid, both inside the NATO summit and on its sidelines, included many from Asian nations. It was the first time that the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand were invited to a NATO summit. They participated in a NATO session on new global challenges after holding a side meeting outside of the summit. And United States president Joe Biden sat down with the leaders of Japan and South Korea. Following what he called a "very successful" meeting with the other three Pacific nations, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for China to finally denounce Russia's aggressions. Earlier on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that NATO members had been ?creating tension and provoking conflicts? by sending warships and aircraft into areas close to the Asian mainland and the South China Sea. NATO should "give up the cold war mentality, zero-sum game and the practice of creating enemies, and not to try to mess up Asia and the whole world after disrupting Europe," Zhao said. A surveillance aircraft controlled by NATO member Canada was recently intercepted by a Chinese fighter in international airspace, which Canadian officials described as reckless on the part of the Chinese pilot. Beijing continues to claim it is neutral in the Ukraine war and has accused NATO and the US of provoking Russia into military action. "Facts have proven that sanctions are not a way out of conflicts, and the continued delivery of weapons will not help realize peace," Zhao said. NATO allies debated fiercely over how to frame their approach toward China. High-level Spanish and French diplomatic officials told The Associated Press that their delegations insisted on China being considered a "challenge" and not a "threat" like Russia. But one thing was clear: Ignoring China was no longer an option. "The challenges we all face are truly global," Stoltenberg told the Western allies. "The international balance of power is shifting, and strategic competition is on the rise." Madrid/Kyiv: Russia pressed on with its offensive in eastern Ukraine on Thursday after NATO branded Moscow the biggest "direct threat" to Western security and agreed on plans to modernise Kyiv`s beleaguered armed forces. Ukrainian authorities said they were trying to evacuate residents from the frontline eastern city of Lysychansk, the focus of Russia`s attacks where about 15,000 people remained under relentless shelling. "Fighting is going on all the time. The Russians are constantly on the offensive. There is no let-up," regional Governor Serhiy Gaidai told Ukrainian television. "Absolutely everything is being shelled." In the southern Kherson region, Ukrainian forces were fighting back with artillery strikes of their own, Oleskiy Arestovych, adviser to the Ukrainian president, said in a video posted online. At a summit on Wednesday dominated by Russia`s invasion of Ukraine and the geopolitical upheaval it has caused, NATO invited Sweden and Finland to join and pledged a seven-fold increase from 2023 in combat forces on high alert along its eastern flank. In reaction, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would respond in kind if NATO set up infrastructure in Finland and Sweden after they join the U.S.-led military alliance. Putin was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying he could not rule out that tensions would emerge in Moscow`s relations with Helsinki and Stockholm over their joining NATO. Also Read: Russia-Ukraine war: President Putin warns Sweden, Finland over NATO troops and infrastructure US President Joe Biden announced more land, sea and air force deployments across Europe from Spain in the west to Romania and Poland bordering Ukraine. These included a permanent army headquarters with accompanying battalion in Poland - the first full-time U.S. deployment on NATO`s eastern fringes. "President Putin`s war against Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe and has created the biggest security crisis in Europe since the Second World War," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference. "NATO has responded with strength and unity," he said. Britain said it would provide another 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion) of military support to Ukraine, including air defence systems, uncrewed aerial vehicles and new electronic warfare equipment. `FIGHTING EVERYWHERE` As the 30 national NATO leaders were meeting in Madrid, Russian forces intensified attacks in Ukraine, including missile strikes and shelling on the southern Mykolaiv region close to front lines and the Black Sea. The Mayor of Mykolaiv city said a Russian missile had killed at least five people in a residential building there, while Moscow said its forces had hit what it called a training base for foreign mercenaries in the region. There was relentless fighting around the hilltop city of Lysychansk, which Russian forces are trying to encircle as they try to capture the industrialised eastern Donbas region on behalf of separatist proxies. Donbas comprises Donetsk and Luhansk provinces. A video clip aired on Russia`s RIA state news agency showed former U.S. soldier Alexander Drueke, who was captured while fighting for Ukrainian forces. "My combat experience here was that one mission on that one day," said Drueke, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, referring to the day he was captured outside Kharkiv, Ukraine`s second-largest city. "I didn`t fire a shot. I would hope that would play a factor in whatever sentence I do or don`t receive." President Volodymyr Zelenskiy once again told NATO that Ukrainian forces needed more weapons and money, and faster, to erode Russia`s huge edge in artillery and missile firepower, and said Moscow`s ambitions did not stop at Ukraine. The Russian invasion that began on Feb. 24 has destroyed cities, killed thousands and sent millions fleeing. Russia says it is pursuing a "special military operation" to rid Ukraine of dangerous nationalists. Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of an unprovoked, imperial-style land grab. The top US intelligence official Avril Haines said on Wednesday the most likely near term scenario is a grinding conflict in which Moscow makes only incremental gains, but no breakthrough on its goal of taking most of Ukraine. `FULL SOLIDARITY` In a nod to the precipitous deterioration in relations with Russia since the invasion, a NATO communique called Russia the "most significant and direct threat to the allies` security", having previously classified it as a "strategic partner". NATO issued a new Strategic Concept document, its first since 2010, that said a "strong independent Ukraine is vital for the stability of the Euro-Atlantic area". To that end, NATO agreed a long-term financial and military aid package to modernise Ukraine`s largely Soviet-era military. "We stand in full solidarity with the government and the people of Ukraine in the heroic defence of their country," the communique said. Also Read: NATO's ten-year Strategic Concept highlights Chinese 'challenges' for 1st time, warns warning about Beijing's growing military ambitions Stoltenberg said NATO had agreed to put 300,000 troops on high readiness from 2023, up from 40,000 now, under a new force model to protect an area stretching from the Baltic to the Black seas. NATO`s invitation to Sweden and Finland to join the alliance marks one of the most momentous shifts in European security in decades as Helsinki and Stockholm drop a tradition of neutrality in response to Russia`s invasion. Russia-Ukraine war: What you need to know right now NATO branded Russia the most "direct threat" to allied security after Moscow`s invasion of Ukraine and vowed to modernise the beleaguered Ukrainian military, saying it stood four-square with Kyiv in "the heroic defence of their country". FIGHTING * Eight missiles struck Mykolaiv, a river port just off the Black Sea, its mayor said, including a hit on an apartment building, that killed four people and wounded five. * "There is fighting everywhere," said the governor of the eastern Luhansk region, much of which is now in Russian hands. The Russians are taking the city of Lysychansk building by building, he said, as they did before in nearby Sievierodonetsk. * Reuters could not independently verify any of the battlefield accounts. * Ukraine carried out its biggest exchange of prisoners of war since Russia invaded, securing the release of 144 of its soldiers, including 95 who defended Mariupol`s steelworks, Ukraine`s military intelligence agency said. DIPLOMACY AND ECONOMY * NATO invited Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance in one of the biggest shifts in European security in decades after Turkey lifted its veto. * In reaction, Putin said Russia would respond in kind if NATO deployed troops and infrastructure in Finland and Sweden after they join the alliance. * U.S. President Biden pledged more American troops, warplanes and warships for Europe as NATO agreed the biggest strengthening of its deterrents since the Cold War in response to Russia`s invasion of Ukraine. * Britain will provide another 1 billion pounds ($1.21 billion) of military support to Ukraine, the British government said, bringing the total amount to 2.3 billion pounds since the invasion. QUOTES * "This is not a war being waged by Russia against only Ukraine. This is a war for the right to dictate conditions in Europe - for what the future world order will be like," President Zelenskiy told NATO leaders in a video link-up from Kyiv. * "My combat experience here was that one mission on that one day," said Alexander Drueke, former US soldier captured in eastern Ukraine. "I didn`t fire a shot. I would hope that would play a factor in whatever sentence I do or don`t receive." Moscow: President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would respond in kind if NATO deployed troops and infrastructure in Finland and Sweden after they join the US-led military alliance. "With Sweden and Finland, we don`t have the problems that we have with Ukraine. They want to join NATO, go ahead," Putin told Russian state television after talks with regional leaders in the central Asian ex-Soviet state of Turkmenistan. "But they must understand there was no threat before, while now, if military contingents and infrastructure are deployed there, we will have to respond in kind and create the same threats for the territories from which threats towards us are created." He said it was inevitable that Moscow`s relations with Helsinki and Stockholm would sour over their NATO membership. "Everything was fine between us, but now there might be some tensions, there certainly will," he said. "It`s inevitable if there is a threat to us." Putin made his comment a day after NATO member Turkey lifted its veto over the bid by Finland and Sweden to join the alliance after the three nations agreed to protect each other`s security. The move means Helsinki and Stockholm can proceed with their application to join NATO, marking the biggest shift in European security in decades. Putin added that the objectives of what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine remained unchanged, that its goal was to "liberate" eastern Ukraine`s Donbas region and create conditions to ensure Russia`s security. He said Russian troops had advanced in Ukraine and that the military intervention was going as planned. There was no need, he said, to set a deadline for an end to the campaign. Russia steps up attacks on NATO's plan for military aid to 'heroic' Ukraine NATO on Wednesday branded Russia the biggest "direct threat" to Western security after its invasion of Ukraine and agreed on plans to modernise Kyiv`s beleaguered armed forces, saying it stood fully behind Ukrainians` "heroic defence of their country". At a summit dominated by the invasion and the geopolitical upheaval it has caused, NATO also invited Sweden and Finland to join and pledged a seven-fold increase from 2023 in combat forces on high alert along its eastern flank against any future Russian attack. In reaction, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would respond in kind if NATO set up infrastructure in Finland and Sweden after they join the U.S.-led military alliance. Putin was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying he could not rule out that tensions would emerge in Moscow`s relations with Helsinki and Stockholm over their joining NATO. US President Joe Biden announced more land, sea and air force deployments across Europe from Spain in the west to Romania and Poland bordering Ukraine. These included a permanent army headquarters with an accompanying battalion in Poland - the first full-time U.S. deployment on NATO`s eastern fringes. "President Putin`s war against Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe and has created the biggest security crisis in Europe since the Second World War," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference. "NATO has responded with strength and unity," he said. Britain said it would provide another 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion) of military support to Ukraine, including air defence systems, uncrewed aerial vehicles and new electronic warfare equipment. `FIGHTING EVERYWHERE` As the 30 national NATO leaders were meeting in Madrid, Russian forces intensified attacks in Ukraine, including missile strikes and shelling on the southern Mykolaiv region close to front lines and the Black Sea. The mayor of Mykolaiv city said a Russian missile had killed at least five people in a residential building there, while Moscow said its forces had hit what it called a training base for foreign mercenaries in the region. The governor of eastern Luhansk province reported "fighting everywhere" in a battle around the hilltop city of Lysychansk, which Russian forces are trying to encircle as they try to capture the industrialised eastern Donbas region on behalf of separatist proxies. Donbas comprises Donetsk and Luhansk provinces. Regional Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukrainian television that Russian attacks killed one civilian and wounded eight on Wednesday. Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports. Also in Donetsk, a video clip aired on Russia`s RIA state news agency showed former U.S. soldier Alexander Drueke, who was captured while fighting for Ukrainian forces. "My combat experience here was that one mission on that one day," said Drueke, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, referring to the day he was captured outside Kharkiv, Ukraine`s second-largest city. "I didn`t fire a shot. I would hope that would play a factor in whatever sentence I do or don`t receive." President Volodymyr Zelenskiy once again told NATO that Ukrainian forces needed more weapons and money, and faster, to erode Russia`s huge edge in artillery and missile firepower, and said Moscow`s ambitions did not stop at Ukraine. The Russian invasion that began on Feb. 24 has destroyed cities, killed thousands and sent millions fleeing. Russia says it is pursuing a "special military operation" to rid Ukraine of dangerous nationalists. Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of an unprovoked, imperial-style land grab. The top US intelligence official Avril Haines said on Wednesday the most likely near term scenario is a grinding conflict in which Moscow makes only incremental gains, but no breakthrough on its goal of taking most of Ukraine. `FULL SOLIDARITY` In a nod to the precipitous deterioration in relations with Russia since the invasion, a NATO communique called Russia the "most significant and direct threat to the allies` security", having previously classified it as a "strategic partner". NATO issued a new Strategic Concept document, its first since 2010, that said a "strong independent Ukraine is vital for the stability of the Euro-Atlantic area". To that end, NATO agreed a long-term financial and military aid package to modernise Ukraine`s largely Soviet-era military. "We stand in full solidarity with the government and the people of Ukraine in the heroic defence of their country," the communique said. Stoltenberg said NATO had agreed to put 300,000 troops on high readiness from 2023, up from 40,000 now, under a new force model to protect an area stretching from the Baltic to the Black seas. Zelenskiy, in a video link-up with the summit, said Ukraine needed $5 billion per month for its defence and protection. "This is not a war being waged by Russia against only Ukraine. This is a war for the right to dictate conditions in Europe - for what the future world order will be like," he said. NATO`s invitation to Sweden and Finland to join the alliance marks one of the most momentous shifts in European security in decades as Helsinki and Stockholm drop a tradition of neutrality in response to Russia`s invasion. Geneva: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a fresh warning that the Covid-19 cases are rising fast everywhere in the world and called for rapid vaccinations as millions still remain unvaccinated. The number of new coronavirus cases rose by 18 per cent in the last week, with more than 4.1 million cases reported globally, the WHO said in its latest warning. The UN health agency said in its latest weekly report on the pandemic that the worldwide number of deaths remained relatively similar to the week before, at about 8,500. COVID-related deaths increased in three regions: the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Americas it added. The biggest weekly rise in new Covid-19 cases was seen in the Middle East, where they increased by 47 per cent, according to the report released late Wednesday. Infections rose by about 32 per cent in Europe and Southeast Asia, and by about 14 per cent in the Americas, WHO said. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said cases were on the rise in 110 countries, mostly driven by the omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5. This pandemic is changing, but it's not over, Tedros said this week during a press briefing. He said the ability to track COVID-19's genetic evolution was under threat as countries relaxed surveillance and genetic sequencing efforts, warning that would make it more difficult to catch emerging and potentially dangerous new variants. He called for countries to immunise their most vulnerable populations, including health workers and people over 60, saying that hundreds of millions remain unvaccinated and at risk of severe disease and death. Tedros said that while more than 1.2 billion COVID-19 vaccines have been administered globally, the average immunization rate in poor countries is about 13 per cent. If rich countries are vaccinating children from as young as six months old and planning to do further rounds of vaccination, it is incomprehensible to suggest that lower-income countries should not vaccinate and boost their most at risk (people). According to figures compiled by Oxfam and the People's Vaccine Alliance, fewer than half of the 2.1 billion vaccines promised to poorer countries by the Group of Seven large economies have been delivered. Earlier this month, the US authorised COVID-19 vaccines for infants and preschoolers, rolling out a national immunisation plan targeting 18 million of the youngest children. American regulators also recommended that some adults get updated boosters in the fall that match the latest coronavirus variants. South Africa: Work underway to finalise awarding of R17 billion SANRAL projects The South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) has announced measures intended to finalise with speed the awarding of five tenders with a collective value of R17.4 billion, which were recently not authorised by the board for awarding. Reasons behind the cancellation of tenders included SANRALS obligation to ensure proper corporate governance, the requirement to comply with internal controls and the responsibility to conduct procurement in line with legislative, regulatory and policy prescripts. Addressing a media briefing on Thursday, SANRAL chairperson, Themba Barrange Mhambi, noted that not awarding the tenders delayed the implementation of the projects, which are critical in growing the countrys economy as part of investments in infrastructure. We as SANRAL decided to accelerate the required re-advertisement of the tenders and awarding of the tenders. We therefore set ourselves a four-month deadline during which the tenders will be re-advertised, evaluated, adjudicated and awarded, Mhambi said. To guarantee the integrity of the procurement process moving forward, SANRAL decided to award an independent public entity with expertise and a proven track record in handling the procurement and management of projects of the magnitude of those five tenders. We undertook to move with speed and conclude the appointment of that entity by the end of June. In line with that objective and promise, the SANRAL board is today pleased to announce that it has concluded an engagement process with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), which has agreed to act as our infrastructure procurement and delivery management support on the five strategic projects whose tenders were cancelled, Mhambi said. He noted that the DBSA was not involved in the design, cost estimation and tender documentation stages of the cancelled projects, therefore there is no conflict of interest on their part, which was fundamental for the SANRAL board. This should reassure all interested parties and the public about the integrity and independence of the new procurement processes for the projects. DBSAs track record and profile in regard to matters of this nature speaks for itself. We have met the first part of our deadline with respect to our recovery plan in relation to these projects. That is the governance part of all of this and the operational part must follow. As the board, we have entrusted that responsibility to those who get paid at SANRAL to run the operations of the organisation, led by our acting CEO, over the next three months, Mhambi said. SANRALs Acting CEO, Lehlohonolo Memeza, said the scope of the services to be rendered by the DBSA includes the evaluation of compliance, technical and financial aspects of relevant tenders, as well as providing independent construction management oversight throughout the construction period of the projects emanating from the tenders. Our procurement and implementation plan for these projects is therefore well and truly back on track, and we wish to reassure the nation that it shall be executed meticulously, and with the independence and integrity required," Memeza said. She said the procurement phases will be subjected to probity checks. The planned timeline for the execution of this phase of the work is: In June, there will be a Procurement Project Inception Meeting and the development of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA). In July and August, the project team will be mobilised and information gathered. There will be a review of bid specifications, the approval of bid specifications and adverts, the advertisement of tenders, the receipt of bids, bid evaluation and bid adjudication. Interested parties are advised that the adverts for the tenders will be released during the course of July and they should be on the lookout for them. In September, there will be the submission of the bid evaluation and adjudication report to SANRAL, and the SANRAL board consideration of recommendations, followed by the awarding of the tenders. Once the tenders are awarded and SANRALs project managers and consultants begin to supervise contractor performance and project delivery, the DBSAs role will change to project oversight on behalf of the board, with regular reporting to the board to ensure that these projects receive ongoing board monitoring and support," she said. Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula, welcomed that the board moved with the necessary speed to address the due process lapses, with a clear plan on how to finalise the award of these tenders within the shortest possible time. In appreciating the importance of the projects affected by the non-award of the tenders, SANRAL has taken steps to ensure that we move with speed in addressing the lapses and reach the point of award speedily. In appreciating the strategic nature of the affected projects and their importance in giving momentum to economic reconstruction and recovery, I have impressed on the board the need to move with speed in addressing the anomalies and award these tenders in a manner that is transparent and fair, the Minister said. He emphasised the importance of eliminating fruitless and wasteful expenditure as well as the reduction of irregular expenditure. Our efforts to eliminate fruitless and wasteful expenditure and reduce irregular expenditure require of us and all our entities to put in place early warning systems to detect and regularise actions that may otherwise result in irregular expenditure or costly litigation. The board, through its oversight mechanism, identified the flouting of due process and moved with speed to act, in order to preserve the integrity of the tenders. Good governance is the cornerstone of efficient service delivery and for that reason, we will always keep governance on our radar and expect quarterly reports to include governance by of our entities, Mbalula said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-06-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. I Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy Press Statement IMSD condemns in strongest terms the brutal murder of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur by 2 Muslim fanatics, who have openly declared that they did so for the love of the prophet & thus is a case of death for Blasphemy! A tailor by profession, Kanhaiyas only crime was that he put up an online post in support of Nupur Sharma. India is a country governed by its constitution which means that its citizens are obligated to follow the rule of law. We cannot have any sympathy for those extremist Muslims who espouse the ideals of the Taliban or ISIS, or those extremist Hindus who want to turn this country into a fascist Hindu Rashtra. Some years back, we had a similar attack on a migrant Muslim worker, who was hacked to death on camera by Shambhulal Raigar. While there were online petitions supporting Raigar, it is heartening to note that all Muslim organizations have condemned the killing of Kanhaiya in unequivocal terms. IMSD reiterates its stand that there is no place for such an extremist mindset in India and that the culprits be handed the strictest possible punishment. We would also like to underline the fact we are disturbed by the proclivity of certain Muslim organizations who are demanding and campaigning for blasphemy laws, which is a very regressive demand. Blasphemy laws are unacceptable in a secular liberal constitutional democracy, and IMSD strongly opposes this demand by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and other conservative Muslim organizations. We advise those who speak on behalf of Muslim issues to desist from making emotional, bigoted, intolerant and fanatical appeals in the name of religion. As citizens of this country, the Muslim cause is best served through appeals to the constitutional ethos rather than some pan-Islamic rallying together in the name of saving the honor of the prophet. We also need to understand that incidents like Udaipur also send a chilling message to dissenters within the Muslim community. The case of Saad Ansari, a young 19 year old educated boy from Bhiwandi (Maharashtra), who spoke his mind on the issue of blasphemy is a further case in point. The local Muslim community hounded him no end, even physically attacked him but we saw no condemnation from any Muslim organization or individual. Saad was made to apologise & read the Kalma again by the 150 strong mob. For his sons safety, his father has had to send Saad away to study. If a young Muslim boy is fettered and not allowed to speak his mind, then it is a telling statement on the depths of intolerance that we Muslims have descended to. While we rightly agitate for Zubair, the AltNews co-founder being hounded by the state, we are equally concerned about our regressive attitude which sent the young Saad away from his family. The police have registered cases both against Saad and the violent mob. The IMSD appeals to all Muslims not to fall for the rightwing-Islamist rhetoric. Indian Muslims have been an exception to the worldwide Islamist movement, by shunning violence and reposing their faith in the constitution. It is with this faith in the foundation of our republic that Indian Muslims have categorically condemned the ISIS-style beheading of Kanhaiya in Udaipur. We hope that the same ethos also makes them withdraw cases against Saad Ansari. In these difficult times, its essential that the Indian Muslim community seriously and honestly introspect on the intolerance & bigotry within the community and arrive at ways to combat such cases of violent fanaticism. It is imperative that we as Indians unite to resist and defeat all forms of religious extremism, hatred & violence and work towards creating a peaceful harmonious society, not one built on mere tolerance, but on mutual respect and acceptance of each others faiths, religions and cultures. Signatories: Javed Anand, National Convener, IMSD Feroze Mithiborwala, National Co-Convener, IMSD (9029277751) Anand Patwardhan, World-renowned Documentary Filmmaker Tushar Gandhi, Author, Human Rights Defender Arshad Alam, Writer Anjum Rajabali, Film script writer Adv. A W Jawwad Adv. Lara Jesani Amir Rizvi, Creative artist Muniza Khan, Researcher Com. Preeti Shekhar, Social Activist M A Khalid, Social Activist Khadija Farouqui, Social Activist Arif Kapadia, Social Activist o o II Barbaric and Brutal Beheading in Udaipur: Strong Condemnation by Civil Society, Faith Leaders, Academics, Journalists and Artists We, the undersigned from diverse sections of society collective and unequivocally condemn in strongest terms the barbaric and brutal beheading of a person in Udaipur, India, for a social media post defending an obnoxious and reprehensible statement against Prophet Mohammed during a TV discussion recently. That it is done in the name of religion makes it even more condemnable. No religion, including Islam, allows individuals to take law into their hands and a due process of law is mandated by all faiths before any person is held guilty and punished. We understand that the killers are arrested and demand that a special court should be constituted for a speedy trial and given the most stringent punishment possible that could be an example for others. We also urge upon the government of Rajasthan to be sure that no violence takes place and life and property of all citizens, especially the poor, is fully protected. The Government of Rajasthan should also provide solace and all possible support to the family of the victim. Thorough investigation as to the involvement of groups/agencies, if any, should be the priority We call upon and urge people of Rajasthan and across the country to ensure peace in their neighborhoods and protect the vulnerable from any untoward incidences that might occur. The level of toxic hate, calls to violence and actual incidences of violence are on the rise for some years now and taking an epidemic form. Social media has become the major platform for propagation of unbridled hate and calls for violence against whole communities that are not only totally illegal but have full potential to unleash communal violence across the country that could put our neighborhoods on fire and irrevocably damage the nation itself. Given such a critical situation that has emerged in the country, the Government of India should immediately act to stop hate mongering by all sections in all forms. It should take unbiased and stringent action against any individual, group or section making provocative statements or issuing calls to violence or indulging in acts of violence. The Government of India should take all possible measures immediately to ensure the social media platforms cannot be used to spread misinformation and hate. Finally, the Government of India and the State Governments should ensure that unbiased and appropriate actions are immediately initiated against all without any communal or sectarian consideration that alone can ensure that all fear the law and follow it. It is to be understood that breaking of law by any sections without fear of legal action not only emboldens them to engage in more violations but could also result in resentment among other communities inciting them to take to violence that can degenerate into a vortex of devastation that can cause irrevocable damage to our country as a whole. Endorsed by: [June 30, 2022] First American by Deluxe Honored for Call Center Excellence First American by Deluxe, a leading payment technology provider, has received the Association of TeleServices International (ATSI) Call Center Award of Distinction for the 10th consecutive year, and has earned top score in the financial services category for the second time. Call centers across North America and the United Kingdom take part in the ATSI program, where an independent panel of judges evaluates representatives over a six-month period, focusing on information accuracy, knowledge of customer account, speed of answer, and courteousness of agents. In 2021, First American's highly trained customer support team: answered the majority of calls in less than 30 seconds; delivered both general and technical support via email and toll-free telephone 24/7/365; and, continued industry-leading tenure among front-line representatives. "Winning the Call Center Award of Distinction underscores First American's commitment to delivering quality customer service day in day out," said Brian Dorchester, Executive Vice President of Operations for First American by Deluxe. "Winning this award for 10 years demonstrates the dedication of leaders like Francoise Betters, Vice President of Merchant Services, and her entire team in providing world-class customer service, which our customers expect and deserve." Deluxe, a Trusted Payments and Business Technology company, acquired First American Payment Systems and its subsidiaries, including Fitech, iATS Payments, and Certified Payments in June of 2021. The acquisition has enabled Deluxe to become a scaled leader in merchant services with First American's leading end-to-end payments platform, providing customers with access to more robust payment technology services and products. "To win this award 10 years in a row is a testament to the incredible team at First American," said Michael Reed, President of Payments for Deluxe. "Throughout our company, we live our values every day, respecting and meeting the needs of our customers. The dedication of our call centers at First American by Deluxe to the needs of our customers is second to none and it truly takes the entire team to win this award." ATSI was established by and for call center and answering service owners and operators who seek quality control processes, training protocols and unbiased feedback on call quality. About First American Payment Systems by Deluxe First American by Deluxe, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a global payment technology company providing leading integrated payment solutions to more than 155,000 merchants throughout the Americas and Europe. First American provides partner and merchant payment solutions that include a robust set of in-store, online and mobile payment solutions paired with the latest in payment security, across a wide range of verticals. Backed by award-winning customer service, merchants and partners have access to our U.S. based Customer Call Center 24/7/365. For more information, visit http://www.first-american.net. About Deluxe Deluxe, a Trusted Payments and Business Technology company, champions business so communities thrive. Our solutions help businesses pay, get paid, and grow. For more than 100 years, Deluxe customers have relied on our solutions and platforms at all stages of their lifecycle, from start-up to maturity. Our powerful scale supports millions of small businesses, thousands of vital financial institutions and hundreds of the world's largest consumer brands, while processing approximately $3 trillion in annual payment volume. Our reach, scale and distribution channels position Deluxe to be our customers' most trusted business partner. To learn how we can help your business, visit us at www.deluxe.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220630005718/en/ [ Back To SIP Trunking Home's Homepage ] CCTV: On June 29, NATO released its 2022 Strategic Concept at the Madrid Summit. The document mentioned China for the first time. It claimed that China challenges NATOs interests, security and values and criticized Chinas normal defense building, economic policies, technological progress, among other aspects. It also said that NATO remains open to constructive engagement with China. This is the first NATO Summit that invited leaders of Asia-Pacific countries including Japan and the Republic of Korea. Whats Chinas comment? Zhao Lijian: The NATO 2022 Strategic Concept has misrepresented facts and distorted the truth. In this document, NATO once again wrongly defined China as posing "systemic challenges". It smeared China's foreign policy and pointed fingers at China's normal military posture and defense policy. The document seeks to stoke confrontation and antagonism and smacks heavily of Cold War mentality and ideological bias. China is gravely concerned over this and firmly opposes it. China is known to be a force for world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of the international order. China has never invaded any country, never launched a proxy war, and never joined or formed any military bloc. We are committed to the path of peaceful development. We aim to build a community with a shared future for mankind. We have advanced high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and put forward the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, which are being implemented. All of those are public goods provided by China to help the international community deal with major issues on peace and development. People of the world see clearly that China presents valuable opportunities for world peace and development. It does not pose systemic challenges, as wrongly purported by NATO. In contrast, it is NATO that poses systemic challenges to world security and stability. NATO claims to be a regional defensive alliance, but it has constantly sought to make advances into new areas and domains and waged wars in various countries in the world. NATO has the blood of their people on its hands. The Chinese people will not forget the crimes NATO committed 23 years ago when US-led NATO bombed the Chinese Embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Now NATO has extended its tentacles to the Asia-Pacific and sought to export the Cold War mentality and replicate bloc confrontation. The Asia-Pacific is one of the most peaceful and stable regions in the world and a promising land for cooperation and development. Any attempt to undermine its peace and stability and sabotage regional solidarity and cooperation will be unanimously rejected by the people in China and the rest of the Asia-Pacific. Such attempts are bound to fail. Here is our message for NATO: hyping up the so-called China threat will lead nowhere. NATO must immediately stop its groundless accusations and provocative rhetoric against China, abandon the outdated Cold War mentality and zero-sum game mindset, renounce its blind faith in military might and misguided practice of seeking absolute security, halt the dangerous attempt to destabilize Europe and the Asia-Pacific, and act in the interest of security and stability in Europe and beyond. Shenzhen TV: Recently, the debate over abortion rights in the US has drawn much attention worldwide. Reports say the latest ruling is an enormous step backward in womens human rights in the US. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and countries including the UK, France and Canada have all condemned it. Whats Chinas comment? Zhao Lijian: Womens rights are part and parcel of basic human rights. Gender-based discrimination against women is undeniably a human rights malaise that has long existed in the US. The US still hasnt ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, a core UN human rights convention. American women have long suffered systemic, extensive and institutional discrimination. A poll in recent years shows that 75% of Americans still believe that much more needs to be done to secure gender equality in the US. In the field of economy and employment, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), women still make just 78 cents for every dollar earned by men. Black women earn only 64 cents and Latinas only 54 cents for each dollar earned by white men. Mass layoffs in US companies amid COVID-19 have led to soaring unemployment rates of female workers in the US. Between February and May 2020 alone, 11.5 million American women lost their jobs. The US is the only OECD country without a national statutory paid maternity, paternity or parental leave. According to statistics, only about 60% of the American workforce is covered by a federal act that entitles new parents up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. With regard to health and safety, the US has the highest rate of maternal mortality among developed nations, with black women 243% more likely than white women to die during pregnancy, childbirth or the postpartum period. According to the US Domestic Violence Institute, 85% of domestic violence victims are women. Up to 5.3 million incidents of domestic violence occur annually among US women with over a thousand deaths. Besides, there is prevalent gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment and sexual assault against women in the workplace. Yet US laws offer inadequate protection for womens rights and interests. It was not until 1991 when Congress amended the Civil Rights Act could plaintiffs seek compensatory damages on the ground of sexual harassment. The conditions of womens rights in the US indicates once again that the country is in no position to claim itself as a human rights defender. Before moralizing other countries, the US should first take concrete and effective measures to respect and protect American womens basic human rights and legitimate rights and interests. MASTV: India plans to host G20 summit events in disputed areas of Jammu and Kashmir in 2023. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry issued a statement to express opposition. Whats Chinas comment on this? Zhao Lijian: We have noted this latest development. Chinas position on the Kashmir issue is consistent and clear-cut. The Kashmir issue, a dispute left from the past, should be peacefully and properly addressed in accordance with the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreement. Parties concerned need to avoid unilateral moves that may complicate the situation. Efforts should be made to settle the dispute through dialogue and consultation so as to maintain regional peace and stability. The G20 is the premier forum for international economic and financial cooperation. We call on all major economies to focus on steady recovery of the world economy, avoid politicizing relevant cooperation and make positive contribution to improving global economic governance. Xinhua News Agency: According to reports, the first batch of Chinese emergency food aid arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday. Could you offer more details? Zhao Lijian: On June 28, 1,000 tonnes of rice, the first batch of Chinese emergency humanitarian aid, arrived at the Colombo International Container Terminals. The Chinese ambassador to Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan officials received the shipment at the port and attended a handover ceremony. The Sri Lankan side thanked China for offering assistance at this trying time and underscored that a friend in need is a friend indeed. Chinas assistance once again testifies to the ever-lasting and time-tested friendship between both sides. They said the Sri Lankan government and people will always remember the help they received. As a traditional friend and neighbor, China has been closely following the difficulties and challenges faced by Sri Lanka and feel deeply for Sri Lanka. We have provided support to Sri Lankas socioeconomic development to the best of our capacity. Between April and May this year, the Chinese government announced a total of RMB500 million worth of emergency humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka, the largest sum of free aid the country has received so far since the economic and livelihood crisis hit. Chinese provinces, cities and businesses and the Red Cross Society of China have provided multiple batches of various types of assistance to people in Sri Lanka to improve their livelihood. China has pledged a total food donation of 10,000 metric tons of rice to Sri Lanka, which will provide daily nutritious meals to 1.1 million children in 7,900 schools across nine provinces in Sri Lanka for at least six months. China will continue to work with Sri Lanka to overcome risks and challenges and help it emerge from the current difficulties. Associated Press of Pakistan: On June 29, the Karot hydropower project was put into full commercial operation. Can you share more details about it? And what is Chinas comment on that? Zhao Lijian: Let me extend congratulations on the start of full commercial operation of the Karot Hydropower Plant. The Karot Hydropower Plant is a priority project for energy cooperation and the first large-scale hydropower investment project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The project was listed in the joint statement of the Chinese and Pakistani governments. Workers from both countries overcame difficulties and challenges together to complete the project, a process that took them seven years. With a total installed capacity of 720,000 kilowatts, the Karot Hydropower Plant will generate an average of 3.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year, which can meet the electricity demand of around five million people in the region and effectively reduce power shortage in Pakistan and improve the countrys energy structure. It is expected to save about 1.4 million tonnes of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 3.5 million tonnes per year, which will help achieve the global carbon neutral target and make new contributions to global climate response while promoting energy construction and economic and social development in Pakistan. China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners. CPEC is a key pilot project under the Belt and Road Initiative and an important platform for all-round practical cooperation between the two countries. It is guided by the concept of green, open and clean development and committed to realizing sustainable, livelihood-oriented and high-standard growth. Since its launch, cooperation in various fields under CPEC has delivered fruitful outcomes. China stands ready to work with Pakistan to renew our traditional friendship, deepen all-round practical cooperation and ensure CPEC will continue to blossom and bear more fruits and bring bilateral relations, people-to-people exchanges and economic and social development of the two countries to a new level. Phoenix TV: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on June 29 that if the West "vacate our seats at the G20", then the whole argument would be left to China and Russia, and the propaganda opportunity handed to them. What is Chinas comment? Zhao Lijian: G20, as the premier forum for international economic cooperation, mainly discusses key global economic and financial issues. It bears important responsibilities for leading the global response to COVID-19, improving global economic governance and promoting the steady recovery of the world economy. All parties need to concentrate on deepening solidarity and cooperation instead of clamoring for division and confrontation. I want to stress that, with the world still haunted by the pandemic and sluggish world economic recovery, G20 needs to practice true multilateralism, seek common ground while reserving differences, build consensus and meet challenges together. The attempt to bring exclusive blocs into G20 will hardly receive any support. China will work with various parities for the success of G20 Summit. Tokyo Shimbun: A question on the NATO Summit. Turkey has agreed to support Finland and Swedens membership of the alliance. Do you have any comment? Zhao Lijian: We have noted relevant reports. China has made clear its position on NATO on several occasions lately. Our position on the European security issue is consistent and clear. We hope all sides will follow the principle of indivisible security, and build a balanced, effective and sustainable regional security architecture through dialogue and negotiation on the basis of respecting each others legitimate concerns and guided by the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. This is the only way to realize lasting peace and true security in Europe. Yonhap News Agency: Also on the NATO Summit. According to reports, leaders of Asia-Pacific countries including the ROK attended the Madrid Summit on June 29. Whats Chinas position on this? Zhao Lijian: I just stated Chinas position on the NATO Summit. I would like to stress again that the development of relations between countries should be conducive to world peace and stability and should not target any third party or undermine its interests. China will closely follow the developments. We will not sit idly by and watch if anything should happen that may harm Chinas interests. I would also like to stress that the ROK, an important country in Asia, is Chinas major cooperative partner sharing broad common interests. We stand ready to work together with it to achieve new progress in bilateral relations and safeguard and promote peace, stability and development in Asia. Global Times: In recent days, Chinese militarys Y-20 cargo planes arrived at Kabul International Airport, carrying with them disaster relief supplies for people in Afghanistan. Some Internet users said this contrasts sharply with what happened at this same airport in August last year, when at least two Afghans fell to their deaths from a US C-17 cargo airplane which hastily took off. Do you have any comment? Zhao Lijian: I have noted relevant reports. I noticed some say that, at the same airport, one plane caused the loss of lives, while the other brought hopes. After the earthquake hit, China has acted at top speed to help Afghanistan to the best of its capacity. We have immediately provided RMB50 million worth of emergency humanitarian assistance to the quake-affected areas in Afghanistan. China is among the first countries that have provided the biggest and most tangible aid to Afghanistan. As of June 29, three batches of relief supplies had arrived in Afghanistan. The Chinese side is in close coordination with the interim government of Afghanistan to ensure that the relief supplies will be delivered to the people affected as soon as possible to help them pull through. The US is the one that started the ongoing humanitarian disasters in Afghanistan. It is immediately responsible for the raging wars and conflicts, poverty, hunger and the peoples suffering in that country for many years. During the 20 years of US invasion in Afghanistan, over 30,000 Afghan civilians were killed and 11 million Afghans became refugees. During the same period, the US also connived at, supported and participated in the production and trade of drugs in Afghanistan. As such, the cultivation of poppy and production of opium far exceed the level before the US invasion, leading to drug proliferation in the country and seriously threatening the life and health of Afghan people. It is even more indignant that the US has, without asking the Afghan people, brazenly frozen their $7 billion life-saving money, making things even worse for them. This egregious behavior is more than outrageous. In the face of natural disasters and man-made calamities, the US should immediately stop chokeholding the Afghan people and return to them Afghanistans national assets as soon as possible. They should take concrete actions to remedy the harms they have inflicted on the Afghan people and mitigate the ongoing humanitarian disaster in that country. Bloomberg: A recent report shows that pro-Chinese agents were posed as concerned local residents on social media to try to spark protests over the opening of rare earth mines in the US and Canada. How does the foreign ministry respond to this? Zhao Lijian: The report you mentioned reflects deep-seated ideological bias and double standard. What I want to say is that China is a victim of disinformation campaigns. It is quite clear to the international community who exactly is propagating and spreading disinformation. From genocide in Xinjiang to Wuhan virus, from hackers attacks to overseas military bases -- there have been too many false accusations against China. If you look at the issue of Ukraine, disinformation targeting China has not even stopped for a minute since the conflict broke out. You mentioned social media. Some platforms are flooded with rumors and lies denigrating China and misrepresenting facts. How many of those accounts spreading such information might be fake accounts? Beijing Daily: According to reports, retired US military intelligence officer Scott Bennett said that the United Nations should organize an international tribunal for American biological weapons developers whose laboratories operated in Ukraine on the basis of the evidence collected by Russia. Whats Chinas comment? Zhao Lijian: I have noted relevant reports. We are seeing more and more people, including people in the US with inside information, raising questions about the USs military biological activities around the globe. I have mentioned quite a few times the fact that the US conducts more such activities than any other country. It is also the only country that opposes the establishment of a verification mechanism under the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). There have long been serious international concerns about the US activities conducted all over the world. Ensuring compliance through verification is an international consensus. Biosecurity should be no exception. As one of the BWC depository states, the US is supposed to lead by example. We once again urge the US to act responsibly and provide convincing clarifications on its military biological activities in Ukraine and other places sooner rather than later. And we urge the US not to seek to gloss over or cover up its activities. The best way for the US to prove its innocence is to open its doors for international review. The Ninth Review Conference of the BWC will be held at the end of this year. The US should take it as an opportunity to mend its ways, stop being the last country that stands stubbornly in the way of the establishment of a BWC verification mechanism, and make concrete contribution to the global biosecurity governance. This would help restore international confidence in the USs compliance and also strengthen global biosecurity. Hubei Media Group: China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) and cybersecurity company 360 released a report which shows that many Chinese scientific research institutions were under attack from AcidFox, a vulnerability attack platform designed by the US National Security Agency (NSA). The report also pointed out that trojan horse programs have been planted by the NSA in at least a hundred key information systems in China, many of which may still be operating in some computers and continuing to send key information back to the NSA. What is Chinas comment? Zhao Lijian: We condemn such malicious cyber activities by the US government. We ask the US side to offer an explanation and immediately stop such irresponsible action. The US has undoubtedly become a true empire of hacking, surveillance and theft of secrets. The US is a well-known perpetrator of cyber theft. According to a report issued by the CVERC last year, China captured over 42 million malicious program samples in 2020. Those that came from the US accounted for 53.1% of all the samples originating overseas. In addition to stealing from its rivals and allies alike, the US did not even spare its own people. An annual report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in April shows that the FBI conducted up to 3.4 million warrantless searches of Americans electronic data last year. It is worth noting that the GCHQ of the UK also conducts cyber attacks and espionage in coordination with the US government, according to the latest report. This indicates that the US and its core allies have become an axis of cyber theft. Just this month, Anzer, a cybersecurity information platform, revealed that the NSA stole more than 97 billion pieces of global internet data and 124 billion phone records in 30 days, compromising the privacy of citizens across the world. Yet faced with international questioning and opposition, the US did not abstain from such massive cyber theft, but has instead further beefed up its defense budget for cyber activities, expanded its cyber troops and organized various kinds of international cyber war drills. CNR: On June 29, indirect talks between the US and Iran in Doha, Qatar, aimed at resuming compliance of the Iran nuclear deal ended without any progress. Do you have any comment? Zhao Lijian: I noted relevant reports. China believes that diplomatic negotiation is the only right way to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue and that upholding the JCPOA meets the common interests of the international community. We hope relevant parties will step up diplomatic efforts, find common ground on the outstanding issues at an early date and remove the obstacles to resuming full compliance. As the one who created the Iranian nuclear issue, the US needs to redress its mistakes, actively respond to the legitimate concerns of the Iranian side and work to achieve outcomes from negotiations on resuming compliance with the JCPOA at an early date. BBC: Just a follow-up question to something you said about Afghanistan. You spoke about the US involvement in drug production there. What you mean? Do you mean like the US military is engaged in opium production? Zhao Lijian: If youre interested in this, we can gather more materials to go over in detail the crimes committed by American troops in Afghanistan. MASTV: According to reports, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on June 29 that NATO must make clear to China that invading Taiwan would be a catastrophic miscalculation. Whats your comment? Zhao Lijian: Recently a certain British senior official has repeatedly hyped up issues relating to Taiwan. The Chinese side has lodged solemn representations over this. I would like to stress once again that the Taiwan question is Chinas internal affair where no foreign force has any right to interfere. This is a basic norm in international relations. China is committed to the policy of peaceful reunification and One Country, Two Systems and will make every possible effort to strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification. That being said, we will not sit idly by and do nothing about Taiwan independence separatist acts. It was quite surprising that a senior UK official would make such remarks, which lacked basic common sense and sounded rather presumptuous. PTI: With regard to what you spoke earlier about the G20 Summit in Kashmir. Will China be attending that? If the disputed status is an issue, why is China laying out and implementing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor through the disputed area? Zhao Lijian: I have stated Chinas full position on Kashmir and G20 just now. What you mentioned are two matters completely different in nature. China has undertaken some projects in Pakistan to help it grow its economy and improve peoples livelihood. These projects are in Pakistan-occupied areas of Kashmir. Relevant Chinese companies conduct the relevant projects with the purpose of helping Pakistan to develop its economy and improve peoples livelihood. This does not affect Chinas position on the Kashmir issue. PTI: My question was will China be attending the summit in Kashmir? Zhao Lijian: I already outlined Chinas position. We will look at whether China will attend the meeting. BBC: British Foreign Secretary said at the NATO Summit that its so important that the free world, as she put it, works together to help ensure that Taiwan is able to defend itself. What is Chinas response? Zhao Lijian: I have made Chinas position amply clear just now. The Chinese side has lodged solemn representations to the British side over this. It was a surprise to hear her remarks, which lack basic common sense and sound rather presumptuous. We hope she will make no more such irresponsible remarks. ABC Spanish Daily Newspaper: The Pew Research Center published yesterday its annual survey amongst 19 developed countries. It shows that negative views of China have been growing steadily over the last years and remain historical heights in most of them. Does the ministry have any comment on it? Zhao Lijian: We usually do not comment on particular survey results. I can tell you that over the past few years, anti-China forces have spread way too many lies, rumors and disinformation about China. This has seriously misled and misinformed the people in some countries. We hope the people of these countries can stay clear-eyed, make a clear distinction between truth and falsehood, and make an independent judgement on the basis of facts. We also hope that certain media and institutions can play a positive and constructive part. Since the founding of the Peoples Republic in 1949, China has made remarkable achievements in various areas including economic development and human rights progress. No one with an objective view can deny the progress China has made. China will continue to open its arms to actively promote cultural exchange and strengthen people-to-people bond. BBC: British Foreign Secretary also said the West needs to learn the lesson with China of not becoming so strategically dependent on it. And in fact, making sure we have strong alternatives. Is the Chinese government worried there may be an economic impact as a result of these types of comments? Zhao Lijian: I havent seen the reports on her comments. But China has repeatedly stated its position on the industrial and supply chains. If she did say those things as you said she did, our response is that to cut off global industrial, supply and value chains by drawing ideological lines and creating small circles is against market principles. It would be irrational and would not succeed. Reuters: In the last few days weve observed that various Chinese government departments have relaxed COVID restrictions. This has been welcomed by some foreign business lobbies. However, many of them have noted that there is still a tiny fraction of international flights coming in to China because of the various strict restrictions on flights. Is China planning on loosening its rules on international flights so that more flights are able to come to China? Zhao Lijian: China has constantly adjusted its policy response in light of the evolving COVID situation. We believe that the number of flights will gradually increase and return to normal as the COVID-19 situation in China improves. Info graphic which shows what effects the collision of DART could have on the orbit of Didymos B. CREDIT NASA / Johns Hopkins APL NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission is the world's first full-scale planetary defense test against potential asteroid impacts on Earth. Researchers of the University of Bern and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS now show that instead of leaving behind a relatively small crater, the impact of the DART spacecraft on its target could leave the asteroid near unrecognizable. 66 million years ago, a giant asteroid impact on the Earth likely caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. Currently no known asteroid poses an immediate threat. But if one day a large asteroid were to be discovered on a collision course with Earth, it might have to be deflected from its trajectory to prevent catastrophic consequences. Last November, the DART space probe of the US space agency NASA was launched as a first full-scale experiment of such a manoeuvre: Its mission is to collide with an asteroid and to deflect it from its orbit, in order to provide valuable information for the development of such a planetary defense system. In a new study published in The Planetary Science Journal, researchers of the University of Bern and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS have simulated this impact with a new method. Their results indicate that it may deform its target far more severely than previously thought. Rubble instead of solid rock "Contrary to what one might imagine when picturing an asteroid, direct evidence from space missions like the Japanese space agency's (JAXA) Hayabusa2 probe demonstrate that asteroid can have a very loose internal structure - similar to a pile of rubble - that is held together by gravitational interactions and small cohesive forces", says study lead-author Sabina Raducan from the Institute of Physics and the National Centre of Competence in Research PlanetS at the University of Bern. Yet, previous simulations of the DART mission impact mostly assumed a much more solid interior of its asteroid target Dimorphos. "This could drastically change the outcome the collision of DART and Dimorphos, which is scheduled to take place in the coming September", Raducan points out. Instead of leaving a relatively small crater on the 160 meter wide asteroid, DART's impact at a speed of around 24'000 km/h could completely deform Dimorphos. The asteroid could also be deflected much more strongly and larger amounts of material could be ejected from the impact than the previous estimates predicted. A prize winning new approach "One of the reasons that this scenario of a loose internal structure has so far not been thoroughly studied is that the necessary methods were not available", study lead-author Sabina Raducan says. "Such impact conditions cannot be recreated in laboratory experiments and the relatively long and complex process of crater formation following such an impact - a matter of hours in the case of DART - made it impossible to realistically simulate these impact processes up to now", according to the researcher. "With our novel modelling approach, which takes into account the propagation of the shock waves, the compaction and the subsequent flow of material, we were for the first time able to model the entire cratering process resulting from impacts on small, asteroids like Dimorphos", Raducan reports. For this achievement, she was awarded by ESA and by the mayor of Nice at a workshop on the DART follow-up mission HERA. Widen horizon of expectations In 2024, the European Space Agency ESA will send a space probe to Dimorphos as part of the space mission HERA. The aim is to visually investigate the aftermath of the DART probe impact. "To get the most out of the HERA mission, we need to have a good understanding of potential outcomes of the DART impact", says study co-author Martin Jutzi from the Institute of Physics and the National Centre of Competence in Research PlanetS. "Our work on the impact simulations adds an important potential scenario that requires us to widen our expectations in this regard. This is not only relevant in the context of planetary defense, but also adds an important piece to the puzzle of our understanding of asteroids in general", Jutzi concludes. Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. En Huaraz, se inicio el XVIII Consejo de Ministros Descentralizado con la participacion del premier Anibal Torres, ministros, viceministros, equipos tecnicos de sectores, el gobernador regional, alcaldes y representantes de la sociedad civil. ??En vivo | https://t.co/9KIfwgTSOg pic.twitter.com/18HcDncBw9 Within this framework, Mr. Castillo affirmed that he is respectful of that political group and the guidelines established in the 2021 electoral campaign. Via Twitter, he stressed that such a decision comes given his responsibility as President of 33 million Peruvians. Hoy he presentado al @JNE_Peru mi renuncia irrevocable al partido politico Peru Libre. Tal decision obedece a mi responsabilidad como presidente de 33 millones de peruanos. Soy respetuoso del partido y sus bases construidas en la campana. pic.twitter.com/KsRGmujnoQ "Peru has deemed it pertinent to propose as the main theme of the next General Assembly the following slogan 'Together Against Inequality and Discrimination' in the conviction that it is important to act to contain and reverse the deepening of social gaps, which given the pandemic and other factors have increased alarmingly in our continent," he said. In this sense, the Cabinet member specified that growing inequality is an unavoidable concern linked to the present situation, but it is not a recent phenomenon. "Over the years, exclusion historically affected minority populations, to whom democratic systems must guarantee fundamental rights, also to majority sectors such as women; in the same way, the adequate representation and participation of indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants are part of that agenda of democratization, which must continue being promoted by us and that requires the eradication of all forms of discrimination," he expressed. The Cabinet member affirmed that other important concerns are added to these issues, such as economic instability, the challenges of the conflict in Europe, the migratory issue that has an impact on society, and global warming, among others. "It is our duty, within the framework of multilateralism and in this space in which all countries of the region converge, to face them (these issues) in a united, creative, and effective manner; that is perhaps the greatest challenge for the Assembly in Lima next October," he added. El Canciller @CesarLanda0 realizo esta manana, en la ciudad de Washington D.C, ante el Consejo Permanente de la @OEA_oficial la presentacion oficial de la ciudad de Lima como sede de la 52 #AsambleaOEA, que nuestro pais acogera del 5 al 7 de octubre del 2022. pic.twitter.com/fpvJU5rUpS YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. Tatev Manucharyan, a Diaspora-Armenian who moved to live in the United States of America at the age of 16, got an opportunity in 2021 to return back to Armenia within the framework of iGorts project and work at the Ministry of Environment by investing her experience and knowledge for improving the field and developing policies and programs. In an interview to ARMENPRESS, Tatev said that she was born in Yerevan and later moved with her family to Los Angeles. After graduating from school there she studied political science in a university. Later Tatev moved to Europe, lived in the Netherlands and studied EU Legislation in her Masters Degree. After graduating from the university in the Netherlands, I have worked in the same university as a researcher, as well as taught EU Legislation. I would like to state that I have always wished to return to Armenia, work here, and after the war my desire further intensified. I thought what I have done to prevent such phenomena? In other words I left the country and didnt bring any contribution to my homeland, expect from visiting as a tourist. In fact, I have always dreamed of coming to and living in Armenia, working here, and thus, I decided to come and make my dream true, by contributing to the development of my country, she said. Touching upon the problems she faced in Armenia, Tatev said she almost didnt have any problems, but mentioned some phenomena. As my work is connected with environment, I would like very much if the residents of Yerevan and the population of Armenia in general show more care to the city and the environment. Its very sad to see garbage everywhere, in cities, in nature, in our beautiful sites, on roads. I am more concerned about the waste management issue and the air pollution in Yerevan, but as for other issues, I got used to them, she said. Tatev says different countries have advantages both good sides and bad sides, but you dont feel at home in any country than in your birthplace. I was born and grew up in Yerevan, and this feeling is very very important for me. Being here and feeling like home is very nice, she said. As for the plans for the future, Tatev Manucharyan said they are not clear yet as she has not completed the iGorts program, it will end in September 2022. It can be said the idea of staying in Armenia has always been on my mind. I hope there will be more opportunities at this period so that I can work and live in Armenia. In any case after the war I understood that I cannot help my homeland only with visiting Armenia for a certain time and as a tourist, she noted. Talking about her dreams, she said: Perhaps now my biggest dream is to see Armenia strong, to have a country which we will be proud of. Armenia has many good sides, but I see potential in all areas that is not used much. I would like to see more investments, both public and private, in education sector, so that we could be leaders in this and other areas. My desire is for us to be a leader in the region in all areas. The issue of development of provinces is also very important for me. We could develop our country only by developing our provinces, she stated. Interview by Gayane Gaboyan Photos by Hayk Manukyan YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. Pensions will rise in Armenia from January 1, 2023. The minimum wage will also increase from 68,000 drams to 75,000 drams, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting today. We came to a conclusion that we should increase the child care benefit for children up to 2 years of age. It should be increased from 28,600 drams to 30,700 drams. We also should provide child care benefit (up to 2 years of age) to all mothers, regardless of place of residence, be she from rural or urban settlement, and also regardless of whether she is working or not. But for those working in rural settlements, that benefit will be paid double, which means that they will get that benefit in the amount of 61,400 drams starting January 1, the PM said. YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. Any road through the territory of Armenia with corridor logic is ruled out, Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan told reporters today after the Cabinet meeting. This is our policy: when we announce that our positions are closer, it means we moved forward with the logic that there will be a border control. Any road with corridor logic is ruled out in Armenia, he said. He informed that the topic of unblocking has been discussed both in Moscow and Brussels. For a long time Azerbaijan has been stating that a corridor is being discussed. If I am not mistaken, on November 6, when Russian Deputy Prime Minister [Alexey] Overchuk was in Yerevan, he announced that no issue with corridor logic is being discussed. The same happened after the Brussels talks. The spokesperson to [Charles] Michel publicly stated that no corridor has ever been discussed. This shows that our approach in the negotiations has been this and continues to be this, he added. Today - Virtual Press Conference: CCP at War with America Virtual press conference TODAY, June 30, at 11:00 a.m. ET NEWS PROVIDED BY Center for Security Policy June 30, 2022 WASHINGTON, June 30, 2022 /Standard Newswire/ -- The Center for Security Policy (www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org) is releasing today, a new "Team B" product an exercise in competitive analysis that strongly challenges the Director of National Intelligence's September 2021 conclusion that the provenance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus cannot be determined. The Team, co-chaired by former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Pete Hoekstra and former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Lieutenant General William "Jerry" Boykin, U.S. Army (Ret.) and comprised of intelligence professionals, other national security practitioners and subject matter experts, concluded that: There is no evidence that the virus emerged naturally; There is, by contrast, significant circumstantial evidence that it came from a PRC biological weapons laboratory; and The virus was deliberately unleashed on the world by the Chinese Communist Party when it allowed millions of travelers from Wuhan to fly internationally, even as it was locking down movement within China. The authors, identified collectively as Team B III (in the tradition of the official group that produced the first Team B exercise in competitive analysis in 1976 and a second one sponsored by the Center for Security Policy in 2010 entitled, Sharia: The Threat to America), call their report: The CCP is at War with America. Acclaimed China expert Gordon G. Chang wrote the Foreword. In addition to exposing the true nature of the COVID 19 pandemic, the Team B III book offers evidence that biological warfare is a technique long planned for use by the CCP to depopulate the United States and then colonize it. Using toxic biological agents, the Chinese Communists would be able to preserve much of America's infrastructure and resources, yet remove the impediment the U.S. currently represents to the realization of their overarching goal of becoming the world's hegemon. In addition to Messrs. Hoekstra and Boykin, Team B III consists of: Charles Sam Faddis, Clandestine Service Officer, Central Intelligence Agency (Ret.); Senior Editor, AND Magazine Kevin D. Freeman, Host, "Economic War Room with Kevin Freeman;" author, Secret Weapon and Game Plan; Senior Fellow, Center for Security Policy Frank J. Gaffney, Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy (Acting); Vice Chairman of the Committee on the Present Danger: China; Executive Chairman, Center for Security Policy Dr. Steven Hatfill, MD, MSc, M.Med, Former Senior Medical Advisor to the Executive Office of the President; author, Three Seconds Until Midnight; Senior Fellow, London Institute for Policy Analysis Brian T. Kennedy, Chairman, Committee on the Present Danger: China; former President, Claremont Institute; President, American Strategy Group Colonel John Mills, U.S. Army (Ret.); former Director of Cybersecurity Policy, Strategy, and International Affairs, Office of the Secretary of Defense; Senior Fellow, Center for Security Policy J.R. Nyquist, Author, Origins of the Fourth World War, essayist at JRNyquist.blog The Center for Security Policy's Team B III will be holding a virtual press conference today, Thursday, June 30, at 11:00 a.m. ET featuring comments by Co-Chairmen Hoekstra and Boykin, Mr. Kennedy and Dr. Hatfill. It will be moderated by Mr. Gaffney. Register here. To interview members of the Center for Security Policy's Team B III or for an advanced electronic review copy of "The CCP is at War with America," contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Harrison, ext. 105, or Deborah Hamilton, ext. 102. SOURCE Center for Security Policy CONTACT: Beth Harrison, 610-584-1096 ext. 105; Deborah Hamilton, 610-584-1096 ext. 102; Media@HamiltonStrategies.com YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. Armenias Special Representative for normalization talks with Turkey, Vice Speaker of Parliament Ruben Rubinyan calls the statements of various Turkish officials that they coordinate the process with Azerbaijan as strange. Since the beginning of the normalization process of the Armenian-Turkish relations, Armenia has been very constructive. Armenia has a political will and has shown that will for quickly reaching the normalization. The success of the process depends on the respective political will of Turkey. As you can see, up to this moment there has not been much progress, he said. Rubinyan reaffirmed that no issue of re-delimitation of borders is being discussed. The statements of various officials of Turkey that they coordinate the process with Azerbaijan are a bit strange. But the political will is the most important in such processes, if that political will exists, the other issues are easy to solve, he said, adding that the government of Armenia wants to achieve a quick normalization and is ready to take practical steps for that and is expecting the same from the Turkish side. He added that this process has not yet given tangible results, but it doesnt mean that it cannot give. And also it doesnt mean that it will definitely give results. Commenting on the statements of Turkish authorities about the Zangezur corridor, he said: These statements in no way contribute to the Armenia-Turkey normalization process, perhaps, the opposite, they hinder that process. There is no term Zangezur corridor on our agenda. Armenia has not discussed, is not discussing and will not discuss any project in a corridor logic. Moreover, there is no territorial unit called Zangezur in Armenia. YEREVAN, 30 JUNE, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 30 June, USD exchange rate down by 1.10 drams to 407.21 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 6.21 drams to 423.54 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.08 drams to 7.75 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 3.61 drams to 492.81 drams. The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals. Gold price down by 81.35 drams to 23798.17 drams. Silver price down by 4.15 drams to 274.61 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams. YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. New Ambassador of Israel to Armenia Joel Lion (residence in Jerusalem) visited today the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, accompanied by Honorary Consul of Israel to Armenia Ashot Shakhmuradyan, the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute said. Deputy Director of the Museum-Institute Edita Gzoyan welcomed the guests and introduced them on the history of the creation of the Memorial. She also introduced the history of three cross-stones located in the territory of the Memorial, which are dedicated to the memory of Armenians killed during the ethnic cleansings carried out against the Armenian population in Azerbaijan in the end of the past century. The delegation members laid flowers at the Eternal Flame and paid tribute to the memory of innocent victims with a moment of silence. The guests also toured the Genocide Museum, got acquainted with the permanent and temporary exhibits. At the end of the visit the Israeli Ambassador left a note in the Honorary Guest Book. YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. The Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan received the newly appointed Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Republic of Armenia Joel Lion (residence in Jerusalem) and the Honorary Consul of the State of Israel Ashot Shahmuradyan, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Ministry of Health of Armenia. Israel's rich experience in medicine and the reforms launched in the Armenian healthcare system are a potential for expanding the cooperation between Armenia and Israel, the statement said. Presenting the general situation of the healthcare system of Armenia, Anahit Avanesyan singled out a number of directions for activating the Armenian-Israeli contacts in the sphere: Exchange of experience in creating the best model of the healthcare system; Increase the effectiveness of preventing cardiovascular disease, cancer and other non-communicable diseases by increasing the capacity of specialists; drug production, Sharing the experience of emergency medical teams. It is noted that Ambassador Joel Lion welcomed the efforts to intensify the Armenian-Israeli cooperation and made proposals. In particular, the sides discussed the possibility of organizing trainings for Armenian specialists and exchange of experience in cooperation with the Israeli International Cooperation Agency MASHAV. The Ambassador noted that within the framework of her visit to the State of Israel on the occasion of the 72nd session of the WHO European Regional Committee in September, Anahit Avanesyan will have the opportunity to personally get acquainted with the peculiarities of the Israeli healthcare system. YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. The Fiscal Year 2023 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs House Appropriations legislation includes humanitarian assistance to Armenia in the amount of $60 million, and $2 million for Artsakh, ARMENPRESS reports the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) informed. The report language states that the "Committee recommendation includes not less than $60,000,000 for Armenia for economic development, private sector productivity, energy independence, democracy and the rule of law, and other purposes." In addition, the "Committee recommendation also includes not less than $2,000,000 for demining activities in Nagorno-Karabakh...[and] remains concerned about the humanitarian impact of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh and resulting challenges in the areas of housing, food security, water and sanitation, health care and other human needs." In addition to prohibiting the sale of defense articles to the Turkish Presidential Protection Directorate, the bill includes language on Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ), as well as House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA), have both expressed their strong concerns regarding the waiver of Section 907, which the Administration waived last week. Chairman Menendez stated "it makes no sense to say that U.S. assistance and training has not impacted its military balance with Armenia," and further stressed that he "will continue to conduct rigorous oversight of any and all assistance to Azerbaijan and expect the Department of State to operate with complete transparency and provide all necessary details for Congress to assess any assistance provided to Baku." Chairman Schiff said in part that providing military support to Azerbaijan "runs counter to our nation's core democratic values" and "could empower the Aliyev regime to continue or escalate its provocative actions against Armenians." "The Assembly expresses its appreciation to Chairwoman Barbara Lee and Ranking Member Rep. Hal Rogers for including this critically important funding to help the Armenian people. We also thank the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues for their leadership and bipartisan letter to the House Appropriations Committee outlining key policy issues. We look forward to continuing our work to advance assistance where it is needed most, stated Assembly Congressional Relations Director Mariam Khaloyan. Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has accused UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace of slander and the spread of fake news in response to his remarks about her, Tass informs. June 30, 2022, 11:15 Russian diplomat accuses UK Defense Secretary of slander STEPANAKERT, JUNE 30, ARTSAKHPRESS: "British Minister Wallace, if you dont want to appear as a complete liar to the entire world, cite at least one example of how I am threatening to nuke everyone every week. Given that you wont find a single quote, I am right now accusing you of slander and the spread of fake news," the diplomat wrote on her Telegram channel on Wednesday. Earlier, the UK Defense Secretary made a number of offensive remarks about Russian officials, including Zakharova and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov branded these remarks as obnoxious and noted that such behavior casts a shadow on the UK. NATO and Georgia agreed to step up political and practical support for partners threatened by Russian aggression, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Moldova, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference, Georgian First Channel reports, news.am informs. June 30, 2022, 13:47 Stoltenberg discusses with Georgian PM political and practical support STEPANAKERT, JUNE 30, ARTSAKHPRESS: NATO Secretary General spoke about the meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. He noted that they discussed how to strengthen our practical, political partnership and support for Georgia. The sides plan to provide additional staff to the NATO Liaison Office in Georgia. Then they have other elements, such as the Learning and Assessment Center in Tbilisi, other elements that can strengthen our partnership with Georgia, he said. The US will send an additional 5,000 troops to Romania. This was stated by US President Joe Biden at the NATO summit in Madrid, Universul.net reports. June 30, 2022, 14:54 US to send 5,000 more troops to Romania STEPANAKERT, JUNE 30, ARTSAKHPRESS: According to the publication, Biden explained that such a move is connected with the strengthening of NATO's defense against the threat to Russia. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis was reported to have welcomed the move. Biden also noted that the rotation of the US military in the Baltic countries will be increased, and the US will create a permanent headquarters for the 5th Army Corps in Poland. The provisions of the UAPA that have been filed against the accused are sections 16, 18 and 20 that relate to a terrorist act New Delhi: The National Security Agency (NIA) on Wednesday took over the investigation into the beheading of tailor Kanhaiya Lal Teli in Udaipur, filing a case under terror law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), as well as invoking several sections of the Indian Penal Code against the main accused, Riyaz Attari and Ghous Mohammad. The provisions of the UAPA that have been filed against the accused are sections 16, 18 and 20 that relate to a terrorist act, conspiring to commit a terror act and being member of a terrorist gang or organisation. Teli was brutally killed by two Muslim men on Tuesday, allegedly for his tweets in support of the now-suspended BJP spokesperson, Nupur Sharma, facing uproar over her remarks against Prophet Mohammad. The accused videotaped the murder and then threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi too. The government is viewing the beheading as an act of terror and is investigating if this incident has cross border connection. Teli was on Wednesday cremated in his native village, where his wife and son demanded stringent punishment for the men who killed him. The state witnessed protests in Bhim, Rajsamand, over the Udaipur murder. Police resorted to aerial firing and baton charge to stop protesters from heading to sensitive areas. The protestors resorted to stone-pelting, during which one constable was injured. The security agencies believe that one of the two Muslim men who killed the tailor in Udaipur allegedly has links with Pakistan-based Islamic organisation Dawat-e-Islami and Barelvi extremist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik and had visited Karachi in 2014. Pakistan has refuted the charge. The Union home ministry had rushed a team of NIA officials to Udaipur on Tuesday itself but a formal case was registered by the central agency on Wednesday. At present, the Rajasthan police are investigating the murder and have so far arrested the two main accused, along with three others, with whom the two prime accused were in touch before the crime. "Ministry of home affairs has directed the NIA to take over the investigation of the brutal murder of Shri Kanhaiya Lal Teli committed at Udaipur, Rajasthan yesterday. The involvement of any organisation and international links will be thoroughly investigated," Union home minister Amit Shahs office said. "NIA has re-registered a case under sections 452, 302, 153(A), 153(B), 295(A) and 34 of IPC and sections 16, 18 & 20 of UA(P) Act, 1967 against accused who have conspired, planned and committed the heinous murder of Shri Kanhaiya Lal Telli on June 28 in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The case was initially registered as FIR No- 81/2022 PS -- Dhanmandi district -- Udaipur, Rajasthan on June 29 pertaining to the murder of Shri Kanhaiyya Lal Teli on June 28 by two accused who had inflicted multiple injuries to the victim with sharp weapons. The accused persons had also circulated a video of the criminal act in the social media claiming responsibility for the murder in order to trigger panic and strike terror among the masses across the country. NIA has re-registered the case today Pursuant to the registration of the case, NIA teams have already reached Udaipur and requisite action for expeditious investigation of the case has already been initiated," NIA said in a statement. According to Rajasthan DGP M.L. Lather, "The main accused were in touch with Dawat-e-Islami. One of them also went to Karachi, Pakistan in 2014 to meet the organisation. We are considering this as an act of terror. The case has been transferred to the NIA and the state police will assist in the probe." He added the ASI and SHO of the concerned police station where Teli had approached fearing a threat to his life have been suspended as they didn't take the required action to calm down the already polarised situation in the area of the victim before this incident happened. Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot announced to give out-of-term promotion to the five policemen who made quick arrests of the accused. Mr Gehlot has called an all-party meet in Jaipur over the incident. On their part, Pakistan said that linking the accused of this beheading to an organisation in Pakistan is highly "mischievous". "We categorically reject any such insinuations, which are typical of the BJP-RSS Hindutva driven Indian regimes attempts at maligning Pakistan, including by externalising their internal issues through pointing fingers towards Pakistan. Such malicious attempts will not succeed in misleading the people, either in India or abroad," said Pakistan foreign office. Meanwhile, Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, condemned the beheading, saying, "The brutal murder in Udaipur has shaken humanity... It's not only an act of cowardice but also non-Islamic, illegal, and inhuman. On behalf of all Indian Muslims, I strongly condemn this." Jamaat-e-Islami Hind too condemned the murder, saying "There is no room for justification for such violence in Islam The government must stop mischief-makers from taking advantage of this incident to create social unrest The statements being issued by some political leaders show their immaturity and their ugly intention to play vote bank politics." However, the BJP and Congress continued to blame each other. While BJP leaders blamed the failure of the Congress-led Rajasthan administration for acting in time, Congress leaders said Mr Gehlot government acted swiftly to nab the accused. "We all condemn the Udaipur incident. Rajasthan CM took swift action and the culprits were nabbed within 2-3 hours. This is further proof that the Rajasthan government is vigilant and maintaining law and order, so it is not okay to demoralise them," said Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge. He added that not just in Rajasthan, but similar cases have been reported from BJP-governed states like Uttar Pradesh and Assam. "Prime Minister and home minister should break their silence. The PM should appeal to the people that they do not engage in such incidents. People should not engage in provocative hate speeches too," Mr Kharge added. Vladimir Putin has hit out at what he called Natos imperial ambitions after the military alliance cleared the way for Sweden and Finland to join. Mr Putin warned the two countries that if military contingents and military infrastructure were deployed there, we would be obliged to respond symmetrically. He told reporters in Turkmenistan: Ukraine and the wellbeing of Ukrainian people is not the aim of the collective West and Nato but a means to defend their own interests. The Nato countries' leaders wish to... assert their supremacy, their imperial ambitions. Nato branded Russia the biggest direct threat" to Western security after its invasion of Ukraine on Wednesday and vowed further support for Kyiv. Leaders of the alliance pledged that from 2023 there would be a seven-fold increase in combat forces on high alert along its eastern flank against any future Russian attack. Among the new commitments was a pledge by Britain to provide an extra 1bn of military support to Ukraine, a near doubling of its commitment to Ukrainian military aid. US President Joe Biden also announced more land, sea and air force deployments across Europe from Spain in the west to Romania and Poland bordering Ukraine. (AP) This included a permanent army headquarters with a battalion in Poland - the first full-time US deployment on Natos eastern fringe. President Putin's war against Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe and has created the biggest security crisis in Europe since the Second World War," Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference. Nato has responded with strength and unity," he said. Russia intensified its attacks in Ukraine in the wake of the Nato summit, including with missile strikes and shelling on the southern Mykolaiv region. The mayor of Mykolaiv city said a Russian missile had killed at least five people in a residential building there. Moscow claimed its forces had hit what it called a training base for foreign mercenaries in the region. The governor of eastern Luhansk province also reported fighting everywhere" in a battle around the hilltop city of Lysychansk, which Russian forces are trying to encircle in their bid to capture the industrialised eastern Donbas region. Evangelist Alveda King: The Mission for Life Continues "Good morning friends. I just published an Opinion Piece on Fox News today" -- Alveda King NEWS PROVIDED BY Alveda King Ministries June 30, 2022 ATLANTA, June 30, 2022 /Standard Newswire/ -- The following is submitted by evangelist Alveda King, she is available for comment: Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade after we marched, prayed, and kept the faith. The sanctity of life from womb to tomb is the civil rights issue of our time. It's an honor to join so many millions of Americans who are in awe of God's goodness and the Supreme Court's decision to overrule Roe v. Wade. Truly, on the long road home, my faith was tested to hold on to the dream that we would live to see this day. As we marched, prayed, and used our united voices for decades... [keep reading] I also want to give thanks for your graduation prayers and blessings. Also, please pray for our pregnancy care centers. They are under siege and need our support. God bless everyone. -- Alveda Click on image for high resolution FYI, Here is a short video about my parents, the Rev. A.D. Williams King and Dr. Naomi Ruth Barber King. Alveda King's House Promo on Fox Nation - Ending with Seasonings Stick https://youtu.be/EDWh2V3czkY Alveda King's House Promo on Fox Nation - Herschel Walker Said it and I Love It https://youtu.be/D2kFkJkJris Our ministry is funded by generous individuals like yourself. We have many ongoing projects that help us to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a world much in need of His message. Please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Alveda King Ministries. About Alveda King: Dr. Alveda C. King is the daughter of the late slain civil rights activist Rev. A. D. King and the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a Christian Evangelist. Author of the best seller KING RULES and WERE NOT COLORBLIND, she is also founder of Speak for Life, Chairman of the Center for The American Dream -AFPI, and currently serves as a Fox News Channel contributor and is the host of "Alveda King's House" on Fox Nation and a NEWSMAX opinion contributor; a member of Optimist International; former college professor; and a film and music veteran. Alveda is also a former Georgia State Legislator, college professor, a twice assigned Presidential appointee, and a 2021 recipient of the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award. SOURCE Alveda King Ministries CONTACT: Brian Mayes, 615-771-2040, brian@nashvillepublicity.com Throughout the year I get questions about plants and flowers from friends and readers. I do not always get a chance to answer them, so today I am going to write about some of those that are most frequently asked. And, if you have any questions for me, just reach out to cosenti@aol.com or call my personal number, (315) 253-5316. I will do my best to get an answer for your question. "Can I grow avocados from a pit?" Yes, you can, but I would not expect to harvest a fruit anytime soon. The trees must get to between 15 and 25 feet in height before they set fruit, and that can take as many as five years. Since they do not like our winters, that is a lot of tree in your living room during our cold months, all for a fruit you can get for about $2. But do not despair. That pit will grow into a beautiful plant in your home, and the results will be rewarding. Heres how: Remove the seed and wipe it dry. Now stand it on end, the narrower end at the top. About a third of the way from the bottom, begin by poking three or four toothpicks into it, all at the same distance from the base. Now balance the seed over a glass of water the water should be just below the toothpicks. About an inch of water will do. Next, place the glass in a warm place where it gets light, but not direct sunlight, Add water so that the seed is always in about an inch of water. About once a week, change the water to eliminate mold and bacteria growth. Roots will begin growing from the bottom of the seed and you will see a slender seedling in eight or 10 weeks. If nothing happens at that time, enjoy another avocado and start again. Be sure you have the right end in the water. In a couple more weeks, cut off the top half of that slender stem. It is necessary to getting a nice bushy plant. Now, fill an 8- to 10-inch pot with a good potting soil. Be certain that the pot has a drainage hole; avocados do not like wet feet. Plant it, leaving the top half of the seed and the green growth above the soil. Do not place the pot in a saucer of water. That will rot the seed and cause the leaves to turn yellow. It is best to let the soil dry a bit between waterings. Now, give your plant a nice sunny window and then, from this time of year until early fall, your avocado will reward you with great growth and lush greenery. When it is outside it will need more water, and on bright and sunny days it needs to be moved into the shade. Now it is crucial to begin pruning it. When your plant has reached about a foot in height, even though it hurts you to do it, cut it back to 6 inches. When it reaches 18 inches, cut it back to 12. At 24 inches, back to 18. This process will give you a handsome, bushy plant. While fertilizing should be minimal in winter, during the summer growing season it needs a weekly dose of fertilizer, heavy on nitrogen, which is the first number in the series of three, such as 12-10-10. "I have a beautiful houseplant, but it has grown tall and spindly and the leaves on the bottom half of the plant are gone. I think that it is a rubber tree. What do I do with it?" The process is called air layering. Instead of breaking off a cutting, you select the height that you want the new plant to be. Then, with a sharp knife, you cut a third of the way into that stem. Now insert a toothpick into the cut to keep the two sections separated. If available, dust it with some rooting powder. Next, thoroughly soak a couple of handfuls of sphagnum moss and wrap it around the cut, holding it in place with string. Now, wrap it all with Saran or a similar plastic. Add water as needed weekly, and in a couple of months you can cut beneath the plastic and plant your new, short plant. Next week, more questions and answers. Be well. Enjoy the sun. Carmen Cosentino operates Cosentino's Florist in Auburn with his daughter, Jessica. He was elected to the National Floriculture Hall of Fame in 1998, and in 2008, received the Tommy Bright award for lifetime achievements in floral education. In 2016, Carmen and Jessica were presented Teleflora's Tom Butler Award, naming Cosentino's the florist of the year at the company's annual meeting in Hawaii. Carmen can be reached at cosenti@aol.com or (315) 253-5316. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 An Auburn woman is facing criminal charges after allegedly driving recklessly and fleeing from law enforcement while she had a child in the vehicle, the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office said. Sheriff Brian Schenck said in a news release that at around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, deputies responded to a report of a vehicle in the area of state Route 34B in Scipio, and that the vehicle was being operated by someone possibly under the influence of drugs. A child was believed to be in the vehicle, as well. Deputies found the vehicle and tried to stop it, the release added, but the driver fled and refused to stop, leading to a pursuit toward Auburn. "Due to the risk to the child and others traveling on area roadways, the pursuit was terminated and Deputies began to follow the vehicle from a distance," the news release said. Police said the vehicle drove through Auburn, then went south again through Cayuga County into Tompkins County, and then back into Cayuga County. Deputies were able to safely deploy stop sticks and disable the vehicle in the area of state routes 38 and 90 in Locke. The sheriff's office said the driver was Christina M. Deuel, 44, of Auburn. A 10-year-child was also found in the vehicle, but neither the child nor Deuel sustained injuries. Deuel was charged with fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle, endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree reckless endangerment, all misdemeanors. She was arraigned Thursday morning at the Centralized Arraignment Part Court at the Cayuga County Jail, and was ordered held on $500 cash bail or $1,000 bond. She is also ordered to reappear in Locke Town Court on Wednesday, July 6, the release said. The sheriffs office was assisted in the investigation by the Auburn Police Department, the New York State Police, Tompkins County Sheriffs Office and the Cayuga County 911 Center. Schenck told The Citizen Thursday afternoon that it was initially reported to the sheriff's office that the vehicle's driver might have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol with a child at the car, "but at the time of the stop, there wasn't evidence to establish probable cause that (Deuel) was driving under the influence, so there were no charges relative to that." Schenck later said the sheriff's office's top concern was the child's safety. "Obviously, when she fled that led us to have concern that the child was in danger," Schenck said. The sheriff said he's glad Deuel, the deputies and the public at large were ultimately unharmed. People with information in relation to the incident are encouraged to call (315) 253-3545 or leave a tip at cayugacounty.us/452/Send-a-Tip. Those leaving tips can remain anonymous. Staff writer Kelly Rocheleau can be reached at (315) 282-2243 or kelly.rocheleau@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @KellyRocheleau. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 5 Angry 4 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. A Syracuse man is facing multiple criminal charges following an alleged shots-fired incident in a southeastern Cayuga County town. According to a news release from the New York State Police, Auburn-based troopers responded Monday to a call of shots fired in the area of Curtin Road and Bear Swamp Road in Sempronius. Joshua Pena, 23, of Syracuse, was subsequently arrested for two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a class D felony, and four counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a class C felony, troopers said in the news release. State police said Wednesday there were no injuries in the incident and there also was no victim. The release said Pena was transported to Cayuga County Jail for arraignment. The jail said Pena was released on bail Tuesday. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Chinas monthly registrations of locally-made passenger vehicles (PVs) surpassed 1 million again in May with a narrowing year-over-year decrease, while the growth of new energy vehicle (NEV) registrations enlarged in the month, according to the data compiled by Gasgoo Auto Research Institute (GARI). The countrys monthly registrations of locally-made PVs amounted to 1,271,097 units, down by 21.65% from a year earlier, 16.7 percentage points fewer than that of the previous month, and representing a jump of 31.2% from a month ago. By the end of May, the country had registered nearly 7 million vehicles, falling 16.2% versus the same period of last year. All of the top 20 brands by May registrations saw better performance in May. Compared with the previous month, eighteen brands year-over-year decrease narrowed while BYD and Chery registered more vehicles than the same month of last year. Three brands registrations surpassed 100,000 units in the month and BYD continued to be the second runner-up with monthly year-over-year growth increasing nearly 160%. With 102,969 vehicles registered, including 101,645 new energy vehicles, May marked BYDs second highest registration volume this year. In March, the Shenzhen-based company registered 106,827 new vehicles. In terms of the total registrations of the first five months of this year, Volkswagen, Toyota and Honda remained the top three brands, but BYD, the fourth, narrowed the gap with Honda. Compared with the same span of last year, BYD was the only brand with a three-digit year-over-year growth rate. Apart from BYD, Wuling, Chery, Tesla and Hongqi also had more vehicles registered than a year ago. The Wuling Hongguang MINIEV had become the most registered model for four consecutive months. The country registered 29,567 MINIEVs in May, representing a year-over-year increase of 4.72%. The monthly model list included three models from BYD while the ranking of the Song PLUS DM-i was the highest with 17,526 registered. The Li ONE was the only model from local new energy vehicle startups. By the end of May, three models registrations had exceeded 100,000 units while the Wuling Hongguang MINIEV, the champion, had obvious advantages over the others. The Haval H6 was the other model from Chinese brands among the top 5 models on Jan.-May list, but its monthly registrations fell 42% versus the same month of last year. The Tesla Model Y occupied the fifth spot with Jan.-May registrations soaring 134.55% year over year to 82,227 units. Three cities registered more than 30,000 vehicles in May and Chengdu was still the champion, followed by Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Due to the COVID-19 resurgence in the month, Beijings monthly vehicle registrations dropped to the tenth. Shanghais monthly registrations stood at 2,571 units, more than doubling from the previous month, but it was still a member of the top 10 cities by the cumulative registrations of the first five months. The countrys registrations of new energy vehicles in the fifth month of this year jumped 81.44% from a year earlier to 323,435 units, only second to the volume of March this year. Monthly battery electric vehicle registrations amounted to 242,985 units while the rest were plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, including 16,958 range-extended electric vehicles. Among those NEVs registered in May, 38,575 were for renting and 28 were for operational purposes. BYD had absolute leadership among all brands as the only one brand with monthly NEV registrations of over 100,000 units. In May, 2021, BYD only registered 24,550 NEVs. The other brands were all distant followers. In spite of the challenges posed by COVID-19 and other industry issues, Tesla managed to register 10,338 vehicles in May, ranking eighth while it still occupied the second runner-up spot by the total registrations of Jan.-May period. Li Auto, NETA from Hozon Auto and XPeng were among the top 10 brands by NEV registrations in May, but NETA fell out of the top 10 by the registrations of the first five months. Apart from the Wuling Hongguang MINIEV, the BYD Song PLUS DM-i, the BYD Yuan PLUS, the Li ONE and the BYD Qin PLUS DM-I all saw May registrations exceed 10,000 units. There were another seven BYD-branded models on the monthly top 20 list, making BYD models occupy half spots on the list. There was only one model from foreign brands on the monthly list, namely the Tesla Model Y. After its monthly registrations slumped to only 1,139 units in April, the Model Ys May registrations grew to 6,168 units, but there was still a gap from its normal performance. After Teslas Shanghai factory restored its output, the American electric vehicle brands registrations will get back to normal before continuous growth. The Tesla Model Y was the second most registered model in the biggest electric vehicle market in the world in the first five months of this year, but its volume still had a huge gap from the volume of the Wuling Hongguang MINIEV. Shenzhen registered the most NEVs in May, followed by Hangzhou, Chengdu and Guangzhou, and all of the four cities monthly NEV registrations outnumbering 10,000 units. Consumers in Shanghai registered 1,644 NEVs in the month. Shenzhen also registered the most NEVs in this years Jan.-May period and Shanghai ranked third even though it only registered 331 and 1,644 NEVs in April and May. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On June 30, BYD saw the first vehicle produced at its Hefei manufacturing base roll off the production line, according to a local media outlet, indicating a faster pace for BYD's future new vehicle delivery. In July 2021, BYD signed an agreement with local authorities to locate a manufacturing site in Changfeng county, Hefei city, and set up a subsidiary in the city, dubbed Hefei BYD Automobile Co., Ltd., in the same month to manage the project. The ground-breaking ceremony was held only 42 days after the deal was inked. Photo credit: BYD The Hefei base is set to be constructed in two phases. Involving a total investment of 15 billion yuan ($2.243 billion), the first phase targets an annual car production capacity of 150,000 units and will produce the BYD Qin PLUS DM-i and the Quzhujian 05 at the initial stage. Aside from car manufacturing, such core components as engines and electric motors will be produced at the Hefei base as well, according to the local report. Hefei, the capital of Anhui province, aims to raise its NEV production capacity to 1 million units and the NEV industrys yearly production value to over 100 billion yuan ($14.952 billion) by 2025, according to a document issued by the Hefei municipal government in November 2020. Apart from BYD, the city has also gathered such automakers as NIO, Volkswagen (Anhui), JAC Group, Hefei Changan, and Ankai, and a slew of key suppliers like Gotion High-Tech, CALB, and JEE Technology. Beijing (Gasgoo)- Shanghai-based intelligent driving developer, Geometrical-PAL (G-PAL), recently closed a new strategic investment round exclusively funded by SAE International (SAE). Photo credit: G-PAL After the investment, SAE and G-PAL will strengthen their strategic layout by building an engineering center for full self-driving (FSD) perception integration and smart decision-making, as well as conducting R&D for high-performance FSD NPU. G-PAL will contribute to Shanghais new-generation national AI innovation pilot scheme and form an ecosystem for FSD chips, software, testing, and application. The company help reinforce its development in the autonomous and crewless driving fields. Notably, G-PAL has received another exclusive strategic investment in February this year from Bosch-affiliated Boyuan Capital. Earlier in August 2021, the company banked over RMB500 million ($74.65 million) in its Pre-A round, with capital from Matrix Partners China, Hubei Xiaomi Yangtze River Industry Investment Fund, Baidu Ventures, Silergy, Glory Ventures, and others. Currently, the company is working on a new set of intelligent driving system solution, which adopts 5R5V or 5R7V configurations to realize L4 and below autonomous driving perception needs. The cost of software and hardware can be compressed to a thousand-yuan level. In addition, G-PALs 4D millimeter-wave imaging radar solution has passed SAIC Motors commercial vehicle tests and is being delivered in a small scale. The company is also working on the testing and pre-assembly of its solutions onto SAIC Motors several passenger vehicle models, which will be put onto the market in 2023-2024. Beijing (Gasgoo)- Guangzhou CanSemi Technology (CanSemi), a semiconductor supplier backed by GAC Group, officially completed its latest financing round, raising RMB4.5 billion ($671.87 million). Photo credit: CanSemi Co-leading investors of the round are GAC Capital and a semiconductor-dedicated fund from the Guangdong provincial government. Notably, aside from a slew of well-known venture capitals, there were also several automakers in the mix of investors, including SAIC Motor and BAIC Group. CanSemi said that the funds will be put towards the construction of the newest phase of its semiconductor manufacturing base project. As the only 12-chip developer that realized mass production in the Guangdong-Hong Kong- Macau Greater Bay Area, CanSemi is dedicated to analog chip manufacturing. Starting from consumer-level chips, CanSemi is now branching out to the industrial and automotive fields. Currently, the first two phases of its manufacturing project have been constructed and started production. The project positioned CanSemi as the only Guangdong-incubated integrated circuit manufacturer. The company houses a professional team of over a thousand employees, with a comprehensive technological reserve and intellectual property system. LOS ANGELESWicked Sensual Care profiles Kimberly Wilson of Columbia, Missouri's Passions in Columbia boutique for the monthly Retail Employee Spotlight feature in the Wicked Sensual newsletter. Located at 1108 Business Loop 70 E, Passions in Columbia is known as a high-end superstore that carries the largest selection of adult toys, lingerie, shoes, erotic books and gifts in the Mid-Missouri area. Each month, a new retail professional of the pleasure products space is interviewed for Wicked Sensual Care. Wilsons profile reveals an accomplished self-starter whose decision to enter adult retail was motivated by a desire to move beyond the confines of a job with a conventional corporation. I made a life choice to leave traditional corporate America, Wilson said of her decision. I had little to no idea of what to do next. Then my daughter came across a listing for Passions in Columbia. Wilson recently had a notable encounter with Wicked Sensual Cares Brand Strategist and Resident Sex Educator Jessica Drake. I had a wonderful experience meeting Kimberly, Drake says of their time together. I was immediately in awe of the wealth of knowledge and experience that makes her such an incredible resourcenot just for customers, but for her fellow employees. In addition to the expertise she brings to her career in the retail space, Wilson feels her strengths also include making sure her customers feel welcome and relaxed. My favorite part of my job is opening peoples eyes to new things and allowing everyone to feel safe and secure while we share our experiences with one another. I love to gab, and I place a premium on making people feel comfortable in what can sometimes be an awkward situation. It isnt just an outgoing personality that makes for a great retail employee, but specifically one with an aptitude for talking to strangers with warmth, a positive attitude, and great energy, said Wicked Sensual Care Sales Director Jennifer Brice. Everything else can be taught, but without that engaging persona the job of talking to people, particularly about sex and intimacy, can become difficult. Fortunately, this is where Kimberly shines! Retail professionals are invited to nominate employees and colleagues who continuously exceed expectations and deserve recognition for their ability to position themselves as product and industry experts. To submit a nomination, send the person's name, store name, location/city, store social media handles and a brief paragraph about why they deserve to be nominated along with an optional photo to [email protected], or fill out the form here. For more information, contact your preferred distributor, Wicked Sensual Care sales rep, or email [email protected]. I'll never stop wandering. And when the time comes to die, I'll find the wildest, loneliest, most desolate spot there is. -- Everett Ruess In December 1931, Everett composed a thank-you note to Pat Jenks, his host the previous summer at Deerwater on San Francisco Mountain: Those were great days at the Veit Ranch idyllic days. There I seemed to feel the true spirit of delight, the exaltation, the sense of being more than man, lying in the long cool grass, or on a flat-topped rock, looking up at the exquisitely curved, cleanly-smooth aspen limbs, watching the slow clouds go by...And always there was...more beauty than I could ever portray or tell of...I have traveled far over mountains and deserts, through forests and canyons, seeing strange and beautiful things, having grim and glorious experiences, but none that would make me forget your hospitality and generosity in my time of need. By the spring of 1932, Everett was back in Navajo country, revisiting Hubbell Trading Post, Chinle and Canyon de Chelly, then heading past Shiprock to Mesa Verde to explore cliff dwellings. Later he hitchhiked to Gallup, then west along Route 66, passing through Flagstaff, and back to Los Angeles. He attended UCLA for one lackluster semester, then revisited the California Sierras: "Much of the time I feel so exuberant I can hardly contain myself. The colors are so glorious, the forests so magnificent, the mountains so splendid ... the world is a riot of sensual delight." In the spring of 1934, Everett prepped for another return to Arizona. Brother Waldo drove him east. On April 14 they stopped in Flagstaff for supplies, before proceeding to Kayenta. Acquiring two new burros, Everett visited Chinle and Canyon de Chelly yet again. Next, he signed up for a six-week stint with the Rainbow Bridge-Monument Valley Archeological Expedition, led by Museum of Northern Arizona's Lyndon Hargrave. In August, Everett hurried to Black Mesa to watch the Snake Dance and make friends, "my Hopi friends painted me up and had me in their Antelope Dance. I was the only white person there." By September, Everett was back at Desert View; he left Cockleburrs and Chocolate with a friend while he hitchhiked to Flagstaff. Things were going well for him now. Everett wrote his parents that he had sold enough paintings and prints that they needn't send any more $15 monthly allowances. To a friend he wrote: September 27, Flagstaff, Arizona ...From Flagstaff, I went south to Oak Creek, and painted some brilliantly lighted vermilion cliffs against inky storm skies. Came back and saw the first snows on the San Francisco Peaks, and the slopes golden with yellowing aspen..." Back at Desert View, Everett led his troupe across the Grand Canyon, and over to Bryce. In early November Everett rolled into the little Mormon town of Escalante, where he regaled curious youngsters with tales of the Navajo and Hopi. The last letter Everett mailed before disappearing in the Escalante wilderness, still shy of his 21st birthday, repeated his wanderlust theme: Escalante Rim, Utah, November 1934 As to when I shall revisit civilization, it will not be soon, I think. I have not tired of the wilderness; rather I enjoy its beauty and the vagrant life I lead more keenly all the time. No one knows Everett's fate; the next spring, searchers found the burros and his cached possessions, but not Everett's body. Many hypotheses were proposed for his disappearance an accident, suicide, murder by ne'er-do-wells but I lean toward another explanation. Everett happily took risks because he had supreme confidence in his physical skills and luck. He routinely climbed to archeological sites high on sheer cliffs. I believe Everett was similarly confident that he could build a makeshift raft, and successfully ride the Colorado River through Glen Canyon down to Lees Ferry. From there, he knew he could hitchhike to Flagstaff where he had friends he could stay with, before returning to Los Angeles. In 1957, an archeology survey party came across a 1930s-era canteen and utensils, plus lotion and razor blades bearing labels reading Owl Drug Co., Los Angeles, slightly downstream from where Everett had left his burros. I think this is where Everett's luck ran out, well short of Flagstaff. Bill Wade, a 14-year veteran as one of Flagstaff's NPS/USFS Roving Rangers, is yet another Flagstaff geologist. The NPS/USFS Roving Rangers volunteer through a unique agreement between the Flagstaff Area National Monuments and the Coconino National Forest to provide Interpretive Ranger walks and talks in the Flagstaff area each summer. Submit questions for the Ask a Ranger weekly column to askaranger@gmail.com Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 By Azernews By Ayya Lmahamad Azerbaijan and Turkiye have discussed successful cooperation in various sectors of the economy, including social, cultural and humanitarian spheres, Azernews reports, citing the Economy Ministry. The discussion took place during the Turkish Education Foundation Board Chairman, Birol Akgun's visit to Azerbaijan's Economy Ministry. Azerbaijan's First Deputy Economy Minister Elnur Aliyev emphasized the strong ties of friendship and partnership with brotherly Turkiye, as well as strategic cooperation at a high level. He underlined that close ties in the field of education, especially with leading Turkish universities, are important. In his turn, Birol Akgun briefed on the foundation's activities and expressed interest in continuing successful joint activities with the relevant agencies of Azerbaijan. Additionally, the parties exchanged views on issues of mutual interest. Azerbaijan and Turkiye collaborate in a variety of economic sectors and have completed major energy and infrastructure projects, such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, and TANAP. Turkiye imports Azerbaijani natural gas through the South Caucasus Gas Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum) and TANAP. Azerbaijan supplies gas to Turkiye only from the Shah Deniz field. In 2021, Azerbaijan and Turkiye signed the Shusha Declaration on Allied Relations, which focuses on defense cooperation, promoting regional stability and prosperity, and establishing new transportation routes. The two countries set up a goal to bring the mutual trade turnover to $15 billion in 2023. As of 2021, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $4.6 billion. So far, Turkiye is Azerbaijans second-largest investor followed by the UK. Additionally, Turkiye was one of the first countries that expressed its interest and readiness to participate in the restoration of Azerbaijans liberated territories. A Midwest aviation services company is making its foray into Nebraska by expanding to Omahas Eppley Airfield. The highlight of Revv Aviations expansion is a flight school that will be paired with Revvs existing flight school at Council Bluffs Municipal Airport. The company is headquartered in Aurora, Illinois. Revvs Eppley flight school will be the second one at Nebraskas largest airport, joining one operated by Nebraska Flight Center. Revv is leasing offices at the TAC Air fixed-base operator at Eppley. Chief flight instructor Jerome Howard said Wednesday that pilots who are well into their training with Revv will be able to gain experience with Eppleys professional structures including coordinating with air traffic controllers on flights. The majority of students who get into flight training want to go into professional aviation, Howard said. Operating at an airport such as Eppley will give them that experience. Revvs expansion also deepens the companys relationship to Omaha. The company, which recently rebranded to its current name, has partnered for a number of years with the University of Nebraska at Omahas Aviation Institute to train students. Revv also trains pilots who arent going through a university program. Pilots who train through a university and earn a degree must fly for at least 1,000 hours in order to become fully certified and thus eligible to fly for airlines. Revvs expansion into Eppley also means the shifting of instruction of multi-engine aircraft to Eppley. The majority of Revvs instruction, including on single-engine aircraft, will stay at the Council Bluffs airport. Revvs aircrafts that are used for training include the single-engine Cessna 172 and the twin-engine Piper Seminoles. Its not like were moving the whole operation or anything, Howard said. The aircraft are still going to be based here at Council Bluffs. Howard acknowledged the new flight school should help slightly alleviate the pilot shortage. He said, however, that is only a secondary objective given that the shortage is a continuous cycle that sees major airlines pulling from regional airlines and regional airlines subsequently filling those gaps down the chain. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects an average of 14,500 openings for airline and commercial pilots each year this decade mainly because of retirements and pilots who leave for other occupations. Revvs expansion to Eppley ties into the formers desire to train students from diverse backgrounds. Revv offers internships and scholarships for students. We want to get as many people, especially young people, into aviation. We want diversity. We want more female pilots and more female mechanics, marketing director Rod Kelly said, adding that Revv is also focusing on attracting people from underserved communities into the aviation industry. Howard echoed that. If you want to come out and learn how to fly, no matter walk of life you come from and no matter where you come from, aviation is something for everybody, Howard said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 OMAHA An Omaha man charged with felony motor vehicle homicide was ordered held on $500,000 bail Wednesday during a hearing in Douglas County Court. Michael F. Packett Jr., 24, is accused of being drunk Sunday night when the Audi A4 he was driving collided with a Nissan Sentra near Rose Blumkin Drive and Dodge Street. The driver of the Nissan, Gina McKenna, 44, of Omaha, was killed. Packett must pay 10% of his bail, or $50,000, to be released from jail. Omaha police determined that Packett was speeding east on Dodge Street near 76th Street at 9 p.m. Sunday. His car collided with McKenna's southbound vehicle, forcing it into a wooden pole on the south side of Dodge Street. McKenna's car caught fire and she was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in Packetts car was taken to Nebraska Medical Center with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. According to an affidavit, police officers "could smell the odor of alcohol coming from the defendant." Packett's blood-alcohol level was determined to be 0.083% following a test at Omaha Police Headquarters. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 ELWOOD An Elwood man allegedly discharged a gun and injured deputies with a knife while he was being arrested at his Plum Creek Canyon residence. Jeremy Bendler, 36, has been charged with assault of an officer, a Class 2 felony, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, Class 2 felony and a second subsequent offense of resisting arrest, a Class 3A felony. Bendler is set to be arraigned in Dawson County Court before Judge Jeffrey Wightman on July 12 at 9 a.m. On June 21, deputies with the Dawson County Sheriffs Office arrived at a Plum Creek Canyon Drive residence with a search warrant and an arrest warrant for Bendler, according to court documents. Chief Deputy Greg Gilg said deputies had approached Bendler regarding a criminal mischief complaint from June 19. However, when they made contact with him at his home, the situation escalated and they ended contact and obtained search and arrest warrants. When deputies arrived at the house, they saw Bendler on the front porch, naked, according to deputies. The deputies approached the south side of the residence and stacked up as an entry team, some equipped with shields. They entered the house through an unlocked door and found Bendlers bedroom door, which was locked. The door was kicked down, and the deputies observed what appeared to be a person on the bed under a bed sheet. This was pulled back and revealed Bendler, allegedly with a gun in his right hand and a knife in his left. One of the deputies pinned Bendlers right arm down using a shield, and he allegedly refused several commands to drop the gun and the knife, according to court documents. Bendler discharged the gun several times before it was taken from him. During the struggle for the knife, Sgt. Edd Albrecht sustained 1.5 inch and .5 inch lacerations to his left hand. Bendler was tased, and after visible weapons were taken from him he was placed into handcuffs and moved to a patrol vehicle. Bendler complained of feeling lightheaded and having head pain and was transported to Lexington Regional Health Center. After being cleared from the hospital, Bendler was transported to the Dawson County Jail. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 RAVENNA Jason Busch had surgery April 19 to have a brain tumor removed. Two days later, his 4-year-old son underwent a surgery of his own. Four-year-old Brayden quickly recovered from the operation on his skull, but his dad continues to work toward a full recovery. Jason always has had headaches, but they became more intense and turned into migraines. He visited his primary doctor and received medication for the migraines, but nothing worked, said Christina Busch, Jasons wife. He started complaining about blurred vision along with intense headaches. It had been years since he visited an eye doctor, so Christina encouraged him to make an appointment. The eye doctor noticed some fluid behind his left eye and ordered an MRI right away. Fluid behind the eye can cause blindness if isnt taken care of right away, Christina explained. A couple of days later he had an MRI at Kearney Regional. Within a couple hours, his primary doctor called us right back and said, We need to see you right away. This isnt good. A tumor the size of a credit card was found in Jasons brain. It was later diagnosed as a cancerous tumor called glioblastoma multiforme. Initially, he was told he had only one to two years to live. The Buschs were referred to neurosurgeon Adeleke E. Badejo at CHI Health Good Samaritan in Kearney. Badejo wanted to see Jason immediately, and he gave the family some hope. He was determined to remove 100 percent of the tumor and gave Jason a better prognosis. At the same time, the couples son, Brayden, was scheduled to have surgery in Omaha for craniosynostosis. At 3 months old, Brayden was diagnosed with the disorder that caused his skull to fuse together prematurely. He had surgery when he was 9 months old to open his skull, allowing his brain to grow. At an annual checkup in January, Braydens doctors saw that his forehead plate was overlapping his eye socket plate. He needed surgery to correct it. Brayden and Jasons surgeries were originally scheduled for the same day, but after Christina explained to Badejo their situation, he rescheduled Jasons surgery. Jason underwent a seven-hour surgery to remove the tumor, and Badejo was confident that it was all removed. Two days later, Brayden underwent surgery in Omaha. While Brayden bounced back quickly after his surgery, Jason has a much harder road to travel. Immediately following his surgery, Jason was unable to talk and could only move his left hand to touch his face. He also has experienced short-term memory loss. With that size (of tumor) and on that side of the brain, those are the side effects. We had known that Jason might not be able to ever talk or walk. It was a possibility, said Christina. He was hospitalized in Kearney for three weeks before being transferred to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln. Jason stayed at Madonna for about two weeks where he was regained his speech and was starting to walk when insurance denied his stay at Madonna. He returned home a few weeks ago and he has continued to do physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy through home health care. We have seen great improvement even from being at home. Last week, with a walker he walked 15 feet and had hardly any support, Christina said. Badejo expects Jason to make a full recovery, but they arent sure how long it will take. Along with multiple therapies, Jason will do six weeks of radiation and one year of a mild chemotherapy medication in case any microscopic pieces of the tumor remain in his brain. Christina, Brayden and the couples daughter, Brooke, 5, were able to visit Jason while he was in Lincoln, but they are glad to be reunited at home. Jason is a warehouse manager for Holmes Plumbing and Heating Co. in Kearney. The company has been supportive and is ready for Jason to return. Not being able to work or help his family at home has been a struggle for Jason. Hes a very hard worker. It is very hard for him to not get up and do things. That is his biggest struggle when he sees me doing everything at once, and he wants to help, Christina said. Jasons parents are able to be with Jason when Christina works, and the communities of Gibbon and Ravenna have come together to help the family with various fundraisers. We had some fundraiser accounts at a bank in Gibbon and one in Ravenna for this. It was just amazing how both the small towns came together and could donate as they could, Christina said. Accounts for the Busch family are set up at Gibbon Exchange Bank and Town and Country Bank in Ravenna. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Every Tuesday, Kathy Leikam drives to St. Vincent Healthcare's cancer center in Billings. First, six to 10 tubes of blood are drawn and tested. Then, she goes to a doctors appointment and gets the news whether or not she needs a blood transfusion. Transfusion time included, Leikam spends about seven hours at the center, going through the motions that keep her alive. It never feels good, Leikam says, but its what gives her a life. Blood transfusions are my lifeline right now, she said. Without transfusions, I wouldnt be here today. Leikam has a rare blood disorder called pure red cell aplasia, or PRCA. Her bone marrow cant create enough of the blood she needs, so she gets what she needs from donors. Shes been facing these weekly check-ins for a year and a half, forced to make life changes to accommodate the treatment. She switched careers to something less physical. She cant go to wine tastings, one of her favorite hobbies. Even with the treatment, she's sometimes so exhausted she cant leave the couch. When first diagnosed, she thought, A couple weeks like this, and itll be fine, Leikam said. "It didnt quite turn out that way. And some days, the lifesaving blood she needs isn't there. There isn't enough blood in the bank. Maybe it was used, or maybe it wasn't donated to begin with. Her caregiver, Cassie Blomquist, gives her the bad news and talks her through it. Tears are sometimes shed. It's scary, puts her life on hold, but the world goes on. Its a delay in playing cards. Its a delay in having dinner with someone, Blomquist said. Its a delay of normalcy and life, and thats hard for a patient. Worst shortage But as Billings enters one of the worst blood shortages it has ever seen, Leikam said she might have to face the day her treatment is delayed even further. It could be as long as a week, Blomquist said, and who knows if a patient can go that long. On June 14, World Blood Donor Day, a national nonprofit that connects blood to hospitals called Vitalant officially declared a critical blood shortage in Montana. New donor rates have dropped by 12% in the past year, Vitalants announcement said, likely because young people donate less often. People like Leikam are the ones most likely to suffer. When patient needs consistently outpace donors scheduling appointments, chances are higher a leukemia patient wont be able to get their regular transfusion, or a transplant recipient will have their surgery delayed, Vitalant chief medical and scientific officer Dr. Ralph Vassallo said in the announcement. Consistent donors are crucial, Vitalant explains. When emergencies strike, its the blood already on the shelves that will save a life. And if an emergency depletes that blood, patients like Leikam who need the blood most often may not be able to get the treatment they need. St. Vincent Healthcare has already seen close calls. Just last week, blood bank supervisor Tracy Steinmasel was called by someone in an operating room asking to do a massive blood transfusion, usually only for extreme blood loss or emergency situations. At the time, the blood supply was so low that Steinmasel hesitated to approve the transfusion. Oh, god, what am I going to do? ran through her head. Steinmasel said that if the massive transfusion happened, an operation that requires eight packs of blood, they were unlikely to get blood replaced. The hospital would have to go through the rest of the week with only six packs of O+ blood unthinkable for a medical facility of their size. To dodge the crisis, Steinmasel was able to figure out the patients blood type. It turned out it was a common one, and the hospital didnt have to risk using rare O+ blood. But that was an instance of luck, Steinmasel said. It wouldnt be the only near-disaster. A few weeks ago, Dr. Michael Brown, the director of patient blood management at St. Vincent, said there was a day they ended with only one pack of O+ blood. St. Vincent usually keeps around 18 packs to get through a day, but they were already starting low with just 13. A series of bleeds and a trauma sucked the meager stash in only two hours, and by the end of the day, Brown feared hed have to deny a patient care. Its a real possibility right now, Brown said. At St. Vincent, this isnt a one-off event. The critical lack of blood is only going to make emergencies like this more common especially as they enter trauma season. ATV accidents, boating accidents, fishing accidents, Brown said. Summer is well-known for bringing in more patients, and they usually need blood. St. Vincent is well prepared to handle blood distribution challenges. In the past few weeks, the institution received a gold certification for patient blood management, an honor only given to eight hospitals in the country. The certification was awarded after two years of evaluation from The Joint Commission and the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies, and it rewarded St. Vincent for taking a less is more approach. Put simply, St. Vincent aims to give patients no more blood than necessary, Brown explains. Blood transfusions always raise the risk to patients for viral disease, poor reactions and other injuries, no matter how safely they are performed. By giving patients minimal amounts of blood, patients are safer, and blood reserves can last longer. But the certification doesnt make the blood shortage much easier to handle. While St. Vincent can make blood last, Brown said, they still need more blood to keep patients from danger. Can't just ask And its not as easy as asking for more blood from Vitalant, St. Vincents blood supplier. Vitalant is juggling blood demands from the entire region, Brown said. Its already cut the hospitals regular delivery numbers. In the current shortage, a medical facility can only ask for more blood in a true emergency, and thats assuming Vitalant has the blood to begin with, Brown said. It may be the worst blood shortage Billings has ever seen, Steinmasel said. Blood management coordinator at St. Vincent Melissa Siemson said the shortage has been a long time coming, but upcoming months are bound to make them worse. Usual donors are on vacation, and even those donors are beginning to age out of donation eligibility. Donors used to be people who fought in World War II, the Vietnam War, the Korean War. Theyd seen it first hand, and they became committed donors for the rest of their life, Siemson said. A lot of those people are now too old, have passed away or have diseases. Some of the faithful donors are aging out, and some of the younger generations arent donating, Steinmasel said. She said many young people don't realize how badly blood donations are needed. So now its a matter of getting to those younger people. And for those young people, Kathy Leikam has little patience. She understands it can be intimidating to donate blood at first, but the blood shortage is a threat to her life, Leikam said. If they only knew it only hurts for a second, Leikam said. Its a challenge to convince the public to donate blood, so much so that St. Vincent is considering what theyll do if nothing improves. Siemson said theyre preparing for the blood shortage to last until at least the end of summer. Weve got to get used to this, Brown said. This could be our new normal. As for Leikam, shes tried asking friends, family, even begging on Facebook for people to donate blood. Im very lucky that I have popular blood, Leikam said. I will have this the rest of my life. 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. A Washington airline passenger on Thursday admitted allegations that he interfered with a flight crew by jumping on a beverage cart and pushing a flight attendant into a seat, screaming and trying to take off his clothes on a flight that was diverted to Billings for his removal, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said. Adam Alexander Williams, 33, of Auburn, Washington, pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with interference with flight members and attendants. William faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $25,000 fine and three years of supervised release. U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan presided. A sentencing date will be set before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen. The court will determine a sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Williams was released pending further proceedings. The government alleged in court documents that on Jan. 9, Williams boarded an American Airlines flight departing Seattle, Washington, for a flight to Charlotte, North Carolina. Once in the air, Williams behavior turned erratic and escalated. Williams yelled out to no one in particular, Where is Jamie Sanders? At one point, Williams jumped over passengers in his row and onto a beverage cart that was in service. As he came off of the cart, he almost landed on a flight attendant and pushed her into a seat, knocking drinks and cups to the ground. He then began to run down the aisle of the aircraft. Williams behavior startled the flight attendant, who later appeared distressed and traumatized. Another flight attendant was able to calm Williams down and escort him to his seat. About 10 minutes later, Williams began to act up again and screamed an obscenity. Flight attendants placed several Marines, who happened to be on the flight, in seats around Williams. Then, after roughly another 10 minutes, Williams stood up and began screaming while taking off his clothes. At that point, to ensure the safety of passengers, the aircrafts captain turned the plane around and landed in Billings so that Williams could be removed. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno B. Baucus is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI and Billings Airport Police. Love 1 Funny 9 Wow 9 Sad 4 Angry 31 Internal emails indicate that staff at the Montana Department of Commerce have monitored a notable volume of public frustration with aspects of Gov. Greg Gianfortes Come Home Montana marketing campaign over the last year, in some cases expressing sympathy with concerns about the minimal diversity represented in the campaigns imagery and the efforts perceived insensitivity to Montanas burgeoning affordability crisis. The emails, provided to Montana Free Press through a public records request, also show that the department decided in coordination with the governors office to avoid personalized exchanges with members of the public who communicated concerns about the campaign. Instead, department staff responded to critical emails with a three-paragraph form letter. I heard back from the Govs Comms office, Deputy Director Adam Schafer wrote in a June 2021 email thread where department staff discussed how to respond to criticism of the campaign. Their direction is that they as a general rule do not engage with negative social media posts, so we should not. However, for emails we receive, they did approve this generic response that we can use as a reply. That response, in full, reads: Thank you for your comments regarding the Come Home Montana campaign here at the Montana Department of Commerce. Your comments are important to us. The Governor developed this campaign to encourage Montanans who have moved to other states, to come back home to Montana. For too long, Montanas most valuable export has been our kids and grandkids. Our quality of life is second to none, and were reminding former residents of what a great place Montana is to live, work, and raise a family. Were growing opportunities and creating an environment so Montanans can thrive and prosper. The campaign encourages Montanans who have relocated to other states to return to Montana to work remotely, start a business here, or take advantage of job opportunities across the states industries. We hope that you consider sharing the comehomemontana.com website with Montanans you know who live out-of-state, encouraging them to come back home! The Come Home Montana campaign continues a long-time effort by Gianforte, a Republican who entered politics after building a technology company in Bozeman. In 2015, before his first, unsuccessful bid for governor in 2016, he launched a Bring our Families Back tour that promoted telecommuting as a way for Montana kids to return without giving up well-paid out-of-state careers. The idea was a major theme in his successful 2020 bid as well, with his campaigns Montana Comeback Plan lamenting that Our kids and grandkids have become one of our largest exports. By the time Gianforte took up the reins of state government in 2021, though, the COVID-19 pandemic had already transformed Montanas economic landscape, with pandemic-era migration packing many Montana communities full of new arrivals and their money, consequently driving housing prices out of reach for some existing residents. Under Gianfortes leadership the commerce department launched the Come Home Montana campaign last year, publishing a comehomemontana.com website, buying social media advertisements and sending out multiple waves of promotional mailers. As of late April, the department had spent about $701,000 on the effort, a spokesperson said. A round of mailers that month was sent to approximately 122,000 Montana college graduates. As MTFP reported previously, reaction to the campaign among its target audience has been mixed. Some mailer recipients told MTFP in interviews earlier this year that it successfully conjured a sense of yearning for the Last Best Place. Others said they worried that encouraging more people to compete for Montanas limited housing supplies could ultimately make it impossible for them to move back themselves. The internal emails indicate commerce department staff were aware of polarized response to the campaign almost from its outset, receiving inquiries from people who were considering relocating to Montana as well as people who took issue with the effort. So far I believe the bulk of the emails have been from residents declaring their dissatisfaction that we are running a campaign to drive up the housing market, Marketing Bureau Chief Marlee Iverson wrote in a July 2021 email discussing the program. One commenter, Jay Turmell, wrote the department last September, describing himself as a Montana native and University of Montana alumnus who lives in California because I like having enough money to pay my bills. I understand you may have good intentions, but if you care about Montana at all, youll stop talking about it, Turmell wrote. The more you market Montana, the more people will move to Montana. Traffic, pollution, trash, crime, drugs ad infinitum, he also wrote. Montana needs more of that like we need cancer. The commerce department emails released to MTFP show agency staff responding to sincere inquiries from people interested in relocating with additional information, such as pointers to the Montana MLS real estate portal and job search resources available through the state Department of Labor & Industry. Where people expressed specific interest in particular communities, department staff passed their names along to contacts at local chambers of commerce for further follow-up. The emails also show the department grappling with how to address the negative feedback. In one June 2021 email exchange, department staff discussed screenshots of comment threads attached to Come Home Montana advertisements on Facebook. Cant afford to live there. You need to bring your money with you, one commenter wrote. I would love to but no work, high taxes and real estate values prohibit it! When you fix those things let me know, wrote another. AM I A JOKE TO YOU?? wrote a third, who described herself as a Bozeman native who cant afford to live in my hometown anymore because 1 bedroom houses go for $700K there. Thats more negativity than I was expecting, Jennifer Pelej, the departments tourism and business development division administrator, wrote in the internal email exchange. Agency staff and the departments marketing agency, Hoffman York, discussed addressing the comments with a community management approach, but appear to have abandoned that idea as a result of the do not engage directive from the governors communications staff. The emails also indicate department staff began providing the form response to critical comments received via email. In one July 2021 exchange, the department fielded a message from Matt Buyske, who described himself as a U.S. Navy aviator originally from Shelby who was considering moving back to Montana as he approached retirement. I, and other fellow Montanans working outside the state, would love nothing more than to come back to Montana and live, but cant afford to for a multitude of reasons, he wrote in a lengthy email. Along with being unsure about his post-Navy career options in Montana, Buyske cited land costs as a barrier to his return, saying he cannot compete with non-residents disposable income on a military salary. He suggested the state consider developing a program to sell state or federal lands to returning Montanans under a conservation easement. The department provided Buyske with its form response, which doesnt acknowledge the affordability concern. Buyske replied with another message calling it obvious that you did not read my email or any of the comments on your FaceBook post. You cant just say come home and magically all of the Montanans residing out of state will come home, he continued. Montanans have the grit and fortitude to make a living wherever they reside. But they are not going to reside somewhere they cannot afford. An administrative assistant, Sue Rickman, forwarded that reply to Iverson, the marketing bureau chief, with an expression of sympathy. [W]hen these citizens are responding to our reply then what; they do have valid points that I feel bad to just sweep under the rug, she wrote. Is anyone at the helm giving thought to what valid points are being brought up by citizens? One exchange included in the internal emails also indicates at least one department staffer was worried about campaign imagery representing minority groups. I do want to note that our image selection continues to be limited in showing diversity. Thats just how it is and we are all working to change that, Iverson wrote in a November email thread discussing mailer design. Some of the comments that Im seeing are calling that out, she added. It isnt clear from the emails whether the department modified its mailers to address those concerns. A spokesperson didnt provide an answer this week to a written question asking if she could point to specific changes the department had made to include more diversity. During the 2020 census, 85% of Montanas population identified as white and 9.3% as at least partly Native American. Neither the commerce department nor the governors communications office provided a direct response to questions about the form letters appropriateness as a response to messages critical of the Come Home effort. Well continue to keep the focus of the Come Home campaign on encouraging Montanans who have relocated to other states to return here to work remotely, start or expand a business, or take advantage of job opportunities across the state, department spokesperson Anastasia Burton wrote. Despite some housing challenges which are not unique to Montana our quality of life is good, and we want to remind former residents of what a great place Montana is to work and raise a family. The governors focus remains reuniting families, creating greater opportunities here in Montana, and making our communities stronger, Gianforte Press Secretary Brooke Stroyke said in an email. Stroyke did acknowledge the state has a housing supply shortage and wrote that the governor is working to address the issue by streamlining development permitting and boosting trades education in an effort to expand the states construction workforce. At a press briefing in Gardiner June 17, Gianforte also said his administration has been working really hard on the housing issue and expects it to be a major topic of discussion during next years legislative session. His office has not yet announced major policy initiatives for the session, which opens in January. Amanda Eggert contributed reporting. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 2 Adam Meier is resigning as the head of Montanas Department of Public Health and Human Services due to "an ongoing family health issue," Gov. Greg Gianfortes office announced Thursday, and will be succeeded by Meiers chief of staff. Charlie Brereton will take over as department director after Meier leaves office on Aug. 12, according to a Thursday morning press release from the governors office. I am grateful to Gov. Gianforte for the opportunity to lead an amazing team of dedicated public servants working to improve service to Montanas most vulnerable populations, Meier said in a press release Thursday morning. Despite navigating many challenges, I am proud of what weve accomplished during the first 18 months of the Gianforte administration. DPHHS is well-positioned to continue addressing issues that have long plagued the health and human services ecosystem here in Montana. While this is an unexpected turn in my tenure as director, I have the utmost confidence that our progress will continue under Charlies leadership. Meier assumed the role of director in February 2021, and was confirmed by the state Legislature the following month. His annual salary is $165,000. DPHHS is by far the largest department in state government, with an annual budget of more than $3 billion. It oversees the states Medicaid program as well as agencies and programs ranging from foster care and child protective services to nutrition services and the state hospital system. It also continues to manage the states response to the coronavirus pandemic. Meier, an attorney, came into the job with prior experience as the top health official in Kentucky. Brereton appears to have little administrative experience as he prepares to take the helm of a department with more than 2,700 full-time-equivalent staff positions, according to a recent audit report. The George Washington University graduate was a health policy advisor to Gianforte before becoming the DPHHS chief of staff in December, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before that, he worked as a health policy advisor to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who was then chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Following internships from 2014 through 2016, he joined law firm Squire Patton Boggs as a public policy intern in 2017, then worked there for about two years as a policy associate and advisor. During his time there he was registered to lobby on behalf of clients that included hospitals, universities and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. "Charlie will make an exceptional director of our states largest agency, Gianforte said in the press release. Charlie has a knack for leadership and a superior ability to develop relationships, building consensus on complex issues. I look forward to continuing to benefit from his expertise, counsel, and hard work in this new role. In an email, Gianforte spokesperson Brooke Stroyke added that the governor was "not at all" concerned about the incoming director's lack of administrative experience and that "he has full confidence in Charlie." Meiers departure comes after the recent hire of the new state Medicaid director, Mike Randol. Randol was questioned recently during an interim legislative hearing about his past work in states that have moved to managed care for their Medicaid programs, meaning a third-party contractor does the management of the program. Randol told lawmakers he wasnt brought in to move toward managed care. Montana has a troubled past with managed care for mental health services. In 1993 during a special legislative session, lawmakers passed a bill that allowed for the exploration of managed care and subsequent legislation in 1995 allowed for managed care to start in the state for mental health services. Montanas Medicaid also faces a major effort expected later this year to go through the process of determining the eligibility of everyone covered by many of its programs, a process put on hold during the pandemic. Some have said the effort will be one of the most significant changes to health care coverage in the U.S. since the Affordable Care Act first went into place. Meiers departure also comes as the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs remains under intense scrutiny from federal officials and lawmakers. Last year the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services pulled reimbursement funding following repeated failures to meet health and safety standards. Those failures resulted in deaths that would have been otherwise preventable, according to a CMS report released in February. In April, the department announced it was replacing the state hospital administrator, who had been identified as a key driver of a staff exodus at the hospital. The governors office lauded Meiers leadership since his appointment, noting that he oversaw expanding substance use disorder and mental health treatment services, kicking off a long overdue assessment and overhaul of state-run facilities, comprehensively assessing provider rates to address significant gaps in Montanas continuum of care, implementing reforms to better support DPHHS workforce, and bringing a culture of customer service to the agency. Gianfortes office also praised his implementation of House Bill 702, Montanas controversial law to prohibit vaccine discrimination by prohibiting both public and private workplaces from requiring vaccinations as a condition of employment. Public health experts largely opposed the bill, but Republicans who supported the measure argue its a critical tool to protect the rights of Montanans who remain skeptical of the COVID-19. The law applies broadly to all vaccines, however, with some carve-outs for schools and nursing homes. Its currently being challenged in court, and was partially blocked by a judge earlier this year. Under Meier's tenure, the state also lost the $2 million annual federal grant for Title X, or family planning, services. For the first time, a nonprofit in Bozeman applied and got the funding, spurred by a law passed in 2021 that would have prohibited the department from entering into a contract with any organization that provided non-federally qualified abortions. In a Thursday email sent to DPHHS staff, Meier elaborated on the reason for his departure, saying that an immediate member of his family "faced unexpected health issues that require specialty care unavailable in Montana." He added that he will work from the office through July 22, and then work "intermittently to assist with the transition" through Aug. 12. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Sam Wilson State Bureau Reporter Follow Sam Wilson Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today During challenging times, like the ones we are currently facing, it is crucial that we have elected representatives who put the wellbeing of our state first. It is only then that we will be able to prioritize the needs and the safety of our citizens. One of these elected officials is our Congressman, Matt Rosendale. We have a dangerous situation on our southern border with illegal drugs pouring in every day. Because of this, cities across Montana, and across the country, are being overrun with drugs and crime. This includes human trafficking and sex crimes against children. According to the Montana Attorney Generals office, effectively 100% of the fentanyl that is being seen in Montana is coming across the southern border, which thanks to Joe Biden is wide open. Not only this, but violent crime in our state has increased over 30% in just one decade. Rosendale supported and introduced legislation like the Secure Americas Borders First Act to combat these trends, to secure the southern border, and protect Montanans from dangerous drugs and stop human trafficking. Darin Gaub Helena Love 2 Funny 10 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 10 By Azernews By Laman Ismayilova There is something terrifying and beautiful about weapons. Since ancient times, weapons like swords, and daggers have been revered as examples of excellent craftsmanship and majestic beauty. The XVI-XIX centuries Azerbaijani weapons have become a growing focus of attention as the exhibition "Mystical beauty of weapons" has opened its doors to curious visitors, Azernews reports, citing the National History Museum. The exhibition, which opened at the National History Museum, reflects the different pages of Azerbaijan's military history and serves as a brilliant example of superb weapon craftsmanship. The collection includes protective, edged firearms with a number of inscriptions. Speaking at the exhibition, the general director of the History Museum, academician Naila Valikhanli stated that the Fund of Weapons and Banners holds many samples of weapons belonging to different centuries. She emphasized that the exhibition demonstrates the weapons that will attract the attention of museum visitors with their beauty and craftsmanship. The head of the Department of the Scientific Exposition and Organization, Ph.D. in history, Associate Professor, exposition curator Sabuhi Ahmadov, said that the collection includes 300 weapons, the vast majority of which have never been shown before. The exhibits reflect not only the development of the technical equipment of the army but also demonstrate the level of development of weapons craft in Azerbaijan. It showcases samples of cold and firearms weapons. "Each sample of weapons can be called a masterpiece of craft. The exposition shows how weapons were improved from simple to complex, which is important in terms of demonstrating the evolution of handicraft production," said Ahmadov. The exposition consists not only of exhibits stored in the museum. It also includes samples from Yusif Bagirzada's personal collection. In his remarks, the collector Yusif Bagirzada expressed his sincere gratitude to the museum's management and staff for organizing the exhibition and stressed the importance of organizing such expositions. The exhibition demonstrates the development of weapon-smithing, its history, art, and technology. There were excellent weapon smiths in Azerbaijan. My personal collection includes weapons of Azerbaijani craftsmen because it is also a part of our history. All the weapons are divided into two categories - ceremonial, which is used at any events, and military weapons," Bagirzada said. The exhibition "Mystical beauty of weapons" will run until September 15. The BisMan Community Food Co-op has received a $200,000 federal grant that will get more local food into schools and also help shore up the cooperative's finances. The Healthy Food Financing Initiative through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development agency provides support for projects that improve access to fresh, healthy foods in underserved areas. The co-op will use the grant to expand Bismarck Public School's Farm to School initiative, which partners with local farmers who provide fresh produce for district schools. Co-op General Manager Shirley Reese was at a conference in South Dakota when she heard about the grant from her produce manager. She said it's a great step for the co-op. Reese said she was inspired to apply for the grant after having conversations with Claire Lowstuter, the local foods coordinator at Bismarck Parks and Recreation, and Michelle Wagner, Bismarck Public School's child nutrition director. "One of the challenges they found was they didnt have enough staff to be processing food," Reese said. "When produce comes from the farmer, it's not been cut, diced or sliced because a farmer cannot sell it if it is. The farmer would have to have a licensed, inspected kitchen in order to process anything. So when I found out that that was a need, I thought, 'The co-op could meet that need if I can get the money for it.'" Reese said the grant money can only be used for costs relating to the Farm to School program. The co-op plans to purchase an additional cooler, processing and storage equipment for its facility on East Sweet Avenue in Bismarck, along with a refrigerated vehicle for deliveries. It also plans to hire two more full-time employees. The funds have to be used within a year of receiving the grant, Reese said. The plan is to set up the program so that it is sustainable and profitable for the co-op and the farmers. The co-op plans to reach out to other nearby school districts that might be interested in joining the program. Reese said officials hope to eventually extend the program to include rural schools and communities that do not have grocery stores. "Community is always a big part of what a co-op should be," Reese said. "This is not just about the community that we have right here, but building the fresh food community in our whole state." Producers who utilize greenhouses, such as Larry's Hydro Lettuce, can provide food throughout the school year, Reese said. She added that farmers who already have contracts with BPS will not be negatively affected. If anything, she said, the program's extension would give those farmers more opportunities to sell their product. Reese said pricing still needs to be negotiated between farmers, BPS and the co-op but that officials plan to role out the program this fall. "One thing that is so cool with this grant is it's not a risk for us to try this program," Reese said. "As a business, it's not a strain on our budget and on our payroll. So that gives us the time to really work out the kinks and make this something that is going to be really beneficial." Reese said the program is a bright note in what has otherwise been another challenging year for the co-op. The increase of fuel prices and cost of goods has led to higher prices at the co-op, which Reese said discourages buyers. "Every store in town is raising prices and we have to do the same," she said. "It is really hard for the consumer because they are saying, 'Oh my word, I haven't gotten a raise but I still have to feed my family.' So they have to be picky about where they're buying food and we totally understand that, but we still have to make a margin." Staffing shortages over the past year have been "insurmountable," Reese said. Employees at times were putting in more than 50 hours a week, and Reese was almost working full time in the deli section. The co-op now closes an hour earlier and is no longer open on Sundays. Reese said the co-op recently hired more people, bringing their total number of employees to 21, but will wait before extending its operating hours again. Despite the hurdles, Reese said, the co-op has great anticipation for what's to come. The co-op's total debt load between member owner loans and commercial loans a year ago was around $1.5 million. Reese said overall debt has remained the same but a $200,000 COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan the co-op received has made the financial situation less stressful. She added that the Farm to School program will be another needed source of revenue for the co-op. The co-op is close to meeting a yearlong goal of adding two new vendors each month and also has recently started a food basket program that sells a $40 weekly crate of local produce valued at $50. Looking ahead, Reese said the co-op hopes to finish fundraising for a match program that will provide SNAP buyers one dollar toward certain products for every dollar they spend in the co-op. The federal SNAP -- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program -- helps low-income people with food purchases. The co-op also plans to apply for membership in a business services cooperative, which would strengthen its purchasing power, and it's going to renegotiate terms of a major commercial loan. "Were excited because were moving forward, doing great things and not being worried about how bills are going to get paid," Reese said. "All of that has given us a look at a future that is very hopeful and very bright. We see revenues increasing, we see our farmers thriving and we see ourselves being a big part of keeping fresh food flowing in our state from within our state. What we dont see is the co-op ending anytime soon." Reach Alex Kautzman at 701-250-8255 or alexandra.kautzman@bismarcktribune.com. Love 4 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 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. Residents of a Bismarck mobile home were displaced Wednesday after a fire in the 700 block of South 12th Street, the Bismarck Fire Department said. No one was hurt in the fire that was reported shortly before noon Wednesday. The blaze caused heavy fire and smoke damage throughout the mobile home. Crisis Care Chaplaincy and the American Red Cross are providing assistance to the residents. Key players connected to a $1.8 million construction cost overrun on a building leased by the North Dakota Attorney General's Office dispute when top officials were made aware of the project's overages and whether they properly handled the matter. Former Chief Deputy Attorney General Troy Seibel told the Tribune on Wednesday that there was nothing improper or done incorrectly in regard to the building leased in south Bismarck to house the state crime bureau, fire marshal and lottery offices. Attorney General Drew Wrigley told lawmakers on Tuesday that his late predecessor Wayne Stenehjem and Seibel were told of the issue in January 2021 but didn't inform budget staff until June 2021. The issue predates Wrigley's tenure. Seibel attributed the overage to unforeseen material costs due to supply shortages, and said he notified the attorney general's finance department as soon as he learned of the issue in spring 2021. "I'm at a loss as to this idea that Wayne and I knew about this for months and never said anything to anybody, including our finance department," Seibel said. Brought to light Wrigley took office Feb. 9 upon Gov. Doug Burgum's appointment of him to fill the remaining months of the term of Stenehjem, who died Jan. 28 at age 68 from cardiac arrest. Seibel resigned in March when Wrigley told him he intended to appoint a new deputy. Wrigley must win election in November to continue serving beyond this year. Wrigley said he learned of the cost overrun in March and moved immediately to address it, gathering documentation and meeting with the state auditor. Wrigley said the Attorney General's Office in July 2021 paid $1.4 million from its previous budget to cover much of the overrun, and is now making monthly payments to cover the remainder, tapping salaries of vacant positions and holding back on certain budget items. About $300,000 remains to be paid off. The building is at 1720 Burlington Drive. Bismarck-based Stealth Properties LLC owns it. Former chief deputy Seibel said the plan for the building was to consolidate divisions of the Attorney General's Office in one location rather than have the three spread across north Bismarck. He was a point of contact on the project and said he kept up to date on costs until the property developer informed him of the overrun but couldn't immediately provide the amount. Seibel said he later learned the total cost overrun in May or June 2021 -- "the first I learned of it" -- and immediately notified the office budget director. "There was at no point did I or Wayne have this information and just sit on it," Seibel said. The office used $1.4 million from its previous budget, and rolled the remaining $400,000 into a new rental rate of the lease. Change orders for a garage and a reconfigured heating, ventilation and air conditioning unit affected costs, according to Seibel. He said he was never aware of additional footings or redundant cabling for the building that Wrigley said contributed to the cost overrun. The 2021 legislative session was over by the time he had learned of the cost overrun, "and it was something that we could handle within both our '19-'21 budget and our '21-'23 budget, so from a fiscal perspective, there really wasn't a need," Seibel said. He and Stenehjem discussed the project "at least a couple of times during the session at our budget hearings," but didn't know about the cost overrun then, he said. The office also disclosed the expenditures in its end-of-biennium reports, he added. Seibel said he doesn't know why Wrigley is raising the issue now. Wrigley said he did so to be transparent and because it's possible his office might have to ask the 2023 Legislature to help cover the overage. Top Democratic lawmakers blasted the overrun on Tuesday after Wrigley brought it to light. House Minority Leader Josh Boschee, in a statement referring to "the highest ranking attorney and his deputy," said, "We need to understand their motivations to fleece the public." Seibel said, "The idea that it was something that we just did in the cover of darkness I just do not think is accurate." Property manager The Legislature's Budget Section on Tuesday directed two interim committees to probe the issue after Wrigley spoke to the group. The Legislative Audit & Fiscal Review Committee met Wednesday and voted unanimously to direct State Auditor Josh Gallion to work with the Attorney General's Office to gather and review documentation and other information related to the lease agreement and remodeling and construction of the building, and report back in September. The audit panel heard from Parkway Property Management Owner C.J. Schorsch, who said plans for the building "got bigger and bigger as it went along" with added shop space -- a "build-to-suit" punctuated by coronavirus pandemic delays, overages and change orders. The original lease was signed without an additional shop space, which was an extra nearly 1,800 square feet, a "pretty substantial building cost to add those extra footings in there," he said. "The remodel cost went up with the price of doors and everything else during the construction phase, during when COVID started there and the delays for that got it way more excessive than when we started," Schorsch told lawmakers. The shop and overages on electrical wiring and requirements of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including bullet-proofing, were outside of the original plans, according to Schorsch. "Those were all change orders on the fly," he said. The Attorney General's Office was aware of the overages in January 2021, according to Schorsch. The original lease bid was for $3.7 million, and it went to more than $5.5 million, he said. Committee members cited the Budget Section process and wondered how the project unfolded as it did. Rep. Mike Nathe, R-Bismarck, said, "It's obvious the proper procedures were not followed when they had these cost overruns or when they were looking to expand it to do this." Facilities management State Facilities Management Director John Boyle, who signs all state leases, said he learned of the situation in August 2021. Division directors of the AG's office worked with Schorsch on change orders and additions, "but there was no one really there to kind of tie everything together, especially with any construction management experience," Boyle said. The issue could have had "a lot more transparency" had the Legislature's Budget Section been involved earlier, according to Boyle. His office is working with the Legislature's interim Government Administration Committee on the situation. Once a lease is signed, "then it's so decentralized, I'm out of it," Boyle said. The Attorney General's Office did not ask Facilities Management for assistance, he said. "An agency can basically make those decisions on their own the way it's set up now. They don't have to ask us for any assistance, but we're available to help in any way possible," Boyle said. Sen. Judy Lee, R-West Fargo, said, "I don't think anybody was trying to cheat. I think it just evolved ... If everybody is following all the rules, it shouldn't be onerous but it does need to be disciplined." Reach Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. North Dakota's top state budget official is retiring, but will stay on part time through the legislative session next year. Office of Management and Budget Director Joe Morrissette's retirement is effective Aug. 31, Gov. Doug Burgum announced Thursday. Burgum appointed Morrissette to the Cabinet job in 2018. Morrissette was previously deputy tax commissioner, and he has served nearly 30 years in state government, including as a fiscal analyst with OMB and the Legislative Council. From improving transparency in state government, to developing the executive proposal for over $1 billion in federal American Rescue Plan Act investments, Joe has been a champion for conservative fiscal management, driven by strategic planning, and helped ensure North Dakota was well-positioned for growth," the governor said in a statement. Morrissette said, "Like so many who have worked in a position that they love, it is difficult to leave; however, I have the utmost confidence that the OMB team will continue to fulfill our mission without disruption. The position will be posted in early 2023. Morrissette will serve as part-time OMB director through the 2023 legislative session. The governor's office said additional staff resources will be found to support the transition. The Legislature will have new chairs of the House and Senate appropriations committees, meaning new hands will guide budget writing. Morrissette's departure creates more turnover in Burgum's Cabinet. Since the start of 2021, the governor has appointed new leaders for the Health Department, Corrections and Rehabilitation, Game and Fish, Parks and Recreation, and Indian Affairs. Commerce Commissioner James Leiman resigned this month to take a position with a global think tank but will continue working for the state part time to help with economic development projects. Reach Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our 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 Supreme Court's overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision has triggered a 2017 law banning abortion in North Dakota. But the impacts after the law takes effect July 28 are anything but certain. Some women are fearing what's next. Will Minnesota -- where abortion will remain legal -- have the capacity to serve North Dakota residents while also seeing patients from South Dakota and potentially other states? North Dakota law provides exceptions for victims of sexual assault or incest. But soon the state will not have an abortion provider, so those victims will have to leave the state to access services. What if the woman does not want to report the sexual assault, or is not ready to? And will victims of sexual assault who choose abortion be believed? The other exception is for cases in which an abortion was "necessary in professional judgment and was intended to prevent the death of the pregnant female." How will physicians interpret that provision? Will concerns about a hospital's liability affect professional judgment? It's also unclear how the law, which makes performing an abortion a Class C felony, will be prosecuted. One impact that's certain is that North Dakota will cease to have an abortion clinic. The Red River Womens Clinic in Fargo is the only abortion provider in the state. Owner Tammi Kromenaker knew it was likely the court would rule against abortion, and she has been planning to move the clinic across the river to Moorhead, Minnesota. Moving to Moorhead adds little distance for North Dakotans to travel to the clinic. The majority of out-of-state patients come from South Dakota and Minnesota, again adding no or little travel time. Kromenaker was worried about the cost of moving the clinic and created a GoFundMe page to raise funds. The page was created Friday with a goal of $20,000. By Wednesday afternoon it had raised nearly $820,000 and had a new goal of $1 million. That indicates support for the right for an abortion. In 2020 there were 1,171 abortions performed in North Dakota, according to the state Health Department. Of that number, 883 were North Dakotans and 338 were from out of state. Abortion opponents will consider those numbers high, but in comparison to many states they are not. There likely will be efforts to prevent North Dakotans from traveling out of state to get abortions. The Tribune editorial board believes it would be a mistake for the Legislature to pass laws to pursue and punish women for going elsewhere for abortions. Women seeking abortions are facing difficult decisions that can lead to trauma. They dont need the additional burden of the state chasing them and threatening them with punishment. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has promised to create a firewall to protect women from other states. How effective his firewall will be is another uncertainty. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 The single most important factor in maintaining or growing wildlife populations -- ducks, deer, pheasants, you name it -- is habitat. If youd like more deer tags available, more pheasants in the field or ducks in flight, habitat is where the conversation begins. Often, we connect habitat to the Conservation Reserve Program and for good reason. CRP acres have been a key component of habitat for 35 years. Its easy to say, We just need more CRP. While thats not incorrect, creating more habitat and CRP isnt as simple. Studies have shown that CRP contributed to a 22% increase in counts of ring-necked pheasants for every 4% increase in CRP-enrolled acres. Between 1992 and 1997, CRP in the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota, South Dakota and northeastern Montana contributed to a 30% improvement in duck production, or 10.5 million additional ducks. A central North Dakota deer study concluded that fawns select bed sites consisting of native grasslands and CRP more than 70% of the time. The study also concluded that continued loss of native grasslands and CRP will reduce available vegetation for fawn bed site selection during the first 60 days of life. Proving the point on how stronger habitat via CRP improves wildlife populations. But getting there is expensive, to say the least. At its peak of 3.4 million acres in 2007, annual payments to landowners for the Conservation Reserve Program in North Dakota totaled over $120 million. For comparison, the state Game and Fish Departments Private Land Open To Sportsmen annual budget is about $6 million. Currently, about 1.2 million acres remain in CRP. If all remaining CRP contracts in North Dakota are left to expire, and no new acres are enrolled over the next five years, the state will only have 500,000 acres of CRP on the opening day of pheasant season in 2026. High commodity prices, increasingly complex program requirements, changing demographics and other factors are leading more producers to opt out of CRP than to enroll in CRP. This is occurring nationally. Federal Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently commented that only 1.8 million of the 4 million expiring CRP acres will be reenrolled. The balance for Game and Fish is remaining a competitive financial option for landowners while balancing with the production agriculture needs. In simple terms, our philosophy is not expecting landowners to absorb a loss, with a goal of not increasing rental rate competition. We cant expect a conservation landowner program to only be an option for those who can afford a loss without incurring increased costs to local rental rates. The continued downward trend in CRP acres and loss of native grasslands will significantly impact soil health, water quality and wildlife habitat. Wildlife habitat is no more important than any of the other facets, but Game and Fish continues to prioritize short- and long-term habitat for the maintenance and growth of wildlife populations. The challenge continues in a never-ending balance of grasslands and production agriculture. Id encourage any landowner interested to ask a Game and Fish private land biologist or inquire with the local Natural Resources Conservation Service office as programs, eligibility and rental rates continue to evolve. New programs are added and priorities shift. Why not inquire? Doug Leier is a biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A wounded Vladimir Putin lashed out at the world leaders who poked fun of his 2009 photo in which he posed on his horsey without a shirt. During a meeting in Turkmenistan this morning, he said western leaders would look "disgusting" if they pulled the same stunt. The disgruntled dictator was referring to the wisecracks made by Boris Johnson, who asked before posing for a group photo at the G7 summit last weekend whether or not he and other world leaders should take off their shirts. "We all have to show that we're tougher than Putin," Johnson joked. To which Justin Trudeau replied, "We're going to get the bare-chested horseback riding display." "We've got to show them our pecs!" Johnson yukked back. So Putin, defending his own honor (and pecs), told a reporter this morning that "unlike him, Western leaders abuse alcohol and don't do sports," according to AP. "I don't know how they wanted to get undressed, above or below the waist," the laughingstock said. "But I think it would be a disgusting sight in any case." So there! Why would a corrupt Ukrainian oligarch want to make illegal contributions to US politicians, including House minority leader Kevin McCarthy? The GOP doesn't seem to care who Lev Parnas paid as long as the money flowed in. Besides, Parnas was a close associate of America's Mayor Rudy Giuliani, working closely with him to try to smear Hunter Biden, which cemented his reputation as being above reproach. Yesterday, U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken sentenced Parnas to a scant 20 months in federal prison for running a fraudulent. He also fined him $2.3 million, chump change for the corrupt tycoon. His lawyer says Parnas has been working lately as a nighttime DoorDash delivery person. From Washington Post: Oetken ordered Parnas, who pocketed at least $2 million from the fraud scheme,to pay $2.3 million in restitution. It is unclear if he will be able to do so. Defense lawyer Joseph Bondy said at the sentencing that Parnas who appeared in court with his wife and infant daughter has "most recently" been working as a nighttime DoorDash delivery person. Bondy asked Oetken to treat his client with leniency because he complied with congressional subpoenas, but the judge declined to do so. "What's exceptional is that other people refused to comply," he said. From CNN: The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has finalized their plan to return "Bruce's Beach" to the descendants of the Bruce family, from whom it was wrongfully eminent domained over a century ago. For the next two years, the family will be paid slightly over $400k/year in rent for the park, with the county maintaining a right to buy the property back for $20M. This action may lead the way for a number of wrongs to be righted, at least partially. I am sure $20.8M is fantastic, but I think the lost value over 100 years of a beach resort in Southern California far exceeds this compensation. LA Times: A slew of anchovies are turning up on sidewalks, streets, and trails around San Francisco this week. While "fish falls" are usually the result of waterspouts that pick them up from nearby bodies of water and drop them them elsewhere, but in this case, seagulls and pelicans are to blame. Apparently an explosion of the anchovy population in the San Francisco Bay has resulted in a massive feast for the sea birds. Sometimes, they collect more fish than they can carry and drop them as they fly over land. From SFGate: Reddit user sanfrannie posted earlier this month that about a dozen 8-inch silver fish "rained down from the sky" onto their friend's roof and back deck in the Outer Richmond. Several other users commented with similar experiences one person said they "heard a whoosh sound behind me and heard a massive splat" before seeing fish scattered on a nearby driveway. Another commented that they "almost got hit by a fish waiting for a bus" in the Castro, and a third person said they assumed "a band of roving kids were doing a Tik Tok sardine-throwing challenge on a roof somewhere" after seeing several fish fall onto an Outer Richmond sidewalk[] "From Half Moon Bay to Point Reyes, people are telling me they've never seen bait this thick," said Larry Collins, president of the San Francisco Community Fishing Association. "I heard stories just last week from guys who said that the water out there was just covered with thousands of birds, and the birds were just sitting on the water with anchovies in their mouths because they can't eat anymore." Of course, fish falls were a favorite topic in the books of Charles Fort (1874-1932), "collector" of anomalous phenomena who greatly influenced my own appreciation for high weirdness. Hong Kong: President's wife tours Xiqu Centre President Xi Jinping's wife Peng Liyuan today visited the Xiqu Centre of the West Kowloon Cultural District, where she chatted to young actors, members of a performance troupe and volunteers. Accompanied by Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Deputy Director Lu Xinning, the President's wife was briefed on the cultural district's planning and latest developments as well as the centre's work in preserving and promoting Cantonese opera and traditional Chinese theatre. With the central government's support, Cantonese opera was successfully inscribed onto the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009 as a world intangible cultural heritage (ICH) item. The Hong Kong SAR Government has been in collaboration with the community in the protection, transmission and promotion of Cantonese opera and other ICH items. The President's wife then watched a rehearsal of Cantonese opera excerpts by the Tea House Rising Stars Troupe at the centre's Tea House and another rehearsal of the Hong Kong Gaudeamus Dunhuang Ensemble at the studio. She also spoke to the actors and performance troupe members. She then toured the "A Thousand Faces: Cantonese Opera Legend Yau Sing-po" exhibition and met four young volunteers who were assigned to intern at the Palace Museum under the Hong Kong SAR Government's Thematic Youth Internship Programmes to the Mainland. The volunteers shared with her their valuable internship experiences in the Mainland. Before concluding the visit, the President's wife presented a collection of traditional Chinese theatre libretti as a gift for the centre. The compilation of the collection was initiated by the late well-known literary historian Zheng Zhenduo and took several decades to complete. It has important historical and artistic value and represents a major achievement in safeguarding the national cultural heritage of traditional Chinese theatre. This story has been published on: 2022-06-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. By Azernews By Laman Ismayilova Patchwork is beautiful and easy. For beginners, this type of needlework is fraught with a lot of difficulties. With time, patchwork turns into an exciting art activity. Traditional patchwork products include rugs, blankets, bedspreads, and pillowcases. Khalida Nasirova is one of the few artists, who continue this artistic tradition today. Most of her work consists of various bedspreads, pillowcases, decorative tablecloths, mosaic panels, as well as arakchins (skullcaps), vests, and souvenir mutakas (small pillows) made in the technique of patchwork. The artist's personal exhibition has recently opened at the National Carpet Museum under the name "Patchwork World of Khalida Nasirova", Azernews reports, citing the Carpet Museum. Director of the National Carpet Museum, Honored Cultural Worker Shirin Malikova addressed the event. In her remarks, Shirin Malikova noted that the Carpet Museum presents a retrospective exhibition of the patchwork artist Khalida Nasirova. She provided insight into the artist's creativity. Khalida Nasirova dedicated her first work "My Friends" (1990) to the January 20, 1990 tragedy. This composition was created from 3,330 pieces of fabric. Her art pieces "Eurovision 2012", "Secrets of the Old City" made of more than 100 ties, "Call for Help", calling on people to protect ancient monuments, and many other works reflect her inherent artistic research. The Carpet Museum director briefed visitors about the patchwork. "The Museum of different countries keeps collections of patchwork samples. The Carpet Museum also stores samples of patchworks dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Our museum continues to replenish its collection of patchworks. A few months ago one of the patchworks was presented as a gift to the museum. It is wonderful that even today this art lives on, and the craftswomen continue to create beautiful artworks," said Malikova. Director of the Icharisheher Museum Center, Honored Cultural Worker Amina Malikova informed art lovers about gurama. Gurama is a patchwork where a single piece is sewn from pieces of fabric according to the principle of a mosaic. This is free art, without any canons, or rules. "In 2020, the Patchwork Center was opened for the first time at the Gala State Historical and Ethnographic Reserve. In the Patchwork Center, the craftswomen from Gala village create products in patchwork technique, said Amina Malikova. Since ancient times it has been very popular in Azerbaijan. It was very common until the beginning of the twentieth century. Now simple and uncomplicated geometric patterns are replaced by more and more complex combinations of colors and shapes. Gurama art served a wide variety of purposes. The Ethnographic Fund of the Azerbaijan History Museum keeps more than 100 examples of gurama art dating back to the 19th - early 20th centuries. Farida Mustafayeva, a biologist by education, noted that Khalida Nasirova taught her the patchwork technique. "I have always been proud of Khalida Nasirova. It was she who instilled in me a love for this art technique, taught me everything. I have been making patchworks for almost twenty years. As an artist, Khalida Nasirova perfectly blends antiquity and modernity in her art," said Mustafayeva. Meanwhile, lectures, workshops on patchwork, and thematic excursions will be organized within the framework of the exhibition. The exposition will last until September 10, 2022. A request by the developers of Elmwood Crossing to amend the original planned-unit development regulation that governs the zoning for the $150 million project is being met with heightened scrutiny and concern from neighborhood residents, who worry that it could open the door for future construction and expansion on the site that is far in excess of what the current proposals entail. Sign up for the Buffalo Next free newsletter The News' Buffalo Next team covers the changing Buffalo Niagara economy. Get the news in your inbox 5 days a week. Ellicott Development Co. and Sinatra & Company Real Estate are seeking to change the terms of the PUD that was approved several years ago for their planned reuse of the former Women's and Children's Hospital of Buffalo campus in the Elmwood Village. They abandoned specific proposals for a large grocery store and a boutique hotel, changed for-sale townhomes to rentals and agreed to keep a West Utica house intact while creating greenspace around it. The redevelopment including new construction and adaptive reuse of the old hospital towers and adjacent buildings now calls for more than 240 apartments, 27 condominiums, 50 townhouses, a day care, boutique shops and offices spread over locations on three streets. So the developers said they no longer needed some of the original waivers that they are now dropping, but also sought other changes to simplify their project and ensure flexibility. Attorney Marc Romanowski said the firms were also seeking to settle a lawsuit that had been filed two years ago by Elmwood Village residents seeking to overturn the original PUD. Elmwood Village residents, particularly those closest to the project site, say theyre not concerned as much with the specific current building proposals of the two developers as they are with the broadly written terms of the amended PUD, and what could happen in the future. They say the proposed new regulation would permanently exempt all of Elmwood Crossing from the Green Codes height, site coverage, setback and other provisions for that neighborhood. Elmwood Crossing project drops boutique hotel in favor of more apartments Developers Nick Sinatra and William Paladino have made another change in their plans for the conversion of the former Women's and Children's Hospital of Buffalo into Elmwood Crossing, dropping a proposed 75-room boutique hotel on four floors of one of the towers because the hospitality market has been so battered by the pandemic. Specifically, they note that the new terms would allow for the entire site to be paved over and built up, with mixed-use buildings of up to four stories or 60 feet tall anywhere on the campus, and rear setbacks of as little as 1 foot even next to historic homes. The developers also want a waiver of lot size, so they can combine or break up lots as needed "to make them as large as they need to or as small as the minimum" of 30 feet. And where such terms might previously have been written for specific parcels such as a former drugstore property on West Utica Street they would now apply as bulk exemptions for the entire site. Many neighbors and Elmwood Village residents say they support the redevelopment of the hospital campus as proposed by Sinatra and Ellicott. But they worry that if Sinatra and Ellicott were to sell part of the property, a new developer could build up the neighborhood much more adding floors to the Alfiero Building, converting the EduKids daycare to a four-story building or filling in the current hospital entry with a new four-story building. This is meant to protect the city and neighborhood for the long-term. Its not meant to be obstructionist, said Bill Smeltz, who lives on Hodge Avenue and who spoke on behalf of many other Hodge residents and project neighbors. Its easier to have a blanket thing. But the blanket thing just opens up a pattern for abuse. The developers did agree to clarify that the waiver for first-floor and overall retail space would now apply only to existing buildings, to redevelop the large floorplates of the former hospital tower, but not for any new construction. The Planning Board recommended approval of the revisions by the Common Council, which will hold a public hearing on the request on July 5. Buffalo Next Must-read local business coverage that exposes the trends, connects the dots and contextualizes the impact to Buffalo's economy. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. WNY urgent care providers making moves Let's play some health care-themed musical chairs. First, meet the participants: the well-known Western New York Immediate Care, and the new entrant Focus Urgent Care. Both are, quite literally, making moves. Sign up for the Buffalo Next free newsletter The News' Buffalo Next team covers the changing Buffalo Niagara economy. Get the news in your inbox 5 days a week. WNY Immediate Care has opened or is in the process of opening four new sites to replace its previous five Erie County locations. Focus Urgent Care, meanwhile, has opened or will open soon in four of the sites that WNY Immediate Care has vacated. So what's going on here? Let's dive in with a look at each company. WNY Immediate Care WNY Immediate Care, founded in 2005 by local emergency medicine physicians and now part of Knoxville, Tenn.-based TeamHealth, a national health care management organization, said it moved its urgent care centers to locations "that are more convenient for our patients." The four new sites are in retail plazas, which community relations coordinator Rachel Libra said provide better traffic access, plentiful parking and central locations. Here's a summary of the company's moves: It has opened its new location at 6375 Transit Road in Depew, replacing its previous site 3 miles away at 5014 Transit Road in Cheektowaga. Its new site at 3346 Southwestern Blvd. in Orchard Park also is open, replacing its prior location 1 mile away at 3050 Orchard Park Road. WNY Immediate Care's new Amherst location opened June 27 at 4988 Harlem Road. Its prior site was about 4 miles away at 2099 Niagara Falls Blvd. Lastly, it will open its new Buffalo site at 2228 Delaware Ave. on July 4, replacing its prior site a half-mile away at 2497 Delaware Ave. Until the permanent site is ready, WNY Immediate Care has a temporary location at 2290 Delaware Ave. It closed and did not replace its 7616 Transit Road site in Amherst. Why all the moves? Libra said the company's leases were expiring, which gave it the "opportunity to find spaces that were more accommodating to providing urgent care services with improved patient flow." She said the company made a "substantial investment" in the four new sites. WNY Immediate Care, which has 150 employees and clinicians, also could grow its footprint in the years ahead. "We are open to exploring strategic areas of growth that will allow us to serve additional urban and rural communities," Libra said. Focus Urgent Care Focus Urgent Care was just formed in February, according to state records. While the entity is new, the name behind it is not. Focus Urgent Care's website lists its CEO as Dr. Greg Daniel, who also leads real estate development company Nidus Development, headquartered in Amherst. Daniel also knows a thing or two about the medical field. Daniel was CEO of The Exigence Group, which included WNY Immediate Care, until Exigence was sold to TeamHealth in 2012. And the five prior WNY Immediate Care buildings are all listed under the projects tab on Nidus Development's website, noting the sites were outfitted for the urgent care operator. Now, Focus Urgent Care, according to its website, has already opened in three former WNY Immediate Care sites: 2497 Delaware Ave. in Buffalo, 5014 Transit Road in Cheektowaga and 7616 Transit Road in Amherst, the last of which just opened June 27. Its fourth location at 2099 Niagara Falls Blvd. in Amherst also a former WNY Immediate Care site will open July 11, according to its website. Daniel did not return calls seeking comment. Property records show the four Focus Urgent Care buildings have been owned for more than a decade by entities that trace back to 2150 Wehrle Drive, Suite 400, in Amherst the corporate headquarters of Daniel's Nidus Development. The ever-growing urgent care market The nation's urgent care centers were flooded with visits at times over the last couple years of the Covid-19 pandemic, as patients sought to avoid crowded hospital emergency rooms. In fact, visit volume hit an all-time peak in January when a typical urgent care clinic saw an average of 70 visits per day during the omicron surge, according to electronic health records firm Experity. That has now stabilized to an average of 35 daily visits, which Experity says is in line with historical benchmarks. WNY Immediate Care says it sees demand for "convenient, quick quality care" all year round. Right now, its sites are busy handling the traditional summer illnesses and injuries, such as allergies, respiratory viruses, skin conditions, broken bones, muscle strains, swimmers' ear and dehydration. As for just how prevalent urgent care centers have become? The Urgent Care Association TeamHealth Ambulatory Care President Dr. Joseph Chow is on the board of directors now has more than 10,000 members. An industry report that found nearly 79% of the U.S. population is within a 10-minute drive of an urgent care center. Make that a 10-minute walk in some neighborhoods, such as in North Buffalo where Focus Urgent Care recently opened and where WNY Immediate Care is putting the finishing touches on its new site near Kohl's. And just around the corner from WNY Immediate Care's new site is the Elmwood Avenue location of major player WellNow Urgent Care, which has 60-plus clinics in New York. In this ever-growing market, guess we'll see where everyone is when the music stops. Welcome to Buffalo Next. This newsletter from The Buffalo News will bring you the latest coverage on the changing Buffalo Niagara economy from real estate to health care to startups. Read more at BuffaloNext.com. THE LATEST Catch up on the latest news from Buffalo Next: The development firm owned by Carl and William Paladino is hoping to create 300 to 400 units of affordable housing in the city in the next couple of years a significant increase compared to the limited holdings it now has in that arena, said William Paladino, the company's CEO. William Harvey Jr. is bringing a steady hand to Northwest Bank as its interim leader, after the company's CEO died unexpectedly in late May. The Pennsylvania-based company has 22 local branches. The Erie County Legislature voted 8-3 to approve SUNY Erie Community Colleges proposed $98.6 million 2022-23 budget Thursday, but even legislators who voted for it pledged to play a watchdog role in the spending of the money and implementation of needed cost-cutting measures. The Cannabis Control Board unanimously approved opening the application process, starting June 28, for those entities and individuals seeking a conditional adult-use cannabis processor license. Processors are the link between the farmers growing the products and the business owners who will sell them. The Buffalo Niagara region's shrinking unemployment rate got even smaller in May as the jobless rate dipped to 3.4%, the lowest on record for the region in state Labor Department data going back to 1990. As part of a turnaround plan, Buffalo biopharmaceutical company Athenex Inc. has agreed to an $85 million sale of its revenues from U.S. and European royalty and milestone interests in a medicine treating actinic keratosis on the skin. ICYMI Five reads from Buffalo Next: 1. How community developers can build up neighborhoods: With the support of SAA-EVI, and investments from two national nonprofits, Valery launched a national initiative and a $6.5 million private-equity fund to cultivate new neighborhood developers who are female, Black or brown. 2. Jeff Gingerich will become the first non-Catholic to lead St. Bonaventure University: Growing up Mennonite on an Iowa farm living simply and serving the marginalized set the stage for his career in education and role as the 22nd president at the nation's oldest Franciscan college. 3. Companies large and small are taking a harder look at how much office space they need: Many employees prefer working remotely, and are doing so productively, which can leave employers paying for a lot of leased space sitting empty. 4. The gasoline tax suspension provided only fleeting relief from soaring prices that now are approaching $5 a gallon: It has drivers changing their habits, skipping road trips that they would otherwise be taking and looking for different ways to save. 5. New Western New York tech boot camp: 'A shining example of the power of diversity': Buffalo's Tech Academy Data Analytics Bootcamp, the first of its kind in Western New York, has its first graduates. The initiative aims to build a tech workforce that represents the area's diversity and fills the needs of local companies. The Buffalo Next team gives you the big picture on the regions economic revitalization. Email tips to buffalonext@buffnews.com or reach Buffalo Next Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up to get the latest in your inbox five days a week. Email tips to buffalonext@buffnews.com. Buffalo Next Must-read local business coverage that exposes the trends, connects the dots and contextualizes the impact to Buffalo's economy. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. I was just like everybody else. I loved Frank Capra's "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" the first couple times I saw it. I was a teenager at the time. And along with almost everyone else who has seen the classic film, I was bowled over by Jimmy Stewart's performance as newly appointed Junior Senator Jefferson Smith. For those who've never seen the film, Smith's Western state appoints him its junior senator when the original electee dies. Jeff Smith then becomes the fellow whose soul-piercing, exhausting filibuster in the Senate blocks the corrupt land grabbers in his state from having their greedy way. That filibuster is one of the great sequences in American movies. We watch as Stewart keeps going virtually alone against his colleagues in the U.S. Senate (who are, at best, amused by his presumptions as the new kid on the block) and unsupported at home too. Because of that plotline, so many of us grew up to think of Senate filibusters as great and heroic political acts. I didn't yet know that the record for the longest senate filibuster was set by Sen. Strom Thurmond's bloviations against civil rights legislation. Another fellow partial to the filibuster is Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who, it's often said, isn't even all that beloved in his home state much less by those in New York State. My trouble with Frank Capra films even from the beginning is that I often have perverse moments watching what's been called "Capra-corn" when a still, small voice back in my head will cackle sarcastically when Capra's outlay of sentimentality and sanctimony threatens to drown us all in ignorance and ignominy. At some point early on it flashingly occurred to me that martyred junior senator Jeff Smith might have served his large Western state better if he had located his long-promised camp elsewhere and let the dam be built where his state's big shots wanted led by the senior senator played by Claude Rains and the immortally villainous Edward Arnold, one of classic era moviedom's men you love to hate. Which is more important to the world, a dam that brings previous water to vast expanses of water-deprived Western states or a boy's scout camp? (They're called "Boy Rangers" in the film because when scripts first were sent around, the real Boy Scouts wanted nothing to do with it; until it became an Oscar-cadging smash hit, people avoided it right and left.) I later discovered I was far from the only one who had that subversive question. If you think THAT's perverse of me, let me tell you about one of my more embarrassing passing moments watching another Capra classic when it occurred to me watching the Christmas favorite "It's a Wonderful Life" that I'd often rather spend an evening in Jimmy Stewart's vision of how corruption might transform his hometown than in the peaceful burg where Jimmy's bank can always be counted on to support deserving people. My problem is that I've spent a good part of my life covering urban nightlife so that the sight of "painted women" as Carl Sandburg used to call them and people overserved in bars doesn't send me hiding under the nearest couch. Watching people have slightly unsavory fun at night doesn't shock or depress me. Within civilized limits, I'm more than willing to live with it. Jimmy, you'll remember, is almost willing to kill himself over it in "It's A Wonderful Life," until an apprentice angel named Clarence corrects his bad mood and Christmas friendlessness so that good cheer and Donna Reed's smile are preserved forever and ever. (I'm admitting to you here that "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" has always been one thing to me Jean Arthur and all that but I've never been a fan of "It's a Wonderful Life," no matter how predictably wonderful are the performers under Capra's direction.) It's a fact, I'm afraid, that the prevailing American movie tradition is squishy sentimentality. Yes, there is a startling, gloriously contrary tradition of tough-mindedness too, but the stuff that, in the classic era, usually won the big prizes was the sentimental stuff Billy Wilder's "The Apartment," say, rather than his "Ace in the Hole" or "Double Indemnity" or "Sunset Boulevard." When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last week I couldn't help thinking of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins' much-decried plaint that she was "misled" by nominees as a moment crying out for its own Capra movie. Obviously, her trouble was that she didn't have Jean Arthur working for her as chief of staff. Almost no one disputes that "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" is a classic American movie. What few people know is a lot of its background and history. For instance, its screenwriter Sidney Buchman subsequently was blacklisted and Capra was outed in Joseph McBride's revered Hollywood biography "Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success" as a hypocrite, credit grabber and fellow traveler of Hollywood's lesser witch-hunters. A great filmmaker to be sure, replete with rare talents but not categorically an admirable man. Softening things is the great Hollywood tradition. Making sure it all "plays in Peoria." It has convinced us that doing so even to the point of indulging its big brother Dumbing Down is for the good of us all. So when the Supreme Court nominees told Collins and her friends that Roe v. Wade was "settled law" and implied that it wasn't to be messed with, it's just another way for the Frank Capras in this world to point to the sweet, heroic fellows who want to build camps and not dams. Misdirection as a way of life. Where's the hardheaded shrewdness of Billy Wilder when you really, really need it? I am, as a mature fellow, often haunted by thoughts of my high school senior year American history teacher, renowned in that prep school for his unflappable intellectualism and collegiate indifference to the emotional travails teenage boys are so frequently given to. I remember hearing his endorsement of the Electoral College as a preservation of minority pastoral values as opposed to what some people thought the needs of "the great unwashed" in urban America. (Which is to say, one "man" one vote democracy.) That's what the land-owning slave owners wanted as an insurance policy against rampant public opinion. Our founders. It took me years to figure out that the squishy, hypocritical sentimentality of Hollywood and the Electoral College are part of the same anti-urban arrangement. I am a hopeless city boy, I'm afraid. When I was growing up, it's literally true that I knew very few country folk. There was, however, one glorious exception. That was my first cousin Lynn, whom I adored and admired to pieces. I was a few months older; she was my father's brother's daughter. They lived in Cattaraugus. She was an unmitigated delight. I was crazy about her. She was the least pastoral kid I ever knew. When we were kids, she always knew the best dirty jokes, funkiest limericks and raunchiest songs. She always had the shrewdest and most insightful takes on the latest rulings of the adults oppressing our lives. She was the exact opposite of a pastoral angel of rural America; she was a jolly and utterly hilarious appraiser of all the things people did to get away with shameless B.S. By total accident, the woman I married had also been a camper with her at a Western New York summer camp. She loved Lynn's hilarity and unsentimental raunch as much as I did. Lynn, though, became sick all too early life in life. Lupus. She wound up dying tragically young, at 39. Every time I have watched "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" I have wished I could call her and talk the movie over with her. She was one of the first people I thought of when the SCOTUS ruling came down overturning Roe v. Wade. How dearly I wanted to know what her take on all of it might have been. This much I know: It would have been shrewd and gutsy and utterly and completely inarguable. And to sheltered city boys like me, it would probably have been a complete surprise. Staying in? We've got you covered Get the recommendations on what's streaming now, games you'll love, TV news and more with our weekly Home Entertainment newsletter! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Fresh from his overwhelming victory in Tuesday's Republican primary for governor, Lee Zeldin ventured into his opponent's home turf Thursday and didn't hesitate for a second to make a bold prediction. "Kathy Hochul will lose Erie County on Nov. 8, 2022," he said of the incumbent Democratic governor during a Buffalo news conference. "I have found a whole lot of New Yorkers who know Kathy Hochul best, who are actually more upset with her than other New Yorkers who are just getting bad first impressions. "And they're loyal Democrat voters," he added of party members he met in her hometown of Hamburg. "She will end up losing that area maybe she breaks 30%." Zeldin offered his prognostication during a morning news conference at Erie County Republican Headquarters on Main Street, where he was joined by state Republican Chairman Nicholas A. Langworthy to lay out his general election campaign plan. After garnering about 48% of the Republican vote against three other opponents Tuesday, the congressman from Suffolk County continually emphasized throughout a 50-minute session that his general election themes will mirror the primary: the state's rising crime rates and what he views as its weak economy. And though Hochul had just captured a stunning 85% of Erie County's Democratic vote two days earlier, Zeldin insisted he will capture an overwhelmingly Democratic area that has been Hochul's home for almost all her life. It may prove necessary, since most political observers say a Republican needs to carry Erie County to win statewide. Zeldin says his interaction with local voters leads to his optimism. "There are a lot of Democrats in Erie County who are disenfranchised," he said. "They feel like the party has left them. "It's a very far left view of what the future of New York and America should look like," he said of a state government controlled by New York City. Zeldin spent Wednesday night at 500 Pearl for a major fundraising event as well as conducting TV interviews across the state. It followed his own landslide victory of 21 points on Tuesday over his closest competitor, just as Hochul easily dispatched two Democratic challengers. Hochul's victory remarks emphasized plans to oppose recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings loosening New York gun control laws and overturning Roe vs. Wade. But Zeldin is not budging from his major points of fighting crime/strengthening public safety, and improving the economy. "No matter how hard Kathy Hochul tried to talk about issues other than those two, the reality is they are the top two issues," he said. "We say this because New Yorkers tell us they are the top two issues." That launched Zeldin into criticizing Hochul for bills providing for cashless bail, for failing to adequately support police, the arrest and resignation of her original lieutenant governor, public schools he said are controlled by teacher unions, and the exodus from New York of people unhappy about high taxes. He also latched onto Hochul's claim that she has "evolved" on issues like gun control, moving from a top National Rifle Association rating while serving in Congress to vocal opponent of the Supreme Court decision easing New York's century-old laws governing possession of concealed weapons. "The fact is she is trying to be a different person," he said. "I'm the same person I have always been. My feet are grounded." He praised the recent court decision allowing New Yorkers to carry concealed weapons. He also said criminals released from jail under liberalized bail requirements are committing "crime after crime after crime," while claiming the state's red flag laws failed on May 14 when a man who "should not have had access to any weapon" used a military style weapon to kill 10 Black Buffalonians on Jefferson Avenue. And as he has in the past, the new nominee lambasted Hochul's deal with the Buffalo Bills committing the state to $600 million for a new stadium in Orchard Park. He said the "11th hour" agreement reached outside the view of taxpayers and even legislators required a much higher degree of transparency. "The process was horrible. It showed a lack of competency by Gov. Hochul," he said. "She should have gotten a better deal for New Yorkers. It was very irresponsible on her part." Zeldin now faces the daunting prospect of refilling his campaign coffers following an exhaustive broadcast effort against his three former challenges. He foresees a combined primary and general campaign costing between $25 million and $40 million, and believes the party will rise to the challenge. "This party has not been this united in very, very long time," he said. 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. Six vehicles have been reported stolen from East Aurora in the last two weeks, the town and village's police department confirmed. All six incidents shared one factor in common: At the time they were stolen, the cars were unlocked with the keys or key fob inside. A drunk driver pleaded guilty Wednesday in Erie County Court to aggravated vehicular homicide in an accident that claimed the life of a teenage girl, according to the Erie County District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors said 22-year-old Mkaipa M. Muya of Buffalo faces a maximum of 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on Sept. 14. He was held without bail. Muya was speeding while under the influence of alcohol on Feb. 22, 2021, when he struck a utility pole on Walden Avenue near Hoerner Avenue in Cheektowaga. The force of the collision caused the vehicle to crash into a building after it hit the pole. A 30-year-old man in the front passenger seat of Muya's vehicle was taken to Erie County Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries. A backseat passenger, 17-year-old Leena Velez, was ejected from the vehicle upon impact and later died of her injuries at ECMC. Muya was unhurt in the collision. 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. Veterans and firefighters will each have a designated day at this year's Erie County Fair where they are admitted free, as they have in the past. And individual veterans, active military and firefighters will be honored each day of the fair. But as announced earlier this year, there will be no picnics and dugouts in the infield as the fair transitions its recognition of the groups this year. Firefighter's Day will be Aug. 12, when firefighters and auxiliary members will receive free admission. Veterans Day will take place Aug. 14, with free admission to veterans, active military and auxiliary members. They also will be given a $10 voucher for food, beverage, or ride tickets for the Strates Shows Midway. In the past the groups set up tents, grills and chairs on the infield of the Buffalo Raceway track where their families often joined them. Each group also marched in a parade in front of the grandstand. The fair informed veterans and firefighters of the new procedures in March, attributing the change to consistency and safety. Some complained about the loss of the traditions, while others said they had stopped attending because of the atmosphere in the dugouts. Instead, this year the fair will recognize one firefighter of any rank, including junior firefighters, at 6 p.m. outside the Firemen's Building each of the 12 days of the fair. The fair will continue to honor a veteran or active duty military member in the daily flag retreat ceremony at 6:30 p.m. in Slade Park each evening of the fair. This is the fourth year the ceremonies will be conducted. The honorees will be chosen from nominations by the public. Nomination forms are available at ECFair.org and are due by July 20. Veterans and firefighters chosen will receive a gift, four admission passes, parking pass, Strates Shows ride card and $20 in meal tickets. Firefighters will receive a gift, and veterans will be given a flag. These firefighters will be honored for dedication, loyalty, performance, professionalism, and the impact they have on their community and fire companies," Underberg said in a press release. She also said the flag ceremony is a wonderful opportunity for fairgoers to take time to pause, reflect, and remember the men and women for their service and sacrifice. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The preliminaries are over. Now the real campaigns to elect the next governor of New York begin. After Democrat Kathy Hochul and Republican Lee Zeldin notched overwhelming victories in their party primaries Tuesday, both nominees now turn their efforts toward Nov. 3 and the general election. But both campaigns are also basking in an afterglow that includes: Hochul recorded victories in every one of New Yorks 62 counties a feat veteran Democrats say has not occurred in recent memory. The governor won big on the strength of a heathy turnout across the state one of the strongest in recent decades. Hochul cruises to victory in Democratic primary, will face Zeldin in November "I stand on the shoulders of generations of women who constantly banged up against that glass ceiling," she proclaimed. "Women of New York, this is for you!" Hochul embraced issues Democrats seemed to care about such as opposing recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that are bound to resurface in the general election. Zeldin scored about 45% of the vote against three other candidates, even as one of the unsuccessful contenders businessman Harry Wilson dropped $11 million of his own money into TV ads saturating the state. On the morning after, some of those closest to both contests were crunching Tuesdays numbers as they look how to apply lessons of the primary to what lies ahead. To state Democratic Chairman Jay S. Jacobs, the Hochul win boiled down to a basic element of her likability, a theme he hopes will continue through the fall. Simply put, its hard to beat someone people like, he said. Especially if shes doing a good job. Hochul, the first woman to win a major party nomination for New York governor and the first Buffalo Democrat since James M. Mead in 1946, will be presented as tackling tough issues with confidence. Zeldin vows feisty fight against Hochul after hard-fought Republican primary win Trailing in early returns to Andrew Giuliani son of the former New York mayor Rep. Lee Zeldin pulled into a double-digit lead once returns from Long Island were counted. The two other candidates, former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino and businessman Harry Wilson, trailed far behind. Shes not nasty, but she wont be pushed around, said Kevin McCabe, a Queens Democrat and veteran of several statewide campaigns. Amanda Hunter, executive director of the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, a nonprofit that works to advance women in politics, said the key to Hochul's success is a familiar formula. "I think that as with other women who have historically become successful as executive leaders, Kathy Hochul has a long track record of focus and hard work," she said. Hochul hit the ground running in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and other key issues, and Democratic voters in the primary noticed, Hunter added. In addition, she said Hochul probably benefited from the contrast in style between her and her predecessor, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, whose pressure tactics created a drama-filled administration even before it eventually collapsed in scandal. "Voters generally think that women leaders tend to be working to bring people to the table and work across the aisle," Hunter said. In addition, she said, Hochul was clearly prepared to be governor a fact that will benefit other women who may want to run for the office someday. The Barbara Lee Family Foundation's research has shown that when voters envision what a governor looks like, they typically envision a man, "but seeing Kathy Hochul serve as governor for a year is going to break down that kind of stereotype," Hunter said. Jacobs says the idea going forward will not differ greatly from how Hochul presented herself in the primary. She has accomplished a lot, weathered some storms, and demonstrated solid, steady, professional leadership, he said, adding she has also taken responsibility for stumbles along the way. People respect that, he said. Jacobs enters the new campaign about as confident as possible, even in a year the GOP is predicted to make substantial gains across the country. At the end of the day, he gets to 30, maybe 40%, he said of Zeldin. Zeldin, meanwhile, flew to Buffalo on Tuesday night immediately after his victory party to launch his general election campaign that featured, according to state Republican Chairman Nicholas A. Langworthy, a fundraiser at the 500 Pearl facility in downtown Buffalo. Langworthy, an early and enthusiastic Zeldin supporter, said the 21-point landslide clearly demonstrates the candidates ability to gain Republican votes. Now, the chairman said, Zeldin must translate that appeal to a statewide electorate overwhelmingly dominated by Democrats. Zeldin, he predicted, will continue emphasizing rising crime rates and peg them to the incumbent governor. Its a preview of whats to come in the fall, he said. And though Langworthy and just about every other New York political observer thinks Democrats will try to link Zeldin to an unpopular former President Donald Trump at least in New York the chairman says it wont be a successful strategy. Ask Terry McAuliffe how that worked for him, he said of last years unsuccessful Democratic candidate for governor of Virginia and his efforts to link his opponent to Trump. Theres no one I meet on the street who brings up what happened two or three years ago. They talk about how theyre going to afford to fill their gas tank. Langworthy also noted he expects his party to be united as it moves toward the fall, noting Wilson had offered his congratulations to Zeldin while the other contenders Andrew Giuliani and Rob Astorino have offered to assist in the fall campaign. News Washington Bureau Chief Jerry Zremski contributed to this report. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. WASHINGTON New York's Covid-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers which doesn't include an exemption for those with religious objections will continue in place thanks to the Supreme Court's decision on Thursday to not hear an appeal challenging the requirement. Six justices denied the appeal without comment, but three conservative justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito and Neil Gorsuch all argued that the court should hear the case and consider whether the mandate should include a religious exemption. The court decision comes as no surprise, given that the justices in December turned down an emergency request from health care workers who argued the mandate impinged upon their religious freedom. In refusing to hear the case, the Supreme Court tacitly agreed with State Attorney General Letitia James and other lawyers for the state, who argued in a brief filed with the court that there's no legal precedent mandating a religious exemption to the vaccine mandate, even though the state did establish an exemption for medical personnel who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons. "The presence of a single, limited medical exemption to a vaccine requirement does not require the state to provide a blanket religious exemption from vaccination," James and her colleagues argued. But Thomas, writing for the dissenting justices, argued that the court should take up the case because it could serve as a defining vehicle that would provide a guide for how governments could balance emergency health mandates with religious freedom. "Over the last few years, the federal government and the states have enacted a host of emergency measures to address the Covid19 pandemic. Many were not neutral toward religious exercise," Thomas noted. The case stemmed from Gov. Kathy Hochul's order in August that health workers get vaccinated against Covid-19. The order originally included medical and religious exemptions, but after the federal government gave its full, final approval to Pfizer's vaccine, the state Department of Health narrowed the medical exemption and eliminated the religious exemption. That prompted 16 unvaccinated health care workers to sue. And while a federal judge in the Northern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction restoring the religious exemption, an appeals court in New York reversed that decision. Since then, every petitioner except one has been fired, forced to resign, lost admitting privileges or been coerced into a vaccination," lawyers for the health care workers argued in documents arguing that the Supreme Court should take up the case. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. By Azernews By Laman Ismayilova Brazil's Choronas ensemble has performed a stunning concert at the International Mugham Center, Azernews reports, citing the Culture Ministry. The event was organized within a memorandum of understanding on cultural cooperation signed by the Brazilian Embassy in Azerbaijan and the International Mugham Center. Founded in 1994 by Sao Paulo, Choronas ensemble has performed on many stages around the world. The ensemble's repertoire includes classical examples of popular Brazilian music and works by modern composers. Choronas ensemble performed in Baku for the first time. Among those watching the concert program were representatives of the diplomatic corps, the head of the department of the Culture Ministry Farah Ajalova, cultural figures, and many others. Before the concert, Brazilian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Manuel Adalberto Carlos Montenegro Lopes da Cruz informed the audience about Choronas ensemble. "It was a real pleasure for us to be at the International Mugham Center with many Brazilian friends. I am proud to present the band's unique musicians tonight. Everyone who knows Brazilian music will enjoy this night. Mugham in Azerbaijan, tango in Argentina, jazz in the United States, and choro music in Brazil are at the heart of national identity. The origin of the choro genre is reflected in the traditions of Brazil. Today's concert is dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Brazil's independence and is the band's first performance in Eastern Europe," said the ambassador. That night, the Brazilian ensemble shared the same stage with Azerbaijani tar performer Ismayil Zulfugarov. He is a multiple winner of international music competitions. Famous for his r&b/electro music, the tar musician has successfully represented Azerbaijan in Turkey, France, Russia, China, and Lithuania. During live shows, he puts all his energy into each performance, making audiences burst into applause. The concert included songs "Tiko tiko no fubu", "Dono da bola", "Delicado", "Eu quero e sossego", "Choro de domingo", etc. Each performance left the audience speechless and deserved a round of applause. WASHINGTON The U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday that it will hear an appeal from Louis P. Ciminelli of Buffalo and the other defendants convicted in the "Buffalo Billion" fraud case, who argue that their convictions should be overturned because they're based on an incorrect reading of the law governing such cases. Without comment, the justices said they would hear Ciminelli's case in its next term, which begins in October. They also said they would consider a separate appeal filed by Joseph Percoco, a longtime aide to former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. At issue in the Ciminelli case is the "right to control" theory in fraud cases, which allows those accused of fraud to be convicted when they don't share all the economic information they have about a business deal's prospects with others in the deal even if there is no proof that actual economic harm was done by not sharing that information. A federal jury in Manhattan convicted Ciminelli under the right to control theory in 2018, but in a petition filed with the Supreme Court, Ciminelli's lawyers argue that the theory is invalid. "A scheme that deprives a person of economic information alone, without threatening economic loss, may violate an intangible interest or a sense of moral uprightness; it does not rise to the level of a property fraud," Ciminelli's lawyers argue. Convictions of Louis Ciminelli, other 'Buffalo Billion' defendants upheld A jury convicted Ciminelli, along with Joseph Percoco, Alain Kaloyeros and the two Syracuse-area businessmen, of fraud and conspiracy in July 2018. An appeals court, just like the court in which Ciminelli was convicted, disagreed with such arguments. In a September 2021 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said that emails between Ciminelli and others charged in his case focused on how to rig the bidding process in the Buffalo Billion effort to build the RiverBend industrial complex to ensure that Ciminelli's company got the job. "The evidence of intent to defraud was therefore sufficient to uphold their convictions," the appeals court said. Even so, federal appeals courts have been divided on the right-to-control issue, and Ciminelli's lawyers told the high court: "This is the perfect case for resolving the longstanding circuit conflict." The justices agreed, and that could be a blessing for Ciminelli, who was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison in late 2018. He began serving his sentence in an Arizona federal prison in February. A jury convicted Ciminelli, former SUNY Polytechnic Institute leader Alain Kaloyeros and two Syracuse businessmen of fraud and conspiracy in July 2018 in connection with what prosecutors called a bid-rigging scheme. Former top Cuomo aide Percoco heading to federal prison next week ALBANY A federal appeals court has rejected a bid by Joseph Percoco, a former top aide and longtime friend of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, to remain out of prison while he appeals his 2018 corruption conviction. Percoco on Thursday was ordered to report to a federal prison no later than March 14 to begin serving a six-year sentence Ciminelli and the others were accused of illegally steering state contracts to Ciminellis firm LPCiminelli, for construction of the RiverBend complex, which now houses a Tesla plant in South Buffalo. The Syracuse businessmen were convicted in connection with a similar bid-rigging scheme. In a separate but related case, Percoco was sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted of three felonies focused largely on the $35,000 he took from a Syracuse-area developer. He is currently in a halfway house. Percoco was convicted under the theory of "honest services" fraud, which holds that people are guilty of fraud when they take bribes or kickbacks, thereby violating their fiduciary duty. But Percoco's lawyers argue that theory of fraud applies only to public officials not someone like Percoco, who was Cuomo's campaign manager at the time but did not work for the state government. "The notion that private citizens owe a duty of honest services to the public so long as a jury deems them sufficiently influential finds no basis in law or common sense," Percoco's lawyers wrote in their petition to the Supreme Court. Rather than breaking the law, Percoco was simply doing what lobbyists do, his lawyers said. "When a public official accepts money to convince the government to do something, we call him a crook. But when a private citizen accepts money to convince the government to do something, we call him a lobbyist," they wrote. "That is not an arbitrary distinction. It reflects the fact that public officials hold a fiduciary obligation to act in the best interests of the public, while private citizens do not." Lawyers for the federal government disagree. In a brief filed with the high court, they dubbed Percoco "the bribe recipient" and sought to dismantle his lawyers' legal argument. They said that the lower courts, as well as an earlier Supreme Court ruling, recognized that people don't have to be government employees to commit honest services fraud. "Just as a federal appointee can violate (the law) by accepting bribes before his term of federal office begins, so too can a state appointee commit honest services fraud by accepting bribes before his term of state office begins," the federal lawyers wrote. "Percoco owed a duty to provide honest services ... during his temporary break, to run the governors reelection campaign, from his once-and-future position as a formally state-employed governors aide." The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) The mother of a U.S. military veteran who went missing after he traveled to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia has spoken with her son by telephone, the family said Wednesday. Lois Bunny Drueke, of Tuscaloosa, answered a call from what appeared to be a Russian exchange and talked to son Alex Drueke on Tuesday for nearly 10 minutes in their first conversation since he and Andy Huynh, another Alabama veteran who traveled to Ukraine, were captured after a fight earlier this month in Ukraine. Apparently at the prompting of his captors, Drueke said the people holding him were anxious to begin negotiations and that he had food, water and bedding, Bunny Drueke said in a statement released by her family. He sounded tired and stressed, and he was clearly reciting some things he had been made to practice or read, but it was wonderful to hear his voice and know hes alive and alright, she said. Drueke said he hadn't been in contact with Huynh for several days, according to the woman. The United States has said both men should be protected as prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. Huyhn's fiance, Joy Black, said his family was thrilled the Drueke was able to speak with his mother. We are still hoping to get a similar communication from Andy, she said. Druke and Huynh didn't return to a meeting spot after their group came under heavy fire in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border on June 9. The two traveled separately to help Ukraine and became buddies there in part because of their shared Alabama background, relatives have said. The U.S. State Department said it was looking into reports that Russian or Russian-backed separatist forces in Ukraine had captured at least two American citizens. If confirmed, they would be the first Americans fighting for Ukraine known to have been captured since the war began Feb. 24. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. BRIDGEPORT, Calif. (AP) A Sierra Nevada wildfire destroyed a building and was a threat to more than 250 homes and other structures, California authorities said Wednesday. The Rices Fire grew to 904 acres (366 hectares) along the Yuba River in Nevada County, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said in a nighttime update. The fire was 10% contained. Five firefighters were injured battling the blaze, which erupted Tuesday afternoon and made wind-driven runs in steep terrain through critically dry vegetation and drought-stressed trees. There was no immediate word on their conditions. The small communities of Birchville, Sweetland, French Corral, Bridgeport, Rices Crossing, and the Buttermilk area were under evacuation orders. Evacuation warnings were issued for areas of neighboring Yuba County, meaning people there should be prepared to leave. The fire began in an uninhabitable" building and the flames spread to vegetation, Cal Fire said. On the central coast, the 375-acre (1520-hectare) Camino Fire in San Luis Obispo County was 45% contained and no structures were threatened, Cal Fire said. Investigators determined it was ignited by a vehicles catalytic converter. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that her office filed a civil lawsuit against 10 online gun retailers during a press conference Wednesday in New York City. An ongoing investigation by the New York City Sheriff's Office found that these out-of-state gun retailers violated New Yorks licensing laws by selling ghost guns to customers without conducting background checks. James says that many of these retailers customers were convicted felons. Ghost guns are untraceable firearms bought in individual parts and full kits that can be assembled using ordinary household tools. Some ghost gun kits come with step-by-step instructions detailing the 90-minute assembling process for customers, according to officials. Often, customers purchase ghost guns for their own use or to resell. In Buffalo, law enforcement has reported that ghost guns sell for as much as $2,000 on the street. These ghost gun parts only exist to be converted into operable, dangerous firearms, James said. And these companies only exist to provide weapons to individuals who are otherwise ineligible to own a gun. This lawsuit will be the first case to use the Public Nuisance statute passed by the New York legislature in 2021. The gun retailers named in the lawsuit are Brownells, Inc., Blackhawk Manufacturing Group (80 Percent Arms), Salvo Technologies, Inc. (80 P Builder or 80P Freedom Co), G.S. Performance, LLC, Indie Guns, LLC, Primary Arms, LLC, Arm or Ally, LLC, Rainier Arms, LLC, KM Tactical LLC, and Rock Slide USA, LLC. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, whose office is partnering with the attorney general in the lawsuit, described business and marketing practices of the gun retailers as aiding in mail-order murder. The sea of violence has been fed by many rivers, and this river is coming from far away, Adams said. Jamess lawsuit comes after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down New Yorks concealed weapon laws on June 23. An investigation by the Attorney Generals Office linked these companies to thousands of shipments to addressed to New York residents dating back to 2017. This nonexistent oversight of the sale of these products that can cause real harm and has caused real harm as resulted in the death of individuals here in New York, James said. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The critics are right. The Buffalo redistricting plan that was the focus of a public hearing on Tuesday should be thrown out and the work restarted. Theres even a place to begin. Not only did the work so far lack genuine transparency, but it makes a hash of the city, splitting neighborhoods, disrespecting minorities and all but ignoring the requirement to keep districts compact and with regular shapes. The resulting map looks more like an incumbent protection program than a real effort to acknowledge the citys changing population, as documented in the 2020 census. A clue to the democratic apathy that inspired the plan presented at Tuesdays hearing is that it was presented at a hearing scheduled on Tuesday the same day that voters were likely to be distracted by Republican and Democratic primaries for New York governor. Whether that happened purposefully or inadvertently, it doesnt indicate a thoughtful process. One of the biggest problems with the plan is that it ignores the need to expand or even maintain the political strength of Buffalos Black population. While the map was drawn well before the racially motivated massacre on May 14, its indifference to the citys Black residents is jarring. A group of critics that included Russell Weaver, the Director of Research at the Cornell ILR Buffalo Co-Lab, has offered an alternative map. Instead of contracting the influence of Black voters, it expands it. In addition, rather than hacking the Elmwood Village into four districts, the alternative map keeps the neighborhood in two districts. Weaver says the suggested map also provides a smaller population deviation among the districts, and keeps 27 of 35 city planning districts whole, as opposed to just 14 in the proposed plan. This isnt an endorsement of that specific alternative, but an observation that the city can and should do better than the insufficient effort presented Tuesday. Many of those who attended the hearing agree. For example: My name is Jim Anderson and I only stopped by to tell you right now, yall did this all wrong. The work on this has not been hard enough, fair enough and inclusive enough and it is shameful. Or consider the comments offered by Stephanie Barber Jeter of the Hamlin Park Taxpayers Association in Masten: This is a longstanding political process that both legislative bodies and political powers have used to communicate who is not important, what groups of citizens can be easily shifted from district to district with least resistance and cost. I encourage each of you to say Lets start over. Thats what the city needs to do, but time is running out. The Common Council has until the end of this month to adopt a plan that must be on Mayor Byron W. Browns desk no later than September. That new work should begin immediately. To push that along, the mayor should immediately call out the blatant deficiencies of the proposed map. His voice matters. Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing. Tuesdays primary elections for governor of New York turned out about the way any attentive voter might have predicted, with each partys anointed nominee carrying the day incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul for the Democrats and Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin for the Republicans. Their victories presage a general election campaign that, barring surprises, could be scripted today. For Republicans, shut out of statewide office since George Patakis final term as governor ended in 2006, it will be about competition, trust, taxes, crime, experience and Andrew Cuomo, who resigned last year, opening the door to Hochul. At his victory celebration Tuesday night, Zeldin accused her of being in over her head. For Democrats, it will be about gun control, abortion rights, health care, taxes, crime and Donald Trump, who is unpopular in New York and likely to become more so as the Jan. 6 committee in Congress continues its hearings. Hochul is all but guaranteed to pound Zeldin over his support for Trump and his vote against seating electors for Joe Biden in the hours after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. But as important as the story of the winners is, the nature of some of the losers is worth time to explore. While this page endorsed Hochuls candidacy, it wasnt for lack of respect for the others, particularly Rep. Tom Suozzi of Nassau County. A center-left Democrat, Suozzi has had a long record of serving his constituents interests. To run this race, he decided against seeking re-election to Congress, a race he likely would have won. New Yorkers can hope this isnt the last they hear from him. Hochuls other opponent, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, demonstrated real passion about housing and social justice. As we observed in endorsing Hochul, she should find a place for him in her administration, if she wins in November. On the Republican side, former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino was an attractive candidate in the same way that Suozzi was. A center-right politician, Astorino established a long record of success in a county dominated by Democrats. Hes tough-minded but willing to listen to other voices, as too many Republicans these days are not. Perhaps his party will come around and once again value the strengths of thoughtful, practical conservatives, but the performance of Andrew Giuliani doesnt suggest it. Running on his fathers increasingly tarnished name and a stint in the former Trump administration, Guiliani had no significant experience and he parroted the lie about a stolen 2020 presidential election. But with that, he ran second in the race, garnering 23% of the vote to Zeldins 44%. It doesnt suggest a future of electoral success for Republicans in blue New York, especially in statewide races. The fourth candidate, Harry Wilson, brought up the rear with 15% of the vote. An engaging and successful businessman, he might have done better had he spoken up sooner. Party leaders wanted him as their candidate, but he demurred until after they turned to Zeldin. That leaves the party, and New Yorkers, to wonder what might have been. Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing. The Second Amendment the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. But that right is not inextricably linked to unfettered access of cached armaments developed over many decades to be a quick and effective means to dispatch an enemy during military ops. But this discourse needs to be civil and about more than the AR-15. The majority of gun deaths are from handguns. In the year 2020, gun violence was the number one cause of death for youths (up to age 19) and yes, sadly, that included suicides. In the same year, per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention death certificate stats, 19,300-plus died from gun murder. That total represents a 34% increase from the year prior, a 49% increase over five years and a whopping 75% increase over 10 years. The argument that state gun regulations dont limit or lower gun violence is false. New York State has some of the strictest laws in the country. The new framework that recently headed to the Senate incentivizes governors to improve red flag laws and toughen background checks. As if the massacre of children at school, in one case, and Blacks in a grocery store by an avowed white supremacist, along with young adults murdering each other on neighborhood streets isnt enough of an incentive. The Second Amendment is not going away. If all politicians could only rediscover the conscience they had when they first entered politics. If they only had the hutzpah to institute a national database for background checks and red-flagged individuals. Pass legislation that will stop the manufacturing and sales of military-style weapons, high-capacity magazines and body armor. Jail people who market 3-D printer guns and parts. If enough Democrats and Republicans step up and unite at the same time, you never know what could happen. But the American voters are asking you to step up and they would be right alongside you. Hutzpah! Lita Murawski Tonawanda Access to abortion pills is more restricted in Quebec than it is in other provinces. Physicians are calling for rules regarding access to be removed. (Jeff Roberson/The Associated Press - image credit) Quebecers looking to terminate their pregnancy can do so by way of medication, but experts say the rules in the province around access to the abortion pill are too restrictive, and they want the option to be more widely available. Access to the pill is more strictly controlled in Quebec than in the rest of Canada, with physicians in the province required to have a certain level of training for medical abortions before accompanying a patient through the process. In Quebec, physicians who are deemed qualified are also required to have a patient undergo an ultrasound before prescribing the abortion pill. Most rules and regulations in the province around abortion pills are set by the Quebec College of Physicians. It's the only provincial, professional order in the country with such powers. The training for medical abortions must be done in person which creates a major access barrier, according to Dr. Genevieve Bois, a family doctor who practises in Montreal, Gatineau, Que., and Nunavik. "Physicians have to provide a lot of different care and not all of them, depending on the volume of care they would be providing, can necessarily take many days off to go do this training just in case they need to provide medical abortions," Bois said. Last week's reversal of Roe v. Wade by the United States Supreme Court has sparked calls to protect and expand access to abortion in jurisdictions where the procedure is legally available, such as Quebec. On Wednesday, one of the opposition parties at the National Assembly, Quebec Solidaire, issued a statement vowing to make abortion pills more available, if it is elected as the province's next government in this fall's election. In Quebec, the training required for medical abortions essentially makes them available only in abortion clinics, instead of at doctors' offices, where people may feel more at ease with a familiar face, who is often closer to home, Bois said. Story continues LinkedIn/Genevieve Bois "We should not feel smug about the fact that things are so much worse in the United States right now and not look at what are the barriers that stand in our country," she said. The abortion pill which is free in Quebec has been available in the province since 2018, a year later than the rest of Canada. Trusting more physicians Dr. Isabelle Leblanc, a family doctor in Montreal who is also running for Quebec Solidaire in the city's Mont-RoyalOutremont riding, says she's seen several patients seeking medical abortions who were surprised to learn of the province's rules. "People come in and they're pregnant. They want to stop the pregnancy and they think we can just prescribe the pill because that's the way it works pretty much everywhere else in Canada," Leblanc said. "For so many other medical treatments and procedures, we trust the physicians to do what's right for their patients and to make sure they have the knowledge to do it for their patient." According to Leblanc, the requirement for patients to undergo an ultrasound is especially restrictive, particularly outside Montreal where appointments are not as available. Abortion pills can also only be prescribed during the first nine weeks of a pregnancy. "It's also a lot of appointments for a person who, maybe, doesn't want their partner to know that they're requesting an abortion," Leblanc said. "It's really, really complicated for something that could be so simple." According a report from the Quebec College of Physicians published in June 2020, eight per cent of abortions in the province between Jan. 1, 2018 and May 31, 2019 were medical abortions. Rowan Kennedy/CBC Demands being heard In a statement, the college of physicians confirmed that it's currently reviewing its rules for medical abortions, and it expects the process to continue until the fall, stating that it has "heard the demands from certain organizations." "In 2017, the College of Physicians put these guidelines in place because, in accordance with its primary mission of protecting the public, it is of the opinion that they allow voluntary termination of pregnancy with medication to be carried out in complete safety," the statement reads. The college also said it is always looking for ways for its rules to "evolve." For Bois, the rules don't make any sense. "There's no reason to single out the issue of abortion by medication. We don't see this type of guideline be provided and those restrictions be put in place to limit other procedures that physicians do," the family doctor said. "We don't need a set of Quebec-specific medical abortion or surgical abortion guidelines." The African continent's position in the global fashion scene will be on full display at a new exhibition at London's Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum that opens on Saturday. A layered shimmering silk creation by Cameroon-born designer Imane Ayissi hits the visitor between the eyes at the entrance to the exhibition: Model wearing a shimmering pink outfit This is fashion that refuses to be boxed in. It "introduces the idea that African fashions are beyond definition and that creatives can and do choose their own paths", V&A curator Christine Checinska says. As the person who oversees the museum's Africa-and-diaspora textiles and fashion collection, she led the project to put the exhibition together. She believes that the industry in Africa is at the "cutting edge of global fashion" and the 250 exhibits are a "timely celebration of [its] vitality and innovation". Through clothes, photos, sketches, film and catwalk footage, the visitor is taken on a journey that looks at the industry's roots on the continent and traces its development. Shade Thomas-Fahm, seen here at work in Lagos in the late 1960s, has been dubbed "Nigeria's first fashion designer": Woman working on a dress A champion of Nigerian textiles, she tried to modernise traditional attire with clothes that had a familiar look but with innovations that made them easier to wear, the V&A says in its exhibition notes. This is one of Thomas-Fahm's takes on the traditional Yoruba iro (wrapper), buba (top) and gele (headscarf) made in aso-oke, a hand-woven fabric: Nigerian garments With independence movements in full swing the mid-20th Century "was a time of tremendous creativity across fashion, music and the arts", Dr Checinska says. This led to "unbounded creativity and the freedom of spirit". This 1988 dress, made of cotton and brass, and referencing Congolese kuba cloth, shows off the work of Alphadi: Gold and black dress Born Sidahmed Alphadi Seidnaly in Mali in 1957, he grew up in Niger and has been described as the "Magician of the Desert". Also from West Africa, the late Malian designer Chris Seydou worked for the likes of Yves Saint Laurent and Paco Rabanne in Paris in the 1970s: Story continues Woman wearing a skirt and a jacket He was "known for promoting African textiles like bogolanfini (mud cloth) on the global stage", Dr Checinska says. But as in the picture above, he took the cloth and designed something that was far from traditional. Ghanaian Kofi Ansah, who died in 2014, also used traditional textiles, in this case indigo-dyed cloth, and fused West African with designs from elsewhere: Man and woman wearing indigo-dyed cloth He made a name for himself in Europe, but returned to Ghana in the 1990s to found his own design company. Thomas-Fahm, Alphadi, Seydou and Ansah are in the exhibition's "Vanguard" section, highlighting the founders of modern African design. But it also brings things up to date with what Dr Checinska calls "the new generation of ground-breaking designers". Nigerian Nkwo Onwuka has created a new textile called dakala that is aimed at reducing waste in the fashion industry.: Model on the catwalk It is based on a strip-weaving technique using off-cuts from the production of other garments. The piece below is called The Trench and was created for the exhibition by Moroccan designer Artsi Ifrach: Model wearing a garment covering their whole body "The joy of life and the joy of colour is completely different and very particular to the continent," he says. Nigerian designer Adeju Thompson, under his brand name Lagos Space Programme, appears to be inspired by West African masquerade culture: Person wearing a blue outfit It is called Aso Lanki, Ki Ato Ki Eniyan, which translates from Yoruba to English as "We Greet Dress Before We Greet its Wearer". He is trying to create a non-binary look with an eye on the future of fashion. Somali artist and costume designer Gouled Ahmed, who is based in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, also refuses to let his creations be framed by gender: Self portrait of a man wearing traditional Ethiopian attire. He has on face jewellery and a head dress. His work "plays with notions of identity [and] challenges the lack of nuance in the depictions of non-binary black Muslims", the V&A says. More understated work is also on show, including this creation by the Rwandan fashion house Moshions, which references the traditional umwitero, a sash draped over the shoulder: Blue suit on a mannequin The designers on show at the V&A all seem to play with referencing tradition and modernity, this goes for both the textiles used as well as the stylistic choices. But the exhibition shows the diversity of what is being created on the continent and by showing this to London, Dr Checinska hopes there will be a fresh appreciation of what the continent brings to the fashion world that will change perceptions. Five models holding hands, they are wearing colourful clothing All photos are subject to copyright. By Azernews By Laman Ismayilova A press conference dedicated to the Best Model of Azerbaijan 2022 has been held at Hypnoze Baku club, Azernews reports. Speaking at the press conference, the national director of Best Model of Azerbaijan 2022, Elkhan Pashayev, noted that within the framework of the project, free casting and the opening of the competition will take place in July. A semi-final will be held at Elektra Events Hall at the end of August. The final night will be held at Baku Crystal Hall in October. "The main goal of the project is to enable the contest participants to pursue a modeling career and properly represent the country on international catwalks. We have contracts with Turkish companies that will help promote models in the international arena," said Elkhan Pashayev. The contest is open for 18-30-year old models. The minimum height required is 1.65 m for female models and 1.80 m for male models. More detailed information will be available on the competition's website and social pages. The jury includes Associate Professor of the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts, fashion designer, Honored Art Worker Fakhriya Khalafova, People's Artist Aygun Kazimova, and fashion designer Yegana Sadikhova, businesswoman and producer Ruhi Aliyeva as well as representatives of Turkiye and France. Moreover, Baku is expected to host the Best Model of the World 2023 bringing together models from more than 50 countries. "Best Model of the World has been held since 1955 under the leadership of the president of the competition, Erkan Ozerman. In Azerbaijan, this competition was held twice in 2002 and 2007 under the leadership of Aygun Kazimova and Ruhi Aliyeva. Many years later, the competition will once again be held in Baku under my leadership. I will do my best to organize a modeling competition at the highest level, " said Elkhan Pashayev. Honored Art Worker Fakhria Khalafova stressed the importance of implementing projects for the development of the modeling industry. "The development of the modeling industry is also associated with the fashion industry. It is a beautiful and creative environment, a modern business area, where there is always a demand for participation in various projects, and cooperation with glossy magazines, photo studios, modeling agencies, fashion houses, and runway shows. We will try to choose worthy applicants who will successfully represent Azerbaijan abroad. We wish you all success," the fashion designer said. Yegana Sadikhova spoke about her priorities for participation in the competition. In her remarks, Yegana Sadikhova stressed the importance of the external and internal beauty of models, intelligence, and a sense of patriotism. Meanwhile, Azerbaijani models were twice recognized as the best at Best Model of the World in 2007 ( Rustam Jabrayilov) and in 2021 ( Aydan Yashildag). Best Model of Azerbaijan choreographer, actress, and participant of beauty contests Narmina Ramazanova noted that she would share all her experience and knowledge with the contestants. Photo credits: Ramin Gurbanov Media partners of the event are Azernews.Az, Trend.Az, Day.Az, Milli.Az. NEO Battery Materials said it is protected from "shareholder dilution as no common shares or warrants issued" NEO Battery Materials Ltd. (TSX-V:NBM) said its South Korean subsidiary, NBM Korea Company Limited (NBM Korea), has signed an agreement to receive a strategic investment of 3 billion South Korean won (C$3 million) from Automobile & PCB Inc. (A&P) for a 40% stake. The Vancouver-based company said the proceeds from the Series A financing will be used to optimize commercialization efforts and to advance the first phase of the Korean silicon anode mass production facility for EV lithium-ion batteries. The investment is scheduled to close by July 1, 2022, added the firm. NEO noted that on the back of the strategic memorandum of understanding (MoU) with A&P on June 8, 2022, NBM Korea has successfully secured a strategic investment and collaboration opportunity after holding positive discussions and instituting a strict due diligence process. As a result, NEO and A&P, along with Yongsan and YSP, will cooperate to commercialize all NBMSiDE products and construct the Silicon Anode Commercial Plant. Both parties will actively seek to undertake joint projects and expand their network within the automotive and lithium-ion battery business, noted the company. The Series A strategic financing allows the shareholders' value of the parent company, NEO Battery Materials Ltd. (TSX-V:NBM), to be protected without dilution from any issuances of shares or purchase warrants. Funds received from A&P will be solely used by the South Korean subsidiary, NBM Korea, the company said. In a statement, NEO CEO Spencer Huh said: "Despite difficulties and headwinds in both the financial markets and the economy, NEO Battery Materials is highly excited about this meaningful achievement of NBM Korea's $3 million Series A financing to advance mass production to the next step. He added: In particular, we strongly believe that NBM Korea will create additional synergies through strategic business relationships with A&P and its related parties, Yongsan and YSP, that hold a proven operating history of over 40 years in the automotive industry." Huh noted that with the $3 million secured, NBM Korea is under discussion with financial institutions in South Korea to obtain debt or equipment purchase financing for the next phases of the mass production facility. Through this achievement, NEO will focus on optimization and concurrently proceed with the process design in order," added Huh. A&P and its related parties will actively support NBM Korea to pursue debt financing from financial institutions and other forms of strategic synergies through utilizing their extensive business network. Separately, the company revealed that NEO will be holding a webinar in the middle to end of July, discussing the ongoing corporate activities related to the commercialization efforts, mass production plant, financing, and other related activities. The firm will provide a registration link to the webinar closer to the date of the event. NEO is focused on producing silicon anode 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. Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive Mkango Resources, the rare earth explorer and producer, has appointed Robert Sewell as Chief Financial Officer in a non-board position role. Sewell joins from AfriTin Mining where he was CFO during the construction and commissioning of its Uis tin mine in Namibia. Derek Linfield, Mkangos chairman, said: "We are very pleased to have recruited Rob as our CFO. His expertise in multiple finance-related disciplines including financial accounting, managerial finance, financial analysis, cash management and the development of financial and operational strategies, as well as his African experience, will add valuable skill sets. Mkango added that it had also received the 500,000 advance on the further investment by CoTec Holdings. Photo credit: Lufthansa "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below." After grounding the Airbus A380 in deep storage in 2020, German airliner Lufthansa plans to bring the long-haul aircraft back next year. Lufthansa had been selling off the excess planes, but is now turning to them as a solution for high travel demand. Delayed aircraft deliveries are a reason to put the A380 back in service. After the COVID-19 pandemic paused air travel in 2020, Lufthansa parked 14 Airbus A380 jumbo aircraft in Spain and France for long-term deep storage. The German airliner eventually sold off six of these huge planes, considered the worlds largest passenger aircraft. But now we can expect at least some of the remaining eight to make a comeback; The airline announced Airbus A380s will return to the fleet in summer 2023. We decided today to put the A380, which continues to enjoy great popularity, back into service at Lufthansa in summer 2023, the companys executive board announced in a news release on Monday. You love badass planes. So do we. Lets nerd out over them togetherjoin Pop Mech Pro. At 329 feet long and 78 feet high, the A380 is truly huge, and Lufthansa is taking advantage of the space inside. It has configured the A380 to seat 509 passengers in a 3-4-3 setup in economy class. With such a large passenger load, the airline obviously believes the cost of operating the plane will be offset by demand. And Lufthansa isnt the only airline still on the superjumbo bandwagon. CNN reports that Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Korean Air, All Nippon Airways, and British Airways all still fly the A380. British Airways had stopped using the A380 in March 2020, but brought it back in October 2021. Lufthansas return to the A380 comes as a response to the steep rise in customer demand and the delayed delivery of ordered aircraft, the executive board says. Its likely that Lufthansa is referencing the Boeing 777X delivery delay, now slated for 2025. Story continues While Lufthansa is still assessing how many of the eight aircraft will make a return and exactly which destinations the airline will fly to, the long-haul aircraft is part of a trend in reshaping airlines. In addition to reenergizing the A380, the Lufthansa board says it will also modernize the fleet in the next three years with 50 new models of the Airbus A350, Boeing 787, and Boeing 777-9 long-haul designs, along with 60 new Airbus A320 and A321s. Emirates has been the leader in A380 use worldwide, with over 100 planes in the airlines quiver. In 2019, Emirates canceled an A380 order of 39 planes, leading Lufthansa to cease production of the plane, although it still delivered its final model to Emirates in 2021 to fulfill previous orders. Then came the 2020 pandemic, which made oversized aircraft superfluous for travel. The grounding of the plane led to a sell-off for the German airline. The demand isnt waning any longer. Emirates has called the A380 a flagship product (the showers on the plane are an added bonus for those who can enjoy that class of service), and Singapore Airlines flew it in 2021, highlighting customer appeal. While each airline has its own specific setup within the spacious confines of the Airbus A380, airlines all over the world seem to have renewed their belief that the long-haul Airbus is a good future investment. You Might Also Like Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA) 2022 : For Admission to B.E/ B.Tech Degree Courses https://career.webindia123.com/career/dates_and_events/entrance/eng/tamilnadu-engineering-admissions-tnea.htm Details of Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA) 2022 : For Admission to B.E/ B.Tech Degree Courses 2022-6-15 2022-7-19 https://career.webindia123.com/career/images/exams.png India India Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA) 2022 : For Admission to B.E/ B.Tech Degree Courses Engineering Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA) 2022 Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA) 2022 : For Admission to B.E/ B.Tech Degree Courses Category : Engineering Admissions 2022 Published : On June 15, 2022 By Webindia123 Editor Important Dates Issue of notification inviting Online Registration of applications for Admission to B.E./B.Tech June 8th, 2022 Commencement of Online Registration and filling of Applications June 20th, 2022 Last date for Registration of Online Applications July 19th, 2022 Commencement of Certificates verification at TFCs - Commencement of online choice filling & confirmation* - * Depends upon Medical counselling ADMISSION TO FIRST YEAR B. E. / B. TECH. DEGREE COURSES Common application to seek admission to University Departments and Constituent Colleges of Anna University, Government and Government Aided Engineering Colleges, Annamalai University and for the seats surrendered by SelfFinancing Engineering Colleges in Tamil Nadu under Unified Single Window Admission System for Indian Nationals. ALLOCATION OF SEATS IN COLLEGES 1) Seats in B. E. & B. Tech. Degree Courses in University Departments and Constituent Colleges of Anna University. 2) Seats in B. E. Degree Courses in Mechanical Engineering and Civil Engineering (Tamil Medium) in University Departments and Constituent Colleges of Anna University. 3) Seats in B. E. & B. Tech. Degree Courses in Government, Government Aided and Seats Surrendered by Self-Financing Engineering Colleges affiliated to Anna University. a) Category I Seats in Government Engineering Colleges Seats in Aided courses in Government Aided Engineering Colleges Seats in Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CECRI), Karaikudi b) Category II Seats in Self-Supporting courses in Government Aided Engineering Colleges Seats surrendered by Self Financing Engineering Colleges Seats in Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET) Seats in B.E. Degree Courses in Annamalai University, Chidambaram. Eligiibility Conditions Nativity Tamil Nadu candidates who have passed VIII, IX, X, XI and XII Std. from schools situated in Tamil Nadu are eligible to apply. They need not produce Nativity Certificate for verification. Tamil Nadu native candidates who have passed any of the VIII, IX, X, XI and XII Std. or their equivalent examination from schools situated outside Tamil Nadu can also apply. They should produce Nativity Certificate only in electronic form/digitally signed e-Certificate at the time of original certificates verification at TNEA Facilitation Centre (TFC). Children of Central Government Employees may also apply for admission, irrespective of their native, provided their parents or guardians (only if both parents are not alive) have been serving in Tamil Nadu continuously for the past FIVE YEARS at the time of submission of application. This should be supported by producing a certificate from the employer of the parent or guardian, to that effect at the time of original certificates verification at TFC. Children of employees in Public Sector or Government recognised Institutions who at the time of submission of application for admission employed in Tamil Nadu continuously for the past five years may also apply irrespective of their domicile. A certificate from the employer stating that the person is a Permanent Employee of the Firm or Institution concerned with evidence like Income Tax return, PF Slips, etc. and is working in Tamil Nadu continuously for the past FIVE YEARS has to be produced at the time of original certificates verification at TFC. Sons and daughters of All India service Tamil Nadu cadre officers are eligible to apply. A Self declaration from the parent in this regard is to be produced at the time of original certificates verification. Other State candidates who have studied VIII, IX, X, XI and XII Std. in Tamil Nadu are eligible to apply. They need not produce Nativity Certificate. Qualifying Examinations and Eligibility A pass in the HSC (Academic) or its equivalent with a minimum average percentage in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry put together as given below : General Category- 50.00 % Backward Class including Backward Class Muslim- 45.00 % MBC & DNC - 40.00 % SC/SCA/ST - 40.00 % OR A pass in any one of the HSC (Vocational Subject) as given below with any one of the Engineering related subjects namely Mathematics, Physics or Chemistry with a minimum average percentage put together as given below: General Category- 50.00 % Backward Class including Backward Class Muslim- 45.00 % MBC & DNC - 40.00 % SC/SCA/ST - 40.00 % How to Apply Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions 2021 (TNEA-2021) is completely online - Registration, Payments, Choice filling and confirmation. Candidates have to register their applications online, submitting all the required details and fee, have the certificates verified through TNEA Facilitation Centre (TFC), give their preferred choices online during the specified period, get their allotment confirmed and get the allotment order online. Candidates are required to read the instructions given here completely so that they will find it easy to complete all the requirements and successful completion of their counselling. The entire Counselling procedure consists of various steps as given below: Filing of application Random Number Generation (by TNEA Authority) Certificates Verification at Designated TNEA Facilitation Centre. Rank Publication (by TNEA Authority) Payment of Initial Deposit Exercising the choices of institutions and Branches Publication of Tentative Allotment on a notified date (by TNEA Authority) Confirmation of allotment option by the candidates Final allotment of institution and branch (by TNEA Authority) The candidates have to watch for various steps and dates and carefully act to have the complete satisfaction. The first step is filing of an application. This note explains how to file your application on the first part. For details visit the Anna University Chennai website: https://tnea.ac.in/onlineapp18/index.php Contact Details Address : The Secretary Tamilnadu Engineering Admissions Anna University Chennai 600 025 Phone : 044 - 2235 8265, 2235 8266, 2235 8267 Fax : Mobile : - E-mail : - Website : tneaonline.in Find it Useful ? Help Others by Sharing Online Comments and Discussions National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET UG) 2022 https://career.webindia123.com/career/dates_and_events/entrance/medi/national-eligibility-cum-entrance-test-neet.htm Details of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET UG) 2022 2022-5-13 2022-7-6 https://career.webindia123.com/career/images/exams.png India India National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET UG) 2022 Medical National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test For Admission to MBBS/ BDS Courses National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET UG) 2022 Category : Medical Admissions 2022 Published : On May 13, 2022 By Webindia123 Editor Important Dates Submission of on-line application forms 07th April 2022 Date of uploading of Admit Cards on website Date of Examination, NEET(UG), 2022 17th July, 2022 The Ministry of Human Resource development (MHRD), Government of India (GOI) has established National Testing Agency (NTA) as an independent autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organisation for conducting efficient, transparent and international standard test in order to access the competency of candidates for admission to premier higher education institutions. As per regulations framed under the Indian Medical Council Act -1956 and the Dentists Act-1948 and as amended from time to time, NATIONAL ELIGIBILITY CUM ENTRANCE TEST (UG) 2022 (NEET (UG) - 2022) will be conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission to MBBS/BDS Courses in Indian Medical/Dental Colleges run with the approval of Medical Council of India/Dental Council of India under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India except for the institutions established through an Act of Parliament i.e. AIIMS and JIPMER Puducherry. The NEET (UG) - 2022 will be conducted on 17th April, 2022. The responsibility of the NTA is limited to the conduct of the entrance examination, declaration of result and for providing an "All India Rank merit list" to the Directorate General Health Service, Government of India for the conduct of counselling for 15% All India Quota Seats and for supplying the result to States/other Counselling Authorities. The seats are classified in the following categories: All India Quota Seats. State Government Quota Seats Central Institutions/ Universities/ Deemed Universities State/Management/ NRI Quota Seats in Private Medical / Dental Colleges or any Private University Central Pool Quota Seats Requirement of Aadhar Number For Indian citizens and ordinary residents of India, Aadhaar Number is a requirement to fill up the online application of NEET(UG), 2022 in all States except J&K, Assam and Meghalaya. For NRIs, Aadhaar or Passport Number is required for filling up of the online application of NEET(UG), 2021. For Foreign Nationals, Overseas Citizen of India (OCIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), Passport Number is the mandatory requirement for filling up of the online application of NEET(UG), 2022. At the time of filling application form NEET(UG), 2022, the candidates will have to enter their AADHAAR number, name, date of birth & gender and give their consent to CBSE to validate the information provided by them with the UIDAIs database. In case, these particulars do not match, the candidate will not be able to fill the application form of NEET(UG), 2022. Therefore, the candidates are advised to ensure that their AADHAAR card has correct details of their name, date of birth & gender as per school records. If there is some mismatch in these details, the candidates should immediately get it corrected in AADHAAR data or school records, as the case may be. Eligibility Criteria (i) Indian Nationals, Non Resident Indians (NRIs), Overseas Citizen of India (OCIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) & Foreign Nationals are eligible for appearing in the NATIONAL ELIGIBILITY CUM ENTRANCE TEST (UG), 2022. (ii) The candidate must have completed age of 17 years at the time of admission or will complete the age on or before 31st December, 2021 i.e. the year of his/her admission to the 1st year M.B.B.S./B.D.S. Course. (iii) The upper age limit for candidates seeking admission in MBBS/BDS seats shall be 25 years as on the date of examination with a relaxation of 5 years for candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC category and persons entitled for reservation under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Candidates of Unreserved Category (UR) was born on or between 05.05.1994 and 31.12.2002. Candidates of SC/ST/OBC Category was born on or between 05.05.1989 and 31.12.2002. (iv) The candidate must have passed in the subjects of Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Bio-technology and English individually and must have obtained a minimum of 50% marks taken together in Physics, Chemistry and Biology/ Bio-technology at the qualifying examination. (v) In respect of candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribes/Other Backward Classes, the marks obtained in Physics, Chemistry and Biology/Bio-technology taken together in qualifying examination be 40% instead of 50% for General category candidates. (vi)) In respect of the candidates with benchmark disabilities specified under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the marks obtained in Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Bio-technology taken together in qualifying examination shall be 45% instead of 50% for General category candidates and 40% for SC/ST/OBC candidates. (vii) Provided that two years of regular and continuous study of Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Bio-technology taken together shall be required at 10+2 level for all the candidates. (vii) Candidates who have passed 10+2 from Open Schools or as Private candidates shall not be eligible to appear for National Eligibility-cumEntrance Test-UG. Furthermore, study of Biology/Bio-technology as an Additional Subject at 10+2 level also shall not be permissible. (ix) Those who are appearing in Class XII examination in 2019 can also appear for the entrance test provisionally subject to their fulfilling the conditions later. (x) As the States of Andhra Pradesh and Telengana have decided to join and contribute their MBBS/BDS seats for the allotment to the candidates under 15% All India Quota from the academic year 2019-20 onward, the candidates belonging to these States shall also be eligible for 15% All India Quota seats. Admission and Reservation 1. An All India merit list and All India Rank of the qualified candidates shall be prepared on the basis of the marks obtained in the National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test and candidates shall be admitted to MBBS/BDS courses from the said list only by following the Existing Reservation Policies. 2. All admission to MBBS/BDS courses within in the respective categories shall be based solely on marks obtained in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test. 3. All other existing eligibility criteria for admission to Medical/Dental Colleges shall be applicable as per Rules and Policies of the State/UT/Institution/University concerned. HOW TO APPLY Candidates can apply ONLY ONLINE. Online submission of application may be made by accessing the Boards website www.cbseneet.nic.in Instructions for submitting online application and payment of fee are available on website. Candidates may remit the fee in the following manner: a. Through any Debit/Credit Card b. Net Banking/UPIor c . e-wallet of Common Service Centre (CSC) Fee Details FOR GENERAL/OBC - Rs.1500/- (INR) FOR SC/ST/PH - Rs.800/- (INR) The Information Bulletin containing detailed information of test, syllabus, eligibility criteria to appear/admission, reservation, examination fee, cities of examinations, State Code of eligibility, Age, etc. is available on website cbseneet.nic.in Contact Details Address : C-20 1A/8 ,Sector 62 IITK Outreach Centre, NOIDA-201309 Phone : Fax : Mobile : 8076535482, 7703859909 Toll Free No : E-mail : Contact I Website : www.nta.ac.in Find it Useful ? Help Others by Sharing Online Comments and Discussions Chippewa County officials have started the process of looking for land for a new public gun range, as the Tilden Gun Range is slated to close by Friday. The Chippewa County Board unanimously approved a settlement Tuesday with Rooney Farms, who planned to sue the county because of bullets leaving the range and striking their property. As terms of the agreement, Rooney Farms will pay the county $75,000, and in return, the county will permanently close and dismantle the gun range. The dismantling of the gun range, consisting of the removal of all buildings, structures and berms, except the hunter education and law enforcement training building, shall be completed by a date as reasonably practicable after the County receives all necessary approvals to do so under all government regulations and requirements, including those under the EPA and DNR, and any necessary public bidding process, the settlement agreement reads. However, that will leave the county without a range for public use. There have been talks between the sheriffs department, the county administrator and (buildings and grounds superintendent) John Ritzinger on what to do, and what our options are, Chippewa County Sheriff Jim Kowalczyk said Wednesday. The biggest and most expensive thing is to buy land and get it up to standards. But you are talking years before anything is developed. Kowalczyk said it is unclear what will be the future use of that land once the range is dismantled. He said the cost to remove the lead bullets from the berm would be substantial. The Chippewa Falls Police Department has a range for officer-only use in the southwest corner of the city. By approving the settlement, Rooney Farms also agreed to no further action against the county. Eau Claire-based attorney John Behling, who represented Rooney Farms, released a statement after the county board approved the settlement. We are pleased an agreement could be reached with Chippewa County that will ensure safety for local landowners near the Tilden Gun Range and citizens of the county who travel the public road nearby, Behling wrote in a press release. While Tilden is closed there are still numerous public ranges that were built with safety in mind located within a short driving distance for Chippewa County gun enthusiasts. When Rooney Farms LLC, 9996 Highway Q, first issued their claim against the county, the statement said they were seeking up to $1.8 million in damages. According to the court filing: Jake Rooney owns property at 10373 120th Ave., and there are multiple buildings on the property, including a residence, pole shed and barn. Chippewa County owns and operates the Chippewa County Public Firearms Range and Training facility approximately one mile north of that Rooney property, at 10495 130th Ave. It is used by both law enforcement and members of the public. Firearms which have been commonly discharged at the firearms range are capable of projecting bullets which travel 9/10th of a mile distance necessary to reach the subject property and beyond that distance, the lawsuit read. On multiple occasions, bullets have been discharged at the firearms range, which have traveled to and through the subject property. Multiple of those bullets have damaged real and personal property. Bullets had struck a barn and a John Deere combine. Multiple bullets were located. Another person from the farm said she heard a bullet fly over her head in May 2021. In September 2020, the Chippewa County Facilities & Parks Committee closed the range to the public, but approved a plan for it to be open to law enforcement and private firearms training organizations, all of which must have a state-certified firearms instructor, safety officer or range master present. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The National Association of Theatre Owners of Wisconsin & Upper Peninsula (NATO of WI/UP) has named Eleanor Kelly as a $1,000 scholarship recipient. Eleanor is a 2022 graduate from Chippewa Falls Senior High School and will attend the University of Minnesota in the fall. Eleanor is employed at the Micon Cinemas in Chippewa Falls. This year, scholarship funds totaling $10,000 were awarded to seven movie theater employees throughout Wisconsin and Upper Peninsula of Michigan as part of the annual program. Theaters have always been community gathering spots, said scholarship committee representative Jeremy Rusch. As business owners, we have a strong desire to maintain the economic health of our communities. Our goal through this scholarship program is to provide assistance to students employed within our industry so they may further their education. NATO of WI/UP President George Rouman explains: This annual scholarship program represents an important part of our commitment to the communities we serve. Since the year 2000, we have allocated over $250,000 in scholarship funds, and over $1.5 million in donations to various philanthropic causes." The National Association of Theatre Owners is the largest trade association for motion picture exhibitors in the world, representing approximately 39,000 movie screens in all 50 states and more than 20 countries worldwide. NATO of WI/UP represents 700 screens and is one of fifteen regional affiliates. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Democratic U.S. Senate candidate and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes now supports imposing term limits on U.S. Supreme Court justices and would consider court expansion despite not specifying his support for either in May and instead saying he supports court reform. His new stand on the issue comes after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, which drew the conversation about the nations highest court increasingly into focus. As the Lt. Governor has said before, we need to enact reforms to the Supreme Court, Barnes campaign spokesperson Lauren Chou said in a statement. Specifically, he supports a code of ethics and Supreme Court term limits. Mandela is open to having more conversations about reform as we work to abolish the filibuster and codify Roe v. Wade into law. On Supreme Court expansion, Mandela is open to the conversation, but his priority is reform, Barnes spokesperson Maddy McDaniel told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Barnes position to explicitly embrace term limits appears to have changed after the other top-tier Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Milwaukee Bucks executive-on-leave Alex Lasry, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson told the Wisconsin State Journal in May that theyre at least open to considering term limits. Nelson had said he supports term limits and increasing the number of justices, and he campaigned in Madison on Wednesday on increasing the courts size. Mandela Barnes has waffled on everything from abolishing ICE, to defunding the police, to court-packing which would fundamentally transform our institutions to benefit Democrats, Republican Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement. At this point, what does Barnes stand for beyond his own self-promotion? Asked in May whether he supported term limits and increasing the number of justices, Barnes said, Given the GOPs attempt to pack the court with judges intent on overturning basic rights, we need to take a long hard look at reform. For starters, the Supreme Court needs a code of ethics. The real issue here is politicians like Ron Johnson who will stop at nothing short of a full abortion ban, continued Barnes, although the Republican U.S. senator from Oshkosh, whose seat Barnes is seeking, has supported a 20-week federal abortion ban. The priority must be throwing out the filibuster and making Roe v. Wade the law of the land. At the time, Chou did not directly answer a follow-up question about whether Barnes supports term limits or expansion, saying, Barnes recognizes the need for reforms in the court but is prioritizing codifying Roe v. Wade. President Joe Biden has said he is not a fan of increasing the high courts size. He set forth a commission partially to study its viability, but the commissions final report stated it takes no position on the wisdom of expansion. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she wouldnt hold a floor vote on the Democratic effort to expand the Supreme Court to 13 justices. Tom is the only candidate who supports expanding the court for reproductive justice, LGBTQ+ rights and protecting the (environment), Nelson spokesperson Irene Lin said in a statement. How many issues has Mandela changed his position on? We cant trust him as far as you could throw a pair of flip-flops into Lake Mendota. Also on Wednesday, Barnes appeared to receive an endorsement from progressive U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who posted on Instagram about turning out the vote for Barnes in November, though Barnes still has a competitive Aug. 9 primary ahead of him. AOCs endorsement is the end of Mandelas moderate makeover, and Wisconsin should expect him to return to his extreme positions that he so proudly touted just a year and a half ago, Godlewski spokesperson Sarah Abel said in a statement. This move only makes one person happy and thats Ron Johnson. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Cindy Backemeyer has brought educational nourishment to hundreds of Elmwood-Murdock students with her deep teaching roots in the school district. She was recognized for her achievements with a prestigious teaching award earlier this month. Backemeyer was named the Nebraska Department of the American Legion Elementary Teacher of the Year. She will be honored during a special ceremony at the Nebraska American Legion State Convention. The convention took place over the weekend in Columbus. Elmwood American Legion Post 247 Commander Bonnie Brewer said she was happy to see Backemeyer selected for the statewide award. She said Backemeyer has gone above and beyond in her support of American Legion activities for more than two decades. Cindy is our first nominee, so were very excited to be able to honor her in this way, Brewer said. Elmwood-Murdock Elementary School Principal Trisha Nichelson said Backemeyers commitment to the local community made her a good choice for the Elementary Teacher of the Year honor. Cindy takes the time to teach her students and other members of the community about caring and being responsible for our history and the valuable lessons we can learn from them, Nichelson said in a letter to the state selection committee. She makes it her passion to ensure her students know the importance of education both in and out of school. It is because of her dedication to the education of students of our community that I recommend her for this award. The Nebraska American Legion sponsors Teacher of the Year awards for elementary, middle and high school educators. Teachers must have promoted American Legion youth programs in the field of education at a notable level. They can be a veteran or non-veteran and must have accomplished many positive educational goals in their careers. A local American Legion post must endorse candidates for the award. The states Americanism Committee selects winners in elementary, middle and high school levels by majority vote each spring. Brewer said members of American Legion Post 247 decided to nominate Backemeyer earlier this year. They wanted to honor her for leading fourth-grade students in many community service projects. We feel Cindy meets this criteria with her support of bringing students to visit the Elmwood G.A.R. Hall Veterans Museum, visiting the cemetery to help clean veterans tombstones and general support of veterans throughout the year and especially on Veterans Day and Memorial Day, Brewer said. Nichelson said Backemeyers list of achievements is a lengthy one. She works with Student Council members and Elmwood-Murdock families to raise money for the local food bank each year. She coordinates a fund-raising activity before Christmas and leads a cereal challenge in the spring. Backemeyer takes fourth-grade students to Elmwood Cemetery each year in the week prior to Memorial Day. Students learn how to identify graves of veterans, the war in which they served and additional facts about the history of the cemetery. They also clean tombstones and crosses with rags and buckets in preparation for the annual Memorial Day service. Backemeyer takes her classes to the Bess Streeter Aldrich House and Grand Army of the Republic Hall Veterans Museum each year to give them a chance to learn about Elmwood history. In addition to teaching social studies lessons at school, Backemeyer also works with students and families to create pop-up shops. Children learn about economics and entrepreneurship by selling products to local residents. They then donate their profits to area charities. Nichelson said Backemeyer has planted many positive seeds with her work at Elmwood-Murdock. She said those efforts have paid off in many ways for everyone in Cass County. Cindy models for her students and the staff what it means to serve our community, Nichelson said. From raising money for the local food pantry to cleaning headstones before Memorial Day, Cindy works to ensure the community is well taken care of. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Loup Public Power District has plans to build a new substation in Columbus to help offset loading from expected developments in town. Land near the Columbus Sales Pavilion was purchased by Loup several years ago for the purpose of developing a Columbus Southwest distribution substation. The new substation is planned to remove loading from the Columbus Northwest substation, located near 48th Avenue and 23rd Street, and the Plant substation, located near 27th Avenue and 10th Street. Recent housing developments and a Harrahs Casino project planned at the old Wishbones site located on the northwest part of town means the new substation will be a necessity in 2023. Columbus Exposition and Racing previously indicated to the Telegram that it was optimistic the Casino development could be in place by the end of 2023. The Northwest substation is starting to get pretty loaded up with the casino and the new housing developments, and we're also looking at doing some things there to offload that," Loup President/CEO Neal Suess said during a June 28 board meeting. "But that plant substation, that run goes all the way out to Whitetail. What we've always been wanting to do with the Columbus Southwest sub is move Wagners and Whitetail and all that kind of stuff down on the south side there off of those two substations. The other thing is we don't have any additional room at the Columbus Northwest substation location to put anything else out there so we're kind of tied in at that point in time. The substation is in Loups 2022 construction budget as a project to be built in 2023. Due to supply chain issues, Suess noted, a request for proposal (RFP) will be issued for the transformer that will be needed at the new substation. The RFP is needed because the cost will exceed $250,000. In the 2022 construction budget (for) the Columbus southwest distribution substation, we had a budget item of $750,000. We are pretty sure that the transformer alone is going to be closer to a million dollars, Suess said. That is strictly due to the supply chain and cost of steel going up, so we will see what the bids come in at, and we will make an analysis at that point in time. Asked about when Loup would receive the transformer, Suess responded that officials do not know but estimate that it could be a one-year wait time. Hypothetically, Suess said, if the matter is approved at the boards August meeting, and the substation is built as much as possible next year, then the transformer could be set into place. If we waited until next year to do it, we would be into 2024-2025 before we could (do it), assuming the supply chain issues stay the way they are, and I don't see them getting any better, Suess said. In other Loup news, Suess said a Smart Grid Technology Planning Study from the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC) is being considered. The study would show Loup the benefits it would see from installing a partial broadband system solely for Loups use. The areas it would assist in are metering, reliability/outage management, load management, power quality and distributed energy resource integration. The cost of the study would be $30,000, with the Nebraska Public Power District paying $10,000 of that amount. There would be further costs associated with creating a broadband network if Loup decided to proceed with that, Suess said, but the information would be good for officials to have on hand. It would give us the ability to know what we feel like our investment to get that benefit or that opportunity. And then how do we get the rest of that funding somewhere, if we decide we want to go for this? Loup Vice President of Corporate Services Todd Duren said. Suess noted that there has been interest within Loup to have a broadband network set up internally. Our meter maintenance department has indicated that they are very interested in having some kind of fiber optic network that we can use for connecting to some of our substations to increase the efficiencies, Suess said. Right now, we're spending quite a bit of money on bringing data back and forth, and the broadband fiber would really improve the benefits of our system as we have it set up now. Suess said the NRTC is going to be reviewed again and he would be speaking with another power entity thats already completed the study before moving forward with it. 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. By Azernews By Sabina Mammadli Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sefik Dzaferovic stated that he considers the Nizami Ganjavi International Center to be an extremely serious and respectable platform for international cooperation. The remarks were made during his meeting with the co-chairman of the organization, Ismail Serageldin. During the meeting, the sides highlighted the exceptional civilizational significance of multiculturalism, with special emphasis on the centuries-old experience of coexistence of different cultures and traditions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dzaferovic said that Bosnia and Herzegovina, although not a large country in terms of territory and population, is one of the most important countries in the world, due to its multiethnic and multicultural paradigm. In turn, Serageldin, who served as vice president of the World Bank and director of the Library of Alexandria, stressed the great importance of Bosnia and Herzegovina's experience in the recent past and said that the war the country went through and the genocide committed, as well as the huge progress in BiH's reconstruction made in the post-war period, should be something from which the whole world will draw lessons from. The meeting was also attended by the President of the Society of Common Values Foundation and a member of the International Center "Nizami Ganjavi" Zlatko Lagumdzija. The Nizami Ganjavi International Center was established at a special meeting held in Nizami Ganjavi's hometown of Ganja as part of the 870th anniversary of the birth of the great Azerbaijani poet on 30 September 2012. Continuing its activities with the Azerbaijani president's support, this international non-governmental organization brings together former heads of state and government, foreign ministers, and prominent international scholars from more than 50 foreign countries. The main governing body is the Board of Trustees, which consists of influential public and political figures from around the world. The board includes 18 former leaders. The center also includes 53 prominent members from 25 countries in Europe, six from three countries in the Americas, 15 from 12 countries in Asia, and five from four countries in Africa. The co-chairs of the Center are the former President of the Republic of Latvia (19992007), Vaira Vike-Freiberga, and the former Vice-President of the World Bank (19922000), Dr. Ismail Serageldin. President John Garvey shared a final reflection and thank you with the University community on his last day as President of The Catholic University of America, writing in an email, I cant leave without saying goodbye one last time to all of you. All of you have been a large part of our lives for the past twelve years. In his message, he noted the many well wishes he and his wife, Jeanne Garvey, have received: We will never forget how much love and appreciation you have expressed in those goodbyes. We will miss you all very much.We leave this campus older and (in my case) greyer, but transformed, grateful, and honored to have been a part of the University. Then, in keeping with his tradition of speaking about the virtues, President Garvey offered one last reflection, returning to a theme of his inaugural address 12 years ago: I suggested then that if we want to promote a serious Catholic intellectual culture on campus we should consider the interplay of intellect and virtue across the full field of university life. Over the years I have continued this theme in various ways. I taught a class each spring on The Virtues to freshmen in the Honors Program; I made it a practice to offer reflections on different virtues at baccalaureate Masses and commencements. But the most wonderful thing about our time here is that Jeanne and I have had the opportunity to see these virtues enacted by all of you in the life of our community. Your example has been an inspiration to us. He concluded, I have no doubt that a lasting and strong Catholic intellectual movement is taking root here at Catholic University. I am glad to have played a part in it. Read President Garveys message here. Related News USDA offers safety tips for grilling The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday offered food safety tips for those looking to celebrate the Fourth of July at the grill. Here is a look at their top tips to keep foodborne bacteria away from food: Clean the grill. Scrub the grill clean before use. Defrost food safely. Frozen beef, poultry or fish can safely thaw in the refrigerator, cold water or a microwave. Cooks should grill their meat immediately after thawing. Avoid cross contamination. Separate raw meat and vegetables by using different cutting boards. Check internal temperatures. Cook food to a safe minimum internal temperature by using a food thermometer. Minimum internal temperatures are: Whole cuts of meat: 145 degrees with a 3-minute rest time Fish: 145 degrees Ground meats: 160 degrees Egg dishes: 160 degrees Poultry (ground or whole): 165 degrees Thoroughly cook frozen meat. Although frozen products may appear to be pre-cooked or browned, treat them as raw food and cook thoroughly. Products labeled as cook and serve, ready to cook and oven ready must be cooked. Use food thermometers correctly on burgers. Insert the thermometer through the side of the patty until the probe reaches the center. Beware of the Danger Zone. Bacteria multiply rapidly between 40 degrees and 140 degrees (the danger zone). USDA recommends that perishable food be consumed or refrigerated within two hours (or one hours in a room or outdoors if temperatures are above 90 degrees). Store leftovers properly. Divide leftovers into smaller portions and place them in shallow containers in the refrigerator or cooler. Keep items cool. Pack coolers with ice bags, gel packs or frozen water bottles. Use an appliance thermometer to monitor that food stays chilled at 40 degrees or below. When in doubt call. For more questions about food safety, contact the USDAs Meat and Poultry hotline at 1-888-674-6854 to talk to an expert or chat live at on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 28, 2022. Editorial: Nursing home crisis demands state action Three-quarters of homes in Pennsylvania at-risk of closing Owing to staff shortages, 75% of nursing homes in Pennsylvania are at-risk of closing and half are operating at a financial loss. The business model for these homes is broken. With the health and welfare of nearly 80,000 elderly people at stake, state government must help fix this crisis. Pennsylvanias 683 nursing homes face unprecedented financial stresses, including a Medicaid reimbursement rate that hasnt changed since 2014, large numbers of employees who left during the pandemic, increased costs for workers from temporary staffing agencies, and higher utility and supply costs. Gov. Tom Wolf has proposed adding $91 million in Medicaid funding to raise daily reimbursement rates for nursing home residents. Nursing home owners say current rates do not even cover their operating costs. Additional money from the state through Medicaid reimbursements, along with additional state oversight, will help nursing homes sustain acceptable levels of care. We urge the General Assembly to approve it. Still, a small increase in Medicaid reimbursements is, at best, an interim measure, a band aid on a gaping wound. More fundamental changes are needed to keep nursing homes afloat and providing high-quality care. Nursing home regulations must be updated to better protect patients. Lax staffing requirements, for instance, have led to numerous complaints from families of patients. In the worst instances, large numbers of residents have died from COVID-19, partly due to thin staffing and poor safety protocols. One year ago, the state Department of Health proposed new regulations to improve patient care, including requiring a minimum number of hours for staff to have direct contact with patients. Those regulations were generally ineffective, however, partly because nursing home operators did not receive enough money to cover the costs of increased staffing. In raising standards for patient care, the state must also ensure nursing home operators have enough money to meet them. Conversely, If the state provides $91 million in new funding, it should, in return, ask more of nursing home providers. Corporate and nonprofit owners of nursing homes should not resist government oversight, as government pays for 79% of their residents, mostly through Medicaid. Increased oversight could include requiring higher minimum staffing levels, and even living-wage compensation for nurses and aides. Higher Medicaid reimbursement from the state should also eliminate, or alleviate, another problem in the nursing home industry: Accepting patients based on whether theyre covered by Medicare, which provides higher reimbursement rates. Legislators should regard Gov. Wolfs proposed $91-million increase in Medicaid funding as an essential interim step that will enable them, and the industry, to work out more fundamental reforms to sustain nursing homes in Pennsylvania and improve their quality-of-care. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. June 29, 2022. In 2019, a list of pay raises in the Pennsylvania governors office brought criticism. Gov. Tom Wolf handed out increases to some of his top staffers, ranging from 7.7% to 36%. It wasnt that anyone questioned the work. People questioned the timing, which came just after the governors second inauguration, when he didnt have to run for office again and political criticism didnt sting quite the same way. There also was the fact that high-ranking government officials dont exactly make the median state income, which was under $32,000. The highest salary increase was more than that about $33,000. So this is definitely the kind of thing other elected officials would heed when giving out raises, right? Allegheny County says otherwise. Since 2019, several county staffers have posted considerable increases, which definitely can be attention-grabbing in the midst of a financial crisis that is hitting the area and the nation hard. County Manager William McKain has seen his pay increase by more than $75,000 since 2019, now topping $235,000. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgeralds chief of staff, Jennifer Liptak, has gotten a total of more than $56,000 in raises in that time, now sitting at $182,000. Senior Deputy County Manager Stephen Pilarsky saw his salary increase $44,000 to $160,000, while budget and finance director Mary Sorokas raises total nearly $25,000 to sit at $143,750. Thats a total of $200,000 in increases for four people who now, collectively, make more than $720,000. The totals are important because they show the percentage averaged together, up 38%. McKains is more than 46% alone. Are these employees worth that much? Not for us to say and also not the point. What is a problem is that county council members say they were unaware of the increases, which were merely mixed into the stew of Allegheny Countys $360 million 2022 budget, which is more than 40% salaries. I voted for this budget, yet I had no idea that these raises were included, council President Pat Catena, D-Carnegie, said. I would not have voted for the budget had I known someone was going to get a (large) increase. Another issue is top salaries like McKains and Liptaks are purely the prerogative of the county executive. Fitzgerald, like Wolf, is term-limited, which makes the bumps seem like parting gifts that will cost the county taxpayers for a longer time as they will impact pensions. Catena introduced a bill to add more transparency to the process, saying council members should have the information before voting, which is true. But that puts all the onus on the staff that prepares and presents the budget and none on the council members who should be asking questions about not just what they are seeing in the budget numbers but what they arent seeing, too. If council really wants to show attention and action, it shouldnt just be about transparency. There should be policy and limits about specific approvals for pay raises beyond certain numbers or percentages. Uniontown Herald-Standard. June 26, 2022. Editorial: Pennsylvanias fireworks law needs to be revisited Fireworks are plenty of fun on the Fourth of July, when you are sitting in a lawn chair and the night sky is being illuminated by the rockets red glare and the bombs bursting in air. Fireworks are a lot less fun when one of them sets your neighbors house ablaze or blows off somebodys hand. And, unfortunately, accidents caused by consumer fireworks have become more and more common as Pennsylvania and other states have loosened laws surrounding their use. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were 136 deaths as a result of fireworks from 2005 to 2020. In 2020 alone, more than 15,000 people were taken to emergency rooms to be treated for burns, lacerations and other injuries caused by pyrotechnic mishaps. An 8-year-old boy died in York County in a house fire last year caused by fireworks, and a Wilkes-Barre family lost their home after a firework went astray and landed on their porch. A hefty price tag is also attached to irresponsible amateurs playing around with fireworks. More than 1,300 structure fires occur every year on average because of fireworks, and there are more than 18,000 fires overall, costing $43 million in property damage. Lets not forget, too, that fireworks being set off deep into the night can be plenty annoying for neighbors who would like to get some sleep and not have to worry that a skyrocket is going to land on their roof. In 2017, Pennsylvania made fireworks beyond sparklers and novelties available for purchase so it could reap the benefits of a 12% tax attached to them, on top of a 6% sales tax. Now, however, a measure approved by the state House earlier this month would restrict the use of consumer fireworks from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with the exceptions of New Years Eve and July 2 to 4, and increase fines from $100 to $500 for those who violate fireworks regulations. Perhaps more importantly, it would give individual municipalities the right to place their own restrictions on the use of consumer fireworks. The bill was approved on a bipartisan basis, and also would direct the revenue generated by fireworks sales to fire and emergency services and away from the commonwealths general fund. As a general rule, its best to leave the fireworks to professionals. But if they are going to be available, we should allow municipalities the latitude to prohibit their use if officials believe they will pose a danger to residents, particularly those in densely packed neighborhoods. State Sen. Ryan Aument, a Republican from Lancaster County, explained last year, Every year around major holidays, I hear from my constituents who are rightfully frustrated by the unenforceability of the expanded fireworks law in our state, and I agree with them. We must fix this law to keep our communities and first responders safe. The 2017 fireworks went too far in making consumer fireworks widely available in Pennsylvania. For safetys sake, particularly as we approach the Fourth of July, a reset is in order. Wilkes-Barre Citizens' Voice. June 26, 2022. Editorial: With Roe gone, time for critics to step up Many conservative state legislators cheered Friday when the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to abortion that an earlier court had affirmed in Roe v. Wade in 1973. The 6-3 majority also overturned the 1992 decision, Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, under which the justices at that time further affirmed the abortion right but found that there is a legitimate public interest in regulating abortion. Pennsylvania is not among the 13 states that immediately will outlaw and, in some cases, criminalize, abortion within the next 30 days. But there is no doubt that some Pennsylvania lawmakers will move that quickly to introduce such measures. In doing so, they will answer the question raised by Gov. Robert P. Casey when he crafted the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act, the law that led to the Supreme Court decision in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. Casey was condemned from the left of his own Democratic Party due to the laws restrictions on abortion, and from the right, which wanted him to push a law that would lead to a direct challenge of Roe at the Supreme Court. Though Democrats to his left viewed Casey as a conservative, he argued that eliminating abortion should be an aspect of progressive social policy. He argued that abortion policy and expansive family-sustaining social policies regarding health care access, education, affordable day care, livable wages and similar policies were of one piece. Asked at a press conference during the 1992 Democratic National Convention why he did not just become a Republican due to the abortion issue, he replied that he and Republicans parted company at birth. Here in Pennsylvania the land of corporate tax cuts and gas industry subsidies, the $7.25 hourly minimum wage and woefully underfunded public schools in poor communities the question for GOP legislative majorities is if, 30 years later, they still part company with Casey at birth. Tragically, the answer to that is just as predictable as this conservative court supermajoritys decision to overturn what two of its members, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, had assured Sens. Susan Collins and Joe Manchin was settled law as they sought confirmation of their appointments. END Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Cap America Inc. recently donated $25,000 to the UniTec Education Foundation matching funds grant. The grant is for building an 8,000 square foot annex building to meet the growing needs of the UniTec Career Center and its many programs. The UniTec Career Center serves eight school districts with 16 programs available at the secondary level and has an average enrollment of 450-500 students per year. In addition, the evening programs serve about 2,200 adults in the GED/AEL and continuing education programs per year. Programs include construction, health services, culinary arts, digital media, graphic design, and pathways to teaching, among others. A Cap America official said the company has a vested interest in all local education programs since it is one of the largest employers in the area. Jon Page, vice president of production, said that, by investing in programs like UniTec, "were investing in Cap Americas future career force." "We employ over 400 people in our Fredericktown, Missouri, headquarters and are continuously hiring as our company grows, he said. Officials at Cap America said the UniTec Career Center is especially beneficial to the company at this point in time because of its growing Graphic Design program. Cap America employs an in-house team of graphic designers and is currently looking to add to the department to meet the demands of the rapidly-growing company. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Leadwood City Council met in regular session Monday Evening at City Hall on Bank Street to work on several issues, after not having a meeting last month. There was a discussion about residents living in campers in the city on a permanent basis. The building inspector stated that one ordinance stated that residents can live in campers temporarily. He also said that another ordinance states that someone cannot stay in a camper for more than 30 days in a calendar year. The council decided to table the discussion. Aldermen also talked about abandoned houses in the city. One home being discussed dealt with a dwelling that has become overgrown and is owned by a California resident. The city plans to cut the yard with a tractor and rotary cutter and attempt to contact the owner about getting the yard mowed and trimmed. The council passed a resolution for the 2022 Transportation Alternative Grant Program to fund a sidewalk and bike trail around the West County School District. Mayor Ed Austin read the resolution. Whereas the city recognizes the importance of working to provide and improve our pedestrian and pedestrian-related infrastructure and whereas the city has identified the Transportation Alternative Grant Program as a potential source of funding for related improvements," Austin read, "The city of Leadwood does hereby express a willingness to commit to the projects development, implementation, construction, maintenance, management and financing if awarded the grant through this program. St. Francois County will apply for half of the funding and the city of Leadwood will apply for the other half. The council approved the replacement of the tarp for the city dump truck. The street department asked to have an ice maker installed and the council decided that the department could get ice from the ice maker at the fire department instead. Replacing the flow meter for the city well was approved for $1,000. In the wastewater department, the council approved a sump pump for $1,200. In a discussion, the street department agree to purchase seven tons of asphalt for street repairs, especially to address issues on Church Street. Police Chief Emily Portell stated that there several police reports for the month, no citations, and one warning was issued. It was announced that there will be a craft show at the park on July 23 with about 30 vendors. The city also approved a plan for a city-wide yard sale on Aug. 6. The council approved the 2019 audit and the bid for pre-audit, as well as three audits for 2020, 2021 and 2022. The price of the audits will not exceed $5,700. The council also approved three new business licenses, for Benoist Excavating LLC., Hedgecorth Gym and Dollar General. Mark Marberry is a reporter for the Farmington Press and Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3629, or at mmarberry@farmingtonpressonline.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Virginia law enforcement will be far and wide this Independence Day holiday to keep the roads safe. From Friday, July 1, through Monday, July 4, Virginia State Police will again increase patrols on highways and byways as a part of Operation Crash Awareness Reduction Effort (CARE). According to AAA Mid-Atlantic, about 1.3 million Virginians and nearly 48 million Americans are projected to travel 50 or more miles away from home this holiday. Most of the travelers will take road trips. That is a 3.7% increase from last summer with automobile travel being projected to set a new national record with 42 million travelers, an increase of over 1% from 2019. The forecast for record auto travel is especially surprising considering the high price of gas, Morgan Dean, spokesperson for AAA Mid-Atlantic in Virginia, said in a news release. Even though prices have dropped over the past two weeks, drivers are paying the most theyve ever paid for gas at the 4th of July, but thats not stopping them from rolling out for a Great American Road Trip. The average price of gas in Charlottesville is $4.63, which is lower than the average price in the state of Virginia that rounds to about $4.69. Nationally, the average price of gas as of June 29 is $4.87 per gallon. Based on AAA booking data, Friday, July 1 is projected to be the busiest day for air travel during the holiday weekend with Monday, July 4 being the lightest. Thursday and Friday before the holiday are forecasted to be busiest traffic days for those hitting the road. According to the Virginia State Police, during the CARE initiative last year there were 12 traffic deaths on Virginia highways. State troopers arrested 61 drivers who were under influence of drugs or alcohol. Meanwhile, Albemarle County Police Departments Traffic Unit has spent the last several months increasing their presence on roadways to promote safe driving behaviors, according to Bridgette Butynski, public information officer for the county. While officers will be patrolling the streets, ACPD is emphasizing some key points to provide a safer celebration of the holiday. Dont drink and drive, buckle up, slow down, dont drive distracted or tired, give yourself plenty of time to arrive at your destination, and drive cautiously and defensively, said Butynski. Additional recommendations include finding a designated sober driver before you drink, attending professional fireworks shows instead of using at-home fireworks, ensuring that any celebratory gunfire is done safely and keeping your celebration respectful to your neighbors. 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. So Yesli Vega, Virginias Seventh Congressional District Republican candidate, thinks incorrectly that rape victims dont get pregnant easily. Does that mean that those who do get pregnant should be forced to bear their rapists children? The logical disconnect in a recently released audio of Vegas view of rape and pregnancy runs so hard against science and sanity that it would be laughable if it were not so dangerous. Heres what Vega says in an audio recorded at a primary campaign stop where she endorsed restrictions on access to abortion. The Axios website obtained and released the audio. The left will say, Well what about in cases of rape or incest? Vega said. Im a law enforcement officer. I became a police officer in 2011. Ive worked one case where as a result of a rape, the young woman became pregnant. The person speaking to her then asks, Ive actually heard that its harder for a woman to get pregnant if shes been raped. Have you heard that? Vega responds: Well, maybe because theres so much going on in the body. I dont know. I havent, you know, seen any studies. But if Im processing what youre saying, it wouldnt surprise me. Because its not something thats happening organically. Youre forcing it. The individual, the male, is doing it as quickly its not like, you know and so I can see why there is truth to that. Its unfortunate. What is more unfortunate is that someone who knows so little about human reproduction might win a seat in the United States House of Representatives. Vegas ignorance and insensitivity about rape do not make her a viable candidate. They make her a poster child for sex education. Of course, sex ed is also something her far-right-wing political base opposes. The rape-almost-never-makes-you-pregnant myth is a long-running canard perpetrated and perpetuated by the anti-womens-choice, forced pregnancy movement and its willing accomplices in the Republican Party. It is not based in any reality, certainly not any scientific reality, said Renee Brennan, executive director of the Sexual Assault Resource Agency in Charlottesville. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that nearly 2.9 million American women have experienced rape-related pregnancy over their lifetimes. The percentages of women among racial and ethnic groups impregnated by rape is reasonably consistent: Hispanic 2.8%, White non-Hispanic 2.2%, Black non-Hispanic 3%, and other non-Hispanic 2.4%. Women raped by partners with whom they were formerly or currently intimate showed a higher pregnancy rate (26.2%) than those raped by acquaintances (5.2%) or strangers (6.9%). The difference is explained by the fact that three in ten women raped by intimate partners suffered some kind of coercive behavior by their rapist which denied them birth control. On her campaign website, Vega cites the Declaration of Independence as the basis for her stand on not letting women control their bodies. Life is a human right given to us by our Creator, her website states. I believe this statement and belive [sic] that every life is precious which is why Im proudly pro-life. She is not so proudly pro-rape victim, because shes only seen one case of rape where the woman became pregnant. Insurance actuaries make these kinds of calculations, not members of Congress. Worse, Vega bases her conclusions on nothing resembling truth. To force even one person to bear the child of a rapist based on her ignorance constitutes a second violation of the victim. The Sexual Assault Resources Agencys Brennan points out that every rape victim who goes to a hospital gets offered emergency contraception. Yet the next round in the forced pregnancy debate in Congress likely will be life at conception bills, which would effectively ban emergency contraception. Republican Rep. Todd Akin said something similar to Vega when he ran for U.S. Senate in Missouri in 2012. Akin told a TV station that pregnancies from rape are really rare. Akin then sealed his political fate with this famous pseudo-scientific pronouncement: If its a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. Akin lost in a landslide. Female voters in Virginias Seventh District will determine if the same thing happens to Yesli Vega. Residents of Bluebell Hills edition in northwest Kerrville plan to celebrate the Fourth of July again this year as they have done for the last Thank you for reading! To read this article and more, subscribe now for as little as $1.99. Oregon has fined an Albany titanium manufacturer more than $60,000 for storing dozens of barrels of potentially hazardous industrial waste and ignoring state efforts to force compliance with environmental law. Most of that fine, $43,202, is levied against the company to erase potential savings the state's Department of Environmental Quality estimates Selmet Inc. made by not hiring a half-time environmental health and safety technician, according to a civil penalty order issued in May. Selmet environmental manager Zack Rabas wrote in an appeal that his company is not disputing DEQs assertions, but seeking leniency. Rabas rejected the states assessment that the aerospace parts manufacturer saved costs in failing to meet state requirements for managing hazardous wastes. We dispute the assumption that Selmet has been avoiding costs and receiving economic benefit from understaffing, Rabas stated in the letter. Reached by phone, Rabas declined to speak to Mid-Valley Media. Im not interested at the moment. I cant talk about it, Rabas said, adding he is newly employed with the Albany manufacturer. A message left with other Selmet representatives seeking comment was not immediately returned. The allegations Oregons environment department asserts Selmet failed to determine which waste produced at its facility near Interstate-5 was hazardous. Selmet stored some of that waste in 55-gallon drums, according to the penalty notice. DEQ staff reportedly found numerous drums containing acetone and ceramic slurry, and 51 drums of ethyl silicate, which can be used in industrial coatings and castings, during an inspection in April 2021 a total 76 barrels of potentially hazardous waste. They had lots of unknown waste that turned out to be solid waste, but thats one of those things with hazardous waste you need to have it stored and labeled correctly, DEQ spokesperson Dylan Darling said. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Albany Democrat-Herald. Selmet was able to reduce prior fines for similar offenses in 2019 after agreeing to buy and replace a school bus for the Greater Albany Public Schools district with a newer diesel model that produces less pollution. In the most recent incident, the company sampled barrel contents and reported to DEQ in April 2021 that ceramic slurry and ethyl silicate had flashpoints above 140 degrees, the concentration and combustion temperature at which solvent vapors become fire hazards. Selmet used the waste acetone after finding it had a flashpoint below 140 degrees, according to the notice. Inspectors estimated the waste drums sat for a year in a location called the boneyard. The manufacturer later disposed of the barrels as solid waste, the notice states. Selmet also stored liquid containing potentially toxic, leachable silver in a 275-gallon tank without a lid. DEQ penalized the company for the second time in two years for improperly disposing of silver waste. The manufacturer does not have permits to store, treat or dispose of hazardous waste or to operate a solid waste disposal site. Selmet produces more than 2,200 pounds of hazardous waste each month, according to DEQ. The agency fined the company $62,298 and wrote in its assessment that Selmet had failed to sufficiently prioritize and resource compliance with hazardous waste and used oil regulations. Previous DEQ run-ins DEQ fined Selmet $70,200 in 2020 for posing potential risk to human health and for failing to operate with transparency and accountability when the company violated hazardous waste laws. The state asserts in its penalty that Selmet had failed to legally or safely transport, store and label hazardous materials found during a 2019 inspection. The state reduced that fine to $56,400 after Selmet entered an agreement with the state to label and remove hazardous wastes named in the 2020 penalty order. Selmet spent $45,120 toward a school bus to offset the fine and paid off the penalty in 2021. Along with Albany titanium parts maker Pacific Cast Technologies Inc., Selmet is operated as subsidiary of Consolidated Precision Products, a Cleveland-based multinational aerospace and defense manufacturer. Alex Powers (he/him) covers business, environment and healthcare for Mid-Valley Media. Call 541-812-6116 or email Alex.Powers@lee.net. Love 1 Funny 5 Wow 1 Sad 2 Angry 3 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. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in Ashgabat. Noting that he was very pleased to have the opportunity to meet with President Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of the Caspian Summit, President Vladimir Putin recalled the visit of the head of state to Russia, adding that this year marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Emphasizing that the relations between the two countries were gaining momentum and were at a very good level, the President of the Russia said that all the discussed issues were being implemented. President Vladimir Putin noted that trade was growing. Last year, growth exceeded 16 percent, and in the first three months of this year, it rose by a further 5.5 percent. Thus, there is a steady increase in trade turnover. Touching upon political contacts, President Vladimir Putin recalled the visit of the Russian Foreign Minister to Baku, said that visits of the Prime Minister and the Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation to Azerbaijan were being prepared. The Russian President stressed that the implementation of the plan of the Russian-Azerbaijani cooperation for the period up to 2024 was of priority importance. So development is observed in all areas. President Vladimir Putin also noted that discussions had been held with the President of Azerbaijan on issues of regional security, including the settlement of the Karabakh problem, and this meeting was a good opportunity to review that topic. Recalling the remarks by President Ilham Aliyev during informal contacts at lunch, the Russian President said that the summit was businesslike and that many interesting proposals on the development of regional cooperation had been put forward. Stressing that the meeting with the President of Azerbaijan was useful, President Vladimir Putin noted that the discussions held would give an additional impetus to bilateral relations. *** Expressing his gratitude for the kind words, President Ilham Aliyev said that he was very pleased to meet with the President of Russia. The President of Azerbaijan stressed that meetings with President Vladimir Putin had always been very important for bilateral ties. The head of state expressed his confidence that the meeting would also contribute to the development of friendly and good neighborly relations between the two countries. The President of Azerbaijan also expressed his satisfaction with the growth of trade between the two countries, as well as the expansion of industrial cooperation, cooperation in the transport and energy sectors. The Azerbaijani President said that this meeting opened up good opportunities for discussing regional issues. President Ilham Aliyev noted the importance of the recent visit of the Russian Foreign Minister to Azerbaijan in terms of developing ties and expressed his confidence that bilateral relations would continue to develop successfully for the benefit of the two countries and peoples. The sides also discussed prospects for bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest. *** President Ilham Aliyev completed his visit to Turkmenistan. FILE PHOTO: Committee Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) questions Cassidy Hutchinson, who was an aide to former U.S. President Donald Trump's White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, as Hutchinson testifies during a public hearing of the U.S. House Select Committee to investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 28, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Malaysias communications minister has indicated that an announcement will be made by next week regarding the sale of a 70% equity stake in Digital Nasional Berhad. Communications and Multimedia Minister Annuar Musa noted that the government had aimed to conclude talks relating to the sale by the end of June, but added that discussions with the six prospective shareholders were proceeding as expected, saying: They have reached a certain understanding and everything will be concluded by next week, by the eighth of July. Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) is a state-backed special purpose vehicle that will operate Malaysias sole 5G network on a wholesale basis. The countrys four major operators - Celcom Axiata, DiGi Telecommunications, Maxis and U Mobile are attempting to take a joint majority holding in the unit after dismissing the governments offer of a minority holding. Reuters reports that in May, the operators wrote to Malaysias finance ministry requesting a review of the proposed pricing model and access plan for DNBs wholesale 5G network. The operators have raised concerns over transparency, arguing that a single state-run network would be more susceptible to becoming an effective monopoly. Currently only Telekom Malaysia and YTL Communications both smaller players have agreed to the governments 5G proposals. Both are also seeking a shareholding in DNB, with Telekom Malaysia Chief Executive Imri Mokhtar noting that negotiations were in their final stages, saying we will make an announcement once any deal is finalised. By Trend A summit of the presidents of five Caspian littoral states (Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran) was held in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat on June 29. A number of issues, including cooperation and security were discussed at the summit. "The Ashgabat Summit of the presidents of the Caspian littoral states will lead to positive results. Because the relations between the mentioned countries are at a required level. In this regard, the countries can reach certain agreements," former chairman of National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iranian Parliament Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh told Trend. Falahatpisheh added that recently, the Iranian government has further developed its political and economic relations with the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, especially with neighboring countries. He also added that the Iranian government has chosen regional cooperation with the Caspian littoral states as a priority. As a result, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of visits and contacts between Iran and the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus in the last 10 years in various fields. This reflects Iran's preference for cooperation with the countries of the region. "There are two important issues for the establishment of infrastructure and increased security for regional cooperation among the Caspian littoral states. These issues may result in a further increase in the level of relations among the Caspian littoral states," Falahatpisheh noted. As for the establishment of infrastructure for regional cooperation, the official pointed out that the establishment of railway lines among the five Caspian littoral states, the construction of pipelines for bilateral and multilateral energy exchange can further give impetus to the development of relations. The Ashgabat Summit is important to allow Caspian littoral states take steps in various areas, especially in the economic and trade spheres. In addition, bilateral meetings at the presidential level will also contribute to the development of cooperation in various fields, Falahatpisheh said. In turn, Professor of Regional Studies at Tehran University Elaheh Koolaee said that the geographical position of the Caspian Sea has created favorable conditions for the establishment and development of beneficial and constructive relations with the littoral states. The professor also pointed out that the Caspian Sea requires constructive opportunities between the countries. So that future generations will be able to take advantage of this opportunity, just as people who have lived around this sea for centuries have benefited from it. Koolaee added that over the past years, the summits of presidents of the Caspian littoral states have focused on issues based on common interests. "After the collapse of the USSR, the Caspian Sea attracted the world's attention due to its rich hydrocarbon reserves and increased production of these resources. This has further increased the responsibility of the Caspian littoral states," she said. Due to the Caspian Sea being a lake and there is no way for pollutants to escape from this basin, the cooperation of littoral countries in protecting the marine environment is of great importance, Koolaee noted. The professor stressed that in this regard, environmental protection is a priority. Cooperation between the Caspian littoral states on transit and cargo transportation will serve their common interests. "One of the important issues at the meetings of the Caspian littoral states is that the countries act in the direction of regional interests, along with long-term and national interests," she said. The ex-governor of Iran's Golestan Province Hadi Haghshenas said that the Caspian Sea is of great economic importance to the Caspian littoral states, especially in terms of oil and gas production, transportation of agricultural products, as well as transit of goods. "It is usually a priority to establish economic ties between countries around the seas around the world. The Caspian littoral states are developing countries. In this regard, these countries have great potential. Iran can move towards creating common economic interests with the Caspian littoral states," Haghshenas added. Brazil may be about to join the rush to standardise smartphone chargers. The National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), the Brazilian telecom regulator, has proposed making USB-C chargers mandatory for all smartphones sold in the country. Anatel has released an open public consultation for assessing the compliance of the wired charging interface with the USB type C standard in mobile cell phones. This isnt a new idea, of course. The European Parliament has advanced proposals for harmonising the charging interface and there have been movements in a similar direction in the US. There are obvious reasons for this, apart from end users spending less time sorting through multiple chargers. Firstly the USB Type-C is widely used by most global manufacturers and has internationally recognised standards. Also, at a time when waste and expenditure are major concerns, addressing unnecessary consumer costs, mitigating e-waste and making it easier to decide on electronic devices are likely to be popular with the general public. According to the IANS news service, in 2019, humans generated 53.6 million metric tons of e-waste. Only 17 per cent of this waste was recycled. However, while the European Commissions announcement of the adoption of a USB-C port as a single charger by 2024 applied to a variety of devices, including smartphones, tablets, portable speakers, and e-readers, the Brazilian proposal seems, for the moment, only to apply to smartphones. Ten Cuban mothers including two pregnant women, with their 11 children, have moved into an abandoned printing facility on the Calle Virtudes 816, between Oquendo and Marquez Gonzalez, in Central Havana. They have been there for a week, under threat of eviction by the Government and the Technical Investigations Department (DTI). "We are here because our houses are in danger of collapsing, or we don't have any. As soon as we came, people from the DTI came to tell us get out, without even listening to us. Since we're not going to leave without them talking to us, and our problem being solved, the Police have stopped people from bringing us food, to get us to give up," the leader of the group told DIARIO DE CUBA; identified by the other women using the Yoruba word "Iyawo," she was dressed in white. A video posted on Alain Paparazzi's Facebook page shows one of the mothers filming from inside the premises the surveillance to which they were subjected hours after they decided to forcibly enter the abandoned four-storey building. "We don't want them to see our problem as a political one, we just want to be heard and, if possible, to be given a piece of this immense, abandoned place so we have somewhere to live. That's all we want, but no one from the government has come here to talk to us," said another of the mothers, who asked to remain anonymous. The phenomenon of "squatting mothers" is spreading across Cuba, aggravated by the serious housing shortage. In the capital, collapsed buildings are frequent calamities, especially in Old Havana and Central Havana due to their age and state of disrepair. Although the authorities always strive to evict mothers from the premises or houses where they are squatting, in many cases these women manage to stay in them. Troy Public Radios newest podcast, It Came from the Archives, discusses the history, culture, and people of Alabamas Wiregrass region. It Came from the Archives made its podcast debut in June with its first episode, Troy Universitys Origin Story, featuring Wiregrass Archives Director Dr. Marty Olliff hosted by Greg Phillips, and centering on A.A. Wiley, who founded Troy and left a dramatic imprint on the Wiregrass region of Alabama, according to a press release from Troy University. Where the blog posts rely on the visual appeal of the collections photographs, podcasts provide an opportunity to discuss the nuances and stories that go far beyond the limited length of the blog post, and podcasts are an easy medium to consume, Olliff said. The first episode concerns A. A. Wiley, who grew up in Troy as a member of one of the major merchant families there. He began practicing law in 1871 with Thomas Goode Jones (governor, 1890-1894) and Samuel Rice (chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court), served 15 years on the Montgomery City Council and held multiple terms in both the Alabama House and Senate. In 1887, he helped write the bill that established the State Normal School at Troy (the precursor to Troy University) and shepherded it through the Alabama legislature. Later, Wiley served as a lieutenant colonel of infantry in the Spanish American War, an assistant governor of Santiago province in Cuba, the corporate counsel for the Atlantic Coast Line railway, and the US congressman for Alabamas Second District from 1901 until his death in 1908. Other future episodes cover the National Peanut Festival, education during the Jim Crow era through the lens of the Weems Family of Columbia, Alabama, and the newspaper of the famed Dixie Division, which is the 31st Infantry Division as it trained at camp Blanding, Florida prior to World War II. Getting a well-crafted podcast into the market opens topics that might not be accessible otherwise. Like blog posts, podcasts can provide an outlet for the historical stories of the area that arent large enough for traditional publication or that appeal to a small, niche group of listeners, Olliff said It Came from the Archives podcast can be found at Troy Public Radio Podcast Network hosted on PodBean. The shooting of two Alabama deputies has stunned the community, and those who know the two wounded public servants. Brad Johnson, 32, has served with the sheriffs office just over seven years. He is engaged to be married and is the father two daughters. His father, Steven Johnson, said his son was shot in the head. The deputy on Thursday remained on life support and was going through the organ donor process. Chris Poole, a 30-year-old husband and father, has been released from UAB Hospital and is recovering at home. We ask that you continue to remember Deputy Brad Johnsons family in your prayers as theyre still with him at the hospital and hes going through the final processes to continue to save lives, said an emotional Bibb County Sheriff Jody Wade. Its been said that a coward dies a thousand deaths, but a hero but one, the sheriff said. Brad Johnson was a hero. The community is just shocked that anything like this could happen nearby, said Centreville Mayor Mike Oakley. Its shock and outrage. Both deputies, Oakley said, are some of the best law enforcement officers in the county. Theyre friends and community leaders, the mayor said. Theyre two of the greatest friends anyone could ever ask for, said friend Brittany Russell. They both are amazing men. Johnson, a former volunteer firefighter, has been described as a genuine sole that served the community with pride. Today is a sad day in our community, according to a post by Brierfield Ironworks State Park. We grieve with the Johnson family for the loss of a true hero, Brad Johnson. Brad worked as a deputy for our sister park in the past and has helped us with special events every year. We are heartbroken. Not only have we lost a brother law enforcement officer, said AHIC Chief Scott McDonald, I have lost a friend. Im praying for the Johnson family. Rest easy, brother. Weve got it from here. Alana Godwin, who previously worked at DHR, said Johnson and Poole often accompanied her on case visits. I never once worried about my safety with them because I knew they were the kind that would defend me no matter what it cost, Godwin posted on Facebook. Even though Im not an officer, I felt a certain camaraderie and always smiled when I was in a pinch and would call Chris because he would say, Ive got your six. Both of these men have become dear friends with whom Ive still had conversations with after leaving the department, Godwin wrote. Brad has always been a perfect gentleman and came by to help me pick up trash recently after a mental health fair. We talked about his engagement, and he beamed, she wrote. We always discussed our kiddos. Chris was the only colleague who showed up to my moms funeral which means more than words can say. Poole, a father to a son and daughter, formerly served as a Bibb County dispatcher and a corrections officer at the Bibb County Jail before becoming a deputy and later becoming an investigator. Earlier this month, he became the first Bibb County deputy to graduate from the National Computer Forensics Institute. Hes so smart, and we are so proud of him, Russell said. Poole also has been lauded for his devotion to the community. The CAC has had the honor and privilege of working with Investigator Chris Poole on many cases. He is one of the most caring and diligent law enforcement partners that we have ever met. Not only is he a great friend, but an amazing daddy and husband to his kids and wife, Russell said. Not only is he a goofy guy and will always keep you laughing, he is one of the sweetest and most caring, she said. He will drop whatever he is doing and help anyway he can. Russell said Poole is determined. He wont stop until he meets his goal, said. Mayor Oakley described both officers as community oriented and family oriented. They would stop in City Hall just to stick their head in and shoot the bull, he said. Johnson, he said, always took his K9 to school events. He was the face of the sheriffs department for the school kids, he said. Theyre both good folks, good people, the mayor said. Austin Patrick Hall, a 26-year-old convicted felon with a lengthy criminal history, was named as the suspect in the shootings. He was captured early Thursday about a half mile from the crime scene. He is being held at the Shelby County Jail and will be arraigned likely on capital murder charges in Bibb County on Friday, said District Attorney Michael Jackson. Oakley said he and the community are concerned about why Hall, who has been arrested on at least 46 criminal charges since he was 17, was out of jail. How was this lifelong felon allowed to walk and something like this happen, the mayor said. How can we better identify people with habitual problems so that it would not come to something like this? Maybe we need to do a better job of identifying people whose lives could lead to this. Over 25,000 Vietnamese citizens abroad have been deported since 2018 for violating local laws, the public security ministry said. "Vietnamese abroad have become the main subjects of investigation for authorities during campaigns to search for illegal workers, and have frequently been mentioned in the media, negatively affecting the image of Vietnamese workers," Luong Tam Quang, Deputy Minister of Public Security, said at a Hanoi conference Wednesday. Quang said Vietnamese workers were illegally staying in many countries and territories like Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the U.S. and Europe. In Europe, the illegal workers were mostly in the U.K., France or Germany, while more of them were going to Australia, the Middle East and Africa, he added. "Since 2018, weve cooperated to investigate, verify and deal with around 800 cases of Vietnamese abroad violating the law per requests by local authorities. Weve also received over 25,000 deported citizens," he said. Quang said there were crime rings that utilized social media to entice Vietnamese to go to certain Southeast Asian countries for work and instead, sell them to casinos. Vietnam still lacks regulations to deal with the consequences of law violations in foreign countries as also deterrence for businesses at home that fail to prevent their employees from violating laws in foreign countries, he said. Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son said there might be only a few Vietnamese committing crimes abroad, but they affect the reputation of the entire Vietnamese community in foreign countries. There are currently around 5.3 million Vietnamese living and working in around 130 countries and territories. The State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese said 80 percent of the diaspora live in developed countries. Footage on state TV shows a large cylinder plunging from a crane on a moored vessel, causing a violent explosion of yellow gas in Jordan's Aqaba port, killing 13 people. Still image handed out via AFP A gas explosion at Jordan's Aqaba port on Monday killed 13 people including five Vietnamese. According to the Vietnamese embassy in Saudi Arabia, the Vietnamese victims were crew members aboard the Forest 6 registered in Hong Kong on which a tanker containing toxic chlorine gas accidentally exploded. It also left more than 250 people injured, including seven Vietnamese. Some 100 of them were still in hospital Wednesday, AFP quoted local officials as saying. Most were being treated for the effects of breathing chlorine, a common cleaning agent that can be employed as a chemical weapon, it said. Speaking on the phone with Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and counterpart Ayman Al-Safadi on Wednesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son urged them to quickly investigate the cause of the explosion and handle post-mortem procedures for the deceased victims. He also sought Jordanian support for the Vietnamese embassys efforts to assist Vietnamese citizens in need. Jordanian officials said earlier the explosion occurred when a crane was loading tanks of chlorine aboard the ship to be transported to Djibouti and a tank containing 25 tons of the gas fell from the crane. A video from Jordan's national television Al-Mamlaka shows the tank falling and slamming into the deck, creating a yellow cloud of gas that envelops the ship and the jetty and many people trying to flee. By Azernews By Sabina Mammadli Azerbaijan has appealed to international organizations to promote countries' access to the UN Water Convention, Azernews reports with reference to what Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev has said. The remarks were made during an international conference on the topic Promoting water partnership and action for sustainable water management, which is being held in the liberated Zangilan regions Agali smart village. "Azerbaijan has formulated its national water policy to ensure the efficient use of water resources, whilst most countries in the region have not yet joined the convention, which makes it difficult to achieve sustainable water management," Babayev opined. Noting that the availability and accessibility to clean water by all people have become key factors for Azerbaijan, Babayev also stated the great role of the conference in Zangilan, as this region is one of the most affected by the Armenian occupation, and at the same time, it will be one of the first regions where its natives will return. During the same event, the head of the International Organizations Sector at the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of Azerbaijan's Presidential Administration, Habib Mikayilli, stated that the pollution of Azerbaijan's Okhchuchay river is one of the important issues on the agenda. He added that the ecological status of the river has considerably deteriorated due to its pollution by enterprises operating in Armenia over the 30-year occupation of Azerbaijan's Karabakh. "Unfortunately, even one international company was involved in the pollution of this river," Mikayilli said. Furthermore, the head of the sector emphasized Azerbaijan's large-scale reconstruction activities, including the improvement of water management as well. International support Furthermore, UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan Vladanka Andreeva stated that the UN and Azerbaijan should cooperate in the sphere of water resources management. "Access to clean water is a global problem, currently. The UN will continue to assist Azerbaijan in achieving sustainable development goals and managing water resources," Andreeva stressed. The coordinator added that this issue is most serious in Azerbaijan due to climate change and the fact that most of the water resources, some 70 percent, enter the country from other sources in the region. Similarly, EU Ambassador to Azerbaijan Peter Michalko said that the EU will continue to assist the country in the management of water resources. "The issue of water resources management is being mainstreamed in the world. The EU is one of the main partners of Azerbaijan in this sphere, Michalko said. According to him, the EU is interested in further assistance to the projects implemented by the Azerbaijani government. Moreover, he added that the EU wants to further develop cooperation with Azerbaijan, since the green transformation is a priority of the cooperation, and sustainable development depends on the management of water resources and access to water. The EU Ambassador also noted that Agali smart village is very impressive with its infrastructure. Noting the importance of the theme of the conference, Michalko expressed pleasure with the opportunity to visit this impressive village for the first time, where modern concepts have been implemented. Smart villages and cities are priorities for the EU, and in our cooperation with Azerbaijan, this is one of the five major initiatives in the framework of the EUs Economic and Investment Plan for the Eastern Partnership in Azerbaijan," Michalko noted. Fish population Meanwhile, ahead of the opening of the conference, representatives of the diplomatic corps and members of international organizations in Azerbaijan released tiny brook trout fishes into the Hakari River in Zangilan region. Guests were told about the reconstruction work on the liberated lands, and activities in the sphere of restoring the ecology of the region. It was also noted that the population of the brook trout is included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List). The population of the brook trout will be increased in Azerbaijan. Commenting on the occasion, the Head of the Biodiversity Conservation Service at the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Firudin Aliyev, stated that measures are being taken to increase the population of rare fish in Azerbaijan. According to him, 3,000 juvenile brook trout have been released into the Khakari River of the Zangilan district as part of the program to improve fish populations. As he noted, the brook trout is listed in the Red Book and its population growth is extremely important. Moreover, Aliyev added that brook trout fry easily adapts to the local water. The conference was organized by Azerbaijans Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources with the support of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Karabakh Revival Fund. Foreign diplomats accredited in Azerbaijan, members of international organizations, and experts took part in the conference. The forum is attended by Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan Mukhtar Babayev; Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ilhama Gadimova; Chairman of the Executive Board of the Karabakh Revival Fund Rahman Hajiyev; UN Resident Coordinator Vladanka Andreeva; Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Peter Michalko; Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Olga Algayerova; Secretary of the UN Water Convention Sonia Keppel; Director of the Europe Office of the UN Environment Program (UNEP) Bruno Pozzi, and others. Container trucks on Nguyen Thi Dinh Street towards Cat Lai port in HCMC, April 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Gia Minh A road to link Ho Chi Minh City's Cat Lai Port with two routes has been proposed to boost regional connectivity. In a statement sent to the Ministry of Transport on Wednesday, the city's Chairman Phan Van Mai said the proposed route would link Tan Cang-Cat Lai Terminal, Vietnam's busiest container port, with HCMC Long Thanh Dau Giay Expressway and Ring Road No.3. It will also run to Phu Huu Port that is three kilometers from Cat Lai. The route is to better serve cargo shipment and ease traffic jams in the area, the statement read. It will stretch six kilometers in length, 60 meters in width to have 12 lanes that allow vehicles to move at 60 kph. Along the road, there would be a viaduct and an elevated section. Once completed, trucks could run all the way between the terminal, the largest and most modern international container port in Vietnam that spreads over 160 hectares, and HCMC- Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway and Ring Road 3 without being stuck in traffic jams. In order for the road to take shape, HCMC will need to clear a total area of 59 hectares. Ring Road No. 3 is still under construction. Stretching over 90 kilometers (56 miles), it will allow vehicles to travel to and from Binh Duong, Long An and Dong Nai, all neighbors of HCMC and major industrial hubs, without having to enter inner HCMC. HCMC- Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway at 55-kilometers in length connects the city with Thong Nhat District in Dong Nai. Approximately 4.9 million 20-foot containers are handled in HCMC each year, which equates to about three million trucks, or more than 8,000 trucks per day transiting in and around the city to discharge or load containers from the port area. Tan Cang-Cat Lai Terminal handles over 92 percent of this volume and roughly half of the countrys total container volume. The second part of the show featured textured, ocean-inspired outfits in vibrant colors. The designer incorporated many print patterns featuring seashells, fish, coral and other sea creatures. The main materials used by Cuong in this part are lace and chiffon, which are soft and easy to care for summer fabrics. They also help the wearer feel relaxed, cool and comfortable even in the scorching heat. More than 81,000 delegates from central to grassroots levels attend the event held in both in-person and virtual format. During the past decade, more than 2,700 party organizations and nearly 168,000 party members have been disciplined over graft. The disciplined party members include than 170 high-ranking officials, 33 of them are members of the Party Central Committee and 50 of them are military and police generals. Competent authorities have prosecuted 19,546 corruption cases with 33,868 defendants. The State have recovered VND 61 trillion, accounting for 34.7 percent of the total losses to corruption. Viet Nam has moved up more than 30 spots in terms of the corruption perception index over the past decade thanks to its anti-corruption efforts, according to the Transparency International (TI). The Southeast Asian country's anti-corruption efforts were one of the main subjects that captured international media attention over the past week. Titled "What's Behind Viet Nam's Latest Anti-Corruption Fight", the Bloomberg article analyzed Viet Nam's anti-corruption campaign, particularly as the Vietnamese economy is the fastest growing in Southeast Asia. Eight inspection teams have been set up in an effort to deal with corruption cases, including at party committees and agencies, according to the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption. Over 1,200 cases have been investigated this year, with over 730 involving more than 1,500 defendants brought to court. Indeed, over the last year the police have detained a number of executives as part of investigations into alleged stock price manipulation. With a population of roughly 100 million, the nation has lots to gain economically providing that if it can bolster its image as a place to do business. In another article entitled "Ex-Minister Detained as Viet Nam's Abuse Probes Accelerate," Bloomberg praised Viet Nam's broad anti-corruption push for the highest-ranking government officials amidst investigations into a wide range of alleged illicit activity, from stock price manipulation to property fraud. A series of international news sites such as Channel News Asia, The Star, and Nation Thailand have reported that the former Minister of Health and former Chairman of the Ha Noi People's Committee have been prosecuted and detained . These wrongdoings relate to abusing their positions and powers while performing official duties, causing severe consequences and losses to the State budget. Kenneth Atkinson, President of the British Chamber of Commerce in Viet Nam (BritCham Viet Nam), said that Vietnamese anti-corruption actions are extremely welcome, especially with cases involving high-ranking officials. Viet Nam was ranked 68th out of the 120 countries in the Open Budget Survey (OBS) 2021 which was recently released by the International Budget Partnership (IBP), up nine spots against 2019 and 23 compared to 2017's standings./. Ms. Bui Thi Hoa, VRC President, presents a souvenir to the representative of the Oman Embassy in Vietnam. (Photo: VRC) On June 29, in Hanoi, Ms. Bui Thi Hoa, VRC President, had a meeting with the representative of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Oman in Vietnam. At the meeting, the two sides informed each other the results of the implementation of the work in the past time, as well as the orientation of cooperation in the coming time. The two sides also agreed on a list of items that the Kingdom of Oman supports for the Vietnam Red Cross Society, including medical equipment for epidemic prevention (masks, gloves and protective suits), especially supporting more specialized ambulances to transport poor patients. The two sides are also expected to hold an awarding and handover ceremony in the near future. Vietnam and the Kingdom of Oman established diplomatic relations on June 9, 1992. Over the past 30 years, bilateral relations between the two countries have made many achievements in all fields. In particular, economic cooperation between the two countries is constantly being promoted and becoming more and more practical. Bilateral trade turnover in 2021 reached USD338.1 million, an increase of 100% compared to 2020, an impressive growth in the context of difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic./. Ambassador Luong Thanh Nghi and overseas Vietnamese delegates (Photo: baoquocte.vn) At the exchange, the overseas Vietnamese coming from Poland, Gerrmany, Hungary, France and Israel, showed the ambassador photos they took during the trips and recalled the moving moments when they saw with their own eyes the daily life of soldiers and people on islands in Truong Sa and the DK1 platform, through which they felt the firm will and resolve of the soldiers at the frontline of the fatherland. The overseas Vietnamese delegates said that, after their trips, many forums and clubs of Truong Sa soldiers have been established in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary or the Republic of Korea to spread the love of Vietnams seas and islands among the overseas Vietnamese communities. In Europe, the Truong Sa soldiers regularly meet and support each other in their daily life, with the current visit to Denmark one of their activities. The overseas Vietnamese thanked the Vietnamese Navy, the State Commission for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs and the Foreign Ministry for organizing the meaningful trips to Truong Sa and the DK1 platform, giving them a deeper understanding about the situation in the homeland in general and in the seas and islands in particular. At the event, Ambassador Luong Thanh Nghi took note of the proposals of the overseas Vietnamese, which he will convey to relevant agencies so that they can better arrange visits to Truong Sa and the DK1 platform in the coming years. On the occasion, the overseas Vietnamese and the Ambassador discussed the establishment of a liaison committee of Truong Sa soldiers in Europe. They collected nearly 3,000 EUR to buy gifts for Truong Sa soldiers on the occasion of the Lunar New Year Festival of 2023./. At the meeting (Photo: TDO) The figures were released by Vietnamese Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung during a meeting with Japanese Justice Minister Furukawa Yoshihisa on June 29. At the meeting, the two sides affirmed that the Vietnam - Japan relationship has been long established and includes close cooperation in human resources. Minister Furukawa Yoshihisa said that the year 2023 is a very special time with the event marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Vietnam. Therefore, in 2023, we expect the two sides to have many important activities to celebrate the big event," he said. Also in the series of activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Japan's relations with Vietnam and Japan - ASEAN, in July 2022, the Japanese Ministry of Justice plans to hold a conference of Japan-ASEAN justice ministers. According to Minister Furukawa Yoshihisa, Vietnamese workers in Japan are highly appreciated by many businesses for their diligence, hard work and eagerness to learn. Many workers also left a good impression, helping Japanese people better understand the Vietnamese community of workers Appreciating and expressing respect for the human resource cooperation relationship between the two countries, Japanese Minister of Justice Furukawa Yoshihisa acknowledged the contribution of Vietnamese workers to Japan's socio-economic development. Among hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people living and working in Japan, about 200,000 are trainees and workers. With such a small number, the contribution of Vietnamese workers to Japan's socio-economic development is relatively high," said Minister Furukawa Yoshihisa. The Japanese Minister confirmed that the results marked the precious assistance from the Vietnamese and Japanese Governments. Minister Furukawa Yoshihisa emphasized that the human factor is extremely important in cooperation in general and human resource cooperation in particular, adding he hoped to continue receiving cooperation from the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Vietnamese people in strengthening cooperation between the two countries./. Baku conference of the Parliamentary Network of Non-Aligned Movement has kicked off on June 30. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attends the conference. The head of state made a speech at the event. The Baku Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network under the motto Boosting the role of national parliaments in promoting global peace and sustainable development has kicked off at the Heydar Aliyev Center. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the conference. The head of state made a speech at the event. Speech of President Ilham Aliyev -Dear ladies and gentlemen, Dear guests. Welcome to Azerbaijan. I am very glad to see you all. I hope you will have a pleasant stay in our city. Today is, I think, an important event in the history of the Non-Aligned Movement. Here in Baku, we create NAM Parliamentary Network. I am very grateful to NAM member states for supporting this initiative of Azerbaijan, which is another step to strengthen our solidarity and mutual support. As a former member of the parliament of Azerbaijan for 8 years, as a former colleague of yours, I know very well how important is parliamentary diplomacy and interparliamentary relations. I am sure that our Parliamentary Network not only will contribute to solidarity between our countries, but also will establish close working relations with different parliamentary organizations of the world. The Non-Alignment Movement is the second, after the United Nations, biggest international institution and, of course, we all want that our voice is heard on global scale. Parliamentary network is not the only initiative, which we put forward and got your support. Another important initiative is the youth network and next month here in Baku again we will have another important event, the Youth Summit of NAM. So, these are the steps towards institutional development of NAM and I think time has come to make practical steps in that direction. Another initiative, which Azerbaijan put forward and was supported by member states is the creation of NAM support office in New York. I think it is also right time now to make more steps towards institutional development and that, in its turn, will help us to defend our interests on international arena and also strengthen solidarity between our countries. Azerbaijan is a relatively new member of NAM. We joined the NAM family in 2011 and from the very first days of our activity we tried to contribute to solidarity, mutual support and promotion of the Bandung Principles. We fully share the Bandung Principles and we consider these principles as the only basis for cooperation and interaction between countries - territorial integrity, sovereignty, independence, non-interference into each others affairs. If these principles were preserved by all countries, there would have been no wars, no conflicts and no injustice. So, from the first days of our activity, Azerbaijan became very active in all NAM endeavors. I think that was the main reason for unanimous support of Azerbaijans candidacy to chair the Non-Aligned Movement and this great unanimous support of 120 countries was shown in 2016 to us. In 2019 in Baku, we organized and successfully held NAM summit and assigned chairmanship for the years of 2019-2022. Also, we consider as a great sign of respect to our country and sign of appreciation of our activity that our chairmanship in NAM again by unanimous decision of 120 countries was extended until late 2023. We are grateful for that and we will do everything in order to justify your support and demonstrate that was a right choice. Our chairmanship in NAM coincided with COVID-19 and Azerbaijan was one of the countries which actively played a role on international arena in combatting this disease. We initiated the NAM online summit and held it in May 2020 and that was a first step of NAM member states to consolidate our efforts in approaching the pandemic. As a result of that we launched an initiative, which was supported by member states, to convene a special session of the General Assembly in response to COVID-19, which was successfully held in December 2020. Our efforts also were aimed not only to strengthen solidarity and provide support, but also were very helpful to the World Health Organization, which started to use our database with respect to support to countries and with respect to humanitarian and medical assistance. So, the database, which we created in member states was and is very useful in treating this pandemic and any other disease which may occur in the future. We provided financial support and humanitarian support to more than 80 countries. Also, we made a donation of 10 million US dollars to the World Health Organization and half of that money was assigned directly to NAM member states. So, our efforts with respect to approach to COVID-19, I think, had a very important global reflection, because we were one of the countries, which was openly protesting against vaccine nationalism. We all remember that in the early days and months of pandemic, some countries, wealthy countries, were stockpiling vaccines maybe three-four times more than they needed and thus not allowing other countries to get access to vaccines. We all witnessed that wealthy countries were using an absolute majority of the vaccines, while other countries were helpless. Therefore, our struggle against vaccine nationalism was also supported by the United Nations and I think that also had a very important impact on fair distribution of vaccines. So, in other words, Azerbaijan always was demonstrating its position on regional issues, on global issues and, of course, as a chair of NAM we will continue to fight against injustice, against violation of international law, against selective approach to different conflicts and against discrimination. We also witnessed great support of NAM member states. As a I said, unanimous decision to assign chairmanship of NAM and then to extend it was a clear demonstration of attitude of countries towards Azerbaijan. Another important sign of solidarity we saw in the most difficult times of our country when we were liberating our territories after almost 30 years of Armenian occupation. We were fighting on our own land. We were restoring justice and restoring international law, but unfortunately some countries launched a campaign against us, a discrediting campaign, a campaign of slander and blackmail. Unfortunately, this was not only a verbal campaign or public accusations. Some countries tried to bring this issue, our due cause, to the United Nations, to the Security Council. But, our friends, members of NAM, at that time members of the UN Security Council, blocked an anti-Azerbaijani statement and blocked the attempt of accusation against Azerbaijan and thus, did not allow pro-Armenian global forces to attack Azerbaijan. We are very grateful for that, for your solidarity. And once again I would like to say that we were restoring justice. Azerbaijan is a country which faced one of the biggest injustices in the world, occupation by Armenia of almost 20% of our territory, which resulted in ethnic cleansing one million of Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced persons. Our historical and religious heritage was erased by Armenian occupants and now visitors of liberated territories can see it with their own eyes. This barbarism, vandalism and desecration of our mosques and destruction of our religious and cultural monuments these are all facts. No one can ignore it. No matter how pro-Armenian forces and their supporters want to neglect, they are not able to neglect these facts, because already thousands, maybe tens of thousands of people visited the liberated territories, including foreign visitors, of course, politicians, members of parliament, chairmen of parliament, journalists, experts and ordinary people, visitors. We put an end to that. We restored justice and international law. When in 2019 in Baku I spoke at NAM summit, I said that we will defend justice and international law. We know what it means when you cannot restore it yourself. When you depend on others, but we were waiting for many years, for almost 30 years. We were waiting for the international community to help to resolve this injustice and put an end to occupation. For that purpose, the OSCE created Minsk Group in 1992, which was supposed to find a solution to this conflict, in other words, to put an end to occupation. But, on the contrary, the Minsk Group became an instrument in the hands of those who wanted this occupation to last forever. And now, when Azerbaijan resolved the conflict, put an end to occupation, restored its territorial integrity by military and then political means, there is no need for the Minsk Group any longer. We already said farewell to the Minsk Group. But, unfortunately, Armenia and some others want to revitalize it. It is not possible. It is already dead and we, as a country which suffered from occupation, we say that openly and I think that any further speculation about the OSCE Minsk Group is not only counterproductive, but also destructive for possible peace in our region. On 10 November 2020, after 44 days of liberation war, Patriotic War, Armenia had to capitulate and to admit its defeat and then was forced to liberate the remaining territories, which were not liberated on the battlefield. And it took only 44 days for us, but we waited for almost 30 years. During the years of occupation, on many occasions, speaking on different international events, I was calling for sanctions to be imposed on Armenia and saying that the only way how to resolve this problem peacefully is to impose sanctions on Armenia. The sanctions, which will be efficient and which will be damaging to the economy, but unfortunately no sanction was imposed. On the contrary, Armenia was getting much more support from some pro-Armenian politicians than Azerbaijan. As we saw, the only purpose of the Minsk Group activity was to freeze the conflict and keep our lands under occupation forever. So, we put an end to that policy and liberated our lands by force and by our political wisdom. I can tell you that the situation with the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not only a regional issue. It is a global issue, because it is a full violation of not only basic international principles, it was also a violation and non-implementation of the UN Security Council Resolutions. In 1993, the United Nations Security Council adopted four resolutions demanding immediate, full and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from our territory, and the question is why these resolutions were not implemented. No one can answer or maybe do not want to answer. Another question is why in some cases resolutions of the Security Council are implemented within days and in our case they were on paper for 28 years and would have remained on paper for another 28 years if not for brave Azerbaijani military servicemen who liberated our lands. And it is a question of reforms of the United Nations and its Security Council, because if resolutions are not implemented, then what is the sense of that? We speak for reforms and I think that this should be also discussed on the level of heads of state and government of NAM and to put an end to selective implementation of the United Nations Security Council based on political preferences. In general, I would say that we all know that the Non-Aligned Movement is the second biggest, after the United Nations, international institution. I think that we need to consolidate our efforts to strengthen our potential, to strengthen solidarity, try to speak with one voice. I know that there are certain problems between some member states. I think that NAM can be a platform to find resolution to these problems and also should be a platform to defend the interests of our countries, because members of NAM, many members of NAM, have similar history, similar problems, faced many times injustice and tried to defend their national interests and we can do it together. Together we can do it more efficiently and we speak for that. Therefore, initiatives of Azerbaijan as a chairman of NAM were aimed at strengthening solidarity and mutual support and institutional development of our institution and maybe at a certain stage to transform it into an organization. I know that throughout the history of NAM there have been discussions about that. So, I suggest to restart these discussions. It is high time, because today when we see global polarization in the world, we see wars, conflicts, unpredictable situations, food crisis, energy crisis, humanitarian crisis. I think NAM can be a platform of countries which can not only defend their interests and support each other, but also play a more active role on international arena. We in Azerbaijan would like to see it and I hope that our distinguished guests, representatives of parliaments of NAM member states, will contribute to that and, of course, I will continue my consultations with heads of state and government of NAM. Once again, dear friends, I would like to thank you for being with us. We will try to do everything to show traditional Azerbaijani hospitality to you. I hope that the conference will be not only very productive, but also be a good chance for interaction, for establishing closer contacts. As a result we will see the progress in solidarity, in mutual support and in strengthening of our institutions. Thank you very much. *** Addressing the event, Speaker of Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova informed the participants about the agenda of the conference. She noted that the conference adopted the Baku Declaration and the Charter on the Rules of Procedure of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network, approved the organization's official logo and flag, and elected its chairman and vice-chairmen. The three-day conference brings together parliamentary delegations from more than 40 countries, and representatives of 9 international parliamentary organizations. The heads of delegations participating in the event will meet with the country's officials. Participants of the Baku conference of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network will visit the liberated territories of Azerbaijan, including the cultural capital Shusha, and will familiarize themselves with the reconstruction and landscaping work. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has once again lost the remote connection to its safeguards surveillance systems installed at Ukraine's Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said on Wednesday, June 29. "The fact that our remote safeguards data transmission is down again for the second time in the past month only adds to the urgency to dispatch this mission," he was quoted as saying in the agency's update on the situation in Ukraine. The connection was lost again on June 25 "due to a disruption of the facility's communication systems." Grossi said that a visit to Zaporizhia NPP should be organized, adding that inspectors can only carry out essential nuclear material verification work when they are at the site. According to him, the interval of physical inventory verifications at NPPs cannot exceed a specified duration. "This is particularly important at two of the units at Zaporichia NPP. These units have also been refuelled in recent months and a physical verification of the nuclear material therein is a safeguards pre-requisite before re-starting them," IAEA Director General said. At the same time, the IAEA is also facing a partial loss of remote safeguards data transmission from Chornobyl NPP. "Safeguards data from IAEA systems installed at two of the NPP's facilities are no longer being transmitted. The problem seems linked to safeguards equipment at the site, in which case IAEA technicians need to go there to restore communication," he said. With the exception of Zaporizhia NPP, the IAEA continues to receive remote safeguards data from Ukraine's three other operational NPPs, the agency said. From June 30, Ukraine began exporting electricity to Romania at a capacity of 100 MW, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal announced. "Today, from 1 a.m., such exports went in the direction of Romania. The initial volume is 100 MW," he wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday. He noted that in the first day alone, the state-owned company Ukrenergo earned UAH 10 million by selling access to the interstate cross-section for export, and potentially Ukraine could earn more than UAH 70 billion a year from this. "The export potential of Ukrainian electricity to Europe is up to 2.5 GW. Under this scenario, the state will be able to receive more than UAH 70 billion a year," Shmyhal said. The prime minister stressed that the energy visa-free regime with the EU, which began in March this year, gives its very visible and practical result, and the energy sector will become one of the drivers for the recovery of the Ukrainian economy, as it has already become a driver for integration into the EU. According to the data on the ENTSO-E website, physical exports from Ukraine to Romania are made on June 30 with a flat schedule of 100 MWh. Russian occupiers staying at the site of the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) force the plant workers to drain the cooling pools, Energoatom reported on its Telegram channel on Thursday. "In order to relieve themselves of responsibility for committing acts of nuclear terrorism, rushists resort to forceful coercion against Ukrainian nuclear workers. Now they are bullying and torturing the workers of the plant's hydro department to come up with a justification for the need to drain these pools for the management of the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant and Energoatom," the company said. In particular, as the company informed, the invaders severely beat diver of the ZNPP hydro department Andriy Honcharuk, who was taken to the hospital in the city of Enerhodar on June 29, 2022, with numerous injuries. As reported, the Russian occupiers are preparing a provocation accusing Ukrainian nuclear workers of storing weapons on the territory of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. "For this, several workers were detained and tortured to demand from them a confession, or rather, slandering themselves, that allegedly back in March, they dropped some kind of weapon into the concrete basins of the cooling pools at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant: explosives or shells," Energoatom noted earlier. As the company explained, under this pretext, the invaders insist on draining the cooling pools allegedly to check its basins and stopping the pumps supplying water to the security systems of power units. "If this happens, then the security systems of Europe's largest nuclear power plant will be left without cooling, which is a serious violation and may threaten nuclear safety. In addition, such work is not advisable to carry out in the warm season due to the risk of overheating and equipment failure," the company warned. However, Ukrainian nuclear scientists are most concerned about the lack of control over the actions of the occupiers, who, under the guise of "carrying out a check," can throw anything into concrete basins: explosives, unexploded shells, and other weapons. According to the company, later the Russian occupiers may blame the ZNPP workers or its defenders for this and make this a formal reason for inviting the IAEA to the plant and presenting these "facts." "We emphasize that any weapon found on the territory of the ZNPP is the weapon of the invaders, which they use for nuclear terrorism and threats to the whole world with a new terrible catastrophe," Energoatom stated. Without the Black Sea ports, Ukraine cannot reach the level of exports it urgently needs, Kate Newton, the Deputy Emergency Coordinator for the World Food Program (WFP Ukraine), said. The opening of the Black Sea ports is the most important way to return Ukraine to its former positions, she said. Without the Black Sea ports, we cannot even reach the level of exports that Ukraine urgently needs. However, everything possible is made - by road, rail and now by river - to get closer to the maximum result. At the moment it is about 1 million tonnes per month, while 2 million tonnes could be reached. But access to the Black Sea in Ukraine is urgently needed," Newton said at a briefing at the Ukraine Media Center in Kyiv on Thursday. She recalled that before the war, Ukraine exported up to 6 million tonnes of grain every month. According to her, in 2021, about 400 million people around the world consumed Ukrainian products. "We need to try to empty the storage facilities across Ukraine, so we need to make sure that wheat, barley, sunflowers and everything that is growing across Ukraine can be harvested and has somehow to go," Newton said. The majority of 144 Ukrainian defenders, who have been released from Russian captivity on June 29, are seriously injured, the Main Intelligence Agency of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine has said. "Immediately after release, all our heroes received medical aid and proper care. The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners continues its work to release all Ukrainian captives," it said on the Telegram channel. As reported, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners conducted the largest exchange of prisoners of war since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. Of the 144 released, 95 are defenders of Azovstal. Among them are 43 servicemen of the Azov regiment. Some 59 soldiers of the National Guard of Ukraine, 30 military personnel of the Naval Forces, 28 of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 17 of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, nine of the Territorial Defense and one officer of the National Police of Ukraine were released. Among them are 23 officers and 69 non-commissioned and senior officers. The eldest of the released was 65 years old, the youngest was 19. The Russian occupation forces attacked from their an oil refinery in Lysychansk, Head of Luhansk Regional Military Administration Serhiy Haidai has said. "Yesterday, several airstrikes were made on Lysychansk, causing multiple destructions. The airstrikes hit the territory of the oil refinery and Vovchoyarivka district. The building of the police station was completely destroyed. One sabotage and reconnaissance group was eliminated near Verkhniokamyanka yesterday," he said on the Telegram channel on Thursday morning. The local authorities do not have enough time to calculate the number of destroyed houses, Haidai said. "The body of a woman without signs of life was found in the cellar of one of them after the fire was extinguished," he said. The invaders also shell the territories along the Siversky Donets River. By Azernews By Sabina Mammadli The unblocking of transport and economic ties will serve to improve the situation in the South Caucasus, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, Azernews reports. The remarks were made during a weekly briefing. "We have always emphasized that the unblocking of all transport and economic ties in the South Caucasus provides a consolidation of positive trends, and ultimately, improves the situation in the region," Zakharova said. The implementation of tripartite agreements between the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia will ensure a comprehensive normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan, Zakharova added. The trilateral ceasefire deal signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders on November 10, 2020, ended the three-decade conflict over Azerbaijans Karabakh region, which along with the seven adjacent districts came under the occupation of Armenian armed forces in the war in the early 1990s. On January 11, 2021, the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders signed the second statement since the end of the 44-day war. The newly-signed statement was set to implement clause 9 of the November 2020 statement related to the unblocking of all economic and transport communications in the region. On November 26, 2021, the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders signed a statement and agreed on a number of issues, including the demarcation and delimitation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border by late 2021, some points related to humanitarian issues and the issue of unblocking of transport corridors which applies to the railway and to automobile communications. Japan to extend additional $100 mln in humanitarian aid to Ukraine Japan will extend an additional $100 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during the G7 Summit in Germany, Japan Today reported. "He added that Japan would also provide support to expand Ukraine's grain storage capacity as the harvest season nears," it said. One civilian was killed and six, including a child, were injured as a result of enemy attacks in Kharkiv region, Head of Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleh Syniehubov has said. "In the past 24 hours, six civilians were injured as a result of Russian aggression. One person in Izium district, five people, including an 11-year-old child, in Chuhuyiv district. The girl is in moderate conditions. Regrettably, a 55-year-old man was killed in Izium district," he said on the Telegram channel. The Russian occupation forces shelled the infrastructure facilities in Industrialny, Osnoviansky, and Nemyshliansky districts in Kharkiv. Last night, the aggressor mounted a cruise missile attack on the facilities in Industrialny and Osnoviansky districts. No casualties were reported, according to preliminary information. The enemy also shelled Chuhuyiv, Kharkiv, Bohodukhiv, and Izium districts. Residential buildings were destroyed in Malynivka and Zolochiv. The Odnorobivka railway station was damaged. President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a meeting with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden that Ankara is trying to resolve the problem with Ukrainian grain export. "We are trying to resolve the process with a balanced policy in this regard," the Anadolu Agency quoted the Turkish president as saying. Erdogan expressed the hope that these initiatives will get results. According to the report, Biden thanked Erdogan for his efforts to get millions of tons of grain out of Ukraine and supporting Sweden and Finland's NATO membership. The government of Sweden approved a decision to provide Ukraine with additional defense assistance worth SEK 500 million, including anti-tank weapons, support weapons, and demining equipment. "The assistance includes equipment requested by Ukraine, notably anti-tank weapons, support weapons, and demining equipment. This assistance is estimated at SEK 500 million," the Swedish government said on its website on Thursday. In turn, Associated Press quoted Defense Minister of Sweden Peter Hultqvist as saying: "It is important that the support to Ukraine from the democratic countries in Europe is continuous and long-term." The minister did not say when and how the equipment would be delivered but said it is in everyone's interest that it is delivered as quickly as possible. Additional military support to Ukraine includes anti-tank weapons, support weapons and demining equipment worth approximately SEK 500 million ($49 million), Associated Press reported. The Russian invaders left the Snake (Zmiyiny) Island, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny has said. "The invaders failed to stand our artillery, missile and air strikes and left the Snake Island," he said on the Telegram channel on Thursday. Zaluzhny thanked the defenders from Odesa region, who "did their best to liberate the strategically important sector." "My deep bow to the engineers and manufacturers of the Ukrainian Bohdana self-propelled howitzer that played an important part in the liberation of the island. Thank you to our foreign partners for supplying weapons," Zaluzhny said. Six people were injured as a result of the shelling of Sloviansk by the Russian occupiers of Donetsk region on Thursday, head of the towns military-civil administration Vadym Liakh said. "Another shelling of the city, two explosions of cluster charges. General Batiuk Street, Vilna Street. Six wounded," Liakh said in a video message published on the Telegram channel of Sloviansk City Administration. Paris region of France will support the restoration of Kyiv and Chernihiv regions, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said after a meeting with President of the Regional Council of Ile-de-France Valerie Pecresse. "The regional principle should be a key element of the future recovery plan. Ms. Pecresse appreciated this approach. According to her, many French cities and municipalities state a willingness to help Ukraine rebuild," Shmyhal wrote on the Telegram channel. According to him, with interregional cooperation, Ukraine intends to pay special attention to the development of small and medium-sized businesses, as this will help create new jobs and revive the economy. " Ile-de-France has a broad perspective in construction and innovation areas. I believe that cooperation between our regions will be extremely productive," he said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reports on the severance of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and the Syrian Arab Republic in response to the latter's decision to recognize the so-called independence of the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine strongly condemns the decision of the Syrian Arab Republic to recognize the so-called independence of the temporarily occupied territories in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.... In response to this unfriendly act, Ukraine declares the severance of diplomatic relations with Syria without severing consular relations in accordance with Article 2 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on Thursday. U.S. President Joe Biden says that in the coming days the USA will announce additional assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $800 million for Ukraine. He said this at a press conference held in Madrid at the end of the NATO summit that they had provided Ukraine with almost $7 billion in security assistance since he took this position. In the next few days, USA intends to announce EUR 800 million more. Enemy uses rocket weapons 202 times against Ukraine from June 13 to June 29, which is 120 more strikes than in previous weeks - AFU General Staff From June 13 to June 29, the Russian Federation used rocket weapons 202 times against Ukraine, this is 120 more strikes than in previous weeks, said Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksiy Hromov. "In the waters of the Azov and Black Seas, enemy warships and submarines continue to be located, which, together with aviation and missile forces, are involved in striking with precision weapons at objects deep in the territory of our state. The implementation of such strikes by the enemy has been significantly increased recently, including from the territory of Belarus. In the period from June 13 to June 29, the enemy used rocket weapons 202 times, which is 120 more strikes compared to the previous weeks of June," Hromov said at a briefing at the Ukraine Media Center in Kyiv on Thursday. According to him, as a result of the indiscriminate defeat, the civilian population and civilian objects in the settlements of Ukraine are suffering significant losses. "The enemy uses more than 50% of missiles from Soviet stocks to launch missile strikes, which do not have high enough accuracy, as a result of which residential buildings in the settlements of Kyiv, Mykolaiv, private houses of the settlement of Mayaky of Odesa region, Ochakiv, Krasnopillia, Kurakhove, two secondary schools in Mykolaiv, other objects of civil infrastructure are affected. It is impossible not to emphasize the defeat of the opponent of the Amstor shopping center in Kremenchuk," Hromov said. He pointed out that as a result of missile strikes, civilian infrastructure was targeted 68 times during this period. Hromov drew attention to the fact that despite the fact that the flight of Tu-22M3 aircraft towards the state border of Ukraine can be detected in advance, the flight time of missiles to the target of destruction is a matter of minutes, because the time for evacuation to shelter after the launch of the rocket is limited, therefore he urged not to neglect air sirens. By Trend Baku Conference of Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network is important in many ways, Secretary General of Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic Speaking Countries (TurkPA) Mehmet Sureyya Er told Trend. He noted that Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network was established at a meeting in Spains Madrid, at the proposal of Azerbaijan, in 2021. "Acceptance of Azerbaijans proposal and the extension of its chairmanship of Non-Aligned Movement are sign of respect for Azerbaijan and the leadership of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, he said. It is also important for us that Azerbaijan, which is a full member of TurkPA, entered a new stage with this proposal and brought inter-parliamentary cooperation to a completely different level, Secretary General noted. The main topic of this conference is global peace. Holding a conference in Baku is an indicator of Azerbaijan's contribution to global peace and other issues," he added. Belarus has sent another batch of ammunition for the needs of the Russian occupying forces, Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksiy Hromov has said. "The Belarusian authorities continue to provide assistance to Russia in the conduct of the war against Ukraine. According to our information, last week the enemy sent another batch of ammunition by two railway echelons for the needs of the occupation forces of Russia. Accordingly, these ammunition will be used against our defenders," Hromov said at a briefing at Ukraine media center in Kyiv on Thursday. He said there are no signs of the creation of strike groups on the border with Belarus. "There are no signs of the creation of strike groups. The enemy is carrying out certain activities, both directly from the units of the Belarussian armed forces of Belarus, and we understand that some units of the Russian armed forces are operating under their guise," Hromov said. Coodinator for Health Financing Policy at the World Health Organization (WHO) Joe Kutzin, who is also the author of the recommendations for the revival of the public health system in Ukraine, told the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency in an exclusive interview whether Ukraine should continue implementing healthcare reform after the war, what the benefits of this reform are, and how the WHO recommends to revive the medical care system after the war. By Anna Levchenko Joseph Kutzin, Head of Health Financing at WHO Headquarters. The author of recommendations on the recovery of the health care system in Ukraine Q1. What are the recommendations for the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war and the place of health in this system? There are several reasons why health and the health sector are critical to Ukraines recovery. First, the magnitude of the attacks on health care has been unprecedented even though WHO is still in process of verifying many attacks, since Feb 24, 2022 we verified 323 attacks on health in Ukraine thats more attacks in 4 months than in Syria since beginning of 2018 (298 attacks), for example. The physical destruction, combined with the psychological effect of the war on health workers and the general population, will have lasting consequences. So, rebuilding the health system is critical for national recovery by ensuring that essential services are restored and that there can be response to new and increased needs, such as for mental health, rehabilitation, public health surveillance. Secondly, health is both an intrinsic element of human welfare and an investment for the long-term recovery and growth of Ukraine. The availability of high-quality health services and medicines convey a sense of security and normalcy for all, giving people the confidence to return to their homes and promoting reconciliation and trust in local and national government. Third, investing in health system is critical for overall development of the country: the sector is a key economic actor, as for example can be seen with domestic pharmaceutical production and distribution. The stimulus to science, technology and high-end industry / jobs that health provides is potentially significant. The health sector is also an important employer, especially of women, and has important multiplier effects on local economies. Q2. How health care system should be financed (local budgets and NHSU with examples of how this can be done differently, taking into account the impact of war on health care and budgeting) The direction of reforms begun in 2016 is consistent with international good practice. The war does not change this; indeed, it should provide further impetus to carry the reforms to full implementation. WHO believes that countries should pursue the goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), which means (a) reducing the gap between the need for services and their use; (b) improving quality; and (c) ensuring that no one becomes poor as a consequence of having to pay for care. At the same time, governments should ensure that core functions for prevention, preparedness, and response to crises are funded. Ukraines health financing reforms to date support these UHC goals but can be taken further. Its strength is that the main funding source for the system is general tax revenues, and that all Ukrainians are entitled to services under the Program of Medical Guarantees (PMGs). The pooling of funds for the PMGs at national level in the NHSU enables the system to direct resources to where the needs are. Even before the invasion of 24 February, getting better results from available public spending (efficiency) was crucial. To take the reforms further and more fully realize their gains, the following will be needed: a) restructure the health delivery system so that a greater share of funds is devoted to patient care and less is devoted to maintaining buildings. One legacy inherited by the Ukrainian health system is that each level of government owns and operates a network of health facilities. This is why the capital city of each oblast has so many hospitals the system is organized by level of government administration (city hospital oblast hospital national hospital) rather than by the needs of the population. It is one of the things that should change, and why we agree with the Ministry of Health that the aim of health system recovery is not to just rebuild buildings that were destroyed or damaged by the war, but to focus on the best ways to get needed services to the population. Such an approach can enable a positive transformation of the service delivery network. b) Local budgets in Ukraine are still financing the utility costs of health facilities that they own. This undermines the potential of the payment incentives used by the NHSU and impedes restructuring of health facilities. These funds should be pooled within NHSU and, as a consequence of this, facility managers will have a greater incentive to manage their resources more effectively. c) Organizing the delivery system on a population basis and pooling local government budgets for health care in the NHSU will better align the incentives to improve efficiency. However, the gains from downsizing are limited by the design of the old infrastructure, much of which was built prior to 1990 when there were no concerns about the costs of running these buildings. The new investments to come in the recovery period should be based on energy efficient design criteria. This will gradually make the delivery system less costly to run (enabling the shift in the use of funds from buildings to patients), greener (more environmentally friendly), and less dependent on foreign sources of energy. Q3. Whether to continue health care reform or change it (what is a priority now, the reconstruction of hospitals or, conversely, the search for other flexible solutions to meet urgent needs) As reflected in the answer to the prior question, we strongly believe in the need to continue and deepen health reforms in Ukraine. Clearly, the first priority is to restore the functionality of the health delivery network and secure access to essential services to meet ongoing, increased and new health needs and public health threats. Broadly speaking, the aim is to find the best ways to get needed services to the population, recognizing the need for a flexible approach needed to make rapid adaptations and to meet priorities in very different contexts in the country. We believe the best way to this is through establishing a modern, digitally enabled primary health care approach with the capacity to deliver expanded services and ensure continuity of care for people on the move. Some elements of this include: a) shifting some services from inpatient to outpatient and outreach services to ensure maximum reach; b) expanding the volume of services provided at primary health care level to address critical needs emerging as a direct result of the conflict, such as mental health care, and coordination of services for internally displaced people; c) extending community-level service delivery by incorporating mobile teams currently delivering essential health services within the humanitarian response to later become part of local health service delivery as outreach services for hard-to-reach areas or patients with mobility problems, and ensuring catch-up on critical services such as immunization and screening. Q4. Does the WHO have recommendations on how to restore health services when some doctors have left the country? First, it is important to understand what the magnitude of this problem is. When I visited health facilities in Chernihiv in May, I was encouraged to see that despite all that had happened, many doctors and nurses remained and were doing great work. This does not mean that there is no problem with the departure of health workers, but it will be important to have an idea of the extent of this challenge. Second, when it comes to recovery, we need to think beyond physical infrastructure and invest in the health workforce. They are closely linked: building back better health facilities is crucial to speed up the return of healthcare workers. Also, having a digital registry of available health workers, their qualifications and location will help the government to develop effective policies to attract and distribute health workers. Another important option to be considered over the medium term is changing the distribution of functions between doctors and nurses and improving the curricula of health education (such as integrating public health competencies in general medical education). Given the need for a new and more efficient service delivery model, the health workforce needs should also be quantified according to this vision for service delivery. Q5. There is an opinion that after the system recovery, the number of health facilities can be 3 times less. How can you comment? We do not have a target number of health facilities. Indeed, and as noted above, what we are concerned with is enabling more efficient and equitable use of funding in the health system. One way this will be reflected is to ensure that the relative amount spent on maintaining buildings (e.g. utility costs, heating, electricity, gas, etc.) will decrease and the amounts spent on patient care (e.g. medicines, supplies, staff) will increase. In addition to the needed shift towards population-based planning and greener design, there will also be efficiencies achieved by shifting from mono-specialized hospitals to multi-profile facilities that incorporate strong infection control mechanisms. Q6. Private and business investments in the recovery of the healthcare system. It is obvious that the state will not be able to finance all the necessary recoveries and will turn to donors and entrepreneurs. What can they get in return? The enthusiasm of donors and entrepreneurs to invest in the recovery of the health system is very welcome. But it is essential that this enthusiasm is channelled in the most productive way. This is why WHO has produced a report on Principles to Guide Health System Recovery and Transformation in Ukraine. We propose 5 principles to align potential investments with reforms aimed at enabling the health system to best get needed services to Ukraines population: a) people-centredness: This means organizing a system around needs, rather around disease or government level. It means strengthening primary health care putting prevention and promotion services into communities, equipping them with multi-disciplinary teams, from general practitioners to social workers. b) equity and financial protection: This implies that investments support reforms to ensure that services are available and accessible to those most affected by the war. It also requires that people driven into poverty by the conflict especially older persons with chronic conditions - should be protected from financial barriers and the need to make health expenditures. Investments and policies that increase the availability of affordable medicines will be vital. c) resilience: This means that the health system should be able to absorb shocks, adapt and respond, to manage and limit disruptions, keep communities connected, and respond to emerging needs. There is great scope here for investments in further digitalization of health management systems to enable the needed flexibility. d) efficiency and sustainability: As noted above, green design of multi-profile health facilities should be high priority for investors, where more upfront costs will yield lower running costs for the system over the medium to long term. e) accountability: The recovery process, the health system, and the government, must deliver on its commitments while managing resources transparently. The roles and responsibilities at each level of the health system must be defined and agreed with citizen engagement, participatory planning, standardized budgeting accounting and financial reporting mechanisms. We are confident that by adhering to these criteria, donors will be able to derive strong political and social returns, while non-government investors can generate reasonable private returns in certain parts of the sector. What is most critical is that the investments do not proceed in a chaotic, uncoordinated manner. The principles that we propose in our report are aimed at assisting the government to align resources with needs and Ukraines health reform agenda through application of a common set of national standards. On Monday, July 4, at 12.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a discussion entitled "War. When turning point comes." Participants include Director of the Institute for Global Strategies Vadym Karasiov; political expert Kostiantyn Matviyenko; PhD in Political Sciences, political scientist Ihor Petrenko (8/5a Reitarska Street). The broadcast of the press conference will be available on the Youtube channel of the Interfax-Ukraine agency. Admission of journalists requires registration on the spot. The Public Prosecution ordered on Friday the detention of the husband of Egyptian TV presenter Shaimaa Gamal, a member of a judicial authority, on premeditated murder charges pending investigation. Egypt's Ministry of Social Solidarity welcomed on Tuesday the election of the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) as a member of the Governing Board of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) for the first time in decade. Recommendations from Egypts National Dialogue will be referred to the House of Representatives and the government for implementation, said Diaa Rashwan, head of the Press Syndicate and the general coordinator of the National Dialogue. West African leaders on Sunday lifted financial and trade sanctions they imposed on Mali's military regime, accepting the junta's date for a March 2024 return to civilian rule, a delegate at a regional summit said. Several hundred protesters marched Sunday in Akron, Ohio after the release of body camera footage that showed police fatally shooting a Black man with several dozen rounds of bullets. Egypts Suez Canal Authority (SCA) declared a state of emergency ahead of the Ever Given crossing of the international waterway on Saturday. The vessel earned fame after blocking navigation in the canal for six days in March. The SCA assigned two veteran Suez Canal guides and two tugboats to accompany the mega container vessel from the front and back throughout its trip in the canal. The ship is also being accompanied in its 10-hour transit into the Mediterranean Sea by the South Red Sea fleet. This is the second time the gigantic vessel crosses the Suez Canal after blocking navigation in the Suez Canal. The first time the Japanese-owned cargo vessel passed through the canal after the crisis was on 19 August. This is also the 23rd time the Panama-flagged vessel crosses the Suez Canal since its manufacture in 2018. The Ever Given ran aground and blocked Egypts Suez Canal in March for six days until it was refloated on 29 March by a fleet of Egyptian tugboats and diggers. In July, Egypt allowed the Japanese-owned ship to leave Egyptian waters, where the vessel had been seized for around 100 days, after signing a settlement agreement with the shipowner. The settlement followed a legal dispute where Egypt asked for $550 million in compensation, down from $916 million, to cover salvage efforts, reputational damage, and lost revenue. The actual value of the compensation Egypt has received as per the settlement and the terms of the agreement have been kept confidential, but Egyptian officials said the deal was satisfactory and preserved both parties mutual interests. Search Keywords: Short link: Dr. Anthony Fauci has given an upbeat assessment of the current state of the coronavirus in the United States, saying the country is ``out of the pandemic phase'' when it comes to new infections, hospitalizations, and deaths, but that it appears to be making a transition to COVID-19 becoming an endemic disease, occurring regularly in certain areas. Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said on the PBS ``NewsHour'' on Tuesday that the coronavirus remains a pandemic for much of the world, but the threat is not over for the United States, adding that he was speaking about the worst phase of the pandemic. ``Namely, we don't have 900,000 new infections a day and tens and tens and tens of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths. We are at a low level right now,'' he said. In comments Wednesday to The Washington Post, however, Fauci seemed to clarify his earlier remarks, saying that unlike the ``full-blown explosive pandemic phase'' during the brutal winter omicron surge, he was describing what appears to be a period of transition toward the coronavirus becoming an endemic disease. ``The world is still in a pandemic. There's no doubt about that. Don't anybody get any misinterpretation of that. We are still experiencing a pandemic,'' Fauci told the Post. His comments come as health authorities wrestle with how to keep COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations manageable and learn to live with what's still a mutating, and unpredictable virus. The Biden administration has stressed that the nation has more tools _ vaccinations, booster shots, and medications, to better handle infections than earlier in the pandemic. US cases are far lower than they were in recent months. But health officials are keeping a close eye as highly contagious variants continue to spread. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says cases have risen about 25% in the past week. Search Keywords: Short link: RTHK: Japan's June flames out with record heat Japan's electricity grid creaked on Thursday under the strain of Tokyo's hottest June since records began, but a power crunch that could have deprived tens of millions of electricity was narrowly averted and authorities prepared to lift warnings. Temperatures of nearly 40 Celsius were marked in some parts of greater Tokyo, home to 37 million people, on the sixth day of a heatwave that began after the earliest end to the capital's rainy season in decades. Maximum highs are not forecast to drop to 30C before Tuesday. But power outages were averted, despite the loss of output from a 600-megawatt plant even as generators feeding Tokyo worked up to carry their load with only about 3 percent reserve capacity, the level below which blackouts can occur. Authorities said they would lift a warning of short power supplies that had been in effect for four straight days. Some 105 people were taken to hospital with heatstroke on Thursday, the Tokyo Fire Department said. A man in his 50s died and a woman in her 50s was in critical condition. Temperatures this month have been the highest since record-keeping began in 1875. The temperature in central Tokyo was 36.4C at 1.00pm, while the town of Hatoyama, north of the capital, sweltered at 39.7C. Some firms, such as auto parts maker Yorozu, are scaling back shifts to save power while others, like retailer Seven & i Holdings and tech giant Sony, have asked employees to save power by turning off lights and other devices. Automaker Nissan Motor said it was operating generators at its Tochigi plant north of Tokyo from Wednesday to Friday, while calling on offices and factories to save energy. SoftBank said it was easing up on air-conditioning, letting the temperature in its facilities rise to 26C from 25C. (Reuters) This story has been published on: 2022-06-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has signed a Decree on awarding a group of maritime transport workers, Trend reports. According to the decree, they have been granted for fruitful activity in the maritime transport development of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The number of new coronavirus cases reported worldwide has continued to fall except in the Americas and Africa, the World Health Organization said in its latest assessment of the pandemic. In its weekly pandemic report released late Wednesday, the U.N. health agency said about 3.5 million new cases and more than 25,000 deaths were reported globally, which respectively represent decreases of 12% and 25%. The downward trend in reported infections began in March, although many countries have dismantled their widespread testing and surveillance programs, making an accurate count of cases extremely difficult. WHO said there were only two regions where reported COVID-19 infections increased: the Americas, by 14%, and Africa, by 12%. Cases remained stable in the Western Pacific and fell everywhere else, the agency said. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned during a press briefing this week that ``the rising cases in more than 50 countries highlights the volatility of this virus.'' Tedros said COVID-19 variants, including mutated versions of the highly infectious omicron, are driving a resurgence of COVID-19 in several countries, including South Africa, which was the first to identify omicron in November. He said relatively high rates of population immunity are preventing a spike in hospitalizations and deaths but cautioned that ``this is not guaranteed for places where vaccination levels are low.'' Only about 16% of people in poorer countries have been immunized against COVID-19. WHO's Africa office said Thursday that cases in South Africa have quadrupled in the last three weeks and COVID-19 deaths have doubled. WHO said that so far, hospitalizations were only about 20% of what was seen during the last infection wave in December. The agency noted that the most concerning omicron subvariants are BA.4 and BA.5, due to their large number of mutations and uncertainty as to how they might affect immunity. COVID-19 cases in Namibia and Eswatini, which border South Africa, also reported 50% more cases in the past two weeks. ``This uptick in cases is an early warning sign which we are closely monitoring,'' said Abdou Salam Gueye, WHO Africa's emergencies chief. WHO's report noted that some of the biggest jumps in COVID-19 cases were seen in China, which saw a 145% rise in the last week. Earlier this week, Chinese authorities doubled down on pandemic restrictions in Shanghai after a brief period of loosening up. The move frustrated residents who were hoping a more than monthlong lockdown was finally easing after complaints of food shortages and quarantines where some people were forced to surrender their house keys. WHO's Tedros said Tuesday he didn't think China's ``zero-COVID'' strategy was sustainable, ``considering the behaviour of the virus now and what we anticipate in the future.'' On Thursday, North Korea announced its first coronavirus outbreak and imposed a nationwide lockdown. The size of the outbreak wasn't immediately known, but it could have serious consequences because the country has a poor health care system and its 26 million people are believed to be mostly unvaccinated. Search Keywords: Short link: The African Union has said it will no longer broker talks on getting Sudan's transition back on track after last year's military takeover as a civilian boycott had made them "dishonest". "The AU cannot continue these dishonest, opaque discussions which sideline participants or treat them in an unjust way," the bloc's ambassador to Sudan, Mohammed Belaiche, told reporters late Tuesday. But the AU denied it was abandoning the so-called "troika" of sponsors of the talks process, which also includes the United Nations and East African regional grouping IGAD. That was an "erroneous interpretation" of Belaiche's comments, its delegation said in a clarification Wednesday. The AU suspended Sudan after the military's October 27 overthrow of a joint civilian-military transitional government installed in the aftermath of the army's 2019 ouster of longtime President Omar al-Bashir. Many foreign donors cut off aid, which accounts for 40 percent of state revenues, prompting military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to agree to talks launched by the troika this month. But the talks have been undermined by a boycott by all significant civilian players, including both Sudan's established political parties and groups born out of the mass protests that led to Bashir's ouster. Since US envoys failed to persuade the civilians to give the talks a chance, the process has been put on hold indefinitely. Search Keywords: Short link: The idea of an Arab NATO security alliance including the US and Israel is unlikely to amount to more than a US project for the region. There has been increasing talk of US-sponsored Arab-Israeli security cooperation in advance of US President Joe Bidens visit to the region in mid-July. Once again, we are hearing speculation regarding the creation of an Arab NATO that would include Israel. The Arab parties, according to this speculation, would consist of the countries that have signed peace treaties with Israel and others that do not have treaties yet. The latter are believed to include Saudi Arabia. Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz lent credence to such talk recently when he spoke of the creation of a US-led Middle East Air Defence Alliance (MEAD) that would help defend its members from hostile missiles and drones. However, the Arab countries denied that they would be part of any such alliance for or against another state in the region, according to The Wall Street Journal. Reports of a meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh between Saudi and Israeli military officials fired renewed speculation, and all eyes turned to Cairo with questions regarding its role in this process. Although Cairo has issued no formal statement, an informed source said that Egypt merely hosted the meeting but did not take part in it. The source did not disclose any further details on the substance and results of the meeting. At the same time, Cairo does not seem to be interested in joining an anti-Iranian alliance, according to observers. Iran has shown no hostility towards Egypt, and Egypt does not view Iran as a hostile state, they say. While Cairo has reservations regarding Irans interventionist policies in the region, Iran is not the only non-Arab regional power to exhibit such behaviour. According to another Egyptian source, Saudi Arabia would not engage in a so-called Abraham Accord peace process with Israel without some guarantees of significant gains for the Palestinian cause. Cooperative military arrangements with Israel cannot be ruled out, but at the moment they are primarily motivated by the US repositioning itself in the region following its military withdrawal from Afghanistan and the end of its combat mission in Iraq. As such, they would also be informed by Washingtons realisation that emergent powers such as Russia and China might challenge US interests in the region. This could serve Arab interests, but many Arab countries believe it is important to balance this with their relations with other world powers. They should not have to sacrifice longstanding relations and the interests they have developed with these powers in order to preserve their strategic relations with the US. For its part, Washington is keen to assimilate Israel militarily into the region, now that Israel has been absorbed into US Central Command and is no longer the responsibility of US European Command. This means that if the Arab countries engage in military exercises alongside Israel, they will be doing so under the CENTCOM umbrella as opposed to in the framework of joint Arab-Israeli exercises. Developments regarding the Iranian nuclear programme should also be taken into consideration. Israel has been targeting this programme with increasing frequency at a time when the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell has expressed renewed optimism about an eventual return to the nuclear accord. There are indications that Qatar may host a fresh round of negotiations towards this end. Relations between the Gulf and Saudi Arabia in particular and Iran have also experienced relative calm in recent months. So far, Baghdad has hosted five rounds of reconciliation talks, and although these have yielded no concrete outputs as yet, the existence of the dialogue mechanism is an indication of a significant change in this relationship. Important to consider in this regard is the fact that the Iranian-backed Ansarullah (Houthi) Movement in Yemen has ceased its missile attacks against Saudi Arabia in the framework of the truce that began in early April. This lends added value to the Iraqi-sponsored Iranian-Saudi dialogue mechanism, all the more so now that the US and UN are eager to promote a more durable ceasefire agreement in Yemen and initiate a new peace process. It appears that talks are accelerating towards this end in Oman, and Egypt may play an increasing role in these peacemaking efforts that were likely a main point on the agenda of President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisis visit to Muscat this week. This is consistent with Egypts ongoing drive to help douse the many fires in the Middle East and to promote reconciliations and peace processes whenever the opportunities present themselves. The Arab countries insist that they are not party to the confrontation between Israel and Iran over the latters nuclear programme. Some Gulf countries, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have also initiated nuclear programmes of their own for peaceful purposes. They believe that the Iranian-Israeli antagonism is as much about Irans drive to become a nuclear power as it is about the two countries geopolitical rivalry. Israel believes that Iran is encircling it from Syria and Lebanon and wants to counter this via a front in the Gulf region, but the Gulf countries do not want to lend themselves to such a strategy. They believe it would court a needless threat in the event of an escalation between Iran and Israel, a conflict to which the Arab countries are not party. Evidently, there are opposing views inside Israel on the question of Iran. According to an article in the Israel Hayom newspaper this week, the Israeli army supports a return to the nuclear accord while the security agency Mossad is opposed. This divergence could signify an inclination not to escalate tensions further after Mossads recent strikes against the Iranian nuclear programme and its personnel. If Israel is integrated into regional security arrangements, which is a distinct possibility in the light of the peace accords and recent security-related developments, this would still be governed by the CENTCOM framework and the mutual interests it would serve. These interests would not include a military confrontation against Iran, and it is most unlikely that the Arabs would approve arrangements that would make it possible for Israel to attack Iran from Arab territory. As for the notion of an Arab NATO, this will probably remain an idea that the US will bring with it on visits to the region, though it will not be translated into the form some have imagined. Military and security arrangements with Israel will remain minimal, and it will take a long time before Israel can be more fully incorporated into some kind of regional security order. Even then, the Arabs would not fight alongside Israel against Iran. In fact, Arabs appear to be taking another, less adversarial tack towards Iran, which is the policy of containment. Of course, Tehran will have to reciprocate by making concrete changes in its regional behaviour, especially that which jeopardises Arab interests and national security concerns. A version of this article appears in print in the 30 June, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: Regional leaders voiced alarm Wednesday over escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Sudan in a disputed border area and appealed for dialogue to stem the crisis. The calls by the African Union and another regional grouping followed claims by Khartoum that the Ethiopian army had executed seven Sudanese soldiers and a civilian during a clash in the volatile Al-Fashaqa area last week - allegations denied by Addis Ababa. Sudan announced Monday it would recall its ambassador to Addis Ababa over the incident in Al-Fashaqa, a fertile strip of land that has long been a source of friction between the two states. AU Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat "is following with deep concern the escalating military tension between the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Republic of Sudan and deeply regrets the loss of life at their common border," the pan-African body said in a statement. "The chairperson appeals for complete refrain from any military action whatever its origin and calls for dialogue between the two brotherly countries to solve any dispute." The AU's concern was echoed by another regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which also called on the two countries "to actively seek diplomatic means to find a lasting and sustainable solution on the matter". 'Perfidious act' Later Wednesday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also called for restraint. "We need to keep calm and show restraint... for the sake of our shared interests and good-neighbourliness," he said in an Arabic-language statement addressed to the Sudanese and Ethiopian peoples. Sudan on Monday accused Ethiopia of capturing the soldiers in Al-Fashaqa on June 22, announcing it was recalling its envoy and would lodge a complaint with the UN Security Council and regional organisations. The army, which has been in power since a coup in October 2021, vowed that the "perfidious act will not pass". And on Wednesday, the military published photographs of the slain soldiers, along with their names and ranks. But Addis Ababa has in turn claimed that Sudanese forces crossed into Ethiopian territory and that the casualties resulted from a skirmish with a local militia, denying its soldiers were in the area at the time. The Ethiopian government said it rejected the "misrepresentation of facts" and that the incident was "deliberately concocted" to undermine relations. The Sudan Tribune newspaper reported that the Sudanese army had launched an attack Tuesday on Ethiopian troops in the Al-Fashaqa area but this was denied by army spokesman Nabil Abdalla. "We have not attacked anyone and we will not and we are not planning that. But we will not allow any armed force from another country that wants to cross our international border. It's our right legally to deal with it," he told AFP in Khartoum. The report was also denied by the Ethiopian side, with an official saying on condition of anonymity: "This is not true, just unconfirmed and misinformation." Land and water tensions On Monday, Sudan's military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan visited Al-Fashaqa, where he instructed soldiers "to not allow any new movements or encroachments on Sudanese lands and against its citizens". Khartoum and Addis Ababa have been at odds for years over Al-Fashaqa. The region, which lies close to Ethiopia's war-torn northern region of Tigray, has long been cultivated by Ethiopian farmers but is claimed by Sudan. The dispute has sparked sporadic clashes between the two sides, some fatal. The rift feeds into wider tensions over land and water between the neighbours, particularly stoked by Ethiopia's mega-dam on the Blue Nile. Sudan and Egypt, both downstream countries, have expressed their reservations about the filling of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as all three countries have yet to reach "a fair, balanced, and legally binding agreement" on it's operations. Tensions were heightened further after fighting erupted in Tigray in November 2020, sending tens of thousands of refugees fleeing into Sudan. Sudan has been roiled by economic and political turmoil since the military's October 27 takeover upending a fragile transition following the 2019 ouster of president Omar al-Bashir. *This story was edited by Ahram Online Search Keywords: Short link: On the popular uprising he said that the Egyptians declared to the entire world that their calm was nothing but power, their patience, rigidity, and tolerance were wisdom that reconciled with time. 30 June which is a national paid holiday marks the day in 2013 when millions of Egyptians took to the street to demand that then-president Mohamed Morsi leave office. In his speech, El-Sisi stated that the revolution proved that the voice of Egypt was heard, and it was too big to be hijacked, stressing that Egypt's destiny will be determined by its loyal sons only. El-Sisi pointed out that the 30 June Revolution represented a challenge and is currently regarded as the compass that inspires Egypt to confront the present challenges, referring to the states fight against ferocious waves of terrorism and economic crises. The spirit of the 30 June Revolution... is a ray of light that leads and inspires us in confronting the current challenges, after our success" in beating the obstacles that people with malicious intentions "hoped would break and destroy us, he said. The president emphasised the progress that the country is witnessing at present, saying We did not take these challenges as an excuse to delay our battle for development and progress. We proceeded in both paths in tandem -- survival and construction. He noted that the economic aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian crisis was huge and the war caused an unprecedented food crisis, in terms of availability and prices. El-Sisi lauded the economic reform programme the state has been implementing since 2016. I tell you with all honesty that if it were not for the National Programme for Economic Reform, which has been implemented successfully and accurately since 2016 and the development efforts achieved in the past years in which we raced against time, confronting the repercussions of the current international situation would have been extremely difficult, the president said. Egypt is on the right path with a solid national will that seeks nothing but public interest, El-Sisi added. It [the state] does not focus on anything but achieving your aspirations towards a decent life and a safe future. Egypt overcame difficulties throughout its ancient history and I am confident that it will overcome the current international crises and their local repercussions, he said, addressing the Egyptian people. The president paid tribute to Egypts martyrs from the Armed Forces and police. We remember our righteous martyrs from the Armed Forces and police. We tell their families that..they live in our hearts and in the conscience of this honourable homeland, which will never forget their benevolence, he said. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday dismissed as "ridiculous" accusations from the Russian President Vladimir Putin that NATO had "imperial ambitions". Scholz insisted at the end of a NATO summit in Madrid that the Western military alliance was "not a threat to anyone" and said it was Putin "who has made imperialism the goal of his politics". Putin on Wednesday hit out at NATO after its leaders dubbed Moscow their "most significant and direct threat" following the Kremlin's of invasion of Ukraine. "The NATO countries' leaders wish to... assert their supremacy, their imperial ambitions," he said. The Ukraine war has also pushed NATO to launch the largest overhaul of its defence and deterrence capabilities since the end of the Cold War. Moscow's invasion has pushed Finland and Sweden to apply to join the alliance, which would more than double NATO's border with Russia. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance was "prepared for all eventualities" if Moscow reacted to Finland and Sweden joining. "We are there to protect all allies and of course also Finland and Sweden," he said. NATO countries have funnelled billions of dollars of arms to Ukraine to help it fight off Russia's aggression. Stoltenberg said the alliance was committed "to make sure that Ukraine prevails as an independent sovereign state in Europe". "President Putin's brutal war against Ukraine is absolutely unacceptable. It's causing a lot of death and damage for Ukrainian people, but it also has ramifications over the whole world," he said. "It's President Putin that should withdraw his forces and end this war immediately by stopping attacking a democratic sovereign nation and causing so much suffering in Ukraine." Search Keywords: Short link: The timing could not have been more suitable for Cairo to host Africa Health ExCon. The ExCon in Egypt, the beating heart of Africa, discussed ways to strengthen healthcare systems and saw Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson emphasising its confidence in the growth of the Egyptian market as the country continues to invest in boosting healthcare systems and treatment delivery in hospitals. While Egypts continued development of its healthcare infrastructure will make it a leader in the field of hospital systems in a few years, the coronavirus pandemic came as a warning signal and a wake-up call to many that the virus can bring the world to a halt for a long time. These are some of the points Rangoonwala tackled in this interview during his participation in Africa Health ExCon. First of all, what is the purpose of your visit to Egypt? I am in Egypt to attend Africa Health ExCon. The event is an opportunity to understand the Egyptian governments vision regarding healthcare. We are interested in the future strategies and plans for healthcare in Egypt and exploring how as one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in Egypt we can continue to partner with the government and other players in health. It is noticeably clear Egypt has made great strides in strengthening its commitment to innovation and its healthcare sector, particularly regarding operations and procedures in the African Union and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What is your vision for the Africa Health ExCon? We strongly believe that no healthcare system can thrive without the support of the government. I am not only talking about the governments involvement and funding, but also about the interest of the leadership and healthcare professionals to find solutions for all patients. This is a daunting task, but there are clear development efforts in the healthcare systems, especially following the coronavirus outbreak, which made clear to everyone the importance of developing healthcare for patients around the world, particularly in Africa. The timing could not have been more suitable to discuss these topics. What are Janssens investments in the Egyptian market? Are there plans to increase investments in the near future? We invest a lot in resources and knowledge transfer, but the more important question is what are the needs of Egypt and its citizens? We think that Egypt would benefit from knowledge transfer, such as innovative medicines, improved skills and methods of patient treatment, and the continuous professional development of nurses and physicians. All these factors will strengthen the different treatment areas and specialisations, and ultimately provide better outcomes to patients. Regarding near-term investments, we will work to invest in the Egyptian market because it is a promising and thriving market, with a large number of patients who need innovative therapies. We believe that the Egyptian healthcare needs will continue to grow and are committed to bringing our previous innovative therapies to the Egyptian patients who need it. In addition, the government has shown a strong will to invest in improving the quality of healthcare services and products that will reach all segments of society, which in turn encourages us to increase our investments. Through the time you served in China, what are the experiences that can be transferred from the Chinese healthcare system to Egypts healthcare system to better benefit the patients? When I started my tenure in China in 2016, the country had very few healthcare investment systems. Development in this area was lacking. By the time I was leaving, there was already an approach to apply health economics to value of treatment with international standards in terms of healthcare and clinical testing. If a country the size of China can implement this within six years, Egypt can implement these systems with the support of the Egyptian government and other partners. During my meeting with the Quality and Accreditation Authority for Hospitals, I saw great efforts towards capability building, and I believe that Egypts continued efforts in this regard will make it a pioneer in the field of innovative hospital systems within a few years with the best trained doctors. Our role as a leading company in China and Egypt is to contribute to building these capabilities to ensure that innovative treatments reach the patients. I learned this in China, and I saw the life expectancy of Chinese citizens increasing significantly during the past 10 years, which has positively affected the Chinese economy. By relying on good healthcare systems young people with chronic diseases can work because they have access to effective treatment. Chinas economic success is the standard in many markets, as in Egypt whose growing GDP can further grow due to the capabilities of this large country. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us the value of pharmaceutical companies. How can this positive outlook be maintained and what are the lessons learned? We have learned that communities are rapidly affected by healthcare issues. If you look at developed markets, you will be surprised. How can a city like New York or Berlin become paralyzed? Undoubtedly, the pandemic was a wake-up call for many countries because we have learned that the virus can bring the world to a halt for a long time. The most valuable lesson we learned is the importance of providing sustainable healthcare for everyone, because no one wants to go through this difficult time again. We have also seen increased motivation behind the tireless work of governments to strengthen and support their healthcare systems, and workers who deliver care to patients. We also learned a lot about prevention methods, intensive care units, and importance of public health. Some of these were matters unknown to the public before the pandemic and were limited to the knowledge of healthcare workers only. But because the public started to care about these issues, the governments focused on healthcare, and consequently, pharmaceutical companies played a very important role as a result of these new challenges. How is Janssen responding to the healthcare needs that have emerged recently during the pandemic, and how are patients in Egypt benefiting from this? We are proud that we have a comprehensive supply and support system through importing products and raw materials, and we have succeeded in continuing to supply our products even when conditions were exceptional. Speaking of specialised care, such as cancer care and other diseases, those patients will not get medicine or treatment in cases of lockdowns and curfews. We single these patients out because they must receive treatment in hospitals, and sometimes the healthcare system is not accessible to them. Imagine that there is a cancer patient who must go to the hospital during a pandemic to receive treatment. We need to continue to invest in prevention and vaccination programs, as well as addressing issues around mental and psychological health. When you think about it, there are a lot of people who have been subject to stress and depression in the past year. I think that the rates of depression, and psychological problems have largely increased because of isolation and restrictions during the pandemic. We have had an important discussion about our support for the Egyptian government and the medical community to raise awareness about psychological disorders and are committed to increasing investment in mental health. We have invested in this field for more than 60 years, and we are proud to be the leading company in the treatment of schizophrenia, ADHD and depression. We continue to create positive change, including raising awareness among healthcare professionals and general public so that everyone can continue to make improvements in this field. In light of Egypts Vision 2030, Egypt is clearly investing in healthcare reform. How can Janssen company participate in developing the Egyptian market according to this vision to provide value for patients and make sure its innovative products are available to them? The company has adopted programs for medical education through experts to transfer their experience to a large number of doctors in different countries, which is a good concept for capability building. We talked about the challenge of treating Crohns disease (a type of inflammatory bowel disease). The concept is based on sending a specialist consultant to the hospital that needs him. We may face many obstacles to train all the doctors in the country, but we can train some and send them, so that they become an important part of further education and can provide support, training, and assistance effectively. This trend will increase the rates of recovery and treatment significantly and very quickly throughout the republic. For example, schizophrenia is a very difficult disease to manage and treat. Families go to the internist when they notice behavioral changes, and they would not find anything wrong, and then the patients condition develops before an accurate diagnosis can be made. These changes are difficult for an average person to notice, and we find that families often isolate patients because they do not understand the nature of the disease, and society rejects the patient that has become dangerous or strange. Therefore, our commitment is to work to raise awareness and fight the stigma of mental illness. This is a process that takes many years to improve, but if we do not start now, we will never get there. We believe that all patients across the country, not only in large cities, have the right to access quality healthcare. What are the challenges facing Janssen in the Egyptian market and how can it overcome them? The Egyptian market is very attractive, and this also makes our role very important because we believe that during the past 40 years, we have succeeded in making a difference in the lives of patients, not only in Egypt but in the region more broadly. The vast majority of patients in Egypt did not always have an opportunity to obtain medication approximately six or seven years ago. And with the remarkable development now, we are talking about universal healthcare coverage by 2030, which is revolutionary in the world of healthcare systems. Indeed, Egypt will have a pioneering healthcare system and the first in Africa to make revenues on investment in new therapies. Janssen is known for its innovation and significant investment in its research and development sector. What are the main sectors you focus on? Is Janssen Egypt conducting local clinical trials? We focus on central nervous system diseases, such as schizophrenia, as well as multiple sclerosis diseases. We are also pioneering in the study of hematology, oncology, prostate cancer, bladder cancer and are currently working on lung cancer. We are the leaders in science and data, and I would say we have a unique business history that perfectly fits the medical needs of this country. We do not only conduct clinical trials, but we also do clinical trials for global development programs, and Egypt is part of these programs, so we do not wait to do local trials, but rather use the global experiences that we already have. Our scientists can conduct these clinical trials with international standards. In international trials, we are always evaluating and comparing capabilities, employing a strict timeline, and have been impressed by the speed and accuracy of Egypts insistence on conducting clinical trials. Search Keywords: Short link: President Vladimir Putin denied Thursday that Russia bore any responsibility for a looming global food crisis due to the conflict in Ukraine. Ukraine, a major exporter of grain, especially corn and wheat, has seen its production blocked by Moscow's military offensive, sparking a surge in prices and fears of food shortages that will particularly affect the poorest countries. "We have not put any restrictions on the export of fertilisers, nor on the export of food products," Putin said as he welcomed Indonesian leader Joko Widodo, whose country holds the G20 presidency, to the Kremlin. Moscow does "not hinder the export of Ukrainian wheat," Putin said, adding that Russia is "in constant contact" with the UN agency in charge of the issue. Putin instead blamed Western sanctions imposed on Russia. He said that by targeting the owners of fertiliser companies, Western sanctions have "created conditions that made it much more difficult" to deliver certain products internationally. Moscow says it would allow Ukrainian ships loaded with food products to leave if the Ukrainian military demined its ports, an option rejected by Kyiv, which fears for the safety of its Black Sea coast. For its part, Russia, another grain-producing power, cannot sell its crops and fertilisers because of Western sanctions affecting the financial and logistics sectors. The Kremlin announced this week that it had "responded positively" to the invitation to the G20 summit to be held in Bali, Indonesia, in November, suggesting that Putin would attend in person. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, however, said after a G7 summit where Widodo was invited, that Indonesia had ruled out Putin's presence, a statement the Kremlin has rejected. The terms of Russian participation will be determined after "an analysis of the situation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday. Western countries, led by the United States, are putting pressure on Indonesia to exclude Russia from the meeting, to which Ukraine has also been invited as a guest country. Widodo visited Ukraine on Wednesday. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt's Ministry of Interior announced on Thursday the arrest of a judicial authority member who is accused of murdering his wife, TV presenter Shaimaa Gamal, and hiding her body. Security arrested the accused husband in Suez governorate, where he went in hiding, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry said all legal measures have been taken against him. The husband had earlier reported that Gamal went missing after disappearing in front of a commercial complex in 6 October City. He did not accuse anyone of the crime at the time, according to the prosecution. On Tuesday, the prosecution announced that the body of the TV presenter was found after a man who alleged he was close to the victims husband willingly offered his testimony to the prosecution. The man said he witnessed the crime and claimed that the husband killed Gamal over differences between them. The witness informed the prosecution of the place where Gamal's body was buried. The prosecution ordered the detention of the witness for four days pending investigation, adding it obtained authorisation from the judicial authority, which employed the husband, to lift his immunity and take measures against him. Relatives of the victim said she disappeared from the 6 October commercial complex after being last seen in the company of her husband. Gamal was known for her programme El-Moshagheba (The Troublemaker) on LTC satellite channel. She also worked for Al-Hadath Al-Youm satellite channel. Search Keywords: Short link: Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune reviewed during a meeting on Thursday with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly the outcome of the eighth Higher Egyptian-Algerian Committee that resulted in inking 12 cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs). In a statement, the Algerian presidency said the meeting was attended by Prime Minister Ayman Ben Abdelrahman, Algerian Minister of Industry Ahmed Zeghdar and Algerian Ambassador to Egypt Hamid Shabira. Tebboune hailed his fraternal ties with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi saying he is a man who really loves his country and affirming depth of ties binding Algeria and Egypt. "Under the leadership of President El-Sisi, Egypt has regained its momentum," he said, wishing the North African country continued progress and prosperity. The Egyptian premier voiced pride over visiting the Martyrs' Memorial Wednesday, saying that he remembered not only the sacrifices of the Algerian martyrs in the Algerian war of Independence, but also their sacrifices in the 1973 war in Egypt. He said the Egyptians and Algerians are capable of pursuing the development process, especially in light of the current circumstances, that require rallying efforts in order to attain integration. Madbouly, meanwhile, hailed the Algerian president's plan to build one million housing units. He also pointed out to the ongoing development efforts currently taking place in Egypt under the leadership of President El-Sisi. El-Sisi received his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune in Egypt in January and said their talks focused on fostering political, economic, and commercial relations. Earlier Thursday, Madbouly and his Algerian counterpart opened the Egyptian-Algerian businessmen forum. The Egyptian and Algerian prime ministers also announced that Egypt and Algeria inked 12 agreements and MoUs in the fields of industry, investment and exports. The agreements and MoUs covered small and micro-sized enterprises, water resources, employment, higher education and scientific research, diplomatic training, environment, youth and sports, and endowments and Islamic affairs. The accords were signed during the meeting of the eighth round of the joint higher committee in Algiers. The meeting was attended by Egyptian and Algerian ministers and officials, including the ministers of energy, higher education, housing, and trade. Search Keywords: Short link: President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has signed a Decree conferring the honorary title of 'Honored Engineer' on a group of maritime transport workers, Trend reports. According to the decree, the honorary title of has been awarded to the following persons for their fruitful activity the development of maritime transport of the Republic of Azerbaijan: Taleh Garayev Ogtay Shafagatov Clinics of Egypts official Hajj mission have provided 885 Egyptian pilgrims with medical examination and treatment whereas three pilgrims were admitted to Saudi hospitals, Egypts Ministry of Health and Population announced on Wednesday. It added that since Egyptian pilgrims started arriving Tuesday night, 154 had received medical treatment in the delegations Mecca clinics while the other 731 were treated in Medina clinics. The ministry has coordinated with Saudi Arabia to conduct dialysis sessions for an Egyptian patient and chemotherapy sessions for an oncology patient at the kingdoms hospitals, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar stated. Also, the ministry confirmed that all Egyptian pilgrims were free of any infectious diseases, and reiterated the full cooperation and coordination with all hospitals and the Saudi health authorities. Earlier, Egypts Social Solidarity Minister Nevine El-Qabbaj stated that the first batch of pilgrims travelling under the sponsorship of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) arrived in Saudi Arabia on Friday. This batch included 225 participants with the remaining batches to follow on 2 July. They were followed by pilgrims registered through tourism companies, who started to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, according to a statement by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. The ministry has allocated phone numbers for pilgrims and tourism companies to communicate directly around the clock with the ministrys inspection committee located in Mecca, on the number 0558835153, and in Medina on the number 0551731706. Hajj is one of the world's largest religious gatherings. In 2019, about 2.5 million people of all nationalities performed Hajj. The number of pilgrims Saudi Arabia will receive in 2022, however, will still be 40 percent less almost a million people than pre-pandemic numbers. Saudi Arabia announced earlier that it would resume receiving non-Saudi pilgrims following a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Saudi authorities allowed only 1,000 pilgrims to participate. In 2021, the total increased to 60,000 fully vaccinated citizens and residents chosen through a lottery. The Hajj season is expected to start on 7 July and will conclude on 12 July. All capable Muslims are required to perform the Hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, once in their lifetime. The Hajj consists of a series of religious rites that are completed over five days in Islam's holiest city, Mecca, and the surrounding areas of western Saudi Arabia. Short link: Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stated on Wednesday that establishing an Arab military alliance akin to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is not possible and would not be proposed. Shoukrys remarks came in a joint press conference Wednesday with Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani on the sidelines of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisis two-day visit to Bahrain. In the past few days, speculation regarding the creation of an Arab NATO involving US-sponsored Arab-Israeli security cooperation has widely circulated in advance of US President Joe Bidens visit to the region in mid-July. Though Shoukry ruled out the idea of creating an Arab NATO at the current stage, he stressed the importance of reinforcing joint Arab action, according to the Bahraini daily Akhbar-Alkhaleej. We are confident that our joint capabilities are great and capable of protecting Arab national security interests against any interference from outside the Arab region, the Bahraini newspaper quoted Shoukry as saying. The top Egyptian diplomat stressed, we have an interest in continuing consultations and coordination at the level of relevant leaderships and agencies to maximise benefit from cooperation among us in all fields [including] political, economic and security, because we have a common history and destiny that must be preserved. In an interview with to CNBC earlier this week, Jordan's King Abdullah II said he believed a Middle Eastern military alliance could be built with like-minded countries, stressing that the vision of such an alliance must be very clear. The remarks come nearly two weeks before the upcoming Gulf Cooperation Council+3 Summit which will be chaired by Saudi Arabia on 16 June. The summit will host the heads of state of the GCC countries, the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, as well as US President Joe Biden, who will be making his first tour in the Middle East by visiting Saudi Arabia, Israel and the West Bank. Search Keywords: Short link: Major oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia stuck to a previously decided output boost on Thursday, despite calls for bigger increases to tame crude prices. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated concerns about oil supplies, sending prices to record highs this year. Oil prices fell following the announcement by the 13-nation Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries led by Saudia Arabia and its 10 partners headed by Russia. In their monthly video conference, which lasted about an hour, the 23 members of OPEC+ agreed to add another 648,000 barrels per day in August, the same as for July. "As expected, OPEC+ stuck to its planned 648,000 barrel increase in August and refrained from any decision beyond then," said Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at OANDA trading platform. This "could add an element of uncertainty to future targets, particularly given recent reports that even Saudi Arabia and UAE are running near capacity," Erlam added. 'Symbolic' Tamas Varga, an analyst with PVM Energy, said the decision seemed "symbolic" as most OPEC+ members have been failing to meet their output quotas. "Now all eyes will be on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates," Varga said. "Any hint that they also struggle to increase output will probably be met with a fresh wave of buying." The 13 members of OPEC, chaired by Saudi Arabia, and their 10 partners, led by Russia, drastically slashed output in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdowns sent demand plummeting. Since last year, they have been gradually increasing output again. In recent months, the United States and other top oil consumers urged OPEC+ to open the tabs more widely. The group finally decided at its last meeting in early June to add 648,000 barrels per day to the market in July, up from 432,000 in previous months. But the larger-than-expected boost failed to cool prices. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the international benchmark, Brent North Sea Crude, has added around 17 percent, while the US benchmark WTI has jumped more than 18 percent. Analysts have warned that only a recession may be able to bring down prices. "The prices will likely push higher unless the recession fears take the upper hand," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, an analyst at Swissquote Bank. "All the talk of a summer of discontent is likely to spill over into the autumn and winter as high oil and gas prices remain a feature of markets," said Jamie Maddock, an equity research analyst at Quilter Cheviot. "Attention will now inevitably turn to what OPEC+ does from September," Maddock added. Biden heading to Saudi Arabia Production will be back to pre-pandemic levels after August, at least on paper. Several OPEC+ members have been failing to meet the output quotas, while Iran and Venezuela -- and now also Russia -- are blocked by sanctions. The United Arab Emirates said this week it was close to its oil output ceiling, ahead of a regional visit by US President Joe Biden, who is expected to lobby for increased production. Biden will visit neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, as part of his tour next month, but analysts doubt it will convince OPEC+ to boost output. On Monday, at the meeting of the G7 club of industrialised nations in Germany, French President Emmanuel Macron was caught on camera telling Biden details of a conversation with UAE leader Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. According to Macron, Sheikh Mohamed said the UAE was at its "maximum" capacity and Saudi Arabia also faced a limit for raising production. Search Keywords: Short link: The US Supreme Court on Thursday gave the administration of President Joe Biden the green light to end the so-called Remain in Mexico policy instituted by Donald Trump as part of his hardline approach to immigration. Under the policy, some non-Mexicans who entered the United States illegally across the southern border were sent back to Mexico to wait while their immigration cases played out in court, rather than being detained or provisionally released. Since the beginning of his term, Biden has been trying to wind down the policy as part of what he claims is a more humane take on immigration. Advocates for migrants said the policy exposed asylum-seekers to dangerous conditions in Mexico as overwhelmed US courts slowly work through a backlog of cases. Thursday's ruling in favor of the Biden administration was split 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining fellow conservative Brett Kavanaugh and the court's three liberal justices in the majority. Roberts, who authored the majority opinion, argued that federal immigration law allows the executive branch to return asylum seekers to Mexico, but does not force it to do so. "Congress conferred contiguous-territory return authority in expressly discretionary terms," the opinion states. Biden's attempt to terminate the policy, instituted by Trump in 2019, was challenged by a group of Republican-governed states led by Texas. These states argued that his move violated US immigration law by forcing authorities to release migrants they had detained onto US territory. They also said that Biden officials had not followed proper administrative procedure. A lower court in August 2021 ruled against the Biden administration and the case eventually ended up before the nation's highest court. At first, the Supreme Court simply refused to freeze the lower court ruling, forcing the administration to restart the policy, formally called Migration Protection Protocols (MPP), while it pressed ahead with its appeal. From the start of the policy in January 2019 until its suspension under Biden, nearly 70,000 people were sent back to Mexico, according to the American Immigration Council. Since its most recent reinstatement, far fewer migrants have been sent back through the program. During Biden's tenure as president, more than 200,000 people attempting to enter the country illegally have been interdicted at the border each month and sent back, under MPP or a separate Covid-related policy blocking people at the border. Illegal border crossings are often dangerous, both for the physical conditions in the region and mistreatment by human traffickers. This week 53 people died after being packed inside a tractor trailer truck without air conditioning that was later abandoned in San Antonio, Texas. The American Civil Liberties Union praised the court's ruling on Thursday. "The Supreme Court was right to reject the spurious argument that this cruel policy is statutorily required," said Judy Rabinovitz of the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project. Search Keywords: Short link: The Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority (ENRRA) issued a permit to Russias State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM) for the construction of the El-Dabaa NPP Unit 1, according to an announcement by the corporation Thursday. This permit, along with excavation works at site, is necessary for the start of the main stage of construction, ROSATOM said. In November 2015, the Egyptian government signed an agreement with Russia to build Egypts first nuclear power plant in El-Dabaa region of Marsa Matrouh, which aims to generate a total of 4,800 megawatts through four reactors. Obtaining construction permit for the Unit 1 is a momentous occasion paving the way for the launch of full-scale construction of the first NPP in Egypt, Alexey Likhachev, ROSATOM director general stated on Thursday. He added that El-Dabaa NPP will be the first nuclear power plant of this generation on the African continent. It will further secure the countrys regional technological leadership. Amgad El-Wakeel, board chairman of Nuclear Power Plants Authority of Egypt, said, Today, we etched in gold Egypt joining the ranks of countries building nuclear power plants after over 70 years waiting for this dream to come true. Earlier in June, ROSATOM announced that it started the manufacture in Saint Petersburg of electrical components for the plants reactor vessel, according to Sputnik news agency. Earlier in 2022, CEO of ROSATOM Alexey Likhachev stated that construction of El-Dabaa is set to begin in July. According to the projects design, the nuclear plant will have four VVER-1,200 reactor units, with the first unit scheduled to be operational in 2026. In November 2021, Egypt signed a long-term one million-dollar agreement with the Czech UJV Rez Research and Development company to consult on El-Dabaa Nuclear Plant, according to ENRRA Chairperson Sami Shaaban. According to the contract, UJV Rez will provide technical assistance to the ENRRA in licensing the nuclear plant. Search Keywords: Short link: Dont break your budget but pack your luggage. For many people, now is the right time to travel. I unearth stories I never dreamt of discovering, Amr Hamed, a travel vlogger and documentary maker, told Al-Ahram Weekly when reflecting on the differences between his present career and his initial training as an accountant. Hamed started travelling and discovering new places in the world ten years ago. This 40-year-old traveller first took his hobby as his profession and then made it into his passion. He now studies new places, craves for adventure, and ventures into new experiences. He started a travel agency after his popularity had exploded on YouTube where he had been sharing some of his travel experiences in Egypt and worldwide. Once he had reached five million views on his YouTube channel, Hamed gave up his earlier life in accountancy to shift career and take up travelling as his only income. What is special about vlogging is that people believe in you as you are offering your own personal experiences. They trust you so much that they might even want to pack their luggage and book a trip to the place you are talking about, Hamed commented. I was an amateur at first, just capturing photos or videos on my mobile phone without any editing. But then I started to treat my vlogging more professionally, taking videography and editing courses. I also hired a visual editor and a social-marketing team to monetise my content and help my business grow, he added. Unlike other travel vloggers and agencies, Hamed says that the Covid-19 pandemic did not affect his work. Instead, these two years were the prime time of his experiences. I worked heavily on domestic tourism in Egypt and travelled to every part of the country, showing people different unknown places in our beautiful country, Hamed said. One of his most famous trips on YouTube was Port Said, Dahab, and Nuweiba where people can taste the different flavours of Egypt. At the time the pandemic was seen as an enormous threat to tourism, but many people took it as an opportunity to explore their own countries, something which was also true in Egypt. There were many trends and hashtags on social-media platforms such as capture yourself as if you are in Europe, capture yourself at the Pyramids, and make heritage fun, among many others that made people eager to travel to places in Egypt and encourage domestic tourism. We took the pandemic as an opportunity to develop our company. We worked on our company database in order to design trips that suit our clients, said Andrew Nasri, founder of 4travellers, one of the large social-media platforms dedicated to travel in Egypt. I think Egypt is not only one of the beautiful countries in the world but also the most beautiful country on Earth, Nasri said. Though he has been in the tourism business for over six years, he always finds Egypt a tremendous mix of features from all countries in the world. You have the mix of astounding nature, the best beaches, the best sand dunes, the best heritage sites of all kinds, and the remains of magnificent ancient civilisations. There are so many things that put Egypt in a class of its own. Thats why we never stop working on discovering new places and new plans for all kinds of tourism in Egypt, he said. After two years of Covid-19, he is now focusing on planning trips to new places inside and outside of Egypt. Many people today are also keen to try new tourism destinations, which for Egyptians may include new countries such as Tanzania, Zanzibar, Albania, Morocco, Thailand, and Malaysia. One newly married couple who find travelling a source of endless delight, Mahmoud and Aliaa, was among the first Egyptian travellers to venture to Albania in southeastern Europe, now an increasingly popular destination. Though not number one on the Google search engine for tourism in Europe, Albania offers no visa entry for Egyptians and no compulsory restrictions as far as Covid-19 vaccinations are concerned. Such travel procedures have made the country one of the top destinations for Egyptians in Europe, besides its being a beautiful country that also will not break the bank. We always plan our travels inside or outside Egypt in a way that suits our budget, our holidays, our preferences for food, our health, and our priorities, said Mahmoud Abul-Soud, a visual storyteller and CEO of an advertising agency in Cairo. Albania, for example, was a great adventure to discover ourselves as honeymooners who also adore travelling and wished to enjoy every bit of our experience together, he added. We study the country we want to visit first, google top visits and cities, and plan our transport and activities, all according to our budget. But this is not as important as always trying to understand one another and respect the needs of one another, said Aliaa, a senior media buyer. Their Rotta and Aliaa page on Instagram and Facebook exemplifies how people can plan their travel destinations and enjoy the little things around them. We share details on our page so that people can benefit from the best food, hotels that offer great prices, and the free things that everybody can enjoy when they travel, the couple said. We feel that people need personal experiences to trust the places they visit, and thats why we are keen on documenting our trips, they added. Travelling is a great way to experience other cultures. The more you travel, the more you discover that the world is more than being about you as a single person, Rasha Salah, manager of the Symphony travel agency, told the Weekly. Conjuring up images of different countries that you have visited can mean retaining experiences that will never be forgotten. For Salah, travel is not simply about visiting a countrys cities or touring top heritage sites. Instead, it is about getting used to different scenes, enjoying the different cultures and sub-cultures that can exist in one country, and most importantly discovering things in oneself that people forget are already there. The Covid-19 pandemic made many travel agencies discover new places and many people want to travel more despite the economic crisis the world is facing now, Salah added. She said that many countries that had suffered from a tourism crisis due to Covid-19 had opened their doors to tourism this year. These countries provide many offers, cheap accommodation, and various affordable flights. They are eager to attract tourists from different countries in the world, she added. So, no matter where you travel, remember that it is the travelling that is important. Salah said that even if you are travelling on a tight budget, you should spare some of it to make memories for yourself, your children, your friends, and your parents in good company. A version of this article appears in print in the 30 June, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: Russian forces withdrew from a strategic Black Sea island Thursday, potentially easing the threat to the vital Ukrainian port city of Odesa, but kept up their push to encircle the last stronghold of resistance in the eastern province of Luhansk. The Kremlin portrayed the pullout from Snake Island as a ``goodwill gesture.'' Ukraine's military said the Russians fled in two small speedboats following a barrage of Ukrainian artillery and missile strikes. The exact number of troops was not disclosed. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the withdrawal was intended to demonstrate that Moscow isn't hampering U.N. efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor for exporting agricultural products from Ukraine. Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of blockading Ukrainian ports to prevent exports of grain, contributing to a global food crisis. Russia has denied the accusations and said that Ukraine needs to remove mines from the Black Sea to allow safe navigation. Turkey has sought to broker a deal to unblock grain exports. But the talks have dragged on, with Kyiv expressing fear that Russia will exploit the removal of the mines to attack Odesa. Snake Island sits along a busy shipping lane. Russia took control of it in the opening days of the war in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa. It was unclear if the evacuation meant a change in Moscow's designs on Odesa. Odesa is Ukraine's biggest port, crucial for shipping grain to Africa, the Middle East and other parts of the world, and is also the headquarters of the country's navy. The island early on took on legendary significance for Ukraine's resistance to the Russian invasion, when Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back, ``Go (expletive) yourself.'' Ukraine has celebrated the story with patriotic fervor, issuing a postage stamp in commemoration. The island's Ukrainian defenders were captured by the Russians but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange. After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there and its air defenses. At a NATO summit in Madrid, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson billed the Russian pullout as a sign that Ukraine will prevail in the war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin. ``In the end it will prove impossible for Putin to hold down a country that will not accept'' occupation, Johnson said. Meanwhile, Moscow kept up its push to take control of the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. It is focused on the city of Lysychansk, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in Luhansk province. Russian troops and their separatist allies control 95% of Luhansk and about half of Donetsk, the two provinces that make up the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas. Ukraine said the Russians were shelling Lysychansk and clashing with Ukrainian defenders around an oil refinery on the edge of the city. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian reconnaissance units tried to enter Lysychansk on Wednesday but were repelled. He said the Russians were trying to block a highway used to deliver supplies and fully encircle the city. ``The Russians have thrown practically all their forces to seize the city,'' Haidai said. Search Keywords: Short link: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday announced the end of diplomatic ties between Kyiv and Damascus after Moscow ally Syria recognised the independence of eastern Ukraine's two separatist republics. The breakaway states of Donetsk and Lugansk, whose independence Moscow recognised in February, are situated in the Donbas region at the centre of Russia's invasion and have escaped Kyiv's control since 2014. Syria provoked Ukraine's ire after becoming the first state other than Russia to recognise the two separatist republics earlier on Wednesday. "There will no longer be relations between Ukraine and Syria," Zelenskyy said in a video posted on Telegram, adding that the sanctions pressure against Syria "will be even greater". Zelenskyy described Syria's move as a "worthless story". This is not the first time that the Syrian government, which since 2015 has been heavily backed by Russia in its own civil war, has supported Moscow's recognition of breakaway states. In 2018, Syria recognised South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent from the former Soviet state of Georgia, prompting Tbilisi to cut diplomatic ties. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are internationally recognised as part of Georgia, which gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, but Russia and a handful of other countries recognise their independence. Search Keywords: Short link: Just two days after agreeing to lift deal-breaking objections to Sweden and Finland's NATO accession, Turkey's leader warned Thursday that Ankara could still block the process if the two countries fail to fully meet his expectations. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the close of the alliance's summit in Madrid that the 10-article agreement with the Nordic pair was a victory for Ankara and addressed all its "sensitivities.'' He particularly stressed the satisfying of Turkey's demand for Sweden and Finland to extradite terror suspects with links to outlawed Kurdish groups or the network of an exiled cleric accused of a failed 2016 coup in Turkey. But Erdogan added that if the two Nordic states renege on their promises, Turkey's Parliament could refuse to ratify the deal reached Tuesday. NATO accession must be formally approved by all 30 member states, which gives each a blocking right. "This business will not work if we don't pass this in our parliament,'' Erdogan said. "First, Sweden and Finland must fulfill their duties and those are already in the text. ... But if they don't fulfill these, then of course there is no way we would send it to our parliament.'' Erdogan claimed that Sweden had promised to extradite 73 "terrorists'' to Turkey and crack down on the financing and recruitment activities of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK _ listed as a terrorist group by the U.S. and the European Union _ and linked groups. Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, an extension of the PKK. The text of the memorandum sets no specific number of extraditions. It says Finland and Sweden will address Turkey's "pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects expeditiously and thoroughly, taking into account information, evidence and intelligence provided'' by Turkey in accordance with the European Convention on Extradition. On Wednesday, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said Sweden and Finland's justice ministries have files from Turkey on 33 people with alleged links to PKK and the network of U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen. Journalists repeatedly pressed Erdogan on Thursday about the extraditions and whether Sweden had actually promised the number he cited. He said the number of extradition requests previously stood at 60 but was updated to 73. "Of course, what we understand is important from our meetings and talks,'' Erdogan said. "Sweden promised to give us these 73 people with this text. They may or they may not, we will follow that through the text and we will make our decision.'' There was no immediate response to requests for comments from the Swedish delegation at the summit in Madrid. The Swedish government has sought to allay concerns that the deal would lead to extraditions to Turkey without due process. "I know there are some people who are worried that we're going to start to hunt people and extradite them, and I think it's important to say that we always follow Swedish laws and international conventions, and we never extradite Swedish citizens,'' Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told public broadcaster SVT on Wednesday. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto stressed that Helsinki pointed out that the memorandum does not list the names of individuals. "In the case of extraditions, we will adhere to our own legislation and international agreements. Ultimately, extradition is a legal discretion which politicians have no right to influence,'' Niinisto said. With the joint memorandum signed, NATO moved ahead with inviting the Nordic countries to the military alliance that seeks to enlarge and strengthen in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The most time consuming part of gaining NATO membership is the ratification of the applicants' accession protocols by the alliance's 30 member countries. It's a process that involves national parliaments _ and could take months. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country would launch launch the process of ratifying the planned NATO membership of Sweden and Finland this week and conclude it "very quickly.'' Search Keywords: Short link: A year after migrants started crossing into the European Union from Belarus to Poland, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is expected to visit the border area on Thursday to mark the completion of a new steel wall. On Friday, Polish authorities will also lift a state of emergency along the border that has blocked journalists, rights workers and others from witnessing a human rights crisis. At the very least, 20 migrants have died in the area's freezing forests and bogs. As Poland opened its gates to millions of Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion, work was well underway to build the 5.5-meter (18-foot) high wall along 186 kilometers (115 miles) of its northern frontier with Belarus It's meant to keep out asylum seekers of a different type: those fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa, who were encouraged to try their luck by Belarus' authoritarian regime, a close ally of Russia, as part of a feud with the EU. One of them was 32-year-old Ali, who left Syria late last year after reading on social media that the easiest way into the EU was to fly to Belarus and walk into Poland. Ali, from a village outside Hama in western Syria, flew to the Belarusian capital, Minsk, and set out to find an unguarded spot in the forest where he could sneak over into the EU. ``I was looking for a place where I can live in safety, away from the oppression and hopelessness back home,'' he said in an interview this week with The Associated Press in Berlin. Ali, who didn't give his last name, fearing repercussions for his family, was not prepared for the violence and sub-zero temperatures that awaited him in the vast forests and swamps. ``There were nights when I went to sleep on the bare ground in the woods thinking I would not wake up again,'' Ali said. Human rights activists see a double standard in the different treatment of the neighboring Ukrainian refugees, fellow Slavs who are mostly Christian, female and white, and those from the distant Middle East and Africa, many of whom are Muslims and male. ``If you give a lift to a refugee at the Ukrainian border you are a hero. If you do it at the Belarus border you are a smuggler and could end up in jail for eight years,'' said Natalia Gebert, founder and CEO of Dom Otwarty, or Open House, a Polish NGO that helps refugees. Belarus had never before been a key migration route into the EU, until its President Alexander Lukashenko began encouraging would-be asylum-seekers in the Middle East to travel to Minsk. Soon, people from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and African countries flocked to the EU's eastern edge, entering Poland and neighboring Lithuania and Latvia. EU leaders accused Lukashenko of waging ``hybrid warfare'' in revenge for the bloc's sanctions over the regime's treatment of dissidents. Poland's government says Russia is complicit, given Lukashenko's alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Though migration slowed in the winter, people continued to try to enter the EU through Poland, a route seen as less dangerous than crossing the Mediterranean Sea, where many have drowned in past years, Gebert said. Ali, whose small makeup business in Syria was destroyed when Sunni extremists learned he belonged to the Alawite religious minority, says he got pushed back six times by Polish border guards. But Belarusian guards beat him, stole his money and forced him to take off all his clothes in the middle of the winter. He wanted to give up and return to Minsk, but the guards wouldn't let him. They made him and others lie on the cold ground, screamed at them, approached closely with a snarling dog and kicked Ali repeatedly in the chest. Polish border patrol officers broke his phone's SIM card, he said. He went without water and food for days, lost in the swamps. A Human Rights Watch report this month said Poland ``unlawfully, and sometimes violently, summarily pushes migrants and asylum-seekers back to Belarus, where they face serious abuses, including beatings and rape by border guards and other security forces.'' Amnesty International has also detailed serious human rights abuses. A Polish government spokesman did not reply to a request for comment on the allegations of the human rights groups. While some Poles support the government's tough stance, many border region residents have throughout the winter and spring sought to help migrants trapped in the forest, several requiring medical help. A play that premiered in Warsaw this week, ``Responsibility,`` asks how Poland can accept millions of Ukrainians while withholding help to thousands of others. One character asks: ``Why does the Polish state demand that a child from Aleppo sits in a bog in sub-zero temperatures and withhold the aid it gives the child from Mariupol?'' Ali spent 16 days in the forests, before he and others used pliers to open a hole in a border fence. Some villagers gave him food and water, but soon he was apprehended by police and taken to a detention center. Over the next three months, he was moved through several closed camps. Guards carried batons and stun guns, he said, and every time before they moved him to a different camp they made him and other detainees strip naked in public. Nobody addressed him by his name, but by an identification number. In March, he was handed his papers and taken to the Debak center for foreigners in Otrebusy southwest of Warsaw, where he was told: ``Go away, go to Germany.'' Ali arrived in Berlin in April and applied for asylum. Rights activists and psychologists have documented his account and also those of other asylum-seekers who say they suffered abuse by both Belarusian and Polish border guards. ``I feel better here. People call me by my name again,'' Ali said. ``But I'm worried all the time that the Germans will send me back to Poland.'' Search Keywords: Short link: By Azernews By Sabina Mammadli Armenia has once again confessed to sending illegal military units to Azerbaijani territories, Azernews reports per Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva. The remarks were made in response to remarks by an Armenian high-ranking military officer made at a meeting with parents of conscripts. The statement by Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces Sahak Sahakyan on the replacement of Armenian conscripts by contractors in Azerbaijan's Karabakh is clearly another confession made by Armenia regarding the sending of illegal military units to Azerbaijan, the spokesperson said. Commenting on the matter, Abdullayeva stressed that this is a gross violation by Armenia of the trilateral statement dated November 10, 2020. We remind that Article 4 of this statement stipulates the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the territories of Azerbaijan, in parallel with the deployment of Russian peacekeeping contingent to these territories, she added. Further, the official pointed out that Azerbaijan has previously repeatedly stated that Armenia violates the provisions of the trilateral statement, including the complete withdrawal of illegal armed groups from Azerbaijan. According to her, while Azerbaijan is taking steps to normalize relations and build peace in the post-conflict period, this approach by Armenia clearly demonstrates the latter's interest in creating tension in the region rather than peace. This statement by the Armenian official shows that the talks of the Armenian side about peace are nothing but hypocrisy. It also clearly shows the aggressive policy of the Armenian side, she finalized. To recap, on May 22, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, European Council President Charles Michel, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met in Brussels. After the meeting, Michel said that Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on a number of key issues, including the creation of border delimitation commissions, of which the first meeting was held on May 24. Earlier, Ilham Aliyev stated that peace will return to the Caucasus based on the five principles Baku recently proposed for normalizing relations with Armenia. It was the first visit by the crown prince to Turkey since the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate caused a rift between the two countries. The talks in Ankara between bin Salman and Erdogan come one month before US President Joe Biden visits Riyadh for a regional summit. Those talks will focus on the energy crunch caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. President Erdogan's decision to revive ties with one of his biggest rivals is driven in large part by economics and trade. Turks' living standards are imploding a year before a general election that poses one of the biggest challenges of Erdogan's mercurial two-decade rule. But it is now drumming up investment and central bank assistance from the very countries it opposed on ideological grounds in the wake of the Arab Spring revolts. The Turkish leader personally welcomed the crown prince at his presidential palace at a grand ceremony featuring a parade of horses and a military honour guard. They then held a two-hour meeting and a private dinner but no media event. A joint statement issued by their foreign ministers said the meeting was held "in an atmosphere of sincerity and brotherhood embodying the depth of excellent relations between the two countries". It said the sides discussed Saudi investments but announced no concrete deals. The kingdom's state media ended up releasing a picture of Erdogan hugging the crown prince, an image that created a furore in Turkey. Ankara expects the mending of fences to help prop up the Turkish economy at a crucial stage of Erdogan's rule. * This story was edited by Ahram Online The agreements include small and micro-sized enterprises, water resources, employment, higher education and scientific research, diplomatic training, environment, youth and sports, and endowments and Islamic affairs. The accords were signed during the meeting of the eighth round of the joint higher committee in Algiers. The meeting was attended by Egyptian and Algerian ministers and officials, including the ministers of energy, higher education, housing, and trade. During the meeting, the two parties agreed on completing ongoing projects and exploring other horizons for partnership and investment, Ben Abdelrahman said. Madbouly stressed the importance of charting new trade routes to facilitate the transfer of goods between the two countries other than the land route passing through Libya due to the current tensions there, according to a statement released by the Egyptian cabinet following the meeting. Meanwhile, the Egyptian-Algerian Businessmen Forum is set to convene later on Thursday with the participation of Madbouly, Abdel Rahman, and a host of Egyptian and Algerian businessmen. The Algerian PM said he hopes the forum will achieve "a real leap" in Algerian-Egyptian partnership. Madbouly stated the forum will serve as the executive arm of a host of joint projects that Egypt and Algeria seek to launch before the end of 2022, noting that both governments encourage their respective private sectors to engage in a set of investments. "It is in the interest of our two countries to integrate together so that we have a common industrial and production base that serves our regional environment, whether Europe or Africa," Madbouly stressed. Madbouly stressed earlier on Wednesday the importance of finding alternative trade routes with Algeria to facilitate goods shipping between the two countries rather than the land route passing through Libya amid current circumstances there. He said that the regular maritime trade route between Egypt and Tunisia, which both countries agreed to place under study, could be extended to reach the Algerian ports. The Egyptian PM urged boosting Egyptian-Algerian trade exchange, stating that the current volume of trade exchange between both countries is not in line with the production and export capabilities of our two countries and the needs of their markets Egypt and Algeria have been keen on cementing their relations at the political and economic levels over the past years, as well as coordinating on regional issues, including on Libya, Syria, and Palestine, and terrorism in Africa and the Arab world. President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi received his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune in Egypt in January and said their talks focused on fostering political, economic, and commercial relations. In 2021, Egypts non-oil exports to Algeria increased by 14 percent and commercial exchange bounced back by 15.4 percent to $1 billion after the pandemic, according to economic commentator Karim El-Omdain. Spain has started sending natural gas supplies to Morocco through the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline (GME) to ensure its energy security following a supply crisis with Algeria. "The first shipment via the Maghreb gas pipeline took place (on Tuesday) involving LNG (liquefied natural gas) which Morocco bought on the international markets and unloaded at a Spanish regasification plant," a source at Spain's ecological transition ministry told AFP. In February, Spain said it would help Morocco address a gas supply shortage by letting it ship LNG to a Spanish regasification plant which could then be transferred to Morocco via the GME pipeline. The GME pipeline, which crosses Morocco, had previously been used by Algeria to transport gas to Spain. But in October, following a diplomatic spat, Algiers refused to renew a 25-year deal with Rabat to use the pipeline. Morocco had been receiving around a billion cubic metres of gas per year as transit fees, covering around 97 percent of its needs, so Algeria's move directly impacted on Rabat's energy supplies. Algiers, which in the first quarter supplied about 25 percent of Spain's gas imports, had in April warned Madrid not to re-export any of its supplies to Morocco, warning it could endanger its own contract with Algeria. "A certification scheme guarantees that this gas is not of Algerian origin," the Spanish ministry source said. Spain's Enagas, which operates four LNG terminals and the national gas grid, "will check the origin of the methane tanker carrying the gas" acquired by Morocco "and after unloading will issue a certificate", ensuring that no other gas is exported, the source said. Tensions peaked between the North African neighbours last year following Morocco's renewal of diplomatic ties with Israel and Washington's recognition of Rabat's sovereignty over disputed Western Sahara. Diplomatic ties have also nose-dived between Spain and Algeria after Madrid reversed its decades-long stance of neutrality on Western Sahara, agreeing to back Morocco's autonomy plan for the disputed region to end a year-long diplomatic spat. Spain's move, widely seen as a victory for Morocco, infuriated Algeria, which backs the Polisario Front, Western Sahara's independence movement. Search Keywords: Short link: Talks between rival Libyan institutions aimed at breaking the deadlock over the rules for long-awaited elections failed to resolve key differences, the United Nations said Thursday. Parliament speaker Aguila Saleh and President of the High Council of State Khaled Al-Mishri met at the UN in Geneva for three days of talks to discuss the draft constitutional framework for elections. But while some progress was made, it was not enough to move forward towards national polls, with the two sides still at odds over who can stand in presidential elections, said the UN's top Libya envoy Stephanie Williams, who facilitated the talks. Presidential and parliamentary elections, originally set for December last year, were meant to cap a UN-led peace process following the end of the last major round of violence in 2020. But the vote never took place due to several contentious candidacies and deep disagreements, over the polls' legal basis, between rival power centres in the east and west of the country. A week of talks earlier this month in Cairo between the Tripoli-based High Council and Saleh's eastern-based House of Representatives (HoR), aimed at agreeing on a constitutional basis for a vote, ended without a breakthrough. Williams said that following the talks in Geneva and Cairo, several points had been agreed. 'Disagreement persists' They included the designation of the headquarters and distribution of seats for both chambers, and the division of responsibilities between the president, prime minister, cabinet and local government. They have also reached consensus on decentralisation, including the number of governorates and their powers; revenue allocation mechanisms for the different levels of government; and increased representation for cultural components, said Williams. "Disagreement persists on the eligibility requirements for the candidates in the first presidential elections," she said in a statement. "While the progress secured during three rounds of consultations in Cairo and this round in Geneva is significant, it remains insufficient as a basis to move forward towards comprehensive national elections." Libya has been split between a Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, and the eastern-based HoR, backed by military leader Khalifa Haftar. According to Libyan media, the spat over presidential candidate eligibility relates to whether dual nationals can stand; Haftar holds US nationality. 'Calm and stability' "I urge the two chambers to overcome the pending disagreement as soon as possible," said Williams, urging "calm and stability". She said the UN would remain available to help reach an agreement to end the country's long transition period. Williams said she would present recommendations on alternative ways forward to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The prospect of elections appears as distant as ever since the HoR, elected in 2014, appointed a rival government to replace that of interim prime minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, arguing that his mandate has expired. After failing to enter Tripoli in an armed stand-off in May, the rival administration has taken up office further east in Sirte. Sirte is the hometown of dictator Moamer Kadhafi, whose overthrow in a NATO-backed revolt in 2011 plunged the country into years of chaos and violence. Recent weeks have seen repeated skirmishes between armed groups in Tripoli, prompting fears of a return to full-scale conflict. Search Keywords: Short link: Bahrains Finance and National Economy Minister Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa said on Thursday that the economic efforts taking place between Egypt and Bahrain aim to boost the volume of trade exchange between Bahrain and Egypt to $1 billion in 2023. Al-Khalifas remarks came during a press conference held in Manama with Egypts Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said, on the sidelines of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's visit to Bahrain. The Bahraini finance minister added that next years goal came after the notable increase in the volume of trade exchange to $800 million by the end of 2021. He noted that the economic cooperation between the two countries could double the capital of investment companies in Egypt, stating that the total capital of 216 Bahraini investment companies is around $3.3 billion. He emphasised that the shares of Bahraini banks based in Egypt reached $8 billion, expecting this value to be boosted amid the economic and trade cooperation between the two sister countries. For her part, El-Said said that the cooperation in the investment sector between the two countries is witnessing significant evolution, saying that there are a number of investment opportunities that could increase. She added that Bahrain is in the 16th biggest investor in Egypt, pointing out that the Bahraini investment companies are working in industrial, financial and tourism and construction sectors. Meanwhile, there are Egyptian companies seeking to take part in various development projects in Bahrain. She asserted that Egypt is keen to expand participation of the Egyptian private sector as well as attract foreign companies to boost the Egyptian economy, which is part of the National Economic Reform Programme which the Egyptian state launched in 2016. She noted that the investment climate in Egypt has grabbed the attention of foreign investors, as the Egyptian government offered bonuses throughout Egypt's new investment law, such as the so-called golden license which supports industry localisation and environmentally friendly projects. President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi arrived in Manama on Tuesday and on Wednesday he and Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa witnessed the signing of several agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in various domains, according to the Egyptian presidency. The MoUs cover the fields of science, technology, education, and logistics, among others. Bahrain is El-Sisis second stop in his Gulf tour, which started on Monday with a two-day visit to Oman where he met Sultan Haitham bin Tarik. The two leaders stressed that the security and stability of Yemen are of maximum importance within the framework of security of the Arab region and Red Sea states. The volume of trade between Egypt and Bahrain recorded $917.2 million in 2021, according to Egypts Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS), up from $401 million in 2020, a 128.7 percent increase. Egyptian exports to Bahrain reached $450.7 million in 2021 up from $139.3 million in 2020, a 223.5 percent increase whereas the Bahraini exports to Egypt reached $466.5 million in 2021 compared to $261.7 million last year. Bahrains investments in Egypt stand at $3.2 billion through 216 projects, according to the Bahraini ambassador to Cairo in June 2021. Search Keywords: Short link: "President Xi Jinping is likely to visit Hong Kong June 30-July 1 for events marking the 25th handover anniversary and inauguration of the Chief Executive," the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs said in a Twitter post. "Hong Kong Police Force may deploy 10,000+ police officers for security during the visit." On Tuesday, the State Department issued a security alert urging U.S. citizens in Hong Kong to remain vigilant, exercise caution in the vicinity of large gatherings and avoid taking photographs of police without permission. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend events marking the anniversary in person. It would be the first time Xi has left mainland China since the coronavirus outbreak. Ahead of the 25th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to China's rule, the United States and Britain joined other democracies urging Beijing to honor its commitments to ensure autonomy and freedoms to the former British colony. G7 Calls on China to Honor Commitments Leaders from G7 countries pressed China to act in accordance with its obligations under a UN filed treaty, the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. "We call on China to honor its commitments made in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, which enshrine rights, freedoms and a high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong," said the G7 Leaders' Communique on Tuesday. In Hong Kong, the police are tightening security, banning the use of drones across Hong Kong and implementing road closures. Beijing has restricted rights of free speech and assembly in Hong Kong in recent years, say critics. A sweeping national security law was imposed in the summer of 2020 to clamp down on dissent in Hong Kong following the massive, sometimes violent pro-democracy protests since 2019. Earlier this year, a U.S. State Department report said the government of the People's Republic of China took new actions directly threatening U.S. interests in Hong Kong and eliminating the ability of Hong Kong's pro-democracy opposition to play a meaningful role. Those actions have breached PRC's obligations under the Hong Kong Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984, which promised Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy. For its part, Chinese officials said Hong Kong is a domestic matter and the U.S. should not interfere. "What the U.S. is really up to is to meddle in Hong Kong affairs and make Hong Kong a "bridgehead for infiltration and interference against the mainland," said China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement earlier this month. Beijing has accused Washington of "attacking and smearing" the 2020 national security law. According to Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department data, the number of U.S. companies with regional headquarters in Hong Kong has dropped to its lowest point in years. The number of parent companies from three other G7 countries (France, Germany, and Japan) with regional headquarters in Hong Kong also fell. Critics say this is an indication that Hong Kong's appeal as a global financial center is eroding. This week, in a joint communique, the G7 leaders agreed to confront what they said is the PRC's "non-transparent and market-distorting" practices. Leaders Call out China's Economic Behavior A senior Biden administration official told reporters on Tuesday that this was "unprecedented" as leaders were "calling out China's economic behavior for the first time at the G7 level." "With regard to China's role in the global economy, we are continuing to consult on collective approaches, also beyond the G7, to challenges posed by non-market policies and practices which distort the global economy," said G7 leaders. On June 29, 2002, North Korean patrol boats crossed the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border, and opened fire on a South Korean frigate, starting a battle that killed six South Korean sailors and injured 19 more. Around 30 North Koreans are also presumed to have been killed or wounded. South Korea on Wednesday marked the 20th anniversary of a deadly naval skirmish near Yeonpyeong Island in the West Sea. The memorial ceremony was held in the port of Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, where Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup read out the names of the fallen sailors and met the bereaved families to pay his respects. The family members and surviving soldiers also threw flowers on the sea from Navy ships to commemorate the fallen sailors. Today the West Sea near the NLL, which North Korea refuses to recognize because it runs perilously close to its coast, is safeguarded by a new 3,100 ton guided missile frigate, a 450-ton guided-missile patrol boat and a 230-ton patrol killer. They saw eye to eye on the gravity of North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and agreed to step up pressure on North Korea. Biden mentioned the need to block funding sources, raising expectations of cooperation in implementing tougher financial sanctions against Pyongyang. President Yoon Suk-yeol met with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of a summit of NATO countries in Madrid, Spain on Wednesday. It was the first three-way summit in almost five years. North Korea's nuclear and missile threats "continue to evolve, and the global landscape is facing increased uncertainties, thereby rendering our trilateral partnership all the more significant," Yoon said. "I hope that cooperation among the three countries will take root as an important axis for global peace and stability." Biden said, "Our trilateral cooperation, in my view, is essential to achieving our shared objective, including a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a free and open Indo-Pacific." And Kishida added, "This trilateral summit is being organized at a timely juncture. Through this meeting, I hope that trilateral cooperation regarding our response to North Korea will be solidified." Yoon also met with the leaders of Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Poland on Thursday he sits down with the leaders of the Czech Republic and the U.K. He pitched South Korea's semiconductors, defense products and nuclear power plants with a view to expanding his country's markets beyond China to Europe. "The era of booming exports to China, which lasted for the last 20 years, is coming to an end," senior presidential secretary Choi Sang-mok said. "We must diversify our markets to replace China." In the latest episode of Art Basel's podcast hosted by Marc Spiegler and released on Tuesday, RM talked about his passion for art and museums. RM, the leader of popular boy band Bangtan Boys, also known as BTS, said he hopes to open an exhibition space in Korea featuring his private art collection. "This is the first time I am saying this, but, seriously, I am planning to make a small [gallery] of my own private collection. And maybe, just a cafe on the first floor, and set up my collection on the second and third floor. So, people could always see the collections when they just want to see them," RM said in English. "We cannot see the great Korean artists because there are not many museums right now, there are not many galleries right now [in Korea]. So I want to make my own sometime," he added. RM recalled he first became fascinated by art during his visits to museums when he found some free time while working on the band's tour of the U.S. and Europe in 2018. He said he felt drawn to art after seeing works by Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Georges Seurat at the Art Institute of Chicago. He then seriously started to look for Korean artists and made pilgrimages to galleries. Hyundai has released images offering a glimpse of its new all-electric vehicle, the Ioniq 6. The second model in the automaker's Ioniq all-electric lineup comes a little more than a year after the first Ioniq 5 was released in April last year. It will be unveiled at the Busan Motor Show, which opens on July 15. By Trend NATO countries at the summit in Madrid will officially invite Finland and Sweden to join the alliance, but the entry process itself will take longer. This was announced by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference in Madrid, Trend reports citing TASS "Tomorrow the leaders of the alliance will decide on inviting Finland and Sweden to become its members. After this summit, they will hold the status of invited countries, then the ratification process will begin in all capitals, but I have absolute confidence in the trilateral memorandum of understanding that was signed today" , - he said. The delegations of Turkiye, Sweden and Finland, after a meeting in Madrid, signed an agreement that takes into account Turkiyes security requirements, and now Ankara is ready to support the entry of these countries into the alliance, Stoltenberg said. I am happy to announce that we now have an agreement that paves the way for Sweden and Finland to join NATO. They have signed a memorandum that addresses Turkiye's concerns, including arms control and the fight against terrorism, Stoltenberg said. In the light of the progress made, Turkiye is ready to support the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO." Finland and Sweden are ready to work with Turkiye on the extradition of persons accused of terrorism, Stoltenberg said. "Finland and Sweden, of course, are ready to work with Turkiye on <...> the extradition of terrorist suspects, but at the same time, extradition processes will take place in accordance with the European Convention on Extradition, the rule of law, the legal system in these countries "said the NATO Secretary General. The U.S. Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday claimed North Korea has enough material to make more than 100 nuclear weapons. "The North Korean regime possesses the know-how to produce nuclear bombs with weapons-grade uranium or plutonium," the CFR said in a report. "North Korea could have the material for more than one hundred nuclear weapons... It has successfully tested missiles that could strike the United States with a nuclear warhead." The estimate is based on the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency's earlier analysis that the North has secured enough material to produce 12 more nuclear weapons every year. In 2017, U.S. intelligence authorities said the North had enough material for 60 nuclear bombs, and over the past five years the regime would have secured similar amounts of nuclear weapons, the CFR speculated. President Yoon Suk-yeol held a three-way summit on Wednesday with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain. It was the first trilateral summit since September of 2017. The three leaders agreed to a combined response to North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations and also apparently discussed ways to block the flow of funds into the North's weapons programs. Three-way cooperation had weakened due to former President Moon Jae-in's failed efforts to cozy up to North Korea and populist anti-Japanese sentiment. But now there is hope that things can return to an even keel. North Korea is preparing for its seventh nuclear test. The world order is being realigned due to the escalating conflict between the U.S. and China and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, so North Korea, China and Russia will grow ever closer. That is why trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan must be strengthened to protect South Korea's national security and economy. Yoon told Kishida that Seoul and Tokyo should "resolve pending issues between [the two nations] as soon as possible," so they can "move forward in a future-oriented manner," and Kishida responded by saying the two sides should work to restore their relations to "a healthy state." The government is currently considering creating a joint fund involving businesses of both countries to resolve the issue of compensation for Korean forced laborers during World War II. Both sides must stop politicizing bilateral relations. KYODO NEWS - Jun 30, 2022 - 23:06 | All, World, Japan Three Chinese navy ships have circumnavigated the Japanese archipelago over the past weeks, as Tokyo stays on alert for increasing military activity by Beijing and Moscow in nearby waters, Japan's Defense Ministry said Thursday. Two guided-missile destroyers and a supply ship sailed through waters between Okinawa's main island and Miyako Island in southwest Japan and entered the East China Sea Thursday after circling around the country for about 20 days, and the ministry is analyzing China's intentions, according to the ministry's Joint Staff. Japan's Self-Defense Forces vessels and aircraft had kept a vigilant watch for the Chinese navy's flotilla, which was spotted sailing in the Sea of Japan after passing through the Tsushima Strait off Japan's southern island of Kyushu from June 12 to 13 and going around the archipelago clockwise, according to the Joint Staff. Among the Chinese military's recent activities near Japan, fighter jets were seen taking off from and landing on the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning near the Okinawan islands for 12 days last month. Japan's Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi also conveyed concern over a joint flight by Chinese and Russian strategic bombers in late May near Japan when he met with Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe in Singapore earlier in the month. By Miya Tanaka, KYODO NEWS - Jun 30, 2022 - 03:57 | All, World, Japan Japan, South Korea and the United States agreed Wednesday to strengthen their security cooperation over North Korean nuclear and missile threats, according to the Japanese government, as leaders from the countries held the first such trilateral meeting since 2017. The gathering took place as the change of the South Korean government in May is creating fresh impetus toward improving the soured bilateral ties between Tokyo and Seoul. It also comes amid speculation that Pyongyang's first nuclear test since 2017 could occur at any time. At the outset of the 23-minute talks on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida asserted the importance of trilateral cooperation, citing his "deep concerns" over the possibility of further provocation by North Korea, including nuclear testing. "The deterrence capabilities of the Japan-U.S. and U.S.-South Korea alliances need to be upgraded as part of the essential effort to strengthen the trilateral partnership," he said. The prime minister also expressed hope that, should a nuclear test take place, the response would be at the trilateral level, including joint exercises. U.S. President Joe Biden said trilateral cooperation is "essential" to achieve their "shared objective" of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a free and open Indo-Pacific, a concept seen as designed to counter China's rising clout. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said North Korea's provocations should be met with a "powerful response," but the three countries should also cooperate closely so that Pyongyang can return to dialogue toward denuclearization, according to the South Korean government. The three leaders agreed on the importance of beefing up regional deterrence and pledged to work together to ensure the full implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions aimed at curbing North Korea's weapons programs, the Japanese government said. Kishida also secured cooperation from Biden and Yoon toward a resolution of the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s. North Korea's provocations, including its unprecedented pace of ballistic missile tests this year, have increased the need for trilateral cooperation even as relations between Japan and South Korea remain frosty over issues dating back to Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. The White House hailed the first such three-way summit since September 2017 as "historic." The three countries also affirmed that they share the same basic values such as freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law, according to the South Korean government. Kishida, who took office in October last year, has yet to hold official bilateral talks with Yoon. The trilateral talks on Wednesday reflected the Biden administration's desire to see the relationship between Washington's two closest allies in Asia back on track. Kishida and Yoon spoke briefly on Tuesday in Madrid in their first face-to-face encounter, both governments said. The two leaders have been invited to the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as partner countries of the trans-Atlantic alliance. The last time Japanese and South Korean leaders sat down for talks was in December 2019. Kishida told reporters on Wednesday before heading back to Japan that he called on Yoon to work to bring the "extremely severe" relationship to a "healthy" state and expressed his willingness to continue communication with the South Korean side. Yoon's tougher stance toward Pyongyang as compared to his predecessor and his eagerness to forge closer ties with the United States and Japan appear to be helping the three countries align closer in pressuring North Korea. Earlier in the month, the defense chiefs of Japan, South Korea and the United States agreed to hold trilateral exercises that have not been conducted since December 2017 so as to deal with ballistic missile threats. South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, meanwhile, has said Seoul wants to "normalize" a bilateral military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan known as GSOMIA as soon as possible. The agreement was on the brink of termination during the administration of former South Korean President Moon Jae In. (Noriyuki Suzuki contributed to this article.) By Sayo Sasaki, KYODO NEWS - Jun 30, 2022 - 08:13 | Feature, All, Japan Geopolitical and economic concerns are dominating headlines ahead of the upcoming House of Councillors election, putting the critical issue of Japan's stubbornly low birthrate on the backburner at a time when it needs to be front of mind for the government. Experts on social and family issues stress the urgent need to create an environment that encourages people to have more children and seriously prevent a "future crisis" through investment in child care and other initiatives. In an effort to protect and promote Japan's next generations, the government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to launch in April a new agency to comprehensively oversee children-related policies such as birthrates, child abuse and poverty. Kishida, who is also the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has also vowed to double the budget on children "in the future," without giving concrete detail on when he would make it a reality, nor how he will come up with the funds. Masahiro Yamada, a Chuo University professor on family sociology, expressed skepticism that the government can make a difference this time when it has failed so many times before. "Japan tends to disburse much on imminent dangers such as the coronavirus pandemic, earthquakes or the Ukraine crisis, but not for a future crisis," said Yamada. "Unless we double or triple the budget, it won't be effective" in addressing Japan's low total fertility rate. Japan has long expected parents to shoulder the bulk of child-rearing expenses, allowing the government to spend relatively little, but greater state engagement is now needed as economic conditions become increasingly difficult for families, he said. According to data as of 2017 and later by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Japan spent about 1.8 percent of its gross domestic product on family benefits, below the OECD average of around 2.3 percent and trailing far behind France, which topped the ranking at 3.6 percent. Among 37 comparable OECD countries, Japan ranked at the bottom in terms of how much national income was spent on educational institutions in 2018. Criticizing Kishida's government for its lack of specific plans to promote policy for children, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan has called for raising related spending to 3 percent of Japan's GDP, but the party also has yet to explain how it proposes to achieve that target. While the country struggles to lift the total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman is estimated to bear in her lifetime, which stood at 1.30 in 2021, some local governments are taking matters into their own hands. One of them is the western city of Akashi, which saw its birthrate climb to 1.70 in 2018 from 1.50 in 2011 and achieved population growth for nine consecutive years, leading to increased tax revenues. The situation sharply contrasts with the nationwide figures, as the country's total population fell by the sharpest margin in 2021 to just over 125.5 million and a record-low 811,000 births amid the COVID-19 pandemic that took a toll on the already stagnant economy. Under the leadership of Akashi Mayor Fusaho Izumi, who assumed the post in 2011, the city in Hyogo Prefecture introduced such measures as making medical expenses free for children up to the age of 18 without any means testing. It also implemented free nursery schooling for second children and beyond while tripling the number of officials working in the city's department for children. The city also makes monthly deliveries of free diapers, food and other products to households with babies aged between 3 months and 1 year, with goods delivered by female staff who have experience raising children and are ready to assist and advise new parents if needed. The program, which began in October 2020, is aimed at preventing families who are raising newborns from becoming isolated by establishing a program of routine visits in the period after a state health nurse makes a first checkup within the child's first 2 months of life, a city official said. To fund such measures, the city has doubled spending on children to 25.8 billion yen ($190 million) in fiscal 2021 from fiscal 2010 by such means as cutting outlays on public works, Izumi said. Izumi, who was invited to speak at a parliamentary committee meeting in early June, called on the central government to carry out similar measures, stressing the need to allocate sufficient funding for the new agency. "Our society is too harsh on children," the outspoken mayor said, adding it is one reason behind the accelerated decline in birthrates and for the stagnation of the economy. "It is obvious that if we fully commit to working on children, the birthrate will rise," he said. Izumi said municipalities around Akashi are beginning to follow suit and are incorporating similar initiatives to make themselves attractive to young families and those hoping to start them. Chuo University's Yamada said while such efforts by local governments set an example for the central government, they do not fundamentally resolve the issue as, by their very nature, they cannot have a wider impact. "Of course, addressing the fertility issue will not translate into votes, and building roads or attracting manufacturing are more effective to that end," Yamada said. "But unless we raise spending on children, our country will be left to decay," he said, calling for state-level involvement to address the problem regardless of the election outcome. Related coverage: FOCUS: Rising prices key focus in election but no party has silver bullet Campaigning heats up for Japan's July 10 upper house election Japan's child population falls for 41st year, record low amid pandemic KYODO NEWS - Jun 30, 2022 - 12:49 | Feature, All, Japan An effort to promote child-rearing among employees turned sour when a Japanese company publically disclosed the birthrate among its staff members, sparking criticism that it is meddling in their lives and creating unfair expectations. In April, major trading house Itochu Corp. published the average number of children its female employees are estimated to bear in a lifetime, setting it as one of the most essential indexes to promote women's advancement at the company. The birthrate, calculated based on self-reported information from its regular and nonregular workers, excluding temporary staff, stood at 1.97 in fiscal 2021, well above the national average of 1.33 in 2020, according to the trading house. Itochu attributed the high rate to its efforts to create an employee-friendly environment, such as having employees move up their work start times so they can leave the office early and banning overtime after 8 p.m. The figure has been on the rise since fiscal 2013, it said. Not all feedback has been negative, with many people, including job-hunting university students, welcoming the move to publicize the figure in posts on social media. Some said, "It provides a benchmark for choosing blue-chip companies," while urging other companies to follow suit. Others, however, voiced concerns that the company is getting too involved in the personal lives of its employees. In explaining the purpose of the disclosure, an Itochu official said it was hoped it would demonstrate female employees can continue to work even after having children and are able to balance their work and home lives. The official added that "workstyle reforms and a corporate culture are being established." The company's disclosure comes when the government is trying to reverse the long-term trend of population decline in Japan. The number of births per woman in the country, once reaching 4.54 in a postwar baby boom in 1947, fell below 2.0 in 1975. The level considered necessary to maintain the country's current population is 2.07. The number fell to a record low 1.26 in 2005 before hovering around 1.30 in recent years. Itochu's move is not unprecedented. In the past, some municipalities surveyed the birthrates of local companies and gave awards to those leading the way, with Fukui Prefecture in central Japan becoming the first prefecture to do so in fiscal 2011. It was introduced by the Cabinet Office as a prime example of measures taken to address the declining birthrate. However, no prefectures are currently conducting such surveys after their validity was questioned, according to Masami Saito, a part-time lecturer at the University of Toyama who has condemned the practice of company birthrate tracking. Saito has slammed Itochu's disclosure as overreach. She argues further that the practice isolates and alienates LGBT staff and those undergoing fertility treatments by establishing what could be an impossible goal for some. "The company is one-sidedly imposing on its employees its values that having children is a good thing," Saito said. "It should not incorporate birthrates into a drive to realize flexible work practices in support of child-rearing." Related coverage: FOCUS: Japan's perilously low birthrate a forgotten election issue Japan logs record low 811,000 newborns in 2021 Elon Musk warns Japan will cease to exist if birthrate continues decline KYODO NEWS - Jun 30, 2022 - 23:19 | World, All, Japan Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and new Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. agreed Thursday the two nations will closely cooperate to maintain and reinforce the rules-based maritime order amid China's rise in the Indo-Pacific. Hayashi told an online press conference after a meeting in Manila with Marcos, who took office the same day, that the two countries will also bolster bilateral ties and aim to resume active people-to-people exchanges toward economic recovery in a post-coronavirus pandemic era. "It is essential to further beef up relations with the Philippines, our important strategic partner in the region, in the fields of national security and maritime safety toward a free and open Indo-Pacific," said Hayashi, adding that Tokyo will support Manila's efforts to enhance equipment of its coast guard. Hayashi's visit came as Japan aims to strengthen relations with the new Philippine administration amid China's intensifying military activities in the East and South China seas, where Tokyo and Manila, both U.S. allies, are respectively challenged by Beijing's territorial claims. The Japanese minister is on his three-day trip from Wednesday to the Southeast Asian country. He attended the inauguration ceremony of Marcos, the son and namesake of the late Philippine dictator, held earlier Thursday in the capital as a special envoy of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. By Miya Tanaka, KYODO NEWS - Jun 30, 2022 - 13:54 | All, World, Feature NATO's decision to specifically name China as a challenge for the first time in policy guidelines is the latest indication democracies and like-minded nations are coalescing in opposition to Beijing's growing military and economic assertiveness. But the move may still be largely symbolic, with the 30-member security bloc preoccupied with dealing with Russia in the wake of its attack on Ukraine, and due to the likelihood the guidelines will not lead to any specific security commitments in the Indo-Pacific region. In the Strategic Concept endorsed during a summit in Madrid on Wednesday, the first document of its type since 2010, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said, "The People's Republic of China's stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values." While refraining from calling China an adversary, the document cited a series of actions that could be considered threatening to the trans-Atlantic alliance, including Beijing's rapid nuclear arsenal buildup, cyber operations, confrontational rhetoric and the use of its economic leverage to create dependencies and broaden its influence. Related coverage: NATO labels China a challenge for 1st time in alliance guidelines "For an alliance that has traditionally focused on Russia and the European theater to be taking this new, explicit wording about China...marks a significant change," said Jeffrey Hornung, an expert on East Asian security issues at Rand Corp., a U.S. research organization. But he also said the China reference can be viewed as "symbolism" demonstrating that European democracies and like-minded nations are siding with Indo-Pacific partners such as Japan and Australia who are increasingly concerned about Beijing's provocative behavior. NATO was created in 1949 by the United States, Canada and several Western European nations to defend against the threat from the Soviet Union. Its role and focus has since evolved through the end of the Cold War, during which it saw membership enlargement and operations in Bosnia, the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States, which put its focus on Afghanistan, and Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. It was not until 2019 that China's rise was fully taken up on the NATO agenda at a summit meeting, partly under the pressure from the administration of then U.S. President Donald Trump. According to a report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a British think tank, NATO's position on China issues as recently as 2019 had been to "avoid taking joint stances," reflecting the diverging economic interests members have with Beijing, and their differing assessments of the degree to which the alliance should remain focused on threats from Russia. But Beijing's actions have become more difficult to overlook even by countries in Europe, such as its crackdown on pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong, human rights abuse allegations against the Uyghur minority in China's Xinjiang region, the militarization of the South China Sea and economic coercion. Some European nations, meanwhile, have individually been stepping up engagement in the Indo-Pacific, with Britain dispatching a carrier strike group led by the Queen Elizabeth last year, and France, Germany and the Netherlands also sending naval vessels to the region the same year. A port call by German navy frigate the Bayern in Tokyo in November marked the first visit to Japan by a military vessel from the nation in about 20 years. Hornung said major European countries have been shifting their views on China and NATO's updated position can be seen as the security bloc "catching up finally with where the member states individually are." But speaking in terms of actual military operations in the Indo-Pacific, only a very small number of countries in Europe, such as France and Britain, will have the capability to send forces to the region, the political scientist said. The Ukraine war, now in its fifth month, is also certain to make NATO members wary of devoting resources to regions other than Europe as they continue to send arms to help Kyiv's fight. Fears that a resurgent Moscow may target another country in the future also remain. As the new Strategic Concept vows to strengthen cooperation between NATO and its Indo-Pacific partners, Hornung said the change will center on more defense exchanges, including high-level talks, and more chances of collaboration in exercises. Engagement in out-of-area operations is unlikely, he believes. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg indicated at a press conference on Wednesday that evolving ties with the Asia-Pacific countries do not make the bloc a global player, saying, "NATO will remain an alliance of North America and Europe." Michito Tsuruoka, an associate professor of international security at Japan's Keio University, said he is not too worried that a protracted war in Ukraine may lead the European countries' interest in the Asia-Pacific region to wane. He said there is a growing awareness among European countries that they are no longer immune from the influence of China -- after the United States, the world's second-largest economy and second-largest defense spender. Concerns over cyber operations, emerging and disruptive technology such as hypersonic weapons and artificial intelligence are of interest to all NATO members, he said. The academic also said the formation of a three-way nuclear submarine partnership among the United States, Australia and Britain last year, dubbed AUKUS, has been a key development that guarantees Britain's active naval presence in the region for decades to come. In the course of helping Australia acquire submarines, British submarines can be expected to stop by for exercises, and that would mean more possibility of Britain becoming involved in military operations in the region should contingencies occur. While NATO hailed its ability, under the new concept, to guide the alliance in a "radically changed security environment," questions remain as to whether the document will have an effective 10-year lifespan. Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing views as its own, is seen as a potential military flashpoint that could draw the United States into conflict with China. U.S. officers have said China is accelerating its military capability toward being ready to invade and seize Taiwan around 2027. "I do think the time is coming for NATO to seriously consider whether it is enough to think Russia as the only one that needs to be deterred," Tsuruoka said. Related coverage: Japan PM seeks major upgrade of NATO partnership after Russia's war Finland, Sweden cleared for joining NATO as Turkey drops opposition No "Asian NATO" says U.S. as alliance brings Japan, S. Korea to summit KYODO NEWS - Jul 1, 2022 - 01:56 | All, World U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is prompting allies and partners around the world to stand up to what they view as challenges to the rules-based order, including from China. "As I indicated to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin...his action would cause worldwide response," Biden told a press conference in Madrid, after attending a NATO summit meeting dominated by discussion of the Ukraine crisis. Noting that the gathering was the first of its kind to be joined by the leaders of Japan and other Asia-Pacific partners, Biden said Russia's invasion is "bringing together Democratic allies and partners from the Atlantic and the Pacific...to defend the rules-based order against the challenges including from China." On Wednesday, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization endorsed a document meant to guide the alliance for the next decade, with China mentioned as a challenge for the first time in such guidelines. While calling Russia "the most significant and direct threat" to the allies' security, the so-called Strategic Concept warned of China's military build-up, cyber operations, coercive policies and disinformation campaigns, among other issues. The document also flagged the deepening strategic partnership between China and Russia, noting their "mutually reinforcing attempts to undercut the rules-based international order." Biden, wrapping up a week-long European trip that also took him to Germany for the Group of Seven summit, pitched the global infrastructure project launched by the industrialized nations as an alternative to China's Belt and Road initiative. "Unlike China, these projects will be done transparently, and with very high standards," the president asserted, taking a swipe at the opaque, Chinese-financed infrastructure development scheme that has been blamed for leaving countries with heavy debt. Biden also revealed that the United States intends to announce more than $800 million in further aid for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, saying it will include new advanced Western air defense systems and additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS. The United States has provided Ukraine with nearly $7 billion in security assistance since Biden took office in January last year, according to the president. Wang Chen, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and vice chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, meets with Tran Thanh Man, Standing Vice Chairman of Vietnam's National Assembly, via video link, in Beijing, capital of China, June 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Wang Chen, vice chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, met with Tran Thanh Man, Standing Vice Chairman of Vietnam's National Assembly (NA), via video link on Wednesday. Speaking from Beijing, Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China and Vietnam are friendly socialist neighbors and a community with a shared future of strategic significance. Under the strategic guidance of the top leaders of the two parties and countries, the China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership has witnessed sound and steady development. China's NPC stands ready to work with Vietnam's NA to play a positive role in carrying forward traditional friendship, enhancing political mutual trust, deepening practical cooperation, properly managing differences, and enhancing people-to-people ties, Wang said. Tran Thanh Man said Vietnam attaches great importance to developing relations with China. Vietnam's NA is willing to strengthen friendly exchanges with China's NPC and provide a sound legal environment for promoting comprehensive bilateral cooperation. By Azernews By News Center Finland and Sweden vow to Turkiye that they would not support the PKK/YPG terrorist organizations, following an agreement reached between the sides at NATO's Madrid meeting on June 28, Yeni Shafak reports. As a result of the four-way summit, attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, the countries signed a tripartite memorandum at the IFEMA Congress Center in Madrid, where the NATO Summit was held on June 28-30. After a two-stage meeting convened by NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg, the following conclusions were reached. Since NATO is predicated on the notions of collective defense and security indivisibility, as well as shared values, Turkey, Finland, and Sweden reaffirmed their commitment to the principles and values inherent in the Washington Treaty (1949). It was recalled that one of the Alliance's defining characteristics is unflinching solidarity and cooperation in the fight against terrorism in all of its forms and manifestations, which poses a direct danger to allies' national security as well as worldwide peace and security. As prospective NATO Allies, Finland and Sweden extend their full support to Turkiye against threats to its national security. To that effect, Finland and Sweden will not provide support to YPG/PYD, and the organization Turkiye calls FETO. Turkiye also extends its full support to Finland and Sweden against threats to their national security. Finland and Sweden reject and condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, in the strongest terms. Finland and Sweden unambiguously condemn all terrorist organizations perpetrating attacks against Turkiye, and express their deepest solidarity with Turkiye and the families of the victims, the memorandum stresses. According to the document, Finland and Sweden agree that the PKK is a terrorist organization and pledge to prevent PKK and other terrorist organizations, as well as their extensions, from carrying out terrorist acts, as well as acts carried out by individuals related to these terrorist organizations. Turkey, Finland, and Sweden have agreed to increase their efforts to oppose and condemn the operations of these terrorist organizations. Furthermore, Finland made some amendments to its Criminal Code "by which new acts have been enacted as punishable terrorist crimes". The most recent amendments went into effect on January 1, 2022, broadening the extent of involvement in terrorist organization operations. At the same time, the public exhortation to commit terrorist acts became a distinct crime. Sweden, on the other hand, confirmed that a new, stricter Terrorist Offenses Act will go into effect on July 1 and that the government is developing additional counter-terrorism legislation. The sides all agree that there are no longer any national arms embargoes between them. In regard to NATO Allies, Sweden is altering its national regulatory framework for arms transfers. Finland and Sweden will continue to sell defense equipment in line with Alliance solidarity under Article 3 of the Washington Treaty. It added that Turkiye, Finland, and Sweden agree to develop a collaborative, structured conversation and cooperation mechanism at all levels of government, including law enforcement and intelligence agencies, to improve collaboration on counter-terrorism, organized crime, and other similar concerns Moreover, Finland and Sweden vowed to fight terrorism with zeal and resolve, in conformity with applicable NATO treaties and policies, and will make every effort to enhance domestic legislation. The Nordic nations promised to react to Turkiye's pending deportation or extradition requests for terror suspects in a prompt and thorough way, taking into consideration Turkiye's information, evidence, and intelligence, and will establish necessary bilateral legal frameworks to facilitate extradition and security cooperation with Turkiye, in line with the European Convention on Extradition. As stated in paragraph 5, Finland and Sweden will investigate and prosecute any finance and recruiting operations of the PKK and all other terrorist organizations and their extensions. The parties resolve to combat misinformation and prevent their domestic laws from being exploited to profit or promote terrorist organizations, particularly via acts inciting violence against Turkiye. According to the agreement, Finland and Sweden will guarantee that their separate national legal frameworks for weapons transfers allow for increased obligations to Allies while also reflecting their NATO membership status. They also agree to support Turkiye in its maximum possible engagement in the European Union's Common Security and Defense Policy initiatives, including its participation in the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) Project on Military Mobility. To carry out these activities, Turkiye, Finland, and Sweden will form a Permanent Joint Mechanism, with specialists from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Justice, as well as Intelligence Services and Security Institutions. Others will have the opportunity to join the mechanism. Turkiye, for its part, restated its long-standing support for NATO's Open Door policy and pledged to back Finland and Sweden's application to join the Alliance at the 2022 Madrid Summit. Xu Congxiang checks the growth of seedlings in a field in Taihe County, east China's Anhui Province, June 28, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) HEFEI, June 29 (Xinhua) -- After a bumper wheat harvest, Xu Congxiang, a large-scale grain producer in Taihe County, east China's Anhui Province, received a reply letter from President Xi Jinping. In the letter, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said he is pleased to learn that Xu has reaped a bumper wheat harvest and that Xu's offspring have followed in his footsteps to work in agriculture. Xi expressed the hope that large-scale grain producers can leverage the advantages in scale operations, actively apply modern agricultural technologies and encourage small household farmers to jointly contribute to national food security by expanding grain production and improving grain quality. Xu Congxiang inspects wheat samples in Taihe County, east China's Anhui Province, June 28, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) Recently, with the jubilation of another bumper harvest, the 69-year-old farmer wrote to Xi, telling him about his experience of growing grain and efforts to help villagers get rid of poverty in the past decade. "The reply letter is quite inspiring and shows that he pays high attention to agricultural development, which strengthens my confidence in grain growing," said Xu. The letters were not the first communication between Xi and the farmer. During his inspection of Xu's village in April 2011, Xi learned about local wheat planting from Xu and other villagers. "He encouraged me to further research on agricultural skills to contribute more to national grain production," recalled Xu. Xu Congxiang (R) and his son Xu Jian (L), grandson Xu Xudong check the growth of seedlings in a field in Taihe County, east China's Anhui Province, June 28, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) Xu has been dedicated to selecting high-quality varieties, exploring key technologies and promoting yield-increasing skills. This year, he planted a total of 1,230 mu (82 hectares) of wheat. The wheat yield in his demonstration farmland exceeded 800 kg per mu, a new record for the grower. According to Xu, whole-process mechanization has been realized on his farm after large equipment including tractors, precision seeders and fertilizer distributors were put into use in recent years. China's grain output has exceeded 650 billion kg for seven consecutive years, achieving basic self-sufficiency in grain and absolute security in staple food. The country has secured another bumper harvest of wheat nationwide this year. BEIJING, June 30 (Xinhua) -- China and ASEAN are an indivisible security community, a Chinese defense spokesperson said Thursday. Tan Kefei, the spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks when commenting on the 13th China-ASEAN Defense Ministers' Informal Meeting held via video link on June 22. The ASEAN appreciated China's respect for its key role in regional cooperation, and was willing to further strengthen defense and security cooperation with China to jointly maintain regional peace, stability and sustainable development, Tan said. Noting the progress and achievements on China-ASEAN friendly cooperation over the past 30 years, Tan said the Chinese military is ready to work with ASEAN to further deepen strategic mutual trust, shoulder common responsibility for safeguarding regional security, and work together to build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future. WASHINGTON, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House select committee investigating the Capital riot last year has subpoenaed former White House counsel Pat Cipollone for the inquiry. "The Select Committee's investigation has revealed evidence that Mr. Cipollone repeatedly raised legal and other concerns about" Donald Trump's activities on Jan. 6, 2021, and in the days that preceded, according to a statement issued on Wednesday. "While the Select Committee appreciates Mr. Cipollone's earlier informal engagement with our investigation, the committee needs to hear from him on the record, as other former White House counsels have done in other congressional investigations," the statement read. Cipollone, 56, served as White House counsel for Trump between December 2018 to January 2021. He reportedly met with the committee's investigators in April but did not sit for a formal recorded deposition. The subpoena was issued a day after a former White House aide testified at a high-profile public hearing held by the committee. Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, appeared at the hearing on Tuesday to provide testimony on the Capitol riot. Hutchinson told the committee that Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of his Secret Service vehicle that day when he was told he could not go to the Capitol with his supporters. Trump blasted Hutchinson amid her testimony to the Jan. 6 committee, claiming that he "hardly" knows who she is. The Jan. 6 committee held a series of public hearings this month to show the public what investigators have uncovered about the infamous incident. Trump's allies and supporters have charged the inquiry as a political "witch hunt" designed to tar the former U.S. president and the Republican Party. On Jan. 6, 2021, thousands of individuals -- mostly Trump's supporters -- stormed the Capitol in Washington, D.C., and disrupted a joint session of Congress in the process of affirming the 2020 presidential election results. Approximately 140 police officers were assaulted in the Capitol attack, including about 80 U.S. Capitol Police and 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department. Authorities have linked at least five deaths to the mayhem. Four officers who responded to the attack reportedly committed suicide within the next several months. The worst attack on Congress in more than 200 years, the siege led to Trump's second impeachment by the House shortly before his term officially ended. More than 840 defendants relating to the Capitol riot have been arrested in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. As of June 6, approximately 255 defendants have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, including approximately 90 individuals who have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer. Approximately 185 federal defendants have had their cases adjudicated and received sentences for their criminal activity on Jan. 6. Approximately 80 have been sentenced to periods of incarceration. TASHKENT, June 29 (Xinhua) -- A court in Uzbekistan's southern Surkhandarya region has sentenced 14 supporters of religious militant groups to up to 10 years in jail, the state news agency UzA said Wednesday. The defendants were found guilty of supporting militant groups in the Middle East "by disseminating materials that contain ideas of religious extremism, separatism and fanaticism in the social networks," the report said. They also used the social media to call for regime change, and to raise money to free jailed leaders of banned militant organizations, the report said. The defendants, including a woman, were given jail terms from four to ten years, according to the report. China on Thursday refuted remarks made by British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who said "there is a real risk" that China draws the wrong idea which results in "a catastrophic miscalculation such as invading Taiwan." #GLOBALink Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam in Hong Kong, south China, June 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Bin) HONG KONG, June 30 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping met with Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam here on Thursday, saying the central authorities fully acknowledge her work during her five-year tenure as the chief executive. Xi is in Hong Kong to attend events marking the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland. With the firm support of the central authorities, Lam has faithfully fulfilled her constitutional responsibilities as the chief executive and unswervingly implemented the "one country, two systems" policy and the Basic Law of the HKSAR over the past five years, Xi said. Lam has led the HKSAR government in exercising law-based governance and united people from all walks of life to end violence and chaos and restore order in Hong Kong, fight COVID-19 and integrate into national development, Xi noted. Lam has made arduous efforts and vital contributions to safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, maintaining Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, implementing the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong," and enabling Hong Kong to achieve a major transition from chaos to order, he said. Xi said he hopes that Lam will actively support the incoming chief executive and the new-term HKSAR government in exercising law-based governance and continue to contribute to the development of Hong Kong and the motherland. Lam expressed her heartfelt thanks to Xi for visiting Hong Kong amid the COVID-19 epidemic, adding the visit fully demonstrates Xi's care for Hong Kong compatriots. Xi also met with senior figures of the HKSAR's executive, legislative and judicial bodies, local dignitaries, representatives of the HKSAR disciplined services, central government officials based in Hong Kong and senior executives of Hong Kong branches of mainland enterprises and institutions. Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Leung Chun-ying, HKSAR Chief Executive Lam, and incoming Chief Executive John Lee also attended the meetings. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with senior figures of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's executive, legislative and judicial bodies in Hong Kong, south China, June 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with local dignitaries in Hong Kong, south China, June 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with representatives of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region disciplined services, in Hong Kong, south China, June 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Bin) Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, meets with central government officials based in Hong Kong and senior executives of Hong Kong branches of mainland enterprises and institutions, in Hong Kong, south China, June 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) Aerial photo taken on June 30, 2022 shows a China-Europe freight train pulling out of the Tuanjiecun station in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. As two freight trains left the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu and the Tuanjiecun station in Chongqing for Lodz in Poland and Duisburg of Germany respectively, the total number of China-Europe freight train trips from southwest China's Chengdu and Chongqing has topped 20,000 on June 30. Major exports include commodities such as mechanical and electrical products, automobiles and components, food and beverage, clothing, etc. The China-Europe freight train service has played an important role in advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. (Xinhua/Tang Yi) CHONGQING/CHENGDU, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Two cargo trains loaded with goods departed on Thursday from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality and Chengdu, capital of the neighboring Sichuan Province, for Germany's Duisburg and Poland's Lodz. It marked that the number of China-Europe freight trains handled by the two cities has topped 20,000 since Chongqing and Chengdu launched the service in March 2011 and April 2013, respectively, according to local authorities. More than 1,000 kinds of goods, including electronics, machinery, automobiles, auto parts, as well as medicines and medical instruments, have been transported via the service. In 2021 alone, Chongqing and Chengdu handled over 4,800 China-Europe cargo trains, accounting for 30 percent of the national total, with the transported goods worth over 200 billion yuan (about 29.8 billion U.S. dollars). Chongqing and Chengdu are among the earliest cities in China to start the China-Europe freight train service. As a significant measure in constructing the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, the two cities have cooperated since 2021 to improve the service. The Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle is another important regional development strategy, following the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Photo taken on June 30, 2022 shows a China-Europe freight train ready for departure at the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. As two freight trains left the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu and the Tuanjiecun station in Chongqing for Lodz in Poland and Duisburg of Germany respectively, the total number of China-Europe freight train trips from southwest China's Chengdu and Chongqing has topped 20,000 on June 30. Major exports include commodities such as mechanical and electrical products, automobiles and components, food and beverage, clothing, etc. The China-Europe freight train service has played an important role in advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. (Xinhua/Wang Xi) Aerial photo taken on June 30, 2022 shows a China-Europe freight train pulling out of the Tuanjiecun station in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. As two freight trains left the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu and the Tuanjiecun station in Chongqing for Lodz in Poland and Duisburg of Germany respectively, the total number of China-Europe freight train trips from southwest China's Chengdu and Chongqing has topped 20,000 on June 30. Major exports include commodities such as mechanical and electrical products, automobiles and components, food and beverage, clothing, etc. The China-Europe freight train service has played an important role in advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. (Xinhua/Tang Yi) Photo taken on June 30, 2022 shows a China-Europe freight train ready for departure at the Tuanjiecun station in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. As two freight trains left the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu and the Tuanjiecun station in Chongqing for Lodz in Poland and Duisburg of Germany respectively, the total number of China-Europe freight train trips from southwest China's Chengdu and Chongqing has topped 20,000 on June 30. Major exports include commodities such as mechanical and electrical products, automobiles and components, food and beverage, clothing, etc. The China-Europe freight train service has played an important role in advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. (Xinhua/Tang Yi) Aerial photo taken on June 30, 2022 shows a China-Europe freight train pulling out of the Tuanjiecun station in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. As two freight trains left the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu and the Tuanjiecun station in Chongqing for Lodz in Poland and Duisburg of Germany respectively, the total number of China-Europe freight train trips from southwest China's Chengdu and Chongqing has topped 20,000 on June 30. Major exports include commodities such as mechanical and electrical products, automobiles and components, food and beverage, clothing, etc. The China-Europe freight train service has played an important role in advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. (Xinhua/Tang Yi) Photo taken on June 30, 2022 shows a China-Europe freight train ready for departure at the Tuanjiecun station in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. As two freight trains left the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu and the Tuanjiecun station in Chongqing for Lodz in Poland and Duisburg of Germany respectively, the total number of China-Europe freight train trips from southwest China's Chengdu and Chongqing has topped 20,000 on June 30. Major exports include commodities such as mechanical and electrical products, automobiles and components, food and beverage, clothing, etc. The China-Europe freight train service has played an important role in advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. (Xinhua/Tang Yi) Photo taken on June 30, 2022 shows a China-Europe freight train pulling out of the Tuanjiecun station in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. As two freight trains left the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu and the Tuanjiecun station in Chongqing for Lodz in Poland and Duisburg of Germany respectively, the total number of China-Europe freight train trips from southwest China's Chengdu and Chongqing has topped 20,000 on June 30. Major exports include commodities such as mechanical and electrical products, automobiles and components, food and beverage, clothing, etc. The China-Europe freight train service has played an important role in advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. (Xinhua/Tang Yi) Aerial photo taken on June 30, 2022 shows a China-Europe freight train ready for departure at the Tuanjiecun station in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. As two freight trains left the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu and the Tuanjiecun station in Chongqing for Lodz in Poland and Duisburg of Germany respectively, the total number of China-Europe freight train trips from southwest China's Chengdu and Chongqing has topped 20,000 on June 30. Major exports include commodities such as mechanical and electrical products, automobiles and components, food and beverage, clothing, etc. The China-Europe freight train service has played an important role in advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. (Xinhua/Tang Yi) Aerial photo taken on June 30, 2022 shows a China-Europe freight train crossing under a bridge in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. As two freight trains left the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu and the Tuanjiecun station in Chongqing for Lodz in Poland and Duisburg of Germany respectively, the total number of China-Europe freight train trips from southwest China's Chengdu and Chongqing has topped 20,000 on June 30. Major exports include commodities such as mechanical and electrical products, automobiles and components, food and beverage, clothing, etc. The China-Europe freight train service has played an important role in advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. (Xinhua/Tang Yi) Photo taken on June 30, 2022 shows a China-Europe freight train pulling out of the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. As two freight trains left the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu and the Tuanjiecun station in Chongqing for Lodz in Poland and Duisburg of Germany respectively, the total number of China-Europe freight train trips from southwest China's Chengdu and Chongqing has topped 20,000 on June 30. Major exports include commodities such as mechanical and electrical products, automobiles and components, food and beverage, clothing, etc. The China-Europe freight train service has played an important role in advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. (Xinhua/Wang Xi) Aerial photo taken on June 30, 2022 shows a China-Europe freight train pulling out of the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. As two freight trains left the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu and the Tuanjiecun station in Chongqing for Lodz in Poland and Duisburg of Germany respectively, the total number of China-Europe freight train trips from southwest China's Chengdu and Chongqing has topped 20,000 on June 30. Major exports include commodities such as mechanical and electrical products, automobiles and components, food and beverage, clothing, etc. The China-Europe freight train service has played an important role in advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. (Xinhua/Wang Xi) Aerial photo taken on June 30, 2022 shows a China-Europe freight train pulling out of the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. As two freight trains left the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu and the Tuanjiecun station in Chongqing for Lodz in Poland and Duisburg of Germany respectively, the total number of China-Europe freight train trips from southwest China's Chengdu and Chongqing has topped 20,000 on June 30. Major exports include commodities such as mechanical and electrical products, automobiles and components, food and beverage, clothing, etc. The China-Europe freight train service has played an important role in advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. (Xinhua/Wang Xi) WASHINGTON, June 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer said on Wednesday that he will officially step down from the bench at noon Thursday. Breyer, who has served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court since 1994, made the announcement in a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden. The 83-year-old liberal announced his retirement from the court earlier this year. He will be replaced by 51-year-old Ketanji Brown Jackson. Jackson, who was nominated by Biden in late February and confirmed by the Senate in April, will be the first African American woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Breyer's departure came less than a week after the Supreme Court's bombshell decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and eliminate constitutional protection to abortion rights. Breyer and two other liberal justices dissented in a 66-page opinion. Jackson, who has sat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit since June 2021, is expected to be sworn in later this year. Before being elevated to the court of appeals, she served more than eight years as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Supreme Court is the final appellate court of the U.S. judicial system, with the power to review and overturn lower court decisions, and is also generally the final interpreter of federal law, including the nation's constitution. The justices of the Supreme Court have life tenure and can serve until they die, resign, retire, or are impeached and removed from office. BEIJING, June 30 (Xinhua) -- When addressing a series of BRICS-related high-level events last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping shared his visions on how to tackle common challenges, boost economic recovery and achieve sustainable global developments. In his speeches at the 14th BRICS Summit, the High-Level Dialogue on Global Development, as well as the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum, Xi repeatedly called for joint actions by BRICS nations and developing countries to keep the global economy open and steer globalization in the right direction, promote scientific and technological innovation, and uphold cooperation to boost sustainable development. In the views of foreign experts and officials, Xi's call for stronger and healthier global development at this critical moment is key to addressing various problems testing the international community and improving people's well-being. GLOBALIZATION KEY TO DEVELOPMENT "Economic globalization is a response to development of productivity and, as such, represents an unstoppable historical trend," Xi said at the BRICS Business Forum, adding: "Anyone who attempts to turn back the wheel of history and block others' way will only have his own path blocked." This year's BRICS summit came at a time when the world is witnessing rising unilateralism and protectionism that have greatly disrupted economic cooperation and global recovery. Diaa Helmy, secretary-general of Cairo-based Egyptian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said measures of protection and punishment taken by some countries could not create a suitable environment for promoting development or building an open world economy. Instead, those measures hinder global trade movement and weaken economic growth. "An open and fair world economic order that considers the interests of all is very significant and is very important now for countering the dangerous challenges that threaten world trade movement," Helmy noted. Helmo Preuss, an economist at South African consultancy Forecaster Ecosa, said any attempt to protect economies by high tariffs or competitive devaluations "leads to common poverty rather than common prosperity." The experience of the past decades demonstrates that greater economic integration is one of the most important means of lifting people out of poverty, the economist said. INNOVATION SOURCE OF SUSTAINABLE PROGRESS At the 14th BRICS Summit, Xi called on the five-country group to "uphold the pioneering spirit and innovation and unleash the potential and vitality of cooperation." He also proposed improving global science and technology governance and allowing more people to access and benefit from the fruits of scientific and technological advances. His vision of innovation resonates with many experts and scholars. Stephen Perry, chairman of Britain's 48 Group Club, said innovation is a key aspect of both China's experience and the needs of the developing nations. "BRICS can bring together innovation, finance, technologies and export markets to help the developing nations jump the fence," he said. In the eyes of Cavince Adhere, a Kenya-based international relations scholar, it is important to leverage scientific and technological innovation to promote holistic development of emerging economies, especially through digital economy and green transformation. He said China is playing an important role in improving Africa's ability to navigate a path for sustainable development. For the vast number of developing countries, deepening international sci-tech cooperation and enhancing exchanges with China will help narrow the gap between them and developed countries, said Bambang Suryono, chairman of Indonesian think tank Asia Innovation Study Center. COOPERATION FOR BETTER FUTURE When delivering a speech at the High-level Dialogue on Global Development in virtual format, Xi stressed the need to jointly forge a global development partnership. "Only by working together can we accomplish big and great things with a far-reaching impact." Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Alexei Gruzdev spoke highly of the achievements of BRICS cooperation, saying that cooperation within the BRICS framework has been developing year by year, and the potential for expanding mutually beneficial cooperation is enormous. Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and chairman of the German think tank Schiller Institute, regarded BRICS mechanism as a new model of cooperation tasked with reducing poverty and promoting development. "BRICS cooperation in the field of food supply and public health is of great significance to the world," Zepp-LaRouche said, adding she hopes that BRICS countries can play an important role in eradicating global hunger and strengthening the construction of modern global health systems. Davor Ivo Stier, former Croatian minister of foreign affairs, said the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how much global cooperation is needed. Without cooperation of all countries of the world, there is neither peace nor stability, he said. UNITED NATIONS, June 29 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Wednesday said situation in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is worrisome, and called on the parties concerned to take a holistic approach to de-escalate tensions. "As a good friend to the countries in the region, China sincerely hopes that the relevant parties will respect each other's concerns and interests, and properly settle their differences through dialogue and consultations with the aim to de-escalate tensions," Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told a Security Council meeting on the DRC. Recent resurgence of the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels has escalated tensions and conflicts in the eastern DRC, leading to dramatic increase in civilian casualties and displacement. "This is worrisome," said Dai. "To eliminate the threat from armed groups in the eastern DRC, holistic measures must be taken on multiple fronts." The Nairobi process has offered a two-track solution, political and military, he said, adding that China urges all armed groups in the DRC to immediately heed the call of the Nairobi process, cease all violent activities, and unconditionally participate in political dialogue and DDR (disarmament, demobilization and reintegration) process. The international community should form synergy in defusing tensions and bolstering security in the region, and assist the DRC government in improving its national governance capacity and advancing security sector reform, with a view to genuinely safeguarding its territory and sovereignty, he said. He also stated that the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, known as MONUSCO, should work with the DRC government to assess the security context timely, and advance its drawdown plan in an orderly and responsible manner. Speaking of the Security Council's sanctions on the DRC, Dai pointed out that the purpose of the sanctions is to undermine armed groups, not to limit the security capacity of the DRC government. With MONUSCO entering drawdown phase, it is getting increasingly urgent for the DRC government to safeguard security on its own, he said. "The DRC has been calling for lifting arms embargo for many years. China believes that the Security Council should respond to the DRC's concerns by waiving the notification requirements regarding the government's import of weapons and ammunition," he said. "We have noticed the improvement in this regard in the draft resolution proposed by the penholder, and hope that the DRC's opinions could be fully heeded, and greater strides could be made here," said Dai. By Azernews By News Center Turkish Defense Industry chief Ismail Demir has stated that the value of the nations defense industry projects has reached $70 billion, Yeni Shafak daily reports. Demir made the remarks at the SEDEC 2022 Homeland Security, Border Security, and Internal Security Systems Fair, which was held for the third time in 2022 at the Ankara Chamber of Commerce Fair and Congress Center. The senior official underlined that significant progress has been made in the defense industry in the 20-year period. "The number of our defense projects, which was around 60, has exceeded 750 today. About half of these projects have been launched in the last six years. While defense projects with a budget of $5.5 billion are being carried out, today the value of our defense industry projects is approaching $70 billion," he stressed. In his opening remarks, Demir stated that Turkiye continues to work to effectively meet the needs of the Armed Forces and all other security units. The progress we've made over recent years as a result of these efforts has placed our organizations' platforms, technologies, and competencies in a variety of fields in high demand in international marketplaces, Demir emphasized. He also drew attention to the importance of domestic and national production for the independence of the country. "As a historical evolution, our transition from a foreign-dependent culture in the military sector to one of self-sufficiency, developing and exporting technology, continues. Addiction results in indefinite servitude. In other words, if your own security systems, defense systems, and technologies are externally dependent then this dependency becomes permanent if there is no will to change it with a determined stance, and you may become unable to defend your national interests. "In this respect, let's join hands in the process of developing domestic and national industry. Let's be self-sufficient against countries that are dominant in this field, countries that have put the will to create dependency for years, and countries that make us feel compelled to do so. With the human and financial resources we have created, we will achieve a structure that is self-sufficient and does not leave decisions regarding our own interests to the will of others in the future, Demir stressed. A man takes part in a protest against NATO in Madrid, Spain, June 26, 2022. (Photo by Juan Carlos Rojas/Xinhua) Japan is playing with fire by "inviting the wolf into the house." The country should draw lessons from history, especially in the military and security fields, and contribute to regional peace and stability, not sabotaging them. BEIJING, June 30 (Xinhua) -- This year's NATO summit is different from the previous versions as several non-NATO leaders were invited, and one of them is Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. It is well known that NATO summits do not involve Japan. Yet Kishida accepted the invitation and went. Being the first Japanese prime minister to do so, he has apparently ignored the feelings of neighboring countries, and betrayed Japan's post-war pacifism. Kishida's presence at the meeting can be taken as an epitome of Japan's collusion with the United States and NATO. For long, Japan has been acting as a pawn for Washington to boost its supremacy in the Asia-Pacific region. Tokyo has been actively cooperating with the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, taking an active part in the U.S.-led Quad mechanism, and dancing to the U.S. tune on China. In fact, it was not new for Japan to seek to establish contact with NATO. In the early 2000s, then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited NATO's Brussels headquarters. Now, Japan has more frequent interactions with NATO, such as staging joint military training, and has been trying to match NATO standards in military spending. Japan is an Asia-pacific country that is still haunted by militarism, while the U.S.-led NATO is the world's largest military organization. Their collusion will only create confrontation and division in Asia Pacific. As is known to all, Washington regards China as its biggest competitor and hardly hides its intention to contain China and seek everlasting hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region. As Washington's tool to pursue global predominance, NATO has stretched its tentacles to Asia Pacific with a focus on China. In recent years, NATO members continuously sent jets and warships for military exercises in China's surrounding waters, which heightened tensions in the region. Police stand guard as demonstrators protest against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in the square of Tirso de Molina in Madrid, Spain, June 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo) Back in Japan, some politicians attempt to rebuild the country as an "Asian military and political power" by leveraging the strength of the United States and NATO. Thus Japan rushes to cooperate with NATO to stir up troubles in the Asia Pacific. In fact, Kishida was not content with just showing up at the summit, he took the initiative there to call on NATO to shift its attention to the Asia-Pacific region and put forward proposals to fundamentally strengthen Japan's defense capabilities, among other things, according to Japanese media reports. However, Japan, by acting as the "vanguard" of NATO out of its own ambition, will seriously threaten regional security and stability. And it will eventually pay the price. "Most of the ASEAN countries and islands of the Pacific are concerned about NATO's strategic push and are resisting the pressure to take sides as NATO/U.S. want," Anuradha Chenoy, an adjunct professor at India's Jindal Global University, said in an article published in May on the website of The Citizen. "Their overall view is that NATO's hyper activity in the region ... will lead to tensions and 'not benefit anyone' in the region," the expert added. In history, many Asian countries experienced colonial rule or oppression and slavery by major powers. People in this region cherish the hard-won environment for peaceful development, crave better lives, and firmly oppose words or deeds that might invite military blocs or provoke confrontation. What Japan and the United States are doing clearly run counter to the trend of the times. Japan is playing with fire by "inviting the wolf into the house." The country should draw lessons from history, especially in the military and security fields, and contribute to regional peace and stability, not sabotaging them. TEHRAN, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Thursday that the Caspian Sea littoral states refused to allow any foreign presence in the region. Raisi made the remarks upon arrival at the airport in Tehran from his visit to Turkmenistan, in which he took part in the sixth summit of the heads of state of the Caspian countries, according to the Iranian presidency's website. The Caspian Sea's resources must be protected, he said, adding that the sea belongs to the regional countries and must be managed collectively by the littoral states. The Iranian president also called for greater cooperation among the Caspian Sea littoral states in the economic, cultural, and environmental sectors. Commenting on his meetings with the Azerbaijani, Turkmen and Russian presidents on the sidelines of the summit, he said the talks focused on the expansion of bilateral economic and trade relations and the implementation of the previously signed memorandums of understanding. Describing the visit as positive, Raisi said strengthening ties with neighbors is one of his administration's foreign policy priorities. During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, Raisi said Tehran pursues engagement with Moscow within the framework of a strategic relationship. Trade and energy relations between Iran and Russia are at a high level, he added, noting the relations still have great potential for expansion given the two sides' respective capacities. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Leung Chun-ying, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, in Hong Kong, south China, June 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Bin) HONG KONG, June 30 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping met here Thursday with Leung Chun-ying, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Xi praised Leung for the tremendous efforts he has devoted to promoting national modernization and Hong Kong's prosperity and stability since he became vice chairman of the CPPCC National Committee. Xi expressed the hope that Leung will fully support the incoming chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the sixth-term government of the HKSAR in exercising law-based governance, and make new contributions to the enduring success of the practice of "one country, two systems" along with people from different sectors. Leung expressed his gratitude to President Xi's care and encouragement, and pledged all-out efforts to continue serving Hong Kong and the motherland. On Thursday, Xi also asked relevant parties to convey greetings to Vice Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee Tung Chee-hwa, who is in Hong Kong. Xi arrived here Thursday to attend a meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the HKSAR on July 1. He will also inspect the HKSAR. BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 100 leaders of journalist organizations and representatives of media outlets from more than 60 countries and regions attended a virtual forum on Wednesday to discuss the social responsibilities of the media. The 2022 Belt and Road Journalists Forum, the fifth of its kind, was hosted by the All-China Journalist Association (ACJA). Addressing the forum, He Ping, president of the ACJA, said that currently, changes and a pandemic unseen in a century are intertwined, and the international situation is complex and volatile. The international community faces numerous challenges, he added. He said the ACJA is willing to join hands with journalist organizations from all countries to guide media outlets to abide by their social responsibilities, and contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for humanity through objective reporting, scientific judgement and rational analysis. The forum was presided over by Liu Siyang, the association's vice president, who is also the secretary of the leading Party members group of the association. SHIJIAZHUANG, June 30 (Xinhua) -- On hot summer days, flocks of birds either paddle on the tranquil waters or perch among the lush reeds at Nandagang wetland in Cangzhou City, north China's Hebei Province. As an important coastal wetland in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Nandagang wetland is a major stopping place and energy supply spot for migratory birds in Northeast Asia. Every year, more than 300 species of birds, with a number of about 100,000, pass through the wetland. The period from May to July is the peak season for bird breeding there. However, due to the severe shortage of rainfall and high temperatures this year, there are many challenges for bird reproduction in the wetland. In order to create a viable environment for migratory birds, wetland conservationists have taken a slew of timely measures. "We have launched a water diversion and storage project and regularly monitored the water amount and quality to meet the needs of birds and plants in the wetland," said Meng Zhaolei, director of the Nandagang wetland and bird nature reserve management office. "Now the water storage capacity of Nandagang exceeds 13 million cubic meters, which plays an important role in protecting wetland biodiversity and maintaining ecological balance," added Meng. Being close to a city cluster, the wetland is also a tourist attraction for nearby residents. To better monitor birds' health and carry out bird rescue, Nandagang has organized a special team to carry out patrols around the wetland. In addition, the wetland has organized activities to enhance the awareness of bird protection among the public. Pan Hongxi, 56, has worked as a gatekeeper at the wetland for 30 years. After work, he also volunteers to help with bird rescues. "During the hatching season, many flightless chicks often run out onto roads, where they risk being run over by passing cars or roasted to death on the hot ground. I help relocate the chicks to safe places," said Pan. In June alone, he had saved more than 20 birds. Meng Derong, who is in charge of the wildlife rescue center of Cangzhou City, has also been engaged in bird rescue for 22 years. "I have rescued more than 2,000 sick and injured wild birds. It is my pursuit to provide a warm and comfortable home for them," said Meng. "Our efforts have borne fruits. Despite the hot weather and lack of precipitation this year, more than 40 kinds of birds have flown to Nandagang wetland for birds breeding, which gives me a tremendous sense of accomplishment," added Meng. CHANGCHUN, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Audi FAW new-energy vehicle (NEV) project broke ground on Tuesday in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province. The joint venture project, with an investment of over 30 billion yuan (about 4.5 billion U.S. dollars), is designed to have an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles. The facility, Audi's first production base specifically for purely electric vehicles in China, is expected to be completed and go into operation at the end of 2024. It will firstly produce high-end models of the A6 e-tron and Q6 e-tron. Audi holds a majority stake in the NEV joint venture with major Chinese automaker FAW. The new project came as German luxury carmaker Audi AG seeks to cash in on China's fast-growing NEV market, analysts said. In the first five months of this year, more than 2 million NEVs were sold across the country, up 110 percent from a year earlier, grabbing a 21-percent share of the auto market, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. In 2021, Audi delivered 701,289 vehicles in the Chinese market, with sales of its purely electric e-tron models surging 68.7 percent year on year. By the end of 2022, Audi is expected to have nine electric models on sale in China. Markus Duesmann, chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG, said the ground-breaking of the new factory in Changchun marked another important milestone for Audi in China. BEIJING, June 30 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday the United States is worthy of the name of the "empire of wiretapping" and "empire of secret stealing," urging the country to stop its malicious cyber activities immediately. According to relevant reports, multiple Chinese scientific research institutions have been under cyber attack from the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), and the NSA has installed Trojan horse programs inside at least over a hundred important information systems in China. To date, many such programs are still running and sending intelligence back to the NSA. "China condemns such malicious cyber activities by the U.S. government. We demand that the U.S. offers an explanation and immediately stop such irresponsible behavior," spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a daily press briefing. Noting the United States as a well-known habitual offender regarding cyber secret stealing, Zhao said that in 2020, China captured more than 42 million malicious computer program samples. And 53.1 percent of the programs from overseas were traced to the United States, Zhao said citing a previous report from China's National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team website. Zhao said the United States doesn't even let its own citizens off the hook concerning cyber secret stealing. He said that over the past year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted 3.4 million searches on digital data of U.S. citizens without any warrant, according to a report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Zhao pointed out that the relevant report also disclosed that Britain's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) has coordinated with the United States to conduct cyber attacks and steal secrets. "This shows the United States and its core allies have become the axis of global cyber secret stealing." Zhao said that in the face of doubts and opposition from the international community, the United States did not restrain its large-scale cyber secret stealing behavior. Instead, it expanded its national defense budget regarding cyber activities, enlarged cyber troops, and conducted various cyber warfare drills. Aerial photo taken on Dec. 12, 2021 shows workers inspecting an oil well at Jidong Oilfield in north China's Hebei Province. (Photo by Liu Mancang/Xinhua) BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhua) -- China will subsidize its oil refiners and suspend the raising of domestic fuel prices if global oil prices surpass 130 U.S. dollars a barrel, according to an official notice made public on Wednesday. The move will safeguard the stable supply of fuels, alleviate the burden on downstream enterprises and consumers, and lower the operating costs of the real economy, said the notice released jointly by the Ministry of Finance and the National Development and Reform Commission. The policy will initially last for two months, while further notices will be issued if oil prices consistently exceed 130 U.S. dollars, the authorities said. Under the current pricing mechanism, China will adjust the domestic prices of refined oil products when international crude prices translate into a change of more than 50 yuan (about 7.46 U.S. dollars) per tonne for gasoline and diesel for a period of 10 working days. However, it will not do so if the international prices go below the floor of 40 U.S. dollars or above the ceiling of 130 U.S. dollars a barrel. HOUSTON, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Four men have been charged after 53 migrants died in a sweltering 18-wheeler in San Antonio, south central U.S. state Texas, authorities said on Wednesday. The driver of the tractor trailer, identified as Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, was charged on Wednesday with human smuggling resulting in death, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Local media reported he has a lengthy criminal record dating back to the 1990s. Christian Martinez, 28, who was arrested on Tuesday in Palestine, Texas, was charged with one count of conspiracy to transport undocumented migrants resulting in death, the DOJ said. An investigation revealed that communications occurred between Zamorano and Martinez concerning the smuggling event, according to the release. If convicted, Zamorano and Martinez could face up to life in prison or could face the death penalty, CNN reported. On Tuesday, Juan Claudio D'Luna-Mendez and Juan Francisco D'Luna-Bilbao, both Mexican citizens, were charged with possessing firearms while residing in the United States illegally, according to court documents and U.S. authorities. Police arrested them on Monday at an address in San Antonio listed on the tractor-trailer's registration. Craig Larrabee, Homeland Security Investigations San Antonio acting special agent in charge, described the human-smuggling event as "the worst" in the United States. The tractor trailer with a fake plate was carrying 67 migrants when it was found on Monday, Francisco Garduno Yanez, head of Mexico's National Immigration Institute, said at a press conference on Wednesday. There was no sign of water in the refrigerated tractor-trailer and no visible working air conditioning unit, according to San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood. Those found alive were hot to the touch and suffering from heat stroke and exhaustion. Temperatures in San Antonio climbed to 101 degrees Fahrenheit (38.3 degrees centigrade) on Monday, while the heat in the packed trailer was likely way higher than that, according to the U.S. National Weather Service. "It's unspeakable," San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said on Tuesday. "It's a tragedy beyond explanation." Death is a constant risk for undocumented migrants entering Texas, said a report by The Texas Tribune. MANAMA, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa met on Wednesday with visiting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, where they stressed the two-state solution as an imperative one to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The two leaders said in a joint communique that it is important to return to "serious and effective negotiations" to achieve peace "in accordance with the principle of the two-state solution," which "guarantees the Palestinian people their right to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital." They also urged Iran to abide by the principles of non-interference in the affairs of Arab countries, comply with the principles of good neighborliness, and spare the region all destabilizing activities. Moreover, the two sides expressed their aspiration for further cooperation in the banking, economic and commercial fields, through the establishment of joint investment platforms and more mutual visits. By Azernews By News Center Governor Ersin Yazici has stated that Antalya Airport broke a record with 1,003 flights in one day, Yeni Shafak newspaper reports. He made the remarks at the Traditional AKTOB Meeting and the launching ceremony of the World Angel Investment Forum, the report adds. We broke a record on Saturday. The Antalya Airport has become an airport where 1,003 planes land and take off in one day. This is the highest ever number, Yazici stressed. Evaluating the 2022 season, Yazici announced that records regarding the airport continue to be broken. On Saturday, 81,172 guests entered our city from the Antalya Airport. There were days when we hosted more guests, but our progress is good. The governor pointed out that the government continues to work on training human resources for the tourism sector. I believe that in a few years, we will have fewer issues with the industry's workforce quality and availability. But we won't be able to do so if we lose our existing level of quality and standard. Antalya is having difficulty. Antalya is more than just a tourist destination. It is a city that accounts for around one-third of Turkiye's tourism earnings, represents the country, and serves as its showcase. I feel the 2022 season will be successful. We will continue to collaborate with all state agencies and groups to facilitate your work and benefit our country's economy, Yazici stressed. He stated that Antalya will host the World Angel Investment Forum, which is considered the Davos of global early-stage investment and capital markets. The capital of tourism - Antalya - will complete the organization of the event with zero mistakes, the governor added. We will carry out a great organization by meeting all of our commitments in every way while also making all of the visitors comfortable. Antalya, I believe, will host the most stunning of the World Angel Investment Forums that have been ever done so far. As a city, we will provide this, Yazici emphasized. He stated that digitalization has started to prevail in every aspect of life and that this has increased even more during the pandemic. We are in the midst of an inevitable transformation. But I would like to open a parenthesis on one point. This city excels at two things. We are a city that raises agriculture and tourism to world-class levels. This is our biggest source of pride. Antalya exports agricultural goods to the rest of the globe. While doing so, we create high-quality items using our advantageous environment and technology and deliver them to the global market, Yazici added. The governor underlined that with its 680,000 beds, Antalya is undeniably the world's leading tourism destination. We will continue to provide tourism services with the highest standard and at affordable prices in the Mediterranean region with our foreign guests, who will hopefully exceed 9 million this year. We have a well-known proverb all roads lead to tourism in Antalya. This achievement indicates that we have caught up with the rest of the world in terms of technology and informatics in both sectors. I believe that the World Angel Investment Forum, which will be held on October 25-26, will be beneficial to our city and country in every way. This city will do an excellent job. Antalya is a city that has hosted comparable and larger events. Nobody should have any doubts about it, Yazici concluded. Police stand guard as demonstrators protest against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in the square of Tirso de Molina in Madrid, Spain, June 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo) MADRID, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The 2022 Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) opened here on Wednesday amid mounting criticisms of the military alliance's aggressive security policy and lingering conflicts among its members. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a press conference Wednesday afternoon that the leaders had decided to "transform and strengthen" the alliance at a "pivotal time for our security." The decisions include strengthening NATO's forward defenses, enhancing the bloc's battlegroups on its eastern flank and increasing the number of high readiness forces to over 300,000, the NATO chief said, adding that the leaders had also agreed on a "comprehensive assistance package" for Ukraine. At Wednesday's meeting, NATO invited Sweden and Finland to join the alliance, following Turkey's decision to lift a veto on the two countries' membership applications a day before. "In any accession to the alliance, it is of vital importance that the legitimate security concerns of all allies are properly addressed," NATO leaders said in a joint declaration. Turkey had initially been blocking the Nordic states' membership bids citing their ties with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Syria's Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey labels as terrorist groups. But Turkey changed its position on Tuesday after a meeting of the leaders from the three countries together with Stoltenberg. Despite Turkey's green light, the NATO chief acknowledged on Tuesday a lingering discord, saying "there will still be conflicts within the defense alliance." With the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the increasingly tougher western sanctions on Russia, strains among NATO allies have also intensified as the prices of energy and other essential commodities continue to soar, analysts have said. The 30 NATO leaders on Wednesday also approved the military bloc's new strategic concept, which outlines its priorities and core tasks in the next decade. The document calls Russia the "most significant and direct threat" to NATO's security. Analysts say while NATO is portraying other countries as its imaginary adversaries, it is NATO itself that has been expanding its influence at the expense of other countries' security and inciting bloc confrontation with an outdated Cold War mentality. Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, noted on Tuesday that NATO's five eastward expansions after the Cold War have not only failed to make Europe securer, but also sowed the seed of conflict. "The Cold War ended a long time ago. It is necessary for NATO to reconsider its own positioning and its responsibilities, completely abandon the Cold War mentality that is based on bloc confrontation, and strive to build a balanced, effective, and sustainable European security framework in line with the principle of indivisible security," he said. Before this week's NATO summit, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Madrid on Sunday to call for peace and protest against the alliance, which they see as a threat to peace. Police stand guard as demonstrators protest against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in the square of Tirso de Molina in Madrid, Spain, June 29, 2022. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua) Police stand guard as demonstrators protest against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in the square of Tirso de Molina in Madrid, Spain, June 29, 2022. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua) HONG KONG, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said Thursday that it will distribute around 300,000 sets of COVID-19 rapid antigen test (RAT) kits as part of a follow-up on the recent detection of the COVID-19 virus in sewage samples. The test kits will be distributed to residents, cleaning workers and property management staff working in the areas with positive sewage testing results showing relatively high viral loads, in order to help identify infected persons. The HKSAR government also urged RAT kit users to report any positive results for COVID-19 via the government's online platform. On Thursday, Hong Kong registered 2,196 confirmed locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 and 162 imported cases, official data showed. Visitors enter the Shanghai Disneyland in Shanghai, east China, June 30, 2022. Shanghai Disneyland reopened on Thursday, after more than three months of closure along with the metropolis' fight against a COVID-19 outbreak. Tickets were available for purchase starting Wednesday, as the COVID-19 epidemic has waned in the city. (Xinhua/Ren Long) SHANGHAI, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai Disneyland reopened on Thursday, after more than three months of closure along with the metropolis' fight against a COVID-19 outbreak. Tickets were available for purchase starting Wednesday, as the COVID-19 epidemic has waned in the city. Visitors are required to present negative results of nucleic acid testing taken within 72 hours, wear masks and undergo temperature screening before entering the park. Joe Schott, president and general manager of Shanghai Disney Resort, expressed his gratitude to all the crew members for their hard work during the temporary closure of the park. He said that it is due to everyone's unremitting efforts the park can continue to welcome tourists back and offer visitors a safe and magical experience. "During the epidemic, I had wished to tour Disneyland with my family. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to secure a first-day booking to visit the park," said Ma Anna, a tourist who came for a trip with her five-year-old son. Zhang Ming, a tourist from Shanghai's Baoshan District, said every visitor adhered to the epidemic prevention protocols, such as health code scanning and body temperature checks, and there was barely any crowd congestion during entry. He Jianmin, a professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, said the reopening of Shanghai Disneyland is of symbolic significance indicating that tourist attractions in China's COVID-19 low-risk areas are resuming business. Normalcy is returning to China as the virus transmission has been brought under control after recent infection flare-ups affected cities including Beijing and Shanghai over the past months. Shanghai, China's financial hub with a population of 25 million, announced on May 17 that it had cut off the community transmission of COVID-19 in all its 16 districts. The city has been gradually resuming dine-in services at restaurants starting from Wednesday. Visitors enter the Shanghai Disneyland in Shanghai, east China, June 30, 2022. Shanghai Disneyland reopened on Thursday, after more than three months of closure along with the metropolis' fight against a COVID-19 outbreak. Tickets were available for purchase starting Wednesday, as the COVID-19 epidemic has waned in the city. (Xinhua/Ren Long) Visitors pose for a group photo at the Shanghai Disneyland in Shanghai, east China, June 30, 2022. Shanghai Disneyland reopened on Thursday, after more than three months of closure along with the metropolis' fight against a COVID-19 outbreak. Tickets were available for purchase starting Wednesday, as the COVID-19 epidemic has waned in the city. (Xinhua/Ren Long) Visitors enter the Shanghai Disneyland in Shanghai, east China, June 30, 2022. Shanghai Disneyland reopened on Thursday, after more than three months of closure along with the metropolis' fight against a COVID-19 outbreak. Tickets were available for purchase starting Wednesday, as the COVID-19 epidemic has waned in the city. (Xinhua/Ren Long) Visitors pose for photos with a staff member (R) at the Shanghai Disneyland in Shanghai, east China, June 30, 2022. Shanghai Disneyland reopened on Thursday, after more than three months of closure along with the metropolis' fight against a COVID-19 outbreak. Tickets were available for purchase starting Wednesday, as the COVID-19 epidemic has waned in the city. (Xinhua/Ren Long) Visitors enter the Shanghai Disneyland in Shanghai, east China, June 30, 2022. Shanghai Disneyland reopened on Thursday, after more than three months of closure along with the metropolis' fight against a COVID-19 outbreak. Tickets were available for purchase starting Wednesday, as the COVID-19 epidemic has waned in the city. (Xinhua/Ren Long) Police stand guard as demonstrators protest against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in the square of Tirso de Molina in Madrid, Spain, June 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo) "NATO has always been used by the United States as a tool to perpetuate its hegemony," said Professor Gilbert Achcar. "The United States is trying to push Europe to take part in its own policies, including in East Asia." MADRID, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The 2022 Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) wrapped up here on Thursday amid mounting criticisms of the military alliance's increasingly aggressive and destabilizing security policies unveiled at the meeting. Twenty-two NATO members on Thursday agreed to launch the NATO Innovation Fund, a multi-sovereign venture capital fund that will invest 1 billion euros (1.05 billion U.S. dollars) in startups and other venture capital funds developing emerging technologies for both civilian and military use. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at the fund's signing ceremony that it would help transform NATO's security environment and strengthen its innovation ecosystem. The fund's launch is the latest in a long list of provocative security policies adopted at the two-day NATO meeting. Participants of the 2022 Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) pose for a group photo in Madrid, Spain, June 29, 2022. (Photo by Juan Carlos Rojas/Xinhua) NATO leaders on Wednesday agreed to strengthen the alliance's forward defenses, enhance the bloc's battlegroups on its eastern flank and increase the number of high readiness forces to over 300,000. On the same day, they approved the military bloc's new strategic concept, which calls Russia the "most significant and direct threat" to NATO's security and unjustly accuses China of posing "systemic challenges." NATO also invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance on Wednesday. In an explicit move to meddle in the regional affairs of the Asia-Pacific, NATO invited the leaders of Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand to attend its summit for the first time. The four Asia-Pacific countries held a four-way meeting on the sidelines of the NATO Summit to discuss strengthening ties with the alliance. The United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea also held a trilateral meeting on the sidelines to discuss issues related to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. While Stoltenberg insisted that the NATO meeting was focused on "transforming and strengthening" the alliance for the security of its members, analysts and officials from non-NATO countries have said that NATO is inciting bloc confrontation with an outdated Cold War mentality. A man takes part in a protest against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Madrid, Spain, June 26, 2022. (Photo by Juan Carlos Rojas/Xinhua) Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Thursday condemned NATO's new strategic concept, saying the document distorts facts, smears China's foreign policy, makes irresponsible remarks on China's normal military development and national defense policy, encourages confrontation and conflicts, and is full of Cold War mentality and ideological bias. Zhao added that NATO claims to be a regional and defensive organization, but in fact, it has been transgressing regions and fields, constantly waging wars and killing civilians, and now NATO has extended its reach to the Asia-Pacific region in an attempt to export the Cold War mentality. Gilbert Achcar, a professor of development studies and international relations with the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, told Xinhua on Thursday that NATO's new strategic concept shows the alliance is "going far beyond the area of NATO into the Asia-Pacific." "NATO has always been used by the United States as a tool to perpetuate its hegemony," Achcar added. "The United States is trying to push Europe to take part in its own policies, including in East Asia." Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Madrid, the United States and many other European countries this week to protest against the alliance and call for peace. Police stand guard as demonstrators protest against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in the square of Tirso de Molina in Madrid, Spain, June 29, 2022.(Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua) Chinese President Xi Jinping has exchanges with Hong Kong-based academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, researchers, and young entrepreneurs, in Hong Kong, south China, June 30, 2022. Xi made an inspection tour of the Hong Kong Science Park on Thursday, accompanied by Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam. (Xinhua/Liu Bin) HONG KONG, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Under the support of the central government, Hong Kong has leveraged its own advantages to make remarkable achievements in basic research, talent cultivation, and development in the innovation and technology sector in recent years, President Xi Jinping said Thursday. Xi made the remarks during an inspection tour of the Hong Kong Science Park, accompanied by Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam. He had warm exchanges with Hong Kong-based academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, researchers, and young entrepreneurs. The president arrived in Hong Kong Thursday afternoon to attend a meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the HKSAR on July 1. The science park, the largest research and development and business incubation base in Hong Kong, is currently home to more than 1,100 enterprises and 17,000 innovators. The HKSAR government should give full play to the role of technological innovation in supporting and leading economic development, Xi said. In a visit to the Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases within the park, Xi learned about the progress in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and encouraged researchers to make more world-leading achievements. When talking with academicians, researchers, and youth representatives of innovation enterprises, Xi called on Hong Kong to better cooperate with mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, strengthen the collaborative development of enterprises, universities and research institutions, and strive to build the bay area into a global highland for scientific and technological innovation. Xi expressed the hope that the tradition of loving the motherland and Hong Kong will be carried forward and more contribution will be made to build China into a global leader in science and technology. Efforts should also be made to pave way for the youths, providing them with more growth space, Xi said. On Thursday afternoon, Xi's wife Peng Liyuan visited the Xiqu Center in the West Kowloon Cultural District, which is a venue for the art of Chinese traditional theater. She watched rehearsals and spoke highly of the performances, calling the show a display of the charm of Chinese culture. Peng also encouraged Hong Kong's younger generation to have an in-depth understanding of fine traditional Chinese culture and inherit and promote the culture. Chinese President Xi Jinping visits the Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, in Hong Kong, south China, June 30, 2022. Xi made an inspection tour of the Hong Kong Science Park on Thursday, accompanied by Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam. (Xinhua/Liu Bin) Chinese President Xi Jinping visits the Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, in Hong Kong, south China, June 30, 2022. Xi made an inspection tour of the Hong Kong Science Park on Thursday, accompanied by Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam. (Xinhua/Liu Bin) Chinese President Xi Jinping inspects the Hong Kong Science Park, accompanied by Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam, in Hong Kong, south China, June 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao) Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, watches rehearsals of Cantonese opera performances during her visit to the Xiqu Center in the West Kowloon Cultural District, in Hong Kong, south China, June 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, has exchanges with young volunteers who are making traditional paper artworks during her visit to the Xiqu Center in the West Kowloon Cultural District, in Hong Kong, south China, June 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) KHARTOUM, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The Sudanese government has expressed commitment to restraint and non-escalation amid the mounting crises between Sudan and Ethiopia. The crisis between the two countries was sparked after Sudan accused Ethiopia of killing its soldiers on the joint eastern border, which Ethiopia denied. "Sudan exercises self-restraint to prevent escalation with Ethiopia," Sudan's foreign ministry said, official SUNA news agency reported. "Ethiopian forces entered Sudanese territory, kidnapped seven Sudanese soldiers and a civilian, executed them, and displayed their bodies in public," SUNA quoted Dafalla Al-Haj Ali, Sudan's foreign ministry undersecretary, as saying. What Ethiopia had done did not comply with international conventions and norms and the nature of the relationship between the two countries, he added. Meanwhile, local Sudanese media reported that Sudanese acting Foreign Minister Ali Al-Sadiq said the UN Security Council has adopted Sudan's complaint against Ethiopia submitted on Tuesday as an official document. The Ethiopian army on Tuesday reportedly denied the accusations, saying it was ready to work with its Sudanese counterpart to investigate the incident. Since September 2020, the Sudan-Ethiopia border has been witnessing rising tensions and deadly skirmishes between the two sides. Sudan has accused the Ethiopian military of backing the farmers' seizure of Sudanese lands in the disputed Fashaga district on the border of the two neighbors. BRAZZAVILLE, June 30 (Xinhua) -- With three African countries with no previous history of human monkeypox transmission reporting cases, the geographic spread of the virus on the African continent is a "worrying sign", warned Thursday Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) regional Director for Africa. A WORRYING SIGN As of Tuesday, Africa has reported 1,821 cases in 13 countries of which 109 are laboratory-confirmed in nine countries, said Moeti at an online press briefing held on Thursday. Outside the countries in Africa with a history of human transmission, monkeypox has also been reported in three countries that have not previously had any human cases, namely Ghana, Morocco, and South Africa. As of Tuesday, South Africa has reported two confirmed cases with no travel history, which, according to the WHO regional office for Africa, suggests "a high possibility of local transmission". "The geographic spread of monkeypox to parts of Africa where cases have never been detected before is a worrying sign," said Moeti. "It is critical that we support national efforts to boost surveillance and laboratory diagnosis, which are the cornerstones of disease control." According to the WHO, the number of confirmed cases in Africa accounts for 2 percent of the more than 4,500 confirmed cases globally. However, there are many suspected cases in the region, 81 percent of which are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), underlining the need for increased diagnostic capacity. Over the past month, five more African countries have received donations of reagents from partners, bringing to 12 the number of countries in the region with enhanced monkeypox diagnostic capacity. Another group of countries in West Africa will receive reagents after participating in a training. "What happened in the early days of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout when Africa watched on the sidelines as other countries snapped up limited supplies must not be allowed to recur. There are some signs that this is already happening," said Moeti. "The current global spotlight on monkeypox should be a catalyst to beat this disease once and for all in Africa. For this, we know vaccines are a critical tool." NOT A GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY Multiple clusters of the monkeypox virus have been reported within the past weeks in several European countries and North America, regions where the virus is not normally found. On June 25, the WHO said the latest monkeypox spread in over 50 countries does not constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, the highest level of alert the WHO can issue. However, "a risk of further, sustained transmission into the wider population" should not be overlooked, said some members of the WHO Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak in a report, following a meeting on Thursday. "The convening of the committee itself reflects the increasing concern about the international spread of monkeypox," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Saturday in a statement, adding that the committee is available to be reconvened as per the development of the outbreak. The committee highlighted a number of conditions that should prompt a re-assessment of the event, such as an increase in the rate of growth of cases reported in the next 21 days, significant spread to and within additional countries, an increase in the number of cases in vulnerable groups, and increased morbidity, mortality and rates of hospitalization. Ghebreyesus called for stepped-up surveillance, improved diagnostics, community engagement and risk communication, and the appropriate use of therapeutics, vaccines, and public health measures including contact tracing and isolation. He also called on member states to collaborate, share information, and engage with affected communities so that public health safety measures are communicated quickly and effectively. Endemic monkeypox disease is normally geographically limited to West and Central Africa, while the identification of confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox without any travel history to an endemic area in multiple countries is atypical, according to the WHO. Monkeypox, first detected in laboratory monkeys in 1958, is assumed to transmit from wild animals such as rodents to people, or from human to human. TOKYO, June 30 (Xinhua) -- An elementary school in Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa on Thursday held a memorial service to remember the lives lost when a U.S. military jet crashed into the school 63 years ago killing 18 people. The accident-prone F-100 warplane took off from Kadena Air Base before crashing into the residential neighborhood of Ishikawa and careening into Miyamori Elementary School in what is now Uruma City, on June 30, 1959. The crash involving the U.S. military plane known for its accidents and mishaps, with 47 of its pilots killed in crashes during the aircraft's lifespan, killed 18 people, 11 of whom were children and injured 200 others. The U.S. pilot ejected to safety and sustained no injuries, according to official accounts. The incident sparked outrage in Okinawa at the time, which was still under U.S. rule. During the memorial service Thursday, a moment's silence was observed and some of the 140 students in attendance placed flowers at a monument on which the names of the victims are engraved and rang the "Bell of Peace" that was put in the schoolyard as a memorial, local media reported. Following the memorial service, relatives of those who lost their lives and those who were students at the school at the time of the fatal crash also paid their respects to the departed. During the memorial proceedings, however, local media reported that U.S. military planes could be seen flying near the school. Local residents in Okinawa have for decades been forced to shoulder the burden of hosting the majority of U.S. bases in Japan and have often been subjected to a steady flow of accidents and mishaps involving U.S. military aircraft. They have also had to endure U.S. base-linked workers' criminal activities, which have included heinous cases of rape and murder. The Okinawa prefectural government and local citizens, as a result of their base-hosting hardships, remain staunchly opposed to the central government's ongoing push forward with the contentious relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps. Air Station Futenma in Ginowan to a coastal region also on the island. The overall plans for the new base involve at least 157 hectares of land being reclaimed from pristine waters off the Henoko area and the building of a V-shaped runway. The plans stem from a pact made between the U.S. and Japan in 1996, with the coastal region of Henoko being selected as the replacement site for the Futenma base in 1999. The local and central governments have long been at odds over the relocation of the base, with Okinawans calling for the new base to be relocated outside of their prefecture or Japan altogether. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Okinawa's return to Japan from post-war U.S. rule, but many locals still feel occupied by U.S. forces, due to the overwhelming number of U.S. bases and troops still there. KABUL, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Afghansitan's Jirga, or grand assembly, of religious scholars and elders which opened Thursday would last for three days to discuss a variety of issues ranging from stabilizing security to strengthening national unity, the caretaker government's chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. "All participants of the Jirga, which opened this morning, expressed their support for the administration and continued enhancing security in the country," Mujahid told reporters at a press briefing. Without providing more details on the agenda of the jirga, Mujahid noted that the outcome of the jirga would be shared with the media at the end of the gathering. Earlier in the morning, the state-run Bakhtar news agency reported that some 3,500 religious scholars had been invited to the jirga. Participants of the jirga expected to discuss a series of issues including reopening schools for girls from grade 7th to grade 12th, the type of government, the national flag, and the national anthem. The Taliban-run administration, which has yet to win international recognition, has banned women from working outside home except in the health sector and restricted education for girls above grade 6th until further notice. KABUL, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The first-ever Jirga or grand assembly of Afghan religious scholars and elders under the Taliban-run administration will open here in Kabul on Thursday, the state-run Bakhtar news agency reported. About 3,500 religious scholars and elders from across the country have been invited to attend the three-day jirga, the news agency added. Participants of the jirga are expected to discuss reopening schools for girls from grade 7th to grade 12th and issues like the type of government, national flag and national anthem. By Azernews By News Center The approval by the EU of the word "Turkaegean" for use as a trademark by Turkiye for tourist marketing aroused outrage in Greece, Yeni Shafak reports. Turkiye, which promotes Turkish beaches in the Aegean as part of its tourist program, got the "Turkegean (Turkish Aegean)" name rights from the European Union Intellectual Property Commission (EUIPO) in 2021. The commission's approval of Turkiye's decision to utilize the "Turkish Aegean Sea" term from December 2021 to July 2031, caused political outrage in Greece. Many people across the country, from academics to politicians, reacted to the EU's decision and made statements targeting the government. George Katrougalos, a deputy of the opposition Radical Left Coalition, blasted the Mitsotakis administration, noting that the decision was "unacceptable". Greek government spokesman Giannis Oikonom, on the other hand, stated that Turkiye will not create a brand on which it has exclusive rights, and announced that they will object to the decision. TOKYO, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Ongoing concerns over a blackout in Tokyo were further raised on Thursday as a thermal power plant in northeast Japan was taken offline due to a technical glitch, as the mercury in the heatwave-hit capital soared to levels not seen in June in almost 150 years. The operator of the Nakoso coal- and oil-fired power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, Joban Joint Power Co., said at around 3:00 a.m. local time the plant's No. 9 unit was shut down after a ventilator was found to be vibrating. The plants operator said it aims to bring the plant back online and will restart supplying power to its service area, which covers a sizable expanse of eastern Japan including Tokyo, by Thursday evening. Japan's industry ministry said there was no imminent risk of a blackout even as demand for power in Tokyo surged as temperatures hit 36.4 degrees Celsius, the highest on record for June since 1875 when record-keeping began, Japan's weather agency said. The government for a fourth straight day has issued an advisory warning for Tokyo and surrounding areas of a possible power crunch if businesses and residents don't follow the required measures to conserve energy. Specifically, the industry ministry warned that a surge in demand for air-conditioners amid the steering heat could lead to a power shortage. As wide-swathes of the country are experiencing a scorching heatwave, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and environment industry issued a "heatstroke alert," strongly advising people to stay hydrated and remove masks when outside in both eastern and western Japan. The JMA said that the mercury topped the 35 degrees Celsius in areas north of Tokyo, including Saitama and Gunma Prefecture, while the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said 4,551 people were hospitalized for heatstroke or heat exhaustion nationwide for the week ended Sunday. The figure, it said, was quadruple that of heat-related illnesses logged the same period a year ago. NEW DELHI, June 30 (Xinhua) -- At least eight people were killed and over 50 others missing after a massive landslide hit India's northeastern state of Manipur, local media reports said Thursday. The landslide has completely blocked a river flowing through Tamenglong and Noney districts. According to officials, the Ezei river, originating from Senapati district, has been blocked due to a massive landslide near Noney bazaar, around 50 km north of Imphal, the capital city of Manipur. "At least eight people were killed and over 50 are missing after a massive landslide hit the 107 Territorial Army (TA) camp in Noney district of Manipur early Thursday morning," a local newspaper Indian Express quoting officials said. "Seven of those dead were TA men and one was a Railways worker engaged in the construction of the Imphal-Jiribam railway project." The landslide hit Tupul yard railway construction camp where TA men were guarding a major railway line construction site. The local government is yet to confirm the death toll. However, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief over the loss of lives in the incident. "Spoke to Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and reviewed the situation due to a tragic landslide. Assured all possible support from the Centre (federal government)," Modi said in a brief statement posted on social media. Singh has visited the landslide-hit area to oversee the rescue operations, a local government spokesman said. MOSCOW, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Norwegian Charge d'Affaires Solveig Rossebo over Norway's decision to block the delivery of goods to Spitsbergen, the ministry said in a statement Wednesday. Rossebo was informed about the "unacceptable situation around the delivery of cargos to Spitsbergen blocked by the Norwegian side that were designated for the operations of the Arktikugol federal state unitary enterprise on the archipelago," the foreign ministry said. As a result of the Norwegian restrictions imposed against Russian transport on the Russian-Norwegian border in April, vital goods such as food and medical equipment, which are necessary for the normal functioning of the enterprise and Russia's Consulate General on Spitsbergen, are being blocked, according to the ministry. Russia demanded that Norway "resolve the issue as soon as possible," pointing out that such hostile actions would "inevitably lead to appropriate retaliatory measures." MADRID, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The 2022 Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) wrapped up here on Thursday amid mounting criticisms of the military alliance's increasingly aggressive and destabilizing security policies unveiled at the meeting. Twenty-two NATO members on Thursday agreed to launch the NATO Innovation Fund, a multi-sovereign venture capital fund that will invest 1 billion euros (1.05 billion U.S. dollars) in startups and other venture capital funds developing emerging technologies for both civilian and military use. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at the fund's signing ceremony that it would help transform NATO's security environment and strengthen its innovation ecosystem. The fund's launch is the latest in a long list of provocative security policies adopted at the two-day NATO meeting. NATO leaders on Wednesday agreed to strengthen the alliance's forward defenses, enhance the bloc's battlegroups on its eastern flank and increase the number of high readiness forces to over 300,000. On the same day, they approved the military bloc's new strategic concept, which calls Russia the "most significant and direct threat" to NATO's security and unjustly accuses China of posing "systemic challenges." NATO also invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance on Wednesday. In an explicit move to meddle in the regional affairs of the Asia-Pacific, NATO invited the leaders of Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand to attend its summit for the first time. The four Asia-Pacific countries held a four-way meeting on the sidelines of the NATO Summit to discuss strengthening ties with the alliance. The United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea also held a trilateral meeting on the sidelines to discuss issues related to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. While Stoltenberg insisted that the NATO meeting was focused on "transforming and strengthening" the alliance for the security of its members, analysts and officials from non-NATO countries have said that NATO is inciting bloc confrontation with an outdated Cold War mentality. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Thursday condemned NATO's new strategic concept, saying the document distorts facts, smears China's foreign policy, makes irresponsible remarks on China's normal military development and national defense policy, encourages confrontation and conflicts, and is full of Cold War mentality and ideological bias. Zhao added that NATO claims to be a regional and defensive organization, but in fact, it has been transgressing regions and fields, constantly waging wars and killing civilians, and now NATO has extended its reach to the Asia-Pacific region in an attempt to export the Cold War mentality. Gilbert Achcar, a professor of development studies and international relations with the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, told Xinhua on Thursday that NATO's new strategic concept shows the alliance is "going far beyond the area of NATO into the Asia-Pacific." "NATO has always been used by the United States as a tool to perpetuate its hegemony," Achcar added. "The United States is trying to push Europe to take part in its own policies, including in East Asia." Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Madrid, the United States and many other European countries this week to protest against the alliance and call for peace. HOUSTON, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of migrants found on Monday inside a sweltering 18-wheeler in San Antonio, a major city in south central U.S. state Texas, has risen to 53 after two more migrants died, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office on Wednesday. Of the dead, 40 were male and 13 were female, the office said. Authorities said the tragedy saw the highest ever death count from human trafficking near the U.S.-Mexico border. Francisco Garduno Yanez, the head of Mexico's National Immigration Institute, told a press conference on Wednesday that at least 27 victims were from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala and two from El Salvador. Three victims' nationalities remain unknown. The tractor trailer with fake plate was carrying 67 migrants, said Garduno. The driver of the vehicle, identified as Homero Zamorano, 45, has been taken in federal custody after he abandoned the vehicle in a desolate area and fled the scene, according to the San Antonio Express News. Two other men, both Mexican citizens, were charged on Tuesday with possessing firearms while residing in the United States illegally, according to court documents and U.S. authorities. Police arrested them at an address in San Antonio listed on the tractor-trailer's registration. Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott told another press conference on Wednesday that the state will immediately start additional truck checkpoints to target trucks like the one found in San Antonio. The state will deploy two strike teams, each consisting of 20 troopers, to high-traffic crossing areas, said the governor. Hours after the migrants were found dead in the truck on Monday, Abbott blamed the deaths on what he called U.S. President Joe Biden's "deadly open border policies." "Exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful, as is political grandstanding around tragedy," Biden said in a statement on Tuesday. The president said initial reports showed that the tragedy was caused by smugglers or human traffickers. Death is a constant risk for undocumented migrants entering Texas, said a report by The Texas Tribune, noting that in 1987, 2003 and 2017, groups of migrants died of heat and dehydration in Texas after being trapped in stifling containers. According to the report, hundreds more die alone or in smaller groups as desperation drives them to take fatal risks. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it encountered a record number of 239,416 people along the U.S.-Mexico border in May. The latest tragedy is "another sign that America lacks a humane, sensible immigration policy," the Wall Street Journal has commented. WASHINGTON, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in at noon on Thursday to formally become an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, making her the nation's first African American woman to serve in that role. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the constitutional oath for Jackson while Associate Justice Stephen Breyer administered the judicial oath, in a ceremony before a small gathering of her family at the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill. Jackson, in a statement, said that she will administer justice "without fear or favor." The ceremony was streamed live on the homepage of the Supreme Court's website. A formal investiture ceremony will take place at a later date, according to the court. It came a day after Breyer, who had served in the Supreme Court since 1994, announced he would step down from the Supreme Court bench on Thursday. The 83-year-old liberal announced his retirement from the court early this year. U.S. President Joe Biden announced in late February the nomination of Jackson, 51, to succeed Breyer. It was one of the veteran Democrat's major promises to fill a potential Supreme Court vacancy with an African American woman. The U.S. Senate confirmed Jackson in a 53-47 vote in April, with three Republicans joining 50 Democrats and independents in supporting Biden's nomination of her for the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the final appellate court of the U.S. judicial system, with the power to review and overturn lower court decisions, and is also generally the final interpreter of federal law, including the country's constitution. Since the Supreme Court was established in the United States in 1789, 116 justices have been confirmed to the bench. Of them, 108 are white men and only six are women, including Jackson. The justices have life tenure and can serve until they die, resign, retire, or are impeached and removed from office. WASHINGTON, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in at noon on Thursday to formally become an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, making her the nation's first African American woman to serve in that role. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the constitutional oath for Jackson at the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill, while Associate Justice Stephen Breyer administered the judicial oath in a ceremony before a small gathering of her family. The ceremony was streamed live on the homepage of the Supreme Court's website. A formal investiture ceremony will take place at a later date, according to the court. It came a day after Breyer, who had served in the Supreme Court since 1994, announced that he would step down from the Supreme Court bench on Thursday. The 83-year-old liberal announced his retirement from the court early this year. The one actor that Indian fans have been waiting to see for perhaps such a long time has made an entry in Miss Marvel. I am talking about Farhan Akhtar. Ever since the news of Farhan making an entry to MCU was heard, fans were waiting to see him in Miss Marvel. This wait ended with the fourth episode of the series. Farhan Akhtar has made a smashing entry in the fourth episode of Miss Marvel. Not only that, but he has also been seen in an action avatar. In this episode, Kamala Khan has reached Karachi in Pakistan with her mother Muniba (Zenobia Shroff) on the call of her maternal grandmother. Here, Kamala has also seen the train station where her maternal grandmother Sana (Pakistani actress Samina Ahmed) along with her father Hasan (Fawad Khan) reached Karachi by the last train since the Indo-Pak partition. In the meantime, Kamala met Karim alias Red Dagger (Aramis Knight). "My name is Waleed." Check out @FarOutAkhtar and Aramis Knight in a brand new episode of Marvel Studios' #MsMarvel, streaming tomorrow on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/x9V7CrPJlc Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) June 28, 2022 Let me tell you that Karim is taking Kamala to his partner Walib (Farhan Akhtar), who has told him that his powers are different from those of other jinns or Clandestine. On the other hand, Najma (Nimra Bucha) and her accomplices also reached Karachi, after which we all got to see a great fight sequence. Farhan Akhtar's role in this episode is small but leaves a big impression. In this episode of Miss Marvel, you will also see Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, but his scene is so short that if you do not pay attention, then you can miss him. The horrific incident with rapper Lil Tjay in the middle of the night Angelina Jolie's daughter's dance goes viral on social media, everyone is praising her Photo of amber square leaked after defamation case At the fourth India-Japan Cyber Dialogue on Thursday, the two countries discussed cybersecurity cooperation. India, Japan reviewed the recent developments in cybersecurity and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), including 5G, and highlighted key areas for bilateral cyber cooperation. The Japanese delegation was led by Yutaka Arima, Ambassador led by Cyber Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the Indian delegation was led by Muanpuii Saiawi, Joint Secretary, Cyber Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs. Senior representatives from the MEA, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, the National Security Council Secretariat, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Department of Telecommunication, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, and the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Center made up the Indian delegation. Senior representatives from the MoFA, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication, Ministry of Defense, National Centre of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity (NISC), Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs were part of the Japanese delegation. The next India-Japan Cyber Dialogue will take place in 2023, as agreed by both parties. NZ PM calls for democratic nations to stand strong Israel: Parliament dissolves, FM Yair Lapid to be PM China to see 520 mln railway trips during upcoming summer travel rush By Trend Chairman of the Majilis has signed a decree on convocation of a joint session of the Parliament chambers, Trend reports citing Kazinform. As the press service of the Majilis informed, the session will take place on June 30, 2022, at 10:00 in Nur-Sultan. ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has denied claims made by Indian media that Islamabad was somehow involved in the murder of a Hindu tailor in the city of Udaipur. According to Samaa TV, the Foreign Office in Islamabad released a statement in reaction to information about the murder inquiry that was carried out in a section of the Indian media. The Foreign Office was cited as stating, "We have observed reports in a section of the Indian media relating to investigations into the murder case in Udaipur, mischievously seeking to link the accused individuals, who are Indian citizens, to a group in Pakistan." "Such allegations, which are characteristic of the BJP-RSS-led Indian regime's attempts to defame Pakistan, particularly by externalising their internal issues through finger-pointing at Pakistan, are categorically rejected by us. Such wicked tactics, whether made in India or overseas, will not be successful in deceiving the populace." In a heartbreaking event on Tuesday, a tailor was hacked to death in his shop on a busy street in Udaipur while it was still up for business for defending the now-suspended BJP spokeswoman Nupur Sharma's inflammatory remarks about the Prophet on social media. Urfi Javed furious over Udaipur murder, shared video and said this Urfi Javed furious over Udaipur murder, shared video and said this Udaipur Row: 'Radicalisation is spreading', says Owaisi KIEV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to a NATO summit via video link, calling for increased financial and military support for Ukraine, the presidential press service reported. Volodymyr Zelensky said in his speech on Wednesday that Ukraine needs artillery to stand up to Russia on the battlefields and artillery missiles as well as air defense systems to safeguard its cities. He added that his nation needs close to USD 5 billion per month for defence and security, emphasising the need for financial support for Ukraine on par with aid in the form of weaponry. The head of Ukraine also urged NATO members to maintain their sanctions against Russia and support Ukraine's security. Zelensky emphasised that "we need security assurances" and that "you have to create a place for Ukraine in the common security space." On June 28, a three-day NATO summit began in Madrid, Spain. Chinese envoy calls for NATO not to fan block confrontation using Ukraine crisis NATO reaches deal with Turkey to admit Sweden, Finland Thousands of protesters gather in Madrid to oppose NATO summit The International Displacement Monitoring Centre estimates at least 32,000 people remain displaced in Nepal due to disasters and climate change impact, as of December 31, 2022. While the most disastrous incidents remain the recurring earthquakes in 2015 that led to the rise of internally displaced persons by 2.6 million, 8,400 others remain displaced due to regular monsoon impacts. While the persons affected by the armed conflict in the country were provided durable solutions, there is a lack of policies providing protection to internally displaced persons (IDPs) affected by climate change. It needs to change immediately. Internally displaced persons People of Dhye in Upper Mustang have had to time and again relocate due to factors related to climate change. Photo: Dewa Apples Internally displaced persons (IDPs), according to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, are persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalised violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognised state border. In Nepal, such people are neglected by the state. The representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on the Human Rights Council also states, Internally displaced persons in Nepal have been largely overlooked and neglected. With the 2015 earthquake leaving a mark on Nepals geography, climate change patterns in the Himalayan region, upscaling landslides and flood risks, will fuel internal displacements in the future. Internally displaced persons in Nepal: Law vs limitations In 2007, the National Policies on Internally Displaced Persons were adopted after the end of the Nepali civil war. The policies run parallel to the UN Guiding Principles, stipulating that the state shall not cause displacement, except for development projects which are to be operated for national interests. It further creates an obligation on the state to provide compensation to the internally displaced persons, rehabilitating them on a voluntary basis and special protection against displacement for marginal groups. Additionally, the right against eviction from the house owned by the citizens and effective remedies are granted under Article 37(2) of the Constitution of Nepal and the Civil Rights Act, 2012. The constitution further creates a negative obligation on the government to not acquire, requisition or create an encumbrance on the property of any person, except in public interest. The right of internally displaced persons to return, family reunifications, and the right to security were also recognised and granted under the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Accord. However, the National Policies of Nepal do not hold the status of legislation, which does not guarantee the governments adherence to the obligations prioritising the rights of IDPs. There is a further gap in overviewing new displacements and climate change risks. Nepal also lacks any comprehensive registration of IDPs in Nepal as well as any systematic monitoring of population movements. With Nepal constantly lacking in integrating data, the people most vulnerable to climate shocks and forced to be displaced due to natural disasters are not recognised. Rights vs responsibilities Climate change has had a major impact on Nepals farming industry. While the constitution may recognise certain basic rights of displaced persons, potential risks of vulnerable communities are not acknowledged and acted against. For example, in the aftermath of the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, the government of Nepal, working in collaboration with UNICEF, stopped an estimated 245 attempts of trafficking or illegal placement of children in care facilities. Child trafficking to India was already a problem prior to the earthquake. It is foreseen that the governments capacity is lacking in distributing humanitarian aid to displaced citizens on time in a substantive manner. While resources shape migration experiences, there is an immediate need to have provisions distinguishing migrants with and without enough resources before an apprehension of natural disaster/climate change response. The lack of such segregation causes migrants without resources to struggle for security and livelihood opportunities while others will be arbitrarily granted resources they did not require. As reiterated by the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, human rights problems and violations faced by internally displaced persons in Nepal are related to poor security and protection; discrimination; inadequate food, shelter, healthcare or access to education for children; a lack of personal and property identification documents; and gender-based violence, sexual abuse and increased domestic violence. Therefore, separate legislation to fill the lacunae for internally displaced persons affected by climate change and natural disasters is an immediate requirement for the country. The country sits at the convergence of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, making it prone to earthquakes, further causing potential risks of landslides. While preventing internal displacement during armed conflict is notoriously difficult, it is comparatively easier to determine the cyclical nature or geographical area of natural disasters, which can be used to avoid disaster displacement. Such provisions can further benefit in considering specific needs and risks people may face due to displacement caused by future disasters which shall make a comprehensive mechanism to adequately address the needs of the internally displaced persons in such situations. Women-only cattle camp empowers female ranchers Media Contact: Gail Ellis | Editorial Communications Coordinator | 405-744-9152 | gail.ellis@okstate.edu Oklahoma State University Extension hosted its first-ever OSU Cattlewomens Boot Camp in June. The three-day event, reserved exclusively for women, provided hands-on demonstrations for managing a cattle operation. Its important that we recognize the role women have on the ranch, said Donna Patterson, OSU Extension director and ag educator for Rogers County. A lot of the time, women will say their husbands do a lot of the work, but they are vital to the operation. We need to empower women in the ranching business. Fifty women of all ages from across the state attended the boot camp in Chickasha to learn what is required of ranchers throughout the year to achieve a profitable and successful cattle operation. Women walked through hands-on activities, such as vaccinations, ear tagging and parasite control as well as body condition scoring, vaccine handling and implanting. Other sessions included information and tutorials on reproduction, forage and forage management, record keeping and estate planning. There are more women working in different sectors of agriculture these days, and this camp gives them an extra chance to work on some of their skills, said Dana Zook, northwest area livestock specialist for OSU Extension. Women sometimes work alone in their particular part of the industry, and its good to know other people are out there doing the same thing. OSU Extension Cattlewomen's Boot Camp June 6-8, 2022 Chelsey Hollie of Amber, Oklahoma, said she appreciated how the camp gave her and her peers an opportunity to build upon the cattle skills and knowledge many of them acquired at an early age. Our farm has been mostly run be men since I was a kid. My grandpa, dad and husband did most of the work, and I wanted to do more, Hollie said. I like the confidence the camp gives you to ask questions and feel like youre in a like-minded group. A registered veterinary technician, Hollie is interested in quality assurance and navigating the financial aspects of an operation. The information she received at OSUs camp is current, comprehensive and related directly to current market trends that will help her family meet its business goals. My husband and I run a small farm and are partners in all things, she said. The more I can help him, the more we work together as a team. In addition to basic knowledge needed to effectively run a cow-calf operation, each camp participant received a copy of the OSU Beef Cattle Manual to reference at home on the ranch. I feel like Im a pretty strong part of our cattle operation, but this camp makes it a lot easier to ask questions and not feel like youre being overstepped, said Zoe Heath of Roosevelt, Oklahoma. Another advantage of the camp designed strictly for women is the sense of comradery it creates among participants as women network and create new friendships within Oklahomas beef industry. Its a safe environment where everybody is learning and can take home a new practice that makes their life easier and more efficient, Patterson said. The event was a collaborative effort among OSU Extension specialists statewide who have hosted a cow-calf boot camp for several years. Patterson said organizers plan to continue offering a separate event for cattlewomen Watch the cattlewomen in action on SUNUP, a production agriculture television show from OSU Agriculture. To learn more about future cattlewomen boot camps at OSU, contact J.J. Jones, OSU Extension southeast area district agricultural economics specialist, at 580-332-7011 or jj.jones@okstate.edu. * EU, New Zealand end four years of negotiations * EU set to benefit from export of manufactured goods * New Zealand secures larger beef, dairy quotas (Adds details of deal, trade commissioner, MEP) By Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS, June 30 (Reuters) - The European Union and New Zealand completed negotiations on Thursday for a free trade agreement that could boost the flow of goods and services by 30% and highlights Europe's push for alliances to make up for its business withdrawal from Russia. EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said the deal sent an important "geopolitical signal" and stressed the European Union would seek further partnerships. "It's clear that we need to diversify away from Russia ... (and) look for new markets, supply chains and so forth and this is exactly what this deal contributes too," Dombrovskis told reporters. A majority of EU members have urged the Commission, which oversees trade policy, to accelerate the conclusion of trade agreements to avoid others taking its place. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it had taken 14 years since the idea of a trade agreement was first floated. Negotiations began in mid-2018 and, for the EU, the deal will put the bloc's trade with New Zealand on a par with countries that already have a trade pact with New Zealand, notably those of the 11-nation CPTPP Asia-Pacific deal. It will also see it partially catching up with former EU member Britain, which has signed trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, although they are still to enter force. The agreement will remove tariffs on a wide range of products and be the first struck by the EU to include potential sanctions for violations of environmental or labour standards, a concept it only proposed last week. Tariffs will fall for EU exports such as clothing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and cars, as well as wine and confectionary. The EU will increase by 10,000 tonnes its quota of New Zealand beef, a sensitive area for France in particular, as well as raising volumes for lamb, butter and cheese. Story continues "It's probably fair to say that no one likes it, so we must have got it about right," New Zealand trade minister Damien O'Connor said, half-joking, when asked about the compromises made during tough, final talks. The deal may enter force in 18-24 months, subject to approval by the European Parliament and EU governments, a process which has in cases dragged on for years. Bernd Lange, chair of parliament's trade committee that will scrutinise the deal, called it a good day for trade, with a deal that was one of the most progressive on labour rights and the environment. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Marine Strauss, Mark Heinrich and Alison Williams) Acuity Brands, Inc. Marcia J. Avedon Photo Marcia J. Avedon, Ph.D., Acuity Brands, Inc. Board Member Atlanta, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ATLANTA, June 30, 2022 Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) (the Company) announced today that, effective June 29, 2022, the Board of Directors (the Board) approved an increase in the size of the Board from 10 to 11 members and elected Marcia J. Avedon, Ph.D. as an Independent Director. Dr. Avedon will serve on the Governance and Compensation and Management Development Committees. She will serve for a term that will expire at the Companys next annual meeting of stockholders. Dr. Avedon most recently served as Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources, Marketing and Communications Officer for Trane Technologies PLC, where she was responsible for all global human resource and reputation management strategies and functions. Dr. Avedon has over two decades of expertise in leadership development, talent and succession management, executive compensation, brand building, organizational development, corporate governance, Environmental, Social and Governance strategies, and large-scale organization and culture changes. Neil M. Ashe, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, commented, We are pleased that Dr. Marcia Avedon has agreed to join our Board. She has strategic business experience in the industrial space and has demonstrated consistently that she can build companies that compound shareholder wealth. We look forward to having her expertise in human capital, communications, and public affairs on our Board as we continue our progress on our business transformation. About Acuity Brands Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) is a market-leading industrial technology company. We use technology to solve problems in spaces and light. Through our two business segments, Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls (ABL) and the Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG), we design, manufacture, and bring to market products and services that make a valuable difference in peoples lives. We achieve growth through the development of innovative new products and services, including lighting, lighting controls, building management systems, and location-aware applications. Story continues Acuity Brands, Inc. achieves customer-focused efficiencies that allow the Company to increase market share and deliver superior returns. The Company looks to aggressively deploy capital to grow the business and to enter attractive new verticals. Acuity Brands, Inc. is based in Atlanta, Georgia, with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. The Company is powered by approximately 13,500 dedicated and talented associates. Visit us at www.acuitybrands.com. # # # Investor Contact: Charlotte McLaughlin Vice President, Investor Relations (404) 853-1456 investorrelations@acuitybrands.com Media Contact: Candace Steele Flippin Chief Communications Officer candace@acuitybrands.com Attachment Companies finalize termination with an agreed-upon settlement fee of $55M to be paid to Akebia Akebia to assume responsibility for regulatory review processes previously led by Otsuka CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: AKBA), a biopharmaceutical company with the purpose to better the lives of people impacted by kidney disease, today announced that it has executed an agreement to terminate the U.S. and ex-U.S. vadadustat Collaboration and License Agreements with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Otsuka). As part of the termination, Otsuka has agreed to pay Akebia a settlement fee of $55 million. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: AKBA), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for people living with kidney disease (PRNewsfoto/Akebia Therapeutics, Inc.) As a result of the termination of the agreements, Akebia is regaining the rights from Otsuka for vadadustat, an investigational oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor, in the United States, Europe, China, Russia, Canada, Australia, the Middle East, and certain other territories. "We continue to believe in the potential of vadadustat as an oral treatment for patients with anemia due to chronic kidney disease, and we are pleased to be regaining the full rights to the product in these important markets," said John Butler, Chief Executive Officer of Akebia. "Otsuka has been a strong partner for many years, and we appreciate their desire to have an efficient transfer of the responsibilities back to Akebia. We plan to continue to pursue approval for vadadustat to make it available to patients in these territories, and we are excited about the potential additional value this brings to Akebia, as we continue to work to build the company into the future." In October 2021, Otsuka submitted an initial marketing authorization application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for vadadustat for the treatment of anemia associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in adults. The review is in progress. Otsuka and Akebia will coordinate to transfer the MAA to Akebia through processes outlined by the EMA. Vadadustat is also under review in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Australia through the Access Consortium. Responsibilities for that review will transfer to Akebia as well at a date to be agreed upon. Story continues In the U.S., Akebia received a Complete Response Letter from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for vadadustat. Akebia plans to evaluate and determine potential next steps for vadadustat in the U.S. following the end of review conference with the FDA. In the U.S., Akebia separately has a distribution agreement in place with Vifor Pharma, providing potential access to up to 60% of U.S. dialysis patients through existing Vifor Pharma relationships. Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation owns development and commercialization rights to vadadustat in Japan and certain other Asian counties. About Akebia Therapeutics Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company with the purpose to better the lives of people impacted by kidney disease. The Company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit our website at www.akebia.com, which does not form a part of this release. About Vadadustat Vadadustat is an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor designed to mimic the physiologic effect of altitude on oxygen availability. At higher altitudes, the body responds to lower oxygen availability with stabilization of hypoxia-inducible factor, which can lead to increased red blood cell production and improved oxygen delivery to tissues. Vadadustat is an investigational new drug and is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On March 29, 2022, the FDA issued a complete response letter to Akebia's New Drug Application for vadadustat for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD). Vadadustat is currently under review by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of anemia due to CKD in adults. In Japan, vadadustat is approved as a treatment for anemia due to CKD in both dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis dependent adult patients. About Anemia due to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Anemia is a condition in which a person lacks enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to the body's tissues. It commonly occurs in people with CKD because their kidneys do not produce enough erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that helps regulate production of red blood cells. Anemia due to CKD can have a profound impact on a person's quality of life as it can cause fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath and cognitive dysfunction. Left untreated, anemia leads to deterioration in health and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in people with CKD. Forward Looking Statement Statements in this press release regarding Akebia Therapeutics, Inc.'s ("Akebia's") strategy, plans, prospects, expectations, beliefs, intentions and goals are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: Akebia's belief in vadadustat as an oral treatment for patients with anemia due to chronic kidney disease; Akebia's plans to pursue approval for vadadustat to make it available to patients in the U.S., Europe, China, Russia, Canada, Australia, the Middle East and certain other territories and the associated value that would bring to Akebia; Akebia's future plans with respect to its strategic growth and operating plans, including as they relate to next steps for regulatory submissions outside of the U.S. and plans to evaluate and determine potential next steps for vadadustat in the U.S. following the end of review conference with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"); and the number of U.S. dialysis patients that could be accessed as a result of the distribution agreement in place with Vifor Pharma. The terms "believe," "plan," "potential," "will," "continue," derivatives of these words, and similar references are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Actual results, performance or experience may differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement as a result of various risks, uncertainties and other factors, including, but not limited to, risks associated with: the implementation of the provisions of the termination agreement with Otsuka, including the ability of Akebia to pursue regulatory approval outside the U.S.; decisions made by health authorities, such as the FDA and the European Medicines Agency, with respect to regulatory filings, including the New Drug Application for vadadustat; the potential therapeutic benefits, safety profile, and effectiveness of vadadustat; the impact of the workforce reduction on Akebia's business; the ability of Akebia to attract and retain qualified personnel; Akebia's ability to implement cost avoidance measures and reduce overhead costs; the direct or indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on regulators and Akebia's business, operations, and the markets and communities in which Akebia and its partners, collaborators, vendors and customers operate. Other risks and uncertainties include those identified under the heading "Risk Factors" in Akebia's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, and other filings that Akebia may make with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the future. These forward-looking statements (except as otherwise noted) speak only as of the date of this press release, and, except as required by law, Akebia does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Akebia Therapeutics is a registered trademark of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. Akebia Therapeutics Contact Mercedes Carrasco mcarrasco@akebia.com Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/akebia-therapeutics-regaining-rights-to-vadadustat-in-the-united-states-europe-china-and-access-consortium-countries-upon-termination-of-collaboration-and-license-agreements-with-otsuka-301579109.html SOURCE Akebia Therapeutics Bone Therapeutics SA REGULATED INFORMATION Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium, 30 June 2022, 7am CEST BONE THERAPEUTICS (Euronext Brussels and Paris: BOTHE), the cell therapy company addressing unmet medical needs in orthopedics and other diseases, today announces an increase in the total number of voting rights and shares as a result of the issuance of new shares following the conversion of convertible bonds (CBs) issued on 9 June 2022. The following information is published in accordance with Article 15 of the Belgian Law of 2 May 2007 on the publication of major shareholdings in issuers whose shares are admitted to trading on regulated market. Total amount of share capital on 7 December 2021 EUR 4,923,999 Total number of shares with voting rights on 7 December 2021 21,310,520 Total number of new shares issued on 22 June 2022 185,185 Total amount of share capital on 22 June 2022 EUR 4,966,591 Total number of shares with voting rights on 22 June 2022 21,495,705 Total number of voting rights (denominator) on 22 June 2022 21,495,705 Total number of attributed warrants 1,197,554 Total number of convertible bonds outstanding 809 Total number of remaining CB commitments 90 Total number of shares with voting rights that can be issued following the exercise of the attributed warrants and CB commitments, and the conversion of the convertible bonds 20,918,278 (1) (1) 1,197,554 shares could be issued in case all 1,197,554 attributed warrants were exercised. 285,714 shares could be issued in case all 800 convertible bonds outstanding, issued in the private placement on 6 May 2020, were converted into shares based on the predetermined conversion price of EUR 7.00. 19,435,010 shares could be issued in case all 90 CB commitments subscribed and all 9 convertible bonds outstanding of the ABO CB program signed on 30 May 2022 were exercised and converted into shares based on the conversion price of EUR 0.2547 (95% of the Volume-Weighted-Averaged-Price of Bone Therapeutics shares on 28 June 2022). Story continues About Bone Therapeutics Bone Therapeutics is a leading biotech company focused on the development of innovative products to address high unmet needs in orthopedics and other diseases. Currently Bone Therapeutics is concentrating specifically on the development of its most advanced clinical asset, the allogeneic cell therapy platform, ALLOB. Bone Therapeutics core technology is based on its cutting-edge allogeneic cell and gene therapy platform with differentiated bone marrow sourced Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs) which can be stored at the point of use in the hospital. Its leading investigational medicinal product, ALLOB, represents a unique, proprietary approach to bone regeneration, which turns undifferentiated stromal cells from healthy donors into bone-forming cells. These cells are produced via the Bone Therapeutics scalable manufacturing process. Following the CTA approval by regulatory authorities in Europe, the Company has initiated patient recruitment for the Phase IIb clinical trial with ALLOB in patients with difficult tibial fractures, using its optimized production process. ALLOB continues to be evaluated for other orthopedic indications including spinal fusion, osteotomy, maxillofacial and dental. Bone Therapeutics cell therapy products are manufactured to the highest GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) standards and are protected by a broad IP (Intellectual Property) portfolio covering ten patent families as well as knowhow. The Company is based in the Louvain-la-Neuve Science Park in Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium. Further information is available at www.bonetherapeutics.com. For further information, please contact: Bone Therapeutics SA Miguel Forte, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer Tel: +32 (0)71 12 10 00 investorrelations@bonetherapeutics.com For Belgian Media and Investor Enquiries: Bepublic Bert Bouserie Tel: +32 (0)488 40 44 77 bert.bouserie@bepublicgroup.be International Media Enquiries: Image Box Communications Neil Hunter / Michelle Boxall Tel: +44 (0)20 8943 4685 neil.hunter@ibcomms.agency / michelle@ibcomms.agency For French Media and Investor Enquiries: NewCap Investor Relations & Financial Communications Pierre Laurent, Louis-Victor Delouvrier and Arthur Rouille Tel: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 bone@newcap.eu Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this press release are forward-looking, which reflect the Company or, as appropriate, the Company directors current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. A multitude of factors including, but not limited to, changes in demand, competition and technology, can cause actual events, performance or results to differ significantly from any anticipated development. Forward looking statements contained in this press release regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. As a result, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any update or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this press release as a result of any change in expectations or any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based. Neither the Company nor its advisers or representatives nor any of its subsidiary undertakings or any such persons officers or employees guarantees that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does either accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Executive promotions are part of organizations continued strategic global growth strategy Victor Escandon Boyden promotes Victor Escandon to Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer Chris Swee Boyden promotes Chris Swee to Chief Marketing Officer New York, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Boyden, a premier leadership and talent advisory firm with more than 75 offices in over 45 countries, announces the promotions of Victor Escandon from Chief Financial Officer to Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer and Chris Swee from Global Head of Marketing to Chief Marketing Officer. The promotions were announced at Boydens annual World Conference held in Chicago earlier this month. In his new role, Victor will broaden his responsibilities in guiding Boydens portfolio of investments, particularly as it relates to the operations of internal investments. In addition, he will continue to drive efforts to accelerate a proactive business partnership with Boyden offices by accessing and allocating capital, as well as playing a key role in strategy resourcing and implementation. As CMO, Chris assumes wider responsibility for Boydens global marketing platform inclusive of digital initiatives, social media, thought content and innovations to differentiate Boydens brand and position in the market. He will also play an important role in architecting and implementing a communications plan based on the firms newly endorsed strategy. Boyden President and CEO Trina Gordon commented, "It is important to recognize the outstanding efforts of Victor and Chris as we continue to evolve our global firm, ensure continuity of leadership as well as continue our efforts to provide the highest levels of services and support to our offices, practices, partners and all our global clients. I want to also extend my appreciation to the entire Boyden World Corporation team for their continued professionalism and commitment to our firms future." About Boyden Boyden is a premier leadership and talent advisory firm with more than 75 offices in over 45 countries. Our global reach enables us to serve client needs anywhere they conduct business. We connect great companies with great leaders through executive search, interim management and leadership consulting solution. Boyden is ranked amongst the top companies on Forbes Americas Best Executive Recruiting Firms. For further information, visit www.boyden.com. Story continues Attachments CONTACT: Chris Swee Boyden 9147470172 cswee@boyden.com Cyware's MSSP Cyber Fusion and MSSP Collective Defense Portfolio Provides CyberQ Groups Customers with Actionable Threat Intelligence, Threat Hunting Services, and Incident Response Capabilities to Thwart Advanced Attacks SINGAPORE, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cy ware, the industry's leading provider of platform-agnostic Cyber Fusion Centers with next-gen SOC (NG-SOC) capabilities, is announcing a partnership with Cyber Q Group, an award-winning cybersecurity solutions and service provider. CyberQ Group joins a distinguished group of solution providers, managed security service providers (MSSPs), and systems integrators in the Cyware Technology Partner Program , helping customers make smarter decisions and minimize risk. The new partnership with Cyware enables CyberQ Group to enhance its world-renowned services and its Cyber Security Operations Center of Excellence with MSSP Cyber Fusion and MSSP Collective Defense capabilities. Cyware's Cyber Fusion and Collective Defense solutions for MSSPs will help CyberQ Group deliver advanced managed security services that will enable customers to combine, analyze, and autonomously share threat intelligence for greater threat visibility while fostering threat response collaboration. CyberQ will leverage Cyware's modular cyber fusion center technology platform to deliver client-centric customized security services that involve real-time contextual alerting, vendor-agnostic orchestration gateway, and threat management workflows spanning cloud-based and on-premise environments. "The global threat landscape is fierce, which, combined with a shortage of cyber professionals, creates a perfect storm. Increasingly, organizations are finding it challenging to build a mature cybersecurity posture with their in-house capabilities," said Gary C Tate, Vice President of Sales for the Asia Pacific and Japan at Cyware. "Together, CyberQ Group and Cyware will bring advanced threat investigation, triaging, and alerting capabilities to enterprises and government bodies. Cyware's next-gen cyber fusion solutions, along with the expertise of CyberQ, will help bring together siloed security operations, operationalize threat data more efficiently, and enable threat response collaboration." Story continues "Assumptions made on cyber and data security are constantly challenged by IT leaders and industry movers and shakers. With such a high level of scrutiny, we are driven to maintain our cyber solutions as breach-free. Over the years, we have developed a sterling reputation as the benchmark standard for preventing data breaches, speed of response, and restoring systems that organizations measure themselves against. And now we are more than thrilled to bring these standards to the Asia Pacific especially the Philippines." - Roberto Tayag, CEO of the Asia Pacific. "With our partnership with Cyware, we have not only enhanced our existing services but also added advanced services that will truly differentiate our customer offerings." Cyware's Cyber Fusion Center platform delivers an integrated, automated, and modular solution for bi-directional threat intelligence sharing, comprehensive case and workflow management, and unified orchestration and automation. It allows MSSPs to offer small, mid-market, and large enterprises unparalleled security services, including Cyber Fusion-as-a-Service, Threat Intelligence Platform-as-a-Service, Threat Intelligence-as-a-Service, and Threat Hunting Services, among others while enabling faster response times, better SLAs and better outcomes. For MSSPs, the solution differentiates their services in a busy marketplace and allows them to do more with fewer analysts, freeing up resources to deliver new services that the Cyware MSSP platform enables, increase their market reach, and protect their customers. About CyberQ Group Security CyberQ Group is a world-renowned cyber expert trusted by leadership teams for cyber intelligence, strategy, and operational capability. We pride ourselves on taking global organisations from a reactive, technology-based approach to embedding cyber protection at the very core of their organisation. CyberQ Group offers the following specialist cyber services: Cyber Fusion Centre, where CyberQ Group's Cyber Security Operations Centre of Excellence and fully qualified security professionals provide the most advanced AI-driven cyber services available. Cyber Due-Diligence, where CyberQ Group monitors the surface, deep and dark web to identify data and intellectual property theft or brand misuse and reputation damage. Human Reconnaissance, where CyberQ Group provides a digital footprint of the employee to understand behaviour and personality traits, fraudulent activity, and identifying vulnerabilities exposed on social media and the deep and dark web. Established in 2016, CyberQ Group's global team of cyber and business professionals has decades of combined experience within the cyber and technology sectors. We believe even the most daunting challenges can be overcome through collaboration, innovative technology, and great people. We bring together the best of all these components, keeping your business better protected. The result? Improved business risk profile, significant operational cost savings, and long-term peace of mind. Learn more at https://cyberqgroup.com/ About Cyware Cyware helps enterprise cybersecurity teams build platform-agnostic cyber fusion centers with next-gen SOC (NG-SOC) capabilities. Cyware is transforming security operations by delivering the cybersecurity industry's leading Cyber Fusion Center Platform with next-generation SOAR (security orchestration, automation, and response) technology. As a result, organizations can increase speed and accuracy while reducing costs and analyst burnout. Cyware's Cyber Fusion solutions make secure collaboration, information sharing, and enhanced threat visibility a reality for MSSPs, enterprises, government agencies, and sharing communities (ISAC/ISAO) of all sizes and needs. https://cyware.com/ Media Contact: Geraldine Chong geraldine.chong@cyware.com SOURCE Cyware By Trend Uzbekistan and Spain considered prospects for expanding cooperation, Trend reports via the Uzbek Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade. In this regard, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov received the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Spain to the Republic of Uzbekistan with residence in Moscow, Marcos Gomez Martinez. During the dialogue, the current state and prospects for intensifying investment, trade and economic cooperation between the two states were discussed. Emphasizing the results of bilateral economic partnership, and this is a twofold increase in mutual trade and an almost twofold increase in the number of joint ventures in Uzbekistan observed over the past 5 years, the parties recognized the significant untapped potential for further expansion of cooperation. In particular, there are great opportunities for the implementation of joint projects in agriculture, textile industry, energy, infrastructure construction, and the production of building materials. As a result of the meeting, further steps were agreed to promote the discussed initiatives and areas of cooperation. Element Materials Technology LONDON, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Element Materials Technology (Element), a leading global Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) company, has appointed Dr. Elisabeth Lackner as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). In the newly created CSO role, Dr. Lackner joins the Operating Board ensuring that Element is positioned at the leading-edge of scientific thinking. She will be tasked with driving technical excellence and ensuring continued scientific rigor across the global business of more than 7,000 colleagues, with a focus on accelerating growth and services across Life Sciences. Life Sciences now represents the largest end-market for Element. Element has invested over $400M over the last three years to build out its expertise and capability for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical customers, expanding to a team of more than 1,000 experts across 23 facilities in North America and Europe. This significant step change in pharmaceutical and medical testing capabilities from Element forms part of its broader strategic shift to increase its global presence and create leadership positions in Life Sciences and Connected Technologies end-markets. Dr. Lackner is a highly experienced pharmaceutical and biotechnology executive and well-respected global thought leader. She joins from Vineta, a family office focusing on long-term investments in Life Sciences, where she served as Managing Director. Prior to this she led the merger of ABF Pharmaceutical Services and GBA Group Pharma, serving as the CEO of the GBA Pharma Division. As CEO, she turned the company from a national vendor into an international trusted partner for the Pharma and Biotech industries. Dr. Lackner also serves as a QP (Qualified Person) and is a respected consultant in the life sciences industry. She holds a PhD in Pharmacy from the University of Vienna and a masters in Tumor Biology. She holds external positions on several boards, including Marinomed and Rivean Capital. Story continues Were delighted to welcome Elisabeth to the leadership team of Element. Elisabeth joins us at a time of significant international expansion. She will play a key role in our ambitious growth strategy to support customers in the pharma, medtech and life sciences markets, said Jo Wetz, CEO, Element. In her new role as Chief Scientific Officer, Elisabeth will help us respond and mobilize to global trends affecting this industry, combining her scientific expertise and proven leadership skills. She joins an experienced international team, as we continue to grow both organically and through strategic M&A. Dr. Elisabeth Lackner commented: It is exciting to be part of such an ambitious and professional team embarking on building new global offerings across a broad range of services in the life science industry, including research and development, diagnostics, analytical testing, manufacturing, regulatory assurance, calibration, and validation. I am looking forward to supporting customers throughout the lifecycle of their technology and products, from discovery and biopharma testing, to materials testing and manufacturing. With the ever-greater significance of advances in medical science and the importance of pharmaceutical and medical device development and commercialization, Element is ideally positioned to play an even greater role in supporting our customers across life sciences and beyond. Elisabeth will help Element to create a global platform for Life Sciences, with integrated support for the medicinal product and medical device industries. Element currently offers a wide range of services, including drug discovery; Biopharma testing (including E&L, microbiology and virology testing); environmental monitoring, calibration and validation; consumer product testing; medical device testing (including materials testing, E&L, microbiology, sterility, EMC and product safety); CRO services (including antimicrobial therapy development, central laboratory capabilities and bioanalytic testing); CDMO; and formulation services. Over the past three years Element has successfully acquired and integrated several life science focused businesses, including ALG, Avomeen, Arch Sciences, Impact Analytical, Orthokinetic, Nanosyn JMI Laboratories and Clinimark. More information is available at www.element.com/life-sciences. For a high-resolution image of Dr. Elisabeth Lackner, please contact element@mc-services.eu End About Element The Element Materials Technology Group is one of the worlds leading global providers of testing, inspection and certification services for a diverse range of products, materials and technologies in advanced industrial supply chains where failure in use is not an option. Headquartered in London, UK, Elements c 7,000 scientists, engineers and technologists, working in our global network of over 200 laboratories, support customers from early R&D, through complex regulatory approvals and into production ensuring their products are safe, sustainable and achieve market access. In 2021, Element set out its new, industry leading environmental commitments, adopting science-based targets and committing to net zero emissions across its entire global business by 2035. These environmental commitments follow Elements achievement of the highest ESG ranking in the testing, inspection and certification industry from Sustainalytics, a global leader in ESG research and data. For more information about Element, please visit our website, connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter and subscribe to our Youtube channel. Contact Element Materials Technology Lee Andrews E: Lee.Andrews@element.com Media contacts MC Services AG Raimund Gabriel T: +49 89 210228 0 UK : Shaun Brown M: +44 7867 515 918 E: element@mc-services.eu * Inflation in Brazil seen decelerating - central bank * Colombia seen hiking by 150 bps to 7.5% * Chilean peso set for worst quarter since Q2 2008 By Susan Mathew and Devik Jain June 30 (Reuters) - Brazil's real slumped 1% on Thursday, leading declines across Latin American peers as risk appetite took a hit at the end of a turbulent first half, while Colombia's peso slipped ahead of what could be the highest single interest rate hike in 24 years. Worries about the fallout from an ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and surging inflation causing aggressive central bank moves, have kept investors jittery so far this year. With a recession across major markets becoming more probable as central banks stay hawkish, risk assets may be in for more pain. MSCI's index of emerging market stocks is down about 18% since the beginning of the year, its worst first half since at least 2008. Its currencies counterpart's 4% slide is its worst since the first six months of a pandemic ravaged 2020 . In Latam, Brazilian presidential elections in October are seen as a significant source of volatility, especially as current far-right President Jair Bolsonaro trails in polls. The Brazilian government's spending cap was raised to accommodate stimulus during the COVID-19 pandemic, but worries remain as Bolsonaro tries to win back support. Brazil's Senate is set to vote on Bolsonaro's pre-election spending package on Thursday. Meanwhile, Brazil's central bank expects 12-month inflation to decelerate to 11.31% in August from 11.73% in May, in line with its expectation that inflation will have peaked. "At the moment, the narrative is the Brazilians themselves don't see a lot of inflationary pressures... then the dollar is not necessarily guaranteed to have a long term positivity against the real," said Juan Perez, senior currency trader at Monex USA. The real was on course for a near 10% quarterly slide, compared with a 1.4% slide in the Mexican peso. Crude producer Colombia's peso lost 0.6% on Thursday ahead of a central bank decision later in the day. The bank is seen hiking by 150 basis points to 7.50%. Colombia's leftist President-elect Gustavo Petro picked Jose Antonio Ocampo to be finance minister in his government. Ocampo has a PhD in Economics from Yale and has previously served in the same position. "It may be a positive thing for the for the country that Petro is choosing a very mixed cabinet. So that in long term will help the Colombian peso," Said Monex's Perez. The recent fall in commodity prices as well as protests in Chile and Peru hurting copper production saw currencies of the world's top exporters of the red metal have taken a hit. The Chilean peso is on course for its worst quarter since the second quarter of 2008, down 16%. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1433 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 999.54 -1.35 MSCI LatAm 2031.95 -1.72 Brazil Bovespa 98111.03 -1.52 Mexico IPC 47267.94 -1.65 Chile IPSA 4965.49 -0.88 Argentina MerVal 87190.58 -1.067 Colombia COLCAP 1347.07 0.01 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.2426 -1.01 Mexico peso 20.1625 -0.26 Chile peso 933.2 -0.77 Colombia peso 4131.6 -0.58 Peru sol 3.7889 -0.43 Argentina peso 125.2100 -0.13 (interbank) (Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Zieminski) By Huw Jones and Tom Wilson LONDON (Reuters -Cryptocurrency companies will need a licence and customer safeguards to issue and sell digital tokens in the European Union under groundbreaking new rules agreed by the bloc to tame a volatile "Wild West" market. Globally, crypto assets are largely unregulated, with national operators in the EU only required to show controls for combating money laundering. Representatives from the European Parliament and EU states thrashed out a deal late on Thursday on its Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA) law. "Today we put order in the Wild West of crypto assets and set clear rules for a harmonised market," said Stefan Berger, a German centre-right lawmaker who led negotiations. "The recent fall in the value of digital currencies shows us how highly risky and speculative they are and that it is fundamental to act," Berger said. Crypto markets have tumbled this year as investors worried about rising interest rates, leading to the collapse of the terraUSD stablecoin and the freezing of withdrawals and transfers by major crypto firms Celsius Network and Voyager Digital. Bitcoin, the biggest token, has slumped some 70% since its November record of $69,000, dragging down the overall market. PROTECTING CONSUMERS The landmark regulation confirms the EU's role as a standard-setter for digital issues, EU states said. "Crypto-asset service providers will have to respect strong requirements to protect consumers' wallets and become liable in case they lose investors' crypto-assets," they added. The new law will need formal rubberstamping by the European Parliament and EU states to become law, followed by an implementation period. It gives issuers of crypto assets and providers of related services a "passport" to serve clients across the EU from a single base. Holders of stablecoins - a type of crypto designed to hold a steady value - will be offered a claim at any time and free of charge by the issuer, with all stablecoins supervised by the bloc's banking watchdog. Story continues Robert Kopitsch, secretary general of the Blockchain for Europe lobby group that includes the major exchanges Binance and Crypto.com, said the rules were "a mixed bag" adding the group feared "that stablecoins will basically have no ways to be profitable." However, Coinbase Global Inc, a major global crypto exchange, said in a blog on Friday the comprehensive new framework was "exciting," providing regulatory certainty to the market, and raising industry standards. "A harmonized single set of rules for the entire EU will enable us to invest, accelerate, and scale our growth efforts across the entire bloc." AFME, a financial markets industry body, said the rules would reduce fragmentation and underpin the development of a robust and well-functioning market. More clarity is needed, however, to ensure that custodians of crypto assets are only on the hook in cases of negligence or misconduct, and not for events beyond their control, such as a nation state hack, AFME said. NFT COMPROMISE Many states have long opposed including non-fungible tokens (NFTs), digital assets representing objects from art to videos. But under pressure from EU lawmakers, Thursday's compromise foresees that NFTs will be excluded "except if they fall under existing crypto-asset categories". Brussels will assess within 18 months whether standalone rules are needed for NFTs. National regulators will be responsible for licensing crypto firms, but they will have to keep the EU's securities watchdog ESMA informed about large operators. ESMA will develop standards for crypto companies to disclose information on their environmental and climate footprint. The United States and Britain, two major crypto centres, have yet to approve similar rules. Circle, the company behind the major USD Coin stablecoin called the rules "a significant milestone." "While no comprehensive body of rules is perfect ... it nonetheless provides practical solutions to issues that other jurisdictions are just beginning to grapple with," it wrote in a blog. (Additional reporting by Francesco Guarascio in Brussels and John O'Donnell in FrankfurtEditing by Mark Potter, Jonathan Oatis, Gareth Jones, Paul Simao and David Gregorio) SalMar ASA Frya, 30 June 2022 Reference is made to the stock exchange announcement 30 May 2022 regarding SalMar ASA ("SalMar" or the Company) and Norway Royal Salmon ASA (NRS) having entered into a merger plan for the merger between SalMar as acquiring entity and NRS as the transferring entity (the Merger). An extraordinary general meeting of SalMar was held today on 30 June 2022. The extraordinary general meeting approved all items on the agenda, including the merger plan for the Merger and the share capital increase in connection with the Merger. Minutes of the meeting is attached hereto and made available on the Company's website www.salmar.no . The merger plan for the Merger is also available at the Companys website. For further information, please contact: Linda Litlekalsy Aase, CEO SalMar Tel: +47 900 74 413 Email: linda.aase@salmar.no Gunnar Nielsen, CFO Tel: +47 960 97 005 Email: gunnar.nielsen@salmar.no Hakon Husby, Head of Investor Relations Tel: +47 936 30 449 Email: hakon.husby@salmar.no This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. About SalMar SalMar is one of the world's largest and most efficient producers of salmon. The Group has farming operations in Central Norway, Northern Norway and Iceland, as well as substantial harvesting and secondary processing operations in Norway, at InnovaMar in Frya, InnovaNor in Senja and Vikenco in Aukra. In addition, the company is operating within offshore aquaculture through the company SalMar Aker Ocean. SalMar also owns 50% of the shares in Scottish Sea Farms Ltd. See www.salmar.no for more information about the company. Important information: The release is not for publication or distribution, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, in or into Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States (including its territories and possessions, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia) or any other jurisdiction where such publication or distribution would violate applicable laws or rules. This release is an announcement issued pursuant to legal information obligations and is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. It is issued for information purposes only and does not constitute a notice to a general meeting or a merger prospectus and as such, does not constitute or form part of any offer to sell or purchase, or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities, in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. The securities mentioned herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act"). The securities may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the US Securities Act. Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be distributed or sent into Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States or any other jurisdiction where such distribution would violate applicable laws or rules. Neither SalMar ASA nor Norway Royal Salmon ASA, or any of their advisers assume any responsibility in the event there is a violation by any person of such restrictions. The distribution of this release may in certain jurisdictions be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this release comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. Story continues No adviser of SalMar ASA or Norway Royal Salmon ASA is acting for anyone else than SalMar ASA or Norway Royal Salmon ASA, respectively, and will not be responsible to anyone other than such party providing the protections afforded to their respective clients or for providing advice in relation to any other matter referred to in this release. Forward-looking statements: This release and any materials distributed in connection with this release may contain certain forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they reflect current expectations and assumptions as to future events and circumstances that may not prove accurate. A number of material factors could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Attachment Fortis ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland and Labrador, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fortis Inc. ("Fortis" or the "Corporation") (TSX/NYSE: FTS) will release its second quarter 2022 financial results on Thursday, July 28, 2022. A teleconference and webcast will be held the same day at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern). David Hutchens, President and Chief Executive Officer and Jocelyn Perry, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer will discuss the Corporation's second quarter financial results. Shareholders, analysts, members of the media and other interested parties in North America are invited to participate by calling 1.416.764.8646. International participants may participate by calling 1.888.396.8049. Please dial in 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. No passcode is required. A live and archived audio webcast of the teleconference will be available on the Corporation's website, www.fortisinc.com . A replay of the teleconference will be available two hours after the conclusion of the call until August 28, 2022. Please call 1.416.764.8692 or 1.877.674.7070 and enter passcode 037278#. About Fortis Fortis is a well-diversified leader in the North American regulated electric and gas utility industry with 2021 revenue of $9.4 billion and total assets of $58 billion as at March 31, 2022. The Corporation's 9,100 employees serve utility customers in five Canadian provinces, nine U.S. states and three Caribbean countries. Fortis shares are listed on the TSX and NYSE and trade under the symbol FTS. Additional information can be accessed at www.fortisinc.com , www.sedar.com , or www.sec.gov . A .pdf version of this press release is available at: http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/c3001599-d2d6-4373-beaa-5ad377c64734 For further information contact Investor Enquiries: Ms. Stephanie Amaimo Vice President, Investor Relations Fortis Inc. 248.946.3572 investorrelations@fortisinc.com Media Enquiries: Ms. Karen McCarthy Vice President, Communications & Corporate Affairs Fortis Inc. 709.737.5323 media@fortisinc.com CED grants $200,000 to expand and upgrade Le Cormoran sailing school building in Gaspe. GASPE, QC, June 30, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) Shared public spaces are at the heart of communities across Canada. They draw in residents and visitors alike, supporting local businesses and jobs. In so many places across the country, these spaces have seen a significant reduction in use as Canadians took precautions against COVID-19. Today, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Member of Parliament for GaspesieLes Iles-de-la-Madeleine and Minister of National Revenue, on behalf of the Honourable Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for CED, announced a non-repayable contribution of $200,000 for Gaspe's Club nautique Jacques-Cartier under the Canada Community Revitalization Fund (CCRF). The organization will thus be able to upgrade the facilities of its Le Cormoran sailing school. For over 50 years, the Club nautique Jacques-Cartierlocated in the heart of Gaspehas been operating a nautical park with a marina and the Le Cormoran sailing school. Its facilities include a dock, pontoons, and buildings including a harbour office. This CED support will give the community the opportunity to enjoy even more water activities. The building housing the sailing school will be expanded, and other upgrades will be done, including the addition of a cloakroom and a multipurpose room needed for the organization to conduct its activities. The Government of Canada recognizes that community spaces promote social interaction and physical activity. By providing better access to recreational programs and facilities, we are contributing to the well-being of communities, families, and individuals across the country. Our economic recovery is closely linked to the vitality of our local communities and their shared spaces. Quotes "We have helped SMEs resume their operations; it is now time for us to focus on getting people together again and supporting our communities so they can provide spaces where people can meet up and thrive. I am therefore thrilled that we are investing in a project such as this one in Gaspe. Residents can and must be proud of this project to expand and upgrade these facilities, which will undoubtedly revitalize the downtown area." Story continues The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Member of Parliament for GaspesieLes Iles-de-la-Madeleine and Minister of National Revenue "Our support for this project at Gaspe's Club nautique Jacques-Cartier demonstrates our government's commitment to support economic development in communities of every size right across Quebec. The upgrades and waterfront facilities planned for the sailing school will definitely dynamize the Gaspe community. I am especially thrilled that the project has been designed with sustainable development as a focus, drawing on materials that are green, low in energy consumption and low in water use. Bravo on this exciting project supporting Gaspe's development!" The Honourable Pascale StOnge, Member of Parliament for BromeMissisquoi, Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for CED Quick facts The CCRF was launched in June 2021. A total of $500 million has been granted over two years to Canada's regional development agencies (RDAs), including $107 million for CED to invest in shared and inclusive public spaces in Quebec. As public health restrictions ease, the Government of Canada remains committed to investing in shared spaces to make them safer, greener, and more accessible. This in turn will stimulate local economies, create jobs, and improve quality of life for Canadians. This funding helps communities: The CCRF is being deployed under CED's Quebec Economic Development Program (QEDP). CED is a key federal partner in Quebec's regional economic development. With its 12 business offices, CED is present to accompany Quebec businesses, supporting organizations and regions into tomorrow's economy. Associated links Stay connected Follow CED on social media Consult CED's news SOURCE Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions Cision View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2022/30/c8240.html Hammond expands into New Hampshire with purchase of family-owned Brock's BELGRADE, Maine, June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hammond Lumber Company (Hammond) announced today that it has acquired Brock's Building Materials, a third generation, family-owned company located in Rochester, New Hampshire. Hammond is a fourth generation, family-owned building material retailer established in 1953. With the acquisition, Hammond now has nearly 900 employees and 22 locations across Maine and New Hampshire. Left to right: Bethany Hammond, Marketing; Sadie Hammond, Director of Organizational Development; Mike Hammond, President & CEO; Scott Brock, President of Brocks; Connie Brock, Vice President of Brocks; Evan Brock, Purchasing of Brocks; Mary Hammond; and Don Hammond, Executive Vice President "We are incredibly excited to welcome the Brock's family and team. Brock's shares many of the same family-owned values as Hammond Lumber Company and both companies are excited for this new growth opportunity. Scott and Connie Brock felt there was great compatibility between Brock's and Hammond Lumber Company as both companies' success has been built on providing exceptional customer service and taking care of their employees and customers," said Mike Hammond, president & CEO of Hammond. Brock's is a third generation, family-owned and operated business established in 1961 by Maurice and Anne Brock. Brock's has served the seacoast and lakes regions of New Hampshire and southern Maine for more than 60 years. Hammond has offered employment to all of Brock's employees and owners, Scott and Connie Brock, will become branch manager and assistant branch manager of Hammond's new Rochester location. "During the initial phase of integration, our goal is to operate as 'business as usual' for all employees at both companies. We will work collaboratively with the Brock's team with the goal of a seamless integration process for all our employees, customers, and vendors. We expect there to be minimal changes to day-to-day operations for both companies and a continued focus on exceptional customer service," said Mike Hammond, president & CEO of Hammond. Hammond is the largest lumber and building materials retailer throughout Maine and New Hampshire and the 21st largest LBM dealer in the country according to the 2022 LBM Journal 100. The company has received national recognition as the 2020 ProSales Dealer of the Year, as well as receiving the 2021 Best Places to Work in Maine award. Story continues Hammond will continue to employ the Brock's employees bringing the total number of Hammond employees to nearly 900. The company's locations include, Auburn, Bangor, Bar Harbor, Belfast, Belgrade, Blue Hill, Boothbay Harbor, Brunswick, Bucksport, Calais, Camden, Cherryfield, Ellsworth, Damariscotta, Fairfield, Farmington, Greenville, Machias, Portland, Rochester (NH), Rockland and Skowhegan. Based in Belgrade, Hammond has been a family-owned and operated company since 1953. The family legacy continues to grow. Members of the Hammond family who are active in the day-to-day operations include Executive Vice President, Don Hammond; his son, Mike Hammond, president and CEO; and most recently, Mike's daughters Sadie Hammond and Bethany Hammond, fourth generation of the family business. To learn more about Hammond, visit www.hammondlumber.com. About Hammond Lumber Company Hammond Lumber Company was founded in 1953 by Skip and Verna Hammond with a single sawmill in Belgrade, Maine. Today, the fourth-generation, family-owned is one of the largest independent lumber and building material retailers in the northeast with 880 employees and 22 locations across Maine and New Hampshire. Hammond Lumber Company carries a full line of building materials, millwork, kitchen, bath and flooring products, and is a quality manufacturer of eastern white pine. Hammond has multiple Kitchen, Bath & Flooring Design Centers and showrooms, Home Planning Design Centers and millwork showrooms across the State. Hammond is the 21st largest pro dealer and lumberyard in the nation by 2021 sales according to the LBM Journal 100. Recently, the building supply company has received numerous awards, including 2020 ProSales Dealer of the Year, 2021 Best Places to Work in Maine, National Safety Council's 2022 Occupational Excellence Achievement Award and 2021 Industry Leader Award, and NeLMA's 2021 Outstanding Safety Performance Award. Learn more at www.hammondlumber.com. Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hammond-lumber-company-acquires-brocks-building-materials-301578405.html SOURCE Hammond Lumber Company Ivanhoe Electric Inc. NEW YORK, New York, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ivanhoe Electric Inc. (Ivanhoe Electric), a U.S.-based minerals exploration and development company, announced today the closing of its initial public offering of 14,388,000 shares of its common stock at a price of US$11.75 per share. The gross proceeds from the offering were approximately US$169.1 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by Ivanhoe Electric. In addition, Ivanhoe Electric has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,158,200 shares of common stock at the initial public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The shares commenced trading on the NYSE American and the Toronto Stock Exchange on June 28, 2022 under the ticker symbol IE. Ivanhoe Electric intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to fund certain payments to acquire or maintain its mineral and property rights to its material and key mineral properties, to further its metals exploration activities at all of its mineral properties, to construct and deploy additional sets of its Typhoon electrical pulse-powered geophysical surveying transmitter technology, as well as working capital and general and administrative costs. BMO Capital Markets and Jefferies acted as the lead bookrunners for the offering. J.P. Morgan acted as a joint bookrunner for the offering. Raymond James, RBC Capital Markets and Scotiabank acted as co-managers for the offering. The offering was made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from BMO Capital Markets Corp., Attn: Equity Syndicate Department, 151 W 42nd Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10036, telephone: (800) 414-3627, email: bmoprospectus@bmo.com; or Jefferies LLC, Attn: Equity Syndicate Prospectus Department, 520 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022, by telephone: 1-877-821-7388 or by email: Prospectus_Department@Jefferies.com. Story continues A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with, and declared effective by, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Ivanhoe Electric has also obtained a receipt for a final base PREP prospectus filed with the securities commissions or similar securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces of Canada (except Quebec). A copy of the U.S. prospectus and supplemented PREP prospectus containing pricing information and other important information relating to the shares of common stock may be obtained from the underwriters at the addresses set out above and are available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com and the EDGAR website at www.sec.gov/edgar, as applicable, under Ivanhoe Electrics profile. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. About Ivanhoe Electric Ivanhoe Electric is an American technology and mineral exploration company that is re-inventing mining for the electrification of everything by combining advanced mineral exploration technologies, renewable energy storage solutions and electric metals projects predominantly located in the United States. Ivanhoe Electric uses its Typhoon transmitter, an accurate and powerful geophysical survey system, together with advanced data analytics provided by its subsidiary, Computational Geosciences, to accelerate and de-risk the mineral exploration process as well as to potentially discover deposits of critical metals that may otherwise be undetectable by traditional exploration technologies. Through its controlling interest in VRB Energy, Ivanhoe Electric also develops and manufactures advanced grid-scale vanadium redox battery storage systems. Finally, through advancing its portfolio of electric metals projects located primarily in the United States, headlined by the Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona and the Tintic Copper-Gold Project in Utah, as well as projects in Montana, Oregon and North Carolina, Ivanhoe Electric is also well positioned to support American supply chain independence by delivering the critical metals necessary for electrification of the economy. Media Contact Evan Young Vice President, Corporate Development info@ivanhoeelectric.com +1-604-689-8765 Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains statements that constitute forward looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. and Canadian securities laws. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements regarding the use of proceeds from the offering are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on managements beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to various factors, including changes in the prices of copper or other metals Ivanhoe Electric is exploring for, the results of exploration activities, significant risk and hazards associated with mining operations, extensive regulation by the U.S. government as well as local governments; the impact of political, economic and other uncertainties associated with operating in foreign countries, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economy. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements described in Ivanhoe Electrics registration statement on Form S-1, as amended, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and base PREP prospectus filed with Canadian securities commissions. Ivanhoe Electric expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update the forward-looking statements contained in this press release to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which such statements are based unless required to do so by applicable law. No assurance can be given that such future results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. We caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. NEW YORK, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The LNG Carriers Market size is expected to grow by USD 3.16 billion from 2021 to 2026, at a CAGR of 4.43% during the forecast period. The LNG carriers market report also offers information on several market vendors, including BW Group, DSME Co. Ltd., Flex LNG Ltd., GasLog Ltd, Gaztransport and Technigaz SA, Golar LNG Ltd., Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., IMABARI SHIPBUILDING CO. LTD., Japan Marine United Corp., K Shipbuilding Co. Ltd, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., Shell plc, Teekay LNG Partners L.P, and Wartsila Corp. among others. Request sample pages Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled LNG Carriers Market by Type and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Read the 120-page report with TOC on "LNG Carriers Market Analysis Report by Type (Membrane and Moss) and Geography (North America, Middle East, and Africa, Europe, APAC, and South America), and the Segment Forecasts,2022-2026". Get Report Snapshot Market Driver One of the main factors fueling the expansion of the LNG carriers market is the rising demand for natural gas. Due to its higher energy density than CNG, LNG is growing in popularity. It guarantees long-distance travel and makes it possible to store more natural gas in fuel tanks, which is beneficial for cars with more horsepower. Another major market trend for LNG carriers that are fostering industry expansion is a rise in consumer desire for cleaner fuels. However, one of the things preventing the market for LNG carriers from expanding is the fluctuation in oil and gas prices. For additional information related to market growth factors, Request a Sample Report Now! Major Five LNG Carriers Companies: The growing competition in the market is compelling vendors to adopt various growth strategies such as promotional activities and spending on advertisements to improve the visibility of their services. Some vendors are also adopting inorganic growth strategies such as M&As to remain competitive in the market. Story continues The report analyzes the market's competitive landscape and offers information on several market vendors, including: BW Group DSME Co. Ltd. Flex LNG Ltd. GasLog Ltd Gaztransport and Technigaz SA Golar LNG Ltd. Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. IMABARI SHIPBUILDING CO. LTD. Japan Marine United Corp. K Shipbuilding Co. Ltd Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. Maran Gas Maritime Inc. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. Find additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by vendors and their product offerings, Read Sample Report. LNG Carriers Market Geography Outlook (Revenue, USD bn, 2021-2026) North America - size and forecast 2021-2026 Middle East and Africa - size and forecast 2021-2026 Europe - size and forecast 2021-2026 APAC - size and forecast 2021-2026 North America will account for 31% of market growth. The main markets in North America for LNG carriers are the US and Bermuda. The market in this region will expand more slowly than the market in South America. Over the projection period, the market for LNG carriers in North America will develop thanks to the expansion of LNG trade. Do you want to learn about the contribution of each segment of the predictive analytics market? Get an Exclusive Sample Report Related Reports: Crude Oil Desalter Market by Product and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Floating Production Systems (FPS) Market by Type and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 LNG Carriers Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 4.43% Market growth 2022-2026 $ 3.16 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 4.06 Regional analysis North America, Middle East and Africa, Europe, APAC, and South America Performing market contribution North America at 31% Key consumer countries Qatar, Japan, Malaysia, UK, and Greece Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope Key companies profiled BW Group, DSME Co. Ltd., Flex LNG Ltd., GasLog Ltd, Gaztransport and Technigaz SA, Golar LNG Ltd., Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., IMABARI SHIPBUILDING CO. LTD., Japan Marine United Corp., K Shipbuilding Co. Ltd, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Maran Gas Maritime Inc., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Mitsui E&S Holdings Co. Ltd., Nakilat, Petroliam Nasional Berhad, Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., Shell plc, Teekay LNG Partners L.P, and Wartsila Corp. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary 1.1 Market overview 2 Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem 3 Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis 3.3 Market size 2021 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021-2026 4 Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five forces summary 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers 4.4 Threat of new entrants 4.5 Threat of substitutes 4.6 Threat of rivalry 4.7 Market condition 5 Market Segmentation by Type 5.1 Market segments 5.2 Comparison by Type 5.3 Membrane - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 5.4 Moss - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 5.5 Market opportunity by Type 6 Customer Landscape 6.1 Customer landscape overview 7 Geographic Landscape 7.1 Geographic segmentation 7.2 Geographic comparison 7.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 7.4 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 7.5 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 7.6 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 7.7 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 7.8 UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 7.9 Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 7.10 Qatar - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 7.11 Greece - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 7.12 Malaysia - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 7.13 Market opportunity by geography 8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 8.1 Market drivers 8.2 Market challenges 8.3 Impact of drivers and challenges 8.4 Market trends 9 Vendor Landscape 9.1 Overview 9.2 Vendor landscape 9.3 Landscape disruption 9.4 Industry risks 10 Vendor Analysis 10.1 Vendors covered 10.2 Market positioning of vendors 10.3 BW Group 10.4 DSME Co. Ltd. 10.5 Flex LNG Ltd. 10.6 GasLog Ltd 10.7 Gaztransport and Technigaz SA 10.8 Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. 10.9 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. 10.10 Nakilat 10.11 Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. 10.12 Teekay LNG Partners L.P 11 Appendix 11.1 Scope of the report 11.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist 11.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ 11.4 Research methodology 11.5 List of abbreviations About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contacts Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ Technavio (PRNewsfoto/Technavio) Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lng-carriers-market-evolving-opportunities-with-bw-group-and-dsme-co-ltd--technavio-301577785.html SOURCE Technavio The company is one of 25 to stand out for its deep commitment to empowering employees to be their most authentic selves at work. SAN FRANCISCO, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NextRoll , a marketing technology company delivering products ambitious companies use and rely on to grow their businesses, announced today it won Built In's inaugural LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Award , thanks to its inclusive values and LGBTQ+-friendly workplace. Only 25 U.S.-based companies to receive the award highlighting their specific actions taken to create welcoming environments for LGBTQ+ and all employees, empowering their people to be their most authentic selves at work. "We're thrilled to have received the Built In LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Award," said Ngozi Okeh, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at NextRoll. "Our DEI initiatives create an environment where the experiences of marginalized groups are centered and embraced. Our ERGs are spaces where Rollers can explore and grow. RainbowRoll our employee resource group for LGBTQ+ employees and allies is empowered to develop programs and become a strategic partner with NextRoll in shaping our future. I'm proud to be part of the NextRoll community, supporting our journey toward a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive future." An esteemed panel of nine leaders in tech, all advocates themselves, served as Built In's judges. The group reviewed the nominations and chose 25 companies that they believe are the most inclusive for the LGBTQ+ community, having documented strategies to provide an inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ employees and dedicated hiring tactics to attract LGBTQ+ talent. Among NextRoll's array of inclusive benefits, Built In highlighted the company's free employee access to the Calm and Modern Health apps, Roller Recharge Days, and its RainbowRoll employee resource group (ERG). "RainbowRoll's mission is to empower LGBTQ+ employees, educate allies, and support the local community," said Mike Stocker, RainbowRoll's Executive Sponsor and VP of Partnerships for RollWorks, a division of NextRoll. "This recognition from Built In, alongside companies like G2, Chime, John Deere, Dropbox, and Merck, highlights the great work we've been doing to foster an inclusive workplace for LGBTQ+ professionals year-round, not just during Pride Month." Story continues "Being a part of RainbowRoll helped me to find a voice and build confidence," said Skyler Ryan, RainbowRoll Leader and Manager of Global Customer Success for AdRoll, a division of NextRoll. "Prior to joining NextRoll, I was hyper-conscious about the way I presented myself as I was fearful of being 'othered' or seen as different. I think the power of community and the support that ERGs received from leadership really allowed me to bloom." "The winners of our LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Awards Program represent standard bearers for DEI, moving the tech industry closer to the human-centered future of work all people deserve," says Sheridan Orr, Chief Marketing Officer, Built In. "These companies remind us that change is predicated on sustained and substantive action, not just words. We look forward to seeing how they continue to foster DEI for employees in the LGBTQIA+ community and, by extension, for all employees in tech." NextRoll puts a high value on its DEI programming and this year released its 2021 DEI Report that details the various programming and benchmarking it hosts for employees in its AdRoll and RollWorks Business Units, as well as for its corporate team, throughout the year. "DEI is an essential part of our talent acquisition philosophy here at NextRoll," said Jody Atkins, NextRoll's VP of Talent Acquisition. "One of the cornerstones of our strategy is to open the doors to everyone. We want to provide a fair and equitable experience to all candidates." ABOUT NEXTROLL NextRoll is a marketing technology company delivering products ambitious companies use and rely on to grow their businesses. Powered by machine learning and integrated data platforms, NextRoll's technology serves tens of thousands of businesses globally through its business units: RollWorks , an account-based platform for business-to-business marketing and sales teams, and AdRoll , an ecommerce marketing platform for growing direct-to-consumer brands. NextRoll is a privately-held company headquartered in San Francisco, CA. To learn more visit nextroll.com. Contacts: Alyssa Dowdalls Sr. Brand Marketing Manager, NextRoll alyssa.dowdalls@nextroll.com Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nextroll-receives-inaugural-lgbtqia-advocacy-award-from-built-in-301578914.html SOURCE NextRoll Inc. Hong Kong: Science Park gets presidential visit President Xi Jinping, accompanied by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, inspected the Science Park today to learn about the city's innovation and technology development and prospects, and visited a research laboratory under the InnoHK research clusters. Mrs Lam expressed her gratitude for the National 14th Five-Year Plan's positioning of the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into an international centre for science and technology innovation and its clear support for Hong Kong to develop into an international centre for I&T. She noted that Hong Kong will implement the Northern Metropolis Development Strategy, which will accelerate Hong Kong's I&T development and deepen its I&T collaboration with Shenzhen. Secretary for Innovation & Technology Alfred Sit gave a brief introduction on the overall I&T strengths and development in Hong Kong and the fruitful results achieved with an investment of over $150 billion by the current-term Government to proactively promote I&T over the past five years. Mr Sit and Secretary for Development Michael Wong also briefed the President on the two major platforms, the San Tin Technopole and the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area, which will connect with the Shenzhen I&T Zone and the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone, paving the way for Hong Kong's better integration into the national development. President Xi then inspected the Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases under the InnoHK research clusters, the flagship I&T project of Hong Kong. Before concluding the inspection, the President addressed more than 30 representatives of Hong Kong scientific researchers and young entrepreneurs and encouraged them to make greater contributions and strive for excellence. This story has been published on: 2022-06-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. By Trend Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Madrid on Wednesday, Trend reports citing Turkish media. Erdogan noted that Turkiye is working to solve the "grain corridor" problem through a balanced policy. He expressed hope that Ankara's efforts in this direction will bring positive results. Joe Biden, in turn, thanked the Turkish president for his efforts to ensure the export of Ukrainian grain, as well as supporting the applications of Sweden and Finland for NATO membership. HALIFAX, NS, June 29, 2022 /CNW/ - To commemorate Canada Day, the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship and Member of Parliament for Central Nova, and the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, will welcome 49 of Canada's newest citizens. This first-of-its-kind hybrid citizenship ceremony will include candidates participating in person and representing all provinces and territories over Zoom. The oath of citizenship will be administered by Minister Fraser and the ceremony will be co-presided by Citizenship Judges Joan Mahoney and Rania Sfeir. Special Guests: Elder Geri Musqua-LeBlanc Daniel Bernhard, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship The Halifax Multicultural Drummers, The Malaria Warriors Halifax Gay Men's Chorus Andy Fillmore, Member of Parliament for Halifax Date: Friday, July 1, 2022 Ceremony Start Time: 15:00 ADT Location for in person event: Queen's Marque, Courtyard 1715 Lower Water St, Halifax, Nova Scotia Media wanting to attend virtually can join at the following link. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87293976263?pwd=A3yw4cGWjmnO-PAFw3ZXy43lYdBQKC.1 Notes for media: Media are asked to arrive no later than 14:45 p.m. ADT. Media attending in person are asked to wear a medical or cloth mask. Photos from the ceremony will also be available for editing and download after 17 ADT via Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/x0qqwsbbyssb603/AADgAOH7cSEvwotJFMO5XAE4a?dl=0 SOURCE Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Cision View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2022/30/c3092.html Straits Research - Market Research Strategy | Strategy Consulting | Business Research | Business Consulting | Market Research The global signature verification market size was estimated at USD 1,243 Million in 2021. It is predicted to reach a valuation of USD 9,395 Million by 2030 at a CAGR of 25% over the forecast period (20222030). The North American signature verification market will be valued at USD 519 million in 2021. It is expected to reach USD 3597 million by 2030 with a CAGR of 24%. New York, United States, June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Signatures are peculiarly used by authorities such as administrations, corporations, and lending companies to authenticate and authorize payments and documentation. They provide a method of validation that depends on the interactive component of a person's handwritten sign and its properties to back up their assertions. Biometric signature-based detection has lately gained prominence concerning the increasing need for confidentiality, personal validation, and recognition across institutions, enterprises, agencies, and other business establishments. Offline signature verification is ubiquitous in computerized office platforms that confirm cheques, card transactions, partnerships, and historical documents. Additionally, dynamic signature verification, which analyses signatures based on numerous biometric data features such as pace, acceleration, intensity, and physical shape, is gaining traction globally and is expected to have significant market growth in the following years. Get a Free Sample Copy of This Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/signature-verification-market/request-sample Strict Laws and Need for Compliance to Drive Global Signature Verification Market Market Stringent laws and adherence requirements drive the demand for signature verification systems. The administration has recently placed a more extraordinary accentuation on document verification, introducing new rules and regulations aimed at various end-user businesses. Furthermore, governments worldwide are supporting the use of paperless or digital ways of paperwork for multiple end-users to conserve the atmosphere and cut overall material costs. Story continues For example, in May 2020, Australia transferred digital prescriptions for patient healthcare from the doctor to the patient via an encrypted digital exchange, administered by the pharmacy and subsequently claimed through companies. As a result, stricter legislation and rules governing the authentication process and electronic signatures primarily correspond to market growth. The usage of signature verification is likely to expand as there is a rapid transition toward digitalization led by governmental agencies for various end-user enterprises. Buy Now https://straitsresearch.com/buy-now/signature-verification-market/global/ Impact of COVID-19 The pandemic has dramatically boosted fraudulent activity because of the transformation to remote work situations. The risks have increased the demand for document authentication in various parts of the world. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the number of confirmed identity fraud cases in the United States was more than double in 2020. Furthermore, the FTC reported receiving around 1.4 million pieces of data theft in 2020. The increase is being driven primarily by cybercriminals aimed at people the pandemic has financially impacted. With document verification growing increasingly challenging during the outbreak, signature verification hardware or software has aided in the system's automation. Vendors have introduced new product releases throughout the pandemic to fulfill the needs generated by various end-users. For example, in July 2021, Mitek and KYS-tech established an online certificate platform for identification verification in accordance with the pandemic's emergency legislation for officials. Regional Analysis In terms of regions, the Global signature verification market is divided into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World. North America and Asia-Pacific are the two dominant markets. The North American signature verification market will be valued at USD 519 million in 2021. It is expected to reach USD 3597 million by 2030 with a CAGR of 24%. Electronic signature verification has been widely used in the United States in various businesses, including finance, medical, business process outsourcing, and law enforcement agencies. Due to their growing popularity, the government has enacted many rules and procedures to guarantee that digital signature verification is utilized appropriately. The Asia-Pacific signature verification market was valued at USD 347 million in 2021. It is expected to reach USD 2585 million by 2030 with a CAGR of 25%. The growing number of occurrences of falsified signatures in India and China has boosted the demand for signature authentication and verification solutions. Signature fabrication and duplication generate severe policy malfunctions in developing countries such as India. Legal compliance methods such as benefits and pay are diverted to the incorrect people, putting a significant drain on available capital. Furthermore, ZorroSign, an India-based blockchain e-signature solution provider, has released a mobile app for legitimate electronic signature, document fraud, and tampering detection that uses smartphone biometrics to provide a safe user experience. The app may examine and sign documents, make signatures, update a user account, handle contacts, receive quick notifications, and check the integrity of documents. As a result of harmonizing with the vendor, government, and customer operations, the Asia-Pacific area is likely to increase its signature verification use. Get a Free Sample Copy of This Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/signature-verification-market/request-sample Key Insights The global signature verification market was estimated at USD 1,243 Million in 2021. It is predicted to reach a valuation of USD 9,395 Million by 2030 at a CAGR of 25% over the forecast period (20222030). Based on the type of solution, the signature verification software dominated the market and was valued at USD 1297 million in 2021. It is expected to reach USD 9663 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 25%. Software solutions for signature verification protect against fraud and reduce costs. Signature verification software verifies signatures on print documents and online using mobile devices and terminals for various applications. Based on the end-user industry, the financial service segment dominated the market. The financial service segment was valued at USD 669 million in 2021. It is expected to reach USD 4984 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 25%. The financial services segment is one of the major end-user industries adopting signature verification solutions. Global Signature Verification Market: Segmentation By Type of Solution Hardware Software By End-user Industry Financial Services Government Healthcare Transport and Logistics Other By Region North America Europe Asia-Pacific Rest of the World Why rely on the traditional approach to study the market when you have a concise report to make your work easy? We at Straits Research produce high-quality, authenticated, and genuine market reports with in-depth analysis to study each and every aspect of the global market. With our reports, understand the market better through the latest versions of data presentation, unlike the conventional excel sheets and data pointers. Study the market happenings in a more dramatic and exciting way through interactive dashboards and graphical representations, which will make you understand the market easily with approximate facts and figures. Visit Straits Research to get a FREE Sample Report and know-how we interactively present the data, unlike the traditional sheets with immense data that makes it havoc of a task to understand. TABLE OF CONTENT 1 Introduction 1.1 Market Definition 1.2 Market Scope 2 Research Methodology 2.1 Primary Research 2.2 Research Methodology 2.3 Assumptions & Exclusions 2.4 Secondary Data Sources 3 Executive Summary 4 Market Overview 4.1 Report Segmentation & Scope 4.2 Value Chain Analysis: Signature Verification Market 4.2.1 Vendor Matrix 4.3 Key Market Trends 4.3.1 Drivers 4.3.2 Restraints 4.3.3 Opportunities 4.4 Porters Five Forces Analysis 4.4.1 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 4.4.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers 4.4.3 Threat of Substitution 4.4.4 Threat of New Entrants 4.4.5 Competitive Rivalry 4.5 Environment & Regulatory Landscape 4.6 Forecast Factors & Relevance of Impact 4.7 Macro-Economic & Geopolitical Scenario 4.8 Parent Market Overview 4.9 Technology Landscape 4.10 Market Share Analysis 4.11 Potential Venture Analysis 4.12 Regional Price Trends 4.13 Raw Material Trends 4.14 Cost Structure Analysis 4.14.1 Labor Cost 4.14.2 Consumables 4.14.3 Maintenance Cost 4.15 Covid-19 Impact Analysis: 4.15.1 Pre and Post Covid-19 Market Scenario Analysis 4.15.2 Market Recovery Timeline and Challenge 4.15.3 Measures Taken by Top Players 4.15.4 Quarterly Market Revenue and Growth Forecast till 2021 4.15.4.1 North America 4.15.4.2 Europe 4.15.4.3 Asia-Pacific 4.15.4.4 Central and South America and the Caribbean 4.15.4.5 The Middle East and Africa 5 Type of Solution Overview 5.1 Introduction 5.1.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 5.2 Hardware 5.2.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 5.3 Software 5.3.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 6 End User Overview 6.1 Introduction 6.1.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 6.2 Financial Services 6.2.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 6.3 Government 6.3.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 6.4 Healthcare 6.4.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 6.5 Transport and Logistics 6.5.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 6.6 Other 6.6.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 7 Regional Overview 7.1 Introduction 7.1.1 Market Size & Forecast (Value & Volume) 7.2 North America 7.2.1 Economic Overview 7.2.2 Market Scenario 7.2.3 U.S. 7.2.4 Canada 7.2.5 Mexico 7.3 Central and South America and the Caribbean 7.3.1 Economic Overview 7.3.2 Market Scenario 7.3.3 Brazil 7.3.4 Argentina 7.3.5 Colombia 7.3.6 Rest of Central and South America and the Caribbean 7.4 Europe 7.4.1 Economic Overview 7.4.2 Market Scenario 7.4.3 Germany 7.4.4 France 7.4.5 The U.K. 7.4.6 Italy 7.4.7 The Rest Of Europe 7.5 Asia-Pacific (APAC) 7.5.1 Economic Overview 7.5.2 Market Scenario 7.5.3 China 7.5.4 Japan 7.5.5 India 7.5.6 Australia 7.5.7 South Korea 7.5.8 Rest Of APAC 7.6 Middle East 7.6.1 Economic Overview 7.6.2 Market Scenario 7.6.3 South Arabia 7.6.4 The UAE 7.6.5 Qatar 7.6.6 Oman 7.6.7 Turkey 7.6.8 The Rest Of Middle East 7.7 Africa 7.7.1 Economic Overview 7.7.2 Market Scenario 7.7.3 Nigeria 7.7.4 South Africa 7.7.5 The Rest Of Africa 8 Competitive Landscape Manufacturers & Suppliers 8.1 Competition Dashboard 8.2 Industry Structure 8.3 Parascript LLC 8.3.1 Business Overview 8.3.2 Financial Performance 8.3.3 Recent Developments 8.3.4 Portfolio 8.4 Acuant Inc 8.5 Ascertia Ltd 8.6 IBM Corporation 8.7 Jumio Corp. 8.8 Ekata Inc 8.9 SutiSoft Inc 8.10 MitekSystems Inc 8.11 CERTIFY Global Inc 8.12 Scriptel Corporation 8.13 iSignSolutions Inc 8.14 Veriff 9 Conclusion & Recommendation 10 Acronyms & Abbreviations Read the full Report Description with Table of Content and Figure @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/signature-verification-market/toc Market News In June 2021 , HeyTrade, an investing platform, is partnering with Veriff to help ensure compliance and security. Trade makes the process between sign-up and investing straightforward and straightforward, with an added security from Veriff. Trade clients can validate the authenticity of their identity by taking a photograph of their government-issued ID and a selfie. In March 2021 , Acuant partnered with Airside to prioritize privacy in handling biometrics and personal data for mobile identity verification processes, thereby allowing the reopening of travel and public places conveniently and cost-effectively. In July 2020, Parascript released FormXtra.AI 8.0. The solution exhibits NLP-based Full-page Handwriting Transcription and automates business document procedures with significant accuracy, decreases human data entry, and less time-consuming configuration and production management responsibilities. News Media Cloud Robotics: The Future is Here DDoS Protection and Mitigation Market: Trends and Strategies for Vendors in 2022 Have a Look at the Related Research Report Digital Transaction Management Market : Information by Solution (Workflow Automation, Electronic Signatures, Authentication), End-Use (Retail, Healthcare), and Region Forecast till 2030 Digital Signature Market: Information by Deployment (On-Premise, Cloud), Offering (Software, Hardware, Service), and Region Forecast till 2030 Digital Transaction Management Market: Information by Solution (Workflow Automation, Electronic Signatures, Authentication), End-Use (Retail, Healthcare), and Region Forecast till 2030 Behavioral Biometrics Market: Information by Type (Signature Analysis, Keystroke Dynamics, Voice Recognition), by Deployment (On-Premise, On-Cloud), and Region Forecast till 2030 About Straits Research Pvt. Ltd. StraitsResearch is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision-makers. Straits Research Pvt. Ltd. provides actionable market research data, especially designed and presented for decision making and ROI. Whether you are looking at business sectors in the next town or crosswise over continents, we understand the significance of being acquainted with the clients purchase. We overcome our clients issues by recognizing and deciphering the target group and generating leads with utmost precision. We seek to collaborate with our clients to deliver a broad spectrum of results through a blend of market and business research approaches. For more information on your target market, please contact us below: Phone: +1 646 480 7505 (the U.S.) +91 8087085354 (APAC) +44 208 068 9665 (the U.K.) Email: sales@straitsresearch.com Follow Us: LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Don't miss CoinDesk's Consensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12. French lender Societe Generale (GLE) has selected Swiss cryptocurrency custody firm Metaco to work with the banks digital asset subsidiary SG FORGE. The SocGen Metaco partnership will, for now, focus on security tokens, an area of expertise for the bank, which structured the European Investment Banks (EIB) 100 million euro ($103.8 million) digital bond in 2021. SocGens security token focus comes amid the broader context of a forthcoming EU pilot regime exploring regulated security tokens, according to a press release. Over the past couple of years, banks and large custodians have been steadily preparing for a world of digital assets. Switzerlands Metaco is a common denominator for many institutions exploring crypto, most recently with Citigroup (C) (also focused on security tokens), and previously with the likes of BBVA (BBVA), Zodia Custody, DBS and UnionBank Philippines. Metaco CEO Adrien Treccani recalls that at some point last year traditional banks started getting really serious about digital assets, around the time MicroStrategy (MSTR) began buying bitcoin (BTC) and Elon Musk tweeting about crypto. The series of banks that were already working on certain topics suddenly transformed from innovation pilots to concrete go-to market strategies, Treccani said in an interview. You will start seeing a series of announcements involving very big custodians. Its almost FOMO [a fear of missing out] as these large banking players know that their future somehow depends on this capability. Speaking in general terms, Treccani said the French market today is more about security tokenization than cryptocurrencies. Germany, by contrast, is more focused on cryptocurrencies, while the Asian market is moving much faster into decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The American market is heavily regulated, and its only the last 12 months that it has dramatically accelerated, Treccani said. But I would argue cryptocurrencies are very much within scope in general. The Supreme Court delivered a major setback to President Joe Bidens ambitious climate change goals on Thursday, ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency does not have broad authority to curb planet-warming pollution from power plants. The 6-3 ruling erects a significant obstacle to Bidens hopes of addressing global warming through executive branch action barely six months after a Senate stalemate shut down congressional Democrats efforts to pass their biggest-ever climate bill. And the ruling could raise questions about other kinds of regulation where agencies are seeking to use older statutes to address emerging and ongoing social problems, including in health care, telecommunications, finance and other major sectors. In a statement, Biden called the ruling yet "another devastating decision that aims to take our country backwards." Thursdays decision by the conservative majority said EPA cannot take the kind of broad approach that the Obama administration had adopted in regulating greenhouse gases from the nations power plants. And it put the onus on Congress which has been unable to pass major climate legislation since Democrats cap-and-trade bill died 12 years ago to give EPA more authority to fight climate change, if lawmakers wish for the agency to act aggressively. Democrats hopes of passing major climate legislation are on ice since the demise of Bidens Build Back Better plan, which contained more than $500 billion for climate-related efforts last year. And the door for congressional action is narrowing as Republicans are expected to retake at least one chamber in this falls midterm elections. Now, after Thursdays ruling, Bidens options for addressing climate change by using existing laws are dwindling too. The high court said that the Obama administrations 2015 climate rule which attempted to push a wholesale shift of states away from coal and toward natural gas and renewable sources was an unprecedented and unlawful expansion of EPAs power. Story continues Capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible solution to the crisis of the day, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, joined by the five other conservative justices. But it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme in Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act, he concluded. A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body. In her dissent, Justice Elena Kagan said the court had taken a grave step while neutering part of the 1970 Clean Air Act: Today, the Court strips the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the power Congress gave it to respond to the most pressing environmental challenge of our time, she wrote, citing an earlier climate decision. Biden said in his statement that the administration would review the decision and look for ways it can continue regulating greenhouse gases and other forms of air pollution. "While this decision risks damaging our nations ability to keep our air clean and combat climate change, I will not relent in using my lawful authorities to protect public health and tackle the climate crisis," the president said. The Supreme Court had ruled 15 years ago that EPA has regulatory authority over carbon dioxide and other types of pollution driving climate change. But the new, more conservative court ruled Thursday that its power to act aggressively to curb carbon pollution is relatively limited. Scientists have warned that nations are running out of time to avoid the devastating effects of a warming planet, and that governments must take more aggressive steps if they are to live up to their promises under the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The U.S. is the worlds second largest source of greenhouse gas pollution, behind China, and electricity generation is the nations second biggest source of emissions, after transportation. The scope of EPAs authority has been an unanswered legal question since the Obama administration enacted its major power plant rule, the Clean Power Plan, in 2015. That rule was built on a complex scheme aimed at pushing states and utilities to shift away from coal as an electricity source and instead embrace natural gas or renewable energy. The Obama EPA had taken an expansive view of the industry and argued that the rule reflected the utilities ability to shift fluidly among generation sources a unique feature compared with other industries like oil refining or steel mills. It set goals for states to reduce their carbon pollution but offered flexibility on how to meet those targets, saying that would promote the most cost-effective solutions. But West Virginia and other opponents persuaded the Supreme Court in 2016 to block that rule from taking effect. They argued that the Clean Air Act allowed EPA to reduce emissions only through requirements that could be applied directly on-site at individual power plants, and that Obamas rule amounted to a power grab to reshape one of the nations most important industries. The Trump administration then withdrew the Obama rule and wrote a replacement, called the Affordable Clean Energy rule, that required states only to consider certain efficiency improvements for coal-fired power plants. The plan would have achieved few carbon reductions, and it may even have increased emissions from some plants if they became more cost-effective and ran more frequently. But the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down that plan on Trumps last full day in office, finding EPAs legal interpretation to be fatally flawed. That ruling opened the door for Biden to craft a replacement, though few experts saw it as giving EPA carte blanche to issue a rule as sweeping as Obamas. With Thursdays ruling, the Supreme Court stepped in to set limits on the Biden administration rather than waiting to see what kind of rule it would release in the future. In doing so, it relied on the so-called major questions doctrine, an academic term that the majority used in a ruling for the first time. The doctrine allows judges to strike down regulations or agency actions that address questions of vast economic or political significance without explicit authorization from Congress. The high court most recently deployed the doctrine against agencies actions meant to protect public health, including last year when it struck down the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Covid-era eviction moratorium, which it ruled strayed from the mission given the agency by Congress. But Thursdays ruling extended that power to target topics that are in an agencys wheelhouse such as regulation of air pollution from power plants, an area with which EPA has decades of experience. The Biden administration argued that the carbon dioxide emissions trading scheme created by the Obama EPAs Clean Power Plan was lawful, under a section of the Clean Air Act giving the agency broad latitude to regulate air pollution. But the conservative majority didnt buy it. Congress certainly has not conferred a like authority upon EPA anywhere else in the Clean Air Act, Roberts wrote. The last place one would expect to find it is in the previously little-used backwater of Section 111(d). In her dissent, Kagan argued that Congress writes open-ended provisions in laws like the Clean Air Act precisely to empower agencies to act in the face of emerging issues. A key reason Congress makes broad delegations like Section 111 is so an agency can respond, appropriately and commensurately, to new and big problems, she wrote. Congress knows what it doesnt and cant know when it drafts a statute; and Congress therefore gives an expert agency the power to address issueseven significant onesas and when they arise. Although the Supreme Court has barred EPA from using emissions trading in any future rule, the court otherwise declined to explicitly define EPAs authority. That raises the possibility that EPA could seek to require measures that go further than simply improving individual power plants but do not amount to pushing broad shifts toward cleaner energy. However, Roberts noted that this section of the Clean Air Act has only ever been applied to individual pollution sources, potentially a warning shot across EPAs bow. During arguments in February, multiple justices grappled with the practical application of the physical fence line boundary proposed by Republican attorneys general and several coal companies. That standard would limit EPA to enacting plant-level rules, rather than looking at statewide emissions as the Obama administration had done. In her dissent, Kagan argued that the courts majority had stripped EPA of the power granted to it by Congress to address climate change using a method that has been proven to work in the real world. The limits the majority now puts on EPAs authority fly in the face of the statute Congress wrote, wrote Kagan, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer, just hours before the latters retirement. The parties do not dispute that generation shifting is indeed the best systemthe most effective and efficient way to reduce power plants carbon dioxide emissions, she added. Kagan also blasted the majority for not waiting to see what new rule the Biden administration proposed before deciding to constrain EPAs efforts to address climate change. Because whatever EPA proposes for power plants will eventually need to win judicial approval, Administrator Michael Regan has suggested in recent months that the agency was considering inside the fence options, beyond the efficiency improvements that the Trump plan required. Those could include the installation of renewable energy sources on coal plant land. Whatever rule the Biden administration ultimately issues is all but certain to be challenged again though with these restrictions in place, possibly from both sides, as environmentalists stew over the legal limits imposed on EPA. More broadly, Regan has touted a holistic approach to power plant regulations so that utilities can better understand their requirements regarding greenhouse gases, as well as conventional pollutants such as soot and those that cause smog and acid rain, wastewater discharge and disposal of coal ash and other solid waste. Considering those altogether means utilities can decide whether it makes better economic sense to keep investing in aging plants or pivot to cleaner sources, Regan argued. If some of these facilities decide that is not worth investing in and you get an expedited retirement, that's the best tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Regan told reporters in March. EPA is also considering strengthening separate but related Obama-era standards for newly built natural gas plants. The agency in April floated a draft white paper reviewing available technologies that could further reduce emissions in newly built gas-fired plants, which could potentially lead to stronger regulations. There is wide agreement in the energy sector that U.S. power companies will not build any new coal plants, because of the economic downsides but utilities continue to construct new gas capacity. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that 21 percent of new power capacity installed in 2022 will be natural gas-fired, with major plants under construction in Florida and the Rust Belt. From filming jets soaring between 12,000-foot mountains in the Cascades to capturing a dynamic sailing sequence in San Francisco, the production team behind Top Gun: Maverick scoured remote regions of the West coast working hand-in-hand with the Navy to realize the scripts lofty vision to the big screen. The decision-makers behind the movie, which joined the billion-dollar club over the weekend, gathered Wednesday to talk about the logistics of shooting the blockbuster. The Hollywood insiders discussed the movie at a brunch honoring the industrys top physical production pros during a multiday networking event from June 27 to June 30 hosted by the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI), a group made up of more than 300 commissioners on six continents. The brunch, a joint effort between AFCI and The Hollywood Reporter, saw a turnout of dozens of productions executives across the major studios, who chatted over quiche, fruit platters and pastries. More from The Hollywood Reporter Featured in the panel was Lee Rosenthal, president of physical production for Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon as well as Top Gun: Maverick executive producer Tommy Harper, location manager Mike Fantasia and aerial coordinator Kevin LaRosa. The conversation, which was moderated by THR editorial director Nekesa Mumbi Moody, covered the scouting of filming locations to partnering with the Navy to shoot the movie. We had to quickly formulate a plan to get our feet in the door in California, Harper said. But the one thing we all talked about in speaking to the Navy is that we had to figure out where the jets were. You dont want to set up shop somewhere and then travel to the jets. You want to be where the jets are and manipulate the shoot and schedule accordingly. We were thankful that we could shoot the whole film all in California and a little bit in Nevada and Washington. Story continues Once he figured out where the jets were, Fantasia detailed scouting distinct geographic areas for each flying sequence that was made available to the production by the Navy. You dont just fly F-18s at a 650,000 miles per hour anywhere, he said. So we looked at military operating areas and saw how some fit well for the script and some didnt. We melded the script and the locations, and we ended up flying a lot in the Death Valley area. That was for one part of the sequence. And then we flew out of Fallon for a couple of other sequences. Then we went north to Whidbey Island to fly in the Cascades, which is probably aerial wise, the most challenging place because youre flying in deep, deep valleys 12,000-foot mountains around you. If theres a problem, its going to be a while before they find you because youre in the middle of nowhere. Fantasia added that the Navy was instrumental during the scouting process to see how filming of the jets would translate to the big screen. He recalled, We would say Geez, its great to get [a view of the] landscape, but itd be great to see the jet there. The Navy would say Get up there tomorrow and well fly over.' Rosenthal observed that director Joseph Kosinksi actually shot two movies an air story and a ground story. On the logistics of splitting up filming into the two categories, Harper said, We kind of devised production schedule. Okay, were going to shoot the ground story like every other movie is shot with a full crew. And then we had our aerial crew We got it down to such a fine, detailed amount of people maybe 70, which is not that many people whod travel when we shot aerials. We scaled down as efficiently as we could to shoot the aerial story separate from the ground. The panelists recalled an instance when they had to change the production schedule and relocate when an aircraft carrier couldnt leave the port it was docked in. We had to pivot, Harper said. We had to figure out something for two days. We didnt shut down. We had to crane decommissioned planes onto the carrier overnight so we can film the next day and get hundreds of extras on the carrier. We kept the crew on the carrier sleeping dockside, so we never shut down. We were always maneuvering. Harper noted that shutting down production was never an option. He added, Theres no insurance for this type of thing. You know youre going to spend money to get jets out of depo. You know youre spending money on a crane operator. I dont know how much money that is. I do know its a lot cheaper than shutting down. But the insiders said the carrier malfunctioning wasnt even the biggest obstacle of shooting the movie. That honor, they said, went to the sailing scene from Jennifer Connellys character. According to them, the problem was that there was no wind at a harbor in San Pedro where it was initially supposed to be shot. They ended up deciding to move the scene to shoot in San Francisco. Asked about why the movie resonated with viewers, LaRosa said the production spared no expense and never settled for mediocrity. Heres the Top Gun rule that I love: Theres always an aircraft behind the lens, he said. Theres always a subject aircraft. Theres always a pilot flying it. Click here to read the full article. Turkey blocks access to Deutsche Welle, Voice of America for not getting licenses -official FILE PHOTO: Voice of America building in Washington ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's RTUK media watchdog has blocked access to U.S.-based Voice of America and German broadcaster Deutsche Welle for not applying for the licenses it requests, a member of the watchdog said on Thursday. In February, Deutsche Welle and Voice of America (VOA) said they would not apply for licences in Turkey as requested by RTUK under the country's media regulation law, which critics say aims to increase censorship. Ilhan Tasci, an RTUK board member from the main opposition CHP, said on Twitter that access to Deutsche Welle's Turkish-language service, DW Turkce, and VOA had been blocked by a court decision. "Access to DW Turkce and Voice of America, which did not apply for licenses, has been blocked by the Ankara Criminal Court of Peace, upon the request of the RTUK board," Tasci said. "Here is your freedom of press and advanced democracy!" he added. The vast majority of Turkey's mainstream media outlets are seen as close to the government, with coverage favouring President Tayyip Erdogan and his allies. Turks have increasingly resorted to alternative outlets, some foreign-owned, and social media for news. RTUK, whose policymaking board is dominated by Erdogan's AK party and its allies, frequently fines broadcasters that are critical of the government. The debate on a draft bill on media laws that was dubbed "censorship bill" by critics was postponed until parliament reopens in autumn, an AKP deputy, Mahir Unal, said this week. Turkey is also among the top jailers of journalists globally and has frequently been criticised by Western allies and rights groups over its human rights record. They have also accused the Erdogan government of using a failed military coup in 2016 as a pretext to muzzle dissent. The government denies this and says the measures it takes are necessary due to the gravity of the threats Turkey faces. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; Editing by Matthew Lewis) The George Washington Regional Commission on Monday approved awarding a $2 million affordable housing grant to Caroline County Habitat for Humanity. The grant is part of $40 million that Virginia Housing is making available to the states 21 planning districts for affordable housing developments. The $2 million that is available to Planning District 16which includes Fredericksburg and the counties of Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline and King Georgeis tied to the creation of 20 affordable housing units for those making less than 80 percent of the Area Median Income as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Caroline Habitat plans to combine the $2 million with funding from the United States Department of Agriculture 523 Mutual Self-Help and 502 Direct Loan programs to build 20 single-family homes in Caroline by June 2024, according to a press release from the county. At least 12 of the homes will be constructed under the mutual self-help program, by which families group together to contribute 65 percent of the labor to build each others homes. The sweat equity provides the down payment on the homes mortgage. Another of the homes will be built and sold at cost to a disabled veteran who uses the USDA 502 Direct Loan or a Veterans Administration Loan. Carpentry students at Caroline High School will help with the construction of the house. Jason Tickle, director of Caroline Habitat, said the plan is for the remainder of the 20 homes to be built by for-profit developers, following a basic design provided by the nonprofit. Caroline Habitat will use its loan packaging services to obtain USDA loans that will make these homes affordable for families that classify as low- or very low-income according to the USDA. Tickle said a family of four with an annual income of $70,000 will qualify for the loans. If you make that, we can get you enough of a loan that one of our for-profit partners can build you a home and it will be affordable, he said. Its a way for us to get more folks into a home who maybe cant use the self-help loan program. Tickle said involving for-profit builders in the affordable housing market will go further in solving the housing crisis. I really believe, and one of the things Ive talked about consistently, is if were going to try to make a dent in this affordable housing problem, we have to get more for-profit builders involved, he said. Tickle said the plan is to break ground on the first five houses this summer. Four of the homes will be located in the town of Bowling Green and the fifth in the Milford area. The GWRC reviewed six proofs of concept for projects that would increase the stock of affordable housing in the region, commission executive director Chip Boyles said. Caroline Habitat and Fredericksburg Habitat were the two organizations to submit full applications for the $2 million grant. The applications were reviewed by a committee made up of regional stakeholders and were scored based on project feasibility, support from local governments, team capacity, supporting special needs, project readiness, and innovation, Boyles said. The two proposals were similar, Boyles said, but Caroline Habitats application was selected based on it being the project more ready for start and completion. The GWRC board last fall voted against accepting the $2 million grant from Virginia Housing, citing concerns about whether the amount would be able to accomplish much given the rising cost of land, government interference in the housing market and the possibility of too much of the grant going toward overhead. After hearing more about what other planning districts have done with the grant money, commission members decided in early November to request proofs of concept for local projects and then reconsider accepting the grant money. Tickle said the community rallied in support of accepting the grant money from Virginia Housing. It was really amazing to see, from elected officials to other organizations in the area just saying: we have nonprofits in the region that can deliver these homes, he said. There were a lot of good concepts presented that showed that there is capacity and interest in the community and once everybody saw the different options, I think it was an easy decision to move forward. Were just really happy and excited that this went down. 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 Fredericksburg man charged with first-degree murder in the city made another unsuccessful attempt Wednesday to be released on bond. Jacquin Norman Davis, 45, is accused of killing 39-year-old Chinonso Ibe on June 26 last year in the 100 block of Wellington Lakes Drive. Ibe died from a single gunshot wound to the chest. According to evidence presented at a preliminary hearing, Davis and Ibe had been arguing over the phone that day. A witness testified that Davis was upset about Ibe talking to his girlfriend. Ibe, who had been drinking, eventually got his pregnant girlfriend to drive him to Davis home. He had been knocking on Davis door for several minutes when Davis drove up. During the ensuing confrontation, Ibe was shot. Ibe also had a gun, according to the evidence. Defense attorney Eugene Frost argued Wednesday that Ibe was the one who came to Davis home while armed. Someone was going to die that day, said Frost. Frost also pointed out that one of the reasons prosecutors cited in a previous bond hearing were pending drug charges in Stafford against Davis. Those charges have since been dismissed. Prosecutor Steve Eubank said Davis did not deserve a bond and Judge Gordon Willis agreed. A two-day trial for Davis is scheduled to start Sept. 28. He is also charged with using a firearm in the commission of a felony. 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. A Stafford man who led county deputies on a 90-minute pursuit two years ago was ordered Tuesday to serve a year and a half in prison. James Preston Pullen, 40, pleaded guilty in Stafford Circuit Court to felony eluding, driving revoked and failure to appear in court. As part of a plea agreement, he was sentenced to 11 years with all but a year and a half suspended. Several charges were dropped According to police and court records, Deputy B.U. Demirci was on Interstate 95 in Stafford on June 18, 2020, when a Chevy sedan passed a truck on the shoulder and changed lanes without signaling. After the deputy activated his lights, the driver got off the highway at the Centreport exit, then ran a red light and immediately got back on the interstate and headed north at speeds of well over 90 mph. Deputy E. Taylor was ahead of the pursuit when he saw the sedan approaching. The suspect veered off the road into the woods and struck some trees. Court records state that Pullen crawled out of the passengers side window and ran into the woods. A police dog was deployed but did not find the suspect right away. Police called the registered owner of the vehicle, who told them she had just sold the car to Pullen. A phone registered to Pullen was recovered at the crash scene. Pullen was eventually spotted in an industrial area near Utah Place and Sage Lane. He ran again, but a deputy and a police dog were waiting at the fence line and Pullen surrendered. He told police he had no idea what was going on and joked that he was making sure that the deputy was in good shape. He claimed he was stupid because he wanted to go home to his kids. 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. IS IT POSSIBLE to murder someonelegally? One of my favorite radio personalities was Paul Harvey, who had several daily shows for years. Harveys shows were only five or 10 minutes long but they were always interesting. I remember one show where Harvey said that he filed away the biographical information of prominent people who found themselves caught up in high-profile scandals or were wrongly accused in criminal cases. He said he kept the bios because almost inevitably, many of those people would be dead within a few years and he would need the personal information for their obituaries. Some years later I knew a guy who got into a trivial dispute with a neighbor. The neighbor just wouldnt let the matter drop and the situation eventually escalated into a civil lawsuit brought against my friend. When my friend tried to settle the matter out of court the neighbor told him, Before I finish with you youre either gonna commit suicide or have a heart attack! The neighbors intent seemed to be that he wanted my friend deadby legal means. Paul Harvey was right. Stress kills. The old saying, Youre gonna worry me to death can be an accurate assessment of a stressful situation. You can literally worry someone do death. It happens to those whose children are always in trouble and cause their parents to stay awake nights worrying. It happens to one neighbor who is bullied by another neighbor. And it happens to those who get caught up in battles with government agencies and are at a loss as to how to defend themselves. I knew a man whose company bank account was hacked by international thieves. For almost two years he battled with his bank and with law enforcement authorities, neither of which were much help. The thought of losing his company through no fault of his own forced the man to dig deep within himself and fight with every fiber of his being. Finally, he reached an agreement with the bank and got some of his money back but the damage was done. Within a few years this man, who was in his 50s and healthy, died of a heart attack. His battle against the hackers had taken its toll. Stress undoubtedly aided his demise. Almost without question the hackers, who couldnt even be found, were responsible for his death. His death certificate may have read heart failure but the stress of dealing for two years with the loss of everything he owned likely was the major contributing factor. The stress of being falsely accused leads to many early deaths, especially when the accused has led an otherwise exemplary life. On shows like Perry Mason, the defendant jumps for joy when the not guilty verdict is read and goes about his business. Unfortunately, thats not the way it works in real life. To have his reputation stained forever is a scar that never heals for an honorable person. Too often the stress of such an ordeal takes its toll and results in his early death. You can literally worry a person to death. If you dont believe me, just pay attention to the news. As Paul Harvey said, those who find themselves in high-profile scandals and court cases usually dont live long after the fact. It happens all the time. Of course no one can prove that a hacker or some government agency worried someone to death, so no criminal or conspiracy charges could be filed. Still it happens, whether intentionally or unintentionally. So if you set your mind to it, it is possible to legally murder someone by worrying him to death. It is a sad commentary on humanity but it does happen. By Trend Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili met European Council President Charles Michel, Trend reports citing 1TV. Great meeting with European Council President Charles Michel. Following the decision on Georgias EU membership perspective, we will work closely to advance Georgia on its EU candidate status path. Reiterated our governments commitment to work tirelessly to meet all the priorities outlined by the European Commission, Irakli Garibashvili tweeted. From July 22 through Oct. 30, if youre not a resident of Fredericksburg or Stafford County, you will be charged $10 to park or $5 to walk into downtowns Old Mill Park. After Labor Day, the fees will be charged only on weekends. Tuesday evenings 52 decision by City Council is similar to a pilot program enacted by Stafford officials June 7, when county supervisors voted 52 to charge non-residents $25 per car to park at the Historic Port of Falmouth, also beginning July 22. The $25 non-resident fee in Stafford will also be collected at the grass and gravel lot located at the corner of U.S. 1 and Butler Road and at the Ray Grizzle Activity Center at 60 Butler Road. The new fees at Old Mill Park will apply for the duration of the pilot program, which will be evaluated by city officials on or about Oct. 30, the same time Stafford plans to evaluate its own fee-collecting parking program. A June 23 memorandum from Fredericksburg City Manager Tim Baroody to council members stated the start date for the new fees corresponds with Stafford Countys to prevent even more acute parking problems when visitors to Staffords parks try to avoid the fees by attempting to park for free at Old Mill Park. Fredericksburg Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw said Fredericksburg and Stafford County residents are exempt from the new fees on both sides of the Rappahannock, thanks to an agreement between the two jurisdictions made years ago when the FredericksburgStafford Parks Authority owned and managed both riverfront parks. Greenlaw said when that authority dissolved, the mutual agreement remained intact, exempting residents of both localities from any future fees. Were operating under that mutual agreement as far as fees are concerned, Greenlaw said. The other counties, we never had any kind of mutual park agreement with anybody. The city fees were imposed due to nearly identical circumstances that led Stafford to implement its parking fees, including trash and debris not being disposed of correctly in and around the city park, overcrowding, personal property damage, parking problems in surrounding neighborhoods and public safety. The concerns of the neighbors are, you cant get a firetruck down the street if you had to, Stafford Sheriffs Maj. Shawn Kimmitz said two years ago. Thats the concern. Its a safety issue. On Tuesday, Fredericksburg Police Chief Brian Layton told members of the city council he spoke with residents in the neighborhoods near Old Mill Park and heard numerous complaints involving illegally parked vehicles. He said on any given weekend, his officers write between 20 to 100 tickets and said a $5 fee for walk-ins might alleviate some of the parking problems on residential streets. There is already a significant issue there on the weekends with no fees, Layton said. I think we can anticipate with Stafford implementing the fee across the river if we dont take action, we can see a considerable problem there. On Tuesday, Vice Mayor Charlie Frye Jr. and at-large council member Matthew Kelly each voted against the proposed new fees at Old Mill Park. Kelly said from his perspective, he believes the Historic Port of Falmouth is not an events venue compared to the multiple events and activities that take place at Old Mill Park, drawing numerous out-of-town visitors. Stafford tourism is something they work on but its not their lifeblood, Kelly said. Tourism and visitors (are) critical to us and we start picking and choosing who can go where and what theyve got to pay, were not really sending a very good message. City officials estimate the total cost to implement the fee collections and keep it running through the end of October will be just over $31,000, but officials also calculate about $42,000 will be gained in revenue though the initiative. Several new hires will also have to be brought onboard to help manage the new program, but delays in hiring may result in reduced hours at the Fredericksburg park. Hiring in the middle of the summer season could prove to be especially challenging, Baroodys memorandum states. Failing to recruit staff may lead to alterations in the pilot, or a reduction in hours at Old Mill Park. The report also suggests some future considerations for Old Mill Park, including shuttles, off-site parking, food trucks, parking vouchers from city businesses, additional trash containers, a take-trash in, take-trash-out program and ways to reserve a parking spot in advance. James Scott Baron: 540/374-5438 jbaron@freelancestar.com 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. Whether its Freddie Mercury or Elton John, Hollywood has discovered a recent interest in showcasing the lives of immortal musical icons to audiences old enough to relive the days of old, and newer audiences to learn just how impactful these artists were. The latest being the King of Rock n Roll himself in Elvis. The life and career of Elvis Presley is uniquely narrated by his manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). Colonel Parker, with his distinct accent, describes a young Elvis (Austin Butler) as a lightning rod that is unlike any musical talent hes ever seen. Its not only Elvis voice that makes him standout, but its the way that he dances and moves his hips in a way that, quite frankly, was far ahead of his time. Colonel Parker looks at Elvis and sees dollar signs. Its more complicated than that, though. This is still an extraordinarily young Elvis whos too naive to know his potential or how to get there. Additionally, adding Colonel Parker as his manager to turn him into a superstar is a hard sell for the conservative Gladys Presely (Helen Thompson). Regardless, Gladys ultimately signs the paperwork for Colonel Parker to manage Elvis and receive an outrageously-high 50% profit of all earnings. And as Colonel Parker promised, Elvis quickly becomes a household name. Colonel Parker instructs Elvis to dance and move all over stage as the Elvis people have come to love, but there are other times when he has to be the family-friendly Elvis and not even wiggle a finger, much to the chagrin of Elvis. Logically, it doesnt take long before Elvis rebels. At a particular event dedicated to military personnel, he goes full Elvis, wiggling every body part he can, only for the military to be disgraced of his performance and have him arrested. A beside-himself Colonel Parker knows theres only one thing to do. To save face, Elvis must serve in the Army for a few years to learn some discipline and earn Americas trust back. Then when he returns from the Army, he can sing, dance, do movies, start a family or all of the above. Much like Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody, Butler was born to play Elvis Presley. He has his voice, mannerisms and eccentric dancing down to a tee. In an almost eerie fashion, you occasionally have to do a double-take on the screen as if youre watching the real Elvis belt out Heartbreak Hotel. Some may see Hanks as an odd choice in casting, especially playing such a villainous character, but Hanks voice is almost as convincing as his characters belief that there would be no Elvis Presley without him. Always bright, shining and fittingly over-the-top, Elvis is a respectful musical biography on a man who had such a momentous impact on music and pop-culture. At an almost-painful 159 minutes, the film wouldve been better suited being about 20 minutes shorter, but if theres anyone who deserves a curtain call that goes a little longer, its The King. Elvis doesnt quite get into the nitty-gritty of showing all of Elvis personal life and demons, but the film is nothing short of exuberant in watching and listening to over two-and-a-half hours of gospel and blues, as if youre sitting in the front row of his Vegas residency. To quote a particular icon, Thats All Right. Grade: B+ Blake Kavan works for a technology company in Fremont, NE. In his spare time, he loves to watch and write about movies, primarily of the action and thriller genres. He will contribute reviews for movie enthusiasts to read and enjoy for major motion pictures released. Blake can be reached at blakekavan11@gmail.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Graham Fowler can predict how people will react after a ride in Fords F-150 Lightning pickup truck. Everybody who gets out of this vehicle is smiling, said Fowler, technology director at Diers Ford in Fremont. Why smiling? Its a truck like no other, because of the speed, the power, the quietness, Fowler said of the electric version of Fords F-150. Sunlight glistens on the red electric pickup now at Diers. The dealership got the 2022 model truck a few weeks ago and was one of the first in Nebraska to get one. Its Fords first foray into the electric arena, said Chuck Diers, general manager. Ford already has an all-electric Mustang Mach-E. By the 2032 model year, Ford wants to have about half of their fleet electrified, Diers said. Fords new electric F-150s are rare. Diers said the company isnt building many of these trucks, due to the technology involved and because production is being severely curtailed due to supply chain issues. Fowler said the price range for these electric pickups extends from $40,000 to $100,000. The price depends on what amenities a customer wants such as leather or massaging seats. The electric pickup at Diers is an all-wheel drive vehicle and has a front storage facility called the Frunk. It has an extended range battery, so drivers can get up to 320 miles between charging. With the right electrical accessories, the truck could be substituted for a generator (used when the power goes out) in a house. You plug your house into this truck and it could run the house for you, Fowler said. Diers gave another analogy. Like people who have portable cell phone chargers, this is a portable charger for your house or your campsite, Diers said. Its mostly designed for construction. People can power their tools off of it. It has enough power that it could run some appliances in your house (if the house is equipped). The truck comes with a home-charging station. Technology-wise its probably the best of what Ford has to offer, Diers said. Power-wise or speed-wise, its probably one of the fastest, quickest, most-powerful vehicles for trucks by an American manufacturer on the market right now. Diers notes the difference between the electric and gas pickups. Its probably literally twice as quick as our comparable gas-powered engine, Diers said. President Biden has said the U.S. must move fast to win the worlds car-making future and several automakers have announced electric vehicle sales goals. The Associated Press reported that General Motors said in 2021 it aspired to sell only electric passenger vehicles by 2035 and Stelantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, had pledged that more than 40% of its vehicles would be electrified by 2030. Ford said that year, the company expected 40% of its global sales to be fully electric by 2030. That can seem like a long time. But in the meantime, Fowler continues seeing smiles from those who take a ride in a shiny red electric pickup. 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. Reflecting on the Supreme Court decision on reproductive rights On Friday, the United States Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey decisions. With this ruling, the court has upended nearly 50 years of federal constitutional protection of a womans right and access to abortion. It is clear that this decision will disproportionately affect minoritized communities, including college-aged, low-income, and BIPOC women and our LGBTQ+ communities. Washington state has a long history of supporting the full spectrum of reproductive rights, including being the first state in the nation to legalize abortion through a vote of its people. We appreciate the recent announcement by Washington Governor Jay Inslee, Oregon Governor Kate Brown, and California Governor Gavin Newsom of their multi-state commitment to ensure reproductive freedom and abortion access. Last weeks decision raises significant concerns about what the future may hold for gender equality including other rights that are currently constitutionally protected. At WSU, our priority remains protecting the health and well-being of our Cougar family. We realize the impact this decision may have on ones mental health and encourage Cougs to utilize our available support services. Employees can contact the WSU Employee Assistance Program toll free state-wide at 18773134455. Students can visit the Cougar Health Services crisis support website for access to local and national resources. The Women*s Center and the Gender Identity/Expression and Sexual Orientation Resource Center (GIESORC) can also connect students to resources on their individual campuses. Kirk H. Schulz President, WSU System Elizabeth S. Chilton Provost and Executive Vice President Colorado is one of several states receiving more monkeypox vaccine from the federal government, and officials here are planning for a shift in response to the small but ongoing outbreak. State health officials were told by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday that Colorado would receive more doses as part of a broader effort to step up the monkeypox response. Federal officials are also working to expand testing and have broadened the group of people who should get vaccinated against the virus; that group now includes those who realize they may have been infected, such as men who have sex with men in areas where cases have been confirmed. Colorado officials said last week that there's enough testing capacity to meet the current need, and that the state is processing a handful of tests each week. At least six residents are confirmed or presumed positive, according to state data, and the state's epidemiologist told reporters last week that there was no evidence of community transmission in the state. Every case identified here, she said, is related either to travel or to another confirmed case. Thus far, the state as well as much of the rest of the country has used its sparse monkeypox vaccine supply to retroactively vaccinate those who may have been exposed to it. That's largely been health care workers, state data shows. That's in part because of the limited supply of the doses, and even after Colorado officials were told they'd be getting more, it's still unclear just how much. Supply "will continue to be very limited for several weeks," a spokesman for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said Tuesday night. "We are awaiting additional information about our potential allocation." For now, CDPHE will continue focusing on post-exposure vaccinations. But that may change, the spokesman said, as the agency is "considering updated information from the federal government on expanding the use of vaccine to those who may have presumed exposure. We are planning for multiple potential scenarios depending on allocation." Colorado health officials have stressed that monkeypox is less transmissible than COVID-19 and does not pose the same threat to the public as the novel coronavirus has. Last month, monkeypox cases began emerging in Europe and the U.S. Many but not all of those who contracted the virus had traveled internationally. Most were men who have sex with men, but health officials stress that anyone can get monkeypox. Most monkeypox patients experience fever, body aches, chills and fatigue. People with more serious illness may develop a rash and lesions on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body. The disease is endemic in parts of Africa, where people have been infected through bites from rodents or small animals. It does not usually spread easily among people. Case counts have continued to grow. As of Tuesday, the U.S. had identified 306 cases in 27 states and the District of Columbia. More than 4,700 cases have been found in more than 40 other countries outside the areas of Africa where the virus is endemic. There have been no U.S. deaths, and officials say the risk to the American public is low. Colorado officials have said no Coloradans have been hospitalized because of the virus. Still, national and state health authorities say they are taking steps to assure people that medical measures are in place to deal with the growing problem. Colorado officials have asked people contacted as part of monkeypox case investigations to respond to calls; any information shared will remain confidential. A shooting involving police was under investigation on Wednesday in Pueblo, according to Gazette news partner KKTV. There was a large law enforcement presence before 4 p.m. in an area close to 40th Street and Dillon Drive on the north side of the city, KKTV reported. Police could only confirm with KKTV that there was an officer-involved shooting. This is a developing story. For further information, visit KKTV.com The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad will welcome the first guests of its 2022 season Friday after postponing its original opening day due to exceptionally dry conditions, the railroad announced. The original opening day was scheduled for June 11. "The decision was made out of an abundance of caution and in the highest regard for the railroads stewardship of the land where we operate," the railroad said in a news release. "In 50+ years of operation, the C&TSRR has maintained an excellent fire safety record and established a hard-earned reputation for a proactive and vigorous approach to fire safety." The train, which departs from either Antonito, Colo., or Chama, N.M., winds passengers along 64 miles of track and across the two states' border 11 times in a popular historical and scenic experience for tourists in the summer and fall. The train yards are set to open at 8 a.m. Friday and passengers will begin boarding at 9:30 a.m., officials said. Trains depart from both the Colorado and New Mexico stations at 10 a.m. The Chama depot is located at 500 Terrace Ave., and the Antonito depot is located at 5234 U.S. 285. The 2022 season will run through Oct. 23., according to the railroad's website By Trend The visit by Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha and representatives of the OIC member states to Azerbaijan's liberated territories commenced within the 11th Conference of Ministers of Tourism of the OIC Member States on June 29, the State Tourism Agency told Trend. Chairman of the State Tourism Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan Fuad Naghiyev informed representatives of the OIC member states, visiting the Fuzuli International Airport, on the airport's role in the socio-economic development of the Fuzuli district, as well as in regional tourism. A delegation consisting of tourism ministers, deputy ministers of Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Iran, Gambia, Niger, Malaysia, Sudan, Uganda, Gabon, the president of the Arab Tourism Organization, and ambassadors will take a look at cultural monuments, mosques, and other cultural heritage sites subjected to the Armenian aggression. Moreover, the delegation will pay a visit to Azerbaijan's Shusha, and get acquainted with the ancient buildings of Islamic heritage and the tourism potential. On June 28, the 11th Conference of Ministers of Tourism of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, organized by the State Tourism Agency, hosted the adoption of a Resolution on the tourism development, and the Baku Declaration. The Resolution on tourism development condemns the illegal exploitation of natural resources, destruction of urban ecological infrastructure, cultural and historical heritage of Azerbaijan's liberated territories, as well as the demolition of Islamic cultural and historical monuments in Armenia. The document also reflects a decision regarding the involvement of the member states' private sector in implementing infrastructure development projects in Azerbaijan's liberated lands. The Lyons family, from left Sean, Remy, 6, Rory, 9, Nikki and baby MacKinnon, and yes he was named after Nate (adults in back are Ian & Liz). Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country Sign Up View all of our newsletters. FILE PHOTO: Four-year-old Senty Banutu-Gomez holds a photograph of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Black boy who was lynched in 1955, at a vigil on the one year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody, in Lynn, Massachusetts, U.S., May 25, 2021. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Security fencing is seen outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 14, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Water barriers are set up outside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, ahead of the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China from Britain, in Hong Kong, China June 29, 2022. REUTERS/Lam Yik/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Iran and U.S. flags are seen printed on paper in this illustration taken January 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration The US Supreme Court has done away with the right to abortion. In Luxembourg, this has only existed since 2014. The first step towards legal abortion came in 1978, when it was allowed within very strict limitations, for instance in cases of rape or danger to mother and child. A reform in 2012 came to a compromise solution under a CSV-LSAP government, and finally in 2014, the current coalition allowed women to decide freely on abortion until 12 weeks of pregnancy. Danielle Igniti, president of the Planning Familial at the time, remembers the long and tenuous fight that led to the decision. Much persuasive efforts were necessary from all parties, and there was a lot of opposition. "The topic was and remains sensitive. And of course there was the ADR. I remember Fernand Kartheiser telling me in the Chamber of Deputies that I was killing babies. I was extremely shocked. I was almost lost my words, which is rare for me. Then the green MP, who has since sadly died, told Mr. Kartheiser to leave the room. He sent him home!" The US have turned back the time. The current Planning Familial under Ainhoa Achutegui has publicly expressed concern about the right, even in our country. Danielle Igniti is more cautious: "It is always tricky when you put something up for debate. It is a risk. On the other hand, I do think it wouldn't be a bad thing if this were enshrined in the constitution. You have to evaluate. We had a referendum once that turned out very bad. I am a bit wary. It is not that clear-cut." Even if it were in the constitution, there is no guarantee, she says. The exact terms are set out by law. Read more: MPs pass resolution in support of abortion Read also: Protesters stage sit-in in front of US Embassy in Luxembourg City FILE PHOTO: An AR-15 upper receiver nicknamed "The Balloter" is seen for sale at Firearms Unknown, a gun store in Oceanside, California, U.S., April 12, 2021. REUTERS/Bing Guan/File Photo FILE PHOTO: A visitor runs across the Supreme Court Plaza while attempting to catch their school group, at the U.S. Supreme Court on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 22, 2022. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo A woman pays respects at the memorial at Robb Elementary school, where a gunman killed 19 children and two adults, in Uvalde, Texas, U.S. May 29, 2022. REUTERS/Marco Bello UAE investors have signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) worth $2.76 billion (Rs218 billion/ Rs21,800 crores) with the Government of Odisha state, after meeting with the state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Dubai. The investment by UAE business houses is a result of the governments investment promotion drive aimed at creating awareness of Odishas key advantages its natural and human resources as well as political stability that resulted in faster economic growth. Patnaik has concluded a successful investment roadshow including an Investors Meet in Dubai when he and his delegation held meeting with some of UAEs key business groups to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), involving Lulu Group, NBTC Group, Sharaf Group, Twenty Fourteen Holding and Tablez Group, ERAM Group, Sobha Group, Arab and India Spices LLC and Tabreed, etc. Project proposals The announcement comes after the state approved more than 250 large-scale industrial and infrastructure project proposals collectively worth $50 billion in sectors such as Metals and Metal downstream, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Textiles and Apparel including Technical Textiles, Food processing including Seafood processing, ESDM, Logistics and Clean Energy in the last two years. The investment proposals include Rs1,500 crores investment by UAE-based multinational retail conglomerate, Lulu Group International which signed a MoU to explore investment opportunities in Odisha to set up Hypermarkets, shopping malls and agriculture and seafood sourcing and processing hubs in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Rourkela. The Investors Meet was jointly organised with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Embassy of India in UAE. It was attended by more than 150 companies based out of the UAE and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region from sectors comprising of Minerals and Metals processing, Petrochemicals, Chemicals, Plastics, Heavy Industries, Clean Energy, Food Processing including Sea Food Processing, Electrical Equipment and Electronics Manufacturing, Logistics and Warehousing, Real Estate, and Hospitality. Leading industry associations from the region including Indian Business and Professional Council (IBPC) also participated in the event. Four key advantages Inviting the UAE investors to Odisha State, Patnaik addressed the gathering underlining Odishas four key advantages Mineral; Human Resources; Technology in delivering efficient and effective investment facilitation; Progressive policy and governance. Odisha offers great opportunity to foreign investors and our Team is ready to extend any help to facilitate investment to the UAE investors, he said. Highlighting the states rich mineral resources, he said, Odisha holds the lions share of Indias mineral reserves with 96% of the countrys chromite reserves, 92% nickel, 53% bauxite, 45% manganese, 35% iron-ore, and 23% coal reserves of India. This has made Odisha the largest producer of Steel, Stainless Steel, Ferro Alloys, Alumina, and Aluminium in India. Odisha also has 11% of Indias water resources. The state has a 480-km long coastline making it a natural choice for setting up ports, and for international trade. The state is home to a large and highly skilled workforce. Highlighting Odishas human resource advantage, Patnaik said: We have made good investments in setting up technical and professional institutes at all skill levels ITIs, Polytechnics, and engineering and management colleges. Eleven of Indias top 100 Industrial training institutes are in Odisha. With the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Institute of Technical Education Services (ITEES), Singapore, the Government of Odisha has recently established the World Skill Centre in Bhubaneswar to prepare the Odia workforce for modern and new age Industry. Enabling technology On Odishas use of enabling technology in delivering efficient and effective investment facilitation, he said, States Single Window portal for investors, GO SWIFT has transformed the B2G interface with its user-friendly features which provide time-bound clearances for over 50 G2B services. Odisha is also home to over 1200 start-ups, many of which are in the technology space. Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, Chief Secretary of Odisha state and Hemant Sharma, Principal Secretary for Industrial Development of Odisha state highlighted the economic opportunities in key sectors. The Investors Meet was addressed by the Indian Ambassador to the UAE, Sanjay Sudheer, who stressed on the significance of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), signed between the UAE and India which reduces taxes and will help two-way trade and investment between India and the UAE to accelerate. Make In Odisha 2022 The Chief Minister also announced that the State would be conducting the third edition of its flagship Global Investors Meet Make In Odisha 2022 during November 30-December 04, 2022 at the state capital Bhubaneswar, India. The event would focus on sectors including Metals and Metal downstream, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Textiles and Apparel including Technical Textiles, Food processing including Seafood processing, ESDM, Logistics and Clean Energy. The Chief Minister extended the invitation to businesses in the Mena region to attend the Make In Odisha 2022 Investor Meet and witness the opportunities the State offers. B2G meetings The team Odisha also conducted one-on-one B2G meetings with major companies of the region such as LuLu Group, NBTC Group, Sharaf Group, Twenty Fourteen Holding and Tablez Group, ERAM Group, Sobha Group, Arab and India Spices LLC, Tabreed, etc. The State Government invited them to explore Odisha in their future expansions and apprised them of the huge Indian and sub-continent market. The government also assured all the companies of unmatched facilitation and support. The team Odisha also included a high-level business delegation from the top companies who have invested in Odisha. The business delegation included Parth Jindal - Managing Director, JSW Cement, Saroj Poddar - Chairman, Paradeep Phosphates Limited, Satish Pai - Managing Director, Hindalco, Dilip Oomen - CEO, AM/NS India, Rahul Sharma - CEO, Vedanta Ltd., Subhrakant Panda - Managing Director, IMFA, Sujoy Choudhury- Director, IOCL, Jagadish Naik - Chairman, and Managing Director, DN-Homes, Bhabatosh Sahoo, Managing Director, B-One Business House Pvt Ltd., Prashant Mallick - Managing Director, Tata Steel SEZ and Mr. Chanakya Chaudhary Vice President, Tata Steel Ltd. The Odisha Investors Meet was a platform for presenting the vast array of opportunities Odisha offers to businesses in the UAE and the Mena region. It has generated a huge interest among the business community as it is the first time that a state like Odisha which has received significant domestic investments has also reached out to UAE to attract FDI.-- TradeArabia News Service Prominent family law attorney Brenda L. Storey said she was wrongly punished for simply asking a client in a divorce case to pay her, and for ultimately using money from the marriage toward her bill a common practice in such proceedings. A slate of largely incumbent El Paso County Republicans grabbed key victories Tuesday night in Colorado's primary election, earning landslide wins against their anti-establishment GOP opponents who focused on major voting reforms and protecting the community from COVID-19 mandates. Voters' preference for El Paso County commissioners Holly Williams and Cami Bremer, Coroner Dr. Leon Kelly and clerk and recorder candidate Steve Schleiker was clear, with all winning by around two-thirds of the vote, unofficial Secretary of State results show. Karl Schneider, vice chairman of the El Paso County GOP party, said he believes local Republican voters no longer wish to hear divisive rhetoric propagated by anti-establishment candidates, and that contributed to their across-the-board losses. "Republicans are tired of this hyper-antagonistic mentality. We need to learn how to get along. We may disagree, but we don't need to be disagreeable," he said. "We need to get back to civility. ... That is why we saw landslide voting in support of logical, sound-minded, even-keeled true Republican leaders." Rejected candidates in each of the races had promoted election conspiracy theories and supported major reforms, such as a return to hand-counting ballots. Voters' preference for more establishment candidates showed faith in the existing election system, several elected officials noted. The winning candidates did not receive the same support from the local GOP leadership as their opponents, but they all effectively fundraised. Voter education may have also played a role. El Paso County Republican Cinnamon Bergeron knocked on hundreds of doors campaigning for Schleiker and found that most voters were well-informed about local races. "They understand how mudslinging and in-fighting happens. They are resourceful to research and get to the truth of the situation of whats going on," she said. Candidates battled over a relatively small number of votes with only 28%, or 130,388 voters, participating in the election. In 2018, a non-presidential primary turnout was about 28%, Clerk and Recorder Chuck Broerman said. Turnout may have been hurt by the message from a slate of anti-establishment candidates, he said. Casting down on election security could result in "self-inflicted voter suppression" leading to residents not participating in the election because they do not trust the process, he said. Nearly 99% of voters participated in mail-in voting, an endorsement of the system, he said. Professor Josh Dunn, chairman of the political science department at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, said experience and name recognition likely played an important role in the establishment candidates' victories. "They have governed in a way your average Republican in El Paso County supports, and they have greater name recognition," Dunn said. "... In these lower-profile races, name recognition is a huge asset." El Paso County commission candidates Lindsay Moore and Dave Winney, clerk and recorder candidate Peter Lupia, coroner candidate Dr. Rae Ann Weber and sheriff candidate Todd Watkins all criticized the Colorado elections process and supported former President Donald Trump's claims the 2020 election was stolen. The candidates campaigned as a slate, appearing together on several websites such as Restore Liberty, Appeal to Heaven for Colorado, Top Line Vote and Republican Strategy Forum. Several also appeared on stage at events with El Paso County GOP Chairwoman Vickie Tonkins, a choice some saw as favoritism within the party. Most of the candidates that won on Tuesday chose not to participate in the El Paso County Republican Assembly because they were afraid of possible bias and did not receive the traditional support expected from a county party. Tonkins acknowledged the split within the local Republican party in an email to The Gazette Wednesday and disputed party leadership showed favoritism. "The party is divided on social, economic, as well as belief systems and that is where we are," Tonkins said. "It is important to inform voters of who the people are who desire to run, and represent them, and that is what our office is here for and that is what we have done." Fundraising likely also played a role with establishment Republicans out-raised their competition by as much as 20 times ahead of the primary. "Money makes a difference, but it matters more for the challengers than the incumbents," Dunn said. "It takes money to raise your profile. If you've been in office particularly local office you've been able to establish your reputation so that people know who you are." The closest race was the El Paso Coroner's office, where incumbent Kelly spent $22,335.76 compared to $21,603 raised by challenger Weber, Secretary of State records show. Kelly led with 67% of the counted votes as of Tuesday. In the El Paso County District 5 county commissioners race, incumbent Bremer spent just under $49,000. Her opponent, Winney, only spent $2,472.18, almost one-twentieth the amount raised by Bremer. As of Tuesday, Bremer had 69% of ballots cast. The Constitutional Conservatives of El Paso County, an independent election committee that spends money on behalf of candidates, also weighed in on the races with $115,000 in spending for Williams, Bremer, Schleiker, Kelly, sheriff candidate Joe Roybal and treasurer candidate Broerman, said Daniel Cole, who managed the spending for the committee. The spending supported direct mail and digital advertising, including text messages. In the race for the Congressional District 5 seat, Doug Lamborn outspent his closest rival Dave Williams by nearly two times. Lamborn spent $353,198.30 against Williams' $195,560.61 according to Federal Election Commission data. Lamborn defeated Williams and two other challengers Tuesday, grabbing 48% of votes cast, according to data from the Secretary of State's Office. Dunn said while the anti-establishment sentiment could continue to grow in El Paso County "It comes in waves," he said seemingly most local Republicans were looking to move past their fringe ideologies. "In some ways I think the establishment Republicans have made their peace with Trump. Some have become very vocal supporters of him, but I think it's fair to say they're trying to move beyond him as well," Dunn said. "It never hurts to call yourself an outsider. But as soon as you get elected, you're now an insider. It's difficult to maintain that status for very long." This article has been updated to correct the spelling of El Paso County Republican Party Chairwoman Vickie Tonkins' first name. Driving through the desert of far western Colorado, something like a dream appears. Between the dirt and rock faces of buttes and mesas, theres an ocean of green waving along Interstate 70. Thats not a mirage. Thats Palisade, an irresistible detour en route to Grand Junction. A detour, or a dream worth a longer stay. If you know Palisade, you know it for the peaches. That green is the canopy bearing the sweetest of fruits blessed by this rarest of soil. Sweet, too, are the people youll find around the quaint town of modest cottages and storefronts. Palisade feels like something out of Huckleberry Finn. Its not a mirage, but to Colorados city folk, there is something unreal about Palisade, a nostalgic slice of a state that constantly changes. Go get a taste: Lifes a peach During the harvest from late June to early October, you wont have a problem locating the bounty. Simply drive the country roads stemming every which way from town. Clark Family Orchards and Talbott Farms are two of the biggest producers around. Youll find plenty of stands along the way, all selling peaches by the basket and pies and jams and other family-favorite recipes. While peaches get all the attention, theres another unforgettable sight around Palisade that outsiders dont talk about as much. Those are the lavender fields, carpets of purple. Check out Sage Creations Farm. Expand your palate Its not only peaches in the Grand Valley. Its a plentiful valley of apples, apricots, plums, cherries and grapes. Emphasis on grapes. Almost as famous as the fruit is the wine. More than 20 wineries have sprouted around the towns 1-mile radius. You can chart a course on the Palisade Fruit & Wine Byway, a map divided into three routes for drivers and cyclists. Stops include Palisade Brewing Co., Talbotts Cider Co. and Meadery of the Rockies. Foodies will find bliss as well with elevated cuisine at Peche. and Carolines Restaurant, hearty pub grub at the brewery and 357 Bar & Grill, and made-from-scratch delights at Slice O Life Bakery. Go beyond With a name like Grand, it behooves you to see more of the valley. Fill up the tank for the 63-mile Grand Mesa Scenic Byway, a ribbon of road through the enchanting beauty of the worlds largest flattop mountain. That drive starts to the east of Palisade, while to the west, from Grand Junction, you can start the journey on Rim Rock Drive. Thats the ultimate, 23-mile tour of Colorado National Monument, that wonderland of rock. If youre a serious mountain biker, you already know about the singletrack that awaits in the canyonlands around Fruita. And if youre a really serious mountain biker, you might want to stick closer to Palisade with the newly opened Palisade Plunge. Its an epic, 32-mile descent into town from the flanks of the Grand Mesa. Read more: Colorados highest peaks draw plenty of attention and plenty of crowds, while down below some of the states most pristine, unspoiled nature affords true, splendid solitude. Batic Investments and Logistics Company has announced that one of its subsidiaries, Batic Real Estate, has signed an agreement with Al Mqr Development Company, the investment arm of Madinah Municipality, for the development of a key residential neighbourhood commmunity project in the Saudi city. To be developed on a 229,000-sq-m area near the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah, the Al Khuzama project will provide a model residential neighbourhood commmunity offering the latest amenities and lifestyle facilities within the scope of smart cities, said Batic Investments and Logistics Company in its filing to Saudi bourse Tadawul. The agreement for the Al Khuzama neighbourhood scheme project was signed in the presence of Mayor of Madinah Engineer Fahd bin Muhammad Al Bulahishi. It was attended by senior Batic Real Estate Company officials including CEO Mohammed bin Saleh Al Mazyad and Managing Director Engineer Mohammed bin Saud Al Zamil along with Al Mqr Development Company CEO Majid bin Muhammad Al Shalhoub and other officials. Work is likely to begin soon on the Madinah neighbourhood commmunity project and is due for completion in 2024. Batic Real Estate Company said with the launch of this project, the size of the real estate investment portfolio managed by the company has surged to nearly SR500 million ($133 million). This project is also the latest among qualitative projects at the level of the province in order to achieve development of the city and enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors in Madinah. It is also in line with the objectives of the Kingdoms vision 2030, it added.-TradeArabia News Service Scientists have identified a gene that appears to increase the risk of Alzheimer's in women, providing a potential new clue as to why more women than men are diagnosed with the disease. The gene, O6-Methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase, or MGMT, plays an important role in how the body repairs damage to DNA in both men and women. But researchers did not find an association between MGMT and Alzheimer's in men. "It's a female-specific finding perhaps one of the strongest associations of a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's in women," said senior study coauthor Lindsay Farrer, chief of biomedical genetics at Boston University School of Medicine. Two-thirds of the 6.5 million Americans currently living with the devastating brain disease are women, according to the Alzheimer's Association. It's a trend that holds true worldwide. "Women, due to unique genetic risk factors like APOE 4 and MGMT, and sex-specific risk factors like the sudden reduction in estrogen during the peri-menopause transition, may be in the fast-lane toward the disease, while men are sitting in traffic," said Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of Medicine, who was not involved in the study. The APOE 4 gene is considered the strongest risk factor for the future development of Alzheimer's in people over the age of 65, which is "especially true for women, who are more impacted by APOE 4 than men," Isaacson said. However, many women with APOE 4 don't develop Alzheimer's while women without the gene may still develop the disease. "Perhaps MGMT is an important missing piece of the risk prediction puzzle for these women, but further studies are necessary," Isaacson said. A lucky discovery The discovery of the new gene's existence was made in two completely separate groups of people. A team of researchers from the University of Chicago were analyzing the genetic makeup of a small group of Hutterian Brethren women who live communally in rural Montana and South Dakota. Hutterites are a closed population who intermarry within their own ranks and keep extensive genealogical records, making them an excellent choice for genetic research. "The relatively uniform environment and reduced genetic variation in Hutterites increases our power to find associations in smaller sample sizes than required for studies in the general population," said senior study coauthor Carole Ober, chair of human genetics at the University of Chicago, in a statement. When the new association with MGMT popped up in her analysis, Ober reached out to Boston's Farrer to see if he might help replicate her findings. Farrer, who was in the midst of a huge genetic analysis of over 10,000 women from the Alzheimer's Disease Genetics Consortium study, was surprised by the call. "I told her we'd found the exact same gene in our analysis," Farrer said. "Two different studies started independently of one another find by serendipity the same gene, which to me adds a lot of confidence that the finding is robust." The combined study was published Thursday in Alzheimer's Disease & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 DES MOINES Starting Friday, Iowans will see reduced unemployment benefits, child care providers will see relaxed regulations and schools will be banned from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations. Iowa law enforcement can also start looking through your garbage without a search warrant. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds singed more than 150 bills into law this year passed by the Iowa Legislature. Many of those measures take effect Friday, the start of the states new fiscal year. The laws do everything from banning school districts and day care centers from requiring students and children be immunized against COVID-19 to allowing all-terrain vehicles to travel on more county and state highways. Here is a look at some of the bills and what that means for Iowans. Fewer jobless benefits Unemployed workers in Iowa will receive 10 fewer weeks of state unemployment benefits. The new law reduces the length of state unemployment benefits from 26 to 16 weeks. Iowa becomes just the fourth state with 16 weeks or fewer of state unemployment benefits. Reynolds, in a statement, said the new laws modernize Iowas unemployment system and will attract new workers to businesses. The new law also changes the requirements for taking a job that pays less than the unemployed Iowans previous job. The progressive advocacy group Progress Iowa issued a statement critical of the reduction, saying it will hurt laid-off workers, suppress wages and make Iowa an unwelcoming state. Food delivery services face fines Third-party food delivery apps like DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats that use a restaurants logo or menu without permission will be subject to fines, starting at $1,000 and up to $10,000. The rise of third-party delivery services has caused issues for restaurants seeing their menus and images used online without permission and have become a growing source of consumer complaints, according to the Iowa Restaurant Association. Under the new law, third-party delivery services must enter into agreements with restaurants to arrange for delivery or pickup of orders. It also requires delivery services to adhere to food safety regulations including barring passengers, pets, smoking and vaping in the vehicle when delivering food and are liable for any harm or injury caused for failure to meet requirements. Delivery apps must also clearly provide a way for customers to raise concerns about an order, and cannot intentionally inflate or alter a restaurants pricing without its consent. Delivery services, however, may charge additional fees as long as theyre noted separately to the customer. Child care rules Child care workers who are 16 or 17 years old can work unsupervised, and child care centers can operate with one worker for every seven 2-year-olds and one worker for every 10 3-year-olds. The new law was designed by Republican lawmakers to address child care worker shortages. Critics have said it does not go far enough and note it does not contain any provision to help address child care workers low wages or funding designed to entice the creation of more child care centers. COVID-19 vaccinations Colleges, K-12 school districts and day care centers in Iowa cannot require students and children to be immunized from COVID-19. Iowa schools, by state law, require eight types of immunizations by age 5. Immunization from COVID-19 will not be added to that list, thanks to the new law, which passed the Iowa Legislature mostly on party-line votes, with Republicans supporting the proposal and Democrats opposing. Garbage searches The new law states law enforcement officials are able to search an individuals garbage placed at the curb without having to obtain a search warrant from the court. The law states a person has "no reasonable expectation of privacy" for garbage placed outside the residence for collection "in a publicly accessible area. Instead, the law designates the garbage as abandoned property. The new law seeks to overturn a 2021 Iowa Supreme Court decision in which a divided court banned police from searching people's uncollected trash without a warrant. The case involved a Clear Lake man who successfully appealed a conviction and sentence for drug possession based on evidence obtained from a warrantless search of his trash. Supporters say the new will make law enforcement investigations simpler and easier, and that the U.S. Supreme Court has held that warrantless garbage grabs do not violate the federal constitutional prohibition on unreasonable search and seizures. Pregnancy services The state budget includes $500,000 for nonprofit organizations that provide pregnancy support services and advocate against abortion. To receive funding under the new statewide program, organizations must have a primary mission of promoting healthy pregnancies and childbirth instead of abortion, according to the new law. Reynolds, in a statement, touted the program as a way to promote healthy pregnancies and childbirth as well as meet the needs of pregnant women and new mothers in the wake of state and federal Supreme Court decisions paving the way for further abortion restrictions in the state. The new statewide program seeks to promote childbirth by providing information, counseling and support services that assist pregnant women or women who believe they may be pregnant to choose childbirth and to make informed decisions regarding the choice of adoption or parenting. ATVs on highways All-terrain and off-road utility vehicles can travel on more county and state highways, with few exceptions. ATVs and UTVs can now cross noninterstate two-lane highways statewide that serve as the most direct and accessible route between an ATV park or trail, a secondary road or city street on which such vehicles are authorized, and the operator's home. The law requires users be at least 18 years old and mandates liability insurance coverage on the vehicles and a host of security requirements for the vehicles, including headlights and mirrors. Cities and counties could override the measure allowing for expanded operation on primary highways and secondary roads in cases of unsafe intersections. Mobile home tenants Landlords are required to provide an extra months notice of a rent increase or when canceling a lease for mobile home owners who rent their land. Advocates had sought stronger measures and said the new law does not go nearly far enough to add protections for mobile homeowners, and thus do little to address the recent proliferation of out-of-state companies that have purchased mobile home lots and parks and increased rent and fees on tenants. The new law passed on mostly party-line votes, with Republicans supporting and Democrats largely opposing. The Iowa Attorney Generals Office had recommend the legislation include limits on how often a mobile home landowner can increase rent and fees, and require landowners to provide a legitimate reason for terminating a residency. None of those recommendations are in the new law. Nuisance bars Iowa cities can take bar owners to court to pull their liquor licenses for public safety concerns rather than relying on state regulators. City and county attorneys can now sue alcohol establishments for creating a serious threat to public safety and to seek a temporary injunction before trial, rather than relying on the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division to revoke a license. A serious threat to public safety would exist if an owner, employee or patron in or near an alcohol establishment would fire a gun, assault someone or participate in a riot in or near the alcohol establishment, including any parking lots or public rights of way adjacent to the licensed premises. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A state prison inmate was sentenced in Richmond on Wednesday to serve nearly three years for defrauding the Virginia Employment Commission out of $233,984 in COVID-relief unemployment funds and recruiting fellow prisoners to provide personal information to file bogus claims. The money that Keith Scott Smith Jr., 41, diverted from unemployed workers in Virginia to himself and fellow inmates is part of an estimated $40 million that the VEC believes it paid out during the pandemic to persons who submitted fraudulent claims on behalf of inmates housed in state correctional facilities, according to federal court papers filed in a similar case. "He took advantage of the system," U.S. District Court Judge David J. Novak said in comments from the bench. "During this tragic time, when the government was pumping money out to people to survive, you got crooks in jail getting money. This is ridiculous. I think [Smith's] conduct is utterly offensive." The judge then queried Assistant U.S. Attorney Kashan Pathan why the government was recommending that Smith be sentenced at the low end of discretionary federal sentencing guidelines, which called for an active term of incarceration of between 30 and 37 months. "I think you need to be more aggressive on this COVID fraud," Novak said. "The crooks are getting all the money" to the detriment of working people. These criminals exploited the pandemic. The fact that this was committed while he was incarcerated makes it even more mind boggling." Novak said Smith's conduct was so egregious that he'd be willing to craft a punishment high above the guidelines, up to 60 months. But after arguments by the prosecution and defense, the judge decided to stay within the guidelines, sentencing Smith to 33 months for his earlier guilty plea to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The punishment will run consecutive to a sentence of 20 years with 10 years suspendedhe received in April 2018 in Chesterfield County for maliciously wounding his former girlfriend. Novak also ordered Smith to make restitution to the VEC in the amount of $233,984.72. According to the government's statement of facts, Smith and his wife Virginia Smith devised a scheme that involved him obtaining the names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers of certain inmates serving sentences with him at the Baskerville Correctional Center in Mecklenburg County and passing that information to his wife. Virginia Smith then used the inmates' personal information to file at least 22 fraudulent claims for unemployment insurance and pandemic unemployment assistance from June 21, 2020, to at least Jan. 2, 2021. The applications contained a false physical address for the inmates, a false "last employer," and a false certification that the inmates were ready, willing and able to work. Following the filing of the claims, the state mailed "Way 2 Go" debit cards to a Post Office Box designated by Virginia Smith, and the unemployment benefits were distributed through the cards. Upon receiving the debit cards, Virginia Smith would keep a portion for herself as a commission for her involvement and would transfer the remainder to the inmates whose information she used to file the claims. For example, Virginia Smith would occasionally send some of the funds to the inmates' financial accounts at the prison. On other occasions, she sent the funds to people associated with the inmates. To keep the money flowing, Virginia Smith would submit weekly recertifications of unemployment status to the VEC for the applications she submitted on behalf of the inmates. The government said Keith Smith exercised "decision-making authority" in the conspiracy, and provided direction to his wife on how the fraudulent proceeds were to be distributed and used. In recorded phone calls at Baskerville Correctional Center, the Smiths regularly discussed the filing of unemployment applications and the compensation inmates would receive as part of the fraud. Smith "played a critical role in furthering the aims of the criminal conspiracy by obtaining and providing [his wife] with the personal identifying information of the inmates, thereby enabling the [wife] to file more fraudulent claims and steal more money from the VEC," Pathan wrote in sentencing memorandum for the government. "The defendant's incarceration did not hinder his ability to carry out this offense; rather, it may have provided him unique access and opportunity to recruit other inmates, who, in light of their incarceration, may have been more willing and eager to share their personal identifying information in exchange for financial assistance for themselves and/or their family members," Pathan wrote. The punishment Smith's wife received in November just one day in prison with five years of supervised release briefly became an issue during Wednesday's sentencing hearing for her husband. The judge questioned how Virginia Smith received such a light punishment on her four convictions of mail fraud. "No one can do this alone," said Novak, referring to how Smith's wife helped him carry out the fraud. Smith's attorney, Lawrence Woodward, noted the "monstrous sentencing disparity" between the one day Smith's wife received and the 30 months recommended for her husband. "Any narrative or suggestion that Ms. Smith got involved because she was scared or intimidated by [her husband] is simply not true or supported by the evidence," Woodward wrote in a sentencing memorandum. "She was not forced or threatened in any way and was a full and willing participant in all of the activity that gives rise to this case." When asked to explain the discrepancy, Pathan told the court that Virginia Smith had "ample mitigation" issues, such as childhood trauma and long-term substance abuse that led U.S. District Judge Robert Payne to agree to a downward variance in punishment. Sentencing guidelines called for a term of incarceration of 27 to 33 months, and the government recommended a term of 18 months. Many may know that Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, lost his right eye after he was hit by an IED blast in Afghanistan. What may not be as well known is that he also temporarily lost sight in his left eye. Or that once he regained sight on the left, a miracle in and of itself, he returned to military service. And yet, Tucker Carlson mocks that injury on Fox News with little resistance from its conservative viewers or from elected officials. What a time. Watching Republicans shift away from a platform defined by support the troops is tripping me up more than Drakes foray into house music. And this isnt just about Crenshaw or even President Trumps rivalry with the late Sen. John McCain, though that was certainly a flashpoint. This is something much bigger: a sign that the Republican Party isnt just in transition. Its lost. Growing up in the Reagan era wasnt great, but at least most everyone understood what the rules were. Democrats painted Republicans to be the party for some combination of rich, old and white. Conservatives accused liberals of being godless, big spenders and weak on crime. Political absolutes are rarely productive, but they do make for great TV. Anyway, for the most part since the Reagan era, liberal messaging hasnt changed unfortunately. On the flip side, since the rise of the tea party in 2010 conservatives have been in the midst of the biggest ideological shift since Reagan and the Christian Coalition coalesced their powers 40 years ago. Before we dig into the substance, I must say the style isnt changing so radically. Even today, as the nation continues to grieve the victims of the mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas, many conservatives employ Reagans brand of disingenuous problem solving to avoid talking about gun laws. Although nearly 12% of the nation was living under the poverty line in 1976, Reagan was out testing his welfare queens rhetoric on the campaign trail. When his conservative heirs are asked about a school shooting in Texas, they say, What about Chicago? in an effort to talk about urban street crime instead. But we all know that hammering Democratic mayors on crime is less about being thoughtful and more about using racist tropes to change the subject. The left could borrow that same style to redirect any conversation toward a tempting target. Imagine what that would look like: No matter what the reporters at a news conference asked Biden, hed point out that most of our poorest states are run by Republicans. Mississippi, for example, has more than a fifth of its population living below the poverty line, and conservatives have controlled that state since 2012. Republicans have run South Carolina since 2003, and its in the top 10 as well. I could go on, but that would be petty (Tennessee) and unproductive (Alabama). Besides (Oklahoma, Arkansas and West Virginia), you get the point: Changing the subject and oversimplifying to score cheap points doesnt solve problems. For Republicans, the reflex to pivot like this has finally turned in on itself. Theyre attacking their own. Even those hailed as military heroes. Crenshaw faced taunts of eyepatch McCain last week from attendees at the Texas State Republican Convention, echoing the jab Carlson made last month. This is not politics as usual. Neither is the Republican response to the Jan. 6 hearings. We are not used to seeing conservatives behave so indifferently toward the sound of police officers pleading for help. It was less than two years ago when the countrys largest police union endorsed Donald Trump for president. The Fraternal Order of Police said it was proud to endorse a candidate who calls for law and order across our nation. We now know that on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump called for no such thing, leaving the overwhelmed Capitol police officers to fight for their lives for hours. Thats not the behavior of someone whos leading the law-and-order party. In fact, congressional Republicans are treating the officers who were wounded in the Capitol attack like pariahs. Seems like the gender of a gingerbread cookie was met with more concern than the deadly attack on police. And the outcry against Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., must truly mark the end of Republicans support the troops era. This Air Force veteran dared to back the Jan. 6 investigation and stand up for truth even as his wife and baby are threatened with execution and for that sort of integrity he is accused of treason. Democrats and Republicans have both consistently supported first responders and the military, but, until recently, the GOP had made that position central to its identity. Now, the party is identifying itself in other ways, and Im not quite sure where thats going. More concerning, I dont think they are either. There is a campaign video featuring a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, Missourian Eric Greitens, and a team of men carrying guns, dressed in tactical gear, breaking down a door and using smoke bombs as they tell you they are hunting faux Republicans. This feels more substantial than just convenient positions taken by followers of one former president who hope hell have a political future. When the most popular host on Fox News makes fun of a Republican soldier who lost an eye fighting for the U.S., and viewers side with the host, that blue line might as well be fuchsia. When Trump and McCain exchanged barbs, that seemed unique, perhaps just a little tremor inside the party. What the Capitol Police, Kinzinger and Crenshaw are encountering feels more like shifting and colliding of tectonic plates. King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Darah) has signed a MoU with Jeddah Central Development Company (JCDC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the master developer of the Jeddah Central project. The signing ceremony took place at Darahs headquarters in Riyadh. As per the deal, the two parties shall collaborate to research and document all related matters to Jeddah Central Project and elements associated to the history of Jeddah in general and the project in specific. They shall develop the project identity, review studies and scientific research as well as organise various conferences, seminars, and joint workshops. Hence achieving the strategic goals of both parties. With Darah being the most reliable source for Saudi Arabias history and Jeddah in particular, JCDC believes that signing such a memorandum is imperative in fulfilling the heritage elements through the identity of the project and support in paving the way for the rich-cultured contemporary development it aims to become in the future. Dr. Fahad Abdulaziz Al Samari, Acting Secretary-General of Darah, said: "Darah is delighted to take part in this opportunity because we believe when it comes to designing buildings, content takes the role of a pulsing heart within it, and it is crucial at the start of any construction work." "When speaking of the project, Darah will offer its extended support to build authentic content built from the rich history of Jeddah," he noted. Engineer Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz Al Sulaim, CEO of JCDC, said: "The main pillars of driving the project designs is 'learn from the past, appreciate the present and Inspire the future', this is all related to the core values of Darah and what they will offer to JCDC." Darah, chaired by Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was founded 50 years ago through a royal decree to serve as the authentic library of history for Saudi Arabia, the Arabian Peninsula, the Arab and Islamic world. The Jeddah Central Project covers a land area of 5.7 million sq m, a waterfront that stretches 9.5 km long and includes four main landmarks, said Al Samari,. "What makes this project an unparalleled and one-of-a-kind destination is its identity, which is inspired by the citys vernacular architecture and history whilst designed in a contemporary fashion and acquiring the latest technologies," he added.-TradeArabia News Service The bus driver and a passenger had serious, but not life-threatening, injuries, police said. The 22-year-old driver of the dump truck ran a red light, police said. He was issued a citation on a red light violation. RALEIGH Public school advocates say the proposed new state budget falls hundreds of millions of dollars short of a court-ordered plan for increasing funding to improve public education. In April, a state judge issued a court order saying that North Carolina isnt spending enough on public education, falling $785 million short of funding a plan developed by an education consultant. At a rally Wednesday outside the Legislative Building, a coalition of public education advocacy groups said the state Supreme Court should order the additional funding because lawmakers didnt fully fund the Leandro plan in the new budget. The time is now to secure an order from the highest court in North Carolina requiring the General Assembly to do what it should have done 25 years ago, said Brian Link, an award-winning social studies teacher at East Chapel Hill High School. Link said lawmakers took baby steps in the budget to fund the Leandro plan. But Republican legislative leaders say theyve released a budget that increases education funding while still maintaining responsible spending levels in the face of a looming recession. This is a solid budget for the people of the state of North Carolina, Senate leader Phil Berger said at a news conference on Tuesday. At issue is the long-running Leandro school funding lawsuit that was initially filed in 1994 by low-wealth school districts to get more state funding. Over the years, the state Supreme Court has ruled that the state Constitution guarantees every child an opportunity to receive a sound basic education and that North Carolina was failing to meet that obligation. In 2020, Superior Court Judge David Lee adopted a multi-year plan from California-based WestEd, a nonprofit devoted to improving education thats designed to provide every student with access to a high-quality teacher and high-quality principal. The plan includes expansion of the states pre-K program, more money for lower-wealth districts and higher pay for educators. In November, Lee ordered the state to transfer $1.7 billion to fund the next two years of the Leandro plan. A state Court of Appeals panel blocked the order from being enforced. Superior Court Judge Michael Robinson, who replaced Lee, ruled that last years state budget left the plan nearly $800 million short of being fully funded. The state Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case in August, including whether the courts can order the additional funding. Our courts have found time and time again that the state has been failing to meet our students basic needs, Iliana Santillan, the executive director of Raleigh-based El Pueblo, said at Wednesdays rally. Supporters of the Leandro plan rallied in the rain outside the Legislative Building on Wednesday morning before going inside to lobby lawmakers. Multiple speakers talked about how fully funding the Leandro plan would expand access to pre-K programs. Time is of the essence. The time is now, said Gayle Headen, executive director of Wake County Smart Start. Republican legislative leaders say theyve provided significant investments into education, including: An average 4.2% raise this year for teachers. An average 4% raise or a minimum salary of $15 an hour for school support staff, whichever is higher. Raising the minimum starting salary for teachers to $37,000. A $70 million increase in the state fund to supplement teacher pay. Berger, a Rockingham County Republican, said lawmakers didnt focus on the court-ordered plan when developing the budget. GOP lawmakers have argued in court that the judicial branch cant require them to spend money for the plan. We looked at what the requirements are for funding public education in North Carolina and we appropriated dollars to do that, Berger said. How that matches up with what a non-profit from California determined was an appropriate amount, I couldnt say. But this is a North Carolina budget adopted by North Carolina representatives and senators elected by the people of North Carolina. GREENSBORO An unusual summer election will take place later this month and Friday is the voter registration deadline to cast your ballot by mail or on Election Day. "I cannot recall a municipal election like this in Guilford County," Charlie Collicutt, the county's elections director, said about the July 26 date. The citywide election is occurring mid-summer because the 2021 election cycle was delayed due to redistricting from the 2020 Census. Voter registration forms must be postmarked or hand-delivered to the Guilford County Board of Elections at 301 W. Market St., Greensboro, NC 27401 by 5 p.m. Friday or an online form can be filled out at www.ncdot.gov/dmv/offices-services/online. Downloadable forms are available at www.ncsbe.gov/registering. In this general election, voters will choose Greensboro's mayor and City Council members, as well as decide on five separate bond issues: $30 million to implement the city's Housing GSO plan for affordable housing and neighborhood reinvestment. $70 million to build and improve parks and recreation and joint library facilities. $14 million to renovate several fire stations. $6 million to renovate the police headquarters and to update the police department records management system. $15 million to improve sidewalks, streets and other transportation infrastructure, including public transit. Voters still have the option of same-day registration, where they can register and vote during early voting between July 7 and July 23. To register during early voting, you will need to bring a document with your current name and address, such as: a North Carolina drivers license. a photo identification from a government agency. a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document. Guilford County early voting sites are at: Old Guilford County Courthouse, Room 108, 301 W. Market St., Greensboro. Barber Park, 1500 Barber Park Drive, Greensboro. Craft Recreation Center, 3911 Yanceyville St., Greensboro. Griffin Recreation Center, 5301 Hilltop Road, Jamestown. Leonard Recreation Center, 6324 Ballinger Road, Greensboro. (The bridge is closed on Ballinger Road, use the North Chimney Rock Road access.) Lewis Recreation Center, 3110 Forest Lawn Drive, Greensboro. Contact Kenwyn Caranna at 336-373-7082 and follow @kcaranna on Twitter. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. GREENSBORO Of course children should be outdoors and accidents happen under the best of circumstances, but many are preventable. Accidents may not happen every time a child climbs on an ATV or rides a bike without a helmet, but they do happen, said Leigha Jordan of Safe Kids Guilford, a local injury prevention coalition. We hear that a lot It never happened to me or You never heard about that happening when I was a kid, Jordan told the News & Record in 2015. But the reason we want to get these messages out is because we do see those cases come through our emergency departments. Over the years weve asked emergency room doctors and safety experts for their stories about summer dangers. Doctors blame most of the injuries on carelessness. Here are safety stories experts shared with the News & Record over the years to consider this Fourth of July: Fireworks Generally, novelty firecrackers that dont explode, leave the ground or fly through the air are legal in North Carolina. That would include sparklers, which produce colored flames. But that doesnt mean children should handle them or be close by when adults handle them. People tend to think they are safe since they are allowed. I was a resident in Philadelphia in the emergency department, and a 5-year-old child was brought in because he had picked up an M-80 (firecracker), and it exploded in his hand, pediatrician Dr. Rob Poth told the News & Record in 2015. He had pretty much blown up his hand. Poth said he knows its not just the children who come across a stash of firecrackers without their parents knowledge that are handling firecrackers because photos circulating on social media and in newspapers often show smiling youngsters holding sparklers with adults nearby. He said what were also doing is sending children a mixed message. Any other time we would tell them to stay away from fire, its dangerous, he said. Handing them a lit sparkler or wand, or whatever you want to call it, isnt much of a difference. Parents too often let their guard down, said Ernest Grant, a former outreach clinician with the Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill. He said he knows thats the case because of the ages of the patients who are injured by firecrackers. Sparklers, which produce colored flames, burn up to 1,000 degrees or more As hot as a blow torch, Grant said. A few years ago we had someone who was a flower girl in a wedding at the beach and instead of walking with flowers they walked with sparklers, Grant said in 2018, and the sparkler caught her dress on fire. Drowning A child can drown in a couple of inches of water in the bathtub, a wading pool or even a bucket of water in two minutes or less. Rule of thumb while swimming: If the child cannot swim, he or she always should be within arms reach. If they can swim, they should be supervised. Pediatrician Dr. Ross Kuhner shared in 2015 the story of one drowning victim with the News & Record. The child got away from parental supervision and had wandered down to the lake and had either fallen in or gotten into the water and drowned, said Kuhner, who is now medical director of the childrens emergency department at Cone Health. It (the water) wasnt very deep, but it doesnt require very much. Its also important to know what a drowning might look like, experts said. People who are drowning do not always look like you would expect, said Dr. James ONeill, a pediatric emergency medicine specialist at Brenner Childrens Hospital. They may not have the energy to splash around enough to grab anyones attention or be able to call out for help because they may not have enough oxygen in their lungs, he told the News & Record in 2015. Safety equipment Another summer danger comes from such popular pastimes as riding a bike, scooter, ATV or skateboard without a helmet and padding. Children also should never be allowed to operate ATVs, experts warn. Sometimes parents simply arent aware that their child might be riding an ATV. Luly Beckles, pediatric injury prevention coordinator with Brenner and Safe Kids Northwest Piedmont, last year shared the story of a child getting on an ATV at the house of one of their friends. The vehicle wrecked and the child died. No one wanted this to happen, but having that conversation lets that parent know that you do not want your child on an ATV, Beckles said. About 650 people are killed in ATV accidents every year in the United States, and one-third are under the age of 16. North Carolina had 39 reported deaths from 2017 to 2018, according to the state Fire Marshals Office. North Carolina allows children 8 years old and older to drive age-appropriate ATVs with supervision. Dr. Michael Mitchell, a pediatrician at Brenner Childrens Hospitals emergency department, which is a part of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, recalls a child under 6 driving an ATV with an even younger passenger. Both ended up in the ER. Handling an ATV requires a lot of complex decision-making when to stop, when to slow down, when to speed up, Mitchell said of maneuvering the motorized vehicle and reacting to conditions. Children have less awareness of consequences, they are easily distracted and these things are really powerful, Mitchell said in 2018. Medical personnel see broken bones and worse from drivers hitting a tree or falling into a ditch, including burns from coming into contact with the carburetor. With bikes, scooters and skateboards, a lot of the accidents will happen as close as the driveway, Kuhner said. A 10-year-old was riding his bike (without a helmet) and sustained a skull fracture and bleeding around the brain, Kuhner said. A helmet would have prevented that from happening. Seatbelts could prevent a countless number of young automobile accident victims from getting rushed to hospital emergency rooms each year, said Dr. Philip Neustadt, a former emergency room physician at Wesley Long Hospital. Seatbelts save lives, seatbelts prevent injury, seatbelts are very important and we can never say it enough, Neustadt said back in 2001. Pediatric patients also have lost limbs from falling off lawn mowers. Surgeons dont want to see children on lawn mowers, even if they are riding in Grandpas lap. Its really, really critical that people understand that these types of injuries are preventable, pediatrician Robert Letton said in 2001. Kids left in cars For those parents tempted to make a stop and leave their children in the car with the windows cracked: Dont. A cars windows act like a greenhouse, trapping sunlight and heat, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And for those adults who transport children, have a plan for making sure all children are accounted for at the destinations or before locking up. If a child is riding in the back seat of a car, use a reminder system possibly one of that childs toys sitting on a purse or cellphone in the front seat. I can see them, Kuhner said of his experiences with those children accidentally left in vehicles. The only thing that you can say is that you cant leave a child in a car for any length of time. Contact Nancy McLaughlin at 336-373-7049 and follow @nmclaughlinNR on Twitter. 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. RALEIGH Another effort by Republican lawmakers to force North Carolinas sheriffs to learn the immigration status of their jails inmates and assist federal agents who want to detain them resurfaced at the General Assembly on Tuesday, more than a year after the legislation passed one chamber. A House judiciary committee voted along party lines for a Senate measure that is only slightly different from a 2019 measure Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper successfully vetoed. Since the GOPs margins still are not veto-proof, the chances that the latest measure will become law remain low. Tuesdays measure, which has not changed since it cleared the Senate in March 2021, is a GOP response to Democratic sheriffs in several urban counties, including Guilford, who have decided not to work closely with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to identify and hold defendants believed to be in the country illegally. The bill states that sheriffs and other jail administrators must determine whether any person charged with felony drug or violent crimes have ICE detainers seeking their custody. If a detainer is listed, deputies must take the inmate quickly to a local magistrate or judge who will decide whether to issue an order holding them. The additional hold would give ICE agents 48 hours to pick up the inmate. State Rep. Vernetta Alston, a Durham County Democrat and committee member, questioned the constitutionality of holding alleged offenders using detainers, which is not an arrest warrant. This program perpetuates fear and distrust among immigrant communities and local law enforcement, Stefania Arteaga with the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina told the committee. The measure would have to clear one more House committee before it could reach the chamber floor. RALEIGH North Carolina House Republicans pushed Wednesday for a constitutional amendment that would have voters elect members of the State Board of Education from each congressional district a move that would dramatically erode the governors appointment authority to the panel. The current rules have 11 members appointed by the governor serving on the board alongside Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson of Greensboro and State Treasurer Dale Folwell. The board would expand under the amendment to 14 elected members in line with North Carolina gaining a congressional seat in 2022 and add the statewide-elected superintendent of public instruction as chairperson. The proposed amendment, if approved by the General Assembly in the final days of the legislative session, would appear as a ballot question in the November general election. Every voter will have an equal opportunity, rather than a single individual who resides in the governors mansion, (to be) able to pick those people for the voters, said bill sponsor Rep. Hugh Blackwell, a Burke County Republican, who chairs the House Education Committee. The education committee voted 14-7 to recommend the legislation, which now heads to the House Rules Committee. Blackwell said he does not expect the bill to reach the floor Wednesday a sign that prospects for passage this year could be waning. Because the bill seeks to amend the state constitution, it must pass both chambers with a three-fifths majority of the total legislative body, regardless of how many lawmakers are present. That means the bill would need some bipartisan support to reach voters. Democratic Gov. Roy Coopers veto power does not apply to constitutional amendments. Some Democrats on the committee argued a system based on congressional districts, rather than the eight current education districts drawn by the General Assembly, could reduce minority representation on the board. They cited past controversies over redistricting and allegations that boundaries were tainted by racial bias. Whether its partisan or not, the children are children, and they should not be put in the position to not have representation, Rep. Kandie Smith, a Pitt County Democrat, said Wednesday. Changing to this type of structure is going to put (minority students) at greater risk. But bill proponents say the amendment could resolve a conflict of authority between the elected superintendent of public instruction and the appointed board members, while giving parents greater influence over their childrens education. Changes would take place in early 2024 if voters approved the amendment and apply first to elections that November, weeks before Cooper leaves office due to term limits. Board member terms would be reduced from eight years to four. Any appointments made by the governor to fill a vacancy would require General Assembly confirmation. Current rules already subject the governors board picks to similar legislative approval. The proposal defies a broader national trend toward governor-appointed education boards. Governors appoint all or some education board members in 38 states, according to the National Association of State Boards of Education. Seven states and the District of Columbia elect their entire board, while three states elect a portion of their members. Cooper has named Democrats to several board seats since he took office in 2017. The boards Democratic majority in 2021 voted to adopt new K-12 social studies standards that encouraged teachers to discuss racism, discrimination and the perspectives of marginalized groups. Republican members called the standards anti-American, anti-capitalist and anti-democratic. To suggest that education is a nonpartisan issue is maybe to deceive ourselves, Blackwell said. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. The Lewis and Clark County Republican Central Committee chose Keith Pigman to replace Dennison Rivera as the Republican candidate for Montana House District 79 in Helena. Rivera ran unopposed in the Republican primary election on June 7. A few days later, he announced that he was dropping out of the race and severing all ties with the Montana Republican Party, citing hypocrisy within the party and his Christian faith as the reasons. Pigman placed second in the three-way Republican primary for House District 84. Kaitlyn Ruch won that race with 509 votes, Pigman received 406 and Kurt J. Aughney received 364. The Lewis and Clark County Republican Central Committee on Monday unanimously nominated Pigman to replace Rivera on the ballots in the Nov. 8 general election, committee chair Darin Gaub said. Pigman was the only replacement candidate in the running. The Montana Secretary of States Office has received the certificate of appointment of replacement candidate, declaration of acceptance and oath of candidacy from Pigman for HD 79, spokesperson Richie Melby said. The candidate filing system will be updated shortly to reflect the change, Melby added. In response to an Independent Record candidate survey, Pigman said he is a homebuilder and business owner who previously trained and led U.S. Marines into combat during three deployments. He wrote that he will work to grow the economy, vote no on any indoctrination for our kids and school, promote the trades in middle schools and high schools, and stop the federal government from being involved with our public lands. From the primary I learned how important it is to encourage people to vote, register to vote and do the research on candidates to see who will best represent them, he said in a statement to the Independent Record. I will do what's right for every individual in Montana, I ask that anyone with questions or concerns to please contact me personally. I would love to listen to concerns and possible solutions. Laura Smith, the Democratic candidate for HD 79, responded to the news Wednesday. While the candidate Im running against has changed, my campaign and what were fighting for hasnt. I look forward to continuing our strong campaign to ensure that working families have a seat at the table, that we preserve our rights under the Montana Constitution, and support public education. The stakes couldnt be higher for this election and I look forward to working for the win in November, Smith said. Editor Jesse Chaney can be reached at 406-447-4074, or find him on Twitter: @IR_JesseChaney. Love 11 Funny 3 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 3 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. Okay, so it might take a year or so. But Helena College is renovating a house on its Roberts Street campus to be an art space with multiple art classrooms, a gallery, a gathering space, a ceramics lab, studio space and more. Right now, it just has very rough schematics by Slate Architecture and no ballpark figure of how much it will cost to become a reality. The Art Department has come a long way since Seth Roby first walked in the door in 2016 as an adjunct instructor to teach Intro to Drawing. That year, he had 18 students. A year later, he added Painting I and 2D Foundations. In 2019, he came on as a full-time instructor. Now, theres some 90 students taking art each semester. Theres a flurry of other art activity on campus, as well. This summer, Helena artist Doug Turman is teaching a special topics watercolor class on campus. In spring, ceramic artist and Holter Museum of Art Executive Director Chris Riccardo taught a ceramics class. A few steps down the hall from the Art Room a classroom is being transformed into a new media arts classroom yet another exciting addition to the Art Department. Two folks, both ex-Peace Corps volunteers who are well practiced and versed in how to build something out of close-to-nothing, are behind the scenes making all these pieces fall into place. One is obviously Roby, but the other is Robyn L. Kiesling, executive director of General Education and Transfer, who first sought Roby out and hired him. I think about how lucky we are, said Kiesling of hiring Roby, who has guided the growth of the department. They tested out classes, and most of them caught on. Our idea wasnt so far-fetched because its happened very quickly, Roby said. Weve continued to add to make a very strong foundational program for our students. Students get a lot of the courses they need for their first two years of a bachelors degree and can then transfer to the University of Montana or Montana State University for a four-year degree. Theyre also working with UM-Western in Dillon, so students can transfer into a K-12 arts education program. Plus, Helena College added a lot of professional development training for those students who want to go directly into working for an art business or starting their own business, rather than pursuing a bachelors degree. My students are very well connected with the community, Roby added. He invites in numerous local artists and art business owners to talk to his students. We want all our students to be very aware of what their end goal is, which is career, said Kiesling. Seth has done a very good job of incorporating that into the art program here. Theyve been very strategic in how they grow. We want to grow in a sustainable way. We dont want to grow too quickly, said Kiesling, but added were growing faster than we anticipated. Roby didnt expect to add media arts as a class for a few more years, but COVID changed that and drove a lot of interest in media arts. The college will offer two different media arts classes each semester. Were not here to offer everything, he said. Were not a four-year college. Helena College is now offering two levels of drawing, painting, a 2-D foundation class, a 3-D design/sculpture class, two levels of art history, an online Arts 101 class and a first semester seminar class that brings in community professionals and helps students build their resumes and then a final semester Capstone Seminar, focusing on their portfolios and an exhibit of their work. There are also the special topics classes with such guest artists as Turman and Riccardo. The new Media Arts 101 Class will give an overview of digital photography, film, animation, blogging and website design. Other Media Arts classes will cover graphics design, Adobe Creative Design Suite and website design. Up until now, all art classes were offered out of the sole Art Room. So, the addition of a media arts classroom and the Art House will give the program some crucial room to breathe and grow. Kiesling credits Roby for the programs amazing growth in a few short years, pointing particularly to his strong community and art connections in Helena. Seth is offering really great arts education here at Helena College, and its a really big deal for our students, said Kiesling. It allows students to start here and transfer almost anywhere. And for those who dont want to get a four-year degree, its offering a door opening to a good job. One student whos been thrilled with the growth of the arts program is Rachel Twoteeth-Pichardo. Her ledger artwork, Grandmother Moon, took first place at this years Helena College Art Showcase. Ive been an on-again-off-again student. My first year was 2013-2014, she said. Its incredible what Helena College (is doing). Shes now enrolled as a student at the University of Montana working on a bachelors degree in art, but is able to live in Helena, take UM courses online and also some in-person art classes at Helena College. She particularly liked Robys 2022 first Capstone Seminar Class. It prepares you to step into the art community, she said. You get your portfolio ready. She also took her first ceramics class with Chris Riccardo. The first year I went to Helena College there were just two art classes. Now Seth has so many different courses. Honestly, its amazing. Im really happy and proud of him. Hes made such a big impact for this community. Shes thrilled about the new Art House in progress. Although shes feeling her way about what she wants to do with her degree, she knows I definitely want to be independent. I am Native American and thats where a lot of my art goes towards my culture. I draw and sew as well and do dancing. Shes finding what shes most passionate about. Right now, its my ledger art. I use colored pencils and ink, and ledger paper from the store her grandmother owned. She said shes very sentimental toward the arts and especially Seth as my instructor. Hes really pushed me and motivated me to become a better artist and to step into that arena. Ive always had a lot of doubts. He did everything he could to make the path clearer. Hes inspiring. I really hope more people get into art. Its an unlimited type of career. This is just my shout-out to Seth for being amazing. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Carroll College hosted its first Helena Leadership Breakfast on Thursday morning, inviting community members to talk about a new vision for Carroll in the coming years. That vision centers on being more engaged with the Helena community, according to Carroll College President John Cech. Carroll continues to be a partner in this place we call home and Helena in so many ways, Cech said. Breakfast attendees included representatives from Grandstreet Theatre, United Way of the Lewis and Clark Area, Shodair Childrens Hospital, along with Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins, Sheriff Leo Dutton and Superintendent Rex Weltz of Helena Public Schools. This event is one of the first as we walk this path together, and as we provide you, our family and community members, a window into Carroll College, said Chris Aimone, Carrolls vice president of institutional advancement and one of the organizers of the breakfast. Cechs comments at the breakfast focused on Carrolls impact on Helena, along with a strategic plan to continue growing that impact. He said 72% of Carrolls students still work in Montana five years after graduating, and that this makes Carroll an importer of talent to the state. At the breakfast, Cech also outlined the five-pronged plan Carroll developed during the last two years. He said during the pandemic, students engaged in this strategic planning process too. That plan includes: Communicating the Carroll experience, enhancing the colleges academic profile, expanding its reach, embracing Catholic values and supporting the colleges people alumni, staff and students alike. Cech talked about the college improving its messaging and its branding this year to communicate the Carroll experience. The new branding is centered on a motto of, You are made for the adventure, and emphasizes how students can create their own journeys at the school. Carroll College, according to Cech, is also looking to expand its educational experiences by giving students a chance to do internships and work in the community, along with honing in on its liberal arts education and Catholic intellectual tradition. The Catholic faith has a strong tradition at Carroll, Cech said. What that means is to treat everyone with dignity and respect. He highlighted that over the last year, Carroll students had logged over 25,000 hours of community service Cech said the college is also doing a compensation study to ensure its salaries are providing enough money for people to afford housing in Helena. He added that to help out with housing challenges in Helena, the school made the strategic decision to set aside some of its new campus apartments for professors who need a place to live. After Cech's presentation, he invited community members present to share about their partnerships with Carroll College and how the school could continue expanding its reach. Many attendees thanked Cech and Carroll for the partnerships they have in Helena. Love 5 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly 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. Taqdeer Awards, the first points-based reward system recognising excellence in labour welfare practices, has signed a MoU with Rochester Institute of Technology of Dubai (RIT Dubai) to enhance knowledge and develop the academic competencies of employees in the labour sector in Dubai. A satellite campus of RIT New York in the UAE, RIT Dubai is one of the worlds leading technological-focused universities with a storied 185-year history. Under this deal, the award winners and their children who wish to complete their university studies will get to benefit from special discounts provided by the RIT Dubai for university studies, postgraduate studies, vocational training, development and professional academic programs. This is in line with the Dubai governments strategy at improving its level of cooperation with universities and other educational institutions in the country, stated Major-General Obaid Muhair bin Suroor, Deputy Director-General of General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA-Dubai) and Chairman of the Permanent Committee of Labour Affairs (PCLA-Dubai) and Taqdeer Award, after signing the deal with Dr Yousef Al-Assaf, President of RIT Dubai. "This is yet another achievement for us to help improve the academic competencies of the workers who won the award, giving them opportunities to upgrade capabilities to carry out their work to the fullest," added Major-General Obaid. Lauding RIT Dubai for its contribution, he said the institute was moving forward on the path to consolidating Dubais reputation as an international academic centre with the worlds finest universities in its fold; providing opportunities for workers and their children in continuing their studies in Dubai, and benefit from the special discounts that the university will grant them and improve their professional careers. A not-for-profit global campus of the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, it offers Bachelors and Masters degrees in business and leadership, engineering and computing. After signing the MoU, the RIT Dubai organised a tour for Major-General Obaid bin Suroor with Dr Youssef Al-Assaf briefing him about its facilities, departments, laboratories, its achievement and its role in promoting innovation and sustainability. "Any university is measured by the impact its graduates create in developing their communities and societies. As a sponsor of innovation and creativity, RIT Dubai is excited to take part in this endeavour," remarked Dr Al Assaf. "RIT Dubai will collaborate with Taqdeer Awards to support all distinguished employees and dependents not only financially but also by giving them access to the premises where they can work on their ideas, create prototypes and even test their projects," he added. Adam Meier is resigning as the head of Montanas Department of Public Health and Human Services due to "an ongoing family health issue," Gov. Greg Gianfortes office announced Thursday, and will be succeeded by Meiers chief of staff. Charlie Brereton will take over as department director after Meier leaves office on Aug. 12, according to a Thursday morning press release from the governors office. I am grateful to Gov. Gianforte for the opportunity to lead an amazing team of dedicated public servants working to improve service to Montanas most vulnerable populations, Meier said in a press release Thursday morning. Despite navigating many challenges, I am proud of what weve accomplished during the first 18 months of the Gianforte administration. DPHHS is well-positioned to continue addressing issues that have long plagued the health and human services ecosystem here in Montana. While this is an unexpected turn in my tenure as director, I have the utmost confidence that our progress will continue under Charlies leadership. Meier assumed the role of director in February 2021, and was confirmed by the state Legislature the following month. His annual salary is $165,000. DPHHS is by far the largest department in state government, with an annual budget of more than $3 billion. It oversees the states Medicaid program as well as agencies and programs ranging from foster care and child protective services to nutrition services and the state hospital system. It also continues to manage the states response to the coronavirus pandemic. Meier, an attorney, came into the job with prior experience as the top health official in Kentucky. Brereton appears to have little administrative experience as he prepares to take the helm of a department with more than 2,700 full-time-equivalent staff positions, according to a recent audit report. The George Washington University graduate was a health policy advisor to Gianforte before becoming the DPHHS chief of staff in December, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before that, he worked as a health policy advisor to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who was then chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Following internships from 2014 through 2016, he joined law firm Squire Patton Boggs as a public policy intern in 2017, then worked there for about two years as a policy associate and advisor. During his time there he was registered to lobby on behalf of clients that included hospitals, universities and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. "Charlie will make an exceptional director of our states largest agency, Gianforte said in the press release. Charlie has a knack for leadership and a superior ability to develop relationships, building consensus on complex issues. I look forward to continuing to benefit from his expertise, counsel, and hard work in this new role. In an email, Gianforte spokesperson Brooke Stroyke added that the governor was "not at all" concerned about the incoming director's lack of administrative experience and that "he has full confidence in Charlie." Meiers departure comes after the recent hire of the new state Medicaid director, Mike Randol. Randol was questioned recently during an interim legislative hearing about his past work in states that have moved to managed care for their Medicaid programs, meaning a third-party contractor does the management of the program. Randol told lawmakers he wasnt brought in to move toward managed care. Montana has a troubled past with managed care for mental health services. In 1993 during a special legislative session, lawmakers passed a bill that allowed for the exploration of managed care and subsequent legislation in 1995 allowed for managed care to start in the state for mental health services. Montanas Medicaid also faces a major effort expected later this year to go through the process of determining the eligibility of everyone covered by many of its programs, a process put on hold during the pandemic. Some have said the effort will be one of the most significant changes to health care coverage in the U.S. since the Affordable Care Act first went into place. Meiers departure also comes as the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs remains under intense scrutiny from federal officials and lawmakers. Last year the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services pulled reimbursement funding following repeated failures to meet health and safety standards. Those failures resulted in deaths that would have been otherwise preventable, according to a CMS report released in February. In April, the department announced it was replacing the state hospital administrator, who had been identified as a key driver of a staff exodus at the hospital. The governors office lauded Meiers leadership since his appointment, noting that he oversaw expanding substance use disorder and mental health treatment services, kicking off a long overdue assessment and overhaul of state-run facilities, comprehensively assessing provider rates to address significant gaps in Montanas continuum of care, implementing reforms to better support DPHHS workforce, and bringing a culture of customer service to the agency. Gianfortes office also praised his implementation of House Bill 702, Montanas controversial law to prohibit vaccine discrimination by prohibiting both public and private workplaces from requiring vaccinations as a condition of employment. Public health experts largely opposed the bill, but Republicans who supported the measure argue its a critical tool to protect the rights of Montanans who remain skeptical of the COVID-19. The law applies broadly to all vaccines, however, with some carve-outs for schools and nursing homes. Its currently being challenged in court, and was partially blocked by a judge earlier this year. Under Meier's tenure, the state also lost the $2 million annual federal grant for Title X, or family planning, services. For the first time, a nonprofit in Bozeman applied and got the funding, spurred by a law passed in 2021 that would have prohibited the department from entering into a contract with any organization that provided non-federally qualified abortions. In a Thursday email sent to DPHHS staff, Meier elaborated on the reason for his departure, saying that an immediate member of his family "faced unexpected health issues that require specialty care unavailable in Montana." He added that he will work from the office through July 22, and then work "intermittently to assist with the transition" through Aug. 12. Love 0 Funny 6 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 3 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Sam Wilson State Bureau Reporter Follow Sam Wilson Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously ruled the state Constitution gives exclusive authority to regulate firearms on campus to the Board of Regents of Higher Education, thwarting the state Legislature's efforts to allow concealed carry on state campuses. The high court ruling, authored by Justice Laurie McKinnon, affirms a District Court decision from late last year, in which Judge Michael McMahon issued a permanent injunction against sections of House Bill 102 that prohibited the Board of Regents from regulating concealed carry on campuses. The high court ruled maintaining a safe and secure educational environment falls within the board's constitutional authority. "The MUS appreciates the clarity provided by the Montana Supreme Court," Helen Thigpen, deputy commissioner for government relations and public affairs, said in an emailed statement Wednesday. "From the outset, the Board of Regents sought judicial review of HB 102 to determine the appropriate entity for setting policy for the state's public colleges and universities. The Board of Regents values its strong partnership with the Legislature and will continue to work on shared goals and priorities to strengthen the state's economy and provide world-class educational opportunities to Montanans." Other parts of the bill that expand where both concealed and openly carried firearms may be possessed remain intact. Republicans had lauded the bill on Second Amendment grounds, arguing the rollback of regulations allowed citizens to protect themselves. Still, legal experts gave lawmakers notice that such legislation may be at odds with the Montana Constitution. Republican lawmakers included $1 million in implementation funding that would be withdrawn by the Legislature if the Board of Regents decided to litigate over the matter. A Board of Regents committee held a public hearing last year to consider pursuing litigation after Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, signed HB 102 into law. Supporters of the draft policy allowing guns on campus were outnumbered 11-to-1 by those opposed. The bill has been under litigation since May 2021. It was supposed to go into effect the following month. Republican Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen represented the state in the case against the Board of Regents. "House Bill 102 was an historic expansion of Montanans rights and their ability to defend themselves," Kyler Nerison, a spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office, said in a statement on Wednesday. "As the court notes in its opinion, being sheltered within a 'gun-free zone' hasnt prevented students from being murdered on university campuses in Montana." In its ruling on Wednesday, the Supreme Court wrote it was following the framers' intent in its interpretation of the constitutional provision. Citing the 1972 Constitutional Convention debate over the board's authority, the Supreme Court wrote that the framers intended to put the Montana University System out of reach from political ambitions. "We must also consider that Montana's Constitution is a prohibition upon legislative power, rather than a grant of power," the ruling stated. " We agree that HB 102 unconstitutionally infringes upon the Board's responsibility to oversee the (Montana University System)." Justice Ingrid Gustafson recused herself from the Board of Regents case, although court filings naming Cascade County District Court Judge John Parker to her place do not indicate why. A call to Gustafson's office was not immediately returned on Wednesday. McMahon, who initially ruled against HB 102's provisions relating to college campuses, received sharp criticism around the state from GOP leaders during his own bid for Gustafson's seat. McMahon was a distant third vote-getter in the primary earlier this month; Gustafson and Public Service Commission Chairman James Brown will advance to November's general election. This story will be updated. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. THURSDAY, June 30, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- A therapy that uses a virus to kill tumor cells can be safely given to children with a rare, incurable form of brain cancer, an early study has found. The study -- published June 30 in the New England Journal of Medicine -- involved just 12 children with the disease, called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). But experts said it demonstrates the feasibility of directly delivering the viral therapy to the cancer, which forms in the brain stem. Whether the approach can ultimately extend children's lives, however, remains to be seen. DIPG is rare, affecting between 200 and 400 U.S. children each year. There is no cure, in large part because of the nature of the cancer: It arises in a part of the brain stem called the pons, which controls bodily functions as critical as breathing and heart rate. Complicating matters, the tumors are thread-like and interweave with normal brain tissue -- making it impossible to surgically remove the cancer. So right now, radiation is the primary therapy for DIPG. "In the majority of patients, but not all, the cancer will initially respond to radiation," said Dr. Susan Chi, deputy director of pediatric neuro-oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Boston Children's Hospital. Unfortunately, she explained, that only buys time, as the cancer almost invariably progresses again. Many children diagnosed with DIPG die within a year, and few -- less than 10% -- survive for two years, studies show. "This is probably the worst tumor diagnosis we give to families," said Chi, who was not involved in the new study. For the trial, researchers in Spain, the Netherlands and United States turned to oncolytic virus therapy, an approach that has been under study for certain cancers, including other brain tumors. The premise is based on the fact that some viruses can infect and kill tumor cells. Virus therapy involves viruses that have been modified in the lab to infect and reproduce efficiently inside cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone. One such therapy -- a genetically modified herpesvirus -- is approved in the U.S. for treating melanoma. Here, the researchers used a modified cold virus, called DNX-2401, which has been shown to kill DIPG cells in lab animals. Using a specially designed cannula (a thin tube), the researchers slowly infused the viral therapy into the tumors of 12 children and teens newly diagnosed with DIPG. The patients then received standard radiation. The main goal was to assess the safety of the procedure, according to the researchers, who were led by Dr. Jaime Gallego Perez-Larraya of the Health Research Institute of Navarra in Spain. And overall, the most common side effects were headache, nausea, vomiting and fatigue. Two children did develop significant limb weakness (temporary in one case), which is one of the concerns with "going into the pons," Chi said. Unfortunately, most of the children eventually succumbed to their disease, but the median survival -- at almost 18 months -- was higher than typically seen in DIPG. Median means half lived longer, half for a shorter time. Chi cautioned, however, that "it's too soon to draw conclusions." Some children with DIPG do live that long, she noted, and it's not clear that the viral therapy itself -- as opposed to the radiation therapy -- extended some kids' lives. On the other hand, Chi pointed out, two children were still alive past the 30-month mark. That included one child who was progression-free after 38 months. Dr. Evanthia Galanis, an oncologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., who studies oncolytic virus therapy, called the early findings "encouraging." "The approach was well-tolerated, and the virus went where it was supposed to," said Galanis, who wrote an editorial published with the study. Like Chi, she said the survival findings should be interpreted with caution, since the trial was primarily designed to assess safety. According to Galanis, researchers initially believed oncolytic viruses might work by directly killing tumor cells -- replicating within them until the cells burst. But over the years, studies have shown that the process may also trigger an immune response to the cancer. "I think it's part direct kill, and part immunotherapy," Galanis said. Normally, she explained, the immune response to DIPG, and other types of gliomas, is suppressed -- by both the cancer and standard treatments for it. When tumor cells are infected with oncolytic viruses, though, they send out signals that can draw an immune response. Both doctors pointed to some key questions for the future: Can virus therapy can be combined with other types of treatments to improve DIPG survival? And are certain patients more likely than others to benefit from any one oncolytic virus? Of the two children in this trial with the longest survival times, one had a tumor with a gene mutation that has been linked to relatively better survival, the researchers pointed out. Chi said the virus therapy was "obviously not a home run" in this early trial. But, she added, that is the general way of progress in cancer research -- incremental steps forward. More information The DIPG/DMG Resource Network has more on DIPG. SOURCES: Susan Chi, MD, deputy director, pediatric neuro-oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Boston Children's Hospital, Boston; Evanthia Galanis, MD, professor, oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.; New England Journal of Medicine, June 30, 2022 Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. Hot. High 99F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low near 75F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. LEBANON, Va. A new study of the likely next phase of the proposed Coalfields Expressway could help lower the projects cost. Marty Halloway, the Virginia Department of Transportations Bristol district engineer of mega projects, outlined that agencys plans Thursday during a meeting of the Virginia Coalfields Expressway Authority board. The study will revisit a 16.5-mile segment proposed from Grundy to the West Virginia state line. Funds for the study come from a $1.99 million federal appropriation. The current estimate for that section of the proposed route is between $1.5 billion and $1.8 billion, according to VDOT. The total cost of the entire proposed roadway from U.S. 23 in Wise County, eastward across Dickenson and Buchanan counties to the West Virginia state line, is about $4 billion. Construction is not getting cheaper. Its obvious in everything that were doing, Halloway said. What we have to recommend to the Federal Highway Administration is we are giving the most feasible, economically sound alternative to construct with the least amount of impacts. Work on the study is expected to begin soon and be completed in one year, he said. It must include a broad range of items, from possible environmental impacts including streams and wetlands, likely mitigation costs, cultural resources, any hazardous materials, endangered species, recreational, noise and air quality impacts, Halloway said. Those environmental findings will be valid for about five years, Halloway said, adding that is a window of opportunity to seek needed funding. The study is also expected to include three or four different route options to connect with the West Virginia segment of the roadway northeast of the town of Slate and just west of Paynesville, West Virginia. Current plans for that segment include a substantial bridge project spanning the Levisa River, but Halloway said they are looking for ways to exclude the bridge. Eliminating the bridge across the Norfolk-Southern Railroad and the Levisa River would be about a $40 million cost savings in todays dollars, Halloway said. VDOT is currently on schedule on segments of the roadway just west of Grundy, Halloway said. Work continues on the expressway with the segment from the Kentucky state line to state Route 744 at Southern Gap expected to be completed in early fall of 2023. The section from Southern Gap to Route 604 at Poplar Creek is expected to be done in early 2025 and the remainder, from Poplar Creek into Grundy, is expected to be done by late 2027. Simultaneously, West Virginia officials have set a goal to have all its 62-mile portion of the Coalfields Expressway completed within 10 years, or 2032. The current two-lane roadway in Buchanan County between Grundy and the state line handles 6,000 to 9,000 vehicles daily. Once the West Virginia portion is done connecting eastward to Interstate 77 traffic flow is expected to increase to 15,000 per day, Halloway said. U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-9th, said it will likely take multiple states working together to secure funding to complete the entire project. We need the help of Gov. Justice [W.Va.], the senators in West Virginia and our Congressional delegation to help us push that. The same is true of Kentucky, but to a lesser extent, because West Virginia has already put so much money into their part investing in this heavily, Griffith said. On the Infrastructure bill, the two [W.Va.] senators got Gov. Justice to come out and say, Were going to put a big chunk of the money were getting for roads into the Coalfields Expressway, Griffith said. Because of that there is a political synergy that is starting to build in central Appalachia to get this project done. What we have to do is encourage the rest of our team. Griffith said he remains committed to the project which, he said, gives the region a fighting chance to attract major employers and turn its economy around. The authority is presently awaiting final word on a $7 million request for federal money for a paving additional lanes portion of project at the intersection of U.S. 121 and U.S. 460 and in the Hawks Nest section. Earlier this week, the House Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee released its bill for fiscal 2023 but only included $3.5 million. The House only appropriated $3.5 million but I hope the Senators [Kaine and Warner] can get the $7 million on the Senate side. They have been great to work with and I know they know the need, Griffith said. Authority Executive Director Jonathan Belcher views either amount as progress. Momentum for the Coalfields Expressway continues to build and is headed in the right direction, Belcher said, adding, The Coalfields Expressway is the only solution to the economic plight of many areas of the coalfields. Twitter: @DMcGeeBHC 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. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has apologized after some Tennesseans voiced frustration after receiving disruptive alerts on their cell phones overnight. Weve heard your frustration loud and clear about receiving multiple alerts on your mobile devices when two Blue Alerts were issued on Tuesday, a TBI news release said. Some people received audible notifications overnight, many hours after the actual Blue Alerts were issued and resolved. Thats frustrating and inconvenient, for all of us. And for that, we apologize. A Blue Alert is issued essentially when a suspect kills or seriously injures a law enforcement officer, is on the loose and poses a threat to public safety. Just one emergency message went out for each alert Tuesday, TBI said, so it is unclear exactly why some people received multiple notifications. TBI says the issue could have been caused by varying factors for each cell user, such as their provider, moving in and out of the state or across coverage areas, signal strength and software or Wi-Fi settings. The agency uses services provided by the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency to deliver information to devices in Blue Alert situations. While this is certainly not ideal, its a function of the technical system in place, not the misstep of any single person or agency, the release added. Still, we routinely review our actions in these types of critical incidents, after the fact, and a vital part of that work weighs the publics feedback. Weve heard your frustration about this weeks alerts and your hopes for a more efficient, timely, and informative alert system. The first Blue Alert was issued around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday for Samuel Edwards, 34, who was wanted by Nashville police for attempted homicide and evading arrest. TBI announced Tuesday evening that Edwards was deceased following a gunfire exchange with Kentucky State Police. According to Metro Nashville Police, Edwards was wanted for shooting a Hendersonville, Tennessee police officer Monday night during a pursuit. The officer has been released from the hospital, the police department said in a release. The second statewide Blue Alert was issued around 6:30 p.m. for BJ Brown, 32, who was wanted by Erin, Tennessee police for attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer. Brown was taken into custody Wednesday morning. According to TBI, Brown fired into an officers vehicle after being pulled over and proceeded to flee on foot. The officer had to be flown to a Nashville hospital. The Herald Courier contacted the TBI on Wednesday for additional comment, but did not receive a response; however, Josh DeVine, TBI communications director, said in a tweet that Blue Alerts are exceedingly rare alerts in Tennessee. Weve only issued a handful since Blue Alert became law in 2011, and it was mere coincidence two fell on the same day, DeVine tweeted. Blue Alerts can also be issued when an officer is missing in the line of duty and foul play is involved. The alerts are issued by staff in TBIs Criminal Intelligence Unit. TBI says it will continue to sharpen its system. 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. For Lewis F. Powell Jr., clearing legal obstacles a half-century ago to a woman having an abortion they were stunningly restored by the U.S. Supreme Court of which he was a member for 15 years was an easy decision that the courtly Richmonder and former corporate lawyer considered a bow to social progress. As an associate justice of the Supreme Court from 1972 until 1987, Powell a soft-spoken titan of the bar whod been a voice of moderation during Virginias bitter school desegregation crisis joined a lopsided, 7-2 majority in the 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade affirming a womans right to terminate a pregnancy in the first trimester without restriction. It was a ruling that Powell unhesitatingly supported, confident it struck a balance between judicial restraint and evolving notions of freedom. Though seven years later in a case the court decided 5-4 Powell, consistent with his centrism, agreed state and federal governments were not legally required to help poor women pay for abortions. He was always at peace with his vote, said J. Harvie Wilkinson III, a federal appellate judge and Powell family friend who was Powells clerk during his first term on the court, when Roe was decided. It was not a hand-wringing thing that he went back and forth with. ... He wasnt necessarily passionate on the subject. Both sides most assuredly are these days in Virginia, with few, if any, in the political class bringing to the struggle loosened at the state level by the Supreme Courts reversal of Roe the pragmatism and moderation that were Powells hallmarks as an attorney, judge and community leader. While Virginia voters generally support abortion rights, Glenn Youngkin, a nationally ambitious Republican governor who opposes abortion, and a closely divided legislature are warily maneuvering for early advantage over restrictions Democrats are sworn to resist and Republicans determined to implement. That includes a ban on abortion after 15 weeks Youngkins preference and possibly stripping licenses from doctors who perform the procedure after that. Currently, there are no limits on abortion in Virginia in the first and second trimesters. Abortion is permitted in the third trimester if the womans health is imperiled. Powell, who died in August 1998 at age 90, viewed abortion as part of the larger issue of birth control, which was central to the courts 1965 decision outlawing, as a violation of privacy rights, a state prohibition on contraceptives. That ruling, in Griswold v. Connecticut, was key to the affirmation in Roe of abortion rights. In sharing over lunch his decision with another clerk, Larry Hammond, to eliminate state bans on abortion, There was no equivocation, no debate, no exchange of memoranda, no tentative drafts, John C. Jeffries Jr., a Powell clerk from 1973 to 1974, wrote in his 1994 biography, Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. He would vote to strike the abortion laws because he thought it intolerable that the law should interfere with a womans right to control her own body during early pregnancy ... Despite the bitter passions aroused by the issue of abortion, Powells initial consideration of it was straightforward, free from doubt, almost routine. Jeffries, who teaches at the University of Virginia Law School, said in an interview that for Powell, having arrived at the Supreme Court about two years after Roe reached the court from Texas, the die had been cast on abortion. ... There was a pretty heavy majority for abortion. Powells tenure on the court he was one of four Nixon-nominated justices, three of whom favored abortion rights preceded the conservative movement to reorient the American judiciary, of which the reversal of Roe qualifies as a tectonic shift. Constitutional originalism and that abortion was not an enumerated right meant little in the early 1970s. I asked Wilkinson, a Reagan-era judge who is an opponent of Roe and an emblem of that conservative push, what Powell would make of the Supreme Courts decision last week to junk federal abortion rights protections, leaving it to the states to decide what restrictions, if any, to a woman ending a pregnancy. Beyond disagreeing with the ruling, said Wilkinson, Powell who heard 18 cases on abortion, including two in which, by vote and opinion, he strongly affirmed Roe would have recognized that human affairs are cyclical. Conventions change. Trends change. Jurisprudential thinking changes. Central to Powells legacy on the court isnt as much his support of abortion. Rather, it was his skepticism on race in college and university admissions. Writing for the majority in a 1978 landmark ruling outlawing quotas in admitting minorities, Powell said that schools, nonetheless, could weigh race as a factor in selecting students. Still, abortion rights is a telling element of the Powell story in a way that has little to do with the actual issue, but of which there was an echo in the leak last month of the pending decision overturning Roe. Shortly before the Supreme Courts historic order in 1973, Time magazine reported that the ruling was expected any day. The chief justice, Warren Burger, was apoplectic that the courts secrecy had been breached. It turned out that Hammond, the Powell clerk, had spoken with the Time reporter who was a classmate from law school. Hammond believed that none of the details of the case would be published until the court announced its decision. Explaining the twists and turns of his contact with the journalist, Hammond offered Powell his resignation. It was immediately refused by the ever-gracious justice. Powell then spoke with Burger, who would meet with the clerk, commending him for his candor. Manners maketh the justice, whether seeking common ground on a constitutional question or calming a colleague over a clerks loose lips. Contact Jeff E. Schapiro at (804) 649-6814 or jschapiro@timesdispatch.com. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter, @RTDSchapiro. A 12-year-old male is in stable condition after being shot on Wednesday in Hickory. The 12-year-olds condition was updated Thursday by Hickory Police Department Media and Community Service Coordinator Kristen Hart. Hickory police have not made any arrests or taken anyone into custody as of Thursday afternoon. The police said, in a news release, that officers received a call from a female stating that six to seven Black male juveniles were on the porch of her residence at 527 Sixth Avenue SW threatening to assault her 16-year-old son who was inside the residence. The call was received shortly after 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, according to the release. While officers were on their way to the residence, a 911 call was received from a second caller who stated that several shots were fired behind the residence, Hickory police said. Officers reported they found a 12-year-old Black male lying next to the road on the 500 block of Seventh Avenue SW with a gunshot wound. Catawba County EMS took the 12-year-old to Catawba Valley Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, Hickory police said. A 16-year-old male was identified as the shooter, Hickory police said. No charges have been filed in the case as of Thursday afternoon. Anyone with information on the shooting is encouraged to call the Hickory Police Department at 828-328-5551 or contact Investigator A. Callicutt directly at 828-261-2623 or acallicutt@hickorync.gov. At the Chamber of Catawba County, we aim to serve as the strong pro-business voice, advocating for free enterprise and working alongside local government to ensure a friendly business environment that is needed for all business in Catawba County to grow and sustain. Two major issues impacting business repeatedly rise to the surface of our impact surveys with our partners: the lack of available and qualified talent to fill job demand and rising employee-related costs including health insurance premiums. Many factors are at play as to the cause of each of these critical issues businesses are experiencing. However, recent data has shown that both issues are made worse by the coverage gap. The coverage gap consists of individuals who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to qualify for a subsidy on the health insurance marketplace. Statewide, 76% of those who are in the coverage gap are working; of the remaining 24%, many either have a medical disability or are sitting on the sidelines of the workforce because theyve made the decision that it is not worth giving up their health insurance to take a job. In Catawba County, 14.2% workers do not have any health care coverage. One solution to close the coverage gap that has been adopted by 38 states and now under serious consideration among the North Carolina General Assembly is by expanding Medicaid. The Chamber of Catawba County has not taken a position on this issue; however, our pro-business public policy standards are directed by our guiding principles adopted by our board of directors. One of these guiding principles states, The Chamber of Catawba County supports policies that make health insurance affordable and accessible, and create insurance options, especially for small businesses. With this in mind, we are committed to learning about the implications this proposed solution has for business, and therefore, were keeping an open ear to all possible remedies of this pain point. Recently, our Advocacy Taskforce heard a presentation on the business case for Medicaid expansion from Erica Palmer Smith, executive director for the 152-member statewide Care4Carolina coalition. This coalition was formed to observe the impact of Medicaid expansion in other states and the potential impacts that this policy can have on North Carolina. Palmer Smith reminded the taskforce that those of us who are insured currently pay for the uninsured through higher health insurance rates and cost-shifting to subsidize the charitable care that our hospitals provide. She presented data which showed that the total workforce grew in states that have already made the decision to expand Medicaid, which netted more available workers for business and industry. Additionally, we learned that North Carolinians are already paying for Medicaid expansion in the 38 other states that have expanded Medicaid through our federal tax dollars. One major objection that is raised by most is the significant cost implications we stand to incur as a state if expansion would occur. Palmer Smith explained that North Carolina taxpayers will bear no additional burden as the federal government will pay 90% of the cost of expansion and hospitals will cover the remaining 10%. The expense our hospital partners will incur will be less than they currently are having to spend on uncompensated care for those who are currently uninsured, therefore, ultimately their burden will significantly decrease. Furthermore, we learned that as a part of the American Rescue Plan, the federal government will provide states with a new incentive: a two-year, 5% increase in the federal match rate for Medicaid. For North Carolina, that would mean an influx of around $1.7 billion over the next two years. Official estimates put the cost of closing the coverage gap through Medicaid at $700 million over that span, which would leave $1 billion for the state to invest in other worthy endeavors. Proponents say expanding Medicaid would be the comprehensive solution, providing coverage to an estimated 600,000 North Carolinians, a third of which have children under the age of 18, and including approximately 9,900 people in Catawba County, who are currently uninsured. They also state that it would support and stimulate small businesses and enable them to afford coverage for themselves and offer insurance to their employees. If North Carolina experiences the same benefits as seen in other expansion states, employer-sponsored health insurance premiums can see rate decreases, in some cases of up to 25% and the number of available workers will increase. Finally, they say that a healthy workforce is a more productive workforce. Those who live with untreated or chronic conditions will have access to the care needed to manage their conditions and remain in the workforce. Several weeks ago, a bill was introduced by a group of Senate Republicans led by N.C. Senate President Pro Temp Phil Berger (R-Eden). When rolling out the new bill that would close the coverage gap, Berger stated, We need coverage in North Carolina for the working poor without creating problems for the state budget. Medicaid expansion, he explained, has evolved to the point that it is good state fiscal policy. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 44-1 and was supported by Catawba County Senator Dean Proctor. As the process unfolds and the House considers Medicaid expansion, the Catawba County Chamber will be listening both to the conversation at the General Assembly and right here at home. As always, I appreciate the opportunity to hear from local business leaders around this issue or any others, therefore, contact me at lkeisler@catawbachamber.org. Lindsay M. Keisler is the president and CEO of the Chamber of Catawba County. Huawei has announced its latest and innovative Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) offering for the Middle East region, powering enterprises across different industries to build a strong foundation for digital transformation. These new-generation services will enable enterprise businesses from government, education, healthcare, retail, banking, manufacturing industries and other SMEs to keep pace with innovation, meet rapidly changing business needs and optimise network performance and user experiences through a cloud-like subscription model, Huawei said at the Network-as-a-Service Forum held recently at Atlantis Hotel, Dubai. Enterprise NaaS models allow enterprises to outsource provisioning, deployment, ongoing management, and decommissioning and end of life for their enterprise networks. The advantages of enterprise NaaS models include faster access to new technology, simplification of network deployment and management, and improved refresh cycles for enterprises to dynamically scale network components as needed. Enterprise NaaS market to mature IDC predicts the enterprise NaaS market will mature rapidly in 2022 and beyond, growing to become a prominent way that enterprises procure, operate, and manage their networks. Close collaboration of technology vendors with their carrier/MSP partners is essential to leverage new growth opportunities fuelled by digitalisation. Len Padilla, Senior Research Director at IDC spoke at the event and said: Huawei have clearly understood the enterprise demand for Network-as-a-Service (NaaS). In order to meet that demand they are investing in systems and enablement for their network operator partners, equipping them to address the requirements of current and future clients. Using Huaweis NaaS offering built on the CloudCampus MSP platform, carrier/MSP partners can provide a depth of services to enterprise customers. CloudCampus MSP combines AIOps and a unified infrastructure for wired, wireless and SD-WAN management, providing MSPs a single platform to manage all customers in their environment. Build and deliver With best-of-breed network hardware, a comprehensive set of APIs, and integration with hundreds of smart solutions offered by Huaweis technology partners, the CloudCampus MSP platform enables partners to quickly build and deliver a wide variety of managed service offerings that meet their customers specific needs. Digital transformation requires a network that features integrated security, scalable advanced routing, full visibility into network traffic and sophisticated analytics. Enterprises today need the flexibility and security of cloud as well as the agility and ability to scale up infrastructure as per customer demand - and all of this in a cost effective, simple yet comprehensive manner. This is where Huaweis NaaS solution comes in - it is built with the focus on business agility and continuity, security and compliance resulting in achieving greater efficiencies and optimisation for our customers, said David Shi, President, Huawei Enterprise Business Group, Middle East. Zarrar Hasham Khan, Group Chief Business Solutions Officer, PTCL & Ufone, spoke at the event about how carriers are transforming from being a pure-play connectivity provider to an end-to-end solutions provider. Smart solutions PTCL is launching a series of smart solutions for digital transformation across various industry verticals in Pakistan, such as workplaces, banks, educational institutes and healthcare. Furthermore, he shared the experience of PTCLs Smart HealthSuite solution as an example, that integrates several technologies like Fibre-to-the-Room, Wi-Fi 6, IoT asset tracking and patient medical record management, to deliver a single medical centre solution for better experience and high reliability. In the future, these smart solutions will offer a one-stop shop, pay as you grow and cost-effective services model to help businesses contribute effectively to the digital vision of Pakistan. MoU with Ooredoo During the forum, Ooredoo Business and Huawei signed an MoU to launch a new generation of cloud-optimised managed network services in Kuwait called Cloud Connect to improve business performance and enable them to establish secured high-speed connections. Through this partnership, Ooredoo Business will be able to deliver SD-LAN and SD-WAN managed services to their customers by leveraging leading technologies such as 5G, Wi-Fi 6, AI, SD-WAN, Passive Optical LAN (POL) from Huawei. These services deliver a variety of benefits, including a single management platform, technical consulting resources and advanced service delivery. Through this offering, customers would be able to focus on their core business without worrying about network complexity. "Last year, we officially launched the Cloud Managed Network service strategy with our partners. Now we strengthen the approach to support our partners to take this business to new heights, with intelligent upgrades and comprehensive solutions. We believe, with the support and collaboration from our partners, together we can help our customers go digital successfully and accelerate industry digital transformation, added Shi.-- TradeArabia News Service " " HistoryNmoor/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0 An artist's impression of Mansa Mura with his hordes of soldiers. In Europe, the 1300s were dark days a period of religious insularity and superstition made even worse by the arrival of the Black Death, an outbreak of bubonic plague that killed an estimated 50 million people on the continent alone. Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in sub-Saharan Africa, the Mali Empire was experiencing a medieval flourishing of culture and learning fueled by unimaginable wealth. At the center of it all was a West African king named Mansa Musa, who reigned over a vast Muslim empire stretching 2,000 miles (3,219 kilometers) from the Atlantic Ocean to modern-day Niger. But more important than the size of Mansa Musa's empire was the richness of his natural resources two highly productive gold fields renowned for producing the purest and most coveted gold in the world. If the stories told about Mansa Musa are true that he and his court were bedecked in pure gold, and that he spent so much gold on a pilgrimage to Mecca that he devalued the price of gold for decades then he may have been the richest man to ever live. The website Celebrity Net Worth says he was worth $400 billion in today's dollars, making Mansa Musa nearly four times as rich as Jeff Bezos. Advertisement The Gold King Mansa Musa inherited the throne of the Mali Empire between 1307 and 1312 (Mansa means "sultan" or "emperor" in the Mandinka language) and cemented the empire's position at the center of a vast medieval trade network that connected Asia, the Middle East and Europe via Africa by annexing 24 cities. A percentage of all the gold mined in the empire was sent as tribute to the king. Some sources say it was as much as 1 to 1. An elaborate 14th-century map called the Catalan Atlas features a prominent illustration of Mansa Musa seated on a plush throne, crowned in gold, holding a scepter in one hand and a large golden orb in the other. " " This detail from the Catalan Atlas Sheet 6 shows Mansa Musa crowned in gold, holding a scepter in one hand and a large golden orb in the other. Bibliotheque nationale de France/Wikimedia Commons "This Moorish ruler is named Musse Melly [Mansa Musa], lord of the negroes of Guinea," reads the map's description. "This king is the richest and most distinguished ruler of this whole region on account of the great quantity of gold that is found in his lands." The 14th-century Arab historian Al-'Umari provides a secondhand account of Mansa Musa's opulent throne room, supposedly dripping in gold. "[The king of Mali] has with him his arms, which are all of gold sword, javelin, quiver, bow and arrows," wrote Al-'Umari, who then described the members of the Malian royal court. "Their brave cavaliers wear golden bracelets. Those whose knightly valor is greater wear gold necklets also. If it is greater still they add gold anklets." Historians warn that we should take these ancient accounts with a grain of salt, since they are often biased and almost certainly exaggerated, but they also carry elements of truth. Kathleen Bickford Berzock is the associate director of curatorial affairs at Northwestern University's Block Museum, where she curated a stunning exhibit about the trans-Saharan trade network that made Mansa Musa so fabulously rich. She says that the "broad strokes" of the stories surrounding Mansa Musa are factual even if the details were embellished over time. "Certainly Mansa Musa and other rulers from these West African kingdoms had access to huge amounts of wealth, and the gold itself was considered the purest, most valuable gold of its day," says Berzock. "Whether he was the richest man in the history of the world, I don't know." Advertisement Mansa Musa Goes to Mecca A devout Muslim, Mansa Musa wanted to complete the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city in Islam. So, in the year 1324, the Malian king set out for modern-day Saudi Arabia with a caravan of mythic proportions. According to Al-'Umari, the Islamic scholar who was born a decade after the famous hajj, Mansa Musa's caravan swelled to 60,000 people, including 12,000 slaves and countless court officials, soldiers and singing poets called griots. As for traveling money, Al-'Umari said that Mansa Musa brought a "hundred loads of gold" for the trip. If a single load equals 100 pounds (45 kilograms) of gold, as some estimate, that's a lot of bullion. The journey to Mecca and back took a full year with long layovers in Cairo. According to Al-'Umari, Mansa Musa went on an epic spending spree in the Egyptian capital, handing out gold like it was candy. "The man flooded Cairo with his benefactions," wrote Al-'Umari. "He left no court emir... no holder of a royal office without the gift of a load of gold. The Cairenes made incalculable profits out of him and his suite in buying and selling and giving and taking. They exchanged gold until they depressed its value in Egypt and caused its price to fall." That's right. The exchange rate for gold fell throughout the Middle East because of the shopping habits and courtly bribes of a single man. And according to some sources, gold prices stayed down for a decade. Advertisement Salt Above Gold Mansa Musa was so crazy wealthy because he sat atop the medieval world's most vibrant trade network. The hunger for West African gold was so great that traders were willing to cross the Sahara Desert to get their hands on it. "That journey by camel caravan took three to four months, with stretches of 10 days or more between stops," says Berzock. "It was a really demanding and arduous journey, with some considerable risk." But the risk was worth the reward. West African gold was literally the "gold standard," and kingdoms across the world wanted to mint their gold currency with the purest material. Surprisingly, the commodity that was most prized in gold-glutted Mali was salt. It was even used as a currency there. So, caravans would stop along the way to Mansa Musa's empire and trade their textiles and spices for large slabs of Saharan salt. The medieval Arab writer Ibn Battuta claimed that the Saharan outpost of Teghaza was so rich with desert salt that its buildings were made of pure rock salt. Once in Mali, some sources say that heavy slabs of salt could be traded for their weight in gold. Berzock says that the lucrative salt-gold trade supported a much larger trans-Saharan trade network with "entrepots" intermediary trade hubs in cities like Sijilmasa in Morocco, Niamey in Niger and Tadmakka in Mali. "On the heels of this gold and salt trade come all these different commodities: glass beads, glass vessel ware, books, textiles, spices, enslaved people," says Berzock. "It's a very complex economy that developed out of this essential trade of gold for salt." Advertisement The Overlooked History of Africa Berzock says that a larger-than-life figure like Mansa Musa highlights the central and influential role of sub-Saharan Africa in medieval global trade, a story often overshadowed by what came after it: centuries of transatlantic slave trade and European colonialism. " " The Djinguereber Mosque, Timbuktu, Mali, was commissioned by Mansa Musa who allegedly paid the architect 440 pounds (200 kilgrams) of gold. The mosque still stands today. Ellen Mack/Getty Images Before and after the reign of Mansa Musa, the Mali Empire was not only wealthy, but a capital of Islamic learning. The fabled Malian city of Timbuktu was home to one of the largest libraries of Islamic scholarship in the medieval world. "We want to reshape how African history is taught and to reinvest it with the true agency and the true import it deserves," says Berzock. Her exhibit, "Caravans of Gold," is set to open at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art in 2020 at a date to be determined. Now That's Cool When al-Qaeda militants threatened to destroy hundreds of thousands of Timbuktu's medieval Islamic manuscripts, some "badass librarians" plotted to smuggle the priceless texts to safety. " " Globes of the world shine brightly on display at the National Geographic store on Regent Street in London. ricardo/Flickr/(CC By SA 2.0) What is a country and how many are there? Easy questions, right? The answers might surprise you and they might depend on who you choose to take as an authority. According to the United Nations (U.N.), the generally recognized body which determines nationhood, there are 193 countries on planet Earth right now. The U.N. calls these 193 countries "member states" because they have been admitted to the international organization through a series of steps beginning with each potential nation's philosophical direction. To be a member state, a country must be a "peace loving" state and one that "accepts the obligations contained in the United Nations Charter and, in the judgment of the organization, are able to carry out these obligations." (Kind of makes you wonder about some of the members, but we won't name names.) At any rate, becoming a member or receiving recognition as a state is not a slam dunk. Because the U.N. is not a state or government, it cannot grant authority to recognize a state or government its members, the organization of independent states do that. The new state submits an application and letter to the Secretary-General stating that it accepts the requirements of the Charter. The application is referred to the 15-member Security Council for consideration where it must receive nine of 15 votes and cannot be voted down by any of the five permanent members of the Council (China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or the United States). Once the application passes through the Security Council it goes before the General Assembly where it must receive a two-thirds majority vote for admission. It's as simple as that. Advertisement Countries the U.N. Does Not Recognize But, of course, nothing is ever simple in geopolitics. There are territories that apply for recognition that do not receive it for what can only be described as political reasons. Taiwan continues to be lumped in with the People's Republic of China. Palestine which received non-member observer status in November 2012 is not recognized because Israel and many other nations countries do not recognize it as a sovereign state. The Holy See, representing Vatican City, also has non-member observer status at the U.N. Thus, as non-member observers, Palestine and the Holy See are not considered official countries. Advertisement Places You Though Were Countries As far as the U.N. is concerned, Puerto Rico is a territory of the U.S., and so are Guam and American Samoa. The Republic of Ireland is a country, but Northern Ireland is not. Northern Ireland, along with Scotland, Wales and even England are part of the United Kingdom. The Canary Islands? Not a country. They belong to Spain. Tibet, which shares the world's tallest mountain (Mount Everest) with Nepal, is not considered a country. It's part of China. Even the biggest island on the planet, Greenland, is also not a country. It's a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the smallest Nordic country. Oddly, its smaller next door neighbor, Iceland, is an independent, European nation. Which just goes to show you, size doesn't matter. Now That's Interesting How does a nation declare its intentions for independence? First, they must exist within clearly defined boundaries. Next, they must retain a permanent population. They have to set up a working government and finally they must be able to enter into agreements with other independent nations. Obtaining recognition from legitimately recognized countries goes a long way in the eyes of the international community. That's why Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and others spent so much time courting European support early in the American Revolution. Every crunchy, melty cheese curd that crosses a Culvers counter came from somewhere specific and special. In the rolling hills of west-central Wisconsin, daily pickups of fresh milk from family-owned farms like those to the cheesemakers at LaGrander's Hillside Dairy begin the process. A Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin (DFW) partnership with Culvers this June will showcase dairy as an integral part of the food service chains menu, telling the sourcing story behind popular items. The campaign collaboration, which will feature farmer profiles on Culvers.com, ads live across social media, and pop-up activations at various locations is a terrific example of how dairy checkoff partnerships with food service go beyond the Proudly Wisconsin badges. By supporting innovative marketing efforts, we build trust with consumers and grow usage of Wisconsin Cheese. For Culvers, we are grateful that Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin helps us both on the marketing side, by showcasing Proudly Wisconsin Cheese and Proudly Wisconsin Dairy on our menu, as well as on the farm side highlighting how we work with dairy farmers, their farms and quality milk, said Alison Demmer, public relations manager for Culvers. Were excited about our partnership and look forward to working together to continue telling great farm stories. Partnerships around DFW campaigns like National Cheese Curd Day, National Dairy Month, and other marketing activations are key to creating excitement beyond the storefront. Culvers upcoming partnership uses storytelling strategies to differentiate their restaurant menu and add value for their customers. Restaurant leaders know their guests care where their food comes from. Spotlighting the hardworking producers whose behind-the-scenes dedication delivers on the Wisconsin Cheese promise of quality, wholesome products elevate key ingredients for the expanding restaurant chain. Culvers currently has more than 850 restaurants across 25 states. They are serving nearly 12 million pounds of deep-fried Wisconsin Cheese curds each year across the country. The Curd to counter story is aligned with existing ongoing efforts, too. Through their Thank You Farmers Project, Culvers embeds appreciation for Wisconsin dairy farmers into their brand. Fundraising efforts for the National FFA Organization and free custard at their convention, four blue barns painted with messages of gratitude, and #FarmingFridays social media takeovers are a few examples of Culvers current investments and sponsorships within the Thank You Farmers Project. The Curd to counter signature story will highlight third- and fourth-generation dairy farmers Tammy and Kyle, who live outside of Chippewa Falls, Wis., with their four children and a combined herd of dairy cows. Milk pickup happens at 7 a.m., before the kids head off to school. Even the family dogs recognize the LaGrander's team. (They often get a treat when the milk truck pulls up!) Tracing the chain of family businesses back to dairy farmers like Tammy and Kyle highlights the personal connections behind a great product. When food service operators use Wisconsin as an adjective to describe their cheese on menus, it communicates craftsmanship as well as a great flavor. We know 90% of consumers say the quality of cheese affects taste, and about 90% of consumers say the quality of cheese affects their impression of a restaurant. Being able to talk about product origins in addition to having that quality ingredient recognition creates a halo effect around consumer perceptions of a brand. Which, in turn, helps sell more cheese. Like the farm-to-table movement that emphasized fresh, locally sourced produce to build affinity between growers, restauranteurs, and diners, this campaign will mobilize Culvers consumers to consider the brands demonstrated commitment to the agricultural community. It also educates customers on the curd-making process, so they understand their favorite fried nuggets are formed using simple, best-quality ingredients and traditional processes. This builds a personal connection that extends beyond the food. Following the curd from counter back to the herd ties a tasty treat to our farmers livelihoods and heritage. Working with partners like Culvers that recognize dairy farmer stories are worth telling is essential; food service utilizes about 60% of all the cheese produced in Wisconsin. We are excited about the Curd to counter launch, and the opportunity to bring greater visibility to the hardworking people who make Wisconsin, the State of Cheese. To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com. (c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2022 June 27, 2022 Fully 79 per cent of Census forms were completed online rather than paper, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has revealed, as the first release of Census 2021 data reveals just how much 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic changed Australias demographics. Ongoing lockdowns and widespread working-from-home (WFH) arrangements had kept Australians homebound much more than normal, the ABS said, noting that there were 2.18m more people at home on Census night, 10 August 2021, than at the previous population survey in 2016. That Census which was hampered by technical issues tied to inadequate capacity, cyber security planning and understanding was close to mind as the completely rewritten, cloud-based 2021 interface was put through its paces and ultimately performed as expected. Many people commented on how easy it was to complete the Census and receive help if they need it, the agency noted as it ran down its notes on the process. Some 6.1m forms were completed through the Census Digital Service during the first 24 hours of the Census, with up to 140.8 submissions lodged every second compared to just 126,637 paper forms submitted during the same time. The surge in online lodgement helped to increase the overall completion rate of Census forms from 95.1 per cent of households in 2016, to 96.1 per cent last year. The preference for online rather than paper forms reflected the ABSs efforts to deliver a contactless and COVID-safe Census, Australian statistician Dr David Gruen said, noting that the survey was conducted at an unprecedented time in Australias history and provides a unique snapshot of the population during the COVID-19 pandemic. WFH by the numbers The success of the online Census has motivated the ABS to design the coming 2026 Census with a digital first approach, the agency said, informed by privacy by design and security by design principles including continuous security testing at every stage of development and deployment. In the shorter term, however, the release of additional data sets in October will add more layers to the understanding of just how the pandemic-era surge in work-from-home (WFH) arrangements changed the populations mobility patterns, employment situations, occupations, and internal migration patterns. A third release, scheduled for early to mid-2023, will publish data on more complex topics such as distance to work, and area-based socio-economic indices. The current figures have already cast new light on the pandemics effects, with a marked decrease in the number of overseas visitors registered in the latest Census from 315,531 in 2016 to 61,860 in 2021. Similarly, Australia had welcomed just over 1m new migrants since 2017 but 850,000 of these arrived here before the pandemic began meaning just 165,0000 new Australians came to the country during 2020 and 2021. Such migration patterns have a direct relationship with the ongoing skills gaps in STEM and other priority areas, which have pushed government bodies to consider a raft of new initiatives including stronger outreach to Indian institutions and more attractive visa terms. Validating a choice made during the formulation of the 2021 Census, the new survey also marked the removal of questions about home Internet access seemingly a non-issue anymore given the high rate of online lodgement and added questions about respondents long-term health conditions and prior Australian Defence Force service. The strong rate of online form completion through what the ABS called the no-login pathway turned out to be particularly helpful to the organisation as it struggled with workforce issues during the planning and execution of the survey. Despite hiring 32,000 field staff to assist with the Census, the ABS noted that attrition was a considerable issue as around 20 per cent of those employees left before completing their contracts. And while many had indicated they were willing to travel on the application form, when asked to travel many employees were not willing to travel for work outside of their immediate local area, the ABS said. To compensate, the agency used a range of measures including sending forms out earlier than planned, setting up travel teams, setting up community pop-up hubs, and allowing people to complete the Census online without getting paper instructions first. COVID-19 impacted on the ability and willingness to work in roles that involved interacting with members of the public, despite safety measures in place, the ABS said. This provided challenges to completing workloads in some areas. Local graduates from Coastal Carolina CONWAY, S.C. Coastal Carolina University recognized more than 1,200 students during its spring commencement ceremonies May 6-7. A university-wide ceremony recognizing all graduates was held May 7 at 9 a.m. in Brooks Stadium and featured a keynote address by Vanessa Wyche, a Conway native and director of NASA's Johnson Space Center. Each of CCU's academic colleges held individual ceremonies during the weekend, where graduates' names were called and they had the opportunity to walk across the stage and receive their diploma covers. This year's graduates included: Concord: Lionel Martin, Michelle Gracer and Virginia Culp. Landis: Tristan Wyatt. Salisbury: Kenzie Koontz. Deans list at Coastal Carolina CONWAY, S.C. More than 2,000 undergraduate students at Coastal Carolina University were named to the dean's list for the spring 2022 semester. Students who make the dean's list have achieved a grade point average between 3.5-3.99 for the semester. This semesters honored students included: Charlotte: Brianna Pethel. Concord: Michelle Gracer and Zoe Howell. Matthews: Sara Beatty, Kennedy Bergin and Zena Johnston. Rockwell: Kamden Johnson. McGuire, Uche earn degrees from Ohio University ATHENS, Ohio Ohio University recently held graduation for spring 2022. Matthew McGuire from Concord graduated with a BSME Mechanical Engineering from Ohio University's Russ College of Engineering and Technology. Ogbonna Uche from Charlotte graduated with a BBA Business Analytics and a BSM majoring in Sport Management from Ohio University's College of Business in spring 2022. More than 4,400 students graduated with bachelors, masters or doctorate degrees from Ohio University for spring semester 2022. They knew. Donald Trump. His chief of staff, Mark Meadows. His closest advisers in the White House. They knew about what could happen on Jan. 6. About how there was a real potential for violence if Proud Boys and Oath Keepers marched on the U.S. Capitol like Trump had asked them to. About how things could as Meadows said get real, real bad. About how people who attended Trumps rally that morning were heavily armed, with military-grade equipment and AR-15s, and how the Capitol Police would eventually be unable to contain them. About how what Trump wanted to do that day march with his supporters to the Capitol to stop certification of the electoral vote count could lead to them being charged with every crime imaginable, according to the White House counsel. Until Tuesday, Americans suspected all of this. Then Cassidy Hutchinson walked into Tuesdays Jan. 6 hearing on Capitol Hill and confirmed it. In an explosive and courageous appearance, the top aide to the presidents chief of staff explained in breathtaking detail how Trump and his enablers, including North Carolinas very own Meadows, allowed an insurrection to occur. It was un-American, Hutchinson testified. We were watching the Capitol building get defaced over a lie. The House committee had previously said that it would not hold any more hearings until July, after theyd taken time to review new evidence. Tuesdays hearing the committees sixth so far was announced at the last minute and largely shrouded in secrecy. Media reports indicated that the urgency was in part due to legitimate concerns about Hutchinsons physical security. Meadows, who previously represented western North Carolina in Congress, has been implicated in many of the committees hearings despite refusing to testify himself. We know he was deeply involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, which, as the committee has laid out, included knowingly false claims of election fraud, a fake electors scheme, a pressure campaign on state election officials and an illegal plot to block or delay the certification of Electoral College votes on Jan. 6. But on Tuesday, we learned exactly what he said and did as the events of Jan. 6 unfolded. That morning, Meadows was told that the crowd attending Trumps rally had guns, knives, oversized sticks, bear spray and spears fastened onto the end of flagpoles. Meadows, sitting on a couch in his office, didnt look up from his phone. Later that day, as it became increasingly likely that the mob would breach the Capitols entrance, Hutchinson tried to get her bosss attention. Again, with chaos unfolding around him, Meadows didnt look up from his phone. Hutchinson remembered thinking, Mark needs to snap out of it he needs to care. Eventually, that mob managed to break into the Capitol. White House counsel Pat Cipollone barreled down the hallway and into Meadows office, telling him the president needed to do something. Meadows said Trump didnt want to, and he didnt seem particularly interested in trying to convince him otherwise. Mark, something needs to be done, or people are going to die and the bloods going to be on your f---ing hands, Hutchinson remembered Cipollone saying. Hutchinson also testified that Meadows later sought a presidential pardon related to his behavior on Jan. 6. Which is, of course, not exactly the kind of behavior youd expect from a man who believes hes innocent. We learned a lot about Mark Meadows and his cowardice on Tuesday, but we certainly didnt learn any of it from Meadows himself. Because while Hutchinson was sharing what she knew, Meadows was hiding. Hiding from the truth, hiding from accountability and, most importantly, hiding from the American public, who deserve the answers he is refusing to give. So Cassidy Hutchinson a 25-year-old woman with far less rank and power than nearly everyone she testified about did it instead. The Charlotte Observer Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Two Davidson County-focused bills cleared the General Assembly on Wednesday, though with opposition citing concerns about the usurping of local government authority by the legislature. Senate Bill 907 would require municipalities within Davidson to gain county approval from the county Board of Commissioners to annex any area where the board has jurisdiction. The bill would apply to properties wholly or partially in the county. That bill was approved by voice vote on second and third reading. Senate Bill 909 would exempt any county-owned property from county zoning and planning ordinances. The bill was approved by a 43-0 vote. Sen. Steve Jarvis, R-Davidson, has said SB907 does not apply to any single- or multi-family residential property or dwellings. This allows Davidson County and the municipality to be at the table together to understand better growth of how they are moving forward with sewer and water, Jarvis said. For SB909, Jarvis said the purpose is to allow for a jail to be built within a municipality on county-owned property. The current Lexington unified development ordinance does not permit a jail on the prospective property. This will correct that (zoning and planning ordinance) problem for the property at hand, Jarvis said. The most noteworthy of the three local bills is Senate Bill 908, which would remove the Davidson County Airport from the corporate limits of Lexington. The 330-acre, one-runway airport is at 1673 Aviation Way and is owned by the county Airport Authority. SB908 was approved 44-0 on a second reading Tuesday and cleared the Senate on Wednesday. It is likely to be voted on by the N.C. House on Thursday. Jarvis has said the impetus behind the airport de-annexation bill is economic development. I have been in contact with different companies that are looking to move to our area, as well as considering surrounding areas, Jarvis said. They can go one county south, to Greensboro, in other directions, and not have double (city and county) taxation, Jarvis said. Jarvis said the airport authority supports the de-annexation. They understand the issue at hand and were working through some of the details at this point, Jarvis said. 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. The controversial ICE sheriffs cooperation legislation has been successfully fast-tracked through the General Assembly in the final week of the regular 2022 session. Senate Bill 101 resurfaced last week after being dormant since March 2021. Sen. Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth, is among the bill cosponsors. The Republican-sponsored SB101, titled Require Cooperation with ICE 2.0, cleared the House floor by a partisan 65-47 vote Thursday after objections were stated by several Democrat legislators. Since the House made a slight change to SB101, the Senate was required to agree or reject the change. The Senate voted Friday 25-19 also along partisan lines to accept the changes. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has 10 days to sign the bill, veto it or let it become law without his signature. Because there were no House or Senate Democrat votes in support of SB101, it is likely that a Cooper veto will stand. At least 32 Senate and 72 House votes are required to overturn a governor's veto. SB101 is similar in legislation to House Bill 370, which Cooper successfully vetoed in August 2019. Cooper's office could not be immediately reached for comment about his plans for SB101. The governor has previously expressed concern about politically motivated laws that allow Washington, D.C., to supersede local law enforcements ability to keep our communities safe, and this appears to be one of those, Mary Scott Winstead, deputy communications director for Cooper, said Tuesday in discussing SB101. Sen. Chuck Edwards, R-Henderson, and primary bill sponsor, said changes made to SB101 addresses Coopers concerns in HB370. Edwards told the Rules and Operations committee that SB101 is necessary because a number of sheriffs have refused to cooperate with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This is a bill intended to keep criminals off of the streets, Edwards said. Rep. Dustin Hall, R-Catawba, said during the House floor that SB101 would prevent sheriffs who arent cooperating with ICE officials from putting politics over public safety. Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough Jr. wasnt available for comment on the latest versions of SB101. Kimbrough opposed previous legislative efforts involving SB101 in March 2021 and HB370 in 2019. Similar opposition has been stated by other urban county sheriffs. Edwards cited what he calls increased interest in SB101 from sheriffs that border the urban counties that crime is escalating and more and more incidents of human trafficking, drug use and increased gang activity. SB101 details The current version of SB101 would require sheriffs to: * Inform ICE when a person charged with certain felony offenses is in custody and legal residency or U.S. citizenship status is undetermined. According to SB101, those felony offenses are: homicide; rape and other sex offenses; kidnapping and abduction; human-trafficking offenses; certain gang-related offenses; an A1 misdemeanor or felony assault, such as assault on a female and the other most serious misdemeanors; and violation of a domestic violence protective order. If this bill becomes law, then it would be mandatory that sheriffs cooperate with the ICE detainer, said co-primary sponsor Sen. Norman Sanderson, R-Craven. * Require a judicial official to order that a prisoner subject to a detainer and administrative warrant be held in custody for 48 hours or until ICE resolves the request. The daily cost for detaining a person for potential ICE pickup is between $137 and $300, depending on the jail, Edwards said Tuesday. On Thursday, Edwards said the net cost per detainee is $10 to $20. * Create reporting requirements related to ICE queries. Edwards said the current version of SB101 does make the same requirements of sheriff offices across the state (as HB370) with two major differences. Instead of requiring a query of ICE on any infraction of anyone who is brought into a jail, it only requires an inquiry when someone is accused of the most heinous crimes. Edwards said the second major difference reflects concerns expressed by Cooper about potential criminal penalties for sheriffs who decline to cooperate with ICE involving jail detainees. The initial version of SB101 would have made it a class 1 misdemeanor, which carries a 120-day jail sentence and a discretionary fine. Subsequent language would have made an uncooperative sheriff or other law-enforcement official subject to a class 3 misdemeanor, which carries a 20-day jail sentence and a $200 fine. HB370 would have allowed a Superior Court judge to remove a sheriff or police officer who didnt follow the legislations provisions and failed to cooperate with ICE agents. The penalties are eliminated in the 2.0 version, Edwards said Tuesday. SB101 background In March 2021, the state Senate approved SB101 along partisan lines by a 27-20 vote. The bill sat in House Rules and Operations until being sent Friday to Judiciary 4. SB101 was amended Tuesday to change the first due date of the annual reporting from Oct. 1, 2022, to Oct. 1, 2023, and the effective date of the legislation to Dec. 1, 2022, from Dec. 1, 2021. What SB101 will do is require local law enforcement to work with federal immigration officials in the interest of public safety amid growing public concern ... about people who have come across our borders illegally, Edwards said. SB101 creates a process for a judicial official to follow for every person in custody who is subject to an ICE detainer or administrative warrant. Meanwhile, SB101 excludes state and local law-enforcement officers or agencies from having criminal or civil liability for action taken pursuant to an order issued in the legislation. Rep. Vernetta Alston, D-Durham, said she opposed SB101 primarily because of the oversight and financial burden it places on sheriff offices that adds to their workload, as well as questioning the constitutionality of the 48-hour confinement period. Edwards countered by saying if SB101 were to impose a financial burden on sheriff offices, it would be an illustration of just how desperately this bill is needed ... because it means there would be more folks charged with heinous crimes required to be detained. According to ICEs website, there are 15 local law enforcement agencies in North Carolina listed as participating entities in what is known as the 287(g) program. That includes the Alamance, Randolph and Rockingham sheriffs offices in the Triad and Northwest N.C. We are a law-abiding law enforcement agency, Kimbrough said in March 2021. If somehow this becomes law, then we will at that point comply with it. But it is not law, and there are many who will be opposing this because detaining someone once they have met the conditions of their release is not only illegal, but it is also wrong. Edwards said the N.C. Sheriffs Association was in strong support of (HB370) in 2019. On this version, they have chosen to take no action, which to me says that they are in still in full support of the concept. Hall repeated the associations strong support during the House floor debate. The sheriffs association has not issued any statement on this legislation, last year or this year, Eddie Caldwell, the associations general counsel, said Tuesday. 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 Chief Catrina Thompson warned city residents Wednesday night about the challenges that vigilante groups, including ones in the Triad, can create for law enforcement when the groups try to expose online child predators. The intentions of these groups may be honorable, Thompson said at a news conference at the Beaty Public Safety Training Center on Patterson Avenue. No one wants to see a child in our community become a victim of any kind, especially that of sexual exploitation. These groups, however, often end up creating a significant challenge to child exploitation cases, Thompson said. Members of these groups dont have the training of law enforcement officers, Thompson said. Their methods of investigation and gathering evidence typically dont meet the requirements of a successful prosecution of these cases, she said. Some of these groups actions can harm a case more than it helps it, the police chief said. Child sex predators are lured by people pretending to be juveniles and they are later exposed either in personal confrontation or on social media, Thompson said. These groups use social media apps and engage potential suspects in conversations, she said. If the conversations become sexually explicit, then the groups arrange to meet the suspects. These citizen groups may do something that compromises a case, and the law enforcement agency handling the investigation may potentially lose all the evidence that it has gathered, Thompson said. Thompson said she decided to talk publicly about online citizen groups working to curtail child predators because the Winston-Salem Police Department and other law enforcement agencies across North Carolina have noticed an increase in their activities. Thompson encouraged these citizens groups to contact the Winston-Salem Police Department if they discover online child predators. These cases will be assigned to the departments Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, which will investigate these matters, she said. 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. Although the shooting at the Hanes Mall Boulevard Target on Tuesday evening left no one with a gunshot wound, it had some shoppers, city council members and others expressing shock and concern on Wednesday about the continued outbreaks of gun violence in the city. This gunfire episode was in a store in one of Winston-Salems premier shopping districts. Police said a man told them that he was approached by three other men inside the store about 8:30 p.m., and that after they started assaulting him, he pulled a gun and fired one round in a bid to stop the assault. Dontaye Kentrell Wade, 25, who told police he fired the shot, told authorities that the three men continued their assault, took his gun away from him, and ran out of the store. No one was injured by the gunfire. Officers interviewed Wade after he showed up at a local hospital with injuries to his head and face. Wade told officers that he was struck multiple times about the head and face by the men. Wade told police he drove home after the assault, then went to a local hospital to be examined. Police said Wades injuries were considered minor, and that he was released from the hospital after getting treatment. The scene at Target looked normal on Wednesday afternoon, as shoppers trekked across the hot asphalt parking lot to go inside the store, many with kids in tow. Still, the gunfire was on some of their minds: I definitely kept my head on a swivel in there, Caitlin Wurderman said as she stood in the parking lot after shopping. But she also said she had things she needed to pick up and that she had to shop somewhere. Police said Tuesdays shooting was not a random event. But it is concerning when these events take place in public places, with the potential of injury to bystanders just going about their business, Southwest Ward Council Member Kevin Mundy said. I still think Winston-Salem is very much a safe city, Mundy said. But it is impossible not to think if lightning could strike where I am standing. We cant tell people, Dont worry, because it cant happen to you. Police said the suspects were men in their 20s, and that they were last seen running out the front door of the Target and getting into a small white four-door or hatchback vehicle, one that possibly had Ohio tags. When police examined the inside of the store on Tuesday, they found evidence of a struggle taking place in the back of the store, and damage consistent with a firearm being discharged. A man from out of town who was getting ready to go inside the Hanes Mall Boulevard Target on Wednesday wouldnt give his name, but shook his head when asked what he thought about the gunfire: It is happening everywhere in the world, the man said. Rachel Stinehelfer, visiting the Target with her daughter, called the incident scary, but said it didnt change her plan of activities for the day. I just felt like probably it was an isolated incident, she said. You have to kind of go about your daily business, but try to be aware of your surroundings. Pay attention to the people with you. South Ward Council Member John Larson, like Mundy, is a member of the citys Public Safety Committee. On Wednesday, Larson said the incident was a disappointing statement of conflict resolution. People are more and more relying on weaponry to resolve problems that arise, Larson said. We carry guns so we can pull out a weapon. The consequences can be severe. The Public Safety Committee about two weeks ago got an update on various city plans to reduce gun violence. They include shot spotter technology, a real-time crime center, a gun crime reduction unit and others. Then there are efforts under way such as Cure Violence that rely more on community intervention rather than police. And City Manager Lee Garrity told council members recently that the city is in line to get a $500,000 hospital-based violence intervention program meant to curb violence. Mundy said none of those programs is a fast fix, but said he puts the most faith in programs that use grassroots connections in the community to identify potentially violent people. There is no pardon the pun magic bullet, Mundy said. In the short term, we need people to speak out. Like we have said a million times, if you see something, say something. There are anonymous ways to bring information to the table. 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. Although the cybercrime underground is a well-oiled machine worth trillions of dollars annually, there are also lots one can do to keep them at arms length. Its good practice to keep an eye on all ones bank and card accounts. If one spots any suspicious transactions, tell the bank/card providers fraud team immediately, writes Phil Muncaster, guest writer at ESET. Some apps now allow one to freeze all spending on specific cards until one can ascertain whether theres been a security breach. However, there are plenty of ways for the bad guys to get ones card details. Dark web sites On dark web sites hidden from law enforcers and most consumers, cybercriminals buy and sell huge quantities of stolen data as well as the hacking tools needed to obtain them. There are thought to be as many as 24 billion illegally obtained usernames and passwords currently circulating on such sites, for example. Among the most sought-after is fresh card data, which is then bought in bulk by fraudsters to commit follow-on identity fraud. In countries that have implemented chip and PIN (also known as EMV) systems, its challenging to turn this data into cloned cards. So most commonly its used online in card-not-present (CNP) attacks. Fraudsters could use it to buy luxury items for onward sale, or potentially they could buy gift cards in bulk another popular way to launder illicitly obtained funds. The scale of the market in these cards is difficult to estimate. But the administrators of the worlds largest underground marketplace recently retired after making an estimated $358 million. With that in mind, here are five of the most common ways hackers could get hold of your credit card data and how to stop them: Phishing Phishing is one of the most popular techniques for cybercriminals to steal data. At its simplest, its a con trick in which the hacker masquerades as a legitimate entity (e.g., a bank, an e-commerce provider or a tech firm) to trick you into divulging your personal details, or unwittingly downloading malware. They often encourage users to click on a link or open an attachment. Sometimes doing so takes the user to a phishing page where youll be encouraged to enter personal and financial information. Phishing is said to have hit an all-time high in Q1 2022. These scams have evolved in recent years. Instead of an email, today you may receive a malicious text (SMS) from a hacker pretending to be a delivery company, a government agency or another trusted organisation. Scammers may even call you up, again pretending to be a trusted source, with the aim of obtaining your card details. SMS phishing (smishing) more than doubled year-on-year in 2021, while voice phishing (vishing) also surged, according to one estimate. Malware The cybercrime underground is a huge marketplace, not just for data but also malware. Different types of malicious code have been designed over the years to steal information. Some record your keystrokes for example as youre typing in card details on an e-commerce or banking site. How do the bad guys get these tools on your machine? Phishing emails or texts are a popular method. Malicious online ads are another. In other cases, they may compromise popular websites and wait for users to visit them. Drive-by-download malware of this sort installs as soon as you visit the compromised site. Info-stealing malware is also often hidden inside legitimate-looking but malicious mobile apps. Digital skimming Sometimes hackers also install malware on the payment pages of e-commerce sites. These are invisible to the user, but will skim your card details as they are entered. Theres not much users can do to stay safe, aside from shopping only with big-name brands and websites, which are likely to be more secure. Detections of digital skimming (aka online card skimming) rose 150% between May and November 2021. Data breaches Sometimes card details are stolen direct from the companies you do business with. It could be a healthcare provider, an e-commerce store or a travel company. This is a more cost-effective way to do things from the hackers perspective, because in one attack they get access to a huge trove of data. On the other hand, with phishing campaigns, they have to steal from individuals one-by-one although these attacks are usually automated. The bad news is that 2021 was a record year for data breaches in the US. Public Wi-Fi When youre out and about it can be tempting to surf the web for free on public Wi-Fi hotspots in airports, hotels, cafes and other shared spaces. Even if you have to pay to join the network, it may not be safe if hackers have done the same. They can use this access to spy on your details as you enter them. How to keep credit card details safe Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to mitigate the risk of your card data getting into the wrong hands. Consider the following as a good place to start: *Be alert: never reply to, click on links in or open attachments from unsolicited emails. They could be booby-trapped with malware. Or they could take you to legitimate-looking phishing pages where youll be encouraged to enter your details. *Dont divulge any details over the phone, even if the person at the other end sounds convincing. Ask where theyre calling from and then call back that organisation to check although dont use any contact numbers they give you. *Dont use the internet on public Wi-Fi, especially without a virtual private network. If you have to, dont do anything requiring you to input card details (i.e. online shopping). *Dont save card details to online shopping or other sites, even though this helps to save time on future visits. This will reduce the chances of your card data being taken if that company is breached, or if your account is hijacked. *Download anti-malware, including anti-phishing protection, from a reputable security vendor to all laptops and other devices *Use two-factor authentication on all sensitive accounts. This reduces the chances of hackers cracking them open with stolen/phished passwords. *Only download apps from legitimate marketplaces (Apple App Store, Google Play). *If youre doing any shopping online, only do so on sites with HTTPS (it should display a padlock in the browser address bar next to the URL). This means theres less chance data can be intercepted.-- TradeArabia News Service The controversial ICE sheriffs cooperation legislation has been successfully fast-tracked through the General Assembly in the final week of the regular 2022 session. Senate Bill 101 resurfaced last week after being dormant since March 2021. Sen. Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth, is among the bill cosponsors. The Republican-sponsored SB101, titled Require Cooperation with ICE 2.0, cleared the House floor by a partisan 65-47 vote Thursday after objections were stated by several Democrat legislators. Since the House made a slight change to SB101, the Senate was required to agree or reject the change. The Senate voted Friday 25-19 also along partisan lines to accept the changes. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has 10 days to sign the bill, veto it or let it become law without his signature. Because there were no House or Senate Democrat votes in support of SB101, it is likely that a Cooper veto will stand. At least 32 Senate and 72 House votes are required to overturn a governor's veto. SB101 is similar in legislation to House Bill 370, which Cooper successfully vetoed in August 2019. Cooper's office could not be immediately reached for comment about his plans for SB101. The governor has previously expressed concern about politically motivated laws that allow Washington, D.C., to supersede local law enforcements ability to keep our communities safe, and this appears to be one of those, Mary Scott Winstead, deputy communications director for Cooper, said Tuesday in discussing SB101. Sen. Chuck Edwards, R-Henderson, and primary bill sponsor, said changes made to SB101 addresses Coopers concerns in HB370. Edwards told the Rules and Operations committee that SB101 is necessary because a number of sheriffs have refused to cooperate with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This is a bill intended to keep criminals off of the streets, Edwards said. Rep. Dustin Hall, R-Catawba, said during the House floor that SB101 would prevent sheriffs who arent cooperating with ICE officials from putting politics over public safety. Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough Jr. wasnt available for comment on the latest versions of SB101. Kimbrough opposed previous legislative efforts involving SB101 in March 2021 and HB370 in 2019. Similar opposition has been stated by other urban county sheriffs. Edwards cited what he calls increased interest in SB101 from sheriffs that border the urban counties that crime is escalating and more and more incidents of human trafficking, drug use and increased gang activity. SB101 details The current version of SB101 would require sheriffs to: * Inform ICE when a person charged with certain felony offenses is in custody and legal residency or U.S. citizenship status is undetermined. According to SB101, those felony offenses are: homicide; rape and other sex offenses; kidnapping and abduction; human-trafficking offenses; certain gang-related offenses; an A1 misdemeanor or felony assault, such as assault on a female and the other most serious misdemeanors; and violation of a domestic violence protective order. If this bill becomes law, then it would be mandatory that sheriffs cooperate with the ICE detainer, said co-primary sponsor Sen. Norman Sanderson, R-Craven. * Require a judicial official to order that a prisoner subject to a detainer and administrative warrant be held in custody for 48 hours or until ICE resolves the request. The daily cost for detaining a person for potential ICE pickup is between $137 and $300, depending on the jail, Edwards said Tuesday. On Thursday, Edwards said the net cost per detainee is $10 to $20. * Create reporting requirements related to ICE queries. Edwards said the current version of SB101 does make the same requirements of sheriff offices across the state (as HB370) with two major differences. Instead of requiring a query of ICE on any infraction of anyone who is brought into a jail, it only requires an inquiry when someone is accused of the most heinous crimes. Edwards said the second major difference reflects concerns expressed by Cooper about potential criminal penalties for sheriffs who decline to cooperate with ICE involving jail detainees. The initial version of SB101 would have made it a class 1 misdemeanor, which carries a 120-day jail sentence and a discretionary fine. Subsequent language would have made an uncooperative sheriff or other law-enforcement official subject to a class 3 misdemeanor, which carries a 20-day jail sentence and a $200 fine. HB370 would have allowed a Superior Court judge to remove a sheriff or police officer who didnt follow the legislations provisions and failed to cooperate with ICE agents. The penalties are eliminated in the 2.0 version, Edwards said Tuesday. SB101 background In March 2021, the state Senate approved SB101 along partisan lines by a 27-20 vote. The bill sat in House Rules and Operations until being sent Friday to Judiciary 4. SB101 was amended Tuesday to change the first due date of the annual reporting from Oct. 1, 2022, to Oct. 1, 2023, and the effective date of the legislation to Dec. 1, 2022, from Dec. 1, 2021. What SB101 will do is require local law enforcement to work with federal immigration officials in the interest of public safety amid growing public concern ... about people who have come across our borders illegally, Edwards said. SB101 creates a process for a judicial official to follow for every person in custody who is subject to an ICE detainer or administrative warrant. Meanwhile, SB101 excludes state and local law-enforcement officers or agencies from having criminal or civil liability for action taken pursuant to an order issued in the legislation. Rep. Vernetta Alston, D-Durham, said she opposed SB101 primarily because of the oversight and financial burden it places on sheriff offices that adds to their workload, as well as questioning the constitutionality of the 48-hour confinement period. Edwards countered by saying if SB101 were to impose a financial burden on sheriff offices, it would be an illustration of just how desperately this bill is needed ... because it means there would be more folks charged with heinous crimes required to be detained. According to ICEs website, there are 15 local law enforcement agencies in North Carolina listed as participating entities in what is known as the 287(g) program. That includes the Alamance, Randolph and Rockingham sheriffs offices in the Triad and Northwest N.C. We are a law-abiding law enforcement agency, Kimbrough said in March 2021. If somehow this becomes law, then we will at that point comply with it. But it is not law, and there are many who will be opposing this because detaining someone once they have met the conditions of their release is not only illegal, but it is also wrong. Edwards said the N.C. Sheriffs Association was in strong support of (HB370) in 2019. On this version, they have chosen to take no action, which to me says that they are in still in full support of the concept. Hall repeated the associations strong support during the House floor debate. The sheriffs association has not issued any statement on this legislation, last year or this year, Eddie Caldwell, the associations general counsel, said Tuesday. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our 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 Durham nonprofit that focuses on assisting people with substance abuse disorders has spent $1.07 million to purchase the Fayetteville Street apartment complex in Winston-Salem. The sale of the 19-unit campus at 215 Fayetteville St. was closed Wednesday, according to a Forsyth County Register of Deeds filing. The property is near UNC School of the Arts. The buyer is TROSA Residential Inc., while the seller was Cardinal Winston Properties LLC of Chantilly, Va. TROSA spokeswoman Kristin Pearson said Friday the plan is for the apartment complex to be used by TROSA program graduates and staff. "TROSA has a Continuing Care department dedicated to empowering our graduates to be positive members of their communities, and this includes providing a year of transitional housing to those who have graduated our program," Pearson said. "As housing costs continue to rise both locally and nationwide, having access to safe, stable, low-cost sober housing for our graduates is important." Pearson said. "In turn, having the presence of our graduates and staff living nearby our campus provides our program participants with ongoing mentorship, support and positive role models in recovery. The complex is 6.5 miles away from a new substance abuse treatment center at 1931 Union Cross Road that TROSA plans to open by late summer. Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers held a ceremonial groundbreaking in May 2021 at the longtime home of Addiction Recovery Care Association, or ARCA. The center is projected to have beds for up to 100 men when it opens. TROSA plans to eventually have beds for 200 people with opioid, alcohol and other substance use disorders by the time it completes its second phase, likely sometime in 2023, Brian Buland, project lead for the Winston-Salem campus, said in May 2021. We saw that individuals from the Triad region were historically among our most-served residents, and we also knew that our outreach to the more western parts of North Carolina were not as robust as our reach to central and eastern regions, according to a TROSA post on its website about the Winston-Salem center. TROSA uses an abstinence model to treat people with addictions. Its Durham facility serves the entire state for men and women. Treatment at TROSA is free. It also does not accept insurance. Clients stay for two years and receive vocational training in areas such as food and hospitality, lawn maintenance and construction. In addition, TROSA plans to operate a thrift store off Peters Creek Parkway that will generate revenue for the facility while providing some retail training for the men in the program. TROSA has long wanted to expand into the Triad, Buland said. Weve seen a significant demand for our services throughout the state, he said. We wanted to branch out and expand our mission and work a little to the west. In Durham, we tend to serve the Piedmont and coastal regions and by opening in the Triad, we feel like there will be a lot of potential partners and potential funding. Over the last few years, TROSA has secured a $6 million grant from the N.C. General Assembly, a $1.5 million grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission, and $250,000 in Golden Leaf funds among other revenue sources to build the facility on the six-acre site on Union Cross Road. Over the course of the next few years, it plans to have about 20 employees, Buland said. We teach our residents not to just be in a community, but to be part of a community, and thats what were hoping to bring here, Buland said. 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. Richard Craver Follow Richard Craver Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today The parent company of Ben & Jerrys ice cream said it has sold a disputed Israeli business operation to an Israel-based licensee. The sale, announced Tuesday, ends the threat of a potential divestiture of state of North Carolina investments in Unilever Plc. The state Treasurers Office said Thursday that state investments in Unilever were $72.8 million: $61.9 million in the pension plan, and $10.9 million in the Defined Contribution plan. In September, Ben & Jerrys and its independent board of directors announced its decision to discontinue sales of its ice cream in the West Bank. Unilever said it sold its Ben & Jerrys business interests in Israel to Avi Zinger, the owner of American Quality Products Ltd. The new arrangement means Ben & Jerrys will be sold under its Hebrew and Arabic names throughout Israel and the West Bank under the full ownership of its current licensee, Unilever said. In 2017, the Republican super-majority in the state legislature approved House Bill 161, titled The Divestments from Companies Boycotting Israel Act of 2017. The law prohibits state agencies from making investments in, and contracts with, companies that are engaged in a boycott of Israel. ... In addition, state agencies must divest from investments in such restricted companies. The law requires the state treasurer shall adopt a policy prohibiting the N.C. Retirement Systems or the Department of State Treasurer from investing in any company engaged in a boycott of Israel. Dale Folwell, the states treasurer, was among several state treasurers who said a divestiture and/or boycott of Unilever investments were on the table. Folwell said Thursday that Unilevers decision eases the controversy the brand had created when it announced that it would no longer sell its products in Jewish settlements on the West Bank and East Jerusalem. We are pleased that some resolution of this issue was achieved. While we were fully prepared to follow the laws of North Carolina on this issue, we never act on the threat of a boycott or an actual boycott until all the statutory requirements are met. We hope that we never have to contemplate applying this law again, and no company that is owned in the state pension plan will threaten to boycott Israel. New Yorks state pension divested of $111 million in Unilever investments in October. Floridas state treasurer has warned of a similar divestiture/boycott of Unilever investments that was worth $139 million in September, while New Jersey said it was considering pulling out of $182 million of investments. Illinois and Iowa state investments in Unilever also were under consideration for divestiture. Unilever said as part of buying Ben & Jerrys in 2000, the company and its independent board of directors were granted rights to take decisions about its social mission. But, Unilever reserved primary responsibility for financial and operational decisions, and therefore has the right to enter this arrangement. Unilever said its decision to sell the business came after a review of several months that included conversations with the Israeli government. We look forward to continuing to make a positive contribution to Israels economy and society for many decades to come, and hope that Israelis and Palestinians can reach a peaceful resolution of their conflict, Unilever said. Ben & Jerrys said in a statement that while our parent company has taken this decision, we do not agree with it. We continue to believe it is inconsistent with Ben & Jerrys values for our ice-cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. It added that Ben & Jerrys would no longer profit from Ben & Jerrys in Israel. 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. This report was made possible through a grant from The Pulitzer Center to the North Carolina News Collaborative, a coalition of 23 news organizations across the state. In 2016, John Leslie Ervins career in law enforcement hung in the balance. Jacksonville Police officials had fired him after 11 years on the job. State records detailed his troubles there: complaints of lewd and aggressive comments toward women, heavy drinking the night before testifying in a federal trial, an excessive force allegation he refused to explain to superiors. But then the Jones County sheriff offered Ervin a second chance and a job as a deputy in the tiny community in the eastern part of the state. Ervin, then in his late thirties, faced a hurdle. He needed the blessing of a state commission dominated by elected sheriffs. They are responsible for keeping problem deputies out of their profession. That commissions lawyer and an administrative judge had recommended that Ervin be shown the door. But at a meeting that September, Sheriff Danny Heath pleaded to his peers. Ervin, he said, had turned his life around. The sheriffs gave Ervin their blessing, allowing him to wear a badge. Time and growth, the sheriff commissioners later wrote in the final agency decision, had restored Ervins good moral character. Sheriffs in North Carolina wield tremendous powers. They can hire and fire at will. Courts have even ruled that they can fire deputies based solely on political loyalty. Less well known is that North Carolina is the only state in the country that allows sheriffs to police their own, according to the North Carolina Department of Justice website. Other states have a single commission that oversees licensure for everyone working in law enforcement. And when sheriffs defend people in trouble who work for them, members of the North Carolina Sheriffs Education and Training Standards Commission frequently listen, a review of contested deputy disciplinary cases before the commission from 2016 through 2020 shows. When a sheriff or a ranking department member vouched for a deputy trying to get or keep certification needed to wear a badge, the commission granted leniency more than three-quarters of the time, the review showed. That sometimes happens even after the commissions lawyer and administrative law judges who held hearings on cases caution against it. Sheriffs who serve on the commission bristle at the idea that the testimony of one of their peers would unduly influence certification decisions. The sheriff is nothing more than a character witness, said Alan Cloninger, chairman of the North Carolina Sheriffs Training and Education Standards commission and elected sheriff of Gaston County. The data shows they are witnesses who can bring influence. A record of breaks In 2020, commissioners let Lincoln County deputy Aaron Kennemore keep his certification after a district attorney issued a Giglio letter for him, a document warning someone is too untrustworthy to testify in criminal courts, according to an administrative law judges opinion. The prosecutor had concluded that Kennemore had been dishonest on reports about a drug case, administrative court records show. Though the commissions lawyer urged commissioners to strip Kennemores right to work as a deputy, Lincoln County's sheriff urged them to grant a reprieve. Kennemore declined comment for this story. That same year, commissioners overruled recommendations, from an administrative law judge and their attorney, to deny the certification of Lamar Krider, a prospective deputy in Granville County. The administrative law judge determined Krider had harassed his ex-wife; Krider testified he was simply trying to save his marriage. Two sheriffs, representing Vance and Granville counties, vouched for him at a commission hearing. Krider, who recently became a State Capitol Police officer, in an interview said the allegations against him were false. He also confirmed that having a sheriff defend you before the commission is helpful. Anytime the sheriff comes up and speaks on your behalf, thats a big difference, he said. Commissioners also granted mercy in 2018 to David Howard Gibson, a former detention officer fired in Cleveland County for failing to check on an inmate in medical distress. The inmate died. Lincoln County Sheriff David Carpenter asked commissioners to disregard recommendations from their lawyer and an administrative law judge and let Gibson work in the Lincoln County jail. They agreed. Now retired from the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office, Gibson declined to comment for this report. Cloninger, the head of the North Carolina Sheriffs Education and Training Standards Commission, said he and colleagues often ignore sheriffs pleas to keep a deputy. We make an officers decision based on the facts, he said in an interview. Sheriffs failed to protect deputies they went to bat for six times over five years, the review of cases showed. On the other hand, sheriffs succeeded at protecting deputies in trouble 21 times over the same time period. Sheriffs and their top officials also helped secure leniency for detention officers 13 out of the 14 times they vouched for the officers in those years. When officers get in trouble Very few North Carolina law enforcement officers are formally kicked out of the profession, a review of commission data shows. Of the roughly 32,000 local and state officers and county deputies in North Carolina, about 500 had their certification suspended or revoked from 2016 through 2021. Thats less than 2%. An even smaller number were blocked from entering the field or rejoining the profession after their certification lapsed. From 2016 through 2021, about 50 were denied certification. Their fate rests in the hands of one of two state commissions. Sheriffs handle deputy and detention officer certifications. The Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission deals with state prison guards, municipal police and those at state agencies. Some decisions are out of the commissioners' hands. Committing a felony is an automatic denial or revocation, for instance. But commissioners have wide discretion over most everything else. And members can overrule an administrative law judges opinion. Police officers whose certification is in jeopardy sometimes turn to bosses for support as well. But those commanders rarely speak to the full commission on behalf of the officer, a review of Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission minutes and interviews with its members show. When chiefs do show up, they meet a very different audience than sheriffs do. The Criminal Justice Commission has twice the members as the sheriffs commission, and little more than half work in law enforcement. Those members include managers and lower-ranking officers. On the sheriffs commission, only three civilians have a say over a deputys fate. The other twelve votes belong to sheriffs. How this started Sheriffs in North Carolina didnt always have so much control over deputies careers. In the 1970s, North Carolina joined states across the country trying to reform policing after violence brought on by racial conflicts ignited across America the previous decade. Legislators created a commission to license officers and set uniform training standards across the state. A decade later, though, sheriffs pushed for their own commission. Their jobs and demands were different, the sheriffs lobbyists argued to legislators, according to News & Observer reporting from 1983. Police chiefs tried to block the split. Police executives worried sheriffs would use their autonomy to certify political supporters unqualified to do the job, according to the reporting. But legislators granted sheriffs their own commission. And for decades, North Carolina sheriffs have largely set their own rules and training. Not everyone favors this system continuing. Randy Byrd, is a former division president of the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association, an organization for rank-and-file officers. In an interview, he said the makeup of the two commissions is so different that administrative law judges, not commissioners, ought to have final say on a law enforcement officers certification to standardize it more. The certification, decertification, all this stuff, its just all over the map, said Byrd, a retired Cary police officer who previously served on the commission not dominated by sheriffs. There's just no consistency. At a meeting in March, Cloninger, the Gaston County sheriff leading the sheriffs commission this year, speculated advocates and progressive legislators pushing for criminal justice reform may seek to merge the two commissions into one. Over the last four decades, legislators have never tried to eliminate the sheriffs commission. Cloninger was adamant that the sheriffs autonomy remain. He said in an interview that sheriffs are elected and their employees juggle many responsibilities, from securing courts to transporting mentally ill patients. We are not the same, he told fellow commissioners. We are different. How John Ervin kept his badge When John Ervins career in law enforcement was on the line, Jones County Sheriff Heath did not mince words. Heath stood before eight of his peers in Sept. 2016 at the offices of the Guilford County Sheriffs office in McLeansville. Heath assured them he had the ability to size up a person quickly. Ervin, whom he had hired three years previously, was one of his most important employees, according to minutes of the meeting. A judge, who reviews possible violations of state administrative code, had come to a different opinion about Ervin after a hearing five months earlier. Ervin had sought her review after a subcommittee of commissioners found enough probable cause to merit denying his certification with Jones County Sheriffs Office. For hours, Judge Melissa Owens Lassiter heard a lawyer for the commission tick through evidence that Ervin lacks the good moral character required of a deputy. Ervin had been summoned to testify in a federal drug case, she said. As he prepped with a prosecutor the night before, he drank beer. The prosecutor urged him to stop; he told her he was just getting started. As the night wore on, Ervin waved money, wagering to other hotel patrons he could get the female clerk to sleep with him. He also told the other guests that his female colleague would not come to his hotel room because he would rape her. Ervin, who represented himself at the hearing, told Judge Lassiter that his behaviors toward women and his drinking patterns were common and accepted at law enforcement conferences, according to the judges opinion. Ervins troubles continued. At the trial, a juror was so alarmed by a video showing Ervin kicking the defendant during the arrest that the juror filed a complaint of excessive force with Jacksonville Police. Ervin refused to cooperate in the internal investigation that prompted, according to the judges opinion. The judge found that Ervin, who declined to comment for this report, showed no genuine remorse during his testimony. But Sheriff Heath told fellow sheriffs that Ervin was a changed man. Commissioners agreed to let Ervin continue his law enforcement career. But they required a safeguard. Ervin would serve five years probation, during which time he was ordered to follow the law and commission rules. Ervin and the sheriff had the responsibility to alert the commission to any violations. Heath died in 2021. And Ervin is now a captain overseeing the Jones County Sheriffs office investigative unit. Without digging into the sheriffs commissioner records, Jones County residents would have little ability to know of his past troubles. In a massive criminal justice reform bill passed last year, legislators required public disclosure only of officers who lost certification. Three affordable housing projects in Lincoln are receiving federal funds. The Nebraska Department of Economic Development on Thursday announced more than $3.5 million in grants through the HOME Investment Partnerships Fund and the National Housing Trust Fund, more than $1.5 million of which is going to projects in Lincoln. Neighborworks Lincoln is receiving $515,000 in HOME Investment Partnerships Fund Community Housing Development Organization funds to provide homebuyer assistance to construct three homes. The Lincoln Housing Authority is receiving $500,000 in HOME Investment Partnerships Fund Rental Development program funds to help pay for 64 apartment and town house units as part of a $16.6 million project at South Folsom Street and West Old Cheney Road. The project qualifies for the funds because five of the units will be dedicated to people making 60% or less of the local median income. Another project that's being built in that same area of town also is getting a $500,000 grant. Foxtail Meadows, a development that will include about 650 housing units including 170 affordable ones near South Folsom Street and West Pioneers Boulevard will receive $500,000 in National Housing Trust funds to help pay for a 35-unit row house building that will include three units targeted for people earning no more than 30% of the local median income. Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz. 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. FREMONT -- Berta Quintero loves being a business owner. When she and co-owner Micaela Ticum opened Reinitas Ice Cream Shop at 130 N. Main St. in May, Quintero knew she could count on her restaurant customers to support her latest venture. A lot of Fremont customers support the Spanish businesses, said Quintero, who opened Reinitas restaurant at 414 N. Main St. in October 2020. The inspiration behind the name is Quinteros mother, Reina. Everybody calls her Reinita because shes so little, she said. In English, it means Little Queen. Born in Guatemala, Quintero and her family came to America when she was 17. We settled in York, Nebraska, but moved to Fremont when my mom got hired at Hormel, she said. Quinteros first business was Decoration Michelle, a party supply shop located at Military Avenue and Broad Street, which she opened in 2015. There used to be a liquor store there, she said, and I felt it was a good location for a Spanish business. Four months later she found herself facing stiff competition, so Quintero decided to use some of the space for another business, one that would generate more income. A friend suggested an ice cream shop, Quintero said. He felt that Fremont really needed one. The second floor was being used for storage, said Quinteros daughter Kaylee, 12, who started helping out at the party supply shop when she was 7. When Mom opened the ice cream shop, we turned the upstairs into a place where customers could try on dresses. Kaylee joked about the fact that being the owners daughter did not automatically entitle her to all the ice cream she wanted. My dad said, You have to work for it. So thats what I did, Kaylee said. Quintero quickly discovered there was a much greater demand for ice cream than for party supplies. The pandemic kept customers away, and Quintero needed to find a different way to make a living. When she got hired as a supervisor at Lincoln Premium Poultry, Quintero called her friend, Micaela Ticum, who had worked for her at the ice cream shop, and asked her to come work for her again. Micaela liked taking care of everything, Quintero said. I could see she had good management skills. Ticum had started her own cleaning business, Ody Cleaning Service, to bring in more income during the winter months when customers werent coming in for ice cream. In addition to her work at Lincoln Premium, Quintero was also running Reinitas restaurant. My mom told me I needed to focus on the restaurant, so I gave up my job at Lincoln Premium, she said. When Ticum expressed an interest in buying the ice cream shop on Military Avenue, Quintero asked her to go into partnership with her on a new one on Main Street. I was interested in the downtown location because thats where my restaurant is, Quintero said. The owner of the printing shop (on Main Street) had space she didnt need and was satisfied with the rent I was willing to pay. In addition to being co-owners of Reinitas Ice Cream Shop, which opened in May, Quintero and Ticum are busy moms. Kaylee Quintero, who continues serving customers, has two siblings: Manuel, 13, and Arantza, 7. All three attend Cedar Bluffs Public School. Ticums two children, Sheila, 8, and Berwin, 3, attend Archbishop Bergan. We want everyone to know we are working hard, Quintero said. We would like to have ice cream shops in other cities. The next town on the map appears to be Columbus. A lot of our customers live there, Quintero said. They need one there. Quintero is deeply committed to her business as well as her community. She joined the Main Street organization, whose aim is to promote and revitalize downtown Fremont. She also enjoys helping with the Spanish Festival held at John C. Fremont Park. We have a parade, music and dancing, games for the kids and lots of food, she said. Reinitas provides a food truck so participants can enjoy one of the most popular selections, the Reinita Platio. A lot of people come to the festival, Quintero said. I love seeing Americans come and spend time with Spanish people, learning from each other. Quintero also is a member of Business Improvement District. We talk about whats good for downtown Fremont, Quintero said. The mayor (Joey Spellerberg) called me and asked if I would like to join B.I.D. He said he heard a lot of good things about me, that I was doing good things and working hard. He also said everybody loves my food at Reinitas. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A 20-year-old Lincoln man was arrested Wednesday after police say he emailed threats to his former administrators at Lincoln Public Schools over perceived wrongs, according to police. The investigation into Dominic Booker started in May, when he began sending emails to district employees mentioning a specific administrator, Lincoln Police Sgt. Chris Vollmer said. Booker sent an additional email Monday, Vollmer said, "that was more threatening in nature to those Booker believes have wronged him." Police contacted and arrested Booker on suspicion of terroristic threats around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday near Ninth and G streets, Vollmer said. A search warrant served at his residence later turned up a loaded AR-15-style rifle, Vollmer said. The 20-year-old is being held at the Lancaster County jail. Love 1 Funny 1 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. When Ryan Long arrived at the Lancaster County Courthouse from the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution for his latest sentencing hearing Thursday morning, the 32-year-old Lincoln man was already serving a 27-year sentence for a fatal shooting. Now, Long will tack close to another decade onto his stint in Tecumseh after Judge Jodi Nelson sentenced him to 18 to 50 years in prison for shooting his then-girlfriend during a Halloween-night fight in 2019 near 21st and Garfield streets. A jury in April found Long guilty of second-degree assault, use of a firearm to commit a felony and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person for his role in the shooting, which transpired about 4 a.m. Nov. 1, 2019, when Long got into an argument with his then-girlfriend Champaynne King, now 23, according to prosecutors. Long was standing near the driver's side of a Nissan Pathfinder parked near 21st and Garfield when he fired a gun into the car as King sat in the front passenger seat. The bullet pierced through King's right thigh and exited the passenger side door, according to police. The woman didn't report the shooting for six weeks. At trial, Long's attorney Nancy Peterson cast King as unreliable after she admitted in testimony she tried to bribe Long after, telling him for $10,000 she could "make it go away." "This is a woman you would not trust to walk your dog," Peterson said at the April trial. "How can you trust this woman with the verdict?" Long denied shooting King and told the court he had "no idea" how she suffered in the injures. But jurors rejected that defense, finding Long guilty beyond a reasonable doubt on all three counts. On Thursday, Nelson sentenced Long to 10 to 20 years for the second-degree assault and a combined eight to 30 years for the two firearms charges. He received credit for serving four days in jail. Long would be parole eligible in as few as nine years if not for his previous conviction. A jury in October found the 32-year-old guilty of manslaughter for the fatal 2020 shooting of Michael Whitemagpie in an alley near 33rd and T streets. He will serve at least 27 years in that shooting. Both sentences will run consecutively, Nelson ruled Thursday. Long won't be parole eligible for nearly 38 years. Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or awegley@journalstar.com. On Twitter @andrewwegley 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. Like thousands of students across the country, Abby Steffen was unsure of how she was going to pay for a college education. The sophomore-to-be at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln said she didnt qualify for a Pell Grant when she first submitted her Free Application for Financial Student Aid, known as FAFSA, the document used to determine how much help she would be eligible to receive. The oldest of eight children from a farm family that lives near Crofton, Steffen was assigned a high expected family contribution, meaning shed have to find other ways to pay tuition and other costs. I was really considering dropping out for a year and working because I wasnt sure how I would be able to afford everything, said Steffen, who worked a second job during the school year, and took on a handful of others this summer. But when she asked the Office of Federal Student Aid at the U.S. Department of Education to reconsider, citing special circumstances, Steffen learned that she would, in fact, be eligible to receive a Pell Grant. The Pell Grant, which celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this month, offers up to $6,895 in financial aid to students who demonstrate need, in order for them to pursue a college degree. The money does not have to be paid back. Steffen said learning she was eligible for a Pell Grant altered her future: College is very stressful as it is, and I know a lot of students are very grateful for the Pell Grant." According to data collected by the U.S. Department of Education and published through the College Scorecard, roughly 36% of students attending Nebraskas public and private colleges and universities received a Pell Grant in the 2019-20 school year. At UNL, the number of recipients increased from 4,046 in 2010-11 to a high of 4,757 in 2017-18, before leveling off at 4,481 in 2020-21, the office of Institutional Effectiveness and Analytics reported. For first-time, full-time students, the number of Pell Grant recipients has jumped from 966 to 1,208 in the decade between 2010 to 2020. As the number of students who receive Pell Grants has increased, so too has the average amount awarded, by a little more than $500, according to UNL. In 2010-11, undergraduate students at UNL received an average grant of $3,813; the average rose to $4,489, while the average Pell Grant to first-time, full-time students increased from $3,728 to $4,489 over the same time period. Other schools, including other campuses across the NU system, the Nebraska State College System, and community colleges across the state, as well as private colleges and universities, have also seen success among students who qualify for federal assistance. At the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Nebraska at Kearney, for example, roughly 34% and 36% of the student body received a Pell Grant in the 2019-20 school year, according to the College Scorecard. NU President Ted Carter, who knew Sen. Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island for whom the grant is named Pell wrote Carters nomination letter to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1977 said the award, when combined with a competitive tuition rate and support from private donors, adds up to a story of unbeatable success. About one-third of students who attend state college campuses in Peru, Wayne and Chadron used a Pell Grant to pay part of their way, most of whom are first-generation college students, Chancellor Paul Turman said. Thats up slightly over the numbers from a decade ago. The current funding of the Pell Grant about $5,600 per semester pays the full tuition rate for state colleges, and would cover additional costs of those students. The vision for those Pell Grants, when that program was first put in place, is how do we find opportunities for the students to continue their education? he said. If you look at all of our aid collectively, Pell is probably the biggest bucket our families draw from. UNL Chancellor Ronnie Green said the support offered by the Pell Grant has played an important role for the 1 out of every 5 students who receive financial help from the federal government to go to college. The Pell Grant is often first-dollar aid, reducing the $25,000 cost of attendance at UNL by $4,500 on average before other aid is applied. When you look at the level of support those students need in order to not go to school with a lot of debt, thats significant, Green said. Pell becomes the foundation on which we stack all of the other aid to try and minimize the cost for these students. That has helped UNL keep the average debt students graduate with at roughly $24,500, according to the Institute for College Access and Success, which is below both the state average of $30,500 and the national average of $32,700. Green is a direct beneficiary of the Pell Grant program. As a first-generation student at Virginia Tech University in 1979 who would have qualified for Nebraska Promise, Green received federal assistance. Stacked with other scholarships, the grant helped Green graduate with no college debt he acknowledges the difference in cost some four decades later but says Pell helped him in ways similar to how it helps students now. I didnt work a lot when I was in college I worked some as a student worker but I was able to go full-time as a student and not have to worry about 20-30 hours of workload a week, he said. I was able to finish in 3 1/2 years instead of 5 or 6 years. Reducing the need to work several jobs in addition to taking a full slate of classes is something more recent college students have experienced as well. For Sadid Carrillo, who graduated from UNL in 2013 with a degree in finance and accounting, the Pell Grant allowed him to not only attend UNL, but to take part in opportunities he otherwise wouldnt have been able to pursue. The core of it, in my opinion, is that it just helped me focus on school, said Carrillo. For me, I wouldnt have had the confidence or the overall ability to stay in school if not for the Pell Grant. The oldest of five children, Carrillo said his parents couldnt cover the full cost of attendance at UNL. Under the Pell Grant program, however, the Schuyler native qualified for the maximum amount, roughly $5,000 a semester at the time. When he considered dropping out and following his parents to work at Cargill it was for school reasons and not financial, he said Carrillo said he surveyed the wide assortment of help he had been offered and decided to stay. That led to a college degree and, eventually, a job as a bank examiner at the Omaha office of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. If it wasnt for the Pell Grant, I dont think I would have stayed in school, he said. All of those resources definitely made the picture of going to college much more realistic and more possible. Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or cdunker@journalstar.com. On Twitter @ChrisDunkerLJS Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly 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. One person was killed when a tree fell on a house in the Country Club Neighborhood on Thursday afternoon and caused the chimney to collapse, according to Lincoln Fire and Rescue. Rescue crews responded to the 2700 block of Manse Avenue at about 1:10 p.m. on a reported structure collapse. The chimney had fallen through the house after being struck by the tree. The debris landed on a man inside, Lincoln Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief Michael Smith said. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Smith said family members had been notified, but the man's identity was not released. The Lincoln Police Department, Lincoln Electric System crews and members of the Nebraska Task Force One urban search and rescue team assisted at the scene. A portion of 27th Street was closed from Sheridan Boulevard to Bradfield Drive for several hours after the incident. Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or cdunker@journalstar.com. On Twitter @ChrisDunkerLJS Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 24 Angry 1 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.